Middle East Quarterly

In 1994, when the first issue of this quarterly came out, I read it eagerly. And I've read every issue since then. It's my favorite journal on the Middle East.

Here is why this journal exists. As explained in that first issue, only one US President since 1948 has failed to speak "forcefully about the benefits that accrue to the United States from deep and deep relations with Israel." However, the other quarterlies about the region all disparaged the ties between the US and Israel. The other quarterlies presented Israel as a liability to the US. The other quarterlies saw Zionism as "a racist offshoot of imperialism." And they apologized for the terrorist acts of Yasser Arafat and saw recognition of his gang as a way to achieve peace in the region.

The other journals also criticized US involvement in the war to liberate Kuwait. They criticized any government in the Middle East that seemed to be vaguely supportive of the United States, such as Turkey. And they praised terrorists and warlike tyrannies to the skies.

Basically, the politics of the other journals was simple. Anything the US did was wrong, no matter what it was. Anything the terrorists did was right. And that meant that there was no journal that addressed Middle East issues from the perspective of most Americans.

I feel that if most Americans simply were accepting gross untruths, it would make sense if every single scholarly quarterly took a very different stand all the time. But the reverse has been the case. The scholarly journals other than this one, in my opinion, were spouting reactionary lies. Those journals were opponents not only of truth, but of justice and of human rights. And it is the latter problem that made me so interested in this quarterly.

You see, I support human rights.

If you support human rights, and if you have any interest in what is going on in the Middle East, this journal is for you.

North American Whitetail (1-year auto-renewal)

Very Good deer hunting magazine. As a deer hunter, I have found alot of excellent articles that have helped me to understand the " art & whys" of deer hunting. Always something new to learn in each month's copy. Art graphics depicting article hightlights are top-notch. I've just finished my first year with this magazine and will definately renew my subscription. I would rate this magazine to be as good or better than issues of "Deer & Deer Hunting".

I bought the subscription for my nephew as a xmas present who loves it!!! He then shares w/his father, my brother-in-law. They're both avid hunters. So this year I subscribed for my brother-in-law as a 50th birthday gift. Money well spent!!!

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Guardian - Weekly Edition

The Guardian Weekly is a joint project between French Le Monde, US Washington Post, and British The Guardian/The Observer. These newspapers are directed towards the educated middle-class. There is a strong tendency towards analysis, sometimes quite opinionated. That said, I do like The Guardian when I lived in the UK it was about the only newspaper that was readable. The other main newspapers either belonged to Rupert Murdoch (Times, Sun) or were dry as tinder (Independent, Telegraph). The Guardian write in an educated readable way, and depsite it is a bit left-leaning it is well balanced and concerned with real news, not gossip and sensationalism. It has a strong stance on global issues, and therefore it was obvious that it should be involved in a project like this.

The GUARDIAN WEEKLY contains a compilation of some of the best coverage taken from the previous week's daily editions of The GUARDIAN, The OBSERVER, LE MONDE and the WASHINGTON POST. The publication's format remains basically the same as when I first read it as The MANCHESTER GUARDIAN WEEKLY in 1956.

A recent issue contained news articles on a variety of topics from Syria's possible troop withdrawal from Lebanon to an account of a football game between Manchester United and Crystal Palace. The edition also included many news capsules from around the world as well as much comment and analysis on diverse subjects. Two pages were devoted to book reviews.

The quality of writing in the GUARDIAN WEEKLY is consistently high. The bias seems to be slightly to the left. I recommend it mostly because of its interesting worldview and the excellence of its reporting.

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Great information when it arrives. Like a London bus some weeks you get no copy some you get two. When you ring to complain (which I have 3 times in the last 6 weeks) they have no record of your previous complaints, they blame the US post, they dont reply to requests to speak to a superior, and they wont credit you an extra copy. Basically taking no responsibility. I've had it. I'm discontinuing my subscription. There's so much you can get online why should anyone put up with old technology.

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I bought this subscription for my wife. After a long (but acceptable) wait the first issue finally arrived. She loved it. A week later nothing more came. Two and three weeks passed without another copy of the Guardian. I gave a call to the number on the paper and they told me that the subscription was suspended. They had no explanation why, only an apology that it was suspended and they reactivated it while I was on the phone. Then they told me that the subscription would expire in 8 months. When I asked why so soon they said the subscription was marked for 45 weeks but at the same time they could see that it was a year long subscription! Again no explanation could be offered. But this time they had to send it up the food chain before it could be resolved. They didn't even ask for a contact number or email address to let me know when the problem was resolved. I had to ask for that too!

I game them two stars because we love the content of the paper. But you'd better be aggressive in managing your subscription because these guys seem to have their heads up their a@$#s.

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I wish every intelligent person in the US would read this newspaper. We devour it, savor it. It gives us news we never hear about in American newspapers. It probably gives fits to conservative right-wingers--all the more reason to read it.

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Ladies Home Journal (1-year auto-renewal)

Ladies Home Journal provides practical advice on how busy women can be happier and more effective. The articles are straightforward, easy to read, interesting, and assume the reader is intelligent (which is more than I can say for many women's magazines). I especially like the health and fitness news because it usually pertains to women exclusively. The celebrity interviews are fun, too, and the recipes are easy enough for anyone to follow and enjoy. I give it four stars because I can always find at least one topic that really interests me in each issue.

Ladies Home Journal has several features that readers will like. One of the most popular is "Can This Marriage Be Saved" featuring a couple that is having marital problems presenting both their sides and then a counselor's advise. Other columns include "How They Met", "Animal Affairs", and "Raising a Family". Each month there is an article featuring a family that acquired a house through Habitat. A nice feature is a column presenting a man's perspective called "Heart of a Husband". There are also articles on beauty, health, travel, and parenting. There are plenty of recipes and craft and decorating ideas. Each issue also includes a couple of celebrity interviews.

I highly recommend subscribing to Ladies Home Journal, you won't be disappointed!

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I've ben buying LHJ for years especially since I've become a wife/mom. So when I saw a chance to subscribe at a bargain basement price, I jumped at it! My first issue arrived before the scheduled start of my subscription so I was thrilled. However, although the articles were good (this months "Can this marriage be saved?" was REALLY good), I found the paper quality, and the color, etc, a little on the poor side. Could this be the reason for the bargain basement price? Don't let this dissuade you from subscribing anyhow. After all we're all supposed to be recycling anyway

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I received Ladies' Home Journal magazine in the mail shortly after ordering it which was a pleasant surprise. The magazine has nice articles, helpful hints to save money (always helpful in a time like this), and a great collection of quick and easy dinners (short and to the point with basic ingredients). All in all, very pleased for a simple, light read with helpful hints for everyday life.

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I am very happy with my subscription. I enjoy this magazine. I appreciate how easy it is to subscribe through Amazon. I like the fact that they notify me when it is time to renew a subscription but don't automatically renew it. It makes it very easy for me to renew the ones I like best and not worry about being forced to renew a subscription that I may not like very much. Thanks, Amazon!

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Urban Farm (1-year auto-renewal)

I like magazine overall. Great articles teaching you how to make hybrid trees and bee keeping for example. There a few articles that seemed a bit contrived community action. I get the social aspect, but I would rather have more focus on the techniques, how-tos, and learning than the social aspects. I would recommend this magazine to people living in urban areas.

I ordered this magazine on a whim during a promotion and both my husband and I are fans. My husband has previously remarked he would like to try keeping chickens and bees, and this magazine gives practical information and stories of those as well as on topics like container and community gardens. The content focuses on sustainable living without being preachy, with beautiful pictures. The magazine arrived quickly, within 2-3 weeks of placing my order. Most of the ads are in the back of the magazine, except when related to article content. Overall, the magazine is informative, a little quirky and fun.

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`Green' magazines often preach instead of teach with a finger-wagging attitude that makes reading a chore. Urban Farm makes sustainable living a fun, informative read.

The clean, easy-to-read design blends nicely with beautiful, full-color photographs and how-to illustrations that appear cover-to-cover.

This edition included 12 feature stories, four columns Backyard Coop, Curbside Tools, Green Thumb and Urban Feast and a handful of other pieces. Here are Urban Farm's five cover teasers in the July/August 2011 edition:

* Grow Hot Peppers on a windowsill or a balcony

* Street Smarts: Forage for Urban Edibles

* 4 Easy Steps to Freezer Jam

* Simple Bio-Retention: Incorporate a Rain Garden into Your Landscape

* Sweet Corn Season Arrives! Details and recipes inside

The most interesting feature is Debbie Moors' story `Not Just Window Dressing.' The story features the Windowfarms Project and introduces home-hydroponic systems that are built from the contents of a recycling bin.

I can't say enough about the photography. Sure, there are some stock photos but the main features nicely balance all the elements. Rhoda Peacher's freezer jam photos are simply mouth-watering (Yum! Brambleberry!) There are eight step-by-step color photos accompanying Michael Locke's instructions on how to build a kitchen table from a salvaged pre-hung door (each photo is given enough real estate that you won't need to rummage through a junk drawer for a magnifying glass).

In summary, Urban Farm is my best, new magazine subscription in recent memory. I'm pleasantly surprised by the use of color, quality content and the friendly tone. I used to find myself flipping through Better Homes and Gardens and Good Housekeeping, looking for something interesting to pop out but more often disappointed in the results. I didn't bother to renew Real Simple, which is chock full of pricey gadgets and so bereft of utilitarian advice it should be classified as a home show catalog instead of a magazine. If you subscribe to these other magazines and find them unfulfilling then I recommend Urban Farm.

Rating: Five stars.

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I received the first issue of this magazine and I like it. It has a lot of good articles that are applicable to gardening such as raising rabbits and chickens. Some of the articles tend to be a bit too left-wing envirnomentalist for me, but overall I still like the magazine.

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I live in the suburbs with about a half acre of back yard to work with. I have a large garden, chickens, bees, and dreams for future projects. I also like Hobby Farm and thought this would be some of the same with the town dweller in mind. Unfortunately, I have not been excited by my subscription. I don't find anything I can't find in Mother Earth News and I'm not especially motivated to take many of the articles a step further. I have no problem with any ideological slant that might be present but I don't find myself inspired by it either. I honestly wished I liked it more but I'm sure I can get my backyard farmer fix filled by other sources.

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Neo-Opsis Science Fiction Magazine

This is my new favorite SF mag. On one hand, it has the best of new voices from around the English-speaking world (Canada, UK, Australia, USA), so you get a lot of different takes on the genre. On the other hand, "Neo-Opsis" isn't produced by some corporate publishing entity. It's just two people, a husband and wife team. She does all the artwork, which is professional quality, and he writes articles and very quirky editorials. It's a small press science fiction magazine.

This is good, folks. I have only seen one issue of this magazine but am VERY pleased. I used to subscribe to Asimov's and think I will try this one out as well now. The stories range in tone lighter read or "heavier" read, fantasy or hard science fiction and there is also coverage of current science and environmental issues/ concerns. The mix is very successful and contributing writers are from, literally, around the world. It is published in Canada was told (by the bookseller at least) that it won the Canadian equivalent of a Hugo Award. They call it the Prix Aurora Award up there.

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Allergic Living

This magazine is very helpful and a great resource for those with food allergies. Love the Q&A from Drs as well as articles from leading experts in topics that are of current interest. It seems the editor has her finger on the pulse of the allergic community and can deliver a quality magazine to the readers.

Country Living - England

Not necessary to be an Anglophile to enjoy this mag! Though I miss my home away from home, there are reasons other than it being British that make me love CL UK. Don't be fooled by the title this magazine is SO different from its American counterpart its ACTUALLY about living in the country country houses, country recipes, country gardening, ideas for what to do OUTSIDE in the country. Country Living US has become townie/quasi-cottage, but it is not about rural village life at all. Soak up the charm of the British countryside; learn about traditional trades; travel to quaint hotspots; scan the real estate listings like you're actually considering purchasing a second home in the Cotswolds!; shop online for great products otherwise available only in the UK; try your hand at everything from putting up your own marmalade or keeping hens to comparative cooker browsing and upscale English Country interior decorating! Absolutely my favorite read!!!

The US version of Country Living should aspire to the quality of content and articles offered in the UK version. I suspect there may be a demographics issue -in the US, the notion of "Country" has been hijacked by animals (ie: geese, ducks, cows, rabbits) wearing trailing bows, grape-vine wreaths with plastic flowers hot-glued on, and tole painted milk jugs. When I think American "Country Living" I think "Buy One Mobile Home, Get One Free: Furniture Included". In the UK, Country Living feels a bit more authentic and less kitsch-y. There are great articles about animal husbandry, local food initiatives (as well as guidance on DIY food production), gorgeous old restored farmhouses and the shabby chic furniture that fills them, charming commentaries and columns detailing the quirky and quaint vignettes that make up a *life actually lived in the countryside* and filled with country pursuits. Even the format (large) and quality of the paper (glossy, as opposed to National Enquirer quality) is superior. I'm a firm believer in "You get what you pay for," and in this case, that is certainly true.

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This magazine is so beautiful and sumptuous, I find myself wanting to jump into the pages and taking up residence.

Big A++

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I loved buying this occasionally on the newstand, and when Country Home (US) folded, this British magazine filled the gap. first issue arrived in only 11 weeks, sooner than the 12-16 weeks projected by Amazon.

update: still a great mag, but the second issue never arrived. good customer service, they sent replacement promptly. the problem with imported mags is that you don't know when to expect their arrival.

update2: they answered my email question about when to expect issues (by 15th of month) and the Feb issue arrived promptly on the 11th.

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Having grown up on a farm in England, I love this publication. I read the very first copy on a flight back to the US from visiting my parents in the late 1980s and haven't knowingly missed one since that time. Country Living gives a true picture of country life in the UK albeit somewhat upmarket through the seasons. Many, if not most, of the decorating, gardening, and cooking ideas are easily adaptable for US homes. Once a month, when my new copy arrives, I fix a cup of tea or two, or more and curl up in favorite chair for a couple of hours "back home".