Cleveland's Treasures from the World of Botanical Literature

Book Description

The collection of rare herbal, botanical, and horticultural books in Cleveland comprise an especially rich treasure from the past. In these pages lie a golden trove of pictures and words that unlock a story of discovery. We invite you to sample them and learn their story. 160 pages.

Book Description

In this comprehensive guide to the spectacular Northern California coast, Marc J. Soares describes 75 scenic trails for people of all levels of hiking skill. Hikes range from gentle afternoon walks for the whole family to more strenuous full- and multi-day adventures.
Each listing includes the length of the hike, the degree of difficulty, directions to the trailhead, a route map, and the best seasons to enjoy the wildflowers, views, and waterfalls. Appendices include hikes that are best for bird watching, trails suitable for horseback riding, wheelchair-accessible hikes, and trails on which dogs are permitted.
Hikers will discover:
Humboldt and Del Norte Counties: Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, Miner's Ridge Trail, and Tall Trees Grove and Redwood National Park
Mendocino and Sonoma Counties: The Lost Coast, Sinkyone Wilderness State Park, Bodega Dunes, and Russian Gulch Falls
Marin County and San Francisco Bay Area: Tomales Point, Point Reyes National Seashore, Mount Tamalpais, Stinson Beach, Inverness, Muir Beach, and Angel Island
Big Sur and Monterey: China Beach and Sea Lion Rocks in Point Lobos State Park, Big Sur River, and Soberanes Canyon
Best Coast Hikes of Northern California is an invitation to residents and travelers alike to discover and enjoy incomparable trails along one of the world's most scenic coastlines.

Customer Reviews:

Great guide to the lesser-known trails!.......2000-08-07

Original Post (2000): This book is great if you're looking for places that are off the beaten path. For example: instead of going to Muir Woods to see redwoods (and hordes of tourists), head off to Heritage Grove in La Honda for a chance to be one-on-one with the mighty trees (and check out the banana slugs as well!). I've only hiked about 4 of the 70+ trails so far, but they have all been worthwhile. Highly recommended!

Update (2003): Wow - I'm glad "13 out of 13 readers" found my review useful! :-)

Three years later, this now lovingly-worn book has accompanied me on a dozen more hikes, from Mendocino to Big Sur. Friends and visitors are always amazed at how I've been able to magically find these spectacular places! The Appendices with Suggested Hikes are quite useful -- I have yet to be disappointed with the "Grand Views" of various parts of the Bay Area, for example. I can thank this book for providing many special memories, photos, and aching limbs (hey, the author was not joking about those "strenuous" hikes!).

Oh, I also purchased another Marc Soares book, "100 Hikes in the San Francisco Bay Area". While some hikes do overlap with this book, I'd recommend as a nice companion volume -- especially if you live inland (like me) and don't always have time to head to the coast.

Book Description

In this timely and alarming account of the corruption and decadence that characterize the world of back-alley stockbrokers, a former broker exposes an ethically twisted, brutal, and cutthroat culture rife with fraud and deception. Detailed firsthand is a world in which fortunes are made and lost with the drop of a trading slip, silver-tongued salesmen conceal illicit schemes drawn up to hustle a trusting public, and victors' spoils include cash, booze, drugs, and sex. Vivid inhabitants of this world include Nick, a drug-fueled closer who snorts lines of cocaine off his desk while selling clients on the latest hot stock; Carlos, who rewards his top brokers with prostitutes; Nathan, a cunning dealmaker whose activities came under FBI scrutiny after the September 11 attacks; and Dave, who hires strippers as sales assistants. These real-life characters and tragic accounts of clients losing their life savings are relayed with the verisimilitude available only to an insider.

Customer Reviews:

Memorable romp through the financial industry.......2003-09-01

This is a well-written and exciting view of the sordid goings-on within the world of finance. Efficient, powerful and to the point, this book held my full attention from beginning to end. My only complaint is that Aita at times focuses on some of the more shocking details too explicitly for my taste. Still, a wild ride well worth the time.

Book Description

Much has been written about Japanese management practices, production systems and business culture but surprisingly little attention has been given to the development of accounting practices and approaches in modern Japan. Professor Kyojiro Someya, a former president of the Japanese Accounting Association and now Director of the Japan Accounting Reserach Institiute, is one of the most distinguished accounting scholars in japan. In this book he presents an overview of developments under three main headings - Japanese Accounting History, Problems in Financial Accounting, and Cash Flow Accounting. Someya stresses that the focus of his research was shaped by the particular economic and business conditions in Japan. His work on cash flow accounting and fund flow analysis was done in the context of the problems presented by the high inflation in the immediate post war period; the work on financial statements was linked to the need to increase productivity; and his concerns for appropriate international reporting a reflection of the growing economic internationalization of the Japanese economy from the 1960s onwards. In this important and informed collection, Professor Someya also reflects on the broader meaning of accounting information in business and society, its role in business decsion making, and the different ways in which it may be organized and presented in different business cultures.

Japanese Accounting: A Historical Approach

Average customer rating:

Japanese Accounting: A Historical Approach
Kyojiro Someya
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKWQQW

Book Description

The image of the Derby winner with his leg in plaster was broadcast around the world. Alongside Mill Reef stood a baby-faced man who had won the Arc, the King George, the Eclipse, and now the Derby. He trained for the Queen and Queen Mother; and Lester Piggott, Willie Carson, and Frankie Dettori all rode for him—but where had he come from and how had he got there? Ian Balding's story is one of heartbreaking loss and outrageous good luck. He left Cambridge without a degree but with a rugby blue, and became one of the outstanding amateur sportsmen of his generation. Balding's burgeoning talent was quickly noticed and he was soon running Peter Hastings-Bass' stables at Kingsclere. Ian had no money and no experience of running a business, but he learned fast. In Making the Running, Ian Balding reveals the pressure of maintaining the pace, and shares the highs and lows of the sport of kings.

Average customer rating:

Stitch Sampler - The Ultimate Visual Dictionary to Over 200 Classic Stitches

Good Bye for Stitching Lovers

Very good but ....

Excellent Book for learning new stitches

A very good book of "cross-stitch" embroidery stitches

Stitch Sampler: The Ultimate Visual Dictionary to Over 200 Classic Stitches
Lucinda Ganderton
Manufacturer: DK ADULT
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Embroidery | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Needlework | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Textile Arts | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Mary Thomas's Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches

101 Needlepoint Stitches and How to Use Them: Fully Illustrated with Photographs and Diagrams (Dover Needlework)

The Needlepoint Book: A Complete Update of the Classic Guide

The Complete Needlepoint Guide: 400+ Needlepoint Stitches

The Embroidery Stitch Bible

ASIN: 0789446286

Book Description

This beautiful book, divided into two easy-to-use sections, is loaded with enticing and accessible photographs. Part One consists of both traditional and contemporary techniques, grouped into 14 families of related stitches. This clear and concise shows readers how to use and combine every stitch to achieve the best decorative and textural effects. Part Two contains photographs of the basic equipment needed, as well as techniques demonstrating how to design projects, prepare fabrics, and transfer designs using templates. Also included is a section on how the choice of fabrics and threads in varying combinations produces varying effects. Finally, a special section features ways to care for fine finished pieces.

Customer Reviews:

Stitch Sampler - The Ultimate Visual Dictionary to Over 200 Classic Stitches.......2007-01-05

This book is fantastic! It is easy to understand with excellent pictures and directions for the stitches. I have one and bought a second one for a present.

Good Bye for Stitching Lovers.......2006-03-21

This is a very useful book for stitching lovers. It has very good illustrations and explains the stiches very clearly.

Very good but ...........2003-05-03

does not do SILK embroidery stitches at all. If this is your thing, as it is mine, you will be very sorry here. 2 silk stitches and that's all. But if you do crewel and needlepoint there is literally nothing as good as this. Very clear explanations and good shots of the stitches themselves with alpha lettering to guide you...Everything is in full colour and that helps. While the word Sampler is used, there are no projects in this book as it really is a dictionary like Mary Thomas's Dictionary of Embroidery of Stitches. The difference between the two books is Mary's version shows the stitches as both embroidery and needlework while Lucinda tells you that they can be worked either way but does not show them. I guess in the end that's why there is no silk :-)

Excellent Book for learning new stitches.......2002-10-28

This is a fantastic book that covers a tremendous amount of stitches. This is a very valuable source in my embroidery library.

A very good book of "cross-stitch" embroidery stitches.......2002-06-07

Very good book, pictures are shown in color with very good illustrations of the stitches. Variations for various stitches are also shown which are appealing. I am an embroidery lover, after having this book I feel I can make thousands of beautifull unique pieces. A great book in all for beginners as well as for others who do embroidery. I would definitely recommend this book.

Average customer rating:

Pearls of Garden Wisdom

Pearls of Garden Wisdom: Time-Saving Tips and Techniques from a Country Home
Deborah S. Tukua , and Vicki West
Manufacturer: The Lyons Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Reference | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Techniques | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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Pearls of Kitchen Wisdom: Tips, Shortcuts, and Recipes from a Country Home

Pearls of Country Wisdom: Hints from a Small Town on Keeping a Garden and Home

ASIN: 1585744018

Book Description

Nearly 600 time- and money-saving tips.

Customer Reviews:

Pearls of Garden Wisdom.......2001-12-10

Pearls of Garden Wisdom is a great book for the home gardener -- especially the beginner. It's not an indepth, technical book that talks about formulas for fine tuning your soil, crop rotation for maximum yield, or garden plot lay-out. It IS a book of ideas to try and easy-to-carry-out handy tricks to make gardening more convenient, more fun, and more efficient.

There are tips for using space well, caring for gardening accouterments, using a greenhouse, and controlling pests and diseases without spending a bundle. (For instance, tip #304 tells how to remove seed ticks with tape; tip 339 tells how to shield seedlings from plant munching bugs with a cardboard and a bit of screen.) Find plants listed according to the type of garden you want -- plants for a tea garden; a culinary, medicinal, or bath and beauty herb garden; a bee or butterfly garden; and more. There are instructions and recipes for simple gifts, crafts, beauty aids and edibles, and just general gardening ideas. For the apartment dweller or indoor gardener, there are useful ideas as well.

Pearls of Garden Wisdom is not all-inclusive, and won't take the place of a basic how-to-garden book, if that's what you need. If you love making gardening easier and more effiecient on a small scale with common sense (and often down-right clever) ideas, or experimenting with different down-home methods, you will enjoy this book.

Book Description

There are many things that go into making the perfect day. The choices will very from person to person, but there are some small joys that almost all of us would agree on. From an invigorating shower before work, enlivened with a few drops of rosemary essential oil, to slipping between freshly ironed cotton sheets last thing at night, "life's little pleasures" are there to be seized upon and relished. Combining evocative photographs with lively, informative advice, this charming little book contains recipes for delicious snacks and drinks, reveals the secret of successful entertaining, and offers a host of ideas for self-indulgent treats that come together to create "A Perfect Day". -A thoughtful present or feel-good gift for yourself. -This charming little book combines practical advice and beautifully evocative images to celebrate the joys of perfect day.

Average customer rating:

profound, beautiful, fascinating writing--lags at the end

Comprehensive and detailed

I love this book.

Commits almost all of the sins of the biographer's craft

Who cares how many pages it is?

Jackson Pollock: An American Saga
Steven Naifeh , and Gregory White Smith
Manufacturer: Harpercollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Pollock, Jackson | ( P-R ) | Artists, A-Z | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Painting | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Mark Rothko: A Biography

Jackson Pollock: Energy Made Visible

Jackson Pollock: Key Interviews, Articles, and Reviews

Such Desperate Joy: Imagining Jackson Pollack

de Kooning: An American Master

ASIN: 0060973676

Book Description

Jackson Pollock was more than a great artist, he was a creative force of nature. He changed not only the course of Western art, but our very definition of "art." He was the quintessential tortured genius, an American Vincent van Gogh, cut from the same unconforming cloth as his contemporaries Ernest Hemingway and James Dean--and tormented by the same demons; a "cowboy artist" who rose from obscurity to take his place among the titans of modern art, and whose paintings now command millions of dollars.

Here, for the first time, is the life behind that extraordinary achievement--the disjointed childhood, the sibling rivalry, the sexual ambiguity, and the artistic frustration out of which both artist and art developed.

Based on more than 2,000 interviews with 850 people, Jackson Pollock is the first book to explore the life of a great artist with the psychological depth that marks the best biographies of literary and political figures. In eight years of research the authors have uncovered previously unknown letters and documents, gained access to medical and psychiatric records, and interviewed scores of the artist's friends and acquaintances whose stories had never been told. They were also the first biographers in twenty years to benefit from the cooperation of Pollock's widow, Lee Krasner.

The results of these unprecedented efforts lie before you: a rich, sprawling, landmark biography of one of the most compelling figures in all of American culture; a brilliant, explosive "portrait of the artist," intimately detailed, abundantly illustrated (with more than 200 photographs from Pollock's life and work, many of them never before published), and filled with new information and new insights.

In a style as richly textured, engrossing, and poignant as the best of contemporary literature, Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith give us the family crucible out of which the artist and his art emerged. Beginning with Jackson's birth on a sheep ranch in Wyoming, we follow the Pollock family on a relentless trek across the American West, as their dreams of a better life somewhere else are repeatedly frustrated. We see the young Jack Pollock as a struggling art student in New York, escaping into drunken rages or throwing himself into the Hudson River in one of several attempts at suicide.

Later, we see Pollock, by turns, gently affectionate and outrageously cruel, creatively bankrupt and heroically productive. We see him alternately fascinated and intimidated by his contemporaries: Clement Greenberg, Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning, Robert Motherwell, Barnett Newman, Harold Rosenberg, Clyfford Still, Tennessee Williams. We see him enter into a tumultuous marriage with the painter Lee Krasner, creating a powerful alliance that will lead first to triumph, then to decline, and finally to death when, with his mistress at his side, Pollock smashes his car into a tree.

But Jackson Pollock is more than the epic story of a tormented man and his sublime art, it is also a compulsively readable, sweeping saga of America's cultural coming of age. From frontier Iowa to the dust bowl of Arizona, from the twilight of the Wild West to the desolation of Depression-era New York, from the excitement and experimentation of the Mexican muralists to the fanfare of the Surrealists' visit to America, from the arts projects of the WPA to the explosion of interest and money that marked the beginning of the modern art world, Pollock's story unfolds against the dramatic landscape of American history.

Here then is a definitive record of the journey of an artist, filled with piercing psychological insights, that brings us to a truer understanding of the power and pathos of creative genius.

Customer Reviews:

profound, beautiful, fascinating writing--lags at the end.......2007-08-03

Must admit that when I received this tome in the mail, it took me weeks even to pick it up and look at it, as it seemed just well over-the-top in length and weight for the story of this one man or for a summer read. But as soon as I began, I was off. The writers carry you along like the best fiction writers, and in the meantime you get an inside peak at an entire era -- the times, the mood, the other people around and active in the American modern art movement. It almost seems impossible that the authors were able to gather so much detail to make this so vivid! I became attached to it like a favored novel. Only one criticism--the last multiple chapters are all about his post-production, post-return to drinking, destructive downhill spiral. After a while, this portion became repetitive as in "enough already, I don't need to hear about his destroying yet another set of lawn furniture." At some point well before the end, I the reader wanted to jump in the book and put him out of his misery. Still -- what an American tragedy and must read.

Comprehensive and detailed.......2005-09-07

Whenever I hear the phrase "exhaustively researched," I will think of this book. The authors interviewed over 800 people! The notes section is extensive and detailed, so if you wonder where they (Naifeh/Smith) got a quote, go to the back of the book and find out. I have been lugging this book around for about three weeks (the hardcover copy is over 800 pages and must weigh over 5 lbs), ever since I saw the movie "Pollock" with Ed Harris and decided to read the book it was based on. This is a thorough biography of Jackson Pollock. It starts with his grandparents to give you a good idea of how Jackson came to be. I am not an artsy person (at least, I don't pay much attention to artwork) and don't know much about artists (aside from the music appreciation class I took in college, which I enjoyed), so this was an eye-opener for me. The only Pollock painting I had ever seen before reading this book was the one briefly shown an episode of "Sex and the City." I very much enjoyed this book. It clearly showed the connection between Pollock's art and his life. His childhood deeply affected him and the trauma he still felt (along with repressed homosexuality) came out in his art--when he would let it. Although I didn't enjoy the overview of Jungian psychology, it was necessary to know the basics to understand how Pollock's interaction with a Jungian psychologist helped his art, if not his emotional trauma. The book is competently written, which is good considering its length and complexity. A few things I found somewhat irritating and distracting from the main focus of the book was the embellished or fictionalized accounts of Pollock and what he may have been thinking or thought. How do they (writers) know? They should have stuck to the research, and not included how they imagined something happened or how Pollock thought--that takes away from the seriousness of the book. The end of the book, when Pollock is driving drunk and crashes the car, is a good example of that. It reads like a novel: "For an instant, everything was silent--except the air rushing by. Escape velocity: he had finally reached it." Although I like the imagery, I am not sure if an extensively researched biography is the place for it. Also, that sentence (and ones preceding and following it) seem to imply that Jackson knew what he was doing and killed himself. This could be true, since Pollock had a fascination for driving fast (and drunk) and not caring about the consequences, but whether it was accident or he meant to die is unknown, and the writers shouldn't imply one over the other. The other thing that bugged me was the extent of the information. That is, not only do we get mini-biographies of people who influenced Pollock, but we get mini-biographies of the people who influenced the people who influenced Pollock! It got to be a little crazy, trying to digest (and remember) all this information. Overall, though, I enjoyed the book. It was an intellectually stimulating and sad story of misunderstood artist. I wish I had read this book before seeing the Pollock painting (one of his big "drip" ones)at Ontario Museum of Arts (I think that is what it was) in Toronto. I would have appreciated it more.

I love this book........2003-08-12

This is one of the most interesting biographies I've read in a long time. I think Pollock is mostly misunderstood. He was a very good painter, but he's a simple guy, looking to be famous to make a few bucks, have a few kids, and remain relatively on the level, but Lee Krasner knew better. Pollock hated "phonies" and felt he had became one after the Look article, etc.. Here you'll find all those wonderful Pollock stories in fine detail. Like him pissing into peggy Guggenhiem's fireplace during a cocktail party. This book will give you the history of that period like no other, and a feel for what it's like to be an ambitious artist in the New York art world. Great supporting cast in Lee Krasner, Clement Greenberg, Peggy Guggenhiem, and all those painters!

Commits almost all of the sins of the biographer's craft.......2002-07-20

The Naifeh/White Smith biography of Jackson Pollock is extensively researched, and it's also (for what it's worth) fairly readable. But it's a pretty bad biography. The writers feel free to let their imaginations run riot, and indulge in weak psychobiographic speculation with little proof or justification, and they seem intent on "reading" Pollock's life as if it were a coherent and pre-written text (the most offensive example of this is at the end, when they seem to suggest Jackson's death, and his attendent criminally negligent killing of Edith Metzger, were somehow part of his artist's journey). I think a major artist like Pollock deserves a better and more responsible biography.

Who cares how many pages it is?.......2002-01-23

I read this book when it first was published.
This book made me want to see the new movie!
I balked at it's cost but it is the best biography I have ever read.
It is well researched and written.
Things from the book at linger in my memory after all this time?
His hell raising at the Canal Bar,dealing with Peggy Guggenheim, his death and the strange notion that he claimed he would supposedly "know" when a woman had her period.

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