The best thus far - excellent analysis and visually really fun!!!
923874
Superb! This is a fascinating, well-considered, and colorful exploration of the artistic aspects of the Grateful Dead. But, it is  even bigger than that. It is also one of the most considered and insightful analysis of the whole psychedelic poster phenomenon thus far. Cushway's knowledge of the material is deep and thoughtful.  It has the perspective of one who has been on the inside of the poster world for decades. It also is intelligent and thoughtful, using this privileged perspective to insightful analysis.  There is not a ton of text, but it is incisive and well-articulated in its brevity. It sets the context splendidly for the visuals - most of the tale is told through gorgeous color images. It is fun - visually stunning. Worth it for them alone. But, the text gives it just enough substance to make this interesting (and indeed necessary) reading for any and all interested in psychedelic rock poster art and/or the visual phenomenon of the Grateful Dead. Even those who know this stuff pretty well will learn interesting things from this book. There are tons of books out there on rock stuff - some good, some mediocre, some pretty lame. This is one of the rare ones thatbare not just good, but actually great. ....  Stop reading this review and just buy the book....
1746720
As a classics hobbyist it was a real pleasure to watch this staging from the comfort of my home. The beauty of having this on a dvd is that I can watch it multiple times, gaining new insights and a better understanding of the text with each viewing. All of the actors did an excellent job of bringing the text to life. I noticed the pronunciation they used to be very helpful, being based on Latin scholarship rather than the old theater norms. This staging is very entertaining and you can tell they did their research.
2178310
I bought this book because I wanted to enjoy more of Lee Braver's high quality scholarship. And I have not been disappointed ! Although I have not finished reading "Groundles Grounds" , so far I am impressed, again !, by the depth, breadth, coherence and clarity of Braver exposition. I don't think I have found a better (meaning not only clear but accurate ) reading of Wittgenstein so far. And, of course, the idea of comparing the two giants of last century's philosophy in order to encourage understandings across the analytic continental divide is just superb. I can hardly wait to finish this book so that I can get my eyes on his latest work ( on Heidegger). Bravo for Braver !
659861
I've purchased many behind-the-scenes Star Wars books in my life, and I have to say that this one tops them all. This book is loaded with a wealth of information on all 6 movies in a chronological order. Lots of rare pictures and trivia that I have discovered for the first time...and I thought I've seen everything! John Knoll worked hard on making a book that Star Wars fans were waiting years to see. I also appreciate the graphic design and format of this book. Very easy to read, large images, not too much clutter. A definite labor of love. The icing on the cake is the CD-Rom inserted at the end of the book which contains over 100 Quicktime VR 360 panoramas that you can watch on your computer. Amazon has a great price on this gem of a book too that can't be beat! Highly recommended.
670200
I've played the other PGs before but this one is really outstanding.  The 3D really has made the genre visually beautiful and more tactically relevant.  Also, with the new format of taking different missions throughout the campaigns, no two campaigns are alike.  Its fun to actually have a war game (I've played many) that tries to follow the historical battles/engagements of the Eastern front.  One of the best touches is seeing how the experience of the Russians initially starts off poor and increases likewise with equipment. The only thing I miss from the original PG is having German or Russian audios of orders being given for various operations.  This game engages one both on the levels of being fun and intellectually challenging.  This is an outstanding game.
4332899
This book is very impressive. Visually probably the best collection of basketball pictures I've ever put my eyes on. Some of the pictures you either will say "I remember that game" or "I feel like I'm right there". People say pictures say a thousand words, and in this case that statement could be true. Sports Illustrated could have just made a picture book out from the photography and the book could have been just as powerful. Took me back to when I was a teenager putting posters on my wall, admiring the great dunks and marquee shots.

As a fan that follows basketball, I've seen a lot of really good to great basketball players play in the NBA (I've only watched basketball for about 28 years) and listened to a lot of the talk about "The Greats" and how great players were from different eras and it's all great conversation, but there's always a bias when talking great NBA players. Just by reading this book (and I first heard about the book watching Open Court on NBATV) I knew that the criteria for being on this list had to be championships. Which should be part of it, but when talking about just playing basketball there's a lot of players that got left off. Throughout the history of the NBA even as recent as today, there are a lot of players that should at least be considered for listing or at least being mentioned in the book. The fact that a player of Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway, once considered by Michael Jordan himself to be one of only two players he would pay to watch during the 1990's (the other at the time was Grant Hill) doesn't get mentioned in this book shows how much favoritism the panelist have for the players mentioned in this book, and may show their age a little. A lot of players without championships that should be in this book got left out which is a shame to me, especially when you look for these players or expect them to be in this type of book because during their era they made an impact on the game on and off the court, some of them culturally as well.

With that being said, I love it. This book is a great read and could be a fun carry-over into your own debate of Top Ten's with friends and coworkers that all love the game of basketball. It's a great book for the younger generation to see some great history through pictures and to also see how a few familiar faces today stack up against some of the all-time greats. Basketball Greatest also allows the older generation relive some vintage basketball moments and be reminded of basketball's "Golden Age" and the players that paved the way for how the game is played today. Recommend it for basketball fans of all ages.
464837
Happened upon this film today at a "blue big box" store, at an astonishing low price. I have been waiting for this film to appear in 3-D Blu Ray format for a long time, to add to my more than 75 3-D titles. I can only hope that even more of the classic 3-D films will eventually be released.
The 3-D effects are truly stunning, with very little ghosting apparent. This is how 3-D is done, and is a lot more realistic that the current practice of 2-D to 3-D conversions done on modern films, though some of them are made quite well. I have watched it with the bonus commentary, so cannot comment yet on any stereophonic sound elements present. Yes, it is in the "square" video format, but is still well presented. I have always enjoyed films with Richard Carlson, and Barbara Rush is a visual treat. I would highly recommend this film if only for the impressive original 3-D photography. The bonus commentary is quite wordy, but extremely informative.
2255514
One of the best ways to improve at chess is to study the games of great players.  Steve Giddins put together a wonderful collection of games that includes some very famous players and also some lesser known masters and GMs.  The games are grouped by theme, which is really helpful. He also starts off with sort of an executive summary (so you know what is coming) and ends with a few bullet points of the key ideas and/or moves.

The author decided to minimize the tactical variations in favor of lots of text to fully explain the critical positions.  That's a tremendous help, especially to the beginner or intermediate player.

This book has something for everyone.  There are games that feature active piece play and attacking themes as well as coverage of important pawn structures where slower, more positional maneuvering is the norm.  If you liked Chernev's books you will like this one too.  Giddins makes a comment in the introduction that his book is sort of a modern twist to Chernev's writings.  You get some exposure to the openings that are popular today such as the QGD, KID, Ruy Lopez, French Defense, etc.

There are roughly 2-3 pages of text devoted to each game.  So in about 15-20 minutes you can go through the whole game and even review some of the sidelines too.  Lastly, there's a chapter on endings and these deserve some very careful study.  Giddins sheds some light on some extremely important concepts such as "don't hurry!"  In the ending, since there are less pieces, it is vital to think critically and weigh the consequences of each move.

This is a terrific book!
2844218
No doubt about it, Angus McBride is a master illustrator. And this great HC-book proves it (although it's a shame there are just 45 plates...). The paperbacks at Osprey Publishing are nice, but to be honest, their color reproductions of Angus' illustrations are not really good. Here the depth of colors used, the shadow-play both in lights and tissues, finally come out. It is clasic illustration at it's very best. The plates (often double-spread) show battle scenes and posed images of warriors from the ancient times /Rameses II) until WWII (only one). Each plate is accompanied by a well written text on either the scene as it occurred or the uniforms and arms on display. As a reader you get to travel through Egypt, Greece, Babylon, Rome, European Middle Ages, Japan, Africa, Middle America as the ancient times come alive in front of your very eyes. Marvellous!!! What I like most about Mr. McBride's work is that he took the time and trouble to create "true" scenes that really could have taken place. As much as I also admire the Funckens' work, this makes you be there and makes you want to know more about history. In the foreword Angus tels us a little bit about his work, techniques and career.

This book isn't just for people interested in uniforms. It's a wonderful starting point for anybody interested in classic illustration and history. Even when you think you know it all. Here you can relive what you might have forgotten.
2456852
I am a visual person.  I'm currently taking a film class and had to purchase The Visual Story for class.  Let me first say that I am an aspiring filmmaker.  I have an incredible library of handpicked books catering to any and all aspects of the filmmaking experience and this is by FAR among the very top of my selections!  It is really terrific at not only explaining concepts very concisely, but it also is full of real visual examples.  Terrific book.  Buy it!  You'll be glad you did.
662720
As with my review of Vol. 1 City of Stones, I'm still really impressed with how Jason Lutes manages to pack in so much history and political explanations without the story becoming a preachy bogged down illustrated study tool. No, Lutes keeps everything natural and moving forward while teaching you as you go. Furthermore, I think Lutes achieved - even more so in these collected issues - a real look into what life was like for the "regular" Berliner in the months and years leading up to Hitler's takeover of Germany and the start of the Second World War. Also Lutes manages to be even more balanced in his portrayal of why persons chose to align themselves with the political parties they did, showing that not every person who voted National Socialist (the Nazis) really cared about the racial politics or the imperialism, but many were just afraid of losing what they had or Germany falling even further into international debt, etc (yes, I know from where we sit in 2018 that's not good enough. It's not an excuse for those people either. But it's interesting to see how peoples's initially innocuous motivations grow into malevolent and violent movements and then as we know genocides.) The entire Berlin series is really an impressive documentation of life and history, but it is also a beautiful rendering of personal and character drama. Lutes isn't just a historian here, but also an artful story-teller.

The style of his art is easy to comprehend and follow and it's good looking without being too distracting. There are a few pages in this volume where the layout was a bit confusing, but for the most part every page is easy to read and Lutes has a way with putting great zingers and stinging, poignant moments at the end of most pages to keep you flipping through.

Something interesting that happened in this volume - we meet Americans! And most of them don't speak German at all! So for once we have actual German text sprinkled throughout the dialogue, often with a character or two speaking in full sentences or even rants in German. This is a pretty clever way to a) remind readers of the original English language prints that yes, German's the language our characters are actually using in most of the series, and b) distinguish that our new American protagonists are dealing with some language difference/barriers and how that's handled. Lutes uses this technical device expertly in some instances and in others is simply works. One of the Americans, Kid, does speak German but most of the time, his dialogue is still in English. So I am not sure if we're meant to believe that he understand and simply chooses to respond in English, or if we are supposed to know that he is, in fact, continuing the conversation in German but whatever it is he is saying is important for the audience to known so it's written in English so non-German reading audiences can stay in the know? It's a really minor thing, but one that stands out more if you also read (or only read) the German editions where they don't use any kind of distinguishing tool to show that some characters aren't speaking in or don't even understand German. And that makes some of the more tense moments lose a little of their power, which is unfortunate, but not unexpected.

Overall, Volume 2: City of Smoke was a really wild ride and even more enjoyable than the first. I seriously recommend this, and I'm SUPER looking forward to the final volume coming out this fall!
2663298
I read an article on wired.com/news about this game and couldn't wait to get a copy. Got the Prima guide with it, which has been worth the money so far (third day).

I bought a Gamecube and later a PS2 and only recently bought an Xbox (I don't like MS) and I hate to say that the graphics, at least in this game, are out-freaking-standing. Approaching photo-realistic. The scenery in O:SW is PHENOMENAL, great late-afternoon sunset lighting with beautiful little touches like bits of fluff from weeds providing counterpoint to the action and firepower. The graphics really pop.

The "live ammunition" takes some getting used to in much the same way that it took me a while to figure out how to play the PC version of Lemmings oh-so-many-years-ago. It's GREAT fun, very imaginative, and the mazes are terrific so far. The villians are as rotten as they ought to be and the Stranger is a brilliant idea. I'm really looking forward to getting through my day and firing up the Xbox to play some more, and I just don't play that many games (I'm an OLD fart). Or maybe I'm just picky -- it's not every day, or every YEAR, that I find a game that I like, and I **LIKE** this game!

The game feels really tight overall, they did a great job producing it. Good concept, great art direction, the gameplay is a lot of fun -- I love this game! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!! THIS ONE'S WORTH THE MONEY!!!!!
884808
I m a big fun of Beckstead's imagery and vision! He is a truly Master in teaching you, how to get an image that blow away the ordinary,the usual one. In this book what he give us is some part of his mind. A Book with shots from his portfolio that are so creative that the question is HOW and WHY he shot those. And David respond in that question. And that i find it very intriguing. He present to us ,not 1 or 2 but 60 photographs that  break to pieces and explain to us,very clearly,the mind process behind those. How to shoot not in a tradinional manner,how to add flare in your images,how to enhance the lighting with videolights etc. A virtual workshop with him literally! Great educational writing and method of teaching giving you the ability to think more creatively,He is not only a truly MAster in his field but a great educator also. And that is a big thing. This book also has tecnical details also explaining all the details behind he shoots. It's unfair to say that has no tecnical info as said by someone of the reviewers. I get the Kindle version but i ordered also the print version,I want to see everyday those beautifull shots in full glory! Amazing book! Or should i say Amazeballs?
626157
This is as good as it gets for now folks! All the best players from the countries are in this game. This game has it all! From juggling, headers, and bicycle kicks to realistic shots at goal. Simply the best game I've played yet. This game will enhance your actual world cup viewing experience. You can be any one of the actual 32 qualifying teams in addition to some extra countries. I recommend not playing the extra countries but just playing out the world cup tournament with the actual qualifying countries.
There are 4 different skill levels in the game. Beginner, Amateur, Professional, and World Class. Somehow, The World Class level cannot be played effectively because for some reason, the view becomes so zoomed out that you can't see and control the players accurately enough. And manually zooming in the picture will do no good either. However, I've been playing this game since the first day this game was made available to the public and the professional level provides a very fun and challenging play. Overall, this game can't be beat.
1598984
Explains concepts more clearly, shows helpful pictures, and provides more information about which exams to use to rule out which pathologies.  It looks great. Excellent organization and graphic design make a world of difference to visual-learners, which most of us are.  Plus, it highlights in bold the important differences between procedures and the index is set up without 20 pages of listings under the heading "positioning" (!).  Why is the Bontranger NOT the textbook of record???????
1100019
I've read Securities Analysis front to back (yea, I know... I'm a devoted fan) and The Intelligent Investor, among several other books on corporate business valuation - just to set my credentials at the top.

And I have to say, this is one of the most fun I've had reading a book in a while. While you may think Graham is horribly dry in his investment books--with his Victorian and impersonal English--here he does an excellent job at writing an entertaining narrative of his life. I actually found myself laughing-out-loud pretty hard at some of the lines in it.

The 30-page introduction by Seymour Chatman is also well-written. It does a good job of summarizing and highlighting the book. I'd recommend you also read it.

Even if you don't care about Graham, you can treat the book as an entertaining piece of fiction, if you like. The book is that much fun and the stories contained are sufficiently interesting by their own merit to keep any reader laughing, sobbing, and happily eager to read until the conclusion.

There is no book preview on amazon, so I will use this review to explain the general contents of the book:
Starting page - Chapter title
vii - Introduction by Seymour Chatman (roughly 30 pages long)
1 - Childhood in New York
19 - Family Tragedies and My Mother's Perseverance
37 - At Public School
55 - High School Days: Brooklyn and the Bronx
73 - The Farmhand and The Mechanic
93 - The College Student
123 - My Career Begins
141 - Early Years in Wall Street
163 - The Beginnings of Real Success
185 - The Great Bull Market of the 1920s: I Become a Near Millionaire
199 - The Northern Pipeline Contest
217 - Family and Other Affairs
247 - The Midpoint of Life's Way: The Deluge Begins
267 - The Road Back, 1933-1940
279 - My "Career" as a Playwright
293 - The Commodity Reserve Currency Plan
309 - Epilogue: Benjamin Graham's Self-Portrait at Sixty-Three and his Eightieth Birthday Speech
The post script contains:
317 - Chronology
327 - Notes
337 - Bibliography of Writings by and about Benjamin Graham
343 - Index

You will see from the chapter list that this book contains NO investment advice. Please read any edition of "Securities Analysis" (except the 5th edition is not co-authored by Graham, but written exclusively by Dodd and a few other people) and "The Intelligent Investor" for Graham's counsel and instruction on investment analysis.
4590582
I have read the previous two volumes "Formation Attacks' and 'Formation Attack Strategies' by Joel Johnson so I was eagerly waiting on this new volume. I only received it on Thursday evening 3/13 and had just began reading it over the weekend and it surpasses my expectations. Very well structured with plenty of exciting games.