Companies Books

A marriage counselor suggested I read this book. I had been married for 12 years at the time and we let things go. We needed some direction. We will be married 18 years this summer. It was wonderful. It gave me new hope and a new perspective. I have given several copies away to friends whose marriage was in trouble and a few as wedding gifts. It's great for the newly married couple to the oh boy our marriage is in serious trouble. I have re-read it a few times, and each time I pull something different from it. I highly recommend it!

I highly recommend this book. If it's not on the rocks, then I still recommend it, as it shows you specific biblical references to marriage and how to treat your partner.

I recommend it for those contemplating marriage and who are already married. Dr Wheat's books can transform any marriage into one made in Heaven.

For a christian, it is literally amazing how very far I was from the biblical principles for marriage. This book showed me how to act in accordance with these principles and I found nothing vague about it! It clearly outlined the appropriate behavior for a married christian and I go back to it again and again to remind myself of the good that god has in store for me as a partner in a christian marriage. I continue to buy this book in volume and share it with everyone I know, as my marriage was so close to the edge that I am still in awe of the blessing I've received from this book. Putting biblical principles to practice in your marriage can produce amazing results! May you be as blessed by the biblical wisdom explained in this book as I have been.

This is a good and easy read for all christians. It would be good for people not married yet, newlyweds, and married people. Love Life talks about the bible's guidelines for our relationships. The book has many useful ideas. I just disagree with the author's stand on divorce. I believe that divorce has it's place and time.

I was fortunate enough to hear Dr. Maurer speak. He is an excellent speaker and I knew I needed to buy the book. It reenforced what he said and was easy to follow. I recommend it to anyone who is trying to make a change in their lives.

What a powerful message that helps to reframe the age old question "Why?" Instead Robert Maurer demonstrates how to ask productive questions that will bring successful answers. Kaizen is a remarkably simple technique that I share with my clients to bring about the life changes they desire. It's a small book with enormous results.

I finished this book yeaterday and immediately started implementing it in my own life which I am sure I will do for the rest of my life. What really has my mind working overtime on though, is the thought of using these techniques in education. I always have tried to take small steps, starting at the beginning with my students and have small rewards, and those are the things that worked. I hope to figure out how to package this for teachers, schools and for use in the classroom.
Send me an e-mail if you have any thoughts on the matter.

Great Book with great ideas on how to strat major changes in your life with small steps.

Well written, easy suggestions, essentially the message is clear - take small steps toward positive outcomes and keep taking them until they become part of you and your life. In that way, over time, you will find it possible to make major changes in your life. All the kaizen references are a bit annoying, and, as another reviewer stated, the kaizen program is all about manufacturing and as such using kaizen in this way has no real relevance... however, despite that, a very good little book!

My peers know me as a baking hobbyist. This book might as well be my "Bible!" All of my favorite brownie recipes come from the recipes in here. Boom Booms, Jayne Mansfields, Chocolate Orgasms, and more have become a permanent part of my brownie repertoire. Maya's Pocketbooks (a jam-filled pie-like cookie) is another favorite!

Easy to follow and made with common ingredients, these recipes are truly what baking is about: eggs, flour, butter, a lot of flavor, and a lot of love!

I've given this book as a gift -- it is that good!

Every recipe is a winner -- personal favorites are Noah Bedoahs and Brownie Shortbread. All are simple to prepare with step by step, detailed instructions so that the end results are exactly the same, each and every time a recipe is made. My first copy of this book was the paperback version ... used it so often it fell apart; I replaced it a couple of years ago with a hard cover copy. Judy's second book, all Cookie recipes, is also a worthwhile investment!

the recipes are easy and really delicious. a nice addition to your baking books collection.

This is the best $11 you'll ever spend if you are looking for a baking book. I love every recipe I've ever tried. Every one comes out perfectly. Judy Rosenberg really knows her sweets and it shows. If I have a special occasion I need to bake for, I don't bother testing the recipes out first anymore. Mine is dog eared and butter stained and when it falls apart, I'll get another! I'll say the same for her cookie book!

Absolutely love this book. I've owned it for years and whenever I need to bring something sweet to some event, this is the book I go to. The Lemon Squares on pages 152/153 are the best I've ever had. Everything in this book is so good and fresh tasting. Nothing is over cooked, or bland or ordinary. I love Peach Crumb Pie and the Very Short Shortbread Cookies.

The frosting recipes in the book is also pretty great.

I bought this for my mom, who lives in Yuma, Arizona and hasn't a lot to do in 110 degree heat in the summer. She loved it, said it was a great, fun read, and that's enough for me.

I thought this might be cheesy. It was fantastic! After having loved Ian Fleming, this was a great substitute. I look foward to reading the rest of the series.

Bored and in excellent health for a woman who is retired with nothing more to look forward to than her gardening meetings, Mrs. Pollifax decides that there are only two choices in her life. Take one giant step off the roof of her building in New Brunswick, New Jersey or pursue a dream that she has had since childhood. With the decision made she boards a bus for Langley, Virginia and decides to be a spy for the CIA. Taking place during the cold war, Emily Pollifax is sent to Mexico to retrieve important documents, that doesn't seem difficult until she is forced to outsmart Red Chinese military men with nothing more than a pocketknife and a Christmas tree. This woman could definitely give MacGyver and Forrest Gump a run for their money.

This is the second Mrs. Pollifax book I have now finished and I adore them. The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax is a delight in her adventures and this one is full of thrilling adventures. I am now hooked and will be reading every Mrs. Pollifax book there is. They are thoroughly enjoyable...

I've read this book many times as well as listened to the version narrated by Barbara Rosnblatt. I highly recommend both. This book is what whodunit mysteries should all have; a likeable character, strong storyline, suspense, humor and good pacing. All the characters in the book are quite real. Even when the storyline seems hard to believe, you believe it because Mrs. Pollifax says it is so. Emily Pollifax also develops as a character not only within this book but within the whole series.

This book isn't as much a mystery as an adventure/suspense. It's also lighthearted, because Mrs. Pollifax sees this it as an adventure. She was willing to give her life to her country but isn't willing to give in easily!

Though I'm far from retirement age, I felt a kinship with Mrs. P. I think that's the feeling most people get from reading these books. She's the woman next door, the lovable grandmother/aunt figure who also can surprise you. In fact, a lady I talked to said she wanted to be Mrs. Pollifax. My only disappointment is that this book is so short. But then, Dorothy Gilman is a writer who knows when to quit, which only adds to her writing.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it is very informative, and accurate. we just started to apply these principals to our diets, and we have been eating healthy and feeling great.

Dr. Russell writes in a way that, to be consistent, one would have to become a 7th Day Adventist. He takes extinct Old Testament references regarding what Jews were supposed to eat and what they weren't supposed to eat, and acts as if they compose God's universal, timeless law. Poor exegesis. If he stuck to the scientific pros and cons of food I would have received him better (even though much of his data is controversial/speculative). There have to be better written books out there (I know Richard Foster does a much more thorough analysis of health and fasting).

The title of the book really says it all. God created us and gave us specific instructions on what to eat. We would be wise to follow them. I've given copies of this book to my whole family.

I have found this book to be very insightful about my eating habits. Putting biblical boundaries around my eating choices actually gives me the freedom I've been needing to say no to all types of junk food. It has also helped me learn to trust God's guideance in other areas of life. God knows His creation and wants the best for us.

This is the best book I have read with clear, easy to follow advice that will show you Bible references for all of it's tips. It has a page of foods with Bible verses to look up where the food is eaten. There are references for the unhealthy foods, too. If you want a straight forward book without a lot of the authors own "reasons why", you will be very happy. You will come away with the answers you were seeking.

This book "flows" easily and it does a great job covering the meteoric rise of both Bill Gates and Microsoft. The narrative is never dull and both, the man and his company, are given a fair treatment. This book was published in 1993 and a lot of interesting stuff remains to be told. Wish the authors would team up for a sequel. This is a well written and authoritative account of Microsoft and its founder.

Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire

This book is a must-read for people who consider themselves ambitious and driven. It taught me the importance of single-minded drive and determination, coupled with a passion for the line of work one is in. IT is a tough line of work to be in - jobs could be outsourced anytime, skills become redundant quickly and there isn't the glamor or get-fabulously-rich possibility of finance or investment banking... but this book demonstrates that as long as you are passionate about what you do, there is always room at the top. Take heart from it!

This is the definitive Book about Bill Gates (and the history of Windows). It covers all the management aspects of how he drove Microsoft and how the work became his life. The man doesn't do business... He LIVES it. And this book describes it in very much detail.

The details includes how Bill "turned over" IBM... Promissing them the OS/2 under the "NT Technology" flag and how he realeased Windows 95 and killed IBM forever from the Desktop business. It also shows Gates apreciation for Older woman (and many that took him to bed). As part of this "private" package, it also explains the problems that He had with Steve Ballmer. How Ballmer was showing poor management and leadership under Gates perspective and how Ballmer got over it and made his loyalty to Gates forever.

I was more interested on the part that explains how Microsoft Windows 1.0 was developed. How disastrous the first Office was compared to the competition and how they managed to "work around" and fix it, by "coping" the competition and improving it "the Microsoft way".

Buy this if you want to know how business can be done... or be "copied".

Delightful book. Its one flaw is its addictiveness, I couldn't put it down which did cost me sleep (I'm an IT professional with an entrepreneur spirit- your results may vary).

The Microsoft/Gates biography is impeccable in its wealth of interesting details and engaging story-telling.

Bill Gates is a fantastic decision maker. He would be as successful selling water or space suits, he just happened to be at the right time in the right booming industry and pushed with his business-business mentality to the limit. Right decision after right decision, the Microsoft journey is a story that any entrepreneur should nitpick and absorb as much as possible.

Of course, his terrible capitalistic drive is a perfect subject for a discussion on morals, social responsibility and related matters, but without a doubt when it comes to maximizing outcome while playing by our economic rules, Hard Drive tells a tale of epic proportions featuring a superhero / villain that rivals the best of science fiction.

This is really a story of how Gates led Microsoft to its apex, ending in about 1992. It is well written and a good balance bewteen criticism, an explanation of the business model, and historical detail. The story is, to put it mildly, remarkable no matter what you think of MS and Gates.

While a student at Harvard in December, 1974, Bill Gates III and Paul Allen informed Ed Roberts by telephone that they had invented a BASIC computer language for the MITS Altair 8080, which was the first "personal computer" kit for hobbyists. Could they license it along with each Altair kit, Gates asked, to customers for a royalty fee? It was an audacious proposal, because not only had Gates and Allen invented no such thing, but they neither owned an Altair kit nor did they even know the technical specifications for the Intel 8080 chip. Skeptical of their claim, Roberts replied that whoever demonstrated a working BASIC would win the account: Gates and Allen were in competition, he told them, with 50 other "geeks" who already had made the same claim. Gates and Allen then hunkered down for 8 weeks to write the first BASIC for a microcomputer. The resulting "software", which immediately won over Roberts, was the first application of what would become Microsoft BASIC. Gates was 19.

As the company founders, Gates and Allen shared a vision that virtually every home and every office desk would eventually have a PC on them, all operating with their software. To run Microsoft full time, Gates dropped out of Harvard in January, 1977. Their business quickly expanded beyond the Altair as competing brands of personal computers emerged, including the Tandy from Radio Shack and the Apple II computer; they were also called upon to program BASIC into a number of other electronic devices. All along, Gates' goal was to gain market share, in effect setting the software standard for most, if not all, PC users. As a true believer who intimately knew the product, Gates was the principal salesman, while Allen concentrated on technical development.

During this formative period, Microsoft's corporate culture was established. Perhaps as a result of hiring many of his programmers straight out of university, Microsoft's offices (and later the campus in Redmond, Washington) took on the look and feel of a college campus, that is, an informal and a freewheeling intellectual atmosphere with "late hours, loud music, walls full of junk, anything goes dress, Coke, adrenaline, unbuttoned behavior." Employees tended to be very young with a programmer or engineering mentality; they designed their products for tech-savvy customers - male in their early 20s - like themselves, a kind of fellowship for computer adepts. Like Gates, they loved to play with and program electronic gadgets.

Microsoft hired the brightest programmers with demonstrated practical abilities. Employees were also expected to work extremely long hours as a team toward a common goal, not as strident individualists. Gates encouraged them to develop their entrepreneurial passions, forcefully advancing their own ideas of useful products for new markets. Overseeing it all was Gates, who gained the reputation of a harsh and challenging critic with a relentless drive for excellence, whether to beat the competition or out of fear of falling behind in such a fast-changing industry. As the sole remaining founder after Allen's departure in 1983, Gates remained deeply involved in both technical and business details as well as the general direction of company strategy. Nonetheless, as the principal revenue generators, Microsoft's product groups increasingly became the seats of decision-making power, in spite of Gates' active engagement.

At the end of 1979, Microsoft had $US 4 million in sales. Most of these revenues came from BASIC, which enabled programmers to create applications, such as word processing and accounting spread sheets. The level below BASIC and the other languages under development at Microsoft was the computer operating system, which performed the most elementary tasks required to run computers. With the prospect of providing software to IBM for the basic PC it was planning to market for a reasonable price, Gates and Allen began to acquire the rights to, and then develop, software for a computer operating system. Known later as DOS, it again set an industry standard that would enable Microsoft to efficiently develop languages and software applications in a single engineering environment rather than painstakingly customize them for a variety of incompatible operating systems. This would immensely simplify Microsoft's programming process as well as enhance its efficiency.

As Gates foresaw, this was a near-ideal position to occupy at the moment that the PC market was poised to grow explosively with the introduction of the inexpensive IBM PC, which was made of off-the-shelf components and hence easy to copy, or "clone". With the dual ownership of DOS and several major programming languages, Microsoft became one of the fastest growing companies in the world. By 1985, just prior to its IPO, on revenues of $US 140 million, Microsoft had a pre-tax profit margin of approximately 34%, no long-term debt, and cash reserves of $US 38 million. By 1987, the company surpassed Lotus to become the world's largest software vendor for PCs. Gates was on his way to become the richest man in the world, at least for a time.

However, the ownership of DOS and the programming languages would also, critics later claimed, confer an "unfair advantage" on the company. First, the Microsoft applications groups were accused to obtaining "inside information" from the operating systems group, which enabled them to design their products to function more quickly and smoothly than competitors could. Second, because each change in DOS required competitors to supply their latest products to Microsoft programmers to ensure compatibility, critics charged that this amounted to an inside peek into their strategy at the cutting edge of their capabilities. It was a symbiotic relationship that made many outside vendors - independent companies developing applications to run on Microsoft operating systems -uneasy and resentful. Third, DOS programmers were accused by rivals of inserting "hidden bugs" into the operating system in order to hinder the function of competing products, such as the Lotus spread sheet, damaging their competitive position and brand. The resulting negative publicity did a great deal of damage to the Microsoft brand, which began to be seen as the industry bully.

While Gates insisted that he had erected a "Chinese Wall" between Microsoft's applications division and its Operating System's Group, it was not enough to deter the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from opening a probe into the company for anti-competitive practices that purportedly hurt consumers. By 1991, when the FTC probe became widely known, Microsoft controlled one-quarter of the applications market and dominated the operating systems market with Windows. There was speculation about the imminent breakup of Microsoft into separate companies for these markets, similar to the dismantlement of AT&T. For their part, defenders of Microsoft argued that it was winning because it was better and smarter, presenting its customers with superior products at bargain prices.

This a pretty much where the book stops, which badly dates it. Not only is the story of the anti-trust law suits left untold, but subsequent business developments - notably the internet - are not even mentioned. Thus, this is an excellent early history, but the reader must look elsewhere for more detail. Of the shelf of books on MS, in my opinion this is one of the best, and it was most useful to me for a research project. Recommended.

I purchased the sandwich spreader and metal spatula. I paid twice what I would have paid anywhere else. They turned out to be junk. Both plastic handles separated from the metal parts within 9 months of the purchase.

I absolutely loved this book. Doris Christopher's ideas and humble beginnings are absolutely inspiring! She has built an amazing company and shares it for everyone to realize their own potential. Her basic no nonsense attitude towards life and her company are shared in this incredible story. I do not sell Pamperd Chef, but if I was not trying to build another direct sales business I know I would after reading this book!

I have been purchasing Pampered Chef products for over 16 years and my husband and I have always been huge fans. After many years of buying from someone else, I decided to give it a try and then so did my husband. . . yes, we are both consultants because we believe so much in the products.

I signed up as a consultant a few days after the book was released and read it in one night! After reading the book I was more of a fan than ever. The story is very inspiring to anyone who wants to take the leap of faith in themselves and try to start their own business.

Doris' vision of having a business to earn extra money and still have time to raise her family is very much alive today as it was 25 years ago. The book takes you through the 25 years of her dream from where she started the business in her basement with $3,000 to being the founder a of multi-million dollar company with thousands of women and men who work with The Pampered Chef as hobbyist, part- and full-time consultants.

A must read for anyone who wants to be inspired to start their own business.

An interview with the author and her daughter, who grew up in the culinary business, supplements The Pampered Chef, a story of Doris Christopher, a former teacher and home economist who returns to the work world with a vision of making cooking more convenient for families. Selling high-quality kitchen tools through demo groups and growing her business, The Pampered Chef, from a basement enterprise to a successful franchise. A story of personal success comes alive in audio.

In 1980 author Doris Christopher, former home economist and teacher, wanted to return to the workforce after raising her children: she began selling high-quality kitchen tools through cooking demonstrations and began her company, The Pampered Chef, from her basement. Twenty-five years later it's a corporation specializing in kitchen shows - and The Pampered Chef: The Story Of One Of America's Most Beloved Companies tells of how she became a culinary industry success. Insights on how the company expanded and handled its challenges provide entrepreneurs and cooks alike with much inspiration.

I got a sudden urge to sew and after reading the positive reviews for this book, went out and bought it.

The book has clearly written, easy-to-understand instructions for everything the beginning sewist needs to know: basic supplies, what to look for in a sewing machine, how to thread the machine, how to select and prepare fabric for a project, how to read a pattern, and finally, how to sew.

So far, I've made one of the beginner projects out of this book--a totebag. My family and friends have complimented me on how nice it came out. I think it turned out really well and I'm very happy with the results. A lot of the credit goes to this book for providing such good instructions. Sewing seems like such an engaging, satisfying hobby. I'm looking forward to producing more of the items in this book.

This is just an all around great book. Although I find it redundant to explain all the sewing basics, every sewing book seems to do the same. The pictures are great, the instructions are clear and each project has a list of fabrics that could be used, difficulty of the project, and patterns for most of the projects in the book. The ones that don't have patterns are done that way because you customize the project specifically to your needs. Out of all the (many!) sewing books that I have I think this is the all around best one (In my opinion it even beats SewU for the simplicity). It has projects that include clothing, plushies, quilts and home decor.

I ordered this book because I've just got myself my first computerised sewing machine after a long break between seams. I'm delighted I did 'cause Diana Rupp has got the goods. She's hip and knows her subject inside out. She also knows beginner sewers and how easy it can be to get overwhelmed and frustrated when starting out. Ms Rupp takes her readers through all that with plenty of good humour (I even had a bit of a giggle). Diana Rupp has talked me through such basics as preparing my sewing space, sewing tools, choosing and working a machine, stitch types, fabrics, reading patterns and cutting, tailoring and fitting, hand sewing basics - and much more. There are easy to read diagrams mixed with heaps of color photos. In the back of the book are the easy to sew (and wearable)patterns to help me hone my skills and move beyond the endless cushion covers. Sewing instructions and patterns (created by the author especially for new sewers)are more detailed than usual to help the true beginner get off to a satisfying and productive start. I feel quite inspired to get creating. Only problem is - which project to choose?!

I've had past experiences with sewing, but mostly with repairing loose hems, buttons, and shortening pant lengths. I wanted a book that would provide a general overview on sewing--machine and by hand--and sewing garments and beyond.

This book is excellent for the beginner and for those, like myself, who haven't sewn in awhile that need a refresher. After reading the book from the first week of arrival, I was able to start on some of Diana Rupp's simple projects (she includes 10 FREE easy-to-do patterns) within the following week and haven't stopped since and moved beyond her book. Within a month, I was able to create 1-2 new projects on a weekly basis* (mostly tops, shorts, and stuffed animals). In addition to this book, I also purchased alongside it the New Complete Guide to Sewing (Readers Digest). It's a good reference book to have on hand for those future intermediate and advance projects.

*It's also a good idea to familiarize yourself with your sewing machine before diving into any of the projects not completing by hand.

This book is perfect for people who are totally new to sewing. Unlike other sewing books, it isn't an overwhelming encyclopedia of terms and techniques. It explains everything you need to know in a way that is entertaining and logical. Diana Rupp's warm, enthusiastic personality really comes out in her writing.

Anyone who would label themselves as a "beginner" would like this book. A total novice will appreciate the instruction and an advanced beginner should enjoy the projects (super cute!). Intermediate and advanced seamsters will likely be disappointed, though, as the information in the first half is very basic.

I read this book years ago. It scared me so bad then that I would have to put it down and walk away from it to regroup and I have never forgotten it. I read it again recently and it scared the @#$% out of me as if it were the first time. I have never read a book that totally sucked me in and took me on such a freakish, disturbing nightmare into a killers SICK life. It's just plain old scarey, terrifying, horrific and captivating. You have to keep pinching yourself and keep saying "Its only a story...its only a story." If you like to get scared THIS is the book for you.

Thomas Bishop/Vincent Mungo is THE most heinous killer ever committed to print, all the more so because he appears to be an all-American, apple-cheeked, tousle-haired young man. He's a complete psychopath who believes he's on a mission to kill women. And what he does with the bodies ... well, the book leaves a lot of that up to the imagination, but it must be pretty awful.

The book is an epic, beginning a generation before the killer's career and bringing in a huge array of cops, reporters, psychologists and politicians (usually with self-serving agendas) who are part of the nationwide manhunt. The book is written in the dry, clinical prose of standard nonfiction, which makes it even more chilling. No purple prose at all. No book has ever better described the kind of horrifying childhood abuse (his mother is a real piece of work, as frightening in her own way as her son) that creates psychopathic killers.

Absolutely fascinating, but profoundly disturbing. I lent it to my brother, a tough customer, and even he was shaken by it. Forget Norman Bates and Hannibal Lecter. Vincent Mungo's the real deal.

In "By Reason Of Insanity" author Shane Stevens's 511 page novel depicts a scenario where the convicted rapist Caryl Chessman raped a woman prior to his capture and later execution in 1958. She did not report the rape, but she perceived that she had gotten pregnant from the encounter. Her husband was soon killed in an armored car robbery, but their relationship had been rocky from the start, and after his death, she began using her maiden name of Bishop, and her son was born as Thomas Bishop.

As her short life progressed, she slid into insanity, which included many beatings of her child. Finally, at age 10, Thomas Bishop committed matricide and he was confined at Willow, a local insane asylum, probably for life. In a brilliantly planned and executed escape, the 25 year-old Bishop began a nation-wide rein of terror, leaving a trail of murder and mayhem as he traveled east to New York City.

A nation-wide magazine was running a special edition on Bishop, and thus enters our hero, the hard-charging and experienced reporter Adam Kenton. I generally don't care for books which glorify lawyers, politicians and especially reporters which are generally both lazy and clueless and rate right up there with used car salesmen and aluminum siding telemarketers. But Kenton's character was an exception. With skilled and well thought out snares and traps, Kenton tried to first correctly identify Bishop, and then run him to ground. The narrative depicted his many defeats and minor victories as he fought his way towards the climax of the story.

Mechanically, the book was difficult to read in some areas and was too long as a result. As an example, in each of the towns Bishop visited, the author felt the need to describe in minute detail, exactly where he was in the town which was of no interest except to current or former residents of the location. There was also an excessive use of our character's dreams; word-filling narrative, which the reader quickly learns to skip on through.

With that said though, Stevens' clever and well-laid out plot carried the day. A solid 4 1/2 star effort and the reader's time is well spent with this one.

This is an amazing book when looking into the insane mind. The political aspect is mainly ignorable but the main function of the writing is very worthwhile.

I bought and read this book when it was originally published way back in the 70's and after all these years I have yet to read another serial killer thriller type book that equals it. Why this was never made into a movie is beyond me. If Silence of the Lambs gave you the chills and you enjoy serial killer thrillers then you'll love this. It's no doubt the Grand Daddy of them all! Belongs in the Hall of Fame for serial killer novels...highly recommended!

Outstanding look at new palaeontology and dinosaur work. Taking the various papers that Bakker wrote for scientific journals and converting them to a book that is slightly more understandable to the public. The basic premise is that dinosaurs were not cold-blooded lizards, but warmer blooded and quite fast at times. See Jurassic Park for an example of the theories in action. Really great work.

Bob Bakker book describes so brilliantly why Dinosaurs were so successful and ruled the Earth for 150 million years. The Dinosaurs were so successful that mammals throughout this time never grew larger than 1 meter long and many were rat sized. If it wasn't for a giant asteroid that hit 65 million years ago, they would be still around and we would not.

Bakker in this book describes how the Dinosaur's warm blooded metabolism was integral to their success and how cold blooded animals like reptiles back then as now were limited. He also goes to show us how Dinosaurs were fast growing, dynamic animals that were constantly changing, how bird evolved from dinosauts and how dinosaurs were key the spread of flowering plants.

A book you must read before you die.

In the second half of the twentieth century the current thinking about dinosaurs completely changed, so that they are now accepted as warm blooded, vigorous alternatives to the mammals, and in fact the ancestors of birds (though not all that bright, whereas birds can be). Bakker was a major player in this change of views, and offers some fascinating anecdotes on how various experiences led to insights which permitted proper interpretation of the fossil evidence. The reader comes away not only with an understanding of the dinosaurs, but with many insights into evolution in general, and all the types of reasoning and analysis necessary to glean the truth from fossil evidence. Bakker has a lively style, giving detail without getting bogged down (well, I occasionally skimmed a bit, but that is because I have little interest in anatomy). There are many illustrations, but I was not always happy with them. Some illustrations serve as hand drawn alternatives to Power Point slides, and are very good. However, the drawings to illustrate anatomy were often not simplified enough for me to better understand the point. I do wish Bakker had speculated why, in the world of the dinosaurs, it was the mammals who apparently occupied all the really small ecological niches, comparable to current day mice and squirrels. Also, his final chapter on the demise of the dinosaurs was stimulating, but not as well thought out as the rest of the book. He points to the development of land bridges (as water levels dropped) which permitted worldwide migration of larger animals, and the consequent extinction of many species which could not compete, and also the spread of pathogens and parasites. Interesting, but competition would not eliminate all species, and no arguments are presented as to why small animals, e.g. mammals, would be more likely to survive than large animals (great numbers?). While this book was published in 1986, I read it based on Richard Dawkin's recent recommendation, and I do not believe it is outdated.

This book talks about new theories(at the time) of dinosaurs and their extinction, ranging from warm-bloodedness all the way to dinosaurs evolving into birds. There are five parts to this story.

Part I:The Conquering Cold-Bloods: A Conondum
Basically this part describes reptiles and their advantages/disadvantages when it comes to either cold blooded or warm blooded animals. It even compares mammals to reptiles. It talks about how cold blooded and warm blooded reptiles/mammals how active and how their eating habits are different. Also talks about dinosaurs if they were warm or cold blooded. Here is a short excerpt from this part. "Ornitholestes was an impressive little dinosaur, and even the diehard defenders of orthodoxy yield a little to admit that perhaps Ornitholestes and its kin might have had high metabolism. Such a concession, however, would lead to yet another incosistency in the theory of mass homeothermy. Big dinosaurs, all of them, evolved from small-dinosaur ancestors. The idea that little ancestors had high metabolism and their bigger descendants didn't, would be tantamount to arguing that evolution reversed itself"(Bakker 98).

Part II:The Habitat of the Dinosaurs
This section discusses dinosaurs with their habitat and how their diet/body features adapt to their environment. It discusses dinosaurs who helped use gastroliths for digestion. Also talks about the evolution of plants in relation to dinosaurs. Here is a short excerpt from this part. "Brontosaur teeth, moreover, confirm the heretical idea that they ate a tough vegetable diet. If the brontosaurs dined only on soft water plants, then very little wear would appear on their teeth. But infact the teeth of Camarasaurus, Brachiosaurus and their kin manifest very severe wear, which could only have been produced by tough or gritty food"(Bakker 136).

Part III:Defense, Locomotion, and the Case For Warm-Blooded Dinosaurs
The third section discusses the locomotion of dinosaurs in comparison to lizards,crocodiles,etc. Discusses dinosaur defense, like Triceratops' horns and the "boneheads" of the Pachycephalosaurs. Also talks about Pterosaurs. Discusses Archeaopteryx and it's feathers helping to support warm-bloodedness.
Here is a short excerpt from this part. "Anchisaurs' tails were stoutly muscled and they could easily have reared up, foreclaws at the ready, to face their enemies. Anchisaur hind claws, especially the one located on the large inner toe, could lash out with even more powerful blows than the foreclaws"(Bakker 256).

Part IV:The Warm-Blooded Metronome of Evolution
Talks about dinosaur sex, with threat displays of intimidation. Discusses growth in dinosaurs who were probably warm blooded. Talks about dinosaur lungs, heart, and large brains. Here is a short excerpt from this part.
"How can the dinosaurs' growth be measured? An accurate estimate can be derived from the texture of the fossil bone. A thin slice can be cut from a fossil-bone chip and glued to a glass plate"(Bakker 350).

Part V:Dynastic Frailty and the Pulses of Animal History
This final section discusses the Kazanian Revolution. During the Kazanian Revolution, warm blooded animals exploded in population. Discusses the dinosaur extinction and the animals who died along with them. Talks about the evolution of the Dinosauria and that they should be in their own class. Here is a short excerpt from this part. "A truly scientific skeptic would start assuming neither cold-bloodedness nor warm-bloodedness, and then reevaluate the evidence without prior terminological bias. So long as the DInosauria remain stuck in the class Reptilia, this type of analysis is impossible. Let dinosaurs be dinosaurs. Let the Dinosauria stand proudly alone, a Class by itself. They merit it"(Bakker 462).

Overall, this book is excellent. Bakker did all his own illustrations(which are very artistic) and even assumed dinosaurs were feathered even before they were discovered. Even though some of his theories may be outdated now, I still recommend this book to anyone. I read it back in seventh grade and it took me a while, but reading this book is surely worth the time!

Incredibly compelling book about the possible evolution of velociraptors into birds.

Dinosaur Heresies goes beyond mere dinosaur evolution, however. As an enthusiastic gardener, I was bemused and delighted to learn of the powerful link between Cretaceous herbivorous dinosaurs and the rise of flowering plants, how it was BECAUSE of these saurian herbivores that we have flowering plants instead of a world of gymnosperms (aka pines, cycads, ginko, etc.).

It was a FUN read!