A 'must have' reference

Being relatively new to gardening I am thrilled to have found this book. It is the perfect guide to modern gardening. I found this book refreshing and so practical. Some fantastic tips that really made gardening feel easy and enjoyable. I have got the bug now, and my 'cabbage patch' is close to being fully stocked with beautiful produce. I am very proud, but could not have succeded without Alan's help.

This book is essential reading for all first time mothers (AND FATHERS!)

Molly was born 4 weeks ago. In the hospital the midwives had me propped up in bed demand breast feeding. I went 47 hours without sleep. I seriously began to think I was going to drop her. She fed CONTINUOUSLY! I was a wreck and she was irritable and cranky. I decided to start feeding her every three hours as Gina recommends whether or not she demanded it and gave her a soother after feeds to satisfy her"suckiness". The transformtion was amazing. She became calm and content within 48 hours. My mother isn't alive to help me out with advice and help and my mother in law has a typical mother in law relationship with me so this book had all the brilliant up to date information that got me through that terrifying journey home with my little pink bundle and got me over every hurdle since. <br /><br />Gina has been there for me with this book 24/7. And yes the routines seem strict, but the way I looked at it was... I'm going to have to get all this stuff done every day anyway, might as well have a bit of structure and routine to our day and that allows us to plan. If I want to go somewhere with Molly I do it during her 3.30 nap and she snoozes happily in the car seat while I get on with whatever. If friends want to call I tell them that she's asleep after 7p.m. and I dont have a feed till 10.30p.m. why not call around after dinner for coffee and desert (they must bring dessert though!)My husband & I have qualiy time with her and with each other.<br />The proof of the pudding is in the fact that Molly hardly ever cries. She doesn't need to! She has parents that can pre-empt her every need and are calm, well-rested and confident. THANK YOU GINA!!

Well, I can't see what you are on about

I have bought this book and hoped to find a solution for my two dogs: one seems to go deaf for any kind of"Come here" as soon as a squirrel is in sight, the other one is lovely with humans but quite a bully with other dogs. I didn't find any answer. To me the book is like a biography: nice to know that Ceasar has treated so many celebrities' dogs but he bored me out of my pants with his endless pages about his humble upbringing in Mexico. This is not what I want to know when I buy a book about dog training. The questions I really needed to know were not answered. Sorry, this book didn't do it for me at all. Seen all your positive ratings, I am decided to read it again, but I still don't think that I have"overread" the answer to my questions. Is there any page where he gives anything else than just a more than vague advice? I can't find it.

Excellent for first-time mums

I have a few 'new mum' books but this one is by far the most useful.<br /><br />There is a chapter for each month of the first year with 'what to expect' at each stage - e.g. at what age your baby will probably start to hold its head up / smile / sit up etc. Reassuringly the book always makes it clear that your own baby will do everything at its own pace and so not to treat each month's summary as a checklist.<br /><br />Each chapter then contains lots of Q&A likely to be relevant at each stage. To be honest I didn't read these bits in the month in question but instead referred to them via the index when I had the same questions myself.<br /><br />The book also has excellent sections on health / common infant ailments and advice on what to do e.g. to treat a fever and when to call the doctor. For a first time mum these pages are priceless!<br /><br />I liked this book so much that I have now invested in the 'What to Expect - the toddler years' now that my daughter is over 1 year and it is just as good!<br /><br />Highly recommended - loads of information, not at all preachy, and very reassuring advice throughout.

A week?? More like 3 days!

This book is a little miracle. Following the advice in this book, my son was going to his potty without any prompting by the end of the first day. In three days, he was more or less fully trained and has had very few accidents since he came out of nappies. I was so worried about potty training and was expecting it to be a complete nightmare, but it turned out to be really easy - in large part due to this book. If you are thinking of buying this book, my advice is don't hesitate - you won't regret it. I certainly didn't!

Excites the interest but not actually that practical

This is an excellent book but in the wrong package. Richard Mabey does a very good job of giving a seasonal guide to what's out there that you can have for free and does a respectable job of telling you how to use it. It falls short in two respects;<br /><br />First it is not a comprehensive guide to any particular food source so while he may tell you how to cook ceps and morels and gives a reasonable guide to identifying it without this being a comprehensive guide to fungi you will never be entirely certain that what you have is a cep or a morel. To some extent that is true for everything he shows whether its fungi, nuts or fruit.<br /><br />The second point is more significant for a book on foraging and is that this edition is simply too big to take into the field. In some ways this isn't a significant problem as because the book isn't comprehensive it wouldn't be the choice to take into the field with you.<br /><br />This book falls somewhere between the coffee table forager's manual and Delia goes wild. Both of which might sound like criticisms but for someone who hasn't foraged wild food previously both of those would be the ideal starting point. If that's you then buy this book and read it but leave it at home when you go out and get a good field guide to take with you.<br /><br />Note - since writing that review I have realised that this is available in several editions. Some of the other editions are small enough to use as a field guide.

"Confident parents are positive and positive parents are very powerful people"

Toddler Taming is a great resource for first time parents. It covers a wide range of topics, which includes tantrums, eating, sleeping, toilet training and common toddler illnesses. It also includes a valuable set of appendices that cover child development milestones and immunisations.<br /><br />Despite the wealth of general knowledge that is covered within the book, I personally found that some of the methods that were suggested for dealing with common toddler behavioural problems were either impractical or contradictory. However, the main value of the book lies in the fact that it educates the parents about toddlers and their characteristics and common traits. It also helps ingrain the fact that these challenges that are faced by parents are in fact the norm rather than the exception. Armed with this knowledge, confidence in parenting is likely to increase, and customising some of the methods suggested in this book to suite your parenting style could make noticeable difference, if not to your child's behaviour then at least to your reaction, understanding and ability to cope with such behaviour!<br /><br />The book is written in a way that makes it accessible to all, and the author's use of humour made the educational experience all the more enjoyable.<br />

Helpful Book, Highly Recommended

I discovered this book as I was about to wean my 6th baby, and was dreading this stage. How I wish I had this book before! The previously massive hurdle has been greatly simplified and weaning is so far going very well. Every mother should read this book, it's a must-have!<br />As with all books, you should take what makes sense to you, and don't try to follow it to the letter. Gina Ford is very emphatic in her approach, but let's face it,every baby is unique, and as the mother, you are qualified to decide. <br />Even saying that, this is a great guide for those of us who find weaning a difficult issue.

EXCELLENT!

A fast moving read, very intelligent, spells it out, I couldn't put it down. Which is unusual for books of this type. Normally the going to very dry, exceedingly droll. but this author lays everything out in highly interesting fashion. <br /><br />The points made are worth making, too, which alone sets it apart from other books in this genre.

Excellent - but !

I love Monty Don's writing, as the previous review states in his comments - 'it feel's personal' and you get a really good feel of what he is seeing on his tour of the gardens. The details of his note taking etc. make it a more enjoyable read than a book that is just factual. I felt that you were getting an honest review of how he felt at the time of writing and being human enough to comment on how he might feel differently at other times of visiting some of them. My disapointment came from the appearance of the book and wish that they had kept more to the look of 'The Jewel Garden' which captured me straight away from the beautiful photography on the front cover and the pics inside. If there had been more photographs to show what Monty is describing in"Around the world in 80 Gardens' it may have benefited from it, but I think this has been the publishers at fault rather than Monty Don. I must admit I hated the cover design if I had been the Co. who had produced it I don't think I would have put my website on the inside flap. Well done to Montague though, and long may he continue writing in this engaging manner.

Good Book - not too complex and clear layout

Another good book from the IEE on the 17th Edition wiring regulations. We use this at PPL Training for our City and Guilds 2382 17th Ed regulations course. The book is clearly laid out with easy to follow text on the updates for the 17th edition. Students also taking the City and Guilds 2392/2391 will find this book useful.

Ok but not as funny as it thinks its is

I like JSP and her outspoken manner, but I didn't like the format of this book - all the different fonts and stuff got on my nerves, and it isn't as funny as I'd hoped. She does speak a lot of sense though.

Selfbuilders - If you do nothing else - buy this and read it

It's very simple - do not attempt to start planning the self-build or major renovation of anything more than a broom cupboard under the stairs (and it's probably worth the cover price for even that!) until you have bought this book and read it from cover to cover at least twice. I have half a dozen other"home building" books and this is the one I always go back to. Not for nothing is it called the Housebuliders"Bible".

It doesn't set out to tell you how to project manage building a house. HOWEVER, it's written in such a way that I learnt enough from an earlier edition of this book to do exactly that. It DOES tell you how much it might all end up costing and how to keep control over the costs when you are project managing - or more importantly - someone else is project managing the work.

By dissecting each part of the build process from planning all the way through to putting up curtains it gives you an excellent idea of what's involved when you build a house and as I've said controlling the single most important issue which is cost - and trust me on this - controlling costs IS the number one issue you will face.

Recommended.

Wonderful guide to the first year

This is a lovely book,packed with so much useful information that will guide you through the first year of a newborn.<br />I found that I not only read it cover to cover but returned to it time and again to read up on various milestones. I particularly liked the easy layout interspersed with beautiful photography.<br />Whether a Gina follower or not this is a great book to have and to give as a gift.

Please, please buy this book.

I can not recommend this book highly enough. It is an absolute must have for anyone who is exhausted but can not tolerate the idea of letting their baby 'cry it out'. Whilst some of the reviews here call it uninspiring - it is if you want a quick fix solution (such as control crying which may seem to work but at what cost to your baby!) as it may take a little time to evaluate where you are going wrong. Having said that I had already been giving the matter a great deal of thought (as you can imagine!) and so could put the ideas into practice straight away and I did get immediate positive results. <br /><br />The very same night my baby slept better largely because I made certain that she got good naps throughout the day and put her in bed much earlier than I normally would. Since then I have seen a series of continual improvements and am now happy to report she is a good sleeper who LOVES to go in her cot at night and rarely wakes. This is less than 10 days after buying the book.<br /><br />This book is common sense parenting. <br /><br />If we had the luxury of time and a brain that wasn't addled with lack of sleep it is what we would be doing instinctively. Rather than taking the drastic (and in my opinion DANGEROUS) approach of letting your baby bawl its eyes out and feel desperately upset going to sleep, it gently helps you to expand your babies comfort zone so that he/she never enters a state of panic. It is possible to immediately see results if you are willing to accept that your baby is crying for a reason and work hard to find that reason, using the suggestions in the book. <br /><br />I was told by my Heath Visitor that 'I MUST let my baby cry it out'. This angered me as I'm not the sort of person who likes being told what I must and must not do by someone who lacks imagination and doesn't know me, my baby or my situation! Also I believe babies cry - for a reason! Sure sometimes that reason is that they want attention, but why do they want it, address that and you address the problem. <br /><br />My baby suffers with reflux an excess of stomach acid that builds during the day and in her case sometimes causes her discomfort and even vomiting at night which made the problem of sleeping/upset much worse. Had I been the type of person to just accept the status quo I would have followed my HV's advice and let her vomit and carry on control crying. WHAT??? <br /><br />If something goes against your instincts as a parent to that extent how can it possibly be right? <br /><br />Instead I looked for my own solutions to help with the stomach problems and then just needed to work through the sleep problems - with Pantley's help!<br /><br />I look at it this way - how easily can you get to sleep when you are upset, overtired, hungry, sore, ill, lonely??? Why expect your baby to be able to cope with things that you can't as an adult? <br /><br />Instead learn to recognise what your child is trying to tell you and then deal with it.<br /><br />Many of the ideas in this ring true - why? because it has been written by a mother who followed her instincts and found out what works and what doesn't. Sure she may not have a formal qualification as one of the other reviewers states (erm - who has a formal qualification in child sleep?) but as a mother of four she is more than qualified as far as I am concerned.<br /><br />Whats more the book gives you the confidence that you are doing the right thing by not going down the CC route, and enables you to stick to your guns and tell other control crying advocates why that is a bad solution, quoting Pantley's research :-).<br /><br />For those that want to follow a defined process and step by step guide it gives you that, for others like myself who have already thought this through you may flick through the pages and suddenly happen upon the solution that's right for you - a lightbulb moment when you think to yourself why on earth hadn't I realised/tried that before - because you're too tired that's why!<br /><br />I am urging every parent, health care worker, baby formus etc I can to buy this book as I really do believe it is the foundation for good parenting. <br /><br />I will also be buying all of Pantley's other books to make sure I make fewer mistakes in the future.<br /><br />One last piece of advice - if you are going to try a new routine for your baby, do it bit by bit to access what is having a positive impact and so as not to panic your child. And, to give you the energy you need to try something new, let someone else bear the brunt of looking after your little one for a few hours night so you can re-charge your batteries. Don't worry if this is not possible as its not a pre-requisite for success, it just helps.<br /><br />Good luck and remember the easiest solution is not always the best. Muster up what patience and energy you have left and read the book, if read and used correctly it will help you to change things for the better, I promise.

Invaluable!

My daughter is a 1 year old contented little baby and having read this book I am confident that she will grow into a contented toddler. <br /><br />So many of my questions about feeding and appetite, sleeping problems, tantrums etc have been answered by reading this. Armed with this knowledge I feel much better equipped to deal with the challenges of the toddler years ahead.

Perfect for first time homeowners!

This book is perfect for anyone who has just left home! As someone who's mum done everything for them at home, I've found this book to be a great help with setting up my new home.<br /><br />Although my friends and family are growing tired of me quoting Anthea tips from the book! :-)

Vegetable & Herb Expert by D.G.Hessayon review

I have always found the Expert Garden range of books to be my most valuable gardening books - clear, simple and easy to find what you want.<br /><br />Sadly they have not updated to metric units so I can no longer buy them as presents for budding gardeners, since the modern generation only know metric and there is nothing more discouraging than to use a book you cannot understand. I hope they will rectify this before long so that I can continue using them.