Sally's Holiday Cleaning

Book Description

A blend of almanac, how-to, encyclopedia, and friendly neighborhood advice, for both the city and country dweller.

Customer Reviews:

10 stars and a must own book.......2003-01-08

If you are looking for a book that has excellent information for either the beginner or the person who wants to incorporate new homestead or self sufficiency arts into their lives, this is the book.

The authors discusses the many levels of food self sufficiency be it roof or patio boxes for the apartment dweller or large plots and even hydroponic set ups for those who have much more room.

The authors discusses the importance of observing everything from soil and plant growth which means learning the art of quiet observation and journal keeping, to the garden during the various changing season spring thru winter.

And the value of bird, butterfly and ladybug houses to keep beneficial insects around to help keep the garden health as well as interesting. They also talk about scads of different vegetables, fruits and nuts that one can grow and how to do so.

Since we have free range chickens for eggs and a couple Nubian goats for milk and cheese I was impressed with their chapters on various livestock the self sufficient person may want to own, and how to care for them as well as how many of each one may need is they are looking to raise meat.

They cover extensively the whole area of harvesting and preserving what one grows. From canning, drying, freezing etc. How many of a certain crops one would need to preserve for each families needs.

Amazon.com

A practical guide for the novice gardener who wants to grow vegetables, fruits, nuts, herbs, and other useful plant products with the intent of becoming less dependent on outside sources. Includes a section on computer gardening resources, including free resources on the Internet.

Customer Reviews:

Urbanish gardener.......2001-06-07

I loved this book. I don't have a lot of space to work with. I think Martin did a wonderful job of explaining things in great detail without alot of the useless information. Would have loved for there to have been more pictures.

Quick read that I wont pick up again.......1999-02-24

I expected a book that would give me a lot of information about gardening. Instead the book only gave me acouple paragraphs about certain vegetables and only one parargraph about nut tree's. The Author refers the reader to other books if they need more information any gardening book would be more detailed then this one. This book was a waste of my money.

Average customer rating:

This book changed my life!
The very best book on doing just about anything yourself!
All the knowledge in the world

The guide to self-sufficiency
John Seymour
Manufacturer: Popular Mechanics Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

ASIN: 0910990662

Customer Reviews:

This book changed my life!.......2003-06-01

I love this book. This book made a suburban middle class optometrist's son into a bearded dirty organic farmer. I checked it out of the library and never wanted to give it back. The artwork is fascinating the complex and friendly drawings give a magical life to the text. From the moment I opened the cover I wanted to do everything Mr. Seymour was writing about from plowing a field to butchering a pig to brewing my own beer. Every concievable farm activity was described in loving detail with amazing illustrations as well. The book sucks you right in like nothing else. There is this timeless turn of the century Victorian England countryside aura about the whole thing that is so inviting. I urge you to find a copy and see for yourself. Maybe you won't decide to become a farmer but it will assuredly make you think about it.

The very best book on doing just about anything yourself!.......2002-05-05

This book is the most amazing collection of how to on your own, I could have ever dreamed of. For anyone wanting to know how to do any of lifes basics, its in this book. I have had my copy for 20years and still can't believe how good it is. Great thats all, just Great!

Get one if you can, must have!

All the knowledge in the world.......2000-05-02

All the knowledge in the world is in this one book. Okay, maybe it just seems like it. John Seymour explains absolutely every skill you could possibly need for a self-sufficient lifestyle: gardening, animal husbandry, plowing with horse or tractor, building a hedge, brewing beer, making butter, blacksmithing, hunting, cooking, smoking, fishing, making clothes...EVERYTHING.

Book Description

Teaching all the skills needed to live independently in harmony with the land, from harnessing natural forms of energy and raising crops to keeping livestock and preserving foodstuffs, this new format of John Seymour's classic is still the most practical guide for realists and dreamers alike. AUTHOR BIO: John Seymour authored over 40 books, including the DK's best-selling Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency and The Forgotten Arts & Crafts. He died in the fall of 2004 at the age of 90.

Customer Reviews:

STOP! WAIT FOR THE RE-PRINT!!!!.......2007-08-30

DON'T BUY THIS VERSION!!!! There was a problem with the printing in China and the pages in the intro section, 24-25 are WRONG and don't follow... so wait for the reprint... Email Peter Jones at DK in London to find out when this will be...

Crafting Log Homes Solar Style: An Inspiring Guide to Self-Sufficiency

Average customer rating:

Crafting Log Homes Solar Style: An Inspiring Guide to Self-Sufficiency
Rex A. Ewing
Manufacturer: PixyJack Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Design & Construction | Home Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Home Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Do-It-Yourself | How-to & Home Improvements | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Product Description

A down-to-earth guide to building solar-powered log homes, complete with how-to illustrations and photos, plus enlightening stories from log home owners across the country. Follow the authors' journey of handcrafting an off-the-grid log home in the Colorado Rockies and discover how renewable energy is a perfect match for modern log home living, from small weekend cabins to expansive year-round homes. (The completed revised edition of "Logs, Wind and Sun")

The dieter's companion: A guide to nutritional self-sufficiency

Average customer rating:

The dieter's companion: A guide to nutritional self-sufficiency
Nikki Goldbeck
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Exercise & Fitness | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Medicine | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0070236542

Growing Fruit & Herbs Organically: Step by Step to Growing Success (Australian Self-Sufficiency Guides)

Average customer rating:

Growing Fruit & Herbs Organically: Step by Step to Growing Success (Australian Self-Sufficiency Guides)
Liz Sinnamon
Manufacturer: Lothian Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Fruit | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Agricultural Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Crop Science | Agricultural Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0850916461

Average customer rating:

The Politics of Self-sufficiency
Michael Allaby , and Peter Bunyard
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Real Estate | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Family Health | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0192176951

Book Description

This up-to-date survey of the interplay between gravity and particle physics theory contains treatments of cosmological perturbations, trans-Planckian problems in cosmology, the cosmological basis in a framework of projective unified field theory, atom interferometry in black holes and the early universe and semiclassical gravity. There are also discussions of spinorial matter in affine theory of gravity, the phase problem and Mach's principle, a Hamiltonian formulation of gravitational theory, and spin fluctuations. A special section covers Dirac geometry and real space-time, Dirac wave functions and black holes, properties of black hole solutions, black hole spectroscopy and thermodynamics. The emphasis is on observational aspects and in this context there are discussions of attempts to measure Newtonian G, the stability of G and multidimensional gravitational models, improved measurements and the experimental limit of G-dot, past results and new experimental tests for violation of the principle of equivalence, signals observed with a detector having 20 ²¹ intrinsic spins, virtual graviton exchange consistent with constant G and the weak equivalence principle. There is an update on neutrino oscillations and the helicity precession of fermions in gravitational / inertial fields.

Average customer rating:

Informative

Waterfalls & Cascades of the Smokies: A Guide to Finding & Enjoying 30 Waterfalls of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park
David Morris , Charles Maynard , and Hal Hubbs
Manufacturer: Panther Press (TN)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Waterfall Walks and Drives in the Great Smoky Mountains and the Western Carolinas

100 Hikes in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Second Edition

Hiking Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Regional Hiking Series)

ASIN: 0963068210

Book Description

A helpful guide to more than 30 of the most beautiful falls of water in the Smokies. Maps, photographs and clear descriptions make these natural wonders easily accessible to all. Trails Illustrated Maps of the Smokies feature a key to the waterfalls of the Park from this book. This book has been featured in articles in Backpacker Magazine and most recently in U.S. Airways in flight magazine, Attache. Color and black & white photos give good views of these spectacular falls.

Customer Reviews:

Informative.......2001-03-26

This is one of the most informative books available for someone wanting to know about the waterfalls of the Smokies. It breaks down each waterfall by location. It has detailed maps and what to expect on the trail. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys waterfalls.

Average customer rating:

Review of The Super Bowl: An Official Retrospective

A bit too slick, but otherwise a decent read

Wonderful text, simply amazing pictures

The Super Bowl: An Official Retrospective
Rare Air Ltd.
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Football (American) | Sports | Subjects | Books
Professional | Football (American) | Sports | Subjects | Books
Super Bowl | Football (American) | Sports | Subjects | Books
General | Sports | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Sports Illustrated: The Football Book

NFL - Greatest Super Bowl Moments

NFL Films - The Pro Football Hall of Fame - 85 Years of Greatness

2006 NFL Record & Fact Book (Official National Football League Record and Fact Book)

Super Bowl XXXI-XL Collector's Set

ASIN: 0345487192
Release Date: 2005-11-22

Book Description

Includes the NFL Network DVD In Their Own Words, featuring amazing footage from Super Bowls past and first-hand accounts from the players and coaches who lived these moments.

The Super Bowl: It’s not just a game, it’s a genuine cultural phenomenon viewed by hundreds of millions around the world. Written in conjunction with the National Football League, The Super Bowl: An Official Retrospective recreates all the glory, the spirit, and the magic of the biggest day in sport. From Lombardi, Starr and Namath to Bradshaw, Montana and Brady, The Super Bowl regales us with the teams, men, and memories that have transformed the Super Bowl into a global event.

Lavishly illustrated and featuring chapter introductions from NFL legends and Super Bowl MVPs Terry Bradshaw, Phil Simms, Roger Staubach, Bart Starr and Tom Brady, The Super Bowl is a story of dazzling individual performances, brilliant team efforts, fierce rivalries, improbable stars, and gifted players who have dominated pro football’s signature day.

The Super Bowl brings to life astonishing feats and unforgettable moments. There’s Joe Namath running into the tunnel after leading his upstart New York Jets to victory in Super Bowl III; Kansas City head coach Hank Stram parading up and down the sideline exhorting his Chiefs as they won Super Bowl IV; Lynn Swann’s incredible catches in Super Bowl X; Phil Simms’ near perfect game in Super Bowl XXI; the Dallas “triplets” — Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin — leading the Cowboys to three Super Bowl wins in the ‘90s; John Elway finally breaking his Super Bowl jinx in XXXII; Kurt Warner pacing the St. Louis Rams over the Tennessee Titans in a game not decided until the last play; and the cool self-assurance of Tom Brady leading his Patriots to three Super Bowl victories in four years.

The Super Bowl celebrates the game’s great teams and coaches: Lombardi’s Packers; Don Shula’s “perfect” Dolphins; Chuck Noll’s guidance of a star-studded Pittsburgh Steelers squad to four titles in six years; Bill Walsh’s 49ers, the team of the ‘80s; Bill Parcells’ two Super Bowl victories with the New York Giants–the first with superior firepower, the second through tactical prowess; Marv Levy’s sustained excellence in bringing his Buffalo Bills to four straight Super Bowls; and the quintessential man with the plan, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

The Super Bowl: An Official Retrospective is a must-have keepsake for any football fan. Filled with compelling anecdotes and images, this book perfectly captures the majesty and emotion of America’s biggest game.

“The feeling that you get running onto the field for that game is incredible. There’s no other thing that I’ve found I can do in my life that can measure up to that. There’s so much excitement and energy in your body. It’s the greatest rush of emotion that you could ever have.”
–Tom Brady, Patriots quarterback, two-time Super Bowl MVP

Rare Air Ltd. is a Chicago-based publishing and marketing communications company specializing in sports and entertainment properties and programs. The company combines state-of-the art technology and processes with award-winning graphic design, production and editorial to service clients such as Michael Jordan and JUMP, Inc., The National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, and The National Football League. Rare Air conceived, designed, and produced For the Love of the Game and is the exclusive provider of Michael Jordan publishing properties. Rare Air also produced The New York Yankees: 100 Years–The Official Retrospective.

Customer Reviews:

Review of The Super Bowl: An Official Retrospective.......2006-04-19

The Super Bowl: An Official Retrospective is an outstanding look back at the National Football League's (NFL) championship game, commonly known as the Super Bowl. The book is organized into seven chapters that contain short anecdotes, quotes, and memories from Super Bowls past, along with a narrative that ties it all together. The book covers Super Bowls 1-39 and does an outstanding job of evoking nostalgia and bringing to life just how important this game is to the players and coaches who were part of it.

The Super Bowl: An Official Retrospective is an oversized book that is dominated by fantastic photography, and creative use of quotes, box stories, photos, and essays that run throughout the narrative of each chapter. In some ways the use of various imagery is effective in drawing out and highlighting the importance of each short Super Bowl remembrance it represents. The drawback is the narrative becomes hard to follow at times, as this technique breaks up the flow of the story each chapter it is trying to tell. At the end, however, this is a minor quibble as the book as a whole is excellent.

Each chapter, except the last one, also includes essays from six quarterbacks named MVP of the Super Bowl, which are very nicely done and again, bringing to light just how BIG a game the Super Bowl really is.

And the best part of all, the book comes with a bonus DVD that is just outstandingly edited and lets the players and coaches tell, in their own words, their remembrances of the Super Bowl and what it means to them. The DVD really is quite well done, much better than most poorly edited NFL Films productions I own. It will evoke emotions if you are a professional football fan.

Normally I don't do a chapter by chapter analysis of books, but this one merits a note about each chapter.

I. Raising the Curtain

As the name implies, this chapter focuses on the origins of the Super Bowl and how it has evolved over time. Fittingly, it includes an essay by Bart Starr, quarterback of the Green Bay Packers and Most Valuable Player (MVP) of Super Bowls I and II. This chapter lays the groundwork for the rest of the book.

II. Guiding Lights

Guiding lights focuses on the coaches, winners and losers, who have made an impact on the Super Bowl. It talks about the kind of coach it takes to win a Super Bowl and some of the things coaches do that often undermine their teams chances in the big game. Even though I was a tiny baby in 1966 and 1967, the quotes by and about Vince Lombardi sent chills down my spine thinking about the origins of this game and the leadership of this coach whose name is immortally etched on the trophy given to the Super Bowl winner - the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

This chapter features and essay by Phil Simms talking about the leadership of Bill Parcels in the New York Giant's two Super Bowl victories.

III. Dominance by Decade

This is my favorite chapter, mainly because I am a New England Patriots fan and this retrospective reminds me that my team is the team of the '00s. This chapter features the five dynasties ( loosely defined) of the decades in which the Super Bowl has been played.

Let's name them to give each team its due:

Green Bay Packers of the 1960s
Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s
San Francisco 49'ers of the 1980's
Dallas Cowboys of the 1990's
New England Patriots of the 2000's

There are excellent fact boxes, quotes, and stories about the players on these teams, culminating with an essay by Terry Bradshaw, winner of 4 Super Bowls in six seasons, and two time MVP, in which he talks about the joy and pride he takes in having played on what he considers the best team ever.

IV. Grace Under Pressure

This chapter focuses not on quarterbacks and the poise and calm it takes to play your best football under the intense pressure of the Super Bowl. I thought it would be after reading the title and starting off with Joe Montana, who won three Super Bowls and was MVP twice. This chapter focuses on key big plays that turned a Super Bowl around for the winning team. Some of the plays are heroic efforts, but most are just simply big plays that players expect to make in given situations. The theme is it's not the heroic athletic plays that win championships, but the prepared players who make the plays they are supposed to make, and execute plays like they are supposed to be executed, under intense pressure, that make the difference in the game. That's not to say there haven't been some heroic plays that turn the tide of the game, as there have been. But it's preparation and proper execution that count most.

Fittingly, this chapter features an essay by Tom Brady, (3 Super Bowl wins, 2 MVPs), who in his performances in three Super Bowls, is the epitome of grace under pressure.

V. Unsung and Under the Radar

This chapter is about the players who are unsung heroes in Super Bowls, or who were Super Bowl heroes that came out of nowhere, and in one case, came out of nowhere and disappeared. This chapter gives these unsung heroes their due. It features an essay by Doug Williams, MVP of Super Bowl XXII and was unsung hero himself before this accomplishment.

VI. Greatest Show on Earth

To this reader, this is the most frivolous chapter as it details the pre-game and half time entertainment in Super Bowl history. The theme is what a big spectacle the Super Bowl has become. This chapter features an essay by Roger Staubach talking about just that - what a big spectacle the Super Bowl has become. I found this particular essay a bit odd in its focus on the "bigness" of the Super Bowl today, but it fit with the chapter.

VII. For the Record

This chapter provides a list of Super Bowl results, MVPs, and other Super Bowl statistics.

Overall, I highly recommend this book for football fans - it's sure to bring back memories and does an excellent job of evoking what the Super Bowl really means.

A bit too slick, but otherwise a decent read.......2006-01-10

It's that time of year again where I take a gander just about every little bit of Super Bowl-related media I can find, and give it a read/view/listen. Needless to say, this Official Retrospective of the Super Bowl is one of those pieces of media. Overall, this look back on forty years of the Great American Time-Out ain't half-bad. Although the outer cover looks rather simple, the guts are rather slick and just a bit over-produced... kinda like the Super Bowl® itself. It's fairly heavy on the photos and light on the text, making for a fairly quick read in spite of its 200-plus-page length.

Actually, I was hoping for something more in the way of the official 25th-Anniversary Super Bowl book (www.amazon.com/gp/product/0671727982), where each game is profiled fairly in-depth, and includes a fold-out art sheet that features all the relevant stats, players, and every single play of the game. Instead, the new book covers the Super Bowl phenomenon in a general sense, discussing the game's greatest coaches & playmakers, the halftime entertainment, and the most notable turning points from select games. Also given their day are the unsung heroes or those who slipped under the radar to make the Super Bowl their biggest moment (e.g. Timmy Smith in XXII; Thurman Thomas' amazing performance for a losing cause in XXV, etc.).

Also included are several essays from the big dance's biggest players, from Bart Starr to Terry Bradshaw to Doug Williams to present Super Bowl darling Tom Brady. While some of the things these fellows had to say was interesting, I was kinda annoyed by the stencil-style font, which was a little hard on the eyes. Also a bit of a pain are the inset and sidebar articles that would take up to two pages, which interrupt the flow of the main text. This format can be a bit frustrating when you flip to one of these pages, as you'll have to flip to where the main text continues, read it to the end of the paragraph, then flip back to the inset/sidebar article. Well, that's what I did, anyway. Fortunately, the player essays appear at the end of the chapters; at least they don't get in the way.

Also tossed in for kicks is a bonus "In Their Own Words" DVD featuring players and coaches of Super Bowls past recounting their fondest and least-fondest memories of the Great American Time-Out. Thing is, a few of the players' verbal reminiscences were basically transcribed and put into the book itself. Former 49ers lineman Harris Barton's John Candy moment in XXIII's game-winning drive (p. 110), and parts of Joe Namath's guaranteed victory in III (p. 23) are the most prominent examples of this redundancy. Speaking of redundancy: the "In Their Own Words" show is also available in the "Greatest Super Bowl Moments" DVD (www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BB1MJG).

Bottom line: if you're into a Super Bowl book that's not too heavy on text, and you don't mind the lack of chronological continuity nor being interrupted with full-page sidebar articles, then you might do well to give "The Super Bowl: An Official Retrospective" a look.

`Late

Wonderful text, simply amazing pictures.......2005-12-26

It's hard to imagine picking out one book about the Super Bowl, one of the most overcovered events of our time, that's worth looking at, but this would definitely be one worthy of attention.

The best part of the book is the amazing pictures. Instead of including all the well-known Super Bowl photos, they dug deep and found several ones that are spectacular in their own right and just as interesting. Three examples: (1) a two-page spread even before the text starts, of Max McGee in Super Bowl I, having a catch broken up by several KC Chiefs - you can see the grit in McGee's face; (2) another shot of McGee from the back of the end zone, catching one of his TDs in the first Super Bowl; (3) Joe Namath running off the field in Super Bowl III - it's not the famous "we're number one" picture; he's in a knot of people and there's a guy in front of him clearing the way. I'm a lover of football history and don't know if I'd ever seen ANY of the shots in this book. It has at least 30 photographs of Super Bowls that are among the best I've ever seen.

The text is clever too, focusing on worthy topics like 10 significant game-breaking moments, or unsung heros often forgotten today, such as Timmy Smith in Super Bowl XXII (he still holds the SB rushing record; his 204 yards in that game represents one-third of his total regular season yards in his NFL career), or George Sauer and Matt Snell of the Jets (Sauer's 8 catches for 133 yards accounted for almost half of Namath's completions, and two thirds of his passing yards; Snell had 121 of NY's 142 rushing yards in the game).

There are two nitpicks I have with the book.

First, there are no game pictures from the fourth Super Bowl, between the Chiefs and the Vikings. This game was significant for being the first real manhandling of an NFL team by an AFL team (the Jets had beaten the Colts the year before, but this was at least as much a product of the Colts turning the ball over and losing their poise as it was of pure football superiority), and it was the final game played involving an American Football League team. Yet it's (I think) the only Super Bowl from the first 25 to not have a picture or some descriptive text.

The bigger nit is that, what with this book being an "official" retrospective, it has nothing but great things to say about what an overblown spectacle the game has become. Tickets to Super Bowl XL have $600 and $700 face values, pricing them way out of reach of "regular Joes." The long and overproduced halftime shows, the excessive TV timeouts, etc., stretch the game into being a four-hour marathon whose momentum changes and ebbs and flows get killed with all the interruptions. But all the book has to say about this is how great the economic impact is for the host city, and what a "hot ticket" it is to go to the Commissioner's Party.

One would have to work pretty hard to crank out yet one more Super Bowl book, and make it worth owning, but Ken Leiker has done just that.

The Super Bowl: An Official Retrospective

Average customer rating:

The Super Bowl: An Official Retrospective

Manufacturer: Easton Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Leather Bound

Super Bowl | Football (American) | Sports | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000EDGS0E

Product Description

Leather bound accented in 22 karat gold.

Average customer rating:

A Must Have for Portuguese Language Students

Exhaustive but needs a second color

ESSENTIAL REFERENCE

Excellent like any other Barron's 501 Verbs

Staggeringly Awful

501 Portuguese Verbs (501 Verb Series)
John J. Nitti , and Michael J. Ferreira
Manufacturer: Barron''s Educational Series
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Portuguese | Foreign Language | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books
Phrasebooks - General | Instruction | Foreign Languages | Reference | Subjects | Books
Portuguese | Instruction | Foreign Languages | Reference | Subjects | Books
General | Foreign Languages | Reference | Subjects | Books
General | Reference | Subjects | Books
Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Look Inside Reference Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
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Essential Portuguese Grammar (Dover Books on Language)

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Teach Yourself Portuguese Complete Course Package (Book + 2CDs) (Teach Yourself . . . Complete Courses)

Portuguese For Dummies (For Dummies (Language & Literature))

ASIN: 0764129163

Book Description

Here is an ideal supplement to classroom textbooks for students learning Portuguese. The most frequently-used Portuguese verbs are presented alphabetically in table form, one verb per page. Each verb is completely conjugated in all tenses with English translations. A new index in this edition lists an additional 1,000 verbs with English translations, cross-referenced to verbs that are similarly conjugated in the main text. Language students will find additional material covering idiomatic verb usage, grammatical construction, and more.

Customer Reviews:

A Must Have for Portuguese Language Students.......2007-01-04

I utilize this book on a daily basis for my Portuguese 101 class. I give it four instead of five stars only because the book uses different names for the verb tenses than my instructor does, and sometimes I get confused when looking for the right conjugation. Other than that, the book is extremely helpful. I found the english-portugese index in the back to be very useful, because it gives you a choice of different verbs to use, depending on what exactly you are trying to express. For instance, to collect can be cole(c)cionar if you mean a collection of something; cole(c)tar if you mean to collect bills or taxes; cobrar if you mean to get or receive; and cole(c)tar, juntar, or recolher if you mean to gather or amass.

Exhaustive but needs a second color.......2006-11-10

This is an exhaustive list of fully conjugated Portuguese verbs, possibly nowhere else to be found. Howver, compared to other verb books it needs some way (usually a second color) to show the regular part of each verb's conjugation as compared to the irregular part. This homogeneity makes it hard to learn a verb quickly by concentrating only on the tenses and persons that are irregular. The rarity and almost uniqueness of the book gives it a 4-stars. But, if it had been for any other language with more available options (eg. French Spanish, German, or Italian), the lack of color differentiation would have sunk it to a 3 at the most.

ESSENTIAL REFERENCE .......2006-09-09

I bought this book because I wanted a list of all Portuguese verbs. Not only does it give a very comprehensive listing of verbs but contains as a starter a complete break down with examples of all of the verb tenses. I have never seen this before. Furthermore it highlights variations between Portuguese and Brasil spelligs. My partner is from Brasil and thinks the book is an invaluable source for her as well as for other Brasilianas. The book travels with me! Also included many other aspects of grammar explained very simply,and very good summary of contents.

Excellent like any other Barron's 501 Verbs.......2006-08-09

The title pretty much says it all. For those who consider this book as too heavy or unreadable, written by/for linguists etc. should probably reconsider the book's usage. A very effective way for learning any new language which is heavily based around the verb (like someone else already correctly put it), such as any latin/ roman language is by quite stupidly repeating verb conjugaisons. Even aloud ... even using signs gestures and what not. True, you should not use this as your only means, otherwise you get mad.

Staggeringly Awful.......2006-05-09

Learning to use this book should not be as difficult as learning Portuguese. But it is.
It appears to be written by Linguistics Professors for Linguistics grad students. Enjoy this, from the third paragraph in the Foreward: "Moreover, Portuguese possesses two varieties of the pluperfect indicative, both of which are to be found conjugated throughout this manual." I submit that if that sentence doesn't make alot of sense to you, you will need a teacher to learn how to use this book. The ten or fifteen basic ideas you need to know in order to use the book easily are not offered in a simple verbal explanation, or any verbal explanation. If you already know how to use the Preterit Indicative, and are one for whom an example would be laughably redundant, I'm happy for you, but if you don't this book won't help much.
A grammar joke: A seafood connoiseur upon arriving in Boston, asked the cabbie where to find his favorite dish: "Buddy, do you know where I can get scrod around here?" The cabbie replied: "Pal, I've been asked that question in alot of different ways, but that's the first time I've ever heard it in the pluperfect subjunctive."

But I digress. The reason I hate this book so much is that for me, a non-linguist, it's hard to figure out how to say "I eat, you eat, he-she-it eats" in Portuguese, and I can think of no possible justification for this book not being self-explanatory. In the apparent interest of saving ink (or their own time) they left out the keys and examples that would make this easy to pick up and use. They clearly did not test to see if this was easy to use by someone like me, a reasonably intelligent person who wants to learn some Portuguese on his own for a trip. It may be terrific for other purposes, but for that it is nearly useless.
Apparently, once that initial barrier is crossed, it becomes useful, as demonstrated by the many five star reviews. But please note, many of them are written by language teachers, who presumably already know when and how and why to use the Future Perfect Subjunctive. Those of us who don't won't learn it here.

But more to the point, the authors seem to assume that the very basics of how to use the book are self-explanatory, and they very much are not. Infuriatingly so.

Average customer rating:

501 Portuguese Verbs
Michael J Ferreira
Manufacturer: BARRONS (GBS)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K1YQBS

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