The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero

Book Description

Handcuff King. Escape Artist. International Superstar. Since his death eighty years ago, Harry Houdini's life has been chronicled in books, in film, and on television. Now, in this groundbreaking biography, renowned magic expert William Kalush and best-selling writer Larry Sloman team up to find the man behind the myth. Drawing from millions of pages of research, they describe in vivid detail the passions that drove Houdini to perform ever-more-dangerous feats, his secret life as a spy, and a pernicious plot to subvert his legacy.

After years of struggling on the dime museum circuit, Harry Houdini got a break that put him on the front page of a Chicago newspaper. He never looked back. Soon Houdini was performing for royalty, commanding vast sums, and exploring the new power of Hollywood to expand on his legend.

At a time when spy agencies frequently co-opted amateurs, Houdini went to London and developed a relationship with a man who would run MI-5. For the next several years, the world's most famous magician traveled to Germany and Russia and routinely reported his findings.

After World War I was successfully concluded, Houdini embarked on a battle of his own. He created a group of disguised field operatives to infiltrate the seamy world of fake spirit mediums. In doing so, Houdini triggered the wrath of fanatical Spiritualists, led by the esteemed British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Death threats became an everyday occurrence, but the group would pose an even greater danger to Houdini's legacy.

Rigorously researched, and as exciting as a good thriller, The Secret Life of Houdini traces the arc of the master magician's life from desperate poverty to worldwide legend, initiating the reader along the way into the arcane world of professional magic. In this remarkable book, Kalush and Sloman decode a life based on deception, providing an intimate and riveting portrayal of Houdini, the man and the legend.

Customer Reviews:

Really 4.75 Stars - Fabulous Book.......2007-10-04

This book is fantastic on so many levels. One doesn't even have to like magic to appreciate this book, but it sure helps. The authors have done a wonderful job of painting the social scene, class hierarchy and the world at large during this time period. In the true style of a Houdini dichotomy, while there's not much new we learn, we learn so much that's new.

The book heavily follows Houdini's involvement with the spiritualist movement, in particular, a Boston spiritualist named Margery.

I can not recommend this book highly enough.

Harry Houdini : The Man, The Myth, The Spy, The Secret Service Agent.......2007-05-18

Harry Houdini : The Man, The Myth, The Spy, The Secret Service Agent

A lot of people love reading about Harry Houdini the magician, the Handcuff King the escape artist but did you know that he was a spy & a Secret Service agent? I can prove it with one book & a few well versed words here. The book I am talking about is one I am just over half way through & it is entitled "The Secret Life of Houdini : The Making of a Superhero."

This book is awesome & I encourage everyone to read it and enjoy the story of Harry Houdini from beginning to end. It tells about the man, the myth, the spy, the Secret Service agent who was a performer who made the world love him & his shows & continually conquered his every demon, including his own self loathing while continually re-creating himself for the world at large.

Yes this book still fits into this world of the wide web that is the internet. The book is all about how all of Harry Houdini's having been a major instigator in World War I in the propaganda & success of America while Harry Houdini, or some may know him better as Ehrich Weiss, a Jewish man who changed his identity to fit better into the world and to better sell himself to the world as an entertainer at large for War World I in the rise of Germany the first time it came to power.

The fact that the book is from archival data and letters both from & to Harry Houdini is what makes this book so intriguing. Please feel free to enjoy the book & I would love to hear anyone else's opinion & thoughts on this subject. A lot of people do not know that the Secret Service was a spy agency at one time and was connected to the spy world like the C.I.A., N.S.A., D.I.A. & the rest of the alphabet Intelligent Agencies.

Harry Houdini taught our American Dough Boys how to escape from handcuffs, being tied in ropes, & how to escape from torpedoed ships by being on stage in an ampitheater & having actually being a teacher of the American military.

spooky.......2007-04-26

Good book but Harry was given something to drink by a woman that slowly killed him.

Comprehensive and Fascinating.......2007-04-18

What a fascinating and readable story. The addition of conjectured dialogue, authentic letters, and numerous thoughtfully placed photographs gives this mammoth biography the feel of both a novel and an A&E special.

It is near impossible to condense this book into a review, but I will say what beguiled me the most was the concept of how the extent and grandeur of Houdini's worldwide fame--in his own lifetime--was conceived and flawlessly executed by his own will and brilliance in an age of no television and no Internet.

The thoroughness of the book is what makes it impressive. It's also what makes it hard to finish. For the length of the book, I can't see how the authors could have made it more exciting, but I can't help thinking that some of the details could have been cut out for the sanity of the reader. I would liken it to the most interesting textbook I've ever read.

Serious and complete.......2007-04-15

This is a very serious and complete biography. I bought this expecting something more for the masses, lots of rumor and sensationalism. In fact, it's a very thoughtful book, with lots of detail and very little speculation, presenting many of the lesser known aspects of Houdini's life, including his campaign against spiritualism and fraudulent mediums, and his extraordinary physical prowess. Not everything was a trick. Many things he accomplished by sheer force of will. Houdini was clearly much more multidimensional than portrayed in movies and popular references. The book also includes many details on the culture and other celebrities of the time; the extensive information on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was especially interesting. I give it 4 stars only for the fact that there are no footnotes or references. I understand that the authors chose to put those on their Web site, but they're much less useful separated from the book they document.

Average customer rating:

Can't Believe It Got Cancelled.
Important bridge between the tv show and movie.
Good but short
Filling the gaps in space
Filled in the gaps

Those Left Behind (Serenity)
Joss Whedon , Brett Matthews , and Will Conrad
Manufacturer: Dark Horse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1593074492

Book Description

Penned by Whedon and Brett Matthews, who wrote several episodes of Firefly as well as Dark Horse's final Angel comics series and the animated Chronicles of Riddick feature "Dark Fury," Serenity follows a ship full of mercenaries, fugitives and one law-abiding prostitute in their pursuit for fast cash and a little peace along the fringes of space. The ragtag crew of Serenity take on a scavanger mission with the hopes of earning enough dough to disappear for a while. Only too late do they realize the whole gig is orchestrated by an old enemy eager remake their aquanitance with the help of some covert-operatives known only as the Blue Gloves. Artist Will Conrad (Marvel's Elektra and Witches) and colorist Laura Martin (Astonishing X-Men and The Ultimates) paint a rough and wild world of adventure across a strange and dangerous universe, in this not-to-be-missed tale straight from the brain of pop-culture mastermind Joss Whedon!

Customer Reviews:

Can't Believe It Got Cancelled........2007-10-03

If you liked the show you will like this book. If you didn't like the show..........what is wrong with you?

Important bridge between the tv show and movie........2007-10-02

This trade is an important bridge between the show and the movie. The story is well told and vintage Joss. The only issue is that the artwork is less than spectacular.

Good but short.......2007-09-09

This explains lots between the early demise of the TV show Firefly and the major motion picture Serenity. The biggest flaw is how short the book is. While it seems to thicker than a regular comic (it is, because its four issues combined), most of that action and plot could have been summed up in two issues leaving room for more action.

Overall, this is a MUST HAVE for any Firefly, Serenity, or Whedon fan.

Filling the gaps in space.......2007-09-03

Call it Serenity or Firefly, either way this is THE finest series on the big or little screen. 'Nuff said there. The comic is intended as a (shaky) bridge between the TV series ending and the movie beginning. Nicely done, excellent artwork, able to capture the look of the series without obsessing on matching them (ever see the Batman movie adaptations? they try so hard to match the movie they miss the opportunity to tell the story in a fresh way). With such a short life-span, Firefly didn't have time to create a market for browncoats with cash burning a hole in their pocket, so the few items like this are great comfort on those cold nights when you look up at the stars and realize Firefly was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But we were there.

Filled in the gaps.......2007-08-27

I love Firefly. Now, that's not to say I've always loved it. When the show first premiered on Fox, I thought it was silly. Then again, I only saw one episode and left it at that. Well, Joss Whedon's universe finally dragged me in kicking and screaming, and I've been a devoted fan ever since. This graphic novel (or comic book to those of you who don't like fancy words for simple things :D ), fills in the gaps between the Firefly series and the Serenity movie, and it does so quite well. I felt like I was truly watching a lost episode of Firefly, and it nice and neatly wraps up a few loose ends that seque right into Serenity. I highly recommend this graphic novel. It's a must for anyone who truly loves Joss Whedon's "Firefly".

J.

Marker Magic: The Rendering Problem Solver for Designers

Average customer rating:

Helpful
Wonderful rendering tips!
I absolutely love this book!
Questions Answered Here

Marker Magic: The Rendering Problem Solver for Designers
Richard M. McGarry , and Greg Madsen
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0471284343

Book Description

Discover the art of rendering with markers through:

Profiles of top rendering pros, their techniques, and examples of their best work.
65 Tips, Tricks, and Techniques you can use right now to improve your next design presentation.
Specific color combinations for rendering wood, brick, foliage, skies, chrome and other materials.
40 Mini-Lessons with demonstrations of solutions to everyday rendering problems.

Customer Reviews:

Helpful.......2007-03-12

This book is helpful if you are trying to find your style of marker rendering it has a lot of helpful information and examples.

Wonderful rendering tips!.......2006-02-01

This book was very helpful in showing me different rendering techniques used by varying artists. From minimalist, neutral shading to full blown, vibrant color renderings, this book covered them all.
Great tips on which marker colors to use to achieve a particular 'look'...such as glass, metal, wood, etc.
Highly recommend.

I absolutely love this book!.......2004-06-19

This book got me through architectural school. Hand renderings were never my strong point until I got this book. My rendering skills went up considerably (along with my confidence and grades) and I still reference this book today in my professional career. The book gives great examples and the tips from the professionals are very informative. This is definately one of the best books on how to make professional looking presentations.

Questions Answered Here.......2000-02-29

The question and answer format of this book is useful and allows a different kind of organization to its contents. It also incorporates the work of a broad cross-section of designers. This allows the editors to expose you to many of the best in different fields in which markers are used to increase the effectiveness of visual communication. While certainly useful for the beginner, it will also stimulate the more experienced designer.

High-Speed Digital Design: A Handbook of Black Magic

Average customer rating:

high speed circuit layout techniques
Not the final word by any means, but a good introduction
Mostly a very solid book
one of the best books around
Useful book if you need a cook book, however ........

High-Speed Digital Design: A Handbook of Black Magic
Howard Johnson
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall PTR
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0133957241

Customer Reviews:

high speed circuit layout techniques.......2006-05-21

I bought this book based on a friend's recommendation seven years ago. I have used this book along with Henry Ott's book as a desk top reference for the past seven years.

Not the final word by any means, but a good introduction.......2006-05-02

Add Johnson and Graham to the list of people who can write large, highly technical books full of useful, pertinent information, and package it all in a way that's mostly very readable and which mixes just the right blend of rigorous academic structure with good old-fashioned "when all else fails, you might get away with this" hacks. This book is by no means a thorough, academic grounding in the subject matter, but it works well as an introduction for people who have some background in conventional electronics, yet little or no background in the specifics of high-speed digital design.

Considering how specialized and complex the book's subject matter is, it's surprising how well the authors manage to avoid hard math; they obviously made a conscious effort to use the most intuitive formulas possible whenever they could. There are maybe a handful of differential equations in the book, but most of the math requires no calculus, just basic algebra. The moderately math-phobic should be able to handle this book if you can understand what derivatives and integrals are.

A bit of a rant: Everybody gets so hung up on the title! Did any of the people who complain that HSDD isn't really "black magic" actually bother to even open the book? Right in the preface, the authors explain that HSDD is regarded as something of a "black magic" by engineers because it isn't taught in most college programs, but "The authors would like to dispel the popular myth that anything unusual or unexplained happens at high speeds. It's simply a matter of knowing which principles apply, and how." The title is meant to be humorous, people; lighten up! A lack of a sense of humor is a sign of an ineffective engineer.

This book really is just an introduction. You're not going to go out and design a gigahertz-level PC motherboard when you've read it through, but it'll prepare you for more advanced material like the "Advanced Black Magic" sequel, and tons of similar advanced books on the market. The book's strength is in its easy writing style and broad, concise scope. Recommended for anyone who knows basic electronics but wants to become a professional signal electronics engineer.

Mostly a very solid book.......2004-12-23

Great book. BTW, the author lists a LOT of errata on his website, enough to take over an hour to mark up my copy (5th printing). Although it's nice he documents this so well, it's a pain in the rear, so you may want to verify the edition you're buying to avoid this extra effort. On page vi, above ISBN, look for reverse sequence; example: "10 9 8 7" indicates 7th printing (cryptic, I know). Most recent printing is 15th edition (least amount of errata). The book is loaded with equations and diagrams. It would be nice to see more derivations, but at least the equations are there in the text, and in the appendix. I thought a few other reviewers were a bit harsh. The book is not perfect, but nevertheless a great resource. His second book is impressive, but more advanced; this original title is my "workhorse" book. also, check out his website (sigcon.com) for lots of articles and resources.

one of the best books around.......2004-09-02

I dont know what the other reviewers are blabbing about...being an ASIC designer myself..I felt this book was the best introduction I could get to cross-talk, signal integrity, EMC and Metastability. Been through and done that a lot of times, but still this is one of the best things around

Useful book if you need a cook book, however ...............2004-05-04

This book is useful if you want to have a long series of equations available in one place to jog your memory. But if you want to learn something useful and practical- and real-world - then perhaps you would be better off doing a web search for application notes, tutorial papers, and articles, particularly from semiconductor manufacturers, and vendors of high-performance test equipment such as Agilent, Tektronix, and others.

To take one example (page 134,) Johnson purports to describe problems associated with a wire-wrapped prototype processor board containing TTL devices operating at high edge rates ( 2 ns.) According to Johnson, the design engineers failed to realize that the circuits would ring excessively, making the board unusable. To "prove" this he posits a model consisting of a 30 ohm TTL driver, with a 2 ns rise time, a 4" length of wire with 89 nH of self inductance, and a 15pf load - a series LRC circuit. Yes, this circuit will ring wildly, but the model is totally incorrect. The TTL input is not considered, which has a relatively low input impedance in the low state since it is current operated. This circuit -effectively a parallel LRC - does not ring nearly as much, as any experienced engineer knows. As a reality check, remember that wire wrap was successfully used for years by thousand of engineers. To listen to Johnson, though, this technology is almost unusable. Wire wrap circuits do ring, but under his example, the real amount of overshoot/undershoot is well within the limits of TTL. Further, no real circuit produces textbook looking traces, so the role of experience is to learn what worst-case design means, and what is acceptable for good manufacturing yield. Lesson: real experience teaches you how to produce correct, functional models. An incorrect model will cause you grief.

Much could have been done here, to be useful, by way of analysis and of recommendation. The wire should have been modeled as part of a transmission line, not as a lumped element, which any high speed digital design engineer would know, and the idea of terminating a transmission line should have been introduced. This is standard fare. Even with the series LRC, instead of deriving the formula for critical damping, he instead says: "This approximation (reduce Q to .5) is derived from the solution to a second order linear differential equation describing an RLC low pass filter. First find the point at which the derivative of the solution passes through zero (a maximum point) and then evaluate the solution at that point."

Got that? Take the derivative of a solution you want to find? Any book on circuits will reduce this to the solution of a quadratic equation. Obfuscating something that's really elementary does not help produce genuine insight. But this is what Johnson does throughout the book.

Book Description

Anyone can read, write, and speak Spanish in only a few short weeks with this unique and proven method, which completely eliminates rote memorization and boring drills.

Original B & W illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

Best beginner's book! Helped me a lot.......2007-09-21

I'm very happy I came across this book. It is probably the best of all 20-something Spanish learning books I own. It is FULL of information and exercises that will help anyone who wants to learn learn quickly and quite easily. Like other people have said, I am surprised I've retained so much information. Because of this book, which goes through a lot of the verb tenses and a lot of the common verbs as well as vocabulary (from the beginning of the book, you find out you actually already know hundreds of words in spanish, because they're the same in english: words with certain endings), I'm able to express myself and have conversations with others without making errors because everything is explained so well and she shows the english equivalents, and the little reminder cards the author tells us to make to glance at when we have a moment as well as the variety of exercises and tests help me a lot to remember what I've learned. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to learn the language. It will help get you off to a quick, solid start. Even though Magic Key is just a book, the author has a pronunciation key that is very useful. Ex) The ll (double l) is pronounced Y as in "yes". Because of that and the reminders throughout the book on where to stress syllables for different words, I'm much more confident when I speak than I would otherwise be. If you are interested in learning the language and you know either nothing or are just a beginner with some knowledge, I highly recommend that you add this book to your learning library! After going through this book, I went through the "Practice Makes Perfect" Verb Tenses and Pronouns and Preposition books which really helped me with more in depth grammar. I think those books are best to learn after a book like Magic Key though because I think Magic Key will help *prepare* you for more in depth grammar books.

The best for older ones to learn.......2007-08-31

This is the 1st review I have ever written but, this book is so good I had to tell you. I'm an older one and had bought many, many different books, CD's for computer and Car to help me learn Spanish. But they all wanted to bog me down with the verb tables. I barley remember the specifics for English verbs. This book teaches you how to use the verbs correctly without all the rules. From the very beginning to the end it gives practical help. I appreciated learning the many words I harldy know in Spanish section and how to recognize them. The best book for anyone that just wants an easy way to learn how to communicate.

Great service.......2007-08-23

This book was shipped to my missionary son who will be teaching in Spanish. Great service. Thanks so much.

Good but.......2007-07-18

The book is good, however I feel that Madrigal spent too much time on the past & present tense & not enough on the more difficult ones, the imperfect, conditional, imperative & subjunctive. Seems like she rushed through those tenses.

This book delivers everything it promises EXCEPT for one thing . . ........2007-06-10

The jacket of this book says that it will teach the user how to read, write and speak Spanish in just a few short weeks. It also promises to teach the student how to convert English into Spanish in an instant; start forming sentences after the very first lesson; identify thousands of Spanish words within a few weeks of study; travel to Spanish-speaking countries with confidence and comfort; and develop perfect pronunciaton.

I have improved my reading, writing and speaking with this book. After a few short lessons of this book, I also found it easier to form more sentences in Spanish. The book also teaches you how to increase your knowledge of Spanish vocabulary by showing you how to easily change many English words into Spanish words. One technique teaches the student to convert English into Spanish by taking words that the student already knows that end with "ist" and changing the words to end with "ista" in order to form words in Spanish. So since you already know the English words "dentist," "artist," "communist," "pianist," you also know the Spanish words "dentista," "artista," "comunista," and "pianista." I found that this technique and similar techniques that this book taught me were very helpful. Concerning the book's promise to enable the reader to travel to Spanish speaking countries with confidence and comfort, I really don't know. But I will find out later this summer when I take a cruise to Mexico.

There was only one thing that I didn't find that the book did not do a good job of as it had promised. It promises to teach the reader how to "develop perfect pronunciation" by using the book's "handy pronunciation key." The book's pronunciation key was somewhat helpful to read but don't count on it helping you to "develop perfect pronunciation." You will need a lot more that than this book to accomplish that. For developing perfect pronunciation I recommend using Learning Spanish Like Crazy Level One and Nivel Dos. The Learning Spanish Like Crazy lessons have helped me to develop close to perfect pronunciation in a natural way. I am so confident about my pronunciation in Spanish that I don't need the approval of native Spanish speakers to compliment me on my accent. When I listen to other Americans that are learning Spanish or Americans that supposedly already know Spanish, and I hear them speak my reaction is WOW! My accent sounds so much better than their accent from using LSLC. But the one drawback of LSLC is that it didn't help me much with reading and writing. For reading and writing, you will need this book to fill in the gaps. I also recommend the FSI Programmatic Spanish courses for learning how to read and write in Spanish.

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Average customer rating:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers
Pants on fire?
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
Very Interesting
History as Science Fiction

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621058

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

High Speed Signal Propagation: Advanced Black Magic

Average customer rating:

the "signal integrity" bible
Great subject material, unevenly covered
A must have reference for ALL digital design engineers

High Speed Signal Propagation: Advanced Black Magic
Howard W. Johnson
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall PTR
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 013084408X

Customer Reviews:

the "signal integrity" bible.......2007-05-13

Dr. Johnson gives signal integrity an identity, and tells you how to conquer a truly "black art" in electronics engineering.

As the data rates of electrical signals go up, the problems this causes are detailed, and solutions are presented that resolve the problems.

If youare doing high-speed digital design, high precision analog design, and want to make it work, this violume sheds light on the "dark" places.

Great subject material, unevenly covered.......2003-07-22

I had mixed feelings reading this book. Some sections were so good I was saying, "Bravo, well done" while other sections were so bad, I felt sorry for anyone trying to learn by reading them. (E.g. Ch4 on frequency domain modeling.) The book covers extremely useful material, but in an uneven way. It will especially appeal to readers who want simplified discussions of the ideas rather than deeper more theoretical discussions. For example, crosstalk --one of the most important topics, is covered in a very light manner, recommending use of simulators to obtain accurate results. Compare this with the coverage of the same subject in the remarkable book "Electromagnetic Compatibility" by Clayton Paul. Now, that book is "advanced" and "magical". This book doesn't get into any deep discussions of the fundamentals. It says that current flows in a loop, and inductance is related to loop area. Simple enough. Yet, how do we explain the inductance of the pin of an IC package, which is definitely not a loop? How is the energy-based definition of inductance used by simulators related to this simple definition? Even more fundamental, given that voltage can't be defined in a region where the magnetic field is changing, how come we can use the concept of voltage? (Read Paul Clayton for discussing all these concepts in great detail.)

Many previous articles are included in the book. Although some of them are entertaining (e.g. the pot hole story) most are just disturbances, and even worse, outdated and contradictory to authors later approach. For example, Dr. Johnson spends 3 pages! discussing how close a termination has to be, and drives an equation for the amount of reflection when the ideal termination is slightly away from the source. Later in a witty article the author declares that there is no more any excuse for not using simulation tools. He says "If you have to ask, simulate it." Definitely anybody who is wondering if their termination is close enough can download a free demo copy of PSpice and simulate this quickly and accurately.Nobody is going to use the equation the author drived and there is no new insight or theory developed either.

The author being the editor of the IEEE Ethernet specs, it is quite surprising how many sloppy mistakes there are. (KHz, kHz, Ghz, HZ,Hertz, hertz, pS, ps, ohm, Ohm, V, v, ; with and without spaces after the value are used with no consistency, "it's" is confused for "its" in more than one place, wrong equation numbers, irregular figures, mixed fonts and fonts sizes within the same equation, etc. are common occurrence.)

Despite its problems, this book will be a very useful reference book to people working in the field. Many sections have excellent detailed discussions. For example, performance regions of the transmission line breaking it into lumped, RC, LC, skin effect, dielectric loss, and waveguide dispersion regions is the most comprehensive I have seen. A useful book to add to one's library, but not a book lover's delight.

A must have reference for ALL digital design engineers.......2003-07-05

After ploughing through this book, I found it to be a treasure trove of useful information. It's well layed out, and well explained. As with their first "black magic text", it's full of helpful hints, guides, and rule'o'thumbs that will get you up to speed quickly so you can apply them and get expected results from your design. Well done Mr Johnson and Mr Graham, another excellent reference!

Average customer rating:

Average
HEY PENN AND TELLER FANS!
If you buy, make sure it comes with ALL accessories!
"Humiliate people you claim to respect." - Penn Jillette
Funny and Annoying

Cruel Tricks for Dear Friends
Penn Jillette
Manufacturer: Villard
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0394753518
Release Date: 1989-05-20

Book Description

Penn & Teller impart their priceless secrets for conning, scamming, and fooling your closest personal friends. And even they're suprised how many copies of this we've sold: 120,000 to-date.

Customer Reviews:

Average.......2006-03-17

I picked up this book since I'm a fan of magic and especially Penn and Teller, but was rather disappointed with this book.

The book seems big because the book itself is meant to be a trick for your friends. You can leave it laying out on the coffee table without worrying about someone picking it up and learning all your secrets. That is, unless they read the whole thing. Parts of the book are printed just to fool your friends and some tricks don't work unless you know the secrets.

Many of the tricks mentioned you won't be able to do yourself and are more of Penn and Teller revealing the secret behind cutting a snake or making cockroaches appear. There are very few tricks that you yourself will be able to make use of. Included with the book (or should be) are several aids used in some of the tricks, making the book feel more like a child's toy. One item that is quite useful is a book made specifically for the trick of mind reading, or making it appear that you can read minds. Although, it only works if you can casually leave the book on a table and casually say, "Let's use this one."

In all, I found the book to not really live up to the standards of Penn and Teller and only found two or three tricks that might have actually worked on friends. If you're looking for a book full of tricks to really decieve your friends, keep looking.

HEY PENN AND TELLER FANS!.......2005-03-22

I bought this book new, and I did get all the extra stuff that came with the book. Trust me, the book itself is all ya need. other than that, the exrta book doesnt have anything really important in it. if anything at all. The book is the most important thing. All you need is just a pair of red and blue 3d glasses for the rest of the stuff in the book if you read the first couple pages you will understand. It is a strange book due to the fact that the majority of the book is just to fool your friends. It doesn have great stories and some good tricks though. out of all 3 books, this is my least favorite but still one of my top 3 all time favs because of the authors.

If you buy, make sure it comes with ALL accessories!.......2003-03-10

Please take note that this book originally came with a packet of trick accessories and another, smaller book. If you buy this book used and all you get is the main book, then many of the tricks in the book will be useless to you. Such is the case that happened with me.

Penn and Teller are great writers (and showmen, of course) and you will thoroughly enjoy their stories, but there's just something missing when you are not able to perform all the tricks they mention because you don't have all the original materials. The mind-reading trick sounds so wonderful, but without the extra book you can't perform it, for example.

Another impossible trick is the very first one where they tell you to call a phone number. I called it and was directed to the voicemail of someone within Random House (not the publishers of this book, btw). Being that the book came out in 1989 it looks like Penn and Teller have long given up that particular number.

Maybe in a dusty old bookstore, sometime in the future, I might be lucky enough to stumble across this complete package, but until then, if ever, I can only wonder at what might have been.

...

"Humiliate people you claim to respect." - Penn Jillette.......2002-11-13

This was Penn & Teller's first book, and they made the actual book a prank in itself. Now, I won't give anything away, but the book is designed to drive anybody who reads it "the wrong way" batty. Plus, there are stories about how they did a lot of their tricks, including the infamous "cockroach trick" that made David Letterman leave his show. Plus lots of other mean stuff to pull on unsuspecting people.

Oh, and there's also the full text of the screenplay for "Penn & Teller Get Killed." Here's hoping you have good eyes.

Funny and Annoying.......2001-04-08

I'm not that familiar with Penn & Teller. If not for my younger sister, I probably wouldn't even know who they are. I picked up a used copy of this book because I thought it would be funny. I enjoyed the descriptions of the cockroach trick, the 3 of clubs eyeballs trick, and the cutting the snake in half trick. The pictures were delightful. The cruel tricks reminded me of some I used to read about in "Children's Digest" when I was a kid. (If you, too, have friends who are too smart for them, you can still amuse yourself by imagining stupid persons you loathe falling for them.) I think I like the personality test trick the best. The short stories weren't bad. I'm torn between "The Best Magic Trick I Ever Saw" and "Invisible Thread" for my favorite. The annoying part is all those pages of red type on light grey paper with a dark grey swirl design smack in the middle. They are HARD to read. I had to keep a finger on the line so I wouldn't lose track. I'm not sure the authors expected anyone to read them because they're chock full of typos. However, if you do take the trouble, you'll read "Penn & Teller get killed", more cruel tricks on video, a strange tribute to Harry Houdini, the "Sharpening Stone", another version of "Invisible Thread", and "Penn & Teller at the Ritz". These are definitely very strange men. Happy Hunting for a copy.

Writing Magic: Creating Stories that Fly

Average customer rating:

sharing magic
Improve your writing skills
Excellent book for would-be writers of all ages!
This book ROCKS! (Seriously)
Writing Magic

Writing Magic: Creating Stories that Fly
Gail Carson Levine
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060519606
Release Date: 2006-09-19

Book Description

In Writing Magic, Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine shares her secrets of great writing. She shows how you, too, can get terrific ideas for stories, invent great beginnings and endings, write sparkling dialogue, develop memorable characters—and much, much more. She advises you about what to do when you feel stuck—and how to use helpful criticism. Best of all, she offers writing exercises that will set your imagination on fire.

With humor, honesty, and wisdom, Gail Carson Levine shows you that you, too, can make magic with your writing.

Customer Reviews:

sharing magic.......2007-09-19

She's brilliant, honest, open, beyond helpful, sincerely encouraging. Thank you Gail for helping to give others a step up by sharing what you've learned along the way.

So many great ideas to help you get started, keep you pushing through, make your writing better. Levine generously shares an abundance of ways to write well. This is my favorite help-me-write book. Beyond highly recommended. Get it, read it, apply it.

Improve your writing skills.......2007-07-08

I am 12 years old. My dad bought this book for me. He thought I should write a review on this book. My opinion is: If you think you're horrible at writing, you might want to and should use this book. If you think you're great at writing, use this anyway to get better with writing. This book has good tips for writing better, writing better stories, and getting great ideas for better stories. The author has tips for writing good dialogue, making up unforgettable characters and more. But if you are looking for something interesting to read (like ficitions) find something else. This book can also help you with writing emails, essays, letters, and greeting cards. Reviewed by PJ.

Excellent book for would-be writers of all ages!.......2007-05-27

Gail Carson Levine jumps right into the writing game with to-the-point advice, offering many excercises to kick-start the creative juices and keep them flowing. You don't have to be a young adult to learn what she teaches. All you need is a love of storytelling and a desire to write better.

This book ROCKS! (Seriously).......2007-05-09

This book is the best! I love it. It helped me write so many amazing stories. Here is a bit from one of them.

I tossed and turned on my lumpy bed. My ragged blanket barley kept out the freezing cold of the winter night. I practically threw myself out of bed. I walked over to my bag of special stuff. It was a bag filled with stuff. It was almost everything from my house I could fit in on the day my Mama had died. Yeah it is sad.
My Papa died first when he was 36 years old. I was only 3. It was really sad and I first thought he was `broken'. My Mama and Sister and Brother had to explain the concept of dying to me. So then my Sis died she was 18 and I was 5. She died `cause her classmate had a disease and Sis caught it and she died. Except her classmate had more money and could afford the right treatment. We never were rich. Anyway then my Bro died `cause he got hit in the head with a baseball to hard. I was only 7. Then Mama died from complications from another baby in her stomach. I guess it kicked her to hard and she died.

Thanks for reading this.

Writing Magic.......2007-04-25

Levine, Gail Carson, Writing magic: Creating stories that fly, FSG, 2006

The art of writing has always given me so much pleasure even as I could never adequately understand the process; I loved to read the finished product but its creation always seemed wholly magical. Renowned writer Gail Carson Levine now breaks the process down into many learnable units including: dealing first with nagging feelings of self-doubt, how to get ideas, and the necessity to utilize all your senses to gather information to provide the many details needed to create characters, setting, action, and atmosphere. She emphasizes that the writer has to make paramount some reasons to care about what happens to the character(s); to accomplish the writer needs to be cruel to her character in order to garner "the reader's sympathy" and also provide a compelling reason to keep reading to find out what happens as the character struggles to overcome obstacles. This book which manages to be colloquially friendly and instructive should provide any child with both the inspiration and skills to improve their writing and includes an index to help the user refer back to useful points. A copy should reside in every classroom that wants to promote writing as a positive activity.

Average customer rating:

A Must Have
Should be on everyones shelf.
Cheap and Comprehensive
Plenty of material for all levels of magicians
Awesome price for a classic.

Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic
Mark Wilson
Manufacturer: Running Press Book Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0762414553
Release Date: 2003-05-27

Book Description

From one of the world's premier practitioners of classic magic, with years of experience instructing younger readers in the magical arts, comes this new revision of his complete guide to learning and performing fantastic feats of prestidigitation. Acclaimed by the Los Angeles Times as "the text that...young magicians swear by," it's full of step-by-step instructions. More than 2,000 illustrations provide the know-how behind 300 techniques, from basic card tricks to advanced levitation, along with advice on planning and staging a professional-quality magic show.

Customer Reviews:

A Must Have.......2007-05-08

Wonderful step by step book. Well illustrated and easy to understand. Was able learn and perform numerous tricks in a matter of one day..A must have for any beginner

Should be on everyones shelf........2007-04-01

This book truly is phenomonal. It has every type of magic you can think of, coin, cards, stage, mentalism, self working, impromptu, gimmicked. It even goes as far as to give you tricks for things like jumbo cards and sponge balls.

Not only this but at the beginning of every chapter Mark Wilson reminds you of what magic is all about, he writes two or three paragraphs about the specific type of magic and how wonderful it can be. Mark also has a biography and an essay on magic at the beginning which is fantastic, and after years I still find myself going back and reading it just for a reminder of what got me into magic originally.

All of the descriptions to the tricks are well written, have accompanying pictures for EVERY move. He even gives secondary ways to do several of the moves and has an Notes and Reminds section after the tricks putting in personal notes about specific parts of the trick. Its obvious how much effort and work went into this book. In closing, this is a book that every magician new or old should have in his shelf, right next to Bobo's Modern Coin Magic, and Royal Road to Card Magic.

Cheap and Comprehensive.......2007-03-20

This book is a treasure trove of tricks, which the author explains in a clean, concise fashion. Highly recommended over other books, which tend to include fewer tricks, occassionally with a glossier, but not superior, presentation.

Plenty of material for all levels of magicians.......2007-02-19

This magic book runs the gamut from beginners tricks to tricks many professionals use. I've been performing as a part-time professional magician myself for several years now, and I still found things in this book I hadn't seen before or new twists on things I was familiar with.

The biggest drawback to this is the sheer volume of information it contains. If I'd come across this book when I was first getting into magic, I would've been absolutely overwhelmed. It's still a lot to digest now. But if you read through it and pick and choose tricks here and there that fit your style and personality, you'll find it very useful. It's like a cafeteria -- go down the line, picking out the things you want and skipping the things you don't, then go back to your table and chew on them and enjoy them.

Awesome price for a classic........2007-01-20

I was browing Amazon checking out some other books, and up popped Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic. I have seen it years ago, and it's a great manual of all things magic. The bargain price was my best buy of this year, a one inch tear in the binding shaved more than 50% off the price of my copy. (Now if only I could get more books in this shape). The closest book would be Tarbell's at $20 a book, my full collection of Tarbell covers more items, but Mark Wilson's is easy to digest and the photos just make it a super book. This is a must buy for anyone with interest in performing magic.

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