Product Description
Get ready to explore all that Fireworks 8 has to offer! Giving you a firm foundation, Macromedia Fireworks 8 Revealed allows you to master concepts on both a technical and artistic level. Begin by examining the concept behind each task-the goal and the necessary features that are involved. Then go in-depth with the objective of your task as you study examples and learn the steps necessary to complete it. Working your way through comprehensive, step-by-step lessons, you’ll develop the confidence you need to create eye-catching documents using Fireworks 8. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Save your money!
This is a terrible book. First, there is no color and the illustrations are poorly printed, muddy halftones that give very little impression of what the finished graphic might look like.The learning approach is very modular, attempting to do what the VisualQuickstart books do but getting lost in badly designed tint-boxes on the sides of pages that have too much boldface type and badly reproduced icons. You can learn much more from the Macromedia tutorials that come with Fireworks 8.

If you are new to Fireworks, save your money and use it to buy the Macromedia Fireworks 8 Training from the Source, which also has problems, but at least it is well presented and easy to follow.

If you have used Fireworks before, you will find that both books claim to present Fireworks 8, but in fact the features new to the most recent version are not covered: the Image Editing Panel, 25 new blend modes, CSS Popups, actionscript color compatibility, Quicktime video import, and on and on.

If you really want to get current with the latest version of Fireworks, join lynda.com for $25 a month and view Abigail Rudner's superbFireworks 8 Essential Training (along with scores of other online tutorials).

A quick guide for beginner and intermediate levls of users
This book covers most topics which Fireworks users need to know. Topics are presented in a nice flow. Readers can quickly pick up techniques described in the book (in less than a week). This book should be very useful for beginners and some helps for intermediate users. If you were looking for a workflow book using fireworks and other website designing software like Dreamweaver, this one is not the one. I personally do not like to quality of figures inside. Many of them are not well printed, designed, and meaningful. It worths a four stars because it costs under 20 dollars. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review
Integrating Flash, Fireworks, and Freehand f/x & Design: Solutions for Web Design Workflow is perfect if you've already used each of these applications individually, but want to become more efficient by taking advantage of the specific strengths each offers and coordinating tasks between them all. Projects cover creating maps, wireframe diagrams, photographs, navigational bars, animated GIFs, Flash movies, building Web sites, and more. And the book even discusses how to integrate Fireworks within Dreamweaver.

This is a tutorial-based book and fairly text-heavy. You'll get the most out of it if you can invest the time to follow along step by step in front of your computer, either using the files provided on the CD-ROM or generating new artwork yourself. The author has a gentle, friendly style that's encouraging and supportive. The introduction to the chapter on Flash by noted Flash expert Hillman Curtis only amounts to three pages of advice, but it's also very encouraging to newbies.

The book's level is set, roughly, at intermediate to advanced, but this needs to be clarified: If you call yourself "advanced," this will all be familiar territory (no advanced user needs to see how Bézier curve handles work). On the other hand, if you're a designer who is experienced in other graphics applications, but a rank beginner with any of these Macromedia products, you'll probably be able to follow along just fine. The bulk of the audience will be users who feel they haven't yet maximized their integration of Flash, Fireworks, Freehand, and Dreamweaver, as well as those who've lagged behind in taking the leap into ActionScripting. (Isn't that most of us?) You won't become an ActionScripting pro, but you will pick up some of the fundamentals.

A nice bonus: the CD-ROM contains 20 QuickTime movies demonstrating key steps in several projects. --Angelynn Grant ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

What a bargain - 3 for 1!
I already had Fireworks, and then I bought the Flash and Freehand bundle. I am used to Illustrator, and this book really helped me tie all the programs together. The projects are easy to do, but challenging enough to keep up your interest. They also build up your skill level so you increase your capabilities as you work in the programs.

The book is divided into three sections - one for each of the programs - and projects from one program are used in the other programs. There's just enough difference between the program interfaces to confuse you, but Ms. Evans has done an excellent job in clarifying them.

I especially enjoyed the rotating fishing lure exersize in the Flash section. I've wanted to do that effect for a long time, and her explanation got me through quickly and easily.

All in all, the book really will help you if you are putting up a website and haven't done a lot of graphic work before. The integration of these three programs is important, and the author did an excellent job in teaching. I recommend it heartily!

Nice Surprise
I must say I was pleasantly surprised with this book. I actually learned a ton more than expected which is unusual for a book not meant to teach all 3 programs. It is certainly at an intermediate level as stated which is also a refreshing surprise.

The Fireworks section is quite extensive since all the examples rightfully are designed in or a major part of them are designed in Fireworks where they are then cut up, interactivity added (except for the Flash examples) and then exported.

The FreeHand section deals with primarily the tools that differ from Fireworks and things like perspecive, contour blends and bleneding. The blending feature allows you to do a shape tween type of effect and then use it in Fireworks for animation. Then there is extensive tips and tricks for preparing FreeHand files for use in Flash.

The Flash section is great fun and extremely useful. The entire section deals with ActionScripting projects, the author doesn't try to teach you Flash but useful ways to use it in conjunction to the other two programs. The projects such as the puzzle teaches more than it may appear on the surface. Sure, you may not need a puzzle, but it was a great way to demonstrate how to load movies that replace prior ones versus loading movies to a new level. This is just one example. There is also a jukebox that has four pieces of music (included) that uses a trick to load very quickly. A product display that rotates a full 360 degrees, a banner ad that allows you to print a brochure from within Flash and a banner ad that uses the color feature of Flash. There are more projects in this section.

Even though Dreamweaver isn't in the title of this book, it wasn't left out of the mix. There is an Appendix which takes an entire Fireworks design and places the images in DW and adds the behaviors, CSS Style Sheets in DW. There is also a section on adding FW pop-up menus in DW.

There are some great contributors that added value to this book as well. What I liked is they added VALUE not just their names. For instance, Hillman Curtis did a nice introductory piece on, "Motion is the Message" imparting some of his wisdom to us. There is also an entire interface given to us from Eyeland Studio that we can use and modify (with instructions on how)and banner ads from Figleaf Software.

All in all, I don't think you'll be disapointed in this book. I walked away with much more than I expected. This review took much longer to do than anticipated because the book is almost 500 pages (480) and is packed. Not only did I learn the strong points of each program but how to work more efficiently as well. ... Read more

Product Description
Jack's little sister, Susie, is so annoying! The Secret Seven are furious when they discover she's formed her own "detective gang"! Then some money is stolen, and Susie is a chief suspect. The Seven can't quite believe it -- Susie wouldn't do anything that bad...would she? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

the sea of adventure by enid blyton
Reviewer: c.f. Thomas from Taupo New Zealand.
This book is great. It is aged for 9-12, but I find good for 8 year olds. It'san adventure/mystery about fivechildren who have just recoverd from a bad case of measles. They take a trip to a bird island in the middle of the sea. Their 2 pets Huffin and Puffin are Puffins. The children go to an island which they make their headquarters. I am not going to tell you any more as it will spoil the story. You need to read it yourself as it is great reading I would give it 10/10

A great 10/10 book!
This book is great. It is aimed for the age groupe 9-12, but infact i still find it intesting at 14 years old. It is an adventure/mystery about seven children who start saving money to buy fireworks. Peter, Janet, Pam, Colin, George, Jack and Barbara are collecting old clothes and money, but then everything is stolen! Who could have done this? Could it be Jack's little sister and her gang? Could it have something to do with the nearby robery? I'm not giving anything away, you will just have to read it for yourself. You wont regret buying it, I'll tell you that for a fact. I give it a fab 10/10 ... Read more

Product Description
Children have never had so many reasons to learn how Chinese people everywhere ring in the new and ring out the old. As China takes its new place on the global stage, understanding Chinese culture and values becomes ever more essential to our next generation.

For two joyous weeks red is all around. The color represents luck and happiness. Children receive money wrapped in red paper, and friends and loved ones exchange poems written on red paper. The Chinese New Year is also an opportunity to remember ancestors, and to wish peace and happiness to friends and family. The holiday ends with the Festival of Lanterns, as many large communities stage the famous Dragon Dance. Fireworks, parades, lanterns, presents, and feasts: these are some of the joys experienced by all who observe Chinese New Year.

Celebrate Chinese New Year is the latest, timely addition to National Geographic’s popular Holidays Around the World series. With 25 colorful images and a simple, educational text, the book is a lively invitation to revel in this child-friendly, national and international holiday. Carolyn Otto brings the historical and cultural aspects of the Chinese New Year into focus, and young readers experience the full flavor of an event celebrated by over a billion people in China, and countless others worldwide. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

This bright, excitingand colorful book brings the Chinese New Year to life!
Chinese New Year, a holiday that is celebrated by "millions and millions" of people around the world begins on the first new moon of the new year.This holiday is typically celebrated for a week, but was "traditionally celebrated for 15 days," in which time the moon beame full.It's an exciting festival and everyone prepares for it long in advance.Everyone has to shop, clean house and clean up the streets.It is as if all the old will be swept away and the doors open to a happy and prosperous new year.

Everyone decorates with bright colors, especially the color red because that portends good luck.Gold of course signifies wealth.On red paper people use Chinese characters to write couplets, "poems or signs, calling out happy wishes and asking for good luck."These are hung around the doorway in each home because that is "where the new year will enter" everyone's home.Lots of food is prepared for the celebration and each food has a special meaning.Once all is ready and New Year's Eve arrives, people gather and celebrate.At midnight everyone opens their "doors and windows. . .to let the old year out."Let the celebration begin!

This bright, excitingand colorful book brings the Chinese New Year to life.The numerous vibrant photographs on each page combined with the text are very informative and draw the reader in very quickly.In the back of the book are more facts about the holiday, instructions on how to make a Chinese lantern, a discussion about the Chinese calender, a recipe for fortune cookies, instructions on how to play the Drum and Flower Game, a glossary, a section discussing the origins of the holiday and additional recommended books and web sites.Do you stay awake to scare the Nián away from your house?"Bang, clang, boom!" ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Interesting collection of grotesques
"A Souvenir of Japan"--A study of everyday alien-ness, how a Western woman and a Japanese man can find each other appealing, yet still know nothing about each other. Carter captures the disillusionment fairly well, but it never really coalesces into a Story.

"The Executioner's Beautiful Daughter"--A disturbing look at a strange group of humans. This story recalled for me the phrase,"Who watches the watchmen?" Except here, the phrase should read who punishes the punishers.

"The Loves of Lady Purple"--An interesting grotesque about an old puppeteer and his special marionette, the Lady Purple. The language is beautiful, although the meaning is hidden.

"The Smile of Winter"--If a story could be a painting, this one would be on hanging on the wall. As such, I found it interesting but boring.

"Penetrating to the Heart of the Forest"--Carter is remembered best for her retelling of ancient tales, mostly fairy ones, but here she shows that she can also delve into the mythology of the bible for her reinventments. Her lush language fits this forest, and the ease at which the story shifts from point to point is simple yet masterly.

"Flesh and the Mirror""--An interesting character study of a woman who returns to Japan and finds her lover less what she had made of him while she was gone. The psychological dissection was intriguing, but there was no story to pin it on, and again, I found myself adrift. This is the second story of a woman in Japan; had Carter also spent time in Japan?

"Master"--A bit of the heart of darkness from the native viewpoint. Either that or a really perverse retelling of Robinson Crusoe. Again, interesting, but I do not seem to be catching the point of these tales.

"Reflections""--Wooo, what a ride, almost surreal in its depiction of the world in the mirror. Not quite what I was looking for, but closer.

"Elegy for a Freelance"--The idea, I believe, is to go on about the details of life while something is happening in the greater world that is more important. These characters can not see the forest for they are the trees. ... Read more

Product Description
Fireworks MX Magic has self-contained projects including step-by-step instructions, explanations, tips, and tricks. You can customize each project or use them as launching pads for their own projects. This book covers the functional upgrades and best practices of Fireworks with special emphasis on building web graphics, animation, navigation, and integrating Fireworks into the workflow. Macromedia's Fireworks allows users to develop illustrations, manipulate photos, and design layouts while offering integration with all professional web applications including Flash, Dreamweaver, and UltraDev. CD-ROM contains all files needed to complete projects in the book.Amazon.com Review
As a former Photoshop "evangelist," author Lopuck is the perfect person to tout the versatility and efficiency of Fireworks for creating Web graphics. In Fireworks MX Magic, she brings together several Fireworks power users ("tech heads and artsy folks," including Steven Grosvenor and Jeffrey Bardzell of the cool Phireworx.com) to reveal their working methods and shortcuts through excellent tutorials using professional-quality graphics. (Complete project files are on the companion CD-ROM.)

The projects reflect problems, from simple to complex, faced by Web developers every day; for example, creating vector and bitmap art, making animated buttons for use in Flash, or site management using the URL panel, link libraries, Project Log, and Find and Replace. Also covered are not-so-basic but still fundamental Fireworks skills like creating and customizing pop-up menus and "round tripping" a file between Fireworks and Dreamweaver. Even experienced users will appreciate the expert tips included; for example, repurposing the pop-up menu into a Help Tips button on your site by increasing the menu delay to three or four seconds. More advanced sections cover areas many intermediate users never get around to, like using the batch-processing tools to change fonts or scale and export several images, managing the Library and Styles panels for collaborative workflow, or creating a custom command (like "Rotate > Resize > Move"). They even show how to add on a user interface.

Although the illustrations in the book are in black and white, most readers will follow along with the project files on the computer, anyway. The writing is clear and precise, without excess commentary or jokes, making the learning process fairly speedy for those already familiar with Fireworks. And, as with other books in the Magic series, Fireworks MX Magic has a wide format that lies open easily on your desk.

Taking advantage of the integration between all the Macromedia applications can greatly increase your workflow. If you already use Dreamweaver or Flash but have resisted switching over to Fireworks from ImageReady, Fireworks MX Magic will help you get off the ground running. --Angelynn Grant ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Not for the beginner
Gives step-by-step, easy to follow instructions to use intermediate and advanced techniques to create or modify graphics. This book would be very hard for someone with little or no Fireworks experience to follow, as it assumes one knows where all the menu items and commands are located. But for those who are ready to dig a little deeper into the features and functions of Fireworks, this is a great tool.

If you're looking for a beginner's book, try Macromedia Fireworks MX 2004 Training from the Source. It's excellent for those who have little or no knowledge of Fireworks.

15 Projects - Excellent for becoming an Intermediate User.
This expensive book on Fireworks MX has a little over 200 pages covering 15 projects. It is assumed that you are a beginner wanting to move to the next level. The projects address important problems you will encounter on a daily basis and explain solutions in a simple step by step fashion.

To give a preview of what to expect when you work through this book - you will learn how to create flashy buttons, understand the concepts behind large-scale link management, building the ultimate navigational bar, creating perfect pop-up menus, etc. There are a few advanced topics like using Fireworks extensions and collaborative workflow. All in all, this is an excellent book deriving its value from the project based approach (one project per chapter) written and reviewed by experts in the industry.

The entire book is in black and white so the only color you will see is the little yellowish orange on the cover. The book doesn't sit like a normal book on a bookshelf because of its unique dimensions (8x10 instead of 10x8). I personally didn't care too much for this format but it isn't bothersome either. The project files are on the accompanying CD-ROM. The book uses a two column format throughout whereby the text is aligned with the associated images. This provides faster understanding of the topic being discussed.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the chapters on how to build a very cool navigational bar and how to design a dynamic interface using rollovers etc. The chapter on flashy buttons was fun also. Beginners will not be confused by the writing style which is very direct and simple. I didn't find anything magical about this book as hinted in the title but it is a very practical book and useful to almost any Fireworks designer.

Considering the tremendous background that the authors possess, they could have provided more tips and covered another 10-15 projects for the price of the book. But other than that, this is an excellent book on the path to becoming an Intermediate user if you don't mind the price. Enjoy!

Not completely useless but certainly not very good.
These "Magic" books are very hit and miss and this one does more missing than hitting.While there are a few good sections, this book is more of a portfolio for a few selected graphic designers than a useful instructional guide.

Fireworks Magic is divided into sections which deal with certain tasks, or techniques.In many of the "Magic" books this works because the techniques are useful, timesaving, or at least provide motivation and inspiration to create.That is not the case here. The problem with this particualr book is two fold:

The techniques illustrated are, in many cases, elementary in comparison to the book's focus. If you do not know how to blend a background together (a web technique used sparingly in modern design anyway) or proper exporting formats (jpg vs. gif), why would you spend hundreds of dollars on Fireworks which is almost exclusively a web design tool? This book has almost no instructional value so even if you were a designer and your firm was switching over to fireworks (something we did several years ago) this in no way reflects the type of book your boss would put on your desk to bring you up to speed. In other words, if you were reading this book, you probably already have fireworks experience but they want to show you how to blend a background or export a .gif? Not very well thought out.

Secondly, the work presented in this book is, with a couple of exceptions, poor. If one of my designers presented something similar to the work shown in most sections of this book, we would be having a serious talk about their need for retraining.In fact, there are many techniques used in this book which I truly question.

In the very least, this book could have been a source of design inspiration.It the best case it could have been both a inspirational design book and have some good instructional content.In reality it has neither. With the exception of two sections, this book is a proverbial show and tell for mediocre designers.

Straight to the guts
If your looking for the basics on getting started there are many others that will do the job. This book step right into the heart of Fireworks and bends and stretches the tool we know as Fireworks.

Excellent projects and if you don't have a need for the project, there are so many great tips and tricks buried in these books, that alone is worth the price.

Excellent desk book to keep around.

Excellent How To & Fun!
I had a lot of fun going through this book learning how to use most of the tools Fireworks MX has to offer. The only improvement I'd make is color! I was surprised to find such a rich book in black and white. Overall, I recommend this book to anyone doing graphics for the web. This book is a great intro and Fireworks is a great tool. ... Read more

Product Description
This book briefly explains the significance of the Fourth of July holiday and the origin and meaning of its celebration with fireworks. ... Read more

Product Description
A revised version with coverage of Dreamweaver, Flash, and Fireworks using the applications together and to create animation and Web sites. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Way too basic
This book attempts to cover topics in Flash, Dreamweaver, and Fireworks all in one book, with huge screenshots taking up every page. As a result, you barely scratch the surface of these complex programs. I am a beginner myself, and already there are things I want to learn that I can't find in this book. Its clearly written for slow college students, and while I'm a college student myself I find this book to be too slow and elementary. I covered almost the whole flash section in about two days. If you are completely new to working with images, video timelines, and web publishing, this book would probably be fine, in fact, perfect for you, as it pays close attention to the beginner's details. However, I've worked with Adobe Photoshop and have done some web publishing before, so the step by step instructions are rather intuitive. Also the examples used throughout the book are incredibly unprofessional and unrealistic for practical use, so you feel like you're learning to draw stick figures and make goofy personal web pages when you're trying to learn to make something professional and marketable.

If you aren't particularly serious about learning these programs and just want to play around with them, and if you don't have any, meaning zero, experience with photo applications and web publishing, buy this book. (You can buy mine if you want. Send me a message.) Otherwise, you'll get through it in about a week and find yourself wondering, now what am I supposed to do with this thing?

Gets you started!
This book was our text in a Dreamweaver and Fireworks class I took.It offers a good introduction with hands-on experience.You can download files from the internet to do the exercises.The directions are quite clear and easy to follow.I found the dimensions a bit annoying - too wide to set by the computer on a small desk, but the content served it's purpose.Nice layouts too.Lots of eye candy!

Great book!
Great book for bigginers, takes you to the next level you'll be using Macromedia Suite in no time! did me a lot of good... ... Read more

Product Description
Learn the history of Fireworks with iMinds insightful knowledge series.

A Chinese book from 850 CE, called Classified Essentials of the Mysterious Tao of the True Origin of Things, warns the reader that if sulphur, realgar and saltpetre are heated with honey, they produce smoke and flames.Thus begins the history of artificially made fire.Taoism permeates every facet of Chinese society.Lao Tzu introduced Taoist thought in the sixth-century BCE as a purely philosophical discipline.Its centrality to Chinese society led it to have an effect on all intellectual pursuits, including alchemy, which led to the development of gunpowder in the eighth-century CE and, subsequently, fireworks as we know them today.

iMinds brings targeted knowledge to your eReading device with short information segmentsto whet your mental appetite and broaden your mind. ... Read more

Product Description
This Handbook covers Handel's best known public music, the Water Music, written at the outset of his English career, and the Music for the Royal Fireworks, the last and largest of his orchestral creations. The genesis of the two orchestral suites is examined in its political as well as musical context. Practical questions of performance style and interpretation are balanced by an enquiry into Handel's compositional processes, and the relationship of these pieces to his other large-scale orchestral compositions. ... Read more

Product Description
How to Use Dreamweaver and Fireworks visually shows Web designers how to use Macromedia's Dreamweaver and Fireworks to create sophisticated, well-designed Web pages. The book's full-color, two-page spreads illustrate and clearly explain each Dreamweaver and Fireworks task, from entry-level, beginning concepts to more advanced techniques for experienced designers. Dreamweaver and Fireworks can be somewhat intimidating for the beginning user, but How to Use Dreamweaver and Fireworks, with its visual, step-by-step approach, makes it easy to learn the basic techniques involved in using these products. Written by Lon Coley, a principal at a leading British Web design firm, this edition of the book covers the latest versions of both Dreamweaver and Fireworks. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Sketchy overview
This book has many shortcomings but I liked it anyway. You'll be exposed to situations that force you to create objects such as graphics, animations and forms. This is both a blessing and a curse. For example the author said go online and locate a graphic to demonstrate an animated .gif! So I went on CNET and located and downloaded an American flag furling in the wind. Kind of tacky if you ask me. There were no real projects, something I believe the book desperately needed, but some of the techniques the author had me develop were a fair substitute. I liked being forced to think. It forced me to learn how to use the product. Also, the extensive use of screen captures sometimes made up for the terse instructions. This is a real advantage. For example, I went through the Dreamweaver 4 Hands On Training book; that book didn't require much thinking, just following the instructions, so I didn't feel as involved and didn't feel as if I'd learned as much. One omission that the author repeated was to gloss over the Export Preview Image Optimizer; its a moderately complex dialog box and I wish he would've explained how to use it. Instead he just said "When you are happy with the settings click the Export button to continue." He left optimization for the last eleven pages of the book. He occasionally fails to mention little things that you have to do to get his techniques to work. I sorely needed a sample file on Part 21 Task 3; the author called for a map of a country to render as a imagemap. I spent hours on CNET.COM to no avail. I found lots of maps, but none to download for free. This is one of many circumstances where he should've supplied graphics. After all, how can you teach how to use a graphics program without any graphics? Also, in two places the author referred to commands in Fireworks that didn't exist. In the second, Copy HTML Code, he claimed "a wizard opens that will guide you through exporting the image files to a specified location and copying the HTML code into the Clipboard." Sorry, no such luck in my version folks.

Overall, you'll learn more in the Fireworks portion of the book than you will in the Dreamweaver portion. Finally, I must say that I was glad to finish this book and I mean that in a positive sense. I don't find it easy to go through a book when I have to both read and follow directions. When I'm just mindlessly following directions or blandly reading text, I can go through a large book but I don't learn much. But when you have to follow exercises and think and find assets and learn, a 350 page book is pretty big. Nevertheless, I have ordered the Macromedia Dreamweaver & Fireworks Workshop. It covers material this book doesn't cover. Overall I give this book 2.5 stars; it covers both Dreamweaver and Fireworks superficially. The lack of projects and assets detracts from its value. The author is a good writer and knows how to create projects. I suspect the editor's restrictions made the book worse than the author could've written it.

Good overview, but lacks important explainations.
I found Mr. Coley's book good for a quick read, but there were several important areas that really annoyed me.

First the good:
Did a nice job of hitting on the key areas of Dreamweaver & Fireworks.

Now the bad:
1)There was no common thread, ie no project to tie everything together.It's all presented in disjointed bits and pieces.
2) Sometimes a later topic (tasks as Coley refers to them) builds upon an ealier Task that he assumes the reader has saved.But he does not tell the reader that they should save them for later!
3) Does a very poor job explaining the important Dreamweaver Layers concept(layers, layout cells, layout tables). Does not tie them together or clearly explain how the user should or should not, use all three of these elements together in the designing of a webpage.

This book badly needs to have an underlying webpage project in it so that the author can use it to tie all the important elements together.

(...)
(...)This is like the Dick and Jane books we learned to read with. That was fine for first grade but come on, we're adults now. Don't waste your money.

Great reference and tutorial
I thought this was a wonderful reference for using both Dreamweaver and Fireworks. They're so complementary to each other that it helps to have one book that incorporates both pieces. I would definitely recommend this book to people who are getting started into web design. It's an easy book to read and follow, which is unusal for most technical books I've come across.

Inexpensive Training
.... The book focuses on procedures, rather than providing information on the process of designing a page or artwork. It covers the most common tasks that users are likely to want to do, chunking this information into easy-to-follow, bite-sized pieces. The book's attractive, color layout mimics an online demo, with drawings underneath each procedure indicating the needed mouse movements. ... Read more

Product Description
Hollis Clayton is in trouble. His wife has decamped for the summer, leaving him to pursue his increasingly overwhelming compulsions: drinking; spying on neighbors; worrying about the fate of an abducted local girl; avoiding his editor, who is on the verge of rejecting his new collection of stories; and confronting as obliquely as possible the recent death of his young son. Meanwhile, he is spending more time with Jack Daniels and a stubbornly persistent stray dog than with anyone else, including his girlfriend Marissa, who has either abandoned him or been abandoned by him, he’s not sure which.

A tender and comic portrait of suburban despair, Fireworks details the events of one strange summer in which a man’s troubled soul hangs in the balance. In her perceptive exploration of Hollis’s disintegrating life, Elizabeth Winthrop gives us an unforgettably powerful portrait of an anguished man, one who is both endearingly flawed and vividly real. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

It was a nonstory.
About nothing but not in the Seinfeldway. I must be like Larry and just don't get it.What a struggle to read.Kept it up in hopes something would happen, anything.Never did.Don't recommend.

A male lead skillfully written by a woman
It's not often that a story told from a man's point of view is written by a woman, but Fireworks by Elizabeth Hartley Winthrop never trips up enough in the voice of its main character to make the reader question that fact.

Hollis Clayton is a writer living in the New England town of Baybury, and he's had better summers. With his wife leaving town to "think about things," the recent loss of their young son and his own mother leaving him at an early age, Hollis has justifiable abandonment issues. He is irritably needy. Some readers might feel sorry for him in spite of his extramarital affair and poor professional behavior.

Hollis is lonely, his spirit virtually dead. He has an intimate relationship with Jack Daniel's ("Jack" is mentioned more often than any other character). Perhaps he doesn't bother to contemplate suicide because he doesn't have the time, what with all his obsessions to keep him busy. He is frequently distracted from his own pity party with such activities as binoculared spying on neighbors, fretting over a missing-person billboard, going through attic boxes, and clipping the hedges every day within an inch of their lives.

The story is told in a way that asks us to be interested in the outcome of his marriage but may not be told in a way for us to care. Hollis' wife, Claire, is the least-described character in the book, and we never meet her formally. She will appear in flashbacks, but not enough to fully develop her character. The relationship between Hollis and Claire is not described to evoke the feeling that these two were blissfully happy once and absolutely belong together.

Through first-person narration, we get inside Hollis' head, and get to know him very well. Hollis is very self-disclosing, telling the reader what his quirks are and demonstrating his many compulsions. It is the thoughts that traverse Hollis' brain that give us a rich detail into his personality as well as his overactive imagination.

While most of us may not obsess to the same degree, the details of his thoughts feel unique and original, yet familiar and universal. They are thoughts we've all had but never put them into words ourselves. If you don't empathize with him at first, he may grow on you.

Hollis' life seems hopeless at times, and his behavior often does not help the situations he's in. One of the underlying questions throughout the story is: Who is going to save this poor clod from himself and help him experience something other than loneliness and grief?

We get a much better feel for the other characters in the story than we do his wife. The most engaging moments are the different turning points he experiences with these other characters, including a stray dog. One theme I walk away with is that redemption and the source of the realization that life is worth living and living well can come from unexpected places.


Reviewed by Margaret Andrews for Curled Up With A Good Book

Deeply Moving
Elizabeth Hartley Winthrop knows how to write.That sounds like a simple sort of compliment, but it is not.In a world filled with tabloids and pulp fiction, Elizabeth Winthrop reminds us that true authors have a skill that transcends time.When reading Fireworks you are reminded of classic works of literature such as those written by Kate Chopin, Faulkner, Hemingway.A great American novel, Fireworks is deeply moving, intense, and sometimes disturbing.I was amazed at how wonderfully Ms. Winthrop portrays an older man; her skill is here apparent.I am looking forward to reading more from this young author in the future and I look forward to a mass awakening to the charms and insight of this author.

A 5-star lesson in good writing and good storytelling
Hollis Clayton is sinking into the throes of desperation. Two years after the death of his son, while his wife has left for the summer, he is avoiding his editor, and becoming increasingly obsessed with the routine of children at play, a stray dog, and his glass of Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey.

This is a haunting story of the way one man faces the loss of a child and the potential loss of a marriage. He is a lesson in contradictions: he maintains his hedge meticulously, but let's his personal appearance go. He desperately needs and loves his wife, yet has an affair. And as he puzzles his life out, he obsesses about a local missing person's case.

I'll admit, when I started this book I had no idea where the author was going. I was intrigued, but lost. But as she flipped back and forth in time, I began to see a pattern develop in which all these seemingly unconnected pieces fall into place. Her voice and tone are perfect and make Hollis' despair tangible.

There are entire passages about children and human nature that I have marked and continue to revisit because they are spot on--things that I know, but could never put into words. I also greatly enjoyed the fact that Hollis is a teller of "non-stories" and his story is composed of non-story after non-story, which all come together to be a very telling story.

I wouldn't often highly recommend a novel about a man who is cheating on his wife and drowns his pain in Jack Daniel's, but this book is just far too good, in a haunting way, to pass up.

Armchair Interviews says: Need a good read that makes you think, and rejoice in words well-written, try this one.

Fireworks
I read this book in one day. What a wonderful, sad little man who you can't help but love. A great book. Can't wait for this author to write another. Loved it!! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Elegant
The Ozark Trilogy is one of the most elegant Science fiction fantasy novel ever written, it may help some to understand the the Ozark plant is part of an entire universe with many other stories but as a stand alone book it is remarkable complex. Another review mention Appalachian culture but that missed the point this is theses people came from theOzarks andas someone who had A Granny from,the Ozark Ms, Elgin is exactly right about them

Great story, fun characters
I really loved this trilogy.The worlds Elgin invents are creative and really interesting in the way they evolve from Ozark culture and language.It is a fun series, with a lot of humor as well as the fantasy/adventure.I also recommend the author's NATIVE TONGUE series, which is much more serious but is a fascinating look at women and a possible dystopic future in which their rights are stripped from them until they have the legal status of children.

Ozark Trilogy
I didn't find this readable, but not for the reason one would think. The author does an excellent job of keeping her worldbuilding from being hokey, and she clearly has some knowledge of and respect for Appalachian culture. Readers worried about whether they'll be able to handle flying mules shouldn't.

The bad news for me was the lack of action and challenge in the books. I simply got bored by the insignificance of most of what happened. I don't utterly unrecommend this omnibus; readers who like sort of chatty, slightly humorous, light fiction may well enjoy it. I like dark, gritty stuff, and it didn't work for me.

Elgin creates a world that is both foreign and familiar.
The "Ozark Trilogy" encompasses a wonderful and magical world.The exploits and adventures of Responsible of Brightwater transport us to a place where donkeys fly, spells can be cast, and men think they are in charge.Take advantage of the re-release!

Engaging women-centered fantasy
These books are great. Elgin creates an incredible community of people, complete with magic and science, which has such a terrific set of cultural rules and folklore that you'll believe they must live somewhere. There are no annoying gaps in her world-building, and the fact that the main characters are female is enheartening. Elgin's facility with language keeps these books from sounding like 80% of all the fantasy novels you've read (which all seem, linguistically, to be taking place in Southern California in the 80's). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Fireworks: a History and celebration
This book is a Christmas gift.It looks good, but since I haven't given it yet, there isn't much to tell.

Plimpton Changes His Spots Again
George Plimpton is either the black cat or the leopard of the literary world. Or both. Like a black cat he has 9 lives -- or more. Unlike the leopard, he can change spots.

In his earlier books, Plimpton has written of his participation in a variety of sports from football "The Paper Lion" to baseball in "Out of my League" to professional golf in "The Bogey Man." He changes literary spots by publishing such diverse works as "Writers at Work" and "American Journey; the Times of Robert Kennedy."

In FIREWORKS he breaks new ground. He is the "unofficial official" Fireworks Commissioner of New York City and he takes his job VERY seriously.

He begins with a bang. His personal memories of childhood and adulthood firecracker expeditions, covering both successes and traumas. In the second section he relates the history of explosives and follows this with accounts of "fireworks families" in the United States.

The book bursts with glorious illustrations. I can't pick a favorite picture! It's an expensive book, but it's worth every penny.

I read this book because I enjoy Plimpton's vicarious lives. Fireworks didn't interest me a bit. They do now.

Plimpton Changes His Spots Again
George Plimpton is either the black cat or the leopard of the literary world. Or both. Like a black cat he has 9 lives -- or more. Unlike the leopard, he can change spots.

In his earlier books, Plimpton has written of his participation in a variety of sports from football "The Paper Lion" to baseball in "Out of my League" to professional golf in "The Bogey Man." He changes literary spots by publishing such diverse works as "Writers at Work" and "American Journey; the Times of Robert Kennedy."

In FIREWORKS he breaks new ground. He is the "unofficial official" Fireworks Commissioner of New York City and he takes his job VERY seriously.

He begins with a bang. His personal memories of childhood and adulthood firecracker expeditions, covering both successes and traumas. In the second section he relates the history of explosives and follows this with accounts of "fireworks families" in the United States.

The books bursts with glorious illustrations. I can't pick a favorite picture! This isn't a cheap book, but it's worth every penny.

I read this book because I enjoy Plimpton's vicarious lives. Fireworks didn't interest me a bit. They do know.

The best book about fireworks ever.
This book is great for anyone interested in fireworks. It gives you aspecial appreciation for fireworks.

Book talks about the history of fireworks.
I think this book provides a great deal of historical background on fireworks. It also talks about the most prominent families in fireworks ... Read more

Product Description
A science-fiction novel from the author of Overmind, thisis an action-packed, literature, high-tech war novel.

Nearly a century and a half after the beginning of the TerranExpansion, the interstellar conglomeration of nation-states, socialcollectives, corporations and other econopolitical organisms known asthe Eastern Rim began to buckle under the weight of growingbalkanization and political instability. In addition, the dozens ofintelligent species assimilated into the Eastern Rim had grownfrustrated with its Terran- dominated power structure. Without anyform of centralized authority governing the known universe, however,the Eastern Rim was a place in which few could survive withoutemploying some kind of Terran regulatory muscle. As the Eastern Rimcontinued to devolve into anarchy, much of the galactic communityfinally exhausted its collective patience for their Terran masters,whose accidental discovery of faster-than-light travel formed thefoundation of their econopolitical power. Across the Eastern Rim,Terrans became seen as luckyif not undeservingrecipients ofgalactic authority, a position many nonTerran species felt equallyentitled to, and were willing to fight for. Civil War erupted andresulted in less control by the Terrans as well as less protection forthe weakend Eastern Rim.

A spectacular invasion by the Kobvandali, a radically advanced alienwarfleet with an unidentified form of propulsion, scourges 41 systemsand leaves 391 trillion dead across the Eastern Rim. The devestationof the invasion forces the alliance of the Terran Protectorate and anumber of independent military forces. The Kobvandali are ambushed anddefeated, and the Eastern Rim begins to rebuild.

At this time, the action opens with a civil disturbance on thebattered remains of the planet that used to be called Earth. Theaction is seen through the eyes of a diverse group of individuals, andit builds to an exciting conclusion as their experience, passions, andideologies play out against that warfare raging on a galactic scale. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Perhaps the best Sci. Fi book known to man
Prime Mover is the best piece of science fiction I have ever read.Author Bill Coffin managed to top himself with his sophomore book, Prime Mover.The Prime Mover environment is rich with detailed histories and cultures,complemented with Bill Coffin's ability to present them in such a fashionthat the reader will have no trouble imagining them.The plot andcharacters are equally detailed in such a manner that the reader willinvariably identify with several aspects of the main characters.This bookshould come with the following warning labels, "Picking this book upwill almost invariably guarantee that you won't be able to set itdown." and "Testing showed that most readers will read this bookmultiple times."

As good as Sci-Fi gets
I like sci-fi movies, but I'm generally reluctant to read sci-fi.It's just that so many sci-fi books are rip-offs of something else (or just plain boring).However, I'm glad I bought Prime Mover, because it's thebest sci-fi I've ever seen.Bill Coffin has created a detailed universe,worthy of competing with the galaxy George Lucas created for Star Wars. That's not to say that Prime Mover is anything like Star Wars, it's got thebest original plot I've seen.Basically, the book is divided into phasesand interphases.The four phases are told in the third-person perspective,and center around Major Korba, who has been sent to the planet Makers'Junction to prevent the Panteran Coalition from attacking the planet.Thethree interphases are in the first-person, and tell the life stories ofthree different people who became involved in the conflict.As the phasesand interphases come together, the plot gets more complicated and there aresome great twists.On a final note, you should probably read Coffin'sother book, Overmind, before Prime Mover.Prime Mover is a better book,but it makes some references to Overmind.It's well worth it to read both.

Great Sophomore Work!
Mr. Coffin's imagination is amazing!There is so little sci-fi out there that is as original as this work.I can only hope that this is not his last offering. ... Read more

Product Description
Describes the preparation of fireworks as well as the festival honoring San Juan de Dios, the patron saint of Tultepec, Mexico, which is famous for its master pyrotechnics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A wonderfull book!
This delightful book gives a wonderful glimpse into the Mexican culture offireworks, as seen by a little girl whose family are deeply involved inthat culture.As a fireworks professional, I appreciated this warm andsympathetic view of fireworks.When people ask why I am involved infireworks, I get out this book and show them the picture on the cover.Fireworks is the only way I know to put that expression of joy and awe ontothe faces of children.A truly wonderful book, which captures that wonder. ... Read more

Product Description

Fireworks MX Fundamentals is an insider's look at the bet practices for using and integrating Fireworks MX effectively and efficiently. Get advice from an expert Fireworks user, Abigail Rudner who is a 17 year graphics veteran and has been using Fireworks since its inception. Fireworks is becoming much more important to web professionals because it is now being packaged along with Dreamweaver and Dreamweaver UltraDev, which makes it much easier to use with the web. Fireworks MX Fundamentals has real-world examples supplied by step-by-step tutorials to build useful sites.

Customer Reviews (11)

loved this book
I really loved this book because it was fun and interesting and it taught me exactly what I wanted to know. I thought the writing was clear and so were the examples. Do more!

Don't bother
I read and fully enjoyed Dreamweaver MX HOT and got through it in 2 days flat not a problem. Got this as it is by the same author and the same cannot be said for this title. The examples are flawed in a good number of cases....procedures are missed out and many examples just don't work (try the masking a bitmap with text which they even supplied a full example for on the CD and following to the letter the text dissapears) I am a qualified lecturer in the implementation of software and this book has done nothing but frustrate me

Sorry Abigail but you should have done this book...
in the H.O.T. tutorial style. I bought this book on the recommendation of Garo Green. He and Abigail authored Dreamweaver MX Hands-On-Training. They did a great job with the layout of the lessons as well as never assuming that you knew what they are talking about.

I find Fireworks MX Fundamentals lacking in the wording of the instructions as well as the lack of visual reference as you go through each numbered lesson. I have already put the book down out of frustration and currently looking around for another book on learning Fireworks MX. Maybe it is just me that I got spoiled by the format of H.O.T. books. I think Abagail should redo this book but through Lynda.com...I bet it would be 10x better. If you are self taught, this book might fall beneath your expectations.

Good Foundation
This book was very informative and gave me a good foundation to build from.The book includes many exercises with the necessary files available on the CD that's included.A trial version of Fireworks MX is also included on the CD which would save download time if you didn't have a copy.

I feel the order of the chapters and information presented could have been better organized.There are a couple of spots where the author refers to topics as though you should be familiar with the subject that hadn't been discussed.However once she covered the topic later in the book I felt comfortable with the topic and tools.

This is a good book for the beginner.

Common Sense Graphics
The book takes a different approach to integrating graphics, animation, and the web. Easy to read literature with tons of
visual aids. ... Read more

Product Description
From planning and pre-event activities to post-operations procedures Managing Fireworks Displays covers the entire process of safely and effectively executing display operations.This innovative book expands upon the basics of the 2006 edition of NFPA 1123 Code for Fireworks Displays with a step-by-step approach including clear explanations, practical examples, and coverage that includes the chemistry of pyrotechnics, approaching and interacting with regulatory agencies, completing permits and other code requirements, conducting site inspections, site set-ups, transportation, display operations, and post-display operations. With a special emphasis on safety, this handy guide is valuable to firefighters, fire officers, and officials responsible for the planning, regulation, and staffing of a fireworks event. ... Read more

Product Description
For Martha and the other dogs in town, Saturday-night fireworks are the worst part of summer—they are so scary to canines with their sensitive ears! Crabby Mrs. Demson couldn’t agree more. In fact, she’s collecting signatures for a petition to ban fireworks, and Martha is happy to add her pawprint to the list. But when Helen and her friends are devastated about the fireworks ban, Martha realizes that she helped Mrs. Demson ruin their fun. Can Martha find a way to reverse the ban and still protect her doggy ears?