chrome Books

Gibson's writing marks a turning point in the mood and themes of contemporary Sci-fi (see "The Gernsback Continuum"). Some very interesting, and very dark, stories. A great, quick read.

This is a short collection of some of Gibson's only short stories and provides a pretty solid glimpse into the cyberpunk genre. The stories themselves often seem a bit incomplete, a little fragmented at times, they were Gibson's early attempts at writing. Some of the other stories such as 'Dogfight' and 'Burning Chrome' are excellent in idea and execution. A good read overall.

While William Gibson IS a gifted writer with his original insights into post-modern technological cultural, these short stories don't all revolve around this theme. Only Johnny Mnemonic, New Rose Hotel, Winter Market and Burning Chrome. These stories are the of the same caliber as Neuromancer and Count Zero (the other two Gibson novels I've read). The other stories were not throwaways, but they were goodies thrown into the bag- all good, some exceptional, prosed with short yet deep stories. This is a definite addition to a Gibson collection, but would I go as far as saying that this is a definite addition to a cyberpunk collection... perhaps.

Take this and the collection Mirrorshades (edited by Bruce Sterling and you will have the definitive "cyberpunk" short story collection.

Burning Chrome is a solid representation of Gibson's early work ("the Sprawl period") and while its most often represented with references to Neuromancer, his finest, most poignant prose is in this collection of short stories.

Perhaps most utterly fascinating is the late-stage Cold War mentality that we had ourselves a nuclear armageddon just around the corner but that after we got there, we would discover it just wasn't nearly as bad as we'd hoped. A few feeble bomb exchanges are overshadowed by black ops infiltration both physical and digital. Our wars are over in days rather than years and then we all go back to normal with re-drawn borders that mean anything only to cartographers anyway.

Even in the shorts where a near-term memory of war is noticeably absent (e.g., "The Gernsback Continuum"), the emphasis still seems to lie on epoch-altering events that are so feeble in their moment but so far-reaching in their wake.

All that said: "Hinterlands" is the most gut-wrenchingly emotional story in science fiction; if nothing else, it alone makes this collection a must-have.

If you liked Neuromancer - you gonna love this collection of short stories by the master of cyber punk genre.
Highly recommended!

Have autos looked any better than Michael Furman's stunning photos, I doubt it. These vehicles look just perfect with liquid looking bodywork and perfect chrome, in fact they probably look better than ones just off the assembly line. This is fine art photography and if you wonder how the 'Furman look' is achieved there is a clue on his website. Click on BIO and you'll see a shot of his studio with an amazing looking light panel hovering over what looks like a very small car. It seems to me that his controlled lighting source is the key and when digital images are printed on quality paper with a 200dpi screen you'll see the perfect picture as on these pages.

The choice of cars seems rather arbitrary, classics like the 56 Austin-Healy, the 58 Ferrari Testa Rosa or the 59 Cadillac Eldorado are a few page turns from possibly the ugliest chrome grill ever of the 51 Hudson Hornet or the bubblegum styling and color scheme of the 56 Ford Crown Skyliner. As well as whole cars there are plenty of lovely close-ups of logos and styling features, the fins of the 48 and 59 Cadillacs, a Buick 49 Dyna-Flow trunk handle or the hood ornament of a 57 Oldsmobile Super 88. Furman's photography can make any vehicle sparkle.

Awe-inspiring as all these photos are I was very disappointed with the book because it is the wrong shape. There are seventy-one side shots of cars and they clearly don't fit an upright page. They rightly have generous margins left and right which means they are even smaller still on the page. If the book had been turned sideways into a landscape format it would perfectly complement these profile photos so instead of being small and surrounded by too much white space the existing ones would be three or four times larger. Another advantage would be to avoid the middle of the book splitting those shots that do extend over a spread. Also, for a lavish photobook it has the usual conceit of placing all the captions on back pages but because of the wrong shape there is plenty of white space on each page for the captions to be set in some elegant typography.

Michael Furman takes beautiful auto photographs and it is unfortunate that this book does not give them the exposure they rightly deserve.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

This book is another loving tribute to those classic autos that can send shivers up your spine sometimes, they're so cool. I simply cannot see how Mike's photography can be improved upon in any way, shape or form. Buy this; you won't regreat it, promise.

Micheal Furman created an amazing collection of car photography. You're taken by the beauty of the different design of the era. Excellent gift for any car enthusiast.

A good read and very informative.A must for any AC/DC fan.This book details the history of the greatest rock band ever,from its beginnings in the dives they played in australia to the force they became in rock and roll.If you love AC/DC then youll enjoy this book.

An interesting read , gives the whole picture of the band and the members from start to the present....If you are into AC/DC then this book will be a satisfying read....

This is just another rock "biography" that is nothing more than footage taken together from magazines and other books. Of course, there are no interviews with key member of AC/DC given specifically to this book (the Young brothers just don't permit it). All in all, there is absolutely nothing new here. I suggest you to read "Highway To Hell".

No complaints here. The writer's a fan and clearly enjoyed putting this thing together. I can always tell when someone did their homework and there's no doubt Stenning did. All eras are covered and there's pics in there too. The close attention paid to the late great Bon Scott's life and contribution to rock was very cool. If you want to learn everything about the boys from down under this is a good place to start.

What can you say about a book that doesn't even manage to get Bon Scott's date of birth right? Seemingly cobbled together from fansites, old interviews and bits lifted from Clinton Walker's far superior tome on Bon Scott, this offered no fresh insight into the band or their history. The narrative was confusing and choppy and looked like a patchwork of third hand information. A long, rambling and inconclusive chapter about Bon's death did nothing to raise the stakes. The definative AC/DC book is out there somewhere, but this ain't it.

This book is highly recommended. Absolutely everything you want to know on Metallica. Great photos and info. A must have for every Metallica fan. Great group shot on cover. Awesome book. Enjoy! =-)

This is a well written bio that I enjoyed. It's a must for any Maiden fan. I found that the author covered the subject matter in enough detail without going too far into trivial things. That said, I did find the last few chapters of the book very disjointed and a bit 'ecclectic' for want of a better word. I got a little lost here. Nevertheless the subject matter was very good. Well written and very interesting.

I agree with that other reviewer, this book was OK. I am a big Maiden fan, but this book is too long. About halfway through, they're still on "Piece of Mind". They spend less time talking about the more underhyped classics like "Piece of Mind" and "Dance of Death", and more about their most overhyped like "Number of the Beast" and "PowerSlave".

They do include some interesting quotes, but the discography study stops at "Dance of Death" (And this was written and released after "A MAtter of Life and Death". So much of the book is cluttered with stuff we already know.

THe GOOD thing is that they do include some interesting rare photos from Ross Halfin, some Band Members notes, but overall that's about it.

So if you can buy this book for under $20 (I bought it at the airport before going to Mexico for $15.99), then do get it, but if you pay ANYTHING over $20, you're paying too much.

Get "Run to the Hills: The Official Biography", that is an awesome book worth your time. Or for photos, "MAIDEN" by Ross Halfin, the band's photographer.

Very winded, boring book. I've heard this from several people (big Maiden fans like me) as well. Simply put...don't waste your money on this garbage.

This was a really good book. I have read several Maiden biographies over the years so most of what was in this book I already knew, but it was still a good read and brought back a lot of good memories. Worth picking up.

As an Iron Maiden fan since their debut album, I was really excited about this book. Less than halfway through it (the album "Number Of The Beast), I'm not sure if I'll continue it much longer. There is so much written about other people that it clutters the pages. I want to read about Dave Murray, Steve Harris, in essence "the band" and what they did on and off stage, recording, anything exciting, etc. Nothing yet that really goes into that. It's like I'm not even reading about Iron Maiden. Maybe this is a hit for some people, but I'd recommend another title.