Bond Reviews

I bought this book to accompany me on a long trip, and wished I hadn't. The stories are very similar to each other, with platitudes of the 'my eyes met with the old woman in the rice paddy, and something wordless was exchanged' variety. I know there are better examples out there: why couldn't the editor find them?

This book is amazing. With a full-time job and a toddler, I need a book I can pick up and read a little at a time. I found myself thinking about this book all day and pouring through it each night. I love to travel, but haven't been able too as much as I'd like in recent years. This book not only makes me feel as though I've been on an adventure - several! - but it has inspired me to make mental notes of where I will be off to on my next trip. The great thing about the stories is the feeling that with a little motivation, any reader could be the next to take a trip and write a story. A great pick-me-up, there's-so-much-out-there-to-experience, carpe-diem, kick-in-the-patooty book! I highly recommend it.

Ride a horse through China. Trek in Nepal. Ride on the back of a motorcycle from California to Northeast Canada. These women are adventurous... yet are normal women with real fears. After reading this book you'll have the courage to be more independent and challenge-seeking. The stories range from the thrill-seekers (think African safari) to conservative travellers (such as going to Gatlinburg for a weekend with the girls)...but illustrates that stepping out of your comfort zone means different things to different women. It's the effort that counts.

Dan Hughes wrote this book with me in mind. I read this book while fostering a 9 yr old girl who had attachment disorder that, without proper treatment, would have destroyed her ability to function in a normal life. There were ideas and strategies in this book that worked (no matter how strange they sound). Dan Hughes knows what he is talking about. As a professional foster parent, I appreciate the straightforward language used in this book. I would recommend this to any person dealing with an attachment disorder child. It brings a much needed awarness to this overwhelming issue in surrogate parenting.

Wow! A GREAT book that is an easy, engaging read yet is informative and realistic about how totally messed up kids can be when they get into the foster care system. I know several Katies and, believe me, there is no exaggeration in the behaviors Hughes describes. I've recommended Building the Bonds of Attachment to many people around my office and have handed it to foster parents when i talk to them about working with some of our attachment disordered kiddos. It has opened many eyes to what these kids go through and why they act in the bizarre ways they sometimes do. The skills of the foster parents and therapist described here are unfortunately not the norm--but there are lots of us out here who are learning all that we can and doing all that we can to provide appropriate treatment to these tortured souls. This book was educational, an encouragement, and a source of inspiration to me.

Having been raising children with attatchment issues for more than 17 years, I was totally thrilled to find this book. It gave true insight to what one deals with when they choose to raise a child with attachment disorder an describes the child's perspective as well. I have bought 2 copies for myself, so I can loan one out (which I have several times) and I have helped others to order the book so they could learn and help heal these children as well. THANK YOU Dr. Hughes for your good work and commitment to these children with such hurting souls.

I found this to be a very comprehensive book. While I was only looking for ways to clean my home safely, I found body creams, paint recipes, etc. Many of the recipes here are good, safe, and useful. However, there doesn't seem to be much attention paid to basic chemistry; that is, just mixing soap and vinegar doesn't necessarily make a good cleaner just because soap is good and vinegar is good....if anything, the two can counteract each other, since vinegar is used to help remove soap film in other instances. The most concerning thing to me, however, is the use of lye in the homemade soap recipes. I want to be safe, not toxic, so I hardly see the point of mixing what is basically the main ingredient of commercial drain cleaner into what I'm using on my body or that of my child. Also, I found some of the ideas to feel very "made up," as though the thought was "this would probably work great too," like the tips you get in magazines, not as though they had been a tried & true cleaning recipes. All things aside, this is generally a very good book, and I would buy it as a gift to my friends but I would caution others to perhaps take advantage of the reduced price of something like "Clean House, Clean Planet," for a bit of guidance in how to use Annie's recipes more safely.

This is in response to the uninformed reviewer who complained because the soap-making recipes contained LYE. Here's a news flash for you: you can't make soap without lye. Good, old-fashioned soap has three essential ingredients: lye (sodium hydroxide), fat (animal or plant), and water. You can add fragrance, color, and other additives to make it fancier. The water, fat, and lye are transformed into soap by the chemical process of saponification. Once saponification is complete, the finished product no longer contains lye.

Learn to make your own soap. You won't regret it. It's easier than you think, it's fun, and MUCH better for your skin.

Don't let that dissuade you from trying out this book.

What an wonderful book! I've been meaning to try moving to less toxic methods of cleaning my home, but had just never taken the time to do it. A few weeks ago when I was cleaning my bathroom, I looked at my bottle of tile cleaner and realized that if my two year old got a hold of it, it could kill her. So I got out a big box and put in every household cleaner I had that had a warning label on it -- then I hauled it out to the garage and told my husband that he had some toxic waste to dispsose of.

I picked up this book from my library, went out and bought everything I needed to replace ALL of the cleaning products I normally use, and spent all of about $12... Then I indulged in a couple of bottles of essential oils, and my house smells better than it ever has, and looks and feels as cleaner than ever.

The recipes are easy to make, inexpensive, and very effective. No more expensive, store bought, toxic chemicals in my house!

This book is an excellent place to start for beginners like me. I thought I'd better get my own copy before I put too many dog ears and spills on the library's! Next stop... my bathroom cupboards. =)

All the other rave reviews are true - you can see that this book has struck a tremendous chord in readers for its humor and perspective on the animal/human bond. I would like to point out that Dr. Schoen does have a very holistic approach to veterinary medicine, having succesfully utilized both traditional and alternative methods of treatment. While other volumes exist on homeopathy, acupuncture, and herbal treatment for animals, this book might be useful in terms of how the author came to use those treatments and his ideas on how they make work in the bodies of our animal companions.

Also of interest for the reader is the author's intense self-reflection on the human history of attitudes towards animals throughout time. I thought Dr. Schoen did an excellent job explaining the many paradigms that have existed throughout time (largely centering around human dominion over the animals, how many have believed they have no emotions in order to justify atrocities, etc.) and how we live with those schools of thought today in terms of our laws surrounding animals as well as the prominent methods of treatment of animals both in the home and on the farm. His having to exhaustively fight/acquiese to dominant theory during his veterinary training and early practice is an interesting sociological anectdote.

This book is not only a well-written, feel good volume of one man's journey in life treating and living with animals, but also exists as a thought provoking volume questioning our societal attitudes towards animals.

I always thought I had read everything I needed to know about the emotional lives of animals. I've read everything I could lay my hands on. This is the first book to cross my path that marries the two-way emotional relationship that we share to holistic veterinary care. Many great books on animals' lives give great detail into the many ways animals help their human companions but I had never realised that I wasn't being shown how I could return the favor.

Dr Schoen's book is a doorway to understanding non-western medicine. I had felt that I was mentally open to medicines like Chinese herbal medicine, naturopathy & acupuncture but after reading this book I can now add Bach flower remedies, homeopathy, chiropratic and several other therapies. Not only am I now aware of how these therapies are used on animals but I now have faith in their efficacy.

This book is not a 'how to' on holistic healing for animals, although Dr Schoen does provide a list of helpful books on the subject as well as details on how to locate a veterinary doctor who may practice holistically.

This is, however, a book to touch your heart, offer hope & open your mind. I was moved to tears by both his stories & how his stories made me feel towards my own past & present animal companions. I take from this book many things that I will put into practice every day and I thank Dr Schoen for his beautiful book.

This is a wonderful publication on a meaningful subject. I didn't read the book but ordered the abridged cassette tapes. All animal lovers should know about this book or tape and read or listen. Truly one that you'll be glad you bought.

I gave this book to my dad as a gift. He's retired Air Force. He loved it and insisted I read it... not my usual genre. (I'm more of an Oprah-type reader, actually.) Well, for the two days it took me to finish this book, the dishes were piled in the sink, laundry in the hallway... you get the picture. It was fascinating to "ride along" with an air crash investigation team. The action moves right along. The government corruption Davis writes about is so believable, sadly. I asked my dad if the often negative depictions of these high-ranking military officers bothered him, and if the foul language bothered him (my dad never swears). He laughed at me and said, "Sweetie, this book tells it like it is!" My dad is now reading Davis's first book, "The General," and I'm next in line to read that. So I give the book five stars, and since my dad isn't on-line, here are his for you, Patrick Davis: *****. We can't wait for your next book.

Once again Patrick Davis gives us another military thriller that keeps you guessing til the end. His in depth look at the crash investigation makes you feel like you are a part of it. Once you get started, you won't want to put it down til your finished! He writes so well and so realistic it makes you wonder if things like the plot of this book really do happen in Washington.

As a woman, and a non-military one as well, I really like how Patrick Davis writes about military life - enough military to keep it on fact, but not so much that you cannot follow the story, knowing little of the words and phrases they use. Far too many authors do this, and for me, it fogs the story. Patrick Davis tells a good tale (we hope) filled with a bit of espionage and a bit of good raw human feelings for those they love and their past loves as well. His descriptions of the Colonel's former wife show intrigue, hate and still the love and admiration of another human being you've shared your life with, allowing the character to feel all of these things with no reciminations. And he keeps you guessing right up to the last sentence of the book. An all around excellent story! I'm now going to look for more from this great author.

This paperback contained war stories from three noted authors.The first story was by Stephen Coonts. It tells of an ex Marine sniper and a female military pilot who team up to kill the
terrorists who were responsible for killing her parents. In a story authored by Dean Ing a private investigator,a bounty hunter
and an FBI agent team up and discover a terrorist plot that could
lead to thousands of deaths.The final story by Barrett Tillman
tells the story of a group of retired fighter pilots who battle
enemy jets over the skies of California. Combat #2 was not as good a book as Combat #1. I hope that Combat #3 is an improvement
over Combat #2.

Combat #3 offered up four good stories by four good authors.
The first story was written by Harold Coyle.He told of a special Army unit made up of cyber warriors. They are recruited to combat the growing attacks by hackers whocause online terrorism around the world. The next story is by Ralph Peters. His story takes place in the Balkan states. A U.S. Army observer is taken hostage by the people he is sent over to observe.James Cobb tells of a U.S. calvary unit that does combat with an Algerian recon division that is attempting to attack a helpless African country.R.J. Pineiro,one of the rising stars among today's authors tells of a Russian terrorist seizes a space station
equipped with nuclear warheads.It is up to Marine Diane Williams to stop him.Four good stories for the price of one. Read this. You will enjoy it.

Not a single story here disappointed. To me, Dale Brown's "Leadership Material" was the best of the three. Loved how he intertwined the different personalities of Col. Norman and Major McLanahan. Norman, an Air Force accountant assigned to a promotion board, feels an outcast in the pilot-dominated world of the Air Force. Now his prejudices are coming out as he grades candidates for promotion from Major to Lt. Colonel. One of the the files he comes across is McLanahan's. On paper, he feels Mac is so woeful he should be thrown out of the USAF. But on the other side of the world, as the Gulf War winds down, McLanahan shows his skills and bravery as the Old Dog crew must stop an suped-up, stealthy Tu-160 Iranian bomber from sinking a US carrier.

"Lash-up" by Larry Bond was a pretty good story. Character development was decent. The interesting part was seeing how a newly formed group must overcome bureaucracy to come up with a space plane to neutralize a Chinese ASAT system destroying the GPS satellite network.

Really enjoyed the David Hagberg story "Breaking Point" where CIA DDO Kirk McGarvey must prevent an all-out war between China and Taiwan. Nice drama as McGarvey infiltrates Taiwan. Loved the captain of the Chinese Han-class sub. Very crafty guy with zero tolerance for mistakes who tries to foil America's plan.

Edith Nesbit is a charming writer. She tells her story with wit and humour, and interjects sly digs that engender a wink and a smile, but while the premise is timeless and interesting, the prose is extremely dated, making the book a bit tedious to read for any length of time. Also, the ideas and prejudices exhibited by the characters date the material.

The five siblings of the title, who have found a Sand-fairy willing to grant them one wish a day, continually make silly wishes that get them into trouble. Their first wish is to be "as beautiful as the day". Right there you get a sense of the book's outdated charm. This is of interest more as a tribute to a talented children's writer of a bygone era rather than for its own sake.

I wanted to enjoy this classic, but I found it hard slogging through. That is just my opinion, however, but I'd suggest you read a bit of the text before purchasing it unless you're already familiar with, or particularly interested in, author Nesbit.

Caveat: The occasional black-and-white line drawings are by H.R. Millar, not the Paul Zelinsky watercolors promised in the Editorial Reviews section.

This book is about Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane, and their baby brother who discover a Psammead,
or Sand-fairy, who agrees to grant the children one wish per day.
Soon, their wishes start to turn quite unlike what they expected.
Then, an accidental wish has terrible consequences, and the kids
are faced with a hard choice: to let an innocent man be charged
with a crime, or to lose their gift of magical wishes.

I read this book in one day, and I thought it was pretty good.
This book turned out to be fairly interesting.
I would probably read "Five Children and It" again.

This 1902 fantasy, a gift from my parents when I was in fourth or fifth grade, features an irritable Psammead whom Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane, and their baby brother dig up in a sand pit. Then the magic begins. The sand-fairy does not like granting wishes, and his misshapen body with bat's ears and snail's eyes bloats when he does. The wishes, lasting only until sunset, all take unexpected, funny turns.

The sand-fairy and other personalities and Victorian details render the magic entirely real-world, believable. This was my favorite children's book and I relived the delight when I found a copy to share with my own children. That this volume is illustrated by one of my favorite people from one of my favorite families triples the delight.

The book is too challenging for independent reading for children under 10, but it's a great read-aloud for small children, as are the classics of Frank Baum, E.B. White and C.S. Lewis.

Edith Nesbit was like J. K. Rowling a single mother in need of a means to support her children. Her books in their era were as popular as Harry Potter in this one. Some of her observations are surprisingly humane. Nesbit's treatment of a clan of Gypsies, for example, transcends the deep prejudice of her time. Not to worry, the book is not preachy or teachy. It's just grand, eloquent fun. Alyssa A. Lappen

I used this book as a text for a graduate level "Fixed Income Analysis" course. This book covers almost all the fixed income financial instruments from plain vanilla bonds to interest rate derivatives. However, reading this book leaves the reader with a desire for more than just the peripheral knowledge, which is all this book offers.

Theoretically, this book justfies its being called a handbook, but on the mathematical front, it stands absolutely nowhere. There are little or no examples used in the text even though the author touches base on the advanced topics sometimes. Any fixed income practioner, including me, will tell you that ONE JUST CANNOT LEARN FIXED INCOME CONCEPTS WITHOUT GRASPING THE MATH BEHIND THEM, and this book scores poorly in the quantitative analysis. Fixed income securities are extremely sensitive to interest rate fluctuations, and hence, it would be only sensible to present atleast a few chapters trying to explore the concepts used in the modeling of interest rates. But this book doesn't do that. There is little quantitative discussion about duration and convexity, two of the most important risk-measurement tools for bonds.

Since it is called a handbook, I don't see any reason why the author should hold back advanced concepts from the readers. Conversely, since this book doesn't attempt to teach all the concepts to its readers, it should not be called a handbook. This problem is actually common to all the Fabozzi books. Either his math is weak, or he is just busy making money writing a handbook on every possible fixed income security. It's only a shame that a capable and learned individual like him should do such a sloppy job.

I would recommend books by Bruce Tuckman, Garbade, or Horne for more advanced and intelligent discussions on fixed income securities and interest rates rather than this book. One really need not waste money on this book. Theory on Fixed Income instruments is widely available from Federal Reserve publications, which are almost always free. Put your money only where it will produce fixed & positive returns - Fixed Income 101.

(...) It gives a lot of general info on a lot of different Fixed income topics. It's a good ref. for people just getting involved with fixed income. However if you are looking for focused material, you should look into one of Frank's books on that area. Good overall intuition on Fixed income markets and products.

This book contains everything a beginner could care to know and everything a professional needs to know. This book is a study in fixed income securities from the basic to the complex and should be a source of information and reference for anyone studying or practicing.

Joe Hutsko recreates the real life power struggle of Apple's executives' officers in his latest book, The Deal. It is hard not to have Steve Jobs, John Scully, Apple, IBM, Microsoft, Intel, and the Wintel alliance in mind as you are reading this novel. Nevertheless, it is a very entertaining piece of reading. It surely beats any chessy soap opera shows on TV with its additional insider knowledge of the workings of Sillicon Valley's technology corporations. Many events in the story happen because of chance and coincidence, the typical elements in a conventional fiction plot. But if you are just looking for a time out and fun, this is it!

Okay, Joe, here we go. I'm not going to say how I acquired this book. Other than I did purchase it. I selected the novel among a stack of other books. First time author for this type of fiction novel. Sure, I'm interested. Let's see how well he writes. But.. let's not kid ourselves. The author had a cast of characters, a plot and everything needed for this novel. It wasn't a bad thing either. I read the book from start to finish and from what I can tell, Hutsko has the makings of a fine author. It's obvious he's living in the age of computers and fast living. My advice at this time to the observer of this review...go ahead and read Hutsko's novel, see what you think. I liked it. My advice to Joe Hutsko.... "you go, Joe." ;-)

This is a great read with a bang up ending.Joe Hutsko is the ultimate insider and takes you along for a non-stop ride.I will be waiting for the next book from this guy, he is GOOD!!!

When one envisions fossil hunting, especially of dinosaurs, it is often seen as a simple search, proceeded by a discovery, and finally a claim to fame for unearthing a valuable piece of our world's history. One would usually not even consider the conflicts and political questions raised in the discovery of new fossils. However, Steve Fiffer's Tyrannosaurus Sue: The Extraordinary Saga of the Largest, Most Fought over T. Rex Ever Found exposes the modern day reality of the trials and tribulations facing those looking to excavate fossils. The book centers on the story of Peter Larson and his merry band of paleontologists as they take on the evil forces of the U.S. government and a greedy landowner in a dispute over the ownership of the theropod fossil Tyrannosaurus sue. The account of the battle for Sue, from the initial and improbable discovery of the fossil to the final outcome, shows the common reader there is more to the collecting and studying of fossils than meets the eye. With the different aspects involved, from science to politics to even conspiracy, Fiffer's book is a must read for everyone from professionals in the scientific field to those interested in politics or to just an inquiring mind in search of a wild and amazing story. Fiffer is successful in portraying the opinions of all involved. The testimony and insight of the various players in this legal tug-of-war provide the reader a complete picture of what is going on. The point of view seems to favor Peter Larson, but all are given a chance to voice their view and Fiffer avoids portraying any of the parties involved as the "villain". This style allows the reader to form his own opinion regarding the matter being fought over. He also raises many questions regarding modern day fossil collection and study. The fate of Sue shows that a new era has arrived in paleontology, one that is based on money and politics rather than science. Some of the questions he raises include the rights given to commercial fossil collectors vs. academic paleontologists, the effects on scientist of the selling fossils for profit, and the clarity of federal law regarding and regulating the collection of fossils. These issues are ones that, for the sake of future scientific advancement, need solutions. This novel is able to capture the reader's mind from the outset. Fiffer's clear style of writing allows the reader to understand exactly what is occurring. While closely following the events that ensue from Sue's discovery to her arrival at her final home at the Field Museum of Natural History, the reader is also educated in some of the basics of paleontology, from the stories of great scientists of the past to the most elementary of the work involved in studying fossils, the reader is able to witness a great drama unfold while simultaneously being educated in the realm of science. The story of Sue is both thought provoking and entertaining.

This book told the dramatic events leading up to and including the purchase of Sue, the Tyrannosaurus rex fossil found in South Dakota in 1990. The book details how the fossil was found, excavated, then confiscated by the government in the years preceding its auction. The drama unfolds as the auction proceeds in the book, and the glimpses into the lives of persons and groups who hunt and buy fossils is fascinating. Intrigue, suspense, and courtroom drama--it has it all. I hope they make a movie out of this book.

I have really enjoyed reading this book. I'm a Dinosaur nut and this book is about my favorite Dino the T-Rex so it was an obvious attraction to me to read. What I read only proved to me that our Government is pathetic to say the least. To do what they did to Peter Larson was a crime. Not only do they steal the find of the century but they lay bogus charges on him that ultimatly sent him to jail and nearly ruined his life! How can the US Government do what they did? They have been doing it to people for years and Mr Larson was only one more person who has suffered at the hands of our government. It's terrible when Dinosaur hunters cant even dig up bones for fear that they might be prosecuted for stealing so called Government property. When I first read this book I was thinking I was going to be reading about the find of the century but what I found out was that the US Government is nothing but a bunch of theif's who took the low road to try and ruin a good man who was doing his job. The story of Sue and the events that surrounded her is very very good and a must read for Dino lovers of all ages and it will show just how ruthless our Government can be.