Holder

This book made absolutely no sense! it had about 50 subplots and even the main one wasn't to clear. But according to most people it seems the author of the book was the problem.
Gernerally, i don't notice the authors of the books when i first pick up the book, but as i was reading the reviews for this book, i noticed that Nancy Holder is the one where people always say that books are always to confusing, have too much information, or jump back and forth to many times for a person to understand.
I still do not understand what exactly happened in The Book of Fours. I know that it was meant to focus on the four slayers, two live ones and two dead ones, but all the other plots did not fit in with the story. i also thought that the ending was to hard to follow and the prolouge at the beginning made no sense in refrence to the rest of the book.
The only semi-good thing about this book was that it focused on the life on the slayer before Buffy, India. I really wanted to know who she was since they never mention her on the show. Although they did mention her and she was one of the main parts of the book, i firmly believe that this book has ruined any more furthur stories any Buffy author wants to write about India.

Through a world of nightmares that Buffy, and Faith have been sharing during their slumbers, an evil has invaded the small town of Sunnydale, setting a huge disaster on all of the resident Sunnydale innocents. The nightmares revolve around four figures that represent the four elements: fire, water, earth and air. Each figure carries a box, covered in bones and grafted skin. Giles soon learns that the last time that these figures were seen, were by India, Buffy's immediate predecessor. Now Buffy is cramming every bit of information about India, and these strange figures into her brain, so she knows exactly how to save Sunnydale, and the innocents who reside there.

This was an amazing addition to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer book series. Holder has created an intricately woven novel, featuring a brand new, never before seen slayer, India Cohen. The scenes are written so descriptively, that you feel as if you are right there with the Slayers, fighting the evil that lurks around Sunnydale. A must-have book.

Erika Sorocco

Many of the reviews that have been put up have upset me, The Book of Fours, By: Nancy Holder I personally thought was a wonderful book.

I have been told by far to many people that you if you haven't read the Gatekeeper Trilogy and Pretty Maids All in a Row, you will be lost, but I don't think this statement is right, I haven't read any of those books and I understood all of it. Its just in the beginning that you understand very little but if you just stick with the book and keep reading it turns out to be wonderful. By the time I had bought the book so many people had told me it was not very good and I was not going to read it but in the end I read it anyway and I am thankful for that.

The only thing I found remotely boring about the book was all the looks into the past I found those so boring that I wanted to skip them but I didn't, and they weren't really that bad after all.

I think this book has everything a reader is looking for a lot of action a little bit of romance a little humor (I loved the part about the surf board it cracked me up) and the best thing of all, something about the book that just makes you keep reading and reading! I especially enjoyed the parts about Kit and India (mostly the parts in her diary).

The 1 piece of advice I have for you is that do not let the first prologue totally confuse you, that is the part I think Ms. Holder should not have put in the first prologue because you can make absolutely no understanding of it till the end. (don't let it frustrate you as it did me).

All in all, I think all the Buffy fans should read this book! I know they would love it!

The first AP World History exam will be given in 2002, and this Peterson volume is the first study guide to become available. Whatever its flaws, it will be welcomed by many teachers and students who are pioneering this new AP course in its first year. What follows is a first impression by an AP World History teacher who occasionally moonlights as a College Board Consultant for AP World History.

Like other Peterson guides, this one begins with a diagnostic test, and the remainder of the book follows the typical pattern for AP study guides: a first half on test taking strategies (Chapters 1-5), and a second half on content review (Chapters 6-10). As a teacher, what I liked most about the study guide were the practice tests and the tables that organized and summarized content. What I liked least were the chapters on test-taking strategies, which seemed to lack the sophistication needed for students to excel on the written portions of the test. However, to be fair, 'your mileage may vary' depending on your grade level and level of AP experience. If you are a high school sophomore - as many students taking this course are - and you have very little or no experience taking AP exams, the study guide is very accessible and covers the basics in a simple, straightforward way. On the other hand, if you are a senior with lots of AP experience and are hoping to score a 5, I suspect you're going to be disappointed - but you should still find the practice tests moderately useful.

The study guide provides students with a course outline straight from what teachers recognize as 'the Acorn book,' and it obviously relies heavily on this source as a guide to the information it covers. Practice essays and DBQ topics are taken directly, if not stolen outright, from the Acorn book, and they are accompanied by rubrics that consist of elaborate (brainstorming) lists and tables. Oddly, the study guide does not provide students with a detailed explanation of the rubric that AP readers use in evaluating essays, i.e., what is specifically required for an outstanding essay. Nor do the DBQ chapter or rubrics adequately address issues of context, frame of reference, and perspective, i.e., 'Habits of Mind.'

Teachers and students should be advised that they may find a few of the multiple choice test questions and answers problematic (but what else is new?). The authors have also not quite mastered the technique of providing options within their essay questions, and they appear to prefer to use a minimum number of moderately long documents rather than a maximum number of short documents for their DBQs. Overall though, I consider the practice tests to be the most valuable part of the study guide. The multiple choice practice exams are not nearly as obsessive about factual details as most of the textbook-based exams that many teachers are using in their classes. Of course, we can only hope that the authors guessed right about the level of difficulty of the AP exam. (I suspect the practice tests are a bit too easy.) We won't really know until May.

(By the way, the study guide is 350 pages, not 500.)

AP Success World History contains a great deal of pertinent information regarding the three topics that the College Board emphasizes. Instead of helping me learn hundreds of useless facts, the book aided me by clearly explaining the main topics included on the AP exam, topics including, but not limited to, "how cultures change over time" and "how cultures interact with one another." Once again, as most of the AP World History Exam deals with general trends and not specific facts, AP Success: World History is the right choice for preparation; and since it is not a very long book, last minute studying is more plausible with this book than perhaps any other. I should also point out here that taking the practice tests and STUDYING the SOLUTIONS for the tests is critical to success. By quickly reviewing the book and taking and STUDYING the practice test questions and SOLUTIONS, confidently earned a 4 on the actual AP EXAM with only 2 night's worth of study (90 mintutes of study on night 1 and 3 hours of study on night 2).

If you seriously want to do well on this examination and you have had little, poor quality, or no preparation for AP World History, then buying this book and using it will give you a very good chance of getting a 4. If you want a 5 you might need a little more preparation. Getting a 3 should be no problem.

This is the only such title on this important group of distinguished warriors. Sadly, it falls far short of approaching a definitive or even scholarly effort at what it attempts to be. Indeed, it is barely useful.

There are a few redeeming aspects. The biographical sketches (which are 1-2 pages each) are alphabetically arranged and photographs of each man are included. This makes sense. Unfortunately, however, the publisher did not include an Index(!), even though there are enough blank pages in the rear of the book to have done so. It was either a rush job or the publisher was too cheap. Either way it is unforgivable. Why? Because the publisher did not include a Table of Contents, either! (One would have thought a TOC, at the LEAST, was indispensable.) The result is that it is impossible to look up a commander unless you know his last name. Maps of operating areas would have been helpful (there are none), and there are no tables or appendices of statistical data comparing these men (boat types, losses, time at sea vs. kill rate, etc.)

As if this was not enough, the text coverage, commander by commander, is incredibly inconsistent. Important information for some commanders is included, while similar information on others is simply . . . left out. The fate of those who survived is occasionally discussed--or not, as the author saw fit. The overall editing is lackluster at best, and completely AWOL at worse, which accounts for these and other problems (inaccuracies, for example).

Overall this is a poor job that could have been thrown together in a few weeks by anyone with a handful of books on the subject and a little time on his hands.

The work made in this book by Mr. Kurowski is a masterpiece, that must be read by all u-boat historians. He gives a complete look on every winner of the knight cross. After almost six decades, we still can meet those brave men introduced by Mr. Kurowski.

This book was a big waste of time and money. Aside from the usual "tips" that most of us already know (i.e. "get a lot of sleep.") it contained no valuable information. It's a very misleading book, and does not prepare you for what is actually on the test. It focuses on a lot of parts of speech and literary terms that aren't even on the test. The diagnostic tests are a joke, they're nothing like the test itself. The only thing I got out of this book was a lot of undue stress. It covered all sorts of topics I never thought I would have to know, and I panicked when I did really bad on their diagnostic tests. As it turns out, I did just fine on the test, and all the things I stressed out about weren't even on it. Basically, you don't need this book. It's not endorsed by the college board, and it shows. It doen't aptly prepare you for what you'll face in the test itself.

I was intially a bit uneasy with AP English at first until I picked up this wonder book. Ever since I have been scoring 8-9's on all of my practice essays in class and I have been scoring consistently over 75% in the multiple choice section. You must by this book and I guarantee you that if you work with the book you will get at least a 4 on the real thing. With this book I look forward to a five in May.

This book is interesting in that it provides comprehensive information on the various planes used by presidents as Air Force One. However, the sloppy editing detracts from what could be an excellent photo-essay and history. One photo is printed upside down, and another caption identifies President Kennedy as deplaning in the 1970s (he died in 1963). The text is also rife with date and designation errors (sometimes confusing 26000 for 27000). The photos are fun, but they are ones that have been reproduced elsewhere in many cases. Interior diagrams, unique shots (not staged at museums), personal accounts from presidents and staffs would have improved the book dramatically.

I love presidential trivia of all kinds and this book is a great addition to my collection. From the earliest flight of ex-President Theodore Roosevelt, through the Dixie Clipper seaplane flight of FDR (the first sitting president to fly), to the modern-day Boeing 707s and 747s, there are excellent descriptions plus exterior and some interior photos of all the presidential aircraft. Also included is a very interesting section on the Marine helicopters and smaller support planes which are additionally used to transport the presidents over short distances. Plus there are photos and descriptions of other support aircraft available for staff use. For example, I learned that there are some 757s used by executive branch personnel. Sure enough shortly afterward I saw Colin Powell on CNN at the airport in Vietnam with one of the 757s in the background.

I do have some minor complaints about the book. The interior photos are only of the planes now in museums, not of any of the more recent planes. And while they do give a flavor of the insides of the planes, it would have been nice if diagrams of the interior layouts had been included. Also Holder's text could have benefited from better editing. However, one isn't buying this book for the writing; it succeeds very well in its purpose of presenting a visual record of presidential aircraft.

A good overview of Germany's famous airmen of World War I. Not only are the fighter pilots reviewed, but also Zeppelin and seaplane pilots, observers, and the the generals that reorganized the air service. Some criticism of what should have been in the book:
1.) drawings of the Allied and German aircraft
2.) drawings of the medals recieved by these German airmen.
Also, the grammar was not right in some cases, especially when referring to months. A good overview of the heroes of the German air force in World War I.

On the whole, this is a good book, with plenty of information about these fascinating airmen. If you are new to the history of WWI in the air, it offers plenty to get you started. However the reader should be aware that the book is rifled with inaccuracies, some of them quite puzzling. Some pictures are misidentified, and there are numerous examples of statements which simply do not square with the facts.

Some examples of the types of errors found in the book (there are many others):

1) In Boelcke's bio, the author states that Boelcke crashed to his death in a Fokker Eindecker (pg.42), which is incorrect. But to make the error more puzzling, four pages later (pg.46) in Erwin Boehme's bio, he describes the collision saying that Boehme damaged Boelcke's "upper wing". That is true, Boelcke died in a biplane Albatros D.II... which completely contradicts the statement in Boelcke's bio, since the Eindecker did not have an "upper wing", being a monpolane.

2) In Karl Emil Schaefer's bio, a group photo has KES identified as the 3rd person on the left. Somewhat remarkable seeing as the plane they are standing in front of (a Fokker D.VII) was introduced a year after his death.

3) Several places pilots are credited with downing Sopwith Camels well before they were introduced to the front. The planes were most likely Sopwith Pups, or 1 1/2 Strutters. It seems almost as though an editor with little knowledge of the period came across references to "Sopwiths", and plugged in the only plane he knew of from that manufacturer. For instance, in Goering's bio the author states that he was downed by "Camels" in November 1916. The Camel was not introduced to the Western Front until late Summer 1917. Such an obvious error should never have made it to print.

I don't want a prospective reader to think that this book is not worth having, because it is. Many of the pilots covered in this work receive very little attention by most historians of the period. Their biography's are a welcome addition to my collection. I just want everyone to realize that it needs to be read with care. Obviously whoever edited this book, either did not know the period very well, or simply did a sloppy job. Either way, it is a shame that a good book on a very worthy topic ended up with so many unnecessary flaws.

I totally agree with the reader from Shalimar, Florida, who said this book cannot be read in only one shot, cover to cover. Why? Because it deals with fast biographies of 81 airmen from Germany in WW I. Each og the histories are interesting, well documented, but it only makes you wanna know more!

I bought this book originally from the publisher because I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.The subject,Land Speed Record motorcycles,is exciting and fascinating.However,after reading it I was very disappointed.It IS filled with some really wonderful photographs.That is perhaps its one redeeming quality.The book lacks direction.It appears the author can't decide what he wants his book to be;a history or a how to book.Either would be interesting but the book is too short to be all things to all people.The biggest problem I had with this book is the historical inaccuracies contained within.Example:The author's explanation of how the Harley Davidson factory motorcycle racing team got its nickname,"The Wrecking Crew" is unlike any other description I've read.It came from their dominance in racing,not the hijinks he describes.His sidebar history of S&S Cycle and their longstanding involvement with Record setting motorcycles is filled with inaccuracies as well.These are not arcane aspects of history that were hard to document.I found the information readily available in books,magazines,etc.The very worst thing is the story of the current world record holder.When I read it I immediately recalled a similiar presentation of the same story told in a magazine many years earlier.It appears to be almost lifted verbatim from that magazine("In The Wind" March 1991).I shudder at the implication but it was glaringly obvious to me.I found it insulting that no one took the time to verify some of these facts.It makes the book appear to be slapped together and makes one wonder what other inaccuracies lurk within.The author has a tendancy to handle a lot of information tongue-in-cheek rather than state simple facts in an entertaining manner.I've noticed this in other books I've read by him.I'd say the book's worth buying if for nothing else than the rich photography included,but don't expect much more.

The title of the book says it all. This book is a very good account of the men and machines that have attained the goal of fastest motorycle. From the early days, Bert Le Vack and Brough, Ernst Henne and BMW, through William Herz and NSU, all the way to the streamliners of Triumph, Don Vesco, and Harley-Davidsons, there is a wealth of information and photographs. You really get a feel for the dedication and effort involved in building a machine capable of going over 300 MPH, pushing tires and engines up to and past their limits. The day by day account of the setting of the current record, by Dave Campos and the EasyRiders HD in 1990, is a wonderful climax to the story. 16 days of runs, crashes, worn out tires, transmission overhauls, engine swaps; even the nitrous powered push truck burned a hole in a piston. A most welcome addition to any motorcycle or land speed enthusiast's library.

Anybody fascinated with going fast on two wheels will find it hard not to like this book. The Fastest Motorcycles on Earth is essentially a history, focusing primarily the period from 1960 onward. In addition to an awesome collection of period photos (lots of color) that you probably won't see in any other book, the writer's folksy style gives the whole book a sort of "behind-the-scenes" authentic feel to describing what it's like to go out and try to set a Land Speed Record from the point of view of the guys who've actually done it. Be careful, though...there's enough "how-it's-done" detail in this book that you might be tempted to sell the house and start building your own LSR bike...

I have to admit, when I first got wind of these books, I was excited. Finally, Giles was getting his own books! Woohoo! And they were focusing on his father/daughter relationship with Buffy...that was always one of my favorite elements of the show.

In the words of Agatha Christie...

"A fine idea...pity you couldn't carry it out better!"

Now, the framing of the stories is interesting and unusual. Unfortunately, it's not written very well. I never have liked Nancy Holder's writing, and this time proved no exception. Not even my love for Giles could make it worth the pain. Only true Giles fans could attempt to read this book and not scream out loud.

The problem, you ask? Well, anyone who's read Ms. Holder's books knows that she has an annoying tendency to lean toward teen-speak in her writing. It's all fine and good in dialogue, as sometimes the Buffy characters use it--but in descriptions? (At one point, the setting of Xander's basement is called "Back at Casa del Xand.."). One of the characters might talk that way, but in a description, it just looks ridiculous. Not to mention that in some scenes, the text is so ridden with teen-speak that I have to read it several times over to understand. (And let me add here that I'm under twenty, hardly an old fogey!)

Ms. Holder writes Giles just fine, to my immense relief. Only Giles. With Buffy and especially Dawn, she turns Joss Whedon's brilliant scripts into teen film drivel. It's a bit depressing,really.

So, as I said before...only if you really love Giles could you sit through this book...and even then, it's a challenge.

Sort of Giles centered novel that contains novelizations of the Buffy episodes "Helpless," "A New Man," and "Blood Ties." All of these episodes took place on Buffy's birthday. In "Helpless" Buffy is given a test by the watches' council that takes away her slayer strength and forces Giles to betray her. "A New Man" features the return of Ethan Rayne who turns Giles into a demon. "Blood Ties" takes place during the fifth season when Dawn finds out she's the key.

I was pretty disappointed by this book. Giles is such an interesting character and the best they could come up with was not much more than a script book that is only kind of Giles centered. The first part, "Helpless," wasn't even all that well written. The author managed to make the character's thoughts so shallow and inane that I felt the need to bang my head against the wall repeatedly. "A New Man" was the only truly Giles centered part of the book. The novelization of this episode is the only reason Giles fans should read this book. "Blood Ties" was just kind of there. The concept of this book wouldn't have been so bad if these episodes had been told only from Giles' perspective. That would have supported the plot better since Giles is suppose to be reading these stories from his journal. As it is, this book is basically just a script book with a little bit of the characters' thoughts filled in.

I only have a small handful of these novelizations from the Buffy TV series. The primary reason for my lack of interest is simply that it is rarely the case that the short story captures the aura of the show. With the DVD's gradually appearing, it takes less effort to watch the show than it does to read the written version.

There are some cases where this isn't completely true. Some authors (notably Chris Golden and Nancy Holder) use the opportunity to flesh out the characters and give the reader a deeper sense of the forces in play. Also, there are cases where one wants to know the contents of an important show and doesn't want to wait for the DVD. This latter is the reason for my decision to read 'The Journals..."

The story in point is "Helpless" where Giles deliberately cancels out Buffy's powers so that she can take a 'Cruciamentum' - a do or die test the Watchers put a Slayer through on her eighteenth birthday. In essence, the Slayer is trapped with a strong vampire and must use her wits to overcome it. Only in this case the vampire, Kralik, manages to get free. After turning one watcher and eating another, Kralik sets out after Buffy's mother. The slayer, betrayed by her own watcher must find a way out.

Holder does a great job of bringing across the inner characterization. Giles' agonizing and final rebellion against anything that might hurt Buffy redeems him from his betrayal. Surprisingly, Holder also manages to make Quentin, the head slayer, just enough more understandable, which adds to the intensity.

The other stories are handled equally well. 'A New Man' is set on Buffy's nineteenth birthday, with Giles feeling more than a bit useless. Buffy has a new boyfriend in Riley and someone else to admire in Professor Maggie Walsh. Giles is having a tough time letting go, and the sudden entrance of Ethan Rayne with a less that tasteful gift for Giles that leaves the ex-librarian dependent on Spike, of all people.

The last story, 'Blood Ties,' is set on Buffy's twentieth birthday, in the middle of Glory's search for the key - Dawn. This is the episode when Dawn discovers that she is not really human and goes through a complete identity crisis even as Glory is tracking her down. Buffy must stage a wild hunt of her own to keep Dawn from being used and erased. Holder does a good job of taking the reader from irritation at Dawn's less attractive personality traits to sympathy will a lonely person who does not know who she really is.

All three of these stories center on Giles feelings about Buffy during each of three very difficult birthdays. They demonstrate the tender nature of their feelings for each other as they shift from watcher and slayer to slayer and true father/friend. Nancy Holder does this sort of work as well as anyone can, taking a great deal of care to stay within the bounds of the show while deepening the overall experience. As such, this is worthwhile and entertaining reading. If you haven't seen one or more of these tales, this is recommended reading.

Some points have already been made: Horrible editing, typos, great quotes, and moments taken out of the book: For instance in Beneath You, a bit of the Nancy story is gone, such as her line "Any one here not sleep with each other" something to take effect, it's been awhile since I've seen the episode

Don't know if it's just my copy, but during "Conversations with Dead People" it jumps from page 120 to 521 which terminates that episode novelization. That ticked me off

Glad I'm not the only one who noticed the blatant errors, sometimes multiple per page! I totally agree with the reviewer who thought at first this was just a slip, then noticed how common and frequently occurring the mis-spells, etc. were. Great story, too bad the poor editing and proof-reading diminish the fact.

When WB and UPN switched I was distraught, because I would not be able to watch Buffy. (luckily Wb has Angel) I found this book at Borders and bein' a fan of buff, I bought it. It tells you the whole 7th season, but ads a bit of spice, because you get to hear everything that everyone was thinking. The second best thing to the actual show. Nancy Holder is a great writer and you really get everything when you read her stories. Though it is not an origanal, this book can tell you everything you want to now about the 7th season.

OK, so "Not Forgotten" is a little fuzzy. It dose take a little thought at the end to understand exactly what happened and what it means. But the Angel book line was still trying to find it's way. The story is that Indonesian fire death cult have moved to L.A. to find a sacred book important to their rituals. One of the cultist gets one of Angel's cards (never explained how) and tries to enlist his help. Meanwhile, Angel, Doyle (ah, the good old days of Doyle) and Cordilia are trying to save slaves from sweat shops. Like I said, the end is a little vauge, though it isn't that hard to figure out. What I did have a problem with was that Angel wasn't there as much as I'd like, nor was Doyle, Cordy, and Kate Lockley. Wolfram and Hart was also conspicuosly missing. The bad guys were kind of cool, and I liked that the evil fire-death god was still alive at the end. The flashback to Ireland was sort of pointless, also. So, I don't know what to say about this one, maybe it's not that bad, but it isn't that great either.

First of all, let me explain that I am a big fan of David Lynch and other very odd cinema and literature. However, it takes a very skillfull artist to make a mindwarp like "Twin Peaks" work without losing the audience completely in the process. Of course, when you go for the bizarre you'll lose some people, but when your die-hard fans start scratching their heads you have a problem.

Nancy Holder, in "Not Forgotten" has done a great job with the characters. With only a few minor flubs, their actions and interactions seem like they came right out of a season one script. (Flubs include a little more humor than standard from Angel, some incorrect Irish phrasing from Doyle and flashback Angel, and the fact that Angel's human name was Liam, not Angelus - but at the time the novel was written the show had not revealed that latter point).

I was able to hold on through all the twists in the story and had no problem believing that Ms. Holder would make all clear in the end. In fact, I told my girlfriend when I was half through the book that this was the best Buffy or Angel book I'd read so far and the first one that I'd recommend to her.

Then I got to the end.

I had to re-read the last few pages several times. I was sure that I was more tired than I thought and just wasn't getting something. But no. I won't spoil the end here except to say that it does not successfully tie up any of the dangling plot threads and does not do a good job of making clear what the author intended. I am sure that Ms. Holder had in mind an ending that would wrap up everything nicely and leave the reader going "Oh.... so that's what was going on this whole time!" I can see the edges of the idea she was trying, but in my opinion she left a little too much of the ending up to the reader to interpret. Just a little more laid out would have let us grasp the rest.

All-in-all, a frustrating experience. Only recommended to die hard fans of the show or the author.

This book was only ok. I have read much better from Nancy Holder. The book falls short for Angel. However, the interaction between the characters is still maintained. I would not necessarily recommend this book for anyone besides super fans of "Angel."