Seasons Books

What a great concept for a children's book. It offers an introduction to some of the most beautiful aspects of life; the seasons(nature both urban and rural), poetry, and visual art. My favorite part of the book is the light and movement of the illustrations. I enjoyed studying the seperate techniques, each with their own character (like the seasons). Love it.

This picture book offers a really beautiful journey through the seasons. It captures the beauty of nature with child-like wonder and stunning verse.

This picture book is like a good marriage: a great partnership. The text and the illustrations are both are complete and poetic in their own right. Yet when joined together, the new whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This book is a must-see for anyone who wants their child to appreciate the magnificence of nature and its cycles.

this is the story of Pat Haden. it's actually the story of his rookie season with the Rams and in which he came with in one game of possibly becoming the real Kurt Warner. this is a great book that goes through the whole season and ends up with the Vikings/Rams title game, that's right, only 1 game away from the Super Bowl!
great book to be enjoyed by football lovers.

Mr. Haden gives an introspective look at his 1976 rookie season with the Los Angeles Rams where he not only won the starting quarterback job from two talented and experienced veterans, James Harris and Ron Jaworski, but also brought the team to within six inches of its first Super Bowl birth. Mr. Haden writes candidly on the ups and downs of an NFL season, from training camp where an uncomfortable threeway quarterback duel erupted through the grueling regular season and into the playoffs. Mr. Haden humbly attributes his success on the football field and in life to hard work, a little talent, a lot of luck, and taking advantage of every opportunity. Prior to winning the Rams' starting quarterback job, Mr. Haden was a star quarterback at the University of Southern California where he led the Trojans to two Rose Bowl victories and a national title. Mr. Haden was also an academic all-American and won a Rhodes scholarship. Today, Mr. Haden serves as a network sports commentator, is a member of a successful business partnership, and is active in many charities in the Los Angeles area. I highly recommend this book to anyone who smiles every time the little guy applies some Horatio Alger and finds a way to get the job done.

Mr. Haden gives an introspective look at his 1976 rookie season with the Los Angeles Rams when he won the starting quarterback job over two experienced and talented veterans, James Harris and Ron Jaworksi, and came within six inches of leading the Rams to their first Super Bowl birth. Mr. Haden candidly writes about the ups and downs of his first season in the NFL, from training camp where an uncomfortable quarterback controvery erupted, through the grueling regular season, and into the playoffs. Mr. Haden attributes his success on the football field and in life to hard work, a little talent, a lot of luck, and taking advantage of every opportunity. Prior to becoming the starting quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams, Mr. Haden was a star quarterback at the University of Southern California where he led the Trojans to two Rose Bowl victories and a national championship. Mr. Haden was also an Academic All-American and won a Rhodes scholarship. Today Mr. Haden serves as a network sports commentator, is a member of a successful business partership in the Los Angeles area, and is actively involved with many charities. I highly recommend this book to anyone who smiles when the little guy applies some Horatio Alger and gets the job done.

This humble story teller of real people & real events make sense of Florida. Reminds me of Carl Hiaasen without the crazy humor. Jeff warms your heart.

If you'd known Jeff Klinkenberg in the '60s you would know that today he's a boy living his dream. There is no better guide to the 'real' Florida than Jeff, not because he knows Florida history, but because he loves it and he's lived it. He speaks to you as if you are sitting in the restaurant at his table, or having your sandwich with him on the ancient indian mound. His stories capture your interest and spur your sense of adventure. They inspire you to embrace the beauty, uniqueness, and sheer mystery of this land. There are Florida travel and interest guides galore, but none that match Jeff's depth or personal knowledge of the idiosyncrasies of a State that represents not only a land growing faster than any other (and yet clinging to the past with a steel-like grip) but a state of mind as well. These are not stories from someone's imagination, they entertain you with real people and places that, but for Jeff Klinkenberg, would fade into a distant past. Jeff is a time traveler who will take you on unbelievable journeys through centuries of archeological and human history with humor and curiosity. His is a guide that you want to bring with you when you visit because it is so far off the beaten path that you will feel right at home on the Loop Road. Indeed, I have known Jeff since the '60s, and witnessed his expertise first hand. If you are a true adventurer, I invite you to read 'Pilgrim in the Land of Alligators' and experience the 'real' Florida on behalf of barefoot children everywhere. You will not regret the trip through time.

Found this great article from Jeff's paper, the St. Petersburg Times.

Regaling us with real Florida
By Gregory McNamee, Special to the Times
Published Wednesday, March 26, 2008 5:54 PM

When I was very young, no more than 5 or 6, I saw an alligator eat a poodle right out of a Tampa back yard. It dawned on me at that sanguinary moment just why it was that my grandmother had forbidden me to play near the canal behind her house, where, naturally, I spent my time playing, and it gave me a lasting, nicely traumatic memory of Florida to nurse over a lifetime.

Had he been on hand, I suspect Jeff Klinkenberg would have been cheering for the gator. After all, one of the heroes of Pilgrim in the Land of Alligators, his new collection of newspaper columns turned into essays, is an ubergator -- something on the order of a dragon, really -- named Mojo, once resident in Kanapaha Botanical Gardens near Gainesville.

"You know how alligators will roar at other gators?" remarks the director of the gardens, who, suggestively, is missing his right hand. "Mojo was so dominant that when it thundered, he'd roar back at the thunder."

Long familiar to and even beloved by St. Petersburg Times readers, Klinkenberg is a fan, defender, student and denizen of what the great pop culture historian Greil Marcus has called "the old, weird America," the country that hasn't yet been absorbed into the monoculture of chain stores, cookie-cutter houses and mass-produced taste.

Preferring the confines of the Sunshine State, which is plenty weird enough, Klinkenberg has devoted decades to chronicling the wide spots on Florida's blue highways -- and, for that matter, the places where, improbably, no highways have yet been located, despite Florida's incessant growth.

Take the Loop Road, for instance, an hour from Naples on one end and an hour from Miami on the other, a century from either in real time. Klinkenberg knows every inch of the road, and he knows as well its dozen-odd full-time residents, folks who have found it expedient to disappear into the Big Cypress for reasons of their own.

One of them was Ervin Rouse, the fiddler who wrote Orange Blossom Special, and who passed away some years ago. Another, still with us, is a park ranger who might be singing with Ervin in the choir celestial had she not been ornery enough to shake off a load of pygmy rattler venom injected into her foot by said creature. "I was wearing flip-flops," she allows. "Somebody should have written D-U-M-B on my forehead."

If there is a theme in Klinkenberg's genial wanderings down the Loop Road and other roads like it, it is that many of Florida's more interesting venues conspire not just to relieve the visitor of excess cash, but also of life and limb. There are the storms, of course, which Klinkenberg praises as allowing rare opportunities to enjoy the beach by oneself, sans loudmouth neighbors bearing boom boxes and drunken grudges.

There are the bull sharks, which liberated an arm from another of his interlocutors. There are the snakes and skeeters behind every rustling blade of grass, the occasional wild-eyed outlaw, and, of course, the snowbird oblivious to the norms, physics and laws of motor traffic.

But then there are treasures worthy of the dangers, and Klinkenberg has a rare gift for finding them. One is a backwoods type named Spook, who likes nothing more than to bring down a wild hog or two with his bare hands. Another is a pair of more pacific, indeed Thoreauvian swamp dwellers who have made their own version of paradise on the aptly named Peace River.

There are the ghosts of hard-drinking, hard-smoking, hard-writing Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, who turns up at several points here, and, to keep the otherworldly theme going, a Tampa eccentric who makes elaborate sculptures of animal bones, as well as the recently departed Gill Man, Ricou Browning, who scared us all to death half a century ago with his visage in Creature from the Black Lagoon -- if you look at it sideways, a Rawlings story gone terribly astray.

And then, by way of a celebration of life, there is a visit to "the best place to eat pancakes in Florida, if not the world," which by Klinkenberg's estimation is the Old Spanish Sugar Mill and Griddle House in De Leon Springs State Park, up by Daytona Beach. (For my money, that honor goes to the Ranch House near Montpelier, Idaho, but de gustibus . . .)

These are treasures to be sure, fine exemplars of an old and weird legacy. It's clear on every page that Klinkenberg has lived several worthy lifetimes in Florida, that he loves the place immoderately, and that he laments the state's transformation, along with the rest of the nation, into a land of tatty strip malls and soul-killing cul-de-sacs.

Jeff Klinkenberg comforts himself with the thought that, come the apocalypse, the gators will still be here. It's a thought that ought to bring solace and a smile to the rest of us as well. So will this gracefully written, endlessly entertaining book, a gift for all who love the real Florida.

Gregory McNamee lives in Tucson, Ariz. The University of Nebraska Press has just released his book ''Moveable Feasts: The History, Science, and Lore of Food'' in paperback.

We received Poppy Bear as a 3rd birthday gift for our son. We have all enjoyed it immensely. We have our own beautiful garden that we inherited from the previous owners of our home. Our son has grown up always having the garden to play in so he took to this book immediately.

I really liked the "Wizard of Oz"-like approach where the book started off in black and white drawings and gradually transformed into colorful, beautiful (and amazingly accurate) depictions of a garden coming to back to life in the Springtime.

The illustrations are first rate and the use of gold inks on some of the pages literally makes the pages shimmer.

You and your children can enjoy this book on a number of levels. It works well as a read-along book, since the pages are so beautiful and bold, but children will also be interested in the story as they grow older.

We received Poppy Bear as a 3rd birthday gift for our son. We have all enjoyed it immensely. We have our own beautiful garden that we inherited from the previous owners of our home. Our son has grown up always having the garden to play in so he took to this book immediately.

I really liked the "Wizard of Oz"-like approach where the book started off in black and white drawings and gradually transformed into colorful, beautiful (and amazingly accurate) depictions of a garden coming to back to life in the Springtime.

The illustrations are first rate and the use of gold inks on some of the pages literally makes the pages shimmer.

You and your children can enjoy this book on a number of levels. It works well as a read-along book, since the pages are so beautiful and bold, but children will also be interested in the story as they grow older.

There is a sweetness to this book that will appeal to all ages. It's a beautiful story that is enhanced by the fact that it is written in a well flowing prose. The illustrations in this book start with detailed black and white drawings, and develop into a rich, boldly colorful visual feast. Poppy Bear is an endearing character who opens children's eyes to the beauty and colors of nature.

I love to garden and always hated our long, dreary winters. This book looks at gardening during the "off season" and argues (successfully) that it doesn't have to be off-putting at all! Now, I look outside and I see things differently. I never realized the beauty that already exists in my frosty backyard and now I know ways to improve upon it. Who would have thought that we in the cold zones could have winter containers outdoors?

This is a good book for people planning new gardens because it highlights some important considerations, for folks who like to decorate and be crafty (there's a couple of projects outlined), and to give grumpy northern gardeners something to smile about during their 4 - 6 months of winter.

Sometimes I pick up a book and it might be okay but there's not enough new material in it to justify buying it. This new winter book presents a whole new subject. We made up some of the winter pots to add some character to the garden. It's nice to have some Winter interest relief that isn't Christmas decor. I especially liked the photos of how some common northern garden perennials look in the winter if they aren't cut down. I'd recommend this book to any gardeners who want a more attractive garden during the cold months and to be able to do it with plant material free for the taking. It's good to know what locally available plants and trees to add to the garden next growing season to keep the garden looking good year round.

This sure takes the pressure off gifts this Christmas. This book is perfect for the northern gardener who has everything. I'm normally a bit of a sceptic when it comes to these types of topics but this book has a lot of meat on the bones. Believe it or not I was actually looking forward to the freeze up to put some of the great ideas in the book to work.

The merchandise arrived in a timely fashion the overall was a good experience.

Principles of Accounting - 7th Edition is a very elaborate book introducing accounting guidelines. Over 1000 pages of all levels of learning from begginer to advanced. It includes transparencies in some portions to make understanding statements very easy!

I liked reading this book for my accounting 101 class. The text is clear, well organized and well written. The typography makes liberal use of color, which makes reading _much_ easier when compared to a monochrome textbook. There are copious examples, illustrations and exercises. The book comes with a workbook (purchased separately) which contains template pages to write in your answers (trust me, you will need it). All chapters are grounded in current reality -- the authors make a point of tying the concepts to real-life situations.

On the cons, the 2002 edition deals with 2000 data -- their production process needs to be speeded up.

I think that a thorough review of this text will give the reader an excellent start in basic accounting.

I have not received the book yet. I would like to think I came across this book by the hand of God. My father passed away this past May. He was a Red Sox fan his whole life, even though he had never seen them win a World Series. I have bought this book for my sons who are Yankee fans. I am going to write them a letter signing it Love Grandpa. So many of my father's friends and families could not believe that a man waits his whole life for his team to win and dies on the year it happens. My youngest son said that pop was in heaven asking God to take the curse off Boston and God seemed to have listened to him. Hoping pop did not ask God to put the curse on his Yankees. In memory of my dad, I hope this book will be a 5 star book to my sons.

George Higgins has done a great job of opening up the world of baseball, as well as tradition, life, and the passion the game holds. I thoroughly enjoyed this book

Not only the best book I've ever read about the Red Sox and what they mean to their fans, but the best book I've read about baseball and the significant place it has in our lives, whether we are aware of it or not. His referral to The Boss as 'King Steinbrenner the Odious' is as fitting a moniker of that man as I've ever heard. Simpy a shame so many of Higgins' books are out of print.

Grab a cup of coffee and get ready to enjoy yourself! Mary Kim Schreck covers it all: life, love, death, suffering and joy. She reads minds, such as in "The Stingy Hag and the Clock Lady" and "Stretch Marks." She writes social commentary in such poems as "Women Who Raise Other People's Children." She takes us through life's journey from birth to death and beyond.
Begin your day reading one poem and reflect on it in your journal. Use the poems in "Pulse of the Seasons" as prompts for your own writing. And on the days you're too tired to write, just grab a cup of coffee and enjoy yourself, reading and thinking, absorbing and growing in awareness with these word portraits of reality.

Each page is a refreshing journey--I was jolted by my past, awed by the magic of the present, and excited by dreams for my future......some trips drove deep into my soul while others provided an enjoyable tickle........I highly recommend this wonderful collection ..........G. Dotzler

I have truly enjoyed reading these poems. This book is a must for poetry fans to add to any collection!

This was a great book for teaching that the reasons for the seasons is the tilt of the earth's axis. Very straightforward and easy to understand diagrams without being too technical. Great for grades 2 and up.

I got this book for my 3-1/2 year old. She has been curious this winter about the season and is waiting for spring to come. This book has many details about the different types of clouds, precipitation, leaves changing, the sun, etc. She really enjoys this book!

This is a great book because it offers detailed, factual information about seasons, and doesn't leave any of the important concepts out. It also has great illustrations that are labeled. Gibbons gives children credit for being intelligent enough to understand the complex ways in which our world works, yet understands their developmental needs, and therefore makes the text accessible.

The book is a great resource for studying the changes and growth of Christianity since the reformation. The source material is excellent.

This collection of readings focusing upon the sixteenth century Reformations in Europe is a wonderful collection for students, seminarians, pastors and interested laypersons who want to read the actual source documents (or good translations of such) rather than narrative histories and opinions about the key ideas and documents that helped shape the early years of the Protestant Reformations. As David Janz, Professor of Religious Studies at Loyola (New Orleans), states, this collection is `heavily theological' - while it is true that the history of the Reformation period cannot adequately be recounted without attention to political, economic and social realms, the larger influence in the Reformations was theological/religious differences, a subject that is more difficult to approach in today's secular academic world. The leaders of all sides in this period either saw themselves as theologians or working on behalf of theological ideas; thus, it is important to understand the key issues involved from a theological standpoint.

This being said, it is also important to know not just what the various Reformers said and wrote, but also what they were reacting against; Janz includes many pieces all sides. In the introduction, Janz cautions against the biases of seeing the Reformation as a whole as a good thing or a bad thing, and introduces use of the term `Reformations' to address the diversity of movements that often get lumped together under the historical categorical shorthand of `Reformation'.

Janz has six broad categories for dividing the documents in this text: I - Late Medieval Background; II - Martin Luther; III - Ulrich Zwingli and the radical reformers; IV - John Calvin; V - English Reformation; and VI - Counter/Catholic Reformation.

The inclusion of the first section makes this volume particularly valuable, as many Reformation histories and readers being with Martin Luther, assuming knowledge of the background that is often insufficient. In fact, as Janz points out, there is no one, single, monolithic `Catholic' theology against which the Reformers worked - there was a pluralistic setting which included Nominalists, Augustinians, Thomists, Humanists, and more, all operating in varying degrees of comfort within the official church structure. Janz selects readings that address popular piety and spirituality, ecclesial structures and practices, theological and biblical issues, and critical thinking of the time (the later in the form of Erasmus).

The section on Luther begins with excerpts from autobiographical writings, including correspondence and `Table Talk'. The theological writings include works on biblical topics, catechetical work, sermons and essays, and the full text of the Ninety-Five Theses. Rounding out this section, Janz includes a few key Lutheran pieces, such as the Augsburg Confession, along with Melanchthon's Apology, and the Formula of Concord, all key pieces in the development of mainline Lutheranism.

The section on Zwingli and the Radical Reformers includes works by Zwingli, Muntzer, Simons and Anabaptists, and the Twelve Articles of the Peasant's Revolt. Janz emphasizes the independence of various groups - Zwingli was accused by Roman Catholic authorities of Lutheranism, but in fact Zwingli and Luther had sharp divisions on key issues (communion/Eucharist being but one) and Zwingli's followers would eventually join with Calvinist Reform efforts by and large. The Anabaptist arose in different places rather simultaneously and independently; the documents contained here show many of the ideas.

The section on Calvin includes a generous sampling from the Institutes, but also includes several letters, including one to Melanchthon and several regarding the Servetus Affair, and the text of the Geneva Ordinances, meant to give the whole society a way to run decently and in good order (for Calvin despised disorderly living).

The Reformation in England includes edicts by King Henry VIII, and several works that show the back-and-forth nature of the times, such as the Marian return to Rome, and the final Elizabethan Settlement, which included a highly Calvinist Thirty-Nine Articles, but enough wiggle room to permit worship styles now classified as high and low church.

The section on the Counter/Catholic Reformation shows a divergence of opinions; Janz writes of the difficulty of assigning either title (Counter Reformation or Catholic Reformation) to the group, and also notes that the dating of the end of this period is ambiguous enough to stretch to Vatican II in some respects. The writing here includes pieces from various popes, the newly formed Jesuit order, and several documents from the Council of Trent. By this time, as Janz notes, the diversity of voices within Catholic theology had fallen away, and was replaced with the domination of a Thomist point of view.

This edition of the book comes with a CD-ROM which includes several additional readings by and about women in the Reformation, and searchable text, which for students writing papers is a wonderful resource. There are bibliographic information both in the text and on the CD, and the text itself is well indexed.

Janz makes the observation that, from an instructor's point of view, no perfect anthology exists until the instructor produces her or his own - this particular one is a product of Janz's experience of teaching over twenty years. Janz has kept introductory material short and to the point, giving very brief introductions to the six major sections (two pages each, at most) and even briefer introductory/biographical notes for individual primary documents (a few paragraphs at most, generally). Janz lets the documents speak for themselves for the most part, which, while they can be difficult reading at times to modern readers, still form a major foundation for much of religious expression in North America and Europe (and, by extension, much of the rest of the world) today.

Well this was a good book of original writings by various protestant leaders. The selection choice and size are excellent as they allow you to visualize the type of socio-politico-theological environment that the authors were living in thus helping you to better understand the actions and outcomes of Protestant movement. Recommend!