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this book gave me a lot of simple solutions for my garden. i recommend it, highly.

I gave one of these to my gardener mother who liked it so much she asked me to order another for her to give to my gardener brother! Since I'm the non-gardener in the family I can't report on why the book is so helpful, but I understand it offered solutions for some special problems that could not be found elsewhere.

If you have a problem in your garden , this book will solve it. You would be surprised what you can do with products you have sitting around in the cabinet and fridge.

I am enjoying this book very much. It has all kinds of solutions to problems I have in my garden.
I will be using this book for years to come..

I would read this book even if I didn't have a garden! It is more than informative. I feel like I am listening to a favorite uncle telling stories of the good ol" days and how things were done simply and effectively. I love this book and highly recommend it. -Mary

I haven't read the whole book, but from the excerpts I have read, Everest covers a very broad range of topics at at least an acceptable level. Any related topic I've wanted to look up so far has good and relevant material. I'd call this best studio/acoustics design reference book I've seen so far. Well worth the price.

this book is an excellent overview and introspection into the world of usable acoustics. it tends to focus on the applicable, everyday world of acoustics instead of the completely theoretical--which was a huge help in my Church production job.
i highly recommend it as a reference text and background book to anyone in music production.

I have found this a very usefull and well written book. It is being used as a reference for a college course I am studying. It does require some knowledge of electronic principles but is clear and understandable. I would recommend it to any serious student of sound and acoustics.

There are two common definitions of the word "acoustics." The most general is "an area of physics dealing with sound and sound waves" and the second is "the qualities of a room that determine audibility and fidelity of sound in it." This book is a very good reference for the latter, but if you're looking for the former, look elsewhere. Also, I'm not sure I would describe it as a Handbook, but rather as a reference text.

It is good for what it does cover and is relatively easy to read.

A great book, but can be too advanced for some. A lot of physics is included - which is great - but perhaps some previous knowledge or some side reading is a good idea.

Over all, excellent book, and a goldmine to buy.

No as good as her book called EAT SHOOTS and LEAVES, but was still funny and a good read

I sang the praises of Ms. Truss after "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" gave us her thoughts on punctuation but I must strenuously object to this pretense at the same treatment of manners. It is depressing, it is judgmental and pessimistic, and it is hypocritical. After whining for chapters about how rudeness stems from the fact that people don't really care for each other any more, she reveals her happiest dream: A world where she can walk down the street, get on the tube, and move about a city where there are no pedestrians or traffic. In other words, her ideal world consists of no people! She is a misanthropist of the angriest sort. The only saving quality to justify reading the book is that it was a relief to close it, go out into the world, and notice that schoolchildren did NOT routinely bump into me, throwing garbage on the ground and shouting "Eff off!" The contrast between the universe full of bores that Ms. Truss occupies and my world seems excellent evidence of the idea that life is what you make it.

P.S. What is the deal with writing "eff" so many times? If you would like to demonstrate how shocked you are by language, should you not employ the shocking tool of effing writing it out? We're all grownups here....

Frankly, I'm surprised that a book about how rude people have become is only 200 pages.

After her hilarious book about punctuation, Lynne Truss has assembled all of her crotchety old woman-styled rantings and ravings into a very intelligent and well-researched book on how we, as a society, are getting ruder. I expected nothing less; after all, before her, `hilarious' and `punctuation' were two words I didn't think went very well together.

The new collection, "Talk to the Hand," is a brilliant book for anyone who has ever passive-aggressively dreamt about backhanding someone for lacking manners. The book details 6 different behaviors people have begun exhibiting more and more that are leading to the death of the world and what we should do (if we can do anything) to combat these behaviors. Rather than a self-help angle, though, Truss focuses more on the root causes of the rise in these behaviors, and offers her own theories, which involve most of the usual grumpy old people answers like television, mobile phones, the internet, etc.

Sure, it may not have as much to offer in the way of life advice as her last, but even if you're not a grouchy person who mourns the death of manners, you're bound to enjoy the prose in this piece. Truss' trademark subversive wit and sardonic jibes kept me laughing all the way through; she's like a humorous grandmother spouting off about youth today and why they suck, but she's younger and a lot less illogical.

I did not enjoy this book. It read to me as an undisciplined rave with no depth, few interesting illustrations, and no wider vision or philosophical comment to make. One might at least have hoped for some interesting vocabulary to redeem it, but one hoped in vain. Truss writes about rudeness, and yet I consider it an impertinence to bother us with such an uninformed rant. She was highly entertaining in "Eats Shoots and Leaves", and has assumed that she can write what she likes thereafter and still make sales.
I was bored with her self-indulgence and couldn't finish it fast enough. She was trying to be funny and failing to succeed.

I found this book very interesting, and I believe it meant a lot to me because I see the lack of courtesy today as an indication of the looming decay of civilization! My blood pressure goes up when I hold open a door and people walk past me as if I wasn't there. I rant for hours after somebody throws a cigarette butt on the ground.

I was surprised so many people did not enjoy it. My guess is that the people who did not enjoy the book aren't bothered or worried about the rudeness in our culture. It's surprising to me, but there must be a lot of people who don't see a problem with the current state of courtesy. Those people wouldn't like this book.

So, if you think people are generally rude, and there are deeper implications associated with rudeness, I think you will like this book. If you do not think rudeness is a problem or that it's not a serious problem, you will probably think Ms. Truss is crazy.

I have only had the chance to peruse this book lightly thus far. From what I can see in the table of contents and thumbing through, the book covers most of the topics I'm interested in. Due to personal duties which require my immediate attention, I've not had time to give it my full attention. But once able to read further, I will be more than happy to update my findings.

I like the book. It shows different remedies that the plant can provide for any problems such as: headaches, mentrual cramps, fatigue, diarrhea, you name it. And it shows how you can make the remedies at home. Buy it, It's a really good book!

I bought this as a Christmas gift for my grandpa. It was in excellent condition, so I felt very good about giving it as a gift. Thank you. And Merry Christmas!

There is alot of information about the herbs and what forms they are best used in. It was hard to figure out what they should or should not be used for and finding an herb you are looking for is nearly impossible without knowing specific names. The listings are under the scientific name making it hard for someone like me just starting to learn to find anything in the book.

Excellent book with a great pictures.Very accurate.A piece of art mixed with a great database of medicinal plants and wonderful reviews about it.
Very high recommended for beginners and professionals.

We love being able to listen to Susan Wise Bauer's Story of the World: Modern History, whenever we're in the car. Jim Weiss reads so well - he uses different accents to make the story come alive and is very easy to listen to. My whole family can't wait for the next instalment when the CD player goes on in the car.

We are a homeschooling family. I Love this whole series! I have all of them on CD which is great because we take them in the van with us. You can listen to them over and over and really remember it that way. They are Told kind of like a story so it holds your interest. I have 5 kiddos and I find they all enjoy and learn from these. I am learning alot too :)

Jerry Spinelli's "Stargirl" may be my favorite book of all time. It's not only a well told tale about individuality and innocent love, it's also a completely transforming read to the people who became engrossed with the character of Stargirl Caraway and her outlook on life. I enjoyed the book so much that I purchased "Love, Stargirl" (the sequel) before I even finished the first book. But then it sat on my shelf, unread for months. I was actually nervous about reading it. Maybe I was scared that the mystery and intrigue of Stargirl would be ruined, as this book is told through her point of view. Maybe I was unsure that Spinelli could recreate the magic that the first novel sparkled with. Whatever the reason was, I forgot it by the time I was a quarter-way into this book, as I was mesmerized by the new ways that Stargirl and the cast of characters that surround her could captivate me.

The character does lose a bit of the mysterious air she had about her in the first book, but that's not a bad thing. The first book was told through Leo's point of view, and since he was a regular, "normal kid," the reader also kind of pictures themselves in Leo's shoes when they meet the out-of-this-world Stargirl. I know I did. And this book is sort of like a letter to Leo, as well as the normal readers who loved but never really fully understood her... but now we get a chance to. We see her interact with a large cast of quirky and heartbreaking characters, all who have their own wonderful stories to tell.

It's a light read in some ways and heavy in others. It'll constantly move you, bring you to tears every so pages, and might just change the way you look at things. This book, and Stargirl, is simply a celebration of living in the now.

10/10 Classic.

I loved Stargirl, the first book, because it had a point, it taught us something about the way we treat each other, and the way we should treat each other. It challenged us to look beyond appearances and assumptions, to appreciate differences.

Love, Stargirl, has none of that depth. It is about Stargirl pining for her old boyfriend, a boy who really did not treat her well anyway. Yes, she does crazy things in a very Stargirl fashion, yes, she makes new friends, all of them on the fringe in their own way, but the book simply does not touch the reader in the same way as the first book.

Perhaps if, as one other reviewer seems to be, you are in love with Stargirl the character, not Stargirl the message, you will enjoy this book, because that is all it is, Stargirl the character, and her very typical teenage thoughts. However, if, like me, you appreciated the message that the character brought, then you can skip Love, Stargirl, because it's just not there.

Jerry Spinelli's LOVE, STARGIRL tells what happens when Stargirl moves from Arizona and leaves her boyfriend beyond for a new home in Pennsylvania, where she faces a new school and possible new friendships. Fans of STARGIRL will find it a moving story of change, told in Stargirl's own 'voice'.

I have to admit I was a little disappointed in Love, Stargirl. I was expecting it to be very similar to Stargirl. I found it to be very different. Stargirl was written from Leo's point-of-view, whereas Love, Stargirl is written from Stargirl's point-of-view. This book finds Stargirl pining over missing Leo. It also takes some of the mystery out of Stargirl. I didn't feel the magic the first book portrayed. Aside from all of that, it is a good book for 5th through 7th grade girls. There are lessons to be learned from Stargirl.

After reading and enjoying Stargirl, I was so excited to learn the sequel was available. Love, Stargirl is just as interesting and entertaining as Stargirl and will leave you begging for a third Stargirl book. Jerry Spinelli captures readers' hearts once again will his quirky, but interesting characters. Loved it!

I note that there is only one other somewhat unfavorable review of this book. I'll say the one nice thing first -- Martin's writing is "pretty." When he describes something, I get a good picture of it in my head. Unfortunately, he uses lengthy descriptive passages of minor events that don't build the story line; it almost seems like filler and can be very boring. His characters are not to be believed. His story line is not believable. What happened to the mothers of these two boys? Why would the mothers give them up so easily? Where were the police when Miss Ella was beaten silly by Rex??? Where was social services when the boys were beaten silly by Rex??? Why didn't Mose beat the heck out of Rex??? Did the two boys stay in the house all the time by themselves, only visited by Miss Ella during the day? Come on. I've read several of Charles Martin's books. I'm beginning to think he had a horrible childhood because he either never mentions characters' parents in his books, or when he does, they are unbelievably abusive. Should have borrowed this one from the library. Wasn't worth the $$$$.

Wrapped in Rain by Charles Martin was difficult to get into, to be honest. I picked it up about two years ago, but when about 60 pages into it, I knew more about a truck-stop prostitute (who was an oversized prop--and when I say oversized, I mean oversized) than I did the story itself, I put it back down. But on the encouragement of a friend, I tried again. I'm glad I did.

Wrapped in Rain is about Tucker Mason and his brother Matthew (a.k.a. Mutt) coming to terms with their messed-up past (namely, a father who's frequent absences was preferred to his abusive presence), forgiving daily, and learning to freely love. The only redeeming aspect of their childhood was Miss Ella Rain, their nanny/housekeeper, who loved them as if they were her own and who fought for them when they couldn't fight anymore.

The story begins when Mutt, who suffers from a personality disorder because of his past, escapes from the mental health facility. At the same time, Tucker runs into his childhood girlfriend, Katie, and her son, Jase, on the run from Katie's husband, who's been abusing them. Reunited, Tucker, Katie, Mutt, and now Jase, learn to live together, love each other, and work through their issues.

The prose is flawless and beautiful, although at times superfluous (i.e. the description of the truck-stop prostitute and other well-written but long descriptions of local color). Sometimes the story seems too convenient (i.e. how Tucker runs into Katie and the subplot of Katie running from her ex, which wraps up too neatly, I think), but the emotions and inner struggle encapsulates what it means to forgive every day. Because of the nature of the story, backstory is integral, but it's overwhelming. At times it felt a little like this: I walked through the field. It reminded me of the time when...backstory...On the other side, I met Katie...then Katie shares her backstory through one-sided dialogue...We walked back together like we did that day when we were...another backstory.

I'm exaggerating. Slightly.

All in all, I'm glad I gave the story another try, and I'll read more Charles Martin because I like the flow of his prose and the development of his main characters. The prologue in the beginning kept me going through the slow story development. If you're willing to persevere through the beginning, I recommend it.

This was such a unique book. It wasn't close to what I expected. Two boys, who live with their father in Alabama, are pretty much raised by their housekeeper, Ella Rain. Their father is very abusive and it impacts the boys life in drastic ways. Tucker, a photographer, is running from himself and the person he does not want to become. Mutt is in a mental hospital dealing with his demons and the voices inside his head. When Mutt escapes from the hospital and Katie, an old girlfriend, appears with her son and a black eye, Tucker is forced to return home and face his tragic past. This books brings faith and hope together with great character development and a very unique story line. One of those I whipped through and did not want to put down.

I don't too often rave about a book I've read but this is one of those you just have to rave about and share with others. I am an avid reader and read probably 2-4 books a week. I read secular and inspirational and I have to say this author moved to the top of my list as must reads. The book is loaded with humor and wit, sadness, love; no, this isn't a romance though there is a little romance going on but mostly it's several people who have been damaged by life and how the love and prayers of a black house keeper and nanny affected the lives of 2 boys. This is about forgiveness and how God worked to bring these lives together and heal them. It's not a preachy book though there is one chapter of a Catholic priest who says more profound words in a few minutes than many preachers I've heard who preach an hour. The characters are all so delightful to read about and I wanted to read more of them when it ended.

Jase, the little boy in the story is so adorable and I loved his relationship with Tucker. Then there is poor "Mutt" damaged so much by the past. Yet he is a delightful character. Of course probably the most important character was Miss Ella who loved these boys and prayed them through life and took beatings from the abusive father but still wouldn't leave the boys.

Towards the end of the book, Tucker is talking to God and says it all. "WE had 33 years of misery, bitterness, and hell, but you were right. Whipped, battered and beaten, love broke through the rocks. I don't know how, but it did. I guess that's the mystery of it all." It will be worth your time to read the book to find how all of this took place.

I got this book from the library but loved it so much, I ordered it to have my own copy because I know I will read it again and lend it to friends. I have pre-ordered Mr Martin's next book, "Where the River Ends" due out in July. This is one author really worth your time to read.

Found the story line to be a little far fetched, especially a person being sent home from a mental hospital with 2 injectable shots of Thorazine and a bottle of so called pills.

The very explicate descriptions of a situation or a view I found to be long, they could have been more to the point.

I had a hard time in reading the story and I had to force myself to finish.

The best and toughest little electrician's pocket reference that I've seen. I've been through three of them during the past 15 years. The "spiral" plastic sheet binder tended to break after extended abuse over time, so I spot glued the binder ring laps on this new book with E-6000 glue.

My husband just graduated and starting new job - he wanted this for reference book. Book in great condition and shipped in a timely manner.

Good manual not for beginners, but it could help for some. Very thorough and planned out.

To much information to even start. It has many, many tables, charts, examples, general information, math, trigonometry, NEC exception references and of course stuff like derating factors, conduit fill, device fill, electrode conductor size ohms law, Henry's law, Kirchoff's law on and on and on.

Let's put it this way, it takes up less space than the NEC and has almost the same amount of info that is not normally used (conduit fill and conductor properties for example).

My husband had me purhase this for him for work. He is an Electrial Maintance Mechanic. He says this is a quick way to figure out problems at work. A must have.

This book is very helpful and applicable to the real world. It goes through good examples to get a grasp of the development process.

Required reading for a construction management course.

The book was shrink wrapped but it was damaged. Not sure if it was the fault of the publisher or the seller but in either case I expected a better product.

"Write about what you know," is an old axiom for would-be authors. Janisse Ray takes this to heart in "Ecology of a Cracker Childhood." Part autobiography and childhood memoir and part an ecology of plants and animals, this is a wonderful tale that successfully blends both.

Janisse Ray is writing about what she knows best. The human dimension to her tale is a tale of growing up with her family in the natural world. The family home sits in the middle of a junkyard along old Route 1 in southeastern Georgia in a forest of longleaf pine. It is a coming of age story, where she is clearly destined for a horizon beyond the junkyard in the pines.

She is solidly grounded in her childhood environment, low on the affluence scale, but one which has prepared her well for life. "Ecology of a Cracker Childhood" conveys a great sense of place and will give the reader a newfound respect for a forest of longleaf pine.

I bought this book at the Visitor Center at the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, not all that far from Baxley, Georgia. I am glad they stocked it in the store. Reading this put me on to "Pinhook," her next work which I also recommend.

We noticed when we moved south to Georgia some twenty-five years ago that in many ways we'd dropped back in time. Janisse Ray was born in 1962; it may as well have been 1932. I thank her for sharing her knowledge of the flora and critters around her - many now gone forever. Whenever I see a long-leaf pine from now on, I will treasure the sight.

All of Janisse's work, but most especially Cracker Childhood, is so very much a snapshot of South Georgia. She grabs you, her reader, by the hand and transports you to her South -- a South where Gone with the Wind is just another goofy movie starring a British actress, a South where Faulkner defied and defined a culture, a South where loggers are systematically erasing the long-leaf pines that once embraced elemental hard-scrabble lives. If you are game for an adventurous romp through dismal swamps, junk yards, and back woods then this is the read for you. Once you take it up you will be loathe to put it down.
Thank you, Janisse, for a wonderful trip!

"Ecology of a Cracker Childhood" is probably the most moving autobiography I've ever read. By turns heartbreaking, inspirational, and motivational, Ray's story is one of an outsider in every respect; the daughter of a junkyard owner in rural Georgia, she faces a number of obstacles including her father's precarious mental stability. Looking back with a mix of fondness and acceptance rather than anger, Ray looks at how her environment (built and natural, as well as home) shaped who she became. Ray intersperses the book with chapters on long-leaf pines, gopher tortoises, and other uniquely Southern flora and fauna that is endangered and rapidly disappearing. While it may be jarring to the reader, Ray is making a larger point; we are forcing the environment to adapt or die to suit our needs rather than adapting to the environment. Ray writes lovingly of how nature slowly reclaims the wrecked hulks of cars in her father's junkyard; nature slowly, steadily winning over man and man's folly. Along the way she recounts unusual tales of her difficult path to adulthood that are profoundly moving. In some respects the chapters are by turns explanations and a badge of honor rather than excuses. Her recounting of a rare visit to the North will likely register profoundly with any Southerner who has ventured there. Perhaps it is because Ray and I are the same age or perhaps because our backgrounds are eerily similar, but I feel a connection and a deeper understanding and appreciation for where she's coming from and who she is. Ray is unabashedly unapologetic and "Ecology" will alternately move you to fits of laughter and sometimes nearly to tears, but it will not leave you unmoved.

This book combines a nostalgic autobiographical look at the author's childhood in the 1960s and 70s in Baxley, a small town located in the coastal plains of Georgia, with an examination of the deteriorating ecosystem of the region, in particular longleaf pine forests. The flow of the book is decidedly non-chronological as she interleaves various family vignettes with commentary on a range of environmental concerns, often focusing on the huge reduction in various animals of the region such as the red-cockaded woodpecker, the gopher tortoise, or the indigo snake and the relationship to the loss of longleaf pines. Ultimately, it is left to the reader to draw the connection between cracker culture and the ecosystem.

The author traces her roots to Borderlanders, of English-Scottish origin, who settled the region in the early 19th century. They were known as "crackers" which has become synonymous with "redneck." She grew up on the side of US-1, the main North-South highway of the time, in a clapboard house situated in the midst of her father's junkyard. That was the playground and learning environment for the author and her siblings, seldom having much interaction with others.

The author holds her father Franklin, named after Pres Roosevelt, in great esteem. As were many in rural areas, he was a tinkerer and seat-of-the-pants mechanic and a supplier of used parts to similar persons. He was also a religious fundamentalist, driving his family many miles to attend services of a small, predominately black sect. He enforced rigid standards of dress and behavior on the entire family. However, he also was inclined to aid the downtrodden and hurt, either man or animal. Though the family seemed rather poor, a contradiction is that on at least two occasions her father bought tracts of land.

As perceptive as the author undoubtedly is, she turns a mostly accepting eye to a culture that was most assuredly ignorant. Her father and grandfather, Charlie, were men of violence, Charlie having a reputation of having beaten any number of men half to death. Frank was quick with the strap, seeing fit to administer whippings for the mere observance of a boy killing a turtle that had clamped down on his shoe. The author had to hide from her father the reading of books or the watching of television at her grandmother's. Both her father and grandfather were admitted to the hospital in Millegeville, GA for the insane for a relatively short period. One wonders if cracker culture itself contributes to unstable behavior.

In addition, for a book concerning the culture of 1960's rural Georgia, there is a puzzling absence of any commentary on race relations, other than attending church. There is little in the author's recall of her childhood that suggests how she managed to end up at a small college in north Georgia on scholarship - was it because of her childhood environment or despite it?

The environmental destruction of the coastal plains predated the author's birth by several generations. Like many from rural areas, the author was comfortable with plants and animals. But neither she, her father, or their neighbors were in any sense environmentalists. Undoubtedly, her past made her gravitation to the subject in college a not unnatural development. But her growth to environmental activist is absent in this book. It seems to be assumed that the reader will understand such a trajectory.

The book is spotty, vague, and even at times seems like a fairy tale. The author's recall of climbing trees and laying on the ground communing with nature as a child is undoubtedly now viewed through poetic license. In a not untypical approach, she chooses to discuss the ecosystem by having lightning, clouds, and trees hold a discussion about their roles. It's difficult to pinpoint what the author is attempting to convey in her reminisces about her childhood with good-natured, yet violent and ignorant, people and her focus on ecology. Her discussions of clear-cutting old-growth forests and replacing them with tightly packed, quickly growing, and environment-killing tree farms is not well tied to "cracker" culture. Nor is she inclined to search for culprits.

Does cracker culture exist today? Should the reader be alarmed or appreciative? Is cracker culture a hazard to our environment? The author seems to be leaving the answer to questions like these to the reader. Some might well expect more from the author.