Q and A Books

I Can Be has introduced my 2-year-old son to the relaxation and fun to be found in yoga. He requests it often! The poem is easy to recall without having the book in hand, and we enjoy the vibrant, colorful illustrations. Thanks to the author for providing such a positive way for my son to focus his (endless!) energy.

Both my grandsons ages 3 and 4 have received this book as a gift. .. and they take it everywhere the go. . .they love to look at the colors and do the different poses. ..they love to have it read to them over and over. . .the book is very colorful and easily followed. . .it has become one of their favorite books

What a fantastic book! Not only is it a nice introduction to yoga, but it is also a fun exercise in reading comprehension. My kids can physically act out each part of the poem as we read along. This is ideal for kinetic learners. Its small size make it handy to stash in your purse for those times when you and your kids are waiting in a doctor's office, airport etc..

Just the other day, my friend and I were talking about how many popular press books on yoga were available and how few of them were of really high quality. No worries with this book! The author, Christine Sumner, knows what she's talking about as a Registered Yoga Teacher by the Himalayan Institute Teachers Association.

Little ones will enjoy the illustrations: one each page, there is a little guy in the pose and on the opposite page, there is the animal (or tree) in the same pose. The reading section with each pose is not overwhelming and is, in fact, a poem throughout the book. The two-year-old and four-year-old little guys in my life enjoyed reading along and trying the poses.

Fortunately, there is also a short section for caregivers on how to implement each pose and even how to modify poses to be less challenging. This is a great idea if the caregivers are new to yoga.

Indeed, a whimsical, yet well-done, introduction to yoga!

This stuff can't be legal! But, it did help me catch two deadbeats that skipped town owing several thousand dollars in unpaid judgements from evictions. Every tracer and landlord should buy this book.

While the author is clearly knowledgeable, this is not a comprehensive book on identity change. In fact, early on the author refers you to several other books of his as necessary foundation material. He makes getting a new Social Security number sound relatively easy, but a perusal of the SSA website shows that it takes years to build up the necessary documentation; and doing so can have nasty consequences as the new number has no credit history--thus no bank, credit card company, landlord, or employer will deal with you. Of course, this may be of secondary importance to one with a need to change identity.

There are probably hundreds of books in circulation which touch on this topic which are out of date and filled with down right ridiculous "1965" paper trip, "land you in jail" theories and practices. I am pleased to report that this book is absolutely brilliant from start to finish, mainly because it takes a modern skew on the subject and takes into account the country AT PRESENT. There are a few tricks in here which must be classics, but logically will still work taking advantage of loopholes in the country's ID creation/ verification systems. Rarely have I found a simpler, more practical and real world guide to this type of sensitive and heavily sought information. A must read for creative, highly imaginative thinkers who want to add fuel to an ever growing fire of knowledge on the subject, or novices who need to wet their proverbial feet in the mindset of the pros. The best part is this book was written after 9/11 (post fascist America), a huge plus in the book of this tripper. Takes you on a concise, almost comically simple journey through the fog of "terrorist minded government" America and the identity question within. 6 stars and a bunch of kudos from this camper.

This book helps you understand exactly how identification works. It describes the weak links in the chain of paper trails and how they might be exploited, that's true. On another level though, it can help you fix problems that might exist with your own identification. What if you were born at home to hippie parents who never made sure you got any kind of birth certificate or any other documentation at all? You exist in a kind of no man's land. What if you recognize that there are times you have to give out some kind of number for identification, but you don't want your SS number out there for all the world to see. Who knew there was an alternative? There are so many little tips in here...and sometimes you just wanna know how things work. The publisher Loompanics sends out the same day you order from 8003802230 or their site.

Fun and interesting book. Questions you will need you answer about you and your dog to see how your dog ranks among other dogs on the intellience scale.

Neat book for us dog lovers to examine our dog's intelligence and then let this data be added to the collection the author maintains.

She gives the findings of her research. So many interesting gleanings to be had from this work. We have used these now on three of our dogs, of two different breeds. Also, used the author's cat i.q. book. Cat is hands down the smartest, as we already surmised.

Interesting, insightful, book that has questions designed to determine how observant, intuitive, intelligent your dog is as well as their social behavior. It also looks at the historical relationship between dogs and man. And, you can gain insight into your strenghts as a dog owner. I enjoyed it.

I am the President of Angel Pups, an organization that trains kids (middle school and up) to work with their dogs and then takes them to visit nursing homes. For fun, last week we all did this IQ test together! We all laughed SO hard, some kids had tears streaming down their faces!! It is a blast to see how smart your dog is and what you can do to help them improve their intellectual capacity. This week we're doing the Owner IQ test!! I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys working with dogs!!

I wish I had read this book when I was fifteen and plan on having my children both read it when they are of age. It will save them from some unnecessary bad decision making and heart ache. This explains it all. Too many times I have told myself "This is unfair!". We all tell ourselves this at one time or another. What we do from there varies. Dr. Copitch explains how to take it from there in a positive direction for you, and what happens when you don't. This is the true anti-depressant. Life's Laws is a must have!!! I can't say it enough! It is the best purchase I have ever made! Reading this book brings back the love of life I felt when I was young. No one has ever explained to me how to deal with what life can dish out, this book does. And it is common sense! THANK YOU, Dr. Copitch. This truelly is your finest work!

Do yourself or someone else a favor and get this book! The author lays out the behavior that keeps us from achieving success and happiness then shows you how to turn things around. The real life stories are entertaining and packed with good advice. It is a quick read and when you're done, you'll wish he had written more!

I remember having my mother purchase this book for me when I was younger - and I still have it. In fact, I picked it up again last night to read through it again. It's easy to read, and the author does a great job of motivating someone to read more. I can't put it down - I feel guilty if I do.

If ever I have a bad day, I read a bit of this book and I don't feel so bad anymore. This book helped me change my life for the better, and because of it, I feel I'm a better person. I think everyone should read this book at least once.

Were to start.Dr.copitch has wrote to books to change stagnate creatures.Lifes laws of for young adults is a guide to self fulfillment,kind of like a fishing guide would do on the ultimate weekend trip in Alaska,show you how to fish for the big one!!!!!
The big differance is this only cost $15,last forever and you can pass it on to your little bro...last of all these books show you how to think organizied,believe in yourself,excell,filter in the good and out the bad before you "just do it"

MUCH RESPECT FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE IN MY LIFE......
IN A COUPLE OF DAYS I'LL BE CELEBRATING MY 7'TH ANNIVERSERY..
THANKS TO THIS AUTHOR..JERRY.G

A useful book with 135 pages of recipes, with additional information on nutritional and health benefits, preparation tips (e.g., shucking an oyster), and safety instructions for the cook and angler. Recipes are easy and uncluttered, with very tasty results. The book includes separate chapters on appetizers, soups and stews, sandwiches, salads, finfish, shellfish, microwaving, and baking, and special occasions (for example, oyster stuffing and Thanksgiving salmon, an everyone's favorite (?), a Sunday dinner of "Halibut Pot Roast."

One complaint is that there are not enough baked fish recipes (nor are there menu or wine suggestions). However, this is an excellent introduction to the whys and hows of some delicious fish dishes. With numerous tables (including nutritional and texture comparisons, and cooking and grilling techniques), index, and nutritional and diabetic exchange information for each recipe.

When a friend recommended Seafood Twice a Week, I assumed I was getting a topical cookbook for my favorite protein source. My assumption was incorrect. This book is far more than just a seafood cookbook.

Indeed, the book is filled with many delicious recipes, but there is a wealth of information about the nutritional components of seafood as well as its important health benefits with respect to heart disease, diabetes and other chronic illnesses... particularly those of an immune or inflammatory nature.

Chapter Two provides a complete review of the safety concerns that have been addressed over the past several years with respect to seafood consumption. Taking safety a step further, Chapter Three deals with preparation of various categories of seafood. My favorite portion of that chapter addressed ways to make intelligent selections at a seafood counter. Armed with that information, I was able to abandon my usual practice of deferring to my husband the duty of shopping for seafood. But I do believe I will "forget" that the book includes details and pictures explaining how to dress a lobster. He does it so well.

Not since I read an Amish cookbook from the early 1900s have I found a cookbook that offers how-to's on topics related to procurement rather than preparation. Seafood Twice a Week carefully addresses "Concerns for the Recreational or Subsistence Angler" as well as issues of environmental contaminants and naturally occurring poisons from various seafoods.

Of course, there are those luscious recipes. No matter the occasion, you are sure to find several selections from which to choose. For that special event, why not try oyster champagne stew? If your friends are coming over for appetizers this weekend, you might want to tease their palates with hot crab and artichoke dip or shrimp-stuffed celery. The next time you're asked to bring a dish to a summer gettogether, you can't go wrong with such delights as island fresh cucumber salad or Chinese seafood salad.

The authors have given the seafood lover a wonderful gift. I have tried more than half of these recipes, and most are quick, easy to prepare, and easy on the budget. All have been beyond good. They are delightful alternatives to my worn out recipes. Nutritional information, diabetic exchanges, and suggestions for substitutions are included with each recipe.

Evie Hansen is a leader in seafood education. She is a published author and teaches year-round. She claims that her seafood experience is both practical and professional. Her fisherman husband has provided her with plenty of fish and seafood on which to try her recipes. She has appeared on television and has written articles for local newspapers as part of her crusade to better educate the public about the benefits of seafood.

Cindy Welke Snyder, MPH, RD, has written many consumer-related articles and is a frequently requested public speaker. Twelve of her over twenty years of nutrition experience were spent at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, Washington, where she counseled patients and families on various nutrition and disease states. She has also worked with female athletes and women with eating disorders.

The authors suggest Seafood Twice a Week. I could enjoy it every night of the week with this little book and its large selection of tasty choices.

by Lee Ambrose
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

This cookbook is excellent! I love all the recipes I have tried! They are fairly easy, full of flavor, and healthy! I enjoy eating fish but have had limited variety growing up. This book maps out the similarities between the flavor and texture of different fish, which makes it easy to try new kinds. Plus, it tells you how to substitute different fish for each recipe.

I recently started cooking for myself, and I have found this book to be the most helpful cookbook! It tells you how to shop for, how to prepare, and how to cook any type of fish. Plus, it provides a wide range of cooking ideas from grilling and baking to stovetop and microwave. It even provides helpful tips so that you know what temperatures and such to use if you want to try your own seasoning or sauce.

A must have for any fish eater, and for those who need to be fish eaters! These recipes definitely make eating fish very enjoyable!

YUM! YUM! YUM!

Seafood twice a week makes cooking delicious fish on
Tuesday night in twenty minutes a snap. Fish is very fast to cook and with this book it is always delicious. I now enjoy a much wider variety of fish. And I make restaurant quality meals in twenty minutes.

Also each kind of fish tastes best with a recipe designed to go with its distinct flavor. The author tells you which fish their recipe goes with best. Usually three or four choices of fish per recipe.

I can also use a recipe as a guideline if I don't have all the ingredients at home and it still turns out great.

I really do use this book twice a week and just bought five copies to give to family and friends.

Great book for any gardener will help me a lot to have a beautiful and healthy garden.

I love to cook, and I decided to try my hand at gardening to see if I could grow some of our food. Needless to say, I had no idea what I was doing. I found this book at Smith and Hawken and it and helped me to obtain reasonable results the first year. My garden now grows a little more each year. I turn to this book regularly, when I am planning on expanding my garden or troubleshooting.

The book is subdivided as follows:
1. The Flower Garden
2. The Landscape Garden
3. The Kitchen Garden
4. The Potted Garden
5. Garden Keeping

The Flower Garden deals with annuals, perennials, roses and bulbs. Plants that bloom in the spring, summer, fall and then fade back in the winter.

The Landscape Garden will answer questions about the bigger picture it covers: ground cover, lawns, shrubs, trees and vines. The chapter also covers path materials and garden design.

The Kitchen Garden provides information about fruits, vegetables and herbs.

The Potted Garden covers indoor and outdoor container gardening.

In Garden Keeping they cover soil, compost, mulch, fertility and disease and pest control.

The index in the back of this book is very well done. I have found answers to 95% of the questions that I had. The book is weak on organic gardening. If that topic is of special interest to you (as it is to me), I suggest you buy another book on that topic alone.

Overall, I have been pleased with the information available in this book. It has allowed me to grow a fabulous herb garden, and a nice vegetable garden. It has also provided me with enough information to keep a Meyer lemon tree alive and producing fruit for two years. I would recommend this book to anyone that that is interested in gardening.

With its question/answer format and a blending of information gleaned from over a decade of New York Time's gardening column, The New York Times 1000 Gardening Questions And Answers: Based On The Column "Gardeners Q. & A" gathers the questions of avid gardeners and the experiences and advice of gardening professionals under one cover. Add a chatty tone to their answers, which goes into more than just a few lines of detail, and an organization by type of plant, and you have a title which lends to leisure browsing as much as reference.

This is an easy to read, practical guide to everyday gardening questions, with lots of specifics, reference materials, and explanations. The index is massive, the research is thorough, and the subject matter will strike a chord with every true gardener. I highly recommend this book to help answer the mysteries that seem to crop up every year in a northeastern garden.

Earning my living from numismatics, I can't afford to miss reading just about any book from the field of numismatics. So, I set myself down for some boring reading since I just hate Morgan dollars. But I was engrossed. Mr Bowers is a capable author as well as a famous numismatist. The history of all U.S. dollars is covered in brief, and then the history of why the Morgan dollar was even minted in the first place. Continues with how the original dies were made and includes portions of letters and notes from the people actually involved. There's intrigue, double-crossing, mystery, and so forth -- all in a reference book about one particular coin. You'd just never expect it. Of course, the remainder of the book deals with minting the coins and then a blow-by-blow for each date and mint in the series.

The best information and historical reference of the Morgan series I have read in years!

As someone new to the world of numismatics (but interested in Morgans) I was a bit confused by all the varieties, mintmarks, etc. This book explained everything to me. The history is quite fascinating. I am looking forward to getting my first "CC". Overall, a very heplful and well written book.

This book gives a concise desription of both the historical development of Morgan Silver Dollars as well as pratical information in determining the highlights of each Morgan Silver Dollar according to the chronological year. The book is informative and descriptive in its interpretation of the Morgan Silver Dollar. Most important the reading isn't dry but keeps you intrigued, especially the historical data associated with the Morgan Silver Dollar Series. The book is well written and definitely an addition to any numismatic literary collection.

Cormier has always written wonderful characters. His books have always been invitations to walk with them through their personal torment. This is not a happy book, his books never are. You get a sense of strength having gone through the same tragedies as the main character. Its a warm embrace into a cold world.

Eleven-year-old Darcy Webster, caught between girlhood and adolescence during World War II, makes her first friend ever when she meets Kathleen Mary O'Hara, and their relationship blossoms until Kathleen Mary mysteriously disappears. At the same time, Darcy's father is reported missing in action. All this, plus Kathleen Mary's "baptizing" Darcy, brings her to a painful spiritual crisis.

Other Bells for Us to Ring is beautifully written but it raises many issues about God, miracles, growing up and alcoholism.

There are some beautiful passages where Cormier has blended words into a lovely picture.

It had wonderful characters. I felt like I was walking with Darcy through her personal tragedy. This is not a happy book, but I got a sense of strength feeling like I had gone through the same tragedies as the main character.

The most moving part in the entire story was when Darcy looked to an old nun, Sister Angela for help and wisdom, who explained the beauty of life and faith to her. I found this part amazing and extremely moving. I really got something out of it. Sister Angela's words were inspirational to me they really explained God to me. I knew who he was and everything. But I have never really understood things until I read what she said to Darcy.

I thought there would be a happy ending. I really did. It was happy at first, when I learned that Darcy's father was safe and sound, but in the next chapter when I learned what happened to Kathleen Mary, all my expectations came down with a great and glorious crash. It was powerful when John Francis showed up and gave Darcy the news. I thought that the giving of the doll gave me closure. It was a sad ending but yet it wasn't. It is quite hard to explain.

Overall this is a powerful book. It is truly exceptional.

As her father moves the family to an army town Darcy makes a new friend in an otherwise strange setting. She and Kathleen Mary become inseparable, best friends forever, and begin a journey of friendship that exposes Darcy to the Catholic faith. One day Kathleen Mary is gone and Darcy's father is missing in action. Darcy seeks out the help and wisdom of an old nun who explains the beauty of life and faith to her. As Darcy struggles with the loss of friend and father her newly discovered knowledge helps her through. This is a beautifully written story, one that is probably best suited for ages 11 and up. There are some beautiful passages where Cormier has blended words and imagery into a lovely picture.

I am not religious and I'd rather stay away from religion. When I read the back of 'Other Bells for Us to Ring' I thought: oh know, a sappy religious novel. But I read it anyway, because I trusted Robert Cormier not to disappoint me with a sappy religious novel. Religious it was, sappy it was not! I've never been particularly interested in Catholicism and never knew much about it, but I learned a lot from this book and feel all the better doing so. Both Darcy and Kathleen Mary O'Hara are exceedingly likeable characters, particularly Kathleen Mary, who was in my eyes a younger version of Amy Hertz from Robert Cormier's novel 'I am the Cheese.' I thought there would be a happy ending. I really did. It was happy at first, when I learned that Darcy's father was safe and sound, but in the next chapter when I learned what happened to Kathleen Mary, all my expectations came down with a great and glorious crash. My father, when he saw me weeping, muttered about an 'adolescent mood swing.' I just kept sobbing. Why do good people have to die? Why?

Although I am not an expert, I am a scholar, and I found this book of poems by Sappho who lived in 700 BC Greece a pleasure to read. I liked the design and layout, and the translation is geared to today's readers.

This polished translation brilliantly reflects those spare but sparkling lines from the winsome poet of a lonely isle and heart. I find it still superb after many readings. Highly recommended.

"To Eros: You crush me." The tenderness and splendor of Sappho's poetry has never been so lusciously rendered as in this translation. Every little word sings with love and warmth. Thank you, Willis Barnstone, for omitting the cumbersone ellipses and brackets of translations past. Now we can enjoy Sappho's passion undisturbed.

More or less 150 years after Homer's Iliad, Sappho lived on the island of Lesbos west off the coast what is present Turkey. (Due to political upheavel she went two times in exile, the second time to Sicily for a short time ).

Sappho takes a special place among the poets of Antiquity. She was already famous in her own time. Plato said that she was the tenth Muse and someone called her poetry " as refreshing as a morning breeze ". Her poems are vivid and she needs only a few words to describe essential human feelings. She calls solitude for instance " this icy numbness of being alone ".
( Nice to know: from Sappho's poems remain about 500 lines. All Tragedies by Aeschylus have a total of 8144 lines. Conclusion: What's left of Sappho's poems is next to nothing. )

" Wedding of Andromache " is one of the most vivid descriptions in the poetry of Antiquity. It gives an almost journalistic account of the homecoming of Hector and Andromache. A fragment of Barnstone's translation:
" ...
and all set out for Troy
in a confusion of sweet-voiced flutes, citharas,
and small crashing cymbals
and young girls sang a loud heavenly song
..."

Sappho excels also in describing landscapes and nature ( something you don't find often in Ancient literature ). A fragment of " Aphrodite of the flowers ",
"...
Here ice water babbles through the apple branches
and roses leave shadow on the ground
..."

This translation was published in 1998 but as a work of art in itself, it's by no means outdated.

A fantastic book! It was published just as I had finished collecting all the journal articles I could find on statistical intervals. (Years ago, Meeker told me that he and Gerry were thinking of writing a second edition, but apparently it didn't happen.) I did find an error: On p.131, expression 7.7, the first inequality is incorrect. I believe that it should read m/(y+1)>= (n|x)F... for the lower bound.

There is FREE software for calculating some of these intervals. See the index page http://www.public.iastate.edu/~wqmeeker/StInt/

My one disappointment about the book is that it omits some equations/algorithms for estimating some statistical intervals, offering instead graphs and tables. In these cases, if one wishes to extend or modify a result, one must either find the original source article or derive the missing equations/algorithms oneself, using the tables and graphs to check one's work.

Finally, note that for many intervals, use of results based on an assumption of normality (or other underlying distribution) will yield poorer estimates (less tight statistical bound estimates) than will the use of distribution-free methods. This is true even if one's data appears to be normally distributed and tests for non-normality do not reject the normality assumption.

-Stephen B. Cohen, Ph.D.

Gerald Hahn has spent many years in industry working for the General Electric Company. He and Bill Meeker have written this very unique book that provides an up-to-date treatment of statistical methods for interval estimation.

In most introductory courses students are taught about statistical confidence intervals. However, there are many other types of statistical intervals that are appropriate for particular applications. Most students, particularly engineering students, only learn about confidence intervals and hence they apply them whenever they need a statistical interval. But often they are wrong because the problem really calls for a prediction interval or a tolerance interval. This circumstance is what motivated these authors to write this book.

The techniques are standard and are covered in other statistical texts. However, this is the only book with statistical intervals as its theme. It provides the methods and the context for using the various intervals and more importantly makes the distinctions that help the students overcome possible confusion. This is an excellent practical reference. Its many tables make it a great reference book. On many occasions I have needed Gaussian tolerance intervals or sometimes nonparametric tolerance intervals. I go to the tables in this book first. It also includes some discussion of bootstrap confidence intervals and other asymptotic approaches in Chapter 12 where Bayesian intervals are also introduced. Chapter 13 concentrates on 9 case studies and the appropriate intervals to be used in each case. Other practical issues such as determining the sample size requirements for precise statistical intervals are also discussed in various chapters.

Gerald Hahn has spent many years in industry working for the General Electric Company. He and Bill Meeker have written this very unique book that provides an up-to-date treatment of statistical methods for interval estimation.
In most introductory courses students are taught about statistical confidence intervals. However, there are many other types of statistical intervals that are appropriate for particular applications. Most students, particularly engineering students, only learn about confidence intervals and hence they apply them whenever they need a statistical interval. But often they are wrong because the problem really calls for a prediction interval or a tolerance interval. This circumstance is what motivated these authors to write this book.

The techniques are standard and are covered in other statistical texts. However, this is the only book with statistical intervals as its theme. It provides the methods and the context for using the various intervals and more importantly makes the distinctions that help the students overcome possible confusion. This is an excellent practical reference. Its many tables make it a great reference book. On many occasions I have needed Gaussian tolerance intervals or sometimes nonparametric tolerance intervals. I go to the tables in this book first. It also includes some discussion of bootstrap confidence intervals and other asymptotic approaches in Chapter 12 where Bayesian intervals are also introduced. Chapter 13 concentrates on 9 case studies and the appropriate intervals to be used in each case. Other practical issues such as determining the sample size requirements for precise statistical intervals are also discussed in various chapters.

"Statistical Intervals" has for years been a valuable tool in my professional work, which focuses on environmental statistics. Hahn & Meeker's discussion of how to interpret various intervals--confidence, tolerance, prediction--first opened my eyes to the ubiquity and utility of these techniques. I since have found it worthwhile to have a working knowledge of them all; that would scarcely have been possible without having such a handy reference.

The tables are getting dog-eared and gray from use, especially A-12 (factors for computing Normal distribution one-sided tolerance bounds), in testimony to the frequency I refer to them. The book also contains extensive graphics for estimating intervals and for determining sample sizes: these typically obviate any need to refer to tables or do the computations. There are some neat formulas, clearly described, that one can easily implement in a spreadsheet. These all appear in other texts and journal articles, but having them all in one place, well organized, makes them particularly worthwhile.

This is, indeed, a reference: a statistical "cookbook" if you will (intended in a positive sense, not perjoratively!). This means you will find little theoretical justification for any of the material. For each technique expect to find a clear definition, lucid descriptions, discussions of how to use any supporting formulas, graphs, or tables, all followed by a clear worked example. Of course there's an extensive bibliography if your theoretical curiosity is piqued.

One common technique you will not find (although it is mentioned and references provided) is computing statistical intervals for linear regression analysis. This subject, however, is covered well in other books (such as Draper and Smith's Applied Regression Analysis), so the omission does no harm and helps keep the book to a manageable 400 pages or so.

There are some obscure applications you will not find, in part because they were only under development at the time this book was written. For instance, there is a specialized (but widely applied) theory of "k best of m" prediction limits that is used in groundwater monitoring. For such specialized applications you will have to go elsewhere (such as Robert Gibbons' book on "Statistical Methods for Groundwater Monitoring"). Nevertheless, Hahn and Meeker do a very good job of covering the most widely used applications of statistical intervals.

I do not recollect ever finding a mathematical error or even a typographical error. Over the years I have also checked, and completely verified, the entries in several of the key tables. All in all, this book is remarkably clean and error free.

(This review is based on the 1991 edition; I do not know whether there have been further editions.)