Alex To Books

This is really a review of a review. I gave one of my best friends a copy StepWise after he remarried. The other day he said, "That book you gave me has been a big help. It has helped me keep perspective. It's not easy putting a new family together. It takes patience, humor and a whole lot of love. It (StepWise)is a wonderful book for parents who find themselves with a new family."

It's about time someone approached stepparenting in an honest way. It's hard! But it can be enriching if you take the right attitude. That's what they show you how to do in Stepwise. They have a real sense of humor which is a MUST for stepparents and stepchildren. They're right, it is like coming into a movie that's already started and not wanting to ask dumb questions about what's going on. Buy this book, memorize it, and give it to other stepparents.

This book says it all. In fact, I think I said some of these things and the authors read my mind. When I went through the stepdad routine, I was ready to give up until I saw it from the kids eyes, which is what the writers of Stepwise did. The book is very funny but every funny idea is really a way to get connected with your kid. I have gone to see really bad movies with my stepchildren and listened to rap music. Just like they say in the book, sometimes you start to like the movies and music yourself. I even went to the mall with my stepchildren. I have at least ten stepparent friends and they're all getting this book from me. My stepkids liked the book too. It's really just about being a good parent who isn't so uptight.

TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH: ADVENTURES OF AN EXPEDITION PHOTOGRAPHER tells of the author's passion for adventure and his life photographing some hundred expeditions to the wildest places on the planet. Here are ten of his greatest adventures, paired with stunning color photos, in a collection highly recommended not only for the general interest public library, but for college-level art photography holdings. The pairing of vivid text adventure and color drama is not to be missed.

Gordon Wiltsie takes us to the ends of the earth and gives us a glimpse of the reality of expedition life; unlike other "adventure travel" books this one makes it clear that there is a huge amount of arduous labor, and often not much glory, involved. It's also apparent that he, if not his companions, truly enjoyed the inevitable unexpected challenges, and even the hardship and discomfort, of such trips.
Wiltsie's photographs are spectacular. While reading the book I continually wondered how he made some of these images ("how-the-hell-did-he-do-that?"). Which raises a minor complaint, I would have loved to have read more about the technical details of the author's workday in the field, as well as some technical detail about the photos.
Wiltsie's writing is clear, expressive, and warm; his self-effacing tone belies his athletic, technical, and artistic proficiency. I have to agree with a previous reviewer, more pictures and text are called for.

This collection of images and stories is as compelling as any I've seen. Many will know Wiltsie's photographs from his mountaineering expeditions, and his photos here of the late Alex Lowe, Conrad Anker, and many others in dramatic action offer plenty on that count. But Wiltsie is one of the best "travel" photographers going, catching ordinary people from the far reaches of the planet in traditional dress and situations. Each is a fascinating study in itself. Wiltsie is a better photographer than writer, and almost all of the narratives--candid and spicy as they are--could be fuller and more detailed, for certainly the stories give the images their vital context. My greatest desideratum for this book was only that it include more: more words, more of those amazing photographs.

I have worked with several groups on how to discover and exercise strengths. Once we get past the basic principles -- and perhaps do some exploration using instruments like StrengthsFinder 2.0 or the VIA signature strengths questionnaire ([..]) -- people often reach an impasse. What do we do with this information? How do we use it to change the way we work and live?

Average to A+ is extremely useful at this juncture. It describes several practical steps that people can take to discover, practice, refine, and use their own strengths and appreciate the strengths of the people around them. It does so in a very readable way with interesting stories and references to the scientific underpinnings. It creates bridges to supporting ideas from positive psychology that are extensively explored in academia, making them accessible to lay readers. I love the way each chapter ends with a one-page summary of the key points followed by a section called Areas for Reflection and Action. The book also describes a business case for greater emphasis on strengths -- very useful for people who want to use these ideas in organizational settings. I am very glad to have this book in my personal library.

I was amazed when I first read this book. For anyone interested in personal strengths, Linley's book provides all new insights into what strengths are and practical suggestions for how to spot them in yourselves and others. This book is a cutting edge guide to using strengths at work, in parenting, and in everyday life. For people familiar with positive psychology and the VIA strengths this book is the obvious next step. For everyone else this book is an essential first step.

This book is a wonderful resource for childcare centers and schools. We used it as a guide to develop a new holiday policy in our program. The author discusses the importance in recognizing and celebrating culture and tradition in all families, as well as outline why. She also discusses how children respond to holidays developmentally.

I highly recommend it to any center or school that is looking to revise or develop a holiday policy.

I met Julie at an Anit-Bias class and bought the book. Read the information and use the concepts in my child care program. I also have passed it onto the local School District. I have recommended it to other providers and teachers. It makes you consider how to deal with the different holidays while including all the families in your child care program.

I use this book every time I work on a quilt. The descriptions are easy to understand and the results are great. With this book I learned how to miter my borders as well as the binding and this technique has given my quilts a more sophisticated look. I consider myself a beginner-intermediate quilter so if I can uderstand this book anyone can!

Whenever you begin to learn a new skill -- whether it's cooking, quilting, or computer programming -- the best asset to have is a friend standing next to you, showing you the details. ("No, move it more to the left!" or "The dough should feel like _this_.") Alas, we don't always have someone to call upon, so we turn to books written by experts. Often, they know their skill... but are imperfect at getting the point across.

That's not a problem here. "Finish It With Alex Anderson" is very much like having a friend standing at your side. While it includes 6 full quilt projects (they're nice, but not astonishing), the primary emphasis of this book is on -- as promised -- the steps in finishing a quilt, making good design choices for borders and other "edgy" issues.

I'm a rank beginner at quilting, and I've gotten confused over the stupidest things. For example, I know that it's easy to miter corners on the binding... once you know how. Most books give an arm wave to what's involved, as if you've seen it done and simply need a reminder. Alex Anderson's shows several different ways to bind a quilt, with so many pictures that I can't do it wrong. And, in fact, I didn't; my binding looks great, and I finally understand what I'd missed before.

Great book. This one won't get far from the sewing machine.

I LOVE THIS BOOK.

This book will infect you

with a love of art & artists.

Art students , pay attention

to this delicious treat !

With the back matter of three short appendices, lengthy notes, lengthy bibliography, and index starting on page 280, this makes the text less than 300 pages. Danchev's biography on this early modernist artist relates his influence on contemporary artists and on modern art as well as influences on him mostly through Braque's relationships with others. The treatment is not a probing psychological study, nor an aesthetic critique and evaluation; but rather concentrates on aspects of Braque's everyday life--his friendships, his trips, his habits. Braque's long and fertile relationship with Picasso was central to Braque's creativity. Danchev also spends time on Braque's marriage to Marcelle Vorvanne, giving her a mini-biography of her own. Another important relationship for Braque was with Jean Paulhan, one of the editors of "Nouvelle Revue Francaise," who "became [the artist's] greatest tribune and celebrant." Paulhan wrote about Braque's painting, "[I]t is without doubt that his work is at all times strangely complete and sufficient...[with the ultimate] feeling of a delay enjoyed, and an obligation fulfilled." Such observations from others in Braque's life are not only illuminating and stimulating in themselves, but accrue to cast light on the complexities and enigma of Braque--as with any historically significant artist--and his paintings; several of which are shown in color plates. Danchev has written other biographies and is a professor in the School of Politics at the U. of Nottingham.

I bought this book as a gift for my wife, who is orginally from the Hudson Valley. She loves it.

This is a fantastic celebration of the Hudson River and its environs. Beautifully photographed, with just the right amount of narration, interestingly told. A unique feature is the addition of driving directions to each one of these exquisite places, at the end of the book. Very nicely done overall!

Annabelle Beck abandons Melbourne after her husband rejects her for a younger woman and returns to her family home in Northern Australia. Here she joins an old friend on a series of cultural surveys on proposed dam and mining sites.
This brings her in contact with Bo Rennie, a member of the Jangga aboriginal tribe, who remembers her from her youth on the family property. He invites her on a journey to the Jangga's ancient heartland, and to Annabelle's ultimate finding of her history and herself.
Alex Miller's exploration of those places that lie in our hearts is both uncompromising and full of understanding of the people involved
His exploration of the effects on people of environmental damage, the politics of development and native title negotiations is both entertaining and revealing.
This award winning novel is highly recommended.

Alex Miller's latest novel begins like a conventional, large-format American romance. Forty-year-old Annabelle Kuen is abandoned by her academic husband when he falls for a big-breasted student. She flees their comfortable Melbourne existence for North Queensland where her family once owned a vast station. Not wanting to return to her cheatin' dog husband, Annabelle agrees to help an old friend conduct surveys for "significant remains" (evidence of past habitation) on sites proposed for mining or other developments. Of course, it isn't long before she meets up with Bo Rennie, an Aboriginal ringer from her childhood, who fondly remembers frolicking nudely with her in the waterhole when they were kids, and seems slyly confident that her return has something to do with their shared fate. The stage is set for a middle-aged "recovery romance" which might easily have found its way onto Oprah's dire Book Club list, and the real Bo and Annabelle (mentioned in Miller's dedication) onto her equally dire show. Thankfully, Miller isn't interested in telling that kind of story, but he does cheekily borrow its premise - no doubt roping in readers who wouldn't ordinarily pick up one of his books - to tell a story which is far more significant and compelling. Indeed, this is one of the better Australian novels of recent years, not only for its effortless style and engaging plot, but for the theme at its core: the vexed issue of black/white relations and their competing claims to large tracts of Australian land. The thing that distinguishes Miller's novel from most hand-wringing attempts at "reconciliation literature" is its recognition of the historical and contemporary picture in its entirety. Here, there are good whites and bad whites, good blacks and bad blacks. There is selfishness and compassion, spirituality and materialism, on both sides; just as there is the desire to reconcile, the desire to exploit, and the desire to fight the war for a thousand years more. Miller explodes the simple black/white dualism, risks the charge of racism, resists the temptation to be "politically correct" - and thereby creates characters that are recognisably human. The ruins of white settlement, he suggests at one point, are arguably just as significant as the ruins of black. This is a backhanded slap in the face to white Australians, and a well-deserved one. We tend to think only of the Aboriginal people as being "dispossessed" and we rarely think of our own culture as having ruins. But when Miller presents us with Ranna Station, destroyed in less than five generations, and compares it to the Aboriginal culture which has endured in the same place for thousands of years, white culture is the one that starts looking flimsy. At Ranna, we are the vanished race - and may one day be so across the entire land. Ultimately, though, Miller goes beyond the issue of claiming the land, and invites us to consider the land as something in itself. What I took away from this novel is that the land does not care which particular culture infuses it with its equally contingent, equally spurious meanings. Is this piece of land a spiritual playground, a farm, a mine, or the site for a dam? None of the above, actually - for all are cultural impositions. The land will endure, though we may not - black or white. Nevertheless, Miller recognises the significance that places have in both white and black hearts, and the need for each culture to respect that. As Miller shifts the argument away from a tussle over territory and onto the more difficult ground of how we are to live together, what started as a romance becomes a metaphor for race relations. The final image of Bo and Annabelle may well be Miller's vision of the way forward for black and white Australians. "They lay in the silence, not speaking, holding hands and listening. For the moment it was enough to be together in this place."

Quality book easy enough to understand for the beginner yet makes an excellent reference book for the experienced.

Definitely recommend this book!

This is an excellent book about knots.

It starts with some simple material about care and maintenance of ropes, and shows some tools used in ropework. It also has a glossary.

We start with stopper knots. While these are often used to protect the end of a rope from fraying, the most common use is simply to stop the end of a rope from running through a block. A simple figure-8 knot is typical here, and we are shown how to make it, as well as how to make many other stops. Another use for stopper knots is to create a weight at the end of a rope that you wish to heave. And we see some examples of these, such as the "Monkey's Fist."

Next is a chapter on bends. These knots join two pieces of cordage. Once again, a figure-8 type is typical, and we see plenty of others as well.

The following chapter is on binding knots. These are used primarily to tie two objects together. A transom knot is a good example. But they are also used as clamps (such as a "surgeon's knot" to tie off blood vessels) or just to protect the end of another rope, or to lash together two parts of the same rope.

After that comes a chapter on hitches. These are used primarily for towing and tethering. One example is a "cat's paw" hitch, which distributes weight evenly on two "legs." In some cases, when one leg of this knot breaks, the other will hold long enough so that the load being held by the rope can be lowered safely.

Now, suppose you need to pull a pole lengthwise. A "rolling hitch" is often recommended. But if that pole is slippery, this knot won't hold. In that case, the book recommends the "icicle hitch," which generally works much better. It's a very practical knot!

We see some other useful knots in this chapter, such as a "barrel sling" (which allows one to hoist a barrel upright) and a "barrel hitch" (which is used to hoist that barrel horizontally). And, given that many knots are of great use to sailors, we see a "mooring hitch." This knot is for mooring your boat to a bollard, especially if you also want to be able to pay out a little rope at a time, if necessary, in a tideway.

The following chapter is on loops, and we see a great variety of nooses and bowlines. We even see how to make the "fireman's chair knot," which can be used in an emergency if no body harness is available for a rescue.

The book concludes with some miscellaneous knots. These include a grommet, some sennits, a mat, and even a rope ladder. When you use that rope ladder, it's best to face on edge, with a hand and a foot on each side.

This is a useful and practical book.

This is an outstanding book everything is presented in bite size pices. Everybody interested or working with trees should read this book

Dr. Shigo is a longtime researcher who has spent his life discovering the true nature of how trees function and the best ways to take care of them. Everyone in the tree care business needs to read this book. Based on solid science, this book destroys old myths of tree care that actually hurt trees and introduces the practices that homeowners and arborists must learn if we are to help trees survive. It has become the foundation of knowledge that is helping to advance the tree care industry to a new level of professionalism and effectiveness.