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Reviewers Recommend
The Abandoned Baobab
Ken Bugul
Lawrence Hill & Co
c/o Independent Publishers Group
814 North Franklin St., Chicago, IL 60610
ISBN: 1556521146 $9.95 159 pages
Akua Sarr, Ph.D.
Reviewer
First published in 1984 as Le Baobab Fou and translated into English in 1991 as The Abandoned
Baobab, the novel chronicles Ken Bugul's experience from her childhood and adolescence in
Senegal
to her young adult life in Belgium. Alienated from her family after her mother's year-long
departure,
Ken immerses herself into her studies at the French school. She lives with different family
members
while going to the French school, including an aunt and brother, but never has a sense of family or
home. She leaves for Europe after being awarded a scholarship to continue her studies. Her
feelings
of isolation and loneliness only increase during her stay in Belgium and she soon foregoes school
in
search of herself and the warmth of home through various sexual exploits, drugs and alcohol.
After a
near suicide, Ken comes to understand that the home for which she longs is not in Europe, her
ancestors are not the Gauls but they are the Africans who settled her village among the baobab
trees.
Marietou Mbaye uses the pseudonym Ken Bugul -- a Wolof name that can be translated as the
person no one wants, or the unwanted one-- on the advice of her publishers who feared the
scandal
that her disclosures would cause in Senegal. Names such as hers are chosen for children who are
born after numerous deaths of previous siblings. It is believed that these same children continue to
return to be taken once again by evil spirits. Giving the child names such as Bougouma, meaning I
dont want him or her, Sagar, meaning rag, or Ken Bugul, is an attempt to trick the spirits and
keep
them from taking the child. The belief is that if the spirits think that the child is not wanted by
anyone, they will not want the child either. The child will then live.
By telling her story, authoring herself, Mbaye rejects imposed definitions of what it means to be a
Muslim woman in Senegalese society. Her disclosures may be considered disgraceful by her
family,
society, and nation because, as a woman, she is expected to remain silent publicly, but the power
of
Mbayes narrative, is that it reveals a previously unspoken discourse. By having the courage to
publicly disclose her private self, Mbaye is able to heal and come to an awareness of self and
society.
The Adventures of Little Fox: Generations
Marlin L. Houser
Marhouse Inc.
PO Box 150605, Altamonte Springs, FL 32715
ISBN: 0975270311 $7.95 http://adventurefox.com
Alyice Edrich, Reviewer
http://thedabblingmum.com
The Adventures of Little Fox is not only a heartwarming book filled with valuable life lessons, it's
a
book filled with adventure! Through each captivating page, children learn what it's like to be a fox
-
how they bond, how they hunt, how they protect themselves from predators, how they learn to
watch out for human hunters, and how they live. They even learn the importance of passing down
family values and family history.
In the beginning, we learn about Trecar, a little fox born to two, loving, caring parents. Her
parents,
Serena and Timmeno instruct Trecar in the way of the fox: her daily training consisted of learning
to
hunt, stalk, track, and hide.
Halfway through the story Trecar is living on her own when a stranger, a fox by the name of
Cody,
happens upon her den. Cody got separated from his family and never learned to hunt or mark his
territory. Trecar could sense that he needed someone to guide him so she offered to let him stay
with
her while she trained him in the ways of the fox.
Time passes and the two fall madly in love. They conceive a child together and begin to build a
life
for themselves when Cody is injured and taken away by a human. The human nursed Cody back
to
health, while Trecar and her new pup searched high and low for their loved one. After a few days,
Trecar gave up hope of ever finding her husband again and began teaching her little pup, Little
Fox,
the ways of the fox.
But one day, while Trecar was hunting, Little Fox wanders off on his own - in search of his
mother.
He meets many interesting creatures along the way, he befriends a squirrel, learns to swim and so
much more. By no short miracle, Little Fox, Trecar, and Cody find each other and their little
family
is reunited with tears and laughter. This is a wonderful book that is sure to become a family
treasure.
Death by Death
Claire McNab
Bella Books
P.O. Box 10543, Tallahassee, FL 32302
ISBN 1931513341 $12.95 167 Pages
Arlene Germain
Reviewer
A smiling young woman approaches Senator Jonathan O'Neven, throws her arm around his neck,
and as she says to him, "I am come to you," her free [p. 2] hand pulls a metal loop hidden within
her
clothing. Death for both is instantaneous. Thus begins the latest novel in the Denise Cleever series
written by Claire McNab, Death by Death. This mystery/thriller follows the exploits of
thirty-something Denise Cleever, an undercover agent for ASIO, the Australian Security
Intelligence
Organization, which is similar to the CIA. In her latest assignment, Denise must assume the
persona
of one Dr. Constance Sommers, a respected psychotherapist, and join the staff of the exclusive
Easehaven Clinic, which is run by Dr. Graeme Thorwell who is believed to be behind this murder
for
profit suicidal bombings. As she undergoes her training sessions, any doubts about not being
familiar
with the psychological world are put to rest when she states, "All I have to say is: 'And how does
that make you feel?' at regular intervals. Simple, really!" [p.10]
Once ensconced at the clinic, Denise must deal with erratic "guests," there are no patients here,
officious staff, a very mysteriously beguiling nurse, and the bizarre behaviors of both Dr. Thorwell
and Dr. Harry Gerlich, the head of the enigmatic Sanctuary Project at the clinic. Throughout the
plot
twists and turns, Denise's only link to the outside world is her cell phone and her attractively
composed and efficient control officer, Cynthia, for whom "I had a long-term, slow-burning yen ."
It's a race against the clock when Denise must ferret out the [p. 23] truth before the next target,
Kenneth Henders, an up and coming politico, meets his maker.
Structurally, this book differs little from the previous four Cleever adventures. Ms. McNab uses
the
first person narrative to tell the story which affords our heroine the opportunity to show her
likable,
witty, and at times, sardonic personality. The author's style comes through in her typically
forthright
and lean expression. At 167 pages, it makes for a rather short book with somewhat shallow
characterization and plot development. Some scenes are far too brief, if not non-descript.
Although
not too contrived, the conclusion did appear to be too abrupt. The idea of brainwashing a la The
Manchurian Candidate style is nothing new, but this reader would have liked the author to have
been
a bit more inventive by conceiving a more intricate storyline with much more of an insight into the
two main characters, both Denise and her antagonists. The intimate scenes seemed too static, too
underdeveloped. One doesn't expect nor necessarily desire graphic sexual depiction from Claire
McNab, but the reader should feel more engaged than is the case here.
The Cleever series stands on its own merits and should not be compared to McNab's popular
Detective Inspector Carol Ashton series of mystery/police procedural novels. These
counterintelligence novels are light, entertaining, quick reads which leave you wanting and waiting
for the next release. Bet you can't read just one sort of thing. In that sense, Ms. McNab has the
formula down pat. With a heroine one would actually like to sit down with, have a drink, and
shoot
the breeze, this installment of the series provides readers, both those familiar and unfamiliar with
Ms.
Cleever, the chance to discover an interesting and feisty young woman who manages to play with
the big boys, if not always by their rules. The Australian setting provides a delightful change from
those mysteries set in some metropolitan area in the States. However, there does seem to be one
thing in common between this country and Australia as one reads through the chapters.
Unfortunately, the bureaucratic routines and people at times appear to be just as inept, pompous,
and officious. Denise Cleever is indeed a refreshing breeze blowing through those halls of
government.
The Consciousness Of Earth
Multicultural Books
307 Birchwood Court, 6311 Gilbert Rd, Richmond, BC V7C 3V7
ISBN 0973330139 $14.95 238 pp.
CarrieAnn Thunell
Reviewer
I have recently been privileged to read Esther Cameron's book. I learned of the book through a
flyer
that gave a very brief synopsis describing the work as a document of formal poetry on the topic of
deep ecology. When it arrived, I was daunted to discover that the first 223 pages consist of a
treatise
on the evolution of our planet written entirely in blank verse, and pages 224-238 are devoted
entirely
to footnotes! What I had in my hands was an impeccably well-researched master-work! I felt a
sense
of awe mingled with profound intimidation!
The author has selected each word with pinpoint precision as to every shade of meaning, and
combines these with eloquent and fresh metaphor to create a work of unsurpassed poetic
beauty.
"Till then our kind might live - a life so long,
our heretofore would be the sapling ring
within the trunk of an immense sequoia,
had we but wisdom equal to our knowledge." (p. 11)
Her grasp of the natural sciences on which this work is based is astounding for one who claims
not
to have an in-depth scientific background. Her ability to synthesize highly complex information
from
such diverse fields as astronomy, evolution, physics, social psychology and more, and weave it
into a
holistic pattern of global proportions is stunning! Yet because she is writing as both a poet and a
layperson, the work is highly readable and endowed with sublime beauty.
I quote here from page 16, chapter 3:
"Nor are we simply
a product of the laws that set the force
of gravity, the tension in the atom,
devised the alphabet of particle
and quark, spelled out the elements composed
the phrases of the molecule, the stanzas
and cantos of the chromosomes. The laws
of chemistry could not have been predicted
from physics, nor from inorganic forms
the laws of living things; the rules of grammar
do not imply, again the Shakespeare sonnet
of which they are foundation, but not cause."
It is my conviction that the highest and most courageous calling of a poet is to write a new
scripture
and credo that is contemporaneous with our planetary needs. Ms. Cameron does just that.
"Thus Mystery rocked the cradle of our logos,
inseparable the two, as form from message.
And there where mystery and logos meet
there looms, as if it were a shape that lived
within the heartwood of the human tree,
the Poet. Shaman, healer, storyteller,
lawgiver - sometimes one or more of these,
but always keeper of that rhythmic vocal
murmur that rose before articulate speech" (p. 50)
As she outlines the evolution and follies of humanity, she scrutinizes the history of our religious
mythos dispassionately. She is unafraid to point out religion's misuse and its implication in
numerous
tragic wars. But she does not stop there. She dares to do theology, by illuminating the thread of
divine intelligence that is with us throughout our ascent from the primordial ooze. To do this, she
draws on many scientific disciplines that are impeccably footnoted with detailed notes that
support
her vision.
Then, in the fashion of a true poetess, she becomes something of an oracle, pointing out a possible
future that is ours if we can tap into our poetic mysticism. By shedding clarity on the direct
relation
between our beliefs and values on the one hand, and our technologies and orientation towards the
Earth and her creatures on the other, she demonstrates how religions based on human supremacy
and exploitation have given license to the global destruction of our ecosystems. She goes on to
illustrate the need for a more comprehensive belief/value system that will enable humankind to
cherish the global life support system, and all the creatures therein.
"Not to abolish
the old traditions, not to break the vessels
that hold ancestral memory, would the Mother
enter today on faith's disordered stage,
but gradually to sort, to rearrange
and reconcile, as fits the careful housewife,
averse to waste.
Thus, opening some future
book of common prayer, where beside psalms
and hymns to God the Father we would find
words that invoke the Mother-form, now let
me try this instrument. Now, as a child" (p. 171)
Whether or not one agrees with her conclusions, it is not so easy to discount the well-researched
evidences she brings to bear on the topic. Nor is it easy to discount the many points she raises
concerning the globally destructive path humanity has tread that now endangers the continuation
of
life on the entire planet
It is my belief that Ms. Cameron has a great love of God, and an equally great love of Earth and
her
creatures. Her epic poem is an attempt to unite these two loves by drawing on the strength of the
one, to heal the other, and in so doing, to heal the human heart as well. It is my belief that this
poetic
work shall be highly controversial, but it will also impel people to examine the assumptions of
their
own belief systems, and how the misuse of religion has given license at times, to activities that are
in
direct opposition to the intent of their founders. Hopefully out of such courageous interfaith
dialogue, each faith system shall gain an opportunity to hold itself accountable and renew its
commitments to assist humanity in its efforts to find hope, and meaning, and to create a better
world.
This document requires deep study, perhaps within a group setting, to plumb its depths. Ms.
Cameron invites each of us to join in the dialogue, and to add to a new global theology by
contributing blank verse to her website. See Point and Circumference, located at
http://www.pointandcircumference.com
The editor of this magazine neither endorses nor opposes the ideas proposed in this epic poem,
but
seeks to create a poetic space where such poetic visions may be discussed.
Scream Queens of the Dead Sea
Gilad Elbom
Thunder's Mouth Press, Avalon Publishing Group
245 W 17th St, New York, NY 10011
1568583222, $22.00, 295 pp.
Coletta Ollerer
Reviewer
A trek through life in the state of Israel seen through the eyes of a young man with a degree in
comparative literature and linguistics from Hebrew University but who has taken a job as an
assistant nurse in a mental institution. He is obsessed with his girlfriend, Carmel, who is possessed
of
an activist mindset. Their sexual encounters continue even though they have resolved to keep
their
feelings for each other purely platonic. He is also consumed with writing a book, she with
imposing
her views on his consciousness.
Gilad Elbom's stream of consciousness style is engaging and pulls the reader along. We become
interested in his charges at the hospital. He seems to have an affection for them while Dr
Himmelblau, the psychiatrist in charge, advises, "the best thing to do when dealing with the
mentally
ill is to keep a distance." (p4) Gilad finds this difficult since the unit is so small. "For some reason,
maybe because systematic vilification of those who try to help them is one of the symptoms of
their
illness, all my patients seem to hate me." (p4) He tries conversing with those under his care. "Dr
Himmelblau says that I ought to keep doing my job regardless of any protest on the part of the
patients, because one of the most important objectives of the rehabilitation process in the unit is to
teach them how to engage in everyday conversations." (p25) While he finds the job frustrating, he
enjoys working the relatively quiet evening shift.
The frequent seemingly co-dependent arguments between Gilad and Carmel add interest to the
story
as the two reveal themselves to the reader. Their conflicts are both entertaining and energetic. I
find
myself enjoying them as if I were overhearing them in a crowded room. I am happy, however, to
keep my literary distance.
They decide to go to Jehrico for an overnight to get away and visit a gambling casino. "Gambling
is
illegal in Israel, but now that Jericho is under Palestinian self-rule, it's okay for Israelis to go
there."
(p224) While Gilad is taking a shower at the hotel, Carmel exits the room. He begins a frenzied
search for her assuming she is engaged sexually with an Arab activist they encountered
earlier.
Gilad has an extensive interest in and knowledge of Heavy Metal Bands which an enthusiast
would
find very entertaining. "I play Countdown to Extinction while I'm making myself breakfast. I like
Megadeth. No embarrassing orchestral maneuvers, no megalomaniacal lawsuits, no premature
dinosaur status. It's not quite as good as Rust in Peace, but they're still aging a little more
gracefully
than, say Dave Nustaine's old band." (p107)
Gilad Elbom is a funny guy and his take on life removes the reader from the mundane and even
brings a chuckle or two.
The Poetess Within
Stacia Shaina Star
Outskirts Press, Inc.
10940 S. Parker Rd - 515, Parker CO 80134
ISBN: 1932672877 $17.95 www.outskirtspress.com
Dennison Rey
Reviewer
I'm cynical by nature. In fact, I'm cynical about nature. I drive a Hummer, spray aerosol cans
toward
the ozone layer, and eat ostrich eggs for breakfast. What's more, I loathe poetry. I approach it
with a
closed mind and tepid tolerance. Poets are leotard-wearing, Renaissance festival nogoodniks.
So it was no small miracle when The Poetess Within, by Stacia Shaina Star, caught me off-guard
and
filled me with surprise. Here, at last, was a poetry book that shunned the narcissism inherent in the
craft.
To suggest that The Poetess Within is not for leotard-wearing, Renaissance festival nogoodniks
would be a falsity, however. It's for everybody. How does Star manage to turn a SUV-driving
SOB
like me into a Shakespearean fancy-pants? By approaching poetry as both an art and a craft.
There's fine poetry here, to be sure, but where The Poetess Within shines is with the extras. Much
like a deluxe-edition DVD, Star provides "Poet's commentary" on select poems. In some instances
she covers the craft and in others, the soul.
Ergo: "Written in the Italian sonnet format of the following: abbaabba cc dd ee."
Or: "Everyone has experienced loving someone and not having that love returned. It is one of the
most painful experiences in living life fully. But we lose out, if we deny our feelings of love
anyways,
and hope and faith still guide us in living day to day."
So enjoyable are the author's commentaries (albeit grammatically troubling) that I found myself
seeking them out prior to the poetry. Unfortunately, there are too few of them and they are too
brief
-- two characteristics that demonstrate just how much they contribute to the book as a whole. To
learn this much about an author is a rarity and exemplifies the spot-on accuracy of the title. This
really is the poetess within.
Here is a poet (excuse me, a poetess) with a scholarly affinity for poetry who also opens her heart
and reveals her soul (quite poetically, I might add). Her author biography begins with the words,
"I
am intense," and the themes inside range from unrequited love to road rage to the trials of weight
management. Star shares herself with the reader in a manner few authors dare, all for the benefit
of
the reader.
When we read a sonnet to her mother (definitively titled, "A Sonnet for my Mother") we're
tugged.
Pages before, we absorb a tear-jerking soliloquy to her daughter and we're moved. Most
importantly, we're invested. The only reason we care about mother and daughter is because we
share
a connection with the woman behind the words.
No, I don't drive a Hummer, nor do I eat ostrich eggs (yuck!) but to picture me as such lends a
foundation to these words. Stacia Shaina Star understands that concept in spades, and it pays off
here. Rarely do works of poetry amount to more than a quick lick of frosting, but The Poetess
Within provides a recipe that other aspiring poets would do well to imitate (it is the greatest form
of
flattery, after all). By blending a liberal dose of talent with a pinch of acumen, Star has cooked up
a
tasty morsel -- one that proves to nogoodniks everywhere that you can have your cake and eat it,
too!
A Woman's Touch: The Fingerprints You Leave Behind
Amy Nappa
Howard Publishing Co., Inc.
3117 N Seventh St., West Monroe, LA 71291
http://www.howardpublishing.com/pcsite/main/index.asp
ISBN: 1582291594 $15.99 198 pages 318-396-3122
Dian Moore, Reviewer
www.handsforhope.com
Amy Nappa writes with warmth and humor and draws women into her book while leaving her
own
enduring imprint on the reader's life. Nappa employs delightful, tongue-in-cheek scenarios to
illustrate some of the main points, such as The Chocolate Touch and Naomi's Diary.
Nappa explores the many ways a woman's actions can leave marks on the lives of loved ones,
friends, and strangers. She challenges women to recognize the permanent record of their own
prints
left behind through actions, words and touching. Are your prints leaving a bruise or are they
lifting
people to God's higher touch? Does your touch cause pain in someone's life or does it promote
healing?
The book consists of ten chapters, each divided into short sections illustrating the different types
of
touches a woman may experience either through her own actions or the actions of others:
Your Fingerprints Are All Over the Place! - The Mark of a Woman's Touch
He Touched Me - God's Touch on Your Life
The Touch Treatment - Helping the Hurting
As Good as New - The Touch of Restoration
A Gentle Touch - The Soft Caress of God's Love
Home, Sweet Home - Touching Your Family
Won't You Be My Neighbor? - Touching Your Community
The Hands of God - Touching in and through Your Church
Touch and Go - Random Touches Both Near and Far
I'm Touched - Touching Your Own Heart
This book encourages women to discover their spiritual gifts and offers advice on how to find out
what those gifts really are. Spiritual gifts, when used wisely, can oftentimes guide women to leave
their very best fingerprints behind.
Included in A Woman's Touch are lists of activities which may inspire women of all ages to begin
leaving lasting, encouraging fingerprints that leave hope in lives, such as: Mentoring,
gift-wrapping,
house-cleaning, even changing the oil for single mothers.
Throughout the book, readers are introduced to real-life women who have left, or who are
leaving,
permanent fingerprints of kindness in the lives of others. Nappa uses short vignettes of the lives of
these women to illustrate her points.
Each chapter begins with a memorable quote and ends with a short prayer which is accompanied
by
an applicable bible verse to remember.
Nappa concludes with a section that reminds women to finally touch their own hearts.
This book is recommended for several uses: Women's Group Leaders, Young Women's Groups, a
study guide for women and as a basis for a series of sermons directed at women. However,
pastors
should not hesitate to use "A Woman's Touch" when teaching men. Many of the principles
involved
can be applied to either sex.
A Woman's Touch is easily readable and appealing to women aged 16 and older, and would make
a
wonderful 16th birthday gift for all young women.
Blueberries for the Queen
John and Katherine Paterson
Illustrated by Susan Jeffers
Harper Collins Publishers
ISBN: 0066239427 $17.99 30 pages
Elizabeth McKlemurry
Reviewer
John and Katherine Paterson delight their audience with a true-to-life story dating back to John
Paterson's childhood. As Paterson's main character, William, struggles to find his place among
family
and friends in helping with War World II efforts, he learns that even he can make a difference,
despite his age. William is excited to learn that his new neighbor is Queen Wilhelmina of the
Netherlands; she is visiting America for the summer and he wants to meet her. Follow this knight's
tale as he and his valiant steed deliver a basket of "peace work" to her majesty!
Blueberries for the Queen is a thrilling tale for young children, ages 4 to 8 years old, who dream
of
conquering evil and saving the world! This knightly tale is a wonderful lead-in for both parents
and
teachers to World War II and the perils involved.
John and Katherine Paterson wrote this book in remembrance of John's childhood. Katherine
Paterson has received numerous Newberry Medals, the National Book Award, and the Hans
Christian Andersen Medal.
Illustrator Susan Jeffers has won several recognitions, including the Caldecott Honor. The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and other recognized
museums have displayed her works.
The Occult
Colin Wilson
Simon & Schuster Australia
Lower Ground Floor, 14-16 Suakin Street (PO Box 33)
Pymble NSW 2073 AUSTRALIA
Watkins Publishing Ltd. (US)
ISBN: 184293080X $16.95 795 pp.
Rose Glavas, Reviewer
www.astrologyrealm.com
I thought it would be helpful, before trying to get a better understanding of this book, to gain a
clear
understanding of the title. At www.dictionary.com, occult is described as:
1. Of, relating to, or dealing with supernatural influences, agencies, or phenomena.
2. Beyond the realm of human comprehension; inscrutable.
3. Available only to the initiate; secret: occult lore.
4. Hidden from view; concealed.
From this description I get a better understanding of what this book will be about... topics that are
beyond the realm of our current comprehension.
The author, Colin Wilson is one of the most prolific, versatile and popular writers at work today.
He
was born in Leicester on June 26 in 1931 (at 4:30 a.m.), and left school at sixteen. After he had
spent years working in various industries his first book The Outsider was published in 1956. It
became an immediate bestseller.
Since then he has written many books on philosophy, the occult, crime and sexual deviance, plus a
host of successful novels which have won him an international reputation. His work has been
translated into many different languages.
For those interested in astrology, Wilson's birth chart shows his Ascendant at 29 Degrees of
Gemini
and an Aquarian Midheaven at 22 Degrees. His Sun is at 3 Degrees of the caring and intuitive
Cancer conjunct his Ascendant. The author's Scorpio Moon in the 5th House gives a depth to his
ability to understanding occult matters at a deep level... and gaining enjoyment through doing
this.
At first I found it difficult to 'get into' The Occult.
Having said this though, working through the first part of the title was very worthwhile - I am
glad I
invested my mental energy and time reading this book. I usually take a couple of weeks to ready a
book but this one needed months to read, understand and digest - every moment was worthwhile.
Some of the topics covered include:
Magic, poetry, witchcraft, telepathy, precognition, second sight, water divining, development of
self-consciousness in man, unconscious exercise of the 'evil eye', mysticism, Egyptian Book of the
Dead, I Ching, Jung, Taoism & Zen, Seances, black magic, travelling clairvoyance, Kabbalah,
racial
memory, symbols, tarot, evolution, tantric yoga, Order of Oriental Templars, shamans,
poltergeist,
sorcery, Atlantis, Egyptian religion and magic, the Essenes, Orphism, worship of Dionysus,
numerology, Gnosticism, the Manichees, Sephiroth, paganism, Christianity, astrology and
hypnotism.
Some of the historical figures that were covered include:
Peter Hurkos, Jim Corbett, Bertrand Russell, Fiona Whittaker, John Cowper Powys, Louis
Singer,
A.L. Rowse, Irene Muza, Yeats, Ramon Medina, T.S. Elliot, Keilner, Aleister Crowley, Ivar
Lissner, Levi-Strauss, Hoerbiger, Denis Saurat, Plato, Edgar Cayce, Hitler, Colonel Olcott,
Gilbert
Murray, Herodotus, Pythagoras, Apollonius of Tyana, Simon Magus, St Augustine, St Paul,
Emperor Constantine, Julian the Apostate, Joseph of Copertino, Thomas Mann, and Johann
Jetzer.
While I was digesting the ideas in this book I came across a couple of statements that caught my
attention. These are:
The difference between a magician and a sorcerer is that the magician is disinterested, ...the
sorcerer
wants personal power. p. 199
on Swedenborg 'He rejects the notion that God is neither vindictive nor petty-minded, and that
since
he is God, he doesn't need atonement.' p. 364
Most people are excessively personal - they brood too much on their ills and their worries and
resentments. When this happens, the vision becomes narrow. I have elsewhere suggested a
convenient term for this narrowness: mono-consciousness. p. 740 - 741
... there is something wrong with human beings... all human beings are suffering permanently from
a
kind of spiritual head cold, and they are not aware of it.
We have a deeply ingrained habit of passivity which is more dangerous than cigarette smoking or
drugs. ...Because it produces an inner condition of boredom and stagnation that makes us long for
crisis, for excitement, and which explains, for example, the steady rise in the crime rate... p.
749
This chemical serotonin seems to have a great deal to so with evolution of species. The primates,
men and apes, have more serotonin than any other species, far more. p. 752 - 755
So far... all that we really know is that minute quantities of serotonin affect mental states, alter
perceptions, and that new dimensions of conventional reality accompany changes in the level of
serotonin in the brain, ...serotonin is crucial to rational thought. p. 752 - 755
But consciousness is not the master; it is the servant. It lacks the power and drive of the
instinctive
life forces. p. 759 - 761
And so the basic paradox of human nature seems to be inherent in the force of life itself: without
challenge or crisis, it takes things easy, and collapses into mediocrity. p. 759 - 761
With the development of art, science, philosophy, man has acquired the possibility of a positive
purpose, a purpose towards which he can drive forward, instead of being driven from behind. p.
759
- 761
The comment about serotonin is of particular interest considering that depression is such a
widespread disease (in the Western World). Particularly since it is connected to people not having
enough serotonin available in their bodies to keep them 'up' - based on my understanding of this
problem.
The Occult is a title that will appeal to anyone who is interested in the mysteries of life - any type
of
unexplained phenomena such as ghosts, UFOs, psychics, magic, consciousness, psychological
theories, and anything else that brings better understanding to our lives.
I would recommend this title to anyone who has even the most remote spark of curiosity about
the
world around them.
I got more out of The Occult than I even imagined I would, on many different levels.
Deep in the Darkness
Michael Laimo
Leisure Books
New York
http://dorchesterpub.com
ISBN 0843953144 $6.99 369 pages
Jeremy M. Hoover, Reviewer
http://hooverreviews.blogspot.com
For me, horror writing falls into two types - one type features strong, bone-chilling suspense that
could have its foundation in reality (if we imagine hard enough); the other type features the same
spine-tingling suspense, but the premise is so far-fetched that I have difficulty taking the story
seriously. Examples of the first, for me, are King and Straub, ghost and vampire horror (and its
ilk),
and dark suspense. Even Lovecraft, much criticized for his ambitious prose and poor dialogue,
imagines a world where things not too far from us come too near.
Of the latter type, sadly, is Michael Laimo's effort, Deep in the Darkness. Dr. Michael Cayle
moves
his family to a quiet New England town (Ashborough) to get out of the hectic pace of the city.
The
town's previous doctor was mauled by "dogs," and Dr. Cayle moves in to take over as the new
town
physician. On his first day of work (no less!) he visits his neighbour and is set up by him to check
in
on his wife, who also appears to have been mauled by "dogs" (yet survived), even though she is
described as having cancer.
Things digress from there. Cayle's neighbour, Phillip Deighton, takes him on a trip into the woods,
leading him back to a mysterious area of stones surrounded by a circle of oaks. The center stone
appears to be an altar, and Deighton spins a tale of ancient evil that is living in the woods. From
this
point on, the story revolves around that evil's contact with Cayle as it requires his aid to keep its
program going. Should Cayle decide not to help, he has an abundance of evidence from other
townspeople about what happens when you defy this evil.
Of course, the tension escalates and the plot twists with the involvement of someone very close to
the Cayle family. As Cayle ponders the origin of the ancient evil in the woods the connections he
makes are too easily come by; they seem forced. And when the end comes, it is resolved too
cleanly,
with a disappearance that, although foretold in the prologue, doesn't make much sense in the logic
of
the story, other than to leave us with a tortured hero at the end, considering the unthinkable.
The suspense is top notch and the writing very good (though verbose at times). But the story falls
short with the explanation of what is actually in the woods, what happens after that, and the
too-neat
tie-up of loose ends. That stated, if you are in the mood for a good read that will keep you turning
the pages and perhaps (in places) keep you up at night, this one is affordably priced enough that it
will not bother you if you are as unsatisfied with the implausible premise as I was.
Deadly Choices
Shelly L. Foster
Royal Peacock Publications
P.O. Box 931, Dayton, NJ 08810-0931
ISBN 0976493004, $26.45 hc $17.50 pbk, 363 pp.
Kathleen Jackson
Reviewer
This book is definitely a best seller and I can't wait to read the sequel!!
Cynthia Evans, a woman on the edge of making partner in a major architect firm in Chicago, is
married to Jordan, a man who abused her mentally and physically for years. Finally, fed up with
the
abuse, Cynthia decided to leave Jordan. She took her 15-year old daughter, Chris, by Jordan,
packed
up and left in the middle of the night.
Jordan, who eventually found out where they moved, came back into their lives with the same
broken promises of never hit Cynthia again. The night that Jordan mysteriously died, once again,
he
beat Cynthia, blackening her eye. After his death, Cynthia and Chris, instead of being filled with
overwhelming grief, was relieved that he was dead.
Cynthia, who'd been the perfect wife and mother, decided it was time for her to spread her wings,
but that came with deadly choices. Her addiction to sex caused her to sleep with women and men
she'd just met. Her daughter had many issues with her mother's newfound freedom and way of
life.
After three people Cynthia had been involved or had sex with, turned up dead, she began to feel
like
her their life was in danger.
In the meantime, Chris was starting to act out; wearing her mother's wig to pretend she was
Cynthia,
going out clubbing. That was fun to Chris until she was raped, which she never told her mother
about.
Cynthia, needing sometime away from her life in Chicago, decided to go to New York. In New
York, she met and fell in love with a suave man named Thomas. He seemed to be her knight in
shining armor, the person who would solve all of the problems she had to face in Chicago. That is,
until the truth behind who he really was came to light.
This is a story of many twists and turns that will keep you up all night reading, because you can't
wait to get to the end of the book. This is Shelly Foster's first novel, and I guarantee it will not be
her last. This is a must read novel, one which you won't be able to put down!!!!
MovieMind for Screenwriters, Write It Right and Get It Written
William Ronald Craig
On the Flats Publishing
510-273-9917
ISBN: 0972080228 $24.95 316 pages,
Johnny Nine Lives, a Screenplay (companion book)
ISBN: 0972080279 $19.95 192 pages
Mayra Calvani
Reviewer
Fellowship recipient and professor of screenwriting William Ronald Craig takes the mysticism out
of
writing a screenplay with this practical, step-by-step, easy-to-follow method.
The author states his objective right at the beginning: "This book is designed to assist you in
writing
a commercial 'speculation' screenplay in four months." Mr. Craig developed this method while
teaching one-semester courses at San Jose State University for over a decade. His assumption is
that
if students with a full load of classes and papers to write succeeded in completing a screenplay in
four months, so can you.
What does the aspiring screenwriter need? "A good story with interesting characters, basic
language
skills, and a commitment to do the work." In other words, what all writers of all kinds of genre
need.
In fact, this is a book not only aspiring screenwriters can profit from. Novelists and short story
authors can derive useful information from this work.
The chapters are broken down into many short sections under different topics, and this technique,
together with his straightforward, simple, pragmatic language and style, make the book easy and
pleasurable to follow. Subjects discussed include: the writer's mind, getting ready, story elements,
character elements, dramatic tension, sequencing your story, format layout, style, dialogue, fist
drafts, the rewrite, marketing preparation and strategies, The Writers Guild of America, rights,
and
making money in Hollywood. Within these general chapter subjects you'll find a long list of
specific
topics which cover all aspects of screenwriting. For instance, under Story Elements you'll find:
Suspension of Disbelief, Story and Plot, The Three-Act Structure, Original Stories, Genre
Storytelling, Derivative Storytelling, High-Concept Storytelling, Didactic and Nonlinear
Storytelling,
Subplots, The Present Tense, The Collective "We," Limited Personal, Limited Omnipotent and
Unlimited Omnipotent.
The author supports most explanations with a target example, making concepts easy to
understand.
In addition to what to do, he also offers advice on what not to do and how to avoid common
pitfalls
which are the sign of the amateur. Most interesting is all the "behind-the-scenes" information
given
about how things really work in Hollywood and its misconceptions - what really drives producers
and directors, who ends up reading the screenplay you have submitted, how to approach an agent,
etc. Especially helpful are the author's explanation of the legal issues and the surprising
importance
that The Writers Guild of America has upon a screenwriter's life and career.
Included at the end of the book are a resource section as well as samples of query letters, releases
and legal agreements.
As a companion to MovieMind comes "Johnny Nine Lives," an adult screenplay which
demonstrates
some of the points discussed in the book. Definitely not for the faint of heart, this screenplay is a
thriller about a grandfather and a father who kidnap a man from death row believing the man is a
serial killer who has brutally murdered their granddaughter/daughter. In an abandoned warehouse
they built a "homemade" electric chair to do what the government hasn't been able to do in nine
years - bring justice. But what if the man is innocent?
The screenplay follows the current simple format followed by Hollywood professionals. Though
not
an excellent screenplay on its own, as I thought the ending was somewhat predictable, the
characters
and dialogue at times stereotypical, it does serve to clearly illustrate how a screenplay should be
written.
These two books complement each other to make a set that should be in every aspiring
screenwriter's reference bookshelf. An entertaining and valuable read.
Help! Was That a Career Limiting Move?
Pamela J Holland & Marjorie Brody
Career Skills Press
815 Greenwood Ave STE 8, Jenintown PA 19046
www.BrodyCommunications.com
ISBN: 1931148139 $14.95
Molly Martin, Reviewer
http://www.angelfire.com/ok4/mollymartin
Entertaining Read .. Recommended 5 stars
Help! Was That a Career Limiting Move? is not a story book. The work is divided into ten
general
areas consisting of one to three page chapters covering a melange of topics. Interpersonal
Communication has twenty two proposals for how to accomplish more successful communication
skills. 'Come Again,' 'But on the other hand,' and 'Don't let the door hit you on the way out' are
eye
catching titles and descriptive quick reads. Know your Business offers titles such as, 'Will they
like
me,' 'Don't get trampled in the most pit,' and 'The "write" stuff.' 'Don't straddle the fence,' presents
a
worthy argument for comprehending the fine line between diplomacy and perhaps presenting
oneself
as vacant of self-reliant, sagacious thought. There are times when we each need to voice our own
notions. Oh, Behave! Is a section of thirteen snippets meant to shepherd the reader into judicious
conduct in a variance of settings. 'Don't put your elbows on the table!,' 'What's in a name? Plenty!,'
and 'Make the most of meetings' are titles designed to draw the reader to a particular info bite. 'A
touchy subject' offers a three page debate of office romance and possible drawbacks to entering
into
the situation. Professional Presence offers the reader advantageous wisdom covering a medley of
topics. 'Read my lips . And other rules of good body language,' 'That stinks,' and 'It's not easy to
love a slob' will assist reader understanding for how to get along in a crowded office filled with
co-workers. 'What school you went?' presents a humorous view on a serious subject. Poor
grammar
and the way language is used and/or abused can make the difference between success and
remaining
at the bottom of the corporate rung. Grow Up! Consists of sixteen snippets guiding the reader to
an
understanding for why certain business practices are in place and what outcome the reader can
expect when they are followed or ignored. 'Make it before you spend it,' ' You want me to do
what?!,' and 'My bad' are all absorbing, enlightening short works easily read when you have a
moment to spare. 'The dreaded pink slip,' presents an assortment of ways the employee may be
told
they no longer have a job with the company. Included in the short discussion are proposals for
dealing with the loss of job, and what to improve/change when beginning to look for another
position. It's all about Character may be the most important part of the work. '100%
responsibility,'
'Diversity is not a spectator sport,' and 'Make excellence a personal core value,' will steers the
reader
into career building understanding. 'You gotta deal with it,' presents the notion that three
inevitables
we face in life are: death, taxes and change. The writers offer that it is how we deal with change
that
determines much of our success in personal and business life. Learning the Hard Way is a
collection
of CLMs Career Limiting Moves, the writers have found in their travels. 'Be careful with
bathroom banter,' 'Proper preparation shows you care,' 'Habla "Oops?" are filled with useful
information. CLMs of the rich and famous round out the work.
Help! Was That a Career Limiting Move? is an excellent tool for the beginning, just graduated
business enthusiast as well as the 'old work horse' who is trying hard to hang onto their job in this
ever changing time of downsizing and corporate lay offs. Each of the short one to three page
snippets are filled with good advice, what works and what will kill your career type
information.
Writing is good, easily read and meant to be perused whenever the reader has a moment to delve
into a particular topic or quick read. The format leads readers toward what they need right now,
and
is not meant to be something for the reader to begin one page one and slough forward to the last
page without stopping.
I received a paper copy for review. Excellent tool for every employee or those who hope to
become
an employee in future. Help! Was That a Career Limiting Move? deserves a place on the office
library shelf, and in the Senior year homeschool and classroom setting.
Enjoyed the read, happy to recommend. I do not keep all books I receive for review; Help! Was
That a Career Limiting Move? is a book I am placing on my own office library shelf.
Tilli's Story: My Thoughts Are Free
Lorna Collier and Tilli Schulze
iUniverse.com
2021 Pine Lake Road, Suite 100, Lincoln, Nebraska
ISBN: 0595322700 $21.95 284 pp.
Sherry Morse
Reviewer
This book is the true story of Tilli, a little German girl who lives through World War II and the
Russian invasion of her village after the war ends. It is very well-written -- like a novel, with good
descriptions and interesting characters. The book showed what some German people had to go
through under Hitler and then what happened after Germany lost the war and the Russians took
over
their country. It's a perspective I have never seen before and it taught me that not all Germans
supported the Nazis. It also showed what terrible things happened to Germans after the war
ended.
For example, when the Russians invaded Tilli's village, she had to hide with many other girls in a
tiny
hidden space under the eaves of her house, with no light and not even room to stand up. The girls
had to do this for months on end, because they were all afraid of being raped by Russian soldiers,
who had been told they could do whatever they wanted to do to the Germans living in the town.
The
way the girls had to hide reminded me of the "Diary of Anne Frank."
There are many sad moments in the book, such as when Tilli is raped when she is only 11 years
old
by three Russian soldiers. I also cried when Tilli said good-bye to her mother and left home when
she was only 16 to escape to West Germany, all by herself. But the book also has exciting and
happy
moments, such as when Tilli finally gets to America when she is 18, and meets her husband-to-be
on
the ship coming over.
I heard about this book from a friend of mine who is a teacher. She is thinking about using this
book
with her sixth-grade students next year, when they talk about World War II. I think this is a great
book for teenagers as well as adults of any age. It shows how much we take our freedoms and
quality of life in America for granted. The book made me proud to be an American. It is one of
the
best books I have read in my life!
Revolt of the Masses
Jose Ortega y Gasset
W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
New York, N.Y.
ISBN 0393310957 $9.95 179 pages
Dr. Pedro Blas Gonzalez
Reviewer
Jose Ortega y Gasset published what is considered to be his seminal work, The Revolt of the
Masses, in 1930. However the book's title does not mean prima facie what some people have
come
to think. Instead, 'revolt' does not signal herds of people 'revolting' against some genuine or
alleged
evil, even though examples of this can be found in recent times. Neither does it depict individual
rebels without a prescriptive cause. What the phrase does suggest - as Ortega clearly states - is a
historical turning on its head of all valuation. The reason? Surprisingly, his answer in many
respects
is no more complicated than: existential boredom, a "liberating" nihilism, or the negation of
responsibility for our own destiny.
Revolt of the Masses is such an insightful book because the analysis that Ortega offers is a
universal
prescription of the coming of a full-blown positivistic age. While Ortega does not argue for such
an
age as the definitive "development" of man, like Comte, for instance, he does offer a substantive
explanation of its causes and overall direction. The Revolt of the Masses, then, is a narrowing
refinement of the themes that its author began to formulate in the second part of Espana
Invertebrada, a book that he published the previous year. Ortega begins his analysis of mass man
with an appropriately titled chapter: "The Coming of the Masses." While Ortega recognizes the
coming of the masses to power as an historical fact, however, nowhere does he suggest this to be
merely a historical phenomenon. From the outset Ortega refuses to make his analysis a
political-sociological diatribe. The words: rebellion, masses, and social power, he tells us, are not
to
be construed as being "exclusively or primarily political."
First-time readers of this now classic text will encounter a first rate philosopher, a creative
visionary
who struggled to cite the undeniable correlation that exists between the differentiated essences
that
serve as inspiration and motivation for human actions, and the spirit of any given age.
Immediately,
the reader of Ortega's lucid prose witnesses the clear, rational and wisdom loving effects of a vita
contemplativa, marking a radical difference between the thinker as one whose aim and motivation
is
the discovery of reality, and today's conception of "theory" as that which merely defaces and
exploits
it.
The initial problem of the masses, Ortega goes on to say, is one of simple agglomeration. "This
fact
is quite simple to enunciate, though not so to analyze. I shall call it the fact of agglomeration, of
'plenitude." The initial stage of the problem, then, is one of physical space. However more
important,
Ortega argues, is that the masses now possess the instruments that technology furnishes them with
without recourse to their origin. Lost to the mass mind, he explains, is the general sense of
wonder
that has always served as the vital inspiration of the noble man.
In all respects, Ortega is quick to point out; mass man signifies a diametrical opposition to the
virtues of the life of reflection. However, a clarification in this regard seems warranted: the life of
reflection is not necessarily equated with the life of the philosopher, per se. In fact, the main
notion
that Ortega explores in The Revolt of the Masses is that the masses by definition lack autonomy.
Self-reflection is one of the safeguards of human autonomy. That the masses should pass this
virtue
off as too demanding does not take Ortega by surprise. What does seem new to the mass mind is
that today the masses should become of one mind, where before this phenomenon existed in
isolation. What has occurred, Ortega argues, is that what used to be a metaphysical reality has
now
been institutionalized. The mass mind now understands itself to be the recipient of rights and
privileges. He writes: "Not only in any direction, but precisely in the best places, the relatively
refined creation of human collective habits, including our fashions both of dress and of
amusement."
He also forewarns how post-modern epistemology displaces all notions of a metaphysics of
essence
with an "all-is- political" approach to human reality.
The crucial point in The Revolt of the Masses is Ortega's contention that "society is always a
dynamic unity of two component factors: minorities and masses."
The "average man" is the commonplace slipshod mind that signifies a degenerative qualitative
moral
outlook on life. Early on, Ortega's book becomes confusing for today's reader who is accustomed
to
viewing all reality through the vague generalizations wrought by lazy social-political analysis. The
Revolt of the Masses cannot be read with the cognitive idleness of a wayfarer. When Ortega
speaks
of mass man as lacking the ability to become "differentiated from other men" he does not squabble
this opportunity in yet a further attempt to "legitimize" human existence on vacuous political
theory.
This is precisely the problem, as he sees it, with what today we call post-modernity. Instead, the
generic type called mass man now finds an impetus to carry out its plan in full given the protection
and solace that he receives in quantitative terms. The existential make-up of mass man is that of a
qualitative phenomenon because it naturally gravitates towards the greatest common denominator
where it can effectively release and fuse its tension with others. Yet what matters to the mass
mind is
not the like-minded others in the group, but rather the notion and perception of the group as
refuge.
However, the great importance of this particular clarification is that Ortega designates the actual
day-to-day life of mass man as a quantitative phenomenon - the great number. Contrary to this,
the
coming-together of the minorities - noble man - takes place out of sheer coincidence.
Philosophically, what Ortega attempts is a re-construction of the meaning of the self, especially
with
others. The key element in this analysis will be the introduction of Ortega's notion of conviction,
where the latter stands alone and is willing to interpret reality at every instance. The significance
of
this statement lies in that "the select man is not the petulant person who thinks himself superior to
the rest, but the man who demands more of himself than the rest, even though he may not fulfill in
his person those higher exigencies." "The decisive matter," he continues "is whether we attach our
life to one or the other vehicle, to a maximum or a minimum of demands upon ourselves." The
Revolt of the Masses could have easily been titled "The Metaphysics of Strife and Resistance"
given
that Ortega's analysis throughout this timeless book remains on the fringes of an exploration of
universal essences. Fine examples of this can be seen in his dissection of the division of society
into
masses and select minorities. While he refuses to accept this division as a mere social-political
construct, he advances the argument of the inherent differences amongst men and the constituent
types that they naturally represent. A necessary condition of this ratiocination is to notice the
interaction that ensues between mass man and select minorities and the places and institutions that
either type engenders or that welcome them. What is significant in this respect is that while both
types are naturally predisposed to create or dismiss corresponding life-conditions, he aptly
describes
the major characteristic of a time of decadence as "the pre-dominance, even in groups traditionally
selected, of the mass and vulgar." Ortega explains this as the erosion of institutions and modes of
existence that were garnered by select minorities and that now have been taken over by mass
man.
Ortega's metaphysical study in The Revolt of the Masses is essentially one that, like Wilhelm
Dilthey's geistewissenschaften looks at the underlying spirit that informs human reality. The
exhilaration, the freshness and sincerity of reading a thinker's depiction of reality that does not
take
its cue from ideology, this alone is enough to warrant a careful reading of this marvelous text and
then a second. And like other reasoned and measured classics of western culture, The Revolt of
the
Masses has now attained the status to warrant it a book for the ages.
The Blind Assassin
Margaret Atwood
McClelland and Stewart Ltd
Toronto
0385720955 $14.95 544 pp.
Pogo
Reviewer
Awaiting the return of an absent grand-daughter, Iris Chase Griffen reviews the events of her long
life as she compiles the final pages of her personal memoirs to be left in the old steamer trunk that
once held her trousseau alongside her sister's old homework notebooks: Mathematics,
Geography,
French, History and Latin. Not that they really learned much from their tutors, Miss Violence and
Mr. Erskine, but that her confessions belong with the cribbing of Dido's immolation: the heroine
engulfed in flames, as Laura catapulted to death off the St. Clair Avenue bridge in Toronto on
May
18, 1945, ten days after the war had ended.
Written in retrospect, Blind Assassin borrows many of the devices that made Cat's Eye an
enigmatic
haunting novel, capturing the elusive Booker Prize. Blind Assassin opens in 1998 with the
bestowal
of the Laura Chase Memorial Award in Creative Writing of two hundred dollars for the
graduating
student of Colonel Henry Parkman High School of Port Ticonderoga with the best short story
judged by the Alumni Association members. The endowment is made from the estate of the late
Winifred Griffen Prior and presented by Iris Chase Griffen, the surviving but aged sister-in-law, in
honor of her sister, the noted authoress. The Chase family was well-established before the First
World War with thriving commercial interests in the button industry that serviced many enlisted
men
in their fight for liberty.
The narrative of Iris Chase opens in 1998, but returns to the decade spanning the Second World
War, taking up where Dos Passos left off, but across the border, recalling the strikes and labor
unrest following the the Great Depression and the paranoia of the Red Scare. Atwood effectively
employs the techniques of Dos Passos in utilizing sections subdivided into brief sections creating a
panoramic view of the characters in their social conflicts. Snaking through the book are news
briefs
and gossip columns, bringing the characters into the camera's eye, allowing us to glimpse the busy
socialite life of the leading characters through the pages of Mayfair magazine and Toronto Star,
just
as they themselves would want to be seen, appearing at annual balls and ladies' luncheons,
preening
the feathers in their caps and trailing their dresses across manicured lawns as peacocks on parade.
The more intimate aspects of their hidden lives are taken up in the personal memoirs of Iris Chase
as
she recalls past conversations and subdued hints of her husband's manipulations. Fantasy,
however,
is best left within the pages of the pulpy cheap science fiction magazines with the war of the
Zycronites and the Xenonians in the siege of Sakiel Norn.
Burning with irony, Atwood enjoys a joke, employing her protagonist as an author hidden behind
a
pseudonym. She asks what every writer does:
"For whom am I writing this? For myself? I think not. I have no picture of myself reading it over
at a
later time, later time having become problematical. For some stranger, in the future after I'm
dead? I
have no such ambition, or no such hope..." (p43)
Obviously she knew upon entering the task of publishing yet another novel that it would be read
while she was still alive and most likely read several times more after she is dead, analyzed and
dissected by literary crib sheets and study guides. Playing with her paper protege, she describes
techniques bandied about the writers' newsgroups: giving characters letters in the development of
a
plot and assigning names later, moving the figures about as chessmen on the board while the
opponent placed on defensive tries to second guess the next move. No doubt, two hundred dollars
for a writing prize is scanty money to be called an endowment for a winning short story coming
from
Margaret Atwood. The war of Sakiel-Norn Wars is first told as a love story, but is edited
differently
when it is published later.
"The only way you can write the truth is to assume that what you set down will never be read..."
(p283)
More than invaluable advice, Iris charts the progress of the book as she gives insights to author's
frustrations with publication and the belated satisfaction of success, which can be interpreted in
more
than one way.
"When the book came out, there was at first silence. It was quite a small book, after all, and
hardly
best-seller material; and although well received in critical circles in New York and London, it
didn't
make much of a splash up here, not initially. Then the moralists grabbed hold of it, and the
pulpit-thumpers and local biddies got into the act, and the uproar began. Once the corpse flies had
made the connection--Laura was Richard Griffen's dead sister-in-law-they were all over the story
like a rash. Richard had, by that time, his store of political enemies. Innuendo began to flow." (p
510)
Like W Somerset Maugham in reverse, Atwood has a little story to tell, but ever so well, of
corporate intrigue, power takeovers, blackmail and scandals related to the violations of the fifteen
forbidden sexual relationships. Playing with three against two, using similar devices as found in
Cat's
Eye, she sets her characters in fierce contention, exposing betrayal and treachery through devious
means of a pulp writer's pen. The motif of a triptych reappears, this time in the form of a tinted
photograph of two young ladies and a man at a community picnic, duplicated and cut in two. The
bridge reappears, but with reverse connotations. Elaine crossed her bridge both physically and
metaphorically to arrive safely on the other side. When she descends into the ravine, she also
ascends, crossing through the abyss in a coma to revive reborn a new person in defiance of
Cordelia
and her friends whereas Laura drives through the blockade on St Clair to plunge in a fiery death.
True, she does survive the catastrophic accident, but only as a ghost of conscience that drives
Richard Griffen to his grave.
Convincing in its sharp black and white detailed stills of newspaper accounts, time is anchored
through the sporadic clips as Iris recalls bits of family history, piecing together the mysterious
circumstances of her sister's sudden disappearance and equally sudden reappearance nearly eight
years later. Laura was seventeen when she was interned at Bella Vista. Eight years silence is
unexplained. The war is over. Alex Thomas is dead. His death announced by impersonal war
telegram for the next-of-kin. Through the figures recorded in the Mathematics notebook, Iris
deciphers the manipulative nature of her husband and his sister Winifred, but too late.
Calculating, manipulative, scheming are all adjectives which describe the author of Blind Assassin.
Take your pick. If you live with two tigers in a cage, there's a possibility of becoming a tiger
yourself
or being swallowed up as a mouse.
When criticizing Atwood, be sure to write better than the author. Intriguing, the novel leads you
through a maze of emotions and complications without revealing the identity of the Blind Assassin
or the true nature of Richard's death, but presents an interesting question regarding the revocation
of
public domain rights if the author is found recently dead.
The Selected Journals of L. M. Montgomery 1935-1942, Volume 5
Mary Rubio and Elizabeth Waterston
University of Oxford Press
70 Wynford Drive, Don Mills, Ontario, M3C 1J9, Canada
ISBN 0195421167 $35.00 410 pp.
David Rehak
Reviewer
I love reading diaries. Especially by interesting young women. The private diaries of Anais Nin
and
Marie Bashkirtseff are among my favorites. I became hooked on the life of L. M. Montgomery
after
seeing a documentary on her life. I was deeply intrigued by it and so I picked up the first volume
of
her selected journals. I had already been a fan of her fiction--novels like her classic Anne of Green
Gables and my personal favorite, The Blue Castle. So, I expected that I might, just might, enjoy
reading her diary as well. Boy was I surprised--pleasantly surprised. What I had expected would
be a
mildly interesting, quaint little life-story of a literary woman stuck in a dull rural farming
community
from the turn of the previous century, in fact turned out to be a highly captivating and richly
amusing
read, full of one exceptional young woman's deepest and most personal thoughts, the things that
brought happiness to her life, and the things that brought her sadness and grief. Here in detail she
recounts her friendships, her romances, her successes as an author, her pleasures in the beauties of
nature, etc etc etc and the reader is never bored. I was confronted by an intensely personal and
comprehensive record of her day-to-day events and most private feelings on things. Hopelessly
hooked, I then continued on to the second volume of this unfolding real-life saga where she
marries
and has children. I was always compelled to read on. L. M. Montgomery has a clear and
compelling
writing style that keeps the narrative entertaining and easy to read, much like in her novels.
However, when I heard that the fifth and final volume of Montgomery's journals was recently
published, I couldn't resist the temptation to momentarily skip past volumes 3 & 4 and to read this
last volume next, just to see how the story of her life ends.
Volume 5, which begins in spring of 1935 and ends exactly a month and a day before her death, is
a
document of endless depression, frustration, worries, illness, and heartache culminating in utter
despair. The last journal entries are just heart-breaking, to put it mildly. However, all this gloom
makes this work none-the-less gripping as a reading experience. It's an intriguing lesson in human
nature through the eyes of an exceptionally talented person who nevertheless has good qualities
but
also flaws like the rest of us. There are moments of contentment in this woman's life, but they
always
seem to be overshadowed by the bad, whether it's various different problems and scandals
involving
her sons, or her and her husband's failing health, or another world war. One feels that L. M.
should
have been one of the most fulfilled and enviable women in Canada, with the honor, fame and
prestige that was cast upon her name during her lifetime, in addition to all her financial success as
an
author and the fact that she gave so much pleasure to so many people through her books. It is the
irony of ironies that no thanks to external problems in her personal life and the resulting
psychological anxiety-stricken and depressive problems of the mind, the happiness that she craved
and so deserved, eluded her. She once wrote: "There are many happinesses, and one never knows
them all at once because that would be perfect happiness. And that is something the gods do not
allow us mortals." Lucy Maud Montgomery died in 1942, proving that she too is mortal... but the
fact that her books live on many, many years after her death, treasured by each new generation of
readers of all ages and genders, testifies to the fact that she is one of the immortals. While her life
belongs to her time and is representative of her age, her work belongs to the age of classic
literature.
Little did she realize (or maybe she did realize?) that her Journal would contribute in equal
measure,
with the best of her novels, to this literary immortality.
Eddie Would Go
Stuart Holmes Coleman
St. Martin's Griffin
175 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10010
ISBN 0312327188, $14.95, 288 pages
Tyler Tradere
Reviewer
Few who live outside of Hawaii or California know the saying, "Eddie would go." It has appeared
on bumper stickers by the hundreds, and has become a battle cry for surfers, as well as a motto
for
many Hawaiians. The saying represents a life of taking risks and a brotherhood of surfers that
span
many nationalities. It represents letting go in angry ocean where he who hestiates really may be
lost
at sea.
Before the bumper sticker, the surf contest, and the motto, there was the man Eddie Aikau,
"Hawaiian Hero and Pioneer of Big Wave Surfing." Eddie Would Go is a biography of the
fascinating life and tragic death of Eddie Aikau. Eddie was a professional surfer. He was one of
the
first to ride Waimea Bay whom many considered at the time to be unrideable. When Waimea goes
off the richter scale it can house a thirty to fifty foot wall of water that has killed many. In Eddie's
spare time he was a lifeguard at the Bay. He saved hundreds of lives mostly military men who
didn't
know the seriousness of Hawaii's big waves and riptides. But Eddie's love was big waves, he
embodied the free and noble sport. He was a master in the water, and was said to move through
huge waves like no other on the planet. He was a hero to many and has become a surf icon. He is
remembered and honored every year (If the surf is big enough) by the Quiksilver Eddie Aikau Big
Wave Invitational at Waimea Bay.
In 1978 Eddie was invited along the Hokule'a a Hawaiian voyaging canoe that was supposed to
retrace the steps of the ancient Polynesians. Near Lana'i the canoe capsized and was stranded on a
shallow reef. Being the true altruist and excellent swimmer that he was Eddie offered to paddle on
his surfboard for help. The waves were extemely big. He was never seen again. His spirit lives on
in
surfers and the words, "Hey why you neva go. Eddie would go." On March 17th, 1978, Eddie
went.
Bethany's Bookshelf
50 Ways To Improve Women's Lives
National Council of Women's Organizations
Inner Ocean Publishing
PO Box 1239, Makawao, Maui, HI 96768
1930722451 $12.95 1-800-916-3308 www.innerocean.com
50 Ways To Improve Women's Lives: The Essential Women's Guide To Achieving Equality,
Health,
And Success by the National Council of Women's Organizations (a nonpartisan coalition of 200
women's groups representing more than 10 million woman across the United States) addresses a
diversity of subjects of particular interest to women including pay equity, reproductive health,
child
care, racism, education, social responsibilities, political leadership, and more. Very highly
recommended and accessible reading, 50 Ways To Improve Women's Lives provides practical
advice that will enable the reader to become actively involved in advancing the quality and
independence of her life, and to more effectively pursue her personal and professional
agendas.
The Meaning of Food
Patricia Harris, et al.
The Globe Pequot Press
PO Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437
0762738375 $22.95 1-800-243-0495 www.globepequot.com
The companion to the PBS Television series hosted by Marcus Samuelsson, The Meaning of
Food is
the collaborative effort of Patricia Harris, David Lyon, and Sue McLaughlin and is not only a
recipe
book, but dwells upon what truly makes a meal, why some food is considered sacred or
inseparably
tied to emotions, connections between food, culture, and family, and much more. Full color
photographs illustrate this narrative global history of the role cuisine has played in cultural
evolution
and expression since ancient times. A bibliography and index round out this involving chronicle
recommended for anyone interested in a matter-of-fact overview of why we are what we eat and
so
much more.
Agnes: I Have Tampered With The Divine Plan
Tony Cochran
Andrews & McMeel
4520 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64111
0740750003 $10.95 1-800-851-8923
Agnes: I Have Tampered With The Divine Plan is cutting-edge humor in the form of an Agnes
comic strip collection. Agnes is a young girl with a name far older than she is; she is given to deep
thoughts and lengthy ramblings, when she is not gluing Froot Loops on hats, or practicing a dance
number in a vain attempt to impress a teacher asking her to multiply 14 x 13. As a strip, Agnes is
a
much-needed antidote to overly warm and fuzzy scenarios flooding the newspapers, as its young
heroine does not enjoy the security of many of her comic strip peers - she lives in a trailer with her
elderly grandmother, who tries to stretch diminutive family funds and enrich quality of life through
culinary creations a la spam. Agnes' personal poverty, not to mention her biting insight into the
world around her, limits her friends circle of friends to one person: the tomboyish Trout, named
after
one of her father's favorite hobbies (she was only a few numbers away from being named
"Powerball"). Together, this duo of unlikely girlfriends produce a dynamic reminiscent of Calvin
and
Hobbes, particularly when one contrasts Agnes' contemplative albeit self-absorbed musings to
Trout's more practical and simple realism-based approach to life. Yet Agnes is a unique formula
all
its own, one in which the quest for self-identity, rather than rampant misbehavior, is the central
tenet
of the main character's personal struggles. And it's sidesplitting, milk-snorting,
feel-sorry-for-the-goldfish-drowned-in-tomato-sauce-but-can't-help- laughing-about-it funny.
Highly
recommended.
Hoofbeats, Hair Balls, and Three-Dog Nights
Lowell Streiker, author; Ron Rush, cartoons
Alpine Publications, Inc.
225 South Madison Avenue, Loveland, CO 80537
1577790669 $7.95 1-800-777-7257 www.alpinepub.com
Written by experienced humorist and speaker Lowell Streiker, and illustrated throughout with
whimsical black-and-white cartoons by Ron Rush, Hoofbeats, Hair Balls, and Three-Dog Nights
is a
collection of short, touching, sometimes funny, sometimes sad vignettes of beloved pets and the
unconditional love they provide to their owners. Short (often just one-page) stories cats, dogs and
horses and more will resonate with pet lovers and provide smiles and chuckles aplenty, while the
heart-touching pieces about losing a pet offer comfort in trying times. A delightful read and a
highly
recommended giftbook for pet lovers everywhere.
The Debt Diet
Ellie Kay
Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55438
0764200011 $12.99 1-800-328-6109 www.bethanyhouse.com
Personal finance author, conference speaker, and national radio commentator for "Money
Matters"
Ellie Kay presents The Debt Diet, a straightforward guide for ordinary people striving to reduce
their spending, balance their personal budget and get out of debt. Self-test quizzes allow for quick
and easy personal evaluation of one's money smarts, as well as reinforcement of lessons learned.
Chapters cover the importance of one's attitude toward money, factors to keep in mind in order to
increase savings, how to raise financially fit and self-sufficient kids, reducing the expense of
college
money crunches, and much more. Packed with tips, tricks, techniques, and figures, The Debt Diet
is
an enthusiastically-recommended antidote to the "spend spend spend" consumer mentality all too
saturated in today's credit-hungry culture and advertising.
Susan Bethany
Reviewer
Betsy's Bookshelf
Milking The Painted Cow
Tarthang Tulku
Dharma Publishing
2910 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94702
0898003687 $16.95 1-800-873-4276 www.dharmapublishing.com
Soundly grounded in Buddhist tradition and cognoscente of the Western world view, Milking The
Painted Cow: The Creative Power Of Mind And The Shape Of Reality In Light Of The Buddhist
Tradition by the visionary Tibetan lama Tarthang Tulku draws upon years of dynamic interaction
with western students to detail the traps and pitfalls faced by Westerners as they approach
Buddhist
teachings and offers sound guidance for building a healthy foundation for a satisfying and
productive
spiritual life according to Buddhist tenets. A welcome addition to the growing library of Buddhist
literature for western readers, Milking The Painted Cow is strongly recommended reading which
is
as informed and informative as it is inspired and inspiring.
Leonardo's Chair
John DeSimone
RiverOak
c/o Cook Communications Ministries
4050 Lee Vance View, Colorado Springs, CO 80918
1589190319 $12.99 1-800-323-7543 www.cookministries.com
Vincent LaBont is a world-class artist who attributes his creative ability to a very special char that
he
claims was created and empowered by none other than Leonardo Da Vinci. When his home
catches
fire, Vincent is severely burned trying to rescue the chair. It's only later that he discovers that the
chair was stolen before the fire was set. Distraught, Vincent send his son Paul (a painter like
himself)
to Italy where the chair is suspected to have been taken. Is the chair truly a metaphysical source of
artistic power? If so, should it be used to recreate one of Leonard's paintings. What is the chair
true
power and purpose? Leonardo's Chair is a riveting novel from first page to last and will led the
reader on a roller coaster ride leading ultimately to an appreciation of what truly inspires an
enduring
artistic greatness.
The Snowbird Poems
Robert Kroetsch
University of Alberta Press
Ring House 2, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2E1
0888644264 $24.95 www.uap.ualberta.ca
The Snowbird Poems is an impressive anthology of the poetry of Canadian literary icon Robert
Kroetsch. There is the matter of the crabapple tree./There it stands, wintering, you might say,/in
the
small front yard/between the veranda and the sidewalk.//Snow, you may have noticed, has seated
itself/in the two wicker chairs on the veranda./As for the sidewalk,/we'll get to that in a
moment.//The crabapple tree appears to be posing/for a woodcut, possible by Hiroshige,/his
Japanese trees precise, angular, yet graceful/in their delicate tracings of snow.//But this is a
January
morning/on 18th Avenue SW, Calgary./I have just now shoveled the sidewalk/for the fifth time in
the past three days.
Divide These
Saskia Hamilton
Graywolf Press
2402 University Avenue, Suite 203, Saint Paul, MN 55114
1555974228 $14.00 1-651-641-0077 www.graywolfpress.org
Saskia Hamilton is an established and published poet who teaches at Barnard College and resides
in
New York. Her poetry as anthologized in Divide These is hallmarked with an spare but
determined
energy that results in the deft fashioning of word images that are intellectually provocative and
emotionally riveting. Entrance: No one in the house but the two, the one/on the way to death, the
other/on the way to earth. Above, the white sky, not ready/to rain, below, lush, the mid-summer
garden,/the thrush, or the young of the thrush,/or the seventeenth generation thrush.//Below, a
door
opens. No one moves about/but you, in the white chair, typing.
Mirei Shigemori
Christian Tschumi
Stone Bridge Press
PO Box 8208, Berkeley, CA 94707
1880656949 $18.95 1-800-947-7271 www.stonebridge.com
Mirei Shigemori (1896-1975) was the imaginative creator of very special gardens and a scholar
who
was trained in painting, flower arranging, and the tea ceremony. Shigemori is still admired for his
contemporary designs, the result of his life's objective to restore the evolution of the Japanese
garden. In Mirei Shigemori: Modernizing The Japanese Garden, practicing landscape architect
Christian Tschumi explores ten major Shigemori projects ranging from the checker-board garden
of
Tofukuji (1939) and the "Hidden Christian" dry landscape at Zuiho-in (1961), to the masterful
stone
settings at Matsuo Taisha (1975), all while utilizing a design/cultural analysis, garden plans, and a
profusion of illustrative photographs taken by visual artist and photographer Markuz Wernli
Saito.
Mirei Shigemori: Modernizing The Japanese Garden is a welcome and respected contribution that
will be of immense interest to professional gardeners, landscapists, horticultural experts, and
non-specialist general readers with an interest in Japanese gardening and culture.
Betsy L. Hogan
Reviewer
Betty's Bookshelf
Crown Me!
Kathryn Lay
Holiday House, Inc.
425 Madison Ave., New York, NY, 10017
www.holidayhouse.com
0823418456 $16.95 202 p.
Texas author Kathryn Lay has written for many magazines (see www.kathrynlay.com for more
details), but Crown Me! is her first novel. It's hard to believe it's only her first one, though; she
doesn't put a foot wrong. From the opening chapter's title - "Equal Rights for Boys, Too: Future
Politician's Rule #1 - Never get caught." - to the satisfying ending, Lay creates a thoroughly
believable story that is fun to read out loud or to yourself.
Lay's hero, Justin Davies, needs experience in leadership, since he wants to be the president of the
United States someday. In order to get such experience, he decides to run for president of the
fifth-grade student council. As he says, "We were the Payton Penguins, and I planned to be the
head
penguin." He figures that leadership will be a cinch.
However, running for student council isn't the least of Justin's troubles. Mr. Bailey, Justin's
teacher,
has changed the rules on the weekly essay contest, and instead of simply winning another hat for
his
growing collection, Justin's essay on "If I Were King or Queen of Payton Intermediate School I
Would" wins him the position of king of the fifth grade - for two whole weeks! Unfortunately,
arch-enemy Andrea Carey has also won and will rule with him as queen, but he can put up with
that.
Just think - everyone in the class has to do whatever he says. And they have to bow or curtsy
whenever he passes. Cool!
But things aren't that simple. Mr. Bailey will be the final judge of their rules and commands, so
they
can't command anything illegal or dangerous. If a subject disagrees with a command, the rulers
must
explain their reasoning to the whole class. And although either one can throw someone in the
dungeon (an area of the classroom set aside for disobedient subjects) for any reason , they both
have
to agree in order to set someone free.
Worst of all, at the end of the two weeks, all the students will have to turn in thorough two-page
reports about how it felt to be a ruler, a knight, a lady-in-waiting, a peasant, or whatever they
ended
up being. Will absolute power over their classmates make Justin and Andrea bossier or will it
make
them more compassionate? Will Andrea and Justin learn to work together for the good of the
class?
And will anyone be speaking to either of them when the two weeks are up?
Dining on a Dime Cookbook
Tawra Kellam and Jill Cooper
T & L Group
3802 Antelope Trail, Temple, TX, 76504
www.LivingOnADime.com
0974255211 $19.95 478 p.
This book was first called Not Just Beans: 50 Years of Frugal Family Favorites, in response to the
vast number of people who think budget dining has to be "just beans." It's in its third printing
now,
spiral-bound in a nice hard glossy cover that can be wiped off, and has been renamed to make its
purpose even more clear.
By the way, before I go on to tell you about the contents, you should know that the fifty years in
the
original title refer to Kellam's mom, who raised two kids on a limited income as a single mom, and
did it without making her kids think life was grim or uncomfortable, too! However, Kellam herself
has been using her mom's methods (along with some original ideas) for over twenty years to help
her
family of five eat and live not only well, but within their means.
The book starts out with "Basics of Frugal Cooking" and a familiar saying: Use it up, wear it out,
make it do, or do without. This section covers a lot in a few pages: ideas for frugal eating and
shopping, meal planning, menu ideas (including ones for quick dinners and picky eaters), using
herbs
frugally, making your own baby food, freezing food, snack and lunch ideas, and time-saving tips
for
making the most of your time in the kitchen.
The rest of the book is divided into sections such as Beverages, Breads, Meats and Main Dishes,
and
(a really nice one for frugal gift-giving) Mixes, Gift Baskets & Jars. One of my favorite chapters is
Kids, where Kellam gives recipes for such fun things as Tub Crayons, Sidewalk Chalk, and
Easy-Bake Oven (TM) mixes. Where was this book when my kids were little? I can't wait to use
her
ideas with my grandchildren someday!
The book also contains more than just recipes; interspersed throughout are cooking tips,
substitution
charts, instructions on how to set a table, cleaning hints, inspiring quotes, and other interesting
stuff.
It even has a chapter called "Pretty for Pennies" that contains recipes for such treats as Almond
Lotion, Chocolate Lip Balm, and Bath Bombs.
If you're moving into your first apartment, getting married on a shoestring, or trying to live within
your means, invest in this cookbook. It also makes a great gift. Actually, no matter what your
circumstances are, you may want to buy and use Dining on a Dime. After all, you can always
think
of something else fun to do with the money it saves you!
One of my favorite recipes:
Sidewalk Chalk
2 qts. plaster of Paris
water
food colors
Mix plaster of Paris with 1 quart water. Mix in desired color. Pour into paper towel or toilet
paper
tubes (about 3 inches high). Let dry thoroughly (This may take several days). Remove from tubes
and let the kids draw away.
Clutter's Last Stand: It's Time to Dejunk Your Life, 2nd ed.
Don Aslett
Adams Media
57 Littlefield St., Avon, MA, 02322
www.adamsmedia.com
1593373295 $9.95 262 p.
When Don Aslett was a college student, he had a typically messy dorm room, until he decided
that
the junk crowding him out had to go. He found cleaning and dejunking his space so exhilarating
that
he started a cleaning company, Varsity Contractors, which paid his way through school and
eventually became one of the largest cleaning firms in the country. When, upon graduation, he
asked
himself what he wanted to do with the rest of his life, he decided to stick with what he knew best
-
cleaning. He's never regretted it.
In fact, Aslett is often billed as "America's #1 Cleaning Expert", a title he is very proud of. He
owns
and operates several businesses related to cleaning, has a busy schedule of speaking engagements,
and is very involved with his family and community. Despite all that, he has turned out a stream of
books (thirty to date, with twenty more in the works) which have sold over three million copies in
the US alone. And his books have been translated into nine languages so far, thus proving that dirt
and clutter seem to be universal problems.
In his latest book, Clutter's Last Stand (an update of one that he wrote in 1984), he helps readers
tackle one of the toughest jobs there is: dejunking your house. In chapters like 101 Feeble
Excuses
for Hanging Onto Clutter, Committing Junkicide, and Getting Off the Excess Express, Aslett lays
out the problem of clutter, dissects and explains it, and then shows you step by step how to take
your house (your office, your car...) from disaster to delightful. He even makes it seem almost
fun!
Here's what he says about Clutter's Last Stand, in a personal note at the book's beginning: "[It is]
the
ultimate self-improvement book. [It] will make you happier, freer, neater, richer, and smarter.
With a
little help from you, it will solve more home, family, marriage, career, and economic problems
than
any book you've ever read. Dejunking your life will cost nothing and will pay 100 percent returns.
You'll immediately lose 100 pounds without dieting."
OK, he is a salesman and you may be thinking, right about now, "Sure. Easy for him to say. But
nothing can help me. Besides, he's just trying to sell his book." Well, I challenge you to read it and
see what you think then. I'll bet that you end up joining thousands of other readers who are
saying,
"Thank you from the bottom of our hearts (and drawers and rubbish bins) for setting us free." Get
a
copy today. You have nothing to lose but your junk.
Betty Winslow
Reviewer
Bob's Bookshelf
Asian American X: An Intersection of Twenty-First Century Asian American Voices
Arar Han and John Y. Hsu, Editors
The University of Michigan Press
839 Greene Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104-3209
0472068741 $19.95 284 pages
An unusual and poignant collection of essays edited and written by young Asian Americans, the
coming-of-age stories in this volume capture the joys, conflicts and struggles of trying to
comfortably exist in two cultures.
The diversity within the category of Asian American is apparent as one reads these short four to
nine
page narratives. Titles such as "Language and Identity", "A Place Where I Want To Be", "Seoul
Searching", and "Another American Mutt" suggests the range of experiences the authors write
about
and share with the reader.
The editors explain that their intent is to offer an array of well-articulated identity essays which
will
"contribute to the ongoing evolution of American culture by promoting discussion about who
Asian
Americans of our generation are and how we ought to understand ourselves within our current
American context".
Han and Hsu have done an admirable job achieving what they set out to accomplish. Candid,
erudite, and, at times, emotionally gripping, these selections will surely engage the reader.
The heightened awareness of conflicted cultural identity and the dialogue addressing this problem
is
long overdue. Books of this nature will hopefully open the door to further discussion of this
dilemma
facing many young people.
Screenplay by Disney: Tips and Techniques To Bring To Your Moviemaking
Jason Surrell
Disney Editions
114 Fifth Ave, New York, New York 10011
0786854405 $15. 95 175 pages
Don't expect to find any Disney trade secrets but this is still a book that anyone interested in the
process of creating a screenplay from scratch will want to read.
The story artists and screenwriters behind the company's legendary movies share some of their
expertise that will help the reader create a professional, finished product.
Opening with a section titled "Inspiration", Surrell discusses how ideas evolve: the use of tales,
myths, and legends as source material, and the time honored dramatic technique of telling an old
story in a new way.
"Perspiration" delves into the act of writing. A few of the areas covered include constructing a
three-act structure, developing characters, understanding the role of subplots, and creating
devices
that will deepen the plot and provide twists and turns.
The all important task of rewriting is the subject of "Culmination". The author also offers tips on
staying motivated and how to survive the highs and lows that accompany the creative
process.
Not overly technical in nature, "Screenplay by Disney" is an excellent introduction to what
screenwriting is all about. Read this and then decide if this is an endeavor you wish to commit
time
and effort to.
The Movie Business: The Definitive Guide to the Legal and Financial Secrets of Getting Your
Movie Made
Kelly Charles Crabb
Simon & Schuster
0743264924 $28.00 503 pages
This guide to the legal and financial ins and outs of getting a film from the idea stage to the big
screen is written in terms the novice can understand.
As he explains the practical side of filmmaking, Crabb looks at such thorny subjects as copyright
and
intellectual property law, obtaining financial backing, and selecting and hiring the key players. He
also discusses overseeing the filming process, distribution of the finished product, and
understanding
merchandise licensing.
Taking the approach that all of these things can be dealt with as the need arises can be a costly
mistake, Crabb explains. Ignoring legal matters or waiting until the last minute to make
arrangements can complicate matters and cause more angst than necessary.
A valuable resource, "The Movie Business" is a must read for anyone thinking about a career in
the
production side of the movie business. Yes, the material is technical in nature but the author, an
entertainment law attorney, makes it as palatable as possible.
And Tango Makes Three
Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
Illustrated by Henry Cole
Simon & Schuster
0689878451 $14.95
There are all kinds of animal families in the zoo but Tango's family is quite different than all the
others. Every year when the boy penguins start noticing the girl penguins, it's time to start a
family.
Roy and Silo, two boy penguins and the best of friends, avoided the girl penguins but come
nesting
time, they suddenly realize they have nothing to keep warm in their nest.
Mr. Gramzay realizes Roy and Silo have a problem and knows just how to handle the situation.
He
transfers an egg that needed a good home to their nest. Eventually Tango, a little girl, hatches.
Tango is the first penguin in the zoo to have two daddies.
A true story, visitors to the Central Park Zoo in New York City can view Tango and her two
daddies in the penguin enclosure.
With Love, Little Red Hen
Alma Flor Ada
Illustrated by Leslie Tryon
Aladdin/Simon & Schuster
0689870612 $6.99
Utilizing an epistolary format, Tryon's animal characters send a series of letters to one another
that
develop this tale of misadventure. Little Red Hen and her seven chicks have just moved into a
new
neighborhood. As she writes to her cousin, Hetty Henny, sharing her impressions of the new
surroundings, some of the hen's neighbors are also spreading the news of the new arrival.
Fer O'Cious, a cat, alerts his buddy Wolfy Lupus that a chicken dinner has presented itself. The
toothsome twosome's culinary plans are obviously foiled in this tale that also features cameo
appearances (letters) from Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks, Peter Rabbit's clan and Turkey
Lurkey.
Alma Flor Ada's unusual approach to developing a children's story coupled with her fertile
imagination puts an interesting spin on some very familiar characters. The appropriate level for
this
picture book would be children five years of age and up.
My Therapist's Dog: Lessons in Unconditional Love
Diana Wells
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
P.O. Box 2225,Chapel Hill, NC 27515-2225
1565123719 $16.95 183 pages
This is a far reaching book about all types of relationships: parent-child, patient-therapist,
owner-dog, and friend-friend. After her son's suicide Diana Wells sought out a therapist for help
to
get over the tragedy. Her therapist's dog Luggs created a bond between the two women that
transcended their professional relationship.
Wells offers a beguiling patchwork book about dogs and people.
Her candid narrative explores the nature of healing, the positive effect canines have on humans,
and
the nature of love. The author's personal story and how her friendship with Beth, her therapist,
eventually resulted in another heartbreaking situation could stand alone as a personal memoir
about
coping with loss. But what really sets this book apart is the clever way Wells works in interesting
tidbits about dogs. Quotes from famous people about dogs coupled with snippets of information,
such as the derivation of the word "Salukis" will make many readers want to "dog ear" various
pages for future reference.
I have to honestly admit I didn't plan to really read this book. Out of curiosity I scanned one of
the
short chapters in the middle of the book, read another and then was compelled to read more.
Perhaps even more curious, I read to the end of the narrative and then went back and tackled the
opening chapters. Had I started in the usual manner with the first page, I doubt I would have
gotten
very far into "My Therapist's Dog" before setting it aside.
Bob Walch
Reviewer
Buhle's Bookshelf
The Linux Enterprise Cluster
Karl Kopper
No Starch Press
555 De Haro Street, #250, San Francisco, CA 94107
1593270364 $49.95 www.nostarch.com
The Linux Enterprise Cluster is a straightforward guide to building a network of multiple
computers
that pool their resources to act as one powerful computer. An accompanying CD-ROM provides
all
the software needed to build a Linux Enterprise Cluster on top of one's current Linux distribution,
including the Linux kernel, rsync, the Systemlmager package, the Heartbeat package, the Linux
Virtual Server package, the Mon monitoring package, and the Ganglia package. Chapters cover
everything from handling packets and compiling the kernel to synchronizing servers, applying
theory
and practice, balancing loads, simple maintenance and management protocol, and more. Though
intended for Linux users who are already familiar with the software's basics, The Linux Enterprise
Cluster walks one through projects and pitfalls step-by-step with the expected thoroughness of a
No
Starch Press manual. A "must-have" for anyone interested in harnessing the power of a cluster
using
a much less expensive Linux base rather than purchasing a large, monolithic server.
At Home in Maine
Christopher Glass, author; Brian Vanden Brink, photographer
Down East Books
PO Box 679, Camden, ME 04843
0892726393 $40.00 1-800-685-7962 www.downeastbooks.com
At Home in Maine: Houses Designed to Fit the Land is a showcase of Maine architecture
especially
designed to be aesthetically pleasing and fully integrated into the environment. Stunning full-color
photographs reveal dwellings inside and out with a richness of texture and a smoothly harmonous
design. The text by an architect with decades of experience offers insight into the subtle nuances
of
each house, noting its distinguishing features with a practiced eye in an easygoing, conversational
manner that will appeal to lay readers and experts alike. A truly eye-pleasing book to page
through,
and a valuable resource for architectural design ideas.
The New Bullwhip Book
Andrew Conway
Loompanics Unlimited
PO Box 1197, Port Townsend, WA 98368
1559502444 $12.95 www.loompanics.com
The New Bullwhip Book is a straightforward self-teaching and informational guide to the care
and
handling of the bullwhip. From choosing the right whip for one's purpose, to whip cracking
basics,
volleys, cutting targets, wraps, tricks and stunts, whips as weapons, notes on history and more,
The
New Bullwhip Book outlines whip use in plain and simple terms for the lay reader, with
computer-rendered diagrams illustrating the movements. The New Bullwhip Book offers a
realistic
view of the whip as a self-defense tool - it has its limitations, and be warned, the loud cracking
sound of a whip can be mistaken for a gunshot and is hazardous to one's health around nervous
police and other firearm owners! . A "must-read" for anyone looking to learn more about whips
and
whip use, especially the specific motions involved in handling a whip, from would-be performers
to
martial arts students to writers and artists striving to make the whip come to life in their
work.
The United States and the World Economy
C. Fred Bergsten
Institute for International Economics
1750 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20036-1903
0881323802 $26.95 www.iie.com
The director of the Institute for International Economics presents The United States and the
World
Economy: Foreign Economic Policy for the Next Decade, a scholarly and extensively researched
but
nonetheless emphatic treatise concerning what America needs to do both at home and abroad to
adapt and profit from the ongoing transformations of an increasingly global economy. From
stressing the urgency to reduce the budget deficit - a problem that has America dependent on
foreign
investments that are at risk of being pulled - to the need to persuade China and other Asian
countries
to stop blocking currency realignment, to the need to sell off oil reserves as needed and implement
a
substantial gasoline tax to force a reduction of US energy demand, and much more, The United
Stats and the World Economy does not shy from presenting difficult yet possible solutions to
highly
complex problems. An absolute "must-read" for economists; regardless of whether one agrees or
disagrees with the recommendations proffered, the current and impending troubles of adapting to
globalization are unquestionably real and can be ignored only at America's peril.
Willis M. Buhle
Reviewer
Burroughs' Bookshelf
100 Most Popular Genre Fiction Authors
Bernard A. Drew
Libraries Unlimited
88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
1591581265 $65.00 www.lu.com www.greenwood.com
100 Most Popular Genre Fiction Authors: Biographical Sketches and Bibliographies is a
straightforward reference for librarians, researchers, and teen readers. Authors featured include
beloved figures such as Robert Jordan, Tom Clancy, J. R. R. Tolkien, Louis L'Amour and many
more. Each profile offers a black-and-white photograph (if obtainable) of the famous author, a
brief
biographical sketch often with quotes and snippets from interviews, a list of works, and a list of
articles and websites for further information. An easy-to-use quick-reference guide, ideal for
surveying the creators of some of the most widely beloved authors as well as the nature of their
creations.
The Genocidal Mind
Dennis B. Klein, Richard Libowitz, Marcia Sachs Littell, and Sharon B. Steeley
Paragon House
2285 University Avenue West, St. Paul, MN 55114
1557788537 $19.95 www.paragonhouse.com
Drawn from the 32nd annual Scholar's Conference on the Holocaust and the Churches, The
Genocidal Mind is an anthology of writings by learned authors that analyzes mass-murder in the
20th
century and strives to explain how elements of a genocidal mentality can be detected in behavior,
law, religion, philosophy, literature, and psychology. Essays discuss the virulent hatred spewed by
modern individuals such as Ernst Zundel; Christian Hope as a factor in how some Protestants
followed Hitler; an "early warning system" that comes as a lesson of the Holocaust; and more.
The
genocide examined in The Genocidal Mind is particularly focused upon the Holocaust, yet the
valuable insight gained is directly applicable to a wide variety of genocidal and potentially
genocidal
individuals and situations. Especially recommended for Holocaust studies and mass psychology
shelves.
John Burroughs
Reviewer
Carroll's Bookshelf
The Bride Wore Chocolate
Shirley Jump
Zebra Books
0821776916 $5.99
Of course you know this contemporary romance by Fort Wayne author Shirley Jump will end
happily. But just how Candace Woodrow goes from her commitment to marry Barry Borkenstein,
to
the arms and bed of Michael Vogler is the question, and the entertainment of the book.
Candace's head tells her to stay away from Michael Volger, but Michael is a client of her business,
"Gift Baskets to Die For." And he is determined to be involved with all aspects - including
Candace
- of what is going on.
Candace is surrounded by well-meaning friends and co-owners of the gift basket business, as well
as
her flighty, oft-married mother, and her kookie grandmother, each one ready to offer advise to
Candace.
Each chapter of the book begins with a recipe such as "Grandma's Soul-Mate-Worthy Chocolate
biscuits," or "Maria's The-Devil-Made-Me-Do-It Parfait," or "Candace's My-Life-Sucks-Rocky
Road Chocolate Fudge."
You'll find 26 recipes plus one for a happy ending. Each recipe (with chocolate, of course) offers
good advice: "Make a list of all the things you want to change about your life while the fudge
cools
to 120 degrees. Add the vanilla, beat the daylights out of the mixture. Then add nuts and
marshmallows - add extra, depending on how bad your day as been."
Jump's humor keeps the story moving as Candace struggles to stay true to Barry - well, that's not
quite right, since Candace barely struggles at all, but at least she tries to struggle.
The Cat Who'll Live Forever
Peter Gethers
Broadway Books
0767909038 $12.95
This is the third book by Peter Gethers about his cat Norton. The first two books, The Cat Who
Went to Paris, and A Cat Abroad, told of the adventures of Gethers and his Scottish Fold cat, a
breed of cat with distinctive ears that fold down. Gethers, a writer and editor, traveled extensively
with Norton as his companion.
I'd read one of the previous books about Norton. I love cats and cat stories, and enjoyed the way
Gethers filled the story with humor and tales of the places they visited and the people they met, all
-
or mostly all - who loved Norton.
The title of this book, The Cat Who'll Live Forever, told me I probably didn't want to read this
one.
Norton was aging. There was only one possible ending. I figured I knew what it was, but I read
anyway.
The story begins when Norton is ten years old, and continues on through more of his life and
travels
with Gethers, and the celebrities he met and charmed - or didn't quite charm. Anthony Hopkins,
Lauren Bacall, Roman Polanski, Harrison Ford are a few of the names dropped.
The humor found in the previous book I read is still there, and the obvious love that Gethers had
for
his little cat is even more apparent. At one point, Gethers learns his cat is suffering kidney failure.
When the doctor tells Gethers there is a new kidney transplant operation for cats, Gethers says,
"I'd
definitely be willing to do that," meaning, of course, that he was willing to donate his kidney.
When it becomes apparent that Norton's life is nearing its end, Gethers forms a plan. "My idea
was a
simple one: Norton and I had spent much of our lives together traveling. We'd been all over
Europe.
We'd flown around most of America. We'd spent a huge portion of our existence together in
hotels
and motels and fantasy houses in medieval villages, in cars and planes and buses and boats. We'd
dined out together in exotic places, sharing meals and unique experiences. We'd gone to major
sporting events and nightclubs and offices and sales conferences and we'd met interesting, weird,
brilliant, sometimes crazy people."
Gethers plan was one final trip with his cat, and he shares that trip in the final heartwarming and
heartbreaking chapters of the book.
Jean Carroll
Reviewer
Carson's Bookshelf
Rattlesnake Bomber Base
Thomas E. Alexander
State House Press
McMurray Station, Box 637, Abilene, TX 79697-0637
1880510901 $18.95 1-800-421-3378
Rattlesnake Bomber Base: Peyote Army Airfield In World War II by Thomas E. Alexander (a
commissioner with the Texas Historical Commission) is the story of a major military bomber
airfield
that was established in a remote corner of West Texas in 1942. The base was nicknamed after the
western diamondback rattlesnake because of their massive presence during the construction of the
Peyote Army Airfield. Eventual the airfield expanded to include nearly three thousand acres of
Texas. Rattlesnake Bomber Base is the story of this World War II microcosm that is fairly
representative of what was happening to suddenly established and burgeoning military bases all
over
the country as a result of the pressures, needs, and demands of America's participation on the
battlefields of the world. A very strongly recommended addition to World War II Military History
library collections and supplemental studies lists, readers will encounter colorful characters and
gain
informed insights into how such feats as the establishment and maintenance of an American-based
bomber facility and training ground was achieved.
The Templars And The Grail
Karen Ralls
Quest Books
The Theosophical Publishing House
PO Box 270, Wheaton, IL 60189-0270
0835608077 $22.95 1-800-669-9425 www.questbooks.net
The Knights Templar was a monastic order of Christian warriors that grew out of the medieval
campaigns to free Jerusalem and Palestine from the domination of the Muslims in several waves of
invasion known collectively as the Crusades. These warrior monks were believed to conduct
mystical rites, guard the famed Holy Grail, and possess the lost treasures of Jerusalem. The
order's
wealth and political activities evolved to provide banking services to kings, act as trusted
diplomats,
engage in far flung business enterprise, and even work as navigators. The order was ultimately
doomed to succumb to political intrigue and the malevolent greed of kings. In The Templars And
The Grail: Knights Of The Quest, Oxford-based medieval historian Karen Ralls presents the
dramatic story of the Knights Templar, presenting the many beliefs and theories about their
presumed powers and arcane knowledge. Drawing upon both popular and academic sources, this
impressive, exceptionally well written, and thoroughly accessible history is especially
recommended
to
students of Metaphysical Studies and Medieval History.
Movies And The Meaning Of Life
Kimberly A. Blessing & Paul J. Tudico, editors
Open Court Publishing Company
332 South Michigan Avenue, Suite 1100, Chicago, IL 60604
0812695755 $17.95 www.opencourtbooks.com
Collaboratively organized and edited by Kimberly A. Blessing (Assistant Professor of Philosophy,
Buffalo State College) and Paul J. Tudico (Philosophy Department, East Tennessee State
University), Movies And The Meaning Of Life: Philosophers Take On Hollywood is an impressive
collection of nineteen articles and essays on the impact popular films have had on the popular
culture
in terms of philosophical values. Organized into five sections, each contributor takes on a specific
film ranging from "The Truman Show", to "Fight Club", to "Shadowlands", to "American
Beauty",
to "Groundhog Day", and more. Enhanced with a section providing descriptive credentials of the
individual contributors and a thoroughly "user friendly" index, Movies And The Meaning Of Life
is a
welcome contribution to academic library "Philosophy" reference collections and highly
recommended, accessible reading for film buffs as well.
Five Days In October
Robgert H. Ferrell
University of Missouri Press
2910 LeMone Boulevard, Columbia, MO 65201
0826215947 $19.95 1-800-828-1894 www.umsystem.edu/upress
Five Days In October: The Lost Battalion Of World War I by Robert H. Ferrell (Professor
Emeritus
of History, Indiana University, Bloomington) is the incredible story of five hundred American
soldiers comprising elements of two companies from the 77th Division who were entrapped on
the
side of a ravine in the Argonne Forest by superior German forces from October 2 to 7, 1918. The
courage displayed against overwhelming odds as they fought under siege in the midst of rifle,
machine gun, mortar, and artillery fire both day and night, with nothing to eat after the morning of
the first day, and with water that was highly dangerous to obtain, is among the finest examples of
the
American troops under fire as is recorded in the annals of American military history. With Five
Days
In October, Professor Ferrell offers new material that was previously unavailable in earlier
treatments of this event and reveals what really happened during those horrific days in the
Argonne
Forest. Although "Lost" is not an accurate description because American high command knew
where the men were, during the five days the men were on their own Five Days In October will
elaborate striking details of the ordeal, and includes the findings of court-martial records and 77th
Division files that contain full accounts of the taut relations between the Lost Battalion's brigade
commander and the 77th Division commander providing the most complete account now
available.
Five Days In October is an impressive work of scholarship and a welcome contribution to the
growing library of World War I Military History.
Michael J. Carson
Reviewer
Cheri's Bookshelf
Justice in the Shadows
Radclyffe
Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
1029 Livezey Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19119
ISBN 1933110031 $18.99 302 pages
Justice in the Shadows, by award winning author Radclyffe, is the fourth action-packed mystery in
the Justice series following the engrossing prequels, A Matter of Trust, Shield of Justice, and In
Pursuit of Justice. To her credit and her fans delight, Radclyffe has successfully produced another
wonderful addition to her impressive writing resume. She is the author of twenty (and counting)
published novels. Her writing is posted on-line, included in anthologies, and is available in other
venues. Not surprisingly, Justice in the Shadows is a 2005 Golden Crown Literary Society award
finalist.
In the latest Justice book, two cops have been assassinated, a young girl is dead, and an innocent
woman lies in a coma, all the result of a child pornography ring. Philadelphia Police Department
(PPD) Detective Sergeant Rebecca Frye wants to find out who is behind the murders of her
partner
Jeff Cruz, Officer Jimmy Hogan, a young prostitute, and the attempted murder of J.T. Sloan that
is
until Clark Avery, the Justice Department Investigator, pulls the plug on the investigation.
Something reeks of an inside job and Rebecca Frye will not rest until justice is done; she does not
intend to add the unsolved case to the dead pile. Captain Henry gives the okay for Frye to head
her
own secret task force to see what she can uncover.
Rebecca puts together a team of unlikely candidates including her new partner, Detective William
Watts, internet sleuth J.T. Sloan, and Sloan's business associate Jason McBride. Other members
of
her team include rookie cop, Dellon Mitchell; young prostitute and certified informant, Sandy; and
Rebecca's lover, PPD psychiatrist Dr. Catherine Rawlings. With a great cast of characters, the
reader
can't help but root for each one. Sloan's lover, Michael Lassiter, lies in a coma after she becomes a
mistaken target meant for Sloan who will go to any lengths to avenge her attackers.
Radclyffe is a master at combining intense police drama and mystery along with an in-depth look
at
three loving and fulfilling lesbian relationships. She keeps the reader interested, excited, and
guessing; it's hard to put the book down. As always, Radclyffe's work has compelling narrative,
enough conflict and drama to sustain the story, unforgettable characters, natural sounding and
credible dialogue. In addition, her writing is a perfect example of how sex does not get in the way
of
the plot; the sex scenes move the plot along and add depth to her characters. The author shows us
the tough exterior of Rebecca when she is commanding her team, then contrasts that with her
tender
side when she makes love to her soul mate, Catherine. The same can be said about the budding
relationship between Mitchell and Sandy. Mitchell is a hotheaded young cop, while Sandy is a
street
wise, smart mouthed kid. The growth of these two characters is particularly captivating.
As in all good series, several major story lines are resolved, while a few loose threads remain to
keep
us on edge for the next book in this series. I'm looking forward to the continuing adventures when
Justice Served comes out June 2005. I recommend Radclyffe's Justice in the Shadows to anyone
who enjoys intense crime stories with lots of intrigue, and with hot sex thrown in for good
measure.
If you like this kind of drama, don't miss Justice in the Shadows...a five star novel.
Hunter's Pursuit
Kim Baldwin
Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
1029 Livezey Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19119
ISBN 1933110090 304 pages $15.95
Hunter's Pursuit by Kim Baldwin will keep you on the edge of your seat every step of the way.
Readers who enjoy action, adventure, intrigue, and a delightfully budding romance will find
Hunter's
Pursuit every bit as thrilling as Terminator. But instead of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Baldwin gives
us
Katarzyna Demetrious, alias Hunter - a mean, lean fighting machine! Hunter is a memorable and
appealing heroine even though she is a trained killer, hired gun, and bounty hunter. The tables are
turned however, when she learns there's a contract out on her. She's no longer the hunter. She is
now the hunted.
Hunter is holed up in her secluded bunker a few miles south of the Lake Superior shoreline.
Usually
a loner, she never allows intimacy to cloud her judgment. On one of her first outings from the safe
house, Hunter witnesses a car accident and is torn whether or not to get involved. She prefers not
to
risk being found as she's close to retirement and is looking forward to a normal, quiet
existence.
Against her better judgment, she opts to save the victim, and takes the young woman back to her
bunker. Although she suspects the mystery woman may be after the bounty on her head, Hunter
can't ignore her feelings for the beautiful "patient." Throughout the story, the longing and sexual
tension between Kat and Jake is palpable and positively entrancing. Suffering amnesia from the
accident, they decide to call the mystery woman, Jake. Uncharacteristically, Hunter tells Jake her
real nickname (that few people know), Kat.
Falling in love, intending to stay alive, and keeping her friend safe, has the usually restrained and
cautious Hunter distracted. She's fearful of revealing too much of her clandestine life. As Jake
tries
to learn more about Kat's past, she asks, "So, you're a paramedic chef who plays a mean cello
when
she's not saving damsels in distress?" [p. 54] While Hunter is thinking about her growing
affections
for her captive, she's concerned with surviving the hardships of a treacherous Michigan blizzard,
and, at the same time, fighting off would be assassins.
Clever surprises and suspenseful drama resonate on each page setting the wheels in motion for an
exciting ride. Action sequences fire rapidly in succession leaving the reader breathless. The total
effect will have you riveted to Kim Baldwin's book. Once you pick up Hunter's Pursuit, there is no
putting it down. Each character is fleshed-out in detail, the dialogue is snappy, and you can't help
but
root for Kat and Jake to make it out of the hiding place unscathed, alive, and in love. Hunter's
Pursuit by Kim Baldwin has been nominated for a Golden Crown Literary Society Award for
2005
and deservedly so. It is a truly fascinating, five star, entertaining read in one of the best
action/adventure/mystery novels I've read this year. Don't miss it! I have added Kim Baldwin to
my
list of favorite authors. I am looking forward to reading her new romance novel, Force of Nature,
and anything else penned by this talented novelist.
An Intimate Ghost
Ellen Hart
St. Martin's Press
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10010
ISBN 0312317476 $24.95 307 pages
Ellen Hart is the mistress of mystery. An Intimate Ghost is no exception to the wonders of the
remarkably talented, award-winning author known for her intricate plots, witty dialogue, flawless
characterizations, and engrossing stories. An Intimate Ghost, the continuation of the Jane Lawless
series, touted as the best one yet, has been deservedly nominated for a Lambda Literary Award
and
the Golden Crown Literary Society Award for 2005.
Jane Lawless has had formal training as a restaurateur, consummate chef, and caterer. In the
continuing saga about the amateur detective, wedding guests start acting weird after ingesting
gourmet food catered by her company. WHO poisoned the food, WHAT did they use, WHERE
was
it executed, WHEN did they do it, and WHY are the questions Jane wants to figure out. Never
mind that the police have started their investigation. Jane could be found culpable, and wants to
clear her company's name. Even if the wedding hadn't been for her friends, Nick and Lauren
Clifford,
and Nick hadn't ended up in critical condition from a drug-induced dive into an empty pool, Jane
still
would have had to solve the mystery. It's not surprising that she enlists the help of her trusty
sidekick, Cordelia Thorn, if for nothing other than comic relief. Jane and Cordelia are just
hysterical
together and they make a perfect crime solving team.
The fact that Cordelia, the creative director of a repertory theater, is a bit pre-occupied when her
sister, Octavia, literally drops her kid in her aunt's lap and takes off for stardom, doesn't stop the
dependable Cordelia from helping her best friend Jane. Cordelia is hardly the mother hen type and
her life is disrupted beyond compare by the addition of niece Hattie. Ellen Hart depicts the toddler
so convincingly that this reviewer almost got up on more than one occasion to prepare a "kid
friendly" snack, but was reminded that she was just a fictitious character.
Hart is not only a master mystery writer, but her storytelling is as delectable as restaurateur Jane
Lawless's culinary treats. An Intimate Ghost is appetizing, fulfilling, and deliciously funny with
Jane's
deadpan humor and Cordelia's catchy comebacks. Hart also writes with a contemporary flair that
goes a long way to add to the believability of the story. Even the cars Jane and Cordelia choose to
drive fit their personalities perfectly.
In An Intimate Ghost, nothing is ever as it seems even when things seem to be crystal clear.
Readers
will find the story riveting, and the conclusion of each chapter keeps the reader hungering for
more.
To me, this is mystery writing at its best and I am quick to recommend anything penned by this
outstanding and deserving award-winning author. Ellen Hart has written another funny,
fast-paced,
first rate, five plus star novel. Do not miss this gem. I highly suggest you purchase a copy
today!
Cheri Rosenberg
Reviewer
Christina's Bookshelf
Hearts Over Fences (An Equestrian Romance)
Toni Leland
Parallel Press
Equine Graphics Publishing Group
285 Taylor Street, Zanesville Ohio 43701
ISBN# 1887932682 $15.95 252 pp.
Sometimes a heart makes it over the fence, sometimes it doesn't, and sometimes a heart is
reluctant
to try because its safety might be lost.
This is a charming and clean love story set in the heart of horse country and the horse industry.
It's
centered around the characters first, and story second - something I like. Leland explores her
character's fears and ambitions. Her piece profiles the sensitive dance of deciding whether
someone
is right for you. Just loving them doesn't mean they are. They also must be good for you and your
dreams. Leland creates this situation with a backdrop of the business world of horses in Lexington
Kentucky.
This story is about a fiercely ambitious and stubborn horse woman in her early thirties who tries to
continue building a world-class equestrian training facility after an accident leaves her in a
wheel-chair. Bethany Webb's largest investor continually acts as a thorn in her side. She didn't
trust
him, but what choice did she have? His money funded an enormous chunk of her dream and his
brother was her best friend. To make matters worse, the town didn't seem friendly, especially
when
Beth hired out-of-town help. Then, she found herself attracted to a most unlikely person. She
needed to walk and if possible, ride a horse again too. If she didn't keep her mind on recovery
though, her dreams would fail. She prided herself on her independence and ability to stay focused.
Conner Hall awakened new sensations and delightful thoughts; definitely complicating her
focus.
As with her first romance book, 'Winning Ways,' Leland places her main character in the world of
equines. Readers who've never been around horses will get to sample what it's like, and for those
who've spent time with these animals, will enjoy a yarn spun around the familiar.
How does 'Hearts Over Fences' measure up?
Title fits the story perfectly.
The book-cover fits the story perfectly.
Development and structure is logical, orderly, and cleaver.
Entertaining and knowledgeable. Readers will learn a little about horses and the horse world.
Modern day setting in Lexington Kentucky.
For those who like a romance built around an Olympic-level backdrop in the sport world of
horses,
and those who've had a life-altering physical accident, especially those ending up in a wheel-chair
because of it.
Because I'm a horse woman with an independent and ambitious streak myself, just like the main
character, and because Leland knows how to tell a good romance tale, I liked this book. I'm a
sucker
for romance. Leland's description and knowledge placed me into her created world easily. I
smelled
hay and horses, saw barns and party dresses, and also felt the main character's pain of possibly
never
riding again. Our hearts are tender and need protection, yet allowing them a chance over fences
additionally provides a chance for greener pastures.
Breast Cancer? Breast Health! (The Wise Woman Way)
Susun S. Weed
Ash Tree Publishing
P.O. Box 64, Woodstock, NY 12498 USA
ISBN# 0961462078 $14.95 380 pp. index, profusely illustrated
It's time we started paying attention to what our bodies; how we feel and think, and how we
neglect
ourselves. It will catch up with us, be it good or bad.
In Susun Weed's book she encourages women to listen to their inner selves, to get back in touch
with her womanly wisdom. Doing this, she believes, will help women to not only maintain breast
health, but aid in healing if breast does cancer strikes. Weed's book takes a natural, wise woman
approach. Her information is based on her experiences and research, and other professional
healers
as well. She believes women should consult knowledgeable friends, trained healers, and listen to
their inner guidance.
Weed's book takes a holistic approach and includes chapters on:
Preventing breast cancer
Food choices and cancer
Taking matters (our breasts) into our own hands
Definitions on what cancer really is
Questions to ask
Surgery and its effects and alternatives
Radiation therapy
Chemotherapy
Profile
Late stages of breast cancer
References and sources
Recipes
Risk assessment
Index (always helpful and appreciated)
Glossary
I've reviewed multiple books written by Susun Weed and authors who've published with Ash Tree
Publishing. Why? They're great. I've learned something from every one and always find each
nurturing and educational. Not one has let me down. 'Breast Cancer? Breast Health! The Wise
Woman Way' is no exception. Weed takes her readers by the hand, and teaches in a loving way.
She
teaches women that they need to nurture themselves as well as others. Her belief is that natural is
better. The food we eat, what we do, or don't do to our mind and body all plays a part in our
health.
She empowers women, especially when something like cancer strikes.
Because I've learned mother-nature has provided an abundant source of healthy allies, one of my
favorite chapters in this book is Section 3, 'HELP, Materia Medica - Herbal Allies.' In short, it
profiles herbs to use to help prevent cancer and those to help if cancer strikes. She gives names,
where the plant comes from, parts used, actions and uses, important constituents, preparation and
daily dose, toxicity, works well with, results and notes, and references.
Weed answers questions to:
"What can I do to prevent breast cancer?"
"What are my risks?"
"I found a lump, now what?"
"What is breast cancer really?"
"What do I do now that I've been diagnosed as having breast cancer?"
"Should I have breast surgery?"
"What choices do I have?"
"What will happen to my body if I have chemotherapy and what can I do to help myself
naturally?"
"What if I'm in the late stages of breast cancer?"
"What do I do with these emotions?"
"How do I make my own natural salves, oils, poultice, lozenges, tea, liniment, compress, plaster,
and
yummy healthy recipes?"
"Where can I find these herbs, support groups, more information, and organizations?"
Another of my favorites from this book is the 'Risk Assessment Quiz' found towards the back.
There
are seventy-eight questions and answers to what your total means. This helps personalize and
bring
awareness to each individual score.
Impressive endorsements come from:
Christiane Northrup, M.D.
Rosemary Gladstar
David Hoffman
Carolyn M. DeMarco, M.D.
'Breast Cancer? Breast Health! The Wise Woman Way' is for women and those who love them,
for
those wanting to reduce their risk of getting breast cancer, and for those who've been diagnosed
with it. Listening to our bodies is more than empowering, it feels good. Weed offers comfort,
encouragement, and empowerment. Great as a continuing reference. Recommended.
Christina Francine Whitcher, Reviewer
http://www.CFrancine.bizland.com
Debra's Bookshelf
Chasing Vermeer
Blue Balliett
Scholastic
ISBN: 0439372976 $6.99 272 pages
Eleven-year-olds Calder Pilsay and Petra Andalee live three houses away from each other on a
narrow street in Chicago's Hyde Park area. They are both unusually intelligent, Petra the sort of
quirkily interesting kid whom others in her class consequently label as "weird," while Calder
excels
at patterning. He fidgets incessantly with the set of pentominoes he keeps with him at all times,
fitting the Tetris-like shapes together to form rectangles of varying sizes. Both Calder and Petra,
too, are unusually receptive to the idea that is a theme of this book, that apparent coincidences are
not always coincidental. When the coincidences and various unexplained phenomena in their own
lives begin piling up--many of them connected with the painter Vermeer--Calder and Petra come
to
believe that a particular Vermeer painting will be stolen. When it is, they believe themselves
peculiarly suited to finding it.
While observing and recording suspicious activity in their own neighborhood, Calder and Petra
put
their considerable talents to use investigating the theft of the painting and tracking it down. The
problem is, it's not intellect alone that they apply to the task: Calder believes that his pentominoes
give him hints, while Petra finds herself communicating with the subject of the missing Vermeer
painting. Lead forward thus by their supernatural helpmates, Calder and Petra make implausible
mental leaps that, for this reader at least, make suspension of disbelief impossible.
Though its plot is a disappointment, and it never packs any true suspense, Chasing Vermeer has
much to recommend it: likeable characters, some nice writing, Brett Helquist's drawings, and the
use
of codes in the book, based on Calder's pentominoes. The story may also get kids thinking more
about art, as the author surely intended. The inclusion of reprints of two of Vermeer's paintings is
a
nice touch.
Beneath a Marble Sky
John Shors
McPherson & Company
ISBN: 0929701712 $24.95 324 pages
When his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal died during childbirth in 1630, Shah Jahan, the emperor of
Hindustan, ordered that a magnificent mausoleum be erected for her. Tens of thousands of
laborers
and craftsmen worked under the eye of the project's master architect, Ustad Isa, for more than a
decade. And when the mausoleum's last gleaming white marble slab was fitted into place the
world
had one of its most treasured monuments, the Taj Mahal.
In his marvelous debut novel Beneath a Marble Sky author John Shors has taken what is known
of
the historical circumstances of the mausoleum's construction and created from that bare-bones
account a rich, gripping narrative. The story is told by Princess Jahanara, the wily daughter of
Shah
Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. At the book's outset she is an old woman, telling her granddaughters
the
story of her life for the first time: Hindustan is then too dangerous a place for relatives of the
reigning emperor, and the girls had been too young previously to be entrusted even with the
knowledge that they were of royal blood. The story Jahanara tells is a grand one. Beginning with
her
childhood among the chattering women of the royal harem, she tells of her mother's strength and
intellect and of her parents' devotion to one another, and she introduces readers to her many
siblings,
in particular two of her brothers, the bookish Dara--the presumptive heir to the throne--and
Aurangzeb, whose cruel streak in boyhood would mature into a lust for power and violence that
would ultimately threaten not only his family but the empire itself. In the course of her narrative
Jahanara tells two love stories--her own and that of her parents--but much of her story is bleak:
there is her loveless marriage to the abusive Khondamir, her mother's death, her brother
Aurangzeb's
instigation of a civil war, her separation from her daughter. She is sustained throughout by her
father, her lover, and by two very solid friendships.
Most books, however engaging they may be in the reading, ultimately aren't memorable. Over
time
their plots and characters slip away, and one is left not with a true memory of the book but, at
best,
with a general sense of one's reaction to it--that it was thrilling or slow, well-written or clumsy,
that
one would want to read more by the same author or not. But because Beneath a Marble Sky is
not
only engaging and beautifully written but also tied intimately to a cultural monument, I think that
it
will live in its readers' imaginations far longer than most books, its story called to mind whenever
one encounters references to or pictures of the Taj Mahal. Shors does a service in breathing life
into
the mausoleum and the historical figures and circumstances that created it. And he's done it
beautifully.
My one suggestion for improvement is that the author add a historical note to subsequent editions
of
the book, detailing for readers what is known about the characters whose lives he has
depicted.
Another Word for Murder
Nero Blanc
Berkeley Prime Crime
ISBN: 0425202704 $14.00 320 pages
In this tenth installment in Nero Blanc's Crossword Mystery series, cruciverbalist Belle Graham
and
her P.I. husband Rosco Polycrates investigate the disappearance of a friend's husband. Dan
Tacete, a
local dentist and all-around nice guy given to donating his time to treat charity cases, fails to
return
home one evening after leaving work in his Ford Explorer--the least expensive vehicle in his
private
fleet. Dan's wife Karen naturally turns for help to her friends Rosco and Belle. While Rosco steals
time from his current investigation of a car theft ring to help her, Belle begins to receive a series
of
crossword puzzles which she suspects may be related to the Tacete case. Certainly the clues in the
third puzzle Belle receives seem to refer to one of the primary suspects in Dan's disappearance,
the
victim's surly business partner Jack Wagner. But Jack isn't alone in attracting the attention of
Rosco
or his former partner, Newcastle's chief homicide detective Al Lever: among the other suspects in
the case are a number of Dan's down-and-out patients, his secretary Bonnie and her wayward
brother, and Karen Tacete herself, who is suspiciously hostile to Belle and Rosco after requesting
their help and who is unwilling to share everything she knows about the case with the police. Who
among these, if any, dunnit? Readers are unlikely to figure that out before the clues--both forensic
and linguistic--lead Belle and Rosco to a startling conclusion.
As usual in the Nero Blanc series, a handful of crossword puzzles related to the crime punctuate
the
book--the very puzzles Belle receives in the course of the story--but the six puzzles included in
Another Word for Murder are less intimately connected to the solution of the crime than is usual
in
the series.
Another Word for Murder is yet another good read from the husband and wife writing team of
Cordelia F. Biddle and Steve Zettler, a.k.a. "Nero Blanc." The book's tightly plotted mystery and
the
surprising twist it offers alone make the book worth the read, and crossword enthusiasts will
appreciate the authors' linguistic playfulness and the inclusion of puzzles in the storyline. But I
keep
coming back to the series for its homey ambiance: the happy, pun-filled relationship of Rosco and
Belle themselves, and the clutch of Newcastle denizens who join the couple in holding down a
table
at Lawson's Coffee Shop every Saturday morning. The murder rate in Newcastle may be
startlingly
high, but Rosco and Belle's home town is nonetheless a pleasant place to spend one's time.
The Polysyllabic Spree
Nick Hornby
Believer Books
826 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
ISBN: 1932416242 $14.00 143 pages
Nick Hornby, the author of High Fidelity and About a Boy, among other novels, began writing his
monthly column "Stuff I've Been Reading" for Believer magazine in September of 2003. Fourteen
of
Hornby's essays are collected here in The Polysyllabic Spree. Each is prefaced by lists of the
books
the author read and purchased in the month preceding the column's appearance: Hornby, who
reads
a lot of books and buys even more, is admirably comfortable with populating his shelves with
books
he is unlikely ever to get to.
In his column Hornby discusses what he's read during the month, how he came to read or buy the
books he did, how the books under discussion relate to one another. In the course of writing
about
his reading life Hornby hits on any number of topics: the dampening effect of parenthood on one's
reading; his experience watching an unwitting stranger read his book poolside; Anton Chekhov's
unfortunate use of sappy endearments--"little ginger-haired doggie," "my dearest chaffinch"--in
letters to his wife ("For god's sake, pull yourself together, man! You're a major cultural figure!");
the
surprising similarity between reading and, well, being the leader of the free world:
"Being a reader is sort of like being president, except reading involves fewer state dinners,
usually.
You have this agenda you want to get through, but you get distracted by life events, e.g., books
arriving in the mail/World War III, and you are temporarily deflected from your chosen
path."
Hornby's tone in his essays is conversational, his observations often witty. The book is most
interesting, inevitably, when Hornby's reading life intersects with one's own, but familiarity with
the
books he discusses is not necessary to one's enjoyment. (I fear I've read regrettably few of the
books
on his lists.) One comes away from The Polysyllabic Spree liking Hornby and appreciating his
regular-guy take on the highbrow world of letters.
A Certain Chemistry
Mil Millington
Villard
ISBN: 0812966678 $13.95 404 pages
Twenty-eight-year-old Tom Cartwright is a prolific if not a renowned writer, the author of
numerous ghostwritten biographies as well as a host of pseudonymously published magazine
articles
on such subjects as "how I coped with the menopause." Tom has much to be thankful for. He can
crank out a passable manuscript faster than most and he's a top-notch speller. He's also involved
with something like the perfect woman, Sara, his girlfriend of five years, who is beautiful and
plucky
and much given to witty banter. Things look even better for Tom when he is hired to ghostwrite
the
biography of the hugely popular soap star Georgina Nye--the owner of what is reportedly the
U.K.'s
finest pair of buttocks--a gig which will earn Tom a six-figure commission but buy him a world of
trouble: Georgina turns out to be as attracted to Tom as he is to her. Can our hero, as he
supposes
("Christ--it was hard to see a way in which this couldn't work"), keep his relationship with Sara in
working order while trysting with a callipygian soap star and dodging the paparazzi?
Tom is guided through life and publishing by his agent-cum-mother figure Amy, a hard-drinking
piranha of a woman, and by his amusingly death-obsessed editor Hugh. There is also God, who is
evidently shorter than one would suppose and who interrupts Tom's first-person narrative from
time
to time to expound upon His point that romance is illusory and love the stuff of chemical
impulses.
Tom himself is an awkward, smart character who tends to find himself in absurdly funny
circumstances--hiding beneath his dining room table from a pair of pre-tween girls with only an
overheated laptop to cover his nakedness, hightailing it across town in desperate need of half a
haircut, or merely navigating the difficult waters of getting to an appointment at precisely the right
time:
"What I generally do--and I think this is the only thing you can do if you're an adult who's taken
some time to consider all the issues and come up with a clearheaded course of action--is I arrive
early, and then hide. I find somewhere close by and conceal myself: wait until I see the person
arrive,
pause for fifteen seconds, then march in--apologizing profusely for being late. Works every time.
Well, except for those times when the person you're meeting happens to walk up behind you while
you're crouching watchfully behind a low wall across from the meeting place; if that happens,
you're
pretty much into 'faking a seizure' territory, really."
Like his first novel, Things my Girlfriend and I Have Argued About, Mil Millington's A Certain
Chemistry is a smart romp of a book. His detailing of life's small moments, rife as they are with
the
potential for embarrassment, will leave readers laughing aloud.
The Little Guide to Your Well-Read Life
Steve Leveen
Levenger Press
420 South Congress Avenue, Delray Beach, Florida 33445-4696
ISBN: 1929154178 $17.50 123 pages
In his little book on the "well-read life" author Steve Leveen (the CEO and co-founder of
Levenger)
offers readers advice on how to get more mileage from their reading. His book is divided into five
chapters. The fifth is given over primarily to concluding remarks. The third and fourth have to do
with the rewards and history of, respectively, audiobooks and reading groups. The meat of
Leveen's
argument lies in the fifty-odd pages that make up his first two chapters, "Uncovering the Books
That
Will Change Your Life" and "Seizing More from Your Reading."
Leveen argues that readers will gain more from their reading by approaching the business of
books
systematically. The usual "accidental and ad hoc" means of selecting titles to read is unfortunate,
he
believes, because it is more likely to lead to unfulfilling reading experiences that "may dampen
your
enthusiasm, causing your reading to languish, sometimes for long periods." He advocates
developing
an extensive list of "candidates for your attention," that is, a list of books in which one is
interested,
either because of their subject matter or author or because they were recommended by friends or
in
reviews. The list is to be organized by subject headings and augmented throughout one's life. As a
second step, Leveen suggests that readers acquire a great many of the books on their list. He is
fully
in favor of possessing a personal library that contains more books than one could possibly read so
as
to have a wide selection of quality books always at hand. (That sentiment may go some way
toward
alleviating the guilt of compulsive book buyers over their purchases.)
In his second chapter Leveen distills the recommendations of earlier authors on the art of reading
and retaining information. He discusses, for example, Mortimer Adler's advice on approaching
books
as if from a high altitude: one scans a book first to get an idea of its structure, then reads it
superficially to pick up its main arguments before sitting down, finally, to a serious analytical
reading
of the book. Leveen also discusses a variety of note-taking practices.
The reading approach Leveen advocates will not be for everyone. His suggestion that readers
direct
their reading by developing an organized list of book candidates will be of use almost exclusively
to
those who are interested in pursuing a course of private study through the reading of nonfiction.
Readers with less serious goals in mind probably won't find that particular idea--which is, after all,
one of the main points of the book--pertinent to their own situation. Leveen should perhaps have
made more of this distinction between fiction and nonfiction reading in his text. His cursory look
at
the subject of engaged reading won't satisfy those who are serious about becoming more active
readers themselves. But Leveen provides a great service in introducing his audience to the subject
and pointing to books that will provide further information. His quick read will definitely be of
interest to the readers on your shopping list.
Debra Hamel, Reviewer
http://www.tryingneaira.com
Emanuel's Bookshelf
Snake Walkers
J. Everett Prewitt
www.eprewitt.com
Northland Publishing Company
2775 S. Moreland Blvd., Cleveland, Ohio 44120
ISBN 0976192705, $24.99, 328 pp.
In J. Everett Prewitt's debut novel "Snake Walkers," an educated yet but naive African-American
reporter, Anthony Andrews, accepts a job in the early sixties as the first black employee of the
Arkansas Sun, a newspaper known to have been unkind to his race throughout its history. Excited
to
get out of the family's mortuary business, Andrews takes an assignment to investigate the
disappearance of the citizens of a rural Arkansas town. His investigation leads him to strange
characters, different little towns in Arkansas, and eventually to Cleveland, Ohio.
In Cleveland, Andrews befriends the odd but close-knit Williams family to learn more about their
roles in the disappearance. When he begins to build a bond with the black family, especially the
college-bound Raymond, he becomes conflicted. If the family is guilty of a crime, was it justified?
If
so, should he reveal his discoveries to his historically racist superiors for a story that could
catapult
his journalism career? Having witnessed a horrific crime as a boy complicates matters even
further.
These are the type of ethical dilemmas the reporter must deal with as the story unfolds.
Andrews enlists the help of Carla, an intelligent and beautiful college professor with a background
in
history. While there appears to be a spark between them, their ideologies cause them to clash. If
there is any chance of romance between the two, one of them will have to do an about face in
regards to his or her beliefs about civil rights, racial atrocities, and the justification of
revenge.
"Snake Walkers" is a captivating book that delves into explosive subjects such as lynchings, overt
and institutional racism, and retribution. Although this is the author's debut, Prewitt clearly writes
from wisdom and know-how, which will cause readers to sacrifice a few hours of sleep to read a
few
more chapters before bedtime.
While this book is a recommended read because of its hang-on-the-edge-of-your-seat content and
original storyline, there are a few imperfections. Though the author knows his way around a
metaphor, he is still guilty of telling rather than showing. Also, it's difficult not to compare the
novel
to better written work of the same subject matter, of recent "Blood on the Leaves" by Jeff Stetson
and of old "A Party Down at the Square," a short story that appears in "Flying Home" by Ralph
Ellison. With that being said, "Snake Walkers" still holds it own and should be read by anyone
who
enjoys a good story that takes on complicated subjects from our country's racist history.
Recommended.
Fumbling Toward Divinity
Craig Hickman
Annabessacook Farm
192 Annabessacook Road, Winthrop, Maine 04364
http://hometown.aol.com/abcfarmbooks/
ISBN 0976246201, $27.95, 374 pp.
Imagine growing up not knowing who your real parents are. Would you wonder who you
resemble
in the family tree? Could you deal with being ignorant to your family's medical history? And most
importantly, would you wonder where you belong? In a new book from Craig Hickman, the
author
takes readers on his journey of discovering his true roots.
In the new memoir "Fumbling Toward Divinity" from Harvard graduate Craig Hickman (Rituals),
the author takes readers into his journey of the search for his biological parents. Along the way,
we
learn of the African American writer's homosexual lifestyle that includes a marriage to his
Caucasian
partner. The apprehensive author not only worries about finding his biological family but if they
will
accept his alternative lifestyle.
As the story unfolds, readers are right there with Hickman as he researches his roots in libraries,
government buildings, and online and treks along U.S. highways with help from his adoptive
family,
his husband Job, and his newly discovered Uncle James. By the time he meets his religious,
biological mother in Georgia, readers will come to know him and cheer him on as he takes on the
task of finding and getting to know his real family.
"Fumbling Toward Divinity" is a well-written and unique book. Written in third-person format,
Hickman meshes a poetic, scriptural-like, and a journal-like writing style that is quite interesting
to
read. Many readers will feel a kinship with the author as he shares his trials, triumphs, pain, and
joy
of self-discovery. However, the meticulously written memoir, which almost reads like a diary, is
so
detailed that it may turn off readers who do not know him intimately. "Fumbling Toward Divinity"
is
still well worth the effort and will be received with open arms. Recommended.
Emanuel Carpenter, Reviewer
www.emanuelcarpenter.com
Frank's Bookshelf
Reallionaire
Farrah Gray with Fran Harris
Health Communications, Inc
3201 S.W. 15th Street, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442
ISBN 0757302246, $12.95, 282 pp.
Reallionarie is an astounding story. A young teenage African American named Farrah Gray, went
from public assistance to become a Millionaire at age 14 and one of the youngest 21st CEOs with
nothing but a dream and a determination to see it to fulfillment despite growing up in abject
poverty
and in a single parent home on the rough side of Chicago.
Farrah Gray's book is the real rags to riches story in achieving wealth by "Becoming Rich from the
Inside Out." Reallionaire is a long over due book that dispels the myths concerning young black
youth in this Nation. It's an impressive journey of epic proportions of how Farrah Gray's life
changed
because he refused to not believe he was the Golden Child - the 21st century CEO. As Farrah
stated
in his book; his family was always one paycheck away from being evicted. But, this young man
bulldozed his way from the circumstances of poverty to become somebody he already knew he
was
on the inside, early in his childhood - a CEO. Reallionaire is about a child who saw his mother
work
her fingers to the bone and decided he would do something about it.
Every educator, sociologist, Ph.D., and criminologist who thinks they've cornered the wisdom on
understanding the make-up of inner city youth with just a profile or a textbook blurb about young
black males has to rewrite their dissertations because Farrah has hit a real home run out of the
halls
of academia in this book. There are no "Tales from the Crypt" in this book, but, you'll learn a lot
of
tales from the 'hood. There are no get rich quick scenarios in Reallionaire, either. It's hard work
and
burning midnight oil to achieve success and wealth in life. While many of us were slobbering on
our
pillows in slumber, Farrah worked his dream of realizing his status of being a 21st century
CEO.
This book is funny, antidotal, serious, gut-wrenching and packed with lessons for aspiring
entrepreneurs of all ages. Realliosnaire teaches you the lessons of life from the school of hard
knocks. I could not put it down. After reading this book, I'm ready to dive into the challenges of
becoming an Entrepreneur. This book, like a Championship fighter, knocked out the rest of my
pessimistic attitude in the ring of life. Thanks Farrah for changing my thinking about business
ownership. This is a must read book for every young person and especially African American
males,
young and old. A powerful book that deserves all the notoriety and accolades it receives.
Divided by Faith
Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith
Oxford University Press
ISBN 0195131401, $25:00, 212 pp.
This book is about the profound issue of Christianity and Race in America. It is a serious
discussion
about what it would take for true unity among black and white Christians to fully unite in
harmony.
Divided by Faith is an expose' on what happens on the most segregated day in this nation. The
book
reveals that Sunday morning has not changed for many who call themselves followers of Jesus
Christ.
Michael Emerson and Christian Smith have traveled to the dark side of Christianity with this no
holds bared and thoroughly researched book on the issue of racism in the Church. I read this book
and immediately knew they hit a nerve and exposed a hidden secret that's plagued the black and
white church for years. They looked under the carpet of religion and found the dirty little secret.
They opened the door that Jesus spoke about knocking on and found the skeletons in the Church
closet.
This book penetrates the segregated walls of Christianity and operates on the evangelical theology
from a black and white perspective. They nailed the issues to the wall of the church bulletin board
for all to read in a book. Divided by Faith will either anger you or cause you to re-think positions
often thought to be to be Biblically sound. I do want to say that in my personal reading of the
Bible,
the term Evangelical is not found. Hence, the book chronicles the beliefs of white and black
Christians with each side giving their view of perceived social problems whether true or false.
Emerson and Smith's observations and analyses can help many Christians unite. The book makes a
bold statement that evangelical Caucasian thinking is suspect and may be the source of race
problems around the country. For evangelicals or more accurately Christians of any color, who
are
serious about building up a single Body of Christ, this is a must read. There is no excuse for those
claiming to live as Christ commanded to continue to ignore this issue.
After reading this book you cannot remain passive with regard to racism in the church. To do so,
makes you culpable and a participate in dividing the Christian Faith. You shall know the truth and
the truth shall make you free. Every Christian can be free by reading this book so they can clean
out
the closet of their heart.
Frank Chase Jr., Reviewer
www.positivejourney.com
Gary's Bookshelf
Octopussy and the Living Daylights
Ian Fleming
Penguin Books
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
www.penguin.com
ISBN 0142003298 $12.00
I've been a fan of this short story collection, the last writings of James Bond by Ian Fleming, since
1966 when two of the pieces were originally published. With each edition the assortment has
increased. In the American hardback there were two stories, "Octopussy and The Living
Daylights."
As a mass-market paperback "The Property of a Lady" was added and now in trade paperback
"007
In New York" rounds out this volume to four. The stories are not Fleming's best work but they
are
interesting because they are so different from his other Bond books.
Strange Wind
Jeffery Lamb
Outskirts Press
www.outskirtspress.com
ISBN 1932672389 $13.95
There are a lot of things that I like in this novel of a car salesman who retires, buys a boat and
sails
down to the keys of Florida where he meets some very different characters and gets involved in
some illegal situations. Lamb's characters are believable against the backdrop of the tropical areas
of
Florida and the Caribbean. The only complaint I have is that it is badly in need of editing for typos
and tenses of verbs that slowed down the pacing of the writing. Normally this would not be a
factor
but there are so many. I've pointed this out so that in the author's next works he is more aware of
the
mistakes he's made so that his other books are more tightly written.
Circus Days in Sarasota & Venice
Kim Cool
Historic Venice Press
P.O. Box 800, Venice Fl 34284
www.historicvenicepress.com
ISBN 0972165533 $18.95 941-468-6556
Cool tells the legends, stories and history of the Ringling Circus that wintered in Sarasota and
Venice area of Florida There are many photos, some taken by the author herself, This collection
of
stories is a good resource for anyone who wants to know about the Ringling Circus.
Ghost Stories of Venice
Kim Cool
Historic Venice Press
P.O. Box 800, Venice Fl 34284
www.historicvenicepress.com
ISBN 0972165509 $8.95 941-468-6556
Cool takes the reader all around the Venice area of Florida and tells the legends and stories about
ghosts, haunted homes and other eerie frights that are not on most tours and writings of this area
of
the state. There are many photos, some taken by the author herself, that add to the whole idea of
looking for strange things in this area of Florida. This collection of stories is a good resource for
any
writer telling some kind of eerie tale.
Tainted Blood
Jessie Wise
Jada Press
Jacksonville, Florida
www.JadaPress.com
ISBN 0974750107 $21.95
This is a tale of two brothers Blake and Brian Farrington filled with very well fleshed out
characters.
Blake is the one his mother loves best while their father loves both equally but realizes that one is
good and the other is evil. Brian is the good and Blake is the evil. Brian is committed to one
woman
throughout most of the book while Blake, who has no morals, will sleep with any female he can.
As
they say "payback is hell" and Blake's is so appropriate at the end of the novel. The author has
also
filled the tale with numerous conflicts that briskly move the story along. "Tainted Blood" unfolds
like a very good soap opera until its final pages when you realize it's over. My only complaint is
that
some of the characters are so similarly named that it made it a bit confusing to sometimes
differentiate them.
Watch Your Back
Donald E. Westlake
Warner Books Inc.
1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York NY 10020
www.twbookmark.com
ISBN 0892968028 $24.95
I've loved the Dortmunder novels from the opening one "The Hot Rock" on and enjoyed many of
them but I have to say that the last two are among the worst I've read in the series. In fact, this
one
has very few elements that made me laugh like so many of Westlake's finest Dortmunder capers. I
think the best elements that have made many of the novels so much fun are the characters of Andy
Kelp, Stan Murch, Murch's Mom, and of course, Dortmunder. In this one they are not in the
novel
enough and there is not really a caper they are involved in. I also found there are too many new
characters that I just didn't care about. With this novel and the last one, I can only say Mr.
Westlake
has lost his touch.
Baby Step thru Word Processing for Seniors
Char Wood the Computer Granny
2028 Pine Tree Drive, Edgewater Fl 32141
www.computergranny.com
ISBN 0971961360 $19.95 386-424-6768
The Dummies series of books is supposed to in each volume, make it easier to understand
whatever
the subject matter. Instead I've felt stupider with each one I've studied because I couldn't grasp
anything they say. I'm glad to announce that simply is not the case here. Char Wood makes it clear
that no one will feel dumb and anyone can learn how to use the computer when they follow her
hands on approach that is really the best way for anyone to learn to use a computer. She teaches
about the keyboard, using a mouse, what each key's function is, how to scroll, how to use the
mouse, and I like that she does not talk down to her readers. She is stating her information simply
and concisely. I think the biggest reason so many seniors have not learned about computers is
because they feel there is something to fear and that computers are so monumental. This book can
put to rest anyone's panic.
Man Hunt: The Eric Rudolph Story
Kathleen Walls
Global Authors Publications
www.globalauthorspublications.com
ISBN 0974216127 $10.99
For those who don't remember, Eric Rudolph is the suspect the FBI chased and captured for the
bombings in Atlanta during the Olympics, and numerous doctor's offices throughout the south.
Walls
has given readers a look at what set off this terrorist and the search to bring him to justice.
Hunter Killer
Patrick Robinson
Harper Collins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street, New York NY 10022
www.harpercollins.com
ISBN 0060746890 $25.95
Before this title I had never read this author but now I have to say I will definitely make every
effort
to read anything by him in the future. Robinson lays out a "what if situation" that has been very
logically thought out. Crown Prince Nasir of Saudi Arabia is determined to become the ruler of
the
country. He enlists the aid of the French president to topple the present regime in Saudi Arabia
and
to take back the oil fields he feels belong to his country, not the United States. He has an insane
way
to achieve his goal while the United States must respond or else there will be a worldwide
depression. The president of the US must tread carefully or else this could be the start of World
War
III I loved the tense pacing and the conflict Robinson has created. This is a great thriller that is
fast
tempo that would make an excellent movie.
The Big Secret
Pete Earley
Tor
175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010
www.tor.com
ISBN 0765346923 $7.99
I love fast moving novels and this one held me spellbound until the last page. The characters are
believable but I also liked how this book shows how things really get done in Washington.
Journalist
Heather Cole disappears in Mississippi while tracking down a story she is working on. Her
ex-lover
Nick LeRue is asked to help find Heather by Melanie her identical twin sister. Nick is hesitant at
first
because Melanie reveals that Heather has told her through dreams that she is being held captive.
But
something tips him over to go and find his ex lover. What he stumbles into involves a lynching in
the
past of a black man, a public official in the present, and several prominent people who will do
anything even murder to stop Heather, Nick, and Melanie from finding out the truth. "The Big
Secret" is enjoyable summer reading.
Peanut Butter and Jellyfish: An Anthology
Ormond Writers League
Infinity Publishing.com
519 West Lancaster Avenue, Haverford. PA 19041-1413
www.buybooksontheweb.com
ISBN 0741418010 $13.95 877-BUY-BOOK (877-289-2665)
There is something for everyone in this fine collection of writings by a very active writers' group
from Volusia County, Florida. There are poems, short fiction, commentaries nonfiction pieces,
and
bios of all who contributed. This collection is a plethora of talented authors.
Gary Roen
Reviewer
Gorden's Bookshelf
Origins, Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution
Neil deGrasse Tyson and Donald Goldsmith
W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110
ISBN: 0393059928 $27.95 345 pages
The title of the book summarizes the story. During the last few decades, huge advances in the
knowledge of the evolution of the universe and our own little part in it have been made. Tyson
and
Goldsmith have simplified the last fourteen billion years into a readable 300 pages. Most people
today get their scientific knowledge from their church, television news, SF stories or local
newspaper. The authors give a sweeping, easy-reading but cursory look at most of the new details
now known about the universe.
'Origins' is a little repetitive but a fun day of discovery for most lay-readers. The rich details and
massive amounts of information known about the universe are astonishing. Equally astonishing
are
the critical details that are still missing and why they are missing. The joy of exploring the known
and unknown is brought out by the authors. 'Origins' is highly recommended for anyone who
wants
to know and understand cosmic scientific knowledge. 'Origins' answers the many questions that
people have from the partial or incorrect knowledge they get from other sources.
Elektra
Yvonne Navarro
Pocket Star Books published by
Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc.
Rockefeller Center
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
ISBN: 0416505059 $6.99 280 pages
Novels and screenplays are related but different forms of storytelling. Screenplays tell the story
through visual images and dialogue and novels use narration. 'Elektra' is balanced to the
screenplay.
It is best read as a part of seeing the movie. The story is fun but the over emphasis on the
screenplay
format doesn't let the story expand into the flexible imagination that the written word
provides.
'Elektra' continues the story started in the 'DareDevil' movie. 'DareDevil' ends with Elektra
wounded
to the point of death. She is resuscitated by a mystical blind sensei known as Stick. He trains her
in
the martial arts and in the use of a meditation that gives a sixth sense of past, present and future
called kimagure. Elektra is wounded in her mind as well as body and Stick forces her out of his
school when she is unable to heal. She becomes a hired killer and is given the job of killing a
young
girl and her father. Instead of killing them, she becomes their protector standing between them
and
forces trying to control the world.
'Elektra' is an average story but a must read for those who enjoy the movie. It compliments the
movie bringing in details that should have been included in the film. The book is a unique blend of
two similar but different art forms. It isn't strong enough to hold its own in either format but is a
good example of what can happen to a story that can't seem to find a single home.
S.A. Gorden, Reviewer
www.paulbunyan.net/users/gsirvio/content.html
Greenspan's Bookshelf
End Of An Exile
James Parkes
Micah Publications, Inc.
255 Humphrey Street, Marblehead, MA 01945-1645
0916288501 $22.95 micahbooks.com
Written by a British churchman and first published in 1954, End of an Exile: Israel, the Jews and
the
Gentile World is a testimony in direct response to anti-Israel animosity perpetuated both then and
fifty years later today. Affirming Israel's "right to exist" on religious grounds, and analyzing the
history of the land and its people through sociology and history, End of an Exile does not shy
from
problems the Middle East has faced, applying the author's knowledge of demographics,
immigration
patterns, and cultural norms. The no-holds-barred of a "Christian Zionist" before that term
became
widespread, End of an Exile is an important contribution to Judaic and Middle Eastern studies
shelves, especially since it reminds readers of the long and complex history behind present the day
issues concerning Israel.
It Takes More Than Love
Anita G. Beckerman and Ruth M. Tappen
Health Professions Press
PO Box 10624, Baltimore, MD 21285-0624
1878812505 $22.00 1-888-337-8808 www.healthpropress.com
Written by experts with decades of combined experience in the fields of gerontology, nursing, and
aging, It Takes More Than Love: A Practical Guide to Taking Care of an Aging Adult is a
straightforward guide to the demands of caregiving to older people, whether a parent, a spouse, a
sibling or a friend. Written in plain terms for the lay person, It Takes More Than Love deals with
practical matters such as how to objectively assess the physical and mental well-being of a loved
one, how to effectively communicate with doctors, family members, and the older adult in one's
life,
how to provide safe and respectful personal care, how to balance one's needs with those of the
loved
one, finding necessary services, when to make the nursing facility decision and how to choose an
ideal location, and much more. Highly recommended.
Journeying East
Victoria Jean Dimidjian
Parallax Press
PO Box 7355, Berkeley, CA 94707
1888375361 $16.00 www.parallax.com
Journeying East: Conversations On Aging And Dying is an anthology of conversations with nine
men and women, each of whom has been recognized worldwide as teachers of Eastern and
Western
wisdom, understanding, and spirituality. Each one is in the later stages of life, and each discusses
the
transitions of aging, dying, and death, and the transcendent meaning in each phase. "When you are
truly aware of death, it's a serious and deep encounter with life," states Zen master Norman
Fischer.
A reflective and very thoughtful source of comfort, hope, and spiritual grace.
Between DictatorshipAand Democracy
Michael McFaul, Nikolai Petrov, and Andrei Ryabov
Carnegie Endowment Publications
1779 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington DC 20036
0870032062 $24.95 www.ceip.org
Three expert scholars and associate professors combine their knowledge of modern-day Russian
politics in Between Dictatorship And Democracy: Russian Post-Communist Political Reform, a
close
scrutiny of the democratic reforms that have been launched to change Russia's political workings
in
the past two decades. From a comprehensive evaluation of how Vladimir Putin's ascension has
changed the course of the nation, to extensive charts and references packed with hard data, to
diagrams and detailed walkthroughs of the transformations Russian government has undergone,
Between Dictatorship and Democracy offers a crystal-clear picture of Russia's turbulent recent
past,
their changing present, and the possibilities of the future. Highly recommended for academic and
political studies collections.
Able Greenspan
Reviewer
Harwood's Bookshelf
Don't Kiss Them Goodbye
Allison DuBois
Thorndike Press
295 Kennedy Drive, Waterville, ME 04901
ISBN 074328190X, $23.00 224 pp.
My association with professional show business began when, as a teenager, I stooged for a stage
hypnotist in Melbourne, Australia, in 1950. I also performed the role of the hypnotist in amateur
shows, with fellow members of the Magic Circle playing the role of my hypnotized subjects. I
assured everyone who asked that the performances were genuine, that I was really hypnotized,
and
my associates were really hypnotized. It did not occur to me that I was lying. I was furthering a
greater truth by encouraging belief in a phenomenon I believed to be a scientific reality. That my
performances were simulations did not alter the reality that audiences were witnessing a
replication
of real science. And my belief in the existence of hypnotism, and the legitimacy of using
simulations
to demonstrate its characteristics, remained for the entire forty years that I spent touring with
concert hypnotists. Only when my bread and butter ceased to depend on my association with
hypnotism did I allow myself to acknowledge that the reason I had never seen a genuine
demonstration of hypnotism was that hypnotism does not exist, has never existed in the past, and
will not exist in the future.
And before I started examining the alleged evidence for extra-sensory perception, and recognized
that, after 200 years of searching, if ESP existed someone would have proven it by now, I
regularly
passed off cold reading as ESP with only the most subliminal awareness that I was lying.
Perhaps I am projecting my own experiences when I conclude that Allison Dubois has no qualms
about peddling a pack of lies about a phenomenon that does not exist. She believes that there
really
is such a thing as a psychic, that the percentage of her fanciful guesses that turn out to be hits is
something other than the natural working of the law of averages, that information really can travel
backward in time, and that when she fantasizes communicating with a person who (being dead)
has
ceased to exist, the thoughts that come into her head were put there by the dead person. In short,
I
am prepared to accept that she is a True Believer in psychic phenomena, or to say the same thing
in
slightly different words, that she is a fruitcake first class.
But being sincerely deluded in her basic beliefs does not change the reality that DuBois is also a
liar.
In peddling her fictitious pseudo-biography to NBC for the fantasy series Medium, she claimed to
have been "consulted on a variety of murders and missing persons cases" by such specific law
enforcement agencies as the Texas Rangers, the Glendale Arizona Police Department, and a
County
Attorney's Office in the Homicide Bureau. When NBC made no attempt to verify DuBois's
unsubstantiated claims, the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal
(CSICOP) did so. According to Texas Rangers spokesman Tom Vinger, "The Texas Rangers
have
not worked with Allison DuBois or any other psychics." The other cited agencies similarly denied
ever communicating with DuBois or receiving any information from her whatsoever.
The Introduction to Don't Kiss Them Goodbye begins, "For those of you familiar with the hit
television series Medium you probably already know that it's based on my real experiences."
LIE!
Under "About Me," DuBois writes, "I am a medium and profiler." NEWSFLASH! There is no
such
thing as a medium. There is no such thing as a profiler (other than self-deluded ignoramuses who
believe they can read minds). "I can predict future events." For that to be true, information would
have to travel backward in time. Information cannot travel backward in time. "I can communicate
with the dead." And Charlie Brown could communicate with the Great Pumpkin. "I have what I
refer to as the gift." Translation: I have the ability to persuade at least some people that my
fantasies
are derived from communication with the dead.
"I received visits from my guides on and off throughout my childhood and teenage years. I wasn't
sure who those voices were, but I knew the source was good." In other words DuBois retained
imaginary playmates into teenage. She heard voices, a common enough claim by inmates in loony
bins but not prevalent elsewhere.
So is Allison DuBois more crank than humbug, or a blatant liar who is also a fruitcake? The only
way to answer that would be by guessing. She exudes a sincerity that could be a manifestation of
her
ingrained ignorance, but could just as easily be a carefully cultivated affectation that is part of her
scam. What matters is not how much of her fantasies she really believes, but how much truth they
contain. The answer to that is simple: None whatsoever.
How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)
Ann Coulter
Crown Forum
Random House
1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
ISBN 1400054184, $16.98 368 pp.
As recently as last year, I believed that there is no such thing as a banshee. But after reading Ann
Coulter's latest verbal diarrhea, I have no hesitation in concluding that Coulter is a banshee.
I am fully aware that banshees live only in the world of fantasy. But Coulter also lives in a fantasy
world, one in which the talking chimpanzee in the White House is intelligent, right and wrong are
whatever an imaginary lawgiver's current scriptwriter says they are, heads it's a sin and tails it's a
virtue, and human beings are the domesticated livestock of a slavemaster in the sky that gets its
jollies torturing and killing them by means of disease, famine, religious wars, natural disaster,
transportation accidents, and old age, but is nonetheless a nice guy. That makes it a logical
assumption that Coulter is herself a fantasy creature, specifically a screaming, howling,
fang-toothed
banshee whose screams presage the death of democracy that America's Theofascist Right are
hell-bent on bringing about.
Coulter's hatred of the morally evolved, as liberals are most accurately defined, is no doubt a
function of her being a product of the lack of thirty thousand years of evolution that infects all
theofascists, otherwise known as conservatives, Republicanazis, and the North American Taliban.
Nowhere in any of Coulter's books does she express the belief that the earth is flat, but such a
dogma would be no more indefensible than any other philosophy or propaganda she has ever
excreted. Presumably she has learned to walk on her hind legs, since otherwise she would surely
have been caged and given rabies shots, the fate of most other rabid canines. But she has certainly
never learned to put her brain in gear before engaging her tongue. She had better hope she never
develops Alzheimer's disease, since if she does it is a near certainty that no one will notice any
difference.
Anyone who needs proof that the Theofascist Right are not sparking on all neurons, and lack the
ability to tell right from wrong (the legal definition of insanity of most of the world), has only to
read
this book. Only Ann Coulter could make the unspeakable Kenneth Starr look like a
moderate.
William Harwood
Reviewer
Henry's Bookshelf
Made in Japan - The Postwar Creative Print Movement
Alicia Volk, with a contribution by Helen M. Nagata
Milwaukee Art Museum in Association with University of Washington Press
dist. by U. of Washington Press
Seattle, WA
www.washington.edu/uwpress
ISBN 029598502X $28.95 123 pp.
In the rebuilding of Japanese society in the years after its defeat in World War, there was a
"creative
print movement [that] brought modern European artistic attitudes such as self-expression and
formalist innovation to the Japanese woodblock print, a medium that had been rooted in the
mass-production of popular images for several hundred years." The latest stages of this movement
are becoming more widely known in the United States with the popularity of the Japanese manga
and anime. The predecessors of this recent Japanese art are seen in the colors, designs, collages,
subjects, and treatments of the post-war prints in this volume. One or two prints of 59 artists are
shown in the main section of about 70 pages. These range from dark, tangled visions from having
witnessed the devastation from the atom bombs to abstract designs to brightly-colored, comically
erotic figures. Biographical sketches of the 59 artists follow the main section.
Women in the Crucible of Conquest - The Gendered Genesis of Spanish American Society,
1500-1600
Karen Vieira Powers
U. of New Mexico Press
MSC11 6290, 1 U. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
www.unmpress.com 800-249-7737
ISBN 0823335187 $45.00 230+ix pp.
ISBN 0826336195 $22.50
The Spanish conquest of the southern hemisphere of the New World disrupted the "gender
parallelism and gender complementarity" in the Native American societies. Associate professor of
Latin American history at Arizona State U.-Tempe, Powers describes and analyzes how native
women of all classes, tribes, and varied capabilities and ingenuity adapted to the patriarchal
culture
imposed on them by the Spanish conquerors. Virtually all of the women were forced into certain
positions resulting in a "demotion in status." Marriage, slavery, employment, and prostitution
were
among these. But in many cases--Powers's main topic of interest--women tried to varying degrees
of
success to keep or regain the equal, respected status they had in their Native American cultures.
For
example, some women became landowners. And the meztiso children from all types of relations
between the women and the Spanish conquerors had a central role in modifying, though not
changing the fundamental patriarchal structure, of the society. Powers moves the past couple of
decades of feminist-motivated scholarship and development of perspective into this relatively
untouched area of the changes the Spanish conquest forced on Native American women in
particular.
At a Distance - Precursors to Art and Activism on the Internet
edited by Annmarie Chandler and Norie Neumark
MIT Press
5 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142-1493
http://mitpress.mit.edu; mit-orders@mit.edu
ISBN 0262033283 $39.95 486+xiv pp.
"The cultural convergence of art, science, and technology provides ample opportunity to
challenge
the very notion of how art is produced and to call into question its subject matter and its function
in
society...Envisoned as a catalyst for enterprise, research, and creative and scholarly
experimentation,
the [Leonard] book series enables diverse intellectual communities to explore common grounds of
expertise." The 20 collected articles by professors, artists, curators, and writers in this book in the
Leonard series from MIT press fulfill this purpose. The global communications network for
organizing and reporting the demonstrations against the World Trade Organization meeting in
Seattle in 1999, email art, computer-created and disseminated music, and telecommunication are
among the subjects examined in exploring the new forms of art and activism with the erosion of
the
lines between art, communication, technology, and computer science in contemporary culture.
The
international group of artists known as Fluxus, which celebrated its fortieth anniversary in 2002, is
but one activist group whose aim is the "elimination of art as a special activity." The essays offer
new, out-of-the-box, perspectives on different much-publicized events (such as the Seattle
demonstrations) and report on representative and influential groups, activities, and individuals that
are little known by general readers. The essays as a whole give an unrivaled, panoramic view of
what is going on in the broad, modern-day field which has come to be known as the media. As
much
perspective as possible on this widely diversified, extraordinarily, almost preternaturally, vibrant,
and
continually evolving field is given in showing the sources and precedents of the ideas and
activities.
Some of these sources and precedents are surprising and intriguing. But this is what one expects
from this collection of essays working toward a new, relevant way of seeing the world being
shaped
by the new media and technology.
Shooting from the Hip - Photography, Masculinity, and Postwar America
Patricia Vettel-Becker
U. of Minnesota Press
111 Third Ave. South - Suite 290, Minneapolis, MN 55401-2520
ISBN 0816643016 $59.95 199+xvi pp.
ISBN 0816643024 $19.95
With the close of World War II, the paradigmatic masculine, myth-like image of the soldier could
no
longer be sustained. Returning to the domestic society with their memories of the realities of war,
as
well as knowledge of their own fears, conflicts, and roles in the carnage, the legions of men also
returned to a society which had worked admirably without them in maintaining order,
demonstrating
patriotism, and producing prodigious amounts of war supplies and consumer goods. The
patriarchal
"fictions" about men were in shambles. This work "explores the way photography functioned
within
the postwar restructuring of the dominant fiction." Photography accomplished this by presenting
images of men which reestablished them at the head of the social structure in roles that were
desirable and beneficial. No longer seen by themselves or those who remained on the "home
front,"
especially women, as saving the society, the men came to be seen by themselves and women in
respectable and romantic ways reflecting American ideals of individual worth and ability, mastery
of
one's own situation and destiny, and autonomy. The five main types of images were "breadwinner,
warrior, tough guy, playboy, and rebel." Vettel-Becker, professor of art history at Montana State
U.-Billings, writes a cultural study of how each of these was created by media photography, and
each image's part in making male ego whole and restoring male superiority in postwar American
society. One chapter, "Female Body," showing a few photos of naked women, looks at how the
eroticized image of women worked so men could regain the position they had lost due to the
"historical trauma" they suffered from World War II.
Prime Time Apparitions
R. Zamora Linmark
Hanging Loose Press
231 Wyckoff St., Brooklyn, NY 11217
www.hangingloosepress.com
ISBN 1931236453 $15.00 88 pp.
Linmark's poems are lively, often comical depictions of the eclectic elements and multiple possible
directions of contemporary life. With the Philippines, Hawaii, and San Francisco in his
background,
he effortlessly, sometimes profligately, conjures up the diverse parts of circumstances. While these
are paradoxical or overwhelming for many, with Linmark, they are bound by his energy and
brightness. In some cases, they are bound by his empathy too, as when he assumes a different
character and sometimes the other gender. As references to Kierkegaard and a few poems which
reach out to a higher power suggest, the eclectic, unpredictable objects and thoughts of the poems
are not distractions, but rather are often occasions for a different, nontraditional, manner of
reflection or meditation.
Looking for God's Country
Norbert Krapf
Times Being Books
10411 Clayton Rd. - Suite 201-203, Saint Louis, MO 63131
ISBN 1568091036 $14.95 135 pp.
The past often turns up in Krapf's poems, but not in a nostalgic way. The poet does not
nostalgically
pine for or color the past because it is so lively in his memory anyway. That a "shopping mall and
a
big/black parking lot" have replaced the packed-dirt basketball court of the poet's youth is not
cause
for sorrow or regret because when he sees this, the poet hears in his mind "that leather
swish/inside a
cord net like the sound/of an angel landing in heaven." [from "Barnyard Hoops"] The poet has
memories which nothing can take away from him. But these do not pale the immediate or remove
the poet from it. Rather, they give fullness and a wide emotional expanse to the present; as when
in
"Going to Church" two elderly widowers smile and move with a grace that "says ladies they
love/are
going to church, too." Throughout his life, Krapf has retained his connection to his German
ancestry
in various ways. This is seen in this volume with black-and-white photographs by the German
photographer Andreas Riedel at the beginning of each of the four sections.
Zoro's Field - My Life in the Appalachian Woods
Thomas Rain Crowe
U. of Georgia Press
330 Research Dr., Athens, GA 30602-4901
www.ugapress.org
ISBN 0820327344 $27.95 221+xiv pp.
The local legend and mountain sage of the Appalachians of western North Carolina Zoro Guice
told
the author, "If a man goes out in the woods and just sits down in one place for long enough, all of
nature and everything he needs to know will eventually pass before him like a parade." And so
Crowe--poet, publisher, and recording artist--took up residence in the Appalachians for four
years,
and writes about the "parade." As in Thoreau's "Walden," Crowe writes about how he subsisted in
the wild and what he learned from this. But moving somewhat beyond "Walden" in content and
form, Crowe writes more about what goes on beyond himself; and some passages are in the form
of
verse. Not so meticulous or contained as "Walden," "Zoro's Field" reflects on modernity's effects
on
the tie with nature, environmental concerns, and changes which have come to the area. Though
different in ways from Thoreau's classic which it cannot help but be compared with, Crowe's work
in
this same genre holds its own as an engaging, thought-inducing memoir.
Women of the Northern Plains - Gender and Settlement on the Homestead Frontier
1870-1930
Barbara Handy-Marchello
Minnesota Historical Society Press
345 Kellogg Blvd. W., St. Paul, MN 55102-1906
www.mnhs.org/mhspress 800-647-7827
ISBN 0873515218 $32.95 205+viii pp.
"North Dakota pioneer women accepted what they had first seen as 'nothing,' made it into
something
they recognized, and claimed it as their own." Handy-Marchello writes about the varied ways the
pioneer women claimed the empty and daunting frontier. Both immigrant women and "Yankee"
women migrating from eastern parts of the U. S. accomplished this by joining the men in
practically
any work that had to be done. But in addition, it was primarily the women who looked to
education
and health care for children, the development of community by establishing civic and religious
organizations, and all kinds of personal and public commitments making for a lasting society
which
could be handed down to future generations. At the time the northern plains, particularly the area
of
the state of North Dakota, was being settled, the Indians had been mostly pacified and farm
machinery and electricity were changing the work of farming. Nonetheless, the settlement of one
of
the last western frontiers called for all the determination, enterprise, imagination, and hope from
the
women as settlement in any other time or area. Handy-Marchello, a history professor at the U. of
North Dakota, gives equal treatment to both the physical challenges (e. g., the weather, making
fields for crops) and how these were faced and also the indefatigable pioneer spirit of the varied
women. And in the course of doing this, the author notes how the pioneer women's spirit and
contributions continue to shape the regional society.
Swinging for the Fences - Black Baseball in Minnesota
edited by Steven R. Hoffbeck
Minnesota Historical Society Press
345 Kellogg Blvd. W., St. Paul, MN 55012-1906
ISBN 087351517X $29.95 244+xiv pp.
Twenty-three articles by a variety of authors, mostly college professors and journalists, cover the
different facets of black baseball in Minnesota from its first days in the latter 1800s down to
contemporary times. The general theme running through all of the diversified articles is the
"America
Dream" and the "American Tragedy" reflected in the histories of the teams and the careers and
lives
of individual players. The American Dream part of the theme deals with how playing baseball
allowed players to strive for high personal achievement as well as enjoy various levels of
economic
security and social recognition. The American Tragedy part takes in not only the racism and
discrimination players faced, but also personal troubles and disappointments of some of them.
Satchel Paige, Jackie Robinson, and Willie Mays appear along with many relative unknowns. The
exploits of teams named the Fergus Falls Musculars, the Quicksteps, and the Brown Stockings,
among others, are related. The vibrant Minnesota black baseball scene going back well over a
century is treated in a popular style profiling great and other notable players and following the
courses, and occasional dramatic moments, of the teams.
Tito, the Firefighter/tito, El Bombero
Tim Hoppey
illustrated by Kimberly Hoffman
Raven Tree Press
200 S. Washington - Suite 306, Green Bay, WI 54301
www.raventreepress.com
ISBN 0972497331 $16.95 32 pp.
The text is not in the two languages of English and Spanish, but rather the bilingual eight-year-old
Tito uses some Spanish words in telling his story. Passing in front of a firehouse in Spanish
Harlem,
Tito sees a man gesturing excitedly and speaking Spanish to one of the fireman. Tito interprets
what
the man is saying: he saw coming from a window. Then Tito goes with the firemen in their truck
to
investigate. It's only a pot of rice smoldering when it was left on a stove by a woman when she fell
asleep in her apartment. But the incident gives Tito the chance to learn what firemen are like and
see
how they react to a fire. Tim Hoppey, the author of this simple children's tale, is himself a fireman,
who was involved in the 9/11 rescue efforts. Ages 3-6.
Ocean Whisper/Susurro Del Oceano
written and illustrated by Dennis Rockhill
Raven Tree Press
200 S. Washington - Suite 306, Green Bay, WI 54301
www.raventreepress.com
ISBN 0974199231 $16.95 32 pp.
A series of pictures is introduced by a 12-line poem "Ocean Whisper." The poem relates a young
boy's dream that he is a whale cavorting with other whales in the ocean. The pictures are scenes
from his dream. Dennis Rockhill, the illustrator, uses an artistic technique involving sketching and
multiple layers of the scenes to create illustrations that capture the similar undersea world and
world
of a dream. A picture of whales and a fishbowl the young boy looks at in his bedroom as he is
trying
to fall asleep spur his dream. Ages 3-6.
Bach's Goldberg Variations
Anna Harwell Celenza
illustrated by JoAnn E. Kitchel
Charlesbridge Publishing
85 Main St., Watertown, MA 02472
800-225-3214; www.charlesbridge.com
ISBN 1570915105 $19.95 32 pp. color illustrations, music CD.
The legendary-like story behind Bach's immortal "Goldberg Variations" is told accompanied with
fancy, often baroque-like illustrations with golden touches. The musically-talented orphan Johann
Gottlieb Goldberg was taken in by a German Count. The Count directs him to play something
new
for him each week; and then later calls on him to do a "piece filled with dances and difficult
runs...canons and something quite new...[and] a surprise that will trick me." To meet this
demanding
challenge, Johann has to turn to his mentor Bach, whose composition in answer to the Count's
demand later came to be named after the orphan. The orphan Johann remains the focus of the tale,
with Bach giving him musical information and guidance so that readers learn something about the
technicalities and style of the "Goldberg Variations." Ages 4-7.
Amelia to Zora - Twenty-six Women Who Changed the World
Cynthia Chin-Lee
illustrated by Megan Halsey and Sean Addy
Charlesbridge Publishing
85 Main St., Watertown, MA 02472
800-225-3214; www.charlesbridge.com
ISBN 1570915225 $15.95 32 pp. color illustrations, music CD.
There's the familiar, expected, notable women--the flier Amelia Earhart, the black author Zora
Neale
Hurston, the artist Frida Kahlo, the philanthropist Eleanor Roosevelt. But there's also a number of
accomplished lesser-known women and ones who have achieved recognition in recent years who
are
not yet seen as regulars in the circle of historically significant women. Thus, one finds the
architect
Maya Lin and the figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi. Outstanding women from diverse ethnic
backgrounds and active in diverse fields, from labor unions to science to entertainment, are
included
in the twenty-six for each letter of the alphabet. Each woman is pictured in a collage-like
illustration
with objects representing what she is recognized for.
The Prince's Diary
Renee Ting
illustrated by Elizabeth O. Dulemba
Shen's Books
40951 Freemont Blvd., Fremont, CA 94538
ISBN 1885008279 $16.95 32 pp.
The Prince is the character from the Cinderella tale, retelling this classic from an unusual
perspective. On the date June 19 in his diary, the Prince writes, "I saw Cinderella again today! I
was
out inspecting a section of broken fence when she came into view...carrying a basket of wet
clothes
that she hung out to dry." The story follows the traditional story line, but seems fresh and
embellished in being told once again from this novel perspective.
Henry Berry
Reviewer
Judine's Bookshelf
Cook'n To Keep Him: Make Your Relationship Seeter, Passionate, and More Delicious
Cheryl Mayfield Brown
Authorhouse
1663 Liberty Drive, Suite 200; Bloomington, IN 47403
ISBN: 1414064926 $20.00 pp. 368
Description: Light his fire
A question to all the ladies: Has the stove's pilot light extinguished from your love relationship? If
so, you might have been wondering how you can start that fire again. Well, look no further --
Cheryl
Mayfield Brown has the match to ignite the flame.
Here's what you need to do. Before you turn the covers for a little shut eye one night, ask your
partner to pick out an entree for tomorrow's dinner from Cheryl's cookbook "Cook'n To Keep
Him."
Simply scanning the table of contents, with chapters titled "Afternoon Delight," "Hot Licks," and
"Love Dem Balls," will give him a hunger for more than just meat and potatoes. Then tease him a
bit, by promising him a drink from the "Just Wet" chapter, as soon as he walks through the door
after work. Just be prepared to have plenty of the food ingredients in the house, because both of
you
might be "cooking" until the next morning.
Cheryl Mayfield Brown gives you home style recipes, plus she also makes sure your love's pilot
light
is lit. You'll simply enjoy her sassy recipes, and her reusable coupons. Using her own real life
example, Cheryl explains why it takes more than a meal to ensure a man wants to return to your
table. "In this book you will discover how to cultivate a new kind of flavor for your relationship
using and working the "cooking utensils" that you naturally possess." (pg xiii) I recommend
"Cook'n
To Keep Him" as the only book you will ever need to heat up both the kitchen and the
bedroom.
Light: Stories of Urban Resurrection
R. Kayeen Thomas
Marwel Enterprises
P.O. Box 31227 Washington, DC 20030-1227
ISBN: 0975958208 $12.00 96 pp.
Description: 21st century enlightment
What causes a soul to vacate a warm, living body? It could be a sudden physical trauma,
emotional
crisis or a drastic change in evironment. If and when the soul returns, it oftentimes shares spiritual
wisdom with the conscious mind, gained while away. This is enlightment.
"Light: Stories of Urban Resurrection" translates the ordinary into transcended poems and short
reflections. Each piece intellectually analyzes human actions and reactions, usually described with
the five senses, and intertwines them with a sixth sense. "Forget what you know, what you think
is
right, normal, good, acceptable. For your enlightment may dwell in the unknown." (pg 56)
R. Kayeen Thomas prefaces "Light" by explaining his parents decision to drasticly change his
education environment to a private school. This caused him to act out of character. "However, it
didn't take me long to realize that the world I had been living in during my middle school years
was
not a real one..." (pg. 12) The switch back to a public high school took a heavy adjustment also.
Kayeen's soul discovers wisdom, which spills over through the pen. I recommend "Light: Stories
of
Urban Resurrection" for 21st century enlightment.
Judine Slaughter, Reviewer
http://class.universalclass.com/tomarket
Lori's Bookshelf
No Ocean Deep
Cate Swannell
Regal Crest Enterprises
www.regalcrest.biz
PMB 210, 8691 9th Avenue, Port Arthur, TX 77642-8025
ISBN: 1932300368 $18.95 308 pp.
Jo Madison and Cadie Jones are back in this sequel to 2003's HEART'S PASSAGE. Set in the
Whitsunday Islands of Australia, the story picks up only weeks after the exciting denouement of
the
last book. Jo has inherited the charter business of pleasure cruisers for which she used to be a
skipper, and the American Cadie is still on the scene, having not returned to the U.S. when her
former lover did.
Cadie and Jo have been busily forging a new relationship, the likes of which neither has had in the
past. But such a relationship will entail encountering old skeletons, reconciling with long-lost
family,
and dealing with the threat posed by Cadie's ex, the mercurial Senator Naomi Silverberg, whose
influential reach and penchant for revenge could prove deadly.
The novel starts out in a leisurely manner and gradually builds to complications. As long as the
two
lovers are out on the water, things are fine, but inevitably they must go ashore and travel around
the
countryside. Cadie is also faced with the fact that she is on a travel visa that isn't going to last
forever. How will they preserve their relationship if they end up a continent apart?
The narrative in NO OCEAN DEEP is smoother than the debut novel was as Swannell expertly
weaves this story and ties up loose ends for Cadie and Jo. The characters continue to enchant,
particularly Jo with her Aussie phrases and quirky sense of humor. You could read this book
independent of HEART'S PASSAGE, but I recommend reading them in order, preferably on a
beach
or boat somewhere on a nice, leisurely vacation.
Assorted Flavours: A Collection of Lesbian Short Stories
Lois Cloarec Hart
PD Publishing, Inc.
www.pdpublishing.com
ISBN: 0975436627 $19.99 300 pp.
Author Lois Hart, who has two novels under her belt (COMING HOME and BROKEN FAITH),
has tried her hand at a collection of short stories and obtained terrific results. Love and
relationships,
conflict and oddities abound in this well-written collection of thoughtful and interesting
pieces.
With a keen eye toward human nature, Hart's new story collection paints a rich and colorful
picture
of life on the margins. Two of my favorites are about an angry lesbian daughter in conflict with
her
mother in "Grandmother's Cup" and a frightening and realization-filled flight from Halifax to
Toronto in "Nine Minutes." The book ends with a lovely novella, "The Lion and the Lamb."
Because Hart is an old-fashioned storyteller of the very highest order, each offering is solid and
engrossing, relying more upon character development, careful plotting, and seamless writing than
on
stylistic flash. She writes lovely sentences and scenes, at times elegant, at times whimsical or
witty,
all of which affect the reader in surprising and delightful ways and often with unexpected
consequences. The power of most of these ten stories is cumulative. By the time you arrive at the
middle of the volume, you will already be regretting that there is an end in sight.
Each of these stories is dazzling and inventive, with the underlying promise of something utterly
unexpected waiting just up ahead. Don't miss this short story collection. It's one of the best of
2005.
The War Between The Hearts
Nann Dunne
Intaglio Publications
www.intagliopub.com
ISBN 1933113278 $17.95 294 pp.
It seems odd that well over one hundred years had to pass before verified information surfaced
about
women soldiers serving in the Civil War. Folklore and tall tales have often featured women
soldiers
disguised as men and working as spies, smugglers, and scouts, but interesting and documented
books about the women in the military haven't come out until the last few years. Recent
non-fiction
books have found that at minimum, 700 women served - disguised as men - in the ranks of the
Union and Confederate armies. Some say that number should be closer to a thousand. Scores of
women died at Gettysburg, undiscovered until burial. Many nameless women probably served that
the history books will never detail.
So it seems timely that author Nann Dunne has created the fictional Sarah-Bren Coulter, a
handsome
southern woman who cannot resist the pull of the Civil War. Her twin brother stays behind to run
the family foundry, and Sarah - disguised as Bren Cordell - becomes a courier-scout for the
Confederate Army while spying for the Union. She finds the battles of war unlike anything she
ever
expected. She sees more blood and death than any person ever should. And then she herself is
wounded. Instead of dying, fortune smiles upon her, sending her into the hands of Faith Pruitt, a
woman with a young son who lives close to some of the fighting. But safety with Faith is not to
last
long. Sarah is trapped on the border of Union and Confederate forces - and which should she hold
herself out as?
From that point on, the plot turns more desperate as the danger Sarah has tried to escape catches
up
with her. Her strength, her mental and physical stability, and her ethics will be sorely tested as she
deals with the damage that befalls her. Revenge, retribution, murder - and lost love - will weigh
heavily on her mind. Will Sarah Coulter be strong enough to deal with her future?
The author has done an excellent job researching the setting and time, while never inundating the
reader with a history lesson. The drama of the story comes alive because of this. Once the novel is
set up, the action is fast-paced with scenes ranging from hate-infused to anguished to
terror-stricken,
all of which are nicely balanced with scenes of strong friendship, camaraderie, and love. The
characters in the book are full-bodied and complex and include sister-in-law Lindsay, whose
ongoing
support, even in face of her husband's condemnation of Sarah, is balm to Sarah's soul. Her friend
Phillip is steadfast in his caring for Sarah in spite of multiple marriage rejections. There is humor
and
mutual respect between Sarah and her friend Leah, a "woman of ill repute" whose role in the story
is
central. Of course Faith, and her son Benjamin, are also critical to this "war between the
hearts."
Nann Dunne has created an unforgettable heroine, a woman before her time, standing at the crux
of
a new age. This fast-paced and gripping story will keep you up late at night. Highly
recommended.
Don't miss it!
Hunter's Pursuit
Kim Baldwin
Bold Strokes Books
www.boldstrokesbooks.com
ISBN: 1933110090 $15.95 316 pp.
Hidden away in an icy fortress, in a snow-encrusted bunker dug deep into a hillside in the
Michigan
woods, Kat "Hunter" Demitrious waits. Now in her mid-30s, she has been taking time to reflect
upon all the havoc she has wreaked in her career as a hired assassin and bounty hunter. She has
committed a lot of reprehensible acts - done things that few people would ever forgive, least of all
herself. Even after having walked away five years earlier from her violent life, she is still in danger
because someone - most likely her former employer - has put out a million-dollar contract on her
life. So Hunter is not safe at all, and her life is suddenly in grave danger when she is out in the
woods deer hunting one day, and her newfound compassion causes her to stop on a lonely road
and
help a car crash victim who turns out to have been traveling in a stolen car.
The woman Hunter takes in "looked to be about twenty-five, ten years younger than Hunter, and
she
was probably quite attractive, but it was hard to tell for sure at the moment. Bandages hid much
of
her face and the areas that were exposed were puffy and bruised. Her nose had been broken,
blackening both eyes, and there was a small lump behind one ear. Her shoulder-length blond hair
was matted with dried blood, and a three-inch gash on her forehead had been closed with several
neat stitches of dental floss. Her left arm was set with a makeshift splint, her left knee was
wrapped
in an Ace bandage and her rib cage had been tightly taped" (p. 11).
"Jake" finds herself in that beat-up situation when she wakes up in a dark place, attended by a
strange woman, and unable to remember her name or how she came there. She cannot recall
anything about her past, but she feels certain she knows Hunter, who is in turn quite sure she has
never met Jake. The injured woman's certainty that she recognizes Hunter seems to furnish proof
that Jake is the bounty hunter gunning for her, and this makes things difficult because in the scant
amount of time the two women spend together, an attraction catches hold and sparks begin to
fly.
But HUNTER'S PURSUIT is not primarily a romance, though it contains a romantic sub-plot.
After
the initial set-up, the bulk of the book is action-adventure as Hunter tries to escape detection by
other bounty hunters, all of whom want the million dollar prize. Unlike her past solitude past,
however, Hunter now has the injured Jake to defend, and as every hour goes by, Hunter grows
more
determined to protect her.
The story is full of twists and turns, suspense, and a deepening mystery that is not resolved until
the
final couple chapters. Who is after Hunter? Who is Jake? Can they trust one another? The writing
is
crisp, especially as the tension mounts in the second half of the book. HUNTER'S PURSUIT is a
terrific action/thriller from a promising new writer, and I highly recommend the story.
Lori L. Lake
Reviewer
Lynne's Bookshelf
Adventures of Riley: Amazon River Rescue
Amanda Lumry & Laura Hurwitz
Illustrations by Sarah McIntyre
Eaglemont Press
PMB 741, 15600 NE 8th #B-1, Bellevue, WA 98008
www.eaglemontpress.com 1-877-580-9744
ISBN 0966225791 $15.95 36 pp. Ages 4-8
Finally the big day arrives on which nine-year old Riley flies to Brazil to spend time with his Uncle
Max, Aunt Martha and cousin Alice in the Amazon Rain Forest. After hours of traveling, Riley
lands
to news that his scientist Uncle, who is on assignment studying Kapok trees, has just discovered a
new fungus, which he will name "Maximus Fungus."
Exciting adventures lie on Riley's horizon, but as early as Page two, colorful sidebars with credit
sources for interesting Amazon Rainforest information interrupt his story. This becomes a bit
overwhelming at times. On Page 4/5, where the story gets lost underwater in a double-page
spread
(to be turned vertically to view the layers of the rainforest (emergent layer, canopy, understory,
forest floor, river), as well as learn about the animals found in those areas. While this information
is
extremely fascinating, it does detract from the story and similar set-ups continue to do so
throughout.
Mystery calls when the children encountered a creature which they follow, resulting in tense
encounters with tarantulas, a forest fire, a jaguar and darkness. At this point I must address the
few
strange items that stick in my mind: It seemed a nine year-old protagonist was somewhat unusual
for
a picture book; it seemed questionable that Riley and Alice were not cautioned not to stray from
camp and run about the rainforest by themselves, and it seems detracting to have so much
informational material break the flow of the story.
As a plus---busy, bright and colorful illustrations are at times composed of artwork overlaid upon
actual Amazon photos, as well as actual photos of the wild life overlaid upon illustrations of fauna
give the reader somewhat of a sense of place. Yet these illustrations also often suffer the invasion
of
the side bars.
Authors provide a cornucopia of information, If more information is desired, a glossary is
included
at the back of the book. Also attached is a Passport to Riley's World and information on
registering
a free membership. A portion of the proceeds of the book go to Smithsonian Institution, the
Wildlife
Conservation Society and World Wildlife Organization---worthwhile organizations, indeed!
In spite of the choppy story, this book proves a gem for its information on the Amazon Rain
Forest
and its unique animals. It certainly will spark children's interest in the Amazon Rain Forest and
that's
an important feat!
Sketches from a Spy Tree
Tracie Vaughn Zimmer;
Illustrated by Andrew Glass
Clarion Books
A Houghton Mifflin Company imprint
215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10003
www.hougtonmifflinbooks.com
ISBN 0618234799 $16.00 64 pp. Ages 9-12
Line by line, words and pictures hook the reader into the pensive world of Anne Marie, who deals
with her father's betrayal of her family by sketching pictures of what she sees in the world around
her
from her spy tree. While Anne Marie shows a keen eye for detail and character in the
neighborhood,
she exhibits trouble putting her home life in perspective---especially when, while Anne Marie still
grieves for her father, his former best friend moves in and takes his place. In addition to dealing
with
abandonment, divorce, sisters and step-families, this poignant story also touches upon the close
friendship that often develops between twins, and the quiet, but profound influence one may have
upon the other.
First-time poet/author Tracie Vaughn Zimmer's thoughtful free verse poetry proves a daring, but
perfect medium for this tender depiction of a girl's journey from darkness and rebellion to
acceptance and hope. Applause to Ms. Zimmer for a well-done performance in this poetic genre,
which has all the benefits of poetry (rhythm, structure, emotion, cadence, etc.) without the crime
of
forced rhyme!
Charming illustrations by Andrew Glass, done in pencil, oil paint and interesting bits of collage,
prove poetry in motion as he brings Anne Marie's feelings and drawings to life on the page and
chronicles the year's worth of changes and growth in her life.
Silent Sam
Tabatha Jean D'Agata
Illustrated by Geraldo Valerio.
BeBop Books
A Division of Lee and Low Books, Inc.
95 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
www.bebopbooks.com/www.leeandlow.com
ISBN 1516225855 $9.00 24 pp.
Gus wants to teach his parrot, Sam to speak. Though Gus tries several methods, including
repeating
Sam's name into a tape recorder, Sam is silent. When Gus finally gives up teaching Sam how to
say
his name and turns to something else, a mishap occurs. Short sentences, repetition of words and a
cute twist make this a book satisfying read for little ones learning to read on their own. A fun
introduction to reading by author newcomer Tabatha D'Agata, with great signature illustrations
by
former Brazilian Geraldo Valerio that compliment the words.
Hurry Up!
Carol Murray
Illustrated by Dave Garbot
Children's Press
A Division of Scholastic, Inc.
90 Sherman Turnpike, Danbury, CT 06816
ISBN 1516225855 $19.50 32 pp., Rookie Reader Level C
A young boy finds out all the things he must quickly take care of before he goes on an a surprise
outing with his Aunt Ella. These include making his bed, brushing his teeth, combing his hair,
washing his face and other important behaviors. The young boy even picks up his toys on his own.
All is rewarded when his Aunt Ella takes him to the circus and together they have a great time
seeing tents, clowns, bears and elephants.
In this Rookie Reader geared to ages 4-8, poet Carol Murray provides rhyming text with
repetitive
words that make for easy reading. A word-list of the 79 words used to write the poem is included
on
the last page. Dave Garbot's fun, cartoon like illustrations provide hints to help the reader figure
out
the text, and even a bonus dog.
Rainmaker
Alison Jackson
Boyds Mills Press
815 Church Street, Honesdale, PA 18431
1(800) 490-5111
ISBN 1590783093 $16.95 192 pp.
sub.stance 2. tangible physical matter - a physical reality that can be touched and felt. 3. practical
value - real or practical value or importance
Substance. Some books have it, and some books don't. This book does.
It's 1939. 13 year-old Miriam (Pidge) Martin prays for rain to end the long drought suffered by
the
family's orange grove in Frostfree, Florida. But day after day, the rain doesn't come. The heat
makes
the nation-wide depression worse. It makes Pidge's brother Little Jack more uncontrollable. It
makes
Pidge more irritable about certain topics than usual, and that includes her mother's death, anything
to
do with goody-two shoes Dora Wheaton and attention from Noah Blore. But worse, it makes her
Aunt and Papa (and Miriam herself) worry that they'll lose their farm.
The drought causes the world around Pidge Martin to change. Her poor family becomes poorer.
The
truth comes out about her mother's mental illness. Dora Wheaton hooks up with Denny Harper
and
inspires a longing in Pidge for Noah Blore. Stubborn Pidge herself begins to change. She acts
strange, and blames it on the drought.
When it seems all hope is lost, Pidge's Papa finds a sliver of it in a crack in the dry earth. It comes
in
the form of a newspaper article and an old, hard-of-hearing woman named Millie Boze who
claims
to coax the rain. He offers this slice of hope up to his family and neighbors and they all grab hold
of
it, except for Doc Wheaton, Dora's father. Tension mounts as the town defies Doc Wheaton and
bets all their money on a miracle. Only time will tell who's right and who's wrong, and if the
change
Pidge Martin so dreads will be for the better.
While Rainmaker may begin with a lack of water, it certainly doesn't lack substance. It's moving,
memorable and transports the reader to a place far away, but still within the heart. It wouldn't
surprise me in the very least if this book got at least a nod from the Newbery committee. And, if it
doesn't it should have!
Lynne Marie Pisano
Reviewer
Magdalena's Bookshelf
The Wealthy Writer: How to Earn a Six-Figure Income as a Freelance Writer (No Kidding!), 3rd
edition
Michael Meanwell
E-published by Meanwell
www.michaelmeanwell.com
No ISBN, E-book $19.97 409 pages
I often get emails from people who are hoping to make millions with a first novel, generally, as
yet,
unwritten. Obviously there is a fairly common misconception that breaking into the world of
fiction
is easy and profitable. It couldn't be further from the truth. Superstar "names" like John Grisham
and
Dan Brown may be doing very well from their work (generally due to a powerful marketing
team),
but most fiction and poetry writers would be receiving a far better hourly rate working on the
checkout of a local supermarket or pumping gas. Freelancers looking to make money from
magazine
articles and other forms of non-fiction fare slightly better, but it's still a hard slog, with lots of
querying, cold submissions and a long trail of rejections and apprenticeship before the relatively
low
paying acceptances begin coming in . It is rarely enough money to live on, especially with financial
commitments like a family and mortgage. However, there is one branch of writing which is both
lucrative, and relatively easy to break into: Commercial writing, or writing communications for
business - eg sales letters, speeches, newsletters, brochures, advertisements, public relations
material
of all kinds, technical writing, and so on is a growing field where good writers are in short supply.
Michael Meanwell's The Wealthy Writer is a comprehensive guide to creating, from scratch if
need
be, a lucrative commercial writing practice. While the book focuses almost solely on commercial
writing, Meanwell clearly understands that writers will continue to want to produce creative
works
like novels and poetry for non-lucrative reasons, and stresses throughout the book that
commercial
writers will not only be honing their skills, but also creating enough free time to allow for other
hobbies.
The Wealthy Writer e-book is actually a combination of two of Meanwell's printed texts, The
Wealthy Writer and The Enterprising Writer, and since all of the links are clickable, works very
well
as an e-book. You can easily copy the templates, click on and bookmark the links, and begin
utilising his techniques straightaway, even before you finish the book. Meanwell is very open
about
the challenges inherent in becoming a commercial writer, and from the start, gets writers to ask
themselves the hard questions about their working style, level of commitment, and even things
like
family situation and health. The book pulls no punches about the need for a serious business plan
(and provides the tools to create one), the need to have a roadmap, putting in place systems and
procedures, creating a home office, setting up a professional budget, and how to determine your
worth to clients. All of this precedes the writing process and makes it clear how important it is to
decide the parameters and capabilities of your business before touting for clients or writing a word
of copy.
The rest of the book provides a serious guide to ensuring that your writing skills are honed and
targeted specifically for the commercial market, and covers such things as how to write technical
manuals well, how to produce good quality public relations (including using PR for your own
advertising efforts), how to write "content" for the web (a rapidly growing field where need is
beginning to seriously outstrip skill), speech writing, corporate communications, newsletter
writing,
copywriting and using direct mail. There are also chapters which go into the specifics of
marketing
your business, pitching for clients, maintaining a successful business where word of mouth is
positive, using the flexibility of outsourcing to handle an increasing work load, how to deal with
billing, contracts, bad debtors, time management, interviewing as a writing tool, dealing with
writer's
block, balancing work and life, and giving persuasive power speeches:
"You don't have to be a naturally funny person to identify and deliver humor, but it helps if you
know where to look. The best humor, in my view, is that which you experience or perceive. It's
personal, so you're more than likely to deliver it better than secondhand humor you have found
elsewhere. Start by observing life. Take notes and record your observations for future use.
Another
deep wellspring of humor resides in your own life. Think about past experiences - embarrassing
situations, mistakes you made, and outdated perceptions you had. You've got enough material
right
there for several stand-up routines! " (303)
The book is easy to read, and contains lots of point by point ("13 things to remember when
drafting
a press release"; "5 Steps to Building a Media Database ") summaries to make referencing simple,
especially as your business diversifies and you need to come back and re-read some sections. If
you
take Meanwell's advice, this is very likely. Many examples and anecdotes from Meanwell's own
experience are provided, with rich photographs, thought provoking case studies using big
companies
like Telstra and Kodak, and a slightly Escheresque but detailed analysis of the publication process
and learnings from his own book The Enterprising Writer. This expanded e-book contains a lot
more
meat than The Enterprising Writer which was already pretty hefty in information. This book
contains
the latest trends in web writing, communication tools, the use of the Internet as a marketing tool,
with lots of links for more information, websites to use to obtain work, and a whole lot of
templates,
samples and even a phone script. There is enough material here to take a novice and turn him or
her
into a professional, well paid commercial writer. For more experienced writers, this book contains
so
much information from Meanwell's years of personal experience, that the small investment will
very
likely translate into more lucrative work.
Throughout the book, Meanwell is conscious of the writer's need to be creative, and includes tips
on
keeping your work fresh, and on how to save time for your passions:
"We can all develop this ability by using what's been termed "possibility thinking." Daydream
about
what you'd like to achieve. See it in your mind's eye. Feel it, taste it, know that it is already part of
your life and that it's within your power to tap into your talent and draw that success to you. If
you
do this at the beginning of each day, you'll move closer to having the end result you want in your
life. Again, this may be getting a little off base for some people. My point is simply that, in order
to
get the most out of your creative process, you need to cultivate it by thinking differently. If you
want positive action in your life, you need to nourish your
mind with positive thought " (370)
Fiction is a wonderful medium to work in, but the chances of making real money from it are
relatively slim, especially if you write, as you should, based on your own passions rather than the
whims of the marketplace. If you want to earn a regular, reliable income from writing work,
commercial writing has got to be your best bet. Meanwell's latest bumper guide is as thorough a
one
as you'll find for breaking into, and succeeding as a commercial writer, and his witty, down to
earth
style will ensure that you enjoy the book as much as you find yourself referencing it on a regular
basis.
Book Marketing From A-Z
Francine Silverman
Infinity Publishing
www.InfinityPublishing.com
ISBN: 0741424312, $18.95 400 pages
There seems to be a sudden explosion of books which teach writers how to market and sell their
books. The reason is obvious. The penny has finally dropped that the key difference between good
and poor book sales is the author's marketing skills. With the advent of inexpensive
self-publishing,
many authors are having to learn how to manage all aspects of book publishing, including
marketing
and selling the book, sometimes by hand. Even authors who have books with the big mainstream
publishing houses, the marketing budgets have significantly decreased, and new authors are
finding
that the only way to stay out of the remainder pile is to do most of the marketing themselves.
Most
of the books I've read on this topic have been well researched, with easy to follow, helpful
suggestions. Francine Silverman, more editor than author on this project, has produced a book
which is unique in its approach, even in this suddenly crowded market. What it does is to provide
a
series of examples, anecdotes or advice from experienced authors in a structured format on what
has
worked, promotionally, for them. Taken collectively, the book is full of information which is often
novel, and almost always interesting, because in the context of an actual experience.
The book is organised into 35 alphabetised sections, each looking at a single aspect of book
promotion. The book starts with Advertising, and ends with Zero Promotion, and for each
section,
there are a wide range of invited anecdotes, suggestions, tips, pitfalls, and other pieces of useful
information from authors who have been there. The authors are wide ranging, and include the
self-published, publishers, promotion experts, Internet personalities, and authors who are
published
with large publishing houses. The advice spans a wide range of areas of book promotion,
The book's structure is just a little haphazard in its current alphabetised form, and might have
worked better, particularly for those new to book promotion, if it were structured in the order in
which the activities occur. However, the A-Z format does have the advantage of making it easy to
find advice on a specific topic, and deciding at which point each of these activities should occur
isn't
that straightforward anyway. Creating a book cover obviously precedes holding a book signing,
but
some of the activities, like setting up a website, creating a press kit, or branding yourself, can
occur
at anytime, including prior to a book's completion. One other problem with the book is that
contributor promotional information occurs just after their tips, which is probably a good thing for
the contributors but as it is often lengthy (sometimes lengthier than the tip), it can be distracting.
It
would have been better to have an alphabetised list of contributors with their bios at the end of the
book, which would also mean one bio per contributor rather than coming across the same bio
repeatedly. Minor problems notwithstanding, this is still an extremely useful book and is full of so
much information that readers will find themselves returning to it regularly.
Some of the more innovative ideas include Lara Zeises' suggestion about making use of college
alumni magazines:
I went to the University of Delaware, which has a student population of 16,000 at any given time
I
e-mailed the 'news & Notes' section about my first novel, Bringing Up the Bones
(Delacorte/Random House 2002), and they ended up writing a full-page article with four-color
photo about me. I got several speaking gigs and subsequent interviews for other publications, all
from theat (free!) piece of publicity.(72)
Another of the many gems in this book of gems is from author Don Keith, who suggests the use
of
viral marketing by creating a humorous and forwardable email and sending it to a relevant group
of
people:
Within two days, I had heard from over 50 people. Many of the folks I heard from didn't receive
the
original mailing to the 30 people. It was forwarded to them. One person told me he received the
forwarded e-mail from three different people!) In addition, the list, along with the info at the end,
has been reproduced in several broadcasting trade publications and on websites.(204)
Many of the ideas will inspire and fire authors to go out and try more creative approaches to
promoting their books. There are certainly enough of those in here, plus a welter of links and
further
information, including a section on additional author services. This is a nicely pulled together,
easy
to read and practical set of very useful advice, given in the context of real life anecdotes. Book
Marketing from A-Z is a fun to read resource full of a tremendous amount of innovative
information
on getting your book in the hands of readers.
Magdalena Ball, Reviewer
http://www.compulsivereader.com/html
Martha's Bookshelf
Convictions of the Heart
Sherry M. Smith
Autumn Distribution
Wyoming, Michigan 49519
ISBN 0965766519 $12.00 288 pages
I can't deny a fascination with Michigan's authors, especially those living in my own
neighborhood.
Therefore, I was delighted to find Convictions of the Heart in our local library. My interest in the
book was further piqued when I realized Ms. Smith's subject matter and the background for her
book was a horse farm near Lexington, Kentucky, an area I visited as a child. I can vividly recall
mares with their matching foals prancing in the fenced-in fields surrounding Lexington. Horses are
king in this part of Kentucky, and their beauty is astonishing.
The story is told through the eyes of Katherine Abbot, who escapes an unhappy life brought about
by her parents' preoccupation with wealth to live a simple, secluded existence around Lexington,
Kentucky, in the year 1892. And Katherine is pregnant, pregnant with the sperm of a doctor, not
her
cruel (and deceased) spouse, who has succeeded in one of his first attempts at artificial
insemination
in human beings. Katherine is determined that her parents remain ignorant of her whereabouts,
also
hiding the fact that she is the heiress of her departed husband's fortune.
Katherine falls in love with Elliott Connery, a simple man of humble means whose wandering days
are over when he meets the beautiful Katherine. Though Katherine tells Elliott of her pregnancy
before they marry, she continues to conceal the baby's true father and her extreme wealth, fearing
the independent Connery will be shocked and won't accept living on his wife's income. This
concealment becomes a torture to Katherine. She confides first in Rose, an elderly neighbor who
dies soon after, and then in Martha Harkness, the wife of her husband's employer, when Martha
confronts Katherine with an old newspaper story regarding her disappearance.
This book is very atmospheric, a fitting tribute to the grass-covered fields of central Kentucky. It
also has a historical aspect with regard to the family of the late Lamon V. Harkness, the owner
and
developer of the Walnut Hall Stock Farm in 1892, whose great-granddaughter, Meg
Jewett-Leavitt,
lives there still. In addition to giving the reader an in-depth tour of a standardbred horse nursery
that
produces racehorses for harness race tracks, Ms. Smith reveals a very real concern for the female
victims of spousal abuse, who had, like Katherine Abbot, few avenues of help in 1892. Katherine
Abbot's attempt to tackle this large, if mostly hidden, problem of her day is an elevating aspect of
Convictions of the Heart.
As the author plans to publish future books detailing the further adventures of the characters the
reader meets in Convictions of the Heart, I look forward to reading them.
The Notebook
Nicholas Sparks
Time Warner Book Group
1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
www.twbookmark.com 1-800-222-6747
ISBN: 0446605239 $7.50 239 pp.
Noah Calhoun's modest small town existence and Allie Nelson's wealthy upbringing are in striking
contrast when they meet and fall in love as teenagers in the magical summer light of New Bern, a
sleepy coastal village in North Carolina. In early September they part and, when Noah's letters to
Allie never reach her, both young people are convinced their romance has ended.
In spite of this, 31-year-old Noah clings to Allie's memory through his work with a scrap metal
dealer, his World War II service and rebuilding his dream house in New Bern after the War. And
though Allie is to marry an up-and-coming attorney, she decides she has to return to New Bern to
see Noah one last time before putting the past behind her. When their meeting reveals the passion
they feel for each other is enduring, Allie must decide whether to continue her comfortable life as
a
socialite or begin a new and uncertain future with Noah.
Nicholas Sparks is a true romantic, believing in a love that binds two people together for a
lifetime.
This book begins at the end of Noah's and Allie's life, with Noah attempting to reach Allie, in the
last
stages of Alzheimer's, by reading from a notebook he has written chronicling their romance. The
fact
that Allie does at times remember astounds her doctors but not Noah, who knows their love is
still
there, deep within Allie's subconscious, never to be erased by the ravages of time or disease.
This book is not for cynics or misanthropes but believers who feel that somewhere out there is
that
perfect soul mate every person dreams of. Many of us will stand in awe and envy of Noah's and
Allie's bond, and of the fact that Noah can state . . . "I've loved another with all my heart and soul,
and to me, this has always been enough."
Sparks also captures the flavor of the beautiful waterways and quiet groves in North Carolina's
coastal region, which linger with the reader even after the book is put down.
Other books by Nicholas Sparks are Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, The Rescue, A
Bend in the Road, Nights in Rodanthe, The Guardian, The Wedding and Three Weeks with My
Brother.
The Notebook quickly draws the reader into its beautiful love story and is difficult to put down.
So
fortunately it's short enough to be finished without many interruptions. If you read The Notebook,
Nicholas Sparks will prove to you how compelling the love between two "ordinary" people can
be!
Martha Robach
Reviewer
Paul's Bookshelf
Picoverse
Robert A. Metzger
Ace Books
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
http://www.penguin.com
ISBN 0441008992, $22.95, 389 pages
Set in present-day America, Katie McGuire and her ex-husband Horst Wittkowski are nuclear
physicists working on a potential fusion generator called a sonomak. Right after their federal
funding
is eliminated, they are approached by Alexandra Mitchell, a mysterious woman with unlimited
resources, to keep the project going.
It seems that the sonomak can be used to create new universes, copies of this universe but much
smaller, called picoverses. Alexandra is actually a super-robot who wants to escape her masters,
the
Makers, in one of these new universes. In another of these universes, Anthony, Katie and Horst's
young son and super-prodigy, has grown into an immortal and powerful being called Alpha. He
enters this universe to destroy it.
In another universe, in the 1930s, America is on the verge of being conquered by a
Soviet-German
alliance. The east and west coasts are already in foreign hands due to some well-placed nuclear
weapons. The only thing keeping the rest of America from falling into enemy hands are things like
particle beam weapons to shoot down enemy aircraft, developed by Nikola Tesla and a teenaged
Anthony. Albert Einstein has become an anti-science religious zealot, mostly due to his wife,
Nadia,
who is an exact duplicate of Alexandra Mitchell. The only stars at night are from the other
planets,
because the whole universe is the size of the solar system.
This novel is based on very high-level physics, so parts of it will go right over the head of the
average reader. The rest of the novel is excellent. It does really well in the "mind-blowing"
department. Get past the science, and the reader will have plenty to think about, while staying
involved in the book. Well worth reading.
Signals
Kevin D. Randle
Ace Books
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
http://www.penguin.com
ISBN 0441010393, $5.99, 264 pages
Set in near future Earth, a signal has been received from space whose origin can't be explained.
The
initial thought is that it comes from one of the planets or moons in this system, or that it's some
previously unknown pulsar or other interstellar noise maker. All that is known about the source of
the signal is that it is 50 light years away, and that it is heading in Earth's general direction. For a
few
weeks, the signal is lost; when it is regained, "it" is only 30 light years away, and still heading
generally toward Earth. All known attempts to decipher the signal fail; the possibility is that the
signal is internal, from ship to ship, and not meant as a message to another species.
Meantime, an ambitious American state senator latches on to the issue as a way to propel himself
to
Washington. Using some very questionable science, and some huge jumping to conclusions, he
does
a fine job of changing the public's focus from Unexplained Signal From Space to ALIEN
INVASION! Panic and rioting spreads all over the world. (If this really is an invasion, how is
stealing anything not already nailed down going to help?) The initial government and military
response is to look like they are doing something (it's probably nothing, or this will quickly blow
over). By this time, "it" is less than ten light years away, and still heading toward Earth.
An obsolete space station, already in orbit, is retrofitted with appropriate engines and sent to the
edge of the solar system. All they can do is to make themselves as noticeable as possible, and
hope
the aliens stop and have a look. They do stop, but First Contact ends up being rather
anticlimactic.
This one is really good. The first of a four-part series, it focuses more on the people involved than
on the science or the Contact part. It's a strong, well-done piece of writing.
Paul Lappen
Reviewer
Robyn's Bookshelf
The Printer's Devil
Paul Bajoria
Little, Brown and Company
ISBN: 0316010901 $16.99 Ages 8-12
Life as an orphan in lower class Victorian England offers few opportunities. A not-so-nice
London is
corrupt with smugglers, convicts and murderers. But twelve year old Mog Winter feels fortunate
to
be a printer's devil, the name given to an apprentice doing the dirty work, because he can read,
has a
room to himself, a fair boss, and a dog named Lash. When a local convict breaks out of jail, Mog
is
instructed to print the Wanted posters. Little does he know he would soon cross paths with the
escapee and become entangled in a shady underworld web of mistaken identity and thievery. Mog
is
soon hunted by an army of unsavory characters and it is either derail the hunt or perish. Not only
does Mog discover what he is made of, he also stumbles into a mystery from his own past. The
author paints a believable lower class setting around London's shipping society and its influential
elements. The writing is masterful and the underlying humor will bring chuckles, but after saying
such, I do need to caution that some younger readers may find the story a bit sluggish at first and
the
slow pacing more in line with books written for older readers.
Omar on Board
Maryann Kovalski
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
ISBN: 1550419188 $16.95 Ages 6 to 8
Omar the bear is full of excitement at the last day of school party. Everyone is promoted, and Ms.
Fudge presents the perfect gifts. His friend Elsie is thrilled with the balloons she receives, Bart
gets a
red striped ball, and Omar delights in the pink hues seen through his new goggles. The whistle
blows
and the young bears trot down to the pond for a swim, only Omar discovers he can't float like
everyone. He sinks. And when he tries to jump from the high dive, he can only look down. "He
stood there, high up and all alone. The wind rustled around him. Everyone seemed so far away."
But
when Elsie's balloons drift off in the wind, Omar takes off to retrieve his friend's beloved present.
This time, fear is not a factor. In Omar we see a delightful character full of angst and pride as he
encounters the day's unexpected events. Softly created watercolors will capture the attention of
even
the youngest reader. Illustrations of joy and dismay are communicated through lovable creatures
and
adorable expressions.
Robyn Gioia, Reviewer
http://www.robynleslie.com
Roger's Bookshelf
Getting Them to Give a Damn
Eric Chester
Dearborn Trade Publishing
ISBN 1419504584 $19.95 207 pages
Much-Needed Book, Right on Target
If you are a business owner employing people between the ages of 16 and 24, buy, read, absorb,
and
apply this book. If you are a manager or supervisor in any kind of company where you are
responsible for employees between the ages of 16 and 24, buy, read, absorb, and apply this book.
If
you are the confused parent of one or more children between the ages of 16 and 24, buy, read,
absorb, and apply this book. If you are an educator of students between the ages of 16 and 24,
buy,
read, absorb, and apply this book. Are we communicating here?
OK, your first reaction is the profanity in the book title. Live with it! You will find the word a few
places in the text, but it's there to make a point. Yes, the writing is punchy, direct, and pushes the
envelope of your thinking. However, so do the attitudes and behavior of your young people. We
older folks (let's say that term refers to all us gray beards over 35) need to wake up and smell the
differences between today's young workers and their counterparts in previous generations. They
are
different, and must be managed differently. Learn how and succeed. Ignore the lessons of this
book
and continue to pour profits down the drain by recruiting, training, recruiting, training, recruiting,
training, ad nauseum.
Eric Chester is respected as the leading authority on this age group, assuming that anyone can be
an
expert on kidployees. As a consultant and author in the workforce field, I'm very comfortable
telling
you that the man is right-on in his writing as he is in his speaking. He'll grab you at the beginning
of
the book and hold your attention with anecdotes (some from his own life) and lessons learned. In
page after page, Chester presents knowledge, insight, techniques, and advice that - if heeded - can
substantially strengthen a manager's effectiveness.
In the first of five well-organized sections of the book, you'll gain valuable perspectives about the
16-24 year olds (Generation Why), noting how and why they're different and how the difference
can be a powerful asset for your company. Subsequent sections address how to attract, keep, and
connect with this important employee group. The last section offers important insight into some
employers who get it right why and how. An index supplements the text, enabling you to go back
to particular sections for refresher readings.
You will be amazed at how much the author has packed into this comfortably-sized book. After
you're finished with your first reading, you'll probably be inspired to buy copies for other
managers
in your organization. Wait. I take that back. That inspiration will come to you before you've
finished
with the book. It hit me somewhere about half through the pages. Warning: if your competitor
uses
this book and you do not, you are in big trouble!
Over Promise and Over Deliver
Rick Barrera
Penguin Group
ISBN 1591840619 $25.95 226 pages + CD
New Twist to Catapult You Forward
"Under promise and over deliver." That phrase has been around long enough to become a cliche.
Cliche concepts get old, unless someone comes along with a radical change and turns the cliche
inside out. Enter Rick Barrera, a well-known marketing guru. People like this stretch our
thinking,
pushing us out of the envelope and tromping on the box in the meantime. If you listen to their
messages, you will have difficulty staying "inside the box."
Barrera does not disappoint. Emphasizing "touch points," the intimate contact with the customer
that can win - or lose - the day, he demonstrates how companies can go beyond the ordinary and
fulfill the expectations they create in the mind of the consumer.
This book is organized into two sections: Overpromise and Underdeliver. The first section
engages
the reader in a discussion of brand promises, how they drive company growth, and ways that
well-framed brand promises differentiate companies in the marketplace. Barrera's educational
writing
is well-seasoned with recent real-world examples.
In the opening pages of his book, Barrera introduces the concept of touch points - those special,
meaningful moments where the customer comes in contact with the company. Three types of
TouchPoints (Barrera's spelling) are presented. "Product TouchPoints occur where customers
interact with the product or service a company is selling." "Human TouchPoints occur when the
customer directly interacts with an organization's people." "System TouchPoints include all other
points of contact between a company and its customers." The author explains each type of
interaction and his views about their importance. "All three TouchPoints are vital to an
organization's success, though to differing degrees. All three require a substantial and continuing
investment of funds and managerial energy if they are to do their job properly " The TouchPoint
concept reminded me of Jan Carlson's work with Scandanavian Airlines years ago. Good lessons
bear repeating.
The second section concentrates on meeting and exceeding customer expectations with each of
the
categories of TouchPoints. Two case studies, Washington Mutual Insurance Company and Lexus,
illustrate the concepts before a concluding chapter and close into the index at the back of the
book.
The book is filled with advice, examples, and inspiration that will be valuable to anyone in
marketing
today. Beyond this highly appropriate reader group, I would recommend that corporate
executives
pay careful attention to the book's messages. The concepts will be valuable to recruiters -
corporate,
college, and military - as well as to educators in all environments. The lessons conveyed in "Over
Promise and Over Deliver" will be valuable to many people for many years. This is a book for our
times.
Roger E. Herman, Reviewer
http://www.hermangroup.com
Sherry's Bookshelf
Kamikaze Peacocks & Oink: Coming of Age in an Unfunny War
Peter J. Fournier
Raja and Associates
P.O. Box 829, Lithia, FL 33547
www.rajabooks.com 1-866-GET-OINK
ISBN 0974113638 $21.95 237 pages
These vastly entertaining true stories about a soldier making it through his two years in Vietnam
proves to be fascinating reading. Girls, peacocks, pigs and a highly celebrated dog make this a
stylish
and captivating heap of fun.
It all started when a young man was told the best job in the army was to become a linguist. The
book is a series of stories about how this author armed with a sense of sometimes misguided
mischief and a hearty sense of wit survived a dark war experience.
Fournier has successfully uncovered the funny side hiding under the seedy belly of the Vietnam
War.
From the "bag of classified trash" to witnessing a "medical marksmanship" this is a must read.
This
magical silver bullet of humor spotlights a new side to a tragic time.
Fanning the Creative Spirit
Maria Girsch and Charles Girsch
Creativity Publishing
www.creativitycentral.com
111Elway St., Suite 609, Saint Paul, MN 55116-3236
651-291-0745
ISBN: 0967650364 $14.95
Fanning the Creative Spirit will change the way you think, you live and you love. In a world
where
the alpha dog is always barking at the beta dog and gun slinging words are doing battle, this book
will allure you into the art of spirited thinking and creative problem solving.
Once the creative spirit is unleashed there is no putting that horse back into the barn. One exercise
becomes more fun and challenging than the last. This book proved to me that being unsure about
my
thinking is to be unsure about the future. By erasing doubts about my own thinking, the precise
and
consequential results were quickly apparent.
The book offers mind expanders in several sections such as "Stretch-ercises", "The Practice of
Inventivity" and "Little Things". These extensive varieties of exercises provide the shovel for to
you
burrow deep into the buried creative treasures of your mind.
This is a witty, much needed, charmer. It is highly recommended for all. There are great exercises
for family fun and growth as well as for the corporate world at large.
How to Go to Visitation without Throwing Up
Joshua Shane Evans and his Step-mother
Pale Horse Publishing
POB 1447, Livingston, TX 77351-1104
www.joshua-evans.com 800-646-5590
ISBN: 1587470411 $15.00 100 pages
How to Go to Visitation without Throwing Up is an excellent book for any person involved with
a
child being split between two caregivers/parents. Joshua Shane Evans genuinely shares his split
world to benefit his readers. The book offers explanations about why kids don't like visitation,
why
they need to go and why they may feel sick or empty inside.
When children are affected by adult events, they may feel as if their familiar world is being rubbed
out with a giant eraser and a new confusing picture is being drawn. This jewel for children has
tons
of activities to help children get through traveling time, alone time and thinking time.
How to Go to Visitation without Throwing Up is a therapeutic treat for worried young minds.
Highly recommended for all custody situations, professionals working with children, for parents,
and
child advocates.
Dear Judge: Kid's Letters to the Judge
Compiled by Charlotte Hardwick
Pale Horse Publishing
POB 1447, Livingston, TX 77351-1104
www.custodywar.com 800-646-5590
ISBN: 158747008X $15.00 130 pages
Children's hearts are so many times treated as a sub-text of divorce. They are many times the
forgotten sufferers in parental conflict and the court system. This diverse collection of letters
spotlights the thoughts and emotions ranging from distress to humor. They give an insight to how
children become efficient little workers trying to understand ways to benefit their family, their
situation and to understand a system that is confusing to most of us adults.
One of my favorites is a letter from a young fellow who has the solution to the courts problems
with
children of divorce. He decides he should become a kid who lawyers other kids. After all, he
points
out; no one else is listening to the kids so perhaps this would work. This is truly an enlightening
compilation. The letters in Dear Judge: Kid's Letters to the Judge are bumper stickers for your
heart.
Hi, My Name is Maryann
Mary Ann Barrucco
First Morton Books
Division of Morton Communications
47 Steward Avenue, Irvington, NJ 07111
ISBN: 1929188064 $7.00 131 pages
Hi, My Name is Maryann is an account of abuse, addictions, enabling, illness, death and the glory
of
survival. The story is told through Maryann's eyes as she reveals an incredible truth of the
evolving
portraits of her family and herself.
Eddie and Maryann, much in love, wed in 1969. Eddie's heavy drinking soon took its toll leading
to
abuse and finally to Maryann's addiction with gambling. They were on a treadmill heading for
tragedy until Eddie is diagnosed with a serious heart condition. After surviving a heart transplant,
the couple's life took a turn towards a permanent healing. Finally, the pieces of a broken puzzle
were
put back together proving that by facing facts and communicating, people can rise above crisis to
live quality lives. Hi, My Name is Maryann validates how conviction enhances the quality of the
world and can heal turbulent and dysfunctional relationships.
The Journeying Workbook: Adventuring to Unleash Your Inner Power
Trisha Howell
Morgan James Publishing
PO Box 6504, Newport News, VA 23606
www.morganjamespublishing.com 757-679-5704
ISBN 1976090171 $15.95 230 pages
I had never thought about the art of "soul retrieval" until reading this stirring creation by Trisha
Howell. The Journeying Workbook is a fascinating technique of balancing your energies which
results in constructive transformation. The author explains that "The wounded part is like a black
hole or vortex that attracts more wounded energy". It seems that we can be collectors of the
mediocre rather than an antenna for a beaming existence. By learning the knack of journeying, we
can own the ability for "soul retrieval" and enhance our daily lives.
There is a helpful section on how to prepare for journeying and why these factors promote our
well
being. The author explains about HO O Pono Pono which is a method of clearing out old
relationship energy. This changes that whole "baggage" thing in relationships. With this method
we
can truly release insecurities and negativities that hover and create havoc in our relationships.
The book is slathered in detail. The author meticulously and in easy terms identifies the twelve
primary chakras and mother centers. An unusual and inspiring section is the fascinating question
and
answer area. The included Glossary gives a novice an expert's confidence. Trisha Howell leaves
no
stone unturned in preparing readers for the ultimate in the journeying experiences.
Defeating the obstacles in our lives is empowering and it conquers stress at its core. Without
realizing it, we rob ourselves daily of harmony, bliss and the gift to reflect clearly. The Journeying
Workbook offers a powerful approach for living a soothing and graceful existence that generates
beneficial results emotionally, spiritually and physically.
Sherry Russell
Reviewer
Sullivan's Bookshelf
The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason
Sam Harris
W.W. Norton & Company
ISBN# 0393035158 $24.95 336 pages/indexed
The author doesn't believe in religion. In fact, he sees it as what's causing the current problems,
and
those in the past, in the world. The extremists of all religions are to blame. But Harris has troubles
with religious moderates, too. They are part of the problem: both for not confronting the truth
about
their religions that are against all logic and reason and for wanting 'to get along,' with
co-religionists
and those of other creeds. Harris thinks it's long overdue for moderates to take a good, hard look
at
what they believe and what the zealots believe.
"The idea," writes the author, "that any one of our religions represents the infallible word of the
One
True God requires an encyclopedic ignorance of history, mythology, and art even to be
entertained--as the beliefs, rituals, and iconography of each of our religions attest to centuries of
cross-pollination among them. Whatever their imagined source, the doctrines of modern religions
are no more tenable than those which, for lack of adherents, were cast upon the scrap heap of
mythology millennia ago, for there is no more evidence to justify a belief in the literal existence of
Yahweh and Satan than there was to keep Zeus perched upon his mountain throne or Poseidon
churning the seas."
The present conflict with fundamental Islam is, in reality, a face off with all Moslems and that of
the
religion's actual beliefs. Until the disavowal of this religion by extremists, suicide bombers, and
moderates alike, war will continue to rage with the West. But nearly the same can be said of
Christians and Jews, too. True believers of all stripes, however, are compelled to accept what's
written in their sacred book, and hence the conflict between East and West.
This writer is not a pacifist; consequently, Ghandi's passive resistance comes in for criticism.
Moreover, Harris, like Alan Dershowitz, noted Harvard law professor, believes in the use of
torture
for prisoners of war under certain circumstances.
A Stanford University graduate with a degree in philosophy, Harris is currently working on a
doctorate degree in neuroscience. This hard-hitting book is his first. And it's difficult to put down.
Highly recommended!
101 Things to Do Before You Die
Richard Horne
Bloomsbury
ISBN# 1582344930 $14.95 202 pages/appendix
This colorful, well illustrated, highly organized, interesting, physically small but creatively large
volume is chock full of scores and scores of deeds an individual human being with even a modest
spirit of adventure and fun might wish to accomplish before he or she departs this mortal coil. The
list includes some of the obvious suggestions: skydiving, bungee jumping, riding all the most
thrilling
roller coasters in the country. It also offers many other deeds you may not have thought about,
like
joining the 'mile high club,' writing a best selling book, catching a fish with your bare hands,
making
it onto the front pages of a national newspaper, buying one huge purchase you can't afford,
skipping
out of paying your bill at a fancy restaurant, playing a part in your favorite TV show, and on and
on.
Contrary to most other books making suggestions of things to do in your life, this book goes a
step
further and gives advice on how to accomplish these goals. The book also becomes your personal
record journal. There's room for checking off any particular goal, for rewarding yourself with
incentives like pasting stars (provided) in the record book for each accomplishment, and for
making
additional notes about the deeds you do.
Moreover, the volume's appendix contains much helpful information and many suggestions: how
to
carry your 'to do' list with you, how to record feats, how to come up with a list of new things you
want to do, and so forth.
The author writes, "Lists. We all have them. Instead of grocery lists, why not chart all the things
we'd like to achieve in our lives? Here is a way to chart your athletic triumphs, your sexual
misadventures, your lifetime struggles and your reckless behavior[....]"
Richard Horne lives in London, England where he designs record covers, book jackets, and
websites. He also illustrates greeting cards and magazines. The book reviewed here was not only
written by Horne but also designed and illustrated by him, too. This reviewer found all those
efforts
delightful. Recommended.
Jim Sullivan
Reviewer
Taylor's Bookshelf
Smile All The While
N. L. Alex & Nick Seluk
Joe Girl Ink
111 South Morgan, Sujite 502, Chicago, IL 60607
0976608006 $4.99 www.smileallthewhile.com
Entertainingly written with a rhyming text by N. L. Alex and energetically, whimsically illustrated
by
freelance artist Nick Seluk, Smile All The While is a picturebook story that juxtaposes the Biblical
tale of Eve's creation with children's day-to-day experiences. The purpose is to help children learn
the virtue of a Christian faith and the reward meted out to the faithful. Young children ages
preschool through first grade will learn the value of trusting in God as the story unfolds on the
premise that for a very special purpose, Adam had known God would remove his rib? The debut
title
in what promises to be a lively and entertaining series, Smile All The While is a delightful story
that
is especially recommended to families seeking to instill Christian values within the hearts and
minds
of their children. Readers will look eagerly toward the next title in the Joe Girl Ink "Smiley" series
from the collaborative team of N. L. Alex and Nick Seluk -- The Mean Green
The Future Of Christianity
John Stenhouse, et al.
ATF Press
c/o International Publishers Marketing
22841 Quicksilver Drive, Dulles, VA 20166
1920691235 $25.00 1-800-758-3756 www.internationalpubmarket.com
Compiled and edited by John Stenhouse (Faculty member, Department of History, University of
Otago) and Brett Knowles (Senior Teaching Fellow in Church History in the Department of
Theology and Religious Studies, University of Otago) with the assistance of academician Antony
Wood, The Future Of Christianity: Historical, Sociological, Political And Theological
Perspectives
From New Zealand is comprised of contributions by a group of New Zealand scholars,
theologians,
historians and lawyers who examine the relationship of New Zealand's Western culture and
Christianity. Scholarly, articulate, intellectually engaging, The Future Of Christianity ranges from
Allan K. Davison's "Christianity and National Identity: The Role of the Churches in the
Construction
of Nationhood", to Mary Petersen's The Future of Christianity in New Zealand: What Is
Happening
with the Children?", to Peter Lineham's "Social Policy and the Churches in the 1990s and
Beyond",
to Mike Riddell's "Beyond Ground Zero: Resourcing Faith in a Post-Christian Era Obligation".
These and the other informative and intellectually challenging articles make The Future Of
Christianity very highly recommended reading.
The Costly Call
Emir Fethi Caner and H. Edward Pruitt
Kregel Publications
PO Box 2607, Grand Rapids, MI 49501
0825435552 $10.99 1-800-733-2607
The Costly Call is an anthology of true personal testimonies of Muslims worldwide who found
Jesus
Christ and converted to Christianity - at a terrible cost. The price for turning away from Islam in
nations such as Malaysia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and others was fines, arrest, imprisonment,
physical
attacks, attacks on family members, and sometimes even execution. In many nations where Islam
is
dominant, proselytizing Christianity to Muslims is an illegal offense that can result in the death
penalty. These are true tales of modern-day martyrs, each written in vivid first person. An
unforgettable collection of true faith tested in ways that those living comfortably in nations with
freedom of religion can scarcely imagine. The Costly Call is published in accordance with a
non-profit interdenominational organization called The Voice of the Martyrs, dedicated to
assisting
those persecuted for their Christian faith worldwide.
Is God Listening?
Andrew E. Steinmann
Concordia Publishing House
3558 South Jefferson Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63118-3968
0758606125 $9.99 1-800-325-3040 www.cph.org
Written by an associate professor of theology and philosophy at Concordia University, Is God
Listening? Making Prayer a Part of Your Life is a simple guide to discovering the awareness that
God is always listening, even when prayers seemingly go unanswered. Chapters address how to
properly set one's mind and focus upon prayers concerning sin, failing health, praise to God, and
other situations, some dire indeed. Further discussions shed light on God's reception of praise,
drawing heavily from the psalms for better understanding, and steps for incorporating daily prayer
into one's life. Penned from true faith, Is God Listening? is a spiritual resource especially intended
for Christian readers but offering spiritual insight to all believers.
John Taylor
Reviewer
Terry's Bookshelf
Angels and Demons
Dan Brown
Atria
ISBN: 0743486226 $19.95 (hc) $7.99 (mass market pbk) 592 pp.
Recommendation: ***** (I'd add more, if possible)
I started this prequel to THE DA VINCI CODE on a recent vacation. Big mistake. Huge.
Once the story began to unfold, I had flashbacks of long nights spent reading Robert Ludlum with
my heart pounding out of my chest. I even snuck the book into my purse and read little snippets
while riding in the car; waiting for my lunch; or when the others got ahead of me at the
Albuquerque
Aquarium. It's just that good.
Dan Brown weaves a great story about an ancient society's grudge against the Catholic Church;
the
dangers of modern science; and how one man can make a difference. I'm so ready to go to Rome
and follow in art historian-turned hero-Robert Landgon's footsteps and see the symbolism clues
for
myself.
I didn't expect ANGELS AND DEMONS to be so good. Boy, what a pleasant surprise.
Enjoy!
The Mermaid Chair
Sue Monk Kidd
Viking
ISBN: 0670033944 $24.95 352 pages
Recommendation: *
Wanna Break Your Vows? Fall in Lust with a Monk
I had such high expectations for this book. Too bad.
After THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES, I expected more than a justification for adultery published
under Sue Monk Kidd's name.
The heroine was not sympathetic. The heroine's lover was milquetoast, at best. The mother was
brutal, to the point of self-mutilation, an act which was never explained to my satisfaction. Even
the
mother's sidekick had issues. Nothing fit for me. . .except the heroine's cuckolded husband. He
didn't
deserve the betrayal.
The actual story of the mermaid chair was more interesting that the people it effected. When
inanimate objects carry more weight than the humans surrounding it, something's way wrong.
Blech. I will think twice about purchasing Sue Monk Kidd's next book. I think I'll just use the
library.
My Life
Bill Clinton
Read by Bill Clinton
Random House Audio
ISBN: 0739317067 $35.00
Recommendation: *****
No wonder William Jefferson Clinton was re-elected President twice, despite a hostile congress
and
a scandalous affair with an intern named Monica Lewinsky.
In his book, MY LIFE, Clinton proves himself a spell-binding storyteller whose love of the
spotlight,
combined with great political instincts propelled and kept him in the national spotlight for so long.
Early on, it's obvious Clinton is an intellectual heavyweight with enough southern charm and
charisma to make the combination almost lethal to anyone who ran against him.
It's rare that someone this bright and insightful enters politics . . .and even with his self-confessed
shortcomings and many lapses in judgment regarding his personal life, I have no doubt this
country
was in good hands during Clinton's two terms.
No matter what your politics or personal feelings about one of the most polarizing figures of
recent
times, after listening to MY LIFE, you'd be hard pressed not to admit the man is a master of the
game called politics and we'll not see his like again soon. Enjoy!
No Mountain High Enough: Raising Lance, Raising Me
Linda Armstrong Kelly with Joni Rodgers
Broadway
ISBN: 076791855X $24.95 288 pages
Recommendation: *****
Lance's Mom Tells Her Story
Nothing was going to keep Linda Armstrong Kelly and her son from getting their piece of the
American Dream. Knowing Lance's story is helpful, but not essential to enjoying Linda's telling of
a
life of poverty, less than wise choices and being mother to a live wire named Lance. (Who was
supposed to be named Erica, should he have been a girl.)
With little more than a heart full of love for her child and a huge amount of determination, Linda
carved out a life for the two of them . . . truly against all odds. Armed only with a GED and a real
estate license, she rose from a temporary clerk to the rank of project manager for a major
telecommunications company. She raised Lance to believe in himself and it seems she didn't try to
squelch his infatuation with danger . . . and speed. Her determination to succeed was quickly
transferred to Lance, who's natural athletic abilities were just what the doctor (and his mother)
ordered/needed to keep his boundless energy channeled in a positive manner.
My favorite part of the story revolved around Lance's early competitions, when Linda was his
only
"pit crew" and it was, indeed, the two of them against the world.
She leaves the cancer and Tour de France story lines to Lance, but she does reveal the terror she
hid
from Lance and the burden she carried during that time. She was, by all counts, his rock and the
foundation he leaned on after his diagnosis, during the treatment and while making a full recovery.
She was also there for him as he triumphed in 6 Tour de France victories. Always encouraging.
Always supportive. Always there. Always.
While being open and honest about her own unfortunate choices, Linda shows herself to be
fallible,
too. However, instead of having a pity party, she seems to learn from her every mistake and to
take
each personal relationship failure and make something positive out of it. It's good to know she's
found the love of her life and is happy at last.
Never flinching from responsibility. Instilling a good work ethic. Teaching the value of a dollar.
Believing in the good in her child, despite some teen-age boy pranks to the contrary.
Maybe Linda Armstrong Kelly should start her own foundation and teach parents how to raise
their
kids to be STRONG, responsible, caring and giving adults. Kudos to her . . . and that kid she
raised
to ride like the wind! Enjoy!
Terry Mathews
Reviewer
Vogel's Bookshelf
A New History Of Japanese Cinema
Isolde Standish
The Continuum Publishing Group
15 East 26th Street, #17, New York, NY 10010-1505
0826417094 $39.95 1-800-561-7704 www.continuumbooks.com
A New History Of Japanese Cinema: A Century Of Narrative Film by Isolde Standish (Film
Studies
Lecturer and Convenor of the MA Cinemas of Asia and Africa degrees, School of Oriental and
African Studies, University of London) is a 414-page work of considerable scholarship providing
the
reader with an informed and informative historical survey of the Japanese film industry from its
inception down to the present day. A New History Of Japanese Cinema details an industry and an
art
form as shaped by the competing and merging influences of traditional Japanese culture and 20th
century economic and technological innovations. A ground-breaking and original work written
with
considerable expertise, A New History Of Japanese Cinema is enhanced with a section of
"Reflections", extensive notations, a "Select Filmography", a "Select Bibliography", and an
exhaustive index, making it especially recommended for academic library "Cinematic Studies" and
"Japanese Popular Culture" reference collections and supplemental reading lists.
The Train Stops Here
Marci L. Riskin
University of New Mexico Press
MSC11 6290, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
0826333060 $39.95 1-800-249-7737 www.unmpress.com
In The Train Stops Here: New Mexico's Railway Legacy, Santa Fe architect Marci Riskin
provides
the reader with a brief but informative history of railroad development, and then precedes to focus
upon the architectural features of New Mexico's railroad buildings to help explain how railroads
work. Historical buildings and their attendant railroads are organized geographical by rail systems
(including the Santa Fe system, the Denver & Rio Grande system, the Colorado & Southern
system,
the Southern Pacific, as well as the El Paso and Northeastern lines). Enhanced with appendices on
"Remaining Railroad Structures in New Mexico"; "Heritage Tourism", "Useful Contacts";
"Railroad-Related Museums in New Mexico", extensive notes, a glossary, a bibliography for
further
study, and a comprehensive index, The Train Stops Here documents the architectural impact that
19th century railroad companies had upon the developing New Mexico towns. A work of original
scholarship that is also completely accessible for the non-specialist general reader, The Train
Stops
Here is especially recommended for personal, professional, and academic library reference
collections in Architectural Studies, Western History, and American Railroading History.
Paul T. Vogel
Reviewer
James A. Cox
Editor-in-Chief
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