Works Books

Drugs for Less should be on anyone's book shelf who is a user of prescription drugs. Michael Cecil, M.D., first of all explains drug pricing for name brand and generic drugs. He then offers seven strategies for lowering your drug costs.

* Learn prices
* Comparison shop
* Buy generic medications
* Slice medications
* Consider other medications in the same class
* Put your government to work for you
* Use pharmaceutical assistance programs

All are helpful and could immediately lower your prescription drugs bills, but two that you may be under-utilizing are the last two. Some states have pharmaceutical assistance programs with income limits much higher than poverty level and most drug companies have assistance programs. It's worth seeing if you qualify.

More than 600 of the most commonly prescribed medications are included. Part II, the Drugs for Less Listing, has nearly 100 medications with their alternatives and the manufacturer's contact number for their assistance program. A number of comparison charts on costs for other medications are also included. The books is loaded with resources; Dr. Cecil provides numerous Web sites and contact information throughout the book.

This is one resource you do not want to be without.

This is a one of a kind book. In today's health mire this gives concrete ways to assist family members and friends who struggle with affordable prescriptions. Every doctor, nurse, healthcare facility, social worker, and individual who needs a prescription should have a copy. I am buying several and giving as gifts. Thank you Dr. Cecil for this invaluable resource.

As a hospitalist, It's frustrating to see patients return to the hospital because they could not afford their medications. This book attacks that problem in a new and exciting way, by empowering patients. It educates and then provides numerous tools for getting affordable medications, like using generics, pill splitting, enrolling in assistance programs, just to name a few. Physicians also should read this book. The easy to read tables make it simple to compare medications within a class and prescribe the least expensive. I'm recommending this to all my patients and colleagues.

This is a wonderful resource for patients who have trouble affording their medications. As a nurse, I see this situation daily. I purchased this book for my father for Father's Day. He had already spent several hours on the internet trying to find this type of information and now it is right at his fingertips! This is a must have for people who need help affording their medications and for those who have family members who need help affording their medications.

This book is AMAZING!!! I had no idea there are such different prices for the SAME DRUG! Even common drugs like birth control pills - can differ in price - by a bazillion dollars. (Rough Estimate) DRUGS FOR LESS shows actual PRICE DIFFERENCES and saves you money. And because it is written by famous physicians - known for their common sense - you can trust it! This book tells you how to get your prescriptions for FREE if you make a certain amount of money or less...heelllloooo...as a Flight Attendant who just took a 40% pay cut due to airline woes...I am telling every Flight Attendant about this book! And my mother and father inlaw who use over $700.00 every month for prescription drugs also need to know about this book! This book should be in every library of every "SUN CITY" residential community in the world! And should be purchased by every Business in America for their EMPLOYEE HEALTH program. I heard about this book when I was doing a television interview for my new Flight Attendant tell-all FLYING BY THE SEAT OF MY PANTS - I was riveted by what DRUGS FOR LESS reveals! Now I can't stop telling everyone about this book. What a fantastic resource! I wish I could make a PA on every flight advertising DRUGS FOR LESS. (But, they don't allow us to sell drugs or books on board.) GET THIS BOOK TODAY and start saving money and living healthier TOMORROW! Then come fly with me!

Marsha Marks

The breadth and scope of this book is staggering. It's an exhaustive tome on pretty much all the genre fiction of the Victorian age, and not limited to the UK fiction of the period either. It's a must read for fans of steampunk, Victorian science fiction, the pulps... But what it really is is an unbelievable gift to writers - the story concepts stuffed into every page of this tome are unbelievable. There is years and years of amazing inspiration here. The book is sold out, but track down a copy however you can.

Where is this book? Why is it sold out? Is it being reissued? Does anyone know?

This thing is a brick. Hardbound, weighing in at just over a thousand pages, this book could stop a bullet or cause serious damage if dropped on the toes. And all those pages are crammed full of entries describing Victorian era novels. All of my favorites are here, plus hundreds of books I've never heard of. All nations and genres are represented, not just
Sci Fi and the Brits. Better still, Nevins is not afraid to editorialize. It's shocking, but not altogether untrue, when he claims that The Wizard of Oz "can easily be interpreted as a horror novel" or that Ivanhoe is superior to Sir Walter Scott's other works in that it "is readable." If you like Victorian fiction, but find its offerings uneven, Nevins can be an invaluable guide. My only complaint about this amusing and informative tome is that it's all but useless as an actual reference work. Entries are organized alphabetically by the names of central characters or settings, rather than by title or by author. To find the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, you would have to look under Sherlock Holmes or Sir Nigel. There are decent see-also references, but no index. Still, I am mostly content to browse its oddly organized pages, in search of the good stuff. This book represents a serious investment in both money and shelf space, but if you enjoy Victorian era fiction, you can't really afford to be without it.

This was given as a gift. The person who received the book enjoyed it very much. It is a good reference resource for writers and artists.

I love this book. It is very comprehensive and I cannot wait for the release of Mr. Nevins next book on Pulp Heroes. We need more books like this.

This book has been in my wish list for years, I have been working with leather for the past 3 decades,and
I find this book to be the treasure for those working in the leathercraft world.I am glad that I have this book
in my library of leathercrafting. I am going to study and utilize this book for the years to come. Etsuo Fuwa

A wonderful informative book to help you learn the skills required to do any leather braiding...

This book explains everything you could possibly need to know to get started. It can be a little hard to follow in places but with a little patience it really can be a big help, and has all the answers I was looking for.

For lovers of leather braiding, this work is the Bible. Grant exhaustively covers a wide range of braiding techniques. His attention to detail and step-by-step instructions are superb. Sometimes his drawings are a bit primitive but they serve the purpose intended. His book covers how to make and work with rawhide, tools of the trade for leather braiding, various braid techniques such as twist braids, the Conquistador Braid (a fabulous and intricate braid for making belts, wrist bands, etc.), flat braids, round braids (for whips, etc.), various knots, and a wide range of horse tack (saddle and bridle).

Excellent book for an incredible number of different braids. Lots of pictures and diagrams, (thank goodness) to better teach the techniques. The author throws in a little history education on the use of many braids. The only downer is that it is in black/grey/white, no color. Most of the diagrams are hand drawn (nicely) so it may take a second, third, seventh look to see which direction to go. In this day of CAD and graphics, I guess I expected a better visual. But then, the information that is handed down to the author from long, long ago, may call for this style of visuals? In the end, fantastic book, I'm glad I bought it and I'll keep it, and use it for many years to come.
ab designs LLC

With this book I belive I will improve my sewing! Lots and lots of information and different tecniques.

Seems like a thorough book. I haven't had the time to get to all of it. I will use it as a reference for my sewing projects.

I would recommend this book. I bought two copies, one for myself and one for a sewing friend. We have both been happily browsing the book. It has so many great techniques and ideas that will complement our sewing. This will definitely be a good reference book to keep.

EXACT information on how to achieve various effects with my sewing machine. Techniques up the kazoo with suggestions on how to apply. This one book is worth more than a hundred project type books. EXCELLENT!

i really like this book. it has such a wide range of techniques, everything from button holes to lace making. definitely a good buy.

i was amazed at the photos. i could not help but to wonder if any of these women and men could be my ancestors. you see so many similarites in the faces on the pages to people you see everyday. i wish there were more in the captions to explain the photos. but when you consider the time that many of these photographs were taken, the captions are in the faces and the demeanor of the subjects. why? is probably the question that could never be answered. and if a reasonable explanation could somehow be given it wouldn't be enough. no matter how broken the mother, father, sister, brother in these photograghs looked. i wish they could all know that their unbearable weight, sorrow and pain helped to develop a strong, defiant, capable and proud race of people.

This book covers generations of history. The pictures are
breath-taking....it gives you a sincere sense of purpose.

This book covers generations of history. The pictures are
breath-taking....it gives you a sincere sense of purpose.

The visual imagery in this collection is terrific, enabling readers' memory, longing, wisdom, regret, sorrow, enormous admiration (of the subjects and all that they represent)- and wonderment. The people and the settings resonate. These are important images. You might well be moved to tears. There is no shortage of emotional appeal to the viewer. One cannot be unaffected by this collection, and all that it represents.

In addition, historically important works of art (engravings and paintings) are reproduced - although unfortunately none in color. The captioning is - for a work of this scope and size, and for illustrations of such power - inconsistent and therefore disappointing, though.

Because it's published by an academic press, I expected a more careful and rigorous treatment. Books of this scope and ambition are few and far between, and one treasures the illustrations - the historic visual record - in and of itself. It's dicey to criticize a collection that has as its focus such a compelling (and neglected) subject: the history of African American women.

The subject matter is terrific - but the book is less so. One wishes that the editors had had an editor. (Why, for example, is the "b" of "black" capitalized? To my knowledge this is not conventional usage, and it detracts.)

So what happened? At times the work seems rushed. For example, three people are photographed, two are identified by name, the third called "unknown." In fact, the writer means "unidentified." Accompanying a photo of a shoeless farm worker is the caption telling one, redundantly, that she is barefoot. A number of captions identify the subject as "Unidentified woman, [location, date.]" That seems lifted directly from states' historical societies' archives. One expects more - or less - but not words that merely interfere with one's experience. One does not need to be told that a photograph is a "photograph."

Occasionally, the editors engage in assumptions regarding the illustrations that, in my view, interfere with the power of the imagery, and reduce the value of this compilation. Guessing as to the subjects' activities in a photograph by Jack Delano, they write that a woman and several children are "possibly waiting for the husband and father to get his hair cut." In fact, one cannot know, and do not need to know, what the people were doing that day. The photo is about much more than that. Another incredible photo of a woman and a girl is accompanied by more guesswork as to the relationship of the subjects (mother and daughter?). There is wordiness to many of the captions. Worst case, there is sometimes unintentional patronization: subjects are identified as "lovely young women," (p. 81) or "fashionable," "attractive" (p.4). The end result is a sense that this book was rushed, and that - despite the impressive pool of archival material from which it was assembled - some corners were cut. The editors use interesting and illuminating quotations in places - but meagerly. There is brief index of names of subjects, and names of quoted women, omitting place names and more.

I wish that the authors of this work either done more, or less. Mostly, I wish that they had more convincingly respected the ability of these powerful and important illustrations to speak clearly to the reader, and had also trusted readers to make the connections between text and visual imagery that is so satisfying and essential to the meaningful experience of organized archival material.

This is a marvelous and moving selection of visual moments, carefully chosen and elegantly captioned. It is refreshingly free of the stuffily convoluted prose one would expect of a book from an academic press. Although the pictures could be said to speak for themselves (and sometimes they can), the information supplied by the gracefully literate writer(s) is helpful and interesting.

Groups of photographs can be wonderful to look at. This collection rises far above what it might have been by means of the exquisite care that was taken in its selection and the highly accessible captioning that accompanies the images.

After reading Peterson's books (understanding exposure, beyond portraiture, understanding shutter speed, and more) this book feels not technical enough. It misses technical information that would be very useful to people who'd like to learn, such as f-number, shutter speed, distance from object, metering mode and method etc. Though this information did appear in a few pages, it was not available throughout the book.

Still, the pictures are very appealing and the author does explain how he took them. A lot of emphasis was put on the social side of potrait photography. How to approach, how to get friendly, how to share your pictures. Also, the artistic sides are covered, how to "direct" your model, how to give attention to details (background, framing, light, shadows, etc.). Some technical aspects are indeed mentioned and a few tricks on exposure and light metering and white balance. Also the last few lessons in the book are some photoshop "how-to"s.

I liked the book. I enjoyed the pictures, I did my best to learn the messages from the lessons and liked a lot the authors attitude and explanation way.


To get a good understanding of what lessons are expected in the book take a look at the table of contents. Lessons are titled by the main tip that they deliver.

Rick Sammon is known for his travel and adventure photo guides, but FACE TO FACE offers something different: a focus on the art of making people pictures using a range of methods to capture subjects. These take the form of lessons contrasting different approaches to images and people, using Sammon's own subjects and methods as examples. It's an excellent guide for any photography library, particularly those specializing in portrait photography.

Face to Face by Rick Sammon is one of my favorites books on portrait photography.

It's full with stunning pictures of people from many places around the world. The pictures alone are worth the price of the book.

But in addition to the great pictures, the text is also very informative and entertaining.

Part 2 is my favorite part of the book and full of useful stuff. For example, Rick explains why you should not place the subject in the center for most shots, or why shooting both horizontal and vertical is a good idea for most subjects.

I like the authors writing style. The book is easy to read and the text is a perfect fit for the beautiful images. It never gets boring or too technical. It's clear that the author knows and lovers what he is doing and this is reflecting in his images and his writing.

If you want to improve your photography, I highly recommend this book.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I've hear that if you've read other books by Rick Sammon, it's more of the same. I never have and I felt like this book has improved my photography knowlede. So if you've never read a Rick Sammon book, definetly buy this one.

Thank you, Rick Sammon! The photographs are incredible The descriptions of how thy are done makes me feel as though I could run right over and make those pictures, too. He makes it sound so easy to be a world class photographer. Thank you for the information
Gayle Gahn

I'd highly recommend this book for people who already know something about Catholicism, but need a bit more depth in order to understand why Catholics believe what they do. I have used it as a resource for people who are Catholic but it has been a long time since they have had catechesis, or for non-Catholic Christians who want to understand more about Catholicism.

It may be a bit too detailed for someone just beginning the Inquiry or RCIA process unless they want a thorough resource book, but in this case I would definitely pair it with a simplified copy of the Catechism.

It makes a great gift book too!

My seminarian friend recommended it to me. At times Opus Dei can be too black-and-white with no gray in between, but this book is still a wonderful way to connect all of Catholicism. I go to Mass regularly and have gone to a Catholic HS, but I still didn't feel like I knew my faith. This book was able to show me how we do know a lot about our faith, but we just have a problem making sense of what we know. Also, his analogies are brilliant. I use them constantly in explaining Catholicism to others.

This is required reading for the Catholic, literally as many catechism classes require it. It is also very useful for those wanting to learn more about their faith or the Catholic faith in general. It is full of useful information laid out in an informative and well written manner. It is easy to find information and questions. That being said it is also very dry, but its hard to make a book like this a page turner.

I've owned this book now for about 3 years and have read it through all the way, once. I've gone back to sections for refresher information, many, many times. What I like the most about this book is, if you do not have the capacity (time, or stamina) to read the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) all the way through - this is an excellent way to get "more than the basics" of what is in the CCC in a very clear, concise manner.

From the very first page (just like all catechisms of the Catholic church) it starts with the three fundamental questions. Who made me? Who is God? Why did God make me? Just that first page will have you hooked and you will not want to put it down. I constantly recommend this book to anyone over the age of 13 because it is that clear in it's method of explaining the faith. I do not believe this book is for anyone looking for a "dumbed down" version of the faith, and by that I do not mean there is anything wrong with the book written by Fr. Tregilio called "Catholicism for Dummies." Quiet the contrary, these two books are just for different types of readers.

Another interesting observation on this book is the different kind of people that love it. I have met such different personalities and ages of people (13 to 79) who love this book that I think that fact is also a recommendation of the book.

Read it, it's good for answering all your questions AND will untangle any misconceptions you have developed along the way, or just remind you of what you may have forgotten.

I highly and unreservedly recommend this book.

I use this text frequently for inquirers into the Catholic Faith. Every one says it is witten in a very interesting style. Many can't put it down once begun. Well written and faithful to Catholic Church teaching.

I previously read Julia's book, Inconceivable and it was suggested that I read The Fertile Female. So glad that I did. Found it very helpful and inspiring.

I absolutely loved this book as well as her 1st book "Inconceivable"! I also suffer from secondary infertility and I was very inspired by her story. This book has given me hope that I can have the family that I have always dreamed of. I plan to put a lot of the suggestions in this book into practice.

I stumbled onto Julia's books and her website while browsing on Amazon. She had commented on someone else's book, and it brought me to read about her books and website. I am generally a slow reader and rarely finish a book. I started reading "Inconceivable" and found it an easy read and highly enjoyable! I carried this book every where I went and read, read and read. I finished it in one week! - which never happens for me. In general, we eat very healthy and organic, but this book, Julia's story, brought me to another level. It is soooo worth the reading! Now, I am almost halfway through "The Fertile Female" her second book, and again, am carrying it around with me every where I go! It's one of those books that you can sit down and really, really get into and you feel like you're right there in the story, too. I highly recommend BOTH of Julia's books. I've also ordered her Imagery CD and some Conference Tapes from her website Fertile Heart. They just arrived yesterday. I have not been struggling with infertility, but more "obstacles" in trying to conceive our second child. I've had a miscarriage and my second ectopic pregnancy this time around, meanwhile, I'm just getting older... now 42! So, anything I can do to preserve my fertility, and in general just be the healthiest I can be - is well worth doing. Besides all of that - I've just really, really, really enjoy reading her books and following the exercises. They're very peaceful exercises - I LOVE IT!!!

If I could only buy one book to help me through my struggles with infertility - it would be this book. Julia's focus is on the mental and spiritual aspects of conceiving. She offers wisdom that comes from her own experience. She is light years ahead of other fertility practioners. I used her book as a guide through my own journey with trying to conceive.
I married 2 months shy of my 40th birthday. We started trying to conceive on our honeymoon. I became pregnant 3 times. All 3 pregnancies ended in miscarriage. I found Julia's first book 'Inconceivable' after my 1st miscarriage. I eventually attended her workshop in Woodstock and purchased her 2nd book -'Fertile Female'. I loved her 1st book, but this book was like medicine for my soul. I really needed a book that dealt with the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of trying to conceive. A few months after reading her 2nd book, (and 8 months after attending her workshop) I conceived my baby. I am 37 weeks pregnant. I turned 44 in May and this will be our 1st child. Her book gave me the tools and the belief that birthing a healthy baby IS POSSIBLE. I love her work and believe that her approach to infertility issues makes so much sense.

Words cannot adequately explain how I feel about Julia Indichova's latest book, the Fertile Female. It has become a permanent fixture on my nightstand. I find that it contains wonderful advice not only for those trying to conceive but for anyone who would like to birth an idea, a creation or just a better life for themselves. I became a true Julia Indichova fan after having read her first book, Inconceivable, too many times to count promptly following my "diagnosis" of premature ovarian failure. That first book gave me hope and courage to face the task I had at hand -- improving the quality of my life despite the dire predictions -- which served me immensely upon becoming pregnant a few months later. Now facing life with a toddler, I have found the Fertile Female wonderfully empowering as it contains the general message that one can improve one's life not only despite a difficulty but because of the difficulty. The Fertile Female is an amazing collection of all of Ms. Indichova's "tools" on how we can change ourselves not only by what we do physically to our bodies but also by how we think as well; in other words, the "tools" teach you how to live life in a productive and fulfulling manner. Bottom line, I cannot recommend this book enough!

How sweet the sound that saved this wreched human race. O'Connor writes of God's love and redemption of humanity. She uses exaggeration to make her point. Her characters are so very silly, obtuse, bigoted, loathsome they become cartoons, yet there is a deep integrity to their shallowness. She's not making fun of them, but giving them the justice of a pitiless description. Indeed they do not seem judged, but naked -- the fruits of their stupid, misguided ideas and actions on display. And these children of God do shocking things to others and themselves. And yet . . ..

And yet God allows them to live and learn, or not learn if that is their inclination. He gives them this freedom. He loves them. How can this be? How?

I love O'Connor for her art, her convictions, her courage, and her love. She is so very true and honest.

In addition to her novels and a thorough selection of short stories, there is a chronology of her life and a selection of her letters which are rewarding reading. The book itself is a wonderful object. The pages are of fine paper. The binding is such that you can lay it open on a table without breaking its back, and the pages will not move unless a breeze or you do so.

I am thoroughly enjoying this authoritative collection of O'Connor's writings. The writing speaks for itself as truly great and unique. This particular book is very classy and well put together; an excellent choice for someone with a significant interest in O'Connor.

The complaints about the poor organization of the collection can be overcome by simply reading it from front to back. Surely it is that good.

My foray into the works of Flannery O'Connor, a southern, gothic author of darkly humorous novels and short stories came via a recommendation in Harold Bloom's, "What to Read and Why." As it turned ot, I had read one of her short stories, "A Good Man is Hard to Find," in a collection somewhere and had been surprised and shocked, by the turn of events and ending of the story, so much so, that I remembered it instantly, even though it has to have been thirty years since I read it. I enjoyed everything, short stories, novellas, and even her letters. She writes about southern Christ-haunted people, most backward, all damned, but many redeemed. Bloom says that according to her, we are all damned but one should put that aside and simply enjoy her beautiful, grotesque, and wonderful comedic stories. Her protagonist is often a woman, forced to take on a role and duties she didn't sign up for but resignedly and with no illusions playing and discharging both out of a sense of morality or necessity; those women are usually the most superior beings in her stories.

Many of her insights stick with me months afterwards. For example, O'Connor says in one of her letters, "...Hazel's integrity lies in his not being able to do so. Does one's integrity ever lie in what he is not able to do? I think that usually it does, for free will does not mean one will, but many wills conflicting in one man. Freedom cannot be conceived simply. It is a mystery and one which a novel, even a comic novel, can only be asked to deepen." That brought tears to my eyes -- perhaps because it is so beautifully put.

Now that I've read everything by O'Connor (including works that were part of her thesis for her degree in writing) I am still amazed and inspired by her work. I'm not from the south or Catholic and I was not alive during the eras of which she wrote, but her writing transcends region and time. My favorites remain A Good Man is Hard to Find, Everything That Rises Must Converge, and Revelation, but I love all her stories, although I find the novels a bit more challenging - I think short story was her finest form. Her ability to mix desperation and violence with comedy is amazing, and often when I read her I think: "I shouldn't be laughing at that." I often wonder what additional work she would have produced if she had not died so young. Highly recommended.

Oh yes! I adore her, and so do my mum and dad. They talk about her all of the time, and so I grew up with the prose ringing in my ears. I am so pleased to be reading her now.

We read this book in our friends' apartment in Paris. It is the most wonderful and comprehensive book for cheese lovers and foodies. Looked through many book stores in Paris and were told it is out of print.
Most spectacular find at Amazon. Thanks.

This is great. Shows cheeses at different ages which is one of the most interesting points and makes this very unique as a reference book. If your in the business its a must have.

I collect field guides and what attracts me to some is the clever layout and design. This volume is in a class by itself and unlike some guides, the text was so informative that i could not put it dowm.
Should receive 6 stars out of 5.

As mentioned in previous reviews, this book does a great job of referencing hundreds of cheeses from France, providing photographs, descriptions, and wine recommendations. In these areas, it does a fantastic job. I've learned a lot reading it and I can't wait to take it with me on my next trip to France.

I wish the book gave more guidance on the tastes of the different cheeses and how you might select them. For example, if I like Brie and wanted to try a different nice mellow soft cheese, what might be recommended? This book isn't organized to help answer questions like that.

Overall, an important book for anybody serious about cheese.

Living in France, I am always making the acquaintance of cheeses I had never before known existed. I always scurry to find this book, and look up the tasty morcel I've just consumed. It's great for learning the basics about various cheeses -- and, as noted by other reviewers -- the photos are divine, but it's not the sort of book one takes into the bath to pore over for hours at a time. Put it on your shelf next to your dictionary and thesaurus; it's that useful!