Spencer Books

This is a delightful social history of vegetarianism focusing primarily on the Western world and the individuals who pioneered "bloodless" cuisine and dietary practice. The section on this lifestyle in 18th century Europe & America is rich in the cast of remarkably thoughtful and reasonable little known characters of great passion who sought to bring the dharma of ahimsa to others. Within 50 miles of where I live there was a mid-19th century attempt at a vegetarian community established by British settlers along the Marmaton river in Bourbon County, Kansas. It lasted barely a year.

Mr. Spencer's style is chatty and anecdotal yet scholarly. Which makes this a great read for anyone not merely dedicated vegetarians. Before reading this book I had thought vegetarianism as a social force was the outgrowth of 19th century intentional community life as with Fruitlands, New Harmony & the Oneida colony culminating in the often bizzare but influencial writings of Sylvester Graham of childhood cracker fame and Seventh day Adventism. As with most subcultures and alternative movements- often they were attempting to manifest a good before its time. Highly recommended.

In an attempt to lure in new readers, DC Comics' mature readers imprint Vertigo assembled this TPB featuring six first issues of six of their best series'. There's no Hellblazer, Sandman, or Preacher featured here (although they are all amazing series that are more than worth checking out for new readers), but what you do get are the first issues of Neil Gaiman's Death: The High Cost of Living mini-series, Brian K. Vaughan's modern day classic Y: The Last Man, Warren Ellis' classic Transmetropolitan, Brian Azzarello's crime opus 100 Bullets, and the recently launched Books of Magick: Life During Wartime by Si Spencer. Also here is comic god Alan Moore's legendary first issue of Swamp Thing, which began one of the greatest and most epic sagas in the history of the medium. All in all, Vertigo: First Taste is a great starting point for new readers and those interested in the imprint, and at the cheap price this TPB is hard not to pass up.

This is a book about medical ethics, written from a viewpoint that only a medical doctor could be privy to, but with tremendous insight and compassion for the point of view of the patient. It is a deeply thoughtful book; profound, and yet written with great simplicity and clarity. The questions it poses are addressed to the medical profession, but anyone who has ever struggled to get adequate treatment from the medical profession will find it equally important to read, and will experience a strong sense of affirmation and a realization that they are not alone. Moreover, the questions are ones that the medical profession will probably never attempt to respond to, unless they are asked by a great many more people. The case studies that Dr. Cooper uses to illustrate his point of view have to do with a condition called muscular dystonia (dystonia musculorum deformans), because the surgical treatment of that condition was his specialty. The book came to my attention because of the fact that my own son suffers from this same condition, and I will freely admit that the book is particularly important to me for that reason. But I very strongly believe that the questions that are being asked are of much broader importance than the specific condition. They are questions that relate not only to the medical profession as a whole, but to any and every field of service that has become weighted down with bureaucracy. As such, the book is even more important now than when it was first published nearly thirty years ago

I taught a sophomore course, Child Psychology, this fall using Voyages: Childhood and Adolescence, First Edition as the textbook.

After assessing only the contents and subject index, I e mailed my compliments to the department textbook selection committee and chair for their recommendation and her choice.

At the first meeting, I "vehemently urged" the class of teachers in training not to sell the textbook back to the book store but to keep it as the foundation volume of a personal professional library.

What I had learned during 24.5 years of formal education and 30+ years as a called teacher was all there for them in one volume at the beginning of their professional training. If a teacher reads only one book, this is the book.

What a joy to teach to this te(x)t!

Most financial books are boring,boring,boring! This book is written in story form and is easy and applicable to the newest investor or for a seasoned pro. I loved it! I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to financially plan for living out their dreams and purpose in life!

This is an extremely useful book for planning hiking vacations in the the alpine regions of France, Switzerland, Austria and Italy. Spenser selects 16 towns in these countries that make excellent bases for exploring the surrounding mountain regions on foot. He gives trail descriptions four seven hikes of varying difficulty level for each town. I've now visited eight of these towns and gone on dozens of the hikes and I've found both the towns and the hikes to be superb. It's a real pity that this book is out of print. I've never found of more usefully organized or accessibly written guide to planning holidays in the Alps. If you love to hike in the mountains and you can get your hands on a copy of this book, grab it!

This book is absolutely essential for "Deadlands: Hell on Earth." As was the case with the Weird West before they divided the books into Marshall's and Player's books, the rule book gives you the "Why," "When," and "How" of the Wasted West, and this book gives you the "Who," "Where," and "What." The Posse section of the book gives some detail about what's left of the world west of the Mississippi (Brief hint: Do NOT try to go Back East!) and informs us of some of the changes in the world now that things that were hushed rumors in the time of the Weird West are common knowledge. Highly recommended. After all, this is Act Two of Three, Brainer. And you won't be able to tell the players without a program.

Hundreds of inventive outrageous snack recipes that tie children's books to kids and food. Mainly for teachers and librarians who want to lure kids into reading by way of their stomachs.

Ehxileratiing. Captivating. Brilliant. A masterpeice...period.

Zach Taylor may have thought he was retiring to his Arizona ranch, but guys like him always end up in the middle of the action. In White Gold, book 2 of the series by Spencer Dane, trouble comes looking for Zach Taylor. Valeria, the daughter of Miami crime boss Don Carlos Santiago, has been kidnapped and Zach is recruited by her husband Matt Crawford to rescue her. Zach needs to put together a team of experts to find a legendary cache of lost Nazi white gold worth a billion dollars and pay the ransom. And, he has to do it all in 10 days. To make things more interesting, Zach's up and down romance with Erin McShane seems to end with her sudden disappearance. Stepping up to fill the void is Zach's high school girlfriend, movie star and avowed enemy of Erin McShane, Jocelyn Haley. Jocelyn wants him back and isn't going to take no for an answer.

In White Gold, Zach doesn't get to have all the fun. Erin is off on an adventure of her own. The beautiful investigative journalist is on her most dangerous assignment as she tries to learn the truth about the disappearance of her father, Senator William McShane.

The fast-paced White Gold picks up where Blue Diamonds left off with a tight plot full of unexpected twists and turns. All our favorite characters were back and Dane added some new ones for us to enjoy. Again, Dane gets all the details right when it comes to the strategy and equipment the characters use. He lets us know just enough that we understand what's going on without slowing the action down. We get to peek under the hood of Zach Taylor and see a little bit of what's behind the strong and silent persona. And, best of all, we get a hint about a third book. The plot of White Gold is resolved, but Dane lets us know that Zack Taylor is in for some more action in the next book.