Home Books

This is a very good companion book to Wines to Vines for the novice home winemaker. It is actually written in much more accessible language with a very nice flow to the information. I recommend this book for anyone embarking on home winemaking.

This is a well-written book detailing the steps for producing quality wines at home. I have made wine for several years now and I found many helpful suggestions to make my vintage even better. It works well for the novice as well as the veteran wine-maker.

If you want to make home made wine and you actually want to make something decent this book is great. You shouldn't really need another book.

I loved reading this book, Warrick really knows his wine-making. He explains when, how, and in what order to ad this and that, temperatures to keep, tools and equipement to buy etc., after reading this book, I feel that I have enough knowledge to make a few gallons of bubbly delicious red wine. This book is very comprehensive and easy to read with more than enough information to enable you to make wine.

This material takes you from the unpicked grape to the finished product. The importance of sanitizing equipment, what you should have and what you can do without are all covered. The only drawback is that fruits other than grapes are not mentioned. The author believes that non-grape wines are lesser than grape wines. As is true in just about any other field two winemakers will producr three or more opinions on each aspect of the art. This book does not agree with any other wine making information source thus it is very valuable. I would recommend this book to the beginning wine maker along with the several others offered for sale at Amazon (this is not a paid advertisement) such as The art of making wine. Remember that every one has their own point of view and do that which works for you.

Gardening At The Dragon's Gate is for the Earth Starved - I love gardening and do not take the time to do it enough; however, Wendy Johnson's well written, heartfelt, intelligent, humorous, historical and motivating novel has brought me back to my own love of the earth - Each day I read it, I vow to go back to dirty fingernails and the rich taste of earth dust as I crawl around digging and planting - This book rivets you back to your own lovely moments communing with your own garden, however great or small it might be - This book is informative too. I lived in San Francisco and visited Muir Beach and the area many times - I wish I had known of Green Gulch - I plan on visiting now - Any one who has any affinity to the earth, to gardening, to eco-consciousness and to living a life near the soil of their home will be completely pleased, and engrossed in this timely and lovely rich writing and teaching of how to love, and to care for our earth, simply by loving it where ever you are -

It's been a while since I have come across a book that I do not want to see end, and this is such a book.
I am about a third of the way through Gardening at the Dragon's Gate and already I am sad that it will eventually end. I do know, however, that once I have read it through I can have the pleasure of opening it at any point and enjoying it again, and again.
It is a book about gardening, about nature, about life, written beautifully, at times touching, at times funny. More than once I've found myself sitting on the bus reading it with tears suddenly stinging my eyes.
In fact, what am I doing sitting here, when I could be reading!?

This book is simply amazing, I could not wait for next time I could get into bed with it and a cup of tea and follow along with Wendy Johnson on her rich path of discovery through the garden and through life as a Zen person. The writing has a few too many words at times, but the fact that this was simultaneously a how-to book on gardening and a spiritual memoir full of deep Zen teachings makes it something very special. Wendy Johnson shows herself to be the real deal here, willing to take chances with her life and willing to get her hands dirty for the benefit of others and for the benefit of the planet.

This is more than a book about gardening. It is almost like reading poetry. For those of us who want to enjoy the language as much as the content, this books is most satisfying.

This beautifully written book is full of wisdom and good information. It is an inspiring work that has had me smiling as I read and looking forward to getting my hands dirty in the garden.

Our children used Saxon from 54 to 87, then moved on to advanced math, calculus and physics and they have excelled with this method. Although my background doesn't include an emphasis in math, my husband's education and professional life is steeped in mathematics. He's enthusiastic about Saxon because it creates a strong foundation in the subject.

Admittedly, solving 30+ problems a lesson can be a challenge, however, this process increases one's speed and accuracy over time and as my daughter said, it helped her "to make peace with math." Math is like learning how to play a musical instrument; it takes practice and self-discipline, but it's well worth the effort. Understanding math, like being proficient at reading and writing, is one of those practical skills that make life so much easier.

Using this incremental method of learning made homeschooling through high school a breeze and our college-age children sailed through their college math courses as well. In hindsight, it would be easy to choose it again.

The negative reviewers have a common thread. Words like dark, macabre, evil.

These people obviously did not come to consider buying a math book, or even to relate their experience with them, because they have none with Saxon, but instead came to do a hatchet job on books, methods and people who dare to rise up out of the herd.

My children missed the part about endless rote, and dead love of math. They learned with Saxon. They do mental math better than myself, in fact better than anyone I know.

The public school and progressive math books and teachers killed my 'love of math', if there ever was a 'love' of math. Most kids hate math. Even now. Even in public school. Even with pictures and fun teachers.

These books break down the math learning process into easy step by step pieces. Saxon gives a kid time to master basics before the whole class moves on leaving the ones who did not get it behind.

And if they're homeschooled like mine they can go at their own pace. Having succesfully taught four kids math may not qualify me as a 'professional' educator, thank god, but at least my kids did not have to suffer through under one of those.

I have gifted sons that used Saxon Math from 3rd grade through Advanced Math. Both boys did great using Saxon. My now 20 year old is a math Major in college. He was taking calculus in 10th grade. Highly recommend Saxon for gifted or not.

Ok so if you have a child who has a problem in math, or even if they don't but they like math, this is for you. actually this book is even good for parents and adults. You learn a lot and it's fun. Here is an equation that is not in this saxon math book or any other math book, here it is: saxon math=fun=learning lots of math and info.
this book is worth it. The first time that I saw this book I was in school and I got into a higher math gruop, I loved this book at first site!The other reason I love this book is beacuase you don't concentrate on one thing for a long time then move on, you learn it in the begining of the lesson and you do some of those problems but every thing is mixed up there is multiplication,division,subtraction ect.
If you buy this book you won't regret it! ;)

The entire Saxon math series is full of step by step instructions on how to solve problems. Whether you find this dull or not, the books do not offer the critical problem solving kids need to reach their full potential.

Its a decent book if you need something to teach formulas - especially for home schooled kids whos parents are not A+ math students - but it should be accompanied by REAL critical thinking word problems, not plug-and-chuggers.

Alone, this book falls well short of the bar, and you're likely to find your child hating math.

As a non-professional who has nonetheless colored her hair at home for many years, I didn't feel as if I got anything new out of this. Tips like, "prepare your area" and "use a protective cream around the hairline" are so basic, you'd have to be completely new to hair color not to know that. On the other hand, I've never been bold enough to attempt my own highlighting so I read through those sections to see if it was doable.

Unfortunately, the directions for various techniques were unclear and there weren't enough pictures to show what she meant. I still feel completely in the dark about how to highlight my own hair. The colors that you have to choose from are only a few for each shade range (dark brown, light brown, dark blonde, light blonde). If the color you want is not in the book, she won't show you how to achieve it. Also, your hair has to be virgin (not already colored) to follow her recipes. She does not even go into different options for coloring hair such as semi-permanent, demi-permanent, etc.. All recipes are for permanent hair color. I've actually learned quite a bit more about hair color reading and researching on the internet than by reading this book.

Overall, I am disappointed. At least the book makes a nice coffee table book for your girlfriend's to look through and I would recommend it to anyone who is completely new to coloring hair as it is definitely meant for the novice (except for the highlighting and advanced techniques which are suited only to professional stylists). Don't expect to find even a very basic explanation of the color wheel or underlying pigments. Overall, not what I expected. I was really hoping to find insider secrets but did not find them here.

I am mixed race (1/2 black, 1/2 white)with tab 3 hair (dark brown). I've used this book 3 times. Once to get the caramel color. Even though it wasn't recommended for my tab, I followed the directions *exactly* and got a beautiful color, soft and warm. Now it's winter, so I went darker, and did the milk chocolate with vanilla threads recipe. Once again, a beautiful result. Tonight I did my husband's hair, using the "Frosted Secret Sauce" on his tab 7 hair. He looks amazing, and perfectly natural. To achieve good results, this book absolutely *must* be read all the way through first. No turning straight to the recipes and jumping in headfirst. Successful hair coloring and insistence on instant gratification do not go hand in hand.

first, i wanted to reply to Elle, who said that she got orange hair from using the 'light blonde' dye reccomended to get 'caramel'. i also did the same thing, but with different results. though my hair didn't end up a perfect caramel, it did lighten it up nicely to a color that i've been getting lots of compliments on. i never would have used that store-bought color otherwise, as my hair is too dark to go 'light blonde'. but, since my tab was in the right section, i did. perhaps your hair was too dark or you left the color in for too long?

so, while it worked alright for me, i did find the book less than thrilling. again with the protecting your hairline, etc... very basic. i wanted insider tips, not the ABC's.

that being said, i liked all the different color options and will certainly experiment with other recipes in the book.

overall, it's a good thing to look at in the bookstore if you want new ideas, but i wouldn't exactly run out to buy it.

For the people who got bad results from the book, it is because they didn't carefully choose the right color for their original colored hair. You have to read the book carefully or else you will get the horrible results that they did. Like it says in the book, you have to find your OWND SHADE first. Anyways, if you read it carefully and have a little bit of imagination, it shares so many secrets. Lorri's recipes are brilliant.

I have never written a review in my life - but there's a first time for everything. I agree that this is a beautifully presented book. The photos look great and it all sounds so easy. It took me 3 days and visits to several stores to get all the equipment. Now, I am sitting here with the most obscene orange hair. I have an appointment tomorrow with a color correction specialist. Who knows what that will cost or how long it will take. So much for saving money doing it yourself. Take this book with a grain of salt. Be very careful as you proceed with her "recipes". I knew something didn't feel right when she said to buy Feria #100 "very light blond" in order to get "caramel" brown. I've learned my lesson. I will stick with the salon.

Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell is a trippy field trip to both the exciting and the mundane locations along the way to three presidential assassinations--Abraham Lincoln's, James Garfield's, and William McKinley's. Vowell, the NPR commentator, is forthright in her disdain for our current president, analyzing her feelings against the backdrop of those just crazy enough to commit murder for their ideology. Vowell is humorous and her opinions are clear without being overwrought, but more than anything she is informative. She's fascinated by presidential history, and reveals details both obscure and eye-popping. Even after reading Manhunt, the excellent analysis of Lincoln's murder by James Swanson, I still picked up new insights from Vowell, particularly the preponderance of evidence against Dr. Samuel Mudd, the doctor who assisted the fleeing John Wilkes Booth. The life of Garfield's killer, Charles Guiteau, is explored and the reader is acquainted with the odd Oneida Community cult of the 19th century. Guiteau was a frustrated failure at this free-sex community where he was often referred to as "Get Out" by the non consenting ladies. Finally, McKinley's murder in Buffalo (by Leon Czolgosz) is explored, a story which features the assassin's punch-out by a waiter and the dramatic ride of Theodore Roosevelt from the crest of the Adirondacks to take command of the country. A great read through-and-through, Assassination Vacation scores an A-.

I usually don't write reviews, but when i saw that this book didn't have 5 of 5 stars i was shocked! I loved it. Not only do I own the book, I own the author narrated audio version!

America needs more Sarah Vowell. Perhaps more importantly, I need more Sarah Vowell. I know this review won't exactly make me one of Amazon's Top Reviewers. Nevertheless, I'm just saying. Sarah Vowell, here's five stars -- for you.

I really enjoyed the first half of this book. It focused on Abraham Lincoln and took the author to some interesting places. I found it educational and entertaining, even though it isn't something that I would normally read about.

I am not that into recent American history, and that may be why I didn't enjoy the second half of the book as much. Presidents Garfield and McKinley aren't that interesting to me. I didn't think that it was any fault of the author, for she seems to really get into geeking out at historical sites, and likes things that make my eyes melt from the boredom.

I think the book is worth reading, just for the first half, and if you are interested in the other two men, you will enjoy it even more.

This book makes me want to throw my kids in the car and drive them as quickly as possible to the nearest historical memorial/museum/old graveyard/bronze plaque and giggle, tell stories, do ANYTHING other than fret over their brains turning to mush on a Webkinz/Sims diet. Assassination Vacation is not just history for a witty leftie reader. Can you imagine how someone in the future will write the history of OUR time? Do you want just the mentioning of a war in Iraq and details about the number of people who died, or do you want someone to read the part about missing weapons of mass destruction? If you're the kind of person who thinks details like missing WMD's makes the story of our time come alive, you'll really 'get' Assassination Vacation. And you might also learn to love James Garfield and his special, comfy reading chair, which is worth the price of purchase by itself. Great writing.

This is not a listen once, quick fix, instant success miracle audio series. However, it contains great information and "Habits" that, if you can integrate into your life, will vastly improve your effectiveness as a human being. I have listened to this set only a couple of times...I plan on hearing it again, and again, and again. You should do the same.

I have listend to the 3 disc set and now listening to the unabridged set. Do not waste your time and money on the 3 disc set for an initial training. The unabridged set has more information and examples and well worth the extra $. The 3 disc would be good for a reminder, but not for the initial training.

"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" is the most famous title of Stephen R. Covey, a professor of Brigham Young University where he taught prior to the publication of this best-selling work. The audio version became the first non-fiction audio-book in U.S. publishing history to sell more than one million copies. Covey holds a BS degree in Business Administration from University of Utah in Salt Lake City, an MBA from Harvard University, and a Doctorate of Religious Education (DRE) in Mormon Church History and Doctrine from Brigham Young University. He also holds membership of the Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity.

This audio program is mainly about the time management (chapters 1, 2, 3, 7) and interpersonal relationships (chapters 4, 5, 6). The time-management books like "Getting Things Done" by David Allen and "Time Drive" by Gleb Arkhangelsky frequently overlook the importance of interpersonal relationships in the time management.

Many of the ideas and much of the language of "The 7 Habits..." recast the content of the classic 1966 Peter F. Drucker book "The Effective Executive", wherein Drucker wrote: "Effectiveness, in other words, is a habit", and which includes a chapter called "First Things First".

Covey consistently opposes "quick-fix" solutions to life or business problems and insists that changes in paradigm or mindset to align with natural principles provide the "true" source of solutions. The author points out, for example, that the paradigm that produces short-term results in business inevitably leads to an inability to produce results for the long term. He calls this "killing the golden goose". Covey advocates balancing short- and long-term productive capacities as the most effective mindset for the businessperson.

While this is good, it was so wordy with quite a bit of monotone so it was difficult to stay with the audio. I would try the abridged version next time.

If you are looking for what my opinion is (because, of course, this morning you woke up and the first thing you thought was... what is the opinion of Alana Renfro?) the best motivational CDs out there- then stop your Amazon search and purchase the UNABRIDGED Audio Program of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Working on the creative side of agencies, corporate businesses and boutique clients, you discover that many creative people do not know how to prioritize what is truly important vs. urgent, begin with the end in mind, or follow-through on set commitments with a trustworthy set of principles and ethics. After all, advertising and marketing can be known for the opposite! Just youtube "ad agency spoof", like "The Truth in Ad Sales" video from the UK or "Truth in Advertising".

My husband is in finances, I am in the creative industry, yet we both are incredibly inspired by this series of CDs. It is applicable to anyone in any industry- you just basically need the interest to better yourself, your business or your personal life. I had read the book previously, my husband had not, yet we both have these CDs in our cars as we drive to and from work and are able to not only learn from Mr. Covey's calming and informative audio, but implement the practices into our personal and professional lives. Also being parents, we've found his insights into families, mission statements, the power of thought and his personal family examples hugely helpful for our children and our perspectives.

As a professional, a wife, a mother, and simply someone who has a drive to better myself and succeed, these Unabridged CDs have changed my life. My husband and I both use the planners, but most importantly- the Unabridged Audio Program of 13 CDs I highly recommend.

Very imformative book, reads easy, and makes information easy to remember.
When reading this book you know you are reading an educational book, but you feel like you are reading something for fun. I highly recommend this book to anyone planning on working with the public in the nursing field.

I'm a novice sewer and serger and found this book to be incredibly helpful on the topic of sewing/serging knits. I loved that this book offered different levels of accomplishment for the projects. The author did a great job of breaking down the steps to complete each task. There are many tips and techniques and this book is designed for both the advanced and beginner sewer. I know I will refer to this guide often and really appreciate this spiral binding that allows the book to lie flat. This is an essential addition to any sewing library.

This is a wonderful resource for sewers of all ages. I am always eager to learn how to do different things - not to mention more easily. I heartily recommend this book. Instructions are easy to follow.

this book is a lot of fun for anyone with a serger and the basics of sewing. you can make cute, quick garments using comfy jersey. i think even a beginner would be able to use this book. serging is so fast and easy. all of the patterns fit me great, super cute styles. can't wait for the next book!

The author's attitude that anything can be done--just try it, is liberating for any kind of sewing. Lots of good inspiration and just a good instruction book for knits.

This is a great book - I'm a "veteran" sewer and purchased it mostly for the patterns. But my thirty-something daughter LOVED the clear, concise explanations -- and it has inspired her.

This book is all you need to drywall. I found it to be very comprehensive, I learned more about the different thicknesses of drywall and the different types than I ever cared to know. It did its job though and provided enough info to drywall from start to finish.

I started out doing drywall back in 1980 and I've been doing it professionally ever since. I thought I knew everything, but Myron has shown me some methods that have improved my work. The guy who gave the 2 star review is right, it doesn't teach the pro mud applications and if you need to tape and mud 5 houses a week, you won't need this book. For the rest of us though, it really helps and I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn drywall and drywall finishing very highly.

My husand borrowed this book from the library and loved it so much he wanted me to buy it for him for Father's Day. He is in the process of finishing our basement and found it very helpful.

We bought this book to help us "finish" our garage with insulation and drywall. This book was great. We were first timers to this type of project. The book was very informative from choosing our supplies, tools we would need, all the way to taping and finishing off the joints. We were able to complete our project from start to finish with just the help of this book.

I would definitely recommend it to anyone taking on a drywall project for the first time.

I noticed that the 3rd Edition of this book has a copyright date of 2008 and the cover of the book notes that it is completely revised and updated. Any review written before 2008 is almost certainly for the second edition. The 3rd edition is a reasonably hefty 210 pages of content; it is printed on nice paper, is nicely organised, and has an index.

I am an experienced do-it-yourselfer and bought this book to get an update on the latest corner beads made of vinyl and some made of metal and paper. I also wanted a little more knowledge on available types of drywall and joint compounds.

This book is very comprehensive and covers drywall techniques, tools, and materials. Consistent with the reviews of the earlier edition(s), this book focuses almost exclusively on drywall (which is also consistent with its title). There is a section on soundproofing which I believe is very useful.

I would rate this book as a must read for anyone who wishes to learn about drywall techniques. The text is clear and there are many photographs to illustrate the points that the author is making.

I would have liked it if the author covered skip troweling but this is a little tricky to learn from a book (so this omission did not bother me much).

I already had a good amount of knowledge about drywall and this book has given me another step up in knowledge. I am completely satisfied with this book.

This was a wonderul little book that inspired my son and nephews to create several fairy houses down at our river. Not only did it inspire them but my nieghbor and myself found fairy logs as we call them and are creating fairy houses in our gardens. You will love all the different woodsy fairy houses found in this book. Using the outdoor elements to create each one was a great tool to teach kids about nature. Simply enchanting!

Anyone with an imaginative child with fairy aspirations will love this book! Share an architechtural adventure with your little one as the two of you build a home for your fairy.

Great natural photos. My pre school daughter loved the ideas and created her own fairy house by gathering natural elements from the woods. She adds to it every weeek.

I found this book to be inspiring when it came to the beautiful fairy houses depicted, but I have to agree with another reviewer, in that the photo quality is quite poor. The photo quality really takes away from the book and the book design is unappealing. There are annoying feathered borders on photos on graded colour backgrounds which is really distracting to the eye. It looks like the photographer used a macro lens with improper settings or without a tripod, either way most closeup photos are out of focus likely from using a shutter speed too low. I recommend a new edition with a different layout and better photography....then it would be spectacular. Overall, I was disappointed and hope they put out a better edition....this book could be a real gem.

This book is nice to look at and does give you some ideas about making your own fairy houses, but doesn't do anything in the way of "how to". In fact, there isn't much text at all. It would have been nice to know more about the project that inspired the book.