If you want to know something about raising teens, read this book! Patt and Steve Saso have written a wise and perceptive guide for parents who are trying to maintain loving and vital relationships with their teen-aged children. As a teacher of high-school students for the past 15 years, I have been asked to read and evaluate dozens of books which attempt to "explain" the behavior of adolescents or provide a means of "controlling" what they do. The Sasos have made it clear that these attempts will always fail because they miss the point. With many examples gleaned from long experience, they show convincingly that our task as parents and teachers is not to control but, rather, to do the sometimes painful work of building solid relationships with young persons based on respect and nurtured over time with love and care. There is no other way. For the honesty and truth in this book, I thank them.

The first time I came across Steve and Patt Saso was at a seminar they were giving on parenting. The clearest thing I remember from that seminar was that these two parents, with all their experience dealing with their own children and others' children and others who have children, was that their kids could still catch them off guard and cause them to not make the perfect response to a situation. Patt also taught us her favorite mantra (It's not my fault. It's not my fault) for dealing with teens reluctant to tell their parents what the parents wanted to hear as a response to a question, like "How was school today?"

This same honesty comes through with the teaching in this book. It is one of the things that gives me hope as a parent, namely that I'm never going to be a perfect parent, and that I don't have to be a perfect parent.

The 10 gifts are not quick cures. They require work and change on our part as parents. Just like developing any relationship. This book is not a cure for what ails you and your family. It is a process, a way of living with others.

The 10 gifts that the Sasos describe in their book are good gifts to give anyone. And as they point out, teens especially need these gifts because they are transitioning from very dependent to very independent. Not only do they need good role models, they also need to work out their own paradigms for dealing with life. Along with this, they need to know what works for other people, so that they can adapt some of it to their own unique selves.

Growing up, my parents didn't know any more about parenting than I used to know while raising my kids. Not only do I wish I had read a book like this years ago, I know that I would have liked for my own parents to have read and applied a book like this.

We found the Saso's book to be extremely practical as a tool for helping parents of teenagers. In our work as Marriage & Family Therapist, educators and seminar leaders, we are always looking for helpful books on family relationships to suggest to people. The Saso's book is the latest and one of the very best on parent-teen relationships that we have read. They are not only practical, but also very personal as they share real-life stories from their own family. Their 10 best gifts for teens are foundational qualities important in all healthy relationships. We highly value the work Steve and Patt Saso have done in this fine book.

VIVO ATADO A UN ESCRITORIO. DE AHI, AL COCHE. DE AHI, A LA MESA. DE AHI, A PLATICAR Y COMPARTIR CON LA ESPOSA Y LOS HIJOS...
Como la mayorìa de los hombres, no me queda ni tiempo ni humor para andar por ahi corriendo como loquito ni haciendo lagartijas o push ups... PERO ESTOS EJERCICIOS, NO SE COMEN MI TIEMPO... TODO LO QUE SE HAN "COMIDO " ES MI BARRIGA DE CERVECERO !

GENIAAAALES !

COLEGAS ( soy médico )que duermen una horra menos que yo y salen de jogging como perros perseguidos por el antirábico...mientras que yo TENGO MEJOR CONDICION FÍSICA, MUSCULATURA Y APARIENCIA QUE ELLOS...
Se mueren por saber como le hago..pero es secretito: Hago mis ejercicios mientras voy en el coche rumbo al consultorio, cuando esoty viendo a un paciente y hasta hablando por teléfono !
Este libro ES LA BENDICION FÍSICA MAS GRANDE QUE EXISTE !

SENTADA, porque tengo un servicio de proveeduria para el que hago y vendo sandwiches ( muy ricos,eh?), pero estos ejercicios han sido mi salvacion, ya que antes era deportista y cuanod deje el deporte por el trabajo, me comencé a engordar la barriga...

Pues se acabó la barriga, Y NO ME FATIGO !
Vi el resultado en 4 SEMANAS

As a fifth grader, one of my favorite teachers read this book aloud to our class once a week. Today, as a high school junior, I still remember every word and story from the Weighty Word Book. Recently I took the PSAT and SAT, and between the two tests words from this book showed up 4 or 5 times. It has been an extremely beneficial part of my education.

...Who never to the world has said
I love this book, this children's book...

Adults read children's books to children, but seldom pick one up for their own pleasure. They miss a lot by the omission. THE WEIGHTY WORD BOOK is an example of a book written for children that is delightful for adults, at least adults who love words.

It's written by three University of Colorado English professors and consists of a series of whimsical and enchanting stories about words -- selected words, useful and syllabic.

In the first story, for example, Benjamin Van Der Bellows, a bear "who did not know the things he was supposed to know" is moved each time he makes a mistake to an office on a lower floor. Predictably, he winds up in the basement. "So, whenever a person has been lowered in position or rank or office, we say that person has suffered an abasement."

There's an imaginative and articulate story about each letter of the alphabet. Don't miss this one -- it's for all ages and it's loads of fun.

I have used The Weighty Word Book for 10 years in my third and fifth grade classrooms. The vocabulary words are excellent and the stories that help show the meaning are entertaining and meaningful. The students ask for me to read the book to them and they often not only remember the words, but also the stories for years. This is a wonderful book to show kids that they can have fun learning new "hard" vocabulary words. Try it, you'll find that you'll improve your own vocabulary.

The authors of this book have tracked down, and provided color photos, of no less than 250 waterfalls in Yellowstone. While some were previously well known, many are new discoveries or re-discoveries of falls not seen in many years. That so many notable falls could occur in one area (even as large as Yellowstone)is remarkable; that so many significant falls could have remained to be discovered is downright ming-boggling. The authors provide interesting histories and excellent photos of each fall, and the book will be a joy to read and look at for any waterfall lover. My slight quibble is that while they provide coordinates and category of access for each fall, they don't provide directions or hiking distance. (In fairness, it can well be argued that if the information isn't readily available elsewhere for a given fall then the trek is one that should only be undertaken by a hardcore hiker.) Despite the quibble, this is a great book for any waterfall lover, and especially for one planning a trip to Yellowstone.



Waterfalls are one of natures natural high producers. Do a search on negative ions and you will find that falling water creates an abundance of negative ions in the air. Breathing in this charged air mixture gives a body a natural, invigorating, temporary high. In their book, the authors have obviously been infected by this condition as evidenced by there irrepressible quest to seek out more and more sources of the negative ion producing waterfalls.

This book scores high marks on many fronts. With three different authors contributing, the book does a marvelous job of providing a general education on waterfalls. By clarifying the terms and classes of the waterfalls described, author Rubenstein helps to give personality and color to each individual plume.

Author Whittlesey's extensive historic perspective of the park gives each of the known waterfalls a vivid background description. When the authors caution you not to lean over the trail barrier too far to view a particular waterfall, they then follow up with the details of the tourist that died falling down that very cliff at the same site. As a drive guide to Yellowstones' waterfalls this book cannot be beat. All of the easily accessed falls are covered and described in detail including seasonal variations. For the typical tourist driving through the park, this book will appeal immediately because of the revelation that many more falls are visible with just a short car stop and walk to a viewpoint.

As a hikers guide to the Parks waterfalls this book will have even more appeal. Having spent over 15 years researching the back country for this book, author Mike Stevens has been to many of the falls on repeat occasions under a variety of conditions. In this aspect the book becomes a must for anyone hiking in the back country of Yellowstone. All of the standard trail recommendations are detailed along with accurate descriptions of how to find the falls and experience them in their best display. There are so many falls in the Yellowstone region that this book will certainly add color to almost any hike in the park.

Yellowstone Park is like a huge treasure chest of wild gems. By revealing and putting names to some of the previously 'unknown' falls the authors have dug a little deeper into the treasures and helped us realize there is a lot more value in this park than any of us realize. For the experienced Yellowstone back country explorers this book is a must. The authors even give GPS coordinates to many falls that have previously not been written about. Many of the falls have no trails and require at least an overnight stay in the back country. Others are so inaccessible that the authors honestly suggest that the strenuous hike is not worth the effort. The authors even give suggested locations for other waterfalls that have yet to be discovered.

Being a Yellowstone park fan myself I give this book my highest rating and only wish it would have been available when I was employed in the park. The authors show a true enthusiasm for the whole park not just the waterfalls. This book will make you want to get out and get some of those negative ions from the cascading waters. From the text and photos it is apparent that the authors have already had a healthy dose of their own!

This is a truly amazing book on Yellowstone. I have not seen one like it. Although much of the book is devoted to newly discovered waterfalls, all the famous ones are in here too. Like Lower Falls, Tower Falls, and the Gibbon Falls. It makes this a great book for any lover of Yellowstone. Whether you've been to the park for a day or visited every year since childhood like myself you will enjoy this book. Even if you just want information on a beautiful part of America.

It has so much information. Waterfall heights, locations, streams and much much more. The hundreds of photos, which are all color, are beautiful; and the numerous maps are very helpful.

If you love Yellowstone, waterfalls, or just great natural scenery you'll want to add this classic to your collection.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Orthodoxy and its art and philosophy. The book is an absolute pleasure to read - it leads you through the subject matter with a beautiful and poetic voice. You will return to this book again and again.

Evdokimov's book illuminates traditional teachings on both Iconography and the spiritual significance of the subject of beauty within the Orthodox East. The rich heritage of Orthodox tradition, liturgy, wisdom and beauty breaks through in Evdokimov's pages and leads the reader into the depth of traditional Christian belief. The book, rooted in the writers personal expertise with Iconography as well as his knowledge of the writings of the Church Fathers, combine in Evdokimov's book and render it both affectively engaging and intellectually stimulating. Further, Evdokimov's critique of contemporary trends in Art provide a wealth of material on which the reader will spend time meditating. This is a book to be read and enjoyed more than once. This book would be a great resource for any who might want to encounter the historical Orthodox Church through her art and wisdom, for those interested in Art history, and for those familiar with Iconography and would appreciate a clear, informative and thoughtful exposition on the topic.

In this book, Evdokimov poetically meditates on beauty in the Orthodox Christian tradition as epitomized in the art of the icon. His approach is difficult to follow at times, because it is so very dense, but the words eventually flow over and through the reader, leaving him with a sense of having listened to an exquisite concerto of theology. Truly, Evdokimov's "deep knowledge" of the icon comes from his great love and intimate experience in the liturgical arts.

This is a little jem of a book. The arguably two greatest living physicists of the 80s, Feynman and Weinberg, both Nobel Laureates, pay tribute to their master, the man who said that mathematical beauty is what physicists should look for in physical laws, the one and only, Paul Dirac. These memorial lectures are the best one could wish for, together with Abdus Salam's tribute a couple of years before. I derived pure delight in reading Feynman's lecture, which explains the existence of antiparticles predicted by Dirac in his equation of the electron. Weinberg however surprisingly outstands Feynman in giving a lecture on symmetry laws, etc. These lectures would have surely thrilled Dirac, without doubt. For all physicists who like to have those little precious books on their shelves, it's a very good and enjoyable buy.

As usual, the best physics books are short and to the point, as is this one. The two Dirac lectures may serve as a perfectly good mini physics course all by themselves. I always enjoy a Feynman lecture, and this is no exception. He cuts to the chase without sacrificing the plot. But, I must say, in this case the Wienberg lecture is the better of the two. Weinberg's style has a particular grace & beauty about it that gently exposes the aesthetic meaning of the search for a picture of nature.

Feynman yet again gives great insight into the laws of physics, this time exploring the reasons for existence of anti-particles, starting from the dirac equation etc.. Plus some really outstanding photographs, that fella Weinberg will be chuffed to have his name mentioned on the book cover!

We have been homeschooling since the early 70's. earlier if you consider my homeschooling in the 50's. This is why I was eager to read this book and why I recommend it. Because the author gives the reader one of the most complete and balanced view from the outside, of who homeschools and why.

I also like the fact that the author was interested in parents and families and not simply whether or not the homeschooled child tests better, gets enough socialization, have their own friends and get into college. What the author set out to find is what drives the parent to homeschool. And what "practical household decisions" make homeschooling possible. Because as he notes "conventional parenting is a lot of work" and he "suspected that homeschooling is even more labor intensive." And he set out to find out "how people decided that they could afford the time, lost wages, and mental energy that homeschooling costs." And "how homeschoolers assemble the help they need to get the job done."

He also include the study in 1995 that sociologist "Maralee Mayberry and her colleagues released the best comprehensive statistical study of home educators to date." The authors fifty-six item questionnaire included measures of parental occupation, educational attainment, religious affiliation, household size and income and the divisions of domestic labour. Working with a sample of home educating families in Nevada, Utah and Washington the researchers painted a picture of a predominantly white, middle class and religious movement. Ninety-eight percent of the survey respondents were white 1 percent were Asian Americans, the rest a mix of African American, Native American and Hispanics. Most parents were under age forty and the vast majority or 97% were married. 43% claimed at least some post secondary education, and additional 33 percent were college graduate. Professional and technical and managerial and administrative occupations were heavily represented among the fathers some were craft or service workers and a few were ranchers or farmers. 57% reported incomes of between 25 and 50k, 26% reported less. Compared to the general public the respondents were better educated slightly more affluent and more likely to be white. They also found that homeschooling is heavily gendered. 78% of mothers do the homeschooling. Also of interest to is the religious aspect. 91% reported that religious commitment was very important. 78% claim they attend church weekly. Yet 20% say they are not religious per se. 12% didn't answer the religious question. What surprised me was the fact we know more Asian and Jewish homeschoolers that any group, so this study should have studied homeschoolers in NYC, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco as well in order to get a better read on a more diverse section. The states studied are higher income and better educated so the results make sense.

I also like the book because the author notes the SAT study by Jon Wartes of Washington State homeschooled students. Although these were done in the 80's. The author does note the HSLDA funded study by Lawrence Rudner and I was happy the author noted "The study's findings must be tempered by the fact the research was built with a nonrandom convince sample, financed by a highly interested advocacy organization, and has received criticism from both within and beyond the homeschool community."

The author also explains the while homeschooling is legal in all states that some states have strict rules as far as parents reporting to state educational authorities. This is often one of the first questions I get from a parent asking about homeschooling. Is it legal? How do I find out? And I like the fact the author noted the Sikkink study that shows that homeschool parents are more involved in cicvic life than public school parents.

And the history of homeschooling since the 80s is covered well. And I am glad ton see that John Holt and Holt Associates are given good coverage since this is the one organization we joined in the early 80s and was the most secular or accepting of all homeschool families. So often all I hear is that the majority of homeschoolers are conservative Christians, even though my experience since the early 1970s shows (yes I live in a more liberal area of California) that there are more secular homeschoolers, or at least ones who are free spirits.

This is a book that any fair minded person interested in homeschooling should read. This is one of my top 3 homeschool books.

Mitchell Stevens provides the first in depth study of the American home schooling movement. Instead of assuming that home schoolers are right wing fanatics or left wing bohemians, he takes the time to attend their meetings, visit their homes and read their literature. From his in depth study, he concludes that home schooling is an activity that grows out of long traditions in American politics and is an honest, and possibly successful, attempt at reconstructing education so that it meets the needs of children.

The focus of Mitchell's book is the division between home schoolers who view home schooling as a form of Christian education and those who view home schooling as a secular activity. Mitchell's thesis is that this division defines much of the discourse, organization and politics of home schooling. It also reflects concepts of womanhood, childhood and family.

From a sociological perspective, I think that this book's biggest contributions is an implicit critique of some themes in the sociology of education, where schools are seen as propagators of the status quo. Here, we have an example of how an institution, public education, is relaxing its grip and new forms of education are being created. This is not to say that public education is on the path to extinction, but this book shows how viables alternatives to dominant institutions emerge.

To summarize: first in depth sociological work on home schooling, takes home schoolers seriously as people, clear

writing and very little jargon and furthers our understanding of educational institutions and social change. A sure winner!

Home education is such a remarkable modern movement that it has long deserved close scrutiny by serious social scientists. Mitchell Stevens has given the American home school movement a long and careful look. For almost a decade (from 1990 to 1989), this dedicated sociologist met with home schoolers singly and in groups. This book will be "must" reading for home school leaders of every persuausion, including those who are openly uncomfortable with the concept of "home school leaders."

As a sociologist, Dr. Stevens is interested in how home schoolers went about constructing an entirely new set of organizational structures. He delves deeply into the differing "schema" of the differing wings of the home school movement, and explores how different paradigms affect developing institutions. He notes the details ("inclusive" home school groups arrange chairs in circles for highly democratic meetings, while "Christian" home school groups routinely sit in pews while their "leaders" address them from pulpits), and then draws broad but credible conclusions from them.

As a home schooler who has been in "leadership" in Christian home schooling since 1986, I was impressed at the depth and thoughtfulness of this book. While I may disagree with him on certain points, this is a book that no thoughtful home schooler will be able to ignore. Although I am deeply committed to a united home school movement, Dr. Stevens has spelled out the specifics of how that movement is divided at present, and the deeper reasons of why it has grown apart. The challenge to home schoolers who want to bridge those divisions is now clear. The solutions are not.

Opponents of home schooling will find little to love in this book. While it is painfully honest about the differences between modern home schoolers, it concludes with some breathtaking observations on modern womanhood, modern childhood, and modern society. In his final chapter, "Nurturing the Expanded Self," Dr. Stevens argues that home schooling is a movement that finally deals with the "reproductive costs of the expanded self." The "expanded self" he refers to is the truly developed individual, who from childhood has been raised to explore his or her own unique capacities. By breaking out of the assembly-line institutions of modern "schooling," home educators have opened up a world of post-modern possibilities. Home schoolers have been willing to pay the cost of this investment: a full-time parent, most often the mother, who is willing to lay down her life for her child's abundant life. Stevens says:

"The logic of contemporary individualism presents all contemporary mothers, feminist or not, with a deep dilemma. On the one hand, conventional wisdom now encourages women to be cautious about family encroachments on the integrity of their own identities. Making too many sacrifices for husbands and children is regarded as problematic for women's own self-development and psychic health. On the other hand, contemporary assumptions about the nature of childhood oblige parents to invest ever more maternal labor in their children. At the same time that women AS WOMEN have learned to be more defensive about their own needs, then they also have faced increasing demands AS MOTHERS to honor their children's individual needs."

Stevens uses the data of the modern home school movement to ask and answer big questions about the way that people organize their lives, their families, and their communities. Hundreds of thousands of serious home schoolers will become wiser and more effective by reading this book. Those who are not home schooling - yet - may want to follow their example.

This is a good bible for the Midwinter enthusiast. My in-laws have been collecting the Stonehenge Midwinter patterns for years without a reference guide. They'll be thrilled as I was with the chronological history of this company and the pottery they created. Great color photos.

This book is a wonderful reference volume for the lover of mid 20th Century design, and invaluable for the Midwinter enthusiast! The colour photos are exceptional and the patterns are also explicitly described in chronological order. If you even have a passing interest in 50's-60's design, this would be a wonderful addition to your reference library.

If you are crazy about Midwinter pottery and want to know pretty much all there is to know about it's production processes, the designers and their designs then this is the book for you. If you are interested in the designs of the 1950s and 60's it will also provide a valuable reference tool. There are plenty of colour pictures to help with identification of different patterns whilst out at boot sales in search of treasure (Becoming increasingly rare to find at reasonable prices now). Read the book but leave the china for me.

Whether you're a Verhoeven fan, or just want to read an interesting account of a director's relationship with the film industry, this book will satisfy you. The author interviewed past Verhoven associates from the stars of his Dutch films to Michael Douglas, as well as longtime friends like cinematographer Jost Vacano (who has worked with Paul for 25 years). He also spoke at length with Verhoeven himself, getting some great quotes--not to mention insight--in the process. The translator has done an excellent job of making this book engaging and readable, unlike some biographies where the recitation of facts can get boring.

The book covers Verhoeven's childhood, early student days, his time in the military making documentaries, and his entire film career in detail from his first major Dutch production through the making of Showgirls. For the length of the book (only 300 pages) there is A LOT covered. If you are hoping to learn more about this rather infamous director you will not be disappointed.
There is a new chapter for each of his major Dutch and American films.

Besides the biographical text, there are some black and white photos before and after each major section and a complete filmography (through Starship Troopers). The book also has an index that is actually useful in finding the info you need.

I recommend this highly for anyone interested in Verhoeven--you might even find yourself surprised at how personable, intelligent, and funny he is.

This is a fantastic biography of the director of The Fourth Man, Robocop, Basic Instinct, Showgirls and Starship Troopers. The first half of the book extensively details Verhoeven's childhood, education and early film career in the Netherlands, then switches to chapter-long "making of" stories on each of his American films up through Showgirls (Starship Troopers was still in production at the time this book was published).

Verhoeven is a VERY smart man and has led an intriguing life. If all you know of him is that he's "the pervert who made Showgirls," you'd do well to read this book. Good job, Rob Van Scheers!

Everything you always wanted to know but were afraid to ask about the freaky Dutch filmmaker.

I've created basic database structures and applications for about five years and pledged never to go past writing macros, because I didn't want to be forced to learn VBA. I run a realty and mortgage office and just couldn't spare the time. Now that Outlook and the Office suite is becoming more familiar with my crew and now that we've joined a WAN and some B2B data sharing, the basic stuff just didn't fill the bill. I've bought quite a few books on Access recently (not to mention dozens from the past few years) and have found this one to be one of the best in its presentation and content.

It gave me some real insight on how I should be considering networking and upsizing. I answered more questions I had after spending 12 hours with the book, than I had spent searching the net or reading the other books for several months. I even read though the code and understood it, and contrary to the warnings the presentation still flowed well. I still know little VBA and am now going back to get a Wrox book on Beginnng Access 2000 VBA.

Concise, very detailed, stuffed full of info and reference. I'm a Wrox fan now.

I've been consulting for over 5 years with Access in all it's iterations except 1.0 and I must say that this is the best book on intermediate topics that I have found. There is no "fluff" like in books from other publishers (especially Queue in my opinion). This book is concise with real world examples for real world issues. When I first opened this book and read a bit I realized this book was written by consultants/developers who have gotten there hands dirty and not "feel good" academics who have never written a line of code for a company. Keep this one handy if you're the Access guru at your firm.

Professional Access 2000 Programming is a combination of a training book to heighten your programming skills, and a reference work that will give you a complete overview of Access 2000 and it's related programming environment. It's written in the traditional Wrox style that is so easy to read and usable for developers.

One thing I do miss, is the usual Wrox opening statement where it is described whom the book is written for and if any previous programming skills are assumed. It's not until chapter 3 that you find out VB or VBA programming experience is assumed to make use of the chapter. Don't start on this book without any knowledge of VBA, since it is used in most of the coding examples. If you don't know VBA check out the following books: ISBN 0782123244, ISBN 1861001762 and ISBN 0735605920. An understanding of ADO would also improve on the usability of the book.

To make use of the books fullest potential, have a design plan of your database next to it and make notes or check for errors in your design when you go through the chapters. This helped me to improve on the design of my database.

Not essential, but it would have been nice if the sample code used in the book had been made available to the reader. At one place in the book the author even writes that the sample code is available from Wrox' website, but as of today it is not.

This book has given me the skills and confidence to start working on client/server solutions and integrating SQL server. It breaks down the entire complexity surrounding Access 2000 and database development to sizeable blocks and tools that I can piece together according to programming and design goals. A must have for any Access programmer on his way to become a true professional.