Review of At Home in the Park: Loving a Neighborhood Back to Life (Paperback)

The title of my review explains exactly how I felt from the moment I started reading. It was as if I had crawled inside her book, her neighborhood, her life. Her words came alive
when she talked about the crisp autumn mornings, the aroma of food, the feeling was so strong, it was if I could smell, feel, and be a part of every page of her book.
A wonderful writer, I hope to be seeing more books from her soon.
Glenda K Schlueter

Product Description
What's the difference between a group of houses and a real community? Author Lola L. Lucas explores this question in At Home in the Park: Loving a Neighborhood Back to Life.

Lucas chronicles the rebirth of Enos Park, a section of Springfield, Illinois, just north of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Like many cities, the area went through a period of urban decay before rebounding. The Enos Park Neighborhood Improvement Association (EPNIA) was largely responsible for this change.

Lucas's columns about Enos Park have appeared in the EPNIA Banner since 1992. With wisdom and wry humor, she shows why it's worth the effort to reweave a neighborhood's social fabric in order for residents to once again enjoy their homes. Lucas writes about community policing, ice cream socials, neighborhood patrols, and evening strolls on tree-lined sidewalks. Through the efforts of the EPNIA, the citizens of Enos Park reclaimed their streets and loved their neighborhood back to life.

About the Author
Lola L. Lucas earned a BA in English, an MA in management and an MBA in human resources. She works for a state agency as a research economist and teaches part-time at the University of Illinois. She and her husband, Kevin Brown, live in Springfield, Illinois, with their two standard poodles.

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Review of How to Design, Build, Remodel & Maintain Your Home (Paperback)

This is a very comprehensive book. We are building an addition. This book was very detailed oriened yet fairly easy to understand. It covers everything from heating and air conditioning to duct work to repairs to explaining basic terms.

If you are working on an addition or building a house this would be a good book to buy.

It is not a book of ideas or suggested floor plans. Rather, this book will help you build the addition or build the house once you have decided what you are doing. This a book more about the 'guts' or the 'behind the scenes' of the house building.

Well worth the money.

Product Description

With this comprehensive book, you will learn enough about construction materials and labor to save up to 70 percent on the cost of your home and still have a house mare sound than any ready-built structure.

You will learn enough about creating a plan so that you or a professional builder can translate your dream into a reality.

You will learn enough about good building methods to avoid the "high cost of cheap construction."

Included in this volume is complete and detailed information on all the following topics:

Basic Tools and Use

* Doors and Windows
* Site Selection
* Exterior Finishes
* Building and Zoning Laws
* Interior Non-Bearing Partitions
* How to Read Plans
* Soundproofing
* Preliminary Design Studies
* Plumbing
* Designing for the Physically Handicapped
* Heating
* Air Conditioning
* Dangerproofing
* Electricity
* Cost Control
* Solar Energy
* Staking Out
* Fire Stops
* Introduction to Construction
* Insulation and Energy-Saving Techniques
* Foundations
* Termites and Carpenter Ants
* Ceiling Finishes
* Floor Framing
* Interior Wall Finishes
* Wall Framing
* Floor Finishes
* Ceiling Framing
* Interior Finishes
* Roof Framing
* Saunas
* Plank and Beam Framing
* Site Work
* Sheathing
* High Cost of Cheap Construction
* Roof Covering
* Construction Forms and Contracts

Written simply enough for the layman to understand, with enough sophisticated knowledge and creative ideas for the professional, here's a book no home builder should be without.

About the Author
Joseph D. Falcone, A.I.A. is an architect, educator, city planner and author. He is head of an architectural firm with a permanent staff of architects and engineers, served as Chairman of City Plan Commission for 18 years and has taught and is currently teaching at Secondary, College and University levels.

He is listed in Who's Who In The East for the past five years for outstanding design in construction and has won a national award in design by the American Association of School Administrators. He has been elected to the International Registry of Who's Who.

Mr. Falcone is considered an expert in all types of building design and construction and has a proven track record of optimum combination of creativity, logic, soundness and economy.



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Review of Nature's Prozac: Natural Ways to Achieve Peak Mental and Emotional Health (Paperback)

I've been looking at books on natural alternatives to Prozac, and this is the worst I've seen for that purpose.

Believe it or not, the dozens upon dozens of ailments, symptoms, and therapies in this book are not organized in a logical order, but *alphabetically*. It really takes some digging to find what you need.

For instance, to get information about "depression," look in the D's. On the other hand, if you want to know about "the blues," look in the B's. "Sadness/despondency" is in with the S's. "Grief"--check the G's.

For that matter, if you're depressed, you might also want to check out "affirmations," "agitation," "alienation," "behavioral therapy," "cognitive awareness," "drowsiness," "escapism," "fatigue," "guilt," etc.--each in their own separate listings. You will not have the patience to do this, because this book is 500 pages long. Don't you think they might have organized this book better?

The title "Nature's Prozac" suggests that this book covers natural alternatives to Prozac, such as St. John's Wort. Discussion of these is inadequate almost to the point of being nonexistent. (St. John's wort is mentioned in a list on p. 217 and there are three sentences about it on p. 74.)

If you're looking for an encyclopedia of entries on non-medical therapies, buy this book.

If you're looking for medically sound advice for people with depression, the best book I found at my library was Murray's Natural Alternatives to Prozac (a bit old). I am also about to check out Bamuel's Dealing with Depression Naturally and Knishinsky's The Prozac Alternative.

Product Description
Can you remember one day in your life-or perhaps just one hour-when you were content and unworried? For most of us, that's hard to do, and many rely on powerful mood-altering drugs to just get us through the day.If you've been searching for natural alternatives, NATURE'S PROZAC is your definitive guide to achieving peak mental and emotional health with nature's medicines."More than anything in the field of mental health, we need lots of creative alternatives to drugs. Judith Sachs' book makes a major contribution in this direction."~Peter R. Breggin, M.D., author, Talking Back to Prozac and Toxic Psychiatry



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Review of Eco-Friendly Families (Paperback)

This book is great for beginners and seasoned "greenines" alike! There was so much imformation that anyone, just starting out on the green living journey could follow and not feel overwhelmed.For someone like myself who I consider further along on the journey of green living, I still found and unbelievable amount of information from Helen to help me take things even further.It is an easy read and you'll find yourself bookmarking page after page of tips, advice and step by step instructions. It is great for families of young children and Helen makes a special effort to include the teen age group in all of her helpful hints and how the families can work together to be a green team!

Product Description
Going green is a family affair...

Parents and kids making the world a better place.

Eco-friendliness has grown into a way of life across the country. Eco-Friendly Families is the perfect guide to raising a family with 'green' values, whether they're celebrating their first Earth Day or are old hands at recycling, eating organic, and carrying a cloth bag to the supermarket. Parents and children can all live by eco-example by following the tips in this book, including:

- Start-up advice for going green as a family affair- motivating all family members to embrace change

- Family activities that can make every day Earth Day and living green fun

- A practical guide to growing up green-what everyone can do around the house, at school, at work, and on vacation

- Realistic ways to deepen family involvement through environmentalism, conservation, activism, and advocacy

- Effective suggestions for raising responsible, ecoconscious citizens

About the Author
Helen Coronato is a freelance writer, talk show host, and full-time mother. Her articles have appeared in Parentguide News and International Doula magazine. She is the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Reading with Your Child.

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Review of Living Safe in an Unsafe World: The Complete Guide to Family Preparedness (Paperback)

I first borrowed this book from the library and found it so useful I bought it from Amazon. I live in the Washington, D.C. area and felt very unprepared for emergencies in the aftermath of September 11. This guide helps you create a family emergency planand give you tips on keeping safe in more routine situations. Particularly useful was their suggestion of a disaster supplies kit, which I now have. Some items in the kit were predictable--like a first aid kit, but others were not and make a lot of sense like a NOAA emergency radio, list of key addresses and contacts, extra prescription medications etc.While I don't expect to need it for an evacuation or terrorist emergency, these are supplies I would need in other emergencies from power outtages to storms etc. They recommend that you pack this in a carryall and take with you on trips as well.

Also useful was the idea of a family emergency plan--places to meet outside your home in case of an emergency. This would have been very useful on September 11 when all phone and cell phone lines in this area were busy and roads were clogged while people didn't have alternate ways to get home.

Other useful topics are in areas such as fire emergency, food related dangers, weather related disasters, dangerous encounters with animals and insects and a great chapter on home related emergencies.

I think every home should have a reference book like this one.

Product Description
Whatever emergency comes your way, Living Safe in an Unsafe World is your guidebook on how your family can survive it. You'll read about how to prepare for emergencies by developing "situational awareness," investigating insurance coverage, posting emergency numbers, designating family "safety spots," traveling safely, and more....

"The American Red Cross believes that everyone should be prepared for any possible disruption in their daily lives that may be caused by disasters, from a home fire to something that affects the entire community. The content of this book can help you and your family be more prepared and safer should disaster strike. Most steps recommended in this book are simple and easy to do with little time and effort, yet will result in greater peace of mind for everyone in the family."-Rocky Lopes, Ph.D., Sr. Associate for Disaster Education American Red Cross Headquarters

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Review of Feng Shui for Success & Happiness (Paperback)

"One Joy Scatters a hundred griefs" Chinese proverb.
By opening his preface with this quote, Richard Webster lays the basis of Feng Shui down. He has a theory that you have to be happy before any kind of change can take place.
He touches on what a 'shar' is, how to overcome even the smallest problems with Feng Shui remedies and explains the 'magic square'.
This book is nicely illustrated with line drawings and examples of 'pa-kua mirrors' (which should only be used outside), trigrams and the Magic Square. He also includes the Cycle of Production of the Five Elements (fire, earth, metal, water and wood) and the Cycle of Destruction of the Five elements. He is very thorough and even a rank beginner can understand it.

I would recommend this book for someone who is interested in Feng Shui and wants to have a basis to get started.

Richard Webster explains thoroughly what Feng Shui means, how you can affect small changed in your life and how Feng Shui will help you. He includes a couple of case studies from people he has worked with toward the end of the book as well.

From reading this book, my interest in Feng Shui is more piqued and I will be reading other books to get more information.

Product Description
The ancient Chinese noticed that different environments had a direct bearing on contentment and even luck. Feng Shui for Success & Happiness  will show you how to activate the energy, or ch''i, in your home to improve your environment and to achieve happiness and abundance.

About the Author

Richard Webster was born and raised in New Zealand. He has been interested in the psychic world since he was nine years old. As a teenager, he became involved in hypnotism and later became a professional stage hypnotist. After school, he worked in the publishing business and purchased a bookstore. The concept of reincarnation played a significant role in his decision to become a past-life specialist. Richard has also taught psychic development classes, which are based on many of his books. Richard's first book was published in 1972, fulfilling a childhood dream of becoming an author.Richard is nowthe authorof over seventy-fivetitleson New Age subjects. His best-selling books include Spirit Guides & Angel Guardians and Creative Visualization for Beginners.Richard has appeared on several radio and TV programs in the United States and abroad including guest spots on Hard Copy, WMAQ-TV (Chicago), KTLA-TV (Los Angeles), KSTW-TV (Seattle) and the Mike and Matty Show (ABC). He currently resides in New Zealand with his wife and three children. He regularly travels the world to give lectures, workshops and to continue his research.

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Review of Finding Your Way Home: A Soul Survival Kit (Paperback)

This is one of those books that seems to have just came to me somehow.These are the books that I needed the most.I love this little book.I didn't really know I was lost until I read it.But after I started reading it, I started crying and all of these emotions were coming to the surface.Emotions that had been holding me back and weighing me down my whole life.It's touching, it's helpful, it's inspiring, and it's well-written and personal.I've read a lot of self-help books or books to help you find God, but this book was like none of the other books I've read.It is sweet, to the point, and it hits your emotional trigger points in a gentle manner, but effectively.This book is full of love!And once you read it, you will be thankful for the love that it awakens in your heart.The main things I gained from this book are the ability to forgive myself and the realization that I truly am NOT alone.I realized that I plow through life often scared, uncertain of who I am or what my purpose is, and too often unsure if God is really with me.After I read some of this book, my heart felt free from the heavy burdens that I had carried my whole life.This is a great book!



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Review of Eldercare for Dummies (Paperback)

I recently met Rachelle at a healthcare meeting and was fasinated after hearing she had written her book.As an owner of a "free" senior placement service, I was anxious to read it and see how else I could advise my clients on such tough matters as eldercare. The book is with me wherever I go. Over the holidays I found myself counseling my own family members on how to talk to their in-laws when they begin to notice the ever changing physical events in their lives.I've only started, so there is so much more to learn.In the meantime, I never open the book without a highlighter in hand.Many thanks Rachelle!

Product Description
Cope with legal, financial, and medical issues

Minimize anxiety and stress and make the later years golden

Need help caring for an elderly loved one? This sensitive, reassuring guide provides strategies for assessing older persons' needs, arranging for care, ensuring their safety, and enhancing quality of life - all while respecting their dignity. You'll see how to manage physical disabilities and chronic health problems, evaluate nursing homes, and help elders control their destinies.

The Dummies Way

• Explanations in plain English
• "Get in, get out" information
• Icons and other navigational aids
• Tear-out cheat sheet
• Top ten lists
• A dash of humor and fun

From the Back Cover
Cope with legal, financial, and medical issues

Minimize anxiety and stress and make the later years golden

Need help caring for an elderly loved one? This sensitive, reassuring guide provides strategies for assessing older persons' needs, arranging for care, ensuring their safety, and enhancing quality of life - all while respecting their dignity. You'll see how to manage physical disabilities and chronic health problems, evaluate nursing homes, and help elders control their destinies.

The Dummies Way

• Explanations in plain English
• "Get in, get out" information
• Icons and other navigational aids
• Tear-out cheat sheet
• Top ten lists
• A dash of humor and fun

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