I was well into the book still wanting to say: "No tell me about the BIG impact trick." Then I realized the book was full of technique and ideas from every possible angle. Scientific, artistic, graphics, lists, logic, emotion and even down to: "It's something like this." I would be amazed if there was an angle about impact that is not in this book. The book is easy to read but I will be reading it again and again. Sometimes the smallest insight opens the biggest doors. My only complaints would be that sometimes the word selection is weak or wrong and some poor sentences slipped through the process or were wrongly slipped in by an editor at the last minute. Sometimes the author is high handed with branding some techniques as losers. You will know where she stands when you read this book. I am very happy I found and read this book so early in my quest to find expert help on public speaking.

Scholars, students and those who just plain love philosophy should be overjoyed at the release of this volume of Spinoza's collected works, the first in English. The Shirley translation is excellent, easy to follow, and much smoother in general than E.M. Curley's Cartesian-anchored exposition. Until this volume came along I was using three different editions of his collected works. I cannot describe the pleasure of having all Spinoza's works at my fingertips. It pays to be able to consolidate.

The Hackett edition is study, the pages quite thick considering such a lengthy volume, and sewn with thread, ensuring a lasting product, especially comforting considering the price asked. Still, it is a bargain when compared with the Curley edition published by Princeton. Volume Two of that edition has not even been published, though Volume One has been out for quite some time. If you love Spinoza and want to consolidate your collection into one volume, you can't go wrong with the Shirley translation.

I stumbled on this text while trying to understand nested design for analysis of variance. Better than any other text I used, this book helped me to understand the calculation steps as well as the underlying theory. (All the other texts I used had holes in their explanation.) This has become my favorite statistics reference.

Shirley Nillson's book "Stitching Free" is a must for anyone interested in creative sewing. She explains,step by step, how to create beautiful pictures using your sewing machine in free-motion mode. She covers everything from "How to start" and "Materials and Methods" to designing and finishing your work. The book also includes exquisite colour photographs of some of her creations and three patterns to get you started. The author even explains how to organize your fabric stash and sewing supplies so that you can find what you need! Her enthusiasm and humour make this a very readable and inspirational book.

I bought this book for my 3 year old son who loves Thor. This book is very beautifully illustrated and the story itself is quite amusing. Thor (the Norse god of thunder)had his magic hammer stolen by a giant. In order to get it back the trickster god Loki comes up with a plan for Thor to pretend he is the beautiful goddess Frejya in order to trick the giant(and get his hammer back). This is a good story for both boys and girls and is not scary to read to young children. I explained to my son not to be afraid of real thunder as it is only Thor up in the sky protecting everyone (and this story really helped to drive that point home). He is no longer afraid of thunder during a storm.

My 1-1/2 old granddaughter has many books - and she is often to be seen looking at books by herself, not to speak of the times she requests an adult to sit with her. This is the book that she most often wants and is the book we'll have to replace as it's the most worn. A great collection of "nursery" poetry and pictures have a lot of appeal for the young.

As always, Shirley Hughes has a winner with her book, Stories by Firelight. The stories are fascinating, with just a bit of eerieness and fantasy to keep children interested, just like a tale told by firelight. Burning the Tree is a delightful tale about a grandfather and a grandson who has an uncomfortable secret which has quite an exhilorating resolution for the boy. As with many of her books, there are lovely poems interspersed which just add to the joy of reading a Shirley Hughes book.

This is a wonderful collection of classic stories -- ranging from Pegasus to Ali Baba and the 40 thieves to the Oriental tale: the Crocodile and the Monkey. My daughter, eight, was thoroughly enchanted and even my son, 11, enjoyed reading the book. Stories for Eight-Year-Olds will indeed charm and fascinate both your eight-year old as well as any younger or older readers in the family, too. I look forward to buying the next volume edited by Sara and Stephen Corrin, Stories for Nine-Year-Olds.

I thought my four year old daughter would be much too advanced for this book, but found it to be very age appropriate, well written, and entertaining for both me and my daughter (even after reading it sixteen times!). Well done. A birthday is coming; I will progress to the next book in the set.

I've used Story Stretchers both with the children I've homeschooled and with students in creative writing classes. The activities are an excellent tool for teaching basic writing skills, and they really encourage kids to enjoy reading. The units are well-organized and easy to follow.