Wonderful for gardeners and history buffs alike: Founding Gardeners by Andrea Wulf

Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation [Hardcover]

By

Andrea Wulf

From the author of the acclaimed The Brother Gardeners, a fascinating look at the founding fathers from the unique and intimate perspective of their lives as gardeners, plantsmen, and farmers.

For the founding fathers, gardening, agriculture, and botany were elemental passions, as deeply ingrained in their characters as their belief in liberty for the nation they were creating.

Andrea Wulf reveals for the first time this aspect of the revolutionary generation. She describes how, even as British ships gathered off Staten Island, George Washington wrote his estate manager about the garden at Mount Vernon; how a tour of English gardens renewed Thomas Jefferson’s and John Adams’s faith in their fledgling nation; how a trip to the great botanist John Bartram’s garden helped the delegates of the Constitutional Congress break their deadlock; and why James Madison is the forgotten father of American environmentalism. These and other stories reveal a guiding but previously overlooked ideology of the American Revolution.

Founding Gardeners adds depth and nuance to our understanding of the American experiment and provides us with a portrait of the founding fathers as they’ve never before been seen.


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Review

It is a pleasure to report that this is one of those unique and rare books that is both a delight to read as well as being chock full of important information and significant insights. The author, a Brit, argues that "it's impossible to understand the making of America without looking at the founding fathers as farmers and gardeners" (p. 4). To support her thesis, the author looks at principally Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Madison, although Franklin, George Mason, and George Wythe (among others) also make appearances. All of these four were deeply involved in agriculture and gardening, in addition to their political lives. I was surprised to learn how grumpy old John Adams turned into a happy camper when working on his farm or in his Philadelphia greenhouse (a gift of Abigail). While I knew that Jefferson was passionate about plants, so it was true of the other three as well, especially Washington who was quite the student of agriculture.

The author focuses upon some key events to develop her argument. Washington's American garden of native plants and shrubs is discussed. The 1786 garden tour that TJ and Adams made in England where they visited many of the famouns English gardens and discovered them to be largely populated with American plants. This was the work of the little-known John Bartram (1699-1777), who shipped American plants and seeds to England from his Philadelphia nursery, as well as supplying the framers. The author's "The Brother Gardeners" looks at these splendid English gardens and the role Bartram played in supplying American plants for them. One chapter deals with the deadlocked Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, which the author suggests might have been able to reach compromise due to a visit of some key delegates to Bartram's nursery for a refreshing break. While some have criticized this suggestion, I found it interesting, and whether one agrees with it or not does not affect the great value and enjoyment of the book.

Next we follow the 1791 New England purported garden tour of Jefferson and Madison, which was probably more political than botanical. A chapter discusses the selection and creation of Washington, D.C. The final chapters focus on Jefferson and Madison. Of course who better than Jefferson to organize and direct the Lewis and Clark expedition which resulted in a treasure trove of new trees and plants. TJ's retirement at Monticello is for me one of the most interesting stages of his life, and he was extensively involved in agricultural research during this period--as an "experimental gardener" to use the author's description. And the more shadowy Madison emerges as the father of the American environmental movement with his 1817 address to the Agricultural Society of Albemarle (Virginia).

The author explains how plants were more than just a hobby; these patriots saw American plants and shrubs as one basis for continued independence since they supplied our needs domestically. These framers shared the view that a nation of independent small farmers would foreclose the inherent corruption of laborers forced to survive in "putrid" cities. How slavery fitted into all this is also touched upon by the author. The author's research (reflected in 81 pages of notes, including important references to electronic data sources) is awesome. The book has 16 color plates and 19 B&W illustrations. I knew nothing of plants, but the author's skillful narrative is rich in descriptive power. The book itself is beautifully produced, from the colorful dust jacket to the fine paper--yet another example of the superb work done by Berryville Graphics in Virginia. Accept the author's argument or not, this book stands as a unique and insightful study of the sometimes mythical "founders".

Reviewed by: Ronald H. Clark (WASHINGTON, DC USA)

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About the author

Andrea Wulf was born in India and moved to Germany as a child. She lives in Britain where she trained as a design historian at the Royal College of Art. Her book "Founding Gardeners" was published in spring 2011 and went to number 32 on the New York Times Best Seller List . She is the author of “The Brother Gardeners. Botany, Empire and the Birth of an Obsession” and the co-author of “This Other Eden: Seven Great Gardens and 300 Years of English History”. She has written for the Sunday Times, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Garden and Kew Magazine, and reviews for several newspapers, including The Guardian, New York Times, the Times Literary Supplement and the Mail on Sunday.

She has lectured widely to large audiences at the Royal Geographical Society and Royal Society in London, the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, Monticello and the Missouri Botanic Garden amongst many others (see events). She is a three-time fellow of the International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello.

She is a regular contributor on BBC radio and television.

The “Brother Gardeners” was long-listed for the Samuel Johnson Prize 2008, the most prestigious non-fiction award in the UK and won the American Horticultural Society 2010 Book Award as well as the CBHL 2010 Annual Literature Award.


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Very compelling read: The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry

The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry [Hardcover]

By

Jon Ronson

The journalist looks at the psychopathy disorder and discovers that checklists and experts don't always agree on who is insane and who is normal.

The Psychopath Test is a fascinating journey through the minds of madness. Jon Ronson's exploration of a potential hoax being played on the world's top neurologists takes him, unexpectedly, into the heart of the madness industry. An influential psychologist who is convinced that many important CEOs and politicians are, in fact, psychopaths teaches Ronson how to spot these high-flying individuals by looking out for little telltale verbal and nonverbal clues. And so Ronson, armed with his new psychopath-spotting abilities, enters the corridors of power. He spends time with a death-squad leader institutionalized for mortgage fraud in Coxsackie, New York; a legendary CEO whose psychopathy has been speculated about in the press; and a patient in an asylum for the criminally insane who insists he's sane and certainly not a psychopath.

Ronson not only solves the mystery of the hoax but also discovers, disturbingly, that sometimes the personalities at the helm of the madness industry are, with their drives and obsessions, as mad in their own way as those they study. And that relatively ordinary people are, more and more, defined by their maddest edges.


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Review

'People who are psychopathic prey ruthlessly on others using charm, deceit, violence or other methods that allow them to get what they want. The symptoms of psychopathy include: lack of a conscience or sense of guilt, lack of empathy, egocentricity, pathological lying, repeated violations of social norms, disregard for the law, shallow emotions, and a history of victimizing others.'
- Robert Hare, Ph.D

I've been hooked on Jon Ronson's writing since 'The Men Who Stare at Goats' was first published. Ronson cuts right to the heart of important topics by having the guts to ask the difficult questions. His literary style is equal parts journalistic rigour, deep compassion and incisive observational humour that often shines the light of ridicule on darker human behaviours. 'The Psychopath Test' explores psychiatry, psychopathology, medication and incarceration of 'dangerous' individuals. The book reads like a mystery novel, which - driven by Ronson's compelling prose - makes it difficult to put down.

The story begins with a meeting between Ronson and a history student who has received a cryptic book called 'Being or Nothingness' in the mail. The same book has been received by several individuals around the globe, most of whom work in the field of psychiatry. The book contains 42 pages, every second one blank. (This made me wonder...in 'The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy', the ultimate answer to life, the Universe and Everything was 42. Was this relevant? Was the mysterious author of 'Being or Nothingness' implying that his cryptic messages, if decoded, could lead to enlightenment?)

Ronson's journey leads him to 'Tony' in Broadmoor, who - when charged with GBH and facing prison 12 years earlier - had faked insanity in the hope of being sent to a comfortable psychiatric hospital. Instead, he had been sent to Broadmoor high-security psychiatric hospital (home to Britain's most dangerous psychotic prisoners), where he was being held indefinitely. Tony explains that he had picked characteristics of various movie lunatics then pieced them together into his 'insane' persona. Getting into Broadmoor had been easy, but getting out was proving immeasurably harder. A senior psychiatrist admits to knowing that Tony isn't insane, as a truly insane person wouldn't manufacture a new personality in the hope of avoiding prison...but a manipulative psychopath would.

Ronson meets Bob Hare, creator of the PCL-R Test, a 20-step Psychopath Checklist which gives individuals scores between zero and forty; the higher the score, the more psychopathic the person. Hare reveals that inmates at prisons and psychiatric institutions aren't the only ones who score highly on his 'psychopath test': many CEOs and directors of corporations qualify as psychopaths too. This prompts Ronson to wonder 'if sometimes the difference between a psychopath in Broadmoor and a psychopath on Wall Street was the luck of being born into a stable, rich family.'

Al Dunlap closed Shubuta's Sunbeam factory (the economic heart of that community), showing no empathy while firing workers and effectively killing the town. While laying off employees, he even spouted jokes such as, "You may have a sports car, but I'll tell you what you don't have. A job!" Bob Hare flags Dunlap as a psychopath, so Ronson sets out to meet the man. When Ronson asks probing questions based on the PCL-R checklist, Dunlap's responses mark him as a textbook psychopath.

Hare explains the science of psychopathology: a part of the brain called the amygdala doesn't function in psychopaths as it does in other human beings. When a regular person experiences extreme violence or carnage (or even photographs of such scenes), his amygdala becomes overstimulated, provoking an extreme anxiety response in the central nervous system. When a psychopath experiences the same stimuli, his amygdala does not respond: no anxiety response occurs. This explains the psychopath's lack of empathy.

'The Psychopath Test' is a compelling read. Ronson's fluid style is the perfect balance of rigorous research, keen observation, poignancy and humour. Congratulations to Jon Ronson on another phenomenal achievement.

Reviewed by: Monty Archibald "HeavyMetalMonty" (west coast of Scotland)

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About the author

Jon Ronson is a writer and documentary filmmaker. His books Them: Adventures with Extremists and The Men Who Stare at Goats were both international bestsellers. The Men Who Stare at Goats was released as a major motion picture in 2009, starring George Clooney. Ronson lives in London.


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Seeing Heaven through the eyes of a child: Heaven is for Real

Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back [Paperback]

By

Todd Burpo
with Lynn Vincent

A young boy emerges from life-saving surgery with remarkable stories of his visit to heaven.

Heaven Is for Real is the true story of the four-year old son of a small town Nebraska pastor who during emergency surgery slips from consciousness and enters heaven. He survives and begins talking about being able to look down and see the doctor operating and his dad praying in the waiting room. The family didn't know what to believe but soon the evidence was clear.

Colton said he met his miscarried sister, whom no one had told him about, and his great grandfather who died 30 years before Colton was born, then shared impossible-to-know details about each. He describes the horse that only Jesus could ride, about how "reaaally big" God and his chair are, and how the Holy Spirit "shoots down power" from heaven to help us.

Told by the father, but often in Colton's own words, the disarmingly simple message is heaven is a real place, Jesus really loves children, and be ready, there is a coming last battle.


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Review

This is a story about a boy and his miraculous adventure to heaven and back. What this family has to go through in a year's time is unbelievable. 

First Sonja and Todd Burpo have a child named Cassie in the city of Imperial, Nebraska. It was their first born child. Then they try for another child, but Sonja, the mother, has a miscarriage. 

They were very upset about this, but they were excited and relieved to find out that they were having another child. His name was Colton. Colton's father, Todd, had a bad 6 months. He broke his legs, had kidney stones and had surgury for breast cancer. 

When Colton was about 4 years old, he complained about a stomach ache. They took him to the hospital and they diagnosed him with a stomach flu. The next day the were happy to see that he was perfectly fine, or so they thought, they next day. They decided to go on a small vacation. They went to the Denver Butterfly Pavilion. 

Then that night Cassie and Colton complained on stomach aches. Colton stayed up all night, vomiting. The next day, Cassie was okay, but Colton was not. They decided to take him back to the hospital. They figured out, he had a ruptured appendix and an abscess. He automatically went into surgury. The surgury went well. 

A few days later, the doctors said he could go home. Everybody was so happy. When they got in the elevator to go home, the doctor called Colton back and said that he had to go into another surgury. He went back and this surgury went well. 

A few days later, they told Colton he could actually go home. They got home and Colton started telling his family the stories about heaven. He told what angels looked like, what God looked like, what Jesus looked like and what the throne looked like. He told things about heaven that his father, a pastor, didn't even know. 

At first Todd, Colton's father, thought Colton was making the whole thing up but soon figured out that he wasn't. Colton was saying things that his father knew, he couldn't have known, unless he was there. 


Reviewed by: Rhonda L. Cochran "All About Shopping" (Lynchburg, OH)

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About the author

Todd Burpo is pastor of Crossroads Wesleyan, a wrestling coach, a volunteer fireman, and he operates a garage door company with his wife, Sonja, who is also a children’s minister, busy pastor’s wife, and mom. Colton, now an active 11-year-old, has an older sister Cassie and a younger brother Colby. The family lives in Imperial, Nebraska.

Lynn Vincent is the New York Times best-selling writer of Same Kind of Different as Me and Going Rogue: An American Life. The author or co-author of nine books, Vincent is a senior writer for WORLD magazine and a lecturer in writing at the King’s College in New York City. She lives in San Diego, California.


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Great resource for moms with tween girls: Six Ways to Keep the "Little" in Your Girl

Six Ways to Keep the "Little" in Your Girl: Guiding Your Daughter from Her Tweens to Her Teens (Secret Keeper Girl) [Paperback]

By

Dannah Gresh

When the world wants girls to grow up too fast, how do you help your daughter navigate boy craziness, modesty, body image, media, and Internet safety? The foundation for an emotionally healthy teen girl is built between the ages of 8 and 12. Mothers of tween girls can direct and guide their daughters by developing a close relationship with them. In Six Ways to Keep the Little in Your Girl, Dannah Gresh shares six ways to help you grow confident, godly young women. Also included is a quiz to test your relationship, fun activities to do together, and Scriptures to use in prayer.

Bestselling author, speaker, and founder of the Secret Keeper Girl conferences, Dannah Gresh shares with moms the secret to helping today’s girls grow up confident, grace-filled, and strong in their faith.

Studies show that the foundation for an emotionally healthy teen girl is built between the ages of 8-12 and that a good relationship with mom is one of the most important factors. So when the world wants girls to grow up too fast, how does a mother help her young daughter navigate the stormy waters of boy-craziness, modesty and body image, media, Internet safety, and more? With a warm, transparent style, Dannah Gresh shares six ways a mom can help protect and guide her daughter, including:

• help her celebrate her body in a healthy way
• unbrand her when the world tries to buy and sell her
• unplug her from a plugged-in world
• dream with her about her prince, and more

This wonderful resource also provides moms a Connection IQ Inventory to test their mom- daughter relationship, creative and fun activities to do together, and Scriptures for the mom to pray for her daughter.

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Review

I have been affected in a positive way by what Dannah Gresh has written. She delivered a wonderful read.I devoured the words and content and quickly passed the title on to many other mothers. Her love and concern for children is evident in her writings and her research and knowledge are thorough. She not only talks about the problems, but she gives you solutions. This book is an insightful look at the culture that we are up against.(Take note on the section where celebrities do not allow their own children to watch t.v. )

I have been encouraged to use the knowledge to combat the culture and make a stand on the behalf of all girls the Lord has laid on my heart, especially my granddaughter.

Mothers, Grandmothers, God-mothers, Teachers, Aunts... ALL of you who have a love for Girls should purchase this book. It is a delight even if you have older girls.

I am certain that an investment in this book will yield a profitable return!

Reviewed by: B. Wise "Wisebuy" (Carrollton, VA)

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About the author

Dannah Gresh, a best-selling author and sought-after speaker. Her best-selling titles include And the Bride Wore White and 2010’s best-selling CBA youth book, Lies Young Women Believe co-authored with Nancy Leigh DeMoss. She says the most important book she has or will ever write is What Are You Waiting For: The One Thing No One Ever Tells You About Sex, which traces the Hebrew language of sexuality from Genesis to Revelation answering every question a heart could ask. She has long been at the forefront of the movement to encourage tweens and teens to be modest and to pursue purity and is the founder of Secret Keeper Girl a live tour event for tween girls and their moms.


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This Book Can Change Your Life: Change Anything - The New Science of Personal Success

Change Anything: The New Science of Personal Success [Hardcover]

By

Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler

Product Description

A strategic, step-by-step guide to breaking longstanding bad habits from the authors of Crucial Conversations draws on research coming out of their Change Anything Labs, where they study and work with people struggling with self-destructive patterns.

The authors introduce a system for adopting—and sticking to—better behaviors in this smart, sensible work. Targeting the main problem areas—weight, addictions, spending, career advancement, and relationships—the authors exhort readers to avoid blaming their inability on willpower ("the willpower trap") in favor of recognizing powerful influences that can counteract temptation: e.g., offering ourselves financial incentives or radically changing our physical spaces to see that we stick with healthier habits.

The authors present a highly detailed holistic plan, illustrated by encouraging case studies, for making systemic changes that approach problems from every angle and promote active change.

From the First Page

Any book that claims that it can help you change anything in your personal and profestional life-from increasing your disposable income, career options, and physical fitness, to decreasing your smoking, food intake, and relationship struggles-had better be based on careful scientific inquiry. It had better report results-to three decimal places. Most of all, any recommendations it makes had better come from careful study of human subjects-not just redents or simians.

With this in mind, we'll start our journey down the trail of personal success with a rather engaging piece of scientific inquiry into the habits of real people. This particular experiment was conducted at the Change Anything Labs nestled at the base of the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. It is in this lab that we conduct research, pore over contemporary social science findings, and interview people we call Changers. Changers are individuals who once faced enormous personal challenges, wrestled them to the ground, and have remained successful for at least three years. These Changers and this research provide us with both the practical advice and the scientific results people need to not only change, but change for good.

This particular day, we used the Change Anything Labs to conduct a rather fascinating study. There, in a room by himself, sat a four-year-old boy name Kyler. We were examining his ability to resist temptation, and from the strained look on his face, it looked as if he just migh lose. To test his ability to delay gratification, we seated Kyler across the table from a formidable foe-a scrumptios marshmallow.

Five decades ago, the legendary psychologist Walter Mischel demonstrated that kids who could sit down with a marshmallow in front of them and not eat it for a full fifteen minutes did better in almost every area of life than more impulsive kids who scooped up the treat and ate it right away-in spite of the fact that they were all instructed to wait.

As Mischel followed his research subjects for the next two dacades, he learnedthat children who delayed gratification eventually scored hundreds of points higher on standardized school tests. Thaey also had stronger relationships, were promoted more often, and were happier. Mischel showed that the capacity to delay gratification is, indeed, a big deal.

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Review

It is such a disappointing feeling when we set out to change something only to succeed for a little while and then be met with failure. Change Anything is full of great ways to overcome the things that cause you to fail.

This book also provides an entire section on how these tools and techniques have been applied by those in challenging situations and have used them and found success. There are so many tools in this book to choose from, such as incentives and rewards; to very personal skills you may not even realize you possess.

I would recommend this book to anyone who thinks they have tried everything, because so many of the suggestions found in this book seemed new and original!

Reviewed by: Diane (Timisoara, Romania)

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About the author

Kerry Patterson has authored award-winning training programs and led multiple long-term change efforts. He received the prestigious 2004 BYU Marriott School of Management Dyer Award for outstanding contribution in organizational behavior. He did doctoral work in organizational behavior at Stanford University.

Joseph Grenny is an acclaimed keynote speaker and consultant who has designed and implemented major corporate change initiatives for the past 20 years. He is also a cofounder of Unitus, a nonprofit organization that helps the world's poor achieve economic self-reliance.

David Maxfield is a leading researcher and frequent conference speaker on topics ranging from dialogue skills to performance improvement. He did doctoral work in psychology at Stanford University, where he studied personality theory and interpersonal-skill development.

Ron McMillan is a sought-after speaker and consultant. He cofounded the Covey Leadership Center, where he served as vice president of research and development. He has worked with leaders ranging from first-level managers to corporate executives on topics such as leadership and team development.

Al Switzler is a renowned consultant and speaker who has directed training and management initiatives with dozens of Fortune 500 companies worldwide. He is on the faculty of the Executive Development Center at the University of Michigan.

ABOUT VITALSMARTS:
An innovator in corporate training and organizational performance, VitalSmarts is home to multiple training offerings, including Crucial Conversations', Crucial Confrontations', and Influencer'.

Each course improves key organizational outcomes by focusing on high-leverage skills and strategies.

The Company also has three New York Times bestselling books, Influencer, Crucial Conversations and Crucial Confrontations.

VitalSmarts has been ranked twice by Inc. magazine as one of the fastest-growing companies in America and has taught more than 2 million people worldwide.


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Great book that can change your optics on initiative: Poke the Box

Poke the Box [Hardcover]

By

Seth Godin

Product Description


When my cousin was born, my MIT educated uncle built a buzzer box with two switches, some lights and a few other controls on it.

It looked like something from a nuclear power plant, not a kid’s toy, but he tossed it into the crib anyway. Terrifying or mysterious, it depends on your perspective.

It presented two options: poke to see what happens or do nothing.

How do computer programmers learn their art? Is there a step-by-step process that guarantees you'll get good? All great programmers learn the same way. They poke the box.

They code something and see what the computer does. They change it and see what happens. They repeat the process until they figure out what works.

That's what happens when you poke -whether it's the market or your customer or what you think about yourself - you solve the puzzle by poking.

This is manifesto is about starting to poke. Starting a project, making a ruckus, taking what feels like a risk.

Poke the Box reminds us that life is a buzzer box. If we want to make things happen, we need to remember to poke.

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Review

Even though it seems short, the book is full of condensed advice and information. After reading it, I became more aware of my own displays of initiative and began noticing when others were taking charge of their affairs -- and more importantly, when they were not.

I read the whole thing on my iPhone, during 3 days' worth of commute. It was a pleasure.

Reviewed by: Horia Dragomir (Timisoara, Romania)

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About the author

Seth Godin is the author of ten international bestsellers that have been translated into over 30 languages, and have changed the way people think about marketing and work. His Unleashing the Ideavirus is the most popular ebook ever published, and Purple Cow is the bestselling marketing book of the decade.

His penultimate book, Tribes, is a nationwide bestseller, appearing on the Amazon, New York Times, BusinessWeek and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. It's about the most powerful form of marketing--leadership--and how anyone can now become a leader, creating movements that matter.


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Colorful, fast-paced and filled with clever plot twists: The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly

The Lincoln Lawyer: A Novel [Kindle Edition]

By

Michael Connelly

Product Description


This #1 bestselling legal thriller from Michael Connelly is a stunning display of novelistic mastery - as human, as gripping, and as whiplash-surprising as any novel yet from the writer Publishers Weekly has called "today's Dostoevsky of crime literature."

Mickey Haller is a Lincoln Lawyer, a criminal defense attorney who operates out of the backseat of his Lincoln Town Car, traveling between the far-flung courthouses of Los Angeles to defend clients of every kind. Bikers, con artists, drunk drivers, drug dealers - they're all on Mickey Haller's client list. For him, the law is rarely about guilt or innocence, it's about negotiation and manipulation. Sometimes it's even about justice.

A Beverly Hills playboy arrested for attacking a woman he picked up in a bar chooses Haller to defend him, and Mickey has his first high-paying client in years. It is a defense attorney's dream, what they call a franchise case. And as the evidence stacks up, Haller comes to believe this may be the easiest case of his career. Then someone close to him is murdered and Haller discovers that his search for innocence has brought him face-to-face with evil as pure as a flame. To escape without being burned, he must deploy every tactic, feint, and instinct in his arsenal - this time to save his own life.

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Review

I first started being a fan of Michael Connelly after I read his novel, "Nine Dragon's" part of the Harry Bosche series. This novel was not a disappointment at all and was a definite page turner. I could have read it in one sitting if only I had the time. The book is about a defense lawyer, Mickey Haller, who is hired by a man who was accused of assaulting and trying murder a women who was known to be a prostitute. He completely denies these charges and tells a story of how he was set up so that the women could then sue him for damages and win big since he was from a very wealthy family. By the end of the book, Mickey Haller himself is suspected of murder! There are many twists in this novel that keep you very interested throughout the entire book unlike some which you may lose interest midway through. You will not want to put this book down!

Reviewed by: Chris (Boston, MA)

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About the author

Michael Connelly (born July 21, 1956, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American author of detective novels, notably those featuring Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch. Bosch, named after the Dutch painter of the same name, is the protagonist of a series of Connelly's novels. The character is an LAPD detective. The Black Echo, the first book featuring Bosch, won the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award for Best First Novel of 1992.

Connelly has written other books outside the Bosch series, including Blood Work, which was made into a 2002 movie directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. In 2006, The Lincoln Lawyer was selected as one of ten books to feature in Richard and Judy's televised book club. Connelly is a graduate of the University of Florida, where he earned a bachelors degree in journalism. In addition to his books, Connelly has written for television.


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The extraordinary accomplishment and a haunting American classic: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

The Bell Jar [Paperback]

By

Sylvia Plath

Product Description


A vulnerable young girl wins a dream assignment on a big-time New York fashion magazine and finds herself plunged into a nightmare. An autobiographical account of Sylvia Plath's own mental breakdown and suicide attempt, The Bell Jar is more than a confessional novel, it is a comic but painful statement of what happens to a woman's aspirations in a society that refuses to take them seriously... a society that expects electroshock to cure the despair of a sensitive, questioning young artist whose search for identity becomes a terrifying descent toward madness.

The Bell Jar is a classic of American literature. Originally published under the pseudonym "Victoria Lucas" in 1963--only a month before the author's suicide--Sylvia Plath's harrowing autobiographical novel traces a young woman's descent into an emotional breakdown. The brilliant and disturbing story of Esther Greenwood's journey from the glamorous world of magazine publishing in New York to the isolating world of the asylum has become one of the most famous books of the late twentieth century, and still has all its power to shock and move us.

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Review

I reread the Bell Jar every couple of years and have done so since I was 18. It's so much more than a morbid ride or a thinly-veiled autobiography. It's one of few great coming-of-age stories that we have as women. I've long since stopped reading this book as a glimpse into Sylvia's soul or coming suicide. I've also stopped reading it as a precursor to the coming feminist movement of the 1960s. I'm drawn back to it again and again because it's simply a well-told story. It's subtle, complex and occasionally very very funny.

Reviewed by: Viola Alvarez

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About the author

Sylvia Plath (October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. Born in Massachusetts, she studied at Smith College and Newnham College, Cambridge before receiving acclaim as a professional poet and writer. She married fellow poet Ted Hughes in 1956 and they lived together first in the United States and then England, having two children together: Frieda and Nicholas. Following a long struggle with depression and a marital separation, Plath committed suicide in 1963. Controversy continues to surround the events of her life and death, as well as her writing and legacy.

Plath is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for her two collections The Colossus and Other Poems and Ariel. In 1982, she became the first poet to win a Pulitzer Prize posthumously for The Collected Poems. She also wrote The Bell Jar, a semi-autobiographical novel published shortly before her death.


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The beginner's introduction to greenhouses: All About Greenhouses (Ortho's All About Gardening) by Ortho Books

All About Greenhouses (Ortho's All About Gardening)

By

Ortho

Product Description

Using this book to plan your greenhouse
your greenhouse will be a practical structure well suited to your needs if you think the project through before buying anything. Think first about how you intend to use the greenhouse. Making a place to start seeds once a year is a much simpler project than designing a greenhouse for a wide selection of palms.The decisions you make now will guide you in choosing a site, the best kind and style of structure for your needs and budget, and its size, covering, and equipment. Planning begins with a consideration of greenhouse plans and kits, and the construction challenges and operating costs of each type. To proceed confidently, you must weigh the challenges of building it yourself or working with a constructor, and resolve any local tax, permit, and code issues.


Using this book to build and manage the structure
This book begins with an explanation of how a greenhouse works and where to locate one to make the most of your site and conditions. That knowledge will help you decide whether to build from scratch or begin with a kit, and answer questions of style and materials. Use this book to walk through each phase of greenhouse building, from construction basics and equipment options to plans for 10 greenhouses. The plans described in this book require a variety of skill levels and represent a range of costs. Each greenhouse plan offers tried-and-true techniques you can depend on and refer to as you build.

Each major component of a greenhouse-from ground to roof's peak, benches, and glowing areas-recieves detailed attention. A range of equipment is discussed for moderating temperature, managing light, and providing water and fertilizer. This book offers information about manual and automated systems as well as solar options.

You'll use the last two chapters to schedule planting and greenhouse maintenance projects, and learn more about favorite plants. Explore the cultural information to anticipate and solve common problems in both growing and management. Refer to the calendar on page 76 and 77 to know what maintenance tasks to do and how to keep them on schedule for good greenhouse health. Use it to remind yourself of fertilizer regimes and seasonal needs for added lighting or shade, and how to prevent pest problems with timely cultural practices. Details about plant groups will make their care easier, and a year's worth of projects will inspire you to use the greenhouse in every season.

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Review

This book provides an excellent understanding of greenhouses and lots of great ideas and designs for locating and building them on your property. I got the book to build a small greenhouse but it is so much more. This book is a good value.

Reviewed by: Gregg Reynolds

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The Hydroponics Bible: Hydroponic Food Production by Howard M. Resh

Hydroponic Food Production: A Definitive Guidebook for the Advanced Home Gardener and the Commercial Hydroponic Grower, Sixth Edition

By

Howard M. Resh

Product Description

This book is a comprehensive and practical guide to soilless growing. It is known as the Bible of the industry. It is a methods book in that it provides detailed information on how to design, set up and operate hydroponic culture systems. It also describes the most successful cultures to use with specific crops.

Hydroponic Food Production provides an immediatereference for those who are presently growing hydroponically as well as a guidebook to get prospective growers started. The sixth edition contains 450 photographs, drawings and tables. It has directories, addresses, references, bibliography and a complete index.

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Review

This is by far the most definitive work I've read on the subject. A co-worker of mine recommended this as the "Bible" of hydroponics and he was absolutely right.

It looks like a textbook right down to the ugly cyan/green cover, but it doesn't matter how a book looks if it's got it where it counts. Whether you're a hobbyist or a commercial hydroponics grower, this book is something you'll have wished you'd read.

Reviewed by: Spektyr

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About the author

Dr. Howard M. Resh (born January 11, 1941 in Canada) is internationally known as a pioneering hydroponics researcher, author and practitioner.

Educational Background:
Ph.D. Plant Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., 1975.
B.S.Ag. Plant Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., 1968.

Dr. Resh is one of the pioneers of development of large-scale hydroponic commercial greenhouse operations. In the 1970’s hydroponics started to make inroads into the greenhouse industry on a large scale.


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Great choice for Newberry: Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

Moon Over Manifest

By

Clare Vanderpool

Product Description

Abilene Tucker feels abandoned. Her father has put her on a train, sending her off to live with an old friend for the summer while he works a railroad job. Armed only with a few possessions and her list of universals, Abilene jumps off the train in Manifest, Kansas, aiming to learn about the boy her father once was.

Having heard stories about Manifest, Abilene is disappointed to find that it’s just a dried-up, worn-out old town. But her disappointment quickly turns to excitement when she discovers a hidden cigar box full of mementos, including some old letters that mention a spy known as the Rattler.

These mysterious letters send Abilene and her new friends, Lettie and Ruthanne, on an honest-to-goodness spy hunt, even though they are warned to “Leave Well Enough Alone.”

Abilene throws all caution aside when she heads down the mysterious Path to Perdition to pay a debt to the reclusive Miss Sadie, a diviner who only tells stories from the past. It seems that Manifest’s history is full of colorful and shadowy characters—and long-held secrets. The more Abilene hears, the more determined she is to learn just what role her father played in that history.

And as Manifest’s secrets are laid bare one by one, Abilene begins to weave her own story into the fabric of the town.

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Review

As Abilene Tucker jumps from a train heading toward Manifest, Kansas in 1936 I felt as if I was heading back in time with her as the book intertwines between 1936 and 1917-1918.

The book is based on historical fiction and reveals stories that take place during World War I and the Depression. Abilene is a 12 year old girl who has been sent to Manifest for the summer to live with a Pastor Shady, who is an old friend of her father.

Abilene finds a cigar box of letters and mementos under a board in her new room. This discovery leads to more questions about the town, the people who live there now and those who pasted through years earlier, and the big question which is "How does my father fit into this town".

As the hot, dry summer days drag on Abilene and two new friends start on a quest to unravel the mysteries of the past as they read the letters found in a cigar box between Ned and Jinx. Their "spy hunt" for the "RATTLER" eventually leads Abilene to Mrs. Sadie's house the "diviner" who begins to recall the past.

While Abilene works her debt off the Mrs. Sadie she listens intently to the stories as she realizes that her tales are related to the cigar box full of letters and mementos. What Abilene uncovers helps to bring the town's bright future back as well as the answers to her questions that she spent her entire summer searching for. Abilene's first person narrative is intertwined with Mrs. Sadie's stories, the letters from Ted to Jinx, and a newspaper column.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading historical fiction from fifth grade on because it recounts actual historical events through a fictional aspect. Everything about this book is realistic from the plot to the characters. A very intriguing book, which I would read again and again.

This is why I give Moon Over Manifest five stars.

Reviewed by: Cilla

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About the author

Clare Vanderpool - Wichita author, lives in College Hill with her husband and four children, won the award for her first book, "Moon Over Manifest.

The Newbery, given by the American Library Association, is awarded annually to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

"There are a lot of good books out there, so for mine to be selected in this way is a great honor," said Vanderpool.


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Looking for a healthy change? This is it: Cinch!: Conquer Cravings, Drop Pounds, and Lose Inches

Cinch!: Conquer Cravings, Drop Pounds, and Lose Inches

By Cynthia Sass

Product Description

There are no calories to count; no points or grams to memorize.

Just begin choosing four daily meals from over one hundred delicious options (along with a mandatory daily chocolate escape), and you're well on your way to achieving your weight-loss goals. In thirty days on the Cinch! plan, you'll shed pounds and inches—and overcome emotional eating in the process.

Acclaimed weight-loss expert Cynthia Sass has arrived at the exciting secret to sustainable weight loss: her innovative combinations of clean, nutrient-rich foods not only maximize fat-burning but also deliver a faster, healthier metabolism forever. Following the plan is as simple as putting together an easy-to-understand fivepiece puzzle at every meal and enjoying four delicious, easy-to-prepare meals in addition to a chocolate treat. The Cinch! plan includes a full thirty days' worth of quick-fix, satisfying meals and teaches you a simple strategy for creating your own, so you know exactly what, how much, and when to eat, whether you're at home, at a restaurant, or on vacation. Cinch! makes weight loss simple, with meals you'll look forward to eating (no "diet" foods). And best of all, Sass starts her plan with an innovative five-day "Fast Forward," which jump-starts the plan's impressive results and will leave you feeling lighter and healthier.

If you've been trying to eat more clean, natural, and organic foods, but have lacked the structure needed to lose weight, this is the exact plan you've been waiting for. Cinch! includes every tool you'll need for weightloss success: Sass's proven plan, expert tips and advice, daily journals, grocery-shopping lists, chapters on exercise and emotional eating, and a month's worth of recipes—customizable for meat eaters, vegetarians, and vegans. You'll enjoy Chocolate Pear Ginger Smoothies, JalapeÑo Guacamole, and Chicken Pesto Pitas—to name just a few luscious Cinch! options!

Best of all, Cinch! weight loss is lasting weight loss. In one month, you'll recalibrate your body, freeing yourself from cravings and erratic eating, and begin a satisfying new relationship with food. With Sass's expertise behind you, you'll be empowered to continue creating Cinch!-friendly meals and feel inspired by a wealth of new eating habits—making this so much more than a diet.

Review

Cinch is an absolute GODSEND. I cannot say enough good things about how it's taken my otherwise "fit and healthy" lifestyle to the next level, one which I'd never thought possible!! Rather than being a "diet", it's really just a new outlook altogether. THANK YOU, CINCH!

For most/all of my 31 years, I've led an active and healthy lifestyle and have LOVED food. I LOVE to eat, but I also love feeling fit and healthy - and LOOKing that way! Accordingly, of course I am always conscious of what I am eating or am NOT eating or should be eating. Furthermore, I am a busy New York City professional. I don't have alot of time (or kitchen space!) to track down and keep elaborate ingredients and fancy meals, and I'm often pulled into work / social meals out.

At times, all of this can be exhausting, stressful, and can perpetuate the sort-of "It's ok; maybe I ate too much of [XYZ unhealthy food]; I don't do it all the time AND I'll work it off!!" mentality. I'd feel anxious when at a dinner party, faced with platters of rich, indulgent foods and desserts, knowing I'd probably indulge a bit (or alot!) too much, relying on the next day's grueling gym session: "It's OK! I'll work it off!" I'd say!

Cinch provided the missing piece to my lifestyle: Absolute control. For the first time, I feel totally in control of what I eat, all the time. I never am afraid of a craving getting the better of me. I don't HAVE "bad" cravings anymore. Pizza office lunch? No problem! Free platter of brownies!? Who cares?! Celebratory dinner and drinks at hip downtown restaurant?! A breeze.

Without my even realizing what had happened, by the end of the detox, Cinch had completely reset my taste buds. The 5-day "detox" may seem strict, but nothing could be more worthwhile!

Now, I crave a Larabar or frozen raspberries with almond butter. Seriously. It feels like I'm feeding my body just what it needs. Cinch re-circuits you in a way that just feels natural and RIGHT.

As an aside, my husband - a fit, regular guys' guy - eats everything I buy and prepare and says at least several times per week (totally unprovoked by me!) how he LOVES the feeling of "eating really clean". (He's not fully versed in "Cinch"-ease.) He comments on how immediately he feels the effect of a few less "clean" meals and craves getting back to our Cinch-inspired home-cooking.

Finally, I've always been a relatively "fit" person who, as mentioned, would balance eating indulgences with extra exercise. Given the compliments I've received over the past several weeks, during which I have not significantly changed my exercise routines, I realize that the little push over the clff I needed was a diet clean-up. And that's what "Cinch" did for me. For all you gym rats who justify some "sloppy" eating with your workouts, you deserve the maximum benefits of your athletic efforts! Cinch will really allow you to see and feel results you've not imagined.

How did I find "Cinch"? My friend dropped three jeans sizes on the plan, and while she was starting out, she talked about feeling so SATISFIED by the food, about no longer feeling OBSESSED with food. That sounded great to me! And it's no exaggeration; it's just what Cinch does. It's the best non-diet eating "overhaul" you could imagine. You owe it to yourself!

Reviewed by: joani pattarozzi

Biography

Cynthia Sass, MPh, RD, is a registered dietitian, the nutrition consultant to the Tampa Bay Rays, and the nutritionist behind and coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Flat Belly Diet! Her "Weight Loss Coach" column appears each month in Shape magazine, and she appears regularly on television programs including The Today Show, Good Morning America, and The Early Show.



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Powerful conclusion to a stunning trilogy: Fallout By Ellen Hopkins

Fallout

By Ellen Hopkins


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Hunter, Autumn, and Summer—three of Kristina Snow’s five children—live in different homes, with different guardians and different last names. They share only a predisposition for addiction and a host of troubled feelings toward the mother who barely knows them, a mother who has been riding with the monster, crank, for twenty years.

Hunter is nineteen, angry, getting by in college with a job at a radio station, a girlfriend he loves in the only way he knows how, and the occasional party. He's struggling to understand why his mother left him, when he unexpectedly meets his rapist father, and things get even more complicated.

Autumn lives with her single aunt and alcoholic grandfather. When her aunt gets married, and the only family she’s ever known crumbles, Autumn’s compulsive habits lead her to drink. And the consequences of her decisions suggest that there’s more of Kristina in her than she’d like to believe.

Summer doesn’t know about Hunter, Autumn, or their two youngest brothers, Donald and David. To her, family is only abuse at the hands of her father’s girlfriends and a slew of foster parents. Doubt and loneliness overwhelm her, and she, too, teeters on the edge of her mother’s notorious legacy.

As each searches for real love and true family, they find themselves pulled toward the one person who links them together—Kristina, Bree, mother, addict. But it is in each other, and in themselves, that they find the trust, the courage, the hope to break the cycle.

Told in three voices and punctuated by news articles chronicling the family’s story, FALLOUT is the stunning conclusion to the trilogy begun by CRANK and GLASS, and a testament to the harsh reality that addiction is never just one person’s problem.

Review
Fallout - an unexpected or incidental effect, outcome, or product.

FALLOUT is exactly that definition....the effects of Kristina Snow's addiction with crank. The fallout that the title is referring to is the effects on her kids. FALLOUT tells the story of three of Kristina's children: Hunter (the oldest), and two daughters, Autumn and Summer.

Each of these children live different lives with different families. Hunter, the most fortunate of Kristina's children, lives with his grandparents in a normal life. Hunter constantly battles his own demons, though. He has a decent job with a local radio station and a relationship with a good girl, Nikki. But Hunter is constantly messing up that relationship and trying to find ways to prove to Nikki that he truly loves her.

Autumn is the daughter of the infamous Trey. She lives with her Aunt Cora and her grandfather. Her situation isn't that bad, either. But her aunt is getting married and that changes everything. It's at her aunt's wedding that Trey appears and shakes things up.

And finally we meet Summer. Summer lives in a broken-down trailer these days with her alcoholic father and his current flame. Summer had a decent boyfriend, but ruins it all when she falls for his best friend, bad news Kyle.

During the course of the next few months, the children of Kristina are on a spiral to a surprise ending one Christmas. They will all come together in an unplanned way.

FALLOUT is yet another amazing novel by Ms. Hopkins. It is an emotional roller coaster that leaves the reader saddened, and then triumphant, for the children affected by a parent's addiction.

Reviewed by: Jaglvr

Biography

Ellen Hopkins is the New York Times bestselling author of Crank, Burned, Impulse, Glass, Identical, Tricks, and Fallout. Her novels are praised by teens and adults alike, and she has been called the “bestselling living poet in the U.S.” by mediabistro.com. She lives with her family in Carson City, Nevada. Be sure to visit Ellen Hopkins online at ellenhopkins.com; myspace/com/ellenhopkins; and twitter.com/ellenhopkinsYA.


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