I probably have 50 herbal medicine books on my shelf but I have NEVER read a book that was as comprehensive as "Plant Power." I really love this book and refer to it on a regular basis. The author, Laurel Dewey, has obviously put a great deal of time and thought into each chapter. Her hands-on knowledge of medicinal plants is amazing and she is able to breathe new life into a subject that is often dull or too complicated. This is the kind of book I wish all herb writers would write. It's cleverly done, well laid out, easy to follow and simple to understand. I purchased two additional copies for my sister and cousin for Christmas presents. It will be the kind of gift that keeps giving for a long time to come. Well done!!!

This is a great book for both novice and experienced herbalists. Dewey describes 30 herbs in depth, with information about how to recognize the plants, how to grow and gather them (none of those applicable to a current Manhattanite!) and, more to my purpose, how to use them. Her advice is very helpful, often describing ways in which the herbs can be used which can't be easily found in other herb books (and we have many of them!). My only regret is that there are only 30 herbs discussed -- I don't have a great resource for the ones not included!

After years of research, writing and editing, Laurel Dewey, The Humorous Herbalist, has released her second book, Plant Power. This is not a continuation of her first book. This one is 415 pages and in a nutshell, includes three major sections: The Basics covers growing a medicinal herb garden, including what to grow, how to grow and in which soils, harvesting, dying and seed collecting of herbs. The Ethics chapter discusses the art of "valid crafting", an old term for an herbalist or nature lover who walks the fields in search of wild plants. She discusses the character and life of the herbs, as well as the ethics involved in gathering, offering readers much food for thought on how to behave in the wild. In the Herbs section, Dewey covers in-depth 30 useful medicinal herbs from alfalfa to yellow dock, including their character, where they can be found, and how to grow, harvest and use them. In her introdcution, Dewey writes, "There seemed to be a desire by many practitioners in alternative medicine to create an aura of mystery when discussing the use of herbs." In this book, Dewey makes great strides in breaking down those barriers. Excerpted from a review in The Glenwood Post, Colorado, 7/9/1999

If you came to this page and are checking out the above title because you are interested in Marxism and/or other "isms" as tools for fundamental social change, to turn around and defeat the injustice and brutalities brought upon working people and farmers here and around the world by this system, this book can help you a lot, as can any other book by George Novack. Here he is answering the "official philosophy" of Yankee capitalism: pragmatism, as put forward by the liberal philosopher John Dewey. While Dewey was often an opponent of the evil things this system does, Novack points out the dead end of a philosophy that is primarily concerned with "practical results"-in the short term only. Novack defends the long view of history that is the view of Marxism: history-as-present as well as the past. He defends historical materialism, which means that Marxists do not believe that history (and history-as-present) is made by a deity or deities; and that social phenomena are directly or indirectly determined by society's economic condition. Novack teaches you how to look at society and events like the New World Depression we have and entered and the string of imperial wars that go with it, in a scientific, objective way. He does this for the sole purpose of making the scientific world view first propagated by Karl Marx and his collaborator Frederick Engels useful as a weapon for today's fighter for a fundamental change in the order of things. He stands alongside them to repeat that "the philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it."

This book is one of several written by the revolutionary Marxist George Novack. In it he counterposes Marxism to pragmatism, but not as one philosophy against another. Marxism is not a philosophy at all; instead it is a scientific method for understanding social history and change. As such it explains the origin, development and social significance of all forms of ideology, including specific philosophical schools of thought.

The overall course of cultural development, since the emergence of the ancient slave-based civilizations, has been driven by the motor of class conflict. Throughout history, each class can be characterized by its own distinctive features of social psychology, morality and outlook, although they are modified in different social contexts. The dominant class of modern society, the capitalist class, is no different. It has its own fundamental moral and social outlook, which is best revealed in the philosophy of pragmatism.

The philosophy of pragmatism was best explained by John Dewey, an early twentieth-century thinker who developed keen insights into the outlook of the ruling class of the United States. He pinpointed and formalized the essential elements of the outlook of the average capitalist and developed these into the principles of a philosophy he called pragmatism. These include an individualistic and optimistic approach to life, a practical, "can do" attitude, a disregard of history and its lessons ("History is bunk," said Henry Ford) and a disdain for any "theory" that does not produce practical results in short order.

Marxism, with its deep concern for the facts of history and its rigorous analysis of the inner logic of social development and change, can explain the development of classes and social modes of production. As part of this, George Novack demonstrates, Marxism can also explain how the guiding ideas of a class are linked to its historical role and needs. And this helps workers to understand the class with which they are forced to do battle, and provides them with valuable lessons they can use in winning the battle.

George Novack, the most outstanding Marxist Philosopher of the 20th Century after we lost Trotsky and Lenin, saw it as his special task to critique the Empiricism and Pragmatism that dominated American culture in his time. He felt a special duty to examine and critique John Dewey, who Novack met and respected and worked with in civil liberties struggles, especially in the defense of Leon Trotsky against Stalin's slanders.
If he began this work in his small book the Origins of Empiricism, he felt this work was completed with this work. He could have published a simpler critique of Dewey much earlier, but his goal was to get to the roots of American Pragmatism and expose its strengths and weaknesses, and to indicate the answers dialectical thought in general, and Marxism in particular had for it.
When the smoke clears, when the struggles of working people push away the confusion that the Stalinoid Moscow and Peking hacks have anything to do with Marxist Philosophy, or that petit bourgeois opponents of Marxism who masquerade as Marxist from university chairs can help fighting working people, farmers, youth, and real revolutionary intellectuals, this book by a life-long revolutionary fighter will be known as one of the classics of Marxist Philosophy.

David Dewey's text on watercolor is not just another vanity book showcasing one artist's personal work, but a thorough in-depth introduction to both visualizing & handling a most difficult medium. Nor does it pretend to be an easy does it 1-2-3 & your painting watercolors type of book. Rather it is layered & dense with information that could easily keep you preoccupied for a year or more worth of instruction. Start with the monochromatic exercises in the beginning of the book & follow them religiously till you know them blindfolded. Do the same with the invaluable content on color theory & the related exercises. The lessons provided will reward you with a mastery of the medium & help you to find your own voice in watercolor. This book is not another feeble attempt at learning to carbon copy of someone else's technique. The many examples of various watercolor artist's work & their analysis is excellent as well.

This is a model of concise instruction, wise advice, deceptively simple exercises, and compact design. Like they say on TV: if you buy just one watercolor book, make it this one.

Dewey gives equal emphasis to materials, theory, technique, the principles of design, and simple practice. He sees the whole art. He begins with an overview of paint manufacturers, brushes, papers and other supplies, and closes with an invitation to try mixed media and a step-by-step explanation of how to do a large studio painting. There are penetrating discussions of color theory and mixing paints, on selecting the palette for each painting, and on building a painting from value sketches.

The technical advice in this book is exceptionally accurate and easy to understand. The four pages explaining how to paint washes avoid the errors or omissions common in most other books. All topics are illustrated with pictures that add information rather than decorate the page. Dewey includes several traditional techniques that other methods don't mention: pen and ink wash drawings, value design sketches, using a sketchbook, monochrome paintings, color chords for color design, the "color" of gray, and much more. The book is so compactly organized that many gems of advice are tucked in the picture captions; the book can be studied repeatedly and still teach something new.

Dewey has painted the student lessons and technical examples displayed throughout the book. The more advanced lessons build on simple but beautifully designed demonstration paintings (my favorite is the still life on a patterned rug). Everything comes together in a harmonious vision of watercolor art, a reference and inspiration for many hours of happy experimentation and learning.

An outstanding book for the watercolor enthusiast. Dewey's chapters cover materials, subject matter and technique that even the advanced watercolorist can learn from. The book is a handy item to help both the practicing artist and teacher. Not so much a step by step study, but rather information that can be applied to the artists individual style and subject matter.

A delightful and rollicking ABC, this picture-book will be appreciated by anyone who loves good food, celebration, Thanksgiving --- and maybe most of all, anyone who does all these things and is ALSO a vegetarian. Not that there's a vegetarian agenda --- the book is not at all evangelical --- but it happens that at this Thanksgiving feast, Turkey is a guest, not an entree, Trucking in Turnips (just as Bear Brought Banana Bread, Biscuits & Butter and Cat Carried Cherry Compote and Cranberry Cobbler). We read ALLIGATOR aloud before every Thanksgiving at our home, and it makes all of us, of all ages, giggle, cheer, and happily dig in. A true celebration of a book, and delicious.

As a kindergarten teacher I am always on the lookout for alphabet books that portray letters and sounds in a different way than I read just the day before, while keeping to the same concepts. We really enjoyed the illustrations here. Several of my students noticed that this illustrator drew the ducks in the book we used on our first day of school because the pictures are simple, clear, and not too ornate. We enjoyed this work, and heartily recommend you stop by to have lunch or dinner with these folks while learning the a, b, c's.

And, as one of the photographers who did "Watchable Birds of the Great Basin" (also available through Amazon), I should know. Much of my knowledge about the distribution and physiology of Great Basin birds, and of the history of ornithological discovery in the region, comes from this book.

I was a fan years before I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Dewey, high atop the Goshute range on the Utah/Nevada border while volunteering for a raptor banding/migratory count project. In fact, she was largely responsible for encouraging me to pursue publishing my own writing and photography.

So - full circle. This book has given me much over the years, my ace-in-the-hole when answering questions from Elderhostel participants in birding classes taught in the SE Oregon portion of the Basin, and at other times in the field.

So it gives me pleasure to give something back, by recommending this book to those who are interested in the bird life of this region.

And the rest of this series is good, too...

Part of an outstanding natural history of the Great Basin series published by UNR. All are very good guides for the interested observer, but Ryser's book is the best in the series. It is written with an emphasis on behavior and adaptations to the stresses of living in the arid Basin. Too heavy for the field, and the detailed text does not lend itself to quick searches.

I LOVE this book! This book is talking about Laura Bridgman.Laura is blind,deaf,mute and she can't smell or taste.Laura had a illness called Scarlet Fever.She had this illness when she was two years old! Her brother and sisters had this illness also.But only she lived out of all the children in her family! I felt sorry for Laura Bridgman when I read this book.This is a really sad story.

I read this book with my daughter. I did not know of Laura Bridgman before reading this book. It was a fascinating book. Her neighbor that was very close to her helped her in many ways before she even went to the Perkins Institute. It is wonderful that she was able to learn so much. It makes you realize how much we take for granted.

Scott McCullar is perhaps the Gary Larson of library humor. What Larson did to dinosaurs and cows, McCullar has done to the overlooked world of libraries. Funny, inventive cartoons abound in this book. His clear, straightforward art helps showcase his inventive comedy writing. If you've ever worked in, or even checked out a book from, a library, you'll appreciate his demented, wry outlook.

These cartoons are hilarious and no library should be without a copy!

I live and work in North Vancouver and have personally met and interacted with Dr. John Matsen.

I have seen with my own eyes what his system of healing can do in a remarkably short period of time. Amazing!

He is an advocate of healing from within. I truly beleive the body has an unlimited ability to heal itself if it is only given the chance.

Dr. Matsen has also a great 'spiritual energy field' around him that is palpable.

Wherever you are. Put down what you are doing now and study this book then GIVE THE GOOD DOCTOR A CALL ~ I GUARANTEE YOU THIS WILL BE A LIFE CHANGING EVENT!!

John Matsen is a naturopath practicing in British Columbia. His book is a wealth of information on approaches to natural healing. I have not only left behind my insommnia, excess weight and arthritis, but I have a calm energy that is amazing. You won't be disappointed.

I work in a library and when i was looking for a book to read i chose this one cause i had never seen the movie. After reading a few pages i was hooked. From beginning to end you get sucked into the world of John Hobbes who is trying to find a killer that could be anyone on the street and who can change from person to person just by contact. After finishing it i only have one thing to say: where's the SEQUEL!?!?!?!?!?!?!

In the situation of a film being based on a book, it is usually the book which is better. But who would have thought that a book based on a film could be so good? That is probably the biggest surprise about this book, unlike what I expected, it seemed to capture everything the film produced. The atmosphere, the background setting, and the description were all so detailed and the impression one receives from this work is one of extreme hard concentration in order to satisfy the reader to the max. It's any wonder the writer made the publishing deadline with such stunning quality. Fallen is a tale following righteous cop, John Hobbes as he investigates a series of brutal murders. Which, at first, sounds a bit dull to base a story on, and appears to offer no more than most other thrillers. But the original twist to this story is one that pleases fans who were expecting it and surprises readers who didn't see it coming. I can say no more without revealing the plot, but anyone who has seen the film should definitely read the book. As well as explaining any questions or parts of the plot that fans of the film couldn't understand, it also offers a lot more background, a splendidly vivid descriptive narration, and a guaranteed remarkable read. However, the violence scenes and language are more harsh/graphic over suggestive as in the film, and under-agers should stay away. Aside from that, pick this up whether you've heard of this or not, because you will almost definitley be surprised.

I had never heard of John Dewey until I took a philosophy class. When I first received the book, I read through it relatively fast. Much of the material went over my head. However, on the second reading it was as if the pages were illuminated. In this book, Mr. Dewey gives his opinion on how we humans learn. It takes every day simple actions, breakes them up into their smallest unit and discusses why we did it that way.

What have I gained from this book? Everytime I do something, I attempt to break it down into its simples being, and determining how this breakdown fosters greater intelligence within myself.

As a text book or a book one wants to learn something from, I give it five stars. For just general reading it will garner 1/2 of a star.

It is very good to see this book appearing in new editions. This is a classic book about thinking. Dewey studies thought from the psychological and philosophical points of view and derives practical ideas for education.

Reading this book, I was surprised to see the applicability of its contents to my main activity field, which is business management. Today's main effort in business research is toward innovation and learning. Thus, thinking skill is probably the most important resource of any organization.

Dewey's view of thinking is surprisingly consistent and as fresh as any of the new management theories. Just to mention one aspect, he warns about the confusion of mental analysis (looking for the general aspects of an object) with physical analysis (dissection into parts), which leads to study living objects as if they were dead. This is the essence of systems thinking, which is so fashionable today!

The ideas Dewey presents about education are very useful for today's business environment. Business leaders, consultants and scholars should look carefully at his advices! His study of work and play is a great lesson of wisdom.

I would strongly recommend this book to anyone seriosly aiming at world class business performance.