Consumer Information Books

...I will buy a copy of this for everyone whose online personal profile has made me cringe. But then maybe not, because I'd go broke. If you have posted a shirtless photo, ever mentioned your ex in your ad, overthought your username, or wondered if you really should have mentioned that psychotropic drug you're taking the moment someone "winked" at you, YOU NEED THIS.

If you have been trying to encourage your son or daughter to explore the possibilities of on-line dating, this is the perfect book to recommend. Ms. Wodtke charts a course through on-line dating sites with an eye for cost-effectiveness and good advice for safe meetings. This is a great guide for getting their feet wet ...

Not getting a lot of hits to your online personals ad, Ms. Wodtke? The final page cleverly named "About the Author", uncovers the book's real purpose: another way for the author to get her own online personals ad seen. Other than that, most of what's here is obvious, common-sense stuff, that you should be aware of if not before you even venture into online dating then certainly by the time you're in the registration process of any personals site. Most tell you extensively how to navigate their services, which includes information that is in this book. The upside here is that you don't pay more than $5. Yet another downside is being foolish enough (I'm putting myself in this category) to actually pay for it at all.

This books walks one effortlessly through the steps of online dating . Who knew it could be so easy! The book is extremely helpful and easy to read. I met and started dating a fantastic man within a few weeks after reading and implementing the suggestions in the book. Well worth $5!

I saw this book in a bookstore recently and had to write a review. Thumbing through it left me with that same feeling I had the day after the recent presidential election - you know, sick to one's stomach. Ok, it's not just that the premise for the book is idiotic (really if you can't figure out online dating, then you probably need to keep your DNA out of the gene pool), but really, this book is such a waste of paper that I am suprised Sierra Club hasn't protested it. The writing is puerile and the attempts at humor akin to the jokes my preschool children tell. What were the "Learn...for 5 Bucks" people thinking? Save your money and spend the night tweezing your eyebrows, it'll be less painful and is more likely to improve your chances in the dating world.

If you are looking for Government regulated information, then you will find it in this book. I was looking forward to reading this book and learning from it, yet I find myself more than disappointed. Her views on natural medicine, herbs, and the like are far from enlightened or open. She has a dim view of anything not viewed from "scientific research". This book reminds me of the government propaganda in the 50's and 60's.
I honestly would like to rate this lower, but the scale doesn't allow it. I will be glad to rid myself of this book.

This book was used for a nutrition class I took at college. It was the book I've learned the most from and enjoyed reading so much, that I decided not to sell it back. It's full of handy information that I will use for years to come.

This book is easy to ready, comprehend and enjoy. It is a required text at the University I attend, and I was suprised to find it so easy to read. I really like this book, I find many of the pictures to look like the pictures I grew up with in my text books in Jr High and the commercials I watched.

Judith did an excellent job in putting hard to relate to information into an easy to follow format. Charts, graphs, and great pictures made this an easy read. It certainly has helped me realize that many of us do not eat properly, and has helped me to understand how to alter the way we eat for the better.

You will find many interesting facts on Vitamins, fats, food digestion, and daily requirements. This should be the owners manual we are given. If we were to grow up with the knowldege in this book, Americans would be in much better health.

I also like the fact that it is not a hardbound copy. It is lightweight and easy to take anywhere when I need to study.

I bought this book for a class and it shows pretty thouroughly everything you want to know about nutrition. It seems to talk a lot about nutrition fads, and how quick fixes in nutrition to lose weight, gain muscle don't add up too much. It is pretty much by the book on everything. The main message I'll make is that this a book to read if you are wondering about your nutrition habits. It gives sufficient information on nutrition, recommended to all because it is easy to read.

This book is easy to ready, comprehend and enjoy. It is a required text at the University I attend, and I was suprised to find it so easy to read. I really like this book, I find many of the pictures to look like the pictures I grew up with in my text books in Jr High and the commercials I watched.

Judith did an excellent job in putting hard to relate to information into an easy to follow format. Charts, graphs, and great pictures made this an easy read. It certainly has helped me realize that many of us do not eat properly, and has helped me to understand how to alter the way we eat for the better.

You will find many interesting facts on Vitamins, fats, food digestion, and daily requirements. This should be the owners manual we are given. If we were to grow up with the knowldege in this book, Americans would be in much better health.

I also like the fact that it is not a hardbound copy. It is lightweight and easy to take anywhere when I need to study.

This is a wonderful book for those trying to conceive. I checked it out of the library twice. Lots of good advice about timing, the science of conception, health tips, fertility problems, pregnancy tests, ovulation tests, and the basics. Answered a ton of questions that I had. Yeah, people know how to have sex to get pregnant, but this book helps you optimize the best times to have sex.

I checked out this book from the library to see if it was worth buying. I'm so glad I did not waste my money. This was the most basic information that I'm sure kids in grade school get in their Sex Ed classes. It was all pretty much common sense and I did not learn anything new.

I found this book to be extremely informative and helpful. After reading through it, and following the instructions recommeneded I conceived within 2 months. I originally checked this book out at the library, and I found it to be so helpful that I bought it. If you have questions/ concerns about being able to conceive, and wanting to get pregnant quickly, I would highly recommend this book.

This book gives some great common-sense tips on getting pregnant.
Sure, we all know how its done and we've heard our share of old wives tales, but this is sound, practical advice from a fertility doctor on how to increase your chances of getting pregnant in the shortest amount of time (without fertility drugs). I had no idea that caffeine could affect a woman's fertility, even in moderate amounts! Also, he advises on common sense health information and how to best be prepared to carry a healthy pregnancy. I wouldn't call it required reading, but very informative and I am one of those people that likes to reseach things thoroughly before taking them on.

I have not received my book yet and it was ordered in February!!

great book, would recomend it for anyone thinking of going into the cosmetology field.

This comprehensive source of business information for anybody in, or thinking of being in the field of Cosmetology, is excellent. I wish my daughter had had something like this before she started her own beauty business. It would have saved her a lot of money, trial and error, and headaches. I think the resource section with all the websites in the back of the book are of great value and interest. The general small business startup section is one of the best written that I have seen. It is short, informative, and to the point. I have used it to help people who are thinking of starting a business in any field. The true life stories add interest and keep you turning the pages. I think it should be included in the curriculum for every Beauty School Student.
I highly recommend this book.

This book is an extension of other volumes on the subject of
obtaining free money from various governmental sources.
For instance, there is money for the disabled at a
Clearinghouse for the Disabled 202-205-8241. There are government programs aimed at providing free medical care
at the National Institutes of Health 800-411-1222.
New York State has money for the disabled at 518-473-1675.
There is a NYS Low Down Payment Program and Conventional Rate
Program to deliver low-cost loans to worthy home-buyers.
New York State Scholarships can be obtained at 518-473-7087.
There is a BENEFITSCHECKUP.ORG to verify eligibility for
governmental benefits. The NYS Office of Development is at
518-474-7756. NYS support for education is at 518-474-3852.
Energy grants may be obtained at 800-DIAL DOE. Heat grants may
be obtained at 518-473-2517. Tax credits may be obtained at
800-225-5829. There is a Community Partnerships for Children
which provides family assistance . The Department of Housing
(HUD) and Development has special programs aimed at assisting
families in housing finance. These programs are HUD 504, 234c
and 203n. NYS Scholarship Assistance may be obtained by
calling 518-474-7087. Bravekids.org provides assistance to
children. McNair Post Graduate Grants may be obtained at
202-502-7600. The Graduate Assistance Program Based on
National Need is contained in part 84.200. The National
Science Foundation has special graduate assistant programs
at 703-292-8710. NYS has another disability program at 518-474-9222. The deKay Foundation has grant support for the elderly.
212-789-5255. Smallbiz.suny.edu supports education.
New York State has a one stop service at wdny.org

These are just some of the programs cited. The authors provide
many more at the federal level and for the various states.
Some international sources are noted as well. The book is an
excellent value if you are looking for available funding sources.

I bought an earlier edition of his books called "government giveaways" and learned the following the hard way.

Since he published new ones, I kept my mind open to what was new and I found out that I have this book in my local book store. I cracked it open and skimmed it.

Lesko makes it seem from the advertising that all of these grant and loan programs are for everyone-this isn't the case. When you eliminate 49 other states and every city other city that you don't live in in your state, the book becomes very, very short. There are federal programs that do apply, but there isn't a lot.

Go to your local book store to take a peek at it. You will learn that only a few things will likely apply to what you're interested in, and it isn't likely going to be worth the price of the book.

I would however recommend to Lesko that he gets team of researcher's and writers covering programs in MORE detail for each state. Having a more local edition of his books with all the existing state government and city govenment programs would be much more informative.
For example since I am interested in business financing, there is something called an SBA 7a loan. It would seem from the book that anyone can get it. But from the book you wouldn't know the following requirements:
1) You must be able to guarantee a portion of the loan yourself, with your real estate or other businesses. If you can't do this you don't qualify.
2) If you are an existing business, Your tax returns for the previous few years must have proof of cashflow. They won't guarantee a loan for business that doesn't show profit. SO DON't CHEAT ON YOUR TAXES!
3) Loan expenditures are only for tangible expenses, you can't pay rent, or people with the loan money.
4) If you are a new business, you must have Significant experience in the industry you plan on doing your business in.

Now why couldn't he just say that in his books!?!? It's because the book is written with a shotgun approach and isn't too detailed.

Good luck and happy free money hunting!

His book is very informative but a fair amount of work in involved. Many people don't understand all that is involved in getting grants. So for many of them the books are not as useful as they should be. People need positive and realistic approaches with LOTS of elbow grease. With this mindframe they can profit for his book. Two good books are "Grants for Dummies" and "Government Funding and You". Both books are realistic and they can help anyone get registered and start seeking grants SERIOUSLY.

-Kelli

Wow! This guy really thinks he's something. This book is page after page of just how witty/clever/smart the author belives he is, with very little valuable information. To be honest, I only got through about half of it. I learned nothing except Hasbrouck must really love to read his own stuff. There's nothing in this book you can't find by doing a simple search on yahoo or google. Do not spend money on this book!

If an award were to be given to one of the most complete and informative guides pertaining to the topic of the Internet and travel, Edward Hasbrouck's book entitled The Practical Nomad Guide To The Online Travel Marketplace would probably merit nomination.

This softbound guide is particularly useful to the novice who may have little experience in surfing the net when it comes to the subject matter of travel.
The book is authored by Edward Hasbrock and published by Avalon Travel.

Edward Hasbrock is one of the world's best known authorities on around-the-world travel as previously exemplified by one of his other books entitled The Practical Nomad: How to Travel Around the World.
He is also an expert on international airfares and this expertise is certainly illustrated in the The Practical Nomad Guide To The Online Travel Marketplace concerning the topic of air travel arrangements.

One of the most noteworthy features about the publication is that within every chapter we have a brief resumé of the principal topics dealt within the respective sections.

Another excellent element of the book is its division into five main topics, research, reservations and purchasing, consumer protection, using the Internet while travelling and finally references.
No doubt these matters should be the traveller's main concerns when using the Internet as a tool when planning a trip. This should be the global picture of how to use the Internet when it comes to travel.

The usefulness of the tips and information presented by the author can best be exemplified if we only refer to the chapter pertaining to the evaluation of web sites.

Hasbrouck most aptly points out to his readers that many of the travel sites are nothing more than infomercials. Furthermore, there are sites where the research is very sloppy and often the authors of these sites have never been to any of the countries or cities they are writing about. This observation should give us something to ponder over when we are viewing any travel site.

Another useful insight made by the author is that we should combine research tools.
In other words we are given step-by-step guidelines as to what resources are available on the net and how best to use these resources when planning our trips.
We are advised that a combination of search engines, web directories as well as newsgroups should all be implemented in order to secure maximum results.
All of these resources are fully described and explained to the reader.

We are also informed as to what kinds of travel research are best done on the Internet.
Very often we tend to waste a good deal of time researching the Internet for the best deal when in fact it is far better to contact a good travel agent who very often can offer us something that is not found on the Internet.
I have had this experience many a time when I tried to track down the best airfare, when in fact it was my travel agent who gave me the best deal. Why? Because the travel agents have access to some resources that can never be found on any travel site.

When we do reach our destinations there is always the matter of keeping in touch with home. Where do we locate Internet connections? The suggestions given in the chapter dealing with this topic are of great practical use, especially for those of us who do not have the foggiest idea as to where to look for Internet accessibility.

There are many more useful tidbits scattered throughout the book, such as security and credit cards, consumer protection laws, fraud and scams, background information about destinations, Usenet Newsgroups. These topics are vital and important in understanding the methodology in using the Internet as a tool in planning our trips.

This is a guide well worth every penny, particularly for those of us who may not be fully cognizant of the full value of the Internet.
Perhaps we should rename the book Internet Travel 101!

This review was first published in the reviewer's own site:
www.bookpleasures.com

The book is easy-to-read, pleasant and extremely complete. The chapters concerning safety and privacy through the Internet are carefully detailed but not too technical, and I think everybody will understand them; furthermore they deal with problem concerinig e-commerce in general, not only online travel services. The last part of the book dealing with how to stay online while travelling requires more computer knowledge, but the author promply warns the reader before getting into geeky technicalities, so that it is easy to skip the difficult pages. As the book deals with an ever-changing subjects, updates are available at the author's web site, and it is always possible to send an e-mail and ask for explanation if something is not clear. It helped me a lot understand the online travel marketplace and how to make my purchases online more wisely.

The best was to start your new Adkins Lifestyle & the shopping guide is awesome! A must have for all on the Adkins diet!

First off, my credentials: I lost fifty pounds on this diet. This is a review of this guide, not of the diet.

The beginning part of the book gives a brief, peppy rundown on the diet itself. It has some good information, but the tone is irritating. The phrase 'doing Atkins' may be colloquially understood, but it sounds amateurish and is heavily overused. No opportunity to pimp Atkins brand products is passed up. The result had me on edge by the time I began reading the actual shopping guide, and then it got worse.

The useful parts are those dealing with raw foods, ones that don't involve 'branding' (that's corporate newspeak for "ramming the product name into your head and keeping it there," folks): fruits, basic meats, cheeses. Gouda is gouda; tofu is tofu; beets are beets. Unfortunately, even these parts suffer from some degree of measurement inconsistency.

If you're going to compare nutritional facts from item to item, you have to use the same size portions for each item in a class. It is no good referring to 1/2 cup of most vegetables, then switching to 'half a baked potato' or 'two tablespoons'. Sure, the reader can convert, but isn't that why I bought the book? Pick a half cup and stick with it. Or an ounce. A ton. I don't care, as long as it's consistent, and the book's measurements are often so inconsistent as to be impractical for reference.

Where the book really begins to go south is when it comes to any form of 'branded' food. Atkins Nutritionals, or whichever branch of the Atkins empire put this out, has naturally listed Atkins brand products first in every category. Okay, fine, we're big kids and can read past this obvious shill; but even so, a lot of the other name brand products evaluated are going to change as the market reacts. That's going to make a big chunk of this book obsolete. Plus, the obvious placement of Atkins brand stuff first leaves a lingering suspicion: how did they choose the brands for the book? I can't find a lot of them on my local shelves. Is it possible that the ones chosen were those that would look undesirable relative to Atkins brand products? I don't know; I'm not a professional nutritionist or supermarket chain buyer. All I know is that the array of choices sure makes the Atkins stuff look like the best in every category. Funny how that worked, eh?

The problem with low-carb dieting, at this writing, is that our food providers have decided to brand a lot of their products with the 'low-carb' label, as if merely saying so will make it so. The guide states, correctly, that this stems from a lack of regulation. A balanced, professionally written guide would have been a great step forward; the message urged upon the reader from nearly every page of this book--"Just buy ours!"--is a step backward.

Like any sales brochure, this should be free. Don't pay $7.50 for it.

The book is pretty good. Its clear and concise--straight to the point. I wish it would contain more of the different styles, but it mainly focuses on two--humanitites style and scientific style (MLA & APA). It would really help students to sort of have all of the styles in one book so we do not have to get like four or five books just because our professor wanted a paper a certain way. This book also focuses on the online citation (most books fall short of the online stuff because it is so new).

Citation of materials from the (extremely) volatile web was a major problem. Creating a summary, and providing a hyperlink to the original content, proved a major issue since electronic content moves so frequently.. The Columbia Guide gives some assurance that proper citation can be given. Some of the citation style suggestions seem very redundant, and there is no clear table or quick summary to highlight the proper method for common usage. Still, as the first work of this type, it gives an excellent baseline for referencing, building, managing on-line content.

Instead of being really comprehensive, quite a number of species which are currently in use as medicinal plants cannot be found in this Guide. We are not happy with this book/guide.

As Tommie Bass practiced his herbal medicine in the southern Appalachan range of North America, one could expect that most of the plants discussed would be native to the region. This is indeed the case, although there are some mentions of non-native plants that Tommie had himself heard about in later years as herbalism became mainstreamed by the new age movement. This in response to the only other review of the book.

What I found particularly useful about the book is the manner in which the material is presented. Each plant is described in two sections. The first consisting of what Tommie Bass had to say about it, and the second being what other herbalist sources had to say about it, what modern medical studies have been done concerning the plant, and if known, the active chemicals the plant contains.

Overpriced in the extreme, but on the other hand, it's one of my most valued herb books.

As a practicing obstetrician-gynecologist, I felt Dr. Cortese's book presented an easy to read summary of the many problems facing the perimenopausal woman, as well as their solutions. His book includes not only traditional medications to ease some of the symptoms, but some natural/alternative methods as well.

Reminds me of a friend describing Paris. She's never been there, but thinks she has because she's read the guidebooks.

There's some good medical information here, but what I sense lacking is a firm grasp of how complicated the perimenopause journey can be for many women.

Perhaps the statement, "If a perimenopausal woman does become depressed, it should not be assumed it is due to the changes her body is going through," (page 48) is meant to be reassuring. Unfortunately, for many of us it is just not true. After all, wouldn't you be depressed if you had (any time, any place) bleeding, loss of libido, headaches, urinary incontinence, heart palpitations, sleep deprivation and loss of memory? Did I mention loss of memory??

Women need validation that this is a normal part of the journey. Correct. But medical practitioners need to become more alert to the crippling effect symptoms can have on the lives of the women passing through this lifephase.

Although Dr. Cortese does try for this level of empathy, I sense he too easily retreats to the more comfortable discussions of low dose birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy.