U Books

I bought this book years ago and I continue to come back to this book years later. It's full of good and useful information. Kessler lays out the basics well and provides good solid information for constructing good landscape painting. Her book is a great reference for when I run into problems or am not sure of what I'm seeing when I'm painting. Kessler and John Carlson are the two best books on painting landscapes that I found.

On my feedback I had entered the feedback for the wrong book, my apologies, please. This book does have a lot of great information and gives details using great techniques.

Este libro es estupendo para mejorar tu pintura, tanto seas novato como avanzado, pero especialmente es útil si llevas tiempo pintando, creo que está orientado especialmente para superarte en lo que ya haces. Te hace ver la técnica a seguir, desde que empiezas a inspirarte en una fotografía y su interpretación, la combinación de colores empleados, la mejor composición, profundidad, la forma de trazar con el pincel, y muchas recomendaciones más para superarte en lo ya llevas haciendo un tiempo atrás, como es mi caso. Recomendable para todos.
AVISO PARA AMAZON.COM: Soy español y hecho de menos que tengais un apartado especial para saber las publicaciones en mi idioma. Todos los libros que he comprado los hubiera disfrutado más si estuvieran traducidos al español.

This book is marvellous to improve your painting, so much be raw as(like) advanced, but specially it is useful if you go time doing(painting), I believe that it is orientated specially to excel yourself in what already you do. It makes you see the technology(skill) to continuing, since you start inspiring by a photography and its interpretation, the combination of used colors, the best composition, depth, the way of planning with the paintbrush, and many recommendations more rides to excel yourself in already doing a time behind, since it is my case. Advisable for all.

I WARN FOR AMAZON.COM: I am Spanish and a fact of less than a special paragraph to know the publications in my language. All the books that I have bought had been enjoyed by me more if they were translated into the Spanish. THANKS.

Well written text, for advanced artist as well as the beginner. Kessler explains her topics very well. She uses a lot of earth tones in most of her paintings, but any artist can adjust the color range to suit their taste.

A very good explanation of design components for landscapes, i.e., what canvas sizes mean, how to set up the composition, nature's colors, etc. She has a "formula", which makes her paintings all look very similar, but the information she reveals is worth the read. I have referred to it again and again, for ideas and help. The only criticism is of her work itself - I found it boring, constantly repeating themes and subjects and styles. But aside from that, it is a great resource, especially for a rookie, who hasn't yet gotten their act together..

My 11-yo daughter and I are doing a study on the Westward Expansion and Pioneers. We read this aloud to each other yesterday afternoon within a period of a couple of hours and both thoroughly enjoyed it. It is written in journal format by a 10-yo making the journey from Illinois to California with her family. Wonderful read!

A student asked me to buy this particular book and she has been pouring over it since it arrived.

I like the book because ,it is writer in letters. Rachels likes to writter in like 12 day. I will read more of other book like it .

Though this book is meant to be an aid in the classroom, I found it highly enjoyable even for the casual reader. It informs while entertaining. By using the medium of a girl's diary, the author is able to show facets of pioneer life not often brought out. This book is well worth the price, both as a fun read and as a useful reference.

Just like Marissa Moss' "Amelia" books, this was a hand-written, journal-style book, with lots of pictures. It is the journal of ten-year-old Rachel, who travels with her family of pioneers from Illinois to California in search of a better place to live. In her journal, she records the trip and there are many details! It has humor thrown in, great pictures, and a nice journal format. I've enjoyed reading this book, and I can't wait to read all of Marissa Moss' other historical journals.

An outstanding view of the War Between the States from the point of view of an "ordinary" soldier.

Perhaps if the writer had put his thoughts to paper soon after the events described he might have remembered a few details! We barely find out anything about his weapons, his leaders, his thoughts on seccession etc... While the small details of camp life and escaping are interesting a better book on that subject is Prison Pen.

Excellent, first had observations made by a common private in during the Civil War. The author IS NOT a professional writer. This makes it all the more valuable. The author is not writing the book to entertain, or to pass along old, gory war stories. This is a story by a simple man trying to tell us his point of view, simple as that. This account is quite valuable to anyone interested in the study of this horrible conflict. Recommend it's reading and recommend you add it to your collection. I do wish there had been more like this one.

This is a good, first hand account of the life of a Confederate soldier. Fletcher writes of only what he seen during the war. The only judgement he cast is upon his leaders actions at Gettysburg. This book will definitely change your perspective on the life of a common soldier.

William Fletcher isn't different from other soldiers be it outstanding or horrible, but he is the average Confederate soldier from Texas involved in many conflicts. When it comes to soldiering, he is brave and daring but not afraid to admit being scared as he is very honest in his chosen words. The best part of this book isn't the fighting as much as it is the daily life. For the person looking to gain further knowledge, Fletcher writes about his experiences firsthand. Coming up from Texas Fletcher is involved in the Seven Days Battle, 2nd Manassas, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg and Chickamauga campaigns. It was interesting to read about fighting in the 5th Texas, Company F and the thoughts that ran through Fletcher's mind at Gettysburg. The uncertainty, the horrors and the patriotism all wrapped into one was very rewarding to read about. His escape from Union hands was inspiring as he did what he could do to get back to Texas. This book is a must have for those seeking further knowledge and input from a soldier account. 5 STARS!!

I remember some of the media coverage about Camille but Bechtel takes the reader inside the storm for a thrilling, if harrowing, ride. I confess I was ignorant of the damage in Virginia and I certainly did not put Woodstock and Camille together before reading this book. For disaster junkies like me, this is a MUST for your top shelf. For anyone interested in those reacting to a disaster, this book introduces you to some unforgettable people. And, for anyone living on the Gulf Coast, it should be required reading. Every week.

review posted in the American Geographical Society newsletter, "Ubique":

The past as prologue: The story of Hurricane Camille, which until recently defined the apex of tropical energy and fearsomeness, as told by Stefan Bechtel in ROAR OF THE HEAVENS.
During the summer of 1969, nature opened her Pandora's box and released Camille. She perhaps took her first steps as a tropical wave of energy out of the Ethiopian Highlands, made a lazy parabolic arc through the southern Atlantic, then hit the cauldron of warm sea air in the Caribbean.
Bechtel follows nimbly on her heels and issues moment-by-moment reports. He provides a skilful, basic understanding of hurricane science -- readers walk away with a firm grasp of orographic effects, the nature of the tropopause and the fluid mechanics of storm surges -- as well as a "disaster culture" that spurs people to take the storm head on, a culture of cataclysmic ignorance.
What drives that point home is the vivid reconstruction of what it was like to be in the storm, fashioned out of interviews with a few principle actors and dozens of bit players. The storm made landfall to the east of New Orleans with winds that at times approached 200 mph and carrying a storm surge three stories in height. Survivors talk of darkness and howling, being raked by flying glass, having their clothes stripped off. Entire communities were obliterated, while farther to the north, the Woodstock Music Festival was being pelted by rain from all the atmospheric disturbance.
Bechtel relates how then the storm started to disintegrate as it moved up the Mississippi Valley, falling off the radar, only to gather itself once more, dropping biblical rains -- perhaps thirty inches in a nightlong deluge -- on a confined area in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. Once again, Bechtel's storytelling power takes on a terrifying clarity. Scores would die as towns were scoured clean away, the rain so heavy it was nearly impossible to simply breathe. A mountainside sloughed off, writes Bechtel, leaving the eerie "smell of deep time."
Camille was a meterological event of the first order. So is Bechtel's recreation.

Being from Nelson County and having lived in Nelson County during the fate of Camille in 1969 - this is a GREAT BOOK!!! My, how it bought back the memories of that time in a 'story' fashion, I couldn't put it down and I was there during Camille. I wish there had been more pictures that others reading this book could truly understand how devastated our county was and why the good folks from Nelson would cringe at the site of a continuous rain fall for a couple of days and schools would close for years to come. However the author did an excellent job in describing just how bad it was without pictures. We still talk about that time and 'where we were', and remember the families and friends that were lost to 'A LADY CALLED CAMILLE' because there was no warning or opportunity to get to higher grounds.
Thank you Stefan Bechtel helping others to understand what a hurricane can do to a town, community and people for years to come.

I was on my way to a Poetry Festival on a Friday, and
I started reading Roar of the Heavens Thursday night.
Instead of getting rested for the Festival, I was up
until 1:30 am, When I arrived, and pitched my tent, and
got to the Festival grounds, I immediately sat down and
started reading the book. Instead of strolling the village,
breaking into a discussion on Craft with a Poet, I sat
down and kept reading. Friday night was freezing cold,
and I kept reading. In the cold, I kept thinking about
the fascinating dynamics of the structure of a Hurricane,
and Warren Raines freezing as he clung to tree branches.
On Saturday, during a readings break, I climbed into my
car, and finished the book. Finally, I could stop thinking
about what happened to Mary Anne, Buzz, etc, and etc, and
starting absorbing some POETRY. Saturday night it was
raining, and I was terrified driving to the campground,
and hearing the rain on the roof of my tent, and it was
pouring Sunday morning, and I wondered if having been
isolated from Weather forecasts, something was coming of
which I was unaware. And thought of the unidentified bodies
perhaps hiking the trails as Camille roared through.
What a riveting read, and the adrenaline is still pumping!
The scientific explanation of the mechanics of a Hurricane
were so clearly described, and fascinating. And the interweaving
of what was happening in the country and world, with
the life and death dramas of those trying to survive
Camille really put things in time and place that connects
the reader intimately to the events. And the families and people
were so real; their pain and suffering, and the incredible
devastation. I know I was thinking about going to college
that summer, at that's all I remember. I remember going
to Mardi Gras in 1972 and seeing the steps going to no where
on the Coast, Biloxi. And I used to drive Rt. 29 going to
Conn. from N.C. in the seventies. Congratulations on writing
such an intense and absorbing, and well researched book.

The afterward and epilogue of this book resonate very closely with observations made by author Jill Fredston in her book "Snowstruck." Humanity seems to have an enormous capacity to forget disaster and to overestimate it's ability to tame nature. News media covering natural disasters regularly describe them as "unprecedented," a patently inaccurate description which has more to do with our collective memory than with reality.

Stefan Bechtel has done good research and assembled a wealth of first hand narratives and scientific explanation. I appreciated the reflections in his aftermath, epilogue and afterword.

In fact, my only criticism of the book is that it becomes rather repetitive at times, grasping for new superlatives and heaping disaster upon disaster and sorrow upon sorrow. Interspersing more analysis between some of the narrative accounts would have suited my reading tastes better, but that takes nothing away from the fact that this is well done book about a truly horrific natural disaster that most Americans probably have no knowledge of.

I have been reading Pat Hutchins books to children for many years. They are wonderful!! Rosie's Walk is a great book for sound effects! As Rosie goes obliviously on her walk,the fox encounters all sorts of sound effect producing trials. Great fun!

We have the board book edition, and I have to admit, I didn't think my 2-year old was going to like it when I first flipped through it. There didn't seem to be much to it --- no eye-catching illustrations and not much text. Shows how much I know... My daughter loves it. The story is less about Rosie the hen and more about the fox --- what happens to it from page to page. It is truly a sequential story and shows cause-and-effect: on one page you see the fox leaping towards Rosie, who is walking past the pond. On the next page, you see the fox in the pond. Your toddler will make the connection on her own: "Uh-oh. Fox fall in water."

My absolute FAVORITE book as a child! Simple, clever, and humorous all at the same time. GREAT for children starting to read! A+

We got to follow Rosie on her walk...and it always seemed that the Fox got the worst end of it....and Rosie didn't even notice...she even made it back in time for dinner......

We fell for this after watching the scholastic dvd series. It's on the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom video and we're hooked - love the detailed pictures and watching where thefox is headed.

This is for anyone who has ever fallen in love with this wonderful city, that is any who has ever, however briefly, been there.

The format is, as it is for all the "Then and Now" series to show vintage photographs paired with modern shots of the same view. The captions describe the scenes, giving short historical backgrounds. Anyone who has ever spent any time in the city will recognize some of the modern views and will probably find themselves interested in the vintage shots giving the history of the scene. Those who are planning a return visit just might want to slip this slim book into their luggage to take sightseeing. It also just might make a welcome reference for anyone reading about the old days in the City or watching an old film set there.

Lovely to look at and reasonably informative. Will be most enjoyed by fans of San Francisco. I can't see midwesterners enjoying this book. But if you live in or have visited the city by the bay this may be the book for you.

I received the book as a gift vut I would gladly paid for it.

This book is wonderful. A must have whether you live in the Bay Area or have visited here. Worth every penny.

These are a great series of books, I own each of my Favorite cities in the US. Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco. It is really cool to see old pictures of the cities compared to current pictures.

I'm not using "conservative" in the current political sense, obviously. Everybody knows that John McCain has less than a snowball's chance in Gomorrah of winning in SF. I using the term conservative in its root meaning, something like "saving what was valued in the past." Preservation and conservation have the same Latin root. San Francisco has conserved more of its past than any western American city, and I could make a case, I think, for its preservation of more old-fashioned city life even than Boston or Savannah.

Except for the tiny downtown financial district, San Francisco "looks" old. The vast majority of houses, churches, and schools were built in late Victorian styles and have been lovingly restored in the same styles. Even the relatively "new" streets of the Sunset are old-fashioned now, predominantly in modest Art Deco style of the 30s and 40s. And it should be no surprise that ATT baseball park is a booking success, since it's strikingly old-style brick in construction, with a street car stop at the front gate.

San Francisco is a bastion of old-fashioned independent mom 'n pop businesses. There are thriving corner groceries and open-air once-a-week markets: independent restaurants ranging from very cheap to ultra expensive, but hardly any chain restaurants in the neighborhoods. The big chain grocery stores like Albertson's struggle to stay open in competition with locally owned stores like Andronico's, which has six stores around the whole Bay Area. There are more independent fitness centers and gyms in the neighborhoods; 24-hour fat farms are not the norm in SF. There are no malls that would be recognizable to most Americans in downtown or neighborhood San Francisco. The only malls - and very small they are by US norms - are on the suburban fringes.

Even Boston is cut up by freeways today, though the traffic is no better managed than when I lived there in the early '60s. Seattle is sliced in half by its ineeffective central freeway. San Francisco is the place that blocked freeway construction in the late '60s. Several freeways have been demolished in SF in the last ten years! Streets in SF are narrow and parking is tough, but a measure to build more parking lots was recently defeated at the polls, and any attempt to chop wider streets through SF would meet with armed resistance.

Baseball is the number one sport in SF. The fans of the football team pour in from the 'burbs to the hideous modernistic but crumbling stadium just at the edge of the city. The basketball team plays in Oakland. Any town where baseball rules has got to be considered conservative!

People in SF are conservative dressers, especially by California standards. I know women who live in LA, who carry clothes they consider drab to SF when they visit, so that they will not stick out like the inflamed rear view of a peacock's tail. One never sees "his and hers" outfits on the streets, especially not pastels. Men wear less bling per capita in SF than in Omaha. A neck chain and an open shirt would get you sneered out of polite society in SF.

Sweet old-fashioned window boxes are everywhere in SF. Street tree plantings are lovingly maintained. Open space is all-important to San Franciscans, and it's by stubborn resistance to development than SF has preserved more open space (finangling the take-over of decommissioned army, coast guard, and navy bases) than any comparably populated region of the USA. Nature is inherently conservative.

The half-mile strip of upper Haight Street, which gets the attention of the "screaming heads" on TV and radio, is not populated by San Franciscans. It's the runaway and stumble-away refuge of the discontented - the "poor abused confused missused" - of all the dysfunctional "conservative" families and communities from Modesto to Miami. They come to SF to enjoy the true conservative values of privacy, tolerance, and neighborhood friendliness.

I have heard from many people how wonderful and helpful this book is. I have looked everywhere for it!! I am hoping that somehow we can get this book back into print. Several therapists have mentioned it. Any suggestions? There must be something we can do!

I saw this book on a friend's bookshelf and relived very important moments in my own childhood. I can't believe it's out of print and beg the publisher to reprint this very wonderful and crucial book for children and parents to read together...

the only relevant page in this book now a days is when the kid is balancing on the fence and it explained how when the big person said get off that fence or i'll ..... meant please get off that fence i love you - the rest of it in this modern world could be bunk - but still the only reason i don't have a copy is because it is a hand me down bible - any one got one let me know - anyone remember it lt me knoe - i'm rewriting - modern input apprecciated

I read with interest the comments of several reviewers and see my daughter (who is now 26 and expecting her first child and MY first grandchild) was not the only one to benefit from this book as a child. PLEASE bring it back - I came to Amazon.com hoping to purchase it for my grandson who will be joining us in May.

Going from a teenager to a young adult, I read the book T. A. for Teens. I wished I had learned about transactional analysis throughout my school years.It would have helped me deal and understand my behavior and that of others, as well as be a happier person. Now, I am a mother of a wonderful little girl. I'm looking for T.A. for Tots, to start her out earlier than I did. BUT IT IS OUT OF PRINT!!! Please, please, please bring it back. So the new generation of kids can get an early start on understanding warm fuzzies and cold pricklies, and how to comunicate their feelings in a possitve, constructive way. Looking forward to seeing the book available again. Thanks. Liza

Brooke Stephens is a valued member in the African American community, her contributions are culturally constructive, professionally progressive, and economically empowering.

We support her because her goal is to empower us.

BTW, those who gave Brooke's book a rating of 4 or more, we clicked `yes' for the question "Was this review helpful to you?" Even in this little way we empower one another.

While some of the information in this book is outdated, it gives the new investor some good knowledge to build on.

I have read this book and found it be be very insightful and informative. I would highly recommend this resource to those taking a looking at their financdial status and making corrective changes. This is a timely work. This resource is packed with information from cover to cover. I appreciate all that the author intended to do and accomplish with this work. Take the time to sit down and read this book for encouragment to do better financial management and control of your personal financial destiny.

I read this book about three years ago when I was deeply in debt always borrowing from one credit card to pay another credit card. After reading this book I stopped making Tommy Hilfiger, Perry Ellis and Ralph Lauren so rich and started paying myself and it has paid off in ways I could not imagine. I don't have ten credit cards anymore and I don't bounce checks anymore either, but instead I am reading Black Enterprise and the Wall Street Journal looking for the best investment opportunities.

This book should be read by every african-american. While I was reading I thought she was talking about me. We seem to spend more money on unnecessary things and worry and complain about how we are going to pay those high interest credit cards. I now look at life and living a whole lot different. I have passed the book on to other family members in hopes that it changes their lives like it has changed mine.

I read this book the first time when I checked it out of the public library. I loved it so much that I had to have my own copy. It is a fascinating account of how the nouvo riche in the U.S. basically bought acceptance to high society for their daughters. You can just pick it up and read sections - it's not necessary to start at the beginning and work through. Not a summer goes by that I don't pick it up!

Every time I read this book it becomes more and more interesting. Meticulously researched, with great little anecdotes and etiquette tips.
This book is a lot of fun! I especially liked the many photographs of the designer gowns (most by Worth, if you please!) that are liberally scattered throughout.
If you're ananglophile you'll want to get this one!

Those few of us who have wondered why in the world a comfortable, cosseted American girl would want to marry an Englishman and live in a cold climate in an even colder stone castle will find answers here, even if the answers aren't satisfactory to the modern ear.

Think of it: wealthy American society girls, products of generations of men and women who gave lives and fortunes to escape a Royalist society, thought it a worthy investment of their lives, loves and wealth to buy an English title in the form of a husband. It's understandable that men who have no money and are saddled with huge estates and titles with no way to support themselves "in the manner to which they have become accustomed" would search out these women. It's another matter to understand the women, especially if they were bright and energetic (like the fabled Jenny Jerome).

Of course the first women to get involved in this weird method of social climbing didn't realize what was involved. (Though why American society decided that an English title was important in the United States, especially if it could be bought with money, still escapes me.) The problems included loveless husbands who paid little attention to their wives and carried on affairs; cold and drafty castles into which Papa sank tons of money to no avail as far as comfort was concerned; families who refused to accept them in spite (or because) of the fact that they provided the money to keep the lifestyle intact; servants who often were sulky and rebellious ("but we've ALWAYS done it that way"); children they handed over to nannies. The first brides must have kept the hardships and loneliness from the succeeding generation, for the rage for English titles prevailed from the mid-19th century almost through the mid-20th century.

TO MARRY AN ENGLISH LORD is a fascinating and complete look at these women and the lives they led. Illustrations showing the homes and households of the times and how they operated, fashions, maps, photographs of the women and their friends, families and husbands all combine to present the core of that particular section of society in that particular age.

The book is meticulously researched and includes a bibliography, a register of American heiresses, a suggested walking tour of the women's London and a very handy index. It's built around the stories of these women and the men who wooed and won them. Who they were, what they did and what the consequences were -- all adds up to an intriguing and fascinating read.

As the other reviewers have noted, this is a great romp through a part of American history you don't learn about in school. I read it through once and then re-read it just to savor all the little bits and pieces the authors have so generously loaded it with. If you ever wondered about all those Vanderbilts and all those Whitneys, here is your chance (from an American point of view!)to find out just how and why these ladies ended up in the postions they did- all for the love of Edward VII. I wish there were more reader-friendly books like this that make history so entertaining.

Who says that history is boring and stuffy? This well-researched book is chock full of anecdotes, pictures, and facts to make the period and the subject come to life.

This book discusses the phenomenon of the "dollar princesses": American hieresses who married into titles abroad, particularly England. Amongst them were Winston Churchill's mother; a woman who was the second-highest ranking woman in the British empire (after only the queen); and maybe the most famous of all: Consuelo Vanderbuilt, who begrudgingly became the Duchess of Marlborough in a marriage aranged by her social-climbing mother.

Written informally, with lots of pictures, this might be a great book to buy a teenager who is just transitioning into "grown-up" non-fiction, but finds most of it dry and uninteresting. It is also a must-read for anyone who plans on traveling to country-houses in England, as it gives a more accurate view of what it was like to actually have to live in one of those monstrosities! Anyone who is interested in the history of class in America, or of the British Aristocracy, would also be interested.

i love this book, it was fast pacing and so sexy. a great love story and great charcters.

With her second book in the O'Fallon Family Series, Ms. Castell has once again provided readers with a fabulous and fun read filled with great characters and a wonderful plot! Laced with humor, charm, and passion this book is a very enjoyable pageturner that keeps the reader interested. I look forward to the other books in this great series about the O'Fallon family.

Keefe O'Fallon returns home to help his family. Little did he know that trouble followed him home, one sexy reporter and an avid fan and the fun is just beginning.

The attraction between Keefe and the reporter-turned babysitter Callie is sizzling!! They both try so hard to deny it but with the steam they generate it is only a matter of time.

Besides the main storyline, Dianne Castell has woven in stories for some of the other folks in town. Keefe's friend Digger has his eye on the new girl in town. Sally & Demar's romance is heating up and what is going on at the Hasting's House. The storyline involving the retired folks in the community was perfect, a second chance at love and plenty of fun. All great additions that make you feel like your part of the town.

This is a must read for all you romance fans and if you missed "Til there was U", be sure to read it also. I am "patiently" waiting for the next O'Fallon story "I'll be Seeing U"

Keefe O'Fallon has taken a break from his job as soap star, Lex Zandor, to go back home and help his family out during a crisis. Callie Cahill has followed Keefe to get a story for her magazine, which Keefe does not want to happen. Callie, also, has a bit of a crush on Keefe, but Keefe does not like reporters! Callie saves the day when she helps calm Keefe's baby sister, Bonnie, and agrees to take care of Bonnie in exchange for Keefe giving her an interview. And so begins, Keefe and Callie's adventures.
Dianne Castell has created a fun, engaging cast of characters who immediately pull the reader into their lives and keeps them there. Keefe and Callie are fun to watch as they try to fight sexual tension that they cannot escape, and they really do not want to. The secondary characters and the underlying mystery both add to the charm of the story. Dianne Castell's The Way U Look Tonight is wonderful and I cannot wait to get my hands on Til There Was U and Quaid's story. Dianne has me hooked!!

Meet Keefe O'Fallon. He is at the top of his game. A very hunky soap star. But the media hounds are driving him crazy. His father has a problem. So Keefe heads back to O'Fallon Landing to help Rory his father. And to hide out from the media. But then he mistakes a beautiful reporter as his baby sister Bonnie's new nanny. This is the break Callie needs. She has to have this interview so she can get a promotion. She needs it to help pay for her little sister's college education. Let the fun begin. Dianne Castell writes the second book in the Four O'Fallons and a Baby series. She creates a great family with a secondary cast of fun characters that are just as great. I always enjoy Ms Castell's books and this story is one of the best. Her books are great fun to read. Can not wait to the third brother to come home.
Also recommended: Dianne Castell- 'Til There was U. and Lori Foster's Jude's Law