The book's major strength is that it gives specific wording to put into your contract that will try to ensure a healthy house. But some contractors will take one look at these specs and laugh "yeah, right!" Overall, I recommend John Bower's book "The Healthy House" over this one because it covers more topics and gives much more information.

The new edition of "Prescriptions" is the most complete of any book about Healthy Homes/Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. The combination of architect/doctor/building specialist as authors works very well.

The information is thorough and well documented. They can back up what they say. It is very well organized.

As a Home Builder, I find this to be the best resource available on MCS. On the down side, it is a little bit of a dry read.

If you want to stay healthy or have any health challenges, you should read this book. I recommend the book to most all of my patients. It is complete on what are the best products to use in your home to keep from making you ill.If you are building, or remodeling, this book will assist you in making healthier choices. The 3 writers should be congratulated for their extensive resource lists and efforts they put into the life saving information in their book.

More recent scolarship has shown this biography to be a polemic not a biography. See more scholarly work by Gillian Gill especially her comments on page 563 about Milmine's work.

In 1906 Georgine Milmine, a newspaperwoman who had spent years assembling an enormous collection of material about Mary Baker Eddy but doubted her own ability to write on the subject, sold it to McClures Magazine. Interest in Christian Science was at its height at the time, and McClure's turned the project over to Willa Cather, who was 32 years old and had 32 published short stories to her credit, but whose days as a great novelist still lay in the future.

Although Ms. Cather publicly disclaimed credit for the resulting series of articles which form the basis of this book, the editors provide convincing proof that she wrote it.

In addition to being a highly entertaining account of the rise of one of the more fascinating characters in American religious history and the church she founded, the book provides extensive factual detail to anyone seriously interested in the history of either. While it is critical of Mrs. Eddy, it is also complimentary. Factually accurate and extensively documented., it is perhaps the most objective account available of a truly remarkable woman and her church.

Although the book was the subject of favorable reviews when it was published in 1910, the response of the church was, predictably, less enthusiastic. According to the afterword, even before it was published, "three spokesmen for the Christian Science church visited the McClure's office and tried to suppress the series of articles. Christian Scientists were said to have later bought and destroyed most copies of the book, and library copies were said to be kept out of general circulation through constant borrowings by church members... The copyright for the Milmine book was purchased by a friend of Christian Science, the plates from which the book was printed were destroyed, and the manuscript also acquired. That this happened is supported by the fact that the manuscripts for the 'Milmine' book are held in the Archives and Library of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston." (pp. 497-498)

Perhaps the most important contribution that this book makes is to present Mrs. Eddy and her church in the context of their time. There is a tendency today to present her as an early oppressed feminist. That interpretation should be compared with Ms. Cather's hard-nosed assessment:: "The result of Mrs. Eddy's planning and training and pruning is that she has built up the largest and most powerful organization ever founded by any woman in America. Probably no other woman so handicapped-so limited in intellect, so uncertain in conduct, so tortured by hatred and hampered by petty animosities-has ever risen from a state of helplessness and dependence to a position of such power and authority... The growth of her power has been extensive as well as intensive." (p. 480)

In fact, the only complaint in an otherwise favorable review by a student of nervous disorders in the American Historical Review (Vol 15, July 1910), was that the author did "not do enough to explain the abnormal psychology of the founder of Christian Science-the record of hysteria, hypochondria, and the delusion of persecution." (p.498)

Well worth reading

Take the gaseous denunciation by the true believer as an endorsement of this timeless debunking biography. (CS complaints about this book are always based on "new information" kept under lock and key by the church so it can't be checked by any unbiased researcher.) Christian Science malarkey sentenced my sister to a needless early death.

This book just missed on any number of levels. The Frankenstein references were tangential and never really wrapped into the story-line. The character (admittedly this is my first Diamond book, so I do not have a history) never quite hits curmudgeon or genius - two character profiles for which I think the author was aiming. The Times said this was an "unguessable" ending - I thought it was fairly obvious. I would go with Block, Crais or early Parker any time.

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, previously unknown paintings by (maybe) William Blake, and bones discovered in a vault are just some of the ingredients in this diverting puzzler starring Lovesey's irascible detective, Peter Diamond. Lovesey does his usual neat job of tying together seemingly unrelated mysteries. Diverting, funny, and satisfying.

Peter Lovesey writes an excellent novel where he integrates several story lines into one complete and satisfying whole. In the English town of Bath, bones are found in a vault wall right under the Roman spas. DS Peter Diamond is sent to investigate what appears to be a cold case since the bones have been buried there for over two decades. He is not confident that he will be able to solve the mystery but he is going to try. Joe Dougan, an American English professor, is visiting Bath to fulfill his literary quest. He is so obsessed with literature that he is trying to track down the former home of author Mary Shelley where Frankenstein was supposed to be written. He is relentless in his quest and he attracts unwanted attention. Somebody has been hiding a secret for over twenty years and he is willing to kill in order to keep it a secret.

Lovesey knows how to entertain the reading by bringing in humorous characters that are acting some form of stereotype. The author also provides several red herrings that are meant to distract the police. When the story reaches its unexpected conclusion one can appreciate how well the author structure the plot by leaving no loose ends. Peter Lovesey's book was fun to read. It will not be my last.

There are better Christmas books on decorating and entertaining.

I loved the 'feel' of this book, very festive. The presentation is beautiful.
What disappointed me a little was that there was no pattern for the gingerbread mansion that was featured in the book, which was the main reason I bought it. It's a little too easy for me to just be told to 'use your imagination' and 'the possibilities are endless'. I expected more!
Other than that, it is a very nice addition to my book collection with timeless ideas and inspirations, or just to browse through when christmas season comes around.

I can see this book is not new. It is to me, and I find is very inpirational! I use it every year for Christmas, for getting the house ready, for baking, for decorating and setting the tables, for ideas on how to use my plates, bowls and dishes in different ways, for altering things I already own into new settings -
I do own a few of her C-mas books, this is by far the best one. If you celebrate this holiday - or just want to arrange a beautiful winter feast, you will not be sorry to own this book!(I use it as gifts for friends, and have already bought three..)

Finally, the book this great band deserves. I once saw an instant book on Cream, around the time of their early 90s reunion. This book is much superior to that one, and seems to be the only extant history of the band.

There are well-written and -illustrated "before they were Cream" chapters on each musician. The chapter on Clapton tells the familiar tale of his career from the Yardbirds to John Mayall to Cream. A most welcome part of this book are the portions devoted to songwriter Pete Brown, who teamed with Jack Bruce for some of Cream's best-known classics. Over the years in various interviews Eric Clapton has fostered the idea that he was the whole show, so this material is an appreciated corrective. Much of the material on Bruce's and Ginger Baker's days with the Graham Bond Organisation come from Brown.

The Cream material itself is a fan's dream come true. Jack Bruce and Pete Brown provide most of the reminisces. (Don't overlook the sidebar quotes in the concert log section at the end.) The illustrations are plentiful, including album covers, concert photos, publicity stills, magazine covers, etc. The only mild disappointment is that there are no pictures of Felix Pappalardi included. I'd love to see a picture of him in the studio, playing the piano on "Badge." More oddly, there are no pictures of their 1993 reunion. That's just as well, though. I am continuously grateful to Baker, Bruce, and Clapton for not cheapening Cream's achievement with endless reunions and farewells, as some well-known bands from their era have done. It'd be embarrassing to see Cream spending their golden years on the county fair concert circuit. Their career was cruelly short, but no one can say that they didn't leave a beautiful corpse. And now they finally have a worthy history of their achievements. Those were the days, indeed.

This is a good way for someone who was not even alive in the 60's to learn about Cream. You get interviews from all three band members.There is also a time chart of rehearsals and recording sessions. There are sections about each members approach to their instruments and some early history. The book has a lot cool pictures and art work. My only complaint is that the printing on part of the inner sleave is blurred.This is defintely a MUST have for any Clapton, Jack Bruce, or Cream fan.

This is THE book on Cream. Any Cream, Clapton, Bruce or Baker fan gotta have this. New interviews with Bruce and Baker shed lights on the Cream era. Detailed tour dates and wonderful pictures of covers and labels (I love them!!)

Any Clapton fan should have a copy as reference.

Ruth Rendell's "Murder Being Once Done," which was written in the seventies, is a flawed mystery with a few nice touches that redeem it slightly.

Inspector Wexford has not been feeling well, and he has been farmed out to his nephew's house to rest, eat right, and exercise. Wexford is supposed to avoid thinking about police work. However, there are two problems. One, Wexford is bored out of his mind. Two, his nephew is a police superintendent investigating a juicy murder. How can Wexford fail to get involved in the case?

The victim is a young woman who was found murdered in Kenbourne Vale Cemetery. Who is she and why was she killed? This woman, it turns out, was living quietly in poverty under a false name. No one knows where she came from. Wexford starts informally investigating on his own, interviewing anyone who may know something about the identity of the dead woman.

The investigation turns out to be a puzzle that challenges even Wexford's experienced and incisive mind, and he makes several wrong turns before reaching the correct conclusion. He experiences a period of self-doubt and shame when he realizes that his powers of detection may be waning somewhat. He even considers the possibility that it may be time to step aside and let the younger generation take over. Wexford is a wonderful character--intelligent, charming and compassionate. It is always a pleasure to be in his company.

Unfortunately, the mystery turns out to be less involving. While looking into the case, Wexford meets a variety of people, all of whom contribute to his understanding of what happened to the dead woman. Unfortunately, the characters are not fleshed out very well and the mystery itself turns out to be too convoluted and far-fetched to be completely satisfying. On the plus side, Rendell's description of settings is detailed and vivid and she beautifully captures Wexford's torment as he tries to deal with his mortality and his imperfections. "Murder Being Once Done" is not a great mystery, but it is a good study of an policeman who is desperately trying to prove that he still has what it takes to break a case.

Rendell in her Wexford series seems to be operating from a definite formula. Wexford and others follow red herrings and goose chases and then well towards the end the real solution is hurriedly put on the table and consumed by the hapless reader before you really know what you have eaten. This novel has quotes from Thomas Moore's Utopia before every chapter and this theme is nicely worked into the novel by Rendell. She does
write intelligently. Her red herrings are more fleshed out than the actual solution and thats not my cup of tea.

As always, Reg Wexford, an older police Chief Inspector from rural England, will manage to take your breath away through his amazing ability to overcome weakness and always come out on top of the case at hand. Ruth Rendell is brilliant, introducing her readers to new characters while intertwining the old, steady ones. Inspector Wexford, one of Rendell's regulars, is visiting his nephew Howard, a Detective Superintendent in London, when a tragic murder case arises. While exploring the dark, dirty streets of London and avoiding the prestigious flower arrangements of his niece, Reg manages to overcome his illness. In the course of helping his nephew solve this murder mystery, Reg must contend with Howard's other inspectors and struggle to prove his knowledge and expertise in the field of character analysis. Filled with unwed mothers, poverty, and adoption, this novel is constantly twisting and turning through Reg's inner thoughts. Through all this, he is pulled between two opposing forces. His wife, Dora, pleads with him to rest, in accordance with the doctor's wishes. On the other hand is his burning desire to solve the young girl's murder. In the end, he manages to stay on top of the case but ignores his doctor's wishes for him to eat only bread and water. By the end of his stay in London, though, Reg is back to his beef. Once I picked this book up, I was unable to put it down. It is full of intriguing surprises and, mingled with the unpredictable new characters, comes the story of a cult with a long, uncertain past of family deceit and runaway brides. All in all, this book tickled me into giving it the rating of 4 out of 5 stars.

this book, part of a series for several languages, is probably my least favorite: the verb index at the back is in english, so there is no way to quickly look up verbs in spanish. one has to know the english translation, and then what's the point? the exercises are thorough, but someone desparately needs to add spanish to the english verb index (the index works this way: to make... hacer; however, there is no entry for hacer, so if you want to look up hacer you can't -- you have to know it means to make).

A quite useful book,with a lot of mistakes. Below are 57 errors that appear in the Second Edition of Spanish Verb Drills (V. Bey, Passport Books, NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group, 1991).

Errata, by page number

18, add 'meter put in' to vocabulary. It is used in exercises.

36, line 3. 'Past,' not 'Present' Participle (in italics).

36, line 7. 'participle', not 'participles.'

31, line 14, present progressive: you are speaking, not were speaking

50, Aplicación, #5 should be 'comprendamos'.

56, directions for Aplicación B should read: 'corresponding perfect' not 'corresponding compound' tense. Otherwise, directions are confusing, too many possible answers.

63, line 18, above Para Practicar entry: '* These verbs are used only in the third-person singular', not 'plural.'

81, present indicative 'envía' should be in italics.

85, line beginning 'Note one verb..' belongs with 'Jugar' below it.

86, 'Reír' in bold should have accent mark.

85, 'Colgar', present subjunctive, indent 2nd line to avoid confusion.

93, directions for Repaso general 2 should say to use the 'to have' helping verb, eliminating confusion

88, line 12, 'conseguir' spelled with a 'g' not 'q'

101, Decir, conditional is wrong. It should be 'diría, etc.'

104, Haber preterit should all be in italics; hubiste should not be in italics

108, Oír needs accent mark

88, line 22, 'conseguir' spelled with a 'g' not 'q'

109, line 2, present subj. of Poder should be 'pueda' not 'puede

86, line 27, 'conseguir' spelled with a 'g' not 'q'

109, line 19, 'disponer' should be in italics.

129, 2nd. Column. Add 'B.' heading

140, Aplicación A8, both should be in singular, 'caminara,' 'caminase'.

140, Aplicación B7, both should be in plural, 'aprendieran,' 'aprendiesen. Given answer is also misspelled.

143, Aplicación B - all can be present progressive which is better correspondence to simple tenses (see entry for page 56)

135, Aplicación B, #2, 4, 5 should be past, not present, progressive

143, line 6, #(2), should be habré with accent.

147, first line under Para practicular: remove s from 'compites, sirves, mides'

141, Mastery test, #8, 'trabajases' should be 'trabajase'.

152, Repasto general 1, #A7, 'estaban' not 'estabn'

152, Repasto general 1, #A22, should be 'reímos'

152, Repasto general 1, #B11, add 'no' for negation

152, Repasto general 1. There are other possible correct answers for B18, B8, B22 and B28.

141, Aplicación, #13 should be 'hubierais/hubieseis estudiado'

131, Mastery Test, #25, 'vivisteis' not 'vivíais'

142, Repaso, #15, no not 'ho.'

151, Aplicación #7, should be 'juegan

158, Aplicación A2 should be: 'supieras' not 'supeiras'.

158, Aplicación C14 should be: 'you would know.'

152, Repasto general 2, B #5 can also be 'entienden'.

153 Aplicación #8 should be 'fitted,' not 'fit.'

155, Mastery Test, #7, should be imperfect subj.: 'bendijera/bendijese'

157, Mastery Test, #7 has another choice: podía.

153 Aplicación #15, should be 'we declined', preterit, not imperfect.

142, Repaso, #27, no accent mark

149, Mastery test, # 20 'relincas' should be 'delincas'

163, A #11 should be 'he would hear' not 'he would smell'

153 Aplicación #25, 'loosen', not 'seize.'

156, Mastery Test, #22 has another possible answer: 'fueses'

124, B. #6, #21 should specify which you: #6 pl. for; #21, sing. fam.

166, Add under letter 'p': Put in meter, 18.

154, Mastery Test, #32, 'os' not needed.

160, Mastery Test, #30 has another answer: 'tuvieseis'

166, 'poseer, possess 80' is omitted

If you are a person in need of more practice with Spanish verb conjugating, "Spanish Verb Drills" by Vivienne Bey is a great reference book to have around. Providing many exercises such as verb drills and fill-in-the-blanks, this book will assist students and anyone else trying to brush up on their conjugating skills real fast and easier.

The book provides an inexpensive method to improve your verb conjugating skills. Besides this book, I also recommend "501 Spanish Verbs" as another book one should own if they want to master Spanish verb conjugations. Both books should make you a pro within a short period of time.

I'm not a fan of monopolies, but in this case, the Sanders Price Guide is the one and only. This book tries to be the "standard?" Sanders is the standard in the field, and while ambitious, this book simply doesn't measure up. Good for facsimilies, but that's about it.

I don't know if there are many people out there who can lay claim to a Louis XIII autograph, or even a George Washington autograph. If they did, they probably also have Jesus Christ on a baseball.

My point is, there are listings for hundreds if not thousands of people whose autographs probably don't even exist. The book is good for referencing celebrities and sports stars, but there are far too many pages dedicated to the various types of William Henry Harrison signatures, and other topics we need not explore.

If this is the "standard guide" it should be a little more up to date. I would rather see five facimilies of a Robert De Niro or a Mickey Mantle autograph than of somebody who has been dead for 500 years, because you know what-- chances are I won't be getting their signature any time soon, so I won't need to compare it to a facimile.

This book is a very comprehensive price guide for today's celebrities and sports stars, which is why I give it a four star rating. But if the book spent less time dealing with signatures from centuries ago, and more time dealing with the stars of today and tommorow (I got Heidi Klum's sig the other day, and she isn't listed-- she is probably one of the most famous models in the world), it would truly be the best autograph guide out there.

Wow, after reading so many books about autographs finally a realistic book enters the market. Unlike the Sanders guide it it deals with values at a realistic level and why not Baker has written more books about the subject than any other author in this genre. Not since Charles Hamilton's books on the subject have I ever learned so much, Bravo!

This is a truly viscious little book, filled with dispair, greed, sex, violence. I liked it, but it's not for everyone.

If you're into Jim Thompson or David Goodis, give it a try. It's depravity is magnified by 10. Nastier than James Ellroy.

Baker's vision of a slightly exaggerated New York comes more from the lurid pulp tradition than from noir, with it's night photographer protagonist and his lowlife pals. This New York is infested by rats, roaches, corporations, rich perverts, culture jammers, and a mad bomber. Virgil is a photographer who trawls the night with his police scanner, searching for bizarre and ironic tragedies to snap-hoping to get a job with the city's lead tabloid, the New York Graphic. There's not a whole lot of plot-as the book progresses Virgil participates in a few small heists with some friends, helps an AIDS-stricken porn pinup exact revenge, and is sought out by the mad bomber. The choppy episodic narrative makes it hard to get too engrossed in the book's events, and the prevailing theme of rotting and corruption isn't treated with any particular originality. Similarly, Baker's sad-sack characters don't bring a whole lot to the table other than a kind of hangdog pathos. However, the lurid subject matter is enough to keep the pages turning rapidly enough.

I have to note that the book suffers from a minor but annoying flaw I've come across before when English authors write US characters. Certain words and idioms are not transatlantic, and while this can be more or less forgiven in description, it really intrudes when they pop up in dialogue. A few Anglicisms I came across in this work include: answerphone, trainers, perspex, rota, wank-which in American English would be answering machine, sneakers, plexiglass, schedule, masturbate. Another funny example of why publishers of such titles should have an American read the manuscript occurs on page 251, where in a faux ad, US phone numbers are rendered UK phone numbers (ie. what should have been 212-267-3264 appears as 212-26-73264).

This book is fantastic. From the shock beginning to the bitter ending this book carries you along twisting and turning through the dirty streets of a hyper-real New York. I feel this was not meant to represent the real New York but to give a phantasmagorical view of the worst side of human nature.

This book manages to be dark and funny at the same time. It compels the reader to turn the pages and delve deeper into the life of its central character.

I can't wait to read more by the same author.

Read this book NOW!!