The Lost Colony (Artemis Fowl, Book 5)

Book Description

Ten thousand years ago, humans and fairies fought a great battle for the magical island of Ireland. When it became clear to the fairy families that they could never win, they decided to move their civilization underground and keep themselves hidden from the humans. All the fairy families agreed on this, except the eighth family, the demons. The demons planned to lift their small island out of time until they had regrouped and were ready to wage war on the humans once more. However, the time spell went wrong, and the island of Hybras was catapulted into Limbo, where it has remained for ten thousand years. Now the tainted time spell is deteriorating and demons are being sucked back into the present space and time. The fairy council is concerned about this and is monitoring any materializations. But when the spells deterioration accelerates, the materializations become unpredictable. Even the fairy scientists cannot figure out where the next demon will pop up. But someone can. Artemis Fowl, teenage criminal mastermind, has solved temporal equations that no normal human should be intelligent enough to understand. So when a confused and frightened demon pops up in a Sicilian theater, Artemis Fowl is there to meet him. Unfortunately, he is not the only one. A second, mysterious party has also solved the temporal equations, and has managed to abduct the demon before Artemis can secure him. Once again, Artemis will have to pair up with his old comrade, Captain Holly Short, to track down the missing demon and rescue him, before the time spell dissolves completely and the lost demon colony returns violently to Earth.

Customer Reviews:

Another enjoyable Artemis adventure.......2007-09-26

I found certain aspects somewhat predictable, but it's nice that Artemis has met another genius to contend with. Can't wait for the next one!

The Lost Colony by Eoin Colfer.......2007-09-10

As usual Eoin Colfer takes us into the world of the Elves with our No1 criminal Artemis Fowl.But is the young lady who appears in this book to be his nemesis or love interest.You wont find out till the end.

Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony.......2007-08-31

I enjoyed this book as much as the other books. I couldn't put the book down. I would recommend this book to anyone to read.

Keep them coming!.......2007-08-23

This last adventure was just as intriguing as the other ones, yet the climax really surprised me. I genuinely recommend this book, as well as the rest of the Artemis' series. To be honest, I started reading them a couple of years ago, to cover the space between Harry Potter's books. After the second one, I just got fascinated with the plot and the characters. Harry, you do have quite and adversary there!

a next one?.......2007-08-15

is there really gonna be another? i felt like he finished with this one...

the first and this one are definitely the best in the saga

amazing franchise a must read

you will never put it down, mark my words

Average customer rating:

One of the better military science fiction reads.
Good Easy Read
Disappointing
Outstanding Space Opera
EXCELLENT SPACE ADVENTURE

Dauntless (The Lost Fleet, Book 1)
Jack Campbell
Manufacturer: Ace
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0441014186

Book Description

The Alliance has been fighting the Syndic for a century-and losing badly. Now its fleet is crippled and stranded in enemy territory. Their only hope is Captain John "Black Jack" Geary-a man who's emerged from a century-long hibernation to find he has been heroically idealized beyond belief. Now, he must live up to his own legend.

Customer Reviews:

One of the better military science fiction reads........2007-10-02

The book starts out with Captain 'Blackjack' Geary being handed command over the Alliance fleet as the fleet commanders leave to discuss terms of surrender with the Syndic fleet. You soon discover that Geary was found en route to the battle scene in an emergency escape pod and revived. He had been frozen for nearly a century. His captaincy was granted posthumously as the Alliance believed he was dead. He had become a legend in the Alliance for his courageous stand against the first Syndic attack and now was a living legend among them. The Alliance-Syndic war was still being waged from that original battle. Losses of command personel were so severe over the intervening years that battle strategies and tactics were mostly lost and battles consisted mostly of charge the enemy until destroyed. The surrender negotiations were a deception in which the fleet commanders were slaughtered. Captain Geary's first mission is to try and rescue the fleet as surrender terms are too grim to accept. For the rest of the book Captain 'Blackjack' Geary must deal with the misconceptions of his legendary figure and try to keep the fleet alive as well as together.
It was hard to put the book down once I started reading it. There is so much poor science fiction out there that you read a page or two and put the book away that its refreshing to find one that is such and easy and enjoyable read. Its certainly not in a class with Frank Herbert's Dune series or Gene Wolfe's Long Sun series but its a good read.

Good Easy Read.......2007-09-18

Good Easy Read with mostly action and no lovey dovey scenes that feel awkward in sci fi books. If you like this, try Scalzi. Internal monologue of the main character might be a little unconventional and weird but it works in this book. Will read the sequel.

Disappointing.......2007-09-13

The book was fine. It sounded a lot more interesting than it was. The story is not compelling, but it is reasonably well-written and the characters are not completely shallow. I probably won't buy the next books in the series unless I am totally desperate. I simply see no reason to. Will the Lost Fleet get home? Of course. So what's the point of reading the other books?

Outstanding Space Opera.......2007-09-06

Very much in line with David Weber's works, this is excellent space opera. Black Jack Geary is a likeable and interesting character. Sometimes the characters are a little cardboard or one-dimensional, but overall this is good, fast-paced action with an interesting plot and lots of conflicts, both internally and externally.

There are plenty of reviews here that cover the storylines, so I'll just throw my hat in the ring with a 5 star review and recommend it if you even remotely like Weber's sci-fi.

EXCELLENT SPACE ADVENTURE.......2007-09-05

I won't go into details- many already have...What I enjoyed about this book and book 2 is that it reads smoothly- a Story- not a textbook with lots of scientific "data" and convoluted made up equations...just enough "space talk" without drowning the reader in it! ..I know many will dismiss this book because it lacks what I call the Headache feature-overdose classroom syndrome...I buy a book to READ not study and discect!- escapism at its best, Thank you -and this one nicely fits the bill....smooth transition from Dauntless to book 2 Fearless and I am looking forward to book 3

The Magic School Bus Lost In The Solar System (Magic School Bus)

Average customer rating:

Magic school bus does it again!
This book rocks (asteroids)!
Lost in the Solar System
The Magic School Bus
Magic school bus "lost in solar system"

The Magic School Bus Lost In The Solar System (Magic School Bus)
Joanna Cole
Manufacturer: Scholastic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0590414291

Book Description

The fieldtrip to the planetarium is foiled when the museum turns out to be closed, but Ms. Frizzle saves the day. The Magic School Bus turns into a spaceship and takes the class on a trip zooming through the atmosphere, to the Moon, and beyond! With up-to-date facts about the solar system, revised for this edition.

Customer Reviews:

Magic school bus does it again!.......2007-02-06

All the magic school bus books are fantastic. This one is no different.
It is great for learning about the solar system.

This book rocks (asteroids)!.......2006-02-10

This book is a blast (no pun intended)! Mrs. Frizzle and her class travel to every planet in the solar system. The bus breaks down in the asteroid belt and the students have to find Mrs. Frizzle on a very cold planet. You'll love all the colorful pictures and Arnold's crazy cousin! Blast-off to this book and learn a lot about space in a fun way!

Lost in the Solar System.......2005-12-10

I like this book because it makes me wonder about the solar system and everything happening in it. I love imagining what things are like in other places and this book makes me think but it also taught me stuff about the solar system too. This book makes me want to visit the solar system myself.
Alyssa Seifferly

The Magic School Bus.......2004-02-12

This book is about a class who goes to the musuem but it is closed. So they see it up close. Janet was bragging about everything. After the trip they had learned a lot

I think the book is about being nice. The book is about learning new things. Learning new things is part of life. The book is saying to learn. The book is telling us to try new things.

I think the book is nice. The book has a series. It teaches you stuff. It also is funny. It's my favorite. It's fun to read.

Magic school bus "lost in solar system".......2004-02-04

I like this book because it has to deal with the solar system and i like to learn about space. It does a very good job teaching you about it, and the book was really fun to read. I like how the bus turnes into a space ship and goes to all the planets.

Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13

Average customer rating:

Remarkable narrative account
Amazing!
Good General and Technical Detail About a Near-Disaster in Space
Add in my five stars please
An outstanding account, with one qualification

Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13
Jeffrey Kluger , and James Lovell
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0395670292

Book Description

In April 1970, during the glory days of the Apollo space program, NASA sent Navy Captain Jim Lovell and two other astronauts on America's fifth mission to the moon. Only fifty-five hours into the flight of Apollo 13, disaster struck: a mysterious explosion rocked the ship, and soon its oxygen and power began draining away. Commander Lovell and his crew watched in alarm as the cockpit grew darker, the air grew thinner, and the instruments winked out one by one. The full story of the moon shot that almost ended in catastrophe has never been told, but now Lovell and coauthor Jeffrey Kluger bring it to vivd life. What begins as a smooth flight is transformed into a hair-raising voyage from the moment Lovell calls out, "Houston, we've got a problem." Minutes after the explosion, the astronauts are forced to abandon the main ship for the lunar module, a tiny craft designed to keep two men alive for just two days. But there are three men aboard, and they are four days from home. As the hours tick away, the narrative shifts from the crippled spacecraft to Mission Control, from engineers searching desperately for solutions to Lovell's wife and children praying for his safe return. The entire nation watches as one crisis after another is met and overcome. By the time the ship splashes down in the Pacific, we understand why the heroic effort to rescue Lovell and his crew is considered by many to be NASA's finest hour. This riveting book puts the reader right in the spacecraft during one of the worst disasters in the history of space exploration. Written with all the color and drama of the best fiction, Lost Moon is the true story of a thrilling adventure and an astonishing triumph over nearly impossible odds. It was a major Oscar(R)-nominated motion picture directed by Ron Howard and starred Tom Hanks and Kevin Bacon.

Customer Reviews:

Remarkable narrative account.......2007-01-21

This book was the basis for the movie Apollo 13. America had become complacent about our space shots by this time, which is something I still do not understand. But that may be because I worked so long at the Kennedy Space Center and always knew and still understand how dangerous each and every launch is. Apollo 13 was to have been the fifth mission to the moon. But two days into the trip, on April 13, 1970, the oxygen tank exploded in the command module, placing the three astronauts in grave danger. Lovell describes those terrifying days as astronauts, contractors, and Mission Controlled struggled to bring Apollo 13 safely back to earth. If you want to read what really happened by someone who was there...this is the book for you.

Amazing!.......2006-12-31

This well written book is a great time line of what really happened. I also enjoy the movie and this book fills in the gaps that were not covered in the movie. Also gives detailed accounts of nearly everyone involved in this mission.

Good General and Technical Detail About a Near-Disaster in Space.......2006-11-15

As someone who has been fascinated with space flight since childhood, and who well remembers the real Apollo 13 from his teenage years, I found this book a fascinating reminder of history. However, this book is about much more than the aborted flight of Apollo 13. It includes historical flashbacks that involved astronaut James Lovell. One chapter describes Lovell's teenage years as he launched homemade rockets. Another summarizes the early years of space exploration in the wake of Sputnik 1. Still another describes the selection of Lovell as an astronaut in late 1962. There is also a chapter on the Apollo 1 fire. Some of Lovell's closest friends perished in that needless tragedy. There is a fine description of the historical flight of Apollo 8, that Christmas lunar orbit in 1968. It included a reading from the Book of Genesis.

Now on to Apollo 13. In preparations for potential in-space emergencies, no one had imagined the simultaneous loss of both main oxygen tanks and all three fuel cells. This left the Odyssey itself with only a few hours of remaining oxygen, water, and electricity. Lovell and Kluge note that mission rules forbid a lunar landing if only one fuel cell becomes inoperable, even if nothing else is wrong. But the "Can the moon landing be saved?" quickly gave way to "Can the astronaut's lives be saved?"

The initial belief was that a meteoroid must have hit the ship. This later was discounted when the blown-open side of the service module became visible shortly after being jettisoned prior to re-entry. Clearly, the explosion must have originated from within the service module itself. Later investigation pointed to a confluence of factors, none decisive in and of themselves, that had combined to precipitate the near-tragedy. To begin with, the wrong-power fuses were being used within the oxygen tanks. When overloaded, they simply melted, allowing the overload of electricity to pass through. During assembly, the oxygen tank had been dropped, damaging an exit tube. During launch-pad exercises, the liquid oxygen was drained past the damaged exit tube by applying extra heat and driving the oxygen out another way. The sensor was not designed to warn of overheating above 80 F. Meanwhile, this procedure had unknowingly raised the temperatures to impossible levels, burning the insulation off much of the wire inside the oxygen tank. The first two times the stirring fan was turned on in space, there was no problem. But the third time, a spark must have flown and ignited the damaged insulation in the pure-oxygen environment, causing the explosion. The explosion itself damaged a tube connected to the second oxygen tank, thus draining it.

The book provides good detail about the dangers and challenges associated with the abort procedure itself. The decision was made not to attempt to fire the service module engine in order to reverse the flight direction in a deep-space abort, if only because the damaged service module might be unable to take the strain of the engine's thrust. The first critical burn of the lunar module's descent engine, done some six hours after the explosion and designed to change the hybrid trajectory back into a free-return trajectory, would have caused the Apollo 13 to crash into the far side of the moon if done incorrectly. Without the burn, however, Apollo 13 would be stuck in a 40,000 by 240,000 mile elliptical orbit around Earth. Thoughts were entertained about jettisoning the useless service module and using the lunar module's descent engine to accelerate the ship considerably--returning it from the vicinity of the moon to Earth in only some 36 hours. But this was not done out of fear that exposure of the command module's heat shield to the temperature extremes of space might damage it.

Everything on the ship had to be powered down--a strategy that worked, just barely. The severe cold aboard the ship, a secondary consequence of the powering down of all nonessential equipment, is described. The astronauts had a frosty breath. Some got urinary infections. They had a hard time getting comfortable enough to sleep.

The astronauts were slowly being poisoned by their own carbon dioxide. This was solved by the jury-rigging of the lithium hydroxide "scrubbers" of the command module to get them to fit into the circulation system of the lunar module. Just before re-entry, there were the challenges of successfully reviving the systems aboard the command module, and jettisoning both the service and lunar modules in a completely unconventional manner.

Add in my five stars please.......2005-12-05

If you're into the space program and what happened during this era, then I can't think of one reason why this shouldn't be in your library. It's one of my all-time favorite books.

An outstanding account, with one qualification.......2005-08-07

Jim Lovell's dreams of landing on the moon were literally blown away in April 1970, when an oxygen tank aboard Apollo 13's service module exploded less than a day away from lunar orbit, forcing the crew to limp home under perilous circumstances. More than two decades after surviving that mission, Lovell (with his co-author Jeffrey Kluger) has written an excellent account of that ill-fated moon flight.

LOST MOON is one of the best of the Apollo books I've read, especially one concerning a single mission. This is also one of the best books about the work of mission control, who were the key figures behind the successful return of the crew. It is as complete a description of this mission as we are ever likely to see. The attention to detail is on a very high level, and the amount of transcripted dialogue is plentiful, well presented, and from a myriad of sources. There are a number of slightly testy exchanges between Lovell's crew and mission control, highlighting the tension of the situation in an honest and unapologetic manner. The examination of exactly how the accident happened, as told in the epilogue, is covered exceptionally well.

An aspect of the book that bothered me was the decision to use a third-person narrative throughout (which is defended unconvincingly in the author's notes). I had never before read any autobiographical account in which the central figure is treated in the third person. Basically, I was looking forward to reading Lovell's descriptions of events using his own voice and experience, and that didn't quite happen. To read Lovell -- one of the most engaging personalities of all the early astronauts -- diminished by such an impersonal, veiled perspective was disappointing. It adds nothing to the writing, and ultimately I felt it was a disservice to the book, though a minor one. If the authors had their doubts about mixing third-person and first-person perspectives successfully, they could have taken some cues from Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins, who wrote two books in that style and who is regarded as perhaps the best writer among the former astronauts.

Despite its compromises in narrative style, LOST MOON (or APOLLO 13, depending on the format) is an outstanding biographical account of the failed 1970 moon flight. It is potentially a five-star book if the writing had been appropriately personal when it counted the most.

The Abominable Snowman/Journey Under the Sea/Space and Beyond/The Lost Jewels of Nabooti/Mystery of the Maya/House of Danger (Choose Your Own Adventure 1-6) (Box Set 1)

Average customer rating:

Choose Your Own Adventure
Great reading for people of all ages
NOT the original books
Paths Too Short
My 9-year-old LOVES these

The Abominable Snowman/Journey Under the Sea/Space and Beyond/The Lost Jewels of Nabooti/Mystery of the Maya/House of Danger (Choose Your Own Adventure 1-6) (Box Set 1)
R. A. Montgomery
Manufacturer: Chooseco
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1933390913

Product Description

This Choose Your Own Adventure 6-Book Boxed Set includes the following storied titles from the classic, interactive, children's series: The Abominable Snowman * Journey Under the Sea * Space and Beyond * The Lost Jewels of Nabooti * Mystery of the Maya * House of Danger.

Customer Reviews:

Choose Your Own Adventure.......2007-09-10

These books are fantastic - I have fond memories of them from my childhood. As a school teacher, they are a wonderful read aloud. I let the children vote everytime there is a choice. They think they're great!

Great reading for people of all ages.......2007-09-03

We have read Choose Your Own Adventure 1-6, and our 7 year old son, my husband & I were glued to every book. The books are well written, interesting & intriguing. Not too scary but gripping. We highly reccomend these books to everyone. They can be read & reread, a real plus.

NOT the original books.......2007-04-20

My children have been enjoying some of my old Choose Your Own Adventure books from the 80's, so when I saw this rerelease of several classic books for such a reasonable price, I bought it for them. Well, apparently R.A. Montgomery wasn't able to get the rights on the original illustrations, so he had a bunch of freelance designers from Thailand draw replacement pictures for each of them, and they are AWFUL. Not just 'different,' but shockingly, unignorably BAD -- they look like cartoons drawn carelessly by teenagers, with no sense of proportion, anatomy, lighting, or anything else. The drawings in "Mystery of the Maya" are not bad but most of the others are so terrible they render the books unreadable. Leaving them unillustrated would have been better than this. Find used copies of the originals (most of which are for sale cheap on Amazon) or just pick something else to read.

Paths Too Short.......2007-03-30

You make one or two choices and the book is over. They should only have a few endings and make each path longer.

My 9-year-old LOVES these.......2007-01-10

We bought these books for our son because we remembered how much we loved them at his age. They are much quicker reads than I remember, but he loves them, so they get 5 stars. One book takes him less than 45 minutes to get through. He hasn't gotten to the stage where he goes back and makes different choices yet, but I'm sure he'll become even more fond of them then.

Feynman's Lost Lecture: The Motion of Planets Around the Sun

Average customer rating:

If you are a Feynman fan
Feynman's proof of the law of ellipses
Lucid explanation of Feynman's proof of the law of ellipses
An Entertaining And Captivating Lecture
authors create a labour of love for Feynman

Feynman's Lost Lecture: The Motion of Planets Around the Sun
David L. Goodstein , Judith R. Goodstein , and Richard Phillips Feynman
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0393039188

Amazon.com

Richard Feynman, the rock star of theoretical physics, has left an image that belies his nerdy side. Not many bongo-playing surfer beatniks would have spent hours of their spare time proving Newton's law of elliptical planetary motion using only plane geometry. But Feynman's Lost Lecture: The Motion of Planets Around the Sun shows that the great man did just that. Originally delivered to an introductory physics class at Caltech in 1963, this 76-minute CD and book set contains everything the math-savvy listener needs to savor the pleasures of applied math. Caltech physicist David L. Goodstein and archivist Judith R. Goodstein found the notes and tape amid another professor's papers and set to work making sense of them; unfortunately, photographs of the blackboard drawings didn't survive. The book briefly covers their find and recovery work, then presents the proof as reconstructed--crucial reading if one is to follow the lecture. There's nothing easy about it, as Feynman acknowledges in the lecture:

I am going to give what I will call an elementary demonstration. "Elementary" means that very little is required to know ahead of time in order to understand it, except to have an infinite amount of intelligence.

He means, instead, that he is strictly using geometrical methods to reach his destination, which explains why it was so difficult to reconstruct without his diagrams. His charming Brooklyn accent and good humor show through in this lecture, even if the material is quite a bit drier than his fans might expect. Still, those interested in adding a new dimension to their understanding of this brilliant scientist--and those with a deep interest in Newtonian physics--will find The Motion of Planets Around the Sun a rare and unexpected treat. --Rob Lightner

Book Description

Rescued from obscurity, Feynman's Lost Lecture is a blessing for all Feynman followers. Most know Richard Feynman for the hilarious anecdotes and exploits in his best-selling books "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" and "What Do You Care What Other People Think?" But not always obvious in those stories was his brilliance as a pure scientist--one of the century's greatest physicists. With this book and CD, we hear the voice of the great Feynman in all his ingenuity, insight, and acumen for argument. This breathtaking lecture--"The Motion of the Planets Around the Sun"--uses nothing more advanced than high-school geometry to explain why the planets orbit the sun elliptically rather than in perfect circles, and conclusively demonstrates the astonishing fact that has mystified and intrigued thinkers since Newton: Nature obeys mathematics.

David and Judith Goodstein give us a beautifully written short memoir of life with Feynman, provide meticulous commentary on the lecture itself, and relate the exciting story of their effort to chase down one of Feynman's most original and scintillating lectures. David and Judith Goodstein live in Pasadena, California.

Customer Reviews:

If you are a Feynman fan.......2007-09-04

This is a lot of fun -- if. If you are pretty good at mathematical games and have a love for all things Feynman. What makes it work is the CD with Feynman giving the lecture. He goes at the speed of light, but he is always amazing, even when you have no idea what he just said! I can't imagine what it was like for the young folks trying to make sense out of what was going on. But, I bet he inspired them for the rest of their careers. He still does that to people today. If you want a sample of the Feynman magic this is a tough place to start. But do find a way to start.

Feynman's proof of the law of ellipses.......2007-02-04

First we see that planets sweep out equal areas in equal times, following Newton's easy proof. Now to prove that planets move in ellipses. Cut the orbit into infinitesimal, equiangular pieces (as seen from the sun). Each little piece of the orbit corresponds to the velocity vector at that point. Draw a velocity diagram by moving all of these velocity vectors so that they have a common origin point. Obviously, as we move around the orbit, the velocity vector will make one revolution around the origin. In fact, it will trace out a circle, as we shall now prove. The orbit is cut into infinitesimal triangles with equal angles at the sun, so clearly these triangles are similar with a scaling factor r, i.e. an area scaling factor r^2. But time is the same as area, so time also varies as r^2. The change in velocity in one of these pieces is force*time=(1/r^2)*(r^2)=independent of r, so the dv steps in the velocity diagram are all of equal size, and because of the equiangular division they all make equal angles with each other (dv parallel to PS), so the velocity vector does indeed trace out a circle, and the equiangular division of the orbit as seen from the sun translates to an equiangular division of this circle as seen from its center. Of course, the center of the circle is not the origin of the velocity vectors; in particular, the velocity vector going through the center of the circle is the longest velocity vector, so it corresponds to the position on the orbit closest to the sun (as is obvious by the law of equal areas). If we turn the orbit diagram so that this position is straight to the right of the sun, then the longest arrow in the velocity diagram points straight up, since the velocity vector drawn in the orbit diagram will of course be parallel to the tangent to the orbit. When we have advanced a given angle beyond this starting point on the orbit (as seen from the sun), the corresponding velocity vector (i.e. the tangent to the orbit at this point) is found by advancing the same angle in the velocity diagram (as seen from the center of the circle) and connecting this boundary point with the origin of the velocity vectors, and conversely. So the velocity diagram contains complete information about the tangents of the orbit, so it contains complete information about the orbit up to scaling. So the problem becomes: for any velocity diagram, to recreate the orbit. To do this we turn the velocity diagram 90 degrees to the right. To recreate the orbit we must now find a curve that is always perpendicular to the velocity vectors. This can be done as follows. For any point p on the circumference of the velocity diagram circle, draw the line connecting it to the origin O of the velocity vectors and the line connecting it to the center C of the circle. Mark the point P where the perpendicular bisector of Op cuts Cp as a point on the orbit. Now we prove that the orbit generated in this way, as p moves around the circle, is an ellipse (we assume O to be inside the circle; if it was on the boundary the orbit would be a parabola, etc.). The perpendicular bisector cuts the triangle OPp into congruent halves (SAS), making OP=Pp, so CP+OP=CP+Pp=radius of the circle=independent of p, so P traces out an ellipse with foci C and O, and the perpendicular bisector is tangent to this ellipse (because all its other points are outside of the ellipse because they have greater sum of distances to the foci), as required. QED.

Lucid explanation of Feynman's proof of the law of ellipses.......2003-09-11

The book first walks you through the works of Copernicus, Galileo, Brahe and Kepler. Then it gives a brief account of Feynman's life and his work. Then, through numerous diagrams, the authors clearly explain Feynman's ingenious proof of the law of ellipses. Finally, the book presents Feynman's lecture "The Motion of Planets Around the Sun".

It is amazing how Feynman, starting on the lines of Newton, and then not being able to follow Newton's reasoning, devised a different but elegant proof of the law of ellipses.

An Entertaining And Captivating Lecture.......2003-04-04

This Review refers to the paperback edition of Feynman's Lost Lecture: The Motion of Planets Around the Sun with audio CD.

The title of Goodstein's book, Feynman's Lost Lecture, may be a bit misleading in terms of the overall content. The book is, in truth, mainly an explanation of the elliptic patterns performed by the planets, among other things, that an unpublished Feynman lecture originally referred to (although the lecture is included in text and on CD, the lecture is only a fraction of the overall book). Goodstein provides a geometrical means of explaining elliptical patterns that even a non-physicist will find easily comprehensible, especially considering the frequency of companion diagrams. The book also includes a rather unique introduction providing a brief biography of Feynman along with the author's personal experiences related to the well-known physicist. An unexpected, but greatly appreciated, addition is Feynman's original notes regarding his lecture contained in the back of the book.

Feynman's Lost Lecture details how to use geometric proofs to find answers to problems such as the speed of a planet when in motion around the sun and how to prove geometrically that an object is an ellipse. The author properly explains and demonstrates these concepts throughout the book via written and visual examples.

Goodstein presents the topics in such a fashion that the reader can easily try for himself\herself the idea portrayed. This is generally due to a generous selection of diagrams and exemplary situations, which properly convey the ideas that Goodstein presents (although it would probably be much more beneficial if more of the diagrams accompanied Feynman's actual lecture). The main text is also of a form easily understood and more than adequately conveys the topic that the author presents. However, the literary style is slightly lacking - in that it often becomes a bit informal in description and detail.

Overall, the literary shortcomings do not interfere with the author's ability to convey the topic and makes for a rather interesting read. Yet another above-par lecture accompanied by a surprisingly above-par explanation, Feynman's Lost Lecture: The Motion of Planets Around the Sun is more than worth it's price and should be a welcome addition to any reader's (both physicists and non-physicists alike) personal library.

authors create a labour of love for Feynman.......2002-07-22

This book is a labour of love by Judith and David Goodstein for their friend Richard Feynman. I really enjoyed the revelations of the human side of the great physicist, especially the 20 page reminiscene by David Goodstein (a fellow physicist at cal tech) and Feynman's sometimes gruff answers to questions after the lecture. A different view of the human side of Feynman than what you read in "Surely, you're joking". I found the technical side of the book even more rewarding (see next paragraph) but be warned: this is pretty intense geometry and logic - I have a hard time imagining anyone without at least a couple years of post secondary math or physics or engineering following all the arguments.

But if you have the background and patience, it's some pretty cool stuff. Like many folks, I learned planetary dynamics using calculus, not geometry, and so this was my first exposure to the elegant relationship between velocity diagrams and orbits. While Feynman's lecture is somewhat unorganized and not entirely clear, the book does a great job filling in the blanks. There are certainly some rough spots (way too much time on the initial simple properties of ellipses, the argument connecting Kepler's third law to the law of gravitation is not clear, and more) but anyone with sufficient background willing to invest a few hours will be able to get past these minor problems. I kind of like how the pace accelerates to a ridiculous level by the end, leaving you to pretty much work out all the hard details of Rutherford's law of scattering for yourself.

Book Description

** COMPLETELY UNAUTHORIZED **

In this eclectic anthology of essays, former cast member Jewel Staite, "Kaylee," philosopher Lyle Zynda, sex therapist Joy Davidson, and noted science fiction and fantasy authors Mercedes Lackey, David Gerrold, and Lawrence Watt-Evans contribute to a clever and insightful analysis of the short-lived cult hit Firefly. From What went wrong with the pilot? to What's right about Reavers? and how the correspondence between the show's creator Joss Whedon and the network executives might have actually played out, the writers interrogate the show's complexity and speculate about what might have been if the show Firefly had not been cancelled.

Customer Reviews:

They always take off the best shows!!.......2007-08-11

This was a great and inventive TV show...too bad they didn't see fit to give it another chance. The movie was wonderful...check out the DVD's for the movie and series!! You'll find them here on Amazon...

Keeping Firefly alive.......2007-05-15

Good reading material for a fresh outlook on a series that should still be in existance.

Lost without Firefly? You need this book!.......2007-05-13

This is not just a puff piece.

There are serious critiscms of aspects of the Firefly 'verse in this book. But for the intelligent discerning reader, this is just what you've been looking for--people who love Firefly but are willing to critically discuss it. You may not agree with the authors of the various essays but you will share their loss and enjoy their intelligent commentary on the show.

Not for Everybody.......2007-02-07

This book is great for those who wanted to dig a little deeper into the short-lived cult show, Firefly. It's primarily made up of brief essays based on the show by various writers. Some of the essays range from thought-provoking ("Who Killed Firefly?") to humorous ("Firefly vs. The Tick") to quite useful ("Unofficial Glossary of Firefly Chinese").

A few of the contributing writers seem to miss the point of the show, but it's sometimes worth hearing their point-of-view regardless.

So basically, the book works for those fans who rewatch the episodes for fun and would like to get another fix but definitely not for the uninitiated.

'Joss' Fine!.......2007-02-02

If you really loved the series, then you HAVE to get this book! It gives you several different views of the characters, plots, history and imangination of this stunning and highly entertaining show. I bought it for my brother, but I ended up keeping it for myself!

The Abominable Snowman/Journey Under the Sea/Space and Beyond/The Lost Jewels of Nabooti (Choose Your Own Adventure 1-4)

Average customer rating:

Start here!
A classic collection returned
Warning: These are NOT the original books

The Abominable Snowman/Journey Under the Sea/Space and Beyond/The Lost Jewels of Nabooti (Choose Your Own Adventure 1-4)
R. A. Montgomery
Manufacturer: Chooseco
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1933390948

Customer Reviews:

Start here!.......2007-09-29

If you are new to choose your own adventure, I recommend starting with
these 4. They are the first in the new series, and are all individual
books. I am pretty sure they are all reprints, and the art is definitely
new, but they are a great place to start as they cover a wide range of
topics. The bottom line is kids will eat these books up, not just because
they are about great topics, with fun art and very well written but
because they get to choose. They get to pick where they go, what they do,
and all they while they are reading. A warning though, buy this box set
and you might have to by the next.

A classic collection returned.......2007-07-10

Choose Your Own Adventure collections have always been a part of the series, and carrying on that tradition is this collection of the first four books in the newly republished series.

If this is your first trip into CYOA, or are a long time fan coming back, this is collection has a lot to offer. The first four are a nice mix of adventure, mystery, and sci-fi and you get a good feel for the writing of author R.A. Montgomery. The stories have been updated for the times, which is to say the "You" character now has cell phones, GPS and the like. The art has also been redone, but continues to be of excellent quality and pertinent to the choices. Those choices, however, are still the same. They are yours.

There are also collection of 5-8 and 8-12. Six book collections are available as well, but if you are looking to get a started in choosing your own adventure, this collection is a great way to start.

Finally, on a personal note, its great to see the series back!

Warning: These are NOT the original books.......2007-04-21

Don't buy this set expecting a reprinting of the original 1978-1982 Choose Your Own Adventure books. The text has been revised, though the revisions are serviceable enough; but what's worse is that all of the illustrations have been replaced with hideously bad cartoons. Words cannot even express how amateurish and badly drawn these cartoons are, with no sense of proportion, anatomy, lighting, or composition; some appear smudged or to have eraser marks on them, and others have no relevance to the text they are accompanying. And since they're on nearly every page, it's impossible to ignore them.

The exception is The Abominable Snowman, where the pictures are of much better quality (though still not exactly compelling--it seems that the illustrators only read the first two sentences of each page before illustrating it, so that an ending in which the protagonist is killed by a tiger is illustrated by a picture of him slapping mosquitos, for example, because that's what he was doing in the first sentence of the passage.)

Buy used copies of the original books, or choose something else to read. "The Abominable Snowman" is the only one of the set I intend to keep.

Average customer rating:

Daughert Loved It
Excellent Bood
Fascinating Fantasy - or is it?!
Philosophy turned into a quick read - fun!
time and matter

Lost In Space
Mike Dooley
Manufacturer: Totally Unique Thoughts
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0964216825

Book Description

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

This amazing little book reveals the origins of space, time, miracles and more... Lighthearted yet philosophical, this story challenges its readers to re-think the very meaning of their life!

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

Customer Reviews:

Daughert Loved It.......2007-07-22

Got it for my daughter and she loved it read the whole book in one sitting.

Excellent Bood.......2007-07-04

This book was excellent, I do think you need some background to Mike Dooley's other works but even if you dont have that it makes an excellent quick read!!!

Fascinating Fantasy - or is it?!.......2007-06-12

A small but mind stretching book by Mike Dooley, easy to read with mind boggling implications. If you think you're too old to fantasise, or believe you're too set in your ways, or you just want a gentle read which sets you wondering ... what if ... BRILLIANT!

Philosophy turned into a quick read - fun!.......2007-05-14

Mike has a great imagination....he took his passion and his philosophy and turned it into a great imaginative little book that ties up most of the loose ends you could possibly think of in answering those age old questions: Who am I? Where did I come from? and Why am I here? This book just feels right! A worthwhile read!

time and matter.......2005-09-25

this is an great story for people who know what mike dooley is about and what he belives what he says and belives is the truth he is very sincerce in his teachings thoughts do become things and life is a fantasic magical jounery

Average customer rating:

long-lost map (ulysses moore book)
This Book Belongs in Your Library
A rollicking, involving time travel story emerges with delightful twists and turns of plot.
Such an adventure to find a map!
Puzzles left by the strange Ulysses Moore may help in this fine audio mystery

Long-lost Map (Ulysses Moore Book)
Ulysses Moore
Manufacturer: Scholastic Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 043977439X

Book Description

Jason, Julia, and Rick have discovered one of the secrets of Argo Manor -- the Door to Time. Now the door has transported them to Ancient Egypt, a mysterious land of labyrinths, riddles, and secrets. But when they are accidentally separated, Julia ends up at Argo Manor again -- and she can't get back to Egypt, or the boys. Now Jason and Rick have to find the long-lost map of Kilmore Cove, hidden somewhere in the past. But where? And with the wicked Oblivia Newton and her servant, Manfred, on their trail, the stakes are higher than ever. . . .

Customer Reviews:

long-lost map (ulysses moore book).......2007-10-01

worth reading, a great book for kids up to 14 years old. The next 1 is already out and the next one is out 2008 may.

This Book Belongs in Your Library.......2007-03-06

The book: Ulysses Moore: The Lost Map was an excellent read and belongs on your book case. Its educational, exciting, and all about Egypt!
The story takes place in the land of punt: a forgotten Egyptian city lost in time. Ulysses Moore (the man who found this land before the children) is dead now and its up to recover the map of Kilmore Cove. It all starts when the kids walk into the chest and make a mess. Julia, and Rick are twins, and Jason is a young boy with a "devil tongue".

When they walk threw the door they find them selves in a humongous storage room. They hear tapping and all of the sudden the walls start crashing down and the boys are trapped in Punt, with there sister outside of the door! In the book before the children are trying to find a map and discover the secrets left behind by Ulysses. That book continued into this book. Now that the boys are in Punt they meet a young girl named Maruk. She will be there guide threw the Land of Punt. With only Mr. Moore's journal, they will find the map and hopefully return home safely.

I loved this book. If you like adventure, comedy, and even action this book is for you. The best thing about this book is that the author knows how to make the characters sound realistic and alive. Especially in the beginning they give us an "e-mail" from Michael Merryweather explaining that he found the second manuscript to the Ulysses Moore mystery. I find this amusing even though it isn't real, it makes you feel as if your becoming a detective yourself; solving the mystery, and watching as the children make there way through the Land of Punt.

I did not like this book because at the very end they continued to a different book. Honestly I would like to know the end of the story and if the bad guy gets away with it right now! I don't want to go out and buy the book and them read the whole thing just to see what happened!!!

I would recommend this book to anyone who is an aspiring Egyptologist, like me. I also would recommend this book to children over 10, because it has something that you might have to figure out in your head, or really think about it.

A rollicking, involving time travel story emerges with delightful twists and turns of plot........2006-12-10

Ulysses Moore: The Long-Lost Map by Pierdemonico Baccalario tells of three kids who journey back in time into ancient Egypt - but an accident returns Julie to home, with the boys trapped in the past. They must find a long-lost map hidden somewhere in Egypt to return - and in the process, solve more puzzles left by one Ulysses Moore. A rollicking, involving time travel story emerges with delightful twists and turns of plot.

Such an adventure to find a map!.......2006-12-10

A wonderful book with lots of excitement and great adventure. Twins, Jason and Julia and their friend Rick go on an adventure through time to Ancient Egypt to find the long lost map of Kilmore Cove.In this course, they go through many adventures using the clues left behind by Ulysses Moore.
I really enjoyed this book and could never put it down!I definetely recommend this book to other children because I know they'll love it! This book even has a strong sense of humor in it!

Mira,Chicago

Puzzles left by the strange Ulysses Moore may help in this fine audio mystery.......2006-09-15

Michael Page's reading brings to life the story of Jason, Julia and Rick, time travelers to ancient Egypt who are trapped in the past, unless they can locate the long-lost map of Kilmore Cove hidden somewhere in Egypt. Puzzles left by the strange Ulysses Moore may help in this fine audio mystery.

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