Publications and Media Books

You can't go wrong with this book. Hilary Page is pure magic. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned pro, this book has something for everyone! The lessons are so compleat, invaluable and inspiring...N.Williams

I'm new to watercolor painting and suffering from the beginner's consequence of too many books and too many paints. I wish I would have bought this book first, much time and $$ would have been saved. Her suggestions for testing each tube of paint to learn unique pigment qualites, pigment colors, color theory, color schemes, primary colors, complements, and optical mixtures have proven invaluable.

The excercises included are easy to follow and serve to instill her unsaid mantra. Learn your paints learn your paints learn your paints! I've had this book for several months - still working through some of her excercises and foresee that I will continue to refer to this book many times in the future.

After reading Hilary Page's book, it occurred to me how painting classes should maybe start with lessons on color rather than charcoal drawing. Her detailed explanation of color is grouped in three main aspects: objective color (measured by instruments), optical color (perceived by eye) and practical color (working with pigments). The theoretical aspects are then proven in practical examples which are also used for demonstrating her watercolor techniques, producing some very pleasing artwork.

Details on pigments are particularly valuable. Pigment properties like clarity, tinting strength, purity, value range, degree of opacity, consistency related to the degree of sediment, wet-on-wet behavior, staining when rewetted etc. will be new to many. Knowing such details will help you prevent some strange "accidents" that can spoil your work.

Rare books on color point out the difference between the pigment-color contrasts and the light-color contrast. Hilary Page is very specific regarding these contrasts: she shows two types of color wheels and two sets of primary and complementary colors. She also explains "spectral reflectance curves" that give us an insight to understanding why printers use "balanced" primary colors.

A book on color naturally requires high quality print without any color distortion and this one doesn't fail here either.

I just finished reading this well-thought-out and completely researched watercolor book. I am still new to water colors and am challenged and frustrated by this medium. Page's chapter on the history,nomenclature, and categories of pigments was incredibly interesting and will become a permanent edition to my water color reference library. I have seen many variations of color wheels in my 35 years of teaching---her watercolor pigment wheel is based on her own palette, and includes placement of saturated, unsaturated, and neutral pigments. I slso found the chapter on optical color effects fascinating.

As a professional watercolourist with over twenty five years of experience and an advanced understanding of colour I can tell you that this is an excellent reference book. Definitely a great tool for art instructors. Even though the writer sees it as a book for beginners I feel that the complexity of the subject will probably be overwhelming for beginners.

I enjoyed this story about a cowboy and his girl told as the tale develped and it kept me up way past my bedtime to see how it all turned out. Altogether it was an enjoyable tale and very moving. The loss of a loved one was an undercurrent throughout the book until a new life is born into this world. Good stuff!!

This book is absolutely amazing. Having lost a child, I found that Alex Cord captured the true essence of a parent facing the loss of a child. I laughed and cried at the touching force he gives as a greiving parent, finding the love of his life and bringing a new being into the world to love and cherish, but never trying to let him take Damien Zachary's place, just fill the void. The horse language is true in every sense of the word, to imagine the majestic beauty of the Cutting Horse. Truly a book well worth reading. Thank you, Alex!!

When reading this book you may not realize just how much of Mr. Cord's own life experience influenced the characters. However, by reading this story you'll actually gain insight into his personal life tragedies. In effect, this book is part autobiography and part fiction, truly a labor of love from Mr. Cord.

A Hollywood legend who starred in "Airwolf" (1984-1986), Mr. Cord is perhaps best known for his proficient horsemanship and appearances in high-profile westerns such as "Stagecoach."

As a Radio Talk Show Host I have interviewed 100's of authors. Alex Cords' "A Feather in the Rain" is a MUST READ! To find out about the real Alex Cord, I would recommend that you read this book. Its to bad that there are not more men like him in the world today! If you have ever seen a horse, I say READ THIS BOOK! I would also have to say that, BAR NONE!, also the best Radio interview that I have ever had and, believe me, I have had alot. Without ever meeting Alex in person I consider him a true friend.

If you have suffered loss, some personal healing will be found in the pages of this book. Alex opened up his heart on this one. Just read it!

I enjoyed this book very much. It takes the best of "Agile" from across the industry and consolidates it into chapters by different authors. It's well written and teaches the basics of Agile and how to manage projects in that environment. A good book for a project manager that is new to Agile programming.

As part of my daily job, I lead agile projects in a large organization. I usually use a number of different sources to get the information that I need on different aspects of agile development and leading agile projects. I really like this book for a number of reasons: (1) I like the fact that it is written by a number of respected experts in the area; (2) I like its style in chapters like 5 that summarizes lessons learned in a set of principles; (3) Chapter like 14 clears confusions on topics like "agile documentation".

I enjoy and benefit from this book and you should find it useful if you are also engaged in leading and managing agile projects.

Reviewed by Regan Windsor for Reader Views (3/07)

"Managing Agile Projects" provides a comprehensive and well-balanced look at the various components of agile project management. It contains a compilation of "chapters" from seventeen industry authors.

Describing the key elements of agile methodology, "Managing Agile Projects" provides an analysis of iterative and incremental delivery, active stakeholder participation, communication, agile documentation, extreme testing, and quality focus. Through real and hypothetical examples readers gain a thorough understanding of how agile methodology is applied to project management.

Kevin Aguanno has done an excellent job of compiling publications and agile community expertise into an easy to read, articulate guidebook covering the history of agile methods, how the methodology differs from traditional methods, when the methodology works, and in what situations it may not be appropriate in its entirety.

"Managing Agile Projects" is a recommended read for all project managers, software developers, and anyone with an interest in leading edge methodology!

This is the book I use the most when I need agile techniques for my projects. It contains all the info you need from a managers perspective; when you need a technique, and how to apply. I am very happy with all the fundamental explanations on why certain techniques can help you out with a project problem. Stakeholder participation, requirements, testing, development strategies, it is all in there. And best of all, without hype.

My favorite chapter is "Stealth Methodology Adoption" which explains how to sell to higher level management that you are going agile.

With contributions from Scott Ambler, Alistair Cockburn, Larry Constantine and Ronald Jeffries you know that the advice presented is from real experts.

Aguanno's book is an excellent overview of agile project management methodologies and practices. Aguanno assembles leading authorities in the field to contribute their experiences and knowledge directly from real experiences. The numerous management techniques discussed will help you use agile methods to increase the value and effectiveness of all your projects. Anyone wishing to learn more about agile, or project management in general, will benefit from this book.

I have known the author since pre-school. When I heard of this work it all made sense. Simple Genius!

Spinraid is a genius and his guide to bodily fluids is totally brilliant. He deals with countless taboo subjects with a sanity and clarity that many 'mainstream' publishers would be proud of. Anyone with any vague interest in how their body secretes and excretes and the sociological aspects of bodily functions (think about it - that must be everyone in the whole world) should buy two copies of this book, because one copy of this magnificent tome will be stolen.

"No matter how ready your minds and souls are to live in an eternal abstract world of language, reason, truth, beauty, and card games, you're still trapped inside an aging meat machine," says author Paul Spinrad. While the book covers mucus, saliva, sweat, vomit, urine, pooting, poo, earwax, toe-cheese, and others, its main focus remains on poo.

How were things "handled" before toilet paper? Ever contemplate the history of the enema? Did you know that loose bowels were once treated with opium? Learn the story of Joseph Pujol, "The Fartiste", famous for his flatulence. Is vomit an "involuntary food review"? Drinking urine is a cure? An antiseptic? (the ammonia in unine) Did you know there's much more to mucus than just a few boogies?

How about bodily functions in literature (Shakespeare, The Marquis de Sade, Dante, Picasso, James Joyce, Mark Twain, Burroughs, Selby, and adding one of my own, modern writer Edward Lee), or in classic cinema? What is Cockle Bread? What about Freud's connection between poo and $exuality?

There are poo quotes from famous people from Shakespeare to Tiny Tim, an extensive look into the invention of the toilet, a glance at toilets across the world, poo in religion and folklore, and even poo in art. The world of poo is amazingly artistic and intellectual world. There's even a brief mention to the hilarious cartoon 'Ren & Stimpy' in the 'Art, Music, & Criticism' chapter, showing an elaborate research from ancient to modern references.

This book includes Spinrad's Survey Methodology, a copy of the survey itself, a detailed 'Recommended Reading' section, an extensive Bibliography, and a full Index. Unfortunately, there are no pictures, and I felt that a few pictures would have spiced up the book a little bit. At only 121 pages, the book is large sized but slim, making reading easy and enjoyable. So ... Enjoy!

The perfect mixture of scholarship and humor, this book, with its "icky" topic, is worthy of serious attention. But I'd be lying if I didn't say that the reason I love it most is that it makes me laugh-- on several occasions I laughed so hard that I woke up my wife, who was trying vainly to sleep next to me. As Spinrad's sources tell about their own habits regarding their precious bodily fluids, it's impossible not to recognize how much we share in regards to these daily substances-- and impossible not to laugh at how we treat these taboos.

Being a person who has a morbid curiosity about the less-than-pleasant things in life, taking a look at this book was inevitable. Interestingly enough, the book was much more informative than I anticipated. It took a somewhat clinical approach to the subject, but also had it's moments of humorous and less-than scholarly observations and anecdotes.

Sure enough, the book discusses those wonderful things we excrete, (sweat, sebum) cast out (feces, urine), reject outright (vomitus) and circulate within us (blood and bile)- and gives some interesting (for me, quite compelling) information concerning these fluids. The author covers the recorded history of such materials or things relating to them, like the story of Thomas Crapper's modern flush toilet.

The author also did surveys of peoples' bathroom habits (how much TP they use, whether they look after they're done, etc.). Also included are moments of human excretion in literature and the arts, as well as TV and film- remember the Barf-O-Rama scene in `Stand By Me'? Or eating beans by the campfire in `Blazing Saddles'?.- but only up to the book's publication date of 1993, before bodily relief became the big thing on the tube & silver screen. If a new edition is ever to be released, covering the `potty-time' moments of trendy favorites `Beavis and Butt-Head' and `South Park' alone would add more than a few pages...

There's some strange moments too, like methods of proper urination when genital piercings get in the way, the advent of urine therapy as a treatment for certain ills, and other off-the-wall practices and notions concerning one's bodily castings.

But probably the most interesting part of the book, at least for me, was the glossary of slang terms for the various types of bodily expulsion... half of which I never even seen or heard of before! Now I have a whole new arsenal to study and learn... heh.

`Late!

Here are four in-depth conversations, most centering on art and politics, published in 2001. Considering the tidal wave of events since then, it's astounding how these interviews still resonate with contemporary issues. Depending on your point of view you'll find Rollins, Biafra, and to a certain extent Billy Childish, insightful or exasperating in their politics, but its hard to miss the passion in their arguments. Ferlinghetti, by far, takes the longest view of events past and present, and suggests solutions (some new, some old), sounding the most conservative by comparison. Many will consider these four exchanges as nothing more than preaching to the already converted, but in this political season they take on the character of voices crying in the wilderness.

Wow. This collection of interviews is amazing. Though I had heard very little about any of these men when I picked the book up, I found their words very interesting. Even where I disagreed with their messages, they caused me to think about why I disagree. Many times I felt like putting down the book and going out to either create or protest. Even though all four of these men are politically active and radical, they each provide very different perspectives that, when presented together, have much more power than they could on their own. I recommend this book for anyone in search of inspiration to question and act.

I've been familiar with Biafra/Rollins/Childish and Ferlinghetti for a long time, but can't say I'm a huge fan of any of the four, but in reading through these interviews, I have a whole new respect for all of them. Vale talks about so many issues of political importance, artistic integrity, life, and everything with them. What comes through is not esoteric or academic, not something only appealing to punks or poets, but a feeling of being alive. All four are very smart, funny, engaging and interesting individuals and Vale really knows how to bring out their personalities. This is like a bible of common sense from 4 great prophets of the eternal underground. If you yearn to be creative and find your own happiness outside of the constraints of a 9-5 job and mainstream culture, this book will hopefully be an inspiration to you. It's also refreshing to hear people talking about important political and philosophical issues in a way that makes you believe that you can be involved and help make culture and live how you want. We also glimpse into their lives outside of the public eye through some wonderful storytelling. Vale helps to put the nail in the coffin of the "dumb punk" notion: these guys are geniuses. You need this book!

[paragraph missing]

Essentially, the best thing about "Real Conversations No. 1" is that it's just that -- a good chunk of honest dialogue between a guy and four other guys who sound like they're pretty close friends with him, talking about what's on their minds and in their lives (both theirs and his) in ways that are sometimes entertaining, sometimes thought-provoking and sometimes even illuminating. And, yes, at least two of the people talking in this book have figured somewhat prominently in the entertainment and pop culture landscapes for the past few years. But guess what? They actually say stuff that doesn't totally sound like part of their act! Henry Rollins, for all the macho, stoic bluster that he gives off, turns out to be pretty funny and down-to-earth, as well as enthusiastic to the point of geekdom when it comes to archiving bootlegs of bands that he admires and/or played with. Jello Biafra's comments are obviously more political and exhibitionist, but he does make light of how he got that way in the first place, and how he was just as inspired by other people in the anti-WTO protests in Seattle as they were by him. Besides that, the most wholly "inspirational" words probably come from Billy Childish, who advocates "doing it yourself" (and "thinking and taking responsibility for yourself" as well) not just as a moral or even as a craft, but as something that fits into enjoying the simple fact that you're alive. And Lawrence Ferlinghetti comes off almost as the wise grandfatherly figure who has a wealth of stories to tell about the past but knows pretty clearly about what the future entails.

But really, the total effect of all these conversations for me wasn't so much hero worship or a privileged glimpse into the workings of complicated minds. It was more the idea that, if I ever had the chance, I'd wanna hang out with these people and talk about some of this stuff with them myself. (Of course, in some ways, I'm not sure that I could even get a word in edgewise, but that's another matter.) I guess that's one of my personal reasons for being glad that I bought this book directly from Re/Search in San Francisco, almost beyond the whole deal of supporting the independents: When I called the place up to inquire about my order right after the attacks happened, I thought at first that I'd gotten a particularly thoughtful and conversational assistant who sounded vaguely like Jello Biafra on the phone. It turned out to be Vale himself, and we talked for maybe half an hour about the attacks, how they'd played out on CNN and the likelihood that any chance for progressive politics was dead now. He seemed as interested in what I had to say as I was in what he had, and I think it probably helped get us both out of the shell-shock and thinking clearly again.

So maybe some of these good things still aren't quite out of reach yet. Or, if they are, then maybe now we'll scramble a bit more to get hold of them again.

2 noted ex-users turned full time cranks Biafra-speed, Rollins-ritalin fronting 2 good punk bands DeadKennedys and BlackFlag are getting old. Their legacies are questionable.
They both never met a microphone they didn't like. They talk more than little girls. Both are way too serious and need to lighten up. They're in the entertainment industry yet yearning for artistic integrity (then stick to arts and craft shows).

Rollins complains about book/album sales, his business, and his own niche marketing scheme. The guy brags about hard work, working out, and dislike of everything hokey and cheesy. Typical manic depressive straight edge loudmouth. Relax buddy, you need a rest guy. He turned out just like his parents, but he can't settle down. Hence the mass confusion running out of his head. Every job has it's ups and downs. They get monotonous and draining. Worrying about money [stinks], so you compromise nearly everything up to and including you're very being. Hank likes being "commercial" because big corporations pay well and promptly. Movies and commercials are money on the table. It's easy and if he doesn't take it someone else will.

Biafra is one man publicity stunt show. Running for mayor(truly funny and creative). Including a poster of sodomy in records and calling it artistic freedom under the holy grail of free speech. I don't know anyone who buys a record expecting or wanting such a thing. The poster is funny but is by all definitions pornographic. Not everyone has a dirty sense of humor. Jello fought and lost for our right to do such silly things. Now he worries about his company's future as a b-music distributer especialy with the rise of this internet file sharing thingy (more punk than the whole punk movement combined). He's made a living as a paranoid alarmist worrying people to death.

Bottom line, everyone's replacable, independent. Past succes doesn't guarantee future success, but that's who gets better odds. Like it or not. Whether your stuff has critical mass approval or not. Carrying the torch will get you burned both up and out. These guys are one trick ponies branching off into other areas. A good perspective on 2 long winded spotlight hogs. Their music speaks or itself. JB's album with no means no and doa are worth buying or downloading. Black Flag is good clean fun. RESEARCH/VSEARCH always put out good stuff.

Chad Arment, with Cryptozoology: Science & Speculation, has formalized the study of "cryptids" (defined as "an ethnoknown animal for which concrete evidence does not yet exist," p. 20). Arment really works to pull form and function together in studying cryptids, discussing the scientific method, the basis of proof, and other philosophical issues related to studying the "known but unknown" (my phrasing).

Here are a few of the gems in this book:

"All cryptids are folkloric. ...Cryptids are folkloric because they are ethnoknown - they occupy a place in an ethnozoological scheme even through they are still unverified by science" (p. 56).

"There are too many stretches of uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land for anyone to be adamant about the non-existence of large unknown species in North America" (p. 86).

"The overall process of cryptozoology is straightforward: 1) recognize cryptid, 2) Gather information on cryptid along with pertinent environmental and ecological characteristics, 3) Determine a means of obtaining sufficient physical evidence to confirm or refute the existence of a previously unknown biological species" (p. 94).

"Before we can determine whether an account is cryptozoological, we first investigate the possibility that the sighting is a hoax, misidentification, or social fabrication" (p. 94).

"Let's be honest - there is a lot of misinformation, poor speculation, and outright baloney in many books" (p. 106).

"Cryptozoology is concerned with a very small proportion of those unrecognized species - those which have enough salience to be noticed, distinguished, and described by humans prior to scientific discovery" (p. 128).

"Cryptozoology is discovery science, not research science. This seems to confuse both enthusiasts and critics alike" (p. 136).

Arment takes the reader on a search for a number of species in North America. Some, for example the "great naked bear," he describes as probable misidentifications. Others, including the "long-tailed wildcat," he does not discount so readily.

There are a disproportionate number of "cat-like" and "primate-related" cryptids in North America. There are probably some interesting psychological reasons why this is so.

I first became aware of this literature in reference to the "Maui mystery cat" that had state biologists searching for a "black panther," obviously a potential release. However, the "evidence" was surprisingly slim, and the physical evidence in every case did not corroborate with the "ethnoknown" evidence. Why?

I also enjoyed Appendix I in Arment's book about the techniques for searching for cryptids. This was a reprint of a 1960s brochure ("Suggestions for the Obtaining of Larger Zoological Specimens for Scientific Study") written by an Ivan T. Sanderson. Mr. Sanderson was very serious about detailing these techniques with the tools at hand at the time, and noted "A Submachine gun is very effect [sic] especially if it has a short barrel and a large carbine. With it, you can chop down the biggest target and then administer a decent Coupe de Grace" (p. 353). Today's cryptozoologist would be much better off using the techniques found in the book, Restraint and Handling of Wild and Domestic Animals, by Murray E. Fowler.

This is an important book for the serious cryptozoologist.

Rarely has there been a more critical yet constructive look at cryptozoology, its definition, methodology and direction. Chad Arment has written a most intelligent and noteworthy tome which honestly faces some of the dilemmas that plague cryptozoology and finds means to honestly correct and address them. Comprising two parts, science and speculation, the first part is immensely enlightening.

This book contains sections on building scientific and logical foundations for investigative methodologies, underlays this foundation with an ethnozoological starting point and then discusses the rationale, methodology, feasibility and credibility of cryptozoology.

It is remarkably scientific and yet at the same time eminently readable. Arment's logical and intelligent viewpoints are intellectually stimulating.

The second party focuses on speculation, but what speculation this is. He reviews the prospects for animals as diverse as Long-tailed bobcats, the Pennsylvania "gorilla" and the West Virginia Roc.

Also included is Ivan T. Sanderson's treatise on Suggestions for the Obtaining of Larger Zoological Specimens for Scientific Study.

I thoroughly recommend Cryptozoology: Science & Speculation as an indispensible part of every cryptozoological and orthodox zoological enthusiast's library and as a most valuable reference source.

The writer of this review is the President and Editor of the British Columbia Scientific Crytozoology Club and its Quarterly.

Very professional; highly intellectual and scientifically sound writing. An excellent text for any scientific library collection.

This book sits squarely between Loren Coleman and William R. Corliss on my bookshelf. Crypto and anomalous readers will be impressed with this book and should not hesitate to buy it. The effort Chad put into authoring this book will quickly become apparent. The documentation is flawless. You will find new material covering Snakes, Cats, Hominids and Birds. I found the chapter on "Boss Snakes" fascinating! And if you are a fan of Loren Coleman's lists in many of his books, the appendices and bibliography in Cryptozoology, Science and Speculation will not disappoint! Also, be sure to check out Chad's website http://www.strangeark.com/ , where there is seemingly endless reading material.

Chad breaks down Cryptozoology into the nuts and bolts of science.
All new Bigfoot hunters, (and quite a few present ones) should read this book. It breaks through the barriers of BS and folklore, and explains the scientific method in great detail!
Books like this one will propel Cryptozoology into the mainstream!

If you've ever seen your aquarium fish look hungry for more, then Michael R. Hellweg's Culturing Live Foods: A Step-by-Step Guide for Culturing One's Own Food for the Home Aquarium is for you. It tells how to make happier fish by cultivating live foods they like - plants, multi-celled organisms, crustaceans, mollusks and worms - over 80 such foods in all. Culture methods, materials needed, color sidebars of reference information and more make for discussions of species, care, and what kinds of aquarium fish they can feed. Libraries specializing in aquarium owner's guides will find this offers something different for the avid aquarium owner.

The information contained in this book will prove invaluable to anyone interested in maintaining or breeding just about any species of tropical fish,and it is written in a down to earth style that is very easy to understand.
You can't go wrong with this book.

Culturing Live Foods
By
Michael R. Hellweg

Since Mike Hellweg is an old and valued friend/colleague in the tropical fish hobby, my opinions about his new book "Culturing Live Foods" may be a little biased - although they really need not be. "Culturing Live Foods" is a much-needed, and excellently written book, and it is an important contribution to the aquarium hobby. Mike is well known throughout the hobby as not only an accomplished writer, but also a master breeder, and he shares with us the fact that much of his success in breeding fishes comes from giving live foods to both the breeders, and the offspring.
"Culturing Live Foods" starts with a very interesting discussion of the history of fish foods, and the reasons for feeding live foods today, even though we have a wide variety of excellent frozen and dry foods available to us. The book then discusses the tools and containers needed, and getting starter cultures, for live foods. The foods themselves start with the smallest ones that are used - phytoplankton, or "Green water". Protozoans, or "infusoria" are then discussed, and then somewhat larger foods such as copepods, rotifers and vinegar eels. Much space is devoted to brine shrimp, which is fitting as they are probably the most common live food in the hobby. Mike discusses hatching, enriching and growing live brine shrimps to adults, as well as decapsulating the cysts (eggs).
As the book progresses we move up in size for the live foods, from worms (whiteworms, tubifex, blackworms and earthworms) to snails and crustaceans such as daphnia, moina and mysis shrimps. Other shrimps such as glass or grass shrimps and various species of Neocaridina are covered. Insects are the next category, and they include flour beetles, fruit flies, mealworms and mosquito larvae - including the constant battle between hobbyists and spouses about whether the standing water that has been left out was left there on purpose or by mistake, the net effect being a nice population of mosquito larvae that the hobbyist finds terrific for feeding fish, and the spouse sees only as a source of biting insects. The final group of live foods are fish, and here Mike mentions the problems with buying feeder fish from the local fish store (or bait store), and he strongly suggests that hobbyists raise their own feeder fish if at all possible.
Mike's book is packed with a wealth of detailed information, and yet it is much more than a simple "How To" book. It is an interesting, well written and very informative book, and covers all aspects of live foods, from starting cultures to collecting foods from the wild. There is an excellent group of resources at the end of the book in terms of related books, magazines, Internet sites and suppliers of live foods and cultures. "Culturing Live Foods" should be in the library of any fish hobbyist who wants to keep, and breed, fish successfully.

I'm really happy to see this book. It's been a long time since we have had updated comprehensive information. This is presented beautifully and very well written. Any serious Aquarist should plan on this book for their collection. You won't be disappointed.

This is a terrific, up-to-date resource by Mike Hellweg, a master fish breeder whose success with fish is built on his success in feeding his fish appropriate live foods.

I've been discussing the culture of various live foods with Mike for several years now, and studying a lot of what has been easily available on the internet, and even put together my own web page reviewing the techniques I've used with my own cultures. But this book has already given me new tips and tricks on creatures I thought I knew all about, and given me confidence to try some that I've failed with in the past. The details are just right to enable success with each organism, and there are good sources for more information if you want or need it.

This book is also an excellent primer on spawning fish, because several species are discussed as easily bred feeders for larger fish. Those are tips you can use to propagate those and related species for your own enjoyment even if you don't keep predatory fish.

I can't recommend this highly enough for the aquarist who wants to keep and spawn happy, healthy fish.

New ideas for behaviour change specialists. Quite a lovely book.

This is a great book. It is easy to understand and use. We need more guides like this.

This book is a wonderful, practice resource for international development staff. Intuitively appealing, it gives good advice on campaign materials development. Most appropriate for non-researchers; great for field staff.

This book contains much valuable information for understanding risks and understanding how to get others to understand their risks. I am very pleased with the practicality of the theory behind the book and have found it useful in my crisis communication work.

I was taught that fear appeals didn't work but we used them anyways in our state health department work. This book explains what we instinctively knew -- that fear appeals work and they work well given the right conditions. I like the theory in the book and the worksheets.

A comprehensive view of Jewish women throughout history. I just completed a somewhat detailed course The History of Islam, and found the chapters - The Jewish Women Under Islam: The Near East, North Africa, and Spain; and A Different Voice: Jewish Women in the Lands of Islam particlarly informative. They covered aspects not covered in my course.
The entire book is scholarly, yet easy to read. I enjoyed it and would recommend it highly.

This wonderful new book fills a gap. It enables readers to put themselves into the many different worlds Jewish women occupied over time and compare our lives today to those lived in times past. I highly recommend it as a good read and a fabulous reference book.

This book is perfect for anyone curious about how Jewish women lived in the centuries before the 20th century. It would also be wonderful for a Bat Mitzvah gift or a gift for a college student. While it is encyclopedic in format and content, the fascinating letters, memoirs, stories and photographs of famous, as well as unknown, women bring their successes, trials, and religious life to the reader with great impact. The excellent index lets you follow any topic over the centuries, and the copious notes answer the ever-present question: where did the authors discover that gem? It is a fantastic value.

This book was expeertly researched and beautifully written. The introduction to each era was especially informative. Though conceived as a reference book, it was so interesting that it was hard to put down.

The JPS Guide to Jewish Women is a welcome addition to the study of women in Judaism. It is a well-researched and scholarly book. The information is arranged chronologically and geographically and is easily accessed. This book is very readable and would be an excellent text for senior high-school or university.

This book is absolutely brilliant - it gathers together the best of the short lived Flair magazine produced by Fleur Cowles in 1950-51. The magazine was unable to continue because of the expense of production and you can see why as many of the paper engineering and inserts that the original magazine had are reproduced in this book.

The calibre of the contributors too is quite extraordinary.

Apparently there were not many copies of this book published either and I am soooo thrilled to have been able to get my own copy before they too, like the magazine, become almost unavailable.

Get this book. Do anything you have to in order to own it. I paid $250 at the Art Institute of Chicago because I was afraid I would miss out...again. This is a collector's piece if you got the first edition. If not, don't hesitate. It is interesting, intriging, thought provoking, ahead of it's time....and not just for 'creative' types. Something good for everyone.

This is the most extraordinary book I've ever owned! I missed out when it was first published as a limited edition and I vowed that if it ever came back,I would grab one. Bravo to Rizzoli Publishers for re-issuing this hard-to-find classic!

These facsimile pages from the twelve issues of Flair are a celebration of Fleur Cowles zest for creativity in the arts. The 338 pages must have been a challenge for the Hong Kong printers, they had to cope with various foldout pages, die-cut holes, different paper stock and bind in several short pages, two concertina foldouts and five sixteen page booklets.

Sumptuous though the book is I feel that Flair is resting in its reputation. To my mind, having worked as a publication art director, the photos, typography and layouts are very conservative and do not show any particular innovative design. Other magazines and designers were much more creative in the fifties, 'Fortune' with Will Burtin, 'Glamour' with Cipe Pineless, 'Harper's Bazaar' with Alexey Brodovitch and 'Vogue' with Alexander Liberman. Certainly the covers with their die-cut holes (sadly only six of the twelve are included) and the bound in booklets were unique to consumer magazines at the time but I think that Flair should be remembered as a magazine concept rather than a magazine full of creativity.

Fleur Cowles writes a short piece about the origins of Flair (handwritten in gold on dark blue paper) but does not give enough detail (I believe each issue involved several printers and binders) and as there were only twelve issues a list of all the articles should have been included. Another reviewer has commented that the high price (reassuringly expensive?) and the cloth covered box the book comes in reflects snob appeal, I agree but I'm still pleased to have a copy.

I first became acquainted with Fleur Cowles' revolutionary 'Flair' magazine during my childhood in the fifties. At that time the publication impressed me with its cultured blend of cosmopolitan sophistication and innovative design, although it didn't escape me that its pages also included a great deal of elitism, snobbery and self-congratulatory arrogance. Although I wasn't fortunate to keep any of the original issues, the magazine became a significant influence in the development of my literary and artistic tastes and in my life-long quest for beauty and elegance. For that I was grateful. So it was a joy to learn that a best-of compilation put together by Fleur Cowles herself had finally appeared. The original 1996 printing sold out before I could manage to acquire a copy and when Rizzoli recently published a second run I quickly got one. This edition has a foreword by writer-socialite Dominick Dunne. Now, is it really worth the rather steep price of [price]? Well... I think that for that kind of money the publishers could have managed to provide us with something much more substantial, for example: a slipcased set containing facsimile editions of all twelve original issues, rather than this comprehensive but ultimately limited look. A complete reprint would have given us the full impression of the range and period feel of a unique magazine, and at this price I think that they could have well afforded to do it. I understand that part of the reason for this expensive price tag is the snob appeal that has always been a part of the Flair mystique and that perhaps this offering is to be regarded as literary caviar for the more discerning (and well-off) among us. On the plus side I must say that the large-format book is lavishly printed, that the articles are indeed very well selected - containing not quite all but much of the best of the short-lived magazine - and that the presentation is very handsome indeed. Several of the covers are reproduced with their distinctive die-cuts and embossing and the book is housed in an elegant cloth-covered box. I still think it could have been more reasonably priced but there it is. Caviar lovers, enjoy it before it disappears again!