5 comments about Life After Trauma: A Workbook for Healing.

1. I wanted to read this book after a car crash resulted in general anxiety. When I began to read it, I felt as though the authors really undertood how I was feeling. I felt as though someone were holding my hand, letting me know that there is a light at the end of this dark tunnel.



2. I was expecting this book to be about unraveling the past, understanding it, and generally spending a lot of time in territory I wasn't interested in revisiting... Thankfully, it is about being aware of feelings taking place in the present. This book is geared toward increasing self-awareness and self-knowledge, especially important for those who have disassociated in some way or don't feel like "themselves". What a great thing! The format and style are comfortable and easy to use, and I found myself gaining insight as the book went along, without adding more stress to my life! Thank you for this wonderful workbook.



3. I purchased this book only to later realize that Dr. Rosenbloom was local to me. After reading and using the book, I chose Dr. Rosenbloom as my personal therapist.

   I would strongly recomment this workbook to anyone that is struggling with recovery from trauma or Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.




4. Dena Rosenbloom, Ph.D., and Mary Beth Williams Ph.D have written an extremely helpful book for trauma survivors. They work from the premise that: "Trauma affects us by undermining five basic human needs. These are: •The need to be safe •The need to trust •The need to feel some control over one’s life •The need to feel of value •The need to feel close to others." Life After Trauma is designed to help survivors learn to meet these needs. It can be used at home or in conjunction with therapy. The authors do not feel that every one needs therapy even though they are therapists trained in dealing with trauma. They believe, however, that trauma changes survivors’ basic beliefs, sometimes in ways of which they are not aware. This book is designed to increase a survivor’s awareness of core beliefs, to help survivors test their validity, and to help find more healing beliefs if the survivor so desires. Life After Trauma is about dealing with life today, not for working through the trauma. The prologue discusses how the workbook can help survivors. The authors stress finding support, learning self-care strategies, affirmations and soothing self-talk. They discuss when to set the workbook aside and coping with triggers. I found all these suggestions very helpful in dealing with some emotional upheavals I was having at the time. Chapter One, “After Trauma: Why you feel thrown for a loop,” discusses physical, mental, emotional and behavioral reactions to trauma and ways of checking in with yourself and learning to relax. The second chapter, “Ways of Coping After the Trauma,” contains several coping checklists and questions you can ask yourself for analyzing how you cope, followed by suggestions on how to cope more effectively. They even point out that dissociation can be an effective coping tool if you can evoke it as needed. Chapter Three, “Thinking Things Through,” discusses how to separate facts from reactions and meanings/interpretations, how these may change after trauma and a system for thinking them through. The next five chapters explore in detail how to meet the five needs, safety, trust, control, value and intimacy. Part of this is identifying beliefs, checking their validity, finding possible alternate explanations or interpretations, and so forth. There are also reminders of self care activities and relaxations exercises throughout the book. Here’s a quote "You can shift your physical and emotional state by, first, reminding yourself that you are in a different time and place from when you experienced trauma initially. You probably have greater choice and control now that you did then. Second, find ways to comfort and soothe yourself. We have provided ideas for doing this throughout the book, such as relaxation exercises. You may not think they can be much help, but consider this: It is not possible to be tense and completely relaxed at the same time. Learning to relax will directly relieve your tension and anxiety, even if for brief periods initially. Learning to relax can help you feel more in control as well as calmer. The feelings you learn to evoke through self-care and self-comforting exercises are, in many ways, the opposite of those evoked by the trauma. You can learn to use them to help counter and manage negative feelings that now seem out of your control." There is also a very good appendix on readings, one on finding good trauma therapy, and one for therapists who might want to use this book with clients. I can’t recommend this book too highly. It is healing, deals with the kind of daily problems that trauma survivors face in a sensible, thoughtful, and above all, hopeful way. Things can change one little step at a time. The book offers a lot of steps a survivor can take, always with an emphasis on safety and self care. This review first appeared in the Post-Traumatic Gazette, a newsletter with a healing perspective for all trauma survivors. ...This book has that healing perspective.



5. A few months after a major medical situation in my life (several surgeries for brain aneurysm), I began having a very hard time emotionally. I couldn't understand it as I was now "healed" and I thought I should be happy about it. A friend of mine was pursuing a doctorate in Psychology and she suggested that I might be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (not just for war veterans) based on the symptoms I was having. (paranoia, anxiety, depression...not usual characteristics of my happy-go-lucky personality) She actually sent me this book and suggested I try it out along with seeking help from a professional. After talking to her, I went to a psychiatrist to ask about medication and to a therapist along with working on this book. I found that the book was incredibly helpful in teaching me ways to cope with my paranoia, anxiety, and depression when I would hit triggering situations. The book gave me things to do at home when I wasn't with a counselor, and many times I felt it was more useful. (It took me a while to find a counselor with whom I felt comfortable) I'm part of an online support group for aneurysm survivors and many people have similar problems to what I had after coming through the surgeries. I always recommend this book and give them the link to Amazon.
   
   I lent the book to a friend of mine who was traumatized after Hurricane Katrina. (her whole New Orleans neighborhood was flooded and she saw awful things like dead bodies floating by) She also found it very helpful as she did not have much money to pay for counseling. Sadly, she passed away from unrelated medical problems, so she isn't here to write a review in person. But she did a lot of the writing and exercises and she told me how helpful it was. She recommended it to another friend of hers from New Orleans.

5 comments about The Herbfarm Cookbook.

1. The author of this book has a great talent with words. He truly writes stories that tell you the background of the recipes, bringing you the sights and smells and sounds. You can tell that he absolutely loves food in all its forms.
   
   I have really enjoyed this cookbook and have tried several recipes. While some of them have been more "gourmet" than I usually cook, most of the recipes have actually sounded fancier than they are (which is a good thing - I meant they weren't as difficult to prepare as it might appear).
   
   I love to read this book just as much as I enjoy cooking from it. I feel transported to the herb gardens of Seattle when I settle down to read it.



2. Great for novice and expert alike! Good food & easy recipes, no more need be said.



3. I keep coming back to this cookbook again and again. It's probably not for your average cook- I've attending culinary school and have studied cooking for over 10 years- I want to mention this because some of the recipes are time-consuming and require more skill than average. There is a duck with cherry sage sauce recipe that is to die for in this cookbook- a true show stopper that guests talk about years later. It takes all day though because you end up making stock with the duck carcass. It's so well worth it!!! There is an EXCELLENT fall mushroom soup I've made over and over again. I highly recommend the quality recipes here.



4. This book has everything. A terrific herb identifier with info on how to take care of and grow fresh herbs. Great seasonal recipes! Substitutions are suggested for when you can't find an ingredient. Lot's of info as well as good cooking ideas!



5. One of the best cookbooks I've purchased all year! A wealth of information--from growing and caring for your own herbs, to harvesting, storage and usage. There's even a section dedicated to edible flowers and a list of herbs used in desserts. The recipes are fool proof and delicious! My only wish is there were more photos, but that's not enough for me to knock off a star!

5 comments about Sprouts The Miracle Food: The Complete Guide to Sprouting.

1. Full of confusing ideas, all scattered information, guides to nowhere. The auther tries to be witty and funny, but his jokes are nothing but disgusting.



2. I thought this book was terrific! It opened up a whole new world to me. Sprouting makes me feel like I can take part in growing my own food and can control the quality of the food I eat.



3. Yes, as one person noted, the humor is sort of out of place. Bad puns throughout. I'm still giving it a 5 because it's the most helpful sprout book I've seen.

   Friends of mine recommended it to me - they have an attractive set-up of baskets of sprouts growing in little seed-germinator covered plastic trays. They are thrilled with the book, and we are excited about starting to sprout. We did sprouts years ago in jars, but this system is better.

   Though the book could be more condensed, it's still an easy read in a few hours. And where else is this vital information available in such thorough detail? If you are considering sprouting, you will find the information valuable.




4. This is a great book for a person who is interested in sprouting; it is very detailed and is truly full of very interesting and useful information. The book also helps to nullify a lot of the myth about toxins and hidden dangers in sprouts. The real dangers, in actuality, exist in cooked, processed, adulterated, toyed-with, sprayed, chemicalized, distorted foods (which our grocery shelves are full of). I am now 50 years old. Back in my youthful college days, I used to sprout a great deal, eating living foods exclusively. Though I stayed being a vegetarian, I got back into the cooked food craze... eating food like it was a drug for "taste" only. I work with the multiply handicapped and even though I am a teacher I have to do a lot of lifting (of adults who are not at all feather-weight). My arthritis (which runs in the family) was killing me, despite taking all kinds of natural and man made supplements. Getting back to live food was the answer I needed. Steve's book was inspirational and very helpful. I should have never deviated from what was truly the most nutritious way to eat!
   There are many ways of sprouting. I happen to like the sproutpeople.com sprouters best of all. Steve's book is a priceless tool for anyone interested in sprouting... it has all kinds of neat tips and suggestions.
   Also, one suggests doing a web search on Dr. Budwig's Diet... as most people are seriously deficient in essential fatty acids of the proper type. I take my oil with a little bit of live yogurt.
   Anyway... I would not want Steve's book, including his Kitchen Garden book... missing from my shelves!
   As Hippocrates said: "Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food."



5. Steve Meyerowitz, a.k.a. Sproutman has been sprouting since the 1970s, and owns a company selling sprouting equipment and seeds. I've read several of his books and chatted with him in person about sprouting. Sproutman knows his stuff, and IMO, anything he writes about sprouting is worth reading. I have grown magnificent sunflower sprouts by using a Sproutman Sprouthouse (a bamboo basket in a plastic house) and following Sproutman's instructions. If you have good sprouting seeds and follow the instructions in this book, I suspect you too will grow awesome sprouts.
   
   Unfortunately, the book is not that well organized and the instructions for sprouting, a fairly simple process, are unnecessarily confusing. There are many methods of growing sprouts, such as baskets, sprouting bags, glass jars, open-ended glass tubes with screens on both ends, trays, etc. This book gives instructions for only 3 methods: baskets, bags, and trays. Sproutman doesn't explain that upfront, however. If you want to use one of those 3 methods, the instructions are knowledgeable and detailed. BUT: I suggest that when you choose one of these methods, you read through the entire chapter first, because if you try to follow along step-by-step, it's easy to mess up.
   
   For example, in the chapter titled, "The Technique", Sproutman launches into instructions for using a sprouting basket, without first explaining that this technique just ONE of many sprouting methods. For this technique he says to soak 5 rounded tablespoons of seeds. He doesn't explain until 7 pages later that you use 5 tablespoons of seed for an 8 inch basket, 6 to 7 tablespoons of seed for a 9 inch basket, and 2 to 3 tablespoons of seed for a 6 inch basket. A beginning basket sprouter who tries to follow his instructions without reading the entire chapter first, could easily make the mistake of using the wrong amount of seeds for the basket size.
   
   In the next chapter, Sproutman gives instructions for how to use a sprout bag, a different technique. The first thing I would want to know about this is, what are the best seeds for growing in a sprout bag? That information is there, along with days 'til maturity-in the middle of the chapter.
   
   Another thing that's important to a good sprout book is information about seeds. What are the varities, the days until harvest, the uses and tastes, etc? There's chart near the end of the book which gives this information, but the seed varities are not in alphabetical order. I can't figure out any logic to the way the chart is sorted, so if you want to look up a seed variety, you have to read down the entire list. Also, there are some types of fairly popular sprouting seeds missing from the chart, for example, broccoli sprouts.
   
   Although I think most of Sproutman's information is excellent, albeit a bit disorganized, one thing I take issue with are his frequent sermons about why sprouting jars should not be used. I first used a sprouting jar in 1984, and my jar sprouts have always turned out just fine, without all those immature yellow sprouts Sproutman warns of. If you are careful not to use too many seeds and to shake your sprouts back and forth so they drain well and lay the jar on its side, your jar-sprouted sprouts will turn out just fine. Also Sproutman says a jar requires cheesecloth, screens and rubberbands. Back in 1984, a decade prior to the book's publication, I used a lid which was a plastic screen and have never had to hassle with cheesecloth, screens and rubberbands. In addition, he says automatic sprouters sell in the range of $450 to $1000. It's somewhat possible that information was accurate in the 1990s, but in the 2000s, one can find new automatic sprouters for a lot less than $450.
   
   Some of the book's strengths include the chapter discussing which type of water to use on sprouts, the nutritional information scattered throughout the books, and the presence of an index. I personally think the book's dumb puns are a strength, but I'm sure the majority of readers will not. :-)
   
   Despite my qualms with this book, Sproutman is outstanding in his field, and I still recommend it to anyone who wants to sprout via vertical sprouter (basket), bag, or tray, or learn about sprouting in general. If you're using either a vertical sprouter or a bag, I suggest first reading the succinct review of instructions on page 173 for the vertical sprouter and p. 175 for the sproutbag.

2 comments about Hillside Landscaping.

1. So many visual ideas in this book with practical "how to" advice as well! Full of color photo's of beautiful landscaping along with clear instructions on how to do things like stonework, steps, paving, walls, etc. I've just purchased some land on a mountain in a rural location and I'm very glad to have this book. Highly recommended.



2. This book has some excellent ideas and design concepts for landscaping those hills of yours. For me, the diversity of colorful photos provided some wonderful ideas when working with my landscape architect. This book has a good section on erosion control and drainage, but probably not detailed enough for more severe grades - in which case you should probably consult a professional. We already hired a landscape architect, but having this book has given us some great ideas and direction for what we want to do with our hillside.
   
   The other reason you may want a professional is that the last section which recommends plants to use for erosion control is not all that useful. In fact, I knocked a few stars from my review because they specifically recommended Hedera (English Ivy) and Hypericum (St. Johnswort) on their Ground Cover list. Both of these species are quite invasive and extremely bad selections, especially in the Pacific Northwest. In fact, Hedera is on our state's Noxious plants list and eradication of Ivy is a high priority. Additionally, some studies have shown that Ivy has little effect on erosion control. It is better to consult with your local nursery or landscape architect on best erosion control plants to use in your specific location as these can differ significantly by zone.

3 comments about Gardening in Your Greenhouse (Greenhouse Basics , No 2).

1. Most books on Greenhouse Gardening focus on the building of the greenhouse itself and don't spend enough time talking about the gardening process. This is a great book for a person who moves into a new home and already has a greenhouse. This book is an excellent education in greenhouse gardening.



2. I am extremely happy with this book- very informative for a beginner. The book came new & very quick!!



3. Okay, I am new to gardening. If I want to learn about something new, I read a bunch of books on the subject before I begin. So after reading over a dozen books on vegetables, herbs, gardening, seed saving and botany, I got Mark Freeman's "Gardening in your Greenhouse." It answered all the questions that had been on my mind and gave me advice I didn't realize I needed until after I read it. I provided me with the information and confidence I needed to start planting all those seeds I had bought. A great reference for the novice and experienced gardener.

5 comments about Making the Most of Shade: How to Plan, Plant, and Grow a Fabulous Garden that Lightens up the Shadows.

1. This is the best book I ever bought. I'm a shade lover, due to easy care and most of all...hostas. Until I read Larrys comments on shade, I thought I was the only one who wished my entire yard was shade, and that I may be a lazy gardener. Not anymore! This book is packed full of great ideas for shade gardens, and lots of tips. Theres also plants biographies of those that do well in shade, and he continually reminds you that many "sun" plants do well in light shade. I enjoyed the section on starting a new garden from scratch. His sense of humor is great and its easy to read and well organized. This is a MUST HAVE for those that enjoy shade gardening, and for those who think shade is their enemy. You'll have a new respect for shade after reading this book.



2. I'm not a gardener, but I need to learn about growing things in shady places. This book is wonderful, easy to read, pretty to look at, and simple enough for an uninformed person. At the same time, it has lots of good info that even an experienced gardener could learn.
   I can hardly wait to get out into the dirt!



3. A thoroughly detailed informed book for each plant mentioned in the book. Well worth buying.
   Each feature goes into depth about the plant. The author knows his plants.Excellent purchase.



4. I'm in the middle of landscaping our very shady yard & this book has been indispensible! We have lived here nearly 7 years & have done little exterior work except add rock. We didn't know where to begin! Wanting to sell next year has spurred us into action & I'm grateful for the advice in Hodgson's book.



5. As someone who lives in an urban area I had little choice in the amount of shade in my garden. I've found Hodgson's book to be an exciting read with lots of inspiring photos, plans, and useful tidbits. I did have a few disappointments with this book but they were pretty minor.
   
   The small, close-up photos in the plant index are great for showing detail, but are not so great at giving the reader an idea of what the whole plant looks like, how it sits, whether it is compact or expansive, etc. As a beginning gardener I had to look elsewhere for more "in context" photos of the plants.
   
   A chapter on shrubs for shade would also have been helpful.
   
   These gripes aside, I've found this book to be a great help in designing my urban shade garden and would recommend to any beginner gardener looking for inspiration.

5 comments about Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties: The Gardener's & Farmer's Guide to Plant Breeding & Seed Saving.

1. I'm a gardener but not a seed saver; I'd like to, but it's a
   somewhat confusing and overwelming subject. This book really
   explained the issues of cross breeding and pollination, so I
   could see why those seed saving instructions are so inconsistent.
   And it is very inspiring about why I'd want to save seeds and
   improved the variety, and why local seeds are so valuable,
   and a number of great ideas on the mechanics both that I can use
   (spacing isn't so important when you're testing for flavor) and
   not so useful to me (I'll probably not get forceps and remove
   the stamens from unopened tomato flowers)
   
   She is a plant genetists applying techiques to her own garden
   for her own food, and I really liked how she describes her
   though processes as well as what she does and how she does it.



2. The author has a PhD from Harvard in biology and is a geneticist. Yet she has written her easy-to-understand book as if she has a teaching degree from Ashland University. Her premise is that all our major food crops were originally developed by amateurs. Until recently, all gardeners and farmers saved their own seed and hence, all gardeners and farmers were automatically amateur plant breeders - and amateur plant breeding was the only kind of plant breeding there was.
   
   Deppe's book has two major purposes: 1) to encourage all of us gardeners and farmers to rediscover the excitement and rewards of developing your very own vegetable variety, and 2) to show amateurs how to breed plants more easily. As Deppe says "Any gardener can do them". This book is for all gardeners everywhere. It's for the gardener who has been told that "you can't grow that here", but who wants to anyway (such as artichokes in Ohio). This book is for growers who like white and purple carrots, and other crosses. This book is for seed savers, which is the first step in plant breeding. This book is for organic gardeners who want to develop powdery mildew-resistant varieties, by breeding them yourself.
   
   Deppe's chapters cover amateur vegetable breeding, space and time; roles and goals such as breeding for flavor, size, shape, earliness, cold or heat resistance, disease resistance, or yield; finding germplasm where she explains about the USDA-ARS National Plant Germplasm System; evaluating germplasm and conducting and evaluating garden trials; genetics and plant parenthood; sex and the single gene; modern genes; hybrids; plant-breeding stories; breeding with established polyploids; fun with wide crosses; happy accidental crosses; domesticating wild plants; and expanding horizons along with many appendices that list plants, vegetables, germplasm collections, seed saver organizations, supplies, and how-to information sources.
   
   This is the best introduction to seed saving and breeding your own vegetable varieties you'll find and invaluable to those interested in creating a unique vegetable variety.



3. I bought the earlier edition of this book for someone else...had no intention of reading it (or keeping it) but started to browse and got hooked!
   
   This book reads like a novel--all the characters are my near and dear friends, the garden fruits and veggies. Mouth-watering detail sets the stage for getting your imagination started. What would you like to grow that you haven't seen in the seed catalogues? A watermellon that can ripen in your northern climate? Greens that won't be mowed down by slugs in your wet, costal garden? Perhaps a juicy, sweet tomato just like your favorite slicer, but in a convenient cherry size?
   
   Just when you have all these images of the yummy possibilities dancing through your head, the story turns dark...Unfortunately, the professional plant breeders are not looking for the same things you are. Professional plant breeders want thick-skinned tomatoes that can be machine harvested, that ripen all at once, and that store and ship easily. (at this point, I want to yell, NOOO!!! Not THAT tomato!!!)
   
   But sadly, past market forces have inadvertantly destroyed so much of the lovely work of our ancestors to produce flavor, long harvest periods, plants that survive organically, open pollination, and most of all, variety.
   
   But wait! All is not lost! Remember how all those wonderful things came to be in the first place? Amateur plant breeders! And guess what? It doesn't have to take a lot of time, or even much space, to start tweaking and experimenting with what you can get to grow in your own garden. You don't even need experience, let alone a degree. And she's got lots of stories and examples to prove it.
   
   Then she starts throwing out possibilities I never would have thought of...why stick to things we already grow as vegetables? Why not domesticate one of the thousands of edible plants that no one else is even working on? Or how about experimenting with ways to use food that weren't available when it all started, like developing something that microwaves conveniently?
   
   I think Carol Deppe is a creative genius with the rare ability to communicate her passion and knowlege for her favorite subject. After reading this book, really after reading just the first few chapters, I felt like this is something that I really could do, and can't believe I hadn't thought of it before. People have been saving seed for thousands of years, it's not rocket science.
   
   For an idea of Deppe's writing style, she's written an interesting article about parching corn that you can find if you google "carol deppe and parching corn."



4. I was looking for a book on seed saving. This book sounded like it had information on that topic, plus the topic of breeding your own plant varieties; a 2 for 1!. I was a little disappointed that there weren't any pictures in the book. I would have liked to have seen some visual examples of hand breeding, different flower types, pictures of plant parents and their offspring, and of course a few concerning seed saving. But the vast amounts of information in this book more than make up for the lack of a few pictures. Overall a good book and a great resource for the home gardener.



5. This is an extra-ordianary book. Very detailed but very readable. It encouraged me to experiement and provided answers for past results.

5 comments about The New Self-Sufficient Gardener.

1. If you have read "The Self Sufficient Life and How to Live It" you will likely find this redundant. Otherwise, it was an enjoyable read. The color illustrations are well done and make a good reference.



2. Do yourself a major favor and disregard the shameful "Redundant" review. Instead, look up, "The Self-Sufficient Gardener" ( not this New one) here and see that this is HIGHLY regarded. I've had the old one for years, will buy this new updated one as well since I've worn out the former one. Many gardening books nowaday seem more akin to compilations of snippets from classics, but this one IS a classic written by a master gardener who truly "talked the talk and walked the walk". In addition, it's a beautiful book with loads of colored line drawings of plants and gardens. The author, John Seymour, is a "demigod" in the organic gardening world for good reason. Read it and gain major gardening wisdom and understand how to fit each concept together to form a seemless ecosystem in your own garden.



3. All of John Seymour's books are wonderful! This book is beautifully illustrated and a must for any gardener. It's adaptable to any size garden.



4. I bought this new edition because, like the other reviewer, I simply wore out my old copy reading it over and over again. I think all of his books are wonderful, but this one is my favorite.
   
   The information is presented in a clear simple manner, that will benefit anyone from the first time gardener to a seasoned expert. The illustrations are superb. It is so much more than a run of the mill gardening book.
   
   If you are looking for a single book to help you grow more and better food for your table, you can't go wrong with this one.



5. the fact that oil prices and food prices have been soaring exorbitantly should by itself be enough to make the everyday person want to consider self-sufficiency. I've been contemplating it recently because I've always loved to play in the dirt. Previously, I have been a 'tomato plants and maybe some herbs' kind of gardener. This year my garden crops have doubled and I have become more and more interested in different types of crops and self-sufficiency ideas. This books is chock-full of ideas and suggestions for just that outlook. Some self-sufficiency guides are nothing more than expensive wishful thinking. Not everyone can afford to put up a $12,500 wind turbine in their backyard. We can't all install geo-thermal heating systems in our houses. Some of us live in the CITY and cannot get away from city zoning laws. John Seymour's book is extremely practical in explanation and suggestion about simply learning how to garden for your own food needs. I learned some brand new techniques for growing potatoes and other root vegetables, and also learned how to get my own fertilizer without having to build compost bins which will probably offend the neighbors. I'm so pleased with this book and so glad that I spent the cash to get it.

2 comments about The Cottage Rules: An Owner's Guide to the Rights & Responsibilities of Sharing Recreational Property.

1. WOW! This book is a family saver! Our family ownership of a cottage is similar to one of the sitations described in the book. We were having trouble making decisions, getting agreement, coordinating, getting work done, scheduling etc. This book is beginning to change everything and make owning a cottage with our family enjoyable again. Now we will be able to refer back to the neutral 'rules' to which we all have agreed, rather than getting upset when we don't get our own way!! Plus, the book has given us ideas on things to do and introduces new ways of doing things. Thank you so much Nikki Koski, for writing and publishing this book!!



2. We have a family cottage and ae having challenges with costs and useage. This book provides solutions that can be easily modified to your families circumstances. Easy read but very good info.

5 comments about Vegetables, Herbs and Fruit: An Illustrated Encyclopedia.

1. This book is wonderful! Every section gives you a in-depth overview of the vegetable, herb or fruit; detailing different varieties and how they rank in terms of taste and/or hardiness, how to propagate, grow, maintain, harvest and store. Plus gives tips of typical pests/diseases and how to avoid them. Very helpful are the "companion planting" paragraphs, explaining which plants do best next to each other. And to top it all off, each section includes a "culinary" and "medicinal" section, informing you of the best ways to use your crops once harvested. The pictures are beautiful and the wording is easy to understand and to the point. This is a great book for any gardener's reference shelf. Fun to read cover-to-cover, but set up so that you can dip in and out as you choose.



2. This book has the most readable practicle information on every vegetable, herb or fruit I would ever grow plus many others. It covers some history of origin, varieties, cultivation, propagation, container and garden growing, harvesting & storage as well as uses both medicinal and culinary and also some recipies. I have not come across a more extensive book. My son & daughter both in their early 20's and just starting vege gardening use this as their bible. Well worth owning.



3. I didn't really know what shape I expected, even though the description said good condition. 3 days later! Yes, literally 3 days later I got it in the mail and the condition was PERFECT! I was so happy!



4. PRO
   
   - Extensive coverage of fruit, vegetable and herbs.
   The book says it covers 100 fruits, 70 vegetables and 100 herbs.
   Each subject has Cultivation, Companion planting, and Culinary sections. If it's a herb, it also has Medicinal section.
   
   One day I bought a bag of Macadamias nuts from my local grocery store. The label said they were grown in Australia, Hawaii and Africa. I wanted to know more about them. I opened this book to page 555 and voila! I found all the interesting information about them. There were 3 beautiful photos of the nuts, the tree and the dish made from the nuts. It's informative and mouth watering.
   
   - Very well illustrated.
   Each fruit, tree, or vegetable has at least 3 pictures. They're beautiful. The Culianry section always has a picture of the dish made with the fruit, herb or vegetable. It's so colorful and lively that it makes me hungry!
   
   - It's hard covered. So, it will last a long time.
   
   CONS
   
   - It uses the term "Long", "Short", "Medium" to describe the life span of the trees without giving a range in years. This is frustrating because I am not sure approximate how long they live. But I can easily find this information from somewhere else. No book is perfect.
   
   In short, it's definitely worth buying. I use it almost daily for cooking recipes and for general information. Together with Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/, it makes a complete reference. You can find any information on these subject with these 2 resources.



5. I gave this to my brother who is a chef as a gift and he absolutely loves it. It has a ton of interesting facts including recipes for the foods.