Specialized Books

Highly recommend this book for anyone looking to grow anything in dry climates, whether you are a 'newbie' or not. Pictures and write-ups are excellent.

i live in Arizona, and knowing what kinds of plants to plant here and how they are to be taken care of is important..so that is why i needed this book...and it is very informative..thank...

Although this book supposedly covers my region of New Mexico, I found so little in it that applied to me that I am returning it. Three-fourths of the book is a plant reference, and most of the plants are not cold hardy below 20 degrees Fahrenheit, making about half the book wasted paper as far as I am concerned. Also, a lot of xeric standards for this region are missing.

If you can, check the map on pages 2-3 to make sure that you live in the Low or Middle regions (as I write this, the map is included in the scanned pages here on Amazon, but isn't displaying properly). For the High region, I recommend instead any of the books by Judith Phillips, who writes toward climates that are slightly wetter and somewhat cooler than the ones that are the focus here.

This is one of two gardening books we bought after moving to Arizona two years ago; the other is "Arizona Gardener's Guide" by Mary Irish. Of the two, this is probably the more informative, but the wealth of information it contains is not presented in the most user-friendly way. Plants are listed using their proper botanical names (i.e. in Latin) rather than the common names that most people are likely to be familiar with. The photography is first-rate, and the "how to" explanations are mostly clear and easy to follow. If you live in Arizona, and only want to buy one book, I'd recommend the Arizona Gardener's Guide, as it is AZ-specific. If you live outside Arizona, this is probably the better choice -- although you might want to buy both, as they have different strengths.

This is a great book for the desert landscaper. I live in the big bend area of Texas and have been looking for something like this for a long time. It's easy to read, lets you know what elevation, rainfall, water needs, sun etc. that particular plant need to thrive. It's written so the lay person can understand it with just the amount of information for gardner/lanscaper needs. Has been a big help in finishing up landscaping projects I've been doing and on the projects I am starting.

This book is a must for the serious stamp collector. The color representations are excellent and the reference information is more than helpful. The only limitation is that it has is no index similar to that found in the "Guide to U.S. Stamps". However, I imagine that it would be too difficult to create with the vast amount of information there is. Overall I am very happy with the "Specialized Catalogue" and will continue to purchase it yearly.

I purchased the catalogue for the purpose of valuing my Plate Block stamp collection. Prior to obtaining the catalogue, I had arranged the stamps in Scott's assigned numbers. I was able to do this from the 1966 version of the catalogue I already had and using Excell to sort the items numerically. I had over 350 plate blocks to value.

I was able to ensure I was valuing the right stamps because there are pictures of each stamp. The process went very quickly. The book is still in pristine condition and I plan to re-sell it. I am also going to sell the plate block collection and the 1966 version. I would recommend this catalogue over any other stamp catalogue on the market. Scott's is recognized as the standard.

If you are a collector of US Stamps, FDCs,Postcards, etc... , this is the catalogue you need. Tons of information, color pictures of stamps, keys to identifying different versions of the same stamp, dates of issue, and current values.

No problem with the information in this book. Full color made it much easier to use. However, being a reference book it is heavily used and the spine on mine broke on the first reading leaving me with several loose pages. As a book collector, I know how to open a new book.

The Scott 2007 US Specialized Catalogue is a definitive reference tool for US philately. It offers, for the interested collector or dealer, not only basic information on grading stamps, but detailed information on identifying them. Historical information & valuation tools are also a significant part of the catalogue. Did I mention the great buy on this item that Amazon offers? Thank you.

I bought this book because from the write-up I read it sounded like he might have some new ideas. There really isn't much. If you already practice no-dig or low-dig gardening and mulch your beds I wouldn't bother. However, the information in this book is very basic and easily digestible for the novice gardener.

There were a few things I though were lacking for the novice even. One was dealing rocky soils if you want tor grow root crops. He says if you have ledge you should make a raised bed. No kidding. However, many of us are between the extremes of growing on ledge or in the silty soil the author has. In the northeast pebbles, stones, rocks and boulders abound, and growing root crops directly into a rocky soil yields some pretty interesting results. Especially if you start your root garden over a boulder you didn't know was right beneath the surface. :-)

All in all a good book for the beginner, but if you're a more experienced gardener and you're really curious I would check it out of the library, or better yet sit at the library and read it -- it took me less than 3 hours to read it from cover to cover.

Doubtless there are some good suggestions in this book, e.g. the chapter on drip irrigation. However, if your garden area is infested with nut-grass (Cyperus rotundus) you can forget about the method the author propounds. I covered my garden area not with newspaper but with cardboard boxes, broken down and laid flat. That was four months ago. The nut-grass wasn't even fazed; it punched right through the cardboard and the 4" of mulch on top of it like those impediments weren't even there. I'm sure this method works on "kinder, gentler" weeds, but in my context the "weedless" thesis is useless.

I came across Lee Reich's book a few years ago in our local library (I've since purchased it to keep on hand). Since I was knee deep in weeds at the time the title intrigued me. At the time it was mid summer and my garden, as usual, was an example of spring time work gone awry.

Each year, I dilligently tilled and rowed my garden as my father and his father had done, arranged the sprinklers, planted the best plants, staked the beans, caged the tomatoes and planned how this year I was going to have a TV worthy garden. Then May turned to June, to July and 98 degrees and 98% humidity stopped my outdoor adventures. I only went to the garden to harvest the results, which were rapidly disappearing under a malaise of weeds, bugs, and diseases. So once again by summer time the garden had become an unsightly eye sore rather than the picture of pride I had foolishly envisioned while reading over the seed catalogue. If only I didn't have a real job, and kids, and a to do list a mile long, I could spend my days toiling away in the garden to get one of those "fake" TV gardens that obviously cannot be produced by mere mortals.

After skimming through the book I began to get excited. I really didn't expect much from the book but the concepts made a certain sense and if they worked, maybe I could actually improve my garden.

Three years into this experiment, I can say that I look forward to gardening more now than ever. What used to be a chore is now a pleasant break from my routine and a source of pride to visitors. While no garden is truly weedless, it is much easier to stay ahead of the weeds using Lee's approach. It also fits much better into the rest of what I do. I used to have to figure out where to get rid of the grass clippings all year, and the mulch/chips from tree removal and land clearing. Now, my 1000 square foot garden consumes as much material as I can throw at it. My grass, my neigbors grass, my mothers grass, leaves, kitchen scraps, etc, most of which people are glad to have a place to dump, all go into my garden.

I have not followed all the recommendations of Mr. Reich. I'm currently experimenting with composting in my overly large walkways (48 inch) rather than composting in a seperate compost bin. It cuts my yield but pleases the wife since there is no large ugly bin in the yard, and no turning of the compost. (My chickens turn it for me, while adding their own brand of nitrogen.)

As with most garden books, the first half is dedicated to the topic at hand, the second half is a glossary of gardening topics, plant varieties, tools, and techniques/tips which are common to most any gardening book. This is often viewed as a "filler" in many books, a way to justify the price for the now larger book. This book has many such items in it's second half but all that I have read are specific to the no till, weedless method and are not simply added ad hoc from another source for filler.

Again, three years into this experiment, I'd can honestly say I'd never go back to the till method.

Having started my gardening life in the John Jeavon's double-digging school, it took me awhile to accept and implement the approach described so well in this book. Other reviewers have lauded the book and its benefits. I would like to add one that has really changed how I garden and how my garden looks. I used to rip out my large So-Cal vegetable garden completely twice a year, digging in the compost and amendments in one big push and starting fresh. With Reich's methods I can stagger my prep and planting in a way that spreads the work out, and makes the garden more beautiful. Winter flowers that aren't quite done can be easily left in while you plant the summer veggies around them. My newest bed, which was done with his newspaper method over a nasty lawn, is flourishing.

The mental factors brought forth through this book will certainly help gardners all but stop weeding.
Using the info in this book, I have all but eliminated weeding so far by placing 4 sheets of newspaper down before I build my rows.
My weeding time has been cut down to 10 minutes or less daily in my 46' X 35' garden. I also use the same between rows with cardboard boxes cut to fit my walking needs, which has all but eliminated weeds or grass between rows.
Try the book if you want to save yourself a lot of weeding this spring, summer and fall.

Mark Longsdale writes from a treasure chest of experience in the field of special operations and protection services. His clear concise statements ring true of field tested experience. I recommend all of Mr. Longsdales books.

This book is a good introduction to basic CQB and hostage rescue work. It will not teach you how to much of anything, as that may only be learned through hundreds of hours and thousands of rounds of real world practice. Like all these books, take it with a grain of salt, and don't try to go solve the barricaded hostage taker situation at the local bank branch with the information within.

Every operator I mean the eighties generation, will realise that this book is a window to the past, where we started many years ago, how we built our own ranges, the tire house, close quarter rooms where we spent thousands of pistol and sub rounds,where we hesitated before shooting a target next to our closest buddy playing hostage, where our snipers rounds buzzed while we rappelled through windows, and the cool beers at the end of each tiring day after day hard work, a reference to keep in your library for new and experienced operators.

I practice airsoft and I bought this book to learn how to play better. I found it very complete, and I think the best part of this book is the one that speaks about traing methods. It could describe more tactics and tecnics. A good book indeed.

This book show how you can do your own target ranges and tactical training with your pistol,shotgun and SMG:s. It also show selection of handgun, shotgun and SMG:s. This is a good book and give you some idea's on how you can train. Recommended.
I also recommend "Raids".

After reading this book most of the way through, I thought it provided a lot of good information. My intention was not necessarily to design a true Japanese garden but wanted to create a garden and atmosphere that reflects the feeling and general appearance of a Japanese garden while still maintaining my herb and vegetable garden. The book gave a lot of pictures that were helpful to create that atmosphere in an American environment. Most if not all of the design elements were explained as to why and how they help to create the desired effect. Additionally there was a full chapter that described the history behind Japanese gardens, and I found that very helpful. Since reading that chapter I have picked up and English translation of the books described in that chapter. I felt this book was really helpful and plan to use it to landscape my backyard.

One thing to keep in mind, is this is not a step by step how to book. It is designed mostly to give you an overview and an understanding of what elements to use, and how to use them.

I think this a good book for someone ready to start digging now to create their Japanese garden, someone who knows exactly what they want to do. The beginning of the book was interesting, and provided good information about and reasons for the different elements of a Japanese garden - such as water, stone lanterns, bridges, and plantings.
I was hoping for a little more inspiration through photographs and seeing more examples of gardens people have created. This book gets down to the step-by-step details of building fences and dry riverbeds for example.
The book does have a nice materials/plant/planting guide in the back which I took a few notes from. But I'm in a brainstorming phase with my garden not the brass tacks phase, so I did return the book and will look into a book that is more photography-based and example-based, than how-to.

My daughter was recently proposed marriage to in a japanese garden. They are planning to build a similar garden in their backyard,so this book
was a Christmas present.
She was thrilled and we went thru the book as she mentioned several
items in the book that were relevant.
It has alot of very nice illustrations and "how-tos",more than some that I looked at.This author was careful to include all aspects of the japanese garden. Plenty of detail.Very happy with my purchase.

Have many books on Japanese gardening - this is the one that finally helped me begin to answer the "but how will I design and situate one in my space?" question. Nicely written, direct, and just enough examples to help you get moving!

This book provides useful guidance in planning a Japanese Garden with well written text and beautiful photographs. It inspires one to find a way to incorporate the concepts into Western style homes.

"First do no harm," comes from the very famous Hippocratic oath that each and every doctor takes when they receive the M.D. after their name. Paul Auerbach takes you to a place where such an oath means absolutely nothing to a select few. Welcome to Branscomb Medical Center and School where bribery, blackmail, secrets, sex, and money are commonplace. Meet Drs. Smachtz, Ingleheart, Resnick, Waterhouse, and Mahnke, the ones with something to hide. One gave a patient the wrong blood and killed her. Another let a patient who had a heart attack lay in bed and die of a ruptured aorta. Another separated a car accident victim's neck from his spine. Another has some very interesting photos to hide, and another pops narcotics like M&Ms. These doctors obviously endanger patient care, but yet they are still on the payroll. Can two first year medical students and a dedicated doctor find out why? Or should they learn to leave well enough alone. This book is a work of absolute genius. I highly recommend this book because it is a definite must read. It has a little something for everyone; you cannot afford not to read it.

Because I am a physician, when I read the cover I was excited about a book that might dish up some dirt on the medical profession. Instead, I found a melodramatic and very ridiculous plot and some awful writing. The characters were one-dimensional, the villians were pure evil - I expected them to be tying a damsel onto railroad tracks at any second. I am mystified by all the good editorials this book has received.
Basically, I was disappointed by this book. For a better look at the real issues faced by doctors in traing (burn-out, cynicism) take a look at Samuel Shem's "House of God". You won't be disappointed.

It compares with the suspenseful medical thrillers of Robin Cook in his prime. It demasks the medical profession and gives pause to anyone who dons a hospital garb.

Again, superegos collide with sound medical treatment. All the characters transcend the pages, and come to life in a sobering morality play. Will give the book to my wife the RN.

Dr. Auerbach did a great job on this one. The medical information/references are extremely accurate too - he really knows his stuff. Well worth the read!

This was a great story that was well written. The characters were adeptly woven together in a story that built suspence with every chapter and left you with the desire to keep reading to find out what else was going to happen. There was even the "Feel Good" ending with the bad guys getting theirs and the good guys surviving. All in all, one of the better books I have read over the past couple of years.

Now I'm looking for the next book to be published.

This book, although purely popular history, is one of the best books and perhaps the most complete detailed account of the 1948 war. The authors prose moves from describing the key parts of Israel to a massive cast of characters who took part in the hostilities from weapons purchasers in California, to Trumans advisors, down to the soliders on the ground, Jewish and Arab, including the wives of many and the survivors of such key clashes as the Etsion bloc and the Haddassah convoy. Those reading about 1948 for the first time will be enthralled, veteran students of the 1948 war and Israeli history will find hundreds of new facts that one never knew existed. The authors sources are beyond reproach, ebing key individuals on both sides, and including such interesting personalities as Abdullah Tel to Mordechai Raaanan. The book does not read as a biased text, rather the author puts himself into the midnset of each actor so that one comes away with a deeper understanding then one finds in a dry historical commentary.

This is a wonderful book, a good introduction to Israeli history, as well as a classic text and a needed addition to anyones book shelf who specializes or enjoys Israeli, middle east history. There is a story for everyone in this book, from Ben-Gurions planning sessions to the woman whose family, half arab, half Jewish, was divided by the war.

Seth J. Frantzman

This is the story of an unusual war, between Arabs and Jews in the Levant in 1948. While the war lasted from November, 1947 until March, 1949, the bulk of it was from the first big Arab operation against the Jews on January 14, 1948 until the final significant Israeli action (shooting down five British planes that invaded Israeli airspace on January 7, 1949).

One curious aspect of this war is that prior to it, no Jewish army had ever taken, occupied, and held an Arab Muslim city, town, or village in the Levant. Not in the entire 1300-year history of Islam. That's why many people were surprised to see the Jews actually fight, and there were comments about it that were absurdly insulting to both sides, such as "Man bites dog." Kurzman explicitly makes the point that the fighting on both sides was quite amateurish.

This history may explain the shock it caused when the Jews broke their 1300-year losing streak by taking and holding Deir Yassin, on April 9, 1948. Many Arabs would have considered that an unforgivable affront even had there been no Arab casualties. But it was even worse when over 100 Arabs died in the battle, including quite a few civilians. This helped spur exaggerations of what had occurred, and this in turn contributed to the decision of a huge number of Arabs, including 40,000 in Haifa, to flee their homes in the ensuing weeks.

These are some of the reasons why a few history books about this war are very strange, making it appear as if only one side fought in the war. And it is why a comprehensive, detailed, well-referenced, and well-researched book such as this one is so valuable.

There's an enormous amount of fascinating material in this book, but I was especially intrigued by one small portion which listed seven Arab arguments against permitting a Jewish state to exist in the region, as well as the Jewish replies. To me, this truly showed the extreme weakness of the Arab cause. I agreed with the Jews on a couple of the points and with the Arabs on none of them. Here are the seven Arab points and my assessment of them, so you can see for yourselves:

1) The Balfour Declaration had no legal basis, broke British promises to the Arabs, and could be fulfilled without a Jewish state. In addition, no international organization had a right to define territorial rearrangements.

I disagree. While the Balfour Declaration had no legal basis, the League of Nations version did. And while a Jewish home could exist without a state, the British 1939 White Paper had rendered that impossible. International organizations were not defining borders by recommending a state.

2) The Arabs, a majority in the region, were entitled to do what they pleased.

Even the majority needs to allow for minority rights. And the Jews were the majority in the partitioned area earmarked for the Jews, even before any Arabs fled. In addition, one reason the Jews were a minority in the region was that so many of them had been kept out of the Levant by force. A Jewish state would permit many of them to enter.

3) The Jews were descendants of Khazars, not Hebrews.

Most Jews were actually descendants of Hebrews, not Khazars. But even had no Jew been a descendant of a Hebrew, the question should have been whether the Jews had purchased their land honestly, with a sincere desire to live on it. And they had.

4) The proposed partition boundaries were idiotic and would start a war.

Yes, the recommended boundaries were idiotic. But they were not unfair to the Arabs. And the Arabs were the ones demanding a war, not the Jews.

5) Jews ought not be permitted to intrude into land that belongs to Arabs.

It doesn't belong to Arabs when they sell it to the Jews.

6) The Jewish state and Arab state recommended in the partition would not be able to cooperate economically.

That could be true, but so what?

7) Zionism was artificial and European and would corrupt Arab culture and tradition.

This takes the cake. Arab aggressors were complaining that it is a crime against nature to change the status quo. But the Arabs were changing the status quo by demanding to reduce Jewish rights. Besides, it can't always be a crime to change the status quo, or it would be a crime any time anyone was born, anywhere. Or died, or moved.

This is an excellent work, and I highly recommend it.

In this volume Dan Kurzman produces a comprehensive step-by-step, detailed account of Israel's 1948 War of Independence. Based on secret documents, and over 1000 interviews with participants, the study is scrupulously unbiased.
If the Jewish side comes off better, it is because of the Jewish respect for life which any objective observer will attest to, as opposed to the disregard of life by the Arab powers that be.
What is clearly and unavoidably revealed is the perfidious role of the British occupying forces who frequently arrested Jews they found with arms, but usually looked the other way when Arabs attacked Jews.
What I cannot understand is how the author is critical of the policy of the Lehi (the so-called Stern group) to resist the ruthless British occupation and the British alliance with the Arabs to prevent the rebirth of the Jewish State, as well as the British atrocities against Jews in the Palestine Mandate. The Lehi only killed British soldiers after the British had hung Jewish activists and often handed Jews over to bloodthirsty Arab mobs.
British deserters took part in the bloody Arab bombings of the Palestine Post and the Ben Yehuda Street terrorist attacks of 1947.
After the war had started the British attempted to drive the Jews out of Jaffa, leading to a battle between British tanks and Jewish soldiers.
The War of Independence was effectively a war by the fledgling state of Israel against 7 Arab armies AND Britain.
The United Nations, while voting for partition, refused to actually enforce partition after the Arabs attacked the fledgling Jewish State, and only intervened after Israel was en route to victory, exactly shat would happen 20 years later during the Six Day War.
Bevin had been determined that the Jews did not control the vast, desolate Negev, which he wanted for British bases.

After Israel was actually winning the war, the British, who had done so much to stop partition, suddenly thundered that unless the original United Nations terms were enforced, the UN should lift the embargo on the Arabs, isolate Israel economically and even blockade her.
Attlee and Bevin also put considerable pressure on Washington to act against Israel.
The diplomatic struggle is also covered, including the attempts by the American State Department for President Truman to reverse his support of partition, and how the revised plans by count Bernadotte essentially amounted to the strangling of Israel.


The book shows the reluctance of Transjordan to enter the war, but both Transjordan and Egypt were pushed into war with Israel by Britain.
The massacre by the Arabs of Jewish women and children in Kfar Etzion is detailed, making it very strange how Deir Yassin is always cited by anti-Israel polemicists while Kfar Etzion is forgotten.

It is quite astounding how the Arabs have been waging a war for decades to physically eliminate the Jewish presence in the Land of Israel, but continually howl about their own casualties.
Those who truly want peace and human rights should pressure the Arabs (and Iran) to live and let live and oppose the leftist-supported and Islamic-led global agenda that demonizes and wants ultimately to remove the Jewish state from the Middle East.

The book outlines the role of the key players in both the war and the diplomatic struggle such as David Ben-Gurion, Yigal Yadin, Yigal Allon, David Shaltiel, Count Bernadotte, Ralph Bunche, Clement Attlee, Harry Truman, Ernst Bevin, Mufti Haj amin Al-Husseini, King Abdullah, General Mohammed Neguib, Gamal Abdel Nasser. Abdullah Tel and Glubb Pasha.
This book is an extremely objective and non-ideological study, and is particulalrly important to read as it was written in 1970, before events were distorted by Leftist propagandists to fit in with the revisionist agenda of reversing the events of the history of the conflict.

Make no mistake, reading "Genesis 1948 - the First Arab-Israeli" is no small undertaking. The book's 830 pages (without the preface) consist of some 793 pages with the text and accompanying maps while the remaining pages consist of extensive notes, a bibliography of more than 500 sources and a large and comprehensive index. The book is simply put, an epic of modern history and I highly recommend it as such.

The story is told in one of the best ways possible... from the vantage points of the participants. Much like the much-acclaimed best seller "O Jerusalem" by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, Dan Kurzman. The author of "Genesis 1948," conducted extensive research into the history of the 1948 War for Israeli Independence consulting over 500 books, newspapers, periodicals, pamphlets, diaries and documents (written in a number of languages including French, English, Arabic and Hebrew) in addition to conducting a large number of interviews with participants from every side in the war (Egyptians, British, Israelis, Transjordanians, Americans, UN personnel, etc.). He ranged from the Arab League Library in Cairo to Government Press Department Library in Tel Aviv. He took all that information and cobbled it together into a dramatic human-interest story full of facts and referenced detail.

Some have called the work biased and "home team" coverage, but I strongly disagree since you can look up any of the author's facts and read them for yourself. Having said that, I do feel that the author had more sympathy for the Israeli side, but it's also clear that he had considerable sympathy for the poor Arab farmers (fellaheen) forced to fight a war in Israel in which most didn't believe. I have been reading the history of the modern Middle East for many years (from both the perspective of the Arabs and the Israelis) and I don't feel that the author left out significant details of the history especially considering the work was originally written in 1970 before the climactic 1973 Yom Kippur War. Contrary to other reviews, Kurzman has no problem talking about Jewish terrorism during the pre-1948 period and also heavily criticizes the Israeli side throughout the book. On a likewise note, Kurzman was lucky to make contacts and conduct research in the Arab world before the 1973 Yom Kippur War after which the Arab world largely closed up foreign access to Arab libraries, media sources and interview possibilities.

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Dan Kurzman wrote the following of his book (on page xi of the preface):

"I have checked every fact to the extent possible, and discarded any questionable information that could not be verified. In the case of conflicting and irreconcilable accounts of events, I generally present them with all of their sources. Quotations and reflections are taken from diaries, memoirs, and other documentary material or from personal interviews. I rarely use dialogue, the accuracy of which has not been confirmed by at least two of the participants in the exchange. Thus the language is as authentic as any that might be used in an autobiography of the person quoted"

"Using the techniques of the novelist and biographer, I have tried to bring the history alive. To a large degree, history, is the story of people; and this book describes their role in one of the most poignant and important stories of our time."

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What really makes the book work is its' honest and endearing first-person perspectives of the participants of the 1948 War for Israeli Independence. It's hard to not to find some admiration and respect for people like Abdullah Tel of Transjordan, Sayed Taha of Egypt, the enigmatic David Ben Gurion of Israel, or even Gammal Nasser, future dictator of Egypt. Their stories are told making full use of their own biographies, diaries and such. Lesser-known figures also have their stories told and it was the stories of some of these "minor players" that really endeared "Genesis 1948" to me.

I highly recommend this extensively referenced history of the 1948 War for Israeli Independence.

Review by: Maximillian Ben Hanan

In style and detail, this book is a good read. Its views are somewhat outdated now and Kurzman's suppression of the more unsavory side of the anti-civilian violence from the Zionist/ Israeli side now seems quaint. (Example: he refers in one place to a killing of Jewish workers as raising Arab fighting morale in Haifa, ignoring the fact that this had no effect on morale as it resulted from a worker riot following a random terror bombing of Arab workers by Jewish extermists and was followed by an unmentioned murderous retaliatory night raid by Jewish militia into a peaceful village.) Modern Israeli press accounts reveal that Kurzman deliberately downplayed the massacres of Arab civilians he discovered in his researches in the Israeli archives. This is "home team" coverage and ot an unbiased account. But for useful information and good storytelling, it passes muster. Just don't take it as the final word.

Lots of pictures with captions, not too much text. Good ideas to fit any garden.

Having bought an olive grove in greece, we are now setting about making a garden and found that this book gave us lots of ideas and enjoyed it thoroughly. It will be read a lot.

Living in Colorado, sun-drenched, low-water gardens are pretty much required (at least in my yard: I have about 10 sq. ft. of shade). This book provides an attractive overview of the Mediterranean garden style using some textual descriptions and many photos, with an emphasis on pics of Italian and southern California gardens. Even though many of the classic Mediterranean garden plants are not hardy for me, this book is still useful for studying the structure and design elements of a Mediterranean garden. My only complaint is that the photos appear washed out. I'm sure this was deliberate --- these are "sun-drenched" gardens, after all --- but it makes the detailed structure and the individual plants difficult to discern.

This book is serving as a good reference material for me. Living in the a sub-tropical region, where water is short and the hot/dry season is similar to a mediterrean climate I have been successfully using some of the garden ideas to landscape my own garden. I would recommend this book for the garden enthusiast who wants to start a garden where the soil is not idea and water is scarce, or just for some
one who wishes to grow plants which will thrive in subtropical regions.

Sunshine is the most defining element of a mediterranean garden. Pliny the Younger (AD 61-113) wrote of the detached room in his own garden with its cool marble floors. It was open on all sides and covered with vines. He loved to rest in the airy green shade.

In a bright and arid climate, the contrasts provide a breathtaking visual and sensory experience that this book passionately and successfully conveys.

It features ideas such as those based on a French tese with a shady tunnel of green clipped shrubs that function as doorways to sequential rooms, - Italian gardens sliced out of terracing and covered with alluring ancient pietra dura, - niches with terra-cotta figures, grottos, and Southern Californian water features.

The lavishly, and skillfully photographed book is divided into chapters that demonstrate how to achieve the mediterranean look in plantings, introduce shade and water features, create structure with various types of enclosures, design with clipped and pruned greenery, and adroitly use gravel, stone, and other paving materials instead of lawns.

The book is an inspiration and sensory delight.

I highly recommend this book. It was very useful to me. Each exercise includes pictures to show exactly how it should look, including hand signals. There were several obedience areas where my dog was not responding to the way my obedience instructor was teaching the commands, and some areas that weren't covered. I tried using the methods in the book, and she responded very quickly and learned the exercises. This book is great for people who don't want to use harsh methods or who have sensitive dogs. This book is also very useful for training puppies, where only positive reinforcement should be used. The step-by-step directions make it good for beginners.

David Weston's method of dog training follows right along in the modern tradition of "operant conditioning," which I had not heard of before reading this book. Therefore it was not a previous bias which caused me to discount the method as completely inappropriate to dog training! A dog is not a lab rat, to be "shaped" unwittingly by the presence or absence of food. It is disrespectful to your dog to assume so. However, if all you want is the behavior and you don't care about the rapport, or if you have a particularly sensitive dog that doesn't respond well to "traditional" methods, this book is an easy to follow manual of how to make it at least appear obedient.

I bought and read this book about 2 weeks before my Queensland Heeler came home. Within 2 days (he was 7 weeks old at the time) he was house trained and would "come" when we called him. Now at 8 weeks I began teaching him to "sit" and "drop". It literally only took about 5 minutes. I truly believe this is the best method of training a dog. I don't feel bad because I'm choking him or yelling or anything. He wants to do the exercises he's been trained to do. As a society we have been misinformed to think we have to train or dogs using archaic, somewhat violent means. I encourage everyone to at least try this method and if it works for you, pass it on to any pet owner you know. We can make happier, less aggressive dogs.

I highly recommend this book. It was very useful to me. Each exercise includes pictures to show exactly how it should look, including hand signals. There were several obedience areas where my dog was not responding to the way my obedience instructor was teaching the commands, and some areas that weren't covered. I tried using the methods in the book, and she responded very quickly and learned the exercises. This book is great for people who don't want to use harsh methods or who have sensitive dogs. This book is also very useful for training puppies, where only positive reinforcement should be used. The step-by-step directions make it good for beginners.

I really enjoyed this book as it shared my feelings of repect and care for animals. Especially our most domesticated friend the dog. I have used these methods offered in this book and know that they work.I would really love to know if there is an e-mail address for the auther of this book or his Kintala Club as I live in New Zealand and there is not a strong level of support offered here for this kind of practise. Particularly the socalising before tweleve weeks and immunisation. I would recommand this book to anyone considering a puppy or dog and to read it first so they know and understand their responsiblities as a dog owner and for the best they cangive their dog. Yours Helen from New Zealand.

The book is excellent but the dust cover was torn obviously before despatch as the packaging was good.
The disappointment was that there was no method of complaint other than returning the product. From Australia to USA not practible.

This is a beautiful book. I'm giving it 5 stars even though I was actually hoping for a little more reading material and insight - the imagery is wonderful.

I've been through a lot of Japanese gardening books, and many of been a little repetitive, covering the basic design elements and what not. Mizuno has put together a great "Intermediate" read once you've had enough of the basics. The pictures are some of the best available of authentic Japanese gardens, and the captions are short and to the point but with just enough plant identifications to be useful to someone in their planning stage.

Perhaps the best feature of this book is the introductory discussion on the "Omoteya style" town home (traditional Japanese merchant class town home). The text suggest there is a conservation movement to this vanishing style of Japanese home that mirrors the affection American's are beginning to culture towards the Bungalow. As the Omoteya styled homes share similar dimensions with the American city lot (diagrams are provided with the text), this book is a fabulous resource to urban dwellers looking to incorporate the Japanese garden concept to their grassy postage stamp.

Wonderful book with great photos and examples, some from different angles which are very useful to understand the actual lay out of these great Japanese gardens. Could use more in dept explanation of technical characteristics, but non the less wonderful.

This book is not only a great picture book, but it also provides wonderful descriptions of the Japanese gardens featured - succinct and informative. If you like landscaping with the Japanese feel, you'll enjoy this book.