Texas is a large state and includes several hardiness zones. How can one book give advice covering such a variety of climate and soils?? This one does - ranging from the Rio Grande Valley to the high plains of the panhandle. Rather than trying to give all information about all plants listed in the more than 200 lists, this is a shopping list and a guideline of what will thrive and do well in a particular part of the state.

Given are not only lists of the common names but also the scientific names of the plants included. And there are lists that cover almost any conceivable type of plant.

Just as an example, the chapter entitled "Annual Color" includes "Annuals for Alkaline Soil", "Annuals for Beginners', "Bulbs for Central Texas", "Annuals for Sunny, Hot, Dry Places", "Annuals for the Beach", "Cool-Season Annuals", "Wait Until its Really Warm to Plant These", "Texas Specialty Cut Flowers", "Anuals for Fragrance", "Kathy Huber's Favorite Summer Annuals", "Everlasting Flowers", "Annuals That Do Well In the Shade", "Annuals You Can Plant In The Heat Of Summer", "Annuals For Hanging Baskets"," Tallest Annuals For The Back Of A Border", "Annuals For Naturalizing", "Super Easy Flowers From a Packet of Seed", "Annuals That Bloom From Spring to Frost if You Deadhead", "Annuals That Bloom Unaided from Spring to Frost", "Greg Grant's Surefire Annuals and Bulbs", "Bulbs All Year Round".

In addition to Annuals, chapters are devoted to perennials - ferns and ground cover - kitchen gardens - roses - tropicals, succulents, and exotics - shrubs - trees - vines - special lists and gardens - books - magazines - websites, etc.

This books is especially useful to garden enthusiasts moving to Texas from other States. I am a Texas Master Gardener and maintain a gardening web-site. I receive many email requests for growing conditions in Texas. Since this book has been published, my job of answering these questions has been made much easier - my answer is "Secure a copy of 'The Lone Star Gardener's Book of Lists' ".

Dr. Hogan takes the reader of this wonderful book right into the Civil War, and even deeper into the life of Col. Greenawalt. You won't want to put it down.

This is a story that will etch itself into your heart. As you read, you will come to know and understand Jacob's feelings on the war, his relationships with his fellow soldiers, and most of all, his intense love for Rebecca. The descriptions of the battles he fought in are so realistic that you'll feel you are there at his side. The pain and longing to see his wife that Jacob feels when he is dying in the army hospital is likewise just as real.

The author of this book did a great service to both the memory of Jacob Greenawalt, and to the people of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, by writing this book. Having grown up in West Newton myself, it was especially moving, but you don't have to be a Pennsylvanian "Wildcat" to appreciate this great story.

I have read more than my share of Civil War books based upon letters and diary. Most of these volumes begin when the soldier goes to war and pens his first letter home and usually ends with the last letter written either before his muster out or death. Waiting for Jacob, however begins with Jacob's letters from college four years before the war. Letters in which he proclaims his love to his "young miss" as she waits for him at home. The letters amazingly do not end with Jacob's death in 1864, but continue two years later when the nurses that cared for the dying soldier once again reaffirm his love from statements made on his death bed to the grieving widow. I found these letters quite unique and moving, they were letters that keep Rebecca "alive" for the next six decades. The author attempts in this tome, successfully I might add, to weave together different story lines. The first drawn from a "first person" account of the last years of Rebecca, his Civil War widow. This passage is drawn from an interview with an elderly lady, who as a teenage that cared for Rebecca in her last years, as she waited not for Jacob but instead for death to rejoin her martyr husband killed 61 years before. He also vividly narrates the stories told by Jacob's letters. Letters that tell not only war but also of backstabbing fellow officers, and the senseless losses both on the battlefield and of disease caused by incompetent generals. It also included is a complete roster and some personal stories of the 100 men from his hometown of West Newton, PA who he recruits and leads as a Captain. The story of their recruitment is drawn completely from local period newspapers. Most unique to me was the chapter obtained completely from state archive records when Jacob is promoted to Major over a more senior captain (The "War" with Captain Hastings). An incident that forces Jacob to resign his commission (it was rejected) and is moved to write to Rebecca his most heartfelt letter where he proclaims, "I am no Christian." It is my humble opinion that this book would be enjoyed not only by a Civil War "buff" but also one interested in a Victorian period love story. It is indeed a story that does deserve to be preserved forever

In this charming work, Edwin Hogan, captivates the reader with the tender love story set against the background of the American Civil War. Dr. Hogan's research adds depth to the story told in the letters from Jacob Greenawalt to his wife Rebecca. The story will be especially of interest to those living in Western Pennsylvania, as familiar place and family names jump off the pages and even minor characters come alive under his pen. However, the story of love, war, and longing has universal appeal. For those with a particular interest in this period of history, the book adds new details of the contributions made by the people of West Newton and the surrounding area. It is one of the finest books that I have read in quite some time.

Reading this book reminded me of attending a good conference where lots of company executives provide detailed examples of the issues they faced, and how they went about dealing with those issues. Since such conferences usually cost several hundred dollars, this book is a real bargain -- and you don't have to get on an airplane and fly someplace!

One of the strengths of the book is that you receive several perspectives on the context for each case history. The editors describe what each case means, and the conclusions section summarizes general patterns. Also, each case is presented in the same format which makes it easier to understand what is being shared. I was particularly grateful for the exhibits (which exist in electronic form in the CD enclosed in the book). I also appreciated that the cases were primarily written by Human Resources professionals inside the companies, rather than being a consultant's take on what happened.

Having said all those positive things, let me share some concerns. First, I looked in vain for my favorite examples of outstanding work in recruiting, retention, knowledge encouragement, and executive development. If this book is about "best practices" where were GE, Disney, Motorola, Ritz Carlton, and SAS Institute? Second, many of the cases involved companies that are better known for their poor performance than for excellence. If they are developing their people so well, what happened? Third, a lot of these cases involve new initiatives where the long-term consequences are hard to see. Fourth, the profit impact on the organizations was not well documented. That makes it hard to use these cases as examples to encourage your own company to follow suit. Fifth, as change management processes, most of these cases are far behind the curve of what is described in Peter Senge's various books of case histories such as The Dance of Change. Part of the reason seems to be that a number of these cases aren't very new.

Of the cases in the book, I recommend the ServiceMASTER, Westinghouse, Johnson & Johnson, Allstate, and Case Corporation examples as the most helpful to me. I mention that because there's a lot of material in this book. I read a lot and rapidly, and I found this book hard to tackle. By being more selective in what you go after, you can help avoid some of that problem. Naturally, if your own issues are only in a few areas, just look at those cases.

Develop the full potential of everyone, beginning with yourself!

"The principal goal of this book is to provide you with the key ingredients taken from best-companies to help you create and enhance your organization and human resource development (OD/HRD) initiative. Through a case study approach, this book provides practical, easy-to-apply tools, instruments, training, concepts, and competency models that can be used as benchmarks for the successful implementation of your specific OD/HRD initiative (from the Introduction)."

In this context, Louis Carter, David Giber, and Marshall Goldsmith (editors) divide core part of this book -Organization and Human Resources Development Case Studies- into following five OD/HRD topic areas:

I. Organization Development and Change: In this section, W. Warner Burke says, "Seven rich cases (Kraft Foods, Nortel, ServiceMASTER, SmithKline Beecham, Westinghouse, CK Witko, and Xerox) of organization development and change are discussed...The cases cover a wide range of change from how OD occurs every day to deep change in an organization's culture...Without doubt we can learn from these cases. And learn we must. Changing organization is too intricate to be left to novices. We have indeed learned and noted at the outset, but we still have much to learn. As one who has been involved for more than 35 years, helping organizations change is both thrilling and very satisfying. Learning, however, is the most exciting part (pp.6-8)."

II. Leadership Development: In this section, Jay A. Congerwrites that "In the cases that follow, we look at three companies (Boeing, Johnson & Johnson, and Sun Microsystems,Inc.) that have dedicated serious time and resources to leadership development...In addition, all three of the company cases make extended use of competency models, 360-degree feedback, and action learning (p.186)."

III. Recruitment and Retention: In this section of the book, John Sullivan writes, "you'll learn how three diverse companies tackled their retention and recruiting problems. Two of the firms are high tech (AMD and Cellular One), while another (Allstate) is in a more traditional industry. Both AMD and Cellular One focus on solving the hot issue of retention while Allstate takes a new look at the recruiting and selection processes. All three of the case studies use a scientific approach to identify which solutions have the most impact...All three of these case studies are worth examining because of their scientific methodology as well as their results. All are full of powerfull 'lessons learned' for those who are soon to begin a major recruitment or retention effort (pp.303-304)."

IV. Performance Management: This section examines performance management systems of Case Corporation and Sonoco. Edward E. Lawler III says that "the performance management systems in most organizations are contoversial, ineffective, and constantly under construction. They are so problematic that critics argue many organizations would be better off if they simply didn't have a performance management system, particularly one in which performance appraisals are tied to pay actions. But-and it is an important but- if individuals are not appraised, counseled, coached, and rewarded for performance, how can an organization pruduce the organized, coordinated, and motivated behavior that it takes to perform well? The answer most likely is that it can't (p.393)."

V. Coaching and Mentoring: Introduction of this section, Beverly Kaye writes, "the last 5 years have seen a groundswell in both arenas. And it's not just been more of the same; organizations have begun to use mentoring and coaching more purposefully. HR and OD practitioners have worked to utilize both interventions to meet pressing business problems having to do with the development and retention of talent, as well as the growth of future leaders. These interventions have been more systemic, more thoughtful, and more innovative than ever before. The case studies (Dow Corning, and MediaOne Group-AT&T) illustrate this trend. Both were motivated by specific business drivers, both were preceded by intensive research, both were implemented over time, and both were evaluated seriously. Readers will find them instructive, detailed, and engaging (p.438)."

Finally, Louis Carter (editor) says that "contributors were asked to indicate where they envision their organization is heading with its initiative within the next 5 to 10 years. Responses indicate that the contributors want to keep the organization on a track to continuously learn and develop its capabilities. Comments from some contributors indicate that they want to leverage lessons learned from this experience. Some contributors commented that they want to firmly ingrain the initiative into the organization to the point that it is almost invisible to the user, making it an accepted part of life at the company. Other contributors will continue to refine the present initiative in place, while others will expand their efforts into other business lines. Survey results clearly indicate that the present state of the initiatives represented in this book represent snapshots of moving targets. Further growth and innovation is inevitable for these best practice organizations, as they work to stay ahead of their competitors by embracing change and continuously learning and improving (pp.531-532)."

Strongly recommended.

Here in a single volume is about all that is needed to design, implement, and then monitor a program through which to achieve organizational transformation. Moreover, the editors have selected both information and wisdom which can help to ensure that such a program is comprehensive, cohesive, and cost-effective. The phrase "best practices" is apt but should not be misconstrued to mean that strategies and tactics which have been highly successful in some organizations are necessary going to be successful in all others. Moreover, I urge the reader to keep in mind that, although the organizations featured (e.g. Boeing, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft Foods, Nortel Networks, ServiceMASTER, SmithKline Beecham, and Sun Microsystems) are among the largest in their respective industries, much of the material in this book is also relevant to small-to-midsize organizations. My own rather extensive past experience with all manner of organizations (including non-profits) has convinced me that most people do not fear change; rather, they fear the unfamiliar. Hence the importance of three on-going initiatives: communicate, communicate, and communicate.

Part One consists of Acknowledgments, About This Book, How to Use This Book, and an excellent Foreword by Richard Beckhard. Carter, Giber, and Goldsmith then shift their attention in Part Two of "Organization & Human Resources Development Case Studies." The individual case studies are distributed within this thematic structure:

Organizational Development & Change

Leadership Development

Recruitment & Retention

Performance Management

Coaching & Mentoring

Part Three: Conclusion consists of Research (OD/HRD Trends and Findings), Endnotes, About Linkage, Inc., About the Editors, Index, and How to Use the CD-ROM, terrific value-added benefit.

Back to Beckhard's Foreword for a moment. In it, he identifies six (6) "elements" which are basic to each case study; all are central to and sequential within the change process associated with organizational development/human resource development (OD/HRD). They are: Business Diagnosis, Assessment, Program Design, Implementation, On-the-Job Support, and Evaluation. It is helpful to keep these six "elements" clearly in mind while working your way through the abundance of information which the editors provide. Fortunately, they have organized the (sometimes daunting) material with meticulous care and write exceptionally well. I also urge you to use the same six "elements" as guidelines when determining what the design of your own program for organizational change should be, and, when selecting those strategies and tactics discussed in the book which are most appropriate to the implementation and evaluation of that program. This is especially true of decision-makers in small-to-midsize organizations.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out O'Toole's Leading Change, Katzenbach's Real Change Leaders as well as his Peak Performance , Kaplan and Norton's The Balanced Scorecard and The Strategy-Focused Organization, Quinn's Deep Change, O'Dell and Grayson's If Only We Knew What We Know, Isaacs' Dialogue and the Art of Thinking Together, and Senge's The Dance of Change. Those especially interested in Six Sigma are encouraged to check out (and read in this order) Pande's The Six Sigma Way, Breyfogle's Implementing Six Sigma, and Eckes's Making Six Sigma Last.

This is a very detailed book covering many years and topics regarding the history of the mainstream Christian church. It does tend to meander back to Catholicism most of the time, but they are the leading Christian group.
Overall, a very worthwhile book if you try not to get bogged down with all the dates and names put forth. From my limited experience, I think this is also a very thorough book which has gone through several revisions to keep it current.
Except for the fact I needed this for a class, I would not have purchased it at full price, or close to full price.

I once heard a taped lecture in which the late church historian John Gerstner recommend Williston Walker's text as the best single volume work on the history of Christian Church that one could find. I have since concluded that Gerstner's assessment is correct. Any single volume work that attempts to cover such a broad and complex field is bound to suffer from gaps and over generalizations, but I must say that Walker, and his later revisers, have nonetheless done a fantastic job with the material covered. One of this book's strengths is the way it successfully ties together both theological issues and the broader historical context as they played a role in shaping the doctrine, life, and practice of the Church. There are a about nine maps scattered throughout, but apart from these there is nothing else in the way of images, just meaty text. An extensive bibliography can be found in the back of the book that is nicely divided up by periods, with each period further divided into various topical categories such as, "Sources and Documents," or "Thought and Theology." It should be noted, however, that this bibliography has not been updated since around 1984.

Despite the fact this is a one volume survey, I do not think this work is for the casual reader looking for a light introduction to church history. I don't mean to suggest that it is difficult reading, because I think it is actually written very well. It just seems to me that this text's appeal and value will be for the serious student who desires a more scholalry survey.

A History of the Christian Church by Williston Walker was first published in 1918 and has gone through significant revision over the years. This is the fourth edition and includes the latest scholarship in the field of Christian history. The book is the major text for many seminary and university courses on the subject and with good reason, it includes quality research and scholarship. If you are a serious student of the subject you will enjoy the book and find it helpful in your own research. If you are a novice or casual inquirer, I recommend you look elsewhere. It does not offer a smooth flow through history like other texts of this nature. On the spectrum of Christian scholarship, the text is on the liberal end. The reading is more difficult than most introductory texts. Also, the book does not seem to give equal print to subjects of equal value to the history of the world wide Church. Yet, for the serious student of church history, it is an outstanding resource.

I am a sophomore in highschool taking an AP class with this book. It has a lot of information, which I guess is a good thing if you are reading this for your own personal gain rather than being tested on it. However, it is so dense that it is difficult to pick up key ideas. Every piece of information is important on some level, and the tests I take, which my teacher got along with this book, also treat every fact as important. I wouldn't mind reading this book if I wasn't expected to have a photographic memory but it just doesn't do a good job of helping me understand key ideas in history. Well, if you have to read this in your history class I hope you have a good teacher to guide you along in the reading. Otherwise.... I hope your memory is better than mine!!

Excellent book for senior high school-college-undergraduate studies, covering the broad field of world history. The text is structured in such a manner as to suit both brief studies of various areas and times, as well as more in depth, long term programs. A fascinating assortment of primary source excerpts have been included, from earliest human societies to issues facing humanity in the contemporary period. Though the text has a slight Western emphasis, it covers non-Western civilisations quite well.

Be prepared though for extensive reading. The complete set is very large, but shouldn't be an obstacle for those with a passion for both general and obscure history!

Minutely researched, Richard Schickel really did his homework. Griffith emerges as an intriguing, if not altogether engaging, character. He seems to have been the first to understand what was to become the accepted language of popular cinema. For example, he showed that intercutting two sequences (a house on fire and the approaching fire engine) would not confuse an audience.

What I missed was more background in the world surrounding Griffith, Hollywood is so briefly sketched that one is left thinking Griffith worked in a vacuum. But maybe that's the point, he chose not to see how the feature film was developing around him.

Schickel lays to rest several myths about Griffith but seems unsure quite what note to strike about his racism. In the end Griffith remains a rather distant character.

When Griffith dies on p.604 it's relief and as someone you are intrigued, but not engaged, by you can't help feeling he got what he deserved.

I bought this book because of my high opinion of two of the authors, Headrick and Crossley. The approach is extremely good, but there are great weaknesses in coverage of the histories of the United States, Russia, and China. This is a very useful reference work on modern history, and there are many absorbing chapters. But it can't be used without additional reading --add Geoffrey Freeze on Russia, Immanuel Hsu on modern China, and Edmund Morgan on the U.S.

This book is updated to the latest development in financial market, institutions and structure.

It concisely presented the money and capital markets with a touch of history and functionality.

I particularly like the balanced view of the authors in their presentations. It successfully illustrates the functional as well as risk consideration of the markets and institutions.

This book should serve well for student studying in domestic financial market and also as a bridging link to international financial system.

Encyclopedic Dictionary of Gears and Gearing is worth owning. It has many well-drawn illustrations, is organized to be accessable, and reads well. The authors do know what they're talking about.

I have two problems with the book - 1) some very basic gear terms, e.g. "hob" and "hobbing" are undefined, although both terms are frequently used thoughout the text, 2) some of the entries are out of alphabetical order and therefore hard to find, e.g. "nongenerated gear".

Aside from these editorial problems, I learned a good deal quickly from this reference book.