2 comments about New Inspirations in Wedding Florals.

1. This book was fantastic! It helped beginners create beautiful bouquets, corsages and table arrangements. Great results! It saved us a great deal of money!



2. This is one of the best books I bought when I decided to do my own flowers for my wedding.
   This is not a book for a pro though. It works best for a beginner like me. It explains nicely step by step how to make the arrangements. It could give more information but even still, there is no better book. There is a first version that I bought and together I got some great ideas.

1 comments about Watches International: Volume IX (Watches International).

1. This publication has the "potential" for being great. However, everything seems a little incomplete. Many watches lack prices. Many of the brands are missing models of great importance. Several big companies are missing. The good thing is the brief description offered of each brand including facts and history.

5 comments about The Gun Digest Book of Firearms Assembly/Disassembly Part I - Automatic Pistols (Gun Digest Book of Firearms Assembly/Disassembly).

1. This book is very good at step-by step instructions. The pictures are well taken of the actual part you are working on. There could be more model numbers to go over, but the ones they have are very good. The author is exerienced in gun repair and it shows up in the "tip" portion of every model. I think a list of specialty tools would benifit the author in this book, since each model of firearm needs at least one special tool. Not all, but most. Listing those would benifit the less experienced gunsmith. Thank you



2. This book and all the others in the series are invaluable to the professional gunsmith, firearms hobbiest, or the casual gun owner who just likes to "see how things work" but can't always quite remember whether this little spring went in here, or over there.



3. This book is an excellent guide for disassembly. It is worthless as a guide for reassembly. There are no step-by-step instructions for reassembling a firearm. At best, the book assumes that reassembly is the reversal of the steps involved in disassembly. This is not necessarily so. I would not recommend this book to a hobbyist.



4. Since I am a Gunsmith and deal with a variety of firearms I bought this book for disassembly/assembly instructions.

   This book is almost 23 years old and in sore need of updating. It does not even cover the new S&W auto pistols, Glock series of Handguns, or the Heckler & Koch (HK) MP 5 submachine gun. All of these are in wide use by law enforcement. Further the Mossberg 500/590 isn't cover either. Duh! It is the only shotgun to pass the mil spec test and is in wide use by cops.

   Unless you just have to have it for work wait for an updated version that covers firearms developed and in use by law enforcement in the last 23 years




5. If you cannot field strip a weapon you really have no business owning it. I bought the volume on automatic pistols and I was not disappointed. For most of my life I was a revolver man and I stayed away from automatics because I didn't understand them- and I was convinved that they were unreliable. When I bought my first Model 1911 (which has NEVER jammed on me) it didn't have a field manual, so I bought this book. It didn't take long before I was field stripping and reassembling blind-folded. I feel confident that I could do the same with any automatic even loosely based on John Browning's designs. I might have trouble with German designs like the Luger or Broom handle Mauser, but after studying this book I feel sure that I could eventually master them too.

5 comments about Photograde: Official Photographic Grading Guide for United States Coins, 19th Edition.

1. There is nothing new in this book except the 19th on the edge of the cover. It doesn't even cover the state quarters or presidential dollars. I am very disappointed in the quality of the photographs. I would have expected quality Color photos in this day but these photos are of 1970 B&W quality and not the quality of todays digital photos. It's just a poor and lazy update of prior versions to give the author a boost in money. If the author wants a good book then completely redo it with high quality color photos and add the new coins for more accurate grading. Do not waste your money on this book. Buy an older used one for less money.



2. I am extremely disappointed in the photographs. They are not large enough and not clear enough to really see detail being discussed. With the state of art of photography and printing, the quality of the book is inexcusable, especially since having photos of the various grades is the `niche' the book is trying to fill. I realize that using glossy paper would make this book significantly more expensive, but they could have done a much better job with the existing paper stock. The photos make this book unusable. Instead consider `AMA Grading Standards' or `Guide to Coin Grading and Counterfeit Detection.'



3. Persoanlly, I really like this book and use it all the time. It is easy to understand and helps me feel more confident with my personal grading practice. The only thing I don't like is that the pictures are not the greatest but this hasn't really been a problem for me. In short, if you want to grade better then get the book. The sub-par pictures aren't enough to detract too much.



4. While the book is unique and helpful with the pictures depicting the grade of most coins, it is outdated! I was very disappointed to not find grading guides for the new state quarters (1999,ff). I read on the title page that it was last revised in 1995! Yet, the book was copyrighted in 2005. I thought I was buying a current book to aid me in grading my coins. Wrong!



5. I've had this book for years. And yes, while it's a very good guide for grading coins in the inferior grades; and as someone mentioned, even many ten year old kids can do this--those aren't the grades that most often matter much with regards to US coins.
   
   For example, a well known mail order coin company has a 1923 Mercury dime for sale, right now, for $8.75 in the grade of good--which is probably a bit much, for one of the lowest possible coin grades. On Ebay, the same coin in "choice BU" (and no one knows what that means exactly particualrly not on ebay), appears, for sale, and to be a roughly MS-60 coin. It can be "bought now" for $50 bucks. So that's the range that Photograde handles--Almost Good, to Brilliant Uncirculated. A range which varies from $5 - $50 on this particular, common date Mercury dime.
   
   Now that same dime however, has sold recently at auction for $500 in MS66, $1800 in MS67, and a whopping $12,500 in MS68!
   
   In other words, unless you're a kid collecting out of your lawn mowing proceeds, the real issue nine times out of ten; on most coins after 1850), isn't whether or not a coin rates VF or F, it's all about the 10 different grades from MS60--MS70.
   
   It's frankly amazing to me that there isn'tt a good guidebook published by PCGS or ANACS, that can do in text form, what these organizations pretend to do every day of the year behind closed doors--determine grades of uncirculated and proof coins.
   
   Such a book would be relatively expensive, maybe $50-$100 or more. But for people who collect coins at least in part as investments, this amount is barely significant in terms of what it would mean to teh collector.
   
   Photograde? It's a decent enough compendium, but you can go online and get most of their grading criteria, with better pictures, for free. The book is sadly out of date IMO, in the sense that it still treats coin grade divisions, much as they were treated 30 years ago.

5 comments about Sea Glass Chronicles.

1. Considering there was only one other book on sea glass that I knew of, I absolutely HAD to have another-being the avid sea glass fan that I am. However, upon receiving the book, I was greatly unimpressed with not only the images, but also the lack of magnificent specimens. The book tells more about ceramic shards than it does actual glass. In my opinion, I find actual glass to be much more attractive than any kind of pottery shard.
   
   Furthermore, the book had hardly any information on where to find glass, how to look for it, or even when to go and look... absolutely nothing about actually collecting. Or what about the weathering process of the shards? Nope. I was very disappointed in the lack of information. For those craving explanations of the possible origins, when and where to find glass, and just general information regarding anything one can think of about sea glass, get the book Pure Sea Glass. It's an amazing reference whenever I come home with new and interesting pieces.



2. Last night I opened Sea Glass Chronicles to read a few pages, but found I couldn't put it down! This lovely book is a treasure, just like the "treasures" it describes in each chapter. After a few pages, I realized that Pat Hanbery's photographs were amazing as well! Enjoyable on several levels, it's a "coffee table" book that any age would enjoy simply for the browsing, but the writing and research by C.S. Lambert will take you much, much deeper into this hobby enjoyed by nearly everyone: beachcombing! It is an educational trip through the archaeology of beach glass, pottery, and doll fragments, caught in time before they were all altered by water's relentless task of reducing them into sand particles on a beach. Although there is a great deal of information, it is presented in quickly-readable short stories. This is a real "keeper" as well as a good gift idea.



3. so much information about seaglass...
   and the photos allow you to compare what you have already found or looking for.



4. 
   
   Fabulous book for anyone who loves beachcombing and collecting sea treasures - highly recommended!



5. Nice book with some pretty pictures but does not really contain much useful information about sea glass. The book "Pure Sea Glass: Discovering Nature's Vanishing Gems" contains much more information about the possible origins of sea glass for the novice collector.

2 comments about Hot Wheels Forty Years (Hot Wheels (Krause Publications)).

1. I just recieved this book today and "WHOW" what a book. The details of the graphics are fantastic. The are numerous pictures of cars in cards and with the graphics you feel as if you can pick it right off the page.
   
   Angelo has brought the Hot wheel history full circle with this book.



2. interesting book, plenty of photos, not just a dry catalogue, goes into the history of the manufacturing and design process, great coffee table and reference book

3 comments about Lincoln Cents Folder Starting 1975 (Official Whitman Coin Folder).

1. As a child, my Grandfather collected pennies for each of his Grandchildren. As an adult, I am still collecting. The Whitman folders were good enough then, and they are certainly good enough now. Easy to insert coins, yet tight enough to hold them for many years.



2. I was given this book by my dad when I was little...it got me interested in coin collecting and is inexpensive! I would recommend it as a gift for kids or adults...it makes a fun hobby!



3. This folder is an excellent starting point for any new coin collector. The folder has a nice lock-in feature preventing the coins from falling out. The recent dates ensure that the folder can be filled without too much difficulty from simply rooting through pocket change regularly. Highly recommended for young people who wish to start a coin collection.

2 comments about The Official Beckett Price Guide to Football Cards 2008, 27th Edition (Official Price Guide to Football Cards).

1. Like other reviews I find that some cards are simple to find, others are impossible. They may be listed, it has over 600 pages, but the way they are categorized is awful. I cant even find one of the cards shown on the cover! A 2001 Refractor reprint of a 1976 Walter Payton RC. Where is it?



2. I was kind of dissapointed. It was confussing to find the right place for the right card. It was sent on time.

5 comments about Don't You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey.

1. I would have never expected that something so tragic as what happens in Don't You Dare Read This Mrs. Dunphrey happens to kids in high school. This book is written as a high school girls journal and it starts on August 28 and does not end until September 15. Tish is a girl who lives in her grandmas old apartment with her little brother Matt and her mother. Her dad had left them when Tish was a little girl. Tish's teacher, Mrs. Dunphrey, gave the class an assignment to write in journals about their daily lives. When she gave this assignment she told the kids that they could mark the entries do not read and she would not read them. Noticing that they could do this Tish decides to write about all the troubles she is having at her house. Before most entries though, Tish marks them do not read. With Tish's problems at her house and at school she explains everything in her journal not letting Mrs. Dunphrey read what she is writing. This is a fiction novel that I believe would be mostly suited for teens and adults. I enjoyed this book and it taught me many things that happening life that I did not know about. "I thought he was going to throw one of Grandmas old flower pots at me." Tish writes this in her entry on page 39. I believe everyone should know that this happens to people.



2. I liked this book overall, but I didn't like that the girl in it didn't really interact with anyone else much. The other good part is that the journal entries were short which made me, also, not want to stop reading.



3. I just finished this novel and I'm very unsure about what I think. I am a language arts teacher who believes that journaling is very important. I don't believe I could offer my students the option to write, turn it in, and not read the material. My heart broke for Tish as I read the story as my heart breaks for some of the students I have. As a teenager I think I would love the novel, as a teacher I'm not sure Mrs. Dunphrey met her legal obligations by not reading the journal.



4. An English teacher, teaching high-school sophomores, requires her students to keep a weekly journal and write in it at least four times over the course of the week. She has said that if students write "do not read this" on any entry, she will not read it; she will simply make sure they have written something and give them credit.
   
   This book is the journal of Tish, a student in this class. Tish is living with a mother who is mentally ill and a brother who is eight years younger than she is. Her abusive father left a couple of years ago. Tish is initially reluctant to write anything meaningful or personal in this journal, but after she tests her teacher and makes sure that she really isn't reading the entries marked "do not read," Tish begins to let her feelings show in her writing.
   
   Through these journal entries, we get the full story of Tish's life and her struggle to be the adult in her family, to take care of her mom and brother. When Tish's father shows up after being gone for two years, Tish's journal entries get scarier and scarier, and it is increasingly disturbing to see that she is not sharing these stories of her life with anyone who could help her.
   
   I liked the journal format of this story, and I felt like we got a good idea of what the other characters were like just by reading Tish's point of view. I felt sad for Tish and her brother, and I was disturbed that nobody realized what was going on in their lives.



5. This book is about a teenage girl who takes care of her bother. Her mom is still there; she just works a lot. She had a good life until her dad came along and ruined it. Now she is writing in a journal that her teacher assigned her. One year later her mom finds him driving around the road. So she invites him to the house, and ruins her life. Would she live?
   
   I love this book because it shows me how other people think and what their life is like. It also makes people want to think twice about things and how they are blessed that their mom and dad love them. Another thing I like about this book is it's a journal and it's a good way to keep your secrets in because its in your brain. Writing is a good way to let it out because you can let your mind be free, but you don't have to write secrets that you don't have to share. I think I would give it a five!

5 comments about Traditional Mexican Style Interiors (Schiffer Design Book).

1. What a beautiful book. One of the best I have seen. I live in Mexico and will be using many ideas.



2. Excellent photo's to plan off of. They give ideas to maintain a modern design and still keeep the traditional flow of true Mexican and Spanish feel



3. This is definately a well layed out book, with really nice high quality pictures, my only question is why are at least half of the picture in this book of houses in the United States? Granted they are in the Southwest where there is a obvious Mexican influence, but I refuse to believe the best examples of Mexican interiors are found in Tucson Arizona! And of the interiors in this book most of the ones from Mexico are from San Miguel de Allende, or Guanajuato which are two towns a hour apart from each other. There are extraordinary colonial gems in Zacatecas, Oaxaca, Puebla, México City, ect, ect, that could have easily been included in this book instead of some American's house in the Southwest... I would have liked to have seen a book on Mexican interiors that were 100% Mexican. The book MEXICOLOR, though not entirely consisting of interiors is a far more authentic book.



4. We were looking for ideas for our outside patio area, especially colors, and this book is great for various decors with vibrant colors. You will find yourself looking through it again and again.



5. I was looking for a reference book to guide my Mexican-style remodeling and redecorating efforts, and this is the best I've found yet. (I have about a dozen!) Gorgeous pictures, and plenty of them. Each section discusses a particular room type (kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms etc.) and each room type gets a good amount of attention. Something I dislike about other books is their tendency to look only at the courtyards or living rooms of Mexican or adobe-style houses -- not so useful if you're considering how to tackle your kitchen. This one covers it all, including touching on gardens and indoor-outdoor spaces that are such an integral part of Mexican living.
   
   Definitely pick up the companion volume, "Traditional Mexican Style Exteriors", while you're shopping. Together they paint a vivid picture of the colorful and vibrant style of Mexico.