Supplies Books

Whether you are a world-class mountain climber, whose life is dependent on the gear you take on your next Himalayan expedition, or an arm-chair historian interested in the fascinating innovations that made the assent of Everest possible - this book is a must read.

Invisible On Everest blends tales of high adventure and tragedy with a thoroughly researched history of the innovations that made mountain climbing, and other adventure sports, a multi-million dollar industry.

Particularly fascinating are the chapters involving women's climbing apparel and widening middle-class participation of mountain climbing throughout the early part of the last century.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in climbing or in the history early cold-weather explorers and adventurers.

Invisible On Everest is an enjoyable read and a great reference guide to understanding the evolution of cold-weather and high-altitude survival gear. It is fascinating to discover how the right gear makes the difference between success and failure.

Highly recommended. A thorough and detailed history of atmospheric diving suit technology. Harris covers the subject chronologically, from the earliest efforts to today's JIM and NEWT suits. This study provides a great deal of information not easily obtainable elsewhere. Drawings or photographs are provided for most of the suits discussed. There are few books available on the history of diving technology. Harris has written a fine addition to that short list. A must-have for divers, as well as for anyone interested in underwater technology.

Book Review-Author's Comments January 11, 2000

A September 1994 SBA's Office of Advocacy publication, "The Small Business Advocate," headlined as its lead story on page 1, "Small Business Job Generation: from Revolutionary Idea to Proven Fact," argues that "Small business is now widely regarded as the principal generator of net new employment in the United States." The article goes on to declare, "Small businesses create a vastly disproportionate share of the new jobs in the United States." This Office of Advocacy claim that is based on data for the 1989-91 period is misleading and just not true. My book explores and explodes this myth.

For the period when this claim was made, the Census Bureau data show that all businesses (all sizes) created 679,000 jobs. Small businesses lost or destroyed 192,000 jobs. Large businesses added 802,000 workers. Businesses that were large and became small, and businesses that were small and became large added 69,000. Therefore, the claim cannot legitimately be made that small businesses create all the jobs, when it's obvious that small businesses were destroying jobs.

SBA's Office of Advocacy is perpetrating a political hoax on the American people. Because of our need to work and the psychological benefits that a job provides, the small business job creation argument is emotionally powerful. However, the largest firms, not the smallest, are creating jobs. SBA's Office of Advocacy has been touting the fallacious 1989-91 data figures for years.

How does SBA's Office of Advocacy perpetrate its job-generation hoax? It cleverly applies the regression fallacy by counting its winners and ignoring its losers. Take a more careful look at the data for boundary crossovers.

Previously, I noted that businesses that were large and became small, and businesses that were small and became large added 69,000. However, SBA's Office of Advocacy takes the 192,000 job loss by small firms that remained small and adds 749,000 from the column of firms that were small and became large. For large firms that became small, SBA's Office of Advocacy attributes the 680,000 jobs as losses to large firms. Note: 749,000 less 680,000 = 69,000.

According to Milton Friedman (Journal of Economic Literature, Dec. 1992), and a host of academics, this is fallacious. Also, most college text books warn against the regression fallacy, but SBA's Office of Advocacy deliberately misleads the public by claiming the crossovers are small which they are on net, but it then misuses the gross flow statistics to complete the small business job creation hoax.

Using the Friedman methodology (he suggests that a firm's size classification should be determined by its end period size status) I can report that small businesses lost 872,000 jobs, while large businesses generated 1,551,000 jobs. This finding does not square with SBA's Office of Advocacy claims for the 1989-91 period.

More important, perhaps, is the argument that we should cut or eliminate the capital gains tax, because it will help small businesses, "they create all the jobs." Or we should not raise the minimum wage because it will hurt small businesses, "they create all the jobs." And finally, Americans should not have mandated health insurance, it will hurt small businesses, "they create all the jobs." Currently, a million and a half workers lose their health insurance benefits every year during these boom times. Virtually all those losing their benefits are working in small businesses.

Our democratic political system requires accurate data. This job-generation debate involves the integrity of the Federal statistical system, and affects the well-being of millions of Americans.

OK, of course I say it's a nice collection; I'm the author. :) This combination book/DVD is a selection of our favorite hacks from Hardware Hacking: Have Fun While Voiding Your Warranty and Game Console Hacking. If you're curious about modifying hardware and electronic products to do things they weren't intended to do, then this collection is for you. It's a great way to get involved in the hobby without breaking the bank. Cheaper than either of the previously mentioned larger books, only 4 chapters are printed (Tools of the Warranty-Voiding Trade, Electrical Engineering Basics, Operating Systems Overview, and Coding 101) The actual hacks (the rest of the material) is on the included DVD in PDF and HTML format with high-resolution images (most of them in color, as opposed to the black and white of the previous books). Some of the hacks include: Declawing your Cuecat, hacking the Playstation 2, hacking the iPod, modifications for the classic/retro Atari 2600, 5200, 7800, and 8-bit systems, hacking the Xbox, and how to build your own DVR/Home Theater PC. Don't be afraid to modify or hack your hardware - have fun voiding your warranty!

Despite the title, this book has nothing to do with Native American beliefs and traditions. Its actually the folk beliefs of the Pensylvannia Dutch folk doctors, hex-crafters, magicians and healers. A unique blend of Christianity and German folklore, this book was a major influence on American folk magic (from Hoodoo to Appalachian study-witches) for many years, and was mentioned several times in the fictional works of Manly Wade Wellman. Its still practiced in some remote areas. It includes a number of charms, hexes and spells. Amongst these are numerous cures for bleeding, warts, colic, epilepsy, headaches, scurvy, tapeworms and many livestock ailments, as well as charms for a safe journey, catching lots of fish, legal success, protection against bullets, driving away vermin, bringing back lost animals and so forth. More esoteric/mystical things include spells against witchcraft, evil spirits and the like, as well as binding a theif or releasing someone from bindings. Theres also certain lore such as advice for pregnant women, unlucky days and hunting talismans.

This is quite an encyclopedic work, covering just about every element of rural folk magic in the United States. This is quite a wonderful book for anyone interested in magic, mysticism and the occult (especially in a historical, folk or Christian context), and a uniquely American book. Definately worth checking out.

This book is one of the three standard books found in virtually all Masonic libraries, the other two being the Bible and Coils' Encyclopedia of Freemasonry. Dr MacKey wrote this book in the 1850's; it has survived many reprints and several publishers to become the primary reference with respect to how a lodge is operated, what is and is not proper Masonic conduct, how to handle Masonic trials, relationships between various Grand Lodges and their respective subordinate lodges. This book bridges the gap between the written and unwritten Masonic laws and traditions, explaining how the various Landmarks of Freemasonry came to be and why they are so important to the craft. A fascinating treatise for Masons, but would be fairly boring reading for a non-Mason

Fred Pearce serves his readers well. He provides us with an overview of the present water crisis, while also giving us historical glimpses of ancient water management practices that may help solve our present predicament.
I have been researching and writing about water for over 30 years. The ancient water practices that Pearce refers to in Africa, Israel, and other locations are places that I too have personally visited. And, I agree with Pearce's assessment completely.
It is only through our knowledge, and cultivation of an intimate relationship with water resources in our local communities, that we can truly empower ourselves to help remedy the global water crisis.
In this book, Pearce provides well documented cases of how communities in India, Africa, China, Israel, and other water-stressed locations, have reversed desertification and dropping water tables by developing an intimate relationship with water through enlightened water catchment and management.

i would like to say that this is not a beginners book for beekeeping. the very first line states "this book covers the second and following years of beekeeping and is written for hobbyist beekeepers who have kept bees for at least one year". it does recommend a beginners book which is a companion volume to this book.

This will keep all the words in your memory and keep extra words out. It will not teach you the words it will just make them stick. A combination of personal instruction and review from this book will keep you work right. Do not go beyond your experience. Getting wrong words out is difficult. The book will be there at midnight while an instructor is not. Use it and learn it well and 10 yrs later you will know it like yesterday. This is a fifth printing but no one has one, they just know someone who has one.

I almost returned this book because it wasn't a price guide - I'm very glad I kept it. It was a good read - factual, historical, witty - hated to finish reading it. As a price guide it's no great shakes - the listing at the back of the book is just ok. However, there are lots of price guides, but there aren't many books as well written and fun to read as this one. Especially good are the listings of resources - from newletters and books to museums and clubs for all the kitchen stuff one could ever hope to collect. The black and white photos are good but the light hearted tone is what makes this book well worth its price. I learned a lot from Ms. Stoneback. Highly recommended.