Ramblers, Scramblers & Twiners: High-Performance Climbing Plants & Wall Shrubs

Customer Reviews:

Unusual, Beautiful, Useful.......2001-03-10

What an unusual book dedicated to those free-spirited plants that ramble, scramble, and twine across our gardens. Very well done with a good balance of information and illustration - a book I pull off the shelf regularly.

Unusual, Beautiful, Useful.......2001-03-10

Customer Reviews:

Inside the nixon white house.......2004-01-18

A very insider's view of the nixon white. the photographers' access is unlike any other's and the text accompanying each photoe reveals the photographers innermost thoughts of his subjects. this is an excellent photo book.

Customer Reviews:

Christal: coping with Spina Bifida.......2003-04-01

This is one of the best, and only book, I know of, which gives a positive outcome to a child born with a serious birth defect. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

English 101.......2002-07-09

I have a child with spina bifida so I can certainly comiserate with the plight of Karen Snyder Travis and her family. However, what I cannot do is tolerate the unbelievably poor grammar used in this book. Many misspelled words are peppered throughout this quick read -- I was too distracted by all of these errors to focus on the story.

And, about the story -- it is entirely too "matter of fact." Ms. Travis tells us what happens to Christal as if she were relaying information to a physician -- it's not storytelling. Storytelling is an art, a true talent that not many people posess. Unfortunately, Ms. Travis was not blessed with it.

As eager as I am to get my hands on the too few books out there about families living with spina bifida, this is the worst one of I've had the misfortune of reading. I wish I hadn't even bothered.

Bottom line: don't waste your time.

Not a great book.......2002-05-01

This book is written from the heart, but it is very poorly written. It may be helpful for families and people working with children who have spina bifida.

A real pleasure reading........2001-07-08

I must admit I know nothing about Spina Bifida and the affect it has on someone and the family. I will also admit that I haven't spent any real time reading or learning about it either. This book is a keen insight into the world of this malady and the ways in which people handle the event.

Right from the beginning of the book you are taken to Christal's beginnings and with every page you read you are treated to a story about more than just coping, you are shown true courage.

The book works through each aspect of the life of one person and how it affects those around her. The author weaves an interesting story-line to give you are real sense of what life is like.

Overall a very well written book and real pleasure reading.

Book Description

Mindful Knitting looks at the art of knitting from a Buddhist perspective. Exploring the parallels between knitting and meditation, this book instructs the reader in how knitting can be a tool for contemplation. It explores the benefits of engaging in knitting in a mindful way, presents simple meditation exercises, and provides clear, easy-to-follow project instructions that complement and expand upon each meditation theme.

Customer Reviews:

Pleasant surprise.......2007-08-26

Of all the knitting books I've purchased, this has only one error and it doesn't relate to a pattern. Perhaps zen has something to do with it. VERY GOOD!

What was I thinking of?.......2007-05-18

I'm giving this book to the library. Way too much New Age blah, blah, blah. A few patterns are buried in all this blather, none of which are attractive. The long-winded glossary of abbreviations,tips and techniques might be useful to someone who has never before knitted a single stitch.

A book about knitting by someone who practices authentic spirituality.......2006-10-20

This is the third book I've read on knitting and spirituality (the other two have been The Knitting Way and Zen and the Art of Knitting) and this is by far the most spiritual of the lot. Manning is very obviously a devout practitioner of meditation who integrates her craft into it in some very special ways. The book is a little brief, but definitely a worthwile read.

I prefer "Knitting Sutra" to this.......2006-10-11

I was mislead by the glowing reviews. I found this book lightweight and disappointing. I was hoping for something deeper and more personal. I highly recommend the 2 books by Susan G. Lydon instead.

Knitting as Meditation.......2004-11-28

This book is exactly what it purports to be...a wonderful mix of knitting and mindfulness meditation. I love it! Knitting is a craft handed down to me by my grandmothers. Mindfulness is somewhat newer, I needed help getting there. This book was perfect for me. Now knitting is more meaningful and feels great all the way through, not just at the end when I complete the project. Whether you are a new knitter or have been doing it for years, this book will help you get much more out of the click clack of the needles and the feel of the yarn...get it. You won't be sorry.

Average customer rating:

Not bad for what it is

Read this before you buy, so you know what you are getting

Great Examples

Not the kind of landscape design book I expected.

The Backyard Landscaper: 40 Professional Designs for Do-It-Yourselfers
Ireland-Gannon Association
Manufacturer: Home Planners
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
Landscape | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
Garden Design | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Landscape | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Home Landscaper: 55 Professional Landscapes You Can Do

Easy-Care Landscape Plans: 41 Professional Designs for Do-It-Yourselfers

Beds and Borders: 40 Professional Designs for Do-It-Yourselfers

Home Planners Complete Book of Landscape Plans: 50+ Garden Designs to Transform Your Yard

Garden, Landscape, and Project Plans: 225 Do-It Yourself Designs

ASIN: 0918894891

Book Description

-The best in outdoor living...right outside your backdoor.

-Herb Gardens, Play yards or Swimming Pools and Sports courts from simple to complex, you'll find it here.

-Special Outdoor Amenities section offers designs for useful outdoor structures.

-Complete design drawings available separately.

Customer Reviews:

Not bad for what it is.......2007-03-08

This book is not designed to be all things for all people, but rather a starting point. I think it gives good sketches for ideas on what you might want to do with your landscaping. It shows you general classes of plants, how many, and where to place them to achieve similar results from what is depicted in the book. I did not find one particular sketch to be fitting of what I want but pieces of several that I used to draw my own sketch for my yard. Then with looking around the landscaping in my area and talking with the people at local nurseries, I have been able to select the appropriate plants to fit that sketch -- all for free. So if you are looking for an absolute cookbook approach to landscaping, this is not it. But if you want good ideas and some guidance, you'll find what you are looking for here. You can by the landscape plans for $55 or less. So the investment isn't so bad if you want the recipe too.

Read this before you buy, so you know what you are getting.......2000-07-18

The landscape plans are tiny and there are no plant lists - you have to buy the plant list, deck/structure plans and useable sized landscape plans. When I realized this could easily amount to a hundred bucks I returned the book (and I NEVER return anything).

You are asked to invest this money in a landscape design based on an artist rendering of the design, generally from one angle and in one season. I can't imagine anyone purchasing a plan this way.

And wosrt of all many of these plans are not original. They are the same or very similar to plans that have appeared in landscape or house design magazines (where you also have to order the plans and plant lists).

For about the price of this book you can buy Sunset Northeastern Landscaping, Landscaping in the Northeast and Canada zones 3,4,5 and 6 or something similar for your region. With these books you get plans with plant lists and descriptions, how-to info, photos and much more.

Please look around befor you waste money on this book. There are MUCH better books out there.

Great Examples.......2000-06-19

Over the last decade we have landscaped 3 homes and the landscape plans here were a huge help in defining what we wanted and how exactly to lay out the plants. I have referred to this book and Easy Care Landscape Plans over and over again. I only wish they had a book filled with plans for those of us dealing with small California yards!

Not the kind of landscape design book I expected........2000-02-05

This book has plenty of ideas for backyards, but they're all sketches, not photographs. Plus, you have to order the blueprints to find out what plants they're talking about in the book. This book was not very helpful.

The Backyard Landscaper: 40 Professional Designs for Do-It-Yourselfers

Average customer rating:

The Backyard Landscaper: 40 Professional Designs for Do-It-Yourselfers

Manufacturer: Home Planners
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0918894921

Average customer rating:

Great book

Wonderful reference

An invaluble resource

Invaluable guide to food!

Wellness Foods A to Z
Sheldon Margen
Manufacturer: Rebus
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Nutrition | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Reference | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Wellness Kitchen: Bringing the Latest Nutrition Information to Your Table

The Wellness Encyclopedia of Food and Nutrition

Complete Home Wellness Handbook

Complete Home Wellness Handbook: Complete Home Wellness Handbook

The Nutrient Dense Eating Plan: Enjoy a Lifetime of Super Health with This Fundamental Guide to Exceptional Foods

ASIN: 0929661702

Book Description

In entries arranged A-Z, this authoritative bible on the new nutrition spells out the disease-fighting potential and other benefits of some 500 whole and fresh foods, and shows you how to choose foods and prepare them so you optimize their nutritional value and make them taste their best.

Customer Reviews:

Great book.......2006-10-29

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the basics of food and nutrition.

Wonderful reference.......2004-10-25

This useful book provides detailed nutrition information, preparation tips, storage tips, etc. for a huge variety of foods. For instance, after finding persimmons on sale at the grocery store, but not really knowing how to tell if they are ripe or how they are best eaten, I consulted this book and found all the answers! The book also explains what phytonutrients are present in the different foods and what health benefits they may provide. I highly recommend it!

An invaluble resource.......2003-07-06

This book has TONS of information on an enormous range of foods. It lists and describes varieties, health benefits/myths/concerns, nutritional information, history, and serving suggestions for everything from apples and asparagus to flour and sweeteners. I bought pasilla peppers at farmer's market today, and looked them up to see how they compared to anaheims in terms of flavor and heat. It's a very convenient resource.

I was recently diagnosed with type I diabetes, and this book has become absolutely essential to me. I can look up how many calories are in an avocado and how many carbohydrates are in a persimmon. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is trying to control their diet, or is just curious about their food.

Invaluable guide to food!.......2002-05-30

Everyone should own one! Makes a great gift as well. I was fascinated by the information on phytochemicals.

Amazon.com

Few artists in the history of the world have attained the mythic status of Michelangelo--painter of the heavenly Sistine Chapel and sculptor of the nearly divine David. And it is his towering presence that makes it so difficult to imagine the artist as a man. Art historian James Beck helps unlock the mystery of Michelangelo by opening the doors of the three very different worlds to which he belonged. Michelangelo's father, his famous and influential patron Lorenzo de Medici, and Pope Julius II who, according to Beck, forced the Sistine Chapel commission onto its now-famous painter, divided the rule of these worlds between them and held powerful sway over the artist. Michelangelo left behind a fair amount of correspondence, upon which Beck heavily relies. But beyond that, there is a dearth of reliable information about the subject. Michelangelo himself carefully oversaw the contemporary biographies--selling 16th-century writers on the notion that he was divinely preordained to become a renowned artist. Beck is clearly a careful researcher and he skillfully combines the facts at hand and collateral information about the era to recreate the artist's world. He freely draws on this information to form opinions about his subject's sexuality, passion for his art, and relationships to the powerful men in his life. He evokes, too, a strong visual sense of Michelangelo's environment--the Medici palace where he lived for a time, the Vatican of the Renaissance, the artist's own work. This is definitely a compelling story, but bear in mind that because of the distinct lack of reliable source material, this biography falls somewhere between fact and well-informed historical fiction.

Book Description

An incisive study of the shaping influences on Michelangelo's creative and personal life: his father, Lodovico Buonarroti; his first patron, Lorenzo di Medici; and his greatest patron, Pope Julius II. Michelangelo Buonarroti was an unparalleled artist-painter, sculptor, architect, poet-who was regarded even in his own lifetime as divine. Here James Beck reveals how Michelangelo's interactions with three men determined his path from early childhood to the completion of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. His father, Lodovico, a stern man, instilled a powerful work ethic in Michelangelo, yet his criticism of his son's artistic calling left his son deprived of approval and love. Lorenzo di Medici, the forceful ruler of Florence, took the teenaged Michelangelo under his wing, raising him almost like one of his own sons in the artists' colony he established on his palace grounds. Already one of the most respected sculptors in the world and still in young manhood, Michelangelo was then sought out by Pope Julius II. Although Julius originally commissioned him to create his tomb, the artist's greatest project under his patronage was the Sistine Chapel ceiling in the Vatican. Rich in unusual details such as an unprecedented account of the sculpting of David, Michelangelo's most famous work, and the creation of the Sistine ceiling, Three Worlds of Michelangelo presents Michelangelo in fresh and vivid terms.

Customer Reviews:

The Divine Mr. M.......1999-12-19

To start off, I can't believe this book is out of print already! I'd still like to write a review, because this is a very good book and perhaps the publisher will do a new hardcover print run or come up with a paperback edition..... Mr. Beck is a professor of art history at Columbia University in New York City. One of the nice things about this book, though, is that it is written for the layperson. It is not full of technical terms and art world jargon. Even better, it is well written. Professor Beck has a very good style of writing so the book flows along very smoothly. I think the author's intention was to balance out the popular picture of Michelangelo as a tortured, ill-mannered genius. Professor Beck shows him to be, in some respects, a pretty regular fellow. For example, we find out that Pope Julius appreciated him for his ironic, sarcastic and apparently typically Tuscan sense of humor. Michelangelo also was always very much a person concerned with the well-being of his family. Although he never married and never had any children he was deeply attached to his father and his brothers. Once he started to earn some money he was always very good about helping his family financially. One of the strong suits of this book is that Professor Beck constantly shows us the humanity behind the artist. Although Michelangelo loved his father it is also true that his father never approved of his choice of career. An artist was not highly regarded back in those days and when Michelangelo decided to become a sculptor, well, that was even worse. Imagine going around with your clothes full of marble dust all the time! Michelangelo was always looking for approval from his father and he never got it. The book also covers Michelangelo's relationship with Lorenzo The Magnificent and Pope Julius II. We get an especially nicely rounded portrait of Julius as a warrior pope who was more interested in power and politics and women than in culture, but who nevertheless appreciated the talent of Michelangelo. He also had a fierce temper and when Michelangelo answered the question, "When will the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel be finished?" with "It'll be done when it is done..." threatened to have some lackeys go up and have Michelangelo thrown off of the scaffolding! My only complaint with this book is that perhaps Professor Beck goes a little too far trying to portray Michelangelo as a "nice" guy and basically somebody that really had no faults whatsoever. But as I wrote near the start of this review I think the intent was to try to swing the pendulum the other way..... Still, this book is very good and well worth reading.

very informative look at artists life.......1999-09-16

James Beck has written a wonderful and easy read about the life of Michelangelo. By not focusing on details about Michelangelo's sex life, Beck has put a much needed focus back on the actual art work of the artist. Regardless of whether he was gay or straight, Michelangelo is a gifted and talented artist who will be remembered for eternity.

Spoiled by homophobia.......1999-03-04

This biography might have been wonderful to me if it had not been spoiled by the author's foolish attempts to cast doubt on Michelangelo's homosexuality. This puts Beck into the same category with Irving Stone and Charlton Heston in The Agony and the Ecstasy. On the verge of the 21st Century to get yet another book denying that there were any great gay men in history is simply not acceptable.

Book Description

Margery Perham was an outstanding influence on official and academic thinking on British Colonial rule and decolonization in Africa during the middle part of the century. The book traces how the Second World War transformed her view of colonial rule and of the rate at which it would have to be relinquished.

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