This is a book for people who don't actually like hardanger. The patterns rely entirely on the use of coloured threads for their effect, so even if you substitute thread of a single colour for the rather gaudy colour combinations suggested, the designs look completely bland. There isn't any difference between these patterns and conventional cross stitch patterns except in the use of satin stitch--the lacy open spaces of traditional hardanger are scarcely in evidence. Look at Jill Carter's Hardanger Embroidery to see the real beauty of the form.

I taught myself hardanger using this book alone. My first project is nearly completed and looks very nice. The first part of the book teaches each of the different stitches required to complete the projects in the book. There are many illustrations that clearly show each step of a new stitch and make it easy to learn. Once all of the stitches are taught, she moves into the projects. They are arranged in increasing order of difficulty and start with a small sampler and end with a christening gown. I highly reccomend this book for anyone who is interested in exporing hardanger embroidery.

However, there are three stories (all from the Ages of Chaos, oddly enough) that stood out as true gems, and I give the whole book one star for each of them:

First, there is "Clingfire," which takes two minor characters from the novel Stormqueen! (Coryn, Keeper of Hali Tower; and his lover Arielle, far below his station), fleshes them out, and puts one of the early, male Keepers in what seems to be the classic dilemma of the later female teneresti: is doing work that you love more important than spending your life with the person you love most?

Next, there is "Just a Touch..." which is nearly as powerful as the story it reminded me of ("The Alton Gift", which appears in _The Keeper's Price_), but with a much more uplifting ending. This was my favorite in the anthology, and in and of itself makes the collection worth seeking out.

The third story that deserves special mention is "The Plague." The theme is typical for a Darkover story (in a stressful situation, a woman of supposedly limited skills discovers her laran is far stronger than she thought), but the circumstances are unique, and the author captures the understanding I would expect Darkovan culture to have of bacteria ("tinylives") very well, and doesn't start sounding like she's giving a 20th-century Terran explanation (I hate that!)

For these three stories, the anthology is worth trying to get your hands on, but none of the rest particularly stand out (except for "Mists" and "Man-eater" which both annoyed me and stood out as BAD). However, there are much more enjoyable and better-organized anthologies of Darkover short stories, IMHO.

There are some excellent stories in this anthology, notably "An Object Lesson" by Mercedes Lackey, in which she once again brings back the character Tayksa the ex-assassin, a character she has written several stories about in previous anthologies. (This was an excellent story, even if it WAS merely a set-up for an abysmally clever pun.) But there were also some stories that I didn't think much of, particularly "The Gift From Ardais", by Barbara Denz, which started out well, was well-written, and ended in a needlessly depressing way, serving no point that I could discern. Less bad, but still not much to my liking, was "To Serve Kihar", by Judith Sampson, which seemed to me to have an implausibly upbeat ending, not justified by the story to that point. Now, I'd rather see unjustified optimism than unjustified cynicism, but it still isn't really a good story if I don't feel the ending is justified by the story leading up to it.

If you need a review for LPN test or just a review on Math and Science this is a good book. IF you are looking for NET TEST reading comprehension this book does not compare. SAVE YOUR MONEY. I reccommend the NET TEST STUDY GUIDE. It contains two actual practice tests for Reading Comprehension and Mathmatics. They are JUST like the test.

I recommend this to anyone studying for nursing. It helps you prepare for the many areas you will be tested in.

I purchased this book because I thought it was a revised and expanded edition of the Joy of Cooking book I already have and enjoy. The REVISED and EXPANDED words on the cover lead me to believe I was purchasing even more and different recipes than the original, but it is the exact book! I also purchased the other one stating the same misleading words in bold print on the cover. I am very disappointed and cannot return them because I didnt make this discovery within the 30 day limit. I believe it should be clearly stated that these are merely paperback editions of the hard back Joy of Cooking which I have purchased several copies as gifts for family and friends as it is a wonderful cookbook.

The Joy of Cooking has made cooking a truly satisfying experience for me. But it's much more than a recipe book for great food. If you ever wanted to know how to choose fresh fish at the market, or how to use foil when baking or any of the hundreds of questions you have when cooking but have no one to ask, you'll find many answers here.This book is a treasure trove for cooks or would be cooks. It encourages you to choose the best ingredients, the freshest herbs when cooking for your family. The dishes are simply delicious with a high nutritive content. This book is simply a must buy

This book was a handy guide for a review of the sciences. The practice tests are far from adequate and need to be redone...they are not good representations of the actual test and could potentially hinder your ability to do well.

The reviews of the sciences are decent and helpful. The practice tests are not helpful, however, and are not a good representation of the real MCAT.

I thought this book was some what sad, I don't want to give away the ending but this book is about two boys whose parents get divorced, while being sad they discover a pregnant cat. They keep it a secret for as long as they can, but eventuly they have to tell. If you like cats, you can read it even if you don't it will make your eyes water.

This book is about a boy named Brad and his younger brother Charlie. His mom and dad are separated. When Brad and Charlie fnd a stray cat in their shed it has kittens. They have to be responsible enough to keep the kitten alive. Tuexedo hte black and white kitten is found dead and they blame Cat. So they have to deciced to tell their dad about the cats and trust them, or not?

Being stuck with a name like Runt is not exactly something anyone would be proud of, esp a young wolf. Runt has much to learn and makes many mistakes. You feel bad for the little guy, but I felt the book lacked details that could have enhanced it. I'm sure there are better animal stories out there.

Pack mentality is key in the life of a wolf. Position within a pack defines who a wolf is. Runt, the smallest of his litter is given no other name by his father the pack alpha. He is treated as the lowest member because he is unable to prove himself due to his small size. This bothers Runt as he seeks to win his father's approval.
In addition to his own struggles Runt becomes caught within pack politics. There is some unrest within the pack because one member wishes to become the new leader. This story describes how one young wolf fills his role within the pack and struggles to understand humans and the world around him.
This is a well written book that I would highly recommend to anyone interested in wolves.

I just heard Marion Nestle on the Mike McConnell raido show. All I could ask myself during the interview was, "What are her intentions in writing this book." All I could think of during the interview was she was another Rachel Carson writing her "Silent Spring".
My general impression was that she wrote this book to create fear in the food consumer, but never really offered any solutions except more government intrusion. She never presented, in the interview, the fault of the consumer in poor preparation practices or lack of control when eating out.
In Nestle's view its either "big" business' fault by being cheapskates or the government's failure by not legislating.
Yes I believe that there needs to be safeguards, but I also believe that regulations can become so excessive that it could become not profitable to produce food products. That is why there should be a certain amount of responsibility by the consumer (i.e. don't eat tuna fish that's been sitting out in the sun for a few hours).
In the interview of besides presenting herself as a prophet of doom, I also found her to be very condescending to people who challenged her opinions.
If you want to read her work, I can only recommend reading this with a very critical eye.

"Safe Food" is a terrific look at the issues involved in keeping our food supply uncontaminated. It is also a look behind the scenes at how our democracy really works, and it's not a pretty sight. Corporations choosing profits over public health, government representatives more often than not siding with industry rather than consumers, corruption, greed, and ineptitude are all part of this fascinating story. Highly recommended!

an unfortunate side trip in the Darkover saga. MZB has created an amazing, detailed world in her books, but when writing about the Renunciates, or Free Amazons, the feminist tone gets entirely too shrill (and I'm female!). A good read for the world detail and background story to enhance the rest of her novels, but really requires patience to wade through the women-against-the-men rhetoric.

The saga of the renunciates is an omnibus of MZB's three "Darkover" novels that deal with the Renunciate's Guild - a group within Darkovan society that allows women to free themselves from the oppressive rules of their world. At this point of Darkovan history, the planet (a lost colony of Earth) has been rediscovered by the Terran Empire. It works well as a single volume, as it's the three-part story of a "Terran" woman (Margali) who becomes involved in the guild by accident, and her personal growth as a result.

Personally, I find the third story rather tedious - it is a quest story in which a group of women go searching for a mythical or secret Women's City, involving a lot of walking through frozen mountains and (I thought) a fairly anticlimactic ending.

Some of the Terran gender relations in the book seem somewhat dated, reading like a reflection of the late 70s-early 80s period when the stories were written, although the alien Darkovan version seems much less so.

In general, a rewarding book, which should appeal to anyone who enjoys speculative fiction with strong feminist characters.

This book seems geared to teachers who know little or no Spanish. I mistakenly bought it as a supplement to my Spanish classes and found that the lyrics were mostly English. The tunes did not fit well with the lyrics.

I found this book to be a nice resource. Even if I only practice and use afew songs from it, I know it has made a big difference with my Spanish speaking preschoolers. For me, the phonetic pronunications were indispensible.