This is a curious combination of books. It is a little bit how-to, a little bit of history, and a little bit of anthropological research on scrapbookers. For me, an academic who is studying scrapbooks, I found the history parts invaluable. It is VERY difficult to find historical information on something that was not considered significant for many, many years, and thus below the notice of historians or scholars. This book is a great place to start for that. The discussions with people are excellent also--it gives information about the WHY and the WHO, so one can get a better idea about the reasons why people make scrapbooks. Unfortunately for my needs, the book is not a complete scholarly work, giving references, analysis and bibliographies. It may also not meet the needs of some others who may be expecting a lot more information about how to create a "classic" scrapbook rather than a "memory book", as the pages devoted to history and analysis take up space that could have gone to instruction. It is a good beginning, though, and a valuable reference work in my library until another one can be found.

This is a comprehensive guide to creating meaningful, elegant and sophisticated scrapbooks -- there are no die-cuts of cutesy bunnies or pastel umbrellas in here. THE definitive guide, and contrary to a previous reviewer (who must be thinking of another how-to book), there are gorgeous color plates.

I have looked for a long time for a book that talks about incorporating items other than just photos into a scrapbook. Finally I have found one! When I first got this book I was was afraid that it wouldn't be much help since it did focus on anecdotes,and had few color illustrations, but this is both one of the most inspirational and helpful books on scrapbooking I have found. The anecdotes are more inspirational than any page layout not to mention more conducive to creativity. I am frankly sick of all the books on how to layout your photos, and scrapbooks that are really glorified photo albums, nothing like the traditional scrapbooks. I love putting photos and stickers in mine, but there are tons of books on how to do that and precious little on putting anything else in them. Another thing I liked about this book was the number of anecdotes from male scrapbookers. Scrapbooks used to be for everyone, but it seems that they are becoming a female only territory. I'm glad to know that this isn't entirely the case. That there are still men doing the more traditional scrapbooks. The only part of this book I didn't find a use for were the sections on making handmade scrapbooks, but that is only because I have no interest in doing so. I feel this is the most informative book on scrapbooking I have come across, not to mention the only one I would actually feel like reading cover to cover more than once.

9 april 2002
dear sir
please give us details of aloe vera gel/extract/powder/juice and other cosmetic derivatives based on aloe vera.

thanking you
alpesh shah

I just want to correct an impression in the previous review of this book. I bought the book because I thought it would tell me how to grow and process Aloe Vera at home for my own use. It doesn't. I have given the book a five star rating because it is true to its title. But if you want a book that will explain how to "Do It Yourself" with Aloe, this is not the book for you.

Dr Lawrance G Plaskett has a formidable academic background: he graduated from Cambridge University, UK, in Natural Sciences, and he has spent the last forty years in various research posts, specialising in biochemistry, nutrition and medical research. He approached the writing of this book with a determination to discover if any good scientific and medical investigations had been carried out, and published, which showed that Aloe vera had genuine healing properties. He found in fact that hundreds of scientific papers had been published over the years by researchers all around the world: almost the whole of this large body of work contained only positive reports on the effectiveness of Aloe.

Dr Plaskett makes two powerful statements in his Preface: one to practitioners in holistic and complementary medicine (amongst whom he is pleased to be counted) and the other to the orthodox medical and scientific profession, to which he still belongs. Firstly: "To the holistically minded non-scientist I can say - Here, why not look at this science - it has something real to say - it has investigated this subject of Aloe with a rigor which holism and the Alternatives do not have. It has succeeded in proving something which you believed in anyway. Now you can believe in it even more. Probably it can achieve more than even you thought it would be able to do." And secondly: "Again, to the orthodox I can say - This is your very own orthodox science yet it has proved in this case that something about an aspect of herbal medicine - something you have been doubtful about - is very, very right - probably more than you ever thought possible. That may be frightening because it is outside the orthodox medical training - something which has nothing to do with pharmaceutical companies or operating theaters - but it calls for your urgent attention - most seriously so. It does not call upon you to believe in mysterious energies or philosophical systems that are outside the comprehension of science - this is fully comprehensible within science itself. Indeed, it is your very own orthodox science which in this case has proved out what you never expected it to prove - that this long renowned herb could be the most potent tool in your own armory of weapons against disease."

In the first five chapters of the book Dr Plaskett describes the nature and properties of the Aloe plant, the methods of growing, caring for and harvesting the plants, the methods of processing Aloe to preserve its properties intact and guarantee the quality of the finished product, the constituents of the inner leaf gel, and a contribution to the debate on the preparation of products using the inner leaf gel alone or the whole leaf. In Chapter Six he discusses in detail the biological activities of Aloe, and their effects on named conditions, as gleaned from over two-hundred research reports and biomedical publications which have appeared in reputable medical and scientific journals. In Chapters Seven to Nine Dr Plaskett describes the fundamental nature of human cells, the workings of the human immune system, and the way that Aloe interacts with and influences the body's immune system. Chapters Ten to Twelve detail the research which establishes Aloe as a powerful medicine, how Aloe may influence inflammation and healing, and how Aloe may initiate a cascade of changes in the body with beneficial consequences. In Chapter Thirteen Dr Plaskett discusses the importance of selecting the appropriate Aloe product, the areas where Aloe will be of only limited use, and some guidance on dosage of Aloe products. Finally, there is a short bibliography of scientific references to the literature on the immunostimulant action of Aloe.

This is a powerful book, written with great conviction, by a renowned academic and an experienced senior scientist with excellent qualifications and background in this field. His contribution to the Aloe literature is timely and will be welcomed by all who are working in the Aloe business, and those therapists and users who need to know more than the anecdotes tell them about the way that Aloe works. works.

Reading Vera Brittain's The Dark Tide" now makes us feel like watching old silent films. Though it still manages to fascinate us, you cannot deny the fact that it is dated. Still, the book has its moment, and does not lose its power and honesty.

[PLOT] The story largely revolves around the two characters: Daphne and Virginia. They both came back to Oxford after the interruption of WW1, and Daphne, good-natured but a little flamboyant, enjoys her life at her college until the appearance of Virginia, whom Daphne came to see with a deep enmity. Together being coached by their selfish tutor Sylvester, Daphne cannot help entering into rivalry with Virginia, apparently cold, cynical, but intellectual woman.

Now, the book's flaw is obvious. Characters are drawn too flat. They are not given enough complexity to make us relate to any of them, so we cannot simply believe that Daphne can fall in love suddenly and deeply with her tutor, to devote her life to him. Today's readers would be surprised (and even angry) to know that the heroine, who is hit (and almost killed) by her husband (who happened to have a mistress), can not only endure such humiliated position but refuses to go to divorce court (while she has hard evidence that proves his infidelity). Instead, she forgives him and lets him go on way to be England's "Minister of Arbitration." I do not quote the convoluted logic she uses at the end of the book. Remember, the book is, as its introduction says, "an amusing period piece."

[BIOGRAPHICAL FACTS] More interesting side of "The Dark Tide" is its biographical background. Vera Brittain, who would be forever remembered as the author of "Testament of Youth," fantastic memoir about the time during WW1, wrote "The Dark Tide" as a virtually autobiographical story. It is said that Virginia Dennison, a seemingly cynical student back from the war-time job of nursing, is a self-portrait of Vera Brittain herself; and Daphne Lethbridge is also considered to be a caricature (and very crude and cruel one at that) of Vera's close friend, Winifred Holtby.

The heroine who dominated the whole book is, strangely, Daphne. The story vividly describes the life during her college days at Oxford, but the latter half of the book is mostly devoted to the dismal descriptions of Daphne's failed marriage. Now suppose Daphne's portrait is based on a real-life person, abd in this case on the author's best friend. Things get very uncomfortable, and they did. Many people protested against the book (she wrote other caricatures), but how Holtby felt, I wish I know. (There is a short list of suggested reading, so that may help.)

Perhaps we should read "The Dark Tide" without any historical knowledge. However, as a novel per se, it is deeply flawed though it is very readable even today. Reading this book was a strange experiance for me; it was reading someone's personal journal, someone too vivacious, and a little careless.

Vera Brittain is best known as the author of "Testament of Youth", one of the finest memoirs to come out of the First World War. "The dark tide" is her first novel, written in the early 1920's when she was sharing a flat in London with fellow writer Winifred Holtby, the friend who helped her survive the crushing blows she sustained during the war. The novel is a thinly disguised account of their time at Oxford in 1919. Virginia Dennison (an idealised portrait of Vera) and Daphne Lethbridge (a sometimes cruelly caricatured picture of Winifred) meet as students and spend most of the novel at cross purposes. Their gradual friendship is beautifully described, although some of the incidents of the novel are rather melodramatic. One of the best scenes in the novel- the debate where Virginia feels betrayed and rejected because of her war service- is based on fact, and the scenes of Oxford student life are fascinating. The book was banned at Oxford when it was published as the dons considered that the book brought the college into disrepute. I see it as a fascinating first step in the career of one of the twentieth century's best writers on war and friendship.

It was about a girl who was picking out a present for herself. Her mom was buying it for her. She didn't know what to pick. But finally she decided. Read this book to find out what she picked.

I discovered this book in 1986. As I read it, I was astounded by how much the book mirrored by wife's life. Rosa, my wife played the accordion and was introduced to the instrument almost in the same manner that the character of Something Special For Me was. My wife died of cancer on March 23, 1999,and every time I read the copy that I gave her I cry. Thank you Ms. Williams! All of my wife's friends will receive a copy of Something Special For Me.

Racism exists, yes, but titling a book "White Racism: The Basics" is downright reprehensible as well as racist. The author could teach that SOME people of DIFFERENT races have been and are extremely xenophobic, but to just pick on whites is irresponsible. The West actually led the charge to ABOLISH slavery, lest we forget in the midst of all of the attention paid to a relatively small number of truly fringe people, like the neo-Nazis in America. Fortunately, these people are not huge in terms of numbers, and that is a good thing, but the way some Leftists whine about it, you'd think they were just about ready to take over the whole world, all...well, however few of them there are.

Xenophobia is NOT unique to "white" people, and there have been conflicts over not only race, but also over social and economic classes! Please read "Death by Government" by R.J. Rummel, Professor Emeritus of the University of Hawaii, for a good look at the numbers of people killed due to government "democide" sometime. Look at how many people the communists slaughtered sometime.

While it is clear that there are racists who are white in this country, the book's focus on only "White Racism: The Basics," comes off as downright racist. It is just as bad as Kevin MacDonald singling out the Jews in his book "Culture of Critique." And look at the flap THAT book caused!

Shame on the author. This type of thing will probably lead to the murder of white people in retaliation for past injustice during the time of slavery in America if this type of narrow-focus teaching on only "white racism" keeps up. Racism should not be off limits for study, but it should apply equally to everyone, not just "white" people. Will the author be writing a book about how Mugabe seized land from white farmers? That is racism, yet if someone titled a book "Black Racism: The Basics," there would be total outrage.

The authors speak of real problems, but address them ineffectively. By peddling generalizations of the white race, they perpetuate the victim/victimizer dichotomy which divides instead of uniting. Further, the boundary between victim and victimizer is drawn rigidly along racial lines. They fail to recognize that any progress has been made in the decades since the civil war toward a more loving, color blind society. This truly dishonors the memory of those whose blood and tears watered the garden from which African Americans now harvest financial and educational opportunities as well as self worth. A better discussion, in my opinion, can be found in Joel Kovel's book by the same title.

After reading some of the reviews, and finishing this excellent study, it is apparent that the message of this book did not come across to some. Feagin is not picking on "white" (European Americans) people, he is merely pointing out the inequalities that exist within the United States. This book is thorough in proving the experiences of people of color and of European Americans are extremely different. Feagin found police brutality, for example, occurred increasingly more for people of color than for European Americans. African Americans experience harassment far more than European Americans, and the cases Feagin uses illustrates this fact. Also, the recent debate of affirmative action is also covered well in this book.

"Reverse racism" as many would like to claim Feagin is guilty of, is not real. People of color cannot be racists because racism is linked to power. People of color can be bigots, but since power in this country is held by European Americans, as Feagin points out in many of his chapters, people of color cannot act on their hatred or resentment. Since European Americans are found in government, police forces, Fortune 500 companies, and other vessels of power, "white" interests are protected.

As one can see, this book causes the reader to think. Even though you might not agree with Feagin's conclusions, it causes us to examine a social ill that has been with this country since its founding. I will not only answer questions, but help raise critical questions about ethnic relations in this country.

I think Jim Haskins had a cute idea and was more interested in making a quick buck than in getting the facts right.

The first page of the Russian counting book contains a glaring factual error: There is NOT only one Kremlin in Russia. In addition to the one in Moscow, there is a white brick kremlin in the Tatar capital, (cf http://www.kcn.ru/tat_en/kazan/kazkreml.html); Kremlins were very common in the 8-15th centuries throughout Russia, and were usually built of wood. The Moscow and Kazan' kremlins have survived b/c they are stone. There may be others; I am not an expert...

I purchased this book for my son and liked it so much I purchased chihteereh more, for other friends whom children are from Russia as well. An informational, introduction to 1-2-3's in russian.

I need to see an index to determine if this book is to date on certain new technical jargon such as GERD -- gastroesophageal reflux disease. Please respond. HKT/HKK

I have been a medical transcriptionist for more than 25 years and this is the single most valuable resource that I have. This book was written for medical transcriptionists. Rather than focusing on the basics, it is written for the professional transcriptionist who has a fairly extensive knowledge of the field. Whenever I hear a word with which I am not familiar, more times than not, the Silver Book will help me. I use it more than all of my other reference books combined. I highly recommend Current Medical Terminology for all medical transcriptionists - new comers and veterans alike.

I've read Mr. Wise's publishing credits, and I'm simply amazed. This is the first of his works that I've read, and one of the two most poorly written books I've ever read. I keep the other one to remind me how bad you can be and still get published. I forced myself to finish it just to see how he was going to do it. Mr. Wise seems to have done his research on late night TV or at B-for-bad movies. The plot is predictable and ho-hum, the dialogue is stilted and the characters and action are totally unrealistic. Don't waste your time.

The Dead Detective: A Sam & Vera Sloan Mystery by Robert L. Wise is a darkly engaging mystery in which the widow of detective Sam Sloan must learn who is responsible for the death of her beloved husband. Shadowy intrigue, cross-purpose motives, and an underground conflict of international proportions culminate in a deadly battle between good and evil, in this exciting saga. Also highly recommended is Robert Wise's previous Sam Sloan mystery, The Empty Coffin...

This book contains a lot of interesting information about Burt Rutan, his life, and his airplanes. Much of the information is taken directly from the Canard Pusher newsletters produced by Rutan Aircraft Factory, but there is some interesting information obtained via interview. My major complaint is the fact that the author obviously did not proof-read her book before publishing it. Grammer and spelling errors abound throughout the book, including incomplete sentences, where the reader is left hanging as the author starts a new sentence and new idea. The book itself is also organized in a very confusing and nonlinear manner.

Overall, I think that the book is worth its price on content alone, just don't expect a "quality" read.

This book is not a bad place to start, but it's not very helpful either. It does not list all preschools in San Francisco. The information about schools seems to come from the schools (schools provide mission statement, for example) and is not consistent or particularly informative. The guide does not give an insider view of preschools, nor does it indicate which schools are particularly hard to get into. I liked that lists schools by zip code, but it doesn't provide a map to show where the schools are, which would be more helpful.

This book didn't give me anything I couldn't have found without looking in the yellow pages or online. It is a comprehensive list of SF pre-schools with contact info and description, but not much else. I would have liked to have known which schools have waiting lists, what their entry criteria are, etc. It would also be nice to get a feel for relative school popularity.

That is a must have for the first time mother like myself. It tells you what are the preliminary factor affecting you in choosing a Preschool? What Preschool should offer? Different approaches to early Childhood Education and a list of Preschools in san Francisco.