Spencer Books

I ordered this book for my son, who was born on Groundhogs Day (finding it after doing a search on Amazon for anything on the subject of Groundhogs Day). I was extremely pleased to find that not only was the book very entertaining for the younger set, but was a very good introduction to the science of weather. The author did an excellent job of illustrating weather concepts with the use of groundhog characters (e.g., Sunny, Tornado, Fog, etc.), and also included a glossary of weather terms.

I originally bought the book as a novelty for my son's birthday, but now regard it as a child's introduction to the weather. Both adults and children will enjoy Punxsutawney Phil and His Weather Wisdom.

Coincidentally, although I had purchased the book last year, I happened to meet the author at a small country fair two weeks ago, while on a trip back East (in Webatuck, NY, no less -- home of the world's largest chair. (Living in Webatuck means always having to spell your address.) Thanks for the groundhog cookie cutter -- I'll think of you every February 2nd!

"This book is a very, very important work on Seneca history. The Quaker influence changed the lives of the Seneca people; it is still very much felt today. I'm glad Lois Barton has done this." DuWayne "Duce" Bowen, Seneca author, Contemporary Seneca Stories of the Supernatural.

My husband is a model railroader, and loves this book!

This book was one of the required text books in a Social Psychology class I took. The requirement was only a selection of experiments, but because of the interesting collection, and the supurb organization I read the entire book. Very worthwhile!

I had the good fortune to buy this book several years ago at a used book store before I had any exposure to the field of art history. It was my mistake not to read it thoroughly when I first got it; as I became more familiar with the art covered in this volume as well as the secondary literature, I realized that it contains some of the best essays written by some of the best minds to have worked on the problems of art history. Among the exceptional essays collected in this volume: Otto Demus on Byzantine mosaics, Katzenellenbogen on the Romanesque tympanum at Vezelay, Panofsky on Jan van Eyck, Millard Meiss on Sienese painting, Beazley on Greek art, Rhys Carpenter on classical architecture. These are masterpieces of art history, judged by the amount of information they compress and their continued relevance in a field where so much of what's written ages poorly if at all.

This is a great find, either for a teacher in a classroom setting or a family who wants to broaden their exploration of some fantastic children's literature. The book takes plot lines or ideas from some great kids' books and creates child-friendly recipes to accompany them. Many of these recipes are easy to make in the classroom with a crockpot, toaster oven or microwave. From chocolate moose muffins to accompany "If You Give A Moose a Muffin" to unfried worms to accompany "How to Eat Fried Worms," the smartly-written recipes are a joy in and of themselves! It's like a trip down memory lane of some of the best books from my own childhood, plus it offers me some unique ways to explore these old favorites with my own kids. A real winner!

It's 1962 -- the United States of America and the Soviet Union are flexing their respective muscles regarding the missiles in Cuba, as the entire world holds its collective breath, waiting for World War III to break. But in the small town of Whitebridge, the villagers are soon caught up in another game -- that of the murder of a young school mistress, and the kidnapping of a young girl...

When the body of Verity Beale (a school mistress at the extremely exclusive King Edward VI Grammar School) is found in a pigsty (the back of her head bashed in) DCI Charlie Woodend and his sidekicks DI Rutter and DS Monika Paniatowski are called in to investigate. But almost from the first something about the very personal manner in which Verity Beale's body was disposed of, coupled with the strange manner in which news of her death affects the people who knew her in Whitebridge, warns Woodend that something out of the ordinary is up. For a school teacher at a very posh school which guards it's reputation jealously, Verity seems to have had the reputation of a good-time girl. Certainly her colleagues seem to have had a not too high opinion of her. Trying to form an idea of what kind of person Verity was, Woodend institutes a search into her background, but comes up with very vague and unsatisfactory answers. It's almost as if Verity Beale didn't exist before she came to Whitebridge! However, before Woodend and company have even started their investigations properly, one of the pupils at the grammar school, Helen Dunn, goes missing. Fearing that she may have been kidnapped by a pedophile, Woodend is ordered to abandon his investigation into Verity's murder in favour of trying to rescue Helen before it's too late. With the memory of another case in which he failed to rescue a kidnapped girl, Woodend is nothing loath to take on the kidnapping case. But it isn't too long before our canny detective is wondering if the two cases are connected in some way. Was Helen kidnapped because she knew something about Verity's murder? Or was Verity murdered because she had stumbled onto a plot to kidnap Helen? With the life of a young girl in the balance, Woodend puts his career on the line one more time, esp when it becomes clear to him that someone with a lot of power is muddying the waters and blocking both investigations...

I think that Sally Spencer's DCI Woodend seires is probably the best in police procedural books around. Not only is each mystery novel steeped in the feel and culture of the period, but each book has been a page turner. Cleverly paced, and with really interesting and gripping plots, each novel has been a gem to read. And a personal plus for me, each novel has (so far) not become terribly entwined with the personal lives of the police officers featured. Nothing against getting to know more about the detectives and their personal lives, but of late I've come away with the feeling that (sometimes) the personal aspect has more or less kidnapped the mystery plot so that you're not always reading a murder mystery that is really stellar.

On the other hand, "The Red Herring" was a brilliant read that will keep you guessing for quite a while. Some aspects of the mystery at hand was (I'll admit) easy to guess, but denouncement of the chilling whole, quite took my breath away. Why this authour is not winning award after award for sheer and consistent brilliance, is a mystery to me.

This has to be the best book on reflexology on the market! Why is it so hard to get hold of? I haven't seen it advertized anywhere but as a student, its invaluable as a study aid. Please promote it more. The author's writing is eclectic and wide ranging and all of the book is informative and helpful. Please ask her to write another!

This book and it's companion (Blind drills) are my favorite retriever training books for the intermediate to advanced retriever. The books include endless drills to improve your dog's performance. With all these different drills, each training session can be unique and such keeps the trainer and the dog from getting bored.

Further, I have read nearly every retriever training book out there, and I think that Mr. Spencer's writing style is bar none the best.

If you're serious about carving a rocking horse, this is a book you really should read. Margaret Spencer is quite a lady.