Works Books

This artist is just amazing, since I saw his exhibition, I never forgot the intensity of these original masterpiece. So why only 4 stars?? I don't know, the book is too small? The printing? it's never perfect but the photographs... The photographs ...

As an avid photographer - and one who has spent a lot of time shooting in EA - these are precisely the sort of images that make me want to grab my camera and rush back into the Serengeti. It's a well selected collection - perhaps not the greatest photographs I have ever seen, but a beautiful selection nontheless. A wonderful departure from the stock "post-card" photograpy that's been pouring out of the continent, and some are so breathtakingly vivid (like the image used on the cover) that you can almost feel the dust swirl around you, and feel the hot African sun on your neck.

It's a beautiful book. Would make an an ideal gift for the nature photographer, and for the nature lover...

This is a wonderful book with some great pictures of the African wildlife. The black and white photos were striking and the book appeals to 3 years of age to 65. It captured the African wildlife that I have had the privilege of seeing first hand on two occasions.

Amazing BW pictures. Very nice and a good edition. Very interesting for all photo-africa lovers....

This is a collection of beautiful photographs. The prints are warm, with good blacks. This made a great gift for our friends that had travelled in Africa.

We bought this for our young children (5-year old and 4-year old) as they were excited by the Pirates of the Caribbean movie trilogy.

We bought this book along with "Pirateology: The Pirate Hunter's Companion" last year. We take the books off the shelf every couple months and read through them for bedtime. The books will stay in our collection for years to come.

This book helps introduces kids to a large amount of new vocabulary but, more importantly, covers so much ground that it acts as a fantastic springboard to further study history or science.

This book is so interesting! I love it! My 5 y.o. daughter even loves this book!

This is an all around excellent book, I am completely satisfied with this purchase, and I highly recommend this book for the pirates enthusiast in your family!!

My adult daughter is mad about pirates. Her niece and nephew (6 and 10) bought this for her for Christmas. It was a hit.

I bought this for my 7 year old nephew who had a newfound fashion for all things Pirate. Being a book (at a birthday party) it didn't get his full attention until later on when he asked his parents to sit and read it to him.
Now it's a year later and I found out the book was a tremendous success from the get-go. He brought it into school to share with the class and every kid there wanted his own copy so phone calls were made and the hunt was on. A few parents were able to get a copy. My nephew and his friends dressed up as pirates and went together to see the latest Pirates... movie. Later my nephew was huddled with his special book, relishing all the details it provided. This book is interactive by design which makes the reading all the more personal and imaginative.

This book is very helpful in learning how to pray. Actually praying is just speaking to God and then I find it very helpful to actually go to the Bible in the Psalms and find a Psalm that is a praise & worship prayer to our Father in heaven. By the way, this is the 3rd book that I have purchased and given away to friends in need of prayer - they do not know how to pray. I like this book very much. It is a great help to get started with prayer. I hope that you will enjoy it as much as I do.

This books shows you how to pray God's word over any situation you are going through. I always felt God's presence when I reminded Him of what His word said about the sitatuation. I have learned to pray more boldly and with confidence when I learned to pray according to His Word.

My friend let me borrow hers because I was going through some things at work. I want to buy my whole family one now.

After searching for a book to help me with prayers, I will recommend this to everyone! Each prayer created right from scripture and has scripture references after every prayer! This is a must have for every Christian! You won't be disappointed!

How do you know if you're praying for the right things? You can't go wrong when you're praying the scriptures! I've owned the books that go into this for many years and they are always close at hand for those times when I'm unsure in a situation, or my prayer time has become lukewarm. It is broken down into prayers for every situation so it's easy to find what you need and the scripture verses that are used. I've given them as gifts for years for friends and relatives and it makes a good gift for new believers. This edition is gorgeous, but what is inside is priceless.

Page-Turning Southern Novels!

Shadow of Dreams Book Review by Barbara Robinson
The novel is full of realistic Southern characters. If you love Southern novels, don't miss out on this one! Shadow of Dreams by Eva Marie Everson and G. W. Francis Chadwick is a well-written, well-developed novel full of foreshadowing. The main character serves as an excellent example of what happens to many young teens glamorized by the big city and running from problems at home. Instead of the prodigal son, the main character, Katie, is the prodigal daughter. I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen to Katie and her husband, and the bad guys. I loved the way the authors used literature for clues. I also loved the way the small-town Georgia guys protected their own and took care of the big-city guys. These authors do not preach, but they certainly know how to spin a tale that could serve to help others. These authors offer much insight, and a reflective reader will benefit from the experience of having read this novel. A good, reflective reader will find that this book is about many things that connect to life in such a way, it can't help but be realistic. The characters are realistic, not mere shells of characters. The way they talk and the things they say, the dialogue, provide that realistic touch to make them come to life. Katie's mom is really a Southern character. It is ironic that she seems to treat Katie as her own mother treated her, but she does not realize this.

Summon the Shadows Book Review

By Barbara Robinson

Summon the Shadows by Eva Marie Everson and G. W. Francis Chadwick is the second novel in a trilogy you won't want to miss. Katie, the main character loses her husband, but refuses to believe he is dead. She is forced to take over his business, running a posh hotel, as she faithfully waits for his return. Her faith in God sees her through. Katie remembers her roots and from where she has come. While being thankful to God for her own escape from the world of exotic dancing, she tries to help three other dancers find their escape by offering them jobs in the hotel. Looking back unable to let go of her past, one dancer secretly returns to the exotic dancing.

This book will not offend anyone with its subtle message of God's caring and love. Everson and Chadwick have interwoven the hope, love, and joy of His message throughout this exciting journey of Katie's life. Katie escapes the evil plot of others with the Lord's protection. Her faith and belief in God see her through the trials and tribulations she encounters at the hands of others. Even with so much turmoil in her own life, she still finds the time to love and care for others and opens her heart and hotel to saving the three dancers and turning their lives around.

This novel will keep you turning pages to find out what fate befalls the dancer who returns to exotic dancing. You will be on the edge of your seat wondering if Katie's husband will reappear, when she starts receiving gifts from an unknown admirer. Next, you will hold your breath as you await Katie's fate at the hands of so-called trusted friends who worked in her hotel. This novel is full of plot twists that make savory reading. Curl up with wonderful winter reads just in time for Christmas with this trilogy available through www.amazon.com because you won't want to miss a single book! What wonderful gifts of reading your presents may offer others!

Shadows of Light Book Review
By Eva Marie Everson
Book Reviewer: Barbara Robinson, Avid Reader and Passionate Writer, Educator

Shadows of Light is a page-turner with a Christian message delicately interwoven, so that the novel does not come off as preachy. Yet, it clearly delivers a much-needed message of God's love and forgiveness and how none of us are perfect. We all need loving kindness, compassion, forgiveness, and redemption, and the set of three novels in this collection clearly provide this message. Shadows of Light is the concluding book in the three-part series, one you will not want to put down until you see how it ends.

This final novel in the series of three illustrates how prayer and faith work in real life. Katie, the main character holds on to her faith, like the treasure it is, until her husband returns. She never gives up on him. Even when he returns and things are not picture perfect, she understands, has compassion, forgives, and continues to have faith in God. Maggie, the housekeeper, also models faith and how prayer works. She is not afraid of death and meeting her maker. In fact, she illustrates how she looks forward to doing so, and she tries to encourage Ben's faith. Just as in real life, all family members do not always share the same faith or amount of faith, but the novel displays a fine example of how one can model faith and belief in the power of prayer without preaching. One of my favorite parts of this novel is how Maggie is found with her finger marking a Bible verse and how Katie remembers the small things about Maggie, like where she kept Katie's slippers. For, when we lose our loved ones, it is always the small, simple things we miss the most about them.

Another favorite part is the epilogue and how the novel ends. I won't spoil the ending for you though. Read the book and find out for yourself! The ending ties in with an ongoing theme from the other two books as well as the third novel and wraps things up nicely like a well-wrapped Christmas gift. These novels would make great stocking stuffers for the readers in your life.

The novel also illustrates a love story and romance between Ben and Katie, the two main characters. It is very realistic to life and provides insight for the reader. If you like Southern novels, romance, or love stories, do not miss this delightful book. In fact, you won't want to miss a single one of the three.

This novel is full of plot twists that make savory reading. Curl up with wonderful winter reads just in time for Christmas with this trilogy available through www.amazon.com because you won't want to miss a single book from the collection: Summon the Shadows, Shadow of Dreams, and last, Shadows of Light.What wonderful gifts of reading your presents may offer others! Check out all of Eva Marie Everson's other great books online.

I'm hesitant to give low review to any author but felt compelled to do so because I was so disillusioned by the other reviews.

I kept waiting for something to happen in this novel and when it did, I was disappointed. It seemed that the entire book was written for the "surprise" ending which was overly dramatic and too unrealistic to be believable.

Then again, I had just read Francine Rivers' "Redeeming Love" and not much compares to that, now does it?

Eva Marie's series is fabulous. I couldn't wait to find the time to read the next page. I fell in love with Katie and hope there are plans to read more of her. Eva Marie's 3 books in this series is filled with exciting plot twists, suspense, and drew me closer to the Lord, plus making me even more appreciative of my wonderful husband. These books are delightful!

Once I started reading, I could not put it down. The characters and storylines are so realistic. I feel I know Katie personally (we are both from Georgia, after all). The suspense kept me on the edge of my seat with anticipation and the love between Ben and Katie warmed by heart. This is definitely a must read and will keep you coming back for more!

The prodigal daughter returns to her southern home after twenty-five years of absence. Katie runs from her problems, and she discovers she needs to make things right with God before she can solve her problems. This book was intriguing and suspenseful, and there were times when I was sitting on the edge of my seat! The characters were well-developed, and I'm anxious to start the sequal!

WHY THE WEIGHT? DARE TO BE GREAT! is like reading a Bible for those who want to lose weight. It is so inspirational that it should be kept out on a table to read and reread when one needs to be reminded of the multitude of ideas offered the readers. For those of us who have weight problems, it should be in a obvious place to use as a way of life.
Its contents are more than any reader could ever expect, without a page of disappointment.
Connie Nanasy, author of: Roamin' Around Planet Earth and
Love and Betrayal in Texas

This book helped me soooooo much. It's a spiritual approach to weight loss, and it's like nothing out there. Thank you, Jean

In this book, Jean Krueger talks about eating in response to "loss". She has had some profound losses in her life including the deaths of both parents and 3 brothers......but she expands the concept of "loss" to other areas as well.

A second point is Krueger's philosophy that weight loss is not only about the pounds. It is about adding things into your life. When you are overweight, you have no energy. No zest. No joy of living. She urges you to examine your life. Take on new challenges and make a list of things you want to do and start doing them step by step.

In my own life, I suffered "loss" of self esteem when I was unable to balance the stress of being a perfectionist at work and trying to be a wife and mother at home. I ended up taking a transfer in order to survive and felt embarrassed and ashamed because I hadn't been able to handle it all. My self esteem fell to an all time low. Eventually I retired and again felt the "loss" of an exhausting but exciting career.

Later, I fell from a ladder and suffered a debilitating injury which put me on medication and laid me up for more than a year. Food was an easy solution to both losses. Besides, I deserved it and it made me feel better..... temporarily.

I reached a point when I felt my life was over. I became depressed and discouraged and withdrew from friends and activities.

Weight has been a problem all my life. I have tried many weight loss programs and the scale has yoyo'd up and down. But when I found this book and started reading it, I wrote in my journal, "could this really be the time?" In other words, could I not only take off the weight but resume a meaningful life?

My mantra has become, "I am determined to take back my life." I have lost 10% of my body weight, am about half way to my goal and am doing more things and enjoying them more than I have for years. I am again in touch with old friends and am helping to plan a reunion of current and retired employees. I eat out all the time...and make good choices much of the time. I walk alot and go to the gym several times a week and my husband and I have completed several 5K fund raisers. I have joined a quilting guild and taken an adult education sewing class. I am in training as a volunteer for the American Red Cross.

I have been fairly diligent...but not perfect. For me, I no longer look for the "quick fix" to lose weight. Weight control is now more a change of mind set and life style and I owe my motivation to Jean Krueger and her insightful book.

Just attended a workshop featuring Jean Krueger and was sincerely motivated after hearing her speak that I purchased this book. She is truly a inspiration and I look forward to reading more about her method of weight loss. I would encourage others that are looking for a postive way to approach weight loss to hear her message.

Jean is an amazing woman and an inspiration to all. She is someone who has walked the walk. Her advice is on target. She is compassionate but shoots straight. Follow her plan and your life will change, along with your weight. I should know. I have been following her plan for a year now. I have lost 50 pounds, in spite of losing two important people. I dealt with the grief the right way -not eating my way through it. Thank you for everything, Jean.

This book has a number of practical messages for anyone who is managing or learning how to run an organization. Unlike most books, the author explains how to implement the ideas. For my company it helped us build a foundation of principles by which everyone can live by not just talk about. The end result was a more enjoyable workplace and five star customer experience.

As a MBA student, I found this book a must-read. Unlike other books I have read, this book looks beyond classroom branding theory and teaches you how to successfully implement a brand strategy through the alignment of a company's employees with its vision. I look forward to executing the truths as I head into the "real world," now better prepared!

Finally a book that didnt leave me hanging. Achieve Brand Integrity goes the extra mile. Gregg didnt let the book fall into the business-book-trap of only telling us "what we need to do"...he actually gives us access to the tools on "how to get it done." Pretty selfless stuff. If this read doesn't get you off the dime towards competing globally in the 21st Century...then stop buying books on Brand. C-Level Mgmt should take notice from Mr. Lederman...change is coming with or without them!

I like this book because it starts with a simple yet powerful concept missed by the vast majority of business leaders. Brand Strategy is "The process of aligning what we say with what we do, to positively influence what customers think." Simple because it is what your customers expect. Powerful because in my experience most competitors don't get it. They're wrong. Great brands are fueled by strong cultures, cultures that strive to bring their brand's promise to life. Chapter 6 is worth the entire price of admission. In this chapter, you begin to understand the underlying psychology of your workers and how beliefs drive behavior. And what you must do to change them to become a "visible" brand. Not from a strategy standpoint, rather from a get your hands dirty point of view. When Gregg Lederman says process, he means that literally. He spells out in clear steps what you need to do to align what "we do" with what "we say." In fact the book refers you to [...] to access templates that allow you to progress this concept on your own. Achieve Brand Integrity is a small investment that can pay huge dividends if you embrace the power of a designed culture.

Gregg Lederman lives five years in the future, so if you want to know how to motivate your employees and have more profitable growth in your company, just ask him.

Lederman sets it all out so well. This is a huge contribution that if used will empower any business of any size to distill brand integrity in their employees. This book is easy to read and makes it all so easy to understand. I really wish I had this resource to refer to 15 years ago. I make it a common practice to give this book to every new employee that I hire.

A box that will make you cry, make you want to be a better person BUT if you have ever read a book written by Richard Paul Evans, you already know that..

Betty Graham

I SEEM TO LOVE EVERYTHING RICHARD PAUL EVANS WRITES .VERY WELL RESEARCHED ,I ALWAYS HAVE TO KEEP READING TILL I FINISH ,NO BREAKS .

this book is really eye opening as to faith and where it can lead you if you let it.

I am a big fan of the Christmas Box books, but when I saw this book I thought UHHHHHH I guess he needs even more money. RPE must have realized that he was a flash in the pan, and was desprate to hang on to his falling fame. This book does have its moments though, but it sounds like a broken record. They were giving this book away.. a free copy with every $10 purchase. I wish RPE would get over himself he's no Charles Dickens!!!

Unfortunately I read this after reading "The Light of Christmas" so I knew most of the story line but it was still worth the read. It is a simple story with a powerful message about the importance of our individual lives and the lives of those who love us. The Christian message of hope in life is prevalent but subtle and doesn't come across as 'preaching' while still delivering its impact.

Everything you wanted to know about sharpening. This book is very thorough in describing in some detail how to sharpen pretty much everything in your house and garage. It is a good balance of enough information to get started without going too overboard in topics that are not of interest. I think that the book is worth reading, especially if you can only pick one book.

This book provides a very detailed look at the physics behind sharpening blades. I would highly recommend this to anybody who wants to learns the fundamentals of sharpening.

What should I say? No need anymore to write other books on sharpening. It is well written and very informative on every detail. If you would like to know everything about sharpening, buy this book and you're done.

You have to admire the author. He packs a huge amount of detailled and easily read information in this book. The electron photomicrographs, showing various sharp (and not so sharp) edges using various abarasives are excellent. Leonard also seems to know everything there is to know about the history of steel making, and abrasives. There are excellent chapters on just about every kind of woodworking tool imaginable, with plenty of excellent photographs. If I were a woodworker I would regard this book as being the one and only complete reference text.

BUT... my personal interest is in sharpening kitchen knives. And the chapter on knife sharpening is the least informative in the book, and really tells the reader nothing new that is not already available on many web sites.
For a complete knife book, you would be far better off with Chad Ward's new book "An Edge in the Kitchen", far better than this book by Mr Lee.
Also the advice to use plastic book binders as sharpening guides is quite simply useless - they slip off and/or distort under pressure.

I don't mean to disrespect Leonard Lee, or this book. But it is really for woodworking tools, not kitchen knives. Sorry!!

I was looking for more of a how to book. This book does have a lot of information, different angles, types of stones and hones, and a method of sharpening for any edged tool or knife. It just doesnt really show how to do it all.

This has been my favorite book since I first read it in the seventh grade. I couldn't find it until recently when Viz republished it. I love this book more now than I did then. It is a great story for any age. Thirteen or twenty.

In the land of Toyoashihara, the forces of the God of Light and the Goddess of Darkness have been at war for generations. Saya, a fifteen-year-old girl who worships the God of Light, is suddenly pulled into the conflict when she discovers that she is the reincarnation of the Water Maiden, the priestess of the people of Darkness. Saya must come to terms with her heritage and choose which side of the war she will support, for she is the priestess of the Dragon Sword, a terrible weapon that can destroy the gods themselves. Can Saya choose between the Light, which she has been raised to love, and the Darkness, which is her true family, or is she doomed to kill herself like every Water Maiden before her?

Dragon Sword and Wind Child has all the makings of epic fantasy: an exciting battle between Light and Darkness, a Chosen One, a fantastic land, and a young protagonist who is pulled straight into the center of the conflict and barely knows what she's getting in to. The problem is that after a wonderful opening hook, the story just limps along for about fifty pages. After lollygagging along, the author suddenly throws in cross-dressing, possible incest, and an extremely exciting scene that gets the reader interested again. So now the reader is saying, "Ooh, ooh, what's going to happen next?" and devouring the following sections...in which a great deal of nothing happens. Even the battle scenes are un-epic. They end in the middle or are omitted altogether in favor of overly flowery descriptions of the surrounding landscape (although the translator may be partially at fault, since Dragon Sword and Wind Child is a Viz publication and they aren't known for their stunningly faithful translations). Even the ending is a letdown because a. I saw it coming about 50 pages in and b. the author suddenly decides that the story isn't strange enough so she throws in time-traveling. Um...what?

I don't know how the translation is, since I haven't read the book in Japanese (and have no intention of doing so, since I didn't enjoy it in English). However, I can tell you that someone decided it would be cool if they didn't translate all the words...and didn't put the non-translated ones in the glossary. Thus, if you don't speak Japanese and are wondering what "sakaki branches" are, you're basically doomed. (For the record, "sakaki" is a type of evergreen.)

The characters are bland and fairly clichéd. For example, there's a couple of characters who you can tell from the moment they're introduced are going to bite it and ninety pages later...oh, surprise! They're dead! Saya is not only fairly dull, she's also blindingly Mary Sue. She has not just one guy fall in love with her, but three, two of which are immortal and oh-so-hot. (The author spends a great deal of time describing just how hot they are, so the reader doesn't assume that non-hot guys are falling in love with Saya.) What are the chances? She's also stunningly beautiful and completely useless. Princess Teruhi and Prince Tsukishiro, the immortal leaders of the army of Light, could have been interesting characters if Ms. Ogiwara had concentrated more on developing their personalities and less on describing their clothes and how smashingly beautiful they are. As is, Teruhi just seems petty and jealous of Saya's incredible beauty (which is apparently even greater than her own), while Tsukishiro is there simply to go gaga over Saya and look pretty.

The narration is extremely uneven, often spending two or three pages describing a building, field, or forest. That's great for the first couple of chapters, but when the battle scenes arrive, the author seems more concerned with describing the landscapes and Saya's clothes than the actual battle. When she finally does realize that she needs to write a battle scene, she just stops it in the middle and everything goes back to normal even though a whole bunch of people were just slaughtered.

While it has a promising premise, the story never delivers. However, it was Ms. Ogiwara's first book, so there is a chance that the later ones are better. That said, I was fairly disappointed and wouldn't recommend the book to anyone except fans of Japanese popular literature who have nothing better to read.

I first read this book when I was a child. I loved it. I checked it out of my schools library so many times they let me just keep it till the end of the school year. The story line and the people themselves are so hard to put down. The mythology in the book made me look into the shinto myths. I would recommend this book to anyone. I am twenty six now and still love this book!!

Dragon Sword and Wind Child is one of my favorite novels. What's to like? Saya is a village girl in Toyoashihara (sort of a mystical/magical Japan), a land split by the war between the Gods that created the land: The God of Light and the Goddess of Darkness (and Death). Saya has been raised to love the Light and is shocked when strange people start proclaiming that she is one of the Goddess of Darkness's people, reborn again and again to wage her battle against the children of the Light. This revelation is complicated when Prince Tsukishiro, one half of the children of the Light, comes to Saya's village, trying to woo her to the side of the Light by enlisting her as a handmaiden in his palace.

You've heard this story before, right? Honestly, I normally hate this sort of plot set up and the reluctant heroine type. However, Saya is unique to me because her reactions are understandable and even relatable; you see how she subtlely changes and how she makes her decisions and her mental conflicts. As for the plot? Not all is as it seems. Once Saya comes to the palace, she doesn't particularly fit in the whole court atmosphere and furthermore warrior Princess Teruhi is determined to catch Saya collaborating with the Darkness. Prince Tsukishiro isn't much of a help, as it seems this situation has all been played out before in Saya's previous lives (that she has no memory of), and he's still in love with Saya's last incarnation, who killed herself in the palace pond. And the Palace of Light has many sinister secrets... (The novel continues for much longer, not only through Saya's revelations, her final choice in alliances, but also to the final conclusion to the war that has engulfed the land for as long as it as existed.)

Another interesting part of this book is that it's not your usual elves, fairies, etc. Noriko Ogiwara, influenced by Western writers, used Japanese mythology to create this world. The implications of this are just obvious by the summary of the book above. This isn't Good vs. Evil, Dark v. Light of your normal fantasy epic. The issues the characters have to deal with in this book are immortality, mortality, reincarnation along with loyalty and empathy. Are we cursed to repeat the same mistakes over and over through our lifetimes? Does immortality create an lack of empathy? What is sacrificed during war, what is gained, and is it worth it?

I had worn out checking out the library copy all the time, so I was thrilled this classic finally has gone back into print. The deft translation by Cathy Hirano is still intact, except that mentions to Saya's stone has been changed to "magatama". I somewhat miss the old cover, but some interesting drawings have been added to the chapter title pages. I have heard that there are two more books in the series (about what I don't know, as the book pretty much covers all the bases and closes all plotlines), and I'm hoping the other two will finally be translated for English audiences. And I lied earlier. This is pretty much my favorite book (Tied with Dark Lord of Derkhom by Diana Wynne Jones). And I cry and laugh every time I read it.

SPOILERS
The insertion of Chihaya completely changes the landscape of the book. And amazingly, it doesn't feel random and unwarranted. Like Chihaya's the other main character, he's just been missing. The romance parts of the book are perhaps its weakest point, but understandable, and really do drive the plot.

Noriko Ogiwara creates riddles which seem unavoidable. And they are. However, like the words of any oracle, they are open to *very* interesting and unexpected interpretations.

Don't debate. Buy this book! Thank yourself later.

I give the Merck Manual 5 stars in general but I wouldn't buy this edition because is was written in 1999. Everything in this book is obsolete. It's very important to buy up-to-date medical books for the proper information. If you're looking for a newer Merck, I would buy The Merck Manual of Medical Information, Second Edition: The World's Most Widely Used Medical Reference - Now In Everyday Language which was written in 2004 but is the most up-to-date Home Edition of Merck. However The Merck Manual 18th Edition was written in 2006 but is intended for doctors. I wouldn't recommend The Merck 18th Edition unless you have a good knowledge of medicine.

This is the most comprehensive guide to health related issues available on the market. There is a more authorative edition of the Merck Manual, but at 1700 pages this edition will keep you occupied. It covers the broad range of illnesses with handy diagnoses. But, what I like most is the children's section, which not only fills you on all the ailments that plague little ones, but the vast array of problems that can occur during pregnancy. While much of this information may provide more anxiety than assurance, it is worth knowing, especially if going through the experience of child birth for the first time. The children's section also has good information on health and nutrition. It quite literally covers the gamut of health related issues and no home should be without it. But, don't get carried away with self-diagnoses It can be frightening!

This is a wonderful summary of general medical information written in simple terms so this is a great addition to the family. It is very current in describing medical understanding of a variety of illnesses, and it provides a solid foundation upon which you can start doing more research on the Internet for the condition that you may be interested in finding about. It even suggests temporary remedies and puts you in charge of how you are treated by the medical profession. This is a must have book to keep around!

This book is cheaper [on] AMAZON than the one I bought at my warehouse club. I'd buy it for twice list price if I did not already have a copy.

The text is marvelously complete, yet devoid of fluff and fillers despite its 1500+ pages. The illustrations are very helpful, as is its exhaustive index.

If I have a medical problem in the house, this is what I grab first, even before logging onto the net. It's that good.

All that being said, it is not a complete medical library, you can get more detailed info by visiting a medical library, buying more specific books on the condition that interests you, and be spending hours researching a subject on the net.

If you want to understand something medical in a hurry, reach for this first.

This Merk Edition is perfect for patients with limited medical background. The explanations are more in laymen's terms but it would be good to have a medical dictionary to help when needed. Most term are explained in the book and it is full of diagrams to help with understanding. Merk recognizes the need for patients to become educated and have confidence that this is not a difficult thing to do. Some doctors have led patients to believe for too long that the knowledge was beyond their comprehension, so nothing that they do is ever questioned. I have met other doctors that explain in great detail and even draw on a bed sheet what they are going to do and why, giving the patient the respect that they deserve. I have a Degree in Early Childhood Education, and one crucial thing that was drilled into us that everybody can be taught anything if you start on the level of knowledge of the subject that you wish to teach. I believe this about children, and I certainly feel the same about every age level. Doctors are just people who went to school to learn. You never know what quality of the knowledge is that they learned or if they have kept up with an ever changing field with updates from research all of the time. If you are particular about who watches your pet, you should be even more concerned about your health care. Whatever depends on you to stay alive and for you to take care of, need for you to be healthy, and the health care of your loved ones should be a serious concern. It is easy to understand. Mrs. Symmington