Book Description
William Alexander had a simple dream of having a vegetable garden and small orchard in his backyard. It was a dream that would lead to life-and-death battles with groundhogs, webworms, and weeds; midnight expeditions in the dead of winter to dig up fresh thyme; skirmishes with neighbors who feed the vermin (i.e., deer); the near electrocution of the tree man; and the pity of his wife and children.
When Alexander decided to run a cost-benefit analysis, adding up everything from the Havahart animal trap ($60) to the Velcro tomato wraps ($5) to the steel edging ($1,200), then amortizing it over the life of his garden, it came as quite a shock to learn that it cost him a staggering $64 to grow each tomato.
A gardener with an existential bent, Alexander gives excellent advice about everything from peaches to leeks, while tackling such questions as What do our gardens tell us about ourselves? Do we get the gardens we deserve? And why does the groundhog have to take one bite from half a dozen tomatoes when any gardener would gladly grant him six bites of just one?
Customer Reviews:
Great book gift for green thumbs (and brown thumbs).......2007-08-09
I HATE gardening, but thoroughly enjoyed reading Alexander's odyssey of his quest to build his dream garden. Very funny account of epic battles with weeds, rodents, and bugs as he tries to prevent his little "hobby" from ruining his life. Your gardening friends will love this book (and non-gardeners will too!)
A tasty little story.......2007-08-02
His wife's insistence on an old fixer-upper of a house means the author can have the garden, orchard, and even meadow he's always dreamed. Once the house is livable--and everyone in town knows it has to be repaired to be livable--the owners start on the grounds. Landscape contractors, who are always late and leave their backhoe to winter in the author's yard, promise a garden to be proud of--and then bring plans for some very ordinary rectangles.
Not to be daunted, Alexander picks heirloom plants to grow his produce. He is determined to have the same fruit and experiences he remembers from his father's gardening. Organic gardening should be easy when he has only four trees and a small garden. He can pluck off the hungry worms and organically protect his crops from predators of all types.
After learning how much time is involved in using the organic bug sprays--first you find the caterpillar, then you spray him--how much it costs to put in something other than grass walkways, and that some animals are not deterred by six thousand volts, he gets down to serious gardening.
His wife and children begin to question his sanity. His plants don't always grow the way he expected. Who knew growing roses would kill the corn? Sitting down to calculate the cost of his succulent heirloom tomatoes gives him a jolt he thought he'd only get from his electric fence. Did his dad really do it this way? Had he been hoodwinked about how much fun this all was? When did the hobby become a second job?
You needn't be a gardener to enjoy the humor in this book. The history of tomatoes and potatoes, and insights on the Anasazi Indians thrown in with ridding the garden of Superchuck, the groundhog, is true fun for the reading. Cultivated entertainment.
Armchair Interview says: Humor and hoeing, planting and waiting, bugs and bug sprays flow together to give you an enjoyable read.
Enjoyable memoir of a man and his garden.......2007-07-26
I am by no means a gardening expert, more of a beginner, but I enjoyed this memoir of one man's obsession with and relationship with his garden. I found it informative and funny. I took as much what not to do, as what to do, from the book. I mean, you can see the excessiveness of his spending and learn from it as much as you can learn from the ways he fights pests on his fruit trees. I read books like this for inspiration and I was inspired by his mistakes and successes. All in all it was an enjoyable light read.
For the Gardening Obsessed.......2007-07-26
This book speaks to every obsessed gardener in America. The majority of the public, however, won't get it. They put in a few pansies, water them when they think of it and go on with their lives. But a few of us have an insatiable drive to work the soil, wage a constant war with the elements and beat off ravaging beasts just so we can be overwhelmed with too much produce.
Our neighbors think we're nuts--why would someone put themselves through all that labor and expense to get something they could buy at the corner market for $0.85 a pound? (Yeah, well I don't get the mountain climbing thing either.)
I like Alexander's writing--it was cute and witty and perfectly illustrated a man trying to work in his career, family and home improvement projects around his gardening obsession. All 2,000 square feet of it.
Although organic gardeners will be disgusted with how often Alexander reaches for the spray can, most will be able to relate to his journey.
A really cute read but I can't review the recipes as I didn't try them out yet.
As an animal lover..........2007-06-28
... I too was distressed by the chapters where the authors obsession defies his place at the top of the food chain and his "logical" abilities. When the local fauna decide that his exorbitantly expensive garden is the local salad bar, he goes on the war path and attempts to destroy everything alive that is not a plant.
While this is somewhat disheartening, it is also illuminating. I place this book alongside ElectroBoy on my bookshelf, and alongside The Omnivore's Dilemma, because it makes such a natural segue between the two.
William Alexander is truly obsessed with his garden. What ought to be a nice, pleasant way to pass time and to get some exercise and food turns into a dangerous obsession, resulting in damage to his finances, his health, his psyche, and his marriage.
It is amusing, in parts, however.
Read it, if only to see what lengths people will go to in order to save their hobby. It is an interesting study, really. Probably not a book I will read again, but it is one that I will think of from time to time.
Harkius
Average customer rating:
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Hudson River Villas
John Zukowsky , and
Robbe Pierce Stimson
Manufacturer: Rizzoli
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Residential
| Building Types & Styles
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Photo Essays
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0847806138
Release Date: 1988-11-15 |
Book Description
It has been called America's Loire Valley, the Napa Valley of the East, and the new Hamptons. Deemed by the US Congress "the landscape that defined America," New York's Hudson River Valley is a region rich in history, boasting exceptional architecture, celebrity residents, lush landscapes, and a burgeoning art and cultural scene. Each year, 50 million visitors flock to the counties along the river to escape the frenzy of city living and to rejuvenate in quiet, idyllic surroundings. Many stay and buy second homes, and many more dream about it. At Home in the Hudson Valley takes an intimate tour of 20 exceptional dwellings, including Karim Rashid s Carl Koch Tech Built house in Croton on Hudson, an original Marcel Breuer home in Salt Point, and architect Peter Franck's celebrated residence with its breathtaking views of the Catskills. Magnificent color photographs (250 in all), an extensive resource list, and map of the region make this a gorgeous visual excursion and valuable resource for residents and tourists alike.
Customer Reviews:
The Hudson Valley is Beautiful and So Is This Book.......2005-05-27
At Home in the Hudson Valley is a beautiful book packed with brilliant photographs. The houses in the book are distinctive and original, the pictures capture the spaces as well as the ideas and personalities of the people who made them. Allison Serrell and the photographer Meredith Heuer pull the vitality and creativity of the Hudson Valley through the pages of the book.
Book Description
Award-winning author Jill Churchill takes us back to beautiful Grace & Favor, the tiny town along the Hudson River known for tradition, charm . . . and murder.
March 3, 1933, the day before Franklin Roosevelt's inauguration. While Robert Brewster heads to Washington, D.C., to witness the historic event, his sister, Lily, travels to a nursing home near Grace & Favor. The owner, Miss Twibell, has lost an assistant nurse, and the siblings have agreed to help out.
The home is full of colorful characters, including a cantankerous old man named Sean Connor, the only patient who is seriously ill. The very day the Brewsters arrive, he slips into a coma and passes away. Though saddened, no one is surprised by his death -- until it's revealed that he's been murdered. The old man wasn't well liked, but who would bother to murder him when he had so little time left? Several people had visited his room that morning, and there are plenty of suspects. Good motives, on the other hand, are thin on the ground.
And Mr. Connor isn't the only victim in town. Over the winter, a young man went missing and was presumed dead, though no body was found. Now that the spring sun has melted the ice, a body has surfaced. Is this the missing man or has a third crime been committed?
With multiple murders plaguing the community, the Brewster siblings are more committed than ever to helping the police find a cold-blooded criminal before he strikes again.
Customer Reviews:
Cozy Historical Mystery.......2005-12-03
Robert and Lily Brewster are siblings trying to make ends meet during the Depression. They have inherited their great uncle's mansion, but still must take in boarders and do odd jobs to earn money. In this installment in the "Grace and Favor" series, they take temporary jobs in a nursing home. Before long they are involved in another mystery when one of the patients is smothered in his bed. There are plenty of suspects, including the patient's wife and family, many of whom haven't seen or talked to him in years. But then another body turns up and the Brewsters, along with Chief of Police Howard Walker, work to find out if the two cases are related and catch the murderer.
"It Had to Be You" is an amusing, if light mystery. The historical details, Franklin Roosevelt has just been elected President, are the most interesting parts of the book. Lily and Robert and strong characters, maturing with each book in the series. While there have been hints in the descriptions of the various books that Lily is attracted to Howard Walker, it doesn't come across that way in the book, there's no sense of any attraction between the two of them. I hope that's developed in future books.
The mystery itself is pretty light. Jill Churchill throws in plenty of suspects, but it's pretty obvious from the beginning who the murderer is. I read the book hoping that Churchill would throw in a plot twist and have someone else commit the murder, but I was disappointed. And she never explains why the murder took place when the victim was very ill and hours away from dying.
This is a good but unchallenging mystery.
puts the 'cozy' in cozy mystery!.......2005-05-13
My first in this series to read and it stood on its own very well. The characters were welldefined and the only part I didn't like would be how I felt when it ended and I read the title again. I felt silly for not figuring it out more!
Lily and Robert fill in at a nursing home and quick as you please, a patient dies mysteriously. Typical plan follows to question everyone and it leads them to the killer.
Reprint!.......2005-04-01
Our story begins on Friday, March 3, 1933. Robert and Lily Brewster are siblings trying to make it through the Depression. They live in their great-uncle's "Grace and Favor" mansion, penniless but doing well. Franklin Roosevelt's inauguration is under way. Robert even makes a very uncomfortable trip to Washington to witness the historic even.
The day after Robert returns home (he needed a day to recover), he goes with Lily to their new temporary job. Miss Twibell has turned her huge house into a nursing home and one of her employees is out sick for awhile.
Trouble follows the Brewsters, as it normally does, One of the elderly residents, Mr. Sean Connor, is murdered in his bed. The bizarre thing is that everyone knew Mr. Connor only had a few more hours to live anyway. Why would someone bother to kill him? Since he was such an ill tempered man, he had no close friends. No one seems to have liked the man; not even his wife or kids. His children has had no contact with Mr. or Mrs. Connor in years.
Chief of Police Howard Walker is on the case, but he cannot seem to make much head way. Not for lack of trying though. Howard is an excellent cop. The Connor case is not the only one on Howard's mind. Spring thaw has turned up another body that had spent the cold months under an iced over pond.
***** Be warned that this is a reprint! Now that you know, let me inform you about his good mystery. The author did an outstanding job with this tale. The characters are all believable and the era description is true to form. Historical data has been inserted as well, which gives it all a realistic glow. Author Jill Churchill's fan base is about to grow. *****
Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.
Trying hard, but falling short.......2005-03-05
After reading the last entry in the Jane Jeffry mystery series and being less than impressed, I was hoping for more from the latest in the Grace & Favor series. Unfortunately, I was disappointed again. While the book does do a wonderful job of transporting the reader to a small town in New York during the Depression, it does a less than masterful job of solving the mystery in the book.
If you have not read the book, you may wish to skip the rest of my review as it will not tell you whodunnit, but will give away some of the plot.
The story opens with Lily and Robert having gotten yet another part-time job - this one at the nursing home up the road. The first day that both of them are working there, a crochety patient is suffocated to death in his bed. The odd thing is that the patient had slipped into a coma and according to Miss Twibell, the proprietor of the home, would have probably passed away that day regardless. While this detail is constantly mentioned throughout the book, the resolution does not explain the need for the patient to be murdered when he would have died anyway. There are many unresolved details in the book that are probably there as red herrings, however instead of being neatly explained later, they are just left hanging at the end of the book. I don't know if Ms. Churchill originally intended for another character to be the murderer or not, but I feel the book could have been much more entertaining from a mystery perspective had she chosen another character for the villain.
If you are looking for a entertaining and diverting read with a secondary mystery, this book would be fine. However, if you are expecting a rollicking mystery with a twist, skip it. Not Ms. Churchill's best - not even close.
Lily and Robert help solve who killed Sean Conner.......2004-12-16
It's 1933. Lily and her brother Robert not only take in boarders at Grace and Favor, but they also take on jobs now and then. Miss Twibell who runs a local nursing home has hired them while her assistant nurse is out sick.
There are many colorful characters in the home. One old man, Sean Connor, is the only seriously ill patient. He is also very hard to deal with. He slips into a coma and passes away. No one was surprised by his death as he was very ill. That is, until it is discovered he was murdered. Why would anyone murder him when he only had hours left? He wasn't well liked, even by his family. So, there are lots of suspects. He had several visits the morning he was killed.
Then a body surfaces when the spring arrives and melts the ice. Could this be the young mad who had disappeared last winter? Or has a third crime been committed?
Lily and Robert become involved in helping to solve these crimes. Plus Robert makes some great suggested to Miss Twibell to upgrade her home and assists with those upgrades.
Motives for Mr. Connor's death are not as abundant as suspects, so it takes a lot of detecting and interviewing for it to be discovered and the guilty party caught.
I love this series. Lily and Robert are terrific. This is one of the few series set back in time that I enjoy so thoroughly. Jill Churchill has done a wonderful job creating these characters and the setting. The other people in town are also great characters in this series. They are all so well crafted. I feel like I'm there when I read a book in this series. Her books are so easy to read, and you don't want to put them down.
I highly recommend this book. The Grace and Favor series is not to be missed.
Average customer rating:
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Eleanor Roosevelt: A Hudson Valley Remembrance (NY) (Images of America)
Joyce C. Ghee , and
Joan Spence
Manufacturer: Arcadia Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Women
| Specific Groups
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| United States
| Historical
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Roosevelt, Eleanor
| ( R )
| People, A-Z
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
New York
| State & Local
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Mid-Atlantic
| State & Local
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0738538329
Release Date: 2005-08-10 |
Book Description
Eleanor Roosevelt's character was shaped by the history and culture of the Hudson Valley. More than that, Eleanor Roosevelt loved the Hudson Valley. A woman who knew and cared for the whole world chose this place, Val-Kill, as her home in a cottage by a stream. Eleanor Roosevelt: A Hudson Valley Remembrance reflects her unaffected simplicity and caring interest in her neighbors' concerns. Remembered by friends, colleagues, neighbors, and young people, these qualities inspired a community-based group to lead efforts to save her home in 1977 as the country's first national historic site dedicated to a First Lady. The Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill continues her work on issues that affect life today.
Customer Reviews:
Inspiring.......2007-05-12
This is a wonderful book. I have always admired Eleanor Roosevelt and enjoyed learning of her origins in the Hudson Valley and to understand how deep her roots in the area were.
Average customer rating:
- Seasonal celebration
- Great!
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A Gardens Grace
Nancy Hutchens
Manufacturer: Pocket
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Essays
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Middle Atlantic
| Regional
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Home & Garden Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
ASIN: 0671568493 |
Customer Reviews:
Seasonal celebration.......2004-06-08
This is a lovely, gentle book made up of tips, recollections, reflections, and (as the subtitle says) simple lessons about keeping a garden.
The writing sytle is clean and simple; by which I mean the "traditional" interpretation of Spring-Summer-Autumn-Winter, since the author lives in the Hudson Valley in New York State. Be aware that if you don't live in an area where these "traditional" seasons hold true (for example, where it doesn't snow), some of the advice here may not be for you. Even so, the book is as much about celebrating these seasons as it is about gardening (if the two can truly be separated), so it's a worthwhile read no matter where you live.
Great!.......1998-02-05
A wonderful, relaxing, feel-good book. Each new page brings a new lesson or surpirse. A must for a gardner!
Average customer rating:
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Charmed Places: Hudson River Artists and Their Houses, Studios, and Vistas
Manufacturer: HNA Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Residential
| Building Types & Styles
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Landscape
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| History & Criticism
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Themes
| History & Criticism
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Painting
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Landscape
| Painting
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Exhibition Catalogs
| Museums
| Museums & Collections
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Reference & Tips
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
| Beaches
| Business Travel
| Cruises
| Essays & Travelogues
| Food & Lodging
| Guidebooks
| Pictorial
| Reference
| Spas
| Tips
| Tourist Destinations & Museums
| Travel Writing
General
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0810910411 |
Book Description
This is the first history of Dutch domestic architecture in the Hudson Valley in more than 60 years. It in its second printing with minor revisions and a color cover.
Customer Reviews:
Very detailed book about Dutch houses in the Hudson Valley.......2005-09-25
This book describes the history of a large number of Dutch colonial houses including many details about e.g. window frames, doors, hinges, locks and other things you need when you build a house.
All photo's are in black and white, but no other book is available with so many details as this one.
the Hudson River Dutch and Their Homes.......2000-08-18
A well-written introduction to the settlement of the Hudson River Valley by the Dutch, as they migrated north up the Hudson from New York. The book offers an indepth investigation of adapted Dutch building styles, architecture and materials in and around Dutchess, Ulster and Rhinebeck counties. The inclusion of family names and historic figures is beneficial to any reader interested in the geneology of Hudson River inhabitants.
Average customer rating:
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Manor Houses And Historic Homes Of The Hudson Valley
H. D. Eberlein
Manufacturer: Reprint Services Corp
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding
History
| Subjects
| Books
| Africa
| Americas
| Ancient
| Arctic & Antarctica
| Asia
| Australia & Oceania
| Books on CD
| Books on Cassette
| Europe
| Gay & Lesbian
| Historical Study
| Large Print
| Middle East
| Military
| Military Science
| Russia
| United States
| World
ASIN: 0781248035 |
Average customer rating:
- The best of the worst!
- Brilliant artwork, brilliant writing
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Lout Rampage
Daniel Clowes
Manufacturer: Fantagraphics Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Instructional & How-To
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Cartooning
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Comic Strips
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Graphic Novels
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
Fantagraphics
| Publishers
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
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Clowes, Daniel
| Authors, A-Z
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
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#$@&! The Official Lloyd Llewellyn Collection
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Orgy Bound
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Pussey!
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Ice Haven
ASIN: 1560970707 |
Customer Reviews:
The best of the worst!.......2000-08-22
Not being a fan of underground comics at all, I was a little hesitant to even open this book. Within seconds though, I found someone else out there was equally as twisted and full of angst as myself - and funny as ever. This is a 'best-of' type collection of some fantastic and well-contrived comics with a strong and bitter dark sarcasm throughout. Touching on many modern American social issues, this guy Clowes hits the nail on the head every time with his twisted insight into the human condition. No household is complete without this work.
Brilliant artwork, brilliant writing.......1999-02-19
Discovering the work of Daniel Clowes was like when I first heard The Replacements. I was actually angry I hadn't known sooner. This collection won't have everyone's favorite "Eightball" moments but it's an amazing collection.
Books:
- The American Journey and The American Journey Reconstruction to the Present, Reading Essentials Study and Guide, Workbook
- The Art of Bone
- The Best of Brochure Design 9 (Best of Brochure Design)
- The Best of Business Card Design 7 (Best of Business Card Design (Hardback))
- The Best of Letterhead and Logo Design
- The Cavalry at Gettysburg: A Tactical Study of Mounted Operations during the Civil War's Pivotal Campaign, 9 June-14 July 1863
- The CMT Review Guide
- The Codebreakers: The Comprehensive History of Secret Communication from Ancient Times to the Internet
- The Encyclopedia of American Radio: An A-Z Guide to Radio from Jack Benny to Howard Stern
- The Official Tour De France: Centennial 1903-2003
Books Index
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