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This was a nice light read but was still full of great information. I HIGHLY recommend it! It's a great comprehensive overview of preparedness, you could even call it a 'primer'. I found it to be a great book for someone just starting out. If you're experienced in preparedness that book may seem elementary to you but you also might find a few things you haven't thought of. It's certainly worth the investment

Another big plus with this title is that it doesn't lean heavily on one area or another like so many other preparedness books. I have about a dozen different titles and some of them lean heavily on food storage or off grid skills.

The type of information included does not get outdated. This is important to consider in preparedness books. I've seen several that were Y2K based (or other outdated concerns).

Each chapter has a section at the end telling how you can involve children in the process which I found quite useful. There is also an appendix of about a dozen forms that will come in quite useful in your preparedness process.

There are a few items that make this book worth holding onto long term as opposed to reading, assimilating the info, and passing it on.

Bought this as a gift. Seemed to be appropriate. Easy to read and follow.

If you've done any research on the web about emergency preparedness, you already know much of what's in this book. It might be good for a family or individual with no prior consideration of the issue, however.

A lot of the information is common sense, but there were many suggestions that I had not thought of before. I would definitely recommend it to everyone, and will likely give this book as gifts this Christmas to my family members.

First - this is NOT a complete book on disaster preparedness. It is a book on how to organize your belongings and information in case of disaster - period. In that respect it is excellent. It is an essential part of a disaster preparedness library but you will need other books that cover other topics.

This well-written resource helps woman seeking opportunities to bring in an income while staying home. The author profiles a wide spectrum of options for both the highly educated and uneducated women. She offers tips on the transition from workplace to home and prepares ladies for some of the problems they might encounter with a home business. She also discusses the nasty topic of taxes and bookkeeping. The book also contains wisdom about recognizing work-at-home scams.

This is not a polemic against daycare or feminism but rather a handbook for those considering a change to "home work" for a variety of reasons.

It is written from a Christian perspective and supports a conservative Christian view of family structure, but it would nevertheless be helpful to non-Christians looking for ideas as well as Christians.

I highly recommend this resource to families who need to add additional income to the household but want to keep one parent in the home.

This is all you need to pass this exam. A good book with some good practical examples.

Be sure to prep for the 70-441 exam with the experts from Solid Quality. Everything, including good test questions, is in this book.

This book really helped me prep for the 70-441 exam. I managed to pass it the first time. One thing the book itself doesn't really mention is that the exam questions are all case-study related, with "best answers" needed (when to use stored procs vs UDFs), not trivia-related issues (what stored procedure to call an when). The book could be improved somewhat to gear more for this test format.

The practice tests in the book CD are case-study related, but I still found them asking more questions that are trivia, as opposed to best-fit answers. Fot those, I recomend Transcender practice exams.

I used this book initially to supplement my study for the 70-441 exam.

Unfortunately, each chapter was very short and had only a few review questions, and the topics were presented in a very detached and superficial manner, as though someone had simply summarized the online documentation without truly understanding it.

The practice test supplied on CD did have more questions, but the test engine itself was buggy and hard to use. For exampe, you can configure the engine to generate a test on specific chapters and with a time limit, say 10 questions from chapter 5 with a time limit of 30 mintues, but it would just ignore your criteria and simply give you all 191 questions with no filtering and no randomization of the questions.

After a couple of frustrating weeks, I realized the book wasn't helping me understand the material so I switched to the Sybex book by Victor Isakov, and I'm so happy I did.

What if technology failed? Who would be ready to survive? I don't know of many that would be able to take care of themselves, never mind their family. This book tells you what you need to do to live successfully if that time came.
Truth be told, we have forgotten how to live without. How to survive on our own. Who would you ask if that time came? This book gives basics from the very beginning. A "how to" for anything you might need to know.
This could be a valuable resource for everyone. Something to have on hand. Who knows what will be in store for us in the future. This is a comprehensive disaster tool with valuable reference material.
There is plenty of "good stuff" to take out of this book. Even if you just want to just get back to a few basics in your every day life. A good one to have in your library.

Another good one! This is good to have on hand "just in case". This day and age it's up to you to save yourself, and your family. This book will help you do just that! Buy it, keep, it!!

This is the book you want to read BEFORE anything happens! Matt Stein has done an incredible job bringing together information in every area you can think of (and some you might not!) where a disruption in services could cause you great inconvenience, or worse. What would you do if a storm took out your power? How would you keep yourself warm and fed? What if you live in an area subject to floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, or other natural hazards? It is very empowering to have answers (many quite detailed) gathered together in one book in a very readable format. Stein has done his homework thoroughly and included lots of references for further reading. This book is also excellent to use for a reading circle, as it is quite thought-provoking with much fodder for discussion. This is one of the most useful books I have ever read.

This manual guides one toward survival, when technology fails.....and it will, it's only a matter of time now. It has already begun. Most people cannot hunt, grow food, or recognize anything growing in the wild that would help them survive, if they needed to.
The United States is nearing full circle in it's ablility to sustain this government, it could have survived, but it won't. There will be CHAOS in the streets, and all around us will begin the drive to survive here without gasoline, food markets, and the clothing industries.
Better get back to learning the basics, time is drawing near.

s.a.w.

if u want the best book on living without technology, check out the readers digest BACK TO BASICS. It shows u haw to build a house, outhouse, stove, candels, and about solar and wind power. Not this book.

This is our "go-to" book for very practical descriptions and diagrams of process and procedure. We are planning our new house, and are incorporating elements of off-grid solar/wind power, rainfall catchment, passive ventilation, and high-mass wall construction.

Nothing beats a hands-on experience, and if you can visit either the CalEarth site in California, or the Earthships site in New Mexico, you should. You get a much better understanding of the process of earthbuilding, and also of the finished product. Then, as you begin to plan to build, gather all the information you can. "Ceramic Houses" will give you great information on design principles and on philosophy; the Earthship books by Mike Reynolds give primo information on the plumbing and electrical systems, and in particular on rainfall catchment.

"Earthbag Building" however, remains our mainstay. Hunter gives such good detail, and provides excellent resource lists for materials, and also lovely line diagrams that are very clear and easy to follow. And to truly make her the Queen of Bag Building, if you e-mail her a reasonable question, she answers!

I first checked this book out in the local library. It's a wealth of information, so I went to Amazon and bought two copies. I can recommend it highly to anyone interested in exploring this form of construction.

This is a must book for anyone who is considering to undertake the task of building an earthbag structure. There are many tips and suggestions, the result of long practical experience, that will help the inexperienced builder to avoid many: "if I only had thought of this earlier..." moments.

Earthbag building, a method developped by Nader Khalili, is a wonderful innovation in building. It means that a building be built from materials found on site, even if those materials are too poor for rammed earth or mud brick. I've already used the techniques in this book to detail two public buildings! The trick is now to convince the structural engineer and councils...

This book makes a good gift to those who are planning or are fascinated by alternative house building.

Very sad, but an honest depiction of a part of Guatemala that we were exposed to during our recent visit. The poverty seemed crippling, and children in work roles were very common.

I love this book. Working in a library, I've been happy to be able to show it to so many people. The hero has a hard life and a mother who doesn't love him. But he has a roof over his head at his grandmother's house, and a simple determination to work, to help, and to learn.

There's an indescribable feel to this book, almost a scent, different from any other book. It really is a masterpiece.

I am from Guatemala City and currently living in the US, I read this book with my daughter and she loved it, this book has helped me to explain some of my culture to her. She knows that "anyplace can be the most beautiful place in the world..."

I have read this book aloud to my first and second grade students for years. It is an excellent story, well told, with all the realities of a different culture in a different situation than USA children. However, it is painted with the strokes of deepest, realistic love that a family can have. This is a great story to teach and talk about the struggles of families everywhere, the world and it's differences, and the importance of character "no matter what". It is the book my second graders yearn to read on their own and therefore is a super motivator. It is rich in geography.

The story that I read was really snappy and cool. It's called The Most Beautiful Place in the World By Ann Cameron. There was a boy named Juan and his grandmother. There was also Juan's mom. It takes place in San Pablo, Guatamala. The problem is she leaves him for ever and his mom doesn't let him visit her. He really loves his mom after his dad left them.Some one would want to read this book because its really sad and who ever loves tragedy or not it's a really good book.I recommend this book to people of any age.

I bought this book on 15th July, its been over a mnth and I am still counting my days. I hope I will get this book oneday. This is my first time buying from Amazon, and thi will be my last as well. I will make sure at least my friends will not buy anythign from Amazone taht is the best I can do I guess. Seriously its not worthy buying anythign from Amazon. I wish I was buying thsi book from ebay.

So I'm studying to take the Microsoft Excel Exam...this book covers EVERY feature supposedly on the exam...and nothing else. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I wanted a few more examples. It literally is a one-example compendium of every feature on the exam. One practice test, too comes free w/ the book. If you want a quick, quite useful way to study for any MOS exam - this is your book. If you want more detail and explanation, go for one of the Dummies books.

After taking extensive training in MS Excel and Access, this book covers just literally everything you would get in training and then some, but without as many examples and details.

Pros - Covers all the major tests
- Outlined in an easy to read format and allows you to jump around
- The examples provided on the CD work very well with the text
- Provides exactly the same kinds of subjects you would encounter in a more extensive training

Cons - the biggest one is that you really don't know if you are doing the examples right. Unlike the training classes, there are no "Answers" documents to make sure you are doing the step by step processes right. So you never really know if you are applying the concepts correctly or not.

I have yet to take the practice test, so I will update this review.

I bought this to teach a class on MOS. It's very detailed.
Would highly recommend it.

Short Story Long... I was MCSE certified in the 90's, but through promotions and job transfers - I no longer needed it. Well, I am back at the starting gate again because of organizational restructuring. I started with the MOS certification.

In the 90's Microsoft Press sucked for study guides... Sybex and McGraw Hill were the ones that most people getting certified used. Well, times have changed, finally the company that makes the stuff, also makes the best study guides for it. I highly recommend this book if you want to get your MOS quickly and efficiently. (I will buy more Microsoft Press Study Guides as I make my way down the Microsoft certification path.)

Lynn's knowledge about quilting and her ability to explain and share this knowledge to a wantabe quilter is superior. This book will become your quilting bible.

The machine as a labor saving device is never so perfectly illustrated as the advent of the sewing machine and the making of a quilt. A hardcover, hidden-spiral bound, 'user friendly' instruction manual, "Machine Quilting: The Basics & Beyond" by quilting expert Lynn Witzenburg offers the novice machine stitch quilter with a complete, step-by-step, visually illustrated guide to successfully creating quilts with the assistance of a sewing machine. As fun as it is informative, "Machine Quilting: The Basics & Beyond" includes twelve do-it-yourself projects complete with full-size patterns, as well as favorite and original quilting designs that even the most novice of needlecrafters can employ to good effect. Such issues as choosing a stencil design, working with quilting paper, adapting motifs to fill spaces, making border designs fit, even the creation of 'feathers' in round, square, triangular, and free form. From the needed equipment and supplies, preparing to machine quilt, to free-motion stitching techniques, and so much more, "Machine Quilting: The Basics & Beyond" will prove to be an invaluable reference and a popular addition to personal and community library Needlecraft reference collections.

The latest in the Basics & Beyond series by Landauer Books once again shows why they have become staples in every quilter's library. Before you read the first word - and believe me, you will read every single one - you will appreciate the attention to detail incorporated into each book.

It is a hardback with a hidden-spiral so the pages will lay flat next to your sewing machine. And, there are over 200 pictures and illustrations so you can visually view the process - every step of the way. Whether you would like to machine quilt a small project - or a queen size quilt - Lynn will walk you through the process, step by step. She has been quilting and teaching her techniques for years so she's incorporated her no-fail techniques into each and every page. Lynn Witzenburg is truly an expert!

Let's face it, many of us love to applique and piece projects but when it comes to actually finishing them, we turn them over to the experts - and send them out to a machine quilter. But, what if YOU were the expert? That means you would no longer have to wait in line to complete your quilts. In our area, many of the machine quilters are booked six months in advance! And, the money that you would spend on quilting could be used to finance the materials for your next project.

Think about it. You could buy everything Lynn recommends to get started - including her book - for the price of sending out one quilt! So, why not give it a try?

The Tricks of the Trade

Lynn includes tips and helpful hints on almost every page. And, frankly, I looked at the pictures and read the tips during my first sitting. But, she drew me in. In the middle of a blizzard, I got a cup of coffee, snuggled in a quilt, and sat down to savor every word.

I have always been intimidated by machine quilting. I've even tried it a few times - but with less than stellar results. But Lynn went into such detail that she gave me solutions to the problems I encountered - and instructions and tips that stopped me from trying anything bigger than a placemat!

And Then Move on to the "Beyond"

After you have mastered the basics, Lynn explores more advanced techniques such as trapunto, bobbin-quilting, and free-form feathers. She even explains how to design original borders. So this book is a must have for all machine quilters - even those of you who are more experienced.

Lynn has also included several projects with the machine quilting designs included. If you are a shop owner, why not consider teaching a series of classes using the same book. Start them off with the basics and move on to the more advanced techniques. Trapunto, bobbin-quilting and free-form feathers could all be demonstrated with white on white fabrics to make an assortment of pillows.

Your students will be able to finish it in class - and will learn how to adjust the bobbin tension (without shuddering); use water soluble thread; and quilt larger projects.

This book covers it all - and explains it in such simple terms that you will refer to it again and again. I shared it with all of my favorite machine quilters - and they gave it a five star "must read". But, don't stop here. Check out the other books in the series - Applique the Basics and Beyond: The Complete Guide to Successful Machine and Hand Techniques with Dozens of Designs to Mix and Match and Knit Book: The Basics & Beyond. You'll be glad you did.