I'm a reader mainly of fiction, often finding contemporary poetry esoteric and confessional. Beth Ann Fennelly seems to have made up her mind to change that. The poems in this chapbook are absolutely lovely and lyrical, smart and funny, surprising and rich. In a broad range of forms (dramatic monologues, sonnets, sestinas, etc), Ms. Fennelly explores a wide scope of subject matter, from love (a great poem about a boyfriend/husband/lover who catches snakes "like you'd pinch lightning in mid-air" and lets them go; the poem's narrator feels the same gentleness from the lover, saying that she, the narrator, is free to go, too) to history (read the absolutely stunning "Madame L. Describes the Seige of Paris" where, when Paris was surrounded by Prussians, the starving Parisians storm the zoo and eat the animals: it's an amazing--and long!--poem, narrative in structure and full of strange detail) to art (several great examples here). I can't say enough about this book or this poet. I've seen other poems of hers in lit journals and I anticipate her first full-length book. Beth Ann Fennelly may have just re-converted me to poetry. And I thank her.

This book consists of a selection of papers on wavelet themes. It came out at the same time of the CBMS lecture series of Daubechies, the one that turned into her book, 'Ten Lectures on Wavelets', which was issued in the SIAM series. The present book is a collective effort, and it is a volume in a very distinguished AMS book series. The subject of wavelts is special in the way it draws on a variety of areas within math, but even more unique in its versatility and its sucessful applications. Two general applied areas are signal processing and image compression. The mathematics behind this is timeless, and is highlighted in the book: Individual chapters by Y. Meyer, by Coifmann and Wickerhauser, and Wickerhauser(wavelet packets), D. Donoho(signals, densities and spectra from indirect and noisy data), and others make the book a landmark in the subject. It actually serves as an invitation to these exciting and related subareas of math.

Digging Up Texas: A Guide To The Archaeology Of The State by archaeologist Robert Marcom is a solid and thoroughly "reader friendly" archaeology guide to over 15,000 years of history, researched and discovered in the archaeological endowed state of Texas. Ranging from the remains of ancient proto-historical Native American cultures, to the contemporary and diverse resources available for avocational archaeology, Digging Up Texas is an exciting and practical resource for archaeology buffs of all experience levels, from the amateur enthusiast to the trained professional.

This book is extremely informative, both for the beginning gardener as well as the more experienced. Contains basic planting techniques, how to begin gardening the organic way, (not as daunting or expensive as you might think!) and maintaining your new masterpiece. Disease and pest control, (MANY bugs are beneficial!!) building healthy soil, (which in turns builds healthy plants,) soil and water management, etc. Written in clear, easy-to-understand language, this is the first book I would recommend to anyone with an interest in gardening, or someone looking for a better, safer way to care for their corner of the planet. If you have children or pets, and a yard, this book is for you! If you enjoy spending time outside relishing your greenspace, this book is for you!

An excellent discography that fills a gap in music research. These bands represent the ground between country music and swing and are direct forerunners of rock and roll. While most hot string bands are here, it would have been nice to see Leo Soileau's various groups and the Alley Boys of Abbeville included. But maybe that indicates just how rich this field is. Great job.

Contains information I was not able to find anywhere else. In my opinion, Sylvia did a very thorough research on this subject. I found the information to be very complete. The only exception is one grocery store in Georgetown that offers senior discounts of 5% on Wednesdays. This was offset by at least 12-15 discounts that were new to me. The book is very well organized. It provides listings by type of discount and location (city or town). It exceeded my expectation!

How can we Austin folkses pay 45 clams for a book if we're all "slackers?"

Doak Walker is more than my hero for making this book possible. One of football's purist players, it is refreshing to hear his story. Buy the book and you will be enlightened as well by SMU's true hero.

This publication was very helpful in planning our family vacation, and saved us a lot of hassle and money. I highly recommend it to anyone traveling with their pets!

Fans of the blues will thoroughly enjoy this outstanding book by Roger Wood and James Fraher, who spent seven years researching and interviewing folks involved with the largely "invisible" blues music scene in Houston and the surrounding area. Fraher's photographs are outstanding, and they help drive the lively text. The authors interviewed musicians, club owners, producers and many others associated with the music scene in Houston's Third Ward and the Fifth Ward. The book moves easily from clubs to ballrooms to barbecue joints, where the music first took root and is still played today. Many legendary blues musicians such as Lightnin' Hopkins, Clifton Chenier, Gatemouth Brown and others of similar rank make appearances in the text. This is a high-quality book from a production standpoint and is an incredible bargain at full price or the Amazon.com sale price.