Wood Books

This is a illuminating account not only of a little girl but of D.W. Winnicott himself, the master analyst.

The Piggle is an account of a child analysis, a case history. That child is Gabrielle, nicknamed "the piggle" and she was two and a half years old at the onset of her treatment. The Piggle is a delightful book to read. Though it is a professional psychoanalytic text, it is not stuffy or full of jargon. This book is a very good starting point for learning about how children's minds work and the role that fantasy and play have in healthy psychological development. Reading it is like learning your A. B. C's as a song rather than having to learn by rote.

Gabrielle's parents brought her to Dr. Winnicott's office because she had trouble sleeping, anxiety problems and because she was not herself. Other symptoms included nightmares, difficulty controlling her temper, difficulty in concentration, and listlessness. When she was first seen, she seemed to withdraw from relationships with people. This flight from other relationships and premature independence caused alarm her parents. Gabrielle's sister was born when Gabrielle was 21 months old. The Piggle exhibited jealousy and regressive behaviors (acting more childishly than she was developmentally). Gabrielle presented what some people might call alarming fantasies. They were fantasies gone wild and they consumed her so that she seemed to live inside them somewhat like an adult psychotic might do. The fantasies Gabrielle presented have a "through the looking glass" quality at times. She had trouble telling reality from her dreams. Verbally, a complex story emerged full of "babacars," "yams," "sush babies," "moo's burrr's" and "bryyyyyh babies." These were her made up words for things or people in her world.

Because the child lived far from Dr. Winnicott's office, her parents had to travel a long way by train to be seen. For this reason she was seen on demand or whenever it seemed necessarily. There were only 14 sessions during the whole course of treatment which began when she was two and a half and ended when she was aged five.

During the beginning of the treatment Gabrielle was having frequent nightmares. She would not admit to being herself saying rather that she was this or that imaginary person. She would often say that "the piggle" had gone away. She was full of aggressive feelings. Many of these fantasies appeared to relate to her mother's pregnancy. The "Sush Baba" was her sister Susan. Her parents suspected Gabrielle had tried to become prematurely independent when Susan was born but could not sustain this because she did not have the emotional skills and resources to do so. They are quoted as saying, "when Susan was born, Gabrielle seemed somehow thrown out of her mold, and off from her sources of nourishment (p. 20).

Gabrielle is concerned with "nastiness" (p. 99), her own and that of others. About this issue, Winnicott shows us how people, even children symbolize their experiences in interlocking images, ideas, and feelings. Strange and complex mental representations occur in even two year olds.

Winnicott is showing us through direct case history how the oddity of psychoanalytic child therapy plays out. For example, Winnicott says, "Here she was eating the plastic man. I said she was eating the man because she wanted to eat me." Then he says, "If you eat me that would be taking me away inside you, and then you would not mind going" (p 105). This is said to three and one half year old Gabrielle who is playing with a plastic toy. Winnicott is speaking metaphor to her and what he is saying is that Gabrielle misses him (the plastic man represents him) when she is away. If she could internalize a symbolic representation (a memory) of him she would not mind going home so much and would be able to tolerate the separation because she could evoke her memory of him to comfort herself. Gabrielle speaks metaphor also and she understands what he means when he makes the interpretations of her actions. When psychoanalytic people talk of this they say internalization, introjection, incorporation, or transmuting internalization to refer to phenomena in this general ball park. This is the technical language of metapsychology and Winnicott does not need to refer to it to explain the situation. It makes reading him much more accessible and much less tedious.

As the treatment progresses, both Winnicott and Gabrielle's parents agree that "Gabrielle showed growing confidence now in my ability to tolerate muddle, dirt, inside things, and incontinence and madness" (p. 105). (That's a good thing.)

As the treatment is nearing termination, Winnicott receives very high praise from the patient, `Dr. Winnicott is a very good maker-better of babies.' (p. 107).

All in all, this book is a very good read containing a startling amount of information despite the relaxed tone and jargon-free language. It makes a good starting point for acquiring a professional understanding of psychoanalytic treatment methodology and is understandable with a little help by most parents.

Marilyn Graves, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist in private practice who sees children, adolescents, and adults. She also writes book reviews and parenting articles.

Janie's book transported me into a different generation. Her clarity of memory and gift of description helped me envision her day-to-day life, and that of those around her.

This should be required reading for school, and will be for my homeschoolers. Janie lived in a time without our modern conveniences, however, by the time I finished the book, I was sure she had the best of childhoods.

A book that will take you back to the times of youth and rekindle the images that were buried with childhood. A facinating glimpse into the life and times of growing up in rural America and of "roots" from which we all spring. I truly enjoyed its comingling of the reality of growing ups happy tales and sad tales and the images they brought to my own mind about my youth.

Well worth the price - especially considering the welcome suprise on opening which was a copy signed by the author!

I bought this book and another similar book from the same author a while ago when my daughter was only several month old. At the time, it is difficult to share it with her because she is too young and not gentle to the books. These books are combination of lift-the-flap and pop-up. On each page, you lift a flap and something pops up, which is quite neat. Recently, when she turned a year old, they suddenly become her favorite books. She is eager to turn each page and find the surprise (the flap). She tries to be gentle with them too. I find that she is more interested in the books that only have one flap per page than the books that have several flaps per page at this age.

My 2.5 year old daughter and I have read this book at least once a day since she received it for Christmas and she just loves this book. It is a beautifully illustrated pop-up book that introduces very young children to the wildlife of Asia as it tells the story of little Ping Ping looking for bamboo with the assistance of the friends she meets along the way. Every child who picks up this book at our house has been immediately enchanted with it. When we actually saw the Fairy bluebirds and pandas at the San Diego Zoo recently my daughter was SO excited to see her book come alive. This book has been a wonderful addition to our already BIG toddler/preschooler collection.

I love the Dover Pictorial Archives Series and this book is a fine example of the copyright-free images that Dover offers in these books. Jammed full of beautiful black and white drawings in fine detail this could be the one book in your library to cover all your botanical needs. But it won't be. Once you see this book you'll want to add more Pictorial Archives Series books to your library.

This is a terrific book. I purchased it with the companion book on Animals. It is a "must have" for anyone interested in art, biology, or just a good coffee table book. It will keep youngsters quiet for hours with the facinating illustrations. Very high quality. You just can't beat the price either. I highly recommend it. You, too, can be botanically correct!

The poetic scripting of these legends is captivating, enlightening, and informative. The research and abridgment of the life of these women truly heighten my knowledge of each of them. Kudos to these authors for motivating me, with your style of writing, to read the entire book in a few hours!

I highly recommend the book to one and all.

I loved this book. It is so inspiring. It would be a great book to present at your book club. This book helps us, if we don't know or don't remember, to understand that many opportunities for all people have been made possible because these women took the time to care. I plan to give a copy of this book to my daughter as a gift during black history month and as a tribute to these legendary strong, gifted and caring women that the book is all about. Thank you!

Brilliant! got everything that I was hoping for, Popbot is a masterpiece and Ashley Wood is a true master

To really enjoy popbot i think you would either have to have been a fan for a while, or like taking risks. i bought this having never read popbot but knowing that i liked the art style of the book, the story is something that i haven't ever seen before, and if you like surprises and a fresh, vulgar story that you will probably never hear again, this is the book for you. I have thoroughly enjoyed it, and am eager to get the next Ashley Wood Book.

this is a pratical book about mental and spiritual dowsing written with the same philosophy of the first book of Walter Woods "Letter to Robin"the Bible of dowsers worldwide that can be downloaded freeware from www.lettertorobin.org.
See below about the author of this book from:
Sponsored by The American Society of Dowsers
26th WEST COAST DOWSERS' CONFERENCE, SCHOOL, WORKSHOPS,
TOUR & CHILDREN'S MYSTERY SCHOOL
JUNE 30 - JULY 5, 2006
at Porter College, University of California, Santa Cruz, California
Walt Woods - Conference:Dowsing Time Portals and Window
Have you ever experienced a time shift? Walt will tell us many fascinating personal stories as well as other people's experiences with time and parallel world portals. He will discuss what they are, how to identify them, and what you should to do if accidentally caught in one. He will discuss the philosophy of time and the multidimensional universe and give us information on Native American use of portals. This is a colorful computerized presentation with many pictures. Walt will be creating a thought-form time portal for you to dowse.

Walt Woods: Past President and Trustee of the American Society of Dowsers, Chairman of the Sierra Dowsing Chapter in Sacramento, and member of the Ozark Research Institute Research Committee. He is a retired college science instructor who has spent many years researching dowsing and related areas, both scientifically and metaphysically. Walt has written a widely used booklet "Letter To Robin, A Mini-Course in Pendulum Dowsing" and a new companion booklet to Robin, "Learning To Dowse, A Student Guide". SPEAKER CONTACT: email: walt@cncnet.com.

For learning about the invisible world around us, this is a terrific book with wonderful illustrations. In an easy to read format, the book starts at the beginning and teaches us how to access new and different worlds with our intuition. Featured as a treasure chest full of dowsing instruments, charts, book, etc., this is a great kit for anyone interested in the metaphysical world. The conclusion says it all. "The energy is within us to become and achieve all that we want, if we just learn to tap in to it."

This is a personal course designed by professionals, with practical demonstrations of ten watercolor projects.

Through clear instructions and more than 200 full-color illustrations and photographs, you'll learn about the materials and techniques best suited to watercolor, including how to paint with sable brushes, how to create layered washes, and how to compose a landscape painting. You'll also learn how to develop individual solutions to questions of color, composition, , perspective, tone, and other challenges that every artist faces.

Artists can learn a great deal from one another, so the author invited three artists with highly individual styles to execute the same ten projects for this book. The author's analysis of the problems specific to each project, and his critique of each finished project, will give you insight and inspiration.

This is a unique and practical guide to developing your own style of watercolor painting.

I think that this would be an excellent starting place for anyone who is wanting to try watercolors as a hobby. Gerald Woods has provided a good overview of techniques, material, information and examples for composition, and the text is very clear and easy to follow. The exercises in the last part of the book are very helpful. In these exercises, three artists each does a watercolor from a photo - the reader is then able to observe step-by-step the approach that each artist uses in doing their painting and then the author provides a critique of each artist's finished product. This allows the reader to see that watercolors can be done in so many different styles and there is not necessarilly only one correct way to do a painting, as these examples will clearly illustrate. Although I have not mastered all of the tecniques illustrated in this book, it is great to see how they are used even if I am not yet using them in my paintings. I have become somewhat successful in selling my paintings and I am now having prints made of my better stuff. If I were to only have one reference book on hand this would be that book.

To me Margo is a kindred spirit to "The Little Engine That Could". By simply reading her book, this "chicken" became encouraged and downright impatient to burst out of the confinement of my land-locked life and eager to venture forth to explore both nearby and far-off, exotic places. Hers is a story with a positive outcome that you just don't hear often enough. Anyone, especially women, who could use some encouragement at a difficult time of life can gain inspiration and hope from her story. I am presently reading it for the second time.

This candid adventure story of Margo's introduction to and immersion in a sailing world reveals a life as it should be lived - with joy. Margo's upbeat personality keeps her one step ahead of defeat. It is a tale of places visited and skills hard won.
Women contemplating following her man into an unconventional life should read this book to learn how to make it work. Men should read this book to see how their decisions affect the lady who shares their world.

I do a lot of research on Missouri archaeology and this is always the book that I start with to get background information on a site. It is the BIBLE as far as my work is concerned. The bibliography alone is an awesome resource and has been immensely helpful in pointing me to other sources of info. Dr. Wood and Dr. O'Brien are both great, well-respected archaeologists; anything with either of their names on it is gold in my opinion. Both have a writing style that is easy to digest, which is something I always appreciate. I have an office copy and am now ordering one for my personal collection. I have yet to read it cover to cover (will as soon as I get it), but, by simply using the index, it has proven to be an invaluable tool for what I do.

This is one of the few books I have read, then reread portions of several times. O'Brien and Wood have done more than justice to their subject; they have created a new direction through their serious consideration of archaeological systemics. I especially appreciate the strong thread of honesty and humility that runs through the entire text. This is particularly evident in the introductory chapter, "Time, Space, and Form in Americanist Archaeology" and the final chapter, "A Further Consideration..." I have long suspected that we know a whole lot less about prehistory in general than the public imagines or scholars would like to believe, and I am frustrated by the plethora of virtually meaningless labels and conjectures in other works. In between the first and last chapters,is the mass of knowledge these gentlemen share. Their story of the peopling of America is fresh and open with consideration for truly iconclastic possibilities. They view the Dalton tradition probably the immediate successor of the Clovis tradition in mid-America, and the discussion is well thought out, but leaves open minds for so much more to be discovered and understood in the future. They bring the reader through the ages in the pivotal state of Missouri by clearly and objectively looking at the evidence. This book is well worth your examination whether you reside in Missouri or elsewhere.