We're building a new home in Arizona and this book has served as a wonderful guide to my husband and myself in the planning of our landscaping. The photos are clear and great examples of what the plants will look like. Plants are listed alphabetically by scientific name, but there's a handy cross-reference in the back to make it easier. The most helpful tool is under each plant's description where it clearly lists possible problems and maintenance needed. One thing I wish it did include are citrus trees, but I suppose they were left out because they are not native plants (but then again, I didn't think palms were either, and they are listed).

All plants discussed have a color photo right next to the text, and the text provides all key information in specific format. This makes it easy to compare plants, or find specific information about a plant you're interested in. The book goes into detail on different varieties also, e.g. there are color pictures and text on each of several varieties of mesquite - very helpful when you're trying to choose the right one for your landscape. A very few of the photos are poor quality, but any picture here is worth a thousand words. This is the only book I have seen for this climate (I live in Phoenix) that attempts to provide this volume of information with full color photos. Definitely worth the money.

I bought this book because I wanted a landscape that is in harmony with the region in which I live. I also wanted to be as efficient as possible in using water to irrigate my plants. This book has been enormously helpful in accomplishing these goals - I also like the fact that it has allowed me to access information about new plant releases on the internet. This is a useful textbook of options and information for anyone who lives in a dry region and enjoys plants.

The Fundamentals is a decent work of apologetics that not only defends Biblical truth, but was prescient in skewering the 20th century secular ideologies that ultimately created totalitarianism, fascism, and the sort of odd totalitarianism-via-guilt-complex that now governs major universities under the names "tolerance" and "diversity." But these works are of no interest to modern Fundamentalists, who bear little resemblence to the authors of these "Fundamentals." The authors of this volume intended to create an ecumenical Christianity that united orthodox Christian believers from a variety of Protestant traditions around the central truths of Christianity. They openly acknowledged that the Bible uses various literary forms - many of which are hardly "literal" - and that the modern Bible versions (the RV at the time) were more accurate than the King James Bible. The movement they aimed to create is more accurately represented by modern Evangelicalism than by modern Fundamentalism, which was derailed by paranoid, obsessive-compulsive individuals early on and continues to be guided by men with obvious psychological disorders.

If you're a Fundamentalist who grooves on Peter Ruckman, Bob Jones University, G.A. Riplinger and Jack Chick, you should read this fine volume to see what your movement was MEANT to be, and how far it's fallen.

This is one of the best, if not THE best, works of Christian Apologetics to be found ANYWHERE! The essays run the gamut from a critique of so-called "higher criticism", to what constitutes the true church, with a number of other topics as well. Read and enjoy the work that launched the movement of Christian "fundamentalism"!

Definitely worth the price and the book does its job of helping you identify tree species of Michigan. Offers additional in-depth information about the anatomy of leaves, twig cross-sections, fruit, wood characteristics and uses. Most of which is more than average readers will probably want to know, but is interesting reading none-the-less. All I wanted was a reference to ID the trees on my property.

I was pleasantly surprised that the book also includes information on vines and shrubs, but was quickly disappointed when I discovered that this section offered no illustrations or pictures of either - only text descriptions.

Contrary to the front cover, the book has no photographs! Another bummer. All species are represented by illustrations only, but at least I can honestly say the drawings seem extremely accurate and have great detail.

My four-star rating is also due to the incomplete shrub and vine sections. I realize that this is a "tree" book and that adding such information is a plus, but the writer(s) should have stayed consistent and included illustrations for these as well. Trying to identify features by descriptions only is tedious and really seems to take away the joy of the whole adventure. Too bad, it would have been the "icing on the cake".

I recommend buying this book as a main reference and suggest finding supplement information via the web. There are endless sites that offer much of the same information for free, but carrying this book into the woods would certainly be more convenient than lugging a stack of print outs.

If you need to help your kid with the perennial leaf collection or if you just want a handy field guide for trees, I have found none better than Michigan Trees. I own a well worn copy of the 1978 edition and it is so popular among friends I am ordering another to loan out.

This is the only book I have found that gives a realistic practice of the Ohio Ninth Grade Proficiency test. Just as my children have prepared for SAT's and ACT's, this book got my 9th grade student ready for this most important Ohio proficiency test. I highly recommend it to any Ohio parent.

This book has proven to be very helpful in preparing my 8th grader to take the upcoming proficiency test. This has given us both insight to what the real test will be similar to. I would highly recommend this book.

Glen David Gold has woven a seductive and very entertaining tale which uses fact (often stretched to the limit and just as often totally skewed, but delightfully so) mingled skillfully with fiction. Its protagonist, the self-proclaimed Carter the Great, was a real-life magician who entertained during Vaudeville's Golden Age. The world of Vaudevillian stage magic,including its often eccentric cast of characters and dazzling effects, is created in rich detail and provides a backdrop which contrasts with the often lonely and melancholy life of Mr. Carter himself. We see the magician grow from a curious child to a clever and resourceful adult; we watch his career take off due to his creative and spectacular use of magic to entertain and to allow his audience to escape from the dull world of reality. This escape is as much for Carter's benefit as for his audience, and while everyone knows the "magic" is but an illusion, they joyfully and willingly enter into the deception.

Carter becomes embroiled in the mystery revolving around the death of President Warren G. Harding and thus he becomes a shadowy and elusive fugitive of sorts, playing cat-and-mouse with the Secret Service (which consists of an awfully villanous cast of characters of its own). Through an imaginative blending of historical fact and pure whimsy, Gold manages to weave a tale that is absolutely and purely entertaining. His Carter is a man of depth, tortured by guilt, who searches for inner peace and who can find real happiness when he is on the stage, creating a world of awe inspiring illusion for his audiences.

The plot moves fairly well and even with all the twists and turns, it never became confusing for me. Pay careful attention, though, or in the maze of details you may neglect to pick up on something important. Allow yourself to enter this magic world. Suspend your disbelief and let your imagination take flight. Go with Mr. Carter and let him amaze you.

The Roaring Twenties was the greatest decade for stage magic in American history. Where those who could afford it skipped off to Europe, professional performers and master illusionists consistently amazed those who could not. Harry Houdini is the most famous of these magicians, but Charles Carter is the subject of Glen David Gold's debut novel, Carter Beats the Devil. Without mirrors or smoke, Gold creates a world that is satisfying and imaginative, while at the same time steeped in realism and historical fact.

Just hours after being dismembered and returned to life by Carter the Great, US President Warren G. Harding is dead. While doctors declare that there is no evidence of foul play, Secret Service Agent Jack Griffin is not so sure. Griffin he doggedly pursues the truth of what happened the night the President died. At the same time, the reader is launched back and forth in time with Carter from his earliest days with magic to his return to the business after a tragic accident involving his wife. Throughout the novel, the only person with more tricks up his sleeve than Carter is the author himself. Gold not only the portrays the real Charles Carter but also ropes in a diverse cast of additional period figures including Houdini, borax tycoon Francis Smith, and television inventor Philo T. Farnsworth. As Griffin becomes convinced of Carter's guilt, the magician struggles to find joy in his life, works to create a new act with which to dazzle increasing hard-to-please audiences, meets a mysterious women who steals his heart, and guards against the treachery of one who he believed to be a friend. With an ending that holds a surprise for everyone, not least of all the reader, Carter Beats the Devil is the real deal in a literary world filled with imposters.

A writer for television and movies, Gold delivers dialogue that is fast-pitched and fun to follow and creates characters that are larger than life. While the novel occasionally gets bogged down in some point of obscurity, these slips are brief and do not detract from the intelligent pace of the plot. All in all, this is a work of the first rank, an excellent display of erudition and a fine tale with adventure to spare. Carter Beats the Devil is highly recommended, and I will eagerly await Gold's next book.

As a mystery author with my debut novel in its initial release, I genuinely admired Glen David Gold's CARTER BEATS THE DEVIL. This mystery is a thoroughly enjoyable novel. It involves the world of illusion in an age when illusion was taken quite seriously indeed. Carter performs a magic trick involving President Warren Harding merely hours before that president dies. To certain government agents, Carter becomes a suspect in Harding's odd death. Again, this novel is a fun read. The characters are well-drawn. The world of magic and magicians is convincingly rendered. The plot is swiftly-paced, and it takes some unusual twists. Gold's writing is wonderful. I recommend this book highly.

I've read all the books in this series and this is the one I liked the least. This can be either a good or bad thing. I found myself not liking Charlie much, but that fact that it was Charlie who I didn't like is impressive. His personality is IN this book and if you like Charlie as a person, you'll like the book.

I met Charlie Lang in January of 1997. Since then, he's become one of my closest friends and favorite musicians, and I was curious about this book. I bought it in spring of 2000, and I just melted. I thought I knew Charlie, but I couldn't believe it when I read about what he went through. Whether it's exaggerated, or not I do think it describes in great detail a brutal mental health system that many have to survive, rather than embrace. I have a healthy respect for people who have been through such a hell as described in this book, and I believe Charlie deserves every ounce of respect he gets, and more. It takes major guts to exist in such a deep mental pit for such a long time. My hat's off to Charlie Lang

The sounds of joy, angst, torment, love and desires jump off the pages of this book! It is being used by actors in acting classes- a fabulous read, and great work for actors who are looking for characters with tremendous vocal range and emotional depth!

You will like this book only if you are a non-analytical thinker. It's not really a book that educates with facts, data, arguments, or insights. It's more of a book where the author says "Here are some bits of facts and myths that I have run across in my readings and here are some unsupported, unoriginal thoughts I have that may be related (or not) to what I just talked about."

If you are a well educated, thoughtful, reasonably creative person who has some insight into your life, you will read this book and say, "everything in this book is obvious." If you are a person who has difficulty thinking things through, you probably would find this of value.

I know MOST people seem to find this book of some value. I am probably in the minority. If you are trying to decide whether to buy this book, you might ask this question: when you read the book, "7 habits of highly effective people," did you think

A: I know everything in this book already and I can't believe there is anyone out there who doesn't

or

B: Wow this is a great book and I learned a lot from this book.

If you answered A, then you will find this book to be a waste of money.

I had to both laugh at and give a helpful vote to the review below which accused the author of citing half-maked fragments of myths and anecdotes as evidence. To a certain degree, it's a fair cop, particularly if you're looking for a book which is going to really stunningly predict the future.

_The Age of Unreason_ isn't about predicting the future, it's about training yourself to look at the future in ways that you might otherwise not have done. As such, I found it a valuable and interesting book which is clearly based in a lot of meditation on learning and learning theories.

Some of the things Handy mentioned turned out to have become true since the book was written. Other things didn't-- but it doesn't matter ultimately. What the book asks is this: Can you recognize the real causes for pain that you identify? Can you think differently to force discontinuous change? Is your vision of the future based on an accurate perception of the past, or are you looking past major factors because you don't recognize the role of gradual change?

People who like this book may like some of the books on developing strategies using scenario exercises. This book also contains a decent (if dated) bibliography.

A company at which I worked adopted one of the philosophies in this book -- the core business -- and outsourced all of the functions it considered non-core, such as human resources, accounting, info technology etc. The resulting situation was miserable, I've never worked with unhappier people, and I'm glad as heck to be away from that outfit. The "unreason" concept is definitely nothing to be proud of.

"Radio Priest" is meant to remind people the author fears have both forgotten Father Charles Coughlin and may be unwisely underestimating those eager to apply his brand of media manipulation in the age of the internet. From the depths of the depression until shortly after America's entry into WWII, Coughlin, a Detroit Priest had become a political force of nature. Using his radio show and "Social Justice" his newspaper, he spread his message across the nation - a message that grew progressively overt in anti-Semitism and Facist advocacy. With the severity of the depression destroying lives across the world, the time was ripe for many to question democracy - as they had across the world, the popularity of socialism and fascism flourished across America. Though many figures grew out of the clash of these movements, Coughlin stood out - mostly because his position as a priest but mostly because of the eloquence with which he gave his fans the message they wanted to hear. He even possessed his own trademark accent, with its distinctive rolling rrr's. Coughlin attacked banking interests and polticians - codewords for the jews and those they were thought to have bought. Confronted with growing reports of Germany's anti-Semitic repression, he claimed sympathy for the jews, but attributed Germany's conduct to a natural response to Jewish Bolshevism. Ostensibly adhering to a religion which had suffered religious intolerance, Coughlin adopted the same penchant for mass hysteria as those who had victimized other Catholics.

Though war with fascism forced him into a sort of hiatus, Coughlin's decline had actually begun with the 1936 Presidential Elections. Unsatisfied with GOP front-runner Alf Landon, and seized by an outright hatred for FDR, Coughlin campaigned fiercely for the Social Justice candidate, William Lemke. Those left unfulfilled by FDR and unimpressed with Landon, flocked to Coughlin and his allies. Among them, Francis Townsend seemed more dignified, GLK Smith had more energy and Huey Long had more savvy, but Coughlin possessed something of the qualities of all three. Though Coughlin had the power, he displayed little interest in using it for even his idea of a greater good, and the social justice ticket ballot was dwarfed even by Landon's showing. By then, Long was dead by an assassin's bullet, and his political machine in Louisiana collapsed under the weight of its own corruption. Emboldened by his landslide, FDR embarked on a strategy to fast-track the New Deal with legislation designed to end run a hostile supreme court and thinly veiled threats to pack the high court if the first idea didn't work out. Coughlin, on the other hand, now embittered with politics, lost much of his dignified veneer. Both in his own tone and those of his followers, Coughlin became more closely identified with all that was bigoted in domestic fascism. By 1940, Coughlin had been sufficiently cut down to manageable size for his own church's hierarchy, and the Bishops silenced him. The threat of prosecution for sedition further kept him in line.

Doanld Warren argues persuasively that Coughlin's defeats - both in 1936 and when war broke out against those he had championed - were far from certain. Coughlin and others had long fed anti-Semitic hysteria in their warnings against the war. When the severity of the war was realized, hysteria against the Jews could have exploded in Coughlin's favor. Warren even cites outbreaks of anti-Jewish violence in American cities. Further, despite the consent decree that immunized Coughlin in return for his silence, the radio priest remained active in using the mail system to search for a new generation of adherents among wartime servicemen. Warren highlights the depths of anti-Semitism in wartime America, but doesn't do the same for the horrific conditions of the depression - conditions that made us ripe for Coughlin and his followers. Also, he loses his focus after 1936, when Coughlin and company become more outright in their bigotry. Lastly, Warren frequently telegraphs his own sentiments against more modern day Coughlins like Pat Robertson and the Moral Majority. Whether today's right wing approximates that of 1936 America is a worthy subject, but one that Warren's asides seem to cursorily accept as true - an indisputable yardstick of conservative religious bigotry. Worse, it telegraphs the author's intention to write for a narrow readership - something Coughlin was doubtless famous for, though admittedly on a higher scale. These faults wouldn't matter if "Radio Priest" wasn't already a compelling book. Luckily, the book is not only compelling, but substantive enough to rise above what's wrong with it as well.

This is an excellent biography of one of the most appalling figures in recent American history. Father Coughlin was a hatemonger, an anti-Semite of tremendous proportions, and often a liar. That ANYONE could believe him to be worthy of praise, let alone "the sort of priest we need more of," is a sad, sad commentary on America.

It is hard to believe that Father Coughlin was allowed to stay on the air and spew his poison for as long as he did. I wonder what he would have thought of the death camps? Or would he have found a way to deny the fruit of his hateful, unchristian ravings?

Father Coughlin had the spine to say what he belived and told the truth as he seen it. Too bad we don't have Catholic priest today with the...[guts] to tell it like it is.

How can anyone not see what going on in the media with the soul murder of the American people by the people the good priest warned us about.

God bless Father Coughlin

This book changed my life, my ministry, and our church exploded with a new depth, health,and growth. I wish I'd had this book 25 years ago when I began my ministry. I'd never heard of Rick Warren but when I saw the list of "Who's Who" of Evangelical Leaders all endorsing this book as a classic (inside the cover) I bought it. I have to agree. I've read maybe a hundred books on church and ministry but none was as Scriptural, passionate,balanced, and practical as this book. Almost every pastor I talk to says this book changed their ministry for better. It's a seminary education in one volume. Get it, read it, and apply it. I've heard that it has exceeded a million copies in print in about 20 languages. It doesn't surprise me. There is no other book on ministry that can help you more.

These days, the average reader is innundated with books that promise to grow their church overnight. Every day a new author publishes a book with a program that all but guarantees you immediate growth from a small country church to a mega-church.

This book isn't like that. Instead of composing a book full of programs to increase the number of people in your church, Rick Warren addresses the real reason many of today's churches aren't growing: Too many churches today are wallowing in a lack of direction and purpose. In this book, Rick Warren explains why direction is important, the process of setting a vision for your church, and how to sell that vision to your church members.

Through this book, Rick Warren will teach you how to increase your church's impact without compromising what you stand for.

This isn't a book for pastors only, but for anyone interested in seeing their church improve their impact, and make a difference in the world. Make this the next book you read.

I've been applying Rick Warren's methodology and life-application of leading a "Purpose Driven Church" for 4 years now. His insights are both contemplative for the spiritual shepherding walk of the Pastor as well as practical for the Pastor as administrator.

Rick applies principles of Jesus and His character - to the 21st century mind and heart. I highly recommend his book. But even more, to the leader who's seeking to discover authenticity, I recommend you go to one of Rick's Purpose Driven Church conferences - and check him out in real life.

I only wish that I had known what Rick is teaching, when I was in my first small rural congregation in North Dakota. Rick's pastoral leadership and congregational paradigms aren't just for larger churches. I'm spreading them to every pastor I meet - and most are stopping to listen because they are eager for practical experiments.

I've applied Warren's classes and teachings using some adaptations of my own slants of theology, and when I change, God uses me to change my congregation. We've grown from 95 to 265 in attendance over the past three years, and expect the multiplication process to intensify as we continue to be more and more Purpose Driven - for Jesus sake.

For myself as a mainline trained Pastor, I believe that Warren's theology is a challenge to do something with our Pastoral leadership lives, as radical as Jesus did with his - on the foundation of Grace.

I believe that Rick Warren, without his even knowing it - is the Martin Luther of the New Millenium. He IS leading the way in encouraging Christians to go with what the Spirit is telling them in their hearts - when they admit that their traditions aren't something they can easily explain to their unchurched neighbors.

This text provides a quick, concise review of the pimary topics covered on emergency medicine exams. I found it to be a good way to prepare for inservice exams and the written boards.