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Amazon.com great company to buy from. Prices, shipping, etc.
I was expecting a bit more in the book beings the movie was so good, did not hold my interest, but the price was good.

Get a peek of what is to come next in this novel without knowing you're seeing the future. Morrison's artistic lyrics are outstanding.

Beloved HAD to be written. The African-American tragedy is told here in a way that the slaves could not have articulated themselves - but here their souls cry out. True, Toni Morrison does not quite make this a total work of Art. The devices are too obvious as she fulfills this almost impossible task she has set herself. In this book you LIVE the destruction/denigration of life - in a way I cannot remember experiencing in any other book. The characters, especially Beloved, are symbols - and yet they are very real and quite fascinating too! These are vibrant, exciting people - and Morrison gives them a voice and makes them so real!

I read this book after reading The Known World and March so I had already had a good (better, actually) dose of reading about the inhumane conditions slaves lived under. This was a ho-hum book for me. I thought it was more work that it was worth and I wanted it over with and was glad when I finished it.

I was really struck by Morrison taking you inside the damaged spirit of some of the characters. You learn how they only let themselves love others a little as all things important to them will likely be taken away. You learn the significance of a star or a leaf to someone who has no joy in their life whatsoever. You come to understand why a mother would rather take the life of her child than subject it to a life of continuous degradation and misery.

The only thing worse than reading _Beloved_ (read my review of the novel) is listening to Morrison read it. She goes so s - l - o - w - l - y, and seems more impressed with her book than the reader. Quite frankly this book doesn't really demand this close of a reading.

Although trite to say, the best compliment a writer can have is having someone else make the text come to life, and this audio book is interesting only as an historical artifact.

This book is a wonderful resource for anyone that wants to 'green' up their housecleaning, and it also gives tons of ideas on uses for baking soda. I have been trying to eliminate harmful chemicals from my household as much as possible now that I have a little one on the way. This book along with Vinegar: Over 400 Various, Versatile, and Very Good Uses You've Probably Never Thought Of by the same auther, and Green Housekeeping by Ellen Sandbeck provide a well rounded reference for using natural products instead of chemicals for just about any job around the house from cleaning appliances, sinks, tubs and toilets, to cleaning jewelry and composting. Even if you only take a handful of the ideas from these books they are worth the investment. This book is set up so that you can easily look up a job you want to accomplish in the index and go right to the appropriate page.

Great little book with lots of cool info. on how to use common baking soda in ways you never dreamed possible. Perfect for anyone trying to do natural cleaning methods without using harsh chemicals.

If you are tired of using harmful or expensive products or just want to know some old-fashioned remedies, this is the book for you. As the title says, it contains over 500 ideas covering a wide variety of subjects-- stain removal, cooking, health problems, cleaning, even some organic pest control. I guarantee you will find many new uses for baking soda, even if you are already a believer in it's powers!

Great information and details on how to use baking soda instead of other less environmentally friendly cleaners.

Vicki Lansky's one-woman tribute to sodium bicarbonate boggles the mind. In her own mother's words, "Who would believe she could have come up with all these uses?"

Everyone knows you can cook with baking soda: it makes bread rise. It's a natural antacid. Dentists say you can brush your teeth with it. And it's quite common for to see an open box in the fridge for food odor absorption.

But did you know that fridge box is only good for 3 months? After that, its freshening properties are used up. Get another box. What to do with the used-up, old box? Well, Lansky's got ideas for that, such as sprinkling the powder around the soil of tomato plants to lower their acidity and discourage pests. I haven't tried this one, yet.

So, okay, I'm game. I tried a few of these `uses' and hard a darned good time doing it. My fiance thinks I'm nuts for getting so excited over baking soda, but likes that the product is undeniably cheap.

Playing with powder
Here are the ideas from the book that I tried, and how it all went.


* Laundry Booster - On the book's recommendation, I added a ½ cup to my washer load, along with my detergent. Not only did my colors and whites come out brighter, but even my workout clothes smelled nice when I took them out. Lanksy notes this boosting effect only works with liquid laundry detergents, however. I suspect the deodorizing effect works with either kind.

* Garbage Disposal Maintenance - When I noticed a stink arising from the disposal afer a weekend away, I immediately poured a ½ cup down the drain, followed by vinegar. It bubbled and frothed and took the nasty scent away. I didn't even need to run water after it.

* Garbage Can Odors - This one's easy - sprinkle over wet, nasty garbage to remove the odor. My take is that you need too much soda to really get the odor out. It's better to just take out the garbage. But I did find that sprinkling a little soda in the garbage can bottom, between changing the bags, was helpful.

* Carpet Cleaner - Sprinkle over the carpet and let sit overnight. Use a cheese shaker or flour sifter to spread it evenly - otherwise it either clumps, or all comes out at once. Vacuum in the morning. This old technique still works great. As the proud owner of two dogs, I can verify how well baking soda works to dissolve canine odor.

* Tarnished Silver - I tried two baking soda techniques for cleaning silver and was pleasantly surprised with both.

In the past, I used harsh-smelling chemical products, the kind that's impregnated in a wad of wool, to scrub, scrub, scrub my silver. The process was always messy and stinky. On really old, dirty, heirloom silver, it didn't even work at all, besides stripping away my silver plate to reveal the copper beneath.

Blech. These methods are MUCH better:

1. Baking soda and water, mixed into a paste, cleans the tarnish right away. Spread the goop all over your silver item, let it sit for ten minutes, then rub with your fingers (or an old toothbrush) until dirty baking soda paste falls away. Rinse, buff - and if necessary - repeat. This method cleaning and safely bids the grime begone from my stemware and plates.

2. The other method is great for utensils. Fill a plastic bucket, or your sink with hot water. Add a square of aluminum foil. Sprinkle your silver with baking soda, drop into hot water, and let sit 15 minutes. Take out the silver and buff with a soft cloth. My silver turned clean and shiny with very little effort!

I couldn't disagree more with the culinary student. Having been a hospitality manager for 15+ years plus a college instructor for 6 years, I found that Miller's advise is dead-on. The cases presented are real world too. Don't be deceived by the readability of this text. It is solid as a rock. He gives practical advise that you can refer to year after year. If you want empty theory, read someone else. If you want to learn from a master, buy this book. Miller is right when he says that management is an art. Whenever you are dealing with people, you can't turn to a formula. If you want science, go study chemistry. This book is about developing practical organizational and supervisory skills. There's nothing fluffy about it.

You can be the most organized person in the world and you will still run into difficulties when trying to communicate in an effective manner, recruit, train, evaluate performance, discipline, and delegate all at the same time. For anyone, it's a lot to have on your plate. This book makes it seem simple. It offers way to alleviate some of the frustration that comes with the job.

This textbook package contained "Supervision in the Hospitality Industry" 3rd Edition hard cover (ISBN# 0-471-19420-0) and National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation-NRAEF ProMGMT Student Workbook (ISBN# 0471-41305-4). Chapter 9 on performance evaluation was the greatest insight. A great learning tool to help focus my job development within the huge vacation/hospitality employer I work for here in Orlando, Florida.

As a culinary student in a reputable institute, I was presented this book to use as a textbook for my business management course. The structure was sufficient, focusing almost exclusively on the hospitality industry, but the content was not. The majority of the book deals with self-evident truths and situations that can best be solved by common sense, but instead Miller voices his opinion that when experience fails you, revert back to the management theories, most of which he denigrates, others that he blatantly misinterprets.

Miller also pens that "management at any level in an art", a statement that many would disagree with and should give some insights as to what the 10th grade, babble-filled prose is all about. For a management book, especially one for $..., I was expecting a more technical approach to managing - theories and illustrations also combined with charts and math, two aspects that are completely vacant in the textbook.

There is a general sense of the grim reality of the hospitality industry that I was relieved to see (two stars). There's mention of the low pay, hard work, and long hours that will inevitably come with the job, and the book maintains that thought throughout. Overall however, it's too much money, and too much time, for reading what I already know.

This is one of the best history books we have used in 6 years of home schooling. It is very thorough, well planned, covers information and activities appropriate to a variety of age levels. I wish I had used this text all along.

This is an impressive history book! It is a tome to be sure, even a bit intimidating for the younger grades, but it is easily adaptable to a wide range of age and ability levels. My 8-year-old son enjoys history, so he loves it, but I think the activities are interesting enough to engage less enthusiastic students, as well. It is also appropriate for much older students; the author, in fact, recommends going through the book in its entirety at different stages of a student's development. If you're looking for a great history series (this volume covers A.D. 29 through the Middle Ages)written from a Biblical worldview, you'd be hard-pressed to do better than this!

When I was looking for a history program to use with my son, I asked several families what program they used. Nine out of ten told me Mystery of History. When I asked why, I received a number of answers, but all said because it was so enjoyable and had such easy but interesting activities for elementary, middle school and high school students. My son never complains about history now. He looks forward to our daily reading and the easy activity that we do with it. We decided on making history cards rather than a timeline, which he can do on his own. He even looks forward to the tests and pretests at the end and beginning of each section. Everything that we need in one text, including maps.

I went through Volume I with my 7th & 4th graders and found it to be interesting, thorough enough without being overwhelming, and offering the opportunity to do as much or as little as you want on a daily basis with the addition of extra activities and projects. This volume surpasses the first volume, which was great.

My favorite aspect of her history courses are the pre- and post- tests scattered throughout the book. Never before have I seen a subject reviewed so constantly in such a fun way. My girls love to do the tests together as a form of competition to see who can remember the answer first in the post-tests and who can guess what the answer might be in the pre-tests. She whets their appetites for what is to come and keeps what has been fresh on their minds. In fact, the post-tests keep the subjects so fresh that by the end of the last topic in the book they still remember the first topic they studied. They are short and fun but require them to remember past lessons. What a joy!

My own complaint is that Volume 3 is not ready yet!! I will need it next year!!!

A book, for children and adults, shows us how a Roman city was built, from the ground up. First they make a plan, deciding on how many people will live in the city, where the forums will go, the roads, the walls, the markets, theater, amphitheater and temples. They bring the stone to make the walls and aqueducts. We see how people live in the city, as the book explores the homes, businesses, public spaces and sewer system. We get to see the final, complete, form of the city, full of busy streets, crowded markets, happy homes and tall walls.

I ordered this book for the purpose of understanding Roman constuction of a city. It is definitely an excellent source for those who wish to know how Rome may have organized it's sattelite cities. The books is concise and filled with illustrations to aid the reader in imagining what a Grand scheme a Roman Engineered city must have been (especially considering what setbacks in civilization would come later through the middle ages).

I really enjoyed this book, the only setback I have with it is that it is maybe too good at summarizing it's subject. It is a brief read, more belonging to the non-fiction section of a 'Young Adults' library than a history loving 'Adult'. It is a little...sanitized in Roman Rule, and skirts around the visciousness of Italy. One would be inclined to believe the Romans were peaceful while reading this, and forget that they were a civilization bent on subjugaition of foreign lands, and brutal in justice for all citizens. That is the only reason I hold back 1 star; there is much more that could be told, and considering the excellent detail the rest of the book gives, it could have abbreviated LESS in it's timeline, and the reader would have been much more in debt to the author for having done so. I want MORE!

A very good source of Roman city information. Well recommended.

The only reason I gave this book 4 stars rather than 5 is that David Macaulay has set the bar so high for himself over the years by writing and illustrating some real masterpieces such as Castle and Cathedral. City is also a great book, just not quite as amazing as others he has written. I bought this for my son, who has always been intrigued by construction projects, but I have also enjoyed it quite a bit.

When taken together as a collection, Macaulay's books, from Castle and Cathedral and Pyramid, Mill, Unbuilding, Mosque, and most definitely this one, City, create what is probably the most readable, retainable, and approachable exploration of the story of architecture that's out there. These books, each highlighting an era and a project, are all a lot of fun to look at, read, and think about, and in this volume, City, the foundation and construction of a Roman population center is detailed. From the explanation for why the Romans built cities from scratch, to the selection and preparation of the site, to the actual erection of a brand new city, Macaulay leaves nothing unexplored or unexplained. These books are as enjoyable for adults as they are for children, and are truly classics of our time.

In this book, David Macaulay expertly describes and illustrates the construction of the imaginary Roman city of Verbonia. It is based hundreds of real Roman cities built between 300 B.C. and A.D. 150. I was amazed at the planning that went into the city, and the systematic and precise manner that everything was managed. I was fascinated to learn how they built the aqueducts for the city's water supply, even going through hills, and the sewer system underground to keep the city sanitary. The architecture of the forum and baths was so intriguing. Of course, this might be expected from the author of "The Way Things Work"! His detailed drawings are fabulous. This a terrific book for learning about Roman cities in this time period and for studying the way the cities were put together to provide for all the needs of the inhabitants.

I switched from Mom's Family Calendar to Joan Goldner's Busy Body Book last year. Joan has created a "can't live without" product that is absolutely superior to your ordinary wall hanging calendar. I could NEVER fit everything my family does into the one tiny space of a rectangle that ordinary calendars give you. Our calendars ended up looking like an unreadable scribbled mess. Mom's Family Calendar introduced me to the grid system, which was a big improvement, and then the BBB (Busy Body Book) is a huge improvement upon that because I have more room to write all the details I need in each grid space, without having to refer to post-it notes (that inevitably fell off the calendar anyway) or numerous scraps of papers everywhere. There are pockets in the front and back for storing invitations and other important fliers you might need to keep for reference.

I am purchasing the academic BBB again this year, and will probably switch to the wall calendar next year, hopefully when it's academic version debuts.

If you have kids, an active family, this is the calendar for you. If you haven't ever tried a grid calendar system before, give yourself the gift of sanity and purchase the BBB. You won't ever go back.

This book is a lifesaver. We use the 5 columns for each family member and then leave the last column for misc. (there is only 4 of us) for the dog or a birthday coming up we need to remember, etc. It's a way for the parents to both be on the same page, in terms of schedules for work and school and activities. I seriously can't live without it. I've been torn this year about purchasing this one or their new wall calendar but have decided to go with the book again. I've sent this product link to many of my friends and quite a few have purchased and have thanked me immensely. You won't regret the purchase.

This book has been a real lifesaver for my family. The fact that it has 5 squares for each day of the week is great, each member of the family has their own square, there is enough room to write in school and sports information for the kids without having to have all the little slips of paper hanging out of the calendar. If you have an active family, this is the calendar/planner for you. Until I found this calendar, I could never keep all the kids sports schedules and school schedules together and keep everybody organized, after I found this calendar, the whole family knows where to look to find out what things are due at school, when they have practice and games, when mom and dad have meetings and appointments; it's all right there in the BusyBodyBook. Thanks so much to Joan Goldner for her great invention, it has been a lifesaver here and also to many of my friends now, I've got them hooked too.

I thought that this was a very good book especially for the novice carpenter or do-it-yourselfer. This book is very informative with easy to understand pictures and drawings. It does not go too in depth on certain subjects, but it is still everything you need to at least get started on a project. The only thing that I noticed as I was reading, was that a couple of the roof rafter calculations were incorrect, but they were not hard to figure out.

I have a ton of home improvement type books, since I am a pro handyman - largely self taught. This book is hard to get through. It is cumbersome and poorly organized. Not recommended.

This book provides good and valuable advice for those who, like me, have zero knowledge about the involved techniques for building a framed house. From beginning to the very last page, the book is full of color pictures and didatic explanations that help the reader feel confident enough to get started. As wood frame houses are not common in my country (it's pratically non existent) and as I am thinking of starting a business based on such construction technique, I am sure this material is providing me with the most important information. Strongly recommended!

I am not a carpenter nor in the building industry. I have built decks, but a building (shed) was beyond my ability. This book made it easy and I was able to understand all of the construction concepts presented. A very good resource for the money.

Lots og information in an easy to read layout. Well written and easy to flow. I plan on using the inforation to build my own cabin in northern Wisonsin.

It makes sense!!! If you want to save, you have to cut back on your spending and when you do spend, spend smart. Hmmmmmmm, what a novel idea in this day and age. Good book!

We heard about this great book from friends, bought it, and then bought five additional copies for our children. Common sennse ideas, but what we don't think about in our everyday lives, that can save big dollars over the course of short time.
I'd recommend this as a fine gift for your friends and family.
Also to be said, it's easy, quick and down to earth.

I'm age 70. Living Rich and Spending Smart has opened my eyes as to how much money I have thrown away. I hate this book. It makes me ashamed of myself. On the other hand, this knowledge will make living entirely on Social Security a lot easier.

This book is one of the best thing out there right now if you are not sure how to improve on your spending. And yes, because you will save money, you will be making better choices. The book is an easy-read, but intelligently written. It is a quick-read book, but very informative. It will not waste your time. I really liked the book. I found the book very valuable to me in every practical way. The author is extremely well-written and you will understand what he is talking about even if you may never have done the things he talks about. You will not alienated. You should take his advice to heart and start implementing his suggestions right away. Also, you don't have read everything. You can skip around and read what interests you. This book will definitely make you smarter. It is amazing. Very well-written. Everyone should have a copy.

After reading "The Millionaire Next Door" (one of my all-time favorites!), "Living Rich by Spending Smart" was an outstanding read. I really enjoyed the financial wisdom shared within this book. It really is amazing to think how simple it is to save significant money and yet how careless we can be throughout our days and months. This book contains some excellent tips on how to be smarter with your daily expenses, while still continuing to live an enjoyable lifestyle.

This book was a total page turnner and was a extremly good book! I recomend this book to any one and schools. I can't wait fir the next book FireStar!

For a moment after the student had gone, Bergstrom sat back staring at the door. Behind him the snowflakes swirled and landed, making small drifts on the thin-lipped sills. He rolled the talisman through his fingers, rubbing his thumb along the lenght of the shafot as if he was shaping a lump of clay. And then he muted voice, he spoke,"Stay close to them. Follow their auma." And what had been amorphous suddenly took shape. And the shape it made was that of a bear.
this story takes Place in the Artic the small house of the Pennykettles in #42 Wayward Cresent. Here lives Liz, her 11 year old daugter Lucy, and their tenant, David Rain who has just finished writing the book Snigger and the Nutbeast. David is a smart 21 year old that does not really believe in all the dragon stuff. Lucy is a very naive 11 year old that acts like a 6 year old. And Liz is a widowed landlord that carves dragons out of clay for a job. She also teached david and Lucy About Dragons.
After living at the Pennykettles for a while, David becomes acustomed to all of the dragons and the cat Bonington. but when he accidentally brings his classmate Zanna to the house,her auma causes all of the dragons in the house start to go haywire. David now must work together with LIz and Lucy to fight against any evil that comes their way.
The Title Ice fire comes from somthing in Liz's past that helps her create all of the dragons.
I loved this book! The pacing goes really fast from the very beginning. This book is different than most fantasy books because it has mystical creatures in the real world. The theme would be just like the first book to not judge things by how they look. This book is not in a Christian perspective because they talk about dragons and polar bears having to do with the creation of the world. I rank this book 5 out of five stars and think that any one who loves dragons or fantasy genres should read this book.

In this incredible sequel to The Fire Within By Chis D'Lacey, David has to learn more about what happened along time ago to the last living dragon Gawain and where his fire tear(scale) is. At the beginning of the book David is trying to find a publisher to publish his book Snigger. David is a college student living with two people Liz and Lucy. While David is living with them, Lucy makes David a wishing dragon. Then David goes to a professor named Dr. Bergstrom gives him and essay to write about dragons. Lucy and Liz are telling David stories about dragons from along time ago. They tell him about one dragon named Gawain that lost a scale. Then David wishes with the dragon that he could find the scale. Then he meets a Goth girl names Zanna. She becomes David friend she knows a little about dragons. If David does the best on his essay he will get to go to the Arctic for free and not have to pay the $700. After Zanna comes in Liz's mother or Aunty Gwyneth comes over. Then David has to live with the neighbor Henry Bacon. Then David learns that Dr. Bergstrom went to the Arctic. Will David find the scale? Why has Aunty Gwyneth come? Will David go to the Arctic? You will have to read the book to find out.

this book was thrilling and exciting, and i would highly recommedt it to children between the ages of 9 and 14!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this fantastic book provides more informations on davids knowledge of dragons. He even learns how to speak dragontoungue which provides more suspense to this action packed adenture

This is a wonderful guide to planning and developing a perennial garden. The author gives examples for numerous planting condition,such as shade, sand, clay. I can't wait for spring!

Being pretty new to perennials but having read many books I was having sort of a writers block when it came to WHAT to put in my new garden.

I knew all about HOW but with so many choices I was overwhelmed!

This book has a good number of templates to give you a jump start and many outstanding photos of combinations of flowers that work together. In fact this has some of the best photos I have ever seen in a garden book.

It also covers difficult situations like what works in Heavy Clay and wet sites an so forth.

My plan was a butterfly garden and they had the perfect template for a 12x8 garden.

Excellent book for beginners or people that are looking for new combinations!! My fav book so far. (out of the 30 I have looked at).

One of the drawbacks of buying gardening books online is that you can't see the photos. If I had thumbed through this book I don't think I would have purchased it. Not that it doesn't have a lot of good information and ideas. It's just that the photos are, for the most part, awful. The color is garish and over-saturated and the images actually look blurry. Also, many of the plant combo photos are very close up, which doesn't help when you are trying to figure out how to place your perennials when planting. For me, a good gardening book has to not only give useful information and how-tos (which this book does for the most part), but it has to inspire with lovely photos! And that is where this book fails.

Although I have a plethora of gardening books, this one stands out as one of my favorites. It shows a picture example on every page. It has planting diagrams (garden plans) so you can duplicate what you see and it gives a lot of information about the plants. It's the best of both worlds - you can use the information and get creative, or follow the plans and duplicate what you see. Either way, you'll have a great garden!
Although I've been gardening for a good many years, it's nice to have a reference as to how things will look together, instead of my usual "plant it here and hope for the best" approach! I'm tired of moving my plants every year.
I bought my book over the winter and it's a great "dream" book. Now I can't wait till I can get out there and put it all to good use!

This book was (is) a big disappointment, containing as it does nothing new regarding perennnial combining that isn't covered in at least a dozen or more recent and more interesting books, not to mention the classics. This is perennial combining 202 with no spark of imagination in the pairings that can make a garden jump for joy. The photography is so ordinary and the color is extremly garish. Is that due to the Digital Imaging Specialists Dale Mack and Jane Ramsey or what? I can find no photographic credits (except for the cover) which is probably just as well. Obviously in a book this size (351 pages), from someone who is as accomplished as Mr. Burrell, there is useful information to be gleaned but I already have books that serve that purpose. If I had seen this in a book store, having thumbed through it for a few moments, I would never have bought it. However, if you are just beginning your library of perennial books this one may be useful to you.