I just LOVE this book. First of all, I love picture books of songs, they combine our two favourite activities. I also love what the author has done with the traditional song - he's turned it into a logical and wonderful story which makes sense, rather than just a succession of things. It's become a story of a 1 yr old and her/his extended loving family. The illustrations are superb. My daughter (now 25 months) has loved it since we got it from the library about 3 months ago. (obviously we had to buy a copy!) She has it all memorized, knows exactly where to turn the page, she loves to sing it over and over. A perfect bedtime book... I can hear her now: " an' maybe hab a dream od a mockin' biiiirrrrd" with an appropriate final flourish to the song!

Ahlberg presents a new variation on an old Anglo-originating lullaby, where loved ones promise to give a baby an assortment of gifts-- each one determined by the last. The sum is a cyclical verse of rhyme and repetition, utilizing a litany form. Beautiful illustrations accompany the timeless text.

My 2-year-old loves books about babies and this is one of our favorites. We sing it every night as part of her bedtime routine. The book is beautifully illustrated and each page offers lots of opportunities to point out objects to help build vocabulary. This is a "must-have" for every baby's library

Salatin gives a step-by-step guide to his innovative method of raising meat chickens on pasture. This book has been used by hundreds of total novices to build up profitable small-farm broiler businesses. Salatin gives clear descriptions and makes lavish use of photographs to get his points across.

Pastured broilers taste better than store-bought, and the manure left behind by the pastured chickens has rejuvenated our pasture. The work is pleasant and isn't strenuous.

The hardest part is becoming proficient at butchering. Salatin lays out the method, but learning to do it quickly takes practice.

My wife studied this book, followed the instructions carefully, and has had three successful seasons of broiler production, and is looking forward to season #4.

Joel Salatin put into words what many of us are looking for...a cost effective way to "get back to nature" by farming, and providing healthy food options at the same time! His unique approach to ideas gets my imagination going. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in purchasing homegrown produce and meats, and anyone wanting to try their hand at raising them. Very practical.

From a family who is proving it's still possible to make a good living on the American small farm.

Includes an index and excerpts from marketing newsletters. This workable production model covers every aspect of pasture-grazed chickens from building pens to processing the meat to how to talk to your customers.

Don't let the price throw you: what you are buying in this book is information - & valuable information at that for anyone serious about profitable alternatives in agriculture. There is also a 45 minute video available.

This book was the first of a spate of peony books written over the last few years, and is generally considered to still be the best and most useful by most folks in the peony growing comunity. It is a comprehensive overview of history, hybridisers past and present, and current cultivars of interest. England is producing some attractive books, but the truth of the matter is that the United States is where the "action" has been for the last half century as far as peony growing and hybridising is concerned. There has been a spectacular increase in interest in these beautiful flowers over the last decade, and Al Rogers' book will surely be remembered as a classic part of this era of re-discovery in years to come.

Allen Rogers answers anything you would want to know about growing peonies. From the beginner to the experienced, you will find information that will help you succeed in your cultivation of these wonderful plants.

About 4 years ago I planted out a fairly close version of the largest peony garden recommended in Appendix III. It has been a joy! The peony plant itself changes character over the growing season, and this design reflects that character and the colors. Visually, it's a different garden every few weeks! The book itself contains a lot of good information, very carefully done, I believe.

Like one of the other reviewers I was actually born at the tail-end of the Tet Offensive. My father had been there and served his tour of duty in 65-66. But this book is on the mark. I first read it in 87 when I was in the R.O.T.C. program at Boise State University.

Just young cadet fascinated by all things having to do with the Army.At the time I felt that the book captured the feel and the rythms of Army life. Whether that be the peacetime Army or the wartime Army. At the time there were still many Vietnam vets in the service and I gave this book to one of the cadre members(a sergeant major) to read. He had served two tours over there and when he finished reading it he told me that the authors had done a better job of capturing the war in all it's nuances then all the other Vietnam novels he had read. No weird musings on the nature of man and no bizzare drug induced fantasies that so many other authors were turning out in the seventies and early eighties. Just a straight forward story.I've since reread this novel twice. The first time was about three years ago and then just last week. I'm older now and my attitude towards things have changed.I have found that often those things which seemed so impressive to me at the age of nineteen are diminished at the age of thirty-three. Well this novel hasn't lost anything. It's still wonderfully detailed, suspenseful, humorous and intelligent. One could do far worse this summer then reading this book. Unfortunately it's out of print, but I still see copies floating around in used book stores - both in paperback and hardcover. Good luck and, when you get a copy,enjoy.

This was the first of many books I have read by these two authors. Being an former Airborne Ranger the details and thoughts they give their characters and the events which surround them are scary in how realistic they are.

Since reading this book I have enthusiastically read ALL of their other works, though I must say the STEN series is at the top of the "must read" list. I have read this entire series at least seven times.

I read this book back when I was in the Army in 1987 and took it with me to the field. The rhythms, the people and the language struck me as being authentic - albeit to a Peacetime soldier born on one of the days detailed in the book - and I am sorry to see that it is out of print. I've read it 3 times, every few years, and the scenes, characters and action stay sharp in my memory.

Find it. Read it. Keep it.

Allan Armitage knows his plants. That's what I've always heard, and this book amply demonstrates it. This book covers just about every garden perennial grown in North America, including many that most of us would consider annuals or at best tender perennials (e.g., cannas). Armitage isn't afraid to tell his opinion of any plant, straightforwardly telling the reader that that's exactly what he's doing--something I especially appreciate as gardening is such an individual and idiosyncratic activity. Anybody who feigns objectivity with regard to gardening is being disingenuous at best.

There are two major drawbacks with this book. The first, and most forgivable, is the dearth of color photos. There are just a few tucked in the middle of the book, illustrating a small minority of the plants discussed in the text. Color photos are expensive, and given a choice between pretty pictures and informative text, I'm at a point in my gardening life where I'll go with the text. I can always look up the pictures in the other gardening books I have, which often have precious little information to go with them. Unfortunately, this will probably discourage many a casual book browser from buying this book--people want to see the pretty pictures, darn it! But that's not the author's fault, and it's a shame, since this book has so much good information. Unfortunately, the line drawings that stand in for photos of many of the plants are very uneven in quality, and some are worse than no picture at all.

The second major fault, and one that I found very frustrating and far less forgivable given that Armitage is an expert in his field as well as a professional, is the large number of typographical errors, misspellings, and other errors in the book. Did anybody bother to proofread this thing??? Both plant names and other words are misspelled. In more than one case, a word or name is misspelled the same way more than once (e.g., "Hildago" for "Hidalgo", Yucca "filimentosa" for "filamentosa"), suggesting that they are not simple goofs or typos. Gardeners have a hard enough time spelling plant names without being misled by the pros! These errors mar what is otherwise an excellent and informative book.

This perennial encyclopedia is written in a wonderfully engaging conversational tell it like it is style that is very entertaining to read. For example, of the Meconopsis poppy he writes "...the Himalayan Blue poppy elicits classic garden emotions of beauty, grandeur, awe and most of all, frustration and failure." But beyond his wicked wit is an absolute wealth of valuable information. My primary interest is in starting perennial flowers from seeds and I have found more good information here in this one book than in all my propagation books combined--I can see it is going to be my perennial "Seed Bible" for years to come. I always feel a little nervous when pulling the trigger (and purchasing) any book at this price--but this one is a gem that is bursting with information, wit and wisdom and I consider it an extraordinary value.

This is one of my absolute favorite references on perennial garden plants. Alan Armitage really gives you a "feel" for each plant, giving you the sense that you know its likes and dislikes before you've even seen one. He includes all the information you need: cultural information including cold and heat hardiness, identification information, and propagation. Much of this is provided in a descriptive format which is very useful because the minor quirks of each plant can be included. I have found his information right on target nearly 100% of the time. Of great value is his experience in a variety of climates. This makes it possible for you to judge accurately how a plant will perform for you. I have the first edition of this book as well. If you are familiar with that edition, this is nearly identical in style and format, but with expanded species and cultivar listings. A few species, such as ironweed, are new. Others, such as trillium, appear to be greatly expanded, with more information on identifying the species and varieties within the genus. Cultivar listings are greatly expanded and have been brought up-to-date. If you already have the first edition, I believe buying the second is well worth it if you are a dedicated gardener or gardening professional--but certainly not a necessity. The sections on lilies and peonies and iris, and other such plants that have their own societies and numerous books all their own, appear to be unexpanded (which is probably wise).

The subtitle "Reflecting the Planting Patterns of Nature" clearly expresses the focus of this book, as do the first words of the Introduction "Natural gardening is not natural".

The writer, who has earned the American Horticulture Society Writing Award, has authored numerous gardening books and her approach is comfortably informal. She is knowledgeable about the topic, expanding the idea of using native plants and placing them where nature would have them to include the relationships between plant communities and inter-layering canopy trees, shrubs, perennials and ground covers. Each of these may be native or non-native but they echo natural plant patterns of the area and accentuate the features of each plant and its place.

After reading the book I felt I had begun to understand that the look of a natural garden is uncluttered, well proportioned and, large or small, makes a statement about both the gardener and the place.

Based in the Pacific Northwest the writer uses gardens of Washington State, Oregon and British Columbia to illustrate her theme. The many color photographs of Allan Mandell beautifully illustrate the text. (Wonder of wonders these days when many book illustrations are pretty, but quite meaningless on the page.)

This is one of the most practical and yet most lyrical books I have encountered on the topic of natural gardening. It's an art that is not nearly as simple as it appears to be. The writer shows that it can be done with flair and style, even in a small garden and on a limited budget.

Ann Lovejoy has found a wonderful balance between native environments and a sensual and delicate intervention by the gardener.

Naturalistic Gardening, by Ann Lovejoy, is an excellent book, especially for anyone with woodlands on their property. But the book is useful too for those who just want to fashion gardens that retain that wild feel, that natural look.
The photographs from Allan Mandell are exceptional and capture well the spirit of this fine book. For those gardeners who have never read any of the many gardening books by Ann Lovejoy, this will be a treat. Ms. Lovejoy writes in a way that is always clear and easily understandable, and her writing has a voice that is fun, energetic, full of life.
All of the books by Ms. Lovejoy are quite good, as is Naturalistic Gardening. No mention is made of my own specialty, allergy-free gardening, and some of that component would be welcome here, but still, this is a book to provoke some real thinking--a book to inspire different, less rigid, less formal gardening. I enjoyed it very much.

I was so excited to see my Grandfather's name in print; Reginald Marshall Worby. It is too bad that he died before the printing of this book.

My Grandfather was at St. Augustine with Perry's father. I have been in contact with Perry via email.

I can now understand why my Grandfater cried when he was telling me about his experiences as a boy. I am sure my Grandfather purposely left a lot out of his stories, things he was trying to forget. I did a paper on his life story when I was in highschool, it makes me sad to know that so many of these children were treated so cruely.

My Grandfather did eventually find his family, he was one of the lucky ones as many families are still looking for their roots.

Thank you Perry!!!

Perry Snow book has opened my eyes to my own families past and thanks to Perry his love for his father and in his words for the home children,I am pleased to say i have recieved a confirmation on my own grandmother that she was know to Barnardos am expecting something soon..Thank you Perry Snow your father would be proud ..And i hope all read NEITHER WAIF NOR STRAYS..It is our stolen idenitys.God Bless you Perry

Powerful! A must read for anyone who suspects they may have a Home Child or Orphan Train Rider ancestor. Mr. Snow gives hope for researching these lost ancestors. Too many people do not know that these children were placed on both sides of the US/Canadian border. Mr. Snow's analysis of the psychological effects should help Home Children and their descendants to understand how this shameful scheme shaped their lives. My thanks to Mr. Snow.

I was pleasantly surprised with ' The Practice of Network Security: Deployment Strategies for Production Environments'. The book is a very good technical overview of the details of network security.

While it is technical in nature, it is not so technical as to turn off the average reader. This is a good resource for a manager that needs to understand a security technology, but who does not want to get bogged down in the technical minutia.

The book brings together all of the top-level security technologies and products needed to secure a corporate infrastructure.

The book covers a lot of ground in its 375 pages and is an excellent starting point for anyone needing a quick and effective introduction to network security.

This book is an excellent reference for anyone involved in the practice of network security. It's comprehensive coverage of a wide array of topics will present any network administrator, architect, or engineer with the information and tools necessary to build a secure, stable environment.

In my capacity as a sales engineer for a major hosting provider, I find myself turning to The Practice of Network Security frequently to validate design assumptions. It is written in terms even a beginner can comprehend, yet its information is invaluable to even the most experienced professional.

I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest, professional or otherwise, in building robust, secure networks.

I've read many tomes on the subject of security but they never really get into the details of what really matters, they only touch on the very basic ideas, or they are too detailed about one specific topic and fail to present what is in the real world. Finally Mr. Liska has written the text that brings it all together with an excellent marriage of theory and real world practice.

To start, Allan realizes that most network admins are faced with cost-cutting issues and are stuck dealing with management. Allan's dicussions on risk management, cost analysis, and how to "sell" the value of solid network security to the powers that be can be a real eye opener. Make your managers read this stuff. Read it to them yourself.

For the more techincal side, there are very solid in depth discussions on the important stuff like routing, switching, general (and spcific) firewall configuration, comparisons of user authentication approaches, VPN techniques from dial-in access to broadband, an excellent chapter dedicated to Wireless protocols and security, and so much more. Nothing is left out.

This book is a must have for any serious network or system administrator.

I just want to compliment the author on his creativity and sense of responsibility to keeping the reader interested. I never lost interest and found it hard to stop trying to guess what was next. I think that says something about a story. I want to read the sequal.

It's hard to put this one down! This is a totally, way out absorbing, fully developed novel, the kind that one always yearns for and so rarely finds! The characters, the atmosphere, the horror descriptions, the sensitively treated themes, the intriguing and unusual plot, and the rare entrée into the mind of a writer, I give this novel the recommendation for others to achieve.

This is a great book written by Earl Johnson. This book is so addicting, I couldn't put it down. Keeps you on the edge of your seat. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes action and suspense in a book. I hope they make a movie out of this, or heck why not even a Playstion 2 horror game.