This book is exactly what is claims to be - Basic Carpentry.

Mostly geared for the novice, it will clearly explain many basic improvement and repair tasks around the house and workshop. It does NOT go into more advanced techniques, just gives you the basics.

It's a must have, and an excellent starting place FOR THE UNINITIATED. Covering what tools to start with as well as what tools you will one day want to have - what they're used for and better still what to look for when you buy them (what do you look for in a router? They suggest no less than 1 hp...) Don't waste money on features you don't need - they give you an idea of what's important and what's not.

Other books in the series work well together with little duplicate info - giving the basic homeowner/apartment dweller the basic knowledge to improve their surroundings.

If you already have a firm grasp on this subject - stay away, a more advanced book will be more usefull!

Definatly makes a great gift for a first time homeowner (and we all know one of those)!

I discovered this book when I visited the Better Homes and Garden's website; they have select items from the Step-By-Step Basic Carpentry that I found very useful. As a matter of fact, I found them better than my orange 1-2-3 home improvement "bible" that I also own. It contains detailed procedures for every task, including caveats, hints and gotchas. It is well illustrated and well written. I recommended to all my friends and everyone found it to be useful and easy to follow. Happy home improvement.

Graham's book is very well written and goes at an easy pace, while not becoming boring. It is a fertile field of ideas. His commodity buffer stock idea could be a real solution for today's global problems of increasing financial instability and growing inequality. Deregulation has removed almost all government automatic stabilizers. Graham's idea is ultimately an international stabilization policy particulary relevant to the European Union and the Third World.

While this book was written in 1936, and buffer stock ideas have been around for centuries, his monetary forumlation of the buffer stock is a policy still ahead of its time.

Benjamin Graham certainly is one of our century's most important financier and self-thought economist. After the great depression, Graham reenginered his way of investing and his way of looking the world. After suffering the debacle, he made value investing and value thinking the most important things in his life. The book is the proposal for a new monetary system, which uses an index of commodities as it's core backing for the issuance of currency. Graham's idea isn't revolutionary, because as he tells us , the granary system has been used throught men's history. The philosophical foundation of the proposal lies in that the surplus of commodities should'nt represent a disgrace, instead it should represent wealth. As economists know, when there is an overproduction of commodities prices tend to decrease, so why plenty relates to disgrace. If the government stored the surplus of commodities and used the as the backing of the issuance of currency, this problem can be allevianted. The book is easy and fun to read, and shows the genious of the dean of Wall Steet

Chatman's book has been around for a while, but it is still probably the best summary of structuralist narrative theory out there. Chatman makes the very important connection beetween narrative theory and its rhetorical effects on audience. His treatment of the construction of time in narrative summarizes several other prominent narrative theorists, but his terminology is perhaps the most useful. His clear presentation of the distinction between "story" and "discourse" (often called "l'histoire" and "recit" after Genette) and the linking of discourse to rhetorical theory is perhaps the book's most useful feature. Chatman, whose early works included a treatise on poetic meter, is known primarily as a film theorist, but his work analyzes narrative in many media and in many forms. I have used this book as an introduction to narrative theory in my classes.

This book offers, for me, the most understandable model of a narrative I've read so far. Chatman offers helpful concepts for analyzing both written and film narratives. He tries to create a synthesis of all narrative theory before his book, and he does a very good job. Instead of getting lost in a collection of different approaches, you actually find yourself connecting them all, seeing where they fit together.

Among all the books on narratology and narrative analysis I've read, this is the one most helpful not only for analyzing film narratives but also written narratives (although I would always recommend you also read "Narratology: An Introduction", "Narrative Fiction" and perhaps Bordwell and Thompson's " Film Art : An Introduction", if you want to focus especially on films).

This book and the way Chatman dissects the narrative are also interesting for people more interested in writing than in analysis: I believe the parts Chatman splits the narrative into resemble very closely those writers use in putting one together. So this book may actually help writers gain new insights into what they are doing instinctively.

First and foremost, however, it is a very useful book for the student and scholar of literature.

This is a book of high interest to my 5th and 6th grade students. Benjamin Franklin came alive on the pages of this book, and even inspired one young man to do further research into the life of this truly amazing American. The language is simple and straight forward making comprehenshion possible even for my students who are struggling with a very limited knowledge of the English language. I believe that this book is not only appropriate for children, but also an enjoyable reading experience for adults that are reading along with their children, or adults who are building their own reading skills. It never "talks down" to the reader. The world is hungry for heroes, and leaders who live and teach old-fashioned virtues. This book meets this need in an entertaining way.

This book has been very informative for both my 6th grade and my college-aged ESL students. It brings to life one of the most inventive and creative personalities in American history. He is presented in a very positive way, making him a role model that can be an example to younger and older people alike. This book is written in language that is easily understood by young or foreign readers. While it uses vocabulary that stretches the limits of a young person's ability, it also gives explantion for difficult passages. It gives thoughtful insight into American history preceding the Revolutionary War and the reasons for the War.

I learned about writing from watching Ben Vandervoort craft this damned fine book. His insights into battle, the spy game and Vietnam are unrivaled. Take my word for it, you'll rip through this tale faster than a blow torch can go through butter. ACE ATKINS, author of CROSSROAD BLUES AND LEAVIN' TRUNK BLUES

I stumbled upon this title by accident and couldn't believe I missed it. I'm a sucker for WW II and espionage thrillers. This one takes on both, matched with a travel writer's eye for Vietnam. I can't wait for a sequel or the movie. Dan Pierce, with his battered Cadillac and chilled bourbon, is one to watch for more!

This book started it all for me. It stood out in the sociology section of floor 3 at the library. They say that you can't judge a book by its cover, but often, a cover will tell you a lot about the book.

That's how it was with this one. The cover was funky, with half-finished etchings. What was written inside was even better. It was a beautiful discourse on the nature of Love. From Agathon's (it was Agathon that told of Achilles and Patroclus...wasn't it?) tale of devotion, Aristophanes' haunting fable about our "other halves" (and the interludes in between, especially the one about hiccoughs) to Socrates' speech on love "involving the mind and not the body", this is a timeless and highly accessable study.

Read it a few years ago, and have been into philosophy ever since.

Not only should this book be the literary book-fellow to any Classics student, but an absolute must for every human being on the face of the planet. Griffins' translation is not only beautifully rendered/translated but extremely funky and contemporary. It is so applicable to our own modern interpertations of life, the universe,and everything, that you will easily forget than it was written over 2,500 years ago. In addition, the book design values are astounding. The fonts, both English and Greek, are lovely that even the reader who has never studied Greek will fall in love with the flowing lines.

Benjamin, Lichtman, and Shelanski have written an excellent book on U.S. telecommunications law. The book provides a glimpse at the early history of U.S. radio telecommunications and brings the reader up to fairly recent developments. Explanations of the spectrum, arguments of why broadcast media have been regulated (children's tv, indecency, Fairness Doctrine, for example), selected court cases and FCC actions are provided. "Notes and questions" are provided at the end of segments within each chapter and help the reader anticipate issues addressed subsequently. The book is well written and the authors have an enjoyable sense of humor. While the book does give attention to the Internet, readers might want to supplement the book's coverage by reading Sharon Black's "Telecommunications Law in the Internet Age" published in 2002 by Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.

This book introduces basic concepts about how the government regulates broadcast television, radio, cable, telephone, and Internet service. It includes easy-to-read discussions and also excerpts of important documents and cases.

The book was written for use in law school classes, but it would be valuable to practicing attorneys as well as to managers at major telecommunications firms, especially those working to understand the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

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This book makes you think on what makes you different, focusing on your one and only main Driving Force out of nine options. Long term strategy is not the same as long term planning, the first is what you want to be in the future, the second is how to get there. Being aware of your Strategy and Driving Force, allows you to focus on achiving success.

The authors bring into focus the definition of a business' "driving forces", whether "products offered", "market saturation", "technology" or others. I regret giving my copy of this book away 15 years ago - I could still refer to it today.

While the logic propounded by Socrates in this account has since been successfully refuted as being flawed, it is his moral position which he was willing to die for which underlines the historicity more than the details of the ideas presented. The power of Socrates thus lies in his unabashed search for truth, even at the expense of his own life. What makes this book profound is that it is a non-fiction; The account of Socrates' trial and death as here recorded by Plato will give the reader an idea of what it means to die for a cause which seems right...its moral import is worth more than a million bucks.

Platos writings on Socrates dialogues in this book are very interesting and intellectually stimulating. I recommend this book for anyone interested in Socrates, Plato, philosophy, etc. And for $.80 you certainly can't complain about the price!

I have always been fascinated by Benjamin Franklin, but never really knew a lot about him. Reading Snyder's book helped me get to know him in a whole new light. I particularly enjoyed his virtues (p. 39).

One interesting technique the author used was to blend dreams and past lives into day-to-day living. At first, I didn't understand why she was bringing in so much about the personal life of Carol Byrd. But then, I started to see the connection between her own history and the history of long ago. She seems to suggest that when you find yourself drawn to something from the past, it's probably because there's a gift for you to use in the present. Consider the possibilities! By the time I finished reading the book, I felt as if I had made two new friends--Franklin and Carol Byrd!

Being one who is a lover of history and at the same time an avid student of spiritual truths, I was delighted to read, The Truth About Benjamin Franklin. Joyce Snyder, has successfully blended the historical with the spiritual. Imagine becoming aware of an historical figure such as Benjamin Franklin in your life, having conversations with him about his life and times, and as a result discerning things about him that haven't been taught in history books. Also imagine becoming aware of universal spiritual truths along the way. The author has also woven a love story between the folds of the tale. Her writing is crisp, clean, honest and to the point. The Truth About Benjamin Franklin is a fascinating read; a page turner that sparked my imagination. The book was a fascinating journey that I gladly followed to the end. Highly recommended