Works Books

Worth every penny. It doesn't go very deep in each subject, but enough to better understand and appreciate Japanese swords. The described forging techniques are detailed enough in my opinion for someone who wish to start trying forging his own blades (most probably knives for beginning). Lots of stuff can't be learned by books, and this one is no exception, but at least you'll learn basic forging techniques instead of starting from scratch, on your own.

It has a great deal of information on Japanese swords, how to identify them according to the era they were made, etc.

I highly suggest this book for every Japanese sword enthusiast.

An excellent book, getting a bit old now but still extremely relevant.

Well written with excellent descriptions and photos.

Good to see Yoshindo Yoshihara is still alive, but he looks a bit older than the book photo!

I throughly recommend this book to anyone starting out in Japanese swords.

Steve

An excellent book. It has all you need to know to either understand the craft of the sword or to begin your own explorations into the craft. Or both.Craft of the Japanese Sword is well written and illustrated, with an emphasis on the artisanship and detail of each step in creating these beautiful works. Ken wa hito nari.

It's a good book, good information!
Photos should be color, that's the only thing I don't like!
But anyway, I like it!

This book is an excellent introduction to Japanese swordmaking by looking at modern masters and how they make swords. If you are just beginning an interest in Japanese swords and how they are made, this is the book for you. The book takes you through the process of forging the blade, polishing, making the habaki and finally the scabard. This book is highly recommended!

This is a handy guide for the real mom to make more educated choices for kids' meals.

I really liked this book. The book reviews many of our local restaurant and fast food chains. It gave information on smarter choices to make for meals. It was small enough to fit in my purse and we were able to take it to our usual restuarants and choose better options. The book also gives great tips for the grocery store. They also discuss the food groups and sort of change it a little to what are kids should really be getting. I like the book because it doesn't just say "Fast Food Bad" and make me feel bad for letting my child eat it, because that's not a reality for me. Instead the book just helps our family make some better choices that fit our existing life style.

I bought this book for my sister and she has trouble putting it down. She takes it with her everywhere. it is worth it every penny! Enjoy

He focuses too much on fat and calories. Kids need to think about nutrition and many fats are essential for development. Kids need to be swapping fresh foods for boxed and canned.

Book Review: Eat This Not That For Kids!
From: www.BasilAndSpice.com

Have you ever visited a middle school cafeteria? Unbeknownst to parents, some school districts allow children to purchase three ice creams every day for their lunches! And our children are getting fatter.

David Zinczenko--Editor-in-Chief of Men's Health, and Matt Goulding--Food and Nutrition Editor of Men's Health are trying their hand at helping parents swap out unhealthy foods for healthy ones. Their new book Eat This-> Not That! For Kids (Rodale, Aug '08) promises to help parents and kids "navigate the onslaught of sugary cereals and 'happy' meals that kids love while saving their families hundreds of unnecessary calories." Like the original Eat This-> Not That! (Rodale, '08), the kid version will work with major restaurant chains, grocery stores, at home, and the worst location--the school cafeteria.

Zinczenko and Goulding researched the best and worst kids' food choices across the country. Then they compiled:

* 10 rules of good nutrition
* The school-cafeteria survival guide
* The 20 worst kids meals in America

Fascinating food facts from the book:

* Your child will ingest 93 grams of fat (almost double the recommended daily allowance) in an Outback Steakhouse meal.
* Chuck E. Cheese will provide 1,426 milligrams of sodium (more than a day's worth for the average kid) in one slice of pepperoni and sausage pizza plus two bread sticks.
* Two pieces of KFC's Extra Crispy Chicken is will total 810 calories.
* Skip fettuccine alfredo and caesar salad, and make your own batch of spaghetti and meatballs with a green salad, and save 360 calories and 23 grams of fat.
* Kids will view more than 5,000 food commercials this year.

Zinczenko and Goulding touched briefly on these issues before. Their original book has a listing of children's drinks to avoid, and which are ok to consume. For example, do drink Yoo-Hoo's chocolate drink for 110 calories and 1 gram of unsaturated fat. "Keep these on hand in case you need to bribe the kids," they write. Avoid Hershey's Reduced Fat Chocolate Milk--one bottle equals 200 calories and 3 grams of saturated fat.

Hot on the trail of these successful books is another Eat This->Not That! For Supermarkets (Rodale, Dec. 2008). 5 Stars

This is a fascinating book with gorgeous photographs of fiestas which would have been prepared by Frida for parties at home in Mexico. We all know that Frida was an extraordinary artist, but it's quite an eye-opener to find out that she was also an outstanding cook!

Written by Frida's stepdaughter, you might as well have been there with her during her stay with Frida & Diego Riviera. Absolutely gorgeous pictures and insight in the culinary life of Frida Kahlo describing social reunions during holidays and festivities, along with some day to day pampering Frida gave to Diego & her loved ones. Whether you agree or not with Frida's life & beliefs is irrevelant in this wonderful book. It is about how Frida treated her family and friends in her culinary world. Seems Frida's stepdaughter loved her dearly and I felt this was a tribute in such a positive light to this creative and multi talented woman. What a wonderful read and truly authentic Mexican cuisine to add to the splendor of Frida's Fiestas!

The recipes are authentic- to die for! And the life stories are told with compassion from Frida's step-daughter. This is a good read- and better eat!

The book is very nice. It has a lot of photos. It also tells the story about Frida and Diego. It's the perfect gift. There is also a Spanish version, which I have been unable to locate.

Since everyone has raved about this book, perhaps I'm looking at an old edition (1994). I agree that the photos are beautiful and the stories wonderful, but in the version of the book I have the instructions for the recipes are in the wrong order. For example, for Chiles en Nogada, the first sentence of the recipe's instructions are "Rinse the chiles and pat them dry. Spoon some of the filling inside each one..." Well, you have to go down the the second to last paragraph to get the instructions for making the filling. Obviously, the recipe should first tell you how to make the filling. Also in this recipes, it tells you to pour the walnut sauce over the chiles, BEFORE it tells you how to make the walnut sauce.

I have published a cookbook and these type of errors mean one thing: an editor who has not read the recipes and thought them through! (Much less tried to follow the recipes.) I noticed that in several of the recipes I've used, I have, with my editing pen, moved paragraphs around with arrows so that the instructions are in the right order.

This book is the best! So good, I bought 2 copies to share with people close to me so they can finally understand what my child is going through. Brad is awesome! When I wrote to him to shower him with Kudos, he wrote back to me. I love his determination and I pray my son will have the same!.

As an accomplished pianist, teacher and adjudicator I spend most of my time with individuals of all ages. Teaching and adjudicating are perhaps the most challenging of all! Like Brad Cohen, I have Tourette Syndrome and growing up as a "baby boomer", a time when extremely little was known about Tourettes, teasing, being bullied and considered a virtual headache to my teacher's made my life a living hell. All I had to turn to was my God given gift of music!
Brad Cohen grew up with the same horrific challenges that Tourettes brings with it. A teacher is someone every student should be able to turn to for support, a shoulder to lean on, a friend, when you feel your own are not there for you. Growing up in this day and age is a daunting task. Brad Cohen knows this all too well, and shows his understanding of it through his actions as a teacher. He knows what it is like to not have teachers there when he needed them most in his life. He turned having TS, a debilitating disorder into a tool of support and understanding for those lives he touches everyday. New disorders are being discovered at an alarming rate. The future teachers and classrooms are not yet equipped to handle what lies ahead for them. My niece is a teacher and she can hardly cope with the demands of her position as they stand. Teachers will need the support of people like Brad Cohen travelling to various school boards as I do as a Music Therapist to educate new teachers on how to integrate students with disorders and other issues into the classroom. Teachers' Colleges will have to provide the means to offer clinical studies in what lies ahead such as Tourette Syndrome, ADD, ADHD, learning disorders , behavioral problems and so much more. Educating our teachers as Brad Cohen has educated his students and fellow teachers is paramount if the future of our world's children will have a chance to survive what lies ahead of them. Teacher Assistant's will need to become a necessity in every classroom, and trained in specific areas. One teacher per class will no longer be enough, if those students who require extra attention are going to be successfully integrated into the classroom of the public school system.
Brad Cohen has touched the lives of so many students in his life as a teacher! They say that if you can touch the life of one person, you have done your job. Brad Cohen has surpassed this objective time and time again!
I can only hope, that more people like Brad Cohen will give of their talent's as I try to do as a music therapist, to educate and help prepare the schools, teachers' and students' of tomorrow!
I once received a letter from a student I adjudicated in a competition, and it said; "not often enough in life, do we take the time to say "Thank You", thank you sir for your knowledge and encouragement, it means so much!"
Now it is time for me to say "THANK YOU" to Brad Cohen, a teacher who has touched many lives."
To everyone in the profession of teaching, this is a book that will positively "re-charge" your love of being an educator!

Author: Raymond Vacchino M.Mus.(MT) A.Mus. L.R.S.M. Licentiate (hon.)

This book is great for so many reasons. Anyone can read this and walk away with something. If you have Tourettes (or any disability), it is such a positive, supportive, encouraging story. I wish I had boxes of this book to pass to every teacher, doctor, friend, grandparent, parent and child. Tourettes is something almost everyone in the world will encounter in some way. Disability dicrimination, is unfortunately also something everyone will encounter in some way. This book provides a unique, well written perspective of life with an uncontrollable, misunderstood disorder. I reccomend it to you.

I too am a teacher with Tourette Syndrome (TS) and have experienced many of the same things that author Brad Cohen describes in this fascinating book. All of his life, Cohen has worked to overcome his disability. Even when he became ultimately successful, Cohen has still experienced difficulties. For example, even as an adult, he has been asked to leave restaurants and other public events. A few times, however, this has worked to his advantage. While at the Olympics in Atlanta, for example, a number of patrons complained about his tics. But instead of being expelled, Cohen was reseated in a better seating area.

His parents were divorced and, for most of his early life, his father was distant from him. In elementary school and junior high, Cohen was often ridiculed and mocked by other children. Teachers mistakenly thought that he was doing his tics purposely in order to disrupt the class, and punished him accordingly. Many children with TS also have comorbid ADHD and OCD. Cohen described how hard it is to read and comprehend a book. The average person should imagine trying to comprehend a book while it is jerked around every few seconds.

In time, Cohen was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome (TS). He was taken off stimulants, which, in common with many others with TS, only aggravated his condition. His first experience with a TS support group was not at all positive. Members of the group focused on the negative, not how to overcome it and be successful. This is not what Cohen needed to hear. In time, Cohen learned how to educate others about his disorder. Unfortunately, in junior high, there were too many individuals who refused to be educated. However, he did have a supportive principal who allowed him to speak to a school gathering about his condition.

Cohen developed socially by being involved in Jewish organizations. By high school, things got better. The students increasingly overlooked his tics and accepted him as a person. He began to dream of being a teacher.

When Cohen went to Bradley University, he learned not only educational theory but also got valuable hands-on teaching experience with children. But when he tried to get his first teaching job, the door kept getting slammed in his face. Ultimately, he had to go through some 25 principals before he found one that would hire him. "I just cannot see you as a teacher", one candidly remarked. Things seemed hopeless. It looked as if Tourette Syndrome had won over him. But he refused to give up his dream.

Finally, he was hired, and proved himself to be an excellent teacher. He at first taught second grade, and made every child feel wanted. Cohen made the following observation (p. 160) which should be a challenge and inspiration to all teachers: "If you want to feel secure, do what you already know how to do. If you want to be a true professional and continue to grow...go to the cutting edge of your competence, which means a temporary loss of security. So whenever you don't quite know what you're doing, know you're growing."

Brad Cohen's first hand account of how he became a teacher despite having Tourette's syndrome isn't great writing, but if you've ever known someone with Tourette's you know how amazing his story is. Happily most people today know what this disease is--as I was growing up with a brother who had it, no one did. If you haven't seen it, it's hard to imagine the noises, tics, cursing, and mental agony of living with this incurable problem. Cohen's book gives an intimate look at what it feels like to have your body taken over by urges that can't be controlled. He also sensitively portrays the distress and confusion of parents who try to deal with a problem for which modern medicine is almost useless. Again we see a situation where young children in the classroom can accept behaviors that the wider world can't tolerate, and Cohen's openness about his problem with these children is the secret of his success. One gets the sense Cohen's life will always be a struggle--although he has many friends there's no mention of a woman in his life, and gaining acceptance with new people is always going to be a risky business. But his courage is amazing. This book should be required reading for any child who doubts his worth as a person because of this terrible disease.

Anyone would enjoy the wisdom in this book...it makes you look at life and yourself in a totally different way...I bought some to give as birthday gifts...I cannot tell you how much this book has helped me..There is power in God's Word, and this book will help you find it...

A great book for Christians or just someone who loves God and wants to know how mighty He is. I really enjoy this book.

This collection of three mini-books by Charles Capps is a great addition to anyone who believes in the power of words and positive thinking. His work reminds me of Norman Vincent Peale's approach to positive thinking, but more expressly teaches right-speaking and offers Biblically inspired confessions. I use the book almost daily to help train my mind and mouth to think and speak according to Biblical principles regarding family, finances, health, and all things that pertain to life. I have purchased at least 12 copies and have distributed it to family and friends because I believe the teaching is thought-provoking and when applied, life-changing. As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. This book challenges those thoughts and consequently makes one examine what type of words are used in response to life's varied circumstances. It is an overall practical application of the word of God.

GOD'S CREATIVE POWER by Charles Capps is a powerhouse. It contains three works by Capps: God's Creative Power Will Work for You, God's Creative Power for Healing, and God's Creative Power for Finances. There is teaching here for healing, finances, and knowing and obtaining the will of God for our lives.

Capps believes that God's is true, that He means what He says. Further, if believers will speak the Word in faith and stand on God's promises, they, too, will have what they say. The scriptures support this teaching in Mark 11:23-24 and John 14:13, John 16:23-24.

Capps believes that healing, prosperity, miracles and all the gifts of faith are available to every believer who will "Only believe." There is power in the promises of God. They belong to every believer. God's answer to His promises is "Yes." (1 Cor 1-2)

This book is one of several excellent Capps books (The Tongue - A Creative Force, Your Spiritual Authoprity, Faith and Confession) and is in the same family of teaching as Smith Wigglesworth, Kenneth Hagin Sr., Keith Moore, and Dr. Paul Yonggi Cho.

This has helped me change my thinking. I've bought copies for friends and relatives that need hope and a "how to" guide for improving situations by speaking differently.

For quite some time I've been fascinated by essential oils. While they can at times be quite expensive to collect a few high-quality essential oils can go a long way.

This book is divided up into three main sections. In the first section there is a brief history of essential oils and an interesting picture to show steam distillation. There is information on why lavender and neroli stimulate new cell growth and how rosemary encourages healthy hair growth.

The second section is very helpful with ideas on which essential oils to use for a wide variety of common complaints. While it is interesting to note that cardamom and black pepper are good for heartburn, a recipe would be useful. If you want a recipe I can recommend the one for a chai tea in Savoring the Spice Coast of India: Fresh Flavors from Kerala. I made it tonight using soymilk and a rooibos teabag.

Part three in this fascinating book includes information on 165 essential oils. While I've read many books on essential oils there were numerous oils I'd never heard of before. In this section there are a few oils you want to avoid like wormwood that can cause brain damage. You may recognize bergamot if you have ever made Earl Grey tea. Could lemonade be part of a cure for arthritis? This book gives all sorts of new information and also has a helpful glossary.

While this book is comprehensive I think it would have been better to organize the essential oils according to their common name instead of their Latin name. Fortunately there is a good index so you can find your favorite essential oils fast. In the index you can find the common name (frankincense) as well as the Latin or botanical term (Boswellia Carteri).

If you are looking for any additional information I can also recommend anything by Connie Higley: Reference Guide for Essential Oils Tenth Edition, October 2006. I have the 1999 edition but have been considering the new edition to add to my collection.

~The Rebecca Review, currently wearing Aura Cacia Love Potion Essential Oil .5 oz. I love all the Aura Cacia essential oils.

This is the one book I would not be without.
It is very informative and helpful.
I am a soapmaker and use the information re: the essential oils to make aromatheray and therapuetic, skin softening soaps.

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils is a wonderful book to add to a collection of knowledge of Aromatherapy. It contains very detailed properties of each essential oil - easy to understand and great for reference for all to read, learn and practice. If you can't find what you are looking for specifically for an essential oil, you will most definately find it in this book.

Gives uses for many plants and the essential oils but no complete details for making the remedies with the oils. Eg. how much of each oil to put into the natural remedies?

If I had to have only two books in my Aromatherapy Library, this would be one of them, along with The Complete Guide to Aromatherapy, by Salvatore Battaglia. I have been an Aromatherapist since 2003, I know - a relatively short time - but a productive time, and I could not have accomplished what I have without this book. It is a very complete list - if not the best list - of essential oils available in book form, with all their properties, chemical breakdown, methods of extraction, history, ancient uses for the plants and oils, modern uses, toxicity and as if this wasn't enough - the photos are marvolous and extremely helpful in identifying plants and the oil colour. Every plant gets a whole page and the format repeats and is so easy to follow. What makes this book stand out among its peers is the ease of use with an excellent index, glossary of terms, botanical index, botanical classification and references (just because a book has these thing doesn't mean they are always good or useful).
The most toxic of essential oils, which are hardly mention in other books , or, we are merely warned to stay away from for aromatherapy use, are also covered in Ms. Lawlwess' book, and I am glad for that because I want to know the "why" of everything. Why is it bad? After all - this is meant as a reference book, not a "how to". It is one of the most important books on essential oils and you are cheating yourself not to have a copy. I don't know if Ms. Julia Lawless is alive, and if she is, when she will come out with an updated version, but I sure hope so.

Wow!!
This is a book for everyone and anyone that loves the muppets and its good for all ages, coffee table or for propsmakers.
Top choice as a present for muppets lovers

Fabulous. So many other reviewers have expressed the feelings this book gives you so much more eloquently, so I will leave mine with just that one word. Fabulous.

This book is fabulous. I ordered it from America to come to England as the current exchange rate made it cheaper to buy this book new than to buy it second hand in England, and the wait for shipping was worth it. There are some brilliant anecdotes from people working with Henson, and beautful pictures illustrating everything that ever went on in Jim Henson's studios, right up to unpublished notes that Henson wrote for a book.

This book is beautiful, and really interesting in looking at the work of Jim Henson.

Complete with full color pictures, as well as black and white photos of Jim's early years, this book is not only a great read. -It's fun to look at too! Even young children can sit and appreciate the magic of Jim Henson's creations through the artwork and photo-journalistic shots throughout.

This book contains a great deal of biographical information on Jim throughout his life, and includes a great deal of his earlier forrays into the world of experimental art and design.

Definitely a good buy.

It's hard to believe Jim Henson has now been gone for over 16 years. Christopher Finch's book stands as a great testament to Henson's amazingly prolific work and his larger-then-life existence. Despite Henson's natural shyness and reticence and quiet manner, the thing that strikes you in the book is how many lives this guy touched. He bestowed livelihoods on literally thousands of people. Their gratitude is expressed in these pages time and again in fervent, emotional recollections. To say Jim Henson inspired devotion only begins to get at what this guy meant to his family, friends and employees.

My hat is off to Christopher Finch for this wonderful collection, which is still available here as a beautiful and hardily-constructed first-edition hardback. Mr. Finch gets an extra level of respect for the decision (of which he no doubt had a say) to keep his name off the dustcover front. He's graciously stepped aside to let the lights shine warmly on Jim Henson.

I have found this book very useful, informative and easy to use. I have found it a great aid in my yoga studies.

Easy to read, easy to understand. I couldn't put this book down.
If you have an interest in yoga and would like to know and understand the Asana Names.... you should get this.
I am not a yoga teacher, but I would also like to recomend this to anybody who does teach yoga. If for no other reason so you can say the worrds correctly and aslo be able to answer questions from students (like myself) who wish to know the what and why of asanas and chants.

As a student in Yoga Teacher Training, I found this book excellent. It is a clear and easy to find Sanskrit to English and English to Sanskrit on Yoga Postures, with simple diagrams, and pronunciation. The book includes to CDs
to help hear the proper pronunciation of the words.

This is an excellent book for a dedicated student of yoga, or a training yoga teacher. The guide speaks clearly, and it is easy to follow.

I can't believe I have never reviewed this before! I've been a yoga teacher for - oh yikes, way too long to admit to but until I listened to the CDs that come with this book, I had been pronouncing things incorrectly. I guess my teachers learned the wrong pronounciation from others who didn't know...and on it goes. But my students know the difference now; hopefully, they will pass it on as some of them become teachers.
I've also used the book for tattoos. Just enlarge the writing for the artist...perfect.
Namaste

'Letting Go' is a wonderful guide for creating web content. It gives concrete strategies for making the words you haven't let go of truly work for your site. It teaches how to put your users first and structure and write content that will smoothly get them where they want to be and happily engage when they arrive. This book helps you to understand the logic of usability and in turn free up your creativity for making effective navigation and messaging.

I recommended this to a friend of mine who is a VP of a web development company and he turned around and sent me a link to their recommendation that ALL their clients read 'Letting Go'.

Letting Go of the Words is very clear, easy to read, well organized, and thorough. It offers numerous examples of what works and what doesn't, and it explains why. The author covers best practices for web content in a manner that is easy to understand and implement.

While the title of the book makes it seem like it only discusses "words," it actually covers much more than that. The real focus is on making your site more user-friendly. I found discussions of links, illustrations, active and passive space, and general style recommendations to be extremely useful.

I think this book would be just as useful for someone who is designing pages as someone who is just writing content. Much of the book goes over design best practices that would be helpful to programmers and designers.

Overall an excellent resource. Highly recommended.

"Letting Go of the Words" is a book that I recommend to all of my new web content authors. It's easy to understand language and visual examples really make this book a great read. I really appreciated the attention to accessibility and usability as well as they are becoming fundamental to good web design.

I've worked with a web developer for 2 years, and have stayed on the editorial side. However, now I have more input into the site design, and I'm finding great assistance from Ginny Redish. She's done her homework to help the reader delve into the minds of their site visitors, and thinks outside the normal constraints.

It offers technical assistance without being a coding manual, and for the creative person who is not a coder or developer, this is a terrific tool!

It's not for the programmer who knows the how-to side, but it's for the content and creative person trying to attract the right attention and reach the right people.

This book should be considered required reading for anyone designing and developing sites.

Most of the websites online do not follow the practices outlined in this book and would be better off if they did.

The book is filled with clear examples and shows bad content and then the ways to improve it.

Great book!

This is an amazing book that gives visual insight into the mysteries of life. Not only is it informative but absolutely spellbinding and beautiful!

this was nice to add to my collection. the photographs are wonderful. and it is very educational as well

The book was awesome I have seen it before that is why i purchased, the condition it was in was not as described there were torn pages and I will not by used again

The pictures in this book are an amazing insight into our own bodies. The quality of the photographs is incredible and provided me a greater appreciation of the miracle that human bodies are.

As an artist and photographer I was inspired by the beauty captured in the images of Nilsson's book "Life", but as a doctor with some knowledge of the subject, I was intrigued by how amazing the body really is. He has caught certain actions and moments (like conception) that were never seen so clearly before. The electronmicroscopy is astounding! Although this book is almost entirely photographs, without text, everyone who reads or views the book will find a new respect and awe for "Life" and how incredible our bodies are constructed and how we reproduce. This photographic journey is truly inspiring!