I can't recommend a book but as with any major project, you have to start at the higher level first: 1) Ask yourself what kind of fish you want- if goldfish and minnows then you don't need to be too deep and filtering doesn't have to be too powerful and you can keep plants everywhere in the pond; if Koi, you probably want 3'+ deep in some parts, very good mechanical filtration + bio and probably segrated places for your plants or some way to protect the tops of the pots from having the gravel/soil dug out. 2) Now you know how deep and what sort of filtering you need, do you want a waterfall or stream? Keep going till you have decided what you want to do with the pond. Then get into detailed planning about landscaping, where you want the waterfall, how to build it, pick your filtering system(s), etc. Once you know how much water and how high you have to push it, then you pick your pump. One other decision is submerged pump or external etc. Don't forget the bottom drain etc.

I just finished Major Pettigrew despite reading it as slowly as I could; I really enjoyed the dry humor of the Major as well as his interactions with his son. Is there any tie between the Miss Pettigrew and Major Pettigrew books beyond the name and being set in England? I wanted the Major Pettigrew story to keep going even though I did think some of the events toward the end of the book got a little fantastic.

Good List. I see my favorite "The Secret Garden".

Liz, may I submit Mrs Beeton and her Husband by Nancy Spain, for 1947, a copy of which I have had knocking around here for some time? N S was the great niece of Mrs B and had a large selection of family letters and memorabilia which she drew on for this book. A pity that it is written under Post-War conditions as the paper is poor quality and there is a dearth of photos and illustrations.