This book has a wealth of information and beautiful photographs for inspiration.

I LOVE this book! I have a pretty extensive library of gardening books, but after relocating to the Northeast and starting landscaping projects here on our wooded lot, I felt I needed more references before going any further. Very few books I've looked at do an adequate job of dealing with shade and woodland gardening with the focus on planting native species. There are a great many very pretty books, with boring, dry or even worthless text, but this book utilizes very readable material and photographic compositions that are helpful AND beautiful. The use of photos of grouped plantings, as opposed to individual specimen photography made it far easier visualize possibilities in my own landscaping projects, and I especially liked his photos contrasting various garden views from one season to the next, emphasizing the idea that the beauty of our woodland landscapes aren't just about the obvious drama of spring or fall, but the unique structure and color of each phase of the year. I feel Mr. Darke did a fantastic job with both his text and photography, providing the ideal balance between beauty and practicality, creating a lovely, readable book that also serves as a great gardening reference.

The American Woodland Garden: Capturing the Spirit of the Deciduous Forest. Rick Darke

This is one of the most powerful books about our natural world that I have read in a long time. When I picked it up I expected nothing more that a pleasant read and some attractive photographs. This book contains far more. The author manages to combine science-based knowledge of forest ecology with the eye of the artist and the insight of a philosopher. I haven't enjoyed a tree or garden book in years and I don't even live on that side of the continent.

More than half the population of the U.S. lives on land that used to be one vast deciduous forest. Only a patchwork of remnants remains. Rick Darke, author of "The American Woodland Garden" has attempted the difficult task of writing and photographing a portrait of this forest and offering a guide for those who consider creating a woodland garden both for beauty and for their conservation value.

The photographs alone make this book a worthwhile purchase, especially those of the photographic study of one stretch of Red Clay Creek in Pennsylvania. The author portrays, in photographs and notes, the natural patterns and processes of this tiny section of creek that he passed daily on his way to work. He writes "What began as a simple exercise in observation has proved to be one of the most essential elements in my education as a gardener." The resulting series of photographs is both simple and profound. Most of us know little stream beds like this; often we pass them routinely in our day-to-day commuting. We seldom pause to record the details - a flower is in bloom, a branch has fallen, the way one tree's foliage complements another. But for the author there were complex lessons to be learned, not least of which was the inevitability of change in the forest. Not only seasonal changes, but the effects of high winds, heavy rain and, of course, the hand of man.

Make sure to read the preface to understand the author's frame of reference (I often skip it, thinking 'same old, same old') but this one conveys you comfortably into the realm of the forest and into the author's world view. His first chapter "A Forest Aesthetic - The Eye of the Artist" shows you the colour cycles and architecture of the forest, while the second chapter is the aforementioned study of the woodland stream. The third and fourth chapters relate the spirit of the forest to the spirit of a woodland garden. The final, and longest, chapter details the plants of the woodland.

For the gardener or designer the lesson, beyond a deeper understanding of the woodland itself, is not to copy the forest but to reflect it, to make the most of colours, patterns and processes and to celebrate the spirit of the forest and bring it closer.

It would demean this book to call it a coffee table book, although the large format and superb illustrations would earn it a place on any coffee table. But by all means put it on your coffee table, because you will want it handy to pick up again and again as you keep returning to take this spiritual journey again and again with the author.

This is such a wonderful informational book... AND ... a gorgeous coffee table book. It is terrific from beginning to end! If you like or are interested in, or even thinking about Ornamental Grasses ... then THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU! I can't imagine anyone who has an interest in Ornamental Grasses NOT LOVING THIS BOOK, and would be delighted they purchased it. My only concern is that it is going to look dog-earred from my reading it over and over and over again ... which frankly takes away from its beauty on our coffee table.

This book is structured, written, photographed and edited with parallel purpose and effect: communication of the author's respect and regard for the book's subject and for its readers. Mr. Darke sets out to inform and does so with enconomy but in full course; when he instructs, he teaches the novice and gives pause to the critic; when he photographs he shows his passion and inspires with the nature and wonder of his subjects. The book is encyclopedic, yet its prose is always to the point with the agreeable dryness of a good, well-bodied wine. Credible, trustworthy, enlightening. This is the best gardening book I have ever read. Negatives? Only one: Mr. Darke's standards are unimpeachable; those of the book's typographer and designer, however, are not.

Excellent and complete information about ornamental grasses. A great book.

Thirty pages on the botany, anatomy, and classification of grasses. Twenty pages on native habitat, thirty pages on designing with grasses, and twenty pages of growing and propagating grasses. 170 page encyclopedia listing 400+ species / varieties of grasses. Each species is described in a paragraph or two of text along side a clear photograph of the plant. In the back of the book, you find a 2 page glossary, 5 page bibliography, 2 page grass nursery listing, USDA and European hardiness maps, and a complete index of all grasses by common name. Very complete book.

As a bonus, the book is also filled with awesome photography.

If you garden with ornamental grasses, this book is a must buy. Excellent information, well worth the money!

It had begun because of cigarettes. John Davis had gone to a hypnotherapist and that had been that. He had not looked back
since that day, and, he hadn't smoked, either. The simple and natural power of one human mind over another had been
amazing. Once he learned how to do it, he had amazed himself.

He had also amazed her, Nicola, or Nikki, as he called her. She was his young Greek housekeeper when she had arrived
to clean his house on that Saturday morning. She was also a virgin, but he hadn't known that at the time. When he did know
that, he decided to keep her that way for a little while longer.

He wanted to enjoy her sensual virginal state and train her as his willing slave. He wanted to deflower her over time, as
much time as he wanted to take while he figured out how to deflower her twenty-year-old twin sisters, Athena and
Appolonia, as well, and who most probably were also virgins, too. Then he would train them, and in exactly the same way.
But as time and exposure to them all went on he began to change.

He saw his wife of many long years for exactly what she was, nothing more than a thinking woman, seemingly devoid of all
the natural feelings and inclinations a female should have, in his opinion. He began to want more out of life, and, as his time
and exposure to Nikki and her twin sisters increased, he finally took what he wanted, when and where he wanted it, and
exactly how he wanted to.

But what made him want to change his life completely was the fact that they wanted him to take what he wanted, in any
way he wanted to take it from them. They didn't know that at first. He didn't either, at first. But when he did know that, there
was no stopping him in his grand plans for all four of them.

They also didn't know it at the beginning that they never stood a chance against a natural male with a mission. And his
mission, right from the beginning... had been the cherry belonging only to a beautiful Greek virgin.

Comin in on the heels of 'The Confessional' the author manages to maintain his/her style in this newly released erotica work.

Our hero, a married man who had just undergone hypnosis to cure him of smoking decides that this technique should also work in convincing his 18 year old Greek housekeeper, Nikki, that way down deep she wants to be his devoted pleasure slave. The fact that Mr. Davis, also known as sir and master in this book, is a friend of Nikki's mother is not really dwelled upon buy the author except to increase the naughtiness of it all...

The author certianly likes the male father type figure, in a position of authority, using his powers of reaoning to gently, slowly and inexorable breaking down the targeted females' resistance to his prurient interests and passions. ST Drake is a master of these mind games ......

Actually I was only going to give this book four stars when compared to her previous novel since the sex and eroticism seems a little canned .... in my mind certainly not as erotic ..... but... for those readers that love domination type fare it certainly would rate the 5 stars I gave it ...

There is some spanking, of course, but on the whole it's more of a mind game story that is very enjoyable ......

Linden is probably one of the few serious scholars to have taken into consideration the importance of the use of alchemical registers in various central works of late medieval and early modern English literature. Together with an impressive knowledge of the fundamental and less known works of sixteenth century English alchemy, Linden provides his readers with a fisheye view on the idiosyncratic uses authors like Chaucer, Donne, Herbert and others, have made of basic alchemic concepts. The text is important for those scholars and amateurs of the field who still think that alchemy occupies a central position in the "languages", in Pocock's words, spoken in Early Modern England. A work of admirable seriousness and impressive documentation.

I bought this book partly because I know that Turkish food features a lot of meat, and I'll be visiting with my wife who is a vegetarian. Can you believe that a book that is *ALL* about food, does not even mention vegetarianism, nor when they list "handy phrases for restaurants" do they list any phrases that deal with the topic? For that matter, they don't deal with any topic having to deal with food allergies, being on a diet, etc. Essentially this is a book about helping people make smart choices when eating in Turkey, but the only people they want to help are people who will eat anything. I should have saved my money.

I love all of Dom Deloise's books, but this one is my favorite. It is such a sweet story that has a "message". Don't you just love children's stories that have a message. The illustrations in this book are beautiful and captivates my 4 yr old daughter.

This book is marvellous. It tells about a girl's hate turning into a everlasting friendship with a person of a different class. This is all made possible by their beliefs in womens rights. This book contains all the key elements to a good book and teaches people about the struggle for votes for women. Even though it has a little bit of love the main feature of the book is still the frienship between the two girls and what they have to go through for what they believe. I think that this book is brilliant and is very enjoyable as the sequel is as well.

It is amazing how David Burke took the diffrent legends about vampires and gave them a whole new twist. From the fangs to vampires traveling through mirrors to escape without notice. This is a must read book for all vampire lovers.

In the mid-21st century, Earth will no longer be large enough to contain all of humanity. The solution offered by a massive conglomerate called Creshion Industries? To build a second planet to house the people of the world who want a change. But almost from the beginning comes a setback, as the new world, dubbed Creshion Station, may not entirely be stable, nor may many of its inhabitants.

Enter Nicolas Osborne, a good cop on a force so corrupted it may be rotten to the core. When Nic and his partner, Eliot Harben are assigned to their first real case in years, namely, to find and take down the seemingly-superpowered murderers known as the Star Killers, they may have found more action than they necessarily wanted. Armed with only a grim determination for justice, and facing adversity from within their own department, the two detectives are locked in a race against time to stop the monsters known as Bollathang and Cheata.

But along the way, they encounter allies they may not have expected, and find that perhaps, the Star Killers themselves may not be the biggest monsters on the planet after all.

From life-long author Steven R. Darke comes this exciting tale of suspense, intrigue, humor, and love. The Star Killers remains one of his best works to date as the man from St. Louis, Mo, who created the exciting S.Androids trilogy, takes you for a ride unlike any you've ever imagined. On the world of Creshion Station, lost souls come together to find comfort, and to confront what just might be the single greatest evil the human race has ever seen.

I am a published author of erotica in many genres, including religious erotica themes. I have to say that this book is one that I wished I had written myself. Religious erotica is a tired genre to most of us who write, always having to come up with new aproaches that are refreshing and different, but retain the erotic read. This author has done that where I had almost given up on the theme altogether. I am now motivated to top this book, but know I will never equal it in orignality or pure erotism. In reading it, I felt I was there. I thank him. Well done, S T Darke. Well done, indeed.

God, what a book! I couldn't put it down. I never realized the connotations between confession, religion, sex and dominance before. It was a truly erotic read. Well done!

New writer, new work, old theme-sex and religion, but, in all honesty and fairness to this author, I've never quite seen it all put together in one very erotic read as this book has been. This book was very, very enjoyable. Done well. I have a feeling we'll see more of this author's work. I hope so.