This book is exactly what I wanted: a strong, clear, detailed guide to the techniques involved in creating works in batik - pictures, scarves, cushion covers. It's full of illustrations which made it easy to follow but it also encouraged me to be more ambitious, trying out techniques which were quite new to me. Good for a beginner, therefore, but also good for those who already know about batik but want to get to grips with new ideas!

Nancy Whitelaw's A BEAUTIFUL PEARL is a masterfully written, sensitvive story of a young girl visiting her grandmother who is in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Imagine the poor grandaughter's apprehension at seeing this confused old woman who can't even remember where she put the girl's birthday present. Eventually the grandmother regains enough lucidity to remember her grandaughter's present: a beautiful pearl. Yet as the old woman gives the gift to her grandaughter the reader is left wondering if it's not really the grandmother rather than the gift who is the more beautiful pearl. With so many children experiencing just such situations in their lives today this book is a must.

I am an attorney doing research in abnormal psychiatry and neurologic bases for the outcomes. This book was essential to my greater understanding. I also met the good Dr.Pincus and he was charming and pleased to discuss the material I found difficult. I highly recomend this as a need to read if the area is of your concern,

Very well laid out and easy to use, with the right amount of detail, and very good descriptions of relatively less-traveled areas such as the Jura, Poitiers, Brittany, etc. Head and shoulders above any other travel guide for its unerring judgments as to less expensive, less-hyped quality hotels and restaurants. This guide led us to several extraordinary finds, including the best seafood restaurant we've ever been to and several off-the-beaten-path hotels.

Downside: much overblown prose, esp the obligatory historical intros to each region (note the ubiquitous cliche about how "town X's sleepy present belies its tumultuous past"), but even these hackneyed segments can be useful: the higher the ratio of historical to contemporary commentary, the more boring the region or village described.

Beautifully written with thought and caring of an island where the author grew up. His pictures help you to visualize the beauty of this magnificient place as viewed through his eyes. Written in a most excellent way!

I have been "collecting" herbal books for a couple years now. I am a Master Gardener, and have been studying herbal medicine in various cultures. I would highly recommend this book for beginning herbalists. It has information on plant identification,how to grow and propagate herbs, identifying diseases and pests, and scientific information on different species. It also includes color pictures and sketches. It does'nt have a ton of herbs, but most of the more common ones used in gardens, and for potpourris.

Bill Dance is an excellent and fun educator on TV and in print. Ever notice how he seems to catch a bigger average size of Bass than other TV pros?

Also as you see on TV, Bill is an easy-going fun guy and he doesn't introduce the pressure of tournament fishing into his show or this book. At the same time, Tim Tucker is also an expert and a great fishing educator and writer too.

Buy this Book to learn and enjoy!

I enjoyed this book because the author obviously likes and respects Benjamin Franklin so the story of how he flew the kite is one of a celebration of Franklin. As an ex-US History I know the playful mischiefness wit of Franklin is lost in our classrooms. The book does a great job of exposing this other side of Franklin so often lost.

I had a reading unit on The Boxcar Children #1. We used many of the receipes in class, the bread in the bag was very successful. I had the children bring as many ingredients as possible. We did as much as possible in class. The book was very well laid out. The pictures that matched the book were great. Sometimes I would have a child take home one of the copies and try a receipe at home, with permission of course. Keep up the good work on publishing good books.

"The Bridal Wreath Bush," the new book from Alabama's preeminent storyteller Kathryn Tucker Windham, is a testament to the powers of simplicity and of truth. It is only a 32-page book, and this included beautiful illustratrations by Gadsden artist John Solomon Sandridge. Although this may give it the look of a children's book, its story is as adult as it is powerful. More than 70 years ago, Windham says her father told her the story of why the family had a bridal wreath bush in its garden. It is a story of love, tragedy, closure and healing, involving a black farmer and former slave named Hiram, who asked Windham's banker father for a $25 loan. The loan was so the farmer could search for the wife he was separated from almost half a century before when his owner lost him in a poker game. This book shows us why Windham is one of the most renowned storytellers in the country. Like a champion swimmer, her literary strokes are simple and efficient rather than exagerated, and because of it, her narrative moves the story forward with all the more power. Nurtured by Windham's skill, "The Bridal Wreath Bush" blossoms into a creation of dazzling beauty. As our attention turns toward a new millennium, we can only be thankful that stories such as this one are being saved for those who will live it.