S Books

This is a wonderful and touching story. It is a good read, and I recommend it to anyone who has ever had a pet. I especially like that it has a jack russell in the story.

This book is the story of Willie Morris' childhood companion, a dog named Skip. Willie recounts his adolescent years and all the fond memories of his dog and friends as they grew up together in small town Mississippi. The story is heartwarming and the author paints a very clear picture of all the shenanigans, good times and bad that he and his dog had together over the years. I liked this book; but I think a male reader would appreciate the bond between a boy and his dog more than I can.

This was a great book! It was so touching and heartfelt. I love dogs and this book is an example of someone who loves dogs like me so I can connect! Greatly recomended!

Willie Morris was a truly great author! This story of his childhood with his dog was really heartwarming. It is so simple and warm and humorous, you will just love it. Warning: you will cry your eyes out at the end, but it's worth the pain. One of the best animal stories ever, I hope many kids read this in school. If you loved the movie "A Christmas Story" you will love this book. The movie version of "My Dog Skip" is also quite good, though it is kind of upsetting that in order to create drama the wonderful father of the book is kind of nasty in the movie. Willie Morris was a great author who also wrote a cat book entitled "My Cat Spit McGee" and several books about his life that remind me a little of Russel Baker's memoirs. One is entitled "North Toward Home", another "Good Old Boy" and one is about life in New York City.

Willie Morris has recounted the life of not just a boyhood pet, but a dear and close friend.
The Story of Skip's life as told by his owner is full of mythic adventures of childhood. Where every new day was full of joy and wonder. Morris' storytelling brings the dog, his family and the lush southern landscape into full and brilliant view.
When you read My Dog Skip you can just feel how much this young man loved and revered his dog.
Any of us who have had a much loved pet know that the bond between animal and human can reach so much further than just "pet and owner". Willie Morris makes the statement that Skip wasn't just his dog, but his brother... that is a beautiful thing. Morris grew up an only child but did not feel alone by any stretch of the imagination. He was loved deeply by and deeply loved his dog Skip.
Another great point made in this book is how Willie Morris learned so much from his dog Skip. He clearly states that the most lasting lessons he has learned about love and loyalty came from knowing his dog.
This book captures so well the love a boy or any human being can have for a pet... I loved the story and highly recommend it!

This book brings to light the daily hazards that exist in everyone of our lives, even if we are completly unaware of them. I am not am alarmist and I don't think this author is nor is this book writen in that way. However it does show in a very real manner the day to day dangers that we as normal people face in evry day life in america. With the number of criminals inceasing and an ever inceasing crime rate, not to mention the over crowded prision system turning convicted criminals loose early from prision we are subjected to more and more dangerous people out on the streets of cities and nieghborhoods then ever before. With this being the hard facts, I think that we all need to look at ways we can keep ourselves and our families safe from these threats as we are out and about in the world and inside our own homes and not rely on the ploice as we did in the old days. This books address' just such subjects, from what to do, to how to do it and what role your children should take in these saftey measures. We make plans with our families on what to do if the house were to catch on fire, so why not make a plan on what to do if someone breaks-in ( a home intrusion ) the most vaiolent crime there is. (violating your families private place even when you are there and endangering their lives)These are just some of the topics discussed in this must read book! As I said before if you are raising a faimily do them and yourself the justice of reading this book yours or their life may someday be saved by what you read. In todays world there is a true saying and this is why this book on how to protect you and your family is so important and not relying on the police to do that for you anymore and that saying goes like this: WHEN SECONDS COUNT THE POLICE ARE ONLY MINUTES AWAY! So we must have plans on how to take care of oursevles. I hope you buy and read this and find it to be as much of a help as I have.

I've been a security and risk consultant for over 20 years and continue to study martial arts and self-defence. I have developed and delivered self-defence, personal protection and travel safety courses for individuals, government and corporate sector and I continue to highly recommend this book to all and sundry. Being able to punch and kick is not the answer. These sort of skills might be useful if you practice regularly but the best option is not to be in that situation in the first place. If you do find yourself in trouble, it will more often than not be the mental aspects and preparation that will get you through.

Stong on Defense includes many of the areas that some so-called self defence books and courses gloss over - the psychological aspects of preparation and above all avoidance. His thinking on preparedness and developing plans BEFORE you get into trouble are spot on. Definitely one of the better books in this area and a must-read for everyone.

I bought this book a few years ago and was astounded by it's quality. Strong
analyzes assaults and murders pointing out mistakes and suggests tactics. Women especially should read this book. Fore thought will empower them if a crisis arises.
A take away message that I will always remember---never let him take you to crime scene #2(a place of his choosing)as it will only get worse.

This book is a must read and should be passed on to others. The slaughter at Virginia Tech was the reason I revisited Amazon and recommended this book.

It's a good book, but hold off on buying it for a few days. The sleazy sellers here on Amazon have jacked their prices all the way from $25 to $80 (and even $199!) in one day, based on a small uptick in interest from one website recommending the book.

Wait ONE WEEK, then check back, and buy the book for it's standard price of $25 or so. Don't let these sellers rob you.

This is absolutely one of the best books on self defense that I have ever read.

Sanford Strong has written an excellent primer on personal protection. As he says, this book is not about crime prevention; it is about crime survival.

Much of the book has to do with the right mindset which is a critical element in surviving. Many people are seriously hurt or killed because of lack of mental preparation.

The author uses numerous case studies to illustrate his points and has plenty of data to support them. His four rules of survival are key. One could follow these and be in a much better position to survive a violent encounter.

His commentary about mindset is essential. Here are some of his points: Expect to be injured. If the fear of injury is paramount, you will not have the will to escape. If violence strikes you, the police will not be there to protect you. Don't ever believe a criminal. If he is just planning to rob you, there is no need for him to move you to another location. Your best chance for escape/resistance is at the beginning.

In the action area, his focus is on escape. Too many self defense 'experts' advise you to use numerous techniques. I believe that these have their place, but the most important thing to do is get out of there. Remember that violent criminals don't follow Marquess of Queensbury rules.

I could go on about this book for a long time. The bottom line is that it is excellent and is a must read. Buy it; read it; absorb it.

Series book. The large, readable print makes this good for children to read.

Summary
Frog and Toad are friends who share life together. I love the "To Do List," which includes "Wake up." Lobel wrote and illustrated more than 70 books. This book received a Newberry Honor Award.

Illustrations
I love the fresh and pleasant green and brown pictures, as did my children.

When Frog and Toad saw a snake, the snake said, "Hi,lunch!" Frog and Toad ran away.
Toad made cookies and Frog said, "They got will power." Toad made a list then when he got to Frog's house, Toad said, "We have to take a walk." They went on a walk. Suddenly, Toad's list blew away.

My daughter's nursery is decked out in Frogs, so the discovery of these books made them books we had to consider. They are fun and the illustrations are grest. At eleven months she is too young to read them herself, but we read them to her - and she enjoys them. The stories are simple with a central theme - do good for others, treat your friends with respect, help your firends when they need help, laugh, and aporach life with adventure. These are great virtues to instill in young minds. If the books were made in cardboard stock, Teah would be even more happy with them - as it is she frequently grabs one of them when it's time for her bedtime story - and great bedtime stories they are. By the time she starts to read she will know the stories by heart, but that's ok - fond memeories of bedtime stories like these should help her build a lifelong interest in reading on her own.

The Frog and Toad books were favorites of my daughters when they were young. I often give them to young friends, and was very happy to share them most recently with my two year old grandson

Learn the value of friendship with one of the most delightful duos in all of children's storytelling! Perfect bedtime stories or beginner's reading books, kids love the animorphed amphibians and funny adventures. Buy one and you'll have to get them all!

J. Lyon Layden
The Other Side of Yore

A must read for any one who is interested in what went on behind the scenes during the Delaration of Independence, the
Constitution the early founding of our country (United States). Every politician should read it, because history does repeat itself!
Vincent

After reading both David McCullough's biography of Adams and now this one, I have concluded that Ferling's is the better of the two. The main reason is that although McCullough's is slightly more extensive, Ferling's book has a much more realistic view of the man. As his book Almost a Miracle shows the many tactical mistakes that Washington made, this book does the same with Adams. It makes sure to reckognize Adam's flaws as well as his virtues. For example, his frequent hypocracy, his recurrent neglect of family, his indecision, his self doubt, and his many political misjudgements are all fully acknowledged. Yet even with these faults, its overall view of Adams is still that of a great man.

In addition, Ferling's writing is practically as good as McCullough's, so read this book.

I will echo what others have written. This book gives almost every detail of John Adams life. It is an outstanding biography that I would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys historical books.

By the last page of this book you'll feel like you personally know John Adams. You'll know what drove him to succeed, his stregths, his weaknesses, his personality and most everything that can be known about a person.

As a detailed and thorough look at the life of a man, this biography is superb.

This is an excellent biography, following Adams from birth to death in one volume, and detailing both the positive and the negative aspects of the man clearly and fairly. I've been fascinated by Adams ever since seeing the movie "1776", which gives a marvellous "based on fact" dramatization of the writing and signing of the Declaration of Independence, and this book gave me a more thorough, more strictly factual look at the man. I wasn't disappointed on that score; he's just as interesting without the dramatic liberties taken by the movie.

My only quibble with this book is that the editing, at least in the edition that I have, is rather poor. There are numerous errors in grammatical structure and word choice, the kind of errors that I have become accustomed to in mass market paperbacks but refuse to accept in a scholarly historical work. Things like "he requested that the Congress name his successor be named in his place" and "...the British ... was ready" and "the New England sates" (rather than "States") and "the House of Representative" (even back then, there was more than one representative in the House) and "the dreary weather proved not be a herald of the months ahead" and many others. I understand that mistakes happen, and don't demand perfection. But there are just too many of this kind of error in this book for me to say that it is well-written; probably two dozen, if I had to guess.

Overall, this is a worthwhile biography of a fascinating president. Hopefully, future editions will clean up the writing a bit more.

The Last Open Road
This story starts off with a young man that is called Buddy Palumbo. He has a friend that he trusts very well and no one else would listen to him the same way. Something vey bad happens to him and he got handed some of his responsibilities at the Sinclair. He never actually got hired when he started working there. They just started to pay him. His dad did not want him to grow up and be a grease monkey he told him to work with the Union. A very rich man that owns oil rigs all over the United States. He owns some of the very nicest cars that included Cadillac's and Jaguar. No one has ever seen or heard of them. Buddy got the opportunity to work on them and soon after he figured them out he was the only mechanic allowed to work on them.
I liked this book because I am interested in driving and racing cars. It was fun to read because it was so realistic and talks about real cars and real mechanical problems they have. I can relate to the people in this book because I race and I understand their family problems. You will figure out what I am talking about when you read this book.

mid-prairie teen

B.S. Levy's The Last Open Road is a great read for anyone who is interested in wrenching on cars, particularly classics. I'm college age and I can relate to Buddy Palumbo in a lot of cases. If you're familiar with older British cars, there's some unique humor there as well. Great read.

This is a good book for the British sports car enthusiast. It brings back memories of the 1950s and racing.

This is a well-written and enjoyable book that elicits images that are very familiar to folks who were teen-agers during the wonderful 1950's. It is almost as though I know the characters and can easily apply familiar names of real people in my past to them. Highly recommended reading, especially for car enthusiasts!

If you grew up in the 50's or 60's and knew a sports car from Detroit iron, and lusted after the former...than this is your book. This is a tour de force of the origins, excitement and naivete of what the attraction was for those weekend racers. Buddy Palumbo is this loveable amateur mechanic, hang-around carguy who through luck and heft manages to have the rides of his life at one of the first sport car tracks in the US. What you will enjoy is the reality of the details of the cars, the attitudes of those in and around the machines, the helter-skelter ways you drove in those days... and that BS Levy has captured this period in his own time machine for you. If you are a carguy, you cannot put this book down, and you will laugh your head off turning some of the pages as Bert reminds you of how we were. I had just reread Kerouwac's On the Road when I picked up Bert's book at the Monterey Historics at Laguna Seca...because it had a XK120 on the cover which was my first car...and because Bert, himself, was there guaranteeing me I'd love it. He was so right! I'm now onto his next novel, Montzuma'a Ferrari, which takes place on the Carrera Panamericana (translates The Mexican Road Race). Bert is a true race car fan and driver and describes emotions and thrills like you are there with him. I passed the book onto my car club members and its still being read and recirculated. This is a read to savor...enjoy!

It is understandable why this book earned a Pulitzer for the author. Written in the early 1950's, it was the first time Civil War events were treated from a human versus fact-after-fact view. However, Shelby Foote later wrote a superior account that not only provides the human side, but also presents all the historical data.

It would be an almost impossible task for anyone to figure out just how many books have been written dealing with the American Civil War. It would also be difficult to determine which Civil War historians are most often cited by their peers but there is no doubt that Bruce Catton would be near or more likely at the top of any such list. The reason for this is quite simply that Catton was one of the great historical writers of all time. Very few people can take their readers into the heart of an army, both those of it's soldiers and leaders like Catton and even fewer convey their story in the very clear and easy to read style that this author has mastered. To read this book of pure history is in many ways like reading a historical novel and even the reader who already has a firm grasp on the historical facts of this story will sometimes find themselves wondering what happens next.

This is the story of the last campaign of the Army of the Potomac, that Ill-fated army that had so often been humiliated by Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia. This campaign was to be different however because there was a new man calling the shots and having a man like U. S. Grant at the helm made all of the difference in the world. It took Grant a while though to convince this often badly led army that he was any different than his predecessors. Different he was however and once he locked horns with Lee he wasn't going to let up until one army or the other was destroyed. In other words Grant understood what had to be done and he was determined to do it.

Catton's main field of study was this man Grant but one of the author's most endearing qualities is that he makes no effort to whitewash or hide his subject's faults. Catton also does not attempt to build Grant up by tearing away at Lee like many of the more recent Grant biographers have done. He simply makes Grant's greatness apparent by telling the story the way it happened and it doesn't take long for the reader to figure out what an outstanding general Grant was.

The author has done a lot of searching through soldier's letters and memoirs as well as regimental histories and this leads to a very personal perspective of the last year of the war. The stories he has gleaned from these sources are poignant, somber, gleeful and funny. For example, one entire brigade falls out of the final advance upon Lee's army to chase down and cook some chickens that have been scattered by artillery fire. I think it was Napoleon who said something about an army traveling on it's stomach.

I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the Civil War. The hard core Civil War reader will find new information here and the casual reader will find that this book is fun to read and no one should have a problem following the story. If Amazon allowed six stars this is one of the few books that would qualify.

Part 3 of Bruce Catton's fantastic trilogy of the civil war is an interesting look at how the Army of the Potomac ended the war. From a discussion of a daring plan to plant dynamite underneath confederate lines to the chasing down of Lee's Army by Grant a true sense of what happened during the civil war can be gathered form this trilogy. An essential collection to any civil war historical library.

A Stillness at Appomattox is the last in the trilogy of the Army of the Potomac and covers from the period from late 1863/early 1864 (before the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Campaign) to April 1865 (Appomattox).

While the book is certainly heavily weighted in its coverage of the Union side, Catton is fair in his assessment of the various Union leaders. Of course, there is also the unique writing style that Catton possessed - a free flowing and smooth narrative rich with details.

My only complaint is the lack of maps. However, one must also bear in mind that the first edition was written in 1953, a time when books did not have the number of detailed maps that you would find in more recent titles.

Complaint aside, I highly recommend the book and series as the best coverage of the Union Army of the Potomac during the Civil War.

Read and enjoy!

This superb narrative about the Union's Army of the Potomac in the war's final year captured the 1954 Pulitzer Prize. The book is one of several superbly readable volumes on the Civil War by author/historian Bruce Catton (1899-1978).

This narrative covers the Army of the Potomac from the start of the brutal 1864 wilderness campaign through the war's end a year later at Appomattox. The author shows that General Ulysses S. Grant was more capable than brilliant, and fiercely determined to keep the pressure on General Lee's rebel army until the Confederates had no choice but to quit. Given the Union's advantage in men and material, the strategy made sense. What was less sensible were costly errors by Union officers, frightful casualties, and a sickening Union failure to clinch victory on the first day at Petersburg (thus reducing carnage on both sides).

The author perused many soldier diaries and letters to show us the life of the average Union enlisted man. That soldier was well-paid ($16 a month), but forced to endure boredom, rough weather, marching, stress, and dangers from disease and a tough, determined enemy.

This moving look at the last year of conflict is probably the best of Catton's narratives on the Civil War.

I can totally see why my yoga teacher trainer pick out this book to be required reading. It is very well assembled with great picture of well respected Yogi's. The form of the positions leave nothing to be desired. When reading other Yoga books it isn't uncommon for me to wish I could crawl into the page and correct the posture of the people in the photos. In this book I just wanted to be as talented and perfect and the people in the pictures. The descriptions of the positions and the subtleties of what the pose requires was well written. It isn't unusual for me to use the same phrasing as they do in the book because some cues can't be better said. Perhaps I'll out grow this book, but as a beginning teacher, I learned a lot from it. I love the amount of detail that the book gives because there is always more that you can accomplish in any Yoga pose, and you must work at the level of the students you're teaching and remind them of things that may be automatic for you.

A lovely formatted book that has clear photographs. It is useful for the student at home to develop a personal home practice aswell as the teacher for a 'flash card' inspiration for a class. I like the diamond guide that indicates the degree of difficulty of the pose. It is also wonderful to have the asana name in devanagari, sanskrit and english. This is a classic hatha book that is a 'must have'. Camella Nair - author of "Aqua Kriya Yoga".

I purchased this book for teacher training class and I am pleased to say that it is very helpful to me. It would also come in very handy for someone new to Yoga because it has history, philosophy, and examples of every move all in one book. Easy to read and understand.

This is an excellent book for home practice of yoga, provided you have moderate experience through classes and previous home study. The photos and explanations of asanas are very clear, though the practitioner may not possess the same degree of flexibility as the models. The asanas cover a reasonable range of difficulty: there's some challenge, but a diligent student would have hopes of learning all of them. The scattered "reflections" are extremely helpful. The textual explanation of underlying yoga principles, though good, could be expanded somewhat, but one can't expect everything in a book this size.
Comparing with Iyengar's "Light on Yoga", the present book is shorter, more user-friendly, has a more modern look, contains fewer asanas, and has less (but more easily readable) discussions of yoga principles. Serious students will likely purchase both in the long run, but the present book is a better first buy.

I've taken yoga classes for a few years but never remember the poses to repeat at home. This book lists most all the poses I've ever done, with pictures and what body parts they affect.

This Book is a wonderful adventure , exciting and engrossing. The characters come to life and I felt like I joined the company on their adventure.
It is a well written story and worth the read, even with hunger pains that go unfed. I just couldn't put it down!
It includes so much of what readers crave, a enthralling story full of thrills and chills. Gorgon is a enemy to be feared!
This book is suitable for adult and young adult readers.
I highly recommend this book.

"Elfhunter" is a vivid tale that draws the reader in the the world of Alterra. Strong characters and an exciting plot will drive you down the road of sleep deprivation, you won't be able to put it down. The tale is well told. So hearken to the lore-master. Buy the book and enter the world that is!

Highly recommended!

C.S. Mark's novel, Elfhunter, is strongest when the action is moving forward at a relentless pace. The first Chapter, "The Trail Begins", sets the reader on a long, oft-times exciting journey through Alterra, The World That Is. Here in the beginning, we meet two of the main characters, elven hunter scouts Galen and Nelwyn. Out one day patrolling Greatwood Realm, the kingdom of the Wood Elves, the two cousins discover the recently slaughtered and burned bodies of old friends. Upon seeing how they were tortured, Galen, the older and more driven of the two, will not rest until she has discovered the monster responsible for the murders. She brings Nelwyn along with her, using the elvish oath Thall-dalen, or Steadfast Oak, to signify her commitment to their quest.

Along the way, Galen and Nelwyn meet several brave-hearted individuals: the ranger Orogond, the High-Elf Galador, and the lore-master dwarf, Fima. There are others who they run across and for brief moments travel with, but these five are the principal characters beyond the main villain, Gorgon Elfhunter.

C.S. Marks' novel Elfhunter is compared to J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings Trilogy; however, Elfhunter is at its most engaging when it does not feel very Tolkiean. The pace always picks up when C.S. Marks manages to emerge past the Middle Earth influences and is simply being herself as an author creating her own unique vision. Sometimes there is so much similarity between Elfhunter and the Lord of the Rings that it becomes distracting from the story itself. Orogond sounds too much like Aragorn, both of whom are rangers with mysterious histories; Wrothgar the Dark One is a mirror of Sauron the Dark Lord; even the twisted villain, Gorgon, bares many of the same attributes with the wretched Gollum, as they both live underground, prefer darkness, and are tortured by a ring and its power over them.

However, when one looks past this light burrowing from the lore of Tolkien, one finds a nuanced fantasy world rich with Marks own personal imagination. Certain details stick out, such as the elves affinity for honey, which makes them drunk when eaten; and the Afterworld, where Galen travels several times along her quest. Some of the more interesting sections occurs when the P.O.V. takes on that of the horses Eros and Realta, ridden by Orogond and Galador respectively. It is odd, quirky moments like this that reveals much about Marks' own unique mindset. On the one hand, one may think that these P.O.V. switchs are probably unnecessary even though they add an essential flavor to the storytelling; at the same time, however, Orogond's steed Eros is one of the more complicated personalities in the novel, as he's an extremely intelligent, very mischievous animal so devoted to his master that he will do anything not to be left behind by him.

Though one feels a certain amount of energy in the characters, it is hard sometimes to tell many of them apart. Fantasy as a genre is more concept driven and less about characterization, and so a deficiency in well-developed characters is at times forgivable. However, it took more than half of the book before Galen and Nelwyn could truly be told apart, as they both are often described with the same words: independent minded, fiery tempered, and strong; both are excellent with bow and arrow, both move silently, and both basically have the same goal, and so the same motivation. At the end of the novel, I am still not sure that I know who either Galen or Nelwyn are, but I can at least point out different actions they've taken which helps me differentiate one from the other.

Ultimately, the villain Gorgon is the more interesting and most well-rounded individual in the story, and the novel is aptly named Elfhunter. He has the most defined motivations of any of the other characters, and a history that logically influences his present actions. In the last pages at the climatic final battle, Gorgon does something surprising yet realistic for his character, and readers will definitely appreciate this literary touch in this fantasy setting. Unfortunately, too many of the other people populating C.S. Marks' world feel like props meant solely to keep the action moving but with no true agency of their own.

Though Elfhunter has an engaging narrative, and obviously C.S. Marks is an excellent writer, there are some fundamental concerns with the prose itself. There are moments when Marks will build suspense with a genius touch, keeping the reader on the edge of their seat. Other times, however, she will tell you everything that is going to happen through exposition before it happens in the present moment, creating one too many anti-climatic scenes. Marks will exhibit fine pacing, such as when the heroes have their first battle with Gorgon, a truly superb scene. But then, other parts of the book will be rife with repetition, and the reader will hear the same back-story told two or three times through different P.O.V.s Particularly in the last hundred pages, when the action should be at its tightest, do readers instead get too much over-telling, as plans are relayed in detail by the characters to only be revealed again several pages later. This makes the last act in the book overly dense and at times laborious to read.

Overall, I am very impressed with what C.S. Marks has created. She has put great effort in the telling of this tale of Alterra, and it clearly shows. I would recommend anyone interested in fantasy to pick up Elfhunter, as it is an interesting, fun, engaging read.

A family member told me I would like this book and I am so glad that I picked up Elfhunter and read it. The story was very exciting and I really enjoyed the book. It's the kind of book that you will read more than once. While reading I really felt like I was in the story with the characters. This book would be suitable for older children too-there's nothing too "adult" for them to read about.

The book I received is nothing like the ludicrous, gushing reviews would have you believe. I'm appalled such a poorly written book is even for sale. Wooden prose, stale cliche plot. Uninteresting characters running around a nondescript world.

This cook book is gorgeous and affordable. Being a Philadelphia girl I love the opportunity to prepare meals by chefs from our famous restaurants Le Lec-fin and Fountain Restaurant to name a couple and Hope Fox makes it possible and not hard to do. Oh how proud we feel serving up one of Hope's beautiful recipes. And I had the pleasure to meet her at a book signing and she is as warm as her cream of porcini mushroom soup all the way from where I left my heart: San Francisco at Masa's.

Mary Jane Hurley Brant
www.wheneverydaymatters.com

First of all, I had to try to find some recipes that I wanted to try. They were a few, and they were pretty good, but there weren't that many! If I wanted oysters or unusual ingredients that I don't normally keep in my kitchen, maybe I would be more pleased, but for most cooks, it is all hype and not many usuable reipes. Sorry, I was "less than impressed".

Not only is Hope Fox great in person, but her book is even better than when I got the pitch in the Chicago airport! The way she explains making delightful and fancy dishes breaks it down and simplifies it so much! After reading some of my favorite food recipes such as cesar salad (my food drug! hehe) I thought to myself, "That's it??!?! I can totally make this! Great book and Hope is fabulous! I am so glad I met her! Such a gem!

Hope gave us the best recipes from the finest restaurants. With the market close at hand, and " Impress For Less " in our collection, we can experience dining excellence without making reservations or excuses. Thank you Hope!!

This is a wonderful cookbook. The recipes are easy to follow, and produce excellent results.

Tim Harrower provides a very practical guide to newspaper design. The art of newspaper design tends to be very subjective, so this book lays down some facts and guidelines to put to rest some of the indecisive elements of design.

For a beginner, this is a book that will give you the confidence and understanding to conquer page layout.

The CD gives the novice an even more practical guide than the book can deliver.

One criticism is that the book is printed on light gloss stock and is spiral bound. I am not sure how it was survive rough treatment.

Brian Hurst

This textbook is awesome. I've never seen a better textbook. It lays everything out, and makes it simple to understand. It tells you what to do and what not to do in simple language and clear pictures. It's one of few textbooks worth keeping for future use in your career (provided you're going into the newspaper industry)!

When I accepted my first "real" job in journalism as a page designer for a local weekly I was struck by a horrifying thought, I really knew nothing about newspaper design. I had done it before for my college paper, sure, but this was the big time. I needed a refresher course and I needed it fast... Tim Harrower and this spiral-bound book came to my rescue.

Although it was first published in 1989, this book will be relevant as long as newspapers exist, even in this age of computer design. Harrower explains and shows why certain designs are good and bad and he approaches it in a situational, problem-solving format. For example, he explains what should be done when you have to design a page with no art, when you have butting headlines, or two horizontal photos etc. Harrower says that most page designers stumble into the job and from this point of view he explains what exactly, a good design is. This book will always be on my desk.

(I wish my publications professor used this instead of the worthless $105 monstrosity he made us buy (and that we never used by the way).)

So, after some mild freaking out followed by a lot of reading, I can start my new job with confidence thanks to this book.

I ordered the hardbound and got the spiral bound, a product worth $12 less. It was then that I discovered there is no way to express a complaint to Amazon: no phone number, no email address, no human help. All that is available is a maze of pre-written web help, none of which includes "credit my account $12, since I don't want to go through the hassle of sending this book back." What's up, Amazon? Don't you want satisfied customers? I spend literally hundreds here each year. This egregious deficit needs to be fixed immediately. Otherwise, I highly recommend this book.

I am an editor these days.
I came on this book quite a few years ago when I was a sub. It was recommended to me by an old hand in the newspaper game.
Without doubt, it is the single best aquisition I have made in terms of newspaper design.
In the places I have worked, I have been regarded extremely highly for my layout skills.
This book, with a little creativity, is the basis of almost everything I do in terms of layout.
If you are serious about the newspaper game, get it, study it and then apply what you learn. It will help our career enormously.