Book Description
A sweeping epic set in southern India, where a group of outcasts create a family while holding tight to their dreams.
Barely a month after she is promised in marriage, eleven-year-old orphan Kokila comes to Tella Meda, an ashram by the Bay of Bengal. Once there, she makes a courageous yet foolish choice that alters the fabric of her life: Instead of becoming a wife and mother, youthful passion drives Kokila to remain at the ashram.
Through the years, Kokila revisits her decision as she struggles to make her mark in a country where untethered souls like hers merely slip through the cracks. But standing by her conviction, she makes a home in Tella Meda alongside other strong yet deeply flawed women. Sometimes they are her friends, sometimes they are her enemies, but always they are her family.
Like Isabel Allende, Amulya Malladi crafts complex characters in deeply atmospheric settings that transport readers through different eras, locales, and sensibilities. Careening from the 1940s to the present day, Song of the Cuckoo Bird chronicles India’s tumultuous history as generations of a makeshift family seek comfort and joy in unlikely places–and from unlikely hearts.
Customer Reviews:
a book of many songs !.......2006-04-01
I am not sure what the author means when she invites the readers to see the spiritual side of India by reading this book. There are Guru's ranging from the truly genuine to the fake like Charvi. This book is not about a typical ashram, it is more about the typical misfits and typical fake Guru's.
This book is not only the song of the cuckoo bird, but also equally the song of many others ( Charvi, Sastri, Chetana, Subhadra and many others ). Add to this the songs of these people's Children and grandchildren and/or their friends and/or their relatives and visitors to the ashram. There are just too many characters.
It was not Vidura who related the battle of Mahabharatha to king Dhritharashtra and Ugadi is not celebrated in January !.
Highly recommended!!.......2006-03-10
I recommended this book to my book club and we LOVED it!! It was such a fabulous read. Now we're planning to read all of Amulya Malladi's books.
Great read!.......2006-03-10
I read a good review of this book in The Boston Globe and was not disappointed. This is a very unusual book about India and I learnt something new about the ashram culture and the Indian society as a whole. In the beginning I was annoyed with the use of foreign words but as I read the book I was glad that the author had not translated everything and ruined the charming effect the words gave the entire book.
Song of the Cuckoo Bird.......2006-03-09
I just finished reading this book and just had to write a review. I read a lot of books by Indian authors and as an Indian there are times that I am disappointed and unimpressed, this is not one of those times. "Song of the Cuckoo Bird" is a truly fabulous experience as it takes you through the lives of people living in an ashram over a span of almost 50 years. This was an inspiring read. I especially loved the chapter about the ashram getting a television; I remember those times well.
Absolutely stunning!.......2006-03-09
I loved this book! I have read other books by Amulya and have liked them but this one is truly superior. The story is beautiful, the characters interesting and the writing remarkable. I recommend this book to everyone interested in India and who want to read a novel written not specifically for a "foreign" audience, but one that just tells a story without pretense.
Book Description
Test of Time is a captivating time-travel adventure that incorporates vocabulary words from the SAT and ACT, boldfacing them throughout the novel and providing definitions in a handy back-of-the book glossary. The result is a fun and effective study method for the thousands of diligent students who take these tests each year.
For Orlando Garcia Ortiz and his friends at prestigious Hadleyburg University, it's finals week. That same week, but many, many years before, a famously eccentric writer in Hartford, Connecticut, is putting the finishing touches on a manuscript about a rebellious boy named Huck. Suddenly, a bizarre thing happens: The manuscript disappears and in its place appears a strange contraption-a college student's laptop that has traveled through time. It's a mysterious set of circumstances, but our intrepid heroes at Hadleyburg, joined by Mark Twain, endeavor to retrieve their valued possessions and return to their proper places in time.
Customer Reviews:
Very good resource for SAT/ACT prep.......2007-01-03
My 12-year-old son read this book along with another vocabulary-building novel prior to taking the ACT for a regional talent search. He actually liked the story and was able to name and discuss new words from the text. I think this would be good for any test prep that requires vocabulary including the GRE. This is not a waste of money.
Very enjoyable but disappointing ending.......2006-11-02
I am an SAT tutor and have found this book and others like it valuable to my students. Charles Harrington Elster is a master of his craft; unlike some other books of this type, his vocabulary and grammar are impeccable.* As a result, this book is very well written. What a great idea for a book-- Mark Twain in 21st century college America. Test of Time is informative and entertaining. Its ending is a bit sudden and far-fetched, though.
*Believe it or not, there are SAT vocab-building books that have poor definitions.
Average customer rating:
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Smart Dragons, Foolish Elves
Manufacturer: Ace Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Ellison, Harlan
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ASIN: 0441184812 |
Book Description
As the human population explodes and globalization continues, diseases can spread from one country to another as fast as an airplane can fly. Whether a virus is unintentionally released via our modern transportation system, or deliberately by terrorists, even a small scale biological "event" could have a profound effect on our society. Yet our current public health system is completely unprepared to detect and respond quickly enough to avert a disease-related crisis.
Microbe does more than detail the threats that face us today. Containing riveting accounts of barely averted catastrophes (including outbreaks of West Nile virus, SARS, and hantavirus), the book examines the disjointed, ineffective system we all rely upon to keep us alive and healthy. More important, the book presents a solution to stop outbreaks and minimize the impact of an epidemic.
Illustrated with two hypothetical stories (an outbreak of bird flu in Southern California and a bioterrorism attack in Denver) Microbe looks at the potential effects of health disasters -- and offers practical steps to stop them in their tracks.
Customer Reviews:
A Practical Solution.......2006-03-16
I could not put this book down! Having worked in healthcare for years I know that most physicians just don't have the time to interact with the public healthcare system as it stands today. I think SYRIS is just what our nation needs. I agree that all disiciplines (physicians, vets, nursing, PHO, and EMS) need to be intergrated when it comes to pathogenic surveilance. This books brings alot of truths to light and offers a possible solution in fast detection of "outbreaks" in the homeland whether bioterroristic or naturally occuring.
More human interaction than science.......2006-03-16
For the most part, I enjoyed the style of writing in this book and thought that the humanistic side of disease was well covered. However, there are numerous factual mistakes. For instance, it was known long before WNv came to North America that the main vectors belonged to the mosquito genus Culex, not Aedes. After the 1999 NY outbreak, this was confirmed with mosquito surveillance and WNv assays. The most basic literature search would've revealed this, and to be honest, the error made me question everything else I read.
Especially interesting for general reader.......2006-02-11
This book is well written and very interesting. It deals with serious shortcomings in how we handle plague situations, yet it is not alarmist--the problems are serious but not exaggerated, the solutions practical and within our reach.
I also enjoyed the backgrounders on diseases I've heard of but never really knew much about--like Legionnaire's disease; I remember when it was heavily covered in the newspapers, but at the time it was a mystery as to exactly what it was. Now I get the authoritative story. The book has similarly informative summaries of other well-known diseases from smallpox to bubonic plague.
"Microbe" is the kind of informative, memorable book every literate, curious reader will be glad to have read.
Important, Informative, and Sometimes Incomplete!.......2006-01-03
Most of the book is taken up describing various outbreaks and how physicians and scientists determined to respond. Other sections provide details about microbes in general.
West Nile: The NYC Summer of '99 had been dry, then followed by lots of rain. A large increase in the number of dead crows was thought to be caused by the crows needing to dig deeper for food during the drought, encountering old pathogens. Then six elderly people were hospitalized for encephalitis; meanwhile, the Zoo became concerned about the crows possibly spreading the problem to their large birds, several of which recently died with symptoms of encephalitis. Identifying the problem )West Nile virus) and appropriate response (spraying mosquitoes) took about three months and a lot of hard work led by the Zoo's head veterinarian.
SARS: Sprang up in Southeastern China during the Fall of 2002 - much of the information was suppressed by the Chinese government. The disease was unwittingly spread to Hong Kong by one of the original treating physicians. After about three days of increasing symptoms he went to a hospital, and they ignored his warnings about being contagious.
SARS kills by causing widespread fluid in the lungs, leaving the victim unable to diffuse oxygen into the blood. Pneumonia typically only affects a single lobe, while SARS affects all of both both lungs. The disease is somewhat difficult to diagnose (especially because it was new), and tricky to treat - requiring careful balance of supplemental oxygen. World Health Organization (WHO) researchers went to the scene but were frustrated by the Chinese removing all SARS patients from hospitals and transporting them around the city for the day. (Luckily SARS is not spread in an aerosol - eg. sneeze - manner.
Unfortunately "Microbe" did not disclose why the spread stopped (I'm assuming quarantining was a major help), though it did point out that each patient spread the disease to less than two others.
Hantavirus: Five deaths occurred fairly quickly during '93 in the Four Corners area of New Mexico. Summer had brought heavy rain, and the mice population multiplied ten-fold. The cause was found to be aerosoled mice feces/urine, and the disease sprung up in other areas. ("Microbe" also reported that the Navajo culture associated mice with killing young children - somehow this was not acted upon by either the Navajo or the researchers.)
Mad Cow Disease: Found it could be spread by donated corneas, skull lining transfers from cadavers, and instruments used on other patients (even though thoroughly cleaned and sterilized). "Microbe" states that the disease is species specific, but did not then explain how it transfers from cows to humans.
Legionnaire's Disease: Sprang up during the '76 Philadelphia American Legion convention. Does not respond to antibiotics; the good news is that it normally stays inert within the soil - lacking an environment to breed. Growth requires trace minerals such as iron and some amino acids, but is inhibited by calcium (common culture media ingredient) - making identification more difficult.
Hotel cooling towers provided a great growth environment - the microbes then evaporate and get sucked back into the building by ventilation fans. ("Microbes" points out that closed water troughs are now required, denying sun and dust access to the water - however, it doesn't explain why cooling tower water is not an issue.)
The microbes can also grow inside pipes - protected by the slime coating normally present, and "Microbes" states that this provides some immunity to the disease to those showering with the water.
Cholera: London breakout in 1854 was plotted by a physician who then noted it centered around a particular well. The well-handle was removed, and the outbreak stopped.
Cryptosporidium (from cow feces) made about 400,000 sick to varying degrees in Milwaukee during 1993 due to water purification problems. (Public health was also asleep at the switch.) Showed how quickly problems could occur and spread.
Anthrax: Exposing 20,000 via dusting would lead about ten to go to the doctor within 24 hours where they probably would be misdiagnosed. If problem recognition waiting until the 5th day there would be mass causalities. Clearly a serious potential problem - luckily other sources claim it is difficult to spread anthrax.
Clearly rapid diagnosis of new threats is difficult and Very important. Are we read - probably not.
From J. Emerging Diseases, Nov. 2005.......2005-11-06
Book Review --
by Peter Jahrling, PhD.
Chief Scientist, National Institutes of Health, Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Microbe: Are We Ready for the Next Plague?
Alan Zelicoff and Michael Bellomo
Amacom, New York, NY, 2005
ISBN: 0-8144-0865-6
Pages: 256; Price: US $23.00
Microbe: Are We Ready for the Next Plague? by Alan Zelicoff and Michael Bellomo is a comprehensive, yet succinct, account of the threat to public health posed by microbial pathogens. What distinguishes this book from the surfeit of recent books hyping the threat of bioterrorism are its balanced perspective and elucidation of naturally emerging disease threats, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) or West Nile virus, as exotic entities requiring a rapid and effective response; Mother Nature is quite the bioterrorist herself. Early recognition that an event has occurred is key to containment of the nascent epidemic.
The authors provide sufficient basic science background to bring the uninitiated up to speed on a variety of exotic and recently introduced microbes in engagingly titled chapters such as "The Birds that Fell from the Sky" (West Nile), "Corona of Death" (SARS), and "Something in the Water" (Cryptosporidium). In addition, they describe hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, mad cow disease, and Legionnaires' disease in the context of recent public health emergencies.
The authors also explain why both smallpox and anthrax are more than abstract concerns as agents of bioterrorism, on the basis of weaponization history, intrinsic attributes, and realistic scenarios. An account of the 1970 smallpox outbreak, which occurred in Aralsk, Kazakhstan, as a consequence of open air testing of a smallpox weapon by the Soviets is an eye-opener; there should be no doubts about capability and intent after reading this story.
The scenarios are well chosen and informative; they highlight the importance of early recognition that "something has happened" and breaking the disease cycle close to the index case. The unifying theme of the book is the importance of syndrome-based surveillance in achieving this goal. The authors dismiss BIOWATCH (air-monitoring devices to detect and identify microbes in aerosol clouds) as a well-intended but expensive "work in progress," to put it charitably. BIOSENSE is a national surveillance system that they say has not been implemented in any substantive way. I reluctantly find myself in agreement with these assessments and receptive to their suggestions to implement an emerging diseases reporting system based on syndromic reporting.
Healthcare providers recognize syndromes, not microbial diseases. How long did it take to recognize monkeypox in 2003? The hantavirus associated with lethal pulmonary syndrome in New Mexico in 1993 was recognized only when the pattern emerged among previously healthy young adults living in rustic conditions on a Navajo reservation.
The authors describe a product they dub Syndromic Reporting Information System (SYRIS) as a "beta test" product that has been deployed on a limited, regional basis and promises to provide a near instantaneous map of syndromic reports and to comply with all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requirements for electronic reporting systems. Like most good ideas, simplicity is central to the SYRIS concept; it is likely to succeed because participating doctors, nurses, and veterinarians (most of the exotic pathogens are zoonoses) can report syndromic occurrences in 15 seconds or less and will be rewarded with instantaneous feedback and tailored reports and alarms. While this section does read a bit like an infomercial, the concept is sound and worthy of serious consideration by public health officials and policy makers.
This book is the best of its genre and is recommended for anyone interested in understanding and managing the risks associated with emerging microbial threats.
Peter B. Jahrling*
*National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
Suggested citation for this article:
Jahrling PB. Microbe: are we ready for the next plague? [book review] Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 2005 Nov [date cited]. Available from http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol11no11/05-1084.htm
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Emerging Infectious Diseases, published by Thomson Gale on November 1, 2005. The length of the article is 621 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: Microbe: Are We Ready for the Next Plague?(Book Review)
Author: Peter B. Jahrling
Publication:
Emerging Infectious Diseases (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 11
Issue: 11
Page: 1807(1)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Journal of International Affairs, published by Thomson Gale on March 22, 2006. The length of the article is 3191 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: Preparing for the next outbreak: is America asking the right questions?(Microbe: Are We Ready for the Next Plague?)(Brief article)(Book review)
Author: Sandra Chapman
Publication:
Journal of International Affairs (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 22, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 59
Issue: 2
Page: 351(7)
Article Type: Book review, Brief article
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Amazon.com
Keep the right pastas in your pantry, along with the other ingredients recommended by Joie Warner, plus a few items in the fridge, and you can always enjoy a heaping plate of pasta tossed with any of a variety of zesty sauces simply by boiling water to cook the pasta while you combine the ingredients for the topping. This is the promise Warner proves to perfection in 75 high-flavor ways. For example, she adds chopped tomatoes to a homemade Caesar salad dressing tossed with bow ties and tops linguine with Spicy Tomato Salsa.
For sauces using meat, poultry, or seafood, she sometimes "cheats" a bit: in Tomato Sauce with Clams, you warm the sauce by placing it in a bowl set over the steaming pasta pot. And for Blue Cheese and Broccoli Sauce, you do cook the broccoli--by tossing it into the pot along with the pasta, but this is so efficient, who cares?
Color photos, taken by Warner's husband, are so sunlit that the food on every page looks like a cheerful feast. --Dana Jacobi
Book Description
Why cook if you don't have to? This brilliant new approach to pasta, written by best-selling cookbook author Joie Warner, offers 75 deliciously easy pasta sauces -- all ready in minutes without turning on a burner. These no-cook sauces are whipped up while the pasta water boils, and heated when they mingle with the linguine, fettuccine, or other steaming hot pasta. Using only a handful of vibrantly flavorful ingredients such as olives, citrus, tomatoes, capers, goat cheese, and succulent herbs, Warner shows how to turn out fantastic dishes in a matter of minutes -- no joke, no catch, we promise! Imagine such sauces as savory Puttanesca, Asian-Style Sesame with Roasted Red Peppers, Creamy Tomato and Gorgonzola, or Green Pea and Prosciutto made from scratch and ready to eat by the time the spaghetti is al dente. This is the book we've all been waiting for -- finally, a fresh take on pasta!
Customer Reviews:
Delicious, Fast and Easy.......2004-11-19
What a great cookbook! Everything in it is tasty and so easy. Perfect for those nights when you don't feel like cooking. We cook from this on average once a week. I give it as gifts now.
Great survey of cheap, tasty dishes from star pantry item.......2004-10-10
Jolie Warner has produced another of her 20 cookbooks, `take a tin of tuna', in that relatively undistinguished but very worthy genre of recipe collections centered around a single ingredient, in this case, canned tuna. While Ms. Warner does not have the high wattage name like Cat Cora, Tony Bourdain, or Rachael Ray, she is doing us a service as good or better than these very readable chef / authors. That is, she is giving us 65 recipes for an extremely inexpensive, durable staple. With this book and similar books on recipes for pasta, potatoes, sardines, corn meal, and canned tomatoes, one can live like a king with good recipes on a pauper's income. Ms. Warner has put one more nail in the coffin of my projected book on cooking cheaply but well.
Before I go any further, I must put in a plug for canned tuna. Like several other ingredients that have been available in a can for a very long time, this product has virtually taken on a life of its own, completely distinct from the cuisine and recipes based on fresh tuna. Like salt cod, it is not only accepted as a different product, it is actually better for many recipes than the fresh flesh, which is both highly perishable and requires a fair amount of subtlety to cook well. Even the highest authorities on French cooking give us Salad Nicoise made with canned tuna.
The first chapter in this book is the routine intro. on showing us around the varieties of canned tuna and itemizing good pantry items to have on hand to work with tuna. While this list, especially the first half, is better than most, it violates my standing rule about pantry lists in that it lists several relatively perishable items in the refrigerator and dried basil in the spice rack. I use lots of dried spices, but I would not use dried basil or parsley short of having a gun put to my head. Both are available fresh the year around and fresh parsley is usually dirt-cheap. I do respect the author's recommending selected national brands for bacon and mustard. I have seen good things said about her recommended products, but I have seen bad things said about them as well. Be very aware that in spite of the sense that it is virtually imperishable, please know that mustard looses its pizzazz after about three months in the bottle, so don't stockpile the stuff, especially the stuff shipped to us from France.
Among the recipes, you will find all the old standards such as Salade Nicoise, Tuna salad, and Tuna casserole, but you will find lots of other goodies as well. The first chapter of recipes is on starters with recipes for stuff such as tuna tapenade, tuna dips, tuna and caper spread, tuna wontons, and tuna tapas, for example. I think I will pass on the tuna fondue.
The second chapter of recipes gives us tuna coups and chowders where, among other things, we have tuna standing in for clams and keeping company with beans, corn, broccoli and cheddar, and tomatoes. I get strongly positive feelings about all these recipes. This may be worth the price of the book.
The third chapter of recipes covers sandwiches, the home of the classic tuna melt. The author does here what lots of recipe writers do in turning a recipe for a salad into a sandwich, with virtually no alterations except that the ingredients are plopped between two halves of crusty bread. Ms. Joie does this with a tuna nicoise sandwich, simply leaving out the potato salad which, I'm sure, you will be happy to find as the featured side dish.
The fourth chapter is the center ring for sure for the canned tuna show, as these are the salads, both classic and nuveo. The author essays tuna with lots of tomatoes, beans, curries, leafy veg, and Mexican themes. These recipes are more traditional than the soups, but swell to have all in one place.
The last chapter of recipes is largely all the things that do not fit in other categories. These are terrines, pies, omelets, and pizzas. Shades of Wolfgang Puck.
I regret that the author and her publisher did not see it fit to list the author's previously published titles. Either they are not from Chronicle Books or they are not considered worthy. I also find the $20 list price just a tad high for 65 recipes from a journeyman author.
Both of these nits are relatively trivial. This is a very good book for people both on a diet and on a budget and in serious need of some variety in their meals. If you can get it for less than $15, I say snap it up.
Highly recommended.
No-Cook Pasta Sauces.......2004-02-23
Best book of recipes I've found for truly good and nourishing meals that can be prepared in a jiffy. If you are vegetarian, it's a plus, there are many recipes that do not contain any meat, some using fish but mosly cheese and vegetables. Meat can be added to many of the recipes but they are excellent as they are. I have had the book for a long time but wanted it for my college-age grandson.
pretty good if you KNOW you'll be pressed for time.......2004-02-04
I like this book for those nights when I know ahead of time I'm going to be crunched for time. I'm the kind of person who plans a week of meals at a time before grocery shopping, with an eye on what nights will be busy vs. when I'll have oodles of time. I also keep a pretty extensive pantry on hand. I think if those 2 things weren't true, this book would lose alot of its usefulness. But with the right ingredients around, there are some good quick meals in here.
A few things to be aware of:
- These recipes are LOADED with butter, oil, and fatty cheeses, typically half a stick of butter, 1/2 a cup of cheese to serve 4.
- There is a little bit of prep required before you boil the water, but it's light, like chopping a garlic clove or grating some cheese.
- Most of these recipes uses strong tasting ingredients, like raw chopped garlic, crushed red pepper, and basil. If you don't like these ingredients, you might not like a lot of these recipes.
So, with those caveats, I would recommend this book. I especially like the sauce made from riccotta cheese, bottled red peppers, basil, garlic and parmesan cheese. I typically serve these with boiled broccoli and quick frozen garlic bread, and dinner is ready in like 20 minutes.
This is my FAVORITE cookbook!!.......2003-06-18
I recommend it to everyone I know. The dishes are easy to prepare, and taste simply amazing! I just love the whole concept of this cookbook!!
Customer Reviews:
Somewhat Useful, but Disappointing.......2000-04-28
This book is somewhat useful, but I found it disappointing and I am returning it. It is comprised of mostly forms and blank pages to write notes etc. I can but a notepad for that! Some hints are helpful, but this is not the book for me.
Excellant help when you need it most!.......1999-12-31
Thanks to Diane Warner's book, my husband and I were able to have a wonderful wedding. She covers everything you need to consider. It helped me to stay organized, keep my sanity intact and we were still able to make the house payments. I can't thank her enough!
very good advice on cost saving ideas.......1999-09-28
Diane Warner has been there and done that. She has alternative tips for ways to have a dream wedding without going into Ch. 11. Her ideas don't seem "chintzy." According to Warner there is a whole universe of talented friends out there, from florists to photographers to musicians. If you like her book, enjoy NOTES FROM THE M.O.B. (mother of the Bride) by Sherri Goodall, great ideas and humor from the POV of the mother of the bride.
Book Description
For centuries, the sampler has been a mainstay of the seamstress's craft, at once a didactic tool, a commercial showcase, and, frequently, a work of art in itself. This beautifully illustrated, accessible book presents a look at some remarkable samplers and offers a concise history of the form as well. Arranged like an alphabet, Samplers from A to Z concentrates on 26 examples, each chosen to illustrate a key facet of sampler artistry. The topic covered range from alphabets, embroidery, and cutwork to landscapes, spot samplers, and whitework. Pamela A. Parmal, who is also curator of the current exhibition of samplers at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, provides an overview of samplers and their role in industry and education throughout their history. This succinct, colorful book is ideal for anyone interested in the technique, history, or astounding beauty and variety of samplers.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Book.......2007-05-29
I bought this book for my sister, who is an avid plastic canvas user, and she was amazed at the extremely high quality of the book and the contents.
One of the most brillant books published yet.......1998-01-15
This book contains the most beautiful peices I have ever made. The patterns are easy to understand and work. If you like delicate fancy items to make this book is for you. Other recommendations are gifts galore in plastic canvas book 4 and looney tune in plastic canvas book 7.
Customer Reviews:
A real gem.......2003-10-22
This dictionary of stitches is a real standout. I have the DK book by Ganderton and gave that good marks but as time marches on improvements happen. This one is good because unlike Ganderton's book Gardner has some projects in it and of course the binder format makes it very easy to view and use.
Interestingly, some of her methods are different than I have learned or what Ganderton shows and often makes a different look. It's an interesting foray from that side also.
Average customer rating:
- As Always, Excellent!
- A-Z Embroidery stitches
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A-Z of Embroidery Stitches
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ASIN: 0646320025 |
Customer Reviews:
As Always, Excellent!.......2007-05-06
I bought this book a few years ago and it is THE definitive how-to book of embroidery stitches, for the beginner and more experienced stitcher alike. The photos are clear and show each step of the stitch so that you really get it -- and because of that, I have purchased all of the other A-Z series books to expand my needlework interests and skills. The price is well worth it -- a superb publication from which I have taught many students here and overseas.
A-Z Embroidery stitches.......2006-06-18
If you embroider, want to learn, or just appreciate the beauty of this handcraft...You NEED this book! It leaves no stitch undone and even the novice will find it easy to understand and follow. This all color book features close ups of every detail one needs to know to become an expert in this fine art.
A classic.......2005-11-24
This book is a must have for anyone who is trying to teach themselves embroidery.
The book is a step by step guide with fabulous photos and instructions on how to perform the stitches. This is the first book in a growing series put out by the fine folks at Country Bumpkin down in Australia. I own 7 out of the 10 books in the series :-)
I own the spiral copy- and it's great, there are newer versions with a covered spiral, and that is great as well. Those newer versions make it easier to view your collection when it's on the bookshelf - that's the only difference.
BTW, most of the stitch diagrams came from issues of Inspirations Magazine, a fabulous and pricey magazine. The title sounds pretentious, but it's for real. You will be inspired when you look through the magazine. To save paper, the folks at the magazine only include stitch diagrams for new stuff - so you need this book if you don't have all the back copies. It seems like a marketing ploy - but it's not - the book & the magazines are all worth the money.
Average customer rating:
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A to Z Cross Stitch Samplers: The Vanessa Ann Collection
Jo Packham ,
Terrece Beesley Woodruff , and
The Vanessa-Ann Collection
Manufacturer: Oxmoor House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 084870715X |
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Fingertips A to Z (Leisure Arts leaflet)
Deborah Lambein
Manufacturer: Leisure Arts
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
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ASIN: B0006RTN6Y |
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The A-Z of Embroidery Stitches
Manufacturer: Search Press Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0855329513 |
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- Everyman's home of the late 1800s
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Building an American Identity: Pattern Book Homes and Communities, 1870-1900: Pattern Book Homes and Communities, 1870-1900
Linda E. Smeins
Manufacturer: AltaMira Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Textbook Binding
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ASIN: 0761989633 |
Book Description
Queen Anne or Victorian, these beautiful houses have become nostalgic sites in our historical memory. Linda Smeins explores the development of pattern-book houses, considered the new modern suburban home of the late 19th century. Through a discussion of pattern-book designs and plans and pattern-book-inspired houses, Smeins traces the evolution of this architectural style and explores the meanings embodied in the notion of home and community. Building an American Identity is an excellent resource for architectural historians, historic preservations, educators and anyone interested in the social history behind the building of America's Victorian homes.
Customer Reviews:
Everyman's home of the late 1800s.......2001-08-23
The blurb explains the main purpose of the book quite well, but what it doesn't tell you about is the very interesting historical information on the architecture profession and how it changed during the second half of the 1800s. Although a relatively small part of the material, I found it very interesting to read about why and how the practitioners came to desire specific requirements in order to have the right to the title of "architect." Through the 1860s and into the 1870s, "architect" could mean builder or carpenter, as well as people with the training in artistic design that we would expect today. This book chronicles, in a small way, the tremendous upheaval in the field as it sought to become a true profession. There is, in addition, quite a bit of information on how architecture fit into and exhibited Americans' desire to express themselves in a unified and instantly recognizable way, to build an "American Identity." The book contains 94 black and white illustrations (drawings, floor plans and photographs), an extensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources (16 pages), and a solid index. Each chapter includes notes, many of which contain additional information. The book contains eight sections: 1. National Identity and an American Style of Architecture 2. A House in Civilized Nature 3. Building America with Pattern Book Houses 4. True Americans Own Homes 5. The 'American Architect' and Categories in the Profession 6. Defining the Modern House: Seeds of Disagreement, 1876-1881 7. The Modern Suburban House Holds Its Own Epilogue: One Town in the Pacific Northwest Altogether a fascinating book, and quite readable, even if you aren't familiar with architectural terminology. If you're a student or practitioner of architecture, you might want to buy it in hardback -- as someone with a less passionate but nonetheless sincere interest, I purchased the textbook version.
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The History of the Illustrated Book: The Western Tradition
John P. Harthan
Manufacturer: Thames & Hudson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0500279462 |
Book Description
Pomp and circumstance, epic fantasy, travel, romance, meditation, history, satire, erotic intrigue: books throughout history, from papyrus to paperback, have used images to reinforce words. Manuscripts and printed books have been illustrated in every Western artistic style, and the artists represented in this classic survey range from ancient Egypt to modern Manhattan, from the Master of the Leaping Figures to Henri Matisse. Among the byways of this vast artistic field are the fiery manuscript Apocalypses of the early Middle Ages, fable books and songbooks, and the ornate records of baroque court life. Perhaps the artistic peak of printed book illustration was reached with the delicate engraving technique used in the eighteenth century. After 1800, as book production became more industrialized, many illustrators continued to produce superb work for a wide readership, but others turned back to craft processes to recreate the medieval tradition of the book as a precious object. Both the mass market and the minority of bibliophiles have survived into the twentieth century; and on many fronts, from botany to fiction, from poems to physiology, illustration is still a vital and developing art.
Customer Reviews:
Urgência do material.......2007-01-09
Good day! Necessary of this material with urgency, and already I am counting as certain the presence of it for the beginning of the lessons. Therefore soon I will have to make another bibliography purchase new.
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- How un-original
- Fun Read
- Fluff
- Superficial rehash
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Julia Roberts: America's Sweetheart
National Enquirer
Manufacturer: AMI Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1932270094 |
Customer Reviews:
How un-original.......2005-01-24
I have not read this book, and could not give it a 0,but the reviews say enough. It is insulting, as a silent-film buff to see "America's Sweetheart" under a picture of Julia Roberts...sure, she's a great actress of OUR times, but Mary Pickford will always be remembered and live on through her art of film as the original "America's Sweetheart." Anyone who knows of Pickford's astonishing work will agree she set a new standard in film, and it is a shame her pictures are not more readily available on DVD. Some available on Amazon are: Stella Maris, Daddy Long Legs, Little Annie Rooney, Tess of the Storm Country, and My Best Girl. Also Highly recommended is Eileen Whitfield's Biography, Pickford:the woman who made Hollywood. For the record, I have nothing against Julia Roberts, but I can't stand such unoriginality in a title. Julia Roberts has always reminded me of a gorgeous homecoming Queen, who happens to be a very talented (and popular)actress in her own right.
Fun Read.......2004-02-05
I'm not a huge fan of Julia Roberts, but I decided to pick up this book and I thought it was a really fun read. Its light, easy to read and quick. I read it while on vacation and thought it was perfect for the time I spent by the pool. Mark Bego really knows his subject. I learned a lot and am definitely a fan. I will read anything else Mark writes...especially on my next vaction!
Fluff.......2003-08-09
Absolute fluff. More of a high school type research from magazines - that's probably an insult to high schoolers. Gathered quotes from newspapers and magazines. At least they admitted it was "compiled". BORING! Worthless. Don't waste your money
Superficial rehash.......2003-07-21
No new information. No new insights. Not even a very interesting approach to old information. The whole book is just cut & paste. The author, Mark Bego, just strings together a bunch of quotes from two movie guides and some popular magazines. There are 40 small black & white photos, about half publicity stills and the rest reprinted from news magazines. The book has no index.
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- The Alphabet Sisters: A Novel
- The Amateur Marriage: A Novel
- The American Night: The Writings of Jim Morrison
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Salaam, Paris
