January 2008 Non-Fiction and Biography Book Reviews

The Home Decorator's Color and Texture Bible: 180 Complete Schem
by Adrienne Chinn

Firefly Books
Spiral-bound
ISBN# 978-1-55407-315-3
Suggested Retail Price: $29.95 or as low as $15.99 from Amazon.com!

Okay, so nobody's buying a new home these days. But that means making your current digs more easily inhabitable for yourself, if not for others. Adrienne Chinn gives you a lavishly-illustrated guide to using color and texture in home decorating. You look up the primary color for the room you're working on and she gives you several examples of complimentary colors and textures to consider for the floors, carpeting, and furniture. From crowd-pleasing neutrals to eye-popping purples, you'll find a lot of help in this totable spiral-bound book that's easy to lay on a table or take along to the Home Depot.

Figure Skating Today: The Next Wave of Stars
by Steve Milton

Firefly Books
Paperback
ISBN# 978-1-55407-335-1
Suggested Retail Price: $19.95 or as low as $11.99 from Amazon.com!

My wife introduced me to figure skating back the in early 1980s when Torvill and Dean grabbed the spotlight with their amazing performance in the 1984 Olympics (check it out on YouTube). I was actually repaying her for her patience with my football obsession, but nevertheless, I did come to appreciate the sport more than I ever expected. But with the stars I knew from those days like Michelle Kwan and Scott Hamilton fading into memory, its time to learn about the new up and comers. Steve Milton shows you the best new figure skaters from around the world with stunning color photographs on each page, along with a brief biography. If you're a fan, you'll want to page through this book all season long to check on the backgrounds of these amazing atheletes.

Golf Cures and Fixes: The Instant Improver for Every Single Golf
by Steve Newell

Firefly Books
Paperback
ISBN# 978-1-55407-314-6
Suggested Retail Price: $19.95 or as low as $12.05 from Amazon.com!

With detailed photographs and solid advice, Steve Newell shows you how to cure many of the toughest problems faced by amateur golfers. The book is organized first by club, showing the problems for each group and the best way to cure it. With each swing broken down into its component parts, the book helps you to quickly locate the critical areas of your game that are keeping you from being consistent in your game.

Earth From Space: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
by Andrew K. Johnston

Firefly Books
Paperback
ISBN# 978-1-55407-291-0
Suggested Retail Price: $29.95 or as low as $3.44 from Amazon.com!

The WOW factor of this book is gigantic. Its a stunning collection of photographs taken from space presented by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. In addition to the obligatory images of large weather systems, the book has chapters dedicated to several common and practical uses of the complex and detailed imagery we've accumulated from satellites and other spacecraft. Internet users have a sense of the level of detail that can be gleaned from satellite photography through services like Google Earth. Author Andrew K. Johnson brings the enthusiasm of a scientist to explain how each kind of image is taken (the differences between photographs taken with visible light and infrared photography) and how they are being used by real people every day.

For Baby Boomers like me who grew up admiring those first Mercury astronauts, books like this one simply reinforce our admiration for the people who make these remarkable achievements in technology useful to our everyday lives. But there's also no escaping the awe-inspiring splendor of the pictures in this book.

Book of Flight: The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
by Judith E. Rinard

Firefly Books
Paperback
ISBN# 978-1-55407-275-0
Suggested Retail Price: $16.95 or as low as $4.97 from Amazon.com!

If you've always been in awe of those daring pilots of the 20th Century who brought us from the earliest forms of flying to today's space program, you'll love this book. The authors wisely begin with legends of flight from Icarus on to the first successful attempts at flying with hot air balloon. With each new era, there were new frontiers of flight to conquer. You'll see pictures from the Wright Brothers' first powered flight at Kitty Hawk, through the barnstorming days of the early 1900's, the first planes used in combat in World War I and World War II, all the way up to the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station, the history of flight is presented with tributes to both the men and the machines in this fantastic picture book. Its the kind of book you can read over and over again, just to learn more about how those brave men and women (we can't forget Amelia, can we?) gave us this amazing legacy and inspiring technology.

Hubble: The Mirror on the Universe
by Robin Kerrod, Carole Stott

Firefly Books
Hardcover
ISBN# 978-1-55407-316-0
Suggested Retail Price: $35.00 or as low as $21.75 from Amazon.com!

I call it "The Telescope NASA Couldn't Kill". Each page in this book is filled with gorgeous pictures of galaxies and nebulae that span our universe. Trust me, the pictures you've seen on the Internet and in your local newspaper don't begin to show what the Hubble Space Telescope is capabable of doing. Beyond the wonderous images, Robin Kerrod and Carole Stott explain what those images are telling scientists about the nature of the universe.

Skiing and Snowboarding Fitness: Reach Your Potential on the Slo
by Mark Hines

Firefly Books
Paperback
ISBN# 978-1-55407-323-8
Suggested Retail Price: $16.95 or as low as $9.14 from Amazon.com!

'Tis the season to be shushing, and Mark Hines shows you how to best prepare yourself for the slopes with this illustrated guide to exercises that are tailored for the skier or snowboarder. You get a selection of several complete exercise programs, with experienced advice on how to customize them to your needs.

The Riding Handbook: The Complete Guide to Safe and Exciting Hor
by Zoe St. Aubyn

Firefly Books
Paperback
ISBN# 978-1-55407-279-8
Suggested Retail Price: $19.95 or as low as $10.45 from Amazon.com!

Novice equestrians will certainly appreciate this simple book that teaches the basics of horseback riding from choosing the right equipment to the proper care and feeding of your mount. Over 350 photographs tell the story in vivid detail.

Soccer Skills: For Young Players
by Ted Buxton

Firefly Books
Paperback
ISBN# 978-1-55209-329-0
Suggested Retail Price: $14.95 or as low as $1.00 from Amazon.com!

Middle and high schoolers are sure to enjoy this tutorial on the sport of soccer. After a brief discussion of basic exercises and warm-up drills, author Ted Buxton presents over 70 separate drills, complete with photographs of each one, that will help you develop the basic skills of the sport.

Pithy Seedy Pulpy Juicy: Eleven Rhymes with Orange Books in One
by Hilary B. Price

Ecw Press
Paperback
ISBN# 1-5502-2756-4
Suggested Retail Price: $16.95 or as low as $9.98 from Amazon.com!

Middle and high schoolers are sure to enjoy this tutorial on the sport of soccer. After a brief discussion of basic exercises and warm-up drills, author Ted Buxton presents over 70 separate drills, complete with photographs of each one, that will help you develop the basic skills of the sport.

On the Nature of Food Allergy
by Paul J. Hannaway

Lighthouse Press
Paperback
ISBN# 0962179930
Suggested Retail Price: $19.95 or as low as $15.12 from Amazon.com!

Many families are concerned about food alergies these days. Of course, there have long been issues with pesticides and other contaminants, but those are long-term issues whereas alergic reactions are immediate and potentially lethal. In "The Nature of Food Alergy", author Paul Hannaway gives parents a detailed guide to detecting food alergies in children, and determining the particular foods that the child is reacting to. You'll not only get information on particular foods that are known to cause allergic reactions, but the ingredients within many food products that can be hidden triggers. The book has a modest level of scientific and medical jargon, but nothing that should be beyond the level of any parent. Indeed, its refreshing to find a general audience book that doesn't talk down to it's readers. There's nothing like having good information to help reduce the stress of being a parent, so books like this one are a great investment.