If you like the writings of Thoreau, you will love this biography. Thoreau really comes to life and Walter Harding does a great job at aquainting us with Thoreau as if he were our neighbor or close friend. You will love all the stories of his childhood, his many excursions and his never ending desire for knowledge of nature. Also, at the end Harding dicusses Thoreaus's sexuality, which for me was a burning question throughout the book. There is no better biography out there written on Thoreau.

This book looks at Thoreau's life in depth. The first few chapters try to show how Thoreaus young life shaped his older years. Always complicated both in his young and old years. This book also gives great details of Thoreaus many excursions, and the many people with whom he graced with his presence. If you in interested in Thoreau, it would be in your best interest to buy this book, it's the link between his life and his work.

I've alway's been in the habit of reading about the life of an author before acually reading his works and this book has covered all the bases of an incredibly intelligent man. His prose of description was in depth, and at the same time it showed views of alot of his friends in a town full of intellects. It makes you feel like you were there living Concord enjoying the scenes on Walden with thoughts from a perspective that the average person would not usually pull from any kind of methodical observation.

I would read this book again and again for a distinctive and magnanimous outlook from one the most notable Thoreau scholars.

This book is a great read. The sections are well defined to cover each topic, including measurements where applicable and even the definition of tracts and management of said lands. He has written other books too. I hope they reprint the translations soon.

This early work describes the thinking of early technologists and shows the development of materials technology and related engineering knowledge of the late 15th century. Of particular interest is the detailed research done by Herbert Hoover, former President and mining engieer. His research is detailed in extensive foot notes. The illustrations are exact copies of the originals. Some of the early chapters are the most intersting reading because of the insights gained into archaic thinking that extrapolates to modern times.

This is one of the great classics, richly illustrated with over 200 woodcuts, most full page. It was published in 1556 by Georgius Agricola. The English translation is by former U.S. President Herbert Hoover, and first Lady Lou. Virtually all of the equipment illustrated was current until a few decades ago. Agricola describes and illustrates such "modern" methods as amalgamation, and the use of spiral inclines for transporting heavy equipment from the surface to underground. The (unnamed) "books" (chapters) which compose the book could be titled: 1 The Social Impact of Mining; 2 Mine Management, Exploration, and Prospecting; 3 The Theory of Ore Deposits; 4 Mining Law; 5 Shaft Sinking, Drifting, and Surveying; 6 Mining Equipment, Haulage, Dewatering, Ventilation, and Hazards; 7: Assaying; 8 Beneficiation; 9 Smelting; 10 Separation of Gold from Silver and Silver Refining; 11 Separation of Gold and Silver from Copper and Iron and Copper Refining; 12 Industrial Mineral, Chemical, and Glass Production. The text is a bit dense, but is worth the trouble.

This book is a great reference book to get the basic idea of an important person, place, or philosophy. It really is a book of global culture. It has many important western references as well as non-western or non eurocentric references. I like to just open the book for a few minutes whenever I am sitting near the bookshelf and learn something new. Each entry is about a half a page on average. Some are less some are more. There is really so much to learn about the world that our western education dosn't teach us. For example you can get a consice description of the French Revolution, or learn about Kuukai (774-835), a Japanese religious leader, or read about Macumba, an Afro-Brazilian religion. It's all here.

This is my first time recommending a book and I couldn't have chose a better reference tool! As an American living in Europe, having never been intrigued by history, I often refer to this book during or after discussions as a fact checker. Highly recommended!

I read this book this summer and the insight I gained cannot be paralleled. This book gives detailed accounts of people, places, and events of major influence in our time and in history. No one should be allowed to call himself/herself "educated" until she/he has read this book. What a wonderful resource!

Scripture tells us time and again that we're a forgetful people. It's with this premise that Gary Henry presents a devotional for each day of the year to seek after God. He by-passes writing on extraneous Religious rituals/details and cuts right to the heart of the matter. Hence, the title, Diligently Seeking God.

Each devotion is preceded with a scripture verse, and concludes with a passage from some of the great spiritual writers of the past, as well as the present (E. M. Bounds, Nouwen, Merton, Thomas A Kempis, Francois Fenelon, Brother Lawrence, etc.).
Henry uses the pillars of faith and trust to explore our relationship with God, and expounds from there.

This isn't "light fluff" reading, like so many contemporary evangelical books these days, but rather, very much in the tradition of Oswald Chambers. Since this is the case, each page often requires a day of reflection to meditate and act on.

A very solid and meaty devotional, we're fortunate Henry will be following it up in the future with more of the same.

Daily devotional books are often superficial, but in "Diligently Seeking God," the reader is in for a strong intellectual and spiritual challenge. The format is definitely appropriate; this material should be taken in short, digestible doses. The thought-provoking richness of the 366 essays is reminiscent of the wisdom-dense writings of C.S. Lewis.

The writing style is straightforward, free of the "churchy" expressions that tend to obscure material of this genre. Each lesson could have easily be expanded into a memorable Sunday morning sermon, and the quotes added at the end of each lesson are appropriate and surprising in their variety.

Diligently Seeking God is a wonderful devotional guide. This book offers a complete year of meditations that will help you look at the question "What difference does it make whether we seek God?" Each page explores our need for God and invites you to a deeper desire for Him. The style is comfortable but reverent, but be warned: it will make you think, reflect, meditate and take God more seriously. That is why I call this dangerous reading. One cannot read this material and be the same. It demands we consider who God really is and that always compels change. This book is a tremendous tool for those who want to take their relationship with God to a better and deeper level. I really like that each day's devotion just has a date (like "June 5" or "December 14"). That means you can pick up Diligently Seeking God at any time and just start - you don't have to wait till January 1. It also means you are never behind because each day's devotion and reading is independent of the others. This is a book that won't disappoint you. I am anxious to spend an entire year with Diligently Seeking God.

I bought the hardback version of this book in the 1950's and it has been the one I have used most ever since. Dressage itself is a useful training method for all disciplines. Wynmalen makes the "how-to" clear to those of us who do not have access to a teacher. In the 1950's I didn't even have access to videos to show how the exercises were supposed to look and feel when done right, yet the book made almost everything clear -- about the only thing I didn't understand from the book alone was the half-halt. Wynmalen's irreplaceable contribution is in the respect he shows the horse, which leads to understanding. His focus is on better communication and performance, not show success (although he had that too). A gentle, understanding, master at work. Other favorites of mine are The Schooling of the Western Horse, by John Richard Young, and the works of Mark Rashid -- start with A Good Horse is Never a Bad Color. The Rashid works are for those who know the basic cues, since he doesn't cover that.

This book....what can I say? It literally is the best book written on riding I have yet come across. Ironic, isn't it, that I am not an English rider, but a Western rider and still found this book to be of great help. Yes, help. It describes in graphic detail what you should really understand before even thinking about mounting a horse, plus tips and guidelines on what you should know when you do mount a horse.

I really did find this book invaluable. I have owned it for years and I'm still learning from it. I find it absolutely great for references.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who rides horses, and to those who don't, just so they can truly understand the significance of horse intelligence and human/horse companionship.

This book is remarkable in that the author always puts the horse first. Written in 1952 the author is thoroughly modern in stressing the establishment of a dialogue with the horse. Bear with the language of the early 1900s and be enlightened!

I have yet to read a book on Eleanor that I did not find interesting. She is quite a character. My recommendation is to start out by watching the film, Lion In Winter, and then graduating to books on the subject. This one would be a good place to begin.

The author did an excellent job informing the reader of the differing viewpoints regarding this amazing woman. I learned in detail about Eleanor's two husbands, her ten children, and the various enemies to the "Angevin empire." Thus this book is not just about Eleanor, but also about the historical period in which she lived.

I love this book. I first read it two years ago, and I was hooked. Anyone remotely interested in Eleanor Aquitaine should definetly read this. It's fascinating and absorbing. Two thumbs up for Desmond Seward!

An absolutely marvellous work in Thermodynamics basics for all ages to come!

This book cost a lot more than it used to, and hasn't been updated since 1977. But the information it provides and the readability that it offers cannot be beat. The presentation given on the first law along with the statistical insight offered on the second law, are among the most readable. Real world examples that are clearly described present insight into applications of the first and second laws. Illustrations and phase diagrams are given for each example, and the effect of different parameters along with results are concisely discussed. Equation of state information is clear and insightful. Overall, it is an excellent text on engineering thermodynamics. The only thing that I would improve (if the authors ever updated) would be the nonreacting mixtures chapter. As a final note, which I add after trying to read another Engineering Thermodynamics book is "what is mechanical work?" and "what is heat?". If a thermo book can't explain these concepts how can you rely on it for anything else. And also, let's say you have a valve, turbine, or heat exchanger for example. If you go to a book's index and can't find these devices listed, your SOL. Fortunately, Reynolds and Perkins lists them along with many other applications.

The best part of this book is the examples. There are plenty of examples to teach you the process. The exercises are well designed. I've used other thermo books, and I always come back to this one.

The book is laid out so very well. First it teaches control mass applications, then moves on to control volume. It is a damn shame that the book has not been updated since 1977, but then why ruin a good thing?

If you are at the least familiar with Prof. Gordon's work, then you should need no prompting in purchasing this text. If not, then I wholeheartedly recommened "Existentia Africana" for anyone with an interest in race theorizing along existential lines. Gordon draws influences from such existential theorists as Frantz Fanon, W.E.B. DuBois, Jean-Paul Sartre, and bell hooks to paint a very coherent and useful picture of modern Africana existential thought. Buy it, and read it, you won't be dissappointed.

Sylvia Wynter has said that it is the challenge of the writer to create new "forms of life." Lewis R. Gordon has done just that with "Existentia Africana." With chapters such as "Can Men Worship?", "'What Does It Mean to be a Problem'?", and one of the most moving sections, "Writing: Words and Incantation", Gordon pours out his soul in trying to explain to the reader why in the year 2000 black people in Africa and the African Diaspora are still regarded as problem people. The author is a writer, philosopher par excellance, a jazz musician, a product of both Jamaica and black America, the academy and the realm of grassroots political activity. Discussing persons such as Frantz Fanon to Angela Davis to Jean-Paul Sartre to W.E.B.Du Bois to Naomi Zack to Josiah Young to Abbey Lincoln and to others, Gordon's words and incantation force the reader to confront the meaning of black existence from Jamaica to the United States to the UK to Africa to aboriginal Australia. Gordon differentiates between the European movement of thought "Existentialism", versus what he terms a "Philosophy of Existence/Existential Philosophy." A Philosophy of Existence addresses issues of freedom, anguish, dread, and responsibility in a way that does not limit discourse to European thought and thikers such as Sartre, Heidegger, Jaspers, and Simone de Beauvoir. Dear reader, please read on if you are willing to confront these serious and pressing issues of our times.

Professor Lewis R. Gordon (Brown University) has outdone himself in this groundbreaking introduction to Africana existential thought! In addition to a breakthrough in Africana studies, Fanonian and DuBoisian students and scholars alike will appreciate the fruit of Gordon's labor. I would highly recommend anything written by Gordon; his style and method are very endearing to the reader.

Compiled and edited by Christian Henry de Tessan, Expat: Women's True Tales Of Life Abroad is an engaging and impressive collection of true stories about women who have lived in diverse nations around the world, and learned firsthand the delicate balance between keeping true to oneself while accommodating the ways of a different culture. Life in Mexico, Borneo, Japan, Egypt, England, Croatian, the Mediterranean, and more is brought to life from unforgettable perspectives in this original, fascinating, very highly recommended anthology.

Expat: Women's True Tales of Life Abroad is a refreshing mix of points of view - motherhood, lesbianism, academia, the working world, religion.

It is also a wonderful patchwork of unique and pleasing writing styles, diverse cultural experiences, and even varied outcomes. Some women stayed and fully embraced the countries they lived in. Some returned to the United States with a broadened vision of the world she thought she knew. But each woman continued on her life-path filled with new sight - a renewed acceptance of her spiritual or cultural identity, perhaps...or an enlightened recognition of her role as mother, partner, student, teacher, or daughter.

As a traveler, a woman, a mother, and a former expat, I found myself nodding in agreement with so much of what I read in this book. When she finally sat back and watched her daughter flourish in Cairo, Laura Fokkena discovered a comfortable extended-family mothering atmosphere - somehow attentive yet intentionally disconnected at the same time - a far cry from the eagle-eyed, over-protective, Click-It-Or-Ticket parenting drilled into busy American families. This Egyptian philosophy I have vowed to make my own.

Other contributors, too, wrote from places in their lives that felt familiar: Karen Rosenberg, who comes "from a family of reluctant Jews," followed a path from Amagi, Japan, back to her spiritual roots. Stephanie Loleng found her own Asian identity in Prague, where the food of home would have to be prepared herself. And Emmeline Chang, raised in the United States by Taiwanese parents, struggles to belong on either continent.

And perhaps most recognizable, each woman in Expat expresses her frustration at linguistic difficulties. Each woman is a writer, after all, someone who depends on language - perhaps more than on people or money or timing - to make things run smoothly. And, certainly, as a foreigner, that taken-for-granted skill is slippery at best, even for bilingual expats. Editor Christina Henry de Tessan folds this phenomenon easily into her introduction: "...accustomed to being efficient, competent, articulate, and able to navigate the various logistics of American life," these women found themselves at sixes and sevens with everything around them.

But armed with determination, great tolerance, a readiness for change, and often dozens of books, they learn to color outside of the lines they used to know, to create themselves anew.

This book, unassuming though it may appear, is a powerhouse of writing, emotion, adventure and literature. The women writers are strong voiced, sure of their actions and their words and they range across our globe in nimble sentences...looking for blankets, looking for chicken, looking for the quintessential puzzle pieces that make it all fit--the pat and ex-pat selves-- together in one... On the way they write of finding new identities, loosing old identities, and becoming who they really are. It is American travel writing at its beat best--On The Road, Travels With Charlie, Dharma Bums.... It's modern travel writing at its best, too--Bryson can't write as well as some of the writers in this anthology could--especially as these women are ex-pats, not merely tourists. My favourites were "First The Blanket" (Kate Baldus), "Never Never" (Juleigh Howard-Hobson) and "Before and After Mexico" (Gina Hyams) All in all, after reading these essays, you felt as if you, too, had just gotten back from where they were....ninety thumbs up, womyn!

This Bible is the best I have ever owned. There is a section called Prepare to Meet God at the beginning of most chapters, with ideas about things to look for while reading. There are thought-provoking questions with verse references at the end of the chapters. The biographical sketches are awesome. There are wide margins, with room to take notes. The New King James translation is extremely close to the intended meaning; when I look up a word in the original Greek or Hebrew, invariably it's the same word that is in this version, or a very close synonym. If you're only going to have one Bible, this is the one to get!

This is likely one of the best study bibles out there for personal devotions and small study groups. Henry Blackaby and Claude King open up and make alive the Scriptures - where real application to everyday life can be understood and made by the bible student!

When using this bible, the student quickly understands and sees that God continues to talk to us today. The study tools incorporated into the tome are thought provoking and simple to apply. One of the best features is the "Prepare to Meet God" and the "Did You Notice?" segments sprinkled throughout the scriptural text. These tools help the student to understand that the spiritual life is real and doable. These segments combine doctrine, history, and application with ease and they spark the faith of those who read them.

As well, at the back of the book there is a 'God Focus' section that defines the Doctrines of the faith - giving a definition, 'contents and context,' 'experiencing God,' 'a Fresh Encounter, and scriptural references to the particular doctrine highlighted and discussed.

This particular study bible is a must-have for those who want to gain a deeper understanding, have a better hold on, and a fresh encounter with the Lord, in His love, grace, wisdom, et al.

The bonus of this particular version is the New King James Version text... all the poetics of the Old King James updated and far more readable. This one's a gem.

I highly recommend it to one an all.

This is an excellent study bible. It turned me to the word of god. Before I just read the bible, now I understand it.