It is the most awsome book I've ever read, besides the bible. It will give you knowledge of the Christ that lives within us as Christians, it is very exciting, but very deep. It is profound!

This is with out a doubt the most important piece of literature ever written. It should be required reading for every Christian. Mde. Guyon deals with subjects such as abondonment, suffering, dry times. if you will consider her insights on these and other topics this book will bring you higher heights and deeper depths. You must read this book.

I read and reread this book. For those who follow Fr.Keating's books on seeking God within, this is an excellent companion. They seemed to be saying the same things! That God lives in your heart and through comtemplation He will draw you to himself. Guyon does not come out with a specific prayer methodology like Keating but she speaks the same things, prayer of silence, letting go of the false self, abandonment to God. Strange chpt 2 is kind of asterixed, I considered it extremely foundational.

This is a classic and I say get Keatings books as you get this and you have a solid intro to the Christian spiritual journey.

Ps: this is not journey of bliss and Guyon tells about the travail you will go through until you reach the inner abode where God resides and where your true self can be found...

This book is Terrific! It gets right to the point and doesn't waste time or words. It makes learning fun & easy. If you have never written a web page or are just beginning HTML, this book is JUST RIGHT for you.

Now I can't wait to get all of Ruth Maran's other books. School was never this fun. Thanks, Ruth for creating a book series that REALLY DOES THE JOB! A+++

This was an incredibly easy book to understand. Minimal words, lots of colorful pictures and fun graphics which show you (instead of describing to you) how to perform a function. I had another HTML book that I just got bored with after about 50 pages. This book was so engaging that I pretty much finished the book in a day and am able to start coding in HTML. This is a very good "how-to" book in the technical aspect of HTML. The only down side is that it promotes poor web page design (but this book is not about learning design so I'm still giving it 5 stars). For the design aspect of web pages, I would recommend picking up a copy of Robin William's "Design for Non-Designers" or "Web Design for Non-Designers."

A must for the beginner!

I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn HTML... especially beginners. It's completely visual (GREAT for a visual learner like myself)... and in COLOR! Each description is well organized, and it's a very simple book to navigate around. They show the actual computer screen to explain what you will be doing. It makes it so easy! It covers everything from basic HTML tags, changing the appearance of your website and publishing a webpage. I would have loved to have this book a few years ago when I first started working with HTML! If you want to get into programming but have no experience, try HTML -- you might like it! :) This was the first book I bought in this "Teach Yourself Visually" series, but after reading and using this book all the time, I plan on buying one for ALL the different computer related topics. This book definitely deserves an A+.

Of course this is a great book. But it's also very big...and very technical. I know more about insects than the normal person and I was lost after the first couple pages. If you want a neat ant book read Journey to the Ants. It's more down to earth and easier to read and written by the same people. I wouldn't try to tackle this until you got a few entomology courses under your belt....

by Mark Fitzsimmons

This is a fascinating, indispensible book for anyone interested in ants. It was everything I hoped it would be and more. I have owned this book for three years and still haven't stopped reading it, probably never will. It is jam-packed with interesting and little known aspects of eusocialism in the ants, easily as diverse as its subject.

This is a semi-technical book, and entomological scientific jargon is used ubiquitously, so if you aren't interested in using the glossary frequently just to understand what you're reading, it may not be for you, but for the avid ant-watcher or scientist interested in social evolution, this is it. With the incredible drawings (including representative pictures from every known ant genera) and informative graphs and charts that shed light on even the most complex and difficult to understand socio-biological patterns, it is beautiful to behold and fun to browse and just pluck little tidbits at random. Even the expanded table of contents is thought-provoking and fun to read.

"The Ants" does more than simply summarize current knowledge about ants. It goes into details of the many different ways in which ants have evolved social structures and critically evaluates theories of ant colony dynamics and eusocial evolution.

I was given this in 1992 for my birthday and spent a week reading it from cover to cover...and have returned to for pleasure ever since. Admittedly I was already fascinated by ants, but this is quite simply the best book I have ever seen about any group of animals. The authors write authoritatively and very readably about every aspect of ant evolution and behaviour, with humour and a clear passion for their subject; the illustrations are lavish and beautiful. Probably most readers will skip some of the more technical aspects, as this is also a work of reference with (beautifully illustrated) keys to all the major ant genera; but there are entire chapters on life-history, evolution, symbiosis and behaviour which are simply unrivalled in modern literature. From the awesome to the utterly bizarre, the ants are one of the pinnacles of animal evolution. This book is a labour of love, which does justice to the fantastic diversity of these insects, by authors who are the masters of their subject. A pleasure in every respect.

I absolutely love this book. The gardening system is sound and organic, and it is presented in clear, simple language in a lovely, easy-to-grasp design. So often gardening books are long on written advice but short on visuals. Or they are ONLY visuals, with the text nothing more than captions. This book has it all.

This book answers, with outstanding instruction, pictures and humor, any and all of your questions on vegetable gardening. Had Ed Smith published it earlier we would have saved a ton of dirt along with a ton of money! We keep it in our little greenhouse alll during the growing season as we refer to it daily. And we are now buying it for gifts for both novice and experienced gardening friends.

The title says it all. This is my vegetable bible. Being a novice, I was looking for something as simple and informative as a "Dummies" book but without insulting my intelligence. Not only is all the information you need to start or continue a garden, the pictures fill in details that as a first time grower I might not quite understand in words. His explanations are simple, concise and extremely informative. Most of all, it's filled with little hints throughout the book so that you may have a successful garden. It was the best purchase I had made on a gardening book so far. Thank you Ed! Happy growing!

This is the first book I've read in E.F. Benson's "Lucia" series, and it is fun-filled ride indeed. For Benson novices, Lucia Lucas is a middle aged, recently widowed (in this novel), perfectly nice upper middle class woman who just happens to have the mind of Machavelli. Missing her obvious calling for World Domination, she is instead content to rule the social life of her small English village with an iron fist. As "Mapp and Lucia" begins however, Lucia has long since deposed any serious threat to her social dominance in her immediate vicinity, and decides fresher pastures are in order. She packs up her things (including , of course, best friend and right-hand-man Georgie) and moves to Tilling, where she expects she will be made society Queen in no time flat. Unfortunately for Lucia, Tilling already has a Queen, one Elizabeth Mapp, and she has no intention of relinquishing her crown.

The scene is thus set for a true Battle Royal, only in Tilling the battelfields are luncheons and dinner parties, and the weapons fruit gardens and lobster recipes. The results are very very funny, as the genteel of Tilling spend a breathless year thoroughly enjoying each swipe, snub and put down. The hilarious climax has our heroines floating out to sea on an overturned kitchen table, with Lucia's last audible words promising delicious gossip just as soon as she gets out of her current mess.

Benson draws his characters exquisitely well, I found myself flat out liking her. She is an Englishwomen of the 1930's, past her prime but still youthful, who just happens to be blessed (cursed?) with the personality of an Alpha Male. The resulting battle of wits with the formidable Mapp is fascinating; Mapp is clearly not her intellectual equal but through a mixture of deviousness and and cunning manages to pull the carpet from underneath Lucia's carefully laid plans time and again. The supporting characters are equally well written, with best friend Georgie and Mapp's crony Diva especially amusing.

All in all, a funny, entertaining and biting satire that is well worth reading whether you are already a Lucia fan or are picking up a Benson novel for the first time. Highly recommended!

This is the highlight of the series, pitting Lucia against her less able, but equally ruthless counterpart, Elizabeth Mapp - two ladies who both consider themselves social queens of the village of Tilling. The ensuing war includes Fete's garden parties dinner parties and climaxes with the crafty Miss Mapp attempting to steal the recipe for Lobster ala Reisholme and being caught by Lucia, they are then caught in a flood and whisked out to sea on a kitchen table. Oh my!

I cannot say enough about this adaptation. Prunella Scales produces the voices excellently. For those who do not know Lucia and Mapp - They are Elizabeth mapp and Emmeline Lucas - two ladies whom both consider themselves social queens of the village of Tilling. The ensuing war includes Fete's garden parties dinner parties and climaxes with the crafty Miss mapp attempting to steal the recipe for Lobster ala Reisholme and being caught by Lucia, they are then caught in a flood and whisked out to sea on a kitchen table - it's hilarious when listened to. The conflicts between these two are scarier than Snipes and Stallone in full flow.

this book should be your marketing and PR bible! There are 678 pages in this book and every one is packed full of invaluable information. If you're looking for a book on attracting clients to your small or home-based business, this is the ONLY one to buy!

I not only purchased this book for myself, but a copy for my business partner; mine was too furry with Post-Its, notes, and dog ears to let it out of my sight! I have lived with this book close at hand for the last month, and feel it has brought tremendous focus to my business development activity. It is very readable, well organized, and packed with specific tasks to speed you on your way to success. Unlike marketing and business books that are long on theory, but fall short of actions and tasks, I translated this book, chapter by chapter into a project plan to carry my company, Big Head Interactive, through the first year. A Must Have, with spare copies for gift giving!

I originally bought the first edition of this book several months ago. I wasn't sure I wanted to replace it with this new edition, but am very glad I did. Paul, Sarah and Laura have helped me focus and pick one thing that my business will be known for. As a professional organizer, I was trying to be all things to too many people. Now, I have decided to focus on paper filing systems for entrepreneurs. Being a paper organizer is easier than being a closet, kitchen, basement and office organizer. Marketing becomes so much easier with a niche.

This book also explains that you don't have to use marketing techniques that are inconsistant with your personality. You don't have to make cold calls to get business, unless you like making cold calls.

There are several tips on doing a PR campaign, putting together brochures, selecting a logo. If you have a small business, you will love this book.

I think everyone will find something to relate to in this book! For the generations of people who lived and fought during World War II, this book will bring back memories of that intense and brave time period. For younger generations, you will experience a sense of pride and patriotism as you read about those who fought for our country. Author Ivan Mehosky makes us feel as though we really know his father, Colonel Mehosky. I could not help but think of my own grandparents as I read this wonderful narrative.

The author brings the everyday living of his father to life in this book. Colonel Mehosky was a "Soldier's Soldier." He was the type of officer that I wish I could have worked for while I was an enlisted soldier in the Army. He was an inspiration to me. Today young people are searching for heroes. Well, I highly recommend this book to those of us who need a hero to look up to. I believe that all soldiers should read this factual account of war and survival as a training manual and an inspiration for those boring moments in the field when you think there is nothing more to do. Thank you Ivan for writing the story and thank you Colonel Mehosky for living it!!

The Story of a Soldier is definately worth reading. Ivan Mehosky has written a fantasic book in the style of Stephen Ambrose. Once you start reading you won't want to put it down til the end. Covering the period from 1940 to 1971 with a major focus on World War 2 Paratroopers in action.

Mr. Mehosky has done an excellant job of telling the story of his father's military career as handed down to him from his father. As you read the book you can't help but think of Mr. Mehosky of the 506th P.I.R. as having alot in common with Major Dick Winters of "Band of Brothers" fame.

If you're looking for an excellant book on World War 2 Paratroopers....This is it!

Ingrid Sischy, the editor of Interview Magazine, once taught her creative director the art of shutting up and just looking at a photo. It's a simple technique - yet it works. If you take 15 minutes to just look at a photo, eventually the photo will begin to speak to you. This lesson is even more profound when you allow the photos of "The Family of Man" to speak to you. Each photo encapsulates a tiny portion of the human experience and serves as a vivid mirror of our own spirit. As we journey from birth to death we see all the flaws and fascinating qualities that make the human being a beautiful work in progress. And while the book is only 5% words I've yet to complete it. Why? Because I've found myself watching closely each photo for the amount of time it takes to finish the chapter of a book. And each "chapter" that I've seen tells me several things: That we are all bonded by love, struggle, survival, passion, pain, fears, dreams, belief and hope.

In the same way an infant is captivated by a human face, so is the receptive reader drawn to the pages of this book, over and over again. In photographs taken around the world, the images remind us of the overwhelming preciousness of our all-too-short lives, the mystery of the universe, and the inherent potential of humankind to choose its own way.

Making us aware of our responsibility to cherish life, to handle it tenderly and respectfully, for our own sake and for the benefit of our children, is its clear intent.

I discovered this book on my parents' bookshelf at the age of six. It was my introduction to the world, as expressed through the images of others. Thanks to The Family of Man, I began to understand the vastness of the world, in contrast to my own small one.

I saw more in those images with every passing year. The aphorisms from the world's great literature, printed alongside the photographs, became comprehensible to me as I learned to read words as I had been taught by this book to read human faces. I was impressed by our vast differences, and touched and comforted by the common humanity that we share with one another.

The messages contained within this work are timeless and relevent. If I had the power to do so,I would place a copy of this book in every classroom of every grade of all the schools in the world. In my opinion, there is no one of any age for whom this book is not appropriate.

I believe from the beginning we all want to be the best we can be; somehow along the way too many of us lose hope. This book reminds us of the worthiness of the pursuit of the meaning of life. Though as individual members of the global community we may be quite different, we nonetheless see in these pictures the implications of choices made for, and against life--and we are inspired to consider thoughtfully the implications of our everyday thoughts and acts.

This may well be the first and greatest lesson in life.

The Family of Man - first published in 1955 - is the pictorial record of one of the most riveting exhibitions of photography of all time. The book, which contains some text, is a poignant treasure of the human condition - from birth to death. It shows man's relation and connection to life, regardless of country or language and all that we share through love, pain, rituals and simply coping. The phrase " a picture is worth a thousand words" comes alive in The Family of Man.

The Filmmaker's Handbook is a comprehensive guide to the art & science of filmmaking. Though it is currently falling abit behind with it's coverage of digital technology, as this is moving so fast it's hard for any book to stay current.

It has a lot of excellent information though, and goes into detail many other books lack. It's useful as a reference guide, and not so dry that it doesn't make an interesting read. If you are studying film, or want to get into the industry this book is a must have.

As an aspiring young filmmaker, the first thing I was told to do was go out and get a copy of the Filmmaker's Handbook. Imagine my surprise when I found out that the book had been updated in March of 1999, and that now it included all kinds of information about the digital age. I have learned so much from this book. The book goes over the entire film process, and does it in a straight-forward manner. It is a great start for beginners, yet it includes a rich amount of information for the professional. Anyone who has ever thought about a career in film really needs to get a copy of this book. Written in a manner that neither patronizes nor confuses the reader, the Filmmaker's Handbook is the best book I have skimmed or read on film, and believe me, I've looked at a lot.

As a beginner in the film industry, I found this book to be extremely valuable in gaining a solid foundation of knowledge in the various areas of film making. There is as much information as possible and the layout is full of refereces and cross references. It is well writen, and has plenty of ilustrations to acompany the comprehensive descriptions. I predict that this book will be a usefull tool long after I have reached a professional level in the industry.

Knight's Castle was the first Edward Eager book I read and after that I could not get enough of them. Thirty years later they still make me laugh out loud and marvel at how surprising they are.

The element of surprise is the key, and what I've always felt Harry Potter lacked. Eager's kids are regular kids--just like the reader and her or his friends--who stumble across some thing or other that turns out to be magic. The children can control the magic thing, but first have to figure out exactly what it is, how to make it work for them, and what the catch is because there is always a catch. In the meantime all sorts of goofy stuff is going on all around them and they've got to corral the magic if they want it to do something special, which they always do.

Most of the books feature an age-range of characters, and a good balance of girls and boys. Eager's kids are always readers(which is why such fabulous things happen to them!) and which is fun for children who are readers themselves.

Any kid with a sense of humor and a yen for surprises will love these books.

A series of classic, semi-connected books by Edward Eager, the perfect appetite-filler for those waiting for the new Harry Potter/Redwell/any type of fantasy book. Funny, cute, sweet, well-developed, well-written, with strong lead characters and delightful sidelines characters. The magic is unusual, in that it crops up in places (such as a thyme garden) that you wouldn't expect.

"Half Magic" is the first of this line of books, in which a Nesbitlike cluster (Jane, Mark, Katharine and baby Martha) discover a little charm. It grants wishes - but here's the catch, you only get half of what you wished for. For instance, if you wish for a house to burn down, all that will burn down is a treehouse or toyhouse. A series of zany adventures follow, including a trek to medieval times and to the Sahara. The final double-wish is touching, to say the least.

"Magic By The Lake" take a different journey, in which the kids travel to a lakeside house. Of course, the lake has magical properties that allow them to journey through time and space at their wishes. Of course, some of them work and some backfire in hilarious ways.

"Knight's Castle" skips twenty years into the future, when the four kids are grown, and two have kids of their own. When Roger and his family have to travel to their cousins' house while his dad has surgery, he encounters a magic soldier figure who will grant his wishes -- by zapping him into the Ivanhoe setting, with all the toy splendor around it!

"Time Garden" is the sequel to "Knight's Castle," in which Roger, Ann, Eliza, and Jack are shipped off to an old house for the time being. They encounter the froglike Natterjack, a creature who allows them to use the magic thyme in the thyme garden. If you word your wishes correctly, you will go where you wish to go...

With delightful illustrations by N.M. Bodecker, these books are a must for fantasy readers. Eager's tales are tightly bound together, but consist of vignette adventures, ranging from one a day to one a week. A timeless delight.

If the popularity of Harry Potter is bringing old fantasy titles to life, I say bravo, especially if it means new readers are about to discover the books of Edward Eager. I read them first when I was eight or nine and now, over thirty years later, I still revisit the marvelous adventures of these two sets of children. Jane, Mark, Catherine and Martha let us in on the world of the 1920's as they embark on one hilarious magical adventure after another. Time Garden and Knight's Castle deal with another set of children during 1940's wartime. One of the most wonderful things about this series is discovering the connection between the two sets of kids, which all culminates on a South Seas Island in two different books. Like the Potter series, Eager's books charm with their mixture of modern life and ancient magical powers. I can't recommend them highly enough, and I'm going to purchase the boxed set for my niece for Christmas so that I can read them with her!