This is a book that will bring back memories for anyone familiar with the early seventies. Be sure to check out the treehouse scene!

This is a compelling love story which includes a fascinating account of college life in California during the early seventies. There is also an unusual in-depth account of how the main character restored a Queen Anne cottage, complete with detailed information. This may inspire many readers to do the same!

I just had the pleasure of reading the first novel written by Sacramento author, Marina Snow. It is a love story taking place in the early seventies, an era which brought back many of my own memories.

I found the telling of this story to be an accurate description of that place in time, with enough fact to allow the reader to learn, while enjoying a good read about endearing characters, whom I got to know and like. The flashbacks of the time period, and women's plight specifically at that time, I believe, make it an important work for all women to read. It is most importantly a book worth reading by all women coming of age during the sixties, professional and non-professional alike for insight into the cultural milieu of the time. I found this to be a poignant story of a time in history, when great strides were made in bringing about the beginning of the women's movement and equality. It was a time, as the author portrays, when women began to express their own desires, and take responsibility for their own lives, free of much of the old dogma associated with women's place in society.

I look forward with anticipation to other works by Marina Snow.

This book is just very interesting and helpful. It was also fun to read and just flip through. I even got my friends to flip through it!

its funny to see all the ads of the past. they're so very different from ads now. it just kind of makes you think how society has changed just by looking at the ads. definitely, if u need something interesting to do, read this book.

Illuminating, fascinating, with thoughtful and thought-provoking commentary... definitely. Unfortunately, there's one glaring flaw worth your attention- the quality of the reproductions is simply abysmal. An example- if you can get your hands on a copy, look at the Canaletto reproduction. Compare it with the fine reproduction in the very different 1000 Masterpieces book by Sister Wendy, and it seems almost devoid of it's magic. Despite this, what these critics have to say is still worth your time and money if you're into art history.

Marina Vaizey's Art: The Critics' Choice provides a chronological arrangement as it tells the story of art through works selected and explained by world-renowned experts. Established images and works representative of different periods are analyzed in general overviews followed by essays on 15 selected works.

Finally someone came up with a language program on CD! Express Track to Italian is a very refreshing program for those of us who buy lots of language books and tapes and the first time buyer. Each segment is broken up with conversation, grammar lessons, a modern phrase and a song. I particulary liked the background sounds that made the conversations sound very real. If I could change anything, it would be a little more emphasis on grammar. They seem to go with the listen and learn technique throughout, but sometimes a little straight forward direction would make things easier. Overall I loved this program, I bought it 3 years ago and still listen to it to freshen up my language skills every few months. I strongly recommend buying Express Track to Italian! Buona Fortuna!

I love language learning kits, but they are sometimes hard to slog through. This one, however, is more fun than you'd imagine it could be. Every section has basic dialogs, but also has games, songs, and fun things to listen to on the CD/cassettes. There is even an on-going novella throughout the book. In addition, there are interesting little tidbits on Italian culture, proverbs, and tips on traveling in Italy. In other words, each section has lots of activities and variety. On the whole, the most fun you can have while still learning!

Around my neck of the woods, in eastern Massachusetts, on any Saturday morning except in winter, you can visit an endless number of yard sales. At malls or in specialty shops, you know what you are going to find---in fact you select a particular store to get what you need. Yard sales are different. You never know what you will find; you rummage around and maybe come up with a treasure. At least you can see what weird and wonderful items people have accumulated over a lifetime. Mildred Cable's book on the Gobi Desert reminded me of a yard sale---and I like yard sales.

After many years as missionaries in Shansi province, where they learned fluent Chinese and absorbed the majority culture, Cable and her two female companions, all three Englishwomen, received permission to venture into the deserts of northwestern Kansu and eastern Xinjiang, then still known as Chinese Turkestan. They spent around 13 years, from 1923 to 1936, wandering up and down the rutted desert tracks of this remote area, spreading Bibles and the word of God as known to Christians (and were not excessively denominational about it either). THE GOBI DESERT then, does not exactly cover the whole Gobi Desert, for most of that vast area lies in Mongolia, where the ladies never set foot. It is about the ancient civilizations and mixed ethnic groups (Chinese, Hui, Mongol, Kazakh, Uighur, Manchu, Russian) found in the territory between Suzhou and Urumchi, a breadth of country some 600 miles long, but much narrower due to the lack of water in most of it. The "yard sale" quality of the book lies in the fact that everything is mixed together, but it's all interesting. There are many photographs, but I must say that in my edition (Virago paperback), they were mostly of poor quality. From the history of Hsüan Tsang, who brought the Buddhist scriptures from India to China in the 7th century, to the art of hiring a proper carter, from the fantastic cavesful of Buddhist art at Dunhwang to a detailed description of the Muslim rebellion of 1930, it's all here. The ladies fought scorpions, heat, duststorms, thirst, and exhaustion. They met innkeepers, bandits, deserters, Muslim generals, abbots, princes, Russian refugees, nomads, lamas, and prostitutes. They visited the many fertile oases, remote valleys, mountain strongholds, and salt lakes of a region that has changed dramatically since those days. Though a committed missionary, Cable keeps preaching to a minimum in her book, which is a grab bag of impressions, adventures, and information that will keep your interest to the end. THE GOBI DESERT is the kind of travel book not often seen anymore. It is not an account of a "trip", but rather the winnowed result of thirteen years continuous travel in a particular region. Most of all it is an account of a now-vanished world, a world erased by roads, wars, Communism, and massive Chinese immigration. Read it.

A serious and very readable account of the travels of two very observant (missionary) ladies in the early part of this century in the Gobi region. This book, illustrated by some fine photos in its early 1940s editions (to which I refer), pays extraordinary and quite sensitive attention to the practices, customs, people and places of this (even now) little known region and it is most creditably written, especially as the writers are Christian missionaries. It is hard to believe that the language and style of this book is over 60 years old. As a (Buddhist) traveller in Central Asia and reader of several books on the region, I would wholeheartedly reccommend this book to anyone interested in this fascinating part of the world.

I wish Amazon had this book in stock. I read Marina & Ruby when I was a kid and loved it. It's an entertaining book about the trials and tribulations of breeding, foaling, and training a Half-Arabian filly named Miss Ruby Tuesday. Lots of color photos taken by the author's husband.

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!! not necessarily for the words--the photographs are so beautiful. the story is better told in the pictures than the words. Marina got her dream come true. She got to ride freely over the hills on her own horse, that she raised from birth. I WANT TO HAVE MARINA'S LIFE!!!

This book provides helpful information on how to create a wonderful faux finish on your walls and furniture. The first section deals with your paint selection, and the esential steps that are needed to have a well prepared surface, including patching and finishing wall cracks and damage. The book also provides a complete list of tools neccary for your project and shows pictures and decribes each one. The painting techniques are provided to create the finish of choice. The book was helpful for future projects. The cost was less than at my local store, and the pictures are excellent and close up to really view the finish. The only negative that could present a problem is it would be better to take a short class at a paint store for the real hands on, then procede with the instruction the book provides.

Having never actually painted a wall before, I was quite intimidated by the necessity of finding the right tools and chemical combinations for a satisfactory turnout, but after reading this book I feel confident that the expertise of the authors will make my efforts a success. Starting with a chapter on tools and materials, the authors refer to numerous clear photographs of various brushes and describe care and maintenance, then go on to discuss the many types of paint solvents, pigments, binders, and other additives, which made me feel much more confident about requesting materials at my local hardware counter. Next they cover surface preparation steps for walls (both new and painted), woodwork, concrete, metal, plastic, and ceramic and give adequate details on paint mixing, estimating quantities, basic techniques for surface coverage. A short section on color theory will assist anyone not familiar with warm vs. cool tones and color combinations. Tips on mixing custom colors are also provided, and although it's hardly a guide for paint counter employees, it will show you how to achieve a brownish black instead of a bluish black (for example). Basic painting techniques covered include: aging and antiquing, color washing, rubbing, dragging, flogging, ragging, spattering, sponging, and stippling, and also cover small projects using more challenging techniques that imitate the look of tortoiseshell, faux lacquer, lapis lazuli, malachite, marbling, shagreen, and stone blocking. The exceptional photos really make this book stand out among how-to's, showing not only many step-by-step photos of the authors working close up, but many shots of finished interiors with informative but concise captions to fire your jets. Examples of well-designed paint finishes in bathrooms, bedrooms, dens, living rooms, and kitchens show how the same techniques you read about can be applied to floors, walls, cabinets, and other surfaces to liven up your rooms and play with visual perception. Being a devoted DIY-er, I appreciate experts who are willing to share trade secrets for great results. Now I know how to test my walls for latex vs. oil base paint, choose paint bases and mix in tints, how to choose brushes and keep them in great condition, how to prepare and prime my work surfaces, and how to create terrific effects and artwork on my walls. This would be a great addition to the library of any new homeowner who doesn't have the budget for hiring specialists to decorate but doesn't want boring solid-color walls with cutesy mass-produced wallpaper borders. For anyone just dying to get out the drop cloths and transform their living spaces, I recommend this gem as a reference manual and launch pad. Go look through interior decorating magazines, drool over the magnificent and unique treatments, then stop off at the paint counter and copy them. Even for amateur artists, this is the tool for making houseguests' jaws drop. And now, I'm off to take my fabric swatches to the paint counter!

Lent to me by a friend to get ideas on using large planters I found A Tuscan Paradise to be an absolute delight to both the eyes and soul. Not only is there beauty in the landscape photographs but of those indoors as well, how the home and its furnishings harmonize with the spendor of nature well attended.

Schinz's individual photographs are often masterpieces of composition, visual ships-in-a-bottle of perfection. They hold one's eyes like fine Impressionism.

If you have a friend who loves gardening, buy them this book! It makes me want to pack for Tuscany every time I think of it.

Wonderful photographs and a delightful text enable you to visit, in your own home, the very special retreat of two Italian perfectionists. Flowers, plants, pergolas match the very Italian Tuscan architecture, furniture and furnishings. A pure delight.

Marina Fitch really did a good job writing this book! I enjoyed not only the science fiction aspects, but also the personal aspects. It left you struck, and forced you to think of the Earth as more than just land to build on. Although I don't believe in "the anger of the Earth" it began to seem almost realistic. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys science fiction/fantasy, and even those who don't. In fact, I'm not even a Sci-fi fan!

Every once in a while, I go into a bookstore looking for new authors to add to my collection. Most of the time, the paperbacks I buy end up in the resell pile - but this one won a permenant space on my bookshelf! Finished in less than a day, I was caught by the characters and had to finish it before I went to bed. Not that it doesn't have a few flaws, but I look forward to Ms. Fitch's next effort with anticipation! Way to go!

Upon hearing that Marina Fitch had published a novel, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. As a child, I had met Marina during a visit to my aunt's house in California, and thought she was fascinating. When I finally recieved the book as a gift, I read it an just short of a day. The story was incredible, unique, and I found myself getting really involved with the characters. She took an interesting approach to personifying nature and all of it's aspects. This book rekindled my interest in the fantasy realm of literature, but above all, reading this book gave me a new-found respect for nature and the power that lies within. It's been a long time since a book has captured my attention like that. I look forward to reading her second book, and the many more that are sure to follow.

I've heard alot of good things about the Pern series - so I figured I'd start with this book which chronicles some of the history and founding of Pern and of Benden Weyr. Dissapointingly, the stories of Benden Weyr and Ruatha Hold were the only ones I found interesting (the dolphin story I couldn't even manage to make myself read.) I haven't lost my faith in this series yet though - I plan to start at the beginning where I should have in the first place. If you're new to Pern don't start with this book! Only for serious Pern addicts who are interested in the history.

I liked the historical perspective of this book. The author did a wonderful job of setting the stage for the Dragonrider series with the collection of stories in this novel. I loved her rich use of English language (and her masterful development of the infant Pernese language) as well as the fact that there is much descriptive terminology setting up the action and describing the characters personalities and motivation. After having read so much about Paul Bendon & all the other ancients, it was great to get some of my unanswered questions about them cleared up. I particularly liked the story about the intelligent dolphins who helped with the evacuation and the story about evil Drake,who held the murdered Japanese pilot's wife captive for years after the evacuation and his interaction with the spaceship pilot (a great grand-son of Paul Bendon, coincidentally) who rescued Drake & his captives. The book is a good read, but you should read the other books first, in the order they were written to get the right perspective to enjoy this collection.

This book was enjoyable to read but some stories were better than others. (in case you don't know it contains five stories). My personal favorites were "The Dolphins Bell" and "The Second Weyr". I liked "The Second Weyr" because it dealt more with the dragons than the others. "The Dolphins Bell" was good because it portrayed dolphins beautifully and I found their communication with humans interesting. Rates 9 because some of the other stories started off pretty slow