No comments about Art Deco Bookbindings: The Work of Pierre Legrain and Rose Adler.

1 comments about The Golfer's Library: A Reader's Guide to Three Centuries of Golf Literature.

1. This book provides approximately half-page comments about the author's selection of the top 400 golf books. There are brief introductions describing the major works prior to each chapter, as well as general comments on building a golf library in the introduction.
   
   The book seems best suited for a golf book collector who may be beginning a collection, although more avid collectors will still gain some nice tidbits of information. In general, I think Daniel Wexler has done a fine job of introducing us to the cream of the crop and weeding out the junk. I was delighted to see that we shared positive opinions of some of the lesser known titles ("Great Golfers in the Making" comes to mind). Of course, in a book like this there is bound to be the "What, he didn't include that book". One of my favorites, the Golf Book of East Lothian, was not included. The descriptions of the books are accurate and often accompanied by his personal opinions, which are helpful when trying to decide if one should purchase a rare book without having had the luxury of physically seeing / reviewing the book ahead of time.
   
   "The Golfer's Library" has a unique format among golf collecting books. The book does not intend to provide a comprehensive list of all known golf books. For this, I would suggest "The Game of Golf and the Printed Word", although now becoming outdated (1985). For more of a historical perspective of golf books, consider a copy of "Aspects of Collecting Golf Books", (out of print, scarce). Another book, "An Introduction to the Literature of Golf", by Classics of Golf, is similar to Wexler's book in that it is a book about golf books, but the former describes far fewer books but in much greater detail.

1 comments about Railway Posters 1923-1947.

1. This volume immediately moved onto my all-time favorites list. It is chockablock with color illustrations of wonderful British railway posters from that medium's golden age, the creation of the Big Four in 1923 until their nationalization effective January 1, 1948. A book simply stuffed with posters would have been sufficient, but the authors have placed the works of art in their appropriate historical and cultural context, and added to a poster lover's knowledge with interesting asides on artists and their subjects. (The authors both work as curators for the National Railway Museum's extensive poster collection, a job that seems the rough equivalent of dying and going to heaven every Monday through Friday.) There is one serious criticism to be offered: I see no reason why the book should not have been at least twice as long.

1 comments about Remembering Charlotte: Postcards from a New South City, 1905-1950.

1. A showcase of early century postcards featuring the Historic Architecture of Charlotte, NC. This book is great for history buffs and postcard aficionados alike. It chronicles, in photographs, the urban development of a southern town, and the subsequent demolition of that town to make room for the emerging city development. Sadly some beautiful buildings and homes were destroyed in the process. "Remembering Charlotte" does a wonderful job of resurrecting those structures once more.

No comments about Tacuinum Sanitatis: An Early Renaissance Guide to Health (Sam Fogg).

No comments about Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Postcards: Featuring the Collection of the Landis Valley Museum.

5 comments about Harry Potter Collector's Value Guide.

1. The amount and variety of Harry Potter merchandise never ceases to amaze me. Rather than collect much of it, just buy this book. The pictures are detailed and printed on high-quality paper. Want to see what some foreign editions look like? It's in here. Want to find out some basic info about J.K. Rowling? It's in here, too.

   Sure it resembles a catalog, but what book of collectibles doesn't? Its biggest flaw is being out of date, thereby leaving out quite of bit of recent merchandise, but it's a good start. The focus is on items based on the books, not the movies, which is okay by me. I'm late to HP fandom, so I get to see what I missed out on.

   I also had the advantage of seeing this book in a store, so I knew what I was getting. It would be nice if there were an updated second edition, as this one only scratches the surface of HP collecting.




2. The book definitely has an entertaining value, but as far as a book for collectors, it isn't up to par. Most of the sections on Harry Potter collectables are not up to date, and they feature very vague values or prices. I think the reason is that Harry Potter merchandise is fairly new, and so it is hard to calculate an item's worth when it just came on to the market.

   The book also includes several interesting sections on the upcoming movie, JK Rowling, and England, which are mildly entertaining. The thing that I thought was the most appealing in the book, however, was a section on Harry Potter around the world. I found it very interesting to see the covers of the Harry Potter books in Germany, France, Japan, and many other countries. Out of everything, I would say that that section helps redeem this book, which is otherwise a failure.




3. this "book" is the worst book i have ever read. the reason is because the "author" is putting 101 advertizements for harry potter mechandise. i reapeat myself, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK!



4. My previous review of this product was removed by Amazon after receiving 54 of 58 "helpful" votes, with the remark by the editor to me that "It is not clear from reading the review that you have read the book you commented on." I don't see how so many of Amazon's potential customers could disagree, and I assure you all that I have indeed read this "book" and that my comments below are thus informed.

   To even consider that this is a "book" is misleading. It is much more of a magazine format, and although it does contain some articles, they are obviously filler for what is otherwise an advertisement for Harry Potter merchandise, of which this book is one. The articles contain nothing that is not readily available elsewhere--much of it available on the net for free. This book seeks not to inform or entertain, but to part you from your hard-earned dollars with the least amount of effort on the publishers. If the "book" were half the price or less it might be a reasonable value. But since the Collector's Value Guide is as expensive as it is, beware of the information included--obviously the "authors" have no true sense of worth.

   Were this truly a Collector's Value Guide, there would be some discussion of value, and what value might actually mean when the market is flooded with cheap garbage like pieces of colored plastic that are supposed to be "magical stones" whose real purpose is to enrich their makers, not entertain children. But of course, no such discussion exists. Granted, not every Potter "collectable" is a monstrosity, but how terribly unfortunate that the real value of Harry Potter, the delight of a child, has been eclipsed by the soulless and almightly dollar. The Harry Potter phenomenon is amazing, and I'm delighted to see so many kids interested in reading, and engaged in the worlds of fantasy and imagination, but this "book" is not about that at all. Instead, the "writers" of this "book" have managed to make a "collectable" from a "book" about "collectables." Clearly the world is not the way I'd have it...




5. I liked the books that CheckerBee Publishing have done in the past like beanie babies, but this book did not have the information I expected. I would not waste my money on this, unless you want to keep track of everything you have bought, but it is not even current....

No comments about The Ogri Collection No. 2: A bumper selection of colour strips,available for the first time in book form plus volume 4 (OGRI Collection).

No comments about Libro de Arte Coquinaria.

No comments about The Shakespeare First Folio: The History of the Book Volume II: A New World Census of First Folios (Shakespeare Folio the History of the Book).