this book is not beautiful.

The pictures are poorly taken: they are snap shots that make the palms themselves look like giant weeds.

And the pictures are not large - there are 4 or more on every page.

The printing quality is poor to average - the printer was just going through the motions when producing this book.

To sum up - it may be a good reference if you're good at long latin names and cluttered, muddy photographs... but it is not in any way a beautifully made book.

This is one of the most complete reference guides for anyone who has ever wondered about palm trees. The scientific treatment of the subject is kept to a minimum while the use of palms in the landscape is emphasized. Here the enthusiasm of the authors shines through. The numerous color photographs underscore the point that nearly any landscape need can be satisfied with thoughtful use of palms.

The photographs are snapshot rendered, but in my opinion, any lapse of quality which results is more than compensated by the adequacy of detail.

Though the authors provide notes on seed germination, they avoid a more thorough discussion of propagation. The authors generously supply hints on cultivation of many species covered in the book, but they do not discuss diseases which afflict growing specimens.

There is no doubt that the book is worth the price paid.

There is no other comparable book on the market. It treats ALL 192 genera of palms currently known to science. The photos are excellent and are comparable to those of Riffle's award-winning first book, THE TROPICAL LOOK. The text is even better than the photos and includes observations and experiences from many long-time growers worldwide.

I don't understand the Canadian review which seems to fault the book because some of the palm species cannot be grown in much of the continental USA. Go far enough north and NONE of them can be grown! This is simply a fact of nature, not a fault of the book.

If you want to see what happens to a country when a fundamentalist religious movement hijacks a country you need only look at Iran and Afghanistan. The same would happen here if Gary Bauer and his ilk actually achieved a real measure of power. Their ascendancy would result in a financial collapse that would make the Great Depression look like a tea party. It's so easy to blame easy targets like film, music and the latest whipping boy of the right wing, the 60's, for what's going on in America today. It lets lazy politicians look like they're actually accomplishing something. Watch out...Bauer's running for President.

Author Robert H. Knight, in his "Age of Consent," tackles a huge topic. Yet his historic survey-like description of popular culture's decline misses two key consequences of "Relativism," as a social ethos: (1) Comparativism (which neutrally treats all 'belief/opinion systems' as equally valid); and (2) Moral Legalism (which suggests that legal permissibility--and arguable legal versions of fact, however interpretive--is the ultimate moral authority. (If it's legal, or in a gray area, or undetectable...it's OK, so long as no real harm comes to anyone.) The author fails to expand on the two-edged sword predicament of Relativism, as both a media marketing necessity in a multi-ethnic America, and also the divisive foundation for potential Balkanization. A good intro to the subject.

Bob Knight is angry with an America that has taken the wrong path, and he takes the cultural leaders to task for leading the country astray since the 1960s. High culture, low culture, and middlebrow are all misguided, according to this book, and only a return to American traditions will rescue American civilization from decay. In his final chapter he finds hope in grass-roots America, which Knight argues can revitalize the country's intellectual and cultural life, if given a chance. Written from a Christian perspective, it presents an important point of view which should be seriously considered by all Americans interested in cultural developments.

The book is a personal account of an American trapped in Japan after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. One expecting lengthy details on life on the Japanese home front will be disappointed. Only a very small number pages give one much information on life in Japan during WWII. To be blunt, I thought the book was pretty boring.

This tightly edited volume of Mary Tomita's letters is an important and very necessary addition to the field of Asian American Studies. Exploring the wartime experiences of Mary Kimoto, a young Nisei (second generation Japanese American) from rural California who travels to Japan and is subsequently trapped in that country during World War II, the letters in this book give tremendous voice to the experiences of this Kibei woman. Kibei were Japanese Americans partially educated in Japan before returning to the US to reside permanently. While the exact number of Kibei is unknown, they are estimated to have numbered into the thousands. While many Nisei went abroad for study tours (kengakudan) sponsored by local immigrant newspapers, an relatively smaller group went to Japan for long-term study or work. Full of warmth, humor, and pain, Tomita's letters to her best friend Miye betray the somber realities of being a minority among the Japanese. It adds a unique chapter to the history of American racism, the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans, and Japanese history. All this, and so much more. This was a wonderfully crafted, expertly edited text that should be on the shelves of anyone interested in issues of biculturalism, racism, and Japanese American history. I cannot recommend this book enough, and will be sure to assign it in my university courses.

How things used to be, not how they are today. Old processes, old way of doing things. Unfortunately, there's really nothing else out there to fill the gap - this may be the best available. Be warned, if you want to set up a proactive purchasing department, this is not how to do it.

This book provides the complete groundwork for setting policies and procedures in a purchasing department. As a new purchasing agent, I value this resource, which enabled me to develop a functional, effective purchasing department.

It was with great disappointment that I read in 15 minutes a book whose title had promised so much. A small, thin book to begin with, "Wit and Wisdom" is heavy on white space between too few quotes. The quotes that are collected herein appear to have been collected carelessly with little concern for their merit. The truly memorable sayings contained in this book can be counted on one hand and can be had for free with a good search engine on the internet. This is one of the few books that ever saddedned this Librarian.

Devereaux Cannon, Son of Confederate Veterans, expert historian, and true believer in the "cause" and its great leader Robert E. Lee, has chosen a wonderful selection of quotes that reveal the multi-faceted General Lee. He has captured Lee the leader, Lee the strategist, Lee the man, Lee the parent, Lee the commander and the many other Robert Lee's that we know and recognize as the greatest loved of American military commanders. One quote truly stands out, as General Lee speaks across the generations to us today: "The consolidation of the states into one vast republic, sure to be aggressive abroad and despotic at home, will be the certain precursor of that ruin which has overwhelmed all those that have preceded it...I grieve for posterity, for American principles and American liberty."

Excellent book.

A short account of the final days of the Civil War where Grant forces Lee into bloody battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, North Anna, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg. Grant forces the Confederates to use their most precious resource--manpower, and wins the Civil War. Good insights on how Lincoln backed Grant to the full degree in his waging of the war. Also a good overview of the final days in both Richmond and Washington D. C. For those who doubt Grant's genius, they should read this book.

Accounts of the Battle of Gettysburg always seem to focus on who is to blame for the Confederate loss. Dowdey's version happens to blame Longstreet, primarily. However, Longstreet fans shouldn't avoid the book on that account. Dowdey gives a clear, well-written, though inevitably at this date somewhat old-fashioned, account. As no other author that I'm aware of does, he discusses the preparation for the invasion: the way that Davis refused Lee the reinforcements he'd requested, the way that Lee failed to rethink his method of dealing with subordinates after Jackson's death. I think Dowdey is a little scanty on Culp's Hill, but then I think that about everyone but Pfanz. Overall, this is a good basic analysis, definitely worth reading.

I'm still reading this book, the first one in this series that I've read. It seems to be accurate in its historical details, and the mystery itself is intriguing. But the incredibly annoying thing about it is the narrator's constant and continual references to past occurences in the series. I might have given it higher mark but for that.

This was the first book of Hall's that I have read. I enjoyed most the historic aspect of this story, the details of a time gone by. I found the cast of characters likable enough, and I like the author's choice of using a famous historical figure as a protagonist. In this book, Ben Franklin embarks upon a trip to Bath, England, running into some shady characters along the way. At one point or another along the way, you are led to question the integrity of almost all the people involved leaving you, the reader, to figure out who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. Definitely a good read if you want to become absorbed in a good book, but don't want anything too heavy.

Beliavsky et al.'s book is one of the worst chess books I have ever seen. The book is so poorly laid out that it is difficult to follow the various variations and subvariations. Otherwise, it is bascially a dump of games and lines that have intrigued the authors, omitting many other lines, and possibilities. Don't expect to find scintilating commentary either because all the notes are in Informator-speak hieroglyphics. I have studied chess for over ten years and own over 50 chess books. This book is one of the worst. Just run a search on the Two Knights in ChessBase and save your money for a nice dinner or trip to the movies.

I was looking for new ways to deal with 3. Bc4 in my ICC blitz repertoire. I'm 1733 USCF over the board, with an ICC blitz rating that can hover anywhere from 1200 to 1600, depending on my mood and the (usually low) quality of my play. I thought the 2 knights might be fun, because I like the quirky defenses like the Keene Defense to the KG and Bird's variation of the Ruy.

Gee, the 2 Knights is one aggressive countergambity, wild opening. Beliavsky does a really good job of making it interesting, but it's pretty wild, even as a blitz weapon.

I'm a timid, second rate player. If you're the sort of person who loves the King's Gambit as white and loves defending the wilder KG variations as black, you'll probably love the Two Knights. Me? I learned that in the rare instances that I play 1 e4, the proper third move for me after black's 3...Nf6 is 4 d3. It's not that the Two Knights is unstoppable--far from it, it's pretty on the edge lots of times. It's just that the whole darn thing is just so....complicated!

But if you're into tactics and you want a new blitz weapon, this is a good purchase!

A modern look at the most interesting lines of the Two Knights. I found the assessments of many variations are thoughtful and interesting. Playing through the variations and comparing one's own assessments with the authors' takes effort, but it's worth it in this case since there are many fascinating variations in the notes. Not for those who want to skip to the end of the chapter and have the authors tell them what to think. I liked this book a lot and would recommend it to anyone who likes thinking about the Two Knights (I certainly enjoyed it as much as Estrin's revered tome).