The Discus: An Owner's Guide toa Happy Healthy Fish (Happy Healthy Pet)

Book Description

Written by tropical fish experts with over 30 years experience, The Discus includes all the information a new fish keeper needs to begin this exciting hobby: how to select a tank; proper water conditions; nutrition; and breeding your own beautiful fish. Like all the titles in the Owner's Guide series, The Discus is filled with info-packed sidebars and striking color photos. This book helps make keeping Discus a fun and rewarding experience for the hobbyist.

Customer Reviews:

Absolute Rubbish.......2006-06-05

I bought this book thinking I will get more knowledge about Discus keeping .But after going through the book I changed my opinion and think buying this book was absolute waste of money and time. Information given in the book is too general for any aquarium fish and not for Discus fish in particular. Not worth spending you precious money and time.

Just the basics.......2004-04-28

This is a great book if you know next to nothing about discus. It gives you all the specs you may need to know to keep healthy beautiful discus and even the basics on breeding with some nice pictures. It also repeats alot of information for reference purposes. However, if you need a detailed discription of the care of discus you will be diapointed with this one. I recomend you purchase it with another more detailed book that may overlook the more simple aspects of discus care.

Just as it Says.......2003-12-31

This book is, as it implies for the beginning discus keeper. I will go as far as to say that this book isn't only for beginning discus keepers, but for stark new aquarium keepers of any fish. There are only a few chapters that are related directly to discus fish, and of these most of the information is VERY general insomuch that it only relates to GENERAL fishkeeping. If you are NEW to the hobby I would recommend this book, but if you are experianced at all find another, more in depth study of the discus:)

A good book really for a beginner.......2002-10-15

I saw this book when i went to the internet to do research on some information about keeping discus.At that time i was planning to own one but have no experience with discus and know very little about tropical fish which i thought only need air supply to survive.Many people on the net said this book was good and is very useful when it comes to problems with the discus so i went to buy it.I learnt many new things about it like heaters,different filtrations,UV lights,tank water like pH,ammonia,hardness and nitrites and nitrates.It was really useful even in the diseases section where they tell us how to deal with sickness of the fish.But overall it was really not that good as it did not go into detail about chillers and heaters and also some websites it listed at the back of the book have already closed.
These are some bad points so i only gave 3 stars but it is really worth buying for a beginner.

Absolutely Terrible.......2001-07-10

This book is a complete waste of money. I'd give it a negative number of stars if I could. What's so bad about it then? It is simply a beginners guide to aquarium keeping (and not a very good one at that) with a few mentions of discus thrown in to make it sound as if it is a discus book.

The photographs are OK as far as photography goes, but most of the fish pictured are poor specimens including the malformed discus pictured on the cover. Many of the photos are re-used in different parts of the book, occasionally in reverse as if there was an attempt to disguise the fact that the pictures were being re-used. The captions have nothing to do with the photos. There is a picture of a fish with holes in it's head and another of a fish with early stages of fin rot, but neither of these pictures are used in the section on diseases and the captions do not point out these defects. There is no identification of the strains being pictured and virtually no photos of wild specimens to help in identifying the 2 species and 5 subspecies that are briefly described in the text.

There is a section on the history of the discus, but important names such as Jack Wattley, Carrol Friswold, and Gene Wolfsheimer are conspicuous by their absence.

A lot of the information is redundant and contradictory. For example on page 39 we find "One way to estimate which size heater your aquarium will need is to allow 5 watts per gallon. For example, a 55-gallon aquarium would need a heater that is at least 275 watts". Meanwhile, on page 54 we read "A heater should supply 2 watts per gallon. So, a 55-gallon aquarium would need at least a 110-watt heater". Now which do think the authors would have you use? Of course they also don't mention that nobody actually manufactures heaters of those wattages (they can readily be found in 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 200, 250 and 300 watts).

On the whole, this is one of those books that seems to regurgitate a bunch of stuff that has become "standard knowledge" in the aquarium hobby, without really knowing why these things have become so (or the science behind it). On page 80 in a side box on bare tank set-ups, we are admonished that these are "less cozy for your fish", whatever that is supposed to mean. I doubt that "coziness" is anything we can measure or the fish can give us feedback on in the same way that they behave if their water is too warm.

On page 47 there is an extremely poor and misleading diagram of the nitrogen cyle. It implies that the major source of ammonia in the aquarium is the fungal and bacterial decomposition of fish "wastes" (feces?). The major source of ammonia is: it is directly exhaled into the water from fishes gills. There is also no mention of the relationship of pH to ammonia ionization, which is critical to be aware of in the low pH of a discus tank, particularly with regards to water changes and the usually accompanying rise in pH.

There are a lot of other points I could raise, but time constraints prevent me. In summary, this book is a complete waste of money. Just about any book would be better, but if price is a concern the T. Giovanetti book is far better in this price range. I haven't seen M. Sweeney's discus book, but I have seen other things she has written and although I don't really care for her, even her book has got to be better than this one. Even better, spend a little extra and get something by B. Degen, J. Wattley, or J. Quarles. With the price of discus being what it is, if you can afford to keep them, you can afford one of the better books.

Book Description

From the writers of Country Living magazine's "What Is It? What Is It Worth?" column, this guide to American metalware captures the magnificence of metal creations including silver, iron, tin, brass, and pewter. Professional antiques appraisers Joe Rosson and Helaine Fendelman reveal the fascinating histories and market values of dozens of rare items, from Colonial-era firebacks to mechanical banks, from heirloom tea sets to antique weather vanes. Discover a treasure-trove of uniquely American items of utility and beauty in this second book based on America's favorite antiques appraisal column.

· Beautiful full-color photographs and illustrations

· The history of major American metalworkers and manufacturers, and the development of new materials and techniques

American Premium Record Guide 1900-1965 (American Premium Record Guide)

Average customer rating:

A useful guide
A good additional guide for 78s and obscure titles
A Worthless Reference Source........Save your money
6th Ed. - Disappointment
Not What It's Cut-Out to Be

American Premium Record Guide 1900-1965 (American Premium Record Guide)
L. R. Docks
Manufacturer: Krause Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Records | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Reference | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Warman's American Records: Identification and Price Guide, 2nd Edition
The Official Price Guide to Records, Edition #17 (Official Price Guide to Records)
Goldmine Price Guide to 45 Rpm Records
Goldmine Record Album Price Guide
Goldmine Standard Catalog of Rhythm & Blues Records (Goldmine Price Guide to Collectible Record Albums)

ASIN: 087349282X

Book Description

This is the ultimate collector's guide to vintage records covering more than 7,500 artists from all music genres, including big band, blues, jazz, country/western and rock, from 1900 to 1965. This comprehensive identification and value guide features more than 30,000 record values, including listings for 78s, 45s and LPs.

This guide is very easy to use with discographies categorized by label, catalog number and value.

-Completely updated and expanded text
-More than 7,500 recording artists featured

Customer Reviews:

A useful guide.......2007-07-10

If you have discovered a pile of old 78 rpm records of your grandparents and would like to know their value this book is probably NOT the right book for you. As the author indicates, most of the 78 rpm records are without any value for serious collectors. In this book you'll find names of artists that you have never known... Yes believe me: Your Bing Crosby "White Christmas" is not a rare item. It's quite common. Enjoy such a record as a vintage item but not as a collectible record. This is what the author says at the beginning. So once again: Don't buy this book in order to learn the value of your Dinah Shore, John McCormack, Frank Sinatra records..

I cannot judge the values in the blues / rockabilly / country part of the book because I don't listen to such music. The values in the jazz part are in my opinion too low. Example: A rare Gennett in E condition (the book indicates the value of records in E) is very very hard to find and therefore the value is much higher than in the book. I have always paid more for a rare record than the value indicated in the book.

However, the guide gives you an idea of the value of a rare record and this makes the book a must for any serious collector.

A good additional guide for 78s and obscure titles.......2006-12-27

If you collect records by well-known artists or mainstream recordings from the 1960s-1990s,
this probably isn't the guide for you.

But, if you have 78s or obscure labels or titles, this is a great
addition to your record guides. When I was collecting more
intensely a few years back, I found that I ended up using about 6 different guides,
and subscribed to Goldmine magazine, a tabloid out of Iola, Wisconsin. Out of all of these guides together,
I could usually find out what I wanted to know about the records I was collecting.

When it came to 78s, though, this was the book that I always turned to for
information. I didn't always agree with what I saw listed as the value ( of course, I thought my records were worth more. Just look at all the guides till you find a price you like! ) but there
is a lot of good info here. It's worth looking at just to see the record labels
in the front of the book. I found that I could search through stacks of records while hunting armed with the knowledge of what were labels to zero in on for Blues, Jazz and the like, and if I could get the records
cheaply enough, it was often worth the gamble to buy them and listen to unfamiliar artists once I got home.

If you just want a price guide for mainstream music, there are better guides, like:
Jerry Osborne's Official Price Guide to Records,
Goldmine has good guides on 45s and records in general, and if you collect Doo-Wop try "Doo-Wop, the forgotten third of Rock 'n Roll" by Dr. Anthony J. Gribin & Dr. Matthew M. Schiff, and Warman's has guides just on Elvis and the Beatles (two separate books.)

The Official Price Guide to Records has 13 pages on the Beatles compared to a handful of entries in les Docks' book. But, on the other hand, I found a price for a 45 by the 1950s R&B group, the "Go-boys," featuring Dudley Callicutt, in Les' book and nothing in the other guides.

It's all a matter of what you're looking for. And if you have an artist's name, there's an index in the back.

A Worthless Reference Source........Save your money.......2002-02-08

As the other reviews noted, organizing the listings by musical genre instead of artist or record label was really dumb. If that weren't bad enough, the author also makes the mistake of assuming that all or most of his readers should be "knowledgeable collectors", and for that reason, common records are not included at all.
I picked up the first record from my stack, a yellow label MGM, by Billy Eckstine. What genre is he or she? Don't know. After looking through all sections, I never found this record or artist listed. Is it common or rare? I still don't know, and this book helped not at all.
From the introduction: "Following are brief explanations of terms and symbols used by collectors and dealers. Some are forthright and succinct. Others, attempting to define the various styles and idioms of music, are somewhat amorphous, if not downright evasive."....wasn't this supposed to be an informative 'Record Guide'?
Also from the introduction: "Those seeking information about hit or 'charted' records should consult other references". This reviewer agrees.

6th Ed. - Disappointment.......2002-01-27

Fine reference but horribly organized. The author has chosen to structure the book by genre of music and not by artist. In doing so, a particular artist may be found in several different parts of the book depending on what particular record you're looking for. Not only is this cumbersome, it's fairly subjective based on the author's definitions - e.g. is this Rockabilly or country? Is this Blues or Rhythm and Blues? The author admits in the Organization of This Book section that; "The inclusion of a given artist in a particular section is often a matter of arbitrary choice." Additionally, if you have an artist that you're not familiar with, say the Bang Boys for instance...where do you look? Jazz & Big Band? Blues? Country? Rock& Roll?, etc. It is a frustrating experience. To add insult to injury, there is no index to the book (which was the saving grace in the 5th Ed..)

The label references are very good and the actual valuations are beneficial and fairly representative of the marketplace. If the book were re-organized for easier browsing, it would be indispensable.....as it is, it's so-so.

Not What It's Cut-Out to Be.......2001-06-30

Although this guide is recommended by a few 78 RPM record collectors on the internet, I found it full of omissions. Older recordings in my our collection, even though their historical value may be significant to some, are not listed at all. It seems that some of these performers are unknown by the author. Look up John McCormack with your search engine, for instance. Many fans of the records by this famous Irish tenor, particularly in Ireland, would be appalled. The label examples are fun, but are not worth the full new price of the book. Buy it used from Amazon if you want to check it out. Otherwise leave your searches on the internet for other books more beneficial to your collection. For later recordings, or those of the '50s, check out 'Rockin' Records'.

Wallace-Homestead Price Guide to American Country Antiques

Average customer rating:

Concise Informative Guide to American Country Antiques

Wallace-Homestead Price Guide to American Country Antiques
Don Raycraft , and Carol Raycraft
Manufacturer: Wallace-Homestead Book Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

American Country Store (Wallace-Homestead Price Guide)
300 Years of Kitchen Collectibles

ASIN: 0870696165

Customer Reviews:

Concise Informative Guide to American Country Antiques.......1999-11-17

This 254 page reference work (all new and updated 16th edition) contains a wealth of information about American Country Antiques, including prices. It features many black and white photos, including some in full color, and identifies and prices over 900 rare and unusual items. Major topics run from Antiques 104, Shops, Shows, Auctions, and Galleries, to Hot Country Antiques, Kitchen and Hearth Antiques, Stoneware, and more. Each topic is clearly described. A great book to help you learn more about this popular area of collecting. Handy-sized paperback book makes it easy to take with you.

Country Living: American Glassware: What Is It? What Is It Worth? (Country Living)

Average customer rating:

Country Living American Glassware

Country Living: American Glassware: What Is It? What Is It Worth? (Country Living)
Joe L. Rosson , and Helaine Fendelman
Manufacturer: House of Collectibles
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Glass & Glassware | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Reference | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Glass & Glassware | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Florence's Glassware Pattern Identification Guide: Easy Identification for Glassware from the 1920s Through the 1960s
Schroeder's Antiques Price Guide 2007 (Schroeder's Antiques Price Guide)
Collector's Encyclopedia of Depression Glass

ASIN: 0375721177
Release Date: 2006-10-10

Customer Reviews:

Country Living American Glassware.......2007-01-12

I truly only glanced thru the book and read very little of it, because I purchased it as a gift for a friend who collects. However what I did see, it seems to me the pictures were skimpy and with glass ware being what it is, most folks need more pictures in detail as well as descriptions to purchase. PLEASE: Let me state this: AMAZON IS THE GREATEST PLACE I HAVE EVER FOUND FROM WHICH TO PURCHASE BOOKS.

American Country Antiques (Wallace-Homestead Price Guide to American Country Antiques)

Average customer rating:

American Country Antiques (Wallace-Homestead Price Guide to American Country Antiques)
Don Raycraft
Manufacturer: Wallace-Homestead Book Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0870695037

American Country Store (Wallace-Homestead Price Guide)

Average customer rating:

American Country Store (Wallace-Homestead Price Guide)
Don Raycraft , and Carol Raycraft
Manufacturer: Wallace-Homestead Book Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Americana | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Reference | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0870697234

American Kitchen and Country Collectibles: Identification and Price Guide

Average customer rating:

American Kitchen and Country Collectibles: Identification and Price Guide

Manufacturer: L-W Promotions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0891452745

Collector's Encyclopedia of American Furniture: Country Furniture of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries (Collector's Encyclopedia of American Furniture Vol. 3)

Average customer rating:

Collector's Encyclopedia of American Furniture: Country Furniture of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries (Collector's Encyclopedia of American Furniture Vol. 3)
Robert Swedberg , and Harriett Swedberg
Manufacturer: Collector Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Furniture | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Reference | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Antiques & Collectibles | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

Art | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books
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Collector's Encyclopedia of American Furniture: The Dark Woods of the Nineteenth Century : Cherry, Mahogany, Rosewood and Walnut

ASIN: 0891455604

Book Description

This third and last volume of the Swedberg's series concentrates on the country furniture of the 18th and 19th centuries. 350 color photographs. 2000 values. REVIEW: This book has become a standard for aluminum collectors everywhere. Brief company histories are provided, as well as information on marks, which precedes the pictorial price guide. Readers will see candy dishes, casseroles, coasters, bowls, pitchers, tray, and much more.

Country Furniture (A Wallace-Homestead Price Guide)

Average customer rating:

Country Furniture (A Wallace-Homestead Price Guide)
Ellen M. Plante
Manufacturer: Wallace-Homestead Book Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Furniture Design | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Furniture | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0870696408

Small Spaces, Beautiful Gardens
Average customer rating:

Very Inspiring

Small spaces beautiful gardens

readable and helpful

A great ideas for small gardens

Esthetically engaging and pleasureable

Small Spaces, Beautiful Gardens
Keith Davitt
Manufacturer: Quarry Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
Garden Design | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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Gardening in Small Spaces : Creative Ideas from America's Best Gardeners (Fine Gardening Design Guides)

Beyond the Lawn: Unique Outdoor Spaces for Modern Living

Patio: Garden Design & Inspiration

Landscaping Small Spaces

The City Gardener's Handbook: The Definitive Guide to Small Space Gardening

ASIN: 1564969738

Amazon.com

Keith Davitt's Small Spaces, Beautiful Gardens celebrates the possibilities for awkward, undersized garden parcels, demonstrating convincingly that no space is too small to make a big impact. Lacking dimensionality, most small gardens can be taken in visually with one glance. Davitt offers solutions for creating a sense of spaciousness and surprise, even in the most cramped, unlikely location.

A landscape designer, builder, photographer, and writer, Davitt draws on 16 projects from his own portfolio. "Before" and "after" photographs help illustrate both the process and principles of reconfiguring an outdoor space. Who could imagine, for example, that as ugly a duckling as a narrow, shaft-like urban lot surrounded on three sides by cinderblocks, painted brick, and metal piping could be transformed into an enchanting series of multi-leveled wood decks, enlivened with container plantings?

Davitt's ideas are all the more convincing because he has photographed the gardens between peak bloom periods. Although spaces are lush with plant life, the book's emphasis is more on design than plant selection. Offering neither budget remedies nor step-by-step technical advice, Small Spaces, Beautiful Gardens is, itself, a beautiful book to pore over for inspiration. --Jennifer Wyatt

Book Description

If you love gardens but don't think you have enough outdoor space to cultivate one, this book is for you. Written by a 20-year veteran of landscape design, this imaginative guide features 18 hardworking profiles of gorgeous small garden paradises. Through step-by step instructions, before-and-after photos, and detailed plans, landscape architect Keith Davitt offers ingenious tips and techniques for creating the illusion of space through terracing, enlarging through dividing, adding texture and color, and more.

Keith Davitt has been designing, building, photographing, and writing about gardens across the U.S. and abroad for 20 years. He recently won the Herald Award for Excellence in Garden Communication, and his gardens and articles have appeared in numerous gardening magazines. He is also the author of the forthcoming Beyond the Lawn. He lives in New York City.

Customer Reviews:

Very Inspiring.......2007-05-28

The author's non-traditional approach to garden design produces exceptional results. Before and after photos beautifully portray his amazing transformations. The author clearly describes the challenges he faced with each garden project, provides an illustration of his solution and then takes you step by step through the transformation process discussing the elements of design he used and how he applied them. I've read several books on landscape design and this is the first one that has truly helped me apply the principles and elements of design to my own garden spaces. My husband and I recently bought a new construction home and we are both excited to begin the transformation of our blank slate yard into a wonderful suburban retreat.

Small spaces beautiful gardens.......2007-05-07

Standard spaces I might see set up at a garden show. Nothing spectacular.

readable and helpful.......2006-04-29

esp for urban small gardens - he makes you think you can do it!

A great ideas for small gardens.......2002-08-29

I found this book to be especially helpful in visualizing small gardens. I wish that he had included some of the plant names used and sample gardening diagrams, but overall it's a great book for ideas.

Esthetically engaging and pleasureable.......2002-08-05

The simplicity with which Keith Davitt has been able to convey complicated design concepts is extraordinary. He has combined this with exquisite illustrations and "before and after" photography. This book will inspire you with the confidence to transform even the most mundane of spaces into a visual and livable joy. It's also a must on our coffee table!

The City Gardener. Beautiful Gardens for Small Spaces

Average customer rating:

The City Gardener. Beautiful Gardens for Small Spaces
Meg Herd
Manufacturer: Angus & Robertson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OEC6DG

Average customer rating:

Small Spaces, Beautiful Gardens
Keith Davitt
Manufacturer: Rockport Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OPFGZA

Book Description

This work is a comprehensive survey of non-Masoretic Hebrew dialects and traditions against the background of the related, primarily other West Semitic lanugages, but also the less close East and South Semitic and non-Semitic branches of the Semito-Hamitic phylum are taken into account. The previously published Part One contains Hebrew and comparative lexical material. Part Two contains a systematic phonetic and phonological discussion including an historical survey. Part Three contains a discussion of morphological and syntactical aspects as well as a comprehensive statistical synopsis of the entire language structure compared with selected related languages.

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