Guides Books

This is the best WDW guidebook for planning and organizing your vacation at Walt Disney World. It reviews and rates all the attractions at all the resorts, as well as all the resorts and restaurants. The maps are very useful. Of all the WDW guide books, this one is best at helping you prioritize each day of your trip.

This book has answered just about every question that me and my family has about WDW. It truly helped us make our decisions about our upcoming WDW vacation.

I have 4 Disney books, and this one is the ONLY one that gives a complete guide to everything Disney! It's packed with SO much information and has helped me tremendously with the planning of our up-coming trip! You don't need any other book! (This is the small version that you can carry with you to the parks, they do offer a larger one that I wish I had known about first)

I've bought a few books for our upcoming WDW trip, and this one has by far the most detailed maps that I've seen. It shows where the restaurants are, the bathrooms, shopping areas, etc. so you can get yourself well-oriented with the layout of the parks before actually getting there. As far as the whole WDW complex, the map is not too bad, but I've been looking at google earth for that kind of detailed information - the proximity from the hotels to the different parks, where the toll plazas and parking lots are - things of that nature. This book doesn't have extremely detailed touring plans - just some general guidelines, but still a lot of very helpful information. It has some good tips and info regarding the dining plan - the breakdown of prices, which I thought was very useful because then you can straight up compare how much money you are actually "saving" if you choose to purchase the Disney Dining Plan. And it has a little journal where you can keep records/memories of your trip, and it's spiral bounded, which I love. So if your looking for planning info, it's great, but if you've already planned and want actual touring plans, you might be happier with a different purchase.

Loved this book. A must have if you are going to Disney for the first time or for the 100th time. Gave me lots of inside advice, great restaurant reviews, which were right on, and the maps were so much better than the ones you get at Disney. This is a must have. I will get a new one each time I go to Disney. I suggest getting it as eary as you can as it was so much fun to read and review before the trip. Made the vacation feel longer than just one week for me . . . .

While I don't know much about Pokemon, my son loved this book when he received it. It has everything you need to know about Pokemon all in one book - according to my son. He was a very satisfied customer :)

Great guide for kids to look at. My kids have all the Pokemon games and they like to look at this for reference

At first when I bought this I thought it was going to just sit around, but as my son played through Pokemon Diamond he started referring to it more and more. The best description of it now is "very worn".

The fact that every pokemon is listed along with where it can be obtained is its best selling point. The book is really geared for after you've completed the game portion and are working on "catching them all".

You could probably find all of the information in this book online, but not in one location. Having it there to refer to while playing is easily worth the cost.

Even as a mother I can get into Star Wars, Bionicles, dinosaurs, and other hobbies of my 7-year old son, however, I can't say that I enjoy Pokemon. But noone can deny that the over the decade-old Pokemon craze is here to stay as witnessed by the phenomenal success of Diamond and Pearl. My son refers to this book like a bible and Pokemon Diamond is the only DS game that he hasn't grown tired of even though he's had it almost a year.

Fantastic reference for my 7-year old son. Easy to read and follow. Has really enhanced his enjoyment of the game.

A very deep map indeed, the second of Heat-Moon's three literary tours-de-force is the story of a county in Kansas. In his first excursion, the best-selling BLUE HIGHWAYS, the author reported on a ten thousand mile sojourn along the old Federal Highways (blue on most maps). PRAIRYERTH grew out of three years of hiking, conversation and archival research in Chase County, Kansas and the result is a living history of both the particular locale and the European invasion of the west. From Knute Rockne's death in a commercial plane crash to Sam Wood's murder to Native medicine, dream walking to newspaper accounts of life on the prairie, and fossils to legends to The Land Institute where Wes Jackson explores the looming demise of the liquid fuel era, this volume casts a wide net. Heat-Moon is clear eyed enough to see the facts and then see beyond the facts to the life between the lines of old courthouse documents and pioneer diaries. He is open to less tangible subtlety as well, admitting susceptibility to hunch, daydream or the message from another's Ouija board. He tells a tale of hawks, buffalo, cowboys and beef, notes the profound damage wrought on the American prairie by McBurger mania and the possibility of recovery in a place of vast flatness and endless wind and sky. He lunches with the dead in old cemeteries and stakes out to observe life in a dying town where nothing happens. There are midnight moonlight hikes and journalistic experiments, pertinent quotes by the truckload and poignant still lifes of moments of love and loss. Such a deep map makes for a long read, but well worth the effort as pieces click into place in later chapters and a pastiche emerges, a hologram in which you can walk between the hills and dip a cupful from a clear flowing spring.

In Blue Highways the inimitable William Least Heat Moon drove across the backroads of America. In River Horse this courageous, spiritually-venerable man floated in a barge across this nation's waterways. In Prairy Erth, he does his exploration mostly on foot. Confining himself to a microcosmic canvas, Least Heat Moon spends over 600-pages describing how he spent months delving into a single county in the heart of Kansas. Packed with maps of Chase County, its hills, waterways, roads and farmsteads, the author tells a sometimes dry but often rich story of one remote but improbably charming spot on planet earth. He meets many of the county's 3,000 residents, hears and tells of the folklore, the history, the textured layers to life in such a location. By the book's end an unknowingly begun spiritual journey reaches its conclusion, which is the way with all of William Least Heat Moon's writings. If you have the time to put into Prairy Erth, it is a compelling book that challenges the nature of individual outlook.

New to William Least Heat Moon, I wasn`t quite sure what to expect with Prairyerth. Having heard about the critical acclaim of Blue Highways, I thought a lesser known work would be the place to start. And I am glad I chose Praityerth.

With Prairyearth, William Least Heat Moon has dug down to the heart of a specific place, in this case, the Flint Hill country of Chase County, Kansas. Not unlike Thoreau`s Walden, Prairyerth is an exhaustive chronicle of one man`s journey to the bottom--historically, geologically and geographically speaking--of one particular and rather insignificant place in the American landscape. Prairyerth, like Walden, is impossible to lump into one clean-cut literary category. Neither pure history, nor pure geology, nor `storytelling` per say, it is rather a brilliant concoction of all three. It is, as the author pens it, a `deep map` of one tiny piece of the New World. And deep it is. Least Heat Moon delves into every square inch, every prehistoric layer of his subject. The result is a stirring and fascinating ride through the discovery, settling, exploitation and ultimate destruction of the American prairie. Half Native American himself, Least Heat Moon walks through the tall grass of the American Sea with much the same spirit of his ancestors. Here was not emptiness as thought the first Europeans, but rather a vast ocean of endless natural wealth. Home to the once vast bison herds, the tall-grassed hills of Chase County were once giant mountains of the Kansas range that were slowly worn down into the Flint Hills of today. Least Heat Moon follows the tracks of the Osage and the Kansa, `people of the wind,` who traversed this area long before Zebulon Pike and John Fremont made their tentative forays across the prairie towards more secure landscapes. The author vividly captures the reverence that the Osage and Kansa held for the `prairie.` Tracking down the stories of the few remaining pure-blood Kansa, Least Heat Moon paints a metaphor for what looms in the future for us, lest we ignore the lessons of the past. Not only does the author richly expose the layer of Native Americana within Chase County, but he does justice to the natural elements of the place as well. Some of the most fascinating parts of Prairyerth are the sections on two of the county`s most enduring denizens, the Osage Orange tree/bush and the Wood Rat, aka Pack/Trade Rat. Least Heat Moon has an ultra sharp eye for interesting detail and oddity and knows how to bring such things to life.

The structure of the work is as ambitious as it is groundbreaking. Every other chapter covers another quadrant of the county. Least Heat Moon spends most of his time analyzing the present inhabitants of the county, trying to distill the essence of `Kansasness.` He chats with the weathered old farmers and ranchers who`ve survived every tornado and flash flood over the last half-century and who entertain no thoughts on living anywhere else. Every voice in the county gets its chance. Feminist cattle ranchers give him the lowdown on castrating bulls, local high schoolers divulge their dreams and the regulars of the Emma Chase Cafe unload gossip unaware of who`s writing it all down. Kansasness, according to the author, is a baffling mix of progressive politics and constrictive convention. A place of often violent contrasts. Kansas was the first state born out of the fires of abolition, first to stimulate integration (Board of Education vs Topeka), yet the `n word` is still commonplace all over the county. The forefather of the county, Samuel Wood, was one of the most eloquent voices among the abolitionists, yet he stopped short of pushing for full integration. Kansas was a place where all people had freedom of opportunity (especially to better oneself economically), as long as everybody kept to his/her own. One of the first states to allow women`s suffrage, it was also one of the first to embrace Prohibition. It also kept its archaic and puritan sex laws on the books until the recent Supreme Court ruling overturned such laws.

In between his quadrant explorations of the county, Least Heat Moon has interspersed chapters comprised of nothing but various epigrams and short passages regarding the state. Coming from sources as disparate as Horace Greeley and Black Elk to graffiti found at the KU library, these chapters are some of the most entertaining and enriching of the book.

William Least Heat Moon is one of the greatest prose stylists I have ever encountered in modern American letters. His writing is rich with metaphor and digression, begging second and third readings of certain passages. While sometimes he expands profusely, Faulkner-like, for paragraphs, clarity is rarely forsaken. It just means reading carefully and slowly. Prairyerth is definitely a book that needs digesting. I took me almost six months to finally devour it up and when I did, I had the distinct feeling of having consumed something grand and very nutritious, albeit a bit heavy. In fact, those without persistent natures would best choose something else to read. Prairyerth is meat and potatoes and requires a lot of chewing. And perhaps that is where the work falls a tad short of its possible ancestor. Whereas one can open Thoreau`s Walden anywhere and revel in the beauty and wisdom (albeit often cryptic) found therein, Prairyerth is nothing if not taken in its entirety. Its just too dense, with too much stuff packed into its innards. In fact, a little editing could have helped the book. Some chapters are a bit superfluous and leaving them out would have only helped the work as a whole. Moreover, Least Heat Moon`s astute observations serve his examination of the natural world far better than they support his delving into the human realm. Somehow a lot of the `characters` of Chase County never fully come to life in Prairyerth. Rather, they seem two-dimensional and oddly trapped on the page. Yet, taken as a whole and for what it is, a grand archaeological and sociological dig through the layers of New World settlement, Prairyerth succeeds grandly. Never has one tiny and often ignored section of the American quilt come to life so vividly and richly as does Chase County, Kansas in Prairyerth. A place so seemingly devoid of life, is, in actuality, overflowing with the past, present and future. All you have to do is look,look carefully. The author himself says it best: `A traveler(who cannot even remotely detect the thousand-mile-an-hour spinning of the planet he rides through space at sixty-seven thousand miles an hour, to say nothing of its solar and galactic movements and its precession) writes in his notebook, ~nothing is happening~. Man muses, God guffaws.` Next time you feel that nothing has ever happened or is happening now or will happen where you`re at, pick up Prairyerth and be amazed.

If only every county in the United States had as passionate and articulate a chronicler as William Least Heat-Moon.

I came to "PrairyErth" after having read and loved "Blue Highways." This tome--though longer and less expansive, geographically--possesses many of the qualities I admired in Heat-Moon's earlier work: the narrative tone (there's none of that stuffy, impersonal, third-person prose one finds in some travelogues; the author is himself part of the story), the occasional dips into philosophy and history; the candid interviews with "locals"; and the intense search for meaning in the most ordinary of places.

I have never been to Chase County, Kansas, but after spending a month or so accompanying Heat-Moon through the pages of his book, I feel as though I have. The book is subtitled "a deep map," and that is indeed what the author provides here. Square mile by square mile, the reader is introduced to the prairie, its topography and history, its residents and its wildlife. Heat-Moon correctly understands that the essence of a place is often best captured through anecdote and observation. There is nothing sweeping or grand about his narrative, and that's what makes "PrairyErth" such a delight. It's a detailed, intimate read; one almost has the feeling of looking over the author's shoulder (and back through history) as he ambles and rambles about the quadrangles of Chase County.

If there's one criticism I would offer, it's that Heat-Moon sometimes lapses into needless digressions about himself and the challenges he faced while writing the book. It struck me as a bit self-absorbed--as did the occasional Faulknerian stream-of-conscious, punctuationless prose. These stylistic excesses add little to what is otherwise a magnificent and fascinating travelogue.

If you want to experience Kansas, with its excruitatingly boring places that slowly creep up on you and leave you blissfully satisfied and in awe of beauty; if you're willing to read long passages of flat text just to discover the beauty of burning fields; I highly recommend PrairyErth.

I grew up in Kansas, about 2 hours from Chase county and was always facinated by the hills, the people, and just the auroa that came from Strong City and Cottonwood falls. After reading "PrairyErth" I am even more mesmorized by the locale.

I have been out of the state for 2 years now, and long to go back. Many friends have complained about the long drives through Kansas, the flat scenery, and boring people. PrairyErth brings to life these flat lands and opens up new worlds of community and life.

For me, reading Moon's book was much like experiencing life in Kansas. I did find some of the chapters long, dry, and dull.. but, that's how some Kansas life is. Moon always concludes these sections with a gorgeous snapshot of the land. He shows us what it is like to be in relationship with the land just as we are in relationship with one another.

He concludes the book with a beautiful journey down the Kaw Trail.
"How do you know when the Prairy is in you?"
"When you see a tree as an eyesore."

"Ramona And Her Mother" is a later entry in the Ramona & Beezus series, and yet it is also one of the finest books of its kind, another in a long line of great books by the masterful Beverly Cleary.

First pubished in 1979, the book finds the gauzy comfort of the Eisenhower era (when the first Henry Huggins and Beezus books were written) replaced by the strain and worry of the recessionary 'Seventies. Ramona's dad, who recently lost his job, has found new work at a local supermarket, but he doesn't like the position, and having both parents out working full-time places new strains on the family. Ramona, who is now seven years old, is no longer an overt brat, but there's a lot going on in her little head, as she struggles with the demands that come with growing up. She is envious of her teenage older sister, who she sees as a goodie-goodie and as her parent's favorite. Her relationship with her mom seems to be up in the air as well, and her parents, both tired from long days at work, have started to argue, which worries the kids. Of course, Cleary finds the silver lining, and while young readers may both recognize their own families (and become anxious for exactly the same reasons as Ramona does) Cleary magically produces happy endings that still do not deny the hardships and imperfections of life. If you've enjoyed Ramona's earlier adventures, you will not be disappointed with this funny, quick volume. (ReadThatAgain children's book reviews)

The book Ramona and her mother is about a 7 year old little girl who is jealous of her big sister Beatrice and she wants to spend time with her mommy as mommy's little girl but Beezus has already taken on that role. In the end, Ramona Quimby gets her wish...To spend time with her mother. You'll need to read this book and find out how it all actually ends. Though this book does have some boring parts, I would recommend this book to any elementary or beginning middle school girl who loves Beverly Cleary books or any girl who might be experiencing what Ramona is going through. I myself can relate because I go through this almost on a daily basis. Sometimes I'm jealous of my baby cousin who gets most of all the attention but in the end (just like Ramona), I get my mommy all to myself.

G.B.M. Sanders - 6th grade - Hammond Middle
Alexandria, VA

Ramona is seven-and-a-half-years-old right now. She is going through a difficult time trying to figure out if she wants to be mommy's little girl or grow up. Ramona's mother invited Ramona's best friends family over for brunch. When Howie's little sister Willa Jean arrives Ramona can't stand to be jealous. Willa Jean is a little girl with curled hair and has pretty little dresses. When Ramona sees her bear, Roger she will do anything to get her hands on it . Ramona's mom puts her in charge of watching Willa Jean. While Beezus and the adults eat brunch the adults refer to her as mother's girl. Ramona is trying to figure out why she doesn't get in trouble for anything and gets away with everything. Ramona never gets away with anything and is always in trouble. When she squirts the whole tube of toothpaste in the sink, she gets yelled at and when she has a tantrum, she is told to stop right away. In Ramona's world nothing is fair. She can't stand that her mother has to work and she is forced to be watched by Willa Jean's grandmother evryday after school. Ramona would rather stay at home sewing, cooking, reading, and watching T.V. with her mom, but things never seem to work out. All she wants to do is be mommy's little girl forever. Now time passes by and she realizes she will just have to grow up.

Ramona is seven-and-a-half-years-old right now. She is going through a difficult time trying to figure out if she wants to be mommy's little girl or grow up. Ramona's mother invited Ramona's best friends family over for brunch. When Howie's little sister Willa Jean arrives Ramona can't stand to be jealous. Willa Jean is a little girl with curled hair and has pretty little dresses. When Ramona sees her bear, Roger shes will do anything to get her hands on it . Ramona's mom puts her in charge of watching Willa Jean. While Beezus and the adults eat brunch and she keeps getting called mother's girl. Ramona is trying to figure out why she doesn't get in trouble for anything and gets away with everything. Ramona never gets away with anything and is always in trouble. When she squirts the whole tube of toothpaste in the sink, she gets yelled at and when she has a tantrum, she is told to stop right away. In Ramona's world nothing is fair. She can't stand that her mother has to work and she is forced to be watched by Willa Jean's grandmother evryday after school. Ramona would rather stay at home sewing, cooking, reading, and watching T.V. with her mom, but things never seem to work out. All she wants to do is be mommy's little girl forever. Now time passes by and she relizes she will just have to grow up.

Being seven-and-a-half-years-old (right now!) may seem like a simple task, but for second-grader, Ramona Quimby, it's proving to be a mix of difficulty and confusion. After all, she's between two strange ages - seven and eight - and can't figure out what she wants to do. Part of her is determined to stay her mother's little bunny, twitching her nose and being babied; while the other part wants to act like a grown-up, and do whatever she pleases. When Ramona's parents throw a New Year's brunch to celebrate her father finding a new job, she's thrilled to get the chance to eat a mix of breakfast and lunch. But when her best friend Howie's younger sister, Willa Jean arrives, Ramona can't help but feel jealous of the "little angel." For one, Willa Jean has ruffles sewed onto her underpants; and two, she's holding a stuffed bear - aptly named Woger - that Ramona would do anything to get her hands on. But, alas, even at her young age, Willa Jean is determined not to part with Woger. To make matters worse, Ramona's mother leaves her in charge of Willa Jean while Beezus and the rest of the adults get to fraternize with one another over hot muffins, coffee, sausage, and so much more. Ramona can't understand why her parents are treating her like a baby, while Beezus is constantly called her "mother's girl." Beezus doesn't even get in trouble for anything, because everyone says that she's at a "difficult" age. Ramona feels that she's at a difficult age, as well. But she never gets away with anything. When she squirts a whole tube of toothpaste into the bathroom sink, she gets yelled at; when she has a tantrum, she's told to "stop this instant," when she wants to stay up later than her bedtime, she's not allowed. In Ramona's eyes, nothing is fair. She can't stand that her mother has to work, and that she's forced to be watched by Willa Jean's grandmother everyday after school, and the fact that Beezus gets to go to her friends houses only makes matters worse. Ramona would do anything to just spend everyday with her mother - sewing, cooking, reading, watching TV. But things never seem to work out the way Ramona wants them to. All she wants is to stay her mother's little girl forever, but the more time that passes the more Ramona begins to realize that, perhaps, her wish will never be granted, and she'll be forced to grow up.

I first discovered Ramona Quimby when I was about six-years-old, and instantly fell in love with her pesty antics, and penchant for throwing tantrums at the worst possible moments. Now, with the re-publication of the RAMONA series, however, I am beginning to realize that I missed out on quite a few of Ramona's tales, and have decided to re-immerse myself in the life of the Quimby family. Now, even though so many years have passed, I find that Beverly Cleary's tales about Ramona are still enjoyable, and quite irresistible. Ramona, as always, is the perfect example of a precocious child embarking on the trials and tribulations that accompany growing up. Her ability to act slightly mature at times, then revert back to full-blown childish behavior is spot-on with how growing children truly act; while her jealousy, and ability to find herself in countless bizarre situations only prove to make her even more hilarious. Cleary manages to balance humor with family problems by placing a slight emphasis on difficulties with money, a parent losing a job, and being bombarded with bills. While subjects such as money problems, and not wanting to grow-up are often sore spots, Cleary presents them in a neutral way that offers parents the opportunity to discuss such issues with their children in an effort to put their minds at ease. However, even by introducing these problems, Cleary never overshadows the humorous side of Ramona, and never talks down to the reader. In fact, Ramona remains as lovable as ever as she traverses the muddy waters of second grade, and works to accept the new teacher whom she's still unsure of; while, at the same time, working overtime to twitch her nose to remind her mother that she is, and always will be, her little bunny. The most obnoxious - yet entertaining - little sister in fiction!

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

"Save the Cat Goes to the Movies" is not so much a sequel to the original "Save the Cat", but an elaboration of the ideas put forward in the first book. In "Save the Cat", Snyder claimed that every (mainstream) movie ever made can be classified into one of 10 basic genres (a claim that I do not entirely agree with). In "Save the Cat Goes to the Movies", Snyder shows what makes up each of these genres by taking 50 well known (and mostly recent - you've definitely heard of most of them) films and breaking them down into "beats". If you subscribe to Snyder's genre theory and want to use it, then this book is a handy reference. Even if you don't subscribe to his theory, this is an interesting book to flip through. However, "Save the Cat Goes to the Movies" offer no new advice that wasn't given in "Save the Cat", and whereas I read "Save the Cat" from cover to cover, I skipped over a lot of passages in this book.

Save the Cat has done it once again, but this time on a much higher scale. After a great introduction to the BS2 (Blake Snyder's Beat Sheet) and a few extras, Blake includes a beat-for-beat layout of various films in 10 popular Hollywood genres.

Excellent purchase! I'm convinced these books will give me the knowledge I need to succeed and I recommend 'Save The Cat' for anyone interested in screenwriting.

5 out of 5 stars!!!

This book holds the keys that unlock the secrets to screenwriting success. Even though the first book by Blake Snyder was suppose to be the only screenwriting book you'd ever need, this second book uses examples from the movies to explain what needs to happen when in greater detail. A must read for any screenwriter.

You can take classes and buy other books, but the simple technique illustrated in this book is something everyone can use immediately. If you're a writer and sometimes get lost in the plot trap, Snyder's categories like "Dude With A Problem" and "Buddy Love" really helps you cut through the clutter to find the heart of your story. It's a fun read and insightful. It compelled me to go back and watch "Three Days of the Condor" and "All the President's Me." That's a big plus for real movie lovers. Well worth the price.

C.A.Compton

Everything there is to be done has been done before in some way. "Save The Cat! Goes to the Movies: The Screenwriter's Guide to Every Story Ever Told" is a guide to this strange claim to cover ten genre that the populace can't seem to get enough of, a through look at fifty of the biggest movies of the past three decades to cover everything about the modern movie script - and why originality isn't really dead when it seems to be - but it's really just taking on a new costume and appearance. Written by a Hollywood veteran with thirteen successful screenplay sales, "Save The Cat! Goes to the Movies: The Screenwriter's Guide to Every Story Ever Told" is highly recommended to anyone who's trying to break into Hollywood and for community library collections on the subject of film.

I can't say enought about this book. It is helpful for anyone interested in plant propagation, easy enough for beginners, and detailed enough for experienced gardeners.
Look no further if you are looking for a book in propagation, this is IT!

This is one of the best books on propagation I have seen. Def worth it!

An excellent resource for propagating just about any plant using a variety of techniques depending on the time of year and the purpose. While it took me a while to figure out where to find the guide for plants not featured in full page explanations, once I did I was ready to take on new projects. A great book for growing new plants for the garden and for friends.

I was looking for ways to create new trees and plants on my 12-acre property without having to spend hundreds and thousands of dollars. I bought a bunch of small trees, shrubs and perennials, and bought this book to learn how to use cuttings and other techniques to multiply my investment. So far, so good. I will be using this book a lot over the coming years.

This book not only covers the fundamentals of plant propagation with beautifully illustrated, step by step instructions, it also covers what can go wrong, the best times of the year for each individual plant family, and often includes more than one technique for each type of propagation. After reading this, I'll be embarrassed to purchase plants from a nursery since it makes the propagation process so easy!

What a great book I recommend it for anyone. Another great book I would love to recommend is The Secret by Rhonda Burns. Very inspirational nd motivating for everyone.

this book helps you help yourself, the directions are clear and easy to
follow, you just have to make the time to do what is instructed to do.
and beleive in it

Loved the book - very informative with lots of direction to start communicating with the Angelic realm. Loved the step by step instructions as well as the personal stories of students who rec'd messages from the angels. I highly recommend the book to anyone interested in this subject.

I could see and speak to angels before this book- my fortay. I loved them and still do. Everything happens for a reason. So, one day my best gf's mom was hosting a seminar on this book and invited me- several times. My parents too. I thought arragantly "naw, i can already speak to them, i don't need this class!" than my gaurdian and my other gf's gaurdian Caleb nugded me to read it. So i stopped being a little pest and read it. Very very wonderful. Understandable and opening. After reading this, its eaiser to sometimes speak with them and truly a help in my life even more than before.

I read this book almost a year ago and just recently took a class with one of the authors, Trudy Griswold. She is an incredible woman and helped me further to be able to talk with and write to my angels. It was one of the most amazing evenings, very emotional and helpful. I highly recommend this book to anyone and a class if they can find a facilitator or one of the authors nearby!

On someone else's recommendation, I bought and first read Jacob Brownoski's The Ascent of Man when it came out, 30 years ago, although unfortunately I was never able to see the BBC series on which the book was based. Then, when we had printed words on paper and images on film, and now, when we have electronic book reviews on Amazon, the book speaks meaningfully to the reader about all of life although, obviously, there's a litle bit more to the story since it was published.

Brownowski was a mathematitian and scientist. The book is simultaneously a history of science/technology and a history of the cultural evolution of mankind. An absolutely remarkable blending of knowledge from disparate disciplines combined into a seamless, infinitely interesting, very readable story. Unlike any "history" you've ever read, more like a non-fiction novel, highly recommended to all ...

I bought this book soon after the original television program was first broadcast and it's one I re-read often -- it remains one of my favorites. Although it is a very faithful (almost word-for-word and image-for-image) presentation of the material in the series, to have the information in a book to read at one's own pace (instead of being forced to absorb information at the pace of the television production), to carefully consider what Dr. Bronowski says, and to see what (if anything) it means to the reader makes the book an almost indispensable companion to the series.

As has been pointed out in earlier reviews, the high impact of this book (and of the television series) is the passion Dr. Bronowski brings to the material, how it's clear he truly believed that it is necessary for everyone to understand how the development of society is the product of generations of people pursuing knowledge ("science"), and that this understanding is critical to the future of civilization...the scientific imagination, standing always at the edge of the unknown and unsure, versus absolutism and dogma.

Now that the television series has been attractively remastered and is now available to the general public, the book has an even greater utility. The captions on the DVDs are very poorly done, to the extent that some of the errors make significant changes in Dr. Bronowski's statements and points. It's clear that whoever prepared the captions did not refer to the shooting script OR TO THIS BOOK! In other words, the book is important to correct errors in the captions. If one needs the captions this book is a valuable resource to ensure the viewer gets the correct words and, therefore, understands what Dr. Bronowski is presenting.

Previous reviews don't do Bronowski justice. He began as a mathematician; but after being sent to Hiroshima, as part of a team studying the aftereffects of the nuclear blast, he switched to biology. He was warm and articulate. A poet himself, he was one of the few people who truly understood the English poet William Blake, although (unlike most of his writing) his essays about Blake could use some explaining themselves. He was a highly moral man and did two original things you don't see many others even attempting: He saw the "doing" of science as an act every bit as creative as composing a symphony or writing a poem -- and he explained it in that way -- and he sought a structure for rationalizing morality and ethical behavior that did not rely upon religious precepts. The Ascent of Man is a very personal work, and it says so in its subtitle. It pretty much echos word for word what Jacob Bronowski spoke extemporaneously as he was sent around the world to the places he needed to be in order to explain the ideas he needed to express as he filmed his material for public television. Ironically, I said that very badly: I meant that HE could explain very complex notions with terrific elegance and simplicity. Period. By the way, the process of making the series for TV must have taken a toll, as JB died not long after completing the necessary travels. The Ascent of Man is all excellent but has many especially moving moments. Only one example occurred when JB walked fully clothed and shod into a pond at Auschwitz in acknowledgment of family and friends and fellow countrymen whose ashes were dumped there by fascists who laid claim to a handle on absolute certainty. Read this topnotch book, then find more by him. And if you're thirsty for more, try a little Loren Eisely as well. The accomplishments of humankind as explained by thoughtful scientists can prove wonderfully exhiliarating.

If you're looking for a book that will show you how man made it from day 1 to the present, while encomapssing ALL disciplines and not science alone, you've found the right book! It's is incredible how simply and interestengly Mr. Bronowski has accomplished such a feat. You won't be able to put it down!

This is one of the first, and one of the better, history of science sorts of series. If you enjoy history and science, then its worth watching. But the program, and to a lesser extent the book, in my mind suffer from a serious flaw: namely; that the author can not seem to divorce himself from his own religious views, which intrude at a number of times in the program. How can I take someone seriously who is speaking about archeological history, while at the same time speculating about the Biblical conquest of Jericho? There is a disconnect here that leaves you wondering. One can always quibble about what major scientific advances are noteworthy, and different authors have seized upon various individuals; but we have in this series nothing out of the ordinary. Looking at "Cosmos" or "The Day the Universe Changed" is much more fulfilling, from an intellectual standpoint, but its still worth purchasing and enjoying.

Reading this book is like having an aquarium-expert friend to take shopping with you. The author tells you which fish are best for beginners, what fish shouldn't even be sold, what qualities a dealer should have, what equipment you should buy, what equipment is a waste of your money, what products are dangerous, what plants are no good but are sold for aquariums anyway, etc. I finally found answers to a lot of questions that other books didn't cover. The book discusses cleaning schedules, necessary floor strength, and moving concerns. It explains water chemistry as simply as possible. There is list of the author's favorite aquarium books and other info sources. He even tells you how you can reach him.

The reasons why I didn't give this book 5 stars are trivial: Hard to make out black + white photos and substandard proofreading. Still, everyone who has or wants an aquarium needs this book.

This is a very good quide for the beginner. Mike walks through all the steps required for setup and maintaince of an aquarium. Gives good suggestions on fish & plants selections. If the steps in this book are followed the aquarist will have minimal problems to deal with.

Not much here for the experienced aquarist.

This is an informative, clear, funny, and brilliant book.
If you are just starting an aquarium, this is the book to get.
The beginning is all about the tanks, lights, and everything before the fish.
There is a section about fish but the photos are black & white so if you want to know more about the actual fish you probably want another book too.
Overall, a great book for beginners!

Are you starting an aquarium? Well, I've been running one for a while, and my dad used to keep one, and I can definitely tell you that it is absolutely critical to have at least one fish book on hand in order to set up your fish tank properly.

To the book. So why is this so hyped and high rated? First of all, it doesn't lie. You will learn why water changes are important, what pH is, and why you don't keep oscars with neon tetras. You will learn how to position and set up your tank, and you will learn the difference between a canister and undergravel filter. And most importantly, you will learn how to keep fish. Like some others have said, this book does mainly focus on the care and setting up on the aquarium, so for the fish and plants it would help a lot to get a separate book that specializes in those, because his descriptions are not that detailed. However, I can nearly guarantee you that you will not fail in your aquatic endeavor with this guide at hand. Good luck, and may your filter never crash when you are on vacation.

WOW! This book was ESSENTIAL to our successful (and fun) entry into the world of fish and aquariums. Great tips, easy to follow directions and explanations of "what, why, when and why NOT", written in a funny (if somewhat corny) manner, this book is easy and fun to read. I actually found myself taking it on a trip - and trust me, I have NEVER taken a reference book on vacation unless I was expecting to work on vacation. So, this book gets five stars. Buy it used if you have to do so (we did). We bought five different aquarium books, and this one was the best, and we refer back to it often.

This book contains most of the beadweaving techniques that I've ever heard about as well as how to combine stitches. While I would call it a reference book, for the most part, it has lots of projects as well. I haven't made any of the projects to date but think the instructions are excellent. If you need to know how to switch stitches in your off-loom work.........you won't be unhappy if you purchase this book.

GREAT!!! loved it gave great ideas to work with

I've only found 1 other bead weaving book as good as this one and it's also by Carol Wilcox Wells, "The Art and Elegance of Beadweaving". This one has great diagrams, guidance on what beads and colors to use, and a beautiful gallery of projects to do and ones to be inspired by. It is also a great buy in paperback. My advice is buy both of her books.

I love the book. It has lots of beautiful inspiring pieces. It's more of a book for intermediate and advanced beaders than beginners in my opinion, but that doesn't mean a beginner wouldn't get something out of purchasing it. I retun to the book over and over again for helpful tips and tricks and inspiration. I highly recommend it.

I have a bunch of beadweaving books, but THIS is the one I refer to when I forget a stitch or need some technical help with increasing or decreasing. Nice projects and instructions are written clearly. If you buy only one book on beadweaving, it should be this one!