This book was picked up on chance, I enjoyed the Untrained Wizard so tried this one. The characters are so realistic and the story was such that the ending was not as was expected. I haven't read the others and was able to enjoy this one as a single book so that says alot for her storytelling. Now I will be reading the first two and hoping for a fourth or fifth. If anyone wants to read a book about magic and good vs. evil then this is one of the best to read.

I've read every Barbara Hambly book published, but I think this is my favorite. She has a knack for inventing characters that are complex and real, but Antryg and Joanna are not only believable but wonderful. I can't think of them without a feeling of fondness that I'd usually associate with my own family.

For those of you looking for pure fantasy mixed with modern technology, and don't like to read XXX-READ WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED books, this is perfect:-)

I would recommend this book to anyone who lives on or near the Great Lakes or to anyone interested in preserving the environment. The author taught me as much about the havoc the modern world has strewn on the natural world as she did about Superior, Huron, Michigan, Ontario, and Erie.

The five great lakes are between the boundaries of Canada and USA. The book describes the lakes, one by one with lots of details. The great lakes are the most important liquid water reserve. Each lake is different. There are ecosystems like nowhere in the world. We have to protect them. The lakes are not usually well known, so with this book, you discover a fantastic area !!

I have a great interest in saving our environment. The only way to do this is through knowledge. I am thankful to the authors that bring their vast knowledge to the reading public.

This book is a masterpiece, filled with fascinating information and references. Barbara Spring has done an outstanding job of bringing her love of the Great Lakes to others. I have been watching the return of the bald eagles to New England. What a wonderous sight to see them soaring overhead after an absence of many years. This was made possible by active ecologists and hard working nature enthusiasts. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about saving the Great Lakes. I feel that this book should be a required read for science classes.

Having just reread this book, I remain as impressed by it as ever and continue to recommend it to anyone interested in either Rhodesia or the SAS. It's a great contribution to the history of the Rhodesian war and as time proves Smith was right all along about Mugabe, a remainder of much that was lost.

This is truly a one of a kind, straight up and informative look into a people who stood up to the world but in the end were ganged upon and betrayed by the so called world leaders of the day.. They did so much with so little and yet made a difference. My hat goes off to all the Rhodesian units. Counter insurgency>this is it.. p>s More men more time, Hmmm ,Could have been a different ending. Five stars all the way, IB

Simply put, this is the best Non-Fiction unit history I have ever read...the amount of research that went into this book is phenominal. You MUST READ this book! The only question that remains is...Where can I get the "Elite Pictorial? "...if someone knows...EMAIL ME!

TE

If you want just patterns that tell you exactly what to do stitch by stitch, this isn't the book for you. If you want to everything necessary to learning how to design your own garments, along with a generous helping of commentary and lots of fodder for your imagination to spin off and invent your own "knitting workshop," then GET THIS BOOK. The seven separate sleeve shapings and how they can be done on a circular needle alone are worth five times what you're going to pay. The garter stitch chapter doubles that to ten.

Seriously -- get Barbara Walker's stitch collections, a fair isle chart book or two, and this. You literally do not need anything else to be knitting sweaters that you yourself designed for the rest of your life. Then, when people ask you what pattern you used, you can smile subtly and say, "Oh none, I just made it up." You and Elizabeth Zimmerman. :-)

I am a huge Elizabeth Zimmerman fan, and I love this book. The baby garter stitch surprise jacket is an icon of knitting. Everyone who saw the first one I made went completely gaga over it. I was embarrassed at a baby shower when I gave one and everyone went nuts over it. One caveat: EZ gives the pattern in a 7st/in guage, which makes a VERY tiny sweater. I would recommend going up some needle sizes.
I like the directions for the seamless shoulder shapings in this book better than the directions given in "Knitting Without Tears" because there are more of them, the pictures are front and back, and I feel the directions are more clear. Of any of EZ's books, this is the one with the most projects I want to make. I love it, and I frequently refer to it for techniques I want to use in my own projects.

Like all Elizabeth Zimmerman books, this one is a joy to read. But unlike some of her books, this one really teaches you the "nuts and bolts" of some specific projects. Some of the projects are "out there" like the Puzzle Pillow, but most of them are timeless and endlessly appealing, like the Pi Shawl. Very, very valuable book for nearly every knitter (and even the experts will enjoy reading it).

My brother, James J. Hill, flew with Bill Mullen. Late last year he read Every Effort and passed it on to me. In addition to being a story about betrayed soldiers and deceived familes, it is a story about what went wrong in the U.S. Government.

After reading the book, I have been able to reflect upon and talk about my time in Vietnam more than I had in the previous three decades. Yet even now, I do not think I comprehend, let alone appreciate, what Barbara Mullen Keenan and all the other loved ones of men as brave and faithful as Bill Mullen were put through. I was a soldier at war. But Mrs. Keenan - and thousands of other wives, parents, children and siblings, involuntary participants all - were at the mercy of politicians and bureaucrats. Bravery and heroism are much more often the result of circumstance than of intentions or planning. Her courage, loyalty, and steadfastness over the years, even decades, have been extraordinary. America owes Mrs. Keenan a great debt.

Her efforts to get help for the prisoners in Laos and Vietnam have been valiant. Beyond that, her willingness to openly discuss the inattention and callousness of government and citizenry towards the fate of Bill Mullen and the other prisoners, how it infuriated her sense of decency and tormented her soul, is a lesson for men and women everywhere. Clearly, there is need and justification for secrecy in military confrontation. However, denying the public the opportunity to participate in a decision to commit American forces by hiding the reasons, the objectives and above all the risks, is not only immoral, but a path to disaster. A string of politicians from Kennedy to Nixon, their advisers from McNamara to Kissinger, and scores of underlings were certain that they knew everything, but they were afraid to tell the American public anything. That was the source of the fiasco we call Vietnam. If we do not acknowledge her experience, if we do not heed her message, the tragedy of those forsaken men will be repeated.

After reading "Every Effort" as a requirement for a high school class, I was surprised on how the story affected my emotions. I immediatley felt the pain that Barbara and her family had experienced. This book depicts the raw truth of how a family suffers when a loved one is sent to war. Barbara Mullen was an extremely strong woman who supported her two small children during a time in her life where her future held too many unknown answers. This book not only held the truth, but it also demonstrated how a strong person can move on after a devastating experience. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested not only in the Vietnam War, but also in the experiences that unravel in the families of soldiers.

In 1961 1st Lieutenant William F. Mullen was instrumental in teaching me to fly at Pensacola. He was only four years older than me, but he was the greatest teacher I have known in any field. Aviation has been my life, but I would never have earned wings without Bill Mullen's kindness, devotion and skill.

In 1966 I learned that he had been downed in Laos.

When the POW's were returned, I sadly noted that Bill Mullen was not among them.

Very recently I learned of this book - Every Effort - written by the wife who did everything humanly possible and much, much more to find him.

I love books. I read all the time. My favorite author is Shakespeare. I have never read a more powerful or more moving tale than "Every Effort" - and it is devastatingly true.

If this is the best America can do for good Marines - true heroes - like Bill Mullen, then we are in deep, deep trouble.

A great, great book. Someday when people can face these truths with less pain, this book will become a classic.

Incredible story. Incredible characters. A film could be made to join the ranks of Hollywood's greatest movies. Oscars abound. It's got it all ... a "girl" movie, a "guy" movie, sweeping story lines, incredible adventures, unbelievable events ... all set against the backdrop of the Florida Keys ... Cubans, Americans, Hispanics, African-Americans, Caucasians, ball players, fisherman, priest, robbers, cheating spouses, good brother, bad brother, meddling mother, mysterious Jewish builder, monuments on a beach, hurricane ... This BOOK has everything that would make a great movie. Life, marriage and the struggle with the two. Hollywood, take notice! Make Mary Hood a household name.

Incredible story. Incredible characters. A film could be made to join the ranks of Hollywood's greatest movies. Oscars abound. It's got it all ... a "girl" movie, a "guy" movie, sweeping story lines, incredible adventures, unbelievable events ... all set against the backdrop of the Florida Keys ... Cubans, Americans, Hispanics, African-Americans, Caucasians, ball players, fisherman, priest, robbers, cheating spouses, good brother, bad brother, meddling mother, mysterious Jewish builder, monuments on a beach, hurricane ... This BOOK has everything that would make a great movie. Life, marriage and the struggle with the two. Hollywood, take notice! Make Mary Hood a household name.

Mary Hood is a secret that needs to get out. I found out that Amy Tan listed her as among the company of Alice Munro and the great living women writers in Best American Short Stories of 1999. Familiar Heat is a novel that confronts evil, but leaves you feeling like there is much in humanity worth praise. These characters are amazing and human. Mary Hood is more than a writer; she is a wise woman who knows a point can be made just as easily through laughter as through knee-jerk tragedy.

Being sceptical about anything "divine," this book made me think about divine influences on us humans down here on Earth. I recommend this book without reservations to anyone who isn't fearful to take a look at divine possibilities.

I picked this book up for my Mom for Mother's Day after a conversation we had one night about Spirituality. I read the book myself before I sent it to Mom, just to be sure it would be something she would really have an interest in. Not only are the stories of the three women who wrote the book interesting but also reading about what they experienced individually and as a team as they were writing the book made this book a true gem and something I decided I had to have a copy of for myself. I learned a great deal about angels, spirituality and the uniqueness of each of our personal journeys in life from this book. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking within themselves for answers to life's questions.

I was getting ready to teach an Angel Class in St. Charles, IL. and reading anything I could get my hands on that would help. When this book literally came on the screen. I was at the Amazon Book web site and looking for a different book. This book appeared on my screen. I knew than and there that this was the book I needed in teaching people to listen to their Angels. The authors teach you that our Angels are anxiously waiting for us to ask them for divine guidance. Once you read this book you will never feel alone or unloved again. You will never feel helpless or at the mercy of events. Read this book it will change your life, it has changed mine.

When identical twin Bert Tatum is approached on her lunch break from a handsome man who seems to know her (though she's never seen him before in her life) she doesn't think much of it. It happens occasionally that she's mistaken for her twin sister, Nan. Unfortunately, when the stranger shows up murdered on the local news and her sister claims to also have never met him, the mystery begins!

The twins both get themselves involved in an intricately-plotted puzzle that involves a murder from their childhood somehow tying-in with the current tragedy. Twists and turns abound and the writing is sassy and enjoyable.

The interesting thing about the book is that alternating chapters are written in the first-person by each of the twins, giving each part a unique perspective on the goings-on. It's particularly fun when chapters overlap and you can see either the similarity or complete difference in both Bert and Nan's points of view.

A charming and quick read, I found it difficult to put down! It's also the first book in the series so it's a great place to start if you're interested! I've purchased the second and am eager to start it!

Identical twins Bert and Nan Tatum are used to being mistaken for each other. So when a stranger approaches Bert on the street, she assumes the stranger is looking for Nan. Only later does she find out that Nan didn't know him either. By that point, he's dead. Nan, curious as to how a complete stranger knew them, drags Bert into the investigation. But it's soon clear that they are both in real danger and the only way to get out alive is to solve the case themselves.

This book is a lot of fun. The "gimmick" of alternating chapters from Bert and Nan is part of it. It took me awhile to get used to it, but it brings out the humor in the different points of view. The authors, identical twins themselves, have done a good job of creating very great characters. Nan and Bert are very different, and the other characters are also well defined. The plot moves along at a quick pace and reaches a logical conclusion. A great first novel in an enjoyable series.

I love mysteries and "snack" on them the way others indulge in junk food. I'm addicted, and in Double Murder I found a mystery as good to read as chocolate is to eat. (And with the possible exception of sex and sports cars, very few things are as good as chocolate.) With Double Murder the reader gets a bonus--not only a great mystery but a glimpse into the world of twins. The authors do for twins what Tony Hillerman does for the Navajo Indians and Elizabeth Peters does for Egyptology. What's next on the twin authors' list of mysteries?

This book will most certainly teach you the essentials of creating a quiet garden space for thought and reflection. The range of ideas is extraordinary and the photos will inspire you. However, the text is at times rather "sappy", i.e., a bit too sentimental and too tritely philosophical. I found myself racing through the prose to get to the design elements but was very satisfied with the useful content, once found.

My favourite refuge from the world is my garden. It is a place for quiet meditation, peaceful thoughts and tranquil rememories. Whether you enjoy the simplicity of sitting in the shade of tree, or have the exquisite joy of enjoying the calming waterfalls and lush greenery of a Zen garden, you will thoroughly enjoy this delightful book. You do not need a lot of space to create your own retreat. As you will discover through the book, all it truly takes is a little creativity, and a labour of love to create your own magical retreat, a little piece of Heaven on Earth. I loved this soothing book with its touch of philosophical splendor and beautiful photography. Whether you prefer an English country garden or a more spiritual retreat, you are bound to find some inspiring little tips on how to create your own "time in the sun" in this wonderful little book.

I found Barbara Ashmun's new book 'Garden Retreats' a truly inspiring read. By intimately relating her impressions of youth and how her own style developed, the author encourages readers to look within themselves for clues to what their own unique garden retreat might be. Barbara's book guides the reader in the process of creating a truly individual space. Written in gentle poetic prose, the book transports the reader within the retreats she so well describes. Garden Retreats abounds with practical ideas for creating retreats, from creating a private place, to setting the mood with colors and textures, structures and a lot more. The book glows with stunning photographs by Allan Mandell which makes it so inspiring to copy the ideas pictured. I highly recommend this book to novice as well as experienced gardeners.

Realizing that this book was written about women, for women, I was a little hesitant to pick it up. However, as my curiosity overcame my hesitancy and I began to read. As I read, I soon realized that I knew several of the women but I also realized that I didn't really know them. Reading "the rest of the story" of each of them was so-o-o interesting and inspiring.

Like the stories of Ruth, Naomi, and Esther, which men and women alike have read and appreciated for centuries, so the inspiring stories of these women, as fereted and recorded by Barbara Sims, will inspire you to thank God that He still produces and uses Godly women in his service today. Whether used as a devotional book, reading a story a day; in search of role models for yourself, a family member or a friend; or seeking vivid proof that God's love is exemplified in today's society, this book fits the bill.

Do yourself a favor. Pick up a copy of the book. Select any one of the stories at random. Read it and then try to put the book aside. Like the old potato chip commercial said, "Bet you can't eat just one." I'll bet you can't read just one. Give it a try.

As I sat down to read Barbara's book, I felt as if I was visiting each individual lady and hearing her story. This book is a good daily devotional book with emphasis on women - maybe around Mother's Day or Family Week. Such wonderful "portraits" of Christian living are portrayed.

This book is a treasure for any age woman. The brief biographies of these mature women are testimonies to their faith. Their strength in adversity is attributed to their love of God, their families, and their fellow man. Their desire to share their stories gives the reader an example to follow in today's trials and tribulations. This book has touched my heart, as I know it will touch anyone's who reads it.