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Forensic Psychology

Just starting to explore the subject and considering pursuing forensic psychology on a journey I haven't been before. I could not get myself away from this book. It was informative, intriguing, and written in a manner that made it quite easy to understand and form a decision to go for it!!!

It is a book that any student or mental health professional should have. It is easy to read, explains legal concepts concisesly.

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Fitness For Dummies

These authors love to shop as much as they love to exercise.

As a fitness neophyte, I turned once again to the Dummies series for its comprehensive, unbiased coverage of broad topics. What disappointed me about this selection is its enthusiasm for expensive gadgetry, club memberships, and professional consultation.

Admittedly, a healthy lifestyle isn't without a price tag, but this is ridiculous. In almost every chapter of this book (including a couple devoted entirely to the subject), you can expect to find one or more words of advice encouraging the reader to go shell out some more dough for one thing or another a heart monitor, a personal trainer, a water pack, a dietician, a special mat for stretching exercises, etc. If you bought every item they recommended throughout the course of this book, you'd spend a full year's salary and fill a bedroom with all your new junk!

While they do advise against some of the more foolish purchases, such as those fat-zapping electrodes sold on infomercials, they spend little time extolling the virtues of those invaluable exercises you can do for free stair walking, push ups, pull ups, etc. The chapter on exercising at home is a veritable catalog of the fanciest equipment money can buy, rather than suggestions of exercises you can do on a bare floor with your own body weight.

The authors also go a little skimpy on such topics as nutrition and weight training, but make darn sure to point you in the direction of other related titles in the "for Dummies" series.

If you generally like the Dummies books, do a little more shopping before you put your faith in this one.

When I bought this book I thought it would cover all the basics (= for dummies) and allow me to start working on my own at home.

To my disappointment this book contains very little needed info to do that.

Example there are three pages about stretching, giving rules such as "Stretch all your muscles, not just those you've used in your workout", with the chapter describing the muscles coming up 45 pages later. I'd expect :

1. The chapter about muscles to be close to or preceding the section about stretching. The design keeps the relevant info too far apart.

2. A list of stretching excercises to be given with pictures. No excercises are given at all (though there are plenty of space given to useless pictures, e.g. of a computerized bike panel), denying me the info I need.

The section recommends buying a video that shows how to stretch. For the price of a video and a video cassete (about $300 in Israel) I could get personal training.

The "Nutrition Basics" chapter is another disappointment five and a half pages are spent on vitamins providing less information than given in leaflets given for free in pharmacies, the section about titled "Watch Your Calories" gives trivial advice, and no table of caloric values of different kinds of foods is included, etc.

I find this book very disappointing, will not buy any other "for dummies" books, and will sell this book at a second hand books store at least I'll get some of my money back and not waste any shelve space on this useless book.

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If only all Dummies books were as good as this one. Extremely well-written with the most clear language one could ever hope for. Full of anecdotes, definitions, and plenty of myth busters. The personalization from the authors gets tiring ("Suzanne thinks that...", "Liz's grandmother once..."), but it is tolerable. Many, many aspects of fitness are covered in remarkable thoroughness. General weight lifting (both at home and the gym), supplements, gym etiquette, trainer tips, aerobic machines and classes, and fitness video buying are all covered with impressive detail. (If buying this book used, be sure to get the 2nd edition as it covers many topics that didn't exist with the first edition: Pilates, Physio balls, elliptical trainers, Bikram Yoga, and more.)

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I've read several beginner fitness books and I feel this is the most complete and best organized of them all. This has gotten me motivated and started on the right fitness program for me (I've since confirmed with a personal trainer). Honest and accurate fitness information is laid out in an easily understood way (without any questionable product endorsements). No "summary" style book is going to have everything, but they have enough information that you feel like everything else is fine tuning.

To address the concerns of another reviewer, the 2nd edition of this book does discuss common fitness injuries.

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If you've been rather inactive in the recent past, this book will help you to get moving. It not only helped me to plan a well-rounded fitness program, but it really helped me to get motivated. The writing is clear and simple, and the authors do a good job at cutting through the jargon fog and giving you the essentials. and, of course, there's that "For Dummies" humor throughout. Best of all, it's cheaper than a personal trainer. In fact, if you need a personal trainer, this book has great advice on chooding a trainer that's right for you!

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Bringing Wellness Home: How to Create a Household Subculture that Supports Wellness Lifestyle Goals

When it comes to changing lifestyle behaviors, one truism is that change requires support. This support can come from any number of sources such as community, worksite, family and friends. One of the more influential supports is the family. This book breaks new ground in the area of family support.

The author, Judd Allen, is a nationally recognized expert in the area of healthy cultures. In this book, Dr. Allen applies his healthy culture expertise to the family structure.

Though small in size, this book contributes a lot in its content. While the book's message is important, its real value lies in the tools it contains. The tools include: surveys, checklists, self-tests and exercises.

As both a worksite wellness specialist and health/wellness coach, I am seeing increased attention being paid to the important role the family plays in supporting lifestyle behavior change. Worksites are expanding their efforts to include families, while health/wellness coaches are beginning to explore family health/wellness coaching. This book goes a long way in supporting both of these efforts.

If you are interested in family health and wellness, this book is a must read and one you should have easily accessible on your ready reference shelf.

Nursing Homes: Getting Good Care There

A wonderful book !

It tells you all of the things that you might get a nursing home to do for your loved one.

Unfortunately, it doesn't say that there is NO way in h--that any nursing home will do any of it. (Especially a for profit one.)

They just look at you as if you have two heads and continue doing what they always do, much to the detriment of the one you love and feel responsible for.

Home Sweeter Home: Creating a Haven of Simplicity and Spirit (Sweet Simplicity, Book 1)

I'm actually the author's neice, so I read the book when it first came out in 1996. However, I got married a year ago and reached for the book again to get inspiration for turning my new 'house' into a 'home'. This book is fun and easy to read and it is full of good ideas for decorating, living, and developing family traditions. I would recommend it as a wedding gift, a housewarming gift, or just a 'feel good' read. The cover is attractive and looks great on a guest room nightstand!

Be sure to check out her other works as well as her contributions in the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series!

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Your Thyroid: A Home Reference

This book tells a lot about the thyroid gland and how if affects the body. It uses some medical language that is deeper that most people understand.

You must know your disease and this is a great book to keep as a reference to understand thyroid disease.

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My sister recommended this book and my daughter loved it. It provided so much understanding of thyroid problems. I recommend it to anyone with thyroid problems.

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With all the irresponsible books out there on thyroid disease, it's sometimes difficult to discern which are the reputable ones and which are not. But be assured, this book is definitely reputable.

In fact, I use it to refute all the nonsense thyroid misinformation put out there by the charlatans and pseudo-experts. It's also great to use against the all-knowing, self-appointed thyroid advocates especially what's-her-name and what's-her-name (my two favorite restless Munchauseners).

The information contained in this book is invaluable. Conveyed in a style that's fit for laypersons trying to understand thyroid disease, it's an easy read. Plus the quirky illustrations add a bit of levity.

I say just get this book, read it, keep it out to refer back to, and use it to handily put them all into their rightful places.

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What She Always Wanted: A True Story of Marriage, Greed, and Murder

The book had arrived...I went to the first page and started reading from the beginning.... (keep in mind I really don't like reading long stories). I read and I read, turning each page faster as I went... chapter after chapter ... till finally at about 3 something AM, my eyes could not stay clear, the salt in my tears was making my eyes burn...I was so exhausted. I put it down, just as the Judge was about to begin the sentencing phase.... at about 7:30 I awoke , grabbed the book with the page marked with an envelope, and started reading.... I finished it about 8 something.... I will not bore you with my "how many times I cried" or "how many times I was disgusted, fearful she could get off" ... I can tell you, this was "one heck of a book!" I highly recommend this book, just keep in mind, its a TRUE STORY. Sad, very cold, heartless, selfish woman who had it ALL, is now where she belongs. As someone who knew Marjorie many years ago, I will say she finally got what she deserved. This book was very well written by a talented writer, who had me glued from page 1... that says alot! Enjoy!

Jay Orbin was a good man. Loved by family, friends, customers, colleagues, he was not someone who could go missing for long without stirring up questions.

When suddenly in September 2004 Jay wasn't making his usual meetings with his clients, the alarms were sounded. While everyone, including Jay's brother and parents, were disturbed by the unanswered calls to Jay's cell phone, his wife, Marjorie, was strangely dismissive of the uncharacterist behavior.

In October 2004, a tub bearing a man's torso was found in the desert. It didn't take investigators long to learn the corpse's identity: Jay Orbin.

Through her own unbelievable actions and words, Phoenix housewife Marjorie Orbin would be charged with the first degree murder of her husband.

Would a jury believe that she was framed by her lover who killed Jay out of jealousy? Would the case against Marjorie crumble amid the criminal wrongdoings of a lead detective?

Emmy-winning investigative reporter turned true crime writer Camille Kimball outlines the case of State of Arizona vs. Marjorie Orbin in her new book What She Always Wanted: A True Story of Marriage, Greed, and Murder.

Some of you may recall the 48 Hours Mystery episode that aired in November 2009 about this case. If, put it out of your mind because this book isn't slanted in Marjorie's favor no matter how much she tried to convince Kimball otherwise during personal interviews.

I found these 289 pages to be a fast-paced, very emotion-provoking read that was well-written (not copied from a Court transcript); providing the best details without becoming bogged down in the boring "stuff."

If you haven't already, put What She Always Wanted by Camille Kimball on your reading list. It's a must read in true crime for 2010!

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Jay Orbin was held in high regard by many. He was a successful businessman based in Phoenix. His business, distributing jewelry and souvenirs in several states, grew because he worked hard and treated his customers well. He was also the doting father of a young son. But, tragically, he met a violent death in 2004. All that was found of his body was the headless, limbless, torso. Charged with the murder was Marjorie Orbin, who lived with Jay as his wife, although the two had secretly been divorced years before Jay's murder.

I had not heard of this case before stumbling on the book, though it was featured in a 2009 48 Hours episode. The suspense of not knowing the verdict kept me turning the pages. So, I don't want to spoil it.

There are some gruesome details here regarding Jay's corpse. I nearly hurled all over my Kindle a couple of times. It seems to me that human behavior cannot get much lower than some of the acts described during the trial.

A big plus was author Camille Kimball's statement that as she wrote the book she kept in mind the likelihood that Jay's son would someday read it. I thought this was most commendable. It seems to me that many authors do not care about the sentiments of any one reader.

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Read it in one sitting. Very well written. Exciting even though you kinda know who-done-it from the start. One negative: as with many Kindle books, THE PICTURES ARE OMITTED. Why?????

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This is a wonderfully written book! I couldn't put it down. It was written with as much detail and facts that the case involved. Unlike the 48 Hours show that focused on Marjorie's lies and not the truth of the case, this book follows the true details, case facts, and the family and friends' anguish. Sad but true story in a very well written book. Well worth the money and time!

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The Natural Soap Book: Making Herbal and Vegetable-Based Soaps

If you are looking for an solid foundation of information for the cold-process method of soapmaking, get this book and its companion, "The Soapmaker's Companion" by the same author. This book provides a great deal of information to making cold-process (mostly vegetable-based) soaps. Some of the material is a little heavy (the parts on the chemistry of soapmaking) but is very important information if you want to learn to be creative and create your own recipes. The recipes are quite large, as some other reviewers commented, and the great thing about the companion book is the smaller recipes. You will not be able to find most of these ingredients at your local supermarket (e.g. pomace olive oil and palm oil). The recipes call for the real ingredients used in the industry that you will have to find but with the popularity of the Internet, finding these ingredients is much easier than it used to be. This book may not be a one-stop-shop for information, but this book and the Companion come VERY close!

I really enjoy the straight forward writing style of Ms. Cavitch. She speaks to you like you're having a conversation with a good friend.

In the Introduction she gives some basic chemistry of soap lessons which are very easy for the non chemist to understand. Then she goes on to explain different types of soap, different fats and oils what when you might want to use each. All through the beginning are charming, little stories about real soap makers and their businesses. What a nice touch.

This seems to be a very well thought out book with just oodles of information on just about every aspect of making soap. She's even included a small section on blending essential oils and give some suggested blending for certain scents.

The coloring section isn't as lengthy as I think it could be, but it is a good start for the beginner, especially for those who want to start using herbs for coloring soaps.

I can't say I agree with Ms. Cavitch on her temperatures explanation. But that does seem to be more of a preference thing. She feels that vegetable soaps made over 95 degrees F are problematic, but I have never found that to be the case. Actually... I have found the opposite to be true.

Weighing your essential oils in advance as she suggests you do in Step 1, is going to give you a problem unless you tightly seal it. I learned right away that they will evaporate into the air. What you weighed out before you started stirring will be partly gone by the time you use it! She does however, later in another section, mention that you should tightly seal the container.

A picture, an actual photograph, of what 'trace' means would be nice. Would it kill these authors to say something like, "thick like pudding"? No one can ever figure out what is meant by the word trace. Newbees sort of freak out about it, and I can understand that.

There is one thing that I really don't like about her recipes. That is, some of the items are in pounds and some of the items are in grams. Unless you're good at converting or your scale does both, you're going to have a problem. It would have been much nicer had she offered all items in both grams and ounces and then you could use what you use. I can see why she's doing it. Grams offer much better accuracy with those items like lye and grapefruit seed extract. But many who aren't interested in doing conversions, won't use the recipes. :(

Cavitch is working with that old, bothersome method of matching your lye solution temp with your oil temp at about 80 degrees F. I don't recommend this method as it causing a soap separation many times when the temp drops and saponification slows to a crawl. But a good many people still use this method.

Her suggestions that a mostly olive oil soap can trace in about 7 minutes I don't agree with at all. I have hand stirred more like 3 hours for mostly olive soap. I wouldn't want anyone to think that they can actually accomplish this and not have under stirred soap. Pomace (a lower grade of olive) will trace quickly, but I don't think that can be done in less than 1/2 hour with hand stirring.

I guess the really big problem people have with Susan Cavitch is her method of figuring lye. What she does works, however, soap makers don't 'discount' lye, they add more fats/oils. It is quite confusing if you talk to someone who figures things with her discount method. It is just one of those annoying things. Some say the glass is half full, others half empty. Well, for Cavitch alone, the glass is half empty.

There are many recipes in this book and also a section on things you can add to the recipes and how to add them, such as herbs, superfat oils, etc., to make some varied soaps. There is a chapter on suggestions on wrapping soaps decoratively which is fun too.

All in all, I think this is a high quality book. I think the actual method of making soap is outdated now, but aren't they all? We have finally gone beyond the Ann Bramson book, but the authors have not caught up yet.

I have my little pet peeves about the book, but I think everyone should have a copy. All that chemistry is good to have so that you can talk to Dr. Bob later and actually understand him! :) . . .

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I have been making soap for about 3 years and I have had a lot of botched batches of soap along the way. Most of my mistakes were by following the advice of "experts" who have written books about how to make soap. At the beginning I bought Susuan Miller Cavitch's book on how to make Natural Soap and Herbal Soaps and I tried to follow her advice. I couldn't figure out how to calculate the lye. You have to be a "rocket scientist" to figure it out if you try to do it her way. I followed her advice on putting wax paper in the bottom of my box and the wax paper turned to mush and I couldn't get the soap out without mashing it all up. I started out by making huge batches of soap like she said and I found that when a batch of soap doesn't turn out you have wasted huge amounts of time, effort and money. And what do you do with all that soap unless you are in the business of selling soap? And what beginner is? I think l-2 pound batches are much better. You can experiment and learn your craft and not have huge amounts of money lost if it fails. She has no recipes for small batches. Also I think 80 degrees is way too low for the fat temperature. I have found that ll0 degrees works out for me every time. Soap making is really easy, not nearly as scarey as she makes it look. I did like the sources at the end of the book and have found some really good suppliers from it. All in all, I think her book is interesting to read, but just don't take it too seriously if you are a beginner. If you have been making soap for a while, then pick it up and read it.

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The only problem I have with this book is the sheer quantity of soap each recipe makes. I have never made 40 bars of soap at one time and cannot imagine ever doing so. I'm not sure what I would do with 40 bars of soap. It's more fun for me to make several small batches of soap for variety. It would have been more helpful had Cavitch included information on making half batches as well.

The author uses no animal products in her soap, which may be a plus for some, but I find lard and tallow to make nice soaps for much less money. Of course, this is a matter of preference to the soap maker.

Frankly, I wish I had bought another soap making book.

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Complete Home Fitness Handbook

This book is a must own for every health/fitness enthusiast. It details all parts of an exercise program, explaining their importance, and how they correlate for a complete plan. Whether you are exercising for strength, muscle shaping and conditioning, or better overall health and well-being, this book will show you step-by-step how to get there. For people who active fitness buffs, this book will only enhance your current routine.

I know Ed Burke from my college days and there is not a better leading expert in health and fitness around that is as knowledgable and can instruct with real-world examples and advice. Buy this book and you won't be disappointed.

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