Hill Books

My daugher checked this book out of her elementary school library every week for 2 years! I never tired of reading it to her, or hearing her read it to me. The feeling that the paintings and the careful, spare, beautiful text, evoked in both of us, and the lesson that it teaches - that the greatest love comes from patience, wisdom, and trust - will stay with both of us, always.

I'm a college student now, and I first read this book years ago in elementary school. I think it's always going to stick out in my mind as one of those classics that I'll never really outgrow. I recommend it to anyone wanting a good story.

My 6 year old who is just starting to read was fascinated by the almost "Turnerish" illustrations and the story of the white mare. More Locker books have been requested for birthdays and Christmas

The author put a lot of beautiful art in the book. He also had the writing in the middle of the page so you can read it easily. This a book for kids who love horses. It tells how the horse is frightened at first but then later she has a foal and gets closer to the people who own her.

I'm in high school now, and among the thousands of books I consider my favorites, this ranks highly. A children's book it may be called, but if you open up your heart and memories, its story and illustrations (beautiful!!) will stay with you forever.

I am a prefessional woodworker specializing in veneer work. I own a few veneering books. Most of the modern books I own describe the very basic of how to work with veneer, basic marquetry and use of vacuum bag. This book takes the reader to another level. Not only does it provide amazing photos of the author's portfolio, but it explains how to go about creating different works of art with ease.
I became acquainted with Mr. Kopf while watching his DVD. It was immediately apparent to me that he is a master craftsman and a great teacher as well. I had high expectations for the book and after reading it I highly recommend it to anyone intersted in veneer work, especially marquetry. The simple approach to explaining how difficult pieces are created gives you confidence and motivation to go out and try it in your own shop.
As a professional woodworker I own many woodworking books, some good, some ... not so good. This one ranks among the best of them.

Silas Kopf's "A Marquetry Odyssey" stands alongside such milestones as George Nakashima's "The Soul of a Tree" and James Krenov's "A Cabinetmaker's Notebook" as one of the finest contributions to the lore of the craft of American studio furniture. Kopf's furniture itself is so visually interesting and delightful that his audience would have been fully content with a volume that merely collected the fruits of his long and varied career into a standard coffee table picture book. What we have is something much richer and more rewarding, offering in both text and images a coherent historical context and intelligible technical explanations for the several phases of Kopf's journey through the many forms of marquetry. This is not an easy project to organize and execute well. The book required long planning and great labor, and we should receive it as the gift that it is. The more self serving enterprise would have been the more familiar "show off" book, but "A Marquetry Odyssey" will still be around when the others have disappeared from the used book stores.

Outstanding book. The photographs are spectacular and there are plenty of them. The author traces the development of marquetry from earliest times through to his own work. There are numerous helpful suggestions for an aspiring wood artist such as how to get an appenticeship, work with galleries, and build a strong foundation in the craft. There is not much detail about how to actually do marquetry. But there are numerous good books on that such as "A Marquetry Course." Be warned though, if you do marquetry, after reading this book you will want to burn your pieces. I'm debating whether to let my customers know of its existance.

Beautiful. A Marquetry Odyssey simply beautiful.

Silas Kopf takes the reader on a well crafted journey. In this large scale work the art/craft of marquerty is presented in a very readable way. Silas weaves history, works and bios of the masters, sketches, wonderful photography, personal stories, humor and a few techniques into a single volume for us all to enjoy.

The book presents the education and development of a master craftsman as it has been interwoven with his discovery of the evolution of marquerty through time. Photos and details of his own furniture are presented throughout the book in an effort to show how these past craftsmen have influenced the development of his own style.

As Silas explains, his hope is to inspire others to explore marquerty and inlay in museums and workshops. I believe he has acheived his goal in this wonderful book.

I would highly recommend this book to all woodworkers, crafts people, decorators, anyone interested in the design and production of fine furniture.

Thank you, Silas.

The art of Marquetry, the art of crafting pictures into wood, is ages old. "A Marquetry Odyssey: Historical Objects and Personal Work" is Silas Kopf's fascinating and informative history of a specialized subject in the field of art. "A Marquetry Odyssey" survey's this art form's long and distinguished history, ranging back from its origins in ancient Egypt down to the present day. Kopf goes into his own work in the field, explaining his influences derived from historical precedent and examples from great Marquetry artists down through the ages. A core addition to personal, professional, academic, and community library Art History reference collections, "A Marquetry Odyssey" is an excellent introduction to the art and a thoroughly 'reader friendly" explanation of its roots and origins for students and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the Marquetry art work.

This cookbook is super! Try the Double Vision Banana Pie!! It's fun and easy to make AND it's super delicious!!

Viewers, I know Betty Crocker Cookbook has been around for a very long time; long before I knew how to say Betty Crocker, but when I first discovered MaryAnn's Cookbook, I was living in Cali, and I had to order the Cookbook thru a major Bookstore. Upon reciept of the Cookbook, I started with the Meatloaf by the Professor...It is the best I've ever had; now don't get me wrong I do enjoy making meatloaf the ole fashion way, but that recipe will leave you coming back for more. So I relocated to the South, and left my Cookbook with a relative to use, unfortunately, I never got it back, so I contacted every Bookstore in this town, and everyone is sold out, or can't order the Cookbook. So, I saw on the Amazon.com that I could order the Cookbook, and I've always been reluctant about putting my CC number online, so I sent a MO in to the address listed on Amazon, and to no avail, my MO was lost in the shuffle, I went belistic, so I am now forced to put my CC online in order to get the Maryann Cookbook, and I will tell each and everyone out there, if you've tried the rest, then you MUST try Maryann Cookbook, it is the BEST. It's worth losing the money from the MO and having to go another route to get my Maryann Cookbook. God only knows, I wish I could have ordered the Cookbook from Maryann herself, then I know I would have long recieved my Cookbook by now. Again its worth it!!

Thanks, Dawn, for keeping Gilligan's Island and "Mary Ann" alive. Can't wait for the sequel! Have any good brownie recipes? :)

Not only does this book have some great recipes, but Dawn has done a masterful job of both blending and separating the fictional characters of Mary Ann and the real- life Dawn Wells through the various anecdotes that are sprinkled throughout the book. A must have for every Dawn Wells fan.

Every recipe I've tried in this book has been wonderful! There are Gilligan-themed recipes, favorite recipes of cast members, and Dawn Wells' own family recipes, along with an interesting story about her family's history in cooking! (Naturally, there is a plethora of coconut-cream pie recipes as well!!)

Between the recipes are fascinating behind-the-scenes stories about the cast members, Gilligan trivia, and bits of script from the series.

I was recommended this book by a colleague at another seminary. I have directed our Library Director to have copies of this on reserve in all our libraries. There is not a better collection of tests and measurements available for use in field-based research in ministry. I highly recommend this book.

Perhaps only a graduate student in psychology can appreciate the frustration garnered by searches for survey instruments. As one of the younger empirical sciences, psychology is replete with new questionnaires, tests, surveys, etc. every year. Often it is easier to design an original instrument than it is to find and evaluate an existing one. Obviously, the multiplication of new psychological instruments makes replication and comparison of experimental data more difficult.

This volume seeks to solve this problem for the psychology of religion. Over 120 instruments are listed. Each is introduced in detail covering all of the essential bases. Variables are identified. The history of the instrument's development and use is discussed, including limitations for current usage. Norms and standards are provided. Evidence for both reliability and validity are provided, as is the location in press and in subsequent research. Finally, the actual test instrument is appended.

The only possible improvement would be an index of contacts for obtaining approval to use each instrument.

If you have any influence over your librarian, use it to get a copy of this volume on file. When needed, it is absolutely indispensable.

As someone that works in the field of spiritual formation I have found it exhausting to find a large variety of diagnostic tools in the spiritual realm. This book solves that problem and has proven to be an invaluable resource in my work. It is well worth the price and will serve as a timeless reference piece.

We've needed a reference like this for many years. Every research and seminary library should have this and as well as any professionals doing research in the areas of Christian education, psychology of religion, etc. Kudos to Religious Education Press for supporting this project, but I hope this book can migrate to a major publisher which can support it through further editions. It could benefit from the inclusion of some more of the "spirituality styles" inventories such as those based on Jungian Psychological Type.

If you do any research at all in the psychology of religion, owning (or having your library own) a copy of this volume is an absolute must. It has all the scales that are important to the professional literature, and it gives you all the items, reliability, validity, etc. Essential to have this volume! Randy Sorenson, PhD, PsyD, Assoc Prof of Psychology, Rosemead School of Psychology

I am several discs into using this program and am very pleased with the improvement it has made in my German language comprehension. I enjoy the learning format these discs employ: an instructor, 2 students and putting what you learn into immediate use. Even during your 1st listen to the 1st disc you will be able to formulate sentences and understand what is being said. I don't find the instructor's corrections of the students or the back & forth talking to be annoying as some others here have commented.
This is a very worthwhile program!

I have been unsuccessfully tried to learn German until I found Michel Thomas.

We have many German clients, and speking that language in our company is a must. A colleague gave me the first CD to try it, since I have a long commute to work. In the beginning I was VERY skeptical, since I have tried many other courses, including lessons with a private teacher. However, since the first CD, Michel Thomas makes you speak basic phrases, and builds on top of that.
I really, really recommend this course if you want to get a basic conversational level.

I truly believe that anybody can learn with these CDs. My son was in the car with me, I put the CD on, and after the first 10 mins, without me telling him anything, he was trying some phrases in German as well.

The only problem is that the vocabulary that you learn on the first 10 CDs is limited. You will learn about the basic structures and verbs, but you will need to reinforce what you learn with something else.

I was surprised as to how quickly the Michel Thomas method helps me build sentences and pronounce words correctly. I use this course as an addition to grammar books, as it doesn't focus on the written language, obviously. It's different in it's aprroach to the language than i.e Pimsleur's, as it doesn't start of with presenting you "vacation-skills" (handy and practical, but only for easy phrases needed when going on vacation). The M. Thomas approach is a little more complex, but it hence give you the chance to build broader basic knowledge of the language.
That being said, I'm a little disappointed at how the course has been recorded. The two English students M. Thomas is instructing, did get on my nerves after a while. Their progress was a lot slower than my own, and I consider my self no quick learner. I felt they where there just to stretch out the time mostly (which isn't necessary at all, as you can control the speed on the disc's with your pause-button). Coughing, laughing, etc. was also left on the finish discs, which made it seem a bit unprofessional to me, but that may be great for the ones who fear a too serious and "stuck-up" approach to learning.
The M.T German course is a surprisingly quick and down-to-earth fun way to learn basic German.

Firstly my native language is English, and I also speak Italian at an intermediate level as my parents are Italian born. My only other contact with another language was that I took German classes for six months at night during my first year at University. That was almost 20 years ago.

Becuase my latest job sees me travelling long hours on the road, I thought it opportune to refresh my interest in the German language. I went to the International Language Bookshop in town and spoke to the service desk. I told them I wanted the best language course that was most suitable for the car. I was given three options. One was Pimsleur, the second was Michel Thomas and the third I really can't remember. The lady in the store told me Michel Thomas was a "bit different, and you will either love him or hate him". Fortunately they gave me the option to listen to each one in the store.

I listened to all three. After 10 minutes of listening to Michel I was hooked. It's like having a cranky old kraut professor telling you how to speak German! And he is passionate about the language, and uses little memory tricks to get you to remember words and their meaning. He also gives you the background on the language, and it is done in a nice casual conversational manner. Two students are used to create the talking situations and i found the whole approach refreshing and INTERESTING. I do have a low boredom threshold, and some of these educaional language classes suck the very desire out of you to learn the language you want to speak!
As the sales lady said you will eiher love him or hate him - Try and get a sample of the course before you buy if you have the opportunity. I am sure you will very quickly be able to make up your mind if Michel is for you.
Danke & Guten Abend! *****

I switched on to Michel's "Speak French" set of tapes about four years ago and constantly use them as a refresher. There is profound learning in the seamless technique he employs, such as: the use of building blocks, repetition, reinforcement, association, and so on, well known pedagogical devices. The great man died at the beginning of 2005 (check out his Wikipedia entry), and I feared his wonderful teaching would fade from the scene. That fear has been put to rest. His French language recordings have become like old friends to me, and this "Speak German" series continues the legacy. He presents the German language with the aid of two neophytes, who are gradually transformed into reasonably competent speakers of the language. If you are attentive and stay with Michel's two ground rules, you, too, will get there. At times Michel is gruff, and at others gently encouraging his students with good humour. Yes, I am a big fan. Michel delivers all he promises with this remarkable teaching method.

I loved it and have told the others in our "class" to use them. We have a study group of 10 and have studied vocabulary, conjugations, tenses, etc. This is the most enjoyable and easiest way to learn. It was helpful to have some prior knowledge of the language. We have used all kinds of study aids and cd's, but these are the best!

If you were like me, I always wondered "why" when I went through the pimsleur Italian series. Michel Thomas cds provide the answers. Yes, this is grammar, but it is indeed necessary. He concentrates on verb structure and provides excellent explainations. You won't get a lot of vocabulary, but you you can get that elsewhere. Well worth the time and $. Advanced students will indeed benefit. I've been studying Italian since 2002 and this improved my skills.

Thomas' approach is simple, always logical, always inviting the student to think about what he is saying, and to relate the new language he is learning to the one he already knows.

You begin speaking immediately. There are no vocabulary lists to memorize. You are not expected to master the Italian accent either--just speak the words clearly.

The course will only take you so far (reading Italian newspapers and having real conversations with native speakers are the next steps). Yet it is a solid beginning that gives you the experience that--yes--you too can speak a foreign language.

Unlike other Italian programs, this one is not full of the same old stuff: vocabulary lists, phrases like "How much is customs?", and all the other filler you find everywhere.
Instead, the teacher concentrates on getting you to use and understand verb tenses, particularly the more complex ones. He has a very unique teaching method, and it seems to be the most effective I've come across.
When I first put in the cd, I thought I was going to return it. The guy sounds too old, his English is not THE most clear I've ever heard (compounded by his age, and probably dentures), but his teaching method rocks. I've been more impressed by this series than anything else I've listened to. I highly recommend it. Its the only thing "different" out there in the language genre.

I had Mr Thomas's first tapes, I listened and learned so much that I could speak when in Italy. Then I wanted to go forward and bought these. He is so organized, there is time to think the drills through and answer without the idea that you have to beat the clock. It is basic grammar made easy to understand. The foundation to speaking.

I also bought the Living Italian advanced after having used the beginning book until it fell apart. This combined with Mr
Thomas makes me hopeful that I will be able to master this beautiful language. Now all I have to do is hope the dollar rises and the euro falls.
I would recommend these tapes.

This particular series of instructional books (meaning the "QuickSteps" series) has always been one of my favorites -- they're concisely written in short paragraphs with decent descriptive pictures to help anyone learn just about any type of software application.

While I found this book to be fairly complete, I'd still only recommend it as a desk-side reference manual to use along with Microsoft tutorials themselves. While it is a cleverly written book that is not as cumbersome to use as other reference books on the market, it does not address all of the finer points of Excel.

All in all, it's a great reference book, and let's face it, sometimes it's just easier to review a chapter a few times to digest material rather than stare at a computer screen until you become cross-eyed.

All in all, I'd probably give this book a 4.5, but since that's not an option, I'll have to stick with 4 stars.

I'm a soon-to-be-graduating Psychology student at the University of Washington and I am writing this review from the perspective of some one using excel in Social Sciences.

I found this book extremely suited to my needs...each step was very clear and precise and it was easy to find the chapter or section that was most applicable to what I was working on.

It covered all of the functions of Excel that I have used in my classes thus far. Although my intro. classes had a very brief introduction to the functions I needed, as I progressed into higher level classes and used more and more Excel I found that I needed additional specific instructions for my work. This book was very helpful in that way, and saved me the bother of forever emailing questions to my professor, as I had done before I received the book.

I actually used Excel the most to analyze the significance of data from an experiment that I had designed and to graph the results. This required quite a few steps and it was helpful to have a guide to look at as I went as opposed to trying to guess what came after the basic skills I had previously learned.

I also lent this book to a friend who works in American Ethnic Studies and used Excel to organize and make tables of data for her thesis. The American Ethnic Studies major has no background in science, so was in the position of having absolutely zero knowledge of Excel. However, with this book alone, she was able to complete the Excel portion of there thesis without any additional help.

From a student's point of view, this is a great resource if your field involves any use of Excel.

I don't use Excel all the time. But when I do I don't have time to troubleshoot problems.

This hands-on, user friendly book has helped me conquer Excel. The text is readable and well organized. The visuals are clean and fully support the instructions.

I found that you can start from the beginning and teach yourself EXCEL with simple step by step instructions or you can flip straight to your topic of interest and further build your skills. This is a great tool for all levels of expertise.

I manage a medium-sized network and support a large number of fairly savvy users. That is, most users know how to do their specific tasks very well and are willing to learn new things. But they are not willing to sit down with a book full of dense text. This is where the "Quick Steps" books come in handy. I keep a number of these books on hand and when a user requests assistance, I give them one of the books with the appropriate page bookmarked. Steps are outlined in full color with lots of pictures and pointers and tips. Additional information is set off in side boxes so users can learn more if they choose. What I have found is that once a user completes a task successfully, they get fairly excited about the experience and browse the book to learn more. The books really stimulate users to experiment with things they would not normally bother to learn. And that is where this book excels. It is a "browser." Users don't feel like they need to start at the beginning and read through to the end. I get lots of grumbles when I ask for the book back so I can pass it on to others.

This book is also great for new users. I tell them to spend a few hours working through the steps, which are easy to follow and can be done at a fairly fast pace. Most users think the full color layout is fun to work through. The down-side is that like any book, space is limited, especially with the fully-illustrated format, so you're obviously not going to find everything in these books, but I do feel they contain a good balance of material and are appropriate for corporate libraries.

Marty (the concept author for the Quick Steps series) and I are fellow writers and that is how I learned about these books. I must say that they have helped my users enormously and relieved my support task. Hey, it's the 21st century. Anyone working in an office should know how to work with operating systems and common applications. Most people can do that if they have easily accessible references and refresher material like these books. Thanks to Marty for developing the "Quick Steps" concept and to McGraw-Hill for publishing this series.

I am an infrequent Excel user, so I needed a good reference book that is well indexed. That's exactly what I got with Excel 2003 QuickSteps. It's easy to find what I need when I want it. It's very well illustrated and contains a lot of great tips. The author does an excellent job of explaining the material.

This is really as much a book about effective leadership and management as it is about group facilitation. Solidly grounded in the author's experience at Xerox, it teaches everything needed to make your group sessions far more effective than it currently is. It also includes guidesheets, tables and surveys that you will find useful in planning, facilitating and evaluating your sessions.

I read Tom Kayser's book in the early 1990's when it was originally written for Xerox. The new edition is a fine adaptation. The book has been immensely helpful to me as a facilitator. It gives great instructions to a new and experienced group leader.

Mr. Kayser understands group dynamics. By reading and more importantly, following his "recipes", you will find that meetings are both more efficient and effective.

Thomas A. Kayser has set forth a systematic means for gaining the maximum benefit from meetings.

Starting with John Kenneth Gailbraith's infamous attribilious amphigory: "Meetings are vital to those who want to make sure nothing happens" Kayser leads the reader through the labyrinth of traditional meeting quagmires and enables everyone to profit from combining their brain power optimally.

In practical, no-nonsense terms, nothing is left to chance. Those who practice the lessons will reap the immediate and continued rewards from the old axiom of time being money!

I have used what I learned by reading Mining Group Gold in a wide variety of consulting and operational settings over the past three years: with multi-functional teams in a medium sized data communications high technology company and a start-up software development company, with the board of directors of a subsidized housing agency, with teachers and administrators at a primary school, with groups of principals responsible for implementing new curriculum in their schools, and with senior administrators at a leading geriatric care facility.

I speak from experience, then, in stating that Mining Group Gold is straight-forward, intuitively sound technology which can have profound effect on the style of facilitators in carrying out their difficult roles, and on ALL members of a team, a work group, (or even a board of directors!) to increase their sense of ownership, and their commitment to outcomes.

It's an easy read, and I recommend it as the best available resource in my experience for creating and continually improving meeting effectiveness.

One of the most valuable lessons I learned in my brief time as a researcher at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center was that meetings need not be unending wastes of times. When I first noticed this and asked how it was possible that so much always seemed to get done, no mater who was involved, I was given a copy of the Tom Kayser book "Mining Group Gold".

What a wonderful and unexpected surprise reading it was! Although concrete steps are given to guide people into getting the most out of working together and, more important, thinking together, its basic value comes from the way it enables folks to remain themselves - only do a better job of it.

Since leaving Xerox three years ago to be a consultant for Microsoft, General Electric and Sun Microsystems, I've given numerous copies to new cohorts so as to make life easier and the flow of work more efficient for all.

This is an update to the earlier book that was also excellent. The authors provide a very good baseline for how mobility works through IS-41D/ANSI-41C. It is a must have book for those in the wireless arena.

Un excelente libro del protocolo IS-41, gradual en su presentación. No entra al detalle de los bytes. Mantiene un muy buen nivel, con claros ejemplos. He preparado un buen curso de este protocolo a partir de este y otros libros

I just read the authentication chapter, and I just left behind all my doubts about authentication. Anyway not just the Auth Chapter is excelent but the whole book.

This is a great IS-41 book. It is very instructional(going over the IS-41 protcol) and also as a reference(to view call flows for different features). This is a must for anyone involved with IS-41.

Highly recommended book for IS-41... the networking standard between AMPS, TDMA and CDMA switches, HLR and VLRs. I'm relieved there's a book out there which explains everything in layman's term, yet goes through enough details to give a great grasp of the important concepts of mobile networking.

The authors give a great background of mobile telecommunications, the making of the IS-41 standard, mobility management, call processing (and most of the important feature procesing), and SMS. Concepts like authentication and mobile roaming are covered quite well.

The basic format of each section remains the same, so it's easy to follow. If you really want the details, like the IS-41 parameters, it's not in this book, but that's when you go to the actual standards document!

Kudos to Michael Gallagher and Randall Snyder for an awesome book!

if you like storys that are true to life w/ a little bit of humor and alot of humanity david hunter is one of the best authors around. if you like this one get trailer trash from tn. or there was blood on the snow i hope to see more of his work

I loved this book better than all the cop story books I've ever read because Officer Hunter keeps it simple and direct. His old fashioned values, positive attitude towards people, and terrific sense of humor make this book a fantastic and easy read. Hunter has a way of grabbing your heart and making you think about life in a new way.

I stumbled across this book somehow. It is by far the best book I have read in a long time. I'm not much of reader but Mr. Hunter has a special way of telling stories. Reading this book was alot like watching the T.V. show COPS. You feel like your really there. Read it for yourself and you'll understand the things our badged hero's take care of. Cant wait to read more of his books!

I read this book years ago, before I became a police officer. I have worked the streets for some time now and recently reread the book. Reading The Moon Is Always Full is truly like looking into a mirror of my life. David Hunter puts into words the things I see and do every day. He portrays the joy and sadness this strange job brings with clarity that only a fellow Officer would know. My thanks to Mr. Hunter for giving me a chance to look in the mirror.

This book was published in 1989 and is long out of print. Except for some of the technological and policy changes in law enforcement (such as to protect the Rodney Kings of this world) it is still timely. People don't really change. It is one of my favorite books, and THE favorite police-related book in my library.

Author David Hunter was a self-described poet/author that happened to be a cop (rather than vice versa which is usually the case). Hunter hired on with the the Knox County Tennessee sheriff's department rather late in life. He had a police officer's heart, but also the eye and voice of a good writer. He gave song to the relatively invisible and silent group of men and women (overwhelmingly men) who roam the streets all night and, simply put, stand between the bad people and the good people.

I have to disagree with the reviewer that described this book as like watching COPS on TV. In COPS, the officer is never really alone . . . he is accompanied by the two-man camera crew and usually a gang of other officeres that want to be on TV. COPS also doesn't really tell you what is going on inside the officer's mind and gut. Fear and/or disgust, or real compassion, doesn't come across accurately on mass market TV.

The book is a non-fictional account of Hunter's observations, thoughts, and experiences. Much is very funny. Much is heartbreaking. There are moments of terror. All is typical of police patrol work. He's not Ernest Hemingway, but he's pretty good and probably a lot more genuine.

I have spent over 90% of my 16 year police career on night patrol. I buy used paperback copies of this book in quantities and give them to younger nightshift guys that I feel have earned the ability to appreciate these stories.

Most highly recommended.