Sherman Books

Despite the revised title this is the follow-up to the anthology "Best New Paranormal Romance" which was an excellent book. However this book was quite different in tone (with different contributors), as is discussed in the excellent introduction, and didn't feel comfortable as a continuation of the series. These stories are overall darker in tone with less of an obvious Happy Ever After (which one tends to expect in romantic fantasy). Many of the stories were quite difficult to understand as the complex worlds were being crammed into short stories. The writing standard was generally very high with no turgid prose but often beautiful turns of phrase but many of the stories felt to me like they were rather more form than substance.

The story I most liked was Sarah Monette's "The Light In Troy" about the last member of a conquered race who works in a library and sees a young boy playing on the beach and befriends him. It's a gentle story with a minimal romantic element but was well written. Other highlights were "Moon Viewing at Shijo Bridge" by Richard Parks which had a wonderful twist (although one I did half expect), "Jane, A Story of Magic, Manners And Romance" by Sarah Prineas set in Regency times and yet with wizards and the very short "The Desires Of Houses" which gave a fascinating insight into what your house might think of you.

Ones I found less successful were "An Autumn Butterfly" (I couldn't quite get my head around it, which is no doubt more a reflection on me than the story itself), "Evergreen" (which seemed to go on and on without much action), "the Depth Oracle" (too deep for me) and "The Wizard Of Eternal Watch" which felt like part of a series and I wasn't always sure what was going on.

The fifteen stories are all completely different from each other and this variety makes for a good book to dip into but very few of them are light reading matter and the complexities of the plots in most cases means that this book is less accessible than the previous edition.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book, www.curledup.com. © Helen Hancox 2007

This anthology consists of fifteen well written romantic fantasies published in various sources in 2006. The tales are fun to read as one's soulmate might be a soul stealer as opposites attract and love does not guarantee a fairy tale happy ever after though it does make the Guren world go round; more often elliptical rather than circular. There are no clinkers as each of the chosen stories is a solid entry though the short format does not lend itself to fully developed paranormal elements. Those excellent few that do typically contain a vivid location make the fantasy seem genuine; especially gripping are the haunting coastal "Journey into the Kingdom" by M. Rickert and the forest of "Evergreen" by Angela Boord. Sub-genre readers will appreciate this fine anthology whether the stars are witches, elves, fairies and various assortments of ilk from other realms as a virtual who's who (O'Keefe, Friesner, Monette, etc.) contribute. As an aside the first volume is actually titled the BEST NEW PARANORMAL ROMANCE.

Harriet Klausner

The highlights of this book for me were Haddayr Copley-Woods' 'The Desires of Houses' and Delia Sherman's 'La Fee Verte.' 'The Desires of Houses' is a short piece about one of my favourite subjects, the personalities of inanimate objects, and 'La Fee Verte' is about a 19th century French prostitute who has visions of the future (and past).

The contents list for this anthology is:
'An Autumn Butterfly' by Esther Friesner
'A Light in Troy' by Sarah Monette
'The Moment of Joy Before' by Claudia O'Keefe
'Jane. A Story of Manners, Magic, and Romance' by Sarah Prineas
'Journey into the Kingdom' by M. Rickert
'Wizard of the Eternal Watch' by Eugie Foster
'Moon Viewing at Shijo Bridge' by Richard Parks
'The Depth Oracle' by Sonya Taaffe
'Smoke & Mirrors' by Amanda Downum
'The Desires of Houses' by Haddayr Copley-Woods
'Evergreen' by Angela Boord
'The Red Envelope' by David Sakmyster
'The Mountains of Key West' by Sandra McDonald
'The Story of Love' by Vera Nazarian
'Le Fee Verte' by Delia Sherman

The Sarah Monette story was elegantly written, as always. It's about the last survivor of a conquered fortress, who has been put to work as a library slave. The Vera Nazarian story was good, but I'd already read it in Salt of the Air, a really good all-Nazarian collection. 'The Red Envelope' is a neat story about a man married to a Taiwanese ghost. Sarah Prineas' 'Jane' is a lot of fun, about a Regency-like society where a young woman is being harassed by wizards. 'The Depth Oracle' is well-written but a little too dense for me.

Although the "Centerfolds" were shot back in the 1980's it took until now for them to be all collected in a book collection. They are some of Cindy Sherman's best work and they are presented beautifully in this very wide shaped book. The book was hard to get a hold of as it was specially produced by an art gallery, but as a fan it is a great addition to the "Complete Film Stills" book. Highly recommended.

Cindy Sherman is now an established household art figure, a photographer who spends her life costuming herself and arranging her settings to recreate or reinterpret other people both famous in art history and in other arenas. These works are no longer shocking or startling, but the twelve 'Centerfolds' in this fine little book show her at an early stage in a career that has since burgeoned.

As far as the Centerfolds themselves, each is a self portrait in different but drab dress and moods. While the concept of viewing the standard plain woman in the guise of what is usually associated as a Playboy etc venture of sizzling sensuality is a solid idea, the photographs themselves tend toward a sameness that makes them less interesting than her current work.

Still, this was a pioneering commission by Artforum magazine that never made it to print and we are fortunate to see the images that found no home until the museums sought them out due to her growing fame. It is another moment in history that bears observing. Grady Harp, May 05

Caveat emptor: Two books dated 2003 have the title "Cindy Sherman Centerfolds." Both contain 12 landscape-orientation self-portraits of the photographer made up and dressed up as adolescent girls that were originally shot in 1981. But the books' designs and contents are different.

The first one was produced as a limited edition of 1850 which was apparently recalled. It has an incorrect ISBN of 0970909039*, is 29.5cm wide and 15cm high, has a light blue cloth cover, is 44 pages in length, was designed by "Honest, NYC," and was printed in Iceland. The photos are presented full-bleed on the right-hand pages, with blank pages facing them. An essay by Lisa Phillips in a rather large font is interspersed among the photographs. The captions (untitled #92, #87, #85, #88, #86, #89, #95, #93, #94, #90, #96, and #91a) are at the end. The dust jacket features orangish Untitled #93 with Sherman as a "blond with red rimmed eyes and matted hair tucked under rumpled black sheets" (per the essay).

The later regular edition (ISBN 0970909020) is 22cm wide by 25cm high, has a black cloth cover, is 50 pages in length, was designed by "Stella Bugbee, Giampietro + Smith," and was printed in Germany. In this book the Phillips essay is found in normal-size font on pages 5-7. The twelve photographs (untitled #92, #87, #91, #85, #88, #95, #89, #86, #93, #94, #90, and #96) follow on two-page spreads with white around them. Pages 32-47 have 1981-1982 essays by Peter Schjeldahl, Roberta Smith, and Andy Grundberg. The dust jacket has a detail of bluish Untitled #92 with Sherman in a tartan skirt and white blouse.

Which is better? If you are a book collector, you'll want the wide-format limited edition due to its rarity and "artistic" presentation. But those interested in Sherman's art are better served by the regular edition for several reasons. For one, it has more text than the limited edition. For another, the presence of the book's gutter in each photo in the regular edition gives a more "centerfold-like" feeling (although I suppose fold-out photos would have been even more effective). Finally, when I compared the photos in the two editions, the ones in the limited edition were slightly cropped, the worst example being Untitled #86 on page 17 in which you cannot see Sherman's eyes at the far right.

If you're unsure which edition a bookseller has for sale, use the "Contact This Seller" feature in the "Used & New" section of Amazon.com!

* That ISBN belongs to "Laurie Simmons Photographs 1978/79."

Sherman's book walks you through from start to finish: equipment, tools, doughs, breads, sauces, and finally, the complete recipes. This isn't an exhaustive cookbook; it's meant to give you the how-to and provide a handful of samples in different areas, such as meat pizzas, vegetable pizzas, breakfast and dessert pizzas, and then a similar array of panini.

The directions are quite thorough, and include many little tips along the way. Unfortunately, there are also a few missing bits of information. For instance, one section refers to a previous one to provide benchmarks for how the doughs should appear once kneaded. Unfortunately, that other section tells you to view photos at a URL that no longer exists.

The good news is, the recipes are delicious and easy. I enjoyed the various pizza doughs we made from Sherman's recipes, as well as the homemade pizza sauce. The Artichoke & Brie Pizza was a nice change of pace, and the homemade version of a Quattro Formaggio (four cheese) Pizza was definitely better than the commercial equivalent. There's a 'Tuna Meltdown Panino' in here that combined such ingredients as tuna salad, gouda, and avocado to wonderful effect (a bit tough to flip thanks to that tuna salad, but so delicious it's worth it). The recipe instructions are clear and easy to follow, although there are no photos (not a big deal with most parts of making pizza and panini, but I know they're important to some folks).

Make sure you read the informational/how-to parts of the book before you dive into the recipes. After that, however, I think you'll find it so surprisingly easy to make your own pizzas that you'll be tempted to do it every week!

Good book with simple recipes and great beginner tips. Entertaining to read and learned quite a bit about pizza.

9/5/2007
The Complete Idiot's Guide to
Pizza & Panini:
Tantalizing Recipes that will Turn your
Kitchen into your Favorite Pizza Parlor
By Eric Sherman
A review/interview by Marty Martindale
For some pizza is a way of life, and if almost any food, though abbreviated, is supported by a crust, life becomes terribly good. Erik Sherman is a pizza purist. He is not looking for cooks who instinctively avoid yeast. He feels crusts are simple, ten of them, and he shares his years of well-learned tricks for simple success. He also lines out some tasty toppings and sauces for a wide range of pizzas, not just the Italian type, originally known as "tomato pie."
He divides his pizza recipes into four categories: Meat, Vegetable/Garden, Morning Pizza and Global. Global is especially interesting, for he gives recipes from nine cultures: from Indian to Scandinavian, Middle Eastern to Russian. What a great start for some unusual entertaining?
Sherman's Panini recipes run from the Ruben to the Oyster Po'Boy, a Tuna Meltdown and many more. These are followed by his Plant-Filled (vegetarian) Paninis. He internationalizes these too, specifying which of his nine bread doughs work best.
Crusts on either the pizza or the Panini need the correct textures. The pizza dough needs to be on the moist side for open texture, he emphasizes. "The more you hold back on the flour, the happier you will be with the result," he promises. With mixed grains, he advises making a porridge of these grains with water, then add the porridge mixture to the flour when you add the other ingredients.
After taking Sherman's "pizza/panini course," you will feel at home with phrases like, "Heavily dust your peel," which means you will generously lace your pizza paddle with cornmeal. You will also have mastered Sherman's 11-page glossary and find yourself using words like "Pissaladiere and Flaeskeaggekage!" You will also come away wanting to address whether or not a pizza stone in your life. Sherman's all for using a large, unglazed ceramic tile as pizza stone. He explains, "Pizzas in Italy cook in wood-fired ovens 700 to 900 degrees F. For this reason, get your conventional oven hotter by preheating your tile in the oven to 500 and waiting 30 to 45 minutes before inserting pizza. If your cheese topping browns before the crust is done, delay adding the cheese the next time." He feels pizza should be perfectly cooked in ten minutes.
Pizza, a life quest. In an interview, Eric tells us there will be more to the Complete Idiot's Guide to Pizza and Panini, and he will move it to the web with new appendices and much more. "Remember to experiment," he adds.
You can reach Martindale at FOOD SITE OF THE DAY.

It could have been because my teacher asked us very ambiguous questions, but this book was not very helpful when trying to apply its basic examples to broader concepts. It spent too little time on important topics (how doctors and hospitals force a nursing shortage, etc.) and too much time on special topics. I'd recommend purchasing the old version over the newer version though. It's just the same.

Book was received on time in great condition. I will definitely use this seller again.

As with all economics textbooks and the subject of economics in general, this book is a bit dry. That said however, it's quite thorough in its coverage of how consumers, producers, and insurers make decisions about health and health care. It gives explanations that are rather simple to understand and goes in depth as far as would be considered normal for a 300 level elective course. I should probably note that my instructor is one of the book's authors, so take my review how you will.

This book has a great title, but ultimately lacked much substance. The information provided was very basic and not very useful. It didn't describe methods for finding a good fit between oneself and one's therapist, but rather cautioned the reader numerous times not the sleep with your therapist nor see a therapist who wants to sleep with you (duh). What about answering 'how do you know if your therapist is right for you?' Or 'when should you seek out a different therapist?' Or 'how can you be sure to make your therapy productive?' No such basic questions were adequately addressed.

I am impressed by the author's clarity of thought and clarity of expression. This small book is based on serious research and appropriate use of quoted material from professionals in the field. Unlike a lot of other how-to books I've read, this does not use what is to me obviously made up situations and quotes from "ordinary people"; I appreciated the honesty and underlying respect that the author shows his readers. And Sherman has a great sense of humor. An excellent guide!

I don't remember how I came across this little treasure, but I'm sure glad I did. Like a lot of people, I used to think that anyone who went into psychoanalysis ought to have their head examined; but since September 11, I've been reassessing a lot of things in my life.
Self-help books have their place in the best of times, but in this crazy mixed-up world sometimes only a professional can give the necessary guidance that'll get you back on track. There are a lot of different therapies out there and this book has helped me to de-mystify them. Hey, what you you might need isn't what I might need, and Carl Sherman can help you to choose the appropriate one to meet your particular needs so that you'll get the most of your therapy.
Don't think you can tough it out by yourself; even a tough guy works better when he's got a good team behind him.

I highly recommend this book. I read it on a car ride and couldn't put it down. It resonates so well with my experiences as a teacher, teacher educator, and reading researcher. For some reason there is a political twinge to reading philosophies - I've always wondered about it - and this cleared it up for me quite a bit. Seems to me that if reading research PROVES what works with children who are struggling to read, there should be very little resistance to implementing it in reading curricula, but there is massive, and even angry resistance out there. I've asked my students, who are future teachers, why they think that is and there reasons are in harmony with this book: tenure ("I don't HAVE to do anything"), fear ("people are going to find out I have no clue how to teach children to read"), laziness ("but I've gotten away with doing the same old thing for so long I don't want to be professional and improve my practice"), and above all, ignorance ("I never learned how to do this in graduate school" - "Oh, before it was Whole Language and now it's phonics - the pendulum is just swinging again and it means nothing" - "Those right wing Bush-loving neo-cons are forcing their agenda" - "It takes a lot of money to implement instruction that my students need and I can't do it without some funding"). Read the book - it's amazing...I truly loved it.

I did not find this book useful,and not just because I am already in the field of learning disabilities.
My comments concern the organization of the book, and its content.
I do not believe that scattering the examples throughout the book was necessarily relevant to the particular chapter they illustrated. For example, in several chapters adults who had failed in school and were then successful were used as illustrations, rather than assembled. I understand, however, why the book was organized this way.
There is no concluding chapter or comment after the excellent examples of successful education in chapter 6.
I believe the book would have more impact if the examples had been drawn from a wider geographical area.
Finally, for whom is the book intended? Will graduates or teachers read it to learn what they should be teaching? Is it an introduction for parents?
While there is plenty of interesting information, "The Reading Glitch" is not a book I will be recommending to anyone.

This is an important and timely book about the crucial skill of reading.
Reading well is a skill that must be learned, and the evidence is clear that reading instruction in American schools is failing many students, particularly those with learning difficulties and the disadvantaged. This is a shame, because scientific research into the reading process points the way to success for all readers.
These are the themes of The Reading Glitch, a book for general audiences that seeks to make sense out of the science, teaching, and culture of reading in America. The authors of The Reading Glitch are Lee Sherman, a research writer at Oregon State University (OSU), and Betsy Ramsey, a research associate at Oregon Health Sciences University.
The difficulties many students have with the primary task of reading have large implications not just for literature and language arts classes, say the authors, but in every other part of schooling and outside and beyond school, for the rest of a person's life.
The book points out that approximately 40 percent of all American fourth-graders scored below national standards for "basic" reading skills, according to the federal government's National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) conducted in 2000. By the time they're leaving high school, the NAEP found, American students are often still struggling. By age 17, only about 1 in 17 seventeen year olds can read and gain information from specialized text, for example the science section in the local newspaper.
American educators have been arguing over the causes and cures of reading problems for decades, but the preferred reading instruction used in most schools is still a variant on the Dick and Jane books introduced in the 1950s. The method is generally referred to as "whole language," referring, by way of contrast, to other methods which base learning on understanding the parts of written language.
"The tenets of `whole language' or `discovery learning' are simple," writes author Sherman: "reading is as natural as speaking. Therefore, skills instruction is unnecessary. Children will learn to read when exposed to books in a supportive, caring environment, just as they learn to speak in day-to-day interactions with Mom and Dad. Give them lots of rich literature, and off they'll go."
But this "reading is natural" notion rests on a fallacy, a "fatal mixing of apples and oranges. Humans' ability to communicate orally is an evolutionary adaptation that began a million years ago. Writing, in contrast, is a human invention that has been around only about 5,000 years. Spoken language is passed down in our genes. Written language is not."
Assuming individuals will learn to read by being exposed to writing makes about as much sense as assuming a person could fly an aircraft by being exposed to a Boeing 747, Sherman says.
Sherman and Ramsey bring together research conducted through the last two decades in diverse but related fields such as brain imaging, child psychology, and reading instruction which leads to what Sherman calls an "inconvenient truth": "A mounting body of evidence shows that struggling readers lack a skill that is absolutely essential to the reading process: phonemic awareness. Simply put, it's the ability to hear the individual sounds in spoken words.
"The typical disabled reader can't distinguish these sounds (called phonemes) - so she fails to make the next leap - linking sounds to letters. Without these basic building blocks, the rest of the reading skills - decoding (letter combinations), word recognition, and reading comprehension -- are all but impossible."
The good news is that studies sponsored by the federal National Institutes of Health show that all kids can be taught to read competently. "All the literacy deficits kids bring to school can be overcome with a research-based reading program that starts where they are--not from where we wish they were or where we think they should be--when they enter kindergarten."
A research-based reading program will include direct instruction in phonics, the sounds associated with letters.
"Research has shown again and again that all children, including the disadvantaged and the learning disabled, can learn to read adequately when given direct, explicit, systematic instruction in phonics.
"Despite countless studies that affirm this, however, the whole-language philosophy shuns phonics, demonizing it as a right-wing plot against progressive teaching methods."
Many educators, Sherman and Ramsey lament, dismissed the 1998 National Academy of Sciences report, Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children, which concluded that children need to be taught to read, directly and systematically. And these teachers rejected the findings of the congressionally mandated National Reading Panel, which reported in 2000 that kids need direct instruction in phonics.
"For many educators, these panels lacked validity because they included experts from fields such as neurology, pediatric medicine, and psychology. Interference from these perceived outsiders in classroom practice is deeply resented by many educators," Sherman notes.
The Reading Glitch explains the science and provides numerous examples of individuals and schools using that scientific background to help kids to read.

This is a beautiful deck, very powerful, with a lot of vibe. It can give you gentle advice, but also a good smack on the head if you need one. ;)

The art is very different form other decks, vibrant colors, RWS based but with a lot of personal insight too. The book I liked a lot, very thorough, althoug a little on the dark (negative)side.

All in all a great set, absolutely worth your time.

this is an excellent intermediate deck. i really loved the designs and the vibrant colour. also, the meanings of each card are quite open to the reader's interpretation. (which as we all know, is quite important when the picture can differ from the meaning.) this is a great deck to advance to. and i consider it the "sequel" (hee hee) to the hanson roberts tarot deck. i highly reccomend both of them!

I puchased this set in 1997. I never read for anyone with the deck because I was afraid I may scare some one with it. This deck has been in print since the 1970s and has a popular audience apparently. I was attracted to the image of roses that are my favorite flower.

The backs are beautiful. Then you turn them over and the human figures are staring back at you with stark white eyes! I found this disturbing. I tried to work with the cards and could not connect with them. The people seem dead or soulless. Not my cup of tea...

I set then in my collection of cards to maybe come back to them someday and found them missing! Very odd since I have many decks in my collection, some very valuable. No human would have took them. Maybe a spirit of one of the cards...Be Warned!

The Shape of Practical Theology: Empowering Ministry with Theological Praxis, is a deftly articulation of the praxis of pastoral theology by Dr. Ray S. Anderson. Dr. Anderson boldly rejects the sharply drawn lines of demarcation, established by some scholars that separate academic theology from practical theology, and argues effectively that a "bridge" has been constructed that achieves greater collaboration. Dr. Anderson's thorough and reasoned definition of what practical theology is was insightful, exhilarating, and daunting considering the theological context that most clergy professionals find themselves operating in.

Though I am not in the same theological camp as Ray Anderson, I must say that this book has helped me revisit my approach the the biblical text. I especially like his treatment on the Holy Spirt. He gives a balance approach, not forgotten and not overexposed.

Ray S. Anderson's book, The Shape of Practical Theology: Empowering Ministry with Theological Praxis, was a heart breaking disappointment. Having high hopes when I first found the title, I was anxious to read the book. By the end, I was sick at heart at the state of modern theology it portrayed.

Behind the book is a stated premise that there is no such concept as absolute truth. No passage of Scripture is held to be an absolute commandment, applicable to all peoples in all generations or all cultures. Everything is relative and subject to redefinition based on the standards of the society in which one lives.

Since Scripture lacks absolute truth, and has no absolute commandments, every passage is subjective in nature, based on how the individual pastor or parishioner feels the Spirit may be leading. God, being sovereign, may redefine His laws, His words, and His truths in each generation and culture. Pastors must use culture to determine what action to take based on the suggestive and subjective guidelines of Scripture. Exegesis is replaced with Praxis as a hermeneutic criterion, and the loose concept of "finding antecedents" becomes the preferred means of interpreting the Word.

In short, this book is a blueprint for the subjective use of God's Word, as is more often seen in the Emerging Church. This book is simply not about practical theology so much as it is about following one's gut in lieu of not having definitive Scripture on which to rely.

This is good addition to Osprey's Vanguard series, this volume presents one from the "armoured funnies" of WW II. There are, however, some deviations from what readers have come to expect from this publication. In text are short history of anty-mine Britisch tanks and history of idea flail tank. About using Sherman Crab is too little information, there are no line drawings of this machine. For modellers and hobbists too little, for teenangers - too much. In this series I read better books.

David Fletcher's SHERMAN CRAB FLAIL TANK follows the design and history of the Sherman tank, considering its development and deployment. Colorful artwork and vintage photos supplement a collection recommended for any in-depth military library focusing on equipment history.

Interesting historical facts regarding the backgtound before manufacturing the Crab. Nothing over post WW.2 use, if any.

Young Prince Hauberin is a half-elven prince of Fairie. Despised by his cousin for his human blood, he faces the scorn of his people with a wry sense of humor and a quick wit. After being cursed, Hauberin is forced to go on a quest to discover the origins of his human lineage. Together with his friend Li who is a wind elemental, he travels to the human realm to the ancient castle of his forefather.

This was an entertaining book. I really liked Prince Hauberin, he was charming, entertaining and well constructed. His friend Li was also quite intriguing. I liked the way that Faerie was visualized and the various creatures therein.

On the negative side, the romance between Hauberin and Mathilde did nothing for me. It seemed a bit tacked on. I also found the ending a little trite with all elements falling a little too neatly into place. Finally, I found the villain and the battle with him unsatisfying because of his ability to posses his victims. I was never quite sure who he was fighting and what he was fighting. If a book deserved a sequel though, it would be this one.

One final note. The fugly cover of this book just does not do this novel justice. Sweet's art makes every character look wizened. He doesn't even get the hair color right. :Sighs: I guess the publishers will continue to completely disregard the benefits of an appealing cover in favor of hiring the same cheap painter hack who draws everyone the same.

There were some interesting ideas in this book, but I thought that it fell far short of its potential. The writing was mediocre at best, the characterization bland, and there were too many plot holes to make it a really enjoyable read. I was also annoyed by the way that Sherman seemed to discard most of the faerie "lore" that has become accepted in the world at large (and by this I mean like folk-tales, not rules set forth by other fantasy writers) but she didn't really create her own either. I spent most of the book confused about the societies of the faerie creatures.

The potential for a good story was there, but the ideas, characters, and world needed to be better developed for it to work well. I would only recommend this book to Sherman fans

This book isn't necessarily a classic, one that all people should read, but when I picked it up I enjoyed every minute. I've re-read it twice since then and enjoyed it just as much the second or third time. That's a hard thing to find in a book and Josepha Sherman does a good job. If you like fantasy, especially the Mercedes Lackey and Ann Marston type, I think you will like this. I also like the book King's son, Magic's son by Sherman.