This book is a must. Very good reading for anyone who would like to have the "Joy of The Lord in their life. I found it exhilirating and life changing. Highly recommended.

Kim Kraemer's invitation to "experience the joy of the Lord," is truly meant from the heart of one who has experienced this, and she wants to share it with any one who is willing. This book is very well researched - complete with scripture references, and personal experience. Along with her Bible based writing, teaching us about the different kinds of laughter, she explains the need for joy. With all the pressures and demands on us, a good laugh is a wonderful, exhilirating experience!

This is a must read for anyone wanting to experience more of God's goodness. Thank you Kim!

This book is a fascinating blend of American natural and human history, author Kim Todd showing that in a sense our history is almost as much one of animal immigrants as that of human immigrants. North America, already one of the richest continents in the world in terms of biodiversity, is home now to many thousands of introduced plant and animal species.

Some were brought in for a taste or touch of home, missed by European settlers in the strange wilds of North America. Some, such as the honey bee, also proved of later significant commercial importance, becoming so vital to agriculture and indeed everyday life - pollinating plants, providing wax and honey - that later there would be many who found it hard to believe that the honey bee was not native to North America. Others, such as the rock dove or pigeon, provided a mixed track record; as Todd puts it, noting how revered the dove is in Western literature and how hated the pigeon often is; that in essence, "the colonists brought doves to the New World and ended up surrounded by pigeons." As much as the rock doves proved useful for food, for delivering messages (labeled by some in this regard according to Todd as "gallant" birds, praised in poetry and song), and as prized pets, they proved a huge problem in cities. Others, such as the European starling, proved downright pests. Brought over in a misguided attempt to introduce to the continent all the birds mentioned in the works of Shakespeare, it has spread throughout North America and become a plague like no other, pushing out native species from prime habitat and forming such large flocks in some areas as to present health hazards.

Many introductions were accidental. When a canal was opened between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario in the 19th century, allowing goods from the Great Lakes and the interior of Canada and the United States to reach the sea via the St. Lawrence River (in a chapter she appropriately calls "An Artificial Wedding"), more than just ships plied these waters. The sea lamprey, long resident in Lake Ontario, had not been able to bypass Niagara Falls and enter the rest of the Great Lakes previously. Once present, Todd chronicles how the predator preyed upon the formerly vast schools of fish in the Great Lakes, sending fishing stocks plummeting and completely reworking the entire ecology of the lakes. Another creature taking unfortunate advantage of mankind to enter a new habitat - in this case the Hawaiian Islands - was the mosquito. Once an island chain completely free from this pest, this insect entered the islands from the emptied dregs of ship's water barrels. Quickly becoming a pest not only to humans but also to birds, the mosquitoes nearly wiped out many of the archipelago's avian fauna by spreading bird pox and avian malaria. Todd also writes of a recent immigrant, the monk parakeet, which first started to appear in the wild in the late 1960s thanks largely to escaped pets. Becoming more widespread, the author shows the debate between the parakeet's champions and those that seek to eliminate the exotic, scared of it achieving pest status, who ask themselves is this species of bird going to be end up becoming the next starling?

Other introductions were done to "improve" nature, primarily in the latter part of the 19th century.. The ring-necked pheasant from China was imported to improve the hunting, a bird thought worthy of the sport hunter and more of a challenge than native game birds. Similar motives were at work with the brown trout of Europe, a prized game fish that did much to foster the refinement and popularity of fly fishing in the United States (though their benefactor, Fred Mather, believed that they could provide a vital new source of food for the American people). With few concerns for the alien species' effects on native fishes the brown trout became by 1900 established in 38 states. Reindeer, introduced in Alaska with epic ideas to provide the native peoples with animals to herd and with new means of transportation and methods to make money, proved a failure as expected results failed to materialize for many reasons as the book shows.

Finally some introductions were simply done to make money. The story of the nutria, an imported marsh denizen of South America, is fascinating. Brought in to help meet demands for furs - in the days when fur farms were in their infancy and the wild fur-bearing animals becoming scarce - it degenerated from a promising project into get-rich-quick pyramid schemes (which even involved federal investigation) as the semi-valuable nutria pelts were hyped up to gullible buyers in a high-stakes game that penalized those who actually sought to take their pelts to market. Even native animals were moved about the country for such endeavors; the mountain goat, not native to the Olympic Mountains in Washington state, was brought in to try and improve tourism. The region was deemed good mountain goat country; indeed it was too good, with no predators and a variety of very rare and highly local alpine plants that were not able to withstand steady grazing by the agile animals, the mountain goat has proved an ecological disaster.

Todd discusses in an almost short-story format these and many other animals, including a variety of insect pests. The book is well worth purchasing; my only compliant was that even more species could have been detailed.

Kim Todd wields an endlessly entertaining story, even for those who do not have any interest in exotic species. She does what few naturalists are able to do; she makes a story about a science read like a human-interest piece, and a compelling one at that. The pages flow easily and her craftily constructed prose will have whisked you to the end of the book long before you wanted it to end.

I can see resemblence between sagmeister's "made you look" and Kim Hiorthoy's book. Both are reveiling the designer behind the design, but while sagmeister's book is briliant and explosive this book is sensitive and delicate. Beautifull imagery combined with very personal,lyrical text reveal a very talented and highly inteligent designer. I wish i bought this book sooner.

For music-heads Norwegian Kim Hiorthøy is probably best known for the cover design for the Rune Grammofon label and videos and covers for the Motorpsycho band. "Tree Weekend" is a beautiful full-colour book with photos, sketches and other graphics. Playful and highly personal indeed. Recommended.

I practice Taekwondo, but no matter your martial art, this book is so detailed and helpful. Some exercises would be great in the Dojang, but you can do nearly all of them on you own. I believe even if you arent even a martial artist this book will whip you into excellent shape and you will have fun along the way.

Wow - I've never seen so many different martial arts conditioning exercises in one place. Tons of clear pictures make the exercises easy to figure out and each exercise describes how it applies to martial arts so you can figure out what ones you should be doing. Other background info about power, flexibilty, etc, is well organized without any useless fluff - to the point and easy to apply to martial arts. Great book for any style.

This book is for all you diehard Blues Clues fans! My 3 year old still likes Blues Clues..even tho Bob the Builder is around and Rollie Pollie Ollie! Heck, I like them too! So..go ahead..buy this book!

This book is excellent! I have a 20 month old who loves Blue's Clues and we have recently discovered this book series. As any fan of this show would expect, this book offers plenty of opportunities to interact with your child as they discover the effects of different types of weather in Blue's backyard. My child's language development has been enhanced by naming and pointing to the items in the brilliantly colored pictures. This book immediately captured my child's attention and even though we read it every day she still gets excited when I pull it out for her! As a Child Development Specialist by day and a Mommy by night, I can't say enough good things about this board book and the others offered in this series!

This is a wonderful book to have even if your four-pawed friend is just a youngster, as well as being a good guide if you have an older cat, and you need help taking care of all the changes that can take place quite rapidly as an animal ages.
Among the many instructive chapters, the one on health care is detailed and extensive, covering all the common ailments, with useful diagrams and treatment solutions.
There's also a chapter on home care, with good tips on how to administer medication, flea control, and how to take care of emergencies such as burns, choking, etc.

Chapter 5, "Physical, Mental, and Emotional Well Being" is a short but valuable one. It will tell you how to deal with the stressful situations in a cat's life, like moving, travel, and the introduction of a new pet into the family.

Being a "cat person", I much appreciate the care and research that went into this book. The layout is excellent, with several nice b&w photos, easy to read print, "Veterinary Tips" at the end of each chapter from veterinarians across the country, and an occasional side-bar with highlighted and very helpful information.
This is an intelligent, well written book that will serve your cat well and keep it purring from youth to old age.

This is a wonderful book, written with love and lots of essential information for the owner of an older cat. Great sections on nutrition and age-specific health problems. -- Gina Spadafori, co-author of "Cats For Dummies" (with Dr. Paul D. Pion)

This is an excellent book for troubleshooting both hardware and software. I have used it with students for years. Too bad the edition I have does not cover Win 98, but there is still a great deal of help in here for any computer user. Kim Komando writes in an easy, relaxed style.

Economic freedom may or may not be the way to spiritual or political happiness, but it certainly seems that it's one of the keys to economic development. Although it's difficult to prove once and for all precisely what economic environments are best for countries, this series attempts to get at the keys. I also believe that if they were to change their opinions on a measure or two, they would have no hesitancy to revise or amend their criteria. Whatever flaw their analyses have, it is a monumental effort they put together each year, and at the very least it's a benchmark for people to debate about. There's information and opinion in here that you can't get easily from anywhere else at this price...

For those that prefer alternative ways of thinking about the world, or have competing models to try, this can set up a good basis for comparison. I use the country scores in this volume to influence my own personal investing strategy.

The 40th edition of this classic in its field leaves nothing to chance. Everything a beekeeper needs to know about obtaining and keeping bee hives is contained therein. Updated by expert Roger Morse, the book contains, in encyclopdia form complete information on the honeybee, including undated information on the "africanized bee" (aka the infamous "killer bees") and the threat they pose to the hobbyist beekeeper. Excellent data is included on the various diseases and parasites which also threaten the beekeeping industry. If you keep bees or want to keep bees or simply want to know more about this unappreciated, but vital aid to our modern agriculture, you need this book.

After being dumped by her boyfriend, Jo needed a should to cry on, and who was better than her best friend, Declan Rafferty. But, somehow one thing leads to another and they end up having a very passionate one night stand with serious consequences.

I really like books about friends becoming lovers. It was enjoyable with a hero that had passion and determination with a heroine who would you really feel for.