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How to Protect Your Family's Assets from Devastating Nursing Home Costs by Gabriel Heiser is a terrific book. It clarified for me the issues surrounding Medicaid and asset preservation in a straight forward and easy to understand way. It provided me insights into complexities that are necessary for anyone who might be venturing down this path to be aware of and understand. It put into perspective the options that are available and perhaps most important of all, provided me with the background I needed to have a productive meeting with an elder attorney and to ask them the appropriate questions.

In particular, the book was written in a way that could be understood by a layman. It was presented in a very organized fashion and clearly went through the Medicaid process, a necessary pre-requisite for the subsequent chapters. The appendix was particularly useful in that it provided ways to find a qualified elder lawyer and other related resources as well as information on state Medicaid offices. But perhaps most interesting and helpful of all were the case studies. They provided a multitude of practical strategies, comparing and contrasting them throughout the book.

After reading this book, the bits and pieces of information I was able to discern from other books and from several lawyers I previously met with came together to form a clear picture like pieces of a puzzle. Armed with information and the possibilities presented and with an understanding of the implications of our decisions, we are now ready to move forward with plans for our parents with the confidence that we are prepared now to go down this very difficult road.

Thanks Mr. Heiser for all of your help!

I work in an industry where we have a need for such timely, topical and extensive information in the special needs planning area. I found Gabriel Heiser's book to be well written, easy to read, and very comprehensive. I have used it as a resource many times when I am questioned by one of our financial planners or attorneys in our network throughout the country. I have recommended his book to many who are struggling with the complexity of the medicaid system and how best to provide for a disabled individual. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants a complete understanding of the rules and regulations pertaining to the special needs or elder law planning arenas.

Geri N. McHam
The Estate Plan

The System makes it hard to get accurate information about Medicaid coverage of long-term care--even for a former reference librarian like me. I'm recommending this book to Amazon customers and to my local library.

Attorney Heiser's book on protecting assets from nursing home costs is an invaluable and terrific read. For those of us unaware of the financial devastation a nursing home stay can do to a family it is a must read. It gives the reader a chance to ask important questions of attorneys and financial planners to get the most out of their advice and to get through the many different state and federal laws that vary from state to state. Don't see an attorney without reading this first.

This book provides valuable information on a complex subject. Although it may not answer your specific questions, the information given allows you to make informed decision when consulting an estate planner or attorney. Informative easy to read book on a complex subject.

Maybe I'm crazy, but I honestly found this as one of the funnier books in the series, simply because of some of the bizarre characters that creep in, including a surprisingly loveable optimist named Phil. It's an interesting situation, and of course more necessary clues are revealed. Not the best, but still very impressive.

I received an acknowledgement of my order and received the book the next week. Good condition.

My grandaughter was thrilled to be continuing on with this series. Speedy delivery. Thank you.

This Book #4 in the Lemony Snicket Series of Unfortunate Events is perfectly named. The story of the Baudelaire children continues as they are put in the care of a lumberyard owner, who smokes and one can never see his face. He puts the children to work in the lumber factory, among the saws and heavy logs, feeding them gum for lunch and a nasty casserole for supper. The foreman is mean and trips Klaus, breaking his glasses. He is taken to an eye-shaped building nearby where he comes back quite a changed boy after seeing the eye doctor and the receptionist. Klaus is now willing to cause accidents in the mill, and the owner says one more accident and he will give the children to ... It is up to Violet and Sunny to figure out what's wrong with Klaus and how to undo it before they are given to a most unsavory character that we have seen before. Enjoy this fast-reading, marvelous book - but don't let the recommended ages 9-12 stop older readers up to adult.

This is by far the weakest book in the series so far. It lacked the fun of the first three books. The story becomes so outlandish, that it is uninteresting. Yes, I know it is a children's book, but there has always been a core of reality which the author has lampooned. Sending the children to work in a lumberyard that pays its workers in coupons was just too much, especially since there was no familial connection between the children and the owner of the lumber mill. Overall, the story was not nearly as fun as the previous novels, and to compensate, the author makes the story more outlandish than ever before.

If you are reading the series, then this is a must, but don't read this for its stand-alone value.

I don't fall in love with books easily, but this one was love at first sight for me. The photos were clear. The ideas and instructions simple and easy to follow. I borrowed a copy from the public library, now I want my own.

The fabrics and patterns in this book are lovely. Photographic representation of all the projects are clear and wonderfully presented. The instructions seem clear (except I did find an important step for one of the handbags was omitted).

I give it 4 stars instead of 5 mainly because it contains templates that have to be enlarged on a copier instead of full-size patterns. It appears that is typical with sewing books, but it is an inconvenience and requires a trip to a copy store (plus the cost) since they need to be enlarged to such a degree, you cannot do it on a regular copier without great difficulty.

Fortunately there are only a few projects in this book that have templates - most of the crafts are going to be custom sized by you to fit your bed, chair, windows, etc, so templates would not be feasible.

However, I do recommend this book. I am happy to have it and I do not regret purchasing it. Christina Strutt's designs are sweet and warm and this book is a welcome addition to my collection.

I really love this book - simple but rewarding projects that most sewers would have no trouble with. lovely photography.

The pictures are nice , the fabric & the way it presents the instructions too.
That is all to it. Nothing more.

Excellent book! Christina Strutt had my tastes in mind when she wrote this book. It is for people who don't know much about sewing, love vintage fabrics and want to learn some ideas on how to use them. The pictures are beautiful and the instructions are clear.

As the wife of a young man dying of cancer, this book was an incredible aid to getting through each day and learning what to expect. That was 15 years ago. My sister-in-law faced the same situation recently when her husband was diagnosed, and I bought the book for her. She said she couldn't put it down until she read every page. We need to have that helping hand when we're hurting. This book is it!

I found this book days after leaving the hospital with a two year prognosis for a misdiagnosed illness. My head was spinning. I was making lists of questions and to do lists for leaving my 2 young children. Finding this book was a wonderful gift. It answered my questions and provided a realistic outlook for what to expect of a terminal condition. The book provides sample statements for calling your relatives and helps you to prepare for your doctor appointments. I visited a doctor today and I led the session and all of my questions were addressed before the exam occurred. This book should be recommended to all diagnosed with a terminal illness. Highly recommended book!

I have owned this book for several years and decided to use it as an adjunct teaching tool for those training to become hospice volunteers. Every person in the group gave a high rating to this book. I will continue to use this book in future volunteer training classes. Eileen Urquhart, Hospice Volunteer Coordinator, Visiting Nurse Association Hospice of Cape Cod, Massachusetts

This is a must have resource for all of us. It is a practical book that helps you with End of Life concerns and how to plan for them. Far too many people wait until a crisis to make desperate choices that could be avoided. It is difficult to live with the choices that we make in crisis. Many times a crisis situation does not give you the opportunity to discuss critical issues with your family before the crisis occurs. This book will give you the necessary tools to discuss your wants and wishes for the living of your years.

I wish I had picked up this book earlier in my step-father's illness. Very useful for those who are facing illness or who love someone who is very ill, telling you the kinds of things to expect and ways of dealing them.

THE KILLING
By Robert Muchamore

James is a 13 year old spy, whose life is far from normal. It consists of tough training, and missions. He also gets a room full of objects a 13 year old would use. But just when he thinks he's on top of the world it all comes crashing down on him and now he's desperately trying to keep himself from making it worse.
I thought that this book was great it always managed to keep me gripping on to it always wanting to read the next page. One of the best parts about this book is that it can hook basically anyone. It has action, crime, relationships, and mystery. Another thing about this book is that you don't need to read the books before to understand what's going on. If you read this book and loved it I recommend that you read the rest of the series because they, like this one, are full of surprises and plot twists, which always keeps you on the edge of your seat. Although this book also contains some content that might be a bit bloody or inappropriate for younger readers. My favorite part of this book is the paintball fight in the beginning it seems like that part has the most action.


Brennen E

I purchased this book for my 14-year old son. He loves this series. Read each book in a couple of days because he couldn't set it down.

It was a very helpful book.

I think it is a great book even if you are not applying for the certificate. It helped me in my work, certificate, and personal SQL Server 2005 knowledge.

I would recommend this book for every one who is looking for a SQL Server 2005 book.

I just passed my test in the high 800's using this book- I'd venture to say it is important to do the labs and use any on-line references you can to help you; I use CompTIA's IT Pro 24x7 book library myself for additional studies. Overall MS press does a good job, it is expected I think to do the labs and practice tests is you want to succeed. A good background in Vista would be most beneficial as well to gather a thorough understanding of hwo it works and why.

As a first time user of this service I was pleased with the ease of how to sign up and order. I am always wary of online ordering but gave it a go, saved me $160 min. I was kept fully informed all the way. My items were ordered July 24, shipped quickly and arrived in Australia, on my desk smack on the estimated arrival time of July 31st. I am very impressed !! I will absolutely be using Amazon's service again. The packaging was sufficient and the contents were not damaged in any way. Again, great service guy's. As for the books, time to get stuck into some study.

This review is for the 70-622! I have never reviewed any book before because I generally agree with the high ratings and therefore see no reason to write one. Beware of the other "high" reviews of this book they are for the 70-443 or 70-441 where stated which are specific to becoming an MCITP on Microsoft SQL Server 2005 not an MCITP on Windows Vista the 70-431, 70-441, 70-441 have nothing to do with this book or certification! I do not know why those reviews are here but don't listen to them for the 70-622 Book.

I am only halfway through this book and all I can say is it is riddled with a lot of typos, unclear explanations, and technical errors and leaves a lot to be desired in terms of detailed explanations in some subject areas. Also details have been left out on potential sticking points (such as making exceptions in the new Vista firewall and UAC control issues).

For example one pitfall I discovered early on there is no explanation in the difference of going to start Run or start and the search box in Vista (these are two different things the run box is not on the start menu by default).

Typos:
pg. 246 is just one example of many typos. It says under the section Histogram Bar: "If you have a large number of values and you're primarily interested in the current value (rather than the value of each counter over time), this will be EARLIER to read then the line chart"
I think it should have said EASIER, but being that we are talking about a histogram which has to do with a timeframe it could also mean it shows an earlier point then the line chart. However if that were the case that would be some extremely poor sentence structure. I do believe it should have said EASIER.

Technical Issues:
When joining the Vista PC to a Windows 2003 Server Domain you get a DNS related error message. What the author fails to mention is that you may have to go into the advanced properties of the NIC card and either under TCP/IP v4 or v6 enter the IP address of the 2003 Server as your preferred DNS server before the Vista PC's can join the domain.

On pg. 238 - 239 Practice 3 Configuring and Event Subscription
The terms Event collecting and Event forwarding are counter intuitive. Instead of laying out bulleted parameters such as the author saying Vista PC1 is the collecting computer and Vista PC2 is the forwarding computer would be helpful. Really to grasp this counter intuitive convention of naming they have used here a diagram would have been best showing the events and how they are collected and forwarded.

You would think the collecting computer would be the one the events are being generated on. That is not the case it is the one getting the events from the forwarding computer which is forwarding the events to it.

During this exercise I got an error saying "Object reference not set to an instance of an object". After changing two things (making an exception in the windows firewall and putting in a description in the description field), I can now successfully complete the exercise. Before doing these two things the subscription would not work. I had tried over 10 times and kept getting that same error however I now cannot replicate the error by reversing my two steps so I cannot explain this.

Overall the book to me seems very rushed and poorly edited. I am hoping I can pass the 70-621 upgrade exam with this book and the 70-620 but I think I will most likely have to supplement this with another in depth book on Vista as this book is very lacking in my opinion.

This self-help book helped me a lot in preparing me for the MCITP exams. Having a busy time at work and no time at all to go to a learning partner, the book guided me through the learning objectives of the exam.

Mary Larsen has done a thorough job explaining the actual steps it takes to launch a successful (financially successful!) business in Interior Redesign and Staging. As a Nationally Certified Trainer in this area , I look forward to adding this book to my recommended reads for students, new & experienced. Worth the time to read it!

Larsen's book starts right off by defining the differences between redesign (for living) and staging (for selling) so there's no misunderstanding of what these potentially lucrative businesses are all about.

The popularity of HGTV-DYI-type shows have spawned an interest in people wanting to redecorate their own homes Fortunately for anyone wishing to operate this type of business there will be more than enough work for you to do. Many home decorators get all excited about redecorating their homes but then find that once they get started (or are in the planning phase) they don't have the skills or the time to follow through.

The book offers a lot of solid advice. For instance, Larsen reminds readers that it is vitally important to continuously educate themselves as trends change constantly- what's hip today will be out tomorrow.
Mary's Trade Tips are sprinkled throughout the book making you feel like you're getting insider information. Larsen offers advice on ways to market your business including getting testimonials from current customers, giving presentations including a list of possible topics and an outline detailing how to present the topic. Details important things you need to know to stage a home for a real estate sale, offers before and after pictures showing great design work that you can easily do and gives basic design tips that offer suggestions on room elements such as color, shape, and spacing. You'll also find a list of tools you will most likely need and an appendix with more than enough resources to get you started including easily modifiable forms, sample contracts, a list of tools you will need and sample sales letters.

For some reason I found myself getting kind of bored toward the end of the book but overall a good resource for anyone wishing to start this type of business. Could also be a good basic guide for anyone wanting to simply redesign or stage their own home.

This book gives detailed information on how to go about starting a business doing interior design and decorating. The authors discuss the types of decorators as well as what it takes to be an entrepreneur. They dispel commonly held myths about entrepreneurship and give practical advice for the reader to determine if they have what it takes to start their own business.

The authors give step by step instructions on what it takes to start your own design business such as deciding what skills you have and how to charge for services. The next sections of the book deal with the legal and financial concepts of structuring a business. The authors do a good job of explaining the intimidating ideas of business planning, finance, and operation in terms that non business savvy people can understand. Anyone considering a career in design or decoration would benefit greatly from reading this book

This book is concise and complete and has a wealth of information for starting up your staging and redesign business. Using true-life examples, Mary outlines the redesign business so new businesses can succeed and thrive and make fewer mistakes. I love the "Mary's Trade Tips" sections which are all little nuggets of great information to help a new business do well financially and professionally.

This is a gotta-have book for those considering redesign and home staging!

How to Open a Financially Successful Redesign, Redecorating & Home Staging Business definitely stands out in the "be your own boss" genre. The never-ending wealth of information practically sets up your business for you, no matter how little you know about what you're getting into. Other how-to business start-up books tend to jump right into the thick of things, overlooking key facts that beginners might not know. Mary Larsen's book was the exact opposite--even beginning with questions about whether or not you are cut out to be an entrepreneur.
While there was a ton of information packed in, I never felt overwhelmed with facts. Everything was broken down into easy-to-use tidbits, like questions to ask yourself and your clients, common business myths, why extras are important, naming, testimonials, and the pitfalls of freebies. The focus placed on marketing, especially e-mail and Web marketing, was especially helpful. I'm not a very tech-savvy person, so the in-depth discussion of marketing in this way was great--no "techie" language that I couldn't understand, just the basic facts. Larsen also helps out by reminding the reader that sometimes you just have to start your business and build from there--everything doesn't have to be perfect for your first client. Besides, with Larsen's book, there's no way you could fail!
Even if you already consider yourself an expert in redesign, redecorating or home staging, Larsen's book is a necessity, even if just simply for the appendix, which provides a quick reference and worksheets that can help you grow your business from day one.

Marsha Ramsland's Simplify Your Space has Simplified my life, my work, my home, my travel, and my family frustrations! Kudos to you Marsha for practical help on life's most frustrating topic: our stuff! I hope all your other readers find the help I did so they can have the CALM life your method provides! Thanks you!

Pam Farrel
El Cajon, Ca

I've read many organizing and decorating books and I loved Simplify Your Space by Marcia Ramsland. It walks you through decluttering and simplifying each area of your home in a way that gives you the biggest results in the least amount of time. You can't go wrong using Marcia's CALM method, and the decorating tips at the end of each chapter will have you living in style in no time. I also liked her stories about working with actual organizing clients. I give this book a definite thumbs up!

Marcia's easy-going, motivational style of writing is just what I needed to make a BIG DIFFERENCE in my home. As a retiree, I have accumulated many things over the years. Since my home is small, each inch counts. I was encouraged to SIMPLIFY THE SPACE in each room, including the garage. I love the feeling of now having a home that reflects me (not my stuff), with space to relax and entertain. Sometimes it's hard to "declutter" because we're emotionally attached to items. Marcia's CALM technique helped me to "let go" while still appreciating their value. Her diagrams and stories of clients gave me freedom to choose styles of organizing that fit me and my space. WHAT A DIFFERENCE! Thanks, Marcia!

This is a very informative book with great pictures. It actually gives specs and dimentions in case you want to build your own. But if you don't, it's a beautiful book just to look at and daydream!

I got this for my step father who found it very inspiring. He is now working on a tree house of his own.

I bought this book for my boyfriend (30) and he loved it. I enjoyed it just as much. The pictures are amazing and the stories that went with them were just as great. Great book to leave on the coffee table!

I have always fantasized about treehouses and this book definitely has some fantastic examples. It's a wonderful book -- I bought it because my 90 days of checking it out at the library were over. I had to own it.

Yes, nothing quite like giving one's friends good reviews on amazon!
isnt is nice when people with too much money can build tree-houses when so many americans must live in dumpy apartments or are homeless?
Its nice that those who have trust funds can build tree houses, while the rest of us are worrying about even having housing, especially with illegal and legal immigration saturating the rental market and drving out legal american citizens.
Come to think of it, how many people who build treehouses have rental properties in slum areas ? I know of one who does.

Author Dan Chiras has produced a series of amazing books on green building, including The Natural House, The Solar House, Superbia!, and The Natural Plaster Book. His books are extremely well written, well organized, comprehensive, and extremely well illustrated. He's truly one of the best, if not the best, writer in the green building field.

The New Ecological Home is no exception. In fact, I think it is one of the best books he has written. Although the cover is pretty drab, the book is a beauty inside. The book is engaging, easy to read, and full of interesting and helpful information that will assist those who want to explore the many options for building homes that are good for people, the planet, and the economy. This book should be read by all who are considering building a new home as well as those who are thinking about remodeling their homes. It is also a valuable resource for architects, builders, and students of architecture. Adding to its value, this book has a detailed resource guide that adds considerably to its value.

This book was a little bit hard to understand, especially if you are not knowledgable on the subject. I would recommend something more clear and easier to read.

Having been the first of it's kind I have read, this book is well-organized and readable. It seems good for the person brainstorming on what steps to take in the design of their eco-home. For more specific information to carry out the tasks, I would suggest other resources.

During the planning phase of building our first home, this book was very helpful. We liked the emphasis right at the start on site selection -- what to look for in everything from the overall community to aspects of the land itself and how to environmentally protect that land during construction. A comparison checklist for assessing lots is included. Even though ours will not be a "natural House" (rammed earth, straw bale, etc.) and though those types of construction are covered, there was plenty of solid information on building a more energy efficient, and less wasteful, home of wood and concrete. Also included are chapters on design, using green and non- or less toxic materials, sustainable approaches to water and waste, environmental landscaping, and enery-efficient design, heating, and cooling. As this will be a retirement home, we especially appreciated the chapter on accessiblilty and ergonomic design.

This book could very easily serve as a textbook for a green building course. It's not a coffee table book - the photos are small, and black and white - but very useful in supporting the text. This is a serious book about alternative building written by and about a group of people who have been creatively, responsibly, thoughtfully building for a very long time. It's a good choice for builders who want to learn more about sustainability, students who want to go into the field, or homeowners who are looking to build. It's not so much glitzy and inspirational as it is informative and useful: comprehensive from site selection and design through building options and techniques, to landscaping, it also contains a great resource guide.