Average customer rating:
- I just love Odd Thomas
- Brother Odd
- Brother Odd
- Brother Odd, Odd Plot
- Good not great
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Brother Odd (Odd Thomas Novels)
Dean Koontz
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Koontz, Dean
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Similar Items:
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Forever Odd
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Odd Thomas
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The Husband
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Lisey's Story: A Novel
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The Good Guy
ASIN: 0553804804
Release Date: 2006-11-28 |
Book Description
Loop me in, odd one. The words, spoken in the deep of night by a sleeping child, chill
the young man watching over her. For this was a favorite phrase of Stormy Llewellyn,
his lost love, and Stormy is dead, gone forever from this world. In the haunted halls of
the isolated monastery where he had sought peace, Odd Thomas is stalking spirits of an infinitely darker nature
Through two New York Times bestselling novels Odd Thomas has established himself as one of the most beloved and unique fictional heroes of our time. Now, wielding all the power and magic of a master storyteller at the pinnacle of his craft, Dean Koontz follows Odd into a singular new world where he hopes to make a fresh beginning—but where he will meet an adversary as old and inexorable as time itself.
St. Bartholomew’s Abbey sits in majestic solitude amid the wild peaks of California’s high Sierra, a haven for children otherwise abandoned, and a sanctuary for those seeking insight. Odd Thomas has come here to learn to live fully again, and among the eccentric monks, their other guests, and the nuns and young students of the attached convent school, he has begun to find his way. The silent spirits of the dead who visited him in his earlier life are mercifully absent, save for the bell-ringing Brother Constantine and Odd’s steady companion, the King of Rock 'n' Roll.
But trouble has a way of finding Odd Thomas, and it slinks back onto his path in the form of the sinister bodachs he has met previously, the black shades who herald death and disaster, and who come late one December night to hover above the abbey’s most precious charges. For Odd is about to face an enemy who eclipses any he has yet encountered, as he embarks on a journey of mystery, wonder, and sheer suspense that surpasses all that has come before.
Customer Reviews:
I just love Odd Thomas.......2007-10-10
I fell in love with Odd Thomas with the first book. Now there are three and I loved all of them. Dean Koontz is one of my favorite, but he really got me with this character. I think it got to him, too, as Odd has grown and come back to us in two more books. Will there be more? I will be watching for them.
Brother Odd.......2007-10-05
With a touch of humor and the talent for bring his readers the surreal, Dean Koontz leads us through another adventure of Odd Thomas. It will be interesting to see what lies ahead for our undaunted hero!!
Brother Odd.......2007-09-04
This is probably my least favorite in the ODD series of books. The first ODD book clearly is the best. The second one is pretty good, this is so so. It's a short read for a fat book. The print is large & the lines are spaced apart. Koontz's older works are far superior & well worth reading. Go back 10+ years & read those books, Watchers being a favorite of mine. Brother Odd is a book to borrow from a friend or the library, it's not worth purchasing unless you want it because you already have the other 2.
Brother Odd, Odd Plot.......2007-09-01
This is the first Brother Odd novel I have read. The plot is interesting, albeit very eerie and unusual, involving science and ethics and the existence of God. The plot is resolved in a satisfying manner at the conclusion, but on the way to that conclusion, Mr. Koontz wanders off on tangents, explaining details that are often unrelated to the storyline. The character development is effective. Who could not fall in love with meek and humorous Brother Odd and his ghost companion, Elvis?
It's time for me to give another Brother Odd book a chance.
Good not great.......2007-08-28
Any Koontz novel is worthing reading. Not his best work. Not even his best Odd Thomas book. Of course "Odd Thomas" (the first in series) is pretty hard act to follow. I thought it was better than the second in the series but by no means was it up there with "Intensity" (which may be the best/scarriest book ever written). All in all it's a Dean Koontz book so it better than most out there.
Book Description
You can set your watch to it: As soon as Apple comes out with another version of Mac OS X, David Pogue hits the streets with another meticulous Missing Manual to cover it with a wealth of detail. The new Mac OS X 10.4, better known as Tiger, is faster than its predecessors, but nothing's too fast for Pogue and Mac OS X: The Missing Manual. There are many reasons why this is the most popular computer book of all time.
With its hallmark objectivity, the Tiger Edition thoroughly explores the latest features to grace the Mac OS. Which ones work well and which do not? What should you look for? This book tackles Spotlight, an enhanced search feature that helps you find anything on your computer; iChat AV for videoconferencing; Automator for automating repetitive, manual or batch tasks; and the hundreds of smaller tweaks and changes, good and bad, that Apple's marketing never bothers to mention.
Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Tiger Edition is the authoritative book that's ideal for every user, including people coming to the Mac for the first time. Our guide offers an ideal introduction that demystifies the Dock, the unfamiliar Mac OS X folder structure, and the entirely new Mail application. There are also mini-manuals on iLife applications such as iMovie, iDVD, and iPhoto, those much-heralded digital media programs, and a tutorial for Safari, Mac's own web browser.
And plenty more: learn to configure Mac OS X using the System Preferences application, keep your Mac secure with FileVault, and learn about Tiger's enhanced Firewall capabilities. If you're so inclined, this Missing Manual also offers an easy introduction to the Terminal application for issuing basic Unix commands.
There's something new on practically every page, and David Pogue brings his celebrated wit and expertise to every one of them. Mac's brought a new cat to town and we have a great new way to tame it.
Customer Reviews:
the best.......2007-10-09
Obviously the most helpful resource for those of us whose tech expertise is just one foot out of the sandbox!!
They provide the basic information without making one feel like an idiot!
I hope I live long enough to read it all.....
Great!.......2007-09-11
Although I haven't read through the whole book yet. What I did read I really liked. It is simple to understand with humor on top. Makes a great read apart from all the tips. Highly recommendable.
Mac OS Tiger: The Missing Manual.......2007-09-10
This Manul along with Mac for Dummies and "Switchig to the Mac" is all I have available to learn how to use a MAC. My MacBook Pro Laptop came with not one ioata of information as to how to use it, even to turn it on and off. It is much different from the Microsoft Operating System computers that I have used in the past. Without these books it would have been much more difficult as to how things work on a Mac, and to be able to use them. The Manual for the Leapord Operating system is now out, which is what my machine has in it and I currently have a copy of the Leapord Manual on order. With the verious items I now have, and the new Leapord Operating System on hand, I feel it is just a matter of time until I can easily operate my new Mac.
I wish it was on CD or DVD.......2007-09-09
I am a disabled person in many ways. I have cerebral problems that leave me with a very short attention span, and short term memory loss. I had a hard time getting started with the manual. Even when using a book mark, I would forget what I read up until I marked my place. If the manual was on CD or DVD, I could browse through it more easily. My biggest problem is that after years of using machines with Microsoft OS, I bought an iMac G4\G3 Desktop (the one with the half melon shaped base and the wide flat screen on a stalk) and I can't figure out how to do anything except turn it on and off, and navigate slightly. The manual shows nor tells no way to open the CD tray. I tried to use the added Air Port Extreme wireless device to connect to my existing wireless enabled router. I know I entered the proper settings, but it would not connect. The manual covers that but not so far as to tell you what to do if you can't make a connection. I can't even find instructions on how to check what hardware is present. Like Windows Hardware Devices.
Chatty Dialog Makes Difficult Reading.......2007-08-19
I bought the book as the reviews were pretty good and I wanted a quick way to learn features in OS X that were not obvious for a computer-savvy chap like myself.
I recommend that you go to the nearest bookstore and try reading a few pages or a chapter before deciding to purchase this book instead of an alternative.
The author takes 822 pages to communicate what could likely be presented in less than 300 pages. The dialog is overly "chatty" and the author worked to stretch the text to 822 pages.
Here are a few excerpts.
"Apple has a name for the animation you see when you minimize, open, or close a window: the genie effect, because it so closely resembles the way Barbara Eden, Robin Williams, and other TV and move genies entered and exited their magic lamps and bottles."
"Here and there--in System Preferences, TextEdit, Microsoft Office, and many other programs--Mac OS X offers you the opportunity to choose a color for some element: for your desktop, background, a window, and so on."
"Address Book is Mac OS X's little-black-book-program--an electronic Rolodex where you can stash the names, job titles, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and Internet chat screen names of all the people in your life..."
That's 822 pages of long run-on sentences with happy, cute, and chatty dialog to describe everything. That's every single screen, feature, option, mouse click, everything in Mac OS X. The examples cited above were randomly picked by opening three arbitrary pages.
If your preference is for concise communication of howto's and features this is not the book for you.
Book Description
Windows Vista is Microsoft's most important software release in more than a decade. It offers users an abundance of new and upgraded features that were more than five years in the making: a gorgeous, glass-like visual overhaul; superior searching and organization tools; a multimedia and collaboration suite; and above all, a massive, top-to-bottom security-shield overhaul. There's scarcely a single feature of the older versions of Windows that hasn't been tweaked, overhauled, or replaced entirely.
But when users first encounter this beautiful new operating system, there's gonna be a whole lotta head-scratchin', starting with trying to figure out which of the five versions of Vista is installed on the PC (Home, Premium, Business, Enterprise, Ultimate).
Thankfully,
Windows Vista: The Missing Manual offers coverage of all five versions. Like its predecessors, this book from New York Times columnist, bestselling author, and Missing Manuals creator David Pogue illuminates its subject with technical insight, plenty of wit, and hardnosed objectivity for beginners, veteran standalone PC users, and those who know their way around a network. Readers will learn how to:
- Navigate Vista's elegant new desktop
- Locate anything on your hard drive quickly with the fast, powerful, and fully integrated search function
- Use the Media Center to record TV and radio, present photos, play music, and record any of the above to DVD
- Chat, videoconference, and surf the Web with the vastly improved Internet Explorer 7 tabbed browser
- Build a network for file sharing, set up workgroups, and connect from the road
- Protect your PC and network with Vista's beefed up security
- And much more.
This jargon-free guide explains Vista's features clearly and thoroughly, revealing which work well and which don't. It's the book that should have been in the box!
Customer Reviews:
fluff and hype.......2007-10-18
I found this book nearly useless. The sections I read befor giving up seemed to contain less information than is available from the WIN VISTA help files and its written in a breathless gushing style. The author just fawns over Microsoft. Everything about Vista is amazing, wonderful and brilliant (NOT). There is very little trouble shooting information.
Use the help files and online tutorials and save your money
Detailed, easy to understand.......2007-10-11
Just what the doctor ordered. Detailed enough to figure out anything the regular PC user might want to do, but written so anyone can understand it. I have the Windows XP Missing Manual also and thought it was great. It won't disappoint you.
Predictably Good.......2007-09-18
David Pogue can be counted on to do a thorough and readable handbook of whatever Operating System is new and is in need of comprehensive instruction. His ongoing series title of "The Missing Manual" is accurate. (He has similar books for Mac Operating Systems). Computers now come with precious little in new owner information and most users need more. There will be many new books on the Vista Operating System, but you can count on this author to give you what you need.
Sandy.......2007-08-23
This is an absolute must have manual for Vista users. It is so well written and so well organized that you can find anything in seconds from the index or appendix. It covered some issues that I couldn't even find on the Web! I wish all tech manuals were written this well and were this easy to use!
Windows Vista: The Missing Manual.......2007-08-23
Lots of info in this book. I have not yet bought Vista, but am expecting to very shortly. I certainly looking forward to trying some of the things in this book. Well written, and easy to understand.
Book Description
Anyone still think that Adobe Photoshop Elements is a toy version of the real thing? As the most popular photo-editing program on the market, Photoshop Elements not only has Photoshop's marvelous powers, but also has capabilities the mothership lacks. Each new version includes more tools designed specifically for today's consumer digital photo enthusiasts. The latest edition, Photoshop Elements X, solidifies the reputation of this superb and inexpensive product with new scrapbook features, a link to online photo services, and many other improvements.
In fact, there's so much to Photoshop Elements that it can be quite confusing at times. That's precisely why our Missing Manuals are the bestselling books on the topic. Adobe provides a pamphlet and some help files; our book, now in its fourth edition, carefully explains every feature the program has to offer (something no other book has done) by putting each one into a clear, easy-to-understand context.
Photoshop Elements X: The Missing Manual covers the Windows version of Adobe's workhorse and gives you the low down on a host of new features:
- Learn to create multiple page documents, custom photo layouts with frames, and highly customized layouts for scrapbook projects
- Master the new editor for Layer Styles, which lets you customize individual layers in a photo
- "Attach" your photos to areas of a Yahoo! Map so your friends and family can see the pictures you took in specific places
Author Barbara Brundage also introduces you to a new sophisticated tool called "Curves" to adjust the color and contrast in your photos, and shows you how to burn multi-session CDs and DVDs. As always, she lets you know which features work well, which don't, and why -- all with a bit of wit and good humor. Although the book progresses from simple to complex tasks, you can easily jump around to learn specific techniques, such as creating photomontages (composites), restoring old photos, preparing images for the Web, and archiving. More than a dozen downloadable images let you practice using the editing tools right away!
Customer Reviews:
Comprehensive and clear.......2007-10-11
I never take the methodical approach to learning anything. After installing Elements 5, I sat down with The Missing Manual and a few photos and began editing. It was fairly easy to consult the index and then read the pages necessary to change my photos. I skipped around the book from back to front and in between. The resulting photos were surprisingly good.
I'm not recommending this learning process, but if you want to just jump off the deep end and begin editing, it is doable. When time permits, an organized and careful reading will no doubt produce even better photographic results. In the meantime, I find reading a few pages and just experimenting with my pictures is a lot of fun.
Two important things to remember: Don't be intimidated by the size of this manual. It contains everything you wanted to know and a lot of stuff you don't want to know. Skip the latter. Next, always make a copy of your original photo and edit the copy. This way, you can be fearless in your experimenting always knowing that the original is unharmed and ready to supply endless copies for you to play with.
The complaint I have about The Missing Manual is the quality of the photo-examples printed in the book. Not the fault of the author. The printing quality is just very, very poor. The book would have earned 5-stars from me were it not for the paper/print quality.
Photoshop Elements 5 The Missing Manual.......2007-10-06
Excellent book for learning the basics of Photoshop Elements 5. Well organized and easy to follow.
Photoshop Elements 5.0 The Missing Manual.......2007-09-29
This is a must have. Covers everything the other manuals miss, and gives pertinent information others miss. Well written, easily followed and understood. Pick a topic and go, or read it from front to back.
Good information, but needs more step by step instructions........2007-09-24
Lots of information but some of it assumes you already know how to use it. Can get to what you want to do with some digging.
Outstanding reference for Elements users.......2007-09-20
I did quite a bit of research on Elements 5.0 books, and I ended up choosing this one because of the great reviews it had gotten. Excellent choice! The book is very easy to understand, and I can't imagine tackling Elements 5.0 without it. It gave me the good start I needed in understanding and effectively using the software. Barbara Brundage is an excellent author. She's great at writing in a way that gives you the info you need while avoiding the techno-speak that many software developers use. If you have Elements 5.0 and need a good reference....or a good way to start using the software...this is your book.
Average customer rating:
- Connelly keeps going
- Cold case-- Or is it?
- The Worst Connelly Book
- One Of The Best Of Its Type I've Ever Read
- Return to Form
|
Echo Park (Harry Bosch)
Michael Connelly
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Contemporary
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The Overlook (Harry Bosch)
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Cross
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The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town
ASIN: 0316734950
Release Date: 2006-10-09 |
Book Description
In 1993 Marie Gesto disappeared after walking out of a supermarket. Harry Bosch worked the case but couldn't crack it, and the twenty-two-year-old was never found. Now, more than a decade later, with the Gesto file still on his desk, Bosch gets a call from the District Attorney. A man accused of two heinous murders is willing to come clean about several others, including the killing of Marie Gesto. Taking the confession of the man he has sought-and hated-for thirteen years is bad enough. Discovering that he missed a clue back in 1993 that could have stopped nine other murders may just be the straw that breaks Harry Bosch.
Customer Reviews:
Connelly keeps going.......2007-10-15
Michael Connelly is a truly great writer. Frankly, Echo Park proves that. This isn't Connelly's best book: The Poet, Blood Work, and The Concrete Blonde are all better. Several of his other books are as good as this one. Even so, this book gets five stars, because among mysteries this year it's still a great book.
Twelve years ago, Marie Gesto disappeared, and Harry Bosch and his then partner were assigned to look for her. They came up empty, wound up moving on to other cases, then were reassigned. Fast forward to the current day, where the police inadvertently capture a serial killer that no one even knew existed. Under interrogation, the suspect suddenly comes up with an interesting confession: he killed Marie Gesto, and he will take the police to the body. When he does, however, he works things so that he escapes. Things are complicated by the revelation that Bosch and his partner in the original investigation may have briefly talked to the now-discovered serial killer, and might, if things had gone differently, stopped the guy before he killed a dozen people in the intervening years.
Connelly is a wonderful writer, and he does this plot pretty well, making the characters and the action interesting. I enjoyed this book a great deal, and would recommend it.
Cold case-- Or is it?.......2007-10-06
Harry Bosch is a bull-dog of a cop. Methodical and focused, he plots on--trying to find out who abducted and probable killed Marie Gesto in 1993. He reviews the files and re-interviews the witnesses and suspects every few years.
A man is stopped by a patrolman. Garbage bags containing body parts are found in his car. He confesses to having killed nine other victims, including Marie Gesto. But Harry is suspicious; it doesn't feel right to him, but all the pieces seem to be there. Getting help from his FBI companion and friends could mean loss of his job, if he survives.
Good detecting, lots of excitement and twists; this is my first "Harry Bosch" book but it won't be my last.
Review by Wanda C. Keesey (author of Lost In The Mist)
The Worst Connelly Book.......2007-10-03
This is the 11th Michael Connelly book I have read and it is by far the worst. There was no character development and the plot was predictable & contrived. The Connelly formula is growing thin: Bosch is driven to solve a murder, some flimsy romantic sub-plot is thrown in, it appears that one character committed the crime but then, at the last second, some tangential character really did it. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Connelly fan, but I am now concerned that he may have "jumped the shark." He needs to reinvent his formula. Bosch is beginning to come off as a two-dimensional annoying character.
One Of The Best Of Its Type I've Ever Read.......2007-09-26
To say I liked this this book is an understatement. It is one of the best of its type I've ever read.
Other reviewers in this space tell you what it's about, so I won't repea; but in general Harry Bosch, a middle aged single, lonely, virtuous yet scarred LAPD detective battles Dpartment politics to save a girl and solve a crime ten years old wherein another girl disappeared. The crime always haunted him; and here he gets his "justice" of sorts. It's just a great read for your vacation or the airlane or a rainy afternoon by the fire. Highly recommended. Almost guaranteed.
A word of warning. Unless you know downtown Los Angeles better read this with a map or else follow the action on Mapquest. Harry speeds down lots of streets which meant nothing to me till I got a map.
Return to Form.......2007-09-23
Actually, the last Bosch novel I read was "Lost Light," which I thought signaled a character and series running out of steam. "Lost Light" was pretty much by-the-numbers, with some extra "family" stuff tossed in to show Harry's getting older. Whatever. Well, I was wrong about Harry's sunset years. For one thing, despite occasional novelistic misfires, one has to keep in mind that Connelly is such a pro at writing, that he just keeps chugging along. "Echo Park" is a fine example.
At 400 plus pages, you wonder if it's appropriate to call "Echo Park" a lean, stripped down Harry Bosch novel - but that's what it is. A genuine page turner. A young woman's years ago disappearance, a serial killer, corruption, familiar stuff that Connelly rearranges, yet again, in a fresh and exciting way. And with Harry as an X factor, those are usually interesting twists, like the unseen twist in the metaphorical tunnel of the Bosch series (which gets very concrete in "Echo Park").
This time around, the plot has at its center the unsolved case of a missing woman that Harry had investigated thirteen years. Now, as part of the Open-Unsolved Unit, Harry returns again and again to the case, looking for that missing piece that will put away the man he has long suspected of being the killer. But then a call comes in, another man has confessed, and things quickly veer off in directions that the reader - or Harry, can not anticipate. One dark treat in all of this is the serial killer, Raynard Waits, the "Echo Park Bagman." Connelly can develop a character with the best of them. And Waits is a particularly repulsive entry, but one that Connelly is also able to humanize. Yes, he's monster, but a pitiable one that his own history - one that intersects with Harry's own personal life story. On the downside of all of this is Connelly's uneven development of characters. For if Waits is extremely well developed, characters such as FBI agent (and love-interest) Rachel Walling, are paper-thin. Walling in particular, since she is so prominent, is little more than a tool to keep the story revving. You know: "Get this report, Do this for me, Use your influence" with a little love making, wine, and Jazz on the side. This is particularly frustrating, since it's clear that Connelly is so good at character development, but it's a trait I've seen in all of the Bosch novels - the good and the so-so (Connelly doesn't write "bad" novels). Still, this time around the good far outweighs the by-the-numbers stuff. Check it out.
Book Description
Bestselling author and marketing guru Joe Vitale offers insights and life lessons for achieving success
In the simple, straightforward tone of an instructional manual, this little book offers big wisdom and little-known secrets for living a better life. Packed with life lessons most people will wish they'd learned earlier, Life's Missing Instruction Manual uses humor and anecdote to present practical steps readers can use to take control of their lives, overcome any obstacle, and find fulfillment. Each simple lesson is explained and brought into focus with real-life examples and includes practical steps on putting those lessons to work every day. Full of uncommon wisdom and lighthearted humor, this book will help readers develop confidence, create a plan for success, get ahead at work, build rapport with others, develop time-management skills, and find wealth and happiness.
Readers will learn how to live life to the fullest when they discover how to:
* Take chances that lead to success
* Get through the tough times
* Be themselves and like it
* Find their purpose
* Work as a team
* Create their own blueprint for success
* Believe in themselves
* Lead a good and moral life
* Accept their mistakes and move on
* Define success for themselves
Joe Vitale (Wimberley, TX) is President of Hypnotic Marketing, Inc., and author of The Attractor Factor (0-471-70604-3) and The E-Code (0-471-71855-6). He has been called "the Buddha of the Internet" for his combination of spirituality and marketing acumen. His professional clients include the Red Cross, PBS, Hermann Children's Hospital, and many other small and large international businesses.
Customer Reviews:
Everyone should have this book!.......2007-10-08
This book is a must have. If you are looking for answers to everlasting happiness, read this book. It is easy to read and understand, but up to you to apply. Enjoy!
The Manual you should have been given!.......2007-10-05
This is definitely the Manual you SHOULD have been given at birth. Boy, it would have saved me a lot of trouble! LOL! It is easy to read, is organised into handy areas by topic, and is great to browse on the fly--there is always some good advice. Yeah, some of it is stuff you've known forever, but then there's all the things you *didn't* think of! Another good book by Dr. Joe.
I loved this book.......2007-07-12
This book is great. For someone just getting to understand the law of attraction (me), this book holds a vast amount of useful, positive information. For those that have never heard of the law of attraction, this book could start you down the right path.
The Inspirational Guide Book.......2007-05-29
Joe Vitale guides the reader through many of life's milestones with his powerful advice and insight. This short read is very inspiring and would be an excellent gift for anyone open to the power of The Secret.
LIFE'S MISSING INSTRUCTION MANUAL.......2007-05-28
I CAN HONESTLY SAY, IT'S LIKE MR. VITALE HAD BEEN SNEAKING A PEEK INTO MY LIFE. I KNOW THIS BOOK WAS MEANT FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE, BUT IT SEEMS IT WAS WRITTEN JUST FOR ME. HE'S CERTAINLY RIGHT ABOUT IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN TO ME AT BIRTH. I MEAN A LOT OF ADVICE I REALLY GOT, AND I'M HAPPY ABOUT SOME OF THE CONFIRMATIONS IN THE BOOK, ESPECIALLY ABOUT LOVE; PAGE 17, LISTENING; PAGE 56 I TRIED IT AND WAS MOVED TO TEARS
THAT I DID GET MORE OF WHAT MY BOYFRIEND WAS SAYING BY KEEPING MY MOUTH SHUT, AND ABOUT PEOPLE WANTING TO BE LOVED; PAGE 58. I TRULY ENJOYED THIS BOOK. I'VE READ AND REREAD THIS BOOK BECAUSE IT'S MOVING, HONEST AND
SINCERE MOSTLY BECAUSE I GET SO CAUGHT UP DURING MY DAILY ROUTINE THAT I
REALLY DIDN'T REALIZE THAT I WAS DOING HALF OF THE THINGS IN THIS PRECIOUS
LITTLE BOOK. THANK YOU THROUGH TEARS (HAPPY) OF COURSE FOR YOUR BOOK. IT HAS IMPROVED MY RELATIONSHIP. I PRAY MY REVIEW ISN'T TOO LONG. SINCERELY
GRACE M. STALLWORTH. P.S. I HOPE THERE'S A SECOND BOOK.
Book Description
Available for both the Mac and Windows, Macromedia's Dreamweaver 8 is a professional web design and development program used by millions of Internet professionals to build high-quality static and dynamic database-driven web sites. It offers drag-and-drop simplicity, streamlined HTML coding tools, and powerful database integration features. But Dreamweaver 8 is missing one vital component: a printed manual.
Enter Dreamweaver 8: The Missing Manual, the completely revised fourth edition of this bestselling book by experienced web site trainer, Macromedia Certified instructor, and Dreamweaver Advisory Council member David McFarland. This book enables both first-time and experienced web designers to create visually stunning and highly interactive web sites.
With crystal-clear writing and much welcome humor, this new edition offers features such as:
- Live examples: With McFarland's step-by-step annotated tutorials, you'll learn how to construct a state-of-the-art commercial web site, complete with working forms, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), and dynamic databases.
- Tricks of the trade: The book is bursting with undocumented workarounds and shortcuts for easing the process of building, maintaining, and updating professional web sites.
- Design guidance: You'll learn to create virtually every modern web feature, including forms, animations, cascading menus, and more--and you'll find out which browsers you need to provide special coding or do extra testing with.
No matter what your level of expertise is, you'll also learn how to manage your entire web site-whether you've just launched or if it's been around for awhile and takes up thousands of pages. Beginners with no web design experience will appreciate the step-by-step guide to designing, organizing, building, and deploying a web site; long-time Dreamweaver users will appreciate the advanced, real-world techniques for controlling the appearance of their web pages with CSS.
With more than 500 illustrations, a handcrafted index, and the clarity of thought that has made bestsellers of every Missing Manual to date, this is the ultimate atlas for the complex and powerful Dreamweaver 8.
Customer Reviews:
Helping me start my own business.......2007-09-16
This manual has helped me catch up on the entire web design movement with Cascading Style Sheets that I need to brush up on. As an owner of my own graphic design business, I needed to refresh my skills on Dreamweaver 8 and this manual with its easy-to-follow tutorials and sense of humor sprinkled throughout certainly helped me do that. David Sawyer McFarland helps you each step of the way. Definitely recommended.
Dreamweaver-Missing Manual.......2007-09-04
This book works through every aspect of the Dreamweaver program, but is still a bit difficult to understand unless you are an experienced website creator.
This is THE Dreamweaver book.......2007-08-20
I went through every book review, then checked out all the books at the local Book Superstore and ended up getting this, although I wondered why it only had 4.5 stars.
It is the perfect book for DW8 and fully deserves 5 full stars! I had been using DW4 for five years and it is nice that this book is both understandable and not over simplified.
Thank god for this book........2007-07-21
I've never taken the time to review anything on the web before and have always been amazed by the numbers of people who do. That being said, I had to tell people how much I love this book. The last site I designed was a tiny static site back in 2001 using golive and I recently committed to building two database sites. I went though many, many books + tutorials and none are as good as this one. [...].
Definitely a Keeper.......2007-07-10
I very seldom take the time to write reviews, and usually do so to warn people away from an awful book. This is the exception; I loved this book.
To give some perspective to my review, I am a professional programmer but a complete "newbie" to web design and development. I've taken on the task of creating and maintaining a web site for a local summer swim team. I needed help and I needed it quickly.
My first stop was "Macromeda Dreamweaver 8" by Short and Green. This is a good book for beginners to get their feet wet with Dreamweaver 8. However, after doing all the exercises, I did not get the feeling that I actually could design a nice web page and knew for sure that I couldn't create a form with a working submit button.
Then I bought this book, "Dreamweaver 8 The Missing Manual". The first few chapters cover the basic building blocks of using text, images and links. The next section deals with how to design a web page; first using tables and then using CSS. Other sections of the book deal with forms and how to set up Dreamweaver to manage your remote site and a testing site. (I find it much easier to let Dreamweaver figure out what files are out of date rather than use a stand-alone FTP program.) The last section of the book deals with dynamic web pages and was the answer to my quest for a functioning "submit" button on my web forms. This section is what sealed the 5-star rating for me. The book's tutorials use the ASP server model, but you can download equivalent tutorials for PHP/MySQL from the author's web site. I found all the tutorials to work (and I did almost every single one), but do check the author's errata page.
For you programmers out there who are getting into the web, this book mostly stays with the Dreamweaver wizards and does not delve into code view (probably a good thing for the non-programmers). If you are into coding and PHP, a good next step is "PHP for Dreamweaver 8", by David Powers. The Powers book covers a lot of the same dynamic web ground as "The Missing Manual", but is not afraid to dive into code view.
All in all, I was very happy with "Dreamweaver 8 The Missing Manual". It's a big book packed with information, but easy to read. Based on what I've learned, I was able to create a decently attractive web site, some very useful forms and private areas for team administrators and coaches.
Average customer rating:
- Only Terry
- Disappointing ovreall with sparks of quality here and there
- Merely average
- Phantom
- The continuation
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Phantom: Chainfire Trilogy, Part 2 (Sword of Truth, Book 10)
Terry Goodkind
Manufacturer: Tor Books
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Chainfire: Chainfire Trilogy, Part 1 (Sword of Truth, Book 9)
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Confessor: Chainfire Trilogy, Part 3 (Sword Of Truth, Book 11)
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Naked Empire (Sword of Truth, Book 8)
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Knife of Dreams (The Wheel of Time, Book 11)
ASIN: 0765305240
Release Date: 2006-07-18 |
Amazon.com
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Book Description
On the day she awoke remembering nothing but her name, Kahlan Amnell became the most dangerous woman alive. For everyone else, that was the day that the world began to end. As her husband, Richard, desperately searches for his beloved, whom only he remembers, he knows that if she doesnt soon discover who she really is, she will unwittingly become the instrument that will unleash annihilation. But Kahlan learns that if she ever were to unlock the truth of her lost identity, then evil itself would finally possess her, body, and soul. If she is to survive in a murky world of deception and betrayal, where life is not only cheap but fleeting, Kahlan must find out why she is such a central figure in the war-torn world swirling around her. What she uncovers are secrets darker than she could ever have imagined.
Customer Reviews:
Only Terry.......2007-09-26
Terry seems to have Richard loose that woman more then anything in the world but over all he makes him losign her interesting each time....if you're looking at this you read all the others most likely so you know the deal
Disappointing ovreall with sparks of quality here and there.......2007-09-20
I am about ready to give up on this series, but I think I can make it one more book. This one was again disappointing. It rambled on and on over the exact same tired ground covered in other books. Then there would be a bit of action that was interesting and might have a good twist. Then it would ramble some more. I skipped whole paragraphs and pages and missed none of the plot. If you have stuck it out this long with the series, sure, so ahead. Otherwise don't bother.
Merely average.......2007-09-15
Phantom by Terry Godkind is the second book in the Chainfire trilogy, but also the tenth book in the Sword of Truth saga. For people not familiar with Mr. Goodkind, it may sound odd that a book is part of a trilogy and a saga at the same time, but that is the case with this book. The Chainfire trilogy is merely the final three books in the saga. By all accounts, the final book in the Chainfire trilogy, will in fact be the last book in the Sword of Truth saga. The saga that was started back in 1994 with Wizard's First Rule (Sword of Truth, Book 1) is due to close with the next book. There have been a mix of gems and duds among the books, but over all it's proven to be a solid series.
The overall plot of this book is almost identical to the plot of the previous book, Chainfire: Chainfire Trilogy, Part 1 (Sword of Truth, Book 9). In that Richard is still searching for Kahlan. The only difference is that in Chainfire, Richard had convinced those closest to him (Zed, Cara, Nicci etc) that Kahlan does exists. Sadly, nothing much changes in terms of that plot line. It almost seems as though Mr. Goodkind wants to milk that piece of plot for all it's worth. There are a few other subplots sprinkled in for good measure as well. Such as the Boxes of Orden and just what they can do. I particularly like this subplot because it ties up events from book one and is obviously bringing things together. There is also, as with previous books, a great deal of discussion of prophecy. This subplot seems to make the book become sluggish and redundant due to the fact the characters seem as though they are constantly repeating themselves. There is also the additional subplot of the First Grand Wizard, Baraccus, and the events he started way back when. Certainly, an interesting addition to the story.
The characters are largely the same characters that were present in the previous book, and the entire saga. There is not much character development at all for the main heroes. In fact, the character that seems to develop the most is Emperor Jagang. Jagang's development mostly centers on readers just leaning more about him. There is no real growth for the characters. At times, this novel felt as though the characters were secondary and they were being dragged along by the story. This is the second book in a row where Mr. Goodkind has offered very little in the way of character development. I was disappointed, especially being that this is the second to last book in the entire series to have flat characters, after readers have invested so much time following the story. I sincerely hope, with the last book, Mr. Goodkind adds a great deal of character development.
I have a few criticisms about this novel.
One being that at times the dialog drags on, and on... and on. The characters say the same thing over and over again. It is almost as though Mr. Goodkind is saying to the reader "I want you to get this point." And then proceeds to beat the reader over the head with the point.
Secondly, there are several times in this novel where the characters are struggling when suddenly one of the characters has an `ah ha!' moment and suddenly figures out a very vexing problem and has all the answers. This is very frustrating as a reader to see things `given' to the characters so easily. This happens no less than three times in this story.
Also, as I talked about above, the simple lack of character development. Sure, the story as a whole is advanced, but in terms of character development there is very little to be found.
Overall this is a slightly disappointing book. As a reader, I don't feel like a whole lot was accomplished in the broad scope of things. Fans of the series will certainly need to read this book, after all there is only one more left to complete the tale. People considering reading this novel, without prior knowledge of the series, need to really go back and start from the beginning. There are events and characters in this book that are discussed, or mentioned that would make no sense without reading the previous books. I would most likely recommend this series as a whole to more adult fantasy readers, yet in the same breath I think there are better fantasy series out there right now with less philosophical discussion based on the author's views and beliefs. This is simply an average fantasy book at best.
Phantom.......2007-09-08
As always Terry Goodkind keeps writing the books that you can not put down. The Phantom is deep into the series of Wizards first rule books (book 10) and it seems sometimes the "catching up" is a little tiresome but I just skip over these parts and truley love all the books that I have read by Terry Goodkind.
The continuation.......2007-09-01
TG in his SFT series has always felt the need to repeat himself hundreds of times so that a full third of the book rehashes the series up to the current point. However up till now the story had continued to advance enough that by the end of whatever book I had read it seemed worth reading. Phantom was a complete disappointment in that it did not. As slow paced as his books are I somehow doubt he'll be able to masterfully end what still stands in my mind as a good series in one final novel. Those who have the time I still would recommend the series, this book one just has to suffer through and in all honesty may not even be that bad if the reader can quickly move to the next one due in Nov 07'.
Book Description
Used by millions worldwide, FileMaker Pro is an award-winning database program for managing people, projects, images, assets, and other information. It's easy to use and totally customizable--so long as you know what you're doing. But FileMaker Pro doesn't come with a printed manual, so FileMaker Pro: The Missing Manual is the authoritative, jargon-free book that should have been in the box.
FileMaker Pro: The Missing Manual approaches FileMaker the way FileMaker approaches you: it's user-friendly and seemingly straightforward enough, but it offers plenty of substance worthy of deeper exploration. Packed with practical information as well as countless expert tips and invaluable guidance, it's an in-depth guide to designing and building useful databases with the powerful and pliable FileMaker Pro.
Covering FileMaker for both Windows and Macintosh, FileMaker Pro: The Missing Manual is ideal for small business users, home users, school teachers, developers--anyone who wants to organize information efficiently and effectively. Whether you want to run a business, publish a shopping cart on the Web, plan a wedding, manage a student information system at your school, or program databases for clients, this book delivers.
Author Geoff Coffey has many years of experience using FileMaker Pro (he was, in fact, an early beta tester for the product). Author Susan Prosser is a FileMaker Certified Developer who trains other developers. Together, Coffey and Prosser show you how to:
- Get FileMaker up and running quickly and smoothly
- Import and organize information with ease
- Design relational databases that are simple to use, yet powerful
- Take advantage of FileMaker Pro calculation capabilities
- Automate processes with scripting
- Customize FileMaker Pro to your needs and preferences
- Share information with other people (coworkers, clients, and customers) and other programs
- Understand and select the best security options
What could easily come across as dry and intimidating--things like relational theory, calculations, and scripting--are presented in a way that is interesting and intuitive to mainstream users. In no time, you'll be working more productively and efficiently using FileMaker Pro.
Customer Reviews:
overrated-info not well presented.......2007-10-06
I was disappointed by this book, especially considering the high reviews that it has received. I would consider myself an advanced computer user and intermediate in working with programs like FileMaker. (Though database programs I have used before have had less features). This book uses an example of building a database throughout the book that involves customers and invoices, etc. The problem is that in later chapters the ongoing example database begins to interfere with the presentation of the material. If you have the time to work through the example database in detail (for a few hundred pages+) you might have a decent understanding of Filemaker-at least within the context of the example. Or if you have that kind of time, you might just want to take a class. I started with the beginning of the book when I began to build my database (which does not involve customers and invoices). After doing the initial planning/building work, I tried to skip to other parts of the book that were relevent to what I needed to do. Unfortunately, most of the descriptions are based on the original example--this made it difficult to apply the information to my own project. If the functions had been just described clearly at the beginning of each section, without relying on the example it would have been much better. There are a few mistakes as well-small but they cost me a bit of time. E.g., the book states that the "missing fields" problem can be fixed by changing a setting in preferences. This is not necessarily right--in my case it turned out to be a layout issue. I've had better results with trial and error than on relying on most of the book. Also, the language is not as clear as it could be, and precision is important in a book like this, especially for those of us who are not advanced users. Most importantly, I would have preferred a book with more straightforward descriptions and instructions.
Missing Manual Indeed.......2007-09-13
I have been trying to use all the resources - bundled manuals, vtc, lynda.com since 2005 to learn filemaker/a database from scratch. I chose filemaker for 2 reasons - ease of use and support for OS X technologies like Applescript. I found it a bit challenging to understand concepts in Database design but with this one book things were more clear than ever before. I have finished this book and am planning to buy the latest version for filemaker 9.
If you are a newbie in database programming and need to get a well explained book to help you through building your own database. Get this book. It is well worth it.
BTW thanks for this book, I have a fully functional database to manage information related to my studies and research.
Indeed the missing manual.......2007-06-11
Why software cannot come with good manuals anymore is a mystery. This is exactly as advertised, the missing manual. Some other books will show you how to build bigger, more sophisticated solutions, but this one covers every aspect of how Filemaker works, which is what a manual should do.
Oh, and by the way, Filemaker is an amazing, underappreciated tool which helps manage a mailing list or build an entire database system. You cannot go wrong with it.
Too many mistakes to be valuable.......2007-05-16
I hesitate to write negative reviews because I always suspect that the errors I find are my own misunderstandings. In this case I felt COMPELLED to write one. I bought this book wanting it to be great and having high expectations based on the reviews I read. I doubt many of the reviewers OR the EDITORS read this book very closely. There are so many mistakes (small and large) and examples which flat out DON'T WORK, that the book has almost driven me mad. I've wasted HOURS trying to get things to work the way the authors described. The errata posted on the oreilly.com site lists maybe 1/4 of the errors. There is ONE posted review on Amazon.com which took notice of this, but all of the others seem to miss it completely. Kudos to Raymond Smith!
Two perfect examples (in case you want to save yourself a few hours of struggle):
1. The Invoice Finder tutorial on page 372 simply doesn't work using the "minimum amount" field as they describe. It will work using the date range criterion, but when you add the minimum amount match, it fails. I built a file following along with the text and thought it was MY file that was broken. Then I tried the files supplied with the Missing Manual "CD". The authors' files don't work either. They SEEM to work with the data already in them, but if you add an invoice, it doesn't work. And if you simply open the "options..." definition of the Total Due field on the "Invoices" table, then OK the dialog box, all the existing data fails as well. It must be some kind of indexing problem, but the fact that it slipped by the editors is almost impossible to believe.
2. The Repeating Fields for Multiple Results on page 417 is totally wrong. The formula they supply will not work at all, and in fact, unless the "Price" field is a repeating field as well (which they don't mention at all), you can't do any calculations using the "Get(CalculationRepetitionNumber)" that will work the way they describe. Not to mention the fact that in the second mention of the calculation they call it "Get(CalculatedRepetitionNumber)" which is wrong and won't even take. The text suggests that you "test this calculation with a few numbers", but I doubt that any editor tried it. AND THIS IS LISTED IN A POWER USERS' CLINIC.
I don't know if this is an author problem or an editor problem, but either way, it is a REAL problem for readers.
What a disappointment and a waste of many hours... Don't listen to the majority of reviews on this book. They have clearly come from people who read it but were not actually trying to learn from the DOING the examples in the text. The book is written in a friendly easy style, but there are too many errors to make it valuable. And it's been out for TOO long for these things not to be listed in an available errata or supplement.
Greatly informative, but needs a better editor........2007-04-27
I'm not a database expert, yet I'm not a beginner. This review is from a person with a basic understanding of database programs.
I'm about halfway through this book and it has been a great guide to learning about FileMaker. However, it is soooo frustrating that there are many errors in the examples used throughout the book. With all the dry, technical speech (the author does try to lighten it up some) my ADD may kick in a little causing me to read it wrong while thinking about something else, but there are many times when the book tells me to do something with the example file you download with the "missing cd" and it just doesn't working right. For me it doesn't matter if they have updates on misprints in the book available online. I'm the kind of person who would prefer it be printed correctly the first time and not have to check everything against an online list of typos. That said, and taking the examples with a grain of salt and just getting the concepts behind them, I really do think this book is a good resource for becoming familiar FileMaker pretty fast. I've not read any other books but this one has to be one of the most comprehensive ones.
Average customer rating:
- A fine story of a dangerous quest emerges, involving listeners in a delicate, finely honed drama.
- I will buy his next book but...
- The lyrical prose and powerful sense of place
- As Publisher's Weekly said, "a snoozer."
- Not the Piano Tuner
|
A Far Country
Daniel Mason
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Contemporary
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The Piano Tuner: A Novel
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ASIN: 0375414665
Release Date: 2007-03-06 |
Book Description
From the best-selling author of The Piano Tuner, a stunning new novel about a young girl’s journey through a vast, unnamed country in search of her brother.
Raised in a remote village on the edge of a sugarcane plantation, fourteen-year-old Isabel was born with the gift and curse of “seeing farther.” When drought and war grip the backlands, her brother Isaias joins a great exodus to a teeming city in the south. Soon Isabel must follow, forsaking the only home she’s ever known, her sole consolation the thought of being with her brother again. But when she arrives, she discovers that Isaias has disappeared. Weeks and then months pass, until one day, armed only with her unshakable hope, she descends into the chaos of the city to find him.
Told with astonishing empathy, and strikingly visual, the story of Isabel’s quest—her dignity and determination, her deeply spiritual world—is a universal tale about the bonds of family and a sister’s love for her brother, about journeys and longing, survival and true heroism.
A tour de force of great emotional and narrative power.
Customer Reviews:
A fine story of a dangerous quest emerges, involving listeners in a delicate, finely honed drama........2007-09-08
Anne Twomey narrates this vivid story of a young girl's journey through an unnamed country in search of her brother. Isabel has the gift of second sight - when war changes her life and separates her from her brother, it may be the only thing that can help her locate him. A fine story of a dangerous quest emerges, involving listeners in a delicate, finely honed drama.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
I will buy his next book but..........2007-09-07
I wanted to love this as much as I loved "The Piano Tuner"...but it just didn't grab me. I spent much of the time trying to figure out if we were in the present day or in the future when global warming has REALLY kicked in. (I kept getting a feeling like I was reading "Friend of the Earth" meets "The Running Man".)
I also thought maybe more would be made of the "sixth sense" of the main character. All of this second guessing means that I didn't appreciate the careful drawing of Isabel and her relationship with her brother. I liked it - but not in a way that will stay with me the way Mason's first book did.
The lyrical prose and powerful sense of place.......2007-05-30
Daniel Mason's haunting THE PIANO TUNER left an indelible imprint on my memory, which helped to launch a never-to-be forgotten visit to Southeast Asia in 2004. Such can be the power of a gifted writer --- that the potency of his words can open doors and windows of the mind to seek further information on the subject, learn more about the circumstances in the book, or even to book passage to lands far away. So it was with great hopes when Mason's newest, A FAR COUNTRY, became available, and I grabbed it without hesitation.
Isabel is the 14-year-old daughter of a farm laborer and his wife, living next to a sugar cane plantation in an unnamed equatorial America country, quite likely Brazil. Her older brother Isaias is a talented violinist who chafes at the idea of being forever tied to seasonal work cutting cane or loading river barges, the occupation of villagers for generations. Drought and the increasing attacks by raiders as poverty spreads among the displaced peasants drive Isais to join the growing Diaspora of young people who drift hopefully toward the city in the south. On his infrequent returns home, he talks glowingly of gaining fame as a musician, always going back to the city and sending small amounts of money to help out his impoverished family. His visits stop, replaced by occasional phone calls, and then he simply vanishes.
Isabel yearns for her brother, and when she is needed to babysit for a few weeks for her cousin in the same city that has swallowed Isaias, she is eager to follow him. With little more than a few dollars and a meager lunch, she embarks on a journey via "parrot perch" --- riding in an open flatbed truck on a four-day journey to the South. She arrives, after much travail, in The Settlements. She has directions to her cousin's apartment in a neighborhood called Eden, a name that turns out to be a cruel joke. Eden is nothing more than an endless sprawl of tin-roofed shanties, baking in the tropical heat, indistinguishable from hundreds of other neighborhoods housing millions of displaced camposinos in pursuit of work and shelter. When she finally locates the apartment, she is distraught to find that Isaias, whom she expected to be there to greet her, has not been seen for weeks.
And so begins Isabel's search through the teeming city for her brother, with baby Hugo, her cousin's son, on her hip. Isabel was born with a second sight, an ability that frightened her parents to the degree that they had her exorcized by a holy woman. But she still feels the uncanny, compelling presence of her brother, which drives her to find him. She enters the world of people looking for "the disappeared" --- the tens of thousands who come to the city and are never heard from again. Yet she feels that he is close at hand, watching over her, and cannot abandon her quest.
A FAR COUNTRY is a bittersweet journey of the heart; a story of family love yearning for security and survival. Mason's brilliant lyrical prose carries the reader along in a mixture of fantasy and reality. While the story verges on magical realism, it is not in the mystical realm of Gabriel Garcia Marquez or Isabel Allende. Yet the surreal location and Isabel's ability to find lost objects and people whom she loves lend itself to the genre.
While A FAR COUNTRY doesn't quite achieve the magic and panoramic exotica of Mason's first triumph, it still offers the lyrical prose and powerful sense of place, which is quite enough if armchair travel to other places through a good book is your goal.
--- Reviewed by Roz Shea
As Publisher's Weekly said, "a snoozer.".......2007-05-14
Reviews by Amazon readers were very encouraging but I should have read the Publisher's Weekly review at the top of the page. That review gets it exactly right; good descriptive writing, but a bit cliched, and ultimately a snoozer. If I had not been trapped on a 10-hour flight with nothing else to read, I would have put it down half way through when I realized there was very little story, just description.
Not the Piano Tuner.......2007-05-09
As stated in many of the reviews, Mason certainly has a talent for writing truly amazing descriptions of reality; however, that is basically all this novel is. I couldn't get into the story, what there was of it. Mason's earlier novel, Piano Tuner was phenomenal in that it was not only deliciously descriptive, but it also a great story. I just didn't enjoy this story. To be frank, I found it a bit boring. Having said that, I will eagerly await Mason's next novel.
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- Close Your Eyes (New York Times Best Illustrated Books (Awards))
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- Dark Lover (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 1)
- Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future
- Doing the Animal Bop: With Music CD
- Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood
- Dry Ice (Dr. Alan Gregory Novels)
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