Collectibles Books

I cannot say enough good about this product. I have been reading reviews on others quarter collecting albums and had settled on buying this one, then they ran out of them. I was really upset, but because of my procrastination, they got in a new shipment by the time I was ready to order something else. I am so glad I chose these. I have 3 children ages 13, 10 and 6. Each one of them loves these albums (I bought one for each of them and got mine free with amazon's special offer). My 10 year old is really enjoying the geography of it. The 13 year old loves that she has her own album and has a great head start on filling it. The six year old is thrilled to be collecting her own quarters and can easily "load" the quarters into their spots all by herself. Mom (me) is thrilled to get such a wonderful album for such a great price. Check out the measurements on this, it's really a nice big book. It has the state seal in each quarter placement spot and has additional information about each state on the outer pages. It also has spots for the not-yet-issued 2009 coins. Please know that after much research, I really found this to be the best one out there. Enjoy!

This collector map is great - short desciptions of each state including District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Nortern Mariana Islands - all U.S. territories. When my son took it for show and tell, the velcro closure didn't hold up with all the kids handling it, but was easy to glue. Overall great for kids to learn about the U.S. as well as having a worthwhile collection.

I love this quarter map at the first sight when my friend showed me hers. I kept collecting the 50 state quarters last year, and I thought it would be fantastic if they have a holder. The map looks very nice with the quarters. And it had introduction to each of the states, which makes it even better.
And it was cheap to buy 4 products for only $24 + free shipping. I will buy more if there's any. It should be a good gift.

Good,easy to keep all the 50+6 quarters on an US map.It's useful for remebering the position of every states.
But my orders had been canceled twice,so I feel so depressed about the amazon and the seller.

My grandchildren will receive these State Quarters Collector Maps for a gift after the series has ended.

The Late Show provides a never-ending series of laughs about everyday America. "Late Show Fun Facts" allows fans quite a few laughs in between shows.

This is a great book - but you have to like the show. Unlike the other review I read, he or she is obviously not a David Letterman fan. Well I am and if you are pick up this book! It is hilarious. Read it on the subway, the toilet, the doctor's office waiting room, or during some boring sex (it will definitely spice it up!)

As if David Letterman couldn't bore "Late Show" viewers enough with his tedious rants worthy of a cult group leader, he inflicts more torpor upon us with this forgettable pressing of type upon dead tree pulp. Derived from his show's time filler called "Fun Facts," the book collects all the meandering toe jam of flaccid ideas collected by the show's self-absorbed typing staff (they surely do not merit the description of "writers") into a form that will surely induce boredom among anything claiming to be conscious. I guess I liked the line that aphrodisiac foods included a certain kind of dinner rolls. Other than that, I cannot find much inspiring comedy.

I was very disappointed with this book. I ordered it based on excerpts that Letterman read during his show. It's like when you see the preview of an upcoming funny movie and you realize that they used all of the funny lines in the preview.

I love history, antiques and wine. This book was the trifecta as far as I am concerned. It was a fascinating journey through the auction world with just enough historically based fiction blended in to make a great read. Unfortunately, while I can draw my own conclusions about whether the bottle is a fake or not, I would really like to know the true ending. The ending has me frustrated, but I still recommend this book. You will learn interesting facts about old wine while trying to solve a real mystery.

Wallace is a good and thorough writer. But the story is by no means over, and there are too many loose ends needing to be resolved.
I'm not sure if I would recommend this book to my friends because the characters are mostly wealthy, frivolous, status-seeking and pretentious. Imagine paying over $150,000 for a bottle of presumably undrinkable wine, that may have belonged to Thomas Jefferson! And thinking that that bottle is a part of history. Please.
I was shocked that Jeffersonian scholars at Monticello would be willing to research whether or not particular wine bottles could have been purchased by him. And that sophisticated scientific labs would try to determine the age of various wines gratis.
I think a great glass of wine is a treat. But there comes a point where one's priorities have to be examined. The millions of dollars you will see spent at wine auctions in the States and abroad could be so much better spent feeding the hungry, than buying trophies of arguable taste.

A multi-decade chronicle of the intrigue surrounding some old grape juice. An eminence grise of the wine industry's career develops. A maverick merchant's reputation slides from sagacious to charlatan. A neutron physicist moonlights in the wine trade. A fossil fuels billionaire unleashes the hounds (aka lawyers) to get even. A well turned tale that takes time to develop many of its characters--the merchants, critics, collectors, and blowhards that helped develop the pursuit of the grape.

The central plot here is really fairly fuzzy, and I greatly enjoyed the digressions into such things as the life of Thomas Jefferson and radioactive dating. However, one thing that left me unsatisfied were all the fascinating characters merely broached. Robert Parker? Jancis Robinson? Compte Alexandre Lur Saluces? All played pivotal roles, yet were barely described.

I was also left wanting more context on the great growths and their migration to Great Britain. This is the historical context that laid the foundation for the value of these wines. Surely in the book's meandering focus more context would have added a layer of richness. It seemed the author was worried about turning this into a history book. It's too bad, because without the added depth, the book feels a bit like a long magazine article. Although a smartly written article, that I thoroughly enjoyed.

It's a good tale, but not particularly well told. There is only enough material here for a lengthy magazine article, not a book. The narrative drags and is filled with irrelevant distractions which are totally skippable. Maybe worth borrowing from the library--wouldn't recommend rushing out to buy a copy.

as good as an Ian Rankin mystery! If you have ever bought or sold anything at auction, this is
required reading. It's a great story...runs from Jefferson to the nuclear age without missing a beat!
Fraud? it's there. Greed? it's there. Ego? it's there. Revenge? it's there.
LIke a fine wine, it is very good upon entry, improves in the middle and finishes
long and memorable!

This is the Red Book of coins need you say more. Got to love this book it just keeps getting better every year.

This is probably the best book for coin collectors who have a limited background and no one they feel they can trust. It gives an honest opinion based on recent coin sale prices and conditions.

The one part that I feel they could have given more value for your money is a more thorough description of coin condition with more pictures and examples, that said, I recomend this book to anyone (most all dealers have one on their premises whether for your benefit, or to help them in a sale, it says something). Lastly, the price is right. I would always recomend checking the price of spot metals before any purchase.

We are beginners in the hobby of coin collecting. "United States Coins"
is a great help and we recommend it hightly.

I've relied on older editions of the Official Red Book for information about various coins that I've seen. Having been a coin collector since I was a child, I decided to purchse this book to see what information has changed or been updated. From time to time, I've found unexpected coins in my change and I enjoy being able to look them up to see what they are, what historical period they might represent, etc. It also helps me understand this country's history through its coinage.

This book was just what I was looking for. I have a coin collection that I want to sell and needed to find out the current market value. Easy to read, nice spiral binding.

Extremely comprehensive and valuable tool for gun collectors who wish to determine value of a firearm for purchase or sale.

Yeah, great book. It does exactly what its supposed to do. I guess I could sex it up a little with some exclamation points or something, but really, why?

Item arrived promptly and in good condition. Item was in the upper end of the used condition range described in the ad. I couldn't be more pleased.

This has really been helpful in looking at guns. Lots of information and what guns are worth. If you like guns it will be hard to put it down when you start looking at it.

This book is IMO the best reference for finding out what a gun is worth. Normally, you can assume that most dealers would add $100 dollars to these prices, just for gouging puposes. The prices in this book are what the guns are really worth. Don't get ripped off by gun sellers, buy this book and save yourself way more than you will pay for it, on the first gun! Knowledge is Power!!!

By the way, I originally tried to buy this book used from another seller on Amazon and a month after I ordered they told me they didn't have any more. I had to contact them, they didn't even bother letting me know. The seller even had good feedback, so feedback sometimes doesn't mean squat! However, I ordered this book new from Amazon and it got here reasonably fast for ground shipping and I am very pleased with the service I got from them (actual communication, what a concept!!). I recommend buying from Amazon because you may end up not getting it and wasting a month worth of time if you try someone else. Buy it, you will be armed with knowledge, no pun intended.

I love Prisoner of Azkaban. I think that this was the novel that really hooked me into the series. I have a hard time writing a literary review of any of the Rowling novels mainly because I do not feel like I'm reading a novel when I read these books, I feel like I'm on vacation. I'm transported into another world and forget to look at the subtext or deeply analyze anything that the writer is trying to say because it is just to much fun to just read it. This is a book to read when you are stressed out because of your real life. Try reading it when you are in a wretched mood and see if you are not instantly a little bit happier. Harry begins to evolve in this novel and the books from here begin to feel a little bit more "grown up". To me, this book is virtually the first in the series that is now so infamous. The characters are impossible to not fall in love with. Rowling seems to have her feet firmly planted in the ground at this point in the series and I knew when I finished the final pages that the series could only get better. Which of course it does.

I really enjoyed it and would have given 5 stars except for the fact that I'm a sucker for happy endings. It was sad that Harry couldn't keep his newly found friends. I did find that the writing matured as Harry did, which probably made an easier read.

This is my favorite novel of the series so far. In his second year, Harry was able to overcome an incompetent professor to thwart Voldemort yet again. But this novel was even better. I never saw the ending coming. The relationship between Snape and Lupin caught me completely by surprise. And the incredible revelations about Harry's parents death add even more depth to Harry's third year. JK Rowling has an amazing imagination and I look forward to finishing the rest of her novels.

Summary: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the third book in the Harry Potter series. The book introduces some key characters for the later books and gives the reader more backstory on Harry's parents. The writing seems as if J. K. Rowling was debating on doing more description or keeping the book length down -- I would have gone for more descriptions and more pages.

Setting:
The world of Harry Potter continues to expand into a more interesting fantasty setting with each book. Rowling does a good job of creating the setting using existing fantasty elements with a slight tweak to keep it non-cliche (for the most part). The Marauder's Map is a fantastic idea! It will be interesting to see if it is re-used in later novels. Note: There is starting to become a bit predictable in that each book has a new magic item which is central to the story.

Characters:
Sirius Black is introduced to the setting as a murderous wizard. The Sirius Black character is developed to a certain degree but when he has some actual dialog near the end of the book, he comes across as a bit out of sorts (Understandable after being in Azkaban for 12 years). I saw the movie version before reading the book which has colored my opinion of book and the book's characterization of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. I do prefer the movie adaptation a bit more; it could be the actors did a fantastic job.

Harry, Ron and Hermaine continue to develop a bit. Their character development is secondary to plot advancement.

Action:
The action is typical Harry Potter style where things get hairy but everyone comes out ok. The description of the mass dementor attack was weak and really should have been more developed as this is a critical scene showing what Harry can do magically and has some connection to his parent's spirits.

The relative danger level to the character is weak but appropriate for what is going on in the story.

Prose:
The prose is tight and to the point. The descriptions are not very detailed which is a bit frustrating as I keep wanting more hear with each book especially to see a difference in the movie set work (which is amazing) to see if there was something the set designers did not do for the movies. Generally, a book does a better job of describing a world than a movie -- kudos to the movie setting designers and craftsmen.

Overall: 4 stars
Setting: 5 stars
Characters: 2.5 - 3 stars
Action: 3 stars
Prose: 2.5 - 3 stars

Harry does have family! A "crazy" god-father that he is completely unaware of having until this book. A great mystery book in the series. It will have you wanting more!

Product arrived in a timely manner and was what I was looking for except that it did not mention that the holder had spots for states for both minted cities. I wish it had mentioned that in the description. It was a very good deal! :)

This isn't fancy, but it works quite well for holding our collection. It has places for quarters from the Philadelphia mint as well as the Denver mint. Sure makes you pay a bit more attention to your change!

I really liked this product. It is nicely made, and provides a lot of interesting information about each state. Some of the quarters were hard to get in, but if you push against them with your thumb, it works well. And once the quarters are in, they don't fall out, unlike with other folders. I would definitely recommend it to others.

This has to be my favorite coin folder yet. It has a slot for both P and D mintages and the coins fit into the slots perfectly (unlike the presidential coin folder by whitman.) I highly recommend it. :)

This is a well made product but I didn't realize that it was for the state quarters that come from BOTH mints. I would have been happy with one that held only one set of coins but that is my fault for not reviewing the product details closely enough. If you want to collect the coins from both mints (Philadelphia and Denver respectively) this is a good product. I am new to this so I don't know if there are other folders that allow you to get the coins out or to adjust them once they are in the slots, but this one makes it very difficult to adjust the coins once they are in.

McMurtry provides an interesting peek into the life of a "bookman", a person who collects and deals in valuable books. He describes his beginnings in a bookless household and how he developed a love for reading and writing, and how he moved into the world of book dealing. Bookmen are a unique lot and one wonders how they manage to make a good living consistently, although one can see how the more established bookshops would be able to do this. Nevertheless, McMurtry and his colleagues do manage, for the most part, to make a living, although clearly McMurtry's must be vastly supplemented from royalties from his own books and his successful screenwriting career (he doesn't state this, and I am assuming it, but I think it makes sense).

There are fascinating stories about individual bookmen and book collectors, the latter mostly coming from moneyed backgrounds. They're the ones who pay thousands of dollars for rare books signed by authors. This milieu at times makes the book read like a literary version of the lifestyles of the rich and famous.

For those of us who are bibliophiles, books like these are like literary aphrodisiacs, wetting the appetite to read more, to acquire more books and to learn more about books themselves, and to imagine owning a vast library like McMurtry's (28,000 books). The photo on the dust jacket - bookshelves filled with books - is a delectable appetizer to the main dish of the book itself.

I remember a foreword to one of McMurtry's book that said to the effect that he regretted a life spent reading and rereading his own writing when it could have been better spent reading something like Shakespeare.

Perhaps it was the forward to "Cadillac Jack," A book of his I thoroughly enjoyed and he also badmouths in his memoir, "Books."

McMurtry does love books. He loves horsetrading them. And he loves the other book traders he has encountered over the years. That is what this book is about.

It may not be for everyone, but I sure enjoyed it.

Now and then, you read a book and wonder, why was it published? Suprisingly, "Books" is one the titles you wonder why it became a book. Yes, it would have been a few nice pieces in a book collector/trade magazine, but as published it is annnoying. What should be single pages are stretched into two pages by S&S to "fluff" the size. The annoying decision by the author and publisher to publish the volume is compounded by an annoying publisher presentation; not fun. I would only recommend this to hard core McMurtry collectors.

My favorite book by an American author is Lonesome Dove. The other books in that series are also wonderful.

"Books" is not fiction but a look at the author's love of books and collecting books. This may be of more interest to the people with similar interests.

Larry McMurtry's "Books" is very focused on his career as a Bookman, and, as he intended, gives little insight into his life other than as related to this part of his profession. For lover's of books it is a delightful, fast read. I enjoyed finding out about this part of Larry McMurtry's thinking and the fascinating details of "Bookmanship."

While useful and informative and, indeed, a must if you buy coins, this book is quite outdated. Since the price of gold and silver have gone up considerably and change daily, the effect on coins is intense in many cases.

There are several sites online where you can get more up-to-date information. Yet having this handy is a good idea. I like having something near my work area and in my hands so I can quickly look up the information I want. Then I can follow that up by going to one of the Web sites.

-Susanna K. Hutcheson

This handbook (The Blue Book)provides a good target price representing dealer's cost for all the US Coins listed in the corresponding retail value Red Book. Invaluable reference tool for quick evaluation of a seller's coin price markups for the casual collector who doesn't need up to the minute price changes. Use it with the Red Book to establish a range for buying and selling.

The Bluebook is an invaluable reference when you are selling coins (along with the Redbook when buying) since it tracks what coin dealers pay for coins. You need to keep in mind that in a "hot" market prices change rapidly which can make the Bluebook "dated" fairly quickly. In any case it does provide a baseline indicating what others have received for coins in specific grades over the past several months giving some indication of what you should receive from a coin dealer.

If you are interested in what you can expect to pay for a coin you want to buy then use the Redbook which tracks the amount dealers charge for coins in specific grades.

The difference between the Redbook and Bluebook indicates the monies retained by dealers for the value they add to collector's trades. So, if you are trading collector-to-collector with no dealer involved, the two references can serve as the high and low bar for the negotiation process.

Easy to use
Contains all information you need to assess any coin
A wise purchase

This book is nice to use when you are wanting to sell one of your coins. It would be a better book if it would come in spiral bound so that it is easier to use.