Product Description
In Lost in Space, a convincing case is made that the book'sreader is part of a "most awesome adventure" into realms previouslyunknown, and that due to the extremely intense nature of this quest,they've momentarily forgotten where they've come from, and even, whothey really are.

This amazing little book reveals the origins ofspace, time, miracles and more... Lighthearted yet philosophical, thisstory challenges its readers to re-think the very meaning of theirlife!

Sure to be a classic among those in search of the truth! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Wonderful Tale
Michael Dooley deftly and succinctly explains the story of our creation. Included are a few gems, such as "Everything is God," "there is only being," and "you are perfect."

Too many authors get caught up in verbiage when the "truth" is so simple.

Gems of wisdom
This little book contains gems of wisdom, which may seem to be delivered with tongue in cheek, but presents valuable insights into the how and why of our existence, in a very easy to read and understand format. I highly recommend it.

That's how you can see it
This small book gives another way to look at life. It's a really nice, philosophical, quick read.

book
Love Mike Dooley, his words and inspirations are excellent.I read one every day to put me in a better place.

Daughert Loved It
Got it for my daughter and she loved it read the whole book in one sitting. ... Read more

Product Description
Building small can be a sign of higher ambitions, and those who take the time to peruse these pages will undoubtedly grow to appreciate that creating a small home can be an amazingly positive and creative act, one which can enhance life in surprising ways.

THE VERY SMALL HOME presents stunning design advances in Japan. Eighteen recent houses, from ultramodern to Japanese rustic, are explored in depth. Particular emphasis is given to what the author call the Big Idea—the overarching concept that does the most to make the house feel more spacious than it actually is. Among the Big Ideas introduced here are ingenious sources of natural light, well-thought-out atriums, snug but functional kitchens, unobtrusive partitions, and free-flowing circulation paths.

An introduction by the author puts the house designs in the context of lifestyle trends, and highlights their shared characteristics. For each project, the intentions of the designers and occupants are examined. The result is a very human sensibility that runs through the book. a glimpse of the dreams and aspirations that these unique homes represent and that belies their apparent modesty.

The second half of the book is devoted to illustrating the special features in the homes, from clever storage and kitchen designs, to ingenious skylights and nooks. As with his earlier SMALL SPACES, Azby Brown has given home owners, designers, and architects a fascinating new collection of thought-provoking ideas. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (24)

Japan now has plenty of lots available for residential housing...
The book's photos were beautiful and thought-provoking. However, as pointed out by a commentator on the related article which appeared on the NPR (National Public Radio) web site, vacancy rates in most Japanese cities (Tokyo being the exception) are around 10% or higher for the business districts (higher in the outlying districts of course).While it's true that Japan is crowded, if the local and central governments had better land-use and re-development policies, they could do a better job of providing land for the development of residential housing.

interesting list of architects
is more that a very usefull book to develop news ideas of reduced spaces. ingenius designers, generous pictures, different styles, eighteen examples.

Amazing book, lots of great design ideas
I bought this book to get some ideas for practical use of space in a small house that I was renovating.The houses in this book are all buily on tiny plots of land, yet the Japanese seem to be able to make the very most of very square meter.

In particular I like one design enough to try and replicate the entire house at some point in the future, I I can find and purchase the right plot of land.

I wish I had read this book before I started work on my current project, instead of reading it in the final stages.

Fun book, well put together
This is a fun book that can be perused many times without getting tired of it. It is well put together. It features twenty small Japanese houses (including two in the introduction) in the Tokyo area, all of contemporary architecture. There isn't much available land in Tokyo so the architects had to use their imaginations to put everything in a small space. Four pages are devoted to each house, two for photos, one for large 3-D floor plan drawings, and one for the text and a cross section drawing of the different levels or stories.

The rooms appear spacious because they are sparsely furnished, as the Japanese value simplicity. Living areas often have only a dining table and chairs and sometimes a couch or a bookcase, and the bedrooms only have space enough for a bed, storage, and sometimes a desk. The kitchens save space with compact appliances that until recently were not made in the USA. And the toilets are usually put in tiny cubicles separate from the bathing area, which has a tub and/or a shower with a curtain but no stall. The tiniest house has a footprint of less than 18' square and only 533 square feet of floor space, including the loft, and a family with two children live there.

To bring nature to an urban setting where there isn't a tree in sight, several houses are built around a garden courtyard that also illumines the interior rooms that would otherwise be dark. One house has a separate bathing house with grass growing on its roof and views of a private garden. Another househas all its rooms in a row with sliding glass doors that can be pulled back so every room is open to the small yard, including the bathroom that has no door!

informative/inspiring
The original description from Amazon was very accurate.I found the book informative and beautiful to look at.The details at the back of some of the houses were terrific. I liked also that they were built to fit in a certain space.The draw back for me was that everything was virtually custom made so the expense had to be great.I am always looking at tiny spaces for living coupled with a modest cost.It was a good book for storage ideas also, there were some wonderful storage solutions shown. ... Read more

Product Description
When the thing from outer space visits earth, it is taken first for a trick-or-treater and then for a robot. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Halloween Fun
If an object from space came to Earth on Halloween night, would anyone notice?The illustrations in this book are simple and good (James Marshall did the "Miss Nelson is Missing!" books and some of our favorite fairy tales.)Excellent use of light and dark - the illustrations are top-notch.Very cute story - my kids love it.(Oh - look for maps of Texas - those are a nice surprise.)

The Marshals do it again
"Space Case" is a wonderful book for kids and adults alike. It is just as good at Easter as Halloween. Our older kids were huge fans and now our grand children love it too. I love the dad's response when he lets the trick or treaters in the house. Any book by the Marshals or Harry Allard is a delight. I wish they were all in print.

A Remembered Childhood Halloween
I read this story to my 3 younger brothers every night for weeks when we were little. I remember one night in particular when I just didn't want to read it again and it was hours of them begging and keeping me awake that finally changed my mind. But I decided to just read the first page, "It came from outer space..." and then the last page, "And in a flash, it was gone." We couldn't stop laughing. Years later, I thought about this book and couldn't remember it's title or author except for those lines. One quick search on Google led me to "Space Case" and the rest is history. My siblings and I are all adults now and still love this classic Halloween story from our childhood. I'm so happy I was able to purchase it through Amazon.

Still great
I had all but forgotten about this gem from my childhood when I saw it sitting on the Halloween display at the library where I work.
That night when I read it to my daughter, the clever illustrations and the humor brought back a flood of memories from my own childhood.And when she told me that she wanted "the movie of Space Case" for her birthday, I knew it was one of those timeless treats that would carry on into her memories when she's a mother.
Marshall's subtle brand of humor, paired with the charming illstrations makes this a great non-spooky choice for Halloween reads.

What a treat!
This book is a real treat! The humor can appeal to the older kids, while the cute Halloween story can appeal to a younger age.

'It came from outerspace' begins the story and as this thing tries to make friends with cows and chickens and learns to trick or treat a cute story unfolds. The pictures are funny. I particularly like the father who lets them in the house after they have been out trick or treating (very funny) and the costumes that everyone wears are great!

It's adorable and it came from outerspace and it should be on your bookshelves. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (14)

Great Book!
I love this book and read it almost daily.Libby's style is very clean, comfortable and modern.She has some fantastic before and after pictures of rooms. I have used many of her ideas and have received lots of compliments.

Simply the best
I have always loved to read decorating books. Most of them have great pictures but verylittle real information on how they achieve the end result. This book gives you very specific ideas on how to get a pulled together look. I went to look at several model home(condos) that are now being sold in my area. I saw libby's ideas and understood why the decorator made the choices he/she did. It was like seeing something for the first time. I love this book!! Libby is the best!

Very Clever ideas and inspirational book
This is the perfect book for who lives in a small house. It gave me countless ideas of what to do and how to optimise storage without looking cluttered. You have to READ the book and not only look at pictures because most of the ideas are explained in detail. Of course you have to adapt to your needs, afterall, the author is not at your house giving a personal consultation.

Libby's tricks on how to use light, draperies, glass and mirrors are my favourites, they have done wonders for my little flat. I am thinking about one room at the time so, I am focused on different spaces and needs each time I read the book. I keep coming back and reading it all again and again. Each time there is a new finding that can fix a little problem that has been bothering me. Some chapters are divided by room use: bathroom, living room. kitchen, but if you live in a small space, those rooms are not always well defined so, read it all and adapt the ideas. I highly recommend it!

The biggest problem with people who buy books about decoration is that they expect to find THEIR houses pictured in the makeovers. That simply won't happen! If you don't read, and only look at pictures, you won't know what is behind the purpose of that picture and can miss important tricks that could be applied to your own house for your benefit.

A LITTLE disapointed
Was looking forward to this book.When it arrived I was disapointed with what was inside.I thought I would find a lot of ideas to use in my house and for family members houses, but I was wrong.Wish I would of looked at it in a book store before I bought it.

Wasn't as good as I expected.
I was a bit disappointed.It just did not have the practical tips I was hoping for. ... Read more

Product Description
Books on container gardening have been wildly popular with urban and suburban readers, but until now, there has been no comprehensive "how-to" guide for growing fresh food in the absence of open land. Fresh Food from Small Spaces fills the gap as a practical, comprehensive, and downright fun guide to growing food in small spaces. It provides readers with the knowledge and skills necessary to produce their own fresh vegetables, mushrooms, sprouts, and fermented foods as well as to raise bees and chickens—all without reliance on energy-intensive systems like indoor lighting and hydroponics.

Customer Reviews (25)

A great overview, plus enough information to get started
I ought to give this a 4.5, and if you just accept it as an introductory book, not a detailed treatise, its a 5. There are some things in this book that not everyone may be comfortable with, though.

I am a master gardener, so most of what's in here is not new, but there are some great ideas. For example, just seeing how the Europeans do fruit trellises on backstreets was inspiring. Learning how to make your own self-watering container is smart.

The book covers vegetable gardening, berries and fruits, sprouting, yogurt/kefir making, bees, chickens, compost and worms, mushroom growing, container gardening, cold frames and building arbors/trellises to use more vertical space. It is written clearly and points you to other books to read after you've gotten started. And that's all great. Could you have found all that on the internet for free?.... yes. But its still a nice book.

I think what I choked on while reading it is how much time is involved to keep up all these little projects. I would have also loved a "shopping list", with costs, for each project (like the self-watering container, for example, or how much it costs to build a trellis). If you've ever actually done any of these things, and I have, the sobering take away is how much work and time and money goes into getting the results, whether they are a couple of berries in your hand, or a small green salad with lettuce, sprouts and tomatoes you grew yourself. The book does not talk about this factor. It's significant. Most vegetable gardeners will get a merry twinkle in their eye if you ask them about $6 tomatoes, or even $2 zucchinis. Growing food is time intensive and labor intensive.

The other thing (and I like this, but I may not be in the majority) is the last chapter talks about resource depletion, and a time when peak oil or other factors may knock the stuffing out of our food production system. This may not sit well with some people, and this "prep because the world is at end" sensibility is very lightly woven through the book, especially at the beginning and the end. It is where the author is coming from. Again, I personally was reassured by this, because it meant the author and I were on the same page about why we should be learning about this stuff in the first place. But,my mother (for example), would be really thrown off by any "prep for the end is near" talk and might just put the entire book aside for even bringing up something as crazy as peak oil. If your mother is like that, too, you might want to get a different book for her.

A Good Start...
This book is an okay starting place if you need an introduction to urban gardening. The sections on getting enough light, water, and soil nutrients are the gold heart of this book.

Unfortunately, I was also looking forward to the chapter on honeybees--I thought, bees in small urban spaces? It's either the plot of a B-list horror movie or it might just save the world! But the chapter starts off with the acknowledgment that the author has never owned bees, and then it becomes apparent that he never get off his kiester to go research the topic in greater depth. He just says, "Here are a few books on bees." Well, thanks; I could have Googled that.

In the author's defense, the book was sloppily edited. There was the occasional missing word not here and not there. A good editor would have told Ruppenthal to get more dirt on honeybees or delete the chapter and stick the recommended books in a "Further Reading" appendix.

And yes, a "Further Reading" appendix and a list of all the websites and books mentioned in the text would have been really helpful.

It was a interesting read, it just wasn't a $24 read.

Introduction to Urban Homesteading
Great for the beginning urban homesteader.Ruppenthal gives a nice overview of everything from gardening to raising honey bees and chickens (I don't eat eggs, but feel that if you do, it's a good idea to have your own well cared for chickens).

Included are chapters on fermenting, sprouting, and vertical gardening.This is sustainable living right in the city by using available space tofarm your own fresh food.

A must have book for anyone growing food
This is a must have book, it covers just about everything you'd need to know about gardening, why, where, how and even takes you through sprouting, fermenting and making yogurts and kefir. Chickens and honeybees? It's in there. Recipes? In there. I throughly enjoy reading this book, it's one to refer to often..

Very Insightful
I really enjoyed this book much more than I thought I would.This book has some very good ideas for growing food in confined/urban place I had not thought of before.It also goes more into depth than a lot of books on areas other than traditional gardening.I have never kept bees, chickens, or grown mushrooms, but I feel I know much more on the topic after reading the book. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (43)

Dream Sewing Spaces
This is a wonderful book. Eye candy for anyone dreaming of putting together a sewing space.

Dream Sewing Spaces
This book has lots of pictures and really good information on storage for craft items. I was hoping it would have had more ideas for actual layout of rooms, and overall storage. I will get a lot of use out of it becuase of all the pictures.

Dream Sewing Spaces, Design & Organization
I really like this book.I haven't had time to go through the whole book yet, but what I have seen has excited me.It has a lot of good ideas for storage and organization.Since I am in the process of switching my sewing room from a very small room to my larger guest room, I will be using this book frequently for reference.I do alterations at home, so the section on Secondary Centers was very interesting and informative.Thank you Lynette Ranney Black!

Fix that mess
I love this book!I am embarking upon the project I've been wating for,redoing my sewing room. I have the time, themoney, the ideas but needed some guidance to put it all together.The lay outs in the book range from closet size to true studios.I fall somewhere in between.Hubby is a professional carpenter but needed to see what I need, not what he itches to build.This book could just save our marriage during the renovation.It is a wonderful source of infotrmation and inspiration.Thumbs up!

A Book to Feed Your Dreams
I'm in the planning stage for turning a small home office into a sewing room.This book contains both layout ideas and guidelines for determining appropriate heights for sewing, cutting, and pressing areas based on personal measurements.After looking for some time, I don't believe there's a better resource available to get you dreaming and designing! ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (28)

Brutally dry read
Being a Lieutenant in the Army, I got this book thinking I would get some insight or at least enjoyment out of it (hopefully both), but instead this has turned out to be without a doubt the worst techno thriller I have ever read. First of all, there isn't anything nonfiction about this book; if this is nonfiction, then so is every other techno thriller novel ever written. Secondly, this book is filled with more technical jargon and acronyms than most military publications. If you enjoy reading TMs, FMs and ARs in your spare time, then you may enjoy this book. I've had to heavily skim through the book just to make it about 2/3 of the way after two months of trying to read it, and at this point I've given up. I just don't even care how it ends. Do yourself a favor and read a true nonfiction book if you want to learn something or pick up a book from a more accomplished novelist if you just want a good read.

Space Wars
A great read - Even though the book is fiction you'll gain some insight re: US security systems - hardware/software/their operations, how other countries interact with US (esp Iran) and a wake-up call for Western society. This should be read by all U.S. Citizens...especially the politicians

Hard read, but incedible fictionalized story of true events
This book is very detailed and makes it somewhat difficult to maintain concentrated, but the events as unfolded can lead one to believe that we are headed down that exact path. Descriptions of the Nov 2008 presidential election and the subsequent unravelling of American influence in the world are stunningly accurate right up thru the current date. The 2nd half of the book is almost impossible to take a break from. I intend to re-read this book to no doubt pick out more detail.

Nailbiting AND realistic
Unlike novels (even Fist of God), this is a real nailbiter that throws in a real world scenario.
Space is the next frontier: already told by many, but confirmed now.
The possibilities are NOT fiction and the author throws in a curve ball many times (the canadian woman caught and killed, the chinese laser attack against the spaceplane), etc.

Fine, if you like bad right-wing US gamer writing
Even though I read some reviews like mine prior to buying (or reading) this title, I thought I'd take the chance, since the topic is interesting. Pity. The topic is still good, but this book is awful. It's written very much from a right wing US "us jarheads know everything" point of view. All the civs are dumb, whiney, paunchy and badly-dressed (except when they are retired military). The military types are all cleancut ramrods who cuss. They all look like Roger Ramjet. Their management style leaves a little to be desired (mainly cussing and getting impatient with the civs). They probably chew tobacco too.

To like this book I would have had to be the sort of person who beleves in the "nook 'em til the rubble dances" school. Like the majority, both in the US and worldwide, I'm not.

I'm writing this as president-elect Obama arrives in Washington to deliver his Inauguration Address. Let's hope he can change the future - if this book reflects any sort of underlying reality he will have his work cut out for him.

It's a great pity; there's still room out there for an intelligent well-written novel on this issue. But this ain't it. To sum up: a waste of money and paper. ... Read more

Product Description
Challenging the skepticism of the modern world, Francis A. Schaeffer shows why Genesis still stands as a solid basis for answering the questions of humanity's origin and purpose. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Concise and clear
This short book of 160 pages goes over the main stories within Genesis viewing them in a historic space and time frame, not as myths, but as relevant facts that really occurred somewhere in our past and in this same world. It is not meant to give dates and exact locations -God would have done it Himself if He had wanted us to know- but to clarify the doubts that we may have created within ourselves concerning the reality of the basic truths in the book of Genesis.

Therefore the author reinforces the idea that the book of Genesis is not a chronological history, but a book of origins, from where the flow of history originates. The purpose is to organize, to highlight the "record of splits and schisms" that is the story of man.

You may not find many revelations throughout, but you will get a more clear idea of the timing and different sequences of events that indeed, sometime and somewhere, took place.

A book that is easy to read, concise, well written, and adds no more confusion into our 21st century minds.

Concise and Useful
I read this book while on a quest to reconcile the book of Genesis with the theory of evolution. The books I had read that specifically set out to do this failed to do it well. That was why it was so useful to me to read a book that simply lays out the truths that are important in Genesis. Schaeffer does this admirably.

Genesis in Space and Time is short, but engaging. In a clear, forceful style, Schaeffer describes the overarching Biblical themes in Genesis, as well as the nuances of various incidents. Although the Big Bang is mentioned, Schaeffer does not specifically confront evolution, either to embrace or refute it. His purpose is to make a positive argument for the theological importance of the first book of the Bible.

I'm excited to recommend this book to other Christians who are wondering whether or not it would be simpler to consign Genesis to the myth pile and move on.

Thorough but not exhaustive
This thorough but not exhaustive work (like the bible) of the flow of biblical history in the book of Genesis is hard to put down----it's that good.All main areas are covered.Where Schaeffer brings in controversy he gives us fair warning.This book should be read as a unity with "No Final Conflict"."If we won't listen, we won't understand."

There is a basic mystery that holds true, that we came into being: 1. from nothing to something2. everything began with an impersonal something3. everything began with a personnel something, or4. there is and always has been a dualism; there are no other choices, and 1,2, and 4 quickly erode when analyzed.The bible gives us structure, without it we are only left with an "existential leap"----a blind faith.Schaeffer says, "we who are finite can never exhaust the finite".Yes, even the finite.

Wish you well and blessings
Scott

Good communication of established ideas.
This was my first Schaeffer book, so I was unsure of what to expect.I consider myself rather picky with regard to religious subject matter.Mr. Schaeffer's book was enjoyable, and I will try another one.While "Genesis" did not really have any significant new ideas, it was well communicated and easy to follow, even for laymen or the casual reader.

If you are unfamiliar with Genesis and the conservative approach to its interpretation, this is a good book.It is not scholarly or philosophical, in my opinion, but it remains substantial - which many people will find refreshing.

A truly mind-expanding book
Francis A. Schaeffer (1912-84) was an American Evangelical theologian and philosopher whose works were very influential on Evangelical thinking. In this fascinating book, Dr. Schaeffer takes a look at the first eleven chapters of the book of Genesis, which many Christian thinkers seem to find irrelevant to a truly Christian worldview. On the contrary, Dr. Schaeffer shows that the early history of man, as contained in the beginning of Genesis, is crucial to understanding why man is the way he is, and how God works with and through man.

I must say that this is a truly mind-expanding book that goes a long way towards giving the reader a truly Christian view of the man and the world that he inhabits. I mean, how is man "fallen," and what was and is his relationship with God? These are crucial questions to understanding the very foundational concepts of our religion, and the answers are contained in this book.

This is a great book, and a true classic of Christian thought. I do not hesitate to say should be read by all believers. ... Read more

Product Description
Join the crew, and prepare to explore the galaxy. This colorful book introduces young readers to the amazing world of space, space travel, and the vehicles we use to explore it.Large, colorful spreads with action-oriented text reveal the answers every young child wants to know, including why the moon seems to change shape, and how spaceships work. Packed with information and detailed pictures, this book makes an exciting gift and an ideal reference for the budding astronaut in the family. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great Space Introduction
We love to read this book. It gives great factual information that my preschool student loves. It is appropriate for ages 4-8.The information isn't too technical However, we have enjoyed learning information we hadn't read in other resources.

Good Book
My 8 year old son is space crazy. He lives and breathes space and planets. We got this book for him as a suprise and he loves it.

Great book but just like Big Book of Space Ships
I was quite disappointed that this book contained much identical material already covered inThe Big book of Space Ships

That being said this is a really good book. The illustrations are compelling and informative. And it covers more material than the Big Book of Space Ships.

If you don't already have the Big Book of Space Ships then buy this book! ... Read more

Product Description
How did the universe begin? How hot is the sun? How long does it take to get to the moon? Find out the answers to these questions and more in Magic Tree House Research Guide: Space, Jack and Annie’s very own guide to the secrets of the universe. Including information on stars, planets, space travel, life on other planets, and much more! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

not correct facts
This book has inacurate facts like saturn has the most moons -it has 31 ..jupiter has 60 get your facts strait before screwing up kids heads! not good ..

Fantastic Seller!
Great seller service!I got the item very quickly and the book was in great condition!

Needs an update
This is a bit out of date. Perhaps children won't mind. Pluto is no longer a planet. Plans for humans to go to Mars have been scrapped. The Very Large Telescope in Chile was completed years ago. Etc.

It says there is no proof that UFO's exist when clearly objects that haven't been identified do exist, there's just no proof they are space aliens.

But, nevertheless probably a fun book for kids who like science.

Snazzy Resource
The kids realy like the animations and presentations of this book.While it is definately not boring, the planets themselves get only one page each of factual info in super small text.The solar system overview chapter was great for group reading and was primarily what I used from the book, including a photo of a meteorite in comparison to the size of children.Translation: great as a fun addition to learning but not to replace hard fact texts and in-depth lesson plans.
----You don't need to read the accompanying Magic Tree House fiction book in order to use this research guide.

Not a fan of the Big Bang Theory
My kids love these research guide books from Magic Tree House writers but this one was a disappointment. One whole chapter was devoted to the big bang theory which we personally don't believe in. They should have skipped this chapter and focused on facts. ... Read more

Product Description
With a little imagination and creativity--and without hiring a professional--almost anyone can transform a small living space into a comfortable and stylish environment. Whether decorating a dorm room, an apartment, or a little cottage, what we strive for is a look and feel that expresses our individual personalities. Part style guide, part idea sourcebook, this handy volume--designed to meet the needs of real people with real budgets--is packed with smart ideas, basic design principles, and enough inspiration to get you off the sofa to make it happen.

In her lively, informative text, design guru Marisa Bartolucci takes readers inside 33 small homes from cities across the U.S. to reveal how a strong sense of style--rather than design know-how or unlimited resources--is the most effective tool for transforming an ordinary cramped living space into a smart yet functional private sanctuary. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (42)

Totally Creative!
I checked this out from the library (I always do this before I buy and I DO intend to buy it) and found it an absolute wonder!There are two apts that are exactly the same layout but the inhabitants decorated the spaces so differently!Gorgeous photography -- nice to see the owners and the room layouts.A very handy book indeed -- crammed full of fab ideas for TRULY small spaces done by real people!

Pure Inspiration!!
I bought this book because I was trying to fit a 2 adult + 2 kids family into a 500 sq. ft. apartment. We eventually moved to a 988 sq. ft. home. Living in Hawaii, land is limited, so many of the housing is on the compact side. I am so inspired by all the creative solutions each of the featured homes have come up with. Fromthe 100 sq. ft. dorm to the two identical apartment in the same building with two very different solutions. As a designer I use this book for pure inspiration. It is definitely the best book for small living I've come across.

Favorite book of this genre
This is the best book of this genre I've encountered.I own at least 5 and have read about 20 more from the library.I wish I had bought this one rather than borrowing it from the library, though I still might buy it.It's in order from smallest (~100 sq ft) to largest (~2000 sq ft, I think), so there's definitely something that relates to your small home.Just a joy!

A real disapointment
Save your money. That is, of course, unless you need to see the inside of a college dorm room, an unlikely high-trapeze bed contraption, and other decor from the Far Side.

This book was a real disapointment. I was looking for common-sense solutions to the challenge of making a small space workable. I purchased the book based on the raves from other readers. This is one book I recommend--if you choose to read it at all--you read at the public library rather than own. (Sorry Amazon, two thumbs down on this one.)

The *best* book for anyone living in a small space !
If you live, or think you want to live, in a small home, condo, or apartment and you want some great ideas for decorating, furniture arrangement, space utilization, storage, or just about any other interior issue, this book is a fabulous resource.So many great photographs, so many great ideas ... so many in fact that each time I look through it I find something new.You don't need a gigantic Mc Mansion to live large. ... Read more

Product Description

Hawking, clever and playful as usual, sides with Bohr and the Copenhageninterpretation and builds a strong case for quantum gravity. Penrose,inevitably a bit dry in comparison, shares Einstein's horror at suchintuition-blasting thought experiments as Schrödinger's long-sufferingcat--and scores just as many points for general relativity. The math istough going for lay readers, but a few leaps of faith will carry themthrough to some deeply thought-provoking rhetoric. Though no questionsfind final answers in The Nature of Space and Time, the quality ofdiscourse should be enough to satisfy the scientifically curious. --Rob Lightner ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Now that is a trip down the rabbit hole as it were.
I love cosmology, physics and math but this book goes outside my comfort zone...so many equations and concepts that are beyond my complete understanding.There were times where I had to re-read sections 2-3 times and I'm still not sure that I completely grasp what they were saying.Now let's be honest we are talking about 2 geniuses here so I really didn't stand a chance.

The concept of the book with both men taking different sides to the cosmos questions as they relate to General Relativity, Quantum Field Theory, gravity and much more was a blast...the learning curve is HUGE though so be sure you brush up on you algebra and calculus prior to reading this book.

I also love the questions and answers at the end!!

used book
I would not have ordered a used bookwith a "good" rating if I had known that it had coffee stains on multiple pages and the back cover.It makes me wonder about the cleanliness of the item being shipped.
There were also creases which don't bother me at all.

Not for the Mathmatically Challenged
If you liked "The Road to reality" and have an understanding of the Mathmatics of Quantum Physics and Relativity then you will enjoy this book. Otherwise don't bother.

Sweet
The complexity of space and time easily transcribed, though a more laymens terms kind of explaination would have been more interesting.

Fascinating, yet complex.
I found this to be a fascinating overview of some of the major issues in cosmology from both Hawking and Penroses point of view.What is amazing is the actual level of agreement between the two.Perhaps only the real physicists appreciate the nuances of their differences of opinion.

I would recommend this book for anyone who's gone to the trouble of picking up a basic understanding of relativity ( special and/or general ).

The math is not terrbily daunting in most places and you get a real overview for the big picture of the state of relativity and quantum gravity. ... Read more

Product Description
In 1980, William H. Whyte published the findings from hisrevolutionary Street Life Project in The Social Life of Small UrbanSpaces.Both the book and the accompanying film were instantlylabeled classics, and launched a mini-revolution in the planning andstudy of public spaces.They have since become standard texts, andappear on syllabi and reading lists in urban planning, sociology,environmental design, and architecture departments around the world.

Project for Public Spaces, which grew out of Holly’s Street LifeProject and continues his work around the world, has acquired thereprint rights to Social Life, with the intent of making it availableto the widest possible audience and ensuring that the Whyte familyreceive their fair share of Holly’s legacy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

This book is great
I read this book for school... but I would recommend it to anyone interested in the subject matter. (Reading it, I was always wandering around talking to friends and family about it). The book is short, but there is a lot to think about. :)

How urban areas work
Years ago I watched an episode of NOVA on PBS on William H. Whyte that explained the background and purpose and accomplishments of his project to study what makes urban spaces in cities work. I sat there riveted, as he methodically and carefully unveiled a vast range of urban phenomena of which I had hitherto been unaware.

The background to his study was this: following the enormous success of the plaza of Mies van der Rohe's Seagram Building in New York in the mid-1950s, the city began to give tax breaks to new buildings that included plazas as part of their design. At the Seagram, people found in the heart of the city a marvelous space in which to congregate, to eat lunch, to sit and talk, and just enjoy a few minutes away from the office. While the idea of providing an incentive to new plaza development was unquestionably a great aim, a small problem developed: many of the new plazas were, unlike that of the Seagram, just dreadful. Cold, austere, people unfriendly, unwelcoming, many of them seemed designed more to keep people away than give them a place to enjoy themselves. This is where Whyte comes in. New York City was concerned with codifying what made a successful plaza, and giving tax breaks based more on the kind of plaza being built, rather than any kind of plaza at all. So, Whyte was charged with discovering precisely what goes into a successful urban space. The results of his exhaustive study are summed up in this brilliant monograph.

Whyte took cameras and began filming all kinds of urban spots in plazas and parks, and on regular sidewalks. As a result of this study, he was able first to analyze how urban spaces work, and secondly on the basis of this make, to make suggestions as to how to make successful spaces. He discusses the enormous value and utility of using fountains or falling water both to provide aesthetic benefits and to create a barrier of white noise between an urban space and the street. He shows the value of having a variety of steps and levels in providing fun places to sit. He allays the fears of those who are afraid that a plaza will attract undesirables by showing that the homeless tend to go where other people are not. He displays the patterns of traffic on sidewalks and the function that street food can play. Whyte comes across not merely as a sophisticated urban planner and social scientist: he is revealed as a visionary.

I think that this ought to be a must-read for anyone with any curiosity about cities and the potential they possess for a vibrant and exciting social life. Here in my own city of Chicago, I constantly lament that Whyte's lessons go unheeded and unlearned. We Chicagoans take pride in how clean our downtown area is, but we possess very, very few plazas, instead having virtually all of our buildings coming all the way to the edge of the sidewalk. I lament that there are so few places in the Loop and the near North to sit at lunch, that so very, very little has been done along the river to make it people friendly, and that there are so few places to congregate. We have a gorgeous, inpirational skyline, but on the sidewalk level, things are different.I wish our city planners had more of Whyte's view of things.

A classic case study for urban design professionals
Although the photographs are dated, the material is classic.This book is a must for anyone who is involved with design or review of open spaces.It shows how people use open space and identifies the common elements ofsuccessful spaces.While the elements all seem logical, the book shows howwe often fly in the face of logic when using these spaces.The bookfocuses primarily on plazas and small parks in New York City, but includesa section for smaller cities with low rise buildings.The information canalso be applied to parks in any size town.This book is a facinating casestudy in social ecology. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (4)

Satisfied
Reallygood contents, images and material (paper issemiglossy, so easy toread almost at anyangle, no much reflection of light).I bought other 2 books about the Hubble telescope and 3 of them are complement. Very happy.

The latest Hubble Images
Short of actually going into space and seeing with your own eyes through a powerful telescope such as the Hubble, this is the next best thing.
This publication is for your library of Astronomy, bar none.

That's a nice 20th birthdate
This is the first Hubble photobook I ever bought. Probably because it's still operational snapping and capturing amazing pictures. Thus I figured it wouldn't be a wise thing to do; buying a static book while each month new and stunning images are being released. But because it's Hubble's 20th anniversary I figured I'd break the habit and buy this special NASA authorized book.

I live in Holland so it took a couple of weeks for the book to arrive, but finally here it is. First impression: a nice sleek hardcover book with absolutely high quality picture resulution and colour. There's a fine balance between the amount of photo's and text, though in essence it's a photo-book. You won't be disappointed.

Upon first reading I was really impressed by the image quality. Black is really deep-black instead of dark-grey and the resolution is just that high I felt compelled to take a magnifying glas to zoom in on all those beautiful pictures... And so I did, but I have to disappoint you: it's a book. If you want that zoom-in experience; go to the Hubble website.

Anyway, the written contribution is impressive. Edward J. Weiler was Chief scientist for the Hubble telescope from 1979 till 1998, among other functions, he now is the current associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA. Pretty impressive, but that doesn't mean you have to fear thick and tiresome bureaucratic writing. The texts are accessible yet detailed, image captions detail the scientific essence without losing it's clarity, and there are quotes from actual astronauts who were out there deploying, repairing and servicing Hubble. That's just cool.

Many pictures from the actual Hubble missions are there as well. Many of which were made before the digital camera age. So you would expect some graininess, especially with the 1990 and 1993 missions. But it's not there. The scans are crisp and compelling. They absolutely capture the beauty and awe of manned spaceflight.

Verdict. This is a beautifully published book, ideal for coffee-table reading. The images are just straight out amazing! You'll spend hours peering over all the crisp details, it's just incredible. Downside are the images spanning two pages... It's annoying to see the luminous center of an amazing galaxy being buried in the central gutter; but hey surprise! It's a book. And that's the main downside of this book: it's a book. There will be many more beautiful Hubble images and discoveries for years to come and eventually those will end up in book-form as well. An until that day "Hubble: A Journey Through Space and Time" will be an impressive, graphic and up-to-date testimonial to Hubble's amazing service. Just don't forget to read the text, you will learn a lot.

Last words: In his april 2010 NASA speech, President Obama told he had a Hubble picture of Jupiter hanging at the oval office wall. If that is so: I recommend him to put this book on his desk as well.

Amazing & Beauiful
Amazing and Beautiful - it's is hard to say anything less.

I could not wait to receiv this and when I received it I couldn't put it down. Not only are the pictures incredible, but it is packed with interesting facts not only about the data it obtains, but about how it came into being, and each of the missions that have served to give it the ability to provide those amazing images.

this will become a treasured tennant of my bookshelf. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (5)

Another Science Fiction
Really neat book. Cool retro advertizing art from a time now long since past and much more innocent.

Interest, but could be better
Very small print, could have been better. A little history, and picture, but they really did not tie together that well

Treasure
For those of us who grew up during the golden age of space exploration, this book is a treasure trove. Although I had never seen most of the illustrations they transported me back to those exciting days when America had vision, courage, and commitment. Now as we shut down the shuttle program, I wonder what happened.

To the Moon -- And Beyond!
I came across some old Look and Life magazines at a thrift shop recently. They all featured John F. Kennedy - his inaugural as president, his assassination, the funeral, Jackie and the kids one year after. Important and memorable topics, but when I actually sat down to look at the magazines, I found that I was flipping past the articles and studying the ads. Buicks and Studebakers and Chevys, cigarettes, whiskey and beer, typewriters, canned soup, TV dinners. They were fascinating.

Author Megan Prelinger collected the best and most interesting ads from five years worth of aviation and technology magazines. The result is Another Science Fiction, a document that is probably more revealing about the era than the collected articles in those same magazines, and certainly more entertaining.

The overall impression is one of optimism and the expectation that science and technology will pave the way to a bright future. We're going to the moon. ... and beyond!

Contrast that with aviation and technology magazines of today. The ads are overwhelmingly military-themed, featuring weapons and soldiers. They are utilitarian ads, using photographs and text.

The space age ads are also often utilitarian and direct, but just as often they are whimsical or futuristic. Many are works of art. The Martin Company (later Martin-Marietta, then Lockheed-Martin) used many paintings by graphic artist Willi K. Baum, most of which would not look out of place in a modern art gallery.

On opening Another Science Fiction, I first looked at all the images, and then read the text later. It was fun to start to recognize the style of some of the regular artists for the various companies. The text was informative, explaining what some of the ad campaigns were about (some of the products advertised were pretty technical and specific to the space and aviation industries). Prelinger also talks about how the space race influenced the appearance of books and magazines, TV and movies.

The result is a crash course in one brief shining moment in American history.

Nostalgia for the future that never was
If you were a youngster like me during the dawn of The Space Age, this book is a trip down memory lane.

I read and watched everything I could find about space travel and aviation, so most of these ads passed by my eyes at one time or another.

It was fun turning the pages and coming upon an image that I hadn't seen in 50 years or more. It recalled to me the wonder and the fabulous anticipation I felt at the time as man made his first baby steps into space.

The book is also kind of depressing, to see visions of a future that never arrived. The shuttle looks likes like a bus with wings, not the sleek streamlined spacecraft of the 50's. The ISS looks like a floating junk yard compared to the giant rotating wheeled space stations of those days. Damn it, I want my private spaceship, my vacations on the moon, tourist trips to Mars, day trips to the giant wheel space stations. What happened to the future we were promised in all these ads?

Oh well, if you're a Baby Boomer, and you were/are a space enthusiast who grew up in the late 50's and early 60's, you WILL enjoy this book. ... Read more

Product Description

A Space on the Side of the Road vividly evokes an "other" America that survives precariously among the ruins of the West Virginia coal camps and "hollers." To Kathleen Stewart, this particular "other" exists as an excluded subtext to the American narrative of capitalism, modernization, materialism, and democracy. In towns like Amigo, Red Jacket, Helen, Odd, Viper, Decoy, and Twilight, men and women "just settin'" track a dense social imaginary through stories of traumas, apparitions, encounters, and eccentricities. Stewart explores how this rhythmic, dramatic, and complicated storytelling imbues everyday life in the hills and forms a cultural poetics. Alternating her own ruminations on language, culture, and politics with continuous accounts of "just talk," Stewart propels us into the intensity of this nervous, surreal "space on the side of the road." It is a space that gives us a glimpse into a breach in American society itself, where graveyards of junked cars and piles of other trashed objects endure along with the memories that haunt those who have been left behind by "progress."

Like James Agee's portrayal of the poverty-stricken tenant farmers of the Depression South in Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, this book uses both language and photographs to help readers encounter a fragmented and betrayed community, one "occupied" by schoolteachers, doctors, social workers, and other professionals representing an "official" America. Holding at bay any attempts at definitive, social scientific analysis, Stewart has concocted a new sort of ethnographic writing that conveys the immediacy, density, texture, and materiality of the coal camps. A Space on the Side of the Road finally bridges the gap between anthropology and cultural studies and provides us with a brilliant and challenging experiment in thinking and writing about "America." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

This book is excellent
Susan Lepselter's poetic account of the creation of meaning by a betrayed and disenfranchised community is truly mesmerizing, but may be too dense for those uninitiated in the rigmarole of social theory.Her work is actually quite accessible compared to other writers in the field, and so makes itself vulnerable by straddling two different markets, the academic and the quasi-popular.Still, the book is moving and very enjoyable to read, and I can't recommend it enough.

Pretentious post-structuralist jargon
This ethnography is so laden with academic jargon that it is nearly unreadable and the coal mining towns she is supposedly studying are lost amidst Stewart's excessive and meandering theorizing. Stewart fails to center the reader and we are given little background information on the people and places that she is conducting fieldwork on. Nearly every other sentence begins with the annoying command directed at the reader to "picture this" or "imagine that." The few interviews we get from her informants are poorly placed and scantily contextualized. This book is much more about Stewart showing off than coal mining towns and she tosses around quotes by theorists Bakhtin, Kristeva, and Bauman without really understanding what they mean.

Despite her terrible writing, she does make some interesting points, but none insightful enough that you couldn't gather it from a better book that is able to utilize theory in a productive and clear manner. Stewart does make some interesting observations on the talk of the coal mining communities, but again they are lost in the dense tangle of weeds that Stewart mires them in.

Brilliant and Challenging
Kathleen Stewart's book is not for everyone. Seemingly some people have even taken offense. Still, as a social scientist (I have a chair in organization studies), I cannot recommend this book highly enough, for itrepresents a critical avenue of development for writing social theory. Whether it presents the truth of the West Virginian experience I cannot say, as I've never visited the hollers she writes of (but I haven't seen a better analysis either, so I intend to believe her until somebody effectively disproves her), but I can state that she has found a way of writing about her experiences and communicating theory which is amazingly fresh and goes directly to the problem of developing critique in late modernity. I've rarely been moved to tears by a non-fiction book, but I wept while reading this -- tears of sheer joy of appreciating a brilliant mind. Should be required reading for all social scientists.

pretention and distance
As a West Virginian and an aspiring anthropologist, I was extremely disturbed by Stewart's approach to her subjects. I understand her impulse to write reflexively and her reluctance to impose meaning, but by allowing the text to be consumed by quasi-philosophical meanderings instead of communicating some concrete sense about her subjects, their way of life, and her relationships with them, Stewart does the people she claims to respect a great disservice. It's as though she's using them in the name of a broader academic mission, rather than concentrating on their experience itself.

When you describe people as living in a 'phantasmogoric dreamworld' and 'an alternative narrative space,' you are assigning another KIND of meaning -- one even more problematic than that of more traditional approaches. In the end, the book creates more distance between the reader and rural West Virginians than had previously existed. Kathleen Stewart may well believe that this is the role or the inevitable outcome of ethnography. If so, I hope she'll stay the hell away from my home state.

Unamerican Nightmares
In one of the most profoundly affecting social science books I have read,Kathleen Stewart adopts a radical and poetic language to summon up theinarticulacies of people in a world got down.In an environment surroundedby ghosts, lost hopes and debris from other times, the denizens of thisspace manufacture tales, phantasmogoric stories which conjure up powerfulforces beyond their control.It is through these stories that they try togain possession of their own lives and environment in a capitalist Americawhich systematically disempowers and uses up people and resources.

Byavoiding leftist reified and conservative discourse, the impact of theseforces on ordinary people is relayed in a humane and grounded fashion,devoid of meta-theoretical abstractions, which preserves their dignity andshares their insights.Kathleen's imaginative and empathetic approachcannot be too highly commended, for it is this which ultimately provokes ananger that working people should be treated with such disdain, by middleclass academics as well as by capital. ... Read more

Product Description
Space Marines and their evil counterparts, the Traitor Marines, epitomisr the wartorn. Warhammer 40,000 universe. This short story collection focuses entirely on these superhuman warrior, telling high-action tales of heroism and savagery. Combining the talents of Black Library favorite authors such as Mike Lee and Nick Kyme with hot new talent, this collection is not to be missed ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Some Treasure & Some Trash
Before I review anything I would like to say that giving a synopsis of each story is not a review, it is a spoiler.Mrs. Fitch must not play the game or have a clue about the whole 40K universe based on her reviews above.Most of the stories in this book are good, but two of them are not and two really suck.This book should have been given a different title as there are only 2 actual Legends in it.I think that the editor, Christian Dunn fell asleep or simply did not read "Orphans of the Kraken" or "Hell Night" because those two stories should not have been allowed in any book published by the Black Library.
Here is what I thought about the stories in order.

__________________________________________________________________________________________
<<< Hell Night by Nick Kyme >>>

This story fits into Kymes Salamanders Story Arc.I realize that Nick is a new author, but Warp Storms are a really big deal.They are not localized phenomenon that can just appear over a city.In the 40K universe there is no such thing as a Stephen King style "ghost", angry specters are ALWAYS demons of some form or another.I was waiting for Casper the friendly ghost to make an appearance. The characters in this sorry story are bland stereotypes.Nick must have been in a hurry, because the improvement that I have been following in his writing seems to have regressed with this tale.This story is a huge letdown to fans of the Salamanders series of which I am one.

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<<< Cover of Darkness by Mitchel Scanlon >>>

Mitchell did a good job with this White Scar story as I felt as if I was there.His usual illustrative writing style is in full effect here.The end of the story wrapped up a little too quickly for my taste, but I do not like good stories to end.The end of the story will leave you with questions which seem to hint at a possible White Scars series.

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<<< The Relic by Jonathan Green >>>

I think that this story is supposed to fit into Green's Black Templars "Armageddon" story arc.In this yarn he tends to seriously push his boundaries.I know Brother Jarold is a real badass, but destroying a whole Speed Freaks Warband?Digging up a Crimson Fist Dreadnaught that has been buried for 50 years, but the pilot waking up in 10 minutes?Elements of the story seem rushed.This story is not the high point of the series.

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<<< Twelve Wolves by Ben Counter >>>

I really like stories that take place before the 40th millennium.I was happy to see a new Space Wolf story even if it is not part of the Ragnar Blackmane series by Willian King.Ben Counter is an experienced Black Library author with a firm grasp of what life is like in the 41st millennium.This was a well balanced story that I liked and would have liked it to be longer.

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<<< The Returned by James Swallow >>>

I read this story before I read "Red Fury" in the Blood Angels series by the same author so I was a little skeptical in parts of it.Since I just finished "Red Fury", I like the story a lot more.The story is well written and provides insight into the Doom Eagles Chapter.There is not a lot of fluff about the Doom Eagles and in fact I have only seen one other story about this chapter "On Mournful Wings" in "Crucible of War" by Simon Spurrier.James Swallow is a good author with an excellent grasp of the overall 40K universe.I highly recommend this story even though there is no battle in it.

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<<< Consequences by Graham McNeill >>>

Graham McNeill, need I say more?As with all of his work this is top shelf.Since I am a huge fan of the Uriel Ventris saga, this was my favorite story in this book.

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<<< The Last Detail by Paul Kearney >>>

This is the first Dark Hunters story that I have read.There is not a lot of chapter specific fluff in it as it is written from the standpoint of a normal human.I do not think that I have ever read anything from this author before, but he did a good job of conveying the gritty nature of the 40K Universe.Additionally, and most importantly, he portrayed Space Marines in the correct light and did not try to humanize them.Very good read.

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<<< The Trial of The Mantis Warriors by CS Goto >>>

I have been a fan of CS Goto for quite a while (Even the Dawn of War series).I was first introduced to the Mantis Warriors Chapter in the 1st book of the Deathwatch series "Warrior Brood".This story provides detail of their involvement on the side of Huron Blackheart and the Astral Claws (later renamed Red Corsairs in the Badab War).As with the rest of Mr. Goto's work, this story is well written escape.

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<<< Orphans of the Kraken by Richard Williams >>>

THIS STORY SUCKS!!!

It actually pissed me off.Richard Williams did an outstanding job with his Imperial Navy Book "Relentless" and other short stories that he has written, but actually did a worse job of mis-portraying Space Marines than Chris Roberson does.This guy has done a huge disservice to the Scythes of the Emperor.Let me sum this up, Space Marines do not get depressed!!!They do not allow subordinates to bad mouth them!!!A Space Marine stuck for 50 years in a live Hiveship would have been dissolved!!!Only Chaos Marines are driven by Ego to the extent in this story.I cannot think of a single good thing to say about this story.

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<<< At Gaius Point by Aaron Dembski-Bowden >>>

Aaron Dembski-Bowden is my favorite new Black Library author.He is a master wordsmith who I think has the skill to make it up to Dan "The Man" Abnett & Graham McNeill's level.He paints a very different picture of the Flesh Tearers than James Swallow does in the Blood Angels stories.


-Garrick

A Decent Collection
Legends of the Space Marines is a short story collection that focuses, as the title suggests, on space marines. If you've never heard of these semi-immortal sci-fi warriors from the Warhammer 40K Universe, don't worry - this book is the perfect place to start. The authors give enough details about the subject matter for both new readers to understand what is going on and longstanding fans to remain interested.

The biggest problem with this anthology is that the space marines, as written, tend to fall into a limited number of archetypes. About halfway through the collection, the characters start to blur together because too many are so similar. They are thrown into different situations, but the characters themselves tend to be almost interchangeable. If you're looking for an old-fashioned science fiction shoot-em-up, however, that may not matter much.

There are a few stand-out stories that should be noted. Ben Counter's "Twelve Wolves" is a Sons of Fenris parable that mixes traditional fire-side story telling with modern science fiction. "Consequences" is a story by Graham McNeill that includes the popular characters from his Ultramarines series. "The Last Detail," by Paul Kearney, shows the never ending war of the future through the eyes of civilians. These stories help to make this collection worth reading, overcoming the previously mentioned problem with stereotypical characters.

If you like this book, there are two other similar anthologies to consider. _Heroes of the Space Marines_ was published roughly a year before _Legends_, and contains similar tales. _Victories of the Space Marines_ is scheduled to be released in the spring of 2011, and will also be a space marines-focused short story collection.

Different than I expected but not bad
I should begin by explaining that I have never played Warhammer 40,000.I was still interested in this book as I'm a big science fiction fan and love military sci-fi.So even though I don't play the game, I figured the book would still be fun to read.The first thing I realized is that this is not science fiction.It is "Science Fantasy" (an unfortunate name in my opinion as there is no science. Future Fantasy would be more accurate.)

That said, the stories are relatively well written.They take place in a number of settings and involve various space marines on their home worlds or involved in various campaigns across the galaxy.These settings may be of some importance to the reader who also plays the game.To me they were just names.

The emphasis isn't so much on the military side of things or strategy but rather the personality and thoughts of the various marines featured.There is a heavy emphasis on the religious, spiritual and supernatural aspects of each story.This is where the Fantasy part of the Science Fantasy genre comes in.It did get a bit repetitive at times but I guess is in keeping with the world developed for the game.While I didn't expect this to be the case, it was somewhat enjoyable.

I can't speak to the fact of how true the stories are to the game world, but I would guess that barring any glaring issues that I missed, a player of the game would enjoy seeing the world brought to life.

There are quite a few stories, and I found that it got to be a bit too much to just plow through them all at once.I broke up the reading, taking time away between stories.I don't see this as a weakness but rather as a strength.There is a lot of value her in that I think this collection of stories will entertain for a while.Even if one were to read straight through, there is a lot of material.

Any other sci-fi fans looking for additional material may enjoy adding this in as long as they go in knowing that they'll be reading about spirits, possession and dark forces as well as marines that view their mission as a religious one. It's interesting and fun, but not something I would spend the bulk of my time reading.

Who Ra
I suppose it is the Warhammer 40000 history that
I dislike and not these short stories of heroes
who are all but human in their genetic manipulation.
The Dark Angel TV series talked about children genetically engineered to
be super soldiers. The Army Airborn Rangers, the Navy Seals
and certain Marine units share this gung ho picked
soldier psychology in the real world.
The mind set of men who will die for their country, right or wrong,
isn't new, but isn't one that I think is a good idea.
Here we have men designed to fight an alien menace
for an empire that is far from being worth their effort of saving?
I just could get my sympathy up for these super soldiers.

A Solid Collection Of Space Marine Short Stories
Ten short stories comprise "Legends of the Space Marines," a Black Library collection focusing entirely on the ultimate warriors in the Warhammer 40K universe.The tales are written by popular and well-established Warhammer authors such as Ben Counter, CS Goto, and Graham McNeill and newcomers like Paul Kearney.

While all of these shorts follow the standard guns, guts, and glory angle that one usually finds in a Warhammer 40K novel, a few of them will surprise you by going in a number of other directions as well.Counter's "Twelve Wolves" focuses on the legend of Fenris' twelve children who lead and protect the Space Wolves as they protect humanity.There's also a very big surprise in this story as well.Richard Williams' "Orphans of the Kraken" finds a Scythe of the Emperor attempting to prevent the extinction of his Chapter of the Space Marines.

One of the best stories in the collection belongs to Kearney, who's "The Last Detail" follows a young boy's development into a warrior as he assists a Dark Hunter on the boy's war-ravaged planet.Another highlight is James Swallow's "The Returned," which finds a Doom Eagle long-thought to be dead attempting to reclaim his place in his Chapter.

Other stories feature the Black Templars, Flesh Tearers, Mantis Warriors, Salamanders, Ultra Marines, and White Scars.Not one of them is subpar, and if you're a fan of the Space Marines, you will not be disappointed by this collection.

The rest of the authors with stories in this book include Nick Kyme, Mitchel Scanlon, Jonathan Green, and Aaron Dembski-Bowden.The collection is edited by Christian Dunn.

Once again, fans of the Space Marines or Warhammer 40K in general will find something to enjoy in these ten stories.Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
Designing a brochure or web site without an art background? Step away from the computer and read this breezy introduction to visual communications first. Written for non-designers, White Space is Not Your Enemy is a practical graphic design and layout text introducing the concepts and practices necessary for producing effective visual communications across a variety of formats, from print to Web.

This beautifully illustrated, full-color book covers the basics to help you develop your eye and produce attractive work. Topics include:
* The basics of effective design that communicates its intended message
* Pre-design planning
* 13 Layout Sins to avoid
* Basic typography
* Working with color
* Storyboarding for video, Web, and presentions
* Information graphics
* Mini Art School--all the basics in one chapter
* Outputting your work

* Finally--the basics of layout, design, and visual communication for print and web in one easy-to-digest book!
* "Try This" sections in each chapter include fun, hands-on activities to develop skills.
* The companion web site includes text and photo support material; video clips that put the principles in practice; interactive multimedia components; and links.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Terrific overview of basic design
This book has a lot of clearly articulated suggestions for how to execute good design. As this is something that many of us struggle with, a good book on this topic is definitely needed, especially with so many projects emphasizing the look more than the content. There are lots of examples of just what constitutes good design and suggestions for how to improve. I wish this book had come out years ago!

visual communication 101
As a non-designer often tasked with creating graphic materials for people I work with, there are two issues I find most difficult. One is convincing people that they don't need to fill every bit of a page with "something." The other is defending my design decisions with more than just "because it looks right." "White Space is Not Your Enemy" definitely helps me with both of those problems with its thorough coverage of design concepts written in clear language and supported by excellent examples and exercises. I definitely recommend this book for anyone put in the position of creating visual materials and unsure of how to get a result they won't be embarassed by.

The design book for non-designers
What a great book this is. The way a design book should be done: not just a bunch of endless text but lots and lots of pics of what to do vs what is wrong with this picture kind of samples.This was the ideal book to get your feet wet in the design world. Highly recommended.

Great for the non-designer
This is a very well written, well organized, very engaging book.I'm typically a skimmer.This book immediately drew me in and I spent several weeks reading it cover to cover.The reason it took me several weeks was that I would read a bit.Then I would spend time exploring the concepts presented.I found as I read this book I looked more critically at visual images I encountered.

I am planning on applying the principles I learned in this book to a variety of media I work with as a hobbyist.I strongly feel it will help me redesign my web page as well as improve my cropping and overall composition when taking photographs.

I strongly recommend this book for anyone who is looking to find insight into how to better visually present information regardless of format.

A decent text for true beginners
"White Space is Not Your Enemy" does a good job of covering the very basics of graphic design. It could be a good textbook for a Graphic Design 101 class, or a serviceable primer for a small business owner with no design background who wants to create his or her own promotional materials. It doesn't achieve enough depth to be useful to someone with even a basic foundation in graphic design.

I do some in-house design for the small school where I work, as well as a bit of web design. I'm certainly not a designer -- I do the design work because when you have five employees and a small budget, someone's gotta do it. I've picked up design basics over the years, mostly through paying attention to what I like, and also from talking to others in similar situations. I have no formal design background at all. This book reinforced what I already know, and "concretized" some things for me, but didn't really teach me anything new.

This is also very heavy toward print design, despite the sub-title emphasizing non-print media. Yes, much of what's applicable to print is also applicable to the web, and they do a good (if somewhat boring) job of explaining CMYK color vs RGB color, as well as resolution needs, and outlining the things any designer needs to be aware of, but I was expecting something with a little more emphasis on electronic and new media.

All in all, this would be a perfectly fine book to get you started if you just need to quickly pick up the basics of design. My only real complaint about it is that, somewhat ironically, the text is a little too small for comfortable reading (I don't wear, or need, glasses). My dad would probably be so frustrated with the text size, especially against the coated paper, that he'd give up on it.

If you're looking to dive a little deeper, as I was, or if you're looking for inspiration, look elsewhere. ... Read more

Product Description
The year is 2020. Fueled by an insatiable curiosity, Reid Malenfant ventures to the far edge of the solar system, where he discovers a strange artifact left behind by an alien civilization: A gateway that functions as a kind of quantum transporter, allowing virtually instantaneous travel over the vast distances of interstellar space. What lies on the other side of the gateway?Malenfant decides to find out. Yet he will soon be faced with an impossible choice that will push him beyond terror, beyond sanity, beyond humanity itself. Meanwhile on Earth the Japanese scientist Nemoto fears her worst nightmares are coming true. Startling discoveries reveal that the Moon, Venus, even Mars once thrived with life, life that was snuffed out not just once but many times, in cycles of birth and destruction. And the next chilling cycle is set to begin again . . .
Amazon.com Review
Stephen Baxter follows up his Arthur C. Clarke Award nominee Manifold: Time with thesecond book in the Manifold series, Manifold: Space. In this novel,former shuttle pilot and astronaut Reid Malenfant meets his destiny onceagain in a tale that stretches the bounds of both space and time.

The year is 2020 and the Japanese have colonized the moon. The 60-year-old Malenfant is called there by a young scientist named Nemoto who has discovered something in the asteroid belt that can only mean humans arenot alone in the universe. The aliens seem robotic in nature and appear tobe building something in Earth's backyard. The Gaijin, as theyare called by humans, don't respond to communication efforts so an unmannedship is launched to investigate. In the meantime, Malenfant decides answersare only possible by mounting an expedition to Alpha Centauri, which may bewhere the Gaijin come from.

Baxter, who won the John W. Campbell Award and the Philip K. Dick Awardfor his novel The Time Ships, orchestrates a stunning array of scientific possibilities in Manifold: Space. Each chapter adds a new piece to his mosaic of humanity's future. The novel is admirable in its enormous scope, but it's hardto invest much emotion in the characters. Although they are well drawn,they vanish for long periods of time as Baxter leapfrogs through time and space.Manifold: Space, by its nature, lacks passion but excels in grand ideas. --Kathie Huddleston ... Read more

Customer Reviews (39)

Cruel, austere, but immensely enjoyable.
(If you're not here for a spoiler, don't read past the spoiler line!)

If you're looking for jarheads in space, egyptian aliens, pod races and feel good endings about humankind's unique humanity you can step away now.

The rest of you can face the bloody harsh wind of Baxter's second attempt at explaining the Fermi paradox: if life just happens, why have we only found it on our planet? The book takes a long, descriptive path through the next few thousand years, painting on a grand scale what's going on in our stellar neighborhood. Relatively convincing quasi physics are woven into a surreal picture of space/time travelers, incomprehensible aliens, resource struggles on a ridiculous scale, and ultimately a cold, cold, unfortunately teetering universe.

The payoff for sticking with this very deliberately paced revelation of the universe's mechanical heart is gaining a moment of clarity where you get to pose yourself the question: If the universe is "just" the universe, sans the metaphysical we've imagined, if it really is just a big cooling explosion and we're just bizarre knots in the eddies of cooling gasses... do waffles and bacon still taste good?


***** HERE BE SPOILERS *****

For those who'd like a few more details before committing to the book:
Malenfant is back, and ends up with a key role again. He isn't the same Malenfant, just as this isn't the same universe as the first Manifold book. The idea here seems to be that Baxter is using each book to explore another answer to the Fermi paradox. Some of the first book's characters make cameos here, but there's a new cast to make room for too.

This time around, the answer to the paradox revolves around the idea that life does happen all over the place, but it gets wiped out all the time. This seems to happen on a period that allows for a sufficiently high degree of sophistication that the relics of those civilizations are incomprehensible to us. Baxter would like us to picture the idea thatsufficiently advanced resource plundering is indistinguishable from geology. As with the first book, he also casually tosses star engineering out there as part of his mechanism. Given the nature of the relics, the timescales involved, and the thoroughness of the "reboot" function, he paints a convincing picture of why we aren't seeing any evidence of others in the sky.

As per the first book, we follow our ragged collection of human observers out to the stars to observe all of this first hand en route to the melancholy final reveal. The pacing is slow and Baxter spends what feels like more time describing every nut and bolt compared to the first book. Given that the whole point of the book is to paint you a picture of this tragic universe though, this really is only a bad thing if you have a short attention span.

The punchline, the bit about our part to play, is refreshing. No magic invoked here, no triumph of vague spirit or ill defined virtue. Baxter calls us out for being what we manifestly demonstrate ourselves to be rather than what we'd like to think we are, and finds a use for it!

I very much enjoyed this book. Two thumbs (flecked with maple syrup) up.

Brilliantly imaginative - a novel of epic proportions
"Space" is the second book in Stephen Baxter's Manifold trilogy, and a sequel of sorts to "Time", although it can also be read independently. Once again the central character is Reid Malenfant, an ex-NASA astronaut and failed entrepreneur. Obsessed with the search for extraterrestrial life, Malenfant seeks a solution to the Fermi paradox: given that the universe is billions of years old, if life exists out in the cosmos, why don't we see the evidence of it all about us? Thus when alien intelligence is detected out in the asteroid belt, Malenfant takes it upon himself to investigate, to make contact and ultimately to follow them back to the stars, through the mysterious blue portals through which they came.

The action unfolds over no less than 1,800 years, from the present day up to the thirty-eighth century, with the final, epic conclusion set another 5,000 years after that. In this way Baxter lays out a compelling vision of the possible long-term effects of Earth's contact with aliens. Unlike in "Time", where he employs an interesting mix of faux newspaper articles, blogs and journal entries to tell his story, in "Space" he sticks to a more conventional third-person narrative. The story is related through the perspective of four or five main characters, all of whom use the portals to travel to the stars and see life beyond Earth, and who, over the course of many years, become witnesses to the gradual decline of human civilisation.

The story is episodic in nature, and has the impression of a number of short stories loosely linked together. This can be frustrating for the reader, as there are enough intriguing ideas packed in this book to sustain half a dozen different novels. Each successive world is imaginatively drawn - from Earth, Io, Triton and Mercury to Alpha Centauri and far beyond - but Baxter tends to pass over them all very quickly, which does become tiresome. There comes a point about two-thirds of the way in when one wonders what the ultimate point is. Another result of the disjointed nature of the novel is that is difficult to feel fully engaged with the characters or get a sense of their development in these extraordinary circumstances. It is disappointing, too, that Malenfant - in principle a fascinating character - does not feature more, despite his centrality to the story. However, it is clear that this is not meant to be a character-driven novel so much as one based around ideas. Indeed "Space" has at its heart themes of human ambition and determination, consciousness and identity, self and soul, and the will to survive in a hostile universe, all of which are explored in depth.

In "Space", the author shows an imagination and consideration of the big questions of existence which is not often seen in most modern SF. It is true that there is less hard science and more scientifically-informed speculation than there was in "Time", but Baxter delivers it with such confidence that it hardly matters. This is truly a novel for the twenty-first century.

Slow but good
Manifold is a series of books with big, visionary concepts, and Space is no different. This time the twist on the Fermi paradox has the aliens existing and actually quite near the Earth. Reid Malenfant investigates with a mysterious Japanese scientist Nemoto. The first contact is made and the truth starts to unfurl...

As I said, the ideas are big - seriously big. The flow of the story isn't always fast enough, it all gets a bit too slow at times. Still, one has to admire Baxter's vision and while parts of the book were slightly boring, the whole of the story was definitely captivating enough to get me through the slower bits.

Manifold: Space offers an interesting what-if scenario of the future of humankind in a world that has extraterrestrial life.

Technically great, but ultimately cold and depressing
Manifold: Space is a very frustrating novel.As with its predecessor, Manifold: Time, it is brimming with great hard science surrounding a very good premise.In the Manifold series, Baxter gives detailed and extended perspectives to "Fermi's paradox".Fermi articulated that, due to the huge extent and age of the universe, either life on Earth is completely unique and we are alone in the universe (the basis of in Manifold: Time), or life must be everywhere and we simply have yet to discover it (as espoused in this novel).The paradox with the 2nd view is that if life is everywhere, the age of the universe implies that we cannot be the first cognitive, noise-making intelligence; why, then, haven't we found evidence of this other life?Baxter's answer to this paradox is quite interesting:he ties up the multiple story threads of Manifold: Space with a good ending.

Unfortunately, problems Baxter had with characterizations in Manifold: Time come to full flower in Manifold: Space.This novel is too seriously flawed too make it an overall enjoyable read.

There is a lack of any kind of human "community" in Manifold: Space.The various astronauts/space discoverers that are central to the story are all unhappy loners.They go into space alone, seemingly unaided, and appear to have no friends or colleagues.The first astronaut to set foot on Venus, as one example, never communicates with anyone beyond a single individual on earth, and that individual is also a loner.Baxter often beautifully elucidates the technical side of space exploration, but appears to have no clue as to the human elements. Manifold: Space is a cold unhappy story:interesting science populated by lonely, depressed individuals.

MANIFOLD ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzz
Let me start by saying I am an avid Sci-Fi reader, the longer the book the better. I believe a good story takes a long time to tell ala Harry Turtledove. So when I read the plot and saw the book size, I thought I was in for a good read. I could not have been more incorrect. Here are my bullet points:

1) Excellent plot idea, but I think Baxter forgot what is was after the first 12 pages. I have never been a part of such a plot trainwreck as this. Its like he compiled a dozen different stories into one without any of them going anywhere.
2) Character developement was horrendous. He needs to take a lesson from Harry Turtledove or Kevin Anderson. Those guys can present twenty or more characters, make you remember and love each one, this guy can't do it with two.
3) Science. About the only thing this guy can get across, but its not involving, its like reading a NASA technical paper, done with lots of coffee.
4) Writing. He needs to take a lesson from Jack McDevitt. You need to make the book an incredible journey independent of the ending. I begged for the ending just to finish the book. If Nemoto was one thousand years old, I felt like it half way through the book. Baxter's writing style is cold and easily forgotten.

The plot to this review, skip this book. It goes everywhere and nowhere all at once. I implore Baxter to work on his writing style and present more concise plot lines, eliminate all the extra about prehistoric men crapping on themselves on Jupiter's moon and stick to the plot. The editors need to quite screwing around and edit these books. Like previous readers, the book could have been cut in half... ... Read more

Product Description
Georges Perec produced some of the most entertaining and spirited essays of his age. His literary output was amazingly varied in form and style and this generous selection of Perec's non-fictional work also demonstrates his characteristic lightness of touch, wry humour and accessibility. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

I'll try to think like this
What a joy reading these placid small thoughts.The everyday was never so interesting until Perec showed how.I'll be keeping this paperback.I'll be opening it whenever I feel a slump in my own writing.He's a real inspiration for writers of all kinds--those doing high minded literature and those of us doing the good old historical fiction Westerns.

Truly Inspirational
After reading some of Perec's other, less notable work, this book fell into my hands during an analysis of modern architecture and space dynamics.His consideration of the individual's interaction within spaces and the identity prescribed by such spaces is enlightening and stimulating.This was a very enjoyable read and is an excellent translation of the original French.

humane and intimate
Perec's work reminds me of a potted plant on a windowsill of an old apartment, a free-growing natural form set in an urban environment. It's like seeing that one tree outside your apartment window, the one that reminds you that not everything has to hold to the grid. His style reminds me somewhat of Glenn Gould's interpretations of Bach.

The best two pieces are a review of an old 19th century travel guide to London and an interview where Perec describes his experience serving as a paratrooper during France's Gaullist period.

Lyrical, measured, and humane; a great read.

virtuoso
humor, imagination and wit combined at their best in a unique exploration of ordinary things. a profound and pleasurable book to read, flowing like a letter from a friend.

uncategorizable and wonderful
As the author of the world's longest palindrome and other literary feats, Perec's phenomenal linguistic skills and imagination remain incomparable.His works, however, on not merely experiments within the constraints of language; I am not as impressed with his ability to write a 300-page novel without a single letter "e" as much as his endearing sense of humor and humanity."Species of Spaces" stands as a critical piece of his oeuvre in that it serves as a primer of sorts for his other major works, like a meta-text or map of his other works.Beyond this function, though, lies a vision of what literature can be, beyond genre.Perec explores the spaces we inhabit, beginning with the most evident, the page itself on which he writes (and you read), and "zooming out" into ever grander scales: the apartment, the street, the city, the country, and the universe itself.He does not cease to inscribe himself in each of these spaces, for the crisis that drives this book is that Perec does not exist except in language, on the page, in the apartment, in the street, etc.Every act of writing is an existential re-affirmation, made poignant by the author's circumstances (Perec was the son of Holocaust victims).The darkness of his own history is mitigated, however, by these attempts to capture the here-and-now in writing.

This is a perfect book for the writer seeking inspiration, since the way Perec does not use language as a clunky tool but rather plays with it, tests its limits.Literature seems then not a struggle for self-expression but an exercise in creativity.Perec's approach is refreshing, original, and terribly underappreciated. ... Read more