WOW! Can you say fantastic? I read this story twice and never found a dull page in the entire book. Most sci-fi gets boring from technical terms I don't understand but even the science in this novel was explained in easy enough terms for me to grasp. I'm not saying they weren't complicated ideas, I'm saying Thomas Lee Howell has a definite way with words. The story is action packed without being weak on storyline and the adventure took me right to Astral East. I watch the sky now, more than ever for UFOs and hope to read Prison Planet two when it comes out. I am retired from the Air Force and loved the flying sequences. I kept dodging and leaning as the descriptve air battles unfolded. I gave several copies to friends who gave several copies to others. We are starting a Prison Planet fan club in our area. This book should be a movie. The military libraries are ordering their shipment within a week. I like the lead character Yarthgo because of his love for his female counterpart. He is a great soldier but exhibits a warm heart at the same time. The martial arts sequences are realistic and being an enthusiast; I know what he describes is accurate down to the smallest detail. Read it and I think you'll agree that Thomas Lee Howell is on to something good. I wish I could write like that. Unfortunately, I will have to be an avid fan instead. Do you know where we can write to Mr.Howell to congratulate him on a job well done? I rate his story in with Roddenberry, Bradbury, Asimov, and the greats of our time.

This book is great! I loved the characters who seemed almost human except for their strange quirks. The story was so exciting I couldn't leave the book for five minutes without having to go back and read more. It's a real cliffhanger with appeal and suspense. My favorite character is Zale. She is a strong female role model and goes unmatched in self defense and weapons. Her heartfelt love for Zandar got to me a few times when they described how they felt for each other. Some Earthlings could learn a thing or two from the heros of Astral East. I kept looking at the sky expecting alien ships to scream into the area and thought I was part of the story a couple of times. The flying scenes where Thomas Howell desribed the aerial battles had me jumping with anticipation. I recommend this novel to everyone male and female alike who likes a good story. The scientific details of the experiments sound plausible without being impossible. I think there is a rising star in the sci-fi field and it's Thomas Lee Howell. Buy this book! You won't be disappointed! I gave four of them away for Christmas and have two more to give as Birthday presents. Order it today and see what the new generation of science fiction is all about. This book would make a terrific animated movie. I can't wait for the sequel. Look out Lucas and Speilberg, you have a fellow writer making his mark. Thanks Charity Phillips Keller

This historical biography is terrific! It paints a beautiful picture, both in illustration and in words, of the life of Katharine Lee Bates. Her story is captured brilliantly in the pages of this book and I recommend it to children and adults of all ages. The illustrations are simply gorgeous and the story coincides perfectly. Be sure to look for the "hidden flag" on the first and last pages! A definite must-have for any story collection.

Purple Mountain Majesties is one of the only books I have read that delightfully combine history, information, story telling, and beautiful pictures together. And this has been done in such a way as to make this book enjoyable to read by any one of any age. Barbara Younger brings Katherine Lee Bates and here poem America the Beautiful to life for us. And sometimes we need reminders of just how beautiful America really is! Hats off to Barbara and Stacey for quite an excellent book!

Jack Zinn has researched an area for which there is very little published material. He has used source material that is scarce and has not used some material, which was available. However, his book on this unknown campaign is a prime source for the Western Virginia campaign. It is a must for any student of the first year of the War.

This book provides an account of a Civil War battle in which General Robert E. Lee experienced his first setback as a field commander in the first year of the great conflict.

The Marples are fabulous researchers and in this book developed a way to identify many pieces of early RSP by keeping a data base of decors and molds and cross referencing them with known and marked pieces.

A Great RSP collection is not complete without some of these early pieces!

The Marples have done wonderful research in this catagory of collectible porcelain. They established a data base matching decors and molds to document and identify previously unidentifyed pieces. This book shows pieces from the "Early Years" of the Rheinhold Schlegelmilch Firm. While these are not as high priced or elaborate as the later pieces, they are treasures in themselves. This is a well researched and written book...a must for the R.S. Prussia Collector who wants a well rounded collection.

I've been bringing this book out every Halloween
since I first met the Illustrator while he worked
at my school back in the early 90's and I must say
his work is so exceptional and detailed. Our school,
J.J. Shaughnessy School, Lowell, Ma. has papercutting
work he created just for us. This book, "Ragged Shadows"
is timeless and fun to read the spooky poems and stories and of
course the magicical illustrations. This book may be hard
to locate now but search around (on line) and find it and share
with family and friends during this special season.

Interesting illustrations based on Salem, MA - Witch City. Enjoyed seeing a city I know as background for the poems.

- This is one of the better grphic novels that I have ever read I really hope more people could get a chance to read it, the Ragnarok series has definetly been hiding in the shadows lateley but this is a book that deservs more attention.
All of the characters look very realistic on a manga scale. I myself have read many graphic novels in my lifetime and this is in the range of the top five graphic novels.
The storyline is based on a girl named Iris Irine she is the dughter of a powerful man by the name of Lord Irine. Lord Irine's eldest daughter was to be sacrificed 12 years ago but things didnt go as planned. Iris escaped and was adopted to an army. Now in this book Lord Irine's daughter is back "and will feel her vengeance".

This is all I will tell you for right now but you will have to purchase this book to find out the rest.

The second manwa in the series is just as good if not better than the first. The art style is amazing. Alright enough about how great the manwa is, let me tell you what to expect. Don't worry I'm not going to spoil anything. Well if I do please don't be mad. So the plot thickens in the second volume. You are introduced to shocking new secrets about a couple of the characters. This is also were the real fighting starts. And don't worry if you have a faint stomach the fighting scenes don't get very gory. In Ragnarok 2 you'll also be introduced to Loki and his group of assasins. They are mysterious and not much is revealed about them. They are sure to play some important part in future. So I really can't think of much else to write because I really don't want to ruin anything for anyone. Hope this was helpful. I really recommend this to anyone who enjoys manga or anime.

Few people have made more contributions to reflow soldering than Dr. Lee has. He has been a driving force in taking surface mount technology (SMT) from an art to a science. This book is a compilation of these successes with ample references to the important work of others. Those who work in this field will find this book indispensable in setting up and optimizing SMT assembly processes. In my opinion Dr. Lee's book is unequal in its value to practitioners in SMT.

This excellent book on reflow soldering, by noted expert Doctor Ning-Cheng Lee, offers a unique approach that will be invaluable to anyone concerned with practical applications of microelectronics packaging.

Many books, including this one, tell you how reflow soldering should work. Dr. Lee's book goes beyond those basics, to tell you in great detail what most other books do not long dwell upon: what to do when reflow soldering does not work as expected. How to identify the problems. How to cure or compensate for problems to achieve good solder reflow interconnections. How to use the defects themselves to eliminate defects and to optimize your solder reflow process.

The first four chapters are a clear and complete exposition of reflow soldering and of surface mount assembly processes. They cover surface mount technology in general, solders and solder pastes, and the beginning-to-end steps in surface mount assembly. Nourishment for the technical mind ranges from the organic chemistry of fluxes to equations relating surface tension and solder spread. These four chapters provide an excellent summary of how reflow soldering is supposed to work.

The next seven chapters place a strong focus on trouble-shooting. Not on how things go when all is well, but on what things can go wrong, and how to fix, to compensate for, or to work around them when they do go wrong. The logical structure is clear: three chapters on reflow problems, titled "Before Reflow," "During Reflow," and "After Reflow." Three chapters on the special techniques and the potential problems encountered in solder bumping area array packages, in assembling and reworking BGA & CSP packages, and in reflowing solder-bumped flip chips. Each chapter first covers the required materials and processes, and then details all of the potential problems that might be encountered, and how best to solve them.

The capstone chapter describes how to optimize a reflow process through the proper analysis of the defect mechanisms encountered. This chapter requires 39 sub-sections to systematically step through identifying, analyzing, and correcting defects. It turns defect analysis into a powerful tool for optimizing the reflow process. Further discussion extends this optimization approach to other alloys and systems, and suggests that your creativity might carry it still further.

The final chapter is a now-obligatory look at the "lead-free" juggernaut bearing down on the industry, with some recognition that this juggernaut carries its own baggage of potential problems.

Dr. Lee makes good use of the large (7 by 10 inch) format to place multiple graphics on almost every page. At less than one inch thick, this 280-page book can be easily slipped into an ordinary briefcase, and carried without muscle strain. Some current reviews incorrectly state that this book has 384 pages. Apparently they copied another book's page count from the multiple back cover blurbs, instead of opening the book themselves.

An extensive list of references to technical literature follows each chapter, although only a specialist or a nut case would need to dig deeper than the material included in Dr. Lee's book. My major criticism of the book is that the title doesn't do full justice to Dr. Lee's unique approach. "Troubleshooting Reflow Soldering for Health and Happiness" would be my choice.

Written from the view of the combat infantryman this book is a griping account of the US 36th. Division's disasterous battle at the Rapido River in the winter of 1944. The author spent two years researching and editing 140 accounts from the soldiers in the line companies to the officers in division headquarters. The result is an epic account of a brave but futile effort "where victory was less likely than death." This book has both the documentation the serious student of World WarII desires combined with the easy style of one of grandad's tales. Best if read in one sitting (Just over 100 pages of text) for maximum effect. This is a verbal "Saving Private Ryan."

The book is based on the stories given by WWII veterans of "Texas" 36th Division who were at the Rapido River. The Rapido River was a slaying of brave Texas National Guard Soldiers. The Nazi's had an advantage over the 36th, killing a large number of the brave Americans who were following the orders of General Mark Clark. Clark's action were investagated by congress, and to this day, the information about the battle is top-secret. The Autor, Lee Carraway Smith started this book as a report in a college history report, but she got so involved in the story, she wanted the people to hear the veterans side of the story. The books contains a special section of Pictures, Goverment Documents, and historical images of this bloody battle. This book will inform the public about this "unknown" but true World War II battle.