Big Bend Landscapes by Texas painter Dennis Blagg is a breathtaking, coffee-table artbook of oil on canvas landscapes so captivating, they seize and hold one's attention as surely as the finest of photographs. Mood, mystery, natural serenity in the Big Bend National Park of Texas fill these compiled outdoor paintings austere mountains and dry deserts with a very special dignity and beauty. A joy to simply page through at leisure, each individual painting is enhanced with a brief but informative commentary in this outstanding and memorable collection.

Unique landscape artist, Dennis Blagg, shares selected paintings and drawings of West Texas. He captures more than the camera can and his style evokes a viseral response. Perhaps you must have "been there, done that" to appreciate that each one is a gift. Blagg also shares brief notes with each entry. That adds a personal touch with a underlying theme of conservation for this special landscape. I must confess I skipped right past the introduction by Ron Tyler and straight to the views of the Chisos that I can't get out of my mind.

Big Bend Landscapes is a feast for the heart and soul for all you Big Bend National Park lovers out there and believe me there's a lot of them. Dive into all the moods of the desert and let it carry you away. I just returned from a trip to Big Bend on Feb 25, 2003 and my question is "Was it real or was it Blagg?" Make the book purchase and do the trip and you be the judge.

I think that this is a book that very accurately describes what the winter of 1949 was like. After reading the book I talked to various people that lived in rural Nebraska at that time and they said that what was discussed in the book was very much like what they lived through. I plan on using the book as part of my lessons on Nebraska History for my students.

Excellent,easy reading of real life stories of farmers, ranchers, pilots, US Army personel of a major snow storm that first hit in November 1948 and again in January of 1949. Affected people in the all or parts of 10 western states. A national effort to rescue people and lifestock. A human drama and of heavy losses of lifestock.

An excellent book which takes a positive & optimistic view of relationships that may not last forever. Designed for mature and experienced readers, with experience being IN a relationship, but forgetting how to START a relationship. First 1/3 of book helps the reader accept the OK-ness of the end of a major intimate relationship. The second 1/3 helps the reader identify him/her self as an individual, now able to pursue any dreams desired. The 3rd 1/3 of the book helps the reader start to confidently re-enter the outside world, with their now-clarified self-concept, in search of new (more compatible) friendships, acquaintances, and maybe loves.

This book explains short term relationships between friends, family, lovers, and strangers. It explains why we need short term relationships and how to keep long term relationships by viewing them as a daily decision for a short term relationship. It is not about lack of commitment, lack of love, lack of anything. It is about healthy relationships

I have owned this book for years and use it often in my work as a historic garment researcher & seamstress. Copious primary source material in the form of store ads, photographs of original garments in the Museum's collection, and easy-to-understand, logical descriptions of the times and social conditions under which these clothes were worn. ...

The pictures are beautiful, the information is extensive, and it'll make you want to sew!

Betty Spohr's frank first-hand observations about a devasting disease help those who follow her solid path as a care giver to her husband.. Her overriding love for her husband powers her to use her considerable creative resources to shepherd him (and herself) as the effects of the disease accellerate. If readers dread plunging into a book about one of the most feared downsides of the increased life span phenomenon, this book has a surprisingly light-handed touch.

Originally published as "To Hold a Falling Star", I bought a hardcover edition of this book years ago out of sheer curiosity. While I was browsing through the bookstore, this was a featured selection & I flipped through. What interested me the most, at the time, was the format of Betty's book. It is truly a diary, short & sweet, with a drawing accompanying each entry.

Not only is it a touching story, but it is also very educational. It explains the tasks of a caretaker in a way that anyone can understand. At the end of each chapter, there is a list of things to remember---a mix of legal, personal, & spiritual things.

Ironically, shortly after I purchased the book, my grandmother suffered another of many strokes. This one caused her to act as though she had Alzheimer's. Doctors labelled it "dementia" & theorized that it was caused by a dislodged particle of plaque that travelled to her brain.

Although Granny wasn't as progressed as an AD patient, she relied on my parents to care for her from then on & she never recovered. Just like a person with AD, she would be acute in some areas (beating everyone at dominoes) while being completely "not there" in others (not bathing, not eating yet perking up whenever ice cream was around.)

Betty's book helped to serve as a warning of things my parents could expect & ultimately had to deal with at one time or another.

The sign of a good book is when you are very sorry to turn the last page! I liked the fact this book combines an interesting mystery with a facts about the United States during the 1920s to 1960s. There are lots of fascinating old pictures to pour over.

This is a fascinating true mystery! The historical comments are interesting as well. Much of the book reads like a "Little House" book, except for adults, and about a different time period. Humorous anecdotes add a personal touch. The author goes back and forth between the mystery of why her father changed his identity and left his family, to her mother's extensive memoirs of the period between 1919 and 1980, to things happening with her father's family in St. Louis, to world history events. The book is full of photographs stratecically placed. A recommended read!

Comanche Passion was the very first book I ever read by Ms. Brooks than after I enjoy reading all of her books. Go back to the book, I deals with a young girl who had learn that she has a bother in the hands of the Comanches Tribe. She had no idea were to start looking for him. But the only a half-breed Comanche Indian himself. But you have to read it for yourself to find out the breathtaking, romance and exciement of the story. I sure do recommand this book for you to read.

Wow! This book is terrific. My first Betty Brooks novel. To be sure I will be reading more! It was everything you could ask for in a book, Adventure, Captivating, Romantic, Emotional, Exciting. Each and every page something was going on. I was totally involved in the characters and loved both of them. The story is about Serena, who as a child was left stranded when both her parents were killed and her brother kidnapped by the Comanche. Of coarse she was rescued by a white man who loved her and raised her as his own. When she grew up she learned of her brother's existence and made it her obsession to find him. She was told to seek a man 'Pecos' who was most likely to help her accomplish her goal. The only disappointing part to me was it never reconciled brother and sister to my satisfaction, but hopefully that will be another novel. Still it was a wonderful exciting book and I would recommend it to anyone.

Whether she be recalling a mishap at an X-rated film, admitting she laughed out loud during 'Cabin Boy', or taking an imaginary film festival trip, film critic Betty Jo Tucker's novel 'Confessions of a Movie Addict' will have you envisioning her tales of a life at the movies as if she were talking directly to you. Betty Jo's stories are vivid, enthralling, and quite often amusing. Not only does it provide one wonderfully detailed story after another, Betty Jo's book comes with several of her to-the-point film reviews, a collection of celebrity interviews, a photo gallery, an index of movie-related books and websites, and a checklist to see if you indeed are a movie addict. I have read 'Confessions of a Movie Addict', and as a critic myself, I can proudly assure you that Betty Jo Tucker is one of the finest critics out there and a person who flat-out loves the movies, from the good to the bad. 'CoaMA' is an excellent slice of cinema life.

As a recently retired college professor who can go to more movies now, I was delighted by this substantive insiders tale told with such happy and light-hearted grace, candor, and humor. The sophisticate and the novice, young and old, will find Betty Jo Tucker's "show-don't-tell" approach solid, informative, and entertaining. She charmed the socks off me! Betty Jo takes us into her fascination with this dimensional art form, with her life story deftly stitched into the background. "Because confession is good for the soul," she tells us, "I admit enjoying films mostly for their escapist entertainment qualities. But I also love to be enchanted by cinematic artistry, enlightened by a great story, and inspired by memorable performances." We grow together with this unpretentions, knowledgeable professional hooked on movies as she moves from going it alone, to being mentored by the best, including the famous "UK Critic" Ian Waldron-Mangani--who, she tells us, could have been her grandson. I found "Confessions" to be a great three-in-one deal: HerStory, terrific interviews, and crisp reviews. We meet some of the greatest names in film from the U.S.--directors David Lynch and M. Night Shyamalan, Oscar winners Anjelica Huston and Angelina Jolie, and the legendary Debbie Reynolds, along with top international figures, including British actor Sir Ian Mckellen, French actress Judith Godrech, Japanese filmmaker Masayuki Suo, and Oscar-winning Czech director Jan Sverak. Stellar interviews include those with Annette Bening, Willem Dafoe, Tony Shalhoub, and Aidan Quinn. Among her top reviews are "Chocolat," "Bridget Jone's Diary," "Mouline Rouge," "Planet of the Apes," "Legally Blond," and "Scary Movie." Along the way, she tells some delightful stories on herself: great gaffs--foot in the mouth, clear to the knee, as Josh Wise, one of my former students, once wrote. After enjoying "Confessions," you'll never read a review the way you used to!

This book is wonderful! I don't think it's left out a single cozy person, place or thing. The illustrations are cozy too.

My son received this book as a gift when he was a few months old. Since then (four years ago), I have given this book as a gift to everyone I know when their child is born. This book is perfect at bedtime, naptime, cuddle time, any time. My son still asks for it at story time and now my younger son is enjoying it, too. The book may seem long at first, but you will enjoy reading this book to your child(ren). This book creates wonderful "cozy" memories for both the parent and child.

Simply fabulous is the word for this book and not only for those gardeners who live in Florida! A Cutting Garden For Florida was written to help those who live there learn to extend the season and be able to grow plants for bouquets in both the warm and cool seasons however a gardener in the northern states could just as easily adapt the information to their specific climate.

This is one of the few gardening books that has kept me intrigued enough to not want to put it down until I was finished with it. Also it does contain a lot of basic information about seed starting, choosing a site and other information a more advanced gardener would already know I would still highly recommend this book as there is information that even they may not know.

The book goes on to give specific details about various plants that make excellent cut flowers, as well as tips for drying the bouquets and basic flower design techniques.

This one is definitely up there on my list of books you simply must have regardless of where you live but if you live in Florida you simply cannot do without this one!

Now available in a newly revised, expanded and updated third edition, A Cutting Garden For Florida continues to be a marvelously detailed, instructive, easy to understand guide to growing top-class flowers for bouquets and landscape improvement. Nursing seedlings, propagating plants from cuttings, as well as forming a cutting garden with annuals, biennials, perennials, or trees and shrubs are all covered, with easy-to-follow instructions delivered in clear, direct prose. Black and white sketches of various plants illustrate the techniques and species-specific entries. A Cutting Garden For Florida is a superb horticultural and cultivational guide and a "must" not just for Florida's gardening enthusiasts, but for anyone interested in creating a beautiful cutting garden of their own!