After living through what felt like an insane period of my life I find that I am not really insane at all but dealing with changes of getting older and closer to perimenopause that maybe I would admit.

This book helped me see the ways to help myself adjust and live through it without going insane. I have a few more years to put the whole book into theory but the weight issues are there and fading thanks to this book.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is in their 30's and is a woman. It will make all the difference in the world!

Complex topics such as partnerships tend to be covered in a very fragmented manner. Partners.com does not have this problem. Cunningham ably deals with the people, process, technology and market issues that forge partnerships, but also how to manage, measure and change them. Rarely are these areas covered in sufficient detail, but here there is a roadmap with milestones and strategies that are working in the marketplace. Partners.com does for partnerships what Patti Seybold's Customers.com did for customer relationships. A classic!

This book is a prize! For those that are looking for the details behind partnerships the information here is not only relevant, but very comprehensive. The mixture of technology, strategy and culture required to pull of good partnerships is difficult for organizations trying to make it happen. Cunningham provides not only a great roadmap, but illustrated with real world examples of what has and has not worked. Do not be fooled by the .com in the title, this book is targeted at all businesses. I particularly liked the sections on self-service Partnerships and the "most important partners, your staff". A practical piece with great strategic insight. Organizations will be able to use this to hone their competitiveness, internal and external consultants will buy to emulate all that has been learned on this topic.

The Cleveland Museum of Art has held special exhibitions of E Asian art for the last 30 years. In 2000 the exhibition was of INK PAINTINGS & ASHGLAZED CERAMICS: MEDIEVAL CALLIGRAPHY, PAINTING & CERAMICS FROM JAPAN & KOREA. The art was from the museum's George Gund collection of 13th-16th century known master painters and talented unknown artists.

Ink painting got into Japan, from China, as part of Tang dynasty painting. One of the earliest examples, Landscape on hemp cloth, must have been done in the late 8th century. At that time, waves were typically made bird wing-like. Also, coastal islands were typically made in just a few brushstrokes. It was definitely an ink painting, because of the modeling and the texture strokes lighting and shading the rocks.

Japanese ink painting peaked in the 14th century and in the second halves of the 15th and 18th centuries. Chinese paintings had been imported, as gifts, but also to be bought and sold at high prices. Supply didn't meet demand. So Japanese painters had to churn out good copies, in the styles of 13th-century Chinese masters Xia Gui, Muqi, and Ma Yuan.

But the Japanese tended not to let go of their painting traditions or views of nature in copying. For example, Chinese landscapes were orderly and realistic, Japanese helter skelter. The only known exception was the most famous ink painter, Sesshu Toyo, 1420-1506. While learning ink from Li Zai and color from Zhang Yousheng, he took on the Chinese view of nature. Because of his reputation, late 15th-century Japanese artists were more realistic than usual, in portraits and in screens showing artisans and Kyoto area scenes.

Sesshu was part of the golden age of Japanese ink painting, known as the Higashiyama period. Most of the exhibition's paintings are from that period and afterwards. They include works by two other famous ink painters, Bokkei Saiyo and Bunsei. They also have artworks by Ikkyu Sojun. The lives, let alone the identities, of many ink painters didn't make it through time. But Ikkyu was one of the few who has always been well known, because of his art and the stories about his life. In fact, Japanese television started up a children's cartoon program, with him as the main character.

Author Michael R Cunningham includes illustrations and write-ups for all 33 items. His book's well organized, with a good bibliography and helpful glossary. It's every bit as impressive as his earlier BUDDHIST TREASURES FROM NARA and his later UNFOLDING BEAUTY: JAPANESE SCREENS FROM THE CLEVELAND ART MUSEUM.

Open City consistently publishes great stories, poems, essays, and artwork. I look forward to each issue, because each one is so different, and because this magazine continues to be vital and relevant, esp. because many literary magazines are so staid and dull....

"Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats" is a genuine treasure and a breathtaking illustration of fine art. Photographer Michael Cunningham and journalist Craig Marberry exemplify the meaning of a queen with their artistry. The first portrait invites you to begin a journey that will lead you page by page through history with the inspirational and candid stories of each woman bearing a Sunday worship service crown. Truly this book extends to all religions by exploring one simple, but ever important symbol of showing reverence to God.

I first heard about this book on the CBS Sunday Morning program, telecast just before Christmas 2000 (write to CBS for a copy of that tape, if you missed it. It features the book's authors and some of the women they photographed. You won't regret it!) I fought Christmas crowds to go to the nearest bookstore to see it firsthand. I was blown away! I'm getting to "that age" when the mothers of the church are wondering when Miss Esteen's girl is finally going to start wearing hats to church. This book is pushing me closer to that day! Don't let the fact that the photos are in black & white, not color, deter you from buying this book. In a lot of ways, the black & white photography helps bring out the true beauty; I think color photography might have actually been a distraction from that. The only thing more beautiful than the hats in this book are the women that are wearing them! Pride, dignity and strength are on each page. If it were only about fashion, I wouldn't recommend this book so highly; it's the women who wear the hats, their spirit and their thoughts and that make this book. To the ladies photographed, I have only one thing to say: I want to be just like you when I grow up!

I am called the "Hat Lady". I relate to the queens in the book. In fact, some of the ladies made comments that I found to be very profound, i.e, wearing a hat in a coffin. I wear hats and love them. Like the ladies, when I put on a hat I stand taller, walk with a strut, and feel I am invincible. It's something about a hat that seems to add to my stature. "Crowns" gives a lot of insight into why we look so good in hats. It's true it's all about attitude and self-esteem. I try to wear them at all times. "Crowns" is relative. I felt so good about myself after reading it. The queens really put hats in their proper perspective in relation to African-American women. I always get a compliment like, "Girl, you're wearing that hat" from one of my sisters and from strangers I hear, "That's a bad hat you got on." (Mostly males) Several times I saw myself in those. I smiled and shook my head at the comments. It is a story that needed to be told. I commend the author & photographer, for I found no fault with "Crowns". A good read.

This book is one of the best woodworking books I have ever read on any topic. This book happens to be on wood finishes. Not only does the author tell you about various finishes and what they might be best for, but he tells you why! Not only does this extra information satisfy curiosity, but it helps you learn how to pick a finish even if your exact situation is not listed in the book.

The author provides helpfull tricks like how to tell if a can of finish is an oil or a varnish. (let some dry on a piece of glass and check the results). How to treat pine before staining to prevent blotches. He even revleas the ridiculous labeling practices of the finish makers that often make it hard to buy what you meant to buy. Did you know that many rubbing oils are varnishes, not pure oils?!?

The author has clearly studied the science of finishing. He explains the whys and hows with enough detail for an engineer like me without overly complicating matters. The pictures are helpfull and well done.

This book is definetely on my "must have" list for any woodworker. I just can't say enough good about this book.

This book is a GREAT place to start your journey into wood finishing.

Bob starts by systematically explaining the logic and science behind different types of finish, including oils (varnish "oils" too, polyurethane and such), shellac, lacquer, conversion, waterbase, waxes, and more.

He also explains application methodology IN DEPTH, such as, french polishing, brushing, spraying.

He explains shaping tools (these include scrapers with sharpening methods, spokeshave devices, steel wools, rubbing compounds, sandpapers (all types)) and how to use them to achieve results.

He then goes in depth into suggestions for different woods, limited exotics and many domestics, as well as good rule of thumb's.

Main positives to this book: Mr. Flexner has given in depth and yet layman's explanations of how finishes work and the chemicals involved. This is integral to applying a good finish, in my opinion. This book could stand alone as everything a fledgling finisher needs to tackle any project.

Main negatives: Mr. Flexner is very informative and systematic. That said, he is obviously not a writer by trade. You WILL find yourself treating this as a reference book, its not a "sunday read" for the woodworking inclined. Several times (not many, but a couple) he contradicts himself (there is a passage that "debunks" the myth of better protection from thicker film build of a finish, and then later he suggests building the finish to a thicker film for "better protection...")

These negative in my opinion NO way detract from the book. It is an incredible reference tool for the amateur, and marks a necessary item for the professional finisher's bookshelf.

JTAcoustics

A friend loaned me a copy of this book when I was trying to figure how to stain a cherry cabinet without the typical splotchy results one usually gets with this difficult-to-stain wood. This book not only addressed that problem, it gave several techniques to deal with it. Flexner even explained why different brands of stain would have different results. I was so impressed I bought my own copy. No other book I've seen does such a great job of explaining the technical aspects of how finishes work, and what protection each kind of finish provides, while keeping the text easy to follow and understand. This makes it a great book for learning about the many different stains and wood finishes.

Plus, it is more comprehensive than other wood finishing books I've seen. It explains in detail the different application techniques, when and how to use them. There are plenty of helpful illustrations, including color photo examples of different stains and finishes on various woods. So it is a great reference source when working on a particular project and trying to decide the best finish or application technique to use.

I keep looking for other books on wood finishing that would add to what is in this book. But I haven't come across any yet.

Westcott's short novel has been for years something of a cult work among novelists for its structural perfection. The interlocking erotic and sympathetic triangles among the characters, and the novel's complex explosion of the meaning of the eponymous peregrine (which is pushed as far as symbolic meanings go to the level of either Hawthorne's scarlet letter or James's golden bowl) is absolutely dazzling, and shows the tremednous talent within Westcott that never received its full due. However, the novel does remain somewhat chilly: it's hard to warm to any of the major characters, whose purposeful shallowness can seem somewhat off-putting.

A rediscovered classic currently being championed by Michael Cunningham (who wrote the introduction) and Susan Sontag (who wrote a lengthy New Yorker piece about it, as well as its forgotten author), this is a remarkably good short novel, full of wonderful writing and terrific perceptions. It's a thoughtful and profound study of the nature of marriage and attachments; I'm sure it's going to linger a great while in my memory. For those who care about serious fiction, this is well worth the time.

"The Voyage Out" was Virginia Woolf's first novel. This work is much more even and mature than many writer's first books, however. True, "Voyage Out" is a much more typical novel of the time (it was published in 1915). Her later works would be much more experimental, and "Voyage Out" indicates some of this - the multiple viewpoints and emphasis placed on character's inner lives are both key aspects of this work. And Woolf's mastery of the English language; her ability to write of both the "big events" and the "everydays" of life in a new and exciting way that skirts the melodrama of some of the earlier Victorian novelists is in full flower. Michael Cunningham's introduction, while pretty basic as far as biography and literary criticism go, is a good introduction to Woolf that doesn't put too much of an emphasis on her life over the merits of her work, a tendency that is all too frequently indulged in. Most people nowadays have heard of Virginia Woolf, and may know that she was mad and committed suicide; most people are, however, not aware of the key place she plays in the development of the English novel, and of the power her works still have. Cunningham has some interesting things to say about the place her writing and particularly her fiction play in our view of literature. (Michael Cunningham's most recent novel, "The Hours", is a sort of improvisation which plays off of and comments on Woolf's novel "Mrs Dalloway"; "The Hours" also features Virginia as a character. One more interesting note about "The Voyage Out" is that it introduces us to Richard and Clarissa Dalloway who will go on, of course, to be key players in "Mrs Dalloway"). Just as Cunningham's essay is a good introduction to Woolf Scholarship and Biography, "The Voyage Out" is a good place to start. Not only is it the first of her works, but perhaps more immediately accessible than some of the later works. However, this accessibility is not at the expense of greatness - "The Voyage Out" is not a "lesser Woolf novel" by any means. On the contrary, it deserves to stand with "Mrs Dalloway", "To the Lighthouse" and "The Waves" as a key part of her work.

Rachel Vinrace, a young woman not quite acquainted with the ways of the world, accompanies her aunt and uncle (the Ambroses) to South America, where she eventually falls in love with a young aspiring writer. Swirling around this tale of doomed love are the many other characters who all influence each other and are themselves influenced. Most of the novel is about Rachel, but Helen Ambrose is equally central to the story, as a comparison to her niece and in her own internal voyage. Chronicling the inner lives of her characters, Woolf, in her first novel, explores the awakening of first love, the influences of men (and the culture they have control over) upon women, the confusions we as human beings have in our daily communications with others. Originally entitled "Melymbrosia", "The Voyage Out" went through many revisions as Woolf claimed language for her own uses and effectively began a new literature (for her time), where the internal life and the interconnectedness of humanity are the central themes.

There is no doubt that this guy is an incredible writer. Some of his sentences are simply poetry. But, the begining of the book is so much better than the end. It tells the struggle of two adolescent boys coming to terms with their sexuality, death and the supression of life with unhappy parents (why are all this writers housewives so miserable?)
Once the boys grow up, they are self involved New Yorkers with very empty lifestyles and hard to care about. The writing is still profound but when I finished this novel I found myself wishing I had known the characters better. The book is very long and goes into a lot of detail so this is a bad sign. Like spending a week with someone on vacation and returning home not knowing anything about them.
I can't criticise Micheal Cunninghams writing because there are truly stunning moments here but I just wish I had understood more about what motivated the characters. Or maybe they were really as shallow as they appeared.

Take three extremely self-absorbed people. Throw in a few parents, one lover. Speaking from the interior voices of the four main characters gives a wonderful look at how these people perceive and process the world. But even though they live in a working-class Latino neighborhood in New York, you never ever get a sense of place or that other people exist, which made me lose patience for the lost opportunity and richness. And well I guess I know a few too many people who lead the same kinds of insular lives. I stopped caring about these characters after awhile.

I also found the characterization of Bobby lame--his words in conversation with the others didn't ring right.

Michael Cunningham has great gifts with his prose--I'd be jolted by a description of someone's "moth-colored pajamas." I'm now reading The Hours and am pleased to see that he's been able to make his characters' world much less insular. This book hints at the genius of the Hours.

I'm a huge fan of Michael Cunningham's work since when I read 'The Hours' for the first time in 1999. Ever since I always meant to read his other novels, but to be honest I was afraid of not being moved as I was by his Pulitzer winning book. Silly me.

With all the fuss over the movie 'The Hours' I really felt in the mood for another Cunningham and I chose 'A Home at the End of the World'. I wish I hadn't waited too long. The book is as amazing and well written as 'The Hours'. The characters are vivid and the plot deeply profund. This writer does have the ablity to move us using the power of words. He knows how to make a reader think of his/her life and the world we live in.

His characters may look unconventional at first, but think again. They have the same issues everyone has--being homossexual or not. They struggle to keep on living, and they think it is possible to find true love, however they know there might be no such thing. They know life can be hard, but they still believe it is possible to find happiness --who doesn't? Even failing so many times, there is always a new chance, a new begining, and the sense of possibility. It is definitely a sweet novel, but it is set in a bitter real world.

Although Cunningham's novel is superb I'm not sure it is for everyone. Some people may feel down with story, others may find it silly. All I can say is if you liked 'The Hours' you're very likely to appreciate 'A Home at the End of the World'. I'm looking forward to his other books.

The author of this book seems to be preoccupied with attacking Microsoft and NT than he is with providing assistance with BorderManager. The book is very shallow regarding BorderManager and provides little in the way of technical assistance. Don't waste your money.

This book seems to lack focus. It wanders from basics of TCP/IP to web servers to (even)Sidekick. Seems that his book was put toghther with Border Manager as an afterthought. Novell's book is a little more focused but still lacking.

Gaskin provides an enjoyable description of BorderManager, but does not provide much useful assistance for designing, installing, configuring, or troubleshooting. Since this book suffers from the same problems as the manuals that come with BorderManager, it does not solve most of the problems that BorderManager administrators will encounter. Instead, try Novell's Guide to BorderManager (Stevens & Marymee), or buy the Manual for Novell course 770, "Securing Intranets with BorderManager." The latter book is pricey, but gives good step-by-step installation instructions.