5 comments about Jewelry & Gems the Buying Guide: How to Buy Diamonds, Pearls, Colored Gemstones, Gold & Jewelry With Confidence And Knowledge (Jewelry and Gems the Buying Guide).

1. With the help, guidelines and information from this incredible book I finally felt I could shop for jewelry with confidence and a "sense of experience".



2. A friend recommended this book and I'm so glad she did! So informative and easy to understand--even for a novice like me! I now have more confidence when I buy jewelry and know what questions to ask a jeweler before I decide to buy. Great book!



3. If you are buying jewelry/gems for any occasion and don't exactly know what you are doing, this book is a great start. The section on colored gemstones was particularly helpful, as it is harder to find good information on them. The book is definitely a keeper as it can be used for many different purchases.



4. Excellent! This is hands down the best book on the market for the beginning gemstone buyer.



5. This is a nice book. If you are looking for a good breakdown on what to look for when buying you may find it here. It talks about many types of stones and jewelry, but not enough in some areas.

5 comments about Americana the Beautiful: Mid-century Culture in Kodachrome.

1. Charles Phoenix has done it again! We've loved each of his books, and the last few we've bought almost as soon as he released them. This one has even more of Charles' trademark old, but crisp, bright and clear, color Kodakchrome slides, all taken by amateur photographers like you and me (or our parents and grandparents!), from all across America, and all with brief, nondistracting, colorful, very witty and informative commentary. It's a perfect gift for a "Fourth of July" Party. You'll laugh as well as be a little saddened by this colorful, visual reminder of our treasured, more innocent and playful past. Cheers and thanks once again to Charles Phoenix. And if you get a chance, check out his website and go see one of his hilarious live shows or tours.



2. Another selection of snaps rescued by Charles Phoenix just before they might have ended up in the local landfill. In the same format as his excellent 'Southern Californialand' (ISBN 1883318424) and so much better than the earlier 'God Bless Americana' book. The two hundred amateur slides feature a rich seam of everyday life full of white middle class detail (which of course does raise the question: didn't colored folk take photos back then or perhaps they never junk them).
   
   Overall I thought the photo selection was fascinating and grouping them in themes worked well. The last few pages have some intriguing architectural and transport slides like the 1964 flying saucer style State Capitol Bank in Oklahoma City or the late fifties General Motors Aerotrain pulling into a station. On page thirty-six onward there are several pages of people at home showing all kinds of domestic activity, food on tables, kitchens, watching home movies or just enjoying company. It's interesting looking at these photos because they are so unlike anything taken by professionals though sometimes the composition, lighting and color does lift them out of the mundane.
   
   Like 'Southern Californialand' the editorial format works well with photos one to a page, allowing for a deep caption or several slides butted together. My only criticism is that sometimes out of focus images are too large, for example the soft-focus Jefferson Drive-in on page ninety-seven would have worked better much smaller or even rejected. Also captions frequently describe in words what the reader can obviously see in the picture but fortunately many of them also have plenty of historical background detail about things in the photos.
   
   Charles Phoenix has hit on a successful publishing genre and there surely will be more titles to come but until the next one you can follow the latest finds on his website.
   
   ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.



3. Americana the Beautiful is a trip down memory lane; especially for us Baby Boomers.
   
   These old shapshots are great! What a wonderful trip we took every summer when we visited my mother's family in South Carolina. Remember those luggage racks on station wagons? I remember being on the New Jersey Turnpike one time and luggage thtat was tied to the roof blew off. Dad had to pull our station wagon to the side of the road and pick up a suitcase full of diapers for my younest brother!
   
   I have fond memories of the Dairy Queen and the Good Humor mah. The smell was sweet mixed with raw exhaust fumes! What great times those were!



4. l have always been fascinated by the 1950s, it was like no other era in history,The American dream, good old fashion values, and families.It was portrayed as an era of blissful harmony and peacful existence for all. When l came across this book by charles phoenix, l was delighted, you cannot be amazed by this book of ordinary people, capturing their lives, on film in excellent quality. The fact that these pictures still remain, in wonderful quality taken by amateur photographers is truefully historical. If you never lived through the 1950s, and l didnt, because lm 35 years old, and your only glimpse of this era is in the movies, then this book is a real gem. His other book, californialand, is equally great book, which he showes more of these great photos of ordinary people living in the 50s. Great historical books.



5. There is nothing like great images and insight to bring back a long ago era. This book does a great job at setting the stage! Buy it and enjoy!

5 comments about Oriental Carpets: A Complete Guide - The Classic Reference (Oriental Carpets).

1. Easy to use and I think a must for anyone seriously wishing to acquire a sound knowlege of oriental rugs whatever his or her aims. Delighted with the clear and elegant text. Good image collection too.



2. Bought for myself as a tool to help teach myself about Persian rugs, this book is so wonderful I gave it as a housewarming present to a friend of mine, freshly divorced who is decorating his new house. Perfect! The authors, the Murray Eilands Jr. and III, a father and son team, are experts in their field. The father, a practicing psychiatrist in California, has been studying and collecting Oriental rugs for almost 40 years, and his son has a doctorate from Oxford in Near Eastern archeology (including textile development), so you would be learning from very special, knowledgeable accomplished folks who love their textiles and rugs. I recommend this book highly.



3. A veritable stream of meaningless gibberish masquerading as fount of knowledge, this book is the benchmark in specious academicism. With his bias firmly planted in the Caucusus, the author skips merrily past the last century of rug design, and completely dismisses Turkish curvilinear rugs altogether. This book is trumpeted in the industry as being the first and last word on the subject. In my estimation, it is the clarion call for a more gifted author to prepare an unbiased, unpretentious, and well-researched book on the subject. If you've read Ford's "Oriental Carpet Design" then you know that the call has already been heeded.



4. This is an excellent way to learn about rugs from top to bottom -- it eases you slowly into a comprehensive knowledge of rugs. I feel that this will help me greatly in my work - I just started doing customer service for a rug company. Great buy to anyone who wants to be educated thoroughly on the business of rugs.



5. This book is a good introduction to rug basics, with rich illustration and good coverage of the main carpet-producing regions in Asia and the Middle-East. However, the book leaves much to be desired as a genuine tool to help one actually collect rugs. It gives out basic information in a general lecture-like fashion (which is not necessarily a bad thing), but does not really make an effort at reaching out to the reader in terms of the actual experience of buying/handling/trading carpets (which is definitely a bad thing). One glaring weakness is the paucity of information on Central Asian rugs outside of Turkmenistan (arguably because the book was written at a time when Central Asia was not as easily accessible as it is now). There is also, it must be said, a somewhat superior tone to the writing that is not necessary and does take away from the pleasure of reading on the subject. Still, all things considered, this is a valuable book to own.

2 comments about Lincoln Cents Folder #2, 1941-1974.

1. holds the coins in nice and snug. kids love this. best advise get a magnifying glass to read the coinsand mint marks



2. My son (7) loved collecting the state quarters so now we're expanding into collecting other coins. This Penny folder was the perfect next step! He also got Dime and Nickel books from his uncle and he and his father sit around with his piggy bank going through the change to fill these books up! And they are so inexpensive, we will be getting more.

5 comments about Detecting the Fakes.

1. This book is a very helpful guide for helping to separate the fake items from the real ones out there. The hundreds of pictures included in the book wonderfully illustrate the points made in the text. The "Miscellaneous Regalia" section could have been larger and more inclusive but what is included gives good examples of how far people will go to forge items, especially written documents. The book should be very helpful to anyone who purchases it and will be indespensible for the beginning collector.



2. If you are going to collect 3rd Reich militaria this book is a must. The biggest drawback is the lack of short glossary explaining some of the terms and how to determine certain kinds of metal. For example: if an item is made out of "tombak" how do I differentiate that from zinc or aluminium. All photos in B&W, color would have been nice. All this aside this book seems to be the best book on the market on the subject.



3. Since there is no other book on the market which provides such essential basics to becoming a knowledgeable collector I rate this book very high. If you intend on getting into the fun of collecting Nazi era memorabilia this is the first book you should get your hands on. Don't buy anything until you read this book. Chances are if you take this book with you when your looking for Third Reich Militaria you will at least end up with an original and not a fake. Without this book it's buyer beware.



4. Great tool for collectors. After the book I found out I had at least one fake. Great help when look for other pieces for the collection. Pictures and diagrams and explations what to look for is a must.



5. Covers basic information on detecting fakes. If the pictures were in colour it would help a lot more as some fakes have different colours. Overall an alright book for beginners. There are a lot more higher quality fakes out there that this book doesnt cover.

3 comments about Tiffany Colored Gems.

1. This is an excellent book for people who love gemstone jewelery. The introduction provides a great historical recap of some notable gemstones. Then there are sections arranged by the color of the gemstones (ie. Purple: Amethyst & Kunzite and Blue: Saphires, Aquamarine,etc.). Each section provides some of the most beautiful photographs and drawings of modern and antique gemstone jewelry. All photos and drawings are in brilliant color and clear, crisp detail. There is also a glossary with the definitions and description of the gemstones. The Gem Index provides the Moh's harness scale of each gem. I highly recommend this book if you love jewelry. It is a great coffee table book / eye candy book / wish book / jewelry reference book.



2. Very good book, but not as great as Loring's other book "Tiffany Diamonds."
   A little heavy on Paloma Picasso's jewelry, but she did do some great stuff for Tiffany.



3. As always, John Loring does a smash-up job with his new book on the colored gems of Tiffany. Gorgeous photos,great history and a perfect accompanment to "Tiffany Pearls".
   Highly recommended for the jeweler or jewelry fanatic.
   Aurea Jewels

2 comments about Janice VanCleave's 201 Awesome, Magical, Bizarre, & Incredible Experiments (Science for Every Kid).

1. Looking for simple experiments which are always successful? Janice VanCleave's books provide just that approach. And 201 Awesome, Magical, Bizarre and Incredible Experiments adds to her large collection of published experiments. The title is misleading as the experiments are not very unusual. But the experiments are simple and most use readily-available materials. Good scientific explanations accompany each experiment. The book would benefit by some emphasis on the inquiry-approach to science and encouraging (rather than discouraging) changing variables during the experiments...The Science Spiders(TM) Newsletter.



2. This is the book that really helped me with all my projects they have all been a succes. Thanks to this book I have gone to many science fairs.

5 comments about DC: World War III.

1. With all the wonderful ideas and themes springing out of 52, there had to be a place to dump all the ideas not good enough for 52. This seems to be the designated compost heap. Some fair art, large fight scenes but no cogent plot to be followed. Definitely not worth the money.



2. I have been reading about the contents of this comic book for some time now, and I was eagerly anticipating its release. However, after finishing it, I was severely disappointed. The narration by the Martian Manhunter was heavily cliched and far too verbose. At times, the converging story lines made little sense, and they seemed inappropriate/unnecessary.
   
   I felt that this story had a great deal of potential, but it was too convoluted in the end.



3. Martian Manhunter is among my favorite characters and for that reason alone this story gets three stars. After the tragic events that unfolded in the pages of 52, Vol. 4. The story is very up and down with many storylines that are hard to keep straight in I can't honestly recomand this story unless you just want the complete collection of 52.



4. From the pages of 52 and backup stories of JSA, the story of Black Adam reaches its climax when he once again faces a gigantic loss, and loses his own mind in desperation. The "third-person" perspective from Martian Manhunter, and the parallel stories from 52, makes this story immersive and completely different from other linear comic stories.
   
   A "must have" for any comic-book fan.



5. While I love Black Adam and his dark side, this story focused more on the bang and left very little to the character. The story does do a good job of filling in missing pieces of the 52 saga and the outlying stories, but it comes across as rushed and left me dissatisfied. Is it me, or does it seem during the battle in China that it takes two days for a character attacking Black Adam to get there?
   
   There are continuity errors during the final battles, and it seemed like there were two separate endings to Black Adam. He's getting attacked by Captain Marvel one day only to disappear, and then getting attacked again a couple of days later to disappear again. Maybe I didn't read it right the first five times, or maybe the continuity didn't add up.
   
   If you like to see Black Adam throw his power around and take down heroes, this is the book for you. If you like your stories to make sense, you might want to borrow this from a friend. Or I can mail you mine.

5 comments about 390 Traditional Stained Glass Designs (Dover Pictorial Archive Series).

1. This book is great for traditional patterns, specially for the ones from Great Bretain. It shows different types of patterns depending on the period of influence, like Edwardian, Art Deco and others. I wished the patterns showed some color!!!!



2. I've been looking for ideas for simple patterns; this book helped me a lot!



3. This is an excellent resource book for stained glass artisans. It has a variety of styles and eras in easy to duplicate drawings. Projects range from easy to intricate, designs (in some instances) can be mixed and matched.
   
   Dover has a good selection of stained glass books which provide wonderful references to many and varied types of stained glass design.



4. This book is not my cup of tea, but it's great for someone who's looking for a design from a certain era. The book is broken down by the different eras or styles: Victorian Geometric, Art Nouveau, Victorian Floral, Edwardian, and 1920's. All the designs have a lot of horizontal and vertical lines in them. Also, it's all in black and white so you have to use your imagination to color it. The back of the front cover and back cover has examples in color.



5. The cover gives 14 color examples. The 78 pages are packed with
   an average of 8 black and white outlines to a page.
   This is a lot of ideas but would be challenging to enlarge for
   pattern making. A limited range of symetric styles are divided
   into four groups.

5 comments about Just Can't Get Enough: Toys, Games, and Other Stuff from the 80s that Rocked.

1. I bought this book before Thanksgiving this year and after reading it through myself, I had to take it back home with me for the holiday. My cousins and I sat around reading out loud many of the hilarious comments about all the toys we loved growing up and laughing at all the ridiculous (or should I say redonkulous?) toys from our youths. The book jogged our memories on all the toys we couldn't remember on our own now and really made us long for the silliness of the toys of the 80s. It's a hilarious book and really fun to sit around with friends and just remember the good times with the redonkulous toys of the 80s. (and for the record, I STILL want the U.S.S. Flag!!)



2. I am a big 80's fan and this book seemed interesting so I figured that I would give it a shot. I am soo glad that I did. I love the writers sarcasm and memories about the toys mentioned in this book. The book is like a trapper keeper, with the opening on the side. There are 32 toys mentioned in this book. I think I'm a little to young to remember some of them , but I know most of them. I showed the book to my brother who just flipping through it was laughing. It was so fun to talk about the toys.



3. After buying this book for my brother for Christmas (which he loved too btw) I Got this book yesterday for myself and read it all last night:):):) it's exactly what I was looking for a great nostalgia filled trip down memory lane....I thought I was a complete 80's geek but some stuff in this book I hadn't even heard of.....even though it's written by two guys and has a lot of "boy" toys....there were still all the major "girl" toys in there too....and I loved the candid stories they shared especially the babysitters club and punky brewster doll (sorry action figure) too cute:):):)it is nicely set out and presented really well.....a great gift for 80's children everywhere:):)I hope they will do another one from the 80's tv shows/fads etc.....and even the 90's too:):):)good job guys:):)



4. There's a certain innocence about the 80's that seems very transparent by today's standards. But in the 80's... we all thought that we were living a revolution of cutting edge pop culture. Little did we know that those years would pale in comparison to the childhood trends of the 90's & 2000's. I really believed that I had dismissed from my mind most of the decade and rightly so, it seemed so 20 something years ago. But honestly this book made me really appreciate what I had forgotten. Being a kid of the Reagan Era, I lived through the 90's thumbing my nose at most of these pop culture icons (and listening to grudge rock). I bought "Just Can't Get Enough" as a passing fancy (being a follower of vintage toys), not knowing that the personal stories and memories of the authors would be the gems within.
   
   The Book Itself - It's pretty neat really. The chapters are each a certain 80's icon, divided into small subsections with titles like, "The Story" or "The Products" or "What Does It All Mean?" All of this wrapped up in a suedo-Trapper Keeper style cover with a velcro clasp. When reading the chapters, you begin to appreciate how much time and effort was put into this book. With chapters devoted to Transformers, He-Man, Madballs, Scratch N' Sniff stickers, Garbage Pail Kids, etc., the book gives equal focus, regardless of obscurity. I particularly liked the toys that I remembered fondly from childhood, but also enjoyed the great details about toys I never knew - i.e. Pogo Ball or "Pogo Bal" as the writers note humorously. The authors treat us to most of the usual suspects of the decade, but there are a few rarely honored candidates such as Crossbows And Catapults, Choose Your Own Adventure books, and Hit-Stix among others. Also, there are some obvious misses such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Ghostbusters, Gremlins, Get Along Gang, Shirt Tales, Smurfs, Pound Puppies, etc. Hopefully these oversights make way for a follow-up volume. But what you do get makes up for anything not included. First thing you will notice is the great writing style. I particularly like the sarcastic overtone that seems to permeate from every page, pure "Gen X" humor at its best. These authors go to great lengths to make each chapter witty and nostalgic. In fact, if you are unable to feel an overwhelming sense of nostalgia after reading this book, then you most likely were born after Operation Desert Shield... or during the hay days of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. Whether you relive the 80's regularly or haven't looked back since 1990 - this book is going to trigger fond memories... or at least jar something loose from the painfully hidden recesses of the mind.
   
   My Personal Reaction - I found myself on several occasions laughing out loud. My girlfriend seemed frustrated with me continually interrupting her TV watching by loudly exclaiming, "listen to this" as I read aloud large passages time and time again. Finally she picked up the book, which was a big mistake for me... since it took me quite a while to get it back. She appreciated different sections (the My Little Pony, Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Brite). It was like going to Toys 'R Us from your childhood; you either were in the boys section or over in the pink section if you were a girl - no matter which, it was fun. So I can say, there is something for everyone, boys and girls alike. Personally, I was pleasantly surprised by my fascination with chapters like the game Guess Who?, which I actually hated as a child. The more ridiculous the idea the funnier the commentary became as the authors put it all in perspective. And when I say perspective, I mean being a 20 something or 30 something adult. There is some crude humor in here that is not at all pointed to the young kids we once were. But honestly, do we expect any children today to even bother reading this? I can plainly put that to rest - kids today would never "get" what this book is about. Once you start reading, remember this isn't just a book about the items; it's a book about how they all relate to us - the children of the 80's. So don't get caught up expecting a long treatise on the history of everything 1980's, that's not what it's about.
   
   Final Thoughts - I read this only wanting more. The only fix for your "jonesing" would be to share this with others. If you buy this book, then don't forget to invite your other Gen X friends or siblings or whoevers to a fun filled day in the way-back machine. I highly recommend this book as a fan of humor and 80's pop culture. But, if you only want to see details of 80's toys - minus the nifty sarcasm, then check out Action Figures of the 1980s (Schiffer Book for Collectors) - it's loaded with great pictures. But be warned, that book doesn't have a one-tenth the laughs of "Just Can't Get Enough." If the authors do nothing else, then this book is still a masterpiece in its own right and worthy of a notable writing career. I hope this isn't the end though; there are plenty of unvisited pop culture products still lurking in our memories for "Just Can't Get Enough"... Volume 2.



5. great purchase for any kid at heart who grew up in th 80's. could've been more inclusive. may i suggest a part 2?