Specialized Books

I bought this book and the Barrow's book. My son took the 2007 Specialized High School test and he got over 600 point. He said the Barrow book is much better and helpful. This book does not match the real test at all. You may use it as a practice IF you have time.

I bought this book preparing for another exam. When it was time to prepare for the Specialized High school exam I picked up this book again. My friends thought I had no chance. They were paying $1,000 for courses. While I was just using this book. And now Im in Stuyvesant and they're not. It's all thanks to this book!!!

I made it into Stuyvesant High School. I didn't use any other book (I couldn't find any). This book really helped me.

There are a few prep books in the market, I woul rate them as below
1. Barron's How to prepare for SSHSAT ----4 stars
2. Kaplan's SCI-Hi------------------------3 stars
3. Princeton Preview SSHSAT---------------3 stars
4. Arco Specialized science High exam-----2 stars

This book does not include practice tests for the Hunter College High School exam (as Amazon's description indicates).

Good growing information but lacks details. Not a complete guide but worth the price for sure. I got a few good ideas from this one, making it a worthy purchase. Another book for learning the most up to date hydroponic methods is my favorite, "Secrets to a Successful Greenhouse and Business".

It is a beginner's introduction to hydroponics. While it is an exceptionally good overview and a great place to begin studying the topic, it is by no means a canon on the topic. Grab this book, read it cover to cover, photocopy it's tables to tack to the wall in whatever area you do your plant working. It will give you a skeleton, but your flesh is earned via experience and communicating with other gardeners, especially in better hydroponics forums on the internet.

These forums, however, can be confusing without the background provided by books such as this.

What I was expecting was a guide on how I could start/build/create a hydroponic garden from scratch. What i got was a simpletons generic, vague something that really taught me nothing. I don't need the history of it, or the theories behind it. The title said 'simplified workbook' but it taught me nothing, I'm at square one which is "how do I build and start a hydroponic garden? What supplies and where do I get them?"

book recieved in a timely manner. Information is OK. Outdated information, lacks specifics. Need better clarification.

Hydroponics... presents an open and honest introduction to the subject of growing plants without soil, covering its long history (especially before it was called 'hydroponics' and before Western Europeans happened upon it), the basic principles underlying hydroponics and the more common methods of the field from the simple to the complex. It also includes a chapter on troubleshooting, provides copious resources in the form of a book list for further reading and suppliers to hydroponic growers (from backyard gardeners to commercial growers), and is an all-around accessible text for both beginning non-gardeners and to gardeners of all ability ranges. It also lays out the need for and benefits derived from hydroponics without embellishment, and presents just a small amount of the technology's practical applications and tremendous (and proven) potential.

However, based on this text alone, the reader has no real idea just how big the field of soil-less gardening has become. For example, a sizable amount of commercial tomato production in the United States is done hydroponically, and virtually all of the fresh lettuce in Japan is produced this way. Additionally, the technology has proven itself to be commercially viable for the production of a variety of specialty crops. After reading this book, I could easily think of five or six spin-offs for potential research.

Probably the best endorsement for the power and capability of this applied technology is the fact that more research is done in hydroponics by commercial growers and big multinationals than is done by (and this is in the United States context) both universities and the USDA. As an aside, although not originally intended as an application, more than a few enterprising individuals have co-opted its utilization, and advanced its development in order to cultivate, produce and distribute cannabis!

This in turn may or may not explain the reticence of the United States government, through the USDA, to fund research into improved hydroponic methods. However, a more reasonable possibility may be that the technology is first a proven concept and second is very highly developed. Still, there is considerable room for creative thinking, improvement, improvisation and innovation, as many an enterprising law-breaker has demonstrated.

On the other hand, foreign governments in arid regions of the world, such as Israel, the greater Middle East and the North African region, have invested heavily in hydroponics research as a means to simultaneously produce food for domestic requirements and to conserve scarce water resources. Israel in particular is very aggressive in its attempts to use hydroponics as a basis for export-led agricultural production.

Considering how long this book has been on the market (some 27 years), and how bad the situation in the world is with regard to hunger and food insecurity, and environmental degradation, I have to wonder aloud why environmental types like Lester Brown, Helen Caldicott and environmental groups such as the Worldwatch Institute, Sierra Club and Greenpeace have not bothered to champion this technology. Given all of the benefits of the technology, and the number of greedy corporate fingers using it to rake in beaucoup bucks, you have to wonder exactly where the priorities of many of the so-called 'eco-advocacy' groups lay, as they should be grinning from ear to ear over this water conserving (and in many cases water recycling), decreased energy, pesticide and fertilizer utilizing technology.

My go to book each month for over a decade now. It has consistently provided me monthly useful information and to do lists to grow fantastic gardens filled with flowers, fruits, and vegetables suitable for living in the bay area. I'm here to buy another copy for a friend. This book has worked for me from my beginning gardener stage, to my now very comfortable in growing by seed, cuttings, or transplants, hundreds of varieties of plants. Photos are readily available using online search engines, or better yet, seek out the plants in three dimensions at californias many gardening stores. I've taken lists of plants from this book with me to check out in person at nurseries which provided me first hand info no glossy photo could have. This book is fantastically useful.

Since a lot of the joy of gardening is visual, I was surprised to find this book includes NO photos of the plants described.

Not exactly helpful if you're trying to decide what to plant!

There are some good hints, and the book is well-organized, but an occasional sketchy hand drawing is no substitute for photos. I suspect the author and publisher were trying to cut costs.

Overall, very disappointing.

I've had this book a while and was curious why it didn't have a 5 star rating. If you live in Northern California this book is very informative and very well presented. It is the only garden reference I've read cover to cover, but that is due to its layout taking you through the season month by month. Yes, it does not have photos, but if you actually take the time and read you'll find it very informative and even discover information about drought tolerant plants.

If you are looking for guide that includes photos, you will be disappointed. If you are a novice looking for a visual guide to give you design ideas, this is not an appropriate book.

Pretty good book but beware the cover lists that there is a special section on drought tolerant and xeriscaping which is no where to be found.

Advice on Fushsias and Hydrangeas is very good.

I have to ultimately agree with Plumbo's review, for the most part. For every subject covered in this book, it's as though we were given the first paragraph or two, at best, of what should have been multiple paragraph or even multiple page explanations. In my opinion, not a single subject is covered in enough detail. Not including index or glossary, this book is 152 pages long. Approximately 20-25% of the pages are photos or drawings. The photos and drawings are frequently useful, which some books can't claim, but obviously 120 pages of text is not going to cover enough. All criticism aside, if one is a non-military sniper or is involved in the training of the non-military sniper, there is just enough material in this book, some of it not found in others, to justify buying it. There are other books that aren't even worth buying. However, it should be one of many books you use.

Personally I am more interested in military sniping, but still Sniper/Counter Sniper gave a lot of good tips on the subject of long range shooting and especially in how to train yourself in the art of becoming a competent sniper.

I agree with the sniper instructor. This book is excellent. It has many pictures and diagrams to show and explain the topics discussed in this book. Some topics include weapons, concealment, training, and scopes. The book gets down to the point with no BS and is easy to understand. Mark V. Lonsdale in my opinion is a great aurthor and his other books are just as good as this one. I would highly recommend this book to snipers and anyone interested in the art of sniper/counter sniper.

SNIPER COUNTER-SNIPER is better than ever. This book has been fully revised and up-dated for 2005 with new text, chapters, images and equipment.

There are quite a few other books on sniping that you need to buy before this one. I do not know about the background of the other reviewers but to call this a good book on sniping is BS. A very, very light introduction, maybe, but the book does not cover ANYTHING in detail. It is at best useful for a wanna-be sniper and maybe not even so: If you include so little details, but still manage to explain where to shoot a man in the head it is at best missguiding.
I am sure that mr. Lonesdale knows his stuff, but this book is lightweight.

As a monograph on the Japanese garden this book contains a wealth of some of the best color photographs currently in print. Although the text gives a general overview of garden history and design elements, I find it somewhat lacking in structure and completeness.

This book does contain an excellent description of the origins of the garden at Saiho-ji, also known as the Moss Temple garden, and it is a varyed collection of material that will amuse the reader, especially the anecdotal accounts of the lives and statements of the more legendary figures of Japanese garden design.

The Japanese have created a wealth of myths surrounding these figures, that have gained a special place in their cultural history, but in recent years most scholars have started to question the extent to which they were involved in the actual design and building of the gardens that are attriobuted to them.

For some reason Amazon could not source me a New Copy for my collection..!
Very Dissapointed,as i was so looking forward to adding this book to my growing collection of Beautifull Japanese Garden and Architecture Glossy References.

This book is a treasure of visual delights. The large format permits the reproduction of strikingly vivid photographs of the most famous and beautiful gardens in Japan. The layout of the book provides an excellent introduction to the many styles of gardens which have evolved over the past 1000 years in Japan. Detailed narrative descriptions of the various styles introduce each section and include many drawings to help the reader to understand the development of the gardens. Of special interest and beauty is the description and photographs of Saiho-ji commonly refered to as The Moss Garden in Kyoto. The full page photographs capture the lushness, serenity and beauty of the garden at its peak of color. Having visited the garden several times over the past few years, I can say that the presentation in this book is much lovelier that the actual garden is and given the cost of admission to the garden the cost of the book is very reasonable.

This book was a gift to a horticulturist who had actually been to Japan and seen/experienced some of the gardens there. As best as he could describe, it did not come close to the gardens shown in this book - some of these gardens are not open to the public, and it would be nearly impossible for the amateur photographer to capture the neatness and serenity of Japanese gardens. Just leafing through the book is enough to calm the soul and enrich the eyes of the beholder. Expecially for those who wouldn't want to travel that far, but still "be there" to enjoy it, these photos of gardens is the next best thing.

Anyone who has ever enjoyed a Japanese niwa (loosely translated as "garden" in English) has come away with a sense of peace, timelessness, and natural order. Relatively few have enjoyed niwas in the presence of someone who can explain the significance of the niwa. The Gardens of Japan fills in that missing knowledge very well with an excellent, brief history of the niwa, including the religious and agricultural influences.

The niwa's design in part deals with the Chinese discipline of Fengshui, whereby the natural geography determines where are appropriate places to build. The Japanese took this concept, and translated its elements into trees so that an artificial geography can be built to provide the same elements anywhere. As you will agree, this is a most practical solution to creating harmony. The gravel-spread zones have a significance as places where gods descend. Despite these artifices, the purpose is to make the plants and stones appear unaltered by humans. Natural outcroppings are studied to get just the right look in the niwa.

These insights are very helpfully provided by the author, who is a former president of Kogakuin University in Tokyo. This edition of the book is slightly reduced in size from the well-known original English translation in 1984, that has been so widely admired. Although I would have liked to see larger pages (especially for the black-and-white photographs), this reduction does not significantly detract from this classic.

The Gardens of Japan creates a nice balance between looking at the elements of the niwa (design, stones, water, and plants) and its holistic existence (interaction with the sky as a natural dome, integration with the building spaces, spiritual meanings, and significance for daily life in Japan).

Naturally, you will find some of Japan's finest niwas gorgeously portrayed in two-page layouts in full color here. My favorites included the upper villa of the Shugakuin Detached Palace ("cloud-filled sky dome is part of the garden . . . an attempt to expand the garden to almost cosmic proportions"), Temple Sanpo-in garden, Kuwata residence, Furumine Shrine, Tenryu-ji, Hokoku-ji, Ichitani residence, and Rokuon-ji.

Many other gardens are captured in a few images, many in black and white to capture their design elements.

Should you have an opportunity to visit Japan, the book also has a helpful map that locates each niwa.

Where I live, the winters are cold and often snowy. To be able to pull out this book and commune with the gorgeous vistas of tranquillity during ideal weather will add to my sense of "inward mutability and interpermeability."

Where can you find peace? Do you go there often enough? How can you get more renewal from these experiences?

Feel the timeless truth all around you, let it imbue you . . . and relax when you take up your daily tasks in the future.

Good book, many different plants, but pictures could be larger. Good book for the price.

Not my favourite book of its kind on the market . some photos leave a lot to be desired in particular. On the otherhand a reasonable, brief, compendium of the usual tropical plants.
Sorry I don't think this is special or a "must have"

This book relies heavily on the pix for its value. In general terms this is fine - but the quality of some of these pix and the reproduction disappoints and leaves much to be desired.
Handy - but not my most favourite tropical plant book !

I want another copy. The first copy I bought I gave to a friend who admired it. The photos are georgous and it is well organized for reference. Worth every penny.

In a Landscape Architect's office, we seem to need four or five resource books to adequately prepare a plant palette. This book comes as close to being perfect for use in South Florida and other similar temperate zones

Before reading this book I had no experience with topiary. After reading this book I felt like I knew a little. I found that the text focuses on the history of the use of topiary. There were some sections on what plants to use and there was a LONG section on creating different wire forms. The illustrations are all hand drawn while I would have prefered to see actual pictures of the plants. This book is probably better for someone who knows a little about gardening basics instead of someone like me who knows nothing.

Featuring interesting historical information, this book includes many backgrounds of formal gardens and topiary, offered as sidebars and archive drawings. There is extensive information on creating forms and shaping topiary. The illustrator's drawings echo the whimical sentiment of topiary, while the authors' offering of botanical information help the hobbyist understand the science of what they are doing. I cannot imagine anyone reading this book and not bursting with ideas to make their own gardens come to life.

As difficult as it is to find information on the art of topiary, this disapointing book gives a very vague picture. Perhaps the most frustrating thing about the book is the illustrations. It seems more like a comic strip than an information resource. For instance the 3 or 4 pages given to standards shows hand drawn renderings that look like my 5 year old drew them. It is interesting that they devoted so many pages to different types of wire shapes. It seems obvious to me that vines will grow on a rack shaped like a bird, and they will grow on a rack shaped like an elephant. I just didn't "get" showing us all the different shapes, and giving them all their own page. Good book for the novice, check it out at the library however, there isn't much reason to own it.

I found this book to be absolutely delightful, insightful, and a keeper. A real treasure of information and inspiration!

The writer's aim is to make you think of your garden as "a three dimensional space, filled with color, texture, and a dynamic form which you can walk through, look at and feel." She encourages the reader to consider the vertical dimension of a garden using both plants and man-made features.

Most of the book focusses on man-made structures and their use in different garden styles from formal to romantic, and urban, and they also include the potager garden.

The most useful aspect of the book is the detailed instructions for making vertical elements such as an obelisk and a gazebo. The photographs throughout are gorgeous, although they tend to feature gardens far larger, lusher and more ornate than most of us aspire to.

The section on plants points out the importance of understanding each plant's means of attachment before selecting it for a specific site. Some have tendrils, for example, which will twine around wood or wire. Some need sturdier supports and some plants will sucker onto a wall. Choose wisely!

There is not much new in this book , but the photography is beautiful and the instructions might help you add a new vertical structure without great expense.

Although I have enjoyed gardening for some time it never occurred to me to create a climbing garden. In "Climbing Gardens: Adding Height and Structure to Your Garden" author Joan Clifton provides solid advice on how to create such a garden. This is not just a rose trellis type of climbing garden, there are a myriad of forms a climbing garden can take and she illustrates and discusses several of them. The book is illustrated with beautiful photographs of garden trellises, walkways, arches, and other structures covered with flowering foliage. On a more practical aspect it contains some more practical ideas such as the photograph of an archway covered with fruiting squash plants. It even has a few pictures and ideas for one of my favorite vines - wisteria. With instructions on how to build structures such as an obelisk or a living arbor, the book is very complete and a recommended read for anyone looking to add a new dimension to their garden by adding height and other structure.

The writer's aim is to make you think of your garden as "a three dimensional space, filled with color, texture, and a dynamic form which you can walk through, look at and feel." She encourages the reader to consider the vertical dimension of a garden using both plants and man-made features.

Most of the book focusses on man-made structures and their use in different garden styles from formal to romantic, and urban, and they also include the potager garden.

The most useful aspect of the book is the detailed instructions for making vertical elements such as an obelisk and a gazebo. The photographs throughout are gorgeous, although they tend to feature gardens far larger, lusher and more ornate than most of us aspire to.

The section on plants points out the importance of understanding each plant's means of attachment before selecting it for a specific site. Some have tendrils, for example, which will twine around wood or wire. Some need sturdier supports and some plants will sucker onto a wall. Choose wisely!

There is not much new in this book , but the photography is beautiful and the instructions might help you add a new vertical structure without great expense.

I was looking for a book to help me plan a very large pond, no fish, with water plants. After thoroughly reading this book, it left me with more questions than answers. For instance, with the type of pond I was considering, what are the criteria I need to keep in mind in determining whether or not I need to use a pump and filtration system? I really did not want to have to install one, but this book did not offer any real advice in helping me decide this very important aspect. If I choose not to install a circulating system, what is the best way to maintain my pond? How will I control algae growth? How do I choose the best plants and their placement?

Some of the terms used were not easily identifiable by their context as to the meaning: what exactly is a coping? concrete haunch?

The drainage section was vague and very confusing--there was so little information to go with.

Like the editorial review says, it is aimed at amateurs; however, amateurs will find they'll need to reference additional sources for some very basic information before initializing any pond project. "The Complete Pond Builder" was not as COMPLETE as I would have liked.

You will find, though, beautiful, inspiring pictures to help you decide how you would like your pond to look and images of the various stages of construction that may be involved in your project.

This book explains how to build ponds of different shapes and sizes. It contains some wonderful images of ponds and pools, and it details how to place specific types of plants at different layers of a pond. It includes a section on building bog gardens as well. I think it has slightly better construction detail than Swindells' The Master Book of the Water Garden. For example, in one section, it even explains where to apply different concrete mixes to specific parts of a pond. It also includes more examples of smaller ponds. However, it is not as comprehensive as Swindell's book, and it contains very little information about three additional areas that I think are rather important for pond-building: adding fish, designing for wildlife, and performing seasonal maintenance.

This is an excellent book for ideas on various types of ponds: preformed; lined; concrete; raised and semi-raised; etc. with pretty good details on constructing most styles.

The only reason I didn't give it a better rating, is because in trying to cover so many styles in limited space (144 pages total), it naturally could not offer the level of detail I was looking for when building my lined pond.

That said it was an excellent book, with great ideas and I strongly recommend it.

BTW, I completed my pond (2,500 gallons!) and it looks great!

this book has everything you need to know about installing and maintaing interior plantscapes and if you are interested in such things i reccomend this book.

I got this book to learn about caring for indoor plants for a new business it is very insightful and helpful. I do mostly pest control in buildings and often am asked about the plants and problems they may have this book is a good help in answering questions and learning about the different plants and how to manage them. Maybe for experinced people this maybe basic info but is helpful. My wife really liked it with help for plants in the house.

When I recieved this book I was so disappointed I returned it within 2 days. As a horticulturist, I am constantly seeking out new reference books. I had hoped for more information on indoor plantings, the focus was on potted plants rather than installation of indoor planters and gardens. This was a skinny little overpriced houseplant book. The author did discuss soils and lighting, however most basic horticulture text books with a much lower price tag can offer far more information. This is certainly too elementary for the professional and the hobbiest is better off with "The Houseplant Expert"