Cabinets Books

Had some ok spatterings of information , but overall I found it a bit dissapointing. Its a fairly big book but doesnt seem to really show anthing ground breaking. If I had seen it before hand I wouldn't buy it again. Thats not to say in the right hands this book wouldn't be handy .Has some interesting info on how to make your own hinges, apart from that the rest is pretty standard stuff.

Got this for my husband for his birthday and he loves it. Hasn't had a chance to build anything since, but it will definately come in handy. The quality of the book itself is very good especially for how low the price was. There are good pictures to follow and very thorough information and directions.

Given the scope of this work, I'm not sure what I expected, but I feel like, after reading a book on furniture and cabinet making, I ought to have some idea of how to construct a basic cabinet. While this book covers a wide variety of general techniques and types of joints commonly used, at no point does it tie them together; it discusses possibilities, but never synthesizes them into anything tangible, leaving me, at least, wondering which of the book's assorted grab bag of clever tricks might be combined to actually produce a cabinet. I already knew what a sliding dovetail was before I bought this book; what I sought to learn was the architecture and structural elements needed to design a cabinet. Strangely, I feel like I'm no closer to that knowledge than I was before I read the book.

I found this book very disappointing. The pictures were very pretty but that is pretty much it. The illustrations were confusing and of little use. It gives too much of an overview and no real specifics. I found woodworking for dummies to be a much better book for the beginning woodworker.

I don't buy many woodworking books because most, especially the ones sold by home centers, aren't very good. They lack detail, they're incomplete, and I often get the feeling that they're just cranked out without much thought. But this one caught my eye in a local bookstore and I'm glad I bought it.

First of all, the book can be used either as a reference or as a complete primer on woodworking. There's lots of information there, but not so much that you get bogged down. At first I just used it to brush up on specific topics, and then I went back to the first page and started reading it straight through. It's well-written; words are used well and not wasted. Photography is superb. Despite the reference to generic "Furniture" in the title, the book is heavily oriented toward cabinets, which it covers in great detail, even to the point of describing how to construct multi-light glass doors.

The first few pages are a little off-putting as the author describes what he considers an appropriate collection of tools and a space to put them in; unfortunately, many woodworking books assume that the reader has acres of space in which to set up a shop. As you read on, though, the text is more friendly toward the hobbyist.

In short, this is a great woodworking reference or tutorial. Don't be put off by the beginning of the book; it gets better. And the Amazon price for this book is much lower than the $40 I paid in the bookstore.

Robert Reich gives a human touch to the deliberations with high levels of government and how the president is sometimes trapped by congress and his advisors and not able to follow his compaign promises. It also presents the frustations of a cabinet secretary working to improve the staus of those working for minimal wages and all the time loosing to the desires of big business. He describes what one gives-up of himself to serve in a president's cabinet. It is very readable, much like a diary and follows the cronology of Clinton's first 4 years. Mr. Reich is also humorus and not afraid to relate his foibles as secretary of commerce. An enjoyable and informative read

I continue to use this book in my "Intro. to Public Policy" course. I ask my mostly first- and second-year students at the end of the semester if they like the book and if they think it is useful even though it's now almost 9 years old. They thoroughly enjoy it and appreciate gaining a better understanding of the Clinton administration and events in the 1990s that happened when they were only 6-12 years old. Highly recommend.

So far, I've read three other memoirs from the Clinton Administration; those of Mr. & Mrs. Clinton and Bob Rubin.
"Locked in the Cabinet" exhibits a sharp contrast to all other three in that it is the more casual and down to earth recollection of what was happening behind the Democrat-"Putting People First" - disguise of the Clinton Administration, where, in the face of Bill Clinton's indecisiveness, some of the key cabinet members and the Federal Reserve's chief continued to put big businesses and Wall Street first, at the expense of working class America which the Labor Secretary represented. Reich describes some of his cabinet colleagues, plus the President, the First Lady and Greenspan, in an unprecedented light.
He also well explains his ideal fresh from den being constantly challenged and often destroyed by political balance of power and reality. He does so with passion, wit, colloquialism, and the sense of forgiveness.
As a reader in Japan where (from wive's point of view) what traditionally makes a good husband is a big bread winner who is hardly home, the detailed descriptions of the author's struggles against his family missing him badly is too alien to me. The author who held a highly respected cabinet position away from family would have made a most desirable husband in Japan.
I would like to read how his family life developed after he was reunited. Hope he is happy in Berkeley now.

Reich presents insightful information in a hillarious way. By writing the book in a journal style, the reader views the 1st four years of the Clinton presidency as a hard fight for the laboring poor. One really feels as if they are in Reich's position, with his outrage, frustrations, and loneliness.

Reich is absolutely brilliant and this book presents a good dollop of his wisdom. Few people in politics are driven by ideals anymore, which makes Reich's laser focus on improving economic inequity all the more laudable. And doomed.

In fact, this book explains a whole lot about how & why Clinton's first term of office became such a disappointment. "B" (as Reich, a longtime FoB, calls him) was elected with a mandate, he was young and energetic, he was idealistic and he was determined to improve the social disasters left by 12 years of voodoo economics. But he was also a classic Washington Outsider who did not have the requisite skills of playing Congress like a fiddle as FDR, JFK & LBJ had with their progressive terms. Consequently Clinton's agenda became a losing political football even under a majority Democratic Congress. When Congress passed back into Republican hands in 1994 (in large part due to Clinton's own fumbling) his effectiveness was cut off at the knees by Newt Gingrich and his Contract with America. From then on, B was in full-time CYA mode, relying on Dick Morris's polling of voters to decide all policy issues. The result -- and ultimately the indignity of the impeachment attempt -- are all too familiar and preordained. Alas Bill, we hardly knew thee...

Reich's book is fascinating, thought provoking, brutally frank and often hilariously funny. The man is a gem -- too bad politics isn't a respectable business anymore. Or was it ever?

Warrior An Autobiography This is one book I can review without having finished reading it. He is one of the great generals of our time even ranking with MacAuthor, Patton, Swartzkoff,Etc. My own personal opinion he is tops. He had to help try to save a country when there was little help from the rest of the world. As a political figure I,ll also stick with him. He may have made some mistakes according to others but no one else did any better. I stay away from politics as most have no idea of what they are talking about any way. I think he had his country at heart either way.

I enjoyed this autobiography of one of modern Israel's giants.
The book was written in great detail on many of the historic battles and decisions that Israel faced. Sharon played a large part in the fledgling country's struggle to survive the onslaught of hatred and terror. Sharon also touched on the personal hardships he faced.
The only problem with Warrior was that Sharon wrote it so early in his career (1980s) that I was left hungry for more information. I had to go and buy a more recent biography of Sharon to bring myself up to date on Arik's life and career.

A very good book. It goes into a bit more depth with strategy and such than I could really grasp in a few spots, but on the whole I found it very interesting. Good descriptions of and insight into politics, history, and his accomplishments and ideas. I hadn't known how much he had done outside of the military before reading this book: founding Likud, advancing agriculture in Israel and in Africa, and forging relationships throughout the world for a fledgling Israel. A good book from a most impressive man.

The short, turbulent history of modern Israel has called for extraordinary leadership. Ariel Sharon is clearly one of the most important of the leaders who have shaped the history of this vulnerable young country.

I suppose any autobiography could be said to be self-serving. Still, I have always believed that any man has a right to have his own assessment of himself be taken into consideration in any evaluation of his life.

But my purpose now is not to give an assessment of his life. Rather, it is to give an assessment of this book, as a means to understanding that life. As such, I would have to say that I think you will find it useful. This is due, in part, I think, to the fact that Sharon was a man of strong feelings who expressed them openly. But it is also due to the fact that Sharon always lived his life in a manner which gave him plenty to talk about. He had a zest for life, and a fearlessness toward death that inclined him to an extraordinary life.

Sharon also had the good fortune to be associated in time and proximity with several extraordinary men, and he made decisions that put him on a level with those men that might otherwise have been quite different. His bold military initiatives brought him to the attention of David Ben-Gurion during the critical early days of Israel as a nation. Later, after he had retired from the military as a part of a national policy to retire generals before they got too old, he entered politics without getting the permission or trying to earn the favor of established personalities. He was lucky, of course, because at the moment he decided to found the Likud, Begin desperately needed something just like that to build the kind of coalition that could bring him a national position. But he was also decisive. That's the key. He didn't wait to hear what everyone would think, he just did it.

Sharon's defense of his actions during the invasion of Lebanon are convincing, but in my mind, they do not completely remove the necessity for him to step down. I think he had to leave at that point. I do not believe he ordered the massacre of civilians. I didn't need his book to come to that conviction. I didn't believe it at the time, either. But it happened on his watch, and there just was no escaping the impression in the minds of so many people, that he could have done more to prevent it.

As could be expected from any autobiography, there are several things that Sharon does not address. This is why the whole picture can seldom be obtained by reading only autobiography. At some point, you have to balance autobiography with objective studies by reputable scholars who can address questions the individual in question hesitates to mention, and address them fairly. Sharon's oldest son was killed by a neighbor kid who was playing with one of Sharon's guns. How did this happen? How in the world did a couple of young kids get access to a loaded weapon? The incident itself, is of course, a poinant part of the book, but some of these questions any reasonable person would ask are simply not addressed.

But taking into account the limitations of autobiography, this book provides a very useful insight into both the man and the country. It will be on every reading list for future historians of Israel for a long, long time to come. Fascinating character. Fascinating book. Fascinating country. Read and enjoy.

There are many references to Pierre and Bashir Gemayel (leaders of the predominantly Christian-Phalanges Party).
Most of Lebanon, and the Christian Leaders had been particularly confounded by the rash and dash with which the Israelis' conducted their war against the Palestinian Militias, and Beirut was awash with gossips that the Lebanese Forces - LF - (mainly Christians) would perform, alone, a sweeping military - mop up - operation in support of the Israelis.
Such was a request Sharon had asked of Bashir during his first and short `look-see' visits to Jounieh - Lebanon (East) but did not evoke clear-cut answer (nor commitment) from Bashir because LF had not been able to give viable practical assistance, least of all to do any `street fighting' in a densely populated Beirut (West).
If LF entered the important green line (Sea port area) rushing into Hamra Street, civilian losses would have been immense.
Sharon wanted to infuse his sense of urgency into LF leaders in order to gain time and face the Israeli Cabinet with a fait a compli situation of which the Cabinet had never approved before.
Sharon left Jounieh under the impression he and Bashir had concluded an agreement -in principle- of `a military operation' to be performed when the proper time called for it and now the next phase was for `joint planning'. Bashir was led to believe that Sharon was highly depending on LF supportive participation.
Sharon thought Bashir had fully understood him to support a `do it alone' military operation, i.e. that LF would attack independently from the East when the Israelis had tightened the noose on Beirut (West).
Mismatch in person-to-person communication took on new impetus.
In the first place, it had never occurred to Bashir to attack West Beirut because he was heading for the Presidency and his `election' was imminent and inevitable.
Bashir's priorities were 1) Never to put himself in disfavour with the Muslim communities and 2) Should not destroy political bridges with Syria (Hafiz al Asad) that would come after he's elected to the Presidency.

Sharon, a military man to the bones, could see nothing relating to `Lebanese Politics' in the middle of his `war against the PLO - Arafat'; he had found that the Lebanese appreciation of his sweeping moves - having also neutralized the Syrian Army in Lebanon - were meant to ask him to revert to the idea of `independent action in West Beirut. Sharon should begin, and the LF would follow'.

As there are no secrets in Lebanon, pulling the blankets of `no commitments' over their bodies resolutely did not refrain Philip Habib - not yet tired of repeating to Bashir - `at no time give a pretext that would obstruct your election to the Presidency'.

And the `drama' has never ended..............

I bought this book and Danny Proulx's Build Your Own Kitchen Cabinets (Popular Woodworking). Proulx's book focused on particleboard construction and mostly 32mm cabinets. I was very dissapointed as I was anxious to start building cabinets and particleboard is not what I was looking for. This book however, was just what the Dr. ordered. I'm very comfortable with my tools and have been woodworking for years now, but I still found some usefull tips in the book. I skimmed the book without reading all of it and immediately bought the lumber I needed and began construction. I had a completed bathroom vanity cabinet in 1 afternoon (not including stain and finish). As others have mentioned, his dimensions are not perfect, but since my house doesn't perfectly match the book, I used my own tape measure.

Even with the dimension issues here and there, I highly recommend this book for anyone who actually wants to make cabinets. I have a few other books that discuss the "idea" of making cabinets. This one tells you the tools you need and how to do it. It focuses on pocket-hole joinery but it also shows how you can use other joinery techniques as well. I can't stress this point enough... if you are planning on building cabinets, you will love this book. If you just want to read about building cabinets, this book isn't what you want.

I'm off to buy more lumber for more cabinets!!!!

This book was a great introduction to how to build cabinets. Being an experienced person in woodworking, this book gave the guidance towards me taking on this project. As a previous review stated, I also found an error in the calculation table but after doing the calculation over and over again, it seemed to have the wrong calculation formula but is was indeed correct. I did though find an area that the publisher and the author should have covered that was overlooked. When assembling the doors the author states to assemble the rails and stiles with glue, drive a couple of 1/2 inch nails into the assembly and remove the clamps. After doing this, I discovered those nails while routing the outside edges with my round-over bit. So, I will in the future take extreme care to where I place those nails, assuring that they will not be found later. I also modified my wall cabinets by using 1/4 inch plywood for the tops and in some assemblies I found that using the pocket hole method better for attaching plywood to plywood, less splitting when the screw is at an angle.
Otherwise this book is an excellent source that gave me the confidence and courage to build my own cabinets, as I have them all built now, just waiting to stain and assemble them and install.

This book is well written, and easy to understand. The author gives you a solid understanding of the basics and some of the more advanced "how-tos" of cabinet making. I would recommend this book to people who have some knowledge of power tools and want to learn how to build kitchen cabinets.

This book is very well laid out and easy to follow instructions to build the greatest custom cabinets. This is the best book I own

I am a firm believer in the KISS method of doing things. (Keep It Simple Stupid") Every step is covered in this book so that anyone can learn from it. The "Build Like A Pro" series of books are all laid out like this one. The "Expert Tips" are great. They show you short cuts to help you do the jobs right, but in less time. This is stuff you only learn by doing the job everyday. They are trade secrets.

I love this book! It is fascinating! and well written! You will want to visit the museum after reading this book; if you've been there, it will enrich your visit! Unique.

Splendid little read, profound in its own way, and outright devilish. Absolutely in keeping with its subject matter; anything shy of devilish would have been cheating.

The Museum of Jurassic Technology, to trim descriptions to the bare minimum in the interests of time and of not spoiling the fun, is a museum that may or may not be entirely a joke on the part of its owner. If it is a joke, it is the most ornately gilded, realistically depicted, and intellectually rewarding joke yet perpetrated on the good citizens of California.

Lawrence Weschler may or may not, himself, be in on the joke. The whole thing, if it is not a joke, is a delicious insight into what the modern world has gained and lost, and an attempt to restore some of what's disappeared.

Well worth the two hours of reading. If I had more time, I would certainly recreate the research that Weschler did when he started to get obsessed with the MJT.

Honestly, when I worked in Culver City, I would drive by the Museum of Jurassic Technology and wonder just what was in there. I read the articles in the L.A. Times and still I could not understand what it was about. And even when I finally got to the museum, I was mystified. What was the connection? What was it all about? Finally, I have my answer. And more. This book was a superlative read. Mr Weschler never flags in his focus and his precision of language and yet doesn't overwhelm his subject matter. It would be so easy to try and write a fictional story about the museum as opposed to trying to distill and tell the real story. It is very slippery! You will not be dissappointed in this book. And you don't have to go to the museum to enjoy it. But if you read the book, you will be COMPELLED to visit the museum.

Although Mr. Wilson's Cabnet of Wonders is at first slightly confussing and plotless, much like the type of museum disscussed in the book, it is eventually leaves you with a sense of...well...wonder. The book is construsted to take you through the wonders of a "wonder cabnet." I found it to be an education on what it mean to learn, that wonder is a nessisary component.

Lawrence Wescher is not writing a complete treatise on wondercabnets for use in an academic historical society of previously learned fellows. It is much too short and easy to read for that. He is coming at the subject as a newcomer and hoping to bring some of us in with him. I for one am right there. Mr. Wilson's Cabnet of Wonder serves as a perfect introduction to this ultra-fascinating subject that has surprisingly huge implications on our everyday understanding of history. His short summations of the history of the museum itself, and what might be housed within them, are to the point and well researched (I would like to think he threw in a few of his own "made up" references just to keep in the spirit of things although). The anecdotal stories of his mystic encounters with Mr. Wilson are humorous and enlightening. Weschler encourages a healthy skepticism about each exhibit in the MJT (Museum of Jurassic Technology), and indeed about every bit of knowledge we are taught as fact in our upbringing. The wonderful thing about this skepticism is that it leads him on an astonishing journey into The Church of Wonder. He made me a believer in Wonder as a state of mind/heart that perhaps shouldn't be questioned too much, lest we lose it. Be it wonder of Nature's endless imagination or that of man's, I'm hooked.

Therefore, Weschler not only writes about Mr. Wilson's wonder-filled collection, or simply the history of other collections, but they are merely the means to an understanding of that blissful state itself. I began to understand this book as a more of a religious conversion, than a "fact" filled catalogue.

This is literary biography of the first rank -- equal to the greats, like Ellmann on Wilde. A hugely impressive work and a pleasure to read.

This overpraised biography of Pepys tends to underplay his character flaws. Tomalin is over-forgiving of Pepys betrayals of friends and family, of his frequent physical and sexual abuse of women including his own wife. Pepys betrayal of his brother and sister his frequent cruelty to those members of his family who could not serve his social climbing goals make very questionable the heroic image Tomalin provides of him. She surely overrates his greatness as a writer and explorer of the self.
Pepys is a diarist of tremendous curiosity who is capable of recording his own intimate acts with a certain kind of objective impersonality.
Since Pepys is famous for his sexual antics I expected this biography would make some effort at real analysis of his character. It does not do this but contents itself but relating and celebrating his exploits. Reading this work we thus know much about what Pepys did without necessarily understanding who he really is.
Pepys unpleasant side was also revealed in his greatest career year, the Plague Year . While one of every six people in London were falling victim to the Plague Pepys was happily recording his advances in career. A very hard worker, and a masterful
bureaucrat he nonetheless does not show a broad and humane sympathy for others.
For those who love English social history , for those who want to know a great deal about Restoration England, for those interested in understanding how bureaucracy works, and how people get on and by in the world, this biography is outstanding. But for those who wish to understand human character in depth, including that of Samuel Pepys this book it seems to me is as lacking as Pepys himself was.

I loved this book. I still love this book. On a recent trip to London I found myself thinking about Pepys around the city, seeing things, going places, meeting people. He is so interesting to himself, and to Tomalin, and now to me! She does a superb job telling the story with no intrusions from her self--it's all Pepys all the time. If you can read, you'll love it!

This is another fascinating historical biography that reads more like a novel than a stuffy factual book. Virtually everyone knows the name of Samuel Pepys. Ah yes, he's the man who wrote the diary. This is of course true, but do they actually know anything about the man behind the name of Samuel Pepys. What for instance were his feelings on the politicians of the day. What were his own ambitions and aspirations.

Pepys was a naval administrator and friend and confidant of some of the most famous and powerful people in London . Sex, the plague, music, marital conflict, naval life, public executions and incarcerations in the Tower of London. These are just some of the colourful events in the life of a man famous for his writing of a diary.

The book contains a wealth of interesting material about the life of a man who's name goes before him. Everyone knows his name, but few know of the life of the man himself.

Claire Tomalin's Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self is quite simply one of the best reads in history, biography or any other genre in a long time. It deservedly carried off the Whitbread Book of the Year in 2002. Pepys lived through the tumultuous changes of the 17th century from Charles I to the Commonwealth and back to Charles II and James II and finally through the Glorious Revolution that brought the Dutch William III to the English crown. That century contained plagues, the great London fire, revolution, counterrevolution, and the emergence of science. Pepys experienced it all and for some 9 years wrote a comprehensive, perceptive, and extremely candid diary.

Tomalin's story rather naturally divides into three parts: pre-diary years, the diary years from 1660-1669, and the post-diary years when Pepys reached his greatest heights and suffered his greatest losses, personal and professional. In the first and last parts Tomalin gives us an excellent if fairly standard biography, but one informed by the incredible detail and honesty of the diary years.


When the reader reaches the end of the diary years one feels a sense of deprivation, a sense almost of being cheated. Pepys has drawn the curtain closed and we are no longer privy to the intimate details of Pepys daily activities at court, in the street, in the bedroom. Tomalin's own sense of loss is palpable.


Pepys began life as the son of London tailor and managed to reach the highest levels of English government as an advisor to kings by dint of hard work and obsequious obeisance to a number of benefactors, beginning with Edward Montague. An assiduous rump smoocher was he. Along the way he switched from being a supporter of Cromwell and Parliament to backing Charles II and James II. As a high-level naval official he instituted many practices that made the Royal Navy the greatest in the world. Unfortunately for Pepys, Charles II was a wastrel and James II an open Catholic whose religion cost him his crown. His connection to them cost him some time in the Tower of London.


There are many diaries, but few that are as perceptive and honest as Pepys' or as fruitful at sweeping in the details of daily life in mid-1600s England. According to Tomalin, Pepys diary gives more detail about the life of young working class girls and women, the maids, cooks, and serving girls, as almost any other source. Pepys also had a strong appetite for women and he did not hesitate to use his position to get what he desired, which he also details in his diary.


Pepys' diary and his own achievements show him as a remarkably energetic man with a strongly curious mind. Although not a scientist himself Pepys had a curious mind and also belonged to the Royal Society serving a term as its president. Pepys displays a willingness to work and to fawn as necessary in order to advance. The diary also shows him as a frequent sexual harasser (although his behavior may have been within the norms of the day at least as far as the men were concerned). And while he excelled at his work, he also was not above taking a bit of an "inducement" on the side. We would call these payments bribes, but Pepys seems to have viewed them more like service charges and he seems not to have acted contrary to the navy's best interests. These bribes were usually in pound notes (often sizeable), but he also had a long-running arrangement with a ship's captain for free access to the sexual favors of the captain's wife (Her name: Mrs. Bagwell!).


What is truly remarkable is that we know all these things and know them to be true for a certainty only because Pepys wrote them in his diary, a diary that it is generally believed Pepys fully intended to be publicly read some day (he included the six volumes in his library that he bequeathed it to Magdalene College, Cambridge).


Highest recommendation.

If I were Mr. Shapiro, I'd be embarassed to acknowledge my association with this book, much less do a book tour. The characters are stiff, cardboard caricatures of standard poorly-written novels. The short chapters contribute to a feeling of plot movement, but leave one wondering about true plot development. Background on the RU drug was interesting. The typos were numerous: aquittal, for one. Some situations were tritely absurd and the dialogue suffered. Sorry to say, Mr. Shapiro does better in the courtroom (how much of this book is attributed to him?)

I have to give the two writers some credit for tackling a very tought issue. Abortion is one of the most polarizing issues on todays political landscape. Unfortunately, all Mr. Shapiro and Becker did was muddy up water that was already quite murky.
From the beginning the characters were one dimensional and the plot was predictable. The normal cast of characters, the feminist, the conservative politition, the socially minded docter, and the abortion bomber, all showed up and acted their part. The minor twists and turns and the almost surprising twist ending could not save another poorly concieved ideol-novel.
The issues that were raised were intriging on the face, but the characters were so stereotypical and the plot so manufactured that by the end you felt like you just watched 24 hours of CSPAN.

This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. I could not put it down. It makes you wonder, could this really happen?

...This book is a quick and easy read while at the same time, captivating and provacative. It's a meaningful read for women who struggle with maternal instincts and love juxtaposed against the often-unpleasant realities that make having a child seem impossible in today's world. As the mystery unfolds, it is both fascinating and horrifying to look at how embedded we can become in our own hypocritical way of thinking! It weaves throughout the undeniable vulnerability and duality that exists in all of us. For those who dare to think or look at themselves, while also enjoying reading, this is the book!...

"Misconception" is an entertaining tale of medical, legal, and political intrigue by O.J. defense attorney Robert Shapiro and Walt Becker.

Dr. Daniel Wyatt of Louisiana has become a national hero as a result of an incident involving a locally prominent business man, Roger Eastermeadow. Roger gets a serious gunshot wound by the bad luck of being in the wrong place during a convenience store robbery. Fleeing the scene he is near death and collapses outside a restaurant where Dr. Wyatt and his wife are leaving after dinner. Wyatt instantly sizes up the situation and performs a simple but urgent surgical procedure with a steak knife, saving Roger's life in the presence of TV cameras and a large crowd. The story is soon broadcast nationally on CNN and other national media. Dr. Wyatt is instantly famous, and he and his wife become frquent guests on TV talk shows as expert, charming, talking heads.

It is now ten years later, and Dr. Wyatt has the inside track for nomination as the new Surgeon General, with every expectation of being quickly confirmed by the Senate; however, there is one worrisome potential complication. The good Dr. has had a one night stand with one of his patients, Sarah Corbett, and we discover that she is now pregnant. If it comes to light it will certainly scuttle his chances to be the Surgeon General.

Wyatt discusses his dilemma with Clair Davis, a pro-choice activist, and she strongly urges him to get Sarah to end the pregnancy with an abortion. Dr. Wyatt has discussed that possibility with Sarah, and she is unwilling. But Clair provides Wyatt with the French abortion pill, RU-486, and urges him to give it to Sarah.

Soon Sarah has a miscarriage with bloody complications---but she survives. The District Attorney figures out what happened, and uses Sarah's story to indict Wyatt for murdering a fetus against the will of the mother. The trial gains national attention with both pro-choice and pro-life activists keenly concerned about the implications of the trial for abortion law.

Meanwhile, Father Peter O'Keefe has been doing all he can to stem the tide of abortions by assassinating abortion doctors. He becomes interested in the case of Dr. Wyatt, and forms a plan to kill him if he is acquitted of murdering Sarah's unborn child.

The story line is taut and entertaining, and once started it's hard to put it down! Dr. Wyatt is a completely decent person, while the other characters are each somewhat extreme in their views and actions. But all are completely believable. The anti-abortion serial killer, Father O'Keefe, conveys the warped mentality of the extreme anti-abortion fringe. It all plays out in a satisfying way, without taking sides or being preachy about either side of the abortion issue.

The action and the pace are intense, and the plot and characters give us insight into one of the most complex, emotional, and divisive issues in the nation today. I highly recommend it, and I'll be very surprised if it doesn't soon become a hit movie!

HGTV Move over--there is a new star in town! I saw Adrienne in MORE magazine and read about this book. It exceeded all my expectations!!!

This book is trully blow you away amazing!!!!!
I never knew the power of paint. I got great ideas for my own home, did them and sold it for $50,000 over comps in this down market. This is a must have book.

Loved the ideas in this book. I'm a faux painter and was inspired by the photographs in the book.

Very good ideas and beautiful examples of what can be done with Faux finishing. I was fortunate enough to visit the "House that Faux built" in Virginia and the book has great photographs. Realizing that this is not another how to do it book, but rather an exposure to many marvelous things that can be done with Faux techniques, I have found it to be a good resource for ideas and examples.

I loved how they redid the basement! the pictures inspired me to tackle my own basement!

Only the first five chapters, those briefly delineating Rumsfeld's time in the Nixon administration, his early political ambitions, and his time at G.D. Searle, served to contribute to the overall narrative of the "catastrophic legacy" of Donald Rumsfeld. Although those chapters do provide some historical insight into his career prior to becoming George W. Bush's SecDef, those insights are tainted by language that betrays a deep seeded animosity on the part of the author towards his subject. To be fair to Cockburn, the more I come to learn about the history of the two wars conducted by Rusmfeld, the more and more I myself come to possess what can only be described as a deep seeded animosity towards the man. Be that as it may, I have not written a book about the loathsome character.

As far as the more contemporary history, that which relates to OIF and OEF, other than the allegations of Rumsfeld personally being involved in the torture of Jose Padilla and the abuse at Abu Ghraib, this book provides no new insight. I'd suggest the reader pick up Fiasco or Bush at War instead.

An excellent book describing the egomaniac called Donald Rumsfeld, he is just one of the crimminals that have taken over control of the United States and should be tried for being a war crimminal. America wake up you are ruled by gangsters-he is just one of them. Does RICCO apply here?

What have we become as a nation, when a man as insidious as Rumsfeld can attain such power and cause such damage and harm? It is perhaps time that we as a people pay closer attention to the politics of the day, and not concern ourselves with Brittany's paunch. Democracy requires a well informed, literate, and discriminating citizenry. We do not live on ANIMAL FARM, and we do not have to mindlessly accept and bleat the mantra of the Neo-Cons.

I'm sure the publisher blanched with the use of the word "Catastrophic" in the title, but it is a true description of the legacy, as noted and well-laid out in the book.

A definite keeper to help bridge gaps of other writings about the Bush Administration and its concept of what "Republic" and "Government" mean.

Rumsfeld was there from the beginning of the "Neo-Con Coupe" and following his many "snowflakes" in life will definitely bring the whole "grand plan" to light of public scrutiny.

It leaves the feeling of knowing you know now definitely what you really know you now don't know.

Investigative journalist Andrew Cockburn shows how Rumsfeld has helped to push the US state into political and military disaster.

Cockburn introduces us to Rumsfeld's business career, which depended on promoting aspartame, a sweetener suspected of causing brain tumours. He swung a compliant Food and Drug Administration into approving it anyway and bought enough Senators to amend the Drug Act to extend its patent, yielding the company $3 billion extra revenue.

Rumsfeld played a key role in fixing the intelligence to fit the policy of attacking Iraq. Saddam's son-in-law Hussein Kamel told US officials about Iraq's arms build-up in the 1980s and also told them that in 1991 "all weapons - biological, chemical, missile, nuclear - were destroyed." The US state shouted worldwide about the build-up, but hid the destruction.

Bush appointed Rumsfeld the US Secretary for Defense in January 2001. Cockburn details Rumsfeld's catastrophic decisions in the disastrous wars against Iraq and Afghanistan. The US state has failed to focus on defeating Al Qa'ida, widening the wars into attacks on the Iraqi and Afghan peoples. So Iraq lost to the invader but is defeating the occupier. The Taliban lost Kabul but is winning the war.

Rumsfeld claimed that he could occupy Iraq with a small force. He apparently believed the crook Chalabi who told him there would be no postwar guerrilla resistance and that Iraq would quickly become a stable capitalist ally.

The US has the largest military spending ever and has spent $500 billion so far on the Iraq war, yet US soldiers' families have to buy them body armour and the soldiers try to protect their unarmoured Humvees with salvaged bits of plywood. No wonder the US army is at breaking point.

What was Secretary for Defense Rumsfeld doing meanwhile? He was calling Guantanamo Bay every week for reports on the torture of Mohammed al-Qahtani. He was personally specifying the torture techniques at Abu Ghraib - the use of dogs, stress positions, and deprivation of food and sleep.

Throughout his squalid career, Rumsfeld bullied, lied and cheated to get his own way. Richard Nixon, no mean judge, called him `a ruthless little bastard'. But as with all reactionaries, his scheming has brought only disaster to his cause.

This book will give you a lot of information so you can design and build your kitchen cabinets. It is great.

Planning, organizing, layout, building, finishing and finally installing cabinets. Jim also included some shop tips and simple jigs. Doors and drawers included, though there are more extensive books on that matter. The book is enough by itself to help you build your first cabinets from scratch. I made my first build a corner set with 8 ft of counter, tops and bottoms ( wood is my lucrative hobby ). I also recommend Jim's book for the pro cabinet maker as it has some organizational advise that complements this volume. This book gives several styles of construction and face assembly, all good. I used mortise and tenon bead for my build, but I had nice FESTOOL joiner with dust system already. ( Festool 574283 DOMINO DF 500 Q Set. My only FESTOOL and well worth it. )

good book

I also recommend:
"Finish Carpentry" by Taunton Press
"Understanding Wood Finishing" by Bob Flexner ( very good )
"Cabinet Doors and Drawers" by Danny Proulx

and just about everything from Rockler.com and Lie-Nielsen.com

Thats a pretty comprehensive list, I feel its complete for the task in question. Many reviewers say these books are mostly fundamentals, I agree. The authors assume you have a "complete" set of power tools and a viable work space with many hours safely logged in it. You're looking at at least $5,000 start-up cost for decent power and hand tools to get into this field of hobby, and at least that much again to pretend you're seriously in business NOT including quality materials on hand for manufacture. Yep on hand before you sell anything. Its the unsung costs of dust collection, climate management, quality finishing, insurance, and maintenance that make the cost climb up on you.

Can you compete with China?

But I digress. Enjoy a great read!

Definitely the best money I have spent on a cabinet book. Tolpin really provides a LOT of valuable information that can be used for DECADES to come.

From what I gather through my readings, Tolpin is a traditionalist / purist at heart, but, he understands the necessity to produce time and resource efficient designs. He provides instruction on both sides of the spectrum: Fast and Effective as well as traditional and effective (a little something for both). In this way, he is able to speak to the enthusiast that is interested in making a traditional set of cabinets, and the professional that is interested in producing a quality set of cabinets more quickly.

I also gather that he really enjoys teaching others his thoughts, shortcuts, time saving jigs that you can really use and appreciate (especially if you have been busting head trying to do it another way). This fact is what really wants me to buy more of his books. His service to carpentry in general is extraordinary; he is a true teacher of carpentry and advises young carpenters in almost every page of this book.

I especially enjoyed making and using most of the jigs he describes. In one chapter he outlines more than 5 jigs. Having built them (extremely easy to make), I have already put them to use in more than one woodworking session and will continue to do so in the future because they are so useful.

If you're interested in cabinet making, buy this book. If you're tight on money, buy a used copy. The point is to buy this book and read this book. If you don't like to read, buy this book because the illustrations can explain a lot too. Building one cabinet will pay for the book.

This book is old school and is way outdated as far as making cabinets. This book is very hard to follow and laid out very poorly. If you want a good book to make cabinets look into "Building Kitchen Cabinets" UDO SCHMIDT

The hand written drawings are poorly done and lack significant detail. The photo illustrations are of good quality but are again limited in their application to the building process. Overall descriptions of the building process are scanty at best. Woodworkers interested in learning kitchen cabinet construction would be better served by reading Jere Cary's book; Building Your Own Kitchen Cabinets by the Taunton Press.