Review of One Year to a Writing Life: Twelve Lessons to Deepen Every Writer's Art and Craft (Paperback)

If you're mindful of how today's extreme pull on your time leaves little room for nurturing a creative life, this book offers a very grounded and realistic way in which to cultivate one. And it shows you how to do it in a way that's methodical, possible, and simple. As you reflect on the author's suggestions, you'll find yourself observing inwardly and outwardly and asking yourself more centered, elegant questions about your life's images and symbols.Susan Tiberghien's book allows those of us with only slivers, not swathes, of time to become full travelers on the inner safari. This is a book that offers a writing process of effective 10-minute sound bytes rather than a list of commands requiring an afternoon. What's more, it's just plain FUN without the feel of heavy lifting. I found myself wanting to go deeper and find the center when I tried focusing on only one image in the journal entry exercises.This is a book about mindfulness as much as it is about writing. Much praise and thanks for this book that makes writing so doable!



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Review of Will Write for Food: The Complete Guide to Writing Cookbooks, Restaurant Reviews, Articles, Memoir, Fiction and More (Paperback)

This is a great book about food writing. It has advice on writing cookbooks, restaurant reviews, articles, memoirs and fiction. Although I have written several cookbooks and many food-related articles, the excellent advice in this book will make my future books and articles even better. I also got ideas for new markets for my writing.

One other thing I loved about this book were the quotes from food writers and exerpts from books. I now have a huge list of books I want to read.

"Will Write for Food" is a book I will definitely refer to again and again.




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Review of Touchpoints-Birth to Three (Paperback)

I just purchased the revised version of my favorite childcare book from when I had my other kids (ages 6 and 9).Dr. Brazelton is still my favorite for his comprehensive, authoritative, yet non-judgmental, realistic advice.He has a tremendous understanding of the needs of children, in a way adults typically can't understand.In addition to addressing each stage of development in "Touchpoints", the section on special situations is extremely helpful!!!!I have loved every book he's ever written (Infants and Mothers is my other favorite) and find his advice invaluable and in the best interest of the child!He is a true child advocate and has the most calming voice to listen to....

Product Description
All over the U.S. and in over twenty countries around the world, Touchpoints has become required reading for anxious parents of babies and small children. T. Berry Brazelton's great empathy for the universal concerns of parenthood, and honesty about the complex feelings it engenders, as well as his uncanny insight into the predictable leaps and regressions of early childhood, have comforted and supported families since its publication in 1992.

In this completely revised edition Dr. Brazelton introduces new information on physical, emotional, and behavioral development. He also addresses the new stresses on families and fears of children, with a fresh focus on the role of fathers and other caregivers. This updated volume also offers new insights on prematurity, sleep patterns, early communication, toilet training, co-sleeping, play and learning, SIDS, cognitive development and signs of developmental delay, childcare, asthma, a child's immune system, and safety. Dr. Sparrow, Brazelton's co-author on several other books, brings a child psychiatrist's insights into the many perennial childhood issues covered in this comprehensive book.

No parent should be without the reassurance and wisdom Touchpoints provides.



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Review of 1,001 Tips for Living Well with Diabetes: Firsthand Advice that Really Works (Marlowe Diabetes Library) (Paperback)

When a parent comes home from the hospital with a newly-diagnosed child with Type I diabetes, one reaches for the bookshelf in the hopes someone has written something that is going to help us, the parents, keep our sanity and move past the shock of this new life.1001 Tips for Living Well with Diabetes is a good source for parents to hear some real advice about discrimination in schools, remembering the other kids in the family, and letting go enough to let your child attend summer camp.The information is broken down into those easy to read "tips" which is perfect when you just want to absorb a few ideas at a time.The diagnosis is hard to digest, but the book can help you take smaller bites.

Michelle Alswager
Executive Director
Diabetes and Wellness Foundation
www.diabetesandwellness.org

Product Description
In 1,001 Tips for Living Well with Diabetes, celebrated author and type 1 diabetic Judith H. McQuown offers useful, real-life advice from hundreds of diabetes experts-doctors, researchers, parents, teachers, a New York City support group, and many people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes themselves. Here are 1,001 insightful, refreshingly straightforward tips that cover the key areas confronted daily by everyone living with diabetes or at risk, including:

- Drugs and Equipment-66 tips, including 6 on how to pay less for prescription drugs

- Weight Loss and Nutrition-260 tips, including 5 original recipes for Guilt-Free Cheesecake

- Avoiding/Surviving Hospitals and Emergency Rooms-62 tips, including 9 for avoiding hospital overcharges

- Dealing with Depression and Stress-172 tips, including 8 for putting romance back into your life

- Working with Your Doctors and Other Health Care Professionals-42 tips

- Exercise-119 tips

- Tips from Children with Diabetes and Their Parents-100 tips

- Tips from Diabetics Who Live Alone-37 tips

- Solving Special Problems-139 tips

These unique tips offer a comprehensive, unprecedented approach to managing one of the world's most serious and expensive medical conditions.



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Review of The Complete Guide to Personal and Home Safety: What You Need to Know (Paperback)

I'm really glad I bought this book, and will be buying a few more copies to give as gifts to my friends.The book is easy to read, cover-to-cover, and provides tons of credible statistics to support the advice.

Product Description
Everything you need to know to protect yourself and your family--from dead-bolting your door to air travel safety.

Now more than ever, Americans are aware of threats to their personal safety and are searching for ways to protect themselves and their loved ones. Newly updated since the events of September 11 with important information on mail contamination and travel security, The Complete Guide to Personal and Home Safety is the most comprehensive guide on personal and home security available. Captain Snow, a seasoned police officer, guides readers in developing their own safety plans--from how to choose a home alarm system to what to do in the case of a missing person. Covering everything from the most common crimes of larceny and traffic accidents to the unlikely but frightening possibilities of hostage situations and assault, The Complete Guide to Personal and Home Safety offers readers the knowledge and strategies they need to handle any situation that may arise.

About the Author
Captain Robert L. Snow is head of the Homicide Branch of the Indianapolis Police Department and the author of Stopping a Stalker, Family Abuse, and SWAT Teams. He lives in Indianapolis with his wife, Melanie, a narcotics detective.

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Review of Calming Your Fussy Baby: The Brazelton Way (Paperback)

Once again, T. Berry Brazelton hits a home run.Calming Your Fussy Baby outlines the steps every parent should take to determine the source of a baby's fussing and soothe the fuss away.Advice is laid out by age so that parents can go directly to the portion of the book applicable to their baby and specific information is presented for various types of crying and how to identify what kind of cry one is hearing. The advice is to the point and clear and is written in such a way as to assure parents that they are doing just fine.

One of Brazelton's charms is that he echoes Dr. Spock's famous statement "You know more than you think you do" for a new generation.Dr. Brazelton firmly believes that every parent can be a good parent and that the roots of good parenting are within everyone who wishes to tap them.This book, part of the Brazelton Way series, is a good one to have on hand for the inevitable day when a baby just won't be calmed.With this ammunition, any parent should consider him- or herself well armed against the fussies.

Product Description
Calming Your Fussy Baby: The Brazelton Way helps parents interpret the very first cries of an infant, and shows them how to respond in the most appropriate and effective way. Drs. Brazelton and Sparrow deal squarely with such urgent problems as colic, whining, and tantrums and show how the emergence of gestures and words gradually takes the place of crying as the child's way to act on the world.

Sleepless nights, wailing babies, defiant toddlers--these are universal issues for new parents. Now beloved pediatrician T. Berry Brazelton and his esteemed colleague the child psychiatrist Joshua Sparrow come to the rescue with these highly effective and affordable guides. Full of empathy, warmth, and wisdom, each book in the Brazelton Way series leads parents step-by-step through these trying struggles. Courtesy of Dr. Brazelton's unparalleled understanding and experience, parents will emerge from the turmoil relieved, empowered, and full of new pleasure in the strength and progress of their individual child.



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Review of The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs: Recrowning Baseball's Greatest Slugger (Paperback)

This book is unlike any other on Babe Ruth, and I have read quite a few most recently Montville's "Big Bam" and Reisler's treatise on the 1920 season.Jenkinson has spent nearly 30 years recreating all of Ruth's long drives, those counted as homers and those that may have just been flyouts.I had no idea that records this detailed could be obtained from Ruth's era, but Jenkinson has read every sportswriting account imaginable for each official game and for hundreds of exhibition (preseason, during season, and postseason) games that Ruth participated in.
I had always labored under the assumption, even after reading all the bios, that many of Ruth's homeruns were simply the product of the short right field at Yankee Stadium.In fact, the Babe hit very few down the right field line; most of his drives were between right-center and left-center field.Right-center was quite a shot in Ruth's day since the fence angled out sharply.The Babe also had tremendous power to the opposite field.
Jenkinson's "spray" diagrams show all the homeruns hit by Ruth and their approximate distances.Aerial photos of the stadiums around Ruth's time are also shown and arrows shown where Babe's longest drives landed.
A second assumption of mine is that Babe did not take care of himself over the years.In fact, the man wanted to exercise more but the Yankee ball club would not let him in order "to save his legs" for the long season.Ruth had taken it upon himself before spring training started, for several seasons, to hire one of the best exercise gurus in New York.The fact that Ruth could keep coming back strong after all his early season illnesses and nagging injuries shows the fortitude of the man.Baseball was his life and he never wanted to let any one down that had come to see him play.He had a remarkable compassion for people that is shown in several places.
The third assumption was that Babe was probably just an average fielder.I had always wondered about what type of fielder he was, and was always surprised that no biography that I read ever mentioned this.In fact he was an elite fielder, one of the best in the game according to Tris Speaker, the premier outfielder of the day.He was also a terrific baserunner until his last five years.
Babe Ruth was one of a kind and he would be a superstar in any era, whether as the great pitcher he was or as an everyday player.Jenkinson does an interesting analysis of how difficult it was for Ruth as opposed to the difficulties faced by today's players.He also has analyzed conservatively how many homeruns the Babe would hit based on today's shrunken stadiums.It will show the sluggers of the past 30 years in a new light.I hope to meet the author someday at the Babe Ruth museum.No one compares to the Bambino.



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Review of Taking Care of Your Child: A Parent's Guide to Complete Medical Care (Paperback)

I received this book as a freebie, part of a very smart corporation's plan to get their employees to take better care of themselves and their children, presumably, of course, to thereby lessen the overall insurance burden.

Never-the-less, with the probable exception of the dictionary, it's been the most referenced book on my shelves over the last 15 years since my first child was born.I treasure its simple wisdom and sensible approach and it has helped me both to ignore certain complaints and to act quickly upon others during that time.

As for the rather embittered review which claims it's full of dangerously misleading information, I'd have to disagree (although it's important to note those comments were made in reference to feeding issues, an area -- unlike meningitis, for instance, or a fall which resulted in a jagged bone protruding -- in which there's still a fair bit of debate).

No, it shouldn't be used as a sole source of information, nor should it completely replace your own good judgement AND instinct.However, for any number of every day ailments and injuries that any parent will encounter with their children, its generally sound guidance will be most welcome in helping you arrive at a conclusion whether to phone the doctor or not.

Being a parent is often enough like playing pin the tail on the donkey in the dark -- this book, however, WILL shine a bit of light where you might need it most.



Product Description
A totally revised edition of one of the all-time best-selling childhood medical care references for parents.

More than one million families already use Taking Care of Your Child to help keep their children healthy. A completely revised and updated edition of this award-winning book, this sixth edition gives parents clear, practical advice on feeding, medicines, doctor visits, discipline, and all other aspects of raising a healthy child.

Taking Care of Your Child is easy to use, even in a crisis. From injuries and allergies, to childhood diseases and everyday worries, simply look up a symptom and find a complete explanation of probable causes, how serious they might be, and how a parent might quickly relieve a child's problem at home. Easy-to-follow decision charts show readers exactly when to see a doctor. Covering more than 100 common complaints with especially clear advice on handling emergencies, Taking Care of Your Child is the health guide every parent should have on hand.

About the Author
Robert H. Pantell, M.D., is Director of General Pediatrics and Associate Professor at the University of California, San Francisco. James F. Fries, M.D., is Associate Professor of Medicine at Stanford University. Donald M. Vickery, M.D., heads Health Decisions, Inc., a health-promotion firm. Drs. Fries and Vickery are the co-authors of Take Care of Yourself, which has sold more than twelve million copies.

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Review of Feather Your Nest: The Complete Guide to Outfitting, Cleaning, Organizing, and Caring for Your Home (Paperback)

I know the title may not sound that exciting but this is a really useful book. Ever had a stain on a favorite piece of clothing you didn't know how to get rid of? This book will help. Ever spilt red wine on the carpet and frantically worried what to do? This book will help.

Two parts old fashioned remedies (your grandparents will be impressed with some of the solutions here) and two parts modern career woman sensibility, this book would make an ideal leaving home gift for son or daughter or a great engagement present.

Product Description
Keeping house is an art that many of us have lost. With more of us working long hours outside the home and spending less time within it-mainly chasing after kids or crashing out on the couch-we don't have time to make the bed, let alone polish the silver. And yet we love our homes and want them to be comfortable, clean, and safe-we just need someone to tell us how.

Cerentha Harris, herself a harried working mom, offers practical, stylish strategies for cleaning and caring for the home. She understands the concerns of today's readers. Her tips are time saving and easy to follow, and whenever possible they're environmentally sound: Instead of relying on expensive, and perhaps harmful, chemicals, Harris shows us how to tackle the toughest of home tasks with earth-friendly cleansers and a bit of ingenuity and elbow grease.

For anyone who has ever wondered how to decorate on a budget; wash a feather-filled duvet; baby-proof, pet-proof, or burglarproof; sanitize the kitchen and deter pests; clean textured wallpaper (bread works best); or otherwise make their home stylish, cozy, and truly their own, Feather Your Nest is an indispensable, delightful companion.

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Review of Herbs Demystified: A Scientist Explains How the Most Common Herbal Remedies Really Work (Paperback)

4 stars is an average:
3 stars for implying that only Western Science's double-blind, placebo controlled studies are of any worth.
5 stars for:readablity, layout & format, for including some of the fun and interesting history and folklore, for value, and for the personal anecdotes as well as for explaining, in layman's terms, the science behind the studies.I especially applaud that last point, the author's ability to explain the concepts behind the science in layman's terms.
Since I seem so impressed (I am. btw), it might seem churlish of me to subtract those two stars for the implication that Western "science" is the only way to look at things in general and herbs in particular.I don't think so.I have long training-nearly life long, in fact-training in alternative medicine and other alternative ideas.Therefore I am qualified to benefit from the Western science information and also to ignore or modify for myself the author's bias against traditional information.
I am guessing that's not so of the many readers of this book, not the least because this book is targeted at a general audience, and therefore this bias is quite a large deficiency in my opinion.Further, Dr Phaneuf, in ignoring some of the traditional information available on particular herbs, fails to give some of the traditional cautions and contraindication for certain herbs.That too I find a deficiency.Although I fully agree with the author that some traditional references like "this herb is good for the liver" are useless and possibly dangerous if relied upon, but that's certainly not all there is available in the way of traditional information.If this book were not aimed at a general audience I would not feel compelled to make such an issue of this.
Otherwise, I expect this book will be a valued addition to my library and I congratulate Dr. Phaneuf on an entertaining book in a very accessible format.

Product Description
Is green tea the revolutionary answer to weight loss? Can cinnamon help diabetics?Is yohimbe the new Viagra? What do herbs really do to your body?

From the Publisher
As researchers and consumers alike become more aware of the power of herbs, more information is readily available--and much of it is conflicting or even potentially dangerous. Yet most resources simply prescribe herbs, without explaining how the herb works. Finally, Herbs Demystified provides scientifically up-to-date explanations for what herbs really do--in a clear, concise, user-friendly way.

A lifelong fascination with herbs led biochemist Dr. Holly Phaneuf to research their properties and the cause-and-effect mechanisms of herbal molecules in the human body. Answering basic as well as complicated questions about herbal remedies, Herbs Demystified is practical, easy-to-read, and extraordinarily comprehensive, covering every relevant topic, including:

* Echinacea's long-debated healing properties
* Lemon balm and sage as treatments for Alzheimer's disease
* Tea tree oil's effectiveness in getting rid of bacteria--and its cost to your cells
* Soy versus black cohosh for the prevention of hot flashes
* Licorice's ability to heal ulcers--and cause overdoses
* Garlic's effectiveness in preventing blood clots
* Wintergreen as nature's aspirin
* Aloe vera's two forms--and the drastically different effects of each

Exploring more than fifty of the most popular herbs, from aloe to yohimbe, the oft-used ginseng to the less well-known turmeric, Herbs Demystified also contains:

* How scientists think herbs work
* Lists of common ailments and recommended herbs
* Little-known dangers and warning labels
* History and folklore
* Good effects...and not so good
* Commonly reported use and dosage

Herbs included: aloe, arnica, artichoke, astragalus, bilberry, black cohosh, borage, cascara, cat's claw, catnip, chamomile, chaste tree, cinnamon, cranberry, dandelion, echinacea, eleuthero, evening primrose, feverfew, flax, garlic, ginger, gingko, ginseng, gotu kola, grape, guarana, hawthorn, hoodia, horse chestnut, kava, lavender, lemon balm, licorice, marsh mallow, milk thistle, nettle, parsley, peppermint, red clover, red pepper, sage, saw palmetto, senna, soy, St. John's wort, tea, tea tree oil, turmeric, uva ursi, valerian, wild yam, wintergreen, witch hazel, yerba mate, yohimbe



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Review of Vastu Living: Creating a Home for the Soul (Paperback)

I've taught Vedic texts in the West for many years. The author presents a cogent, wise, and clearly stated introduction not only to vastu but to the Vedic holistic philosophy. I actually include the title in my students reading list. The author's update of vastu, connecting it to ayurveda, is a wise decision and makes good sense.Vastu is connected to all the other Vedic disciplines and practicing yoga, ayurveda and now vastu can enhance the quality of one's life. I've read many of the new books on vastu, but the author's understanding of this subject is refreshing and true to its Vedic source. I look forward to reading the author's new release.



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