Book Description
With a wealth of post-1900 produced firearms in circulation, interest in modern firearms is rapidly on the rise. The Gun Digest Book of Modern Gun Values gives gun collectors and buyers details on all major, and some rare, models of handguns, rifles and shotguns manufactured between 1900 and today.
This 13th edition delivers the resources to help collectors identify, evaluate condition and determine the value of more than 8,000 models. Most listings include caliber, barrel length, weight and distinguishing features, in addition to updated values for each, in four grades of condition. With more than 3,700 photographs, including hundreds of new images and background information, this edition bears the traditional style collectors know and the updated information they seek.
-More than 8,000 listings, including all major models of firearms from 1900 through today gives enthusiasts a wealth of firearm data
-Current values, historical information and 3,700+ photographs give enthusiasts the tools to maintain and build collections
-Detailed specifications for handguns, rifles and shotguns cover the technical data that enthusiasts need
Customer Reviews:
Gun Digest Book Of Gun Values.......2006-03-26
Very good book,I think it could have had a bit more information though...But I am glad to have bought it....
Average customer rating:
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Mid-century Modern Dinnerware: A Pictorial Guide, Redwing to Winfield (Schiffer Book for Collectors)
Michael E. Pratt
Manufacturer: Schiffer Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
| Antiques & Collectibles
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Glass & Glassware
| Antiques & Collectibles
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Pottery & Ceramics
| Antiques & Collectibles
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Pottery & Ceramics
| Crafts & Hobbies
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0764319140 |
Book Description
The bold shapes and startling patterns on dinnerware of the late 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s are displayed in over 480 dazzling color photographs. Much of the best work of six leading pottery manufacturers, Ak-Sar-Ben Pottery, Denwar Ceramics, Iroquois China Company, Laurel Potteries of California, Royal China Company, and Stetson China Company, is shown and described in detail. The dinnerware shapes, including Bantu, Casual, Futura, Holiday, Impromptu, and Scandia, produced by these important manufacturers are well represented to attract collectors today. An engaging scholarly text is filled with new research about the companies and their wares, grading guidelines, informative tables, detailed endnotes, and an extensive bibliography. Current market values are provided in the captions. This dinnerware is an exciting gallery of mid-century design.
Book Description
Back by popular demand, this all-new expanded edition helps collectors identify the firearm, evaluate condition and determine value. Detailed specifications—and current values from specialized experts—are provided for domestic and imported handguns, rifles, shotguns and commemorative firearms. Heavily illustrated.
Firearms made since 1900 are far more numerous than those made before 1900. Many of these firearms are found in auctions, arms retailers and advertisements—and as `young' family heirlooms. Much more affordable and plentiful than pre-1900 collector-grade arms, many of these post-1900 guns are increasingly viewed as collectible, valuable assets.
- Over 7,500 arms described and valued, in three grades of condition, according to the NRA's “Modern” standards
- Expanded illustrations—over 3,000 photographs
- Illustrated inspection guide for handguns, rifles and shotguns
- Full-color condition evaluation section
- Reference—Collectors Library, Directory of Collectors Associations
Customer Reviews:
great!.......2002-12-04
we are a firearms distributor in manila and have been on a lookout for a source book with as many guns with the corresponding details as possible. guess i found it right here in this book. it contains every bit you want to know about guns, except for the performance, where you wont obviously get in a book like this. anyway, its a great book overall, but it could have gotten five stars if it had more pages in color. most were in black and white. nevertheless, it has really helped our business a lot
Amazon.com
This guide describes everything you need to know about collecting recently published literature. Robert Wilson indicates how to identify known and emerging authors worth collecting; how to find those first editions, with a list of the various labeling styles of well-known commercial and small presses; how to spot a fake; and how to sell your collection to an institution. The appendices alone are a valuable resource for collectors, with lists covering such information as book auction firms, clubs for book collectors, and Wilson's picks for the 50 most important American books since World War II.
Book Description
From what to collect and who to buy from to how to care for a collection.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book!!.......2003-08-20
Good reference book for book collecting. I read it as often as I can.
Good book to have if you collect or sell books
Modern Book Collecting.......2002-10-03
From Publisher's Weekly - Publishers Weekly:
Wilson's guide combines discussions of the basics of book collecting with helpful appendices.
This book is old........2002-07-27
The copyright date on this book is 1980. That's right, over twenty years old and the title says modern. The book is sorely in the need of an update. I was disappointed in lack of recent infomation dealing with the internet. It is a good source on basic book info, however. I would recommend looking elsewhere for anyone interested in this subject.
A Modern Classic.......2002-01-24
Robert A. Wilson is something of a legend in the book world. His experience can be useful to the beginner. If you buy no other book on the subject than this you could do much worse.
The book you wish all booksellers would read!.......2001-04-14
A lot of info. in a small and convenient package - this is the book I consult most frequently when checking editions because of its handy edition-checker listed by publisher. Its also the book that I wish were required reading for all those online bookseller wannabe's listing book-club editions as "first edition" and other clueless faux-pas that cause us serious book people immeasurable grief and gray hairs! A good, palatable and easily-digested overview of the book-collecting world to initiate the uninformed and usher them into the esoteric world of bibliophilia! Recommended for collectors also.
Average customer rating:
- Sundered Siblings
- Luminous intelligence
- Best cure for Insomnia
- Specific reasons for "A Book of Reasons"
- Interesting, odd, yet incomplete
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A Book of Reasons
John Vernon
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Authors
| Arts & Literature
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Special Needs
| Specific Groups
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
20th Century
| British
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
20th Century
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
British
| Short Stories
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0395944775 |
Book Description
"History in its minute particulars touches us all, and in the least expected ways." Every family has its odd character, the one member who never seems right with the world. In his brilliant pairing of family history with the history of civilization, John Vernon discovers the extraordinary sources of ordinary things in the life of his reclusive brother, Paul. When Paul died and John was charged with settling his affairs, he came face to face with a life he had never suspected. His brother's house in southern New Hampshire was in a state of squalid, shocking disrepair: piled high with a lifetime of trash, unheated and decrepit, pitifully unlivable. An assembly worker and an amateur inventor, Paul had managed to keep his sad and strange world hidden. The story of this troubled soul is at once fascinating and tragic. And more: it cries out for reasons. Why does a childhood full of promise turn wrong? Why do we clutter our lives with things? How do we make and understand our world? Vernon seeks answers in the most unexpected places. Buying a hammer and thermometer at Wal-Mart, that icon of consumerism, inspires a short history of tools and the discovery of mercury. Paul's wake occasions an investigation of blood circulation and embalming. Vernon voyages through science and physiology, culture and mythology, on a search "for a way to comprehend a life that left behind not splendid monuments but ordinary wreckage." The result is a book of reasons: reasons for his brother's way of life, reasons for his own response to Paul's death. Bringing to bear the narrative powers that distinguished his acclaimed historical novels Peter Doyle and All for Love, Vernon links the story of one odd individual to the surprising and irregular upheavals of history. In the process, he discovers how reasons, for all of us, are one means of learning to accept things that can never be explained.
Customer Reviews:
Sundered Siblings.......2006-10-04
In The Age of Grief the writer Jane Smiley refers to that moment when "the barriers between the circumstances of oneself and of the rest of the world have broken down." A similar dawning pervades John Vernon's autobiographical A Book of Reasons. When his older brother Paul dies of an aneurysm, Vernon finds himself saddled with the responsibility of his sibling's estate. He must rehabilitate a house crammed with refuse and the sickening stench of dead pets and their sickening stench, as he tries to comprehend how Paul's life devolved into dilapidation.
Vernon quests for reasons: how could a man perceived as an eccentric sociopath at most, fall to a state that could only be described as animalistic? Though the book's time frame is the three-month period between Paul's death and the dissolution of his estate, the author manages an exhumation of some 40-odd years in a struggle to reconstruct their lives together and apart.
As the author contends with his grief and the practical aspects of the house's cleanup, he finds a coping mechanism: a consideration of items and commonplace occurrences. Buying a thermometer at Wal-Mart conjures a lengthy discourse on the history of temperature measurement. The purchase of equipment needed to build a simple set of stairs fuels a meditation on tools and how their evolution paralleled that of man and animals. Vernon reaches back through the ages to expound on how the contributions of Galileo, Pascal, Robert Fludd and many others shaped our understanding of how the present world came to be. The reader is treated to various insights ranging from how rocks were employed as hammers by Homo sapiens, to the murder of Abel by Cain with a weapon, or "tools that got to be weapons by being misused."
It's a seesaw, really: over here, the life of Paul alongside the author's guilt, incredulity and dormant memory; over there, a timeless world with its theories, speculations and advances. Both carry a long circuitous chain of reasons or "recipes for making sense of the world's arrangements and accidents."
The bulk of the work is unapologetically nonlinear, containing a larger ratio of science to actual memoir. Yet the author's brother is always there, haunting either a discourse on the history of internment or the origin of central heating back in 80 B.C. For readers who prefer straightforward memoir, these flights may prove a distraction from what is essentially a compelling look at sibling estrangement. But these technical flights never feel clinical or even detached. Vernon's wounded, probing voice holds it together nicely, whether the subject is the Big Bang, or the circumstances that led to the appearance of nine-year-old Paul's photo on the front page of the Worcester Telegram and Gazette.
In melding science to the personal, he illuminates a universe that's become as vague to us as his brother was to him, while reminding us that context is everything. At one point Vernon says that he somehow fell asleep while the brother's life plummeted, an observation that might parallel our relation to the world. Everything is moving too fast goes the song; Vernon's insistence on examining the implications of the everyday is an invitation to cease all our taking for granted.
Vernon entreats us with trenchant description and the use of metaphor. He describes the ritual of bathing after Paul: "This is how I cleaned myself: by lowering my body into Paul's gray opacity rimmed with a sort of soapy pond scum." The automobile looms as a vehicle of escape from the grief that the house represents, but also the seat of memory and revelation: an incident in their teens where he and Paul are humiliated by an aggressive motorist parallels the author's recent discovery of Paul's Duke Ellington CDs under the passenger seat.
At one point, Vernon asks, "Was his life a waste of life?" Paul's obsession with pornography, his ham radio and the Internet were "amusements...of solitude and boredom." His preoccupations with instruments of communication are symbolic of a desperate man pining for an elusive acceptance. As Paul sits glued to the computer in pathetic self-exile, Vernon makes ineffectual stabs at conversation: "He looked up only if I stood in the doorway, and eventually I did--out of fraternal duty or to torture us both, I'm not sure which."
And there lies regret: ultimately, Reasons is atonement for a missed opportunity, though its lack of resolution leaves not solace, but an aching sadness. Paul's disintegration becomes one more mystery of life that Vernon, unlike the intrepid Robert Fludd or Jane Goodall, can't crack. In resigning himself, Vernon tellingly muses that "to be fully conscious of everything, of course, from the rivers of microorganisms we breathe in and out to the history of the shoehorn, would be a form of insanity." That statement's lesson - that the world and our loved ones occasionally escape our grasp - strikes to the heart of this work's disquieting power.
Luminous intelligence.......2004-04-20
Since we live in a democracy, readers like Jude Schmidt of Rockton, Illinois, USA, are free to share their views on literature with one and all. I'll try to be charitable and say he's simply the wrong reader for this book. Unfortunately, though, anyone coming to have a look A Book of Reasons will be tainted by his misinformation. As a writer friend of mine says, "You get a terrific review in the Times and it seems to disappear overnight, but some dim bulb writes in to Amazon and the comments stay forever and a day."
The fact is, John Vernon's, A Book of Reasons is a lovely and penetrating work. It doesn't easily fall into a genre-except perhaps personal essay or meditation. A few of the other reviewers below describe it well, so I'll simply add that it's constantly surprising, luminous in its sentence craft, informed by a close reading of dozens of other texts-history, biology, cosmology, poetry (his fascinating list of "works consulted" runs to twelve pages). And he avoids the easy pieties that often creep into memoirs. I'm enriched for having spent time with Vernon's mind and heart.
I ran into this book totally by accident-it was adjacent to something I was looking for in the Tacoma Public Library. Schmidt notes that he had a hard time finding it at major bookstores and department stores-but think of what he could find there, all the hot sellers, and the books that are just like all the other books. I want to weep when I think of the beautiful and different works like Vernon's that fall through the cracks. Whoever reads this review, take a chance on A Book of Reasons, and beyond that, challenge yourself to find others like it-books that don't fit the mold, that are written with great intelligence and a passionate concern for the power of language.
Best cure for Insomnia.......2000-06-27
The writer attempts to explain if his brother's life was worth living because he ended it so badly. He never answers some basic questions such as "Why did his brother only live with his grandmother" and "what made him so distant to his family". Why the writer chooses to go into such length about the history of the thermometer and the cosmos is beyond me. This book was chosen for my bookclub because of the previous comments and star rating. It should have been a hint to me how bad the book was when no library carried it, and I tried 2 major bookstores plus 3 department store and could only get this book by ordering it. Buy this book if you have trouble sleeping because out of 5 members of my club I was the only one who finished it and it took me forever!
Specific reasons for "A Book of Reasons".......2000-01-05
The cover illustration of one of Joseph Cornell's cryptic boxes, assembled from discarded junk, is an excellent visual metaphor for the way in which John Vernon approaches the topic of death, loss and an exploration of the reasons for living in this book. Vernon attempts to make sense, not so much of the death, but of the peculiar, eclectic life of his older brother. The binding threads among the disparate elements of Vernon's university career, his role as executor of his brother's estate, the brother's gradual withdrawal from social relationships and the junkpile life that he leaves behind, are brief excerpts from an old encyclopedia that describe the tools and techniques of empirical culture. Vernon profoundly explores the microcosm of American family and lifestyle in his examination of the microcosm of his brother's life and their disconnected and blundered relationship. From the opening pages of his excursion to the local Walmart to find a thermometer to mount on his recently dead brother's house, Vernon is adept at using his own frustration and experiences of cultural clutter as the divining rod to unravel the peculiarities of brother's secluded and repulsively littered life. Vernon uses metaphors like the thermometer throughout the text to observe and measure his own as well as our cultural climate and the ways in which we collect and treat objects and relationships in our supposedly educated and modern American culture. Vernon employs a masterful mix of humor, angst, revulsion, annoyance and fascinated curiousity in his exploration of grieving as a means to examine the many-layered questions of life and death. It is a refreshing exploration that avoids the usual religious and spiritual overtones of the subject, yet retains a profound metaphysical inquiry about self, other and culture that presses the reader to frame (and reframe) his/her own perspective and practices. Vernon uses metaphor and object representation as tools to explore the essential questions and impacts of life and lifestyle. If there is one flaw in this fascinating and engaging book it is the ending, which slips into a conventional approach that pushes the reader to accept the notion that no life is a waste. When Vernon takes us into mundane territory in such an unconventional way it is a bit disappointing that he ends on such a conventional note.
Interesting, odd, yet incomplete.......1999-12-07
John Vernon has the task of cleaning out his brother's house after his brother dies of a sudden illness. He discovers that his brother lived in an abyss of hopelessness and depression. This book is his attempt to come to terms with that discovery, and the questions of personal responsibility it raises for him. Should he have known how his brother was suffering? Could he have helped? Was he required to?
In the beginning Vernon tries to approach these daunting questions in a light-hearted search for the reasons. Why the thermometer, for instance? His musings along these lines are quite interesting. He meanders through all sorts of unrelated arcane lore looking for connections, for the reasons why things happen the way they do. Ultimately, however, he has to acknowledge that all of these reasons are beside the point. He says, finally, "Reasons do have a limit. Shall I offer a history of the Pepsi bottle, the cigarette, the milk carton, the rag? A history of bad smells? Even now, in memory, I feel buried like Paul, trapped in his house, surrounded by the waste of unexplained things."
This might have been a turning point in the narrative away from reasons to the limits of personal responsibility, but the author doesn't go there. He seems to withdraw into a kind of personal disgust that pushes away the responsibilities of love and kinship. He does not come to terms with his discovery, and this is the drama of the narrative. As this drama unfolds, however, I sense that it is no longer under Vernon's control. Vernon seems to drift to a place outside of human relationships, so that the book ends on a strange unresolved note.
Book Description
Known as the "Modern Toy" company from their trademark, the Masudaya Toy Company, Japan's oldest, was started in 1724 and is still in existence. The popular toys they have produced -- including aircraft, boats, cars, trucks, military vehicles, people, household appliances, space exploration, and much more -- depict real life events and have stimulated imaginations for centuries. This outstanding book is the first on Japan's leading toy maker and worldwide exporter. It features over 1200 photos of colorful and charismatic toys, most dating from the 1950s to the 1970s, the "Golden Age" of Japan's leading export. Toys produced into the early 1980s, including those for foreign markets, are included as well. Descriptions for over 1800 toys include their years of production, type of action, size, and current value. This essential reference guide will appeal to specialized and general toy collectors alike.
Customer Reviews:
Nice lay out!.......2005-12-06
I think this is a great book. A good selection of photos for the expert collector as well as for the beginner. Good to see reference material on items that you actually have a chance to find at a reasonable price.
It's all right............2005-11-19
As a long-time collector of Japanese tin toys, I'm always eager to acquire new reference works, especially where most of the illustrations are in color. This book is ok, taking into consideration that Modern Toys Company is more or less the Budweiser of the Japanese tin toy industry. The pictures are small but quite high quality. My main reservations lie with the overwhelming number of toys from the 1970s that are pictured. As far as I am concerned, this was the nadir of their industry and most Jap tin toys made in that period are at best mediocre. They incorporate inordinate amounts of plastic, pretty crude shapes and in general are reminiscent of modern Chinese tin.
I expect I'll keep the book mainly because I maintain an extensive reference library. But if you're expecting anything at all close to the superb Kitahara titles, be warned. There are a number of quality toys pictured, but not enough.
Why it was necessary (given the long history of Masudaya) to provide no fewer than 20 illustrations of the 1970s Overland Express or Hill Climber trains, which came in numerous slightly different shapes and colors, I cannot imagine. This toy and its versions may excite the totally clueless dealer who finds one and puts it on Ebay as "probably 50s", but it has zero appeal to collectors. Indeed, when one is searching for "Japan Trains" on Ebay one spends most of one's time skipping over the endless examples of the Overland/Hill Climber offered for sale; which incidentally hardly ever get any bids.
A large proportion of the toys in the book don't deserve coverage, I'm afraid to say. The Japanese made very few charmless toys up through the 60s, but they made up for lost time in the 70s.
Book Description
The telephone you stashed away in your attic years ago is likely to be a magnificent treasure today! Enjoy this wonderful depiction of innovative telephones in over 500 color photographs tracing the development of the telephone from Bell's first experimental equipment. The book pictures exquisite examples of wooden box phones, vanities, upright "candlesticks," and desk stand or "cradle" phones, including some Canadian and European models. This volume has become an important reference for the novice and avid telephone collector alike, with full descriptions of the numerous telephone companies and manufacturers and, in this 2nd edition, an updated value guide. This is the most expansive work ever compiled on collecting antique telephones, helping it become a growing and exciting hobby.
Customer Reviews:
Good reference book for US telephones.......2001-02-27
Kate Dooners book is refreshingly simple but full of good information. Well laid out, there are excellent photographs of telephones. She has categorised them easily so a prior knowledge of telephones is superfluous - hence this book has a lot of appeal to non professionals. The actual size of each portrayed phone is given in inches, the year of manufacture is noted and to round it off, current market value in US$.
The quality of the photographs are very good with details easily discernable consequently making it rather easy to identify whether Granny's old phone really is worth dispalying.
The only potential drawback is that the book has predominately American manufacturing companies and American phones. A similar book focusing on non US phones would be a wonderful companion and extremely valuable. Can't you imagine the same book with arabic or mandarin writing on the dials? Gilt, colours, different woods....
However in the meantime this book is a pleasure to browse through and for telephone amateurs and professionals well worth purchasing
Book Description
The first broad based survey and price guide for dog memorabilia of all breeds, this book presents a remarkable array of dog-related items dating from the early nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. From portraits to postcards, Staffordshire to celluloid, Berlin work to buttons, everything in this compendium of over 430 color photographs relates to dogs and the people who loved them. Conveniently divided into eight collecting areas--art, ceramics, metalwork, photography and paper, wood, needlework and textiles, jewelry, and miscellaneous--the antiques and collectibles clearly displayed and fully described in this enjoyable book represent accessible, affordable items for the mid-range collector. Also included is an introductory essay tracing the popularity of various dog breeds over an eighty year period. A useful bibliography for further research is paired with a detailed index, and value estimates are included for all items as well.
Customer Reviews:
A Treasure Chest of Information.......2000-11-14
It is my experience that most people collect neither figurines nor dog memorabilia. By no means does this render Robak's book useless to either the collector or ordinary reader. What I particulary enjoy is the book's organization based on the type of material used, like an art or museum book might be organized -- wood, metal, ceramic, glass, paper, textiles. Although some of the layout can only be categorized as "odd," the photos of such a wide array of items makes this as much a history book as a book for collectors. The short history of the popularity of dog breeds bears this out -- unpretentious and informative. The bibliography of books and periodicals would be a useful beginning for any researcher. I can only hope that Robak's attention to detail raises the caliber of other books like this, one of the best books I've seen from Schiffer Publishing.
Dog Antiques and Collectibles.......2000-10-25
If Robak's book were merely about figurines, it would be of little use to me. Instead, Dog Antiques and Collectibles is precisely what the title promises: A comprehensive, thoroughly researched, one-stop resource for the serious collector, with facts, illustrations and very useful price estimates. For me, this masterful text is indespensible.
Wonderful book.......2000-10-24
The first review on this list is obviously from a reader who did not understand the reason for the book. While I am sorry she is disappointed, she might want to consider spending the time, energy and money writing a book on "figurines" which seems to be her niche. Robak's book is gloriously profuse with examples of "Dogs in antiques" and gives a great overview of the subject. If the first reviewer had collected dog napkins, she would have been equally disappointed. The prices in Robak's book are reasonable references and the pics are wonderful.
Dog Antiques and Collectibles.......2000-07-12
A HUGE disappoitment. I have been waiting for a book on dog collectibles, especially figurines, for years and thought this was it. Only 3 pages on figurines with a total of 22 mentioned. Most of the other types of pieces described are originals, which are obviously already in a collection, or paper. My experience is that most people collect figurines and there is a sad lack of info on them. I found this book nearly useless.
Book Description
The New York Times bestselling author of Hot Pink-and the first lady of erotic romance-presents a sizzling new tale.
Stella Scott doesn't date customers. So when a superhero-in-the-flesh strolls into her comic book store, snapping up rare editions and insisting on taking her to dinner, she knows she's in trouble. It isn't long before Stella finds herself revising her little rule. But while she's having a blast between the sheets, there's no way she's going to let herself do something stupid...like fall head over heels in love. Hopefully it isn't too late...
Customer Reviews:
One of the worst books ever read..........2007-06-16
Preface...I understand this was supposed to be EROTICA, but at the same time, it was also supposed to be a romance.
This book had to be one of the lamest, stupidest romance books that I've ever read. I can't count the number of times I shook my head or snorted at something in this book. It was like and Ode to Casual Sex, or the poster child for bad relationships and utter crudeness. The entire book was (the characters) self-serving gratification and was basically just smut. Not that I'm saying smut is bad, it just didn't work for this supposed ROMANCE book. What a total waste of $8.
Romance wise...there was absolutely, positively nothing romantic about this book. The characters screw like bunnies, have fun and decide that means they are in love. Huh? Right! Like that's such a building block for a good relationship. They never have any real, in-depth conversations. They never get past the very basics. And we're supposed to believe they end up loving each other? I don't think so. The concept was ridiculous. And when I finished the book, it was like, who wants to bet they'd be divorced in less than 2 years?
The book is pretty much the characters pure self-gratification. Danny thinks Stella might be involved in industrial espionage in stealing his new video game. He's really ticked off, but decides he'd rather be able to sleep with her instead of confronting her. And Stella thinks Danny is some big-time drug dealer, but decides to rationalize it away because she doesn't want to give up his penis. Again, what kind of romance is that? Sheesh. It's just totally self-serving. And the language in this book...it was just utterly crude. I mean, I wasn't offended, but it was thoroughly non-romantic. I don't think I've read a book where the less polite words for body parts were used more than in this one. Danny refers to Stella's...body part...constantly in a vulgar way, even out loud. If a guy ever said some of things to me that he said to her, I'd smack him and send him on his way. It was just beyond crude for a supposed romance. Fine for hardcore smut, but not romance.
And some of the realism in this story? Good grief. Totally unbelievable. For one thing, anyone ever heard of protection? These two screw like bunnies and there's not one mention until the very end about protection. Danny is supposedly a total ladies man with no qualms about casual sex and one-night stands, which Stella knows. And Danny believes that Stella has a bevy of guys she screws regularly. Yet there's not one mention of condoms. Haven't they ever heard of diseases? Sheesh. These two were a walking ad for STD prevention, what not to do. Even if they were using condoms and it just wasn't said, they couldn't have been used right because they were going for consecutive rounds without breaks, or, uh, removal of body parts in between. That's a big condom no-no. Also, these 2 went at it like rabbits with a Viagra IV with an insane number of orgasms. Maybe it's just me...but their constant sexual activity without time for recovery seemed really unrealistic.
Plot...plot? Oh, right, the espionage thing. Can anyone say badly developed after thought?
There were probably other things I could mention, but those were the big points. Overall, just a really poor book. The sex was kind of hot, but everything else sucked. It's a good example of what a romance novel should NOT be. So I highly recommend not wasting your time or money on it, even if you can buy it used for a quarter.
Sexy, Cute and Fun.......2006-12-16
I have been reading reviews of this book and I have to say that I personally really liked it. It was the first Susan Johnson book I read and I found it fun and entertaining. Its meant to be a light-hearted book that is just there for enjoyment and some laughs.
*NOT SUSAN'S BEST*.......2006-07-22
I love Susan Johnson books! I buy everything she writes! Hot Spot was contemporary NOT historical, which I prefer. Quick read, light, entertaining. Some good sex. Hope this helps.
Sleazy Caper.......2006-07-04
About the only thing going for it was the setting, and the story line was ok. That's what drew me in the first place to pick it up, but...yuk.. The main characters had a totally one-track mind: sex and more sex. Trashy. Randy robots. No real brains. No romance. Mindless sexual musings. The worst "graphic novel" ever written. Don't waste your money, esp. the teens who undoubtedly will be drawn to the sexy-cute cover: wht's in between the covers is NOT for sweet sixteen!! Watchers of Sex and the City would blush...or throw up.
Don't screw angry..........2006-06-22
This book focuses on the one thing I DON'T like about Susan Johnson's books... Angry sex. I've been reading her books for years and there is usually one scene that focuses on two people who are angry enough to do violence deciding to jump each other instead. In this book, that's about all you get. The background story line was so weak it was forgetable and there was no intimacy between the two mains. This book was a mindless cover-to-cover fight and screw with an ending so forgetable I had to go back an hour later because I couldn't remember if I finished it or not.
Book Description
A comprehensive and abundantly illustrated collection of the most outstanding modern furniture around the world. Now with a guide to current values, this is an indispensible book for collectors, architects, designers, and furniture historians. Over 1000 of the most innovative designs are shown, many of which have become classics of the late-twentieth century. Pieces range from simple modern chair to large pieces and installations. It covers the range of modern materials from wood to plastic, steel to Lucite.
Customer Reviews:
Enjoyable.......2000-04-25
After buying four Hans Wegner chairs, I wanted to learn more about these chairs and similar furniture. This book has been a wonderful, educational find. It is simply organized into sections with interesting introductions and has nice black-and-white photographs of the furniture. Each picture lists the name of the designer, his/her country or origin, and the year the piece was designed. This makes it easy to compare designers of the same period working in different countries, or comparing a designer's earlier and later pieces. We have enjoyed spending time becoming acquainted with the masters of mid-century furniture design.
One complaint I have about the book is that it lists the values of each piece of furniture. This is a somewhat fruitless endeavor since values are so relative--changing monthly or even daily, especially as you search in different parts of the country, or world.
But, this book is a lot of fun for those who are interested in learning more about modern furniture. And, by the way, I did find my chairs in the book!
Enjoyable.......2000-04-25
After buying four Hans Wegner chairs, I wanted to learn more about these chairs and similar furniture. This book has been a wonderful, educational find. It is simply organized into sections with interesting introductions and has nice black-and-white photographs of the furniture. Each picture lists the name of the designer, his/her country or origin, and the year the piece was designed. This makes it easy to compare designers of the same period working in different countries, or comparing a designer's earlier and later pieces. We have enjoyed spending time becoming acquainted with the masters of mid-century furniture design.
One complaint I have about the book is that it lists the values of each piece of furniture. This is a somewhat fruitless endeavor since values are so relative--changing monthly or even daily, especially as you search in different parts of the country, or world.
But, this book is a lot of fun for those who are interested in learning more about modern furniture. And, by the way, I did find my chairs in the book!
Books:
- Hachiko Waits
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- Horse Sense for People
- How Dogs Think: What the World Looks Like to Them and Why They Act the Way They Do
- How to Keep Koi: An Essential Guide (Interpet Handbooks)
- How to Raise a Puppy You Can Live With
- If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (If You Give...)
Books Index
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Blue Book of Gun Values
2006 Standard Catalog Of Firearms: The Collector's Price & Reference Guide 16th Edition
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