The Wounded Spirit
Frank Peretti
Word Publishing
ISBN 0849916739 $9.99
Jean Carroll
Reviewer
Frank Peretti has made a name for himself in the field of Christian fiction ("The Oath," "The
Visitation"). "Time Magazine" called him "The king of the (Christian faith) genre." According to
"Newsweek" ". . .the hottest novels are those by Frank Peretti."
"The Wounded Spirit" is not fiction. The subject of this nonfiction book-- that of being bullied
and teased is one Peretti knows well.
Peretti was born with a medical condition that left him disfigured. Although surgeries "and the
slow miracle of answered prayers" remedied the deformity on his neck and tongue, he suffered the
taunts and physical abuse of classmates throughout school.
In this book Peretti lets the reader inside the mind of a youngster bearing the ceaseless torment of
one who is different.
Barely able to talk as a child, Peretti is now a public speaker. Shortly after the incident at
Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado a tragedy that affected him greatly Peretti
found the courage at an engagement at a "Life on the Edge" conference for youth and their
parents, to speak out about the torments he suffered as a child.
"I was pushed, shoved, thrown, hit, insulted, badgered, manhandled, teased and harassed. . ."
Teachers did little or nothing to ease the constant pain he suffered, the pain he calls that of "the
wounded spirit."
"I believe what happened at Columbine was the result of a wounded spirit," he says. "We now
have in our society myriad young people and adults who have been deeply wounded by the
demeaning word or actions of authority figures." Peretti says the killers were also victims, the
wounded become wounders.
Peretti seems to veer off on a related subject at one point in the book. Referring again to
Columbine, he launches into a discussion about people living by the "misguided notion that truth
is relative, that there are no moral absolutes, that everyone should decide for him-or-herself what
is right and wrong."
He gives an interesting rebuttal to that type of thinking. To the statement, It's wrong to impose
your morals on others!" he response is, Uh. . .pardon me, but when you tell me it's wrong to do
something, aren't you imposing your morals on me?
"There are no absolutes."
His response: That in itself is an absolute statement.
"No one's moral opinion is valid because we all speak from how we've been indoctrinated."
Well, I guess that would apply to you as well, which means what you've just said isn't valid
either.
Peretti's final chapters get back to the problem of bullying, and what can and should be done to
prevent wounded spirits. It is a book worth reading by both parents and educators.
Shepherds Abiding
Jan Karon
Viking Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
ISBN 0670031208 $24.95 288 pages
Colleen Spiro
Reviewer
I was pleasantly surprised. "Shepherds Abiding" is not just another sugary holiday book. The
author, Jan Karon, tells a simple, but beautiful story. It is warm and funny; moving and prayerful.
The characters are real and likable, like next door neighbors. I enjoyed this book so much, I
dreaded reaching the last page.
The story takes place during Advent, in the small town of Mitford in North Carolina. The main
character, Father Tim, a retired Episcopal pastor, comes upon an old neglected nativity set. He
decides to restore it so he can give it to his wife, Cynthia, for Christmas. Not accustomed to
working with his hands, he finds himself enjoying the project and along the way, makes
discoveries about himself, his past and the people he loves.
As we follow Father Tim's progress, we meet other characters struggling with their own hopes
and plans. There is Hope, anxiously waiting for her dreams to come true. Lew, a lonely man with
a secret. And Cynthia, who is working on a surprise of her own.
As the townspeople plan their celebrations and surprises, there are little gifts for the reader as
well. Many times I was so moved by the words or the moment that I had to close the book and
reflect on them.
One of my favorite parts was when Father Tim included in a note to Cynthia something he had
found on the Internet about children defining love: "When someone loves you, the way they say
your name is different. You know your name is safe in their mouth." He ends the note with his
own words: "P.S. He calls His sheep by name, and our names are safe in His mouth."
"Shepherds Abiding" is the eighth installment of the Mitford Years series written by Jan Karon.
The book jacket states that she writes "to give readers an extended family and to applaud the
extraordinary beauty of ordinary lives." Truly a wonderful story for the holidays, this book
accomplishes that and more. The dedication says it best: "To the honor and glory of the Child
Emmanuel, God with Us."
Past: Perfect! Present: Tense!
Julie Donner Andersen
iUniverse
2021 Pine Lake Rd.,Ste.100, Lincoln, NE 68512
0595274803 $14.95 U.S. 2003 130 pp. www.iuniverse.com
Joyce P. Hale
Reviewer
Past: Perfect! Present: Tense! by Julie Donner Andersen, although written for wives of widowers,
may be enjoyed by women universally. Much of the wisdom and many of the solutions may be
applied to other life situations, though it is invaluable to wives of widowers. It flowed well and
kept one's interest throughout. Her summaries toward the end are lessons in life for everyone.
"Loving and marrying a widow/er is no easy task, especially when you must accept that the man
or woman you have vowed to love and support forever shares his/her heart with someone else.
That, in and of itself, makes all second spouses of the bereaved very brave souls."
Real World Guide To Happiness
Mary Jesse
Hexagon Blue
www.hexagonblue.com
ISBN: 0972995811, $9.95
Judine Slaughter
Reviewer
Description: Advice from a dear friend
How many people can you go to with your troubles, and they always seem to have the right
answers? These people have a bright attitude about life, and their thoughts are a ray of light on
your overcast day. It's not like they got a degree in psychology, but they have earned wisdom
from their life experiences. Now what happens during the times, when you really need their
advice, but you are not able to reach them. If only they could publish the basic points of their
wisdom, then you could pick a piece of their sunshine at your leisure.
"Real World Guide to Happiness" is like that printed piece of wisdom from a dear friend.
Consider the text as "small nuggets collected over time"(pg 9) from someone who has probably
experienced a few troubles, and learned how to find the ray of happiness in spite of them. The
chapters Behavior, Ancillary Factors, Tidbits, and Happy Habits briefly cover many of the trials
that everyone faces once in awhile, with give real world solutions. There's "Having a positive
outlook can definitely improve even the most difficult situation." (pg 41) And, "Charity is an
essential element of happiness." (pg 58) Someone has probably shed these beams of thought on
you before, but oftentimes we need a gentle reminder.
Mary Jesse is a wife and mother of three sons, and has a degree in Electrical Engineering. "Real
World Guide to Happiness" is her labor of love from her passionate belief in everyone's ability to
live a happy, fulfilled, and successful life. I like how she writes about generic problems, such as
giving yourself a break, family, and travel. She touches a wide variety people, because we all have
more of the same experiences, than differences. Although we don't learn about her personal life
events, which gave her this wisdom, I still enjoyed her thoughts on happiness. I recommend "Real
World Guide to Happiness" for those who don't have a shoulder to cry on, and need some
immediate TLC.
Dude Where's My Country
Michael Moore
Warner books, Inc.
1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
www.twbookmark.com
ISBN: 0446532231 $24.95 FPT ($36.95 in Canada)
Kevin Courtney
Reviewer
After an easy 217 pages, Michael Moore's new book "Dude, Where's My Country" manages to
convey a clear message. George Bush is a threat to the world community. The conveniently
planned release has come at a point where most readers are looking for answers and alternatives
to the current political trends. The Rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer, and
dissention is growing in the international community.
With the success of his last book, the New York Times #1 best seller of 2002 "Stupid White
Men", Michael Moore is filled with confidence and a touch of arrogance with his almost
guaranteed literary success. There is no doubt in the minds of his publishers, AOL TimeWarner,
that money can be made from the millions of hopeful Bush subversives.
Unfortunately, the book reads like a "Liberal Politics for Dummies" but lacks substance and
objectivity. He writes based on personal opinion and frequent tangential ignorance, while using
humor to cover up his ineffective attempt at clearly understanding the issues. Moore knows what
he likes and dislikes, but makes no solid arguments as to why anyone should consider what he is
suggesting.
The overall subject matter is refreshing, and is a positive sign to see that so many people are
interested in his cause, yet it would surely have done the reading public a greater service if Mr.
Moore would have researched his opinions before sending the book to the printing press. The
book resonates as a sloppy, ill-informed, and quickly thrown together attempt at removing
George Bush from the White House; more thought and preparation would be appreciated for next
potential volume, "Pull the Bush from the Roots in 2008".
There are books that stay with me long after I read them, and Mozart's Wife is one of them.
Written from the viewpoint of Konstanze, Mozart's much maligned wife, the story starts when
she, only a child, first gets a glimpse of the man who will some day be her husband. Then in love
with Aloysia, her older sister, Wolfgang hardly notices Konstanze. But she catches his eye when
she turns fifteen and he seduces and marries her.
I had scant knowledge of Konstanze before reading this book, except for what historians have
written. Juliet uses personal letters and meticulous research to paint a vibrant portrait of a woman
living in the late eighteenth century. The book captures Konstanze's day to day life, her struggles
with everything from cooking to heating her house, to loving a man who is brilliant but fickle,
unstable, and spendthrift.
Erotic, romantic, and moving, Mozart's Wife is a loving tribute to a woman who lived in the
shadow of her husband. Capturing the love the couple shared, their tragedies as well, and bringing
Mozart down to human level is this book's strong suit. Instead of reading about Mozart the genius
composer, Juliet Waldron, using Konstanze as our guide, helps us fall in love and understand the
man behind the music. For Konstanze, her husband's work was for paying the rent and the real
passion and heartbreak in their life came from day to day living, their family and friends, and the
births and deaths of their children. From her eyes, we see the love she has for her husband and
their life as it unfolds in a succession of houses and cities.
Mozart's Wife is the story of a tragedy, but in it is all the ardor and brilliance of an exceptional
man as told by his loving wife. I cannot recommend this book enough and look forward to passing
it on to friends and family.
Very highly recommended.
Loot and Other Stories
Nadine Gordimer
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
New York
ISBN 0374190909, $23.00 US (hardcover).
Marcia Deihl
Reviewer
As new readers discover the Nobel-prize-winning expatriate South African writer J. M. Coetzee,
another South African writer may catch some of this reflected light. Nadine Gordimer's new book
of ten short stories, "Loot," deserves it.
Although she is known as a "political" writer, Gordimer delights in more metaphysical matters
here. Reincarnation and myth address human powerlessness (over death) just as stories about
injustice address our ultimate limitations (in life). In Part 1 of the last story, "Karma," bad things
happen to good families, black and white, when they buy a cunning little Dutch gabled house.
This five-part story follows several "returns" of one spirit in different bodies and different lives. In
one section the narrator is an unborn twin; in another, a white child is found in a toilet in a black
township, brought up by black parents, and moves to the city. When she falls in love with a white
man, all the questions of identity, home, race, and law are thrown into conflict. At first, deep in
love, she sees no problem as she prepared to meet his nice middle class parents: " . . love is in the
present, it's her hand slipping beneath his shirt to his chest, it's reading together descriptions of the
places in the world maybe they'll save up to see. She did not say: they know I'm white. As if he
heard the thought:--I know . . But that you grew up there, school and home, people who are
like--your parents, to you--" Their advocate, a Jewish lawyer (stand in for Gordimer herself?), has
a fine appreciation for racial injustice, and she battles to prove that this white woman is indeed
white. But in a country where blacks often try to pass for white, a hastily drawn up birth
certificate ("Race: Colored"--no white parents known) dooms the couple. A few years later, post-
apartheid, there would have been no problem, and the formless narrator wonders how an arbitrary
law could shift a couple's world so completely. Everyone loses when the literal color of one's skin
calls forth decades of complex cultural histories. And South Africa is more complex than the
United States, since it has a majority black culture and eleven separate languages are spoken,
besides the colonizer's Afrikaans.
The first story, which some have called a naive fable, is the most challenging. Double reversals,
mirror images, and the giant toggle switch of fate all enter into play. A giant wave floods away a
town, leaving the ocean floor full of a former regime's riches. The poor forage for treasure, amidst
the bodies of their murdered compatriots, but a rich man wants only one thing, a mirror. When he
finds it, he looks in, and suddenly a second wave washes him away, along with all the others.
Before his demise, he had slept with a print of "The Great Wave" by Hokusai, behind his bed. But
he never gazed on it, since it was behind him. Did he not see the overthrow of apartheid coming?
And when he looked in the mirror, did he see himself? With remorse or revulsion? Did he see the
print, or the real wave? And was that second wave a metaphor for his own inner demons, or the
Truth and Reconciliation Commission, finally catching up with him? Gordimer leaves these crystal
facets of interpretation up to the reader. This first story intrigued me more than convention stories
like the aging parent/younger woman plot in "Generation Gap," the interracial love affair in
"Mission," or the loss of sexual innocence in "The Diamond Mine." It offered a different sort of
"return"a constant revisiting of its possible meaning.
Gordimer has often claimed that she will never write autobiography. But he themes of her inner
world are clear in her work: the senseless damnation of whole races of people by outdated law
and custom, the triumph of sensuality and love across racial barriers, and the painfully slow
changes in power in post-apartheid South Africa.
Dereliction of Duty: The Eyewitness Account of How Bill Clinton Endangered America's
Long-Term National Security
Robert Patterson, Lieutenant Colonel, USAF, (Ret.)
Regency Publishing, Inc.
Washington, DC
ISBN: 0895261405 $27.95, 256 pages
Maurice A. Williams
Reviewer
Bill Clinton is controversial man. Libraries are filled with books praising or condemning both Bill
and Hillary Clinton. It is hard for the general reader to get facts. How can one form one's own
opinion? Here is a book written by a military aide to Bill Clinton, who was close to President
Clinton for two years. This book "Dereliction of Duty" is critical of President Clinton. Its author,
Robert Patterson feels Bill Clinton endangered our national security by failing to act decisively
when action was required.
Robert "Buzz" Paterson, is an Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, now retired. During his early career,
he flew combat troops from North Carolina to Grenada and served in other conflicts. In early
1996, he was accepted by Bill Clinton to serve as military aide entrusted with the "football," a
suitcase containing the mechanism that launches a response to a nuclear attack. Clinton is
entrusted with the nuclear code cards. If a nuclear response is warranted, Clinton gives Patterson
the cards to be inserted into the device so that a nuclear response can be launched. Naturally,
Patterson has to be near Clinton at all times. An added precaution is that the code cards are
regularly changed to prevent accidental disclosure of the codes.
Patterson's proximity to Clinton has made him an eyewitness to situations he felt were carelessly
mishandled by Clinton. Three months into his new position, September 13, 1996, Patterson was
on a golf course where Clinton was playing golf. A military situation occurred that required
Clinton's decision. Because Iraq captured the Kurdish city of Irbill in violation of the cease fire
agreement that ended the Gulf War, the military was put on alert for an appropriate response
against part of Iraq's military arsenal. They found a suitable target, scrambled planes, and
contacted Sandy Berger, Clinton's National Security Advisor, for a decision to strike or not strike.
Sandy phoned Clinton on the golf course. Clinton refused to take the call. While the planes were
in the air, the military phoned Berger two more times. Clinton refused to take the other two calls.
Finally, the planes had to return to their bases. Patterson felt Clinton's refusal to take the calls
resulted in no response to this violation of the treaty. He felt, as a military man himself, this
inaction served to embolden the Iraqis to test American resolve by further violations.
Patterson was aware that Clinton was given intelligence reports that Al Qaeda terrorists were
planning to use commercial airplanes as bombing missiles in 1996. Sudan captured Osama bin
Laden and offered him to Saudi Arabia. The Saudis didn't want him. Clinton could have requested
bin Laden from Sudan, but didn't. Bin Laden was eventually released. Patterson felt that, by failing
to act, Clinton put our nation in peril allowing bin Laden and Iraq both to feel that the United
States is not going to take action to halt their aggressions. Patterson cites another surprising
failure of duty: Clinton's frequent careless misplacing of the nuclear code cards. One set of lost
cards were never found.
Patterson noticed what he thought was a lack of sound procedures in the white house and an
overemphasis on public image. He observed that most event scheduling was for Democratic Party
fund raisers rather than for matters of state. Patterson watched Clinton make massive reductions
in military personnel and armaments. Clinton reduced military pay. Eighty percent of the military
now make less than $30,000.00. More than twenty thousand military now make so little that they
qualify for food stamps. Simultaneously, Clinton increased the oversees deployment of the
military. This reduction of personnel and armaments and the increase of deployments stretched the
military dangerously thin. All of the above convinced Patterson that Clinton neglected his duty as
Commander-in-chief and, by so doing, endangered our national security.
Patterson wasn't the only military aid that felt that way. In May 1998, all five of Clinton's military
aides considered an "en masse" resignation in disgust. Patterson was transferred to teach in the
Air Force Academy. Patterson's book has a forward by Al Santoli, author of "Everything We
Had," which outlines, in detail, how Clinton weakened our military. Patterson's book ends with an
appendix consisting of a long quote from Casper Weinberger's 2001 book "In The Arena: A
Memoir of The Twentieth Century." If everything Patterson relates is factual, Clinton, really did,
at times, fail in his duty as Commander-in-chief.
Ella Enchanted
Gail Carson Levine
Harper Collins Publishers
ISBN 0060275103 $16.99
Robyn Gioia
Reviewer
This captivating retake on the Cinderella story weaves its own spell of delight. The masterful
storytelling and vivid imagery compelled this reader to turn page after page. When the fairy
Lucinda blesses baby Ella with an obedience spell, it was meant to be a magnificent gift. However,
it turns out to be a curse of the worst kind, and Ella is obliged to obey the tiniest of commands.
She does not readily conform and tries delaying her obedience but in the end, she remains a slave
to others' whims.
Later, when Pamela and I retreated to the garden to devour the candy, she asked why I hadn't
done what Mandy wanted straight off.
"I hate when she's bossy," I answered.
Pamela said smugly, "I always obey my elders."
"That's because you don't have to."
"I do have to, or Father will slap me."
"It's not the same as for me. I'm under a spell." I enjoyed the importance of the words. Spells were
rare. Lucinda was the only fairy rash enough to cast them on people.
"Like Sleeping Beauty?"
"Except I won't have to sleep for a hundred years."
"What's your spell?"
I told her.
"If anybody gives you an order, you have to obey? Including me?"
I nodded.
"Can I try it?"
"No." I hadn't anticipated this. I changed the subject. "I'll race you to the gate."
"All right, but I command you to lose the race."
"Then I don't want to race."
"I command you to race, and I command you to lose."
We raced. I lost.
We picked berries. I had to give Pamela the sweetest, ripest ones. We played princesses and
ogres. I had to be the ogre.
An hour after my admission, I punched her. She screamed, and blood poured from her nose.
Our friendship ended that day.
Ella's life is further compounded when her mother forbids her from telling anyone about the curse.
A command she is fated to obey.
Ella's struggle to become independent takes her on an enchanted journey where she encounters a
bossy but loving fairy godmother, the kindest of princes, Prince Charmont, a distant father
preoccupied with the making of money, a group of sweet-talking ogres intent on eating human
flesh, and two conniving step-sisters backed by a self-serving step mother. In the end, Ella learns
the true reach of the curse and whether she can overcome its powerful magic.
As a reviewer, I enjoyed this author's ability to entertain us with a new rendering of a classic fairy
tale. Any lover of fairytales will delight in the telling of the story from Ella's childhood, the place
where the real saga begins. We can now truly understand Ella and the hardships of her injustice.
Moreover, we realize it wasn't Prince Charmont who saved her, but Ella discovering what was
truly inside her.
Archangels & Ascended Masters: A Guide to Working and Healing with Divinities and
Deities
Doreen Virtue, Ph.D
Hay House, Inc.
P.O. Box 5100, Carlsbad, CA 92018-5100
www.hayhouse.com
ISBN: 1401900186, $23.95, 1-800-654-5126
Shannon McKelden Cave
Reviewer
Have you ever wished you had some divine help with problems in your life? If you have, then
Archangels & Ascended Masters is just the right place to begin to find that help. Author Doreen
Virtue, Ph.D., has shared her expertise on Oprah, Good Morning America and The View, as well
as many more. Here, she shares her extensive research on working and healing with those beings
in the non-physical plane who have been turned to for centuries by various religions and spiritual
teachers.
The intro reveals the history of communicating with angels and ascended masters, the reasons one
might wish to do so and the basics of how. The rest of the book includes 1-2 pages for each deity,
a list of alternate names, his or her country, religion or affiliation, and the history and background
followed by Virtue's story of her own experiences with that deity and suggestions for the reader
as to how they may wish to communicate with them.
Part II includes invocations and prayers for individual needs. Part III is essentially an index of
problems or concerns and which master to call on for help.
Easy to read, with great information, you'll find this book fascinating and loving and spiritual all at
the same time.
Waxwings
Jonathan Raban
Picador
ISBN: 0330419617 A$30.00 311 pages
Ann Skea
Reviewer
I should say from the start that I am a great fan of Jonathan Raban's writing. I have collected his
books over the years, have just re-read Badlands for its insight into American history and life, and
I found Passage to Juneau fascinating. But all these books are travel books, closely based on fact.
Perhaps this is why I was disappointed with Waxwings, which is a novel.
Admittedly, Tom Janeway, the main character in the book, has more than a passing resemblance
to Jonathan Raban. But this is fiction and, although it is well-written and I enjoyed it in a mild
way, I was never as engaged by it as I have been with Raban's earlier books. It's just a slice of life.
And, as the car-sticker says, "shit happens". For Tom, it is like a visitation of Waxwings. They
appear out of the blue, you grab your binoculars to get a good look at them, your kid is
unimpressed and just gets on with his life, and the next time you look they have gone. And all the
berries have been stripped from your tree.
One of Tom's 'waxwings' is an illegal immigrant, 'Chick', who turns up on his doorstep and offers
to renovate his house for him. It's an offer Tom can't refuse, but Chick and his team of Mexican
contractors (also illegal immigrants) vanish halfway through the project.
Meanwhile, Tom's wife, Beth, decides to buy herself a condo' and move out. Tom comes under
suspicion in a missing child case. And Finn, his son, is expelled from pre-school for
non-conformist and unruly behavior. Tom's eight-year idyll as a British immigrant (legal) to
Seattle unravels almost as quickly as Chick's (illegal) fortunes begin to flourish.
Tom is an amiable, self-absorbed, unworldly writer, author of two best-selling books and teacher
of Victorian Literature and The Writing Programme at a Seattle university. His house is a
reflection of his own muddled background and his unambitious complacency and, as renovations
begin then falter, leaving it half dismantled, it comes to reflect his life ever more closely. Beth,
who chooses to move into a light, bright, modern condo, is as modern and bright as her new
home. She is ambitious and innovative, too, determined to make her mark in a new,
computer-based, real-estate marketing business. Their separation is quite civil and they each deal
with it in their own civilized ways. Finn, too, seems to take it all in his stride.
All in all, this is a realistic picture of a fragment of life but there is little drama. At times, Tom
lectures us on Victorian literature and draws some amusing parallels, but his life is rather like
those books - a bit old-fashioned, a bit slow, and not compatible with the fast-moving,
commercial world of modern Seattle. Raban has written a pleasant and amiable book, and he has
written it well. No doubt it says something about values in our world and in literature. But I was
left at the end thinking - "OK, that's life. So what?".
The Prosecution
D. W. Buffa
Ballentine Books
ISBN: 0449006905 $6.99 326 pages
Terry Mathews
Reviewer
Recommendation: *****
This Attorney Delivers on Paper
D W Buffa is not just another attorney-turned-author. He's the real deal. His characters are not
perfect and his courtroom scenes aren't drawn from the pages of Perry Mason. His heroes have
flaws and his villains have good points.
In THE PROSECUTION, Portland attorney Joseph Antonelli leaves his self-imposed exile and
signs on as a special prosecutor involving two Deputy District Attorneys. He leaves his home on
the hill and comes back as a favor to his old friend, Judge Horace Woolner.
This book is really three stories wrapped, as only Buffa can do, in a nice, tidy package. Story one:
the murder of a Deputy District Attorney's wife. Story two: the murder of a prominent member of
Portland's old-line society. Story three: the coming back to life of Joseph Antonelli.
Buffa's stories aren't nice and tidy -- they're about real life. The way he constructs them, however,
is as close to precision as an author can get.
So far, he's been able to avoid the trap of other successful authors. He's stayed sharp, crisp and
real.
Enjoy!
Susie and Herman, A Story of Love and Caregiving
L.B. Smith
Health Communications, Inc.
ISBN: 1558749578, $14.95, 168 pp.
Viveka Neveln
Reviewer
In this slim, large-font volume, the author states that "all of us face the prospect of someday
becoming dependent on another person for our safety and well-being." This story has the potential
to capture anyone's attention because none of us are immune to time. In this no-nonsense account,
L.B. Smith describes his experience of dealing with his geriatric mother and stepfather during
their last years of life. Far from a sugar-coated how-to manual or advice book, this memoir takes
an honest look at the difficulties as well as the rewards of caring for aging parents.
The story begins with a brief summary of Smith's childhood and the death of his father at the age
of 56. The author's mother, Susie, moves into a retirement facility in her eighties where she soon
meets Herman. Second marriages for both of them, the octogenarians find comfort in each other's
company in spite of increasing dementia and other problems. The chapters describe a few
incidents, such as the elderly couple's insistence on purchasing and operating a car, to illustrate
how they become less and less able to function independently in the world.
As their caregiver, Smith experiences everything from minor inconvenience to extreme
aggravation, but his sense of humor and empathy for his parents help him through it all. By wisely
recognizing feelings of frustration, sadness, and anger, Smith keeps these emotions from
hardening into resentment and pessimism. As a result, he is able to care for Susie and Herman
with respect, dignity, and patience.
Though the author could have incorporated more dialogue and detail to bring the characters to
life, Smith clearly communicates the challenges of his experience. He supplements each chapter
with a "postscript" that sometimes flashes back to his childhood or some other memory that
brings further understanding to an issue or helps Smith cope with a situation.
Aging isn't an easy subject, but it is something most of us will have to deal with. If you have
already gone through a similar experience of caring for elderly parents or relatives, this memoir
will help you realize that you are not alone. For those who have yet to be in this situation, this
book is good preparation for what is to come.
A Saving Solace
DS Bauden
Dare2Dream Publishing, A Division of Limitless Corporation
100 Pin Oak Court, Lexington, South Carolina, 29073
http://www.limitlessd2d.net
ISBN: 0974403733 $18.00 1-803-356-8231
Ann Wesley
Reviewer
DS Bauden is known for writing intensely emotional stories about friendship, family and love. Her
third and newest novel, A Saving Solace, cements that reputation with an extremely personal,
heart-wrenching tale of two women who struggle to overcome loss and open themselves to
love.
The book tells the story of Kelly Cavanaugh and Susan McGovern. Kelly is a wealthy manager of
a posh retail store who is devastated by her mother's death. Susan is also alone in life, left
homeless when her parents discover she is a lesbian and disown her. The two meet in the winter in
Chicago when Susan is ringing a bell, collecting donations for charity outside Kelly's store. Soon
they embark on a journey that allows them to share their pain and start to look for the silver lining
in the clouds of their lives.
Classified as lesbian fiction, A Saving Solace, breaks this genre's mold by featuring characters
with depth and a plot that moves beyond getting the women into bed. On the surface, the story is
about two broken-hearted people who find love again. But it also is a story about
mother-daughter relationships; about family values, about pride, and about how children are
affected when they lose their parents.
Bauden's strength is her ability to make her characters' emotions real. Because the story reflects
her own experience in losing her mother to ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) and the struggle she felt
to go on, she is able to make the scenes truly believable. Bauden takes readers through the pain
Kelly feels so that their hearts ache and their eyes water along with Kelly.
After her mother's diagnosis, Kelly helps care for the woman, cherishing their days together but
also feeling tormented by watching her mother deteriorate before her eyes. Bauden writes:
Kelly began to cry in earnest and had to try to calm herself to finish what she needed to say. "I
hate with all that I am to see you like this. You were such an independent woman. You've never
asked for anything in your whole life. Now you can't. What kind of divine love is that? Why did
God do this to you? You've gone to church almost daily since I was born. Is this the gratitude He
shows you? I will never understand the justice in all of this . I just don't understand that kind of
love." Kelly stopped to sob against her mother's side. "I'm so sorry this happened to you, Mom.
I'm so sorry."
Her mother uttered a sound, and Kelly got closer to her mouth so she could listen better. "What
Ma? I didn't hear you."
"Laaa you," her mother's voice stretched.
"I love you too, Mom," Kelly sobbed.
In the story, Susan's sense of loss over family is equally devastating. Flashbacks bring to life the
awful moment when Susan's father discovers her lesbianism and hurls vile insults at her,
demanding she leave his home immediately and permanently. The reader feels the anger and fear
that race through Susan as her father rejects her.
"Get out of my house!" Susan's father screamed.
"You're kicking me out?" Susan asked incredulously. "I'm your daughter!"
"You are no daughter of mine! My daughter isn't queer! My daughter isn't a freak! My daughter
isn't an abomination to God!" he spat, within inches of Susan's face.
"You're right. Your daughter isn't any of those things. I am a human being who happens to love
another woman." When Susan's father turned a deaf ear to her, she began to show her anger. "I'm
sorry, Daddy! You can't change who I am!"
"No, I can't but I don't have to look at you either. You disgust me!"
Though the scenes of emotional turmoil linger with the reader long after finishing Bauden's book,
so too does the comfort and compassion Kelly and Susan share. Their partnership does not
develop without struggle, but that may be because the story shows the building of a relationship
rather than just the climax of orgasm.
In the end, Bauden pulls the reader off the emotional roller coaster and brings love and hope to
the characters. A Saving Solace is a story based on real-life emotions. It shows how we can rise
from the depths of despair to feel joy again. Most importantly, it is a story that illustrates how
fragile family relationships can be and how they should never be taken for granted.
Ballam's Bookshelf
Moonbathing
Valerie Laws.
Peterloo Poets
The Old Chapel, Sand Lane, Calstock, Cornwall PL18 9QX, England
www.peterloopoets.co.uk
ISBN 1904324029 7.95 Brit. pounds 64 pp.
Valerie Laws has written and performed in a number of media in the UK radio, theatre, fiction,
as a reviewer and an editor, and as a co-editor of modern language books. She is also a
prize-winning poet, whose work has appeared widely in magazines and anthologies, and in a joint
collection with Kitty Fitzgerald in 1994. So while Moonbathing is her first solo volume of poems,
it is not surprising to find that the voice of the book is confident, mature and very alluring.
A key characteristic of the book is its orientation within the wider spectrum of the written word.
'Realia', as language instructors like Laws know, are important aids to learning, and their use here
(as road-signs, newspaper articles, titles of books, even a brass plaque) is simultaneously
instructive and unsettling. In an amusing riposte to Shakespeare's Sonnet 130, the graceful and
controlled formality of her writing is appropriate both to the assigned context (pastiche of The
Bard) as well as to the underlying mockery of tradition akin to Shakespeare's own:
My computer's screen is nothing like the sun
and yet it lights my way when all is dark.
It cannot walk, but I can make it run:
one touch, and it ignites as with a spark.
Elsewhere it is speculation about what the printed word conceals that lends the verse power, as in
the last few lines of a poem entitled, 'Balloon Suicide (from a small paragraph in Bild)':
Up there,
floating above his life, if he saw
the beauty of the sky, the trees,
it was not enough
to make up for it all in the end
maybe he was more afraid to rise
than he was to fall.
Throughout Moonbathing it is Laws' fascination with the queerness of the ordinary, merged with
a train of thought that simply refuses to stay on the rails, which makes for striking effects. In a
sensitive and touching piece, called 'Bones from a medic's dustbin' her explorations of the
abandoned and, it would seem, ultimately disenfranchised remains, takes her, as so many of these
poems do, towards the conclusion that there is nothing present in the evidence of life around us
which sheds any light on the questions we most want answered. As she says, although she holds
an arm 'closer to me now/ than ever lovers were' the mystery of its owner's identity is lost, a
disintegration mirrored in her imagery:
I hold this human spine like a rosary of bone,
fingering the winged vertebrae.
I stack them to nest snugly
in totem poles of little trolls;
The body, in this way, becomes the sum of all the things it represents to the imagination, without
ever becoming any of these things wholly or knowingly.
In keeping with this view of the essential unknowableness of her fellow beings, and with the
introspection that a tendency to bookishness has fostered, Laws undertakes to speak for and
about printed lives, or at least those who inhabit the margins of the printed space. Her first-person
narratives of historical, or imagined-historical women, speak a language of dissatisfaction with
their roles, or their fates, much as do the women of Tennyson's or Browning's dramatic
monologues. On occasion, elements of these protagonists show a fusion of the highly specific,
concrete or local detail, with a generalized or mythologized characterization. A good example of
this is the imagined world of 'Nantucket, 1810', which combines classical myth, pained eroticism
and a universalized predicament:
Laudanum strokes me throat to womb, warm
as a lover, my lover, who's cold at the sea
and wet, wild wind.
With nothing but the 'six inches of cold hard plaster' that sailors' wives call a ' "he's-at-home"' and
'the memory of his face' to console her, she lives achingly through her young womanhood (and,
one feels, too-early motherhood), fighting the dream that 'thick water closes over him'. It is a
powerful and provocative poem, and symptomatic of the condition Laws imagines her
foremothers to have known almost universally.
Undoubtedly the most complete exposition of all of these themes is in what I regard as the most
successful poem in the collection, 'Ann More: Mrs. John Donne'. Just as the colon separates the
two selves of the historic person, so too Laws' embodiment of the character's views makes for a
perfect dialectic of the joy and bitterness of her situation. As she begins her tale, the formalities of
the verse serve to underwrite the message of competing ideals of fulfillment and expectation by
enforcing rhymes over a syntactical network of delays and accelerations.
I thought myself a lucky woman then
to capture such a poet, such a lover,
so skillful with his hands, his tongue, his pen
I, his America, he, eager to discover.
But broken down by the inevitable cycle that their (increasingly his) erotic demands
bring 'twelve times I waxed and waned' she would in 'one black year' see two of her children
die, before herself dying at thirty-three, to find rest, like the souls of Spoon River, in telling her
story to any passing auditor. But what is remarkable, perhaps, is the poignancy of the poem's
conclusion. There is no complete apportionment of blame the 'easy pleasure' remains pleasure,
hers 'is a woman's common story'. The loss is perceived more in terms of the gross personal
injustice that allows a woman of ordinary means, and evidently extraordinary sensibility, to have
no stake in the future joys of those she invested her life in namely her husband, and their
children. It is this anonymity and its attendant loneliness, which makes Ann More's voice speak for
Laws' lost generations:
But, he gave to poems, I to babies, breath:
his labour brought him fame, mine brought me death.
As a first collection, Moonbathing achieves its unity through developing a perspective on past and
present that loosens fixed markers like print, biography and other framed artifacts. That it is
undertaken in a series of forms that are persistently challenging to the familiar gives it an authority
that is at once ironic and an engaging read.
J. D. Ballam
Reviewer
Brenda's Bookshelf
All I Ever Needed
Jo Goodman
Zebra
Kensington Publishing
850 Third Ave, New York, NY 10022
Phone: (212) 407-1500
FAX: (212) 935-0699
ISBN 0821774166 $6.50
Lady Sophie Colley unsettled him. Proper ladies were not direct. Additionally most would be
appalled about the rumors surrounding their improper engagement. It seemed - at least to the
Marquess of Eastlyn - that the lady knew much more about the source of the rumor than she let
on. Of course, when it's all said and done, Sophie is dead wrong but she knew that her cousins
had not denied the claim and in fact, encouraged the lie to continue. On the other hand, it was not
the thing of Gabriel Whitney to allow a woman to be disgraced no matter how little he wished to
be wed. So he did the gentlemanly thing and proposed. And as unsettling as it may be, Sophie
promptly refused.
Gabriel was not about to let the matter rest. The entire affair was nothing of his making although
his friends from the Compass Club certainly had a laugh at his expense. And even though he had
no wish to marry, Gabriel was intrigued by Sophie's demeanor. He was fascinated and frustrated
at the same time. Gabriel was also quite angry when he realized that Sophie had been punished for
her not accepting his proposal.
So he set out to win her hand.
With little effort on his part, Gabriel found the key to Sophie's heart while he visited Tremont
Park. But then found himself angry at her uncle when she is punished yet again. So Gabriel takes
matters into his own hands and whisks Sophie off to his sister's home. Gabriel proposes once
again the night he finds them at the inn. Yet Sophie knows something Gabriel does not and
refuses his offer without explanation.
Up until this point, the story sags and it's difficult to keep the pages turning. Another problem is
the quick point of view shifts. Readers will require wit and perseverance to stay in sync and keep
up with the plot and thoughts offered. Some readers will not notice nor care. However, it is true
many will notice and find it distracting.
And then the story shifts into high gear. First, Sophie learns she is pregnant with Gabriel's child so
she flees his sister's home. Second, Gabriel is in the midst of a huge case that is ready to explode if
not handled carefully. But Gabriel cannot concentrate because he is worried about Sophie so he
sets out to find her. He does not have to go far. However, convincing Sophie to marry him right
away will be much easier said than done. And he needs to get it done before the Society of
Bishops wreck more havoc as their trade agreements and political aspirations spiral out of control.
Fortunately, the only ones who can stop them are the Compass Club.
Combine an unusual meeting with an out-of-the-ordinary engagement and you get an awesome
story. Goodman does an excellent job of keeping in tune with previous books in this series and
whets the appetite to read the last book in this quartet.
Brenda Ramsbacher
Reviewer
Brittingham's Bookshelf
Ethical Ambition, Living a Life of Meaning and Worth
Derrick Bell
Bloomsbury
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
ISBN 1582342059 $19.95 183 pages
"Why do lawyers carry their certifications on their car dashboards? So they can park in
handicapped spaces --- it's proof of moral disability."
Sounds like lawyer slamming doesn't it? But that line was picked up from a legal website where
such jokes are collected, either to say, "yes, we've heard them all" or perhaps as a form of dark
humor designed to remind members of the bar that their principles are under constant
scrutiny.
Unfortunately, many of those designated to interpret the law, are the first and most proficient
manipulators of it. As Lord Acton famously put it, "Power tends to corrupt " And it does not
require a despot to accomplish this, only a well-trained intellect seduced by scheme or greed. We
want --- no, demand --- that attorneys, doctors, clergymen, and scientists be above all those rather
pedestrian pursuits involving materialism, i.e. to function beyond the pale of human
shortcoming.
We elevate them to temporary dietyhood only to discover that they are like ourselves, somewhat
special but ultimately flawed. Even Olympus was populated by a motley lot.
In "Ethical Ambition" respected legal scholar and civil rights activist Derrick Bell attempts to
identify for members of his profession as well as for the rest of us, what is involved in personal
and professional ethics. This is no easy task because a) ethics can be a good deal like art, highly
subjective, and b) it is an intangible force similar to gravity. The definitions turn into descriptions
of what it is not.
Professor Bell constructs his argument by breaking the matter down into six manageable portions.
In Part 1 he examines whether the passion for both integrity and success can coexist within the
individual. In Part 2 he discusses courage, " a daily decision to wake up and try to do the right
thing, no matter how big the reward or how great the fear." Such choices must, he warns, be
tempered with the ability to evaluate the risks involved against what may, or may not be
accomplished. Confrontation for its own thrill is ludicrous.
In a society strangled by consumerism, me-ism and torqued definitions of personal achievement, it
is comforting to learn (Chapter 3) that we do not have to depend totally on traditional religion to
nudge us down the ethical highway; that, indeed, ethics is a measure of both a true, highly evolved
individual, as well as, the civilization from which he/she springs. Morality may be at least a little
"easier" for those like Bell who are proud, professed Christians. But, as he notes there are "many
ethical people who want nothing to do with organized religion, but (who) view life as a gift with
an obligation to uplift the lives of those around them . . ." Certainly, this provides us with a
broader base from which altruism can spring.
In the fourth section, Dr. Bell takes on the dynamics of personal relationship. "Just as the price of
liberty is eternal vigilance, shared intimacy demands constant effort." And, "it is no exaggeration
to say that an intimate committed relationship is the crucible of ethical action . . . " Even when
money is not the foremost goal in one's life, there remains the need for balance because there is a
point where virtue can become just as overpowering and obsessive as the search for success.
Part 5 focuses on the kind of people who can inspire future generations, even when it costs them
everything for which they have worked. His personal favorites run the gamut from the famous
(Martin Luther King, Jr., W.E.B. Du Bois and the poignant Paul Robeson) to the lesser known,
Dr. Jeffrey Wingard, the former tobacco executive whose testimony undermined the industry's
claim that smoking did not cause fatal illnesses, and University of Tennessee Professor Linda
Bensel-Myers, who has incurred threats from ribald sports fans for exposing a college system that
permits good athletes who are bad scholars to coast through exams and courses.
Lastly, the author deals with what may be the most difficult virtue of all: humility. Learning to
accept that even the purest of intentions may not bestow the innate ability to make appropriate
choices in every instance, can take the better part of a lifetime.
Do not expect this to be an "entertaining" book --- at least not in the way we regard novels or
movies as entertainment. Neither is it light reading to be done with only 50% attention. It requires
focus and mindfulness to derive its intended message and perhaps, effect a shift in personal
perspective.
That is not to suggest that it is dry, statistical reading. Bell sprinkles it with delightful anecdotes
from his own experiences and from the lives of well-known friends --- Bill Cosby, Thurgood
Marshall, Alice Walker and the like.
He also provides a simple, carry-it-with-you-at-all-times definition of ethics: the choosing of
"right" over "easy." Following through will be the demanding part.
B. A. Brittingham
Reviewer
Christina's Bookshelf
Carnival of Horror
L. Marie Wood
Cyber Pulp Publishing
Houston, Texas
ISBN: TBA, $TBA 226 pages
This book is available in hard copy, ebook, and CD forms.
Ray Bradbury popularized the use of the carnival as a setting for horror with Something Wicked
This Way Comes and now L. Marie Wood has found 18 writers to assist her in telling relentless
horror stories all with a carnival backdrop. Keep in mind, however, these tales are not for
children.
A Bat Out of Hell, Wood's own tale, rests about halfway through this anthology. Surrounded by a
group of gory story-tellers who are relatively fresh with the tales they tell, Wood's yarn is about a
young woman riding a roller coaster with a male friend who has a special question for her. It
seems like it is with ease that Wood sets the mood for her story.
"The phantom coaster was off in the distance, the stairwell leading to the top visible over the
trees. The frame, unpainted metal with a winding staircase, reminded Carly of a ride she and her
father used to love. Every year they would drive to the amusement park up the turnpike, talking
about the drop the ride possessed for the three hours it took to get there. They would walk
around the park, sampling the other rides until dark. Then they would get in line for the ride they
had been waiting for, a monster coaster with dueling cars."
--A Bat Out of Hell, L. Marie Wood
Some other tales here are Carnival Came to Town, Carousel, The Regard of Oddities, The
Suicide Machine and Mmm,Mmm, Good. Other authors here include Richard Dysinger, Melanie
Billings, Trey R. Barker, and Holly Wade Matter. Each story and author adds a new perspective
to a not so new subject.
Perhaps my favorite is the lead story. This little tale, entitled Pyro, was written by Jason Brannon.
It's about a carney who is a "fire-eater." As the story progresses, readers see the dark side of the
ability to swallow fire. Pyro is a lonely kind of guy with few friends. Though readers may berate
themselves because the end of this yarn fits almost predictably well, the tale is told in a strong,
descriptive, story telling voice.
What makes a collection like this extremely enjoyable is the different voice of each writer. With
each story, there is another point of view. Like it's name sake, Carnival of Horror has a variety of
scares with a little bit of something for everyone.
So, for a horrifically good time: Come to the carnival. Carnival of Horror, that is.
Fantastic Discounts & Deals for Anyone Over 50!
Janet Groene
Simon & Shuster
Cold Spring Press Publishers
Cold Spring Harbor, NY
ISBN 1593600038, $9.95 127 pages
"Your hometown is swarming with discounts," Janet Groene tells her readers in the introduction
of this book. "Many of them never advertised nor offered unless you ask for them. What stands in
your way?" The author then goes on to help her readers get over the embarrassment of seeking a
discount for consumers over 50. Instructing readers to simply phone ahead," or "ask quietly for
the discount," Groene tells that the savings are there for the asking. So, ask.
In DISCOUNTS FROM A-Z, the author gives readers an alphabetical breakdown on the kinds of
discounts she is referring to.
"Note that discounts can vary greatly even within the same chain," she tells readers. "Use the
following as a guideline, but always verify in advance and make sure you understand all of the
rules, blackout dates, age limits and limitations. If you don't, you might be disappointed at best or,
at worst, embarrassed by a loud and deliberate turndown."-Page 11
In eleven chapters, Groene discusses gaining discounts with shopping and banking, dining, travel
by flight, cruises, hotels & lodging, and several other categories.
The chapter entitled "Never Too Old to Learn" discusses continuing education and advanced
degrees for less, if not free, tuition once a person is over a certain age. I remember my father
telling me about some real estate and psychology courses he was taking at the local college in the
early 1990s. Being a student myself, I knew that this had to be running Dad lots of money.
"No," he told me. "Your college lets people over 55 take courses at no cost."
Now you can slap your forehead and realize that this is the reason so many seniors are going
back to college. If you are of retirement age, you may want to check out the educational benefits
available. Not only does Groene name some resources here, she also gives the web site addresses
and other contact information readers may need.
A staunch supporter of AARP, Groene shares " this is the most powerful lobby group in the
United States . Whether or not you agree with the political agenda, AARP membership can be a
plus. For those aged 60 and over, many advantages apply but if you are aged 50-59, membership
is almost a necessity because many of the best discounts for that age group are available only to
AARP members."
"Fantastic Discounts " Is a must read for that part of the population over 50. The $9.95 price is
probably regained with the first few purchases with ideas from this book (if not the first
purchase)! What about those people under 50? Well, I plan to give my copy to my over 50
mother. I know that she will love having all of these savings tips!
It Ends With You, Grow Up and Out of Dysfunction
Tina Tessina, PH. D.
New Page Books, a division of Career Press, Inc.
Franklin Lakes, NJ
ISBN 1564146499 $21.99 224 pages
Tina Tessina, Ph.D. says that people who grew up in dysfunctional families can end what we now
know is a cycle of abuse and in It Ends With You she is going to tell readers exactly what they
can do to end the cycle.
"To grow up and out of a painful, dysfunctional past and all its leftovers-feelings, memories, pain,
confusion, anger, fear, and persistent dysfunctional relationship patterns-may seem like a miracle,
too wonderful to be possible. But it can be done, if you have the right tools and support. The
purpose of this book is to lead you from the problems of the past into a satisfying, joyful, and
successful future."
--It Ends With You Pg. 11
The beginning of the Introduction in this book reveals a conversational yet instructive tone that is
used thru the entire read. Caring and concerned for those who are stuck in dysfunction, Tessina
has been helping people for at least 25 years in her Marriage and Family Therapy practice. She is
determined to help people by guiding them out of .dysfunction through her writing as well as her
therapy.
One of the most important factors in healing, Tessina tells in chapter 1, Dysfunctional Families
and How They Grow, is facing the truth. In order to help the reader find the truth, a variety of
writing and thinking exercises are provided along with coaching from the writer. Tessina
especially warns about discouragement due to realization of past events that may have been
repressed.
" you may need to get some help from a counselor or therapist." She tells readers. "Don't let it
(the anger and sadness) discourage you. You have just begun a discovery process that will allow
you to grow out of the dysfunction and create the life you want."
Other chapters here include; What You Might Have Learned in Childhood, Grown-Up Problems
From Family Patterns, Why Do I Do That? The Child Running the Adult, and Changing Old
Patterns: Re-Creating Yourself.
This isn't the therapist's first endeavor at conquering dysfunction through writing. Tessina has
written as many as ten other books. The Real 13th Step; Discovering Confidence, Self-Reliance,
and Independence Beyond the Twelve-Step Programs, and How to Be a Couple and Still Be Free
are two titles she published with New Page Books.
Can this author help change your life in eight chapters? Ask me in a few months. By then I will
have completed these exercises and will be better able to discuss whether reading this book helps
or not. With Tessina's breezy, confident writing voice, reading this book and doing the exercises is
bound to be a pleasurable experience all by itself!
Christina Kiplinger-Johns
Reviewer
Christy's Bookshelf
Joint Task Force Liberia
David E. Meadows
Berkley Books
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
1-212-366-2153
ISBN 0425192067 $6.99 311 pages
Lieutenant General Daniel Thomaston, U.S. Army Retired, and his good friend Retired Sergeant
Major Craig Gentle head up a group of American expatriates who have relocated to Liberia,
where they have built their own small city, called Kingsville. When they learn that a group of
Muslim extremists, with the aid of Liberian rebels, have taken over the close city of Monrovia and
are moving their way, they begin to prepare for the battle they know they will eventually
face.
Rear Admiral Dick Holman, commander of Amphibious group two, a special joint task force of
Naval and Marine components, receives word from the Pentagon that he is to head toward the
African coast to evacuate the Americans from Liberia. Onboard are Unmanned Fighter Aerial
Vehicles (UFAVs) which will eventually play an important part in the rescue of the American
citizens. Close to the African coast, Holman's force is intercepted by a French naval force, whose
objective seems to be to keep them from liberating the Americans.
David Meadows delivers one heck of a fast-paced, roller-coaster ride with this exhilarating
military thriller. The battle scenes, both in the air and on the ground, are galvanizing - the best I
have read yet - suspense-filled and invigorating. Meadows' sense of characterization is
well-defined, and he has the unique ability to clarify for civilian readers the military mindset, along
with the complicated machinery, technical terms, and acronyms within the military lingo. One
does hope, however, that Meadows does not prove to be prophetic. The events depicted within
the book could easily become fact in today's world, which makes the read even more powerful. A
dynamic writer with a fresh voice in this somewhat complicated, technical-ridden, yet intriguing
genre. Highly recommended.
Jeannie, A Texas Frontier Girl, Book Three
Evelyn Horan
PublishAmerica
P.O. Box 151, Frederick, MD 21769
240-529-1031
www.publishamerica.com
ISBN 1413704034 $14.95 154 pages
Book Three in the Jeannie, a Texas Frontier Girl series by author Evelyn Horan finds Jeannie and
her best friend Helga growing up and facing changes in their lives, which happen almost too quick
to breathe. Jeannie's brother, Henry, marries Linda Mae, and before long, Jeannie finds she is to
become an aunt. Billy Joe begins to work for the new bank in their small town, and he and Helga
agree to become engaged. Jeannie works out an arrangement with Helga's father to buy land from
him for the horse ranch she has long dreamed about. She begins to make plans to build her ranch
and asks Slim to be her ranch foreman, unaware of the interest Billy Joe's brother, Jack, has begun
to show toward her. Along the way, Jeannie learns a poignant lesson when she is forced to deal
with prejudice against the Comanche family in their community, from whom she learns how to
weave baskets and to utilize plants for medicinal purposes.
America's present-day Laura Ingalls Wilder, Ms. Horan is an author who possesses the unique
ability to weave an entertaining, inspirational story with factual history. As with the first two
books in the series, the reader is left eagerly anticipating what will happen next to Jeannie, her
family, and friends. This is one series I would like to see continue on - reading each book feels
like spending time with an old friend - and would love to see in classrooms across America. A
delightful read for the child in all of us.
The Old Neighborhood
Tom Gorman
PublishAmerica
P.O. Box 151, Frederick, MD 21769
240-529-1031
www.publishamerica.com
ISBN 1592865143 $14.95 77 pages
The Old Neighborhood by Tom Gorman is a collection of six stories revolving around a group of
boys growing up during the 1950's. Each chapter shares a different lesson the seven boys, ages 8
to 12 years, learn together. The leader of the group of boys, Oliver, called Big O by the others, is
large and brash, and although the other boys are somewhat intimidated by the Big O, they know
he is mostly all talk. Throughout the stories is another, mysterious boy, John Allen, who is not a
member of the group yet seems to convey wisdom beyond his years as well as mystical powers.
John Allen always shows up when the boys need him most and is not only their voice of reason
but healer of hurts, as well.
Mr. Gorman's writing reminds the reader of a simpler, more na‹ve America, and offers a nostalgic
look at a time when doors did not need to be locked and drugs did not abound in neighborhoods,
a time when summers were spent riding bikes and playing baseball or basketball. The interactions
between the boys are fun to read and reminiscent of the innocence of childhood. Wonderfully
written and warmly delivered, The Old Neighborhood is a book all readers, adult and child, will
enjoy.
In this gorgeous, evocative and constantly moving offering from the author of the marvelous
Goodbye Chunky Rice, Craig Thompson stretches his wings further, proving indisputably that
words and pictures, together, can not only move you, but transform and challenge you.
Craig has always held to his parents belief in a terrible and fearful Christian God. He struggles
constantly, even as a child, with the desires of the flesh and the world and the desire of being
worthy of Heaven. When he meets his first love at a church camp, he finds himself infatuated,
comparing her to the sacred, to the divine...
No, that's over simplifying it. But then to say that this book follows the memories of a young man
from childhood, contrasting the terrible things that happen...hinted at sexual abuse, school bullies,
against religious teachings and how these all effect an over imaginative and creative child's mind.
This is also true, but it is also over simplifying.
Craig, raw and completely honest, relates the whole arc of his love from the trembly first
beginnings of letters, to the innocently sexual explorations, to the inevitable last chapter. No
matter what he talks about, even when we see a few brief, tasteful scenes of sexuality, there is a
veneer of innocence. This innocence covers everything, even shadows the more horrific scenes,
because it is often the hero's innocence that keeps him from truly understanding the situation. This
innocence is what makes the work so moving, because when we contrast this sweetness with the
reality of the world, that we often find our hearts being touched the most.
I don't know if this book is supposed to be autobiographical. The character and the author
certainly do share a same first name...and they look bit a like, I suppose, when you look at the
author picture. They both have a brother (with different names), and both grew up in the same
sort of area. It doesn't matter, really...the similarities make it more real, more grounded, more
immediate...and aside from the fact that we know all authors draw from their lives in some way it
doesn't really matter if its real or not. The intimacy between author and reader is well established
by his use of these similarities, and therefore the message, the strange mixture of hope and
loneliness and loss, is all the more accessible.
His discussions on Christianity are really, for me, some of the most heart wrenching parts. This is
because I'd often read things and say, "Oh, honey, is that really what they told you?" I've never
been to church on Sunday, so I've never had any true interaction with my fellow Christians, and
therefore this awoke a lot of thoughts in my head. Who is mislead, the mainstream as shown in
this book, or me?
Which also leads us to the art itself. It is fabulous...beautifully realized and well planned. He
understands how to balance the real with the surreal, the miraculous and the worldly. He jumps in
his narrative, often going back into the past to tell a story of his childhood, or to tell a bit of story
he heard from the bible...the narrative jumps always serve a purpose, and the art goes a long way
in making these loops of story run smoothly. It also brings the contrast I've spoke of into sharp
focus...you could never have accomplished half the things he does in this book with mere words,
for it is the illustrations that really guide us, that show us the emotions of the situation.
We also see that art and religion are not easy housemates...it is hard to decide if you have the
right to follow your gifts, or if you have to apply your gifts to God. His art is amazing...it evokes
as the prose evokes, capturing nuances beyond words.
Very few things grip my emotions as keenly as Thompson's work. When I first received this book,
I thought I'd sit down and flip through it for a moment or two, then go back to work. I couldn't,
of course, and ended up reading it in one sitting. It is a large work, impressive in scope as it is
emotionally stunning.
Scaredy Cat
Mark Billingham
Harper Collins
ISBN 0066213002 $23.95
"She was nothing to me, the woman from the station. She was nothing to me and I squeezed the
life out of her. I'm so very sorry, and I deserve what is surely coming. I hate to ask a favor, Karen,
but if you see her, the woman I killed, will you tell her that for me?"
There were two of them, Detective Inspector Tom Thorne knew that. He knew it from the
victims, how some of them would be killed slowly, to prolong the pleasure as much as possible,
and some would be quick, as if a particularly nasty chore to be done with. But why? It goes
against everything they know, or think they know, about serial killers...the first rule being that
they almost always, always work alone.
The journey to discover why is a mysterious one...it begins with a formal letter of expulsion from
a Middlesex Grammar school. In between chapters we go back to the past and watch the
relationship between a pair of boys, Nicklin and Martin. Nicklin is the one, despite his slight build,
that no one wants to mess with, not because he's tough, but because he's so scary. Martin Palmer
is the nerdish unpopular type so often seen, always neat, brainy but envious. Each of these
chapters moves this strange relationship forward as we see the slow building up, the
manipulations that Nicklin carefully orchestrates to make Palmer into his own perfect weapon.
True, Palmer isn't a good person...we are disgusted by him despite any pity we may feel for him,
but Nicklin...Nicklin's scary. It makes it entirely believable that a killer can be created...and it
makes it even a more fascinating challenge for Thorne to solve this crime, because Nicklin is so
cunning...and uttlerly without any human feeling. Adding to the excitement is that Nicklin has
changed his name...so who is he now, and which of the witnesses, the leads, the people that
Thorne passes on the street...is the killer?
The idea of how serial killers are made is one that has long fascinated psychiatrists as well as
readers...Billingham plays with the idea of nature versus nurture...are killer born or made? Nicklin
was born one...his nature is as harsh and ungiving as black ice, but the jury is out on Palmer,
whose original crime was the desire to have a friend, along with a nature more malleable than
putty. Was it in his nature to finally begin to kill, or was it slowly built in?
The other reason why this book is so well put together is that the police have real lives that they
have to struggle through...complicated relationships and problems that sometimes impact their
work for the worst. It gives this novel a hard edged feel.
This is the second book featuring the infinitely admirable Detective Inspector Tom Thorne, the
first being Sleepyhead. Intensely written, this dark, intelligent novel is a definite read.
Bows of the World
David Gray
The Lyons Press
The Globe Pequot Press
P.O Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437
ISBN: 1585744786 $24.95
Bows of the World is an interesting book...despite the name, it doesn't cover all bows...to quote
from the introduction, "this book is limited to an exploration of traditional archery. Traditional
archery, however, does not include bows with pulleys and multiple cables that magnify the arrow's
thrust, or with balances that dampen torque or other errors in form...so when I use the word
"traditional," it should include the category of bow commonly referred to as 'Primitive.' The latter
tends to refer to bows made of one piece of wood that has had a minimal amount of power
machining." This book, then, is a travelogue and history of traditional archery, and its chapters
cover the globe, discussing prehistoric bows then beginning the journey in the Americas. Europe,
Asia and Africa are also visited before the final chapter, where it explores the future of this
sport.
This book is a homage as well as a history. To look at the pictures is to see a huge range of
shapes and sizes, the beautiful curves and angles, the lovely decorations, show the bow as an
object of art. The Turkish siyah, with its black and gold enamel work is undeniably fetching, while
the brilliant colors and bold patterns of the West Coast Native Americans are extremely eye
catching. When you see the fine quivers and the beauty of the bows, you can not help but
appreciate the esthetic value, and what these values meant, symbolically, to the bearer of these
weapons.
I was also surprised by the shapes and how they developed to suit the needs or cultural tastes of
the people who made them. When you imagine a bow, or at least when I do, I see the usual Robin
Hood style long bow...but there are so many more shapes and sizes, a fact that really impacts the
reader when they look through this book, especially when they hit upon the picture of the bows
taken from King Tut'ankhamun's tomb.
Each chapter is divided by the group who made the particular bow. Reasons behind the design,
materials and draw are discussed, providing the expert as well as the casual reader with a lot of
information.
A beautiful book that is a wonderful esthetic experience as well as a practical reference. A must
for anyone with an interest in weaponry.
The Barefoot Serpent
Scott Morse
Top Shelf
Graphic Novel
ISBN: 1891830376 $14.95 124 pages
On the surface this seems to be two entirely unrelated stories. The full color pages are a narrative
on the life of Akira Kurosawa, the black and white are about a family on a Hawaiian vacation,
trying to learn to live with a tragic loss.
At first it's a little hard to get into...you expect that the narrator of the Kurosawa sections will
turn out to be the little girl, or that there will be a connection that really leaps out at you and
makes everything fall in line. There isn't...Morse expects more from us than that. When you read
both stories, you can soon see the parallels between the two, though they are subtle things...the
young girl of the story's loss parallel's a loss that Akira himself suffered, and the archetypes of the
characters recall the characters in Kurasawa's movies...for example, I recognized the boy who
eventually befriends her as the sort of common character we see in a couple of Kurasawa's films
(and, indeed, can be found in the westerns that mirror them) of the self centered person who is
looking out for number one, but who finds a type of salvation, even an epiphany, in helping
someone else, usually by giving up the very thing he thought would help him gain his desires.
The way the book is set up is very clever. The art...excellent, and expressive, helps divide the
book into two very different feels. The full color biography is rendered into a series of shots...the
narrative takes the quality of a voice over. The black and white part is three panels per page, like
scenes from a black and white wide screen movie. There are no voice balloons and no captions
what so ever, so the dialogue is rendered under each panel, much like subtitles. The sparing
dialogue and the lack of narrative captions creates a great depth of silence. It's like watching a
movie with no music track. This really makes it more of a cinematic experience...and a very
touching one. We don't know what the little girl's going through...in fact, we don't really know
anything at first, we can make assumptions based on the fact that the second panel of the black
and white sequence shows the girl at a funeral, but this early in the story the significance of that
can be more symbolic than plot. The silence helps force an intimacy between you and the prose,
making it much more visual, and you invest more in it as you study the pictures to see what's
going on.
Morse manages some real magic here...with little dialogue and some nifty art, he manages to
convey the whole of the healing process...from heart break and denial to the final letting go and
breathing again. It is incredibly moving, and, in the end, incredibly hopeful.
Cindy Lynn Speer
Reviewer
David's Bookshelf
Monturiol's Dream
Matthew Stewart
Profile Books
distributed in Australia by Allen and Unwin
ISBN: 1861474701 A$39.95 404 pages
The extraordinary story of the submarine inventor who wanted to save the world.
In Barcelona, if you go to the end of Las Ramblas, cross the road by the statue of Christopher
Columbus and walk along to the new harbour, you will come to a strange wooden structure. And
if you are curious enough to stop to read the nearby commentary you discover that you are
looking at a full sized model of Ictineo II, the first real submarine to be built. Sure, others had
built and trialled submersible vessels but here is a replica of the first real submarine that dived,
surfaced and proceeded underwater, on its own, at depths of up to 20 metres; an event in 1867 as
astounding as the landing of men on the moon some 100 years later. And it was invented and built
by an idealist with no formal engineering training who had spent the first 37 years of his life
publishing left wing journals (always banned by the authorities) or organising a radical political
party, most of whose members were jailed or exiled. He was himself wanted by the police. His
name was Narcis Monturiol i Estarriol.
This book is his biography. Born in 1819, he was the second son of an artisan family, and was
destined from childhood for the priesthood. At the age of eleven he was sent to university in
Cervera to study Latin, Greek and other subjects that would qualify him for the church. However,
he found science more to his liking and studied medicine instead. Not that he ever practiced as a
doctor, for at that time the first Spanish civil war broke out and Monturiol had no difficulty in
deciding which side to support. In a burst of revolutionary fervour he switched from medicine to
law and moved to Barcelona. Not that he ever practiced law either. In Barcelona he put aside his
law books and fell in with student demonstrators, revolutionary journalists and communists all of
whom coming his close friends for the rest of his life. He was sixteen and for the next 20 years he
was part of the left wing movement seeking a better life for the workers.
Suddenly at the age of 37, Monturiol, ignoring his day-to-day involvement with the left wing,
concentrated all of his energies into designing and building a submarine. And it was not to be any
old submarine. Monturiol made it clear in his first writings on the subject that he imagined a craft
that would take humankind to the very bottom of the ocean (at least eventually) and would propel
itself in all directions, without any link to the land or surface and remain underwater
indefinitely.
Why did he design and build such a vessel? Not for the usual reasons, such as a delivery system of
weapons of war. No, he had been motivated to find an easier way for the coral divers who
worked off the coast of Spain to harvest the coral after he had helped to save the life of one such
diver who had apparently drowned. Also he reasoned that by making a better life for the workers
a new civil (ideal) society would naturally develop.
He overcame many problems, raised finance and found a dockyard to build the vessel. He became
a master in the sciences such as they existed at the time. He conducted his own experiments to
test his hypotheses about hydrodynamics, respiration, and so forth, that would underpin the
submarine's construction. In three years he designed, had built and then, in 1859, launched his first
submarine. Ictineo I performed admirably as a prototype and was shown off to all until it was
crushed in dockside encounter with a freighter.
The story now takes on a familiar theme known to many inventors. Few in the establishment were
keen to adopt the submarine concept or to provide funding for the next, larger, version. However,
new funding did materialize and in 1867 a new larger submarine, Ictineo II, was built and
launched. It even had a steam engine (fired by a revolutionary concept) that ran underwater. In
the end the project ran out of money and ran up huge debts. Ictineo II was seized by the major
creditor, parts sold off, and the rest broken up for scrap.
The rest of Monturiol's life was a struggle for existence. He had no official position and no
income. He scraped together a living by taking odd jobs as a writer and editor. He lectured,
translated works from French and copy edited manuscripts. At the age of 59 he took a job in a
brokerage house and a year later worked his way up to cashier a trade for which he had also
trained 35 years previously as a student.
In his lifetime, Monturiol invented many things. A cigarette rolling machine, a method of
preserving meat for export, a cheap food for rabbits being raised for meat and a mechanism for
copying letters as they were written, are just a few mentioned in the book. None, though, enriched
the inventor. As Monturiol wrote about himself: 'I do not know how to market anything. I do not
know how to conquer the hearts and minds of men so that they come to my aid '
Had he had this ability who knows what other inventions he would have developed. He had flying
machines in mind once he had solved the submarine problem.
The book is illustrated. However, as the illustrations are all printed in black and white on the same
paper as the text, the quality of the reproductions is less than satisfactory, which is a pity. I found
the book well worth reading and would have liked to examine the drawings of the submarine
more closely.
David Skea
Reviewer
Diana's Bookshelf
Single White Psychopath Seeks Same
Jeff Strand
Mundania Press LLC
6470A Glenway Avenue #109, Cincinnati, Ohio 45211-5222.
www.mundania.com
ISBN #: 1594260133 $24.99
Ever have one of those days? One of those days has become known as a catch phrase for a
generally bad day. No one has 'one of those days' like Andrew Mayhem.
Single White Psychopath Seeks Same sees the return of my favorite accidental hero, Andrew
Mayhem, who apparently hasn't learned that he should just say no when a woman asks for a
seemly strange favor, and is willing to pay him. Still bumbling, irresponsible, and hilariously
sarcastic, Mayhem agrees to accompany Patricia Nesboyle to a party, because she is afraid that
someone may make an attempt to kill her. It would be bad enough if the outcome of that party
was all that Mayhem had to deal with, however, it was only a small glimpse of what was to come.
Through a few bizarre turns he and his best friend, Roger, find themselves taking a retreat with a
house full of killers. Well actually, Mayhem gets the retreat, as he is posing as the serial killer The
Headhunter in an effort to stop the murderous party, while Roger is stuck in a cell, posing as
Mayhem's/Headhunter's soon to be victim.
Author Jeff Strand again provides his readers with a story that no one but he could have written.
There are horrible occurrences filling the pages, yet the humor allows, and at times, forces you to
chuckle and laugh out loud. I still have never read anyone who blends horror and humor so
seamlessly as Strand does. He has made his own genre and is the unchallenged master at what he
does.
If you have never read Jeff Strand's work you are surely missing out on a phenomenal talent. Pick
up your copy of the first in the Mayhem series; Grave Robbers Wanted No Experience Necessary
when you pick up Single White Psychopath Seeks Same, because I can guarantee one will not be
enough. His works are of the highest caliber and are sure to entertain even the most discerning
reader.
I very highly recommend Single White Psychopath Seeks Same to all adult readers. Be prepared
to give your entire day to the novel as once you start reading you will find it a compulsively
engaging page turner, filled with horror, humor, and everything else you could want in a
novel.
Mandibles
Jeff Strand
Mundania Press LLC
6470A Glenway Avenue #109, Cincinnati, Ohio 45211-5222.
www.mundania.com
ISBN #: 1594260060 $15.99
Fire ants can be a real pain. Anyone who lives in an area they have to share with the little bugs, is
certainly aware of that. Their bites are slightly uncomfortable and make a nice little red bump that
fills with the venom. Of course, unless you are allergic, an ant bite is nothing more than a small
nuisance. Well, unless you happen to live in Tampa and star in the brilliant new novel, Mandibles
by Jeff Strand.
As the infestation begins, the people in the city of Tampa notice something different about the fire
ants that seem to be growing in number at an alarming rate. They are bigger. Not huge, but for an
ant, definitely bigger than anything they had seen before. One, two, some even six inches long.
Another huge difference in these 'big' ants is that they seem to be much more aggressive than their
smaller cousins. However the main difference, and the one that seems most troublesome, the bite
is deadly.
A small group of people armed with Dustin 'the bug man' Abbott. A specialist in solenopsis
invicta, fire ants, who just happens to be in town, regarding the very ants that are chasing them,
set out to stop the ants before the entire city falls victim. Not only do they have killer ants, which
seem to be pack hunting to contend with, but they also have two deranged killers, Hack and
Slash, hot on their tails.
Jeff Stand continues to amaze me with his talent. As with his other novels, this story is compelling
and highly readable. The characters are three-dimensional and pull you directly into their plight.
The reader will laugh, and cry with them as they are faced with the horror of being nothing more
than ant food. Mandibles is another masterpiece by a man who has proven that his work is
consistently at the top of the game.
The humor ever present in his work allows for the over the top, big bug thriller to appeal to all
readers. Each time I read a piece of work by Jeff Strand, I am floored by the ability he has to tell a
story in a way that can both amuse and horrify me.
Mandibles by Jeff Strand comes with my high praise and recommendation.
TSOG: The Thing That Ate The Constitution
Robert Anton Wilson
New Falcon Publications
1739 East Broadway Road #1-277, Tempe, AZ 85282
www.newfalcon.com
ISBN# 1561841692 $16.95
Being a logical and rational freethinking person, I often find myself on the outside of popular
opinion, and I am sure the author of TSOG: The Thing That Ate The Constitution, Robert Anton
Wilson, is a kindred spirit.
This is my first experience seeing such logic in book form and it delights me that it hasn't been
pulled off the shelves. What will you find in this eye-opening piece of nonfiction? Information
regarding the running and structure of our government that is not generally spoken of. He
presents hard facts and opinions of structured religions and their belief systems and some very
interesting information on the FDA and DEA. An honest look at the war on 'some' drugs, as well
as the war on 'some' terrorists, and a plethora of various thoughts covering a huge range of
topics.
What I think I like most, is the style in which Wilson presents this information. It is not at all in a
staunch doctoral way; instead filling the book with humor and amazement that such things not
only go on, but also are widely accepted.
Do I agree with everything? I can't really say at this point, because I always thoroughly research
anything presented to me before I make a judgment. I do however have a deep respect for Wilson
and his expression of ideas. Despite being a 'free' country, thoughts like these can still have
repercussions, especially when laid out in a book for anyone to see.
I highly recommend TSOG: The Thing That Ate The Constitution to anyone who has ever looked
at the world around them and just shook their head, smiling to themselves at the absurdities. It is
not suited for addle minded zombies, who believe everything they hear or see. If you can take in
information and make decisions for yourself, this work will provide you with some eye opening
moments.
Robert Anton Wilson is an author for today's freethinking population. It is nice to know we are
not alone.
Enchantment of the Faerie Realm
Ted Andrews
Llewellyn Publications
PO Box 64383, Dept. K728-5 St. Paul, MN 55164-0383
www.llewellyn.com
ISBN: 0875420028 $12.95
To have the heart of a child, is to see with openness all the magic that is around us everyday. In
Enchantment of the Faerie Realm by Ted Andrews, readers are shown how to recognize and
appreciate that magic.
There is nothing that says magic like faeries and other nature spirits. Yet as we grow into
adulthood, we easily forget our love for the complexity of the gifts we receive from these
spectacular beings. How long has it been since we gazed at a field and thought of the magic
involved in the creation of all the living things that grow there?
I remember as a child, my favorite place to read was in the orange tree, in my back yard. There
was a comfort being there, so close with nature and all of its' inhabitants. Now I read in the cold,
hard comfort of the indoor. I also remember that my imaginary friend was most predominating
outdoors. Of course, now that I think back, it was my mother who called her imaginary.
Something special has been lost in the transition from child to adult. Was there something special
in your life that revolved around nature? Some place that the peace you felt was overwhelming?
You can have that again.
Author Ted Andrews is a man who is still blessed with the frequent gifts of natures children and
he, with great passion, shows his readers how they can reconnect with wonderful beings that
inhabit our world. There is a lot more covered than just faeries and elves. The reader will also
learn how to connect with elementals and all manner of other realm inhabitants. They will be given
guidelines to help open the doors to numerous encounters, as well as the ability to take notice of
the subtle ways in which we are already being contacted.
Read. Be inspired. Feel the wonder of the faerie realm. Most important, when you feel moved by
the beauty of nature's creations, say thank you, something very special has blessed you with that
moment.
I wish all my readers would pick up a copy of Enchantment of the Faerie Realm. Do yourself a
favor, and once again be blessed and aware of the life that goes on around us, which is capable of
enriching and adding so much joy to our own life.
How To: Meet & Work With Spirit Guides
Ted Andrews
Llewellyn Publications
PO Box 64383, Dept. K728-5 St. Paul, MN 55164-0383
www.llewellyn.com
ISBN # 0875420087 $5.99
Have you ever read a manual from cover to cover in one sitting? This was a first for me. The
information found in How To: Meet & Work With Spirit Guides was so fascinating that I
devoured it like a good piece of fiction. The writing is so reader friendly and chock full of
interesting items that I had a hard time stopping. Of course, there is way too much information to
absorb in one sitting, so I did go back and reread the guide, pausing to try out and absorb the
lessons being shared with me.
What exactly did I learn?
The planes of existence and the types of beings working in each, the different types of spirit
guides, what habits weaken your aura, and the ability to communicate with these guides.
Techniques to help expand your consciousness, allowing you to better work with and perceive
your guides. Things to do in preparation, as well as during, to help you have a better
communication session. Several approaches and exercises to heighten your successful
communications, the truth about mediums and channels, as well as some insight into what it
means to be one, and the responsibilities of that role. What spirit mediatorship is, the different
guardian angels and how best to work with them, and how to work with nature spirits. This part
was so fascinating that I read it three times now, and will no doubt read it again. You will also
find information on finding and working with your totem, ghost/haunting, and the guide closes
with some helpful precautionary advice.
Now listed like that, I am sure it looks like a daunting task to read. However, it is anything but.
When the reader hits on the plethora of information about the different and fascinating beings that
surround us everyday, the experience is like no other. It is truly comforting to think that we are
never alone, and with practice, we can actually communicate with these special beings.
Ted Andrews has a vast amount of knowledge in this particular field and presents it in a manner
that makes it seem as natural as any other part of our daily life. I would think that after a person
has read this guide, they would approach their guides with the love and respect due them. Or at
the very least, take comfort that they are there.
This guide has my highest recommendation. And as you read How To: Meet & Work With Spirit
Guides by Ted Andrews be prepared to feel something very special.
How To: See And Read The Aura
Eric Ted Andrews
Llewellyn Publications
PO Box 64383, Dept. K728-5 St. Paul, MN 55164-0383
www.llewellyn.com
ISBN: 0875420133 $5.99
Have you ever, upon meeting someone, immediately formed an opinion of him or her; or felt an
instant bond, or a strong dislike of someone? Perhaps you have sensed someone's presence before
actually seeing him or her. These examples are just a few of the ways you may already be sensitive
to changes in your aura.
Science has proven that all living things give off an energy field. This energy field tells us a lot
about its' owner: such as health and well-being. Most logical, rational people will agree with those
statements. Why is it then, when you attach the word 'aura' to that energy, people automatically
stop listening. The answer is actually quite simple; people are quick to brush off what they don't
understand.
This is the third guide written by Ted Andrews, which I have had the pleasure of reading. As my
experience with the prior works, How to: See and Read the Aura, is written in a manner, which
makes the material easy to absorb. It is not work to learn from Andrews, reminding me more of a
conversational exchange of ideas.
Not only will the guide teach you how to view the aura, it will also explain how to interpret what
you are seeing, arming the reader with information regarding what the colors found in the aura
mean, as well as fluctuations and possible causes. The exercises throughout the book are easy to
follow and can be performed most anywhere, with very little preparation.
Of course knowing human nature, I assume some readers may be thinking, 'this is great but what
is in it for me.' To that, I respond with, if having the blessing of seeing the aura isn't enough,
Andrews also offers instructions on how to strengthen and protect your own aura. On those days
when you come home exhausted, one cause could be the assault your aura is subjected to in daily
interactions with others, and often balancing your aura will help alleviate the weariness-and he
tells you how.
It's not often that a writer comes along that is as gifted as Ted Andrews is, and I think anyone on
a path to any kind of enlightenment, should check out his books-and How to: See and Read the
Aura would be an excellent place to start.
Teen Witch
Silver RavenWolf
Llewellyn Publications
PO Box 64383, Dept. K728-5 St. Paul, MN 55164-0383
www.llewellyn.com
ISBN: 1567187250 $12.95
Raising a teenager is not an easy task. It is especially trying as they spread their wings and try new
things, things you may not know about, or not approve of. Perhaps your child may come home
and declare that they want to be, or are already, a witch. This particular area of study and craft are
no longer shrouded in mystery, but may still carry with it a stigma. In Teen Witch author Silver
RavenWolf takes away the mystery and eloquently expresses just what it means to be a
witch.
There are a lot of misconceptions regarding the practice of Wicca, and they are all addressed in
such a clear and forthright manner that makes the manual perfect for teenagers or their parents.
As well as anyone who is just curious as to what witchcraft consists of.
The book starts with a letter to parents, to help quell any fears that may arise from the totally off
base beliefs that Wicca is somehow related to black magic, human sacrifices, or any other such
silliness. Following that letter, is one just for the teenagers. Throughout the book you will find
chapters covering valuable information, as well as, giving instruction in the areas of: What the
craft is and is not, the basics of witchcraft, ritual, magick, spells designed especially for teenagers,
healing, prosperity and abundance, psychic power and wisdom, protection, fun spell, and a section
on where to go from here.
I am most impressed with the manner in which the book has been written. It is in a format and in a
language that teenagers can easily grasp, yet never once are the readers spoken down to, or
regarded as any less than smart, free thinking spirits that they are. This is not a book that pushes
any beliefs upon readers, it simply states what it is, what it is not, how to do it, and what you can
expect. Of course, there is a plethora of information and I don't think a review can do justice to
the product that RavenWolf has produced.
Although this manual is intended to teenagers, I also think that it would make a great beginners
guide for readers who are just getting started in the craft or have found other manuals hard to
follow. Would I recommend this for a teenager, yes, absolutely. If your child has shown an
interest in alternative religion, this is the route to go. A caring and talented Wiccan Priestess will
guide them to a set of beliefs that is kind and loving. Open the book and your mind as you allow
Silver RavenWolf to show you the true face of modern Wicca, and how it can help your teenager
face today's hard decisions in an admirable way.
Reflexology for Beginners
David F. Vennells
Llewellyn Publications
PO Box 64383, Dept. K728-5 St. Paul, MN 55164-0383
www.llewellyn.com
ISBN: 0738700983 $9.95
There are few things that compare to a good foot massage - very few. Did you also know that
with some instruction, not only will it feel great, but can also be used to increase your general
health or ease specific ailments?
In Reflexology for Beginners, author David Vennells guides his readers on the path to making the
most of the art of reflexology. As has been my experience with all of Llewellyn Worldwide's
manuals, the instructions present complex material in a way that is accessible to all readers.
What exactly will you find in this manual?
A definition of reflexology, what it is and is not. Where the reflexes are located, this is written and
illustrated, the combination making it easier to commit to memory. Basic techniques that will help
in using and practicing effective reflexology. Steps taken to begin treatment, including
preparations, how to read the patients feet for clues as to their health, and the actual steps to
warming up the feet. Instructions for the main treatment. In addition to these instructional
chapters, the reader will also find sections with, advice, case studies, disease and the mind,
meditations, and the future of reflexology. Even though this book could have stopped there, it did
not. The reader also has four appendixes at their disposal; history of reflexology, meditation
groups, books on Buddhism, and hypothyroidism.
At this point, you may be thinking, 'wow that is a lot to take in.' My response to you is, 'yes it is.'
There is a wealth of knowledge in this guide. However, the author has crafted the guide in a way
that the information is never daunting or jumbled. It doesn't read like a textbook. It reads more
like an experienced friend sharing their knowledge with you as you sit sipping coffee.
No matter a reader's belief in the ability of reflexology to heal, I still recommend the guide to all
readers with feet. Not only can you learn a technique to quickly ease the tension in your feet, but
also you might just improve your over all health. There is nothing to lose and your feet will thank
you. Don't take my word for it, pick up your own copy of Reflexology for Beginners by David F.
Vennells, and see for yourself.
100 Days to Better Health, Good Sex & Long Life
Eric Steven Yudelove
Llewellyn Publications
PO Box 64383, Dept. K728-5 St. Paul, MN 55164-0383
www.llewellyn.com
ISBN: 1567188338 $17.95
What would you be willing to do for better health? Read a book? How about spend fifteen
minutes a day practicing some simple exercises? Without good health, everything else you may
have doesn't seem quite as important. If you are willing to spend the small amount of time and
truly give it the effort that your health deserves, author Eric Steven Yudelove can show you the
path to better health and well being.
Taoist Yoga and Chi Kung are presented in a way that it is easy to understand, and for the first
time, that I have seen, it is written in a manner that makes it accessible to the western world.
What you have in 100 Days to Better Health, Good Sex & Long Life is a fourteen-week guide to
the lessons and secrets of Taoism, brought to the western world by a westerner who studied
under an authentic Tao Master. The lessons start out very easy and build on each other from week
to week. By the end of the fourteen weeks, the reader, if they have devoted fifteen minutes a day
and put effort into trying to understand not only the exercises, but also the reason they are
performed, will feel the changes in their body and mind. As well as having a strong foundation for
future study in the Tao practices.
I strongly recommend this book to everyone. There is so much to be gained here that will improve
the quality of ones life, on many different levels. The author presents it in such a readable manner
that no longer will the concepts be lost on anyone. Just a few of the benefits that a reader will
experience, if they follow the fourteen-week program are: prolonged sexual pleasure, improved
vision, digestion, hearing, memory, immunity flexibility, and organ detoxification.
No matter your religious or philosophical beliefs, I think it is a universal concept that your biggest
gift is your life. Pick up your copy, take the time to allow the philosophy to be absorbed, and then
spend fifteen minutes a day nurturing the greatest gift you were ever given. Author Eric Steven
Yudelove has given us all the tools we need to feel better and improve the quality of our lives.
Kudos to Yudelove, for taking complex years of study and laying it before the masses, in a way
that is great in its simplicity.
Magickal Mystical Creatures
D. J. Conway
Llewellyn Publications
PO Box 64383, Dept. K728-5 St. Paul, MN 55164-0383
www.llewellyn.com
ISBN: 156718149X $14.95
Most books accomplish one thing, be it entertainment or granting of knowledge. Magickal
Mystical Creatures by D. J. Conway accomplishes both.
Conway provides what is essentially an encyclopedias worth of knowledge on long forgotten
mystical beings, as well as the more commonly known ones. It is apparent that she has gone to
great pains to accurately give the history, as well as all the other facts available for each
creature.
Aside from having a plethora of background information, the book also tells how the creatures are
best worked with for magickal purposes. As someone who delves deeply into all things magickal,
I was amazed that I never considered working with any of these creatures before now. I was
especially ashamed when I realized that yes, since magick began, people have been working with
these wonderful creatures and somehow 'we' have forgotten them and their powers, with the
passing of time.
I mentioned this book being multipurpose, and I wanted to mention the ways in which I have used
the material, and give my recommendation to anyone who reads that they include this wonderfully
fascinating piece of work, in their library.
First, it was unavoidable to be entertained while reading about such fanciful creatures. Even if a
reader has no background in magick and no interest to start, it will not take away from the utter
fascination these beings produce.
Second, anyone looking to enhance their magickal practices will find it invaluable in approaching
these little used beings. There are also special sections on candle burning, amulets, talismans, and
rituals, and how best to use them in relation with the creatures.
The third use, I found is personal to me, but I wanted to share it with my fellow writers. I write
horror and dark fantasy fiction and the inspiration found in this book is invaluable.
It is clear to see that this book has something for everyone and D. J. Conway has written it in a
way that it is accessible to everyone.
Magickal Mystical Creatures by D. J. Conway is a book that I will be pulling down from my shelf
repeatedly, and that is one of the highest recommendations I can give any book.
All too often, when I worked a day job, I would hear my coworkers' jest that they felt sick as
soon as they walked in the office, and felt better as soon as they left. My associates were just
kidding. However, I am well aware that there are some buildings that can make people sick. That
seems to be what Julie Wynn and her coworkers seem to be up against in J.L. Hansen's cooperate
thriller LogOut.
Julie begins a quest to find out just what is happening when her friends begin to go from 'sick', to
in the hospital. To do this, she begins a relationship with Cam Clay, a staff member of IAQ Inc.,
the company sent in to test the air. Cam has his own doubts about what is really happening as he
finds his superiors behaving in an odd manner: keeping records private, performing tests
themselves etcetera.
Trying to figure out what is in the air before she and all of her friends end up dead is not the only
crisis that Julie faces. Hindering her progress, she has to deal with an audit, and a sick father and
overbearing mother, someone trying to frame her for corporate conspiracy, a dangerous
blackmailer, and a hurricane.
The plots intertwine bringing more and more suspense as the reason behind the problems at Julie's
office are revealed. J.L. Hansen, in LogOut, has written a multi-level thriller filled with every
element one would expect to find in a great tale of suspense, and then she takes it a step further,
and adds a few of her own. The characters come to life on the pages and the reader can't help but
hold their breath, and pray that everything turns out good in the end.
I recommend LogOut to anyone looking for a great suspense-type thriller. Be forewarned; when
author J.L. Hansen pulls you into the hearts and minds of her characters, you won't want to leave
until you discover their fates. Set aside some time, find a comfy chair and your favorite feel good
drink, then open your copy of LogOut and immerse yourself into the world of corporate evil that
is spiraling out of control around the heroine Julie Wynn.
Sevenacide
Robert Shuster
Sevenacide
www.sevenacide.com
ISBN# 0970698909 $7.00
I've never played or watched Rugby, but I have heard that it is quite a violent little game that I
might enjoy. Robert Shuster has played and in Sevenacide he has gathered a collection of seven
short tales that have two things in common. They all have Rugby in them somewhere and they are
all dark little tales in one way or another.
A Woman For All Occasions is a charming tale that explores just what a man is willing to
overlook when faced with having the woman or women of his dreams. Rick is just dying to know
how his far from studly friend Doug, manages to have a different knockout woman with him at all
of their games. Perhaps some things are better when left to the imagination.
Jack's Kit Bag is a snappy tale that proves just how hard it is to get rid of what you may view as
trash, when it is one man's treasure. When Felicia tries to rid herself of her husband Jack and his
nasty hobby of Rugby, she finds out that when passion runs deep, habits die-hard.
Road Trips Don't Bite (They Suck!) the tile sums this delectable piece up. Poor Brad is stuck
'babysitting' his fellow Rugby players, Ray, Alex and Jason as they drive home from an out of area
game. To bad babysitting his irresponsible friend, Ray isn't the least of his worries.
Simon's Second Chance asks a question that we have all wondered. 'What if I could just do that
again?' I can't count the moments in my life that I wish I could do over. Simon just wants to know
what would happen if he made that conversion. That's all, simple really.
The Leprechaun's Pit gives a glimpse at a rude, obnoxious, Rugby player appropriately nicknamed
Piggy. Piggy loves to pull pranks and always takes a souvenir from the places he visits. It really
isn't very nice to take something that isn't yours. Maybe Piggy will figure that out.
The Referee in this piece knew his business. Steve, a professional at arguing with calls and
breaking rules was in for a hard game. His teammates didn't have it any easier, as they tried to
keep him from getting kicked off the pitch, while also trying to win the game. It is just not a good
idea to get on the referee's bad side.
You Can Never Be Too Young has a few lessons to be gleamed from the story, but I think the
most important is to always follow instructions. Andy wasn't very happy when he was moved
from the 'A' team to the third string, and it was especially hard to take since it related to his age.
But you know, sooner or later, old age gets us all.
The tales in Sevenacide are in a style that I just adore. Dark and moody. They remind me of Tales
From The Darkside, which I used to watch as a child. They are not gory or graphic and they don't
need to be. They are quite a bit unsettling in a very subtle way.
I give Sevenacide my stamp of approval and thank Shuster for realizing that horror doesn't need
blood and guts to send chills down a reader's spine. This is truly creepy--Kudos.
Street Rats
Tim Curran
Publish America
www.publishamerica.com
ISBN# 1592864724 $19.95
Life isn't easy. All too often, we forget, as we sit in our posh neighborhoods that the streets are
home to all manner of people. It is easy to forget. There really are no murders, street thugs, drug
dealers and tough guys. Well, none that we know of personally, making it easy for us to write
them off as Hollywood creations.
In Street Rats author Tim Curran provides a hard look into that lifestyle. Jimmy 'Blades' Circurro
is the type of guy who has his hands in everything. Generally, he is the type of guy you just don't
want on the bad side of, a thief, murder, and all around self-centered thug who has connections
with crime boss, outlaw bikers, and criminals themselves. He makes a bit on 'side jobs' but like
anyone would, he wants more. Or as they say, is looking for the 'big score'.
Milwaukee crime boss, Tony 'Black' Zira, is lining up just such a score and wants Jimmy and a
crew of his choice, in on it. Although one has to wonder why. Yes, Jimmy will do the jobs no one
else wants to and does them well, but he has an attitude of utter disrespect.
The job is a robbery, of an armored car worth at least $15,000,000, and it seems to go as planned.
This is just where the story gets going. When that much money is involved, even the most
trustworthy person would get ideas. So ideas are born, money is missing and now death is
surrounding all involved. It becomes a fast paced race to find out what happened before they all
end up dead.
Street Rats is written in a style that I have yet to see. There are no chapters, heavy use of
character names, and the dialect is carried into the narrative. This made it a little slow at first for
me as I tried to turn off my inner editor and adjust to the style, but I feel that in the end the story
was worth the effort.
This novel is, however, perfectly suited for today's reader. In a face-paced world where we expect
everything now, Tim Curran will not fail to give you the thrill ride you came looking for.
Caliginy
L. Marie Wood
Cyber-Pulp Publishing
www.lmariewood.com
ISBN #1897013310 $14.00
Caliginy, by L. Marie Wood, is chock full of the most delightfully dark shorts I have seen
gathered in one place. This is an author who has fully grasped what it means to disturb her
readers. She knows the fine balance of detail versus story making her pacing superb.
The Visitor, is a truly sad and chilling opener, setting a great pace for which the rest of the stories
easily maintain.
What the Mirror Sees, is a deeply psychological thriller with wonderfully dark implications, the
type of story that fills your mind with wonder and makes you want to call the author and beg
them to expand it to novel length. As it sits here, now in the collection, it is totally and completely
chilling and will make the hairs on your arm raise.
Moonlighting, could be considered disturbing I suppose to most but I found it terribly humorous.
I am not sure if L. Marie Wood intended humor here but I must congratulate her on a story that
could go either way, dark and/or humorous.
Last Request, puts the 'd' in dysfunctional family. Absolutely superb work that had me chuckling
as it unraveled and I figured out where we were heading. This is delicious dark fun and possibly
my favorite in the entire collection.
My House, oh boy, talk about coming home to find a mess. Add this to the list of perfectly
detailed chilling tales in this collection. It is written so well you can feel the tension rise as the
story continues relentless in its ability to cause dread.
Room 3708, cherry pie is one of my favorite deserts, which made this tale even creepier to me.
Sometimes the things we love the most can be the most harmful and, I use harmful loosely, they
can be downright deadly.
The Properties of Blood, wow, that was intense. This is a story to disturb even the most
unflinching readers. Perfectly written to be extreme enough to tickle the gag reflex and tantalizing
enough to be enjoyable.
The Interview, is a griping tale that will have you holding your breath until the unexpected
conclusion. One line and clarity sinks in as you can picture the terrible smile clearly that was
mentioned in the opening.
Baie Rouge, blends haunting and erotic emotions in a seamless manner, providing a tantalizing
emptiness. The detailed surroundings add greatly to the depth of sadness felt when taking in this
tale.
The Inn by the Cemetery, is creepy times one hundred. The attention to detail and story here is
astounding and breaths life into a haunting tale. This is the kind of story where you have to stop
reading and look around just to make sure you are alone. It provides a stunning amount of goose
flesh.
Dead and Gone, moved me in opposite directions at the same time. I was sad and restricted,
happy and free, and utterly amazed that the author so easily gave me a connection to a nameless
character.
The House on the Corner, not a word was wasted in the telling of this story. I felt the fear
emanating from Charlie the main character or was it something else emanating from what he
feared? Did I already pick a favorite? Loved it, bravo.
Ole Hallows Eve, is a great combination of my two favorite things, Halloween and Zombie tales.
Crisp good fun.
Flowers, is short sweet and to the point. Eerie in a most delightful way.
The Black Hole, is perhaps the most disturbing story of hate I have read to date. It is a
pulse-pounding journey into a real life nightmare. Pride gives way to impending doom, which
leads to hope, and then things get nasty. This is a true trip into the darkest depths of what
mankind is capable of at its worse.
Dear Monique, has it all, a deep friendship, great love stories and all the nasty stuff I love in a
story as well, lust, betrayal and revenge. Each word of this tale is griping and enticing. The
impending darkness wraps delightfully around each sentence.
Q & A, was another tale that had me chuckling though I think most readers won't see it as a
humorous tale. Great thing is, it works well either way, deeply depraved or darkly humorous.
Island Girls, three paragraphs that will leave the reader smiling a devilish grin as the next
paragraph forms in their mind sprung to life from the stage set carefully by the author.
The Awakening, a story in a paragraph is quite a daring feat. But this author greets and meets the
challenge.
The Message, nicely done, I never saw the end coming until it hit and then I was dowsed with
chills. Sometimes there is so much revealed in a message if we only pay closer attention.
The Woman in the Sepia Picture, allows a brief glimpse at a character and the reader is released to
take it from there.
The Dance, is highly erotic. The accuracy of thoughts that one would have as certain things take
place around them is wonderful in this story. And did I say erotic? Yes very erotic.
To Die A Fool, will most definitely give you something to think about as it tests the faith of one
man and poses an often asked question, just what does happen when we pass.
A Bat Out of Hell, is creepy good fun. And was made even more so because I, just as the main
character, am always in search of the ultimate haunted ride. I could feel the mixed anticipation and
dread.
Section F, is a moving tale of goodbyes with a perfect degree of darkness. L. Marie masters in this
story the art of giving chills through subtle suggestion.
A Nice, Sunny Day, yuck my worst fear is spiders. Just reading this caused me to be jumpy for
quite sometime. It was definitely a unique perspective and very well done.
Love Nest, nothing is worse than a woman scorned except maybe an insane woman scorned. This
story is dark, good fun.
The Keeper of Souls, is as dark as it gets. A life of torment and a really neat new concept of an
old theme. I just love when an author can take a story and totally make it their own. Very nice
work.
The Salacity of Death, is a very dark, disturbing and yet somehow tantalizing tale. There are a few
different paths your mind travels down while reading this tale, but rest assured none are pleasant,
wicked good perhaps.
Carrion, talk about a handyman special. There are a few lessons to be learned here that I will leave
for L. Marie to taunt her readers with in a delicious way.
One, to err is human though an err in judgment can lead to some nasty things. This tale is a very
spooky look into a dark human psyche.
Betrayal, proves once again that L. Marie has mastered the art of flash fiction. It is no easy task to
elicit an emotion in so few words. My compliments go to the author on this one.
Of Body and Blood, is another tale in the collection that effortlessly blends the erotic and the dark
aspects of writing.
Reflection, provides a creepy image with a little twist, all wrapped neatly in one short
paragraph.
The Last Port, is the grand finally in this collection and deserving of such a spot being filled with
impending doom and a really cool conclusion.
Writing a short story that is both, full and entertaining is quite an art and one that L. Marie Wood
has totally mastered. This collection is filled with story after story of dark delightful prose
dredging up emotions that toggle between fright, disgust, humor and even erotic tension. The
author has shown here that she can stretch her writing vocal chords to many different ranges with
ease.
This is a collection sure to have something for lovers of all types of horror, dark and highly
entertaining.
Fart Proudly
Writings of Benjamin Franklin
Carl Japikse, editor
Frog, Ltd.
P.O. Box 12327 Berkeley, CA 94712
www.northatlanticbooks.com
ISBN# 1583940790 $12.95
Certain things come to mind when you think of Benjamin Franklin, none of which would contain
the word 'fart'. However, it appears this great man had a side to him that would not only say such
a word, but also do so in a manner as to most assuredly be heard. I don't remember ever hearing
about this side in school, but then again, all of my teachers were the typical stuffy teachers one
thinks of when they remember school.
Fart Proudly contains writings of Benjamin Franklin that are both hilarious, as well as dripping
with sarcasm. This shows a man very down to earth; not at all the stuffy politician one may think.
There is definitely something here for everyone, well, everyone with a sense of humor. As funny
and 'offensive' as those who are lacking humorous fortitude may view them, just imagine what a
scandal they must have caused when they were wrote.
I am still chuckling to myself, as I think back to the sections that most amused me. My favorite
happens to be Rules of Making Oneself Disagreeable, which is exactly what it sounds like. I had
to carry the book around my home and read this to everyone. I swear my child must have read
and memorized each and every rule.
In addition to being very entertaining, Fart Proudly carries a message. The reader may be too busy
laughing to catch it as they read this wonderful tome, but it is laid out very clearly in the last
section, The Dream.
Laugh and enjoy the entire work: read and reread the parts that make you laugh out loud, for that
is priceless. Once you are finished, read The Dream, and pay close attention, give deep thought to
the message, and be moved by the profoundness.
If you like satire, then Fart Proudly. If you like laugh out loud, then Fart Proudly. Most of all if
you want to see Benjamin Franklin as more George Carlin than just the portrait of a dead guy on a
C-note-then believe me you must Fart Proudly. I know that the next time I let one rip; I will be
wearing the action, as a medal of honor-so should you.
The Snowman's Children
Glen Hirshberg
Carroll & Graf
161 William Street 16th floor, New York, NY 10038
ISBN# 0786712538 $13.00
We generally like to think of childhood as happy carefree times, and often that is correct. Even
when the assumption of happiness cannot be safely made, it can be said without a doubt,
childhood shapes the adults we later become, in many ways. Sometimes, the only way to move on
from disturbing experiences is to address the ghosts of our past head on. That is where Matt
'Mattie' Rhodes, our narrator, finds himself in Glen Hirshberg's debut novel, The Snowman's
Children.
A serial killer, 'the snowman' stalked the suburban streets of Detroit in the gray winter of 1977.
Due to not having any particular rhyme or reason to his choice of victims, it was not known right
away what the city was facing. Although Mattie and his friends survived, they would all be
forever scarred.
Mattie, now a grown man of twenty-eight, feels that it is time he faced a few things from his
childhood, reasoning that it is those very things that are keeping him from experiencing happiness
now. He returns to his hometown with no idea of how to put things to rest, but knows that he
must, if he is ever going give any of his current relationships, wife, parents, career, a chance to
flourish.
This story is gripping from page one. Hirshberg reveals the story to his readers as if they were
Mattie. The narrative gracefully takes us from present to past as Mattie and the reader retrace his
childhood, exploring what he is feeling now as well as his memories.
The reader is sure to be moved as the troubled children from Detroit show us just how
