I have dozens of books on fish and this is one I can't live without. It's an encyclopedia of fish illnesses and treatments that includes wonderful illustrations and photos. It's simple to understand and yet useful for us advanced aquarists. I answer hundreds of e-mails from my web site every year about fish illness and often refer people to this book. It's interesting enough that sometimes I look it over again!

One of my gouramis fell ill and a day later pop-eye set in. After trying to diagnose the illness(es) through various fish-related web sites- with no luck- I dosed with both gram-negative and gram-positive antibiotics. Two days later the gourami died, and the other was getting worse. Then, I got this book. In less than a minute I was able to diagnose the remaining sick gourami. In fact, page 162 has a picture of him! Very cool. Now I know what to do to save him (and protect the other fish, too).

This book has excellent discussions on all the important things: water pH, hardness, temperature, the biological filtration cycle, and more. Plus, the photos are real-life, not stupid inaccurate line drawings. I just wish I had bought it two years ago when I started the hobby. It would've saved me a lot of money, both in fish and equipment! The book at first seems pricey, but considering the amount of money you'll save with the information in it, it's cheap! I suggest getting it- and reading it- before buying any fish. But if you already have fish, it's a god-send.

This was one of the first books I bought when I started keeping fish and 12 years later it's still a wonderful book. This book takes you through how to keep your fish healthy, but more importantly it helps you through the inevitable times when you have sick fish.

With a chapter on recognizing your sick fish, to a chapter on the most common diseases and parasites this book will help you figure out what's wrong with your fish.

Finally there is a chapter on how to treat each type of illness so you don't have to guess on what to do.

This is definitely a book that every fish keeper should have.

no hype. i couldn't stop laughing as i was reading this. and i mean laughing out loud. in a cafe. with everyone staring at me. but i didn't care. and i couldn't help it if i did. it's just too hilarious.

There is at least one author who may remind you of Stephen Leacock, namely Garrison Keillor of Lake Wobegon fame, but Leacock should be recognized as the ultimate master of quaint, bucolic humor. Leacock, who died in 1944, became arguably the most prominent Canadian humorist of his day (and probably of all time). What is ironic about that claim is that Leacock worked for most of his life as a professor of economics. We do not usually equate economics with humor, preferring to think of that profession as one of bow ties and supply and demand charts. Throw that presumption out the window and pick up a copy of "Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town," Leacock's best known work available through the New Canadian Library series.

For me, one of the funniest sections of the book was the introduction written by Leacock, where he gives you some background about himself and his profession. This short piece of writing quickly gives you an idea of the type of humor you will find in the actual sketches: a very sly, very quiet and clever type of humor that often takes a while to sink in. Leacock does not rely on rim shot jokes or manic posturing in his writings. Instead, he creates the fictional Canadian town of Mariposa and populates it with small town archetypes that are wonders to behold.

All of the characters are hilarious in their own way: Mr. Smith, the proprietor of the local hotel and bar, full of schemes to earn money while trying to get his liquor license back. Then there is Jefferson Thorpe, the barber involved in financial schemes that may put him on the level of the Morgans and the Rockefellers. The Reverend Mr. Drone presides over the local Church of England in Mariposa, a man who reads Greek as easy as can be but laments his lack of knowledge about logarithms and balancing the financial books of the church. Peter Pupkin, the teller at the local bank, has a secret he wants no one to know about, but which eventually comes out while he is courting the daughter of the town judge. All of these characters, and several others, interact throughout the sketches.

Leacock has the ability to turn a story, to make it take a crazy, unexpected twist even when you are looking for such a maneuver. That he accomplishes this in stories that rarely run longer than twenty pages is certainly a sign of great talent. By the time you reach the end of the book, you know these people as though you lived in the town yourself, and you know what makes them tick.

Despite all of the crazy antics in Mariposa, Leacock never lets the reader lose sight of the fact that these are basically good people living good lives. There seems to be a lot of feeling for the citizens of Mariposa on the part of Leacock, which comes to a head in the final sketch in the collection, "L'Envoi. The Train to Mariposa," where he recounts traveling back to the town after being away for years, with all of the attendant emotions that brings as recognizable landmarks come into view and the traveler realizes that his little town is the same as when he left it years before.

I suspect there is a historical importance to "Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town." These writings first appeared in 1912, a time when many people living in the bigger Canadian cities still remembered life in a small town. In addition to the humorous aspects of the book, the author includes many descriptive passages concerning the atmosphere and layout of Mariposa, something instantly recognizable to anyone who grew up in such a place. Nostalgia for the simpler life of the small town probably played a significant role in the book's success.

I look forward to reading more Stephen Leacock. While much of the humor in the book is not belly laugh funny, it does provide one with a deep satisfaction of reading clever humor from an author who knows how to tickle the funny bone. You do not need to be Canadian to enjoy this wonderful book.

Perhaps the finest comment about Stephen Leacock in the last half century is that "he is a
Will Rogers for the 90's."

Rogers, of course, is one of the most beloved of American humorists -- he was killed in
1935 when his plane crashed near Point Barrow, Alaska. Leacock died on March 28, 1944.
Like Rogers, he had been Canada's favorite humorist for decades.

Sunshine Sketches is about Orillia, Ontario, Canada, where Leacock had his summer home
on Brewery Bay (he once wrote, "I have known that name, the old Brewery Bay, to make
people feel thirsty by correspondence as far away as Nevada.") His home is now maintained
as a historic site by the town of Orillia. I lived there for almost 30 years, and the people of Orillia are still much the same as Leacock portrayed them in 1912.

These stories about various personalities in town were printed in the local newspaper in the
1910 - 1912 era, before being compiled into this book which established Leacock's literary
fame. The people portrayed really lived, though some are composites; the events are of a
kindly humorist looking at the foibles of small town life. Once they came out in book form
and soared to national popularity, everyone in town figured the rest of the country was
laughing at them because of Leacock's book and he was royally hated in Orillia to the end
of his life.

Gradually, and this took decades, Orillians came to recognize that genius had walked
amongst them for several decades. (It's hard to recognize genius when your own ego is so
inflated.) Orillia now awards the annual "Leacock Medal for Humor" -- Canada's top literary
prize for the best book of humour for the preceding year.

Leacock died when I was six, but I did know his son, who still lived in town. I delivered
papers to the editor of the "Newspacket," Leacock's name for the Orillia Packet and Times
(where I worked) and the rival Newsletter. The Packet had the same editor in the 1940's as
when Leacock wrote about him in 1910.

But the book is more than Orillia; it is a wonderfully kind and humorous description of life in
many small towns. The American artist Norman Rockwell painted the same kinds of scenes;
it is the type of idyllic urban life so many of us keep longing to find again in our hectic
urban world.

Leacock realized the book was universal in its description of small towns, and in the preface
he wrote "Mariposa is not a real town. On the contrary, it is about seventy or eighty of
them. You may find them all the way from Lake Superior to the sea, with the same square
streets and the same maple trees and the same churches and hotels, and everywhere the
sunshine of the land of hope."

True enough, which gives this book continuing appeal nearly a century after it was written.
All great writing is about topics you know, and as a longtime resident Leacock knew Orillia
well. As for Leacock himself, he wrote, "I was born at Swanmoor, Hants., England, on Dec.
30, 1869. I am not aware that there was any particular conjunction of the planets at the
time, but should think it extremely likely."

He says of his education, "I survived until I took the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in
1903. The meaning of this degree is that the recipient of instruction is examined for the last
time in his life, and is pronounced completely full. After this, no new ideas can be imparted
to him."

In reviewing Charles Dickens' works in 1934, Leacock wrote what could well be his own
epitaph: "Transitory popularity is not proof of genius. But permanent popularity is." The fact
his writings are still current illustrates the nature of his writing.

In contrast to the sometimes sardonic humor of modern times, Sunshine Sketches reflects
Leacock's idea that "the essence of humor is human kindness." Or, in the same vein, "Humor
may be defined as the kindly contemplation of the incongruities of life, and the artistic
expression thereof."

Granted, this book is not what he recognized to have widespread appeal to modern readers.
In his own words, "There are only two subjects that appeal nowadays to the general public,
murder and sex; and, for people of culture, sex-murder." Yet, anyone reading this will
remember scenes from it for much longer than anything from a murder mystery.

In today's world, where newspapers almost daily track Prime Minister Tony Blair's dash to
the political right, Leacock wrote, "Socialism won't work except in Heaven where they don't
need it and in Hell where they already have it."

He described his own home as follows, "I have a large country house -- a sort of farm
which I carry on as a hobby . . . . Ten years ago the deficit on my farm was about a
hundred dollars; but by well-designed capital expenditure and by greater attention to
details, I have got it into the thousands." Sounds familiar to today's farm policies ?

It's what I mean by this being a timeless work.

Leacock himself noted, when talking about good literature, "Personally, I would sooner have
written 'Alice in Wonderland' than the whole of the 'Encyclopedia Britannica'." This is his
'Alice' and it well deserves to be favorably compared to Lewis Carroll's work.

By all measures, it is still the finest Canadian book ever written.

I picked this book up on a day when I was not feeling at my best and I was looking for something to help time pass. The Legend of Andrew and Christopher immediately captured me. I was so enthralled by this book, I could not feel or think of anything but its characters and their present plight. I could not rest until I knew the Legend. Now that I have finished the book, I long for more of its images, brotherhood, love, and kindness'. I recommend that you take your time reading this book and savor each adventure, episode, and moment. When you have finished you will want it to go on and on. I would recommend this book to all ages!

This is one of the best books I've read. The characters come to life on the pages. They became a part of me and I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next. Life lesson to take from the book is that no matter how bad off you think you have it, there's someone out there who has it worse. Christopher and Andrew show that it doesn't take a lot to help others.

This is an outstanding novel for the Christian reader. It reaffirms the power of God in our lives and shows that God works miracles through his people on earth.

Jorge Borges, (1899-1986) was born in Beunos Aires and educated in Geneva, and was a prominent figure in the avant-garde Ultraist movement in the late teens and early 1920's. This book, a slim and highly cerebral volume which uses a theoretical library as a metaphor for the universe, with each volume a soul, each shelf an ideal, and perhaps curated by The Divine Ethereal, is a magnificent tour-de-force, yes, but is also highly accessible and certainly a viable choice for those of you who are new to Borges. His other fictional and non-fictional work can be very meaty and sometimes too complex. This particular edition, illustrated with gorgeous plates by the Moroccan printmaker Erik Desmazieres, is a marvelous addition to any serious library.

"The Library of Babel" is one of Borges' finest short fictions -- a meditation on the possible, the infinite, the nature of hope and the creation of meaning. The Library contains all possible books, all possible combinations of the 25 orthographic symbols in all possible languages, and therefore everything man is capable of knowing and expressing -- but it appears to have no order, no organization. It contains the true catalogue of the Library, as well as innumerable false catalogues, books proving the falsity of the false catalogue, and books proving the falsity of the true catalogue. Yet from chaos arises meaning: "There is no combination of characters one can make . . . that the divine Library has not foreseen and that in one or more of its secret tongues does not hide a terrible significance. There is no syllable one can speak that is not filled with tenderness and terror, that is not, in one of those languages, the mighty name of a god." (35)

This volume is intended for the lover of fine books and contains "only" this single, quite short, fantasy by Borges, beautifully illustrated with duotone etchings by Erik Desmazieres. The etchings are not particularly consistent with Borges' description of the Library, although they are plainly inspired by it. Although Desmazieres' Library appears to be physically bounded in a way that Borges' Library is not (there is no "outside" for Borges), the etchings present a magisterial universe that by the overwhelming size and fine detail of its rooms evokes a sense of the infinite in the same way that High Gothic cathedrals function. My only real quarrel with Desmazieres is that his Library is too populated. He captures the sense of infinite space, but misses the fundamental loneliness of the librarian.

Highly recommended to anyone interested in fine printing or as an addition to an existing collection of Borges' fiction. If you are new to Borges, I would recommend buying a more substantial collection of his work first, then buying this volume as a beautifully realized vision of one aspect of his universe.

This unique compelling story is beautifully supported by the remarkable illustrations. Borges in any format is worth time and reflection as he leads you through his wonderful labyrinths.

"Patience of a Saint" is a typical Greeley story. It contains some excellent images and metaphors of the Catholic Church, some good mystery, some sex, and some violence. It fits Greeley's perfect equation of what to include in a sell-able story. But even with all the expected story parts, it remains one of his better stories, delving into a person's growth as an adult. It is reminiscent of the Biblical story of Saint Paul's conversion, set in modern-day Chicago, with some contemporary images thrown together to show us what Paul may have gone through if he had lived in our time. An interesting idea, a good read, and if you take the time, a thought-provoking way to approach the Bible story as well as middle age.

This is the story of Red Kane, a man caught in a dilemma of Love. After twenty years of marriage plagued by misunderstanding and bitter resignation, Red finds himself falling in love with his wife all over again - and at the same time, pursued by an implacable, attractive God.

Redmond P. Kane, a popular Chicago newspaper columnist and Pulitzer prize winner, smokes and drinks too much, neglects his kids, enjoys a mistress, is feared and hated by his colleagues, and has shared nothing but a bed with his wife for much too long. At 53, Red is an unhappy, disgruntled cynic. But soon, all that changes. On a Chicago street corner a speeding car, almost runs him down, and a moment of divine grace - one in which God and Red's green eyed wife are somehow identified with each other - almost knocks him unconscious. An then Red';s real troubles begin. They start with evil- plan old fashioned wickedness in the person of aging politico Harv Gunther. Red has come up with evidence that links Gunther to the disappearance of a newsman 20 years earlier and the recent murder of a teenage girl, but proving it can cost Kane his career. He's almost ready to close his files, go out for a drink and forget it all. Yet since his brush with death Red finds himself inexorably drawn down the path of saintliness and driven to always do the right thing. Being a good husband to his wife Eileen is at the top of Red's list. Without realizing it, he's whistling "You're Irish and You're beautiful and dreaming of going home, taking her in his arms, and making up for all the sins of omission accumulated over 20 years of their on-again, off-again marriage. But what happens when he does? Beautiful Irish Eileen think's he's having a breakdown, just as his newsroom co-workers are sure he's finally gone over the edge. Soon, a psychiatrist is trying to have him committed. God has turned Red's whole existence upside down. Must he choose between his wife and his god? Or have they joined in a plot to try the patience of a saint. As Red probes the depths of his new emotions and renewed commitments with the help of Msgr Blackie Ryan, he also digs into the dirty business of Harve Gunther and in the process gravely endangers the lives of everyone he loves.

This is a wonderful book. The author suggests wonderful possibilities of grace and love for our lives. It is a book that restores faith and replenishes the soul. Oh, and it's a great love story. Not your typical boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back; this is a wonderful tale about a man who discovers the true depth and meaning of his love for his wife--with no small assistance from God. In a "cynical" age this book is a rare, complex, affirmation of true love and grace. This is my favorite Greeley story.

I just finished reading "A Peaceful Retirement". Just like her other books, it was excellent reading. I was sorry when the book ended because I wanted to read more. Few years ago I wrote Miss Read a letter stating I loved all her books. She was kind enough to write me a handwritten letter in reply. After a hetic day, I look forward to reading her books and revisit the loveable characters in the quiet town.

Miss Read's novels capture the best aspects of the small town provincial novel--the sense of connection, the wry Austenisms--while leaving the sentimentality and pollyanna-ism sometimes afflicting the genre to her lesser imitators. A Peaceful Retirement brings us another step--perhaps a final step--nearer to the end of this series. I recommend this series, and this book within the series, to anyone who wishes that a novel might have both a 20th C. awareness and a somewhat 19th C. sense of perspective....Most people have not discovered Miss Read, and one somehow wonders if "most people" really ought to. But I am certainly glad that I did....

I enjoyed this book just as much as I have all the other books written by Miss Read. The reason that I enjoyed this book so much was that it was like catching up with old friends and being transported back to the Village and all the surrounding scenery which captures my imagination. I recommend that you read not only this book but all those that Miss Read (Dora Saint) has written for anyone that enjoys people and a very descriptive story which includes the lovely countryside that one can only imagine. I will miss my friends very much. Thank You Dora Saint for giving me many hours of pleasure.

After looking at all the JINI books available except the O'Reilly one, I found this book to be best....by far!
If you want to learn peer to peer computing, start with this book at page one and read all the way through...you will not be dissapointed.
It has everything, great on code...it will show you how to code JINI, philosophy, ideas, implementations etc...

Sing...when are you going to publish again??? You are great!
If you do, I hope its a topic that I need..

Thanks
- Adam

I used this book in parallell with other books.

Chapters on networking and RMI were very useful.

It helped me to understand Jini, though I got a lot of help reading other textbooks in parallell.

Issues on agent techonology were very interesting.

Mr. Li starts out with a section focusing on advanced RMI and CORBA, and how they relate to Jini. The CORBA section includes examples for building a Java client/server using the ORB that comes with the JDK, as well as using a C client on Linux with the free ORBit ORB. An excellent overview of CORBA for people who have never used it or simply haven't used it with Java.

His writing is detailed, explaining how things are done and why they're done that way; after reading this book you will have an excellent understanding of Jini. For example, the detailed discussion and the several examples on UDP multicast and how it is used in the Discovery protocol was quite fascinating. I found the case study chapters, accounts of real-life applications of Jini and JavaSpaces, to be very interesting to read as well.

Overall, an inforative, highly readable book aimed at advanced developers.

Who ever reads a cookbook? I used my cookbooks to find recipes and skip through all the fluff. This is the first cookbook I've actually read and thats because it a celebration of life. light a candle, grab a good bottle of wine and cook.

This book is an absolute treat! It's not just another cookbook -the delicious tales that go with the recepies are food for the imagination and for the soul, while fabulous and pretty simple recepies are wonderfully surprising treats for the tastebuds. I especially love the Cowboy Cookies which were a huge hit at my Christmas potluck party.

The book has some really great recipes, hints, and is entertaining.

I got this book on the recommendation of a friend who's a children's librarian. At the time, my son was only a year old. It quickly - try, immediately! - became his favorite. I thought it was rather silly at first, but his response was quick and positive, and pretty soon, we all were laughing over the antics of the Pickle and his pursuers! "Stop Pickle Please" my baby requests on a daily basis. Bedtime is not complete without reading it, and now he even anticipates us - as soon as we turn to the page where the pickle escapes, he cries, "Go, Pickle, GO!" and then "Eeeek!" (like Ms. Elmira Deeds!) and laughs at his own joke. And a few weeks ago, he even looked up from his lunch of peanut butter and jelly and said to me, "Peanut butter has great endurance" in his little baby voice - (he's almost 2 years now). I nearly fell in the floor - I couldn't believe it! This book is terrific, absolutely terrific. The children really get into it, and my son has learned a lot of interesting words and phrases! I highly, highly recommend this book for anyone with small children.

My kids (all four of them) love this book. And I never minded reading it again and again. I originally found it several years ago on the sale table of a local bookstore and could never find it again. Happy to see it is available. It is a family favorite.

We took this book out of the library about a year ago. My 3 and 5 year old girls loved it. Every time we return to the library we take it out again at my 3 year old's request. I have recommended this book to more parents and love to tell them the story line. We are buying it today to free up the library copy. STOP THAT PICKLE!

I believe this book was very well-written and fair in its evaluation of Ukrainian history. I based these comments in part on my Ukrainian descent; and my travels and discussions with Ukrainian citizens. The book does a better(and excellent) job of reviewing fairly recent events in Ukrainian politics and demographics; than it does in reviewing Ukrainian history - but that appears to be intentional. As an American, I noticed what appeared to be British colloquialisms in several places that I didn't understand.

I believe this book was very well-written and fair in its evaluation of Ukrainian history. I based these comments in part on my Ukrainian descent; and my travels and discussions with Ukrainian citizens. The book does a better(and excellent) job of reviewing fairly recent events in Ukrainian politics and demographics; than it does in reviewing Ukrainian history - but that appears to be intentional. As an American, I noticed what appeared to be British colloquialisms in several places that I didn't understand.

Wow what can I say, Mr.Wilson has written a book that will set the standard for all future works for Ukraine. As a previous reviewer said, this book tells you what it is to be a Ukrainian. At sometimes it is a bit too dry and academic but any serious student should not let that get in the way of this otherwise excellent book>