I decided to do as much learning as I could about the LC lifestyle -- it gets a lot of criticism in the medical community, and with my wife and several friends in the medical field, I figured I better get as many medical perspectives as I could in order to dialog intelligently on the subject.

The gold mine was struck when I came across Laura Richard's book. Laura Richard is a registered nurse -- that's the 4-year degree-type -- and she also holds a master's degree in healthcare administration. She no dummy when it comes to the medical field. This is what impressed me first: Her Credibility.

I bought the book for what seemed like too low a price (it's way inexpensive), and dug in. I was immediately impressed with Richard's organization of the subject matter. Not much rambling in this book, but it's not a dry read in any way. Quite the contrary. What makes this book so appealing is a genuine, down-to-earth writing style. It captures you and you want to keep reading. She uses easy-to-understand analogies to explain difficult concepts. I don't see how anyone could not understand the material she presents.

As has been previously posted in reviews of this book, Laura Richard does a fine job of consolidating what was no doubt hundreds of hours participating on Internet message boards and discussion groups. She includes a "voice of low carb experience" section at the end of most topical discussions. In other words, not only does she do a great job of outlining various "expert" opinions with a fair and balanced approach, she ties it all together with a dose of reality expressed by hundreds of others from her experience participating in discussion groups.

This book is both a primer and a bible for low carbers (and for those who want to support their LC family and friends). In addition to the well-organized contrast and compare section on all the LC diet philosophies and all the great tips and education throughout the book, Richard includes a fairly comprehensive resource section at the back of the book -- which I've found quite helpful. Even as good as this book is, it obviously can't cover everything, so joining a low carb forum online is helping to "fill in a few gaps" in my learning. I probably wouldn't have joined such a group on my own, but as Richard has shown, "the voice of low carb experience" can be quite helpful at times.

In essence, this book is not only informational, it's transformational. If you could only have one book to explain the whys and wherefores of the LC lifestyle, this should be it. I've read it twice, and it's one of the few that's going onto my "read it every year" bookshelf. I'd pay ten times the cover price for the wealth of information this book presents.

Five Stars. Excellent. Highly Recommended. Easy Read. You won't want to put it down.

holla

Since buying "Deerskins into Buckskins" I have successfully tanned about 65 hides,and the dogs haven't had a chew bone.

If you want to be successful at brain tanning, buy Mr. Richards' book and use his simple method. You won't be disappointed.

Tanning skins is a subject that is treated superficially in a number of books on outdoor and primitive survival, with the result that if you follow the loose instructions you may just end up with stiff, high-protien-cardboard.

Been there and done that.

After following Matt's method I ended up with soft buck skin the very first time with significantly less effort.

Matt's book covers the subject in very good detail, covering the bucking/wetscrape tanning method, theory of how brain tanning works, the tools necessary including primitive tools, and the basics on how to make garnments.

I think that if you are going to try brain tanning deerskin, this book is a must-have.

As soon as I discovered this book, I immediately linked it to my homepage, as well as my Jewish resource menus and online FAQs. It fills a very real need for a user-friendly basic Judaism book that is "accessible" to the rank beginner, and I find myself recommending it a LOT to web surfers and readers of my own books who email me with their "Judaism 101" questions.

This book is much, much better than Steinberg's old standby, "Basic Judaism," which is just too much stuffy academe for the average reader of today. Rabbi Blech's use of the familiar 'Idiot's Guide" format is non-threatening, and even uses some humor to make learning about Judaism easy and fun!

I recommend this book to non-Jews who want the basics, to Jews who need to brush up on what they might have missed as kids in Hebrew school, and especially to school teachers and librarians as a quick reference to those common questions about what Jews believe in, what happens in a synagogue service, and "Why do they do that...?"

Thank you, Rabbi Blech, for a great educational resource!

Richard Bode has given us a beautiful book to savor and ponder. I read this straight through in one day-a rare event for me, since I always read several very different books at a time. FIRST YOU HAVE TO ROW A LITTLE BOAT had me totally engaged and I kept marking paragraphs and writing WOW in the margins. On page 145 he says, "If every man and woman were to take the meaning of their life and pursue it passionately, they would alter the social landscape overnight. In fact, that's how lasting revolutions are made-not by the raised arm of the masses, not by the military seizure of power, not by the political coup d'état, but by individuals asserting who they are one at a time." WOW.

His use of sailing as metaphor worked beautifully for me, even though I don't sail. His comments (page 32) about listening to the wind instead of holding tightly to dogma and rigidity were eloquent bordering on poetry. Very inspiring.

I read this first from the perspective of a yachtsman, but have read it now probably 7 or 8 times and still get a new appreciation every time.

I guess if you are fortunate enough to have a boating background it makes sense in a different way, however the 'real life' approach to his writing is rewarding in itself. I have bought several copies of this book for others and universally it has been well received and enjoyed. Every time I row (my little boat) out to my (bigger) boat, I think about this this book. It has that kind of long lasting effect on you.

Luke Howard became famous throughout the world. It is clear that he must have viewed this with mixed feelings. As a modest Quaker, he did not seek celebrity but as a scientist he was undoubtedly proud of his accomplishment. It is a beautiful achievement. By naming that which was ever-present but unnamed, Luke Howard helped forge the language of meteorology and provided some of the most important tools for weather observation and forecasting. His Latin names speak to the universality of climate and his detractors, who felt that the classifications should have been in English, were soon silenced. The book describes the reaction of artists as well. On the one hand, there were those who believed that clouds, as objects of great natural beauty and a symbol of freedom, would lose something by being systematically classified, as if they were species of beetles, but others, including the painter Constable, used the classification of the clouds as a basis for their art. The great genius of the period, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, completely enchanted by Luke Howard's work and personality, dedicated a series of marvellous poems to him, with each stanza based on one of the new cloud-forms.

But even having poetry dedicated to you by Goethe is not enough to claim enduring fame. Luke Howard seems to have lived a quiet existence, marked by some success in business and a happy family life. He died at the age of 91, remembered fondly by only his relatives. Richard Hamblyn, in writing this book, must have struggled to develop enough material as it appears that the lecture of 1802 was the high point of Luke Howard's scientific life and his attention was then taken up more by commerce and religious issues. Mr. Hamblyn gives us a history of the earlier attempts to define clouds, reaching back to Aristotle. He throws in the story of the Beaufort Wind Scale, which was inspired by but not as readily-accepted as Luke Howard's cloud system. He deals with the subsequent amendments to the cloud classifications and we learn of the International Meterological Conference and its winsomely-named Cloud Committee, which was to produce the International Cloud Atlas.

All very interesting, but it is in the sections about Luke Howard and his contemporaries, fascinated by the rapid progress in science at the end of the 18th Century, where the book is most alive. Richard Hamblyn ably paints a picture of London's crowded lecture halls where science was popular culture, of dangerous experiments and fantastic personalities. Men of brilliant and adventurous minds, often denied higher education due to their religion, could look into the future and stake a claim. The author, in sharing Luke Howard's triumph with us, has written an elegant work brimming with enthusiasm.

What's lacking however are specifics. Most people are specifically interested in negotiating or bargaining for better compensation when looking for a job or negotiating with a supplier for better overall prices, what to look for in a M&A situation etc. There is also little discussion with respect to "kickbacks" offered during negotiations, an accepted practice in a number of countries. I know it is illegal, but its awareness is most critical especially when the whole corporate world is being "globalized". The discussion should then lead to its awareness, alternatives in combating or avoiding or handling in most appropriate way.

The book nevertheless is very useful in developing your own strategy for specific situations. Deserves 4plus stars.

Richard Shell's book completely changed this impression. This is a book that is well written and the ideas are structured in way that I could read and take away bite-sized chunks. The book is also very practical and ends each section with a checklist to be used when you negotiate. Shell has made the book very readable by not going overboard on negotiations theories and sprinkling the book with some terrific stories. The stories range from negotiation strategies employed by Mahatma Gandhi and Akio Morita to Indonesian villagers and Tanzanian tribesmen.

The main message of the book is that negotiations are mostly about relationships and that each party may have something to offer that is of enormous value to the other party. By building your relationship and unearthing that value you can conclude a successful negotiation where everybody leaves the boardroom or village center with satisfaction. Shell draws his rich material from many negotiating situations (e.g.-: kids negotiating with their parents about dinner, an elderly widow negotiating with real estate tycoon Donald Trump, and the negotiations for buying out RJR Nabisco). He has also drawn on negotiating styles from around the world and compared the cultural differences (e.g.-: Gandhi negotiating in South Africa, the importance of networks or Guanxi in Chinese cultures, etc.)

The first part of the book focuses on the six foundations of effective negotiation - being aware of your personal style, setting goals, adhering to certain standards, building relationships, uncovering the other person's interests and making use of leverage. The second part of the book is about the negotiation process - preparing you strategy, exchanging information, the actual negotiation, and finally getting commitment. I liked Shell's use of a chessboard metaphor to put these principles into a framework. It is unlikely you will master all these skills in one shot. This is a book you want to come back to every now and then, nibble a bit, practice the skill during your next negotiation opportunity, and go read the book some more.

I would strongly recommend the book because it teaches you skills to successfully negotiate your way through life. Even if you were to measure it in narrow monetary terms this book would reward you enormously in all the big-ticket negotiations we do in our lives such as buying a car, buying a house, agreeing on a salary, or accepting you next stock options package. But, even more important shell gives you valuable lessons about setting goals, following a strategy and building a meaningful relationship with the people you interact with whether it is your spouse, friend, grocer, or friendly neighborhood business tycoon. When I finished the book I realized that this book is not just about negotiations. It is an enlightening and entertaining book about living more effectively. While it will certainly help you negotiate a better price on your house it will also help you develop a more meaningful relationship with your spouse or child the next time you negotiate your vacation or broccoli vs. ice-cream deal.

The author is to be commended for a number of achievements in this book. First, the writing was excellent -- easy to read, yet not simplistic; interesting enough that I actually enjoyed it; and extremely well organized. Unlike maky other books, the anecdotes are both interesting and well-used to illustrate his points.

Second, the author presents guidance on a wide range of issues. One section helps you identify your bargaining style and then gives you suggestions on how to maximize its effectiveness. Another offers advice on how your strategy should change based on the relationship (or lack thereof) between the two parties. This book is not just for MBAs; it's for all people, since everyone negotiates in various forms with everyone else.

Third, the book achieves an excellent balance between theory and practice. Shell refers to numerous psychology and economics experiments to describe the ideas beneath the negotiation process, but he also gives real-world advice on how to put these ideas to work.

Finally, a section on ethics is included which, although enlightening enough to provide a basic knowledge of legal, moral, and practical implications of various bargaining strategies, is really only a primer to a much larger topic.

Again, this was a truly excellent book, especially for anyone looking for a first read on the topic.