Canon EOS 40D Guide to Digital Photography
By David D. Busch
Product Description
As the new owner of Canon's most advanced intermediate digital SLR, you want to get started taking professional-looking photographs using all of the exciting features at your fingertips. "Canon EOS 40D Guide to Digital SLR Photography" is a concise introduction and guide to your camera's essential controls and functions, such as Live View, built-in dust reduction, and the blistering 6.5-frames-per-second continuous shooting mode that is an action photographer’s dream. The book provides detailed instructions showing you how, when, and why to make optimized settings with the Canon EOS 40D’s enhanced menus, which include a half-dozen versatile new custom functions. You'll learn about the camera's improved automatic focus, flash synchronization tricks, how to choose lenses that will provide the perspective and effects you want, and which exposure modes are ideal for each picture-taking opportunity. Packed with full-color images and examples that illustrate the recommended techniques and settings for your Canon EOS 40D, this book helps photographers of any skill level begin maximizing their equipment as soon as you open the cover!
------------------------------------
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #326 in Books
Published on: 2007-11-16
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
324 pages
---------------------------------------
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
With more than a million books in print, David D. Busch is a best-selling author of books on digital photography and imaging technology, and the originator of popular series like "David Busch's Pro Secrets" and "David Busch's Quick Snap Guides." He has written six hugely successful guidebooks for Nikon digital SLR models, and the most comprehensive manuals for dSLRs from Canon, Sony, and other vendors. His many other books devoted to digital photography include "David Busch's Digital Infrared Pro Secrets" and "Mastering Digital SLR Photography." As a roving photojournalist for more than 20 years, he has illustrated his books, magazine articles, and newspaper reports with award-winning images. Busch has operated his own commercial studio, suffocated in formal dress while shooting weddings-for-hire, and shot sports for a daily newspaper and upstate New York college. His photographs and articles have been published in magazines as diverse as "PhotoGraphic," "Popular Photograph & Imaging," "The Rangefinder," and hundreds of other publications. He's also reviewed digital cameras for CNet Networks and Computer Shopper.
-----------------------------------------
Customer Reviews
A great guide
This one of those books that I will refer to again and again, how do I know? Because I already have.
Excellent Book for Beginners and Pros
This book is excellent for even the pro that is used to working with more mechanical based digital or film analog cameras. It has an excellent and thorough outlay of the information needed for both a beginner and a pro diving into this very fine camera. Very highly recommended to those looking to learn more in depth on the vast array of features the 40D has to offer.
Good but expecting more
This is a great expanded guide book for the 40D but I was hoping to get more examples of how to use settings for different situations. I would love a recommended list of customized functions and their applications from someone who has experimented with this camera. The book is easy to read for the most part. I just wish it would tell you more why than just how.
วันศุกร์ที่ 30 พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. 2551
Professional ASP.NET 3.5
Professional ASP.NET 3.5: In C# and VB (Programmer to Programmer)
Product Description
Building on the revolutionary ASP.NET 2.0 release, ASP.NET 3.5 adds several key new developer features including AJAX, LINQ, and a new CSS designer in Visual Web Developer 2008. The dramatic reduction in code that developers realized from the more than 50 new server controls in ASP.NET 2.0 now allows developers the time to make their applications more interactive with AJAX, to work with data in their preferred language with LINQ, and to build visually attractive and consistent standards-based sites with CSS.
Professional ASP.NET 3.5 helps the experienced programmer put these new technologies into action. Greatly expanded from the original best-selling Professional ASP.NET 2.0, Professional ASP.NET 3.5 covers all the key technologies retained from 2.0 in new depth alongside the hundreds of pages of coverage of the important new 3.5 features. Written by 3 of the most well-known and influential ASP.NET developers who were highly praised by ASP.NET creator Scott Guthrie for their ASP.NET 2.0 books, Professional ASP.NET 3.5 is the book you’ll learn the language from and turn to day after day as you write web applications. And as always, Professional ASP.NET 3.5 features language examples in the book and in the code download in both C# and VB!
Key new coverage for ASP.NET 3.5 includes:
Thorough coverage of how to implement ASP.NET 3.5 AJAX and the ASP.NET AJAX Toolkit
An introduction to LINQ and many LINQ examples throughout the book side-by-side with the related SQL example to show you the differences between the two
Enhanced coverage of XML use in ASP.NET including the new XML Schema Designer Add-on, LINQ to XML, LINQ for XML examples, and XSLTC.exe, a command-line XSLT compiler
A new chapter on CSS design for ASP.NET and the Visual Web Developer CSS design tools
A new chapter on the ASP.NET lifecycle and architecture best-practices
Increased coverage of ASP.NET with SQL Server 2005 and Oracle as the databases
Coverage of enhancing your ASP.NET applications with Microsoft’s new Silverlight for stunning video and animation uses
Coverage of Scott Hanselman’s famous productivity tool picks for developers to help make you a more productive ASP.NET developer
Updated coverage of migrating applications for previous ASP.NET versions
Key coverage retained and improved from the ASP.NET 2.0 book:
The idea of the server control and its pivotal role in ASP.NET development
How to create templated ASP.NET pages using the master page feature
Techniques for debugging and handling errors
Ways to package and deploy ASP.NET applications
How to retrieve, update, and delete data quickly and logically
How to implement the cultures and regions features to localize your web site into multiple languages for different visitors
An understanding of how to use and extend the provider model for accessing data stores, processes, and more
How to keep track of your application's performance and health with monitoring tools
Who this book is for
This book is for experienced programmers and developers who are looking to make the transition to ASP.NET 3.5.
---------------------------------------------
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #947 in Books
Published on: 2008-03-04
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
1673 pages
--------------------------------------------
Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
Professional ASP.NET 3.5 In C# and VB
ASP.NET 3.5 brings the power of Visual Studio 2008 along with the multitude of language improvements in C# 2008 and Visual Basic 2008 as well as powerful new technology called LINQ, together with the ASP.NET 2.0 Framework you already know and love. Combine all this with the release of IIS 7.0 and its new managed code request processing pipeline, and you have a truly revolutionary leap forward in web application development.
ASP.NET 3.5 also brings with it new server controls, like the ListView and theincredibly flexible GridView. It also includes new advancements in AJAX technologycombined with the new JavaScript debugging features in Visual Studio 2008. Greatly expanded from the original best-selling Professional ASP.NET 2.0, this new edition adds hundreds of pages and dozens of code samples so you'll be prepared to put these new technologies into action.
What you will learn from this book
The concepts underlying the server control and its pivotal role in ASP.NET development
How to create templated ASP.NET pages using the master page feature
How to work with data from enterprise databases including SQL Server
Ways to debug, package and deploy ASP.NET applications, monitor their health and performance, and handle errors
How to retrieve, update, and delete data quickly and logically using LINQ with side-by-side examples comparing LINQ to existing techniques
How to localize your web site in multiple languages for a world-wide audience
How to add AJAX capabilities to your ASP.NET applications
How to integrate Silverlight interactivity into existing ASP.NET applications
An understanding of how to use and extend the Provider Model for accessing data stores, processes, and more
What freeware tools you need in Scott Hanselman's ASP.NET Ultimate Developer Tools appendix.
Who this book is for
This book is for programmers and developers who are looking to make the transition to ASP.NET 3.5 with Visual Studio 2008 and either C# 3.0 (2008) or Visual Basic 9 (2008).
Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by working programmers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job.
About the Author
Bill Evjen is an active proponent of .NET technologies and community-based learning initiatives for .NET. He has been actively involved with .NET since the first bits were released in 2000. In the same year, Bill founded the St. Louis .NET User Group (www.stlnet.org), one of the world’s first such groups. Bill is also the founder and former executive director of the International .NET Association (www.ineta.org), which represents more than 500,000 members worldwide.
Based in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, Bill is an acclaimed author and speaker on ASP.NET and XML Web Services. He has authored or co-authored more than fifteen books including Professional C# 2008, Professional VB 2008, ASP.NET Professional Secrets, XML Web Services for ASP.NET, and Web Services Enhancements: Understanding the WSE for Enterprise Applications (all published by Wiley Publishing, Inc.). In addition to writing, Bill is a speaker at numerous conferences, including DevConnections, VSLive, and TechEd. Along with these items, Bill works closely with Microsoft as a Microsoft Regional Director and an MVP.
Bill is the Technical Architect for Lipper (www.lipperweb.com), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reuters, the international news and financial services company. He graduated from Western Washington University in Bellingham,Washington, with a Russian language degree. When he isn’t tinkering on the computer, he can usually be found at his summer house in Toivakka, Finland. You can reach Bill at evjen@yahoo.com.
Scott Hanselman works for Microsoft as a Senior Program Manager in the Developer Division, aiming to spread the good word about developing software, most often on the Microsoft stack. Before this he worked in eFinance for 6+ years and before that he was a Principal Consultant a Microsoft Partner for nearly 7 years. He was also involved in a few things like the MVP and RD programs and will speak about computers (and other passions) whenever someone will listen to him. He blogs at http://www.hanselman.com and podcasts at http://www.hanselminutes.com and contributes to http://www.asp.net, http://www.windowsclient.net, and http://www.silverlight.net.
Devin Rader is a Product Manager on the Infragistics Web Client team, responsible for leading the creation of Infragistics ASP.NET and Silverlight products. Devin is also an active proponent and member of the .NET developer community, being a co-founder of the St. Louis .NET User Group, an active member of the New Jersey .NET User Group, a former board member of the International .NET Association (INETA), and a regular speaker at user groups. He is also a contributing author on the Wrox title Silverlight 1.0 and a technical editor for several other Wrox publications and has written columns for ASP.NET Pro magazine, as well as .NET technology articles for MSDN Online. You can find more of Devin’s musings at www.geekswithblogs.com/devin.
-------------------------------------------
Customer Reviews
Seems like a 2.0 Copy and Paste
Im never a big fan of the "Professional" series of books because I tend to learn better from step-by-step tutorials with a finished product at the end. the "Problem Design Solution" series from wrox tend to be the most useful to me. These types of books I often feel like I can get the same information, cheaper, from MSDN. I knew that when I got the book but its nice as a desk reference. My biggest issue with this book is that it seemed like it was a 2.0 copy and paste.... there is a lot of reference to 2.0 in the text and it often left me wondering what was specifically new in 3.5.
Better than the average Wrox book, but still not great
In the past, I've disliked Wrox books because of their approach of having multiple authors cover the same topics without enough editing to make it one cohesive piece. While this book is better than Wrox books I have read in the past, it still suffers many of the same pitfalls. In areas, the book is quite repetitive. Also, in a few spots the authors mention topics before they have been properly introduced, with parentheticals such as "we'll cover this in chapter x." This lack of cohesive organization and planning is annoying.
Besides having qualms with the layout of the book, I don't think this book deserves "professional" in the title. Most "professional" books I read from other publishers do suit a professional developer, while this one falls short. It covers little more than an overview of all the features, but provides very little "best practice" advice beyond the absolute basics. With this book, you may learn to write applications in ASP.NET but you won't necessarily learn to do it well.
If you are new to ASP.NET, this book may be a decent place to start, but if you've been using .NET for years, as I have, 90% of this book covers what you already know and it may try your patience to find that 10% that's new to you.
Comprehensive, interesting and inventive
I've been developing fairly basic ASP.NET sites for a few years now, but knew i had a lot to learn. This book was perfect for the task!
It's comprehensive, thorough and very easy to follow. You can pick it up at just about any place in the book and follow through without getting lost with what's already been covered that you haven't seen yet - most of the time, any previously covered topics are covered again to a limited extent, to be complete.
The author comes across as excited about the technology, which appealed to me, and I'm now confident to step up to more complex ASP.NET sites with what I've learnt from the book.
Brilliant!
Product Description
Building on the revolutionary ASP.NET 2.0 release, ASP.NET 3.5 adds several key new developer features including AJAX, LINQ, and a new CSS designer in Visual Web Developer 2008. The dramatic reduction in code that developers realized from the more than 50 new server controls in ASP.NET 2.0 now allows developers the time to make their applications more interactive with AJAX, to work with data in their preferred language with LINQ, and to build visually attractive and consistent standards-based sites with CSS.
Professional ASP.NET 3.5 helps the experienced programmer put these new technologies into action. Greatly expanded from the original best-selling Professional ASP.NET 2.0, Professional ASP.NET 3.5 covers all the key technologies retained from 2.0 in new depth alongside the hundreds of pages of coverage of the important new 3.5 features. Written by 3 of the most well-known and influential ASP.NET developers who were highly praised by ASP.NET creator Scott Guthrie for their ASP.NET 2.0 books, Professional ASP.NET 3.5 is the book you’ll learn the language from and turn to day after day as you write web applications. And as always, Professional ASP.NET 3.5 features language examples in the book and in the code download in both C# and VB!
Key new coverage for ASP.NET 3.5 includes:
Thorough coverage of how to implement ASP.NET 3.5 AJAX and the ASP.NET AJAX Toolkit
An introduction to LINQ and many LINQ examples throughout the book side-by-side with the related SQL example to show you the differences between the two
Enhanced coverage of XML use in ASP.NET including the new XML Schema Designer Add-on, LINQ to XML, LINQ for XML examples, and XSLTC.exe, a command-line XSLT compiler
A new chapter on CSS design for ASP.NET and the Visual Web Developer CSS design tools
A new chapter on the ASP.NET lifecycle and architecture best-practices
Increased coverage of ASP.NET with SQL Server 2005 and Oracle as the databases
Coverage of enhancing your ASP.NET applications with Microsoft’s new Silverlight for stunning video and animation uses
Coverage of Scott Hanselman’s famous productivity tool picks for developers to help make you a more productive ASP.NET developer
Updated coverage of migrating applications for previous ASP.NET versions
Key coverage retained and improved from the ASP.NET 2.0 book:
The idea of the server control and its pivotal role in ASP.NET development
How to create templated ASP.NET pages using the master page feature
Techniques for debugging and handling errors
Ways to package and deploy ASP.NET applications
How to retrieve, update, and delete data quickly and logically
How to implement the cultures and regions features to localize your web site into multiple languages for different visitors
An understanding of how to use and extend the provider model for accessing data stores, processes, and more
How to keep track of your application's performance and health with monitoring tools
Who this book is for
This book is for experienced programmers and developers who are looking to make the transition to ASP.NET 3.5.
---------------------------------------------
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #947 in Books
Published on: 2008-03-04
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
1673 pages
--------------------------------------------
Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
Professional ASP.NET 3.5 In C# and VB
ASP.NET 3.5 brings the power of Visual Studio 2008 along with the multitude of language improvements in C# 2008 and Visual Basic 2008 as well as powerful new technology called LINQ, together with the ASP.NET 2.0 Framework you already know and love. Combine all this with the release of IIS 7.0 and its new managed code request processing pipeline, and you have a truly revolutionary leap forward in web application development.
ASP.NET 3.5 also brings with it new server controls, like the ListView and theincredibly flexible GridView. It also includes new advancements in AJAX technologycombined with the new JavaScript debugging features in Visual Studio 2008. Greatly expanded from the original best-selling Professional ASP.NET 2.0, this new edition adds hundreds of pages and dozens of code samples so you'll be prepared to put these new technologies into action.
What you will learn from this book
The concepts underlying the server control and its pivotal role in ASP.NET development
How to create templated ASP.NET pages using the master page feature
How to work with data from enterprise databases including SQL Server
Ways to debug, package and deploy ASP.NET applications, monitor their health and performance, and handle errors
How to retrieve, update, and delete data quickly and logically using LINQ with side-by-side examples comparing LINQ to existing techniques
How to localize your web site in multiple languages for a world-wide audience
How to add AJAX capabilities to your ASP.NET applications
How to integrate Silverlight interactivity into existing ASP.NET applications
An understanding of how to use and extend the Provider Model for accessing data stores, processes, and more
What freeware tools you need in Scott Hanselman's ASP.NET Ultimate Developer Tools appendix.
Who this book is for
This book is for programmers and developers who are looking to make the transition to ASP.NET 3.5 with Visual Studio 2008 and either C# 3.0 (2008) or Visual Basic 9 (2008).
Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by working programmers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job.
About the Author
Bill Evjen is an active proponent of .NET technologies and community-based learning initiatives for .NET. He has been actively involved with .NET since the first bits were released in 2000. In the same year, Bill founded the St. Louis .NET User Group (www.stlnet.org), one of the world’s first such groups. Bill is also the founder and former executive director of the International .NET Association (www.ineta.org), which represents more than 500,000 members worldwide.
Based in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, Bill is an acclaimed author and speaker on ASP.NET and XML Web Services. He has authored or co-authored more than fifteen books including Professional C# 2008, Professional VB 2008, ASP.NET Professional Secrets, XML Web Services for ASP.NET, and Web Services Enhancements: Understanding the WSE for Enterprise Applications (all published by Wiley Publishing, Inc.). In addition to writing, Bill is a speaker at numerous conferences, including DevConnections, VSLive, and TechEd. Along with these items, Bill works closely with Microsoft as a Microsoft Regional Director and an MVP.
Bill is the Technical Architect for Lipper (www.lipperweb.com), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reuters, the international news and financial services company. He graduated from Western Washington University in Bellingham,Washington, with a Russian language degree. When he isn’t tinkering on the computer, he can usually be found at his summer house in Toivakka, Finland. You can reach Bill at evjen@yahoo.com.
Scott Hanselman works for Microsoft as a Senior Program Manager in the Developer Division, aiming to spread the good word about developing software, most often on the Microsoft stack. Before this he worked in eFinance for 6+ years and before that he was a Principal Consultant a Microsoft Partner for nearly 7 years. He was also involved in a few things like the MVP and RD programs and will speak about computers (and other passions) whenever someone will listen to him. He blogs at http://www.hanselman.com and podcasts at http://www.hanselminutes.com and contributes to http://www.asp.net, http://www.windowsclient.net, and http://www.silverlight.net.
Devin Rader is a Product Manager on the Infragistics Web Client team, responsible for leading the creation of Infragistics ASP.NET and Silverlight products. Devin is also an active proponent and member of the .NET developer community, being a co-founder of the St. Louis .NET User Group, an active member of the New Jersey .NET User Group, a former board member of the International .NET Association (INETA), and a regular speaker at user groups. He is also a contributing author on the Wrox title Silverlight 1.0 and a technical editor for several other Wrox publications and has written columns for ASP.NET Pro magazine, as well as .NET technology articles for MSDN Online. You can find more of Devin’s musings at www.geekswithblogs.com/devin.
-------------------------------------------
Customer Reviews
Seems like a 2.0 Copy and Paste
Im never a big fan of the "Professional" series of books because I tend to learn better from step-by-step tutorials with a finished product at the end. the "Problem Design Solution" series from wrox tend to be the most useful to me. These types of books I often feel like I can get the same information, cheaper, from MSDN. I knew that when I got the book but its nice as a desk reference. My biggest issue with this book is that it seemed like it was a 2.0 copy and paste.... there is a lot of reference to 2.0 in the text and it often left me wondering what was specifically new in 3.5.
Better than the average Wrox book, but still not great
In the past, I've disliked Wrox books because of their approach of having multiple authors cover the same topics without enough editing to make it one cohesive piece. While this book is better than Wrox books I have read in the past, it still suffers many of the same pitfalls. In areas, the book is quite repetitive. Also, in a few spots the authors mention topics before they have been properly introduced, with parentheticals such as "we'll cover this in chapter x." This lack of cohesive organization and planning is annoying.
Besides having qualms with the layout of the book, I don't think this book deserves "professional" in the title. Most "professional" books I read from other publishers do suit a professional developer, while this one falls short. It covers little more than an overview of all the features, but provides very little "best practice" advice beyond the absolute basics. With this book, you may learn to write applications in ASP.NET but you won't necessarily learn to do it well.
If you are new to ASP.NET, this book may be a decent place to start, but if you've been using .NET for years, as I have, 90% of this book covers what you already know and it may try your patience to find that 10% that's new to you.
Comprehensive, interesting and inventive
I've been developing fairly basic ASP.NET sites for a few years now, but knew i had a lot to learn. This book was perfect for the task!
It's comprehensive, thorough and very easy to follow. You can pick it up at just about any place in the book and follow through without getting lost with what's already been covered that you haven't seen yet - most of the time, any previously covered topics are covered again to a limited extent, to be complete.
The author comes across as excited about the technology, which appealed to me, and I'm now confident to step up to more complex ASP.NET sites with what I've learnt from the book.
Brilliant!
The Moment It Clicks
The Moment It Clicks: Photography secrets from one of the world's top shooters (Voices That Matter)
By Joe McNally
Product Description
THE FIRST BOOK WITH ONE FOOT ON THE COFFEE TABLE, AND ONE FOOT IN THE
CLASSROOM
Joe McNally, one of the world’s top pro digital photographers, whose celebrated work has graced the pages of Sports Illustrated, Time, and National Geographic (to name a few), breaks new ground by doing something no photography book has ever done—blending the rich, stunning images and elegant layout of a coffee-table book with the invaluable training, no-nonsense insights, and photography secrets usually found only in those rare, best-of-breed educational books.
When Joe’s not on assignment for the biggest-name magazines and Fortune 500 clients, he’s in the classroom teaching location lighting, environmental portraiture, and how to “get the shot” at workshops around the world. These on-location workshops are usually reserved for a handful of photographers each year, but now you can learn the same techniques that Joe shares in his seminars and lectures in a book that brings Joe’s sessions to life.
What makes the book so unique is the “triangle of learning” where (1) Joe distills the concept down to one brief sentence. It usually starts with something like, “An editor at National Geographic once told me…” and then he shares one of those hard-earned tricks of the trade that you only get from spending a lifetime behind the lens. Then, (2) on the facing page is one of Joe’s brilliant images that perfectly illustrates the technique (you’ll recognize many of his photos from magazine covers). And (3) you get the inside story of how that shot was taken, including which equipment he used (lens, f/stop, lighting, accessories, etc.), along with the challenges that type of project brings, and how to set up a shot like that of your own.
This book also gives you something more. It inspires. It challenges. It informs. But perhaps most importantly, it will help you understand photography and the art of making great photos at a level you never thought possible. This book is packed with those “Ah ha!” moments—those clever insights that make it all come together for you. It brings you that wonderful moment when it suddenly all makes sense—that “moment it clicks.”
---------------------------------------
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #454 in Books
Published on: 2008-02-02
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
272 pages
---------------------------------------
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Joe McNally is an internationally acclaimed photographer, whose career has spanned 30 years and included assignments in over 50 countries. Although the majority of his career has been spent shooting for magazines such as Time, Sports Illustrated, and National Geographic, in the mid-1990s Joe served as Life magazine’s staff photographer, the first one in 23 years. He also has shot commercial assignments for Target, Nikon, and Sony, to name a few. Joe is a recipient of the Alfred Eisenstaedt Award and has been honored by Pictures of the Year International, World Press Photo, The Art Directors Club, American Photo, Communication Arts, and Graphis. He conducts numerous workshops around the world as part of his teaching activities. One of Joe’s most notable projects, Faces of Ground Zero — Giant Polaroid Collection, has become known as one of the most significant artistic responses to the tragedy at the World Trade Center.
-----------------------------------------
Customer Reviews
one of the best and most entertaining books on (pro)Photography
I have a lot of books on (pro)photography, but this book and Michael Grecco's (Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait: The Art of Celebrity and Editorial Photography) are my favorites. They are hands on with great pictures and the story behind them (how to make them).
Very funny as well. I finished it within a day. The cons: well some pictures and stories were entertaining but not inspirational.
Excellent Photography Book
Beautifully illustrated photography book. Excellent "how to get the shot" tutorial. A must for photographers.
A Must Read for the Experienced Photographer
Joe McNally's book is a must read for the experienced photographer looking for practical tips and wisdom learned thru years of experience! I'm not sure the novice would understand many of the tips, but if you've been shooting for awhile and understand the concepts and principles of lighting, this book will provide you with some of that knowledge and wisdom that it takes years of experience to gain.
By Joe McNally
Product Description
THE FIRST BOOK WITH ONE FOOT ON THE COFFEE TABLE, AND ONE FOOT IN THE
CLASSROOM
Joe McNally, one of the world’s top pro digital photographers, whose celebrated work has graced the pages of Sports Illustrated, Time, and National Geographic (to name a few), breaks new ground by doing something no photography book has ever done—blending the rich, stunning images and elegant layout of a coffee-table book with the invaluable training, no-nonsense insights, and photography secrets usually found only in those rare, best-of-breed educational books.
When Joe’s not on assignment for the biggest-name magazines and Fortune 500 clients, he’s in the classroom teaching location lighting, environmental portraiture, and how to “get the shot” at workshops around the world. These on-location workshops are usually reserved for a handful of photographers each year, but now you can learn the same techniques that Joe shares in his seminars and lectures in a book that brings Joe’s sessions to life.
What makes the book so unique is the “triangle of learning” where (1) Joe distills the concept down to one brief sentence. It usually starts with something like, “An editor at National Geographic once told me…” and then he shares one of those hard-earned tricks of the trade that you only get from spending a lifetime behind the lens. Then, (2) on the facing page is one of Joe’s brilliant images that perfectly illustrates the technique (you’ll recognize many of his photos from magazine covers). And (3) you get the inside story of how that shot was taken, including which equipment he used (lens, f/stop, lighting, accessories, etc.), along with the challenges that type of project brings, and how to set up a shot like that of your own.
This book also gives you something more. It inspires. It challenges. It informs. But perhaps most importantly, it will help you understand photography and the art of making great photos at a level you never thought possible. This book is packed with those “Ah ha!” moments—those clever insights that make it all come together for you. It brings you that wonderful moment when it suddenly all makes sense—that “moment it clicks.”
---------------------------------------
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #454 in Books
Published on: 2008-02-02
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
272 pages
---------------------------------------
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Joe McNally is an internationally acclaimed photographer, whose career has spanned 30 years and included assignments in over 50 countries. Although the majority of his career has been spent shooting for magazines such as Time, Sports Illustrated, and National Geographic, in the mid-1990s Joe served as Life magazine’s staff photographer, the first one in 23 years. He also has shot commercial assignments for Target, Nikon, and Sony, to name a few. Joe is a recipient of the Alfred Eisenstaedt Award and has been honored by Pictures of the Year International, World Press Photo, The Art Directors Club, American Photo, Communication Arts, and Graphis. He conducts numerous workshops around the world as part of his teaching activities. One of Joe’s most notable projects, Faces of Ground Zero — Giant Polaroid Collection, has become known as one of the most significant artistic responses to the tragedy at the World Trade Center.
-----------------------------------------
Customer Reviews
one of the best and most entertaining books on (pro)Photography
I have a lot of books on (pro)photography, but this book and Michael Grecco's (Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait: The Art of Celebrity and Editorial Photography) are my favorites. They are hands on with great pictures and the story behind them (how to make them).
Very funny as well. I finished it within a day. The cons: well some pictures and stories were entertaining but not inspirational.
Excellent Photography Book
Beautifully illustrated photography book. Excellent "how to get the shot" tutorial. A must for photographers.
A Must Read for the Experienced Photographer
Joe McNally's book is a must read for the experienced photographer looking for practical tips and wisdom learned thru years of experience! I'm not sure the novice would understand many of the tips, but if you've been shooting for awhile and understand the concepts and principles of lighting, this book will provide you with some of that knowledge and wisdom that it takes years of experience to gain.
The Photoshop Elements 6 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter) Book
The Photoshop Elements 6 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter) By Scott Kelby, Matt Kloskowski
Product Description
Best-selling author Scott Kelby pairs up with Matt Kloskowski to deliver the definitive book on using Photoshop Elements 6 to create the best possible images. With this newest release of Photoshop Elements, Scott and Matt show readers how to work with their images like a pro, from importing to organization to correction to output. Readers will learn all they need to know about the digital photography workflow, as well as the latest secrets of the pros to help them create the best special effects, apply the most useful sharpening techniques, and avoid many of the hassles and problems that are encountered in digital photography (such as digital noise and color halos).
------------------------------
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #410 in Books
Published on: 2008-03-28
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
512 pages
-----------------------------
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Scott Kelby is Editor-in-Chief of Photoshop User magazine, President of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals, Executive Editor of the Photoshop Elements Techniques newsletter, and is technical chair of Photoshop World, the largest Photoshop gathering in the industry.
Matt Kloskowski is the Education and Curriculum Developer for the National Association of Photoshop Professionals, editor-in-chief of the Photoshop Elements Techniques newsletter, and (along with Scott Kelby and Dave Cross) co-host of Adobe Photoshop TV, the popular video podcast.
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Customer Reviews
So Far Sooo Good
Limited use so far, but I like what I see. This is a how-to book. Find what you want to do in the Table of Contents, turn to the step-by-step instructions. Just what I need as a beginner.
Great book!
I recently attended a conference and was asked to make a presentation that would share my conference experience. I wanted to use Photoshop Elements 6 to create something that would wow my faculty. Even though I had never done it before, I created a great slide show with music and graphics. Everyone said it looked professional! Without Scott's book, I wouldn't have had a clue on what to do. It was easy to follow and answered every question I had. I highly recommend the book.
Really Fantastic
This is the definitive book on Photoshop Elements 6. It includes absolutely everything, and does it in a reader friendly way. Kudos, Scott Kelby!
Product Description
Best-selling author Scott Kelby pairs up with Matt Kloskowski to deliver the definitive book on using Photoshop Elements 6 to create the best possible images. With this newest release of Photoshop Elements, Scott and Matt show readers how to work with their images like a pro, from importing to organization to correction to output. Readers will learn all they need to know about the digital photography workflow, as well as the latest secrets of the pros to help them create the best special effects, apply the most useful sharpening techniques, and avoid many of the hassles and problems that are encountered in digital photography (such as digital noise and color halos).
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Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #410 in Books
Published on: 2008-03-28
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
512 pages
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Scott Kelby is Editor-in-Chief of Photoshop User magazine, President of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals, Executive Editor of the Photoshop Elements Techniques newsletter, and is technical chair of Photoshop World, the largest Photoshop gathering in the industry.
Matt Kloskowski is the Education and Curriculum Developer for the National Association of Photoshop Professionals, editor-in-chief of the Photoshop Elements Techniques newsletter, and (along with Scott Kelby and Dave Cross) co-host of Adobe Photoshop TV, the popular video podcast.
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Customer Reviews
So Far Sooo Good
Limited use so far, but I like what I see. This is a how-to book. Find what you want to do in the Table of Contents, turn to the step-by-step instructions. Just what I need as a beginner.
Great book!
I recently attended a conference and was asked to make a presentation that would share my conference experience. I wanted to use Photoshop Elements 6 to create something that would wow my faculty. Even though I had never done it before, I created a great slide show with music and graphics. Everyone said it looked professional! Without Scott's book, I wouldn't have had a clue on what to do. It was easy to follow and answered every question I had. I highly recommend the book.
Really Fantastic
This is the definitive book on Photoshop Elements 6. It includes absolutely everything, and does it in a reader friendly way. Kudos, Scott Kelby!
วันพุธที่ 28 พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. 2551
The Digital Photography Book, Volume 2
The Digital Photography Book, Volume 2 By Scott Kelby
Product Description
Scott Kelby, author of the groundbreaking bestseller “The Digital Photography Book, Vol. 1” is back with an entirely new book that picks up right where Vol. 1 left off. It’s more of that “Ah ha—so that’s how they do it,” straight-to-the-point, skip the techno jargon; packed with stuff you can really use today, that made Vol. 1 the world’s bestselling book on digital photography.
In Volume 2, Scott adds entirely new chapters packed with Plain English tips on using flash, shooting close up photography, travel photography, shooting people, and even how to build a studio from scratch, where he demystifies the process so anyone can start taking pro-quality portraits today! Plus, he's got full chapters on his most requested topics, including loads of tips for landscape photographers, wedding photographers, and there's an entire chapter devoted to sharing some of the pro's secrets for making your photos look more professional, no matter what you're shooting.
This book truly has a brilliant premise, and here’s how Scott describes it: “If you and I were out on a shoot, and you asked me, ‘When I use my flash, the background behind the person I’m shooting turns black. How do I fix that?’ I wouldn’t give you a lecture on flash ratios, or start a discussion on flash synchronization and rear curtain sync. I’d just say “Lower your shutter speed to 1/60 of a second. That should do it” Well, that’s what this book is all about: you and I out shooting where I answer questions, give you advice, and share the secrets I’ve learned just like I would with a friend—without all the technical explanations and techie photo speak.”
Each page covers a single concept on how to make your photography better. Every time you turn the page, you’ll learn another pro setting, tool, or trick to transform your work from snapshots into gallery prints. If you’re tired of taking shots that look “okay,” and if you’re tired of looking in photography magazines and thinking, “Why don’t my shots look like that?” then this is the book for you.
This isn’t a book of theory—full of confusing jargon and detailed concepts. This is a book on which button to push, which setting to use, and when to use it. With nearly another 200 of the most closely guarded photographic “tricks of the trade,” this book gets you shooting dramatically better-looking, sharper, more colorful, more professional-looking photos every time.
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Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #98 in Books
Published on: 2008-01-05
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
240 pages
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Scott Kelby is President of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) and Editor-in-Chief of both Photoshop User and Layers magazines. Scott serves as training director for the Adobe Photoshop Seminar Tour and is the technical chair of the largest Photoshop gathering in the industry, Photoshop World. He has written numerous best-selling creative technology books.
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Customer Reviews
Very helpful for beginner and Intermediate Photographer
I brought volume one and two at the same time.
Volume two is an extension (not update) of volume one. The same comments apply. See below.
This is probably the best how-to photography book I've ever read. This covers only a few topics that general consumers are interested most. This book is very easy to read. This is a vertical dissection of the interested areas. Instructions are very clear and precise. This helps you to the take reasonably good (if not professional) looking pictures very quickly. From there, you would have enough skills to expand your horizon. Enjoy!
Great writer, sloppily wasting his talent
I always want to like Kelby's columns and books. He is a fantastic writer. He knows how to break things down simply. But perhaps in his mad rush to produce so many books and magazines and such he has not always attended to the details. I did not read Digital Photography volume one and chose instead volume 2.
I read it cover to cover, twice! I really liked the samples, lay out, and coaching. But then as I tried out a few items I noted he often did not provide enough detail to replicate his technique. When shooting a backlit subject he suggested adding a bit of flash. Are we talking manual exposure? Is he using flash compensation to reduce flash output? Is he just shooting in auto with ttl flash? It would be helpful to know more details.
I suspect, given his bibliography that many images are farmed out to others and this is why the writing is not as detailed or informed as it could be. This detracts from his ability to teach.
I originally wanted to give him 5 starts, but took off 1 star for lack of detail or specifics. Then I tried a photoshop technique that appeared in a column. Again, great idea for correcting color, but leaves out enough details that I eventually gave up trying to get the same effect on one of my photo images. So, I'm taking off another start...down to 3.
Then I looked under the hood. When I like an author, I like to read about him and see what he says in his bio or acknowledgements. The acknowledgements section runs 2 pages. Ah, details and specifics at last. Only here, it is unwarranted. Lose a half star. But then it ends with thanking "God and his son Jesus Christ." When I want ol' time religion I'll by the Kelby book on that, but I sure found it offensive to see it in this book. And for you bible-thumpers, imagine if he had thanked Allah and the Koran? Would it have taken away from this author's effort?
Lastly, he repeatedly states he is not promoting products. And I bought that line until the end of the book. The last 4 pages contain ful page ads promoting specific products he is linked to. Now come on, even Jesus would call that hypocrisy. Sorry, fella, you just lost another star.
This will be the last Kelby book I buy. I hate to see such a talent wasted.
Short Cuts
A photography tip is a short instruction on how to do something in photography - "put the softbox as close as possible to the subject for the softest light" - without trying to put the instruction into any larger context.
This is a short book of photography tips that contains tips on using flash, studio photography, portraits, landscapes, weddings, travel, macro, and what should probably be called miscellany. There is a final section in which Kelby shows particular pictures and indicates his considerations in taking them. Each tip is less then a small page in length and includes an illustrative photograph.
Kelby is a Photoshop guru turned photography guru, and his images while nice, certainly are not inspiring. Be warned: many people are put off by his sophomoric sense of humor, which he displays throughout the book (e.g., the Committee for Creation of Complex Sounding Studio Gear Names).
I dislike tip books because they don't put photography technique within a larger context so that the reader learns a principle which he can apply to any circumstance. "Give a man a fish...." might have been written about tip books. For example, in the space of a few pages, the author tells us to shoot portraits with wide angle lenses and then tells us to use telephoto lenses. What might be called a comprehensive book would help us to understand the considerations involved in making a choice of focal length for portraits.
Most of the tips that Kelby provides are really quite basic, and will be familiar to anyone who has spent any time at all learning techniques. (I acknowledge there is some value in being reminded about a small technique, although one could be reminded as well by reading a more comprehensive book.) Some of the tips are repeated, like telling us to keep shooting after sunset, or to buy a fast normal lens to shoot in dim places where you can't use flash. Some of the tips are even contradictory, as when he tells the reader not to cut off the chin in a close-up portrait and then does just that later on. I particularly resented a so-called tip to buy a book that Kelby just happens to have edited and which I found to be interesting but not essential reading.
On the other hand, this is a book that you can pick up, read for a few minutes, and then put down. If you feel that's an essential quality for an instruction book, this certainly fills the bill.
วันอังคารที่ 27 พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. 2551
Presentation Zen Books
Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery (Voices That Matter) By Garr Reynolds
Product Description
FOREWORD BY GUY KAWASAKI
Presentation designer and internationally acclaimed communications expert Garr Reynolds, creator of the most popular Web site on presentation design and delivery on the net — presentationzen.com — shares his experience in a provocative mix of illumination, inspiration, education, and guidance that will change the way you think about making presentations with PowerPoint or Keynote. Presentation Zen challenges the conventional wisdom of making "slide presentations" in today’s world and encourages you to think differently and more creatively about the preparation, design, and delivery of your presentations. Garr shares lessons and perspectives that draw upon practical advice from the fields of communication and business. Combining solid principles of design with the tenets of Zen simplicity, this book will help you along the path to simpler, more effective presentations.
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Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #149 in Books
Published on: 2008-01-04
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
240 pages
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Please don't buy this book! Once people start making better presentations, mine won’t look so good. (But if you truly want to learn what works and how to do it right, Garr is the man to learn from.)"
Seth Godin
Speaker and Blogger
Author, Meatball Sundae
"Garr is a beacon of hope for frustrated audiences everywhere. His design philosophy and fundamental principles bring life to messages and can invigorate careers. His principles of simplicity are as much a journey of the soul as they are restraint of the mouse."
Nancy Duarte
CEO, Duarte Design
"Presentation Zen is just fantastic. Best of all it's not another recipe book about “how to make slides” — this is about re-imagining how your entire presentation will work together as a persuasive and integrated show, from conception through delivery. Awesome."
Merlin Mann
43folders.com
About the Author
Garr Reynolds is an internationally acclaimed communications expert, and the creator of the most popular Web site on presentation design and delivery on the net: presentationzen.com. A soughtafter speaker and consultant, his clients include many in the Fortune 500. A writer, designer, and musician, he currently holds the position of Associate Professor of Management at Kansai Gaidai University in Japan. Garr is a former corporate trainer for Sumitomo Electric, and once worked in Cupertino, California as the Manager for Worldwide User Group Relations at Apple, Inc. A longtime student of the Zen arts and resident of Japan, he currently lives in Osaka where he is Director of Design Matters Japan.
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Customer Reviews
I Never Realized How Much Help I Needed
When it comes to PowerPoint presentations I've always been guilty of simply grabbing a standard template and pouring in my bullets. I never gave much thought to aesthetics, which is why most of my slides look awful compared to the ones in Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds.
I can see why this book sells so extremely well. It's a beautiful work and features all sorts of great, visual examples to help drive home the author's points. Here are just a few of the great lessons I learned from reading this book:
Don't jump right into the slideware tool...lay out your thoughts using pencil and paper first. Better yet, do it with pencil and PostIt Notes. This seemed so backwards to me at first. After all, I've got the computer so why not use it from the start? After reading what the author had to say about this though I can see I'd greatly benefit from this initial step.
How many times have you been asked, "how many slides will you have in your deck?" I get hit with that every time I make a presentation. I love this excerpt from the book: The number of slides is not the point. If your presentation is successful, the audience will have no idea how many slides you used, nor will they care. Obviously you can take this to both extremes, but the point is we should be less focused on the number of slides.
How about these two questions that probably don't get enough serious consideration early on: What's your point? Why does it matter? Again, I frequently get too hung up on what I want to say and not so much on what I think the audience wants to hear about. I'm scheduled to make a presentation to a group of grad students in a few weeks and I'm starting to realize I don't know enough about their interests, goals from the session, etc., to properly frame my talk.
Don't force your logo onto every slide. Wow, that one won't go over well with our corporate communication team, but, it makes a ton of sense. As I think back about all the presentations I've sat through, there seemed to be a direct correlation between the degree of boredom and the number of times the speaker's corporate logo appeared. Seriously, if you look through this book you'll see templates are for losers. The most effective slides have few words/numbers and use an attractive graphic to help reinforce the point.
Look at each slide as a 3x3 grid and focus graphical elements more in the outer portions of the grid or on the intersection points of the vertical/horizontal lines. This one really becomes clear when you see it in action. The book features several wonderful examples that show how this sort of off-center balance is highly effective (and similar to the effect used in photography).
Speaking of images, the book features a list of some of the better stock photo sites. The author's favorite is iStockphoto but I prefer a free alternative called Stock.xchng (also included in the author's list).
Effective, brief to the point and thought provoking.
Having grown up in Japanese culture, I find it very interesting to view the subject matter from a cultural or spiritual framework such as zen.
I'm also impressed by how well Garr Reynolds treated hard topics like wabi, sabi and shibumi.
A must-read for anyone trying to improve communication skills!
A true eye-opener
Presentation zen is the kind of book whose message will help you during your whole career. It doesn't give you practical advice on how to craft the perfect set of powerpoint slides. Rather, it raises the right questions about presentation and answers them in an engaging, thought-provoking and well-written way.
If you are a professionnal, you will make a presentation in a few days, weeks or months, so do yourself and your audience a great service and pick up this book.
วันจันทร์ที่ 26 พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. 2551
David Busch's Nikon D300 Guide to Digital SLR Photography
David Busch's Nikon D300 Guide to Digital SLR Photography
By David D. Busch
Product Description
Have you unpacked your new Nikon D300 digital SLR camera and want to get started right away taking professional quality pictures? David Busch’s Nikon D300 Guide to Digital SLR Photography will show you how, when, and why to use all the cool features, controls, and functions of your camera to take great photographs of anything. After a brief introduction to the camera to help you get your bearings, you’ll dive right into all the exciting, innovative capabilities of the D300 including the focus controls, flash synchronization options, how to choose lenses, and which exposure modes are best. Beautiful, full-color images illustrate where the essential buttons and dials are, and you’ll find tips and techniques that can be applied to any type of photography to help you take better pictures with your new digital SLR. Whether you are new to digital SLR photography or an experienced pro, David Busch’s Nikon D300 Guide to Digital SLR Photography will help you maximize your camera’s capabilities.
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Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #286 in Books
Published on: 2008-04-15
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
432 pages
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
With more than a million books in print, David D. Busch is a best-selling author of books on digital photography and imaging technology, and he is the originator of popular series like David Busch’s Pro Secrets and David Busch’s Quick Snap Guides. He has written six hugely successful guidebooks for Nikon digital SLR models, and the most comprehensive manuals for dSLRs from Canon, Sony, and other vendors. His many other books devoted to digital photography include David Busch’s Digital Infrared Pro Secrets and Mastering Digital SLR Photography, Second Edition. As a roving photojournalist for more than 20 years, he has illustrated his books, magazine articles, and newspaper reports with award-winning images. Busch has operated his own commercial studio, suffocated in formal dress while shooting weddings-for-hire, and shot sports for a daily newspaper and upstate New York college. His photographs and articles have been published in magazines as diverse as PhotoGraphic, Popular Photograph & Imaging, The Rangefinder, and hundreds of other publications. He’s also reviewed digital cameras for CNet Networks and Computer Shopper.
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Customer Reviews
D300 guide
Absolutely the best guide for such a complex camera!!! David should make some DVDs of his material, to accentuate the use of the awesome book!!! He really knows digital cameras and especially this one.
Great book !!!
I received the book of David Busch a few days ago. I hadn't the patience to read the manual that came with the Nikon D300 because of its format and the lack of color in it. I had read on the Internet that this book is very well written. Well, I'm not disappointed at all ! It's a great book (432 pages, 190 full-colour pictures, a lot of tables) that explains every single button and feature of the D300. Beside the detailed explanation, there are also a lot of shooting tips. There are also chapters on getting the right exposure, choosing the right lenses, the lighting basics, useful softwares, cleaning the sensor etc.
I think it's iniquitous to write, as one reviewer did, that this book is a ripp-off because there are a lot of pictures that had been used in the Canon 40D book. The controls and features of the Nikon D300 are very well explained in David Busch's book, with numerous pictures of the buttons of this very camera. If there are some landscape pictures or some paragraphs on the lighting basics that were used in another book, it doesn't not prevent this book from being one of the best tool to learn quite all the capabilities of the Nikon D300 ! I thank David Busch for his great work !!!
David Busch, where were you when I had all my other Nikons?
I just traded all my old Nikons for a D300 and knowing that the factory manual would be almost unintelligible both because of the language as well as its physical size, I automatically searched for but was unsuccessful in finding my old stand-by - the Magic Lantern Guide to (you name the camera). Fortunately, I came upon this book and based solely on the recommendations of others on this site, I purchased it. Physically larger than the Magic Lantern series, his book is much easier to read and the information is so very clearly presented that it is a pleasure to read. The illustrations are very clear, well-labeled and informative.In comparison to the Magic Lantern series which I had for my other Nikons, this book is far and away superior. If you have D300 and do not have extensive experience with advanced digital SLR's, this is the best guide that I have seen so far. Buy it!,
วันพฤหัสบดีที่ 22 พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. 2551
A Thousand Splendid Suns
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
It's difficult to imagine a harder first act to follow than The Kite Runner: a debut novel by an unknown writer about a country many readers knew little about that has gone on to have over four million copies in print worldwide. But when preview copies of Khaled Hosseini's second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, started circulating at Amazon.com, readers reacted with a unanimous enthusiasm that few of us could remember seeing before. As special as The Kite Runner was, those readers said, A Thousand Splendid Suns is more so, bringing Hosseini's compassionate storytelling and his sense of personal and national tragedy to a tale of two women that is weighted equally with despair and grave hope.
We wanted to spread the word on the book as widely, and as soon, as we could. See below for an exclusive excerpt from A Thousand Splendid Suns and early reviews of the book from some of our top customer reviewers.--The Editors
What Smart Women Know
What Smart Women Know: 10 Year Anniversary Edition of The National Bestseller by Steven Carter
Editorial ReviewsFrom Publishers Weekly
The coauthors of Men Who Can't Love promise women "wisdom without pain" in this slick self-help guide to ideal romantic relationships. Describing women caught in various unrewarding relationships with men, Carter and Sokol compile a battery of catchy, puerile aphorisms about men and rules of behavior for dealing with them. Readers are warned to avoid "any man who wears his napkin like a bib" as well as one who reads The Satanic Verses on public transportation. Although mixed with some common-sense recommendations, these observations (e.g., "Unless you have good connections at Interpol, think twice before dating an elusive man") generally insult the intentions and intelligence of the reader. First serial to Cosmopolitan; paperback rights to Dell; Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Clubs featured alternates.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
What Smart Women Know is a straightforward and honest guide from women who have learned the hard way how to be smart about men.
Water for Elephants
Water for Elephants: A Novel by Sara Gruen
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Jacob Jankowski says: "I am ninety. Or ninety-three. One or the other." At the beginning of Water for Elephants, he is living out his days in a nursing home, hating every second of it. His life wasn't always like this, however, because Jacob ran away and joined the circus when he was twenty-one. It wasn't a romantic, carefree decision, to be sure. His parents were killed in an auto accident one week before he was to sit for his veterinary medicine exams at Cornell. He buried his parents, learned that they left him nothing because they had mortgaged everything to pay his tuition, returned to school, went to the exams, and didn't write a single word. He walked out without completing the test and wound up on a circus train. The circus he joins, in Depression-era America, is second-rate at best. With Ringling Brothers as the standard, Benzini Brothers is far down the scale and pale by comparison.
Water for Elephants is the story of Jacob's life with this circus. Sara Gruen spares no detail in chronicling the squalid, filthy, brutish circumstances in which he finds himself. The animals are mangy, underfed or fed rotten food, and abused. Jacob, once it becomes known that he has veterinary skills, is put in charge of the "menagerie" and all its ills. Uncle Al, the circus impresario, is a self-serving, venal creep who slaps people around because he can. August, the animal trainer, is a certified paranoid schizophrenic whose occasional flights into madness and brutality often have Jacob as their object. Jacob is the only person in the book who has a handle on a moral compass and as his reward he spends most of the novel beaten, broken, concussed, bleeding, swollen and hungover. He is the self-appointed Protector of the Downtrodden, and... he falls in love with Marlena, crazy August's wife. Not his best idea.
The most interesting aspect of the book is all the circus lore that Gruen has so carefully researched. She has all the right vocabulary: grifters, roustabouts, workers, cooch tent, rubes, First of May, what the band plays when there's trouble, Jamaican ginger paralysis, life on a circus train, set-up and take-down, being run out of town by the "revenooers" or the cops, and losing all your hooch. There is one glorious passage about Marlena and Rosie, the bull elephant, that truly evokes the magic a circus can create. It is easy to see Marlena's and Rosie's pink sequins under the Big Top and to imagine their perfect choreography as they perform unbelievable stunts. The crowd loves it--and so will the reader. The ending is absolutely ludicrous and really quite lovely. --Valerie Ryan --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Publishers Weekly
With its spotlight on elephants, Gruen's romantic page-turner hinges on the human-animal bonds that drove her debut and its sequel (Riding Lessons and Flying Changes)—but without the mass appeal that horses hold. The novel, told in flashback by nonagenarian Jacob Jankowski, recounts the wild and wonderful period he spent with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth, a traveling circus he joined during the Great Depression. When 23-year-old Jankowski learns that his parents have been killed in a car crash, leaving him penniless, he drops out of Cornell veterinary school and parlays his expertise with animals into a job with the circus, where he cares for a menagerie of exotic creatures[...] He also falls in love with Marlena, one of the show's star performers—a romance complicated by Marlena's husband, the unbalanced, sadistic circus boss who beats both his wife and the animals Jankowski cares for. Despite her often clichéd prose and the predictability of the story's ending, Gruen skillfully humanizes the midgets, drunks, rubes and freaks who populate her book. (May 26)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
วันจันทร์ที่ 19 พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. 2551
A Thousand Splendid Suns (Hardcover)
A Thousand Splendid Suns (Hardcover) by Khaled Hosseini
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
It's difficult to imagine a harder first act to follow than The Kite Runner: a debut novel by an unknown writer about a country many readers knew little about that has gone on to have over four million copies in print worldwide. But when preview copies of Khaled Hosseini's second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, started circulating at Amazon.com, readers reacted with a unanimous enthusiasm that few of us could remember seeing before. As special as The Kite Runner was, those readers said, A Thousand Splendid Suns is more so, bringing Hosseini's compassionate storytelling and his sense of personal and national tragedy to a tale of two women that is weighted equally with despair and grave hope.
We wanted to spread the word on the book as widely, and as soon, as we could. See below for an exclusive excerpt from A Thousand Splendid Suns and early reviews of the book from some of our top customer reviewers.--The Editors
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An Exclusive Excerpt from A Thousand Splendid Suns
We have arranged with the publisher to make an exclusive excerpt of A Thousand Splendid Suns available on Amazon.com. Click here to read a scene from the novel. It's not the opening scene, but rather one from a crucial moment later in the book when Mariam, one of the novel's two main characters, steps into a new role.
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Early Buzz from Amazon.com Top Reviewers
We queried our top 100 customer reviewers as of March 6, 2007, and asked them to read A Thousand Splendid Suns and share their thoughts. We've included these early reviews below in the order they were received. For the sake of space, we've only included a brief excerpt of each reviewer's response, but each review is available for reading in its entirety by clicking the "Read the review" link.
Joanna Daneman: "His style is deceptively simple and clear, the characters drawn deftly and swiftly, his themes elemental and huge. This is a brilliant writer and I look forward to more of his work." Read Joanna Daneman's review
Seth J. Frantzman: "Khaled Hosseini has done it again with 'A Thousand Splendid Sons', presenting a new, dashing and dark tale of two generations of women trapped in a loveless marriage, bracketed by great events." Read Seth J. Frantzman's review
Donald Mitchell: "Khaled Hosseini has succeeded in capturing many important historical and contemporary themes in a way that will make your heart ache again and again. Why will your reaction be so strong? It’s because you’ll identify closely with the suffering of almost all the characters, a reaction that’s very rare to a modern novel." Read Donald Mitchell's review
Lawrance M. Bernabo: "All things considered, following up on a successful first novel is probably harder than coming up with the original effort and Hosseini could have rested on his laurels in the manner of Harper Lee, but as "A Thousand Splendid Suns" amply proves, this native of Kabul has more stories to tell about the land of Afghanistan." Read Lawrance M. Bernabo's review
Amanda Richards: "There are parts of this book that will have grown men surreptitiously blotting the tears that are on the verge of overflowing their ducts, and by the time you get to the middle, you won’t be able to put it down. Hosseini's simple but richly descriptive prose makes for an engrossing read, and in my opinion, "A Thousand Splendid Suns" is among the best I have ever read. This is definitely not one to be missed." Read Amanda Richards's review
N. Durham: "All that being said, "A Thousand Splendid Suns" is a bit more enjoyable than Hosseini’s previous "The Kite Runner", and once again he manages to give we readers another glimpse of a world that we know little about but frequently condemn and discard. However, if you were one of the many that for some reason absolutely loved "The Kite Runner", chances are that you'll love this as well." Read N. Durham's review
John Kwok: "Khaled Hosseini's "A Thousand Splendid Suns" is a genuine instant literary classic, and one destined to be remembered as one of 2007's best novels. It should be compared favorably to such legendary Russian novels like "War and Peace" and "Doctor Zhivago"." Read John Kwok's review
Thomas Duff: "Normally I'm more of an action-adventure type reader when it comes to novels and recreational reading. But I was given the chance to read A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (author of The Kite Runner), so I decided to try something out of my normal genre. I am *so* glad I did. This is a stunning and moving novel of life and love in Afghanistan over a 30 year period." Read Thomas Duff's review
Charles Ashbacher: "This book manages to simultaneously capture the history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years and how women are treated in conservative Islamic societies.... In many ways it is a sad book, your heart goes out to these two women in their hopeless struggle to have a decent life with a brutal man in an unforgiving, intolerant society." Read Charles Ashbacher's review
W. Boudville: "Hosseini presents a piognant view into the recent tortured decades of the Afghan experience. From the 1970s, under a king, to the Soviet takeover, to the years of resistance. And then the rise and fall of the Taliban. An American reader will recognise many of the main political events. But to many Americans, Afghanistan and its peoples and religion remain an opaque and troubling mystery." Read W. Boudville's review
Mark Baker: "I tend to read plot heavy books, so this character study was a definite change of pace for me. I found the first half slow going at times, mainly because I knew where the story was going. Once I got into the second half, things really picked up. The ending was very bittersweet. I couldn't think of a better way to end it." Read Mark Baker's review
Grady Harp: "Hosseini takes us behind those walls for forty some years of Afghanistan's bloody history and while he does not spare us any of the descriptions of the terror that continues to besiege that country, he does offer us a story that speaks so tenderly about the fragile beauty of love and devotion and lasting impression people make on people." Read Grady Harp's review
Robert P. Beveridge: "When I was actively reading it, the pages kept turning, and more than once I found myself foregoing food or sleep temporarily to get in just one more chapter. When I had put it down, however, I felt no particular compulsion to pick it back up again. It's a good book, and a relatively well-written one, but it's not a great book. Enjoyable without leaving a lasting impression." Read Robert P. Beveridge's review
B. Marold: "While the events in Afghanistan and the wider world create a familiar framework for the stories of these two women, it is nothing more than a framework. The warp and weft of everyday life, and the interaction of the two women and their close relatives is the heartbeat of the story." Read B. Marold's review
Daniel Jolley: "Khaled Hosseini has written a majestic, sweeping, emotionally powerful story that provides the reader with a most telling window into Afghan society over the past thirty-odd years. It's also a moving story of friendship and sacrifice, giving Western readers a rare glimpse into the suffering and mistreatment of Afghan women that began long before the Taliban came to power." Read Daniel Jolley's review
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Afghan-American novelist Hosseini follows up his bestselling The Kite Runner with another searing epic of Afghanistan in turmoil. The story covers three decades of anti-Soviet jihad, civil war and Taliban tyranny through the lives of two women. Mariam is the scorned illegitimate daughter of a wealthy businessman, forced at age 15 into marrying the 40-year-old Rasheed, who grows increasingly brutal as she fails to produce a child. Eighteen later, Rasheed takes another wife, 14-year-old Laila, a smart and spirited girl whose only other options, after her parents are killed by rocket fire, are prostitution or starvation. Against a backdrop of unending war, Mariam and Laila become allies in an asymmetrical battle with Rasheed, whose violent misogyny—"There was no cursing, no screaming, no pleading, no surprised yelps, only the systematic business of beating and being beaten"—is endorsed by custom and law. Hosseini gives a forceful but nuanced portrait of a patriarchal despotism where women are agonizingly dependent on fathers, husbands and especially sons, the bearing of male children being their sole path to social status. His tale is a powerful, harrowing depiction of Afghanistan, but also a lyrical evocation of the lives and enduring hopes of its resilient characters. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights
What Smart Women Know: 10 Year Anniversary Edition of The National Bestseller
What Smart Women Know: 10 Year Anniversary Edition of The National Bestseller by Steven Carter
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
The coauthors of Men Who Can't Love promise women "wisdom without pain" in this slick self-help guide to ideal romantic relationships. Describing women caught in various unrewarding relationships with men, Carter and Sokol compile a battery of catchy, puerile aphorisms about men and rules of behavior for dealing with them. Readers are warned to avoid "any man who wears his napkin like a bib" as well as one who reads The Satanic Verses on public transportation. Although mixed with some common-sense recommendations, these observations (e.g., "Unless you have good connections at Interpol, think twice before dating an elusive man") generally insult the intentions and intelligence of the reader. First serial to Cosmopolitan; paperback rights to Dell; Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Clubs featured alternates.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
What Smart Women Know is a straightforward and honest guide from women who have learned the hard way how to be smart about men.
From the Publisher
Get smart about men and relationships with the help of this straightforward guide. Learn how to read that vitally important first date, how to tell the good guys from the bad, how to handle a breakup and after and the eleven commandments for a smart woman. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From the Inside Flap
Get smart about men and relationships with the help of this straightforward guide. Learn how to read that vitally important first date, how to tell the good guys from the bad, how to handle a breakup and after and the eleven commandments for a smart woman. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Water for Elephants: A Novel
Water for Elephants: A Novel by Sara Gruen
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Jacob Jankowski says: "I am ninety. Or ninety-three. One or the other." At the beginning of Water for Elephants, he is living out his days in a nursing home, hating every second of it. His life wasn't always like this, however, because Jacob ran away and joined the circus when he was twenty-one. It wasn't a romantic, carefree decision, to be sure. His parents were killed in an auto accident one week before he was to sit for his veterinary medicine exams at Cornell. He buried his parents, learned that they left him nothing because they had mortgaged everything to pay his tuition, returned to school, went to the exams, and didn't write a single word. He walked out without completing the test and wound up on a circus train. The circus he joins, in Depression-era America, is second-rate at best. With Ringling Brothers as the standard, Benzini Brothers is far down the scale and pale by comparison.
Water for Elephants is the story of Jacob's life with this circus. Sara Gruen spares no detail in chronicling the squalid, filthy, brutish circumstances in which he finds himself. The animals are mangy, underfed or fed rotten food, and abused. Jacob, once it becomes known that he has veterinary skills, is put in charge of the "menagerie" and all its ills. Uncle Al, the circus impresario, is a self-serving, venal creep who slaps people around because he can. August, the animal trainer, is a certified paranoid schizophrenic whose occasional flights into madness and brutality often have Jacob as their object. Jacob is the only person in the book who has a handle on a moral compass and as his reward he spends most of the novel beaten, broken, concussed, bleeding, swollen and hungover. He is the self-appointed Protector of the Downtrodden, and... he falls in love with Marlena, crazy August's wife. Not his best idea.
The most interesting aspect of the book is all the circus lore that Gruen has so carefully researched. She has all the right vocabulary: grifters, roustabouts, workers, cooch tent, rubes, First of May, what the band plays when there's trouble, Jamaican ginger paralysis, life on a circus train, set-up and take-down, being run out of town by the "revenooers" or the cops, and losing all your hooch. There is one glorious passage about Marlena and Rosie, the bull elephant, that truly evokes the magic a circus can create. It is easy to see Marlena's and Rosie's pink sequins under the Big Top and to imagine their perfect choreography as they perform unbelievable stunts. The crowd loves it--and so will the reader. The ending is absolutely ludicrous and really quite lovely. --Valerie Ryan --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Publishers Weekly
With its spotlight on elephants, Gruen's romantic page-turner hinges on the human-animal bonds that drove her debut and its sequel (Riding Lessons and Flying Changes)—but without the mass appeal that horses hold. The novel, told in flashback by nonagenarian Jacob Jankowski, recounts the wild and wonderful period he spent with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth, a traveling circus he joined during the Great Depression. When 23-year-old Jankowski learns that his parents have been killed in a car crash, leaving him penniless, he drops out of Cornell veterinary school and parlays his expertise with animals into a job with the circus, where he cares for a menagerie of exotic creatures[...] He also falls in love with Marlena, one of the show's star performers—a romance complicated by Marlena's husband, the unbalanced, sadistic circus boss who beats both his wife and the animals Jankowski cares for. Despite her often clichéd prose and the predictability of the story's ending, Gruen skillfully humanizes the midgets, drunks, rubes and freaks who populate her book. (May 26)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From The New Yorker
To replicate the salty vernacular of a Depression-era circus, Gruen, in her third novel, did extensive research in archives and in the field, and her work pays off admirably. The Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth is a roving fleabag ensemble of "cooch tents," "kinkers," and "hay burners," whose tyrannical m.c. is always on the lookout for "born freaks." Unfortunately, Jacob Jankowski, the novel's narrator and protagonist, carries less conviction than the period idiom. Recalling, near the end of his life, his work as a veterinarian for the circus and his love for a colleague's wife, he comes off as so relentlessly decent—an unwavering defender of animals, women, dwarves, cripples, and assorted ethnic groups—that he ceases to be interesting as a character.
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker - click here to subscribe. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Bookmarks Magazine
Water for Elephants, Gruen's third novel, is a "cozy read" that has produced a "copious amount of buzz" (Cleveland Plain Dealer). No stranger to marrying the fates of her characters to animals, Gruen previously published the novels Riding Lessons (2004) and Flying Changes (2005), both of which focus on horses and horsemanship. Despite cries of "serviceable" prose, Gruen has done her research on the history of the period, in particular its traveling shows (illustrated here in 15 black-and-white prints). Jacob's search for lost time is vivid and atmospheric, his story told with passion and an eye for the curious and entertaining detail.
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
Life is good for Jacob Jankowski. He's about to graduate from veterinary school and about to bed the girl of his dreams. Then his parents are killed in a car crash, leaving him in the middle of the Great Depression with no home, no family, and no career. Almost by accident, Jacob joins the circus. There he falls in love with the beautiful performer Marlena, who is married to the circus' psychotic animal trainer. He also meets the other love of his life, Rosie the elephant. This lushly romantic novel travels back in forth in time between Jacob's present day in a nursing home and his adventures in the surprisingly harsh world of 1930s circuses. The ending of both stories is a little too cheerful to be believed, but just like a circus, the magic of the story and the writing convince you to suspend your disbelief. The book is partially based on real circus stories and illustrated with historical circus photographs. Marta Segal
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
New York Times Book Review : "Water for Elephants resembles stealth hits like The Giant's House, by Elizabeth McCracken, or The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold, books that combine outrageously whimsical premises with crowd-pleasing romanticism. . . . With a showman's expert timing, [Gruen] saves a terrific revelation for the final pages, transforming a glimpse of Americana into an enchanting escapist fairy tale."—The New York Times Book Review
Parade magazine : "Gritty, sensual and charged with dark secrets involving love,murder and a majestic,mute heroine (Rosie the Elephant)."—Parade
Entertainment Weekly : "Has a ringmaster's crowd-pleasing pace" - Entertainment Weekly
The Washington Post : "You'll get lost in the tatty glamour of Gruen's meticulously researched world, from spangled equestrian pageantry and the sleazy side show to an ill-fated night at a Chicago speak-easy"
The Denver Post : “Lively with historical detail and unexpected turns. . . . Water for Elephants is a rich surprise, a delightful gem springing from a fascinating footnote to history that absolutely deserved to be mined.”
—The Denver Post
Entertainment Weekly : "For pure story, this colorful, headlong tale of a Depression-era circus simply can't be beat. Heroes, villains, romance, a wild-animal stampede! Big fun from page 1."—Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly: "Best & Worst 2007"
Review
“Gorgeous, brilliant, and superbly plotted, Water for Elephants swept me into the world of the circus during the Depression, and it did not let me go until the very end. I don’t think it has let me go, even now. Sara Gruen has a voice to rival John Irving’s, and I am hopelessly, unabashedly in love with this book. Read it.”
—Joshilyn Jackson, author of Gods in Alabama
“So much more than a tale about a circus, Water for Elephants is a compelling journey not only under the big top, but into the protagonist’s heart. Sara Gruen uses her talent as a writer to bring that world alive for the reader: I could smell it, taste it, feel every word of it. This is a fiction reader’s dream come true.”
—Jeanne Ray, author of Julie and Romeo Get Lucky
“In this thrilling, romantic story set in a traveling circus in the 1930s, Sara Gruen has a big top’s worth of vivid characters and an exhilarating narrative that kept me up all night. From the perseverance of a terrier named Queenie to the charm of Rosie the elephant, this masterpiece of storytelling is a book about what animals can teach people about love.”
—Susan Cheever, author of My Name Is Bill
Product Description
As a young man, Jacob Jankowski was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It was the early part of the great Depression, and for Jacob, now ninety, the circus world he remembers was both his salvation and a living hell. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It was there that he met Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. And he met Rosie, an untrainable elephant who was the great gray hope for this third-rate traveling show. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and, ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.
About the Author
Sara Gruen is the author of the bestseller Riding Lessons and Flying Changes. She lives north of Chicago with her husband, her three children, four cats, two goats, two dogs, and a horse.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Only three people were left under the red and white awning of the grease joint: Grady, me, and the fry cook. Grady and I sat at a battered wooden table, each facing a burger on a dented tin plate. The cook was behind the counter, scraping his griddle with the edge of a spatula. He had turned off the fryer some time ago, but the odor of grease lingered.
The rest of the midway—so recently writhing with people—was empty but for a handful of employees and a small group of men waiting to be led to the cooch tent. They glanced nervously from side to side, with hats pulled low and hands thrust deep in their pockets. They wouldn’t be dis appointed: somewhere in the back Barbara and her ample charms awaited.
The other townsfolk—rubes, as Uncle Al called them—had already made their way through the menagerie tent and into the big top, which pulsed with frenetic music. The band was whipping through its repertoire at the usual earsplitting volume. I knew the routine by heart—at this very moment, the tail end of the Grand Spectacle was exiting and Lottie, the aerialist, was ascending her rigging in the center ring.
I stared at Grady, trying to process what he was saying. He glanced around and leaned in closer.
“Besides,” he said, locking eyes with me, “it seems to me you’ve got a lot to lose right now.” He raised his eyebrows for emphasis. My heart skipped a beat.
Thunderous applause exploded from the big top, and the band slid seamlessly into the Gounod waltz. I turned instinctively toward the menagerie because this was the cue for the elephant act. Marlena was either preparing to mount or was already sitting on Rosie’s head.
“I’ve got to go,” I said. “Sit,” said Grady. “Eat. If you’re thinking of clearing out, it may be a while before you see food again.”
That moment, the music screeched to a halt. There was an ungodly collision of brass, reed, and percussion—trombones and piccolos skidded into cacophony, a tuba farted, and the hollow clang of a cymbal wavered out of the big top, over our heads and into oblivion. Grady froze, crouched over his burger with his pinkies extended and lips spread wide. I looked from side to side. No one moved a muscle—all eyes were directed at the big top. A few wisps of hay swirled lazily across the hard dirt.
“What is it? What’s going on?” I said.
“Shh,” Grady hissed.
The band started up again, playing “Stars and Stripes Forever.”
“Oh Christ. Oh shit!” Grady tossed his food onto the table and leapt up, knocking over the bench.
“What? What is it?” I yelled, because he was already running away from me.
“The Disaster March!” he screamed over his shoulder.
I jerked around to the fry cook, who was ripping off his apron. “What the hell’s he talking about?”
“The Disaster March,” he said, wrestling the apron over his head. “Means something’s gone bad — real bad.”
“Like what?”
“ Could be anything—fire in the big top, stampede, whatever. Aw sweet Jesus. The poor rubes probably don’t even know it yet.” He ducked under the hinged door and took off.
Chaos—candy butchers vaulting over counters, workmen staggering out from under tent flaps, roustabouts racing headlong across the lot. Anyone and everyone associated with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth barreled toward the big top.
Diamond Joe passed me at the human equivalent of a full gallop.
“ Jacob—it’s the menagerie,” he screamed. “The animals are loose. Go, go, go!”
He didn’t need to tell me twice. Marlena was in that tent. A rumble coursed through me as I approached, and it scared the hell out of me because it was on a register lower than noise. The ground was vibrating.
I staggered inside and met a wall of yak—a great expanse of curlyhaired chest and churning hooves, of flared red nostrils and spinning eyes. It galloped past so close I leapt backward on tiptoe, flush with the canvas to avoid being impaled on one of its crooked horns. A terrified hyena clung to its shoulders.
The concession stand in the center of the tent had been flattened, and in its place was a roiling mass of spots and stripes—of haunches, heels, tails, and claws, all of it roaring, screeching, bellowing, or whinnying. A polar bear towered above it all, slashing blindly with skillet-sized paws. It made contact with a llama and knocked it flat—boom. The llama hit the ground, its neck and legs splayed like the five points of a star. Chimps screamed and chattered, swinging on ropes to stay above the cats. A wild-eyed zebra zigzagged too close to a crouching lion, who swiped, missed, and darted away, his belly close to the ground.
My eyes swept the tent, desperate to find Marlena. Instead I saw a cat slide through the connection leading to the big top—it was a panther, and as its lithe black body disappeared into the canvas tunnel I braced myself. If the rubes didn’t know, they were about to find out. It took several seconds to come, but come it did—one prolonged shriek followed by another, and then another, and then the whole place exploded with the thunderous sound of bodies trying to shove past other bodies and off the stands. The band screeched to a halt for a second time, and this time stayed silent. I shut my eyes: Please God let them leave by the back end. Please God don’t let them try to come through here.
I opened my eyes again and scanned the menagerie, frantic to find her. How hard can it be to find a girl and an elephant, for Christ’s sake?
When I caught sight of her pink sequins, I nearly cried out in relief—maybe I did. I don’t remember.
She was on the opposite side, standing against the sidewall, calm as a summer day. Her sequins flashed like liquid diamonds, a shimmering beacon between the multicolored hides. She saw me, too, and held my gaze for what seemed like forever. She was cool, languid. Smiling even. I started pushing my way toward her, but something about her expression stopped me cold.
That son of a bitch was standing with his back to her, red-faced and bellowing, flapping his arms and swinging his silver-tipped cane. His high-topped silk hat lay on the straw beside him. She reached for something.
A giraffe passed between us—its long neck bobbing gracefully even in panic—and when it was gone I saw that she’d picked up an iron stake. She held it loosely, resting its end on the hard dirt. She looked at me again, bemused. Then her gaze shifted to the back of his bare head.
“Oh Jesus,” I said, suddenly understanding. I stumbled forward, screaming even though there was no hope of my voice reaching her. “Don’t do it! Don’t do it!”
She lifted the stake high in the air and brought it down, splitting his head like a watermelon. His pate opened, his eyes grew wide, and his mouth froze into an O. He fell to his knees and then toppled forward into the straw.
I was too stunned to move, even as a young orangutan flung its elastic arms around my legs.
So long ago. So long. But still it haunts me.
I don’t talk much about those days. Never did. I don’t know why—I worked on circuses for nearly seven years, and if that isn’t fodder for conversation, I don’t know what is.
Actually I do know why: I never trusted myself. I was afraid I’d let it slip. I knew how important it was to keep her secret, and keep it I did — for the rest of her life, and then beyond.
In seventy years, I’ve never told a blessed soul.
วันอาทิตย์ที่ 18 พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. 2551
Certification Central
PMP Exam Prep, Fifth Edition: Rita's Course in a Book for Passing the PMP Exam by Rita Mulcahy
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Editorial Reviews
Rita's book is boon to men and women preparing to take PMI's certification examination. --- J. Davidson Frame, Ph.D., PMP and Past PMI Director of Certification
Vijay K. Verma, author of Organizing Projects for Success
"This comprehensive resource is a "must read" for those aspiring to be certified as a PMP..." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
Can you imagine valuing a book so much that you send the author a "Thank You" letter?
Tens of thousands of people understand why PMP Exam Prep by Rita Mulcahy, PMP, is a worldwide best-seller. Is it Rita's years of PMP exam preparation experience? The endless hours of ongoing research? The interviews with project managers who failed the exam, to identify gaps in their knowledge? Or is it the razor-sharp focus on making sure project managers don't waste a single minute of their time studying any more than they absolutely have to? Actually, it's all of the above.
PMP Exam Prep, Fifth Edition by Rita Mulcahy contains hundreds of updates and improvements from previous editions--including new exercises and sample questions never before in print. Offering hundreds of sample questions, critical time-saving tips plus games and activities available nowhere else, this book will help you pass the PMP exam on your FIRST try.
From the Publisher
This is the 4th edition of the PMP Exam Prep, often called "Rita's book" by project management students, which has easily become the standard training material to help project managers pass the PMP exam. PMP Exam Prep is being used in over 43 countries.
It is more than a series of sample exams. It is a comprehensive guide to get ready to pass the PMP exam.
PMP Exam Prep goes beyond the material contained in the PMBOK incorporating input about project management from around the world. The emphasis on this publication is the tools you need to pass the exam and apply project management principles to real-world situations.
Since the world of project management is constantly being updated, RMC prides itself on keeping its materials as up-to-date as possible with frequent edits and printings. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From the Author
"I have tried to make the PMP Exam Prep a truly comprehensive guide to passing the PMP exam. I wanted it to be more than a rehash of the PMBOK or a series of exam questions, but a study guide that uses accelerated learning techniques to give you the most information in the least amount of time."
"I also wanted to use my experience training students to pass the PMP exam to help PMP hopefuls understand what to study and how to study and give them the best chance of passing." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Rita Mulcahy, PMP, has helped tens of thousands of project managers pass the PMP exam. She is an internationally-recognized expert on project management techniques, advanced project management theory, risk management and the PMP exam. Rita has over 14 years and US $2.5 billion worth of hands-on project experience, as well as 5 best-selling project management resources to her credit. She speaks to thousands of executives and project managers each year, and has a reputation for helping people to learn and to have fun while doing it.
Business & Culture
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
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Editorial Reviews
"It's about time this book was written. It is a long-overdue manifesto for the mobile lifestyle, and Tim Ferriss is the ideal ambassador. This will be huge."
–Jack Canfield
Co-creator of Chicken Soup for the Soul®, 100+ million copies sold
"This is a whole new ball game. Highly recommended."
–Dr. Stewart D. Friedman
Adviser to Jack Welch and Former Vice President Al Gore on Work/Family Issues
Director of the Work/Life Integration Project, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
"Stunning and amazing. From mini-retirements to outsourcing your life,
it's all here. Whether you're a wage slave or a Fortune 500 CEO, this
book will change your life!"
–Phil Town
#1 New York Times Bestselling Author of Rule #1
"The 4-Hour Workweek is a new way of solving a very old problem: just how can we work to live and prevent our lives from being all about work? A world of infinite options awaits those who would read this book and be inspired by it!"
–Michael E. Gerber
Founder & Chairman of E-Myth Worldwide and the World's #1 Small Business Guru
“Timothy has packed more lives into his 29 years than Steve Jobs has in his 51.”
–Tom Foremski
Journalist and Publisher of SiliconValleyWatcher.com
“Thanks to Tim Ferriss, I have more time in my life to travel, spend time with family and write book blurbs. This is a dazzling and highly useful
work.”
–A.J. Jacobs
Editor-at-Large, Esquire Magazine, Author of The Know-It-All
"If you want to live life on your own terms, this is your blueprint."
–Mike Maples
Co-founder of Motive Communications (IPO to $260M market cap), Founding Executive of Tivoli (sold to IBM for $750M)
"Tim is Indiana Jones for the digital age. I've already used his advice to go spearfishing on remote islands and ski the best hidden slopes of Argentina. Simply put, do what he says and you can live like a millionaire."
–Albert Pope
Derivatives Trading, UBS World Headquarters
“This engaging book makes you ask the most important question that you will ever face: What exactly is it that you want out of work and life, and why? Tim Ferriss is a master of getting more for less, often with the help of people he doesn't even know, and here he gives away his secrets for fulfilling your dreams.”
–Bo Burlingham
Editor-at-Large, Inc. magazine
Author of Small Giants: Companies That Choose To Be Great Instead of Big
"Reading this book is like putting a few zeros on your income. Tim brings lifestyle to a new level–listen to him!"
–Michael D. Kerlin
McKinsey & Company Consultant to Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund
J. William Fulbright Scholar
"Part scientist and part adventure hunter, Tim Ferriss has created a road map for an entirely new world. I devoured this book in one sitting–I have seen nothing like it."
–Charles L. Brock
Chairman and CEO, Brock Capital Group
Former CFO, COO, and General Counsel, Scholastic, Inc.
Former President, Harvard Law School Association
"Outsourcing is no longer just for Fortune 500 companies. Small and mid-sized firms, as well as busy professionals, can outsource their work to increase their productivity and free time for more important commitments. It's time for the world to take advantage of this revolution.”
–Vivek Kulkarni
CEO Brickwork India and former IT Secretary, Bangalore
Credited as the “techno-bureaucrat” who helped make Bangalore an IT destination in India
"Tim is the master! I should know. I followed his rags to riches path and watched him transform himself from competitive fighter to entrepreneur. He tears apart conventional assumptions until he finds a better way."
–Dan Partland
Emmy Award-Winning Producer; American High, Welcome to the Dollhouse
"The 4-Hour Workweek is an absolute necessity for those adventurous souls who want to live life to its fullest. Buy it and read it before you sacrifice any more!"
–John Lusk
Group Product Manager, Microsoft World Headquarters
"If you want to live your dreams now, and not in 20 or 30 years, buy this book!"
–Laura Roden
Chairman of the Silicon Valley Association of Start-up Entrepreneurs
Lecturer in Corporate Finance, San Jose State University
“With this kind of time management and focus on the important things in life, people should be able to get 15 times as much done in a normal work week.”
–Tim Draper
Founder, Draper Fisher Jurvetson
Financiers to innovators including Hotmail, Skype, and Overture.com
"Tim Ferriss’s book is about gaining the courage to streamline your life
… But even more than that, it challenges the reader to seriously consider an essential–yet rarely asked–question: What do you really want from life?"
–Rolf Potts
Author of Vagabonding and Travel Columnist for Yahoo! News
"Tim has done what most people only dream of doing. I can't believe he is going to let his secrets out of the bag. This book is a must read!"
–Stephen Key
Top Inventor and Team Designer of Teddy Ruxpin, Lazer Tag
Consultant to “American Inventor”
Product Description
What do you do? Tim Ferriss has trouble answering the question. Depending on when you ask this
controversial Princeton University guest lecturer, he might answer:
“I race motorcycles in Europe.”
“I ski in the Andes.”
“I scuba dive in Panama.”
“I dance tango in Buenos Aires.”
He has spent more than five years learning the secrets of the New Rich, a fast-growing subculture who has abandoned the “deferred-life plan” and instead mastered the new currencies—time and mobility—to create luxury lifestyles in the here and now.
Whether you are an overworked employee or an entrepreneur trapped in your own business, this book is the compass for a new and revolutionary world. Join Tim Ferriss as he teaches you:
• How to outsource your life to overseas virtual assistants for $5 per hour and do whatever you want
• How blue-chip escape artists travel the world without quitting their jobs
• How to eliminate 50% of your work in 48 hours using the principles of a forgotten Italian economist
• How to trade a long-haul career for short work bursts and freuent "mini-retirements"
• What the crucial difference is between absolute and relative income
• How to train your boss to value performance over presence, or kill your job (or company) if it’s beyond repair
• What automated cash-flow “muses” are and how to create one in 2 to 4 weeks
• How to cultivate selective ignorance—and create time—with a low-information diet
• What the management secrets of Remote Control CEOs are
• How to get free housing worldwide and airfare at 50–80% off
• How to fill the void and create a meaningful life after removing work and the office
You can have it all—really.
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