5 comments about The Girl Who Walked Home Alone: Bette Davis - A Personal Biography.

1. I casually opened this book, thinking it would be just like every other biography, and didn't put it down until I finished it the next day. It was just as if Bette Davis was talking in person. It gives a real insight into her life, which wasn't as glamorous as we probably all imagined. Very very interesting!!



2. I agree with the reviewer below who said there is nothing new here. The author breezes through Davis' life with Davis interjecting here and there. Its been done before and a lot better (notably Whitney Stine's book 'Mother Goddam'). The author writes very poorly as well and the book is labyrinthical and very confusing. One doesn't know when Davis is talking, when the author is talking, or when one of the people whom the author interviewed is talking. Skip this one. Davis deserves better.



3. The Girl Who Walked Home Alone: Bette Davis, A Personal Biography is a recommended pick for any collection strong in movie star biographies, especially those which aren't overstocked on Bette Davis coverage's already. Film biographer Charlotte Chandler interviewed Davis extensively in the last decade of her life, so this biography includes many of Davis' own words and insights, rather than the usual third-party analysis from those who just have had her films and reference materials to work from. A centerfold of black and white photos completes a wonderful coverage, highly recommended for any library strong in film biography.



4. I ran across this book in the library when I was doing some research on old Hollywood and the title "The Girl Who Walked Home Alone" really struck me. Being as this was the first I've ever read about Bette Davis, I can't really say how true to form or redundant it may be in relation to previous biographies or accounts of her life. What I liked most about this book was the perspective it gave, the fact that it encompassed not just Miss Davis's take on things but those around her as well. She really had a larger-than-life life, which you really can't help but admire her for living through. I found myself with great sympathy and respect for her after reading this book. Many may be turned off by the fact that the entire biography is a mere compiling of quotes with little narrative by the author herself, but I rather liked it that way. No false second-hand impressions here. I've never been a fan of biographers who try to get into the heads of their subjects and recount from their own imagination as if they themselves were the authority in the matter, all knowing and telling. Here, all concerned spoke for themselves (assuming they were accurately quoted) and the interpretation is left to the reader basically. I thought Miss Davis herself came across rather intelligent and forthright in looking into her own life, though of course not entirely unbiased in her own way. But it gave her a very human quality that I found quite endearing. And with age comes insight it seems, as she detailed the events in her life. However, the amount of typos and grammatical errors in the book was distracting. I mean, it wasn't riddled with them but definitely made me think were there no editors around or did they all just snooze on the job? But overall, a pretty engrossing read about a thoroughly interesting person of substance.



5. This is a beautifully written biography by someone who knew the legend her self. Unlike Sikov's biography, Chandler is able to give us more insight than we can gather by watching her films. The details are extraordinary, but there is something else which strikes the reader. It is Bette's voice which comes through the pages clear as a bell.
   
   Davis requested that Chandler write her biography, and the result is powerful. No one delivers the story of Bette's life better than she can her self, and Chandler allows her to do that. All of Bette's wit, spunk and vitality are intact in this engrossing biography. Bravo!

5 comments about Make: Technology on Your Time, Vol. 2.

1. The cover on this one is a bit deceptive since the large robot stuff is just a short article. But the rest of the magazine rocks! Great projects from simple marshmallow shooters, to a PC modded into the case of an Atari 2600, to robotic dogs and mice. There is ten solid pages on podcasting, both receiving podcasts and creating your own. If you thought the first one was great you will love this one.



2. If the Make crew can keep the quality this tight, it will herald in a golden era of makers everywhere. This is a fitting follow-up to the amazing premeire issue. The great projects and how-tos quickly made my to-do list a mile longer.



3. 70% of contents are sponsored, and ads appear everywhere making the whole thing hard to read. Most importantly, instructions are not understandable.



4. If you spent any time building technical projects as a kid with your parents, this is a wonderful gift for them: it brings back the memories of some of their proudest moments.
   
   I grew up reading "The Amateur Scientist" in "Scientific American" magazine, and built many of the projects (as well as the requisite radios and go-carts) with my Dad. Forty years later, I subscribed to Make: and realized that this is the modern successor to "The Amateur Scientist".
   
   I bought a subscription for myself and my Dad: now, although we're seperated by miles, we can discuss the projects and relive the times we spent together building and breaking things.



5. If you like making stuff , or wondered how people go about inventing things, this is your magazine.
   I've been inspired to make all sorts of things, and have found that my kids enjoy playing with hand made things as much, or more than any toy we can buy at the store.
   There are also all kinds of great ideas for re-using technology.
   It covers everything from marshmallow guns to robots. Very entertaining and inspirational and a great supplement to a good science education.

No comments about Secrets of Home Theater (Secrets of...).

5 comments about The Age of Shakespeare (Modern Library Chronicles).

1. This is an interesting and instructive little book, but it is hard to figure out just what its target audience might be-or even indeed, its precise topic. Kermode calls it "the /Age/ of Shakespeare," and the first chapter does, indeed, open, with some provocative insights about the world that surrounds Shakespeare and his plays. Later on, he offers a useful introduction to the physical world of London theatre (or theatres). But most of the book is more conventional in its organization: commentary on the plays, more or less one by one and more or less in chronological order. The comments are unfailingly insightful and often original (or at any rate, new to me). But they are fragmentary and so presented that they aren't likely to be of much help if you aren't reasonably familiar with the plays already. Taken together, they are perhaps too modest for a specialist work and too concentrated for a beginner. What it sounds like is a quick recap of a course in Kermode's Cambridge classroom, for students who know something, but not too much-but here (is this an occupational hazard for professors?) I wonder if he misgauges his audience.
   
   The particular commentaries are diverse, but I'd say that Kermode is particularly good on the poetry, closely defined: the language and the rhythm-a fitting achievement, I suppose, for a man who wrote the admirable "Shakespeare's Language." He has a happy knack for picking the illustrative example and, particularly, for the illustrative example that shows you how Shakespeare changes and grows over time.
   
   As a general intro to the playwright and his times, I would still favor Jonathan Bate's "The Genius of Shakespeare." But so long as you know what you are getting, Kermode is still good fun. Here's a teaser: of all the items new to me in this book, perhaps none is more memorable than the brief vignette of one Richard Topcliffe interrogator and torturer so far up in his profession that he was allowed to keep a rack in his own home. Evidently we have Topcliffe's own copy of a history of the Jesuit mission to England with (as Kermode says) "his gloating marginalia: beside the name of a missionary the words `I racked him,' beside the name of someone hanged a little stick figure dangling from a gallows." The Age of Shakespeare was not an age for the faint of heart.



2. OK, your assignment is to write a book covering (1) the history of the Elizabethan and Jacobian ages; (2) the history of Elizabethan and early Jacobian theater; (3) the life and career of Shakespeare; and, (4) a discussion of his plays. Do this in less than 200 printed pages. What's that? You say you can't do it and nobody could? One more thing, assume near cultural illiteracy for the reader. All right, that surely makes it impossible. But you accepted the job. What do you do? If you're Frank Kermode you spend your pages acknowledging the existence of as many scholarly friends and colleagues as possible. The obscure Eamon Duffy, in particular, gets a tongue-bath from head to toes.
   
   Kermode must have had some total page count estimater built into his word-processor because when the count reaches 196 pages... he... just... stops. Now try to imagine an audience for this work. Let's consider three broad classes of potential readers: (1) those knowing little or nothing about the topics; (2) those having an intermediate level of knowledge, having read several books on the topics; and (3) those quite familiar with the topics from decades of reading. Readers in category (1) will be completely baffled. Readers in category (2) will find only a few points unfamiliar to them, and these points will not be developed in any satisfactory way. Readers in category (3) will never pick up the book to begin with, and those are the lucky few.
   
   This is one of a large number of "Modern Library Chronicles," most of which, to judge from the list, have a similarly impossible sweep of history to cover. Something does need desperately to be done to combat the rising tide (or tidal wave) of cultural illiteracy, but this is probably not at all what would work.



3. As other reviewers have observed, Kermode manages to pack a tremendous amount of information about Shakespeare and his times into 200 pages. Never does it seem rushed or superficial. The introductory section is especially useful, and in it Kermode addresses the increasingly discussed question of Shakespeare's "Catholicity." Although he states the evidence doesn't prove the matter decisively, Kermode recognizes it as an important part of the conversation.
   
   Likewise, he reviews the current state of research into the English reception of the so-called "Elizabethan Settlement" that definitively protestantized England and Wales. Fans of the Whig interpretation of history, which postulates that a break with Catholicism was an inevitable phase of English history, won't find much comfort here. Kermode summarizes the myth-shattering work of Eamon Duffy, whose "Stripping of the Altars" demonstrated a dozen years ago that English Catholicism was healthy and robust until the Tudors took their hammers to it.
   
   If you napped through your high school English lit classes, this book also serves as a remedial tonic. Kermode summarizes Shakespeare's plays and places them in their social and cultural context. After an evening or two with this book, you'll be better equipped to tackle "Hamlet," "Romeo & Juliet," and the rest of the Bard's canon.



4. I became interested in putting together a "listmania" list on Shakespeare and so I subsequently bought a few new books or some that I had not yet read. One was the older 1970 biography "Shakespeare" by the prolific author Anthony Burgess where - with some fiction based on partial records but mostly fact - he creates something akin to what we are used to in reading a modern biography. The present book was recently written by the Cambridge scholar and world Shakespeare expert Frank Kermode. Here the author uses a more conservative and a more scholarly approach, in some ways similar to Burgess, but with essentially no small fictional embellishments and with a lot more emphasis on explaining the various plays of Shakespeare in detail - albeit briefly - and adding comments on various usually at least one passage from each play.
   
   The present book is about 200 pages long with a very brief 4 page bibliographical note at the back. It is part of a series called Modern Library Chronicles that appear to have over 40 titles on various subjects, the Kermode book being one. The book consists of basically three parts - my division not the authors i.e.: the Reformation and England of Elizabeth (about 30 pages of background historical details), the early Shakespeare (70 pages) with many social comments, and then Shakespeare at the Globe and Blackfriars (the last 100 pages and Shakespeare's most fruitful period). In each of these broad segments the author weaves the current political climate, problems faced by the theaters, censorship, actors, rivals, other writers, owners, finances, descriptions of theater construction, etc. As the author makes his way through the last two parts, he comments on the importance of each play, what others think are the merits, important passages, references for more reading, how it relates to prior or future plays by Shakespeare, etc. - again all very briefly but he does provide some historical and literary perspectives.
   
   The book is rich with details, comments, quotes, and insights and it is a delightful but slow read to absorb the facts. It is an excellent but small book 5 stars. It does not replace the Burgess book, it is just different and seems more accurate. Subsequent to this being published, the new book "Will In The World" by Greenblatt has been published. It is by far the best book on Shakespeare's life and work.



5. This little book is delightful. It is scholarly, well researched, and charming. The chapters almost stand alone, and yet they make a whole.
   
   It gave me an awareness of the time in which Shakespeare lived that I could not have gained from a history book. It has contributed to a greater awareness of the factors that influenced this genius and made him more understandable to me.
   
   When we visited Stratford-On-Avon, I came away with no sense of the man, Shakespeare. I am on the road to a greater understanding of him, as a result of this little volume.
   
   Thank you for making it so easily available to me.

3 comments about CBGB and OMFUG: Thirty Years from the Home of Underground Rock.

1. Forget the current controversy surrounding CBGBs, this book isn't about that. This book uses pictures to describe the life and times of this Bowery landmark from it's early days in 1973 to the present. The first picture (not counting the inside cover shot of their famous toilets) is of The Ramones, and the last shot is of Handsome Dick of The Dictators. In between lies b&w photo after b&w photo of punk and New Wave in its infancy. If you were there this book will remind you of how it was. If you weren't this book will graphically tell you the story of NYC area kids tired of corporate rock who just wanted to play a few chords as loud as they could so they could feel the rush.



2. The days of punk are long gone in a haze of AquaNet, black eyeliner and black leather. But thankfully, a handful of artists had the forsight to immoralize the scene in glorious black & white. The photographs are arranged in chronological order and include a who's-who of the punk scene. Some of the in-your-face images bring you to front center stage where you're right there with the usual suspects--Ramones, Television, Blondie. There are lots of surprises too including a great shot of Stiv Bators with Divine, and a shot of Klaus Nomi, Christopher Parker & Jim Jarmusch taken outside at the front of CBGB's. If you ever wanted to know what the punk scene was like in its early days, or if you were there and need a bit of a jolt to jog your memory, you've got to get this book.



3. This is a good "coffee table" book but no stories to go along with the pictures. There is an intro from Hilly Kristal (R.I.P) but that's about it. Also not to many pictures from the later years or even from the hardcore days. A lot of Blondie, Television stuff.
   
   If you wanna browse pics or have friends look at it to remember the good ol' days this book is cool. If you want a story and and detail events look somewhere else.

5 comments about Home Theater Hacks: 100 Industrial-Strength Tips & Tools (Hacks).

1. I am by no means a home theater nut, but I figured I could always use a few pointers on setting up my living room to improve my viewing experience. The nice thing about this book (and all "hacks" books, for that matter) is the broad spectrum of ideas and suggestions. As a lot of this stuff was new to me, I appreciated the amount of detail the author goes into for each hack.
   
   I found the hacks on Calibration (#60 - #74) the most helpful for getting noticable improvements quickly. There are also plenty of other simple tips here and there (i.e. lighting, wiring, warm-up vs burn-in) to enhance my home theater. However, the book was a bit over my head at times -- therefore very educational. I'm going to have to install some bass shakers (Hack #40) into my couch as my first project. =)



2. Home Theater Hacks is the perfect book for anyone in the planning, building, or improvement phase of their home theater. This book really covers everything that has to do with a home theater: from selecting the right components, to component configuration, to cabling, to making your theater look awesome. This book is a must read before you start your home theater.
   
   The book begins with a very thorough and impressive discussion of how and where to buy home theater components. The author discusses receivers (both audio and video), DVD players, TVs (both HD and standard), as well as the ins and outs of buying online versus at a local store. This discussion naturally leads to a very large section on "configuration", which includes such things as how to install and configure a terrestrial television antenna, how to match your subwoofer to your room, and everything you ever wanted to know about cables. I particularly enjoyed the author's discussion of the modern myth of expensive cabling. He provides a very good explanation of what "good enough" means (you wouldn't put gold water pipes in your home, why spend $100 on a gold cable?).
   
   As mentioned, this is a very interesting and useful book for anyone planning or currently working on a home theater. It dispelled a lot of myths I had heard in the past, and provides clear explanations as to why many of these myths are false. Additionally, I found that the book provided sound advice in the purchase and configuration of home theater components.



3. This book covers it all. Very well written and easy to understand. He covers everything from TV's to recievers, amps and speakers. A must for any home theater enthusiest.



4. This is a good choice to learn about home theater, and the author has a number of great ideas to get you started. I recommend the book, but I was disappointed with several aspects. 1) It seemed to be aimed more to the high-end user; no information about home-theater-in-a-box or virtual surround sound was given. I can imagine the author's opinions on these subjects, but he should have at least addressed them. 2) Some information is rapidly becoming outdated, especially in the video processing and connectivity sections. This book should probably be updated once a year. 3) Too much unnecessary detail in some areas. For example, a large section on antenna construction should be shortened, since most people probably use either cable or satellite anyway. And while the long section on user service codes is good, most of it will be out of date by the time the book is published. 4) Too much emphasis on projection displays, and not enough detail on flat panels (e.g., mounting issues, care/maintenance issues). 5) I would like to see more information about wiring strategies: different ways to hide wiring, the status of wireless speakers, etc.



5. Saw this at my local bookstore and checked with Amazon.com and was happy to purchase it online for a substantial discount here. This book is great for anyone beginning to setup their own home theater and for those that really like to get into the meat of this hobby. The pages are easy to read with good, clear black and white photos spread throughout.
   
   What this book offers are those uncommon tips and tricks that big name electronics stores don't want you to know about. This book alone will save me hundreds of dollars from all the information provided inside. It's doesn't have too much techno-babble but it won't feel like a crash course booklet leaving you wanting more. Intelligently laid out and highly recommended.

5 comments about MAKE: Technology on Your Time Vol. 1 (Make: Technology on Your Time).

1. I stay on the lookout for the "Boys" guides, you know, those old books dealing with science and technology (a hundred years old, perhaps, but still quite educational). I've looked into a few more modern magazines, such as Popular Mechanics (good for what it is), Wired (mostly a culture thing, I guess), and 2600 (fine, if my goal was to electronically knock over a Target store or something).
   This is what I was after: a 'book' series dealing with hacking together hardware, making stuff work, and making stuff work better.
   Now my 'to do' list has grown substantially, with a bunch of things I really hadn't thought of doing!



2. Not sure what magazine Brandnew was reading when he complained "70% of contents are sponsored, and ads appear everywhere", but it wasn't this one. Make has VERY few ads. I just quickly thumbed through this issue (Vol. 1), and was only able to find eleven pages that have ads on them, including inside the covers and the backcover. It's possible that I missed one or two others, but there's no way you'd ever say they were "everywhere". The ads that do appear are all relavent to the target audience. Like most magazines, they do have product reviews, but they're contained in about 10 pages, and again are all relevant to the reader.
   
   Later issues do have more ads then the early ones, but even then, they are all clustered at the beginning and end of the magazine. In issue 4 (the latest) there are probably 15 pages of ads, and none appear in the main content area, between page 75 and 184.
   
   Ok, now that I'm done debunking the nasty rumors spread by others, what do I think of the magazine itself? I love it. The projects are interesting, fun and informative. It's also one of the rare publications that isn't scared to publish ideas that could hurt someone. They publish all of the appropriate warnings, but they trust that you're smart enough to take responsibility for your own actions. Most of the projects are completely safe, but if you're buying this for your kids, I'd recommend that you check out each issue with them & decide on which projects they can do by themselves & which are better to do together.
   
   Of course not every project will appeal to every reader, but they'll likely give you ideas that can be applied to other projects that do interest you. It might not appeal to everyone, but if it sounds interesting, you'll most likely love it.



3. Ok, I was expecting good things from this magazine, but what I got exceeded my expectations. The first thing that I noticed was the production quality of the publication. The pages are thick and satin like and the art is consistent and first rate. Most importantly, the content is exceptional. Typically with these sorts of books, there are many interesting tidbits, but no practical applications. Make: differs in that every time I turn the page there is something wonderful that begs to be created.
   
   I brought my first Make: to work and almost didn't get it back. I showed it to five people and every single one of them subsequently bought various editions from Amazon. I figured it would be a good idea to subscribe to the magazine, but when I went to retrieve the subscription cards there were none left. My buddies stole them all for themselves!
   
   Make: has fired my imagination and has me in projects for years to come. Good job O'Reilly!



4. I stumbled across Make: in a retail store and bought a copy. Nearly fifteen bucks for a "magazine" is pretty spendy for me, but minimal advertising and lots of interesting articles and reviews hooked me. I've since subscribed, but when I found out Amazon had back issues at discounted prices, I had to pick up the issues I had missed. In addition to gaining the confidence to try to repair some things I previously considered "disposable", I learned about a drain-cleaning tool that more than paid for all of the issues I've purchased in the money it saved me on a call to a drain-cleaning service.
   
   From super low-tech incredibly hi-tech, there is something to interest most tinkerers here.



5. I have a handful of Make: copies, and plan on fleshing out the rest of the back catalog. I'm considering a subscription. Even if you don't have a workshop, these "magazines" (more like little books, actually) are great for stimulating your mind and reminding you that making things isn't just something that other people do.

2 comments about Spaces Speak, Are You Listening?: Experiencing Aural Architecture.

1. Very interesting and new thinking about that sound around. Recommend for sound engineers, acoustic design architects, musicians and people who love music and/or are interested in the aural spaces abounding. Do you like John Cage, Terry Riley, ee cummings? Can you sing the sound of one _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _?



2. A very engaging, wide-ranging look at the aural environment from many perspectives: cultural, historical, architectural, physical, sociological, political and more. The authors explore many of the deep and often times not-so-obvious connections and influences in an unusual, informative and refreshingly multi-disciplinary approach. Even though covered topics are broad in scope and complexity, the book is written in an easy and engaging conversational style that is neither academically stodgy nor technically overwhelming. But neither does it attempt to simplify the subject into shallow triviality.
   
   Unlike many modern-day science popularizations, this book is not a simple distillation of some lofty academic field. Rather it is at once the introductory text, the major body of research and a pointer to even wider exploration of the a heretofore under-explored and under-appreciated topic. There's plenty of new and useful material here for the professional practitioner in a number of disciplines. At the same time, the entire book is accessible to the casual reader, the neophyte. No chapter or paragraph need be avoided by any reader: all are carried along with the narrative: none are left behind.
   
   Personally, I have read book in out-of-order pieces as my busy schedule allows, without the feeling that I really should have read it in a more disciplined fashion. Rather than having to read other sections out of sheer necessity, I've gone back to fill in the holes more out of curiosity and interest.
   
   If you want to understand the intimate connection between humans and the aural space they live in, there is no better place to find it than this book. If you're looking for a new model of understanding of a complex topic through an truly broad, interdisciplinary approach, this book is the best model I know of.
   
   It's difficult to recommend it to highly.

5 comments about Introductory Guide to High-Performance Audio Systems: Stereo - Surround Sound - Home Theater.

1. I got Harleys' "Complete Guide to High End Audio" before the "Intro Guide to High Perform..." although I ordered the "Intro" first. Wasn't to arrive for a couple of months so I couldn't wait to find things out & got the earlier "Complete..." Confused? Well, anyway this newest is basically a condensed version of the 'Complete". So if you have it you really don't need this. If not this work is going to get you all the high points and teachings of the other. Either way one or the other will get you started understanding the complexities of sound. Very useful & helpful info!



2. This is a very good book on explaning equipment options and definitions of new audio terms. However, quite redundent.



3. The author does a very credible job at covering the universe of high-end audio. It's a very good companion to the first book which was geared towards experienced audiophiles. This book is designed to be more of an introductory 'course' to music lovers who may not yet be 'hooked' on the joys and frustrations that come with the hobby but it does include sufficient new or different thoughts and comments so as to appeal to more experienced audiophiles as well. Whether you start with this volume or Harley's first and more in-depth book, if you love music and have not experienced high-end audio - get one of the books, read it - get some great stereo gear (and the books guide you in how to choose)and dive into your favorite recordings. You'll discover great new sounds you may not have ever heard before.



4. The book is very informative, but can be used as guideline only.
   I will take it as " Dummy for Audio system "



5. I found that chapter 12 answered my questions on room design for optimal acoustics, and speaker placement. If you would like to gain audiophile knowledge this is definitely the book for you.

5 comments about Sound Studio Construction on a Budget.

1. as another reviewer says, this appears to be the previous edition of what is currently titled "how to build a small budget recording studio....". also, as another reviewer has noted, you dont have to read it in order -- each example project its its own chapter with its own self-contained presentation. each example does stress diffferent design goals that translate to different acoustic treatments.

   its a little annoying that every page seems to be an advertsemen for an rpg product. this is mitigated by the author's inclusion of journal and patent references that tell you everything you need to know to build these treatments yourself if you like. or if your budget doesnt allow for the beautiful wood forms from rpg, just take the keywords and run -- diffusor, absorber, abfussor -- and its easy to find someone besides rpg that makes the things using less expensive materials.

   i enjoyed the book enough that i'm ordering the next edition. i also recommend his book on stereo theory if you want an overview of the psychoacoustics involved.




2. Too much time spent on the mathematics of sound transfer and acoustics. Not enough on how to build the studio. Could not find a "complete parts list" for any of the plans. This is not for someone looking to build a simple studio. Very technical and boring.



3. if you are on a financial budget, you are likely on a time budget, and this book can be a time sucker. it reminded my of my high school trigonometry book. I didn't spend much time with that, either. To the defense of the writer, my friends in the business who actually know what they are doing, swear by this guy and his books. I, however, am just trying to make a room in my house sound a little better, and could care less to know about the science behind it any more than I care about the science behind a combustion engine while I'm driving. I recommend 'basic home studio design' by paul white. simple, small, easy, the minimum that you need to know- but as much as i think 90% would need.



4. This book is an update of Everest's classic "Acoustic Design for Home and Studio". It is great for what it is. For more capable types, Everest's "Master" book is more complete. This one has the basics. For those who thought this is too technical, I wonder how they expect to deal with the other aspects of audio engineering. Just knowing how to twist a knob is not a path to excellence.
   
   In actuality this is a well written, very direct primer, starting with very basic physics, and leading to easy design engineering. It's not hard to calculate, design, finance or construct good acoustics, and the payoff is huge. It does require a modest amount of work, and calculations to get good data. Remember: "Garbage in, garbage out." Acoustics control your recording and playback. This book will give you a fighting chance.



5. This book is useless if you already own "The Master Handbook of Acoustics" by the same author. However as the title suggests it's all about being on a budget, which it explains fairly well. If you are building a projects studio in your house for example..this is a must read.