Paper

I have one minor complaint with this novel, and it centers around the somewhat misleading cover of the book, which describes the story as "one woman's electrifying obsession." There certainly is an obsession in this book, but that belongs to the narrator, Vincent Bruce, not to Lilith, as the cover would have you believe. After finishing the novel, I blacked out the "wo" which just left "man's obsession," which seemed to me to be a more accurate description of the story within.

Vincent, the main character, uses the telling of his story as a way to absolve and purge himself of his experiences with Lilith, a patient he cares for at the mental center where he works. He not only falls in love, but becomes "obsessed" with her. The second half of this novel mostly centers on his attraction to her, and how he compromises his duties as Lilith's caretaker with his feelings of love for her, a woman she herself describes as "mad."

I don't want to give away too much of the story, but the prose in which it is told is both excellent and sensitive. I can't tell you how this book got under my skin! This novel succeeds in disturbing the reader, such is the brilliance of the text. It is seldom that a book really affects me as this one did. Salamanca portrays the story as if it really happened, as if it is a work of truth rather than fiction.

It's a sad story, but one conveyed through beautiful language. Indeed, there were many passages where I felt like crying while reading them. As much as a reader can, you care for Vincent, and you care about what happens to him, and worry (as he does) about his ultimate destiny. He's a directionless figure, who just wants to succeed at something, and make a good life for himself filled with meaning, as his absent mother wished him to do.

I urge you to read this book. And I ask, as another reviewer here does, "Why is this book neglected?" Perhaps you will read it and ask yourself the same question.

My (lengthy) title says it all. Yes, I love this book. Yes, I think everyone should read this book. Yes, I think many people will love this book. Everything the other reviewers have said about it (to date, at least) is true.

But. (You knew a but was coming.) But *Lilith* is Salamanca's second novel. It was originally published in 1961. It partakes of a tradition which Anne Williams, in her really excellent study *Art of Darkness*, has called Male Gothic. The woman, Lilith, is beautiful, desirable, clever, all in a rather unearthly way, and the author clearly loves her; but the *narrator*, who's rather a different being, is destroyed by her. That is, like her namesake, she's sublime in proportion to the degree to which she is also diabolical. Masculine principle destroyed by contact with diabolical femininity, which is associated with landscape, language, beauty: that's Male Gothic, and that's also the pattern of this book. Those evil/desirable women do in those hapless men again.

Let me hasten to remind you that a) I still love the book, in part because the AUTHOR is kinder to Lilith than the NARRATOR can be, and b) that this book was published 30 years ago. Do I blame the author for following a pattern which isn't very kind to the idea of womanhood? No, positively not. And one very good reason not to, if you need one, is because, yes, he got better. In his later works, the women become more earthly, less diabolical, more human, less like muses. In a way that only good authors do, Salamanca has deconstructed his own patterns and called them into question.

Critics, by and large, loved *Lilith* where they scourged *Southern Light* and the recent *That Summer's Trance.* Admittedly *Lilith* is easier reading, and perhaps a better book for those who don't know Salamanca's work to begin on. (Among other qualities, *Lilith* is much shorter.) But I wonder too whether those critics weren't more comfortable with demonized women than with more complicated ones, and whether the devastation that ended *Lilith* didn't strike them as a more suitable punishment for abandon than the very different situation which ended *Southern Light.* In *Southern Light* the author declines to destroy those who have worked horrors; he even allows them (dare we say it) to be redeemed. In *That Summer's Trance*, devastation once again ends the book, but not as punishment for abandon, but for (sorry) abandoning abandon, for selling out. Now let's take a wild guess here: why, do you suppose, might readers in a consumer society prefer to be told that abandon, rapture and passion end in destruction than to be told that selling out ends in destruction? Any thoughts?

I'm sure you all know the answer to that as well as I do. So that's my final word: by all means buy *Lilith*, read *Lilith*, love Lilith. But if you do love it, be brave: have a try at the newer, longer, scarier books too, the ones whose message, despite the changed medium, is really much more radical.

This book did to me what no other has ever done. I became obsessed with it and read it over and over again for weeks. This was five years ago and I still pick it up once in a while to become engulfed by the enchanting fantasy it brings alive. It is the most beautiful and poetic thing I have ever read. Salamanca is a master of language.

This is the first time I have ever purchased a Farmers almanac, and now I wonder how I ever gardened without one! It is set up in an easy to read format, and is small enought to carry around!

Being America's oldest published periodical, this fact alone assures a potential examiner or reader that it is indeed a worthwhile study. This funny and odd (perhaps one say this, I thought that odd was a good pointer, however, others might disagree over this) book has been read and studied for almost 300 years and gives weather indications for the following year. The supplemental guide to watching the weather is a funny little thing that teaches one how and what to look for whilst one is outside observing the shifting weather patterns. Highly Recommended.

This book tells it all like it is. It leaves nothing out. If you have problems figuring out what the symbols mean, there is a directory that helps you. I recommend the books to friends & family every year - which I perchase every year myself.

Words simply don't do justice to this book. It must be held in one's own hands to fully appreciate the investment that went into producing this masterpiece celebration of animation history.

John Canemaker has succeeded once again in bringing the creative process to a place where both a novice hobbyist and experienced researcher can find full appreciation in a single work.

Paper Dreams is filled to overflowing with original story sketches from the Disney Archives and Animation Research Library. The story sketch is the most primitive form in the process of animation, and yet is crucial to the development of both story and character personality. This process was invented at the Disney Studios in the early 1930's, and is widely used throughout Hollywood to this day, both in animation and in live-action production.

In particular, researchers of original animation art will appreciate this work as creating a permanent record of known storyboards and sketches from the Walt Disney Studio.

While most will never have an opportunity to visit the Disney Archives, Canemaker effectively opens the vaults for all to enjoy and appreciate.

Too often in animation titles, the storyboard element is relegated to a minor footnote. This book presents a wonderful insight to the creative process of animation film making. Many animators and students collect resource material from feature films, and storyboard examples are rare and treasured items. As a storyboarder myself, I was in awe of the beauty and clarity of these works, many I was seeing for the first time. However, anybody with an interest in art or animation will enjoy this book. It is an amazing and definitive collection.

I have most of the 'Art of' books and, though this is a little more pricey than the others, it is worth every cent. It is refreshingly reassuring to finally have a Disney art book NOT written by a Disney staffer, but by a film academic. It was great to read about the men who worked alongside Walt and knew him for all his faults as well rather than the godhead he has become to the company. This book, while showing page after page of behind-the-scenes miniature masterpieces that went into making the classic early features, also describes the not-so-happy endings that such chemistry produced among Disney and his storymen sometimes. It also covers the latter-day storyboard masters like Chris Sanders and the Brizzi twins. I have ambitions of being a Disney storyboard artist someday and this book is perfect inspiration. More than worth it.

This book is a very clear guide to paper engineering. It invites you to cut and assemble the examples that are given to demonstrate basic techniques. I can't bear to cut and paste my copy though. I'm buying a second one to practice on and keeping my original copy as a reference.

This book is a real gem for teachers interested in acquainting children with the engineering principles of pop-ups both as an appreciation of pop-ups they enjoy and introduction into making their own. Well thought out directions and a place to store your samples for future reference are provided.

I found this book 10 years ago in a used-book store. Looked interesting, bought it, and the rest is history. Since then I've purchased every book I can find on this subject, including Mark's latest (Paper Engineering With Elastic Bands). I make my own greeting cards using Mark's first book as a guide. The recipients never fail to tell me the card is a "keeper!" I then branched out and made a book for my 4-year old niece. The other books in this category have given me inspiration but Mark's books are my primary reference.

Chapter Table of Contents:

0. Algorithms, Programs, and CS
1. CS and its Relation to Math
2. Math and CS: Coping with Finiteness
3. Algorithms
4. Algorithms in Modern Math and CS
5. Algorithms Themes
6.-9. Theory and Practice I..IV
10. Are Toy Problems Useful?
11. Ancient Babylonian Algorithms
12. Von Neumann's First Computer Program (sorting)
13. The IBM 650: An Appreciation from the Field
14. George Forsythe and the Development of Computer Science
15. Artistic Programming

Audence:
1) Computer Science faculty and graduate students.
2) Mathematicians.
3) other scientists who want to understand their computer science colleagues.

Knuth is best known for his huge corpus
The Art of Computer Programming [TAOCP] (at this time vols. I-III)
This text (Selected Papers) really isn't for beginning programmers
(TAOCP is better for this even if more dense).
"Selected" is not a How-to book.
It's the Philosophy of the PhD on the computing field.

Math:
Yes. Selected Papers has a fair amount of algebra.
The level of math required to understand and appreciate the book:
for several of the papers, the reader needs an understanding of combinatorics:
'n!' as factorial (not exclamination point), running sums,
matrix algebra, and a bit of calculus. Other papers have practically no math (the last 3 and the opening chapter[0]).
Heavy emphasis appears on the concept of the iterative nature of Algorithms
(in contrast to other sciences which seek closed form solutions).
Can you read it w/o the math? Sure, but you would be losing major points (read it with a knowledgeable friend).

The Reading:
I really liked the paper on Toy problems. I needed this earlier in my career. Many computer scientists who like fun but get criticism will like this essay. It alone is worth the price of the book.

The easy reading introductory parts of various papers are readable withminimum math and have valuable insights (like Knuth's informal observation that 2% of the general populice feels comfortable thinking algorithmically).

The early chapters on algorithms show the importance of experimental randomization methods.

The astute review reader will notice 4 chapters (really
4 speeches) on the ideas of Theory and Practice. A lot of this material is redundant, but it conforms to the ideas of stepwise refinement and it shows some of the development of DEK's thinking. Note: he describes; he does not offer solutions.

Knuth has an obscure challenge during DEK's address to IFIP (T&P IV), slide 33. I worked toward this without knowing it.

I'll be honest with the review reader: I know the author, and
he asked me to promote this book. And it's a book well worth promoting.

The book is a pleasure to those interested in the field.
Chap 4: I sat in the audience for this presentation.
Every library should have a copy for inspection if not enough to have on every computer scientist's book shelf (next to TAOCP, and other books by Don)., and it can be a good gift book to scientists.

If this book is your first Donald Knuth's Book, the way you think about Computer Science will change. The author gives us the opportunity to think about Computer Science and Algorithms like a brillant scientist.

If you are a student you must read this book... and if you are not, I hope you already have it !

Knuth's most famous work, the "Art of Computer Programming" series, is justly famed. Bill Gates said something like "If you can read it all the way through, write me and I'll hire you". But most people can't make it through -- they're put off by the use of assembly language, or by the amount of mathematics. I have to agree that the use of assembly throughout is overkill, and I always wished there was some way to get the essence and excitement of "Art of Computer Programming" without the full tedium. Now there is.

"Selected Papers in Computer Science" succeeds beautifully in showing what its like to be a computer scientist, and how that is related to but different from being a mathematician. At the heart of the book are four essays on "Theory and Practice". Actually, it should be "Practice and Theory", because the only sensible way to progress in any field is to get some practical experience first, and then acquire the theory necessary to understand what you did, and to allow you to do more. Knuth covers this very well for computer science. I am in the habit of dog-earing pages in a book that offer an especially important insight. Looking back at my copy of "Selected Papers", I see that about 40 pages are so marked; an amazingly high ratio for a book of 270 pages. Try a test: read 10 pages from the book at random, if you don't find at least one important insight, then probably this book (and perhaps computer science in general) is not for you. If you do, you can be assured that the full book will give you many more.

This book is great. It's easy to read, and very cute. I think it's a great beginners book.

This was the book I learned to read with. It is still my favorite, even though I am now 18. I buy it for ALL baby gifts. No words can describe how fun this book is. MUST BUY!!! :)

Just as a previous reviewer stated, I am ordering a second copy of this book. I bought it on a whim when my son was 6 mos old. He's a little over two now and still wants this book read EVERY night as part of his routine.

The big pictures and easy words are a great learning tool. It's just enough to stimulate interest but not overstimulate. The length is pretty good too.

Definately worth the money!

In an attempt to save "Leave It To Beaver" from going off the air in 1963, famous authors submit scripts hoping their influence will persuade the network from dumping the show. Scripts include "Lady Cleaver's Beaver" by D. H. Lawrence, "Beavermorphosis" by Franz Kafka (where Theodore actually transforms into a giant beaver), and my personal favorite "And Thus Spake Beaver" by Nietzche ... "And Beaver descended alone from the house encountering no one, and all at once there stood before him Larry Mondello who bit into an apple. And thus spake Beaver unto Larry Mondello, 'Shared cookies make a friend, not getting in trouble together', and he punched Larry Mondello in the stomach." If you love the Beave and love Literary Parodies, you'll love this book.

Wow -- it's nice to see that there are other people out there who have read this book and loved it as much as I did. I bought the book when it first came out in 1985 and I was in college. I almost peed my pants reading it in the bookstore, so I figured I'd better buy it before they threw me out. I still have it on my shelf, and it's provided countless hours of amusement ever since. About the only books I would consider funnier than this one are George Ade's "Fables in Slang" and "More Fables in Slang", which are sadly almost unknown today. They should really reprint this, because it's as hilarious today as it was almost 15 years ago.

When I first read the Dostoevsky episode ("Hey, Wally, do you think it's OK to kill an old lady?" "I don't know, Beav. We haven't gotten that far in civics."), I was in convulsions. This is the funniest book in the history of Western Civilization, even funnier than "The Lazlo Letters," and that's saying something. That it is out of print is some kind of culture crime.

This wonderful children's book explains the history of the ill-fated ship, from the beginning of its maiden voyage in England to the discovery of the boat at the bottom of the ocean depths by Dr. Robert Ballard. The illustrations are lively and vibrant, giving depth to the easy to understand, yet enchanting text. I have read several children's books about the Titanic and this one seems to have the best of everything.

This fabulous children's book recounts with wonderful illustrations and simple language the tragic and familiar story of the Titanic. When the movie came out my children (then 5 and 8) were not allowed to watch it (why ask for nightmares? ). This book, carefully written with attention to detail, was sufficient to satisfy their need to know about this event in a manner that was sensitive, appropriate and accurate. There is even a picture in the first chapter that shows a cut-away style picture of how the ship was set-up: "Fancy rooms" on the top decks, swimming pool and squash courts at the bottom, and all kinds of rooms in between. Someday my children will be old enough to handle the feelings that the movie evokes, but until then, (since we live in Washington State) I want to be able to use a ferry once in a while! I'm very thankful for this well written, historical children's book!

When I was in the 3rd grade, this was my favorite book of all time. I literally must have read it 100 times. I can't believe that I found it on Amazon.com! I am so excited to read it again. I would recommend anyone to get this book- especially Titanic enthuiastes like me(this book made me one).

The clever use of photography and the arrangement of the words is enough to entice any reader. The author makes you want to follow in the footsteps of the main character and think differently. Excellent suspense and humor - an excellent book.

Inspiring thoughts in an uninspired world. Innovative. Creative. It's like a bass drum shakin' your sternum. Real. A must read for all ages. Peace.

This book is a real gem on a lot of levels! I was absorbed the minute I opened the cover of the book. I thought the play of text and images was powerful and engaging! I was tickled to turn each page and discover what you had done.

I teach gifted students at a school in Naperville, Illinois and I read it outloud to them and they "got it" right away. They know what it means to live outside of the box and felt really validated by your story. If you begin to get some student responses, you will know where they came from. I also hope to read it aloud to the parents of these gifted students on Orientation Night!

Michael, I applaud your efforts with this book and cannot wait to have you create more!...

this is a good book for someone around the age of 5 to 7. the book is in really easy to read and in large print. there are 48 pages and it was done in 1988. i think the illustrations could have been a little better. but if you have young kids they might want to read this.

My 5 and 7 year olds LOVED this book! They could not get over the fact that this was a true story and there really is treasure out there to find. They even took it to the neighbor's house and read it to him! That says it all.

Great little book, perfect for the early reader. My then-first grader loved this story of the death and burial of an ancient Pharaoh and his subsequent discovery in the 20th Century by Lord Carrington. Chock full of photos and beautiful, almost impressionistic illustrations. Large print, easy to read.

Tut's Mummy proved to be a valuable part of our Egyptian study. Oh... My daughter's older siblings (then in the fifth and sixth grades) liked the book too!