We are a small firm, and I am a licensed professional who types his own correspondence, contracts for clients, transmittals, etc.. Because the styles and forms of business letters have changed since I was in college, I decided I needed a good reference to help me with the tricky stuff that comes along occassionally.

This book did the job. Whether I need to know how to address a letter to an elected official, or pressure someone to pay an invoice, the Secretarial Handbook covers it. From punctuation to collation, this is the best single office reference I have ever used.

If you do your own administrative tasks, buy one for yourself for National Secretaries (Administrative Professionals) Day.

Due to reorganizing of our agency I found myself doing more secretarial tasks than I was accustomed to. Ordered this book and I find the answer to how to do, and the best way to do anything I need to know. Great book.

This is an excellent reference book for administrative professionals in all aspects of their career. From the simple topics of filing and typing, to refresher English and composition, how to research business software, sample correspondence for various purposes, and many, many more topics. Very helpful publication.

I received this book as a gift, and read it quickly, almost as a travelogue, wondering what it would be like to live in this vividly described area. Later, I visited Sonoma County and used the book as a guide. I visited a cheese factory, two farmers' markets, a small winery and an artisanal herb garden, led to each location by the informative guide with which I had been gifted. I used several of the clear, easy to follow-and execute-recipes with food bought from the sources suggested in The Cook's Tour. After returning home, I contine to read the book to remind myself of the glorious visit to Sonoma County, and as an inspiration for food purchases and discoveries I would normally have never attempted.

I had my eyes opened when I purchased the original Cook's Tour many years ago. Being a native of Sonoma County, I was fascinated by all the things I didn't know about my home county. Michele gave a face to things I had passed by blindly for years...farms, cheesemakers, gourmet stores, festivals. In the new edition of Cook's Tour she presents us with an ever richer trip through the wonders of Sonoma. She teaches us about the wine appellations and what crops thrive right along with the grapes of that region. She includes political information that supports the farmer and sustainable agriculture. She updates us on new cheesemakers, new purveyors and celebrates the staying power of the old. Once again Michele gives a face to Sonoma County, but this time she introduces us by name and helps us start a conversation. Her recipes are wonderful, making use of all the bounty that is available locally. I feel the circle of belonging to a place close as I drive through the country she writes of with such affection and then buy produce and ingredients, ultimately cooking dishes that are truly local in origin and taste. "The New Cook's Tour of Sonoma" makes me grateful that I live in this magic place. Thanks to Ms Jordan for opening my eyes even wider.

Sonoma County, California is a very special place. From the Pacific ocean on the west to the ridgeline east of the Valley of the Moon, Sonoma County almost has it all.

Michele Anna Jordan helps bring this special place alive with this book. She's an extraordinary writer who infuses her stories and recipes with great commentary.

This particular cookbook is among my favorites -- because it's so much more than just a cookbook. The sidebar commentaries about places in Sonoma County help bring the area to life in my mind's eye.

Highly recommended!

read one of the short pieces in this anthology. They are also incredibly uplifting too. A brilliant bedside companion for any dog lover.

Although each of the pieces in this book was inspired by the loss of a much beloved dog, this is really a book about vibrant, fully-alive dogs: family pets, fellow hunters, soul mates, and best friends. And while none of the dogs remembered so fondly here still lives, Old Dogs affirms the remarkably special place in the heart we reserve for our dogs. My own dog is sturdy in her middle-age, but reading the eulogies and odes in this moving anthology has made me appreciate more all the quirky habits I take for granted, like how she can't resist running off with one of my Reeboks when I'm shoeing up for our evening walk--the little prance she performs when I tell her, "Bring the shoe back!" Not a sad read but a celebratory one, required for every dog owner!

This is a remarkable anthology of stories and poems by outstanding authors of the past, as well as more recent times. Although these moving remembrances are only of beloved dogs, the lovers of any species of pet will find identical sentiments for their own losses. Whatever kind of companion animal you had, you will find your own bereavement and healing tears reflected here, as well.

Care was taken to avoid over-sentimentality, in this assortment of loving reflections of dogs, celebrated here. These accounts are full of love, and are sometimes even funny - and we are thrust into the realization that perhaps that is the most wonderful kind of living memorials we can have for a beloved pet. Too often, we lose this perspective, while trying to keep from drowning in our own bereavement and sorrows.

Rather than being a collection of sad literary memorials Old Dogs Remembered is a joyful celebration of life with pets. This inspires healthy new points of view and adjustments to moving on into our new lives, without them.

Here we are treated to many different outlooks on how they permanently enriched the lives of their owners. Reading these heartwarming pages will broaden the understanding of each reader, concerning his/her own personal bereavement. Here, we are offered the collective wisdom of others, who reminisce on their honored pets. There is much to be shared and learned here, as well as enjoyed.

With so many different authors, one must appreciate that references and styles have changed drastically, through the ages. As an example of this, some might find the essay by the dramatist John Galsworthy to be interesting, but a bit troublesome to read. And, as with any anthology, there may be some accounts not everyone would appreciate. But all pet lovers will readily identify with the overall shared remembrances, here. This is a heartwarming collection, which can be enjoyed comfortably, in several installments.

There will be many an uplifting tear shed in its reading, and we suggest it for your reading pleasure.

Do you like pasta? Then buy this book! I was looking for a book by Anna Del Conte and decided to try this one. Boy, am I glad I did. It's the best cookbook I own. The authors give basic instructions on such things as making "perfectly cooked pasta every time," and there is an endless number of easy, delicious recipes that also tell you which pasta to use and what can be done in advance. The "at a glance" format makes it so easy to quickly navigate through this book. And there's so much more! You will treasure this book.

I'm a good cook, and love to make more complex meals, but this book has basic great recipes - - while some are more complex, this is the best pasta book I've seen that can point you to ingredients you likely already have in your pantry, and help you to whip up something wonderful. Haven't been disappointed in a recipe yet, and have bought this book for a few friends who are still in the beginner to intermediate stages of loving to cook, and they all love it. Bottom line is that the recipes are great.

I love this book! I learned to cook pasta from my husband's Italian mother and grandmother and I thought I was doing well, but this book has refined and simplified my pasta dishes. The book is easy to read and easy to use with step-by-step directions. After making one of the tomato based sauces, my husband said it was the best he'd ever had! There are recipes for every type of pasta, too, using seafood (my favorite), herbs and oils, and cheese. Fresh pasta, store bought, how to cook it...whether you've been cooking pasta all your life or just learning how this book is perfect. The pictures alone make it worth while. I, also, purchased the author's Ultimate Bread book and love it as much as this one.

It's the author speaking (I only put the 5 stars because you had to put something!) and really I'd just like to thank the readers who posted such glowing reviews for their kind words. Salem Street was my first book published as Anna Jacobs, back in 1994 and it's still in print. I've just had my 21st novel published (12 as Anna Jacobs). ....

This is a wonderfully well-developed work of historical fiction. The characters are interesting, and the storylines are engrossing. When I finished it, I was thrilled to know she had already completed other novels in the series.

Just finished reading it, and now am looking for the rest in the series. Really great book. Kept you interested the whole way through. Shows you that no matter where you start in life, YOU have the capability to overcome anything! A must read!!

A beautifully written book - Luepnitz comes across as intelligent and educated, and genuinely sensitive and caring. Not at all preachy. An unusually delightful read.

With great grace and empathy, Luepnitz traces five divergent routes through the sometimes difficult process of analysis. Luepnitz' considerable training and erudition illuminate not just psychoanalytic history and theory, but the relationships of patients and their families as they evolve through analysis. The stories of her patients' progress are as richly rewarding in analytic terms as any found in Freud or Lacan, but told with more humor and consideration for the reader. (In that respect, I suspect Luepnitz has implictly situated the reader as a necessary and welcome participant in the book and the analytic process she describes--as being in another kind of relationship with the analyst/writer and patient/subject). Perhaps most impressive is Luepnitz' ability to challenge and engage those familiar with psychotherapy, while remaining accessible and rewarding to newcomers. As her wonderful chapter titles suggest ("A Darwinian Finch," "Don Juan in Trenton") Luepnitz is especially adept, aesthetically and analytically, at translating the paradoxes of the unconscious, and showing how analysis can help us understand our possibilities as well as our limitations. Her reflections on the analyst's political and social role in contemporary society are also compelling and refreshing.

Deborah Luepnitz has crafted not only an engrossing telling of five very different and revealing stories but, between the lines and around the edges, a revelation of the power of the "talking cure" of psychoanalysis in contemporary society. She helped me understand the applicability of the often obtuse Jacques Lacan and creates the wonderful image of the analyst working in a space between the teachings of Lacan and the more optimistic (I would once have thought incompatible) Donald Winnicott. An intellectual, spiritual, sweet, and often funny work.

Being obsessed with all things 'Anna', I had to have this book, just because its about 'Anna'. But I can't believe how cool it is beyond that. It is a behind the scenes guide, beautiful, glossy picture book, and well-researched, informative, awesome history lesson in one. It totally quenched my need for 'Anna'!! I reccomend this to fans, historians and movie buffs alike. Ceccelia Holland is brilliant; you can tell she really thought about this and did her homework. My copy is priceles to me. Please get this!

If you enjoyed "Anna and the King," I think you will love this book. It is filled with huge glossy photos, many of them close-ups of Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat as well as the beautiful sets and landscapes. It contains tons of historical background information on the movie and makes for a very interesting read. I highly recommend it.

I really didn't expect too much out of this book. But I was quite pleasantly surprised to find myself thoroughly enjoying it. It gives background to so many of the customs and questions about Siam. It was very interesting to read because it made the story of Anna and the King more understandable and easier to relate to. It gives real story behind each character, but it also explains where this movie came from. If you enjoyed the movie, this is the book to get. It has a lot of awesome pictures, and it tells how the story developed from the true story to a wonderful tale. I think everyone understands that the movie isn't very true, so this book is perfect for learning the truth, and also learning more about the movie. If that's what you're looking for...here it is!

I have both cards and book and this book is truly a wonderful help in helping read the cards. It is illustrated and the explantations are straight and to the point. I highly advise a novice to get the book, since it is much easier to use than the small inserts given with the decks of cards. I personally just won't purchase one without the other if it is available. Enjoy!

The cards as well as the book are artistic, and strike the imagination. You can compare the meanings to the cards as well as the story lines of the Arthurian Legend for further insights along with the Tarot. While I think that the author should have been a bit more accurate with the elements relating to the cards, I still think that one can certainly begin to appreciate the art, imagination, and accuracy of the Tarot.

For anyone looking for a more in depth tarot book, this one delivers completely! You won't be disappointed.

First and foremost, I am an atheist. To my absolute core.

I was given my copy of this book when I was 17 (I'm 31 at the time of this writing). I have given away countless copies and I buy it whenever I find it, just to share it with another person.

I knew Anna dies. It said so in the beginning. But when she died, the means, the way, the reality of it was too much for me. I vaguely recall screaming "Noooo!" and hurling the book across the room. It was days before I picked it up and finished the last few pages.

I felt like I'd lost Anna.

But I didn't because she stayed with me. Or rather, her wonderment, her curiosity, her fearlessness.

To me this was not a particularly religious story. Odd thing to say. I take this book to mean that you should explore, and question, the world around you. Do not accept the answers you are given. Name things for yourself. Anna chose Mister God. I choose Nature. You choose what best suits you.

This fascinating true story of a young life with deep insights to share about existence kept my attention endlessly. Anna's perspective had no walls of limitation. To me, Anna has become a definition of hope and encouragement through love and curiosity aimed at people and relating to those people. This book can easily restore your beliefs in the dreams you once gave up. I also suggest reading the sequel ANNA, MISTER GOD, and the BLACK KNIGHT from Harper Collins Publishers. Thank you Mr. Fynn for sharing and extending the love and wonderful personality of Anna.

Anna, at age four leaves a home of abuse and adopts Fynn's family. Her love of God, numbers, language, people, and nature are nurtured by Fynn's interest in science. Fynn takes the reader on a ride of laughs and tears, amazement, and discovery that illuminates the wonder of this child who matter-of-factly knows "Mr.God" and feels it is her business to discover all the beauty He has put around her, and to love it, "with all of me!" A must-read for anyone who wants to feel the exuberance of childhood and see the possibilities of the human soul.

No one book has more information than this one, and it's simply the best all-in-one traveling companion available. But it isn't perfect. Personal anecdotes and incidents sometimes seem amateurish, and Moscow changes so quickly that some of them are now quaintly outdated. The maps are minimal to the point of being useless; the best maps are in "Great Moscow", "Three Days in Moscow" (if you can tolerate the outdated street names), or one of the building-by-building atlases now available (all of these are published and available only in Russia). Finally, the level of detail is so great that some errors inevitably crept in, and hopefully they will be corrected in the next edition.

Rough Guide's book on Moscow is by far one of the best tour books I have seen for that city. Recently we had the chance to live in Moscow for two months. This book, along with the Rough Guides Russian phrase book, were our constant companions. The Moscow book was essential for giving us really indepth information about most of the sites we went to see. Also, the history section was invaluable to us as we found it necessary to do a little homeschooling of our children while there. I still refer to the history section of the Moscow book to refresh my memory on the complicated story of Russian history.

We also had Fodor's along with us but found that we relied much more on Rough Guides as a source of important and reliable information. Rough Guides is a must if you visit Moscow.

When I packed my bags for Moscow last summer I included about 4 different guide books, and the only one that came home ragged was this one. Absolutely the best I have seen or ever expect to see -- Step by step suggestions to get you exactly where you need to go, maps and more maps, and a small language primer. The thing that puts this book above the rest is that it gives you a complete historical story behind each destination. I came away with beautiful pictures and the history to go with them. This book even features short day trips outside of Moscow. The Rough Guide pocket sized language primer (available from Amazon) is also an essential. Take these two books and prepare yourself for some of the greatest times you will ever have. P.S. -- Check out the new edition