This is not the best way to start your film guide library, but if you already have some comprehensive film guides, this publication is a good addition to your bookshelf. Rose does not cover a lot of titles and his understanding of what a classic is might me problematic, but the very concept of this guide is interesting. Apart from a regular movie synopsis and rating, Rose includes such sections as production trivia, best quotes, slip-ups and marketing slogans. In some cases they take much more space then the actual descriptions of the films and often make for a much more interesting read than your standard film guide reviews. Thanks to that the guide can be read like a regular book (and a very entrtaining one), not just referred to occasionally. In short - a good buy.

It has excellent sentences and doesn't use a lot of big words to define other words, nor does it give circular definitions (defining cat as an animal and an animal as a cat) but it does go into grammatical terms and usage notes that might be confusing if not properly learned. It's the first dictionary (besides the Webster's New World Dictionary of Basic American English, which is absolutely invaluable) that allows me to get a full understanding of a word without making me chase through twenty other words. It'd be 5 stars if it just didn't go into grammatical terms, but even those have to be understood to know how to use the word. I highly highly recommend it.

This excellent book is bang up to date, packed with information and full of interest. It features two photographs of wild budgerigars amongst its attractive illustrations, and its chapter on 'Budgerigar Health' stands out from the crowd. It is ideal for the person who wants to set up an aviary or start breeding, but, in a book this size, there could be more on making friends with your first pet.

Recommended reading.

All the Collins dictionaries are good general references for
commonly needed foreign words and expressions. My experiences
with the German, Italian, Spanish and French editions has been
good. The blue-coding is an excellent idea, and makes word
searches much easier. The vocabulary selection is reasonably
advanced.

The one major failing of the Collins series is in the German and
Italian versions. In these two languages, it is a must to provide
the past participles for all verbs listed. These two languages
are simply too unpredictable in this area, and the past
participle cannot always be guessed just by knowing the
infinitive form. Even if a good guess could be made, it helps
the person using the dictionary to actually see the participle
written out. In the German version, the user also needs to see
the plural and dative endings. Collins indicates in small print
at the beginning of the book that, "the plurals and datives are
formed in the usual way, and only the exceptions are noted." This
is unsatisfactory. The "usual way" for German plural and dative
forms? Again, seeing it reinforces it. It would also be very
helpful to have the simple past tenses of verbs reference the
infinitive they are derived from. You cannot always guess what
the infinitive in Italian or German was just by seeing the
simple past tense. This would be especially easy to add to the
electronic versions (see below).

The only other thing I would say about the Collins series is that
the electronic versions should be more available. For example,
I was told at a bookstore recently that the French-English
DVD version of Collins was unavailable for some reason. With
all the worthless software out there, why can't we please have
a comprehensive dictionary on our PCs? Anyone interested in
this might want to consult the Harrap's company, based in
France. They used to put out a good product.

Obviously, a miniature didctionary like this one can't include the amount of information found in a home reference-type dictionary, but for a small travel dictionary, or one for a beginning student of Italian, this one is really good. I used it for a two-week, intensive language course in Rome and every word I needed for class I found in this dictionary. It's also very compact and will fit in a pocket, purse, or fanny-pack. If you want something a little more complete, yet still paperback book-size, I recommend the Bantam New College dictionary. Now, does anyone have a recommendation for a complete, home-reference dictionary???

i needed a dictionary for a LAtin test and this one was fabulous.
It has all the subjunctive cases and the infinatives and participles. I highly recommend it. It even has possum and vollo, and esse. but this little dictionary.

I picked this book up in Smithsonian Gift Shop. It is pocket sized and has 1 page on about 220 species. Each page has a description of the snake and a good (but small) color photo. It then gives a brief blurb about average size, distribution, habitat, diet, breeding and similar species. Overall, a nice little book - well worth the [money]. You won't get much detail on any individual species, but there are some neat facts on the overview pages. Well worth it for someone with a basic interest in various snakes around the world -- even if just for the photos. Don't expect a lot of new info. While there are not too many details, they seem to have most of their facts right.

This is a great collections of patterns for the fly tyer or, even for the fly fishing angler. While the collection of photographs of the trout flies leaves much to be desired, the amount of variations on traditional and non-traditional flies makes up for it. The book is organized by species of flies with an adequate index of common names and species names. For just about each true fly, there is a description of the fly, where it is found, how it is to be fished, and color/time of day variations found. This is a good addition to your fly tying library.

This is a good book filled with lots of basic information. If you are new to corrections, or are just learning about the subject area, then this is a good starting point. More advanced readers, such as those with extensive legal experience, will want a book with more punch. But as an introductory book this is a good one. I require it in my Correctional Law class.

This book gives an interesting and factual account of the life of Daniel Boone and his adventures in the wilderness. The information in this book is written in a way thats easy to understand. It keeps you interested all the way through. You will learn about the many close encounters Boone has with death. This book also tells about Boone's life with the Indians in captivity. Their are many pictures in this book that help to give you a better picture of what is going on. The book begins by describing Boone's parents and early life. Here I learned many things I didn't know about Boone. Then the book tells of Boone's life after his marraige to Rebecca Bryan, and their settlement in Kentucky. It is here that you will read about Boone's expeditions with his fellow settlers and their deadly encounters with the Indians. One interesting story the book tells is how Boone rescues two of his daughters from Indian captivity. The book then tells of Boone's life after he moves away from Kentucky. Finally it tells of his tragic death from acute indigestion caused by eating too many sweat potatoes. Their are so many interesting things you will read about in this book. For example, it tells of Boone's son and his friend being skinned alive slowly by Indians. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about US explorers, or adventures in the forests. It is also a great book for book reports and projects because it has excellent pictures and key facts. In the back of the book their is even a timeline summarizing Boone's life. Anyone interested should definitely read this book!