A Good Life: Newspapering and Other Adventures

Book Description

An eyewitness account from the playing fields where the first rough draft of history was written.

On August 8, 1942, I graduated from Harvard by the skin of my teeth at 10 a.m. At noon, I was commissioned an ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve. And at 4 p.m., I married Jean Saltonstall, the first and only girl I had ever been with and I was on my way to someplace called the South Pacific. I was not yet 21...The education of Benjamin C. Bradlee was finally under way.

And so begins this witty, candid story of a daring young man who made his way to the heights of American journalism and public life, from a New Hampshire weekly through his foreign correspondent years in Europe, to the apex of his career at The Washington Post, whose Watergate coverage gave journalism its finest hours.

An eyewitness to most of the seminal events of our time, a good friend to President Kennedy and a dreaded foe of President Nixon, Bradlee watched and talked to most of the heroes and villains who were making such vivid history so fast. Taking the helm of The Washington Post in 1965, Bradlee and his reporters redefined the way the news is reported, published, and read; his leadership and investigative drive following the break-in at the Democratic National Committee led to the downfall of a president, and kept every president afterwards on his toes.

A Good Life is Bradlee's irreverent, earthy, and revealing look at modern American journalism -- and the extraordinary life story of the man who helped to reinvent it.

Customer Reviews:

A How-To Guide!.......2007-01-25

Here's the magic mathematical formula for writing your very own version of "A Good Life." Even better, you don't have to set foot in a newsroom:

("I banged famous chick")x 51 + ("I met famous person") x 2,453, divided by the number of times you tell your boss how things should be done ("0"), and - viola (an allusion to your time in France) - you've got your own self-serving autobiography! And it doesn't come larded with any of Bradlee's prose, something which should be apparent from the formula.

Good luck with your work!

Bradlee provides a candid and entertaining look back over his career.......2005-09-18

Ben Bradlee's book, "A Good Life: Newspapering and Other Adventures", is a warm, candid and entertaining look back over a remarkable career and personal life. His writing is honest, revealing and to the point. He indeed has had an interesting life. The Watergate and the Pentagon Papers experiences are covered in detail. I became interested in reading this book after reading the book "All the President's Men" and watching the movie of the same title. I would highly recommend this book! Ben comes across as an smart, honest and decent man who worked very hard to earn his achievements.

The Write Stuff.......2004-06-21

As Executive Editor of The Washington Post from 1968 to 1991, Ben Bradlee not only printed history, he also made it. Momentous events were covered, careers fashioned, reputations ruined and social movements spotlighted. Bradlee was at the center of all this, directing his reporters, dictating policy and discharging journalistic shells whose recoils are still felt even today. Yet Bradlee was not above or beyond the common man. I remember, as a young bodybuilder uncertain of my future, applying for a position on the Post. Unfortunately, my qualifications were insufficient to meet the standards expected of journalists. However, I still have Mr Bradlee's courteous rejection letter which is worth citing:

'Dear Schwarz

My name is Ben and I'm an alcoholi... hang on... wrong place... let me start again.

Dear Schwarz

Having read your application, in which you admitted to an addiction to Teetotalism, I have no choice but to reject it. The tradition of Common Journalistic Insobriety has taken decanters... let's get that right... decades to establish and your flagrant? flagon?... no, I was right the first time... flagrant disregard for such tradition proves that you aren't fit for either a by-line at the Post or a bar stool in the Journalists' Club. In short, a pen and pad are not compatible with Perrier Water.

I hope you will receive this letter in the spirit in which it is soaked.

Yours sincerely

Ernest Hemmingwa... no, that's not it... where did I put that bottle... Johnnie Walker... no... it's... Richard Nixo... hey Woodward, make mine a double!...'

'A Good Life' is also a very entertaining read.

A portrait of interesting times - from the top.......2003-10-30

Easily the country's best known newspaper editor (thanks to Watergate, the movie: "All The President's Men"), Ben Bradlee retired in 1991 at age 70, having fulfilled his life's ambition - the transformation of The Washington Post from something of a mess to a paper of stature and influence to rival The New York Times.

In this memoir, Bradlee emerges unapologetically as a cheerful white male born into the power elite, not particularly reflective but aware of his abilities, particularly his aptitude for recognizing talent in others and his willingness to make decisions. Work and ambition were central to his life, even costing him two marriages - although neither marriage ended until the next wife was waiting in the wings.

Bradlee is a reporter rather than a storyteller and the first third of his memoir is guaranteed to irritate those for whom Harvard was not a given and who can't conceive of "scrounging" up $10,000 (in 1946!) to invest in a start-up for a first job in newspapering, in Manchester, N.H.

Given his family and contacts and, yes, hard work, Bradlee's jobs were all interesting but the meat and excitement of the book begin with his friendship with John F. Kennedy. The Bradlees and the Kennedys became Washington neighbors while Kennedy was a senator, Bradlee was beginning to break "out of the herd" at Newsweek magazine and Jackie and Tony Bradlee were pregnant.

As the "foursome" spent many social hours together, the line between friendship, politics, and the big scoop, blurred. Bradlee relates a number of amusing anecdotes, best among them an exclusive on the swap of U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers, "sourced from the President of the United States, [dictated] from a telephone just off a White House dance floor." Heady moments indeed.

Then came the assassination. Friendship and profession crashed head-on. And a few months later Bradlee's sister-in-law, Mary Meyer, was murdered. The CIA came looking for her diary. When Bradlee and his wife found it they were shocked to learn Meyer had been conducting a two-year love affair with Kennedy. Interestingly, Bradlee does not speculate on conspiracy theories, with regard to JFK or Mary Meyer.

But Bradlee is sparing with personal detail - incidents aplenty but not a lot of insight. His portrait of Jackie is most poignant for being so sketchy. Her deeply private nature baffled Bradlee and made him nervous. Their friendship faded after the assassination and Jackie never spoke to Bradlee again after he published Conversations With Kennedy in 1975. To this reader it seems obvious that Jackie was deeply offended by Bradlee's exploitation of their private moments but this never seems to occur to him.

However, this nonreflective quality can be valuable in a newspaperman. When the Vietnam war was raging, when his own wife was marching in protest, Bradlee's concern was good stories. "I concentrated on trying to discover what was going on in Vietnam, on trying to determine who was telling the truth about Vietnam, before it occurred to me to find out where I stood myself." New at the helm of the Post, Bradlee wanted "a new Hemingway ...who could explain the drama...in terms of the young soldiers." He found Ward Just.

In addition to assembling a maverick team of "new" journalists in the mid-60s, Bradlee was tireless in improving the production end of the newspaper. And he knew when to sink his teeth into a story and hang on. Watergate is the high point. It came at just the right time for the Post. Bradlee's position was consolidated, his ground work on talent and organization completed.

Bradlee captures the adrenaline-filled days of relentless reporters and the dogged quality the Post encouraged in them. For almost a year the paper was virtually alone in its pursuit of the story, until James McCord's damning admissions vindicated the Post. Gleefully, Bradlee includes scathing personal attacks on him and the Post by Bob Dole, Chuck Colson and prominent republicans everywhere. When a new piece of the puzzle fell into place, "Just the recollection of that discovery makes my heart beat faster, two decades later." And, of course, "People in the know, people in power, were already speaking of The New York Times and The Washington Post in the same breath...."

If this was the high, Janet Cooke's Pulitzer Prize winning story of an 8-year-old heroin adict that turned out to be fiction (1981) was the low. Bradlee explores this debacle as openly as he does the happier lessons of Watergate. Race certainly played its part.

Bradlee, running a major newspaper in a city with a 70 percent black population, had never known a black person, save a Haitian Frenchman in Paris. And he was surrounded by a similarly insulated group of connected white males. "Female Phi Beta Kappa graduates of Seven Sisters colleges who can write the King's English with style don't grown on trees...."

No kidding. But actually Cooke had never graduated from Vassar, much less with honors. The Brahmin background that propelled Bradlee's career from prep school on served him poorly when it came time to include some of the hoi poloi in the editorial mix.

Whatever his faults, Bradlee comes across as scrupulously honest. He doesn't give away any big secrets - you won't discover the identity of Deep Throat, for instance, but "The Good Life," chock full of our time's headiest moments, will fascinate anyone interested in the insider's view of current events and prominent people.

A Good Read.......2003-08-15

To say Ben Bradlee has had a good life is an understatement. He has led a lucky and extraordinary life.

His book details a fascinating life that was the result of a great deal of luck, perseverance and hard work. Bradlee may have been born into privilege but he had to work hard in the Navy and starting very low in the Newspaper trade. This book shows how luck (a hard rain storm) and timing gave Bradlee the opportunity for a "Good Life/"

I will admit that I have a bit of bias as I am a fan of the Washington Post, but I believe that this book is very revealing to some of the thinking behind some great news stories. The last few chapters in the book concern Watergate, the after affect, decisions on what to publish and why, and his final days at the Post. The two most interesting chapters in the book are the Watergate and the National Security chapters. I think any critics of the Post and Bradlee may read these and understand how hard the Post and Bardlee try to tell the straight stories with little bias.

Amazon.com

Ben Bradlee's career as a journalist encompassed many of the most important events of the late 20th century: from World War II to Watergate, from the domestic revolutions of the '60s to the international revolutions of the '90s. While serving as the Washington Post's Executive Editor from 1968 to 1991, the newspaper became a world-renowned and respected model of fearless and innovative journalism. A witty and candid story of a good life -- and a great read.

Customer Reviews:

Ben is a good editor!.......2002-12-15

I read this Ben Bradlee's memoir after I had read his boss Katherine Graham's 642-page grossly wordy "A Personal History." It didn't take me long to realize that "A Good Life" is a work of a good editor. His writing is concise and well focused without trying to get into excessive details, often only to bore readers, as both his boss and Maggie Thatcher successfully did with their auto-biographies. He's also so honest and candite about his personal life, including that of between the sheets.
When you are approaching 80, what's he got to lose, I guess.
For a non-native English speaking reader like me, it is also easy to read with plain and casual vocabulary and expressions. It almost reads as if the whole book was dictated. If you read All The President's Men, Final Days and A Personal History and enjoyed them, A Good Life is a must read to complete your Watergate experience.

Nothing short of insightful and entertaining.......1999-06-27

I first heard the name Ben Bradlee while watching "All the President's Men" in 11th grade history class. I'm a big fan of Watergate and all its intricacies, so I bought the book. It really surprised me. Being an autobiography, I wasn't expecting much, but this is truly a good book. Bradlee shares with us his life in full...his ups and downs...loves and lost loves. He also gives a more personal account of JFK. His devotion to and love for journalism is something that should be applauded...and copied. This book shows that there are some people out there who still believe in publishing good, honest news. If you want to read a good book about a great newpaperman, this is the one to read.

A Good Life Newspapering and Other Adventures

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A Good Life Newspapering and Other Adventures
Ben Bradlee
Manufacturer: Simon and Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HF8EQU

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A Good Life: Newspapering and Other Adventures
Ben; Simon & Schuster Bradlee
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NXXYDY

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A Good Life: Newspapering and Other Adventures
Ben Bradlee
Manufacturer: Touchstone Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: B000C4STSO

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A Good Life: Newspapering and other Adventures
Ben Bradlee
Manufacturer: Easton Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Leather Bound
ASIN: B000GULEL8

Today's Best Nonfiction, Return With Honor;My Name is Mary, A Memoir; A Good Life, Newspapering and Other Adventures and Every Knee Shall Bow, The Truth and Tragedy of Ruby Ridge and the Randy Weaver Family, Volume 39

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Today's Best Nonfiction, Return With Honor;My Name is Mary, A Memoir; A Good Life, Newspapering and Other Adventures and Every Knee Shall Bow, The Truth and Tragedy of Ruby Ridge and the Randy Weaver Family, Volume 39
Mary Fisher, Ben Bradlee and Jess Walter Captain Scott O'Grady and Jeff Coplon
Manufacturer: READERS DIGEST
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UEV8FM

A Good Life: Newspapering and Other Adventures. (book reviews): An article from: Video Age International

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A Good Life: Newspapering and Other Adventures. (book reviews): An article from: Video Age International

Manufacturer: TV Trade Media, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Video Age International, published by TV Trade Media, Inc. on November 1, 1995. The length of the article is 758 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: A Good Life: Newspapering and Other Adventures. (book reviews)
Publication: Video Age International (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 1, 1995
Publisher: TV Trade Media, Inc.
Volume: v15 Issue: n9 Page: p8(1)

Article Type: Book Review

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A Good Life: Newspapering and Other Adventures.: An article from: American Journalism Review

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A Good Life: Newspapering and Other Adventures.: An article from: American Journalism Review
Carl Sessions Stepp
Manufacturer: University of Maryland
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from American Journalism Review, published by University of Maryland on September 1, 1995. The length of the article is 1481 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: A Good Life: Newspapering and Other Adventures.
Author: Carl Sessions Stepp
Publication: American Journalism Review (Refereed)
Date: September 1, 1995
Publisher: University of Maryland
Volume: v17 Issue: n7 Page: p51(1)

Article Type: Book Review

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A Good Life: Newspapering and Other Adventures.: An article from: Columbia Journalism Review

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A Good Life: Newspapering and Other Adventures.: An article from: Columbia Journalism Review
Piers Brendon
Manufacturer: Columbia University, Graduate School of Journalism
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B00093RKT2
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Columbia Journalism Review, published by Columbia University, Graduate School of Journalism on November 1, 1995. The length of the article is 1488 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: A Good Life: Newspapering and Other Adventures.
Author: Piers Brendon
Publication: Columbia Journalism Review (Refereed)
Date: November 1, 1995
Publisher: Columbia University, Graduate School of Journalism
Volume: v34 Issue: n4 Page: p60(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

In order for a Web site to sell effectively, it must appeal to the unique culture, mindset, and psychology of the Web. Simply put, what works in the brick-and-mortar world does not necessarily grab Web shoppers. Companies selling products and services online need to promote their wares with engaging copy that grabs attention and compels Web site visitors to buy.

Web Copy That Sells presents copy strategies that have been proven time and again in the e-commerce arena. Maria Veloso, perhaps the most widely acclaimed Web copywriter in the world, reveals her revolutionary approach based on five simple questions, which, when answered, make the copy practically write itself. Veloso crams all the information from her 12-hour, $997 live seminars into a comprehensive book that will help any Web copywriter:

* write sizzling and irresistible Web copy, e-mails, and marketing communications * quickly turn lackluster sites into "perpetual money machines" * use Neuro-Linguistic Programming and psychological tactics to compel Web surfers to buy * avoid the top three blunders that can wipe out your sales * convert up to 50% of online prospects into paying customers * and more!

Customer Reviews:

Webcopy is interesting - not sure if I am comfortable with the style for b2b.......2007-05-28

I found the book interesting and enlightening. I think with all ideas you have to temper this to your audience. I would not use this to attract the CEO of AT&T in the form she presented. However the concepts and steps ring true as long as they are toned down to suit your market. We are just working on some sub pages tied to adwords campaigns to test the waters.

Very similar in style to [...]

Outstanding Reference with contemporary approach.......2007-05-09

I read this book in days highlighting areas for future reference. I enjoyed the book's approach and it was very well written. Veloso didn't leave any stones uncovered. Above all, it was like a college refresher course but more practical and focused to the needs for those desiring to improve their web copy and content. Additionally, after reading the book, I ordered a second to share with my internet marketing people and staff at Gloves-Online.

Solid Information that will increase your business.......2007-04-13

Web Copy That Sells is well written, easy to read and a great resource for improving your web copy.

There are a number of points that Maria makes regarding web copy that apply equally to all areas of business as well as life. For example, she points out that you cannot simply model some successful website and expect the same results. You must model the process. That is go through the same process that the creator of the successful website went through.

The book is not only a resource for web copy that sells, it is also a very good marketing course. She points out that potential customers must know you, like you and ultimately trust you before they will do business with you. She provides a step by step method to accomplish this.

Maria is right on when she talks about the importance of the first screen and why you must concentrate on what's in it for the viewer. The website should not be designed as an ego boosting medium. You must keep the viewer's point of view in mind.

She provides a good list of dos and don'ts for web copy. There are plenty of other tools such as a formula to evaluate any website.

Scattered throughout the book are excellent marketing lessons - words tell, emotion sells - fear of loss is a better motivator than desire for gain. You would do well to read and understand these very valuable marketing lessons.

This is a very good resource for anyone responsible for their own or their company's website.

Better than most but not the best I have read........2007-01-05

This book had some useful ideas, however given the amount of knowledge the author claims to have I feel she is keeping all the good stuff for her copy writing courses.

Rather light on useful content. Joe Sugarman is a much better choice.

Priceless.......2006-12-21

This book is absolutely priceless. I hear what some of the critical comments say. The fact is they are not grasping the brilliant lessons and enormous time savers Maria shares in this book that apply across the board to writing copy and marketing on line. First off, she makes it very clear her book is about what it says, writing web copy that sells, not writing web content. The whole point and value of this book are the formulas that will save INCREDIBLE amounts of time while ensuring you address every element that goes into capturing paying customers online. THAT'S the value. The actual words you use in writing your own specific copy are up to you. You don't have to sound like a snake oil salesman. I sell upscale b2b, business owners and senior executives and what I learned in the book is indeed killer. Practical lessons that I can immediately apply. Read this book and combine what you learn with Frank Rumbauskas Never Cold Call Again (and I haven't in the past 6 months), Metaphorically Selling by Anne Miller, and Richard Koch's The 80/20 Principle, The Secret of Achieving More With Less, and then work hard (sorry) and you'll be a lean mean money machine.

One thing I am very cautious about is all the copywriters that have made the change to copy writing over priced self generated programs on how to get rich copy writing (i.e. Bly, Masterson, Silver and others). Do a search on google to find good resources to seriously research the feasibility and process to make such a transition and your head will spin clicking on all the sites by these gurus with $500 to $2,000. This seems to be a whole niche that has become popular today to go side by side with network marketing. Get rich easy and quick with my magic formula to becoming a copywriter. (I do NOT put this book in that category, like I said this book is easily worth multiples of its price). I am also NOT saying that the money to be made in the industry is not accurate. Just like in network marketing where I did in fact make 6 figures a year in that industry for a while. The reality was it took HARK WORK, which terrifies most of the folks looking for the ever elusive easy buck. And as P.T. Barnum always knew, there are plenty of folks who want to believe it be so. When ever someone truly discovers the secret to becoming rich plugging into some formula system is the day everyone you know will be rich. The reality is if anything worked like that you couldn't stop it from sweeping the country. No one would be poor anymore...and I guess the new poor would be the least rich, right?

Bottom line, buy this book. If you use the principles, formulas and concepts Maria teaches you, you will indeed make a lot more money than you are now. If it sits on a shelf gathering dust waiting for the someday you are going to use some of the stuff it won't make you one single cent.

Creating Killer Web Sites: The Art of Third-Generation Site Design

Average customer rating:

Excellent Book
Pretentious and outdated
A classic book on web design.
Good guidelines
Pretty outdated

Creating Killer Web Sites: The Art of Third-Generation Site Design
David Siegel
Manufacturer: Hayden Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Graphic Design | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1568302894

Amazon.com

A very thoughtful and practical guide to building what Siegel refers to as 3rd Generation Web sites: sites driven by design deployed to provide visitors a complete "experience" employing real-world metaphors and models of consumer psychology. Siegel provides especially good information about page layout and handling text and type faces.

I recommend this book heartily, and suggest that serious Web designers also get copies of Creating Great Web Graphics and The Visual Display of Quantitative Information for a very useful library of techniques and ideas.

Book Description

Creating Killer Web Sites is the first true design book for the Web. Whether you are making a personal page, a site for a client, or a corporate site, you'll find this book invaluable for all aspects of design: site structure, use of metaphor and theme, information-based sites, third-generation sites (what they are, why they work), layout control, Photoshop tricks galore, why you should avoid using most standard HTML tags, choosing good fonts, how not to use frames, future versions of HTML, and more! Six detailed chapters take you step-by-step through a third-generation site makeover, creation of a personal page, a storefront, a hotlist, and a gallery. Includes two chapters on making Web sites with Adobe Acrobat using your favorite page layout program instead of HTML!

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Book.......2007-09-22

This book is one that gives you inspiration. I liked looking at the web sites before my creative juices start to flow.

Pretentious and outdated.......2003-12-10

I got the first edition of this book when I first started working on web sites. I learned a few tidbits from it, but mostly I was (un) impressed by the author's arrogant attitude about "artists." He rambled on about how what they wanted to do to be creative in their site design was more important than what the technology was doing, or how the user experienced the site. (A lot like Kai Krause's "creative" interfaces that he was proud to note that techies didn't get!) His attitude about developers vs. artists and designers was especially distasteful, even though in the end he proved he really was a techie inside all along.

I don't get the people who see this as a milestone. It's more like a millstone around the neck of web designers and developers. I think it did more to widen the gulf between designers and developers than help us work together. Leaf through this online or in a library, glean what you can from the few techie tips that are still worthwhile, then put it down. If you're a web developer or architect, you won't get much out of it, and if you're on the design or business side you will only get the wrong idea about what web site design is all about.

A classic book on web design........2003-10-15

Though somewhat dated, there is still good information in this classic book on web design. The website is also packed with information and it has recently been updated with up to date content among other nice features.

Check it out at: www.killersites.com

Good guidelines.......2003-02-18

This book doesn't teach you html. You should already know html before you buy this book. This book teaches you how to design good looking web sites. Personally, I don't think this can be taught. There are many examples of good and bad sites, before and after sites, but the old saying, "Can't teach an old dog new tricks" goes when it comes to art and design. Fortunately, these things are very subjective. What is bad to me, may be good to you. But in the end, there are only so few that really deserve to win a bikini contest.

Pretty outdated.......2002-08-25

I bought this book and sat down to read it with great excitement, but that feeling has gradually dimmed as I get further into it. It does have the occasional handy tip, but mostly it's too outdated to be of any great use. Most of the sites he uses as examples of killer sites are not so great by the standards of today, and at least one that he uses as a major worked example in his gallery section as a site he created, has since been redesigned by other designers and is totally different. I'm just glad I picked it up cheap. It's definately a book that's well overdue for a revision.

Creating Killer Interactive Web Sites: The Art of Integrating Interactivity and Design

Average customer rating:

Wow. Pure Genius.
Web design explained from scratch
Seems to Represent a Culture Gap
Didn't follow through with promise of companion website.
The best web-site creation book I've read

Creating Killer Interactive Web Sites: The Art of Integrating Interactivity and Design
Ardith Ibanez , and Bernie Dechant
Manufacturer: Hayden Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Textbook Binding

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Creating Killer Web Sites (2nd Edition)

ASIN: 1568303734

Book Description

Creating Killer Interactive Web Sites takes an original look into the never-before-revealed secrets and strategies of one of the world's most preeminent Web design firms. Using a highly visual, inspiring approach, you'll discover the art of integrating interactivity into a well-designed site, as well as explore the emerging tools and trends needed to craft a successful Web presence. With full-color examples, real-world case studies, and proven techniques, you'll uncover the intricacies of designing a truly interactive Web experience that will bring visitors back to your site again and again. In addition, you'll discover how to effectively use JavaScript, Java, Shockwave, Flash, cookies, Web graphics, animations, style sheets, and multimedia in your site. With this book, you'll have all the tools and expert advice you need to bring your site to a higher level of professionalism and effectiveness.

Explains the art of integrating interactivity into a well-designed Web site
Gives detailed case studies of sites that successfully integrate design and interactivity

Customer Reviews:

Wow. Pure Genius........2003-07-23

While this book was written a few years ago, it is one of the most balanced and comprehensive web design books ever written.

From the basics of good design, to sophisticated discussion on color selection and creating brand forward web sites, this book has it all. While it does not cover some of the newer technologies, the principles in this book are timeless and will help anyone today create a world class web site.

I strongly recommend this book to amateurs and pros alike.

Web design explained from scratch.......2000-07-10

Many books focus on HTML techniques, others in color management, others in navigation... this one focus on work - how is it done. If you are about to create a new web design agency (like me) then man - this one gets it right! It doesn't get all 5 stars because it's a bit old and its companion web site is gone.

Seems to Represent a Culture Gap.......2000-05-03

My book on html and javascript was more helpful on interactivity. This book seems to demark a line between people who can "just do it" and those who need a board room, 10 people, and six meetings in order to figure out where the best place to stick the navigation bar might be. Those already trained in color theory, minor marketing ideas, and are up-to-the minute with html and other web languages/programs such as Javacript and Flash can skip it. Something about executives copying "cool" style leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Those with confidence enough to think for themselves should do so.

Didn't follow through with promise of companion website........1999-08-18

This book constantly refers to scripts available at their companion website. At the website all you will find is an inadequate excuse for why the scripts aren't there. Without the scripts the book is nothing more than useless theory that can't be put into practice.

Save your money and buy a book that includes a companion CD-ROM rather than empty promises of a companion website.

The best web-site creation book I've read.......1999-04-14

Giving an overview of essential web-site design proceedures, Creating... shows how customer driven research and objectives come together to make sites that are intelligent and engaging. A book for those who want to create, pitch and sell. The psychology of web based marketing. Its where we're all headed.

Average customer rating:

Creating Killer Web Sites: The Art of Third-Generation Site Design
David Siegel
Manufacturer: Hayden Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000P9T2SM

Creating Killer Web Sites/Secrets of Successful Web Sites Prepak

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Creating Killer Web Sites/Secrets of Successful Web Sites Prepak
Sams Publishing
Manufacturer: Sams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0672313898

Book Description

The Web Designer's Bundle combines two of our best-selling titles: Creating Killer Web Sites, Second Edition and Secrets of Successful Web Sites, both by author David Siegal. In the expanded Creating Killer Web Sites, Second Edition, you'll find the techniques and principles you need to build sites for today's 4.0 and the coming 5.0 browsers. Much of the book has been rewritten with new tips, tools, updated HTML, and an emphasis on cross-browser compatibility. The second book in this bundle consists of visual case studies that give information that most sites won't give out- what worked for them, why and how. Readers learn the insider secrets of successful business planning, budgeting, and collaboration. Each case study explores both the client and developer point of view, so readers can see for themselves what works and what doesn't. This book gives clients everything they need to guarantee a successful site and Web developers everything they need for a successful Web business.

Web Site Bundle-Creating Killer Web Sites

Average customer rating:

A fantasic addition to my company's tech library.

Web Site Bundle-Creating Killer Web Sites
Macmillan Computer Publishing
Manufacturer: Hayden Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Programming | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1568304560

Customer Reviews:

A fantasic addition to my company's tech library........1998-12-10

This is a fantasic read and I reccomend it to anyone who designs for the web. It won't replace your HTML or script reference books but it will give you hearty examples of how to achieve the look and feel you want as opposed to letting the seemingly countless limitations of the web define your project for you.

The undertone of the entire text screams out to you that anything is possible, you just have to find a way to achieve it. It suggests that designers push the limits of the web and make browsing a more complete and entertaining experience for everyone.

I have heard a lot of arguments that surfers don't care about design... they do. And clients certainly do. This book will help you create a site your clients and their customers will find compelling enough to visit time and time again. Some people just don't get it. If you'd like to be one of the ones that does... read this book!

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