John Waters Books

In his latest book Irish columnist John Waters writes about his renewed belief in God following many years of agnosticism. The book is a combination of personal memoir covering the author's early years and subsequent addiction to alcohol, and a detailed analysis of current social and cultural thinking.

Although very well written, Lapsed Agnostic reads more like a collection of essays than a coherent book. In some chapters, the underlying theme is sometimes stretched beyond breaking point, especially in a short piece on the late George Best. However, the excellent chapter that follows, The Unquenchable Thirst, contains a devastating critique of modern society, based on the author's own dark journey through alcoholism.

Elsewhere, Waters writes about his puzzling addiction to shirt-buying. The reader could be forgiven for seeing this as another manifestation of an addictive personality. However, the author tries to rationalise his compulsion as a justifiable reaction against religion's tendency to make him feel guilty for being affluent when so many are starving.

For those who enjoy John Waters' thoughtful and original columns in The Irish Times, Lapsed Agnostic will provide plenty of mental stimulation. Perhaps if the author had spent more time drawing together and developing the various threads he introduces, he might have produced a modern spiritual classic.

If the boat-building bug has bitten you hard enough that you've already gotten more than a few "how-to-build the Pineapple Snipe on your lunch break in one week for spare change" tomes under your belt, and progressed into the realm of plans by Gardiner, the practical wisdom of Dynamite Payson, and maybe (gasp!) even taken a saw to some wood, then this book will be a pleasant companion on an end table by the fireside. One that you can dip into at random from time to time, soaking up the esoteric as well as the more mundane gleanings of Culler's lifetime spent messing about with boats. Don't expect to learn HOW to build a boat from this book, and you won't be disappointed. Instead, enjoy how Culler shares with you how to approach building boats you can use, how building meshes into a boat's usability, maintability, and enjoyability. Culler never goes "zen" on the reader, nor waxes on about how materials and methods "back in the day" were perfecto and today's not worth squat. Instead, his writing lets the discipline and insight of a Master shine through as an extension of the quietly enthusiastic sharing and tutoring he gave so freely of in his lifetime, and pours out a cornucopia of boat builder's lore of rare quality which helps one grasp the WHY of older techniques (both high-end and mass-market) and how to fit newer materials and constraints on construction into context with what went before. I wish I could rate this book higher than three stars, as I really like it (for what it is). But the muddy photos, small-sized drawings, lack of annotations, and failure to include plans and/or photos illustrating each of the boat types and construction techniques discussed in the text make a higher rating impossible. Hopefully somebody will address all of the discrepancies in a revised edition, and print it on quality paper. Meanwhile, if you're ready for it, and can accept this book on its own terms, then by all means buy it: you won't be disappointed.

This full-color cookbook is a feast for all of your senses. With luxurious photography and pastel-colored pages, this cookbook will make you long for a potager garden of your own.

The authors were compelled to write this cookbook after twenty years of running Chez Panisse. The authors had a passion for freshness of ingredients that compelled them to snipping fresh rosemary while their neighbors were asleep!

The recipes are organized by seasons:
Spring: The Season of New Growth
Summer: The Season of Full Growth
Fall: The Crossover Season
Winter: The Dormant Season

The Recipes include:
Spring: Onion Pancakes with Dandelion Greens and Bacon, Fettuccine with Pea Pods and Mushrooms, and Fresh Cherry Tart
Summer: Red and Yellow Tomato Platter with Balsamic Vinegar, Cream of Ratatouille Soup with Savory Croutons, and Compote of Peaches and Plums
Fall: Cabbage Leaves Rolled with Roquefort, Pine Nuts, and Jambon Cru, Garlic-Rubbed Roast Chicken with Turnips, Carrots, and Wild Mushrooms, and Persimmon Flan.
Winter: Golden Stew of Pumpkin, Cabbage, and Turmeric with Riso, Civet of Rabbit with Pickled Wild Mushrooms and Caper Toasts, and Tarte Tatin of Quinces and Golden Raisins.

If you enjoy French cooking, and are seeking new tastes and new challenges, you will feast on this cookbook.

As with all Kessinger titles, caution is advisable. This is NOT a reprint of the "Works" of Taylor but of a 19th C edition of those works "not included" in the standard collections of his work.

It is nonetheless interesting for a scholar or collector, but it is hardly what the title suggests!

By reviewing the book title and the Editorial Reviews From Book News, Inc. appearing on the website, it appears that the book offers good base of information for learning about Saline Water Processing.

A better assessment of the book would have been possible had the table of contents (Title of articles included) been given for better knowledge of covered topics.

Of particular interest is the fact that those who contributed are practitioners rather that just individuals with theoretical backgroung. Most important is the fact that there is mention of "Plant Design and Operation.

The question remains if it would be possible to have the table of contents of the book to allow a better and more specific review.

There aren't many interesting books on the subject of China's relations with the Middle East for archive-accesibility reasons on both sides, one assumes. This somewhat tedious study covers some ground, mostly on Sino-Palestinian relations up to their split in the early 1970s following the Soviet adoption of the resistance after Sadat's ousting of Soviet advisors from Egypt. It is an interesting subject but here is treated drily with unending name-dropping and lengthy, long-winded quotations of lengthy, long-winded statements from Chinese officials. There is little analysis, not necessarily a bad thing, but the book is little more than an exercise in data collection. Useful, but not particularly insightful. There are some other sections on China's relations with Oman and Kuwait. That's about it. My biggest beef is the total lack of contextualization: the Cultural Revolution and its vagaries are barely mentioned! Eh?

Though the book does not go into great detail, it does have useful information hidden in the text. I would have liked to see a better treating of GIS, like pratical examples and real case studies.

A lot of the general information can be found on the web. What would make this book better would be some geostatistical examples, color photos as opposed to low res black and white ones, and a bigger section on GIS and remote sensing.

I have been told this is the leading book on wildland watershed management. I do have a complaint though, I believe with a little creative thought any book can be made to be interesting or atleast bearable. This book tends toward the extreme side of dry. It does have the information needed, but the graphs are very dull, nothing here to break the tedium of this book. For the cost of this book (...) there should be colored graphs, if for know other reason than to stop the strain on the eyes, bigger font, to help with not falling asleep and if you HAVE to read it like I did. ANYTHING would have helped.
But like I said it had the information you need, just not in a good format.

Whoever thought of the "for Dummies" concept ought to get an extra-special award. Sure, there are some who won't touch one of those books with their trademark yellow and black covers just because of the "for Dummies" designation, but they are wrong. The "for Dummies" books are anything but. I mean, they have "Calculus for Dummies"! And quite a few of the "for Dummies" books are on my bookshelf, though I do not necessarily consider myself one.

What you do get in every "for Dummies" book is a no-nonsense, friendly and sort of jovial piece of reading material that treats you like a friend. They all follow a formula, of course, but it is a good one as long as the somewhat silly graphics (paragraphs are usually marked as "dive talking," "save diving," "tip," "technical stuff," and so on; it gets old quickly) and the occasional rather forced attempts at being simple and friendly without talking down to the reader doesn't turn you off. If you can see beyond that, "Scuba Diving & Snorkling for Dummies" is a very useful introduction to diving that covers everything.

Make no mistake, this book is serious. Everything you need to know is there. But instead of presenting it in a lecturing tone or making things look as complicated as possible (all too many authors like to do that in an effort of coming across as true experts), this book tries to explain everything in simple, everyday language. And succeeds admirably.

It starts with an introduction to all diving equipment and how to use it. Then explains what you need and what to look out for. It then explains dive training and all the basics and more advanced matters it covers. It then goes into setting up your gear for real world diving, how to enter the water, navigate, and dive. Physics and physiology are explained, as well as all the potential problems and illnesses that can happen. All of the world's oceans are described, as well as waves, currents and general water behavior. The book also goes into what to find and expect underwater (and that includes a nicely done 14-page color photo section), how to behave, and what can be dangerous. It explains how to find trips, how to travel, and the different kinds of dives, as well as the major locations and what they offer and require. The book closes with recommendations and pages of links and resources.

As many "for Dummies" books, this one includes a CD. In this case one that contains the PADI "open water diving" lectures, but not all of them. You do get a taste of what it's like, but for now an incomplete one, and one that dates back to 1999 (the latest version of the PADI Open Water course includes a DVD with much more video). In my case, that only fueled my resolve to get the real thing!

If you're okay with the special "for Dummies" formula, this book discusses everything you need to know about diving. I do wish, though, that they'd update the book with a new CD. Even dummies like current stuff.

I'm not quite sure why this book got such terrible reviews...okay, so it's not extremely detailed, but what did you expect? It's for beginners, not advanced divers. I just got it as a refresher, plus it has some good information on dive sites. I recommend!

I found this book to be totally useless. I just tells you how to go to a dive shop and get certified. There is almost no useful instruction in the whole book. Just go get certified and you can skip the book. I expected info on using the dive tables or other specific info, however, I found it completely lacking anything you don't get in a basic open water class. I guess if you want to be told the kind of things you will learn in a dive class go ahead. This book does not compare with the other books in the "Dummies" Series. Don't waste your money.

This book is a very poor textbook probably because it was not even written by an Instructor. They should have at least chosen an author who was certified as an Instructor. The information given is bare minimum and does not cover all topics you really need to know. There are much better entry level books available here.

I found this book to be totally useless. I just tells you how to go to a dive shop and get certified. There is almost no useful instruction in the whole book. Just go get certified and you can skip the book. I expected info on using the dive tables or other specific info, however, I found it completely lacking anything you don't get in a basic open water class. I guess if you want to be told the kind of things you will learn in a dive class go ahead. This book does not compare with the other books in the "Dummies" Series. Don't waste your money.

Found this in the library and since I deal with customers daily I need some guidance. Instead of covering the art of selling, finding leads, upselling etc, the authors starts out by first saying no matter what your job is you are a salesman. Your selling your service, making an impression for the company you work for with each contact with a customer or potential customer. The next chapter gave a test on myths of being a sellsman but then they got totally lost. The authors covered communications, managing meetings, writing a 30 second message, preparing a presentation, comparison between being perfection and excellence, and the whole book litterd with idiom. but nothing on selling. The author gives stories of consulting jobs and being a customer walking a way from sales like a badge of honor on 4 occasions. It seems the authors did very little selling but is a consultant that specializes in finding faults in others presentations in selling to get customers. I did like the message regarding everybody is a salesman but the author has little experience to pass on to the reader even with the support of a ghost writer. There were only 180 pages and I get everything from world opinion on changing and things aren't the way they use to be. Little selling to be learned from this book. The author also borrowed heavily from other books some I've read already making this a more a book about working smart than selling.

Brigid's book is a huge success so far! I've been using it as a training tool - one chapter at a time. I have one of her quotes "Nothing Happens Until Something is Sold" hanging at the front of my office. We talked about the quote and the importance of their selling activity in our last Sales Team Meeting. In a nut shell, projects are not going to land in our laps... nothing happens until something is sold!!! Simple but SO true!
I also copied the Short Quiz out of the book for everyone to take. It was an eye-opening experience to say the least! I expected that everyone would get one or two questions wrong. Surprisingly, it ranged from 2 to 7 incorrect answers out of the 20 in the quiz!! It got us all laughing - and it helped spark some great "training" conversations!
I read a lot of "selling" books and this one RUNS to the head of the class! Thank you for putting all of your wisdom in writing to share with all of us!

Ramm's review is right on. This book says little. It's like a shell for "Selling for Dummies" without the meat fully developed.

This entertaining, engaging work left me laughing! Brigid's style and real life examples showed me how sales are a part of everyone's life -- and a valuable skill set that one must embrace regardless of their vocation to be successful. This book should be required reading for anyone in the business world who want to be successful!

I was very excited about this book - until I started reading it. The first half of this book focuses on telling us why we need to have sales skills and insisting that salespeople are really not horrible people. (If I really wasn't interested in selling, I obviously wouldn't be reading the book in the first place!) The second half of the book covers several topics on living a productive life in general, such as striving for excellence rather than perfection. While all of this may be good advice, most of it is just common sense and there is virtually nothing that relates specifically to selling.