Review Date: 8/3/2009

This is a nice little book on drawing with colored pencils. Most people are focused on teaching colored pencil in "painting" format but I wanted to see a few books that are more for sketching with them also, not everyone wants to always stick with black and white or watercolor for sketches. I'd say it's great for beginners and nice for experienced Colored Pencil artists who want more ideas.

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Review Date: 5/17/2011

Paranoid bunk from those who SEEK to see evil at every corner. If you're looking for demons in everything, you'll find them whether they're there or not. This is the same paranoia, so sad. Like there isn't enough that's real to be sad about, you have to feed paranoia when it should be handled by a compassionate counselor.

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Review Date: 6/4/2010

I had seen this book several times and waited to request it, thinking I knew the story pretty well. I knew about H.H.Holmes and his hotel and of the fair but this book goes so far beyond what you think you know. It's pretty chilling but fascinating at the same time and transports you back to that time of American ingenuity as well as showing you a look into the life and mind of a completely soulless sociopath. It's WELL worth the read!

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Review Date: 11/15/2009

The cover has changed, by the way and is actually visually pleasing, not something you should get used to with this book, except where it talks of the dances held at each of the prisons prior to filling the prison with inmates.

The book is very well written, it very accurately describes what happened there, but it's awful because of what happened. I know it's supposed to make you think that the state of the prison and the corruption caused those men to do the most inexcusable things, but that's exactly what that level of barbarism is to me. Inexcusable. One prison official called them animals but I ask you, what animal can you think of that would do such senseless things that are gruesome far beyond any normal experience?

I don't know what excuses they think will cover that, but once you read this book, you might agree that for the prisoners who committed the butchery, rancid turkey on thanksgiving is not an excuse and far too good for them!

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Review Date: 3/30/2010

I actually enjoyed this book quite a bit, it comes off as being down-to-earth and very credible. Because of the compilation of facts and info, there are "dry spots" but that's to be expected. Overall, it's much worth the read.

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Review Date: 6/28/2009

You hear, from beginning Wicca students, that you aren't supposed to do Love Magic. However, any student of history and anthropology would disagree to the 90s version without the historical background. This book is great as are the other books by Laurie Cabot, written and published at great personal cost to her (verbal abuse from strangers being the kindest part of what she endured) so that newbies can exist in relative peace and find the resources they need. Definitely go for this book as well as the others by her, if you want to see what a beautiful religion Wicca is before "Pop-Wiccans" flooded the shelves of your bookstores.

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Review Date: 6/28/2009

Helpful Score: 2

This book is definitely villiafied by serious practitioners but it's not as bad as it's made out to be. I would never have bought it for MY daughter, I got the Guinevere Raine ones for her but I did get it for my daughter's friend and thought it was a good match for her.

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Review Date: 1/16/2009

The book has a lot of eye witness accounts and tells the story of several victims. It's a powerful account, everyone should read it, but you will have some level of evisceral reaction from the senselessness of it.

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Review Date: 11/8/2009

Helpful Score: 2

The books starts off well, the plot is good, the character development is good and the author obviously made efforts to create characters you can relate to in one way or another. The problem is, just when you are thinking it's a good book, it turns to a flat, predictable, thinly-veiled motivational speech to be true to yourself but not even in a motivational way, too much like all the same drivel that is constantly rehashed and fed back to the mindless masses. Just when you are ready to give up the whole book from the nausea of it, it starts to look like the book will redeem itself but only makes it halfway there. It's such a shame, though, because cleaning up those parts would have made for a truly good, engaging (if not a lil fluffy) story without the readers having to reach for the ginger ale to get through the rest of the book.

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Review Date: 6/28/2009

I like the way the book is designed but it leaves out vital info and the damage it's done is far-reaching. I have been in a circle where a quarter-caller would call the guardians of the watchtowers and the facilatator be ignorant enough to let it go, not smart enough to realize those same guardians and watchtowers exist OUTSIDE of the circle, so where is the element for that quarter? Not invited and not participating. Said facilitator had a group in Central Florida that she teaches. If you use a book, do the research first and you'll wind up doing pretty well with that resource. There are a few more but the beginner won't catch these for years and that's only if they study in-depth. I read it when I was a beginner but I'm glad I got the education to spot those mistakes. Wanna good starter book? Go with Chris Penczak!

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Review Date: 12/30/2008

Helpful Score: 1

Normally, when you get books like this, it's not always what you call "foolproof." In fact, in today's society almost nothing is "foolproof" anymore, folks can foul up anything. But, this book makes it sooo easy to understand the subject matter, I'd understand it easily even if I weren't a woman. It's fantastic!

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