Outstanding reference text for those interested in the REAL evidence for/against herbal medicine and botanical remedies. The authors provide detailed information on the history, traditional usage, laboratory evidence and clinical findings associated with dozens of herbals. The result is quite an exhaustive body of information that should serve as an authoritative reference text for any health practitioner or scientist with interest in this area. if you want to know more about botanical medicines, this is the book to get.

A modified version of one of the herbs discussed in this book, Astragalus, was featured as a CME (Continuing Medical Education) course for physicians in the International Journal of Integrative Medicine, which is nothing short of a stellar endorsement for the material found in this book. If you want the best in scientific and evidence-based information on herbal medicines, this authorative and well-researched text is the best choice for both doctors and the educated lay person. As a practicing doctor with over twenty years of clinical experience, multiple credentials in herbal medicine, the author of the book "Viral Immunity," and numerous academic papers on herbs, I highly recommend this book.

Today's cycads are but relics of a worldwide population that flourished during the Mesozoic Era. Although superficially similar to palms, cycads are not flowering plants, and have a much more primitive structure. Many cycads have become inceasingly rare because of limited habitat and human encroachment. Only in recent years have people become aware of the great aesthetic value of cycads and incorporated them into gardens and lawns as useful, ornamental plants.

This book covers the worldwide variety of cycads in encyclopedic fashion. Beginning with a distribution map, the first half of the book introduces the history of cycads, their conservation and propagation, and their biology, structure, cultivation, and economic importance. Pests and diseases are also addressed.

The second half of the book addresses the different genera and species in turn, with an understandable, easily read text and good photos of each plant in its native state. The discussion covers plants in all areas of the tropics.

Anyone deciding to select a different form, or forms, of cycad cannot let this book go unread. Even if the reader lives in a climate where cycad cultivation is difficult or impossible, the book is an extremely interesting read about plants the dinosaurs lived near every day. Any person with an interest in botany will treasure ths book. I recommend it very highly.

NOTE: I am reviewing the 1993 edition. A revised edition is coming out in August, 2002. I will buy it immediately.

A very nice to read and study text, with plenty of pictures and drawings, undertandable also by someone like me that reads english only from time to time... I think it is a must for all of us loving cycads and relateds, with a lot to learn. More than only an introduction to all that beauty..

Dennis Jones took me (a neophyte to this genre of fiction) on a spell-binding journey to a world I never knew existed and on the way made a fantasy believer out of me! Having read his "Stone and the Maiden", I could hardly wait to embark on this new adventure and what a breathtaking one it was! I loved every page of this richly written and amazing tale. Bravo!

Evil beings broke the Ban that safely locked away the Deep Magic, leading to a vicious war. Though the forces of good won, one malevolent individual Theatana, sister to the ruler of Ascendancy escapes. Her nephew Ilarion, knowing his aunt is a dangerous lunatic, pursues her in an attempt to stop her spreading madness before civil war II further decimates the country.

Though insane, Theatana begins to accumulate allies while her foe struggles to simply survive. However, Ilarion finally catches up with his aunt on an island on the edge of the world where the magically powerful Mask of the Adversary can be found and, if harnessed, should lead to easy victory.

THE MASK AND THE SORCERESS is an entertaining epic fantasy that though part of a series can stand alone (what a unique thought for the genre). Dennis Jones provides enough information from the previous book (see THE STONE AND THE MAIDEN) within the subplots so those in the audience who did not read that novel will understand how events reached the points in this fun to read story line. Genre fans will look forward to the final tale of the "House of the Pandragore" where good vs. evil in confrontation with the stakes being world domination.

Harriet Klausner

I do book reviews for an integrated healthcare system in Austin, TX. and found this book through it's publisher. Of course it is great for our diabetes education division whom I have forwarded it to, but it is also useful for anyone who wants to be intentional about eating in a healthy way.

Fast Lane is easy to use, and easy to incorporate in your overall nutrition plan. We are surrounded by fast food. When you pay attention to the menu you can go out without sabotaging your own best intentions. This slim little book is a great tool.

For anyone who counts calories, cholesterol, or carbohydrates, this is a fantastic source of information about the fast food we all eat so often. My child is diabetic, and this book is so helpful for "counting the carbs" in her diet.

This book is THE complete guide to building an intranet. Killer examples and techniques.

Very impressive compendium of Intranet information and the latest HTML techniques

Mary Manz Simon is wonderful! My son has all of these books and they are his favorite. The easier level he could read easily in first grade and the second level he could easily read in second grade. I think he likes them for several reasons: they are fun, easy, repetitive, rhyming and familiar Bible stories. These books are great for building reader confidence. When we got the 8 level two books he read them all in 2 days, and asked for more!!!! HIGHLY RECOMENDED!!!

Finding Mary Manz Simon's books in hardback, gift form is atreasure to find. We have the individual, paperback children's booksand my first three children have truly "learned to read" from these Bible stories. Now my fourth child can have it in hardback when her turn comes. The repetitive words and controlled vocabulary make it the first of the first books a child can read alone, and Simon seems able to put content and a lesson with a purpose to the story, too. Dennis Jones' pictures are alive with faces that express discovery and joy or confusion or other appropriate responses. To find four small books in one collection is ideal. We have read ours so frequently they are stapled and taped back together. The children have used them for reading to the younger brother or sister on a regular basis, and they are useful stories for Bible classes, definitely.

Terrific insight into the art of golf course architecture by the man who virtually created the business. Lots of information on stategy, the theory of how hazards should be placed and how players of virtually every level should understand how the architect has designed holes to allow even the poorer players to succeed. The other outstanding feature of this book is to hear how some of Trent Jones' most famous courses came into being (Spyglass Hill, Mauna Kea, Peachtree to name a few) - it's great fun to hear from the man himself how he created these courses and then go out and play them.

There is no way I can write a review good enought for this novel. It is, hands WAY down, the best fantasy ever written. It is the biggest shame that it should be out of print, and that the only place to find it anymore is on the internet. There is no way that you can not fall in love with every single character, especially Jareth, the seductive, and evil, yet good Goblin King. It is the essence of magic, and everyone should read it. It is a definite yes for those who saw the movie and loved it, because it holds true to the script. I'm begging the publishers, on my hands and knees, no, lower, to please please please put this book back into print. No one should miss it!

This is a wonderful tale of love, infatuation, and family laced with adventure, friendship, hardship, and triumph. I first read this book in Junior High and later saw the movie. The book in my opinion was much better than the movie, but I found both exceptional.

Sarah made a wish she should have never made, and found out the had way that some wishes do come true. Her baby brother Toby is now missing and she is struggling to find him. She embarkes of a journey where she meets and makes friends who accompany her on her journeys. Just when she thinks she might just win the game, Jereth, King of the Goblins and Toby's captor, throws another wrench into the works.

Since I was only nine, I adored the movie. I read the book a little while later, and I love that even more. Things aren't identical to the movie, exactly, making it a whole new experience. I wish I had a copy of my own, but they're hard to find. So, if you find it, you won't regret purchasing. It's wonderful for all ages, and each time you read, you'll find something you missed the time before.

This is the best book of the trilogy (I bought the other books because of this one). This book summarizes the personal hell of one man, addicted and alone, unable not to bring death to those he loves. It is about conflict, guilt, isolation, alienation ...about heroism in its rawest, truest form.

I first read this over five years ago, and it continues to fascinate me to this day. I don't care about the vampire monsters, per se, for to me they are only a necessary plot device. The same can be said for Selina's character. They only exist to further the true story, which is Batman's struggle with his own nature ...the horror of recognizing we receive pleasure from another's harm, the helplessness of an addiction to things we've not necessarily even experienced -- the overwhelming urge to satiate a thirst at the cost of our own soul. That is the heart and soul and core of this book for me.

What would we do, given his power, his isolation, and his horrible thirst? At one point he narrates this for us:

"Thirst haunts me,
Life tempts me,
Death mocks me.

Together, the three, they curse me."

That moment for me, sitting in that bookstore, galvanized an experience I had never been able to put words to ...his isolation, his thirst, his utter loneliness and despondency -- they were so real! Deep calls out to deep, as I've read elsewhere, and in spite of this book's gore and melodrama, that moment called out to me and still does to this day. I felt connected to his guilt, his shame, to his sinful pleasure and self-disgust in a way that no media ever has before or since. Selina's character, the strength and nobility she provides, and the heartbreak of her loss, bring the entire story to an unstoppable head between the maniacal Joker and a Batman now drenched in the blood of his lover.

The authors deserve top credit for making a Batman that is, ironically, more human as an undead vampire than he ever was in life. May he rest in peace...

Get this if such things interest you.

In many ways, Bloodstorm is superior to the book that is continues, Red Rain. Whereas Red Rain was bogged down by the need to introduce the concepts of vampire lore, character reaction and setup, and other formalities, this book can leap right into things and get to the important business of telling the story.
In this Elseworld's tale, Batman is now a vampire. In many ways it is a vindication of his self image as a creature of the night apart from normal humans. At the same time, Batman is built on the one thing that separates him from the monsters he fights- he will not kill. As the vampiric urge to kill grows, however, he must go to extraordinary measures to fight it or lose all that he is.
Great storytelling with an ending that even shocked the hell out of me. If you liked Red Rain, you'll love Bloodstorm.

This book explores all the dark side of batman. The Catwoman is also great, and the game of the Joker is great.