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$31.51
21. The Production of Space
$7.28
22. Creating Sacred Space With Feng
$21.24
23. Space: From Earth to the Edge
$42.87
24. Space Mission Analysis and Design,
$3.98
25. That Hideous Strength (Space Trilogy,
$6.50
26. The Currents of Space
$2.15
27. Me and My Place in Space (Dragonfly
$85.81
28. Time-Saver Standards for Interior
$3.60
29. Revelation Space
$16.49
30. Dead Space
$4.90
31. Sacred Space
$42.89
32. Space Planning Basics
$60.00
33. Understanding Space: An Introduction
$6.25
34. The Solace of Open Spaces
$5.98
35. The Office Space Kit
$14.28
36. Space and Place: The Perspective
$3.99
37. The New Space Opera 2
$15.90
38. Hubble: Imaging Space and Time
$12.14
39. Dead Space: Salvage
$8.65
40. Inner Paths to Outer Space: Journeys

21. The Production of Space
by Henri Lefebvre
Paperback: 464 Pages (1992-04-15)
list price: US$50.95 -- used & new: US$31.51
(price subject to change: see help)
Asin: 0631181776
Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars
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Editorial Review

Product Description
Henri Lefebvre has considerable claims to be the greatest living philosopher. His work spans some sixty years and includes original work on a diverse range of subjects, from dialectical materialism to architecture, urbanism and the experience of everyday life. The Production of Space is his major philosophical work and its translation has been long awaited by scholars in many different fields.The book is a search for reconciliation between mental space (the space of the philosophers) and real space (the physical and social spheres in which we all live). In the course of his exploration, Henri Lefebvre moves from metaphysical and ideological considerations of the meaning of space to its experience in the everyday life of home and city. He seeks, in other words, to bridge the gap between the realms of theory and practice, between the mental and the social, and between philosophy and reality. In doing so, he ranges through art, literature, architecture and economics, and further provides a powerful antidote to the sterile and obfuscatory methods and theories characteristic of much recent continental philosophy.This is a work of great vision and incisiveness. It is also characterized by its author's wit and by anecdote, as well as by a deftness of style that Donald Nicholson-Smith's sensitive translation precisely captures. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

2-0 out of 5 stars an open book
This is a fragmented and speculative work, from which readers (e.g. Soja, Harvey, Elden and Shields) have been able to draw rather contradictory and diverse conclusions.In part, that's because there's a lot in here, but it's not terribly consistently or coherently presented.I've read most of it twice and parts several times more -- there are lots of intriguing sketches of ideas, and the reader can fill them in in lots of different ways, but I'm not convinced it's worth it.

4-0 out of 5 stars Space is produced by, and produces, society
Thinkers have long analyzed things in space, but it is time to analyze space itself and "the social relationships embedded in it" according to Lefebvre. He wants to analyze the form, structure, and function of something he calls "social space" and explore how such spaces have been produced.

"Social space" partly consists of a certain configuration of actual space in actual time.Space also encompasses and includes physical objects that participate in discourse (as Foucault would say). Thus, space is also a container of relationships. It is also the receptacle of history, "the outcome of past actions."Lefebvre uses the example of a mountain.It does not have to have been produced or even physically altered by human hands to be considered a social space. Lefebvre's mountain participates in many relationships. The mountain space participates in a dialectic with humans, other spaces (social, representational, and represented), and history (it is produced in history and plays a role in history). It is at once a locus, a node on a network, a path, and place of potentials (i.e. of possible material exchange). "Its `reality' [is] at once formal and material."In short, the mountain cannot be reduced to a simple object, writes Lefebvre.

Space is powerful. Space, according to him, is anything but the "passive locus of social relations."It has an "active-operational or instrumental role," it is "knowledge and action."It instructs. It is also nothing less than a new mode of production.It contributes to "the establishment...of a system" and those in power (the bourgeois, most recently) frequently have made use of it.Space produces society, writes Lefebvre. He writes, "a decisive part is played by space in this continuity [of the reproduction of society]."

At the same time space produces society, space is produced. What Lefebvre sets out to do is identify "the actual production of space," to bring the different kinds of space and the modes of their production into a theory. Space is not "produced in the sense that a kilogram of sugar or a yard of cloth is produced."Nor is it produced like an aspect of superstructure. Social space is produced by (and produces) power to serve its goals.

Lefebvre laments that, in the work of philosophers, there has been an "abyss" between mental ("ideal") space and real space, between the internal "sphere", the realm of mental categories, and the external, physical, social. Lefebvre rejects the res cogitans/res existensa duality of Descartes, and separating mental space from real space strongly reinforces this. Lefebvre's belief that real minds in real bodies inhabit real space-at the same time spaces participate in the mental realm-is the most basic reason The Production of Spaceis useful for environmental historians. His ideas hint at new opportunities to bridge the culture/matter gap.

Lefebvre also believes that physical environments have histories and humans are a part of them. "In short, every social space has a history, one invariably grounded in nature, in natural conditions that are at once primordial and unique in the sense that they are always and everywhere endowed with specific characteristics (site, climate, etc.)."He even sounds like an environmental historian at times. "The departure point for this history of space is not to be found in geographical descriptions of natural space, but rather in the study of natural rhythms, and of the modification of those rhythms and their inscription in space by means of human actions, especially work-related actions. It begins, then, with the spatio-temporal rhythms of nature as transformed by a social practice."

Criticisms: Lefebvre frequently returns to a critique of the space produced by capitalism, a powerful (abstract) space that spans the globe and has left few pockets free from it. The space produced by something like capitalism is extremely powerful because one can not choose but be obedient to it; to live in it is "lived obedience."That is, to follow its dictates, move about in it in an orderly fashion, to be directed in some paths, prohibited from others, is to follow its instruction. This space is totally concerned with reproducing (bourgeois-serving) social relationships at the cost of "[creative] works, ...natural reproduction, over nature itself, and over natural time."

His point is well taken, but I think these frequently tangential moments detract from his exposition of a new analytical tool. I get tired of hearing that the point of this analysis is to uncover the social relationships latent in spaces for the ostensible purpose of inspiring revolution.I'd rather he left such an analysis to a historian employing Lefebvre's idea rather than having Lefebvre try to make his exposition of a theoretical tool double as a manifesto. (I am also really weary of his defending himself against hardcore Marxists-his concentration is greatly lessened for the effort. I understand that he is fighting personal battles with his old friends at these moments.)

4-0 out of 5 stars Engaging and intellectually nourishing
The Production of Space is a thick yet engaging introduction to Postmodern spatial theory, providing insights to a variety of philosophical concepts centering on how we perceive, construct, and reproduce both physical and mental spaces.While complex and eclectic, Lefebvre's book provides ample food for thought for those interested in the means by which we as human beings understand space in the world and how we negotiate and transpose it in our minds.

Overall, it's damned good stuff.I read this book and the idea for my Masters thesis came exploding out of me like one of those creatures from "Alien."

4-0 out of 5 stars Cryptic Conceptualization of Space
Henri Lefebvre's epic book, The Production of Space is a cryptic exploration into the production of various kinds of space.While I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in a comprehensive spatialanalysis, I warn the reader to avoid jumping into the book blindly.It isnot a book to be kept on the night table and read leisurely before driftingoff to sleep. It is a serious book and requires serious concentration onthe part of the reader. ... Read more


22. Creating Sacred Space With Feng Shui: Learn the Art of Space Clearing and Bring New Energy into Your Life
by Karen Kingston
Paperback: 272 Pages (1997-01-06)
list price: US$16.00 -- used & new: US$7.28
(price subject to change: see help)
Asin: 0553069160
Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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Editorial Review

Product Description
Feng Shui is the ancient oriental art of enhancing and harmonizing the flow of energy in your surroundings.Over the last twenty years, Karen Kingston has pioneered the study of a specialized branch of Feng Shui called Space Clearing. In this fascinating and easy-to-follow guide she shows how you can use Space Clearing and other principles of Feng Shui to enhance the flow of energy in your home or workplace and so create happiness and abundance in every area of your life.

You will learn how to:

  • Clear "stuck" energy and create sacred space
  • Consecrate your home
  • Create a clutter-free environment and simplify your life
  • Safeguard yourself against electromagnetic and geopathic stress
  • Place furniture, mirrors, wind chimes, and other Feng Shui enhancements to create balance and harmonyAmazon.com Review
    Karen Kingston knew she was on to something when people began to invite her to their homes. She helped them with "Space Clearing," which is to say that she helped them clear bad energy from their homes and create space for good energy. Over the years, she has refined her techniques and enhanced them with borrowings from other cultures. In Creating Sacred Space with Feng Shui, Kingston shows you how to draw on the spirituality of Bali and Chinese Feng Shui. With the view that one's home is a "magical manifesting machine," she describes how to consecrate space, how to use Feng Shui cures and enhancements, how to eliminate clutter, and how to Space Clear for yourself by engaging physically with the energy of your home. If the personal transformations that Kingston describes are any indication, Space Clearing will create new vistas for the renewal and revitalization of any home. ... Read more

    Customer Reviews (51)

    5-0 out of 5 stars The best book I've read in a long time
    This book has changed my life for the better.Its a bit new-age and hokey. So if you are a pragmatic person, like me, you may find yourself being skeptical when you start reading it. But the concepts in the book rang true for me and gave me a whole new attitude about keeping things around.I have bought copies for some of my friends and I re-read it myself every few years for inspiration.I recommend this book to anyone who has a cluttered room, a "junk room", or a garage you can't fit your car in.

    5-0 out of 5 stars I love this book!
    If you follow the advice in this book you will see a world of difference in the comfort level of your home.

    5-0 out of 5 stars Peaceful living with Feng Shui
    This book is wonderful, and will show you how to practice feng shui in everyday living!

    5-0 out of 5 stars creating sacred space with feng shui
    Till now i only read half of it. It says that clutter around your home or at work it blocks your life and when you clear it opens up and it is true because i tried it and it really worked and except that you really feel energetic.Above all you feel that you are really living not just existing.
    Some things that are written are there already in my life but now i know why. I recommend this book strongly

    5-0 out of 5 stars Positive Review
    Book arrived promptly and in great shape.Packaged well.Would order from vendor again. ... Read more


  • 23. Space: From Earth to the Edge of the Universe
    by Carole Stott
    Hardcover: 360 Pages (2010-10-04)
    list price: US$40.00 -- used & new: US$21.24
    (price subject to change: see help)
    Asin: 0756667380
    Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars
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    Editorial Review

    Product Description
    Featuring a wealth of incredible astronomical photographs, Space is perfect for anyone interested in astronomy, space imagery, and the history of space exploration. Space takes us on an imaginary journey that starts on a launch pad, goes toward the center of our Solar System to see the inner planets and the Sun, and then flies outward past the outer planets and on to the fringes of the Solar System. ... Read more

    Customer Reviews (1)

    5-0 out of 5 stars The Final Frontier
    `Space' is a huge, heavy coffee table book, which contains some breathtaking and amazingly beautiful pictures. One of the first two page spreads to greet you is a crescent earth from 220,000 miles away- so large, all of it cannot fit on the pages. But, most of the book consists of large and small diagrams and illustrations to explain facts such as the scale of the universe. The diagrams could easily be understood by younger children. However the quarter to half page paragraphs and explanations would probably be at a high school level - so this is not just a book devoted to younger children, they could grow into it and adults will not feel they are missing some information.

    If you are fascinated by space and even if you have seen many of NASA's photographs, you can still appreciate the stunning pictures here; like an astronauts view of the earth. The subjects covered include the earth and moon including the far side, also the solar system, the stars, planets and beyond to the galaxy and far reaches of space and exploration. Telescopes and all means of scientific investigation are very well covered, even speculating how the universe might end and the study of deep space.

    This volume is done well and would be fascinating to anyone who looks up at night with wonder. ... Read more


    24. Space Mission Analysis and Design, 3rd edition (Space Technology Library)
    Paperback: 969 Pages (1999-10)
    list price: US$63.95 -- used & new: US$42.87
    (price subject to change: see help)
    Asin: 1881883108
    Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    Editorial Review

    Product Description
    This practical handbook for Space Mission Engineering draws on leading aerospace experts to carry readers through mission design, from orbit selection to ground ops. SMAD III updates the technology, provides greater emphasis on small spacecraft design and the cost-reduction process, and includes more detail on multi-satellite manufacturing, space computers, payload design and autonomous systems. ... Read more

    Customer Reviews (17)

    5-0 out of 5 stars A superb text and frequent reference.
    While originally acquiring this text for a course in orbital mechanics, it has become a frequently referenced item on my bookshelf.

    If you work in satellite communications or need to quickly understand almost any spacecraft related concept, your solution can be found in SMAD. I highly reccomend this book for anyone getting into the field of spacecraft design or if you have been assigned a problem that requires knowledge of orbital maneuvers, cost estimation, mission operations, communications, or almost anything else.

    SMAD (as it has been entombed) is a gold standard general reference guide that has yet to be surpassed.

    4-0 out of 5 stars Excellent material
    This book is considered as the bible of the Space Engineering and after reading it I understand why. It covers everything with a good level of detail and gives a lot of practical information that can be very useful. Personally I am an engineer wanting to enter the space industry and the book helped me to better understand the domain where I want to work. The reason why I give it 4 stars is that the title of the book starts with the word "Space" but I would rather start it with "Satellite" because it is strongly oriented to satellite system. I expected to have at least a chapter on interplanetary exploration systems but there's nothing. So no discussion, for example, on orbit transfers from Earth to Moon or on autonomous computer systems necessary for, let's say, Mars exploration. Otherwise, the book is excellent.

    A word of caution for those interested on the book: It is no science divulgation book. It is a technical book and I'd say you need at least two years of Engineering studies to understand the concepts that are inside and maybe a bit of Engineering professional experience to properly appreciate the value of the tables that are included.

    3-0 out of 5 stars careless packing the item
    originally, the item is ok, but careless in packing caused some damages. The package was opened and half of the book got wet. Absolutely, I do not recommend this seller

    5-0 out of 5 stars SMAD Provides an Overview of Satellite Design
    SMAD takes you all the way through the process of designing a satellite. Every subsystem is covered and there are equations to do calculations throughout. It's also written in a language that anyone with only an introduction into the space world would be able to understand.

    3-0 out of 5 stars space mission analysis and design
    The third edition falls short of the information provided in the second edition. The third edition lacks the detail on thermal radiation and conditions that was included in the second edition . ( see chapter 11.5).It appears to me that the 3rd edition is more a generalization and discussion, rather than providing a detail method of analysis for a space mission. If possible , I would like to return my copy of the 3rd edition for a copy of the second edition.Thank you.L. Rosenman ... Read more


    25. That Hideous Strength (Space Trilogy, Book 3)
    by C.S. Lewis
    Paperback: 384 Pages (2003-05-06)
    list price: US$16.00 -- used & new: US$3.98
    (price subject to change: see help)
    Asin: 0743234928
    Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars
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    Editorial Review

    Product Description

    The final book in C. S. Lewis's acclaimed Space Trilogy, which includes Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra, That Hideous Strength concludes the adventures of the matchless Dr. Ransom. The dark forces that were repulsed in Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra are massed for an assault on the planet Earth itself. Word is on the wind that the mighty wizard Merlin has come back to the land of the living after many centuries, holding the key to ultimate power for that force which can find him and bend him to its will. A sinister technocratic organization is gaining power throughout Europe with a plan to "recondition" society, and it is up to Ransom and his friends to squelch this threat by applying age-old wisdom to a new universe dominated by science. The two groups struggle to a climactic resolution that brings the Space Trilogy to a magnificent, crashing close. ... Read more

    Customer Reviews (102)

    2-0 out of 5 stars What a shame...
    Well, this was very disappointing. In the final chapter of C.S. Lewis' space trilogy, he completely abandons almost everything that made the first two novels interesting. First, Dr. Ransom, the main character from the last books, is no longer the main character. Rather, two new characters, Mark and Jane, are the ones the reader sees most of the story through. Also, Lewis abandons most of the space theme as the characters stay Earthbound, losing much of the awe and wonder that characterized the settings of the first two novels. He also is way too analytical in this book as he is trying to refute some of the themes that make up the modern sci-fi movement of his time, as characterized by Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke. Really, this book is nearly 400 pages of debate, petty academic squabbles, and refutations, most of which hardly advances the story at all. And lastly, and perhaps the greatest tragedy of all, the entire story is anti-climatic. Not only do none of the characters really do anything to shape the story, but even Lewis admits, through the character of Dr. Ransom, that everyone was just observers and not movers. BORING! Still, some of the arguments that Lewis kicks around are interesting carry overs from the previous two novels, but this book completely failed as a story. Such a shame too. After "Perelandra," this one had so much promise.

    4-0 out of 5 stars Good, but great?
    C.S. Lewis's book "That Hideous Strength" has good lines, lots of good lines.It deftly analyzes many of the problems of modern secular relationships and the secular state.But the ending is a complete deus ex machina.The killing off of all the various "evil" characters also feels a bit sadistic at times.There's never much suspense about how it will end.This might have been less of a problem if I was reading it as the conclusion of the trilogy, but Lewis says in the introduction that this can be read on it's own, if less profitably.The emphasis should probably be on "less profitably".

    5-0 out of 5 stars Takes effort, but so worth it.
    This is the third book in C. S. Lewis's science fiction trilogy.These books get progressivley more detailed, theological, "heady" as the series goes on.I think I would say that this is my favorite of the three, perhaps because it sums up the story of Elwin Ransom that was started in "Out of the Silent Planet", or perhaps because it is just plain the weirdest out of the three.It has a rather gory ending, which is not to my personal taste, but the story ends very satisfactorily.I totally recommend the whole series, but this book especially is not for children.Also, it is not "light" reading, and takes some concentration and perseverance.Absolutely worth reading, if you like this genre and/or author. I would also receommend reading the three books in order.

    5-0 out of 5 stars A fantastic classic
    I came to this trilogy late, thanks to a friend who gave me the first book for my birthday. I read the three books in a row, almost without stopping.

    The narrative is rich and complex, the language beautiful and evocative ... This third volume, though, is a bit different from the first two, where the hero travelled to other planets. It might surprise, maybe even disappoint some readers, and yet, it concludes the trilogy beautifully, and effortlessly mingles elements of fantasy, science fiction and literary prowess.

    A must-read for Tolkien fans, or people who enjoyed the Chronicles of Narnia as children.

    4-0 out of 5 stars The abolition of man
    "That hideous strength" is a science fiction/fantasy novel by British writer C.S. Lewis, otherwise mostly known for his children's tales about Narnia. Lewis wrote a "space trilogy" for adults, of which "That hideous strength" is the concluding part. The novels of the trilogy can be read independently of each other.

    The plot of the novel revolves around a secret, evil brotherhood. The brotherhood, known as NICE, are a kind of anti-humanist, technology-worshipping Satanists. Their ostensible goal is to give humans eternal life through some kind of cloning. NICE probably symbolize the evils of modern, industrial civilization (and its enchanting allure). Their real goal is, in effect, the abolition of man. The rituals of NICE are based on conspiracy theories about secret Templar and Masonic rituals. Indeed, there is a strong atmosphere of conspiracy thinking in the novel. I'm surprised that it's almost never referenced by conspiracy theorists. Of course, the conspiracism is a literary device. There is nothing in Lewis' non-fiction indicating that he believed in conspiracies. Once again, my guess is that NICE is a symbol of modern science gone mad, and modernity in general being turned against humanity.

    Lewis was a fairly conservative Christian, and "That hideous strength" is therefore imbued with a Christian message and various supernatural elements. The scientists of NICE, at least initially, believe that they have cracked the secret of immortality through scientific means. In reality, their bizarre laboratory has been taken over by demons! NICE are challenged by a small group of Christians, led by the mysterious Elwin Ransom, who always reminded me of Jesus. Another supernatural character is the wizard Merlin. More annoying are the patriarchal elements of the story: marriage is for life, women should obey their husbands, and so on. Ransom is a pretty bad marriage counsellor! Another disturbing kind of Christian morality comes across when Merlin exclaims: "I'm not immoral. The only people I ever killed were heathen Saxons". So that makes it alright, then?

    Still, my main problem with "That hideous strength" isn't the conservative Christian message. Obviously, a Christian writer will write Christian books. The novel goes somewhat astray on two other points. First, there is a disconnect between the first part of the novel (almost a suspense thriller) and the second part, where Lewis introduces elements of Arthurian romance and a unexpected cross-over with the novels of J.R.R. Tolkien (!). I don't mind supernatural elements in sci fi novels, but these feel like the wrong kinds of supernatural elements. A charismatic revival is thrown in for good measure at the end, presumably as a foretaste of the apocalypse. Once again, the reader is left wondering what on earth is going on...

    The other problem I have is that Lewis somehow wanted to write a novel about pretty much everything. The introduction of a bear in the story becomes an opportunity to preach against pantheism. On another page, Lewis discusses various ways of approaching a spiritual conversion experience. And what attitude should true Christians have towards the House of Windsor? Stay tuned for a theologically correct answer. Rather than developing two or three (Christian) themes, Lewis wants to develop them all. It's almost as if he forgot that he was writing a novel, rather than a non-fiction book!

    That being said, I nevertheless found "That hideous strength" interesting, even intriguing. The criticism of mad science, phoney progress and secret elites was particularly interesting. As a secular "leftist", I presumably criticize society from almost exactly the opposite vantage point compared to a conservative Anglican.

    Still, it can hardly be denied that "science" and "progress" untempered with morality are...evil.

    ... Read more


    26. The Currents of Space
    by Isaac Asimov
    Paperback: 240 Pages (2010-09-28)
    list price: US$14.99 -- used & new: US$6.50
    (price subject to change: see help)
    Asin: 0765319179
    Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    Product Description

    High above planet Florinia, the Squires of Sark live in unimaginable wealth and comfort. Down in the eternal spring of the planet, however, the native Florinians labor ceaselessly to produce the precious kyrt that brings prosperity to their Sarkite masters.

    Rebellion is unthinkable and impossible. Not only do the Florinians no longer have a concept of freedom, any disruption of the vital kyrt trade would cause other planets to rise in protest, resulting in a galactic war. So the Trantorian Empire, whose grand plan is to unite all humanity in peace, prosperity, and freedom, has allowed the oppression to continue.

    Living among the workers of Florinia, Rik is a man without a memory or a past. He has been abducted and brainwashed. Barely able to speak or care for himself when he was found, Rik is widely regarded as a simpleton by the worker community where he lives. As his memories begin to return, however, Rik finds himself driven by a cryptic message he is determined to deliver: Everyone on Florinia is doomed…the Currents of Space are bringing destruction. But if the planet is evacuated, the power of Sark will end-so there are those who would kill the messenger. The fate of the Galaxy hangs in the balance.
    ... Read more

    Customer Reviews (33)

    1-0 out of 5 stars The Kindle version is more expensive?
    I will be following my simple rule.

    Whenever the Kindle version is the same price or more than a new paperback
    I will not be buying EITHER the Kindle OR the paperback version.

    If enough people follow this simple guideline Amazon and the
    author/publisher might just learn how to play nice.

    (Hey what do you know, it's at the library!)

    5-0 out of 5 stars Asimov's Intertwined Novel
    This book was a really fun book to read. The science parts(a star exploding because of carbon currents in space) weren't all that interesting or complicated, but the political frenzy is everywhere. Every man seems to be suspected of being the mysterious criminal "X", but the one that is not suspected turns out to be the criminal- and for different reasons than anyone would imagine. But all that hassle about the criminal sidetracks them from the matter of real importance- the universe's most valued world, Florina's imminent destruction by the explosion of a prenovae star. The only way to find out how this breathtaking mystery, political and suspence masterwork by Isaac Asimov ends is to read the book- or buy the Kindle version, like I did.

    5-0 out of 5 stars Gripping and well thought-out sceince fiction
    While clearly science fiction by its setting, this novel also contains elements of detective novel, future history/social commentary, and espionage.The setting is an agricultural planet (Florinia) that yields a unique and highly valuable crop (a high-quality luxury cloth fiber), and the natives are exploited at a peasant/slave level by the rich and oppresive Squires from nearby planet Sark.Meanwhile, Sark is, due to its rich export, able to stave off conquest by the encroaching Trantorian empire.Within this setting, a scientist has discovered a danger to Florinia, but before he can alert officials, he is captured and his memory erased (with a sci-fi device) by an unknown party.The story begins with the scientist, renamed Rik, barely able to function and not knowing who he is, working amongst the Florinians and remembering things piecemeal.From here, the various sides are all trying to figure out what is going on, and struggling to get their hands on Rik, as he and his companions try to elude capture.Asimov keeps both the action and the ideas going to keep the reader interested, and creates a beleivable and sensible "world" and plot, without resorting to two-dimensional stereotypes or suspension-of-disbelief moments.Even the overlords come across as human beings, despite their reprehensible social system (one remembers even America's "founding fathers" included slave-owners).Everything makes perfect sense at the end, yet I didn't guess the truth before I read it.Although written over 50 years ago, the science-fiction aspects don't come across as dated (although the underlying science of Rik's belief of danger for the planet has been discredited, it was beyond my scientific knowledge until I looked it up).
    Asimov's genius lies in the ability to tell an engrossing adventure story intelligently.Although well crafted, lthis IS a quick read - I'm surprised to find it listed only as an expensive hardcover; this is prime mass-market material; and at 200 pages each, they really should bind Asimov's three similar novels (this, "Pebble In The Sky", and "The Stars Like Dust" - not closely related, but all set in the same "universe" between his "Robot" and "Foundation" series) into one 600-page paperback!So, I suggest reading it, but (unless you like to collect hardcovers) pick up a used copy at a reasonable price.

    5-0 out of 5 stars Threads
    The elite of the galaxy are usually dressed in Kryt.It is the most beautiful fabric known.Its iridescent threads are nearly indestructible, and above all, it is so, oh so expensive.

    It has made the sellers of Kryt fabulously wealthy.Its trade is controlled solely by one planet, planet Sark; a planet which lies outside of Trantor's expanding galactic empire.Other planets have tried and failed to grow it; it is not known why Kryt grows only on one planet.It doesn't even grow on planet Sark, but on a planet that Sark controls: planet Florina.

    That is where you are: planet Florina.At first, you don't know that.In fact, you know practically nothing; somebody has blocked your memories, so much so, that you can't even speak.But a native woman takes you in, teaches you, gets you a job at the Kryt mill, and gradually your memories begin to seep in.And then one day - between bites on your lunch break - you remember something about your profession: you were a Spatio-analyst, one who collects and correlates data about the space between the stars.You are elated to discover who you were, but then - like a soaring fly that has been slammed with a flyswatter - you are crushed when you remember that millions of people are going to die!

    I greatly enjoy almost everything that Isaac Asimov has written; 'The Currents of Space' is no exception.

    I can make no comment on the physical quality of the book listed on Amazon, since my copy is a very old Fawcett Crest paperback; it is yellowed with age and exudes a faint musty smell.I wrote this review as a result of Amazon's suggestion; besides, it gave me an excuse to reread it after all these years.

    4-0 out of 5 stars Action-packed far future detective thriller by one of the best writers of SF ever
    In this story of a far-flung humanity, the planet Florina is subjugated by the planet Sark. But when a Spatio-analyst learns that the world of Florina is soon to be extinct, a web of political intrigue that will change the relationship between Florina and Sark begins.

    The story itself is small-scale, focusing only on characters and not the creation of an epic. There are Rik, the psycho-probed stranger; Valona, the big millworker; and Myrlyn, the Florinan with a chip on his shoulder for his Sark overlords. The story is primarily a detective thriller set in space, as the three protagonists try to find Rik's tormentor and solve the puzzle of the end of Florina. The plot is uncomplicated in its progress, though fast-paced and quite entertaining. This is classic science fiction, just as the genre was finding its voice - a voice now defined by much of Asimov's work. This is a great narrative for new readers intimidated by Asimov's more complex //Foundation// novels. As well, those who like uncomplicated space opera that is part mystery and part political thriller will enjoy //The Currents of Space//.

    Reviewed by
    John Ottinger III ... Read more


    27. Me and My Place in Space (Dragonfly Books)
    by Joan Sweeney
    Paperback: 32 Pages (1999-07-20)
    list price: US$6.99 -- used & new: US$2.15
    (price subject to change: see help)
    Asin: 0517885905
    Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France | Japan
    Editorial Review

    Product Description
    With Earth as a starting point, a young astronaut leads readers on a tour past each planet and on to the stars, answering simple questions about our solar system. Full color. ... Read more

    Customer Reviews (12)

    4-0 out of 5 stars Great for the preschool set
    We got this book when my then 27 month old told me he wanted to be an astronaut (still not sure where that came from).Within 3 days he was quizzing me on the planets.That said, this is a great introduction and at 2 it was too hard for him to understand the concepts of galaxy, etc.He is now 2.5y and still loves this book, we have moved on to more detailed books but he loves to sit and read this one to his doll at night (much of it is memorized as his reading level is not this high yet).That said, I would not buy this for a child past Kindergarten and even then it would be based on their knowledge and ability level as it may be too easy.Pluto is still included but this book was published well prior to the 2006 change in status so maybe an update would be due.We often just skipped over it at first and now take it to discuss the dwarf planets.

    5-0 out of 5 stars Great way to learn!
    This book along with the other books in this series is a wonderfully captivating way to teach kids in an entertaining way.Fabulous!

    5-0 out of 5 stars Great introduction to the planets!
    We bought this for my 4yo-who has been interested in all things space since she was just over 2yo-for her 3rd birthday.She loves this book-it certainly has helped her learn the planets.The illustrations are fun and not too grown-up.I think this is the perfect introduction to space for preschoolers.

    5-0 out of 5 stars A great book for helping them understand where they live
    My daughter had a hard time with the difference between cities, states and countries until we read this. I feel it gave her a good understanding of where we are on the map.

    2-0 out of 5 stars Okay, but inaccurate.
    I liked "Me on the Map" MUCH better.I ordered the space book because the map book was very useful in explaining the concept of map representation to my four year old.This book simply wasn't as good.It is inaccurate, also, as it includes Pluto as a planet, though it is no longer considered to be one. ... Read more


    28. Time-Saver Standards for Interior Design and Space Planning, 2nd Edition
    by Joseph DeChiara, Julius Panero, Martin Zelnik
    Hardcover: 1689 Pages (2001-06-13)
    list price: US$157.50 -- used & new: US$85.81
    (price subject to change: see help)
    Asin: 0071346163
    Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars
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    Editorial Review

    Product Description
    The "Silver Bible" -- thoroughly revised, updated and redesigned

    Interior designers, architects, and other design professionals can still turn to the field's beloved "Silver Bible" for a wealth of information related to the design and planning of residential and commercial interiors. But now, Time-Saver Standards for Interior Design and Space Planning, Second Edition goes even further to truly make the classic interior design reference the standard in its field.

    From standard furniture dimensions to architectural woodwork details, you'll find a vast array of time-saving data and details. Editors Joseph DeChiara, Julius Panero, and Martin Zelnik have brought together contributions from well-known architectural and interior design firms to give you details derived from actual designs and working drawings, showing various solutions for typical design problems encountered in interior architecture.

    You get a wide range of typical layouts and residential spaces, offices, conference rooms, and reception areas, in addition to details of bars, restaurants, and public toilets. This exciting new edition includes new international examples and metrification – and provides you with full coverage of healthcare spaces, educational spaces; home offices; videoconferencing spaces; green design; project forms and schedules.Two outstanding sections cover historic styles and woodworking. ... Read more

    Customer Reviews (24)

    5-0 out of 5 stars Very helpful book
    I bought this book in college because it was part of my required text for my degree in Interior design.I have been out of school for 4 years and I still keep it at my desk or nearby when I am doing drawings.I recommend this book to anyone who is in the design industry.The details and information in this book saves the designer from having to go through multiple books looking for specific details.

    5-0 out of 5 stars excellent condition, very good price
    This is a great reference book for designers and architects. It arrived very timely,in excellent conditions and I could not ask for a better price.

    5-0 out of 5 stars An encyclopedia for interior designers
    This book is packed with info on furniture design, drafting tips, and use of theme for virtually every type of space. Perfect for students! Accompanied by plenty of illustrations to reference.

    5-0 out of 5 stars Great price and perfect condition
    This textbook was required for my Basic Drafting class.It was cheaper to go through Amazon than my school's bookstore.I recieved the textbook in great condition and in time for class to start.Very happy with this seller.

    5-0 out of 5 stars Time-Saver Standards for Interior Design and Space Planning
    HUGE ASSET! This book has everything in it and has been extremely helpful. It is a big book, therefore, it is not easy to carry around. I take it to school occasionally-I have chosen to lug it around in a rolling cart--most helpful for all those books and drawing tools, etc.One downside, sometimes the print is so small you may have to have a magnifying glass to see what is written.
    Purchasing this book on Amazon saved me a lot of money. I highly recommend this book for Interior Design students and Designers. ... Read more


    29. Revelation Space
    by Alastair Reynolds
    Paperback: 592 Pages (2002-05-28)
    list price: US$7.99 -- used & new: US$3.60
    (price subject to change: see help)
    Asin: 0441009425
    Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars
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    Editorial Review

    Product Description
    Alastair Reynolds's critically acclaimed debut has redefined the space opera with a staggering journey across vast gulfs of time and space to confront the very nature of reality itself.Amazon.com Review
    Alastair Reynolds's first novel is "hard" SF on an epic scale, crammed with technological marvels and immensities. Its events take place over arelatively short period, but have roots a billion years old--when the DawnWar ravaged our galaxy.

    Sylveste is the only man ever to return alive and sane from a Shroud, anenclave in space protected by awesome gravity-warping defenses: "a folding a billion times less severe should have required more energy than was stored in the entire rest-mass of the galaxy." Now an intuition he doesn't understand makes him explore the dead world Resurgam, whose birdlike natives long ago tripped some booby trap that made their own sun erupt in a deadly flare.

    Meanwhile, the vast, decaying lightship Nostalgia for Infinity is coming for Sylveste, whose dead father (in AI simulation) could perhaps help the Captain, frozen near absolute zero yet still suffering monstrous transformation by nanotech plague. Most of Infinity's tiny crew have hidden agendas--Khouri the reluctant contract assassin believes she must kill Sylveste to save humanity--and there are two bodiless stowaways, one no longer human and one never human. Shocking truths emerge from bluff, betrayal, and ingenious lies.

    The trail leads to a neutron star where an orbiting alien construct has defenses to challenge the Infinity's planet-wrecking superweapons.

    At the heart of this artifact, the final revelations detonate--most satisfyingly. Dense with information and incident, this longish novel has no surplus fat and seems almost too short. A sparkling SF debut. --David Langford, Amazon.co.uk ... Read more

    Customer Reviews (172)

    3-0 out of 5 stars just didn't care about the characters
    I love huge starships like the Nostalgia for Infinity.I love big, planet-crushing weapons.I love not knowing who to root for until later in the story.In short, I love space opera.

    However, the one thing that I NEED is at least one major character to root for and empathize with.This book has none.Some would argue Khouri is this character, but even she is pretty icy cold when it comes down to it.Sylveste and Volyova are bastard and bitch, respectively.I just didn't really like anyone.This, in turn, made me not really care what happened to any character whatsoever.

    I RARELY abandon a book before finishing, but Revelation Space was one of them.And it's ironic because I quit about 2/3 into the book, just as the real "action" was beginning.I just couldn't wait to get done with this book and start on George RR Martin's Game of Thrones.That's when I realized that I had relegated finishing this book to being a chore I needed to complete before getting to something I enjoy.It was time to stop.

    You need characters to root for.The first 50 pages (so far) of Game of Thrones has been so refreshing after Revelation Space.If you want to stay sci-fi, I'd recommend anything Peter F. Hamilton over this book.The prose isn't gonna win any awards, but it's great space opera with great characters.

    I would only recommend this book to people who also like Iain Banks.His culture novels are very similar in that almost every character is cold and calculating. You never know if you want to root for the Culture or those seeking to destroy it.It can be fascinating, but ultimately frustrating.

    The prose is very intelligent, though.

    4-0 out of 5 stars Terrific. Until the ending...
    The story starts a little slowly, but as the various plot lines and characters begin their collision course towards each other the tension builds inexorably. The story is heavy on science, backing off just before your eyes start to glaze over and thus keeping the pacing and your interest. The story elements, characters, and world created are incredible, interesting, and make you crave more.

    Then in the last hundred pages or so everything just sort of wraps up with a "Well, I guess everything's okay," and some characters suddenly reveal they've learned all the intricacies of the plot and recite them aloud.

    Very unsatisfying end to a riveting story.

    4-0 out of 5 stars Hard sci-fi with cred
    In the first few pages, the rich vocabulary and textured writing style of Revelation Space will hook the reader. Meeting terms like "adumbrate" justify reading fiction! After a few chapters, the jumping between dates takes some concentration but it is then that this novel's greatest strength becomes apparent. Reynolds has not strung together a mix of techno-devices to construct a convenient narrative. He respects that relativistic distances take a long time to traverse, and lives and events must account for this. The technology that makes this plot work is ambitious and exciting, but it does not trample all over physical laws. Readers are rewarded as events gradually focus in a confluence of time period and narrative streams.

    Grand scale space opera doesn't always offer philosophical enlightenment. Revelation Space works towards some interesting ideas and concludes well. The occasional 21st century metaphor or perspective is hard to avoid and it is apparent that Reynolds does not feel a need to, although these could grate for some. His professional background ensures fabulous hard science fiction and a tight plot. Chasm City is my next read.

    3-0 out of 5 stars Hard Sci-fi From a Bonafide Scientist
    There are about six million astrophysicists in the world. That makes them one in a million.
    Precious few of those six million, however, can write a galactic-wide tale of the magnitude achieved by Alastair Reynolds in Revelation Space (RS).
    For that reason alone, you ought to buy this book.

    Since I want to keep this review spoiler-free, my synopsis will necessarily be vague: Several hundred years into the future, Dan Sylveste, the son of a wealthy, aristocratic family engaged in scientific research, takes an expedition into a mysterious alien artifact - one of several discovered by space-faring humans throughout their travels. These "Shrouders" have so far incinerated virtually everything that has tried to enter their boundaries - from probe to person alike. Due to a trick learned from the only man to have survived a Shrouder expedition, however, Dan is able to enter "Revelation Space" - the inner sanctum of a Shrouder - after which he is imbued with an alien intelligence and catapulted into a search for knowledge which will ultimately involve the fate of the entire species.

    Reynolds does a fantastic job of not only gradually expanding the scope of the story as the chapters elapse, but also of injecting RS' pages with oodles of cosmological explanations for the various technologies and planetary events the characters encounter. From the death of stars, to the nuances of special relativity when traveling near the speed of light, to advanced sensors which surround a planet and measure the flow of neutrinos in order to assess whether it is inhabited, Reynolds explicates upon the scientific underpinnings of his creations - most of which have a plausible basis in the laws of the universe as we understand them today.

    In addition, Reynolds displays considerable mastery of the English language. Here is Reynolds describing the weapon of a character stuck on a ship possessed by a hostile alien presence: "It was a dual-gripped hypervelocity sports slug gun from the twenty-third century; a product of the first Europan Demarchy, clad in curving black neoprene, ruby-eyed Chinese dragons in beaten gold and silver worked into the sides." (p. 488) RS is rife with such descriptive prowess, and I found myself having to consult an online dictionary every hundred pages or so (which I think is a good thing; I enjoy enlarging my vocabulary).

    That's not to say there isn't a deeper, more metaphorical message to be gleaned from RS. The protagonist's desperate attempt to quench his thirst for knowledge reminds us of our own intellectual vanity: the fact that many people (and scientists, in particular) will obdurately seek knowledge regardless of the consequences, "even if you know what you're feasting on could kill you." (p. 452) Realistically speaking, this philosophical component is not the main attraction of RS, but is nonetheless a welcome addition.

    Despite the fascinating story, awesome technology, cosmology, and light philosophical coating, there are a couple of criticisms that can justifiably be leveled at RS. One is that a certain person in the novel appears to repeatedly act out-of-character so that the narrative might continue onward; in particular, I am referring to a certain woman who is supposed to assassinate a certain man. On several occasions, this woman doesn't even attempt to raise her weapon at the man in question, even after she has learned of the galactic consequences of failing her mission. This felt rather unnatural and left me unsatisfied with the scenes in question.

    Another valid criticism of RS relates to its narrative structure. Imagine A, B, and C as independent narratives. For much of the novel, the structure goes A-B-C-A-B-C-A-B-C. In other words, you are fairly frequently being tugged to and fro, until eventually the narratives merge into one. I for one was able to adjust to this, but I certainly sympathize with someone whose cognitive machinery just couldn't take envisioning new scenes as frequently as the narrative structure requires.

    For the above reasons, Revelation Space firmly deserves three out of five stars (assuming 2.5 stars is an "average" novel).

    1-0 out of 5 stars I hate
    every character in this book.What a bunch of @55h0les.Forced my way through it at the beach then sold it back to the place I bought it from (thankfully used). I'll not be trying any more of this author's works. ... Read more


    30. Dead Space
    by Antony Johnston, Ben Templesmith
    Hardcover: 168 Pages (2008-12-03)
    list price: US$24.99 -- used & new: US$16.49
    (price subject to change: see help)
    Asin: 1607060337
    Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars
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    Editorial Review

    Product Description
    The prequel to the all-new blockbuster sci-fi survival horror game from Electronic Arts! On the distant mining colony of Aegis VII, something strange and alien lurks beneath the surface... a mysterious artifact that brings nothing but trouble to the isolated workforce. As the arrival of the famous planetcracker ship Ishimura fast approaches, security officer Bram Neumann finds himself caught between religious fervor, miners slowly going insane, and the machinations of the mining corporation itself as he races to discover the secrets of the Marker... before it destroys them all! Collects Dead Space #1-6. ... Read more

    Customer Reviews (10)

    4-0 out of 5 stars Look elsewhere first...
    Great artwork and storytelling. All you could ask for in a videogame based comic book. But save yourself a few books and head to the visceral games site and check out there swag store first.

    4-0 out of 5 stars Nice book, but still a copy.
    Good book all around, but I had already seen it when I played/beat Dead Space: Extraction for the Wii. Held nothing new that really mattered. Also, in quite a few places, especially in the character biography section were glaring spelling mistakes that did not do the book justice.

    Still, 4 out of 5. But I'm a sucker for Dead Space.

    4-0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected, but still a good read.
    When I got it I thought it was a novel, but it's actually a collection of the six comics, but since I was wanting to get them anyway I wasn't overly disappointed.all in all, a good read, the art is fantastic, and it has lots of great back story.

    4-0 out of 5 stars Dead Space Graphic Novel
    Was a nice read, but is not worth it as a stand alone. Only buy this if you plan on playing, or have played the game.

    5-0 out of 5 stars Great comic for the game
    If you areafan of the dead space universe, this comic is a must have. Great art diection and the story is great and original. ... Read more


    31. Sacred Space
    by Denise Linn
    Paperback: 320 Pages (1995-12-26)
    list price: US$15.00 -- used & new: US$4.90
    (price subject to change: see help)
    Asin: 034539769X
    Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    Product Description
    "Our homes are mirrors of ourselves. Through them we can interface with the universe."
    Everything in the universe is composed of constantly changing energy, including your home and its contents. This energy can profoundly influence your ability to be healthy, loving, creative and abundant. By clearing and enhancing this energy you can transform your home into a sanctuary which radiates positive energy in ever-expanding circles.
    In this fascinating and unusual book, Denise Linn shows you how you can dramatically change your life by changing the environment in your home or office. She combines information from her own Native American heritage with material she has personally collected from native traditions around the world to bring you practical, easy-to-use exercises for balancing the physical, emotional and spiritual energies in your home, including how to:
    * Diagnose and solve problems with stagnant home energies.
    * Use sacred sound, spirit smoke, mystic symbols and purifying fire for
    clearing home energy.
    * Discover the personal numerology of your home.
    * Use the ancient art of Feng Shui for the placement of objects in your
    home.
    * Call house angels and totems as home protectors.
    * Use rituals to rid your home of unwanted spirits.
    * Instantly uplift the energy in your home.
    Your home can resonate, sing and pulse with Light energy that can touch the lives of everyone around you. Your home can become Sacred Space.
    ... Read more

    Customer Reviews (29)

    4-0 out of 5 stars Great Resource & Guide
    MY fiance and I just bought our first home, and I was looking for a book with some information on house cleansing. I definitely found what I was looking for in this book and more. I would definitely recommend it.

    5-0 out of 5 stars A Delightful Read
    My mother-in-law gave me this book when I mentioned a desire to read more on Feng Shui.Many of the traditional books I'd read on placement and chi enhancement seemed too focused on the use of bamboo flutes, mirrors, and faceted crystals to correct areas with stagnant or draining energy.I found their suggestions not only limited, but also impractical to the point that my home "sanctuary" would no longer be a source of love and calm, but more like an irritating hodgepodge of impersonal things that did not flow with the natural spirit of our living space.

    From the first moment that I skimmed through the pages of Linn's book, I was filled with renewed inspiration and relief.Linn sees a home as more than just a collection of rooms filled with appropriately placed objects.She suggests (and I wholly agree) that each home has its own spirit and that the energies within the home depend on much more than whether or not a crystal or mirror is hung on a poorly placed wall.She delves more into the spiritual nature of energizing spaces using sound, color, light, and the use of items that are meaningful to the inhabitants of the home.Linn introduces the novice to the art of finding and clearing areas of stagnant energy, and often reminds the reader that one does not need to have second sight or enhanced senses to successfully employ her recommendations.

    Denise Linn states many times throughout this book that "if you don't love it, get rid of it".As simple and common sensical as that thought might be, it was a very refreshing reminder that so-called traditional "cures" may not always result in a more tranquil environment.Honestly, the thought of hanging bamboo flutes all over my home left me so annoyed and uncomfortable that I was tempted to throw out half of my library.While Linn does briefly discuss some of the more classical philosophies of Feng Shui, she does not dwell long on the topic.Her focus is less on the physical and more on the spiritual or energetic aspects of the home.For those who seek to bring about change in their lives (such as increasing love, prosperity, or health), she offers some recommendations that parallel many of the philosophies taught in Feng Shui.However, she takes it a step further by personalizing the cures to the ideas of the reader.Not all who seek increased prosperity are inspired by the same symbols and she offers a few brief examples to help the reader explore his or her own psyche to determine what simple changes may subconsciously or visually imply greater wealth.

    This book incorporates wisdom from Eastern cultures, Celtic traditions, shamanism, and her own Native American heritage to provide the reader with a vast collection of ideas and exercises to explore.Some of her energy clearing recommendations do border on ritualistic, and therefore may be slightly uncomfortable for people who shy away from anything esoteric.Her approaches are not magic or witchcraft, however, and should not be viewed as such.

    While I absolutely love this book, I'm well aware that it isn't for everyone.If furniture placement, chi flow, and the bagua are your interest then I suggest you stick with the more traditional books on Feng Shui and Chi.But if your interest is in enhancing your intuition and tuning into the inherent spirit of your home to create your own personal sanctuary, then this book provides a wonderful introduction, whether you are a novice or already highly tuned in to the spiritual side of life.I'm eager to read more from Denise Linn, and the only difficult decision ahead of me is which of her many insightful books to start reading next.

    4-0 out of 5 stars Good Read
    As an interior designer and Feng Shui practitioner, Sacred Space is a special addition to my collection of Feng Shui books.

    5-0 out of 5 stars Love this book!
    I'm on my second copy--the pages are falling out.Some sections may not be for everyone, but it is an excellent resource.Great book--highly recommended!

    2-0 out of 5 stars Sacred space
    A neat book, with lots of woo woo and a mish mosh of religious ideals.A little too mixed up for me. ... Read more


    32. Space Planning Basics
    by Mark Karlen
    Paperback: 240 Pages (2009-05-04)
    list price: US$60.00 -- used & new: US$42.89
    (price subject to change: see help)
    Asin: 0470231785
    Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars
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    Product Description
    Space planning involves much more than sketching a preliminary floor plan. A designer must take a client's programming needs into account and must also consider how other factors such as building codes and environmental factors affect a spatial composition. Space Planning Basics, now in its Third Edition, offers a highly visual, step-by-step approach to developing preliminary floor plans for commercial spaces. The book provides tools for visualizing space and walks the designer through other considerations such as building code requirements and environmental control needs. Specific programming techniques covered include matrices, bubble diagrams, CAD templates, block plans, and more. New to this edition are coverage of the basics of stair design, an essential aspect for planning spaces. ... Read more

    Customer Reviews (8)

    5-0 out of 5 stars excellent book
    The book is very well written and has helped me tremendously.It came to me new so there wasn't actually anything wrong with it.I received it promptly without hesitation.

    2-0 out of 5 stars Lacking
    This book was lacking in many ways.Construction Drawings and Details for Interiors: Basic Skills by Rosemary Kilmer was a much better book on space planning and graphics for much less than this book.

    5-0 out of 5 stars Hands-on exercises and advice are perfect for intermediate-level students in construction management and interior design
    Any college-level library appealing to architecture and interior design students - especially those involved in commercial buildings - needs SPACE PLANNING BASICS. The third updated edition includes coverage of stair design, a new section on such design, and programming examples for small and large commercial spaces (up to 4,000 square feet). Hands-on exercises and advice are perfect for intermediate-level students in construction management and interior design.

    5-0 out of 5 stars Great Book
    I needed this book for required reading for my graduate studies. It is very basic beginner space planning ideas. The layout and explanations are easy and helpful. I already had a grasp on everything this book covers, but it's a good one to keep on the bookshelf for reference.

    5-0 out of 5 stars A thorough basic overview
    The book is a very good reference to the importance of the space planning process with thoughtful exercises incorporated.It is best as a text book vs. trying to read and understand it on your own.
    You must understand that it's not a code book, so some of the dimensions, etc. should be verified based on your own location. ... Read more


    33. Understanding Space: An Introduction to Astronautics + Website (Space Technology)
    by Jerry Sellers, William Astore, Robert Giffen, Wiley Larson
    Hardcover: 792 Pages (2007-05-25)
    -- used & new: US$60.00
    (price subject to change: see help)
    Asin: 0077230302
    Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    Editorial Review

    Product Description

    Understanding Space provides an excellent in-depth explanation of astronautic principles making it a must-have for undergrad aerospace students.

    This is an introductory text in astronautics designed for managers and young engineers new to the space field. The study of astronautics and space missions can appear difficult at times, but our goal is to bring space down to Earth and de-mystify it, so each reader understands the big picture with confidence. It contains historical background and a discussion of space missions, space environment, orbits, atmospheric entry, spacecraft design, spacecraft subsystems, and space operations. This is a truly user-friendly, full-color text focused on understanding concepts and practical applications but written in a down-to-earth, engaging manner that painlessly helps you understand complex topics. It is laid out with multi-color highlights for key terms and ideas, reinforced with detailed example problems, and supported by detailed section reviews summarizing key concepts, terms, and equations. ... Read more

    Customer Reviews (16)

    5-0 out of 5 stars Really great book
    The book was for a class where we are studying rocketry and building a Rocket for the NASA USLI competition....This book is or has been used by NASA to train some of their employees.It reads very easily and is understand with little effort.

    5-0 out of 5 stars A Must Have Space Explanation Book
    I got this book for a master's class at Embry Riddle.After reading it at work, others recognized the book from their masters and bachelors classes at other universities.This book is an absolute must have if you want to learn about space history, space exploration, space travel, orbits, space environment, spacecraft systems, and much much more.The reading is very easy and the book is heavy on the math side.I would say a college level understanding of algebra is helpful to understand the math equations.Each section has a review portion, reference page, and problem exercises.It's a great book to understand space.

    5-0 out of 5 stars A must-have for new professionals and students in the field
    I own an earlier edition of this book, which I bought after a friend and Air Force Academy graduate let me borrow his. Unless you are already a guru in all things space-related, there is probably something useful in this book.

    It is a primer for the basics of orbit and attitude dynamics, mission designs, subsystems, launch and reentries, operations, as well as other topics. The math is all kept at the algebra level, which keeps it from discouraging readers who want to get concepts without getting tangled up in dense math.

    Unlike many texts, this one is very well-illustrated, and written in a manner that actually makes it fun to read, including sidebars with descriptions of historical and current real world missions, as well as descriptions and diagrams of various current and future technology subsystems, including propulsion schemes. Few textbooks have ever held my interest as well as this one, and inspired me to seek out more detailed texts for some of the subjects.

    Many times have I had to teach young new people the ropes, or to explain to outsiders asking me questions about something they aren't familiar with, and this book has always made it easier to explain things, especially with its ample illustrations.

    If you are a professional in the field and have a stack of textbooks on the shelf by your desk, I recommend adding this one.

    3-0 out of 5 stars Arcjet graphics missing.
    I bought this book sometime ago based upon the high ratings on amazon and my personal desire to assimilate the knowledge.

    I have therefore only leisurely read one of the chapters that interested me and although the content is top notch, I am quite annoyed at the placement of an incorrect graphic cutaway on page 576, The cutaway in question is supposed to show how an Arcjet engine operates, but the cutaway is that of a thermal nuclear engine that was discussed, and portrayed, some pages earlier.

    So in closing, this text may need extensive editting.

    5-0 out of 5 stars Very well written book on the subject
    This book is really easy to read. The author has done a great job at presenting the history, the risks and the technologies that have allowed us to have missions in space. It provides a good understanding of issues that have to be resolved for a mission in space, such as near-zero gravity issues (problems such as outgassing), radiation (single event phenomena), heat transfer, etc. It also provides benefits of space missions, discusses different types of orbits, etc. Overall, this is a great book to give you a good understanding of space, space vehicles (i.e. satellites) and the issues encountered and the way we have or currently are addressing them as well as challenges for the future. ... Read more


    34. The Solace of Open Spaces
    by Gretel Ehrlich
    Paperback: 144 Pages (1986-12-02)
    list price: US$14.00 -- used & new: US$6.25
    (price subject to change: see help)
    Asin: 0140081135
    Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars
    Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France | Japan
    Editorial Review

    Product Description
    A stunning collection of personal observations that uses images of the American West to probe larger concerns in lyrical, evocative prose that is a true celebration of the region.Amazon.com Review
    "Everything in nature invites us constantly to be what weare. We are often like rivers: careless and forceful, timid anddangerous, lucid and muddied, eddying, gleaming, still." Whethershe's reflecting on nature's teachings, divulging her experiences as acowpuncher, or painting vivid word portraits of the people she livesand works with, Gretel Ehrlich's observations are lyrical and funny,wise and authentic. After moving from the city to a vast new state,she writes of adjusting to cowboy life, boundless open spaces, and thealmost incomprehensible harshness of a Wyoming winter:

    "Whenit's fifty below, the mercury bottoms out and jiggles there as iflaughing at those of us still above ground. Once I caught myself ontiptoes, peering down into the thermometer as if there were anextension inside inscribed with higher and higher declarations ofphysical misery: ninety below to the power of ten and soon."

    After experiencing the isolated life of a sheep herder,she writes, "Keenly observed the world is transformed. Thelandscape is engorged with detail, every movement on it chillinglysharp. The air between people is charged. Days unfold, bathed in theirown music. Nights become hallucinatory; dreams,prescient."

    Ehrlich's gift is one of subtle precision. Shewrites beauty into the plainest of thoughts and meaning into thesimplest of ideas: "True solace is finding none, which is to say,it is everywhere." --Kathryn True ... Read more

    Customer Reviews (27)

    4-0 out of 5 stars Love of Wyoming
    In 1976, after "suffering a tragedy", Ehrlich (born 1946 in California) went to Wyoming to make a documentary film. She stayed, working as a sheepherder and sheep shearer, got married and lived on a ranch for 17 years, past this book's writing. Wyoming is bigger than Great Britain but is only inhabited, then and now, by about 500 thousand people. The climate is harsh; the land is poorly suited to farming but better suited to ranching, an American Mongolia. Ehrlich tells about some of the ranchers and ranch hands she had met and retells their stories (a couple had my BS alarm go off, such as the one about a guy whose truck's transmission froze except for the reverse gear, so he drove home 8 miles in reverse), and writes about her own experiences on the land of few people but many sheep, horses, cows and wild elk, jackrabbits and bobcats. If you like American nature writing, this book is for you - but then you must have read it already.

    4-0 out of 5 stars Not Fast and Crowded
    Gretel wrote about living in Wyoming after spending years of her life in a large city. She was trying to figure out why life is the way it is,and Wyoming is a place that still has natural rhythms, not the human manufactured pulse of cities, and the stress caused by a forced tempo of life. She used the open time of Wyoming and the closed space of her mind in conjunction to acquire some self-possession.

    Characters in the book appear to go back and forth between the need and desire of solitude and social contact.Some sheepherders went to town to spend most of their yearly earnings purchasing excitement and intimacy.Fred said he wanted to be alone but read about the world and politics constantly.

    I do see, or I could say it makes sense to me, that the healing of human emotion and spirit would be difficult to accomplish in a cramped and confined, stagnant space.There could be problems if there is no
    room for growth of any kind to take place.Perhaps the perfect blend of comforting surroundings and emptiness would be ideal, but the problem is for each person is how to figure the best solution and locate a habitat for the most excellent kind of living.The book makes a person think about these kinds of things.

    5-0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable and Accurate Read
    This book is stocked in the "Buffalo Bill Historical Center" in Cody, Wyoming.This was a good endorsement -- the museum is outstanding, and they certainly are an authority on accurate books about the region.

    I was looking for a local read just to pass the time, but this book very quickly became a book I couldn't put down.Though travelling in Wyoming, I spend considerable time on a ranch in New Mexico and can attest that Erlich's descriptions of ranching, cowboys, and rodeos are more accurate than anything else I've ever read.The color and detail she gives the subjects are insightful without being gratuitous;she portrays the life of a rancher without blindly romanticizing the lifestyle; and she describes her personal experiences without making the book about her.

    This is the type of book that causes the impulse to buy multiple copies to pass to friends.The book is an easy and enjoyable read - very accurate - and one that should last generations.

    Stongly recommend.

    4-0 out of 5 stars Open spaces have always attracted me.
    Wide landscapes and open land as far as the eye can see have always been a draw for me.The middle of a very large city can be so confining if you don't have the time/money to get out frequently and that is what this book does for me.
    I read it 25 years ago and had since lost my copy and I'm glad Amazon had one ready to shoot to me.I'm in a different mindset (along with being 25 years older) but same feelings are here. Gretel Ehrlich's story is of personal loss and the strength to make it through.

    4-0 out of 5 stars Worth reading
    I did not get my impressions of what a cowboy was from Hollywood. Instead I grew up in the Big Horn Basin of Wyoming and talked to the people in this book every day on the streets of the small towns there. What this book did for me was to remind me of the childhood notion of manhood that I had and help me to strip away some of the garbage that had been piled on me by the Political Correctness movement of the late 1980s. ... Read more


    35. The Office Space Kit
    by Sarah O' Brien
    Paperback: 32 Pages (2006-10-31)
    list price: US$14.95 -- used & new: US$5.98
    (price subject to change: see help)
    Asin: B000XKIFE0
    Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars
    Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France | Japan
    Editorial Review

    Product Description
    Office Space, the universally laugh-out-loud movie that pokes fun at the everyday monotony and pointlessness of modern office life, has become a cult classic among viewers. More than 5 million DVD and VHS copies of Office Space have shipped, and a new special DVD edition was just released in November of 2005. Now, for the first time ever, comes the official Office Space Kit that gives you everything you need to survive Mondays in the cubicle. The perfect gift for anyone and everyone who breaks into a sweat just thinking about their job, The Office Space Kit is for all the minions out there whose TPS reports just aren’t cutting it. Includes the office accessories featured in the movie:

    Milton’s Red Stapler
    Lumbergh’s Initech Mug
    "Is this Good for the Company?" Sign
    Starter "Flair"
    "PC Load Letter" Copy Machine Sticker
    Your Very Own "Jump To Conclusions" Mat
    A Humorous 32-Page Book (Complete with TPS Report Covers)
    Office Space TM & c 1999, 2006 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved. ... Read more

    Customer Reviews (31)

    3-0 out of 5 stars One kit had broken mug
    Only one of the kits was 100% complete, but that was fine because they were being used for decorations for a co-worker who was quitting to take a different job.I was disappointed that one of the kits had a broken mug - and it looked like someone had opened the kit, seen the broken mug, and stuffed everything back in the box.But, for what I paid, the look on my co-worker's face was worth every penny.We hung the "IS it good for the company" banners all around his cubicle and used the "Jump to Conclusions" mats to carpet the floor.Wrote "Good Luck" on the back of the coffee mug, taped TPS report covers over all monitors, chairs, etc, and scattered the contents of 3 office space flair kits across his work area.We heard mumbles of "my stapler" all day.

    5-0 out of 5 stars So much fun for so little money
    I bought this for my boss for Christmas and he never laughed so hard.Who, in a professional setting, does not love anythign Officespace?Quotes from the movie fly left and right.Great gift without breaking the bank!

    1-0 out of 5 stars Don't waste your time.
    Cheap rubbish, the "flare" or badges are ok the rest is a pretty poor token effort at emulating some things from the movie

    2-0 out of 5 stars Typo on Mat
    Bought for a co-worker.It is a good kit as far as number of items but the quality is poor.The Jump to Conclusions mat even has a typo on it.Probably part of the reason why it was in the clearance section.

    1-0 out of 5 stars Not What I Was Looking For
    I ordered an Office Space "Kit" complete with flair, a stapler, mug, ect. What I received in the mail was a paperback book. I contacted the seller and they agreed to refund me since they did not carry the whole kit. I mailed it back within a few days and now, over 2 weeks later, i still have not received my refund! They promised to refund me next week so hopefully they will. ... Read more


    36. Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience
    by Yi-Fu Tuan, Editors,Karen E. Till, Steven Hoelscher, Yi-Fu Tuan
    Paperback: 496 Pages (2001-02-08)
    list price: US$20.00 -- used & new: US$14.28
    (price subject to change: see help)
    Asin: 0816638772
    Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars
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    Editorial Review

    Product Description
    Geography

    On the 25th anniversary of its publication, a new edition of this foundational work on human geography.

    In the twenty years since its original publication, Space and Place has not only established the discipline of human geography, but it has proven influential in such diverse fields as theatre, literature, anthropology, psychology, and theology. Eminent geographer Yi-Fu Tuan considers the ways in which people feel and think about space, how they form attachments to home, neighborhood, and nation, and how feelings about space and place are affected by the sense of time. He suggests that place is security and space is freedom: we are attached to the one and long for the other. Whether he is considering sacred versus "biased" space, mythical space and place, time in experiential space, or cultural attachments to space, Tuan's analysis is thoughtful and insightful throughout.

    Until retiring in 1998, Yi-Fu Tuan was a professor of geography at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is ranked among the country's most distinguished cultural geographers and has earned numerous honors, among them a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Bracken Award for landscape architecture, and an award for meritorious contribution to geography from the Association of American Geographers.He was recently named the Lauréat d'Honneur 2000 of the International Geographers Union.He is the author of many essays and books, including Escapism (1998) and Cosmos and Hearth (Minnesota, 1999). ... Read more

    Customer Reviews (4)

    5-0 out of 5 stars Great book, great service
    I've bought de book Space and Place, by Yi-Fu Tuan. I live in Brazil and the book got here in the best shape, carefully raped, and earlyer tha promissed.

    5-0 out of 5 stars 'to increase the burden of awareness'
    This is a seminal text which offers insight into how we are awakened as children to the complex world which exists around, how we navigate, read and atribute meaning to the abstract spaces and places within which we exist. It opens a door to the genetic knowledge which is embedded in everything which exists around and how through our senses even the preception of time and space can be warped by experience.

    "The aspects of things that are
    most important for us are hidden
    because of their simplicity and
    familiarity"
    L. Wittgenstein


    As a thesis [here I stand] it is a delight, fundamental and engaging. It illuminates a wide and fertile field critical to an understanding how we are rooted to place and space.

    There are books you read, then there are those which - live with you - youkeep them close and consult them often.

    5-0 out of 5 stars The phenomenology of space and place
    In "Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience," Tuan provides a descriptive account of the concepts "space" and "place," drawing on the work of phenomenologists, anthropologists, psychologists, geographers, and others.He grounds his analysis in a structuralist framework, using anthropological research to illustrate how our experiences of space and place can "transcend cultural particularities" (Tuan 1977, p. 5).Tuan provides an original and intriguing discussion of a wide range of topics, such as the relationship between space and place, on the one hand, and myths, architecture, time, religion, and cognition, on the other.I would highly recommend this work to anyone interested in human geography, cultural geography, urban geography, urban studies, and to anyone interested in gaining a better understanding of the importance of space and place for our lives.

    4-0 out of 5 stars The Importance of Meaning in Architecture
    This book was one of several books I studied to better understand the roleof place in architecture and interior design.It helped me understand theimportance of working with clients to understand the meanings they inferfrom the environment around them. In the book, Tuan highlights theimportance of meaning and an insider's view.He describes place ashumanized space.The contrast of open space with enclosed, comfortingareas enhances both.As a person's emotional bond to a space increases, sodo familiarity, comfort, and the sense of insideness.Without personalcontrol over space, this emotional bond is slow to develop.To createplace, Tuan suggests that memorable architecture should strenghen ourmemories, enhance the self, and provide layers of meaning to a space. ... Read more


    37. The New Space Opera 2
    by Gardner Dozois, Jonathan Strahan
    Mass Market Paperback: 640 Pages (2010-04-01)
    list price: US$7.99 -- used & new: US$3.99
    (price subject to change: see help)
    Asin: 006156236X
    Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    Editorial Review

    Product Description

    Some of the most beloved names in science fiction spin all-new tales of interstellar adventure and wonder

    Neal Asher
    John Barnes
    Cory Doctorow
    John Kessel
    Jay Lake
    John Meaney
    Elizabeth Moon
    Garth Nix
    Mike Resnick
    Justina Robson
    Kristine Kathryn Rusch
    John Scalzi
    Bruce Sterling
    Peter Watts
    Sean Williams
    Tad Williams
    Bill Willingham
    Robert Charles Wilson
    John C. Wright
    ... Read more

    Customer Reviews (15)

    4-0 out of 5 stars VERY ENTERTAINING ANTHOLOGY
    The second volume in this anthology series features 19 all-new stories by the likes of Tad Williams, Mike Resnick, Cory Doctorow, Garth Nix, Jay Lake, Peter Watts, and Robert Charles Wilson to name just a few.Despite the label that would seem to imply strictly adventurous Star Wars/"Doc" Smith styled tales, TNSO2 runs the range from raucous humor to hard Sci-Fi and everything in between.

    Among the tales that stand out are "Utriusque Cosmi" by Robert Charles Wilson.Here a woman is whisked away at the moment of Earth's total destruction by an alien race where she learns that the universe is nothing like we've ever imagined.A truly exquisite tale of the far...far future.The best story in the book!

    "To Go Boldly" by Cory Doctorow is a somewhat outlandish parody of Star Trek that I think non-Trekkies will enjoy more than the ardent fans.

    "Catastrophe Baker and a Canticle for Leibowitz" by Mike Resnick.Yet another parody story, this time of Walter M. Miller's famous sci-fi tale.The story of an adventuring hero who thinks with the "wrong" head when it comes to women who goes on a quest for said Canticle...for Saul Leibowitz.

    "The Tale of the Wicked" by John Scalzi is the harrowing tale of a starship captain pursuing an enemy vessel only to find the supercomputer on his own ship has stopped taking orders.Think of this as Star Trek meets 2001: A Space Odyssey meets I, Robot.

    Bill Willingham's "Fearless Space Pirates of the Outer Rings", is another winner.As with most anthologies The New Space Opera 2 is a mixed bag but the good stories outnumber the weaker one's by a wide margin and the best one's are really well done.I would not be surprised if a few received award nominations...perhaps not Hugos or Nebulas, but certainly some degree of recognition would not be surprising.

    4-0 out of 5 stars A decent anthology with some real big duds
    A few standouts, some real big duds, and the rest mediocre. Overall rating: B-

    "Utriusque Cosmi" by Robert Charles Wilson. A story that spans the timescale of universes, yet is also a poignant tale within the lifetime of one individual. On the one hand there are aliens competing for a slice of pie as big as the universe; on the other there is a girl competing for the affection of her estranged mother. A-

    "The Island" by Peter Watts. A woman, her not-too-bright son, and the ship computer crew a ship and self-replicating machines to build a wormhole network for an authoritarian intelligence. In the process, an "Island" creature hinders their progress. Figuring out what the Island is and what to do about it makes up the plot. Not the best "isolated crew in a space ship discovers something" stories but still worth reading. B-

    "Events Preceding the Helvetican Renaissance" by John Kessel. A thinly disguised dialog between atheism and theism and the pitfalls/benefits of belief. Good if you're into that kind of thing, which I am. B+

    "To Go Boldly" by Cory Doctorow. We humans have certain pre-conceived notions of how our world is supposed to work and we assume that aliens will operate on those same notions. But what if the aliens don't? A wonderful story that examines this conceit. The Star Trek language was a bit annoying, though. A-

    "The Lost Princess Man" by John Barnes. A black comedy about a con man and his con game of convincing poor maidens they are a long lost galactic princess. But in a universe of virtual "dwellspaces," can a con man be conned? B

    "Defect" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. A spy vs. spy space opera that reminded me of the movie "The Professional." B

    "To Raise a Mutiny Betwixt Yourself," by Jay Lake. A power struggle for ship control among two ancient Immortals and the shipmind itself. Though the story kept me engaged and the world-building was interesting, in the end I didn't care who won. C+

    "Shell Game" by Neal Asher. A space adventure into interstellar/interspecies relationships. Perhaps it's my biased worldview, but I really liked this story because the religious fundamentalists are the bad guys, even if they are alien. A

    "Punctuality" by Garth Nix. Huh?! Something about a Punctuality Drive, maybe from an ancient civilization whereby superluminal carriers need to be on time...and oh yeah, let's throw in a genetically engineered galactic dynasty...or something like that. D

    "Inevitable" by Sean Williams. This story started out well: a battle of wills between a prisoner and his captor. But, like so many other time-travel stories, the temporal paradox becomes a crutch and a deus ex machina. The conclusion becomes a non-story and well, inevitable. C

    "Join the Navy and See the Worlds" by Bruce Sterling. A story about a space hero who isn't a space hero. A space opera that has little space and not very much opera. A story about nothing, only this story is not that funny. I say "not that funny" meaning it's a little funny. And that's what gives is a passing grade. C-

    "Fearless Space Pirates of the Outer Rings" by Bill Willingham. A romping space adventure with a touch of absurd humor. Yet, I didn't feel anything emotionally for any of the characters. The ending was an interesting twist: what is a space pirate supposed to do after his forced retirement? B-

    "From the Heart" by John Meaney. An interstellar space opera about failure and success. And about a cold war between matter and dark matter, I think. Great world building, but I'm not too sure about the specifics of the plot. C+

    "Chameleons" by Elizabeth Moon. The story got off to a slow start but eventually picked up the pace. A personal bodyguard must escort two rich kids across interstellar space to their prep school. Along the way, they encounter "chameleons" in several senses of the word. A good read, though I wanted it to end a little differently.B-

    "The Tenth Muse" by Tad Williams. One of those Big Idea stories (it says it's a Big Idea story in the story). What if the first contact we have with an alien culture is their own space operatic art form? B+

    "Cracklegrackle" by Justina Robson.A sleuthing story with the detective a heavily augmented "Forged" who can see things others can't. It was OK but I couldn't empathize with the main character (who'd hired the detective) and the conclusion left something to be desired. B-

    "The Tale of the Wicked by John Scalzi. The story seemed headed for cliché-land but redeemed itself at the end. What if AIs conquered us a different way? B+

    "Catastrophe Baker and a Canticle for Leibowitz" by Mike Resnick. A hilarious lowbrow satire about the whole hero genre. The characters are silly and 1D and the plot doesn't really make sense. Reminds me a little of Monty Python. A

    "The Far End of History" by John C. Wright. To be honest, I didn't even finish it. It seems like a retelling of Homer's "Odyssey" but set in the vast distant future. Ulysses is a sapient planet who falls in love with Penelope, a sapient biosphere. Perhaps humor was attempted in this odd posthuman love story, but I wasn't laughing. This novella breaks a cardinal rule with speculative fiction: yes, you can write about anything you can possibly imagine, but if the reader cannot identify with the characters on some level, then you've failed. In other words, the characters must be some significant part human, even if they're alien or intelligent worlds. I couldn't identify with the characters; they weren't human at all, so I stopped reading. I have better things to do than read someone's crappy novella. F

    4-0 out of 5 stars Not bad, but not better than #1
    Most of the 19 stories in this new collection take place in space and/or span vast distances in time and space. Few, on the other hand, are of the "Starships and Empire" variety, and for most of the stories, the "space opera" designation is a bit of a stretch.

    For example, Robert Charles Wilson's "Utriusque Cosmi" is essentially about a single important moment in a young woman's life and about how travel across vast distances allows her to better appreciate that moment. Bruce Sterling's "Join the Navy and See the Worlds" does involve a little bit of space travel, but it is really a typical Sterling story about near-future geopolitics and the shifting fortunes of nations, and as such it isn't even remotely space opera. John Kessel's "Events Preceding the Helvetican Renaissance," which for no obvious reason draws its proper names from contemporary typefaces, is basically a story about political police chasing a religious fanatic across a planet's landscape.

    Other stories fit the mold a bit better. If "Star Trek" is space opera, then so is Cory Doctorow's "To Go Boldly". Unfortunately, it's also a tired send-up, awkwardly going where already "Star Dreck" had already been in 1975. John C. Wright's "The Far End of History," informs us early on that "Once there was a world that loved a forest-girl." I'm not a great fan of Wright's work and his heavy reliance on classical mythology, but this far future romance (which is much more than that) is well done. My favorite story in the collection is Jay Lake's "To Raise a Mutiny Betwixt Yourselves." It takes place in a universe where faster-than-light spacecraft engines used to work, but since the mysterious Mistake, travel has either been slower-than-C or based on quantum entanglement. The setting is interesting, and the conflict between two near-immortal "Befores" -- that is, people born before the Mistake, is tense and moving.

    Overall, the stories in the first volume were closer to what we typically think of as "space opera" than those in the second, and the average quality of the stories in the first volume was a little higher. Still, this is a solid collection with contributions from some of the best SF authors active today.

    5-0 out of 5 stars Great collection of fantastic short stories
    Out of all the authors represented in this collection, I'd only heard of a handful and only read a couple of them - so I've "discovered" some new authors I'll start reading.

    What I found really ironic was the ending to "Fearless Space Pirates..." - I finished this story the same day Pres Obama announced he was gutting the space program.Many feel (myself included) that this will soon put the USA behind the Russian and Indian space programs. "Join the Navy, see the worlds" was also a good commentary on that.Keep in mind that these were written years ago.

    There was not a "stinker" in the bunch - all were good reads, all were entertaining.The length of each story was ideal - quick read on a break, waiting in traffic, etc.

    I'd rate this a DEFINITE buy for any SciFi fan.Collection of humor, hard science, mystery, alien abduction and more.

    4-0 out of 5 stars Great Read!
    I really enjoyed the 1st Space Opera collection and when this one came out I quickly bought it for my kindle. The standout stories for me are:
    Utriusque Cosmi
    The Lost Princess Man
    Shell Game
    The Tale of the Wicked

    I didn't like Join the Navy and See Worlds and was at a loss as to why this story was included in a Space Opera collection aside from the fact that they use the term in the story.

    Really looking forward to The New Space Opera 3! ... Read more


    38. Hubble: Imaging Space and Time
    by David Devorkin, Robert Smith
    Hardcover: 224 Pages (2008-09-30)
    list price: US$50.00 -- used & new: US$15.90
    (price subject to change: see help)
    Asin: 1426203225
    Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    Product Description
    In the spirit of National Geographic’s top-selling Orbit, this large-format, full-color volume stands alone in revealing more than 200 of the most spectacular images from the Hubble Space Telescope during its lifetime, to the very eve of the 2008 final shuttle mission to the telescope. Written by two of the world’s foremost authorities on space history, Hubble: Imaging Space and Time illuminates the solar system’s workings, the expansion of the universe, the birth and death of stars, the formation of planetary nebulae, the dynamics of galaxies, and the mysterious force known as "dark energy."

    The potential impact of this book cannot be overstressed: The 2008 servicing mission to install new high-powered scientific instruments is especially high profile because the cancellation of the previous mission, in 2004, caused widespread controversy. The authors reveal the inside story of Hubble’s beginnings, its controversial early days, the drama of its first servicing missions, and the creation of the dynamic images that reach into the deepest regions of visible space, close to the time when the universe began.

    A wealth of astonishing images leads us to the very edge of known space, setting the stage for the new James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled to launch in 2013. Find the stunning panoramic of Carina Nebula, detailing star birth as never before; a jet from a black hole in one galaxy striking a neighboring galaxy; a jewel-like collection of galaxies from the early years of the universe; and a giant galaxy cannibalizing a smaller galaxy.

    Timed for the 2008 shuttle launch and coinciding with the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s first telescope, Hubble: Imaging Space and Time accompanies a high-profile exhibit at the National Air and Space Museum and will be featured on the popular NASM website. ... Read more

    Customer Reviews (19)

    5-0 out of 5 stars Amazing Book
    This book is absolutely wonderful for anyone remotely interested in space exploration. Not only are the photos beautiful but the book itself is an informative and detailed guide to the Hubble Telescope project.Years ago a friend worked on the Hubble beginnings and all I can say is that anyone who wonders about the value of our exploration program should have this book.I plan to use some of the images for my artwork (with full inspirational credit to the Hubble Telescope project).

    5-0 out of 5 stars great find!
    I bought this book as a birthday present. The friend who received it says it is well written surprisingly so since so many new discoveries are being made (re outer space) all the time. He said it was quite up to date.

    5-0 out of 5 stars Hubble Telescope Results
    The book is an amazing mixture of technical descriptions of the Hubble Telescope, astrophysical phenomena, historical perspectives of the Hubble project (a story in itself) as well as of the development of the astronomical knowledge in the past and last but not least wonderfull pictures of what is normally hidden in the sky.
    The book ist worth every penny I spent for it with Amazon (and I paid very little).
    J.Benn

    5-0 out of 5 stars Hubble. This amateur astronomer sees what fantastic images are
    Hubble Imaging Space and Time is fantastic. This is essentially a coffee table picture book. The images are fantastic. There isgood description. As an amateur astronomer for 40 years I get good views with my 20 inch telescope but NOTHING can compare to the beautiful and detailed pictures in this book. A good assortment of images is offered.I go toa few star parties and give backup presentations to school kids if the clubs telescopes get clouded out and the kids cant see anything. This book will be great for showing both kids and grownups the wonders of the universe. This book is great for parents to show their kids and read desriptions. Both will love this book and hopefully want to learn more about the Universe and Astronomy.

    I am so thankful for the scientists, government workers and everyone throughout the world that made the use of the Hubble possible. The Hubble is indeed a world treasure. One of mankinds technological masterpieces.

    5-0 out of 5 stars Beautiful imagery
    I bought this book for the photography and it has exceeded my expectations. Beautiful photographs, just incredible. I can't comment on the text because I haven't read word one of it. ... Read more


    39. Dead Space: Salvage
    by Antony Johnston, Christopher Shy
    Paperback: 104 Pages (2010-12-07)
    list price: US$17.99 -- used & new: US$12.14
    (price subject to change: see help)
    Asin: 1600108156
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    Product Description
    The USG Ishimura, the most famous of the Planetcracker class starships, is flung from orbit around Aegis VII after the disastrous events of Dead Space. It is lost somewhere in deep space, and both the Government and a powerful religious sect called "Unitology" believe it may still hold the Red Marker, an alien artifact that promises great power for either side, and both will stop at nothing to reach it first! ... Read more


    40. Inner Paths to Outer Space: Journeys to Alien Worlds through Psychedelics and Other Spiritual Technologies
    by Rick Strassman MD, Slawek Wojtowicz, Luis Eduardo Luna, Ede Frecska
    Paperback: 376 Pages (2008-03-27)
    list price: US$19.95 -- used & new: US$8.65
    (price subject to change: see help)
    Asin: 159477224X
    Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    Product Description
    An investigation into experiences of other realms of existence and contact with otherworldly beings

    • Examines how contact with alien life-forms can be obtained through the “inner space” dimensions of our minds

    • Presents evidence that other worlds experienced through consciousness-altering technologies are often as real as those perceived with our five senses

    • Correlates science fiction’s imaginal realms with psychedelic research

    For thousands of years, voyagers of inner space--spiritual seekers, shamans, and psychoactive drug users--have returned from their inner imaginal travels reporting encounters with alien intelligences. Inner Paths to Outer Space presents an innovative examination of how we can reach these other dimensions of existence and contact otherworldly beings. Based on their more than 60 combined years of research into the function of the brain, the authors reveal how psychoactive substances such as DMT allow the brain to bypass our five basic senses to unlock a multidimensional realm of existence where otherworldly communication occurs. They contend that our centuries-old search for alien life-forms has been misdirected and that the alien worlds reflected in visionary science fiction actually mirror the inner space world of our minds. The authors show that these “alien” worlds encountered through altered states of human awareness, either through the use of psychedelics or other methods, possess a sense of reality as great as, or greater than, those of the ordinary awareness perceived by our five senses. ... Read more

    Customer Reviews (18)

    5-0 out of 5 stars Next best book on DMT..
    I haven't yet read all of DMT: The Spirit Molecule, but from what I have read this is the next best thing. The cool thing about this book is it goes more in depth on what someone curious about psychedelic/entheogens should know if they want to have such an experience for themselves or are just curious of the health or philosophical implications.
    I myself have undergone the sacrament that is N,N Dimethyltryptamine a number of times and I can tell you that this book has said so much in congruence with my own experiences that it's almost scary, but instead I am grateful.
    There is still a whole universe to be explored, but this book signifies a step in the right direction.
    It is a must have for anyone interested in psychology, neurology, pharmacology, sociology, consciousness, art, why they are here, and what it means to be human.
    It's well worth the money in any case.

    5-0 out of 5 stars Transcending our Understanding of Consciousness
    This book is not your typical "stoner type" purporting the transcendent information that can be rendered from the adventures that are experienced when utilizing the ontological (as I like to call them) technologies of entheogens; some may be relieved, but do not get comfortable yet, because what this is, is your SCHOLARLY and EXPERT types purporting the transcendent information that can be rendered from the adventures that are experienced when utilizing the ontological technologies of entheogens. I have to say that I am elated to see scholars that actually utilize theirs credentials to go against the grain of the Establishment and pursue something that is novel and innovative, rather than adhering fervently to what they have been spoon fed from textbooks; it is indeed those individuals that push the paradigm of what is conventional, and that fringe screams the taboos that shatter the virgin ears of those drones that wish to adhere to what they have been assigned-the ideological war begins.

    This book is not all about drug induced altered states of consciousness; it digs down deep into the ontology of the human race and what it means to be sentient beings. The book itself should be considered as an essential piece of literature for developing a canon on this subject. The previous statement may cause some religious right wing fundamentalist to go ape-sh**, but this book has such a high level of ontological (a term I use to replace spiritual) resonance that it cannot be denied that level of vindication. This is beyond cogent in the defense of altered states of consciousness; the philosophical depth of this book is transcendent of measurement.

    The book is presented in parts and is obviously a joint effort. The initial section is a series of chapters that is an overview of Strassman's scientific work from the FEDERALLY (yeah, Big Brother authorized it) sanctioned experiments with dimethyltryptamine, and his perspective on the nature of DMT. The second phase is a collection of chapters that brings forward an anthropological perspective of DMT and its use in indigenous tribes from Luis Eduardo Luna derived form his decades of studies with the substance, or substances containing it. Luna gives a detailed list of expectations and executions all deduced from his experience, after which he goes into a pontification of magic mushrooms. The third section of the book is navigated by Ede Freska which is, by my interpretation, the spear tip of book. His beginnings are that of the prototypical Eastside/Westside pitting that we see in similar subject matter of this stature that also interlaces the ideological turf war of Science vs. Intuition. Then he walks you through the study of plant consciousness (which I found really intriguing) and alludes to the level of consciousness in animals as well. Freska also delves into the Sitchin and von Daniken ancient astronaut theories and other perspective of the "gods" with a new perspective that I believe is quite tenable with the correlations of modern mythology and that of the archaic period. Lastly, we are introduced to Slawek Wojtowicz and he brings forward perspectives on past life regressions and draws forth interpretations of reality by utilizing our very fortuitously prophetic science-fiction.

    It bewilders me that science has been tweaking the chemicals of the brain utilizing pharmaceuticals and society accepts this due to the "experts-and-corporations-know-best" attitude, which obviously by now is insidious, but when one inquires to use a natural plant that our human culture has been experiencing for thousands of years, possibly eons, in his/her own home to journey on an introspective panorama of his/her psyche then we must sound the alarms and release the hounds!

    The one thing that should be served as a caveat is that if you have no experiential overlap here then you will think all of this is quite devoid of any credibility, especially when you get to the section of Strassman's portion of the book called "Subjective Effects". LOL! If you have never experienced any of this you will be like "WTF?!"

    By far, the most prudent aspect of this book is the fact that scholars are coming out of the closet in support of the profound information that can be extracted from these very surreal, but real, experiences.

    The book itself is a trip, but without the DMT.

    * The book also has three intermissions about every third of it that has a collection of some very eccentric and abstract art (of which I will be purchasing some copies of).

    5-0 out of 5 stars Definitely something new here
    I read Rick Strassman's book DMT: The Spirit Molecule and thought it was completely fascinating; I was anxious to read this one.Although the section by Dr. Strassman is mostly a recap of what he wrote in the other book, the material by the other authors is new territory, and wonderful. Definitely worth getting and reading; I am convinced that once more people connect to this inner landscape and the power it contains, we will be able to take our next step as a species.

    5-0 out of 5 stars THANK YOU
    I have read all three books featuring Mr. Strassman's writtings and found all very enlightening. I experienced a new perspective and subsequent understanding and hope he keeps on sharing with us.

    5-0 out of 5 stars Comfort to sufferers of alien abduction experiences?
    Dr. Strassman's concept that the experience of alien abduction can be related to spontaneous DMT release, combined with Dr. Frecska's theory that DMT can open up information channeling (and these experiences resemble to shamanic initiation) may provide comfort to alien abductees.The authors' approach gives validity to abduction reports (in some way those are more than mere illusions), but at the same time abductees do not have to worry that their experience literally happens in ordinary reality (regardless how real it may feel).Besides the effort of rational interpretation, putting alien abduction into a spiritual-shamanistic framework opens the way for therapy-transformation.
    The authors of this book are in line with others like John Mack and Jacques Vallée, who have suggested that the dichotomy, 'real' versus 'imaginary', may be too simplistic; that a proper understanding of spiritual phenomena may require a reevaluation of our concept of the nature of reality.
    ... Read more


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