Publications Books

Before bying this book, i think i loaned it about 40 or 50 times at my local library. Benvies way of passing his knowledge to his readers is exceptional. This book is a 1'st class learning book, for he who wants to know more about nature photography in general, it commes all the way around, there isn't much that isn't discribet in the book. Ofcourse it dosn't goes very deeb on all subjects, but it is a very good overall book for, both the beginner and he who has come further. If i only could own one book, this would probably be the one.
Kim T, Denmark

As an amateur nature photographer intent on getting to the next level, I have purchased quite a few books on nature and wildlife photography. Many of them are not specific enough and provide too much general photography information. This book is different. To start with, the images are outstanding. This guy is an expert at DOING. That's the kind of teacher I want! Most importantly, the book is full of HOW and WHY. This book is chock-full of tips and information on what works, what doesn't, and how to do it. I found this book more helpful than John Shaw's Nature Photography Field Guide. Although I liked that book, I found myself a little disappointed when I finished it. It didn't have as much "meat" as this book does. I highly recommend it. And the price is a steal!

It has been quite long since John Shaw's books that I come across another gem which I would like to have on my bookshelves.
This one is well written and organized. It is to the point (very different from Galen Rowell's) and it's really helpful for those who have little time and are impatient.
The author shares techniques, viewpoint and practical ideas --- very much like John Shaw's books.

Niall Benvie's THE ART OF NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY is both informative and inspiring. Benvie believes that photography is an art, but nature photographers are artists in a different way because they are more preoccupied with capturing the subject at hand rather than expressing the self. The book includes excellent tips on preventing mistakes before the shutter is released-not an easy feat for a person involved in nurture photography. He offers basic advice about composition, lighting, flash, and the like as well as tips for active subjects (animals, weather, etc. have no respect for photographers as anyone who has attempted to photograph outdoors can attest to). While the book is a godsend for film photographers, he also includes detailed information for digital users which makes the book useful to photographers using both formats. Since people purchasing the book from Amazon will not have the opportunity to see all the sumptuous photographs in this book, believe me when I tell you that the photographs alone are awe inspiring and could lead a reader from the couch to the field in no time.

Perhaps what makes Benvie's book unique is his support for the amateur, which is most likely the customer who will purchase the book. While Benvie believes that professional photographers make significant contributions to nature photography, Benvie also believes that amateur contributions add a great deal as well since amateurs are less interesting in pleasing clients and more interested in presenting a vision of the natural world to others. Certainly Bevie's book will help amateur photographers who hope to do just that-present nature in all it's glory through photography.

Many books on outdoor/nature photography are simply a showcase for the author's photos and a bragging exercise in the gear he/she uses.

Benvie takes a more open approach -- almost giving the store away. Skipping over the most basic elements of photography, he provides practical advice on technique and creative vision. He isn't shy about using digital processes to enhance images -- not adding or subtracting visual elements, but manipulating the image so that it represents what the photographer saw, overcoming the limitations of film and photo paper.

Highly recommended. And his photographs are exceptional. Kudos to his publisher for the high quality printing.

I always have trouble thinking of what to talk about on dates. This book gave me great ideas for conversation and great insights into the dating scene.

This is definitely a five star book- a laugh a minute, plus great info. I can keep reading it over and over again.

I couldn't stop laughing. The jokes are fabulous. It was also very informative. I really learned alot about dating and marriage. It's a must read for everyone.

Wow, , I'm giving this book to every "single" person I know. I think I'll give it to marrieds also. Even if their having a rough time socially, they can have a good laugh.

I loved it! Dating is pressure but at least this book helps you laugh while you are going through it. It's a great book to take on a date. It gives you what to talk about and what to laugh about.

This book by Le Clair is lucid and touches all the important aspects of water color painitng...It is a great instructional book...I wish I had studied this book several decades ago. I am a self-taught artist and this book will help all such self-taught persons

I bought this book when it first came out, and it was a real revealation to me. Water color wasn't really taught in American art schools at the time, and this book was my first guide to the wonderful adventure of watercolor painting. I'm reviewing the newer edition, which has the same great text but has added more full-color illustrations.

The pictures are great, but the text is what makes this book outstanding among the many watercolor books currently on the market. As the title suggests, the text explores and explains the many facets of watercolor as an art form. The illustrations support the text by showing well-chosen examples of the great variety possible with this beautiful and intriguing medium. Many books on watercolor offer lessons in a particular method or painting style, or focus on one style of painting (usually the author's). This one covers diferent ground entirely. Instruction books can be excellent, but if you are ready for more depth, this could be the book you need. It's true there is a typical section on materials and basic techniques, and there are suggested exercises at the end of the chapters. These are fine in themselves, but other books can give you that. What makes this book special is the author's wide knowledge of painting styles, and his careful avoidance of favoritism toward particular styles or artists. If you are ready to read this with an open mind, you may see the merits of painting styles that you thought you didn't like. This certainly was the case for me!


Who would benefit from this book? It would be useful to a complete beginner, if he or she is very disciplined, ready to work, and above all ready to READ a though-provoking non-simplisitic book. Non-painters who admire watercolor and would like to learn more about its history will probably enjoy a browse through the text. But I think it is most helpful to intermediate painters who are beyond the intiial struggle to master the basics of watercolor, and are ready to deepen their understanding of this wonderful art form.

Le Claire has contributed a lot to watercolor painting in this book loaded with illustrations of expressionim,experimentation in the media it inspires to do watercolors ,This is surprisng since it is published by the American Artist (for many years since I have first seen the magazine has published little of advanced watercolor painting) But the book doesn't limit itself to transparent watercolor rules.Such as No embossing no cutting ,no ink,nothing but pure color that maybe started by pencil line.If a painter hasn't advanced from that rule ,then he isn't a painter of the 20th century to my mind.Too often watercolor books are promotions of a watercolorist's technique, many of these artist are hampered by poor formal ability: line ,color,shape, etc.Le claire has some ability so the book has authority. It is a book that is well worth the modest price.

There are two things about this book I think make it a great book for any watercolorist's library. One is the sheer variety of paintings shown and the other is the numerous 'assignments' at the end of each chapter.

As another reviewer stated this book does not show you only one or a few artist's techniques. Rather it covers a broad range of techniques, art styles and artists and shows a diverse array of watercolor paintings. Everything from traditional representational paintings to contemporary and experimental works are shown. And all are used to illustrate that chapter's main point that they appear in. Works from famous artists to current living ones are displayed.

Each chapter ends with exercises designed to let you practice principles, techniques or styles the preceding pages discussed. Now some people don't like or need such 'assignments'. But other people, like me, enjoy them as a challenge and as a way to see that they've not only read the chapter but can practice till they've learned it. If you don't care for such things it's easy to skip over them. But I actually found some of these projects fun to do.

I have a sketchbook of watercolor paper that I use strictly for trying out projects from my various watercolor or other painting books. It is separate from my other sketchbooks or paintings and its sole purpose is strictly to practice, even copy, the demo projects and assignments. Even the greatest art masters learned first by copying the masters before them. There is so much to learn from this book. Not only how to paint in watercolor but also some art history as well. Definitely a recommended buy.

This is one of the best books on watercolor I have read and I have read a bunch. Many watercolor books give demonstrations and descriptions of a limited range of techniques used by that particular author. The authors' focus is primarily on showing you how they painted particular sample paintings. You learn, but mostly how to paint the sample paintings and a little about the author's technique but not much else.

Mr. Le Clair provides the kind of instruction I would expect from a college watercolor class. He covers much more than just the basics but, nevertheless, the book could well serve as an introduction to watercolor. If I had to choose one instructional watercolor book this would be it. The second book I would choose is "The Watorcolorist's Essential Notebook" by Gordon MacKenzie, but it needs to be supplemented with a more basic book.

Penczak has a way of making the impossible....possible....with his words, insight, and wisdom...thank you for sharing your knowledge....thank you.

If you are interested in Paganism and you want to read a insightful and well written book, this is your author.

This is probably the most important book I've read to date. Although it's not the easiest read, there are new concepts that I'm working on, it contains the foundation for this most important path. As a long-time fan of Christopher Penczak, I can say that it fits in nicely with his easy-to-understand way of writing. No, I don't understand everthing in the book, but it a lot easier than Frissels's, Nothing in This Book is True... I think it is a necessary addition to any personal library. It is inspiring!

Over the years I've read alot of books on ceremonial occultism, Paganism, Wicca, and occasionally I ventured into Ascension material - but never felt any connection or resonance with the more "New Age" offerings, even though I found some of the information compelling and in many ways related to my own magickal practice and path.

The reason I did not "feel" Ascension material was really related to more of a vocabulary difference, than anything else. The terminology was vastly different, with alot of nearly sci-fi jargon, and a seeming imbalanced perception of Light as in direct opposition to Dark. I also was unsure of what to think about the whole Ascended Masters and ET elements that were such core aspects of that paradigm. Many within the Pagan community looked down on Ascensionists as "fluffy White Lighters", while alot of attitudes within the New Age community seemed to look down on Pagans and Witches as evil &/or misguided.

Christopher Penczak has written a truely amazing book that helps bridge the gap between the various magickal and spiritual communities that actually share most, if not all, the same goals. Taking the major concepts and ideologies from the Ascension paradigm and drawing parallels to the Eastern and Western magickal and spiritual paths, Christopher cultivates a sense of kinship. Even the ET and intergalactic elements of Ascension were put into a perspective that made them not only palatable, but accessible and potentially very useful to a wide variety of readers. Also "translating" the contextual vocabulary of the New Age into concepts more familiar to Pagans and Magickians, the reader become highly aware of the value that Ascension can bring to the very modern seeker - whether or not they consider themselves "New Age" or not.

The book is hefty (which I loved), but does not rely on filler that repeats the same line from many other available books to acheive its weight. Readers well-versed in Western magickal traditions, such as Cabala and ritual magick will likely have a much easier time with some of the material than those unfamiliar with it. But by offering explanations that appeal to the knowledge-set of many different pracititioner levels and paths, everyone will be able to get a great deal from this veritable tome.


Throughout the book Christopher's desire to cultivate an inter-paradigm understanding and mutually beneficial exchange is very clear. Misconceptions that each community has about the other are also addressed honestly, and discussed in a frank manner - and even the weaknesses of the path are gently exposed, with practical solutions for overcoming or avoiding them altogether provided for those who wish to delve deeper and become more involved with the Ascension scene.

I absolutely loved this book and dog-eared many pages and chapters to go back to and re-read for better understanding. I also loved the meditations provided, especially the Merkaba activation. These allow the reader to experience the energies of this paradigm for themselves, should they choose.

This book has marked a significant point in my spiritual growth.

I've read many, many works on magick. While they all tell you how to cast a circle and call the quarters...no book I've seen to date has addressed how to go beyond the basics and actually GROW within the magickal arts.

Until now.

I feel this book is very "next level" material.

This is an excellent book and very realistic and practical for use with day-to-day interactions with others.

Great resource. I tend to be overly aggressive, and read this to help me tone it down and just be assertive instead. I'd assume it would work equally as well for a passive or passive-agressive person looking to become more assertive as well. Contains lots of information on related behaviors, even gives some tips on controlling your breathing to calm you down in stressful situations that can lead to less than ideal responses on your behalf. Some chapters were irrelevant to my needs so I just skipped through them, but I'm sure they'd be useful to some.

This book is by far the most helpful book I've ever read. It is very informative, but in plain words that almost anyone can understand. The exercises it suggests really do help. I'm only half-way through it, but I've already made significant changes in my behavior. It really helped me understand the different communication styles and how to tweak my style to make me more satisfied with my communication with others. It's so simple to do! I've always been lazy about change or given up too early, but this truly couldn't be any easier.

If you're reading this review, you probably suspect that you have a problem with assertiveness, so take the first step towards improving your life by purchasing this book. If you have a problem saying no to unreasonable requests, if your legitimate and reasonable requests for what you need are repeatedly denied, ignored, or trivialized, if you feel surrounded by manipulative, controlling people, if you have been in a long-term verbally abusive relationship, if you are easily intimidated by aggressive people, or even if you're just mildly curious, this book will be invaluable to you. It's not just a quick read, though. It has thought-provoking exercises to help you determine why you have difficulty asserting yourself as well as practice exercises to prepare you to be assertive when the need arises. Even if you don't think you need improvement, this book is a great resource on communication.

Excellent resource for how to deal with PA's and others-the book's no nonsense approach (yes, it's hard to change and yes your significants others will resist you), exercises, and examples give you inspiration without alot of nonsense and over the top 'you can do it' every paragraph.
Accessible and easily readable, this practical guide will help you get what you need or establish your personal boundaries without all the new age style rhetoric.

This is a great book for quilters of all levels. The blocks are relatively easy to piece and the birds are beautiful! The book has so many great ideas of how to use the quilt blocks. I am going to get a lot of use out of these patterns - both for myself and gifts for others.

I am giving this book 5 stars, in part because having picked up the book at the quilt shop I could not put it down. I just had to own this book. The photos of finished projects are varied enough to give you some great ideas of your own. I can't wait to get started on some of these birds!

Having said that, I agree with a previous poster that the instructions for the actual sewing together of the projects are very confusing. I read through the complete instructions for several of the projects and I can see a beginner having a heck of a time with them.

Recently got this book for myself and was very pleased after having a look . The projects in the book are foundation paper piecing which gives very accurate results . The Birds given are just soo beautiful , I am looking forward to complete a sampler quilt with all the birds in it . There are various other projects too. If you are looking for a book with complete instructions and variety of projects , with paper piecing and birds ...this book is for you !!

I really enjoy this book and have shared it with bird loving friends and relatives! My daughter wants crib bumper pads made with these birds on them for her infant daughter. It is a fun book to look at and I can hardly wait to get started making some of the blocks. Only down side is I wish there were MORE birds in the book. I will be looking for vol.2.

The directions for the paper piecing are awesome. That said, the sewing instructions for the projects in the book have a lot to be desired. I sew a lot so I was able to make my way through making a pillow out of a bird block. I started out following the directions in the book but finally gave up and went my own route. Beginner sewers would have a lot more trouble. I gave it four stars because it is mainly a paper piecing book and it does that part well. I would have given it five if the directions for sewing the actual projects would have been better.

This book is a nice version of the pictorial book we found and loved in our local library. I was thrilled to find a version my daughter could color any way she wanted. I felt like it was pretty accurate with how we have experienced starting ballet lessons, including being excited and nervous. The drawings are pretty but simple enough for my preK colorist to handle.

It's a great book for girls very interested in Ballet. My daughter loves it. I gives the correct french names of positions and the pictures are large enough to make colouring stand out. its a beautiful book,especially when it's almost full of colour!

Like all the Dover coloring books, this one is an excellent educational tool as well as a fun coloring book. One thing that other reviewers have not noted is that many of the illustrations feature young male dancers. In fact, the dancers illustrated are of different ages and ethnicities as well which is nice to see.

I am a dance teacher and I bought this coloring book so that my students could learn while coloring. It is a nice book, with actual steps and definitions - quite thorough. It is not babyish, it is useable for students even a little older.

As a ballet instructor, I cannot recommend this coloring book enough for children who are serious about learning about ballet. I use this in my beginning ballet class (ages 5-8), giving them a "memory term" each week. The kids are excited to learn the terms in this book, and they get to color too!

I just started to interesting in beading and this book is excellent source for amateurs. I can see every details and create some interesting thing by myself.

Step by step instructions and copious illustrations. An excellent book for those who want to bead woodland designs.

I really liked this book. I bought about 5 and this is exactly what I was looking for. It taught me what I need to know!!

I haven't had a chance to try the techniques out yet but in thumbing through the pages this one looks by far the best bead embroidery book I've seen as far as illustrations and easy to understand instructions go.

You are taken through the basic steps that might mystify you before you start, such as finishing off thread. The exquisite details will help in getting you through the stages of the embroidery.The pages of the book are stiff and you need a book stand with clips to keep it open. I found the variety of stitches demonstrated inspiring and will go back to the book as I progress in a project. An important detail not included was the angle of a needle to have a bead sit straight (found in another book). Excellent referral source.

This Dover edition - titled The Beast in the Jungle and Other Stories - provides three short stories that are among the finest of their genre, although defining the genre itself is not without difficulty. Only The Jolly Corner might be classed a ghost story. These superb studies of obsession might be best described as nuanced, subtle, and intellectually haunting, and are among the best short works of Henry James.

The Alter of the Dead (1895): George Stransom "had perhaps not more losses than most men, but he counted his losses more: he hadn't seen death more closely, but had in a manner felt it more deeply."

The Beast in the Jungle (1903): John Marcher had from his earliest time, deep within him, "the sense of being kept for something rare and strange, possibly prodigious and terrible, that was sooner or later to happen" and he had in his bones the foreboding and conviction that it might overwhelm him. Despite its suspense and deep sense of despair, this classic tale has been described as sluggish and overly ornate. Be that as it may, this foreboding tale is memorable.

The Jolly Corner (1908): Returning after decades in Europe to his vacant, empty home in New York, Spencer Brydon would in the gathering dusk "wander and wait, linger and listen, feel his fine attention, never in his life so fine, on the pulse of the great vague place: he preferred the lampless hour and only wished he might have prolonged each day the deep crepuscular spell."

I have read this collection on three, perhaps four occasions. The works of Henry James, like that of William Faulkner, continue to improve with subsequent readings, undoubtedly the mark of great literature. For the reader unfamiliar with the writings of Henry James, this little collection would be an excellent introduction to his challenging prose. I highly recommend this Dover edition.

In this basically two person novella, John Marcher, believes that something, not necessarily wonderful, maybe even terrible-but something-would eventually spring on him unawares, like a beast in the jungle, and ultimately determine his fate. May Bartram, his friend throughout these many years, agrees to wait with Marcher to observe his destiny.

_The Beast in the Jungle_, in its quiet, psychologically incisive, and intimate way, is the tragedy of a man who is too passive, too timid, too self-absorbed and self-centered to attempt even in the slightest manner to take life in his own hands to shape his future. Marcher is certain that May Bartram can provide him with all the answers to the impending great event, but he only succeeds in slowly draining the life from her. May Bartram, patient and wise, is the true hero of the piece. It is only at the end that the truth is revealed to Marcher. The jungle finally becomes empty, and poor pitiful, ineffectual John Marcher never even witnessed it.

Henry James has always been one of my favorite writers even though many readers are put off by his very stylized writing. When I first read "The Beast in the Jungle", I must admit that I was completely blown away by its powerful message. This is a type of mystery that never loses its power although you already know the ending. There is no way to describe certain moments in the story that give us a glimpse into the very soul of these characters that manage to become real to us throughout this story. Marcher's incredible egotism blinds him from seeing the truth in his life and thereby destroying not only his own life, but also destroying the life of the woman who could have helped him learn how to live before it was too late. Henry James was a master writer and to quote the words of T.S. Eliot: "Henry James is a difficult writer for English readers because he is American, difficult for Americans because he is European, and I ignore if he is possible for other readers." Yes, Henry James can be a challenge for many readers, but the reward is all worth the effort.

I have never read Henry James before because I have always been told that he is not worth reading. My own teachers have told me that, but they obviously didn't read like I do because I found this story nothing but delightful. Henry James faintly resembles the writing of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. I see the resemblance in James' use of detail, not only in physical descriptions but also in the portrayals of capturing what is happening in the minds of his characters. This can be tedious if a reader is looking for plot, but my own conviction is that good fiction is driven by character, and anything that happens within a plot happens consequently to how characters act and/or think. "The Beast in the Jungle" revolves around only two characters and how their relationship and convictions affect each other's lives. The beauty in this story is the reality within it-a realization of time and how and what it should be spent on. James focuses on human relationships and shows the flaws that can occur within those relationships. John Marcher's selfishness, for instance, keeps him at a distance from May Bartram and her love for him: "Marcher had been visited by one of his occasional warnings against egotism. He had kept up, he felt . . . his consciousness of the importance of not being selfish". This selfishness, which Marcher believes he suppresses fairly well, is what turns out to be part of the Beast he is seeking; the selfishness is what keeps him from loving Mary Bartram simply because he wants her only for what she can do for him: ". . . he had never felt before, the growth of a dread of losing her by some catastrophe . . . that yet wouldn't at all be the catastrophe: partly because she had almost of a sudden begun to strike him as more useful to him than ever yet". I enjoyed "The Beast in the Jungle" so much because it took me into the mind of a person who grows throughout the story and learns something that perhaps every human being needs to learn throughout the course of his/her life. I don't find Henry James tiresome or dull at all; in fact, to myself of course, his writing is quite the contrary. I look forward to reading more of him.

Henry James' Beast in the Jungle is surely not for everyone, there is little action in the novella (I suppose that is the point actually) and the title could give readers the wrong idea. John Marcher, the protagonist, is re-aquainted with May Bartram, a woman he knew ten years earlier, who remembers his odd secret- Marcher is seized with the belief that his life is to be defined by some catastrophic or spectacular event, lying in wait for him like a "beast in the jungle."

May decides to take a flat nearby in London, and to spend her days with Marcher curiously awaiting what fate has in stall for John. Of course Marcher is a self-centered egoist, believing that he is precluded from marrying so that he does not subject his wife to his "spectacular fate". So he takes May to the theatre and invites her to an occasional dinner, while not allowing her to really get close to him for her own sake. As he sits idly by and allows the best years of his life to pass, he takes May down as well, until the denouement wherein he learns that the great misfortune of his life was to throw it away, and to ignore the love of a good woman, based upon his preposterous sense of foreboding.

James' language can be a bit stilted at times, and some of the dialogue may strike modern readers as out-dated. However James was a master of the novella format, and with The Beast in the Jungle he has written an engrossing psychological drama, which left me speechless at the very end. Pick up a collection that also includes The Turn of the Screw and Daisy Miller if you haven't already read them, they are accessible (more so than some of James' full length novels) and great examples of the format's potential.

Goes along with the workbook by the same author. It is easy to read and understand.

This book was a dream come true for me. I can't take medication for my anxiety and depression. This book helped me find alternatives that set me on the right path. Now I feel a sense of relief and like there is a light at the end of the tunnel. There is also a section on finding your life purpose. It's wonderful and really helped me set a plan into action so I can fill that empty space causing me so much anxiety. I would recommend this book to anyone who suffers with mild or moderate anxiety who needs reassurance and help.

This book was very helpful. My psychologist recommended it to help with my counsleing treatment. The author breaks things down for you and makes you realize many things that you can do to live a better, healthier life. It has truly changed my life for the better! I would recommend this to anyone who has anxiety, phobias, even stress.

This sems like it could be a great help for someone suffering with anxiety, however it can also be very overwhelming. It is definately not a quick fix. This is more like a study guide, kinda like taking a class. If you need immediate help, I suggest seeing a professional as apposed to buying this book. If you have plenty of time on your hands and your anxiety os already under control, then this book can be helpful.

I never look to books to give me the ultimate answer. If I learn something from it and can apply it in some way to my life, and if it's writen well enough to keep me interested, it's worth it. This book was very good that way, at least for someone who likes philosopical/psychological stuff.

I've been diagnosed with a general anxiety disorder, and had a bout of depression last year. A very good therapist recommended this to me. In fact, she said that I HAD TO buy it. I did, and learned a lot about various types and triggers for anxiety. The more I learn about it, the easier for me to deal with it. It became a familiar, known side of me, and when I can separate the rest of me from it and look at it, and study it, it becomes less and less relevant. Which is what we all want, right?

And, it helped me understand other types of psychological issues. I don't suffer from all of those, thankfully, but it is sure interesting to learn how those work. Anyway, it's a good read. Enjoy!