Do you ever experience that feeling of "goosebumps" running up and down your body when something - an emotion, a work of art, a courageous act - deeply moves you? That is how I felt when Julia & Phil Davies showed me a preview copy of their new book, Turks and Caicos Islands - Beautiful by Nature. I had previously been given the opportunity to read the copy, which itself is an awesome compilation of facts and information about the natural history and heritage of these Islands. However, the combination of the well-researched text, Phil's spectacular photography and Julia's meticulous drawings of selected species tremendously impressed me. Finally, in one comprehensive and beautiful publication, TCI-philes will be able to learn all about the country's magical wonders and how they came to be.

The 176 page, over-sized hardcover book includes 182 color photographs from all around the Islands and 60 hand-drawn illustrations. The lively chapters lead readers from the land and reef's formation through detailed descriptions of marine, bird, animal and plant life to Islanders' sea-based heritage and how recent change and development has affected Turks & Caicos culture. Besides serving as a one-of-a-kind resource for visitors and residents, the book seems destined to be used as an educational text in local schools.

Julia and Phil spent two years in the Turks & Caicos researching the book and shooting the photos and another two years writing the text, completing the drawings and designing the layout. Their creation is truly a life's masterpiece and stunning tribute to the Islands.

If you live in the Islands, you've probably already seen a copy of Phil and Julia's beautiful book, and l hope you've already bought a copy or two. For those who have not seen it yet, I urge you to search it out. Except for Bertie Sadler's historical survey of our country, Turks Island Landfall, this book is the first major publishing effort that focuses on the Turks & Caicos Islands exclusively.

Primarily a photo-essay, Beautiful by Nature is held together by the impressively astute and coherent narrative that outlines the entire history of the Turks & Caicos Islands.

Chapter One starts in the far geologic past. We are introduced to the millennia-long formation of the shallows, reefs, and sand flats that preceded the final emergence of our Island platforms. Chapter Two is a brief and readable short course in Island biogeography. We learn how the first signs of life came to these brand new Islands in the form of windblown seeds, migrant birds from north and south, and wave- washed, castaway snails, lizards, and snakes.

Finally, Chapter Three brings us to our Islands' human populations. In concise historical sketches, the authors outline the successive migrations that have populated these Islands and how these populations have impacted the land: Taino Indians from the south, Bermudian saltrakers from the north, and British Loyalists from North America. Chapter Four covers the Turks & Caicos Islands as we know them today. There is a section on the Salt Islands of Grand Turk, Salt Cay and South Caicos with their colonial charm and laid-back feel. The modern development of Providenciales is highlighted in another. And the final chapter is an outline of the country's plans for the future and a plea that the ever- quickening pace of modern development doesn't catch the Islands off-guard.

Buy this book. Buy it for the stunning photographs and Julia's charming illustrations. It's well worth it. But please, read it, too. The Davies' love for the Turks & Caicos Islands is obvious. And their ability to share it with us in beautiful pictures and well-chosen words is a gift.

I recently ordered this book from Amazon and must admit to hesitating a bit before I spent the money - but this book is truly extraordinary. It is as advertised, perfect for the beginning student starting out without a teacher. It is structured for studying by yourself and covers subjects in a way not found in other books or tapes. If you are in the market for an introduction to music through the use of a keyboard, then this book is for you.

The first thing I appreciated about Julia's method was her "absence of guilt" approach. Music is supposed to be fun and she ensures there is never any guilt feeling that will detract from the fun. Her method is also an extremely logical, orderly method of learning about music. Once you train your eyes, mind and hands to work together and instantly recognize and play a chord, you have made the first leap towards being able to sight-read any music you choose.

She's written some fabulous music to help speed the "learning" portion of music so you can get on to the fun part.

I simply cannot express my full appreciation for Julia Wade's method of learning music.

As soon as I received the book, I started to read it and couldn't put it down. Very informative. I would highly recommend this book.

Finally, a book that explains common diseases and normal body functioning in plain english. How many times have we been to a Doctor's office for a problem and not quite understood the medical terminology used. With this book I have a better understanding of the body.

This book is a welcomed addition to my library. I have recommended it to all my friends and family. I eagerly await more books from Dr. Julia.

An honest look at what makes a woman sexy to any man. The first chapter about the man flirting with Julia when she wasn't dressed nicely was told with humor and tenderness. There was lots of statistics but the book was very interesting to read. This book proved that even plain and overweight woman could still be seen as sexy by some men.

Julia Grice tells her readers that being sexy is a lot more than just a matter of wearing a low-cut dress. She tells how to flirt, what turns a man on (and off), and a lot of interesting stuff on how men like women to dress, wear their hair, what situations men are more likely to find a woman sexy in, and lots more. But the most important point the author brings out is that a woman doesn't have to be a perfect "10" to be sexy-- her confidence in herself is what projects to men. Grice studied "sexy women" of all ages and found that they liked men, and felt confident in themselves. This means any woman has a chance of being sexier than she is... my kind of book since I have a few love handles yet feel sexy inside. It was so great to find this book on tape-- I read the original hardcover-- and I played it in my car on the way to work, laughing aloud at times. Grice has a warm way of writing that makes you feel good.

Women and Warriors of the Plains features the pioneer photography of Julia E. Tuell, whose black and white photos documented Native American women's lives and times. The Tuells lived among the Sioux from 1912 to 1929, with Julia using her photography to document their rapidly-changing way of life. Her photos are both artistic and historically important documents of early Sioux women's lives.

An excellent pick, Dan Aadland's Women And Warriors Of The Plains provides a review of the early photography of Julia Tuell, whose black and white portraits of Native American women are accompanied by fine accounts of life with the Northern Cheyenne and others.

As a young writer, Janet Sternburg searched for a book about woman writers: how they came to be, how they viewed their lives, how they treated their work. It was the seventies and none existed, so she put together The Writer on Her Work and it was published in 1981 - a book featuring women writing about writing. This year marks its anniversary (thus, the new edition) with a touching preface by Julia Alvarez, plus an updated introduction and bios of the 17 women who contributed to the landmark collection. Established, unknown and up-and-coming writers of the time - including Maxine Hong Kingston, Joan Didion and Alice Walker - reflect on writing and lives as writers, through heartfelt and sometimes hilarious commentary. The value of this book is reading how these women, writing in different genres, pursued their passion in the face of opposition. Whether that opposition took on the form of household responsibilities, writer's block, dissenting peers or a male-dominated marketplace, it's interesting tackling the dilemma through their eyes and in that time; making a place for themselves, and their work, discovering in that world, she dominates. This speaks to the heart of the book, a community of women's voices, whether alive or deceased, writing because they had to, sharing profound experiences and reflections on being a woman creating. The Writer on Her Work offers diverse personalities expressing their romance with words, also acknowledging the ups and downs that come with that relationship. Each essay is an inspiring testament to the continuing struggle and undeniable beauty of the female spirit in print.

I've loved this book since 1980, when I bought a copy and read it and lent it and recommended it many times over since then. This new edition is even better. The pieces, personal and trenchant, ingeniously selected by Sternburg over twenty years ago, have withstood the test of time.

There is deep feeling, variety, astonishing articulation of complex things, and warmth and humor in these essays. Many of the writers fight to write, and show us their battle plans. It's inspiring and encouraging, and sometimes it's sad. Some - I am thinking of young writer Michele Murray, who struggled against terrible odds - are heartbreaking. Anne Tyler's darkly humorous recitation of her typical working day, "Still Just Writing," is a classic. Alice Walker's essay, "One Child of One's Own" speaks to motherhood, and its fragile but undeniable relationship to a writing life.

The new Preface, by Dominican-born Vermonter Julia Alvarez, is touching and insightful and very personal - in keeping with the rest of the book - and speaks to the concerns of the essays. Sternberg has also edited her orignal Introduction, and updated the contributors' notes at the book's end.

Without question I'd recommend this wonderful book to anyone interested in reading women on the process of writing, the art of memoir, and the considered and considerably interesting opinions of a group of very wonderful writers.

Maggie Thayer, in The Absolut, Ultimate End by Julia First, is excited about the new school year and the extracurricular activities available to her. But there is one problem; to save tax dollars for the Oakdale schools, some or maybe all extracurricular activities will be cut. Maggie and her best friend, Eloise are worried about their scholl lives if the programs are cut. Something must be done. . . One of the problems Maggie has with the cuts is that her crush, Stevie Garber, is in Dramatics Club. To be near him, Maggie signs up for tryouts. She hope that if she makes the club that the club will not be taken away. Maggie's best friend, Eloise, is into sports. She plays every sprot she can. She is desperate , as is everyone else, for the cuts not to take place. Another problem that occurs is that Maggie doesn't expect. She is forced to help a disabled person. She is agianst it at first, but once she meets her new companion, Doreen, they develop a close relationship. They find out theat the program they're doing may be closed. Their friendship develpoed through it, and they don't want it to close. If it is closed, Doreen would have to go back to a school for the blind, which she doesn't want. Perhaps the biggest problem of the whole story is that Maggie's dad is runnung for school board. He is for cutting extra activities. Maggie and Eloise were excited at first, but when they found out that Maggie's dad wasn't on their side, they went clueless. Something had to be done fpr the Oakdale Junior High students, and by the students before the absolute, ultimate end. . . This book gave me a good sense of team work. Team work is what it takes to accomplish unthinkable feats. Any thats why I gave this book five stars. Team work and leadership, as displayed by Maggie, lead her to success, which is the most important accomplishment of all.

Perhaps the most handy reference collection we have seen come through our ProCert Labs, Stephen L. Nelson's From A To Z collection of quick reference guides really hits the spot. If you are using a Microsoft Office product (and if you are not: its time you bought yourself a computer), this handy reference guide will prove indispensable.

Stephen L. Nelson has been writing quick reference guides for some time now, and it shows in this series. Organized alphabetically, each guide excludes an index because, after all, it is one. The navigation is easy and gets right to the point. I looked up "Selecting Text" and learned that there are six different ways to do so. I discovered each of the six ways in less than half a page; a testament to the concise and straightforward instruction in store for every reader.

And don't let me fool you; the information available in each guide addresses the complex as well as the mundane. You will find quick reference tidbits on everything from Autoformatting (a bane to every Word user) to managing Text Formulas in Excel (which most of us would use if we knew they existed.)

For you Access jockeys, having the Access 2002 From A To Z quick reference at hand will make Applying Filters as easy as cooking with Ron Popeil. The finer points of PowerPoint are described in understandable detail, and if you are looking to quell your questions about Outlook, you will find them the fastest in this quick reference.

Bonus Situation: MOUS. Aside from being a valuable desktop reference, each quick reference guide includes information about passing the Microsoft Office User Specialist exam, and promises that the guide includes all the information you will need to pass the test. Our quick review confirmed this, making these books an excellent choice for those of you who are working toward MOUS certification.

The current series of quick reference guides includes:

Word 2002 From A To Z
Excel 2002 From A To Z
PowerPoint 2002 From A To Z
Access 2002 From A To Z
Outlook 2002 From A To Z
Windows 2002 From A To Z
Each quick reference is about 200 pages, with the exception of the Windows XP quick reference, which tops out at 250. Under twelve bucks apiece, you can't miss with any one of the From A To Z quick references from Redmond Technologies Press. Each book individually provides excellent coverage of every function of its technology, and the entire collection represents a comprehensive must have for anyone who relies on the MS Office suite for advanced productivity.

This new title examines the lives of Victorian women, from writers and poets to sculptors and social reformers - all of whom were celebrated in their day, but forgotten in modern times. From Charlotte Cushman to literary Jane Welsh Carlyle, Across an Untried Sea provides a fine survey of women.