Wacky Trees (Watts Library)

Average customer rating:

Terrible description in section on Turkey

A book for getting the most out of Europe

Rick is a good travel guide, just not a good WRITER

A Revolutionary And Liberating travel Philosopy

Not a guide book... a HOW-TO book

Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door 2002: The Travel Skills Handbooks for Independent Travelers
Rick Steves
Manufacturer: Avalon Travel Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Europe | Travel | Subjects | Books
Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books
General | Rick Steves | Guidebook Series | Travel | Subjects | Books
General | Travel | Subjects | Books
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Rick Steves' Italy 2005

First-Time Europe: A Rough Guide Special

Rick Steves' Best of Europe 2007 (Rick Steves)

Rick Steves' Amsterdam, Bruges, and Brussels 2006 (Rick Steves)

Rick Steves' Italian Phrase Book and Dictionary

ASIN: 1566913535

Amazon.com

"The more money you spend, the bigger the wall you build between yourself and the culture you traveled so far to visit. Stay in the small inns, eat in family-style restaurants, visit out-of-the-way places, rub elbows with the locals. You'll spend less money and have a great time in the process."

This is Rick Steves's "back door" travel philosophy. For more than 25 years, he has traveled and led tours around Europe, finding and sharing the joy of simplicity and openness.

Along with tried-and-true tips on packing, transport, sleeping and eating well on a budget, and meeting the locals, Steves reveals more than 30 "back doors" found throughout Europe, from a tiny lake town in Austria to the narrowest gorge in the world, which winds through Crete. If Europe is your destination, this book is more important than your luggage. --Kathryn True

Book Description

Rick Steves doesn't just list where to travel in Europe, he leads travelers through the "Back Door," and reveals how to give every journey an extra, more authentic dimension. He shows travelers how to delve into European culture, make friends with the locals, and experience each region's natural wonders -- economically and hassle free. This guide is brimming with tips on sleeping and eating cheap, packing light, avoiding theft and rip-offs, and hurdling language barriers.

Customer Reviews:

Terrible description in section on Turkey.......2005-01-02

"Tourists are learning that the image of the terrible Turk is false, created to a great degree by it unfriendly neighbors. Turks are quick to remind visitors that, surrounded by Syria, Iraq, Iran, Armenia, Georgia, Bulgaria, and Greece, they're not living in Mr. Rogers' neighborhood."

This is a direct quote.

It sounds like they're trying to say that the surrounding countries are painting an incorrect negative image of Turkey. Which is amusing, since he listed both Greece and Armenia there, which were both targeted by Turkey. Either this writing staff has no idea what they're writing and is just happy to sell books, thinking no one will double check the info, or they're Racist and opinionated. Either way, I wouldn't trust the info in here even as a rough guide on where to go.

A book for getting the most out of Europe.......2004-07-20

Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door presents a philosophy that many tourists seem to lack: When in Europe, ACT like you're in Europe! This book is aimed towards those travelers that just can't quite seem to ever escape the U.S. no matter where they travel.

Rick presents a whole host of tips for seeing a Europe beyond the standard guided bus tours and airline deals. His years of experience go into his writing, giving often insightful and funny tips from sleeping overnight in the train station (he recommends sleeping in the first-class lounge to be among a higher class of hobo) to the best way to wash your clothes in the hotel sink.

This book is not all about travelers caught in a pinch, however. There's also great advice for finding accomodations in during busy season, picking the right hotel/room, and finally finding those gems--great spots in Europe that no other traveler seems to know about.

This book is not so much a guide to specifics as it is a guide to travel philosophy. Steves encourages the reader to immerse themselves in the local culture, and offers advice for the reader not sure how to do so.

Those looking for a country-specific guidebook should look somewhere else, but they should also keep this book handy to really get a feel for what Europe truly is and was.

Rick is a good travel guide, just not a good WRITER.......2004-06-01

Rick does an okay job of giving a quick overview of Europe, but sometimes forgets to "just inform" and tries to get all poetic and fancy. His description of Rothenburg does not inform me about the place, just about the wind and the leaves and his acid trip. This book will annoy you with its sporadic bursts of cheap thesaurus prose.. Rick is just not a good writer. Otherwise he does a good job of letting you know of not-so-touristy things to do in EU. The types of things he suggests are walking around and smelling things, sitting down and drinking a beer, buying a chunk of cheese and eating it on a park bench while people-watching. I don't see 18-30 year olds getting much from this book. Younger travellers might want to do more than just smell a place and get tipsy.
His writing tone seems biased; he's opinionated and sometimes makes me feel as if he gets paid to advertise shops and attractions.
Buy this book for a general overview of an Euro Trip, not as a travel guide. For more detailed info, grab a Lonely Planet guidebook.
In an effort to cater to ALL audiences, Rick, as well as oher mass market writers, tries to create ONE book for ALL types of people. Any given traveller will be interested in only 15% of this book, and toss the rest aside. The backpacker will use 15%. The high class big baller will use 15%. The middle class two week vacationer might use 10%. I would prefer to pay more for a book JUST FOR ME. (Mr. Backpacker)

A Revolutionary And Liberating travel Philosopy.......2004-05-25

This book makes you want to go to Europe.Now.Just get on the plane and GO!
I wish I had read this eleven years ago on our first trip to Italy.Since that time I have travelled to Europe on business many times and I have to agree with Rick Steves that no one ever says " every time I go to Europe I pack more".
His travel philosopy addresses peoples fears and insecurities when they are travel..."I won't have a certain piece of clothing,object when I might want it...better take it just in case" or "a less expensive hotel may be dirty ,unsafe...I know this luxury hotel will bust the bank, but its worth it for piece of mind." That kind of thing.Rick Steeves describes clean,charming hotels and pensiones which are centrally located and much less expensive than "luxury" properties. his restaurants are not dives, but great trattorias,atmospheric ristorantes popular with the locals.He is wonderfully opinionated about what to see,when to go...like having a best friend who lives there. No guidebook( and I have read them all) combines such practical advice with a travel philosophy which is positively liberating.This is especially true for older travellers who do not want to backpack,hostel, and who thought they had to stay in the "best" places, and wear a different outfit everyday. Our next trip to Italy will be with one carry-on bag each, staying in Rick Steves suggested family run pensiones and hopping on and off trains between destinations. We feel 20 years younger(and we will be 20 pounds lighter,too)

Not a guide book... a HOW-TO book.......2004-05-16

This is a great book for those first timers to Europe. Those that don't know what to expect. It tells you what to pack, how to create an itinerary, booking flights, how to get around Europe (train, car, and boat), how to find places to stay, how to make phone calls, how to interact with the locals, etc.

This is NOT a guide book. It is a "how to enjoy yourself in Europe" book.

The previous reviewer should have taken this into account before bad mouthing it.

This book does give some pointers about the best trips one can take given certain timeframes, but does not go into detail about everything there is to see about Europe. He includes his favourite places. For more detail, pick up Rick Steve's Best of Europe 2004, or one of his country specific guide books.

After spending several months a year for 25 years touring Europe, Rick knows what you need to know about enjoying yourself there. No need to make the same mistakes, he tells you how to avoid the pitfalls.

Book Description

New, Unabridged on 2 CD's; Shrinkwrapped. Narrated by Carrington MacDuffie.

In February of 1675 Narragansett Indians lay siege to Mary Rowlandson's village. Most were killed. "The bullets flying thick, one went through my side, and the same through the bowels of my dear child in my arms." This marvelous reading of her account, descriptive and mindful of the will of God, is a very powerful audiobook.

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Captured by Indians: A True Account by Mary Rowlandson (Audiofy Digital Audiobook Chips)

Manufacturer: Audiofy/Sound Room
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Cards
ASIN: 1599120496

Product Description

This Audiofy audiobook chip packs Carrington MacDuffie's full 2 hour reading of "Captured by Indians: A True Account by Mary Rowlandson" on a tiny memory card. A single Audiofy audiobook chip, hardly larger than a stamp, holds a complete digital audiobook, and saves the last listening position automatically, unlike CDs. With an SD memory card slot or adapter - like those for digital cameras - this Audiofy audiobook chip can be played on Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh desktop computers or laptops (Microsoft Windows XP/2000/Me/98, or Apple Mac OS X 10.3.9 and above) or transferred to Apple iPod media players. Audiobook chips also move seamlessly to most Palm OS and Pocket PC handheld PDAs with SD expansion slots, as well as Treo and Windows Mobile "smartphones" (Palm OS 5.2 or Windows Mobile 2002 and above)... In February of 1675 Narragansett Indians lay siege to Mary Rowlandsons village. Most were killed. 'The bullets flying thick, one went through my side, and the same through the bowels of my dear child in my arms.' This marvelous reading of her account, descriptive and mindful of the will of God, is a very powerful audiobook. This audio production clearly presents the text of the original work in a most useful format for classroom or individual use. Listeners will enjoy the tone and inflection of the reader's clear, crisp voice. An excellent choice for collections where primary source materials are needed for early American history and women's studies. -- School Library Journal

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Captured by Indians: A True Account
Mary Rowlandson
Manufacturer: In Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

General | Books on CD | Audiobooks | Formats | Books
ASIN: 1584726288

Book Description

A Better Way to Better Behavior

Karen Pryor's clear and entertaining explanation of behavioral training methods made Don't Shoot the Dog! a bestselling classic. Now this revised edition presents more of her insights into animal--and human--behavior.

A groundbreaking behavioral scientist and dynamic animal trainer, Karen Pryor is a powerful proponent of the principles and practical uses of positive reinforcement in teaching new behaviors. Here are the secrets of changing behavior in pets, kids--even yourself--without yelling, threats, force, punishment, guilt trips...or shooting the dog:

The principles of the revolutionary "clicker training" method, which owes its phenomenal success to its immediacy of response--so there is no question what action you are rewarding
8 methods of ending undesirable habits--from furniture-clawing cats to sloppy roommates
The 10 laws of "shaping" behavior--for results without strain or pain through "affection training"
Tips for house-training the dog, improving your tennis game, or dealing with an impossible teen
Explorations of exciting new uses for reinforcement training

Learn why pet owners rave, "This book changed our lives!" and how these pioneering techniques can work for you too.

Customer Reviews:

Works on people, too!.......2007-10-14

Excellent, enlightening and highly recommended for anyone who is repulsed by some of the cruel abuse that still passes for dog training. I rescue dogs, and they often come to me damaged and hard to handle. This book helped me learn to look for cues when I'm training -- to see when the dog is getting something, and when it's time to to back up in my training. To know when to take a break and play for a bit, so the dog feels less stressed. It even helped me train my husband! Every dog owner should read this. Training is about timing, patience, and reinforcement. It's not about fear and pain.

(I can't believe what still goes on out there in dog training. Just two years ago I took a traumatized, rescued puppy to a highly recommended class given by a training club. The "instructor" jerked a sweet and happy puppy -- choke-chained -- clear across the training ring. When the dog screamed (his throat and neck possibly permanently damaged), the trainer told the dog's owner "He can't feel that!". I can't help but hope that there is a hell for people like that.)

Don't shoot the dog. Shoot the author for publishing this book and charging people for it........2007-08-14

Do NOT waste your money. This book is written like a novel, but it is very, very dry and repetitive. I found nothing in this book that I don't already know, not that I'm a know it all. All the examples are human scenarios, nothing related to dogs and there's nothing in this book that actually says, "ok, this is how you can train your dog." No specifics or useful tools to help you, the dog owner, help your dog. Bad, bad book, if there was a negative rating, I'd rate this book a "-2 stars"

Don't Shoot the Dog.......2007-06-27

Excellent descriptions and explanations of using positive reinforcement. You will learn it's easier and you'll get better results than punishment. Works for animals and people alike.

Not at all what I was expecting.......2007-05-12

I was hoping for some clear, bullet sort of points. This was not found in this book. It was a boring read. I can usually zip through a book in no time but this one seemed to be longer than War and Peace. There are far better books on the subject out there.

Great book for anyone involved in teaching/training - which is everyone!.......2007-05-12

Although I think I'm reviewing the previous edition, I can't imagine enough has changed that this review will be obsolete!

Kare Pryor presents the science of behavior in an easy-to-read, layman's format. No more huge textbooks, the general public now has a shorter, fun-to-read (full of amusing anecdotes!) book that will give them accurate information. Although gently promoting positive reinforcement training methods, Karen gives the science behind her reasoning. Great book for anyone who wants to change behavior, from pet dogs to spouses to children.

Don't Shoot the Dog!: The New Art of Teaching and Training

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Don't Shoot the Dog!: The New Art of Teaching and Training
Karen Pryor
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Average customer rating:

Don't Shoot the Dog: The New Art of Teaching and Training
Karen Pryor
Manufacturer: Bantam Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Average customer rating:

Don't Shoot the Dog: The New Art of Teaching and Training
Karen Pryor
Manufacturer: Bantam Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Book Description

Compare the survival strategies of insects, reptiles, birds, mammals and sharks, and contrast animals types that lay thousands of eggs with species that deliver and rear only one or two young at a time.

Average customer rating:

Great book.

Enjoyable & educational

Not just a collectors' book, but an in depth history.

Royal Winton Porcelain: Ceramics Fit for a King
Eileen Rose Busby
Manufacturer: Antique Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Pottery & Ceramics | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Ceramics | Other Media | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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Chintz (3rd Edition) : The Charlton Standard Catalogue

The Royal Winton Collector's Handbook: From 1925 Cottage Ware, Art Deco, Lustre Ware, Pastels, Etc

Chintz Ceramics

ASIN: 1570800472

Customer Reviews:

Great book........1999-02-19

This book is the most definitive book yet to come out on Royal Winton. A bonus is the history it includes as well as the pricing. I use it as a reference book.

Enjoyable & educational.......1998-12-26

I enjoyed reading about the history of the Royal Winton family and its pottery factory in Stoke-On-Trent. I have been a collector of chintz and the insight that this book gave me really enhanced my collecting.

A very informative book.

Not just a collectors' book, but an in depth history........1998-10-09

From the early historical photos to the images of today's Royal Winton, the book is a must-read trip back in time. So many collectors' books read more like catalogs than books. This one is a refreshing change. The author traveled to England and found an elderly couple, once residents of Staffordshire, who actually grew up in the potteries. They recalled in the book what it was like then, as children, surrounded by The Potteries. The book is full of color, and not just in the photos, but in the enormous importance the porecelain played in the common lives of the potters and in the royal lives of the King and Queen. The writer takes you inside The Potteries and shows you how the ceramics were made and explains why certain patterns were done the way they were. A must-read for not just collectors but historians too.

Royal Winton Porcelain : Ceramics Fit for a King

Average customer rating:

Royal Winton Porcelain : Ceramics Fit for a King
Eileen R. Busby
Manufacturer: Antique Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OLVSLU

Book Description

The low-cost alternative to the greenhouse has arrived, and it’s between these covers. Learn all the practical information you’ll need about the construction or purchase of polytunnels and cloches, methods of cultivation, plant care, propagation, and problems from pests that might occur beneath the plastic.

Book Description

This study treats the religious and intellectual history of the city of Harran (Eastern Turkey) from biblical times down to the establishment of Islam. The author starts from the well-known reference in the Qur'an and the early Islamic histories to the people of Harran as Sabians, one of the `peoples of the book.' The author unravels strands of religious tradition in Harran that run from the old Semitic planetary cults through Hellenistic hermeticism, gnosticism, and Neo-Pythagoreanism and Christian cults to esoteric Islamic sects such as the Sufis and Shiites.

Amazon.com

Scott O'Hara has already garnered his share of fame. As a star in more than 25 porn movies, seasoned stage performer (a.k.a. exotic dancer), AIDS activist, and publisher of the classy sex quarterly Steam, O'Hara has been ... well ... highly visible. O'Hara bares all and then some in his new memoir Autopornography. This witty collection of essays and poems is no scurrilous kiss-and-tell, but a well argued--and graphic--declaration of sexual independence proclaiming the importance of sexuality in our lives and imaginations. O'Hara is a seductive writer who, through intelligence and wit, shocks and persuades us to view the world through his sexy, lavender colored glasses.

Customer Reviews:

It's a quick read, but my time could've been better spent........2000-08-23

Initially worth noting is that the "Editorial Review" remarks at the top of this page do not accurately describe this book. My disclosure which follows, however, could well suggest that my own comments are somehow biased. I was acquainted with Scott on an occasional basis for the fifteen years preceeding his death. I knew an intelligent, self-assured man, who seemed at once intimate and familiar, but at the same time, presented himself as essentially shy. He seemed to almost selfishly withhold even trivial information about himself, the sort of things that once might have turned a quickie with a stranger into an enduring friendship. He simply lacked, or carefully guarded, his personal dimension. The appearance of shyness, however, was starkly at odds with his unconcealed flirtatiouness. Possibly he had his reasons, but you won't find them in his autobiography. An autobiography certainly ought to include at least two things: the whole truth (however painful it might be) must be revealed, and the author should permit the reader to know him well enough to sympathize with, or at least identify with, the author's point of view. From what well was drawn the author's own sense of what he is telling us? I bought the book when published, out of a familiar curiousity, certain also that I would find in it names of other people we knew in common. In that respect it was a gratifying read, tripping over a tasty tidbit here, stumbling across a succulent treat there. My own name briefly surfaced on page 109 (of the paperback edition), and I was delighted to read about the afternoon we met, as seen through his eyes. What will you see given the chance to gaze at the reflection of your own memory? While his recollection of the enccounter (as written) is constructively similar to my own, his sense of the time we spent working together sounded quite different to me from my own gauzy recollection. Although standing together at the same crossroad of time and space, our individual perception, or recall, of the experience was substantially dissimilar. Honestly, I was flattered by his version, regardless of its variance from my own, and so I willingly regard both of our retrospections as faithfully honest and true. Well then, a person might be wondering, what's my real problem with this book? Just this: After two hundred pages of good, though not inspired, prose, I felt like I had slogged through a very long synopsis for what might have been, with a wee bit more honesty and openness, a truly satisfying and informing tale of a man who certainly was in the mix of an interesting milieu, during a culturally remarkable period of time. Chapter after chapter hint that more will soon be revealed, baiting and tantalizing the reader along. But when I reached the end of the book, I had only questions, not answers. His words sometimes radiate a vexatious sense of noblesse oblige (well, felt like it to me, anyway), which in the end keeps Scott, as seen by Scott, at an awkward distance from the reader. Thus, it would be hard for anyone who did not know him, to care much about him from reading his book. Possibly the manuscript was hastened by his declining health, and my thoughts here should not at all be read as ad hominem faultfinding. I admired Scott. He had balls. He left many, many devoted friends and admirers. The book, however, is simply unfinished, and it should have had a strong editor. It nevertheless garnered many favorable reviews, leaving me to wonder if some of the reviewers had actually read the same book as I.

The Lost Boy.......1999-07-19

I met Scott O'Hara, and a friend, now long dead, had a brief affair with him. In the flesh he was much more handsome than in his movies - a real voluptuous Germanic beauty. I asked my friend what he thought of him. What he said summed up my thoughts exactly: "He's a lost boy." What I also sensed was a deep suppressed anger. Which was surprising. Because he was immensely charming and sunny. I didn't know at this time he was HIV positive, and I believe this was the root of it. What he doesn't speak of in his autobiography is the emotional devastation his diagnosis must have caused - his statements about the validity of unprotected sex don't just read as glib or high idiocy: to me they read as dishonest. Especially after he casually relates the months of agony he'd been through with various symptoms. But to admit as much would have been 'Failure' to him. He was not only charming and handsome and well hung, which was more than enough to provide him with a easy ride in life, but he was also rich.Not surprisingly he had immense self-confidence. He had star quality. It was easy to be dazzled. But at the end of the day, , although he would never have wished to admit it, his life, and his book, is a melancholy tale.

Mostly disappointing.......1999-04-10

I think the other reviewers must be groupies or simply amazed that a porn star can write in a half-way literate manner. The early history is interesting, but the rest is repetitive and boring. The personal philosophy seems self-serving and, frankly, superficial. The videography will be helpful to die hard fans and porn collectors. The poetry is, at best, sophomoric.

An excellent account of an authentic human being........1998-11-12

Scott's book is remarkably well-written and a pleasure to read.

It's very refreshing to read about someone who survived the eighties without being infected by all the New Age psychobabble and relationship doctoring going on. Scott did not like his family, especially his mother, and he was not worried about trying to fix it. That's just how it was. He had his own philosophy and enjoyed living up to his own standards.

I'm saddened to find that he passed away in February 1998 but I am truly inspired by the life he led. He spent most of his time doing only what he loved most. There are not many people who can honestly say that.

This is really a fun book to read and the cover ain't bad to look at either!

Well written, insightful, but disturbing........1998-05-05

The late Scott OHara has a talent for his craft - not that of porn god - but that of serious writer. His book was insightful, succinct, and well written. OHara pulls no punches in describing the poignant and revealing parts of his past. I did find his opinions on voluntary seroconversion to be quite disturbing, however. He takes the position that people who choose to seroconvert willingly are freeing themselves from the everyday burdens of mundane life and "taking the plunge" into a more exciting, devil may care existance. This opinion is one that I find quite hard to swallow.

Book Description

Of all green Ireland's saints, Ciaran of Saighir was the first. Born early in the sixth century, Ciaran was called to bring the light of God's name to a dark Ireland that had not yet heard it. While few facts are known of Ciaran's life, author Gary Schmidt here tells the tale that lives on, a tale which is "as true as any story ought to be." Illustrated with luminous oil paintings by Todd Doney, Saint Ciaran is a remarkably beautiful story, full of faith and wonder, miracle and mysteries.

Customer Reviews:

Taking "less" from the word "GodLESS!".......2007-03-07

Born in the early sixth century, this little-know saint was called to bring God's word to Godless Ireland.

(originally attempted to review this when the book first came out, but unfortunately the template did not "take.")

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