No comments about Instant Expert: Collecting Baseball and Other Sports Cards (Instant Expert (Random House)).

3 comments about The Secret of Collecting Girls' Series Books: Featuring Nancy Drew, Judy Bolton, Kay Tracey, Beverly Gray, Penny Parker, and Ruth Fielding.

1. I ordered Secret of Collecting Girls Series books as well as All About Collecting Girls Series Books, both by John Axe... Well, after ordering both of the books, I found out that Secret of.... is just the first edition. It contains info on Ruth Fielding, Nancy Drew, Judy Bolton, Beverly Gray, Kay Tracey, Penny Parker and I think Cherry Ames. {I say "I think" because the book got returned, but I know it at least goes up to Penny Parker} Problem is, this EXACT SAME INFORMATION is found in All About Collecting... with the addition of three or four other girls' series books. I felt [disappointed] because the two books are obviously just a first edition and a second edition with some added material. I've never heard of a 2nd edition being RENAMED something else, albeit a similar title. So word to the wise. If you don't care about the other series mentioned in All About (Vicki Barr, Connie Blair, & Dana Girls) then get this book and save a few dollars. But do NOT get them both thinking they are "companion" books as inferred on several web sites.



2. John has put together a book packed with information and beautiful pictures. Confused about the various art covers on Girks' series books? Problem solved. John does an excellent job explaining the different covers and each one is illustrated in beautiful color photographs.

   Buy it for the information. Share it for the photographs. The pictures alone make this a great book for the coffee table. Even non collectors will enjoy seeing the beautiful dust jackets from the books they enjoyed as children.

   Worth so much more than the price. John presents his material in a straight forward easy to understand format. John's book is a must have for serious collectors, but non collectors will enjoy it just as much.

   I bought it, and I love it. The only regret I have is I wish I would have bought it sooner.




3. The title of this book may mislead some readers to believe that it covers many girls' series books, when in reality it covers only the following: Nancy Drew, Judy Bolton, Kay Tracey, Beverly Gray, Penny Parker, and Ruth Fielding. (The subtitle of the book indicates that these series are featured, but it is still not necessarily clear that they are the only series in the book.) That being said, this book is clearly a labor of love by a person who knows what he's talking about. There is intelligent discussion on collecting books, cleaning old books, estimating values, and different formats.

   And then... the pictures. This book includes full color photographs of all the book covers in their various incarnations. For instance, on one page are placed the FOUR different covers for Nancy Drew's "The Clue of the Broken Locket." It's fun to see how the covers evolved over the years, and the author offers much historical information about the cover artists, the Stratemeyer Syndicate in general, and the various editions in which the books have been offered. The other series mentioned above are treated in a similar manner. Overall this is an attractively designed book that can give pleasure whether you browse leisurely or read closely. Enjoy!

2 comments about Gun Digest 2003 (Gun Digest, 2003).

1. I got this for my husband and he had the following to say about the book.It has good detail, very informative, and has good pictures and illistrations, is easy to understand.



2. Excellent reference book for gun owners and collectors.

5 comments about The Ultimate Guide to Hot Wheels Variations: Identification and Price Guide to More Than 2,000 Collector Number Packs!.

1. I started collecting Hotwheels cars about 3 years ago. What makes me different than most of the other collectors, is that I live in Santiago, CHILE (here, Hotwheels cars market is very small compared with other countries). Many of the variations and models that exist in US, aren't available here. Mike's guide has been an invaluable tool for me to get those variations I never know that exist or I will never find hanging in pegs in Santiago.

   I also have had the chance to email Mike many times and he's very compromised with this hobby (or better said, passion!).

   If you love Hotwheels cars, you MUST buy this guide (or the new one that's coming by the end of March 2004).

   U2, from RTC.




2. I found the 'Ultimate Guide to Hot Wheels Variations' one of the most valuable resources to date for the valuation of Hot Wheels variations; both for collectors and dealers alike. As owner of [a web site,] I refer to this guide on a daily basis for determining the minute differences between Hot Wheels variants. The guide is concise, well laid out, easy to follow, and extremely accurate (in my opinion).



3. This book stinks the pictures are horrible I donated it to te libary. It stinks



4. Hi Michael I had the pleasure of getting a copy of your book. It is excellent very informative and a great tool for us collectors. The descriptions were complete and detailed. I have been telling my fellow collectors about it. Finally a book that answers the question "Is there anyone more obsessed with Hot Wheels than me?" Well Michael my deepest sympathy it might be you. LOL . But I do want to give you your deserved recognition for a job well done on the book. Looking foward to future updates of your book. Thanks again for all your hard work on The Complete Guide to Hot Wheels Variations. Yours in the brotherhood of obsessive compulsive Hot Wheelers.



5. This is a great book and being a variation collector for many years I can tell you that if there is a variation not listed in Mikes book, it probably does not exist. I have trusted this guy for many years and he has always been a straight shooter. I have never hunted for cars that were just rumors. I was so glad when I heard this book was coming out, I couldn't wait to buy it. It would be great if I had something he didn't have in there, but I'm still looking for all the things that are! And by the way. The Suzuki Quad is listed on Page 79 number 311 c variation, listed as "Tiger Paw Wheel" which some would call the POW wheel. Mike has always used his own abbriviations. That's why I like him and his book. (His web site was great, sure do miss it) He doesn't follow anybody elses lead. He goes his own way. I have met him and he is real easy to talk to. He is also the first one to admit when he is wrong, which you don't see too much these days when people write books. Thanks for the great book, I can't wait for the next one!

2 comments about Arrowheads of the Central Great Plains: Identification & Value Guide.

1. This book is very finely done! The pictures are excellent, the information is very educational.



2. Danial Fox has written a very informative book that I would highly recommend to anyone intrested in Great Plains arrowheads.I found the section on lithic materials very helpful and the pictures of artifacts fantastic. It's packed cover to cover with good information.

No comments about Miller's: Kitchenware - Buyer's Guide (Miller's Buyer's Guide).

1 comments about Old Magazines with Year 2003 Price Guide.

1. Sorry to say this but this booklet is very superficial and incomplete and not always correct.
   
   Its 'all-encompassing' title is misleading, as it only lists a snippet of the thousands of old magazine titles that were published.
   
   The titles mentioned have no description, like what publishers published each magazine, what the content is focusing on, for what market/customer the magazine was meant, what happened with the magazine (sold/discontinued). No frequency nor numbers of copies issued are mentioned.
   
   The only information that is mentioned for each title is:
   - title (not always what changes of title)
   - years (but incomplete)
   - price ranges (but usually too modest, on the low side, so inaccurate).
   
   What do I mean by the problem with the mentioned prices? An example illustrates it best:
   Harper's Weekly journals from 1866-1899 have been known to fetch much higher prices than the stated $6-12 (well over $50), sometimes because of engravings by Frederic Remington or of Winslow Homer being in them, sometimes just because of important historical events first being mentioned in those issues.
   
   There is no mention on where and when these prices where realized, nor for what condition of magazine the price was paid (all this influences the price enormously).
   
   Some cover images have been added, but only in b/w and randomly, so without method.
   
   Conclusion: One can do much better just by browsing on the Internet.

3 comments about 2007 Comic Book Checklist and Price Guide: 1961 to Present (Comic Book Checklist and Price Guide).

1. Best title in its class!
   This Title has a very diverse collection of titles and values good for finding the value of an old unheard of comic. There is normally multiple dollar values for each comic edition and its associated grade on a scale of 1-10. All this book needs is some more guide lines on how to price out comics that are signed and have CGC authentication. They do have general rules for determing CGC (professionally graded comics from a new company) comic values but they seem a little off especially when combined with fractional grades.



2. very extencive and complet.



3. The Comic Book Checklist and Price Guide published by KP Books and the editors of the Comic Buyers Guide continues to be my comic price guide of choice. The 2007 edition is another 832 pages of prices and information from primarily1961 to the present. A more apt description may be from the beginning of the Silver Age to the present as if covers those DC books such as Showcase # 4 which kicked off what we know today as the Silver Age of Comic books.
   
   There are several things I love about this book. First, it can, if you wish, be used as a checklist. Rather than list comics in a run of issues (for example, Avengers 101 - 110) and listing one price for each issue in that run, this book lists each issue number individually with a check box next to it to check off if you own that issue. Hence the reason that it covers only the silver age to the present, otherwise it would be about 2000 pages instead of 800. I like this idea as a quick reference to one's own personal collection. Second, it lists only the near-mint price for each book with a grading guide to figure out prices for lesser condition books. Anyone who's been collecting comics for any length of time can easily do this right off the top of their heads and I've never found it necessary to list three different prices for comics.
   
   Another thing I like is that the book lists the month and year of each issue. This is a small tool that I think people overlook but that I have found to be very useful. But I think what the Comic Book Chcecklist Price Guide doesn't give you is just as important as what it does give you...namely it doesn't give you hundreds of pages of ads like Overstreet does. It also doesn't give you dozens of pages of stale market reports from dealers whose motives are somewhat dubious in what they report in terms of price information. Rather than rely on this `advisor' information this book has garnered real world data from auction services like eBay to provide what I feel is true pricing, black & white data and that's all I really need...not some dealer in Hoboken claiming to have sold book X for seven billion dollars.
   
   If you want a true price guide without all the vacuous fluff then this is the comic book price guide for you!
   
   Reviewed by Tim Janson

1 comments about Board Games of the 50's, 60's, and 70's: With Prices.

1. A 104 page softbound book, featuring nearly 400 full color, sharp, large photos of the game boxes. Included is an introduction to the collectible. All games are listed alphabetically. Prices quoted are '94 - '95. There are about 700 entries listing the game's name, maker, year, and value. Very useful, fun to look at, reference book.

No comments about Windsor Chairs.