This finely wrought collection impressed me with the many ways Laura Furman is able to elaborate simple themes of outsider-ness and disillusion. Each character and situation is unique, rendered with exactitude and a calm, clear-eyed pity. And for each, the yearned-for ideal of home remains just beyond reach; however much work and attention is lavished on house and garden, the protagonists cannot make for themselves a home.

Although most of the viewpoint characters are women, the long, beautiful story "Melville's House" concerns an elderly, dying man taking a day-trip with his daughter and grandson to the great writer's "Lourdes of disappointment," where Melville realized he would not succeed financially after pouring heart and talent into Moby Dick. Along the way, David has time to reflect on the home he tried to create for his family, and whether he remained only a tolerated outsider in it.

"Hagalund," another long story, concerns a young American woman living in Stockholm during the Vietnam War. She has enough vicarious status among the other draft-evaders and radicals to be offered shelter with them, although her famous boyfriend remains on the lam in the U.S. The expatriates' provisional, bored, paranoid existence during the miserable winter is memorably evoked, as the heroine gradually awakens from her tranced dependence.

In the sharp, impressive title story, a woman gives up job and New York apartment to live in the coutnry with her lover. Previously, they have visited each other for various lengths of time, and she has idealized his situation. When the narrator makes her move, she brings a slightly ridiculous, Martha-Stewartish sensibility to his rustic, rumpled lifestyle and learns too late that his larder and bed are already well-stocked by his best-friend's wife.

I strongly recommend these eloquent stories.

This is a book for people who delight in quiet, reflective fiction and for those with an ear for the delicate rhythms of English prose. The stories deal mostly with women, and domestic themes--relationships, houses, families--prevail. There is a subtle depth to all of the people and their lives. Nothing catastrophic occurs, but you can feel the seismic charges that underlie the most ordinary lives. Willa Cather, Peter Taylor, and John Hersey come to mind as writers whose styles are equally quiet and meaningful. Above all, Furman is an American Chekhov.

Continue your mission where X4 left for. Pass through Great Pass and enter into the mysterious land of Hule. Find the Temple of Death and defeat evil Master! It is a very exciting adventure. You must not miss it! (If you are running a campaign with X10, or/and with Wrath of Immortals Boxed Set, the master cannot be killed actually.)

The ever-elusive sequel to Masters of the Desert Nomads finds our heroes (levels 6-10) desperately seeking to intercept the Master himself (itself?) in his fell kingdom; if they fail, the Known World will be overrun with his armies! (See module X10 Red Arrow, Black Shield if you want that to happen!) This one includes innovative settings, classic encounters, lots of intense new monsters, and of course the apocalyptic confrontation... one of my favorites for D&D, easily converted to AD&D, and highly recommended.

I'm afraid I'm only familiar with the first edition of the text, which I used in a course I lead on death, dying, and grieving. However, I imagine this second edition only improves on the first.

The book's insightful content is not only marvelous to see in a textbook, but the prose itself is well worth reading as well--from the first sentence of the first chapter: "A dying individual is a living individual." Both unusual standards for texts. Quite a labor of love.

Each chapter closes with a personal account related to the developmental or family perspective on which the chapter focusses; these, as the authors remarked, "say it all." Each chapter also includes recommended reading, both fiction and non-fiction, for people who would like to read more.

includes personal accounts at the end of each chapter. Very touching. For people freshly in grief, I don't think a textbook of grief would be most interesting--might browse "In the Midst of Winter: Selections from the Literature of Morning," edited by Mary Jane Moffat.. But writing a textbook about death and grief, especially one as well written as this, I think responds to how textbooks can be sources of what's important to know in life.

This is such a Wonderful Book! It has Easy and Fun ideas for crafts to do with children! Everything from making a small fairy garden with real grass, to Easter crafts, to interesting Harvest time crafts! We have had this book for a few weeks now, and have enjoyed making three of the projects so far! My seven year old daughter adores sitting and reading this book to get ideas for us to work on together next! We own several craft books...But this one is by far the easiest and most creative for children to use! I love the fact that everything is nature based! A must buy, for nature loving families!

As a homeschooling mother, I'm always looking for simple, easy learning activities that can benefit my children from preschool age to late elementary. Earthways is one of the best books I've seen on this topic. The activities are geared toward younger children (preschool/early elementary), but even my pre-teen enjoys the varied activities.

I think I have all of the FamilyFun books now and Boredom Busters is just as great as the others. By using common items found around the house kids can find lots of fun things to make and do. I highly recommend all of the FamilyFun books and magazine as well. Neither you or your kids will be disappointed.

This book is a fantastic resource for those days when you are struggling to think of new ways to have fun with the kids. I liked the variety, for example some projects did not require a lot of advance preparation and can be done in under thirty minutes, while others look quite involved. And it's not all just a bunch of arts and crafts --this book includes tons of games and activities for everything from snowday fun to a day at the beach. There are also some fun with food projects (though this section doesn't offer much that's new if you already have any cooking with kids books). I've only had the book a week and I've already used several of the ideas -- my third grade son and I made the marshmallow snowman on page 129 for a school project and we used the backyard games section to plan party games for ten boys. That was a blast! This book reminded us of some old games we loved to play when we were kids and helped us think up some new games. The party was a big success and this is a great book to have on hand for those times you'd love to have the T.V. turned off and the kids tuned in to fun!

Denise Hamilton and Chantal Jakel collaborate with television's "Everyday Workout" series star Cynthia Kereluk to present Fit To Cook, a combination cookbook and fitness program. Fit To Cook offers easy, ready to serve in 6 to 60 minute recipes, four weeks of low-fat menus, pantry and shopping lists; a "Game Plan Guide", and a practical and effective Fitness Program. From Multi-Grain Soda Bread, Orange-Cinnamon Coffee, and Vanilla Fruit Salad, to Fit to Eat Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Capelli Medley with Roasted Tomatoes, and Salmon in a Nest, Fit To Cook offers delicious, nutrition eating that will please any palate, plus exercises that will guarantee the food you eat turns into muscle and energy, instead of fat and cellulose. Highly recommended for the health conscious family cook!

Finally! A book that offers not only sound eating guidelines, but a complete plan on how to do it (including simple recipes). This book is perfect for the person (or family) who wants to eat wholesome and nutritious food, but lacks the knowledge and perhaps the confidence to make the correct choices. These authors provide a 4-week plan, which is realistic, for getting people back into simple meal planning.

Although this book is not marketed as a weight loss book, I recommend it for all participants of the weight management classes I teach because permanent weight loss and better health is sure to be a result. What you will learn from this book is how to eat a normal, healthy and balanced diet, which is one thing no one seems to know how to do anymore. Thank you Fit to Cook authors for getting us back to the basics and for providing such an excellent guide!

I really have enjoyed using this cookbook...I especially like the ability to substitute different ingredients in each recipe to make it a bit different every time.

I rated this book 5 stars because it is not snobbish nor is it only for the tres-chic cook. It's the cookbook for everyone! Very simple and easy to follow and the variations are amazing. Nothing was too salty or too sweet. The recipes were very well-tested because they were 'just right.' It takes boredom out of the usual repetitive meals. It's also a great gift idea! I gave it to a friend for a gift and she loves it too!

As a regular visitor to the Napa Valley for the past 10 years, it's easy to think that one has 'seen it all.'

This book really reminded me what a special place the Napa Valley is, and how much there is to discover. Visitors and locals alike will find something new and interesting that they simply must try.

Take this book with you to the Valley, or read it before you go and find your new 'must try' discovery.

This is a must have for anyone visiting or living in the Napa Valley. Well organized and cleverly composed. I found it most useful for locating the rare-to-find places and foods that make the Napa Valley so unique. It makes a great gift for all the food lovers in your life.

This is my favorite cookbook, and I have lots. The recipes are fast, easy, and taste out of this world. Being from New Orleans, and having tasted some of the best food in the world, Frank's recipes yield the best results I've ever had. This is a book everyone should have among their collection.

I have all of Frank Davis's Cookbooks and watch him everyweek on a local TV morning show. His recipes are precise and easy to follow and the results are magnificent. All his cookbooks have typical New Orleans food and he even tells you what is good to accompany main dishes.

Most Americans think of Chicken Parmessan, Alfredo sauce or Italian salad dressing when they hear Italian cooking. As an American soldier stationed in Italy I've never seen either of the above. They are all American inventions.

Italian cooking is very diversified. Venice is big on fish and seafood while the inland areas eat more meats. Jeff Smith's book is as close to authentic Italian cooking as one can get. The sheer number of recipes alone will give a person an insight of how Italian cuisine influenced modern American food.

The amazing thing is that there is at least one recipe that I wanted to try that I couldn't find all the ingridients for. It called for a Sicilian wine and being stationed near Venice I couldn't find it in any of the local wine stores. Great book. I will continue to use it for years after I come back to the US. It will remind me of the years that I spent here.

As an Italian tired of Olive Garden-fare Italian cuisine, I bought Smith's book with two ideas in mind: 1) I wanted to understand both the context of the dishes I hoped to prepare and the constituent ingredients (for instance, how is Parmesan-Reggiano made?) and 2) coming to the book with little previous cooking experience -- let alone Italian cooking -- I wanted to be able to prepare most of the dishes in the book. Smith's book excelled at both these. The book is well-written and easy to follow, but avoids pedantry. Some of my favorite recipes are: Italian peasant bread, Italian Rolled Chicken, Bracciole, and the Fresh Tomato Sauce Sicilian.