Independent Books

"The author of 'Read and Spell by Sound' pioneered this material in public schools for 30 years. She adapted her knowledge as a speech-language pathologist to meet the needs of students who were not learning to read and spell by sight. The result is tremendous. An absolutely useful set of lesson plans to meet the needs of all students struggling to read. This manual, written for the lay person, is a must for every teacher and parent. The pretest is particularly an eye-opener into the complexities of processing sounds for speaking, reading and spelling." G. Darby Bennett, Ph.D.

As a speech language pathologist, Lorna Werner understands that reading cannot be accomplished successfully until the learner has become proficient in spoken language and is aware that each word contains individual sounds (phonemes)....I strongly recommend this manual, especially to parents and teachers of individuals with dyslexia" Sylvia O. Richardson, M.D.

I took a chance when ordering this book but it turned out the very best book on the subject. This book has both order and a extremely well thought out plan. Both Scientific and reaches to common sense, which Barbara courageously enters into. I don't care what type of rehabilitaion you offer, this book will help. By all means. Also read Mad Light by Karl Mark Maddox

Love the book. OTA students and all OTs this is a great goal writing book !!

Science is Fiction was amazing! If you like Painleve you'll like the book. It's filled with so many interesting essays, and I found the interview with Painleve to be particularly interesting and entertaining.

Science is Fiction: The Films of Jean Painleve, edited by Andy Masaki Bellows and Marina McDougall with Brigitte Berg, exposes the reader to the odd and beautiful films of Jean Painlevé (1902-1989), who was both an artist and a scientist. These professions do not often mix, but in Painlevé's case, his scientific side made his film work stronger and stranger. He was the first to photograph sea creatures underwater, and he was also involved with surrealist artists like André Breton, Antonin Artaud, and film giant Georges Franju, in addition to his racecar driving pursuits. The images in his films are a combination of classroom science instruction and dance.

Painlevé was focused on aesthetics as well as scientific commentary in his films. According to this book, his two masterpieces are L'Hippocampe ("The Seahorse") and Le Vampire ("The Vampire"). L'Hippocampe (1934) is about the mating process between the male and female seahorse: The viewer sees a female laying eggs into the abdomen of a male, where he fertilizes them. To Painlevé, this represented the perfect relationship between the sexes. On a darker note, Le Vampire (1945) is a film that lends a political flavor to the behavior of vampire bats. The film stills displayed in the book are quite creepy. In one scene, as a bat falls asleep, it extends one of its wings in a Nazi-like salute.

Painlevé didn't believe that there was a separation between science and art. Throughout his life he founded a series of movie clubs as well as film schools. This lavishly designed book by designer Jean Wilcox is a perfect complement to the aesthetics of Painlevé. It is a book fetishist's dream date. Very rarely in this business does one see such a perfect combination of content, text, and design. Imagine the film viewer who went to see one of Painlevé's films expecting a dry documentary, but instead encountering a strange and poetic way of looking at the world.

This book provides a valuable insight into an era of excitement and adventure into a way of life.

This fascinating read is well illustrated and has an interesting chapture on the pop scence which is not to be missed.

An excellent read even for those who missed this era and an interesting read for those were there.

Whether new to the scene or an ardent follower, Scooter Boys captures the essence of a generation. Scooter Boys gives you the flavours of an era where scooters surpassed a mode of transport and became a way of life.

A well written balance of social history and anecdotal recollections supported by a mix of revealing pictures.

For those who were there it brings back memories of a golden age. For those who weren't this well written and witty book gives a colourful insight into what they have missed.

This was a wonderful and compelling read that had to be returned to again and again. Definately one for the bookshelf.

Dr, Mac Kenzie simply states many difficulties parents have in dealing with their children and offers concrete, practical suggestions to alleviate these situations. His well-organized book is easy to read. A comprehensive index makes the book a must-have reference.

From the perspective of a parent of four children under 13, this book tells it like it REALLY IS! In thinking back to before we had children, I can honestly say that I would have read and benefitted from it, because I saw so much that I recognized from my childhood that I could relate to. There are lots of 'ahas' in this book. The solutions are common sense and eminently 'do-able'. There is no way to recommend it enough.

After finishing the first half of an advanced first year physics class, I was hopelessly confused with the subject of relativity as it had been presented by my teacher and by my text book. A few months later, I borrowed this book from my father and read it in about a week. When I was done with the book, I was amazed that I had ever been confused with such a simple and beautiful subject as relativity.
The author skillfully anticipates many possible misconceptions and clearly explains the correct principles. The book at times can be tedious, but only when reinforcement of fundamental ideas is necessary.
I've never read a physics book as good as this one.

This is a very good intro to special relativity. The author uses spacetime diagrams very skillfuly and explains even confusing topics very clearly. Overall, a very good book.

So much literature on prayer comes off being rather fluffy and ethereal, however, Forsyth's "Soul of Prayer" is food for our minds. To really grow in our prayer we must think very hard about what prayer is and what happens as a result in our own hearts. Forsyth helps the reader to examine his/her own heart with complete ruthlessness, and yet the process does not result in fear, but joy. Joy, I think, because now we are freed a little more from the bondage of our perceived self and have come to know our real self. "The Soul of Prayer" is not a "quick fix" for obstacles in our prayer life, rather, it delves deeply into our motivations; into our values; into our convictions about why we are involved in prayer at all. The reader will find numerous ideas in this book to which the only reasonable response is an immediate prayer of thanks to God. A book about prayer that prompts the reader to pray with each turned page is a book that should not be ignored. I highly recommend it.

This is worth owning and spending time in frequently. It may not be possible to just sit down and read it through! Occasionally the ideas or sentences are difficult. (Forsyth's writing has been described as "fireworks in a fog". But there is a lot more firework than fog.) Sometimes it just gets pretty meddlesome.

As the prior reviewer said, "A book about prayer that prompts the reader to pray with each turned page is a book that should not be ignored. I highly recommend it."

I received exactly the book I ordered. It came quickly, as advertised. I am very satisfied.

What is the nature of art? What is its bottom line? At first when sent this book I was skeptical, thinking it would be a hagiography of a genuinely difficult artist about whom there are only shades of grey. But editor David E. James anticipated me there, and in his beautifully delineated preface goes right to the heart of the matter, the precipitous decline of Brakhage's reputation, a drop nearly unparalleled in contemporary art. Was he, as Annette Michelson or P. Adams Sitney once claimed, the sort of genius artist for whom whole eras used to be named? A filmmaker who combined a sincerity and authenticity with a true avant-garde spirit and actual hardcore discoveries that forever changed the medium? Or was he what his latterday rep suggested, a driven, masculinist obsessive who was able to hide behind patriarchy the failures of an overdetermined use rule?

James makes it all sound so obvious, and yet he then comes around and suggests that even the haters might find something to cheer about with a new survey of Brakhage's voluminous output. (400 films, of which it was sometimes said that even Brakhage himself had only seen maybe three quarters of them.) Completists will sigh that James' compilation is too meager to do him justice, just as they balked at the recent Criterion release of 27 films, with far too many from the last 15 years of his life with those wild hand-painted strips of film. And not even women writing about Brakhage, but that's one of the issues in the first place, isn't it, and this book merely reflects that. Even so, Carolee Schneeeman and (especially) Abigail Child contribute two of the most cogent essays here. There are a few "poetic" pieces written by Brakhage's contemporaries, such as the essays by Bruce Baillie and Chuck Strand, that not even their mothers could love.

As James points out, there are few notable artists about whom so little biographical information is available. I vote for James himself to give it a go. Not only does his introduction represent and condense a whale's load of original research, but one of his own pieces, "Amateurs in an Industry Town" (on Warhol and Brakhage wrestling with Los Angeles both as metropolis and conceptual freedomland), is a brilliant and focussed article that sheds light not only on the supposed duality between the two filmmakers, but on their mutual interests and fellowship.

I'm in my early fifties, and I must say, the reality of being fit is not as easy as it once was. It will be again. All I have to learn is that I have to start out small, think tall, and gradually reach over the wall. This book shows you how to do that. Seniors lose their ability to get about, and that starts a long list of mobility related problems.
What used to be strength training for me, was curling 120 pounds. I will start agaain, with 5. Once my tendons, muscles, etc, grow accustomed to the movement, I will add 5 more, and so on.
If you have an aging parent, getting out of a chair gradually becomes an effort. So you start there. Help them to get out of the chair ten times in a row. Then walk them around the house for 12 or 15 minutes, on your arm if need be. Then let them rest. Two days later, do it again. Then gradually increase it. This book shows you how.
I spoke with a woman who had multiple Masters Degrees, and she donated her time at a local Senior center. She remarked that an 88 year old woman came into the center, unable to walk. They started to exercise her. Now she dances the Polka.
Seniors lose it, because they don't use it. Going from the couch to the kitchen, to the bathroom, is not sufficient exercise to build strength, stamina, and cardiovascular benefits.
Some seniors are active. Even they can benefit from this book. No matter what level they acheive, the same rules apply.
What is important is not to rush a program. That leads to overuse, and acute injuries. Inch by inch, anything is a cinch.
With an increase in exercise, comes an increase in appetite, which leads to an increase in the volume of essential nutrients. Success begets success.
See how the elder Okinawans do it, in the book "The Okinawan Program" Many are active tending gardens, and bicycling even after the age of 100. Dispel the myths.
Read "Staying Strong a Seniors Guide to a more Active and Independent Life" and visit your parents, or stay with them more. The will to live, and the will to thrive, comes from the inside, and the outside. Sometimes our ends are thrust on us, and sometimes it comes from simply running out of hope and energy.
Exercise is the single most beneficial health aid we have, and this book, will get you back on track.
I hope this review helps many to take the step. Beginning is half done.

Staying Strong: A Senior's Guide To A More Active And Independent Life is an outstanding, "user friendly" compendium of simple, at-home exercises that will help to build muscle strength, increase bone density, improve balance, and more. Designed specifically for seniors seeking to remain active and independent, the proffered programs include general strength training, prevention of osteoporosis, exercising with osteoporosis, balance and strength training, strength training for golfers, as well as exercising while in a swimming pool, sitting on a chair, or lying in bed. Staying Strong is enthusiastically recommended for personal, professional, community library, senior citizen center, and assisted living center health and fitness reference collections.