United States Books

Excellent information for people of all ages. Very easy to read and understand with helpful examples in a variety of credit situations. I would especially recommend this book to high school students and new college freshmen where bad credit starts all too often.

This book encourages generation x to take stock of their personal finances without references to their being a dummy or an idiot. The approach here is very cordial. The authors encourage shopping for the best fees as well as the lowest interest rates and offer tips toward ,finding affordable health, automobile and homeowners insurance. Gives you an edge so you can limit financial hardships now as you prepare for the future.

Instead it is about getting the most out of what you have by managing your expenditures. Taking the time to understand your financial potential. Every penny counts. If you start paying attention to the pennies and to the interest you are paying on credit cards for the extras in life like movies and pizza. One of the best tips in the book is on a big item don't charge the sales tax, pay cash. Paying interest on sales tax, tips and entertainment costs are the reasons we never get out from under the interest burden.

Especially for anyone trying to navigate the tricky waters of both insurance and employment benefits. including pensions and 401 k's. Knowing what you have now is the key to being able to manage in an emergency. None of us want to think about losing the job we have had for years, but stuff happens. The health insurance that you have may not seem like the best deal but if you lose it completely it could become a major financial burden. Hernan and Schliep are big on having a safety cushion in the event of job loss.

Because they were from people that recognized good writing and people a lot more like you and me than the wall street gurus that constantly advise us and encourage us to cross over from main street to wall street when our interests may not be as well served as the big spenders who make money when we the consumer buys their wares and especially when the employers can cut expenses by cutting jobs and benefits.

I was on top of the World Trade Center about 3 years before they came down. I first found this book in the mall, I sat down and started looking through it and it made me cry. I enjoyed looking at it then I looked at the price tag and decided it was just to much right now. When I got home later I decided I would check it out on Amazon and found it for about half price. I could have bought it for less but I didn't want a used one and I was thrilled that I could get it for the price I did. I ordered it and received it a few days later. I have enjoyed reading it and looking at the pictures.
I am married to a soldier, and it just helps you remember why we are still at war.

I bought this book for my dad for Christmas. He is a history nut and thought he would enjoy it. The pictures were phenomonial and eerie. He has not put it down yet. It was definately the best present he received this year. Amazon was half of what the bookstore in the mall wanted. Would definately purchase from them again.

Aftermath: World Trade Center Archive
Book received in perfect sealed condition,would use this seller again in a heartbeat

Meyerowitz his taken a step out of his usual repetoire in making these remarkable photographs. He has provided us with a devastating and incredibly imporant record of all that transpired in the Aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy. We have been staurated with images of the event itself; what we see here is the heroic and painstaking recovery work that followed.

I first saw photographs from this collection at the Museum of Modern Art in Salzburg, Austria. Anyone who entered the gallery was immediately struck by a panorama of ground zero on one wall, each emitting an audible gasp, then standing before it for several minutes in silence. Meyerowitz is an extremely gifted photgrapher, and I recommend other of his collections for viewing. Cape Light: Color Photographs by Joel Meyerowitz, Tuscany: Inside the Light: Inside the Light (Photography). The "Aftermath" collection is the only archive of the activities following 9/11 at ground zero, and it is quite moving. Meyerowitz had access to many vantage points to capture for posterity the many facets of ground zero and this tragic event in our history. Viewing these photos takes time and thought, as Meyerowitz has also included brief descriptions and stories about each photograph. You will be struck by many emotions, sadness, anger, shock, and awe. But, there is an eeriness and a beauty, as well as hope in these photographs, inspired by the photographer's exquisite eye for detail, composition, lines, faces, and light. Photographers, professional and amateur alike, will deeply appreciate and learn from these aspects. Anyone to whom I have shown this book has been as immensely moved as I, from the UPS driver who delivered the package, to my father, a refugee of WWII, who still cannot speak easily of the events of 9/11. This book is highly recommended as an addition for one's library.

This is the book I read in bed at night while planning my next bike ride. Most of the rides you can make your way with no map. I like to try to follow the hand drawn maps. I like weird challenges though.

However, for longer rides don't rely on the maps from any guide book. Get topo maps and a compass (or gps). Ray recommends when to bring a compass and map. Buy this book and follow Ray's advice. Enjoy.

Well organized by city, this book provides great usable maps for trail-finding and sets expectations appropriately for each trail experience. Latest edition adds some new trails and accurately reflects the changing trail landscape in Phoenix due to continued land development.

I'm a Flagstaff native and now living in Tucson. I STILL use this guide and carry it like a bible... it is, hands down, the best trail guide I've found. The information is presented in a clear and consise manner, with humor and great illustrations. When Cosmic Ray says that you will most likely ask "This is a trail???" (ie Airport Loop in Sedona) he is correct. Yes the maps may *seem* playful and rough, but they ARE spot-on... don't let them fool you.

As with ANY riding in Arizona... come prepared. Plenty of water, tools, extra tubes (did I mention extra tubes?) and Cosmic Rays.

This is my 6th copy of Cosmic Ray's Trail guide. I tend to give copies to friends headed to Arizona for Bike vacations.

For me, Ray's trail guides have been a wonderful blend of humor and useful information. The trail descriptions have been very accurate and always includes additional information or some nice tips.

In numerous trips to Arizona, I've riden most of the trails mentioned in Flagstaff, Sedona, Phoenix and Tucson. My trail experiances have always accurately matched Ray's description.

If you are looking for a boring technical manual or something for GPS navigation, this book is not for you. This book is really about fun and enjoying some great new trails. Ray's descriptions will give you more than enough information to experience the trail for yourself.

Every time I return to Arizona, I pickup the latest version. This is the Arizona trail bible.

For what it's worth, you also need Topo's, good equipment and supplies. On the trail, things can happen and you need to be prepared.

I am sorry Mr. Rawlins got lost, but keep in mind that my cartoony maps are traced from topos. They are to scale, oriented north and include many details and tips not found on topo maps. He says he got lost on every ride. Interesting. That's not what I hear from other riders. In fact, many, if not most of the rides in my book are SIGNED. Mr. Rawlins must not be paying attention. About "Rating The Rides". It is not possible to rate rides to satasfy every rider. Riders vary greatly in ability. On page 3 of my book there is an entire page devoted to "Rating The Rides" explaining exactly how I arrive at the ratings. Mr. Rawlins should try reading the book he is reviewing.

A "must read" for any boy who craves adventure stories. No elves or dragons or monsters - just a real picture of life of a small boy on the Indiana frontier. If you enjoyed the Little House on the Prairie books you'll love this.

This is such a good book to share with modern Hoosier children. It gives them a taste of what life was like for some of the early pioneer children living in Indiana. I have read this book to my fouth grade classes for years, and they always love it.

The Bears of Blue River is a book I can heartily recommend parents to buy and read to their children. This book, about the many pioneer outdoors experiences of young Balser in the 1820's, is a great way to introduce youngsters to life in a simpler, yet challenging time. My children are captivated as they hang on every word of Balser's bear hunting exploits in the forests of the then-young State of Indiana. My Mother, who is 91 years of age, purchased the book for my young son, and wrote in the forward "Your Grandpa Wayne liked these stories when he was a boy". Eighty-five years later, his 12 year old and 4 year old grandsons are equally enthusiastic. Don't miss this one for your sons!

What a great book! My husband enjoyed the book when he was a boy. We shared it with our children. They loved it,too! Great adventures.

In 1953 I started first-grade in southern Indiana. My teacher, Pearl Monroe, read Charles Major's 1900 Bears of Blue River to us. She, also, read it to my father in a one-room school house. It was my favorite book. There was one sad part in the book where Mrs. Monroe always cried. She would have an older student finish the chapter. In about 1980, I read it to my kindergarten age son. I also cried when the Polly died in an explosion that killed the dreaded Fire Bear. About five years ago, in a used book store in Colorado. I read it to my father who was in his 80's. Together we enjoyed the memories it brought back. This year I started teaching fourth-grade at the Odessa Christian School here in Odessa, TX - having just retired after 21 years with the pubilc schools. I just finished reading this marvelous adventure story to my class. They all acclaimed that it was the best book they ever heard read. I highly recommend this book and the sequel, Uncle Tom Andy Bill. Donald Potter

This book was difficult for me to rate, since it is really a compilation of three separate books into one volume. The first two books I would give 3/5 stars, while the third book (the one actually entitled "Coming Into the Country") is superb and deserves 5 stars. Thus, my averaged 4-star rating.

I found the first two books very interesting and readable, but they tended to delve off into a more philosophical orientation describing the history of Alaska, which I deemed long-winded at times. The third book, however, kept my attention perked and was just what I was hoping for when I purchased this book -- a look into the life of an Alaskan bushman -- since it was told through stories of people the author meets along the way during his long stint in the bush, which complimented his writing passion.

A good book and well worth the read.

My wife and I like to listen to a tape while we read the book. We are rereading this book that way. It is a classic and a good introduction to Alaska, where we have lived and worked and touristed.

Want to read about the realities of the 49th state????
Want to really learn something about this region???
Want to get good visuals????????
If NOT don't read this book!!!!!!!!!!!!

This book is a wonderful relic, the last plausible vision of a living American frontier. In the mid seventies, McPhee went to Alaska to do a few pieces for the New Yorker. He met a lot of trappers, prospectors, and "river people" who'd built moss-chinked cabins and whose individualism, gruff hospitality, and happiness he admired. McPhee made a plea for democratic access to Alaskan land. He argued that land far from roads should remain fair game for homesteaders in perpetuity.

It is odd to read an ode to Alaska's wild immensity at a time when islands are being evacuated in the Aleutians, polar bears are drowning, and the permafrost is melting. The question these days is not whether Americans can still choose to live in more or less untainted outback. The question is whether that outback will soon be transformed beyond recognition, not by oil drilling, but by climate change.

What Coming into the Country offers the twenty-first century is escapism and nostalgia. McPhee's account of the political squabbles over the location of Alaska's capital has lost its relevance, but the rest of the book still comes to life. We meet a mix of clannish Christians, proud native people, and prickly bootleggers in the small, dry town of Eagle. McPhee's tale of a man's survival in sub-zero weather after a plane crash constitutes a minor classic of its own.

The book reminds us how powerful the frontier fantasy remains in American psyches. Can it be harnessed as a metaphor? Can the dream of self-reliance on a private patch of woods help motivate us, indirectly, to cut carbon emissions? It has motivated us to go camping and conserve some wild lands even while ruining others. Still, I suspect that as the environmental movement shifts in response to global warming, we may have to jettison the frontier fantasy. It depends too much on a view of nature as more powerful than man. Whether or not we agree with Bill McKibben that we have arrived at the end of nature, we know that everything is responding to elevated temperatures. There is no untouched patch of land left in Alaska. The romance of a homestead sours when the flora and fauna are marching north past the log cabin, driven by coal and oil fires from all over the planet.

I traveled to Alaska in 2006 but lived there in the early 70's. Why I delayed so long in reading "Coming into the Country" I don't know, but John McPhee has taken me back to that earlier day. Both his character and place descriptions are wonderful and make me long for the cabins, the ice break-up, the dogs, the bush planes, and the 55 gallon drums. The Anchorage of today is much changed, but the bush is still there -- Thank God.

The book is OK. Photos are not all that great (some blurry and out of focus, obviously amature). Most of the dolls are modern and mass produced. I was hoping that there would be more artist creations, one of a kinds, limited editions, and antiques. Instead there are a bunch of plastic/vinyl manufactured dolls with just a few quality pieces sprinkled in. I only recommend this if you collect that style of doll (manufactured/mass-produced).

Loved this book. I am a collector of black dolls for many years. I saw several of my dolls in the book.

I enjoyed looking thru this book to get ideas of the different kinds of dolls to add to my collection. There were a lot of dolls that I didn't know existed untill I read this book.

Debbie Garrett's "The Definitive Guide to Collecting Black Dolls" is a magnificent combination of beauty, knowledge, and cultural celebration! It was wonderful learning about the history of antique and vintage black dolls, as well as the current artists and their creations. This guide provides a fabulous array of delightful pictures denoting the significance of black doll collecting, that is both informative and inspiring!

It is the answer to all Black doll collector's dreams! I have a number of "doll" books and magazines but none of them have ALL color Black doll photos in additon to valuable collecting information such as that found in this book. I must confess that initially, I looked through it four times on the day it arrived. It's fun seeing how many of the pictured dolls I have in my own collection!

I bought this book when it first came out in paperback and have loved it. I finally had to buy another because my old one was so well read it was starting to fall apart. It is an awesome book!

I first read the Foxfire books about 25-30 years ago, picked this one up again and found that I enjoyed it even more as an adult. Reading about the skills that were a daily part of life, things that are lost in today's hectic modern day lifestyle in the city. It may not have seemed simpler to the folks that lived it, but sure seems like a simpler life to me.

I am from the Appalachian mountains. I am collecting these books to hand down to my kids. This is definately the perfect way to preserve your roots. I HIGHLY reccomend the whole series. Don't let the old ways die!

Nostalgia in its purest form....knowing how my Grandma and Grandpa handled life. Foxfire books are great.

Eliot Wigginton made his students immortal when he sent them into the southern mountains to interview and record the skills and crafts of the region.
This is the first one of a fantastic series that serves as a standard reference for mountain culture. If you are a writer that has any intention of either historical--frontier descriptions or including characters from the region this entire series should be on your shelf or in the local library. Reading them will give flavor to your work.
As a reader you can check to see if the hog killing scene from COLD MOUNTAIN is authentic. This is just one example, there are thousands of others.
Writing as a Small BusinessUnder the Liberty OakSins of the Fathers: A Brewster County NovelThe Bluegrass Dream: A Wilderness Adventure of Early SettlersGuns Across the Rio: A Texas Ranger in Old Mexico

This book is great and gives you the help you need when you need it. Even if you think you have all the answers this offers some great tips on things to say to your child that they need to hear.

This book is a 'must have' for couples going through a divorce who want their children to adjust as well as possible. It is well written, easy to understand, and has tons of examples. It helped a difficult situation become a little bit easier.

This is very useful tool for parents experiencing divorce as well as for therapist working with children. I would highly recommend it.

Very useful and the book revealed lots of common mistakes tat easily overlooked. I gave the book to my boyfriend as gift as he is experiencing the nightmares wif his ex n son..

Divorce is not a pleasant experience and it affects the entire family. Mature grown-ups can become the ugliest, nastiest, most bitter creatures around. And despite how much they may put on a good face in front of their kids, kids see through all the subterfuge. They are much better at reading the non-verbal communications than any of us would imagine.

Neuman's book is a sensible, positive, and down-right amazing approach to dealing with the most critical individuals involved in this process: our kids. His Sandcastle's program has had excellent success for years. Neuman addresses what is developmentally appropriate for each age group, helping the reader understand quickly the unique communication needs from the littlest people in our lives to our teens. Understanding this helps parents establish appropriate communication modalities and connect with their kids through this incredibly challenging time.

Make no mistake about it: this is not a book that addresses reconciliation. This is a compassionate, straight-forward book that guides you on the path to helping your children heal effectively and grow into healthy young people.

I found this incredible interview regarding how the game of Golf has changed over the years. You wouldn't believe the evolution! If you have any interest in the history of Golf, this is a must read. If you want to become even more knowledgeable on the subject, scroll to the bottom of the interview and get in touch with the author. After reading, I guarantee you will be able to lead the most interesting discussions and impress your friends!

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/interviewroden.html

Curt Sampson has done a really fine job with this book ! I really like his idea to interview Valerie Hogan. Hogan wrote Power Golf NOT 5 fundementals, he brings this out in the book.

Few people, even non-golfers, can escape ever having heard of Ben Hogan. Maybe you don't know exactly who he was, but the name is oddly familiar.

To golfers, Ben Hogan is as close to legend as anything. Other players, even Bobby Jones and Tiger Woods, lack the mystique which has encompassed Hogan, even many years after his death.

What few of us know is just who he was. This information may not be so pertinant to people who play the game, since they are mostly interested in his swing. However, anyone who has touched even in a small way on part of his career realizes the great mysteries that lie in his life and being.

"Hogan" may not answer everything satisfactorily, but it comes as close as any are likely to get. This covers his life in as much informative detail as could be needed, and presents Hogan not so much in a less-than-glamorous light, as is common to biographies, but rather in a "judge for yourself" presentation of evidence for what made the man what he became.

Anyone curious about this modern legend will get more than he bargains for. Where perhaps the book does not go into his game to the extent golfers may want, the story of Hogan's life is engaging enough without it.

In my very large golf library this is clearly the best book on golf
I have read period. For the first time you get an insight into the "wie ice mon" in what reads like a novel.

When I was growing up the names of Palmer, Nicklaus, Trevino, Player, and their generation were the top competitors. Ben Hogan was a revered name, but one of past glory. His great year of 1953 was in the past. I had heard about his auto accident and his amazing comeback, but this book helped me see the man who "dug it out of the dirt" through hard work, discipline, and ferocious tenacity.

Mr. Hogan started out with less than most. His father's suicide and the family's subsequent poverty didn't leave him with many open paths to success. He found golf and found that it not only matched his physical skills, but was an even better match for his nearly obsessive temperament.

The swing he developed has become the pattern millions of us try to emulate, although he would find our haphazard approach to the game less than useless. Why we love being duffers would be beyond him. He knew how to work and to practice. I still cannot fathom the kind of internal strength it would take to come back from that terrible leg shattering accident when his Cadillac was struck by a bus. He played in great pain for the rest of his life and had four surgeries on his left shoulder. When I realize that his greatest achievements and most of his wins at major tournaments were after the accident I am simply dumbstruck.

Mr. Hogan was a very private and enigmatic figure. Mr. Sampson does a good job in teasing what facts we know into a good story. We get interesting stories from the golf side of his life (mostly stories told about Hogan by others) and those are very enjoyable. However, I like the way Mr. Sampson puts all that in the context of a real person - a real man. Ben Hogan wasn't a fictional character even though the media version of him was a distortion of the actual hard working man who practiced, practiced, and then practiced some more, who loved his wife, Valerie, and built a successful golf equipment business.

Ben Hogan made a long journey through life and I think this book tells the story well.

I had never heard of Sears homes until I found out that a home I had previously lived in, was one! Since that day, I have read and researched these fascinating timepieces and how they fit into our American history. Whether a history buff, architectural/house buff or if you simply love to learn, Rosemary Thornton's love for these homes and their value comes through in her books, teamed with her obvious extensive research, to provide a wonderful read. Any book where you can feel the authors passion, and have it rub off on you, is special. I also own, and recommend, her book "Finding the Houses that Sears Built", which has some of the same information, but more pictures of actual home styles and plans. Both books are worth it! I have officically become a Sears Home advocate!!!! Thanks to Rose!!

This was a very helpful book as I was able to find the home I was purchasing in Saranac Lake, NY. It's really exciting to know more about it's history. This is a must-have book if you are interested in learning more about the Sears homes.

I am from London in the UK and until not so long ago have never heard of Sears homes. Searching for authentic historic houseplans on the internet I soon learned about Sears homes. I have never knowingly laid eyes on one but immediately felt it was something I needed to find out more about. Before long I arrived at this book. I ordered it not really knowing what I was going to get and I have loved and treasured this piece of literature ever since. I could not put it down first time around and not the second time around and still flick through it every other day unable to shelve it away in my library.
What I loved most about the book despite the intricately researched contents is the love and passion the author manages to convey already on the very first page. I think this is what grabbed me most, Rosemary's love for these homes immediately 'infected' me. It is written in a light-hearted way (for lack of a better expression)as if she talked to each reader personally. She touches on so many different aspects but at a dose that leaves one with sparks and fireworks inside one's head, buring to turn the page and 'hear' more. The book made me want to book a flight ticket into the heart of Illinois and start searching for these homes myself. Rosemary, one part I particularly loved was your little stories from people or relatives of those who built these houses and lived in them. I wished I could read endless pages of such testimonies as they really injected life into the pictures in your book. It fulled my imagination of the times and circumstances when the houses were built and about the people who built them.

As I mentiond, I have never actually seen a 'live' Sears home and as far as I know we don't have a European counterpart, none of such iconic status anyhow, but my partner and I are researching to have a replica built for us here somewhere in the English country-side (pending planning permission, I suppose). I personally feel that it is most splendid that Americans all over the country recognise their architectural and socio-cultural heritage and start preserving these great homes for all future generations to enjoy in the same way we can or even more. I bet there are hundreds more out there waiting to be discovered and I hope there are plenty of people who will start 'scratching' on the surfaces of their own homes to find out if they are inhabiting one such great treasure. Sears homes, and for that matter all historic homes, have found a great benefactor and ambassador in Rosemary Thornton and as an outsider, if I may say so, I commend the work she has done and I truly hope that she will keep it up for decades to come and inspire many more to join her in her efforts to educate and preserve!

I only wished, Sears would still sell and build these old homes especially now with the internet, we would have ordered one in a jiffy!
Thanks Rosemary for endless inspiration and for spreading so much love and joy over what is basically four walls and a roof!
I can't wait for your next book to come out and if you ever fancy coming to lecture in Europe, be sure to let me know!

My recommendation to everyone, buy it, read it, fall in love with it and read it again and again and again and...!!!

This wonderful book gives you everything you always wanted to know about Sears houses. It has photographs of various models as well as some interior views. It shows ways to indicate if the house is truly a Sears house (and not a Montgomery Ward house)! It tells the cities which had a Sears Modern Homes Sales office (where there is likely to be more Sears houses) and the prices that the houses sold for. Includes testimonials and frequestly asked questions about Sears house. Nice book and interesting reading.

I just finished reading The Houses That Sears Built. I was unable to put it down. I grew up in a Sears house, but I did not know anything about them until I read this book. It is obvious that the author did her homework while researching the subject.