Guides Books

First rate guide to baseball, combining the obscure with the common and the everyday with the historical. A must for every baseball buff.

As an aspiring sportswriter/PR individual for a baseball team, having a book such as Baseball Field Guide (An in-depth illustrated guide to the complete rules of baseball) to reference is absolutely essential. If you are in anyway like me and need to have some visual clues this book is right up your alley. The book is as simple and concise as it is precise and informative.

The book begins by giving the reader a view of the basic rules of baseball followed by and overview of teams from little league up to the pro-level. Following that is an understanding of the equipment that is used and pregame preperation. Did you know that before a game starts the umpires must prep the balls by rubbing a particular type of mud from the New Jersey shore on them; this a tradition that has dated back more than half a century?

It is with continued illustrated outline precision that Formosa and Hamburger delve further into pitching, batting, running, fielding, umpires and a myriad of other needed information concerning America's pastime.

This books is brilliantly composed!

I learned lot from this book. While watching baseball I was having a difficult time understanding all the terms and moves. This book helped me understand all of it and more.

This book makes sense out of the disorganised mess that is the Offical Baseball Rule Book. Good indexing and graphics clear up the confusion most fans have about balks, interference, and other fine points of the game. A must for the serious fan.

I have attended minor league baseball for 15 years. It is amazing what I didn't know.

this was a very nice book for the price.... *even if I did order 2 by accident.. Thanks again...

This textbook has been great for my research and writing class. It allows me to interact with the book more than some older, maybe more well known books. A useful feature is that you can do the exercises online, as well as from the book.

The Bedford Handbook
I was satisfied with my order, and was delivered as it said

i ordered it and got it in a very good condition and in time. customer service is awesome. my blessings. keep up the good work.

Diana Hacker has an English comp book for any possible usage, she grinds them out every few years. My college requires me to use this book as a handbook. That is unfortunate.

Of course, this book provides a basic explanation of English composition, grammar, documentation, and document design and critical reading. However, the attempt in this case is to present something that is lighter than Rules for Writers, a full scale manual that is sufficient to use as the only text for a college composition course or as a full writers reference, and her Writers Reference, which is a good handy handbook that is inadequate as a full course book, but is great as a rule book to be used by students taking a course using another text.

Usuing this book, I have had to create supplements from web material for issues that I expect to be covered fully in a college handbook such as the requirements of formal writing.

To be sure there are interesting illustrations and graphics and like her other books, the text is intimately linked with the enormous online network that Hacker and her publishers have created. It is not an awful book to use, but I would prefer Rules for Writers, Jane E. Aaron's Litte Brown Handbook, or Writer's reference.

This is an excellent, easy to understand book that will enable even a beginner to customize their guitar to any level, including true vintage tone through full hot rod modifications. If you own a strat(or clone) it would be foolish to not know how to maximize your investment. This is how.

Don't waste your time searching the Internet for tidbits on how to tweak your guitar's sound. This book will show you how to modify your guitar's wiring to make it sound more expressive than its current design allows it to be. The book is well-organized, clearly written, and jammed-packed full of diagrams and photos so can see you how guitar circuits are typically wired, and what you can do to modify them. The author gives you access to online sound samples, and provides a link to a downloadable ebook version of the printed book. The ebook version contains extremely clear, high-resolution color photos of the pictures in the book. It has a ZOOM-IN feature that lets you see everything in such fine detail it feels like you are taking a virtual tour of the wiring inside your guitar. The author also includes some links to out-of the ordinary guitar parts suppliers you might not have discovered. This book is definitely worth owning.

I purchased this book with the thought of getting a little more sound out of my American Strat. The book is an excellent source for the internal wiring of the guitar but it also contained useful information on selecting aftermarket pickups.

Added bonus!! It contained the wiring diagrams for my Les Paul. This is a must book for anyone that wants to understand how the electronics in their guitar works!

I really enjoyed this information. The techniques I learned are great for what mods I want to do to my axe. Fender Guitars have thier own sound and wiring. This ref book has made it easy to make the mods I wanted happen.

This is another great step-by-step guide which will teach you endless possibilities for your guitar. From wiring in new pickups, with countless configurations, to a vast array of tonal possibilities. All of which enable you to sound like the pro's or to create your own 'personalised' sound - all with easy to follow instructions and easy to see photo's. If you don't buy any other book, you should at least buy this one! A great reference tool for anybody wanting to maintain & Hot Rod their own Axe, whether you are a beginner or an advanced guitar tech, there will be a host of DIY Mods you WILL be capable of doing! Many thanks to the writer for creating such an easy to follow guide.

As an adventure racer who recalls when Don Mann owned Odyssey AR, I recall his midnight encouragement at CPs. At Primal Quest in Moab in 2006 Don was just as enthusiastic. This books carries some of that sincere, enthusiastic voice. His energy kept me running for years. I recall running together on the backstretch of the JFK 50 mile ultramarathon. We talked about books. Some time later, Don shared his enthusiasm for me by writing a testimonial for my book. For anyone interested in learning about our sport I strongly encourage you to read this book. Doug Gray, PCC, and author of Passionate Action: 5 Steps to Extraordinary Success in Life and Work

I new to AR (3 races to date) and was looking for a good reference book on the subject. This book exceeded my expectations. It is well organized and filled with practical information and detail. It has section with tips and advice from experienced racers, there is also first person accounts of races and experiences. It is also a great price for all the information you get.

The adventure racing world waited a long time for a resource as comprehensive as this one. It is no surprise that we were finally provided this resource by the man who founded Odyssey Adventure Racing, a company that produces more races than any other US AR company and also offers a great racing academy.

One of the best features of The Complete Guide to Adventure Racing is that rather than giving us "the gospel according to Mann and Schaad", it provides multiple views from various experts on controversial topics such as nutrition, strategy, team dynamics, and sleep management. You may occasionally find that the contributors disagree with each other, which only serves to underscore the strategic nature of the sport.

What I didn't expect was inspirational content in addition to the detailed information of this text. By including first-person stories from other racers, race directors, and observers, the book becomes a "good read" in addition to an instructive one. It makes you want to get out there and register for the first race you can find. Buy this book and you'll see what I mean!

The adventure racing world waited a long time for a resource as comprehensive as this one. It is no surprise that we were finally provided this resource by the man who founded Odyssey Adventure Racing, a company that produces more races than any other US AR company and also offers a great racing academy.

One of the best features of The Complete Guide to Adventure Racing is that rather than giving us "the gospel according to Mann and Schaad", it provides multiple views from various experts on controversial topics such as nutrition, strategy, team dynamics, and sleep management. You may occasionally find that the contributors disagree with each other, which only serves to underscore the strategic nature of the sport.

What I didn't expect was inspirational content in addition to the detailed information of this text. By including first-person stories from other racers, race directors, and observers, the book becomes a "good read" in addition to an instructive one. It makes you want to get out there and register for the first race you can find. Buy this book and you'll see what I mean!

firstly this reviewer is a racer and has quite some experience in the various disciplines of AR (adventure racing) so bear that in mind.

The book is quite well laid out covering most things you might expect in AR. The exciting glossy cover belies the lower quality paper and pictures used within- no smart glossies inside, rather some average b/w photos.

The information inside is fine but can largely be found elsewhere with a quick google search. Still a good repository of information.

If you are looking for some guidance re AR equipment, training, techniques, tips and have not looed for the same on the web, this will be a useful book, if you have looked then it is something to have on the bookshelf. It is not of sufficient quality to have out on the coffee table as a conversation piece!
My 2cents.

Mr. Muldavin's book is a very attractive, entertaining and informative work. It is a pleasure to browse, with colorful 50's style illustrations as well as a generous sprinkling of color photographs of some of the records themselves and their vintage art jackets. The pages are of a slick, sturdy weight paper which will hold up well under a lot of thumbing through by the reader. It begins with a very interesting introduction which includes an explanation of codes and abbreviations used within, the purpose of the book, various types of children's records, what "vintage" means, information on children's record labels, a most interesting history of the "Golden Age" of children's records, and much, much more. The meat of the work is a well-organized discography of thousands of 78 rpm children's records from the 1940-50's with their disc ID numbers, song titles, artists, year, and estimated value. This book covers in an eye-catching way everything you didn't know you wanted to know about vintage children's records.

Peter Muldavin's COMPLETE GUIDE TO VINTAGE CHILDREN'S RECORDS provides a catalog of values paired with color photos for almost 13,000 records on over 450 labels. Many entries are unique to this reference, which offers a nearly complete listing of vintage children's records, primarily in the 78 RPM and early 45 RPM formats. The comprehensive coverage for nearly all 78 RPMs in the USA can't be beat.

Now readers of all ages can see for themselves what Internet-savy record collectors have known for years--that there is nobody else with author Peter Muldavin's depth of knowledge on the subject of childrens' records from the prime years of vintage vinyl.

My husband is an avid vintage vinyl collector. From the moment I first heard about this book, I knew we needed to buy it. And we were not disappointed. When the book finally arrived, we were flabbergasted by its quality. THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO VINTAGE CHILDREN'S RECORDS is a gorgeous book from it's cover art to the meticulously designed, full-color inner pages. The publisher obviously spared no expense. The result is a book everyone (not just record collectors) can enjoy, a book so sumptously packaged it can take its place among your favorites on the coffee table. A comprehensive research tome disguised as a handy collector's catalog, it is jam-packed with valuable information delivered factually but with an irresistable touch of whimsey. One wonders if this is due to the delightful nature of the subject matter or due to some special characteristic of its author, who is aptly dubbed the Kiddie Rekord King.

Buy this book and leave it on your coffee table for your friends and family members to enjoy!

Let me say at the outset that I'm not really -- yet -- a children's record collector, but I am a fan of the wonderful and imaginative art that graces so many of the covers. And the older I get, the more the songs, stories, and fables themselves touch my heart in ways that complex adult materials can't. I discovered this guide by accident while trying to find a particular song from my childhood. In the tradition of Schroeder Publishing's Collector Books, it is a very impressive work. Collectors will find not only values for a vast number of records, but also insightful information on the various labels. Hundreds of jackets and records are illustrated in color. It's fun just to flip through. The love and enthusiasm that Mr. Muldavin clearly feels for his hobby are infectious and he shares his expertise fully. Highly recommended!

One of the fondest memories I have from my youth is that old, suitcase style record player where I would play records for hours. I used to have a lot of old kids records and would dearly LOVE to still have them. My favorite was an Batman LP from the 60's that came a comic that retold Batman's origin. Collector Books is always ahead of the pack when it comes to publishing great niche books, and they've released truly the ultimate book for fans and collectors of children's records.

The Complete Guide to Vintage Children's Records is a remarkable book and a journey through a wonderful era of nostalgia. The Author, Peter Muldavin is a lifelong collector of children's nostalgia items and this book came about out of pure necessity. There simply was nothing else out there on the market. Now, the focus of the book is on 78 rpm records and not 45's or LP's. It's important to point that out as what most people are going to encounter in garage sale or flea markets is going to be LP's or 45's. Muldavin is concentrating on the era of his childhood, the early baby boomer years when 78's were prevalent in the 40's and through the late 50's.

Muldavin provides a very detailed and entertaining history of childrends records which highlights the Golden Age of kids records from 1946 - 1956. This includes a top ten list of record companies who produced children's records which includes Golden, Victor/RCA, Decca, Capitol, and Mercury. He also covers unique packages such as shaped or die-cut records, picture discs, filmstrip records, etc...All highly collectible today! There's also very valuable information about identifying and dating records, grading, and buying and selling. This truly is one-stop shopping for the Kid's record collectors.

Perhaps the most important section of the book is the 80 pages dedicated to label notes and identification. Here, Muldavin lists the hundreds of different label producers along with information such as distributor, content, subsidiaries, record size, color of label, date range, and miscellaneous notes. For example, Blue Ribbon records was a division of Mercury Records producing general children's entertainment records in the 1950's on 6", 7", or 10" vinyl. Over 450 different labels are noted.

The guide portion makes up the 300 pages plus of the book. It lists records alphabetically by label brand, beginning with Action Records and ending with Young People's Records. The guide is done in a grid format listing the main title, Disc #, artist, year, and values for both G/VG and EX/NMT grades. In all over 13,000 records are listed in the guide with hundreds of clear color photos included. In here you'll see pictures of records such as The Travels of Babar, Astro Boy, Mighty Mouse in Toyland, Jerry Lewis the Noisy Eater, and Uncle Milty and Donald Duck...what gems!

One of the best books I've seen yet from Collector Books...gorgeously illustrated and thorough. The perfect Baby Boomer companion!

Reviewed by Tim Janson

I am 35, & returning to college to complete a degree after a long absence. The problem was, I never did my math courses the first time through, so I was required to take a placement test for them. I bought a few of those quick-study type guides, but nothing clicked. I was walking into Borders one night, and came upon this book in the Clearance rack for a mere $5! Thinking I had nothing to lose, I purchased it. The next night I worked (I work 2nd shift), I started reading/working my way through it. I wish I'd had this book the first time I took Algebra in high school. Mr. Kelley's book is written for those who don't quite "get it", in somewhat simple, well-explained terms, & also with a quirky sense of humor, so, dare I say, it's a little bit more FUN than I remember Algebra being the first time I encountered it. It has practice problems for each concept, & a slue more in the back. About a month later, I went to the testing center to take my placement test for my math courses. Upon completing it, I mentioned to the lady there that I'd used the book as a study guide, & that I hoped that it had helped. She said, "Oh, it helped all right. You can get right into the Algebra class for your program." She then asked me to write down the name of the book, so she could suggest it to other people. Thank you, Mr. Kelley, for that great book!

JWS

I just finished this book and plan on continuing by finishing the others. However, I feel it's best used after having a little background knowledge first. I found this book much easier to follow after working problems beforehand. I use these books not really for solving problems, but for learning math methods and math terminology.

If home studying, an excellent addition to this book is the "Math Tutor" dvd series. Algebra 1 and 2 of that series cover topics in this book. Plus, you get practice solving actual problems in a "step-by-step" way.

This book includes a nice bonus: it not only covers Algebra 1, but also covers functions and other topics from Algebra 2.

If you're into flakey comedy, you might also want to give "Standard Deviants: The Series" a whirl. They're fun to watch one or twice for picking up tidbits and study tips (even one very powerful mnemonic on the Trig. set). "Youtube" also has some excellent materials and lessons.

I personally find that I best learn Math syntopically. Basically, do problems from a variety of sources and read from a variety of sources. Things you didn't pick up from one source you will from the others. It's like a puzzle and starts to piece itself together. It's good practice for picking up different teaching styles too! It sounds like a lot of work, but I notice it actually cuts my time down compared to reading from only one source.

Some of the "Demystified" books are suppose to be very good. I haven't tried them yet. However, read reviews because there are a few clunkers (different authors).

I love this method of learning math; for me, it works so much better than the average textbook -- and it's more fun.

Caution: You really should have a strong fraction-solving knowledge base before entering Algebra. Having that will save you tons of time later. Kelley's book includes a chapter on it, but if you need practice, "Painless Fractions" is an excellent source.

I haven't picked up an algebra book in 20 years. Even in high school I never "got" word problems. After reading the word problem section in this book, I was able to correctly solve the problem in the book and a couple in my textbook. That alone was worth the price of the book. I was so excited, I ordered a copy for a friend of mine that was taking an algebra class.

I really did enjoy reading this book! The humor helped with the subject matter explanations. The book was a great help for me.

I'm glad I bought this book. It is working well for me. The author explains everything very clearly. It sure has tamed what, for me, was always a real demon. I absolutely hated math, especially algebra, but this book has changed my outlook, and I feel soooo proud of being able to finally understand at least the basics of algebra. This book is working where math class failed.

I thought I knew a lot about designing an optimal website, using Google AdWords and online marketing. Then I picked up this book, and learned how much more I could be doing, and how many mistakes I had made. There are at least a half-dozen great ideas that can be implemented quickly and at little or not cost to improve your site's placement on search engines, and to attract more relevant AdWord clicks.

This book is MORE than a book about Google. It should almost have a different title like "Growing Your Business Online: plus strategies for improving your placement on Google".

The book covers so much more than Google placement. It shares responsible, realistic insight into how to improve your web site with the goal of first improving the visitor/customer experience and second to improve your overall relevance with search engines. Dave's advice comes from a respectable, responsible approach to creating genuine results for your web site. He also provides ample warnings about using web site trickery that could leave your site's relevance & credibility in ruins.

A MUST READ for web developers and Internet marketing folk.

While normally I go for books aimed at experts (i.e the ones that are 400+ pages and dry as a salt sandwich), this book had received enough positive reviews that I gave it a shot. I was not disappointed.

For someone with my background (experienced software guru and web designer, with a moderate amount of Google know-how), I was still able to gain some valuable insight. So you're not surprised, this book is as much Marketing 101, as it is about Google (particularly the first half of the book). But it's needed to give the book a solid grounding from which to make its Google-related recommendations.

The bottom line though, hasn't changed from prior years: if you do the right thing and make your site rich in useful content, relative to its general audience and subject, you're going to do well with Google. If it's only moderately relevant or lacking in information "density" (the amount IOW), all the tricks in the world won't make your page rank any better. First, make sure you're really delivering the goods (the information your customers want and need and not a bunch of link farms, fluff, etc), *then* make sure your meta-tags, document names, document structure, Ad Words, and all the rest, are Google-savvy. The latter without the former, is useless. To the author's credit, he emphasizes this in several chapters.

Overall, I felt like there was a little too much "Freshman Marketing" and some of it was rehashed unnecessarily IMO (though someone with minimal marketing background would probably find it useful). I think the first 70 pages could probably be distilled down to about 40 or 50, but who's counting? ;-)

Recommended for anyone getting start with a business web site or who wants to make their existing site better.

I have opted into online courses and even have an MBA where I studied E Business. This is by far the most complete, helpful and timely guide I have seen to succeed with an internet business. It is rare that I read a "How To" cover to cover, but this is an exception. It is certainly the first time I have had my highlighter out since Grad school. If you want to succeed in an ebusiness, this is the way to get started!!

This book isn't just about advertising on Google. There's lot more. Of course, complete idiots won't benefit from it, but the book begins from the ground for people not familar with online marketing.

It first outlines the importance of visibility, then touches on how Google actually works. No secrets here. Newbies learn a lot, but not the old hands. Then, it goes into great detail on how the website should be set up, presented and maintained. Again, very useful newbie tips on blogs and content generation are given but I doubt the experienced user will learn a lot of new things here.

There is also some mention about making money from Adsense and affiliate programs, but personally, I haven't had very good experiences with these programs.

The book ends with the future of findability. I find nothing futuristic about the author's ideas. Still, a good book for those just starting out.

I've read several reviews here stating that this book is only good for beginners. I've been playing for years, and I don't think I know all there is to know on the subject.
I finally bought a table, and after dropping a considerable chunck of change on that I became interested in learning more about the game as having a table gives one a good oportunity to improve.
I found this book and at first glance I thought that it would probably just serve those just beginning, wrong. There is a lot of useful info in these pages. Everything from making all kinds of shots, several differnent ways to shoot a bank shot, caring for your home table, cue, among other things.
These "Idiot's Guide" books cover a great deal of subject matter without a lot of stuff just to fill up pages.
Some authors on billiards will mention a technique, only to say that they think it's not a very good way to do it, but then only give you their recommendation, which may not work for you. This book lays several techniques out there and lets you decide. I saw the ones I've used over the years, but some that I didn't know about. Doesn't mean that what I was doing was wrong, there are just other ways to do the same thing.
Example; I had always played banks by feel, and after a lot of years made them most of the time. This book shows a few ways to aim at the pocket which I didn't know about. I still play by feel, but it's interesting to know what others are may be thinking when they do it.

Five years ago I was that beginner. I studied this book as though I were taking a college course. Two years ago I bought my own pool table. Sorry Ewa, not a Brunswick. Now that I'm ready for them, I have just ordered 3 books by Robert Byrne's. I also have a pool mentor/friend who teaches me and loans me pool videos.

April 4, 2007 - Our "Olhausen" pool table was the only piece of furniture that survived Hurricane Katrina. We didn't even have to recover it.

I've read quite a few books on pool and billiards, and this one is the best so far. I find myself returning to it for reference quite often, even though I've read several books since this one.

It does get a little wordy in places but it's an easy read and full of interesting facts. Although geared toward beginner to intermediate, I believe this book would be helpful and entertaining for anyone interested in pool or billiards...at any skill level. (I've been playing over 30 years.)

I READ THIS BOOK BY EWA MATAYA LAURANCE & i THINK EVERYONE THAT NEEDS TO FIND A PART OF THERE GAME THAT IS MISSING OR JUST WANT A GREAT READ THIS IS IT . sHE EXPLAINES THINGS WELL & SIMPLE . Ifeel that even the more advanced player can get something out of this book . I lirned about the different amounts of english you can use for different results on pg. 210.

This book covers everything from history to buying a table, from the kick shot to the masse shot. It includes lists of players and their awards, resources, trick shots, and lots of other useful stuff, plus funny or amazing stories. I must have read it 10 times, and I'm still not tired of it.

The book goes into a lot of detail on pool maintenance, etc. What I was missing is an executive overview of everything a pool owner needs to do. Being new to maintaining it myself this would have been helpful.

I purchased this book based on its high review ratings and am at a loss as to what everyone finds so compelling about it. I found the book poorly written (paragraphs that have sentences out of order and which make no sense), anecdotal, and completely devoid of any practical information on how to maintain one's pool. Basically a treatise on the author's self proclaimed expertise and experience (he even almost knowingly poisons himself cleaning a pool and admonishes the reader to do as he says and not as he does !?!) and completely lacking in practical, here is what you do to maintain your pool information. I am left needing to find another book to help me understand what is going on. What a waste of time reading and money.

Whether you are a pool novice or expert, this book makes understanding pool maintenance simple. Dan provides a detailed manual on pool construction to water chemistry. There are many pictures and diagrams that lend a visual aid to help understand pool and spa dynamics. The importance of regular maintenance is addressed by providing solutions for the busy pool owner. In addition, Dan integrates helpful tips for professionals on how to deal with problems like phosphates and green algae. This book alone will save a person hundreds of dollars in pool maintenance expense.

We bought a house with a pool & spa and the previous owners were kind enough to take all of the materials pertaining to both. Never owning a pool before, we were clueless. This book has been very helpful! I highly recommend for the new pool owner and it could prove to be useful for the experienced pool owner as well.

Pool maintenance remains one of my biggest chores. I've always felt I couldn't pass it off to my wife and kids--a burned out pump from low water levels or an algae outbreak from unbalanced chemicals was just too much of a risk. This book will lighten my load. It provides step by step guides and anyone (wives and children included) can follow with success.

I'm meticulous with my own pool & heretofore I would NEVER have considered doing anyone else's pool - it just wouldn't be worth it, whatever it paid. Not only has Dan Hardy helped me ease my own workload, I'm confident that I could be a successful "pool guy." He'd done a great job with this book. Who could have imagined a book about pool maintenance could be interesting? We'll this one is, and it's a great reference to boot. It's earned a permanent spot on my shelf.