Soldier*: (*Rifleman by Training, Clerk-Typist by Accident. In North Africa, Italy, and Austria)

Book Description

After WWII training on every weapon in the infantry, the author was shipped oversees, handed a typewriter, and typed his way through 2 1/2 years of North Africa, Italy, Austria. Didn't fire a shot and still feels guilty about it.

Book Description

A fresh new voice in fiction, Nikki Jenkins's novel imagines the life of a woman who experiences the best and worst of everyone around her -- and tries to redeem every relationship she has, no matter how crazy and convoluted they become.

Natalie Kelley's world is in danger of falling apart, and she is the only one who can keep that from happening. Her husband, Anderson -- who has an undeniable history of adultery -- is once again preoccupied with something other than work. And that's not all. Natalie has to deal with her own spoiled mother, drug-addicted sister, man-crazy best friend, and her own children who are too young to take care of themselves.

Natalie goes through three days of her life, desperately clinging to the only life she knows and supporting everyone who relies on her, all at once. Her husband's actions verge on the edge of abusive, and it is only a matter of time before Natalie discovers what has been drawing him further away from their love -- and the results will shock everyone.

Her struggles are contrasted with flashbacks that help make sense of the present, showing her relationships as they had been, and as they might yet become again. Through it all, Natalie strives to be available for everyone, but is even her indomitable spirit up to the task? Playing With the Hand I Was Dealt is an insightful debut about a woman's attempts to redefine "normal" in a life gone mad.

Customer Reviews:

(RAW Rating: 3.5) - Life is a Gamble.......2007-09-29

Because of our natural instinct to be caregivers, many women fall into the role of being the doormat for all kinds of treatment from the people who rely on us. This natural instinct has a way of making us feel we should solve all of life's problems for our friends and family members while sadly leaving our own needs unattended. Such is the life of Natalie Kelley in PLAYING WITH THE HAND I WAS DEALT.

Taking a gamble on her high school sweetheart, Natalie married Anderson knowing he had a problem with infidelity and self-centeredness. Her mother, using the term loosely, was only a shell of a woman providing little in the area of motherly affection and concern. Her sister, Andrea, became addicted to drugs due to the dysfunction in their family. Her friend, Leslie, is desperately looking for a sperm donor to stop her biological clock from blowing up. Natalie tries to be the stabilizer in each of these relationships, despite her needs, until she is forced to face the facts--these are grown people who should be accountable to themselves.

PLAYING WITH THE HAND I WAS DEALT takes a brief look into a life that could possibly define any woman you know. She is the caregiver, the nurturer, the psychologist, the therapist, the mom, the lover, and the forgiver. Nikki Jenkins did an excellent job of portraying these roles in her main character and showing the dependant roles of the secondary characters. She accomplishes this over a three-day period using flashbacks as the means of bringing the readers up to snuff. The flashbacks were somewhat distracting to me due to the frequency of them; however, the author's writing style is what captures my attention. I believe this is a good first effort, and Jenkins is a new author to watch.

Reviewed by Brenda M. Lisbon
of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers

Everyday Life.......2007-08-12

Playing With The Hand I Was Dealt by Nikki Jenkins is a three day journey through Natalie Kelley's life. She had a set of twins to deal with, alongside the dysfunction of her greater-than-thou mother, drug-addicted sister, baby-daddy seeking best friend, and an absentee husband, Anderson. With such contorted relationships, who could remain sane?

Natalie attempted to play a role that most women fall prey to; rehabilitator. Natalie wanted to fix the lives of those she loved, often neglecting her own needs. Anderson made for her biggest challenge. With a past laced with infidelity, it took all of Natalie's strength and faith to trust her husband. Believing that he was worth the fight, she fought hard to maintain a normal marriage. But with Anderson always working, suspicion constantly crossed her path. How long would Natalie be able to dismiss what she knew in her heart? Would the people she was so dedicated to helping ever rise to her expectations? Or would Natalie crumble to pieces when she is faced with a healthy dose of reality?

Playing With The Hand I Was Dealt was a depiction of everyday living. While it is apparent that the author can write well, this novel lacked the freshness that would catapult her into the literary world. Though Natalie's mother, sister, and best friend were supporting characters, I was more interested in the stories they could possibly tell. There are a few chapters that could be omitted, as they do not add anything to the storyline. There were so many flashbacks that I was distracted through most of the novel. At this time, I cannot recommend this novel to others; however, I would not totally dismiss the author. Nikki Jenkins has a nice way with words and will hopefully weave her way to someone's best sellers list one day.

Reviewed by Darnetta Frazier
APOOO BookClub

Average customer rating:

Great Book w/Great Recipes

YUMMY!

Yes, this is healthy

Healthy?

Eater's Choice Low-Fat Cookbook
Ron Goor
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Low Fat | Special Diet | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Low-Fat Diet | Special Conditions | Diets & Weight Loss | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Healthy Living | Personal Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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Eater's Choice: A Food Lover's Guide to Lower Cholesterol

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Busy People's Low-fat Cookbook (Busy People's Low-Fat Cookbook)

ASIN: 0395971047

Book Description

More than 300 scrumptious, heart-healthy recipes from the kitchen of the best-selling authors of Choose to Lose and Eater's Choice. Long acclaimed as the nation's leading authorities on healthful eating, Dr. Ron and Nancy Goor have assembled, for the first time under one cover, the finest recipes in their repertoire: appetizers, soups, salads, main courses, and desserts so delicious you won't believe they are actually good for you. To help you monitor dietary fat and cholesterol, each recipe is accompanied by a full analysis of calories and fat, and every one bears the user-friendly stamp that runs through all the Goors' books—and has made them million-copy bestsellers. The instructions are foolproof and clear, so even beginners will have no trouble turning our luscious, heart-healthy meals. Techniques have been streamlined, prep times have been minimized, and ingredients are available in any supermarket. Everyone can now eat well.

Customer Reviews:

Great Book w/Great Recipes.......2007-01-09

I bought this book at the recommendation of a nutritionalist. It is filled with good ideas and good recipes. I recommend it.

YUMMY!.......2002-08-27

I have been compelled to write a review for any book- until now!

I love this cookbook! The recipes are interesting and flavorful. The ones I have made have been fairly simple. Some do require some specialty ingredients, but they are used in many different recipes so they seemed worth having on hand. This is the only cookbook I keep on my counter.

Yes, this is healthy.......2000-03-07

The first online review is wrong about the fat content of the recipes. At the bottom of each recipe the calorie content is described. The recipes are mostly under 50 or 60 fat calories per serving. NOT FAT GRAMS. With 9 or 10 fat calories per gram that is only 5 or 6 grams of fat per serving. This is a healthy and helpful cookbook. Please diregard the earlier review

Healthy?.......2000-02-03

I bought this book thinking that it would provide low fat recipes. I found only a few that were below 20 grams of fat! If you are looking for a lowfat cookbook, I don't suggest this one.

Eater's Choice Low-fat Cookbook: Eat Your Way To Thinness and Good Health

Average customer rating:

Eater's Choice Low-fat Cookbook: Eat Your Way To Thinness and Good Health
Ron Goor
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N7AIMA

Eater's Choice Low-Fat Cookbook: Your Way to Thinness and Good Health

Average customer rating:

Eater's Choice Low-Fat Cookbook: Your Way to Thinness and Good Health
Ron Goor
Manufacturer: Not Avail
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Low Fat | Special Diet | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

Healthy Living | Personal Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0614154944

Average customer rating:

Attractive Book of Unusual Recipes. Beginners Beware

Tart magic!

Beautiful book, but not for healthy eaters

Easy recipes for delicious, beautiful tarts

The quick and the good....

The Art of the Tart: Savory and Sweet
Tamasin Day-Lewis
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Pies | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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Once Upon a Tart . . .: Soups, Salads, Muffins, and More

GOOD TEMPERED FOOD

ASIN: 0375504923
Release Date: 2001-03-06

Book Description

Tarts are the perfect self-contained treat, a delectable indulgence. In this special collection, Tamasin Day-Lewis provides classic recipes and new twists for an assortment of savory and sweet tarts. She explores the rituals of their preparation, from rolling to primping and patching to whisking, all of which make tarts the most satisfying of foods — to make and to eat.

The home chef is taught to prepare a variety of crusts from easy-to-follow directions. The most difficult step is trying to figure out which of the mouth-watering fillings to use. Included is everything from Sweet Corn and Spring Onion Tart to Rhubard Meringue Pie.

Beautifully designed, featuring more than fifty full-color photographs, and sumptuously filled, The Art of the Tart is sure to be the perfect addition to any cookbook collection.

Amazon.com

Tamasin Day-Lewis writes so beautifully, so eloquently, and so descriptively that it's almost impossible to choose which of her exceptional, delectable tarts to begin with. Her tone is warm, friendly, and generous, and her attitude towards food and cooking will make you nod and smile and want to read this cookbook aloud to anyone who'll listen. She laments that the "current speed-addicted climate" has pushed so many of us to give up cooking from scratch. We have been convinced to make questionably nutritious fast food instead of relishing the relaxation, pleasure, enjoyment of not just preparing good food, but of eating it in the way it is meant to be eaten--by savoring it slowly.

Early childhood memories of standing on a kitchen chair, cuffs covered with flour, making her first tarts, and then impatiently biting into a hot jam tart and the sweetly searing pain that results inspired Day-Lewis to write this book. Tarts, she argues, are superior fast food. With practice, the dough can be made quickly and in batches large enough that there's no need to make the dough every time. Fillings can be as simple as the onions, eggs and cream necessary for the Onion Tart. And longer recipes are just longer, not any more complicated or difficult to follow. "Anyone reading this book," says Day-Lewis, "should not doubt his or her ability to achieve every one of the recipes." She assumes "basic skills and competence," and a bit of curiosity. Many of these recipes are remakes of old favorites, but because Day-Lewis is writing in the U.K. and Ireland, most of those old favorites are brand new in America. The Leek, Potato, and Oatmeal Tart is a substantial cold-weather dish made with oatmeal crust filled with garlic, leeks, potatoes, and cheddar. Treacle Tart is "gloopy, gooky, toothachingly sweet," best served with "a solid spoonful of clotted cream slipping deliquescent from the slice, turning buttery at the edges as it slides." How can anyone read that and not start checking the kitchen for ingredients?

Divided by the chapters "Savory Tarts," "Sweet Tarts," and "Other People's Tarts" (try Nigel Slater's Broccoli, Blue Cheese, and Crème Fraiche Tart and Richard Corrigan's Banana Tart), the book is sprinkled with vibrant color photographs of lusciousness such as the Peach, Vanilla, and Amaretti Tarte Tatin ("amber-hued ... speckled with vanilla and sticky with caramel") and the bright yellow Corn and Scallion Tart with a Polenta Crust. Day-Lewis is inventive, as is evident with recipes such as Monkfish Tart with Bearnaise, Tomato, Goat's Camembert, and Herb Tart; Rhubarb, Honey, and Saffron Tart; and Brûléed Black Currant or Blueberry Tart. If your taste buds (or those of your audience) are less adventurous, you can start with Asparagus Tart, Potato, Garlic, and Parsley Torte, or Quiche Lorraine. And no one will ever turn down a "state-of-the-art" Lemon Tart, a Strawberry Tart ("voluptuous ... and glazed to gloopy perfection"), or Simon Hopkinson's Chocolate Tart ("If there is a heaven, this is it," says Day-Lewis). Whatever your time frame, your kitchen comfort level, or your palate, Day-Lewis will leave you with your cuffs in flour, composing a thank-you note in your head to this most delightful author. --Leora Y. Bloom

Customer Reviews:

Attractive Book of Unusual Recipes. Beginners Beware.......2005-03-27

`The Art of the Tart' and `Tarts With Tops On' by noted English culinary writer, Tamasin Day-Lewis both have the outward appearance of books on the express line to the discount table. And, while many good books have suffered that fate, that appearance should not be held against these two volumes. It is important to distinguish this book from the excellent volumes on general pastry making such as Rose Levy Beranbaum's `The Pie and Pastry Bible' or Nick Malgieri's `Perfect Pastry' or Flo Brakker's `The Simple Art of Perfect Baking, or Gayle Ortiz' `The Village Baker's Wife'. It is also playing in a different league than the excellent `Mes Tartes' by Christine Ferber. All of these spend many pages on the ins and outs of pastry technique. Ms. Ferber's volume is especially interesting if you are devoted to the French approach to pastry, which is just a bit different than what you will get from the American experts.

When I first browsed through Ms. Day-Lewis' books, the absence of the heavy concentration on technique and the many familiar names of classic tart and pie recipes had me discounting the books as not worth my attention. The opening tart with a top on was nothing more than a classic chicken potpie that I have made following better instructions from James Beard.

The first thing that began redeeming the books in my eyes was the quality of the writing. Ms. Day-Lewis has a way with phrases that seems to owe more than a little from the writing style of M.F.K. Fisher, although the writer to which she seems to pay the greatest homage is Jane Grigson. In spite of a few misstatements such as the notion that pastry making was a science, `but not an exact science', her general observations are quite a pleasure to read and make me want to read more of her books.

Both books include chapters on `other people's recipes', and some of the most interesting material is in these chapters. Some of the borrowing is from Nigel Slater who is a writer like Day-Lewis and unlike Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver, whose works have not made a very big impression on this side of the pond. Others are attributed to Claudia Roden, who has made a big splash over here. Many others are attributed to friends and relatives. Regardless of the source, all these recipes are pretty far removed from your garden-variety tomato tart. Some recipes such as Michel Roux's Tourte au Jambon et Tomme de Pyrenees require ingredients such as black truffles and hard Pyrenees sheep's milk cheese which are just a bit to dear or too much trouble to acquire. Others in this chapter are both very simple and very fetching. Two that caught my eye were Nigel Slater's Stilton, Onion, and Potato "Frying Pan" pie and Deborah's Luxury Meat Loaf Pie. Both recipes are small variations on very common dishes, but the small improvements are worth a bundle of raves at the dinner table.

The next chapter of recipes for pies covers eight variations on apple pie. Aside from the plain vanilla apple pie, all were pretty unusual, but certainly not difficult. I did miss a recipe for Tart Tatin, but I suspect I probably already have five or six recipes for this classic on my shelves already. Another reason the Tart Tatin does not appear with these apple pies is because the first book already includes nine recipes for lidless apple tarts, including the famous Tatin dessert. The first book also includes a perfect recipe for entertaining with an English theme, a treacle tart.

The next recipe chapter of pie recipes covers classic American pies. Among these eleven recipes are peach pie, pecan pie, blueberry pie, pumpkin pie, and key lime pie, but no Pennsylvania Dutch molasses cake, which of course is much more of a pie than a cake.

Among the recipes for sweet pies, there are a few with unusual ingredients such as gooseberries and a few which simply did not appeal to me such as the raspberry ice cream pie, which I considered a misnomer, as the filling was not a true churned ice cream but more like a simple frozen custard.

If your cookbook collecting leans toward those that look good and read well, then these books are for you. They are also very interesting if you have a special attraction to baking tarts and pies, and already have the basic techniques securely under your belt. If you are a novice with pastry, then I suggest you take a by on these and check out the four titles I cited at the beginning of the review.

I will note that for the very nice binding, photography, and the build-in page marking ribbon, these books are very reasonably priced, which make them even more attractive if you are fond of attractive culinary books.

If you are always on the lookout for unusual pie and tart recipes, don't give it another thought and put in your order for these lovelies.

Tart magic!.......2003-11-26

My family and I enjoy eating quiches and tarts very much. We love the creamy filling and the comforting warmth, especially when encased in a light, crunchy, delicate pastry case. They are so easy and practical, as you can make them ahead and reheat them.
I usually made them using ready-made pastry, because my attempts at making my own were always a bit laboursome, it was always a bit difficult to roll the pastry and not to tear it, and somehow it was always a bit undercooked (maybe that was due to the fact that I used rice instead of baking beans, but now I have bought them). Those times are over! Now I can make perfect, crisp and tender pastry, and the best part is that it rolls in a breeze! I don't know what was wrong with my method, but now that I have this recipe I don't even think of buying ready-made pastry anymore.
The recipes for the different fillings are wonderful, too. We have found great quiches that we love to have for dinner, like Spinach and Anchovy Tart ( we make it with yougurt instead of cream and it is delicious!). Or the different ones with fish, or Onion Tart,or the Flamiche, mmm...yummy!
The sweet ones are very good too. I made the Chocolate Pecan Pie for a dinner party and it got raves. I love the Lemon Tart and I could go on like this...
Well, the recipes are very rich, but I find that you can easily substitute lighter ingredients (like yoghurt for cream) with consistent results. At least, I often do it...
The book is heavy weight paperback, not very thick, just 144 pages. It has the picture of a tomato tartlet on the front with a silver band for the title and author. The recipes are laid out well: an introduction on how it was created, or anecdotes about the recipe; the ingredients on one side and the instructions on the other. Easy to follow and clear.
There are a few pictures of the finished tarts, even if many recipes don't have one, or have just pictures of the ingredients, that's why I'm giving it four stars. (I like to be tempted by pictures!)
At the back of the book there is a chapter on pastry, with the instuctions on how to make all the different kinds (shortcrust, pâte sucrée, pâte sablée, puff pastry).
I found this book really useful to help me making better tarts and quiches and I would suggest it to anyone that likes baking.

Beautiful book, but not for healthy eaters.......2003-04-05

Every recipe in this book looks beautiful and delicious. I enjoyed reading all of the author's "stories" about each recipe. I haven't tried any recipes yet simply because nearly every one uses lots of butter, cream, etc. I'm no health nut, but these are not everyday recipes for those of us even reasonably concerned with healthy eating. I would only use this book for cooking for special occasions like showers, parties, and holidays. One other thing--a few recipes in this book are pretty foreign sounding to an American cook such as myself. Definitely written for the English palate.

Easy recipes for delicious, beautiful tarts.......2002-08-08

Seven years ago, I had an onion tart in New York that was so good I've been trying to replicate it ever since. I bought the book based on its beautiful graphics and what looked like easy-to-follow recipes, including one for an onion tart.

I invited friends over a couple of weeks ago and made the onion tart for the first time. The custard came out voluminous; I used about half of what the recipe called for. Otherwise, it was absolutely delicious. I've started making other recipes and they're turning out just as well.

The really impressive thing, though, was the selection of dough recipes in the back. I'm not a baker and the first time I made dough according to her directions it turned out flaky and delicious! She has a rare talent for explaining baking. And, to boot, it didn't take very long or require expensive or hard-to-find ingredients.

I recommend the book whole-heartedly, but please experiment with the ingredients and quantities.

The quick and the good...........2001-09-13

In this day of working away from home, shopping after work and fixing a meal on the run, THE ART OF THE TART is a gift. I discovered this book in the Washington Post Food section, which seems to be dedicated to folks like me who don't want to restort to scambled eggs, oatmeal, or fast food night after night. How wonderful to discover there are elegant dishes one can fix relatively quickly, and in most cases healthier than the fast food fix.

Day-Lewis is apparently well established in England as a food expert and has written articles for Conde-Nast and House and Garden. If you missed her in these other forms, this is a good place to start. Some of her tarts are meals, such as the 'Porcini Mushroom and Red Onion' tart or the 'Scallop, Artichoke, and Smoked Bacon' tart. Other tarts are for dessert, such as 'A Tatin of Apricots Stuffed with Almond Paste' or 'Apple Crumble Tart.' Not all tarts come in the same wrapper. While some tarts have a traditional flaky crust, others have a crust of polenta such as the 'Corn and Scallion Tart' or 'George Morley's Leek Tart' which has a cheese pastry crust. Some of the recipes Day-Lewis includes are her own, such as the 'Spinach and Anchovy' tart or the 'Asparagus' tart, and others are from friends.

There are plenty of plain tarts, and tarts with too much cholesterol, but there is a tart for everyone. According to the Washington Post, Ms Day-Lewis is the sister of Daniel. Such a talented family.

Average customer rating:

Not really worth the price...

Great Designs

An excellent resource

Traditional Blackwork Samplers (Needlecrafts Series)
Lesley Wilkins
Manufacturer: Search Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Embroidery | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Needlework | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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Beginner's Guide to Mountmellick Embroidery (Beginner's Guide to Needlecrafts)

ASIN: 1844480224

Book Description

This timeless sixteenth century embroidery technique originated in Spain Beautiful patterns were worked on to clothing as decoration and later on blackwork designs were used to embellish household items. Inspired by the past, Lesley Wilkins illustrates her techniques with a whole host of flowers, plants, birds, animals and figures. She covers everything - from what materials to use and working with a chart, to getting started and how to stitch. Taking samplers as a theme, she creates an exquisite range of designs using black, red and gold threads Borders are built up by repeating and joining motifs, and clear step-by-step photographs accompany the author's comprehensive instructions. All the designs are charted, with inspirational pictures of embroideries showing how to build up finished designs.

Customer Reviews:

Not really worth the price..........2007-05-26

I bought this because of the rave reviews, but for the price of the book, I found it lacking. Being only 64 pages long, I was really hoping it would be jam-packed full of blackwork designs. One reviewer states that this book was very helpful because it discusses how to create your own patterns. Well, the discussion is really 1 sentence where the author says she collects patterns of Tudor gardens and knotwork to inspire her. Well, that's great, but the process isn't explained even a little.
The first half of this book is dedicated to describing blackwork, materials used, how to read charts, etc, with very big,pretty pictures taking up a lot of room. I would expect something like this in the first book, but considering this is the second book on this topic from this author, I expected this space to be utilized with the content I'm after - namely blackwork samplers. Had it been titled "Beginner's Blackwork" or something similar, I wouldn't be complaining (or have bought it).

As for the charts, they are divided into 3 sections, Flowers & plants; Figures, Birds & Animals; and Alphabets. The flowers & Plants consist of 7 samplers that I find to be the absolute best in the book. The samples are full and interesting, with a very geometric, well balance appeal. Figures, Bird's & Animals has 6 samplers and they look just plain dumb. The blackwork looks awkward, like line drawings a child makes. The figures of people look like monkeys to me.I'm not sure if this is how these figures were stitched in olden times or if the author isn't very good at drawing figures. I don't really care, it was a waste of paper.
The last section consists of 6 alphabets, 1 large on it's own sampler, and 5 smaller, single line alphabets. I find alphabets to be another waste of space since there are so many available for free and are easy to create, but just about every book insists on having at least one. The alphabets included are boring and plain. The first is large with adornments all around the letters. It has potential & could have been a nice alphabet, except that the adornments look thrust upon the letters without thought of actually using the alphabet for anything other than initials.

As for the charts themselves, they are very nicely done, large and easy to read. The stitch examples themselves are superb with excellent photos, so much so that you could almost stitch the examples right from the picture.

Overall, this is a pretty little book, with nice clear pictures and well done charts. I would even venture to say that it would make a nice beginner's book for an adventuresome soul. But if you are looking for samplers without a lot of fluff, don't waste your money. Unless it comes down in price to about $6 I think you'd be better off searching the internet for patterns.

Great Designs.......2006-03-09

I bought this because Lesley's book "Beginner's Guide to Blackwork" was so wonderful. And this book did not disappoint, either--more great designs, and a wonderful resource for anyone interested in blackwork, or Holbein, or antique needlework techniques in general.

An excellent resource.......2006-02-23

I started doing blackwork because of this author's previous blackwork book. That one left me wanting more, and I'm glad Lesley obliged! Excellent photos of completed work face a crisp grid with the pattern on it. I especially like how she discussed how to get ideas to create your own patterns (e.g., she explains how she got some ideas from the layout of formal English gardens!). I highly recommend this book.

Book Description

The wealth of information in this one text will meet the needs of virtually all beginning landscapers. The author has presented each project in a step-by-step fashion, beginning with complete lists of materials and tools needed to complete the job. The book clearly explains how to plan a project, including preparing a layout plan and staking out the work. And, readers will appreciate the photos and diagrams that will enable them to visualize the completed project. Recipes are included for such projects as paved patios and walkways, fences, decorative pools and waterfalls, berms, plant removal, arbors, retaining walls and steps.

Customer Reviews:

Just as described.......2007-08-10

The order process was very easy and safe! Order was received in perfect shape...just as described! I would definitely order from Amazon again.

Average customer rating:

How to Be Cherished

Required reading for loving relationships

Being Cherished is incredible!

Learning how to cherish is healing.

Knowing what pitfalls to avoid, and more

How to Be Cherished: A Guide to Having the Love You Desire
Marilyn Graman , and Maureen Walsh
Manufacturer: Life Works Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Interpersonal Relations | Relationships | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Love & Romance | Relationships | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
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Meditations for Manifesting : Morning and Evening Meditations to Literally Create Your Heart's Desire

Accessories:

Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer

ASIN: 0971854866

Customer Reviews:

How to Be Cherished .......2005-09-01

How To Be Cherished is based on the premise that when you love yourself, you are irresistible. It beckons you to remember when you were first in love, how you glowed and people loved being around you because you radiated happiness. The love you shared with your partner made life seem good and you were sure you would be happy forever.

Then reality slowly settled in and the rough edges began to show-old hurts that have not properly healed, lack of self-love and beliefs and patterns of behavior that no longer serve us. When our rough edges collide with the rough edges of our partner, it can be profoundly painful and our first response is to run the other way. How To Be Cherished gives us other options and guides readers toward a positive way to think about relationships and their inherent challenges.

According to the authors, women are trained from childhood to think happiness will come when they find the right partner. This book reveals how women can find and keep the happiness they seek by first taking care of their own needs and embracing their own power; chapters include "When You're Hysterical, It's Historical" and "Opening Your Heart to Yourself," among others. This is the third book in a series of 12 planned books based on highly successful workshops and courses created by Graman and Walsh.

Participants in these workshops come to life on the pages of this book. Intended for women in all stages of relationship, it offers a new model for relationships by recognizing women's intrinsic power and revealing the deep desire men have to please. It lays bare the assumptions and expectations that keep women from finding love that lasts and is a manual for meaningful relationship exploration.

Reviewed by Jeanie C. Williams

Required reading for loving relationships.......2004-05-10

Over time long-term relationships often cool and have their problems. This is never truer than a romantic relationship between a man and a woman. The purpose of "How to Be Cherished" is to help women figure out not only why your relationship might not be all you want it to be but also what you can do to make it the relationship you want. By following the advice of the authors you can make yourself irresistible while also avoiding relationship pitfalls and before you know it you will realize you have the relationship you want. Even if your relationship is already good, you can make it even better. That's a pretty big promise to make but after reading the book I think they rise to the challenge.

If you are angry, if you are disappointed, even if you feel powerless in your relationship, you are powerful and can change it. The first couple of chapters look at how strongly you affect the man in your life by your actions, comments, moods, and attitude. As a man I have to say that the authors hit the nail right on the head here. The woman generally sets the emotional tone in a relationship. Men tend to be pretty much in emotional neutral most of the time until the woman sets the tone. You are a lot more powerful than you think!

I found chapters three and four particularly interesting. Chapter three deals with the fact that we all have a past. To understand why people do what they do it is often important to understand their past and how it affects them now. You have a past that you bring into the relationship, and he has a past that he brings into the relationship. Understanding this helps you to understand each other. The fourth chapter builds on this by looking at the fact that when you become hysterical and over react to something minor then what you are reacting to is something in your history. Hence the chapter title, "When You're Hysterical, It's Historical". The authors point out that it can be your history, his history or both of your histories, but either way it is your past controlling the situation. A healing process needs to start here to allow you to move forward in a positive relationship.

The next chapter starts the section on the actual keys to becoming cherished. There is some really powerful stuff here. Some of the real gems include empowering things like "stop feeling like your relationship is happening to you"; you are a part of it and can affect what happens. Other great sections include learning forgiveness, how to stop pushing love away, and a great section on different aspects of love and becoming the object of his affection.

Another really good chapter is "Thirteen Facts About Men". The title caught my attention right away as I wondered whether these two women really understood men or not. Well, they got this one totally accurate again. If women really understood these things their relationship would be different. While I may not agree with some of their explanations for why a particular trait is true they do get all thirteen of these totally accurate (even if some men wouldn't admit it). The book is worth the price just for this chapter alone.

Of course there is a lot more to the book than just the portions I mentioned above. I have to admit that my first reaction on receiving the book was that it was just another relationship book like the many others on the market. I could not have been more wrong. This is an exceptional book that is in a class of its own when it comes to relationship books. "How To Be Cherished" is a highly recommended read for women everywhere.

Being Cherished is incredible!.......2004-05-08

I love the results of doing the work in this book. Oddly enough I was doing the work to improve my marriage, that was predictable after 13 years of marriage and neglected due to the very full nature of our life (two kids, two jobs, several rent houses, and a very successful business, and the accumulation of lots of stuff). And my marriage remains good, ahh but my relationship with my husband is definitely getting back to glowing.

But a surprise result is having so much more patience with my children -- I can be in my heart during stressful times, more consistently, with compassion not irritation or anger. I am ever so grateful for this. It will change our lives, and open a future for myself, my husband, and my children that wouldn't have been possible before.

So I did a workshop in New York with Marilyn and Maureen. And have been able to see my part of the problems of my life and I will tell you that I have successfully tolerated my discomfort as I addressed some home issues for me and my husband. What is so great is that now they are MY problems and not that my husband IS the problem. I mean I have seen my part in the problem, and have been able to take care of myself and take care of him (that wonderful man who loves me) so that we could resolve the problem.

In one instance I have figured out how I was irritating my husband by not finishing, which kept me and him stuck. And that I have actually spent the time to determine what will really work for me so that I will be happy -- really worked to design the solution to the problem -- and in so doing have discovered something that will really work for me AND him.

And, my sweet husband -- While there is much repair to do, the work has begun. All by owning my part of the problem. So the long hours away at the office, don't upset me so much, and I am happily going to his office to work with him(rather than being angered by it), and the extra stuff we've accumulated is no longer an obstacle, just an e-bay opportunity IF he is okay with it being sold, and I've begun paying attention to the things that I do that irritate him -- and owning my part -- and doing something about it. And trusting that I can talk it through, and listening listening listening.

Amazing Amazing Amazing. And I am ever so grateful.

Learning how to cherish is healing........2004-02-18

If you saw an attitude of cherishing between a couple, even if you didn't recognize it as such, probably you would yearn to be treated like that. Chances are not good that you can "find" such a relationship, but the exciting news from these authors is that you can create it. "You are more powerful than you think," the authors say. Let me give you one of their secrets: how you treat your partner is what will bring about cherishing, and the authors give very specific things to do and not to do. Another attitude that isn't mentioned much, but it's there in the book, is the importance of maintaining a sense of mutual respect. Betrayal, mean-mouthing, and neglect will surely kill a cherishing relationship. The best part is that the process is harmonious, freeing, and can release stress. The authors admit that there are relationships in which cherishing can't happen, but most often it can. Very healing in our sad world.

Knowing what pitfalls to avoid, and more.......2004-01-17

The third volume in a planned twelve titles series from Life Works Books, and accessibly co-written for the non-specialist general reader by professional psychotherapist Marilyn Graman and workshop developer Maureen Walsh, How To Be Cherished: A Guide To Having The Love You Desire is an effective, "do-it-yourself" guide to keeping relationships nurtured, including maintaining that special feeling characteristic of the early days with a beloved friend, spouse, or life partner. How To Be Cherished is an invigorating guide to revitalizing mutual happiness based on opening one's heart, seeing through the man's eyes, knowing what pitfalls to avoid, and more.

Book Description

A son's triumph through adversity and a father's grief transformed into a new relationship.

Book Description

Odilo Globocnik, a collaborator of Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler, was responsible for the deaths of at least 1.5 million people in three Nazi camps in occupied Poland: Treblinka, Sobibor, and Belzec. Along with Rudolf Höss, Globocnik may be named as one of the first industrial-style killers in history. Betraying his homeland by conspiring with Hitler to destroy Austria's independence, he then launched the Generalplan-Ost, which was to expel over 100 million Slavs into Western Siberia, and played a pivotal role in Aktion Reinhardt, directing the entire program from early 1942 until September 1943, and writing letters to Himmler detailing goods looted from his victims. Globocnik's Lublin Distrikt gulag was not merely a vehicle for a well-organized pogrom; it also involved creating a highly organized network of ghettos and forced labor camps. By the winter of 1943 nearly all of the Jews of the Lublin Distrikt had been exterminated, leaving only skilled laborers used in Globocnik's industrial conglomerates. His ethnic cleansing teams, assisted by Ukrainian policing units, also cleared the Polish peasant farmers from the Zamosc Lands.

Very little has been published on Globocnik, most especially the four years he spent in Lublin. This authoritative biography details every aspect of his life from his ancestry to his suicide after being captured. Information has been researched from more than thirty international archives, Globocnik's SS file, extensive interviews with his lover Irmgard Rickheim and others, a wealth of letters both personal and formal, internal memos and official reports of the SS, diaries, and the reminiscences of survivors. Includes rare photographs, many from the collection of Irmgard Rickheim.

Customer Reviews:

Comment from another non-English speaker.......2006-07-02

I have written another English-language biography about Odilo Globocnik and collaborated with Joe Poprzeczny for years while he wrote his book. I therefore feel that I can vouch for his character in this impromptu forum.

First of all: Joe's Globocnik biography was no slap-dash job, but instead an extensive research in archives spanning almost twenty years. You see, Globocnik to Joe was the nemesis of a lifetime, because the "SS-Gruppenführer" deported Joe's mother in 1943 and put her in a concentration camp.

During the final stage of the war, Joe's mother and other prisoners were shuttled to the Old Reich, and that is how Joe became a German native. He was born in Trier and moved to Australia as a young child. His mother refused to speak about the camp until very late in her life. The search for his roots and the man who caused so much misery for his family was the driving force behind this exceptional work, which has baffled historians with a host of heretofore unknown facts about Globocnik and his entourage.

Joe is not one to rely on secondary sources. He had a host of detailed questions about Globocnik's Carinthian group that stimulated my own work. It was Joe's tenacity and journalistic skill that unearthed Globocnik's second fiance Irmgard Rickheim and made her talk to him.

This is an important book. I know a lot of Holocaust historians and some who have read this book. Nobody found its sources questionable (even though a sensitive editor would have removed the Irving quotes). If you want an inside take on the daily lives of Holocaust perpetrators this is where you get it.

A great book about a terrible man.......2006-03-21

Globocnik was a Nazi conspirator who became one of the worst of the monsters - amazingly enough, this is the first full-length book in English about him and as such is an essential read for all interested in the period.

One necessary correction. There are some odd comments about the book in the first review, from which it could be assumed David Irving is a major source for this work: he isn't and indeed the author is careful to refer to Irving at the outset as "controversial", as well as only citing Irving on material where his well-known bias is not a potential distorting factor. Yes, there are many secondary sources but the author also includes many primary sources, and indeed uses them wherever possible. This is a work of scholarship, not the instant potboiler implied in the earlier review.

Fills the gap.......2006-03-20

Poprzeczny was not treated justly by the previous reviewer. Nobody before Poprzeczny wrote a biography of Globocnik in English, a man who killed 1,5 million people, most of them Jews. All major US univeristy libraries have this book now. It is quoted by academic historians and Jewish historical websites.
As for the panctuation. Well, not everybody has to apply the American way of punctuation, Poprzeczny is not an American, he is an Australian, so he writes the Australian way. As far as comments concerning David Irwing, this comment is odd, as Poprzeczny clearly identifies where he stands recording Globocnik's murders and his efforts to loot the Jewish property.
The sources cited are reliable, now worries there. And many of them have been dug out from places forgotten by historians.

Poorly Written but Necessary.......2005-11-21

Odilo Globocnik, Hiter's Man in the East should have a lot going for it. The author obviously feels passionately about his subject; and an English biography is much needed. However, there are undeniable major problems with this book. Firstly. it's very poorly written. Punctuation and cadence are those of a non-English speaker. Secondly, and more importantly, Mr. Poprzeczny's references are lacking and controversial. For instance, rather than consult original documents or research materials, he chooses to use the works of David Irving, rightwing Holocaust denier. Although Mr. Irving is explained to be an "historical revisionist" in footnotes, no mention is made of this in text. Readers from the States and UK, especially, will find this to be a major trigger -- are the rest of the resources so questionable? Mostly, no. Mostly...

Odilo Globocnik *was* Hitler's man in the East. He did his job ruthlessly well. The book does convey that truth. However, I wish it told the rest of the truth with more credibility.

Had I been able to see the list of sources used, I wouldn't have spent my time or money on this biography.

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