Reference Books

For anyone who is curious about the oceans and waters of earth, this book makes for an interesting and information filled read. It is one of my all time favorites, and I probably go back and re-read it a couple of times a year.

The book is broken up into short articles on a wide variety of marine, maritime and oceanic subjects.

It is a light read, but that makes it enjoyable enough to go back to again and again. A textbook it is not !

As a previous reviewer said, don't read this for the latest in scientific understanding.

But *do* read this book. It is so stuffed with interesting little articles and lists and chronologies that you loathe to put it down. Pirates. Dangerous creatures! Shipwrecks. Treasure! Battles. Folklore and ghost stories! If you dig the ocean, you *have* to own this book. It's worth twice the price.

Whether you're a nautical enthusiast or just want some light reading, this is a great book!

On BBC Radio 4, one is required to choose ten peices of music and a luxury item, added to shakespeare's works and a Bible, to take with you on a desert island.
This outstanding book would be my luxury item. Not only would the survival elements save my life, the range of accessable information and the wealth of stories and floklore would save my sanity. It's fantastic.

This book contains a tremendous amount of information pertinent to the ocean and things related. It is presented as a number of small chapters with a logical flow and great interest for the reader. This book contains much factual knowledge without getting burdened too much by the technical realm. Everyone who loves the oceans of our world will enjoy this incredible reference book for many years to come.

Old Mother West Wind was a gift for grandmother, who read her children stories from this series when we were young. Happy stories and illustrations for young elementary children. Good entertainment, useful for K-3 school. Loved it!

These stories were first told to his own children by Thornton Burgess. Then they were read to me by my mother over 60 years ago. They were long out of print when my own children were of the right age but they are back for my grandchildren. They are highly recommended.

This book was a gift to my 6 year-old grandson. He loves it; both the stories and the pictures. This is a book my mother read to me when I was little boy. My favorite character was Bobby Coon.

Thornton Burgess was a naturalist and the stories of animals in Old Mother West Wind are wonderful. The characters attitudes and behaviors are true to the animal portrayed. A wonderful way to get acquainted with nature. Perfect book for an adult to read to a younger child.

A book of short stories about animals who talk, _Old Mother West Wind_ is enjoyable for a child of about five years to about eight as a read aloud (or older, if your child isn't terribly worldly.) These short tales often attempt to explain "how", as in how the skunk got his stripe, and have, in addition to the animals, characters such as Mother Nature and the Merry Little Breezes.

Many of these stories attempt to teach a moral, though often it is not obvious due to the author's skill. These are old stories and they reflect the values of the time they were written in. My ADHD eleven year old read the book himself and enjoyed it and is looking forward to the sequel.

Here are the stories included:

1) Mrs. Redwing's Speckled Egg - Mrs. Redwing has just laid a beautiful new egg and the Merry Little Breezes must help keep it safe from Tommy Brown.

2) How Reddy Fox Was Surprised - When Johnny Chuck wanders too far from home, Reddy Fox decides to play a trick on him. But the joke's on Reddy Fox.

3) Why Grandfather Frog Has No Tail - Grandfather Frog tells the Merry Little Breezes why Mother Nature took away all frogs' tails.

4) Why Jimmy Skunk Wears Stripes - When Mrs. Ruffed Grouse's eggs are destroyed by "a pair of eyes," the whole forest seeks the culprit. When Jimmy Skunk is found out, his days of night camouflage are over. (This was my son's favorite.)

5) The Willful Little Breeze - When one of the Merry Little Breezes stays in the Green Meadow after Old Mother West Wind has gone home behind the Purple Hills, he foils Hooty the Owl and Reddy Fox's plans to eat Mr. Bob White and his family.

6) Reddy Fox Goes Fishing - While Reddy Fox sleeps, he dreams he can fish as well as Billy Mink, but Reddy Fox just ends up all wet.

7) Jimmy Skunk Looks for Beetles - As Jimmy Skunk looks for beetles, he doesn't make any friends, but is rather selfish and destructive. However, the adventure really starts when Peter Rabbit decides to help.

8) Billy Mink's Swimming Party - Billy Mink invites Jerry Muskrat and Little Joe Otter to a swimming party at the Smiling Pool.

9) Peter Rabbit Plays a Joke - When Peter Rabbit tries to play a joke on Johnny Chuck and Reddy Fox, the joke back-fires.

10) How Sammy Jay Was Found Out - When Happy Jack's store of nuts disappears, Old Mother West Wind forms a committee of the whole to solve the mystery.

11) Jerry Muskrat's Party - When Jerry Muskrat throws a swim party, many of his guests aren't having any fun. Then, Little Joe Otter comes up with an idea that saves the party.

12) Johnny Chuck Finds the Best Thing in the World - When Striped Chipmunk hears Old Mother West Wind tell the Slender Fir Tree that she's found the Best Thing in the World, everyone starts to search for it--and everyone imagines it as something different.

13) Bobby Coon and Reddy Fox Play Tricks - When Bobby Coon and Reddy Fox trap Johnny Chuck inside his home, Jimmy Skunk helps Johnny Chuck surprise the two of them.

14) The Tale of Tommy Trout, Who Didn't Mind - Though Tommy Trout's mother tried to warn him of the dangers outside of their little pool, Tommy Trout didn't listen.

15) Little Joe Otter's Slippery Slide - When Little Joe Otter, Billy Mink, and Jerry Muskrat build a mud slide on the bank of the Smiling Pool, Peter Rabbit's curiosity gets the best of him.

16) Spotty the Turtle Wins a Race - When Peter Rabbit, Reddy Fox, and Billy Mink decide to race to see who's fastest, Peter Rabbit teases Spotty the Turtle that he should join. Spotty the Turtle does, and uses his mind to win the race.

This is a really great collection of books. Definitely worth getting if you are interested in extra biblical literature.

I love this book. I am a fundamentalist pentecostal Christian who loves to research extra-biblical writings. I believe the true word of God is the Bible - the apocrypha but still find so much value in reading these historical documents.

This book is great because there is about 4 to 6 pages of information presented about each collection of writings. This would include a full detailed synopsis so you don't actually have to read the actual writings to get all the details covered in them, It mentions the Title of the writing and where it came from, the texts in existence from where the translations come from, where they were found, and the languages they are in, The original languages the writings were written in, the date which they were written and evidences that points to certain dates, the provenance of the writing (Provenance, from the French provenir, "to come from", means the origin, or the source, of something, or the history of the ownership or location of an object), the theological importance of the document, The relation to Canonized books and other apocryphal books, the cultural importance of the book, and a bibliography of all the sources he uses to presume the above.

The book then contains the full text of each of the writings. I will list the titles of the works included as it is important to know these things when picking up collections like this to ensure you are not duplicating anything you may already have in your library.

Volume 1:

APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE AND RELATED WORKS

1 (Ethiopic Apocalypse of) Enoch
2 (Slavonic Apocalypse of) Enoch
3 (Hebrew Apocalypse of) Enoch
Sibylline Oracles
Treatise of Shem
Apocryphon of Ezekiel
Apocalypse of Zephaniah
The Fourth Book of Ezra (4 Ezra)
Greek Apocalypse of Ezra
Vision of Ezra
Questions of Ezra
Revelation of Ezra
Apocalypse of Sedrach
2 (Syriac Apocalypse of) Baruch
3 (Greek Apocalypse of) Baruch
Apocalypse of Abraham
Apocalypse of Adam
Apocalypse of Elijah
Apocalypse of Daniel


TESTAMENTS (OFTEN WITH APOCALYPTIC SECTIONS)

Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs
Testament of Job
Testaments of the Three Patriarchs
Testament of Abraham
Testament of Isaac
Testament of Jacob
Testament of Moses
Testament of Solomon
Testament of Adam


This is for the second book, which is a separate book and purchase, this is a two volume series sold separately.


Volume 2:

EXPANSIONS OF "OLD TESTAMENT" AND LEGENDS

Letter of Aristeas
Jubilees
Maryrdom and Ascension of Isaiah
Joseph and Aseneth
Life of Adam and Eve
Pseudo-Philo
The Lives of the Prophets
Ladder of Jacob
4 Baruch
James and Jambres
History of the Rechabites
Eldad and Modad
History of Joseph


WISDOM AND PHILOSOPHICAL LITERATURE

Ahiqar
3 Maccabees
4 Maccabees
Pseudo-Phocylides
The Sentences of the Syriac Menander


PRAYERS, PSALMS, AND ODES

More Psalms of David
Prayer of Manasseh
Psalms of Solomon
Hellenistic Synagogal Prayers
Prayer of Joseph
Prayer of Jacob
Odes of Solomon


SUPPLEMENT: FRAGMENTS OF LOST JUDEO-HELLENISTIC WORKS

Philo the Epic Poet
Theodotus
Orphica
Ezekiel the Tragedian
Fragments of Pseudo-Greek Poets
Aristobulus
Demetrius the Chronographer
Aristeas ten Exegete
Eupolemus
Pseudo-Eupolemus
Cleodemus
Artapanus
Pseudo-Hecataeus

Book was received in New, Mint Condition. Was mailed in a very timely manner, and I am extremely happy with my purchase.

Some of the best literature, whether divinely inspired or not, has long been lost to the world, too often for political ends. Fortunately, volumes like this one, admirably edited by James H. Charlesworth, replenish much of what was "lost" between the time of the Councils at Jamina and Nicaea.

Whatever one's creed or intentions, if one approaches this volume in earnest, one will find much of interest including, but not limited to, strong, implied historical evidence of egregious tampering by the early Church fathers of certain non-canonical works. A good example in this collection is 1 Enoch, which had been in the canon for centuries before being finally removed and, in the West, abandoned. In other instances, copies were, on Church orders, simply destroyed. Fortunately, complete copies of Enoch (or Henok) were preserved in Ethopic texts. In fact, the version of 1 Enoch presented in this volume (translated by E. Isaac) is largely structured on the Ethiopic texts, though the Aramaic fragments found among the Dead Sea Scrolls have been consulted along with Greek and Hebrew renditions. Charlesworth has also included many other fine renditions of apocalyptic works, including selections from the Syriac and Slavonian. Even more is to be had in the many non-canonical Testaments presented here, many with apocalyptic passages.

Matters of whether these "rebel" and "outcast" books appeared to be divinely inspired by the various communities that embraced them is a matter of conjecture, though there are strong hints here and there from the various communities of seekers that preserved these texts around the Mediterranean world. Of greater interest to me was the thoroughness with which each non-canonical text has been researched and translated. Charlesworth should be lauded for at least that contribution to our body of collective knowledge about what was being written and by whom at the end of the pre-Christian era and in the early years of the Common Era.

To the truly curious I recommend both volumes, whether for personal enrichment, Bible study, research, or tasting and comparing various translations of non-canonical literature. This is as unbiased a compilation as I have seen in many years. I rank it with the work being done by scholars like Geza Vermes as invaluable to any person seeking a deeper understanding of the great minds on either side of that turbulent millennium (i.e., give or take 300-500 years either way). Of course these writings can lead one's mind to many other insights and down many other paths of inquiry and thought; that is best left for the individual.

Be assured that this scholarly work is exactly that, and is not only highly-informative about the stories, symbols and myths of non-canonical literature that informed the consciousness of the Near East and eventually the Western world, but this volume does so in a highly accessible way. It is easy to read and certainly gives one pause. Savor it.

This was a very interesting read. It offers more insight into the belief systems of the early judeo-christian religion. There are many interesting stories within this volume. If you get into "other views" or the Apocrypha, read this and Volume 2.

This book may be out of print, but you can get the next best thing: "Ooka and the Case of the Marble Monster and Other Stories" - http://www.amazon.com/Case-Marble-Monster-Other-Stories/dp/0590080245

I read one of the stories in a volume of Junior Great Books. Then I went on a hunt for the whole book, after finding it in the library. The stories are wonderful! I really think that the book should be required reading in every school, the lessons are that good.

i really hope this book gets reprinted - I would buy a copy for each of my children, and perhaps a few extra for future grandchildren, too!

I just found a wrapped reprint hardback and reading the first few stories was bringing back memories from way back. I stopped and put it back in it's wrapping, planning on reaading it a little at a time. Ooka was a good judge who used common sense and compassion. My favorite story is "the Stolen Scent" and I realise how much reading the stories when I was a child gave me an idea on how to base my ideas.

This is a must read!! Once I find the second book, More Stories of Solomon, my set will be complete.

I remember reading this book when I was a kid and I absolutely loved it. I was disappointed when I looked it up to buy for my kids and it is out of stock. From the other reviewers comments, I assume it is hard to come by. Isn't there a way to get it re-released?

I got a used paperback copy of all Ooka's stories and still have it. I came online to see if there were any more collections- unfortunately I haven't been able to find any, but I would love to see this book reprinted! I'd really hate to wear out the one copy I own.

I was looking for a complete pasta cookbook and I found it in this one. It has color photos of every recipe and the lay out is user friendly. Much better than I expected.

All recipes are fast and easy. Yet, for pasta, they are the best I have found

This book is typical of others published by DK, who also publish wonderful travel guides. It is a feast for the eyes, filled with beautiful pictures and detailed explanations. The recipes are divided into sections with the primary ingredient (cheese, meat, garlic, tomato) and classify according to cooking time (no cook, quick cook, slow cook), so it is very easy to narrow down dinner options based on what you have on hand and how much time you have. I've tried about a dozen recipes from the book and they have all been delicious and turned out almost as beautiful as the picture in the book.

Book: "Pasta: Every Way for Every Day" by Eric Trueille & Anna Del Conte (2nd American Edition, 2004)

Rating: 3 (of 5) stars

Ok, this is a slightly longish review, so get comfortable, and I'll do my best to explain why I feel this book aimed a tad low, and only merits three stars.

I grabbed this book off a discount rack for 1/3 it's cover price. I found it mildly diverting, and too short a read. It actually took me longer to write this review than to read the book.

The good (and the merely adequate):

* PHOTOS: The food photography is generally excellent and honest - the pictures and garnishes actually match the recipes (courtesy of one of the authors doing all their own cooking and plating for the photos). So, for those who thrive on food photography, and like to `window-shop' for recipes, you'll like this book for it's numerous, oversized, and delightfully accurate photos.

* ORGANIZATION: The recipes are organized into 11 helpful general flavor categories (Tomatoes, Cheese & Butter, Seafood, Meat, Olives & Olive Oil, Greens & Herbs, Beans & Lentils, Garlic, Peppers & Eggplant, and Filled Pasta), and within those categories they're sub organized by cook-time style (make ahead, no cook, quick cook, slow cook, and baked). I like the latter (cook-time style), but unfortunately, there's no convenient recipe index ... the omission of which is only partially made up for by a rear index and their "Pasta Planner" and Pasta on the Menu" tables.

* HELPFUL INFORMATION: The chapter introductions include some helpful advice (for beginners) on the `how to' basics - minimally stocking one's pantry for pasta cuisine, salting and boiling water, judging pasta doneness, storing fresh ingredients, etc. Particularly useful are the little tidbits at the end of some of the recipes, which include listing the recommended pasta types for a given sauce, and "think ahead" information (i.e., useful tips on advance preparation and storage - something the vast majority of cookbooks routinely omit).

* COMPETENCE: On the whole, everything in this book seems very competent, if a bit over terse and unspectacular in places. On the one hand, it's refreshing to see balanced flavors, and cogent advice on things like the `bell curve' of doneness for squid (which experienced cooks know must either be cooked hot and VERY briefly, or slowly for a long time, to avoid toughness), taking care not to burn the garlic, etc. On the other hand, some sections aimed far too low. Take the opening blurb on p,102: IMNSHO, flat parsley is best soaked loose for several minutes in a sink-full of cold water, drained (or spun), pressed dry in a chef towel, then rolled up in dry paper towels and stored in a loose plastic bag in the produce drawer of your fridge ... the authors however make no mention of washing their leafy herbs, and apparently just toss it in a plastic bag into the fridge, perch it tented in a cup of water (which only works well for scallions and asparagus BTW), or chopping it unwashed straight into the freezer. The section on cheese is anemic too. The advice to store hard parm and romano in the fridge wrapped simply in foil is sub-par. I have a food science tip for the authors - the first time you use a fresh block of hard grating cheese, reduce it's surface area by grating first all the rough sides until smooth, then wrap first in a paper towel lightly moistened with white vinegar (change it every 2-3 weeks), then place in a freezer-proof plastic bag, burp out all the air, and store in the produce drawer ... the reduced surface area and slight presence of vinegar inhibit mold, and the freezer bag is less permeable to moisture loss. Stored that way, parm, and to a lesser degree, romano, can last for several months.

The not so good: (in no particular order)

* EXCESSIVE VISUAL FILLER: The page count is a thinnish 168, and only about one fourth of that is useful recipe text - the remaining three fourths is visual filler (excessively oversized and/or unnecessary photos & white space). The first recipe doesn't appear until page 31, and most of what comes before it mostly pictures and fluff. If you stripped all the pictures and fluff out of this book, and just left the useful text, it'd barely weigh in at 40 pages, covering just over 80 recipes (excluding minor variations). With a cover price of $20 USD (as of this writing), that works out to 50 cents per page and 25 cents per recipe ... not a good value. For example - the chapter on "pasta with beans and lentils" includes only 3 recipes, but it's padded out to 6 pages with photos and whitespace. For the same page count, I'd rather have had 6 recipes, and limited the photos to half a page each (which is still plenty big).

* UNDERWHELMING SCOPE: This book is also limited almost exclusively to pastas dressed hot or warm ... there are no pasta soups, or cold pasta salads. Even what little turf *is* covered is covered rather thinly ... on pgs 16-19 for instance, the book only describes 9 flat and 6 shaped pastas, which barely scratches the surface of the shapes commonly available. The vast majority of pastas covered are also dried ... the section on fresh pasta seems to be an afterthought, and is limited to just flat egg pasta, rolled with a hand-crank machine (nice if you own one, useless if you don't). It would have been more useful to many readers to cover the rolling pin by default, and leave the machine as an optional extravagance for the well equipped reader. Also, many first time pasta makers are intimidated by kneaded egg dough, and would find a simple semolina and water recipe (no eggs, minimal kneading) a lot more approachable ... but the authors don't even mention it.

* ETHNICALLY NARROW FOCUS: I adore Italian cuisine, and cook it semi-regularly, but I wish the cover or dust jacket of this book had made it more obvious that this book is exclusively ITALIAN, in its ingredients, recipes, and culinary ethnocentricity. With all due respect to Anna Del Conte, a reader will most assuredly NOT get struck by a Jovian Thunderbolt for using non-Italian ingredients, or the "heresy" (exact word, p.25) of using grated cheese with one's shellfish {or white clam sauce}. I found the ethnically vague title doubly irritating, given that Treuille spends time on the last page elaborating how he often cooks in the "Books for Cooks" bookstore in London ... you'd think that such a cross-cultural culinary literary setting would have inspired a clearer and more insightful book title yes ? Nope.

* UNDEREXPLAINED INFORMATION: This book is lightly seasoned with under explained factoids. For example, on p.21, the authors claim, without explaining why, using a little oil in your pasta water is a pointless waste if you boil the pasta with plenty of water and stir it in timely fashion. For the uninitiated, that's called a half-truth. The reason for the oil (and even most professional chefs don't know the food science behind this) is not to lubricate the pasta, but rather to serve as an anti-foaming agent, which helps prevents boilovers if the ratio of water to pasta is less extravagant than the 5 quarts per pound. Anyone who's ever brewed beer knows all about "hot break" protein boilover. All you need (for boiling pasta) is about 1-2 tsp of oil per pot, to form a small ring of tiny droplets around the edge of the rolling boil - that's it. Personally, I prefer to use just enough water to give the pasta room to move freely, and save energy - I'm not trying to boil pasta-flavored bathwater for the half the building, or run up my gas bill.

* TERMINOLOGY: The dicing size of vegetables and meat is rarely, if ever, mentioned ... you're expected to flip to the back of the book (without being instructed to do so), and guestimate the size based of a few `life-size' photographs. That's bad editing. Sorry, but if a recipe calls for onions to be diced ¼", 1/8", 1/16", or sliced thinly, the recipe should always SAY SO. Also, you have to flip to the end of the book in order to confirm that all references to "butter" throughout all the recipes are indeed unsalted butter ... they should just have said so in each recipe, without making the reader hunt for it.

* HEADNOTES: There aren't any ... just a brief chapter note at the start of each section about the chief ingredient. They do occasionally include a brief one sentence "Chef's Note" at the bottom of every fourth recipe or so (right after the `make ahead' note) to give a helpful tip or explain an Italian term (ex: they define puttanesca on p.34 but not primavera on p.116), but IMNSHO such notes are NOT an adequate replacement for proper head notes.

Verdict: Not a bad introductory book, but underwhelming for more experienced cooks. Certainly above average, but the authors could, and should, have aimed much higher. I mean come on, how can you have a chapter devoted to pasta with olives, and then only include three recipes, all of them featuring pitted olives from a can ? The whole book is like that - first it entices, then falls short of elevated expectations. I hope the authors will revist and expand it someday, but I'm not holding my breath because I know as well as you do that people like me are not the primary target audience. Meanwhile, other books come readily to mind ... Marcella Hazan's "Essentials of Classic Italian Cuisine" has none of the fancy photos, but covers most of the same material in much greater educational depth ... and pasta's just one chapter in her book. I've also seen a plethora of oriental books (mostly Chinese & Thai) that cover pasta making just as well, if not better ... albeit with a different flavor palatte.

Truly, if I could only own one cookbook of pasta recipies, this book would be the one I'd want. There are countless books available on the subject and yet none I've seen present pasta cooking in such clarity and with such excellent results.

If you want to know how to make all the basics, and make them right, you'll find the answers here: Pasta with Olive Oil and Garlic, with Marinara, Pasta Primavera...they may seem simple but if you follow the directions here, you can't go wrong. Handy details include pasta noodle suggestions as well as alternatives that work well, and variations on recipies depending on what ingredients you have available as well as how you may want to experiment and mix things up. Many recipies in this book have become staples of my cooking, and favorites include the Pasta with Chick Peas and the perfect Putanesca. This cookbook gets my highest recommendation.

As much of this story is based on clips from Mrs. Reeds diary and letters to family; I felt the triumphs and tribulations of her family and friends throughout the entire book.

I enjoy the point of view from the author and do recommend this book for a very strong understanding of what happened along the entire way to Ca. not simply focusing on time between November thru March.

I saw this at the local library and decided to check it out. It is a fascinating store about the Donner Party it is written for a great audience. It is acceptable for all ages.

I would really recommend this book to anyone that wants to know more about the Donner party.

My mother wanted to know about the Donner Party, so I bought this along with another book which was from a childs point of view. She enjoyed them both.

This book is a brief account of the families who moved west to claim land in California, only to be rebuffed at the last few hundred miles by topography, thirty (plus) feet of snow, and careless timing. The book reads very easily, and is amply speckled with colloquial diologue of the day, as copied from letters and notes written by those of the Reed/Donner Party who were stranded in the Sierra Nevada snows that winter. That original dialogue is compelling, and evokes a feeling of despair for what those writers must have been witnessing. The account could have included a bit more of the beginning miles of the venture, which may have been better background for the story. Missing particularly was background depth of those who joined the convoy of wagons, livestock and people on foot. Those add-on people became very important players in the final tragedy at Donner Lake, and I was left wondering about them, and why they were taken in by the Reed and Donner travelers. This book is not gruesome, nor as horrifying as some published accounts I have heard about. It is straight forward, and does not over-do nor sensationalize the terrible acts of survival that became the only choice for these pioneers.

Having lived near the Donner area and driven over Donner pass countless times this book was very interesting and enjoyable to read to find out about the lives of the people who risked it all to move west. I highly recomend this book!

what a great book. i am a professional piercer in so cal and look forward to reading Elayne Angel's magazine articles every issue. 'the piercing bible' is a must buy for all piercers, piercees and parents.
high speed internet - $50
The Piercing Bible - $15 (or whatever)
All the knowledge contain in the book - PRICELESS!
it pays for itself immediately

Elayne Angel came to my rescue because her book was not an available resource at the time when here in NYC, I made the mistake of getting a bad piercing and the wrong jewelry as well and it was a painful experience on many levels. At the time Elayne was still in New Orleans and she was able to help me. I did remove the piercing but thanks to her educating me I was able to get the piercing and jewelry that was right for me.

If you are considering getting a piercing or want to learn more because you are a piercer please buy this book and read it. The Piercing Bible is the definitive book on safety and piercing. Thank and gratitude to Elayne Angel with New York attitude from Suzannah B. Troy.

I love how this book includes information about tons of piercings, aftercare, piercing troubleshooting, and social issues/aspects of body piercings [plus more!]. Angel definitely hit all of the high points and hit them thoroughly. I've never seen a collection of such valuable information on body piercing in one place.

If you're into body modification, this is a must-buy!

This is the most well put together collection of one persons knowledge and talent, I've ever seen. She hits on every point (no pun intended) you could think of to ask/know about. This is a must buy for anyone and I mean anyone looking into personal body mods or even for the person wanting to learn to appreciate the art of Piercing. Again MUST BUY!!!

I have just completed reading The Piercing Bible. It is truly a fascinating book and is an excellent learning tool for any person considering their first (or twenty-first) piercing. It also makes a great reference book for anyone in the piercing industry. Those in the medical profession would benefit from the knowledge contained within also.

Previously, those of us who are interested in piercing have not had the luxury of being able to access safe advice, expert suggestions, and detailed, accurate information on the options available to us. Now, finally, in one place, we have the ability to learn how to get a safe piercing, how to make the right choice of piercing and jewelry for our individual look and how to care for our piercings so they will remain beautiful.

Working on the idea that an informed piercee has the best chance of a good result, Elayne Angel spares no detail in explaining jewelry choices and sizes, healing methods, healing times, and even stretching and retiring a piercing. Her straightforward, professional style of writing is a great asset. Her honest impressions of her own piercings and some she has encountered in others over her long career in the industry are priceless. There are detailed drawings to help describe the placement of the various piercings and some great charts showing gauge sizes and minimum healing times.

I would highly recommend this book to all.

I picked up this book to browse through and found it charming, interesting, surprising, and useful. I bought it.

Etymology of some of our well-known phrases "by gum" and "bend your ear" are explored as well as the more exotic "you got no more brain than a sea turtle!"

George Choundas had some fun with this compilation, and you will too. And with all the source material, Choudas sends his readers to more books that reflect the nuances of "pirate talk."

If ye be lookin' fer a book to help ye talk like a pirate then ye can't find one better than this (shiver me timbers).

Great book. A very informative and enjoyable read. Would recommend to all who want to learn pirate!!!!!!!!!

My sister and I are making a movie about pirates and this is by far the best book out there to learn the language. It is simple but covers a large amount of information, Including how to pronounce all the words. This is a great book for anyone wanting to learn how to speak pirate.

The book arrived yesterday and I spent hours last night perusing it learning about all things pirate. I'm not a pirate groupie or anything, but I got sucked in. I kept thinking I'd put the book down any minute to go fix dinner . . . watch TV . . . go to bed . . . you get the idea. The book is just fun. There is a hidden treasure quest at the back of the book. Even though the "contest" is officially over, I had fun just messing around with the clues, which would lead me to other discoveries, which would lead to even more cool stuff. Before I knew it, I'd lost the evening just playing with this book. It is certainly not a book you would sit down and read cover to cover, it's in more of a dictionary or encyclopedia format than a book of prose, but its entries are fascinating, and you can quickly while away the hours trying to solve the puzzle, learning the lingo for every situation a pirate might encounter, and learning to insult your friends and enemies in pirate-speak.
If you're even remotely interested in pirates, do yourself a favor and get a copy of this book.

I am a first time pig owner, and would definitely recommend this book for anyone who is thinking about "owning" a pig.

The color photo section (probably 20 pages) highlighting her pigs is superfluous, but that certainly does not detract from this book being a solid "how to" book on how to raise a well-behaved house pig.

This book seems to be one of the few good "modern" books (i.e. written this century) about potbellies. Things have changed so much in the potbellied world that anything more than a 5 years old seems positively ancient.

Personally, I think the most valuable part of the book is the insight it gives you into pig psychology. Until I owned one, I had no idea how complex and puzzling these creatures can be. This book definitely helped me understand what was going on inside that pig head.

The training part is pretty fun too, and her methodology definitely works. It's fun to have a pig do tricks. But I really bought the book because I needed some help dealing with a smart, stubborn, willful, spoiled and naughty piglet. f

I knew when I got this book that it might not work out as expected since I owned a Papua New Guinea wild boar. I couldn't train him at all with the techniques discussed, although a Vietnamese Potbellied Pig would follow them. My Papua New Guinea wild boar was very wild.

Eventually I had to sell him as meat because he was so undomesticated. In all, this book is perfect for those who want a 500 lb piece of promenading bacon not walking on carpets or flowerbeds.

We're a new PBP family and this book is the best that we've read so far!! Valentine is an expert at teaching about these wonderful creatures. I highly recommend this book to any PBP owner; new or not!

great reference book for new owners of potbelly pigs. I have three, my first experience and the book is excellent resource. Great color photos! a good bargain

Was extrememly helpful on giving me insight how to help prevent unruly behavior. Being as pigs are extremely intelligent animals with good memories - it is best to mold their behavior as they grow. We have just started teaching obedience. I have obedience trained dogs in the past, but have found (through this book) teaching a pig is quite different. We have started the basic training and are looking forward to teaching tricks - it helps build a relationship with these beloved animals. This book along with The Complete Guide for the Care and Training of Pet Potbellied Pigs - Revised Edition have helped me immensely. We plan to enjoy our pig for years to comeand feel this book will help us accomplish that.

This is the third year in a row I have bought the Football Prospectus book, and still delivers. This is a must for any fan, and gives so much in depth information. I have watched and played football all my life, and this book still gives insight to many different things.

Not only for regular fans, this is also great for people who play fantasy football, and gamble on football as well.

I highly recommend this, and any future versions that the Football Outsiders guys put out.

As always a great read for any football fan. The in depth essays and analysis show interesting trends behind the scenes. The chapters on teams and the profiles on players are so much fun to read through. Some of the research they've only started on looks to have very promising new material for next year as well.

This is the best, independently produced volume about pro football. The author and his team has have put much effort and research into this book and it is very detailed regarding the NFL teams and their stats.

A comprehensive guide of all 32 NFL teams, it is a must for any football fan.

Not quite as staggeringly awesome as the baseball version of the Prospectus, but a great, great reference for the upcoming NFL season. It is interesting to see that there are metrics that can be applied to football just like the ones used in baseball, and the Football Outsiders do it better than anyone. If you're looking for predictions on the whole season, your team, or just some prep for your fantasy league, this book is for you.

This was the second of a two part order for my brothers birthday. He spent the day going through the prospectus, challenging the guide's projections, and often commenting "HAH! I knew that!" Even those projections that he disagreed with, he enjoyed the challenge of the season's end results. Thank-you for the immediate delivery and better-than-expected results.