Pet Books

The National Audubon Field Guides are all great and the clear pictures make rock and mineral identification much easier.

We are avid rockhounds and have been looking for a book to help identify some of what we find. This book had great photos and descriptions. I HIGHLY recommend it to everyone.

I was really excited to buy this book, but it wasn't as great as I was expecting. The pictures are deceiving to me. I can't really use this book to identify rocks in my collection.

This is a nice compact field guide. There is more technical stuff than this beginer can appreciate for now. The only complaint came from my geology major daughter - "the pictures only depict the crystal forms, you almost never see such good specimens".
I told her to be more optimistic about finding similar examples.

The book arrived quickly and it was like new. Book is in Excellent condition! I am very pleased with this transaction.!

I recently read the book: "Little Dogs: Training Your Pint-Sized Companion" by Deborah Wood.
I really liked and enjoyed this book. It is about 130 pages long and is an easy read. But she shares a lot of tips on how to train your toy breed dog and shares some insight into how these little dogs think.
This book is all about training your dog to be a better companion and a good dog that people will enjoy being around. It includes a brief section on house training and other problem issues. It also discusses the basic commands that we should teach our dogs so that they behave and to protect them from possible harm that could happen if they do not respond to your commands.
The book is sometimes humorous and tries to get you thinking what it's like from the dog's point of view and what the dog actually hears when you say something.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has recently adopted a new puppy or even an older small breed dog. This book is for someone who is not interested in getting into performance events, but wants a well trained dog. However, it can get you thinking that, if you can train your small dog beginning obedience, perhaps you can go on to compete in other dog activities such as Rally, Obedience and/or Agility.

Gail
'mom' to two Shih Tzu

This book like little dogs, Happy, Fun, and full of good humored ATTITUDE.I like to give this as a 'new puppy' or 'newly rescued' gift, especially to big dog people getting their 1st experience w/ the smaller cousins. Ms. Woods book has lots of great ideas for care, training and even game playing w/ the little guys. I love this book...you'll read it w/ a smile!!

I thought this book was an excellent training manual for my 2 yorkies. Gives you insight into the dogs' perceptions of the world, and offers great advice on training your little dogs. When I trained my first yorkie, I tabbed certain "tricks" and wrote an index in the back to give me a quick reference point.... Came in very handy when training my second yorkie. I liked this book so much I purchased 1 for my mom, who has chihuahuas.

My toy poodle is my first dog (although I had dogs growing up, they were never *my* responsibility, heh.) This book has been an invaluable training tool. It even had a solution for his incessant barking. He was worse than a car alarm. Anytime there was a noise, he'd go off. But the book gave multiple suggestions on stopping this. It took less than 2 weeks to train the alarm-barking out of him. I'm shocked. And all of the techniques are so gentle. I am able to use my soft-speaking voice and he listens. No yelling. No yanking on his leash. No forceful grabbing that could injure his tiny body. One thing, I did put him through a puppy training class, mostly for me to learn training techniques. It made this book easier to follow.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It's informative in a fun way. I especially like the quips and pull-out stories throughout the book that provide real-life examples and stories about training. Although it's still a few more weeks until my fur-baby comes home to live with me, reading this book has made me excited and confident about my ability to train her, which I'm sure we'll both appreciate in the long-run.

This is a good basic book to have on hand for identification. I like how it covers shrubs and some vines in addition to trees. I use this book often as a reference, along with other similar guides I have. I always prefer to use more than one reference for IDs to make sure I have the correct plant.

This book would be a lot better if it had more pictures. It's hard to compare a real specimen to a written paragraph.

This is an wonderful guide to trees and one of the few that also includes shrubs. The format of keys and plates is very clear and an excellent introduction to the use of taxonomic keys.

No mere Peterson field guide, this scholarly work is a concise encyclopedia of all the trees native to the northeastern United States, with descriptions that can truly be used to tell them apart (a unique feat). Belongs in the backpack of any hiker who wants to learn trees. Fits in a half-gallon Ziploc. Remember you need a magnifying glass and a sharp knife to use the book properly.

As a wetland delineator in PA, this book proves invaluable for field identification of trees, shrubs, and vines. Especially useful is are the keys for identification of these plants in winter when leaves and fruiting bodies are non-existant. I have several other tree books for reference, but they rarely are worth carting along in the field now that I have this book. I highly recommend it.

A beautifully written story of loss and survival. Anyone who loves someone and who also loves dogs will understand and be heartened by this book.

I read an excerpt of this book in O Magazine and was intrigued, so I ordered the free sample for my Kindle - was intrigued some more - and finally ended up buying the full Kindle edition. I'm almost done reading it, and I think this may be the first book I've read as a Kindle book that I also want to purchase in hard-copy form - just to HAVE. This is a keeper, a book I will remember long after putting it down. Where has Abagail Thomas been hiding and why is this my first introduction to her?!

This is a tough topic - the traumatic brain injury her husband sustains and the author's adjustment to life after that event - yet Thomas handles it without unnecessary self-pity or pathos. I've read books of a similar vein that are gut-wrenching to read, others that are so lofty and inspiring they depress me - how can I ever measure up to such perfect humanity as expressed in those books. Thomas's book is the perfect treatment of this very difficult chapter of her life. She is able to speak the very emotions and mixed feelings and mixed up thoughts that any one would experience in that situation - I find myself reading and thinking YES, this is exactly how I would feel, it's exactly how conflicted and guilty and torn I would feel.

I think I will be taking this book off my shelf many times over the years to re-read. Sitting down with this book feels like sitting down with the author for a long talk over coffee. A very difficult talk, granted, but it reads as one of those memorably discussions you had with a good friend at the end of a very difficult period.

I look forward to finding other Abagail Thomas books.

A friend handed me this book while I was visiting her home...someone had given it to her. She wasn't interested because she thought it was about dogs. I did too. I would not have read it had I known that it's not a dog book. I'm so glad I didn't know its topic, because I would have missed out on a deeply emotional account of the author's experience of her husband's TBI. A very fast read. Poignant, courageous, thought provoking.

Life is not perfect. Tragedy can strike at any minute. How do you handle it when it happens to you? Thomas faces her tragedy with grace and poise. After her husband is injured in a horrific accident, Thomas begins the seemingly unending cycle of hospitals, doctors, and emergency calls. Eventually, Thomas realizes that, while Rich's life may remain in a state of limbo, her life must go on. She manages to find a balance between the wife she continues to be, and the woman who must now find meaning in her life -- on her own terms. She finds comfort with friends, family, and above all else her dogs. This is truly a story of love, loss, and ultimately - healing.

I applaud Thomas for her ability to stand by her husband under such devastating circumstances. Her memoir is honest and thought provoking -- sharing her feelings of fear, self-reproach, and even happiness. Her love for Rich is evident in her writing. A Three Dog Life is a true love story and a joy to read.

Change is something most people loathe, because that which is familiar is more comfortable. Author Abigail Thomas learns to live with change following an auto-pedestrian accident involving her husband Rich which has a tremendous impact on her life. Rich miraculously survives the accident, but his thinking is modified. He no longer retains the past or carries the future. His thoughts and life are only in the present tense. Thomas realizes she cannot care for him alone due to his permanent brain trauma and he becomes a resident of a care facility. This requires Thomas to move from their New York condo to a home close by the facility. Despite the pathos, the book is filled with incredible humor. Conversations with Rich are often laced with poetic foolishness bordering on E.S.P. Thomas' descriptions of her coping mechanisms are spot-on with respect to surviving as a weekend caretaker in the midst of loss. She takes a cue from the arctic nomads who say the coldest night is a "three-dog night," and titles the book "Three Dog Life" because naps and snuggles with her three dogs provide great solace and comfort.

It is a very good dog training book. It explains things in a way that is very easily understood and gives you different ideas as to what a reward can be, ie that a dog that likes to sniff a lot you can use this behavior when training, as a reward. It breaks the training down into small pieces that is easy to follow. I have recommended this book to a few of my friends and they are also using it to train.

We have 2 bull terriers and, anyone who is familiar with this breed can tell you, they are stubborn as hell! This book made all the difference in the world with training. The clicker idea is just what we needed. Thanks for making these fabulous dogs even more lovable to have in our home!

I have a pigs fly dog- and most of my training successes have been because of suggestions in this book! I disagree with a previous review that stated it was "old" material and "agility tricks"- it is a book that provides NEW methods to increase the bond with your dog while training; to help get a more focused dog; and most importantly how to have FUN while training your 'difficult' dog. I can't recommend this book enough to EVERYONE who has a dog they want to build a stronger working relationship with- Pigs fly or not!

En af de bedste klikkerbøger, jeg har læst !
well better in english than danish-I guess: One of the best clicker-instruction books i`ve read so far( which is some). especially because it gives hope to all dogowners with "impossible" dogs. it is well written, funny and with a lot aha-experiencies.

This book is aces! The author gives her own approach to training, which is solidly based on contemporary techniques. She goes into much detail about how to clicker-train, but even if you choose not to use a clicker, there is good information here.

Though the book is directed toward the author's preference in dogs--not easy ones!--the methods are also solid for easily-trained dogs. The fact is, few dogs are easily trained without a glitch now and then! She does a really good job of giving insights into how some of the "Impossible Dogs" think, and why they were bred to think that way.

She also gives insights into why more easily trained dogs are more easily trained. She says--and I strongly suspect she is right!--that easily trained dogs are not necessarily more intelligent. You just have to learn what motivates the "Impossible Dogs." And this book will tell you how, very clearly.

Those of us who were there, and knew Lava from his first discovery by Marines, thought he was a cute and wonderful animal. But consider that for every hour of attention that LtCol Kopelman devoted to rescuing a puppy, he spent one less hour training the Iraqi forces (his mission). Thousands of other Marines and Soldiers, who put their lives on the line day in and day out during the second battle of Fallujah in a far more visceral and dangerous way than the author, didn't have the luxury of rescuing puppies. They didn't have the luxury of a LtCol's paycheck. They didn't have the luxury of pathos-laden tomes upon their return. They certainly don't have the luxury of royalties, fame, and speaking tours. The other side of this story, unfortunately, is about an officer whose commitment should have been to his fellow Marines and his mission, not to the rescue of a puppy (no matter how wonderful a dog he was).

This is an interesting book to get a soldier's perspective of the war in Iraq. It's not the best written book but if you understand it's not fine literature going into it then you'll be fine. I think everyone should know what's going on over there -- what our soldiers are going through for us here back at home.

Thank you LTC Kopelman for your service to our country and for writing a book about your experiences. I am so happy for you that Lava came into your life.

This is a nice little novel about, as I'm sure you already know, a group of Marines who come across a very young puppy who they named "Lava" and "unofficially" adopt him, despite orders that prohibit soldiers from keeping pets.

It's a simple book written by a Lieutenant Colonel in the Marine Corps who grew attached to the puppy and made it his mission to save the dog. Some other reviewers complain it's poorly written and has too much profanity throughout the story. Well, when you take into consideration the author, the story, where the story takes place, etc...it's perfect.

The author, Jay Kopelman, does an excellent job of making you at least comprehend just a fraction of what he and thousands of other soldiers go through while serving in Iraq and you quickly understand why saving at least one life in Iraq was so important to him and everyone else involved in getting Lava to the U.S.

Any dog lover will understand how Lava impacted the life of a Marine serving in a place like Iraq and will understand the emotional roller coaster Lieutenant Colonel Jay Kopelman went through, even if he's unable to put that part of the experience down in words. And this story makes you realize there's more to the war on terror than killing and being killed for the men and women who serve their country with honor and distinction.

This book is one of those that will stay with you long after you've turned the last page. Deeply emotional. Heroes vs evil. The author infuses his psychological insights into a story of an insane situation.

The horrors of the true story memoir creeps and builds. Intertwined by the deeds of the people coming together to help, adds hope to dispel the sense of a world with no compassion.

The emotional connection to the group of Marines known as Lava (named for where they trained in Hawaii) is immediate in the first few pages.

A career Marine fighting in Iraq (and sometimes near the border of Syria) desperately searches for a way to bring home to the States - a rescued puppy. (Thou shalt not have pets nor befriend animals, Article G something). Marines, news reporters, State side animal rescue groups, supportive Iraqis; fighting against the military machine ordered to shoot dogs. All this, while under the guns of insurgents, rocket propelled grenades, car bombs, cows strapped with suicide equipment.


To add more heart pressing depression to the harsh truths revealed, reading the parts about puppies being buried alive in sewers, fresh in my mind was the 'youtube' story. (Of the puppy thrown off the cliff by Marines making home videos. How could you?)

The author describes the military rationale behind some of the numbing military rules and realities.

Do I feel a little wiser after reading this?

What's the difference between foreign militants or American Marines shooting puppies?

I read this book in one sitting, not skipping to the last page (no cheating). I couldn't put it down.


Apple pie, Marilyn Monroe, dogs and waggily tailed puppies.


Tears for 21 Lava. Angels with wings, for sure.

I had heard about Lava the dog and the many pitfalls it took to overcome to get him home and so I couldn't wait to finally read the book. Unfortunately, this book does not live up to it's potential. It could have been a real gem had the author perhaps had a lot more help from a more experienced writer.

I'm surprised this book had two authors and quite possibly an editor and yet, it's so choppy and poorly written and dare I say, juvenile at times and I'm not talking about the profanity sprinkled throughout the book either. I'm not tremendously offended by profanity. In this case, I didn't feel it added or detracted from the book for me. The problem here is vocabulary. For example, there are several passages where the author used one word or one phrase over and over and over. In one passage it's the word "weird" when he's trying to explain to the reader how being in Iraq was and in another passage it's the phrase "at least" that begins every sentence for at least a paragraph. Maybe someone can gift him a thesaurus.

Frankly, until I read the interview between Amazon and the author, I would have just given the book 1 star because if the subject matter of the book wasn't so attractive, I doubt it would ever have gotten published. In the interview above at least, he does seem to have a more diverse vocabulary than was apparent in the book.

Another thing I found extremely difficult to get past was a passage where the author describes those who join the Army as basically losers, the guys who couldn't get the girl, who didn't play sports and who just weren't "good" enough was the impression I got. So unnecessary to the story and in my opinion, absolutely NOT true.

One last thing that gave me pause was the way he described himself getting into the faces of Iraqi's and hollering at them, including profanity which he insisted the interpreter include when relaying it back. Maybe they needed it, I don't know, I wasn't there but all I could think of while reading that was that's the sort of behavior that quite possibly could cost lives down the line. It's sort of like you can criticize your own children but woe unto those who are NOT a part of your family criticizing them. It just doesn't fly and even the author comes to realize this later in the book.

I don't know if I can honestly say this book is worth reading. I gave it two stars because I love dogs and found the subject matter appealing. The rest of the book just wasn't up to par to me and if you are looking to read down-to-earth, I-Was-There accounts of the goings on in Iraq or poignant, heartwarming stories about dogs then there are much better books out there on those subjects.

Very concise and to the point. Great index in the front of the book to help quickly identify and find the dogs ailment. Very detailed and has a lot of incredibly useful information. A must-have for every dog owner.

Easy to use, good info, extremely helpful in deciding how quickly to get to the vet.

I got this book with the intent to put it on a shelf and keep it "just in case". What happened instead, though, was that I started reading the first few pages and got sucked in and read (briefly) the entire book. It's not really meant to be read that way, but it's so informative and so well written, that I just stayed interested. I now know a lot more about how dogs work, and I'm much less worried about dealing with potential issues that arise.

Excellent intermediate information for holistic types. Basic recipes for cats and dogs. I have used something simlar for cancer in cats and extended her life over a year using nutritional therapy.

This book is a necessity if you have a pup. If you have a dog suffering certain symptoms, this book clearly, quickly and thoroughly describes the actions to take: do you need a vet, or is a home remedy available? I have a new puppy and an adult Golden Retriever. The puppy--rescued from the pound--developed kennel cough which, at first I diagnosed as something else (which would have required a different treatment). This book described the sound of the cough, the frequency, the result and offered a quick home remedy to ease his discomfort until he could get to our vet (it was a holiday weekend). In summary, the peace of mind it gave me was priceless.

Wonderful pics and descriptive text make this a great reminder of why we all wanted to do this in the first place and how to achieve the results we all aspire to.

Packed full of easy-to-understand, useful information. Certainly a help to anyone in taking better pictures. Bonus - the excellent pictures make it a great coffee-table book.

This is the most AMAZING book you can ever get about photography.

After I started reading this book, my mind changed about photography.

I can surely say that this is the best book I have read about photography.

You NEED this book if you are really into photography.

[...]

The best, quick study, complete book on taking pictures in the outdoors, that I have seen to date.

I own a few Shaw, ( Nature Photography field guide) Mammoser,(The Photographer's guide to the Colorado Rockies)and (Digital Photography for Dummies) by David Busch who also has written specific guides for cameras. The three make up a complete library . Tharps book is like attending an advanced photo workshop, Concepts rather then specifics are taught . She really explains for example Light, how to use it .Chapter 10 on self evaluation is worth the price of the read. My only regret is not having a digital specific section.,

This book was very easy to understand, straight forward, great pictures! It took a lot of guess work out of beginning bee keeping. It is a must for anyone interested in apiculture! Great reference for years to come.

If you're thinking of raising bees, this is the book to get. I had purchased three other "recommended" books, but this one leaves them in the dust. EVERYTHING is included: a little bit of bee biology, the parts of the hive, advantages and disadvantages of equipment materials and types, techniques for caring for the bees, and reassurances that your fears are experienced by all new beekeepers. I had already decided what equipment to get and have now revised my purchase order based on the information in the book. I suspect the quality of the book is a tribute to the author and not the publisher. The author's web site is full of useful information also.

This book is probably the most important book for anyone new to the hobby. Lots of great information on the entire aspect of beekeeping. It isn't for the person who already knows the general idea of beekeeping though.

It was the first book I read about beekeeping and have found that the only other beekeeping books I would need would be books on detailed information on either medicating or raising queens or something of that nature.

This book has been very helpful, inasmuch as I am a new beekeeper.

It is very thorough and easy to read.

This is the best for those interested in backyard beekeeping. Written with humor and a great deal of information about bees and beekeeping. You can't go wrong here. It's a real gripper; couldn't put it down. If you weren't interested in beekeeping before, you will be after reading this book. Also, you will certainly get a better understanding of this most important pollinator. This book has everything you may need to know to give you a really good start with the most captivating hobby ever. Also included are great resources to help you get started.

This book does NOT provide activities. It's a list of conversational pieces one could have with their children about nature -- mostly just questions. I gave it 2 stars, since some of the questions were good ones. However, I was expecting actual activities I could do with my kids. I judged this book by the cover... and was disappointed.

While some think it is so obvious to teach your kids the things in this book, we as a culture forget about a lot of it and this is a nice, cute, compact little reminder to get outside. There are a lot of basic concepts with this like look for colors in nature, look for birds in the sky, but this book does go beyond that and how to help your kids do more than look for birds. It ask, do you see a flying bird, what about a bright bird, a dull bird, that sort of thing. Things that people don't always do.
I think this is an inexpensive, innocent reminder to parents and grandparents to do more than say, "go outside and play", but to go play too. And to do more than play, to learn life lessons by what is going on around you.

I love the outdoors and sharing it with my kids, and I loved Richard Louv's book Last Child in the Woods. So I was eager to read this new paperback that contains 52 easy ways to experience nature with one's kids and educate them about it.

I was really impressed by this book: short chapters divided into four seasons, with suggested activities to experience and concurrent teaching points about biology, physics, and the environment to help the little ones understand what they are seeing and doing.

Over and over again I caught myself thinking, "What a great idea... yea, that's a good one... gee, I didn't know that... I'm going to have to try that one out!"

A great book to read for any parent, grandparent, or anyone else involved in young people's lives. Go get a copy!

I LOVE DIRT!, with its enticing cover photograph of a small child headed down a dirt path into the woods, will call to the very audience for which it is intended--adults (parents, grandparents, and teachers alike) who love children and who want to feed their spirits in the best way possible, with time together outdoors in nature. With a foreward by none other than Richard Louv, author of the acclaimed LAST CHILD IN THE WOODS, this book is a compendium of ways to spend that time together in every season. No adult who wants to take a child outdoors need ever again be at a loss for ideas.

Rather than just a book of games or crafts, this book, by an award-winning children's author and elementary school teacher, focuses on meaningful experiential learning experiences. The timeless activity of gathering leaves in the fall grows to become a lesson on gravity. Rather than just watching birds, Ward invites children to keep a journal as Audubon did, sharpening their observation skills as they do.

The trim size invites adults to tuck the book into a pocket, purse or backpack. And you'll want to read it with a small stash of post-it flags at hand, to mark each of the appealing activities you'll want to try out with the children in your life!

The book is organized around the seasons. It is designed to provide one nature experience per week of the year, that is, a focused, narrow-topic nature activity is laid out for the family to do.

In my opinion this is for use with children under ten years old. The reason why is it not good for children over ten is that some of the activities are too babyish for older kids (go play in a puddle etc.). The shallow/introductory information is suitable for preschoolers and elementary grade kids. Kids aged possibly nine and ten may ask more questions than this book supplies.

The book basically gives activities to do with young children outside. If the adult knows not much about nature, this book provides talking points and ideas of what to do. Encourage the child to touch the water, swish in the water and see what happens and so forth. There are suggestions to have children do things and then to discuss what happens. Factual information is provided that is good if the adult doesn't know a lot about nature.

The educational talking point claims to fulfill a learning objective. Each objective is at the end of each chapter, such as "stimulates awareness of one's surroundings" and "stimulates caring and stewardship for all living things". I'm not quite sure why the author felt that the parents needed those learning objectives spelled out. Perhaps she intended that public school teachers would use this book and would need that information so they could fit it into their curriculum or into the No Child Left Behind's objectives?

Conversely if the parent or grandparent already knows this basic information then the book's information could be too simplistic and not very useful; it could be considered dumbed down and unnecessary for some adults.

Some of these things end up feeling staged to me. For example if the parent intends to discuss where animals go during the day, but the child doesn't take that bait and run with that topic, you are out of luck with your plans (and this book is all about planning). I sure hope the parent doesn't come down hard on the child for 'not following the plans'. Also if the parent prepares to do X with the child but they want to spontaneously explore other things (which is good in my opinion) the adult may feel frustrated that they prepared or ill-equipped to answer questions about Y.

The people who are more spontaneous in general may feel this book is too limiting, but those people may not feel the need to buy a book of ideas! For me, this book is too limiting and unnecessary, but everyone is different, so perhaps this book is just what you desire.

This is a unique book. If this helps some parents get outdoors with their kids and have the children spend more time in nature then this book will have done its job (even ithe parent doesn't fully use the book as intended or if they don't get to do everything outlined in the book).

It is a very good idea to get kids outside more and outside exploring nature with their children. Hooray for that!! I applaud the author for writing this book which seems to be trying hard to give parents some tools and ideas about how to explore nature with their children (and throw in some education in the process).