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Reviewer's Choice
Arthur's Room
Cynthia Davidson Bend
Beaver's Pond Press, Inc.
5125 Danen's Drive, Edina, MN 55439-1465
1931646341 $16.95 www.beaverspondpress.com
Robert O. Barclay
Reviewer
Seven-year-old Arthur is a young boy with C.P. (cerebral palsy) who is confined to a wheelchair.
He
is also spastic quadriplegic. He is what is called high functioning. He's intelligent, but he can't
communicate and he's trapped in a body that won't do what he tells it. The story begins in 1929, a
time when the handicapped were hidden away in closets - a family tragedy that was often
whispered
about, but never seen; at least not outside of the home. To add to Arthur's misery, he has an
overprotective mother who sees herself as a martyr, gallantly bearing the burden of her "poor
boy."
The family lives in an upper-class neighborhood where there's lots of "old money." The mother is
a
product of that old money, and her well-heeled husband continues to provide all the comforts that
she has grown accustomed to. She keeps a well-regulated house, and traps Arthur in a gilded
cage,
providing a special nurse for his personal care. The mother seems coldhearted and selfish, but it's
not
her heart, it's her upbringing that has left her without compassion. Oh, she practices charity, but
only
from a distance. Yet there are times when you have to feel sorry for her.
There is a second child, Arthur's four-year-old sister Phyllis. She's sweet and endearing and loves
Arthur unconditionally. She is the first to sort out Arthur's incoherent mutterings and noises, and
come to some understanding of what he is trying to say. She is also the one who pushes out the
walls of his cage and helps to discover some of his talents.
This is a difficult story to tell. We can't really know much about what Arthur is thinking or feeling
because he has almost no way of expressing himself. But the author has taken the liberty of
putting
us inside Arthur's mind. It's a courageous move, one that could quickly make the whole story
unbelievable, but she does it well and in the process gives us a chance to see a world that is totally
foreign to most of us. The writing is powerful, the description vivid, sounding sometimes more
like
poetry than prose. And that too was a chancy thing to do, but the words are so carefully chosen
that
it works. Bend touches all the senses and pulls us into the scenes, allowing us to enjoy the humor,
drama, and tragedy first hand.
The contrast between Phyllis' dysfunctional mother and her caring, levelheaded father is
compelling.
The reader has to wonder how these two ever got together and had children. Then there's George,
the gardener's son, who becomes Phyllis' first love. And Edie, the new nurse who makes a magical
connection to Arthur and is the first outsider to "communicate" with him. The ancient servant and
nursemaid, Miss Bitzer; Phyllis' longsuffering grandmother; and finally Mary, the young girl who
steals Arthur's heart and makes him want "to become a man"; all come together to build a
wonderful
sense of reality, a slice of life, but certainly not the everyday variety.
Arthur of course is the center, the person who brings all these characters together. It is, after all,
his
life and his desire to escape into the larger world that makes this story important. The ending is
not
what I would have wished for, but it is powerfully told, and the reader will leave this experience
satisfied.
If there is any problem with the book, it seems that the author has taken on a very large subject, a
problem of enormous scale, and condensed it into a very small volume. There are large gaps of a
year or two or more, when we know nothing of the progress of the characters. I would have liked
to
have seen some of those gaps filled in. I made a special connection with Arthur because I have a
spastic quadriplegic son, nine years old, who functions on a very similar level, but to those readers
who don't have that kind of background, the author might have given more information.
Otherwise,
it gets my highest recommendation. Read and enjoy, and experience something that is altogether
different from the usual fiction that we find on our bookshelves.
The Optimist's Daughter
Eudora Welty
Random House
1540 Broadway, New York,NY 10036
ISBN: 037550835, Hardcover $22.00 Paperback $11.00, 1-212 782 9000
Dr. Philip Edward Duffy, Reviewer
Professor Emeritus Columbia University P&S
Laurel Handy returns to her home in Mississippi to be present when her father, Judge McKelva, is
to
have an eye operation. There, a confrontation develops between Laurel and the judge's second
wife
Fay Chisom. There is a personal aspect in this confrontation of a daughter with her father's new
wife, but Eudora Welty's book is much larger than that. The story depicts a confrontation between
the values and the way of life of "the old south" of which Laurel is intimately a part, and the
intruding values of Fay Chisom and her family from Texas. The great dignity, manners, and stately
existence of the old south are keenly portrayed. Eudora Welty knew this world well, because she
was born into its privileged class, but she also portrays the imperfections of that society-its
provincialism, prejudice, and rigidity.
The clash between Laurel, the optimists daughter, and Fay Chisom is inevitable, because the
Chisoms are an uncouth group who are concerned with material acquisition, and who have no
sense
or even recognition of the values of Laurel's family and friends. The Texans are by no means
representative of Texas, which has many fine values of its own, but the Chisoms are
representative
of a subset of coarse people from a part of the country far removed from the culture of the
antebellum south.
The portrayals of the Southeast are meaningful because Eudora Welty spent a good part of her
life
photographing and studying the various parts of the southern United States, and she gives an
intimate understanding of it, because she herself was an integral part of it.
As the story proceeds, Fay demonstrates that her egotistical perception of the world makes her
interpret Judge McKelva's set backs after surgery as her own misfortune. Her actions are such
that
they contribute to his death. At the funeral, the Chisom family all arrives from Texas and the
confrontation with the McKelva friends from the old south is intensified-sometimes with bitterness
and sometimes with humor, as when one of them suggests that they might want to take home
some
of the extra food from the funeral.
In the end, Fay inherits essentially all the material goods including the house, and Laurel is left
with
only her sense of values. In a crisis at the end, Laurel is holding a breadboard that she would like
to
have because it had been made by her husband who died in the war. At one moment she
dramatically
holds the breadboard over Fay's head as if to strike her, but she cannot do it, partly because she
thinks of Wendell, the Chisom grandchild who knows nothing about what is going on. But there is
an even stronger force that prevents Laurel from striking Fay. Laurel understands that if she
strikes
Fay, she would by that very act reduce herself to the level of the Chisoms, and lose her own sense
of
values.
In a flashback to an earlier time the story recalls the relationship between Judge McKelva, his wife
Becky, and Laurel, the optimists daughter. One wonders why the title of the book places such
emphasis upon optimism. At the simple level, it is Judge McKelva himself who called himself and
optimist, and later it is explained that he became an optimist by necessity when his wife Becky
was
dying, and he promised that he would take her back to her home on the hill. Becky knew that this
is
impossible, and accuses him of this lie. Laurel at times turns against her father for not doing more
to
help her mother, and at other times turns against her mother for her irascible answers. The events
illustrate clearly the isolation that is often forced upon a dying person by the very people who love
them the most. The scenes when the judge is dying, show a gradual evaporation of optimism, and
the reader is left to speculate upon the author's intent regarding optimism and what it meant to
Laurel.
The vernacular of the southern United States is accurately captured in the speech patterns. All this
fits closely with the sense of values of that world which is largely one of the past, but which is
preserved in the manner and souls of some southerners of today. Eudora Welty is recognized for
the
deeper truths of her writing and her intimate knowledge of the subject she undertakes. The
struggle
for values will be recognized anywhere in the world where similar conflicts differ only in their
national characteristics.
Rocks Of Ages: Science And Religion In The Fullness Of Life
Stephen Jay Gould
Published in Australia by Vintage (Random House)
ISBN: 0 09 928452 9, Paperback 241 pages, Australia A$24.95
Ballantine Books
034545040X $12.95 256 pages
David Skea, Reviewer
david@skea.com
This book is about a problem. The problem, as Gould states it, is the supposed conflict between
science and religion, an issue that has become laden with emotion and the burden of history. After
I
had read this book I had to ask myself why did Gould write it? And do I believe that such a
conflict
exists?
Well, the book confirms that in certain parts of the USA such a conflict does exist and it is a
conflict
that Gould is very active in helping to resolve. I refer here to 'Creation Science', a doctrine based
on
a the belief that Bible is literally true; that the earth is only some 10,000 years old; that all species
were created by God, separately and ex nihilo, in six days of twenty-four hours. The conflict is not
that some people believe this but that these people are attempting to force this, their religious
belief,
into the everyday teaching of science in schools by denying the concept of evolution, a concept
accepted by Pope Pius XII in 1950 and Pope John Paul in 1996.
But all this comes up in the second half of the book. In the first half Gould reviews the reasons for
the conflict and proposes that a principle of Non Overlapping Magisteria (NOMA), that is 'a
respectful non-interference, accompanied by intense dialogue between two distinct subjects, each
covering a central fact of human existence' is the best and only way to handle these issues. Gould
sees this NOMA principle 'as a solution the false conflict between science and religion' and
examines
this principle through the four parts of the book. Firstly he introduces the problem based on
contrasts. He reviews the doubt of St Thomas, who asked for 'scientific' proof when he should
have
relied on his faith, and then the writings of the Rev Thomas Burnet, who used his faith to 'impose
unquestionable dogmas of scriptural authority upon the new paths of honest science'. This is
followed by accounts of the deaths of the children of Charles Darwin and Thomas Huxley and the
impacts this had on their religious beliefs and scientific output.
Secondly, Gould characterises and illustrates NOMA as developed and supported by institutions
of
both science and religion. Thirdly, he gives an outline of the historical reasons why conflict exists;
and lastly he summarises the psychological reasons for the same conflict.
As to why the book has been written? I guess that the immediate reason is that Gould feels that
'Creation Science' and its religious background is an intrusion into his science and that this is an
intrusion that must be addressed. Also I would say that Gould is on a personal mission to spread
the
NOMA philosophy.
So would wide support for NOMA have resolved this conflict (Creation Science)? Bluntly the
answer must be no! Fundamentalists do not argue with 'a respectful non-interference,
accompanied
by intense dialogue'. They use any and all means to achieve their aims, however distorted these
aims
may appear to others. For others it may help, in the same way that debating rules help in running
meetings. But for NOMA to succeed will require a total commitment from all. And as we all
know,
what is said and what is then done to further a particular set of objectives can be, and in many
cases
is, very different. So will NOMA really work? Best ask any advertising executive, public relations
expert or political 'spin doctor' for that answer.
The Canyon Lands
Morgan J. Blake
Novel Books
ISBN: Paperback: 1-59105-079-0; e-format: 1-59105-054-5,
http://www.novelbooksinc.com/
S. Joan Popek
Reviewer
Well, Ms. Blake has done it again. She's taken me out of my genre of choice and made me love it!
She has used her image filled writing style to create a western romance that will lasso you and pull
you right into the story like a wrangler deftly cutting a steer from the herd and leading him to
greener pastures.
Analise Silsby Prescott, an Eastern bred young lady, goes West to the Colorado territory to find
her
errant husband and tell him she is pregnant--very pregnant. She is due to deliver the baby at any
moment as the stagecoach pulls into the small town where she thinks her husband might be.
Lamentation Culver offers the services of his mother who is a midwife, but Analise is too
stubborn.
She is determined to find her husband before the baby is born, which is going to be any moment
according to the midwife.
Her stubbornness and Lamentation's western sense of honor lead them on a desert chase filled
with
adventure and danger. Their life and death quest also forces Lamentation to face the ghost of old
grudges.
Thanks to Blake's colorful writing, you will taste the dust from the wagon trails and feel the
coolness
of the Colorado mornings as you read this story. You will also be awed at the courage and
fortitude
of our pioneer ancestors. This is a story of determination, honor and love which is what the brave
men and women who settled this country had in abundance.
Although they are fictional, real people like Lamentation and Anlalise made America what it is
today, and it makes me proud to be a part of that heritage. Thanks, Ms. Blake for reminding me.
Pick up a copy of this book and settle in for an enjoyable evening of adventure, love and history.
You won't be sorry. I promise.
Get More Business Right Now!
Paul Tulenko.
Gator Publishing LLC
PO Box 66300, Albuquerque, NM 87193-6300
ISBN 0-9715367-6-7, $161.95
David Leonhardt, Reviewer
http://www.TheHappyGuy.com
Before opening it up, I thought this was just another book about how to pull in clients and
increase
profits. I assumed that author Paul Tulenko was applying classic direct mail techniques in his title
to
sell his book. "Right now" is a call to action, to prompt someone to buy. The exclamation mark
gives the call to action a sense of importance.
I was wrong. This book is for entrepreneurs in trouble. While much of Tulenko's invaluable advice
can apply to almost any entrepreneur, this book targets a very specific niche market: businesses in
crisis. Most business books focus on long-term thinking, which the author acknowledges is
important. This book focuses on short-term thinking for those entrepreneurs who have to do
something "Right Now!" or "like tomorrow morning at 7:00 A.M." if they ever want there to be a
long term.
Get More Business Right Now! defines an all-out blitz, based on seven assumptions and four
steps.
The first step is to define a service that an entrepreneur can undertake immediately -- not
necessarily
a service he traditionally does, but one that his client base will want.
Tulenko is a well-respected syndicated business columnist, and he has been a mentor to over a
thousand entrepreneurs as a small business consultant. His words are the words of experience. He
covers all the fundamentals of crafting a benefit statement, setting goals, identifying target
markets
and partners, cold calling, where to get help, etc.
Readers will even find advice about moonlighting, in the event an entrepreneur needs income from
another source if necessary. (This is something very few business books will tell you, but Tulenko
is
a tell-it-like-it-is type of author.) He also reminds us that it is not a sin to quit.
The book includes an extensive appendix on "The Essence of Marketing", but anyone serious
about
this subject should pick out a book on that subject alone.
What impressed me the most about Get More Business Right Now! is the detailed advice Tulenko
packs in right down to how to save money on flyers by printing different colors on different
days.
Tulenko is at his best, in this reviewer's opinion, when he gives some straight talk on advertising
agencies and their propensity for displaying awards: "Remember, you want success, not prestige."
Tulenko shares the very practical view of the great David Ogilvie (see the classic "Confessions of
an
Advertising Man")
This is no literary work of art, so don't bother submitting it for a Pulitzer Prize. However, it is one
of
the most useful business books I have ever read. Get More Business Right Now! is a good book
for
bad times. And there is enough useful advice for me to recommend it to any entrepreneur in any
kind
of times
Secrets of a Successful Freelancer
Nancy Hendrickson
http://www.writingfornichemarkets.com
San Diego, California,
Format: Ebook (PDF version); Price: $16.95 pdf (126 p)
Judy Justice, Reviewer
http://www.creativepurrsuits.com/
"Do you wonder if niche writing and marketing is an effective way to build your income? I can tell
you that it is." says freelance writer and author Nancy Hendrickson. (p. 8) After reading Nancy's
'Secrets of a Successful Freelancer' I'm convinced! By applying the advice and information Nancy
provides in this ebook, any serious freelancer will be able to break into new markets. Newer
writers
are encouraged to query markets they may have been too shy to approach!
Although every page contains useful advice, on almost every aspect of writing and marketing your
work, the section on query letters, along with examples of Nancy's own successful queries is
particularly helpful. What makes an editor choose one freelancer over another? The query. If
you're
a freelancer who wants to get a foot in the door and you just can't seem to get anywhere, compare
your queries to the ones in this book. Notice the voice, style, and the confident way Nancy
communicated information to the prospective editor, it's easy to see why her articles sell.
While some how-to books will tell you to break into magazines with 'shorts' and give you a
suggested word count (500-700 words,) Nancy goes a few steps further and provides an easy
formula you can use to structure your article so that every word does count. She includes one of
her
own articles as an example so you can see clearly what a 'short' is. There is no guesswork here,
every bit of advice is explained and there are many examples and clickable links to more online
information on every topic.
Nancy not only gives advice from her own experience, she interviewed almost a dozen other
freelancers and editors to give you more ideas and tips on how to succeed.
The formatting of this ebook is particularly good. I liked the use of yellow and red text highlighter
that draws the reader's attention to the extra, meaty little tips sprinkled throughout the ebook.
Sub-headings in red text allow the reader to move from one concept to another quickly and easily,
as does the left frame menu with descriptive chapter titles. The side menu gives the reader the
option
of skipping around to various parts of the ebook at any time.
Maybe the chapter that will give freelancers the biggest chance to earn more with their work is the
one on how to use a digital camera. As a person who is 'photographically challenged,' I was
tempted
to skip over this one, because I've read many articles about doing your own photography for
freelance articles and never been able to understand them. Chapter 7, 'Selling The Photo Package'
was a great introduction to using a camera in your freelance career and it is very easy to
understand.
You'll learn what kind of camera you need, how to use the camera to take good pictures, how to
interpret the 'jargon' used in guidelines requesting photos, and how to send photos to your editor.
After reading this chapter, I feel encouraged to further explore this aspect of freelancing.
The strength of this ebook is in the way the author manages to make the reader feel that all this is
really possible. Written in a warm, personable style and brimming with enthusiasm and
encouragement, Secrets of a Successful Freelancer is one of the best books I have read on this
topic.
A must-have for the new freelancer, the networking links and suggestions for markets make this a
valuable resource for the experienced freelancer as well.
The Noonday Demon: An Anatomy of Depression
Andrew Solomon
Random House
ISBN: 0099277131, PRICE: A$27.95, (paperback), 560 pages
Ann Skea, Reviewer
http://ann.skea.com/
I must confess that at first sight this book depressed me. It is a thick, heavy, drab-looking
paperback, its pages are crammed with small type, and its sub-title suggests something dull and
analytical. But I was wrong.
I began by looking up Sylvia Plath's name in the index (her description of depression is quoted
briefly on page 66) but I was soon dipping into the book and reading with interest. The first thing
I
learned was that my initial reaction to this book was not depression: it was more akin to distaste
or
apprehension - laziness even. Real depression is nothing as trivial as that. And one of the great
values of this book is that it gives clear and powerful descriptions of what it is really like to suffer
both mild and major depression.
As Andrew Solomon can attest from personal experience, depression is not the sort of passing
mood-swing we all experience. It is something far more traumatic and uncontrollable. Solomon
had
a reasonably happy, secure and stable childhood and, by his own estimation was successfully in
control of his life. Yet, just before his thirty-first birthday depression "came slinking in on its little
cat
feet and spoiled everything". There seemed to be no excuse for it; no reason for it; how could it
have
happened to him?
Solomon describes an attack of kidney stones for which he underwent surgery and which scared
him
unduly, then a subsequent "slippage" into unwarranted fear, withdrawal, lack of sleep, appetite
and
energy. Eventually, he experienced a complete paralysis of will which left him unable to do the
simplest of things: even to turn over in bed, for example. Luckily for him, his father stepped in and
cared for him lovingly and efficiently, becoming his mainstay for long months until he began to
"emerge" from this illness.
Later, it seemed to Solomon that although the kidney-stone surgery may have precipitated the
crisis,
it could not have been the root cause of it. So he set out to learn all he could about depression.
And
Solomon, in spite of recurrent episodes of depression, is an optimist and a fighter. He quotes
Ovid:
"welcome this pain; for you will learn from it". And The Noonday Demon is one result of his
learning. It is a funny, harrowing, informative and often digressive summary of everything
Solomon
has learned from scientists, therapists, history, different cultures, and (most vividly) from others
who
suffer from this illness. It is idiosyncratic: factual, anecdotal, literal and literary by turns.
The Noonday Demon is, as Solomon says, an extremely personal book and yet it is one which will
interest many others. It tells Solomon's own story, including a moving account of the planned
suicide
of his mother, who was suffering from cancer; and it tells the stories of many others. It is so
packed
with information that I could not read it from cover to cover. Instead, I dipped into chapters
headed
'Depression', 'Breakdown', 'Suicide', 'Treatments and 'Evolution'; and I read less extensively in
'Addiction', 'History', 'Politics', and others. Like most people who have not experienced real
depression, my own understanding of the illness was vague. Solomon has changed that. He has
given me a different perspective, too, on suicide.
"People around depressives expect them to get themselves together", Solomon observes. Some
depressives do, eventually: some don't. In this book Solomon lets many depressives tell their own
stories and many of them have developed ways of coping. Some people's stories are very
distressing.
I found that I could not read them all. But there is hope and courage here which makes me glad
that
I didn't abandon Solomon's book unread simply because it looked daunting. There is valuable
information here for those who suffer from depressive illness and those who don't. And Solomon
is
to be congratulated for turning his own suffering to such useful purpose.
Presumed Guilty
Tess Gerritsen
Mira Books
ISBN: 1-55166-299-X, Price: $5.50 US, Page Count: 251
Cassie Fenoseff
Reviewer
Breaking up with Richard was devastating enough. But when Miranda finds her ex-boyfriend dead
in
her house, her life takes a turn for the worse. Quickly accused of murdering him, Miranda lands in
jail, only to be condemned by the inhabitants of her small town. Suddenly an anonymous donor
posts
her bail. But is this person really her friend, or do they have reasons of their own for wanting her
out
of jail? To complicate matters, Miranda has a chance meeting with Chase Tremain, Richard's
brother. At first he attacks her as everyone else has done, but soon he finds himself starting to
believe her protests of innocence. But can they trust each other enough to work together to find
the
real murderer? And will they be able to find the culprit before they become victims
themselves?
I chose to read Presumed Guilty because I am a fan of Miss Gerritsen's novels. This story also had
a
plot that combined both mystery and romance, making it a popular choice. I enjoyed Presumed
Guilty as much as I have enjoyed Miss Gerritsen's other books. As is typical of her novels, there
were several twists in the plot, making it even more exciting to read. The reader is left guessing
until
the end who posted the bail, who the murderer is, where Chase and Miranda's relationship will
lead,
and if they will survive. For example, at one point in the story Miranda is completely unsure of
whom to trust. Everyone in the Tremain family is blaming each other, and Chase is equally
mystified.
Miss Gerritsen provided credible reasons as to why each character could have committed the
murder, therefore leaving the reader to suspect everyone. All of these elements provided a strong
storyline and an entertaining read.
Readers of mystery and romance novels would enjoy Presumed Guilty. It combines fast-paced
action
and life-threatening drama with the courtship of an unlikely couple. As both elements of the story
are advanced the suspense is heightened, making the ending that much more enjoyable. The
Portland
Press Herald states, "Gerritsen's romances are thrillers from beginning to end," and I would
definitely agree. From the moment Miranda finds Richard's body to the book's climax, Presumed
Guilty is an easy to read page-turner that will keep the reader engaged.
Formerly a practicing physician, Miss Gerritsen became a full time writer and has written many
novels similar to Presumed Guilty. These include Never Say Die, Whistleblower, and In Their
Footsteps, among others. Miss Gerritsen has also co-written and written several screenplays,
including Adrift. I would highly recommend Presumed Guilty to anyone looking for an exciting
novel combining the best qualities of both mystery and romance.
The Death Of Vishnu
Manil Suri
Bloomsbury
May 2002, RRP, A$19.95, ISBN 0747557616
Harper Perennial
006000438X, $13.95, 304 pages
Magdalena Ball, Reviewer
http://www.compulsivereader.com
The Death Of Vishnu takes place on a small stage, with most of the external action occurring in
the
narrow stairwell of a Bombay apartment building. The characters are all ordinary, from dying
alcoholic Vishnu, to the the warring neighbours the Asranis and the Pathaks, the teenage
"starcrossed" lovers, the reclusive widower upstairs, tall and short ganga, or the cigarette and
radiowallas. This is a domestic story, and the people are familiar ones, with common sins of
vanity,
religious zeal, covetiousness, and narrowmindedness. So why is this novel so powerful? Why does
it
eclipse the many generational and grand Indian sagas that it has been compared to? The main
power
in this novel is Suri's exceptional command of the narrative voice. The story moves deftly and
subtly
between the comic and material world of the neighbours and the sensual and dreamlike world of
the
dying Vishnu, and the recalled memories and desires under the surface of these ordinary people.
The
narrator is entirely invisible, and the characterisation so realistic, that the reader becomes
intimately
connected with the story, simultaneously experiencing the inner and outer worlds of its characters,
and moving between reality and fantasy, desire and emptiness, the sublime and the ridiculous.
Regardless of the many foibles of the characters, Suri's prose remains tender and warm, even as
Mrs
Asrani dyes her hair, or argues over thievery of the water cistern, or as Mrs Pathak raids the ghee
tin, fusses over her 'kitty' party and magnanimously hands out rotten fruit and stale chapatis.
Kavita
is never criticised for her desire to become a star, or her over idealistic and syrupy view of
romance
(which has devastating effects on the parents of her 'beloved'), nor is Mrs Jaiswal for card
cheating,
Vishnu for his overindulgence in drink (and delusions of grandeur), Mr Pathak for his extremism
(in
some ways, as 'romantic' as Kavita's desire to live a film star's life), or Short Ganga for her
scientific
"discoveries". These people have their faults, and many of them are serious, but all are treated
with
the kind of benevolent kindness of a parent for its flawed children, and form much of the humour
of
this often very funny novel. Characters obsess over Kraft cheese, pieces of styrofoam, radio
stations,
thread, the Guiness Book of World Records and of course love, money, sex and enlightenment,
The
cheating Mrs Jaiswal (an excerpt I heard Suri read very eloquently at The Sydney Writer's
Festival)
shows an appropriate horror when she hears that the dhal she is eating is made with pilfered
ghee:
"'No!' Mrs. Jaiswal gasped, quick to draw upon her thespian grounding. She allowed her shocked
fingers to release the toxic plate, and watch wide-eyed as it shattered with a satisfying crash,
sending
lentils bouncing everywhere. Mrs Mirchandi tried doing the same, but inexpertly toppled her plate
inwards instead, depositing cubes of cheese in her sari, some of which she only found (and ate) at
home, later."
In contrast Vishu's reminiscences are built on the smells and sounds of the world he inhabits on
the
stairs, a cup of tea, the red colour of light through the windowpassing through his closed eyelids,
a
mango, or a passerby's perfume, but take on a magical, Proustian feel:
"The steam rises lazily from the surface of the tea. It is thick with the aroma of boiled milk,
streaked
with the perfume of cardamom and clove. It wisps and curls and rises and falls, tracing letters
from
some fleeting alphabet. A sudden gust leads it spiralling down to the motionless man. It reaches
his
face, almost invisible now, and wafts playfully under his nose."
The scent conjures up memories of Vishnu's life, including Padmini, the woman he loved, Kavita,
Mrs Asrani's beautiful daughter, and his parents. An offered mango gives rise to a vision of the
mango goddess, with her fertile abundant sap. There are other links between the "living"
characters
and the dying Vishnu. Just as Mr Jalal remembers when Vishnu stole his car, Vishnu suddenly
smells
the sea, and is back driving Jalal's Fiat, with Padmini. Vishnu's scenes with Padmini are sexy,
laden
with attar scent, vermillion dye, the taste of mangos, and music. It is a stunning contrast with the
soiled and messed dying man left uncared for on the staircase. A similar type of contrast occurs
with
the other characters as they conjure up moments of their own youth, love, and loss, including Mrs
and Mrs Jalal: "This was not the time to worry about the empty chambers people carried around
in
their hearts", Mr Taneja, Kavita and Salim. Similarly Mr Jalal's literary and metaphysical fall, Mrs
Jalal's desperate attempts to exorcise them, and even Mrs Asrani's feelings of physical insecurity
are
all as moving as they are absurd. These moments of vulnerability are so rich, and so delicately
contrasted with the "reality" of the present that the reader begins to perceive the series of illusory
layers - maya and nirvana, as interchangeable, and equally real and unreal.
As Vishnu ascends the steps, he moves closer to his destiny. Is it godliness, or death? The next
stage
of rebirth, or union with his love? We don't know what is dream, and what is actually happening,
and
it doesn't matter any more, since the dream is, in any case, actually happening to the dreamer.
Vishnu becomes his dream, his dream becomes fiction, and fiction reality:
"His arms, his hands, his legs, are luminous, brilliant. He feels the brilliance being absorbed
through
his skin, saturating his flesh, flowing through his blood all the way to his fingertips. He starts
radiating brilliance himself...he look down at himself and he can no longer tell where the light ends
and his body begins."
The ending of The Death of Vishnu is inspired, and although I won't give it away, it is, in a
sentence,
simultaneously silly, funny, profound and tragic, leaving the reader pondering long after the book
is
finished. Manil Suri, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Maryland, has created a
wonderful first novel. It is funny, evocative, full of the ordinary antics of everyday life, sexy, sad
and
rich in mythological illusion.
The Liz Reader
Edited by Chick Squire
The Overmountain Press/Silver Dagger
Hdc. ISBN 1-57072-227-7 / $23.95
Tpb. ISBN 1-5702-228-5 / $13.95
Mary V. Welk
Reviewer
Agatha award winner Elizabeth Daniels Squire was working on the ninth book in her celebrated
Peaches Dann mystery series when she died suddenly in February, 2001. As a tribute to Ms.
Squire,
Overmountain Press is releasing a compilation of fiction and non-fiction written by this
multi-talented lady. Edited by the late author's husband, Chick Squire, the book is a collection of
short stories, essays, and newspaper columns. Included are tributes to Liz written by authors,
librarians, and fans of the mystery genre.
The book opens with two pieces written by Liz in the 1990's that are autobiographical in nature.
The
first describes her beginnings as a writer and her personal battle to overcome dyslexia. The second
describes the books that influenced Ms. Squire to try her hand at writing. The next section of the
books deals with Liz's early years, including several pieces written in the '70's that tell of the
unsettling changes that took place in the Daniels household following the death of Liz's mother
and
her father's re-marriage. Darker in nature than her mystery series, the essays reveal a side of Liz
unknown to most fans of Peaches Dann. Also included in this section are poems written by the
author in the 1940's when she was a student at Ashley Hall in South Carolina.
The next two sections of the book are dedicated to short stories written by Liz before the
publication of her Peaches Dann series and author interviews and other pieces commissioned by
various newspapers. A section called "Mostly About Food" contains two Peaches Dann short
stories
peppered with recipes collected by the author and several articles dealing with gastronomical
events.
Following this are four Peaches Dann short stories taken from already published anthologies and
articles on dyslexia, palm reading, and extra-sensory perception. Photos of Ms. Squire and her
family form a centerpiece for the book, while the homily given at her funeral and a final tribute by
fellow mystery writer Anne Underwood Grant are provided in the closing chapter.
The Liz Reader is a remarkable saga of one woman's life and career. One cannot help but be
touched
by Ms. Squire's recollections of her youth just as one cannot help but laugh at the adventures of
her
absent-minded sleuth, Peaches Dann. The book as a whole serves to reinforce this reviewer's
sense
of loss at the death of such a gifted writer. Still, as a loving celebration of Ms. Squire's
accomplishments, The Liz Reader succeeds beyond all expectations. Fans of the Peaches Dann
series
will treasure this insightful look at the world of the late great Liz Squire.
Valkyrie's Flight
Mark Francis
Atlantic Bridge
ISBN 1-931761-49-3 Price $5 download / 8 CD-ROM,
http://atlanticbridge.net/publishing/vflight.htm
Published June 2002 250 pages
Michael LaRocca, Reviewer
http://freereads.topcities.com
The year is 2039, and America has fallen into a state of disrepair. It has become a huge welfare
state
where it is easier not to produce than to produce, and NoTech forces have been regularly
stopping
any new scientific discoveries. Professor Sam Collier's Temporal Dynamics project (time travel) at
Northwestern University has just come to an end, and his personal and scientific odyssey is just
beginning.
Keith Mullin is an electronics nut in the long tradition of ham radio operators. Since no one is
making replacement parts anymore, he regularly scavenges through old TVs and radios to put
together functioning transmitters and receivers. When he inadvertently creates something called
the
Mullins Field, his life, and that of Professor Collier, changes forever.
So many science fiction writers have forgotten the first rule of great writing. One must entertain
the
reader. Science fiction isn't just about gadgetry; it's about fun. Mark Francis obviously knows this.
Some authors get so enamored at the "thrilling climax" that they race to it, neglecting plot and
character and description. Not so with Mark Francis. Instead, he gives us a thoroughly enjoyable
and
thought-provoking journey.
Professor Sam Collier is 32 years old, physically fit, with a powerful and resourceful intellect. But
more than that, he's a very interesting character who feels extremely real. All of Mark's characters
feel extremely real. They are drawn together by a common love of discovery, and it is a pure
pleasure to learn what they do and why they do it.
It's easy to say that this is a fantastic book, and hard to say why without giving away too many
surprises. A subtle wit, original thinking regarding our possible futures, adventure and romance.
The
ability to take something as simple as a flying car or one's first flight in an airplane and making
them
seem new, as if the reader has never read or seen these things dozens of times before. In short,
this is
simply an excellent novel, and I look forward to reading anything by Mark Francis.
The Browne Candidate
Nicole Givens Kurtz
Crystal Dreams
http://www.mochamemoirs.com/NGKNovels.htm
ISBN 1591460255 Price $13.50 Date May 2002 200 Pages
Michael LaRocca, Reviewer
http://freereads.topcities.com
Aurora Browne, age 10, is sold by her mother for a bag of silver. Aurora becomes a Candidate,
meaning that her sole purpose in life is to breed. Keepers and Pale Soldiers control her every
move
through a combination of beatings, physical superiority, psychological manipulation, and an
implant
behind Aurora's ear that will explode at the press of a button.
The seas are stinking cesspools of pollution that none dare swim in, filled with mutated marine
life.
Most of Earth's landscape is as barren as the wombs of the rich women who live in floating cities
and hire Candidates to bear "their" children. This is the future, and an ugly future it is.
At age 18, Browne, who is brown, is selected for breeding by her fourth couple. The child, the
offspring of Browne and the husband, will be genetically altered to hide the skin color of its birth
mother.
With her latest assignment for the Williamses, Browne meets Bain, butler/cook/sexual surrogate,
and
learns of a world where freedom is a remote but present possibility.
Browne is nearly six feet tall, with a kinky afro, enchanting hazel eyes, an almost indomitable will,
and a wealth of misconceptions trained into her by the followers of Harvestina. Bain is tall and
tan,
with long blonde locks. The sexual chemistry is unmistakeable, but what can they do about
it?
Nicole Kurtz writes in the cross-genre tradition that is becoming common among e-authors. In
this
case, romance and science fiction. A light, pleasant read and a different take on the issue of
infertility. She writes with a sure hand, bringing her characters and her settings to life. She knows
that, regardless of genre, it is characters that drive the most entertaining stories.
Shadow Baby
Alison McGhee
Picador USA
Distributed by Holtzbrink Publishers
175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010
ISBN 0-312-27529-3, $13.00, copyright 2000, 243 pages
Nicole Horrigan
Reviewer
Shadow Baby is a poignant story about how loss affects a family, disrupting mundane routines
and
affecting each act of day-to-day life. This story is told by Clara Winter, an eleven-year-old girl
who
lives with her mother, Tamar, in New York's Adirondack Mountains. Clara is haunted by the
death
of her twin sister just after their birth. This incident becomes the center of her relationship with
her
mother as she tries to uncover the real story about this event, as well as information about her
father
and grandfather whom she has never met.
Clara struggles with this murky past, rearranging it into tidy stories complete with heroines and
dramatic conclusions. Above all, she is a reader, arranging letters into words and words into
meaning, using her love of language to bridge the gap of her unknowing. As she says,When you
know how to read you can never get away from it. Your eye goes to words first and everything
else
second Its hopeless. Im a reader. In childhood, all children seek to find meaning, to classify new
information and experiences into established categories. For Clara, this search is distorted by her
loss, like a black hole pulling everything else out of focus.
The setting plays an important part in this story. The physical isolation of Clara and Tamar
represents the isolation they feel toward each other and toward the past. Clara is obsessed with
the
past while Tamar refuses to acknowledge it. Clara also fears and hates snow and winter, to the
extent of asking people to say her name with a lowercase w, Clara winter.
When an old man named Georg Kominsky moves into Nine MileTrailer Park, Clara seeks him out
and a unique friendship is born. She learns from the old man, sharing with him her questions and
stories that fill her thoughts. Clara becomes his apprentice, an apprentice to the art of possibility.
Georg teaches her that consistency is a part of the art of possibility. Everything is related to
everything else. Clara needs Georg to help her to find consistencies in her own disjointed life; to
help
her make the connections between her fictionalized life and reality, her need to write stories and
her
grief for her sister.
Clara moves from childhood to adulthood in Shadow Baby. Her friendship with Georg helps her
see
beyond her own feelings, to understand Tamar. This is a story that subtlely combines the twins of
loss and possibility like a double helix, interweaving pain with joy and despair with hope.
Ultimately,
it is the story of moving beyond grief, of leaving childhood behind, of finding peace.
If you are interested in further exploring these themes, I would recommend the following three
books. All are classified as childrens books, but discuss the issue of pain and loss in beautiful and
compelling ways. The first is Getting Near To Baby by Audrey Couloumbis, which was a
Newbery
Honor Book. Patricia MacLachlans Baby is another. Both of these books tell the story of the
death
of a sibling from the childs perspective. A third book is WalkTwo Moons by Sharon Creech,
which
won the Newbery Medal in 1995. This story is again told from a young girlsperspective and
explores
grief and loss.
The Canyon Lands
Morgan J. Blake
Novel Books, Inc.
ISBN 1-59105-054-5 (eBook) 1-59105-079-0 (paperback)
download $5.50 Paperback $TBA, Cover Artist: Ariana Overton
Priscilla A. Maine
Reviewer
Analise Prescott was driven by the need to know why her husband left. Why after three years of
marriage did he simply leave? Traveling cross-country by stagecoach wasn't the most comfortable
mode of transportation nor the fastest, but for Analise it was the only option. Despite being
dangerously close to the birth of her child, she boards the first coach headed for Colorado. Short
on
time long on determination, Analise suffered the grueling trip, taxing her physical endurance to its
limit to learn why Gareth Prescott abandoned her eight months earlier. She wanted answers.
Lamentation Culver carried a burden of grief over the loss of his young wife and son. He also
nursed
a fourteen-year-old grudge that ran too deep to put aside. Yet he was the first to offer Analise
help
when the stage rolled into La Junta, Colorado and she nearly collapsed with fatigue. He deposited
her into the capable hands of the local midwife, the woman who had raised him and whom he
called
mother. Those who knew Lam weren't surprised by his actions. Analise harbored suspicions as to
his
motives.
Morgan J. Blake's newest book is one of betrayal and loyalty, resentment and revenge, love and
trust. Since their boundaries aren't etched in stone one often bleeds over into the other, making
them
difficult to define and creating enough conflict to fuel a feud. Forget a bookmarker. You won't be
able to quit reading long enough to use it.
An Accidental Woman
Barbara Delinsky
Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 0 74332 0470 0 - 371 pages - $25.00
Terry Mathews
Reviewer
I have to admit that An Accidental Woman is my first Delinsky book, but it will not be my last.
This
wonderfully woven story about a tightly knit community thrown into turmoil over the discover
that
one of their 'adopted' own is a fugitive is everything a good book should be. Delinsky takes you
into
the heart and soul of her characters and she creates them with enough human frailty as to make
them
believable.
Lake Henry, New Hampshire, and its citizens are honest, hard working and take care of their
own.
When federal agents show up at the home of Heather Malone and accuse her of being a woman
named Lisa who killed the son of a very powerful politician, Lake Henryites are shocked.
And no one more is more surprised than Poppy Blake, Heather's best friend. Confined to a
wheelchair for 12 years since a snowmobiling accident, Poppy is determined to live a normal and
independent life. She has her circle of friends and her life is organized and orderly, until Heather's
arrest.
Enter Griffin Hughes, the investigative reporter with more than a passing interest in Poppy and his
own issues. He's there to help Heather, but he's also intrigued by Poppy. He met her when he was
in
Lake Henry to do a story on Poppy's sister and cannot get Poppy and her independent self out of
his
mind.
Delinsky weaves the Poppy/Griffin love story with the Heather/Lisa mystery with great ease. I felt
as
though I had been to Lake Henry, seen the snow, experienced the wind and lived through the
thrill
of a sap run.
This is not just a 'beach book.' You'll be thinking about Poppy/Griffin/Heather and the wonderful
people of Lake Henry long after summer has gone!
Enjoy!!!
Safe at Home
Bob Muzikowski with Gregg Lewis.
Zondervan Publishing House
Grand Rapids, MI 49530
ISBN: 0310241073, $19.99, 261 pp. 2001
Viveka Neveln
Reviewer
Set in the Windy City, Safe at Home tells the true story of the inner city Little League founded by
the author. However, baseball is merely the vehicle for Muzikowski to take on racism, inner city
violence, poverty, addiction, and the power of faith to heal all of these. With the help of Gregg
Lewis, a freelance writer, Bob Muzikowski's first book delivers a powerful message of hope as
well
as a call to all of us to be part of the solution.
The dangerous lives of inner city kids intersect with Muzikowski's when he decides to found the
Near North Little League of Chicago using an empty lot in the Cabrini-Green housing projects
area
of town. The author wastes no time in establishing just how rough these kids' lives are. He opens
with the shooting death of Mike, a Little League player who could turn backflips like the St.
Louis
Cardinals shortstop, Ozzie Smith. The incident, along with a later shooting death of another Little
Leaguer, causes Coach Bob to reflect on why he got involved in the first place.
Answering this question requires quite a bit of background information. The narrative waxes
autobiographical as Muzikowski gets into his Irish and Polish heritage and New Jersey childhood.
The author includes memories such as attending Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech,
which reveal the origins of adult Bob's attitudes toward racism and other issues which have later
significance. He also recounts how he hit bottom as an alcoholic coke addict and how he went
from
a rampaging hedonist to a tireless philanthropist. About halfway through the book, the author
returns to the colorful story of the Little League. Through a series of anecdotes, Muzikowski
describes all the people involved and how the League changed lives and places for the better. He
even gets into the making of Hard Ball, Hollywood's unscrupulous take on the very same Little
League told by a former coach. According to Muzikowski, the movie misrepresents how things
really were, which potentially jeopardized the League's good graces with local gang leaders.
Safe at Home has appeal for everyone from politicians to coaches, sports enthusiasts to people of
faith, recovering addicts to jaded urbanites. It's proof of the power of one person as well as a
testimony to the village it takes to raise a child. This amazing story will make you smile, maybe
cry,
but definitely will leave you wondering what more you can do to be a better neighbor.
Vicki's Bookshelf
The 5,000-year-old Puzzle: Solving A Mystery Of Ancient Egypt
Claudia Logan, Illustrated by Melissa Sweet
Farrar Straus Giroux
19 Union Square West, NY, NY 10003
ISBN O-374-32335-6, $17.00, 42 pages
It's 1924 and the world is still in the grip of King Tut fever, two years after his tomb and its
treasures were discovered. No one, however, is more thrilled about the Egyptian finds than Will
Hunt, an American boy (and co-president of his local King Tut fan club) who is gets to join his
father on an archaeological expedition to discover an even older ancient Egyptian tomb at Giza.
Will
his club meeting notes provide enough information to will help the eager young explorer on the
dig?
Can he put together the clues to help solve the 5,000 year old mystery? Can you?
This innovative picture book grabs the reader from the first word and doesn' t let go. The
engaging
characters are fictional, but the rest of the data, photos, maps, artifacts and other authentic
documents are the real deal, based on the actual records of the history-making dig. Author
Claudia
Logan was truly inspired when she chose not to simply tell the story through the eyes and journal
of
a young boy, but to supplement the entries with a variety of appealing cartoon strips, funny
post-card anecdotes, snapshots, cablegrams, and more, all of which speak directly to young
readers.
Illustrator Melissa Sweet incorporates her vivid watercolor paintings among collage assemblages
of
period photos, diagrams, news clippings and a host of other visual accompaniment to the many
factual sidebars that provide fascinating information, trivia, and clues.
Although the book is printed using a standard four-color production process (unlike a somewhat
similar and very popular adult title, "Griffin & Sabine") the richness of the visual content feels
multi-dimensional. The book seems to come alive at your fingertips, with each page offering a
variety of different elements that personally put readers right into the framework the story. It's a
regal effort and major stride forward in the storybook field of histoical fiction.
The Forest
Claire A. Nivola
Frances Foster Books
c/o Farrar Straus Giroux
19 Union Square West, NY NY 10003
ISBN 0-374-32452-2, $16.00, 28 pages
"The Forest" is a majesticly-told tale about the feeling of being "small and alone in the big world."
It
is exquisitely, uncommonly told in eloquent language enormously bigger than its tiny narrator: a
meek mouse, a homebody, whose comfort is found remaining close to home, in his quaint village.
"I
had always been afraid of the forest, that dark and unknown place at the farthest edge of my little
world," his story begins, until "one night the fear pressed so heavily on me that I could bear it no
longer." And so he determinedly decides to chase away his fear of the unknown by venturing
alone
through the country to the mysterious forest he has always dreaded. What he finds is surprising,
delightful and real. Claire A. Nivola is a true wordsmith with a literary gift for artful, graceful
prose
head-and-shoulders above the majority of her peers. It's even rarer that a writer of her ability is
equaled by her visual talents. Nivola's finely-detailed illustrations do wonders to make the reader
intimately identify with the tiny protagonist, and furthermore have the marvelous ability to make
the
reader feel just as small, just as fearful and, in the end, just as fulfilled.
Abraham Lincoln: The Great Emancipator
August Stevenson, Illustrated by Jerry Robinson, Read by Lloyd James
Blackstone Audiobooks
P.O. Box 969 Ashland, CO 97520
ISBN 0-7861-2029-0 $35.95 Four cassettes, (800) 729-2665 www.blackstoneaudio.com
For good reason, Blackstone Audiobooks productions have long been the benchmark for
excellence
in academic audio-books, and have become a library staple. One good reason is their
"ReaderReader" series, including the title "Abraham Lincoln: The Great Emancipator." This series
packages a paperback book alongside a-multiple-cassette version of the same book, so that young
readers can truly read along with the text. The book is distinctly read by a professional narrator, in
its unabridged form, at 80 words per minute versus the usual 120, so that grade school students
can
read at a slow pace to improve reading skills and enrich their learning experience.
Hats off as well to Blackstone's choice of top-drawer material. "Abraham Lincoln: The Great
Emancipator" is but one of the immensely popular "Childhood of Famous Americans" paperback
biography series titles, including Martin Luther King, Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin.
Walt Disney Records
350 South Buena Vista Street Burbank, CA 90512-6230
(818) 560-1000 www.disney.com/DisneyRecords
E.T. Read-Along: ISBN 0-7634-1853-6, $14.95
Lilo & Stitch Read-Along: ISBN 0-7634-1890-0, $14.95
Tarzan Read-Along: ISBN 0-7634-1891-9, $14.95
Winnie The Pooh Read-Along: ISBN 0-7634-1852-8, $14.95
Trying to steer television-addicted kids to books can be a frustrating exercise in futility. That's
where
these hybrid CD-format storybooks come to the rescue. Have a child choose their favorite
cartoon
or movie character story: "E.T. Read-Along" (honoring the film's 20th anniversary), "Lilo &
Stitch
Read-Along," "Tarzan Read-Along" or "Winnie The Pooh Read-Along." Open the DVD-style
plastic case, pop the disc into a PC or Mac computer, and it's a multi-media storybook with
beautiful
oration, gorgeous color illustrations, and read-along words on the screen. Looking instead for a
different sort of bedtime story experience? Pop it into a CD player and it's an-audio only
storybook
with an optional 24- or 32-page full-color picture book for kids to follow along. Need some
entertainment on the go? A bonus cassette with the same audio-only content is included for
portable
players and non-CD car audio systems.
Media-savvy kids like that these multi-media books are like cartoon snap-shots, offering
computer-time fun with favorite character voices and vivid sound effects. Parents like that these
are
real books camouflaged as toys that appeals to reluctant readers, and that they do so without the
backlash of overwhelming video game stimulation. And who knows? If all goes well, these
multimedia stories might actually encourage kids to pick up a real book.
These read-alongs are largely a passive form of entertainment, offering limited interactive options.
However their simplicity means that young readers and pre-readers will derive pleasure from the
simple computer operation, and their ability to "turn" pages and replay their favorite scenes again
and again.
That's All Folks! Cartoon Songs From Merrie Melodies & Loony Tunes
Produced by Daniel Goldmark
Kid Rhino & Warner Bros.
10635 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A., CA 90025-4900
ISBN 0-7379-0185-3 $31.98 CD, (310) 474-4778, www.rhino.com
There was always something wonderfully subversive about the way Warner Brothers cartoons
introduced children to classical music and a plethora of American music idioms. Who can forget
Bugs Bunny as Brunnhilde, chased by Elmer Fudd as the mighty hunter singing "kill the wabbit"
to
the melody from Wagner's "Die Walkure" (and four other Wagner operas)? Or Sylvester annoying
Elmer by caterwauling to Rossini's "The Barber of Seville," Lizst's "Hungarian Rhapsody" and
Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor?" Or even the Three Little Pigs bopping to the swingin' cool
jazz
of "Three Little Bops," performed by trumpeter Shorty Rogers and comic genius Stan
Freberg?
"That's All Folks!" is the quintessential cartoon soundtrack for fans of not only the Warner Bros.
cartoon gang, but the fabulous musical king of cartoonland, conductor Carl Stalling. The two-disc
set generously features six complete cartoon soundtracks (most notably "What's Opera, Doc?")
and
six classic songs and interludes. One can't help but grin ear-to-ear throughout.
The 100-page hardbound book is further reason to rejoice. It's a treasure trove of enlightening
historical research, fascinating anecdotes, and comprehensive credits, providing an exceptional
document of the best cartoon music ever produced. Together the book and music is a stellar
production and a thoroughly enjoyable nostalgic document for everyone who ever loved a certain
wascally wabbit.
Farkle & Friends
John Lithgow with Bill Elliott and his Orchestra
Kid Rhino
10635 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A., CA 90025-4900
ISBN 0-7379-0249-3 $13.98 CD / $9.98 cassette, www.rhino.com
When the enthusiastic, childlike John Lithgow takes to the musical stage these days, it's to
perform
his own songs in concerts for kids with the Chicago, Pittsburgh, San Diego and Baltimore
symphony
orchestras. His 2000 picture book "The Remarkable Farkle McBride" (Simon & Schuster)
became a
best-seller for good reason, and here it becomes the catalyst for Lithgow's second musical
recording
for children, accompanied by conductor Bill Elliott 's delightful orchestral arrangements. The nine
charming songs included on this CD/cassette work loosely together to give young listeners a fun
and
silly lesson in musical appreciation.
Lithgow pulls out the stops with his five originals: "The Bandstand Right Next To The Zoo,"
"Carmencita," "I Got Two Dogs," "Marsupial Sue" (the musical version of Lithgow's second kids
book about being happy with yourself) and the title cut, a rollicking introduction to the
instruments
in an orchestra. Rounding out the album are four kid-friendly classics: Irving Berlin's "I'd Rather
Lead A Band," Leonard Bernstein's swinging "The Wrong Note Rag" (featuring a duet with
Emmy
and Tony award-winner Bebe Neuwirth), "The Hippopotamus Song," and the Shirley Temple
signature tune "Animal Crackers In My Soup." It's a wonderful antidote to simple-minded
children's
musical fare, especially for those who long for the wide-eyed wonder of performers such as
Danny
Kaye.
The Life And Death Of Adolf Hitler
James Cross Giblin
Clarion Books
215 Park Ave. South, NY, NY 10003 (800) 225-3362
ISBN 0-395-90371-8, $21.00, 246 pages, www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com
Adolf Hitler's cruel stare radiates from this book's cover, making it difficult to bring oneself to
open
this hefty biography. But once you do, its straightforward and non-sensational approach makes it
surprisingly difficult to put down. Its readability, balance and skill in relating the historical events
within a contemporary context are the secrets to this well-researched, well-written and
even-handed
tome and its potential to capture its intended readers from grade 5 up. It's a history lesson all
students need to learn, presented in such a thoroughly riveting manner that readers will find
themselves eagerly immersed in the murky political and sociological European landscape that gave
rise to Hitler's detestable path to power.
A great deal of the book focuses on the early years, events and forces that shaped the man and
lead
to his reign - from his childhood in Austria and youthful ambitions to his failures as an artist.
Many
pages are also devoted to a detailed look at his often-conflicting personality traits, personal beliefs
and practices, shedding light - and continued mystery -- on the events that followed. Hitler's life
was
chilling enough, but just as frightening are author James Cross Giblin's final two chapters about
Hitler' s death and virtual rebirth via the modern neo-Nazi movement. Editorially, Giblin takes a
clear humanitarian stance, yet avoids the trap of preaching obvious anti-Nazi cliches. Instead, his
final analysis presents a most sobering question: "Could another Adolf Hitler rise to power.in a
time
of crisis?" Considering our current fragile and dangerous world, it's a haunting point of
discussion.
Looking After Murphy
Jamie Rix and John Bendall-Brunello
Barron's Educational
250 Wireless Boulevard Hauppauge, NY 11788
ISBN 0-7641-5466-4, $13.95, 28 pages, www.barronseduc.com
A hearty Irish cheer for the sprightly "Looking After Murphy," a rare picture book that casually
and
effectively speaks to children's interests, concerns, understanding and humor. What child doesn't
love a silly tale that they can especially relate to? And what child can't relate to the kids-eye saga
of
a grandparent losing her grandkids' beloved pet? What child doesn't relish those special
grandmotherly quirks? Or squirm with the personal dilemma of whether or not to believe a
respected
grown-up's little white lies?
In Jamie Rix's charming, lighthearted tale, Sally and Jim are constantly amazed by the eccentric
antics of their Grandma Lally. She makes them watch her favorite TV show; telling them she's
under
"doctor's orders." She insists on tasting the whipped cream first, "to see if it's sour," then gobbles
it
all up, claiming it's "definitely sour." So are they to believe her when she promises to hamster-sit
for
a weekend? Sure enough, under her not-so-watchful eye, feisty furball Murphy suddenly
disappears.
Was it Grandma's rotten singing in the bathtub? A hungry cat? Had he "fallen in love with a
brush"
and gotten locked in the broom closet? When Grandma Lally concocts a scheme to fix matters
with
a whopper of a lie, what will Sally and Jim believe? Rix's wry conclusion takes a particularly
clever,
easy-to-believe and satisfyingly fun twist.
Barron's Educational
250 Wireless Boulevard Hauppauge, NY 11788
(631) 434-3311 www.barronseduc.com
Lidia Di Blasi and Nuria Roca's "I Am A Big Snake" (0764154435, $9.95, 26 pages) and "I Am A
Big Tyrannosaurus Rex" (0764154427, $9.95, 26 pages) are the latest and brawniest entries in
Barron's Little Animal Series, which previously featured diminutive young creatures from little
deer
to baby elephants. Attractively designed as super-sturdy, super-sized hardback board books, these
boy-friendly "Big" titles have a formidable presence that instantly draws preschoolers and
kindergarteners like a magnet. Bold, aggressive color illustrations add tremendously to the "you
are
there" sense of danger, particularly the T-Rex's gnashing teeth and rattler's open-mouthed
close-up.
The series' most unique asset is the first-person (first-animal?) narration by the beasties
themselves.
Most successful is the T-Rex's exciting biography peppered with impactful statements such as
"My
mouth is so big it can hold a child! Grrrrrr!" and "There is so much rotten food left in my teeth
after
I eat that a bite from me is very dangerous - even deadly!" These toothy, memorable facts make "I
Am A Big T-Rex" the most brilliant and thrilling biography any toddler is likely to find.
Given the successful execution of the T-Rex bio, it's troubling that "I Am A Big Snake" is
awkward
and ill-conceived, with poorly written text that's even sometimes paired with inappropriate
images.
Disturbingly, it even results in dangerous lessons. Didn't the creators realize they were
irresponsibly
encouraging children to touch wild, venomous snakes when they paired the text "I am soft, not
slippery. You might be surprised when you touch me!" with an illustration of a coiled rattlesnake?
An unfortunate translation to English may be the cause, but still shows an unwise error in
judgment.
In general, the "Big Snake" concept itself is unfortunately corrupted from the start with the choice
of
a not-so-big rattlesnake narrator, rather than a python or boa.
The Book Of Constellations
Robin Kerrod
Barron's Educational
250 Wireless Boulevard, Hauppauge, NY 11788
ISBN 0-7641-5440-0, $16.95, 128 pages, www.barronseduc.com
Though not a field guide, this is very direct, very concise look at the stars above. The first six
brief
chapters give a formal, academic overview of the history and science of astronomy. Brevity
results
in unembellished facts, yet the most fascinating data manages to shine through memorably. For
instance: the Church steadfastly held the belief that Earth was the center of the universe, so
Copernicus was so afraid of the torturous punishment of heresy, that it wasn't until he was on his
deathbed that he dared publish his theory of the solar system. Sure enough, one ardent
Copernican
was burned at the stake.
School text books should be this appealing. But then teachers don't have the luxury of devoting
more than three-fourths of a subject's study on close-up looks at each constellation and planet,
and
the myths associated with them. Yet that's what most interests young astronomers and astrologers
alike who will be equally enthralled by the science and mysticism presented here.
The compact book's clear format includes simple chapter breakdowns, consistent subsections and
a
healthy smattering of sidebar "Factfiles." The highly-manicured art direction makes the content
organization even clearer by using different colored backgrounds for each subject grouping.
Eye-catching illustrations, photos and diagrams keep the reader alert, even when the content
occasionally dulls.
The Book Of Faeries
Francis Melville
Barron's Educational
250 Wireless Boulevard Hauppauge, NY 11788
ISBN 0-7641-5457-5, $16.95, 128 pages, www.barronseduc.com
This enchanting field guide to the magical world of elves, pixies, goblins and dozens of other
magic
spirits is a spellbinding mini-encyclopedia. A brief overview helps novices enter the "faery realm"
with basic understanding before being introduced to nearly 60 different fairy types and individuals
from different cultures around the world (although the book clearly has a Euro-centric world
view).
The creatures are grouped into four categories: elementals and nature spirits; faery helpers;
tricksters
and seducers; and angelic faeries. Each gnome, nymph, brownie, hobgoblin, siren, mermaid, et
cetera, is then granted a two-age spread of their own, featuring one full page of text and one full
page color illustration. Fairy descriptions are largely limited to just one or two paragraphs to
provide
space for hands-on investigation suggestions such as "finding a leprechaun's treasure," "getting rid
of
a goblin," and "striking a bargain with Stromkarl." A short chapter on rituals and recipes piques
the
appetite for further reading on the subject.
The Book Of Faeries is formatted similarly to "The Book of Constellations," yet the two
companions couldn't be much more different. This one doesn't stand a chance of being
incorporated
into a school curriculum, but fantasy fans will be bewitched.
My First Day At Nursery School
Becky Edwards, Illustrated by Anthony Flintoft
Bloomsbury USA
175 Fifth Avenue, NY NY 10010
ISBN 1-58234-761-1, $15.95, 26 pages, www.bloomsbury.com
Like "First Day," Becky Edwards' brief "My First Day at Nursery School" also attempts to banish
new student anxiety by gently walking wee ones through the day's events. Here, the events are
experienced by a sweet, nervous 3 year old girl. Much like the targeted readers themselves, she
reluctantly enters the school and sadly watches her mother wave goodbye. "I want my mommy,"
she
declares as the teacher leads her to the playhouse. Soon a tea set and play kitchen captures her
attention.for awhile, at least. "I want my." - wait a minute, do you mean kids can paint and glue
here? Oh, but "I want." - hey, we can make music and dance? And play with other fun kids? And
have a cookie snack? By the time the day is over and mom bounds in the door, or course the new
preschooler proclaims, "I want to stay at nursery school," and looks ahead to her second day.
Edward's simply-told, gently reassusing story combines well with Anthony Flintof's lively,
candy-hued watercolor and ink illustrations. Together they strike just the right note and have
created
a nice addition to the preexisting library of story books tackling the dreaded first-day hurdle.
Barkus, Sly And The Golden Egg
Angela McAllister, Illustrated by Sally Anne Lambert
Bloomsbury USA
175 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY 10010
ISBN 1-58234-764-6, $15.95, 24 pages, (212) 674-5151 www.bloomsbury.com
The foxes are after the chickens once again, in this new fable with an old English flair. This time
wily
Barkus and his cousin Sly try to outfox a whole country village by stealing willy-nilly from
everyone.
One night they nab a trio of hens and stash them away in a barn for safekeeping until mealtime.
But
these chickens are no dumb clucks. They cleverly (and literally) hatch a quirky plot to outfox the
foxes and not only escape becoming chicken pot pies, but also manage to secretly see that justice
is
done by assuring that the greedy, unscrupulous foxes reap what they sow.
This picture book (called "Baddies, Goodies" in the UK), is one of the first published by the new
American imprint of the English publisher, Bloomsbury, best known as the lucky originating
publisher of "Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone." Their initial mission is to capture the North
American market with English imports that translate well "across the pond" and this traditional
tome, though inherently British in nature, is a very charming way to start the ball rolling.
Bored, Bored, Bored
Jill Newton
Bloomsbury USA
175 Fifth Avenue, NY NY 10010
ISBN 1-58234-760-3, $14.95, 24 pages, www.bloomsbury.com
Ho hum, what's a shark to do when he bores of gardening with his friends? Putter a bit, moan a bit
and swim away when he loses interest entirely, leaving the seahorses to the raking, crabs to the
pruning and octopuses to the planting. Alas, it just isn't Claude the shark's thing, so he swims
home
alone and misses the big garden party. But wait one minnow (oops) . minute! When Claude
figures
out what his thing is, his fish tale comes to a surprising conclusion.
Sound familiar? Of course, but here's a positive underwater twist on the classic fable about the
lazy
farm animals who didn't help the hen make the bread, but still wanted to share in the feast.
Author/illustrator Jill Newton - who won the Best British Childrens Book award of 1992 for
"Polar
Bear Scare" -- doesn't dawdle much on detailed storytelling or word play, but makes up for it with
her glorious pastel pictures, featuring a rich ocean full of winning, swimming characters.
Sea-Cat and Dragon King
Angela Carter, Illustrated by Eva Tatcheva
Bloomsbury USA
175 Fifth Avenue, NY NY 10010
ISBN 1-58234-768-9, $12.95, 94 pages, www.bloomsbury.com
"It is a little-known fact that cats live at the bottom of the sea." Thus begins an offbeat,
nonsensical
fable that elicits double takes and sly grins from older picture book readers and adults alike. In her
first original book for children, the late author Angela Carter has woven an underwater tale about
Sea-Cat who mopes about the wet until his mother knits him a wondrous cloak of seaweed and
sea
treasures. When the wise-and- wonderful, but monstrously ugly, Dragon King hears of the coat,
he
decides it's just what he needs to boost his own self-esteem. The plotting scheme that follows
avoids
the otherwise-predictable cliches of greed and vengence by presenting a friendly and positive
problem-solving conclusion.
"Sea-Cat and Dragon King's" fanciful characters and matter-of-fact attitude are contained in
elongated storybook text and packaged attractively in a hardback novel format to effectively
bridge
the gap between older picture books and chapter books. Judging the book by its cover alone, this
is
a winner by contemporary standards - a well-produced tome to introduce readers to the wonders
of
novels. It sports a beautiful hardback cover and fanciful title, but in keeping with the book's "it's
what inside that counts" moral, the text and imaginative (and plentiful) line-drawing illustrations
are
plenty to fulfill its promise as an enjoyable adventure.
Cow
Malachy Doyle and Angelo Rinaldi
Margaret K. McElderry Books
1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020
ISBN 0-689-84462-X, $17.00, 32 pages, www.SimonSaysKids.com
"You graze, you chew, and you rest. It's hard work being a cow." That's the ironic summary to
this
gentle, moo-ving tribute to the simple daily life of our bovine friends who provide us with fresh
milk
each day. What is it really like to be a dairy cow? This picture book helps us feel how it would be
to
step into their hoof prints. The author's zen-like use of swaying language virtually echoes the tail
swishing, and lumbering gait of the brown-eyed protagonists. The experience is aided immensely
by
the illustrations' rich, intensely personal sense of empathy and elevated realism.
The spare descriptions are completely stripped to the essence, free of excess. "Your hooves click
on
the floor of the yard, the gate opens, and you enter the stall," the text slowly explains, while the
illustrator's photo-realistic paintings provide a close up of hind legs and udder, putting the reader
entirely into the action, evoking earthy smell, taste and touch. At its heart, "Cow" is a minimalist
work of art about an unlikely subject. It's all the more wonderful that this warm and sympathetic
ode
hails from the United Kingdom where mad cow disease has doomed so many of these maligned
creatures to the slaughter.
First Day
Joan Rankin
Margaret K. McElderry Books
1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020
ISBN 0-689-84563-4, $16.95, 30 pages, www.SimonSaysKids.com
First day jitters require extra comfort and support of doting parents trying to ease their children's
fear and anxiety of separation from a parent (not to mention the agony of a guilt-ridden moms and
dads). Dozens of available picture books can banish much of the anxiety by erasing the mystery
and
identifying with preschoolers' reluctance to stay in a strange place without mom or dad. Very few
of
them, however, erase the anxiety by tickling the funny bone as charmingly as "First Day."
Writer/illustrator Joan Rankin ("Wow! It's Great To Be A Duck") has an excellent ear for phrases
that children use and silly words that make them laugh. Her parent-child dialog exchanges are
smart,
honest, and straight out of the average family home, with the welcome exception of her hilariously
creative student names from Pipsqueaker to Susieshyshoes. Wise, too is Rankin's choice to
populate
her Pre-K classroom with personified canines; this immediately warms nervous kids to the
characters, and puts them at ease by distancing the oh-so-close-to-home problem.
When Rankin's spectacled protagonist, Hillybillybun, admits how afraid he is that the other kids
will
make fun of his furry feet and extra long name, he' s soon relieved to meet Willywobbleknees,
Jeremiahthunderbolt and the rest of his multi-syllable peers. Soon he feels comfortable not only
with
his new environment, but also with himself. A bonus for parents and kids alike is "First Day"'s
heart-warming peek at parental empty-nest sadness and worry. A very, very lovely effort without
a
single speck of over-sweetening.
Girl Pages: Marvelous Me
Linda Johnson
Kidsbooks Inc.
230 Fifth Ave., NY NY 10001
ISBN 1-58865-038-3, $19.95, 96 pages, (800) 515-5437 www.kidsbooks.com
Pre-teen girls can't get enough of diaries and personality quizzes, so this strictly novelty "Girl
Pages"
gift item combines the two: here is a book of quizzes and activity ideas, a 64 page journal for
"your
secret thoughts" and, of course, a lock and key to keep your secrets safe. Several girlie
bells-and-whistles are here - tchatkes, pink flowers, a promising subtitle: "The Ultimate Guide To
Your Life" - but the steep retail price is unjustified for a disposable item such as this. Nearly
identical content has been filling the pages of 17, YM, and a host of other girls magazines for
decades at a much better value.
How To Draw Awesome Animation
Illustrated by Justin Thompson
Kidsbooks Inc.
230 Fifth Ave., NY, NY 10001
ISBN 1-58865-019-7, $14.95, 128 pages, (800) 515-5437 www.kidsbooks.com
"How To Draw Awesome Animation" is the latest attention-getter in Kidsbooks' "How To Draw"
series (including Dinosaurs and Aliens & UFOS, for example), and, quite likely will be the most
popular title, thanks to the Japanese anime and "manga" craze. Geared for middle grade boys, it
hits
the market on the head with straight-forward directions and minimal text. A two page
introduction is
effective and brief enough to maintain short attention spans. Each subsequent two-page spread
lays
out a four-step process for a different cartoon figure that can be traced for practice with the 16
sheets of tracing paper included. There are some 40-plus character spreads in all: some cute and
cuddly, but most fanciful comic book and anime-style adventure humanoids, in keeping with the
current popularity. Kids who dream of making their own cartoons will love and possibly obsess
over
the lessons learned here. Predictably, and justifiably, their biggest complaint will likely be that
none
of the characters here are from existing cartoons or comics. Rather, they are generic figures "in
the
style of" Dragonball Z, Pokemon, Sailor Moon, etc., giving the overall package a
less-than-authentic
feel, despite its heft and professionalism.
A Little Princess / The Secret Garden
Frances Hodgson Burnett
Kidsbooks Inc.
230 Fifth Ave., NY NY 10001
(800) 515-5437 www.kidsbooks.com
ISBN 1-58865-009-X (A Little Princess)
ISBN 1-58865-008-1 (The Secret Garden) $14.95
These two hardback reissues of "A Little Princess" and "The Secret Garden" are part of the "A
Charming Keepsake Classic" series of adapted, abridged and illustrated classic children's
literature,
repackaged in pretty pastels with a petite padlock and keys, a little drawer for storing keepsakes,
and either a charm necklace, or a small diary, depending on the title. The emphasis on pretty,
novelty
packaging is to attract a new generation of young girls to Frances Hodgson's timeless classics, yet
its
prim handling of the abbreviated text gives proper respect where it is due, in much the same
decades-old style of the much enjoyed "Illustrated Classics" series. For both adaptations, much
subtlety is unavoidably lost in the translation for the sake of brevity, but these simple,
old-fashioned
introductions should nicely serve as stepping-stones encouraging readers to graduate to the
original
text editions.
For this version of "A Little Princess," the original story's 12 chapters are condensed to 182 pages
of
large type, including a black and white illustration on nearly every two-page spread, plus a
thumbnail
bio of the author. Self-readers will enjoy the charm of the period settings and costumes and easily
identify with Sara's transformation from spoiled child to poor orphan and back again.
For "The Secret Garden," the original story's 21 chapters are condensed to 187 pages of large
type,
including a black and white illustration on nearly every two-page spread, plus the same short
author
bio. Dreamy-eyed first-time readers will lose themselves in the period fantasy about contrary Mary
whose sour disposition sweetens when she discovers a mysterious garden, and helps it grow.
Naturally, the process also nurtures her young soul, and reawakens her true spirit - just as it has
magically done for readers for nearly a 100 years.
Life Stories Of 100 Famous Women
Susan and Kathleen Edgar
Kidsbooks Inc.
230 Fifth Ave., NY, NY 10001
ISBN 1-56156-979-8, $19.95, 573 pages, (800) 515-5437 www.kidsbooks.com
It's difficult not to admire a collection of thumbnail bios on 100 famous women who have
exhibited
strong moral fiber while achieving greatness. It's just the thing to inspire female grade-schoolers
and
instill them with self-pride along with vital history lessons.
However, this collection is part of the publisher's "Values in Action" series, so the subjects
included
needed to be held to a higher standard. Certainly it's a no-brainer to list political leaders Indira
Gandhi, Golda Meir and Margaret Thatcher; humanitarians Mother Teresa and Marie Curie;
social
reformers Rosa Parks, Susan B. Anthony, Betty Friedan and Mother Jones; and specialty
achievers
Jane Goodall, Florence Nightingale, and Helen Keller.
But in their troubled, tragic, drug addled, self-centered lives, when did Billie Holiday or Judy
Garland ever step onto higher ground to warrant their inclusion among the role models here? But
apparently entertainers are here considered role models merely due to their fame -hence the
chapter
on obnoxious Rosie O'Donnell. But why are there no female industrialists and corporate leaders
profiled here to provide young girls with the hope that the glass ceiling is finally beginning to
shatter? In hindsight, the editors must now be cringing that the book's only CEO is Martha
Stewart,
now contemptuously embroiled in an unethical insider trading scandal. Yet there she is, grinning
from the cover along with Queen Victoria, Amelia Earhart and Pocahontas. Oops.
The Tree
Dana Lyons, Illustrated by David Danioth
Illumination Arts
P.O. Box 1965, Bellevue, WA 98009
ISBN 0-9701907-1-9, $16.95, 32 pages, www.illumin.com
"For eight hundred years I have lived here, through the wind, the fire and the snow." Thus begins
the
powerful story told through the "eyes" of an ancient Douglas Fir, the unusual narrator of its own
story as part of the circle of life in a Pacific Rain Forest. It witnesses the seasons, the birth or new
generations, the savage sides of nature, and ruthless destruction of mankind. It fears that its own
demise will mean the demise of species that rely on it for food and shelter. Ultimately it is
comforted
by the hope that new generations of children will help it survive "so the wind may always carry my
song."
This gorgeous, spirit-raising picture book - including an informative afterword -- is for the
tree-hugger in (hopefully) all of us. It's a beautiful way to help small minds appreciate the big,
natural world, and understand our duty to help preserve and protect the fragile environment.
Putting
their money where their mouth is, the publisher, Illumination Arts, published the book on recycled
paper, and has dedicated a portion of book sales to the Jane Goodall Institute and the Circle of
Life
Foundation. Thumbnail forewords by Native American author Julia Butterfly Hill and the
legendary
Pete Seeger give the project added credence, though the beautiful pages do a superb job of
speaking
eloquently for themselves.
The Whoosh of Gadoosh
Pat Skene, Illustrated by Doug Keith
Illumination Arts
P.O. Box 1965, Bellevue, WA 98009
ISBN 0-9701907-0-0, $15.95, 32 pages, www.illumin.com
In this well-meaning but heavy-handed morality tale, a homeless, elderly Mary Poppins-type --
inexplicably nicknamed "the Whoosh of Gadoosh" -- reveals the wonders of literally taking flight
to
a group of neighborhood kids. When Gadoosh symbolically places a candy-colored button --
reading
"Push Here To Start" - over a girl's heart, the kids' spirits soar and they literally whoosh magically
in
the air alongside Gadoosh. They revel in her freewheeling joy and generosity, particularly since
she
has so little, so the kids help Gadoosh find somewhere to sleep by taking her to school. There her
whooshing temporarily succeeds in transforming the uptight teacher into a reborn whoosher. Still,
rules are rules and Gadoosh must move on, so the kids hatch a plan to find her a home where her
magic is needed most: the children's wing of a hospital.
"Chicken Soup for the Soul" fans will appreciate the heart of the story, but its doubtful young
children will grasp or respond to the moral lesson and its adult-centric sentimentality. It's
commendable that the picture book's noble mission is to encourage even the youngest readers to
form a strong moral backbone, but the long-winded rhyming couplets slow the story and will are
likely to bore their intended target before any moral can take hold.
Birds Build Nests
Yvonne Winer, Illustrated by Tony Oliver
Charlesbridge Publishing
85 Main Street Watertown, MA 02472
ISBN 1-57091-501-6, $6.95, 32 pages, wwww.charlesbridge.com
This beautiful ode to the simple elegance of nest-building is well-conceived, thoroughly
researched,
expertly executed and artistically rendered. It's a first-class effort all around, and a true pleasure to
read for Pre-K through adults. In quiet, sing-song fashion, Yvonne Winer's text tells simple details
of
birds' workaday life, for example: "Birds build nests from morning 'til night. Tireless weavers,
designers in flight." She leaves more scientific explanations aside until the final two pages, which
present a fascinating nest identification guide. Each and every page features Tony Oliver's
gloriously
detailed illustrations, which succeed in bringing the difficult-to-otherwise witness scenes to light in
such a lovingly rendered way that it would have made Audubon proud. Splendid.
Charlesbridge Publishing
85 Main Street Watertown, MA 02472
www.charlesbridge.com
Valerie Tracqui's "Face To Face With The Dog" (1570914524, $9.95, 26 pages) and "Face To
Face
With The Ladybug" (1570914532, $9.95,26 pages) are the two latest entries to join such subjects
as
the ant and the horse in the "Face To Face" series of early reader non-fiction guides. Using crisp
photos, these books invite kids to get up-close-and-personal with approachable animals, and in
the
case of the ladybug, to see things they could never otherwise observe. Information is presented in
small bites that are really not much more than loosely connected sidebars and photo captions.
Together, it's very interesting stuff, delightfully designed in a friendly manner. By the end, when
readers reach the "Quick Quiz" page, kids will be amazed that they learned as much as they
did.
Henry David's House
Henry David Thoreau (Edited by Steven Schnur, Illustrated by Peter Fiore)
Charlesbridge Publishing
85 Main Street Watertown, MA 02472 (617) 926-0329
ISBN 0-88106-116-6, $16.95, 32 pages, wwww.charlesbridge.com
Henry David Thoreau's two masterpieces, "Walden" and "Life In The Woods," endure as the
American literary classics that have formed our national consciousness on ecological matters and
philosophical thought on mankind's existence in the natural world. The wholesomeness of his life
and life's work is ideal fodder to nurture young minds and open new eyes to the natural wonders
that
exist outside man-made environments.
Translating Thoreau's words and concepts to a child's understanding is a daunting task, but it is
one
that editor Steven Schnur clearly relishes, and handles with the utmost grace and inspiration. For
"Henry David's House," Schnur derived 100% of the picture book text from 1940's journal entries
of
Thoreau's early days at Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Using Thoreau's own words,
the
gentle, straightforward passages breathe life into the historic scenarios presented, and transport
readers through time and space with poetic phrasing and impassioned wonder. Contemplative
young
grade-school readers will admire and appreciate the observations of hearing fox footsteps on the
snow crust, seeing runaway slaves passing through the forest, and camping in the open-air until
enough lumber was chopped to construct the single-room house at the edge of the woods. And
with
most contemporary school children leading stressful, over-scheduled lives, who will be able to
resist
Thoreau's dream of leaving the rat race behind, in favor of going "to the woods" in search of a
simpler life. "Henry David's House" is a lush, beautifully constructed tribute to Thoreau's essence,
just when it seems we need it most.
Ice Cream
Jules Older, Illustrated by Lyn Severance
Charlesbridge Publishing
85 Main Street Watertown, MA 02472
ISBN 0-880106-112-3, $6.95, 32 pages, wwww.charlesbridge.com
Young school kids with book-reading quotas to fill will eagerly eat up this cool summer treat.
Author Jules Older tells the chronological story of everyone's favorite desert in easily-digestible
bites, served up with lots of yummy comic-style illustrations by Lyn Severance. When was ice
cream
invented? Why is "sundae" spelled funny? What exactly is Baked Alaska? Who came up with the
banana split? Then just when you think you've run out of questions on the subject, the book
serves
up a triple scoop of fascinating facts: Yes, vanilla is still the world's #1 flavor, followed by
chocolate; lobster ice cream is the most unusual flavor on the market; and people in Utah eat
more
of the stuff than any other state. For the cherry on top, Older sprinkles several just-plain-silly
suggestions, such as lox and bagel ice cream being among the world's greatest flavor flops. Short
and sweet treat, filled with plenty of empty calories.
The Skull Alphabet Book
Jerry Pallotta and Ralph Masiello
Charlesbridge Publishing
85 Main Street Watertown, MA 02472
ISBN 0-88106-915-9 (softcover edition) $7.95 - 30 pages, wwww.charlesbridge.com
"A is for We are not telling you!" Like Ralph Masiello's other best-selling alphabet books
(including
"The Yucky Reptile Alphabet Book" and "The Icky Bug Alphabet Book"), this is clearly an ABC
book with a difference. "The Skull Alphabet Book" simply uses the alphabet as the framework for
gorgeously detailed renderings of an A-to-Z of animal skulls, sometime taking humorous liberties
with his initialing schemes. For example: "X is for armadillo. That's right! Armadillo! Why?
Because
it is from the animal kingdom, phylum Chordata, class Mammalia, order Xenarthra, family
Dasypodidae, genus Dasypus, species novemcinctus."
Always lively, never condescending and consistently informative, this is more of a grin-inducing,
page-turning game than a literary work. Answers are hidden in a two-page spread toward the
back
of the book, but the most perplexing riddle is never solved: why in the world did Masiello decide
to
incorporate a "spot the American presidents" hidden pictures game throughout the books' 32
pages?
This reviewer numbskull still can't figure it out. I'll leave it to brainy science-facts-fixated
grade-schoolers for whom this is aimed, even though this is a quirky anti-primer that's interesting,
off-beat and challenging enough to truly appeal to kids of all ages.
Vicki Arkoff
Reviewer
Shannon's Bookshelf
God, Is That You?
Katharine C. Giovanni
Newroad Publishing
PO Box 278, Apex, NC 27502
ISBN: 1-931109-03-6, 106 pp., $12.95, paperback, www.newroadpublishing.com
I don't think it matters what religion we are, there probably aren't many of us who haven't, at one
time or another, wished we could speak to God and have Him answer back. In words that we can
understand. In God, Is That You?, author Katharine Giovanni suggests that we can talk to God
and
have every reason to expect an answer, "in actual words."
We are told in Part I that "This is your golden moment of realization. This is the hope of a better
way and even better things yet to come!...You can always go back to them if you wish." So, what
do
we have to lose in trying to hear God speak to us? Absolutely nothing!
Dividing the book into several parts, Giovanni offers the basics of how she began taking this path
of
talking to God and expecting answers, debunks the myth that God only talks to special people,
and
gives readers suggestions as to what they might wish to talk to God about. Asserting that
conversing
with God is just a matter of praying and then waiting for an answer, Giovanni gives us two ways
of
carrying on these dialogues: 1) Using the written word, with computer or paper and pen, or 2)
Using
meditation. The steps are simple and easy to follow, and real-life examples abound, just in case
you
want to see what happens to others who listen to God. Also included are exercises to flex your
"listening muscles" and suggestions for further reading and Internet surfing on the subject of
talking,
and listening, to God's voice.
There is nothing far-out or new-agey about God, Is That You? It's a simple matter of allowing
God
the chance to speak to us, and giving Him the courtesy of listening. I found the book enlightening
and uplifting, and, yes, I do think I heard God speak to me. It wasn't my first time. I am used to
conversing with God, but needed to be reminded at how wonderful this tool is, and how it can
enrich our lives on a daily basis. I recommend this book for anyone looking for a closer, more
personal relationship with their Creator.
Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting
By Lynn Grabhorn
Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc.
1123 Stoney Ridge Road, Charlottesville, VA 22902
ISBN: 1-57174-194-1, 309 pp., $18.95, 2000, www.hrpub.com
Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting is perhaps one of the most eye-opening books I have read in
years.
A basic introduction to the amazing Law of Attraction--like attracts like--, this book not only
explains how we got into this "mess" we call life, but, more importantly, how to get out of the
mess
and magically change it in the life we dream of.
The Law of Attraction states that what we focus on, whether it be abundance or lack, sickness or
health, sadness or joy, we will get just that and more of the same. For example, if we focus on
how
little money we have, and how miserable we feel to have so little money, the Law of Attraction
guarantees that we will continued to have "so little money."
Author Grabhorn, however, offers us four steps down the road to focusing on what we do want
rather than what we don't want:
1) Identify what you DON'T want.
2) From that, identify what you DO want.
3) Get into the feeling place of what you want.
4) Expect, listen, and allow it to happen.
Remarkably easy steps, but miraculous in their effectiveness. By looking around at our current
lives,
we can ascertain that the Law of Attraction is working, whether we are conscious of it or not --
everything and everyone currently in our life is there because at one time or another we believed it
to
be something we wanted to have in our lives. Or, worse, we believed it to be the best we deserved
to have.
Each step is examined in great detail, in separate chapters, in an easy-to-follow, and often quite
funny manner. Grabhorn guarantees that we can all make significant improvements in our lives if
we
would just follow her step-by-step outline to "feeeeeling" the life we want to live, rather than
focusing on the parts of our life that we currently don't want. She separately expounds on such
hot
topics as money, relationships and health, giving each and every reader something to work with to
create the best life available to them.
Ending the book with a Thirty Day Breakthrough exercise to get the reader started, Excuse Me,
Your Life is Waiting truly gives readers something to think about, if not embrace and incorporate
into their lives. Make the change! Learn the secret of the Law of Attraction and make it work for
you. I add my guarantee that, once understood, this universal law will place the power to create
the
life you want firmly back in your own hands.
Shannon McKelden Cave
Reviewer
Shelley's Bookshelf
The Parcel Express Murders
Bernadette Y. Connor
Bee-Con Books
PO Box 27708, Philadelphia, PA 19118
ISBN: 0-9715838-1-1 $13.00
Bernadette Y. Connor is a native Philadelphian who has had her fingers in several pies for many
years. She became a vocalist while still in high school, and at the same time trained as a
communications technician for AT & T. She is divorced and has raised her three children herself,
bought a house, and could be considered a Renaissance woman.
Samoa Tate is a psychiatrist who is beautiful and aloof when it comes to forming relationships
with
men. She never knew her father, who ran off before she was born. Sam's best friend is Christine
Hawkins, whose husband, Hall, is a cop. Hall's partner is Eddie Clark. When Chris and Hall
conspire
to introduce Eddie and Sam, sparks fly. It is just a matter of time before they have fallen in love.
Simultaneously, Eddie and Hall are caught up in a series of murders that will ultimately put all of
them in danger:
"That wicked bitch didn't belong to nobody. She'll ice Godzilla for thinking he's gettin' a bite of
her
fish sandwich. She laughed in Vinnie's face when she lost the last hand of poker and didn't have
the
money to pay him. He choked her until she understood that he didn't roll that way. Vinnie worked
her at some games he held up there in the warehouse. To punish her, he cut the price and that
meant
she had to do doubles to get his cash. I guess she got tired of working for discount Vinnie. On the
street she made it abundantly clear that she owned her business and nobody else."
Bernadette Y. Connor knows how to spin a yarn. She is adept at portraying a range of characters,
and pulling them all together with a finely wrought plot that keeps the reader sitting up at night to
fine out what the next move will be. Her love interests are touching and stoked with realistic
issues
that crop up in every relationship. Her friendships are secure; family ties are enduring and fiercely
loyal; and even the criminals are handled with a deft hand, giving the reader a mix of human
loyalty,
passion, and tribulations. Her tale is about African-Americans, and she portrays them in all of their
rich splendor. The story has quite a cast of characters, who would easily translate to an excellent
Hollywood movie. A great read.
And Not A Penny More
Kathryn R. Wall
Coastal Villages Press
2614 Boundary St, Beaufort, SC 29906
ISBN: 1-882943-12-0 $14.95
Kathryn R. Wall is a retired accountant, who grew up in a small town in northeastern Ohio. She
and
her husband sold their manufacturing tooling distributorship and relocated to Hilton Head Island
in
1994, where Wall continues to work part-time in accounting, as well as mentoring at a local
public
school. She is the founding member of the Island Writers Network.
And Not A Penny More is the follow-up to the first Bay Tanner mystery, In For A Penny. Bay is
also a retired accountant, who is still recovering from losing her husband in a plane explosion
which
tore up her shoulder. Bay has a talent for sniffing out injustice. Her wheelchair ridden father,
known
as "The Judge," operates in the background to not only look after Bay, but to assist her.
Bay's old friend, now Countess and divorcee Jordan von Brandt, returns to South Carolina after
her
mother mysteriously dies aboard a cruise ship. Leslie Herrington was in perfect health, and Jordan
wants answers. Bay joins Jordan and her brother Trey aboard a cruise ship destined for islands in
the
Caribbean, where Bay finds a new love in the unlikely ranks of Interpol, plus possible answers to
her
own past:
"That's what I'd like to know.' Darnay lit one of his foul French cigarettes and offered it to me. I
waved it away. What do you have to do with Eddie Brown shoes?' he demanded. Who?' The guy
who's been tailing you. The one who just came looking for us.' I have no idea what you're talking
about.' Come on, Bay. Level with me. He doesn't have any reason to be interested in me, so it has
to
be you. What have you done to attract the attention of a Miami mobster?'"
Bay Tanner is a compelling, sexy heroine who chain smokes (cigarette country), runs away from
the
many men who pursue her, and uses her big heart and great instincts to save her friends from bad
real estate deals, International terrorists, and serial killers. And Not A Penny More is an excellent
follow-up to a series that treats the readers to enough thrills and spills to satisfy.
Benjamin Franklin And A Case Of Christmas Murder
Robert Lee Hall
Pine St. Books
c/o University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4011
ISBN: 0-8122-1790-X, $14.95 paper, GOTOBUTTON BM_1_ www.upenn.edu/pennpress
Robert Lee Hall authored Exit Sherlock Holmes: The Great Detective's Final Days and Benjamin
Franklin Takes The Case, among others. Robert Lee Hall is considered one of the experts in
historical murder mysteries.
Benjamin Franklin is now retired, and is living in London with his sons, one acknowledged, the
other
illegitimate, but loved nonetheless. The story is told by Nick Hardy, the illegitimate son, who
serves
as Franklin's apprentice and assistant, as well as biographer. Roddy Fairbrass is given a drought of
opliss-popliss drops during the performance of a Christmas play, which kills him instead of
reviving
him. Franklin has already talked to his daughter, Cassandra, who claims she has seen his ghost
walking through their house at night. All is not as it seems, and Franklin quickly utilizes his
considerable intellect and experience to determine that Fairbrass has been murdered:
"'Quod erat demonstrandum.' Mr. Franklin poked the rat triumphantly with one of his glass rods.
No
mistake: its limpness and glazed, staring eyes proclaimed that it was dead. 'Poison,' pronounced he
grimly. I stared at him. 'Murder, then?' breathed I."
Robert Lee Hall casts his characters and setting in perfect harmony in this entertaining historical
murder. He manages to work in many of Franklin's achievements, including his expertise as a
printer,
statesman, and inventor. Franklin is depicted as a kind man, who is without a shred of prejudice at
a
time when slavery was still the norm. The entire story is one of tolerance, charity towards
humanity,
and the type of courage that great men of every race possess when faced with difficult
circumstances.
Benjamin Franklin And A Case Of Christmas Murder is beautifully conceived and written. Each
scene stands up to academic scrutiny. Mr. Hall has taken great pains to write an intelligent and
erudite, yet fun-filled mystery with layers of intrigue. An excellent effort.
North Of The Border
Judith Van Gieson
University of New Mexico Press
1720 Lomas Boulevard NE, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131-1591
ISBN: 0826328865, $13.95 1-800-249-7737
Judith Van Gieson is a veteran mystery novelist, with eleven books to her credit. Her mysteries
with
the University of New Mexico Press include: Confidence Woman, The Stolen Blue, and
Vanishing
Point. Van Gieson is the author of the Claire Reynier series. She is an Albuquerque resident.
Neil Hamel is a female lawyer struggling out on her own, after ending her affair with one Carl
Roberts-and her employment-at his law firm. Carl comes to Neil seeking help, because he is
receiving threatening notes regarding his adopted son, Eduardo. Carl is also running for political
office, and can't afford any messy scandals. He convinces Neil to go to Mexico to look up the
attorney who handled the adoption. Neil knows Mexico is trouble, but needs to pay some bills.
She
reluctantly makes the trip. What Neil finds is a man with his throat cut:
"'Menendez,' I gasped. Motionless, I took in the scene, with the cold clarity of shock and thought
absurdly of all the paperwork that had been spoiled by the blood, as if he were in a position to
give a
damn. He was, there was no doubt, dead, like a lump of a dog beside the road, and very recently,
too."
Van Gieson has a unique way of turning a phrase into a poetic description that makes for a very
enjoyable read. Her novel has artistic overtones to it, like a painter who is finishing a masterpiece
with whimsical strokes of the brush. The reader will be entertained by Van Gieson's flair for
writing
as much as the tightly knit plot.
Neil is a feisty sleuth. Her affair with "the Kid," a Mexican car mechanic who remains a sort of
mystery man, becomes a central piece to the solution of the mystery and is great fun. Neil's
independence and fortitude is also part and parcel of what makes this series work. Van Gieson
combines scenery of the New Mexican desert with politics, even mixing in some far-off
connection
with Hitler to tie together a neat mystery. All the elements are there for a believable, yet fresh,
concoction for the mystery fan's amusement.
Shelley Glodowski
Reviewer
Shirley's Bookshelf
Thinking Of You ISBN 1-57583-369-7
Happy Birthday ISBN 1-57583-367-0
Just Because ISBN 1-57583-371-9
Get Well ISBN 1-57583-406-5
Twin Sisters Productions, Inc.
2680 West Market Street Akron, Ohio 44333
Card/CD - $4.95 each 1-800-248-8946 http://www.twinsisters.com
If you are looking for something special for someone you love, Twin Sisters Production, have just
the thing.
Their line of 'Music CD Greetings Cards' is top of the line. On the outside you will find a beautiful
picture of a flower, inside a warm greeting and best of all, a spectacular CD of Nature Sounds
with
music, is tucked away for your delight!
After enjoying the warm greeting, I smiled at the sight of the label, filled with pictures of the
flower
for each month of the year; I knew I would enjoy the sound I was about to hear. I was not
disappointed!
Beautiful sounds of restful ocean waves filled the air, followed by gentle piano music. Each
selection
was magnificent,whether it be rain, or wind, singing birds or the rhythm of a heartbeat gently
joined
with Heavenly music.
Ministering to my spirit, these selections allowed this reviewer, to enter into ripples of peace.
Looking for a special card that will last and last. Happy Birthday, Just Because, Thinking of You,
Get Well Soon, send a card with a heart. Check out their site, they have many to choose from.
These
are wonderful!
Passions Price
Mary Adair
Awestruck Ebooks
ISBN 1-58749-249-0, Download $4.50, Diskette $8.95, http://www.awestruck.net
Passions Price is a winner from the beginning. The author immediately grabs your attention as she
takes you to the Indian village of Chota ,in the Carolina Colony.
Mystery immediately captivates you, as the young warrior Dawn speaks of a message she has
received, from the Great Spirit to save her beloved Raven. She knows his life is in danger.
Raven, whom Dawn has not seen for years, is now living his life in England. Befriended by the
wealthy Montgomery family, he is seeking his past so he may live his future. Raven, a handsome
young man, is filled with anger and rage because he does not know his heritage. He longs for the
life
he had at Chota, but is determined to find out who his father is and why he has lived under this
cloak
of mystery.
Traveling across the ocean, Dawn arrives to the surprise of Raven and the Montgomery Family.
William Gaylord Montgomery, or better known as Willie and his Grandmothers, Lady Willomena
and Lady Victoria are thrilled to see Dawn. Raven, however , is troubled over her arrival,
especially
after she announces that she is there to save her beloved Raven from certain death.
Unbeknown to Dawn, Raven has been the object of several attempted murders against him.
Someone is not wanting him to know who his father is, or what the secret is about his past.
Marqueritte is introduced early in the story. Raven has been engaged to her, but the sight of his
beloved Dawn has caused him to resend from Marqueritte. She is not the type of woman who will
take this laying down.
Dawn quickly weaves her way into the hearts of Lady Willomena and Lady Victoria, along with
Sara, who is the servant girl at the Montgomery home. Dawn eventually enlists all their help in
saving her beloved Raven. The story takes many twists and turns as both Raven and Dawn
continue
their quests. I have to admit, I did figure out who Raven's father was before the ending, but I
never
quessed the part that Marqueritte would play; nor her involvement with Dawn from both their
pasts.
Quite a good twist, I must say.
One of my favorite characters was Willie. He became endearing to my heart and I was glad to see
a
happy ending for all, or should I say all the good people, in this book.
A very good read, well worth your time.
Chiva
Jina Bacarr
Awe-Struck Ebooks
ISBN: 1-58749-312-8, Download $4.95, Diskette $8.95, http://www.awe-struck.net
I like to sit on a book awhile after I have read it. Let it digest in my mind and see after several
days if
it creeps back up into my thoughts. Some do, some don't!
Chiva is one of the ones that do! Unlike any other book that I have read, Chiva has left a
permanent
mark on my soul. It took me a few chapters to get the feel of the book and also to get into the
dialog
used by the author, but soon I was understanding every word written and I was becoming a part
of
the mind and spirit of this young man, Dean Summers.
If you do not know what Chiva is, as I did not, it a form of heroine. Yes, this book is about an
addict, but it is written in a way you will not soon forget. The addict himself tells his own story.
Dean is not a low life, but a young honor student, well liked in school and high on the social
ladder
in life. His family is well to do, living a comfortable life, and Dean is a respected member of his
school and community.
When Dean's friend Pauly dies from an overdose of drugs, Dean begins to see him. At first he
does
not believe it is truly Pauly, but as time goes on, he realizes that it is indeed his dead friend. Pauly
has come to warn Dean that if he does not change his ways and do it quickly, he will soon join
him
in death. Dean has a human Guardian angel as well, Michelle, who sees more in Dean than he sees
in
himself. She is the glue that will keep Dean from being destroyed.
The story weaves in and out of Deans struggle with drugs, his collision with cancer, and his
battles
with love and friendships. The author shows how drugs truly make a person look at life, their
families and their relationships. She shows how it possess their very being making everything else
second place, how hard the battle is to stop and the heartbreak it causes. At the end of the book
she
gives an appendix of the drugs, their names, what they look like and what they do.
This book is a must read for all young people and certainly would not hurt any person who has a
young one in their lives that they love. Reading it has given me more understanding into the world
of
those who are possessed by drugs. It showed me the power that this demon has on them and
made
me realize that only through the love and understanding of others, can they be freed from this evil
that consumes them. A very good read!
Juno Lucina
Mandy Hager
Wings ePress Inc.
PO Box 38, Richmond KY 40876
ISBN 1-59088-116-8, Download PDF $6.00, Paperback $11.95,
http://www.Wings-press.com
Tress Chromain is a young woman, working as a journalist for a local paper. When she is told to
do
a story on a group of women who worship Juno, Queen of the Roman God's, she finds herself
searching for the answers of life.
Widowed at a young age, Tress begins a quest within herself to find the peace she so longs for.
Why
did her husband have to be a hero? From her earliest memories as a child, Tress knew that her
Mother was different. Her father made sure she knew, often yelling the word 'witch' and abusing
her
Mother and mocking her ways. When Tress's father left, inwardly she blamed her Mother, and her
strange ways, for ending their family. For years she carried this burden within her, and would not
allow herself the closeness she longed for with her mother.
Tress herself was different, although she tried for years to hide that fact. Alan, her husband, would
help her stifle the feelings inside of her. Never allowing Tress to be the woman she was born to
be.
After her husband's death Tress's main friend is her cat Vincent, who meets a grizzly end.
As the characters are introduced you find Sylvia and Barry, a seemingly happy married couple,
but
what is the sinister story behind their lives, and how will it effect Tress? Jeff, an old friend of
Tress's
and Alan suddenly appears, what part does he play in Tress's confused life? Claire, worshipper of
the
moon, is she after Tress's good or does she have an alterative motive? And let us not leave out
Hannah; a women who you think at first to be meddlesome but turns out to be just the friend that
Tress needs.
What power does Sarah, Tress's Mother have and does Tress have it too? Will she accept her
position in life or will she forever run from her destiny? There are many twists and turns in this
novel; it made for a good read. I enjoyed this book and give it a thumbs up!
A Mouth Full Of Shell
Connie Gotsch
DLSIJ Press
ISBN: 1-928973-44-2, Download: $4.95 Paperback $18.95, 263 pages,
http://www.dlsijpress.com
A Mouth Full Of Shell starts out with Betsy Craig's life 14 years earlier in the town of Spring
Water,
Kansas. Betsy was a young reporter working a story for a sports event, when the unthinkable
happens. A hard nose troublemaker speaks the fearful F word in the mic for all the world to hear.
Betsy's boss, Bob Parker, fires her, deciding that because she was a woman, she was not capable
of
handling the job. Citing, if she were a man, this would have never happened. Betsy tries to take
legal
action, but finds the odds are against her and leaves to pursue her career elsewhere. The story
takes
up with Betsy living in Mountain View, Pennsylvania. She is now Dr. Craig and is a Professor at
the
Mountain View University. Betsy is up for tenure and this is where her problems begin, as she
awaits her letter from the Communication Personnel Committee. Mountain View is a town that is
bundled in heritage. Its people have been there for generations and make their presents known in
all
aspects of the Community. From Professors, to Judges, and right down the line; the town is
controlled by the Founders. Betsy is not seen as a welcome addition to their Community by
several
of the more powerful family members. One, in particular is Anna, who has a deep dislike for Betsy
and will stop at nothing to see her driven out of town. All good stories need an evil figure, and
Anna
fits this bill quite nicely. Of course those who Betsy thinks are friends may not be as favorable to
her
as she hopes. Let's take Dr. Steve Harding and his wife Ellen. Betsy had counted on his vote for
her
tenure, why has he reneged?
Certainly he could not be in cohorts with Dean Chambers in wanting Betsy gone. Could he? And
if
so why, what was he promised in return? Ellen seems nice enough and appears to like Betsy, or
does
she? Perhaps her future and her comforts are more important than doing what is right concerning
Betsy. The plot thickens!
Ms. Gotsch weaves into her story a love life for Betsy, although there is question just whom she
will
end up with, right to the end of the story. I am still wondering! Will it be the handsome Todd
Baker,
who is both a Professor and Colleague of hers? Of course, if she should choose to be with him,
she
will have to deal with the troublesome Susie Kugel, who also has her sites on Todd. Or perhaps
the
distinguished ROTC Instructor Mike Kelly, indeed she seems to have caught his fancy. Who was
the
secret military man that Betsy turned down that night and what did he teach her about love and
life?
You'll have to read this novel to find out.
I'll tell you this much, Betsy does not run away from this fight. Is she able to win? against an
entire
town? Or will she have to abandon her dreams and again seek employment elsewhere? A Mouth
Full
Of Shell was a good read, especially for women.
Lambsy
Patricia Grove, Illustrator Ed Woodward III
SynergEbooks
1235 Flat Shoals Rd, King, NC 27021
ISBN# 1-931540-18-7, $5.00 Download - CD Rom $8.99, 17 pages, 1-888-812-2533
www.SynergEbooks.com
Lambsy was a cumulous cloud and this is his story. Floating around all day in the sky, he wonders
what is happening on the ground. One day while talking to his friend Coomy, he tells him of his
great desire to know.
Coomy suggests that he audition to be a fog cloud, that way he would be able to be close enough
to
the ground to see. Lambsy thinks this is a great idea and sets off for the audition. To his delight he
wins! He is excited now and is sent on his assignment to a part of the earth to cover it with fog.
Things don't turn out the way Lambsy thought they would. After all, how can he see anything
when
the ground is covered in fog? What will Lambsy do?
Lambsy is a well-written children's book. The illustrations are colorful and imaginative. The
children
will learn the names of several different clouds, what they do and see what they look like. They
will
learn the lesson that you can, sometimes, make your dreams come true, but always make sure you
don't change yourself doing it. Who you are created to be, is where your happiness lies. Perhaps
we
can all learn a lesson from Lambsy!
Damned If I Dotage-The Boomer Faces 50 Or Where Were You When Ricky Nelson Died?
John Ronan
SynergEbooks
1235 Flat Shoals Rd, King, NC 27021
ISBN# 0-7443-0311-7, Download $5.00; CD-Rom $8.99 , 77 Pages, 1-888-812-2533
www.SynergeBooks.com
Author John Ronan, will take you for a ride in this carefree, laugh out loud book, that you will
not
soon forget. A book for and about the generation of 'Baby Boomers', this book is a must read.
Even
if you are not in 'our' generation, you are sure to enjoy this book.
Separated in 5 sections, Mr. Ronan starts with the year, listing important happenings in that time.
He
than lists the top movies, songs, TV programs, books and the cost of one food item. Of course, I
am
way too young to remember the first ones listed, but it would have been interesting to have a
photo
of my face when we got to the year 1953 and I DID remember. I am not sure if it pleased me, or
caused a shriek of horror through these old bones! The photo would have told!
One of my favorite parts was in his True Confession section. Quoting the old saying, "I am older,
but wiser!"; The author asks; "Am I really wiser? Are you? Of course not! We don't do foolish
things because we can't!"
Grinning from ear to ear, I thought of many foolish things I had done in my past, and realized that
indeed, I would no longer have the strength nor agility to reproduce those actions. Did I smile, or
did I cry? I'm not telling! But let me say this, if you think of something you did back than, and
want
to give it a try now........DON'T!
You will find Quiz questions here and there. For example, "What State has the highest death
rate?"
Don't worry, the answer is at the end of the book. And yes, you will probably feel as stupid as I
did
for not knowing the answers!
Another of my favorite parts were the quotes. Some from famous people like Robert Lewis
Stevenson who said " It's better to be a fool than to be dead!" But on the top of my list are the
quotes from Aunt Marge ,who gives two rules to live by; Rule #1 - After 50 act your age; Rule #
2 -
After 50 there are no rules! I think she was the one with the most wisdom!
You will be delighted to find several short quizzes at the end of the book, for example; What are
the
real names of people, such as Cher! Yes, I failed this one too! I guess my memory is going! Here
you will also find Boomer T-Shirts, with sayings that will give you a chuckle, and a Boomer
Certificate. Something you could proudly display!
To sum it up, this book is a joy! Full of information given in a fun upbeat way. You will laugh,
learn
and maybe take a few minutes to remember - when! Well worth your time! Read, enjoy and
reminisce of days gone by. This book is a winner!
Interview with Debra Staples:
"SynergEbooks" The Publisher With A Heart
Debra Staples is Owner/Founder, Publisher and Executive Editor of SynergEbooks located at
1235
Flat Shoats Rd, King, NC 27021; Telephone number : 1-888-812-2533; Fax number:
1-336-994-8403; International Customers Please Call: 1-336-994-2058; Internet URL:
http://www.synergebooks.com; Email: SynergEbooks@aol.com
Thank you Deb for allowing this interview with you for MidWest Book Review. Let's get
started!
Q: Please tell us what line of products your company publisher/produces. If there is any specialty
line, example for the handicapped or any line you think would interest the public please also
include
that.
A: We specialize in producing quality eBooks in a variety of formats, including, PDF, .HTML,
CD-ROMs, and paperbacks. We are one of the few small press publishers who offer bookstores
the
option of purchasing on consignment. We are also expanding our genre list to include books by
and
for those with Special Needs.
Q: Would you tell us how your company was started, what is the vision behind it and how long
you
have been a part of that vision?
A: As a mother with two special needs children, I didn't feel right getting a job outside of the
home,
so I began this company with a dual purpose in mind; to stay at home and tend to my children,
and
to reach a customer base that loved to read. My passion has always been reading, and now that
the
computer age is fully upon us, digital books are defiantly the wave of the future, and I want to be
a
part of that future. SynergEbooks was founded March 2, 1999, and has grown from a small press
digital publishing company with 20 titles offered in 2 formats to an eBookstore and Publishing
House with over 180 titles in over 30 genres in up to 4 formats each, including paperback. We
currently have 23 books in paperback, with over 20 more scheduled to be released by January
2003.
Q: Please explain what you see in the future for your company and what is being done to bring
that
to fulfillment.
A: SynergE's goal is to continue to produce quality eBooks and paperbacks for all ages by
talented
new writers. We would also like to expand to audio books and interactive books within the next 5
years. I would like to establish SynergEbooks as a leader in Special Needs titles, offering books
both
for and by those with disabilities. In 10 years, SynergEbooks will be a household name for anyone
who surfs the net and loves to read, as recognizable as Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.
Thank you Debra, now that we have covered some background information, let me ask you
this.
Q:You say that you are one of the few small Press Publishers that offer bookstores the option of
purchasing on consignment, would you elaborate on that for us please? I think it would interest
our
readers.
A: Many small press publishers-especially those that offer Print-on-Demand titles -cannot afford
to
offer titles on consignment to bookstores. Consignment usually means that a bookstore can wait
up
to 90 days to pay for their books. SynergEbooks offers bookstores a compromise for the
bookstores; the sooner the bill is paid (within 90, 60 or 30 days), the lower the cost per
book.
Q: In going over your guidelines, I see where you are only accepting Special Needs submissions
at
this time. Exactly what are you looking for in this area and do you know when your submissions
will
be open again to the other genres?
A: SynergE is looking for both FOR special needs children and adults, and for books WRITTEN
BY
those with disabilities. We want to show our readers that having a disability should neither stop
you
from living your dream (of becoming a publisher author), nor from enjoying a good book. We will
open our submissions to include all genres on August 1st. I cannot say how long they will be
open,
since we get flooded with hundreds of submissions per month when we are open.
Q: When open to general submissions again, would you tell us what happens between author
query
and your refusal or publication of a manuscript? Do you have a particular genre that you lean
more
towards? What catches your eyes in a query? Is it their writing style, the story line or do you go a
lot
with a gut feeling?
A: When an author sends a query to our Acquisition Editor, she looks it over and sends it to me if
she believes it is something that fits our qualifications. A manuscript may be refused if it's too long
(or too short), does not fit a genre that we have currently (or want to have in the near future), and
if
it needs too much work. We may send a letter asking that author to hire an editor and then
resubmit.
If we refuse a submission, we try to give a specific reason why; for example, it needs too much
editing, we do not carry erotica, we have to many submissions in that genre, etc. We tend to look
for a unique twist on an old story, or something that is simply extremely well written. At first
glance,
a manuscript may not be perfect, but we look for the potential as well. We will try to set each
author
up with an editor that will work well with him/her.
Q: What turns you off in a query?
A: Some writers refuse to let others touch their work. It's great if you submit a manuscript that is
fully edited, but nothing is perfect, and we should be allowed to change things - with the author's
knowledge, of course - as we see fit. Any major changes, obviously, would have to be made with
the
authors approval. But if you go in thinking that nothing is going to be touched, we won't work
with
you. We can also tell by the quality of the query itself if an author is proud of his/her work and
will
take the time to re-check the query. If there is more than a typo or two in a short query, we can
only
guess at how much work the manuscript itself will need. And if you do not believe in having to
work
with us to help market your book once it's published, don't even bother contacting us - the
concept
of "synergy" is to work together to make each book a success.
Q: Do you try to have a good working relationship with your authors, keeping them informed of
the
process of their books and answering their concerns in a reasonable amount of time?
A: I tell all of my authors that no question is a dumb question. SynergE has a weekly Author's
Chat
for those who want to talk about books or other specific topics about writing and marketing. We
send out a monthly newsletter that lets everyone know what SynergEbooks has been doing and
plans to do in the future; we also feature news on what our authors are doing, if it's about a book
that is published elsewhere. I love to hear from my authors. I've spoken to many of them on the
phone, and have met quiet a few of them as well. I consider many of them good friends.
Q: What would you like to tell authors that would help to make your job as a Publisher easier and
bring them more satisfaction as an author?
A: Never stop reading; read as many different genres as you can; join a local Writer's Group in
your
area for the much needed support (I am a member of my local Writer's Group as well); never be
afraid to ask questions, because learning is a never ending process, communicate with me and
each
other, and NEVER STOP MARKETING your work.
Q: How important are the current market trends in relation to you accepting a manuscript?
A: Some genres will always be hot, like Science Fiction, Fiction and Romance. But occasionally a
book on particular topics will become popular; for instance, books about firemen or patriotism
after
September 11th. The one advantage of eBooks is that it's much easier to find and publish a book
on
a hot topic while it's still hot.
Q: How do you determine the pricing of your books?
A: For print books, I take the price to print each copy, figure in royalty payments and overhead
costs, and set the retail price from there. We try to keep our retail prices comparable to the price
that the larger publishers set, if it's at all possible. The average retail price for our paperbacks is
$12.99.
Q: Do you have a set number of manuscripts you accept each year/season?
A: At this point in time, there is no set limit for eBook submissions, but we are going to set the
print
books at no more than 20 a year, due to staff size and conversion costs. SynergE will decide
which
books to put into print each year according to that book's eBook sales and marketability of the
title.
It can take up to a year from the time a title is chosen for print for it to be available in that
format.
Q: Do you always put your books in ebook format first?
A: Always! The first format every book goes into is .PDF (Adobe Acrobat Reader), since that is
still
the most popular and most accessible for the largest audience. Each book is then sent to our
various
partner bookstores in that format. The next format is Microsoft Reader and then .HTML. We
hope
to begin converting our first batch of titles into Mobipocket format by this September.
Q: Do you find that your authors are anxious for their books to be converted into paperback?
A: Most authors tell me that their friends or family are going to wait for the paperback version.
This
disappoints me, because it's so cheap to purchase the digital version to find out if you actually like
the book before paying for it in the more expensive format of print. But at least putting it into
digital
gives my authors a head start on how to market their work. Before I will put a book into print
format, I need to know that an author is serious about continuously promoting his/her work.
Q: How is the decision made to put certain books in paperback and does the author have any say
so
in this decision?
A: At first, I had agreed to put any book into print if the author was willing to pay the advance
money. Now that there is no advance required, we're only putting books into print that have a
large
potential audience, whether it's just a well written fantasy or fiction title, or a timely topic such as
a
book about Islamic women. The potential audience can also be a small-targeted audience, such as
a
local author with a book about the area he/she grew up in that has a large appeal in that area. We
also take into consideration the author's willingness to market his/her title; since the point of
'synergy' is to work together to make each title a success.
Q: What, if any, is the responsibility of the author when a book is turned over to paperback?
A: Once a book is written and edited, the work for everyone has just begun. The author should
NEVER stop marketing his/her work. We give everyone a Marketing List when they sign the
Author Contract. This gives them a rather large list of ways that each person can market his/her
work, including creating business cards and signing up with on and offline Writers Groups. Once
a
book is in print, we will walk the author through the process of getting in touch with local
bookstores or other businesses that might be interested in the work. We then send out Press Kits
to
local bookstores in that author's hometown and take it from there. It's an ongoing process on both
ends.
Q: If a book is not selling, how long do you keep it on your site?
A: SynergE has not yet dropped a title because it isn't selling, but we do not convert it into more
formats if no effort is being made on the part of the author to get that title out into the public eye.
We do all that we can with the first 3 formats (.PDF, HTML and LIT), but if there are no sales at
all, we have to move on to converting titles that are making the sales. Occasionally, though, we
may
take a title that's not selling in one format and convert into another in the hopes that the new
potential audience will generate sales. In the future, we may add an addendum to the Author
Contract that states that a title will be dropped if no sales have been made. But for now, our
contracts last 3 years, and we can decide not to renew if a title isn't selling.
Q: What type of promoting do you do for your books, both ebooks and paperback?
A: For the past year, SynergE has been busy catching up on our conversion of over 80 new titles
that came in with the purchase of Gemini Books and the partnership with Word Wrangler. Now
that
most of our titles are now edited and formatted into at least one digital format, we can
concentrate
on marketing. The first step is to send out a Press Release to the various online writing sites,
letting
everyone know about a new title. Then SynergE will upload that title to our various partner
bookstores, and send them the release as well. If a book goes into print, we will help the author
create another Press Release, and send out Press Kits to up to 5 local bookstores to gauge the
interest of possible book signings for the author. But past that, our marketing strategy varies,
depending on the topic of the book.
Q: When you receive a query or a submitted manuscript, are you truly aware that you have the
hopes and dreams of a writer in your hand? How does that make you feel as a Publisher?
A: I am not only a Publisher; I am a writer as well. Writing has always been a passion of mine, and
I
one day hope to publish my own never (if I ever find the time to complete it), so I know exactly
how
a writer feels. That is why, if I do have to reject a manuscript, I try very hard to give a reason why
it
was rejected. For instance, we may have to reject a perfectly good story due to having too many
similar submissions. Another manuscript may have great potential, but it just needs a good editor
to
work with the author to perfect it. And some submissions just don't fit the genre that we are
willing
to carry at that point in time. We will tell many authors to resubmit in so many months if there's a
chance we would accept the manuscript at a later date. One of the most rewarding parts of my job
it
accepting a submission, because I know I'm a part of making another person's dream come true.
And
the hardest part is rejecting a submission because I always fear that I may have crushed a dreams;
though I hope, of course, that that author will one day find the right publisher for him/her in the
future.
Thank you Deb, that was a wonderful statement. I only wish all Publisher had your heart. I want
to
ask you some questions about your children's genre. I am very impressed with it and the
outstanding
children's books you have to offer.
Q: Many e-book publishers do not carry children's picture books. Why did you decide to do this?
I
see where you have a good listings of children's books, is this a popular genre?
A: Actually, children's books were one of my first genres, along with fiction and poetry. Children's
books seemed to be a natural first choice, since I have two small children of my own who love for
me to read to them (one is old enough to read himself, of course)...and what better way to share
some time with your child when you're in front of your computer then to read to him/her?
Children's
books are popular on CD-ROM's, because it's always more fun to see a CD with the cover on it -
something you can hold. But once SynergE moves into audio books and interactive CD's, I am
confident that our children's books will be our top sellers. We currently have 2 children's books in
print, one even in hard copy ( though that's an expensive proposition for shorter runs), and we
hope
to have a few more in print by the end of this year.
Q: What do you look for in a picture book submission and does it have to be a certain
length?
A: Our children's books range from 8 to 34 pages in length. What's important in a children's story
is
how it's told and the overall appeal that I feel it has for the age group it's aimed at. Basically, since
I've read so many children's books to my own children, I can pretty much figure out what stories
will
keep a child's attention and which would fall short.
Q: Tell us about putting your children's books into print form. When is it done and what is the
author's responsibility? Do they have a choice in this decision?
A: Since children's books usually have color illustrations, publishing in genre is a very expensive
proposition. If an author is willing to purchase a minimum of 50 copies of his/her books to start,
then I will consider putting it into print, since all printers do have a minimum; in other words, they
are not considered print-on-demand titles, at least not if you want the quality that we demand of
our
books. All decisions are made with author's approval.
Q: How do you determine the pricing of a children's picture book once in print form?
A: The price of a children's book depends on the size, the overall length and the number of color
illustrations. Again, I have to factor in how much the setup cost and the individual price of the
book
before I can set the retail price.
Q: What do you envision in the future concerning children's products?
A: I would love to add narration and music to my children's books in the near future. Making
them
interactive - with moving pictures and links to click on - is a goal for the future. I would reading
to
come alive for children in this age of video games and movies.
Q: Do the children's books get as much promoting as your other genres?
A: Every book gets as much promotion as another, though children's books are promoted
differently. We don't concentrate as much on bookstores as we do on libraries and schools for our
younger titles. Word of mouth is a strong promotional tool in this genre, since parents and
children
are very quick to let everyone they know what new book they've read and enjoyed
Q: Thank Deb, that was very informative! Is there anything else you would like the readers to
know
about SynergEbooks?
A: Though the goal for most businesses is to continue to grow - and we do intend to do just that -
I
never want to be so big that I do not know each of my authors by name and have not read every
single book that I carry. I want SynergEbooks to be known as a Publisher that cares about its
writers, and cares about the final product. Just because an author isn't well known doesn't mean
you
won't enjoy a great book!
Q: I would like you to leave on final thought with our readers. Something you, as a Publisher,
would
like writers to know. Something you think might help them with their writing future, or getting a
manuscript accepted by a Publisher.
A: Whenever I have to reject a manuscript, I think about the story of how many times Gone With
the Wind was rejected before it became one of the best selling novels of all times ( I believe it was
rejected over 30 times). So if you do get rejected, do NOT give up. And before you submit a
manuscript to a Publisher, check that Publisher out...because you're putting your dreams into the
hands of another. If you can't ask questions and get thorough answers, then try another Publisher.
SynergEbooks is "taking books to new heights" - and I want to share the ride with all my
authors.
Again, I wish to thank Debra Staples for her time in allowing me this interview. It was great and I
wish her the best in the future with SynergEbooks! May her dreams come true!
Q: Would you tell us about your contract, both regular and children's? Please include how much
Royalty the author receives, if there is any advance payment, and any particulars you think
relevant.
A: Our author contract lasts for 3 years. Authors retain all rights to their work. They are also
responsible for copyrighting their own material, and we do display copyright information on all
digital and print formats. Contracted authors recieve 40% royalties for all digital formats and 30%
for print. Children's authors and illustrators recieve 25% royalties, and independent authors (we
do
accept some independents) recieve 75% royalties, but IA titles are not displayed anywhere but on
our own website.
We are a small press publisher, so advances are still well in our future. SynergE will format and
convert all titles free of charge. We also pay for both digital and print covers (unless an author
asks
for something special). We do no pay for full editing anymore due to the time factor. All
submissions
that we accept usually need only the basic editing, which is done for free.
Shirley Johnson
Reviewer
Sullivan's Bookshelf
The Map That Changed The World William Smith And The Birth Of Modern Geology
Simon Winchester
HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN# 0060193611, $26.00, 329 pages/indexed
"It is," writes the author, "exactly two hundred years since William Smith began work on the map
that changed the world. What follows, drawn from his diaries and letters, is a portrait of both a
long-forgotten man and the world in which he lived and worked, as well as the story of his great
map,..."
Winchester tells in narrative form the life of William Smith, an ungainly, untutored, and only
self-educated man who in the late l790s and earlY l800s created, through his thirst for knowledge,
the science of geology. He, of course, wasn't aware of what he was starting. His thrust was to
study
the stratified earth and the fossils, or their absence, within the differing strata. Only much later did
he
think about bringing his newfound information to the public's attention.
Basically, Smith was a surveyor. But he had numerous opportunities to travel across the counry
and
down into its mines, mostly coal. That's when he began to notice the strata being similar across
the
nation and deep into it underground. He could see that the layers of earth each had different color,
texture, and fossils. From this he deduced that the earth was much older than the 5,000 years or
so
that the Christian Church officials within Britain were saying it was.
Smith became expert at not only identifying the differing strata but also of mining problems, like
water seepage; draining wetlands; building canals; and what have you. In short, he was a versatile
man. His greatest accomplishment, however, was in creating a map of Britain, in l8l5, the first
map
of its kind, showing the strata underlying various parts of the countryside.
But Smith was naive and trusted far too many people with his knowledge. Some of those
individuals
he'd told about what he'd learned of the earth took advantage of the man and published their own
maps and books, borrowing heavily from Smith without his approval. Worst of all was the
fledgling
Geological Society made up of aristocrats. They automatically excluded the founder of geology,
Smith, because he was a mere common man.
The head of that Society decided to publish a map, similar to Smith's, in fact much of it borrowed
from him without permission, and offered it for sale, for less money, to the public at virtually the
same time that Smith's map was published.
Though Smith had been doing well financially for many years, he ran into some stormy
employment
seas and had to live from hand to mouth for many years before his map could be put into print. So
when the Geological Society's map came out competing with Smith's, neither sold well. If this
hadn't
happened, he could have recouped his losses, covered his excessive home mortgages, his only real
vice, and had money in his pocket. Alas, it wasn't to be. He soon went bust, ending up in that
terrible
place, described so well by Charles Dickens in his novels-- debtor's prison.
Needless to say, this was the lowpoint in his life. At the same time, his wife was seriously ill. After
languishing in this depressing place for eight months, he was released. But he had no home to go
to
and live in. And he was broke. So he took his sick wife, and a young nephew he was now in
charge
of, and traveled north via stagecoach vowing never to return to London.
Fortunately, with the help of a Scottish backer who appreciated Smith's contribution to the world,
he
recovered, regaining his fame over time. Toward the end of his life. Smith was recognized by a
grateful public. He was granted numerous awards for his deeds to his country. That included
being
honored with a lifetime pension from the British government. He died in l839.
Simon Winchester studied geology in college. He later wrote The Professor And The Madman.
Today, he writes and splits his time between Massachusetts and the Western Isles of
Scotland.
This is a well-written and gripping story. Therefore, this volume is highly recommended.
As The Future Catches You
Juan Enriquez
Crown Business
ISBN# 0609609033, $23.00, 259 pages/indexed
As The Future Catches You How Genomics & Other Forces Are Changing Your Life Work,
Health
& Wealth is abreathtaking, fast-paced, speed run into the future that will affect everything you do
and effect what you come in contact with. This reviewer cautions readers: this is an exhilirating
ride,
so fasten your mental seatbelt. Perhaps computers and genomics and their advancing states at
dizzying rates are the most exciting and thought-provoking parts of this read. But other bits are
interesting, too.
The fact, for example, is that a new language has come forth leapfrogging over l0,000 traditional
Chinese ideograms and vaulting 26 English letters of its alphabet. The digital alphabet uses just ls
and 0s. nothing else! And it's a language most everyone can understand..
Enriquez writes, "Usually books on technology and economics are hard to read. Instead of writing
a
treatise, I would like you and me to have a conversation...." And he does, evocatively!
By 1988. scientists were patenting not just bacteria amd plants...but entire animals." "If someone
spent her entire life reading a copy of one person's genome...she would barely finish...much less
understand...or remembeer...what she read." And "Three-quarters of the sovereign nation-states
that
populate the united nation's today...did not exist fifty years ago."
This book is put together in a radical way. Some print is tiny, some is quit large. Several other
type-sizes are used, too. And the print is located, not unlike some poetry books, in various places
upon the page. None of this takes away from the read. In fact, it enhances it for rapid perusing,
with
enough attention to detail and sufficient emphasis exactly where the author wants it for his reader
to
have the material understandable and enjoyabale.
If you want to know what's to come in your lifetime in money matters, medicine, machines, and
many other areas of your existence, pick up this book and read it today! Tomorrow will be too
late.
At Harvard Business School, the author directs the Life Sciences Project. He's also written for
numerous publications: FOREIGN POLICY, SCIENCE, and the NEW YORK TIMES to name a
few. Previously, he worked as an executive in Mexico City.
This volume is heartily recommended!
Jim Sullivan
Reviewer
Roger's Bookshelf
Creating Futures: Scenario Planning As A Strategic Management Tool
Michel Godet
Economica, Ltd.
ISBN 2-7178-4189-X, $64.39, Trade paperback, 269 pages
Professor Michel Godet is a Frenchman with 14 books and over 200 papers under his belt. A
specialist in strategic planning, he emphasizes the careful use of tools such as scenario
planning.
The book is a valuable contribution to the literature of serious-really serious-strategic planners. It
will be most appreciated by those who have a very strong scientific bent and are comfortable
working with models. Godet's approach is considerably more rigorous than futures-thinking
approaches applied in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The concept of the
book
is very long-range, evidenced by quotes like "the faster the car, the stronger the headlights must
be"
and "the longer a tree takes to grow, the earlier you have to plant it." English-speaking futurists
tend
to look more short-range and medium-range with more of an application of intuition mixed with
scientific research.
Americans have become accustomed to engaging in quite a bit of internet research to gather
information needed for evaluation, decision-making, and planning. Godet describes the internet as
"a
computerized dumpster," all the while acknowledging that one may still find gold in a dump.
This book is complex and slow reading. The content is "heavy." Nine chapters are followed by a
bibliography and index. The first five chapters are titled How to Think About the Future Now,
Why
Do the Experts Get it Wrong, Hunting Down Cliches, How to be Rigorous with Scenario
Planning,
and Initiating the Entire Process. The balance of the book, save the last chapter on The Human
Factor, consists of case studies.
Good marks for content. Marks off for not making the learning a bit easier to move through.
Heavy,
for professionals and academicians only. If you're not a real pro-or aspiring pro-in strategic
planning,
save your time and money.
On The Job: Is Long-term Employment A Thing Of The Past?
David Neumark, Editor
Russell Sage Foundation
112 East 64th Street, NYC 10021
ISBN 0-87154-618-3 $59.95, Hardcover, 527 pages
In the latter half of the 1990s, we witnessed a number of substantial shifts in employment.
Workers
changed jobs every 2-4 years, on average. Employers weren't any more loyal to their employees
either. The relationship between employer and employee was dramatically different than what we
had experienced for generations. Attitudes were changing; behavior around employment changed
along with the attitudes.
These highly significant changes were observed, studied, scrutinized, discussed, and mourned in
corporate offices, think tanks, and college campuses across the land. Twenty-two of the folks
concerned with the changes and their implications wrote essays expressing their concerns. David
Neumark, professor of economics and Michigan State University and research associate of the
National Bureau of Economic Research wove the essays together into this thought-provoking
volume.
The fact that fourteen of the authors are professors or researchers should tell you something
about
the content. Those who are not affiliated with a college, university, or research organization are
executives with organizations involved in the field as consultants. The book understandably has a
strong academic flavor, clear evidence of the research-and-publish culture still prevalent in the
academic world. This orientation brings a considerable depth to each of the essays, duly noted in
graphs, charts, and footnotes.
The book is organized into three sections: Job Stability, Job Security, and Understanding
Behavioral
Changes. Chapters include such titles as Is Job Stability in the United States Falling?, Trends in
Job
Instability and Wages for Young Adult Men, and Has Job Stability Vanished in Large
Corporations?
More can be found in chapters titled Declining Job Security, Long-Run Trends in Part-Time and
Temporary Employment, and The Implications of Flexible Staffing Arrangements for Job
Stability.
While this certainly isn't bedside reading for most of us, for serious human resource professionals,
social scientists, workforce strategists, and other professors, it's great. Good contribution to the
literature, but won't be a best-seller.
Never Give Up! How Tragedy Taught Me That Life Is An Attitude
Ron Heagy, with Donita Dyer (contributor)
Harvest House Publishers
ISBN 0-7369-0945-1 $11.99, trade paperback, 300 pages
Here's another one of those books by authors who have had a rough life. The theme is the same as
most of the books in this category: "If I can do it, you can do it."
This book is different. More than a challenge book, this one is a moving, emotional autobiography
that will fill your heart with admiration and a desire to do something for others. The movie, Pay It
Forward, came to mind several times as I hungrily read page after page. I just didn't want to put
the
book down. Several times, while reading "Never Give Up!" on an airplane, the emotion welled up
strongly enough to bring tears to my eyes and a "catch" in my heart. I have not read many books
that grabbed me and held me as this one did.
Ron Heagy is a quadriplegic. He's seriously handicapped physically, but powerfully strong
spiritually. His love of God was present before his life-changing experience when he was 18 (no, I
won't spoil your reading by telling you what happened), but became considerably stronger over
the
years. Even if you are not a deep believer, you will be impressed by how Ron's faith has made a
tremendous difference for him.
Today, Ron Heagy makes a difference in the lives of other people as a motivational speaker and a
leader in service to the disabled community. As you read about what he has accomplished, as he
shares his story, you will be thankful that Ron and others like him are around to influence us. I
was
inspired by his struggle, but perhaps even more moved by what he has done in spite of potentially
overwhelming odds.
This autobiography is filled with 39 chapters, an average of seven pages long, each sharing a
chapter
in the author's life. Co-author Donita Dyer, who helped shape this awesome story into book form,
did a masterful job. We are right with Ron, inside his head and his heart, as he moves from one
experience to another on a roller-coaster ride of a life. You can't help being thoroughly engaged in
this story, as an individual, as a member of society, and as someone who influences the lives of
others every day. There are several aspects of this book that will be particularly valuable for
corporate executives, teachers, and others who are looked up to because of who they are . . . or
should be.
Warning: You won't be able to put this book down until you finish it. Then you'll want to give it
to
someone else close to you to read. This valuable book is priced low enough that it can easily be
given as a gift. Buy several copies.
Preparing For Terrorism: A Property Manager's Guide
Institute of Real Estate Management
430 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60611-4090
ISBN 1-57203-080-1, $40.00, trade paperback, 169 pages
Property managers are professionals who are responsible for public and private buildings housing
residential and commercial occupants. After seeing what happened to properties in New York
City
on September 11, 2001, the professional association serving managers of real estate prepared a
manual as a guide for their members.
This book is intended for people managing any kind of property-office buildings, apartment
buildings, public buildings, schools, churches, and other structures that may be vulnerable to a
terrorist attack, directly or indirectly. These managers must be able to assess their exposure,
understand the problems they may face, and be prepared to respond to whatever happens. To
accomplish these objectives, they need knowledge, plans, and preparation. This book tells those
specialists everything they need to know . . . and then some.
As I read this book, I was struck with the depth and breadth of the information presented. Many
readers will be overwhelmed and will have to slow their reading pace to absorb it all. Personally, I
had a bit of an advantage: the first two books I wrote as an author, back in the early 1980s, were
in
the field of local government disaster planning. Even with my level of knowledge, I was highly
impressed with the strength of this volume.
The book is organized into seven sections: Introduction to Terrorism, Responding to Terrorist
Acts,
Building Procedures, Training the Building's Staff, Training the Building's Residential and
Commercial Tenants, Building Recovery, and Publications and Resources. The 18 chapters cover
everything from attacks against individuals to fire, bomb threats, civil disturbances, chemical and
biological agents, elevator emergencies, nuclear and radiological attacks, and evacuations. There's
some good material on how to write emergency plans, build and train an emergency response
team,
and function to protect the property and people in and around it.
This is a powerful book that should be read-and followed-by every property manager in America.
Now. Even if you skip some parts, whatever you learn will put you in a considerably better
position
than you're probably in today.
The Contented Achiever: How To Get What You Want And Love What You Get
Don Hutson, Chris Crouch, George Lucas
Black Pants Publishing Company
3410 South Tournament Drive Memphis, TN 38125
ISBN 0-9703736-3-5, $24.95, trade paperback, 219 pages
Rush, rush, rush. Push, push, push. Gotta achieve. Gotta make it! Life is complicated, but that's
the
fun. Go go go!
So is this what achievement is all about? Not really, say these authors. There's a system for
success,
and it's simple. In fact, simplicity in life is part of the magic. But it all starts inside. As the book
explains, "what's in the well comes up in the bucket."
This is an interesting book because it's written by three authors-three people who have "been
there,
done that, and taught others." But the book is written in the singular. The authors realized that
their
ideas were bouncing all over the place, so they engaged a writer to "harmonize them into one
voice."
Clever idea, but a little unnerving at times, knowing that there are three people behind the
message.
Readers will begin the journey through this book by Defining Success. Chapter 2 talks about
Creating Desired Results, with the obligatory four-quadrant model. The dimensions of this one
are
Failure and Success, Frustration and Fulfillment. The Impact of Thoughts, Words, and Actions is
explored in the third chapter. Values are addressed in a chapter entitled "Reflecting on Your
Belief
System" before an advisory chapter on getting clutter out of your life. The balance of the book
focuses on creating an environment for success. It's a "typical" self-help book, but well put
together.
Extra features include the inspirational quotes you might expect, sprinkled through the pages. A
19-question assessment at the back of the book serves as a summary, but could also be taken
before
reading the book as a sort of benchmark. The Points to Ponder at the end of each chapter add
value
to this book, moving the reader from absorption of good advice to a pensive and self-reflection
mode to stimulate progress.
The Death Of 20th Century Selling: 50 Hilarious Sales Blunders And How You Can Profit From
Them
Dan Seidman
Sales Autopsy Press
190 East Dundee Road, Barrington, IL 60010
ISBN 0-9712911-0-1 $18.95, Trade paperback, 205 pages
Every sales professional has experienced those embarrassing moments . . . those moments we
wish
we could just take back instantly. Life isn't like that, so the key is to avoid the problems. This
book
will help salespeople-at all levels-gain some better perspectives on their roles.
The stories about the sales situation blunders are short and sweet. The author wastes no time in
getting to the point. And each story has a point-a moment of instruction, if you will. The book is
organized by the type of story, the category of failure: dinosaur, tourist, Napoleon, and maverick.
You may recognize yourself in every section of the book! The funniest, craziest stories are
probably
the ones with the most value.
Adding value are contributions from recognized sales authorities and authors who provide
insightful
pieces-again short enough to be absorbed by busy sales professionals who have precious little time
for reading. Other pieces, which almost seem like chapters tacked on to put a little more in the
book,
do add extra value.
While this is not a step-by-step instruction book to fine salesmanship (it's not intended to be), it's
filled with food for thought. Nourishing without being one of those rah-rah motivational books.
Written by a professional sales trainer and speaker who hasn't seen it all, but has seen enough to
provide us with some more valuable learning. You'll enjoy it.
In The Face Of Uncertainty
Amacom
ISBN 0-8144-7161-7, $21.95, 240 pages, hardcover
In the aftermath of the horrific events of September 11, 2001, it was inevitable that publishers
would
rush to produce books that would respond to the events and move us forward in history. We
could
expect all sorts of quality in content and production. The AMACOM contribution is worth
reading,
sharing, and keeping.
The author is a veteran business journalist, management consultant, and speaker-the kind of
person
you'd expect to be able to communicate with respected leaders and draw out their thoughts, their
feelings, and their advice. At a time that solid perspectives are needed, this book provides
them.
Let's talk about content first-the people who contributed to this work through their interviews.
One
might expect the customary parade of overpaid CEOs whose public relations agents seek more
opportunities to gain image-building exposure. All the major companies would be represented,
including the ones that are flaming out because of deficiencies in the very leadership that we
need.
Surprise! The interviewees are much more diverse, not always the top dog, and some are even
retired. They're included in In the Face of Uncertainty: 25 Top Leaders Speak Out on Challenge,
Change, and the Future of American Business because they have something worthwhile to sayand
be
heard. While including lists like this are not particularly recommended in book reviews, I feel it's
appropriate in this case. Their interviews, incidentally, are presented in alphabetical order to avoid
suggesting that any is more important than another.
You'll learn from Grant Aldonas, Under Secretary, International Trade, US Department of
Commerce; John Alexander, President, Center for Creative Leadership; Charles Barclay,
President,
American Association of Airport Executives; Curtis Carlson, CEO & President, SRI International;
Michael Carns, General (retired), US Air Force; Peggy Conlon, CEO & President of the Ad
Council;
Leo Daly III, Chairman & President, Leo O. Daly; Ronald Daly, President, R. R. Donnelley Print
Solutions; Ralph Dickerson, President, United Way of New York City; Gerald Fitzgerald,
President,
PB Aviation; Joe Galli, President & CEO, Newell Rubbermaid; Stephen Harrison, President, Lee
Hecht Harrison; Chester Haskell, President, Monterey Institute for International Studies; Sunir
Kapoor, Founder, E-Stamp; Christopher Komisarjevsky, CEO Worldwide & President,
Burston-Marsteller; James Lawrence, Chief Financial Officer, General Mills; Howard Learner,
Executive Director, Environmental Law & Policy Center; James Madden V, Chairman, CEO, &
President, Exult; Marilyn Carlson Nelson, Chairman & CEO, Carlson Companies; Marjorie
Randolph, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Walt Disney Studios; Leonard Schaeffer,
Chairman & CEO, WellPoint Health Networks; Theodore Shackley, Associate Director of
Operations (retired), Central Intelligence Agency; Ken Smith, CEO, President, & Founder, Jobs
for
America's Graduates; William Strickland, CEO & President, Manchester Bidwell Corporation,
Tai-Chin Tung, Chief Financial Officer, Charles Schwab, and an epilogue with William Bridges,
Principal, William Bridges & Associates.
The style of this book is comfortably different. As familiar as we all are with e-mail and chat room
threads, this book is easy to read. The interviewer's question is shown in one type style, followed
by
the response in another. Reading this book is like reading a series of well-edited e-mail messages.
This is a book you can get into . . . and get hooked on.
One more selling point, in my estimation, is the index. Just reading through the indexed topics is a
lesson unto itself, to see what topical areas were addressed most frequently.
Diversity, depth, and determination make this book. The diversity of the participants, the depth of
their remarks, and the determination of the author deliver for the reader.
Unforeseen Circumstances
Alexis D. Gutzman
Amacom
ISBN 0-8144-7128-7 $25.00, hardcover, 215 pages
After the unforeseen events of September 11, 2001, we expected to see a flurry of books about
how
to protect yourself, your company, your assets, and your future. Security issues were already high
on corporate and personal agendas; 9/11 just kicked them higher with a jolt. Security would now
be
considerably more pro-active than merely routinely defensive.
Unforeseen Circumstances: Strategies and Technologies for Protecting Your Business and Your
People in a Less Secure World , one of the first to be rushed to the bookstores, was written by a
woman with expertise on the internet-software, e-commerce, information management. Her
research
for this book, probably rapid, centered on those areas of familiarity, so the content is
technologically
heavy. This focus is understandable, acceptable, and worthwhile-and is where the reader will find
the
greatest value.
From the preface, "This book does more than identify the potential vulnerabilities" It givrs you
specific strategies and technologies to lock down and free up valuable resources. Each chapter
takes
you through a problem that has arisen in this new, less secure world. It then suggests specific
strategies and technologies based on interviews with the nation's leading experts . . . each chapter
ends with a resource guide." The author promises to continue expanding her resource guide at
www.unforeseencircumstances.com. There's nothing there yet, but it's a nice extra if it
happens.
Part I addresses how to keep employees safe, acknowledging that safe employees are more
productive than those who continually look over their shoulders. The author suggests that we
overcome travel fears with virtual meetings and training, sell through the internet, and use
collaborative project management software to keep people connected. Is this new? No, but the
emphasis on the applications is-reactively to 9/11. If we perceived the risk to be high and
continuous, these technologies would get more use. It may be, until the economy picks up, that
these alternatives will be employed as cost-savers.
Part 2 is entitled "What if Your Employees and Customers Are Afraid to Open the Mail?, an
obvious
response to the Anthrax scare. Gutzman instructs her readers about electronic direct and
transactional mail, eBilling and ePayments systems. A number of companies have been sticking
their
toes into the water with these techniques; Gutzman uses 9/11 as an impetus to suggest we might
to
more in these areas-for security reasons.
Part 3 looks at how to protect your place of business and your data. For a lot of business
operators,
there are some intriguing ideas here. You'll learn about biometrics technology, network security,
encryption, system security. There's a chapter on using ASPs and MSPs to decrease dependence
on
physical plant. Understanding that this book is written by an author with recognized expertise in
these issues, expect to gain some interesting insights.
The book closes with an almost obligatory chapter on succession planning. Yes, we all know that
succession planning is important, but it seems force-fit into this book. I'd recommend this book if
you want to dig into the technological aspects of operating more safely and effectively in an
uncertain world. The book will be a valuable reference and check-list for those already somewhat
familiar with the topic, but I expect that all readers will pick up some new ideas regardless of their
level of technological sophistication.
The Complete Gide To Conflict Resolution In The Workplace
Marick E. Masters and Robert R. Albright
Amacom
ISBN 0-8144-0629-7, $79.95, Hardcover, 344 pages
There are all sorts of opportunities for conflict in the work environment. Personal issues, varying
perspectives, separate agendas, labor issues, and mental difficulties. When conflict escalates to
violence-from shouting to shooting, it's time to start paying attention to the problem.
Marick Masters is the Executive Director of the Center on Conflict Resolution and Negotiation at
the University of Pittsburgh. Robert Albright is also a professor in the field and both have done
their
share of corporate consulting. They obviously know their topic. The author suggest that conflict
occupies thirty percent of a manager's time, so streamlining the process of dealing with
conflict-and
improving effectiveness-can be a significant value for an employer.
This book is worthwhile as a read-through and as a reference text. Executives, human resource
professionals, consultants, and behavioral scientists working in the organizational arena will be
delighted with the presentation of the material. It's surprisingly readable and, thanks to some good
design, is easy on the eyes. Decent-sized type and open leading are a welcome benefit.
The book is organized into five parts. The first, appropriately, Getting a Handle on Workplace
Conflict, has chapters on understanding, diagnosing, and dealing with conflict. The second section
explores alternative resolution methods: negotiation, facilitation, mediation, arbitration, and
potpourri. Lots of understandings here. Part 3, Special Topics, gets into Confronting Workplace
Violence, EEO Disputes, Unions, and international issues. Part 4 takes the reader through the
how-to of establishing an Integrated Conflict Resolution System, Education, and Training. The
last
section provides a brief map and guide, summarizing the essence of the book.
There are two appendices in this publication. The first gives the solutions to the twenty exercises
in
the chapters. The other offers a simulation of an EEO Mediation. The source list is a special
treasure-a dozen pages of books, journals, web sites, and government publications to open more
doors to learning for readers.
Everything you wanted to know in this field-if it's important in the workplace-is between the
covers
of this book. Certainly recommended for those responsible for keeping conflict at a minimum in
any
organization.
Clear Leadership
Gervase R. Bushe
Davies -Black Publishing
ISBN 0-89106-152-5, $27.95, 250 pages, hardcover
In today's corporate world, efficiency, effectiveness, and profit are diminished by communications
problems. As a Certified Management Consultant, I hear clients complain about
"communications"
so much, I've dubbed it the "C Word."
What's the problem? People aren't real, open, honest, direct, and thorough in their conversations
with each other. Hidden agendas, inability to say what you mean, fear of consequences and more
problems contribute to the debilitating "mush" that inhibits organizational achievement. We've
certainly seen enough evidence of the problem in the serious problems reported in the newspapers
in
recent months. And more corporate crises are in the works because the people at the top are not
providing clear leadership-clear, "real" communication. And if the role models aren't working, the
rest of the bureaucratic system is in trouble.
Bushe, a PhD consultant and professor of business administration, has given us a fine tool in
"Clear
Leadership."Clear Leadership: How Outstanding Leaders Make Themselves Understood, Cut
Through the Mush, and Help Everyone Get Real at Work is the kind of book that can be read and
enjoyed, almost like a corporate novel. He communicates his message with a well-organized
presentation supplemented by a wonderful collection of vignettes. The illustrative stories really
bring
this book to life, stimulate the thinking, and teach the lessons. As emotional beings, we all relate
well
to story-telling; this book has a good mix to help the reader get the message. I gained insight from
the first two stories! Good stuff!
The author's objective is to teach the skills that build clarity and agreement. To quote from the
book,
"Clarity comes from clearing out the interpersonal mush and sometimes requires an organizational
learning conversation. This is a conversation where people level with each other about their
experience so that they can learn about anad change the troublesome patterns they find themselves
in. Agreement comes from the ability of a group to think together and make decisions."
"Clear Leadership" is organized into three sections, plus a valuable introduction and an inspiring
conclusion. Part One is Clarity and Mush in Organizational Life. Part Two, The Four Selves of
Clear
Leaders, has chapters on the Aware, Descriptive, Curious, and Appreciative aspects of the
concept.
Part Three, Clear Leadership at Work is filled with practical advice to putting this valuable
concept
into practice.
A lot of knowledge, insight, and advice packed into 250 pages. It's the kind of book you'll want to
share with others-maybe simultaneously-to build clear leadership in your organization.
Roger E. Herman
Reviewer
Sandra's Bookshelf
Beyond Death
Philip Solomon and Hans Holzer, Ph.D.
Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc.
1125 Stoney Ridge Road, Charlottesville, VA 22902
ISBN: 1-57174-202-6 Soft Cover. $13.95, www.hrpub.com 1-800-766-8009
Philip Solomon and Hans Holzer, Ph.D. wondered whether there was life after death. And if so,
what was it like? Solomon is a renowned psychic, and Holzer has investigated paranormal
phenomena for years and has written more than one hundred books. Together they set out to
"interview" residents of the Other Side.
Beyond Death is a compilation of those interviews.
Holzer says he is satisfied that their interviews represent "the first real account of the afterlife in
specific and non-glamorous, non-religious terms, as if the communicator over there has simply
moved to a 'foreign country' and was reporting what it was like in every department of life."
Indeed, the afterlife does sound much like present life, but with a few key differences. Residents
of
the Other Side have greater knowledge about their continuous existence and, in fact, chided
Solomon and Holzer for using terms like death.
The communicators explained that time is measured much differently for them than it is on Earth,
which is why some people wait years for contact from loved ones who have crossed over.
Basic personalities and abilities remain unchanged. Thus entertainers, like Elvis, continue to
entertain, if that's their desire. All of the communicators emphasized that everyone can have, do,
or
be, whatever they want. All they have to do is wish it, and it happens. So if your greatest desire is
material wealth, it's yours. However, many found that, although they can have anything they want,
their wants changed as they grew. What it seemed important or desirable while on Earth may not
be
what's wanted most in the afterlife, especially after they've been there for awhile.
Most of the interviews were with communicators residing in the "second level." Some were
ordinary
people, and others were famous, like Princess Diana, Judy Garland, and Al Capone.
One personality spoke from his place in the "first level," where he seemed quite pleased with his
life
of debauchery and violence.
Many levels exist beyond the first few levels. Beings progress to them only as they're ready to do
so.
Beyond Death is filled with one fascinating account after another that provides a picture of the
Other
Side. As one personality says, those of us in this world will one day know "this same blissful
acceptance of different people, and when their time comes to pass they should not be afraid. The
spirit world is a wonderful place which awaits all, whoever and whatever you are."
Living On Purpose: Straight Answers To Life's Toughest Questions
Dan Millman
New World Library
14 Pamaron Way, Novato, CA 94949
ISBN: 1577311329, $14.00, www.newworldlibrary.com 1-800-972-6657
Best-selling author and lecturer Dan Millman refers frequently to the "House Rules" when
responding to questions in Living On Purpose: Straight Answers To Life's Tough Questions. He
explains that the House is life or reality and the Rules are universal laws, adding that "the House
Rules presented in this book--distilled lessons from the school of life--provide reliable strategies
for
living on purpose."
Millman has divided his book into twenty-five short sections. Each section begins with a general
question about life, such as "why do I sometimes cause problems while doing what I feel is right?"
These are answered with one of the House Rules, such as "Timing is Everything." An explanation
of
the House Rule and how it may be applied follows.
After that comes two specific questions people have asked him on subjects as varied as free will,
metaphysics, child rearing, health, and money. He answers these with practical examples, often
using
his own life, or with illuminating anecdotes and parables. Many of his answers include humor
along
with the insights.
He finishes each section with "personal applications" in which people are encouraged to complete
two or three simple exercises designed "to test these House Rules in your own experience; tailor
them to fit your particular circumstances."
While he isn't a channeler, Millman does say that his answers come through him, not from him. He
also says he isn't giving people wisdom that they don't already have, instead he's helping them
search
within for their own truths.
"In Living On Purpose, Dan Millman combines the wisdom of Solomon with the common sense
touch of Dear Abby, taking on real-world questions with the insight and knowledge that have
drawn
millions of readers to his books." It's an essential reference for anyone seeking practical guidance
in
answering the difficult questions they face every day.
Return of the Angels
Migene Gonzalez-Wippler
Llewellyn Publications
P. O. Box 64383, St. Paul, MN 55164
ISBN: 1-56718-293-3. Soft Cover. 294 pp. $14.95, www.llewellyn.com 1-800-THE MOON
Migene Gonzalez-Wippler is a psychologist and anthropologist with an impressive list of
credentials,
including fifteen books. Her latest endeavor, Return of the Angels, is a complete reference on
celestial beings.
A Christian kabbalist and noted religious researcher, Gonzalez-Wippler says that "there is an angel
behind every idea, every intention, and every action, be they positive or negative." Everything,
even
things we normally think of inanimate, has an angel.
Humans have individual guardian angels, and Gonzalez-Wippler explains how people can contact
their angel, learn its name, and seek its guidance. Angels have their own language, and she
describes
how to write a letter to an angel using their language. She also provides the unique signatures of
major angels, along with their color, flower, and crystal. Rituals for invoking angels are also
included.
Gonzalez-Wippler describes angels as being mighty warriors battling the forces of evil, a battle
they
don't always win. She details the hierarchy of angels, and the duties of each. She describes the
"seven heavens" and how the angels protect them. She also discusses Paradise, the Garden of
Eden,
and the role of Adam and Eve.
More than fifty lush illustrations enhance the written information.
One long section is devoted to the "Book of Megadriel," a retelling by Gonzalez-Wippler of the
Creation and the War in Heaven, in the voice of "Megadriel." Megadriel finishes his stories with
prophesies and "steps we can take to protect our planet from cataclysmic disasters."
The last section of the book is a listing of more than 900 angel biographies and heavenly
places.
"Return of the Angels guides you through the wealth of information contained in classic texts
such
as the Bible, the Apocrypha, and the Kabbalah. It illuminates the wonderful history of these
inhabitants of Heaven who choose to play a role in mortals' lives." It's an essential reference for
anyone curious about the role of angels in their life.
Embracing Persephone
Virginia Beane Rutter
Conari Press
2550 Ninth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710
ISBN: 1-57324-563-1. Soft Cover. 276 pp. $15.95, www.conari.com 1-800-685-9595
In a time long ago and far away, the god of the Underworld, Hades, abducted Persephone,
daughter
of the goddess Demeter. Demeter grieved so deeply that the lush vegetation of Earth died. Hades
eventually returned Persephone for six months of every year. During this time, Demeter's joy
allows
the plants to again grow. Traditionally, this has been the story of why we have winter and summer
seasons.
Virginia Beane Rutter has another interpretation of the ancient story. She says "this myth directly
invokes your relationship with your adolescent daughter as you brave her exciting but terribly
risky
passage to becoming a woman." Rutter is psychotherapist and Jungian analyst, with two children
of
her own. Embracing Persephone is her third book.
In it, she provides a wealth of advice, strategies, and wisdom for coping with the critical
adolescent
years. Rutter emphasizes throughout that mothers must grow along with their daughters. Mothers
dealing with their daughters' issues often find themselves dealing with their own issues as well.
She
offers lots of encouragement, saying that "being aware of yourself and your daughter does not
mean
that you will handle every situation perfectly." Her focus is on establishing and keeping an
ongoing
relationship with daughters.
She says that "to have any influence over your daughter, you must value your relationship more
than
your need to control her." This can sometimes mean permitting her to do things you'd prefer she'd
not do. The key is teaching daughters to accept responsibility for their choices.
Rutter discusses issues such connecting, even when conflicts seem unresolvable, body image,
sexual
exploration, and drugs and alcohol. Each section includes examples from real teenage girls and
their
mothers of how they handled some of their expectations and conflicts.
Adolescent girls face monumental challenges. Because of the way in which the world has
changed,
many of these challenges are different than those experienced by their parents. Embracing
Persephone "will help you identify the issues that trigger conflict with your daughter [and]
provide
you with strategies for keeping your relationship open." It's a book that belongs in every
household
with a teenage girl.
The Art Of Dreaming: Tools For Creative Dreamwork
Jill Mellick
Conari Press
2550 Ninth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710
ISBN: 1-57324-574-7 Soft Cover 206 pp. $16.95, www.conari.com 1-800-685-9595
Psychologist and author Jill Mellick offers much more than a dream interpretation book in The
Art
of Dreaming: Tools for Creative Dreamwork. Conventional interpretation relies on words to
describe dream imagery, and often the words are terribly inadequate. Mellick says "we can
express
dreams in the art form the best suits them, in the art form whose structure is most akin to their
innate structure."
She then fully describes more than 50 ways to explore dreams, including painting, dance,
sculpture,
drawing, poetry, music, or any combination of these. She explains several techniques for letting
go
of expectations and allowing the dream to guide the dreamer to the best form of expression.
Mellick also recognizes that many people don't have lots of time for working on their dreams. For
those with little time for reflection, she provides a chapter titled "Expressive Dream Work in Five
Minutes." A companion chapter offers techniques for those who have as much as ten minutes a
day
for dream work.
Not all dreams are pleasant. She offers help also to those haunted by nightmares, including how to
make a healing mandala. She also discusses dreams in which a particular action or image is
repeated.
Although most of us prefer to work alone with our dreams, some people find it beneficial to form
a
dream work group. Mellick provides guidelines for establishing a group and ensuring that it's
beneficial to all participants.
One fascinating exercise asks people to imagine life events as a dream. The events can be ordinary
activities. She says that doing this offers a new perspective that can be helpful in understanding
our
daily lives.
"The Art of Dreaming is an excellent resource and practical manual that inspires and amplifies
self-
discovery and understanding of the rich spiritual treasure and guidance that dreams provide."
House Magic: The Good Witch's Guide To Bringing Grace To Your Space
Ariana
Conari Press
2550 Ninth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710
ISBN: 1-57324-568-2 Hard Cover. 237 pp. $15.95, www.conari.com 1-800-685 9595
House Magic: The Good Witch's Guide To Bringing Grace To Your Space is one of those
indispensable little books that includes a wealth of wisdom. Author Ariana says that "there is such
a
diversity of information available from different sources and traditions that I thought an eclectic
collection of ideas would help readers take control of their lives by getting their houses in
order."
Although the focus is on living space, getting a house in order also puts a life in good order.
Ariana
includes lots of suggestions, but emphasizes that what's important is developing awareness of who
you are and learning to follow your own intuition in eliminating all forms of clutter from your
life.
She describes how to use techniques such as astrology, feng shui, plants, crystals, candles, and
incense to create a harmonious environment full of positive energy. Each chapter ends with a
section
called "Bringing It All Together," which outlines the highlights of that chapter for quick
reference.
Ariana reminds people that the first step is to know what they want. That puts them on the road
to
achieving it. Then they can use whatever seems right for bringing in the positive energy needed
for
turning dreams into reality.
"House Magic shows readers how to design their homes to fulfill personal needs and master the
ability to display their own uniqueness using their homes as a medium." Anyone desiring to create
that "perfect space" will discover that Ariana has provided an essential reference for choosing the
best way to produce a "vibrant castle of creativity and warmth."
Sandra I. Smith
Reviewer
Peter's Bookshelf
How To Become A Great Boss: The Rules for Getting and Keeping the Best Employees
Jeffrey J. Fox
Hyperion Books
ISBN 0-7868-6823-6, $16.95, www.HyperionBooks.com
How To Become A Great Boss: The Rules For Getting And Keeping The Best Employees by
Jeffrey J. Fox provides solid, highly-readable business lessons to help entrepreneurs improve their
leadership and management skills.
Fox says bosses should hire only 'A' players or people who have the potential to become 'A'
players.
Fox defines an 'A player' as someone combining attitude and ability. Fox says, while you might be
able to groom a B player into an A player, you'll never be able to turn a C player into an A player.
The best place for C players is with the competition.
"Don't let mediocrity in the door," advises Fox, or it will spread throughout the organization.
"Once
mediocrity is pervasive, it is as hard to rid from the organization as it is to rid lice from a camel,"
writes Fox.
Pointing out the huge cost of a mishire, including wasted training, damaged morale, and the
missed
opportunity of having the job done right, Fox suggests bosses adopt the motto of "Hire Slow, Fire
Fast."
In addition to doing full background checks and giving tests and extensive interviews when hiring,
Fox recommends that all job roles ultimately serve the company's end customer.
Fox writes: "It is the customer's money that funds paychecks, bonuses, health insurance, taxes,
and
everything else. Because it is the customer who pays the employees, then the employees-all
employees, including the boss-work for the customer. Therefore, every single job in a company
must
be designed to get or keep customers."
Once you've hired the right people for the right roles, you must let employees do their jobs and
not
micromanage or do the work yourself- Fox's motto: "Don't Hire a Dog and Bark Yourself." You
must give employees adequate training and be sure they understand their responsibilities. Fox
suggests bosses spend at least ten minutes each day teaching.
Fox writes: "The great boss provides learning opportunities, new experiences, in-house and
outside
seminars, reading lists, on-the-job training, and hands-on instruction. The great boss knows that
the
best people are learners. ..."
Fox tells us that many bosses spend too much time with poor-performing employees. He
recommends bosses spend most of their time with their best employees. Fox writes: "Too many
bosses are attracted to the problematical employees as moths to the flame. Too many bosses
invest
too much time with low-performing employees who deliver a low return on the time invested in
them. Too many bosses under-invest in their best-performing people assets."
In addition to developing the art of grooming employees for new roles in your company and
fostering learning, Fox says you must be effective in delegating work.
"If you are delegating without clear direction or without providing appropriate training, you are
not
delegating you are relegating-relegating the employee to error making and misperformance. If you
delegate without a schedule for follow-up and inspection, you haven't delegated, you have
abdicated," writes Fox.
Fox says bosses don't get what they expect. They get what they inspect. Because everyone looks
to
the boss to set an example, if the boss isn't concerned about customer satisfaction, for example,
the
employees won't care about customer satisfaction either.
How To Become A Great Boss: The Rules For Getting And Keeping The Best Employees
contains
many short and interesting stories about leadership. For example, Fox describes the owner of a
construction contracting company who tried to lead by intimidation. The construction owner was
rude and mean to everybody, and suppliers and employees alike didn't really care about his
success.
Instead of working effectively for him, employees weren't attentive to detail and made many
costly
"mistakes." Rather than earning $2 million on a $23 million construction project, the contractor
lost
$2 million and went out-of-business.
Media Magic: Profit & Promote With Free Media Placement
Marisa D'Vari
DEG International Publishing
220 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116
ISBN 1-931094-01-2, $21.95, 146 pages, softcover, www.deg.com
If you're an entrepreneur wanting to sell products by getting free publicity as a guest on radio and
TV shows, Marisa D'Vari's Media Magic: Profit & Promote With Free Media Placement will help
you understand how to most effectively position yourself as a desirable interviewee.
D'Vari says the formula for success in getting booked on shows is establishing yourself as an
expert
with showmanship and using targeted media pitches. Presentation is crucial, D'Vari writes, and
that
you must "Think Like A 'Headliner' Magician."
D'Vari created an acronym for MAGIC to help readers summarize her ideas: "M=Mesmerize your
audience; A=Appeal to the hidden fears/desires of the audience; G=Give valuable information;
I=Integrity is everything; C=Credibility leads to happy, loyal clients for life."
Before starting her own company and forming her own TV show, D'Vari worked in Hollywood,
where she heard hundreds of scriptwriters pitch their story ideas. D'Vari writes: "A successful
pitch
could make a screenwriter a millionaire. If they didn't understand the elements of pitching well,
they'd never sell their idea, no matter how brilliant. ... The pitch letter must reflect the inherent
drama, comedy, passion, and immediacy of your subject."
D'Vari emphasizes the pitch letter must be targeted to the specific show and must demonstrate
you've watched the show and are familiar with its format, audience demographics, and material
requirements.
D'Vari writes: "It's important to match the tone of your pitch letter to the radio or TV show. ... If
it's
to Oprah, address the tone of the show (educated, somewhat sophisticated, female-oriented,
literary). If it's to Jenny Jones, your tone should reflect high drama, conflict, emotion, and a bit of
shock-value."
In addition to discussing pitch letters, D'Vari tells readers they need to create a great, professional
media kit, which should include a list of possible interview questions to make the media host's job
easier. D'Vari says, because of the high cost of traditional media kits, as much as $18 a piece,
there's
a trend toward using online media kits (You can see D'Vari's online media kit at deg.com).
Carrying the magic analogy a bit far, D'Vari writes, "A media kit is to entrepreneurs and authors
what a wax doll is to voodoo witch doctors." Voodoo might explain some of the guests on Jenny
Jones (I can't think of any other explanation for how they got there).
D'Vari says many authors seeking media interviews misposition themselves as "authors." The last
thing a TV or radio producer needs is another author hawking his or her book. Rather, D'Vari
says
authors should position themselves as experts who can provide the audience with valuable
information.
D'Vari tells us, when a host says, "Tell us about your new book," the host is really asking the
author
to discuss the broader, universal issue covered in the book. Those authors who are too overtly
self-promotional and just focus upon their books won't last long.
D'Vari writes: "The key to a successful and profitable on-air interview is preparing 'commercials'
for
your message that don't sound like commercials at all." D'Vari says too many self-promoters fail
to
create a truly enticing hook.
An author who has positioned himself effectively, D'Vari tells us, is Greg Godek, a.k.a., "Mr.
Romance," who is "an expert in the field of romance." Godek is regularly featured by the media
and
has sold over 1.7 million copies of his book, 1001 Ways to be Romantic.
In addition to discussing how to get on TV and radio shows, Media Magic: Profit & Promote
With
Free Media Placement offers valuable advice about being an effective media guest. For example,
D'Vari says to have a few main points and be ready to make each point interesting with facts,
anecdotes, stories, and statistics. Media Magic includes a brief resources section listing books and
websites of interest to authors, self-publishers, and professional speakers.
Peter Hupalo
Reviewer
Pogo's Bookshelf
The Pianoplayers
Anthony Burgess
Arrow Books Ltd
62-65 Chandos Place, London WC2N 4NW
009952550X, 3.99 UK, 1986, 208pp
Pocket Books
ASIN: 0671637924, $TBA, 1987, www.amazon.com
Rollicking like Scott Joplin's Pineapple Rag, the book opens and plays allegro giacoso to the end.
As
the curtain is rising, our narrator, like the Mad Lady of Chaillot, is sitting at her habitual table
under
the chestnut trees at Marroniers on the square--which really is a triangle--in the little town of
Callian
in the Var-- which is in Provence, made famous by wine and Italian operas. On a sultry summer
day,
there is not much else to do, but read borrowed newspapers and magazines, while listening to the
BBC Overseas Service play requests from aliens of the foreign nations with favorites such as Thus
Spoke Zarathustra for Joseph Zarathustra of North-western Afghanistan or the One-armed
Fiddler's
Waltz, performed by ten-thousand five-year-olds in South-Eastern Tokyo who had just started the
Sukiyaki Violin Method, for Miss Li Po Chang of Western Sumatra.
The haunting lines of Mahler are echoed, "Es weckt das Lied die Liebe! Die Liebe weckt die
Lieder!" as narrator recalls that she discovered an interview with her grandson, the famous pianist,
in
the music magazine, Gamme, inspiring her momentarily of contributing an article regarding her
father, his grandfather. Infuriated by music, internationally broadcasted for the enjoyment of Miss
Li
Po, she bluntly announces that the music was plagiarized, written by her poor old dad who had
"not
made one solitary penny, old or new, out of it." (p7) Slowly, our eyes focus on the lone figure on
the
sprawing stage, who introduces herself factually,
"I am a nice slim lady, a bit scrawny around the neck as is only natural, but with the white hair
nicely
blued at the best hairdresser's in Cannes, which is where I spend the winter, and the nails nicely
looked after and tinted cinnamon and a little bit of lipstick and eyeshadow... I have been called La
Belle Helene in my time, but I was born Ellen Henshaw..." (p8)
Garrulous, and unwilling to lose an opportunity, she drops names like confetti at a New Year's
Ball,
" I knew Picasso for about an hour because he once came to Paris for the use of my services but
could not do anything, but that's another story."
The opening monologue is expertly broken by the tourist, burdened by a heavy backpack,
stumbling
on stage with his face streaming with sweat and eyeglasses misted over. Frustrated by all the
footwork before he even enters the stage, he sits down and orders a small bottle
of Perrier. The stage is set.
"You're looking for somewhere to stay, love?" (p9) The line offered, the fish snaps at the
bait.
"I need a table and a chair and a smidgeon of tranquility," he said. "In this pack on my back there's
a
typewriter and I've come to France to break the block." (p10)
The line played, the hook baited and the fish caught; instantly the contract is cooked up. "In my
little
house there is what is known as a greenier. It is very long and has a very low cieling, so you
would
have to watch your head."
Come again?" he said, "you offering me a room? No kidding? how much?"
"Nothing," I said. "One condition is no use of the kitchen though you can use the bathroom and
the
lavatory if you leave them tidy. The other condition is that you write down this book about my
father." (p10)
And with this, the reader is already captured in the thread of author's mixed fiber of truth and lies
as
young Rolf Marcus busily transcribes the oral tradition of Ellen's life. With the musical witchery of
Saint-Saen's Egyptian piano concerto, we bewitched into the vibrant tempo of the tableau that
runs
from sparkling arpeggios and trills to rumbling tremulos and passages of furore appassionato con
brio. At times the tubist gets a break to let out a blasting fart as the melodramatic opera changes
sets
and scenes.
Burgess once wrote that "the ideal reader of my novels is a lapsed Catholic and failed musician, "
although neither might be requisite, the qualities certainly enrich the deeper appreciation for the
humor he employs. Following a tradition of social satire, beginning perhaps with Daniel Defoe's
Moll Flanders and continuing with Nabokov's saucy Lolita, Burgess successfully joins the party
gleefully, taking on the voice of a mezzo-soprano role, equal in the gender confusion to an
Octavian
or Zerbinetta, restraining the ribald humor sufficiently that the pit scenes never completely
dominate
the stage. As master and musician, he plays his role as adroitly as the Composer in
Strauss/Hofmannsthal Ariadne. With the brilliance of a Lorenzo da Ponte with his quick-witted
repartee and swift recitatives, Burgess keeps the scenes moving through the speeches of his
characters. There is never room for boredom with the voice authoritatively narrating,
"He was a professional pianoplayer. Professional... Professional meant white tie and tails and
applause, it meant knowing it all and have a big repertoire. But, as I used to point out to him,
professional also means earning your own living by it. You can play like an amateur but still be a
professional... My dad the professioanl pianoplayer. I was professional, too, just like my dad, but I
was more the piano than the player, and I was usually played on by the players, who could hardly
manage chopsticks. Still they paid for their bit of the tune..." (p13)
Neatly framed with a brief overture and closed by a humble violin solo, Burgess creates an opera
buffa in the intervening pages with scenes to make Rossini or Mozart jealous, with splashes of
Shakespeare to keep things lively. The credibility of the protagonist is established efficiently
within
the opening pages as she learns the basics of the piano keyboard through tricks such as spelling
C-A-B-B-A-G-E and the mystical nuances of C-sharp and D-flat. What creates the reality?
Difficult
to say. When does the play begin? When the curtain opens or at the edge of the proscenium just
on
the other side of the lights where players discard their personalities and put on other identities?
Anthony Burgess was born on February 25, 1917 in Manchester. His mother died when he was
two
years old during a flu epidemic. His father earned his keep by being a piano-player at the silent
movies and in the local pub. The novel reflects both historical and autobiographical elements that
are
accurate.
Burgess achieved notoriety with A Clockwork Orange (1962), which was filmed by Stanley
Kubrick
in 1971. The film was officially prohibited from being viewed in the UK for it's violent scenes and
murderous Beethoven-loving Alex. A satire on B.F. Skinner's behavioral theories, it aroused much
criticism for inciting violence among youth. Although his best-known work, Burgess, a prolific
writer, authored 50 novels and composed more than 150 musical pieces, including piano and
chamber works, song cycles, ballet and opera, giving Ellen, our leading lady, her authentic voice.
Presented as one of the uneducated, lower orders, Ellen escapes school to pick up the necessary
rent
through the entertainment business. The opera, Pagliacci, or possibly Cavallaria Rusticana, gets
replayed through one of her father's brawls with a local variety show group, the
Cockadoodle-Doos.
When the cock of the show, gets cuckolded, the old rooster loses his nest which leads naturally
into
the ultimate depravity of doing a marathon piano-playing gig.
The historical setting is clear, reflecting the times when Emily Chesley was writing speculative
novels, promoting bongs and advertising thongs. Undaunted by wing-walking or climbing
Himalyas,
women were getting liberated. Mae West and Charlie Chaplin dominated the silent screen and
piano-players were out when the talkies came in. Society danced frenetically onto the edge of the
Nazi totalitarian state with a lasting peace assured by Chamberlain. Easily stretched on a scene of
Rake's Progress, the farce continues at the pace of allegro con fuoco until Ellen finally marries a
man
of Mature Age who receives a Territorial Commission as a captain in the infantry in North Africa.
Shortly afterwards her son, Robert, is born. Naturally, being a lady used to a more Active Life,
Ellen
is dead bored and takes up a Liason job with the Free French to keep her occupied. While others
get
inspired in bathtubs, Ellen gets hers in bed. With a deft hand, Burgess plays the final twist of
satire,
parodying Ovid's Amore's and Donezetti's L'Elisir d'Amore with the establishment of a School for
Love.
By mixing literature and music together, Burgess creates his own wallbanger, filling our glasses
with
intoxicating, bubbling wit. For the Economist, he once wrote, " I wish people would rather think
of
me as a musician who writes novels instead of a novelist who writes music on the side." The
curtain
rings down on the comedy to the applause of the audience.
Tales from Two Pockets
Karel Capek (translated by Norma Comrada)
Catbird Press
16 Windsor Road, North Haven CT 06743
0945774 257, $14.95 USA, 1994 365pp
In 1920, Karel Capek achieved international recognition with his play, Rossum's Universal Robots
(R.U.R) and by 1933, the word "robot" was entered into the Shorter Oxford Dictionary to define
a
living thing that acts automatically without volition. The author vehemently protested that the
robots
of R.U.R. "were not mechanisms. They were not made of sheet- metal and cogwheels. They were
not a celebration of mechanical engineering. If the author was thinking of any of the marvels of
the
human spirit during their creation, it was not of technology, but of science."*
Influenced by the industrial revolution and technological progress, the play reflects Capek's
concern
for the future of humanity. In the 1890's Nikolo Teslo had already invented a devise for remote
radio
control, and Capek, with a degree in biology was keenly aware of the possibility of cloning. Born
on
January 9,1890 in Bohemia of Austro-Hungarian Empire, Capek was to become an ardent Czech
nationalist and close friend to Thomas Masaryk, who was to become the President of the First
Republic after the catastrophic War to end All Wars. Capek's RUR inspired Fritz Lang's
Metropolis,
George Orwell's Brave New World and the writings of Isaac Asimov.
Capek, who studied not only at Charles University in Prague, but also in Berlin and Sorbonne in
Paris, had a broad knowledge of literature which reflects in the stories found in Tales from Two
Pockets. In 1917, Capek had moved to Prague and was a columnist for the Lidove Noviny. The
stories began appearing in 1928 when Capek decided that a series of mystery stories would make
a
good summer project. He set a quota of one a day: two dozen for one pocket and a couple more
for
the other to round them off nicely. For a newspaper column, they needed to be compactly written
so
to be read over a cup of coffee. Originally published as separate collections: Tales from One
Pocket
and Tales from the Other, they were collected together and published under the present title. Also
in
1929, The Gardener's Year appeared in the US, which was a literary success. Titles of the stories,
including, The Blue Chrysanthemum, The Fortuneteller and the Clairvoyant, reflect Capek's
fascination with life, from the earthly to the metaphysical as well as the mundane: Footprints and
The Needle.
Freshly written like butterscotch brownies straight out of the oven, the reader is tempted to take
yet
another one. What's so mysterious about blue chrysanthemums? Except that they are almost never
blue. Capek takes something that seems ordinary and presents it for audience's inspection. In Dr.
Mejzlik's Case, Capek has the sharp eye of Sherlock Holmes, but in Oplatka's End, the satiric
tongue
of Mark Twain. The images and scenes are clearly defined so that a local reader hastily fumbles
for
the maps to identify the cheap dive on Dlazdena Street and the little village of Pysely on the
railroad
tracks to Cercany southeast of Prague. Capable of satire, not even E.A. Poe can evade a
lampooning
with The Fall of the House Voticky and King Solomon is parodied in The Case Involving a Baby.
The situation is easily introduced through Mr. Kratochvil's gossip regarding a Captain
Bartosek:
"I recall one case that never went public: it was a case involving a baby. What happened was, one
day this young woman came running up to Bartosek at the police station, she was a wife of an
estate
manager, name of Landa, and she was crying so hard she couldn't even catch her breath. Bartosek
felt sorry for her, with her swollen nose and her face all splotchy from all those heartrending sobs,
so
he tried to calm her down, well, to the extent that an old bachelor can, anyway, and as much as a
cop knows how. 'Jesus, young lady,' he told her, 'cut it out, he's not going to bite your head off....'
That's pretty much how it went What I mean is, that's pretty much how police deal with most of
these domestic tragedies.
But this woman only shook her head and cried so much, it was an awful sight to see.
So then Mr. Bartosek took a different tack: 'So he ran out on you, did he? The dirty, no-good rat.
But look, he'll be back again; a bum like that's not worth making a fuss over!'
"S-sir," the young woman wailed, "you don't understand. Th-they snatched my little baby right
out
on the street!"
"Go on,' the captain said in total disbelief, 'why would anyone do that? It could have run away on
its
own.'
"'How could she run away?' moaned the unhappy mama. 'Ruzenka's only three months old!'
(p250)
The absurdity of the situation increases through the dramatic conflict of the character's each
possessing a different perception on the crisis:
"'Hmm,' the captain said, 'then at least tell us what the little jigger looks like.'
"With this the young mama complied copiously. 'Everybody says my Ruzenka has such pretty
hair,
and this cute little nose, and such beautiful little eyes, and she weighs nine pounds, fouteen point
three ounces, and she has this beautiful little bottom, and little folds on her chubby little legs '
"'What sort of folds?' the captain asked.
"'You just want to kiss them,' the mama wept, 'and you should see her sweet little fingers and the
way she smiles at her mommy ' (p252)
The hilarity of the situation is heightened by the recap:
"After an hour Bartosek returned, defeated. 'Listen, Hochman,' he said, 'it's a nightmare. All those
babies look alike! How am I ever going to put together a description? We're looking for a
three-month-old infant, female sex, with hair, a small nose, small eyes, and a wrinkled bottom;
vital
statistics:weighs nine pounds, fourteen point three ounces. Think that'll do it?"
"'Captain, sir,' Officer Hochman said earnestly, "I wouldn't put much faith in those ounces. Those
little fellers weigh more one time and less the next, depending how much they dump in their
diapers.'
(p254)
Throughout, the Tales are a genuine slice of life, reflecting both the daily domestic and political
circus, giving vivid insights to the infamous Czech bureaucracy in the private affairs of Colonel
Hampl and the Stolen Document 139/VII, Sect C, hidden in a macaroni canister in the pantry. Not
restricted to the inside view of cops and special detectives, Capek was no stranger to theaters and
literary likes. RUR and the Insect Play were both produced under him in the National Art Theater,
and in 1926, Janacek adapted the Makropolus Secret for opera. With one foot inside journalism at
the Lidove Noviny and the other across the street in the National Theater, Capek easily creates
the
scene for The Orchestra Conductor's Story which opens like an overture to an opera with Mr.
Dobes recalling a particularly brutal brawl playing football in which he got unmercifully kicked in
the
cauda equina by his own goalie which left him rather helpless afterwards in bed. The voice of the
musician breaks in naturally,
"'Helplessness is indeed appalling," said Kalina, the conductor and composer, shaking his head. "I
had an experience like that once, in Liverpool; I'd been invited to conduct a concert with their
orchestra. You know, I can't speak a word of English; but we musicians can communicate among
ourselves without a lot of talk, especially when we have a baton in hand." (p267)
With this bait, the reader is hooked into the story and the impulse is to read on with the curiosity
of
an eavesdropper listening in on something particularly juicy. The vibrant sensitivity of nuances
shading the professional qualities of the characters bring them alive on a detailed canvas of Czech
reality.
In 1937, Capek published The Power and the Glory, a novel, warning of the corrupting influence
of
power on politics. In September 1938, at the infamous Munich Conference, Neville Chamberlain
and
Edouard Daladier, representing Great Britain and France, signed the death warrant of both
brothers,
Karel and Joseph Capek. Karel died on Christmas Day, just three months before the Annexation
of
Czechoslovakia. Although forewarned to leave for London as the second highest on the Gestapo
list, the brothers remained in Prague. When the Nazis arrived, the Gestapo went to the Capek
home
to arrest Karel, unaware that he was dead. His brother, Joseph, was deported and died in
Bergen-Belsen, April 1945. Tales from Two Pockets are illustrated with works of both brothers
as
they collaborated frequently on projects together and reflect a boisterous love of life.
*First published as a newspaper column in Lidove noviny, 43 (290), 9 June 1935, 9. Collected in:
Karel Capek, O umeni a kulture III. (Spisy XIX). Praha: Ceskoslovensky spisovatel, 1986,
656-657.Translated from the Czech by Cyril Simsa.
Pogo,
Reviewer
Paul's Bookshelf
Spirit of Independence
Keith Rommel
Barclay Books LLC
6161 51st Street South, St. Petersburg, FL 33715) 2001
ISBN 1-931402-07-8, $14.95, 276 pages, http://www.barclaybooks.com
Travis Winter is your average soldier fighting in the latter days of World War II. One day, he is
killed in cold blood by another American soldier. Then his adventures begin.
He has been recruited, by Heaven, as a new kind of warrior in the age-old battle between heaven
and
Hell. Now called the Spirit of Independence, Winter's first stop is at the Gates of Hell. He is
confronted by the ruler, a being who calls himself Navarro and claims to be a nice guy who was
thrown out of Heaven by a mean and vindictive God. Winter is rescued by a group of angels, and
so
thus begins a new phase in the Heaven-Hell battle.
As a Spirit, Winter is able to travel in the spirit and material worlds. One of his duties is to bring
souls to the Light when the time comes. He meets all sorts of beings, including his predecessors as
Spirit. Among the humans brought into the battle is a woman named Amanda. During a time in
the
material world, she is dragged into a building and brutally raped. While she is unconscious,
Navarro
shows up and changes the DNA of the fetus to match his own. Amanda is pregnant for two full
years, then gives birth to a being that changes, within minutes, from a newborn baby to a
full-grown
adult with horns, red skin and a tail.
As you might have guessed, this is a very strange novel. Written from several different
perspectives,
it's intended as a sort of guide for the reader, chosen as the next Spirit. The first of a four-part
series,
this is also a pretty graphic story, with a considerable amount of violence. It's not a very easy
read,
but it's a very well done and very satisfying read that is well worth the reader's time.
The Best Democracy Money Can Buy
Greg Palast
Pluto Press
22883 Quicksilver Dr, Sterling, VA 20166-2012
ISBN 0-7453-1846-0, 2002, 211 pages, $25.00, http://www.plutobooks.com;
Greg Palast is a nationally known investigative reporter. Unfortunately, the nation in which he is
known is England, not America (Palast is an American). This book consists of mostly previously
published pieces on a variety of subjects.
The state of Florida threw over 57,00 people off its voting rolls, the official reason being that they
were convicted felons. For many, their only crime was being black and/or Democratic. The lists to
be used by county election officials were found to be full of flaws, and just happened to come
from a
company with strong Republican ties. Some counties tried to send letters to the people on the list,
to
give them a chance to appeal the deletion; other counties didn't bother. There are a number of
instances where Florida officials didn't make even the minimum effort to be sure of the names on
the
list.
When a country is in financial trouble, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank are
supposed to be there to help. In many cases, they are part of the problem. Countries are given a
list
of over 100 economic conditions that must be met before any loan money starts flowing. They
include things like removing trade barriers to let in cheaper (usually American) goods and disrupt
the
local economy, privatizing state assets, cutting social spending and crushing labor unions. It's a
recipe for disaster, which is usually what happens. The current economic problems in Argentina
and
Brazil, for example, can be partially blamed on the IMF/WB. It is possible to thrive without them;
the country of Botswana said No to their conditions, and they are economically quite healthy.
Conventional wisdom says that the Exxon Valdez oil spill was the fault of one drunk captain.
There
is plenty of evidence of lack of proper equipment, doctored safety records, and cheating of the
local
natives. That's only the beginning.
Wow. Investigative reporting like this hasn't been seen in America in many years. No major media
outlet is willing to expend the time and effort needed, and that's a shame. This book is brilliant, it's
incredible, it shows just how wimpy most of the American news media really is, and I can't
recommend it highly enough.
Everything You Know is Wrong: The Disinformation Guide to Secrets and Lies,
Russ Kick (ed.)
The Disinformation Company, Ltd.
(http://www.disinfo.com; 163 Third Ave, Suite 108, New York, NY 10003) 2002
ISBN 0-9713942-0-2, $24.95, 346 pages
This is a group of articles, some previously published, that give a very different interpretation of
many contemporary issues. This isn't a "liberal" or "conservative" book, since the authors come
from
all over the political spectrum.
The Vatican Bank, with the Pope as sole shareholder, has been involved in financial scams, tax
evasion and money laundering of Nazi gold. Some groups have an interest (usually financial) in
taking the tiny number of Americans who belong to hate groups and making them into a tidal
wave
about to engulf the whole country. Conventional wisdom says that Henry Lee Lucas was one of
the
biggest serial killers in American history. On more than one occasion, he confessed to any murder
put in front of him, even if he wasn't in the same state at the time (the police usually didn't care
about
that part), to increase his chances of going to the electric chair. Many witnesses say that there was
a
third, older, shooter that day at Columbine High School.
Mad cow disease is spreading virtually unchecked in America. There is a very graphic look at
what a
meat-based diet is all about, for animals and for humans. Another piece is titled, "Psychiatric
Drugging of Children for Behavioral Control." It is a mistake to assume that all disabled people
want
to be "cured." Despite their high-sounding words in public, in private, all major religions
subjugate
women and treat them as inferior to men. Press coverage of the Branch Davidian siege at Waco,
Texas, consisted of little more than FBI press conferences, and bore little relation to the truth. In
many large cities and smaller towns, seeing the money to be made from crime, police have
become
the crooks. A piece by the editor detailing the large number of warnings received by the US
government before the September 11 attacks, is, by itself, worth the price of the book.
I loved this book. Like its prequel "You Are Being Lied To," this book is full of information that
will never be covered in the American news media. There is something here to upset or offend
everyone. This book is extremely highly recommended.
The Prince Of Morning Bells
Nancy Kress
Fox Acre Press
401 Ethan Allen Ave, Takoma Park, MD 20912), 2000
ISBN 0-9671783-2-0, $17.50, 231pages, http://www.foxacre.com;
A reprint of Kress' twenty-year-old first novel, this is the story of Princess Kirila of Castle Kiril. In
a
land that's perpetually at peace, Kirila tries her hand at the usual things a Princess does, like
hunting
and creating a tapestry. After her eighteenth birthday, she gets increasingly moody and
short-tempered, taking it out on the castle staff. One day, she decides to go on a solo Quest to
find
the True Heart of the World. All she knows is that it is somewhere to the north, and it has to do
with the Tents of Omnium.
Kirila soon comes upon a talking dog, with blue-black fur, named Chessie. He says he was a
human
prince who was turned into a dog by a wizard. Chessie is also going to the Tents of Omnium, the
only place to get unenchanted. They spend some time at the Quirkian Hold, something like a
monastery, whose purpose is to make order of all things in the universe. Their four clans are Up,
Down, Strange and Charmed. Some feel that is enough to explain everything, while others feel
that
the Model of Forces may need some revision by adding another clan.
Later, they meet Prince Larek of Castle Talatour. He is handsome, single and totally obsessed
with
jousting. The castle is the smallest, most poorly maintained castle Kirila has ever seen.
Nevertheless,
she accepts Larek's marriage proposal. Chessie continues his Quest to the Tents of Omnium.
Twenty-five years later, after Kirila has borne a couple of children, buried Larek, who lost a battle
with a wild boar, and started to experience middle age and arthritis, Chessie returns. He got
almost
to Omnium, but was stopped by a sort of magical force field. On the spur of the moment, Kirila
decides to continue the Quest. After several adventures, they reach the Tents of Omnium, where
Chessie returns to human form.
This novel is really good. It starts off with some tongue-in-cheek humor, then gets a lot better.
Here
is a first-rate combination of psychology and fable that is quite entertaining.
Paul Lappen
Reviewer
Liana's Bookshelf
The Optimum Nutrition Bible
Patrick Holford
Piatkus, Judy Piatkus (Publishers) Ltd,
5 Windmill Street, London W1P 1HF
ISBN 0-7499-1855-1 UK 10.99 Brit. pounds , 342 pp, Very Highly Recommended
Patrick Holford, founder of the Institute for Optimum Nutrition in London, has been working for
more than twenty years in this field and has published many books as well as a pioneering
74-paged
journal.
The Optimum Nutrition Bible is an invaluable and easy-to-follow reference guide that everyone
should have if they care about their health. Patrick Holford writes: " The purpose of this book is
to
show you how to achieve vibrant health and resistance to disease through optimum nutrition... in
AD 390 Hippocrates said, 'let food be your medicine and medicine be your food.' In 1960 , twice
Nobel prize winner Dr Linus Pauling, coined the phrase 'orthomolecular nutrition'. By giving the
body the right (ortho) molecules, he asserted, most disease would be eradicated. 'Optimum
nutrition,' he said, 'is the medicine of tomorrow.'"
The book consists of nine parts ,each of which deals with a different field in optimum nutrition.
Part
one explains the principles of optimum nutrition while part two defines the perfect diet . Patrick
Holford says: " Eat lots of fresh fruit. Take a good antioxidant supplement daily. Don't
over-exercise...". Parts three, four and five prove the benefits of optimum nutrition, and part six
shows you how to put optimum nutrition into practice and design your own supplement program .
Part seven is an A to Z guide to specific health problems and how to heal them. The author
writes:
"ARTHRITIS: Antioxidant nutrients , essential fats and vitamins B5 reduce inflammation....Diet
advice and supplements...". BREAST CANCER, DEPRESSION and a number of other diseases
are
mentioned in this section. Part eight is a guide to nutrients : B12 What it does, Deficiency signs
,How much, Best food source, and Best supplement.
At the end of the book there is a section on Recommended Reading, References, Useful addresses
(such as : Arica Institute-N.York, British Society of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine )
,and
a Directory of Supplement Companies : Health Plus, Higher Nature, Solgar and other.
On the last page of his book Patrick Holford displays I.O.N. (The Institute for Optimum
Nutrition)
which runs several courses- such as a home study one -workshops, offers consultations and a
membership.
"Twenty years have passed since I discovered optimum nutrition," says the author. "I am now
completely convinced that the concept of optimum nutrition is the greatest step forward in
medicine
this century and, if applied from an early age, is a guarantee for a long and healthy life."
To sum up, this book shows you precisely how to boost your immune system , to increase your
energy and fitness levels, to prevent cancer and heart disease, to increase your IQ, memory and
mental performance.
Packed with excellent advice and unique questionnaires, The Optimum Nutrition Bible helps you
discover which nutrients you need to supplement and how to create your own personal
supplement
program in order to reach your maximum potential for health, vitality and longevity. It is
undoubtedly a highly informative, brilliant guide that caters for everyone who wishes to stay
healthy
and live long.
Related Titles by Patrick Holford:
100% Health
Say No to Heart Disease
Balancing Hormones Naturally
Boost Your Immune system
The Whole Health Manual
Elemental Health
Optimum Nutrition
How To protect Yourself from Pollution
Supernutrition for a Healthy Heart
The Better Pregnancy Diet
Say No to Arthritis
The Fatburner Diet
Living Food
Mental Health and Illness-The Nutrition Connection
Related Journals:
Optimum Nutrition-Journal of I.O.N.
Fax: 020-8877 9980
e-mail: info@ionac.uk
web : www.ion.ac.uk
How To Write For Children And Get Published
Louise Jordan
Piatkus, Judy Piatkus (publishers) Ltd
5 Windmill Street, London W1P 1HF
aperback, ISBN 0-7499-1880-2, UK œ 9.99, 186pp, Highly Recommended
Louise Jordan has worked for many years in children's publishing. She is currently a reader for
Puffin
and runs The Writers Advice Center for Children's books ( tel /fax 0181-874 7347 London, UK )
, a
literary consultancy service.
There are many books in the market for new writers, but very few for children's book writers, so,
this book is the essential guide for all those who don't know how to go about it.
How To Write For Children is not just another how-to book , it is a self-study mini course,
teaching
thoroughly the aspiring writer how to approach children's writing and succeed. 'Treat this book
rather as you would a correspondence course,' Louise writes: 'Start at the beginning with Lesson
One and progress through to the end of the book.'
Packed with excellent advice and practical exercises, this book includes invaluable information on
the market, the technique of writing, the presentation of work and publisher approach. It is a
comprehensive guide exploring every aspect of children's writing as the reader can find here all
kinds
of markets, all genres of children's writing , as well as practical exercises at the end of each
chapter.
'Find a published picture book that you feel works well,' Louise says. 'Using your own idea and
text ,
copy the lay out , trying to keep to approximately the same number of words.'
There are seventeen chapters in all, each one dealing with a separate topic. Abundant advice is
also
included on how to write a plot, to create a strong character and how to approach a publisher.
'The
main thing to remember when submitting a manuscript is not to give the publisher any excuse to
reject your work without proper consideration. Publishers want to find good new writers ...', the
author advises..
At the end of the book , there is an appendix with useful addresses of organizations, publications,
and training centers. On the last pages there is a Prizes and Awards section . The Macmillan Prize,
The Children's Book Award, Mother Goose Award and Signal Poetry Award are only a few of
the
list. To sum up, in this book you have all the advice and information you need at your fingertips
.
How To Write For Children is a highly informative, useful, clearly laid out , home study- course
book that caters for all those who wish to enter the world of children's writing . It fills the reader
with loads of invaluable information , advice and practical exercises that are absolutely necessary
to
have and master in order to get published.
An excellent book the new writer or the writer-to-be cannot simply afford to be without it.
Related titles:
The Essential A-Z of Creative Writing , Cassell
The Fiction Writer's Handbook , Piatkus
Writing Your Life Story, Piatkus
501 Writers' Questions Answered, Piatkus
All the above are written by Nancy Smith, collaborator at The Writers Advice Center.
Related magazines:
Children's Book News, Book Trust, UK, Website: www.booktrust.org.uk
e-mail: kim@booktrust.org.uk
Liana Metal
Reviewer
Lori Lake's Bookshelf
High Intensity
Belle Reilly
Renaissance Alliance Publishing, Inc.
PMB 238, 8691 9th Ave., Port Arthur, TX 77642
2002, $18.99, 360 pps., ISBN 1930928335 , www.rapbooks.biz
Veronique "Ricky" Bouchard, a French-Canadian mountaineer, signs on to help guide a trek to
the
top of the formidable Mt. Everest. She's reached the summit twice before and comes to the
expedition with more background and knowledge than the trip leaders and the odd assortment of
experienced and greenhorn climbers. New York stockbroker Allison Peabody is a thrill-seeker
who
has spent considerable time and money on dangerous and extreme sports, unconsciously trying to
get a reaction from her distant and uncaring parents. She ponies up the $70,000 to join the
expedition, and that's how she and the taciturn, mysterious Ricky Bouchard meet.
The story is essentially an adventure/romance, but not just between the two women; it's also about
the age-old romance climbers have with a mountain that is awesome, unforgiving, and changing
hourly before one's eyes. The novel is long and filled with beautiful descriptions of the trek,
including information about real-life climbers, some of whom failed and others who succeeded at
reaching Everest's summit.
Mountain climbers have to ascend and attempt to acclimate to the altitude, then come back down,
then ascend again, going a little further each time. Reilly tends to start chapters in media res, then
go
back and tell the reader some of what has transpired, and move on. Stylistically, the narrative ends
up mimicking the ups and downs of the expedition, and the book builds in drama the higher the
group climbs. Every step of the way, the reader wonders if anybody will make it to the top, and if
so, who will it be? And will they make it back or be lost in an avalanche or accident? High
Intensity
is a satisfying read.
Emerald City Blues
Jean Stewart
Rising Tide Press
P.O. Box 30457, Tuscon, AZ 85751
1996, 228 pp, $11.99, ISBN 1883061091
In the autumn of her seventeenth year, Morgan Flynn is studying up a storm with hopes of getting
into a good college. She's from a small town in Washington state and longs to escape the
increasingly brutal beatings her father inflicts upon her. But when she is caught making love-with
a
girl, no less-her father beats her worse than ever before, and she knows she has no choice but to
flee.
She goes across the Cascade Mountains to Seattle where she inadvertently rescues another street
kid, Reb, from the local street gang. The Ghouls have been trying to force Reb to join them, but
entry requires a beating which she refuses to take. Reb has been on her own for two years and is
quite adept at heisting what she needs. Morgan, nicknamed "Flynn," latches onto Reb for help in
surviving.
Increasingly desperate, especially after Flynn falls ill with pneumonia, the two girls end up
crossing
paths with Chris Olson, a middle class lesbian mourning the death of her lover. Will Chris be able
to
help them? And will they allow her if she is willing?
Both the confused newcomer, Flynn, and Reb, the hardened street kid, are compelling characters,
as
is Chris and her neighbor/love interest, Jennifer. Jean Stewart has done a marvelous job rendering
the fear, desperation, and canny strengths of youth who find themselves out on the street. Studies
have shown that a significant number of runaways are gay and lesbian teens, and Reb, in
particular,
fits the profile.
Stewart is the gifted author of four other futuristic adventure/romance books in the "Isis" series,
and
readers of those novels will find this story very different, but just as compelling. Highly
recommended.
Lori L. Lake
Reviewer
Kinni's Bookshelf
Start With No: The Negotiating Tools That The Pros Don't Want You To Know
Jim Camp
Crown Business
c/o The Crown Publishing Group
299 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10171
263 pp, $22.95, ISBN 0609608002, 1-800-726-0600
The book of the month is negotiation coach Jim Camp's counterintuitive take on cutting a great
deal.
Camp rejects the widely practiced win/win strategy as "the worst possible way to get the best
possible deal." The book is full of practical advice, including: eliminating emotion and need from
your behavior; relaxing your opponents; and identifying your adversary's pain, the real budget and
the true decision makers.
The Partnering Intelligence Fieldbook
Stephen Dent and Sandra Naiman
Davies-Black Publishing
3803 East Bayshore Road, Palo Alto, CA 94303
264 pp, $39.95, ISBN 0891061665, 1-800-624-1765
The Partnering Intelligence Fieldbook: Tools And Techniques For Building Strong Alliances For
Your Business is a fieldbook and supplement to the the earlier book Partnering Intelligence, and
adds practical details to Dent's partnering concepts. Its assessments and exercises are designed to
help build your Partnering Quotient, a set of six personal attributes for effective collaboration, and
improve your ability to use the Partnership Continuum Model, a four-stage partnership
development
cycle.
Building Public Trust: The Future Of Corporate Reporting
Samuel DiPiazza and Robert Eccles
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
605 Third Avenue, 4th floor, New York, NY 10158-0012
188 pp, $24.95, ISBN 0471261513, 1-800-225-5945
DiPiazza, CEO of PricewaterhouseCoopers, and senior fellow Eccles offer up their solution to the
current accounting crisis in this timely book. They call for a "three-tier model of corporate
transparency," incorporating global GAAPs (generally accepted accounting standards),
industry-specific standards, and company-specific information, all delivered in XBRL, a new
financial software language.
Breakthrough Business Negotiation: A Toolbox For Managers
Michael Watkins
Jossey-Bass, Inc.
350 Sansome Street, 5th floor, San Francisco, CA 94104-1342
290 pp, $35, ISBN 0787960128, 1-800-225-5945
Harvard Business School's Watkins says complexity is the primary characteristic of today's
business
negotiations. In Part One, negotiating is described in terms of four-tasks (diagnosis, shaping,
process
management, and assessment) that have both "at the table" and "away from the table"
components.
Part Two presents tools for dealing with common challenges, such as overcoming power
imbalances, building coalitions, and crisis negotiating.
Technomanifestos: Visions From The Information Revolutionaries
Adam Brate
Texere Publishing
55 East 52nd Street, New York, NY 10055
371 pp, $29.95, ISBN 1587991039, 1-800-233-4830
Brate traces the intellectual development of the Information Revolution from 1940 to today
through
the life stories and writings of the people who created and influenced it. The reader is introduced
to
personalities and ideas ranging from Norbert Wiener and cybernetics to Marshall McLuhan and
the
global village to Bill Joy and his apocalyptic vision of a future in which humans could be
subordinate
to self-evolving machines.
Communication Miracles At Work
Matthew Gilbert
Conari Press
2550 9th Street, Suite 101, Berkeley, CA 94710-2551
246 pp, $14.95, ISBN 1573248029, 1-800-685-9595
The aim of Matthew Gilbert's accessible paperback Communication Miracles At Work: Effective
Tools And Tips For Getting The Most From Your Work Relationships, is to help readers
overcome
the common personal and organizational barriers to healthy, open communication. Consultant
Gilbert explores how corporate culture, personality styles, and gender relations impact
relationships
and offers practical advice for dealing with colleagues at all levels, customers, and groups.
Go To Market Strategy
Lawrence Friedman
Butterworth-Heinemann
294 pp, $29.95, ISBN 0750674601
The successful go-to-market strategy is an integrated multi-channel model, according to sales
consultant Friedman. In Go To Market Strategy: Advanced Techniques And Tools For Selling
More
Products, To More Customers, More Profitably, he offers a framework for crafting such a
strategy
that is built on targeting your markets, aligning with customers, choosing the best channels, and
ensuring the fit with your offerings and value proposition.
Mediation For Managers: Resolving Conflict And Rebuilding Relationships At Work
John Crawley and Katherine Graham
Nicholas Brealey Publishing
3704 Beard Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN 55422
227 pp, $19.95, ISBN 1857883152, 1-888-273-2539
Mediation offers managers a way to resolve conflict without imposing solutions, say this pair of
UK-based conflict resolution experts. Their book describes a practical three-phrase (separate
sessions, assessment, joint meeting) mediation process, the skills needed to execute it, and
explores
strategies for guiding associates through common workplace conflicts.
The Seeds Of Innovation: Cultivating The Synergy That Fosters New Ideas
Elaine Dundon
Amacom Books
1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
241 pp, $24.95, ISBN 0814471463, 1-800-250-5308
Innovation is the "profitable implementation of strategic creativity," according to consultant
Dundon. Her book describes a nine-step innovation process that serves as the basis for achieving
three innovation challenges: the generation of creative ideas; the connection of those ideas to the
organizational strategy and their profitable development; and the transformation into an
innovation-driven organization.
The Heart Of Change: Real-life Stories Of How People Change Their Organizations
John Kotter and Dan Cohen
Harvard Business School Press
60 Harvard Way, Boston, MA 02163
190 pp, $20, ISBN 1578512549, 1-800-668-6780
If you want to generate change, say leadership guru Kotter and consultant Cohen, get emotional.
Using thirty-four stories, the duo explores the most critical issue in each stage of the 8-step
change
process first introduced in Kotter's bestseller, Leading Change. The authors conclude that human
behavior is the biggest barrier to successful change and the best way to change behavior is by
"speaking to people's feelings."
Making Markets: How Firms Can Design And Profit From Online Auctions And Exchanges
Ajit Kambil and Eric van Heck
Harvard Business School Press
60 Harvard Way, Boston, MA 02163
224 pp, $29.95, ISBN 1578516587, 1-800-668-6780
This exploration of the wreckage of the first wave of electronic markets and its survivors focuses
on
lessons for undaunted e-market builders. Using research based on the study of over 100 ventures,
the authors explain the characteristics of environments conducive to e-markets, critical design
factors, and key implementation issues.
Strategic Staffing: A Practical Toolkit For Workforce Planning
Thomas Bechet
Amacom
1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
337 pp, $79.95, ISBN 0814407285, , 1-800-250-5308
This handbook for HR professionals explains how to design, implement, and measure the results
of
staffing plans that support an organization's short and long-term business strategies. The goal is a
proactive approach to workforce planning that allows you to forecast future personnel needs,
eliminate talent gaps, and maximize the utilization of human capital. (Includes a CD featuring
staffing templates, Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint educational presentations.)
Getting To Closed: A Proven Program To Accelerate The Sales Cycle And Increase
Commissions
Stephan Schiffman
Dearborn Trade
155 North Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60606-1719
156 pp, $17.95, ISBN 0793153891, 1-800-621-9621
Sales is a "ratios game," says consultant Schiffman, and you must understand where each
prospective customer stands in the sales process in order to improve those ratios. Toward that
end,
he offers a simple work board-based Prospect Management System ("as used by over 100,000
salespeople") that tracks customers through six sales stages, thus enabling salespeople to better
direct their efforts and to more accurately forecast their results.
Theodore Kinni, Reviewer
http://home1.gte.net/bizbooks
Gorden's Bookshelf
Murder By The Book
Bob Liter
Renaissance E Books
P.O. Box 494, Clemmons, North Carolina 27012
isbn: 1-58873-106-5 price: $4.00 electronic download Copyright 2002, 118 pages,
www.renebooks.com
Murder By The Book is the equivalent of comfort food for the reader of detective mysteries. It is
the
type of story you read with smoky jazz playing on your stereo and a snifter of brandy sitting on
the
table next to you. It is written in the wordy first person narrative that you would expect in a
gumshoe story. It has all of the characters you look for, the police detective friend, the seedy dive
with the fatherly owner/bartender, a handful of beautiful - possibly dangerous - dames, the mob,
and
a body with hints of sexual perversion. It is the classic story type that originated in the 1930's and
has been reincarnated time and time again in TV/movies from Mike Hammer to the holodeck of
Star
Trek.
Nick Bancroft is/was an investigative reporter who inherited a detective agency with an attached
apartment. He moves into the apartment on purpose and the agency by accident. He is a beer
drinker, semi-pro bowler, a savior of a stray cat, and generally a good man who falls into the
strangest situations. A street bum, B.J., stops Nick on the street and tells him that he found a
naked
dead woman in the stands at the high school football field with a book on her lap. The dead
woman's
book turns out to be a sex etiquette manual with pages marked. Nick tries not to get involved but
things just seem to happen to him. Soon he is hired by the dead girl's father, flirting with the
secretary downstairs, getting wasted with his bar owner friend, Otto, and dodging thugs from the
Chicago mob. The only stability in his life is a stray cat that decides to adopt him.
Like macaroni and cheese, Murder By The Book is a mystery reader's meal for when the latest
nail-biting thriller or impossibly complex mystery is just too much. It is a story you reach for when
all you want is a good yarn and a chair to relax in. The only drawback to the tale is a fuzziness
near
the end. But for most readers that shouldn't be a problem, the brandy snifter will be empty by
then.
Mystic River
Dennis Lehane
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022
isbn: 0-38-073185-1 price: $7.99 US April 2002 496 pages
Lehane is a writer with a slightly skewed look at humanity. There are many ways for authors to
tell
their stories. Some will lock in on a storyline and hang the rest of the tale from it. Lehane finds
broken lives and builds the tale from there.
'Mystic River' is the well-told tale of boys from both the good and the bad side of the street
growing
up. We have read the story of friends growing up into adversaries many times. In the US, the
story is
usually about either the Italian or Irish mob with one boy growing up to become a mob boss and
another becoming a cop. Mystic River is about a town with two sides of the street, the poor Flats
and the middleclass Point. In the harshness of the world, two boys from the Flats play with one
from
the Point. A pair of pedophiles grab one of the boys off the street and instead of just three boys
playing, you have three lives dividing into a destiny of perverted violence.
Mystic River is a nicely twisted tale that has everything a reader of detective stories looks for. It is
one of the better written mysteries and it is easy to understand why Lehane has so many fans. The
problem with the book is that the focus is on the characters and not the story until halfway
through
the novel.
The Vendetta Defense
Lisa Scottoline
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022
isbn: 0-06-103142-9 price: $7.99 US March 2002 480 pages
Lisa Scottoline has developed a loyal following for her legal novels. Her stories differ from the
standard legal mysteries by her very strong characterizations. In The Vendetta Defense, her Italian
characters are so extreme that they overshadow the suspense but the story still has enough
balance
to be an enjoyable legal thriller.
Anthony Lucia, Pigeon Tony, kills Angelo Coluzzi, a life long enemy. The vendetta that
culminates
with Coluzzi's death started fifty years earlier with Angelo murdering Pigeon Tony's wife. Judy
Carrier, a hotshot in the Philadelphia law firm Rosato & Associates, takes his case. She soon finds
out that both her life and Pigeon Tony's will depend on how fast she can learn about Italian
vendettas and a crime family that learned its trade under Mussolini's fascism.
The Vendetta Defense is a fast reading story with more than enough suspense and a touch of
romance. The legal moves and the Italian/Philadelphian subculture are a little rough but the
storyline
has no problems carrying the tale through to the end. This story's unique construction makes it an
easy recommendation to any reader of legal thrillers.
S.A. Gorden
Reviewer
Harold's Bookshelf
Secrets of Power Negotiating: Inside Secrets from a Master Negotiator
Roger Dawson
Career Press
3 Tice Road. PO Box 687. Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417
ISBN: 1564143996 $24.99 Pages: 306
Secrets Of Power Negotiating is one of the most complete books on negotiation that I have ever
read. Logically organized, it carries the reader through the entire negotiation process. It covers
the
most common gambits and how to use them as well as how to defend against them.
The book is divided into seven sections. The first section is on negotiating gambits and principles.
Negotiating gambits include the common reluctant buyer/reluctant seller, handling impasses,
nibbling, positioning for easy acceptance and well as many, many others including unethical ones
like
the red herring. The second section is on how to resolve tough negotiating problems. The third
section covers how to use pressure points in negotiation. Then comes negotiating with
non-Americans followed by attitudes and beliefs of a power negotiator. Section six covers
developing power over the other side and section seven covers the various drives that motivate
people in a negotiation.
Simply one of the best books on negotiation, it is a highly recommended read and should be kept
near at hand for the occasional review whether to assist you in dealing with the car salesman, the
children, or anyone else you deal with.
Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior
David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D.
Hay House, Inc.
PO Box 5100, Carlsbad, CA 92018
ISBN: 1561709336, $14.95, 292 pages (Plus Appendix, Notes, Glossary)
For those who are not familiar with the basis of Kinesiology, the basic theory is that all living
things
have an energy field. This energy field is connected to all other energy fields in some way or
another.
In short, we are all connected to each other in some way. Nothing we say or do or that has been
said, done or felt occurs in a vacuum and so has an effect on energy. Because of this, everything
that
is or was is written into an energy record of the collective unconscious. The problem is how to
access this information. This is where David Hawkins and his research comes in.
Through thousands of scientific experiments David Hawkins and others have found that muscle
testing can be applied to determine when a field is positive or negative and things that change
those
fields. What makes Dr. Hawkins' research different is that while most kineseologists have worked
with the individual and concerned themselves with how an individual’s fields change based
on their views, he has worked with determining the truth of information that is not known to the
individual. How could this work? If everything is written into this collective unconscious then we
all
have access to it, we just don't know how we do or how to do it purposely. Enter Dr. Hawkins'
methods for how to access information on anything that has happened or is happening even if you
were not a party to the event yourself. Since you are accessing the record of the collective
unconscious it only applies to things that have happened or are happening and not to any future
event.
Written in a style that makes a fairly complex topic easy to understand and follow, the book is an
easy read, but demands close attention to the details. A recommended book for those interested in
such things, I will have to admit that I tested out some of his comments and found that they were
surprisingly accurate.
Plots Unlimited
Ashleywilde, Inc.
23852 Pacific Coast Highway, #132, Malibu, CA 90265
ISBN: 0962747602, $25.00, Pages: 296
Once you understand how to use the book Plots Unlimited you will never be short of a basic plot
line or subplot again. After reading through it, I sat down in front of the television, watched
several
modern shows and found the plot line for every one of them in the book. I flipped over to HBO
and
again found the storylines for each of the current movies in the book. This is not to say that the
book
will help you write a story, it helps only with the very basic plot line. A lot of would be writers
lacking imagination will have a hard time with this book because it does not write the story for
you.
Several years ago I was deeply involved in the study of magic tricks. At the time I had an
old-timer
tell me that there were no new tricks, only new ways of presenting the same old tricks. I did not
believe that at all because of the wonderful new tricks that David Copperfield and others
performed.
As I learned the secrets I found that he was indeed right. New methods were extremely rare,
almost
every "new"; trick was actually a masterful change of the surroundings, distractions, story line,
etc.
This book is the same sort of thing. It will provide you with the various changes and movements
through a good story line, but it is up to you to provide the background and breathe life into the
plot
so that it becomes spellbinding.
In the hands of a skilled writer or anyone with a strong imagination this book can provide
thousands
of combinations of plots and subplots from which to springboard into a wonderful piece of fiction.
A
recommended book for any serious writer with a decent imagination.
The Well-Fed Writer: Financial Self-Sufficiency As a Freelance Writer in Six Months or Less
Peter Bowerman
Fanove Publishing
3713 Stonewall Circle, Atlanta, GA 30339
ISBN: 0967059844 $19.95, 214 pages (Plus Appendixes and Index)
In The Well-Fed Writer; Peter Bowerman discloses the techniques of breaking into freelance
commercial writing. Why would this interest you if you plan to be the next star on the fiction
novel
scene? Because it would be nice to eat while you are writing that novel. On the other hand, if you
just want to change occupations, want a writer’s lifestyle or just want to make some
money
doing something you love, then this is still a viable direction to take.
This is one of the most thorough books on writing for corporate America that I have ever seen. It
includes such practical information as what type of writing you can get, approximate price ranges,
how to go about locating companies that need writing outsourced, marketing scripts, etc. It is a
complete step-by-step guide that takes you through a repeatable process to becoming recognized
as
a commercial writer and on your way to a career in writing.
While established writers may gain some additional valuable insights, this book is strongly focused
on the new writer trying to get established. A highly recommended book for anyone wanting to
start
making a living in freelance writing.
Make Peace With Anyone: Breakthrough Strategies to Quickly End Any Conflict, Feud, or
Estrangement
David Lieberman
St. Martin's Press
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
ISBN: 0312281544, $19.95, Pages: 208
One of my favorite writers on human behavior, David Lieberman, shares his insight and
understanding of conflict in this powerful work. He proposes that conflicts generally follow a
basic
recipe. The ingredients in the recipe are fear and a perceived loss of respect. If people
don’t
act or react the way we expect then we fear a loss of control. When we fear a loss of control or
perceive that there has been a loss of respect then our self-esteem is injured and we follow our
first
reaction to a loss of self-esteem, we fight back by turning it into anger. If this is the source of the
emotional factor in conflict then the solution is to provide the other party with the ability to regain
self-respect and at least some sense of control.
How to give this sense of control and self-esteem back to the other party is the focus of the book.
Lieberman takes you step by step through many scenarios so that you can learn how to adapt to a
situation and proactively make peace with anyone. Whether it is dealing with a long-standing
conflict
or stopping a problem before it gets out of hand, the book is filled with useful and practical
techniques that are sure to dramatically change your relationships with others for the better. A
highly
recommended read.
When Bad Christians Happen to Good People
Dave Burchett
Waterbrook Press
2375 Telstar Drive, Suite 160, Colorado Springs, CO 80920
ISBN: 1578564905, $11.99, Pages: 243
One of the best books available on how Christians continue to damage the cause of Christ, When
Bad Christians Happen To Good People: Where We Have Failed Each Other And How To
Reverse
The Damage is a must read. Mr. Burchett starts with an example from his own life involving his
daughter. She had a terminal physical condition that posed no threat to anyone. However, the
church
decided that she was unwelcome in the nursery because of her problems. Didn't Christ reach out
to
those in need? Didn't Christ spend most of his time dealing with those who were outside the
mainstream of society?
In a sad state of reversion to times gone by it seems that the modern Church has a lot in common
with the Pharisees of old. Don’t disturb our status quo, don't do anything that might make
our nice, pretty church not look like the best one in the community. Not only does that apply to
the
physical church but the people of the church also.
I have attended several churches with the problems mentioned in this book (unfortunately far
more
seem to have the problems than do not). From one that wanted the teenagers to participate in
taking
up the offering but only if they could get a nice suit jacket to ones that would forgive and accept
any
repentitant sinner into their group but would not forgive a repentitant member who made a
mistake.
While Burchett's criticism of the church can be caustic, he never makes a point that he does not
backup with a real life example and then also backs it up with specific Biblical concepts. If you
have
been injured by the church or know of others that have been then this book is for you. On the
other
hand, because we all are human and at various times commit many of the sins covered in this
book,
it should be required reading for all Christians.
Harold McFarland
Reviewer
Harwood's Bookshelf
Once Upon a Time: A True Story of Memory, Murder, and the Law
Harry N. MacLean
HarperCollins
10 East 53rd Street, New York 10022
ISBN 0-06-016543-X, hardcover, 485 pp.,
(OOP, but available new from BN.com from $12.01, or used paperback from half.com for under
$3.00 including shipping.)
"Mary Jane Larkin stood at the front of the classroom and looked out at the sea of small faces
staring up at her. Her hands rested lightly on her wooden desk, the same one she had used for the
past twenty-five years in teaching fourth and fifth grades at Foster City Elementary School. Next
to
her hands lay her open grade book, with the students' names neatly printed in alphabetical order,
and
pencils, bottles of glue and stacks of paper."
That fiction, for I can call it nothing else, is the first paragraph of what should have been the
definitive debunking of the delusion put into the mind of Eileen Franklin by an alleged therapist,
that
she had "recovered" a suppressed memory of a murder she had witnessed twenty years earlier.
Given
MacLean's ignorance of how nonfiction should be written, it is hardly surprising that his
combination
of first class investigation and untalented hack writing, including whole chapters in diary-type
present tense, did not receive the acclaim his analysis of the case that spawned the recovered
memory hoax certainly deserved, and is already out of print.
Nonetheless, to anyone who can get past the author's apparent belief that he was writing a
"nonfiction novel" (there is no such thing), Once Upon a Time is an extremely useful description
of
the case that gave the world a new superstition that in the decade it lasted destroyed hundreds of
lives. For the Franklin precedent predictably led copycat therapists to encourage their gullible
patients to fantasize childhood sexual abuse, and the new masturbation fantasies only became
unfashionable after several therapists whose patients accused innocent caregivers were
successfully
sued for damages as high as several million dollars.
The basics of the Franklin case can be summarized as follows. Eileen Franklin, a woman of whom
the psychobabble description "disturbed" is perhaps not a misnomer, and whose own mother
recognized her as a compulsive liar, was apparently having nightmares about witnessing a murder
before ever consulting a therapist. And it was in a dream that she first "saw" her father kill her
girlfriend. But it was her therapist who put her into the alleged state of hypnosis (there is no such
condition), and by telling her to "think back," encouraged her to elaborate on her dream by
incorporating all of the information about her childhood girlfriend's murder that had previously
been
published. (Eileen at no time provided accurate information not previously published.) At that
point
the therapist, no doubt visualizing her name in the Dictionary of Psychoquackery Biography,
deliberately manipulated Eileen into believing that her fantasy was a true memory that she had
"suppressed" (another psychobabble concept) for twenty years and had now "recovered." Eileen
reported her alleged recovered memory to the police. Her father was tried for murder, and he was
convicted. Only after several other "recovered memory" allegations were definitively falsified did
the
courts recognize that the concept of recovered memory is not supported by a single verifiable
case,
and George Franklin's conviction was overturned. But because a fantasy that has been recalled to
mind many times is indistinguishable from real memories, Eileen continues to believe (or so she
maintains) in the reality of her alleged memories, as do many other victims of the mind
manipulators,
even though there have been sufficient instances where the tales patients were encouraged to
mistake for recovered memories were proven to be pure fantasy, to conclude that recovered
memory
simply does not exist.
While I did not find the information in MacLean's book, I have to assume that the jury in George
Franklin's trial was not allowed to learn of Eileen's habitual lying, her erratic behavior, her cocaine
addiction, her drug overdose that either was or was not a suicide attempt, depending on who she
was telling about it, or her prostitution conviction. Those special circumstances might have been
sufficient to prevent them from accepting a new mythology (recovered memory) that should have
presented a credibility problem even from a reliable witness. And the fact of George Franklin
looking, to jurors who believed in the "honest face" myth, like someone capable of committing the
crime with which he was charged (as Ted Bundy did not), may also have contributed to his
conviction. As MacLean explains in his epilogue, "When the jury heard ... that he had sex with his
daughter, and all the rest [child beating, etc], he became subhuman. Seeing him as a monster, the
jurors were relieved of the normal anxiety one might have about making a mistake; if they
incorrectly convicted him of the murder, he certainly had committed other sufficiently heinous
crimes to warrant serious punishment." And Eileen's abusive treatment at her father's hands
"immunized her from the effects of her lying and constantly shifting and changing stories." In
other
words, the jury saw that she was a liar, but accepted her lying as a consequence of her traumatic
experiences.
The Franklin case became a movie starring Shelley Long, which unequivocally presented Eileen's
fantasy and her father's guilt as fact. At the time, a jury verdict supported such a slander. The
rerunning of the movie on a major network after Franklin's exoneration, with no disclaimer stating
that the conviction had been overturned and that "recovered memory" was a questionable
concept, is
surely grounds for a truly punitive lawsuit against the prostitutes to whom truth never has and
never
will outweigh ratings. I certainly hope so.
MacLean's book was published before George Franklin's conviction was overturned. His line,
"None
of which means that she didn't see her father murder Susan Nason," was probably his attempt to
appear objective even though the evidence he catalogued would have justified a conclusion that
Franklin's conviction was indefensible. Had this book been written a few years later, when the
fraudulence of the "recovered memory" psycho-drivel is an established fact, he would probably
have
been more willing to state categorically that, while the murder remains unsolved, there is no
reason
whatsoever to believe that Franklin did it.
Why People Believe Weird Things
Michael Shermer
Henry Holt & Company
115 West 18th Street, New York, NY 10011
ISBN 0-7167-3387-0, 306 pp., ppb, $16.00.
I sometimes wonder if I will ever find a book with which I am completely satisfied. Days ago I
berated Philip Plait's excellent Bad Astronomy for being written at a comprehension level that
made
it possible to read and understand it while simultaneously watching The Simpsons. Now I find
myself equally frustrated by Michael Sherman's excellent Why People Believe Weird Things, for
aiming at a much more sophisticated audience, with the consequence that it must be read slowly
and
carefully and with full concentration. This book was not written to entertain. It was written to
inform. Whether the evidence presented for Shermer's conclusions constitutes overkill, or simply
thoroughness and attention to detail, is in the eye of the beholder. Certainly the book achieves its
purpose, both in refuting nonsense beliefs, and in explaining, without resorting to psychobabble,
why
they are so prevalent.
If tabloid TV is any indication, the difference between science and pseudoscience is far from clear
to
most North Americans. Shermer defines the difference (pp. 33-34): "The search for
extraterrestrial
life is not pseudoscience because it is plausible, even though the evidence for it is thus far
nonexistent.... Alien abduction claims, however, are pseudoscience. Not only is physical evidence
lacking but it is highly implausible that aliens are beaming thousands of people into spaceships
hovering above the Earth without anyone detecting the spacecrafts or reporting the people
missing."
Several chapters demolish the visiting-aliens delusion, and explain its origin. For example (p. 95),
"The feedback loop was given a strong boost in late 1975 after millions watched NBC's The UFO
Incident, a movie on Betty and Barney Hill's abduction dreams. The stereotypical alien with a
large,
bald head and big, elongated eyes, reported by so many abductees since 1975, was created by
NBC
artists for the program." As to why abduction tales have similarities that True Believers cite as
corroboration (p. 97), "Yet I think we can expect consistencies in the stories since so many of the
abductees go to the same hypnotist, read the same alien encounter books, watch the same science
fiction movies, and in many cases even know one another and belong to 'encounter' groups."
On the pseudo-medicine of "recovered memory" that in the decade it was fashionable destroyed
thousands of innocent lives, Shermer notes (p. 110), "But what we appear to be experiencing ... is
not an epidemic of childhood sexual abuse but an epidemic of accusations. It's a witch craze, not a
sex craze." That paragraph is accompanied by a chart showing that accusations against parents
rose
steadily from a few dozen in January 1992 to almost 12,000 in March 1994. "Fortunately, the tide
seems to be turning in favor of the recovered memory movement being relegated to a bad chapter
in
the history of psychiatry." My one problem with that forecast is that I look forward to the day
when
psychiatry is relegated to a bad chapter in the history of medicine. "The parallels with
Trevor-Roper's description of how a medieval witch craze worked can be eerie." (p. 112)
Fortunately, the steam was knocked out of the recovered memory delusion when (p. 111) "a
six-member jury in Ramsey County, Minnesota, awarded $2.7 million" to a patient whose
psychiatrist "planted false memories of childhood sexual abuse." The patient "was diagnosed with
multiple personality disorder" [a psychobabble name for compulsive playacting]. The psychiatrist
"'discovered' no less than 100 personalities" caused by the patient being "sexually abused by her
mother, father, grandmother, uncles, neighbors, and many others." The patient's imaginary past,
constructed by the psychoquack, "even included Satanic ritual abuse featuring dead babies being
served as meals 'buffet style.' The jury didn't buy it."
On the ability of True Believers to see their own inadequacies in their opponents, Shermer writes
(p.
114), "A subtle form of projection is at work when fundamentalists make the accusation that
secular
humanism and evolution are 'religions' or announce that skeptics are themselves a cult and that
reason and science have cultic properties." I can confirm that. When I was trying to get
Mythology's
Last Gods published, the Canada Council referred it to a theologian (analogous to having James
Randi's debunking of psychics evaluated by Uri Geller), and the theologian declared that it is the
historians who start from predetermined conclusions and distort the evidence to make it fit.
Shermer classifies Ayn Rand's Objectivism as a cult. He writes (p. 123), "I have read Atlas
Shrugged, as well as The Fountainhead and all of Rand's nonfiction works. I accept much of
Rand's
philosophy, but not all of it." That passage is something I might have written myself. What makes
Objectivism a cult is that (p. 124), "But as soon as a group sets itself up as the final moral arbiter
of
other people's actions, especially when its members believe they have discovered absolute
standards
of right and wrong, it marks the beginning of the end of tolerance, and thus reason and
rationality....
Its absolutism was the biggest flaw in Ayn Rand's Objectivism, the unlikeliest cult in history."
One of Shermer's topics surprised me, since I was unaware that such a nonsense belief had
sufficient
adherents to warrant granting it the dignity of a rebuttal, but Shermer's statistics show that it is far
more pervasive than most people realize. He writes (p. 131), "Of all the claims we have
investigated
at Skeptic, I have found only one that I could compare to creationism for the ease and certainty
with
which it asks us to ignore or dismiss so much existing knowledge. That is Holocaust denial.
Further,
the similarities between the two in their methods of reasoning are startling." And on pages
206-207,
"The development of the Holocaust denial movement has striking parallels with the development
of
other fringe movements. Since deniers are not consciously modeling themselves after, for
example,
the creationists, we may be tracking an ideological pattern common to fringe groups trying to
move
into the mainstream." A particularly strong argument against the deniers is (p. 241) "During his
trial,
Eichmann never denied the Holocaust. His argument was that 'these crimes had been legalized by
the
state' and therefore the people that 'issued the orders' are responsible."
Shermer quotes 25 arguments for their position presented by creationists, and annihilates them
one
by one. For example (p. 147), the creationists claim, "Population statistics demonstrate that if we
extrapolate backward from the present population using the current rate of population growth,
there
were only two people living approximately 6,300 years before the present." Shermer's rebuttal is,
"Applying their model, we find that in 2600 B.C.E. the total population on Earth would have been
around 600 people. We know with a high degree of certainty that in 2600 B.C.E. there were
flourishing civilizations in Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Indus River Valley, and China. If we give
Egypt
an extremely generous one-sixth of the world's population, then 100 people built the
pyramids."
Shermer's accounts of his appearances on the Phil Donohue and Oprah Winfrey shows prove only
that everyone connected with such programs is as scientifically literate as a Canada goose. So
what
else is new? On psychic hotlines (p. 276), "The goal is to keep callers on the line long enough to
turn
a good profit but not so long that they refuse to pay the phone bill." And his invalidation of the
concept of "race" includes the observable reality that (pp. 247-248), "Darwin noted that
naturalists
in his time cited anywhere from two to sixty-three different races of Homo sapiens. Today there
are
anywhere from three to sixty races, depending on the taxonomist.... Europeans are an
intermediate
hybrid population of 65 percent Asian genes and 35 percent African genes.... Recent research
shows,
in fact, that if a nuclear war exterminated all humans but a small band of Australian Aborigines, a
full
85 percent of the variability of Homo sapiens would be preserved."
And in summary (p. 275), "More than any other, the reason people believe weird things is because
they want to. It feels good. It is comforting. It is consoling. According to a 1996 Gallup poll, 96
percent of American adults believe in God." Since belief in "God" is a prerequisite for belief in an
afterlife, without which one sixth of the human race would have to be institutionalized and
diapered,
that is hardly surprising. And Shermer states that, "Similarly, to the frequently asked question,
'What
is your position on life after death?' my standard response is, 'I'm for it, of course.' The fact that I
am
for life after death does not mean I'm going to get it. But who wouldn't want it?" And whereas
True
Believers ask nontheists, "What have you got to lose?" Shermer notes that (p. 278), "by focusing
on
a life to come, we miss out what we have in this life." Pie in the sky when you die, anyone? All it
will
cost you is a lifetime of superstition, masochism, and auto-reinforced brain death.
(Note that, since a new edition with an added chapter is in press, the 1997 edition can be ordered
from Skeptic.com for $5 while stocks last.)
Galactic Rapture
Tom Flynn
Prometheus Books
59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228
1573927546. $20.00, 500 pp., paperback,
First published in The Ulster Humanist, Nov/Dec 2000.
To say that Galactic Rapture is delightful, entertaining reading is just another way of saying I am a
science fiction fan. And to say that it camouflages a clear and present evil as a fantasy of the
future is
to say that it is typical science fiction.
For more than sixty years, science fiction was the only medium through which any valid moral
philosophy could be sneaked past the Religious Right. Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange
Land
annihilated the masochistic dogma that sex is intrinsically evil and can only be justified by a permit
from the ruling theocracy. Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End presented a thoughtful and
innovative
view of the Christian devil. Isaac Asimov, in his last Foundation novel, showed a closed society
objecting vehemently to the suggestion that it practised the long-discredited nonsense of religion,
even though its mores were thinly disguised Judaism. And then there was 1984, which satirized
totalitarian Anglican Christianity by comparing it to totalitarian Soviet communism, and would
never
have got past the censors if the publisher had not pressured Orwell into pretending it was about
the
future by changing its original title, 1949, to 1984.
Galactic Rapture centers around a self-proclaimed messiah named Arn Parek, whose resemblance
to
Jimmy Swaggart, Oral Roberts and Sun Myung Moon cannot be unintentional. And in showing
the
Catholic and Mormon churches of the future consciously falsifying history to maintain their
credibility, Flynn is doing nothing more than extrapolating from the past and present. Does
anyone
really believe the Vatican does not know the Turin shroud is a fake? Or that the Mormon
hierarchy
does not know that Joseph Smith was a humbug who plagiarized The Book of Mormon from an
unpublished historical novel by Solomon Spaulding? Flynn's characters continue a
long-established
tradition.
Consider a Vatican rabble-rouser's speech to an army recruited to fight the opposition messiah,
Arn
Parek (p. 216): "You will be called to fight. Some of you ... will taste death on the field of battle.
But fear not! Be uncompromising, for to compromise is a sure sign of not possessing the truth."
Crusade, anyone? As for Parek's claim that he only practises deception on the ninety percent of
the
time that his powers fail him, raising the possibility that at some level he is his own most gullible
dupe, I offer two words: Uri Geller.
While Galactic Rapture will outrage the more dogmatic Catholics and Mormons, the two religions
portrayed most unflatteringly, I seriously doubt that it will provoke "the first Mormon fatwa," a
possibility Flynn raises in his Acknowledgements (p. 12). Most Mormons are already aware, and I
quote again, of "the thoroughness and authority with which (Mormonism's) claims have been
debunked" (p. 11), and simply do not care, any more than most Catholics feel threatened by the
fifty
other virgin-born savior gods who rose from the dead on the third day centuries and millennia
before
Jesus. So a novel in which serial Christs turn up at irregular intervals on various planets will just
as
easily he shrugged off.
The cover blurb describes Galactic Rapture as "an iconoclastic, darkly hilarious epic, packed with
hypocritical cardinals, scheming Mormons, religious bunco artists, and cynical media manipulators
...
a fast paced and engaging satire on the power of worship and 'infotainment' in the future." Well
put,
and accurate.
Galactic Rapture is not, in my estimation, a potential Hugo or Nebular winner (I would love to be
wrong). And it will not appeal to the minority of science fiction fans who see religion as
something
other than the cause of ninety percent of all man-made evil for at least 3,000 years. But for the
majority who enjoyed the aforementioned titles, not merely for their literary skills but also for
their
message, it is not to be missed.
Science: Good, Bad and Bogus
Martin Gardner
Prometheus Books
59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228
ISBN 0-87975-144-4, HC, 408 pp. (Amazon.com, used, $4.50)
Most Prometheus books disappear from the publisher's trade catalogue (but not from their
website
catalogue) after two or three years. Science: Good, Bad and Bogus is still in the current catalogue
21 years after its first hardcover publication. As far as I am aware, it was Prometheus's only
bestseller, at least partly due to its receiving a rave review in Time, August 10, 1981. While some
chapters have been superseded as the definitive exposition of a particular subject (Gardner's essay
on
Conan Doyle cannot compete with Massimo Polidoro's Final S‚ance, or his comments on Uri
Geller
with James Randi's The Truth About Uri Geller), this is still, after two decades, the most
complete,
all-embracing expos‚ of superstitious hogwash available on this planet.
In his introduction (p. xiv), Gardner distinguishes between two kind of disinformation peddlers:
"Cranks by definition believe their theories, and charlatans do not, but this does not prevent a
person
from being both crank and charlatan." And the prevalence of both is highlighted by the statistic on
page 190 that America (at the time of writing) had 20,000 astrologers and only 2000 astronomers.
I
seriously doubt that the proportions are any less obscene in 2002.
Gardner's chapter on "Magic and Paraphysics" thoroughly refutes the common delusion that
scientists are particularly skilled at investigating claims of the paranormal. As Gardner notes (pp.
91-92), "When a person is mystified by a good magic trick it is because he can't figure out how
the
magician did it. When a physicist is mystified by an unexpected observation it is because he can't
figure out how the universe did it. The big difference, of course, is that the universe plays fair....
Any
magician will tell you that scientists are the easiest persons in the world to fool.... Unless he has
been
thoroughly trained in the underground art of magic, and knows its peculiar principles, he is easier
to
deceive than a child."
That observation was borne out in spades when Harold Puthoff and Russell Targ, both with
Ph.D.s
in physics, examined magician Uri Geller and pronounced his fifth-rate conjuring tricks genuine
paranormal phenomena. Gardner's self-evident summary, that parapsychologists to this day refuse
to
grasp, is (p.318) "If magicians can reproduce a psychic's bag of tricks it does not prove him a
charlatan, but it enormously increases the probability that he is, and it makes mandatory the
presence
of a knowledgeable magician in any laboratory test of the psychic that can be taken
seriously."
Part Two of Gardner's book is a reprint of book reviews first written for the New York Review of
Books and elsewhere. He praises, among others, books by C. E. M. Hansel, Milbourne
Christopher,
and Carl Sagan, while demolishing scientifically illiterate drivel such as endorsements of
spiritualist
Arthur Ford, faithhealer Ruth Carter Stapleton, mountebank Uri Geller, talking apes, and the
ridiculous paean to ignorance, Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
In the words of the publisher, "Martin Gardner examines the rich and hilarious variety of
pseudoscientific conjectures which dominate the modern media. With a special emphasis on
parapsychology and occultism, these witty pieces advocate the need for better controls in
parapsychological research and the even greater need for better public understanding of the
difference between good and bad science."
In summary, I can only endorse the opinion expressed by Isaac Asimov: "There are all too few
clear-thinking and brave individuals willing to speak out in favor of Sense and Science. One of the
best, the coolest, and the most indomitable is Martin Gardner, and in this book he neatly impales
the
foe with his clear wit.... Absolutely fascinating!"
William Harwood
Reviewer
Hodgins' Bookshelf
Red Dog
Louis de Bernieres
Alfred A. Knopf Canada
ISBN 0676973919; price Can.$24.95; 119 pp. incl. Glossary of Australianisms
Pantheon Books
ISBN: 0375421556; price $21.00; 199 pp.
Louis de Bernie`res (once again, sorry about the incorrect accent) is credited in a dust-jacket
blurb
with four "previous bestselling novels", including "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" which was made a
movie a year or so ago.
In this case, de Bernieres, happened upon a bronze statue, standing outside the little north-coastal
town of Dampier in Western Australia, to a very special dog, and went about collecting tales and
insights concerning this animal first named Tally Ho, then Red Dog, and, as is a fate common to
red-haired beings in Australia, even "Bluey".
The book in itself is of an interesting format for anyone who tries to make sense of such things.
What, for instance, does "trade book" mean? Well, apparently it is NOT a book like "Red Dog",
at
all events! Three enquiries have produced three mutually inconsistent definitions of "trade book",
based upon (1) size, (2) production quality, and (3) contents ... and this book fits none of those
notions.
That is, by being "the size of a man's hand", this volume is of "pocket" size, too small for "trade
book" status. At the same time, "Red Dog", printed and bound in Hong Kong, is of top quality
construction, with an embossed, coloured dust jacket, cloth-covered hard covers and cloth
binding,
high quality paper and many pages having red as well as black printing, and numerous Alan Baker
illustrations; in short, its quality is too high for a trade book. Then again, its contents do not
conform
to the rather short list of subjects considered by my third source to be "trade".
What is it, then? It's something of a puzzle, if you happen to be of the perverse sort who would
like
to understand the terms so carelessly bandied about within the literary industry. I'm not even sure
of
my ground in calling it a book for young adults, although this would be my first guess; it makes
very
easy reading, and indeed I finished the entire volume in a few hours although I'm not at all a
speed-reader - but is it normal for young adults' books to focus this much attention on a dog's
dreadful "bombs", which the Glossary translates from the Australian argot as farts?
The illustrations help bring the story to life, certainly, but at the same time they replace quite a lot
of
text. Here's how a certain amount of space is occupied in the middle of this book. Page 65 (ending
part 1) has a drawing of a swallow in its empty last quarter. Page 66 is blank. Page 67 has "PART
TWO / The Dog of the North-West" at the top, and the dog's drawing in profile at the bottom.
Page
68 is blank. Page 69 has another drawing in its top half, with the text beginning again in the lower
half. No wonder the book makes a quick read! It's quick but generally pleasant work,
though.
You may also call the book a memorial to an extraordinary animal, cut off at age eight in what
might
have been his midlife, by the dreadful death of strychnine poisoning. However, Red Dog's quality
of
life was by then badly deteriorating. In part because, owing to his indiscriminate eating habits, it
often had transpired that nobody could stand being inside a vehicle with him, he had been
consigned
to ride in many a trailer or back of a "ute" (pickup truck) - from which precarious positions he had
not infrequently jumped or fallen.
For this was a dog of great wanderlust, raised initially within a human family but soon deciding to
strike out on his own, to live a travelling life. He thus became the temporary companion of
everyone
(a dog-hating minority excepted) but the properly of none. Perhaps he even inspired TV's doggie
series, "The Littlest Hobo"? He grew well travelled over long distances; for, quite apart from his
own great ability to get about afoot, he was widely known throughout his vast territory, and an
expert at hitching rides in all sorts of road vehicles, even in railway trains.
The book "Red Dog" will make a quality gift to young people whose upbringing isn't unduly
strict,
or an enjoyable if brief read for animal lovers especially, although "Bluey"'s persecution by
gun-happy rednecks, and his horrifying end by poisoning, may be found quite depressing.
The Wolf Hunt
Gillian Bradshaw
Forge Books/Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
ISBN 0-312-87332-8; price USA $24.95, Can.$35.95; 380pp.
To quote from the brief Author's Note on an unnumbered page 381: "This novel is based on the
`Lai
de Bisclavret' by the twelfth-century poet Marie de France, a talented woman whose works
deserve
to be better known. I have set it at the end of the eleventh century, but, as befits a medieval
romance, the history is not entirely exact." It may be added that French or Norman as she
apparently
was, Marie de France spent most of her life in England, at the court of Henry II - which, says
Encyclopaedia Britannica, "was very literary and purely French."
The word "lai" is of English origin as "lay", a sung mediaeval poem as in Sir Walter Scott's "The
Lay
of the Last Minstrel". Just how closely "The Wolf Hunt" novel is based on the lai would take
considerable study to determine, but the story is clearly not a pure Gillian Bradshaw invention. It
thus might conceivably be more proper to have included "and Marie de France" among the cover
and flyleaf credits.
This is a feudal tale of shallowness and depth, ambition, greed, betrayal, loss, and redemption, so
well told as to fascinate us despite certain aspects too far-fetched for moderns to believe but only
accept - aspects which were, however, widely believed a millennium ago.
During the era indicated on page 381, the type of military service that was "in flower", as the
cliche'
has it, was known in English as knighthood, or in French as la chevalerie, "cheval" meaning
"horse",
"chevalier" meaning more than just "horseman" but in fact "knight", and the whole French word
"chevalerie" having been anglicized as "chivalry".
Such other word relationships also interest me as the Anglo-Saxon "knight"'s evident derivation
from the German "Knecht", nowadays defined as "servant, farm labourer, menial, jack" - for such
was presumably the lowly origin of the knightly class, however much elevated it was to become
through familiarity and assimilation, favour and reward, and even intermarrying in royal and noble
courts.
Also interesting is the Swedish word for knight, "riddare" (pronounced in three syllables), which
closely resembles "rider"; for English and Swedish are related as Germanic tongues.
"The Wolf Hunt"'s tale begins in the Northern French province of Normandy, a part of ancient
Gaul
ceded in 911 a.d. to the Viking or Northman (softened to "Norman") invaders to end their
plundering and rapine, with the later additions of Bessin and Maine. Note also that the Norman
invasion of England in 1066 occurred 155 years after that pacification in Normandy; seven or
more
Norman generations had by then occupied that land, depending on the average age of parents at
childbirth in those times of short lives and limited if any education.
Normandy had been the home territory of William the Conqueror and his tribe. Their association
with the Anglo-Saxons of England cannot have endeared the continental Normans to the Bretons,
their neighbours living in Brittany to the immediate west and south; for the forebears of the
Bretons
had been Britons, forced out of the English ("Angle-ish") part of Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon
invasion of some centuries earlier.
Bretons and Normans may still have been affected through tradition by those clashes of past
history,
and the Dukes of Brittany and Normandy were now rivals if not exactly foes. It thus was a matter
of
great concern when a young, aspirant nun, heiress to a considerable estate formerly within
Brittany
but brought into Normandy when her grandfather had changed sides, was in effect kidnapped in
Normandy by three masquerading knights and abducted into Brittany, with the intent of having
her
marry there so as to bring back the lost territory.
Once having crossed a specified river, with the exception of a later visit to Paris the scene
switches
permanently to Brittany, where the girl, bound by family honour not to change sides again,
stubbornly refuses her apparent destiny and escapes the knights' custody. She sets out by night to
walk back to Normandy by some devious route where the knights mightn't find her. However, she
loses her way in a wood where she meets a wolf, three robbers whose Breton language she, as a
Norman, can't understand but whose intention clearly is to rape her, and then, in answer to her
screams, a bilingual (Breton - French) knight, plainly clad in green and prowling the forest afoot
without horse, hound, or armour, whose arrows kill the two minor assailants although their chief
escapes.
This knight is, however, of a rather unorthodox sort as his compulsive, mysterious forest
ramblings
first demonstrate. Nor is the extraordinarily ugly, boar-like "wolf" depicted on this volume's dust
jacket of the orthodox lupine sort; it is in fact the bisclavret (Breton word) in the title of Marie de
France's "lai", bisclavret meaning in French un loup-garou, or in English, a werewolf. Wolves as a
rule are fine, handsome animals and so, never having heard that werewolves are ugly, I suppose
this
specimen simply was badly painted.
Here we begin flirting with a supernatural world having not only a werewolf, or perhaps even two
of
them, but also rumours of "the Fair Ones" who seem to be fairies under a slightly different
name.
I personally tend to view such turns in a story much as I'd view cracks in a dam: - as signs of
incipient disintegration (future loss of integrity) in a structure upon which we have come to
depend.
However, in historic times people have believed in all sorts of imaginary things, while in this tale
the
fairy stuff isn't laid on in a you-must-believe way. Even the werewolf aspect seems no more
incredible than, say, an extreme shoot-'em-up Hollywood film's often absurd propositions.
With the knight's appearance, the girl's plan to escape home from Brittany collapses; for all
knights
of the territory owed the Duke strict fealty - which means, says a dictionary, "loyalty, allegiance
(originally the duty of a feudal tenant or vassal to his lord)", to which I add that "fealty" may well
be
corrupted from "fidelity". However, the Duke of Brittany was much too chivalrous to force any
husband upon her, and so she remained among his numerous court, doing light duty as a
lady-in-waiting to the Duchess.
As befits a romance, folk in the tale were prone to the pangs of love. Moreover, the Age of
Chivalry
was very much alive, and society had quite recently fallen under the sway of the highly formalized,
almost play-acting and accordingly phony-seeming, rules of courtly love, which enjoined a knight
to
suffer deep and unrequited love for some unattainable yet one-and-only beloved, either a virgin or
someone else's wife (of all the perverted ideals!) He even must contrive or appear to turn pale at
the
sight of his beloved. For that fad the world had largely to thank the likes of the formidable
Eleanor
of Aquitaine, who ruled the romantic world with its "courts of love" from the south.
Yet not everyone was of the knightly caste or higher; those must in fact have comprised a small
minority of society, while the great majority were peasants. E'on, the rough-mannered head
robber
and would-be rapist, was an example, formerly a serf or indentured peasant, one step above an
out-and-out slave and much put upon by his hierarchical "superior". At last he had killed his
tormentor, and had thus become a fugitive outlaw.
At times it seems Marie, the Norman girl, is not the story's protagonist or chief personage, for this
is
one of those stories written from the often unstable third-person point of view (POV), in which
the
author adopts the perspectives of character after character. Marie disappears from view for many
pages at a time; E'on, who in the end is of importance chiefly in showing God's forgiveness, goes
unmentioned for many chapters at a time. Meanwhile, other persons come to the forefront until
they
too are swept away.
We even sometimes see the world through the shades-of-grey vision of a werewolf who, however,
has some dim recollection of colours, human love, and so forth from times when he'd been a
man.
The story also has a certain earthiness, such as when the Duchess teases a new bride about the
forthcoming wedding night's proceedings - but few readers will feel offended by such unspecific,
non-graphic references and indirect, vague descriptions as Bradshaw, based on de France,
writes.
If you enjoy history and insights into the lives of people very unlike those you already know, then,
and perhaps especially if you already have enjoyed the Brother Cadfael mediaeval mystery series
by
Edith Pargeter, alias Ellis Peters - those being set in and around mediaeval Shrewsbury,
Shropshire
at the English-Welsh border, but a little later in the same general era - then I recommend "The
Wolf
Hunt" to you.
As a further stylistic note, while I doubt that Bradshaw owes anything to Pargeter or vice-versa, I
feel I detect a similarity in their works, unrelated to the era in which they are set. There is
something
indefinable that I can no more than FEEL linking the way they write, or perhaps the way they
look
at life before they write. It is, I suppose, some implicitly feminine characteristic, a female idiom if
you will, that I fear as a writer I may never simulate in a month of Sundays. If this apprehension is
true, it bodes ill for the success of those of us who dare to write, at times, in the gender opposite
our
own - as one perhaps must, on those occasions when glorious inspirations strike that fairly
demand
to be written - but written, in a purely literary sense, "transsexually".
Will women ever be able to write from the masculine point of view, then, without betraying that
womanly "something"? Will men be able to write from the feminine one, adding that mysterious
factor? I can say nothing absolute in reply, but I wouldn't feel surprised if the correct answer to
both
questions should prove to be "no" - although I have few clues why that may be so.
It may in part be, though, that woman-style writing can be implicitly sexy but, for reasons of the
author's self-defence, it remains subtly veiled and, as it were, even occult; whereas man-style
writing
more often tends to be forthrightly, even blatantly descriptive. Yet the difference doesn't relate
entirely to how they treat sex; rather, it pervades styles throughout. Can it be that, in women's
writing, the sweet girl so typically catches the handsome man in the end?
Well, as the French say, "Explique qui pourra"; let him who can, explain.
Pete Hodgins
Reviewer
Jennifer's Bookshelf
Cows In The House
Beverly Lewis
Bethany House
11400 Hampshire Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55438
ISBN: 0-7642-2096-9, Genre: Children's Picture Book, Format: Hardcover,
http://www.bethanyhouse.com
Cows In The House is the story of a barefoot boy from Thailand who lives with his five noisy
sisters,
and his mother and father. By the advice of his wise great-grandfather, the barefoot boy invited
cows, musicians, and cousins to stay at his house. Even though he didn't understand why, he did
so
and quickly learned a valuable lesson from it. Cows In The House is a book about teaching
children
the important lesson of being able to accept your life the way it is, and not to get greedy with your
wishes. My children enjoyed Ms. Lewis's charming book, as did I. Parents and teachers will love
the
moral lesson and children will love the tale, as well as the colorful illustrations throughout the
book.
If you have children who enjoy being read to, or who enjoy reading by themselves, then Cows In
The House is a book that they will certainly treasure.
Young Cousin's Mysteries: The Giant Chicken Mystery
Elspeth Campbell Murphy & Nancy Munger
Bethany Backyard
c/o Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55438
ISBN: 0-7642-2496-4, Genre: Children's, Ages 6-8, Price: $4.99, Format: Soft Cover, Trade
Paper
1-800-328-6109, http://www.elspethcampbellmurphy.com , http://www.bethanyhouse.com
Simple, cute and easy-to-read, The Giant Chicken Mystery is a winner. This book is small
five-chapter book and #3 in a series of four, and it is the story of three little cousins in search of
why
the chicken crossed the road. While waiting on a bench beside the store where Sarah-Jane's
mother
entered, Timothy, Titus and Sarah-Jane wait. After a while, they decide to use Sarah-Jane's book
certificate she earned while at the reading program that summer in a nearby bookstore. After
reading
a few jokes in a riddle book they had purchased, Sarah-Jane tells the 'ole joke of why did the
chicken
cross the road. Then to her surprise, she actually watches as a giant chicken crosses the road!
When
the three cousins find a red feather on the ground, the mystery begins. From there they search for
the
answer, and soon find it after visiting the Little Red Hen bakery across the street. Where did the
giant chicken come from? And why was it crossing the road? Find out by reading The Giant
Chicken
Mystery by Elspeth Campbell Murphy today. Ms. Murphy's writing style is clear and simple for
the
ages it is intended for. Although there are a few tough words for children ages 6-8 to read on
their
own, they should have no problem figuring the words out with the help of a parent or teacher.
The
delightful illustrations are brilliantly colored and are sure to keep your child's attention throughout
the book. The Giant Chicken Mystery should be in all classrooms as a fun, moral teaching book.
My
children enjoyed it, and after I read it, my six year old son, Cameron gave it a try on his own and
he
was proud (as am I) of how far he actually read without my help. The author, Elspeth Campbell
Murphy has more than 100 books published. She is a full-time writer and graduated from Trinity
College and Moody Bible Institute. Ms. Murphy lives in Chicago, Illinois with her husband. The
illustrator, Nancy Munger has become one of the best-known children's illustrators in the CBA
market. Ms. Munger lives in Michigan wither family. Give your child a boos in ego by giving them
all of Ms. Murphy's books featuring the young cousins to read. You won't regret it. I highly
recommend Young Cousins Mysteries: The Giant Chicken Mystery by Elspeth Campbell
Murphy.
Young Cousin's Mysteries: The Chalk Drawings Mystery
Elspeth Campbell Murphy, Illustrated By: Nancy Munger
Bethany Backyard
ISBN: 0-7642-2497-2, Genre: Children's, Ages 6-8, Price: $4.99, Format: Soft Cover, Trade
Paper
1-800-328-6109, http://www.elspethcampbellmurphy.com , http://www.bethanyhouse.com
Number four and the last in the available "young cousins mysteries", The Chalk Drawings
Mystery is
a small five-chapter book that continues the adventures of three curious cousins. Sarah-Jane and
Titus gather in front of the school with their cousin Timothy to admire his new chalk drawing. He
drew it especially for his art teacher Miss Mattie. There are several other pictures there as well.
But
when they find a drawing unlike the rest of the drawings and clearly drawn by an adult, Timothy
quickly copies the sketch down in his notebook so the three of them can figure it out later at their
house. When they return to the front of the school, they find that the drawing is goneit had been
erased! Wet footprints lead them to Jessica, Miss Mattie's niece and Timothy's classmate. Soon
they
discover that she was the one who had erased the beautiful mystery message with a large wet
sponge
she was trying to conceal behind her back. But why? Did she know what the message said? Was it
her message? Ms. Murphy's intriguing book for children is a delight. I enjoyed reading it to my
children, and as in book #3, the first of this series I had reviewed, my 6-year-old son, Cameron
enjoyed trying to read it on his own. The colorful illustrations are eye-catching and give the book
that extra boost that so many children's books today lack. The dialogue is simple and realistic. The
style is clear and understandable, but there are a few tough words for six to eight year olds to read
by themselves. But don't let that discourage youI think a challenge is good, and that all children
crave it whether they want us to believe it or not. With a little help from a parent or teacher,
children
this age will feel pride as they sound out the long words included in this book. I know it made my
son feel proud when he finished it. Elspeth Campbell Murphy has more than 100 books published.
She is a full-time writer and graduated from Trinity College and Moody Bible Institute. Ms.
Murphy
lives in Chicago, Illinois with her husband. Nancy Munger has becom one of the best-known
children's illustrators in the CBA market. Ms. Munger lives in Michigan wither family. I highly
recommend Young Cousins Mysteries: The Chalk Drawings Mystery written by Elspeth Campbell
Murphy, and illustrated by a talented artist named Nancy Munger, for children you book shop for.
You'll be glad you did.
Fairy Boat
Tracy Kane
Great White Dog Picture Company
ISBN: 0-9708104-7-4, Genre: Children's Picture Book, Ages 3 & up, Price: US $15.95
Format: Hardcover, 40 pages, , http://www.greatwhitedog.com
Fairy Boat is the second book, third product in the series featuring adorable fairies. Fairy Boat is a
charming boat young Chelsea made with her Gram and Grandpa. Together they watch as Fairy
Boat
floats downstream towards the sea. When a goose chases Fairy Boat, this pushes her further out
and
out of reach. Chelsea goes home sad and worried. She fears that Fairy Boat will get broken, and
that
she will never see her again. Will she find Fairy Boat? Where will Fairy Boat go? Will the fairies
race
to the rescue? My children and I enjoyed reading this book. They loved following the path (a map
drawn in the book), of Fairy Boat's treacherous journey out to sea. This is the kind of book, told
in
terms children can easily understand, that teaches them to expect the unexpected. Kane
accomplishes this by weaving Fairy Boat through twists and turns throughout the delightful story.
The brilliant colors on every page are sure to hold your child's attention. This is a very nice book.
The author, Tracy Kane, majored in illustration at Philadelphia College of Art. She also studied at
the Wimbledon College of Art in London, England where she met her husband. Kane worked as a
commercial artist, and designer for Public Television. She spends most of her time illustrating and
painting. Kane lives in New Hampshire with her husband and cat Toulouse. Fairy Boat comes
highly
recommended by AStoryWeaver's Book Reviews. Oh, and don't forget to count the fairies hidden
throughout the book!
Christmas Stalking
Mari Bailey
Awe-Struck E-Books, http://www.awe-struck.net
Genre: Young Adult Romantic Suspense, ,
http://www.bctonline.com/users/imagine/mari.htm
Christmas Stalking is the sequel to Bailey's young adult romantic suspense novel Dream Stalker.
Heather Morgan, a budding young artist, is back with her Great-Aunt Delilah in New York City,
but
this time she's there during the Christmas season. Just as Heather begins to enjoy herself, haunting
dreams of a stalking bell-jingling Santa Claus, interrupts her sleep. Soon she finds herself
suspecting
everyone around her. Who is her stalker? Why is this happening to her again? Is Curt Bonner
back?
Could it be her new slightly unstable friend Crystal, or a handsome art student named Aaron? Find
outread Bailey's Christmas Stalking a.s.a.p. You won't regret it! Bailey's dialogue is true to life.
Her
valley girl-talk for the teenagers and the wisdom-speaking adults are fitting for a story such as
this.
Bailey's style of writing is capturing and even though Christmas Stalking is a sequel, I feel that it
definitely stands on its own as an engaging, full-of-suspense novel for young adults. As the first
book, I found the sequel hard to put down and intriguing events on every page. Mari Bailey is an
author that young adults, adults and anyone who enjoys thrillers, should keep their eye on. She's
terrific and I highly recommend her writing. Mari Bailey was born and raised in Hawaii, lived in
California for a while before moving to Oregon City where she works as a full-time writer and
lives
with engineer husband, Brian. She has published close to fifty confession stories and numerous
short
articles "but the suspense genre has been calling me ever since I picked up my first Mary Higgins
Clark novel twenty years ago. Visit Mari's website at
http://www.bctonline.com/users/imagine/mari.htm
Willy's Valentine
Rita Hestand, Illustrated by Deborah Pottle
Writers-Exchange EPublishing
ISBN: 1 896962 93 3, $TBA
Genre: Children's Picture Book, Pre-K, Kindergarten
Willy loves the fall season best of all, because that is when the other ducks (like him) gather at the
pond. When Willy meets Waddles, a young light-colored girl duck, his heart begins to thump
loudly.
Instantly, he likes her, and he thinks she likes him. Everyday they meet to play in the pond. Willy
tries to get to know Waddles better, but Waddles always seems to get angry with him. She said
that
he never listens to her. Willy doesn't understand what she means and he doesn't know why she
keeps
getting so angry. Had he done something wrong? Maybe she just didn't like him. Willy forgot to
tell
Waddles something very important about himself. He goes to his mother hen, confused and sad.
Immediately she reminds him of it, but he gets defensive and says that he doesn't need to meet
new
friends anyway. The ones in the barnyard are just fine for him. With his mother's help, Willy's
relationship with Waddles is saved, and they plan to meet every summer by the pond. Ms.
Hestand's
adorable book is one of the most delightful stories for children that I have read in quite some time.
The beautiful message depicted in this story is told in a simple to understand manner. Children will
grasp the story's lesson immediately-mine did! And as a parent, I loved that. I thoroughly enjoyed
reading Willy's Valentine by Rita Hestand to my children and I know you will, too. Texan born
author, Rita Hestand loves to create children's stories and has no problem letting her imagination
soar. Ms. Hestand is a 1997 graduate from the Institute of Children's Literature. She writes
children's books, poetry, romance, and short stories. Her motto is NEVER GIVE UP! Learn more
about this fascinating author by visiting her personal webpage:
http://ritahestand.romance-central.com, and look for her other books coming out with Writer's
Exchange EPublishing by visiting her webpage
http://www.writers-echange.com/epublishing/rita-h.htm.
The Big Bag Of Rocks
Michael Rosen, Illustrated by Angelina Morgan
Estoeric Ink
ISBN: 0972104402, $TBA, Genre: Children's, http://www.chidokai.org
The Big Bag Of Rocks is an inspirational story about a helpful and happy man who once walked
with his head held high. As a result, the man often tripped over rocks that lay on the path.
Whenever
this happened, the man would pick the rocks up and place them in his sack. Over time, the man's
sack grew heavier, thus causing the man to walk hunched over and with his head down. Sadly, the
man grew grumpy and uncaring with each rock that was tossed into the sack. Does the man learn
to
walk with his head up again? Will he carry the sack of rocks forever? Find out by reading Sensei
Rosen's delightful book for children titled The Big Bag Of Rocks today. Michael Rosen is the
founder of the Byakko Ryu Jujutsu system of martial arts and the philosophy of Effortless Living
through the Study of True Understanding. Rosen is an energetic storyteller, philosopher, author,
comedic speaker and martial artist. Sensei Rosen is available for book readings and lectures. You
can contact him by visiting his website http://www.chidokai.org.
Jennifer Leese, Reviewer
http://www.geocities.com/ladyjiraff
Bill's Bookshelf
Why A Daughter Needs A Dad
Gregory E. Lang
Cumberland House
431 Harding Industrial Drive, Nashville, TN 37211
ISBN: 1581822766, Price: $14.95 www.cumberlandhouse.com
A fabulous book for fathers everywhere! Why A Daughter Needs A Dad really gives insight and
direction for those that need a little push. The easy to read format allows anyone to pick up the
book
and get something out of it quickly. The photographs and words cause you to reflect on special
moments of the past and shine a light on your future as a father.
On every page the reader is reminded of just what the book is about. "Why A Daughter Needs A
Dad" is the opening statement and is followed by nuggets of golden wisdom for every daddy. The
photographs help you to recall when your girl was just a young child. They also show you times
when your little girl has grown up and desires those special moments shared with dad.
Why A Daughter Needs A Dad is definitely for fathers everywhere. It is for those that have little
girls or for those whose daughters have grown into women. I urge you not to let this one slip out
of
your hands. The information contained within the pages is so powerful, you will read it time and
time again, to see if you missed any of the nuggets of wisdom.
Prayer Of Jabez
Bruce Wilkinson
Multnomah Publishing
PO Box 1720, Sisters, OR 97759
ISBN: 1576737330, Price: $9.99 www.multnomahbooks.com
Using the story of Jabez from the book of Chronicles, this book shows how we can expand on
what
we now have. By understanding the simple prayer of a man named Jabez, the reader will see how
prayer works to manifest a greater presence of God as well as expanding their own "territory".
This
story from the Old Testament will help you grow both mentally and spiritually.
Jabez, whose name translates to "pain", needed a way to show he was responsible and trustworthy
enough to handle God's anointing, if only he had the chance. He was able to pray to God and
request
his desires, in hopes that God would answer his prayers. Then in turn, Jabez showed God he was
able to handle the territory expansion he is blessed with.
Prayer Of Jabez provides more than "Christian hype", it provides insight and understanding into
the
world of prayer to Almighty God. It helps you to understand how to request and deal with
responsibility you feel is warranted in your life. The Prayer Of Jabez is great for any reader
desiring
a more intimate relationship with God. It is a beneficial addition to any library.
Bill Reese
Reviewer
Cindy Lynn's Bookshelf
Dead North
Sue Henry
Avon Mystery
1350 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019
ISBN 0-380-81684-9, 352 pages, http://www.harpercollins.com $6.00 US
Alaskan Jesse Arnold thought that maybe things were looking up. After a lot of hard work, the
ashes
and debris that were once her cabin before an arsonist torched it were cleared away. Now all she
had
to do was wait until the weather dried so they could start putting in the basement. Jessie is thrilled
when her friend and contractor Vic Prentice offers her the "job" of flying down to Idaho and
picking
up his brand new motor home. He wants someone familiar with the Alaskan Highway to bring it
safely home. It would be the perfect way give her a chance for a relaxing adventure, away from
the
reminder of her problems.
While she's setting out for her adventure, Patrick Cutler is running for his life. Accused of
murdering
his own mother, Patrick has decided to hitchhike up to Alaska, where an old friend lives. His
police
stepfather claims that Patrick beat his mother to death with a baseball bat, then attacked him.
When
asked, the next door neighbor, an older gentleman who has heard many of the married couple's
late
night fights and witnessed the bruises after Patrick's attempted interventions, suggests that the
police
look to the stepfather and themselves for the real cause of her death.
Eventually Patrick meets up with Jesse, and another lady driving her motor home up the Alaskan
Highway, Maxie McNab. They decide to help him, despite his reluctance to talk. This decision
will
place them in peril as someone is following Patrick, and he isn't afraid to kill anyone who gets in
his
way.
The setting is excellently drawn. Sue Henry captures the scenery of the journey, making us feel
almost like fellow tourists. It does slow down the story a little in the beginning, but the
descriptions
are actually well worth it, and the pace near the end more than makes up for the slower start. I
like
Jesse Arnold as a character. She races and trains sled dogs, which makes for an interesting
character
twist. She has a true enjoyment for the outdoors and knowledge of her surroundings that makes
the
setting even more enjoyable. She brings her lead dog Tank along for the ride, and he is just as
important a character as his mistress. Maxie McNab, a retired widow who has decided to travel in
her own motor home, is a delightful combination of common sense and gutsiness that often steals
the scene with out meaning to.
This is Sue Henry's seventh Alaska mystery, and her eighth, Cold Company, is due out in June.
This
book is a must read for people who love Alaska or for people who have secretly wished they
could
set out alone in a motor home and travel. After this adventure I feel like I've been through Fort
Steele, taken a dip in Laird Hot Springs, and very nearly didn't make it through this gripping
adventure to tell the tale.
Fatal
Michael Palmer
Bantam Mystery
1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036
ISBN: 0-553-80203-8, 387 pages, http://www.randomhouse.com/ $24.95 US
Dr. Matthew Rutledge is determined to find a way to force the local coal company, Belinda Coal
and Coke to make changes in its business practices. Twice bereaved through the company's
actions,
he wants the company to mend its ways before someone else gets hurt. He is called to the hospital
one night when another accident happens, this time caused by one of the miners going berserk and
running his machine into the support pillars. When Rutledge tends the miner's injuries, he
discovers
strange, fibrous lumps all over the man's face. This is not the first time he's seen these lumps, and
not
the first time the person possessing them has gone inexplicably insane. Convinced that it has to be
toxic waste in the ground water, he continues his crusade, despite threats from fellow doctors and
mine owners.
Pathologist and assistant medical examiner Nikki Solari is completely unaware of Belinda West
Virginia, until her best friend also begins growing fibrous lumps and exhibiting the strange, vicious
mood swings that seem to accompany them. Tragedy will force Nikki Solari to go to Belinda, and
a
twist of fate will force her to stay, helping Rutledge in his quest for answers.
The final main character is Ellen Kroft, a devoted grandmother and member of an organization
that
desires more control and research over immunization shots. Her own grandchild was sweet and
promising until a bad reaction to a vaccine damaged her. Ellen is the token consumer member of a
board deciding whether to launch Ominivax - a shot that will instantly immunize the patient
against a
huge list of diseases. When it's time to vote, a thug visits her and threatens Ellen's granddaughter,
should she vote against it. She becomes determined to get to the root of the matter, and her trail
will
lead her to Belinda as well. Each character will prove invaluable to solving the mystery, and the
answer will be something that none of them predicted.
For me, there is something terribly frightening bout anything medical related. One of the main
themes - the lack of real, long term research for vaccines - is something that bothered me as much
as
it intrigued me. The thought that any person can be irrevocably and horribly damaged from a
reaction to one of these shots is probably far more frightening than anything Palmer could have
made up. The fact that the author was, himself, a doctor adds a lot to this story. He manages to
describe the medical procedures in such a way as to keep my understanding along with my
interest. I
liked the characters, especially the Slocumb brothers, a trio of mountain men who have a
wonderful
sense of humor, as well as several surprises for the unwary who would disturb their peace or hurt
their friends. The book was a very quick read, and will interest anyone who enjoys medical
thrillers.
Palmer answers all the questions posed by the mystery satisfactorily - but the medical ones he
poses,
sadly, are not quite so easy.
The Archer's Tale
Bernard Cornwell
Harper Collins
1350 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY, 10019
ISBN0-06-621084-4, 370 pages, $26.00 US
Thomas of Hookton was tending the Easter vigil when the French came. They destroyed the
town,
murdered and pillaged the tiny village whose only claim to fame was the rumor of a sacred relic
that
hung in the rafters of the poor church. That scared relic was said to be the lance of Saint George,
the
very weapon he used to silence the heart of the dragon. Thomas alone survived, and only because
he
kept his head, and used his amazing talents with the long bow (an inaccuracy...Cornwell never
calls
it the long bow, since at the time the book is set in, they hadn't began calling it that, but long bow
is
easier to visualize for our purposes) to kill several of the invaders before they fled to their
ships.
When he gets back to the church, his father is barely alive. His father was the Priest of Hookton,
and
he had dedicated his life to protecting the relic. Now he wishes his illegitimate son to go and fetch
it
back, and discover his own heritage, for the thief was none other than his own cousin. He makes
this
death bed promise, and in his hunt for the lance, and for the heraldic symbol of his enemy,
Thomas
will travel far and through many battles under King Edward. His skill with the bow and his good
luck makes him invaluable to the army as it marches and burns its way across Brittany and
France.
Thomas is a very interesting character, because we can actually see him grow during the course of
the book. He doesn't want to be anything other than an archer, yet all his life it seems people want
him to be other things. His father wanted him to be a Priest, his fate seems to want to make him a
half French noble, Father Hobbes seems to want him to become a part of the grail quest. He
resists,
not because of any false humbleness or foolishness, but because he knows his own heart. He
knows
what he's best at. He's very practical, and he has a calm sort of charm...most of the Cornwell
characters I've read so far (Sharpe and Rider Sandman) come across as dashing. Thomas isn't,
which
isn't an insult. He's good, smart alecky at times, smart, a young man growing from isolated village
innocence to a man of war. He doesn't take part in the worst of the war atrocities, but he does
gather things to support himself with, things to sell, food.
Setting is always important in a Cornwell book. This time, it's the Middle Ages, and we get to see
a
realistic, strong portrayal of the times. It's a very refreshing look in some ways. For years, and I'm
going back a ways here, we had sweeping Medieval pageantry adventures, colorful, chivalrous,
and
romantic. Then, we got into the Anti-Medieval stories, where writers seemed to almost try and
over
compensate by really getting into the stink, the filth, hypocrisy and roughness of the time. For
example, and this example is sort of poor, as it is about movies rather than books...there are two
movies called Rose and the Sword. One is a Disney flick, I believe, done in the times of
Technicolor,
bright, and pretty, the second stars Rutger Haur and is a much harder, crueler vision. To watch
these
two extremes back to back is a little jarring, but it exemplifies the changes that books with a
Medieval Setting, in general, went through. Cornwell takes the middle ground. His vision of the
Middle Ages is still dark, and realistic, but he doesn't seem to steep his words into the squalor of
the
times. Instead he creates a tapestry of the world while still showing the better aspects as well as
the
worst. I like this balance, because it is far more realistic that either of the extremes. The best
examples is in how he describes the knights. Their actions, the way the archers make fun of their
odd
ideas of chivalry, are all interesting, and show us both the human faces of the times and give us a
feel
for the way things were.
Another thing I like is his handling of religion. People have often called the Middle Ages the Age
of
Faith. He uses the faith of the times to show characterization, such as when see how Thomas has
grown, or how Sir Simon worships. This little things show quite a lot about the people. Also, he
talks about the relics, and after mentioning once, maybe twice that nearly all relics are fake, he
shows us different relics and they seem to tell their own story about the times, such as when King
Edward kisses the reliquary that is supposed to hold a feather from the wings of the Angel
Gabriel.
We see different beliefs, different reactions to beliefs, and it actually tells us much more than the
battles about the Medieval mind.
The Archer's Tale leaves a few things undone, but undone in such a way as to really not promise a
sequel. I hope for one, though. I usually discuss the characters at great length, but this time only
talked about Thomas...this isn't because the other characters were lacking, I just wanted to talk
about other things. I would love to revisit this world and see what the future...or I should say the
past...holds for them all.
Cindy Lynn Speer
Reviewer
Dana's Bookshelf
Japanese Crafts
Japan Craft Forum
c/o Kodansha International
575 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022
Originally published as Japan Crafts Sourcebook (1996, in Japanese)
ISBN4-7700-2734-6 , LCC 95-51751, $29.95, 208 pages, 8 x 10.5, hardbound,
http://www.thejapanpage.com
Beneath the silent layers of surface, these.
It seems the fascination with Japanese arts is never ending. Perhaps that is because so many
Japanese
forms are timeless. Even in a Japan where the metal filings on the cultural magnet radiate out to
all
things modern and foreign, it's useful to remember that the magnet itself is the Japan of always.
The
witheringly busy life of the business and entertainment centers is balanced by careful nurturing of
the
crafts of old, practiced the way they have for centuries without substantial change. Today the old
craftways are enjoying a renaissance like none before Renaissance in the true meaning of the
word:
"resurgence" In Japan's case, the resurgence looks backwards to a romantic version of emperors
and
shoguns just as the Italians looked back to an idyllized aeolia named Greece.
The meticulous attention to precision and concept that characterized Japanese product design in
the
electronics and auto industries in the 1980s and 90s didn't just suddenly erupt from wily kids fresh
from design and engineering schools. It came from men in their thirties through fifties who
remembered the early years of Postwar Japan during which the craft shops of old were as
ubiquitous
to townscapes as today's franchises and brand logos to cities. Even given the economic stimulus
of
the U.S. postwar reconstruction policy, for many years the local crafts people were the main
purveyors of the necessities of life like metal wares, ceramics, rope, fabric, writing tools, even
cast-iron hibachis to heat homes in the winter and the charcoal to put into them. Craft wasn't
fodder
for the middle-class preoccupation with the cute. Nor was it cultural identity. It was survival.
Now those folks who were twenty to fifty are now retired or close to it. They still have their
respect
for the high quality of those old crafts. No surprise, then, that, much in the same way their
counterparts in today_s India are mad about homes decorated with old dhurries and woven
saddlebags and spun copper trays, the Japanese middle class longs for homes dotted with the
miniature masterpieces that comprise much of the land_s crafts traditions.
Masterpiece is the right word for many objects. Nowhere else in the world is such lavish
government
support and consumer affection lavished on such small objects: ceramics, lacquer ware, weaving,
bamboo, paper, wood, metal work, even fans, umbrellas, art dolls, ink, ink stones, ink brushes, on
and on. Often these are produced by Living National Treasures (the Japanese words translate
much
more elegantly to Bearers of Intangible Cultural Assets), bestowed by a government-appointed
committee for each craft tradition on the truly exceptional practitioner. A sort of MacArthur
Genius
Fellowship for 10th generation experts.
This book and much of today's enthusiasm for collecting superior objects can be traced to a 1974
Japanese government law for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries as a way of keeping
alive
traditions in danger of being lost. It is heartbreaking to see what has happened in locales where
such
enlightened policies never happened. The weaving villages of the Sunda islands in Indonesia, once
famed for their dyed-on-the-loom double ikat fabrics, now sport TV antennas and the kids who
wear
denims and tee shirts with messages like I'm the boy your mother warned you about, and in whose
homes those young people are no longer learning the looms but watching soaps about the high life
in
Movieland.
The 1974 laws were extraordinarily enlightened for their time. They included provisions for
subsidies for apprentices, conservation of the natural resources vital to crafts like wood wares and
ceramics, and mandates for healthy working environments. They also provided that, to be
officially
recognized and supported, the craft had to be used in everyday life, made from all-natural
materials,
followed techniques dating from at least the Edo period (i.e., before Commodore Perry opened up
Japan), and was a tradition practiced by at least thirty other people in the area (i.e., no hobbies or
fine artists).
The results were spectacular. By 1990 over 1060 clearly distinct crafts had been cataloged,
employing nearly a quarter-million people. Since the practitioners were overwhelmingly men
(except
in textiles), the word people really meant families due to Asia's family- and clan-based way of
organizing livelihood. All this had to be systematized in some meaningful way, so in 1987 the
Japanese government established the Japan Craft Forum. Members of that Forum are the authors
of
this book.
And oh my what they have wrought. The flyleaf sums the book this way: This is the first book in
English to present Japan's traditional crafts under one cover . . . a monumental effort seven years
in
the making. Inside some 99 crafts from all genres are documented in what amounts to a national
crafts catalog raison‚e. The depth and accuracy of detail in the descriptions is astounding. To take
one instance, following a detailed description of the names, materials, and procedures of applying
each layer (of eight) of lacquer in making the dense, rich black boxes of Wajima ware, the final
burnishing before the top coat is applied is done only by elderly women because they have little or
no oil in their hands.
Japanese Crafts contains detailed descriptions of twelve kinds of ceramics (as varied a set of
appearances from one fundamental technique as a craft can produce); twenty-four types of textile
weaving, braiding, and dyeing; ten types of lacquer ware (including an extended discussion of
lacquer itself); four kinds of bamboo work (including the birdcage-intricate Takayama tea whisks
most prized for the tea ceremony); five of paper; eleven forms of woodcraft; seven metalcrafts.
Plus
a potpourri of more modest crafts comprising objects often overlooked the abacus, portable
shrines,
umbrellas, fans, combs. Brightly decorated molded bricks of ink are ground with water on an
inkstone to the exact viscosity needed for any given kind of brushwork, from swashy calligram on
a
hanging scroll, to haiku poem posted to a friend, to a price per kilo sign above the long beans and
plucked chickens in a market.
And so much more. It is hard to imagine a cornucopia of detail being interesting, but this is. Each
craft is described in a mere few hundred words according to a formula that commences with
milieu
and history, proceeds to raw materials and production methods, and finally lists usages and
religious
significance if a ceremonial object. All this is accompanied by a splendid vocabulary of technical
terms that, aside from being fun in themselves, will in times to come be a trove of terms whose
use
by linguists and cultural historians will go far beyond the world of objects. Few books have come
down the road so tightly edited. And so elegantly, for this is not a written book nearly so much as
it
is an edited one.
As if all this wasn't enough, each object is superbly photographed in such a way as to reveal its
meticulous (yes, again that word) detail. The photography close-ups shot in studio settings are as
dramatically lighted as images in the best books about sculpture or cuisine.
This raises the point of the much fainter line distinguishing craft from art than Westerners
embrace.
The fact that there is a line at all is a Western influence, occasioned by the need to distinguish with
the term bijutsu (art) purely Japanese work from works by Japanese done in a Western mode or
using Western materials such as oil painting. Before that the great names in Japanese art were
polymedial, producing one day a scroll painting, another day the design for a box, then a ceramic
bowl, on and on. They were designers more than artists, and indeed, to this day Japanese design is
among the most eclectic in the world.
Even so, the designs were turned over to skilled craftsmen to produce. Hence crafts survived
because arts survived. Masks for theater. Paper, brushes, and ink for calligraphy, scrolls, poetry.
Ceramics and bamboo for the tea ceremony (a sequence of actions that are an art equal to
choreography). Textiles were made for kimonos that appeared on stage, in rituals, even brothels.
Combs and paper umbrellas were produced for geishas (their conversation, too, an art with an
exacting apprenticeship, just as a soliloquy or cantata is the product of years of rehearsals or
study).
And so on. This is the kind of book books were meant to be, starting with the first pen-and-ink
scroll or Western illuminated manuscript. Japanese Crafts is to the breadth and span of craft what
Sesshu's Long Scroll was to geography: the painting of a journey the way it actually was
journeyed,
as a long ribbon of pen-and-ink footsteps from Edo to Kyoto. No Japanophile's library should lack
Japanese Crafts.
Dana De Zoysa
Reviewer
Bethany's Bookshelf
101 Weight Loss Tips For Preventing And Controlling Diabetes
Anne Daly, Linda Delahanty, and Judith Wylie-Rosett
American Diabetes Association
1701 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22311
1580401325 $14.95 www.diabetes.org
Collaboratively written and developed by Anne Daly (current national president of the American
Diabetes Association), Linda Delahanty (nutrition counselor and diabetes specialist), and Judith
Wylie-Rosett (co-director or of prevention and control for the Diabetes Research and Training
Center), 101 Weight Loss Tips For Preventing And Controlling Diabetes is an excellent and
authoritative informational sourcebook and springboard which is ideal for non-specialist general
readers seeking to learn more about controlling their weight and dealing with their diabetes. Quick
and easy to read, offering solid, well-researched information drawn directly from the American
Diabetes Association, 101 Weight Loss Tips For Preventing And Controlling Diabetes is a
superbly
presented and very highly recommended introductory primer, especially for people with a family
history or other risk factors of diabetes.
Run For It
Karen Bridson
Burford Books
PO Box 388, Short Hills, NJ 07078
1580801005 $14.95 www.burfordbooks.com
Run For It: A Woman's Guide To Running For Emotional And Physical Health by freelance
journalist and three-time marathon competitor Karen Bridson (who also conducts women-only
running clinics at the Toronto running shop "The Running Room") is a straightforward guide to
the
health benefits a running regimen can provide for women, as well as how to safely pursue this
great
sport and physical fitness activity. From taking precautions, to protect one's physical safety, to
maintaining health and learning, to stay with running in all seasons, Run For It offers a wealth of
useful, practical information and is highly recommended for women of any age or background
who
would like to engage in running for their personal health or pleasure.
To Every Truth Its Season
Sam Seifter
Fithian Press
PO Box 1525, Santa Barbara, CA 93102
1564743926 $10.00 1-800-662-8351
To Every Truth Its Season is a collection of Sam Seifter's free-verse poetry illustrated with simple
and expressive line drawings. From celebrations of herbs to a reflection on the tragedy of
Hiroshima,
To Every Truth Its Season offers simple, emotional, thoughtful verse to be read, reread, and
meditated upon. Petrarch Speaks From His Home In Arqua: These hills, these rocks, these stones,
this sand, this dust,/These walls, this court, this arch, these stairs, this bay:/On these, these rocks,
I
built my words to stay/When vectored time should lose its forward thrust./An arc of stone, a
covenant of trust,/I saved for you the songs that lit my day,/That you should know our work, our
love, our play,/In this golden age stained through with rust.//But don't believe that everything
endures,/Outwitting death with sweet and comely cures./Unless a rooted change transforms
relations,/Your poems will start with mortal intimations:/These mounds, these ruins, this fragile
earthen crust,/This grass, these weeds, these petals in the dust.
When Your Pet Outlives You
David Congalton and Charlotte Alexander
NewSage Press
PO Box 607, Troutdale, OR 97060-0607
0939165449 $12.95 www.newsagepress.com
Collaboratively written by David Congalton and Charlotte Alexander, When Your Pet Outlives
You:
Protecting Animal Companions After You Die is a solidly written and "user friendly" resource for
pet owners wanting to ensure that their animal companions are taken care of in the event of the
death of the pet owner -- especially since pets are legally classified as property under American
law
and as such cannot lawfully inherit money directly. Setting up a pet trusts and veterinary care
contracts, and the wide variety of options to ensure one's pets are taken good care of, and more
are
all discussed in depth in a "must-read" book for all true pet lovers.
The Power Of Failure
Charles C. Manz
Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
235 Montgomery Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94104-2916
1576751325 $14.95 1-800-929-2929
The Power Of Failure: 27 Ways To Turn Life's Setbacks Into Success by Charles C. Manz
(Charles
and Janet Nirenberg Professor of Business Leadership, Isenberg School of Management,
University
of Massachusetts) is a highly practical, "user friendly" guide to learning from one's mistakes and
using what one has learned to earn success. Means of coping with disappointments, the
importance
of investing for success, anecdotes, advice, and a great deal more make The Power Of Failure an
accessible, effective, highly recommended self-help guide which is directly applicable to both
business and private life.
Dharmakaya
Paula Meehan
Wake Forest University Press
PO Box 7333, Winston-Salem, NC 27109
1930630042 $10.95 1-336-758-5448
Dharmakaya (the word is borrowed from "The Tibetan Book of the Dead") is Paula Meehan's
fifth and most recent volume of poetry. Hers is an ability to use words to evoke timeless truths as
she engages in verse that showcases an Irish feminist sensibility, as well as dialoguing between
western poetics and Buddhism. Sudden Rain: I'm no Buddhist: too attached to the world/of my
six senses. So in this unexpected shower,/I lift my face to its restorative tattoo,/the exultation of
its anvil chime on leaf.//On my tongue I taste the bitter city furled/in each raindrop; and through
the sheeted fall of grief/the glittery estate doth like a garment wear/the beauty of the morning; the
sweet reek of miso//leached from composting leaves. Last night's dream/of a small man who
floated in the branches of an oak/harvesting mistletoe with a golden sickle//I intuit as meaning
you'll be tender and never fickle/this winter, though this may be synaesthetic/nonsense; I've little
left to go on, it would seem.
Susan Bethany
Reviewer
Taylor's Bookshelf
The Complete Yurt Handbook
Paul King
Eco-logic Books
c/o Chelsea Green
205 Gates-Briggs Building, White River Junction, VT 05001
1899233083 $17.95 1-800-639-4099
The Complete Yurt Handbook by professional yurt builder Paul King is a solid history of the yurt,
a
simple dwelling used throughout central Asia for hundreds of years. It is also a "user friendly"
how-to instruction book for building several different types of yurt. Exhaustively researched and
steeped in Mongolian history and culture, The Complete Yurt Handbook illustrates its meticulous
instructions with photographs and diagrams, presenting a thorough do-it-yourself education in the
art of yurt-building. The Complete Yurt Handbook is a fascinating, unique, and highly
recommended
book presenting just about everything there is to know about the yurt.
Keiko Shokon
Diane Skoss
Koryu Books
PO Box 86, Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922-0086
1890536067 $21.95 http://koryu.com
Deftly edited by Diane Skoss (who holds black belts in several modern martial arts, as well as the
classical licenses of okuden in Toda-ha Buko-ryu naginatajutus, okuiri-sho, and Shinto Muso-ryu
jojutsu), Keiko Shokon: Classical Warrior Traditions Of Japan is the third in a fascinating series of
compiled of essays and interviews. Of special note are those contributions which are expertly
translated from Japanese and focus upon the traditions, martial disciplines, and way of life of the
warrior in pre-industrial Japan. From a U.S. marine's observations on the Japanese warrior
traditions, to an overview of the wide variety of sword arts and the men who founded them,
Keiko
Shokon presents a wealth of information and knowledgeable opinions. Keiko Shokon is especially
recommended reading for anyone interested in learning more about the history and traditions of
Japanese swordsmanship.
American Apocrypha
Dan Vogel and Brent Lee Metcalfe
Signature Books
564 West 400 North, Salt Lake City, UT 84116-3411
1560851511 $21.95 1-800-356-5687
Collaboratively compiled and edited by Dan Vogel and Brent Lee Metcalfe, American Apocrypha:
Essays On The Book Of Mormon is a selection of nine scholarly essays that focus upon the Book
of
Mormon, scrutinizing the testimonies of witnesses and carefully evaluating historical context. A
carefully researched, meticulously presented, and highly methodological collection, the essays
comprising American Apocrypha include: Historical Criticism and the Book of Mormon: A
Personal
Encounter (Edwin Firmage, Jr.); Automaticity and the Dictation of the Book of Mormon (Scott
C.
Dunn); Lamanite Genesis, Genealogy, and Genetics (Thomas W. Murphy); The Validity of the
Witnesses' Testimonies (Dan Vogel); B. H. Roberts: Book of Mormon Apologist and Skeptic
(George D. Smith); Isaiah in the Book of Mormon: Or Joseph Smith in Isaiah (David P. Wright);
Secret Things, Hidden Things: The Seer Story in the Imaginative Economy of Joseph Smith
(Susan
Staker); Echoes of Anti-Masonry: A Rejoinder to Critics of the Anti-Masonic Thesis (Dan
Vogel);
and Joseph Smith: Inspired Author of the Book of Mormon (Robert M. Price). American
Apocrypha
is a welcome and seminal contribution to Mormon History supplemental reading lists and
academic
reference collections.
The Rosetta Stone
Robert Sole and Dominique Valbelle
Four Walls Eight Windows
39 West 14th Street, room 503, New York, NY 10011
1568582269 $23.95 www.4W8W.com
Collaboratively written by novelist and journalist Robert Sole and Egyptologist Dominique
Valbelle
(President of the French Egyptological Society), The Rosetta Stone: The Story Of The Decoding
Of
Hieroglyphics is the amazing and true story of the Rosetta Stone, from its discovery by
Napoleon's
army during their sojourn in Egypt, to how the Rosetta Stone became the key to deciphering
ancient
Egyptian hieroglyphics -- which had not been used as a written language for over fourteen
centuries. An amazing saga about the reclamation of history itself, The Rosetta Stone is a highly
recommended addition to both school and community library Archaeology and Egyptology
reference
collections.
The Dead Detective
Robert L. Wise
Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Phenix & Phenix (publicity)
PO Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214
0785266968 $13.99 1-800-251-4000
The Dead Detective: A Sam & Vera Sloan Mystery by Robert L. Wise is a darkly engaging
mystery
in which the widow of detective Sam Sloan must learn who is responsible for the death of her
beloved husband. Shadowy intrigue, cross-purpose motives, and an underground conflict of
international proportions culminate in a deadly battle between good and evil, in this exciting saga.
Also highly recommended is Robert Wise's previous Sam Sloan mystery, The Empty Coffin
(0785266879, $12.99).
Go To Market Strategy
Lawrence G. Friedman
Butterworth-Heinemann
c/o Elsevier Science
225 Wildwood Avenue, Woburn, MA 01801-2041
0750674601 $29.99 www.bh.com
Go To Market Strategy by Lawrence G. Friedman (CEO, The Stales Strategy Institute) is a
straightforward, "user friendly" guide to market strategies that recruit more customers, more
often,
with less cost and more profit. From specifically targeting the right markets with the highest
potential audience for one's product; to the "ten commandments" of going to market; to choosing
the right venues and associates to work with, Go To Market Strategy is fundamentally a
"must-read"
for anyone involved in marketing, especially in the small or self-owned businesses.
John Taylor
Reviewer
James A. Cox
Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129
phone: 1-608-835-7937
e-mail: mbr@execpc.com
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