Amazon.com
The violinist hero of Vikram Seth's third novel would very much like to be hearing secret harmonies. Instead, living in London 10 years after a key disaster, Michael Holme is easily irritated by his beautiful young (and even French!) girlfriend and by his colleagues in the Maggiore Quartet. In short, he's fed up with playing second fiddle in life and art. Yet a chance encounter with Julia, the pianist he had loved and lost in Vienna, brings Michael sudden bliss. Her situation, however--and the secret that may end her career--threatens to undo the lovers.
An Equal Music is a fraction of the size of Seth's A Suitable Boy, but is still deliciously expansive. In under 400 pages, the author offers up exquisite complexities, personal and lyrical, while deftly fielding any fears that he's composed a Harlequin for highbrows. During one emotional crescendo, Michael tells Julia, "I don't know how I've lived without you all these years," only to realize, "how feeble and trite my words sound to me, as if they have been plucked out of some housewife fantasy." In addition to the pitch of its love story, one of the book's joys lies in Seth's creation of musical extremes. As the Maggiore rehearses, moving from sniping and impatience to perfection, the author expertly notates the joys of collaboration, trust, and creation. "It's the weirdest thing, a quartet," one member remarks. "I don't know what to compare it to. A marriage? a firm? a platoon under fire? a self-regarding, self-destructive priesthood? It has so many different tensions mixed in with its pleasures."
An Equal Music is a novel in which the length of Schubert's Trout Quintet matters deeply, the discovery of a little-known Beethoven opus is a miracle, and each instrument has its own being. Just as Michael can't hope to possess Julia, he cannot even dream of owning his beloved Tononi, the violin he has long had only on loan. And it goes without saying that Vikram Seth knows how to tell a tale, keeping us guessing about everything from what the Quartet's four-minute encore will be to what really occasioned Julia's departure from Michael's life. (Or was it in fact Michael who abandoned Julia?) As this love story ranges from London to Michael's birthplace in the north of England to Vienna to Venice, few readers will remain deaf to its appeals. --Kerry Fried
Book Description
The author of the international bestseller
A Suitable Boy returns with a powerful and deeply romantic tale of two gifted musicians. Michael Holme is a violinist, a member of the successful Maggiore Quartet. He has long been haunted, though, by memories of the pianist he loved and left ten years earlier, Julia McNicholl. Now Julia, married and the mother of a small child, unexpectedly reenters his life and the romance flares up once more.
Against the magical backdrop of Venice and Vienna, the two lovers confront the truth about themselves and their love, about the music that both unites and divides them, and about a devastating secret that Julia must finally reveal. With poetic, evocative writing and a brilliant portrait of the international music scene,
An Equal Music confirms Vikram Seth as one of the world's finest and most enticing writers.
Customer Reviews:
The Audiobook is a stunning achievement.......2007-08-08
Combining the music of the book with an outstanding vocal rendering of the story, the audiobook is simply stunning. If you haven't "listened" to the book, you have really missed something. I finished it and immediately started again at the beginning. This is what an audiobook should be - an altogether different and enchanting experience on its own.
It's a family affair.......2007-03-25
It is, I think, nearly impossible to write about music and do it justice. Vikram Seth, I suspect, understands this dilemma, so he has written the next best thing: how music is created and how the beauty--as well as the flaws--of its performance is frailly based on human qualities and--perhaps just as important--on human relationships. Seth is wise enough not to attempt to describe the music itself in too much detail, although the novel contains just enough historical background and trivia, including a thrilling subplot involving a "mystery" surrounding an extremely obscure Beethoven work.
Indeed, "An Equal Music" is as much about the music of human spheres as it is about the art itself. Michael Holme, somewhat estranged from his elderly father and living alone (and, at times, lonely), has found a new family in a London-based string quartet. (The domestic setting is reinforced by a brother and sister who are two members of the group.) Their whining, quarrelsome, heated rehearsals often resemble the stereotypical American family Thanksgiving dinner, but rivalries and discordance almost always vanish once the music starts.
On its own, this is an unpromising basis for a 400-page story. But Michael, as the newest member of the quartet, unwittingly introduces a source of tension into the quartet's delicate cohesion: Julia, a fellow musician who is a long-lost love from his student days in Vienna and who is now married and has a son. Michael and she embark on an affair. And she has a closely guarded secret. And she is, almost accidentally, asked to perform piano with the quartet. This double intrusion--of Michael into her family and of Julia into his "family"--makes for a compelling read, and (not incidentally) it has the potential for making some very bad music.
Told from Michael's point of view, the novel keeps Julia at arm's length; she is a mystery to Michael and to the reader. Yet, while both characters are convincingly and realistically portrayed, Michael's penchant for self-examination is a bit heavy-handed; the storyteller is too often his own psychologist. His self-analysis doesn't prevent him from being foolish or reckless, however, and this very same awareness provides the most excruciatingly sad passages of the book.
By presenting art through such a human prism, Seth has written one of the few novels about music I have ever enjoyed (Willa Cather's "Song of the Lark" is another, for similar reasons). Although you don't need to have heard all the compositions to appreciate the story, the various pieces "performed" in the book, including the unearthed Beethoven quintet, are available on a tie-in CD from Decca.
A beautiful story.......2006-09-07
This author is such a pleasure to read. This book is touching and deep. You will find yourself thinking about the story and characters long after you've read the last page.
I liked it.......2006-08-06
Well written, believable characters, interesting subject. This story is especially good for music lovers.
Positively Absorbing.......2006-07-30
This book is stunning. Its plot is believable yet unpredictable, and the prose is simply gorgeous. Thus, while enjoying the writing and the sumptuous settings (London, Vienna, Venice), the book takes a turn or two that the reader won't expect. Although Seth uses much musical jargon, it wasn't a problem for someone like me who has little education in classical music. In fact, I learned some things reading it, and the jargon as well as good attention to setting, really kept the novel's authentic feeling. In the end, it's also a rapturous love story, and any good romantic should simply surrender and enjoy.
Book Description
MURDER TRAVELS FIRST CLASS....In 1907, the world applauds as the Cunard Line launches a history-making ship. The magnificent Lusitania, hoping to capture the Blue Riband for the fastest crossing from Liverpool to New York, attracts both the beautiful and the damned for its maiden voyage.Among its privileged passengers strolls the debonair American George Porter Dillman, a shipbuilder's son--and a detective secretly hired to find the con artists, gigolos, and thieves who prey on the rich and unwary.But the robbery of the ship's blueprints and a shocking murder take Dillman by surprise. Now, attracted to a lady who may not be what she seems, Dillman plunges into a drama of love and intrigue set in the glittering salons of this floating palace. And perhaps plays right into a killer's hands......AUTHORBIO: CONRAD ALLEN has written several other mysteries under a pseudonym.He lives in England.
Customer Reviews:
Very good mystery with a fantastic setting.......2006-09-04
I picked up Conrad Allen's Murder on the Lusitania on a whim and I was not disappointed. The setting is fantastic with Allen's descriptions of life aboard the maiden voyage of the Lusitania, and the characters are just as fascinating. Following a large contingent of first class passengers we meet The Rymers, the Tolley's and a pushy journalist Bancroft; we learn what the good life aboard a luxury liner is all about.
Following the Ship's detective, George Porter Dillman, who is posing as a first class passenger, we first meet all of the relevant parties, and learn about them prior to the crime of (as the title states) murder. There are so many red herrings and twists that this one will keep you guessing until the end.
I'm glad I picked up this book and I am sure that you will enjoy it as well.
Classy mystery with snappy dialogue.......2006-06-21
Murder on the Lusitania by Conrad Allen is the first book in the Shipboard Mystery series starring George Porter Dillman and Genevieve Masefield. Dillman is hired as security by the owners of the Lusitania to make sure that her maiden voyage goes smoothly. His job is to fit in and keep any crimes to a minimum, but when some blueprints show up missing, an annoying reporter turns up dead, and a Stradivarius is stolen, everyone's secrets start coming out and Dillman has more than he bargained for. This book is full of lots of great detail about the real luxury liner as well as bits about etiquette from Edwardian times. The dialogue is very clever, especially the repartee between Dillman and Masefield. I was a bit disappointed in the revelation of the bad guys, especially because their motivation was glossed over without real thought, and some of the dialogue during the climax from the villains seemed horribly clichéd, of the `let me tell you my whole horrible scheme while I have you tied up' variety. Surprisingly, Allen allows some subplots to be carried through without touching the main story, which on a huge passenger ship makes perfect sense. I look forward to reading the next in the series.
Just barely misses the mark.........2004-10-06
Conrad Allen's first book of the George Porter Dillman series, is an OK historical mystery. It's set in 1907 on the maiden voyage of the Lusitiana, the pride of the Cunard Line. There is some international intrigue abroad, as Germany moves closer to war with Great Britain, and then there is our hero, George P. Dillman, an American private detective that is undercover. On baord, he mets Violet Rymer, who is under the thumb of her overbearing, control-freak father, and he meets the mysterious Genevieve Mansfield, who is running from her shady past. Allen manages to disappoint us with Violet's would-be suitor, and we don't really ever get to really understand a few of the characters. That, and the uber-obnoxious Barcroft character really turned me off of what could have been a great read.
Sleuthing, Shipboard Society, Ship's Details and Romance.......2003-09-11
Murder on the Lusitania is much different from the other three novels in this series. As a reader, I found myself caught up in the excitement of the launching of the then world's largest liner in 1907, a ship whose subsequent history would play a large role in the U.S. entering World War I. Having been on today's huge liners, I was interested in how the Lusitania was different, especially in how its power was supplied (lots of backbreaking work with coal being loaded into the steam engines). Having watched a lot of Masterpiece Theater, I was inevitably interested in how the upper-class English people would act on the ship. So the book had a lot of potential going for it. Those elements worked well for me.
The story itself turned out to be based on a motive that seems very lame and unlikely. That caused me to grade the book down.
For those who like romance with their sleuthing, you will probably enjoy the process by which Cunard detective, George Porter Dillman, becomes acquainted with the beautiful and mysterious Englishwoman, Ms. Genevieve Masefield. She spurns him at first, and only unpleasant circumstances for Ms. Masefield cause that situation to change.
If you just want to read the best book to date in the series, I suggest you read Murder on the Minnesota instead. It's quite fun, and much better done than Murder on the Lusitania. If you do decide to read Murder on the Lusitania, the next book in the series is Murder on the Mauretania. If you like Murder on the Lusitania, you'll be sure to love Murder on the Mauretania.
After you finish this book, think about when you may have drawn a conclusion about someone based on a single glance or quick encounter. Did you later take the time to be sure you were right in your assessment? If not, take that time now. You may be missing someone wonderful!
Entertaining Mystery.......2002-08-13
This is a light and entertaining read perfect for a day at the beach. I look forward to reading the rest of the series. The two main characters, George and Genevieve, remind me of the leads in the Lord Peter Whimsey series. It is so nice to read a mystery that doesn't depend on shock and gore to get its point across.
Amazon.com
Historical mysteries grounded in fact and embellished with fiction are Collins's forte, and here he takes the World War I sinking of a great Cunard liner as the canvas for a rollicking story of murder, espionage, and mayhem. Willard Wright, a critic, journalist and mystery writer (under the pseudonym of S.S. Van Dine), is supposed to be interviewing the rich and famous who are making the journey to England on the luxurious ship. But what he's really doing is investigating the sub rosa shipment of munitions by a government supposedly neutral in the European conflict. Aided by a female version of Philo Vance, Van Dine's series hero, Wright unmasks a couple of spies and a murderer and finds the munitions in plenty of time to carry on a decidedly modern affair with the beautiful and sexy Pinkerton agent, but, alas, too late to save the Lusitania from a German U-boat. A skillfully told story with all the verisimilitude and historical accuracy of earlier books in this captivating series, which gave the Titanic, Hindenburg, and Pearl Harbor disasters the same lively treatment. --Jane Adams
Book Description
On May 7, 1915, the luxury liner Lusitania was struck by a German torpedo. On board was an under-cover journalist using the pen name S.S. Van Dine. And hours before the tragic sinking changed the course of history, there was a mystery-of treason, sabotage, and murder.
Customer Reviews:
Good Mystery.......2006-07-06
The author William Huntington Wright, traveling under his alias S.S.Van Dine (Wright and Van Dine are real people as are most of the characers in this book), is undercover for the British as a journalist on the last voyage of the Lusitania to discover if it is carrying munition for the enemy.
Along the way, he interviews the likes of Alfred Vanderbilt, Charles Forham and Elbert Hubbard. As expected, murders and espionage soon become all too common occurrences and Van Dine with the help of a female Pinkerton agent is rapidly engaged in the investigation.
The Lusitania Murders, judging by its author's notes (def. worth reading) is well-researched but lacking a tightness and suspense that keeps the reader flipping pages.
Book Description
An investigation of that other great liner tragedy: the sinking of the Lusitania.
On May 7th, 1915, a passenger ship crossing the Atlantic sank with the loss of 1200 lives. On board were some world-famous figures, including multimillionaire Alfred Vanderbilt. But this wasn’t the Titanic and there was no iceberg. The liner was the Lusitania and it was torpedoed by a German U-boat.
Using first-hand accounts of the tragedy, the author brings characters to life, recreating the splendour of the liner as it set sail, and the horror of its final moments. Using British, American and German research material, the book answers many of the outstanding and controversial questions surrounding the Lusitania: why didn’t Cunard listen to warnings that the ship would be a target of the Germans? Was the Lusitania sacrificed to bring the Americans into the War? What was really in the Lusitania’s hold? Had Cunard’s offices been infiltrated by German agents? And did the Kaiser’s decision, in response to international outrage, to cease unrestricted U-boat warfare, effectively change the outcome of the First World War?
Average customer rating:
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Murder at sea
Archibald Spicer Hurd
Manufacturer: T.F. Unwin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
 General | World War II | Military | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000875ATQ |
Average customer rating:
- As Boston sinks, Future Boston rises to the challenge
- An excellent and diverse collection
- Man, do these authors know Boston.
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Future Boston: The History of a City 1990-2100
Manufacturer: St Martins Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
| 18th Century
| 19th Century
| 20th Century
| African American
| Asian American
| Classics
| Collections & Readers
| Drama
| General
| Hispanic
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| Humor
| Jewish American
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ASIN: 0312890281 |
Customer Reviews:
As Boston sinks, Future Boston rises to the challenge.......2006-01-13
Title: Future Boston
Author: Various Authors
Original Publication: Tom Doherty Associates, Inc. 1994
ISBN: 0-312-89028-1
Synopsis:
The city of Boston is sinking into the ocean more and more every year. As the problem becomes more severe, the city of Boston is shocked with a new event... aliens have landed and Boston is now the official place for the new interstellar port. Follow the lives of many different people, all intertwined in some way, as the city of Boston faces great changes including flooding, alien invasion, and revolution.
Review:
Future Boston is a collection of short stories from eight science fiction writers who have made their homes in Boston, including Alexander Jablokov, Steven Popkes, Jon Burrowes, and David Alexander Smith. The true star of the collection is the city itself, marvelously rendered by each author in explicit detail through the future the created for America's first city.
Though each writer brings their own style, they all found a way to make the story appear seamlessly crafted. Each story progresses the tale of Boston, with characters that are well developed and masterfully detailed. Characters such as Bishop 24, the half centipede, half praying mantis sent to earth to watch over the humans, are magnificently rendered and their continuity through different stories is impressive.
The stories bring with them different types of conflict all throughout the collection, and culminate in a revolution much like this country faced in the late 1700's. The authors did a good job using the Revolutionary War as a parallel to theirs, and the story of those involved is quite intriguing. The tale of the revolution, Ye Citizens of Boston, is by far the gem in this collection of quality short stories.
I have to admit that I was impressed by this book for the mere fact that eight people came together with a common vision and expertly crafted a future world out of their present home. The stories flow well throughout, arranged chronologically, and the inclusion of characters from previous or future tales was well done. I would have to recommend this to any reader of short stories, even if they are a New York Yankees fan who would at least enjoy Fenway Park becoming little more than a marsh.
Version Read: Paperback, Tom Doherty Associates, Inc. 1995
Length: 384 pages
An excellent and diverse collection.......1999-12-28
This collection of stories mixes together a little of everything that makes science fiction enjoyable: a solid basis in the hard and soft sciences and a wonderfully imagined future, with a twist of pure fun. The contributors, all members of a science fiction workshop, first planned out the future history of Boston and then related it in this series of interconnected tales.
The quality of the writing, overall, is remarkably good and the future they lay out is intriguing. You don't have to be a Bostonian to enjoy these stories.
Several of the contributors are prominent for other award-winning work--Sarah Smith, Alexander Jablokov, and Geoffrey Landis, among others. Their stories here are excellent.
Man, do these authors know Boston........1999-09-07
It's realistic and even plausible. They definitely pulled it together. These authors know the little things about this city that make it entrance those of us who might wander far away, but who know in our hearts Boston is home. The inter-stories between the big ones are brilliant.
Average customer rating:
- A VERY INTERESTING READ!
- A prescription for a better medical care system as well as for us
- Best book on aging...Must read for boomers, MDs,RNs, and anyone growing old...
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The Denial of Aging: Perpetual Youth, Eternal Life, and Other Dangerous Fantasies
Muriel R. Gillick
Manufacturer: Harvard University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0674021487 |
Book Description
You've argued politics with your aunt since high school, but failing eyesight now prevents her from keeping current with the newspaper. Your mother fractured her hip last year and is confined to a wheelchair. Your father has Alzheimer's and only occasionally recognizes you.
Someday, as Muriel Gillick points out in this important yet unsettling book, you too will be old. And no matter what vitamin regimen you're on now, you will likely one day find yourself sick or frail. How do you prepare? What will you need?
With passion and compassion, Gillick chronicles the stories of elders who have struggled with housing options, with medical care decisions, and with finding meaning in life. Skillfully incorporating insights from medicine, health policy, and economics, she lays out action plans for individuals and for communities. In addition to doing all we can to maintain our health, we must vote and organize--for housing choices that consider autonomy as well as safety, for employment that utilizes the skills and wisdom of the elderly, and for better management of disability and chronic disease.
Most provocatively, Gillick argues against desperate attempts to cure the incurable. Care should focus on quality of life, not whether it can be prolonged at any cost.
"A good old age," writes Gillick, "is within our grasp." But we must reach in the right direction.
Customer Reviews:
A VERY INTERESTING READ!.......2007-05-25
Thank you, Muriel, for writing a book that gives us permission to relax into the best years of our lives. Running after youth is an exhausting pursuit --- it robs of our personal and spiritual growth. I especially enjoyed the personal anecdotes and stories from your files. I hope every woman reads your book. Pamela D. Blair, Author, The Next Fifty Years: A Guide for Women at Mid-Life And Beyond
A prescription for a better medical care system as well as for us.......2006-04-30
Denial of Aging is both a call to arms and a personal guide. It connects two themes: 1) most of us will become infirm eventually; 2) when that happens, our medical care system will fail us, often worsening quality of life instead of improving it. Two kinds of failures are Medicare rules that favor institutional care over care at home, and a fixation on (expensive) high tech treatments that have a low chance of success in the infirm elderly, but that carry a high rate of complications. Dr. Gillick shows that we can avoid some of these problems through individual choices, but that others require concerted political action -- for instance, making Medicare more responsive to the needs of the infirm elderly.
After you read this, send it to your legislators.
Best book on aging...Must read for boomers, MDs,RNs, and anyone growing old..........2006-03-07
Whether you are a boomer about to face aging or a clinician advising patients, you will age more gracefully by reading this extremely readable and well-written book by one of this country's foremost geriatricians. As in her other books, Muriel Gillick makes the stories come alive in technicolor, which is no easy task when nursing home and senility are the subject matter. And that's exactly the point: Dr. Gillick breaks the aging stereotypes that most of us conjure when thinking about aging. Whether it's preventive medicine, health policy, or just what stance one should have towards growing old, you will walk away with a more informed and humane understanding of what aging means and how we can all live our life's final few chapters gracefully.
Book Description
The premier book of its kind, now updated and expanded. Gems & Jewelry Appraising, 2nd Edition covers all the standards, procedures, and ethics of appraising gems, jewelry, and other valuables.
Each step involved in conducting an appraisal is fully explained, with photos, case studies, key documents, worksheets and pricing data included. Registered Master Valuer Anna M. Miller gives professional guidance and step-by-step instructions on how to:
Build a clientele
Set fees
Get publicity
Handle insurance replacement claims
Photograph gems and jewelry
Research and write reports
Test metals
Research provenance
Master the different approaches to valuation
Use price guides
Understand legal and ethical aspects of appraising
And more!
This resource offers all the information that practicing or aspiring appraisal professionals will need to establish an appraisal business, handle various kinds of appraisals, and provide an accurate, verifiable estimate of value.
Customer Reviews:
Gem & Jewelry Appraising, Techniques of Professional Practice.......2005-08-13
The material was as advertised. No problem!
Average customer rating:
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Gems and Jewelry Appraising: Techniques of Professional Practice
Anna M. Miller
Manufacturer: Van Nostrand Reinhold
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
History & Criticism
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Lapidary
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ASIN: 0442264674 |
Product Description
English Paper Piecing is a Hand-piecing technique that uses paper shapes as foundations to accurately prepare patchwork pieces for joining.
Book Description
Many natural building methods rely upon the use of post and beam frame structures that are then in-filled with straw, cob, cordwood, or more conventional wall materials. But traditional timber framing employs the use of finely crafted jointing and wooden pegs, requiring a high degree of craftsmanship and training, as well as much time and expense. However, there is another way...
Timber Framing for the Rest of Us describes the timber framing methods used by most contractors, farmers, and owner-builders, methods that use modern metal fasteners, special screws, and common sense building principles to accomplish the same goal in much less time. And while there are many good books on traditional timber framing, this is the first to describe in depth these more common fastening methods. The book includes everything an owner-builder needs to know about building strong and beautiful structural frames from heavy timbers, including:
- the historical background of timber framing
- crucial design and structural considerations
- procuring timbers -- including different woods, and recycled materials
- foundations, roofs, and in-filling consdierations
- the common fasteners.
A detailed case study of a timber frame project from start to finish completes this practical and comprehensive guide, along with a useful appendix of span tables and a bibliography.
Highly illustrated, this book enables 'the rest of us' to build like the professionals and will appeal to owner-builders, contractors and architects alike.
Mother Earth News Wiser Living Series
Customer Reviews:
Not enough info, spam.......2007-07-12
While this book does cover the general building process, I feel it does not go into enough detail. While talking about timbers and larger pieces of wood, the charts in the end are all for regular 2x wood. There are so many references to other works where info can be found, that the whole read felt like one large advertisement (many for the author's other publications). Needs more detailed sketches, diagrams, and important detail pictures, and less useless pictures taken from too far away to be useful.
Excellent resource!.......2007-06-10
The book is very informative and helpful. Rob Roy's writing style makes it easy to follow. Not having any experience in building,(being female, that happens) I could still understand all of it, but a little background (even building a doghouse!) might have helped in truly getting the most out of the material.
Rob Roy is a powerhouse proponent for alternative building!.......2004-12-29
This book is written in a very easy to follow style. The concepts all come across as clearly and the illustations do. There is loads of informative content for the alternative builder who is concerned with incorporating natural building methods such as straw bale construction, cordwood masonry, and cob building into thier home. What makes this book stand apart from other texts on the subject is its emphasis on the use metal fasteners to achieve a strong well built frame. While most other timber framing books use joinery that requires a high degree of craftmanship this book uses simpler techniques that the non-professional can learn quickly. It is great for the "do-it-yourselfers" out there that want a book that makes sense! Highly recomended.
Some great nuggets of info but..............2004-08-22
Some great nuggets of info but fails to deliver the "How-to" that the title hints at. I was dissappointed and am now looking for a "cookbook" or "how-to" style book.
I can not recommend this book.
A superb guide for beginners.......2004-08-10
Written by an author with more than thirty years of hands-on experience with timber framing, Timber Framing For The Rest Of Us is a simple home improvement guide to basic, practical methods for timber framing used by contractors, farmers, and owner-builders today. From procuring timbers of various woods or even recycled materials, to critical considerations of structure and design , to common fasteners, a detailed case study of a timber frame project, and much more, Timber Framing For The Rest Of Us is a superb guide for beginners who are ready to roll up their sleeves, do their homework, and enjoy the fruits of their hard-earned labors.
Book Description
"Corel Painter 8 Fast & Easy" puts you on the fast track to master the latest version of this popular application. Through step-by-step instructions and screen shots, you'll learn a variety of techniques and creative tricks to create artwork quickly and make your work stand out. Use your imagination and create masterpieces that go beyond the capabilities of a traditional canvas and brush!
Customer Reviews:
Super Book!.......2004-08-14
This is just simply a terrific book! Finally an author who doesn't assume the reader is familiar with the program and all he has to do is show some snazzy pictures and will gain a five star rating. He actually shows you in clear steps and pictures how to use the program. What a radical new idea! I am familar with Adobe products, and still appreciated being shown how they were adapted to this newest version of Painter. I only wish Eric Grebler would write books for all the other programs out there, it would make learning them much easier.
Excellent Coverage - Easy to use.......2003-12-10
I recieved Corel Painter with my Wacom tablet and have had little experience with it. The book was of great use to me. The step by step instructions were easy to follow and the author presented the material in a fun, lighhearted manner which made it fun to read. This book provided me with a lot of tips and tricks that I would never otherwise know.
For Graphics Beginners Only.......2003-11-17
This book is apparently written for people that have no previous experience with Graphics aps. I'm assuming that anyone with Painter installed has at least a rudimentary familiarity with Photoshop. If that's the case, and you are looking to enhance your work with a more specialized ap this book is a waste of time. For instance, each and every "how to" instruction starts off with a square one approach by telling the reader to open the respective palette from the appropriate pulldown menu. It's mind numbingly tedious. I'm a big fan of Peachpit's Quickstart Visual Guides, and this book doesn't approach the quality of that series.
For graphics pros this book seems to neglect important considerations such as how to navigate Painter's weird (or at least different) color space management. I think more could be gleaned by just spending a couple of hours playing around in the ap or downloading an instructional PDF then working your way through this book.
However, if you happen to be new to the world of computer graphics and don't consider yourself computer savvy, this book might be to your advantage.
Average customer rating:
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Plague Years: A Life in Underground Movies
Mike Hoolboom
Manufacturer: Yyz Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0920397212 |
Book Description
Video scripts and original writings by one of Canada's most prodigious filmmakers. Two-time winner for Best Canadian Short Film at the Toronto Film Festival, Hoolboom has taken a more urgent direction in his work since learning he is HIV-positive. Includes a complete filmography. Edited by Steve Reinke.
Books:
- Arson and Old Lace: A Far Wychwood Mystery (Harwin, Patricia. Far Wychwood Mystery Series.)
- Attack Proof: The Ultimate Guide to Personal Protection
- Aunt Dimity's Good Deed (Aunt Dimity Mystery)
- Babylon Sisters: A Novel
- Babyville: A Novel
- Bell, Book and Dyke: New Exploits of Magical Lesbians
- Brothers Of Gwynedd - Comprising - Sunrise In The West, Dragon At Noonday, Hounds Of Sunset, Afterglow & Nightfall
- Catching Midnight (The Upyr Series, Book 2)
- Christmas Jars
- Cinco Personas Que Encontaras En El Cielo, Las
Books Index
Books Home
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