THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST BOOK I EVER READ. I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF WORKING WITH VITOU AND I HAD THE FIRST HAND ACCOUNT OF HIS STORY. HE NEVER STOP TO AMAZE ME FOR THEIR WELL TO SURVIVE.THIS STORY SHOW THE TERMENDOUS COURAGE AND STRONG WELL TO SURVIVE AMONG MONSTERS WHO HAVE NO REGARDS TO FELLOW HUMANS, YOU HAVE TO WORK HARD AND RISK YOUR LIFE EVEN FOR THE BASIC NECESITY OF LIFE JUST TO SURVIVE. THIS IS AN EPIC OF FORGOTTEN HOLOCUST AND THE STORY OF A CAMBODIAN FAMILY GOING THROUGH HELL AN BACK. A SUCCESS STORY OF A FAMILY MOVING TO A COUNTRY WITH A DIFFERNT CULTURE AND LANGAUGE AND MAKING SOMETHING OF THEMSELVES. I AM PROUD TO BE A FRIEND OF VITOU AND I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF KNOWING HIM. EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK, IT WOULD MAKE YOU APPRECIATE MORE OF WHAT YOU HAVE IN LIFE.

"To Destroy You Is No Loss is an extrodinary book; it should be read by those who wish to understand this or any genocide, by those who would like to better know the Cambodians among us, and by those who are concerned about the still unresolved tradegey of the world's refugees. Criddle's book is far more than a history of annihilation. Like the finest examples of Holocaust literature, it is an affirmation of teh human spirit, of the will to prevail. It is the proof of the possibility of endurance of the human dignity in the face of incredible brutality. This book is in fact a deeply disturbing real-life story.

Joan Criddle has woven a gripping account of the personal experience of one young woman, Teeda Butt Mam, and her family under the oppression of the Khymer Rouge. Although I knew a little about Cambodia's killing fields, this book reveals in considerable detail the brutality and horror of Pol Pot's regime. Yet, it's an inspiring tale of survival, courage, and family loyalty under the most extreme conditions of deprivation, fear and suffering. I couldn't help but wonder if I would have had the strength, ingenuity and willpower to survive such horror. The book also includes many interesting details about traditional Cambodian life and culture.
I highly recommend this book. It's an amazing story!

To be honest, I didn't purchase this book to learn how to sculpt animals. I had to have it because of the wonderful techniques presented for sculpting ANY figures. While reading the book, I kept finding myself thinking, "So that's how they do it..."

The only thing that bothers me about this book is that the animals are sculpted in solid colored clays and then painted to achieve their realistic looks. I would much rather sculpt using different colors of clay on the surface instead of paint.

Overall, this is an exciting book to have in my collection. The deer and the frog are among my favorite projects. In addition, Dewey gives very easy instructions (and photos!) on making armatures and piecing together a complex sculpture.

I read somewhere that Katherine is coming out with a book on making fantasy figures... I can't wait for that one!

This is a book for all people who are afraid to start sculpting animals. This teaches it all, and so easily you would think that sculpting is easy. Many really good projects, very good basic instructions about polymer clay, and some really nifty tools to make. A definate must have if you want to learn sculpting.

Well, now that the "Sculpey" craze of a few years back has settled down, artists can settle down, too, & enjoy the many fine books that continue to be published by North Light, Sterling & other companies. Sculptor Katherine Dewey, who has been making, teaching & exhibiting polymer sculpture for years, put her talent & experience into "Creating Life-like Animals in Polymer Clay." So if you're ready to expand your creative field or advance your technique, you're studying with a master in this book. Katherine guides you through all the steps with strong advice that will stay with you, not shortcuts that take out the "art" & leave only the "craft." You'll learn to make ceramic animal pieces that you'll really be pleased to keep, sell, or give as gifts. The greatest rewards from this medium happen when the artist studies it earnestly...Some other fine polymer art books include:

Making Miniature Dolls With Polymer Clay : How to Create and Dress Period Dolls in 1/12 Scale by Sue Heaser

The Polymer Clay Techniques Book by Sue Heaser

How to Make Clay Characters by Maureen Carlson

Family and Friends in Polymer Clay by Maureen Carlson

I bought this book mostly for the stories and illustrations, but was surprised by how good the recipes are! Almost every recipe I've tried from this book has been a great success and added to my permanent recipe file, and I am fairly confident whenever I try something new from this cookbook that it will turn out well. Some of my new regular favorite meals include the Risotto with Asparagus and Pine Nuts, the Porcini Omelet with Feta and Sage and the Whole-Wheat Vegetarian Pie. There are some old standbys included in this cookbook, but for the most part, the recipes are delicious and different without being bizarre or difficult. If you're looking for some delicious new recipes, or even if you are just a fan of the movie Babe, consider getting this book. Even if you never cook out of it, you'll enjoy the "cozy" feeling of the stories and photos. Now that this book has been remaindered, it's really a great buy, too.

I will try to avoid the obvious references to food and pigs. *grin* That aside, this is a wonderful cookbook! I bought it as a fan of the movie, and was delightfully surprised at how good a book it is. Contains breakfasts, soups, salads, vegetables, suppers, pickles & relishes, and deserts. The warm linguini with fresh tomato, balsalmic vinegar, and parmigiano-reggiano is quite good, as are the pecan sugar cookies. Although these recipes are not vegan, they are most definately vegetarian, and tasty!

the recipes in this book are so unusal that you are dying to try them just to see what they taste like... yet they are not unusually difficult. I was pleasantly surprised at this book... you'll never miss the meat.

John Dewey's thesis regarding experience and learning in a democracy can be stated with some measure of accuracy with a few simple statements. However, these statements based upon layers of theoretical and philosophical writings by Dewey are a surreptitious higher exercise that tests the reader's aptitude to discern seemingly indistinguishable yet distinct concepts into a cohesive statement on the complementary nature of experience and education.
John Dewey's thesis primarily comes out of his experience with progressive schools. Progressive education is based on the idea of freedom whereas traditional education is autocratic in nature. Having analyzed both traditional and progressive education Dewey found that neither was satisfactory and thus both were inadequate in this endeavor. Dewey's main contention and cornerstone of belief is that without experience infused into education there can be no education. America is a nation based upon democracy where supreme power is vested in the people collectively and administered by them. There is no autocracy in America or room for it. America is a land of freedom and free thought. Dewey foresaw an America that will bring in all sources of experience that will offer a true learning situation both historically and socially and that will be both ordered or structured and yet be dynamic. The democracy of America provides all the elements for John Dewey's thesis to come to fruition.
Dewey saw a necessity of introducing an order of new concepts (progressivism) leading to new practices. However Dewey observed it difficult to develop a new philosophy of education because the moment traditions are departed from it makes the management of education all the more difficult and challenging. Dewey observed that because of this there would be a return to the old ways, the simpler ways - the fundamental or traditional ways. Dewey observed that mankind's thinking is traditionally set in terms of extreme opposites. Dewey found that this same thinking applied to educational philosophies as well. In theory educational systems are steadfast in their thinking and deployment but in reality their practices are compelled to compromise. Education is formulated from outside forces but undergoes development from internal forces. However, these internal forces work within the framework of standards and traditional rules that initially instituted the educational system, thus all following actions aimed to an educational end are held to a moral benchmark.
Educational philosophy, which professes to be based on the idea of freedom (progressivism), may become dogmatic as the traditional education it reacted against. Alone a progressive educational theory may become rigid, unmoving and dictatorial as the traditional theory and practice is perceived. Dewey found that tradition does not permit freedom. Tradition limited freedom and did not promote intellectual and moral development of the student. From a sociological point of view we prefer democratic and humane arrangements to those that are autocratic and harsh. Thus tradition can further be characterized by harshness, harshness imposed upon the learner. Dewey found that progressivism permits freedom, the freedom of the learner yet, freedom has a purpose and a moral structure characterized by self-control. Freedom gives the ability to control personal impulse and thus provides an environment for the educational process.
Pertaining to subject matter of facts and ideas Dewey found that these are bound up in the past. Variably Dewey found that issues of the present and future are thus not easily dealt with. Dewey's dilemma or philosophical challenge was how to connect achievements of the past with issues of the present and future. In a broad educational sense one must know where one came from in order to tell where one is and where one has the direction to go. Dewey found that progressivism rejects the past as a means to the future. However, tradition is still needed to tackle the needs of progressivism. If the one gives up the ways of the past the same problems stills confronts one in the present and future. Thus tradition can not be ignored. As Alfred Whitehead saw it the only use of knowledge of the past is to equip us for the present. The present contains all that there is. Tradition is a form of experience and can not be ignored.
Experience and education are not synonymous terms. It is very possible for experience to promote erroneous or defective education. Experience must be evaluated for its ability to enhance education. Dewey states that America needs a theory of experience that works and directs the selection and organization of approved educational methods. This theory must ultimately discriminate between experiences that are worthwhile and those that are not. There must be discrimination between education and miseducation. You can get experience in one direction and equally important open up peripheral experiences. Education as growth and maturity should be an ever-present process. Education is the business of continuous improvement. There is growth and satisfaction.
All subject matter is drawn from life's experiences. Take experience, in order to be educative it must lead out into expanding world of subject matter, subject matter of facts of information of ideas. It must be viewed as a continuous process to be successful. Experience is the means and goal of education. Given an idea you then prove it, but that means proving its worth. You prove its worth through experience. This is good for society and beneficial because of the peripheral benefits of experience. The experience is the actual life experience of the learner. There is only one subject matter for education: life. Bring these experiences freely into the classroom to promote education.

Very useful and informative book. Dewey set some of the philosophical standards of education in our country. Like it or not, the information is, like so much of philosophy, opinion based. You might also want to read Norman Thomas Remick's "West Point: Character Leadership Education, A Book Developed From The Readings And Writings Of Thomas Jefferson" for a general and non-opinionated view of education as seen through the eyes of America's and the world's greatest educational philosopher --- Thomas Jefferson.

Dewey is considered "America's only Philosopher" par exellence, but he wrote so much that is hard to get to the core of his philosophy. In any event, whether you want to understand Dewey's philosophical center or simply get a quick, concise overview of progressive, experience-based educational theory, this would be the book to start with. However, you might want to check out _John Dewey: The Later Works, 1938-1939_, edited by Jo A. Boydston. It not only contains "Experience and Education," but also "Freedom and Culture," "Theory of Valuation," and a handful of other essays. Not only does this volume give you more of Dewey, but Boydston puts the works in historical and philosophical context. This book [is available] in both cloth or paperback editions.

I was young when I first heard the story of Herman the Helper. I liked the way the pictures and words made me feel so good inside. Although the book was on loan from the library and had to be returned, my persistent parents looked everywhere for the book and finally located it in California. The book made its way back home with them in NY, and I still have it, 20 years later!

I read this book until it fell apart in Kindergarden and first grade. You will love it. Read it to yourself, to your family, to your children. I hope that it makes as much of an impression on them as it did on me.

Herman the Helper was my favorite book as a little girl, and I was thrilled to find it at Amazon. The illustrations are so colorful and inviting; I used to spend hours with this book. The story is also upbeat and very charming, so if you have kids, or if you still feel like one, you'll love Herman!

John Dewey, as I've heard, was never comfortable with labels. Throughout his career he shifted from and to many rubrics: pragmatism, interactionism, instrumentalism, transactionism, experimentalism. Truth be told, all of these are present in "Reconstruction in Philosophy" and partly because of that, this is probably the best intro to Dewey available.

Dewy has a bone to pick with traditional philosophy. Not only has it lost track with real, as opposed to academic, problems (anyone walking down the street can tell us this) but it never really was that good at depicting real questions and descriptions anyway. Take comcepts like Plato's ideal forms and Kant's a priori. Neither of these are teneble in any realm of experience; rather, they were a misguided quest to explain the permanance and stability of the world.

Dewey's book is an attempt to pull the carpet out from under their feet; science and inquiry using its methods shows us that the world changes and if anything, stability is something that is felt by us - not inherent in the world. Thus a prioris, ideal forms, seperation of the noumenal and phenouminal amongst other current 'problems' in philosophy - all based on the idea of permanant/transitory dichotomy - are not only wearing thin, but are fast showing to be irrelevant. From this, he builds the groundwork of a philosophy in between rationalism and empiricism. Taking from rationalism an admiration and recognition of reason's power to direct action and combining it with empiricims fascination with experience, Dewey creates a philosophy that puts the spotlight not on one or the other, but on both as leading to and taking from eachother.

The first chapter are a philosophical survey of how philosophy went wrong; particularly in Ancient Greek and early Christian philosophy (both having a love affair with absolutes outside of experience). The second chapter focuses on the mistakes when philosophers, like Francis Bacon, widened the chasm between the real and experiential and the ideal and rational.

From here, Dewey proceeds piece by piece to show what was wrong and how to fix it by making clear tht scienctific inquiry (the equal interaction between subject and object) leaves no room for absolutes, forms or a prioris (or at least, not in any pragmatically useful sense). By extension, things like formal rules of logic above experience, non-experimentalism in moral or political theory and psychology that includes the individual without an equal part of the social; all of these become little more than unfounded but continually persisting glorifications.

For the reader interested in Dewey, naturalism, instrumentalism or the implications of pragmatism, this is a great introduction. From here, I suggest Dewey's "The Quest for Certainty" followed by "Experience and Nature", topped off with "Human Nature and Conduct".

Reconstruction in Philosophy presents a program for just that: a radical re-building of western philosophy. Dewey criticizes the current state of affairs as being tied to the past in ways that are no longer relevent to the current world. He traces the creation of various social institutions, then shows how these actions of ancient times, such as creation of ancient philosophical traditions (such as the idea of a split between "higher" and "lower" reality cf. Plato), which although useful in their time, now [slows] intellectual progress. Dewey puts forth the argument that much of modern philosophy (and human thought in general) is concerned with the same problems that the ancients were concerned with, although those problems are no longer relevent. Rather, philosophy should concern itself with current issues of social, economic, or political importance, and ask what can be done to improve them? Dewey's method is concerned with concrete solutions to concrete problems. Rather than over-broad generalizations about "the State" or "Life", we must ask think of answers to problems concerning this individual state, or that individual person. Likewise, he advocates dropping the notion of the Universal having more importance than the Particular; doing so, he claims, leads to intellectual laziness, and a denial that problems exist (extreme optimism). Rather, human intelligence must be focused on particular problems, with an eye towards improving that particular situation.

This often-overlooked book is the perfect antidote to the image of the philosopher as an out-of-touch abstract intellectual,

John Dewey's "Reconstruction of Philosophy" is a work of enormous importance in its analysis of the origins and development of the western philosophical tradition. Dewey takes an instrumentalist approach to the problem of how human experience can give rise to its imaginative reconstruction in memory. It is, Dewey says, in this realm of memory and imagination that ritual, religion, and ultimately, philosophy develop. Further, he relates the classical and medieval world views--still remarkably influential in the modern world--to the structure of classical society. Dewey provides the reader with a challenging exposition of the sources of many weaknesses and flaws in western philosophy and suggests remedies for them.

Some readers may find Dewey's prose awkward and occasionally difficult, but for those interested in a history of philosophy which is more than a chronological recounting of philosophical systems, "Reconstruction" is well worth the effort.

If you were to only have one book on the Great Basin - this should be it. It covers the flora & fauna of this least know section of the lower 48 in a comprehesive, yet not belabored fashion. Plenty of salient details with a minimum - though adequate - smattering of scientific jargon. Even though I have worked for a public land management agency in the "Basin" for over 2 decades, I learned much and enhanced my understanding of things I did know. The photography by Trimble captures the inescapable beauty of the area that is unknown to the typical drive-through-as-fast-as-you-can tourist. There is no finer book - verbiage or photographic - on this largely unpopulated jewell of complex arid ecosystems.

Finally, a book that captures the unique beauty and solitude of the Great Basin. This is the ultimate book for any naturalist who wants to know more about this large and little visited corner of the world.

This book was GREAT! Between the pictures and maps I found an author who shows a great deal of expression, passion and dedication to his work. Using common names for plants and animals except when specific subspecies are mentioned made the book much more readable for a layperson such as myself.

My next trip to the Great Basin in Oregon will be more fulfilling and educational as much of my ignorance about this special area has been dispelled.

To date this is the best money I have spent on a book about the Great Basin.

The French Admiral in paper has been awaited by Alan Lewrie fans since 1990. It is the crucial #2 "missing link" from early in the series of Alan's swashbuckling adventures in the age of fighting sail. Although we know the general events of this long-missing novel about the Royal Navy from references in succeeding books, it comes as a throwback to the exciting rakehell that Lewrie was early in his career. The alleged orphan [] of a scheming English knight, Lewrie has a most modest opinion of himself, although he comes of age as a mariner in the course of this pivotal novel. American readers will be most interested that this novel takes place on the Eastern Seaboard, especially during the crucial siege of Cornwallis' troops at York Town. (From the detailed sailing descriptions in the Chesapeake Bay it's a good bet that Lambdin sails there often.) This story offers a chance for an extended look, from the British point of view, at the vicious enmities and fighting that characterized the American Revolution in the genteel South. It does not, however, offer the least personal glimpse of the French Admiral. That august and triumphant sailor, the shipbound Admiral de Grasse, is instrumental in the series of British blunders and defeats that lose the rebel American colonies to England.

The language is a bit rougher than is the salty talk customary in sea stories by genuine British authors. I wonder if Lambdin chose "Lewrie" as his hero's name because it resembles lurid and lewd, which Alan is, although he's not a scoundrel as well. This is a physically bigger book than the other Lambdin pb's I've read, thanks to the customarily expansive McBooks Press edition (i.e., larger type and better paper than the stubby Fawcett Crest/Ballantine editions).

"The French Admiral" is the second book of a multibook series. I found the others to be very exciting but for the life of me, I can not understand why a book (part of a series published in 1992) has now been taken out of print. It seems to have recieved extremely good reviews. It's a good tale which kept me interesting in the future of its young hero. My only criticisms of Mr. Lambdin's wooks is that he has a tendency to slip out of the vernacular of the period and into modern speech. Also the extensive sexual vinettes become altogether too pornographic (not that I don't like good porn now and then) but for this work I think it detracts.

Dewey Lambdin is unique in the Napoleonic naval genre; an American writing about the Royal Navy at its high water mark. Considering that The French Admiral was set during the American Revolution, Lambdin must have felt some interesting conflicts in writing the story. Lambdin's protagonist Alan Lewrie sees the American Revolution through the darkest moments (from the British perspective) in 1781. In The French Admiral Lambdin does a great job of not gilding the lily either way.

In The King's Coat Lambdin introduced young Alan Lewrie as a classic wastrel and the reader follows his progression to a competent midshipman. The book is an eclectic mix of ribald adventures and gory battle scenes. The French Admiral follows in the same vein with the same sense of anarchy until the Battle of Chesapeake Bay when the story becomes darker. Lewrie et al end up at Yorktown before Washington begins his assault. At Yorktown we get the sense of a bloody guerilla war that is filled with atrocities from both sides and the sense of hopelessness of the British cause.

In Lambdin's notes he mentions that the atrocities committed by Banastre Tarleton were well known and documented and he has assumed that atrocities committed by revolutionaries were prevalent. Actually he didn't need to assume that as such atrocities were documented and led to Loyalists immigrating to Canada. Combine examples of man's inhumanity to man with the futility of a lost cause and the darkness of The French Admiral is understandable. There is also a Kafkaesque element to it, as Admiral DeGrasse of the title never enters the action.

The fall of Yorktown should surely strike parallels for contemporary American readers who would remember the fall of Bataan or Saigon or British readers who would remember Singapore. Unlike Dunkirk very few escaped. Fortunately for the reader Lewrie's adventures don't end there. We know his escapades will continue through several more books. Perhaps this will be the darkest entry of the series.

I purchased the CD because of the good reviews on the book. My seven year old loved the CD and I was surprised to find myself singing along. He's been learning about penguins at school - this is definitely a good way to reinforce what he has learned while having lots of fun in the process.

An adult friend recommended this book to me (also an adult), figuring that I'd enjoy anything containing a poem titled "Regurgitate." She was right, and I found the rest of the book well-written and well-crafted, full of similar humor and the kind of realism-in-viewpoint that is sometimes (too often) lacking in books that feature animals. The illustrations are also excellent. I'm told that children do enjoy this book, but it's also captivated many of my adult friends ... including one woman to whom I presented a copy for her 55th birthday. Quality shines through any good work, and that's definitely true of "Antarctic Antics."

The book was very entertaining for my five year old granddaughter, making her laugh as well as learn about penguins.

The art work was as well done as the writing. I recommend it to anyone who is sly enough to teach through laughter and rhyme.

A must read for anyone who would like to know why he or she is sick and the answers to solving those problems.

I know Dr. Matsen personally and have seen with my own eyes the remarkable good work he has been doing for humanity.

He is an undiscovered jewel! This book is worth its weight in gold!!

I really loved this book. I have read many health books and this one, by far, is the best. When my dad found out he had cancer he called John on the phone and john talked with my dad (free of charge) and helped him through finding something that would work for him.

I learnt alot.

Though this book is modest and is filled with silly cartoons, the information inside is fantastic. A friend recommended it to me years ago when I first got sick with Chonic Fatigue. I wish I had read it then. My husband and I take it with us everywhere, use the recipes and generally use it as a ref. book all the time. We both feel sig. better as a result of the info.