Cassini on Compositae

Book Description

When writer Merrill Joan Gerber is invited to join her husband, a history professor, as he takes a class of American college students to study in Florence, Italy, she feels terrified at the idea of leaving her comforts, her friends, and her aged mother in California. Her husband tries to assure her that her fear of Italy-and her lack of knowledge of the Italian language-will be offset by the discoveries of travel. "I can't tell you exactly what will happen, but something will. And it will all be new and interesting." Botticelli Blue Skies is the tale of a woman who readily admits to fear of travel, a fear that many experience but are embarrassed to admit. When finally she plunges into the new adventure, she describes her experiences in Florence with wit, humor, and energy.

Instead of sticking to the conventional tourist path, Gerber follows her instincts. She makes discoveries without tour guides droning in her ear and reclaims the travel experience as her own, taking time to shop in a thrift shop, eat in a Chinese restaurant that serves "Dragon chips," make friends with her landlady who turns out to be a Countess, and visit the class of a professor at the university. She discovers a Florence that is not all museums and wine. With newfound patience and growing confidence, Gerber makes her way around Florence, Venice, and Rome. She visits famous places and discovers obscure ones-in the end embracing all that is Italian. Botticelli Blue Skies (accompanied by the author's own photographs) is an honest, lyrical, touching account of the sometimes exhausting, often threatening, but always enriching physical and emotional challenge that is travel.

Customer Reviews:

Whine, Wine, Whine!.......2006-06-03

I wanted to like this book. There's a place in travel writing for the works of the accidental (or incidental) tourist, the person dragged unwillingly to some foreign destination by an enthusiastic (or merely dominant) spouse, partner or friend- a destination of no particular interest to the person being hauled along. Their responses can be as interesting as those of the enthusiast. But in this case the author is SO unpleasant- the kind of woman where you have to wonder how her husband has put up with her all these years. To use a Yiddish term, Merrill Gerber is a big-time "kvetcher," a woman who makes a career out of complaining about everything, and not just complaining, but whining, sulking, making imperious demands, exploding into temper tantrums, and doing the adult equivalent of the three-year-old who goes limp when a long-suffering parent tries to move the child from one place to another.

She's dragged unwillingly to Florence - oh, poor baby!!! She'd so much rather be at her home in California than on a free three month excursion to one of the most marvelous cities in the western world. But not marvelous to her. Despite being the wife of a history professor, it's hard to imagine that this woman is even a college graduate, she's so determinedly anti-intellectual. She refuses to learn a word of Italian; remains willfully and appallingly ignorant of the art that's all around her (her ignorance makes her defensive, and she seems actually hostile to art!); she refuses to listen to any of the knowledgeable guides provided for her husband's students, and instead of exploring the city on her own, she mopes around the couple's apartment, spending a fair amount of time huddled under blankets, listening to adolescent-level music on her Walkman, and, presumably, making notes for this book. Except for local grocery shopping, she hardly ever goes out except in the company of her husband.

She does admit to occasional moments of being delighted, especially toward the end of her stay, but they are few and far between. Most of her responses are relentlessly negative. I give her credit for one thing: she does capture the sense of bewilderment and frustration, and the moments of sheer exhaustion, that can overcome the first-time traveler to a foreign culture. But she's a lot better on Italy's aggravations than on its charms.

I'd travel with this author any day.......2005-09-29

When the author's husband is offered an opportunity to teach for a semester in Italy, she doesn't know at first if she wants to join him. It would mean leaving her sick mother, her friends and her familiar, comfortable life in California. She eventually decides to go, of course, and the result is this wonderful book. I see that other reviewers have accused the author of being "whiny". Did she comment on the things that puzzled her about life in Florence? And were some of these things not to her liking? Sure. For example, she was not particularly interested in viewing the museums and churches that Florence is famous for. But there was just as much that she found charming about the City. She found the people (both men and women)to be beautiful. She noted that lovers could be found everywhere and that romance thrived. She shared friendships. She sampled and enjoyed the food and wine.

The thing I enjoyed the most about this book was the opportunity to tag along with the author on her daily jaunts. Rather than take the standard package tours, she opted instead for the luxury of traveling and exploring at her own pace. As a result, we are given an opportunity to experience the little, everyday things that make up life in a city - from a trip to the grocery store, to riding a bus, to finding an address in a city where street numbers are not necessarily sequential. We also get to escape with her on occasion to travel to the countryside. My favorite photograph in the book is one she took as she and her husband walked down a quiet road. It shows a nun, dressed all in white, standing in the shadows of the woods - looking like an apparition.

The fact that she is not a seasoned traveler is what makes this book stand out. Her experiences are fresh, and her reactions - whether you consider them whiny or otherwise - are always honest and human.

Give the Author a Break!.......2005-01-24

Having read the previous reviews on this book, it appears that it's sort of a "love it or hate it" proposition. I guess I'm weighing in on the "love it" side, and here's why.

Most people who read travel books love to travel. Therefore, when we travel-lovers read a travel book by someone who doesn't really like to travel, we get annoyed. I can see that reaction from some of the reviewers (e.g., "what's wrong with this woman?"). And yet, there ARE some people who don't enjoy travel for travel's sake. They like their creature comforts, their familiar surroundings, their loved ones close by. They don't like the frenetic rush-rush pace of travel, the disorienting feeling of being in a strange place with strange customs and a strange language, where the simplest transaction can be confusing and exhausting. This author was, I think, this type of person. And what's wrong with that? And what's wrong with someone like this writing a travel book? Her experiences and her opinions are just as valid as those of someone who throws themselves into a foreign culture with gusto and inexhaustible energy.

To me, the author was not so much complaining ("poor me"), as she was honest and forthright about her difficulties in adjusting to a foreign culture. Once we understand that, we can approach the book with different expectations. Why should we expect a middle-aged woman with a career and family obligations to learn a foreign language when she is only going to be in a country for three months? Why should we expect her to necessarily be enthusiastic about leaving her career and her caregiving responsibilities for her dying mother to spend three months in Florence? Why should we expect her to put on a happy face at all times? Why not accept that travelling in and adapting to a foreign culture can be a difficult proposition for anyone?

What I liked best about this book, I think, was the honesty of the author. She didn't gloss over the day-to-day trials of living in another country. And yet, all in all, I had the sense that if she had it to do over again, she would go back to Florence in a heartbeat. This tone of this book was NOT primarily negative and whining, in my opinion. That she didn't portray her life as all rosy and wonderful is a testament, I think, to the frankness of the author -- and I would rather read a book like this than one where all is sweetness and light, and where the author treats every problem as an opportunity for comic relief.

Staring Down the Tuscan Sun.......2004-07-29

As some of the other reviewers mentioned, there's a lot of complaining at the beginning of this book. This almost put me off, but I was intrigued (perversely, I guess) by someone who did not consider a chance to spend a semester in Florence to be something to jump at. What was the matter with this woman?

When her husband tells her the university they both teach at is sending him to Florence for a semester to conduct a class, she just doesn't want to go. By being a reluctant traveler, Gerber is able to show how Florence managed to captivate her in spite of herself. Rather than going to Italy as an already-intoxicated tourist, she resists at first, but it is Florence, after all, and even she comes to love it. I found this an excellent antidote to the gushing let's-move-to-Italy (or France) travelogs.

And she isn't just taken with the usual Florentine charms of museums, churches, wine, and food. She discovers the thrift shops and grocery stores that most tourists would miss entirely. As a temporary resident, she has to deal with the landlady and the staff at the local Chinese restaurant.

I almost gave up on this one, but am very glad I kept going, and suspect that is what Gerber intended all along.

Enjoyable, Despite An Unlikable Author.......2004-05-01

BOTTICELLI BLUE SKIES was an entertaining read despite the fact that being in the company of the author, anyplace and anywhere, would be a most trying experience. Ms. Gerber is an effortless, engaging writer who comes across on most every page as a royal pain-in-the-ass, difficult and immature to the extreme. Her high school dramatics when she finds herself in various situations was and is an absolute bore, which would cause anyone to flee from her company. The choices she makes, or rather doesn't make, while in Florence leave the reader amazed, puzzled and frustrated that she missed so much of what that glorious city has to offer, including the amazing museums and the terrific, simple food at the many, many excellent, very modestly-priced restaurants and trattorias.

I've lived in various Italian cities for several years and she captures well the routines of daily life. But the needless carping and belly-aching at every inconvenience which most would accept and graciously and patiently deal with makes her out to be a truly ugly American.

Grow up, Ms. Gerber. Your talent as a writer was overcome by your many shortcomings as a likable, go-with-the-flow human being.

Book Description

Scrapbooking is sweeping the nation! This hot hobby is a fantastic way to preserve your memories and family history—and have a lot of fun doing it. Now, here’s an easy-to-follow guide that will have you creating great scrapbook projects in no time.

Scrapbooking For Dummies is perfect for you if you’re a new scrapbooker who wants to create your own personal scrapbook (or who would like to make a special scrapbook for a friend or loved one) or if you’re already an avid scrapbooker who’s looking for helpful tips and new ideas. This friendly guide takes the guesswork out of creating well-designed albums. You’ll discover how to:

Organize your photographs and memorabilia
Assemble the right tools and materials
Research your personal history and tell your story
Design attractive, foolproof page layouts
Network with other scrapbookers

This plain-English guide features clear, close-up photographs and sketches that illustrate just what you want to know about scrapbooking tools and techniques. You’ll learn about the different styles of scrapbooking, how to create unity in your albums, and how to take better pictures (including advice on digital photography). You receive hands-on guidance every step of the way as you:

Choose a theme or occasion
Crop and mount photographs
Accessorize with stickers, stamps, and more
Enhance your albums through journaling
Avoid costly, time-consuming mistakes
Take proper care of photographs and negatives
Extend the life of your old photos

Complete with ten great scrapbooking projects and a list of online resources, Scrapbooking For Dummies gives you the tools you need to create beautiful albums to share with family and friends—and pass on to future generations!

Customer Reviews:

Almost a perfect book, but..........2007-09-23

This book is slightly outdated, which is the only complaint I have. All of the "Dummy series" are written by experts in their field and the format of the book is just excellent. A must for someone interested in starting to scrapbook.

Scrapbook For Beginners.......2007-09-01

I am still reading Scrapbooking for Dummies. It is a wonderful book for beginning to scrapbook. There are so many references to where you can purchase items needed to complete your pages. The language is clear and the illustrations are easy to understand. I like the book and am so happy too have the book for future reference.
Bentley

A great how-to........2006-12-13

I'm not new to scrapbooking, but I like this book. It's very clear and simple to follow, and the advice it gives on materials is great. This is a wonderful reference to own whether you're trying scrapbooking for the first time or you've been scrapping for years.

Scrapbooking for dummies.......2006-11-10

not exactly what it appeared to be, Thought it would be in colour
otherwise ok

Great resource!.......2006-08-16

This was a great way to get started with scrapbooking. It gave you the information you needed, and ideas on how to get started. It has a variety of ideas for tools to use, and gives examples throughout the book on how to make some of their sample pages.

Digital Scrapbooking For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))

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Always reliable
Beginner's Guide to Digital Scrapbooking.

Digital Scrapbooking For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))
Jeanne Wines-Reed , and Joan Wines
Manufacturer: For Dummies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0764584197

Book Description

Get creative with graphic elements

Tackle photo techniques at any level

Ready to preserve your memories digitally? This interactive reference explains the basics of this fast, versatile new hobby, giving you the lowdown on the equipment and programs you need to create beautiful pages. You also get expert tips on digital photography, graphic design, scanning, journaling, filters, and fonts.

Discover how to

Create a digital layout from scratch
Select the best software
Use popular scrapbook styles
Digitize traditional photos
Get the kids involved
Share your scrapbook online

Download Description

Get creative with graphic elements Tackle photo techniques at any level Ready to preserve your memories digitally? This interactive reference explains the basics of this fast, versatile new hobby, giving you the lowdown on the equipment and programs you need to create beautiful pages. You also get expert tips on digital photography, graphic design, scanning, journaling, filters, and fonts. Discover how to Create a digital layout from scratch Select the best software Use popular scrapbook styles Digitize traditional photos Get the kids involved Share your scrapbook online

Customer Reviews:

Always reliable.......2007-01-10

As with all the "for Dummies" books, this one is logically laid out and easy to use. I recommend it for any one starting out in digital scrapbooking. It takes you from the very basic to the more complex and beyond, with clear illustrations and photos (even some in color.)

Beginner's Guide to Digital Scrapbooking........2006-04-01

Using the standard "For Dummies" format, the book explains the equipment and software for digital scrapbooking. It starts with the very basic, helping you decide if you need a newer computer and printer for this hobby. It reviews the various scrapbooking software available so you can choose the best for your situation.
It covers enhancing digital photos, considerations for page designs and how to fix damaged photos. Also covered is how to add texturing and how to make montage images. One part explains sharing your finished pages on CD or DVD or over the internet. There was much that was new to me (flattened image vs a native format file). They advise clearing out clutter from your computer (games, unused programs, defrag), since digital scrapbooking needs lots of storage space.
The final part of the book is in list format: 10 tips, 10 pitfalls, 10 ways to involve kids, 10 ways to use digital techniques with traditional scrapbooking.
Sprinkled throughout are cute cartoons, but few photos. Since scrapbooking is very visual, I missed seeing examples to match the design explanations.

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Scrapbooking for Dummies (For Dummies)
Jeanne Wines-Reed , and Joan Wines
Manufacturer: wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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The Amazing Page: 650 New Scrapbook Page Ideas, Tips And Techniques (Memory Makers)

ASIN: 0470055669

Book Description

Experts on spiritual qualities of gemstones and crystals, Pamela Chase and Jonathan Pawlik have now identified and catalogued the spiritual and healing qualities of trees. In the spirit of Findhorn and Perelandra, the authors guide you to a new awareness of the Kingdom of Nature as partners in your quest for personal growth.

Buried within you are memories of your ancient natural habitat - the primeval forest. Your awakening environment consciousness is in essence a remembering of your true place in nature. In this time of global crisis, Trees for Healing answers this yearning. It begins with fascinating information on the history and mythology of sacred trees and tree worship around the world. It ends with contemporary choices you can make to achieve spiritual growth through communication and cooperation with the tree Kingdom.

Amazon.com

Since its publication in 1954, Dorothy Law Nolte's inspirational and educational poem, Children Learn What They Live has been published worldwide, translated into 10 languages, taught in parenting and teaching courses, distributed in doctors offices, and printed on posters and calendars. In Children Learn What They Live: Parenting to Inspire Values, authors Nolte, a teacher and lecturer on family life, and Rachel Harris, Nolte's friend and teaching associate, have taken the classic poem and fleshed it into a small gem of a book. The expanded version maintains the grace and wisdom of the original, yet adds significant insight into the process of encouraging values through example. "If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn," begins the poem (and the book), and so Nolte and Harris suggest effective ways to avoid or prevent constant criticism. As a set of guiding principals, as teaching tools, or as gentle reminders, Nolte and Harris's approach to teaching values to children encapsulates the best in parenting wisdom. --Ericka Lutz

Book Description

Dorothy Law Nolte, a lifelong teacher and lecturer on family dynamics, presents a simple but powerful guide to parenting the old-fashioned way: instilling values through example. Dr. Nolte-s inspirationó?Children Learn What They Live,O the celebrated poem she wrote in 1954. Written with psychotherapist Rachel Harris, each of the 19 couplets of the poem is developed into a chapteróon jealousy, shame, praise, recognition, honesty, fairness, tolerance, and more. Positive, realistic, filled with a rare common sense, it is a book to help parents find their own parenting wisdom, and to raise children with a surer, steadier, more understanding hand.

Customer Reviews:

They Really do!!.......2007-01-12

It's up to us to teach by example.... who knew? Please read if you have kids. An easy read, not novel-ish, more article-ish. Very nice book.

Wonderfully insightful.......2006-07-26

This one is a keeper. I find it inspiring and insightful ~~ and not condemning ~~ just helpful. It is encouraging and wonderfully short so if you're busy and don't have a lot of time to read it, it's perfect for you. It is also a book that you can keep in your library as your kids grow older and then pass it onto them when they start raising their own children.

Parenting isn't easy and sometimes, these parenting books can be overwhelming and can make the reader feel inadequate because there are times when nothing works. This book is a gentle reminder that we aren't alone in our struggles and yes, our behavior does teach our children the things to do or not to do. However, this book also give you insights on what your child might be thinking or feeling and sometimes, offer you practical solutions for your child to put to practice. Life isn't perfect but having stability in the family life is very important as well as parents who try to model thoughtfulness and sincerity in everything they do.

It is a little book but it sure packs a lot of thoughtful insights. I wish I had this book when the boys were in their terrible threes. But now that I have it, I plan to cherish it for as long as I need it and pass it onto their children.

7-25-06

Children Live What They Learn.......2006-03-07

I bought this for my niece who is pregnant. It's a wonderful book and should remind anyone who reads it that they have to teach by example.

For Every Parent !!!!.......2005-06-21

I discovered Nolte's parenting books from a glowing review in the Orlando Sentinel. I'd always loved her poem that evolved into these books. Whenever I see a parent ridiculing a child or shaming them, I wish they knew the poem.
Hopefully these books will reach a whole new generation of parents and help them become better role models for their children.
"If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence." This book will make a great baby shower present (wrapped in with a rattle or other item).

common sense but nice refresher .......2005-04-14

Chapters based on different parts of familiar poem. Most of the content is common sense but the examples given make the book interesting and ones to file to memory.

Teenagers Learn What They Live: Parenting to Inspire Integrity & Independence

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Teenagers Learn What They Live: Parenting to Inspire Integrity & Independence
Dorothy Law Nolte , and Rachel Harris
Manufacturer: Workman Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0761121382

Book Description

Parenting by example. Using the simple, powerful message that turned Children Learn What They Live into an international bestseller with over 1.5 million copies in print, Drs. Dorothy Law Nolte and Rachel Harris bring their unique perspective to families with adolescents.

Structured, like the first book, around an inspirational poem, Teenagers Learn What They Live addresses the turbulent teenage years, when a stew of hormones, pressures, and temptations makes for such extreme challenges for parents and _children. Teenagers addresses popularity and peer pressure ("If teenagers live with rejection, they learn to feel lost"); the responsibilities of maturity ("If teenagers live with too many rules, they learn how to get around them./ If teenagers live with too few rules, they learn to ignore the needs of others"); body image and the allure of cigarettes, drugs, and alcohol ("If teenagers live with healthy habits, they learn to be kind to their bodies"). Central to the book are ways for parents to communicate with their teenage children-including how to deal with being "tuned out" and when to start the conversation again-and how to strike the right balance between holding on and accepting a teen's growing independence. Hundreds of examples of parent-child interactions cover everything from the all-night graduation party to problems of sexual identity, providing great guidance as well as effective conversation starters.

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They Learn What They Live: Prejudice in Young Children
Helen G. & Yarrow, Marian R. Trager
Manufacturer: Harper
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000K9OCPA

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Children Learn What They Live (Craft Book)
Susan North Stokes
Manufacturer: Leisure Arts
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Pamphlet
ASIN: B000ORDECA

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Leaflet 439 -- Craft book

Children Learn What They Live Parenting to Inspire Values

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Children Learn What They Live Parenting to Inspire Values
Dorothy Law Nolte
Manufacturer: Workman Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 1568659652

Children Learn What They Live. Poems & Drawings.

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Children Learn What They Live. Poems & Drawings.
DAVE. MORICE
Manufacturer: Iowa City, IA:The Happy Press,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000U8SSVK

Children Learn What They Live: Leisure Arts Leaflet #439

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Children Learn What They Live: Leisure Arts Leaflet #439
Susan North Stokes
Manufacturer: Leisure Arts
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ITDLD6

They Learn What They Live: Prejudice in Young Children

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They Learn What They Live: Prejudice in Young Children
Helen G. & Yarrow, Marian R. Trager
Manufacturer: Harper & Brothers, Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O1CS9Q

Children Learn What They Live (Craft Book)

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Children Learn What They Live (Craft Book)
Susan North Stokes
Manufacturer: Leisure Arts
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Pamphlet
ASIN: B000ORCOZ8

Product Description

Leaflet 439 -- Craft book

Children Learn What They Live Page-A-Day Calendar 2002

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Children Learn What They Live Page-A-Day Calendar 2002
Dorothy Law Nolte
Manufacturer: Workman Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Calendar

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ASIN: 0761123784

Book Description

A comfort, a resource, a moral compass-and a simple but powerful guide for parents on how to inspire values through example. Adapted from Children Learn What They Live, with over 450,000 copies in print, here is a year of virtues. Nurturing a child's sense of self. Dispelling family tensions. Learning to laugh-not ridicule. It's a new gem of insight each day on honesty, tolerance, fairness, and other key matters.

Book Description

Sifting the available evidence, Carlo Ginzburg builds up a vivid portrait of Piero della Francesca's patrons and convincingly explains the contemporary intrigues resonant in his painting. This new edition, extensively illustrated, includes additional material by Ginzburg dealing with the work of Roberto Longhi, the dating of the Arezzo Cycle, and the rediscovery of della Francesca in the twentieth century. 123 color & b/w illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

The enigma of Carlo.......2001-06-11

An immense pleasure! Carlo Ginsburg reminds us more than once that he is not an art historian, but an historian. As such, his approach to paintings such as Piero della Francesca's "Flagellation" which to our eyes are difficult if not unfathomable iconographically, is not bound to the orthodoxies of specialist methodology. If this sounds heady and dense, it is. This is not a book for the casual admirer of Renaissance painting because much of the suspense(and it is suspenseful) is reading the author's discrediting of other interpretations(these are often amusing), suggesting the roadmap he will take to circumvent the errors of the previous historians, then elegantly exhuming the necessary evidence and reasoning to produce-voila- a fresh, impressively founded exegisis before our very eyes. One marvels at the depth and breadth of cultural knowledge that is this historian's primary resource, and facility with archives. But there is another dimension to this book. As one reads, one understands that this is the work of contemporary humanist, and the source of his insights is perhaps this empathy, if not kinship with his subject, whether patron or artist.

The Enigma of Piero: Piero Della Francesca the Baptism, the Arezzo Cycle, the Flagellation

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The Enigma of Piero: Piero Della Francesca the Baptism, the Arezzo Cycle, the Flagellation
Carlo (Intro. Peter Burke) Ginzburg
Manufacturer: Verso
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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