Ford Reviews

Despite the admiration I have for Walter Murch, "In the Blink of an Eye" was a waste of money. The book is actually the transcript of a lecture he gave at a film school, and to his credit, it was not Murch who came up with the idea of marketing it as a full-length book. He did attempt to lengthen this edition by adding a section on digital editing, but still, the book falls short of expectation.

Murch's insights into film editing, both analog and digital, are valuable, and I would recommend picking up the book from the library or sitting down and reading it at your local bookstore - it really is that short, but it's not a keeper.

I bought this book hoping to get some real-world tips to editing - what makes a good cut and what doesn't, pacing, etc., etc., etc., but I came away with just one - cut when you blink. Murch's "blink theory" is interesting, but there's much more to editing than just that. I was looking for more from one of the best editors in the business.

Murch does discuss some of his own experiences while editing movies such as "Apocalypse Now" and "The English Patient", but doesn't really delve into the cutting itself and why he chose certain shots or cut a scene a certain way. The book also discusses the history of digital editing and its future but seems to focus on the attitudes of older directors and editors alike who seem to be afraid of change and insist, like Stephen Spielberg who bought up every Motorola editing system and hired enough technicians who can fix the ancient editors so that he will never have to fire up that computer, that "the old way" is better than the new one.

Murch seems to be in the middle of the debate. It is interesting to hear what he has to say, but it still seems to me to be rehashing the old joke about the grandparents who are unable to set the VCR. For those brought up on digital editing, it is only natural to sit down and touch a keyboard than experience what Murch believes is all important - standing up and touching the film itself.

If you're looking for a little bit of editing theory, a little bit of editing history, a little bit of personal experience, this book delivers, but if you're looking for a more in-depth discussion of editing in the 21st century, I recommend buying any Robert Rodriguez DVD, whether you like the movie or not, and listening to the commentary. Rodriguez not only gives tips on making a movie as a whole, but also how to film to edit, and how to cut scenes - all digitally.

I belive it is very hard to write a book on film editing, maybe the best way to teach this is with a video or in an actual class. But this book does acomplish a couple of interesting things. You will love to read the "blink of an eye" theory in this book.
I really recomend this book to get the feeling that a great editor has on the whole cuting business.
His final words on film editing on compuder sistems are a little behind, because his book is like 7 years old. Finaly I belive his questioning to the NLE systems really makes you realize what you are missing on your final cut or premiere system.
Buy this book.

This book lies on the fence between a biography book and a conversation between a mentor and his apprentice. Walter Murch is known for his career as an editor and sound designer on movies like "Apocolypse Now" (original and "redux"), "The Conversation," "American Graffiti," "The Godfather (pt 2 & 3)," "Ghost," "The English Patient," and "The Talented Mr. Ripley."

I completely enjoyed this book, and highly recommended it to anyone who is interested in film/video editing. Murch gives advice to those people who are curious about the business, and insight to those who simply enjoy watching movies. This book was required reading for a video editing class I attended in college, and it's one of those rare college "textbooks" I greatly enjoyed reading from cover to cover. For me this is one of those books that I wouldn't mind reading again just for the heck of it. I hope you will enjoy it as well.

When I first started reading this book I was pumped! The more I read of it, the more I got tired of it. I am an avid Harrison Ford fan, but most of the contents you can find in any magazine article.

The are a couple things to note when reading this book. First, is that it is unauthorized which doesn't mean that the author does not have to "sugarcoat" Harrison Ford. Sounds like a great book. Second is that the book is unauthorized...conversely, the author does not seem to have spoken with Harrison Ford.

Unlike other unauthorized biographies, this book doesn't make a big production of it. The author is not trying to sell this book on scandal. The sell is on the picture behind what you usually hear or read. From going through the notes, the author has interviewed quite a few people and has gone through a lot of background information to create this.

The book reads easily, and I don't find myself questioning the author. All his statements about Harrison Ford, like his being a perfectionist, follows from the supporting evidence. The author also does not jump around. It all flows logically.

Harrison Ford is an American movie icon. This book allows you to look at the experiences and attitudes which got him there. If you are a fan of Harrison Ford, then I would suggest you take a deep breath before reading. The author is not trying to make him into a saint.

It's alright that the author didn't speak with Ford while writing and researching this unathorized biography. Often the person being written about can clarify something that isn't clear. Often, the person being written about can put a positive spin on some event in an attempt to make themself look better. This is a good book about the humble actor that looked at his pre-success years, going back to his mid-west roots, marriage, and the ups-and-downs of his experience in the film industry, which was covered a lot. How did Harry get that scar?....the answers lies within these pages. One interesting note is the story of a young producer, writer and director who made a movie in the 70s. At the screening, many movie moguls approached the young creator and told him bluntly that his film would be a flop, no one would see it, and his career may be in jeopardy after producing such a poor piece of work. The name of the movie was......."Star Wars." The man was George Lucas.

I have read all of Ms. Fords books and have found them all to be very good. Island Magic kept me on the tip of my seat, talking to Gordon and Cassy. It was a different kind of love story. A very enjoyable book. Keep up the good work Ms. Ford.

Cassandra Mosley knew what she wanted out of life. She loved her career as chef and co-owner of a Bed & Breakfast in her hometown of Oakland, CA. She also knew that she wanted to be the wife of Gordan Kramer. She wanted to share her life and bear his children.

Gordan loved Cassy (as she is called throughout the book), but he didn't want to get married again. His first marriage ended in disaster. When one day Cassy walks out on him and doesn't turn back, he crumbles.

We are first introduced to Gordan and met Cassandra in the anthology Mama's Pearl written in 1996. Island Magic is Cassandra's story. This book was interesting. I was wondering how could a man love a woman as much as Gordan seemed to love Cassandra and not want to marry her.

Sometimes it takes uncontrollable circumstances to bring people together.

It was suggested to me by a very informative and credible African-American Book reviewer to read Mama's Pearl from the Mother's Love Anthology first.

I am glad I took her advice. If you haven't read Mama's Pearl, please do. You will get to know Cassandra's personality then and understand it now.

Great job Ms. Ford!

This book was a pleasant read. It was good to see a woman not settle; her "payoff" was well worth it.

Mind you, I wanted to like this book a great deal. Yet I found myself awfully glad when it was over, and in general disgusted by the treatment of certain ideas by the author.

I can't disagree all that much with Publisher's Weekly review. This book is dogmatic in favor of Christianity, is tedius during most of the last half, is unrealistic, and has characters that are so two-dimensional that you think a stiff breeze would knock them over. Julian is portrayed as an erratic, and perhaps mad, diseased patron of 'demonic' (not my word, by the way) Deities, whereas the Christians in the book hold a holier-than-thou stance, full of enlightenment and pius rightness right down to the last Christian miracle of the story. Having read the blurb about the author having his children homeschooled makes me wonder if this isn't just another anti-Pagan diatribe thinly disguised as fiction.

If you want to read a good book about Julian, pick up a copy of the Gore Vidal novel of the same name. That, at least, appears unbiased and impartial. If you want an exciting book about ancient warriors that is riveting and will keep you turning pages, read Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae by Steven Pressfield. This book by Michael Curtis Ford has nothing new to recommend it, and was just plain uncomfortable to read. And the anachronisms are real howlers.

One last thought about this book and the scholarship that went into it (not that this is a surprize, there are others pointing out the flaws here for a historical novel), I can take so much wading through passages where Pagan Deities are proclaimed false, demonic, etc., because that has long been the stance of Christian authors and anymore it has all the intellectual clout of "yadda yadda yadda." But when someone fails to do their research on the very Deities they appear to be decrying, yet seem to be lauded for their historical background, it makes me itch.

I'm referring to the death of a character in the book who has a name that comes from the word Jove, which the author explains is the current (i.e., Roman, as he's a Roman, get it?) word for the Greek God Jupiter. I'm just a layman, but even I know that the original Greek God we were referring to was called Zeus, or Father Zeus (Zeus Pater, which became Jupiter -- sound it out), which became Romanized into the Roman God Jupiter. Perhaps its a small thing, but accuracy is important in a 'historical' (as opposed to a hysterical) novel. Getting the cart in front of the horse slightly wilts one's erudition. Now if this had been the only problem with it, I might have liked it more ...

Mike Ford has done it again -- better, if that is possible than his first book The Ten Thousand.
Using Caesarius as the narrator of the story we trace Julian's rise to power and subsequent fall. Again the author brings to life histories long gone or forgotten. The battle scenes are superb and G&L draws heavily on ancient sources. Kudos to the author for his superior research. An epic novel about one of the most important time periods of imperial Rome. The relationship between Caesarius and Julian are fleshed out very well and the struggle between Christians and Pagans is beautifully crafted. Gods and Legions is actually an important book examining absolute power with philosophy and morals eerily reminiscent of today's socio-political climate. At times shocking, at times profound, the book does not disappoint in any capacity. A must read for anyone interested in politics, religion and military affairs, not to mention fans of historical fiction.

Although I am far from being a Scholar of the Classics and I do not have a large appetite for historical fiction set in ancient Rome, Gods and Legions, the second novel by Michael Curtis Ford, has an uncanny ability to draw in modern readers with its vivid imagery, fascinating characters, and well written dialogue that would appeal to even those who lack any prior background to the era. Although the story of Emperor Julian is well chronicled in history, it is not necessarily well known. The tale of the unlikely heir, banished to await his execution, and rising unexpectedly to the throne would be fascinating enough. Yet the story that Ford tells progresses towards even more surprising and compelling twists beyond the ascension of the young Emperor. Ford exhibits a fantastic ability to paint a picture of ancient warfare, and adeptly contrasts different armies' strategies, techniques, and dispositions, creating a graphic description of ancient times. Just as easily, Ford shifts gears to provide wonderful dialogue between the protagonists, influenced by classical authors and philosophers. The complex character that is Julian will confuse and dumbfound readers as his bizarre behavior leads to his demise. What motivates his actions? That is left for the reader to interpret. Although it would be easy to summarize the plot, the true art is found in Ford's writing. Overall, Ford's second book is a must read for those who enjoy a well-told story lush with action, imagery, and intellect. One need not be a classical scholar to enjoy this fine tale.

Wildlife by Richard Ford is about a family who moved to Great Falls, Montana. In Wildlife, there are three members in the family, the father is Jerry, the mother is Jean, and their son is Joe. Jean is an alcoholic and she is cheating on Jerry. Seven-teen year old Joe is caught in the middle of all the problems. I would recommend this book for others to read because it is a very interesting book, and it has many strengths, and weaknesses that I like.
The strengths of Wildlife are that it is fiction, but it seems to be a true story. It seems to be a true story because it explains what families really go through. It shows that everyone has marriage problems, financial problems and social problems. Even though some people are having affairs they still live with each other for the sake of their children.
The weaknesses of this book are that it has a great deal of depression. A lot of terrible things happen to the family, Jerry and Jean do not get along, because they do not love each other anymore, but they are still living together for the sake of Joe. I believe that Jean is the one that causes all these problems, because if she does not have an affair, or drink too much then they would all just get along. The thing that I do not like about this book is that it is too tragic, and I do not like it when families fight all the time.
I would recommend this book for others to read because it gives good advice to young people. It tells them not to make the same mistakes most people make in their family lives. I believe if you are going to love someone forever, and are planning on spending your entire life with them, you should be respectful, honest, truthful and trustworthy with each other. I believe that people that have experienced problems like the characters in Wildlife will enjoy this book because they can relate to it. I really enjoyed this book because it is very interesting.
Richard Ford has written Wildlife, which is about a family who has many problems. The wife has affairs, drinks too much and hates her husband. The husband works hard all day to support his family but, is not appreciated. The son is seven-teen and is caught in the middle of the problem. This is a really interesting book and I would recommend that everyone reads this.

In the novel wildlife, Richard Ford writes about Joe and his family's life. The story takes place in Great Falls, Montana, in the fall of 1960's. In reality, all the events happen in three days, however, the family feels these three days are very long time. The family members struggle and divide over many issues.
Jerry, the father, is a professional athlete; He can play every sport. In addition, he was a baseball teacher. He is a handsome, innocent, honest, and educated man. Jeanette, the mother, is two years younger than Jerry. She is a pretty, small woman who has a good sense of a humor. She worked as a bookkeeper, and a substitute teacher in math and science. Also, in Great Falls, she worked as a swimming teacher. Jerry and Jeanette met in college in 1941. Jeanette loved Jerry and simply decided to marry him. She followed him from town to town even to these of them she didn't like, for instance, Great Falls. Their only son, Joe, is a sixteen years old teenager. He is a very quiet and peaceful person. He never argued with his parents and expressed his opinion.
The family struggled emotionally and financially. Emotionally, the members of the family miss the love between them. The parents started to lose understand each other. For example, when Jerry stated to argue with his wife, he said, "You've changed your thinking, now, haven't you, Jean."(24). Jeanette started to sleep at the couch and Jerry slept alone in his bedroom. In addition, the family struggled financially. The father lost his job and left home to go fight a fire, which suddenly happened in the town. The mother started to teach swimming. She met a man and fell in love with him. The son became alone and afraid of what's coming in his way. One time, when he was talking to his self, he said, "Death was less terrible at that moment than being alone."(131)
The family separated and everyone of its member went in a different direction. After Jerry left home for the fire, Jeanette loved another man, Warren Miller. Warren didn't love Jean but he wanted to have some fun with her, as he always does with all the women. Jeanette decided to move out by herself. She forgot everyone, even her only son, and started thinking only about her future. One time, she told her son " You have to give things up. That's the rule. It's the major rule for everything."(123) Joe got lost between two sides, his mom and his dad. He could see his family breaking apart and couldn't do anything. Many reasons have worked together to lead Joe and his family to a bad situation. Starting with moving from town to town because Jerry wanted to find a better place and a better job. Finally, ending up with Jeanette leaving home.
Wildlife is a very interesting novel and easy to read. Richard Ford used easy words and wrote in an understandable language. In addition, Ford viewed the story from first person point of view, Joe. Joe was a very detailed character; He explained every little event happened in the most three wild days of his life. As Jerry said to his son, when Jeanette was leaving home, "This is a wild life, isn't it, son?"(143). Jerry really meant the words he said and Joe agreed with him. Wildlife is the kind of novels I love to read because it summarizes most of our life problems. Life is full of surprises, as I read in this novel, but I will try to get over the bad ones. I recommend this novel to everybody, especially to teenagers, because it's a meaning full story.

Having read several of Ford's other novels previously, I pretty much got what I had expected and had hoped for. No need for outrageous plot twists, chase scenes, or bawdry dialogues. The disintegration of this family showed me that people never stop growing, learning, and succumbing to not what is expected but what feels right at a particular point in one's life.

This book is very informative and easy to understand. If you like tuning Fords, then you will enjoy this book very much as I did. Thanks again for a great book

Outstanding book!! I have over 12 years of professional tuning experience and the information I got from this book was outstanding. I highly recomend it to anyone, wether they are a beginner or a pro!!!

Since I own a company that manufactures tuning hardware and software, I was curious to what this book was about.
After reading it, it does alot to help the reader understand what is involved in tuning the Ford PCM. It is not a "How-To" book but more of an in-depth guide on the process of tuning.
The book is full of colorful diagrams and picture that take the reader through each step in the tuning process. How the Ford EEC works, how chips work, how OBD-II scantools work and how the whole process is put together to tune a vehicle. The writing style is not dry like a technical manual, but well written and rather humorous at times.
I personally use the OBD-II code list in the book on a regular basis. The recipe section at the end is something unique.
If you want to know how the chip companies develop thier products, then this book is for you.

John M. Ford's latest is another in a string of excellent novels by an author who doesn't receive the praise and recognition he deserves. Ford's novels are all fabulously inventive. 'The Last Hot Time' is no different.

This novel is about a young man in an alternate world where Faerie exists. Danny Holman is 'called' to Faery where he becomes Doc Hallownight, the personal physician to a mysterious gangster-type figure.

What I love most about this book are Ford's fascinating characters. He's created a relatively large ensemble cast, all of whom receive roughly equal time sharing the spotlight with Doc. The forlorn newspaper reporter. The babbling beauty with a voice to die for. The Elf assassin. Ford's menagerie is endlessly inventive and interesting. I was sorry to see this novel end after only 200 pages.

I highly recommend this novel. One of my favorites from 2000.

Contemporary fantasy set in a future in which some sort of catastrophe has occurred and elves have returned to the world. Story takes place in a lavish gangland environment on the border between the two worlds (human & elvish). Excellent book in many ways except the author appears to like being clever a little bit too much. He leaves many things to inference, which is sometimes useful, sometimes a conceit. Still, the world is fascinating and the story engrossing.

The Last Hot Time is a fascinating tale of young man who leaves his home in the mortal world to live in The Levee, a region inbetween the mortal world & Faerie. Danny Holman becomes Doc Hallownight and quickly becomes involved in the intrigue of the Levee. Under the sponsorship of the mysterious Mr. Patrise, he uses his medical knowledge to help the other residents of the shadow region. With a colorful cast of characters with names like Cloudhunter, Stagger Lee, Ginevri Benci, & Phasia, he battles a dark force loose in the Levee. I have waited a while for Ford's new novel and it is well worth the wait. This made my Hugo nomination list for Best Novel of 2000.

Wenau, the edenic commune formed by the former citizens of the Well-Built City, has once again fallen under Below's curse. Now it is up to a reformed Cley, who is now a herbalist, to journey into the werewolf-infested ruins in search of the antidote, only to discover that Below himself has succumbed to his engineered plague, and the only antidote is concealed inside Below's mind.

"Memoranda", the second in the Cley trilogy, suffers from a tone of absurd pomp, as the previous one suffered from its lugubrious arrogance. The plot is unsatisfying, because there are no undertones, no backstory or foreshadowing, no emotional significance. The narration suffers from sudden bouts of pointless immaturity, instantly preventing any and all suspension of disbelief (like Quismal, the horse that frothes at both ends). The characters are meaningless to the reader, because they are extremely flat, and, in any case, Ford presents them as mere figments of Below's imgination. Ford has perfected the fleeting, episodic feeling of dreams, but it is time to move on, or at least expand the topic. Why use such sophisticated language if it goes to waste? Ford states facts and events, without involving the reader, who ends up being a disinterested, neutral presence: the island is flating in the air ("Is that so?"); the Delicate eats people ("Oh, is that what it does?").

Many readers (myself among them) feel compelled to see this series to the end, but reading "Memoranda" is like reading a napkin.

A rich and haunting tale--by turns horrifying,heartbreaking and hilarious, but always surprising. Ford is an eloquent tour guide of inner worlds; his vivid characters, thrilling journeys and impossible landscapes engage us with the startling elusive logic of dreams. A worthy successor to the excellent THE PHYSIOGNOMY, MEMORANDA stands on its own as a beautiful meditation on memory--that most familiar and mysterious inner world. Bravo!

Jeffrey Ford is one of the few writers in fantasy-scifi who writes about ideas instead of events. If you like the pity and catharsis of authors like Hawthorne and Melville, the decadent symbolism of Poe, or the logical precision and impassive sadness of Kafka, then I highly recommend Ford as he is their contemporary successor. Those who criticize the plot and characterizations of The Physiognomy and Memoranda do so from misapprehensions regarding the appropriate style and substance of the allegorical genre of fiction which is not to be evaluated by the same criteria as the psychological realist school. Not because it is inferior, but because it is alien and has different goals.

If I didn't know better, I'd suspect the authors of being Yankee carpetbaggers bent on exploiting the goodwill enjoyed by southern girls and southern culture, because I'm not convinced these ladies get it.

As a daughter of the deep, deep south, I hope I can set a few things straight.

1) "Y'all" is always plural. "Y'all" used in reference to one person is the mark of a bad screenwriter and a bad mimic, neither of whom has ever ventured below the Mason-Dixon line. Sometimes you may hear someone say to another, "I hope y'all can make it to the party," or "How are y'all enjoying the new lake house?" in which case it means "you and yours (not present)." If a lone Southern neighbor drops by for a visit on a Sunday afternoon, don't say, "Y'all come on in" unless you want your neighbor to suspect you're already in your cups and seeing double.

2) The expression is "A whistling woman and a crowing hen never come to a good end." This book records it as "A whistling woman and a crowing him...." As if that means anything at all.

3) "it's" = "it + is" while "its" = "that which belongs to it"
If these "GRITS" don't know the difference or can't find an editor who does, they should get in touch with me. I know several, in Alabama, no less. The authors aren't perpetuating the myth of southern charm; they're perpetuating the myth of southern ignorance.

Truly, if you want the mysteries of southern charm revealed, stick to King's Southern Ladies and Gentlemen or Rich's What Southern Women Know.

I was raised in the South in the fifties and I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this book nor have I laughed so much in a long time. My daughter gave it to me and I told her she should read it so she could understand her Southern bred Mother better. A truly wonderful read for any woman, anywhere.

Deborah Ford has outdone herself! This book is entertaining, comical, refreshing, and a must have on every southern woman's coffee table. Deborah makes me proud to be a Girl Raised in the South and embodies everything one should be!

I bought this book with the intention of giving my teenage niece something spiritually inspiring and interesting to read. She has many questions about spirituality and eternal life, and she loves the sensation of goose bumps on her neck. I wanted to reconcile these interests into something healthy for her soul and psyche. At first this book appeared to fit the bill nicely, touting its stories of "Angels, Miracles, and Healings," but the old cliché "never judge a book by its cover" holds true! Having read a few of the stories myself, I can only conclude that this is NOT the gift to give my impressionable and daring niece. While many are first or second hand accounts with angels and miracles, several others revolve around experiments in the occult (ouija boards, witchcraft rituals, etc.) that are not meant as cautionary tales. If this book is a gift for a teen in your life, you might want to think twice about buying it.

For anyone who likes reading true stories about miracles and the unexplainable, this book is for you. The stories you read leave you with a tingley feeling and the thought that this could happen to you. If your looking for a good book to read at night, this is it.

This is a book for all ages... even though it is written about teens. It is full of stories that make you believe that there is something exciting going on in the world! You can read it a little at a time, and each story is more amazing than the next.