It wasn't enough that I bought the Sleep Book for my wife, but I had to buy another for myself when I found her unwilling to let me get my fair share of sleep. Not only is the book informative and entertaining, it is also witty and full of historical notes that keep the reader wanting more. Aero publishing has found an outstanding writer in Jody Grant-Gray. The book's style incorporates short, concise chapters that feed the reader just enough information to tackle the gnarliest sleep problems without overwhelming her with irrelevant sleep minutia. Ever since my wife started using this book, she falls asleep effortlessly and I'm not far behind. Read it, enjoy it and sleep it. Signed, relaxed and rested in San Luis Obispo.

I came across this book in a bookstore right when I was complaining about my sleepless nights to my husband. The other books about sleep contained dated photos, charts and figures. We found "The Sleep Book" by Jody Grant-Gray, to be filled with entertaining information, and highly useful tips for sleep. The author seemed to understand why I wasn't sleeping! And then she told me how to get there. Useful, comforting, and entertaining. This book is a delight! My husband is happy I bought it, and that doesn't usually happen...

A friend gave me this book because I haven't been sleeping well lately. Since all that has happened in the world, it is so nice to find a book that can discuss tragedy and fear in such helpful and comforting manner. I highly recommend it.

This is a classic that every filmmaker should read. "Shaking the Money Tree" de-mystifies the biggest challenge every filmmaker faces--fundraising. It identifies various funding sources, how to ask and when to ask. More importantly, it gets behind the minds and motivations of individual funders, foundations, and other sources, so the filmmaker is better prepared meet their needs.

Warshawski's book is an indispensable guide to understanding the world of non-profit funding. It should be required reading for every documentary filmmaker. I particularly like the "Sample Grant" section and the fact that the book gives the grant seeker specific techniques for approaching foundations.

A few years ago I was trying to make a couple of short films and was thus foraging around for money. There was a certain book that was recommended to me more than any other: SHAKING THE MONEY TREE. This book, unfortunately, was out of print. And the copies in the library had been stolen. Written by one of the foremost advisors to indie filmmakers seeking budgets, Morrie Warshawski, the first edition had become a sought-after tome of strategies and funding sources for those itching to follow in the footsteps of Spike Lee or Richard Linklater.

Now comes the 2nd edition from publisher Michael Wiese Productions. SHAKING THE MONEY TREE may be lean on lists of sources, but it's rich with strategies on how to raise funds. Which is really what filmmakers need. After all, the lists are easy to come by since the astonishing rise of the Internet, a rise that occurred entirely in the 10 year span of time between the first and second editions of SHAKING THE MONEY TREE. Warshawski notes in the forward that whereas he had literally no mention of the internet in his first edition, he declares is an essential ingredient in the second.

As I mentioned, Warshawski keeps the focus of his book not on exhaustive lists of foundations, but what most indie filmmakers really need: improving their skills at organizing your fundraising and-most important-the one-on-one ask for cash.

Your average filmmaker won't mind sitting through a mind-numbingly pretentious new film because the famous director is present and the filmmaker might get to say two words to this famous person, but that same filmmaker will shun the opportunity to sit down with a wealthy friend or relative for twenty minutes and actually ASK for money.

The strange mix of timidity and entitlement that drives a filmmaker into his or her creative endeavors is the same mix that makes him believe "They should just GIVE me the money." Warshawski's book dispels those absurd dreams and sets the filmmaker on the track of raising money through persistent hard work.

Warshawski, a long time consultant on documentaries and narrative films, breaks down the various processes of fundraising by individuals, corporations, foundation, government grants, small businesses and non-profits. He gives different strategies for documentary filmmakers, for animators, for narrative filmmakers and for experimental film and video artists. He includes resources, such as a sample letter for fundraising written by a celebrity, a successful grant proposal and budget form for the National Endowment for the Humanities, and a list of other helpful books and websites that will lead a filmmaker to direct funding sources. But the strength of SHAKING THE MONEY TREE is the way Warshawski educates the reader about how to think about fundraising.

After reading the book, the filmmaker can stop being nervous around the face-to-face ask and instead begin role-playing and working his inevitable pitch into the best pitch it can be.

Dick Grayson returns to his roots and takes on the Mantle of the Bat. Many things are explained as to why Bruce didn't give him the cape and cowl after his encounter with Bane and to the overall relationships he has had with Dick, Jason, and Tim. Dick manages to exercise demons he has held since his days as Robin and as Bruce Wayne goes off to discover himself, Dick Grayson also succeeds in getting the "bats" out of his belfrey. Sadly it also marks the beginning of the end for the relationship between Gordon and the Caped Vigilante. It's a good read and provides the reader with essential "historical" information on the current Batman series.

Way back in the late 30's, Bob Kane created a memorable comic character to aid his Dark Knight. This young man's name was Dick Grayson, also known as Robin. Flash forward to 1997. Two Robins later, Dick Grayson now becomes Batman. After the events of Knightfall, Knightquest, and Knightsend, Bruce Wayne officially passes on the mantle of the Bat to Dick Grayson. Grayson's evolution from the sidekick Robin to the lone avenger Nightwing to Batman is clearly defined here. The story tellers each keep true to the Batman history, but also give Batman a younger, fresher voice. Also, teaming up this new Batman with the newest Robin (Tim Drake) is classic. The two learn from each other. Finally, the conclusion of this book sums up over 60 years of Batman mythology between "a father and a son."

Bruce Wayne leaves Gotham in the hands of Nightwing(a.k.a Dick Grayson the first Robin.)

Good Guys:Batman, Robin,& Nightwing

Bad Guys: Killer Croc, The Ventriloquist,
Ratcatcher, Two-Face, The Tally Man, &
Steeljacket

The Invisibles' fourth volume begins their second major storyline in America, doing American things with American people.

Grant Morrison had just begun to write the JLA during this volume, and it affected the Invisibles to a major extent. The story becomes simpler; there are a ton of gun fights and the whole tone of the series changes. Morrison claims he did this on purpose, but it's unclear as to why he did it.

Regardless, Phil Jimenez really compliments the story's general feel, very Perez influenced and detailed, very American.

A necessary volume if you're reading the Invisibles and a very good starting point if you haven't started.

Somewhere along the line in "Bloody Hell in America," you realize you're in over your head, that whatever well-worn turns you may have been used to in comic book storytelling have been turned completely around, and this ride is jumping the tracks.

How writer Grant Morrison manages to spin the end of time, the crash at Roswell, the Hindu god Ganesh, Aztec magic, and Quentin Tarantino movies into one story is a secret he'll probably take to his grave. But it all works, and the threads crackle and hum so intensely with pop-zeitgeist electricity you'll love getting sucked into the web.

Translation: It's really, REALLY cool. And one hell of a mind ride.

And honestly, if you can't get past the "swearing and blood," you should stick to the JLA. Or Bil Keane's Family Circus.

This short but sweet trade paperback colects the OTT beginings of the 2nd Volume of this wonderfull series.

This is a good introduction to the Invisibles, as this story reads like a highly entertaining, psychadelic blockbuster, making it more acessible than most of the other stories in this series, which can (at times) redifine the word "odd"...

Read it and, if you like it, check out the other trades... the series is really varied and is, literally, about EVERYTHING!

Sex, love, gnosticism, rebellion, music, art, death, friendship, drugs, science, magic, literature, meta-physics, ... its all in there somewhere...

Stories about sexy Anarchists dont get any better than this...

I was fortunate enough to borrow an advance copy of this book from a reviewer who lives near me. I'm still going to buy this book. I want it for my personal collection so I can read it again! Nevada Bluff is absolutely amazing. I could not put it down! The characters are flesh and blood. They will stick with you long after you've finished the book. I saw people that I swear I know in real life. In fact, I've caught myself a time or two kind of looking at the people I know and wondering which of them know Grant Devereaux! Being a late-end Baby Boomer, I identify with the 1950s setting Mr. Devereaux uses in this story. He has really done his research! He has depicted Hollywood, Reno, and the 50s beautifully and accurately. This book is light and fun, and at the same time, it makes you think about people you know, situations in which we all find ourselves, and how when you least expect it, something or someone will enter your life and change it forever. Read Nevada Bluff. Hope springs eternal, and this just proves it.

Unlike many "romantic" stories, these characters are believable - real people with both faults and virtues - you care what happens to them. Even though the settings and people are so well described that you can easily picture each scene, it's the snappy dialogue that carries the story. You might not want to take this book along to the beach. You'll lose track of time and get sunburned!

One of the things I've found since I first bought this book is that you are tempted to pick it up and read it again and again. It's just as refreshing a second, third and fourth time. I've bought it for Christmas presents this year for new friends--and even for high school and college kids who are looking for something light and positive to read. Everyone I know who has read it say that they've learned something new and different about the 1950s and that it's nice to be able to read a beautiful love story that doesn't reek of sexual innuendo or downright graphic details. Rumor has it that the author is considering a series based on Jack and Margo. I think that's terrific, and I encourage him to do that.

I bought this book because I was hoping it would provide me with good guidance in terms of how to use analysis techniques that would support my strategy consulting work. It has a heavy economists' leaning. This is both good and bad. It is good in that it gives some tried and true ways of understanding contemporary strategy. It is bad in that it misses out on the many ways and means by which non-economists understand contemporary strategy and is very thick in terms of its descriptions. It is not a "how to" book, that is for sure. Since competition today often seems to defy economic logic, this economic approach can only go so far. And there is still no better economist's approach than Professor Michael Porter's materials and this book certainly adds little to that great body of work.

I got this book as part of my MBA studies in the UK. The whole course on Strategy leverages this book as a reader throughout and it is truly a wonderful collection tools, techniques and models for the student and business manager alike.

A must have for people involved in defining and setting strategy

I used this book during my MBA in City University Business School, London and found it extremely helpful. It covers most of ground and guides the reader through different approaches showing them their pros and cons. It takes the magic out of many complicated concepts and make them accessiable. In some few parts it lacks detail but if taken as an introductry book to business strategy, it serves that purpose well. As a strategy consultant, I always keep it on my self with my favorite "The Mind Of The Strategist".

What a wonderful book, a wonderful writer, a wonderful world, at least from the child's point of view. Growing up in Kenya, the only child of would-be coffee plantation owners among the Kikuyu tribesmen, Elspeth Huxley comes of age is an unimaginable world which comes to an abrupt end as war begins.

This book is on the same sort of rank and the same genre as Out of Africa. A literary autobiography set in Kenya during an uncertain and enterprising colonial era before the First World War.

It's strongest elements include a deep sensitivity to the travails of animal life up against white hunters and farmers, very full accounts of the Kikuyu people and their rivalries with other Africans and it also paints a vivid portrait of pioneering planters and their servants in the shadow of the Great War.

The vantage of the book is greater than that of Out of Africa by Blixen being a less personal tale. it is a faithful, sometimes harrowing tale culled from an excellent store of memories representing times and scenes gone by. Huxley is not short on romance and tragedy.

This book is an ideal companion to those interested in the British Empire and African anthropology. For naturalists it provides breathtaking accounts of white hunters and their quarry as a retrospective commentary on man's abuse of Africa's wild heritage. Huxley writes quietly, sensitively and impartially providing philosophic insights in a heuristic and magical narrative. Always compelling, this is an important primary text.

strikingly similar to dineson's 'out of africa', 'flame trees' is a woman-in-colonial-africa's autobiographical memoir, written even more cleanly and elegantly, though from a girl's view. just like dineson, there's only the trace of real plot driving things along, but nonetheless the well-described observations of life on a remote african farm combined with a certain curiousity about how things will end up are compelling enough to carry this book along in a very satisfying way. if not already clear, these two books make very nice companions, and huxley also wrote a second book that's probably worth a look. &, if you start to hanker for this niche but highly worthwhile genre of rare 'adventurous great women writers of the mid-20th century' check out my listmania list.

Ignore the moron from Kirkus reviews,who has obviously read from a simulated Cliff's Notes about this fine,poetically written tome. I became a Pagan myself because of this book. The lifting writing style drifts one into a modern faery tale,filled with darkness and cold,good and evil,struggle and truth,poetry and politics,real Witches and real villains,all too real and ever-present in this society,me thinks! For those Pagans looking for a good read,or any intelligent person,dreamers,poets,WHOEVER.
This book is for you. Read it if you have just taken a self-confidence test and failed. Read it if you are a crusader for the Right Things. Read it if you are hopelessly oppressed. But by all means,read it! And a pox(of ignorance,obviously already cast by a more adept magi than I) on that closed-minded bozo from Kirkus reviews,who hasn't the foggiest idea what this valuable tale of enlightenment is about. A fantastic read that will stay with you and plant it's prose in your mind long after the last page.

Unfortunately, the people who most need to read this playing-out of popular delusion and the madness of crowds aren't likely to do so. I live in a rather conservative community, and my dominant thought throughout reading the book ran along the lines of, "Without eternal vigilance, it could happen here." Grant is a wonderfully vivid writer, almost snapping his fingers and putting you into a setting. Logic and happenstance mingle believably in this book. I did not find the characters stereotypical. I feel that I have met nearly all of them (and even been several myself). Strongly recommend this novel.

I first read _Tex and Molly in the Afterlife_ (also by Grant). I really liked that book and decided to try another. _In the Land of Winter_ is a shorter, but more intimate book. (of note, Pippa is a character from _Tex and Molly_)

Grant does a fabulous job of making Pippa (the main character) a three-dimensional character. She is fleshed out emotionally and physically throughout the book, and reading it, one can become quite attached to her and her plight.

His writing is veritably magical. He illustrates beautiful scenery, horrific and endearing characters, and plotlines of great imagination.

He has truly become one of my favorite authors. I have and will continue to recommend this book to all my friends.

Grant Lewi Taught at Princeton. This was a brilliant man who devoted his life to finding the essential truths of astrology - in a time of great antipathy towards the practice. As a professional astrologer, I HIGHLY recommend this book for personal growth. I use it with every chart reading I do.

This is the simplest and most concise astrology book around...Lewi's insight into the interpretation of aspects is the best I've ever read. This book contains 276 aspects, and if you're a beginner, this will cover a lot of territory. There is also a list of planet placements from 1890 through 1999 if you want an easy way to cast a horoscope without having to learn all the technical intricasies...and you can dive in and do your own chart, your family and friends, as soon as you get the book. If you're a long time astrologer, what Lewi has to say hits the nail on the head and brings the meaning of each aspect to us with clarity and precision. This book is for anyone interested in the subject of what influence the heavens may have in our lives.

Grant Lewi is probably the greatest astrology author who ever lived. His two best sellers, Heaven Knows What and Astrology for the Millions, were printed in mid-century yet aren't the least bit outdated. They remain two of the best astrology books in existence. In Heaven Knows What, Lewi does a page on every possible Sun-Moon combination, explaining how an Aries with an Aries moon differs from an Aries with a Taurus moon, etc. His readings are obviously built on his personal observations, not just on theories about what the signs are supposed to be like. They are very unique. The back section of the book explains natal aspects (Sun conjunct Mercury, etc.). As for his quick horoscope calculations, I just ignore them. If you want your chart done, get your chart done.

In Astrology for the Millions, Lewi goes the more traditional route, explaining the effect of the Sun, Moon and planets in all of the signs. His unique style shines through, and he is right on target, which is why he is the best there ever was. If all astrologers were as good as Grant Lewi was, the field of astrology would be a respected field instead of being considered by most as a pseudo-science.

I selected this book out of interest, and out of a need for a recent (JDK v1.3) reference for the classes, interfaces, and contents of the JDK and its libraries. I like the feel of a book in hand while I'm working, and I typically have three to six books open around me as I go. Wrox Press (www.wrox.com) advertises their works as "Programmer to Programmer ™" and they are spot on! This book is incredibly focused, and presumes you've got a solid working knowledge of Java as a professional developer, but need a reminder on some of the classes, packages and examples of how to use or call the methods. If you need a reference book on Java's huge packages, you need this book. I've read several other works covering much of the Java packages. Although this book is physically larger (best clear a good 3 inches of shelf space) it is much "denser". My overall reaction: focused, a good read, and very clear in presentation.

Chapter 1, the Java Fundamentals, is just 70 pages long. In this section, I found extremely clear, tight, and readable code and descriptions. I found single paragraph descriptions that took pages in other works. From there, you drop straight into java.lang, and work through the most popular packages including javax.swing, border, table and tree, and wrap up with the java.beans package. Every page is packed with examples, code snippets, and very terse descriptions of how the class, method, or interface works.

My key for any good reference book is the index. I want the information, easily located, and NOW. Wrox and Grant have done well here. Indexes include by class name, interface (and classes implementing the interface), and a general index, which picks up the method names. Method entries in the index include page references to the individual classes implementing the method.

The author claims (accurately) that this book is "essential rather than exhaustive". It's squarely aimed at the heads-down, professional developer, who stays "in the flow" for most of the day. Grant introduces each class briefly, provides an inheritance hierarchy, gives an overview of the methods, and drops into a functional example of using the material. No "terminally cute" examples, just easily read code that demonstrates "how to" in as clear a manner as possible. The chapters on AWT and Swing classes provide minimalist screenshots showing the results of the examples; only one item is demonstrated at a time, removing any guesswork. Got a question? In one or two pages, you'll have an answer.

I would recommend this book as a supplement to other, introductory books for a beginner to the language, or to someone taking classes in Java. I strongly recommend begging, borrowing, or (best of all) buying your own copy as you ramp up for the Certification exams. The first chapter will supplement the other study guides very nicely, and the book remains useful far longer than the certification guides.

I've got a bookshelf reserved for what I use on a daily basis; Java Programmer's Reference goes on it and will stay there. I expect this book to remain useful for years. Rating: 4 out of possible 5. (Scale: 1: read in an airport, when there's nothing better to do. 3: solid, useful, buy whichever one fits your thought process. 5: drop everything, go buy this book now, read it tonight, carry it with you.)

This is the best Java reference book on the market today. It's not perfect, but it's closer than any other Java reference out there. I like the way the information is presented in a structured manner. Classes and methods of a certain type are grouped and explained together. The book is very readable and gives a lot of helpful hints to avoid gotchas that aren't usually explained by reference books. The examples are great and there are lots of them. A lot of times when I'm stuck I won't even have to read the text. I can just look at the appropriate example and it tells me what I need to know. This book is not for neophyte Java programmer's. It doesn't spend a lot of time on object oriented theory or other real basic stuff, but for intermediate or advanced programmer's it's great.

This book sits on my desk and I use it all the time. I looked at "Java in a Nutshell" but now you have to buy three books. This book covers JDK 1.3, the javax.swing package, and has hundreds of short examples. The java.io package examples are especially good. The book also has a very good chapter on Java Beans. The index is outstanding. It is 60 pages long and is divided into two parts, a general index and one for classes. Because its only one book, it doesn't cover everything in the J2SE JDK 1.3, but as a reference book that covers the core Java it's great