Book Description
A vibrant collection of essays on the cosmos from the nation's best-known astrophysicist.
Loyal readers of the monthly "Universe" essays in Natural History magazine have long recognized Neil deGrasse Tyson's talent for guiding them through the mysteries of the cosmos with stunning clarity and almost childlike enthusiasm. Here, Tyson compiles his favorite essays across a myriad of cosmic topics. The title essay introduces readers to the physics of black holes by explaining the gory details of what would happen to your body if you fell into one. "Holy Wars" examines the needless friction between science and religion in the context of historical conflicts. "The Search for Life in the Universe" explores astral life from the frontiers of astrobiology. And "Hollywood Nights" assails the movie industry's feeble efforts to get its night skies right.
Known for his ability to blend content, accessibility, and humor, Tyson is a natural teacher who simplifies some of the most complex concepts in astrophysics while simultaneously sharing his infectious excitement about our universe.
Customer Reviews:
Educational and entertaining.......2007-10-02
I have long known Tyson to be an excellent speaker and purveyor of scientific ideas with a Saganesque ability to convey the excitement of scientific findings with a bit more hipness and swagger to his talks than Sagan. This book is an excellent read through and through. I couldn't beat the feeling as I sat on the roof of a 14 story building in Curitiba, Brazil watching the sunset alone on the summer solstice (their winter solstice) while reading the section on Stick-In-The-Mud-Science and watching the long shadows creep across the sky and have Tyson explain to me all the celestial happenings around me (this really happened). Quite a magical read. The author presents complex scientific ideas in short, readable, cohesively-themed articles. Each article is on a topic familiar to us, upon which he expands towards scientific ideas which may be unfamiliar to us. There is enough overlap in the independent sections that the read feels like one is being 'taught' rather than just reading information. And Tyson is first and foremost a great educator. Although I did find myself trying to remember something from a previous chapter and flipping back through, I feel like I have learned a great deal about astrophysics from a book that was downright entertaining.
An enjoyable read for those with an interest in science and astronomy.......2007-09-27
The qualities that make Neil deGrasse Tyson so annoying on Nova Science Now are absolute positives when it comes to the written word. He is an intelligent and entertaining writer with an uncanny ability to reduce complex scientific concepts to bite sized chunks even I could (mostly) understand.
Death by Black Hole by Neil DeGrasse Tyson.......2007-09-19
An astrophysicist for the American Museum of Natural History, director of the world famous Hayden Planetarium, and columnist for Natural History magazine, Neil DeGrasse Tyson brings to the non-scientific world the ideal book for those fascinated with space, the cosmos, black holes, and all the questions and wonders therein. Death by Black Hole is the perfect book for the reader who wants answers to questions about the universe in a simple and clearly defined way so that even if they know next to nothing about science and it's jargon, Tyson makes it easily understandable.
While I was hoping for something a little more in depth in the style of Brian Greene's The Fabric of the Cosmos or Lee Smolin's The Trouble With Physics, Death by Black Hole nevertheless provides quick and simple answers to many questions everyday readers without a science background have about physics, the universe, space, and most matters dealing with the cosmos. The book is a selection of his columns in Natural History that are organized in a somewhat textbook fashion. Tyson starts with the idea of science and nature in its basic form, how humanity views Earth, the solar system, the universe. Along with this discussion, Tyson also gives minor history lessons on the development of different ideas in physics and astronomy, what people came up with what big ideas and how the progression led to the development of the big theories of our current time with string theory and relativity. Going on from here, Death by Black Hole address the crucial steps that led to the formation of the universe and its development over the many billions and billions of years, again explaining how it is that scientists know what they do and what instruments were used, as well as the history of who invented and used said instruments.
It is then that Tyson finally turns to the subject matter of the title of the book in the section "When the Universe Turns Bad: All the Ways the Cosmos Wants to Kill Us." Here he addresses the complex and still relatively unknown subjects of chaos theory, dark matter (which constitutes over 90% of all matter in the universe, while we still know next to nothing about it), and finally black holes. Tyson takes the reader on a hypothetical journey with what would happen if one were to be sucked into a black hole and how as they approached the event horizon, they would become stretched until the elasticity point of their skin was surpassed and the body would be torn into thousands then millions of little pieces.
With many questions now answered, in the next section Tyson discusses how science is viewed by the media, Hollywood, and people around the world in general. The final section addresses the concept of science and religion, again taking the reader on a historic journey through the development of first religion, then science, and the struggle that has ensued for centuries. It is the perfect end to a book on science, as Tyson lectures the importance of supporting fact and reality in a time when there are many who believe more in faith, even when all the evidence is to the contrary.
For more book reviews, and other writings, go to www.alexctelander.com
Conversational Cosmology 101 - Superb!.......2007-09-19
New York Planetarium director and astrophysicist Tyson has been writing a column for "Natural History" magazine for some 11 years - that makes about 132 short essays. Tyson says this monthly chore is "one of the most exhausting and exhilarating things I do." Forty-two of these essays appear in this volume, "mildly edited for continuity and to reflect emergent trends in science."
He divides these essays into seven sections:
1. THE NATURE OF KNOWLEDGE - The challenges of knowing what is knowable in the universe.
2. THE KNOWLEDGE OF NATURE - The challenges of discovering the contents of the cosmos.
3. WAYS AND MEANS OF NATURE - How nature presents herself to the inquiring mind.
4. THE MEANING OF LIFE - The challenges and triumphs of knowing how we got here.
5. WHEN THE UNIVERSE TURNS BAD - All the ways the cosmos wants to kill us.
6. SCIENCE AND CULTURE - The ruffled interface between cosmic discovery and the public's reaction to it.
7. SCIENCE AND GOD - When ways of knowing collide.
"Natural History" is the same magazine Stephen J. Gould wrote 300 essays for, overlapping with Tyson for seven years. In both cases, the authors excelled in making their respective fields (evolutionary biology and cosmology) easily readable for the general public, adding to their already impressive credentials.
From page 33: "This universality of physical laws tells us that if we land on another planet with a thriving alien civilization, they will be running on the same laws that we have discovered and tested here on Earth - even if the aliens harbor different social and political beliefs. Furthermore, if you wanted to talk to the aliens, you can bet they don't speak English or French or even Mandarin Chinese. You don't even know whether shaking their hands - if indeed they have hands to shake - would be considered an act of war or of peace. Your best hope is to find a way to communicate using the language of science."
The format provides for benign redundancy as the Big Bang, formation of galaxies, creation of the chemicals in the periodic chart, and predictable physics versus chaos of interactions are looked at over and over from differing perspectives. This book is highly entertaining and I recommend it for anyone who wants to buff up their knowledge of astronomy (cosmology, astrophysics...) or for the confirmed science nut like me. First rate!
Heavy & light reading all in one.......2007-09-14
Anything by this author is worth reading. I like the way he starts off explaining things in a very simple way and winds up getting deep into the end result. "A professional con job with very educational results".
Book Description
Hole's Human Anatomy and Physiology assumes no prior science knowledge and places emphasis on the fundamental concepts without overwhelming students with too much detail. The text supports main concepts with clinical applications, making them more relevant to students pursuing careers in the allied health field. The learning aids throughout the text, along with the reader-friendly writing style, create a highly-effective learning system for understanding the concepts of anatomy and physiology.
Customer Reviews:
Hole's Anatomy & Physiology.......2006-03-20
I ordered this text book through Amazon because the school book store was out. In my past experiences with Amazon, I have been able to receive the same product, faster and sometimes cheaper. In this case, all was true except the book store book came with a very necessary CD, the book with Amazon did not.
Nursing Student Review.......2006-03-04
Take this as a prereq into nursing! This is a great course and a great texbook. It explains things well and in language you can understand. I very much enjoyed this course.
Very Good Book.......2005-09-19
This is a very informative book and has really helped in my A&P class.
Not the best A&P book.......2004-07-30
This book has a lot of vague points and skims over a lot of important facts and functions - the only reason my school switched to this book was because there was one tiny flaw in the nervous system chapter of the prior book.
But buy it on amazon because the bookstore will overprice it (they wanted $195 at my school for JUST the book and that was used - not including lab manual).
MP: Hole's Human Anatomy & Physiology with OLC bind-in card.......2004-06-06
very good book, buy at amazon. com for better deal, the bookstore at my school charges $210 for this book
Book Description
Ever wonder why the a**hole always gets the girl? The answers are all here in this cradle-to-grave primer outlining how women can be manipulated, frustrated, and ultimately dominated through-out the course of a man's life. With no political correctness, no B.S., and no holds barred, who else but an a**hole could teach guys the essentials: -Dating in college (i.e., getting blackout drunk and having sex) -Women give sex to get love, men give love to get sex -Breaking up is not hard to do-if you do it first -How to cheat on your wife without getting caught -Everything that pornos are afraid to teach men about sex -And much more! With 'practical' advice throughout (inclu-ding tests, trivia, charts, and sidebars) and tons of hilarious tips to read aloud at parties, men will never be intimidated by women again!
Customer Reviews:
this is comedy not a how-to guide.......2007-09-08
Humor 5 stars. Usefulness 1 star. I agree with other reviewers that the central idea is valid -- you have to be aggressive to get women, but these days there are so many other books that give you a non-wimpy, masculine "how to" guide.
To be fair, this is probably the only book that gives you some funny "how-to"s for late in life when you are in the nursing home with diapers and no teeth and losing your memory.
One example from the chapter on sex techniques: The Crazy Fireman - set fire to her pubes and put it out with your ejaculate. That's typical of the book's usefulness as well as brilliant Animal House humor.
Great politically incorrect comedy, but not useful. I also found it unnecessarily negative and cynical. Yes, it's an effective techique to get college girls really drunk, but there are also more powerful and positive techniques out there.
Buy this for great Sam Kinison-style laughs and to put on the coffee table when a bunch of guys are coming over to drink beer.
Title misleading.......2007-09-06
This book's title is misleading. It is more the author's philosophy of life, over the course of life, than a guide to picking up or handling women. It fails at both tasks however.
Better than you'd think.......2007-08-05
I bought this book because I thought it was a joke. It actually is kind of serious but very very true. The authors know what he's talking about. From child to old man, it's all true. And lots of very usefull info on women and life.
Counter-intuitive advice.......2007-07-29
Some of the advice is standard: don't be needy, show value, exploit insecurity. But these guys go a step further: what do you do when you are in your 30s and 40s and 50s? The answer: get married before you turn 40 because women will not trust a man over 40 who has never been married. Of course, they go on to talk about cheating on your wife(always deny, never leave a trail), finding a wife with money(reminds you of the Sam Kinison routine: homelessness is solved by either getting a job or sleeping with someone who has a job), make sure you have a wad of cash for the divorce and take steps to protect your assets. And speaking of Kinison---these guys write like they are channeling him. It is often harsh, sometimes inappropriate, and usually a distortion of the truth, but isn't all humor?
Fantastic.......2007-07-27
The authors really know what they are talking about and break down a guys life into nice manageable parts. One of the funniest books I have ever read!
Average customer rating:
- Holes- fullfilling
- A Terrific Story that Transcends the Genre
- Concerning the difference (or lack thereof) between the book and the film adaptation...
- We Couldn't Put it Down
- Great entertainment
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Holes
Louis Sachar
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Maniac Magee
ASIN: 0440414806
Release Date: 2000-05-09 |
Product Description
Holes, Paperback Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnats. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys' detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the warden makes the boys "build character" by spending all day, every day, digging holes. It doesn't take long for Stanley to realize there's more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something. Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment--and redemption. Grade Level: 4-8
Amazon.com
"If you take a bad boy and make him dig a hole every day in the hot sun, it will turn him into a good boy." Such is the reigning philosophy at Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention facility where there is no lake, and there are no happy campers. In place of what used to be "the largest lake in Texas" is now a dry, flat, sunburned wasteland, pocked with countless identical holes dug by boys improving their character. Stanley Yelnats, of palindromic name and ill-fated pedigree, has landed at Camp Green Lake because it seemed a better option than jail. No matter that his conviction was all a case of mistaken identity, the Yelnats family has become accustomed to a long history of bad luck, thanks to their "no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather!" Despite his innocence, Stanley is quickly enmeshed in the Camp Green Lake routine: rising before dawn to dig a hole five feet deep and five feet in diameter; learning how to get along with the Lord of the Flies-styled pack of boys in Group D; and fearing the warden, who paints her fingernails with rattlesnake venom. But when Stanley realizes that the boys may not just be digging to build character--that in fact the warden is seeking something specific--the plot gets as thick as the irony.
It's a strange story, but strangely compelling and lovely too. Louis Sachar uses poker-faced understatement to create a bizarre but believable landscape--a place where Major Major Major Major of Catch-22 would feel right at home. But while there is humor and absurdity here, there is also a deep understanding of friendship and a searing compassion for society's underdogs. As Stanley unknowingly begins to fulfill his destiny--the dual plots coming together to reveal that fate has big plans in store--we can't help but cheer for the good guys, and all the Yelnats everywhere. (Ages 10 and older) --Brangien Davis
Customer Reviews:
Holes- fullfilling.......2007-09-22
I read this book at the urging of my 7 yr old grandson and didn't expect to be held captive by it. I read until 1 A.M. to finish it. A great read and now I want to see the movie. He has also read all the Harry Potter books and will probably talk me into reading them someday too.
Over 3200 reviews for this book. I would say it is well read.
A Terrific Story that Transcends the Genre.......2007-08-28
I came across Louis Sachar's HOLES recently while my daughter and I were browsing books. I hadn't seen the 2003 movie, but remembered the trailers and so, since my daughter had settled down with a book, I decided to read a bit of it. Nine chapters (okay, short chapters) later, I was still going strong when my daughter was ready to go. I was hooked. This is what they call "juvenile fiction," right? If you've ever read Lewis Carroll, you'd have to agree that the term "juvenile fiction" is a very elastic term. Put plainly, the fact that juvenile fiction is (usually?) about children doesn't mean that the style is any way immature or unsophisticated.
HOLES is a story about a middle school-aged boy, Stanley Yelnats, who is falsely charged with and convicted of stealing a pair of celebrity sneakers that had been donated to charity. Yelnats is sentenced to "Camp Lake Green," a boys' detention center and work camp located in the middle of a Texas desert. Camp Lake Green, as it turns out, is a cruel bizarro-world version of a normal summer camp. There is no lake; it dried up decades before. And there is only one activity to speak of: digging holes, one a day, five feet deep and five feet in diameter, ostensibly to build character. There is, however, a mystery behind the digging. The camp's vicious warden wants to be notified of anything "interesting" that's discovered by the boys while digging.
The mystery is literally and figuratively uncovered by Yelnats, whom the other "campers" call "Caveman." The narrator relates vignettes about Yelnats's ancestors; these stories, while interesting in themselves, are also critical to understanding the mystery of the warden's interest in the holes.
Sachar's prose is beautifully astringent; like Hemingway, Sachar rarely employs the unnecessary word. The story and the characters are likewise straightforward: I think that the lack of real ambiguity in the characters' behavior helps younger readers to relate more easily to the people and the events in the book.
As a parent, I would recommend reading the book yourself--if only for your own enjoyment--before encouraging your child to read it. The novel is very dark in some places; the warden, for instance, is particularly sadistic, and doesn't really get her full comeuppance by story's end. But I think HOLES is a terrific story, with memorable characters, and with wonderfully moving, poignant, funny passages. Children over the age of ten (and, well, adults) will, I think, love reading it.
Concerning the difference (or lack thereof) between the book and the film adaptation..........2007-08-22
I saw the movie first. I loved it. I laughed, I cried, it moved me. So I decided to read the book.
Of course, if I loved the movie, I had to love the book, because they are exactly the same. This, I must admit, is a little disappointing. I can't deny the exceptional quality of either medium, but, when a movie producer decides to take a really good book in hand and reproduce it for the screen, I like to se him or her take a few artistic liberties. I want to see some kind of significant difference between the original format and the reproduction.
Oh well. I suppose my advice to all is this: choose one or the other. There really isn't much of a point in seeing the movie and reading the book. Sure, there are a few differences (such as the fact that Sachar, in the book, describes Stanley as overweight, which Shia LeBeouf most certainly is not), but they're insignificant to the overall feel.
We Couldn't Put it Down.......2007-07-02
I read this book to my 9 and 7 year olds. By the middle - we couldn't stop. We were at the beach with several older cousins who had both read the book and seen the movie and they were all sitting around listening. It made them all want to re-read it.
The plot is not hard to follow but is very intertwined. Amazingly so.
Enjoy this book with your kids
Great entertainment.......2007-06-15
Holes
Have you ever been in a place that is super hot well in the book Holes by "Louis Sachar", young boy goes to a camp which is located in the desert. Stanley Yelnats is young boy whom goes to a camp of kids who don't want to go to jail but go to this camp instead. This camp makes all of them boys realize their mistakes. Stanley had to learn how to make friends without him making the wrong friends who might make him somebody he doesn't want. Stanley makes new friends and a lot of money. One dislike of this book is that I didn't really understand if when Madame Loiselle gets to go to the mountain. This book is really is interesting and really funny.
Book Description
Hole's Human Anatomy and Physiology assumes no prior science knowledge. The text supports main concepts with clinical applications, making them more relevant to students pursuing careers in the allied health field. The learning aids throughout the text, along with the reader-friendly writing style, create a highly-effective learning system for understanding the concepts of anatomy and physiology.
Customer Reviews:
Simple to understand, not a boring textbook........2005-03-06
I was assigned this book for my A and P classes at my university. I found it to be quite complete as the previous reviewer said. I also liked the writing style since it was not in hard language. Although some anatomy words are hard at first to learn like styloid and mastoid, I found the text to be easy to learn the information from. I also found two great study guides which really helped me get the grades I wanted. I discovered them from a classmate of mine. They are:
Anatomy and Physiology Study Guide: Key Review Questions and Answers with Explanations Volume 1 and Volume 2 by Patrick Leonardi. These showed me what I needed to know for my A and P tests. The questions were very good in the study guides because they were asked in the format of how my teacher would ask them. Hole's textbooks is also an excellent textbook--highly recommended.
Great Textbook.......2001-05-12
I took this course in college because it was required for my major. I honestly have to say that this book is extremely thorough. It covers all body systems in great detail it's diagrams are extremely helpful.
Book Description
- Examines where security holes come from, how to discover them, how hackers exploit them and take control of systems on a daily basis, and most importantly, how to close these security holes so they never occur again
- A unique author team-a blend of industry and underground experts- explain the techniques that readers can use to uncover security holes in any software or operating system
- Shows how to pinpoint vulnerabilities in popular operating systems (including Windows, Linux, and Solaris) and applications (including MS SQL Server and Oracle databases)
- Details how to deal with discovered vulnerabilities, sharing some previously unpublished advanced exploits and techniques
Customer Reviews:
The hacker's bible.......2007-01-06
Watching the series "24" I'm often impress by how Chloe O'Brian and Edgar Stiles get to break into any system they want to with ease. Reading this book I now know where they got their information from. This book is a classic,any kind of exploit is analyse by accomplished security experts. The coverage is pretty intence and even seniors c and assembler programmers will need to read some of the material a few times to make sure they get it. This is the kind of book you have to take your time reading, yes it is that deep. Eventhough the book was released four years ago the price of the book remain the same, which tell me the information in it is valuable. If exploiting is something that is something to want to get into, look no further this is the only book you need.
Need some work........2006-09-28
As a security consultant and penetration tester I can say that this books is quite interesting and covers lots of software exploitation area but it still need some work. Mostly on how concept are explained, used and writen. You'll still find lots of papers on internet with better (more complete) explanation but still, this is a must have for every penetration testers and security auditor.
Be advise: This book is for not for beginners.
Excellent Book.......2005-09-26
In the last few months I've read several white hat/black hat books on security, and I must say that this one is the best. Not for the completely new to the subject, and a little too quick to explain some complex topics, but still a great book. I have only two complaints, which aren't making me give this book less than a 5:
1. There's a lot of errors in the content, and following such an advance book when you can't trust the code gets complicated.
2. There are a few chapters, particularly in section 3, where the style hasn't been neutralized, and you can absolutely tell that the book was written by 5 different people with almost no coordination.
Other than that, excellent book. I'm looking forward to buying Database Hacker's Handbook, by the same editor.
Koziol is great........2005-09-07
This book is absolutely excellent. One of the best, if not the best security book I have ever read.
As previously stated numerous times, it will require you have Assembly and C knowledge. If you don't know either one the book will move lightning fast and you will probably not have the ability to keep up. If you do know both, you should be able to take the book at a nice and steady speed.
Aside from difficulty, the rumors that it contains syntax errors ARE true. There are a few little errors in places like this (showing a typical off-by-one error to prove that C doesn't check boundries on arrays):
#include
int main() {
int array[5] = {1,2,3,4,5};
printf("%d",array[5];
}
While these errors ARE numerous and slightly annoying, the important thing to understand is that you get the general concepts they are trying to teach you. Anybody can fix the syntax to work correctly but if they don't know the logic behind the syntax it's no different than a car mechanic trying to fix a F-16 jet.
I am willing to overlook the syntax and lexical errors that appear in this book and give it a 5/5. I may be too light, but I think it's an absolutely essential book that everybody should read.
If you find yourself wanting to get a book, whether it be Hacking: The Art of Exploitation, Reversing: Secrets of Reverse Engineering, Rootkits: subverting the Windows kernel, or The Art of Computer Virus Research and Defense, while all excellent books (which I highly recommend you all read if this book interests you), if you have the ability to get The Shellcoders Handbook: Discovering and Exploiting Security Holes, you should.
One of the best!.......2005-02-26
This book is excellent. I highly recommend it for everyone from admins learning about what hackers are trying to do to their network to seasoned exploit writers. The best part of this book is that if gives a very solid foundation to anyone interested in the field. The only negative thing that I can say is that you can see a slight difference in writing style between some of the chapters, but I suppose that is to be expected with so many authors.
Average customer rating:
- The Water Hole
- great book on so many levels
- Not appropriate for school-age kids
- favorite children gift
- Environmentally Correct
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The Water Hole
Graeme Base
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams
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ASIN: 0810945681 |
Amazon.com
Who can resist the allure of the hidden wilderness water hole? Certainly not one rhino. Not two tigers. Nor three toucans. Pretty soon the delicious pool is drawing moose, catfish, pandas, tortoises... and more than 100 other critters from Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and beyond. But is it our imagination or is that rhino-sized water hole dwindling to a mere shadow of its former self, a puddle not fit for eight ladybugs, let alone 10 kangaroos? As the seasons change across the world, and the animals get thirstier, the water supply diminishes. Eventually, even the flowery-shirted frog that has stoically lingered through the drought packs his suitcase and takes off. The only hope now is a drop of rain on the parched earth...
With his usual elaborate detail, Graeme Base, mad genius behind Animalia, The Eleventh Hour: A Curious Mystery, and other wild and wonderful titles, presents a one-of-a-kind counting book. Naturally, Base would never be content to stick with a simple 1 through 10 format. Readers of all ages will linger over each spread, first counting the highlighted animals and giggling at the translation of their grunts and growls (the moose's "Moo, moo, mooooooiii!" means "Hey, get your hoof out of my ear!"). Then it's time to check out the diminishing size of the die-cut hole in the pond. And finally, readers will want to find each of the 10 additional animals cleverly hidden in every illustration, based on the silhouetted creatures in the border. A safari on paper--with an environmental and mathematical education thrown in for good measure. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter
Book Description
The long-awaited companion to the best-selling Animalia!
Graeme Base is back-with an exciting and fun new counting book! Children will love counting from one to 10 as animals of the world gather around a water hole. As one rhino gives way to two tigers, then three toucans, on up to 10 kangaroos, die-cut pages reveal the water hole in 10 different worldwide habitats, from African plains to Himalayan mountains to the Australian outback. But the water hole keeps shrinking, and with it the number of frolicking frogs. Can anything bring back the water that the animals all need to survive? Careful readers will find additional animals, many of them endangered, silhouetted in the borders of every spread and hiding within every landscape.
A stunning fusion of counting book, puzzle book, storybook, and art book, The Water Hole features the layers of interest that make Graeme Base's books among the world's best-loved picture books.
Customer Reviews:
The Water Hole.......2007-10-04
Another beautiful and entertaining book by Graeme Base! I enjoyed every page and bought more to share with my favorite young readers.
great book on so many levels.......2007-07-02
enjoyed by children learning to count and by kids that love to find the hidden animals. What I like is how my 3 and 7 year olds both love it and I can make story time long or short depending on if I just read it or if we search out all the animals. also has a great message.
Not appropriate for school-age kids.......2007-05-10
Don't get me wrong, this is a really great book. This book was just not what I expected. Illustrations were great and words in this book were minimal - very appropriate for preschool kids. I had intended this for my school-age kids and it was too simplistic for them. Also, this book make it sound like the earth will restore itself on its own (raining solving drought problem) when in fact, the earth needs our help to restore it by not wrecking havoc Mother Nature.
favorite children gift.......2007-02-07
I give this book to children all the time and the joy is given ten fold back
Environmentally Correct.......2007-01-15
The person who received this book used it to promote water savings tips to her elementary school students who greatly enjoyed finding the hidden surprises in the beautiful illustrations.
Book Description
Shier et al., continue the unparalleled tradition of Hole in the 11th edition. Hole was created for the introductory level student and assumes no prior science knowledge by placing emphasis on the fundamentals.
This new edition updates a great A&P classic while offering greater efficiencies to the user. The 11th edition of Hole also offers never before technology that combined with the text offer users an incredible Course Solution! Technology like Anatomy and Physiology Revealed and ARIS (
Assessment,
Review, and
Instruction
System), a complete electronic homework and course management system bring unprecedented opportunities to the classroom whether on campus or at home!
Customer Reviews:
Fast shipping - easy ordering.......2007-10-01
Ordered and got this within 2 days with the trial period using Amazon Prime. Quick, easy ordering and received the new book with just a very small and slight indentation at the top front portion of the book cover, I'm sure it was due to the shipping. It was not wrapped nor was CD included. I called the publisher and they provide assistance to use the companion website as well. Overall, no problems!
................................................2007-09-15
This was exactly what we needed and we saved a bundle over the campus book store price!!
Good Shipping.......2007-07-30
Was packaged well, and received it in a timely fashion. However, I bought this book new and it wasnt in any protective coating, there was a price sticker right on the cover leaving a sticky finish behind, and the edges were slightly dented.
Book Description
This best-selling Laboratory Manual, written by Terry R. Martin, has been updated throughout. The new edition of this effective manual is organized into units that correlate directly with the text and include new art to match Hole's tenth edition.
Customer Reviews:
good buy.......2006-01-02
I purchase the deal with both the textbook and lab manual. I recieved a good deal and got it for a lot cheaper than our college bookstore. Also recieved it very quickly through regular shipping method way before the estimated arrival date. very satified with this purchas
excellent.......2005-10-02
The lab book is in good condition. The process of getting it was too long.
Average customer rating:
- Chilling but leaves you hanging
- "As I looked the hole opened, and I could feel myself tumbling down into nothingness"
- Insightful
- High School like you remember it- Drugs, sex, and mutations...
- Amazing Artwork--but why the murders? why the plot?
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Black Hole
Charles Burns
Manufacturer: Pantheon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Graphic Novels
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
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Fantasy
| Graphic Novels
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Fantasy
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
The Acme Novelty Library
-
Epileptic
-
Blankets
-
Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth
-
Ghost World
ASIN: 037542380X
Release Date: 2005-10-18 |
Amazon.com
The first issues of Charles Burns's comics series Black Hole began appearing in 1995, and long before it was completed a decade later, readers and fellow artists were speaking of it in tones of awe and comparing it to recent classics of the form like Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan and Daniel Clowes's Ghost World. Burns is the sort of meticulous, uncompromising artist whom other artists speak of with envy and reverence, and we asked Ware and Clowes to comment on their admiration for Black Hole:
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| "I think I probably learned the most about clarity, composition, and efficiency from looking at Charles's pages spread out on my drawing table than from anyone's; his was always at the level of lucidity of Nancy, but with this odd, metallic tinge to it that left you feeling very unsettled, especially if you were an aspiring cartoonist, because it was clear you'd never be half as good as he was. There's an almost metaphysical intensity to his pinprick-like inkline that catches you somewhere in the back of the throat, a paper-thin blade of a fine jeweler's saw tracing the outline of these thick, clay-like human figures that somehow seem to "move," but are also inevitably oddly frozen in eternal, awkward poses ... it's an unlikely combination of feelings, and it all adds up to something unmistakably his own.
"I must have been one of the first customers to arrive at the comic shop when I heard the first issue of Black Hole was out 10 years ago, and my excitement didn't change over the years as he completed it. I don't think I've ever read anything that better captures the details, feelings, anxieties, smells, and cringing horror of my own teenage years better than Black Hole, and I'm 15 years younger than Charles is. Black Hole is so redolently affecting one almost has to put the book down for air every once in a while. By the book's end, one ends up feeling so deeply for the main character it's all one can do not to turn the book over and start reading again." --Chris Ware |
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| "Charles Burns is one of the greats of modern comics. His comics are beautiful on so many levels. Somehow he has managed to capture the essential electricity of comic-book pop-art iconography, dragging it from the clutches of Fine Art back to the service of his perfect, precise-but-elusive narratives in a way that is both universal in its instant appeal and deeply personal." --Dan Clowes |
 |
Questions for Charles Burns
Amazon.com: Cartoonists are about the only people today who are working like Dickens did: writing serials that appear piece-by-piece in public before the whole work is done. What's it like to work in public like that, and for as long as a project like this takes?
Charles Burns: There were a number of reasons for serializing Black Hole. First of all, I wanted to put out a traditional comic book-- I'd never really worked in that comic pamphlet format before and liked the idea of developing a long story in installments. There's something very satisfying to me about a comic book as an object and I enjoyed using that format to slowly build my story. Serializing the story also allowed me to focus on shorter, more manageable portions; if I had to face creating a 368-page book all in one big lump, I don't know if I'd have the perseverance and energy to pull it off.
Amazon.com: One thing that stuns me about this book is how consistent it is from start to finish. From the first frames to the last ones that you drew 10 years later, you held the same tone and style. It feels as though you had a complete vision for the book from the very beginning. Is that so? Or did things develop unexpectedly as you worked on it?
Burns: I guess there's a consistency in Black Hole because of the way I work. I write and draw very slowly, always carefully examining every little detail to make sure it all fits together the way I want it to. When I started the story, I had it all charted out as far as the basic structure goes, but what made working on it interesting was finding new ways of telling the story that hadn't occurred to me.
Amazon.com: Some of the very best of the recent graphic novels (I'm thinking of Ghost World and Blankets, along with Black Hole) have been about the lives of teenagers. Do you think there's something about the form that helps to tell those stories so well?
Burns: That's an interesting question, but I don't know the answer. Perhaps it has more to do with the authors--the kind of people who stay indoors for hours on end in total solitude working away on their heartfelt stories... maybe that kind of reflection lends itself to being able to capture the intensity of adolescence.
Amazon.com: In the time you've been working on Black Hole, graphic novels have leapt into the mainstream. (I think--I hope--we're finally seeing the last of those "They're not just for kids anymore!" reviews.) What did you imagine for this project when you started it? What's it been like to see your corner of the world enter the glare of the spotlight?
Burns: When I started Black Hole I really just wanted to tell a long, well-written story. The themes and ideas that run throughout the book had been turning around in my head for years and I wanted to finally get them all out--put them down on paper once and for all. I've published a few other books and while they sold reasonably well, they didn't set the publishing world on fire. I was pretty sure I'd have some kind of an audience for Black Hole, but that was never a motivating factor in writing the book. And my corner of the world is still pretty dark. I guess I'll be stepping into the spotlight for a little while when the book comes out, but I imagine I'll slip back into my dark little studio when it all settles down again so I can settle back into work.
Book Description
Suburban Seattle, the mid-1970s. We learn from the out-set that a strange plague has descended upon the area’s teenagers, transmitted by sexual contact. The disease is manifested in any number of ways — from the hideously grotesque to the subtle (and concealable) — but once you’ve got it, that’s it. There’s no turning back.
As we inhabit the heads of several key characters — some kids who have it, some who don’t, some who are about to get it — what unfolds isn’t the expected battle to fight the plague, or bring heightened awareness to it , or even to treat it. What we become witness to instead is a fascinating and eerie portrait of the nature of high school alienation itself — the savagery, the cruelty, the relentless anxiety and ennui, the longing for escape.
And then the murders start.
As hypnotically beautiful as it is horrifying, Black Hole transcends its genre by deftly exploring a specific American cultural moment in flux and the kids who are caught in it- back when it wasn’t exactly cool to be a hippie anymore, but Bowie was still just a little too weird.
To say nothing of sprouting horns and molting your skin…
Customer Reviews:
Chilling but leaves you hanging.......2007-08-13
This was really enjoyable to read. At first I was weary of the surrealistic content, but I really grew into it.
One thing though, I was kind of perturbed that it is very easy to get two characters, Keith and Rob mixed up. They are drawn almost identical, and I thought Rob was Keith at times and Keith was rob. Therefore, I was confused for half the story. Just remember, Rob has a small beard and Keith does not.
Ending was what I expected, but I was a little disappointed, it kind of seemed to trickle out. Doesn't explain why or how certain things happened. However, this seems to be quite characteristic of this style of storytelling so I wasn't too surprised.
I love the cleanline drawing style.
"As I looked the hole opened, and I could feel myself tumbling down into nothingness".......2007-07-10
During the mid 70s in suburban Seattle, all types of teenagers find themselves confronted with the range of "teen" problems. Relationships, trying to fit in, phobias about how they look and how they dress; the list of awkward situations seems transcendent when it comes those years and their portrayal here is no exception. The one thing that is not transcendent amongst teenage experiences is the strange disease that seems to be wreaking havoc on random people in the teenage population and that nobody seems safe from. Unsure of what it is or even how you get it, "the bug" causes more problems than anything high school seemed capable of dreaming because it took so many problem and magnified them. Like an STD of the most horrific kind, people find themselves with terrible deformities that are sometimes concealable and sometimes aren't, that ostracize already outcast people even more, and the infected also find themselves wearing a shade of something that is far from curable.
Let the savagery begin.
One of the things about Black hole is that the storyline is engrossingly bizarre. You begin by following around characters that have "the bug" and some that do not have it, and you slowly find yourself thrust onto a surreal platform where life is suddenly - and sullenly - transformed. Sometimes some of the tales are presented like dreamscapes, and sometimes some of the features are presented in ways that make you feel terrible for the characters involved. You see lovers expose themselves to terrible situations, a make-out session turn into a horrific scene as a little neck-mouth is confronted, and you see the powderkeg ignite as people are pushed too far and react in the most grizzly of fashions. Although sometimes terrible in its presentation and sometimes sickening, these ingredients make it hard to look away from and even harder to put down.
As a follower of the series, I was somewhat spellbound by the story and I was taken by the art. When it first came out it seemed very much like a dream, and the idea of "the bug" was one you didn't have until you found it in an awkward situation. Everything here is done in black and white and gives the story an even more detached quality as well, and the stories become really episodic and leave you wanting more. When the hardcover came out I was really happy about the prospect, too, because it was nice to see Black Hole finally become available for some type of mainstream consumption. The series took ten years from inception to completion, and some of the original comics had become hard to find and harder to introduce people to because it seemed like it would never finish. Cost became an issue as well, billing at five dollars an issue, which became an expensive proposition even if they hadn't been marked up. You could also feel the comics moving and you knew the number of issues would end at ten, but delays became a steady thing that made on the most focused fans keep on hoping. Combine that with the fact that there was no guarantee that the series would really be finished and you had something that scared off a lot of the original audience. Now, however, you have the guarantee that you will understand "the bug" and you have affordability and also the over-all vision that can be read from beginning to end.
To me, that makes it a must read for anyone wanting a detailed story, beautiful artwork, and a bizarre quest that confronts some reallife issues that people deal with all the time.
Insightful.......2007-03-09
Interesting insights into American society, by way of very believable teenagers. Great artwork.
High School like you remember it- Drugs, sex, and mutations..........2007-03-01
BLACK HOLE is a collection of Burns's comics of the same name and it is an intriguing and visually compelling look at life in high school, but a look that twists your perspective. If you remember high school in the 70's (Yes, I'm dating myself.), you'll see that Burns has done an amazing job of recapturing the images and look of the period. The casual attitude towards drugs and drinking, the eternal pursuit of sex and the mullets are all elements in Burns's examination of this stage of life. The confusion, the struggle to "fit in," and the brutal treatment of others who are considered different is magnified by Burns's throwing in an element of the fantastic; a sexually transmitted disease that causes mutations that range from the hideous to the disguisable. By adding this element, Burns is able to magnify the horror that high school is to some, while others remain oblivious. The narrative bounces from character to character, constantly changing the reader's perspective; this can prove confusing but adds to the tension that is constantly building throughout the story. By the time the story reaches its climax, the reader will have entered into this dark world and will be happy to escape. This is not a negative; it just demonstrates how effectively Burns has made his world. While there are elements that reach a bit too far into the psychedelic for me, the images and the stories will stay with you for quite awhile.
Amazing Artwork--but why the murders? why the plot? .......2007-02-11
As everyone's said, amazing artwork. The inkiness, the surreal motion of the illustration are haunting. I read Black Hole in a few nights and felt like I had the heeby-jeebies before bedtime.
But I had gripes with the basic storyline/plot. The idea of "the bug" is SO rich. Burns is clearly aware of his symbols. Everywhere there are phallic and vaginal images that emphasizes the difficulties of sexuality. The bug is more than an AIDS allegory (which I don't believe it is), or the difficulty of sex or maturing. The bug complex in the way it manifests differently in different people, complex in that some of the manifestations have agency--like Rob's "talking mouth" on his neck. Not only can the bug have agency, it can be prophetic. And it sometimes a tongue that can kiss. However, we don't even know if the disease has stages. Do the bums we see eating from the garbage with disfigured faces represent an advanced stage of the bug? --OK, maybe an unfair question if "the bug" is simply allegorical.
But since it is so interesting and has so much potential, why does Burns ruin it with a "murder mystery"? It cheapens the whole experience. The bug alienates teenagers, and to boot, someone's running around killing people. --OK, maybe Burns is telling us that a situation can always get worse.
(SPOILER WARNING) That's my first problem. My second is that the essential story goes: Keith, sensitive, arty, nerd-boy struggles to court the Chris, girl of his dreams, fails, and somehow winds up with a sexy artist woman.
Chris, beautiful, smart girl finds the love of her life, only to lose him because yet *another* nerd-boy who has a crush on her. She is punished for being nice and good-looking because boys don't know how to behave around her. In short, boys are rewarded for being a nice, (since Keith winds up with the sexy one) and girls rewarded for being nice (since... she winds up alone/dead).
This is only reiterated in the character of Eliza, Keith's sexy reward. She, like Chris, is surrounded by sexually-frustrated boys, and since she doesn't BELONG to any of them, she is brutally punished. You would think that her strong personality and artistry might be an exception. But no, of course, she's rescued by the niceness of Keith. Blegh. It almost makes you wonder if the author is still suffering adolescent anger at the girls who rejected him in high school.
I don't know if this is what Burns would want to convey; I hope not. But the story pivots around these "punished girls." Without Chris and these agonized adolescent male crushes on her, there would be no story.
So why not just tell the story of the bug, which is SO much more interesting and SO much less cliched/ problematic?
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