effect

This book covers everything from what tools and accessories are needed, how to choose the batting for the quilt, to how to accomplish simple to elaborate machine quilting. Beginners through advanced quilters will appreciate the straightforward manner in which this is written. It is a well-organized compilation which takes the quilt maker step by step through the machine quilting process. This book is a must for anyone who is interested in machine quilting.

Harriet Hargrave writes as if she is looking over your shoulder watching you work. This is an easy and entertaining read, packed with practical information on threads (I didn't realize it was possible to choose a thread stronger than my fabric!), needles, grain direction, quilt assembly, binding, etc. I am a beginning quilter, and learned a great deal of beginning information from this book. Harriet even addresses how to package or bundle a quilt you plan to machine quilt, so that it is easier to handle and unfolds as you work.

There are beautiful photographs of antique and contemporary machine quilted quilts for inspiration. There is an excellent section on how to modify quilting patterns for machine quilting.

A side note is that Harriet is one of few quilting authors who addresses the ergonomic needs of the quilter and sewer, with more suggestions about worktable height, chair types, back support, and support for the quilt "package".

This is just a great book, and spiral bound too!

When I started to quilt a few months ago, I bought many "how to quilt" books. None of them really addressed what to do once you conquered piecing a top unless you wanted to hand-stitch it. This book covers what you need to know to to finish your quilt in style. The patterns are beautiful and just what I wanted. If I had found this book earlier, I would have saved myself from buying all of those useless other books!

This book is good for everyone from beginner to seasoned quilter.

I am following Dr Akins diet. Vitamins and supplements are a major part. I needed more information and a second opion. The vitamin bible is an excellent choice.The book explains in detail what vitamins and supplements you should use for your perticular health concerns. There is a chapter on the popular diets, with suggestions for additonal vitamins and supplements. Mr Mindell gives his own opions,and cautions through out the book. You know where he stands on every topic. I learned about this book from the pharmacy where I buy some of my vitamins and supplements.

I have been a Doctor Mindell fan for a long time. He has an incredible ability to make tough science, fun and easy to understand. This book is his best and most up-to-date yet. It is simply the best vitamin/mineral book on the market today.

Dr Mindell proves once again that he is on the cutting edge in nutrition... Dr Mindell is years ahead of any other nutritional author.

In this book you'll find nutrients that the massive health food store doesn't even sell-yet. But after a couple of years everyone will find out about them, and there'll be a demand for them.

I found previews of soon to be popular nutrients, along with some 'tried and true' nutrients that I already knew about and Dr. Mindell gave me more information about them...

If you are into health and nutrition than this, and all of Dr. Mindell's books should be referred to often.

I have osteoarthritis in my shoulders and neck and after sitting in one position at the computer, my pain is unbelievable. Or--should I say--WAS unbelievable. I saw this book advertised and was doubtful--after all, there was a "cure" for arthritis two years ago that was pure hype. I was fascinated with the many REAL scientific studies--the credibility of the authors, and how Super Aspirins may be proven to stop some cancers and Alzheimer's disease. I got an Rx from my doctor three weeks ago--within 48 hours (that's Celebrex--twice a day), my pain was gone--none. I now sleep with no pain; I arise with no pain. I exercise, ride my bike, jog with my dog. It's truly a miracle. If you have arthritis pain--BUY THIS BOOK. Follow McIlwain's PLAN TO END PAIN. TAKE SUPER ASPIRIN AS directed. It will give you an active life again.

In the past six months, I have been plagued with constant, nagging pain in the lower back and left hip. The pain even happened at night and interrupted my sleep, leaving me tired and unable to concentrate during the day. After an evaluation, my doctor said--arthritis. I tried Advil and while my pain eased, my stomach churned and I was left with constant burning and indigestion. Then the Super Asprins were released. My doctor gave me Celebrex to try. I was leary because I hate having stomach pain along with hip pain! But I tried it--and it was AMAZING. Within 24 hours and 2 Celebrex later--I was literally pain free. I could move with ease and bending over didn't hurt. I began to sleep soundly all night--without awakening because of pain. I saw Dr. McIlwain's book online and ordered it--and everything he says is true--Super Aspirins are the miracle cure for arthritis pain. The book is easy to read, easy to understand and filled with alternative methods of easing pain which I found to be very helpful. If you have arthritis--or any joint or muscle pain--you do NOT have to live with it. Get this book! Then try the Super Aspirins--you'll get your life back!!

Very interesting read on the new super aspirins. With arthritis slowing me down, this book gave me hope. My doctor agrees - the COX-2's can help with the pain with fewer side affects. Thanks for the great update on breakthrough medications.

This is a very well told and well illustrated story. Way back in the beggining of time, when all the animals, mountains, trees, winds, and waters could somehow talk to each other, they started arguing about who and what God is. Eventually, the argument got so loud that Old Turtle, who had never spoken much before, told them that God is everything, God just IS. Then he told the animals about a new creature that was coming, as a message of love from god to earth. Then People came. They forgot they were a message from God. They misused their power, and hurt each other and the earth. Then they were told to stop by a new voice. The mountain, ocean, stone, breeze, and star told them what God was. The people listened, and started to see beauty in one another and the earth. This book has beautiful water-color illustrations. The people are not well illustrated, but with water colors that is understandable. This book was written by Douglas Wood, and illustrated by Cheng-Khee Chee.

This book might be seen as a children's book, but adults could learn lessons of God, love, acceptance and the celebration of diversity from this beautiful book. The watercolors are stunning, and the words bring the story across with gentleness and simplicity. A classic. And be sure to look for the new recording by the Turtle Creek Chorale and Women's Chorus of Dallas for the musical setting of this book with Marlo Thomas narrating. Listening to this moving music while reading the book brings every art form together for a true emotional experience.

I NEVER write reviews, but I had to write about this one!

It talks of all the different aspects of the earth and their arguments with each other over what is God. Old Turtle speaks up and proclaims that God is all the things they have said, but most importantly, GOD IS.

Old Turtle then goes on to talk about how humans are coming and are a gift. The humans do come, but they forget the gift and thereby destroy much of the earth. When they remember, they realize that if they love, they will experience the gift of God again.

This is how I want to teach my son and new baby about God. Not the politics of who is "right" or "wrong." We can all just be assured that through whatever spiritual path we are all on, we can take solace in knowing that GOD IS.

Beautiful story.

This book is excellent for the beginning and intermediate level
runner. Running can be difficult for sedentary people. This work
teachers you that walking is an important prelude to running.
The authors develop a methodology for running and goal-setting.
They cover some important dietary changes; such as, eliminating
junk food and drinking large quantities of water during lengthy
exercise sessions. The work teaches how to purchase a good
running shoe. In addition, the authors provide comparative
blood pressure monitoring statistics for each age group.
The book even contains a chapter on running for the disabled.
Finally, the work develops a list of a dozen or so concerns
for all runners i.e. flexibility, weakness in postural muscles,
structural weaknesses in the musculoskeletal system, uneven
footstrike, impact strike, poor sleeping habits, sciatica,
tension and disc problems-just to mention a few. In addition,
the work covers basic stretching exercises to enhance

flexibility during " the run" . The book is a worthy
investment for anyone planning a long-term running program.
This work will ensure that your efforts are incrementally
paced to avoid unnecessary injuries.

... However, I laughed today when I saw the "sell this book" button on this page and thought to myself NEVER. This and the competitive runners guide (start with this one unless you are definitely ready to start racing and run regularly already) are books that I take everywhere with me. I hardly have time for novels anymore between my running and my rereading of these two books and I've never been happier ....

I was until December a consummate couch potato and now I'm running in the New York City Marathon this coming November and I owe it all to Bob and Shelly-Lynne Glover and these books. I don't need to go further as all you have to do is read nigel's review from London and you have my experience with these books.

Oh, I do want to say one thing although it was mentioned in another review as well. I think the reason most people try and give up running and say it isn't for them is that they go out and try to run 2 miles or 20 minutes or something that seems reasonable to them, but really isn't. Take it gradually as the book advices and you will love running and avoid the aches, pains, disappointments, and difficulties that others run into or you may have before in your life.

Don't bother with any of the other running books. This is the one you want.

I was one of those persons that just couldn't run. If I ran for more than 3 minutes I would be out of breath so fast that you wouldn't believe it. Then, one day I decided that it wasn't normal to just run out of breath after a short run. Looking to learn from someone who would know what they were talking about, I searched Amazon for books on running, and ended up selecting this one. The book is very good, well written, and straight forward. To make a long story short, on March the 28th I ran my fist Half-marathon in 2:20:07. For me it is an absolute milestone in my life. All I can do is give credit to this book for it helped a lot. Thanks Bob Glover.

Being new to computers and graphics I have many books on the subject of CorelDraw. This book is by far the best in my collection. Because the author is an artist,he can show you how to create interesting projects step by step with the many tools and effects in this program. CorelDraw 8 F/X is written in a friendly crazy computer artist guy next door manner, which is a great way to learn and just what I was looking for.(I,m a rookie) With alittle time and practice(zen magic click) I'll be able to create some realy cool projects, I thought I never could. I've spent alot of time and money trying to learn this subject and this book is worth twenty times it's price ,if not more. If you work with CorelDraw you owe it to yourself to buy this book and learn some excellent skills and techniques(not just the basics,but subjects other books just dont include). A great many thanks to Shane Hunt ("You Da Man") for sharing his knowledge and creativity to those of us who want to learn .

Shane Hunt's Corel Draw FX is one of the best books for intermediate and advanced Corel Draw users. After you've learned your basics from the other Corel Draw books, buy this one. It's the perfect next step for people teaching themselves how to use Corel Draw. Shane takes you through the steps of making explosions, aliens, "mysterious pools of liquid" -- all inside of Corel Draw 7 and Corel Draw 8.

Shane Hunt's writing style is personable, logical, and very easy to understand and follow. What's more, his instructions really work!!

Somehow, after reading this book, I came away with a better knowledge of how to work smarter and not harder in Corel Draw (believe me, I know how to make my life difficult when using Corel Draw. Shane teaches you how to make your design sessions easier with Corel Draw).

And since saving time is always a big part of making a profit, Shane's techniques and insights (his way of looking at design problems) are invaluable. If you find yourself in one of those design doldrums, when no ideas are flowing from your fountain of creativity, and your muse just went on a coffee break, pick up this book for some snazzy ideas. If nothing else, the eye candy in the 96 page color section ought to re-animate your brain cells. But the tips and tricks of working smarter -- not harder are what really make this a great book to learn from.

The good thing about this book is that it gets just to the point. Unlike other books, which tells every detail of this and that drawing tool, this book instructs you how to make nice and stunning graphics in a short time. With only a beginners knowledge of CorelDraw I started up following Shane Hunts carefully written instructions and succeded in making some spectacular images for my Website - graphics that I could never have done myself, without the help from a professional designer: Metallic looking 3D objects and so on... I found it relatively easy to learn tricks from examples and then adjusting it for my own purpose.

There is only one thing I would ask for in a new edition: A little more on Web-graphics. I can recommend a couple of other books with almost the same approach as this one: "The CorelDraw Wow Book", by Linnea Dayton, Shane Hunt and Sharon Steuer and "Corel Studio Techniques", by David Huss & Gary Priester. They are also great.

I discovered this book 31 years ago, for my daughter and it is still loved by all the family. The illustrations are wonderful, warm, charming and delightful and bring a special meaning to the story. We still read it to all the young children on Christmas Eve and for adults we read the story and pass a grab bag gift every time the word THE is mentioned. It would not be Christmas without this book. It is magical.

We have an inexpensive paperback version (see our reviews) of this classic poem, and we said that's enough for us. That was before we looked through this beautifully illustrated (by Bruce Whatley) edition of The Night Before Christmas.

The lyrics are the same, from book to book, but the fanciful illustrations in this one are enough to engage adults and children as they read this book together.

The perfect gift for any family whose Christmas tradition includes reading this classic!

Each page in this book is definitely a piece of art! Mary Engelbreit outdid herself on this one. I initially checked it out from our local library and then decided I wanted it for our girls. It's a book I want them to be able to read to their own children one day! I would definitely recommend it!

I received this book last week, and had time over the weekend to enjoy a lot of it's contents.
Matte Paintings have always been my favourite aspect of SFX, so this book was one I have been waiting for. The price put me off, so I spent longer than I should deciding to buy it.
I diddn't need to worry. If you love the art of the Matte Painting, this is the one book you'll need, and the only one you'll need. From interviews with the Matte Artists themselves, and a complete history of the Matte painting, it simply covers all you'd want. A CD rom is included which compliments the book perfectly.
A beautiful book- Well written, and with the quality of layout that a subject like this deserves. Well done to the creators of this excellent publication!

This book is a unique collectors item. Many recent films have come out with a companion "Art of ____" book. There have been many special effects books that focus on one company or another (ILM, Digital Domain, etc). But the content of Invisible Art spans the entire history of film itself.

The focus of the book is matte painting, a specific branch of visual effects. It is a technique that has been used in films from the beginning. Over the last 10 years, matte painting has been transformed by the digital age. Before computers, many of the most stunning and beautiful effects were hand painted. Sadly, most of these paintings have been lost or destroyed. At the time of their creation, the paintings served a practical function. Looking at the pictures in this book make you realize that these paintings should have been saved and displayed in museums.

This is an outstanding document of art, film history, and some of the personalities involved in this branch of visual effects. It follows the history of film through artists working in the industry. In the last chapter, it bridges that history into the digital age. A major achievement.

I grew up in L.A. in the 50's and 60's when it was not OK to discuss matte painting as the studios did not want people to know that they really didn't go on location to film in exotic places. When people asked what my father did for a living, I said he was in "special effects." Then they would say "So, he blows up things?" "No, he paints in things that aren't there..."

Now, everyone can see what it is that he did for so long. He paints in things that aren't there. The authors did a fantastic job of explaining and demonstrating the incredible art of matte painting. Now I have the book to show my kids and others who never quite understood what it was that my father did. Also, this book has a great picture of him dancing with Betty Grable!

This is a review of his *VIDEO*, "Painting Light & Landscapes".
I couldn't find it on Amazon.com so I'm putting the review under his book.

This title is separated onto two videos, part 1 about 1 hour 15 min, part 2 about 1 hour. (I couldn't get an exact time count for tape 2. It varied every time I timed it. Maybe the tape material was stretching?)

It begins with a brief bio of his training and awards, showing several of his painings in the background.

Then, a brief intro to some basic techniques, flat wash, graded wash, wet in wet, but nothing else.

Then he begins to demonstrate his painting, a foggy landscape, mostly done wet in wet.

The value of these videos is to see his demonstration of him actually painting. You see every stroke, which is very good for learning. Camera angles and audio are excellent.

But he doesn't teach design, composition, value sketch, color mixing theory, etc. If you want to learn these basics of painting you are better off with Tony Couch or Tom Lynch videos. But it is valuable to see Paul do his demo because he talks about his thinking process as he paints. It is always valuable to see how a painter thinks about his painting, his process, rather than just staying with cold techniques. These videos are excellent for that.

He points out how the water & paint behaves, how he corrects or covers up mistakes, how he layers paint to get rich values, how he choses colors he is using, how he changes his designing, etc. Its amazing how he gets his effects with his huge brushes and lots of water.

He usually names the colors he uses, mostly Winsor & Newton. But as he doesn't talk about color mixing theory, or quality of paints, he doesn't talk about permanant or fugitive clolors. At one point he mentions he is now using a *permanant* Alizarin Crimson, a historically fugitive color. (Genuine Alizarin is fugitive, which means it will fade or change over time with sunlight shining on it, and you shouldn't use it since there are permanant substitute paints for this color. *Premanant* Alizarin is most likely made up from these permanant substitue paints, but companies preserve the old name so thay can make money.) But then he uses *huge* amounts of Winsor Violet, which I belive is made of of Dioxazine, which is a fugitve color! (I hope I'm correct in this and not making a fool of myself. If I am, I appologize in advance.) According to Michael Wilcox's book, "The Wilcox Guide to the Best Watercolor Paints", he states that Dioxazine is a fugitive color. So why 1) does Mr Jackson use it if he switched to a *Permanant* Alizarin, and 2) why does Winsor & Newton continue to put out fugitve colors for sale at all???? (Read Wilcox's books to learn how to mix violets and purples using permanant colors as well as find out which paints are fugitive and which are permanant.)

While it is wonderful to see Mr. Jackson demo his painting, the whole video is *continually* broken up everytime he needs a break to dry his paper with *numerous* silly interviews of clients and samples of his paintings. These breaks happen at different times, after 5min, 12min, 17min, 24min, etc.

Showing samples of his beautiful paintings at these breaks is acceptable, although time consuming if you want to keep the actual demo on *one* VHS tape. You can go to his web site to see all his paintings. But the interviews are totally frustrating.

The interviews are of some of his clients/patrons: eg. Gov of Missouri, his 1st Lady, and several Doctors. These are more like infomercials. All they say is how wonderful Paul Jackson is, how much they like and are amazed by his art work, how his art is so detailed "it looks like photographs", how he paints upside down even though "that's impossible, but he does it!", etc. These "infomercial" commentaries are TOTALLY USELESS!!! They take up valuable video time and waste the viewer's time. These are all distinguised people, clients, patrons, nice people who really appreciate his work, but with all due respect, who cares about their comments! They are not artists. I bought the video to see Paul paint, not hear non artists babble on and on singing his praises and their amazments! I already know how wonderful he is and am amazed by his art myself, otherwise I wouldn't have bought the video and his book! I don't need nor want their comments. Its a total waste!

These breaks are short, 30 sec to 1 min each, but are so numerous, between 20-30 of them or more, they break up the flow of the video. I tried to time them to see how much time they took. Between the two videos, the infomercial interviews totalled to about 8 min, and the gallery of his paintings totalled to about 8-10min. Not much time total, but because there are so many of them, they are very frustrating and intrusive.

If the tapes had totally eliminated these useless interviews/comments and edited down the samples of his gallery of paintings, he could have fitted his *actual demo* onto a single 2 hour tape. Why, we need to ask, was it spread out onto 2 tapes with so much filler?

I rated the video with 4 stars instead of 5 because of these useless interviews. I would recommend this set of videos to actually see him paint. You just need to ignor the interviews. You can learn a lot just from observation and hearing *HIS* comments! If you get his book, you will get more step by step instructions.

If he ever does another video, which I would love to see of his tighter style, I would recommend: 1) DROP THE USELESS INFOMERCIAL INTERVIEWS! LET YOUR ART SPEAK FOR ITSELF. LET YOUR PAINTING DEMO SPEAK FOR ITSELF. and 2)show more of your planning, design stage. This is just as important as seeing you actually paint.

I ordered the book after visiting Paul's website which has many of his beautiful paintings online and I was really delighted to receive my copy yesterday. The book is done on a very professional level, filled with gorgeous step-by-step projects, and it serves as the door to the Paul's spectacular watercolor world. I've recently realized (I'm a beginner watercolorist) that a painter needs to train ones vision the same way as a musician needs to train fingers, and Paul gives many valuable hints on such perception development, seeing beyond the still life objects and taking them to life by help of light effects. The many projects in the book are very interesting and tempting, earlier I used to sigh when seeing some amazing paintings depicting colored glass, crystal and metal objects, but now I'm sure I'll be trying to paint them myself by using Paul's instructions! Also the architectural paintings demand special attention, painted Paul's way, the churches, monuments and city buildings create a special mood and they become messengers to the viewer. I really recommend this inspirational and at the same time very practical book to watercolorists of any level.

I have read a great many watercolor books, but Paul Jackson's book "Painting Spectacular Light Effects in Watercolor" merits special attention. This is not just a book about watercolor techniques, but teaches the reader how to REALLY look at a subject so he can accurately depict it. Once you can really see something, you can then paint it with your own style. Paul Jackson's style is spectacular. He uses both his own paintings and colored photographs as examples, and give us several step by step guides to his painting style. I am delighted to include this book in my library of watercolor books, and I recommend it to watercolorists of any level.

This is an utterly charming work. It has been retold myriad times, but nobody else has done it as well as the original teller, J. M. Barrie.

It's difficult to know what to say about a book like this... everybody knows the story. But I guess that unless you've read this book (not just seen a movie or read a retelling), you don't really know the character Peter Pan, and without knowing the character, you don't really know the story. So read it.

By the way, if you enjoy this, you probably would also like "Sentimental Tommy" and its sequel "Tommy and Grizel", both by Barrie. There are differences (for one thing they're not fantasy), but there are also compelling similarities. Anybody who found Peter Pan a deep and slightly bittersweet book would be sure to enjoy them.

-Stephen

The book 'Peter Pan' by J. M. Barrie is a truly beautiful work. It is never too cloyingly sweet or too harsh, and the child's perspective of the world is beautifully crafted. It does, however, bring you along on a journey to the Neverlands, and perhaps for a little while we can be reunited with our dreams.

Although Wendy seems a little prim, she is sweet and motherly. John was offhand and brave, Michael was tiny and believing. My favourite character was, however, Peter. The author really outdid himself on this one. Peter's innocent cockiness and love for dangerous adventures endeared him to me at once. He still has all his first teeth, and his first laugh - what more could we ask of him? His frightful happiness in danger reminds me of my seven-year-old self.

The book retains a magical quality right up to the last page. The midnight scene where Peter coaxes them out of the window has always stood out in my mind; there is a kind of magic in an ever-young boy, small and innocently cocky and always up to some mischief. The ending of the book is very sad, for only those who are gay and young and light-hearted can fly.

Definitely a book worth reading. Adults, trust me on this one: you might think you're too old to read this book, but once you do you'll find that a piece of Neverland still resides in your heart.

In almost a hundred years 'Peter Pan' has become a universal kiddie literature classic. Mostly basing on his personal experiences and people he knew, J.M. Barrie created a work full of subtle undertones that have been subject of deep controversies.

Rather than the story of a boy who refuses to grow up, a new approach on 'Peter Pan' has been developed. One of the most interesting is the one which is based on the analysis of the three primal female characters: Wendy --and Mrs. Darling, as well--, Tinker Bell and Tiger Lily. According to experts, they represent aspect in women that Barrie found intolerable. It is largely known that Barrie had serious problems with his mother, which may have led him to use such bipolarity on motherhood in the book. While on the one hand Mrs. Darling is a loving and concerned mother, on the other, Peter's --and the lost boy's as well-- mother abandoned him -- leading him to an eternal search of a mother figure, however unconscious it is.

The sexual aspect of the novel is so subtle that for many people it may be unnoticed. However, it is clear that the book deals with several taboos, being incest the most recurrent. Peter and Wendy have both a mother/son relationship, and also there is the wish of being 'lovers' --recurring to Oedipal myth. This is one of the most interesting aspect for the books --at least when it comes to an adult approach on 'Peter Pan'. According to Jacqueline Rose's 'The Case of Peter Pan, or, The Impossibility of Children's Fiction', "The sexuality which matters is both more and less explicit than this. It is sexuality in the form of its repeated disavowal, a relentless return to the question of origins and sexual difference which is focused time and again on the child". This is what makes the novel so intriguing: it is possible to read 'Peter Pan' is more than one way --and all of them are more and more interesting.

When it comes to kids themselves, this book is part a fairy tale, part an adventure and a familiar ode. These aspects make 'Peter Pan' appealing to both boys and girls. The characters while archetypical --this is unnoticeable to children-- are very vivid and it is not hard for young readers become their 'friends'. At the same time, all the 'sexual' aspect of the book is so subtle that parents can't be afraid of allowing their children to read the novel.

However, the unabridged 'Peter Pan' is not advisable to very young readers due to its fanciful language. When it was written in the early XX Century, that was the current language, but, nowadays some words like 'ofttimes' and 'diffidently' are not very common in a 10 year-old lexical. The narrative is told in first person, and the narrator used a lot of 'I''s which only bring the children closer to the story making it easy to feel part of the adventure --it was very smart of Barrie, because with that he makes friend with the child, and the story flows as if they were exchaging confidences.

All in all, J.M. Barrie's 'Peter Pan' will always be a children's fave and it deserves its place in the Fantasy Literature canon and will amuse young --and not-so-young-- readers forever.