Combs Books

I carve and paint (at least I make a feeble effort at it) birds. I have hundreds of books and pictures of various birds, shore birds included. Each, in it's own way, is quite helpful, coupled with my personal observations of the birds themselves in the wild. This work is quite good. Excellent scale in provided and the color is quite good. Using this work and others, to pick up more detail, one should be able to work at their peak ability. Recommend this one highly.

Reading and contemplating these lightly Egyptian flavored prayers, meditations and affirmations takes one into that place of stillness where the mind becomes silently receptive and the heart peacefully open. A lovely experience each time. Interesting how the author's rephrasing of a truth opens one to nuances of understanding that add richness and depth to one's journey.

Simply cooking for one contains recipes that make cooking for yourself fun instead of something to avoid. The recipes use ingredients that are usually in your pantry or that can be found easily at the grocery store. They are quick and the dishes are delicious.

My 15-year-old daughter had been looking for some material she could work on on her own outside of class and her lessons with her private vocal coach. On a whim, I decided to order this to see if it would give her that "edge" she has been looking for. At first she found it to be somewhat strange and amusing, but after working on the lessons, she asked if she could drop her vocal coach because she felt she was getting more out of the CD that comes with the book that she was getting from her coach.
I think my daughter was singing before she could talk (it runs in the family,) and she also plays french horn. Last year she took 2nd place in state competition and was chosen to be in show choir at her high school. After working on the vocal techniques, I feel the information contained within has really helped "show case" her talents.

I have been searching for a book like this for quite some time. This book is good because it forces you to think about where the notes are on each string in relation to the musical staff. I wish there were better diagrams to show where all the notes actually are on each string. But this still has proven to be a useful tool. If you are just starting to play guitar you may need a good guitar teacher to help you with this. If you are intermediate or advanced than you will love this book. This was very well done.

I read this book many years ago when I was a fairly new military wife (Navy). It showed me the humorous side to the challenging life ahead. I was so inspired by this book, not only did I survive 26 moves in 17 years, but went on to write my own book ANCHORED NOWHERE; A Navy Wife's Story. Thank you Ann Combs for inspiring me to be the best I could be.

We retired to Western North Carolina from Metropolitan New York and whenever I wonder how to make dishes we've enjoyed here but never had anywhere else. I check this cookbook and haven't been disappointed. The latest find was "Easy Salad Oil Slaw", which I hunted out after having a cabbage salad that tasted kind of like sauerkraut, but wasn't sauerkraut, at The Drake House Restaurant in Landrum, which we "settled on" one Sunday when we discovered most other restaurants in the Landrum/Tryon area were closed. Turned out the food was FABULOUS and was totally homemade. If you're in the area, try it!

This book is a must for anyone interested in cold-smoking or preserving their own fish. The author covers everything from kippering to making fish sausage. However, though the book is chock-full of great information, I have a few minor editorial complaints that make me regard it as less than perfect: First, The book is arranged a bit strangely (requiring you to occasionally reference later chapters in earlier ones). Second, the procedures are a bit hard to follow (because methods using whole sides and pieces of fish are intermingled and not labeled well). Finally, the small black and white pictures aren't very elucidating. Minor complaints, but nonetheless a bit annoying.

The simple fact is that even though the book falls short a bit in presentation, there is no better reference out there for someone really interested in the topic.

Although this book is filled with examples the material is more slanted towards concepts than practice. It is also applicable to a much wider scope of configuration management than just software or firmware because the content is based on the DoD and older MIL standards governing configuration management. These standards, many of which have been superseded by IEEE/ANSI standards within the Department of Defense, cover hardware configuration items as well as software - and these are covered within the book as well.

Despite the basis of the material this book does an excellent job of explaining configuration management in the large, and drilling into details associated with each element. The author provides a well written overview, including the benefits of configuration management (and the pitfalls of not employing it). He also thoroughly covers each of the key elements (identification, control, status accounting and auditing).

I like the presentation of the material, which follows a set format for each element - definition, what it means, where it begins and recommendations. The material is brought to life with realistic examples and anecdotes, and all of the essentials are clearly communicated. I also like the final section, which shows how configuration management, as a discipline and as a process, can be scaled down to small companies and groups.

If you are new to configuration management this book is probably one of the best starting points with which to gain a full understanding of what it is, what it entails, and why it is important. Don't expect how-to information, such as managing branching, product lines or other topics normally associated with configuration management, but do expect to clearly see the big picture and associated details.

This is a marvelous book about sourdough lore, as well as a cookbook for using a sourdough starter, for many more things than bread (and for bread too). It originally came with a packet of dry starter mix, but you can create your own starter by leaving a batter of flour and water out exposed to the air (wild yeast) overnight or for a day.