Rise Of Fashion: A Reader

Compiled and edited by Daniel Leonhard Purdy, college-level students of fashion design history will welcome The Rise Of Fashion: A Reader, a compendium of key writings on fashion trends from the Enlightenment to modern times, translating many works previously available only in other languages, providing important critiques of fashion among different classes, and survey both social and political issues in the framework of fashion art developments. An important compilation for any college-level fashion department, The Rise Of Fashion will also hold immense interest for professional fashion designers and non-specialist general readers with an interest in fashion history.

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The Men's Health Gym Bible

The topics covered in the book are wide ranging and informative but the editing in some parts leave little to be desired. For example, in chapter 13 on the Muscle-Building Workout, the instructions and the actual layout of the workouts don't coincide. The instructions say the leg workouts should be done as straight sets but in workout B, the first two leg exercises are listed as A1 and A2, suggesting a superset. Also, the instructions explained the workouts as upper body/lower body, upper body /lower body but the 1st upper body workout includes the Bulgarian Split Squat and the 2nd upper body workout includes Cable Pull Through, both leg movements. The 2nd upper body workout also has Lateral Raise as part of an arm tri-set. I'm guessing it should've been in the shoulder portion instead, where it shows a superset of Hang Clean and DB Shoulder Press.

Other errors I noted were the illustrations of the various machines. The Seated Calf Raise on page 212 looks an awful lot like a Preacher Curl Machine to me and is that really a 45 degree Leg Press Machine on page 208? On page 282, that doesn't look like a Glute Hame Raise Machine. There are others but you get the idea.

There's a lot of good information in this book but unfortunately, the editing mistakes may leave novice lifters confused about what machines they're actually looking at in their gym and whether they're conducting their exercises in the proper order.

This book has a wealth of information useful to someone who recently joined or is considering joining a gym. The book is well laid out and very easy to read. This book was perfect for me. The exercises are well illustrated. Information is presented concisely. The book is free of one person's opinions. Too much authoritative lecturing is a problem that plagues many books in this category. This book avoids that mistake. I can highly recommend this book to anyone who is considering joining a gym or already belongs to one and wants to maximize the benefits of membership.

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This book does a very good job of de-mystifying the gym work out. There are quite a few devices and gizmos that I was never quite sure how to use, and this book explains what they do and how to use them. Also, it does a very good job of categorizing different exercises, providing many ways to work different muscle groups. For instance, chest exercises using no weights, free weights, bars, benches, cages, machines, etc. Having more options at my disposal makes it easier to work out. There are some editing problems, as noted in another review. The most annoying for me was the inconsistency between some of the charts and the written-out explanations for certain routines. Specifically, the muscle-building exercise program in chapter 13 is exactly what I was looking for...except that the chart and the workout expalanation don't match up. They are inconsistent regarding when to superset, the order of the exercises, and duration. I actually went to some online body-building forums to get some ideas on how to best implement the routine. But the bottom line is that the book has been helpful, and has provided me additional motivation to get to the gym and try different things.

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I've always viewed "Men's Health" as more of a fashion magazine than a real resource for health and fitness. Their (many) books seem to be no different, focusing on style over substance. "The Men's Health Gym Bible" actually does contain some useful information, but if you've spent any amount of time working out in a gym, it's old hat to you.

A friend of mine was looking to start working out and just wanted some basic info to get him started. He was like most guys and still had the fitness knowledge he learned in high school. Unfortunately this book was too basic for even him. The limited info on any given subject and gratuitous praise for certain brands of gym equipment are just ridiculous.

There are many many better resources out there. Skip this one.

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Men's Health Gym Bible educated me on what different gym equipment looked like, how to use them effectively, and how I could best use them to get specific body results. I needed this book to know how to use the gym since membership is not cheap and I dont want to throw away my money. I would highly recommend this book. It's inexpensive and very handy to anybody who needs to learn about gym equipment and how to put together a cusomized gym workout routine.

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The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy: Over 600 Natural, Non-Toxic and Fragrant Recip

The book is filled with some good information. However, There is no safety data for the oils presented. Some oils are not safe to use during pregnancy, estrogen dependent cancer, or may cause skin irritation or phototoxicity (sunburn). Use caution when trying the recipies in this book or research the oils further.

A disturbing section was the one on pets. I would definately do more research before putting anything on a cat. Cats lick their fur and not all oils can be ingested. Eucalyptus is toxic if taken internally. There have been reports of Tea Tree nearly killing cats. In addition, they recommended adding tansy to a horse's feed to treat worms. Tansy is very toxic to horses and cows. People usually try to remove the plant from their pastures.

Last word. Do your research and don't just use one book.

Valerie Ann Worwood's book "The Complete Book Of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy" is one of the most complete and down-to-earth books on the subject, especially for the beginer. If I were to teach a course on aromatherapy for beginers, this would be one of two main texts I would use, as it is so complete. Here writing style is very clear, easily understood, and enjoyable to read. No dryness here. She begins by discussing ten essntial oils as a "basic care kit," and explains how such oils should be used via an A-Z list of common household occurances. The list includes the following as some topics: -Abdominal pain. -Abraisions. -Black Eye. -Bruises. -Colds. -Fever. -Headache. -Hicups. As a matter of principle, she explains at the very begining of the book that the information contained therein is NOT intended to take the place of a Physician's care. Her chapters on Travel, Sports related injuries, and Beauty (3 chapters covering head to feet!), Maternity and Motherhood, Mens/Women's health (seperate chapters), and Aging are exceptional. She closes with chapters on aromatherapy for animals, and gardening; which I have not seen except in a work by Dr. Gary Young. The charts at the end of the book are indespensable, and complete as a ready quick refrance. Valerie's bibliography contains such authors as Belaiche; Gattefose; Valnet, Duraffourd, Lapraz; and Wells; shows that she is very well read as she is experienced. These authors are the very pioneers of the modern resurgence of aromatherapy, and should be read by all who desire to be serious students of the art and science that is aromatherapy. Those who may wish to criticize her lack of litterary sitations should go and read the works cited here, remembering that Valerie has over 25 years of practical experience as a student and practicioner in a country where aromatherapy is taken seriously, and all they will be left holding is empty litterary critique. Better still, they should utilize her book, and let experience speak for itself! My only sugestion for a revision would be an in-depth chapter on essential oil chemistry, and their interaction with the bodily systems. Otherwise, I consider this book to be amoung the best out there on the subject. It makes a great gift for all occasoins.

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I think this is a good concise book on essential oils (and I have many in both English and Italian, giving the aromatherapy perspective from England, North America, Italy and Germany). However, I caution you all to ignore Wormwood's advice on using essential oils on animals. Wormwood recommends the use of certain oils including tea tree oil, lavender and others on cats all of which are highly toxic to felines. Before buying this book, I had instinctively known to never use any essential oils on my two cats (I think mainly because whenever I would use tea tree oil or lavender on myself, they would avoid me like the plague). But when I saw these same oils highly recommended in Wormwood's book for use on cats, I foolishly thought that if it's in print, it must be true. So, when one of my cats got an abscess on her hip from a cat bite, I tried Wormwood's abscess treatment using tea tree oil (only a couple drops) on her. She frantically tried to get away from me as I tried to apply the drops and then within about 15-20 minutes, started acting very ill. Thank God I had the common sense to stop the treatment, did a search on Google and found out that in fact, tea tree oil as well as a number of other oils that Wormwood recommends are highly toxic to cats their livers cannot process certain oils and become poisons in their systems. I've even read reports of kittens being killed from low dosage applications of tea tree oil. I would say this is a very good reference book for applications on humans but if you care about your pets, do more research on your own to find out the facts about using essential oils on animals. You might just save their life. If it hadn't been for the dangerous misinformation in the pet section, I would have given the book 4 stars.

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"The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy" by Valerie Ann Worwood is a must for every home! I simply love this book. In fact my copy is in great need of replacement from constant use. In 1997 I received a phone call from a man who wanted to know if I could develop a scent that would depict a particular subject to him. Then next thing I knew he was asking me to make some soap for him. A project I always wanted to do, but never ventured into. That led me to learning about soapmaking, which led me to learning about essential oils. Valerie's book was the first one I looked at and purchased along with 2 from Julia Lawless.

Because I knew nothing about essential oils, "The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy" became my mainstay. Eventually, after learning more about essential oils, I ventured into the other books as well. Valerie's book makes learning about essential oils easy. Her book is easy to read, and easy for those like me who knew nothing at all, to learn and understand. This is an excellent book for beginners or those who are advanced in the art of essential oils as well.

"The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy" will have those who like me had absolutely no knowledge of essential oils, using them in a matter of moments! I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning what essential oils are and how to use them. Valerie goes into the usage for home, travel, emergency first aid, and the work place and gives formulas to make your own oils so you can put your newfound knowledge to work.

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This is a great book for starting out or for recipes. As noted it doesn't cover the modes of action (turn to Kurt Schnaubelt or R. B. Tisserand if you want that), but it is an excellent book! It starts off with a basic care "kit" of ten moderately priced essential oils. However if you read the WHOLE (unlike those who claim she uses only ten) book you'll find she covers many others. She covers common medical problems (consult a doctor first, of course), beauty creams and lotions, household uses, garden uses, and food. I would research the pet uses first, she suggests giving tansy to a horse which is a good way to end up with a dead horse. When purchasing essential oils always check the scientific name of the plant from which the oils was extracted--otherwise you may end up with something other than you intended (ie. eucalyptus, eucalyptus lemon and eucalyptus peppermint depending upon whom you purchase them from are all labeled eucalyptus, it is the scientific name that distinguishes them) Overall this is an excellent, excellent book.

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Encountering Medieval Textiles and Dress: Objects, Texts, Images (New Middle Ages)

As is the case with many books compiled from excellent work created by diverse authors, this book could warrant a review of each chapter. The book covers the fifth through the sixteenth centuries, from Ireland to Italy and the Mediterranean, and is compiled into three sections based on date(s) covered by the articles.

This tome discusses the distinctions of levels of society as delineated by clothing, the development of the textile industry, and the use of textile analogies in period literature. It examines textile depictions found on monuments, in sculpture, in paintings, and on manuscripts. But in its fourteen chapters this volume manages to convey a cohesive and encompassing view of textiles in the medieval period. It offers the reader not only interesting facts, but the authors' excellent work convincingly connects the dots so as to give clothing a life of its own in the context of the times.

Chapters such as Dressing the Part, From Content to Form and Marie de France's Bisclavret deliver both sides of the coin: we are what we wear as well as wearing what we are entitled due to class structure. Without clothes, Bisclaveret is a wolf, un-recognizable; with clothes he is a nobleman, although Gloria Thomas Gilmore discusses the balance of both sides of the coin. Does form follow function, or is function a result of the form?

In Christ as a Windblown Sleeve, Margarita Yanson explores the changing costumes within Gottried von Strassburg's Tristan where changes in clothing mark the complexity of the main character, Tristan. Simularly, in As Proud as a Dog in a Doublet, Linda Anderson sees costume as an integral part of the play. On the other hand, The Margaret Fitzgerald Tomb Effegy comments on the strong nationalism in the dress of the late 15th and early 16th centuries, when adherance to national norms was seen as akin to patriotic act, and changing one's dress could be seen as treason and situates the effegy within the context of the time.

The chapters written by the editors are pivotal and act to anchor the rest of the book. Snyder's work discusses not only the sculpural forms in the column-figures and document seals in great detail, but in discussing the dress pictured from England to Germany it provides both an overview and excellent detail. Inserted between two chapters that draw from literary sources, the sharp images of the columns offer the mind a break as the detail is made visible to the eye as well as to the mind. Désirée Koslin's chapter touches on materials, dyes, weaving, finishing and meaning of cloth and clothing. Even through its title the final chapter is an overview and a case study. In many ways, it rounds out and sums up the book in a very satisfactory manner.

From art and legal manuscripts to archeological evidence and period documents the authors describe dress and its importance in great detail. The rich description plus the illustrations paint a lucid image of the clothing of the time in detail suitable for recreating the costumes discussed, while the discussion of the meaning of such explores timeless issues regarding the role of clothing and cloth in society and the lives of individuals. Black and white images throughout illustrate the chapters, and a seven page glossary makes terms that may be unfamiliar to some understandable without reaching for the dictionary, and a comprehensive index makes revisiting bits of information a breeze. Although this book is aimed at the student of the medieval period, and specifically at someone interested in the dress of the period, those interested in philosophy and dress in general can see parallels throughout the ages making this a book of value. Reading this book has made me think about dress more closely, not only in a historical context, but also while people-watching, and in movies such as the Matrix trilogy where dress has layers of meaning.

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Don't Leave Momma Home With the Dog: Why Caregivers Do What They Do!

There are no easy answers for caring for loved ones with dementia or Alzheimers, but Ms. Huey writes with humor, compassion, and insight. There are many techniques you may find helpful. The text rambles a bit and is a tribute,memorial to her mother and their relationship. Consider reading this if you are struggling with issues of placement, levels of care, daily care issues, and your emotions.

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