My attention was returned to this book by Amazon's "Buried Treasure" link. I tend to treasure it as such and strongly recommend it remain buried. If you would enjoy succumbing to the rantings of a decrepid, self-bombed, relentless little thief, then this book may be for you.

Wild amazing mind of Harry Smith, poet, archivalist, anthropogist, shaman, revealed in sudden bursts of illuminating starfall. Read these interviews and dance with a firebreath world. Planets spin and we spin with them. Great.

It's a nice little book, that's it. It has some poems about Tolkien and his world with no rhymes (mostly) and some quotes. Some older people or some professors :) might like it, but not me. The only reason I gave it three stars is because it had two funny poems in there.

An essay of Auden's does appear in the book. It is in fact, a hodgepodge of Tolkien related material, mostly essays (including a short biography) but also stories set in Middle Earth, songs, poems, word games, and even recipies written by other authors. It is an interseting look at Tolkien fandom. I found the black & white interior illustrations simply breathtaking the first time I saw this book. For me, it is the most important Tolkien related book not actually written by him, and the one that is most worth having. I found it at a library over ten years ago, and recently gave up hope of ever seeing it again, but here it is.

This is a great book! There are great pictures of each breed, and a good amount of information, including size, grooming, exercise, etc. There are all kinds of breeds, including rare ones, and plenty info on dog care. The authors could have included more info on each breed though, and some of the pictures for each breed are sideways, so you have no idea what the face of the dog looks like. On one breed, they give you false information. The Eskimo Dog (according to the book) is a different name for the American Eskimo Dog. The book says the Eskie is a large dog weighing 59-104 lbs. and standing 20-27 in at the withers, and it can be any known dog color. The Eskie is actually a small dog that comes in white or biscuit cream only and in three sizes (toy,mini,standard) 9-19 in at the withers and 6-40 lbs. That is the only mistake I have seen in the book, though. Overall, this book is very informative and definetly worth the cost!

This is a very friendly book. It is bound very nicely and has an attractive cover with bright illustrations. It is large and would serve well as a "coffee table" book. The reading is easy and provides just enough information on each breed.

The first section of the book is alive with pictures of various dogs and instructions from puppy care on through the life of a dog. It is well suited for a beginning dog owner due to its thoroughness and explanations of care. It is also a good selection to help you determine which breed is right for you.

In contrast to other dog books we have seen, this one offers several photographs of most breeds. This is important. That cute puppy may grow to be one ugly dog.

Overall, this is a very nice book that has proven itself to be informative and entertaining. Most of all, our kids love it!

This is good introduction to the scientific nature of social sciences. It is not light reading and may require some time to study and understand the examples, but it gives a good foundation to understanding the logical basis for the "soft sciences". This book is full of examples for understanding the thought process necessary for thorough comprehension of social sciences. I would recommend this book to anyone intrested in better understanding the logical foundation of any type of social ananlysis. This is not a light reading book. It takes effort to understand the examples and theories presented.

The great advantage of Varieties over many other introductions to the philosophy of the social sciences is that it is organized like a traditional textbook. It is not written for speed reading, but it assumes no prior technical knowledge on the part of the reader. New concepts are properly introduced as needed. Lecturers will be pleased to borrow from its many detailed examples of the various forms of social scientific explanation. Fashion-conscious readers should beware; Little is concerned with more traditional social scientific approaches. He might be classified as an "analytical" philosopher, and he doesn't devote much space to anything smacking of postmodernism & co.

Mr Fleming's review is something of an academic exercise; useful, but directed at a scholarly minority. I bought this book to help me appreciate the extraordinary basilica of Vezelay, and in particular, the superb, often sublime, carving of the capitals in the nave and the great tympanae (if that's the Latin plural). In that the book serves excellently. Having visited Vezelay once with a specialist, small group on an architectural tour of Burgundy, I was moved to return on my own, and for that I took this book. It repaid the advance reading, and was most helpful in illuminating the complex symbolism and iconography of mediaeval Christian art. That the tone of the text is rather pedestrian was largely irrelevant to me. On another level, the book is also a splendid compendium of photographs of the capitals. Believe me, these capitals alone are worth a trip to France; if you do go, you will find this a delightful book both before your trip and after you return, stunned by what you have seen. And if you are in Vezelay, make sure you also visit the cathedral at Autun, an hour or so away . . .

This book makes a superb introduction and provides a nice addition to available works for one of the best known monuments of French Romanesque art. Although the reason to buy the book is for its photographic documentation, the text by Veronique Rochon-Mouilleron, translated from French, is a straightforward, scholarly description of the iconographic subjects and themes of the great church. And certainly without this help few of us could comprehend the monument to any meaningful or serious degree. With only four pages placing the building in historic context and two pages on its architecture, the text, nevertheless, provides a very accessible description of the famous tympanum and the fascinating sculpture of the nave capitals. The language is jargon free but follows a traditional art historical method of careful description and subject identification. Although virtually no words are devoted to aesthetics, technique, and artistic origins and influences, the iconographic descriptions are informative, direct and authoritative. The typanum is designed around several cohesive and interrelated themes; however, scholars agree that the capitals at Vezelay do not seem to be selected and placed following a single unifying program. Consequently the author's organization of her presentation around several sub-themes in the nave such as "Demonic Variation," "Human Justice, Divine Justice," and the "Reign of God," leads to intelligent comparisons. The writing makes for an easy read and could, in fact, stand alone. Daniel Faure's photographs provide a visual experience that can't be had by standing on the floor of the church with even the best set of binoculars. His dramatic lighting and informed eye for detail make these plates not only attractive in themselves but qualify them as among the best records of the subject in general publication. The details of the drapery of Christ's tunic and a wonderful sequence of the books held by the Apostles are alone worth the price of admission. Purists may quibble that the effect is not natural for the setting, but monochromatic stone is best read in terms of light and dark, and here the photographer's manipulations do in fact enhance our enjoyment and comprehension of the work. The layout of this book is somewhat novel in its references to more contemporary modes of visual presentation. For example a two page spread will have the tympanum held in dark background while a particular compartment is highlighted with the related text displayed light on dark in the center of the page. This makes for a busy design but does help us follow the artistic narrative. Similarly the section on the capitals is laid out over spreads of the ground plan of the church as a dark background with highlighted location numbers and individual shots of the sculptures. To make this work some of the insets seem arbitrarily cut, but it is more than compensated for by the large-scale images of details on subsequent pages. One small annoyance in this section is that the text refers to page numbers for additional views, but many of the pages are unnumbered, no doubt to preserve the integrity of the plates. The text is presented without footnotes, and although the Bibliography is slim, it does in fact list the essentials for additional reading.

This book is about Thomas Rider, an 18 year old boy from Birmingham, Alabama who travels to the small, fictional town of Ashland, Alabama to learn more about his mother, Lucy Rider, prior to her death the day he was born. Upon arriving, he meets several very interesting, and at times, unsettling small town people who tell them their various perspectives on his mother, sprinkled with the actual facts surrounding her existance in Ashland. Apparently, she arrived in Ashland, seemingly out of now where, and settles in. She teaches the town idiot how to read and refurbishes a once dilapilated house, among other things. Her most important action in town causes her to be ostrasized, even villanized. She effectively discontinues the Watermelon King festival, a festival that the people of Ashland pride in. As a result, they blame her for destroying their once bountiful supply of watermelon crops. Thomas's return to town brings out old grudges and sheds light on Thomas's actual origins, a fact that rocks his world.

The way the stories were told from the various points of view, at least in the beginning, reminded me of "As I Lay Dying" by William Faulkner, except it was a lot easier to understand. This short novel has it's own charm that I can only describe as quirky. Myths, tall tales, and flat out lies are introduced but are properly quashed as Thomas discovers more about his past. I can't really say alot about this book. It's not "excellent" but it's not "terrible." I enjoyed the story, but it felt a little too underwhelming and short. High on drama this book is not. Just like the ordinary, small town of Ashland, the story just seems to exist, just waiting to be discovered, with not much to make a deal out of it.

I've read Daniel Wallace's last two books, and I think The Watermelon King is his best, even better than Big Fish, which I heard was being made into a movie by Tim Burton. The Watermelon King takes stock Southern characters-- the village idiot, the old man with stories-- and turns them on their heads by making them the heroes. Daniel Wallace's writing is always funny and sad at the same time, and in this book, it's also pretty absorbing and much more risky. I highly recommend this book to people who like something a little different, funny, and moving.

This book was the author's earlier venture into publishing for the public. Virtually all the anecdotes about patients and the information about weight control is available in his second book "The 9 Truths about Weight Loss".THAT book I would rate as a 4 1/2 star review for practical information and attitude readjustment guidance for dieters that will really unscramble their fantasies about the easy fix. I almost get the impression that his second book is the way the author decided to reach a newer and perhaps more receptive audience with the truths which have not changed in his experience.And,yes,he is a psychologist and a widely quoted source of research and up to date information in bariatric circles(bariatricians are weight loss physicians)and other weight loss guides(e.g. Anne Fletcher's "Thin For Life").Buy the "9 truths" instead and read his insights that are researched rather then the latest fad to hit the market and your wallet.You may not like the truths but many many people are going to find that book the only way to lose the weight and keep it off. The very fact that he can print two books that are so alike with a several year gap and can prove his facts with research shows that human biology has not changed no matter how you much you want it to.

Dr. Kirschenbaum's enticing book simply delivers the facts about weight loss, not the contradictual jibber-jabber of know-it-all pseudogurus. This refreshing book delivers the facts, not the theories. Almost as good as Kirschenbaum's brand new book, "The 9 Truths About Weight Loss!" Both are essential reads!

"What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew..." is a trip back in time for those who love the works of Austen, Dickns, the Bronte Sisters, etc. A time of codified behaviors and mores, this examination 19th century England reveals what is often a baffling subject for newcomers, and yet is fun and fascinating for those who love this era in English Literature. It is by no means a treatise, so don't expect an intense, scholarly work. Instead, expect to be entertained as well as enlightened!

Put simply this is a book for those interested in how people lit their homes , cooked their meals , got from point A to point B etc. , in the days before "modern" technology started . It dwells mainly on the lives of the well-to-do and their priorities . Somewhat annoyingly written and disjointed but the subject matter is fascinating .

This book is a must read for those with an interest in geriatric health care allocation. Unfortunately, after about the first 100 pages, the book seems to just say the same thing over and over; namely, agism is ethically justified. I wonder if the author will still buy into this when he is of the old old.

I thought Callahan successfully brings together some of the most thought about and talked about issues of medical ethics today with the social reality of life in the US and the medical system we have currently. Must read for medical professionals.

A well researched book, but tendentious. I taught that book and I had trouble trying to explain to my students that most of the homeless people are men. The confusion of my students was the result from the way that Renzetti and Curran presented the issue (See Box 7.1 "Gender and Homelessness" p.213, Fourth Edition). I simply found disingenuous their statistical treatment of homeless and gender because a few pages later (p.237) Renzetti and Curran criticize the use of their reasoning when they dispute some analyses of the relationship between gender and delinquency. Then they pointed out that the fact that the growth rate of delinquency is greater among women does not mean that more women are turning into crime because the number of women committing crimes is proportionally smaller than that of men. I found this double standard disappointing because the relationship between gender and homelessness is important for understanding how the gender role of men is a social problem. Rather than focusing on the structural aspects of gender, sometimes the valuable work done by Renzetti and Curran get lost because a rather simplistic picture of the issues.

This is one of the most comprehensive gender studies books I have come across. Renzetti and Curran have explored virtually every avenue from sociologic/feminist/historical perspectives to childhood socialization and communication, to higher education, employment, crime, spirituality, health, government and social issues. I picked up the book to read the family/domestic violence section and could not put it down. This book should be a requirement for women's studies and gender studies students. Renzetti has done a great deal of groundbreaking work in same-sex battering and this title was great exposure to her other efforts. A remarkable researcher! I found this book at the library, and after reading 1/2 of it, I returned it, drove straight home and ordered it, so I could mark it up. It is a valuable piece of research and a work that I will reference for years to come. I wish I had found this book 4 years ago while I was an undergraduate student!