I was very satisfied to be hammered by nailbiting Koontz stuff...thrilled and excited to experince this new feature which I now regard as one of my best top 10 books - Thank you Mr Koontz

I was very satisfied to hammered by nailbiting Koontz stuff...thrilled and excited to experince this new feature which I now regard as one of my best top 10 books - Thank you Mr Koontz

I am full of admiration for what Joan Borton has given us here. Deep in the Familiar is true to its title: steeped in the familiar, it leads the reader to find extraordinary possibilities in the ordinary rhythms of our lives. Borton writes transparently, taking us without fanfare but with simplicity and tremendous courage to questions which, if explored, can both reveal to us our own deepest needs and hopes and illuminate the paths that might take us there. Each chapter addresses a stage in a householder's life and leads us to the sacred and the spiritual therein. Borton gives examples from her own life (brava to her for her honesty!) and links these to the larger issues facing us all, issues of loss and of safety, of sacred space, of "forest time," of finding replenishment in a life of giving. Each chapter ends with a few questions for the reader to hold and let bloom into answer. Through this book Borton helps each reader discover her own sanctuaries, recharge, and be ready for the next leg of her journey, whatever that may be.

I HIGHLY recommend this book both for small-group discussion and for solo discovery.

Joan's book provides a pathway into a deeper way of living. She beautifully links her own experiences and those of other women, with her life reflections. She offers reflective exercises at the end of each chapter to bring the reader into the process. The book works well both read individually and used as a resource for sharing and growing together in a group of women. This book is a gift to all who seek a deeper connection with themselves and with their lives.

Kessler's translations of these French stories are an invaluable treasure to the English speaking community. Many of these stories have never been translated or were out of print for many, many years. Kessler gives them new life in this collection that will appease both francophiles and lovers of spooky stories.

I was lucky enough to read this book in a class on 19th Century French Lit. taught by Joan Kessler herself. I have never forgotten these stories or the depth of psychological exploration each presents. This amazing book brings the genre of 19th French Macabre to non-French readers for the first time. Each story is truly classic, all at once an original and the obvious predecessor of horror and psychological thrillers as we know them today. Fans of Poe will love this book, and fans of King will be delighted by these twisted tales, though they may need to keep a dictionary handy.

Ms. Kessler's notes are the perfect guide through each work. She places each story in it's own history, giving ample insight into the mindset of the authors and their audiences.

From beginning to end this book will keep your heart pumping. It is the perfect read for those who have a hard time finding great work. It will keep you up at night, if not out of interest, then out of terror.

I found this book on Guam (of all places), many years ago ($.50 cents on a close-out book rack) - and bought it. Although dog-eared and falling apart, it has been an indespensible part of my family's health reference library. I have no idea what we would have done with out it.

I have had this book for years and look forward to the updated version. It is not meant to be used instead of seeking a doctor's opinion, but it has been helpful on many fronts, when medical advice has not been necessary. It is full of common sense remedies for all sorts of minor mishaps, sometimes even suggesting a change in diet to correct an ailment. As my copy is falling apart I hope I get a new one soon.

This fun mystery opens with Caron, Claire Malloy's teenaged terror, being selected Miss Thunder Thighs by the Farberville Highschool sophomore football team Naturally, she immediately decides that it is time for her and her best friend Inez to go on a crash diet. So, being Caron and Inez, the duo proceeds to run the gauntlet of every known bizarre fad diet know to man, woman and kook. And they all manage to end up with a pizza chaser.

While the dieting is running its course, Claire's downstairs neighbor volunteers her to become a weight loss mentor to Maribeth, the somewhat overweigh heiress of the Thurber-Farber fortune. This is all very well and good, except Claire just happens to be dedicated to salvation through chocolate and also to avoiding aerobic exercise at all costs.

Before long, Claire is in the middle of some very strange and highly humorous goings on including murder. Joan Hess is at her best spearing fitness centers, fad diets and instant weight loss elixirs. You know from the beginning how everything will turn out in the end, (with Claire solving the mystery despite her boy friend, Peter Rosen) but all the twists and turns and kooky characters are half the fun of a Hess mystery. Without a doubt she is one of the best writers of comic mystery fiction today!

Joan Hess once again takes us on a funny yet exciting adventure through the town of Farberville. A new weight loss center opens up in town and appears to be doing wonders for it's clients. Claire Malloy gets sucked in to provide rides and moral support to a friend of a friend who is a client. Naturally Claire's natural curiosity causes her to sense that there's a lot more going on at the weight loss center than is being advertised. Her digging into the facts leads to much excitement as well as danger to her own welfare. Suspenseful and witty all the way through with the usual characters such as melodratic daughter Caron and boyfriend/police detective Peter Rosen well rounding out the cast of characters.

I was a student of Harris Stone's for several classes during my career at KU's School of Architecture and Urban Design in the 1980's. The book "Dispersed City of the Plains" is just so very typical of Harris. Harris was one of the best Critics (that's the code word for Architecture Teacher, Professor, etc.) that I ever had. He was truely wise. Stone had a way of looking beyond what was fashionable to print in the Professional Journals to see the truth in the Architecture. Harris always taught us, as students in Kansas, to be proud of our herritage. He had the ability to see the art in what others disregarded as mundane and below their recognition. Harris was a proponent for the masses, the end users of Architecture. It didn't matter to him how great a building was proclaimed if it didn't serve it's purpose for it's users. Stone's books always remind us to design for the people, and the environment, not the Journals.

This is a challenging, original analysis of the meaning of the built environment of the Great Plains. The author begins much the way that Walter Prescott Webb did in his pioneering work on the same subject, by analyzing the building blocks that organize space and the economy of the region, in this instance grain elevators, barbed wire, and windmills. He then moves through types of housing, and communities from hamlet to major city.

Harris Stone's basic thesis is threefold: 1. The Great Plains experienced a fundamentally different pattern of settlement than the Eastern U.S., because the land was subdivided before settlers arrived; 2. European models of city form are not valid for analyzing the built environment of the Plains; 3. Instead, the settlement pattern of the Plains is a work in progress that anticipates the impact of today's information-age economy, and it should be evaluated accordingly.

The author's text is handwritten, with his own drawings illustrating his points. His ideas are spare and challenge the reader to participate and "fill in the blanks." His style is somewhat akin to the way Jane Jacobs analyzes city life, while his conclusions contrast dramatically with hers.

There is also a poignance that permeates the book, because Harris Stone was dying of cancer as he wrote it. Too weak to finish preparation of the text for publishing, his wife and colleagues at the University of Kansas School of Architecture completed the final few pages, in a different style of handwriting and illustration. One mourns the loss of so original a thinker, as one is simultaneously stimulated by his text.

One of the definitive reads for a person willing to give up old paradigms of human society and become more in rhythm with nature. Joan Ocean again provides an in-depth look at the numerous aspects of the multi-dimensional lifestyle, with the dolphins and whales as her loving and playful guides. Her journal entries (put in at times during a chapter to help explain the current concept) help bring the experience of swimming with a dolphin closer to home for those who might not yet be able to get out there on the open sea; I can personally attest to that. This book is definitely NOT a 'repeat' of Joan Ocean's first book, Dolphin Connection, and well worth reading in tandem with each other (they go great together!). Dolphins Into the Future seems to build somewhat on what was discussed in Dolphin Connection; I would highly recommend reading Dolphin Connection first. Overall, these books herald a new era in peacefully coexisting with the planet's environments...creating the stage for a world filled with Love.

This fabulous and deeply satisfying book is about exploring dolphins on an energetic level, rather than from a distant scientific standpoint. She did not do controlled scientific studies of such things as social behaviors and sounds. Instead she has become a dolphin. Her own wonderful sensitivities to energy, wordless communication, and connections with all "peoples," human and non-human, have enabled her to make a huge contribution to the answers many of us are seeking: Who are the dolphins? Why are they here? Why do we like them and why do they like us? And what can they teach us? Joan Ocean's dolphin friends are thirsty to share with us levels of awareness that most people don't know exist, yet experiences of these levels will help us move joyfully into the energetic changes that are occuring on earth.

The shock that Alison encountered I felt that I could relate to, so I understood how she would have felt. The story-line in the book is fast paced and interesting. It had such every-day matters in it that I think that may be why I enjojed it so much! In some parts I really found myself thinking things like "Wow!" "no!""but, why?" In some parts it gets quite emotional and you feel really sorry for her. The book is not, however, just foccusing on Alisons diabetic condition but how she relates to other people , problems, just ordinary things! Once you start reading it you can't put it down, so make sure you read it!

When Alison first discovers that she has diabetes she's furious and when the shock wears off she gives up. Then Alison learns to cope with it and she meets Mark and he becomes interested in her will Alison accept him or will she push him away

This book that my son is reading for his school curriculum caught my eye, and when I picked it up I couldn't put it down. How terrific to be able to understand AND enjoy a lesson of stories on the constellations. I highly recommend this book for amatuer and avid star gazers.

This is the best book I've ever seen for teaching kids or adults how to find stars and identify constellations in the night sky. It's apparently geared to kids of about age 12, but I haven't been twelve for over thirty years and I enjoyed and learned from this book. The writing is clear and precise with neat little sidebars that give additional scientific information to the text. Refreshingly, the quality of the illustrations, paper and layout is tremendous. No cutting corners here. This is a first-class book! If this new release doesn't get picked up for classroom use, our educators are asleep.

Dreams of Dolphins Dancing tells of a young girl, much like anyone's daughter, who encounters a solitary Spinner dolphin while snorkeling. This chance meeting leads to an adventure, perhaps real, perhaps imagined, in which the youth discovers much about the fragile relationship between mankind and the environment, the strength of love and the wonders of the ocean's rich variety of life. Although it deals with a disturbing subject, the environmental assault against our oceans from pollution and questionable fishing practices, it is ultimately a story that empowers the reader to act, rather than despair. The watercolor illustrations are exquisite and in themselves more than worth the price of the book. Don't be fooled by the category "children's book." It is appealing to all ages.

As a mother, scuba diver and teacher I appreciate this book in so many ways.This book inspires children to get involved. Environmentally correct, vividly descriptive narrative stimulates curiosity and promotes an early love of sea life. Professionally painted, full page illustrations celebrate the undersea world in visual explosions that call to children's senses and awaken emerging imaginations and fantasies. But, it is the gentle flow of the tale itself that peaks children's interests while sending a strong emotional message that calls each child to personal environmental action. This very special book is sure to tug at the heart strings of young and old alike as it empowers the human spirit to dare to believe that maybe, just maybe one very small person really can make a difference. To share this book with your family is to embark on an adventure that might just change your life." - Lisa Feeney, MS Edu.