MS

I haven't left this book alone for a day since I bought it. The book provides, in a catalog format, all of the essential information one might need to evaluate the suitability of a very wide variety of native wildflowers, shrubs and trees.

The organization of the book is helpful in that it categorizes the plants as long-lived wildflowers, short-lived wildflowers, shrubs, trees, palms, et cetera. Each individual plant is represented by a good photo and a consistent presentation of essential data: culture, propagation, zone, soil requirements, et cetera, so you can easily and quickly access needed information.

A drawback for Central or North Florida readers: the book seems to be heavily weighted toward southern Florida natives.

A suggestion: a clear identification of the habitat within which each plant is likely to be found would be helpful, especially to those interested in habitat restoration, as I am.

If you want to start, enhance, or improve a native Florida garden, this book has it all! From basics like how to prepare your site before planting (wish this book had been published two years ago!), to selecting the right plants for your site, to pictures of the plants, Rufino Osorio has covered it in this book. I thought I knew a lot before reading it, but now I rely on this text to help me refine my own native garden with buying new plants, pruning and propagating existing plants, (possibly even removing some existing ones), etc. Whether you're a relative novice like me, a true ground-zero beginner, or an experienced gardener, this book belongs on your shelf. My only note of caution is that this purchase will be only the beginning of a long list of acquisitions; in the two weeks since buying this book (got one early through Mounts Botanical Garden in WPB), I have already purchased about 20 new plants.

Good book for a quick look at LC/MS or LC/MS/MS. If you are searching for application notes you may find better resources elsewhere.

I would highly recommend this book. It is clear, concise and helpful. One of the beat featurs is the "Additional Resources" section, which is full of references, links, etc. to other, equally helpful sources of information. The authors are up-to-date with all the new develpments, including APPI, which has only been introduced very recently.

If you only buy one LC/MS resource buy this one!

Being new to the area, and wanting to get familiar with local plants, I found the information in this book to be very helpful. The month by month directions were helpful for plants I was unfamiliar with. My bigest critisim of it would be that there are no color pictures of the plants described so you have to have a hefty botanical book in order to see all of the plants mentioned. They should have a reference section such as that of Southern Living or Sunset which has small color pictures showing the desribed plants. That would make this book perfect.

This book was loaned to me by a long-time gardener at church who said it was the best out there and now I have my own copy becuase I kept going to her house to look up something. I love the way it seperates chores by month and area of garden.

Wel. I must say this is a decent book for those who have just bought a new home in the New Orleans area and are looking to start a Garden. One of the most important points that this book neglects however is MATH.

Miscalculating the size of your garden is a major problem for some folks, especially those who are stuck studying medical knowledge all day, so only really look at this stuff at midnight. They might be the type to be prone to make a mistake like transposing radius and diameter... and therefore planning a, oh I don't know, 650 sq ft garden. Goofy if you ask me. This will be the same person who one day takes out your apendix... er, I mean tonsils.

The other thing this book neglects is that its just too darned hot in LA most of the time to care about a garden. I mean, its a bloody swamp, why people think they are going to plant anyting which doesn't attract alligators and rats is beyond me; so the idea of sitting out in the garden weeding, while being stalked by an alligator, which is hiding behind the Tomatos, is just 'not a good thing'. And its 100% humidity, but only rains when you have to go from your car to a building... the rest of the time the water just sits there in mid air. Unlkess you are talking about the French Quarter, at which it really is not water... don't ask.

Which brings us to pointed sticks. A must for any garden. 'Of course' you say, thinking I am refering to the ability to stake plants up so they grow taller. No, I say... you don't want tall plants - the alligators will then hide behind them, not to mention the 3 ft crickets. You don't want a 3 ft cricket charging you without a pointed stick. Well, unless you are armed with a Banana... I mean, if you got a Banana, then why are you even reading this, you should be over in Iraq helping the American forces.

Unless of course you ate it... then you deserve whatever the cricket chooses to do with you.

Timing is very important in gardening, and in Louisiana with its variations of climate it is dangerous to take generic Internet sourced advice about timing. Dan is the man to listen to here. Especially if you've got huge tracts of land, this book is for you.

If you need a reference book for MS-DOS, this is one of the best. You can learn a lot about DOS -- anything from futzing with the dos prompt to learning how to use batch files. Oh, one more important detail -- you learn that an elephant's appendix is nearly five feet long :-) The light-hearted approach is refreshing!

This is a great book. I was a complete novis with DOS, and actidently picked up the 2nd version. I began to read it, but it was amazingly simple to understand, even though you are expected to know what was in the first version!

Highly reccomend.

Jaime Espiritu has a command of the English language unparalleled by the average American. With an occasional blip for English-as-a 2nd-language, he comes through his characters in full, descriptive style, and his writing reads as we would speak the thoughts--flowingly enticing the reader to his next thought. The Mr. and Ms. characters are vehicles for dealing with human issues and human nature, and the author provokes readers to find and relate to their underlying feelings and struggles. These stories reach inside of you and find the hidden places of your heart and mind. Though short stories, like 30-min TV programs with plots to wrap up in limited time/space, however delightful, may imply easy solutions and strong subject knowledge, we will need more books from Jaime Espiritu to know if he has, indeed, the answers to human nature's dilemmas in the pursuit of happiness. Keep the books coming Mr. Espiritu. We look forward to the next one.

I picked up this book from a local boosktore while I was on travel in the east coast and wow, I never put it down again as soon as I turned the first page. I'v never bought a book that did that to me. The four novellas are so wonderfully written, the stories told so vividly, the characters so real. You see yourself in them, in their daily lives! And I laughed, and I sorta had to blink some tears away, both sad and joyful, at one time or another. I feel good, and really happy I read this book.

Con este libro podrás aprender lo básico de programar en Visual Basic hasta llegar a convertirte en un experto en esta herramienta de desarrollo. Incluye todas las novedades de esta nueva versión.

Excelente manual para todo nivel, para gente que sabe programar les va a resultar muy facil aprender el lenguaje.

After reading MS. SIMON SAYS, I've added Mary McBride's backlist to my "must have" list.

Wow! Ms. McBride takes a fairly standard 'bodyguard' storyline and gives it a totally fresh face with engaging characters, clever dialogue and heavy dollops of humor. The main setting of this story - a small lake town in Michigan - and the author's knack for adding some nice little touches to her character's lives, only added to its appeal.

Ms. McBride definitely has a flair for creating warm, believable characters. Shelby Simon, is a quirky, meddlesome and fun heroine in contrast to the dour, wounded-hero type, Mick Callahan. But this duo balance each other beautifully and are electrifying together. This pair is dynamic, intelligent, inspired, with just loads of sexual chemistry. And its refreshing to read a hero, particularly one as gruff as Mick, admit - at least to himself - that he's wild about the heroine. MS. SIMON SAYS is also peppered with well-written secondary characters, particularly Shelby's parents.

The suspense storyline in MS. SIMON SAYS is equally well done, but Ms. McBride wisely chose, I think, to distance the death and mayhem from her characters. The result is a story that sparkles with warmth and has a lots of appeal - a real gem.

Debbie Jett
...

The letter bombs hit Helm-Harris syndicate newspaper offices in several cities. At the flagship paper, the Chicago Daily Mirror, the bomb squad dismantles the deadly letter. The common thread is that each letter was addressed to advice columnist Shelby Simon. The Chicago police, in agreement with Shelby's editor, decide to take her out of harm's way and thus protect others.

Chicago PD Lieutenant Mick Callahan is assigned to take Shelby to a safe spot, her family home in Heart Lake, Michigan. Before they leave Chicago, a letter bomb explodes at her apartment building killing the mail carrier. In Michigan, Mick sticks around to keep Shelby safe though he insists it is not because she is the first person to make him laugh since his wife died a few years ago. As they become acquainted while he tries to keep her safe from a maniac, they fall in love, but Mick knows a hot shot columnist like Shelby would only be embarrassed to introduce her friends to a cop.

Though there is way too much angst amongst secondary characters (her parents are separated and her California based sister's love of a lifetime is in town hating Shelby), fans will enjoy this tense romantic suspense. Since Mick has relationship demons, the only one to have it together is Shelby, the target of the bomber. Though why no one in her family asks about the bombings and the killer's motive is a stretch, readers will appreciate the fast-paced MS. SIMON SAYS and look forward to the sequel PLAY IT AGAIN SAM.

Harriet Klausner

For anyone who is interested in gardning in NC, this book is a must. Most gardinging books would only concentrate on how good the plant is. BUt this book also tells us some of the "problems" one might have with the plants and what kind of pests/diseases a plant might be susceptible to. I should have given 5-Stars for this book. The reason I did not give is the indexing is a bit confusing -- the botanical and common names are used in mixed mode. This is not a big problem though, once you get used to the book.

Again, this book is a must for all gardeners in NC -- experience as well as novices.

This book has been very helpful for me in choosing, planting and understanding how to take care of annuals, perennials, groundcovers, shrubs, trees, bulbs, vines and herbs that will grow well in North Carolina. The choices at a gardening center can be overwhelming, but Tony Bost's advice can help you focus on plantings that have a good chance to succeed in a N.C. garden. I especially like the great detail that goes into the exact way to plant your selection, and the maintenance of the plant, so that you know how often and with what to fertilize the plant, and how to water and prune it. Tony Bost has also included up to date information on new cultivars that are being developed and relies a lot on excellent research that is currently being done at the Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh.

I bought this book because I was intrigued with some of the titles of the "worst case scenarios". Some examples include:

How to: land a plane, hotwire a car, wrestle an alligator, escape from a sinking car, leap from a motorcycle into a car etc.

While some of these scenarios could address deep-seated fears in all of us (the sinking car gives me the willies), it was really fun to read some of these aloud at a recent gathering of friends because some of these situations are really absurd and funny. The author's intent was definitely not to be funny as he works to portray the survival procedures and information in a matter-of-fact way and gives his sources in the back of the book.

But really, how often are we likely to have to know how to manuever on top of a train and get inside (sounds like a movie) or leap from a moving motorcyle to a moving car? Other areas are definitely more practical--how to survive an earthquake or avoid being struck by lightning.

In some areas, I wonder whether the capsule information would give a false sense of security to the person in the situation. I have a private pilot's license but I don't see how a person can realistically expect to land an airplane with 6 pages of text and drawings.

So here is my advice--enjoy the book for what it is--a conversation starter and a source of some practical information.

This book is a lot of fun . It gives you well thought out advice about things you hope NEVER happen to you. For example, how to land a plane, how to ram a car, how to fend off a shark, how to deliver a baby in a taxi, how to survive being lost in the mountains. Did you know that you should avoid valleys in the winter as cold air falls. I didn't know that, it actually might come in handy at some point !

I thought that the best quote in the book was in the forward "... you must stay calm and you must not panic. And remember that willpower is the most crucial survival skill of all - don't catch that terrible disease of "Give-up-itis". The author was discussing how there are opportunities to give yourself a chance to survive even in the most dire of circumstances.

There is another book about how to handle the daily challenges that occur in our day-to-day lives. That book is called "Working On Yourself Doesn't Work" by Ariel and Shya Kane. In it they describe how their technology of being in the moment allows one to live a life that is more satisfying, easier, and relaxed regardless of the current circumstances in one's life. I've known the Kanes for quite some time now and I can vouch for their effectiveness. Get both books.

In my line of work, you have to know how to survive. From fending off sharks, escaping from killer bees, treating bullet wounds, to surviving poisonous snakes, danger is my business, and business is good.

In The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht describe step-by-step instructions with pictures on dealing with the situations above, and many more.

This 176 page book is broken up into five chapters, each dealing with situations of a particular vein. The first chapter, Great Escapes and Entrances, includes escaping from quicksand, breaking down doors, ramming cars, and escaping from sinking cars. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I have to do that...

Chapter two titled The Best Defense gives tips on dealing with bears, mountain lions, charging bulls, how best to take a punch and winning a sword fight. I once had to deal with a bear armed with a saber, so this chapter was especially handy, as I got to combine two skills into one.

Chapter three discusses Leaps of Faith, or how to jump from things, onto things, and into things without hurting yourself. Ever see those movies where one person is chasing another on top of a speeding train? Now you can learn how to jump from train car to train car without completely destroying yourself because you fell between the cars and got caught under the ouchy wheels.

I found chapter four, titled Emergencies, to be quite useful as I now know how to perform a tracheotomy. Forget that foolish Heimlich maneuver stuff..."Sir, are you choking?" Also learn how to use that cool hospital machine with the paddles that people always yell "Clear!" and then slap them on some unconscious person.

The last chapter deals with Adventure Survival. What would you do if the pilot of the plane you were traveling in suddenly collapsed? Well, with the help of this book, you can land that baby in confidence. Parachute won't open? No problem...lost in the desert? Got you covered...

Even though I make a lot of jokes, all the techniques listed within these pages are culled from expert sources in the various fields. There is even a forward written by "Mountain" Mel Deweese, a Survival Evasion Resistance Escape instructor. (I love to take a peek at his resume') All in all, a fun, quick, informative read that may give you the tools to save yourself from a dangerous situation someday.