I have been a professional faux painter for over 5 years. This is the book I turn to when a client is looking for something unusual. The photos provide endless, timeless finishes and designs. I have spent countless hours poured over Mr. Carter's book and I always find a little something in the pictures that I can turn into a 'new' look. The current 'in-style' colors may change, but that is the beauty of paint! Change the colors and you have a new look. As I always say, the best ideas usually begin as someone else's!

I've only been climbing for a month, and this book has taught me so much. It has great color pictures that make it very easy to understand all the climbing jargon that I was quickly confused by at the gym. This book covers what equipment you'll need for different types of climbing, clothing, saftey precautions, indoor, outdoor, bouldering, locations for good climbing, and lots more. There isn't a better book on the market for climbers.

After getting in over my head, I bought three wood bending books: this one (Schleining), Zachary Taylor's "Wood Bender's Handbook" and "Fine Woodworking on Bending Wood." Taylor is slightly more recent, but it omits many pertinent aspects. For example, he doesn't cover milling (cutting) or coopering (low-angle joints) wood as a way to obtain curves, and he gives little attention to some practical aspects, such as drawing plans. Taylor is relatively superficial and focused on making musical instruments. The Fine Woodworking book is spotty (magazine articles from 1975-1984) and covers many advanced topics (e.g. Lapstrake boatbuilding, tapered laminations, violin making). Schleining is by far the best choice for the intermediate-level amateur that needs advice from someone with a lot of practical experience. His sidebars and outlines really help a woodworker make good decisions. He gives extremely helpful details on glueing, jigs, and routing. He shies away from steam-bending, because it gives such variable results, but he finds that it can often be combined profitably with follow-up milling or laminating. He gives superb practical advice on which machine to use in what combination, he has excellent jig plans, and many hard-won safety recommendations. He does not provide project plans (Taylor does for oval boxes, walking sticks, boat ribs, and chair backs). Luthiers will enjoy this book, but also find more detail in the other two.

This is a wonderful idea book for home decorating. It is a guide to a variety of surfaces and finishes including paint, plaster, concrete, wallpaper, tile, wood, glass and metal.

The book is divided into sections on various materials and finish types such as types of wood, paint types, paint effects, and glass styles. Each section includes background information and sample pictures. I have lots of interior design reference books and I found more examples I liked in here than in many of the larger books. A chart listing all the finishes in the chapter and their applications concludes each section.

Each section includes one or two full projects as well as many other ideas. The projects are rated by difficulty, but they are very brief and do not include step-by-step demonstrations. Some projects include colorwashing a wall, tinting and polishing plaster, using fabric as a wall cover, making a tile border, creating tongue and groove paneling and building a copper paneled cupboard.

In the back there is a nice section on putting it all together. Here you find advice on everything from using texture to choosing upholstery. It also helps you choose your own style and decorate every room in your house. There is also a good list of suppliers. This is a great book for anyone who enjoys creatively decorating their home.

Great book, lots of information for all skill levels of carvers. Worth the price. I have used this book for sharping, carving patterns, ideals and tools you need. It is an easy read.

This book is excellent as a textbook for those who fo not have a computer or who want to learn how the various components interact. It is a workbook type text. I have used it since the mid-80's as the text for a correspondence course. Last revised in 1989 it covers all the basics (no pun intended)

Although it has been available for awhile, this is still one of the best books for helping church members get a handle on the major changes that are taking place in the world today and what those changes mean for churches. It's a great book to use when trying to get a church that is fairly set in its ways thinking about change. Woods discussed seven key megatrends, covering virtually every aspect of a church's life and ministry: from mass to personal evangelism, from tribal to immigrant education, from surrogate to hands-on mission, from reasonable to mysterious spirituality, from official to gifted leadership, from secondary to primary planning, from segmented to holographic programming. Without even mentioning the terms he helps people deal with many of the post-modern and post-Christian realities that are having a significant impact on churches. The approach is one that takes away much of the threat and fear that are often associated with thinking about the need for change. I'd highly recommend it for church leaders and for any group in a church that wants to begin the process of thinking more deeply about what their church needs to be and do.

Anyone working in the logistics and delivery field must read this book and keep it in your library. The book is all-inclusive so you don't need lots of others. This may help justify the high price.

The principals of the Del Mano Gallery have presented an excellent photographic rendition of the extraordinary craftsmanship exhibited at their Los Angeles (Brentwood) gallery.

While the photo illustrations are excellent, the photos do not do justice to the actual visual representation of each piece. These works of art need to be seen first individually in order to appreciate their craftsmanship.

Impressively presented by Ralph C. Wood (University Professor of Theology and Literature at Baylor University), Contending For The Faith: The Church's Engagement With Culture is a drastic call for Christian churches everywhere to revitalize their role in pointing humankind toward God's way, especially in the face of self-interest pressures exerted on every side of the raucous modern world. Examining neo-conservative and neo-liberal alternatives, presenting means to craft a Christian educational culture, regard for romance in a world where sex is used by the media to sell everything from cars to cigarettes, and much more, Contending For The Faith is a thoughtful and thought-provoking manifesto which is commended to the attention of all Christians, regardless of their creed or denomination.