CompuServe Messages

Todd, Thank you for your graciousness under fire. I also appreciate that you heard all of my points fairly, no mean feat when one's work is being harshly criticized. I share responsibility for my dissatisfaction with the book. I wanted the book to be what I wanted it to be. 500 pages of tips, techniques and tutorials designed to wrestle LW to the ground. I wanted every page to burst with LW legerdemain that would make even Boucher smile and say, "Now THAT's nasty!". In other words, I wanted the definitive LW Bible. Does such a thing exist? Probably not. (Unless you bound every issue of LWPro together, which I have) Was such a thing actually promised? Again, probably not. But it is, IMO, legitimately debatable. In the March `95 issue of VTU there is an ad for the book when it was called "Lightwave on Location!". And while it does indeed clearly state that it is a manual geared for all Lightwave enthusiasts from beginner to advanced, there are other claims within the ad refering to the advanced aspects that are just not borne out by the final product. One bulleted line that appeared was this: * Exploring Lightwave! – an advanced section including complete explanations and tutorials on all of Lightwave's functions. That alone teased me with the hope that I would not only get to look under the hood, but I'd get underneath and get good and greasy. Then there were the references to "mastering" this and that in the ad. And again, it can be argued that the info contained in your book combined with a many hours of hands-on work would eventually lead one to master a difficult feature. But to claim as you did that the Spline and Patches tutorial would show how to master this powerful tool… well, we have different definitions of what it means to master something as opposed to giving a usable introduction. Finally, the suspense built over a year as publication was delayed (so that the latest info on 4.0 could be included) only served to bolster my image of a book of never-before-seen material on LW. However, the lion's share of the book is in fact a reproduction of material covered in the original manual sewn together by a comfortable, informal narrative. I was sincere in stating that this is a fine book for every Lightwave novice, and I am happy to know that it is being included in the curriculum of many colleges. If I were just beginning, and had my choice of learning Lightwave from the Newtek manual or your book, I'd go for yours in a second. Your thoroughness and clarity in highlighting Lightwave's many features shows this book to be a true labor of love. And your offer to make refunds shows you to be an honorable person as well. Sean Hannon Ad Rats – Stamford, CT