The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia Review

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(More customer reviews)Just got this today First opinion is that it's nearly on par with the previous edition. The book covers All 6 movies gives a general overview of the Clone Wars. Then goes up to the last Legacy book Revelation along with a general overview of the Legacy era happening in the Dark Horse Comics that's still ongoing.
At 1200+ pages the information is amazing though some of the pictures they included are recycled images from the previous edition of the Encyclopedia. My main gripe is the fact they'll give a entry but unlike the last edition there are no refrences in the Enclyclopedia tracing back to the orginal source like the previous version did.
Other than that very impressed at the price from Amazon and compared to what we paid for the orginal the book was well worth it and a great addition to the refrence people who want a physical book to go back to. Otherwise I'd refrence to the online encyclopedia that theforce.net hosts.
This being an add on to my review now that I've had the opportunity to give the books a solid look through. All the above I hold to. Though this refrence runs into the same issue that you'd expect from a series that is ever expanding. You can get the hint at what point in the series where the authors got there sources on things that are ongoing.
A few of the entries seemed to go on and just abrubtly hit the brakes and end right there while other entries don't go into enough detail.The most notable locations of history and character development that are glossed over that I wish would have got more of an explanation are the Legacy (Dark Horse Comics current ongoing series based 130 aby) and the Force Unleashed storyline.
The Force Unleashed seemed to be lacking the most. Character acomplishments of Galen (The Apprentice) seemed to have been thrown in just so the authors could say they covered all up to date Star Wars info. The history behind PROXY, Galen, and Juno seemed to be very lacking. The largest missing peice would be these character's parts in forming the Rebel Alliance. While it's mentioned breifly here and there no details are really explored. Galen's family crest being the symbol of the Rebel Alliance for example. Mentioned in a short sentence in an odd ball refrence but nothing about Galen's part in the history ofthe Rebel Alliance.
But still overall I have to say I like this. The books are worthy of the rating I gave of 4 stars. My gripes are probably little details but I guess you can say I have a deep love for Star Wars.
The book does have alot of odd entries little items you'd not think of and if you know someone that loves the Star Wars Expanded Universe this is worth picking up.

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THE DEFINITIVE REFERENCE GUIDE TO A SPACE FANTASY PHENOMENONThe Star Wars universe, much like our own, is constantly expanding. In the ten years since the publication of the Star Wars Encyclopedia, a lot has happened in that galaxy far, far away: four new feature films, a host of official original novels, comics, video games, and more. Now, thirty years of information on all things Star Wars–ranging from science and technology to history and geography, culture and biography to ecology and cosmology–has been supplemented with an entire decade's worth of all-new material. Abundantly illustrated with full-color artwork and photos, and now in a new three-volume edition to accommodate its wealth of detailed entries, the Star Wars Encyclopedia encompasses the full measure of George Lucas's creation.Here's just a sampling of what's inside:• character portraits of both the renowned (Luke Skywalker, Queen Amidala, Darth Vader) and the obscure (Tnun Bdu, Tycho Celchu, Bib Fortuna)• the natives and customs of planets as diverse as Tatooine and Hoth, Dagobah and Kashyyyk• the rituals, secrets, and traditions of Jedi Knights and Sith Lords• a timeline of major events in Star Wars history, from the Clone Wars and the inception of the Empire to the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker and the invasion of the monstrous Yuuzhan VongScrupulously researched and written by leading authorities Stephen J. Sansweet, Pablo Hidalgo, Bob Vitas, and Daniel Wallace, this landmark work is the must-have centerpiece of every Star Wars library.

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A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar Review

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(More customer reviews)There is a bit of a myth about Japanese grammar--that it is too complicated, too alien for the non-native speaker to ever really master. This is a myth that many Japanese perpetuate themselves, seen in unflattering characterizations of non-native speakers, or in the (unhelpful) praise lavished upon anyone who can speak Japanese to any degree, no matter how ungrammatical it may be. This is a myth that is also unfortunately and unintentionally perpetuated by guides like Jorden's "Japanese the Spoken Language" that do the learner a disservice by explaining grammatical points in a language better suited for a linguist than a language learner. For people like you and me, who want to surpass these low expectations and confusing explanations and start on the road to true fluency, "A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar" is an essential companion.
Let's face it--from the perspective of a native English speaker, mastering Japanese grammar is difficult. Very difficult. Don't trust anyone who says otherwise! Much is made of the difficult writing system, but mastering grammar is perhaps even more difficult and essential to smooth communication. Sure, learning the difference between "wa" and "ga" is not as sexy as learning how to write "love" or "raccoon dog" in kanji, but it's many times more useful on a daily basis. By providing easy-to-understand explanations as well as examples of both good and bad usage, the student is given a better understanding of basic (but still difficult-to-master) grammatical points. This dictionary does an especially good job of contrasting similar constructs that give beginning-to-intermediate (and even many advanced) students trouble (wa/ga, aida/uchi, ageru/kureru, hazu/beki, ni/de etc.)
Although I don't think it's possible to gain complete comfort and mastery of Japanese without living in Japan, or at the very least, interacting with Japanese people on a regular basis, this book is the perfect guide for explaining the nuances that a beginner might not notice, and an intermediate student might be aware of but not fully understand. This includes the deceptive "similar constructs" I mentioned before, words that are not easy to translate into English (sekkaku, darou come to mind), and other issues such as auxiliary verbs and onomatopoetic "sound words". Whether you're learning Japanese in school, living abroad in Japan, or even just studying on your own, "A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar" is an indispensable companion for your studies.
One last comment--there are a few reviews that have comments along the lines of "yes, but the Japanese don't really talk like this" to which I say, "You're missing the point." That's a bit like arguing against learning multiplication tables because in the "real world" there are calculators. Sure it would be nice to go directly from "Sir, please give me that pen" to "Hey man, can ya grab that pen for me?" but language learning isn't that easy. If you understand the fundamentals of grammar, you will understand Japanese of all formalities, dialects, and other variations and transmutations. It is much easier to learn the shortcuts once you have a strong foundation because you are in a position to understand the nuances and principles involved. In other words, you know and understand what exactly is being "shortcutted". If you only learn the shortcuts, you will have a hard time generalizing your knowledge for usage out of a narrow, specific context. Worse, you might not even realize that you are even making a grammatical or etiquette mistake by misapplying knowledge from one context to another. The worst thing a language learner can do is to try to take shortcuts to "speed up" his or her progress without taking the time to build up a steady base. This dictionary provides that strong foundation that is needed for the serious Japanese language learner.
6/24/09 addendum: I've seen a small handful of reviews that insinuate that a strong knowledge of grammar is only important for reading & writing Japanese, and perhaps only for reading & writing formal Japanese at that. This couldn't be more untrue, and this gets to the idea that there are no shortcuts to language learning, even if you're just interested in "conversational Japanese". For any language, the spoken language and the written language are not the same, and formal and colloquial language differ as well. But they all rely on the same principles of grammar, even though they might be applied in different ways. You might be speaking casually with your friends, but greeting them with "Up what is?" instead of "What's up?" is still wrong (unless you're Yoda). All because of grammar.

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Pictorial Webster's: A Visual Dictionary of Curiosities Review

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(More customer reviews)In the 1940s I attended a country school with a single teacher and 20 kids ranging from first to eighth grade. During the last four years, I was the only kid in my "class" and was permitted (encouraged?) to do a great deal of independent reading.
Once a week the county superintendent would send around a circulating box of books, and I would often read and report on ten to twenty books a week. These reports were sent to Jefferson, the county seat, and if the superintendent approved, he would send back a certificate with a gold star for each book read, a total of 12 to each certificate. During my most productive year, I read and reported on 365 books, and received 30 certificates filled with stars, and a letter of commendation containing the five extra stars.
My teacher had me sit right next to the "New International Dictionary", which contained over three thousand pages and had a much shorter "History" with chronologies of various events from different countries. I loved checking the meaning of new words, and often just paged through both books, usually looking at the pictures first, then picking one word and listing all the meanings in a journal I kept for the purpose.
I've still got several of those early journals and I see that I made a few crude drawings based on the pictures in the dictionary. The words have become a part of my vocabulary but the pictures lived on in my imagination, many of them with a life of their own.
I was absolutely delighted to find this wonderful book of images. Some of them are a bit fuzzy and unclear, but the pages of the big dictionary were printed on a very thin paper and coal dust from the school's furnace smeared the pages and many of the images. Paging through this volume brings back many memories, even a sense of actually being back there in Joeville Country School.
This book contains so many personal meanings I'm not sure how to recommend it to others. I'm pretty sure others will find looking through the images will be a fascinating journey of discovery. It was for me many years ago, and still is today.
Robert C. Ross 2009

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Featuring over 1,500 engravings that originally graced the pages of Webster's dictionaries in the 19th century, this chunky volume is an irresistible treasure trove for art lovers, designers, and anyone with an interest in visual history. Meticulously cleaned and restored by fine-press bookmaker Johnny Carrera, the engravings in Pictorial Webster's have been compiled into an alluring and unusual visual reference guide for the modern day. Images range from the entirely mysterious to the classically iconic. From Acorns to Zebras, Bell Jars to Velocipedes, these alphabetically arranged archetypes and curiosities create enigmatic juxtapositions and illustrate the items deemed important to the Victorian mind. Sure to inspire and delight, Pictorial Webster's is at once a fascinatinghistorical record and a stunning jewel of a book.

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