We have long needed this book. Historically, most texts have either concentrated on describing the natural history of venomous organisms or the medical implactions of envemonations (a noteable exception is the excellent contributions by Halstead). This book provides a great deal of biological informtion about toxic marine organisms and then combines this with the latest information about medical treatments for envenomations. In addition, this book also contains an excellent reveiw and classification for cnidae, which I have personally been looking for for a while. I honestly can't say enough about this text. Although this book is not really for the layman (you won't find much in the way of popularized accounts of injuries), it is an EXCELLENT text for specialists.

Very easy to understand book with all the basics covered with one exception. No attempt at covering stair cutting. That is why I only gave it 4 stars.

One thing that should be pointed out is this book is more modern than any other framing book I have seen. They spend alot of time covering wood i-joists for floor framing.

If you have access to back issues of Fine Homebuilding and can find Mike and Rick's past articles you will have much of the information covered in the book. However, it is nice to have it all in one place with some added information.

Overall, I highly recommend the book.

I have many books on framing and this is one of the best. I found the info on using engineered I-beams in clear language. This series (For Pros, by Pros) is worth every penny of the price.

This book provides an unexpected but invaluable dimension over most books on the general aspects of building residential structures. Super for serious beginners (like me) or do-it yourself builders moving beyond basic projects and carpentry training/books into larger scale projects. Written by authors evidently experienced in running small but highly skilled crews, this book takes you through most of the critical steps of building with great annotations of why things are done, how to expect and correct imperfections, and the understanding that precision is based on care and comprehension.
Well-selected photos demonstrate a lot of unique tools and small-crew/equipment teams working with great care. It is more of a course that an encyclopedia, and that's a great feature as a learning text.
This book added a lot of real understanding to techniques I had learned from other sources. It is written from a first person and cordial perspective that makes it enjoyable to read. You may not be able to get experience from a book, but this is pretty close.
It must be a lot of fun working with these people.

This is a great book, that is doubly-powerful (no TRIPLY, no QUADRUPALLY powerful!) because so many inspiring thinkers are in it: from Deepak Chopra to Neale Donald Walsch, from James Redfield to Anne Lamott. And these thinkers come from all sectors of society: from John Robbins, a whistle-blower of the food industry, to the actor Peter Coyote; from Eric Utne, founder of the Utne Reader, to educator Dee Dickenson. What Marianne Williamson has assembled is a collection of ideas covering all sectors of society representing the viewpoints of very unique individuals each with differing backgrounds. And the beauty of this diversity is that all the contributors are unified in fundamental ways, all visualizing a more accepting, more loving, more grounded future that can truly celebrate the individual. It is a vision of what can WORK given our true natures, and given the tuggings of our soul for a more love-based world. Everyone in the world ought to read this book! If you're skeptical, go ahead and buy it and try it out. You'll be glad you did, even if it provides fodder for a time for all the reasons you dislike new-agey spiritual types. And for all of you who like me are already new-agey spiritual types, or compassionate open-hearted types, go ahead and check this book out, because you're going to love it!

For anyone who, like me, has gobbled up the works of writers like Deepak Chopra, Neale Donald Walsch, Thomas Moore, Caroline Myss, James Redfield and Barbara Marx Hubbard, this book is a must read. It includes essays by each of these authors and many more of equal stature. In the essays, the writers take the ideas and principles they have developed over the years and apply them in answering the question: "In the realm of highest possibilities, what could America look like in 50 years?" The result is a comprehensive, readable, light-filled blueprint for America's future. Some of the essays are poetic, lyrical. Others are grounded in hard hitting facts and statistics that will blow your mind. (See Paul Hawken's essay) Make no mistake. These are not airy-fairy essays recycling the previous works of these writers. They are clear, disciplined, thoughtful responses to the question posed. In fact, I believe the essays in "Imagine" may very well be the best work of many of these writers. I was blown away by what they delivered in this volume. Hats off to the editor, Marianne Williamson for assembling this phenomenal group of writers and for her skill in weaving these beautiful essays together.

With all the unrest in our world today such as the challenges in health care, education and politics, this book comes along and gives hope for a great future. It's time for a paradigm shift and this book is written to show us new ways of thinking about our culture. Some of our greatest contemporary writers and teachers contribute their wisdom in this great book. Thank you Marianne Williamson for having the vision to put together this inspiring book!