Cleaning Books

I would highly recomend this book to anyone!It is truly based on the redemptive spirit of man.Once you start reading you'll be hard pressed to put it down!A moving testimony to the power and possibilty of change.The Past definitely doen't appear to equal the Future!
It will open your eys to recognizing [..]before it happens, but more importantly it will restore your faith in mankind.
Truely well worth the read!

MUST READ FOR AN INVESTOR IN STOCKS & MUTUAL FUNDS:
I watched Barry Minkow speak at a local event in San Diego. Then, I read this book. Second part of the book is quite intriguing and enlightening. After reading the book I realized I had just avoided investing in a Ponzi Scheme simply out of my gut feel. Had I read it before, I would have notified him of a scheme in progreess. I wish Barry wrote more incidents of Ponzi Schemes and how to avoid them.
I have recommended this book to my closed friends.

Recently I saw Barry Minkow on 60 minutes. Upon reading amazon reviews, I couldn't help but notice the outstanding ratings but I was a bit concerned that this was just another criminal who found religion and subsequently got his act together. I am a slow reader but I've got to tell, I started this book on a rainy Saturday morning and I finished it early Sunday morning -- even the college football on television couldn't subplant my interest in this story. To say that Barry has led a very interesting life would be an understatement. He doesn't make excuses and I think he recognizes his recovery is going to be lifelong process. Look, take it from a sports junkie. You want something different, something that will captivate you from page one -- then this is your book. It's not spiritual and Minkow doesn't preach, he just tells his story. Perfect book for the train, plane or a quiet weekend at home. Gotta give it 5 Stars because its only the second book I've ever read in one day (Glory Denied is the other).

I found this to be a great read and page turner. If you enjoy reading a personal account of one living a life of dishonesty, pride, greediness, and the downfalls that come with it then this book is for you.

An autobiography detailing the creation of a business while still in high school that eventually is worth millions and then falls like a matchstick creation as it was started with fraud from beginning to end. This is the story of how that was accomplished, his time in prison where he meets the most important person in his life, and after he gets out about his failures and his acceptance of his new found accomplishments. A wonderful read!!

Parents, grandparents, teachers, caretakers, and anyone who cares about children and the future of our nation, must read Susan Linn's, Consuming Kids, and take action. At it's core, Consuming Kids, examines the negative affects that marketing and advertising have on children. The disturbing fact is that marketing to children is a booming industry that is essentially profiting from programming children. The question Linn presents to the reader is: who is responsible for shaping our children? Is it McDonald's? Is it the Worldwide Wrestling Federation? Is it Pepsi? Is it Barbie? Linn argues and I agree with her, that today's generation of children are not basing their identity or values around those of their parents or friends, but are rather being shaped by brands and large corporations.

I myself am a student of media and marketing, having chosen a major in Communication Arts. In addition to this, I have spent my past six summers as a full-time nanny, and one day hope to be a mother myself. Why is this so important? All of these credentials provided me with the ability to read Linn's book from many different perspectives, however, in the end I received the same message no matter through what lens I was looking; marketing to children needs to stop, not only for children's benefit, but also for the benefit and well-being of society.
Linn brings a new perspective, as a mother and an Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Linn also serves as Associate Director of the Media Center at Judge Baker Children's Center in Boston. Her background allows her to speak from a mother's perspective, while also utilizing her experience in psychology when examining some of the tactics in campaigning and marketing to children. She successfully finds a balance between the concern of a mother and a deliverer of facts, making her a reliable and credible source. Through multiple personal examples, in addition to statistics and data, Linn reveals the harms of marketing to children.
Linn reflects on an era when children spent their time playing outside and creating fantastic imaginary worlds; however, as Linn points out, today a child cannot even read a popular novel, such as Harry Potter and bring his/her own imagination to it. Harry Potter has been constructed for them, no need to imagine what Hogwart's School looks like because they can see Harry Potter's entire world by watching the movie. Essentially Linn shows the reader that children are becoming programmed by the media and advertising. No longer do they stretch their minds and think for themselves, but rather they have become desensitized and need to be constantly entertained by way of television, video games, and computer games. When I nanny in the summers, the phrase "I'm bored" is uttered by every child in the family usually multiple times a day. My suggestions to play outside, color, or play a board game, are met by whines and responses of "I don't want to". Instead they prefer for me to take them to the video store to rent a movie or to simply act as couch potatoes, staring blankly at the television.

Linn's point is that corporations, commercial media, and advertisers are concerned with one thing and that is making a profit. The notion of instilling the correct values and lessons in children, in addition to reinforcing creativity and individuality, seems to have fallen to the waste side and has been replaced by images of sex and violence. Marketers strive to grab children's attention; sex and violence are only two examples of tactics that have proven to be successful. Not only is it problematic for a six year old to be playing with "lingerie Barbie", but also on a larger scale, where is the responsibility on the part of the marketers? Would they want their child playing with a scantly clothed doll? What lessons does that doll teach a child?

These questions of social and ethical responsibility are the heart and core of Linn's book. Linn recognizes that parents can only do so much and say "no" so many times before it begins to take a serious toll on their child/parent relationship. Therefore, she reassures parents that they are not the ones to blame, nor should they be blamed for problems surrounding children's exposure to negative and harmful images, but rather, people need to ban together and take action against the source of the problem which is the media themselves. Keeping consistent in tone and purpose, Linn offers a list of simple suggestions for parents to do their part in stopping the "marketing maelstrom". The future looks bleak if the media's messages to children revolve around sex, violence, and materialism. We must stop the advertising beast before it causes permanent damage and jeopardizes the future of society.

The central premise of this book is that parents are being told that it is their responsibility--not that of the government or private industry--to shield children from the harmful effects of marketing while at the same time, advertisers are using methods specifically intended to undermine parents' efforts. Young children are extremely vulnerable to advertising, and marketers exploit that vulnerability without any concern about the well-being of the children or the population at large. It is not realistic to expect parents to have control over these influences when they come from all directions and with such force.

What is most disturbing about this well-researched study is how unabashedly exploitative the advertising industry has become toward children. They are proud of "cradle to grave" marketing that can begin when children are toddlers or infants. The "nag factor" is considered a perfectly reasonable way to get children to convince their parents to buy them things. Harmful products such as obesity-inducing fast foods, nicotine, and alcohol are pushed the hardest at children, and statistics show that even the most well-intentioned and involved parents can fail teach their children to make wise choices.

The only reason I do not give this book 5 stars is that the author focuses primarily on child-directed consumerism. As a parent, I have experienced the secondary effects of marketing when I've purchased over-hyped products for my son that he hasn't even asked for. Such is the power of advertising that parents become trained to anticipate what they will be nagged for.

The suggestions offered to parents in this book range from actions we can take at home to political issues we can champion to help protect our children. There is no step-by-step guide to making our kids marketing-proof. The point of the book is that parents currently do not have the power to protect their children, and should not be viewed as solely responsible for their well-being. Things are getting worse and only pressure from consumers and from our political representatives can level the playing field.

I see the reader review preceding this one states: "The only reason I do not give this book 5 stars is that the author focuses primarily on child-directed consumerism."

Perhaps said reader didn't notice the TITLE of Susan Linn's book? :(

Why CONSUMING KIDS isn't a national bestseller in perpetuity (and required reading for parents), I cannot explain, other than to suggest that Mattel and Disney have formed a conspiracy against it. Kudos to Susan Linn.

It's hard to imagine someone picking this book up who already doesn't think kids are overly targeted by commercial interests, so the question of "does it make its point" doesn't seem to matter much (the answer is yes). If it won't convince you of its argument since you've already been convinced, what it will do at times is startle you with just how blatant or over-the-top that targeting is.
The book itself is well-documented in a variety of ways--a pleasing and effective mix of personal anecdote (a mother herself), academic scholarship/studies, psychiatry, and old-fashioned journalism involving interviews, internal company memos, and in some of the most interesting scenes, "under-cover" experience at some marketing conferences/workshops.
All the major and expected culprits are examined: tobacco, alcohol, sex, toys, television, etc.. Each one given roughly equal treatment of analysis, anger, and disdain. For the most part, the analysis is even-toned (though always with a sense of sad anger or urgency), though she occasionally stacks the deck against the book's villains a bit too obviously.
Linn closes with some proposed solutions. While she acknowledges the role of parents in such simple solutions as "hey, turn off the TV!", her main argument is that the balance of power has shifted too greatly over the past 20 years or so and the govt. needs to step in on a more aggressive parental/child-friendly fashion. Some will find her solutions overly-intrusive, others will cheer them on, and sadly, I think many will nod in agreement while thinking the genie's already out of the bottle.
There's really very little to complain about with regard to the book. As mentioned, it's a bit self-evident, so one doesn't expect any "wow" moments. And perhaps some more historical context could be helpful. A bit more balance from the other side would have been nice, even if it's hard to imagine much of a defense. But overall, it's a detailed, lucid argument made in pleasant fashion, even if the end result is frustration and sadness over just how far things have gone. Recommended.

I learned about this book from the author when she was a guest on a local radio talk show. I like to describe my opinion as "not-so-humble-yet-worthless". In the case of this book that would be especially so, because I'm not married and don't have any children (a confession for which I am fully prepared to be lambasted behind, because I have the nerve to have an opinion on the topic).

Now that I've gotten that off my chest...I feel that this book was very good at shining a light on the ever increasing problem of the marketing and advertising blitz of consumer products that targets teens and working it's way all the way down to infants. I especially liked Linn's work as a "mole" during a marketing and advertising conference, how she exposes the way public schools have now become a hotbed for marketing executives, and I found myself empathizing with parents who are sports (mainly baseball & football) fanatics that may feel as if watching a sporting event on television is an indirect encouragement to drink, because of the flood of beer commercials that usually accompany televised sporting events.

I happened to be reading a portion of the book on a Saturday morning, and as I put the book down to turn on the television, the channel just happened to be on Fox. Linn speaks in specific detail about every single thing that I saw in that short TV break...the Fox/4Kids TV collaboration in the book, how that collaboration allows a particular ad agency to market to kids all morning long, every Saturday, how Companies like Lego have begun to offer playsets that are designed to create only one particular thing and as a result, stifle the creativity of young minds, and the way products devoid of nutritional value are marketed in this fashion, as well as the effects it may have on child obesity. So it's certainly not difficult to locate the evidence of which she speaks.

The book does drag at times and in just about every chapter, stops at or leaves room for many open-ended questions that as a result, make it at times begin to read a little too much like a buck-passing project put together by parents in search of a scapegoat for their bratty children. I could write an entire book myself on the questions that this one book raised for me.

But where I feel this book is superb, and I believe most readers will find the most useful, is in the final chapter...Ending The Marketing Maelstrom: You're Not Alone. Here, Linn constructs a detailed, yet highly attainable list of suggestions for solutions to the problem where everyone - young or old, parent or childless, marketing executive or schoolteacher, politician or clergyman, working with children or not - has a part to play. And while everything that Linn outlines is not attainable by everyone, I especially liked how she started the out with five segments of "WHAT PARENTS CAN DO"...in the home, in the community, in the schools, in the marketplace, and limiting television and why it's important...the things that are the most attainable by just about everyone. Because I truly believe it begins at home, and we can shine a spotlight on the problem until times get better, but at the end of the day, the reality of this world is that children are not a reflection of a cunning advertising agency or a slick TV commercial. Children are a reflection of the people raising them.

She also offers a list of other books as a suggestion to get people discussing the issue. I think I'm going to take her up on some of her suggestions. Having said that, I'll leave anyone humoring me by reading this review with a quote from one of America's more popular TV Dads, Bernie Mac, when speaking of his own less-than-well behaved TV children: "This is war, and I don't plan on losing."

As a professional eco-friendly interior designer, I find Harmonious Environment: Beautify, Detoxify & Energize Your Life, Your Home & Your Planet by Norma Lehmeier Hartie to be an indispensable tool for my work.

This book started the "green part" of my career. The sections on green living and green products for the home, along with the hundreds of resources, taught me everything I need to know--and where to purchase--green products for the home. There is also a chapter on organic and healthy food and eco-friendly personal care products and on cleaning supplies.

I utilize the tips on organizing and de-cluttering for my clients, too. (For those clients that simply can't get rid of stuff or organize, I give them the book as a gift! It works!)

The sections on Feng Shui are fantastic. Hartie makes difficult concepts easy to understand and execute. I also appreciate the fact that she takes Feng Shui into the 21st century and advises based on Western culture what makes sense. Superstitions based on eastern culture from 1000's of years ago are replaced with down-to-earth and timely advice.

As an interior designer, color is a big part of my job. Hartie incorporates the psychology of color into decorating and this works really well. For example, cool colors like purples and blues work best in rooms that need quiet--like bedrooms--because they will decrease your blood pressure and allow you to rest.

The book has tons of information, but it is easily understood and includes a good index for future reference.

Harmonious Environment is a must-have!

Harmonious Environment: Beautify, Detoxify & Energize Your Life, Your Home & Your Planet, by Norma Lehmeier Hartie, is an indispensable reference book for anyone who cares about their health and well being and for the future of the planet.

Hartie concisely covers a wide range of subjects and includes a comprehensive listing of advisory organizations, product and service resources. Part I of the book, "Banish the Ugly from Your Life," is a blueprint for green, sustainable living. Discover how to replace toxic and unsustainable products from household cleaners to food (including recipes) to furniture to personal care products with safe, eco-friendly ones. Hartie is the tough but motivational Life Coach in her approach to cleaning, removing clutter and on organizing the home or office.

Part II, "Bring in the Beautiful to Create a Harmonious Environment and Self," includes a chapter on Earth-based spirituality and a fascinating look at the Four Elements (Earth, Fire, Air and Water) and the Medicine Wheel. The core of Hartie's philosophy blossoms in Chapter Seven, "Applying Harmonious Adjustments(tm): Using Feng Shui and Other Techniques for Powerful Results." Unlike other Feng Shui authors, Hartie has experience as a designer and her skills are apparent in this chapter and the following two. She has combined principles of Feng Shui, the Four Elements, color, energy, Vastu, creative visualization, and good design principles that create a unique and eclectic approach to home decorating. Finally, Hartie provides guidance on how to manifest personal or professional desires.

In Part III, "Putting the Pieces Together," Hartie skillfully integrates the many subjects of the book into a unified and cohesive whole.

At its cover price of $19.95, Harmonious Environment is a value alone for the comprehensive green living product suppliers in the Resources section.

What makes this book so truly ambitious, however, is what lies beneath the surface. In a sense, this book is only marginally about decorating ones home per se; it is a tome about personal transformation and about saving the earth. A theme that runs throughout the book is that all beings on earth are interconnected energetically. It is empowering to read that each person has the ability to manipulate their homes and self to both raise the collective energy and to manifest their own desires. Motivational, enlightening and well organized, Harmonious Environment is one remarkable book.

The most impressive aspect of Harmonious Environment is the cover of the book. I found the information to be very basic, idealistic, or common sense. If someone has lived in total chaos and now wants to morph into harmony, this is the book for you! If, however, you're already seeking harmony in your home, I would not recommend this book to you. Harmonious Environment is a primer and only for beginners.

This is a great book for both the beginner and those working on clearing their environment. A very interesting read.

This book has a little bit of everything - feng shui, zodiac signs, dowsing, recipes, and organizational tips. It's so full of information it can be a little overwhelming, but she does organize the book very well. I enjoyed the food recipes and the recipes for natural cleaning solutions. The author also states that dogs prefer positive energy and that cats prefer negative energy, which I have long suspected.

The book has too much of a mystical hoopla vibe for me, though. I stopped when she got to the section about the negative effects of tampons on my spiritual energy or whatever.

This is a good read, but not as absorbing as I had hoped. I like the use of real historical figures like Mark Twain and John Muir. It's hard to believe Thomas Edison was quite as evil as depicted here. I love the ambience of old New York, and the dreamy quality of the writing.

I must say though, that time travel has become the genre "du jour." It's a good device and can resolve a myriad of situations, but I'm beginning to feel an over reliance on it.

I am also confused about a couple of things. Near the end of the book Tesla said he spoke to Louisa's "uncle Azor." Azor was not her uncle, but life-long friend of her father. Did I miss something? Her uncle was Dane. Also, Were Robert and Katherine people or robots? I think Hunt has been deliberately ambiguous about some parts of the plot.

Inventors have long had collective reputations of being brilliant and quirky and Nikola Tesla was no exception. Nicely captured in "The Invention of Everything Else", Samantha Hunt has created a story that might easily have passed as reality in Tesla's own life. That blurred line between fantasy and truth is Hunt's guiding light and she largely succeeds.

Tesla offers that inventors should not fall in love, yet his association with chambermaid Louisa, while proper, has a passionate proximity. It could be the one true love they both have found, but the author never lets the story get too close for comfort. The screwball friends and relatives they both have make Tesla and Louisa seem relatively normal by comparison.

Hunt's descriptiveness is better than her plot line. The whole idea about time travel gets confusing without a satisfactory conclusion, but her prose is colorful and never lacks definition. A tighter novel would have been better but Samantha Hunt is a promising writer and one from whom I hope we hear more.

This book is primarily about Nikola Tesla, the eccentric scientist and inventor from Smiljan, who invented AC electricity and wireless communication and belatedly received recognition as the inventor of radio. For the most part, it is a fictionalized account of the latter part of his life while living in New York, especially the time he spent at the New Yorker Hotel, and his interactions with his few friends and acquaintances.

It's also about a fictional chambermaid named Louisa, who is inclined towards being insatiably curious about the lives of the guests of the hotel. Louisa becomes obsessed with Tesla, his life and his inventions, and the two are drawn into a platonic friendship after discovering a mutual interest in homing pigeons. Louisa is also a part of another sub-story involving her widowed father, a family friend who claims to have invented a time machine, and a mysterious young man who may have come from the future.

Even though it's a relatively small book, it includes a detailed account of the life of Tesla, his triumphs, his failures, his phobias and inventions, and the many times he snatched defeat from the jaws of success. The writing style is largely conversational, and it doesn't get so bogged down in science that your eyes glaze over, but the overall structure of the story is sometimes hard to follow (and swallow).

The fact and the fiction don't quite fit together in this historical work, but the rich descriptions of the architecture, social structure and ambience of early twentieth century New York make for interesting reading.

Recommended for inventors, science buffs and historians



Amanda Richards, April 10, 2008

I do not have the words to say how much i love this book...Just buy it.
Thank you Ms. hunt for the time travel back to old NY City

What a wise, marvelous book, passing easily between past, future, the possible and the not yet realized! The writing and science are often pure poetry. The novel tells the story of the eccentric and amazingly unrecognized inventor Tesla (now in his upper eighties and living with pigeons and a room full of scientific papers and detritus in the grand old New Yorker hotel in 1943), and a young chambermaid with a longing to understand him and a hope he can restore what she has lost. This is my first introduction to this author and I can't wait to read her first book.

Stephanie Cowell, author or MARRYING MOZART and NICHOLAS COOKE

Excellent for those who wish to have a home flock. Very informative on the subject and the "how to" of keeping a small flock.

I have bought several books recently on this topic. This is one of the better ones. Enjoyed the pictures and the inserts in the book. It is just a thorough as all the other books on raising chickens. A good buy for anyone interested in staring a chicken flock. Very nice quality of the book. Probably one of the better of any books you will purchase no just in this topic.

The recommendations in this book make it a waste of time, especially the nesting box design.
Save your time and money and befriend someone who has healthy chickens. Learn from them.
These men are not as well informed as they think they are.
Frustrating.

This book has lots of nice pictures, but the information can very easily be obtained from the internet at no cost. not recommended

This is a great introduction to keeping chickens, and I found it very useful.

The author goes through all the basic info you need to know in order to raise chickens. It is a very easy and entertaining read - the author has a great writing style that is enjoyable. It is full of lovely photos that really add to the book. It is a fast read as well.

It is not terribly complete - you will need another source for information once you get into the chicken care part. I would recommend "A Guide to Raising Chickens" by Gail Damerow as a companion to this book. The Damerow book is *very* complete, but it also has the dryness of a textbook and isn't nearly as fun to read [think "dense" and kinda boring].

So, I would recommend buying this book if you are considering raising some chickens because this book will give you all the information you need to make an educated decision. Then, if you do decide to raise some chickens, get the Damerow book in addition to this one so that you have every single detail you need to know.

Anther great book. Anything by Christopher Lowell is going to be worth the money and time to read it. Highly recommend.

Just like a good friend, CL is there to take you by the hand and lead you through your home. "And we're walking...we're walking...'

Written with humor and Christopher Lowell's usual spunk, this book contains some very fundamental key ideas to effectively change how you manage your clutter and once utilized, it can reduce or eliminate clutter (if you take it to heart and actually follow through on a consistant basis). Myself, a once "shop til you drop" and hoarder with cluttered rooms (not dirty), I experienced what it's like to relocate and move all that clutter, and it was a nightmare, so I resolved to clear out the clutter for once and for all. After watching the moving van get loaded, my neighbor's wife remarked, "How did she fit all that stuff in her house?", and her husband replied, "That's something you don't need to know!" Many of the decluttering ideas the author has outlined are things I found out by trial and error, reading lots of books on the subject and being motivated to unburden myself of things I really don't need. Still on the path to further declutter, I spied this book and picked it up. Christopher Lowell has organized some great ideas of how to initially attack the clutter into a good plan to systematically rid yourself of the clutter and change your bad habits through daily management of any further clutter once it's cleared. He also defines what clutter consists of....things we don't normally think of as "clutter", and it's amazing how eliminating all of that makes us feel....wonderful! It is not an easy journey, the emotional part will take some grit, but it gets easier and easier as you follow his lead and you may have to go back after the first round and the second round and eliminate even more.....but it does work! Buy this if you are overwhelmed with clutter and are seriously looking at where to start and how to manage it, and know that it does work when you take it to heart and work the program. It will open up new things for you!

Don't just unclutter the appearance of your home. Get to the root of the problem and truly cut the clutter.

If you're overwhelmed with "stuff" and need help purging, then this is the book for you. Lowell's exceptional design skills combined with his personal charm make the book an enjoyable, worthwhile read. Lowell presents a clutter "attack-plan" that's very easy to comprehend and initiate. He describes how to first eliminate the obvious junk and then follows with a step-by-step method for letting go of items people tend to be more attached to (i.e. things we spent good money on but don't use, or gifts we don't like but were given to us by friends and family). Lowell's book discusses ways to tackle colossal amounts junk, unused "good stuff", and ways to minimize the feelings of guilt associated with the purging process. The send half of the book illustrates Lowell's design genius. Before and After photos show how remarkable a room can be after a design face-lift, clutter is removed, and functional storage systems are incorporated. If you simply need help deciding which basket would work best for your 5 neatly folded sweaters, then don't buy this book. However, if your situation is a bit more dire - for example, getting to the closet door is an obstacle course, which reveals a sea of clothing on the floor scattered with items that belong in the kitchen, den, dumpster, or wherever - then this is the book for you!

I really liked this book, best shortcuts to date. The small bowl of ammonia did help clean the oven, the hot water in the microwave, wasn't enough though.

Great advice.

I'm still going through this book, but I've read enough to give a review. Jeff Bredenberg is a highly entertaining writer. In fact, if you had no intention of changing your cleaning habits, you could buy the book and read it through for its snappy humor. But in fact, there are some good pointers in here on cleaning. I think he relies too much on disposables (buy! buy! buy!), but as he states, take what advise you want and don't sweat the rest. The book is upbeat and fun to read. I bought another book on how to eliminate clutter; the first chapter was so depressing I put the book aside. Cheat at Cleaning also has an index, which is very helpful.

This is a good book - many many helpful hints not just for quickness but to get the job done!!

Just by chance, this book ended up on my coffee table, and every woman who has come within 5 feet of it has immediately picked it up! Surprised at now entertaining this book is to read, we have all enjoyed the short descriptions of how to solve cleaning problems. It's an entertaining and useful book.

I haven't read the book, but I did read a tip from it on AOL news. It suggested heating water in your microwave for 5 minutes to steam off any baked-on food. I'm sure this works great, but a warning: super-heated water can actually blow up in your microwave! It happened to me when heating water for gelatin dessert. It blew the door open and sent scathing water all over the kitchen. (Thank God I was in the next room.)
I immediately "googled" the phenomenon and learned that many people have been badly hurt in taking hot water out of the microwave for tea, etc.
It seems that when heated too much, water molecules become unstable and can explode. This is no urban legend-it's true. One thing that can prevent this is to add a bit of rice, or a tea bag, or anything that can absorb the molecular instability. But as for me, I'll just grab my good old tea kettle now,thanks...

Myths about Canada abound: it's a "fake country," it has a population of 20, people are allowed to marry moose, it's one big year-round hockey tournament, it doesn't really exist, everyone speaks a vulgar form of French, and they have free healthcare but you'll perish waiting in line for service. Canada gets taken for granted. As such, many south of "the other border" know little about the enormous country that sits on top of them. And so myths perpetuate like Yukon snow. But moving to Canada? That assumes one already acknowledges its existence and possesses at least a speck of knowledge about the land with the maple leaf flag. "How To Move To Canada" only assumes the former. Those with no, or very minute, familiarity with Canada will drown in the historical, cultural, and political knowledge contained in these thick 200 pages.

Though its subtitle, "A Primer for Americans," remains a bit of a misnomer (since Canadians are also Americans), this book nonetheless provides a great launching pad for those wanting to immigrate to the Great White North. Note that this book assumes readers want to permanently move to Canada, or at least obtain dual citizenship (only a recent possibility). But those who merely want to "try it out" via a temporary work permit will also benefit from the information within. Both groups will learn about the steps to long term settlement, the long process, and the potential legal roadblocks. Such questions as "when do I need an immigration attorney?" and "how long does citizenship take?" get addressed throughout. A handy "Immigration Time Line" outlines the steps from deciding to move, to permanent residency, and ultimately to Canadian citizenship. But again the underlying assumption is that the reader wants to immigrate, not just get a job. That's an important distinction the book doesn't address very clearly. People can move to and work in Canada without immigrating. Section Two does mention work permits, but briefly. It also contains another very short section on retiring to Canada. Those looking for detailed information on those subjects should look elsewhere.

Hopefully those considering moving to Canada have already done their homework about where and why they want to move. Regardless, "Moving to Canada" contains droves of information on Canadian history, healthcare, politics, climate, differences from province to province (and territory to territory), employment, crime, economy (including housing prices) and demographics. No previous knowledge required. The final section, which makes up more than half the book's bulk, outlines basic information for all ten provinces, three territories, and many major cities. A word of caution: this book was published in 2006, but much of its information dates to the most recently available data. Some dates to 2001. Laws and the economy obviously fluctuate, so readers should consider that while perusing this book's figures. Canada's immigration website, frequently mentioned in the book, remains a good up to date resource.

"How To Move To Canada" contains far more than immigration instructions. It encompasses a historical and cultural survey of North America's placid giant. Expect to learn things like "why do people in Quebec speak French?" "does Canada have a Queen?" "how did Canada become what it is today?" but especially "how do I move there permanently?" This book even serves as a great reference for those who don't ultimately immigrate. As such, "How To Move To Canada" remains a great and easy to read introduction for anyone.

Great book that provides comprehensive information on Canadian Immigration process. Also covers the different immigration rules in different provinces of Canada. The book also sites good online references. A useful resource for Americans who wish to immigrate to Canada.

This is the most thoroughly readable how-to book I have seen on moving to Canada. It is practical and authoritative and has helped my quest for emigration greatly. It's a good investment and the perfect 'starter' book for anyone with thoughts of becoming an ex-pat by moving north of the border.

I found this book reasonably useful as a means of learning how the immigration process works for Canada. You could certainly research all this info on the Internet yourself, but it would be a bother. The author points out some common and potentially serious mistakes that applicants often make on their paperwork.

Also, she herself is an American immigrant to Canada, and speaks from experience and from the American perspective, which makes this book superior to another of its type, "Living and Working in Canada" which was written by a British citizen for an audience of non-North Americans.

This book doesn't pull any punches - you are leaving the United States and moving to another country - an action not to be taken lightly at all. Whether entering our friendly neighbors to the north as just a permanent resident or going all the way and becoming a Canadian citizen (Note! You don't have to give up your US citizenship!)- it's a lot more complicated than just arriving, buying a house, and starting your new job that you've previously located and landed. Interesting sidebar segments on those who have gone before and what they did - or wished they had done - to make the move and transition easier and less stressful.

Yes you can "retire" to Canada - you just have to loan the government $400,000 (CD) interest free for 61 months and have total assets of greater than $800,000 (CD) when you enter and before the loan. No more just showing up with your retirement nest egg.

This book was an easy read with some helpful ideas any relationship can institute. Coleman made some excellent points such as having you think about who you are in your relationship vs. how your parents interacted. I think this book is great for any couple with minor issues or concerns that can be remedied with two concerned partners.

Gosh.. my husband is wonderful, but soooo sloppy!! I wish this title were different. I put a sticker over the title in case my husband found it. I labeled it "Helping My Wonderful, Adorable, Clueless Husband understand How to Help Me Out Around the House" He found the book and was still a little insulted, but I have noticed a difference in how I talk to him about what I need and he seems to want to try harder to help. This book helps you communicate your needs without insulting your husband. Only problem is.. the title is insulting. Needs a new title!!

I think this book is helpful, but frankly until women stop putting up with the role we trap ourselves into, men will always resist until we use our charms and sweet ways to convince them to do what every adult male or female should do. The responsibility for adult living should be squarely on both partners -- I refuse to be 100% responsible for everything. Mind you, that may be the breaking point -- I don't blame men for sitting around if we are willing to tiptoe and dance around. We have not come very far at all.... So very sad....

Coleman thoroughly reviewed the relevant literature on the transition to new parenthood and how it impacts the marital relationship. That plus his own experience, and from couples he counselled, are the sources for this book, and that wide range shows throughout. Great ideas, wonderful pointers to more good ideas. Coleman aimed this squarely at women and explains why: men aren't that unhappy about the deal they are getting. Most of the book is about what women can do to change themselves to change what they get out of their relationship -- there is some great, detailed information about how to negotiate in a wide variety of situations (unlike Shields admirable _How to Avoid the Mommy Trap_, which really applies in only one kind of marriage). The chapter at the end aimed at men is good, also.

The field can still use more entries, but in the meantime, this is a great place to go for ideas on how to survive being a new parent in a world which is not very supportive of being a new parent, and where marriages suffer as a result.

Dr. Coleman supplies hands-on solutions to one of the biggest problems women report to me at www.MommaSaid.net: "My husband doesn't help with the kids or the house."

In "The Lazy Husband," you'll find out how to fix the problem, or at least make it better, so that you're less burdened with all the work that goes into running a household. And your husband will see why a happy mom/wife makes for a happy family.

Aslett understands the challenges of having a large family and trying to keep the house clean in the least amount of time. If you can build your home from scratch - this book is ideal. But even if you can't there are a number of good ideas for organizing and simplifying different areas of your house. I tell all my design friends about it because it is such a good resource for those who try to organize and make interiors beautiful.

I wound up taking 11 pages of notes from this book! We are currently in the process of building our home and I found the ideas in the book to be exceptional. No, I didn't agree with every single one of them but a good 90% worked for our family. I don't know of any other book that addresses every single area of the home and its many uses. Our new home will be much more functional thanks to this book. I highly recommend it and have already loaned mine to an interested friend. You can use this for existing homes as well. The ideas are timeless.

I wish the concept of low maintainance living was a genre onto itself. But so far this and "Ergonomic Living" seem to be the only books that embrace this practical concept. I think most people wouldn't use all the ideas Anslett suggests (like suspended furniture, toilets, etc), but this book makes you keep maintainance in mind before you make any design purchase. Now when I see people who choose to have white floors or furniture or tons of "accessories", I am not impressed with the beauty, I'm thinking of what a hassle it must be to keep it that pristine. I think the part of the book that most sticks out in my mind is a cartoon he puts in the introduction. It shows two neighbors, one with a fancy Victorian house and landscaping. The other with a spare and simple house. The owners of the fancy house are spending their day painting, pruning, fixing and cleaning. Whereas the owners of the simple house are spending family time together playing. That is the reason I bought this book. I enjoy a clean house, but I don't want to sacrifice time with my family to keep it looking impressive for others. I highly recommend this book, but wish it was updated for all the newest innovations that have recently come out.

I adore this book. In out last house I put cream colored carpet in and was always spending $100 to have them cleaned because everything showed. In our new house I chose a deep grey color and I finally had it cleaned after four years bacuase I realized it must be really dirty. It looked perfect and we never see the dirt. Just one example of making my house do the housework.

I also have taken Aslett's advice and had two couches covered in a beautiful print with a random design which is perfect for disguising dirt. Again, they never show spots.

If you used all the ideas in his book your house would look like an airport lounge, but most of his wisdom is wonderful.

I purchased this book expecting it to contain tips for ways to decorate your home in order to significantly reduce your house cleaning work load. However, this book is really more of a "how to BUILD a home to reduce housework" kind of book. At the very least one would need to significantly remodel in order to put many of the ideas within into practice.

I was disappointed.