Associated Press Guide to Photojournalism (Associated Press Handbooks)

Associated Press Guide to Photojournalism (Associated Press Handbooks) Review

I liked this book because it was stories told by photojournalists, giving examples versus a "textbook" approach. It showed that the resourcefulness, perseverence and creativity of photojournalists is what makes them successful, not necessarily following specific guidelines that cannot work in every situation. Very entertaining read.

Associated Press Guide to Photojournalism (Associated Press Handbooks) Feature

• ISBN13: 9780071363877
• Condition: New
• Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

Associated Press Guide to Photojournalism (Associated Press Handbooks) Overview

Written by noted AP photographer and photoeditor Brian Horton, this is an insider's manual to one of the most glamorous and exciting media professions. Emphasizing the creative process behind the photojournalist's art, Brian Horton draws upon his three decades of experience, as well as the experiences of other award-winning photojournalists, to instruct readers in the secrets of snapping memorable news photos every time. With the help of more than 100 photographs from the AP archives, he analyzes what constitutes successful news photos of every type, including portraits, tableaux, sports shots, battlefield scenes, and more, as well as offering tips on how to develop a style of your own.

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On Thin Ice: Breakdowns, Whiteouts, and Survival on the World's Deadliest Roads

On Thin Ice: Breakdowns, Whiteouts, and Survival on the World's Deadliest Roads Review

Loved the book - brought back memories of my own much more limited truck-driving experiences with whiteouts, wolves, cold temperatures, Yellowknife NWT, and below-zero temperatures. On the other hand, I've never driven a truck over lake ice, and after reading Rowland's book, have no intention of doing so. I'm CHICKEN! Also haven't done on-road repairs, 18-speeds (only 13), and driving 1,900 miles in a day. (My record is only 900.) On the other hand, I've also been fortunate enough to experience incredible scenery traveling the Alaskan and Dalton highways. Was particularly interesting to learn how they build and maintain ice roads over water. Great reading!

On Thin Ice: Breakdowns, Whiteouts, and Survival on the World's Deadliest Roads Feature

• ISBN13: 9781401323684
• Condition: New
• Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

On Thin Ice: Breakdowns, Whiteouts, and Survival on the World's Deadliest Roads Overview

You've watched him battle the odds on History's Ice Road Truckers. Now read Hugh "The Polar Bear" Roland's own storm-by-storm account of surviving and conquering the infamous ice roads of the Arctic. Join Hugh in the front seat of his truck as he shares his most chilling, adrenaline-fueled tales of the world's most dangerous job.

Every year, a fleet of truckers travels beyond the northern equatorial line to the Arctic Circle, battling subzero temperatures and perilous conditions. Though treacherous, it is a region heavily endowed with natural resources. Locating this abundance of natural gas, conflict-free diamonds, and gold is relatively easy; extracting and transporting these goods is another matter entirely. The elite truckers chosen to deliver materials vital to these efforts spend two months traveling distances greater than Western Europe on naturally formed roads of ice that is only sixteen inches thick.

It is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.

For more than twenty years, Hugh Rowland has survived the ice roads like none other. Each year when the temperature plummets, Rowland leaves his family in Vancouver, Canada, to drive 1,900 miles to Yellowknife, where he will begin his odyssey. Facing the threat of perilous avalanches, hundred-foot cliffs, and the ever-present danger of cracking through the ice, Hugh must push himself to the limit. The payoff is sweet, but Rowland isn't in it just for the money; he is driven by the camaraderie, the call to adventure, and the chance to battle the odds year after year.

From the first snowstorm to the final thaw, On Thin Ice traces the history of ice road trucking, chronicles Rowland's preparation for the trek, and follows him through his perilous journey along the infamous ice roads. Take a ride with Rowland as he recounts tales of epic breakdowns and breathtaking heroism that are just a daily part of the job. In this classic battle of man and machine versus cruelest nature, only the strong will survive to see their payday, their families, and the chance to do it all over again . . . on thin ice.

WHEN HELL FREEZES OVER . . .

"You've never experienced winter until you've lived through one in the far north. It starts in October and doesn't let up until mid-April. The temperatures drop to minus 70, with winds blowing 60 miles an hour. At that temperature, you throw a pot of boiling water or coffee into the air and it will instantly vaporize and turn into snow. It's cold as hell, but it's also full of riches: silver, gold, uranium, diamonds, and oil worth tens of billions of dollars. Locating these treasures in the frozen tundra is the easy part. Getting them out of the ground and bringing them from the frozen wasteland to civilization is a lot tougher. That's my job."
--From Ice Road Truckers

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Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to Walt Disney World's Best Kept Secrets

Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to Walt Disney World's Best Kept Secrets Review

My seven-year old daughter discovered this book and once she realized what Hidden Mickeys were, she was determined to read every section that was related to any park or hotel that we might be utilizing in our upcoming trip to WDW...and then find all those Hidden Mickeys. Thankfully, she didn't make us go to other hotels! I guess we'll save those chapters for future trips.

This book really gave us a fresh, new outlook on our latest visit to WDW. We have already seen and done a lot of what there is to do at WDW (although it doesn't keep us from going back), but after appreciating the concept of Hidden Mickeys, our little girl was even willing to ride rides that previously scared her (e.g., Pirates of the Carribean) because those rides had Hidden Mickeys in them. Go figure! In this book, there are hints and then there are sections that tell you right where to find them. It's up to you how challenging you want the "hunt" to be. She was determined not to look at the outright details, but to rely strictly on the hints. We even had to ride the Epcot/Mexico boat ride TWICE because she thought she had missed one -- ha!

We carried this book around WDW for three full days and had a great time with it. If you think you have seen all there is to see at WDW but you keep going back for more anyway, get a copy of this book and you will suddenly gain an appreciation for the details that the folks at Disney put into their properties. Almost makes you appreciate the cost of entry (almost!). Before you know it, the whole family will be finding Hidden Mickeys, including some that probably were not even intended to be there!

Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to Walt Disney World's Best Kept Secrets Overview

There’s a special new way to enjoy Walt Disney World and this book is your guide. Find nearly 400 "Hidden Mickeys"--images of Mickey Mouse cleverly hidden in WDW's theme parks, restaurants, hotels, and other areas by Disney's designers.

Hunting for Hidden Mickeys has escalated into a bona fide vacation mission for many WDW fans. This first guidebook on the subject adds to the fun by turning the search into organized scavenger hunts, complete with clues, hints, points to be scored, and places to tally them. There’s a hunt for each of the major theme parks, plus one for the public areas of the resort hotels and one for all the rest of WDW.

An Index to Mickey's Hiding Places lets visitors who prefer a less competitive approach look for the Main Mouse wherever they find themselves in Mickey’s magical realm. And those who need more help spotting him will find full descriptions of each Hidden Mickey in a separate section of the book.

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*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 12, 2010 00:39:06

Football Scouting Methods

Football Scouting Methods Review

This book caused quite a stir back in 2004 or 2005 when it was mentioned in the media. The author is Steve Belichick the father of Bill Belichick the head coach of the New England Patriots. Steve was a noted scout and coach in his own right back several decades ago. This book was one of the first that I know of that attempted to codify some of the thinking and thought processes that go into scouting football.

Originally teams were allowed a certain number of visits in order to scout the opposition. Steve Belichick was a master at this skill and always found small ways to give his teams an advantage. His skills were passed onto his son Bill who developed an even keener eye for scouting opponents tendencies, strengths, and weaknesses.

Today teams of course exchange game film, input data into a computer database and study that content instead of exchanging visits. The basic things they watch for however are still the same although the exact formations and play types change every decade of course. None the less the original questions and points of study that are outlined in this book were influential in their hey day and still of relevance today in concept.

Since the media mentioned this book it has become a hard to find commodity and has become something of a collectors item. I have an old copy that I keep in my football library. The schemes and diagrams are somewhat outdated (e.g. defense examples include a wide tackle six, split six, stacked 6-2, 5-3, and an eagle 5-4 type of alignment. Offense examples include T formations and Winged T alignments) but the basic thought process is still relevant even today.

Reading this book will give you a good sense of the details that coaches zeroed in on back then and what Steve probably taught Bill as a young man many years ago.

EDIT NOTE Nov. 2008

Since I wrote this review I see the book has fortunately been re-published and is now available for a reasonable price. I see I also accidentally referred to Steve's son Bill as "Brian" in one location but correctly as Bill in two other locations. A senior moment to which some of you can probably relate...I corrected it above.

Here is the table of contents for those interested:

1. A case for specialization in scouting
2. Preparations for scouting
3. What is expected of the scout
4. Worksheet forms and terminology
5. How to recognize the defense
6. Scouting the defense
7. Defensive analysis
8. Scouting the offense
9. Offensive analysis
10. The final report
11. Self-scouting and post game analysis
12. Tip offs

Two other older books I am aware of on scouting are George Allen's work "How to Scout Football" published in 1953 when he was still with Whittier College and Robert MacKenzie's book "Football Scouting" from 1955.

Keep in mind the terminology and examples in all these books are dated now by four or five decades.

Football Scouting Methods Overview

"Considered the bible of scouting techniques" according to the Los Angeles Times, Football Scouting Methods explains the basic scouting strategies and insights of author Steve Belichick. He was widely viewed as the ablest football scout of his time and coached at the U.S. Naval Academy for 33 years; his son is New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, a three-time Super Bowl winner.

When Steve Belichick died in November 2005, the New York Times headline cited him as "Coach Who Wrote the Book on Scouting," and quoted Houston Texans General Manager Charley Casserly calling Football Scouting Methods "the best book on scouting he had ever read." Joe Bellino, Navy's Heisman Trophy winner in 1960, told the Times that Steve Belichick "was a genius. On Monday nights, he would give us his scouting reports, and even though we were playing powerhouses, I always felt we were prepared because he found a way for us to win."

In recent years Football Scouting Methods has been one of the top ten most sought out-of-print books; used copies have been quite scarce. This reissue edition makes the original 1962 text available once again in exact facsimile.

The book covers how to scout opponents, recognize defenses, analyze offenses, discover "tip-offs" that reveal the opponent's plays, compose a useful report, self-scout, and conduct postgame analysis.

"Steve Belichick taught many younger men how to scout and how to watch film and how to prepare their teams for the next week's game," David Halberstam noted in the Washington Post, and his best student was his own son Bill Belichick, "one of whose greatest skills as a coach to this day remains his ability to analyze other teams, figuring out both their strengths and their vulnerabilities, and shrewdly deciding how to take away from them that which they most want to do."

When CBS asked Bill Belichick to name his favorite book, he replied "Well, I've got to go with my dad's. Football Scouting Methods. I'd have to go with that."

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*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 10, 2010 13:54:05

The Traditional Bowyer's Bible, Volume 2

The Traditional Bowyer's Bible, Volume 2 Review

(This review pertains to the first three volumes as a whole. I do not own the new 4th volume ... yet.)

The Traditional Bowyer's Bible can be reviewed fairly briefly.

On the pro side:

- The authors are traditional archery experts.
- The content is wide-ranging, covering longbows, recurves, flatbows, backed bows, composite bows, takedowns, asymmetrical bows, arrows, nocks, fletching, backings, finishing, tools, etc. Virtually every bow type is represented and from every area of the world and from ancient history to the present day.
- The books contain original material, such as information on hysterisis.
- The content covers basics to very advanced topics.
- Though the authors express individual preferences here and there(bow types, woods, etc.), taken as a whole the material is quite neutral and fact-based.
- Design is emphasized as much as construction, perhaps more so. I'd go further and say the intent of the series is to teach foundational material and definitely not to present simple how-to instructions. I've made bows using these books, but see comments below, too.
- There is very little throw-away material, here meaning text that preaches to the choir about the virtues of traditional archery.

On the con side:

- The material is topically organized (e.g., design, tillering, woods). While that's terrific for the topic, it isn't the best for the step-by-step how-do-I-make-a-bow reader. You really have to read the bulk of the material to put it together.
- These may not be the best books for someone just starting out in traditional archery. The authors presume basic knowledge of archery and terminology. A newcomer, unless extraordinarily enthusiastic, will be overwhelmed.
- There's a lot of line drawing illustrations. I would prefer photos.
- The multiple volume approach isn't really necessary, given the size of each, drives up the price of the total, and I would like to see the series published in a single volume.

The cons are nits, however. This book series provides an extremely comprehensive view of traditional archery and is a must-have on the bookshelf of anyone interested in the topic.

The Traditional Bowyer's Bible, Volume 2 Feature

• ISBN13: 9781585740864
• Condition: New
• Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

The Traditional Bowyer's Bible, Volume 2 Overview

The second volume in The Traditional Bowyer's Bible series covers ancient European bows, Eastern Woodland bows, recurves, strings, steel points, quivers, and much more.

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*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 09, 2010 07:28:06

Get Your Captain's License, Fourth Edition

Get Your Captain's License, Fourth Edition Review

This book contains the same questions as the CG NMC website, but having it in print and separated into sections is very useful; most questions will come from the CFR, however, getting exposed and memorizing a few saves a lot of time on test day. Ground tackle, deck tackle, stability & gryo error well covered. Also contains the full-color guide to running lights, w/ bullet comparison btwen INT & INL ROTR. The CD is a little quarky, b/c it incoroporates a lot of celestial nav problems and MODU questions...w/out a way to filter out...but ROTR questions spot-on.

Get Your Captain's License, Fourth Edition Overview

Know you’ll pass before you take the exam.

If you are planning to take paying passengers on your boat or you want to save money on your insurance, you’ll need to pass the U.S. Coast Guard captain’s ratings exams. Get Your Captain’s License is the quickest, easiest, and least expensive way to prepare for these tests. This complete study tool includes:

• The six-passenger “Six-Pack,” Master and Mate Inland, Master and Mate Near Coastal, and Sail/Auxiliary Sail Endorsement
• 400 pages of tutorials on seamanship and navigation
• PEARSoft’s new and improved interactive CD-ROM with all 14,000 questions and answers in the USCG database

With its essential advice and unlimited opportunities for exam practice, this book is your sure course to passing the tests and securing your license.

Please note: CD-ROM is compatible with PC only.

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*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 08, 2010 06:13:05

Rough Ride: Behind the Wheel With a Pro Cyclist

Rough Ride: Behind the Wheel With a Pro Cyclist Review

This book is written by an idealistic Irish national champion who thought to make a career of himself as a professional cyclist. What he found out is that system as it exists uses up its riders like disposable cameras. He had ambitions of glory or at least success, only to find that his talent is common in the pro ranks. What he describes is what it takes to exist as a professional cyclist - the wear and tear on the body and the pounding on the psyche. Hired as a domestique, his job is to support the big guns, the stars. Yet he is compensated on his own personal racing results, which are earned only when he is released from his supporting duties. For lesser riders like him, doping is the logical and even professional way of being able to perform. His transgressions are minor - caffeine suppositories, and trial use of speed, which he discards as just too *visible*. Eventually he drops out of cycling as he transitions into another line of work, sports reporting. His message is that it is the system that is broken - open knowledge of which events are not dope-controlled, the compensation system that expects riders to sacrifice their own results to those of the team, yet get paid on the basis of their criterium results. Most of all it is the code of silence that keeps all the riders mum and reinforces the idea that there is no alternative.
He speaks from the point of view of the average rider. While he is tight with the Irish greats of his day (Tour de France winner Stephen Roche and TdF points winner Sean Kelly), he can't and doesn't speak of them beyond his personal experiences from sharing hotel rooms, training rides and personal relationships. If you are looking for a tell-all book about the greats of the Tour de France, you will not find it here. This is his story, no one else's. It's not a comprehensive book about sports doping or even doping in the professional peleton. What made his story notorious in its time was the fact that he dared to speak of it at all. His transgressions were minor but his story ostracized him from his cycling generation for years.

He updated the booking in 2005, when he ventured back into that world, albeit as a journalist rather than a rider. Things had changed yet stayed the same. His point of view is tainted now, in that he sees doping everywhere, just in a more sophisticated form than in his day.

This book is interesting not so much for the details but for the pressures on the riders to perform and to do anything/everything that the others must do. You and I have long commutes and sedentary lives that are required by our jobs; they have different job constraints that are just as binding, only theirs will kill them sooner. What a life! Thanks, Paul, for letting us see this life from your point of view.

Rough Ride: Behind the Wheel With a Pro Cyclist Feature

• ISBN13: 9780224080170
• Condition: New
• Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

Rough Ride: Behind the Wheel With a Pro Cyclist Overview

Paul Kimmage's boyhood dreams were of cycling glory—wearing the yellow jersey, cycling the Tour de France, and becoming a national hero. He knew it wouldn't come easy, but he was prepared to put in the work—he spent his teenage years cycling an average of 400 miles per week. The dedication began to pay off. As an amateur, he represented his country and finished sixth in the World Championships. In 1986 he turned professional, and reality hit. He soon discovered it was not about glory and courage, nor about training or dedication. It was about grueling defeats, complete and utter exhaustion, and drugs—not drugs that would ensure victory, but drugs that would allow you to finish the race. Paul Kimmage left the sport to write this powerful and frank account that breaks the code of silence surrounding the issue of drugs in sport. An eye-opening exposé and a heartbreaking lament, this is a book that anyone interested in any sport should read. This updated edition includes the story of Kimmage's 2006 return to the Tour as well as a moving section on the life and death of an old teammate.

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*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 07, 2010 03:26:05