And the text makes you think about things that you are probably never going to think about in today's madcap and rushed society, simple things like natural lighting, linen textures, plants for detoxifying your environment, etc. There is just one thing that frustrated me about this book. On pages 54 and 55 there is the most amazing sofa I have ever seen, but there is no mention of where it came from or how to get one like it. Some of the references are clearly European and cannot be found in the States. But the overall philosophy is simple- we are animals and we need to slow down and rediscover our sensual being. And once you have found this simple mindset, you will see ways to make it happen all around you.

I love this book. I found it on a small interior design store in Italy,and It was love at first sight.I judged it by it's cover(and thought the idea of the velvet cover was great) but when I read it I was transported by its contents.Its absolutly great! Everyone should have it!

This book teaches us how to feel calm and organized, how to embelish and refine our senses with the best home arrangements. I loved it!

As an elementary school teacher I not only know and appreciate a good book, but I am even more amazed when a book offers some type of character enhancement. As a child, my mother read this book to me, and thirty years later it is still my favorite. I now read it to my kids, and love the message that "it's okay to be different."

I'm happy to see that Gerald Mcboing Boing is back for a new generation of readers. I fondly remember the book from my preschool days (and I have married children now).Gerald's misery at being different and rejected because of his inability to speak and then finding fame and self pride is presented in a charming manner that is easy to identify with. Its a short book with lots of funny pictures, just right for bedtime story.

I worshipped this book as a child. I still have my old copy that I now read to my four year old. She loves the book as much as I do. Interestingly, in my copy the author is anonymous, so the author as "Dr Suess" is new information to me. Although the other reviews do talk about the politically incorrect angles of this book, I think it brings about an excellent opportunity to discuss the way the world used to be. Particularly in terms of how we treated people with disabilities, as well as parenting fifties style.

Mostly, it is a wildly entertaining and creative story. Fun to read over and over again. The illustrations are great too. Obviously it has some sensitive material that is not dealt with in a very current fashion but I think the successful ending demonstrates that there is a place for everyone on this planet.

I loved finding out that this story was written by Dr. Suess!

This may seem to be out of my normal areas of interest, but one can learn a great deal of strategy from various 'how to' books. This one is well organized and includes creative exercises, such as getting out of a hostile crowd.

I read this book, and found it somewhat illuminating, but not as good as, for example, Damon Knight's Creating Short Fiction. I'd rate it a three, except for the end, where the author's discussion of the business of writing struck me as very helpful.

Killian starts out by telling readers how hard it is to make a living at writing novels. I emailed with Tad Williams (fantasy author) and he told me that something like only 1% of fiction writers make six figure salaries or greater.

Truth is, if you want to learn how to make money while you write, read something like RICH DAD, POOR DAD. Banking on your writing to turn you into a bestseller has low odds and can be painful if you don't fall into that number. Be sure to enjoy it, too. Yes, silly but you'd be surprised how many people

Anyway, here's the highlights of his book:

(1) realize the genres of fantasy and sci if; (2) understand the types of general readers attracted to the genres; (3) create your fictional world; (4) get good writing habits; (5) work on your story; (6) learn plotting; thicken the plot; (7) narrative voice; (8) symbolism; (9) know your publishers; query letters; manuscript form; (10) royalties; residuals; understand the contracts.

After you've read this, check out HOLLYLISLE.COM . . . a fantasy author who freely gives out advice and makes her living at it fulltime.

Best of luck!

Im just a home user of Windows 2000 Pro. I switched to Win2K because everyone said it was far more stable than other Windows operating systems. After using the other operationg systems Win2k had a somewhat familiar look and feel, but I needed some reference. I rapidly grew tired of trying to find answers on the internet.
Then I bought this book. It has been a great reference for me. I easily found what I was looking for in it. I learned a few things I wasnt looking for.
My advice, if your like me just a home user this book will serve you well. It now sets on my desk within easy reach.

With valuable touches that pertained to Windows 2000 Server, Sharon Crawford spiced this textbook well.
"Windows 2000 Pro: The Missing Manual" left no doubt in providing all the analyses that users of the operating system would ask for. In addition to all the basics (and fundamentals), this text covered every communications tools which came with the OS, including: system maintainance, utilities, troubleshooting, and general networking. The manual even delved into the component interface of the operating system: with its analysis on how Windows 2000 Professional builds upon the interface kernel in Windows NT 4. All the security features, as well as all the factors which contributed to the performance and stability of the OS were detailed.
This 'missing manual' is desirably analytical, without being too technical. It is a very straightforward book, which gives all the details, while at the same time maintaining its concise outlook. Both beginners and expert users of Windows 2000 Professional would be delighted by its dynamic analyses.

As a long-time mac user, making the switch to Windows has been a bit of a struggle. I've figured out much on my own, but some things have remained a mystery. Windows 2000 Professional by Mark Minasi assumed I was familiar with way too much vocabulary. This book by Sharon Crawford takes the mystery out of a lot of little things. It scratches where I itch. Maybe after I master this material, I'll take another shot at Minasi or Pogue.

It was especially gratifying to read on last page of the book (the colophon), "The book was designed and laid out ... on a Power Mac 8500 and Power Mac G3. Ah, memories of home.

This is a simple, moral tale - one could almost describe it as a fable - concerned with the dangers of all-consuming avarice. Monsieur Grandet, his wife and their daughter Eugenie live in provincial Saumur. Grandet is a wealthy miser - so parsimonious that his house is falling down around him for want of repair, and even the family's food is rationed. The arrival of Grandet's nephew, the ambitious yet impecunious Charles, disturbs the household regime - Eugenie falls in love with him - and thereafter a tragedy unfolds.

I thought the novel almost read like a compressed Dickens: the characters are essentially two-dimensional, more illustrations of human faults and virtues than true to life. The book's brevity and (therefore) lack of meandering, coupled with a merciful omission of overdone bathos in its depiction of women, made its impact all the greater than having to plough through 1000 pages of Dickensian whimsy.

Balzac seemed concerned with the damage being done to human relationships by contemporary society's obsession with money. In "Eugenie Grandet", everything has its price - the characters only have worth in terms of their personal monetary wealth. It struck me that this has been a recurring theme in modern fiction - a questioning within capitalist societies of whether the material wealth that is produced by the economic system underpinning those societies is of itself a sufficiently fulfilling raison d'etre, or whether more is needed to meet human needs.

It is a delightful short tale of a pathetic story. Eugenie Grandet is not be the best novel from Balzac, but their characters are truly unforgetable. Reading this book would be a very satisfying experience. A Hint: Read it after Ursula Miruët; the stories are not connected, but a comparison of the heroines, and endings of both stories, worths the pain.

I have read Eguenie Grandet and ever since then i have developed an unsatiable omnivorous Balzac appetite. Few years have passed since i read 'La Pierre gouriot' (which i found quite boring at the time. when i was 15). and today i find balzac to be one of the most heart-rending authors i have ever read. The true compassion one feels for his herorines is unchallenged - thanks god Balzac wrote 97 finished novels. Also, the descriptions in this book are no doubt of the best descriptions ever written, filled with warmth and poetry. Balzac gives us realism but his realism is filled with warmth, the compassion the characters sometimes lack is being compensated by the readers compassion. To read Eugenie Grandet is to know what compassion is!

The theme here is drugs meshed with money. For almost all the "rockers" drugs are mentioned. Moser and Crawford have an array of musicians from Spinal tap to madonna and list birth dates, places of birth, some hit songs and films if applicable, dumb quotes and idiotic things they have done. I have to wonder about the authenticity of alot of the things, but then again money can be poison. It isnt a book for teens there is alot of sex, violence and drugs. It can be interesting, albeit embarassing for those listed. If there isnt a thing better to read, give it a whirl.

this is a funny book. just buy it to laugh at the stupidest quotes ever said by musicians like if "if god wanted me to become a woman, then a woman i will become" Mick Jagger. Stupid stuff like that. its not just for stupid quotes but it also gives alot of artist info as well.

This book is a bit mean spirited at times, but still a lot of fun. Reading this book made me think "What were they taking?", after each silly quote and wacky anecdote. It's very quick to read and thoroughly entertaining. I also recommend "Hollywood Confidential" by Coral Amende.

Throughout his autobiography, Michael Crawford maintains a charmingly conversational style of storytelling. His autobiography consists of a series of anecdotes -- the humorous and bawdy ones he relates as if he is attending a cocktail party, holding a martini; the more serious and deeply-felt ones he relates as if he is spilling his guts to a friend over a cup of tea. The term "larger than life" does not apply to this talented and celebrated entertainer. After finishing this book, one is left with the sense that Michael Crawford is a humble, sincere and genuinely NICE human who doesn't take his fame too seriously.

Crawford reveals painful and embarassing childhood circumstances and turns the revelation into an opportunity to pay tribute to his deeply-loved and appreciated mother and grandmother. He speaks candidly of his marriage at a young age, the births of his two daughters (he devotes a hilarious chapter to the birth of his second child), the loss of earnings from A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM and HELLO DOLLY, and a divorce which began painfully but gradually healed.

Crawford tells vignettes of hobnobbing with the likes of John Lennon, Barbara Streisand and the Queen Mother. He describes becoming a sex symbol of sorts during the PHANTOM OF THE OPERA years as if no one is more surprised at that development than he and his loved ones.

This is the sort of regular guy I wouldn't mind having for a next door neighbor. I found this book delightful and very easy LIGHT reading. Caveat to those who expect a challenge to the intellect: there is none to be found in this book. It is "mind candy", the chief value of which is getting to know its author and subject.

Michael Crawford's autobiography is so well-written that it's easy to forget the author is a massively talented actor and singer. His self-deprecating writing style is easy to read and relentlessly enjoyable, whether describing hilarious moments or poignant periods in his life. The reader does not have to be Phantom fan to appreciate the trials, tragedies and triumphs that have shaped Michael Crawford: the lessons he learns -- and shares -- will be familiar to Everyman. This is a great book, worth sharing.

I loved this book! It's a truly delightful story, told in typical "Crawford style," with candor, wit, warmth and a great deal of hilarity. Anyone who appreciates Michael Crawford's ability to "embroider a tale" will thoroughly enjoy his autobiography. Stories of his early life with his mother and grandmother are shared with deep tenderness and reverence and woven all together very personally. The chronicle of his professional journey--from the boys' choir, to a starring role in a British TV comedy and on to his fantastic success as the original Phantom of the Opera--includes many touching, and many uproariously funny accounts. I found myself laughing out loud in several places, and to the point of tears in others. I appreciated Crawford's willingness to be deeply personal and to share candidly about both his trials and triumphs. In the end, it's clear that success did not come easily to him; he worked very hard for it. Michael Crawford's usual generosity with his audience carries through to this sharing of his life story. Touching, inspirational, and thoroughly enjoyable.

The book is an introductory text to Windows NT written in simple and engaging style. It introduces the basics, hardly deep enough to really run an NT server. Hence the low rating. It will not make NT system administrator of you. If you aspire to be one, Inside Windows NT Server is a book to read.

As an MCSE, is important to have adequate information and resources. Besides having the resource kit, an easy-to-follow guide is a must - this book pretty much gives you that. The only thing I didn't like were the ending chapters about TCP/IP and intergration.

Easy and understandable -- much advice about planning. Best book for someone starting a network.

A good Ozzy biography is long overdue. Unfortunatly this is not it. The main text is sadly lacking in details including places and events. Ozzy's headlining show at the Donnington Monsters of Rock (16th Aug '86) doesn't get a mention and neither does his performance at the Port Vale festival (1st Aug '81) where he famously stood in for Black Sabbath. Almost crimainally, Ozzy's second guitarist, Jake E. Lee doesn't even receive a name check and is passed off as "...the first decent player that came along."
Positive notes? The discography section at the back is wonderfu. It's just a shame that the rest of the book is not as well researched.

While I don't know the accuracy on all of the facts, this was a book I enjoyed reading. It gives you the real story, and quotes by members of Black Sabbath, Sharon Osbourne, and other people Ozzy is associated with; not rumors of Ozzy being a psychopath and Satanist as some sources claim. At the end of the book, there is a complete discography, including reissues and imports of Ozzy's solo albums and with Black Sabbath. There is also a great collection of photos in the middle of the book. I would definitely recommend this if you are a fan, or just interested in Ozzy Osbourne's life story.

Ozzy Unauthorized by biographer Sue Crawford is an informed and informative charting heavy metal icon and unforgettable personality Ozzy Osbourne. Enhanced with 32 pages of photographs, a full discography and chronology, a specially commissioned astrological chart, this succinctly written biography offers a candid, no-holds-barred study of the man whose latest achievement is bringing record ratings to MTV as the star of uniquely irreverent "reality" documentary "The Osbournes." Ozzy Unauthorized is "must" reading for Ozzy's legions of fans.

I just love this book and have read it through many times. Considine's approach to the lives of these two legends is humorous, well documented and fascinating.

We learn nothing new about these two old broads (something Joan told Bette never to call her). We know they hated each other. We know Bette was jealous of Joan's looks and insatiable sexual appetite, and we know Joan was jealous of Bette's talent.

But this is what makes it so campy and so much fun to read. The two going at each other makes for never a dull moment. What I'm convinced of is this: Joan Crawford WAS indeed a phony. She played the MOVIE STAR game to the hilt and I'm convinced also that what Christina wrote in her memoirs is the truth. I'm also convinced that Bette was an egomaniac who thought she was the greatest actress who ever lived...(Wrong!! That's a title that belongs to Barbara Stanwyck!!).

This is one of the best books written about these two ladies and it doesn't make me sympathize with one more than the other. They were both 'crazy'!!! Fun....but 'crazy'!!!

I absolutely loved this book!... The amazing thing was, I expected to hate Joan Crawford and love Bette Davis, but my reaction to the book was the exact opposite. Bette comes off so cold and callous as to be downright inhuman. Joan, on the other hand, is fascinating, passionate, and utterly, utterly human. The funny thing is, it is obvious to me that the author shares my initial prejudice; clearly, he intends for us to love Bette and hate Joan, but even so, Joan comes off far more interesting and sympathetic.

The person who comes off the worst is Joan's daughter Christina, author of "Mommie Dearest." She appears as nasty, vicious and a total brat, even as an adult. Again, the author clearly intends for us to side with Christina against Joan, but I empathized with Joan. For example, on page 275, the author tells us Joan employed "mental torture" on Christina. Yet his only three example are, Joan burned a pair of Tina's "tight toreador pants", made her do "messy housework" and, for her birthday, gave Christina a single earring, with the promise that she would receive the other earring at graduation if Christina got good marks. This is mental torture? It sounds like basic parenting to me. I wish more parents would burn their teenaged daughter's [ugly] clothes. It makes me think that all of "Mommie Dearest" is grossly exaggerated, written by a bitter, vengeful Christina who desperately wanted to tarnish her mother's image.

The author tells us that Joan made many attempts to befriend Bette Davis, and was constantly repulsed in the most vulgar manner. Bette, though a far greater actress, seems a total bore in real life, unconcerned about her husband(s), her children, or anything except her own genius. She never passed up a chance to humiliate Joan. I'd much rather spend an evening with Joan.

This book is the best book I've ever read! Bette Davis & Joan Crawford are two of the most fascinating women of all time (and not to mention two of the best actresses ever to hit the movies). If you are a fan of either of these two women, this book is for you! Both Davis & Crawford say some of the most shocking, predictable and honest things I have ever heard of in my life. After you read this book, you learn two things: Bette was the "actress" & Joan was the "movie star." Bette envied Joan's beauty while Joan envied Bette's talent. You really get a good look into both of these women's private lives & after reading this book, you feel as if you were their closest friend. You will not be able to put this book down; it's just that good!