1 comments about Foods Jesus Ate and How to Grow Them.

1. This book was a very pleasant surprise. Not only does it have wonderful pictures and illustrations, the content is very comprehensive and informative. I am very happy with this purchase.

No comments about Florida Vegetables: How to Grow Them.

5 comments about Laughter On The Stairs (Beverley Nichols Trilogy Book 2).

1. A delightful read! Mr. Nichols (in a very "proper" British fashion) describes his hilarious adventures in home decorating and remodeling. His run-ins with his snobby neighbors can not be missed! If you love gardens, cats, home decorating, or if you just love to laugh; GET THIS BOOK! In fact, get all three books in this trilogy (ie: "Merry Hall", "Sunlight on the Lawn", and "Laughter on the Stairs").



2. In LAUGHTER ON THE STAIRS, Nichols continues his tale of the restoration of Merry Hall and it's grounds. Just after WWII, Nichols purchased a derelict Georgian House and it's tattered grounds, and with the help of his 'man' Gaskins, and the able Oldfield, who had worked the grounds for most of his life, he began a restoration project.

   MERRY HALL was written about six years into the project, and focused on the grounds. LAUGHTER ON THE STAIRS takes place a few years, when later Nichols has turned his attention to the interior of the old Georgian House. The former owner, a Mr. Stebbing had very Victorian tastes, which Nichols dislikes, and has tried to erase. At last, he plans to address the staircase, where a stained-glass window that was "unquestionably..most alarming" overhang the landing.

   Nichols nosey-parker neighbor Rose doesn't want to see the house altered. She remembers the days when Mr. Stebbing was the owner, and she does not approve of the new owner's changes. She was particularly outraged by the savage destruction of the old boxwood hedge. Now, Nichols proposes to destroy the lovely stainglass window Mr. Stebbing had installed over the staircase. Of course Merry Hall is Nichol's house and he can do what he likes, but he is concerned about the neighbors reactions to his plans. The story takes an interesting twist when burglers break in one night and in a strange way help him solve the dilemma.

   This is a light and amusing book, and one I found very intertaining reading before bedtime.




3. Magical writing and so descriptive, from another era, gossipy, funny and at times thoughful. Great insight into Beverley Nichols life. Recommend this to anyone who enjoys gardening and life in general.



4. This is the second volume in the Merry Hall trilogy, a set of books that focuses on Beverley Nichols' home life while he resides at Merry Hall, not his work life (which is presumably covered in his multi-volume autobiography). Where the first volume focused almost exclusively on the rehabilitation of the garden portion of his newly-purchased property, Laughter on the Stairs focuses on the re-doing of the house, interspersed with stories of local goings-on.
   
   With a deft hand Mr. Nichols describes the horrible but inevitable way in which home improvement projects tend to snowball into something much bigger and more expensive than one had intended. At the same time he takes great delight in un-doing the monstrosities that the previous owner has inflicted upon the house.
   
   Meanwhile, we are introduced to a couple of new "characters", specifically Marius' old governess Miss Mint, a very sweet and extremely timid woman who is welcomed into the local community; Erica Wyman, a famous gypsy novelist of dubious experience who is not; and Five, who arrives as a kitten and quickly settles into the Nichols' household.
   
   Among the amusing stories that the author recounts are one that involves the sale of Miss Mint's fake Tudor cottage with a dried-up well to the odious Ms. Wyman, and the flower show, which goes horribly awry in a most satisfying manner.
   
   Mr. Nichols is the sort of person that you'd want as a friend - he's a gentle soul who is enraptured by beauty in every form and can scarcely bear to harm a bug, but he also has a marvelously dry sense of humor and a delicious way of describing the personalities and interactions of those around him.
   
   As a reviewer, I despair of coming up with a sufficient list of adjectives for Mr. Nichols' writings, as I intend to search out and read them all. Although that intention itself is perhaps review enough.



5. A great read. Part of a trilogy; I have just purchased the other two books as this book was so much fun to read. This book will interest people who have a love of old houses, English villages, and gardening.

5 comments about A Field Guide to Sprawl.

1. I agree with both the positive and negative reviews: I loved the pictures (as did the positive reviews)- they definitely gave me a better feel for concepts like "pods" that I am used to seeing from ground level. But I also think that some of Hayden's language was unclear, needlessly polemical, or both. For example, she writes that ducks (buildings that serve as advertisements) "are always out of context and do little to unify neighborhoods." But what does it mean for a building to be "out of context"? How does a cheese shop "unify a neighborhood", whether it is ugly or pretty? Also, Hayden's points sometimes have little to do with sprawl- for example, she has an entry on "Export Garbage" but she does not explain why she thinks suburbs generate more garbage than cities.
   
   But on balance I liked this book, mainly because she spends only a paragraph or two on each concept, so even the text entries I would have written differently did not take up a lot of my time.



2. The book is very simple and somewhat boring. I looked through the thing in less than an hour and now it's stuck in the closet. It does have some good aerial photos, but only a few. I was hoping the book would be a coffee table book for people to look through when they are over but it's now in the closet for who knows how long. It looks too much like an encyclopedia than a coffee table book in my opinion. The text isn't very well thought out either. Believe me, I'm an Urban Planner and so I'm interested in this stuff and have read a lot about sprawl, but this book just doesn't do it for me.



3. The book arrived ahead of schedule and was in great condition



4. Small coffee-table format picture book. There is a 10-page introduction, which is excellent, then 51 vocabulary terms. Each vocab term is 2 pages - one page is an aerial example picture, the facing page is text describing the term. The terms are mostly pejorative (slang) and are critical of certain types of development. This is not "new" stuff many of these terms and criticisms go back to the 1940s. While some of the terms are obvious (strip malls, McMansions) much of it is not obvious and opens a whole new way of seeing why certain things are laid out the way they are. More so, it helps to predict how future development will happen based on current development patterns. This book is a layman's guide to development criticism. Should be required reading for all who live in a developing community.



5. The numerous color aerial photos in this book do a wonderful job of putting US development patterns into a whole new perspective. This isn't intended to be the end all be all of commentary about sprawl. For that, there are plenty of other great books that emphasize analysis and critique rather than a visual approach (A Better Way to Live is an example of a terrific book in the former category). This book is a great introduction to the different kinds of sprawl and what they look like. Sure, Dolores Hayden puts a fairly cynical touch on what commentary there is, but when you see the pictures of how developers have ruined our open spaces, you'll understand why. In short, a great little book that achieves its purpose very well.

5 comments about Gnome and Garden: A Gnovelty Kit.

1. Mr. Gnome and his garden is just plain FUN. Gave it as a little birthday gift, she's enjoying having him on her desk.



2. I saw this in borders in New Jersey, while on Christmas vacation and fell in love with it.
   when I got home to Virginia, I went on the internet and bought it.
   It is the cutest thing and idea. Hope you will soon carry
   more like these.



3. It is not fair to make Gnomes into slaves. If you have made a gnome into a slave you should set it free and send it to rehabilitation. The legal form to set your Gnome free is at a website called [...]. They have a bunch of Freed Gnomes and a Gnome Underground Railroad and they give counseling to Freed Gnomes. love, Joey



4. I bought it for my co-worker, who LOVED it. The novelty seems to be the interchangeable scenery (super cute). I rated it 4 stars because while it's cute, and well put together, and the book was informative, the "fake grass" was really a green piece of foam in a little box. They could have used real "astroturf" and it would have gotten a higher rating from me. Also, because of the foam, it's hard to stick the flowers into the "scene".



5. August 29, 2008 is when I learned about the gnome book. You have changed my life. I have learned to appreciate the independence you seek and I am practicing your easygoing way of living. Thank you and I love you.

1 comments about Hobby Hydroponics.

1. I have read several books on hydroponics and have found this to be the most comprehensive and useful (this is the first book I have read by this author). There are things I would have liked to have seen included, such as what size pumps that are needed for different applications, or how to determine this, but the book is full of useful information. The education and experience level of the author seems to be much greater than that of other hydroponics authors whose books I have read. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to gain a greater knowledge of how to develop a small scale hydroponics program.

5 comments about Crops in Pots.

1. This is an interesting book that provides instructions for growing veggies and herbs in container. It focuses on beauty



2. This book is amazing...I live in an apartment and having such versitile gardening options gave me just what I needed.
   The planting instructions and recipes are easy to follow and create amazing beauty.



3. I got this book thinking that it would teach me how to grow my vegatables in pots because I dont have the space to plant in the ground. It was more of a fancy way to grow them with other display plants. It was not exactally what I was looking for.



4. Imagine a cluster of attractive pots filled with a lush mixture of edible and ornamental plants-- containers you can enjoy on your patio, tend without stooping and protect from deer and rabbits. For anyone who dreams of a manageable, small-scale vegetable garden, Crops in Pots is bound to be alluring. The book is divided into several parts: a "how to" section discusses how to choose and plant containers, water, fertilize and so on; three sections feature lovely photographs of potted combinations of "starters" (mostly lettuce and herbs), "main courses" (mostly vegetables) and "desserts" (mostly fruits); and an all-too-brief final section on "what to grow" discusses the cultural needs of different fruits and vegetables and suggests cultivars well-suited to containers. This attractive book may help propel you out into your yard or garden center when the prospect of digging up a large area of garden would seem too daunting. The book's drawback lies in the somewhat simplistic presentation of the suggested container projects. If you are a novice gardener,you will need to consult the final section on "what to grow" as well as additional gardening books to really understand the needs of particular edibles so that your project can successfully come to fruition. If you are an experienced gardener, you are likely to find that this book, though visually appealing, fails to break new ground.



5. This book has lots to offer for different varieties of crops in pots, but limits the gardener to things like peppers, tomatoes, and herbs (often bunched together to creat a salsa garden, or something of the type). Nice imagery and some helpful tips, but I beleive there are better resources out there for beginning garderns like myself who want to master one item per pot first before mixing and matching.

1 comments about The Trees of Florida: A Reference and Field Guide (Reference and Field Guides) (Reference and Field Guides).

1. The Trees of Florida: A Reference and Field Guide - is a wonderful book. I can now identify the trees in my area. Great color photos and logical design. Very helpful.

1 comments about Plants, Genes, and Crop Biotechnology.

1. This book contains twenty chapters plus a comprehensive index. Each chapter is written by a distinguished individual in his or her field. Each chapter consists of general opening remarks, detailed information about the subject of each chapter, a chapter summary at the end of each chapter, discussion questions and a list of references for further reading. The lead authors have created a text that would serve double duty as either an adequate text for an introductory lower division course on agronomy/plant sciences, or as a supplemental text for an upper division plant biology course which looks at the social and ethical dimensions of biotechnology and genetically modified organisms.
   
   All the contributors share the belief that agricultural biotechnology in its current manifestation is merely an extension of biology in the natural world, and is but one consequence of Watson & Crick's monumental discovery. Chrispeels and Sadava, the two contributors responsible for compiling the text, boldly state that the biggest beneficiaries of the new GM technology will be those living in the developing countries, and as such reflects the standard party line of the pro-ag-biotech groups and organizations.
   
   All inherent biases aside, the book is highly notable because of several bold admissions made throughout the text. First, the authors readily admit that agricultural biotechnology has no defensible place or justification in a world currently awash in plentiful food, but at the same time, they do believe that biotechnology will play an important role in tomorrow's world agriculture. Second, the also readily concede that distribution of food, and not its production, is the main culprit for hunger, but other issues do play an important role. Related to this is their admission that the ability to pay for food matters more than the supply of food itself; if people can pay for it, they will get it (here their words on the subject echo many of the thoughts put forth by Amartya Sen, and before him, Susan George). Third, they admit that most scientists working in the field of population and demography in the late 1960s and early 1970s made flat out wrong predictions about the infamous 'population bomb', and that predictions made today many not come to pass tomorrow- they are just guesses about the future. Here they appear to be backing away from the incendiary rhetoric of environmental luminaries such as Paul Ehrlich and Lester Brown. Fourth, and quite possibly the boldest admission of the text, was their concession that agricultural biotechnology has been oversold. Apparently, they saw fit to stop short of saying that ag-biotech has been and continues to be hyped into the stratosphere, but their very admission alone is satisfactory, as they later lay most of the blame for today's hysteria and urban myths surrounding ag-biotech and GM technologies upon the overselling of the technologies, where it justifiably belongs.
   
   Indeed, the authors' concern for the overselling of the promise and potential of biotechnology is readily apparent in the final chapter of the book, where they address the myths and realities of agricultural biotechnology. However, even the authors can not resist the temptation to sell the reader on the potential benefits of an agricultural biotechnology, and the book includes chapters on integrated pest management incorporating the scientific advances of ag-biotech (Chapter 16), weed control strategies using biotechnology (Chapter 17), GM technology as a tool for promoting green agriculture (Chapter 18), and the use of plants as biological factories (Chapter 19).
   
   Generally speaking, Chapters 1 through 5 lay down the rationale for incorporation of ag-biotech in food production, and chapters 6 through 15 explain the how to, the ins and outs of the technology and how genetic modification of crops is achieved. Also, chapters 6 through 15 cover all the standard topics one would find in a regular course on agronomy, crop science and plant biology, from plant cell and molecular biology, plant growth and development, seeds and seed technology, the ins and outs of photosynthesis and the physical, biological and environmental factors associated with it, soils and root zone systems, nitrogen cycling, to the historical basis for crop breeding (with some paleo-anthropological perspectives) and the gradual leap from breeding via classical techniques to modern, biotech based methods. Chapter 15 also looks at crop disease and its management from a molecular genetic standpoint, and strikes me as a means to include students in plant pathology.
   
   Additionally, the authors paid considerable attention to the problems and challenges of agriculture in Third World countries, in an attempt to demonstrate the veracity of their belief that GM technology can do much to assist the inhabitants there. However, in the process, they belatedly demonstrate that these technologies have been developed to address symptoms of more complex and fundamental problems having an economic, environmental and/or socio-historical basis. Yet, the authors must be credited for admitting that the real need in developing countries is for more research support to address their specific physical and environmental conditions, and for demonstrating that in every single instance where consumer incomes rise and the socio-economic status of women advances, there is an inevitable decrease in birth rates, hunger and malnutrition.
   
   Thus, the contributors freely admit that their research and scientific activities chase phantom problems and non-problems. They also admit, albeit obliquely, that ag-biotech in its current manifestation does not address the needs or the fundamental problems faced in the developing or the developed world. In fact, on the one hand, researchers have occupied themselves with testing the limits of GM technology, seeing what they can do, and exploring different directions, while on the other hand, government institutions and corporations have directed their efforts at technological developments for which they have proprietary control, and increasingly, total control over distribution and other supporting activities. Alas, the authors have chosen, perhaps unwisely, to offer any comments on this state of affairs, and what it may mean for everyone.
   
   In sum, this book makes quite a few bold admissions, some directly, but most indirectly, and as such, is a necessary read for those interested in the topics of ag-biotech, genetic modification technologies, food production and safety, and crop science in general. It is definitely a good and comprehensive book, containing a level of honesty highly uncommon among textbooks on the subject(albeit couched among questionable pitches about potential benefits of ag-biotech), and its sources for further reading are indispensable. I highly recommend the text to anyone looking to place this contentious scientific topic within a social and ethical context.
   
   
   

2 comments about Edith Wharton's Italian Gardens.

1. With plenty of pics, this book is good for a casual flick through or a more careful read. The photographs of the gardens are stunning and inspire a desire to visit in person.



2. This is not the ultimate writing on Italian gardens, nor the most sumptuos as a coffee-table book. But you can do a lot worse than this when you search for garden books on Italy. And then there is the added dimension that Mrs Wharton drove up to these places a hundred years ago and had a look around. Gentle people alledgedly just showed up "never mind us, we're just here for a stroll in your lovely garden", not recommended today...
   Photographs are very good/good. The selection of gardens covers the major part of the most celebrated, with a few minor ones added. No sites south of Rome alas, put the blame on Edith.