Freestyle Books

The descriptions of the reviewers: Slavisa Nesic and Larry Wagner "Athlete, Analyst, Coach, Dad" in this list do an excellent review and detailed description of the book. I just wanted to add my voice, as a woman, that I found his book incredibly useful too.

As is stated, the emphasis of El Howie's book is on weight-lifting and power-lifting (which focuses more on strength) as compared with Bodybuilding (to get those shapely muscles that make our stomach flat and the rest of us curvaceous.) Women in general want to look great in a bikini and the Bodybuilding orientation is the way to go.

But he gives enough coverage to Body-building and nevertheless, he is meticulous about form.

The other two books I have liked in conjunction with this is Delavier's Strength Anatomy and his Women's Strength Training Anatomy (I recommend getting both whether you are male or female.) Those books give you very clear basics for form, lots of detailed diagrams and so forth. El Howie's book is extremely comprehensive.

There are various debates as to how often to work out, whether you should focus on just parts of the body each day at a time or workout the whole body in each session. There are also differences of opinion as to best plan your meals, whether and when you should do cardio in conjunction with the weight-lifting. It would be useful, if you are a first-timer, to go for Body for Life or some other program that involves lifting weights. At bottom, in my experience, how one comes out on the various debates invariable is what works best for them, whether physiologically, psychologically or schedule wise.

I just want to say to any woman reading this, if you don't already know, you will never get back or achieve that girlish figure if you don't lift weights and lift heavy weights. And you can no matter what you age.

Though I do not want to provide a link on an Amazon post, if you google John Stone 42 the first link that comes up should be "Fit Women over 42- 89 on parade." If you go to that link you will find tons of stories with pictures of women going through fantastic transformations starting at age 50, 60 and older. Don't ever believe you are "too old" or "too out of shape" to achieve this.

And El-Howie's book is a great reference for getting form down correctly to get the best results and not injure yourself.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2YKHSV7PL40Y9 Essentials of Weightlifting and Strength Training

Learn the right forms for power lifting and weightlifting so you don't injure yourself when lifting. Even a 75-year-old woman will find this reference guide a useful fitness tool.

What I liked: coverage of the different types of weight training (power lifting, body building, etc.), great description of body shortcomings (too stiff, weak arms, shoulders) and possible remedies, form for different lifts, interesting Egyptian history and training methods over time (40+ yrs), Q&A section

What I didn't like: 1st edition binding unraveling, small print, overwhelming size of information, sometimes dry writing style

Who should buy this? those looking beyond the basics and wanting something more integrative & descriptive approach - whole body lifting

Although I am currently not in the best of shape, at one time I worked as a personal trainer and by education I was trained as a research scientist. I have graduate education in both physiology and biochemistry and have worked with some high end athletes including one Olympic level powerlifter. Currently, I am looking to use strength training again myself because I was sidelined for a number of years by a back and neck injury, this is the context for my interview.

The first thing I would like to say is that I own and have bought many books on strength training and most of them are not even in the same category as this book. Of the books that are out there, most of them say the same thing in different ways, make unsubstantiated claims or set unrealistic expectations. In short, this book is a welcome exception. It is well-organized, detailed, thorough, well-written and dense with valuable material.

A lot of the focus here is on training for powerlifting. However, it's also a great strength training text with lots of references. The scope of the book is ambitious and covers the proper way to perform important exercises, information about periodization, explanations of how different types of programs affect the body, the importance of coordination, etc.

In addition, this title has many useful diagrams, training ideas and references to actual studies. The information in it is very credible and much more than one person's opinion. I was also extremely impressed with the detailed descriptions of how each exercise works, the anatomy involved and the sections on physiology.

One might assume that a book like this would read like a text book in accounting or calculus (not that there is anything wrong with either of these subjects).... However, it sometimes difficult to be technically precise and at the same time engaging to the reader. On this account, Dr. El-Hewie has certainly succeeded.

Although this book is quite expensive, it covers a TREMENDOUS amount of ground in a reasonable space. It was clearly a labor of love and it is well worth every cent. Rather than wasting money on more of the same, I recommend getting a few good books. This is one I would NOT like to be without.

Another book that I saw recently for hard-gainers had a lot of good content in terms of building mass. I think it fell down a bit in the nutrition/supplement area, but it is much less expensive than this and covers a subset of this material that is most important to training properly for mass. This book is called From Scrawny to Brawny. There are a FEW other books I saw that I thought were quite good and I will be reviewing them in the near future. I will most likely be reviewing the ones I thought were quite bad as well.

Lastly, this book covers lots of nuances like nervous system adaptation, relationships between strength, mass and power. The importance of coordination and how to plan a path forward depending upon your goals. It's really one stop shopping for an athletic approach to strength training vs. bodybuilding. Bodybuilders will find a lot of great material here, but this is NOT the emphasis of this particular book.

I got this book from the library. It looked interesting because the pieces Ms. Carlson made were beautiful yet there was little sewing involved. That along with the fact that she loves fabrics appealed to me. Although fish are not my favorite subject, I felt that the way she describes the process could be applied to any other animal. So I practiced using a picture of a bird and was surprised at how well it turned out, esp for the first time trying this method. Then I used a photo of a tiger and I admit I was very impressed with my finished product! I have never considered myself an artist but my tiger amazed me. I also loved having to look through my fabric stash for just the right piece of fabric for each detail. Thank you, Susan!

This book has so much creative inspiration in it! I did traditional quilting for 8 years and while I still love it there was something in me that would long to do something with all those fabrics that had printed animals and trees and bright flowers on them. Something non traditional. This book along with "Beautifully Embellished Lanscapes" by Joyce R Becker made my creative muse completely take off! Even if you don't like fish the techniques and inspirations in this book are sure to inspire you to make something that does capture your fancy. Sometimes there is something about seeing what other people have done that makes the wheels starting turning in your mind and helps you to come up with your methods. If you are even considering this book I would recommend you buy it and give it a try.

I'm shaking. Literally! I have books for Africa on quilting and not one of them has made such an impression as this book. Susan Carlson is simply an artistic genius. Her quilts are nothing short of amazing, the beauty and the realism surpasses belief! Her techniques are simple, clearly explained and shared with enthusiastic joy. I started my own fan-fish, before I'd even finished the book! You're an inspiration Susan, thank you for such a marvelous, delicious book-it's certainly wet my artistic appetite and if I didn't live so far away (New Zealand), I'd be signed up for your next class!

I'm very new to quilting...having just completed my first quilt and I was looking for what to do next when I spotted Susan Carlson's Free-Style Quilts A "No Rules" Approach. The idea behind this book (and the title) intrigued me. The artist's work, and those of her students are very inspiring. I couldn't wait to start, so armed with the book I went to my local fabric store (okay truthfully I went to all the stores that carry fabric in a 30 mile radius). It changed the way I look at textiles. Picking out fabric, always so much fun now has a new dimension to it. Fabric I might have overlooked in the past holds so much promise/potential. Now I look at the patterns or textures thinking, could this become a fin? Oh, this would be perfect for a butterfly's wing! It's like creating a painting with fabric. Her free-style approach is very freeing. You can use an enlarged photocopy of the picture as a template to cut, but that's more of a springboard. Thanks Susan, I'm hooked. I've posted a picture of my first free-style project (it's still in progress). My mind is brimming with ideas from photos I took in Hawai'i, from flower shows, maybe this summer I'll even attempt a portrait!

The title of this book is very misleading. First and foremost the ONLY technique recommended (or explored) by the author is cutting and GLUING fabric (yes, "GLUE"). The technique is developed from a combination of foundation and applique quilt methods; hence, the 'free-style' method, is to substitute glue for any and all other peicing methods. In addition, "No Rules" is not a 'play-on-words'; her techniques require extensive drafting/drawing, piece numbering etc. . Therefore, exact guides, measured 'seam allowances' (glue overlap allowances) etc., are imperative to her method.
Ms. Carlson is a huge fish lover. I, unfortunately, am not. 95% of the examples and 100% of the 'exercises' are of FISH. I had hoped for a wider range of subject matter; or that the book description had included this very relevant fact.
All of this being said, the book is very well organized, with lots of color photographs, well written, and true 'hands-on' step by step approach to the author's method.
However, unless you want to glue fabric and depict a lot of fish, I would recommend giving this title a pass.

I read this book very quickly the first time and then went back for a closer look. The whole tone is informal, loose. A breath of fresh air in a subject that is otherwise often rigid, formal and claustrophobic. So many grimoires seem impractical, bound in straight-jackets, "get the words right", "this is the only way and you have to walk that line and don't deviate from it". That said, Mr. Fries doesn't criticize those who like or need or want heavy ritual. He even writes that there's no way to know how they may benefit from their rituals. So openness and lack of rigidity is everywhere in this book.

As one whose main source of "inner work" is Jungian/depth psychology, I found this book to be an almost perfect compliment to my current practices...I'll eventually play with all the exercises in the book. The "automatic drawing" chapter is just wonderful. Mr. Fries uses the word "cramp" often in the book and I know just what he means. I get a cramp when I try too hard, depend only on "ego", think either/or...Practicing the techniques of drawing has really loosened me up and I'll be doing those for sometime to come. They may even be an almost daily practice.

His sigil chapters DO lay it out in real terms: It's NOT all about us, our (ego) will, OUR momentary desires, wants, needs; the "deep mind", as he calls it, is also there and has something to say about it! This, in my opinion, is a holistic view and he has something to say about "result-hungry" practice.

The sensory practices, touch, hearing, seeing all do aid in expanding those senses. I'm working with those for a few minutes a day at present. In this culture it's probably true to say that most of us HAVE gotten a huge dose of "I've got to hurry up get through THIS so that I can reach the goal/result". Somehow the path, means and sheer enjoyment of it gets lost--or was never there to begin with. "Visual Magick" is one way of discovering or re owning that enjoyment of the journey. The book is a wealth of informal magickal practice and I'm glad Mr. Fries wrote it. It came to me when I needed it.

If you've come away from old or new grimoires feeling they were a burden, that you just couldn't do it, that all the paraphanalia and formality was just too much, yet still want to do magick, the problem is possibly that it's the grimoires and NOT you. This book can make it alright and provides lots of space for YOU and the way YOU can find an open and broad way into magick! Mr. Fries constantly reminds us to do it ourselves, try different things, be open to other possibilities and ways of doing magick...I can use this every day in all circumstances. So easy to get jaded, rigid, narrow, limited..."Visual Magick" is an aid to breaking out of all that!

This book is fun to read, and has quite alot of fresh material. Im not fully convinced it is all shaminism, as you usually think of it, but it is excellent material. The methods are explained well, and the tasks are easily do-able by most anyone.
Highly recommended!

Really this book opens a door on the subject. It really enlightens one about sigils, how to contact desire, and moreover magick as life. A terrrific read for anyone remotely interested in the subject. Highly recommended.

I am fond of this book. I have my doubts about Jan Fries.

Fries neatly describes a practice containing elements of NLP (representational systems & perceptual positions), automatic drawing techniques, and a clear (excellent, even) coverage of sigil technique. Jan's emphasis on a non-forceful kind of Taoist approach is worthy of special attention. I have not found much of the latter half of the book useful, myself, but the parts that I have found useful are very well done and free of obfuscation.

That said, I do have a problem with Jan's egotistical glorification of Thelema (in odd and not necessarily appropriate ways) and his claims that some effective techniques of Chaos Magick are "nonsense" (contrary to the experience of a great many people who use them). His statements that visions appear shadey and vague as if one were just imagining them, though I may have misunderstood his meaning and/or intent, lead me to question just how much of an "Adept" he actually is in certain respects.

That said, I believe the book survives the author, and is a worthwhile contribution to any occultist's library (well, unless of course you're a die-hard ceremonialist. Not much here for you in that case).

This book manages to provide a visceral, tangible introduction to `magic' or the state of dynamic, creative, engagement of the life process to which such terms refer. Jan's style is particularly engaging and down to earth, and this book covers a variety of the basic process and mechanisms of modern `freestyle shamanism' or `magic', clearly and concisely. He has a refreshing neo-Taoist vibe, with an emphasis on a dynamic living engagement with a flowing, evolving, life-force. Open ended and creative in focus, this book provides a host of idea's both theoretical and practical, that can help one to find their own intuitive engagement with the universal song. For a creative, engaging, dynamic, and totally down to earth introduction to `freestyle shamanism' one need look no further. 5 stars!

Oh and remeber to AVOID CRAMP! haha

Great diagrams and covers pretty much everything. If you buy one book on aerobatics I would recommend this one. Nothing can compare to a good aerobatic instructor, but if you have just learned or are about to learn a maneuver, reading about the maneuvers before or after is great for understanding and remembering how its done right. Whenever I see it on the book-shelf it makes me want to strap on the parachute and go pull some g's!

Covers everything from lesson one to competing at the highest level. Everything is well explained with good diagrams. It has made the rest of my aerobatic book collection redundant.

very well written---not directed to any one interest group. Great book for advanced competitive pilot as well as beginner aerobatic student. Also more maneuvers that any other book I have seen.

At long last he`s done it! Having been nagged by many of us for some years, Alan Cassidy has finally committed to print what he has learnt from more than a decade's aerobatic coaching. Those of us who have benefited from his instruction are very familiar with Alan's lucid, articulate, and often entertaining style. Better Aerobatics is all this and much more. The book is a must whether novice or experienced aerobatic competitor, display pilot or instructor. It's a fairly weighty publication at close on 500 pages, but this is `no holds barred stuff`. You get the lot! From learning to develop basic co-ordination and handling skills, through to the intricacies of competing at Unlimited in a World Championship. No one in their right mind would deny that aerobatics can be a pretty dry subject. However, Alan manages to tiptoe the fine line between a detailed technical analysis of our sport, and light hearted anecdotal musings. For me it is his ability to find unique ways to illustrate his point that sets this book apart from the rest. Mueller may have made the first real attempt at a detailed analysis of aerobatic figures, but to date this publication is the final word.
(Mark Walden, British Advanced Aerobatic Champion 2002)

Every pilot, aerobatic or not, should read this. Alan doesn't just tell you how to fly the maneouvres but also why they need to be flown that way. The amount of information he provides regarding what the aircraft is doing during each maneouvre allows you to fully understand what is going on. This lets you really analyse how you fly the maneouvres yourself and thus how you can improve your own performance. Not just in terms of how to fly more accurate figures but also how to optimise energy use throughout each maneouvre.

I've been using the book during the past couple of weeks and it has made quite a difference to my sequences.

Its easily the best book out there. Highly recommended.

As a graduate of the certificate course at the Royal School of Needlework in Hampton Court, London, I find this book extremely helpful when designing projects. I use it as a reference booklet, and it is much cheaper than more expensive "encyclopedia" of stitches on the market. Instructions are clear for beginners; samples are clearly photographed; price is right. If you don't want to spend a lot of money learning embroidery, then buy the Anchor Book Series.

I needed an easy to understand book about embroidery.I'm a begginer,and because of it I decided to use this book.All I needed to know and all I needed to do was right there.The ilustrations on this book where excellent and clear.And I love the fact that they also placed the pattern of the samples in the book, which where beutiful.I'm so glad I bought this book because it help me to learn about embroidery in a very simple ,easy and fun way.I highly recommend this book to mothers who would like to teach their children about embroidery.I'm sure they are going to have a lot of fun and good memories.Thank you so much for making my experience of learning needlework an unforgetable one.

This is one of the best "how to" embrodery books that I seen. The directions are very clear and the pictures are color coded. I would recommend this to anyone that really loves embrodery the way I do.

I've been embroidering for years and this is a great reference book for both beginners and experienced stitchers. For the experienced, this small volume can be used when designing projects, and for beginners, each stitch comes with clear instructions. As a bonus, there are some patterns at the back. Great value for the price!

I would recommend this book to people who like dancing with their horses. I happen to have an artistic streak in my blood and have won four state ribbons for freestyle horse dancing. This is a great book for beginners and experts alike. It starts from the basic steps all the way to double ronde-jambe axel loup.

I am an Intro level dressage rider, with high aspirations! I got this book for some insight into how to start planning my future "musical freestyle." It is very precise and helpful for a novice like me, and I highly recommend it for anyone trying to plan their musical debut. It tells how to start, what kinds of music to consider, how to align the music with your horse's gaits and rhythm, and even offers a few asides, like the fact that your entry music should be dramatic, like the Star Wars theme, because it doesn't count anyway and it will get the judge's/audience's attention! Excellent resource!

Beautiful photos, easy techniques. So far, this book is a pleasure to leaf through. I'm sure I will enjoy the projects once I begin.

Marsh has arranged her works well, going from simple to more challenging designs. And even the simplest ones are pretty, too. She also gives complete explantations of every stitch she uses, so this is indeed a great one for beginners (as indicated by the title!).

The projects contained feature many flowers and girlish designs, just so you know. Maybe that's not for everyone. But it's for me!

Perfectly balanced: history and funny facts. A great tribute to Olimpic heroes. Essential for those who love swimming and Olimpic Sports.

Written when the "Windsurfer" board was THE board, this book contains lots of information and illustration of freestyle maneuvers that work on that huge old board and rig. I bought it to see what it could add to my non-planing freestyle repertoire, and the moves range from easy to extremely challenging. If you can find it (Amazon found it for me, even though out of print) it's a great find for anyone who enjoys goofing around on a longboard (or who has extreme shortboard ambitions!)

Exhibit catalog to accompany a 2001 art exhibit at the Studio Museum in Harlem. 90 pages of full color reproductions of the art featured in this unique exhibit. Significant works by prominent and obscure African American artists.