5 comments about Fountain Pens Past & Present (Fountain Pens Past and Present).

1. This is a very informative book and a must have for collectors. It provides a sound foundation on a wide variety of fountain pens, their value and is an invaluable general reference for any collector. I find myself opening it at lease weekly.



2. As a beginner collector I found the book very usefull. It helps you organize and plan your collection. But also don't miss Fountain pens of the World by Andreas Lambrou. It's is expensive but it's a "must have".



3. This book does help identify pens to some extent. It often takes extensive looking to find information the reader doesn't already know.



4. As a novice collector, I found this book extremely helpful. The pictures
   are fantastic and it covers the history of all the pen companies. Having the price guide is very helpful to get an idea of value. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in fountain pens...Paul Erano
   got it right!



5. An excellent book for those folks, like me, new to the Fountain Pen Collecting hobby. Does a good job comprehensively covering the development of the fountain pen while showing many differenct models from different companies. Lots of additional information as well. I was happy to meet the author, Paul Erano, at my first pen show in Raleigh NC earler this month. He autographed my book and I enjoyed seeing the real pens at the show. Just reading this book got me plenty of background knowledge and made the show far more enjoyable and taught me good questions to ask while acquiring pens. Organization might be improved some, but overall highly recommended.

3 comments about The Art of Pixar: 100 Collectible Postcards.

1. When I bought this, I was expecting them as the description states, coiled and in a box. When they arrived, to my suprise, they are not coil bound at all, but each postcard is loose and kept inside the box. This was great, as I was planning on putting some of these in frames around the house anyways.
   
   The price....let me tell you, they are worth it. If you work it out, thats about 17¢ each, where most generic postcards go for $1 or more. The artwork covers all the features and shorts from Pixar to date, including their upcoming feature Cars.
   
   After showing these to my animation collegues, they agree, this is one purchase you cannot be without if you are a lover of Pixar's work.



2. This was a great set of postcards, real high quality paper stock. My intention was to use them to mail to my nephew away at school, but once my kids saw the cards, they all took some for their walls to hang. With 100 cards there is plenty to go around. My favorite is the old man from the toy story shorts...



3. I am very pleased with these cards - sketches, posters & scenes from movies. I will have fun sending these. And, 100! What a price for 100 cards!

3 comments about In the Cockpit: Inside 50 History-Making Aircraft.

1. This book is beautiful! I saw it at Borders today. Even if you are not interested in cockpits you should pick up this book. Cockpits are interesting and these are some of the most famous aircraft of all time.
   
   BEAUTIFUL photography. In addition to the photos I really enjoyed the nostalgic look and feel to the book. A very cool book indeed by two of the world's best aircraft photographers. No wonder they work at the Smithsonian...
   
   David Palermo



2. The book looks interesting and the concept is solid. If you're into flying and especially old planes this glimpse into so many cockpits should prove of more than passing interest. That said, it's a sign of the times that even the Smithsonian Institute would stoop to some dubious marketing. If you enlarge the cover photo you'll see that John Tavolta's name is in large print just below the title. Indeed Mr. Travolta did write the forward, all five sentences of it. Literally, five generic sentences that offer nothing more than cover tease to snag some buyer interest. If you do buy the book at least lend it to those who only have a mild interest and let the Smithsonian know that they should have more integrity than promoting products with cheap celebrity hype. Since comments here must be accompanied by a rating, I'll leave it at 3 as a neutral comment.



3. Gave this as a gift to my pilot father and he loved it. Perfect choice for anyone who aprreciates these aircraft. Great pictures and cover design!

5 comments about Blue Book Dolls and Values, 16th Edition (Blue Book Dolls and Values).

1. Although the Blue Book is the avid doll collectors' favorite price guide, it contains numerous categories that have not been updated for quite a number of years. China, parian, papier mache, and wooden, some of the earliest dolls in existence, have been gaining in popularity for several years now and the market prices, both at auction and online have been rising considerably. The Blue Book has not caught up with this trend.
   
   Also, it would be extremely helpful if there were a comprehensive section that described the methods used in compiling the information as well as the sources of this information. Some of the prices are so far off the mark in actual market prices realized, that it makes the professional wonder if the numbers are merely picked out of blue sky.
   
   The book is well structured and is the easiest to use on a daily basis, of all the price guides, however, serious updating and a description of the price compilation process, would improve it immensely.



2. THE resource for all your doll questions on values and dolls.



3. I am formilair with this book. It is a great book IF you know the name of your doll. If you don't it is not a good one for you.



4. I bought this book to help me determine the value of a collection of high quality dolls that my aunt wants to help her sell. Our of five doll designers, only one of the designers was even listed in her book. This was a waste of my money, for sure!



5. Very helpful book - have really been enjoying this book as I have wanted this book for years, finally got it!

5 comments about The Coffin Dancer (A Lincoln Rhyme Novel).

1. Alexander Adams did a marvelous job of reading this book on tape. It was a really great mystery novel with Lincoln and Sachs doing their best to catch the culprit(s). If you watched the movie, the BONE COLLECTOR with Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie, you know the characters and these Lincoln Rhyme novels are excellent. I picked up another book on tape by Deaver, PRAYING FOR SLEEP, read by Connor O'Brien and the reader is really not high quality. If you've listened to books on tape and heard readings by the likes of Frank Muller or George Guidall or the reader of the Stuart Woods novels, then you know what great readers are like. When you get a dud reader, it destroys the books. Although I've become a fan of Deaver's with this book and the Bone Collector movie, I'm afraid I'll have to bypass any "listening" of these books read by O'Brien.
   
   Having said that, this is a great story of a very perverse and brilliant villain and a woman who loses nearly everything dear in her life because she's on the assassin's list. You'll love it, Deaver's done a great job with this one!



2. I have read a number of Deavers books and he always keeps me in suspense until the end of the book. I would definitely recommend this book and put it up there with Michael Connely, James Patterson and other such authors. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.



3. 
   No spoilers
   
   The Coffin Dancer is a pretty good follow up to Bone Collector, but it's definitely not as good. Actually the path of the books is very different. In Bone Collector, it's all about the antagonist leaving all sorts of crazy evidence just waiting to see if the law can put it all together and get on his trail. However, in Coffin Dancer there is almost no evidence whatsoever and Rhyme is having a tought time catching a break on getting a lead on the antagonist.
   
   As I was reading, I kept thinking that Bone Collector was better and that while this book was good, it wasn't all that great, but at the end there are two huge twists that you will not at all see coming. I promise you. If you see these coming... well you won't and if you say you did then you're a liar. If you're thinking of continuing the Rhyme series, I definitely suggest you do so, because I am.



4. I love Jeff Deaver's books in general and this one was excellent! Lincoln is one of my favorite fictional characters. Deaver never disappoints when it comes to suspense, twists and character development.



5. I didn't really care for THE COFFIN DANCER very much. Jeffrey Deaver is obviously a very intelligent author, but I didn't feel that much of an emotional connection to this book's storyline and its large cast of mostly stereotypical characters. For the most part, this was a rather colorless read, with a lot of action scenes and research on forensics, but not very much heart.
   
   Further, most of the dialogue is quite stilted and the action scenes have a unbelievable, contrived quality. There's a bit of romance in this book, but the "love triangle" scenes struck me as forced and inauthentic. I would not recommend this novel to someone who cares deeply about good dialogue and characterization.
   
   There are two very clever plot twists at the end of THE COFFIN DANCER, but they weren't enough to save the book for me. Clearly, I'm in the minority when it comes to Jeffrey Deaver's novels, since he obviously has a very large fan base. If you're never read Deaver before, I suggest reading THE BONE COLLECTOR, which is the first novel featuring his recurring character of Lincoln Rhyme.

5 comments about Everyday Fashions of the Twenties as Pictured in Sears and Other Catalogs (Sears Catalogs).

1. If you love fashion from the 1920's or just saw "Chicago" and would like more background on it,this is a worthwhile book to flip through. Some the pics are not the best quality and childrens clothes are only on one page. However, You really do,get an idea of what the average person wore back then,which may surprise some readers.All in all, A decent book for fashion history buffs.



2. Great book. I used it to come up with a 20's custume for a party. Loved the book. Great graphics.



3. This is a very useful source book for every day clothing, particularly things like men's clothes,kid's outfits, maid uniforms, and other things that aren't the high fashion clothing that many books feature. I design theater costumes, and have found this very helpful.



4. A great source of information on the cloths worn by ordinary people of this time period.
   
   Pity people don't dress like this anymore.



5. This is a great book if you're looking for an overview of fashions from 1909 to 1930, concentrating on clothes available from Sears catalogs of the period. The book includes women's, men's, children's, and infant's clothing. The text is entertaining to read. I was a little disappointed that there were not more examples of fashion in the 20's. Nevertheless, it is an informative and fun book to refer to if you have an interest in period fashion

5 comments about The Talented Mr. Ripley.

1. The Talented Mr. Ripley is the best fictional representation of a sociopath that I have ever encountered. This book does a great job of showing how the sociopathic mind works and preys on normal people. It really is a case of a wolf that looks like a sheep being loose in a crowded pasture. Patricia Highsmith was familiar to me through her wonderful, dark, disturbing and offbeat short stories such as The Snail-Watcher, The Day of Reckoning, and The Terrapin. This was the first of her many novels that I have read and I am certainly planning to read others in the future. I had seen an excellent movie version of Ripley's Game called The American Friend (Wim Wenders, director) and so was interested in the Ripley character. All of the characters in this novel are entirely believable, if not particularly sympathetic. The European locations are nicely described. A curious effect, that I imagine is a sign of a good writer, is that I found myself hoping that Ripley would somehow pull through his excruciating fixes even though I knew he should be caught and punished. By the end of the book, I also found myself identifying with him in some of his ungenerous and extravagant views of his fellow human beings. Strange.



2. It has been quite a few years since cracking this novel's covers once again. After seeing the excellent film adaptation with Matt Damon as the infamous Mr. Ripley, returning to the novel had been at the top of the list. As the "must read" pile slowly diminished, Highsmith's novel appeared and have read it with the same pleasure and suspense as the first encounter. This is a great `classic' in the truest sense of the word.
   
   Having read all five novel's in the series, the first instalment is without question the best of the lot...a close second would have to be Ripley Underground and interestingly, the last novel of the series, The Boy Who followed Ripley. Let's face the fact that all of the novels are exceptional pieces of crime fiction, introducing the first schizophrenic murderer, a serial killer with a likable and charming personality. In the crime genre, at least, Tom Ripley is the anti-hero that everybody loves and wants to succeed despite his ruthless machinations to achieve his goals. In crime fiction, this was original, and never really has been duplicated since.
   
   At the start of this novel, the reader recognizes that Ripley is a tad on the criminal side, engaging in tax fraud, realizing he would never cash the embezzled checks; he merely does it for the challenge and thrill. He's asked to go over seas to persuade a certain Dicky Greenleaf to come back to the States and join his family. Father Greenleaf pays all of Ripley's expenses and he travels abroad to the beautiful town of Mongibello, Italy. One incident leads to another; Dicky rejects Ripley's friendship over a frumpy girl, Marge, and, out of the blue, Tom murders him on a small motor boat with the end of a wooden oar. This murder is savage and brutal but effective, though Ripley's conscience is clear as he becomes Dicky Greenleaf, assuming Dickies identity with frightening skill.
   
   What makes this story unique and compelling is Highsmith's writing, narrating the tale in the third person but from Ripley's perspective only, and giving us a glimpse into the mind of a sociopath and ruthless killer.
   
   To be fair, Tom Ripley is indeed a likable character, an individual of good taste in art, food and anything of beauty. He teaches himself Italian, French and later German to ensure his schemes come off without a hitch. In the later novels, he has acquired a magnificent French mansion, filled with original art and co-habituating with a beautiful and rich young woman. He also, in the later novels becomes an expert gardener, spending hours on his lavish property. We really like this man but, be aware, because he turns and kills, without a second thought, when it suits his plans or thwarts his carefully laid out schemes. Never get in this man's way.
   
   Ripley is a dangerous individual, a man who views the world in a much different way than the rest of us. Although a true psychopath, Highsmith has made the reader like the guy, hoping, for some reason, that he gets away with whatever crime he's committing... very strange, original and terribly seductive.
   
   If you have not read Highsmith before, read the Ripley series, particularly The Talented Mr. Ripley, and if you are hooked, the novels can be read over again through the years because, like all true art, these novels are timeless.
   
   
   
   
   
   



3. THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY is about Tom Ripley, a strange, unhappy young man living in New York. From the beginning, we sense that there is something off about Tom, though it isn't until later on that we can begin to guess. He is persuaded by the wealthy business tycoon Herbert Greenleaf to go to Italy to persuade Greenleaf's son, Richard (Dickie) to come home and assume his family's responsibilities, while Greenleaf finances his voyage and expenses. Tom views the voyage as a chance to start over, and accepts. When Tom arrives in Italy, he is immediately taken by the generous, free-spirited Dickie and develops a quick hate for his the woman living with him, Marge Sherwood. The nature of their relationship is ambigiuos, but Marge's unrequited love for Dickie does not escape the watchful Tom. While Tom grows very popular with Dickie, Marge becomes very suspicious, and leads Dickie to question the nature of Tom's feelings toward him. Tom's desperate need to be liked by Dickie, whose independence he idolizes, leads to desperate feelings of rejection when Dickie begins to realize the strangeness of Tom's character. Full with contempt, Tom plans to kill Dickie on the train to San Remo, on their goodbye trip, and does so in a boat. He soon assumes Dickie's identity, writing to Marge and the elder Greenleafs and living Dickie's life, the life he wished he had. But soon the murder of the American and good friend of Dickie, Freddie Miles, leads the Italian police to "Richard Greenleaf". Tom has to navigate his way in and out of the police, while switching identities, and is forced to choose who he will ultimately become, and how far he will take his scheme.



4. The Talented Mr. Repley's Story is known for everyone. Almost. So what I am reviewing here is not the story but the dazzling and inruiging content.
   
   I read this fabulous book ong ago, and I love more than the movie, although movie is put out in first class cinematography and actor and directing delivery. Books are better for imagination and consideration. In the movie hall there are two many other things going on and the time is not enough to discribe and oak tree like in a book.
   
   The Talented Mr.s Reply is always puzzling my own beliefs, still also managing to satisfy my own belifs as well. The paradox of life and being human. The paradox of wanting and expecting verses lose one self's identitiy. Every thing tom did was to caress what he thought he had accomplished while he has never gotten it in the first place. Fascination and infatuation with things we don't posses or have really experience has become our greatest depression. To me Dickie is a very stable person. He lived life as it was given to him. Tom is the ordinary human always wanting more and sometimes taking it a little too far to satisfy what has become under its spell.
   
   I know a lot will disagree with me and I am sorry i haven';t exactly talked about the content of the book.
   
   a great book, read it and keep it.



5. The Talented Mr. Ripley is a completely absorbing masterpiece of crime fiction, in which Tom Ripley, age 25, goes to Italy to persuade his acquaintance Dickie Greenleaf to come home, at the behest of Dickie's father. Once in Italy, however, Tom becomes obsessed with Dickie and his companion, Marge Sherwood. Tension arises, which leads to Tom killing Dickie and appropriating his identity.
   
   I hate calling The Talented Mr. Ripley a classic, because it might turn people off from reading an extremely enjoyable book. The thrill is not so much in the crime itself, but in Tom's emotional and psychological state and whether or not he will get caught. The story is told from Tom's point of view, so we almost feel sympathy for him and not necessarily shocked at his actions. However, the reader must never forget that his perceptions are far different from the reality around him. The premise of the book is nearly unbelievable in and of itself, but somehow Highsmith managed to make it believable. And her writing style is completely engaging.

No comments about Beckett Almanac of Baseball Cards and Collectibles, 2008 Edition (Beckett Almanac of Baseball Cards and Collectibles).

No comments about Janice VanCleave's Oceans for Every Kid: Easy Activities that Make Learning Science Fun (Science for Every Kid Series).

3 comments about Miller's Antiques Price Guide 2008 (Miller's Antiques Price Guide).

1. Another excellent release from Miller's. Great photos and a good variation of items are reviewed and detailed. My only personal regret is that is not more information on Oriental antiques; however the Miller's Chinese & Oriental antiques release covers this area rather well but an additional purchase is required.
   
   4.5 out of 5. Well worth investing in.



2. The best book on antiques by far - 8000 COLOR photographs, prices on each item, many different subjects, tips on what to look for and excellent index. If you are tired of price guides without knowing what is being referred to, then this guide is for you. Warning - this is primarily a book on mid-range to high-end antiques, and only a few categories on collectibles.



3. For years as an Professional Apprasier. I turn to guides to look up pricing for stuff I am apraisaing. It all in one place and with not having my laptop with me to look online antique databases. I take a couple books along with me and they in the car. I have every copy of this series. It has great color pictures. But the only minus lack of information on some of the pieces listed. The range pricing is too broad. But some of the information were actual sales at auction. Why not list the sale. As with any Antique guide. It a guide and not the true price at which an item may be worth. What the guide does is give you a start point to give what possible the item you are looking at is worth. It an excellant reference book and a muct have to those who do daily appraisal work.