Book Description
The Sisters of APF is Zane's first book based on one of her most popular short story subjects, the sexy escapades of a sorority like no other.
APF stands for Alpha Phi Fuckem, a sorority dedicated to sexual freedom and the fulfillment of its members. Zane's APF stories have appeared in her earlier collections, including The Sex Chronicles: Shattering the Myth, and are favorites among her readers.
Many readers have written to Zane and asked to join the sorority or to launch a new chapter in their region. APF is fantasy, but the enthusiasm of Zane's fans is real. So now, with The Sisters of APF, she's offering readers what they want, a book-length story chronicling the adventures -- and recruitment process -- of the fearlessly sexy women of APF.
Mary Ann is the daughter of a chicken farmer from South Dakota. She has never been more than fifty miles from home and has led a sheltered life. By the time she goes off to college in Washington, D.C., she has been intimate with only one man -- her high school sweetheart. The resident manager of Mary Ann's dormitory, Patricia, befriends the country bumpkin. She finds Mary Ann amusing, but also senses something intriguing about her, hidden under the surface. After Mary Ann becomes smitten with Trevor, the campus playboy, Patricia is determined to show Mary Ann how not to be a victim, but rather how to outdo the players and heartbreakers. She indoctrinates Mary Ann into the ranks of the sexiest secret society ever: the sisters of APF.
Download Description
"The Sisters of APF is Zane's first book based on one of her most popular short story subjects, the sexy escapades of a sorority like no other. APF stands for Alpha Phi Fuckem, a sorority dedicated to sexual freedom and the fulfillment of its members. Zane's APF stories have appeared in her earlier collections, including The Sex Chronicles: Shattering the Myth, and are favorites among her readers. Many readers have written to Zane and asked to join the sorority or to launch a new chapter in their region. APF is fantasy, but the enthusiasm of Zane's fans is real. So now, with The Sisters of APF, she's offering readers what they want, a book-length story chronicling the adventures -- and recruitment process -- of the fearlessly sexy women of APF. Mary Ann is the daughter of a chicken farmer from South Dakota. She has never been more than fifty miles from home and has led a sheltered life. By the time she goes off to college in Washington, D.C., she has been intimate with only one man -- her high school sweetheart. The resident manager of Mary Ann's dormitory, Patricia, befriends the country bumpkin. She finds Mary Ann amusing, but also senses something intriguing about her, hidden under the surface. After Mary Ann becomes smitten with Trevor, the campus playboy, Patricia is determined to show Mary Ann how not to be a victim, but rather how to outdo the players and heartbreakers. She indoctrinates Mary Ann into the ranks of the sexiest secret society ever: the sisters of APF. "
Customer Reviews:
quick read.......2007-09-20
I read this book in one day after classs...entertaining to say the least, but Nervous is still my favorite
Good Reads.......2007-05-22
...Two hours later...done. I could NOT put this book down, and when I finished it I wanted more! This was an awesome book, a must have for all who enjoy reading books of this genre.
Absolutely Loved It.......2007-03-20
I was meaning to read this book for years due to a recommendation from a friend, and i loved the book so much that i finished it in about 4 hours. Women should have sexual liberation and shouldn't have to ONLY satisfy a man's needs and thats the message that Zane was trying to get thru to her audience. Sexual satisfaction should go both ways. Good Job Zane.
Not all it's Cracked up to be.......2007-02-11
This was the first book I read by Zane. It was an easy read, but you have got to want to read a book that is all about sexual enticing fantasies. I really wanting to read a Zane book, however I wasn't that interested in this one. This book is very provocative, and has more sex, then story or plot. If you like Zane , then I'm sure you will like this book, I was Kind of dissappointed with the Sisters of APF.
Not like the usual Zane books.......2006-12-28
While the subject matter is off the hook, this book was somewhat dissapointing to me. I did not have a hard time reading it but, it was not as enjoyable as some of Zane's other novels.
Book Description
IN A SACRED PLACE, UNHOLY PASSIONS LEAD TO MURDER.... Sunlight shone on the dark crimson blood, making it shine like a jewel....thus the body of Gunnora, a young nun from Hawkenlye Abbey, is found with her throat cut. Felons have been released from English prisons at the command of the new king, Richard Plantagenet, and suspicion centers on them. But when Josse d'Acquin, the king's knight, arrives from France to investigate, he discovers treacherous currents of lust, greed, and anger flowing closer to the Abbey, and in the haunted Weald of Kent, whose woods hide strange secrets....With the help of the worldly, beautiful Abbess Helewise, Josse ferrets out an array of suspects. Their one precious piece of evidence is a gold, rubied cross. But the shocking truth of Gunnora's death is an elusive-and far more dangerous-prize.AUTHORBIO: ALYS CLARE lives in Tonbridge, England, in the area where Fortune Like The Moon is set. This is the first in a series of medieval mysteries set in the Weald of Kent.
Customer Reviews:
Introducing a New Team of Medieval Sleuths!.......2007-02-01
Dispatched by King Richard to investigate the brutal murder of a nun at Hawkenlye Abbey in rural Kent, Josse d'Aquin joins forces with Abbess Helewise. d'Aquin has scarcely arrived at the Abbey when a second murder thickens the plot in this promising start to a new medieval mystery series.
On the plus side, the main characters of d'Aquin and Helewise are appealing. In many ways mirror images of each other, they are intelligent, likable and level-headed people and eventually unravel the murders. d'Aquin especially spends a great deal of time riding back and forth from the Abbey to various estates seeking evidence.
Having said that, I would have liked more space devoted to life in 12th Century England. And I wondered about security at the Abbey with nuns scampering out for night-time trysts when the mood struck them. Most importantly, as much as I enjoyed the two main characters, the feeling I took away from this story was one of great sadness. What a toll love and greed exact in this story!
Here's looking forward to the further adventures of Helewise and Josse d'Aquin!
An enjoyable historical mystery.......2006-12-06
Josse d'Acquin has been sent, by King Richard Plantagenet, to Hawkenlye Abbey. Hawkenlye was designed by Richard's mother, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine and is run by a woman, the Abbess Helewise. Richard, at the decision of this Mother, had all prisoners released in celebration of Richard's coronation. Now a young nun has been brutally murdered and Josee is sent to find the killer and do damage control should the killer be one of the released prisoners.
Clare has taken an interesting period of history and embedded it in the story in a way that is fascinating, but not distracting. The dialogue is very well done, not written in the vernacular of the time but with the influence in its cadence. I didn't find I was distracted by it. Josse and Abbess Helewise are interesting characters although we don't learn a lot about them. There are plenty of twists and turns to the story but my biggest quibble is the manner of the victim's death--it's a bit implausible. I very much enjoyed the book and shall definitely continue on with the series.
A murder mystery in the time of King Richard.......2002-12-16
Sir Josse d'Acquin is sent by King Richard to investigate a murder at Hawkenlye Abbey, a crime that could put a cloud over his coronation, and a case of particular interest to his mother, Queen Eleanor. The setting is near Tonbridge, at a time when the town was a small village on the main road to London. Sir Josse teams up with Abbess Helewise to investigate and solve the mystery. The case opens up questions about arranged marriages, inheritances, and unrequited love. The investigation reveals surprises about relationships, motives, and actual events. The story is a tragedy for most secondary players, while Josse receives what is perhaps not an unexpected reward for his services.
Not Strong on History or Mystery.......2002-10-15
While I was reading this book I kept a piece of paper beside me and tore off a slip to mark every page that I had a question about a historical fact or internal logic. By the time I had finished the top of the book was a forest of little white scraps.
If you are a reader who likes books that are strong on the history or the mystery this book is not for you. It actually begins with an entertaining and nonserious look at Richard the Lionhearted, who has a bit of a publicity problem in England. His mother, in an effort to improve his image, had ordered the release of certain prisoners. Now a young nun was found slain in dramatic circumstances that suggest one of the freed prisoner's performed the heinous act and Richard needed someone to take a look at the situation at Hawkenlye Abbey. The someone he chose was Sir Josse, a knight he had known briefly as a young page, who just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Sir Josse, on the other hand, is not too pleased to be sent to England. Nevertheless, he goes.
Hawkenlye Abbey is a very unusual medieval institution. It is a double institution, with both monks and nuns under the control of the Abbess. But that's not what is so unusual about it. The surprising part is that 1) Sir Josse appears to walk as freely in and out of the nunnery as he would a manor house, 2) nuns appear to be creeping in and out at all hours of the night, without being noticed, and 3)the Abbess appears to have no problem having unchaperoned meetings with Sir Josse. Also they run a retirement home for old monks and nuns--one home for both it seems. (I have this irrisistable image of aged monks and nuns playing shuffleboard) They also run a reformatory for repentent prostitutes, who are reclaimed from their sinful life by becoming mothers. (Don't ask.) And my favorite was the hospital where a nun was helping a man learn to walk on a crutch. A poacher, explains the Abbess serenely, who lost his foot in a mantrap. I think we are in Disney World.
As for the mystery, Sir Josse appears to think that the state of the sole of a leather shoe worn by a body that has been prepared for burial, encoffined and left in a subterranean crypt for a couple of weeks in the heat of the summer would help his solve a mystery. He also takes a cast of a footprint using melted wax from candle ends. I suppose it is possible but I would wonder why since he knew who the footprint belonged to and rules of evidence were somewhat sketchy at the time. No chain of custody or best evidence rule then. Finally, my favorite, when Sir Josse (who is staying at the guesthouse) stumbles on a body, takes off his tunic to covers its face then rushes bare chested into the Abbess' presence.
The resolution of the mystery in certain ways is telegraphed rather broadly, in other ways definitely violates some of the rules of fair play. But that is for the reader to discover.
Forget Ellis Peters.......2002-07-04
Leave those old Edith Pargeter books languishing on the shelves. Forget Elizabeth Peters. Hide your cache of Paul Doherty books. Because here, my fellow readers, is the historical series to end all historical series'.
Alys Clare is a brilliant writer, and she wonderfully evokes all things historical about the period. We have no way of knowing whether her details are correct, but they FEEL right. Which is all that matters. The attitudes and events and feelings and details have a certain authenticity about them, which is great.
The plot is simple.....a young nun is found on the path outside an Abbey, her throat slit. Soon, another nun goes missing, and turns up dead. The Abess investigates, along with Sir Josse d-Acquin, friend of the King, who has been asked to inquire into the deaths too, in order to prove that the killer is not one of the fellons which the King recently gave pardon to in order to appease the people, and convince them of his goodwill.
The writing is sharp, and the two lead character (Josse and the Abbess Helewise are great) they are incredibly likeable and human, and they work very well together.
This series is incredibly fresh. The ideas are entirely original, and Clare frequently breaks through the accepted boundaries. She is a daring writer, not unwilling to try something new. the plots are original and interesting, the mysteries intriguing, and the solutions always realistic and satisfying. The resolution to this one comes with a nice amount of emotional impact...and to some could be very moving.
Excellent. And, the novels in this series only get better and better. (Following on from this are..."Ashes of the Elements"#2..."The Tavern in the Morning"#3..."The Chatter of the Maidens"#4..."The Faithful Dead"#5..."A Dark Night Hidden"#6. ONly the first three have been released in the US, but the fourth has been released in the UK already, and is probably the best one so far.)
Enjoy :)
Product Description
It was quiet a drizzly morning in Eden Vale, as Sergeant William Hawker walked into the station. The town had not been the same, after the eleven gruesome murders a few months ago, though the locals tried hard to forget, tourists always brought it back. Each one of the locals got an uneasy feeling, each and every time a visitor came to town, and it was fair to say that, new comers made them feel uneasy. Hawk had tried hard to forget all that had transpired, trying to get on with his life, the best way he could, but something always brought the memories back.
Customer Reviews:
15 years later, the situation's still just as bad.......2007-01-09
I published this review in 1992. Little has changed since, but for Amazon I have updated a few points.
The biggest disease threat in the world is not AIDS. Not lung cancer. Not heart disease. It's malaria, which kills more people every year than AIDS has killed altogether. (2007 update: No longer true; AIDS now kills about as many people as malaria each year.)
Most of them are young children, with pregnant mothers also a prime target. Almost all are poor, powerless and colored.
And their situation today is worse, considerably worse, than when the rich countries amassed their advanced medical and public health techniques to attack malaria a couple of generations ago.
In this angry book, Robert Desowitz, a (now retired) professor of tropical medicine, medical microbiology and public health at the University of Hawaii, says it did not have to be, and, as he has in past books, he points the finger of blame when other commentators are too scared to.
True, malaria is a tough foe. Of several kinds, only one, caused by a parasite called Plasmodium falciparum, is often fatal, but it is a fearsome predator. Where falciparum reigns, the infant mortality rate runs 40 to 50 percent.
And its imperium is spreading. Malaria used to be relatively uncommon in the cities of black Africa, which, bleak as they were, were inhospitable to mosquitoes. The cities have grown enormously, and failed attempts to eradicate the principal mosquito vector merely bred mosquitoes with urban tastes.
Malaria, however, is not only a tropical disease. Rich countries tend to control their mosquitoes -- by destroying their wetlands, if nothing else -- but as recently as the 1890s, the coast of Georgia was depopulated by malaria, and when Desowitz was studying in London there was malaria there, too. But most of us think seldom of malaria; no one gives dance benefits to raise money for malaria.
To reinforce the difference between the rich and healthy and the poor and diseased, Desowitz also traces the story of another killer of the poor in the tropics, a disease most Americans have never even heard of, visceral leishmaniasis. It is a parasite, too, but spread by a sandfly.
It is nearly as deadly a killer as plague, and where it reigns -- Bangladesh, Bengal, Nepal -- it has the same name, kala azar, the black sickness.
Desowitz, no sensationalist, describes one death from each disease, just to show what it's like, in chapters of relentless horror.
Then he turns to equally relentless analysis. Things get complicated. For example, the leishmania organism has been around as long as man (and undoubtedly a lot longer), but accounts of the disease start only in 1824. Early recorded epidemics apparently spread thanks to the improved transportation system the British brought to India. (Which might seem a bad bargain, but economic historians think that system, especially the railways, ended famine in India, with the exception of one last hunger engineered by Mohandas Gandhi -- yes, the Mahatma, the only lawyer besides Thomas More ever to make saint.)
Complications pile on complications. "Kala azar is not a Stars and Stripes disease like cancer, coronaries, stroke and allergies," writes Desowitz. "No American president is going to introduce a bill for Congress to fund a War on Visceral Leishmaniasis," yet western experts and western money have explained the central problems of the disease, as they did of malaria.
They even found a moderately effective treatment, but it costs $15 (1992 price), which is far beyond the means of the citizens of the empire of kala azar.
So, like malaria, no one, especially in the rich countries, pays much attention to kala azar now. "No major efforts have been made to find an antimalarial to replace chloroquinine," a miracle drug against malaria until the plasmodium adapted to it. Modern medical research has "made the development of drugs to treat the diseases of poor people uneconomical." (2007 update: In testimony before Congress in 2004, Desowitz blamed U.S. AID for continuing to buy chloroquinine, which, he now says, is not only not a cure but in some circumstances is actually harmful.)
But there are even more complications. Skipping over some, we come to the Agency for International Development, which for over 20 years (2007 update: 35 years) has been spending millions to develop a malaria vaccine.
Never mind that "there has never been a vaccine to protect or cure any parasitical disease of humans," or that AID is not normally a medical research bureau. The program was, Desowitz says, in the hands of incompetents, some of whom are already in prison, other awaiting trial for peculations. (2007 update: 5 convictions)
Within its own empire, AID is circulating a self-serving description of this disaster, claiming that despite thievery, the program has made great strides. Desowitz says it has accomplished nothing significant, and I accept his version. (2007 update: no change)
His track record is superb. When all we got was happy talk from the medical community, Desowitz explained (in "The Thorn and the Starfish") why an AIDS vaccine is unlikely; when the rest of the medical community was nearly silent about the feminist attack on Bendectin, the only drug useful against morning sickness, Desowitz told us that was hogwash, and in 1991, in a widely unreported decision, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that the so-called evidence against Bendectin was worthless. But by then it was too late; nobody makes Bendectin any more.
Desowitz is one of my few heroes. Of the AID malaria criminals he says, "It is possible that the villains were not the indicted, but the respectable, established and honored scientists. These were the men and women who said not a word in public protest when their opinions were . . . manipulated into falsifications. These were the men and women who said in private that the AID-sponsored research was of doubtful quality. These were the men and women who disregarded their responsibilities as leaders of their profession. Their silence may have caused irreparable harm . . . ."
In the 19th century, Henrik Ibsen wrote a play whose hero was "An Enemy of the People" because he spoke out when everyone else thought it best to keep quiet. That is exactly the kind of hero Dr. Robert Desowitz is.
Thought-provoking study of Malaria and Kala Azar.......2001-03-29
Robert Desowitz leaves his readers with many 'cliff-hangers' in "The Malaria Capers". The version I read was published in 1991, so some of his unfinished stories may have endings by now---all except for the most important story of all, which is the search for an effective vaccine against the parasitic protozoans that cause malaria and kala azar (visceral leishmaniasis).
Immunization campaigns have eradicated smallpox and may be on the verge of eradicating polio, but the two diseases that this book focuses on cannot currently be prevented with vaccines. The danger of catching malaria or kala azar can be minimized---unfortunately the majority of the population at risk can't even afford the most effective preventive measure---a bed net soaked in insecticide (according to 2000 World Health Organization statistics this costs about $4, plus $1 per year for a supply of insecticide).
No wonder Desowitz gets so mad and preachy in "The Malaria Capers". Malaria still kills over one million people a year (another 2000 WHO statistic) - most of them young children. None of the vaccines that scientists were working on when this book was written have proven to be effective, which is exactly what Desowitz predicted. In his last chapter, "The Vaccine Felonies", he excoriates the Malaria researchers who spent their AID grants on vaccines that were already proven to be ineffective and unsafe for humans. While doing so, they diverted funding from proven preventive measures such as bed nets, put Owl monkeys on the endangered species list, and (even more feloniously according to our laws) lavished the grant money on themselves and their office assistants. One of the stories that Desowitz couldn't finish in 1991 was whether these researchers were tried, convicted, and sent to prison.
This book is more polemical and as a result, less interesting to the lay reader (myself) than his "New Guinea Tapeworms and Jewish Grandmothers", but it does have a few 'human interest' stories. The most haunting begins in a small Thai village:
"...The school assembly bell, hanging by a rope from a limb of a mango tree, is the nose cone from an unexploded [Japanese] bomb. Next to the school, raised on pillars, is the wooden residence of a group of monks. On this late morning in June their prayers have ended; only the unceasing anguished cries of a monk dying from throat cancer break the subdued quiet of the village. In a one-room, wood-framed, tin pan-roofed house at the village edge, Amporn Punyagaputa, twenty-three years old and big with child, sits alone, feverish and confused by the searing pain in her head."
Stories like this represent Desowitz at his best and most humane. I can almost guarantee that Amporn Punyagaputa will help you remember why Malaria is still such a killer, long after you've forgotten who misappropriated the AID funds. And you will definitely understand why Desowitz is so angry. You'll be angry, too.
A "Must Read" for Infectious Disease & Public Health Folks.......2000-09-26
Robert Desowitz's attempt to chronicle the successes and failures of man's quest to leash the ravages of tropical disease (especially malaria and leishmaniasis), results in a very engaging and easy to read book. Through his entertaining and at times, cynical approach, the author explains how throughout history, man's desire to rid himself of the pestilence of infectious disease has sometimes met with success (as in the case of smallpox), as well as with failure (as in the case of malaria). If for instance, we take the case of malaria, just in the figures utilized by the author in his accounting of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) effort to combat malaria, he chronicled over $100 million "thrown at" this disease, with the disease still flourishing today in many parts of the world! The author's method of "personalizing" or presenting the experiences and challenges faced by many people in this world at the individual level, succeeds in engaging the reader from the very first chapter. The opening account of the Indian woman, Susheela, who tries desperately to save her dying daughter from visceral leishmaniasis, only to discover that the medicine required to save her daughter is grossly unaffordable, rivets the reader's attention. Here is a personal account of a human tragedy, which could have been told from the perspective of too many families in developing countries even in today's modern world of globalized interdependence. Additionally, Mr. Desowitz does a good job of giving the reader a historical context in which many of the major events in the history of public health, actually took place. This helps the reader to develop a historical frame of reference and better understand the reasoning and motivations of key individuals and governments involved in tropical disease research during that particular period. Mr. Desowitz seeks to inform the reader as to why there currently exists either cures, treatments or vaccinations to only certain diseases, while other diseases seem to flourish with little to no concerted effort by any government, private or international agency to control them. "During the past two decades," states the author, "when biotechnology has made so many stunning advances, the health of tropical peoples has worsened. New, affordable, non-toxic chemotherapeutics have not been developed (because) the drugs-for-profit pharmaceutical industry gives low priority to the diseases of the poor people." Rarely, suggests the author, has human altruism towards his fellow man been the primary reason for the development of protective measures and cures from these diseases. Other more materialistic or self-serving reasons such as economic gain, protection of business, government or military interests, or the quest for recognition and notoriety (such as the Nobel Prize), have been the primary reasons for tropical disease research. The author posits that this motivation continues to this day with relatively little contemporary research effort going into the "poor people diseases" of malaria and tuberculosis. The author presents his main argument first by effectively painting a bleak picture of despair in recent-day India, followed by a detailed chronology of the historical events (and non-events) that lead up to it, and then concludes with an implicit warning. The fact that the health of tropical people has worsened over the past several decades is a physical manifestation of a perceived lack of international concern for certain regions of the globe. Mr. Desowitz cites numerous examples of national and international efforts to combat certain diseases throughout history, and dissects them in a manner by which the reader is left with a more thorough understanding of why the project failed or succeeded in accomplishing its objective. He presents to the reader the "rest of the story" which usually underlies the official version of a project or initiative and uncovers how the human factor of greed, self-service, and ulterior motivations have sometimes driven honest efforts into subversion. On the contrary however, he also very effectively describes how some of the earlier pioneers in the study of infectious disease persevered even in the face of adversity and defeat. A very good example of this is the case of Surgeon Captain Ronald Ross who after over three years of painstaking research and experimentation, discovered that malaria was transmitted by the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito through its salivary glands. Captain Ross' discovery was the culmination of not only his own personal work, but also the work of the countless researchers who came before him and contributed towards the building of the existing body of knowledge in malaria. There were many occasions in Captain Ross' quest for discovery that this author would have thought twice about turning my research efforts elsewhere! He was a true testament in perseverance and will. The Malaria Capers is a "must" read for all public health professionals and those aspiring to become one, as well as personnel entering the clinical research field. It is a fundamental book that prepares those seeking to enter the public health arena to face the challenges contained in the field of infectious diseases. It also sheds some light to the infectious disease researcher why research is only conducted on some diseases, and not others. A potential weakness of this book (which is also a strength!) is the author's perceived cynicism, especially when he describes many of the human blunders and indiscretions, which in his opinion may have set back the discoveries of potentially life-saving drugs and programs by many years. Mr. Desowitz appears to be an absolute subject matter expert in the field, and one who has "walked the walk" and not just "talked the talk." He does an absolutely superb job in capturing the reader's attention and instilling in him the knowledge acquired through years of working the business of infectious disease research. I highly recommend this book to anyone even remotely interested in the area of infectious disease. A "highly recommended" book!
Average customer rating:
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100 Health-Boosting Drinks: Juices, Smoothies, Coolers, Infusions and Soups
Inc. Sterling Publishing Co.
Manufacturer: Hamlyn
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
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Juice
| Drinks & Beverages
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
Smoothies
| Drinks & Beverages
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Drinks & Beverages
| Cooking, Food & Wine
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General
| Mythology
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
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ASIN: 0600613283 |
Book Description
Here's to your health! Juicing is the appetizing and easy way to ensure that everyone in the family gets the nutritious benefits of fresh fruits and vegetables every day. There's a treat for every palate in this collection of 100 satisfying smoothies, warming soups, refreshing coolers, and calming infusions. Choose from a tempting variety of recipes-some to boost immunity and fight infections; others to enhance energy, cleanse the body of toxins, or promote a restful night's sleep. They're quick and easy to make, delicious to drink, and just right for every meal of the day. Here's a natural way to improve health, promote clear skin and more lustrous hair, to help control weight, and make mealtimes more enjoyable than ever.
Book Description
Almost 900 black and white photographs and approximately 1,500 patterns from Ashburton to Zippered Block are within the pages of this long loved book. Clear pictures, authoritative reproduction information, uses, rarities, bargain patterns, plate numbers from standard texts, and accurate indexing are provided. The original format and commentary have been left intact, and updated information supplied where appropriate. 2000 values. REVIEW: This book is truly a treasure for doll lovers, sure to bring back happy memories of childhood dolls that they played with when they were little. Both new and seasoned collectors will adore this book, which is filled with full color photos of dolls from the 1960s and 1970s.
Customer Reviews:
Informative & Descriptive.......2004-02-10
This book is a good guide to finding older patterns from the mid to late 1800's through mid 1900's. The pictures are all in black and white, which makes it a bit harder to see some specifics, but in all, it has been incredibly helpful and I would definitely suggest it to anyone researching Early American Pattern Glass. 5 Stars! Thanks Alice Hulett Metz for all of your research!
A comprehensive, authoritative, definitive collector guide........2000-06-04
Alice Hulett Metz's Much More Early American Pattern Glass provides an excellent guide of updated values for American pattern glass, including patterns not previously listed and almost 900 photos lending to identification. Don't expect the color photos of some; this is a bare-bones yet important values guide which includes plenty of details on how to see, judge and price good early glass.
Customer Reviews:
great variety of small quilts.......1999-07-21
This is a great book with a lot of variety and easy to follow directions. It is the first time I tried paper piecing, and I am hooked. I am a tough grader and I give it a four star. Looking forward to her next book. Only a few patterns are paper pieced. From sailboats & lighthouses to blue jays and cardinals to stars & log cabins there is something for everyone. My first quilt looked like it took me a long time when it went very fast.
excellent book of little quilts, nice, easy directions!.......1999-01-03
This is a wonderful book with a lot of directions and advise for beginner quilters. I am very happy to find something like this
Book Description
Laurie uses her own home, personal design journal, and classical training to teach design techniques.
Inspirational, full-color photos capture LaurieÂ's before-and-after design process.
Gives homeowners confidence to work with any homeÂ's architectural "bones."
Strategies to arrange furniture, choose colors, and play with patterns to create rooms that reflect personal interests and tastes.
Expert advice for window treatments, lighting, fabrics, color schemes, and accessories.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting Ideas.......2007-08-18
I have been a fan of Laurie's work on Trading Spaces for years. She seemed to be one of the few designers that actually took design seriously on the show for a long time and didn't just try to go for shock factor (ie. toilets in a bedroom or straw glued on walls).
I am a fan of the midcentury look in Laurie's personal home (it reminds me a little of the home on Bewitched), showcased in this book, but I did wish it would have shown photos of her past work outside of the show. Maybe she will have future books that focus more on that aspect.
If you enjoy Laurie's style on the show, you won't be disappointed by this book.
Nice style, great tips!.......2007-06-22
I love this book, and read it again and again. Some of the rooms have way too much furniture for my liking, but still, the ideas are good. I enjoyed the laid back atmosphere with some great art on display, and a focus on natural materials.
Especially the last few chapters, where Laurie talks about color, fabrics and acessories are a good source of information.
But I also liked the simple idea of replacing a wall with built in bookcases, thus creating a symmetrical space at the back-end of the bookcases... simple yet effective!
And her tip of picking your wall color as last step was a real eye opener!
Coincidentally, the colors used in her keeping room and living room are very similar to what we have in mind for our living room. So, her choice in fabrics is very inspiring... I guess if you don't like this golden yellow/green combo, the book might be disappointing regarding visual clues. Still... the background info should help you finding your own color combination, and how to pull it off in your home.
Petra
Thorough Discussion of Laurie's Design Techniques.......2007-05-07
This wasn't what I initially expected, but I hadn't read the description ahead of time. I did enjoy it, however, and it is as described - a book about Laurie Smith's design philosophy and techniques as they play out in her own home.
I like the fact that she uses her whole house to show different variations of her general style in her home. She discusses general ideas and tips that anyone can take and apply into their own home while giving specific examples of what that meant in her own home. For example, she stresses working with a house's "bones," which led her to a more modern style than she typically likes in her own house. She took what she had and worked with it to create something that fit her preferences.
Read this book as a way to get the creative juices flowing about your own home. Don't look at it as a book of plans to copy directly. If you want to put your own personal mark on your home's design, this book will help you figure out how to do it, rather than design your home for you.
Expecting So Much More.......2007-02-19
I'm sad to say I was not impressed with this book. I love Laurie's style and her work on HGTV. This book had beautiful pictures that showed her great design talent. My main problem with the book was that it showed the same rooms of her house over and over again. I would have liked to have seen other projects and options. I was hoping for so much more from Laurie.
Eclectic Style At Its Best.......2006-10-26
I enjoyed Laurie's ecelectic style. It is very difficult to combine classic and contemporary elements, and make a room look cohesive. Laurie does it beautifully, and I have learned much just by studying the many photos in this book. She repeats shapes, silhouettes and colors to form a pleasing environment from disparate furnishings. I had fun finding and studying these repeated elements in each room. She also seems to enjoy symmetry in her living spaces. I do as well. She incorporates clever solutions to make asymmetrical rooms more balanced. Symmetrical rooms are easier to decorate and furnish, and I enjoyed reading about each design challenge that she faced in her new home. We have all had homes that are "less than perfect", and by studying her examples, everyone can gain insight into how to handle awkward rooms and poor floor plans. I also like Laurie's philosophy that a home should have the freedom to be itself, and that if you really look at the architecture, and the intention of the original design, and if you are willing to give up your preconceived notions and prejudices, you will appreciate what it has to offer, and you can make more natural choices for each space. The results,as seen in this book, are beautiful.
Average customer rating:
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Hong Kong: A Macro Vision/Drawings by Sun-chang Lo
Sun-chang Lo
Manufacturer: Museum and Art Gallery, University of Hong Kong
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 9628038125 |
Book Description
A catalog of the exhibition, "Hong Kong: A Macro Vision/Drawings by Sun-chang Lo," at the University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong. The book includes an introductory essay by Prof. Pao-teh Han, president of the Tainan National College of the Arts, and 48 plates.
Average customer rating:
- amazing
- I really liked this book ...
- Mixed feelings. (Please read the *whole* review!)
- Keeping it Real
- I couldn't have said it better!
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My Life and The Paradise Garage : Keep On Dancin'
Mel Cheren ,
Gabriel Rotello , and
Brent Nicholson Earle
Manufacturer: Twenty-Four Hours for Life
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Similar Items:
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Turn the Beat Around: The Secret History of Disco
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The Last Party: Studio 54, Disco, and the Culture of the Night
ASIN: 0967899400 |
Book Description
Keep on Dancin' is the story of the rise and fall of the legendary Paradise Garage, the underground disco that was ruled by the greatest DJ of all time and rivaled only by Studio 54 in its soulful and decadent magnificence. Set against the passionate love affair of two men who would both eventually rate as two of New York City's greatest style and scene makers, the story traces the hypnotic birth of disco, the Garage inspired technical innovations that changed the music industry, the erotic life of gay New York and the devastating rise of AIDS. What started out as a whisper of an idea between lovers - Garage owner Michael Brody and financial backer Mel Cheren - eventually culminated into a dance palace that existed for more than a decade and is still spoken about with reverence. Keep on Dancin' gives hundreds of private recollections from the people who were there: Tom Moulton, Francois Kevorkian, Grace Jones, Thelma Houston, Frankie Knuckles, Junior Vasquez and others help recreate the moment when love was the message.
Customer Reviews:
amazing.......2005-01-15
This is truly an amazing book. And Mel Cheren has lived an amazing life, from being a record promoter in the 60s who was living a closeted life, to being at the epicenter of gay life in the 70s, to fighting the AIDS crisis in the 80s. I bought this book just hoping to get more info on the Garage but I got so much more. I got a history lesson in gay life over the past 30 years. Truly educational and fascinating. But yes I must agree with the past poster--a little too much backpatting and a little too much taking credit for other people's successes. Other than that, a fine book and one definitely worth owning if you have any interest in disco, gay life or the Paradise Garage.
I really liked this book ..........2002-05-02
I thought this book was great. I live in Boston and have spent a considerable time going back and forth to New York over the years. I think I spent most weekends there in the mid-80's. Anyway, I moved in a different crowd form Mel's Boston crew, but I knew some of them casually. His appendix held a few surprises for me as to what happened to some of them.
The book is a great gay history of that period in New York. It brought back many memories of both happy and sad times. Earlier sections were before my "era", so I found them very interesting. I felt like I knew many of the people Mel talks about and remember watching and listening as the club music scene grew. There are many interesting stories about this phase of the music industry.
My only reservation: Mel did do some great things, but Mel knows it. So we know it. A lot. Just a tad too much back-patting. Otherwise a great read about New York Gay life and the rise of club music.
Mixed feelings. (Please read the *whole* review!).......2001-09-18
I must admit that I have very mixed feelings about this book.
While reading it, I never thought it was that great a read, and still now I feel the writing style is a bit simple, and also that there are a few anecdotes too many where the author pats his own back. No doubt has Mel Cheren had quite a bit of an impact on the disco/dance scene, but he should have left the praising of his persona to other people...
On the other hand, I feel there are some VERY IMPORTANT points and topics in this book, in some cases maybe requiring a bit of reading between the lines:
The rise and fall of Disco - the music, the clubs, etc. - I'm a DJ myself, and I can clearly see parallels happening in todays' (2001) Dance Music scene. "It's all just a little bit of history repeating..."
The other big thing that hit me like a hammer was all the tragedies described that happened because of AIDS. Apart from being about parties, clubbing, drugs and so on - this book to me was also an important contribution towards my awareness of AIDS. I don't think I've ever been as aware of the issue as after reading this book.
I think that in a way this publication also is a good description of the Yin/Yang principle: in every bad thing there is something good, and in every good thing there is something bad. For all the fantastic drug- and sex-parties the people in this book have experienced, they did pay a very high price. The ones who died and also the ones who survived.
Keeping it Real.......2001-08-23
As a birthday gift to myself I invested in the book My Life and the Paradise Garage: Keep on Dancing-as a summer read, along with some club classics. What a gift! The book was informative, educational, and sure enough enlightening from the first, to the last page. All of the ole Loft/Paradise Garage heads should have a copy. This book simply explored the pure essence of the disco-happy people era. I could not have invested in the book and not any of the music. I also made an investment in some of David Mancuso- Loft classics Volume 1&2, and Larry Levan hits from the Garage. While reading this book and listening to those fabulous sounds I was totally blown away! These items were the best gifts I could have given to myself. The book helped me to realize I was apart of history, a free spirit dance era that will never exist again. This music will allow me to keep on dancing while most of the great underground clubs have closed their doors. High accolades are due to Mel Cheren for putting history on paper and for his never ending pursuit toward helping others. Mel is indeed the Godfather of Disco and a crusader for humanity. Thanks to David Mancuso for sharing his space at 99 Prince Street, and the rebirth of his great sounds. Much respect to the spirit of Larry Levan the master of the turntables. Larry must must be spinning the wheels of steel, for the angels in glory. This birthday was really great! I was not dancing at the Paradise Garage, theme beach party or dusting my dancing shoes in the baby powder on the floors at the Loft. I was dancing up a storm and a sweat at home to the fierce sounds and energy of the better days. Thanks to everyone, including Amazon.com, who thought it was worth putting these products on the market. I think all bona fide party heads should have a copy of this book, and the sounds of club music which has been tucked away too long. Thank you all for keeping it real!
I couldn't have said it better!.......2000-09-03
okay,I was really waiting to write this review,because it deserves a HIGH PRAISE and I really wanted to say it the RIGHT way.After I've read the review by KJG as well as Frankie C.,Tony Higgins...oh well actually ALL given reviews so far,I have to say that I couldn't have said it better. I am 26 years old and grew up in Frankfurt/Germany-far away from the Garage and New York-BUT thanks to my 8-year-older brother I grew up being introduced to House Music from the very early beginings on in the 80's since he listened to "the ultimate feeling of music"-MY MUSIC! This is the book I've waited for all my life! It gave me answers to so many questions I wanted to know about-how did this get started?who were the people behind it?what were their dreams?isn't this what we're all looking for?
no second doubt-BET THE BOOK!
*Mwah* Vonnie =)
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