The White Gryphon (Mage Wars)

Customer Reviews:

The best of the three.......2006-03-30

I'll begin by saying this is the first Mercedes Lackey book I ever read, 10 years ago. I quite enjoyed it, as it was an original and creative work with likeable charachters and villans. For example, it is not the standard fantasy (our team of heroes must save the world) plot, but rather a murder mystery, and while I realize that is not everyone's cup of tea, as someone who enjoys mysteries and fantasy, I thought this was a fine marriage of the two genres. The Haighlei culture was interesting and original, and it was nice to see a fantasy author look beyond medieval European history for inspiration. And finally, I liked that the villans, particularly Hadanelith, because they had motivations and personalities. They presented a real and immanent threat to the main charachters, especially Skan and Drake. Weak enemies was actually my biggest beef with the other two books; the Wyrsa in Silver Gryphon were neat, but little more than monsters, and the villans in Black Gryphon were two-dimensional. I mentioned this was my first Lackey book, Silver Gryphon was my second purchase and it was good as an action/survival book but not as good. Black Gryphon, the one everyone says is so great, I hated, and vowed never to buy another Lackey book if Black Gryphon is what I can expect. I do respect the authors for having the versatility to write a mystery, a survival thriller, and a "chick book" all in one trilogy, though! In short, thank the gods I saw White Gryphon that day at Wal-Mart and decided to give it a chance. It is truly the best of the series. I give it four stars, mainly because I was still in high school when I read it; I have nostalgic attachent, and it might not have the same appeal to older readers.

waste of time.......2005-07-17

After the Black Gryphon, I was expecting something better. This book strikes me as something churned out with little effort and less imagination. The narrative voice is so heavy the reader cannot suspend disbelief and get into the story! But there is not much of a story to get into. It may appear fresh to the 16 and under crowd, but anyone who can drive will be putting this down to watch sitcom reruns (and be glad they did).

A disappointment.......2004-02-24

I just don't see what other people see in The White Gryphon. I have a hard time even articulating the depths of boredom and disappointment I felt about this book.

The story seemed as though it were trying to be a mystery novel, but there was no mystery. Who the culprit was wasn't ever in question and the accomplices were never given enough personality to care about their motives.

The characters that I so adored in the previous story felt hollow and only a shell of their previous sympathetic and humorous selves. The moaning over responsibility felt like a betrayal to the heavy burdens carried by the same people in The Black Gryphon. The social protocol created tension, but it was a tension that endured throughout the entire book, never really leading anywhere or giving any relief.

Mostly I was left feeling like -- "What's the point?" On the upside the book itself is blessedly short.

Even better than its predecessor!.......2003-02-06

It has been ten years since the magical Cataclysm that destroyed Urtho's Tower and the evil Adept Ma'ar. The Kaled'a'in Clan k'Leshya spent nearly a year traversing magic-warped lands to finally reach the shores of the sea where they would make their home. For nine years, under the leadership and guidance of the kestra'chern Amberdrake and the white gryphon Skandranon, they built a new and shining city: White Gryphon, in honor of Skandranon.

Just as life seems to be finally settling down for the Kaled'a'in, a ship appears, sailing up the coast straight towards White Gryphon. Aboard it are envoys of the rigid Haighlei Empire, sent to inform the Kaled'a'in that their precious city is situated on Haighlei territory. To avoid a confrontation, Amberdrake, Winterhart, Skandranon, and Zhaneel are sent to the Haighlei capital of Khimbata as ambassadors. Trouble quickly ensues as Haighlei courtiers opposed to the Kaled'a'in are found murdered. Will Amberdrake and Skandranon be able to clear their names and save their home from war?

"The White Gryphon" is the second book in Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon's Mage Wars Trilogy. I absolutely loved it! As in "The Black Gryphon," Dixon's voice and presence will be apparent to devoted Valdemar fans. It was a page-turner through and through, and the alternating perspectives only increased my desire to read on. It was one of those stories where you know the other half of the mystery, but the main characters don't and you feel like shouting out the missing pieces to them. Very intense and involving.

As always, the characters and descriptions were fantastic. I swear Amberdrake is the sweetest guy ever, and I love Skandranon's self-assurance. The fully fleshed out Haighlei culture was particularly interesting. It makes one wonder if Lackey and Dixon based it on a culture in our world.

I honestly have no serious complaints about this book. The pacing was infinitely better than "The Black Gryphon." The climax was more drawn out and much slower, with sufficient lower points, so that it didn't feel rushed. The only thing I'm still curious about are Hadanelith's motivations, but that is a very small flaw in an otherwise thrilling book.

Bottom Line: A taut, thrilling continuation to the Mage Wars Trilogy that Valdemar fans will devour. Enjoy! :)

Not bad at all.......2002-11-15

Well, I don't like it as much as The Black Gryphon. Since The Black Gryphon is my favourite book in the world, that isn't saying much.
Here is my (brief) summary of the book.
The former Black Gryphon, Skandranon Rashkae, is now a leader in the Kaled'a'in tribe of K'leshya's new home. Taking place ten years after The Black Gryphon, the war refugees have built a beautiful city that they named in Skandranon's honor.
Just as the city is taking its final form, a mysterious boat sails into the harbour. There are a group of people known as Haighlei who are the actual owners of the land White Gryphon (the city) is built on. They offer to make an alliance with the city.
Skandranon and his fellow leader and friend Amberdrake take their families to the city of Khimbata to meet the Emperor Shalaman. They are surprised by the intricate and unusual customs of the Haighlei people.
Shortly after they arrive at Khimbata, the White Gryphon delegation is accused of commiting a murder... You'll have to read it to find out what happens, but the plot involves multiple murders, romance, and action.
Happy gryphoning.

Average customer rating:

White Gryphon

Manufacturer: Turtleback Books Distributed by Demco Media
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0606275908

Average customer rating:

White Gryphon :Mage Wars 2
Mercedes Lackey
Manufacturer: PENGUIN PUTNAM * TRADE
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000QBCWFO

The White Gryphon Book Two of The Mage Wars

Average customer rating:

The White Gryphon Book Two of The Mage Wars
Mercedes, and Larry Dixon Lackey
Manufacturer: Daw Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000QT45YM

Book Description

"Blue, visit me on Thursday, with a story or a poem written somewhere on your body. Don't knock. Enter at ten o'clock in the morning. There is a kind of vestibule. Take off your clothes, put on the blindfold you'll find on a hook, and wait. Blue, if we begin this, it may be impossible to end. So if you don't visit me, I shall understand."

Blue visits. Enters. Obeys. And so begins the most intense erotic relationship of her life.

"Blue: The Color of Desire" is an extraordinary BDSM tale of obsession and lust, poetically written on the body, travelling from a simple classroom through Cuba, England, and into the land of mastery, passion, and pain.

Customer Reviews:

Problem with this order.......2007-02-06

I have never received this item. I cannot review it if I didn't receive it.

Literature, not pornography.......2005-10-23

Linney's "Blue: the Color of Desire" is absolutely one of the best pieces of erotic literature I've ever read.

Using poetic language, taut symbolism, and exquisite imagination, Linney tells the story of a young woman who falls in love with her English professor -- a man called only "Sir" throughout the book. Their desires turn out to be dark, painful, and tinged with blue. Blue? Yes, blue:
Blue as in erotic.
Blue as in the sadness and pain of unfulfilled sensual longing.
Blue as in bruised. Black and blue.
Blue is also the name the young woman takes for herself at the start of her journey.

There really is no good way to descibe the plot; we see a series of episodes or vignettes which highlight the shifting dynamic between Blue and Sir as their relationship progresses. There are notes and emails, short-story-style fantasies, and brief torture scenes. Nothing is extraneous, nor is anything too brief to convey a specific feeling. As in a BSDM relationship, we are allowed into the mind of the submissive, Blue, but Sir remains somewhat distant, an enticing mystery.

This book is not adventure-smut or porn to read while you're home by yourself on a lonely Saturday. If you're just looking for a hot story with a great plot, try Laura Antoniou's "The Marketplace" series, or Chelsea Shepard's "Two Moons" series -- both of which are quality writing, something of which the world of BDSM fiction needs MUCH more.

"Blue," however, is literature, and it should be read slowly, carefully. It should be savored, so that the nuances of the writing can seep into you. The relationship between Blue and Sir is truly unconventional, even in the world of power-exchange. Linney pushes the boundries of what can be called an "erotic relationship."

I *highly* recommend this book, and I sincerely hope that Linney (and his blue muse) try writing erotica again in the near future.

tight poetic writing.......2005-05-17

Wow - I received this book and "Many Kisses" in the same shipment...and still haven't recovered! Hot, powerful, tight poetic writing about BDSM in both, yet they're completely different in style and content. "Blue" is inventive and fairly short, but not in that trendy way (a few words on a page), more in the style of a man telling a story he'd... almost rather not tell.

Beautiful, inventive and erotic!.......2003-07-28

Blue: The Color of Desire is one of the few novels that don't illustrate BDSM in a negative manner. The story is tantalizing - and the S&M parts drip with sensual prose in their brutal facade. Blue is quite a wonderful protagonist. Her love for her master helps her endure the painful training process. At the end of each session, she is rewarded with affection and enormous pleasure. This novel - along with Breaking the Girl and The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty - is a favorite of mine. Erotica has become one of my favorite guilty pleasures, and I shall pull this wonderful book out of the shelf whenever I need a guide to inventive eroticism.

Delicious.......2003-07-08

Deliciously naughty and sexy to read, short and sweet and mean and everything else you want a good BDSM book to be. This one's a tie with 'Many Kisses' for my favorite modern BDSM book ever!

Customer Reviews:

Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03

New Orleans style vampire and mystic shenanigans, and perhaps a tad less brutality here. There is some sort of Anne Rice parody thrown in as well, at a certain level, I think. Still, it is not for the squeamish, as monsters abound, and are dealt with in the usual way, with weapons that slice and dice.

limping along a great story line.......2007-07-24

The first three volumnes of this trade paperback collection of the "Preacher" comic series are absolutely fantastic. Full of humor, life, bizarre insights, and wild characters. The fourth volumne collects odds and ends, and then this collection starts the story line limping along again. Limping along is almost generous... while the characters are still bizarre and interesting, and the humor evident, the flame of life that resounded earlier in the series is but a simmering coal. I strongly recommend reading the first three issues of the "Preacher" series, they are absolutely fantastic. Now I hope that this is just a pause or something and the story starts into its intense run again in the sixth book.

Sex - Violence - Bad Language - Vodoo - and God????.......2007-05-27

The Preacher Series is by far the coolest group of graphic novels I have ever read. This book isn't the best of the series, but it is awesome all on it's own. The story of Cassidy finding another like himself makes the book alone. The tale of him schooling another vampire makes the book, and of course, sets up later action. Still though, who would believe Arseface could make it as a singer? Another Sanjaya..... And what ever happened to the cool forewords by the cool people? I know there are some interesting semi-celebs out there who read Preacher. The whole series is awesome - Check it out

Stellar Series.......2007-03-19

The Preacher series is a "must have" for any collector of stories who likes a little extreme in their fantasy. Some of the greatest lines and characters are put forth by the incredible team of Ennis and Dillon. If one suspends disbelief on one's own feelings about God and the devil, one can enjoy lightheartedly this tale of servitude...or something.

A Low Point in the Series.......2006-12-08

I'm finding The Preacher to be wildly uneven. A great start, then it's gone downhill, with just enough perks along the way to keep me interested. Dixie Fried was the worst of the bunch. Aside from the entertaining first story about Cassidy meeting another of his kind, the bulk of it was just boring, contrived and frustrating. Ennis sort of ruins Cassidy in this one, and there's very little action at all. At this point I'm halfway through the series and will likely keep going, but my advice is to skip this one altogether, and find a synopsis online. Definitely not worth the money.

Average customer rating:

Real Solutions

Great new USA data on cell-based churches

Wow...What a book!

What really works

A Helpful Analysis of the Cell Churches in America

Cell Church Solutions: Transforming the Church in North America
Joel Comiskey
Manufacturer: CCS PUBLISHING
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Church Administration | Ministry & Church Leadership | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
General | Evangelism | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
General | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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How to Be a Great Cell Group Coach: Practical Insight for Supporting and Mentoring Cell Group Leaders

ASIN: 0975581902

Book Description

Examines North American culture and how to overcome the obstacles that confront small group ministry here.

Customer Reviews:

Real Solutions.......2005-05-19

This is a great book. As an emerging cell-church pastor I particularly appreciated the lack of focus on a "model" cell church. Joel lays out the necessary principles to become an effective, missional, cell-church without espousing a particular method or system. The principles in this book can be ingested and then given individual expression in any community of believers. I would also recommend this book to anyone seeking more information about what a cell church is, or contemplating becoming a relationship-driven community.

Great new USA data on cell-based churches.......2005-04-01

Comiskey has done a great job of giving page after page after page of US churches that are making cell group-based ministry work well. These churches are from every background-Pentecostal to Charismatic to Conservative Southern Baptist churches.

This book complements his previous writing, published by www.cellgrouppeople.com and is a good read for pastors looking at the model from the outside. It's also a good read for pastors doing cell groups now because it corrects numerous misconceptions not found in other books.

Wow...What a book!.......2005-02-12

Wow...what a book. As a layperson I have been intrigued by the massive growth of churches in other countries especially Pastor David Cho's church in South Korea. I always wondered why not in North America? I had a suspicion that because of the United States emphasis on individuality and privacy that a massive church on par with ones in Colombia, Korea, and Chile was simply not possible here. Yet my heart longed for that revival. Joel Comiskey's groundbreaking book on transforming the North American Church is a giant and exciting step towards realizing that the church in North America will begin to "catch up."
I was so involved in the book! Chapters 1 and 2 are sobering for Christians to read. The State of the North American Church (chapter 1) is stunning to read but wait Comiskey offers hope! One can not read this book without reflecting on theirown experience but at the same time getting excited about the possibilities for the church in North America! What is lacking in the North American church is frankly discussed and offers conviction and motivation to the reader to see things differently.
Clearly discussed is the application of the Cell Church to North America. Chapters 6-14 are exceptional in helping one understand the cell church model and it's flexibility for every situation. I must pause here. The most important chapter of the book and the one Comiskey gives a paramount emphasis to is Chapter 6. In this chapter he discusses the need for prayer to be the foundation for any church. Churches that pray are seeing God do amazing things. It isn't the model that brings new believers to the church it is prayer and only prayer that brings lasting change and insight. As Comiskey writes people go to church to see Jesus. It is not the program or technique that makes a difference, it is prayer. Here I believe is the essence of the book that should reassure any skeptic about building churches for Jesus. An extremely well researched book with insightful and helpful ways to expand the church in North America has not forgotten the essence to seeing God work and that begins when we are on our knees.
I am excited to discuss this book with others including my pastor. Although I attend a rather large church (over 2000) the need to be a part of a community of believers in a small group (cell) I believe is so necessary and is the key area that is missing in the North American Church. I know now that cell churches can be successful in North America and I can't wait to see God's blessing on the North American Church. Soon we will experience God's Harvest and this book will definitely help us get there. May we all be excited about spreading the Gospel in our neighborhoods.

What really works .......2004-12-07

This book is practical, fact based, encouraging, and at times wonderfully uncomfortable. If like me you've wanted, or tried, to start or transition to a cell based church, this is a must. Its worth the price alone just for the idea of the "radical middle" and what works in North America.

A Helpful Analysis of the Cell Churches in America.......2004-11-24

Joel's latest book is the application of years of watching and processing what is happening in the Christian church in America. Many have been attempting to apply Cell church methodology to the U.S. context, but few have been able to distill the driving elements and principles for success like Joel has in his latest book. It will undoubtable become a central tool for churches attempting to adopt a Cell Church approach.

Average customer rating:

Great recipes:)

Beautiful book for both the palate and the mind!

Wonderful Recipes

Great Information on Coffee! Not just a cookbook...

Not just a gimmick--really

Starbucks Passion for Coffee
Dave Olsen
Manufacturer: Sunset Publishing Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Coffee & Tea | Drinks & Beverages | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0376026138

Customer Reviews:

Great recipes:).......2002-07-31

Yes, this book has many recipes for desserts; not coffee. However, the recipes are wonderful and the pictures are inspiring. The info about coffee at the beginning of the book was very useful to my finance:)

Beautiful book for both the palate and the mind!.......2002-02-09

If you love coffee, this is going to be a favorite for you! Not only will you get the 'goods' on Starbucks wonderful recipes, but you'll also learn the history of coffee, how to distinguish between different coffee beans, and tons of tips on making great coffee. This coffee cookbook is packed with over 30 mouthwatering recipes for morning, afternoon, and night, and laced with beautiful color pictures to accompany the recipes. Starbucks Passion for Coffee cookbook is a winner for both your palate and your mind. I give it a thumbs up!

Wonderful Recipes.......2001-11-27

I first bought this book because I was looking for a recipe for biscotti. The recipe is excellent. All the recipes in the book are excellent. You don't need to be a coffee drinker to value this book. The delicious baked items go just as well with a cup a tea. Every recipe I have made from this book is outstanding and I can be assured that they will always come out delicious even when making it the first time for company. Excellent buy and highly recommended!

Great Information on Coffee! Not just a cookbook..........2001-06-19

If you are looking for more recipes to use up mascarpone cheese, there is an interesting recipe for Baked Apples. There is not a drop of coffee in the recipe, but how it would taste with a great Italian roast.

Do you love Biscotti, but hate to pay the high price. Well, there is a recipe for Chocolate-Hazelnut Biscotti. Orange-Pecan Pound Cake and Rhubarb Crumble are just a few of the delicious desserts you will find to accompany your coffee.

If you are new to making your own coffee, you will appreciate the page after page of brewing options. Do you want to use a press, a drip filter, a cold water brewer, a vacuum pot (as I have only seen once before in The Graham Kerr Cookbook on page 267.) There is also a picture of the coffee cherries which might surprise you as I had never thought about how coffee actually grew.

There is also a poem by Peter Altenberg from All About Coffee, 1922. I was also delighted to find a recipe for Panettone on page 51! How often do you find that recipe.

So many ways to enjoy coffee, morning, afternoon and night.

TheRebeccaReview.com

Not just a gimmick--really.......2001-05-25

It seems like this might just be a gimmick, a way to get the Starbucks name out there like one other reviewer said. But I have found the recipes to be very good, and some of them even outstanding. The granola recipe is amazing, really delicious. I have made upwards of fifty pounds of it already over the years--it's that good. The nut lace cookies are so delicate, fancy and delicious, but also very easy to make. There are also recipes for rhubarb crumble, panettone, cinnamon-swirl biscuits, peach kuchen with crumble topping, and what they claim is "the world's best chocolate pudding" though I haven't tried that one yet.

That the recipes are so good is not surprising because the recipe authors, John Phillip Carroll and Lora Brody, are renowned cooks and have written many of the books in the well-received Williams-Sonoma series.

The information on coffee-brewing is instructive, too. There's some history about the coffee trade, also, though it's not a definitive source on that, for sure. In all, I really like this book and would recommend it to dessert lovers as well as coffee lovers.

Average customer rating:

Fascinating History

Livin' La Vida Mocha

Guilty pleasures from corporate America

Starbucks Passion for Coffee: A Starbucks Coffee Cookbook
Dave Olsen , John Phillip Carroll , and Lora Brody
Manufacturer: Diane Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0788193112

Customer Reviews:

Fascinating History.......2007-02-12

In this book, you will find coffee's fascinating history and lore. Yes, there are recipes, but you will enjoy the illustrations and as you page through the book, you will swear there is a pot of coffee brewing!

If you are looking for more recipes to use up mascarpone cheese, there is an interesting recipe for Baked Apples. There is not a drop of coffee in the recipe, but how it would taste with a great Italian roast.

Do you love Biscotti, but hate to pay the high price. Well, there is a recipe for Chocolate-Hazelnut Biscotti. Orange-Pecan Pound Cake and Rhubarb Crumble are just a few of the delicious desserts you will find to accompany your coffee.

If you are new to making your own coffee, you will appreciate the page after page of brewing options. Do you want to use a press, a drip filter, a cold water brewer, a vacuum pot (as I have only seen once before in The Graham Kerr Cookbook on page 267.) There is also a picture of the coffee cherries which might surprise you as I had never thought about how coffee actually grew.

There is also a poem by Peter Altenberg from All About Coffee, 1922. I was also delighted to find a recipe for Panettone on page 51! How often do you find that recipe.

So many ways to enjoy coffee, morning, afternoon and night.

The Rebecca Review

Livin' La Vida Mocha.......2002-12-07

Nothing piques the morbid fascination of a dinner guest quite like a platter of veal frappuccino. Top it off with a decaffeinated stock reduction and you're a host whose meals will be recounted for decades. This book has afforded us years of excellent in-home dining, as well as cheap laughter. My wife also once used it to great effect in ridding us of an in-law babysitter that she considered too sultry and promiscuous for duty. She merely left Carmen (her young cousin, who served briefly as our sitter to my unbounded delight) with a tray of Chicken Satay Latte that she had secretly made with thrice the active ingredient. Carmen dutifully served it to the twins at dinnertime, and by the time we returned she had permanently sworn off of babysitting - as well as motherhood, marriage, and quite possibly the male gender, which she rightly surmised was in large part to blame for the scourge of children.

Guilty pleasures from corporate America.......2002-12-02

Okay, being the quintesential lefty feminist, I theoretically had better keep a distance from major multinational corporations, but I just can't abstain from Starbucks! Even if they are part of the "corporatization" of America, I proudly declare my love for them.

Since it first came to my hometown (to somehow tie in with the "Alterna-rock" facination with all things pacific NW) I fell in love with their coffee--and related concoctions. Following a stressful (but adventurous day) there is nothing more relaxing than drinking one of their numerous creations and feeling the world melt away.

The recipies in this book continue the romance by providing easy to follow recipies to satisfy the coffee lover in everybody. Little to no previous cooking experience is required, as the point of this cookbook is to help everybody wind down in a deliciously rich way.

Average customer rating:

Small Arms of the World: A Basic Manual of Small Arms

A great classic

Title for a review

About as good as it gets

Important To Have

Small Arms of the World: A Basic Manual of Small Arms
W. H. B. Smith
Manufacturer: Stackpole Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Military Engineering | Special Topics | Engineering | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
Firearms | Conventional | Weapons & Warfare | Military | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0811715663

Customer Reviews:

Small Arms of the World: A Basic Manual of Small Arms .......2006-05-18

Small Arms of the World: A Basic Manual of Small Arms
is a classic. it is one of the best fireames books ever made, it is a real pity that it is out of print. they realy should rerelease it, I know I would buy it.
But until that happens I'll just have to keep getting it from the library.

If I could only have one firearms book I would choose this book hands down.

A great classic.......2005-11-07

My Dad bought this book when I was a kid over thirty years ago. He never got as much out of it as I did. I'd spend hours looking at the many firearms listed in this large volume. It got me started in collecting old military arms and I refer to it still to this day.

Title for a review.......2005-07-07

This was purchased as a gift for a person that had been looking for it for several years; he is very pleased with it!

About as good as it gets.......2002-07-14

I highly recommend these Small Arms of the World books, due to the good coverage of Curio and Relic firearms, how you can take them apart to clean them, how they operate, pictures of individual weapons, interesting diargrams of some popular guns, and just simply the most information you are going to get on semi-automatic and full automatic firearms, at least that I can find. Seems that especially machine gun technology is some kind of restricted information somehow, at least in newer books, but at least these Small Arms books can help a former U.S. Army machine gunner like myself understand a little better how the guns I was checked out on,actually worked in principle. So, if your quest for knowledge is machine guns, then I defintely recommend these books. And if your quest for knowledge is Curio and Relic classified firearms, then especially the older versions of the Small Arms books are what you need. The newer ones kind of water down really old technology, while paying special emphasis on what was hot technology at the time, like a early seventies Small Arms will talk in depth on current American small arms like the M16, but will have minimal space on bolt action rifles, for instance.
I definitely recommend the 1969 9th edition as a good all around "get you by", if you just wanted one edition on older Curio and Reic Firearms, if you are a collector of Curios and Relics like me.

Important To Have.......2000-12-03

For the person interested in modern military small arms, this book is the place to start. It presents the material well, with good photographs, understandable diagrams, and interesting text. Hopefully an updated version will come out someday, but I don't think anyone will regret buying this one now. In fact, I have an older edition from the 1960's that I treasure for it's better coverage of now-obsolete firearms, special emphasis on World War 2 German designs, and more complete history of firearms through the centuries. This edition, on the other hand, gives more attention to weapons developed during the 1960's and 1970's. No doubt, after some future edition finally brings us up to date on modern high-tech weaponry this book will still be a valuable snapshot of the variety of arms in use throughout the world during the final decades of the 20th Century.

I highly recommend this book as the starting point for a good understanding of the small arms field, or as plain old good reading for the relatively technical-minded gun enthusiast.

Average customer rating:
Small Arms of the World (a Basic manual of small arms) 10th Revised Edition (30th Anniversary Edition)
Joseph Smith
Manufacturer: Galahad Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0811715655

Average customer rating:
Small Arms of the World: A Basic Manual of Small Arms
Joseph Edward Smith
Manufacturer: Galahad Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0883651556

Average customer rating:
Small Arms Of The World: The Basic Manual Of Military Small Arms
W. H. B. Smith
Manufacturer: Kessinger Publishing, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 1432592750

Book Description

American, British, Russian, German, Italian, Japanese And All Other Important Nations.

Small Arms of the World: The Basic Manual of Military Small Arms

Average customer rating:

Small Arms of the World: The Basic Manual of Military Small Arms
W.H.B. Smith , and Joseph Smith
Manufacturer: The Stackpole Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000QB0O40

Small Arms of the World; A Basic Manual of Military Small Arms

Average customer rating:

Small Arms of the World; A Basic Manual of Military Small Arms
W.H.B. Smith
Manufacturer: Military Service Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000SZXQI0

Small arms of the world;: The basic manual of military small arms, American, British, Russian, German, Italian, Japanese and all other important nations

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Small arms of the world;: The basic manual of military small arms, American, British, Russian, German, Italian, Japanese and all other important nations
W. H. B Smith
Manufacturer: Military service Pub. Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007FF378

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Small Arms of the World A basic manual of military small arms
W. H. B. Smith
Manufacturer: Stackpole Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J1P5SM

SMALL ARMS OF THE WORLD - A BASIC MANUAL OF SMALL ARMS

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SMALL ARMS OF THE WORLD - A BASIC MANUAL OF SMALL ARMS
Edward Clinton Ezell
Manufacturer: Stackpole Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000V9YWTA

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Small Arms of the World : The Basic Manual of Military Small Arms - American, British, Russian, German, Italian, Japanese and All Other Important Nations
W. H.B. Smith
Manufacturer: Military Service Publishing Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000VYCFH6

Book Description

Quilters looking for a faster, easier way to use appliqu? and add

texture to their projects will love this book! Author Miriam

Gourley has compiled tips and techniques from her years of

quilting and appliqu? experience in Quilt and Sew Fanciful Folk

Art.

Readers will create whimsical folk art quilts with Gourley?s

surefire appliqu? techniques, and add texture with threads,

layers of fabric, felt, buttons, trapunto and more. Streamlined

techniques for perfect sharp points, rounded sides and straight

edges guarantee success in stitching a variety of pieces, which

are then appliqu?d onto the quilt top. The book includes a

chapter containing templates and patterns, and encourages

readers to design their own projects using the methods from

the book once they?ve mastered the techniques. Step-by-step

instructions and illustrations guide quilters through 20 gorgeous

folk art projects.

Book Description

Recalling the home fashions of the 50's, this volume offers today's home decorator a more discerning perspective on an era that evokes endless nostalgia. With functional household products-kettles, toasters, hand blenders, and more-being fashionably designed, these stylish accessories make chores at home far more glamorous.

This colorful, easy-to-follow guide highlights the look of the period-from materials like Formica and molded plywood to the patterns of sgraffito and dissected fruit. It also provides how-to projects for creating classic styles in a modern setting.

Customer Reviews:

Pretty Pictures, Poor Projects.......2003-06-02

The historical information and pictures of classic furniture are useful and can serve as some inspiration when putting together your own 50s look. The projects in the book, however, seem like a lot of work for not a lot result, time consuming, perhaps more expensive than an equivalent purchase, and in one instance (a wall hanging from a CD sleeve) downright tacky. There are way better books on this subject (see, Pad).

A dated little book.......2002-11-26

Giving a house today a 1950's look is a dated idea. The cool thing now is creating your own look. What isn't cool or very creative is just sort of buying a lot of 1950's things and attempting to create that look instead of mixing things up. What we and our friends are doing is mixing all styles. I mean, like, we're not the Jetsons. This is 2002. Almost 2003.

Great Ideas.......2000-08-28

This book has many helpful ideas about turning modern items into retro-looking pieces. A definite help if you're in the market for something and just can't find it you can do it yourself.

Retro Style: The 50s Look for Today's Home

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Retro Style: The 50s Look for Today's Home
Marion Haslam
Manufacturer: Cassell & Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0304354368

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Retro Style. The 50s Look for Today's Home
Marion. Photography by Sue Wilson Haslam
Manufacturer: Cassell & Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OS731W

Average customer rating:

BEAutiful work!

Excellantly vicious!

sex, aphrodisiacs and vomit

Views from a Tortured Libido
Robert Williams
Manufacturer: Last Gasp
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Cartooning | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
General | Graphic Arts | Graphic Design | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Lowbrow Art of Robert Williams

Hysteria in Remission

Malicious Resplendence: The Paintings of Robt. Williams

Through Prehensile Eyes: Seeing the Art of Robert Williams

Weirdo Deluxe: The Wild World of Pop Surrealism & Lowbrow Art

ASIN: 0867193999

Customer Reviews:

BEAutiful work!.......2004-01-28

this is one of my all time favorites!up there with anima mundi and
secret mystic rites.beautiful colors great paintings well worth it! bLiNkY

Excellantly vicious!.......2002-05-11

An absolutely awesome collection of Mr.Williams artwork!Not only does it show the painting as a whole but it also has detail plates and a page or two to explain the meaning of the painting.Some of the more complex paintings come with a numbered reference diagram.Excellante!!!

sex, aphrodisiacs and vomit.......2001-06-25

i first got this book to satisfy a fascination for the "big daddy" ed roth paintings i would see in the back of hot-rod magazines when i was a kid. to clear a few things up, robt. williams is more twisted than a green monster driving a header-flamed muscle car. it wasn't until i found a 10 year old copy of guns-n-roses appetite for destruction hidden away in my basement that i realized i had seen this type of art before. williams painted the metal spider lunging from a wooden fence to prey on boy for the back cover. that picture fascinated me then as do these images now. i lost my copy of this sometime back but the juxtaposition of amoeba behind the wheel of fast cars being chased by cowboys lingers in my brain like a dream barely remembered. his work is very much like this. anything can happen, beautiful or frightening, and very often on the same page.

Book Description

Let It Blurt is the raucous and righteous biography of Lester Bangs (1949-82)--the gonzo journalist, gutter poet, and romantic visionary of rock criticism. No writer on rock 'n' roll ever lived harder or wrote better--more passionately, more compellingly, more penetratingly. He lived the rock 'n' roll lifestyle, guzzling booze and Romilar like water, matching its energy in prose that erupted from the pages of Rolling Stone, Creem, and The Village Voice. Bangs agitated in the seventies for sounds that were harsher, louder, more electric, and more alive, in the course of which he charted and defined the aesthetics of heavy metal and punk. He was treated as a peer by such brash visionaries as Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Richard Hell, Captain Beefheart, The Clash, Debbie Harry, and other luminaries.

Let It Blurt is a scrupulously researched account of Lester Bangs's fascinating (if often tawdry and unappetizing) life story, as well as a window on rock criticism and rock culture in their most turbulent and creative years. It includes a never-before-published piece by Bangs, the hilarious "How to Be a Rock Critic," in which he reveals the secrets of his dubious, freeloading trade.

Customer Reviews:

a legend.......2007-06-10

lester bangs is a legend in the music industry. this is a great read for anyone who is a fan of his work. i got a used copy and it was in great condition.

More or less a shame.......2007-03-31

Let it be assumed that most of the people who read this book will be familiar with Lester Bangs, be it through his writings or (as when I first heard of him, from the initial issues of _Punk_ magazine or like quasi-insider sources) by reputation.
For such readers, reading this book will be an experience that brings only minor rewards. For those interested in Bangs' writing and its influences, the book will clarify the direct stylistic influences (those called the Beats, mostly). On the other hand, anyone who's read Bangs' articles (collected or in situ) should have had no trouble recognizing the rather flimsy rants as variations on the Beat theme.
Other readers might be interested in the milieu of the book. This was the appeal to me, as I spent much of my youth moving in the same world, meeting the same people (and, indeed, running into Bangs himself at CBGB's). Such readers will find the book a pleasant way to be reminded of other times.
The "shame" part of my title stems from two things: first, Bangs' life as described in this book was pretty pathetic. Much of it was wasted with drug and drink, as was common and unremarkable at the time. (Most of the Bangs reputation grew from self-publicizing.) Likewise, it becomes clear from the book that Bangs knew little about music technically (as becomes clear from reading his generally useless reviews), so that the great measure of the value of his writing comes only from his profoundly derivitive style, which stood out only because of the places in which it was published. Note that Derogatis is clearly a Bangs fan, so that any critical apprasal of Bangs' writing must be supplied by the reader.
The second shame is that this book is a better read than anything Bangs turned out. "Let it Blurt" is not a bad way to pass an afternoon or two, but the uninteresting subject finally gives the reader an impresssion of emptiness. This is no fault of Derogatis': writing about an empty life is no mean task.

Buy the colections instead.......2006-10-19

It was necessary that someone would write a book about the late great Lester Bangs but it could have been better. As some of Lester's stuff it suffers from juvenile tendencies and does not in that sense allways give the man the seriousnes he deserves. It is in no way a very bad book but it should have been better and the two colections of hiw work deserve to be bougth first.

Very Good Biography.......2006-02-22

He was raised by Jehovah's Witenesses, didn't bathe often, and got high off cough syrup. He was recently enshrined in the Rock Snob Dictionary. Welcome to the world of Lester Bangs, whose speed-feuled writing made rock criticism into an art form. Jim Derogatis has done Lester's memory justice, though the subject of his biography comes across as difficult, immature, and self-destructive. Lester lived the life of the rock stars he wrote about. And though he tried his hand at playing in a few bands, his music career never went anywhere. What he's remembered for is his writing, which was done in the gonzo journalist style of Hunter S. Thompson. Whether or not you share Lester's tastes--which ranged from the New York Dolls and Captain Beefheart to Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music anti-album--you have to appreciate his passion for music. He's like the guy in school who would rant and rave about his favorite bands in a way that was both poetic and embarrassing. After all, was what he was talking about that important? For Lester it was: what was at stake was an art form that he felt was more democratic than any. Punk's "Do it Yourself" aesthetic was supposed to signal a new era of self-made musicians and raw, powerful albums. Lester believed that rock was never about the music so much as the swagger. One only needed three chords and a lot of attitude. When the 1980s rolled around, Lester seemed depressed by the move away from musicians who couldn't play to the more competent bands of New Wave. Although Lester has been immortalized by Philip Seymour Hoffman in Almost Famous, the spirit of Lester is more apparent in a movie like High Fidelity, which celebrates vinyl snobs and music fanaticism. Whether you like Lester as a person after reading this book, and I did not, Derogatis has written an entertaining and well-balanced biography. However, he doesn't include much of Lester's own critical writing in the book other than the appendix piece, "How to Be a Rock Critic." But, having read this book, I now want to seek out collections of Lester's work. Recommended reading for any serious rock fan.

Lester Bangs Lives!.......2005-09-24

I first became exposed to rock 'n roll literature through an older cousin who was an avid reader of Creem magazine. I soon became a fan of Lester Bangs'work through that medium. This book does a good job of book documenting the turbulent life of Lester with sincerity, compassion and is a great, easy read. Any fan of Lester and his imaginative, cerebral writings would find this book worthy of being in your collection.

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