No comments about Janice VanCleave's 200 Gooey, Slippery, Slimy, Weird and Fun Experiments.

5 comments about The Official Price Guide to Collector Knives, 14th edition (Official Price Guide to Collector Knives).

1. If it wasn't for Case knives it wouldn't be much of a book.
   There is some good basic information, about the same as included
   in most knife books. Many many knife makers are not mentioned.
   I purchase reference books on all my interest and with few
   exceptions these books list a great percentage of the total
   industry, not just a few as this book does. It sure could have
   been better described.



2. This book is great. I wanted a book listing knife values and this shows everything on that subject for all knives.



3. A lot of good information in this book from Mr. Price!
   I would have liked to see more info on obscure knives but I also understand there are only so many pages in the book(750 or so), what info is found between the pages is detailed and accurate.
   A definite worthy addition to anyones library that collects knives.



4. Well its a typical price guide. The values in it are way overinflated and none of the knives actually bring that much money. It is also missing prices for several highly collectible knives.
   The Case XX section of this book is kinda difficult to find what you are looking for.
   If you are thinking of buying this book then dont, I would recommend POCKET KNIFE TRADER'S PRICE GUIDE VOLUME 8 it is much easier to figure out and has actual prices and it is cheaper. It is also fresh off the presses and is written by a group of people who are directly involved with Case and Tony Foster who knows everything about knives.



5. I wanted a book to help me identify a bunch of pocket knives I had acquired and what they might be worth. This book helped me do that quite easily and I would recommend it to anyone with similar goals. "The standard knife collectors guide" by Ritchie and Stewart was also of equal value.
   
   I would have liked to have seen more color photos and fewer copier quality pictures but the process was good enough to do what I needed. This book made it easier to discern differences among similar knives because of the detail that was included in knife types.

5 comments about Island of the Giant Pokemon (Pokemon Chapter Book #2).

1. The story takes place in Germany and in the U.S.A. but mostly in Germany. There are two boys one 17 and one 15 Spence is 15 and Dieter is 17. They both are in World War 2. One is in the Nazis and another is an American paratrooper. They go through hard times and think, " this is not the war we had in mind" Because there is no fighting going on.

   Then they have a small war in a forest where they can only trees and they all look alike. Dieter (the Hitler youth instructor) is shot and Spence trys to help him out and gets shot by dieters friends to help him and is rough with him.

   The reason I gave this book 3 stars is it had bad grammar and words misspelled but it is fun to read.




2. The book Pokemon is very exciting and has adventures in the book. There are three characters Ash, Broke, and Misty. There are twenty Pokemon books!
   In each book Ash tries to catch Pokemon, but a gang called Team Rocket always gets in the way. I can't tell you why you have to read the book to know why. I hope you read these books because you're going to miss the fun and adventures. I like this book because there are always new Pokemon in each book!



3. When Ash, Brock, Misty and Ash's Pokemon are lost, They find themselves in big trouble. They are stuck in an island with lots of giant unfriendly giant Pokemons!



4. Exciting for kids. Mine are 5 and 8 and they fight for this book every night for 3 weeks.



5. This book is good but after you read it...it gets boring.Ash trades his Butterfree for a Raticate then he gets butterfree back!!Anybody should buy this book it is very exciting.Good book

3 comments about Passion for Detail, A.

1. I have read Charlotte's book, "Creating A Room", and prefer it while re-decorating. "A Passion for Detail" is a "look book" and sometimes a little too precious for the average household. But it is nice escapism



2. Ever heard the phrase "it's all in the details?" Ever wonder just how homes that grace the pages of the best shelter magazines ever get chosen in the first place? What's right, what's wrong, how can I get my home to put on its best face? What style is really me? Former Wall-Streeter Charlotte Moss, now a well published interior decorator, builds a great argument for discovering then developing a personal interior vision. Her stylishly decorated images ooze of self-confidence and clarity of thought. Well chosen fabrics and accessories, complete with understanding and ideas behind their choices reveal insight and a good sense of humor too. Moss notes that everyone has a passion for something, and that these passions are forms of self-expression. Comfort, style, values and personality are telling signals of the quality of lives we lead. In our daily frenzied routines, Moss advocates looking at your own home from a different perspective. The book's mission promises that a more relaxed and confident home will emerge. Mission accomplished!



3. Studying Charlotte Moss' technique is a must for those who are designers and also for those who are developing their own design style. It is foreseeable that not everyone would covet EVERY Moss design, but it is admirable how her philosophy seems to center on a way of living, and showcasing your life, rather than merely decorating.
   
   In her first book, A Passion For Detail, the theme is obviously denoted by the title. The book provides a great introduction and insight into Moss' technique and design style - heavy on the accessories and patterns (some might call it cluttered), but the decor is nonetheless tasteful and very calculated. Moss aims to surround herself, and those for whom she designs, with the things they love. Even if this technique amounts to a lot of "things."
   
   The book is thematic and conveniently divided into five sections, but at times, the chapters themselves are a bit disjointed and the chapter themes, while vaguely associated with the pictures, do not seem very cohesive as the pictures jump around from house to house.
   
   If you are looking for a how-to decorate book, this is not the book for you. Chapter Five briefly touches on Moss' technique, but it is more a study the pictures and learn type of book. You could reproduce the design strategy, but most of Moss' accessories are a bit out of the average price range and the style of decor is a bit impractical for most of us. But, even if you are scared by Moss' designs, this is still an important read for design fanatics, as you can still learn from her technique. The most prevalent lesson from the book is this: design is about style and taste, but it is also about surrounding yourself with the things you love.

5 comments about The Boxer Rebellion: The Dramatic Story of China's War on Foreigners that Shook the World in the Summer of 1900.

1. The short lived, generally forgotten Boxer Rebellion took place in North China in 1900. The Boxers were Chinese rebels who hated foreign Christian missionaries, their converts, and the foreign diplomats who had taken up residence in China during the last century. They wanted China to be rid of all of them. They were called "Boxers" because of the martial arts they practiced and the poses they assumed. It was very short lived, put down in a couple of months by a coalition of troops from Great Britain, Russia, Japan, Germany, Italy and the United States.
   
   The author is an Oxford trained historian, writer and broadcaster. As she states, the book is a popular history, telling the story of what happened, not necessarily why. It is published by Berkley Books, a division of Penguin Group which has specialized in best selling authors. While it is intended for a general audience and has been a best seller, the support and documentation for the narrative would make any scholar proud. Relying upon many published sources and unpublished letters, diaries, and statements of the Western survivors, many of them women, the book, which contains extensive endnotes, sets forth the day to day resistance of the foreigners and converts encircled in the diplomatic area of Beijing. To a lesser extent it chronicles the movements of the allied troops slowly coming to relieve them. Finally, assuaging the understandable curiosity of the reader, she tells what happened to the major characters as the disastrous twentieth century progressed. For those readers who have no familiarity with this long forgotten war, the book reads like a novel. The tension every novel must have is present in the slow revealing of how the end came and who survived.
   
   The causes of the war are stated very briefly and without extensive Chinese citations. In fact, this war cries out for a history written by the Chinese, perhaps similar to Arthur Whaley's The Opium War Through Chinese Eyes. The cause, in summary, was that the Boxers were angered by the Christian missionaries (mostly Catholic) and their converts, the "rice Christians." They were also incensed by the disruptions of traditional Chinese life by the construction of railroads and the establishment of other businesses by foreign companies. The diplomatic missions were imposed upon the Chinese as a result of a conflict with the French and English in 1860. Concessions to the Japanese were made as a result of the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1894. By 1900 there were 672 foreign companies in China, more than half of which were British. The takeover by the foreigners of sections of Beijing and their unilateral actions as occupiers, were not endearing to the Chinese. They certainly were entitled to strongly resent their presence.
   
   The actions of the various nations involved were harbingers of the events to come later in the century. The European powers present in China, as in Africa, were competing for colonies and economic concessions and were keeping more than just an eye on each other. The British had the largest fleet and controlled much of Chinese shipping. The French conversely appeared to have no stomach for armed conflict. The Japanese, on the other hand, were willing to fight and die with the tenacity the world would witness forty years later on Iwo Jima and other South Pacific Islands. The United States, although most of the missionaries were American, was the one nation that just wished everyone would leave China alone. Finally, the Chinese demonstrated a disastrous lack of cohesion and leadership, especially of their military forces.
   
   The barbarity of the Boxers is on display throughout the book. They tortured and killed tens of thousands of missionaries and converts, hacking them to pieces, skinning or burying them alive, or burning them to death. Like the Taliban of recent history, they destroyed churches, temples and other buildings, tore up railways which they particularly hated, and destroyed buildings. They also burned the Hanlin Academy and the only surviving copy of the "fabulous Yung Lo Ta Tien, an encyclopedia completed in 1408 by 2,000 Ming scholars and comprising about 12,000 volumes bound in yellow silk." (139) This was in spite of British efforts, while under attack to extinguish it. Religious fervor or hatred then, as now, seems to lead to the bloodiest acts. The author does not dwell on why.
   
   The characters of some of the players in the drama are well drawn. Of course, pictures help. The British minister to Peking, Sir Claude MacDonald, looks like a British minister should look and he acts the part, leading by undramatic example rationing food, directing the placement of defenses and not being shaken by any of the many small defeats that occurred. The senior American officer present, a future Chief of Staff, Major General Adna Chafee, has an equally representative countenance. His threatening eyes matched his aggressive and courageous actions in directing the American soldiers and in paying respect to those who had fallen. Perhaps the most remarkable is the description of a few members of the diplomatic corps who hid in the British legation compound during the fighting, surfacing to sit outside and drink what appears to be an endless supply of champagne during the lulls. They are contrasted to the women who spent most of the time cooking, making bandages and filling sandbags. The extensive looting that followed the occupation of The Forbidden City is set forth in detail, seemingly accepted as the right of victors.
   
   The Empress Dowager, "the old Buddha," Tzu Hsi, "a woman of unimaginable sexual appetites and political ambition who murdered anyone" (xiii) is a central figure. She and her "state department," the Tsungli Yamen, equivocated; waiting to see if the Boxers would prevail. They judged wrong and threw the weight of the government and its nearby available troops in with the Boxers. Although armed with some of Krupp's most recent weapons they lacked the marksmanship of the U.S. Marines and the discipline of the British and Indian troops. After one false start, led by a British Vice Admiral, Sir Edward Seymour, with only the soldiers and sailors available from the foreign ships in the area, which was repulsed by the Boxers, the allied countries brought in over 20,000 troops from the Philippines, India, Japan, Russia and Indochina. With very little preparation, they fought from the port of Taku through Tientsin, where the first attempt was halted, to Beijing, arriving on August 14 to relieve the encircled missionaries, converts and diplomats.
   
   The questions left open by this book are numerous. Why did the Empress equivocate, letting a rebel group within her country destroy infrastructure and kill missionaries? Why were the diplomats so out of touch so as not to see the violent rebellion coming? What intelligence did they have? After all one of an embassies most important functions is to find out what is going on in the country in which it is located. The leaders of the Boxers are not identified, who were they? We are told the fates of some of the major characters, but are left wondering what their thoughts were, and where all the loot resides. That being said, the author intended to write a popular history and has written a very detailed and interesting one. Many war histories are dulled by endless recitation of where units moved, body counts and rounds fired. This one is not. The author has combined the actions of the civilians in defending themselves and avoiding starvation with the courage of the troops, or the lack of it in a few instances, in rescuing them with little time to spare.



2. The author does an excellent job of writing and researching this book however, it is obviously based from the point of view of the imperial powers. This would be fine if she expressed this clearly and emphatically in the Prologue or even added a chapter at the beginning describing the opium wars and a more thorough description of the actions of the imperial powers leading p to the rebellion.
   
   Later in the book Ms. Preston mentions several quotes from German military and political leaders but fails to follow up on their implications in future events. Comments from German officers about the inadequacy of French troops and statements that they could defeat "all of America with a Berlin Fire brigade" clearly set the tone for Germany's attitude towards the armies they would later attack. Germany's' other ominous statements are also glossed over "the Chinese "would feel the iron fist of Germany heavy on their necks"" (p.25) and later "You must know my men, that you are about to meet a crafty, well-armed foe! Meet him and beat him! Give him no quarter! Take no prisoners! Kill him when he falls into your hands! Even as a thousand years ago. the Huns under king Atilla made such a name for themselves as still resounds in terror through legend and fable, so may never again will a Chinese dare to so much as look askance at a German." (p.209) The author also mentions that most of the Chinese modern weapons and war ships came from Germany and especially from the krupp family but fails to follow up with the fact that the Krupps would continue to enrich themselves by selling arms to both sides in many conflicts and by encouraging the following world wars. Despite the fact that they would be tried for their crimes the Krupp manufacturing empire still thrives in plastics.
   
   In summary Ms. Preston seems to fail to put the long term effects of the boxer rebellion especially of the multinational rescue force that would later be fighting each other, into a larger historical context. This leaves the book as a fascinating first hand account of the besieged and their rescuers viewpoints, but fails to adequately explain the reason for the uprising in the first place, and its long term results. This combined with the lack of a Chinese point of view results more in a collection of personnel narratives, impressions and feelings and less of an analysis of the Boxer Rebellion and how it "Shook the World".
   
   R Philip Reynolds
   Research Education Librarian



3. Preston's book has a number of fundamental weaknesses which belie its title and ultimately can only be characterized as racist in their utter indifference to the lives and personalities of the Chinese. Preston again and again quotes the racist drivel of the White officers and politicians, without once taking distance from such remarks, without once calling them what they were--despicably racist. I very much agree with the first review that, the Preston's book presented "`good Europeans' vs. the `bad" Chinese" and that, "Rudyard Kipling would be proud."
   
   Throughout the book Preston repeated refers to the Chinese men with the racist epithet -- "Chinaman," and repeatedly and uncritically quotes the racist U.S. and British troops and government officials calling the Chinese "chinks." Preston also frequently uses "coolie" without clarifying the usage of this term for Chinese men as cheap laborers, or who have been press-ganged into labor or indentured servitude. It is certainly considered racist and Preston should have clarified why she felt she had or could use it, instead of simply saying "laborer" or a Chinese man.
   
   Preston also refers to some of the Chinese solders, the Kansu, as "braves." While the term "Kansu brave" was the common racist term used at the time, there is no reason for Preston to repeat it.
   
   Even the conservative and historically racist dictionaries such as Websters and the OED are clear on the matter:
   
   --"CHINAMAN: 1 capitalized : a native of China : CHINESE often taken to be offensive" Merriam-Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
   
   --"COOLIE: [...] b. S. Afr. [Afrikaans koelie (also used).] An Asian or Indian, esp. one of the lower classes. Also attrib.
   1920 Cape Times 1 Apr. 3/2 Great Public Sale.+ No coolies. 1959 L. Lerner Englishman xiv. 220 It was his girl the other one took, the one who slept with koelies. Ibid. xv. 226 You wont, you koelie girl. 1967 Guardian 4 Oct. 13/7 In South Africa the word `coolie' is used by some whites to describe Asians, and is as bitterly resented by them as the word `Kaffir' is resented by Africans." Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd Ed.
   
   No doubt such was the despicable language of the time and the author should accurately quote this reality, but it is also true that to fail to distance herself from this racism, makes her susceptible to being identified with it.
   
   As is often the case with most "histories" of events involving whites and people of color, the history is written from the perspective of the whites. Rather than a history of the Boxer Rebellion, Preston writes a gushing and admiring history of the lives of the elite whites from the various legations (embassies of the day) that were under siege. Preston makes no effort to explain or analyze what events had taken place that led to this uprising. She also failed to provide any background of the persons in the legations. Rather than admirable heroes, these ambassadors or ministers were the persons in charge of imposing the humiliating and murderous policies of collecting crippling payments of "reparations" imposed at gunpoint by invading forces, as well as deleterious trade policies forced on the Chinese by occupying forces. Preston fails to make any mention whatsoever of this very important background that explains in good part the ire of the Chinese people toward these foreigners.
   
   Why were so many millions of Chinese enraged against the foreign invaders who had imposed their presence in China at gunpoint, who had killed thousands of Chinese, and forced the sale of opium addicting millions of Chinese?
   
   Why were so many Chinese enraged at the missionaries? The book does mention in passing what it characterizes as the "high-handed attitude" of the racist missionaries. It fails to mention the slave labor utilized by the missionaries, the humiliations and beatings and worse of Chinese at the hand of the missionaries. These missions were usually established on stolen lands, often using false accusation to force the Chinese authorities to handover lands they desired.
   
   Preston fails to mention all this and much more. Preston refers with great sympathy to the killings of missionaries, calling them "murders" and using inflammatory terms such as "gruesome" to describe the acts. Yet such language is missing from any description of the terrible murders of tens of thousands of Chinese in their own country at the hands of foreign invaders. Preston makes great effort to arouse the reader to the alleged atrocities against the foreign missionaries. Yet the murders of the Chinese are largely presented as trifles by Preston. In Preston's book murder is reserved only for the death of whites. It would appear that Preston does not assign Chinese lives the same value.
   
   Only briefly does Preston mention the near apocalyptic famine killing millions of Chinese peasants between 1887-1901. Another publication, "Late Victorian Holocausts: El Niño Famines and the Making of the Third Word, by Mike Davis, does a good job of documenting the fact that these famines were in part due to droughts but in fact they were largely due to the inhuman demands of the European governments for "reparation" payments imposed on the Chinese.
   
   Preston also fails to provide any background to the readers concerning the procolonial character of the missionary societies. In fact, the missionary societies served as spies and provocateurs, and provided pretexts to justify colonial demands and attacks against the Chinese. An example was the use by the French of alleged slights against missionaries as the pretext for invading and seizing Vietnam. The author Mike Davis explained, "The first phase of drought, which lasted from 1897 through summer 1898, caused acute distress in the western and southern counties of Shandong, where anti-foreign anger was already at a fever-pitch because of repeated German military interventions on behalf of Catholic missionaries."
   
   Other than a handful of Chinese elite generally described unflatteringly by Preston, there are no Chinese people in her story. In Preston's book, the Chinese are largely nameless caricatures who simply serve as examples of primitive cruelty, except for the noble and servile Christian converts. Of the thousands of converts being held in the legation not one has a name. Interestingly, even the Japanese other than their commanding officers have no names, and no accounts are given by Preston. It seems odd that none of the Japanese would have written diaries nor given interviews about their experience. Indeed, the descriptions of the social life and partying of the interventionists does not include any descriptions of the Japanese, except to refer to their military bravery and discipline in killing Chinese, and their subsequent mass rapes and slaughtering of the Chinese.
   
   Another example of Preston's viewpoint is provided when she writes "for most the diet was a monotonous one of horse, pony, or mule and rice, which gave many people digestive problems and make the feel `out of sorts'." The "most" that Preston refers to are the white Europeans, which is eloquently revealing of Preston's values. While the colonialists are bored with meat, the Chinese converts are left starving, eating tree bark, or if they are lucky, Preston describes the Europeans occasionally leaving the Chinese the largely inedible head and guts of a horse, after they took all the meat.
   
   Preston's descriptions of the Europeans are the usual adulatory tripe of the jolly good and decent, noble and brave white men and women, who faced the hordes of savages with a touch of humor and a dash of fashion. In one part of the book Preston describes the dashing whites who, notwithstanding the inconveniences of the war, were sure to keep clean and wear clean clothes. Preston describes a laundry service for the whites. Unsurprisingly, she does not clarify who was doing the washing. Obviously, it must have been the Chinese hostages who had been forced to keep the Europeans' clothes clean, while the Chinese were filthy and dying. Moreover, as the Chinese were severely malnourished, imposing such hard physical labor as washer-men and women can only have hastened their misery and death. But Preston expresses no concern for with such matters while she spends most of her book describing the parties, food, gossip and hardships, for the white Europeans, which an occasional obligatory mention of the Chinese hardships, and European discrimination.
   
   "When a shell burst into the bakery and killed on the Chinese bakers, Madame Chamot kept the others [Chinese] to their work by brandishing a rifle." [page 159] How quaint!
   
   Preston describes the rapes of the Chinese schoolgirls among the converts by the white soldiers, using a grotesque euphemism "unfortunate incidents" [page 182]. Preston belittles the horror in a titillating humorous tone that is absolutely shocking.
   
   A far more thorough critique of Preston's book is certainly needed, as I have barely scratched the surface.



4. Preston's book is typical of the ethnocentric views characteristic of the previous literature on the subject. Although written in the politically correct present, it still harbors those biased sentiments of the past. Little is said about the arrogant Western powers running ramshod over China, grabbing land, carving spheres of influence and insulting the locals. Little is said of an incident during the Boxer rebellion in the Amur River town of Blagoveshchensk, where all Chinese inhabitants of the neighboring 64-villages were driven at gun-point into the Amur to drown en-masse. Thousands died and what was Chinese terrritory was taken over by the Russians. On the cultural side, the plunder of art treasures by both troops and diplomatic personnel went unchecked. The rape of civilians and summary executions by the occupying troops followed. The famous Admonitions scroll, one of the oldest masterpieces of Chinese painting, now in the British Museum, was looted at the time fom the Imperial Palace. The horrendous indemnity levied against the Chinese, 450 million taels of silver, one tael per person when most Chinese were barely making a few cents, is downright criminal. When the indemnity was paid in full by 1939, China was suffering the ravages of the Japanese invasion while the West continued to sell Japan the oil and other raw materials that allowed her to prolong the war. History is not one-sided as some people might wish to interpret it. The definitive Boxer Rebellion has yet to be written and is eagerly awaited.



5. This book is interesting and easy to read. It seems to give a good detailed view of what it was like for some of the westerners involved in the Boxer Rebellion.
   
   And that is also it's fault and why I only gave it four stars.
   
   Even though the author tries to give some historical background and makes attempts at being even handed she falls short.
   
   After reading the book I still do not feel I have a good grasp of what it was all about, nor do I know anything about how it was perceived or what the reactions were among the Chinese.
   
   It seems to be a westerners view of what happened with a subtle bias against the Chinese, and unspoken support for armed invasion resulting in a multitude of deaths, atrocities, and crimes against history in order to rescue a few hundred westerners. As another reviewer said this book could have been written in 1905.
   
   With the usual disclaimer of not knowing enough to judge the scholarship of the work I think it is worth reading considering the short amount of time it takes to finish.

5 comments about The Complete Pinball Book: Collecting the Game and Its History (Schiffer Book for Collectors) (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1. Muy buen libro sobre pinball. He recordado aquellos pinballs con los que empezé a jugar a principio de los 70.



2. This is a wonderful work of Pinball Book Art. I checked out this book from my local library and it is a must have. The book is heavy and very well made. The photos are very detailed as well. The book takes a certain aspect of the game such as scoring and breaks that parts of the game down, while the next chapter may focus on pinball sound. The book has so much information in it about history, features, and rare pinball features. A book of this size is bound to have a few mistakes and this book has a few small mistakes, but those are very minor and this is a very detailed work and there is no way one man can know it all about pinball. If you enjoy the game of pinball, you need to check out this book. It will not show you how to repair or maintain the game, its focus is history about the game and its evolution over time. I hope you enjoy this book and also keep enjoying playing the wonderful game of pinball.



3. You can't go wrong picking this one up. A must for any pinball enthusiast or beginner.



4. Certainly informative about most pinball machines. My gripe is with a book this big and thick, I should not have been able to find a number of machines not included. Not just any pictures, but no mention what-so-ever. I must say though I was educated much further about pinball machine operations then I was ever aware of prior to looking at this book. Just a little disappointed that some of my favorite machines had no mention. I am a 60's 70's pinball machine lover.



5. This is a great book from start to finish with outstanding photos, interviews and a timeline that brings back many child hood memories.

5 comments about Paper Money of the United States: A Complete Illustrated Guide With Valuations (Paper Money of the United States).

1. The Friedberg book continues to be a classic reference for U.S. Paper Money. However, its strength is still pre-1928, large size notes. There are far better references for small size paper money, notably the Standard Guide to Small Size U.S. Paper Money by Schwartz and Lindquist. For example, that book catalogs blocks, mules and other variations, something that friedberg doesn't even mention. However, having said that, Friedberg is still an important book for anyone interested in U.S. paper money to have in their library.



2. A must have for any collector of Collectible Paper Currency !!! This reference book is yearly updated (which is a must to stay on top of the ever changing pricing of these collectible notes) and goes into great detail of each and every U.S. Note ever printed with the current market value of the notes. Black and white pictures of each note as well as breathe taking colored photos of each U.S. Note. I find I use this reference book everyday along with my other U.S. Paper Currency reference books in my private library.



3. Being a coin collector, I purchased this book to give me a guide on Gold Certificates as they caught my eye recently at the Carson City Coin Show. The book flows through the different eras of US paper money to the National Bank notes, Federal Reserve notes, fractionals, etc. My only issue with the book was that I would have liked to have seen more color pictures of the bank notes, especially the 1905 $20 "Technicolor" Gold Certificates.
   
   Now my only problem, as a coin collector, is that I have a list of Federal Reserve bank notes and Gold Certificates I just have to have in my collection. HA!



4. THIS IS A NEEDED BOOK FOR ANY LARGE SIZE CURRENCY POTENTATE, BUT THE BOOK BY GEORGE CUHAJ "STANDARD CATALOG OF UNITED STATES PAPER MONEY,26 ed." IS MUCH MORE ACCURATE WITH BOTH LARGE AND SMALL VALUES AND NUMBERS PRINTED.



5. This is a very useful, if not indispensable, reference work on United
   States currency, including much colonial and Continental currency.

4 comments about Victorian Jewelry: Unexplored Treasures.

1. During her nearly sixty-four-year reign Queen Victoria produced a cultural and fashion following particularly notable in the jewelry world, where English and European Jewelers produced less expensive pieces mimicking the queen's, which were worn by the middle class of her times. These pieces were long ignored because of their low value and cheap materials - but today are prized for their workmanship, which VICTORIAN JEWELRY: UNEXPLORED TREASURES reveals in chapters of history following designs, materials, and lovely secondary pieces. Styles presented here have been selected from collections around the world and are displayed through specially commissioned color photos just for this book.



2. This quite a different take on jewelry than most books, and accordingly very worthwhile. I got this book out of the library, read it cover-to-cover, and I am still buying a copy. The pictures are absolutely gorgeous and wonderfully detailed.
   
   These are the common, cheaper, but still beautiful pieces that are normally overlooked. I think that people who like Art Nouveau, which concentrated more on design than the expense of the materials, would find them particularly interesting. In addition, Dawes take us through the various fads of the time period. The text explains many of the peculiarities behind the rise of such styles (e.g.: aluminum was once rare; aristocrats wore iron jewelry to show that they had supposedly patriotically donated their real jewels to the government, etc.)
   
   A very worthwhile addition to a jewelry book collection.



3. Victorian jewelry is one of my passions and I both collect and sell it. This book has fabulous illustrations, great information, and a bit of a different slant than other books on Victorian jewelry. I am so glad I did not miss this one, and bought copies for both my home and shop libraries. Worth twice the price!



4. This book is a must for anyone that collects or deals in Victorian Jewelry! Good information with exquisite photos of the finest examples of Victorian Jewelry.

5 comments about Omega Watches.

1. First, let me set the record straight because it is not true that this and Kreuzer's books are the only references on Omega watches. In fact, they are the two poorest.
   
   The best written source is, of course, Marco Richon's book, "Omega Saga" published by the Brandt Foundation and distributed by Omega (ISBN: 2-88380--010-3). However, this is available only in French. But I'm told Mr Richon is working on an English book about Omega.
   
   That being said, Goldberger's entry is interesting only because of the high quality of his pictures. They are numerous (approxinaltely 250 models are represented, consistent and professional.
   
   While the pictures are nice, there is practically no information at all on the watches themselves, the technology, or the history of Omega. No production dates for the timepieces are indicated, which might have provided at least some feeling for a historical timeline.
   
   We might also have been interested in Mr Golberger's experiences as a collector, and some knowledgeable information on the current market for vintage Omega timepieces.
   
   Maybe it's a good thing that text is scarce because where there is text, there are errors, not the least of which is that the author is named "Goldbeger" in his bio on the endpage. These 6 short lines have 6 errors in them, and I easily found at least seven more in the two-page Introduction by Mr Giampiero Negretti: clearly some copy reviewer did a very lousy job...



2. Exciting Rare Omega Watches. Very Nice Photo, hot & Cool.
   CK 2915 as number one in the world.
   Thanks, Mr.X.



3. I recieved this as a gift and was really pleased. Its beautifully done. You should know its mostly pictures and captions. it seems to be a broad overview. I am just getting into watch collecting and like Omegas so this book was a fit for me.



4. A very well written book. The price is high but it has great quality.
   Over 200 pictures. Not the best of quality on all, some are a lttle light but good information.
   A slight problem is that the book will soon date, it does not contain much history of the brand but good detail on different models.
   The author has done a great job to keep the book flowing form page to page.
   However much to my surprise no metion at all the Omega is owned by the Swatch group.



5. Gave this as a Christmas gift and the receiptient was so thriled to get this product! Great Picutres

1 comments about Collecting Antique Marbles: Identification and Price Guide.

1. I is a good reference book for marbles. A bit dis-jointed and hard to follow. Pictures are not as clear as some other referance material but book should be in a marble collectors library.