O Books

Dr. Makarowski has hit on something that can carry over to all aspects of adult life, making this much more than a simple parenting book. Scripps Howard News Service

I think the general approach and specific techniques advocated in How To Keep Your C.O.O.L. With Your Kids is excellent. I especially endorse the emphasis placed on the parent/adult effecting change in their own behavior as a means of not only increasing their own effectiveness, but avoiding making the situation even worse. I am not aware of any other resources available that adopts this approach and I'm sure this book will prove to be a valuable tool for parents. A. Mitch Cooper, Ph.D.

One of the best books I have read in the last twenty years...first of its kind...applications are universal...great benefit to me, my administrators, teachers, parents and ultimately the students that are served in my school district.. an effective informational vehicle to educate parents...I particularly liked the sample exercises and the protocols from which individual and group work might be initiated...very powerful...It integrates behavior and stress management techniques with practical parenting strategies. I believe that this melding will prove useful to many conscientious parents with school age children. Frank Cranley, Superintendent of Schools

How To Keep Your C.O.O.L. With Your Kids is a practical helpful book for parents. It offers parents practical advice on dealing with their children that is based on solid psychological principles.

Guy T. Doyal, Ph.D.,

This book helped me look at some of my own situations in a new light and I almost cried when I realized that I had been sending some very negative messages without ever intending to to my children. It taught me to see how I would react if someone was sending those very same messages to me -- and I found out that I would have probably reacted the same as my children did (defiantly, angrilly). The author reminds us that our kids are not perfect and we can't expect perfection from them at all times. And that kids who are harder to be around can cause us to tense up even when they just walk into the room (a nonverbal sign that we don't mean to send, but the kid probably picks up). I have done better around my kids and have had at least two or three encounters that really, really tested me and would have sent me through the roof in the past, but I was able to get through with great results without screaming. Of course, I still slip up, I'm definitely not perfect, but the book says that is all part of the learning process. And I know I've gotten better and hope to keep on working on what the author has taught me.

"...a high-quality, hard-cover, beautifully crafted book, which could be a gift, a prize possession of a golfing fan or player-or to anyone who enjoys a little humor."

"The Humorous Golf Poetry of Tom Edwards is quite a good read. I got a kick out of it and I'm a pretty tough critic."

"...a delightful new book...Although I'd rather be beaten with sticks as play golf, I thoroughly enjoyed reading his [Edwards'] witticisms. Edwards may not have mastered the game itself, but he is a gifted wordsmith when it comes to describing his sport in verse."

I got this book as a gift. Being an avid golfer I thought it was a hoot. I'm getting more for gifts. Great illustrations too.

Tom Edwards slim book is packed with whimsey and verse so charming that every golfer needs one in his bag. Clever drawings only amplify the twists of rhyme that lead one down the fairway between sand trap and trees. Fresh, quotable lines for venting the frustration only the game of golf can create. This book was more refreshing to read than eighteen holes on an empty green.

What a book! It is so easy to read and understand. I wish this book was around when I was going for my BSME. It is a great reference book that all designers should have on their shelves.

This book is so interesting to browse through. As a mechanical engineer I really appreciate it, and it comes in handy for getting ideas. Great illustrations and descriptions! I highly recommend it.

I am a farmer who enjoys making machinery. I design my contraptions on paper, then using a CAD program to refine the designs. Having no training in engineering I am frequently using references such as "Machinery's Handbook" and "Moving The Earth" and "Mark's Standard handbook of Mechanical Engineering" and others.
I have to say, that Parmley's book is a treasure trove of information, with heaps of unusual ideas for common compnents such as O-rings, rubber balls, pipe connections, washers and many others, plus hard information about more complex components such as gearboxes, cams, governors etc etc.
This is a big book, with many pages (numbering within each section only), lovely clear diagrams, and enough but not too many tables, formulae and specifications. It can be browsed cover to cover, (as I am doing for the 2nd or 3rd time), open a page at random and be fascinated, or look up specific topics in the excellent index.
I have read the other reviews on this book, and clearly it is a valuable rescource to professionals. I can tell you that it is also a fantastic mine of information to the interested amateur.

This volume contains the most comprehensive list of mechanical components and variations on any given theme that I've seen in one place. Additionally there are significant extensions to computation methods and overviews not found elsewhere. It is an extremely high value book.

The last few favourable reviews cover my thoughts well, but I would like to add that this large volume far exceeded my expectations in terms of both depth of content and quality. This is an amazing value for anyone who works with mechanical components. While its focus is on illustrations of the components themselves, it also includes detailed explanations with graphs, formulae, etc. So it's also a how-to book of sorts. I also purchased a companion volume "Mechanisms and Mechanical Devices Sourcebook", which I also highly recommend.

I really liked this book! I have studied reiki a lot before coming across this book. What I liked about the book was: authentic/passionate/in depth/no fluff/caring authors! They really wanted to know where reiki came from and why.
Here in the US we want stuff faster and now...
I like how the authors want you to truly take your time and get/understand level 1 before moving on to level 2 then 3.
No shotgun wedding here:)
I run an energy meet up in Boulder for all energy healing types, and when asked which reiki I recommend, I say the International House of Reiki.

I am a Reiki Master and I love to check out books on the subject whenever I can. I was recommended the Reiki Sourcebook, by the same authors, through an online Reiki group. I ended up buying this book as well because I was interested to see Reiki from a more traditional view. I was not disappointed. Both books are very unbiased and easy to follow. Very very informative and original. I was pretty sick of books retelling Reiki histoy and the new age type "airy fairy" take on Reiki. Although there is some history in Sourcebook it is not as dry and overdone as other books. It seems to also be better researched by the authors.
These two books were a breath of fresh air and I had a hard time putting them down. I actually enjoyed The Japanese Art of Reiki more than the Source Book. I thought it was more in-depth on techniques and the practical side of Reiki, which was what I was looking for. It gives you a view of Reiki as a solid daily routine. It just seemed to click with me better than some of what I was taught in my Reiki classes. This book has a lot I have not seen in any other book. The Sourcebook is more of general take on things. Though, there is not much redundant material in each if you buy them together. ( I highly recommend you do) If I could only have two Reiki books it would be these. If I could only have one it would be Japanese Art of Reiki.

There is so much emphesus that Reiki is only about healing others, when in fact..."Reiki is about self-practice, self-responsibility and personal development."
This book takes you back in time to what reiki is on a personal level, and what Usui-sensei originally taught. Reiki was not meant to be of just "palm healing" only, becoming a Reiki master/teacher and just healing others, look inside yourself and listen, Reiki is all about "you"!
Get the book, read it and when you are done, read it AGAIN! There is no other book that can compare!

Whether you are new to Reiki energy or have been practicing for years, this book will give you the knowledge and awareness of a comprehensive approach to using Reiki for self healing. You will come to understand the true history of Reiki, and then move on to learn the various techniques used in Japanese Reiki which will allow you to deepen your practice. These techniques are rarely taught in Western courses, which are typically greatly abbreviated, and often filled with misinformation.

Bronwen and Stiene have built a rock solid reputation for the accuracy and integrity of their work.

This book is a "must have" as it takes the reader to the Shinto/Japanese spiritual roots of Reiki and where Reiki comes from. This book has become my Reiki bible and has deepened my practice. When you perform the exercises, as specified, the energy is undescrible and so very spiritual as it takes the participant to another place and space. If you purchase no other Reiki book this is the book to have.

These Bibles were purchased for my grandchildren. They love them and they are colorful but they are complete KJV Bibles which was hard to find in stores for kids.

I was so happy with my purchase. My son is 9 1/2 and he was very intriqued with all of the pages that helped him look up stuff that he found interesting.

For those committed to the use of the Authorized Version of the Holy Bible this is an excellent resource for children of all ages. There are many helpful features to keep the child's interest in addition to the faithful text of the King James. Most importantly, there are no pictures of the Saviour. Most of the children in our church now have a copy.

I purchased this Bible for my then 4 year old son. He was begging for a Bible that we could use to study in at night. We searched forever to find a King James Version children's Bible. When I found this one and saw all of the great reviews, I knew it would be perfect. Now that he is learning to read, it is perfect for him. He is able to follow along with our pastor during church service and the extra little sections and study guides are perfect for us to use at bedtime. The illustrations usually catch his eye and give us a place to start studying. I highly recommend it. I am thinking about getting one for myself!

I purchased 2 copies of the KJV Kids' Study Bible. One for my daughter on her 8th birthday, and one for my son who was 10 at the time. Now, 4 years later, I am so pleased with the study design that I am purchasing a leather-bound copy for myself! (Mind you, I have other Bibles: purse size, chronological, red-letter, you name it.) But at this time in my life, I find the Kids' Study Bible to be the ideal companion in my morning exercise/devotion schedule. Thank you for designing such a wonderful Bible product.

Like all Langenscheidt Dictionaries I have come across, its quality is great. Anybody who has used a Langenscheidt knows what I am talking about. But what I like about this one especially is the perfect size, since it is small enough for taking along in a bag, yet not too short. The material of the cover is superb because it is beautiful, as well as easy to clean if needed, and it is flexible as a paperback, but lasts in good shape for a long time (as I have seen until now, it lasts like forever).

This is one of the better German dictionaries I've come across. It is perfect for college or high school use.

The covers are a thick plastic-type of material which makes this volume stay together much longer, especially if it's put in a backpack and lugged around a lot (as mine is).

The pages are SNOW WHITE and very easy to read, unlike the HarperCollins (ISBN 0062737503) which has newspaper-colored pages. The font is kind of small but that shouldn't be a problem for most college and high school students.

This is called a "pocket dictionary" which makes it sound small but it is not really that small. It's a little bit larger than an average sized romance novel, and a little bit wider. It's very thick and heavy and when I stood it up against a pop can for size comparison it's about a half an inch taller than the pop can.

The pronunciations are given in IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet), which I consider a plus. IPA is not hard to learn and German pronunciation is pretty straight-forward anyway. If you can spell a word, you automatically know how it's pronounced.

All in all I REALLY like this dictionary and I think it serves the purpose of being a college dictionary really well.

I started using this dictionary in 1999 when I had my first German class. Six years later my German comprehension has finally reached university level and I still find myself using it for quick references. I very rarely have not been able to find a word in this compact dictionary, and its compactness is by far its best quality. All the relative articles are given (unlike many beginners dictionaries), although there is no pronunciation guide. I also love how it shows no signs of wear and tear after almost daily use. For a source with more in depth references I strongly recommend http://dict.leo.org/ (from the Technical University of Munich). This is especially true for translators that have to know what a certain word in different contexts means.

This dictionary was a required book for my lower-level college German classes, and I can see why. I also have a Webster's German dictionary, and I am not as pleased with it as I am with the Langenscheidt. It is a great size to carry about in your bag, and, despite all the use (and abuse!) it has seen, mine is still in really good shape. In fact, I liked this so well that I have two copies - one for my desk at home, and the other to keep in my bag for school. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a good, usable German dictionary.

This book has survived being stuffed into my bookbag everyday for several school years, and I've taken it with me on a trip to Germany. I'm planning on taking it with me when I go to Germany in a few weeks. The spine hasn't broken and the plastic cover hasn't torn. It's rare that I haven't been able to find the word that I needed in this book, and the list of irregular verbs is very helpful. I own two German-English dictionaries, and, in spite of the fact that the other one is thicker and looks more likely to be useful, I absolutely prefer this one.

I am very happy with this book: it's easy to read, the structure is very intuitive and logical, and everything you need to know is covered. If you're just starting with WCF and you're looking for an excellent resource on the subject, look no further.

Great tutorials and help on author's website. Definately a book for someone who needs to start from the beginning!

This is an absolutely awesome book for those new to WCF, experienced in WCF development and looking at tuning their skills, or trainers looking for quality material for their students (I used this book to prep for the Instructor Led Lab session I delivered at Tech.Ed Australia 2007 and I know the two attendees I gave copies too were also extremely impressed with its content).
Every topic discussed in this book is reinforced with hands-on-labs and code examples in both VB.NET and C# and Michele has also delivered a 15 part series titled "Windows Communication Foundation Top to Bottom" based on the book (see my blog at [...] for a detailed review of each presentation).
If you're serious about WCF, this is the book to get.

You may want to acquire various other WCF books for depth, but if you're just getting started with WCF, this is the book you want. There isn't another book out there that compares to it. It's cleanly written and nicely balances conceptual material on service orientation with the practicalities of Windows Communication Foundation.

Many other books on WCF take the form of a "brain dump" on WCF features, or get bogged down in conceptual discussion of Service Oriented Architecture. Instead, Ms. Bustamante has a very clear, logical path from simple WCF features to more complex. You won't be overwhelmed early, but you will eventually get to most of the advanced features you'll likely need. Other books, such as Juval Lowy's Programming WCF Services (Programming), can pick up at that point for the really advanced topics.

Many of the chapters contain step-by-step labs, and you can get working end results from the author's web site. They start easy and build nicely through more complex concepts.

The sample code in the book is in C#, but if you happen to be a Visual Basic developer (as I am), you're not left out. Many of the labs and samples are also available in VB on the author's web site.

The book was unfortunately published too early to include definite coverage of the Visual Studio 2008 features for automatically generating some of the code you need to use WCF. Those capabilities are in the Visual Studio 2008 beta now and will be released in the next few months. Some of the labs could have been simplified by using those Visual Studio features. But, on the positive side, working through the labs in more detail will give you a more in-depth understanding of the subject and enable you to use the Visual Studio features more effectively.

This is a very good book to get started quickly with WCF. Specially useful are the setup instructions and the section on hosting, which can be big gotchas with new technologies like this one. The section on security is a nice touch.

Here is the table of contents in case you are wondering:

Chapter 1. Hello Indigo
Section 1.1. Service Oriented Architecture
Section 1.2. WCF Services
Section 1.3. Fundamental WCF Concepts
Section 1.4. Creating a New Service from Scratch
Section 1.5. Generating a Service and Client Proxy
Section 1.6. Hosting a Service in IIS
Section 1.7. Exposing Multiple Service Endpoints
Section 1.8. Summary
Chapter 2. Contracts
Section 2.1. Messaging Protocols
Section 2.2. Service Description
Section 2.3. WCF Contracts and Serialization
Section 2.4. Service Contracts
Section 2.5. Data Contracts
Section 2.6. Message Contracts
Section 2.7. Approaches to Serialization
Section 2.8. The Message Type
Section 2.9. Summary
Chapter 3. Bindings
Section 3.1. How Bindings Work
Section 3.2. Web Service Bindings
Section 3.3. Connection-Oriented Bindings
Section 3.4. One-Way and Duplex Communication
Section 3.5. Large Message Transfers
Section 3.6. Custom Bindings
Section 3.7. Summary
Chapter 4. Hosting
Section 4.1. Hosting Features
Section 4.2. ServiceHost
Section 4.3. Self-Hosting
Section 4.4. Hosting on the UI Thread
Section 4.5. Hosting in a Windows Service
Section 4.6. Hosting in IIS 6.0
Section 4.7. IIS 7.0 and Windows Activation Service
Section 4.8. Choosing the Right Hosting Environment
Section 4.9. Summary
Chapter 5. Instancing and Concurrency
Section 5.1. OperationContext
Section 5.2. Instancing
Section 5.3. Concurrency
Section 5.4. Instance Throttling
Section 5.5. Load Balancing and Failover
Section 5.6. Summary
Chapter 6. Reliability
Section 6.1. Reliable Sessions
Section 6.2. Transactions
Section 6.3. Queued Calls
Section 6.4. Summary
Chapter 7. Security
Section 7.1. WCF Security Overview
Section 7.2. Securing Intranet Services
Section 7.3. Securing Internet Services
Section 7.4. Working with Certificates
Section 7.5. Building a Claims-Based Security Model
Section 7.6. Exploring Federated Security
Section 7.7. Summary
Chapter 8. Exceptions and Faults
Section 8.1. SOAP Faults
Section 8.2. WCF Exception Handling
Section 8.3. Exceptions and Debugging
Section 8.4. Fault Contracts
Section 8.5. IErrorHandler
Section 8.6. Summary
Appendix A. Setup Instructions
Section A.1. Database Setup
Section A.2. ASP.NET Provider Model Setup
Section A.3. Certificate Setup
Section A.4. IIS Application Directories
Appendix B. ASP.NET Meets CardSpace
Section B.1. Information Cards and CardSpace: A Brief Tour
Section B.2. Identity Metasystem Participants and Browser Flow
Section B.3. Let's Log In with CardSpace!
Section B.4. Processing the Token
Section B.5. Associating Cards with User Accounts
Section B.6. Creating a Dual Purpose Login Page
Section B.7. Conclusion

Very nice book of poems for children (my daughters are age 4 and 6). Each poem describes the various behavior of the same little dog. The dog reminds us of our Shih Tsu. Cute illustration. Pleasantly surprised with this book.

Little Dog Poems is a book full of short, cute poems about the life of a little dog and its owner. There is a one poem on each page with illustrations relating to the text. The poems go through one entire day in the life of the dog, from waking up, to playtime, and back to bed again. Children will love reading and being read this adorable little book.

The watercolor illustrations in the book tell the story perfectly. This makes it easy for a young reader, or even listener, to follow along with the words. The pictures are also very realistic, which would help the child relate to the story. The little girl even has to use a step stool in one picture. Children can easily see the love the little girl has for her puppy on all of the pages.

None of the poems use rhyming words, but they do use a poetic format. Sometimes the words are printed in straight lines or even in a spiral formation to help illustrate the story. There is odd spacing between the lines that changes the way the poems are read. Children will love to try and read these poems, and the spacing might actually help them pace themselves and succeed. The words contained in the poems are very basic and would be a great place for any beginning reader to start.

The poems in the book create many different emotions, such as happiness playing catch, sadness being left at home, and even frustration at chewed up socks. Some of the poems even create sensory images, such as taste in the kitchen poem and touch in the comfort poem. Children will love reading this book over and over, because what child does not love an adorable little puppy?

Ms. O'Connell George's simple prose come together beautifully in this lovely story. Perfect for Pre-K through early elementary.

Younger children will enjoy the simple verses. For my 8 year old son, who is a dog lover, he just enjoyed learning the story, but also had his eyes open to how simple poetry can be... doesn't have to rhyme and be some long hard to understand thing.

A great poetry intro. Also be sure to check out Little Dog and Duncan .. which seems even better than the original little dog and is a great friendship story.

I have read both of these Little Dog books to my first grade students and they enjoyed each and every poem very much!!! Many of my students bonded with the child and her dog and had lots of stories to tell and write about their own experiences with pets.
These are two of my favorite books to read to them when I talk about poems not having to rhyme to be poems. I wish Ms. George would write more books about Little Dog and his experiences!

Kristine O'Connell George has written one of the most endearing books of the year....Every poem illuminates another incident in the busy life of Little Dog, and dog-owners are sure to recognize their own pets in him. June Otani's watercolors are as charming as the text.

Short story collections are famous for having a few dogs, but every single one in this collection proves wickedly wise, funny and FABULOUS. This is one of those bedside table books you'll keep handy just so you can re-read your favorites. And don't be surprised if you feel compelled to call your girlfriends at odd hours of the night to quote the clever Ms. O'connell. Fans of Lorrie Moore will love Living with Saints.

What a fine collection of stories, strung on an idea but brilliantly distinguished from each other. O'Connell has a great ear -- perfect pitch. I haven't seen a false note there. I hope we'll see more of her stories, soon.

The best debute I've ever read from a new writer. The stories are not only original, but moving, funny entertaining, etc..

If you love a good read of short stories, then this is a must for you.

I was initially ...[pulled] in by the fabulous cover (the Australian hardcover edition) and was even more impressed by these immensely satisfying stories. I was moved to laugh, cry, be surprised, but stilled by the gentleness of the stories. I suppose being raised as a Catholic, and having left that doctrine, has put me in a good position to enjoy the stories. Whilst some may feel shocked by the treatment of the saints I felt that I got to glimpse the humans behind the myths. I was also pleased by the variety of female characters that the author created. They all felt genuine.

If you're looking for intelligent, well-crafted short stories that sparkle with wit then look no further.

This is an inspired work, with a singular voice--O'Connell brings so much heart, poetry, grittiness and spirituality to her characters. There's a nearly supernatural energy in her prose, blessing every detail of the every day world with fresh perspective, whether she's describing a particular pain, a scent or the specific color of the shadows beneath the eyes of a neglectful mother. She has compassion for even her most hateful characters, making them that much more believable. This is more than a collection of stories--it's a transformative fable, telling tales of ultimate redemption with humanity and fine wit. Hope she gets the attention she deserves!

outstanding work. I did not put the book down untill I finished it. And when I finished it, i did not want it to end.
Wooooooooooooooooooooow.

that was $15 well spent. a romantic thriller that keeps you craving for more. great plot and well told.

brilliant, indeed it was a long journey home for both Rebecca and Ian. I highly recommend that everyone should read it.

superb, it grabs you right at the beggining. she keeps you guessing. yes it was a great story.

she has her own new style, it is impecable.
full of surprises at the end. i highly recomend it.