Richardson Books

At first, I was excited to find this book, as it promised to guide me to all of the "rails to trails" bike paths in Ohio, tell me what points of interest I could find along the way, and, most important to someone relatively new to the state, where to park. Unfortunately, as I flipped through the book prior to purchasing it, I did not see that after the first 50 or so pages, the book mostly describes paths that DO NOT EXIST. These are part of the mythical "Ohio to Erie" bike trail. Also, there are not clear directions for getting to the trails (for instance, what exit to take from the nearest freeway). Points of interest include "shops," "restaurants," and other vague descriptors. Where to park is equally vague. I expected to be told where I could most conveniently access the trail, at multiple points. Instead, for the Kokosing trail, for instance, I am told I can park in "Mount Vernon" or one of the other towns along the route. Really? I can park in the town? So helpful. (To be fair, for some of the other trails, parking instructions are more specific.) I recommend that Mr. Richarson review Bike Rides: Los Angeles County by the Brundiges for pointers on how to write a helpful guide to bike trails. I was so disappointed in this book I would return it if I could, but I unfortunately bought it in a shop two hours away from where I live. The one bright spot is that the book promises that there will be a trail I could ride to get there--someday!

I've owned this book since I started cycling 3 years ago and I've purchased it for friends who ride. It's a great book for anyone who rides rail trails. It gives locations, conditions, attractions in the area and much more useful information. Because this book is rail trails or bike/hike trails there is no elevation information needed as all trails are generaly level with very slow grade of elevation, if any. It's not written for the hard core road cyclist but more for he leasurely cyclist who enjoys scenery. I've ridden several of the trails and this book was very helpful with finding them and nearby attractions.

I bought this book from one of the used book sellers on Amazon. I have not biked any of the trails (yet), the book has a lot of information in it for planning your trip and maps. Definately a good buy for the used price and you and do your own research on the internet as to updates on the trail(s) that you are looking to ride.

Biking Ohio's Rail-Trails is a very well put together book. The best part I like are the maps! They are so easy to read, yet, they offer a reasonable amount of detail. I also like this book for the reason that if I would like to know just anything about any trail, if offers "just the facts!" However, if I would like to know more details, it also offers an additional paragraph or two about the trail's main attraction features. I just only hope that Shawn E. Richardson will do books like this for every state!

This book is excellent for any cyclist who would like to find any major bike trail throughout Ohio. As long as anyone knows how to read a map, any cyclist will be able to find any trail with no trouble at all!!! A unique thing about this publication is that Ohio is apparantly going to a Bike Route trail numbering system. However, if a trail such as the Wolf Creek Rail-Trail is known as "Bike Route-38", the trail is listed under both the trail name and the bike route number; as you're out there biking that particular trail, you will actually see the bike route number signs along the trail! A great book for family outings! This book also contains information for other bicycling resources as well. No other book like it!

this was a great guide and handbook for steps on how to write/research from begining to end on a research paper.

Forget all the reviews beneath that say this book isn't for college students. These stodgy English Professor types are exactly the audience who are guarenteed to hate a book that promotes and teaches, passion, curiousity, and most important, voice in student research papers. For the rest of us the Curious Researcher is a breath of fresh air. Bruce Ballenger comes at us from a writers, not a teachers point of view. He illustrates how to transform what is traditionally known in the trade as a "terminal paper" into an exploration, brimming with life, fact and literary panache.
He also manages to squeeze in all the fundamental research skills and gives teachers exercizes on how to teach them. Any teacher who sees this book as a "huge waste of time," (see review below) might want to take their cue from UCLA basketball coach John Wooden. "No one is too old to learn the fundamentals." Ballenger brilliantly teaches the fundamentals of teaching voice in non-fiction writing and demonstrates his lessons on each page throught the example of his own writing. This is the Best Book on Research Writing for College or High School ever written. Bravo Bruce!

My 200-level college English class is using this as a textbook, and I've been very disappointed with it. It's simply not a college level text. While it is very user-friendly, the material it covers is all stuff a student should have learned long before college. Things like how to write a thesis statement, organize a paper, use libraries and the Internet, evaluate sources for quality, take notes, incorporate quotes into a paper, avoid plagiarism, properly cite sources, use appropriate word choice and sentence variety, and the standards of proper English conventions should all have been taught in middle school / junior high. At this level, the book has been largely useless to me, as it only covers things I already know. The exercises, too, are redundant of little help.

This book would, however, be an excellent text to use in middle school, or even high school. The skills Ballenger teaches here are important, but they should be taught much earlier than college. The format is easy to read, and much less intimidating than many other such books. It's not at all "dry" like so many texts. Ballenger makes frequent use of nice analogies to help the reader understand how certain elements of a paper will help it or harm it. He also gives examples from his students' own papers, which can be very useful. Included in the book are references to valuable Internet research sites, and appendices that cover proper MLA and APA citations. If used earlier in school, this book would be a valuable resource.

Easy to teach from and the students say that they both learn from it and enjoy it. Most intend to keep the book to refer back to. It is my first choice for a research writing class text.

This review is a collaborative writing project completed by a section of ENGL/135 students at DeVry University in beautiful Colorado Springs, Colorado. It is based on the students' experiences in using Ballenger's book as a textbook during the first three weeks of the class.

We give this book an ecstatic thumbs up! Here are just a few examples of its excellencies:

* Includes good examples.
* Focuses specifically on formal research papers.
* Provides up-to-date guidelines for both internet and library research.
* Presents the reader with a step-by-step guide to writing research papers.
* Is easy to read and well formatted.
* Demystifies its subject.
* Maintains a friendly tone.
* Contains comprehensive instructions on both APA and MLA formats.
* Explains exactly how to format footnotes, citations, and references.
* Discusses ways to find a topic and includes a large list of examples.
* Helps ESL students to master the complexities of formal English writing.

Our only suggestion for improvement: we'd like to see Ballenger elaborate more on such matters as punctuation and grammar in research papers.

Overall, we have found this book to be very useful in our ENGL/135 composition class.

I read this book a long time ago. We are talking decades. And the memory of this AUTOBIOGRAPHICAl story still make me smile and give me a the joy of life again and again.
This book will renew in you -- an ability to keep hope, an ability to see best in the worst circumstances, an ability to see light in the moments of dark and despair.... It will help you to remember how to keep smiling through tears...
Thank you Alan Marshall!!! When I get kids, I'll make sure this is a book on the "to read" list :)

I can jump puddles is the autobiographical account of the author as a boy, more particularly after he gets sick and has to deal with his handicaps, and the punishing regime and treatments he has to go through and face every day.

He also has to learn to relate and get along with his able-bodied peers, and earn their respect.

I read this book as a kid over twenty years ago, and I loved it. Now I'd like my son to read it. Isn't it surprising that it has not been published here recently?

Anyone can relate to Alan's story because it's not so much about a boy with polio as it is a story about a boy getting through childhood as we have all had to do. Annoying sisters, demanding parents, schoolyard brawls and spending as much time with your friends as possible. The Australian vernacular may be a little difficult with someone not familiar with the language but doesn't detract from the enjoyment of reading about one boys' adventures growing up in the turn-of-the-century Australian bush. It's heartwarming and inspirational but not overly syrupy or preachy. It's just the facts as he remembers them. A definite recommendation especially for young readers.

The excellent story about boy exploring the world around him and establishing courageous qualities of Man in what is truly a celebration of the human spirit when faced with hardship.

Recieved item on time, right when we were told it would arrive. Book in very good condition.

I enjoyed reading this book. I bought it to supplement my course and I found it pretty good. He also has a pretty good sense of humor which I appreciated as well. His explanations are very clear and he uses great analogies. Diagrams are pretty good as well.

I am in medical school and although the Martini text does not substitute as a medical textbook, it does have great "cartoon" pictures that help me to visualize difficult biochemical concepts. For those who learn by visualizing what is happening, I would highly recommend this book. Once again, I do not use this as a primary book now, but when I took Anatomy and Physiology at college, I read this book cover to cover. It is much easier to read than other textbooks, and Martini does a very good job of combining medical illnesses/problems with the textbook material.

I found that I referred to this edition moreso that the current one that Martini revised (edition 6). He should go back to this format.

I was assigned this book both for my college anatomy and physiology I and anatomy and physiology II classes. I was a little intimidated by the sylabus for the course---muslces, innervations, insertions, origins. I then started to read this textbook and I found that anatomy and physiology wasn't as hard as I thought. However, this textbook is filled with a lot of information---CNS, PNS, digestive system, axons, etc. I didn't really know what to study until I got the following which is on amazon:
Key Facts for Anatomy and Physiology by Patrick Leonardi
This study guide showed me the key topics and high-yield test items to study, for my college A and P exams. A few friends of mine who are pre-med majors told me about this study guide and how it helped them. My advice is to get both books. It is better than taking A and P over again.

I think that adults would appreciate this story a lot more then kids. I read it in my English class, and I wasn't scared or anything. I didn't especially like the story, and found it hard to understand. I think that if I was older that I would enjoy the story. I reccommend it for adults, but not for kids, like me.

How can anyone like this book??? its got to be the worst horror book I have ever read and I normaly like a good horror book now and then. I mean most Horror books or movies give me the creeps this one I could resd in the scaryest place in the world yaw and go to sleep. got to be the worst book ever writen by the way I am 13 just dont wana give out my account name on here later

The book was great and the drama was even better. I could just imagine myself there with Mrs. White beating on the door anxious for her son to return from the grave. But was it just their vivid imagination or did they really hear someone knocking on the door? It is up to the reader to figure that out. If you haven't read the book and think these reviews will help you do a report I advise you to read it. It's not half as bad as you may think. READ IT!!!!!

This book is simply great! Especially when you read it at night, it really creates a scene of horror and evil. This book is just suitable for anyone who wants to read a supernatural story and are tired of stories like Goosebumps

a monkey's paw are supposed to grant three wishes. sounds good. however, it grants them in the most evil way possible. subtle. outstanding plot. great descriptions. excellent setting

This book is an unfocused collection of reference manuals that seem to have been thrown together with very little forethought. It's poorly organized, the code examples aren't all that intructive, and there are plenty of errors throughout the book. It isn't very useful if you're learning Java, and it's a lousy reference if you already know it. I suggest skipping it.

I like this book because it brings together in one place a lot of information that is helpful in real-world development tasks. My complaint is that it seems carelessly edited, leaving you with a collection of chapters obviously written by different authors who didn't communicate much with each other in the formation of the book.

It's nice to be able to get the new Java 5 features under your belt in just a couple of hours of reading and playing around. In fact, the first chapter is excellent, code samples and all. The next chapter is nice for a quick review of methodologies, or if you are completely new to the frameworks that are often used in conjunction with Agile Programming in Java, such as JUnit and Hibernate and so on. Chapter 3 is a capable introduction to some of the more popular Design Patterns, but it is here that you first notice that the author ignores all the advice in Chapters 1 and 2 about how much easier your development will be if you use the new language features of Java 5 and the tools and methodologies of Agile development.

Things go downhill by Chapter 4, which covers Swing desktop GUI design and coding. The sample apps aren't all that well designed and don't don't demonstrate everything presented in Chapter 3 (such as the MVC application architecture) in a clear, convincing way. And it is here that you encounter the most shocking deficiencies of this book: sloppy, difficult-to-read sample code that compiles and runs--more or less--but which contains numerous lines (and even entire blocks) of extraneous code, poorly-chosen and sometimes even capitalized local and member variable names, and code stucture that defies best coding practices in many places. It is the type of code that you get when you hurry to meet a deadline for a prototype, and which you have not yet gotten around to going back and cleaning up.

Things pick back up a bit in subsequent chapters, with a nice intro to J2EE and J2EE-oriented API's, messaging, security, and a fine chapter on the much-neglected subject of application deployment.

Overall, I'm glad I bought this book. I've learned a lot from it, despite it's few annoyances. In fact, I made an exercise out of cleaning up the kludgy code samples in chapter 4. No, I'm not being sarcastic--I really did find it far more helpful and educational to patch that code up than to just read it through and then kid myself that I had internalized it. Who knows--maybe all sample code should be written with some defects.

Despite what some other reviewers said, I actually really enjoyed this book. It has allot of valuable material for folks making the jump from beginner topics to more advanced topics.

It seems that allot of folks expect the book to be all about JDK 5 when the title clearly says "PROFESSIONAL JAVA" (JDK 5 edition).

all I could say is that book is very poorly written , no connection between reader and writer, in may chapets ,they are just composed of a bunch of refference manuls that everyone can read for free from vendor , for example JAAS section is totaly useless ...
JDK 1.5 is covered very very poorly ...
it seems that book was written in a rush to get it out to market ..

Chpater 1: Key Java Language Features and Libraries - the only chapter that talks about JDK 5.

Waste of time to proceed further.

This book is mostly an excuse for Dr. Seuss to list off a variety of wild and fanciful sorts of birds. That aspect is cute, as per Seuss's usual, but there's not much else to the book. Meanwhile, the driving theme--taking eggs from the nests of very rare birds in order to make scrambled eggs with them--seems so blindingly unethical to the modern eye that it becomes difficult to enjoy the inventive imagery. There's a reason this book is not one of Seuss's better-known works.

Great book ! Adults love reading it to kids .You can't go wrong with any Dr. Seuss book and this one is among the best.It helps children to become interested in reading.

This is a WONDERFUL book that deserves to be as widely read as Seuss' best-known books. The verbose, sprawling, exhuberant light verse is fantastic all by itself, and the illustrations are as strange and wonderful as any of Seuss'. One of the illustrations made me laugh out loud.

Certain myopic adults with no imagination will give themselves ulcers over the fact that this book describes (a) eating the eggs of fanciful birds, (b) cutting down a tree, and (c) knocking down a mountain. But children, and adults who are young at heart, will understand that it's all pretend.

If you enjoy light verse and Seuss' illustrations, Scrambled Eggs Super is not to be missed.

The message in this book is very outdated and a nightmare to anyone interested in preserving the environment. I love Dr. Seuss and ordered many of the books for my son. This one however I have to send back. The little boy, not content with hens' eggs, travels far and wide to snatch the eggs of countless rare and exotic birds. He prys off a mountain top to get at one bird, and cuts down an enormous tree (old-growth dimensions) to get at another. And he collects literally thousands of eggs, just to cook up for himself and perhaps his family. This story may have been funny when it was written almost 50 years ago, but today it describes little more than environmental destruction and selfish waste. This is definitely not the message I want to give my son, and I am sending back this book.

Even after 50 years, this is still one of Theodore Geisel's (aka Dr. Seuss) best books. I revisited it after the words "scrambled eggs super dee duper dee peter t hooper" just popped into my head at lunch one day. And as for the environmental whacko who wrote the one star review .... it's fiction and your kids WILL know the difference even if you don't!!!!! If you think Dr. Seuss was anything other than environmentally conscious then take a gander at the Lorax. It's a great book as well.

I loved this comic! I want to see more women depicted this way in comics. Why aren't more out there like this.

tank girl is the chronicles of a post apocalyptic beer-swilling punk-chic tank commander and the crew of misfits shes friends with. the motley crew includes, jet girl and sub girl, booga (tank girl's mutant kangaroo boyfriend), and stevie the surfer aborigonee. the art is really wild and imaginative but somewhat uneven, sometimes its really good and sometimes the characters look extremely crudely drawn. the plot is nonexistant and the comic relies heavily on slapstick, swearing, booze and extreme violence coupled with silliness, but it works. its a genre piece aimed at hipsters and punk kids but i like it.

Tank Girl is the name of a female survivour who travels around in the post apocalyptic Australia. On her adventurers she runs into various odd fellows(In this book she even meets the devil!) The comic is rarely takes itself serious, and the artwork is pretty fun to look at. Many small funny details.

... Tank Girl rules!!! I can imagine that some people would not be into it, but nonetheless, the drawings are so awesome, the layout of the comic itself is totally original, and the stories are beyond insane. Maybe it's not a good comic for the very straight-forward narrow minded individual... But if you enjoy Bloody senseless death to random people, hot chicks(with huge guns), bizarre sex jokes, and well, possibly drugs, you will love the Tank Girl series. I recommend books 1-3, after that, Alan Martin is no longer the writer, and I feel that him and Jamie Hewlett (The artist) are a great combo. Tank Girl rules, I got the first book, now I am obsessed and I own them all. Long live Tank Girl! (But not long live the movie!)

Tank Girl was more than some British indie comic book creation. She was a proverbial slap in the face to virtually everything mainstream. That is, of course, until she herself became a sellout (ahh Hollywood). This book represents the beginning of her golden age with Martin and Hewlett (now of Gorillaz fame) at the helm. She's raunchy, she's violent, she's strangely sexy and she gives new meaning to "girl power." While you may need urbandictionary.com to find out the meaning of all the British slang the authors use, and some gags relate to events of the early 90's - and are thus outdated, Tank Girl still holds up incredibly well after nearly fifteen years. This is a must read for anyone who loves indie comics and/or period peices with an insight into a particularly rebellious subculture of the last decade.

Full of beautifully photographed vignettes that capture the essence of French style. The photographed interiors featured are not lavish or ostentations, but instead, pleasingly simple showcasing a style that is easily accessible. The book offers ideas for every living space--indoors and out. Interesting historical bits provide background information with a sensibility that is relevant to today's modern living. The French have a consummate knack for blending the old with the new. If you have a love for all things worn, this book is delightful and inspiring.

Happily, for those of us who truly love French style, viewpoint and decor, there are some very fine books available. This is one of them.

I was dismayed at some earlier reviews because this book truly captures the french respect for time and process, connection with Nature and the eye for placement based on function,soulfulness and items well loved. It is entirely appropriate that one reviewer who missed the point praised the Betty Lou Phillips books which are always only a sterile surface amalgamation of what rich Texans GUESS french style is about.

Like all the important things in life, you either get it or you don't. HOCKEY FAN needs to stick to hockey.

Absolutely fantastic book! Great ideas, great style! Highly recommended to any with a keen interest in interior decor - french style!

Happy to report that I found this book had lots of useful and chic ideas that can be easily translated to "Kiwi" New Zealand interiors. I happily recommend this book. Sumptuous images and an easy style. There is even a painting in one of the rooms by a New Zealand artist whose work I also have...what a small world!

What is a French Home anyway? Is there such a thing as an American Home?

I was smitten by this book -- it was love at first sight. I'm not necessarily a big fan of French decorating per se. I do like the European country look, however. I also happen to like Japanese home-decorating style, which has a lot more in common with the look presented in this book than you might think, and I actually mix the two in my own home.

The reviewers who were disappointed in this book probably associated "French" with rich, opulent, fluffy, and even ornate. This book isn't about ornate. It's about rustic. It's about valuing history and character in the homes you live in and things you live with.

It of course is not the way ALL French people live.

And as a response to the reviewer who were disappointed because the book showed photos of objects, not of rooms, I'd like to say: In decorating you need to see the big picture as well as the small pictures. Often, it's the small things that really tell the story. If you are looking for ways to add that special touch to your rooms, this is a great book because the photos give you lots of ideas and inspiration. If not, you may not get much out of the book.

All in all, I am very satisfied with the book, and I've been looking at it every day.

This book gives ou a nice overview of the region, and incredible specific tips for visiting Moscow.

As a las vegas lawyer, i traveled to moscow many times, and I purchased this book. This book is so out of date, it is not worth the room in your luggage.

I used the latest edition of this guidebook on my recent trip to Moscow (after having a great experience with the St. Petersburg version) and was shocked at how out of date the book was. Most of the restaurants that we tried from the book were closed or not at all what was described, and the prices (both for food and admission to various places) were wildly divergent from those listed in the book. While I understand that there is a lot of turnover and change among these things in Russia, this was simply unacceptable from a new edition that was released a month before my trip. Other guides that we had that were older were more accurate, so it's obvious that the authors did not really try to update this new edition before releasing it.

A second criticism: this book is extremely hard to use for actually navigating the city. The book is organized by the different districts within Moscow, with maps of each area only at the beginning of each section. This means that a great deal of time is wasted trying to find the correct map to look at. It would be much easier if all of the maps were at the back of the book. More importantly, the metro map in the book is absolutely useless. In Moscow, where 2 or more metro lines meet, each line will come into a different station with its own name that will then be connected by walkways to the other station. The map in this book does not make clear which station is on which line, which can make travel a lot more confusing than it needs to be. For a more useful metro map, check out the Eyewitness travel guide, which one of my travel companions used and found to be much better.

The postives: While I would not recommend that anyone use this book as their sole guide for the reasons listed above, the descriptions of the sites to see around Moscow were extremely informative. The recommendations for tour companies, including who has exclusive access to certain areas, were correct. I would rely whole-heartedly on the book's listings of what bus numbers to take to get around, as they were always accurate. Also, we did find 3 restaurants in the book that were still around, had good food, and reasonably priced: Dioskuriya (Georgian food: Nikitskiy bul. 5, str. 1 near the Arbatskaya metro, through the post office arch); Genatsvale (Georgian food: Ostozhenka ul. 12/1, near the Kropotkinskaya metro); and Karetniy Dvor (Azerbajani food: Povarskaya ul. 52, near the Barrikadnaya metro).

Rough Guide's book on Moscow is by far one of the best tour books I have seen for that city. Recently we had the chance to live in Moscow for two months. This book, along with the Rough Guides Russian phrase book, were our constant companions. The Moscow book was essential for giving us really indepth information about most of the sites we went to see. Also, the history section was invaluable to us as we found it necessary to do a little homeschooling of our children while there. I still refer to the history section of the Moscow book to refresh my memory on the complicated story of Russian history.

We also had Fodor's along with us but found that we relied much more on Rough Guides as a source of important and reliable information. Rough Guides is a must if you visit Moscow.

Unfortunately, despite the slow rise of tourists coming to Moscow, there is still no good guidebook. Taking that into consideration, I chose this over the Lonely Planet because it has more day trip information and more background.

This book is truly chock full of information. However, it is arranged in a way that is terribly useless. Neighborhoods are listed, followed by page after page of historical detail and buildings to notice -- guaranteed to get you lost if you actually try to read as you go. My method settled into choosing a neighborhood, reading the book, going there, getting lost, coming home, then reading the book again to try to discern where I'd been.

A bizarre cross section of details pepper the book: things like information on $100/month gyms for New Russians, but no useful notes on where average people can go work out. This sort of thing doesn't matter much to the tourist, but can be frustrating as someone living in Moscow.

I still think this is one of the better guides out there. It does have remarkable historical coverage in a small amount of space, as well as practical details that should satisfy any shoestring or economising traveller. One can hope that further issues of the Guide are able to arrange information more helpfully.