I am getting ready for a South Dakota vacation by reading some books about and set in the region. This novel is about farmers during the dust bowl years leading up to the depression. It gives good insight into their tough life. The characters are well drawn and interesting. At first you don't like George, the main character. But by the end you can't help but sympathize with him. His daughter, Lucy, is the most interesting character. His wife and his wife's parents are the other main characters. Well worth the read.

For years, it seemed, I'd hear bits & pieces about a book entitled "The Bones of Plenty": how great it was, how its story, about bleak farming life on the harsh plains of North Dakota during the Great Depression, rivaled even Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath". But I knew, of course, that connoisseurs of fine literature, in possession of their full faculties, would respond to such a claim with a vitriolic & sarcastic "okay, sure". Well, I, oddly enough, discovered this weighty piece of work, penned by Lois Hudson, published 1962, not for casual reading but as research material. Its story's geography and flavor, you see, was to quench my thirst for much-needed data for my own next novel.

I scanned editorial reviews of Hudson's "Bones" on the Internet, and saw, to my surprise, that a few critics did indeed rank it with "Grapes". I, of course, remained skeptical. Now, having read "The Bones of Plenty", I must agree: It is rugged & truthful, hopeless & brutal. It is magnificent in every way.

Is "Bones" the absolute equal of "Grapes"? Perhaps not, perhaps due to its safe distance of time from the Depression Era; an era that Steinbeck's words, in real time, painted so artfully. Perhaps since North Dakota doesn't hold the Hollywood charm for film as did Steinbeck's golden California, and, just maybe, because readers suspected Hudson no doubt drew inspiration from Steinbeck, & not vice-versa, "The Bones" could not quite climb that "Grapeful" platitude. Who knows? But it DOES rank. READ IT! It is amongst the rarest & best works of fine literature. And, dare I admit this? IT HAS BROKEN INTO MY TOP 10! As an avid reader myself of classics, I was at first stunned by how The Bones so quickly took its rightful place alongside The Old Man, Eden, Mockingbird, Fountainhead, Deliverance, King's Men, Lonesome Dove, etc., on my very exclusive list; hallowed ground, stingily reserved.

So I re-read Modern Library's 100 Greatest 20th Century Novels and similar published rankings, certain I'd find my "Bones" comfortably amongst the elite. But nothing. "Bones" made not one list! Hmmm...where & why were "The Bones" buried? Why Hudson - a great writer's ghostwriter - lack of notoriety? Was Hudson's beautiful "Bones" buried in the early-60's avalanche of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird? Joseph Heller's Catch 22?: great books both, and both, like The Bones of Plenty, notched in my personal Top 20. Perhaps we'll never know. I suspect North Dakota's writers receive about as much respect & fanfare as does the humble state from which they come.

So my hat's off to Lois P. Hudson; a woman whose politics, I've gathered, could not be more distant from my own conservative views. (I was not pleased by her recent comments on GWB!) But, politics aside, it is my testimony to say that readers of fine works are a little less blessed for not having unearthed & wept over Lois' "Bones". I suggest they grab a shovel. The literary world owes her a belated thanks for this glorious book. Thank you, Lois. Greg Ryan

As a farmer of 20 years myself, Lois Hudson has touched a nerve with her novel. The roller-coaster of emotions and vivid descriptions she gives of agriculture in the Dakotas are suprisingly true to this day. The sense of pride for an honest way of life, the anger springing from the lack of control over events, people, weather and markets,and the ultimate indifference to the farmers existence displayed by urban populace stings like salt in a wound. I only wish that more Americans would read and experience this wonderful novel. Perhaps they would better understand the small minority that works to feed them.

Fashion Careers has been an extremely useful tool for graduating seniors and an excellent reference for those seeking new opportunities in fashion and related industries. In these ever changing times within fashion retailing, product development and manufacturing , this book allows individuals the ability to analyze their strengths and weaknesses and ultimately develop a resumé that will help land them an appropriate position in their field of interest. The workbook is particulrly helpful, in that it allows the opportunity to xerox and reuse worksheets as one evolves through their chosen career path.
I recommend this book to all individuals thinking about or actively involved in a job search.

I purchased this book after being downsized as a retail buyer. I used the book to help me focus on what my skills were, and to give me tips for writing a punchier resume. The book was easy to use and yielded great results. I am working again, this time in sales and earning a higher salary. This is a book that will stay on my bookshelf!

What a joy to find an industry specific text for use in "Career Planning" courses for college students majoring in Fashion Merchandising and/or Fashion Design. While there is no shortage of "Career Planning" texts or workbooks per se, this is the only one we have seen that so perfectly fits the requirements of students seeking appropriate Fashion Industry related examples of everything from writing an effective resume, to cover letters, to interview techniques, to thank you letters following an interview.
The workbook exercises have proven especially useful in helping students identify and focus on specific areas of career opportunities within the Fashion Industry, as well as where and how they might begin their job search/careers. The text also includes useful reference lists of Fashion Industry websites and professional organizations.
As a Fashion Merchandising and Career Planning instructor, I would highly recommend this book for consideration as a required text for Fashion Merchandising and Fashion Design students.

I bought this book thinking that it was going to answer all my questions on the game and even the ones that i didnt have. The maps are good, and the guide part is average. They have discriptions on SOME of the pokemon(vague discriptions). The worst part about this is that it lacks a pokedex. It makes you wonder why the guide for the older game came with one of the best pokedexes. It includes the pokemons strengths, weaknesses, moves, evolutions, TMs, HMs, and stats. This strategy guide doesn't even contain a complete listing of all the pokemon. I don't know why people gave it such high ratings because I found it just as lacking as the prima guide. It doesn't have that much to offer.

Boy,was i angry when they did not release this book out in the USA.I didn't even know what pokemon to battle with against the gym leaders.It was a challenge for me until i got this book.Dude, this book is awesome.From the full colored city and town maps to the big johto world map.A must have book.If you are a big pokemon fan and have the pokemon gold and silver game on your game boy color but don't have this book.Get it! This covers both gold and silver

Boy was I angry. I couldn't find a decent strategy guide. I was looking through amazon then going out to book stores to flip through the guides. Prima guide? Not enough info. Pokemon Gold & Silver Official Pokedex? Not good maps. Just when I thought I was stuck, I came across Pokemon Gold Version and Silver Version : Official Trainer's Guide. I flipped through the book, looking at every detail. I purchased it and brought it home. I am so glad I did. This book's maps are great, has detailed information on every trainer and every move, TM, HM, map, Gym Leader and evolution. It even has a map of the whole Pokemon World at the end. Highly Reccomended for people who are just starting to play Pokemon Gold+Silver. It also told me what pokemon only exist and gold and not silver and vice-versa. I love it.

This book has completely changed my way of making soups. The recipes as terribly easy with ingredents at hand. With the quick and easy preperations you can get raves from family and friends! I'm truly looking forward to going through the book and trying each and every recipe. You won't be sorry purchasing this book. I bought mine used and have enjoyed every time I opened it up!

I'm a cookbook junkie, endless perusing the latest editions and the old standards (and not-so-standards) for new and exciting meals. A normal cookbook purchase will usually net 3 or 4 suitable recipes for my family's tastes. The Soup Mix Gourmet has proven a bonanza! I've marked over 40 recipes that sound terrific for our needs, and all five that I have made so far were total winners. I'll be looking for more works by this author; she really has the "magic touch" in the kitchen! I work in a brick-and-mortar bookstore, and have recommended this book to over two dozen folks in the last couple of weeks. All of them have expressed great pleasure (one even sent me a couple of boxes of dry soup mix with a thank-you note).
This book is beautifully done. Buy it today!

I have just recently found this book from someones list mania and I LOVED IT!!! I have made three recipes from this including a meat rub that was fabulous. Over the weekend we hosted a grill out and I gave the Rub in small spice containers with the recipe attached and received raved reviews over it. Everyone must try these recipes out to fall in love as I did!!

This book is more important now than ever. As we sit with our eyes glued to the coverage of the "War" in Afghanistan, it is crucial that we observe the mainstream media with the awareness of how many years they have manipulated, lied, and deceived the American people. We cannot have a true democracy, we cannot make informed choices, we cannot live authentic lives when so much crucial information is kept from us because we don't, for whatever reason, "deserve" to know. Now, more than ever, it's important to realize the importance of alternative news outlets, and the most important part of this book is that it lists them -- all of them -- so you can find them all. Don't limit yourself to the New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, The Enquirer, and ABC, NBC, CBS and CNN. There's a whole world out there that so far has not entirely been kept from us -- but you have to work to access it. It's well worth the effort, and the rest of us out here digging stuff up could really use your help! Welcome aboard!

Project Censored is an institution dedicated to advocating & protecting First Amendment rights & the freedom of information in the United States. Their annual lists not only news stories ignored or rebuffed by the mainstream media, but also "News Abuse," an annual survey of the most overcovered & least newsworthy stories that took up valuable press time at the expense of real, substantive news * "Censored Deja Vu," previous Censored stories that have since received mainstream media coverage * "Censored Resource Guide," a directory of alternative media & organizations * "Censored Reprints," the top ten stories reprinted in their entirety. Special guest writers for Censored 2001 include Ed Herman on liberals betraying their values in U.S. foreign policy, Michel Chossudovsky on propaganda, & Robin Andersen on the independent media movement.

I have been picking up these books for the last eight years. It is amazing what the mainstream media considers news and what they miss and ignore as news, thus they are missing the mainstream of interests of the American public or what should be the interests of the public. Instead, the mainstream goes after fluff and disasters news that is inoffensive to the corporate/business interest of this nation and does not reflect reality of public interest. If CENSORED ever published a nation-wide newspaper, along the lines of USA Today, I would subcribe to it, for relevant, news without spin and news with meaning to the mainstream public.

After being diagnosed and in denial for awhile about the disease, this was the 3rd book i began reading to help myself understand my body and what was happening to it. This book put a lot of things into perspective and began to shed some light on the disease and what I needed to do get control of it. This is the book that my friends need to read so that they can also understand what I am going thru.

I was diagnosed with Endometriosis in 2001 & had my first surgery that year. Toward the latter part of 2002, I started to be in chronic pain for this disease. I'll make a long story short. (If you want to see the long story, go to my review about Jennifer Lewis' book that I think is medically inaccurate). This book is compelling, thorough and most of all, helpful. It was a book I *SHOULD* have had in 2001. Since dealing with my pain, this book has opened my eyes to therapies I can use, how I can deal with ALL the aspects of this disease, and how it affects my loved ones. This is a great book because it talks to you through a whole person concept--- not just dealing with the reproductive Endometriosis, but it deals with all of the areas surrounding it, too, like emotions, finances, and so on. It doesn't talk down to you, and won't make you feel like you're in a pity party, but gives you tools to try to cope and even recover. Check this book out. You'll be glad you did.

I was diagnosed with endometriosis when I was 15. At this age I did not even come close to understanding what this disease was, or how it was going to effect my future. After reading this book, not only did I understand the health aspect of this disease, but I also learned how to cope with the emotional part of it as well. I would recommend this book to anyone who truly wants to understand this disease.

As I read Marry Your Muse, I was constantly reminded of The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron. The entire book sounded like a reworking of the information in Julia Cameron's book, which is ironic since Jan Phillips says to keep originality in mind as you begin your work. Her autobiograhical stories may, indeed, be original, but The "Artist's Creed" is simply a variation of "An Artist's Prayer" in The Artist's Way.

Marry Your Muse is for people who don't want to do all of the assignments that are included in The Artist's Way or The Vein of Gold.

The photographs are great.

Jan Phillips took me on a journey I had never been. I had sensed this part of my inner being, but stayed out, afraid of the power I may find. Then my eyes got wider and wider as I turned each page and suddenly, without being conscious of my change, I trusted her honest voice and slowly let go of fears that had restrained me from being and creating more. I became deeper and truer, because Jan was deep and true. And my writing and art expanded.

Marry Your Muse is well-organized, rich and meaty, and void of fluff. Every chapter contains its distinct wisdom, realness, and a high calling to "Marry Your Muse."

I strongly recommend this book to anyone who wants to go further in themselves and their art.

Jan Phillips brings a gentle, even poetic, sensitivity to the opportunities and challenges of really living a creative life. Her Guidelines make a powerful way to work for anyone--artist or other. This approach will make a difference in expanding your creativity!

I can't Review this Book
Because I never received it a full month later
no word, no up date nothing

so no review just venting ...

I have taken and failed the boards. I now have inside information on what is on the test. I have used many of the review books and NONE of them compare. This easy to read book is the best one and CLOSEST to the actual questions on that exam.
Good luck, TammyJ RN

The Kaplan review book was a great book to review for my Boards. The approach is easy to understand and facilitates the concept of critical thinking skills necessary to pass the NCLEX. There is only one way to skin a CAT and Kaplan does it with skill and knowledge. I highly recommend this book for review. At this point in your nursing education you have the knowledge to pass the NCLEX Kaplan just shows you how!!

The book says written by Feynman and Hibbs, after having read many Feynman lectures I can tell that the book was written 99% by Hibbs and 1% by Feynman.
Definitely not a good book for understanding Feynman's Path Integral approach to Quantum Mechanics.

This is a prety good book. Too bad people are selling the damn thing in the 400-1600 dollar price range. Mc-Graw Hill needs to get someone to fix all the typos (oh, and there are a ton of them) and then re-print this book so I don't have to spend a thousand dollars on a copy.
The Path Integral approach to Quantum Mechanics is pretty snazzy, and it's neat to see how Feynman comes up with the Schrodinger equation, and the commutation relations, and all that via the path integral method.
Also, the book does a good job of explaining scattering, and perturbation theory, which seem to be a little more natural with Feynman's approach to quantum mechanics.

This is one of the definitive texts on the subject. Like many others, the first reviewer above was probably unprepared for the difficulty of the path integral and blames this book for his failure to comprehend. It is not an easy technique to master, but this is certainly one of the better references on the subject.

The first time I read the Yellow Wallpaper I was struck by the sheer force the words have on the reader. Perkins Gillman plays a mind game with her words, and the reader is made to join her sense of imagination. I first read it for a literature class, and each of the students in the class had a different interpretation of the story. This seemed extremely effective - it had made all of us think, and imagine. It had made is not just analyze the words, but it made us become a part of the story.I myself felt that the woman in the story was quite amazing - there were two men in her life, her husband and her brother both doctors by profession who were most incensitive to her needs. As can be expected of that time period, they were more interested in the norms of society, and were not going to allow the woman to act contrary to the norm. She however, was not about to give up on behalf of the norm. She was going to fight to the very end, and it felt almost as though she had liberated her own mind when she stopped seeing another woman in the wallpaper, but herself became one with it. Those of you who read this should also go ahead and read something on the author. It is a truely amazing story, and leaves plenty of room for the imagination. or. In one of her essays she talks of why she wrote this story.

This short story, based upon the author's own experiences, is a powerful tale of one intelligent woman's struggle with madness, the role of (married) women in society and family in the late 1800s, and how she copes with well-meaning but misguided relatives and their ideas of a woman's nature and abilities. Many consider it an early feminist novel, and I agree, although I would extend the author's message to any group that finds itself severely restricted by society's notions of appropriate behavior, goals, and the nature of the group.
The narrator of the story is, from a modern point of view, a normal, young, married woman who also has a desire to write. However, bound by Victorian mores and restrictions, this desire to write is deemed inappropriate at best and casts questions about her not fulfilling her (only) role as wife (and mother). She was only to focus her attention on "domestic" concerns (house, husband, children) and anything remotely intellectual was considered a threat to her sanity and her physical health. When she refuses to bow to society's (and her husband's) ideas of womanhood, she is confined to a room for COMPLETE rest (meaning NO mental stimulation of any kind, no reading, no writing). What makes matters worse is that her husband (a doctor) is also her jailer, and instead of truly understanding his wife as a human being, opts to follow society's standards instead of doing what is in the best interest of his wife (and her health, both physical and mental). Not surprisingly, she rebels a bit, and continues to write her thoughts in a journal, hiding the journal and pencil from her husband. When her deception is discovered, she is even more strictly confined than before, and denied contact with her children.
It is at this point that she begins her descent into madness--not from the desire to write and express her creativity, but from being denied an outlet for that creativity. She was not mad before she was prescribed complete rest, but rather the complete rest which caused her madness. She begins to imagine things (shapes, objects, animals, people) in the yellow wallpaper which covers the walls of the room to which she is confined. As more restrictions and controls are placed upon her, her imagination grows, until finally she strips the wallpaper to reach the figures, and is found by her husband, surely and completely mad.
I liked this story very much because the author conveyed the kind of dead lives many talented, creative women must have been forced to lead due to society's ideas of women and their abilities while fully backed by the medical profession. She clearly illustrates that in this instance, doctors and husbands do not know best, and that their very best intentions had the precise effect of bringing about the madness that they sought to cure. As I read the story, I wondered why her husband (and the doctor) were so blind as to the causes of her "nervous condition". It obviously was not working, and rather than demonstrating their intelligence by trying something else or, God forbid, asking her what she needed (a couple hours per day to devote to writing, a small thing indeed), continued along the same methods of treatment, only with more restrictions! The social commentary and the commentary on the status of women in society and in their own families is handled in an effective way by the author, not only in her prose but in the development of the characters and the storyline. It is a most persuasive plea of the basic idea of feminism--that women are people too, with talents and abilities outside of their roles as wives and mothers that deserve an opportunity to be developed. In reading this story, I am amazed by how far we as a society have come in changing our views of women, and yet by how much further we have to go. I highly recommend this book.
This book was also made into a show that aired on PBS' Masterpiece Theatre in the late 1980s. I have not been able to find a copy of the program, but remember that it was well-produced and faithful to the story.

This book truly captures the constraints felt by so many women, both in Perkins' time and in our own. She is able to touch on a very sensitive subject with amazing poetic prose. The fact that this book was written in the nineteenth century makes it all the more remarkable!