Works Books

I was introduced to Robert Service while attending Jr. High in Alaska. I loved his work so much that my parents bought me this book. Picking it up again, after 25 years, his work is still captivating. It transports the reader back 100+ years, to a wild frontier.

And I want to go back - and I will.

I am not much for poetry in general (having been forced to determine feet and meter and memorize types of sonnets, etc...), but Service's poetry is simple, amazingly clear, and beautiful. His descriptions of the Northern Lights and the wonders of the North are worth the price of the book just in of themselves.

Exactly what I was looking for for my husband. I think it has everything Robert Service ever wrote and is fabulous.

Exactly what I was looking for for my husband. I think it has everything Robert Service ever wrote and is fabulous.

I hunted far and wide to find this particular volume of poetry by Robert Service. Robert Service is without any doubt my favorite poet. His poems are classics. But many years past when I was just a youth, I stumbled onto a volume of Robert Service where he wrote short prose introductions to his poems. Hoping one day to become a poet myself, I thought these prose introductions provided the greatest insight to how a poet creates. I looked and looked and looked but could never find that volume. Then one day in a second hand book shop some where I found it. It was this volume. I paid a good price for it. I've recorded all these poems with the prose intros on my karaoke and I play them for myself sometimes at bed time. My wife has her "ears" on her burrow (she's hard of hearing) so she is not disturbed. In my opinion Robert is the epitome of fine poetry. He has it all humor, pathos, romance, intellectual content, melody, beauty, intensity, warmth, toughness, manliness - you name it; he's got it. Buy this volume you will not regret it.

a most wonderful and pleasant reading throughout...i borrowed the book from the library first and while reading it decided that i have to have a copy near me so that i can pick it up any time i want. the only slight is that the dust jecket has a different photo of the author, the one on the older edition is much better. a great book.

This book has it all. If you are an Oscar fan, than it is a must for your collection.

I'm very pleased with the book. All of Wilde's wit is right there at my fingertips. It's a handsome book, too. Thank you.

This particular compilation is not only complete, but is a well printed, well packaged addition to the books you would want in your top 10!

Though the print is small for those of us over 40, it's worth it - if not, it would weigh about 10 pounds! As it is, it's a tome, but worth reading, and re-reading time and again. It has everything - everything! - that you'll ever hear mentioned - his stories, his novels, his essay's.
It would make a great gift for a young writer, as well.

this humor in this book is incredibly dry, original and astute. New Yorkers should especially appreciate it but many of the scenes will crack up anyone anywhere...and, to boot, it's all in the interest of a great cause

Cooperative Village is a laugh from cover to cover. Madeson hits the nail on the head, capturing the essence of living in a co-op in New York City, with it's cross section of colorful characters. The adventures she takes you through makes you want to turn the pages as fast as you can, because you won't believe it could get nuttier and it just does...
Can't wait for the next book

Fran Madeson's "Cooperative Village" is a wacky, wonderful, and frequently hysterically funny antidote for whatever George Bush has managed to do to you. I rarely laugh out loud when reading a book and I really did when I read this one. Madeson's imagination and voice are simply unlike other authors out there. It's a story, it's a political commentary, it's a cockeyed look into the world of little old Jewish ladies who rock.

Frances Madeson has a vivid imagination. Working from the real and cultural geography and of an actual New York City housing development, she creates a web of hysterially over-the-top characters whose outrageous behavior seems normal to each other. It is dripping with social and political satire. It is a wonderful, unique and truly funny book.

I enjoyed parts of this book, but it was too scattered (which I think was done by design). I guess this is suppose to be a wacky look at a strange days in the lower east side, with a few negative comments about her old job to make you wonder where she worked and more comments about her mother that makes you wonder about what the mother did.

This little book has helped me to move forward in my life...to get out of the "stuck" place I have been for too long. Karen Ely makes this book so personal, I felt like I was listening to a good friend. She is honest, vulnerable at times and allows her journey to show others that it's ok to "feel this way", even if you don't know why "this way" is. I gave this book to my future ex husband to read to help him understand...and he did. Thank you Karen for sharing your journey with me. Suddenly I don't feel so alone.

Daring to Dream is a book that so wonderuflly depicts what it is like to leave a long term marriage, the changing of the family structure and the concern about how it is going to effect your children. I also left a long term marriage of 27 years and moved into a life I could have never imagined. The way Karen describes the worries, doubts and confusion parallels so much of my own experience that it felt at times as though she had walked in my shoes. It is not easy to leave a marriage and your family as you have known it for decades. Your emotions are on a roller coaster ride and so much of the time it felt as though I was at the very top just waiting for the car to go rushing down leaving me filled with anxiety and guilt. This book reveals the true agony of making such a decision that is life changing for you and the people you love. I hope this brings comfort to other women who have traveled this road, as it did for me, and to help families understand that this type ofdecision is not taken lightly by most women, even if it looks easy from the outside. Thank you Karen for having the courage to open up your life so others can find comfort and validation for their experience in leaving a marriage.

Reading this book, I was most struck by the author's ability to find beauty and joy in every day things, and to create a safe,soothing place for herself even as she undergoes the pain and turmoil of ending a 30+ year marriage. Her happiness in small comforts brought happiness to me!

Karen tells her story with an honesty that is at once devastating and endearing. She captures the reader's emotions with her emotions and draws us into her life and takes us with her on her journey as she pursues her dreams. She writes with descriptive charm, and I found myself walking with her through the pages of her book. Also, throughout the book, there are blank pages to share our own thoughts and dream our own dreams. But in the end, it is her story and her courage that truly challenges us to dream our own dreams.

This book tells about one woman's courageous journey of stepping outside of familiar roles into the unknown of finding one's true self. This woman happens to be my mother. This is her story, told with great honesty, about a time in which I lived through but did not truly understand. As her daughter, this book gave me the rare opportunity of looking into her inner thoughts and feelings to help have greater understanding and insight. However, I believe that this book has the incredible potential to help other adult daughters gain greater perspective and understanding of similar transformations that their mothers may have made or be in process of making. Additionally, I feel the book can help validate the experience of any woman who has, or is considering, making a courageous change in her life.

This is an excellent study guide to help the reader understand symbols and imagery in the Bible.

This is a very good reference book. I have a couple of seminary graduates that recommended it to me.

a tremendous work of explaining the imagery found in the bible. The range of subjects are vast in scope. A must have reference resource for serious bible study. Goes a long way towards helping one to understand the various levels and ways that symbolic and picturesque meaning is used and construed in the bible. Deals with individual concepts, broad ranging themes, people, places, books of the bible, events and more. Top notch resource!!!

The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery is an excellent reference for obtaining expanded meanings of the different words and images of the Bible. And even if it's a "dictionary", it is an enjoyable read straight through or even just when you want to hop from one entry to another. And for the price, it's a steal.

Highly recommended!

This book was one of the most unusual presents I have ever received. It was given to me by an individual who had enjoyed my teaching and thought I would find it helpful. It has proven to be an indispensible aid to Bible study and the understanding of deeper underlying themes of the symbolism which are so prevalent in the scriptures if you have the eyes to see them. The reader/researcher will find the material easy to use and well refrenced with historical and theological explanations. Although the Dictionary is written from a Protestant viewpoint, seekers of wisdom from a variety of different experiences will benefit from the insights and cultural revelations which can aid in unfolding deeper meaning through the symbolism, stories and pictures of the Bible.

As an already-successful author (Rewired, Rehired, or Retired? Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer 2002) and sought-after international speaker, Bob Critchley is eminently qualified to speak with authority on the labour market of the future.

Whilst not alone in ringing the warning bells, Critchley has much more to offer than an alarmist message ... and he couldn't make it easier for us. He goes beyond illuminating the impending labour crisis, he has the strategies and solutions too.

Company Directors, CEO's, Management and especially HR advisers need to have this book on the top of their "must read" list!

So how does an organization maintain and maximise a multi-generational workforce, remain flexible yet successful and also be seen as an employer of choice? Critchley's answer is clear ... "Doing nothing is Not an option!".

Exactly what to do is made abundantly clear in this eminently sensible and readable book from someone who has impeccable credentials and vast experience. Carolyne Burns, MD, Influence InterPersonal Profiling, Sydney Australia

We all know the importance of trusted and experienced people in successful businesses......why then are they often overlooked in favour of the "new model" or the "grass is greener" scenario? Critchley really brings home the message that these people are key and will be absolutely key for organisations to main tain their position and advantage.The book is a must not only for HR professionals but also for all managers and company directors....from an author with extensive practiocal knowledge and successful experience of practising what he preaches.

Bob Critchley has produced an outstanding people management guide. The author's deep practical experience is evident as he shares his insights into effective management of people in all age groups. At a time when there is a growing shortage of talent in most developed economies, knowledge from this book can help put results on the bottom line in most business organisations. This book is easy to read and hard to put down! Colin Durand, The Insight Executive Search Group, Sydney Australia.

Bob Critchley's book provides a powerful and compelling argument for "thinking outside the box".

The population demographics are inevitable and organisations ignore them at their own peril.

Unless organisations adopt flexible ways of engaging employees and think laterally about how to maximise the contribution of every single employee, they are doomed to become victims of the demographic reality.

Critchley's book not only provides the evidence and demonstrates the inevitibility - but he also provides a compendium of ideas about how to respond.

An invaluable guide to any forward thinking HR professional.

Time marches slowly on and we all tend get caught up in our day to day and short term activities. Just like when global warming incidents started to occur. In isolation they meant little and then a pattern and explanation emerged. Critchley pulls together the signs in our demographic and employment changes. Dramatic shortages in skilled labour arise; a lack of investment in infrastructure becomes apparent; retirement and aged care issues start to be reported in the media; the funding of retirees becomes a federal budget issue; government start to create incentives to get people back to work. For those who run businesses other symptoms become apparent. So often the employer has to convince the prospective employee why to join them; the employer becomes aware of impending skill losses as older employees approach retirement age; people talk about not wanting to fully retire and having flexible arrangements; the employer can't find the right people.
Critchley's book suddenly pulls all these incidents and changes in attitude together into one easy flowing cohesive read. He paints a picture of why things are happening and what is likely to continue to happen. More importantly he canvasses what needs to be done for organisations to be successful in this environment. Many organisations pay lip service to people being their most important asset and often they have a short term focus. Critchley really sets down some ideas and a framework that organisations, who really do value people, will need to adopt to be successful in the long term. A must read.

Excellent book to help those who have liver disease or family and friends of those with liver disease. The books answers questions
that arise when your personal doctor may not be available. Or that
you may forget to ask during your office visit!

This book is very insightful. It explains a lot about what is going on with several different liver diseases. It answered some questions that general physicians were unaware of about rare diseases.

i bought this book for my mother who has cirrohsis and recently had a ct scan show up with what appears to be a tumor on her liver. There are no heptologists in our area and the dr's around here don't even seem to care. this book gave my mother some concrete advice how to eat and how to
live. Since going on a super reduced salt free diet, my mother is feeling 100% better. She has lost 30 pounds and has really been encouraged. i am extremely grateful this book was written.. Overall it was written in easily understandable terminology.

Since being diagnosed with Hepatitis C, I've read Dr. Palmer's book, & continue to review it as questions come up. It is irreplaceable as a resource book.

I have read several books on liver disease but none of them are as good as this one. I have read the first edition a few years ago and it was very helpful since I have Hepatitis B and cirrhosis. It helped me a lot in understanding the treatment such as liver biopsy, interferon and Lamivudine. It probably helped me in staying alive and healthy since I followed her advice on diet, exercise and taking drugs and supplements. I learned that some herbs, supplements and drugs such as iron, vitamin A and aspirin that I took previouslly could be harmful. I also restricted my salt content and fat in my food. The second edition is even better since it is even more update on the supplements and drugs. The information on Glucosamine is particularly welcome since it helped a lot in my osteoarthritis. I highly recommend this book to anyone with Hepatitis.

The /mandatory/ companion to Berryman's /Collected Poems/, as Berryman isn't Berryman without the /Dream Songs/.
Always confessional, sometimes maudlin, never mawkish, always jerking language around to try to make it mean what he sees, the /Dream Songs/ are a brouhaha among his various selves, all passionate in their aspirations and their disagreements, an ongoing (1955-71) ruckus that made Berryman as he made them.
Warning: If you simply can't stand a ringside seat at a fight, don't; this ain't television.

HAHA guys

What is this........... eh, not quite sure, but, slipped so easily into the unknown without PREJUDICE, completely into the author's syntax, thoughts and, yes, dreams.

This author waved to the onlookers as he descended to the hard, craggy Mississippi Rocks that he LOVED. Not a particular story many people in the press want to hold above THE LAUREATES and Fakes that permeate our Poetry industry. A truly strange trip through the head of an albatross in flight....

I love ROCKS.

the main point of criticism of this poem is its hyper-personal self-referential content. i have to say, however, that i have never felt so comforted, so saddened nor so delighted by any work of art or literature or film as i have by these songs no matter how little i know about what he really means or is talking about. i don't even want to know the specifics or the origins behind every line.
this is the most jarring and successful work of experimental anything i've ever encountered in my life. berryman had such a command of language; vernacular, colloqialisms, meter, form, internal rhyme, schizo pronoun shifts, multiplicity, this masterpiece has it all. 'the dream songs' take language and poetry to its limits and does so succinctly, with meter and rigid sonnet form berryman devised for the work.
the fact that the beats overshadow people like berryman and john barth and william carlos williams is simply a crime. i honestly feel that this work surpasses 'leaves of grass' and is probably the most amazing achievement in american poetry.
this is not to say that i think berryman is america's finest poet (more than likely our most erudite, but not our finest). on the contrary, i think he was a marginal writer who caught fire like no one ever has. this is what art is; one person's fractured assemblege of all the shattered pieces of everything in an epic confession where he is in fact three people and is killed and raises from the dead and cheats and lies and is mistreated and is wrong, all in heroic fashion. to want to know where it all came from is wrong and selfish and diminishes the work. to be consoled or bored or outraged is what must be done.
i re-read this beast about once a year, last time through 191 was probably my favorite. like all masterpieces, you appreciate something different every time.
buy this book, steal it, whatever you have to do.

At first, I didn't find much to rejoice about in this collection of poems. The expectation Berryman sets up with his title is deceptive. I found little evidence of "dream." What I mean is that I found this writing highly literal, straight-forward and self-conscious, i.e. the antithesis of dreamy. Secondly, "songs" troubled me. One of the thing that distinguishes poetry from prose is poetry's musicality. And having "songs" in the title of a collection hints that there may be lyricism within. However, I found the diction flabby, the tone impotent and therefore lacking any semblance of lyricism. Perhaps what Berryman meant by "songs" is this: Perhaps these poems are loose ballads (without the envoi and without the predicable rhyming scheme). Ballades address an important person (Henry, in this case) and sums up the point of the poems.

It's terrible to sum-up a collection of poems (or is The Dream Songs considered one poem in parts?), but here goes: Basically, in each section we have the protagonist, Henry, in various situations, or in mere contemplation. The forward for this book is interesting in that, along the lines of Pound and Eliot, Berryman has made a concerted effort to inform his readership that this is, indeed, a persona poem, and therefore, not to be confused with a biographical poem. Perhaps what Berryman has produced here is an eclogue. An eclogue is a poem "written in the form of a monologue or dialogue in which the speaker tells us what he feels about a particular theme (and why) and why others ought to feel that same way (from Handbook of Poetic Forms)." When I approach these poems as bucolics (or, eclogues), Berryman's craft and the poems' meanings open up for me. Otherwise, these seem banally idea-driven and terribly discursive in that they're sometimes laden with private references. For example, the opening few lines: "Huffy Henry hid the day,/ unappeasable Henry sulked./ I see his point,-- a trying to put things over."

The best way to enter these poems, then, is to embrace Berryman's eclogues as a means to engaging with the main character, Henry. Because these poems are character-driven, the language is conversational, idiosyncratic, and at times, pedestrian (like how most of us are just plain boring in our impromptu conversations). In this sense, these poems have an immediacy to them; the reader can almost hear Henry's diatribes straight from his mouth. However, Henry is not without pithy insight. In part #28 Henry displays his humor and resign: "If I had to do the whole thing over again/ I wouldn't." At times these sections begin with such intrigue, they reel-in the reader. Part #44 begins: "Tell it to the forest fire, tell it to the moon." And at times, the readers are reminded of the fact that Henry's merely a character in Berryman's head. These last two lines of part #74, "Henry mastered, Henry/ tasting all the secret bits of life." And that's just what we get from these Dream Songs, bits of a Berryman character in all his intricacies, both commonplace and celebratory.

I am not very knowledgable about Berryman and his work. I certainly have not read the poems with the time and intensity of a number of the reviewers on this site. I have an impression of Berryman and his work. It is of something vaguely likeable occaisionally able to provide a line which hits home. It is of a very variable voice in which the disorder and the breakdown somehow make the text too mixed- up.
Perhaps this is unfair. Bellow thought Berryman the best, and among other poets he too was understood as one of the best of his time.
Perhaps then I should let his lines , lines of one sonnet at least speak for themselves:

These lovely motions of the air, the breeze,
tell me I'm not in hell, thojugh round me the dead
lie in their limp postures
dramatizing the dreadful word 'instead'
for lively Henry, fit for debaucheries
and bird- of- paradise vestures

only his heart is elsewhere , down with them
& down with Delmore specially, the new ghost
haunting Henry most:
though fierce the claims of others, coimedela crime
came the Hebrew spectre , on a note of woe
and Join me O.

'Down with them all!'Henry suddenly cried
Their deaths were theirs. I wait on for my own,
I dare say it won't be long,
I have tried to be them, god knows I have tried,
but they are past it all, I have not done,
which brings me to the end of this song.

Definitely a great read for anyone that has lost a brother or sister. I found the book to be very insightful and brought up some issues that I realized that I should work on. I will warn surviving siblings that have lost a brother or sister who was an adult, as an adult that this literature is a bit biased and aimed towards those who lost their siblings as a child since that was the author's experience. I am still searching for a book that I can relate to but this was a definite stepping stone in researching sibling loss. Especially interesting to know that there are certain families who are in so much pain and denial that they cut the person they lost out of their lives- don't talk about it, remove pictures. I am extremely lucky that my family is not like this and we are aiming to keep my sister's legacy and life alive everyday so that her children will never forget her.

I couldn't put this book down. Although my brother died several years ago, issues about his death keep resurfacing & this helped me deal with some of that. At the very least it reassured me that a lot of what my family & I went through was typical of many families who've suffered this kind of loss. I'm glad I found it & would recommend it to anyone who's lost a sibling. It also lists several other helpful resources for anyone looking for this kind of guidance. I found it so helpful I plan to buy it for all my siblings.
I also found the book to be well written & very thorough. The author is an experienced writer, she's not just writing from her own experience, she's skilled.

It hasn't even been a month since I lost my only sibling, my older brother, to suicide. I've needed all the help I can get and I'm so thankful I found this amazing book. Whether you recently lost a sibling or its been a decade, I think you will find this book helpful.

This book fills in a lot of empty space in the reporting of sibling loss. It also provides a clear distinction between the findings of death and dying, and of sibling loss.
The grieving processes are not the same,and one should not be used for the other.

My daughters are the siblings who lost a brother. This book helped me to understand the variety of ways that losing a brother could impact their world. The best part of the book is that it empowered me to know that the "experts" (like school counselors) do not have much real data to support their advice. The best experts seem to be those who have been through it. Most of the stories of pain in this book seem to be from people whose parents did not talk about the death openly. I guess I will now learn what new diffiuclties arise when the parents are very open and talk about it. My kids will get to write their own book in 20 years.

I feel so thankful to have ownership of any material concerning herbs so my first inclination is to give "The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants: Ethnopharmacology and Its Applications" a 5-star rating (just out of gratitude for the information's accessibility). At the same time, the manual should have been written much more tightly. It also desperately needs to be better organized.

Don't let the bulky size of this manual fool you. While so very many different herbs are listed - way too many of them do not adequately satisfy the claims of the title (as many herbs listed are not at all psychoactive -- but are much more appropriate for making a relaxing cup of tea).

Regarding the manual's organization: Instead of arranging the writing, after the header of each individual herb, the content merely jumps around from one willy-nilly topic to another and back again. There is no obvious order to make finding information easy {Example, tips on "growing" or "herb use" is spread sporadically throughout the pages instead of categorized under "gardening" or "uses"}. Also - the directions for dosage, when given, are not always clear or concise, if given at all. I also longed for better/more detailed photographs while reading this manual - so I used the Internet as an image subsidy-type resource.

Positives? I loved it when Ratsch included Shamanic uses (listing what tribe used the herb being studied and what was the plant's history, etc.). There are many other good things about this book -- but if you're on a budget, I'd spend my money on something that more specifically targets your interests -- as this seemed like a more generalized herb manual, over all.

Cristian Raetsch is a very famous author with great academic merit. He has written numerous books on psychoactive plants alone or with other writers. In this encyclopedia he creates and extensive and exhaustive review of all the phants with psychoactive properties that are kow today. The book is divided in sections including all plant kingdoms, including the fungi and some animal secretions (eg the toad bufo). Each chapter includes all the academic details that you will find in any botanical book, like where the plant growss, under what conditions etc, but also an extensive review of cultural or ritualistic usage. Usually, you will get much more than you would expect, for example a sample of discography for hemp usage, advertisements on psychactives used in he past, folk lore and myths around plants and their use in their most common natural setting etc. The book also includes uptodate information on not know plants and potions with psychoactive actions like kykeon, some and haoma, including detailed accounts of all the know theories and the authours authorative opinion.

The book is very easy to read and is full of great illustrations of very high quality. It is also full of colored information boxes.

Whether you have one book from this literature or thousands, you have to have this book!

This is THE reference work on Psychoactive Plants. Christian Raetsch gives all of the necessary information needed to work in this area and leaves it to the reader to decide for themselves.

I am a Certified Master Herbalist always seeking information in my field. To earn my degree and satisfy my personal quest for knowledge I've read over 100 books concerning the modern and historical use of herbs. This book is pure gold, not only for its pharmaceutical information, but for the historical and spiritual knowledge/wisdom it imparts. This is a book for any herbalist seeking to understand the history of their craft. READ THIS BOOK!!!!

This encyclopedia contains much of what one would be looking for in researching the topic of psychoactive plants and their cultural relevance. The reader is provided with a wealth of biochemical, botanical, and ethnological information. The presentation, featuring large, beautiful color photos, and well-constructed diagrams, makes this book an especially attractive resource to own.