This is a good book for both beginner and experienced tile users. The historical information about different types of tiles and their origins is interesting. Many of the decorative ideas were new to me, such as the mosaic bed and door panels. The photographs of tile-working tools and techniques are especially helpful. The patterns from projects shown in the book are included, and are a definite bonus.

This book overflows with colorful, instructive step by step photos that help ANYONE create gorgeous and unique tiles for anywhere in the house or as great gifts. The many ideas range from stenceling your own tiles, making tabletops and planters, to making bedheads. The book also has a helpful history on tiles and a section on templates. I was given this book as a gift and, as an artist, have treasured it as the best gift I've ever received!

Will Rogers said Charlie Russell wasn't "just another" cowboy artist, he wasn't "just another" anything. Though remembered mostly for his paintings, this book proves that Charlie Russell was a keen observer of human nature. This is a sentimental look back at a world that disappeared in Russell's lifetime. The stories will leave you nostalgic for a time you never knew.

This book is one of my top ten favorites. I bought my first copy in 1972 for my father who passed away a year later. I have re-read this book many times with increased pleasure each time. It not only has Charles Russell's drawings and paintings, it has some of the best short stories I have ever read. I've lived in the West pretty much all my life and the characters he portrays ring so true that you know he knew them. He not only knew them, he was able to capture their essence in a few words. I usually don't laugh out loud at what I'm reading, but many of these stories are just plain "laugh out loud" funny. Anyone who enjoys Cowboy Poetry needs to have this in their library. It's not poetry per se, but gives you the same Western flavor in its writing. Most of the stories can be read in 5 minutes or less. I give it a solid 10 out of 5 stars.

My parents, friends and girlfriend could never understand my so called obsession with the Corps..from the stickers on my car, to my reading material and even my apparel. To truely understand a Marine, you must be one. This book, however, does a great job explaining to the non-initiated. The book can sometimes be repetative and the constant references to the "Diety" (cant you just say God?) can be annoying, but, overall this was a motivating and refreshing look at my beloved Corps. It breaks everything down from the history, customs and mentality of the Marines. For the person in your life that just does'nt get it, or for Motivating yourself, this is a darn good read.

Once a Marine Alway's a Marine. I saw that was evident on a 23 day WWll cruise we took in Oct. with Veterans'of the war as we passed every Island in the Pacific and had a memorial service for All who died during that time. It was emotional for everyone every serviceman and vet. We took the trip in honor of my father in law who was wounded in WWll and has since passed. But the honor of a silent husband who stands proud for what he has always believed in didn't have to even wear his hat or t-shirt with an emblem on it. Everyone knew he was a Marine. Now we have a grandson who is gung ho to be a marine and we would be very proud if he follows his dream and becomes a man of strength in his convictions, faithful forever to his country and mankind and lives a clean, well disciplined good life in the Corp. Semper Fi

This book is an excellent guide for new Yorkie owners. It discusses all the practical things you need to know before purchasing a Yorkie, including feeding, grooming, training, and health. It is well-organized and very readable. A new Yorkie owner will probably want to also purchase a longer, more detailed book, but this one is a great starter -- enough info to take good care of your Yorkie, but simple enough to avoid confusion and information overload.

I sell Yorkie pups to people for pets only. I give one of these books to every person that buys a puppy. I have been told over and over how useful and informative it is.

The Joy of Cooking is by now a classic, a Bible of cooking. An encyclopedic tome of procedures, material and recipes. I shall not attempt to cover its many virtues here, but instead I would like to focus on two reasons why you MUST get this book:

LEARNING TO COOK The Joy of Cooking is more than just a recipe book. It's a textbook. As a student, living on my own and having to take my first steps in the kitchen, this book was a life saver -- it taught me how to cook. Other cookbooks are mere collections of recipes: If you follow them carefully, you have a good chance at ending up with something close to what the author intended. But most cookbooks don't teach you anything about preparing food -- they're just recipes -- so you never really understand, for example, how different doughs are made and how they're used for different breads and pastries, or what kinds of fish should be broiled, fried or cooked, etc. The Joy of Cooking teaches you all that, and much more. If you take the time to actually read the descriptions at the start of each chapter, as opposed to just searching for and following a recipe, you will understand how to cook. The importance of this is immense: If you actually understand what your doing, as opposed to simply following directions, you can improvise, invent new recipes, correct any problems/mistakes/errors, etc. You will begin to think like a Chef. I own many cookbooks, but the Joy of Cooking is one of the very few that actually attempts (and does such a wonderful job) teaching you how to cook. You shouldn't miss up on this opportunity. It's very clear, very well-written, and is ideal for those that are taking their first steps in the kitchen.

RARE AND DIFFICULT TO FIND RECIPES While the Joy of Cooking can't contain each and every ethnic food, it is quite encyclopedic nonetheless. Often, I search dosens of cookbooks, surf the internet, ask friends, only to discover that what I'm looking for is already in the Joy of Cooking! I should have consulted it first! Do you realise that the Joy of Cooking will teach you how to make marshmellows, Halwa, Turkish pastry dough (for borekas), candy, and many other not-so-easy-to-find recipes? And all from scratch: Marshmellows are essentially whipped sugar syrup and gelatin. Halva is essentially sugar syrup and raw tehini sauce. Making Turkish pastry dough is an involved process that takes time and precision -- all the steps for which are in the Joy of Cooking. While I have all these recipes in other books as well, I have no other SINGLE book that contains them all. The Joy of Cooking is encyclopedic and diverse, its scope as far as procedures or ethnic foods are concerned is enormous. This should be your first cookbook, and unless you're looking for some really exotic procedures and recipes, it could very well be your only cookbook.

I have a number of cookbooks, and the old Joy (not to be confused with the dismayingly lower fat New Joy) remains among the first five on the shelf. Whatever I need to know how to cook, Joy will tell me (though I really don't think I will ever have to singe and pluck my own fowl).

What I have found over the years is that this is THE book for interesting men in cooking truly well. The CHEMISTRY of the cooking is so well explained. This tends to be of interest to men, and, in fact, is interesting to me, as well. Once the chemistry of what one is trying to do is understood, the knowledge transfers to one's own cooking innovations.

If I could have only one cookbook, this would have to be it, though I'd miss a couple of others. My other staple cookbooks are Laurel's Kitchen (for vegetarian fare), the old, old, Good Housekeeping cookbook (not the illustrated one), and McCall's, which is what I would recommend for those setting up new households (and for Lindy's NY Cheesecake, which is still the best I've ever made OR tasted).

Thank goodness they didn't drop this classic from the market when they brought out their so-called "New Joy of Cooking".

This is the book. This is the one book that ought to be in every kitchen. And, despite readers' comments on the quality of the spiral-bound edition, if you can't afford the hardcover, *buy* the spiral-bound and upgrade to the HC when you can.

You must have this book in your kitchen. ((After this one, get "The Pirate's Pantry", a Lake Charles, Louisiana Junior League cookbook))

Not only does this book tell you how to *cook* things, it has sections that tell you *why* you cook certain things in a certain way and certain things differently.

It covers the most elementary of basics in clear and concise language, and goes on from there to more complex and difficult cooking. And, unlike many, it covers aspects of cooking that you may never need -- but then again, someday you may - things like cooking wild game and other non-everyday occurences.

Best cookbook inna whole flippin' world.

Buy it.

I liked the book that I read because it was fun interesting and very detailed. The book talks about a boy named Joel and his best friends name is Tony.Tony is the type of friend that can talk his friends into anything. But usually Joel does not lisen to him but this time he does and that was bad choose for him to make.Because during a bicycle trip to the park, Joel's best friend Tony dares him to a swimming race in to the dangerous Vermillion River which Tony dosen't exsiccate win.So Joel does not want his friend to think that he is a whimp so he goes in but when he reaches the sandbar he looks back and his best friend had vanished. ... I would rate this book 4 stars because it was an existing book to read. It had a really good conclusion to the story. I would recommend this book to people because if you like books that are really existing and fun you should really read this book.It is an awsome book to read it made me think what if that happened to me what would I do to propare so that wont happen to me.

When two best friends, Joel and Tony, go on a long bike ride, something terrible happens: Tony wants to take a swim in a river that crosses on their way. Joel knows better, but gives in to Tony who called him "chicken". Rather than leave it at a quick swim, Joel turns the tables and now dares Tony to swim out farther. Suddenly Tony disappears. Soon it becomes evident that Tony has drowned. Back home it takes Joel awhile to accept what happened and he finally tells the truth about "the incident". -- This is the story of a friendship that ends in death because of foolish behavior found in many children today. Somehow young people have an incouragable feeling of being invincible, that nothing could ever happen to them. Some teenagers may be reckless drivers, other abuse drugs or alcohol, all without any regard for consequences. This book is a wake up call for all kids who read it. It appeals to everyone's common sense to THINK before you act!

On My Honor is written by Marion Dane Bauer. It is about a boy named Joel and his best friend Tony. On day Tony decides to go to the state park to climb the bluffs! Joel doesn't want to go but goes anyway because he knows Tony will call him a baby if
he doesn't.On their way there,Tony changes his mind and decides to go swimming in the Vermillion River.As they were swimming, Tony and Joel get into a fight.Tony, being mad at Joel starts to walk back to shore to get his bike to finish the trip to the state park to climb the bluffs.Joel, not wanting Tony to go to the state park by him self,dares Tony to race to a sand bar about 20 feet from wear they were.Find out what happens next by reading this book.I thought it was an exalent book.If you like books that are susensful,On My Honor is the book for you.It is best for ages 9 through 12.

This is a really funny book.

It's not a classic but definately a fun and worthwhile read. Buckley's send up of the American proclivities of spirituality, self-help gurus, materialism, etc. still amuses me almost a year after I first read this book.... how much more people who fell into these traps would realize if they instead of reading Deepak Chopra and his kinsmen would only read this!!!

This is the story of a stockbroker who, tired of life, went to find seclusion in a monestary... only to find that the monestary was broke and that its product.... horribly made wine (which was why he went there...) was in dire straits... but eventually finds salvation....

If you find a copy of this book, definately pick it up and read it. It's a fairly quick book..... though I'm not sure that it'd be worth the cover price to me....

A few years ago Wendy Kaminer wrote a book, I'm Dysfunctional, You're Dysfunctional, that took on self help books and programs. Now Christopher Buckley assigns himself the same task writing a fictional account of a monastery headed by an abbot who is a devotee of Deepak Chopra. It's a fluffy, hilarious, yet incisive probe that makes a lot of self help writers and their readers look silly. Its a slim book, but with about 3 laughs per page you get you're money's worth. Don't read it if you are a fan of Chopra, Robbins or Covey though, as I'm sure it will stunt your spiritual growth, and set you back on your path to make millions of dollars in this lifetime.

I enjoyed this book and on several occassions found myself laughing out loud! The plot was interesting and it was witty! But, what it really made me do is think about every self-help book either I or someone I know has bought and read without any success. Yes, law number seven has truth in it! I would recommend this book to my friends who would like to take a look at how sometimes opportunities stare us right in the face...and yet, we walk around them! Brother Ty's account of the happenings at the monastary made for real page turners, and I finished this book in two days. This book gets a thumbs up from me!

I read MISTS OF AVALON and FOREST HOUSE several years ago, only recently rediscovering my delight in Marion Zimmer Bradley and her treatment of the Arthurian legends. LADY OF AVALON, like PRIESTESS OF AVALON, offers the rich history of the generations between Caillean and Viviane. Because LADY is really 3 stories -- Caillean and Sianna, Dierna and Teleri, Ana and Viviane -- it works more directly to strengthen the mystical connections between the primary characters from generation to generation. The trade-off is that each story is more of a mini-history than an epic read, but it fills in the blanks about the evolution of Avalon and the relationship of the sacred isle with the rulers of Britain before Arthur/MISTS. In each story here, MZB explores the complex relationship between the current Lady of Avalon and her successor-in-waiting, as well as the repetition of the primal drama/love story of the marriage between Avalon and Britain (the Lady and a mortal king). The relationships between the women and their mentors/mothers were actually more complicated and interesting. I enjoyed experiencing all the connections that this volume in the series prompts, and it sent me back happily to check details about the Forest House. With PRIESTESS, which in a subplot offers Eilan's perspective on Teleri's story, this proved a very satisfying return to Avalon.

After reading the _Mists of Avalon_, I considered it totally impossible for any book to even approach that elegance of writing. However, with _Lady of Avalon_ one does find trace elements of that wildly beautiful imagery that Marion Zimmer Bradley so masterfully captured in _Mists_. I would definitely recommend this book as a...stepping-stone, if you will, to greater understanding of MZB's Avalon.

The story itself is fairly straightforward, in three parts: the life and death of Gawen, son of Eilan; the Roman-era Carausius and High Priestess Dierna; and the more familiar Viviane's life as a young adult, from her childhood through the day she became High Priestess.

With Gawen, one finds the continuation of the Sacred Line as was started by the High Priestess of the Forest House at Vernemeton, Eilan. Those who have read _The Forest House_ have already heard the long tale of Eilan's and Gaius Macellius Severus Silucirus' forbidden union which produced Gawen. In _Lady of Avalon_ it is revealed that after his mother's and father's violent deaths, Caillean took Gawen to the Vale of Avalon. There, he grew to manhood,had a child with the daughter of the Queen of Faerie, Sianna, and subsequently was murdered by Romans (a common theme in MZB's Avalon, isn't it?).

After that sad episode the Sacred Line goes through many generations (MZB talk for "time passes") until the era of the Roman Empire in which Carausius and Dierna are the incarnations of the Sacred Line. Because of a twisted love triangle, they end up conceiving a child, after which Carausius is subsequently murdered by Romans.

Many years later, Ana is the High Priestess, the Romans are somewhat of a joke, and her only living daughter, Viviane, is taken to Avalon, where she eventually becomes a priestess and has her short-lived daughter with the son of Vortigern.

In all, this book was passionate and fantastical, while remaining true to MOA. I would definitely recommend it to any Arthurian fan.

Having recently read this amazing book, I wish to share my thoughts with those who have not yet been lucky enough to read it. There are few authours in the same class as MZB, and this book was well worth its pricetag. The book begins by contuning the story of Callean, priestess of the "Forest House". Bradley does well to weave this book in to her cloth of Avalon tales, and it fits snugly into place between the "Forest House" and "The Mists of Avalon". This book comes highly recommended to any fan of her work, and is a fantastic means of escapism. The characters are deeply rooted in Celtic and Roman beliefs and come to life before your eyes on the pages of magically worded text. This trilogy of books is sure to be regarded as some of the best writing of this gendre.

After replacing the lovely/homemaking voice in the text with a rigid/instruction manual feel, after "cleaning up" classic dishes like Maryland fried chicken by replacing butter with less fattening olive oil, and after elminating the invaluable sections on canning and getting maple syrup out of trees, the creaters of NEW JOY present to us yet another casualty of our quickly advancing and impersonal society.

This book is not even a shadow of its original. Please go get a copy of The All-Purpose Joy of Cooking and do not make the mistake of taking this overpolictically correct/sanitized version as the Real McCoy.

I give this book 3 stars only because it thankfully preserves the superb recipes for white bread, french toast, and Christmas Stollen.

I liked the new slant of the Joy of Cooking, and thought I'd have a hard time giving up the old standbys from the 1975 ed. but reviewing the index, I realized that I rarely if ever made most of the dishes that the authors eliminated. I do miss the descriptions of different vegetables fruits, and techniques that I don't typically use on a daily basis, and I think this is a deficit in the latest edition, however, looking at the recipes, they are ones that I will more likely use. Another issue that I have with the new edition is the poor typeset. Ingredients are not clearly identified as in the last ed. where they were in bold type and indented, and most of the pages look run-on. I know that there are many more recipes than in the past, but the format and the index are sorely lacking and you really have to have a good idea of the ingredients or the final product to find the recipe you are looking for. The book is quite run-on and difficult to read, ho=wever, the recipes are widely varied and definitely TODAY

Countless times my husband and I have looked something up in the Joy of Cooking (or the J.O.C. as it is called in our home) that is conspicuously absent from other cookbooks (i.e. questions regarding shelf life of a honeydew, how long to cook a veal shank, proportion of oil to vinegar for a perfect vinaigrette, etc.) DO NOT SKIMP and get the mini-book, the trade paper, or the spiral bound version--hardcover is the only choice for this classic. I will admit that the selection of recipes may not be ideal for people with specific food needs or interests (such as vegetarians), however the amount of information contained in this "cook's bible" is timeless and essential. We may have forgotten who gave us our blender, but we BOTH remember the person who gave us the Joy of Cooking!

"The Forest House" (or "The Forests of Avalon") is a good book, no doubt - but it is not as good as "The Mists Of Avalon", by any means. The book is too long compaired to the content of the story, but it is written very well - if not as good as "The Mists...". The characters are very well described, but not always totally realistic. The force of the book is the historical facts about the Roman occupation, and it gives a new perspective to "The Mists..." because the celtic religion is described. Also, a lot of information about the religious background of the characters in "The Mists..." is given. Should be read if you liked "The Mists...".

I post this again to get it linked to my memberpage.

"The Forest House" (or "The Forests of Avalon") is a good book, no doubt - but it is not as good as "The Mists Of Avalon", by any means. The book is too long compaired to the content of the story, but it is written very well - if not as good as "The Mists...". The characters are very well described, but not always totally realistic. The force of the book is the historical facts about the Roman occupation, and it gives a new perspective to "The Mists..." because the celtic religion is described. Also, a lot of information about the religious background of the characters in "The Mists..." is given. Should be read if you liked "The Mists...". (P.S. I'm sory that my english isn't perfect.)

I read the series backwards, and all three books were equally wonderfull. The Mists of Avalon I actually think is the best one, but the Forest House is the first in the series and is positively beautifull. I wish I would have started out in the right direction. This book practicly glues you to the story in the first chapter and keeps you there till the end. You endur the trials and feel the strength of the characters as if you were really there. Bradley works her magic bringing you into a realistic story that spins you into a world full of magic, action and romance. This is a can't miss book.