Product Description
“It’s all devastatingly true — except the bits that are lies” — Douglas Adams

Upon publication, Don’t Panic quickly established itself as the definitive companion to Adams and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. This edition comes up to date, covering the movie, And Another Thing by Eoin Colfer and the build up to the 30th anniversary of the first novel.

Acclaimed author Neil Gaiman celebrates the life and work of Douglas Adams who, in a field in Innsbruck in 1971, had an idea that became The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The radio series that started it all, the five — soon to be six — book ‘trilogy’, the TV series, almost-film and actual film, and everything in between. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Interesting, learned a lot
This is a creditable survey of Adams writing and production of his most famous (and some not so famous) works. It has a brief section on Adams' school writings - he got the only perfect score on one writing assignment a teacher had ever handed out - and from there to college, radio, television, and computer games.

I thought the treatment of the text adventure games was particularly interesting, taking one back to a world where authors were critical to the design of a computer game.

The discussion of the politics around making the BBC television show was also interesting and rang true.

There is not a lot of depth in much of the analysis of the texts, nor is there much psychological analysis of Adams himself. It mostly focuses just on how the various texts were finally produced. But it yields valuable insights into Adams nonetheless.

A powerful guide perfect for any Adams fan or library catering to them
DON'T PANIC: DOUGLAS ADAMS & THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY appears in a new, updated edition to celebrate the life and work of Douglas Adams. Here Gaiman covers all of Adams' work, from Doctor Who scripts to his famous Hitchhiker originals through their book, TV and radio show renditions, offering a powerful guide perfect for any Adams fan or library catering to them.

Mostly harmless
Interesting and funn at times, this book is pretty bland considering it is a biography of one of (in my mind) the greatest authors I've ever read.(I've only read about 5 different authors, however).

In Douglas Adams' own review of this book, I totally agree:

"The best biography of Douglas Adams & the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy written since this morning" - D.A.

I'd give it a miss, in retrospect.(Maybe you can buy mine).

It's the bonus disc to the H2G2
This is a neat little book. I found the 1st edition years ago by chance in my university bookstore and bought it. When this revised edition (with some new material) was released, I snapped that up as well and re-read it.
Basically, think of this as the book equivalent to a "Bonus Features" DVD. It's jam packed with odd little stories and insights into the making of the Hitchhiker's universe (all media: radio, records, books, & TV). Die-Hard Adams fans will enjoy this.
And the fact that this happens to be compiled by Neil Gaiman, one of my other favorite writers, is just an added bonus.

A great tribute to a great man
This is part a biography of Douglas Adams, and part a description of how the different versions of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy came to be. Douglas Adams was a very interesting and intelligent man whose life was cut tragically short. The story of how his most famous work was created is almost as funny and capticating as the Hitchiker's Guide itself. We get some examples of his early work, which can be incredibly funny ("How many kamikaze missions have you flown?" "Fourteen Sir!" "Shouldn't it be just one?"). He was involved with the Monty Python group, and wrote some material for them.
I think the book should be essential not only for Hitchhiker's buffs but also for wannabes in any creative profession. ... Read more

Product Description
In the early days of America when men wore ruffles, rode horseback, and obeyed the King, there lived a man in Boston who cared for none of these things. No one expected Samuel Adams to wear ruffles or pledge allegiance to the King of England, but his friends did think that he might get on a horse. But would he? Never! he said. An ALA Notable Children's Book. Full color.Amazon.com Review
Let the others wear the ruffled shirts and ride grandly onhorseback; Sam Adams, Massachusetts rebel leader, was a plain andplain-spoken fellow, both in history and in Why Don't You Get aHorse, Sam Adams? Adams, it turns out, was horseless for a goodreason. On the way to figuring out just what that reason was, thereader gets a nice, personal look at a leader and his times.

In this book, as in the rest of her series ofhistories, Jean Fritz sneaks plenty of information into her storyabout Adams, the American Revolution, and the answer to the titlequestion. (For ages 7 and up) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Warts and all!
Oliver Cromwell wanted Sir Peter Lely to paint him "warts and all," showing who he really was. Jean Fritz's wonderful biography, Why Don't You Get a Horse, Sam Adams? apparently does the same for a Founding Father.

Sam Adams' attitudes revealed in this history book for young readers may be somewhat objectionable to some, however, it is important to note that people are the product of the time and society in which they live. Adams is no different.

This is our history, and you cannot tell the truth with lies. Jean Fritz's book is both humorous and accurate. Let us never lose signt of the need for accuracy, despite our objections to what truth may be.

Peculiar Guy, But...
Who's Sam Adams that someone would write a book about him?Well, he's the guy that pretty much started the Revolutionary War.How could a shabbily dressed fellow who refused to ride a horse (EVERYBODY who was ANYBODY rode a horse) start a war between England (the mother country) and us?There's only one way to find out: R E A D.

A Non-Workbook, Non-Textbook Approach to Teaching Language Arts: Grades 4 Through 8 and Up

Why don't you get a horse, Sam Adams?
Fun Children's book!Kids will enjoy this book.

Revolutionary style
Fritz has the rare talent of making historical figures more than interesting.She makes them human.Immersing the usual boring caricatures of her subjects in the small true stories that she has discovered in their lives, she gives us an entirely different way of looking at our American heroes.In this book, her talent for storytelling has been expertly paired with Trina Schart Hyman's intricate and intriguing pencil drawings.Sam Adams suddenly becomes somebody you'd like to sit down and have a mug of Guinness with.Without a doubt he is boisterous and a bit of a braggart.But he's also a great man, and this book never looses sight of the fact that, though ridiculous at times, Adams did great things and deserves to be remembered for them.There is little debate that Fritz's books remain some of the best historical children's biographies today.I well remember her stories from when I was a child myself, though I half wish Hyman illustrated ALL her books.This book would be absolutely perfect to teach to children during Revolutionary War history classes.Pairing it with all of Fritz's books would also be an exceptionally bright idea.

I love this book!
Many years ago I did a report on Samuel Adams for school. This book by Jean Fritz helped me get a high grade. It did not give me the impression that people who are smarter should be excused from being a soldier or any other ideas. In fact I enjoyed it so much that to this day I love learning about the American Revolution, because Jean Fritz made learning fun for me. I suggest that everyone read it. ... Read more

Product Description
By the turn of the 20th century, West Adams had become one of the first bedroom communities in fast-growing Los Angeles. Mansions and bungalows housed bankers and merchants who commuted to their businesses downtown, as well as moviemakers, debutantes, the social elite, and one or two scoundrels. Anchored by Adams Boulevard, this area just west of downtown has been through many changes. Today the neighborhood is one of the most racially and architecturally diverse in the country and contains the highest concentration of historic cultural monuments in Los Angeles. Residents and local archives, including the University of Southern California and the Automobile Club of Southern California, have contributed images to this volume illustrating life and architecture from Victorian times onward. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

West Adams (Images of America)
What a treasury of old photographs, showing the evolution of a suburb of L.A. The clear, concise captions allow you to place each picture in context. The authors have included something for everyone: mansions and bungalows, street scenes and interiors, dignified solid citizens and a pyramid of young ladies looking very merry indeed. My only criticism is that the book isn't bigger and thicker--I want more!

What A Book!
I just love this book, will get it for all my friends and family for the Holidays.Great history of Los Angeles in it's heyday!
Terry Bible ... Read more

Product Description
Head for Mexico was edited by Teresa Kendrick, the author of a highly respected guidebook to the Lake Chapala area of Mexico. Her years of experience in living and working in Mexico add an invaluable facet to this book. Bill Haslbauer is a retired Texan who, along with wife Neva retired to Mexico and offered to share their experiences with you. The definitive book on single women moving to Mexico was written by Karen Blue and she shares with you some of her unique insight into what all that entails. Mark Farley has spent years teaching English in placement service. Mark has an extensive network of people who provide information on an astounding variety of locations. and finally, Judy King, who has years of experience in the business world of Mexico and currently co-publishes with Blue, a newsletter about life in Mexico, has provided a touch of her clear-eyed but affectionate prose about her adopted country.

In addition, if you don't find the answers to your questions in Head for Mexico the author provides a website and email address so you can contact him personally. This is the only book to offer the readers exactly the information they need in order to make an informed decision about a possible move to Mexico and it may well be the funniest book you read this year. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Sexist and out of date information
While there may be a few facts of interest or use in this book, for the most part anyone who has travelled in Mexico or done any research on moving there will probably already know most of the contents of this book.What bothered me most about it was the fact that the author is sexist, always addressing the reader as if he were male and not possibly a female ('you and the missus', 'sweet cheeks' referring to one's female mate, etc...).Also, much of the information is out-of-date (e.g. the author states that paying $600/month rent is far too much).If you buy this book, be prepared to wade through most of it in search of information relevant to you.

Written in a dichotomous sophisticated/folksy style but overall, worthwhile
This book seems to incorporate two diametrically-opposed styles:one that of a worldly, super-educated and sophisticated "auteur" and that of a folksy hippie with no more than a 6th grade education. In short, the SUBSTANCE is good and based on facts and experience with lots of specific references.However, the interspersed anecdotal STYLE is an acquired taste.

As I read it, I asked myself, if the author was actually a well-educated American "de Tocqueville" who decided, with savvy, to envelop the visual and anecdotal style in a folksy manner only for marketing purposes; or were there two authors, each of whom knew the book would need the contribution of the other.

I have come to the opinion that the editor, Teresa Kendric, oversaw or penned the more thoughtful, erudite and seasoned chapters and passages (e.g. "Once the wordless language of infatuation fades...", while the accredited author, Don, added his folksy anecdotes to illustrate points.

Funny slice of life SOB.
Funny review of the pitfalls that can befall you when moving to another country. Thought provoking and entertaining.I plan on moving to Mexico soon and I hope avoid most of the pitfalls he has pointed out.

My two cents...
Okay, read all the other reviews, because they are awesome.

One thing I will add to them:

The author has a section about who should and should not move to Mexico. It's very realistic. I mean, we're talking heat, bugs, water that can make you wish you were dead, things that will drive the impatient up a bloody wall. Mexico isn't America! Don (I felt like we were on a first-name basis) keeps saying "If...you should NOT move to Mexico!"

The picture indelibly etched in my mind came from (paraphrasing now) Don's admonishment: If you can't handle animals in the street, both dead and alive, don't move to Mexico!

When I finished this book, I wanted to move to Mexico SO BAD!!! I started sort of dreaming in Spanish, what's in there still from when I studied it thirty years ago in college. That's never happened to me before....

Lots of flavor in this book. Lots of realism. Lots of very good information, things you're going to need to know that I never would have thought of. Lots of sensitivity and love for the Mexican people, too.

I imagine Don as kind of the Crocodile Dundee of Mexico. I hope DH and I get to meet him in person one day....

*****Great book***** for those who wish to live in Mexico!!!!!!!!!!!
Hola, I loved this book and have learned so much about living in Mexico that I feel like I have already been living there for a year!! Don Adams' writing is like you are right there talking with him and he doesn't mince words about anything and everything.An honest in your face book that covers every single thing you could ever want to know and a whole a lot more that you didn't know you needed to know.Some things will shock you and I am so glad I know about them.Written in a style that is so easy to read and keeps you laughing, too.Fabulous - you don't want to put it down.You will love this book and will want to keep it forever.This is the best book on living in Mexico that I have ever read - you don't need to buy any more books about this subject - just this one!And I will be moving either to Ajijic in the Lake Chapala area or San Miguel de Allende very soon.Tough choice as both towns in the mountains are marvellous!Thanks Don Adams!Adios ... Read more

Product Description
The new -- and final -- adventures of archy the cockroach sage and his zany but lovable entourage.Amazon.com Review
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the humorist Don Marquischarmed New Yorkers with his whimsical newspaper column, which oftenfeatured the prose stylings of an opinionated cockroach namedArchy. This final collection of Marquis's columns was edited by JeffAdams, who found these gems in a long-lost trunk of the journalist'spapers. Parts of that archive have already been published in the 1996volume, Archyology: TheLong Lost Tales of Archy and Mehitabel. Fans of Don Marquis,light verse, and talking vermin are likely to enjoy this book.

Archy writes by hurling himself headfirst toward the keys of atypewriter. In "archy comes out for simplified spelling," the littlefellow recommends changes in standard English spelling and describesthe physical hardships of his writing style:

in the small of myback theres a kink
and the rapid sukseshin of shocks
isputting my chin on the blink

In other columns, Archy makes wryobservations about politics and American society. When he visitsWashington, D.C., he worries that he might get tacked onto a piece oflegislation because it seems like everything is being added to thatparticular bill. On another occasion, he gets caught up in aticker-tape parade and is tossed around the streets of New York fortwo full hours.

The volume also contains several installments ofThe Great False Teeth Mystery, a serial novel about theinternational adventures of Archy and a bejeweled set ofdentures. This picaresque parodies the conventions of serials but isless entertaining than Marquis's other work. Marquis is at his bestwhen his sidekick Archy is in charge of the typewriter, giving us alla bug's-eye view of the universe. --Jill Marquis ... Read more

Product Description
The most complete edition of Twain's two stories, it uses Mark Twain's preferred text and includes passages not previously included--and not available in any other version. The editor's afterword tells how Twain came to write the "Diaries," which are recognized today as his most personal works of fiction. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (34)

Hilarious
Only buy if you want to own it, which I did because it is a fun read. If you are just looking to read it, I recommend getting it from your local library because it doesn't take that long to read. Twain is brilliant in his protrayal of women as ignorant to men's feelings but disturbed when they don't get any attention. Definitely a laugh out loud kind of book.

Wonderful transaction
This transaction was easy and perfect . . . product in good shape was here in no time at all.Price was good.These are good folks.

used CDs
Arrived on time, discs were clean. Only the broken corners of the covers show they have been used.

Adam and Eve at last the Truth
If you are not familiar with Mark Twain then some of his humour may be lost on you. This is the quintessence of Twain's humour, strong and gentle, reflective and musing on the human condition and those commonest of misunderstandings that occur between the genders.
When I first heard of this work it was read, one diary at a time, as they had been released for print. Here the two diaries are woven together.
I am not sure I enjoy that so much but I do recommend this to you for a nostalgic and wistful relfection on human relationships in this time when only cynicism seems to reign between the sexes.

A Love Story
This month our book club discussed Mark Twain's The Diaries of Adam and Eve, and even though Twain's account was amusing and speculative, it did give me a lot to think about. I can't imagine how it must have felt to awaken as a fully formed adult with no one around to socialize her or to impart even the tiniest bit of information or advice...except for Adam, that is.

How did Adam really feel about her and vice versa? Was he disturbed to have this creature with the long hair intrude on his personal space? How did they react to being banished from the Garden of Eden? What did Eve do all day? What did she think about? Did Adam scare her, or did she love him in the way that Twain said she did?All of those questions and more are answered in this delightful little book. It was funny, sad, and sort of bittersweet all at the same time.

I thoroughly enjoyed the way the love story developed and love the last passage in Adam's diary: "Wheresoever she was, there was Eden."

... Read more

Product Description
This book is a surreal trip into the parallel universe of the Germs, a story told by the people who were there and augmented by rarely seen photos. Enigmatic punk-messiah Darby Crash comes alive in these pages, as seen through a web of perversion, LSD, chaos, and suicide. "The Germs wrote and played the best punk rock songs of all time. -- Flea, Red Hot Chili Peppers ... Read more

Customer Reviews (32)

No stars, this is purely revisionist history with an agenda
No stars, this is purely revisionist history with an agenda

Reviewer: Nicole Panter from Venice, CA USA

This book is a steaming pile of revisionist history "written" by two people who didn't ever like Darby very much. I managed the Germs for two of the three years they existed (the crucial GI period) and despite what the authors would have you believe, I did not cooperate with them in any way whatsoever -- to do so would have been a violation of my friendship with Darby Crash. All the "quotes" attributed to me are cannibalized from old interviews, chopped and channeled to suit the way the "authors" wished to present me -- in an extremely negative light.

A measure of the disingenuousness of this project is the fact that Mullen thanks me in the acknowledgements, a ploy designed to lead the reader into believing I cooperated with them. Along with Lorna and Pat I have kept my mouth shut over the last 20 years and watched those who were very much at the periphery of what, in hindsight, has become a glamorous place to be place themselves at the center.

Don Bolles has spent the last 23 years trying to spin his involvement with the band into something bigger. He was the 3rd of 4 drummers (luckily for him during the GI period). Darby and the others disliked him intensely and Bolles never, never, never had a voice in the creative life of the band. Mullen has spent years trying to flog his completely sensationalized, tawdry version of events to anyone who might buy it, in any form possible -- script, book, whatever.

In light of the fact that I am untruthfully portrayed in this book, do I regret my non-cooperation with the "authors"? No, absolutely not -- the decision I made is the one I can live with -- to have cooperated with either Bolles or Mullen would have been a grossly immoral violation of my friendship with Darby Crash.

The true story of the Germs has yet to be written, the closest I've seen so far is an account by Jeff Spurrier that appeared in Details a few years ago. Forgo the fantasy account of "Lexicon Devil" and seek that one out.

Written snapshots
I'm not a music fan or junkie. It's the cultural (or maybe sociological or even pathological would be better) side of these movements that interests me. This one's sad, reminiscent of fundamantalist followers hurling themselves into a devouring athmosphere much as The Germs flung headlong into their abandonment and escape. "Darby" had ability and problems. It's strangely creative (and human) that a very queer boy like him would cast himself in so homophobic a setting. Comments on events coming in snips from people were effective and gave a decent sense of the characters and times. A surprising lot of these "punks" went on to do rather well in a conventional way. Had he lived it's easy to imagine "Darby" going on in life somewhat like Oscar Wilde's "Bosie," tragically talented poet with sonnet skills no longer in demand and unhappy with the way his life turned. I'm glad to have the book. I'm equally glad I was not a part of that scene and slipped, instead, into my own form of self destruction.

Great book, You won't find it for under $40
Great limited edition signed copy of a great book.Just beware when buying, it has the same ISBN as the regular copy, and sellers such as innerself market, have the regular copy listed as the signed limited edition copy.Do not buy from them.

The authoritative account of Darby Crash's life
First off, I love oral biographies.If you like this book and its format, then I would also recommend you check out "American Hardcore" and/or "Please Kill Me." The other thing I must mention concerns just how glad I am that the author, Don Bolles, wrote this book as he knew Darby Crash, having been in the Germs.Also, Don Bolles has been critical of the recent bioepic, "What We Do is Secret."Its good to get this side of the story.

And what do you get?You get a multi-dimensional accoutn of Darby's life, career, and death from a varied cast of family members (including his mother and sister), friends, and musicians, etc.The pictures are great!Its really wild too look at the photos of Darby as a kid. Sometimes its hard to remember the era that the members of the Germs grew up in because they're more popular each day than they ever were when they were active.Its also strange to look at one of the pictures and really think about it as it is; a snapshot, a scene from a very real person's life who was thinking thoughts at the time, who was feeling the enviorment, and you wonder...

Sometimes famous figures come to the point where they don't even seem like real people, and more like figurines or tall tales.Something like that.This book takes John Paul Beahm and really humanizes him.

I'd be careful about lending this one out.I have to get another copy soon because I know I'll be reading this again.

Lexicon Devil
actually i started reading this book while my son had it. he had borrowed it from a friend and had to return it. it is very interesting and for the most part factual. but even the unfactual stuff is told by the actual person involved. if you love punk rock you will love this book!!!

like the music this book contains many references to sex and drugs. a very interesting look at the beginning of the punk scene!! ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Damn fine and 'bout time
Elegant and definitive. I agree with every word of the praise it receives from Professors Gilson and Lebowitz. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
In 1996, Alexander Rumpkin was at the top of his game: he was CEO of America’s largest health care organization.His ruthless trampling of people to get there is the story of The Sawdust Pile.Coming of age with two white cousins and a black kid in the segregated South, Alex had none of the tools commonly needed to climb to the top; but he succeeded beyond anyone’s wildest dreams because he allowed nothing and no one to block his path.

In a highly unusual first novel, the author delivers a bittersweet, provocative probe into the lives of men and women inhabiting The Sawdust Pile—evoking deep emotions, yet satisfying completely.”
Jane Penland Hoover
Founder, Greensboro Writers’ Guild
Greensboro, Georgia
... Read more

Product Description
Adams and Salvaterra show how block scheduling can help teachers become more creative in instructional strategies and find higher satisfaction on the job. Students' grades improve, they can complete more courses and administrators and faculty can become more student-centered, discussion-oriented, and focused on complex academic tasks. Staff development and continual training throughout the change process are keys to implementing successful changes. "Block Scheduling" will help each school find its own pathway to success. ... Read more

Product Description
This series is jointly published by the Asian Development Bank and the Comparative Education Research Centre of the University of Hong Kong. ... Read more

Product Description
This atlas has been updated to bring the most state-of-the-art information on all those environmental issues that one reads about in the newspaper headlines: the state of the ozone layer and the greenhouse effect, the destruction of the rainforests and the tropical timber trade, urban air pollution; acid rain, population densities, nuclear energy, whaling, pollution of the seas, the Arctic and Antartica, as well as the status of many of the endangered species. It explains all these issues, making it clear what is being done and what still needs to be done. ... Read more

Product Description
This series provides bios of the Generation 1 Transformers characters, all illustrated by some of the most popular Transformers artists of all time including Don Figueroa, Guido Guidi, and Pat Lee. This volume is packed with so many facts and figures on Transformers that you'll need a memory upgrade! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

helps remember the g-1 transfomers
This help me remember tha transformers that I watch in the 80's. It was worth the money if the book is under $20 dollars not any more

Again, Good but lacking when compared to the original Dreamwave version
Basically this is a reprint of the Dreamwave version that was released in 2004. It does offer a wonderfully detailed listing of each Generation 1 bot, as well as gestalts, micromasters, targetmasters, headmasters and pretenders. Each listing covers Personality/Bio, Weapons and Abilities, Weaknesses as well as pictures of robotic and alternate mode/modes.

However:

When compared to my original Dreamwave copy, the majority of the artwork color is pale.While still colorful, the original is bright and vibrant.The colors on these pages seem dull.This color issue is consistent throughout the book, not just a page here or there as with the first volume.Still this is perfectly usable for reference as well as to save your original copy (if you have one) wear and tear.And if you do not have the original version, you but probably would not realize the color problem.

Nitpicking:

While this does have a character index in the back for all characters included in this volume, it is lacking the "covers both volumes" index that is in the back of the Dreamwave versions. The lack of the multi volume index is disappointing for me as I find it an extremely nice feature so no matter which volume I pick up, I have the complete index for every character detailed in the books and don't have to switch books when trying to remember if a certain bot really exhists or not.

Ultimately:

Especially for the price being in the mid-teens, it's worth the money, especially if you don't have the original release. And recently the original Dreamwave releases are selling for double, triple and even four times the mid-teen price, thus making this version an even more reasonable bargain. ... Read more