5 comments about New Edge of the Anvil: A Resource Book for the Blacksmith.

1. I am a beginning blacksmither and have been getting books from our library. This is one that is so good, I wanted to own a copy.
   
   Very clear and good descriptions of technique, tests for tempering, pros and cons of various forge designs and some gorgeous examples of the blacksmiths art to drool over.



2. Jack Andrews' "New Edge of the Anvil" is a great book for getting started in blacksmithing. It has clear text, detailed pictures, and inspiring blacksmith's profiles. I find myself referencing it often. Highly recommended.



3. This is my 1st year to pursue blacksmithing. I have read a number of books on the subject, but I am not a seasoned smith.
   
   I have seen recommendations for this book several places on-line, so I had high hopes. The book starts by identifying the tools, then covers a few basic projects, adds some metallurgy information, then we get a portfolio of beautiful works by Master Craftsmen. The section on performing a spark test using a grinder could have used some color photos. I would have liked a few more projects, and maybe a few more drawings.
   
   The book was good as far as it went, although the edition that I received in 2006 had several awkwardly phrased sentences. It was almost as if the writer was interrupted in mid sentence, or went back to edit a sentence and left extra words in.
   
   For my own library, I will keep this book, but I am still looking ...



4. This is a great book to learn beginning blackmisthing.. I've bought or found a dozen or so books and this is the best.



5. Reading this book makes we want to get out into the shed , stoke up a fire and start pounding metal on the anvil.
   It will enlighten you to this art and show you fundamentals of this process.
   Excellent book that will open your eyes and let you appreciate the skills that are achieve by these craftspersons.

No comments about Carpentry and Building Construction, Carpentry Applications.

3 comments about How to Live in Small Spaces: Design, Furnishing, Decoration and Detail for the Smaller Home.

1. Well organized,liked the pictures and ideas. A little light on actual hard core information, but a nice intro to the ideas that are useful to consider when contemplating a small space remodel.



2. Though I am not color blind, one would be hard to believe that when it comes to color choices I have made in the past. I knew nothing about color and how colors work with one another.
   The first part of this book outlines basic color theory - the primary colors, secondary and tertiary colors and how they work together. The book then goes into how to use color to set different moods or support different themes - for example, what colors to use for an Asian or Mediterreanan look.
   I learned a lot - and finally got it through my head that paint is not permanent - if you don't like it - paint it over. With this book in hand, I won't be afraid to try different color combos. This is a great book with lots of ideas!



3. This book has some very valuable information on getting your life ready to live in a smaller more efficent space. It also shows some very good examples to inspire you.

1 comments about Construction Scheduling: Principles and Practices (2nd Edition).

1. Great work by the author. Written in a very good style, to the point. It is for every one interested in construction scheduling.

1 comments about Thermodynamics and Heat Power (7th Edition).

1. I highly recommend this book. The text is clear and thorough, and the examples are excellent. It's a standard in the field and does not disappoint.

5 comments about French Influences.

1. I place this books among my top favorites in the decorating category (and I own many). Each time I flip through this book I see some new ideas that I didn't notice before. The are many beautiful pictures but the text is fun to read as well. The book helps to give you a feel for the way the French live and feel about their homes. Betty Lou Phillips also wrote French by Design which I also enjoyed, but of the two books French Influences is my favorite.



2. While a little "Dallas" in style. This book captures a mixture of French styles. Betty Lou's books are well illustrated. Most importantly, she lists the sources of the items & fabrics. I find it insulting when designers are secretive regarding sources. Keep it up Betty Lou, I wish more coffee table books on decorative arts & design were like yours. I recommend this if it fits your style.



3. The rest of the book is page after page of heavy, ornate rooms that lack individuality and warmth. The decor is superficially beautiful because all the "signals" of wealth are there: expensive sofas and chairs, brocade curtains, period furniture, "French" bric-a-brac, but ultimately it's a collection of overly-designed showpieces.



4. "Detail is the difference between ordinary and extraordinary." ~Unknown
   
   If you are dreaming of a book filled with rock-crystal chandeliers, Aubusson rugs, exquisite tapestries, feather-filled armchairs, carved armoires, sensuous velvets, leopard prints, silk taffeta curtains and eighteenth-century furnishings, you may fall under the influence of "French Influences." The magnificent picture of a French-inspired kitchen complete with French antiques is enough to make any cook envious.
   
   Betty Lou Phillips work has appeared in Southern Accents, Traditional Home & Bath, Window and Wall, and Decorating as well as many magazine covers. She is a professional member of the American Society of Interior Designers and has a penchant for quotes.
   
   Welcome to the World of French Style:
   
   Making a World of Difference
   The American Way with French Style
   Reflections of Good Taste
   Fluent French
   French Class
   Unmistakably French
   Vive la France!
   Garden Shows
   Designer's Notebook
   
   The pictures in this book are inspirational and the pink dining room is a fantasy princess dream. I was surprised at how much I really did love the vintage chairs covered in playful leopard prints. There are little tidbits of information throughout the book.
   
   Finally, I understand why the rooster is a favorite motif.
   
   I would have love to have dissolved into page 146 and taken a stroll through the row of trees on the winding gravel path leading to the unknown.
   
   ~The Rebecca Review



5. The book is written as if the French have a monopoly on good taste. B. Phillips gushes over the French lifestyle to the point of annoyance. I found myself saying, enough already! I got the book because I've travelled to France since I was a kid and now I'd like to decorate my home with French influences. But after reading her book, with its genuflecting and contradictions, I was turned off. An example of contradiction: At one point the book states that the French are not ostentacious and prefer simple, tasteful items in the home. But from the interior pictures of mansions, that hardly seems to be the case. Also, I couldn't see any children being happy in these homes. They look like hotels and museums. The book had one very redeeming quality. The guides outlining "must haves" are very good.

5 comments about Woodshop for Kids.

1. As the director of a hands-on museum in Bellingham, Washington, and being the one responsible for selecting books to put on the shelves of our library area, I was immediately attracted to this offering by Jack McKee. I'm always on the lookout for this sort of material, since I like to include information in our library that's in keeping with one of our missions, fostering closer relationships between youngsters and adults. Not only does this book fit well with that aim, but it's a highly useful guide to getting started on building entertaining and useful things out of wood and other common household materials.
   
   *Woodshop for Kids* contains information that any parent who understands the importance of teaching manual skills to youngsters will find essential, especially if unaccustomed to teaching. As an adult, it's easy to assume that certain aspects of building things out of wood are intuitively obvious. For example, if you've done a little woodworking yourself, you probably believe that using a saw or pounding a nail is such an obvious act that a child, or even an uninitiated adult, should be able to do it without instruction. Such is rarely the case, especially nowadays when kids start their lives immersed in television and computers, and schools have eliminated such "unnecessary" subjects as "shop" from their curriculums. In America, the old "do-it-yourself" days have vanished in the mists of time. We buy everything, including toys for our children, and we are much the poorer for it.
   
   Whether you're an experienced craftsman who wants to teach youngsters how to use tools, or a rank beginner desiring to learn something useful yourself while having some fun with your kids, this is a great book. I've actually recommended that my own staff members read it as a guide to mentoring youngsters or non mechanically-handy adults in workshop practices. The initial four chapters provide an unusually clear discussion of simple woodworking tools, materials, and skills. Simultaneously, it sets a fine example regarding how to present this sort of material to a student, whether child or inexperienced adult.
   
   The long fifth chapter of McKee's book devotes itself to a whole list of projects that kids can build or you can build with (or without!) them. They include puzzles, musical instruments, toys, simple scientific demonstrations, and many other interesting things. An appendix includes a tool list, possible sources for them, and how to build a couple useful tools yourself.
   
   Instead of buying plastic gadgets that run on batteries for your kids, consider using this book as a guide for working with them to help them learn how they can delight themselves with what they can create with their own two hands. McKee has taught woodworking to youngsters, including his own, for many years. His book is a compilation of his own long experience in the field, and you won't find a better guide to the subject than this one.



2. Written by Jack McKee and illustrated by Rusty Keeler, Woodshop For Kids: 52 Woodworking Projects Kids Can Build is a thoroughly "user friendly" guidebook of creative and entertaining woodworking projects that young people can create, given age-appropriate adult supervision and guidance. Individual chapters include detailed instructions for 52 different projects, from a marble roll to a sailboat letter holder to a step stool; tips on how to find free wood and use woodworking tools safely; advice on acquiring and woodworking tools appropriate for kids; and much more. 179 black-and-white photos and illustrations round out this helpful and constructive guide to a stimulating, family-friendly activity.



3. This book has laid out a plan of activities to make it fun to work/play with your kids in the workshop. Great book. My 8 and 9 year olds really liked it.



4. I would highly recommend Woodshop for Kids. It not only gives projects that children can do, some with the help of an adult, but it covers what the tools are, what they do and how to care for them. Important information for all budding woodworkers to know.



5. Jack McKee has written two nonfiction books about ways to teach manual skills to children through building projects: Woodshop for Kids and Builderboards. I proofread his second book and I was stunned by the importance of the book because what he's really offering (along with woodworking projects) is a model for offering respect to children and a way to give them power through safety rules and permission to play. It's a wonderful book. I sent a copy to my grandson, who sleeps with it under his pillow.
   
   Janey Bennett,
   author, The Pale Surface of Things

2 comments about Rainwater Collection for the Mechanically Challenged.

1. Simple, straight forward, very useful, but lacking in the elegance that some may require. Enjoyed it throughly and recommend it.
   
   This book will help understand some of the ways that you can collect rainwater without over powering your brain. It will also help you to think out side the box, or perhaps in it if you don't mind getting wet.
   
   One of the clearest, funniest and most useful books on rainwater.



2. I am satisfied with it and I learned enough on rainwater collection systems. Pictures are in sufficient quality, but sometimes they are poor. Informations given are useful overall to whom needs drinkable water. Pasquale from Portogruaro (VE- Italy)

5 comments about Digital Systems: Principles and Applications, Ninth Edition.

1. I used this book for a course on Digital Electronics. Its great. The book has a great typeset, clear and crisp fonts that go easy on the eyes, well structured (such that you read what you need in order to understand the next chapter). The book is illustrated with apt diagrams. I would consider this book to be beginner-intermediate. This book is a good starting point for learn digital stuff, and a good reference after you learn digital stuff. Its hard to find a book as good as this one.



2. You can gain the basic digital logic design knowledge using this book in no time! that is not always sufficient for people who wants to get A grade rather you can just make it your introduction and so soon move to part two (that is up to your current course).
   My advice is : get this book unless you have passed this level!



3. This is the best book to understand Digital Electronics with clear and simple explanations. The salient feature of this book is that it has lot of applications sprayed throughout which keeps the reader attentive and interested. A "Must Read" for graduate/undergraduate students in any university in the world.



4. This is the best book to understand Digital Electronics with clear and simple explanations. The salient feature of this book is that it has lot of applications sprayed throughout which keeps the reader attentive and interested. A "Must Read" for graduate/undergraduate students in any university in the world.



5. My professor used the 5th edition in the Digital Elec class many years ago. I write software but have been trying to make the transition to logic design ... picked up the latest edition for refresher
   
   Great book

1 comments about The Contented Toddler Years.

1. I purchased this book when my toddler turned one because The Contented Little Baby book (also by Ford), only covered the first year and I suddenly felt lost! Ford is a genious when it comes to handling babies and toddlers and this book covers issues such as sleeping, eating, tantrums, potty-training, etc. Recently, we transitioned our 28-month old to a toddler bed and it was taking an hour to settle her down and multiple trips to put her back in bed. We followed Ford's suggestion on handling this situation and within 2 weeks (as promised), our daughter was (and still is) asleep within 10 minutes of our leaving the room with no movement from the bed. It's a miracle! If you have a toddler, you have to have this book.