A good introduction from the ground up. Concepts were easily conveyed to the reader. I'm much more comfortable with strapdown systems after reading this book.

Being from the Appalachians, I have always been fascinated with this sect of Christianity. Weston La Barre's academic prose and insight trace the sect in its relationship to greater society, the culture (through psychoanalysis and comparative symbols), and the individual. The style is interesting and succinct as it traces the origins of the practice in 1909 to the phenomenon in crisis in the 1950's; the writing does not offer insight into contemporary snake-handling traditions and may seem dated. La Barre does not humnaize the practioners as does Covington in Salvation On Sand Mountain, but his insights and parallels to the snake as symbol are stimulating. Referring to the snake-handlers as a cult is problematic for their beleifs, aside from snake-handling and poison drinking, are in allignment with Christianity. Good book to read especially if your are intersted in this phenomenon.

Weston appears to do a very fine job presenting us with the various perspectives of the Villa -- the large living room, entryways, linear wood use, and of course the extraordinary pool and sauna. The integration of text with pictures makes the book accessible to students just beginning to embark on a study of this great Finnish architect.

This book turns the potentially mundane topic of animal teeth into a fascinating one. Patricia Lauber goes beyond the expected description of incisor, canine, and molar functions by presenting lots of details and interesting facts. For example, felines have sharper teeth than canines because most big cats (e.g., lions) pounce on rather than chase after prey. Elephants, walruses, and hippos use their tusks to dig, to get around, for defense, and for hunting. The writing is clear and informal: “Perhaps you are wondering how an animal with such big teeth can close its mouth. The answer is that there are two pockets in the upper jaw. When a hippos closes its mouth, the lower canines fit into these pockets.”

Lauber tells how animals can be classified by their teeth, and describes a variety of animals, including bats, dinosaurs, sea mammals, fish, and reptiles. The book is aimed primarily at elementary school readers, although older children will find much of the material enjoyable and interesting. There are 60 pages, with black and white illustrations and an index.

This book is amazing ! You won't be regret if you buy this book in purpose of creating an ideal dog for you and your family. Really.

For an English 105 assignment
3-27-02

Curious George in the Big City is written in the common traditions of Margret and H.A. Rey and illustrated by Martha Weston. With the same features as the other Curious George titles, the comfort and enjoyment from the Curious George collection is involved as another adventure of George.
This book takes George and his friend the man with the yellow into New York City for Holiday shopping. As usual, George gets curious and finds himself separated from the man with the yellow hat. The book shows the landscape of New York City while George attempts to locate the man with the yellow hat.
This is a good book for family involvement among parents and kids. The child is involved in the soothing watercolor illustrations as the parent reads the story. Not only this, but the book uses simple sentence structure, words, and large print making it a fun book for beginning readers. Repetitive phrases help construct sentence structure and the use of verbs and nouns.
After either reading the book or listening, the child can learn the morals of life from George's adventures. In this particular book, the lesson is learned that although the world is an interesting place, it is dangerous for young children to be alone in the city

For those who don't already know, Curious George is the beloved monkey hero of H.A. Rey's children's books. Mr. Rey (along with help from his wife Margret) wrote and illustrated seven of the Curious George books. The "original seven" are available individually or all-in-one as part of "The Complete Adventures of Curious George, which should be the first "George" books one should read - they are still the best by far. But for true fans of Curious George, those seven books just aren't enough. Since H.A. Rey's passing away several years ago, attempts have been made to continue the series; some more successful than others - but none really matching the originals. Often those "new adventure" books have been formulaic and even poorly illustrated. Although I haven't read all of the "new" George books, one of the better ones is "Curious George's Dream" - that's one of the few I thought was worthy of the "originals", even though still not quite up to the H.A. Rey standard. So how does this latest effort, "Curious George in the Big City", compare?

Well as you could tell from the title I used here, the illustrations are fabulous. Martha Weston is not only a talented illustrator, but it's clear that she loves Curious George - and has made every effort to re-create the world that H.A. Rey brought to life so brilliantly. While it would be impossible for her to "be" H.A. Rey, these drawings are as close to the originals as anyone could ever hope. Yes, when I look at these drawings, I know that George is back! Almost every picture is incredibly well drawn; George is very cute and expressive (looking very much like the George in "CG Takes a Job" and later H.A. Rey books), and the background settings look as though they were drawn by H.A. himself (highest possible praise!). As far as the story goes (which was evidently NOT written by Ms. Weston and is uncredited), well it's formulaic and not nearly as creative as the stories of H.A. Rey's "original seven". At least the prose does follow the original H.A. Rey writing style (beginning each story with "This is George", etc.). The plot is definitely lacking in this one (compared with the originals), but the for serious CG fans, the drawings are worth the price of the book. In fact the cover illustration alone is worth the price: with George waving from the top of the Empire State building (a nod to "King Kong"?) with all of New York City including the WORLD TRADE TOWERS(!) in the background. It's hard not to get emotional seeing this cover, considering what happened the very month this book was first published (September 2001). But seeing the cover takes us to a happier, more peaceful time, that's something George has always been able to do for children and everyone else - to provide a calming effect and make us smile, even when we deal with so many difficult times. Yes - thanks to Martha Weston, our George is back, and the World Trade Towers are back too. For that we can be very thankful, and should buy this book! I hope that Ms. Weston will continue to illustrate George's further adventures; perhaps it would be even better if she wrote the stories as well. I'll bet even H.A. and Margret Rey would approve.

Authors Margret and H.A. Rey's wrote the children's book Curious George in the Big City, and this book is another Curious George adventure from this husband and wife team. This children's story is about a little curious monkey and his adventure of the big city, but his whole adventure was without his friend in the yellow hat. Curious George in the Big City is a good book for children because it carries on the classic story, colorful images, and moral meanings that have been found in the Curious George books in the past 50 years.

This classic story of two friends should be read to children of all ages. It has an influential story teaching children the values of friendship and other important life values. The colors used in the pictures to explain the
story are bright and full of life.

This is a great book for kids, but this book should be purchased in hard back if possible. This easy-rip book would last a lifetime if it were more complicated to destroy. All Curious George adventure books are an excellent addition to any young child's library.

If you have a dog who is already set in his "ways" this book is a waste of time. The emphasis is on how to prevent your dog from developing bad behavior. Some of the tips are not practical at all and did not work on my dog. The beginning of the book WAS informative, however, and might be useful to a puppy owner or buyer.

This book has a brisk, no nonsense attitude to encourage positive training. I like the easy references (and cross references), so that you can go directly to the behavior you're interested in right away, and also the insightful explanations. A very useful addition to the shelf. They do often proceed from the starting point and may not be able to solve deeply ingrained problems (and of course I disagree with their assertion that shelter dogs are a bad bet; quite the opposite!), but I find it helpful to consult a variety of books when sizing up a situation, and these writers present some original ideas and creative solutions (without clickers or "training" collars).

I have been a long-time dog owner. Despite what I thought was a fairly good grounding in dog behavior, I was recently confronted with a puppy who changed my attitudes about what I knew. In trying to train and work with my dog, Gizmo, I was looking for guidance and help from any source possible. I happened across this book at my local pet supply store. (In fact, I'm ordering another copy of the book because Gizmo ate the first one!) It turned out to be one of the most educational and helpful books I've ever chanced upon. I would highly recommend it to any dog lover who wants some greater insight into their dog's behavior and positively altering with gentleness and understanding.

The idea of having a wife with a more traditional background, the idea of the man going out to work and while the woman stays and tends the home has long been an ideal of mine. I was raised in such a family and see from my viewpoint that, when both spouses work, the quality of living suffers. Even if both spouses are making tons of money it still seems that the relationship lacks the polarity that I want to feel when I am with a woman.

Probably the only place left on the planet where there are Caucasian women who have notions compatible with mine concerning marriage and its structure is in Russia or that part of the world. When I read Weston's book it was a real eye opener in terms of the struggle it takes to pull off a successful marriage between an American man and a Russian woman. Is it possible? Is it worth it? I believe more than ever that it is from reading Weston's book.

The hunt is certainly enticing. Can you imagine looking into the eyes of a young Russian lady in St. Petersburg while the Northern lights are blazing as giant river bridges balletically rise to the slow, echoing moan of many fog horns. Hey, I'm there dude.

Maybe in Weston's case he is more married to the hunt than the the idea of actually settling down to marry. And maybe some of the women have evil purposes. I appreciate Weston's brutal honesty including his own self-bashing. I makes me believe him that much more. The huge picture section is quite fascinating and gives the ring of biographical truth to his work.

This is not Dostoevski but it is a real look that what can be done if you are willing to literally to go to such lengths to take up this quest.

In Love Letters... From Russia, Mr. Weston Rogers openly shares his triumphs & tribulations about his closest relationships with women from the FSU. The experiences Weston presents in the book have helped me create a much more pragmatic & realistic attitude on my part in my developing relationship with a Russian women. One thing that I particularly liked about Weston's story was his focus on the human side of finding a mate. Compared to many men who seem to place too much emphasis on the logistics of finding a foreign mate.

Based on the description provided here, I expected this CD-ROM book to be long on letters received and sent, and short on actual experience. Was I ever glad to be wrong. The text is rich in lessons Mr. Rogers has learned over the years - and a few, apparently, he has yet to learn. He's not afraid to tell things as they are - however good, bad, or ugly they seem to be.

Chapter 1, "Timing of Commitment", he briefly sketches why he decided to head to Russia to find his wife, and described his one true American love. This was not his ex-wife, but a woman from Indiana (Rogers is from Dallas, Texas) that didn't seem to be quite all there.

Chapter 2, "Russian Correspondence", is the first large chapter, and it deals with some of the women he wrote to, and how he cut them down to a manageable number for his planned visit. Some of the names and places blended in together here, but the most important ones became crystal clear in the next chapter. Of note is the fact that the agency (Scanna) and lawyer (Lawrence Holmes) he used are still around after 7 years - an eternity in the international introduction business.

Chapter 3, "The Meeting in Moscow", describes the key people and places of his visit to Moscow. The key people included his translator, his driver, and of course the women he met. He scheduled visits from six women from various parts of Russia, but it was the third - Natasha - that touched him most deeply. There were a few warning signs but I was not shocked that he proposed to her then and there. If I were in his shoes, I probably would have done the same thing.

Chapter 4, "Waiting For Fiancee Visa", is what it says it is. This section had a surprising amount of drama, since Natasha seemed to get into trouble at all the wrong times. Part of it had to do with her ex-husband (boo, hiss), the closest thing this book has to a true villain (besides Natasha herself, but I'm getting ahead of myself). Finally Westin and Natasha were reunited.

Chapter 5, "Acclimation to America", describes the (mis)adventures of Natasha's first month in this country. Getting used to the country was harder than anyone expected, and the language barrier proved to be the hardest barrier of all. The chapter ends with them getting married, which hopefully was the beginning of happier times.

Chapter 6, "Conditional Permanent Residency", made me seasick. Up, down, up, down, their relationship went. Communication continued to be awful, though not exclusively because of language (Natasha was an introvert and had a lot of skeletons hidden away). The rest would satisfy fans of "Melrose Place" - jealousy, deceit, betrayal, harsh words, even the odd blow or two. Though Westin was not entirely blameless, this marriage would have been tough for anyone to save. It endured for over 4 years before coming to an end.

Chapter 7, "My Kiev Dilemma", describes Mr. Rogers' second trip, this time to the Ukraine. He tried to avoid the mistakes of his trip to Moscow six years earlier, but he couldn't quite do it, and ended up making some new ones in the process. I was, quite frankly, appalled by his choice this time around. I thought he passed over at least three more suitable ladies in order to pursue the one that is *guaranteed* to break his heart. Read the book and see if you agree with me.

In conclusion, I thought this was a fantastic primer on what to beware of in relationships with foreign ladies. Highly recommended.

A L-I-T-T-L-E too academic for me! However, I admire the effort and would like to read more about queer families.

I found Kath Westons book "Families We Choose:lesbians, gays, kinship" to be a very interesting and informative book. This book brought many issues to the table regarding the idea of a family. What is a family? family is not solely limited to biology. This book explored the idea of kinship in lesbian and gay relationships and the family that is formed within this community. Also, the difference and the importance of "biological" family vs. chosen family and which becomes or is more important based on acceptance. This book explores issues concerning the lesbian and gay community in regards to raising children and creating families of their own in the nineties incorporating both biological and chosen families. In overview, The idea of kinship is culturally relative and it is suseptible to change. The word kinship and the meaing of family is constantly being challenged and changed to incorporate and include those previously unseen.

Undoubtedly this is a book of fine photographs and drawings. And for many architects and students that is more than enough. They want to be inspired, and to get a feeling for the material qualities of architecture. They indeed need few words. But Weston's book makes a claim to be more than that. It claims to be a historical monograph. But we get little sense of the strangeness, the Otherness, of Finnish culture. Aalto could more or less be designing anywhere. Reference to Finland is merely stereo-typical "nature". Aalto remains as elusive as ever.

I love Alvar Aalto's architecture and i think this is book contains so beautiful photografs as his architecture is. Richard Weston on the best.

If you are one those who don't like boring books, and you like books to show good photografs, this is the book you have to buy about this great architect that ALVAR AALTO was. This book is one of my favourites and believe, i have plenty of book is my room. Amazing book and amazing photografs!