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Reviewer's Choice
Mythology's Last Gods: Yahweh And Jesus
William Harwood
Prometheus Books
59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228
ISBN 0879757426, 416 pp., hc, $53.00, ($37.50 from Amazon.com), 1-800-421-0351
First published in Humanist in Canada, Spring 1993.
William Harwood has history, archaeology, textual criticism, science and common sense on his
side.
It is a testimony to the overwhelming power of fear and guilt, that they are what religion has on
its
side, and yet most people are still religious. The religious method operates by assuming
conclusions
in advance, then forcing the evidence to fit. This is called theology. In Mythology's Last Gods
William Harwood practices history, examining the evidence first and reaching conclusions based
on
it. He studies the tribes of Israel and Judah, explores the questions raised by the Essenes, and
explains the relationship between Christianity and the polytheistic mystery religions of Europe and
the Middle East. He demonstrates that the orthodox version of history is actually mythology. The
conventional Christian view of Jesus is that he brought forth a new religion. The Jews stubbornly
refused to accept this improvement to their 'old' religion, so missionary work was directed toward
the gentiles who then became Christians.
Harwood has brought together a vast amount of material from many different sources, much of
which has been previously available. However, the research of religious scholars, who had
assumed
that their findings would support their faith, was suppressed and ignored when it did not,
sometimes
by the scholars themselves. In contrast to the standard view, Harwood shows that the historical
Jesus was firmly fixed in the Jewish religious milieu of the first century. Jesus was certainly not a
Christian. He lived as an Essene Jew, and died leading a fundamentalist revolution against the
occupying Romans, hoping to drive them out and to establish a theocracy on earth. This was
what a
messiah was for. It was Paul who first transformed the redemption of Judah into the redemption
of
the individual soul, to make it palatable to the goyim.
Jesus' real followers, the Nazirites, those who accepted both his messiahship and the Essene
version
of Jewish law, did not prosper, although they continued to exist as a distinct group for about 500
years until the Christians killed them off. Christian church councils maintained their power and
popularity by incorporating more and more of paganism and calling it Christianity. Thus, catholic,
orthodox or protestant Christianity cannot be considered descendants of Judaism, but are, rather,
extensions of paganism. Like fossils that look like an organism, but in which everything of the
original has been replaced by stone, the early church kept the vocabulary of the Old Testament but
replaced the essence with paganism.
How else does a propertyless commune become rich and powerful? How else does a
revolutionary
party of the poor and oppressed end up an elite of the rich and oppressive? How else does a man
who certainly believed it blasphemous to honour anything but Elohim, end up as a god? The later
church just renamed the old pagan gods. The deities that people had asked for favours became
saints that people asked for favours. Other deities became angels, (Michael, Gabriel, Uriel,
Rafael).
Mother Earth (Gaia, Isis), became the mother of god. The solar god, (Mithras, Ra, Apollo,
Shamash), who died at the winter solstice and was reborn three days later, was fused with the
saviour goddess, (Ishtar, Astarte, Ashtaroth, Persephone, Easter), and her divine offspring
(Dionysus, Horus), who had taken up the saviour functions when society decided that these were
too important to be attributed to a female, as they had been for millennia. The goddess (and later,
her son), had died in winter and had been resurrected each spring. These were all merged in the
new, improved mythological Jesus.
To state it again: the Jewish followers of the Galilean Yeshu ha-Notsriy never became Christians;
pagans started calling themselves Christians and persecuted Yeshu's followers to death. The
mythological Jesus is not Yeshu who thought himself the Jewish Messiah, but rather, is a result of
the transformation of a multitude of resurrected saviour gods and goddesses combined into one
myth. You may have read much of this information piecemeal. There are books on ancient near
eastern religions, biblical history, the Essenes, Ebla, the implications of archaeology, translation
problems in biblical text, textual criticism, Jewish revolutionary movements under the Roman
occupation. Although there are minor flaws in some of his peripheral arguments, and it is not
likely
that every speculation in the book will turn out to be correct, the general truth of the book does
not
depend on everything in it being correct. The essential information is available and has been
accepted as true. Christian scholars have, consciously or unconsciously, avoided synthesizing the
information from various disciplines, and have refused to draw the obvious conclusions.
Harwood also illuminates the history of Judah and Israel, which he shows were separate peoples,
only briefly united during Davidic times. The conventional view is that all of the stories in the Old
Testament represent a common history of the twelve tribes of Israel, of which Judah was one.
Although it was politically expedient under the monarchy to pretend that Israel and Judah had the
same history, they did not.
Lastly, the anthropology of religion shows that the first deities were undoubtedly goddesses. As
the
creator of life, the female principle was worshipped. When, around 3500 BCE, people realized
that
men planted seeds in women, causing offspring, a social and religious revolution began. If you do
not know what makes babies, there is no reason to restrict the sharing of sexual pleasure.
However,
if you believe that the woman is only an incubator for your seed, then it is necessary to ensure that
only the right seed gets planted. Not knowing about the female contribution to the embryo, the
woman's role was reduced to that of a flower pot, a container. Likewise, in the heavens, the roles
of
all the goddesses were reduced and made dependent on the gods. Therefore, everything which
had
previously been sacred to the goddess, became something to be abhorred. Many of the things
which
the Old Testament prophets railed against are actually places, rituals, or symbols sacred to the
goddess. Traces of all these ideas: ancient goddess worship, the division between Israel and
Judah,
and the Essene essence of Yeshu's teaching, are to be found in the bible. Harwood demonstrates
this clearly. His translations from the Bible may be the only translations where accuracy has not
been sacrificed to religious sensibility. They are worth the price of the book in themselves. They
reveal the bloodthirsty and dictatorial nature of Yahweh Elohim in a way that the King James
Version does not.
I guarantee this book will erase any vestige of respect you may still have for the Judaeo-Christian
tradition, and recommend it highly.
Greg Erwin
Reviewer
The Sea Chest
Toni Buzzeo
Dial Books for Young Readers
345 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
ISBN 097028800X, $16.99, hardcover, Approximately 200 Words
Lynne Remick
UndercoverReader@aol.com
While waiting for a small stranger to arrive from a distant land, Great Auntie Maita tells her Great
Grandniece a captivating story about her own encounter with a stranger.
"One icy night, howling winds blew towering waves against the shore..."
A storm announced, Maita's father-the lighthouse keeper--shines a light of hope for ships at sea.
As
the storm rages, Maita, Papa and Mama worry about a ship that has not made it ashore. After the
long night, Maita and Papa set off to see what the storm's blown up. They discover a bundled
mattress, and within the bundle, a sea chest with an even greater treasure tucked inside.
Set on a fictional Maine island and based upon a Maine legend, "The Sea Chest" combines hope
and
fate into a heartwarming story of adoption. Toni Buzzeo's poetic prose conjures intimate images
of
loneliness, storms, family, and last but not least, love. Buzzeo's words, coupled with Mary
Grandpre's (of Harry Potter fame) wet and whimsical oil illustrations allow you to hear the
screech
of gulls and the song of the sea as if it were right beside you. This talented pair has performed a
masterful collaboration on an enchantingly sweet story.
Negotiating With The Dead: A Writer On Writing
Margaret Atwood
Cambridge University Press
40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211
ISBN: 0521662605, Price: $18.00, page count: 180
Jan McDaniel
Reviewer
Margaret Atwood's contribution to "The Empson Lectures", upon which this look into the writing
psyche is based, answers questions commonly posed to writers and filters these answers through
not
only Ms. Atwood's experiences but also through those of authors from contemporary and earlier
times.
"The series provides a unique forum for distinguished writers and scholars of international
reputation
to explore wide-ranging literary--cultural themes in an accessible manner." With this guideline,
Ms.
Atwood assembled her lectures and later edited them into book form, prefacing each of the six
with
supporting literary quotations.
The thing I found most interesting about this book was that the author came at the questions from
two angles at once--from what the reader would want to know and from what the author might
feel,
explore and experience. Indeed, her childhood interpretations and the changes brought to them
during her lifetime seemed to be some of the chief points that led to Ms. Atwood's ability to
respond
as a reader. Example, the quote, "Everyman I will go with thee and be thy guide, In thy most
need
to go by thy side." Comforted in a child's search through her father's old books and a perusal of
the
Middle English play, the author later learned that the title character Everyman "is not on some
pleasant country stroll but on his way to the grave."
The intriguing title of this book is based on " . . . the hypothesis that not just some, but all writing
of
the narrative kind, and perhaps all writing, is motivated, deep down, by a fear of and a fascination
with mortality--by a desire to make the risky trip to the Underworld, and to bring something or
someone back from the dead."
What can the dead give us? A call to live, a warning, revenge and justice, riches and knowledge,
the
urge to procreate or leave a mark . . . and, perhaps, a forbidden truth . . . all of these ideas are
explored. "A book is another country," Ms. Atwood tells us. "You enter it, but then you must
leave: like the Underworld, you can't live there." Then she goes further in speaking of the poet
Rilke's Sonnets to Orphesus. "This poet doesn't just visit the Other World. He partakes of it. He
is
double-natured, and can thus both eat the food of the dead and return to tell the tale."
If you have felt this way or if you have wondered what motivates (drives) a writer to write,
Margaret Atwood's book is one you will want to read.
Accidental Courage: Finding Out I'm A Bit Brave After All
Joe Kita
Rodale Press, Inc.
400 South Tenth Street, Emmaus, PA 18098-0099
1579544940, $21.95, HC, 239pgs, 1-57954-494-0 www.rodale.com
Thom Rutledge
Reviewer
I was afraid to read this book, afraid of the comparison I would make between Joe Kita and me.
Silly or not, I was afraid of losing to Joe. And I have never even met the man.
But as soon as I read Joe's comparison of fear to termites ("Like termites, it eats at the framework
of
society, multiplies exponentially, and then one day reduces us to dust.") I knew that afraid or not,
I
would read on. My respect for the intelligence, insightfulness and cleverness of that one sentence
was bigger than my neurotic fear of Joe Kita, the man I have never met.
Accidental Courage is truly a unique book. Here is the set up in a nutshell: Joe Kita admits to us
that
he has lived a life of fear --- afraid of the bogeyman under his childhood bed, of thunderstorms, of
flying, of deteriorating health and the inevitable process of aging, of heights, of car accidents. He
even tells us that he believes in and is afraid of ghosts and admits (he says for the first time to
anyone) that he is afraid of peeing in public places. The nutshell of the nutshell: this man is willing
to
be vulnerable.
In fact, Joe Kita has spent a year living in his vulnerability, pushing on his fears, walking not only
toward them, but right through them. Accidental Courage is Joe's chronicle of facing 13 (no
accident
in that number, I'm sure) of his greatest fears. He subjects himself to one challenge after another,
from spending a night under his childhood bed, to working as a high-rise window washer, to
doing
five minutes as a stand-up comedian, to trying to spend a night with Lizzie Borden, to having
knives
thrown at him. Joe's courage (I question the "accidental" part) seems to speak directly to his fear,
saying, "I am going straight to hell; you can come with me if you want." And then he emerges
from
each of his 13 hells, not surprisingly, a stronger, wiser man.
Part of that wisdom --- Joe admits to his own surprise --- is that the result of his year long
experiment was not fearlessness, but a deeper understanding and appreciation for the part fear
plays
in our humanness. "In life," he concludes, "there are two diametrically opposed forces:
self-preservation and self-development. They are at continual war --- our fear of the new and
uncomfortable versus our desire to learn and grow." Joe understands that some fear, like termites,
eats away at us constantly, and some fear guides us, protects us, challenges us, and ultimately
leads
us straight through to the other side of our personal hells.
As a psychotherapist working with so many fears over the past 20 years, and more pertinently, as
a
frightened man myself, I felt strangely calm, energized, and affirmed as I closed Accidental
Courage.
I felt less competitive with Joe Kita and more like we might be brothers in our common
humanity.
If I ever meet the man, however, I may still challenge him to arm wrestle.
Why God Has Gray Hair
Sophia Zufa
Echelon Press
P.O. Box 1084, Crowley, Tx 76036
ISBN 1590801458, $8.00, 150 pages
Maureen Blevins
Reviewer
From the opening paragraph to the last, Sophia Zufa's 'Why God Has Gray Hair' is a highly
entertaining collection of stories and anecdotes based on the author's own experiences in a
Catholic
elementary school.
Weaving a rich tapestry of memories and emotions she carries us from that first, hesitant day of
school through her 8th grade graduation. " my mother says it is something that happens to
everyone. I am six years old and therefore must go to school. Who invented it? Maybe that is one
of
the things I will learn." Set in the 1930's, the years of the Great Depression, the author paints
vivid
pictures of collecting marbles, picking up coal that has fallen from boxcars, and quarantine signs
on
front doors. Yet there are a few aspects of those 'good old days' that make you wish you could
bring
back some of the simpler times - like walking to Midnight Mass on a snowy Christmas Eve. We
meet Zufa's parents, her brothers, her teachers, schoolmates and neighbors and assorted other
characters along the way.
Charmingly told through the eyes of her childhood most of the book is humorous and will keep
you
smiling, even laughing out loud at times, yet don't be surprised to find a lump in the throat once or
twice as well. If the Catholic Experience is universal, the elementary school experience is even
more
so. I'm sure every class had it's own clumsy, not too bright Peter Umisal, an Anna May
'teacher's-pet'
Vestal, and a perennial trouble- making Leonard.
A delightful, easy read, I highly recommend 'Why God Has Gray Hair'.
Why God Has Gray Hair
Sophia Zufa
Echelon Press
P.O. Box 1084, Crowley TX 76036
http://www.echelonpress.com/Catalog/element/szwghgh.htm
149pp.; May 2002; ISBN Numbers:
PDF/Glassbook: 1-59080-141-5; MS Reader: 1-59080-143-1; Rocket: 1-59080-142-3
Palm: 1-59080-144-X; Multiformat: 1-59080-145-8; 4.00 USD download
$5.50 3.5" Floppy diskette; $8.00 CD-ROM in Collector DVD Case*
Pogo, Reviewer
pogomcl@dowse.com
A classic collection of anecdotes and sketches of daily life within a Catholic school in Small Town
America. The stories are narrated through the experiences of a child, but reflected through the
eyes
of an adult. Opening with the Ten Commandments and the prescribed, "thou shalt nots" of
pre-Vatican II, the reader enters the elementary classroom for the first introduction to Sister
Camela,
who smells of Palmolive soap. Refreshing portraits of community life, the author invites us into a
world of innocence.
The anecdotes are nostalgic and light, but free of sentimental kitsch. With photographic skill, the
writer is able to capture the past, presenting the different characters as familiar faces we've known
personally. With shrewd perception and ability, Sofia Zupfa creates a character deftly with a
turn
of a word or phrase like a master potter sitting at his wheel. With no excuse for plot, Zupfa freely
explores each character's personality, effortlessly presenting a realistic miniature of the world
comparable and memorable as Anais Nin's, Under a Glass Jar. The clarity with which she
presents
the children and the teachers in their environment is remniscent of Saroyan's classic, My Name is
Aram, set in rural California with a mad uncle and irrepressible cousin. Although Why God has
Gray Hair is set in Illinois, the children do not come from an extended family clan, but bonded
through their social interaction within the school. The characters are intimately identifiable to the
reader who remembers his own frustrations with certain teachers and secrets that he whispered
with
his friends. We recognize immediately the bully, and are gleefully happy when he is defeated by
the
school's tomboy.
Entering the school on the first day, in the first year, we are confronted by the first-grade teacher
who rules over us, and proudly disdain the interest of parents afterwards waiting for us:
"How did it go?" It is the first question my mother asks me.
I shrug my shoulder. I haven't forgotten how she left me in a strange environment.
"Tell me about your teacher."
"She's nice. Not the type to abandon children certainly." (p8)
recognizing our personal independence as grown-up kids in small shoes, learning to read our first
books and write our first block letters. Written with the subtle humor of the Capek brothers,
Zupfa
delights in creating realistic portraits and miniatures that reflect the diversity of children within
any
given classroom through the skilful use of dialogue.
Naturally, we are introduced to Father Thaddeus, who "was the pastor of the parish since the
beginning of time...He was always there as though he had been created out of nothing, like Adam,
except that he came completely accessorized, with cassock, biretta, clerical collar and the rest...
The
nuns instilled in us a respectful fear of God's avenging wrath and Lucifer's wiles, but what we
feared
most was Father Thaddeus who seemed a lot closer." (p9)
As children, we view Father Thaddeus the Grand Inquisitor, when he enters the classroom door
the
first Friday of each month to quiz us on our catechism. We sympathize with Sister Coletta, who
dreads his authority equally, standing " humbly to one side, her arms folded in the wide sleeves of
the habit, a tight-lipped smile trying to hide her anxiety. If we embarrassed ourselves, we
embarrassed her, whose job it was to teach us the rudiments of true faith." (p9)
But fear intimidates and paralyzes students so that they cannot speak and the inevitable happens.
for
only fools have courage where the wise refuse to lead:
"One day in third grade Father Thaddeus asked, "Can anyone tell us who parted the Red
Sea?"
He waited for a show of hands, but only one hand was raised. It was the hand of Peter Umisel, the
dumbest kid in class.
"Thirty-seven third grade pupils and only one knows the answer?" His expresion was somber. It
was
indeed a sad situation.
"What's your name?" he asked Peter. Peter told him. "Now tell us who parted the Red Sea."
"Columbus," Peter said without the slightest hesitation. Father Thaddeus's right eyebrow shot up
as
he looked at Sister Coletta, who looked at the floor. He adjusted his glasses. "Then who
discovered
America?" Peter Umisel thought a moment, "George Washington?"
Some of the pupils began to snicker. The sharp slap of Sister Coletta's hands coming together was
like the report of a gun going off. We knew we were in for it. (p10)
Catechism learned through repeated question and answer, we memorized and forgot
answers:
QUESTION: What is the difference between a mortal sin and a venial sin?
ANSWER: Ten venial sins are equal to one mortal sin.
QUESTION: What are the Seven Sacraments?
ANSWER: Baptism, Holy Communion, Confirmation and four others.
QUESTION: What are the three persons of the Blessed Trinity?
ANSWER: Jesus, Mary and Joseph. (p12)
With the first lessons appropriately digested, we face the new terror of making it through First
Confession with every trivial sin counted and memorized like a litany. Intimidated, we stand in
line,
hoping to escape rigorous interrogation with Father Thaddeus as we await the Final Judgment.
Dismayed we find that he sits at the communion rail where he can see all thirty-five of us, juvenile
reprobates, making it is impossible to escape his gaze. Trembling, sins of childhood are recounted
,
but nothing about the rubber mouse that was slipped into Raymond Depoot's coat pocket and the
Act of Contrition is recited. The Penance of saying three Hail Mary's and three Our Father's is
meted out as an act of righteous punishment. Relieved of your sins, you escape with the promise
of
beginning a new life.
Childhood experiences with illness and quarantine are recounted with delicate detail of the time
when Clementine, who once won the spelling bee, came down with scarlet fever and lost her
hearing
and grandmother was treated by the country doctor using leeches to clear her blood of impurities.
Photographic in detail, we watch intently as they are applied:
It was the first time that I had ever seen leeches up that close. They seemed to be made up of
several
sections attached to each other, like the wooden snakes in the novelty department at Woolworth's
and had what looked like suction cups in the head and tail. Pretty soon they all stopped moving,
getting rounder and rounder, turning from their original grayish color to a brownish red. There
were
beads of sweat on my grandmother's arms and forehead. Her chest was moving up and down, so I
knew she was still breathing. (p30)
Through the child's eyes we are confronted with the tragedies of epidemics and death in the
intimate
circle of the family with the reassurance of the faithful doctor standing near.
In school, there are tribulations also, but they come in the form of Sister Misercordia, who is the
principal of the school and metes out punishment appropriately for cheating on tests, cussing and
physical assaults on other students. Known for her stern application of the yardstick, the
principal's
name get changed to Stalin for her administration of justice on two boys, Louis Gopnik and
Leonard Bazant who are perpetually in trouble. When she becomes the classroom teacher in lieu
of
an ill teacher, classrrom discipline miraculously becomes orderly without any distracting
incidents.
However, with the return of Sister Hedwig to the classroom, normal pandemonium broke out
with
the expected results. The normal punishments imposed of after school detention time and copying
the Pledge of Allegiance twenty times, Sister Hedwig calmly notes to the students that "Stalin is
back in business." The code-names of kids being received by their teachers who share similar
secrets.
With skilful dialogue and acute understanding of her characters' private lives and fears, Zupfa
creates
scenes reminiscent of Frank O'Connor's, First Confession with the subtle humor of the Capek
brothers. We enter the world of the children and share with them their joys and sorrows; their
hopes
and anxieties. Through the succession of stories, their personalities develop as they pass from one
year to another, maturing and facing new conflicts and problems of daily life. Nor are they
immune
to personal danger, whether physical or psychological. We meet the bullies that prey on weaker
children, and discover child abuse through the experience of one sexually molested, innocence
robbed when chances are sold door-to-door for the school's support:
"Once Mr. Olson won, but he didn't want a prize. Instead he wanted Marietta, the pretty seventh
grader, who had sold him the winning chance to come back the next day to look at some new
kittens. She did. he gave her a packet o gum and invited her back so that she could hold the
kittens
and see how soft their fur was. She accepted the invitation"
The innocent acceptance of Marietta is contrasted with the deviance of Mr. Olson's plans:
"He asked her to sit down, and touched her where she did not want to be touched." (p37)
Unable to speak about it with adults, she confides it to a friend who relates it to a parent.
The Sisters are wrongly blames of something they cannot know, but the psyche of the child is
forever altered through the wandering hands of a man. Without bitterness, the memory is related
about something that happened, but cannot be changed. With such deft strokes, Zufa awakens
our
intimate emotions that we dare not show anybody.
Through daily encounters with personal crisis and moral dilemmas, the reader grows with the
children through their daily struggles and activities. It is not the unusual that is captured here, but
the common in umcommon detail with the preciseness of Albrecht Duerer's pen or Van Gogh's
Potato Eaters that we understand the interaction of the entire community. Cleanly writen, the
narratives are worthy of literary nomination, comparable to some of the best authors of this
century.
Poignant, they are reminiscent of Anais Nin, humorous of Capek and O'Connor and vivid of
Saroyan. Precious cameos, set within the frame of time, they are jewels from a writer's pen.
Getting Things Done: The Art Of Stress-free Productivity
David Allen
Viking Books
c/o Penguin Putnam Inc.
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
ISBN: 0670899240, Hardback, 267 pgs, List Price: $24.95, 1-800-847-5515
www.amazon.com
Kathy Burns
Reviewer
"Getting Things Done" is a book that teaches you how to do just that: get things done. If you're
like
most people today, you're busy trying to juggle business, family and personal items all at once,
and
sometimes a ball (or two) gets dropped.
In this book, David Allen provides a complete system to help. The process itself, affectionately
referred to as "GTD" by loyal followers, is one of the most useful I've personally found.
The problem is almost universal: Knowing what you want or have to do in life is one thing, but
actually moving forward with it can be a huge challenge. This is especially true for all of us that
have
never-ending task lists and/or large, long-term projects on our plate. Looking at the mile long task
or project list can be overwhelming -- and cause you to simply not do anything at all. In this book,
David explains how to break projects, goals and tasks down into single item, doable, actions.
Now this is an extremely simplified explanation of the GTD process, but it is comprised of a few
key
items: The Project List, The Someday/Maybe List, and the Next Actions list. Integrated into these
key items is: Inbox, Outbox and File Cabinet management.
While all of these components are integral and useful parts of the entire system, the Next Actions
list
is where the majority of your productivity takes place. In short, a Next Action is the very next
thing
you need to do in order to move something forward. So instead of looking at a project and
wondering how you'll ever be able to handle it, you simply break off a very small chunk -- the very
next thing that has to be done -- and focus on that chunk by itself. Once that chunk is completed,
you then break off another -- the next thing that has to be done -- and so on.
I won't try to explain all of the intricacies -- David did that with over 250 pages in this book -- but
I
will tell you this: David's system is extremely useful and easy to learn.
You can start reaping the rewards of "Getting Things Done" before you've even finished the
book.
I've also found it very handy to keep on the reference shelf for further consultation as I'm refining
and customizing my own enhanced productivity system.
I am a fan of practical, informative books with examples -- this one really fits the bill and I highly
recommend it.
Wisdom Of The Sadhu: Teachings Of Sundar Singh
Sadhu Sundar Singh
Plough Publishing House
Rt 381 N, Farmington, PA 15437
ISBN 0874869064, $12.00, softcover, 218 pages, 1-800-521-8011 www.plough.com
Kim Comer
Reviewer
Mourned by millions at his death, Sundar Singh (1889-1929) awaits rediscovery at the dawn of
the
21st century. Though known in his lifetime as India's most famous convert to Christianity, that
reputation is misguided, for Sundar Singh never accepted the religion as such but emphasized
instead the life-changing starkness of Christ's original teachings. If anything, he was the ultimate
heretic - an uncompromising critic of convention, and a scandal to the comfortable. Leaving the
wealth of his home at sixteen to live as a sadhu, or wandering holy man, Sundar Singh's
beggar-like
existence, his intense bhakti (devotion), his mystical encounters with Jesus, and his simple yet
profound parables became the stuff of legends. No one who met him - including the thousands
who
flocked to hear him during two visits to Europe - was unaffected by this modern St. Francis.
Though hugely popular in India and Europe during his lifetime, Sundar Singh's writings have not
been readily available to readers in the English-speaking world for decades. Now, with this superb
collection of anecdotes, sayings, parables, and meditations, his spirit has been brought alive for a
new generation.
The first section of the book, "Scenes," contains impressions from key events in his life. It is
based
both on accounts by Sundar Singh himself, and by writers who knew him. The second,
"Conversations," contains dialogues that draw freely on material from all six of Sundar Singh's
books, as well as interviews and articles. Both sections are interspersed with parables that
punctuate
the themes. Though structurally unusual, the resulting collage allows us to encounter the sadhu in
the way his contemporaries did: not as a systematic thinker, but as a personal teacher.
In his teachings as in his life, Sundar Singh offers little by way of rational orientation. He defies
categorization and critical analysis. The impact of his message, however, is always direct and
immediate. His voice rings with a clarity that rises from the deepest, clearest sources of life itself.
Couched as they are in a distinctly Indian idiom, his teachings probe the essence of the Gospels
with
unusual freshness and offer insights of great depth and value to every serious reader.
April 1865: The Month That Saved America
Jay Winik
Harper Perennial
53rd St. New York, New York 10022
ISBN: 0060930888, $14.95 1-800-242-7737
Meredith Campbell
Reviewer
April, 1865 saw the burning of Richmond, Lee's retreat and surrender, Lincoln assassinated, the
Federal government nearly decapitated, Northern chaos, a South economically and socially
devastated, failed negotiations, continued bloodshed, and a daring, last-ditch southern strategy for
Guerrilla warfare. April also saw the emergence of a truly united nation, a movement away from
saying "the United States are " to saying instead, "the United States is." That such unification
occurred was " almost miraculous," says author Winik, former consultant on foreign affairs and
now a senior scholar at the University of Maryland's School of Public Affairs. The month proved
to
be, Winik writes, " perhaps the most moving and decisive month not simply of the Civil War, but
indeed, quite likely, in the life of the United States."
Winik proves this thesis in riveting prose that is anything but dry. The reader finds himself
enthralled
in what seems to be a novel's fast-paced plot or well-delineated biography. Uniquely set within
worldwide events, the writing is vivid, fraught with meticulous research. Writing from eyewitness
accounts Winik notes that Lincoln is "thirty pounds underweight and dreadful solemn." When
faced with surrender, Lee achieves what may be "his finest moment ever" as he considers but
disobeys Jefferson Davis's orders and rejects guerrilla warfare. The reader experiences Grant's
migraine headache as he rides to meet Lee at Appomattox. The narrative liberally peppered with
dialogue taken from actual diaries and letters, the reader hears Robert E. Lee's anguish, when
observing the rout of the Confederate line at Saylor's Creek, '''My God!''' Has the army been
dissolved?"' General Bill Mahone riding at Lee's side is " Deeply touched, he took a moment to
steady his voice, then quickly offered words of encouragement. "' No General, here are troops
ready
to do their duty."'
The best story telling of the book occurs at Ford's Theatre, the night Lincoln is shot. Mary
whispers
to her husband, "What will Mrs. Harris think of my hanging on to you so?" At the moment of the
fatal shot the crowd that " bursts into laughter and a round of applause, punctuated only by the
lone, muffled sound of an otherwise loud noise, like a violent clap of hands, or the crack of wood,
or
perhaps a firecracker."
Jay Winik not only writes accurate history but also a rollicking good story. Read it. It just may
change the way you see the war's end and the nation's new beginning.
Search Engine Optimization Strategies
Art Dacor
USA LLC
3727 West Magnolia Blvd #489, Burbank CA 91505 USA
ISBN: 0-9719071-0-2, Format: PDF (257 pages) Price: $29.95 Phone/Fax: 818-688-3292
http://www.searchengineoptimizationstrategies.com/book.html
Judy Justice, Reviewer
http://www.creativepurrsuits.com/
Anyone marketing an online business knows the importance of getting top listings in search
engines.
Your site may be listed, but how far down the list is it? Michael Wong, a search engine
optimization
specialist, achieved over 2000 top 30 positions for one of his company web sites. In this ebook he
shares the secrets of his success so you can get your own site ranked at, or near, the top of the
lists.
Whether you are new to online marketing or a seasoned professional, there are tips here that will
help you draw more visitors to your site. If you've been spending your time submitting to search
engines without doing some preliminary research on how the various search engines work, you
have
likely not reached the level of success - to get into, and stay in the top ranks. Search Engine
Optimization Strategies: Top 30 Search Engine Optimization & Submission Strategies For
Dummies
Michael Wong is an ebook which contains detailed descriptions of many different search engines
and explanations of how they work.
You'll find information about all the leading search engines: how often they search the web, how
they index pages and what unique features are peculiar to each one. Having this information at
your
fingertips will save you months of research.
Meta tags, robot tags, link popularity as well as pay-per-click, JavaScripts and keywords are fully
explained with easy to follow tutorials complete with sample HTML code.
Written in an easy-to-understand style, and containing an excellent index, this ebook answers all
the
questions on how to optimize your web pages for top ranking. If you're serious about showing up
well in the search engines, and you're willing to take the time to read and follow the advice given,
this book will teach you how to develop web pages that will enhance your online marketing with
good search engine placement.
Very comprehensive, I would venture to say this is the definitive ebook on search engine
optimization and is a must have for any webmaster's library.
Whispers In The Night
Robert L. Hecker
Double Dragon Publishing
http://www.double-dragon-ebooks.com/
ISBN 1-894841-10-7, $TBA, Romantic Suspense, eBook, most formats
E. L. Noel
http://www.writers-exchange.com/epublishing/
Imagine quietly sitting in a university classroom and suddenly finding yourself standing before
Hitler,
a reluctant guest in his office, recipient of a demand that may lead to your death. Imagine being
married to a man who is one of Hitler's inner circle, a man willing to sacrifice his wife for his
career.
Imagine the occultic involvement of "reading" for Reichsfuhrer Himmler, "the most brutal of the
brutes".
Sandi Boeckel, a modern day young woman who has it all, is subjected to just such a terror, not
once but repeatedly, through an electrifying, unexpected past-life regression. How can she explain
what's happening to her? Is she truly losing her mind, a danger that not only seems likely, but
leans
toward fact? Sandi--or perhaps another woman from the past, the Countess Helga von
Waltz--finds
herself at the mercy of these overpowering breaks in reality, helpless to stop them, unable to live
with them.
Psychologist Dan Bradon is witness to one of Sandi's episodes, and more than anything Dr.
Bradon
wants to prove the existence of past lives and the reality of regression. But he fears losing control,
fears that Sandi will pay for his ambition, and he has good cause, for there's a terrible secret in his
past, one that may do Sandi great harm. To aggravate the already explosive entanglement of past
and present, he finds he is falling in love with her, compounding the problem a hundred fold,
because
Sandi is engaged to another man.
Award winning author Robert L. Hecker is a master at creating suspense, at communicating
Sandi's
terror when faced with the Nazis; Himmler, Roehm, Eichman, Hitler himself. The wonderful
details
of Berlin bring the story to brilliant life, and glimpses of the Nazi involvement in the occult are
truly
chilling; SS Officers and secret initiations, Himmler's twelve apostles, the "Hall of the Dead".
Whispers In The Night is an intelligently written, well-thought-out tale of suspense, laced with
plenty of romance, steeped in period detail, rich with Nazi occultic activity. From America to
Germany to Switzerland, from Hitler's inner circle to a surprising discovery, this story brings the
reader to a satisfying, surprising ending. For lovers of romantic suspense, I highly recommend this
book.
Inventing The Victorians: What We Think We Know About Them And Why We're Wrong
Matthew Sweet
St. Martin's Press
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
0312283261, $23.95, 264 pp, 1-888-330-8477
Thomas Fortenberry
Reviewer
The industrial revolution profoundly changed society. Within the space of a decade the
population
shifted from countryside to city, the emphasis from agriculture to industry, and, of course, with
the
rise of the middle class and the fall of the aristocracy, politics was just as lost as the rest of
society.
The ramifications of such a profound culture shift are still being felt today. New urban
populations
meant new challenges and also new audiences, new philosophies, and new religions. Thousands
of
new churches sprang up trying to capture the newly wealthy and newly congregated, both for
their
own salvation and for their containment. It was essential, when the world was literally shifting
overnight, to put on the brakes and try and reign in the masses. The Victorian Age is that period,
when the aristocracy tried everything in its might to keep the ancien regime from slipping away
and
the people did everything in their might to break free and invent the new. The era was a long and
contentious one. However, as Matthew Sweet so wonderfully elucidates in his new book, we are
at
fault today for trying to gloss over the complexities of the past, simplifying everything to a single
clich‚ of the dour old tight-laced Queen, and thus are guilty of Inventing the Victorians as we
want
them to be, not as they actually were.
Sweet makes a very convincing argument, by pointing out the endless variations in Victorian life,
the
wild and dark sides of life, the liberal, freethinking, real redmeat kind of people we'd expect to
find
in any society. Much like David S. Reynolds explained in his masterpiece Beneath the American
Renaissance, even the best, most elevated, celebrated, and established members of intelligentsia in
society get their inspiration most often from the bottom up. That is, change and impetus comes in
from the streets. This "subversive imagination" as he called it is what drives change and
innovation
in the arts. It certainly isn't dead, repressive, conservatism. Queen Victoria did not create the
society of her empire; she simply ruled it and her name is attached to it as every emperor's name is
attached to their time as overlord. However, the masses were not anywhere near the Puritanical
stiffs we make them out to be. And this last thought is the driving worry of Sweet's new book.
It's
not bad enough we reduce a complex society to simplifications for easier consumption, but much
more sinister is the concept that we intentionally misread and misconstrue the Victorians in order
to
create a hyper-conservative society with which to contrast ourselves as modern and wildly
liberal.
That is frightening psychology, and yet, just like real like, it fits. We're not a rock solid, 100%
infallible society. We have some psychoses, one of which is that we believe no one has done
before
us what we've managed to do. We're the first that is sexually liberated, that has broken racism
and
classism, and produced no-holds-barred art for art's sake. Wrong. It's not all our fault; it is true
the
Victorians had a top-heavy puritanical mindset. However, they also shattered conventions on all
fronts and we simply choose to forget or overlook those truths. He points out numerous
misunderstood facts or outright falsehoods that are still being perpetuated about the Victorians.
He
also notes that we act as if there was no underbelly to this culture or real conflict, a listless,
mannered life devoid of any passionate romance or hot lust, prostitution or adultery. That is
obvious bunk. Much like today, this was also a time of homosexuality, pornography, widespread
accepted drug use and addiction, pedophilia, serial killers (remember Jack the Ripper?), and even,
you guessed it, semen-stained dresses. "According to Virginia Woolf, the modern world began
on a
spring evening in 1908, when she and her sister Vanessa received a visit from Lytton Strachey at
their flat in Gordon Square. Strachey walked into the drawing room and pointed to a stain on
Vanessa Stephen's dress. 'Semen?' he inquired." (207) Of course modern politics have never been
the same since stained dresses emerged as the most important legislative issue of our times, but
Sweet points out how the left and right both selectively utilize Victorians to prove their causes
and
to attack the opposite sides. Leftists love to swing out with Oscar Wilde, the aptly named writer
whose dastardly life and works almost single-handedly destroys the Victorian image, whereas
Margaret Thatcher (who better to praise that era than a modern-day Victorian?) "...famously
declared allegiance to the works of Samuel Smiles, appealing to a spirit of self-discipline tha she
believed had been erased by the welfare state." (227) One begins to sense what I mean: we
create
history to suit our present needs.
Matthew Sweet presents a very valid and intriguing argument. It is to our great benefit that he
not
only makes a credible point, but also he writes in a lucid, engagingly intelligent, yet utterly
entertaining style that makes you wish the book were a thousand pages long. That's a rare feat in
literary criticism and history, which sometimes in this postmodern age seems to compete with
itself
to generate the most pseudoscientific lingo that does nothing more than obscure truth and end all
possible debate with its gibberish. Just ask Alan Sokal about such fashionable nonsense. Luckily
for
us, Matthew Sweet is the opposite: he delivers the goods in clear, honest prose and writes for
everyone. Whether a Victorian era scholar or browsing the shelves for an interesting read, this is
the
book. Inventing the Victorians is an excellent work that makes us rethink not only our pasts, but
our present and our perceptions as well. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Unidentified Flying Objects: Starcraft
Der Voron
PublishAmerica, Inc.
PO Box 151, Frederick, MD 21705-0151
ISBN: 1591297389, $19.95, http://www.publishamerica.com
Denise M. Clark
Reviewer
The existence of extraterrestrials has long been a subject of heated debate between scientists,
scholars and stargazers who've spent many an hour studying the night sky and the universe
beckoning beyond. Scientific proof of whether distant life forms and existence are legitimate
causes
yet an addition bone of contention between UFOlogists and skeptics alike, and while it's easy to
make jokes about Area 51 or Roswell, there is certainly a basis for those jokes and rumors.
Something had to have happened in these places and many others throughout the globe to
engender
such speculation and argument.
In his book, Unidentified Flying Objects: Starcraft, Der Voron has offered an extremely well
researched and detailed report of incidents that have occurred all across the globe, from many
different eras. Ancient writings may have been the first indication that 'we are not alone', and Der
Voron cites several of these sources as an example. Such statements originate from many different
countries and in different continents, from ancient times to contemporary, from Indian tales of
events that took place in the wilds of Kipling country to experiences related by a German artillery
gunner during World War Two. Reports of 'unidentified contact with objects of undetermined
origins' have been filed in government offices from the plains of South America to the fjords of
Norway and the steppes of Asia.
Highly annotated and illustrated with fascinating examples of starship models and their possible
makeup, armaments and defensive mechanisms, this ambitious work offers a wealth of
documented
information on not only Starcraft, otherwise known as 'Flying Saucers', but the types of
extraterrestrials that have flown them. All aliens are not created equal, as their many varied
depictions and origins in historical writings attests. The author's use of a plethora of written
documentation ably enhances his description of personal civilian and military accounts of those
who
have had some kind of interaction with these objects.
Also explored in great detail is the intelligence of our sea life, mainly as that intelligence relates to
dolphins and the octopi of our deepest oceans, and how they, in turn, can be used in the search for
extended knowledge of the universe surrounding our planet. How and why these creatures have
gained such highly specialized communication skills and how it is that an octopus can experience
an
event and not only remember it, but learn from it, is explored, and commented upon as it relates
to
man's search for a higher intelligence.
While replete with scientific data, terms and information, this work by Der Voron is nevertheless
highly readable and extremely illuminating for the common reader with no prior knowledge of
extraterrestrial existence, while at the same time it also provides hours of reading material and
documentation to keep the more knowledgeable busy.
Der Voron's conscientious effort to dig deep for his sources shows in his detailed reports, and his
data gathering and willingness to share that information is a challenging endeavor in which he has
aptly succeeded. The existence of extraterrestrials is an immensely interesting topic, one that will
be
explored for years to come, and this work can provide as an invaluable asset to any stargazer's
bookshelf.
The Young Draftee
Monte Howell
Writers Showcase Press/iUniverse.com, Inc.
5220 South 16th Street, #200, Lincoln, NE 68512-1274
ISBN: 0595226140; $12.95 www.iuniverse.com
Norman Goldman
Reviewer
There have been many books written about World War II, however, few describe the frightful
experiences of the inexperienced teenage combatants.
The Young Draftee is an intimate accounting of what it was like to be a teenage draftee just out
of
high school and sent to the South Pacific to fight the Japanese.
Induced by the discovery of a box of approximately one hundred old faded wartime photographs,
author Monte Howell decided to put down on paper his person experiences of the horrors of war.
However, as he states, the war he encountered was "beyond being called a brutal, savage war or
some other words which can explain what these men went through. The terrain, climate and
disease
those men had to fight besides the enemy was unbearable. The war in the South Pacific was a war
without mercy."
The unknown was always the frightening component of the war. From basic training to the actual
deployment in the theatre of action, we are apprised of the awful fear that was always prevalent.
Never knowing where you would be stationed. What to expect once you arrived at your
destination?
Who would die and would survive? These queries were always foremost in the minds of the
soldier.
Howell does not hold back in his disdain for General Douglas McArthur whom he described as
old,
vain, egotistical and who had an inflated ego. In fact he even recounts an incident where
McArthur
and his staff delayed the evacuation of some seriously wounded men in order that the General
could
have his picture taken while performing an inspection at the front lines. Unfortunately with this
four-hour delay, two of the wounded men had died lying in the hot sun. The author goes on to say
the McArthur had made some very bad decisions that caused the death of many Americans,
however, he never shared the blame for these tragedies. This is the kind of a story that is omitted
from our history books and it is only when we read first persons accounts of the war can we truly
appreciate the suffering of the soldiers.
For many of us who are unfamiliar with the war in Japan, this book will serve as an excellent
introduction, devoid of the dry scholarly texts that perhaps we read as students in high school or
college. The author's penetrating personal perceptions of the war only confirm to us that war is
about people and we never seem to learn that no one wins.
"Originally published at Bookideas.com"
The Firestone Syndrome
Stephen P. Beeler
Advocate House
P.O. Box 3691, Sarasota, FL 34230-3691
ISBN 0970657641, $24.95, hardcover
Jodi Greene
Reviewer
Author Stephen Beeler, worked for the Los Angles Sheriff's Department for 21 years, serving as
everything from a patrol officer to working in administration. He has "talked the talk" and
"walked
the walk." He knows law enforcement and what can go wrong in it. The Firestone Syndrome
portrays what happens when officers of the law act above the law, taking matters into their own
hands. It also shows the checks and balances that provide damage control, and the bravery of
those
who patrol their own.
The "Stoney Boys," an elitist group of deputies assigned to the Firestone Sheriff's sub-station in
South Central Los Angeles, accept the axiom "absence of crime" just not the method by which it
should be achieved. Through the hard work of their superiors and one very brave fellow officer,
this
network of renegade cops is revealed and dealt with but not without danger to their
opposition.
Fiction? Yes, but as Deputy Chief of Police Robert P. White of Flagstaff, AZ, put it, "This story
reflects what can happen when the police' think they are at war with their community. Although
situated in Los Angeles, this syndrome can occur anywhere that police leaders aren't
diligent."
In The Firestone Syndrome, Beeler.strips the mantra from television and movie portrayals of
grunt-level police work. He thumbs his nose at political correctness, cleverly castigating the
courts,
the justice system, politics and politicians and bureaucratic favoritism. His characters are real and
recognizable: they exist in every police and sheriff's department in the country.
Learn more about The Firestone Syndrome at http://www.FirestoneSyndrome.com
Bret's Bookshelf
Dreamcatcher
Stephen King
Pocket Books
1230 Avenue of the Americas, 13th fl., New York, NY 10020
ISBN: 074343627X, Price: $7.99, Pages: 882, 1-800-223-2336
From alien abductions to telepathy to carnivorous intestinal parasites, Dreamcatcher is another
fascinating voyage into the strange, and sometimes frightening, mind of Stephen King. Told
mainly
from the perspective of four lifelong friends-childhood residents of the ill-fated town of Derry-the
story follows an attempted alien invasion and its aftermath.
The four main characters-Henry, Pete, Jonesy, and Beaver-returning to Maine for their annual
hunting trip, find themselves caught in a medical quarantine. Trapped at their cabin, Jonesy and
the
Beav encounter a lost hunter, sick and disoriented, and offer him shelter. Not too far away, Pete
and
Henry are nearly killed when they come across a second hunter comatose in the road.
It is quickly discovered that the hunters are not sick; they are infected with an alien parasite, and a
hungry one at that. This turn of events concerns even the aliens, who want to control humanity,
not
destroy it. But for some reason, Earth's climate is inhospitable to them and its residents are highly
resistant to their control. Jonesy is the first person they encounter immune to the destructive
effects
of their byrus. Possessed by an alien intelligence, trapped within his own mind, Jonesy is forced to
aid the aliens in their assault on Earth.
Henry leads the effort to save Jonesy-and humanity-from destruction. Battling not only the aliens
but
a fanatical military commander, Henry must draw on the special bond between the four friends
and
on Duddits, the Down's-syndrome boy who had been their childhood companion and the
beneficiary
of their kindest deed.
Though far from King's best work, Dreamcatcher holds the reader's interest. The story has all the
King standards: bullies; people from (and drawn back to) that terrifyingly-tragic region of Maine;
and children, reunited as adults and strengthened by their unity, forced to deal with unbelievable
nightmares. It also contains a few delightful references to King's earlier works-some overt and
some
carefully hidden.
Dreamcatcher, soon to be adapted into a feature length film (and likely ruined in the process) does
have a few flaws. The excessive cursing and stream-of-consciousness writing, which I found so
cutting-edge in my youth, becomes less intriguing as I grow older. As usual, uncensored
descriptions
of violence and references to various abuses are plentiful, so plentiful it can make a reader doubt
that
any of us had happy childhoods. Though I'd recommend this book to both fans of King and
horror,
as a whole, the story lacked King's usual power, leaving me satisfied, but not necessarily wanting
more.
Beneath The Vaulted Hills
Sean Russell
DAW Books
ISBN: 0886777941, Price: $6.99, Pages: 480
Beneath the Vaulted Hills is a beautifully-conceived fantasy tale. Written by Sean Russell, author
of
the Moontide and Magic Rise duology, the story follows Erasmus Flattery-a man of science once
fostered in the home of Lord Eldrich, the last of Farrland's magi. Erasmus is called upon to aide
his
friend, Samual Hayes, in escaping capture by both men of the Admiralty and a group of
mysterious
strangers.
Erasmus, haunted by demons from his past, has spent his life seeking knowledge of the arcane.
His
relationship with Hayes brings him closer than ever to realizing his goal. But he is not the only
player
in this game of intrigue. The Tellerites, a band of renegade magi long thought dead, seek
knowledge
now known only by Lord Eldrich. Eldrich, a figure of mystery and legend, more feared than
admired, will stop at nothing to remove the last vestiges of magic from the world before he, too,
is
forced to leave. Each character has a role in the story, and the dramatic, cliff-hanger ending leaves
the reader wondering which characters move the pieces, and which are the pawns.
The concepts of empiricism and natural science, strongly woven throughout Beneath the Vaulted
Hills, are rarely considered in fantasy works, and the setting-a late-medieval society, empowered
through the use of the recently-developed cannon-is one not often explored by fantasy writers.
Nevertheless, Russell manages to instill both personality and believability into his characters and
their countries. Fans of both science and magic will delight in Russell's work.
Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone
J. K. Rowling
Scholastic
ISBN: 0-590-35342-X, Price: $6.99, Pages: 309
Few authors can write fiction appreciated by both children and adults, but J. K. Rowling is one
such
author. Her fantasy series, beginning with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, has captured the
attention-and the hearts-of readers worldwide.
Set in a semi-fictitious England, the story chronicles the adventures of Harry Potter,
wizard-in-training. Following the death of his parents, an infant Harry is left in the care of his aunt
and uncle, two of the world's most devout Muggles (non magic-users). Despised by his adoptive
family, Harry grows to adolescence in the cupboard under the stairs, completely ignorant of his
parents'-and his own-magical abilities.
On the eve of his eleventh birthday, Harry's life changes forever. Despite a near-heroic effort on
the
part of his uncle, Harry not only discovers his magical heritage but also learns that he has been
accepted into Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Happy-perhaps for the first time in
his
life-Harry bids goodbye to number four Privet Drive and makes his way to Hogwart's.
Once there, Harry finds himself in a an exciting world, a world vastly different from the one he
knew. He quickly makes friends-the redheaded Ron Weasley and his mischievous brothers, the
bookish Hermione Granger, and Hogwart's giant groundskeeper Hagrid-but also finds an enemy
in
the young Draco Malfoy.
Life at Hogwarts in not all studies and fun for Harry. Strange things begin to happen, and Harry
finds himself caught in the middle of them. Aided by his two closest friends, Harry investigates the
mysterious events going on at Hogwart's, unaware that they will reunite him with a figure from his
past.
Rowling's world is vivid, humorous, and original. Her characters range from lovable to despicable
and cover most of the spectrum between. From the fast-paced Quidditch match (an innovative
sport
to say the least!) to the bizarre Diagon Alley, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is filled with
surprising events and unexpected twists. Though the book is a quick read for adults, Rowling
should
be complimented on her ability to weave a tale both understandable to children and captivating to
all
age groups.
I did have a few complaints, largely technical, but on the whole, my opinion of the work is
positive.
I'd recommend it to anyone-Muggle or Mage-who wants to remember how magical childhood can
be.
Bret Mathew Funk
Reviewer
Lori's Bookshelf
Turning The Page
Georgia Beers
Renaissance Alliance Publishing
PMB 238, 8691-9th Ave, Port Arthur, TX. 77642
ISBN: 1930928513, $16.99, 225 pps, www.georgiabeers.com, www.rapbooks.biz
When Melanie Larson's company goes through a corporate merger, the high-powered business
woman decides to quit and take stock of her life and career. She goes to Rochester, N.Y., at the
urging of her uncle Phillip, to stay with her cousin Sam who is a wild party gal. In the midst of
reevaluating her life, Melanie meets her neighbors, the suave Benjamin Rhodes and his enigmatic
daughter Taylor, both of whom are interested in befriending her.
Sam's dad hopes Melanie will be a good influence on his spend-a-holic daughter and encourages
Melanie to help her flighty cousin deal with business affairs that are in a shambles. This includes
starting up a store that Phillip has financed for Sam to run in the hopes that she will become more
responsible. Sam hasn't even bothered to decide what type of store to open, and when she takes
off
on a bender, Melanie is left to deal with it. After much thought, a bookshop is what Melanie
chooses to try to make a go of.
In the process of creating the store, Taylor and Melanie are brought closer together. What
follows
is a classic love story. The two women are compelling characters, and the author introduces
interesting secondary characters. The story clips along, so much so that I read the book in one
day.
I liked that the two women's relationship grew over time in a realistic manner.
Readers who enjoy intelligent, nuanced drama/romance will flock to this well-written story of two
women on the cusp of big changes. The plot is taut and the loves scenes well-rendered. Turning
The Page is a finely crafted book by a talented writer. I highly recommend it.
Broken Faith
Lois Cloarec Hart
Renaissance Alliance Publishing
PMB 238, 8691-9th Ave, Port Arthur, TX. 77642
ISBN: 1930928408, $22.99, 437 pps, www.georgiabeers.com, www.rapbooks.biz
In a spin-off book from her debut novel, Coming Home, this author pens the story of Marika
Havers, a cynical immigration attorney living in Calgary, Canada. Marika is in a world of hurt.
No
relationship has ever lasted-except for an occasional loveless liaison with a woman named Cass,
who
uses Marika cruelly.
Rhiannon "Rhi" Davies lives a hardscrabble existence in a shabby part of town. She rents a room
from her mean-spirited aunt who took Rhi in at age ten when the girl's parents died. For years,
Rhi
has dreamed of escape from the critical, loveless aunt. Since getting a paralegal certificate, she's
saved every penny she can, planning and scheming to get out of her situation. Rhi enters Marika's
work life by taking a temporary paralegal job when the regular employee goes on maternity leave.
Marika and Rhi have almost nothing in common-except for their lack of faith in themselves or that
they are worthy of love.
When Rhi is attacked and badly injured by a crazed man in the office, Marika is shocked into
compassion. She takes Rhi into her home and cares for the convalescing young woman, and
against
all odds, the two women are drawn to one another.
This might be a typical romance except for two things. First of all, the writing is exquisite. Every
scene, every character, every detail is described with loving care. The secondary characters,
especially the kindly priest, the mean aunt, and several helpful friends, are well-drawn. Secondly,
the
story doesn't end with the two women gaining rapport and falling in love. Instead, Marika's past
comes back to haunt them, dragging them into danger and near death. The story ends up being
more than a typical romance and is, in fact, a cross-genre thriller.
Told with a deft touch by a talented writer, Broken Faith is an exhilarating story that gains power
the further the reader gets into it. There are so many twists and turns along the way, most of them
unexpected, and the suspense grows gradually as the reader becomes aware of the breadth of the
plot. Simply put, this is a terrific book, and I recommend it highly.
Lori L. Lake, Reviewer
http://www.lorillake.com/
Tony's Bookshelf
Dr. Tatiana''s Sex Advice To All Creation
Judson, O.
Metropolitan Books
c/o Henry Holt & Company
115 West 18th Street, New York, NY 10011
ISBN: 00805063315, $24.00, 1-888-330-8477
Whether the reader is a newcomer or season ticket holder with regards the comparative sex
behaviour literature, this volume will surely prove itself to be both tremendously entertaining and
educational. Judson's novel 'agony aunt' Q & A style of presentation makes for a clearly
accessible
text for a wide audience of all ages and levels of understanding. This is a great way to impart
much
of the bewildering array of comparative morphology and associated knowledge concerning the
rich
diversity of sexual behaviour across a broad swathe of species. This book will surely attract
many
from the younger generation to the study of evolutionary and comparative biology/psychology.
Many of us will wish that we had written this one! Not only do we read here about the birds and
the
bees', mammalian phyla are well represented throughout the 13 chapters. The full tour includes
gender differences (as well as similarities) and the how's and why's of the sex that might take
place
between them, whether that be in (serial) monogamy, polygyny, polyandry, or even
parthenogenetic
circumstances. The implications of each section for our better understanding of human sexual
behaviours (both normal and abnormal) are rarely explicit, and for the most part (possibly
intentionally so), are presented rather tongue-in-cheek. This is not a failing of the work,
however.
There is ample material here to occupy the lateral-thinking reader in this regard.
Although this book makes for a terrific vacation or conference-trip read whilst in transit, it also
has
much of seriousness to offer the student of comparative psychology, sociology, anthropology,
zoology or medicine. For those wishing to cut to the chase with the primary literature concerning
particular issues, over 20 pages of extensively referenced notes are provided. Although by no
means
dealing extensively with theoretical issues in the aetiology of particular sex behaviours, we do
meet
(albeit briefly) with Darwin, Fisher, Hamilton, Bateman, Muller and Wallace. The notes cover
every "Dear Dr. Tatiana..." Q & A presented in the book, and could well form the basis of core
tutorial reading and/or stimulation for small group discussions.
A welcome volume for the shelf at home as much as for the academic library, unless you're
comfortable with the public at large thinking that you're undergoing sex therapy counseling, be
sure
to carry it in a brown paper bag when moving between the two!
Up From Dragons: The Evolution Of Human Intelligence
Skoyles, J. R. and Sagan, D.
McGraw-Hill Book Company
Two Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121
ISBN: 0071378251, $27.95 1-800-722-4726
Championing the ascent of reptiles as much as the descent of man, this thoughtful volume on the
evolution of intelligence by Skoyles and Sagan is a welcome addition to the nature/nurture
neurophilosophy shelf. The authors take us well beyond the 'usual suspects' listing of gross
anatomical brain structure and function of the familiar phyla, traveling a welcome breadth of
comparative data to include a wide variety of species (including our earlier selves). Rather than
merely outline the familiar shopping list(s) of evolving structures culminating in the development
of
the modern human cerebral cortex, Skoyles & Sagan do not end with the discussion of its
distinctive "associative" or "silent" areas of the brain of old (as so many other authors are still
content to do). Instead, and throughout the book's eighteen chapters, we are treated to a series of
detailed proposals concerned with the continuously adaptive neural architecture of both the intra-
and inter-cerebral structures underlying the evolution human intelligent behavior. Reminiscent of
learning the names of Tolstoy's characters in the early pages of 'War & Peace', one meets here
parts
of the brain rarely mentioned (let alone claimed to be of any significance in explaining who we are
and why we behave as we do). Following the publication of this volume, the long overdue and
normally restricted cast of human brain features will now include the structure and functional
connectivities of the anterior cingulate, the amygdala, the insula, the orbital and dorsolateral
prefrontal cortex of the brain (and these are just a few of the characters amongst many others that
might have been introduced here). We may still not be able to agree upon how best to measure
intelligence (IQ, in my view, still tautologically measuring 'what IQ tests measure'), but the
physiological substrates of the brain supporting intelligent behavior are slowly coming to be
located
and characterized. Many of the examples and theoretical components put forward may perhps
appear predictable to those familiar with modern paradigms in comparative psychology and the
study of intelligent systems (both biological and man-made), but the real strength of this book is
to
be seen in its successfully discussing adaptive neural systems for the technical non-specialist. The
story as told here is a great achievement for a book aimed at the popular science reader.
The basic thesis of the book follows the development of the nervous system in the aftermath of
the
'KT event' (coincident with the demise of the reptilian dinosaurs), which favored flexible, mobile
species with nocturnal, cold-adaptable behaviors, capable of finding shelter and forage. In
contrast,
species with relatively reflexive nervous systems, whilst satisfactory when situated in a stable,
predictable environment, can often fail to adapt to changes within the time course of sudden
catastrophic events. En route to the architecture of the modern human brain, we meet the
aetiology
of social and emotional life and their associated neural substrata in the prefrontal cerebral and
limbic
cortex (amongst other structures). The level of neuroanatomical detail is sufficient to provide a
coherent and consistent story of successive adaptations leading to the development of 'higher
intelligence', but the pathway taken argues not for this result deriving solely from phylogenetic
mutation (per se), but, and more importantly, from ontogenetic neural plasticity and enculturation
despite the SAME genetic makeup.
If this idea is new, and at first glance appears to be an uncomfortable one, don't panic! If the
authors
are right, your prefrontal brain cortex will soon get to work in generating some reflex inhibition,
allowing one to assess (and reassess) the situation, temporarily delay one's actions, and then to
organize and activate novel planned behaviors towards worked goals. Whether the modern
human
can prove him/herself to be intelligent enough to plan the survival of any future catastrophe
(whether it be of our own making or another KT-like event) we will have to wait and see. In the
meantime we have in this book, an accessible version of a still-emerging story telling how, and as
the solution to what challenges, the intelligence of a variety of species (including modern
humans)
currently evolved to demonstrate.
Excellently referenced throughout, with bibliography aplenty for those wishing to read more of
the
detailed research literature, my only gripe with this book would be with its lack of visualization
aids
for those unfamiliar with the brain areas mentioned. Although the text is sufficiently detailed to
allow the reader to construct crude schematics for him/herself (as one may have done in the case
of
Tolstoy's family trees?), both anatomical and flowchart illustrations might be of help in hastening
the orientation of those perhaps new to the anatomy and neurophysiology of the brain. Whether
this
would indeed have been the book that Carl Sagan would have written in 1977 had he possessed
the
vast corpus of knowledge concerning the brain now available, one may only guess? It is my own
view that Skoyles & Sagan's title serves more than to merely pay homage to 'The Dragons of
Eden', in whose memory this book is in part written.
Do-It-Yourself Eye-Movement Technique for Emotional Healing
Freidberg, F
New Harbinger Publications, Inc.
5674 Shattuck Avenue, Oakland, California. 94609
ISBN: 1-57224-256-6 $13.95, (800) 748-6273, www.newharbinger.com
The claim championed for Friedberg's 'Eye Movement Technique' (EMT) is that it may be used
to
"rapidly reduce emotional stress and redirect thinking in a positive, rational and optimistic way"
(p.2) -perhaps permanently, and without the expense of multiple professional therapy sessions!
Although cautious to advise sufferers of recurrent trauma (incl. PTSD, mood & personality
disorders) against self-treatment as a sole pathway to emotional stress relief, Friedberg puts forth
a
structured set of protocols for self-paced therapeutic implementation.
Much of the first half of the book is concerned with the stress, stressors, and the promise of
EMT
in countering stress-related tension and incapacity. Numerous theories attempting to explain the
stress-reducing phenomenon following EMT sessions are too briefly discussed, with varying
degrees of plausibility. For the practicing therapist or self-healer this is perhaps not a failing of
the
book, but I was surprised not to find a section dealing with at least the sensory physiology
adjunct
to applying EMT, or any discussion of its potential interaction with the psychophysiology of the
stress experience it seeks to alleviate.
In the 5th ('how to do it' DIY) chapter, we are introduced to the technique itself in a step-by-step
fashion, the reader being led through a series of stages with clearly marked progression or repeat
indicants given at each stage. One progression (perhaps surprising to the reader, especially given
Friedberg's chosen title) is the suggestion that the use of oscillatory eye movements be
abandoned,
and replaced instead by finger movements. Indeed, the latter would appear to be Friedberg's
preferred method of therapeutic interaction with his own clients (though he still calls it EMT ?).
This instead uses a distractive flip-flop bimanual 'tapping' of the clients hands or shoulders whilst
having them silently ponder on questions reminiscent of therapist school's of thought derived
from
Roget or Ellis.
The latter half of the volume is exclusively devoted to providing case studies and extracts of
actual
therapy sessions from the author's own clinical archives. Each of these later chapters deal with
specific concerns (phobia, panic, chronic pain, personal and social anxieties) with accompanying
procedures being retold amidst success stories, mostly with a positive outcome for the client. The
most remarkable and repeated claim, however, is not for EMT providing relief across such a wide
range of conditions, but in its speed of efficacy - often within a single session, without requiring
repeated administration. For those trying to help manage, or those actually suffering from the
effects of pre-clinical emotional stress conditions, EMT remains worthy of investigation. I would
suggest that EMT (albeit received in the form of oscillatory eye movements or bimanual tapping)
might at the very least prove a good vehicle in actively disrupting recurrent 'ruminations' and the
often repeated intrusions into ongoing thought processes familiar to the sufferer of emotional
stress.
Whether Friedberg' EMT does any more than merely interrupt worrisome replays by distraction
(think here of your own experience of trying to get rid of a tune that keeps 'going around in your
head'), his own case archive would seem to suggest a high degree of success with the
technique(s)
as illustrated in this volume. Add it to the therapy bookshelf between Rational Emotive Therapy
and
Biofeedback.
Tony Dickinson,
Reviewer
Shannon's Bookshelf
I Wanna Iguana
T.E. Watson, Illustrator by John Raptis
Paw Prints LLC
2384 Tokay Court, Paradise, CA 95969
ISBN: 1-58478-009-6, 32 pp., $16.95, hardcover picturebook, 2001,
www.tewatsononline.com
When a little boy decides he wants an iguana for a pet, he uses his vividly delightful imagination to
dream of what he and his new pet will do. I Wanna Iguana is a colorfully illustrated picture book,
sure to delight young children, whether their parents read it to them or they read it to
themselves.
The little boy's dream pet is talented and humorous, taking off to outer space and reading comics.
The drawings are laugh-out-loud funny, the prose amusing to adults and children alike. The last
few
pages of the book include instructions on the care and feeding of iguanas, for those kids who tell
their own parents, "I wanna iguana!"
I would definitely recommend this book for young grade-school children, and, of course, anyone
who loves iguanas.
17 Seconds To Weight Loss
Susan James
Vast Five
644 Greenville Avenue, Suite 218, Staunton, VA 24401
ISBN: 1-929072-79-1, 191 pp., paperback, 2001, http://www.susanjames.org/
17 Seconds To Weight Loss is no ordinary weight loss guide. But, maybe that is what we all
need,
something different than the same old weight loss plans. Something that tackles the deeper, more
unconscious reasons for not "being able" to lose weight. And, that is exactly what this book
provides.
Author Susan James, a formerly overweight woman, who now remains a trim size 9, says it is
"more
about energy and the application of Spirit than anything else." James believes we all have a
conscious choice to be exactly what we wish to be in life, whether it is to have a particular job, or
to
weigh a certain amount. James says, "Weight loss and body image has nothing to do with the food
that you eat or that you do not eat. It has to do with 'energy,' and how you move and form this
energy."
Divided into 72 chapters, some no more than a page, the perfect size for busy people, 17 Seconds
To Weight Loss brings James' claims to light. Her energy is infectious, and I found myself, many
times throughout the book nearly feeling that energy come off the page. The principles of User
Friendly Physics, which James introduces in other books she has written, state that weight loss is
simply a matter of "thinking" yourself thin, that 17 seconds of pure thought about what you want
and what you intend for your body to be like, is the equivalent, in terms of physics, of 2000 hours
of
action. The more you think pure thoughts of thinness, energy, health, etc., the more these
thoughts
compound upon themselves, bringing to reality exactly what you are thinking about. Other topics
discussed include how we sabotage ourselves, how we get to be overweight in the first place, and
how to be in harmony with what we want, not what we don't want.
Very little of the book focuses on what to eat in order to achieve weight loss, but there are a
couple
of short chapters on the subject. In spite of having included these suggestions, James reiterates
that
weight loss doesn't have anything to do with the weight loss plan chosen, but with the thoughts
we
think. 17 Seconds To Weight Loss is most definitely unlike any weight loss book I have ever
read,
but I came away feeling that this book holds a key...maybe the key...to weight loss for millions of
people out there. It is definitely worth reading! It may change your life forever, in many ways
besides just your weight.
Shannon McKelden Cave
Reviewer
Liana's Bookshelf
Writing Poems
Peter Sansom
Bloodaxe Books Ltd
P.O. Box 1SN, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE99 1SN
ISBN 1852242043, UK 7.95 British pounds, 1994, paperback, 128 pp, www.amazon.com
Peter Sansom, one of the best contemporary poets, has extensive experience of poetry workshops
and courses and has held several placements in schools and colleges. He was also
writer-in-residence
at Doncaster Central library for three years and he is a director of The Poetry Business in
Huddersfield and co-editor of The North Magazine and Smith/Doorstop Books and
Cassettes.
Writing Poems is a 'little book that does not tell you what or how to write, but helps you say
genuinely what you genuinely need to say,' the writer says at the introduction of the book.
The book includes ten sections:
Section one deals with Poetry and the Marketplace, Submitting Poems to Magazines and other
interesting topics.
Section two analyzes a poem . There the reader will learn the basics about meter , rhyme and free
verse. The Spirit of the Age comes in section three, offering the reader a range of literary fashions
,
while, section four, Almost a Remembrance, displays practical hints on how to create the vivid
detail
poems need by comparing and contrasting various poems.
"There is plenty to be said about the poems , but I want to draw your attention to their endings,"
the
writer says. "It is tempting to finish a poem with a flourish , but the bigger the ending the more it
has
to have been earned by what precedes it."
Section five ,Writing Poems, focuses on more detailed elements , such as punctuation, drafting
,the
disaster poem and many other. " I think free verse looks odd with capitals heading the lines," the
writer advises.
Workshop techniques and writing games are included in section six. An extremely interesting
section
showing the readers how to enhance their writing and give them the motive to keep on writing.
Packed with topics and questions to help the new writer create is easy to follow and fun as
well:
" FREE WRITING (also called hot-penning). Use as a warm-up and as an exercise in itself. There
are three rules:
Once you've started you must not stop writing.
You must not think. Let the writing go its own way...
You must not rhyme."
A detailed approach of meter, rhyme , half-rhyme and free verse is in section seven , informing the
reader about Given or Fixed form. Section eight is about Some Given Forms, that is to say,
stanzas,
sonnet sequences, Haiku and other. In section nine are displayed some poets and poems, while
section ten ,Where to Go from Here, includes a glossary of technical terms.
At the end of the book there is a bibliography section and then a section with Some Useful
Addresses, such as The Poetry Society, London, Scottish Art Council and other.
There is also a Libraries list, a Critical section and a Writing Courses list.
Peter Sansom's Writing Poems is an easy read that offers the reader thorough knowledge on
poetry
writing. The poet-to-be will find this workshop-book invaluable and practical as well. There are
numerous examples throughout the book and a lot of information on how to submit to magazines,
the small presses and other handy details.
Moreover, the writer includes brief resumes and discussion of literary history and literary fashions
,
and the creative process itself. On completing this book, the readers can decide for themselves
how
they want their work to develop, whether that magazine was right in returning it or if they simply
don't know "their poetic arse from their elbow".
Writing Poems caters for new writers, poetry reviewers, as well as all readers who wish to
educate
themselves in poetry related areas.
It is an excellent ,informative book that no one should miss.
Related Titles by Peter Sansom:
On The Pennine Way, 1988
Everything You've Heard Is True, 1990
Making Peace With The Things In Your Life
Cindy Glovinsky, M.S.W, A.C.S.W.
Griffin/St Martin's Press
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, 2002
ISBN 0312284888, US $14.95,CAN $21.95, Paperback, 304 pp
Cindy Glovinsky, a psychotherapist, professional organizer, author, and public speaker whose
insights help relieve others from the anxiety, stress, and overwhelm resulting from chronic clutter,
is
also the founder of Fresh Start Organizing, an organizing consulting business located in Ann
Arbor,
Michigan.
There are many books in the market on the subject of getting organized that give us suggestions
on
how to best store our goods or arrange our closets, but this book is unique in the way it deals
with
the problem of clutter.
Making Peace With The Things In Your Life is not just another book of How-to solutions, but
rather a journey through life's experiences and the residue they leave behind in the form of both
emotional and physical clutter. The author focuses on the internal issues of clutter, the emotional
attachments to clutter and finally, how we can make peace with all the things cluttering our
lives.
Packed with reflective questions which help readers to evaluate habits and understand the
underlying
reasons why they have trouble with things, this book makes them become conscious of habits and
feelings that may have been buried for years.
'Did your parents reward you with things?'
'Do you feel ashamed by the number of things you have?'
'Do you often put things someplace "temporary" that turns out to be permanent?'
These are only some of the questions the readers will find in the book.
There are four sections in all, each one dealing with the analysis of all the pros and cons of our
relationship with things and then providing practical solutions to the problem. It starts with
'Rethinking Things', where the readers are helped to rethink their concept of Things. '...the first
step
in resolving the Thing issue is to recognize that, for you, it IS an issue. For someone else- even
someone much messier than you are- it may not be, but it's an issue for you because it BOTHERS
you', the author says.
'You and Your THINGS: Taking Inventory' comes next, guiding you through a systematic
inventory
of your Thing habits and Thing feelings.
'Why THINGS Keep overwhelming you' is section three . It describes possible causes of Thing
problems together with suggestions for dealing with them. Cindy Glovinsky advises:
'Make homes for all your possessions as near as possible to where you use them'
'Keep your possessions as minimal and as low maintenance as possible.'
'Accept the fact that YOU CANNOT HAVE AS MANY THINGS AS PEOPLE HAVE WHO
ARE
NOT SPACE POOR.'
Section four is 'What to Do About THINGS'. Here the readers will put what they have learned
into
action. 'ONE THING AT A TIME,' the author says, 'means doing something with your eyes and
with your mind. You must, first of all, stop looking at too many Things at the same time.' And the
author concludes: 'In the final analysis, the best things in life are not Things but moments. No sane
person would think of sacrificing moments with loved ones, ...for the sake of mere Things-or so it
seems.'
The author emphasizes words and phrases throughout the book by putting them in all caps in
order
to help chronically disorganized people who have attention problems and need more intense
stimuli
to catch their attention.
At the end of the book , there is an appendix including Cindy Glovinsky's website:
www.freststartorganizing.com
Here the readers can find articles, links, resources and info about Cindy's organizing business ,
Fresh
Start Organizing, as well as information about how to order this book. There is also a list of
Resources for Help with Organizing, such as the Obsessive-Compulsive disorder Foundation, and
the Simple living/volunteer opportunities list packed with websites and other info.
There is a Sources section as well, offering more info and a Further Reading section on page
277.
Making Peace With The Things In Your Life is a highly informative and useful book that 'it is not
meant to replace the externally focused organizing books that you may already have but to enable
you to make better use of them after rethinking every aspect of you and Things,' the author says.
It
offers the reader invaluable info and practical advice on how to get rid of clutter-chaos that pests
most of us.
The book caters for Therapists, stress-suffering patients, and a wider audience - all of those who
feel
that they need a more organized lifestyle. It is accessible to both chronically disorganized people
and
everyone else who is curious to find out why they are messy. Cindy Glovinsky's style is supportive
and friendly and the book is easy to read as well as enjoyable.
Cindy's articles on organizing have been published in various papers such as the Washtenaw
PARENT and the Naponews, and Emma Jackson, a reporter of The Ann Arbor News ,has
commended on Cindy's work in a full page article of hers.
For more info on Cindy's workshops and keynote programs call 1-888-68-impact or
630-377-8101
or visit www.Doitwithimpact.com
Liana Metal, Reviewer
http://lianametal.tripod.com
Hodgins' Bookshelf
Red Plaid Shirt: Stories New & Selected
Diane Schoemperlen
Harper Flamingo Canada / A Phyllis Bruce Book, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd., Toronto
ISBN 0002005182, $29.95 Canadian; 310 pp. incl. notes, hardcover, 1976-96 short-story
collection,
pub. 2002
The name "Red Plaid Shirt" is shared by one of 21 (see below) short stories in this collection,
dating
in that instance from 1988.
Of those 21 "shorties", another is possessed of the unusual title, "Railroading or: Twelve Small
Stories with the Word 'Train' in the Title". Owing to space considerations I won't discuss that
specific work below, but the front dust-jacket flap's blurb speaks of "these 21 stories" and I
suppose
that 21 is also the author's own, official count. As you will see, certain other stories here are also
structured in more or less discrete parts, so that a 12-section "Railroading" tale proves not all that
different from some others - only in talking about its sections this way.
Omitting notes, etc., the shorties occupy 304 pages, unadjusted for blank spaces at the ends of
individual stories or the like. Thus the average length works out to nearly 14 1/2 pages per tale,
which could be the average length of chapters in a novel. Assuming about 11.5 words per line and
31.5 lines per page on average, let's say there are 360 words per page. By this approximation and
making allowance for blank areas, it seems the average story in this collection may be around
5100
words long.
I know of no numerical norm for short stories, but I believe these are pretty typical in length. Yet
each tends to tell its own story in its own style, and I don't believe that 21 of them can all be
reviewed within the space one may allot for the review of a single novel. The best I can (and in
fact
will) do is review a few examples.
The blurb on the turned-in back flap of this book's dustjacket mentions five Schoemperlen
short-story collections but only one novel, titled "In the Language of Love". "Shorties" thus seem
to
be her clear forte, and I for one suspect that she may have written her novel largely to prove that
she
can do a novelist's work too, if need be.
The title of "Losing Ground" (1976), the first, comparatively lengthy (about 20 pages) opus in
this
collection, is a metaphor that the narrator (a young girl), hears twice in the mouth of her aunt. On
the first occasion the aunt says the dying family patriarch is "losing ground". On the second
occasion
she says the European race is losing ground relative to the indigenous population. The latter may
probably be construed as a racist, us-versus-them remark, but there's very little such talk.
"Losing Ground" reads more like a memoir than like a short story, recounting miscellaneous
family
happenings and conversations over a series of summers until the year of the girl's puberty and her
grandfather's (the patriarch's) death and burial. I'm in no position, though, to allege that "Losing
Ground" IS a memoir; to me, it only SEEMS like one. While the trivia-filled family history is
charmingly told, I find nothing resembling a plot; rather, as we look on, the characters simply
grow
older.
Why should I care? Firstly, I do try to inform readers accurately about books I review. Secondly,
my
nose is still out of joint from a time when First Prize in a short-story contest went to the writer of
a
memoir, NOT a short story; while I, with a bona fide short story, came in second. Only an
imposture
stood between me and marketable glory! Oh well ...
Calling Schoemperlen's second item, "This Town" (1979), a short story again seems a stretch -
but
in a different, more innovative sense. Less than eight pages long, it largely describes an unnamed
town under a series of headings, beginning with "GENERAL INFORMATION:" "CLIMATE:"
AND "POPULATION:". Most entries under such headers are whimsical or even comical. Various
personal names are mentioned, but characters to go with them are developed very little if at all,
except through the reader's assembly of snippets from various sections. For instance, under
"PUBLIC HEALTH:" we learn of a certain Kevin only that he said, "We are all suffering from
chronic lack of oxygen." - no more, no less. Kevin, though, is also quoted once or twice more,
from
which we may try to "know" him.
"Frogs" (1982) comes closer to a conventional short story, but is really about people. Frogs
(toads
too are mentioned) seem mere diversions - until you stop reading literally, and interpret
allegorically.
The figurative aspect resides in these first two lines: "Val's mother always told her: 'You've got to
kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince.'" According to my best interpretation, Val's mother
meant, "If you distribute your kisses (or perhaps sexual favours) indiscriminately, you must go
through a lot of men before you can find good husband material."
The entire first page (plus two lines of the second) discusses frogs and toads - but thereafter,
frogs
are only mentioned in one bad joke and as part of one natural setting.
Throughout most of "Frogs", Val has her Simon (a novelist, confound it! Why couldn't
Schoemperlen have made him something more original, such as a fishing-boat captain? It's not as
if
Simon's calling has any bearing on the tale); or else a Leonard instead, for a few pages.
She and Simon have been in discord over a question of marriage and/or children. Has Val not
kissed
enough figurative frogs yet? At the tale's end, the question remains unresolved - although it seems
as
if Simon may be slowly becoming a prince, given Val's importuning.
"Hockey Night in Canada" (1982), fourth segment of the book and a little over 13 pages long,
borrows the name of a national TV institution, the theme tune of which is instantly recognized if
not
sung (it has no words) by at least half the country's population.
HNiC has something in common with the first in the volume, "Losing Ground", in that it could
easily
be taken for a memoir, and has rather little plot.
The girl protagonist draws word sketches of, and tells anecdotes about, her family and her
mother's
special friend, Rita. The girl's father has an inexplicable adherence to the Chicago Black Hawks,
while Rita favours the Montre'al Canadiens and the girl's mother focusses her mind
elsewhere.
Much of the description tells of Rita's past life, current employment, and wintertime car troubles.
On
account of Rita's frequent presence, the girl also learns that the one great love of her mother's life
had been broken up by parents, and that in consequence the father she knows as her own has been
something of a make-do consolation prize.
Outdoors in this tale, it may be the hockey season; indoors, a mood of intimacy and warmth
prevails.
For instance, a paragraph on page 54 tells how the girl sometimes had the house to herself, when,
"I
curled up on the chesterfield with the record player on and wrote in the datebook Rita had given
me
..."
I admit it; I have an hidden reason to quote just that sentence. North Americans seem to think that
"chesterfield" is a solely Canadian word for what would be called a "sofa" in the States. That's
largely untrue; my Oxford dictionary, published in England, defines chesterfield as "a sofa with a
padded back, seat, and ends". That is, a chesterfield is just a civilized sofa. The term probably is in
normal use throughout the English-speaking world ... except where separation from the Old
Country
occurred before the better model of furniture existed. Thus it seems that Canada isn't peculiar in
saying "chesterfield"; instead, the U.S.A. seems peculiar in NOT saying it!
[If there's room here for an amusing but rather irrelevant anecdote, my old school's pep song
contained the line, "On the track and in the gym and on the rugby field ...", but we students
always
corrupted it as, "On the track and in the gym and on the chesterfield ...", that item having been a
favourite place for teenagers' mutual explorations.]
"Hockey Night in Canada" ends in the indeterminate fashion that by now seems Schoemperlen's
typical idiom. Tidy-minded readers who like neat and complete story endings may dislike her
style,
accordingly.
"Clues" (1984) is narrated by a small-town woman looking back on her own adolescence, much
of
which she'd spent unhappily seeking clues to the achievement of her own corruption, as if to
epitomize reasons for every parent's dread of the teenage years. Smoking stolen cigarettes is as far
as she gets within this tale, but more is implied for later years.
Now let me jump over "Tickets to Spain" (1985) - noting that our best Spanish dictionary doesn't
contain the alleged word, 'ly', clearly intended to be 'y', meaning 'and' ... thus posing a question of
how to get reliable proofreading in foreign tongues? (Answer: proof it yourself.)
I also bypass "A Simple Story" (1987), "The Man of My Dreams" (1987), and "In a Dark Season"
(1988). This is done for no other reason than to keep my notes proportionate to the verbiage I
expend on more unitary works, while bringing us to the "Red Plaid Shirt" (1988) story.
It begins on page 145 in these words:
"RED PLAID SHIRT
that your mother bought you one summer in Banff. It is 100% pure virgin wool, itchy but
flattering
against your pale skin, your black hair. You got it in a store called Western Outfitters, of the sort
indigenous to the region, which stocked only REAL (as opposed to designer) blue jeans, Stetson
hats ..."
Readers who don't know the Canadian Rocky Mountains may wish to know that Banff, Alberta, is
like a "capital" to the highly scenic Banff National Park. It lies on the Trans-Canada Highway,
Highway 1, about 110 km / 65 miles northwest of Calgary and is named for a place in eastern
Scotland, more likely for sentimental than for geographic reasons.
This makes only two stories that I recall seeing written in the second person. That unusual
technique
makes "you", the reader, assume the persona of a somewhat wayward, female protagonist, no
matter
in which sex you were originally placed by your parents' chromosomes. As to the waywardness
aspect, plenty of folk nowadays are no more circumspect that the "you" of this tale, and those will
no doubt consider her quite normal.
Author Schoemperlen often experiments with unusual forms of writing, but I wonder how many
males who read of their own reporting for obortions in this yarn will react with surprise? Forcing
us
all to be someone we are not is a fault inherent in the second-person point-of-view.
Another unusual feature is this tale's structure, centring upon one garment after another, until
"you"
have named a fairly comprehensive female wardrobe (without lingerie, however), citing
reminiscences or anecdotes relating to each item. "You" also list numerous synonyms for the basic
garment colours; e.g., "BLUE COTTON SWEATSHIRT" evokes "azure aqua turquoise delft ...
cerulean ... indigo ultramarine ..."
By the end, an affecting if sometimes tawdry story has been told by innovative means that often
seem indirect. "You", the girl in this story, have by now kissed many more frogs than did the girl
in
the story actually named "Frogs", yet not one of them has turned into a prince.
At one point I thought this tale's title "Red Plaid Shirt", might have been chosen to represent the
entire volume because photographing a swatch of red plaid cloth would simplify the cover design;
now I see that the honour may instead have gone to this specific piece for its novelty, perhaps
even
for its genius.
This volume contains many remarkable if not always comfortable short stories, then, but they are
too
numerous to cover more, here.
My curiosity is now whetted to see how Schoemperlen's novel, "In the Language of Love", is
structured, and how it may read. I must hope it won't prove to be just too too clevah for
words.
Bones To Pick: A Phoebe Fairfax Mystery
Suzanne North
McClelland & Stewart, Inc.
481 University Avenue, Suite 900, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5G 2E9
ISBN 0-7710-6800-X, price $22.99 Canadian; 268 pp., 1-800-788-1074
Again we have a third novel in an otherwise unsampled (by me) mystery series, this time evidently
by
a Western Canadian author although there are next to no author notes in this volume.
I can't at present comment on North's first two volumes, named "Healthy, Wealthy & Dead" and
"Seeing is Deceiving", but in the case of "Bones to Pick" I initially wanted to include the word
"anthropological" in the genre name. Yet it's not really about anthropology per se, but rather
about
some people in that science, and about other people in those scientists' lives. They include the
three
members of an all-female Calgary television crew, the book's narrator being TV photographer
Phoebe Fairfax.
The setting is in southern Alberta, Canada. The predominantly oil & gas oriented city of Calgary
lies
within sight of mountains in the gorgeous Banff National Park and the Rocky Mountains Forest
Reserve, in the southwesterly portion of that area; while Drumheller, on the Red Deer River, is
more
centrally located, perhaps an hour and a half northeast of Calgary by car.
That's where the Royal Tyrrell Museum stands, in the rapidly eroding dinosaur-fossil Badlands
country, where this mystery begins.
Knowing next to nothing about Suzanne North, I have the impression that a certain proportion of
this book's content, e.g., concerning riding horses, may be somewhat autobiographical. I consider
that this is generally as it should be, though; works of fiction (science fiction notably excepted)
should be based on known realities. For example, in one John Updike story, some guys play
pickup
basketball - surely requiring that Updike not be ignorant, at any rate, about that game.
Alberta is sometimes called Canada's Bible Belt. Religious literalism is not unknown there. It's
quite
credible, then, that in this tale protesters become aroused against paleontologists, for the findings
of
paleontology tend to support Darwinism which, alas, the Bible doesn't explicitly enough
foreshadow.
Thus a group named Geologists for Jesus (although it could equally have been a non-Christian
group
holding fundamentalist beliefs, and although there actually is only one geologist among them)
kicks
off the action on page 1 by so blocking the highway as to impede the TV crew in question, on its
way to cover an exhibit opening at the Tyrrell.
This exhibit is to display very early human remains recovered in faraway Africa and brought to the
Tyrrell as a fundraising stunt. The purpose is to allow the onetime Albertan credited with that find
to
continue his work, while further massaging his already gigantic ego.
Ancient though the hominid bones are, they are only on the order of 1/20th (or less) as old as the
dinosaur remains typifying the Drumheller area; there is no suggestion of passing them off as a
local
find, then, and their installation at the Tyrrell, although elaborate, is temporary, their next stop
being
scheduled at the Royal Ontario Museum.
If there isn't one kind of phoniness, however, there's another. The professional talents of the
fellow
who takes the credit lie really in public relations and deceptive speech (not to mention his major
avocation of seducing women), rather than in paleontology; while it's that Great Man's lowly Field
Assistant who is the real finder of bones.
In literary terms, the relationship between these two men may be compared to that between a
glittering celebrity who acts as the Front Man to hoodwink the public into buying a book
composed
by a hired, anonymous researcher/ghost-writer - after which the celebrity phony may unblushingly
take full credit for what he/she claims as "my" book. (In a sense, in fact, he doesn't lie if, through
purchasing all rights to the book, the Front Man OWNS it ... yet at the same time, the work was
not
DONE by him.)
This novel's back-cover blurb gives away more of the plot than I think proper, and so I'll not
quote it
here. Let me instead assert that "Bones to Pick" is well named both literally and figuratively.
Various
characters in the tale certainly do have quarrels with others. It's quite a study in personalities and
relationships, and also in personality and relationship disorders.
As already suggested, there's not a great deal of paleo-whatever science involved, the exhumation
of
hominid bones already belonging to the past at the book's opening. About all we learn concerns
the
shipping and display of such remains. As a substitute for science we probably learn more, in fact,
about the trade of TV photography.
The lone, actual geologist among the Geologists for Jesus eventually undergoes an epiphany that I
consider close to bang-on. The rest of this Mystery deserves to be left as such, for you to enjoy
without compromise.
Yet remarks on style remain fair game. Author North's writing, while not extreme, may be
described
as moderately vivid and no-holds-barred, revealing no reluctance to use crude Anglo-Saxon
four-letter words when called for by the plot. Her work is about as Canadian as (say) Lawrence
Block's is American, or as P.G. Wodehouse's was English. It does not however portray the
outsider's cliche'd views of Canadianism. For one thing, I believe the word "Eh?" doesn't turn up
even once in this tale (although I've noticed it in such places as Walt Disney's version of
"Winnie-the-Pooh", of which only the bear idea was Canadian in origin (perfectly true! "Winnie"
was
short for Winnipeg, and it represents a Canadian black bear taken to England as their regimental
mascot by Canadian troops in World War I.)
As for Americans who pronounce "about" as "abawt", and who then take delight in making nasty
jibes at Canadians for supposedly saying "aboot", they must make the best they can of North's
standard English spellings.
However, both Americanisms and Briticisms are far more publicized (ballyhhoed?) than
practically
any matters Canadian. For foreign markets, therefore, the book might benefit from addition of a
short glossary, e.g., explaining CBC as "Canadian Broadcasting Corporation".
The style, per se, of the mystery does not make central character Phoebe appear as one of those
common, amazingly clever detectives, whether professional or amateur. Rather, she merely is an
observant (largely because of her photographer's eye) and reasonably intelligent member of the
general public, whose profession leads her to unusual places, situations, and acquaintances; and
whose sometimes dopey and impromptu decisions back her into awkward corners from which she
may emerge actually ahead of the game.
She is, in short, an accidental, reluctant, entirely unpretentious quasi-sleuth, whose genius for
being
in exactly the wrong place at, largely by chance, exactly the right time seems unparalleled.
I recommend "Bones to Pick" as a novel that's informative, even educational, as well as
entertaining.
But then, you see, I happen to enjoy the process of learning, whereas it's possible that you may
even
hate it.
The Repentant Rake: A Restoration Mystery
Edward Marston
Headline Book Publishing, London
ISBN 0747275866, price 17.99 British Pounds; 306 pp., w. map of Restoration-period (17th
century) London
At the front of this volume are listed other Edward Marston tales, all of them mysteries in either
of
two series. The 11 Domesday mysteries all have four-word titles of the form, "The [animals of a
given species] of [English place]" - for instance, "The Owls of Gloucester".
Then come three Restoration mysteries if we include the work now under review, each having a
three-word title comparable to "The Repentant Rake".
This is my first acquaintance with Marston's work, but I doubt it'll be my last. From the present,
single sample, I can't tell whether his other books also contain romantic elements. Anyway, I hope
any maps in those works are better developed than the one in "The Repentant Rake"; it fails to
identify various streets named in the text, frustrating readers having limited or no acquaintance of
even present-day London, I'd think.
For instance, is the several-times-mentioned Fleet Lane the same as today's Fleet Street? Even if
so,
just where is that, again?
Marston writes middlebrow, 99% modern English, expending little effort to mimic the speech of
the
3 1/3 centuries old period described. Only occasionally does a truly oldfashioned expression such
as
"'sdeath!" (expurgated from "God's death!") appear, and never do we encounter the convoluted
and
endless sentences of authentically antique writing.
In essence, then, only references to that era's events, such as the Plague and London's Great Fire,
or
to the use of swords, travel on horseback, etc., exist to remind us of the historical setting. Some
expressions may even be from our own day; if this suspicion were to be substantiated through
research, it would indicate notable anachronisms.
On the other hand a merit of this book, bearing it in mind that I'm no judge of Marston's previous
novels, is that the first-try reader finds it easy to pick up the threads of characters' lives that
clearly
are carried over from previous "installments" of the same series.
How Marston does that is interesting. On page 1 the clearly carried-over character, Christopher
Redmayne, is in conversation with a bluff new character, Sir Julius Cheever, who is feeling out the
ambitious young architect to see whether he will be suitable, not just technically but even
politically,
to design and oversee construction of Cheever's proposed new townhouse in London. During
their
conversation we learn much about the current state of England, and about Cheever's brusque
manner, soldierly past, and political future. We also learn about Redmayne himself, but not in a
manner likely to bore readers of the previous volumes in the series. The men's negotiations in fact
make a perfect screen for the necessary situation- and character-building task that author Marston
is
subtly pursuing.
We also glimpse a first attraction between Cheever's younger daughter, Susan, and Christopher,
before the latter rushes back to his drawing table to begin his new commission. That romantic
interest will grow throughout the work. It is never prurient, and indeed we have no description of
the young lady's physical attributes; at one point we're told she wore a closely fitted gown on a
given
day, but that's about it.
The Restoration (of the British monarchy after the execution of Charles I, the rule of Oliver
Cromwell, and all that) was a generally dissolute period in English history. As exceptions proving
the rule, Christopher and Susan seem at least comparatively, even remarkably chaste.
Yet as it happens, both of these mutually susceptible young people have elder brothers who are
known as "rakes" (rakehells, hell-raisers). Christopher's brother, Henry, is a self-centred, clueless,
arrogant fop when not reacting in abject cowardice to threats by mail. I feel Marston insists too
repetitiously upon these traits, though, and he paints Henry's coterie of drinking, gambling,
whoring
friends as no whit better.
If we were to call Christopher's brother Henry the Shallow, then in justice we should call Susan's
brother Gabriel the Deep. For whereas Henry will not consider reform, but only hopes to return as
quickly as possible to his unfettered vices, Gabriel has quietly married and abandoned his sinful
ways, to pursue a new path toward salvation.
The Cromwellian Puritans - whose army of commoners the crop-pated "Roundheads" had been -
had not all been eliminated in combat, converted, or packed off to America as colonists.
Protracted,
destructive, rancorous civil warfare had recently racked England and, as has since been the case in
such similarly afflicted countries as France, USA, and Russia, members of the defeated faction
remained at large among the general population. Emotions could still run high ... as was true of
Sir
Julius Cheever, a former Roundhead officer who had come to despise his son's Cavalier-like (i.e.,
seemingly idle and, worse, associated with the aristocratic Cavalier faction) literary leanings, as
well
as the young man's loose morals. Before page 1, father and son had had a falling out, and the
young
man had left the parental nest under a bitterly dark cloud.
In fact, memories of the late warfare between Cavalier and Roundhead largely occasioned the
entire
series of crimes on which this work of fiction is based.
While the theme of rakish elder brothers develops, a second one is begun involving Jonathan Bale,
a
constable of a ward of London now under reconstruction after having been razed in the Great Fire
of 1666, which had destroyed even the ward's Baynard's Castle, presumably a stone edifice. Bale
and
another constable find a corpse they are unable to identify locally. Jonathan's wife suggests that
Christopher Redmayne might be able to help, for the cadaver is particularly well dressed and
barbered, suggesting he might be known at the Royal Court - and although Christopher is not a
courtier, his brother Henry is.
It is thus that, on pages 57-58, we learn that Christopher and Jonathan already know one another,
and even have worked together previously, in one or both earlier volumes of the same series.
We know Henry is alive at that point, but we don't know about Gabriel Cheever, Susan's brother,
whose reputation has been even more extreme ... although, as it turns out, somewhat unfairly
now,
subsequent to his actions to reform himself.
It's interesting that author Marston has chosen to feature as his series protagonist an architect,
whereas too many intellectually inbred writers have written about writers, perhaps even writers
who
suffer from writers' block - a fad that once prompted me to compose a short satire in which
members
of a co-op, "The Writers' Bloc", shared a Manhattan building named "The Writers' Block", and
endlessly discussed that same malady!
It's true that Marston makes Gabriel Cheever a talented poet, an embarrassingly accurate diarist,
and
a would-be playwright, but Gabriel's role in the story is minimal and, better yet, we read here no
mention at all of the fell "writer's block". Yet Gabriel's diary record does become central to the
plot,
and we also are given actually quite interesting insights into the book trade generally of 17th
century
London. As Marston himself clearly prefers the deep to the shallow, when he does thus delve into
literary matters, readers may be assured they are worth pursuing.
I find "The Repentant Rake" an entertaining book, but not extremely gripping. It is not the typical
mystery story in which clues are laid out and the reader is then challenged to a battle of wits with
some super-sleuth. Here, traps are laid for nameless, faceless criminals, and then we must stand
back
and wait to discover who will fall into them.
Despite a few promising moments, the romantic theme develops into little more than a flirtation
marked by smiles and polite words, garnished with a little hand-holding and a single peck on the
cheek. Although it seems a bit too readily approved and even fostered by usually censorious
elders,
the embryonic relationship is left dangling at the tale's end. I speculate that the next book in the
series may simply ignore Susan Cheever's former existence, to let Simon Pure (I mean Christopher
Redmayne, of course) begin again from scratch, with no carry-on baggage.
Yet it's not impossible that more may someday develop between these two - but to this book's
end,
the concept of marriage doesn't seem to enter their beady little minds (to the likely disappointment
of
many readers), while an unsanctified affair would be contrary to the unearthly image that Marston
has buildt for Christopher in particular.
Is this series hero low on testosterone, I have to wonder? Why, at his age I ... Well, never
mind!
Girl From The South
Joanna Trollope
McArthur & Company, Toronto; Bloomsbury Publishing, London)
ISBN 1-55278-269-7, price Can $24.95; 311 pp.
Viking Press
ISBN: 067003097X; $24.95
Another term for this book's genre is suggested by denial in the following back-cover quotation
from
the "Toronto Star", these few lines also revealing why the author's surname is familiar: "Joanna
Trollope's understanding of her characters is so acute that it lifts her well above the soap opera
category of novelists and reminds critics of her 19th century forbear, the great Victorian novelist
Anthony Trollope."
It is always refreshing at least to begin reading a work of this calibre, marked perhaps above all by
a
wonderful gender evenhandedness and absence of prejudice or rancour (except in the mouths of
one
or two woman characters who, when provoked, stigmatize all men as "shits", or words to that
effect) - but their relationships are the real substance of this work, and those seem dismally
defective.
Although not labelled "Part One" and so forth, the work is divided into parts, the first being
specified in three lines: CHARLESTON / SOUTH CAROLINA / LATE SPRING. Charleston is
one
of those cities reeking of a history that comes readily to any reader's mind who has visited the
place.
While we aren't told which "late spring" it is, the time is recent, for cellphones and e-mail are
often
mentioned. The described generation of physically if not emotionally mature, still youngish adults
has thus grown up since the Sexual Revolution. What a difference that fact makes!
Part 1 occupies the first 35 pages, introducing three generations (or four, counting the baby born
partway through the tale) of a "good" Charleston family. The protagonist-apparent and title
character is attractive, clever, but unsettled Gillon Stokes. At the outset she is undergoing
internship
in a museum of modern art, and also works at a couple of paying, part-time McJobs to earn
enough
to support herself. At the end of Part 1, though, out of the blue Gillon announces that she is
applying
for a job in London, England and, seemingly with vast confidence (perhaps unintended by
Trollope)
in her employability, indicates that she won't be in Charleston when her sister's baby is due, in
early
November.
After Gillon's odd display of counting an unhatched chicken or of crossing an unreached bridge,
the
curtain descends for some time on Charleston and its people. Gillon virtually vanishes, abdicating
her
initial protagonist spot in the next Part.
Part 2, LONDON / SUMMER, doesn't exactly introduce, but simply HAS a whole new cast.
These
are English folk in an English setting. I so report in the hope of saving my readers the confusion I
experienced here. The transition is very abrupt, and scarcely explained; for after all, Gillon had
previously only mentioned her INTENTION TO APPLY for a London job, and none was even in
view at Part 1's end.
The new group is so independent of the now familiar American family that I wondered for a time
whether "Girl From the South" were perhaps a collection of short stories, not a novel? However,
at
an artsy party 35 pages later (it takes that long for the 2 + 2 to make 4), an English girl named
Tilly,
who has just received a full glass of red wine, is jostled so heavily as to send the liquid onto a
trajectory to coat another girl - who turns out to be an American, and indeed none other than our
Gillon. Parts 1 and 2 are portions of a single tale, then, after all!
A geographical comparison not found in the book may be helpful here. London, at roughly 51
degrees 30 minutes North, lies about 18 deg. 45 min., or 1125 nautical miles (1296 statute miles,
2085 kilometres) north of Charleston, which is located around 32 deg. 45 min. North.
Charleston is moreover around the latitude of Casablanca, Morocco, and lies south of every part
of
Europe. London, in contrast, is about as far north as is the tip of James Bay, the southerly
extension
of Hudson Bay issuing upon the Arctic Ocean.
The Gulf Stream vastly moderates London's climate, but it can do nothing for its short days and
long
nights in winter, or for the reverse in summertime. Yet London's winter days are longer than those
experirenced in Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, and St. Petersburg, four important cities around 60
deg.
N, also the northerly limit of Canada's western provinces.
London's winter days may often be dull and wet, then, but hardly black, even if lacking bright
snow;
while any such great city at night radiates a great deal of light into the environment which,
especially
during overcasts, reflects much of it right back. I thus feel that when Author Trollope calls the
winter weather "blackness", she uses poetic licence chiefly representing one character's or
another's
depression.
Returning to the opening of Part 2, the scene is aboard a crowded train running from King's Lynn
to
London. This much may sound reasonable, given Gillon's earlier announced intention of moving
to
London. Yet now we suddenly find ourselves looking at the world, not through her eyes, but
through those of some fellow named Henry - which made me ask myself, "Just who the devil is
this
Henry?" Had I read of him before, I wondered, then suffered an amnesia attack?
I went back and scanned Part 1 once, then again, before concluding that this unknown Henry's
sudden, unaccountable apparition is an annoying (for I have much better ways of killing time than
searching books for things they don't contain) failure in the story's continuity - but not, luckily, in
my
memory. Thus I feel relieved of my first worry, but I feel once again that some editor muffed
his/her
presumed duty to edit the story for contretemps, or screw-ups if you prefer. As I've asked before,
"Why can't editors edit?!"
Perhaps a book need not have only one protagonist - or, for that matter, even one. A good tale is
a good tale, however it is structured; to have a single, constant leading character is a merely usual
convention.
Being one's own constant "protagonist" is however in keeping with our mentally normal
experience
of life. Folk who experience the real world as if seeing it through serial pairs of eyes may suffer
from
multiple personality disorder - a condition perhaps calling for psychiatric treatment. It is therefore
the norm to write first-person stories from a single point of view (POV), and usually the teller is
the
tale's sole protagonist. (Exceptions are those stories structured as Joseph Conrad contrived some
of
his with a narrator named Marlow, thought to be a pseudonym for himself. A "Marlow" recites
stories in which he himself plays no active part, while others act as the real protagonists.)
Third-person storytelling, on the other hand, can throw a yarn open to numerous personalities
who
may, if the author wishes, take turns acting as protagonists. "Girl From the South" exemplifies this
approach.
Gillon is absent from the scene of action a good deal of the time, during which others play the
protagonist (if any leading role can in fact be distinguished). She is always the title character, the
"Girl From the South", though; her only possible rival is her less quirky sister.
Initially, the wine-splashing accident is not as negative an experience as it may sound, for it serves
to
introduce people, and to break Gillon's isolation far from home, while advancing her tale. It will
however later lead to much sadness when Gillon, the splashee, abstracts the affections of the
aforementioned Henry from Tilly, the splasher.
The situation "goes critical" after just four months of Gillon's stay in London, when she decides to
fly home to be with her sister, who is about to give birth. In a dopey moment - or has she
unconsciously been waiting all along for her chance to get even by raining on Tilly's parade? - she
invites Tilly's increasingly interested lover Henry, a professional wildlife photographer, to visit
Charleston and study that area's abundant wildlife. He quickly accepts, to Tilly's not exclusive
horror.
Part 3 is CHARLESTON / FALL (not "Autumn", which might be too English.) Gillon tries to
avoid
deeper entanglement with Henry and phones her apologies to Tilly, back in England. Still, when
Gillon sees Henry off on a side trip, he asks if he may talk seriously with her, on his return - and,
although unenthusiastically, she agrees.
Part 4, LONDON / WINTER, opens with Tilly in misery ... but we're now about 2/3 through this
book, and again I must stop giving away any more of the plot. It seems, though, as if the whole
generation with the exception of Tilly is mired in self-centred inconstancy lacking, in anything but
the short run, real happiness. People, now including Tilly, do have sex, but lasting joy eludes
them.
Not that author Trollope engages in the slightest graphical description, though; lovers are not
even
called that, and we can only infer what's going on, except through the occasional, crude remark
betraying sheer exasperation, e.g., on page 209: "So," said Tilly ... "you'll embark on another
Susie-style, no strings, no-commitment type, fuck-for-free relationship?" This is not a book of
prurient interest.
Only once when the scene shifts to another city, New York, is a new Part not begun, and that
episode is quite brief. There will however be a final Part 5, CHARLESTON / SOUTH
CAROLINA
/ SPRING. In it, one character e-mails this insult to another across the Atlantic: "You're a cliche'.
You're a joke." Actually I find them the pot and the kettle, and not even the only vessels equally
blackened over the fire.
No doubt there have always been individuals of the stamp described above, but "Girl From the
South" implies that today they are the norm. The Pill and its Sexual Revolution may not have been
such unmitigated blessings after all, then. Perhaps on the positive side, making unmarried sex and
related heartbreak commonplace does tend to toughen (some would say harden) those who suffer
in
consequence. That may help them cope better with future disasters, supposing these are
non-medical
in nature.
Tilly, it turns out, is one of those who finds ways to cope - in part because of the strange support
of
her mother, now living with Tilly's second stepfather. However, despite the numerous liaisons
Trollope surveys - the book's "soap-opera" aspect - neither Tilly nor anyone else marries,
suggesting
at least to me that nobody has had the happiness of finding a permanent soulmate.
Her mother tells Tilly that we love for reasons of our own, such as to avoid loneliness; "That's all
there is." She goes on to describe a couple's interactions thus: "You run on parallel lines ...
Overlapping sometimes, waving sometimes, but always alone." In that view, Tilly's breakup with
Henry had been like the proverbial wreck waiting to happen.
After such sage advice, during the year that the novel covers even Tilly backs out when a different
suitor makes her an offer of marriage; they're good in bed and she loves him, but not enough for
the
commitment required - a typical bind her entire generation seems to have fallen into.
Notice I'm discussing Tilly, not Gillon the title Girl? See what I mean about Gillon's not
consistently
holding the top spot as protagonist?
I wish, finally, to correct a misrepresentation or questionable statement on this volume's back
cover.
It says, "The men can't commit ..." The true fact, according to this novel, is that NEITHER sex
can
commit.
Peter Hodgins
Reviewer
Harold's Bookshelf
Bugs And Critters I Have Known
Ann Heiskell Rickey
Old Canyon Press
2865 Marquette Dr., Topanga, CA 90290
ISBN: 0966783417, $12.95, Pages: 93
"Bugs and Critters I Have Known" is a poetic look at various "bugs and critters" common to
North
America. From Chiggers to Mealy Bugs to Tomato Worms and Water Striders, each gets its own
special piece of poetry about its lifestyle and quirks. A children's book that is easy to read and
educational while still being humorous and whimsical, it is sure to delight most young
readers.
God, Is That You? How To Have A Conversation With God-and Really Hear Him
Katharine C. Giovanni
New Road Publishing
PO Box 278, Apex, NC 27502
ISBN: 1931109036, $12.95, Pages: 102
"God, Is That You?", is an inspirational book that walks the reader through a technique for
learning
how to talk to and listen to (hear) God's voice. The technique involved two methods so you can
use
the one that is the most comfortable for you. Several examples of people talking with God are
given
as she challenges the reader and encourages them to make conversations with God a part of their
daily routine. Easy to read, easy to understand and easy to follow, it will provide positive
encouragement to many who are struggling to understand what God desires of them.
Clean Your Clutter, Clear Your Life
Gaylah Balter
The Learning Tree
3038 N. Malinda Drive, Fayetteville, AR 72703
ISBN: 0970786107, $13.95, Pages: 133
Feeling drained of energy? Never seem to get everything done? Perhaps one of the contributing
factors is clutter.
Gaylah Balter provides an insightful treatise on how clutter, in all of its forms, affects our lives.
Whether it is a cluttered desk, cluttered house, a cluttered room in the house or even a cluttered
mind trying to keep track of too many things, clutter is around us everywhere. Using a system
based
on Feng Shui she leads you through the process of uncluttering your life and returning to a more
relaxed state.
She also discusses some of the reasons why people keep clutter and how it gets out of control,
but
best of all she offers a framework for how to change yourself and get out of the habit of cluttering
up your life. Very practical, useful ideas, in a well written book, it was generally a joy to read. I
say
"generally" because while it is filled with useful information and written in a wonderful, clear
style,
that style is often broken up with attempts at humor. I found it added an amateurish quality to a
book that was very professional in every other aspect. If you can ignore such high school
comments
as the "Ha, ha" in, "I hope it hasn't become as overwhelming as your clutter is; that was not my
intention. Ha, Ha.", then you will probably find it an interesting book. Don't get me wrong, this is
a
great book that would deserve a five star review if it didn't contain all the "clutter" of the
annoying
side comments. A recommended read - with patience.
Emotional Freedom: Techniques For Dealing With Emotional And Physical Distress (Revised
Edition)
Garry A. Flint
NeoSolTerric Enterprises
#5-2906 32nd Street, Vernon, BC, Canada V1T 5M1
ISBN: 0968519512, $9.95, Pages: 74 plus Appendixes and Index
Don't let the small size of this book fool you. It gives a detailed description of Emotional Freedom
Techniques (EFT) and how to use them to gain control over emotional problems such as fear,
anxiety and addiction (as well as most others). That's a pretty tall order for any book to try to fill
and
especially so when so many different fields of psychology and self-help can't seem to agree on
how
to deal with emotional problems. It seems that a therapy that works for one person does not work
for another person. So, how does this book try to fill the order of a simple system that anyone can
learn and apply to help with any emotional problem? It does it by pointing out that emotional
problems create certain definite changes in the body that can be treated with accupressure. So, the
author takes you on a tour of accupressure points and techniques that change your body's reaction
to the emotional stimulus and in doing so take the power away from uncontrolled emotional
reaction.
The EFT techniques allow the user to treat themselves with a system that can be done quickly and
privately at any time and in pretty much any situation. Working from the smaller problems, in
order
to gain experience and confidence, to the larger ones the techniques are detailed and include a
troubleshooting section to help determine what to do when things are not progressing the way
they
should.
Well written, organized, easy to understand and easy to implement, it is a fascinating read.
Recommended for those wrestling with gaining control over emotional issues.
Get Out Of My Life, But First Could You Drive Me And Cheryl To The Mall?
Anthony E. Wolf
Farrar Straus & Giroux
19 Union Square West, New York, NY 10003
ISBN: 0374528535, $13.00, Pages: 212
Many parents of teenagers feel that their world has suddenly been invaded by creatures from
another
planet. What once was a well-behaved child has suddenly become a disrespectful, obnoxious
creature with no consistency or logic whatsoever to their behavior. In Get Out Of My Life, But
First Could You Drive Me And Cheryl To The Mall?: A Parent's Guide To The New Teenager
(revised and updated), Anthony Wolf takes us on a wonderful trip to their planet to help us to
understand what is going on in their world and why they act the way they do.
Sharing the knowledge that he has accumulated over years of counseling, he shows us that,
believe it
or not, teenagers often do make perfect sense! With a witty writing style he shows deep insight
into
why teenagers act the way they do, why girls and boys generally deal with teenage feelings
differently, the perils and problems of each and how these fears and feelings manifest themselves
in
the teenager's actions and language.
Filled with positive advice such as knowing when you have won and need to stop instead of
continuing a battle, how to pick your battles, and how not to get sucked into a battle that really
has
nothing to do with the subject being discussed. Some of the most important points that he makes
includes the fact that it is a temporary situation and soon they will be past the teenage years, you
will
not make the right decision every time and it is okay to make a wrong one, and what you do now
does make a difference even though it does not appear to have any effect right now.
A highly recommended book for parents who want to understand what their teenagers are going
through and how they can appreciate and help them through those difficult years.
Solving The Greatest Mystery Of Our Time : The Mayan Calendar
Carl Johan Calleman
Garev Publishing International
5840 Corporate Way, Suite 200, West Palm Beach, FL 33407
ISBN: 0970755805, $24.95, Pages: 260
In this scholarly work Carl Calleman examines the Mayan calendar in detail and explains how the
Mayans combined their knowledge and understanding of not only time, but spirituality,
evolutionary
cycles, historical cycles and the very fabric of the universe into their system. Calleman weaves
historical information with science, religious philosophy of various types, the pyramids, evolution
and various other items to show how they are all related to the pattern of the Mayan calendar.
Since
the Mayan calendar continues through the year 2011 it predicts the pattern of things to come.
Interesting reading, it is filled with very scholarly research but at times it seems quite a stretch to
make some of the items match up. Still it provides a thorough and rich understanding of the
Mayan
philosophy and how the calendar system contained their complete understanding of life, the
cosmos,
time, nature and God. A recommended read.
Celtic Knotwork Handbook
Sheila Sturrock
Guild of Master Craftsman Publications Ltd.
166 High St, Lewes, East Sussex, England, BN7 1XU
ISBN: 1861081154, $12.95, Pages: 157, www.amazon.com
In the "Celtic Knotwork Handbook" Sheila Sturrock invites the beginner into the adventure of
designing and constructing beautiful Celtic knotwork patterns. Don't be fooled by the simple
techniques explained in the book. By first teaching how to plot basic patterns on a graph paper,
she
teaches the student the basic patterns and designs. From these basic beginnings the student then
learns how to leverage those skills to create larger more complex patterns. In a matter of about an
hour I was able to design and draw basic patterns easily. By the next day I could design and
produce
much more complex patterns and was quite pleased with the results. An enjoyable book that
teaches
one of the easiest methods to learn and create Celtic knotwork, it is a valuable reference as well as
just plain fun.
Kaleidoscope: Artistic Techniques For The Creative Soul
Elisabeth Keely Wilson
Brookside Press
111 Brookside Place, Danville, CA 94526
ISBN: 0970103808, $18.95, Pages: 119
Between the pages of this book Elisabeth Wilson bares her soul as artist and writer. Beautiful
artwork combined with deeply moving prose creates a wonderful work that strikes a resonant
chord
in the reader. The final part of the book includes the materials and techniques that she used to
create
the artworks in the book. Wonderfully touching, a highly recommended read for when you want
to
turn your mind from the troubles of the day to a deeper, peaceful place.
Loving Each Day For Peacemakers: Choosing Peace Every Day
John-Roger
Mandeville Press
PO Box 513935, Los Angeles, CA 90051-1935
ISBN: 1893020142, $12.00, Pages: 227
A guide, an action plan, a therapy, an instruction manual, a workbook, "Loving Each Day for
Peacemakers: Choosing Peace Every Day" shows how to create peace within yourself and your
life.... Every day. Filled with simple thoughts and comments that lead the reader into a deeper
reflection of themselves. Each page has an exercise to help the reader reach within themselves and
realize that if they are to have peace in their life then it has to start within and then provides the
guidance needed to make those changes.
A book that belongs on everyone's bookshelf, not only to be read and worked through, but also
just
to be there for regular encouragement and direction. I can't imagine anyone being disappointed
with
this book.
This Child Of Mine: A Therapist's Journey
Martha Wakenshaw
Harbinger Press
2711 Buford Road, #383, Richmond, VA 23235-2423
ISBN: 0967473608, $12.95, Pages: 184
Be prepared for some of the most horrific stories of situations that some children live through.
Martha Wakenshaw is a professional therapist who has dealt extensively with children from some
of
the most frightening family situations that you can imagine. As you read this book you will be
transported to some of the most horrific situations that a child could live through. Be prepared to
cry for the child and for the therapist as she deals with a child welfare system that seems to have
very little interest in a child's welfare and insurance companies that think a lifetime of abuse can be
resolved in ten weeks. Feel the pain of the children, feel the pain and love of the therapist, feel the
frustration as both try to work through their difficulties.
"This child of mine" shows Martha Wakenshaw's committment to the children brought to her for
healing. It is not another child with another problem, they are real children which she accepts as if
they were her own child.
If you are even remotely considering working with hurt or abused children in a theraputic setting
then you owe it to yourself to read this book. An eye opening account of what goes on in the life
of
a caring and compassionate therapist it is an emotional roller coaster of a read.
How The Scots Invented The Modern World
Arthur Herman
Crown Publishers
299 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10171
ISBN: 0609606352, $25.95, Pages: 361 plus Index
Arthur Herman writes a convincing portrayal of the Scottish people as coming from a financially
poor but intellectually rich country. In the early 1700s the Scottish Enlightenment began and with
it
came a greatly enhanced understanding of our world and breakthrough philosopies in economies,
physics and many other sciences. From the economic principles of Adam Smith, and philosophies
of
David Hume to the inventions of Alexander Graham Bell and financial empires of Andrew
Carnegie
there seems to be no area of modern life where the Scottish influence was not felt. In relation to
other countries the people and contributions presented in this book show a disporporationately
larger contribution by the Scottish society to our modern life than any other single
nationality.
One of the significant contributions of the Scottish Enlightenment to the United States was the
teachings of Hutcheson that oppressed people have a right to rise up against their oppressor and
establish a free society. In addition, many of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were
either Scottish or descendents of Scots. In many ways the writings of the Scottish Enlightenment
period formed the underpinnings for the basic philosophies of the United States.
Herman goes on with example after example of how the Scottish Enlightenment and the concepts
born there significantly influenced the modern world. A thoroughly fascinating read that kept
surprising me with the magnitude of the contributions of the Scottish people to our modern
world, I
highly recommend it to anyone interested in history.
America's Founding Secret: What The Scottish Enlightenment Taught Our Founding Fathers
Robert W. Galvin
Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
4720 Boston Way, Lanham, MD 20706
ISBN: 0742522806, $17.95, Pages: 120
The Scottish Enlightenment was a period when some of the greatest scholars from almost every
field
were concentrated in one area that allowed a free flow of thought and information between them.
Basically they were concentrated in the university communities of Glasgow and Edinburgh
between
1720 and 1780. This free thinking influence spread to the colonies where people such as Thomas
Jefferson, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton were schooled by Scottish teachers. A Scottish
teacher, Francis Allison, taught three signers of the Declaration of Independence.
The Scottish teachers realized that all nations of the time were founded or maintained by force.
They
suggested that a nation founded on commerce could be equally as powerful and influencial as
those
founded by force. This set the stage for the development of the philosophical underpinnings of the
United States. All that was really needed now was a spark to set off the natural chain of events.
During the time just prior to 1776 there was a multitude of writings from Scottish authors that
proposed and defended the notion that oppressed people have a right to assert their independence.
Between the strong writings calling for oppressed people to assert their independence and the
belief
that a country could be established based on commerce the scene was set for the establishment of
the United States.
The author provides substantial and convincing background information on exactly how all of this
worked together the help create the Unites States. Details on what the Enlightenment was, how it
came about and exactly how it influenced the actions of our forefathers and all there for the reader
to learn and consider. An excellent treatise on the often overlooked contributions of the Scottish
people to the formation of the United States, I found it a very informative book.
Back Pain Solutions
Bruce I. Kodish, Ph.D., P.T.
Extensional Publishing
PO Box 50490, Pasadena, CA 91119-0490
ISBN: 0970066457, $20.00, Pages: 269 plus notes and index
In "Back Pain Solutions" author Bruce Kodish presents easy to follow techniques for helping with
back pain problems. After a brief introduction into Posture-Movement Therapy he provides a
section on how your back works, the physiology of the spine, discs, joints, etc. and how this
relates
to your posture, movement and back problems. Bruce Kodish covers everything that you need to
understand in order to safely use the techniques on yourself.
For myself, I was having some problems with discomfort in my upper back and used the
appropriate
technique in the book. I found that I was able to completely relieve the problem. I would have
liked
more specific techniques and specific excercises for different situations, but then again it had all I
needed to help myself so maybe it is complete. If you are having back pain problems and are tired
of
the constant regimen of pain-killers or the regular onset of back pain you owe it to yourself to
read
this book and see if it can provide the same benefit to you that it did to me.
The Way We Think: Conceptual Blending And The Mind's Hidden Complexities
Gilles Fauconnier and Mark Turner
Basic Books
10 E. 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022
ISBN: 046508785X, $35.00, Pages: 396 plus Notes and Index
Conceptual blending, the basis of this book, is basically the ability of the mind to take two
different
concepts, form a cognitive link between them and produce a third new concept that is a blending
together of the first two (very similar to the thesis, antithesis and synthesis concepts). This ability
is
what has allowed the human species to move beyond simple logic into creative thinking. It is what
has allowed us to excel in arts, develop religious thought, create a language and engage in many
other activities that required insight and intuitive thinking. "The Way We Think" provides detailed
analysis of this blending and how it not only has affected our past but also how it affects us
today.
Filled with numerous examples to help the reader understand the nuances of conceptual blending
and
how it works in various scenarios, it is a fascinating read. This is not easy reading for those who
are
not at least somewhat knowledgeable in the area of cognitive sciences. I would consider it a very
valuable academic text but not for the average lay reader. There are less complex books available
on
this subject that would make easier reading for the novice but this is one of the best academic
level
books available if you want a more complete understanding of conceptual blending and how we
are
able to blend concepts to create new levels of knowledge. A highly recommended read for
technical
oriented people.
Jasper's Magic Blanket
Debbie A. Atwood
Novel Approach Publications, LLC
PO Box 11747, Kansas City, MO 64138
ISBN: 0970101309, $16.95, Pages: 29
"Jasper's Magic Blanket" is an absolutely delightful children's book. It tells the story of a mystery
of
epic proportions - How is it that Jasper is always tucked in under his blanket in the morning? He
kicks it off, tries sleeping on the floor and a variety of other ways to see if he will always wake up
all
tucked in snugly. Jasper eventually solves the mystery and in the process finds out about how
special
it is to be loved. An exceptional picture book with a beautifully written story that promotes
positive
family and self concepts, what more could you possibly ask for from a children's book.
Inner Coach: Outer Power
Keith Varnum
New Dimensions Publishing
11248 N. 11th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85020
ISBN: 0972269908, $16.95, Pages: 304
"Inner Coach Outer Power" consists primarily of the spiritual journey Keith Varnum. Definitely a
New Age work with sections on such typical New Age areas as Out of Body Experiences,
conversations with Ascended Masters and similar items, some will find the book wonderfully
enlightening and freeing. Others will find that it goes beyond the limits to which they are open to
the
possibilities when he moves to conversations with extraterrestials and similar items. The bottom
line
is that if you are open to various aspects of the New Age philosophies, ideas and movements then
you are likely to find it an interesting read and well worth the price. If you are not open to the
possibilities of New Age spirituality then you are unlikely to find it of any value.
Diagram For Effective Management
Ozzie Fogle, Al Staggs, Bill Nichols
Ozzie Fogle (Privately Published)
1073 Zion Church Rd., Orangeburg, SC 29115
ISBN: 0970728700, $14.95, Pages: 107
In "Diagram for Effective Management" Ozzie Fogle reduces the basics of management to various
diagrams and flowcharts. Each of the important components of good management is sectioned off
not only by chapter but also by index tabs on the book so you can easily turn to the correct
section
when searching for an answer or advice. The tabed sections include Vision, Goals/Action,
Planning,
Problem Solving, Leadership, Attitude, Integrity, and Innovation. At various points in the book
there are applicable quotes and other motivational comments to help keep you on track.
A quick reference guide to the basic fundamentals of good, effective management I would
recommend it highly for anyone new to management or who has been promoted to management
by
working their way up in the company with no formal management training. Not a book on
detailed
SWOT analysis and other high level management tools, it is still a great reference for the basics
without which SWOT, Sigma Six and other high level tools would fail anyway.
If you want a book that cuts through all the hyperbole and gets to the point with the basics upon
which everything else is built, then this would be an excellent choice.
The Writing And Revision Stylebook
Gregory Hayworth and Rosette Liberman
Cooper Hill Press
American Language Sourcebooks
1440 Whalley Avenue, #232, New Haven, CT 06515-1144
ISBN: 0970111304, $24.95, Pages: 464
Probably the most useful and organized revision manual that I have read, "The Writing and
Revision
Stylebook" is a must read for any writer from the high school level and beyond who wants to
improve their writing. Areas covered include Grammer, Usage, Structure and Sense, Rhetorical
Fallacies (try to find that in most revision books), Rhetorical Figures, Spelling, Capitalization,
Abbreviations, Punctuation, Quotations, Citations, and Documentation. The book contains a
thousand excercises and answers along with complete explanations for the correct answer. If you
want to write immaculately, persuasively and with style then this is the best guide available to
learn
how to do just that. It takes a technical subject and makes it very user friendly, a highly
recommended read.
10 Days To A Sharper Memory
Russell Roberts, read by Paul Kirby
Time Warner Books Audio
1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
ISBN: 1586212648, $18.98, Format: Audiobook
Whether you are trying to remember names, phone numbers, dates, appointments, lists, or other
items it is easy once you have mastered the techniques presented here. While there are no new
techniques presented, it does provide an overview of the various memory methods (loci, peg,
phoenetic, etc.) and how each one is used. There is one difference in the phoenetic method
presented
here and the method as traditionally taught. The method taught here is easier to use with lists of
less
than a hundred items but would be more complex with larger lists. Still it is an interesting
variation.
This is not instant memory, but does provide the listener with the tools and techniques to
remember
anything you have a desire to recall. Within ten days you can gain enough knowledge to have a
substantially better memory. If you are serious enough to master the techniques then they will
serve
you the rest of your life and you will be sure to stun others with your ability to recall just about
anything you want to remember.
The Art Of Profound Meditation
Lawrence McCafferty
La Chevre d'Or Press
PO Box 1554, 10870 Palette Dr., Mendocino, CA 95460
ISBN: 1884884067, $16.95, Pages: 158
Fresh and enlightening, "The Art of Profound Mediation" is a trip through the art of meditation
for
everyone from the beginner to the experienced intermediate practitioner. In a very easy writing
style
that walks the reader through the philosophy as well as the techniques, anyone can learn to quiet
their mind and achieve deeper, more profound meditation. The most common complaint of people
new to meditation is that they just cannot seem to quiet the thoughts in their mind so that they can
reach deep and profound levels of just "being". This book guides the reader through basic
techniques
that are easy to master with regular practice and can help them reach the point of peace where
they
can celebrate just "being". A recommended read.
The Ghost With Trembling Wings: Science, Wishful Thinking, And The Search For Lost
Species
Scott Weidensaul
North Point Press/Farrar, Straus and Giroux
19 Union Square West, New York, NY 10003
ISBN: 0374246645, $26.00, Pages: 352
Weidensaul's book is at once a narrative of his searches for lost species and an educational piece
on
science, genetics, environmental impact and a dozen other areas that affect the habitat and
adaptability of various animal species. "The Ghost with Trembling Wings" examines all the
possible
scenarios when dealing with lost species. There are ample examples of a species declared extinct
but
suddenly one is captured, found, or sometimes a dead one found (as was the case of the
Australian
night parrot thought extinct for many years until one was found as roadkill). He also covers
sightings of unknown creatures (Bigfoot, Loch Ness) as well as sightings of creatures whose very
existence seems to depend more on the desire of the observer to see them than on anything else.
All
aspects of this area of research are covered including current directions in cloning, captive
breeding,
disease, and even the effect of the political climate.
Travel with Weidensaul as he goes to the most remote areas of the earth in search of lost species
and
provides an inside look into this field as well as those who would dedicate their lives to
resurrecting
the dead and lost. An fascinating book that anyone interested in the area of finding living
specimens
of "extinct" species would be sure to enjoy.
The Heavenly Time Machine: Essays On Science And Torah
Morris Engelson
Joint Management Strategy
PO Box 25170, Portland, OR 97298
ISBN: 0964287005, $23.00, Pages: 254
"The Heavenly Time Machine" is a brilliant series of essays on the current state of science and
how
it relates to the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible). While often very scientific in
nature, the essays are still written with the layman in mind. The author does not give a deep,
in-depth discourse on complex scientific theory such as quantum mechanics, matter, space, time,
big
bang theory, and the mathematics of extremely large numbers, but still explains enough that the
reader can understand the point being made.
While normally a very fast reader, I found myself purposely slowing down to make sure that I
gained
a complete understanding of each chapter. I found myself often stopping to consider a point and
contemplate the consequences and logic of the analysis.
Under Newtonian ideas of the universe everything was logical and predictable. This is not the case
today. Many experiments have shown that the Newtonian laws break down completely when
dealing
with atomic and sub-atomic particles. As physics and mathematics have shown the importance of
various relationships and the probabilities that they might occur by chance calculated the end
conclusion is that the universe required for our existence should not exist and yet it does. Now
more
and more scientists have come full circle to agreement that the universe was created with us in
mind.
While many of these concepts defy science, it seems that they do not defy the Torah. The Torah
can
be interpreted to include such concepts as multiple universes, space and time fluctuations, etc.
The
end result is that no insurmountable conflict exists between the Torah and science. In actuality the
Torah now seems to be the one that was far ahead of its time and science in now finally catching
up.
A very highly recommended book for anyone dealing with concepts of science and religion being
in
conflict with each other. Read the book and see how the new science is validating the old
beliefs.
Little World: A Book About Tolerance
Joanna F. Carolan
Banana Patch Press
P.O. Box 840, Lawai, Hawaii, 96765
ISBN: 0971533350, $14.95, Pages: 28
A totally delightful book about differences, acceptance and tolerance, "Little World" is a
wonderful
read. The storyline is about several different societies who view the world as being the small
limited
world in which they live on each of their islands. Because it is all that they know, each believes
that
their perception is all that there is and the one and only true way to see the world. Well, of course,
eventually some explorers leave their islands and meet others with different views.
Very easy to read even for very young children and written in a poetic style typical of young
children's books it is a delightful read. The book gets to the point of tolerance of others who are
different from ourselves without being preachy or pushy. A highly recommended read and
especially
so if you have young children who are learning to read or need practice reading. As long as they
are
learning to read you might as well teach them positive values that will affect them the rest of their
lives.
Light The Fire Within You
Ida Greene
PSI Publishers
2910 Bailey Avenue, San Diego, CA 92105
ISBN: 1881165019, $TBA, Pages: 142
"Light the Fire Within You" is a book about self-esteem and self-confidence. The author takes on
two areas that are often overlooked in other self-esteem books - dealing with the negative
emotions
that destroy self-esteem and confidence and the spiritual aspects. Specifically she deals with
"doubt,
distrust, worry, frustration, anxiety, condemnation, anger and fear" and proposes that feeling
separated from God is one of the primary reasons for fear, doubt, anxiety and a whole host of
other
negative emotions.
Throughout the book there are small poems and short comments that help to encourage the
reader
to move forward and realize that they are not the only one going through the problems they are
dealing with. In addition, it has several practical exercises and appropriate affirmations to help the
reader work their way through their negative emotions and light the fire of love within
themselves.
With a strong religious focus it was a pleasant read with many good points and I am sure that it
would be valueable to many people trying to regain control of their life. On the other hand, it
often
seemed more superficial than I would have expected or liked. The book also contained some
broad,
sweeping comments that were so generalized as to make them invalid. For example, one quote is
"Men are afraid to look inside themselves, because they fear what they might discover". Talk
about
an over-generalization! Still the book can be valuable to many that are struggling with situations
and
emotions that have extinguished the joy of life for them. If you are feeling a separation from life,
God, and value then you will probably find it a valuable book.
Private Cuisine: An Executive Chef's Secrets To Gourmet Cooking Made Easy
David Daniluk, Denny Wendell (Photographer)
Greenleaf Book Group
660 Elmwood Point, Aurora, OH 44202
ISBN: 0967371902, $17.00, Pages: 192
An absolutely delightful book filled with gourmet recipes, you are sure not to be disappointed.
The
receipes are easy to follow and easy to prepare and fabulous to serve and eat. And yet they are
within the abilities of the average home cook. These are some of the favorite receipes of Chef
David
Daniluk, a country club and private chef of over 15 years.
The book contains 165 recipes complete with detailed preparation instructions. One of my
concerns
as I started reading the ingredients was where to find some of the ingredients in some of the
dishes.
Not to worry, he includes sources for ingredients as well as tips on how to select the best ones. If
this wasn't enough reason to purchase the book, the proceeds go 100% to the Make a Wish
Foundation.
Family Desk Reference To Psychology
Chuck T. Falcon
Sensible Psychology Press
PO Box 2687, Lafayette, LA 70502
ISBN: 0962825425, $25.00, Pages: 553
The "Family Desk Reference to Psychology" is a highly recommended guide to the current state
of
psychology as well as informative and useful advice to help resolve many, many common
problems
and questions. Anyone involved in helping others, whether that be family, friends, or
professionally
should read this book. The writing style if very clear and concise and yet thorough. Each issue is
examined in an even-handed manner presenting all sides of the issue.
This book flies in face of current style by being a comprehensive examination of the field of
psychology and help for common problems instead of a narrowly defined self-help book. Since
most
problems involve many different aspects of the personality it allows you to not only treat one
problem, such as addiction, but the related problems that go with it, such as self-esteem and
depression.
Additional information included in the book includes scams, ineffective treatment techniques and
how some techniques actually create problems. Also included is a discussion of whether reading a
therapy book is as effective as seeing a counselor, you may be surprised at the results of research
into this area.
An exhaustive examination of the subject in layman's terms, it is a highly recommended read not
only
for people and families with problems but to give you the upper-hand so that many problems can
be
prevented.
Don't Trip Over The Pebbles In Your Path
Roni Bissett, Joyce Griffith (Editor)
Veronika Press
PO Box 1059, Ocean Shores, WA 98569
ISBN: 096616220X, $14.95, Pages: 194
Insightful, introspective, and encouraging, "Don't Trip Over the Pebbles In Your Path" provides
52
short chapters. Each chapter is easy to read in a single short sitting and so makes it appropriate
for
even the most harried and hurried of readers.
Through her experiences as a therapist and mother, Roni Bissett brings a wonderful and insightful
approach to life. The book is filled with encouraging words and insights. I particularly liked the
well
chosen poems, quotes and other motivational and introspective comments dispersed throughout
the
book. Basically, each chapter deals with one aspect of life, the stress of marriage, dealing with
children, life-stages we all go through, divorce, remarriage, forgiveness, the importance of belief,
self-image, and retirement as well as many other areas.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I knew from the beginning that it would be a source of
introspection
and guidance when I read the poem by Helen Mallicoat in the first chapter. This is not to say that
every chapter spoke to me, but many did as the author's writing style and insight reached down to
the basics of life and living it fully and without any regrets.
Why Forgive?
Johann Christoph Arnold
The Plough Publishing House
Route 381 North, Farmington, PA 15437
ISBN: 0874869927, $17.00, Pages: 162, Web Page: www.plough.com
A powerful, emotionally driving book, "Why Forgive" provides a framework of forgiveness that
not
only defines why it is important to forgive, but also how not forgiving eats at us like a cancer until
it
kills our happiness and our very essence.
With true life stories of amazing acts of forgiveness, the book shows how forgiveness is required
before truly moving on to complete healing when you have been wronged. The extremely
powerful
stories show how forgiveness has allowed individuals to regain their lives after severe tragedy has
entered their lives. Instead of taking the easy path and allowing anger and hate to destroy them,
they
make a choice that results in a deep peace. Pick up the book, learn to forgive, learn how it is
necessary for true peace, choose the road less travelled and choose forgiveness. If there is a book
that should be required reading for everyone, this is a contender for that book.
Smart Choices: Selecting and Administering a Safe 401(K) Plan
Matthew Gnabasik, D. Earl Worth
Blue Prairie Group, LLC
7311 Quick Avenue, River Forest, IL 60305-1938
ISBN: 0615121063, $28.95, Pages: 198 plus appendix and index
"Smart Choices: Selecting and Administering a Safe 401(K) Plan" is one of the best books on the
market today about 401(K) plans. It focuses extensively on the viewpoint of the company that
wants
to establish a 401(K) plan. How do you establish the plan? What are the fiduciary responsibilities
of
the plan administrator? What are the consequences of various choices? How should you compare
plans to determine the one that best fits your needs? I've read other books on 401(K) plans and
they
generally seem to focus on just a few of the subjects treated in this book. Many focus on selecting
a
good plan, but often don't provide the information on how to determine an appropriate ratio of
growth, income, risk and other factors. Others focus on the design and implementation of the plan
without providing any guidance on how to benchmark a good plan. This book, on the other hand,
is
very comprehensive and yet is written in a manner that the average reader can understand and
apply
the concepts. If you are responsible for selecting a company plan, selecting the funds to be in the
plan, design of the plan, or any other aspect of a 401(K) plan then you owe it to yourself to read
this
book. "Smart Choices" is a complete reference to understanding a 401(K) plan from overall
concepts to the details of whether it is performing as it should be.
Instant E-commerce
Kate J. Chase, Go Daddy
Sybex, Inc.
1151 Marina Village Parkway, Alameda, CA 94501
ISBN: 078212917X, $39.99, Pages: 219 plus appendix and index
"Instant E-commerce" is a complete text and software package that provides everything you need
to
get your e-commerce site up and running. The book starts with some basic concepts of
E-commerce and how it differs from other web sites as well as basic instructions for getting a site
up
and running.
From that point on, the book not only continues to educate about E-commerce but also walks you
through using the software to create a working website. The software included with the book,
GoDaddy's WebSite Complete, uses templates and wizards to walk you through the creation of a
complete E-commerce site. Without any knowledge of HTML coding you can create a site with
credit card processing, shopping carts, hit counters, scrolling marquees, and even catalogues. The
book even walks you through the process of establishing a merchant account so you can
immediately verify credit card purchases.
The last part of the book covers how to manage the site after you have it up and running. This
includes tracking shipping, gathering statistics, making changes, and common problems and how
to
solve them.
Of course my usual caveat about websites applies here - Just because you can do something does
not mean that you should. Although it can be used to put up a very nice website, the software has
enough bells, whistles, images, backgrounds, etc. that you can easily put up a terrible website.
The
problem is that too many people want to include everything they can onto their site. As a result it
becomes an unmanageable mess. If you are serious about putting up an E-commerce site then
you
owe it to yourself to also pick up a book on good page design such as "Web Pages that Suck" or
"Son of Web Pages that Suck".
Ideal for small business owners, individuals, or anyone on a tight budget that wants to put up an
effective E-commerce site, this book is a recommended read.
Instant Web Pages!
Peter Weverka
Sybex, Inc.
1151 Marina Village Parkway, Alameda, CA 94501
ISBN: 0782127509, $24.99, Pages: 195 plus several appendixes and index, CD included
"Instant Web Pages" literally allows you to get a web site up and running within just hours. How
is
this possible? A complete copy of Web Studio comes with the book. Install the software (I had no
gliches or problems with the installation) and you can follow along with the book to design and
produce your website.
Web Studio is a software product for beginners with now knowledge of programming, but it is
deceptively powerful. With a little imagination you can have a professional looking site up in no
time. It does not do the fancy Java based interactions and similar items, but it does do all that you
need. If you have ever read Web Pages That Suck or Son of Web Pages That Suck then you
know
that having the ability to do something does not mean that you really should.
The book walks you through the process from beginning to end but I would suggest combining
this
book with one of the two others mentioned above if you really want to make a great web site.
With
the book and the software literally anyone can put up a web site overnight without any knowledge
of
coding. A real winner for the small businessman who needs a professional looking web site but
does
not have the budget for a professional designer or the individual who wants a professional looking
personal site.
Son Of Web Pages That Suck: Learn Good Design By Looking At Bad Design
Vincent Flanders, Dean Peters
Sybex
1151 Marina Village Parkway, Alameda, CA 94501
ISBN: 0782140203, $45.00, Pages: 279
In "Son of Web Pages That Suck" Vincent Flanders provides a much needed sequel to "Web
Pages
that Suck". Why the sequel? Well actually two reasons. First is that new techniques have been
developed and new software designed that allows the web page designer to do things that were
not
possible when the first book was written. Second, is that you just can't anticipate all the possible
ways that someone will create new and attrocious web pages. It seems that so many web pages
are
created by putting as much technology as possible onto the page without any concern for the user
and how they might use the page.
However, just because you can is no reason to add a particular item or effect to your web page. I
can stick my finger in my eye, but that doesn't mean that I should. Still, that seems to be the most
common design technique around, put as many things and special effects as possible onto the page
until it becomes impossible to actually use.
Sound like a problem of the man web sites put up by amateurs? Sure, but it is also a problem of
multi-billion dollar companies. I know of two colleges that point to the web sites of at least three
multi-million dollar companies as examples of the worst web pages on the web. So, how do you
make your web site an exception to the rule? The first place to start is with this book. By
examining
many, many web pages with terrible design problems you learn what to look for, what is
appropriate, and what is not. Mr. Flanders even shows that there are exceptions to every rule and
when some techniques might be appropriate for a particular site that are not appropriate for
others.
If you want a useable web site that keeps people coming back and is a joy to use, then you must
start with this book. If you want to know what things aggrevate the user and cause them not to
return to your site, then start with this book. It's not about what you can do on a web site, but
what
you should do to reach and keep your intended audience. Developing a good web site starts with
good, useable design and good useable design starts here. A must read for anyone interested in
web
design.
Harold McFarland
Reviewer
Lowe's Bookshelf
Body Check: Erotic Lesbian Sports Stories
Nicole Foster (Editor)
Alyson Publications
6922 Hollywood Blvd # 1000 Los Angeles, CA 90028-6130
ISBN 1555837387, 264 pages, $12.95, www.Alyson.com
You don't have to be a jock to enjoy Body Check: Erotic Lesbian Sports Stories. Nicole Foster,
who
has edited several collections for Alyson, has filled a team roster of 20 erotic lesbian sports stories
with a range of sporting women and lots of intense, sweaty moments. There are Olympic hopefuls
in
the bittersweet "The Art of Running" by Rosalind C. Lloyd; while M. Christian provides a
mesmerizing view of an up-and-coming swimmer's relationship with water in "Naiad."
Unsurprisingly, those popular lesbian team sports are represented. Volleyballs are "Spiked" by
Laurel Hayworth, in a story about healing old wounds and looking for greener courts. "Legend of
Teddi Jo" by Gina Ranalli has a few things to say about softball and doing what and whom one
loves.
Lest one think this anthology is mostly for the fiercely athletic, there are several amusing entries
that
feature women who, well, never really passed the President's Council on Physical Fitness Awards
in
school. Like the delightfully Walter Mitty-esque, adolescent "butch in training" starring in "Black
Belt Theater" by Catherine Lundoff, and finding herself along the way. There's the strangely sweet
encounter with rock climbing in "Going Up" by Anne Seale as a woman frees herself from a
dead-end relationship and finds her own strength. Trixi's "Mulligan on the Green" is the charming
story of golf and a young fan on her 18th birthday.
Perhaps this reviewer's favorite -- for the narrator's sharp wit and cynical view of aerobics -- is
Dawn
Dougherty's "Sports Dyke." The unnamed, less than fit, narrator decides to take a class after
chatting with a woman in the locker room. After all, she muses, "I've done worse things than yoga
to
get a girl horizontal." (p196). The class and the evening hold a few surprises and the woman
discovers a "gym that satisfies all [her] needs." (p205) The stories in Body Check include a wide
range of sports, athletic skill, dynamics, humor, characters, and settings. This anthology should be
part of every lesbian's sports gear. As Foster urges in her introduction, readers will be inspired to
get
sweaty tonight.
Cobb Island
Blayne Cooper
Renaissance Alliance Publishing, Inc
PMB 238, 8691 9th Ave Port Arthur, TX 77642
ISBN: 1930928394, 272 pages, $17.99, www.rapbooks.biz
As Blayne Cooper's Cobb Island opens, Olivia Hazelwood, Liv to her friends, has agreed to take
her
younger brother, Doug to spend a week on Cobb Island, off the coast of Virginia. Since an
accident
claimed their parents a decade ago, Liv has been more of a mother than sister to Doug. The 29
year
old linguist and openly lesbian, Liv is recently back from a Peace Corps tour in Africa and is
looking
forward to catching up with the changes in Doug's life. One of the biggest being that he is very
much
in love with Marcy Redding. Marcy's family moved last year and the teens have been nursing their
love over distance. This separation has prompted Marcy to invite Doug (and Liv) to visit Cobb
Island, the colonial era, ancestral home of the Redding family. Marcy has also coaxed her older
sister, Kayla to help with the chaperoning duties.
The tall redheaded Kayla seems to take an immediate dislike to Doug, and possibly, to Liv.
Certainly
the gorgeous 25 year old has difficulty communicating with Liv in anything other than an abrupt,
rather rude, not to mention secretive, manner. Her behavior is even more odd given that the
women
seem almost magnetically drawn to one another. Liv is surprised, confused, and a little
overwhelmed
by the intensity of her feelings for Kayla. Impossibly, at times Kayla seems to read Liv's mind. Or
is
it impossible? The three century old Redding house itself, with its secret rooms, strange noises,
and
a library filled with generations of Redding enigmas has as important a role in the story as any of
the
characters. Several things about Kayla and the house are a little strange, yet enchanting. Liv finds
herself falling under the spell of both mysteries. Meanwhile, desperate for time alone, the lovesick
teens decide to visit the mainland just as a storm arises, leaving their older siblings stranded and
forced to confront these powerful emotions.
Trapped by the storm, the women begin researching the early years of the house. Finding a hidden
journal, Liv and Kayla discover possible answers to the Redding family legacy via a third
romance.
Bridget Redding, and her sister-in-law, Faylinn, lived on Cobb Island in the late 1600s and
struggled
to find a place for their love in an unforgiving time for women, and condemning of those who
dared
to love. Could their story hold the secret answers to questions about the Redding family, the
house
on Cobb Island, and possibly even why Kayla and Liv seem destined to have found each other?
Thus
Cobb Island contains three love stories entwined in its pages along with a number of witty
interactions, sweet moments and endearing scenes between the various couples. There is even a
dreadful villain who demands being detested.
Overall, Cobb Island is a magical little romance and a charming mystery. A few of the plot threads
are not neatly tied at the end and some elements of the historical period appear a bit anachronistic
to
this reviewer. Nevertheless, the overall effect of Cobb Island is a fun and fast-paced romantic
mystery with a touch of spookiness thrown into the mix. It provides more than enough pleasure to
justify its purchase. In fact there is enough pleasure to anticipate future stories from Blayne
Cooper,
including the continued adventures of Kayla and Liv in the forthcoming Echoes from the
Mist.
M.J. Lowe
Reviewer
Emily's Bookshelf
Baby Duck And The Cozy Blanket
Amy Hest, Illustrated by Jill Barton
Candlewick Press
2067 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02140-1338
076361582X; $10.99, Ages 2-5, 1-800-526-0275
Young ones experience textures fuzzy, sticky, velvety and others as Mrs. Duck helps her little
one launder a well-used blanket in this sturdy "Touch and Feel" board book. Little Duck is
unhappy
about relinquishing her blanket to the washing machine, but Mrs. Duck keeps her so busy
helping and taking a bath of her own that she and her blanket are soon reunited. The clean
drawings (except for pre-bath blanket and baby duck!) impart a comfy feeling to Amy Hest's
story.
Webster J. Duck
Martin Waddell, Illustrated by David Parkins
Candlewick Press
2067 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02140-1338
0763615064; $13.99, Ages 2-5, 1-800-526-0275
Illustrator David Parkins has given Webster J. Duck a distinctive personality, starting from the
moment he hatches from the egg and lands on his head. He's a baffled, but intelligent, duckling.
Although Webster cannot see his mother, he realizes, "I must have a mother, because all baby
ducks
do." Off he goes to find her, passing a "Duck with a Waggly Tail" that greets him with a friendly
"Bow-wow!" Again, the hatchling makes a smart "deduckion": "My mother would go
quack-quack
like me!" After meeting two other non-quackers, however, Webster is the very picture of grief
and
abandonment as he sits by the edge of the lake and cries. Will he find his mother? With its
repetition
and animal sounds, the text will appeal to children. And the watercolor-and-pencil pictures endear
this befuddled yet courageous little guy to all readers.
Mosey: The Remarkable Friendship Of A Boy And His Elephant
Ralph Helfer
Orchard Books
c/o Scholastic, Inc.
555 Broadway, New York, NY 10012-3999
ISBN: 0439293138, 2002, $16.95, Ages 9 up., 1-800-242-7737
Stories like this remind me why I find nonfiction so compelling real life is often more unusual,
more fascinating, even more bizarre, than fiction. Mosey, the 225-pound "baby" of a circus
elephant,
and Bram, the son of an animal trainer, were born on the same day in 1896. They grew up
together
on a farm in Germany, and traveled with a circus throughout the country. A bond stronger than
friendship, akin to a spiritual connection, held the two together. Even from a distance, each knew
when the other was in trouble. One night, for example, Mosey tore out of a leg chain and rammed
through the barn door, trumpeting in a wild panic until Bram's parents thought to check up on
their
son. They found him feverish and unconscious in his bed; he remained in critical condition at a
hospital for two weeks, victim of a rare viral infection. When Bram was 13, his father died and the
circus was sold; the new owner planned to move the circus to the United States. Bram stowed
away
on the transatlantic journey in order to stay with Mosey. A tragic but incredible adventure lands
the
two in India. The epilogue gives an overview of the rest of the pair's story, which includes
"thwarting an attempt by ruthless bandits to steal Mosey [and] being caught up in a war between
Ethiopia and India." I'm hoping that Helfer, who currently leads safaris, is at work on the second
installment of this extraordinary story.
Pete And Polo's Farmyard Adventure
Adrian Reynolds
Orchard Books
c/o Scholastic, Inc.
555 Broadway, New York, NY 10012-3999
0439309131; $16.95, Ages 3-6, 1-800-242-7737
In this story, Pete, a lad, and stuffed sidekick, Polo, discover that the ten ducklings are gone from
the pond on Grandpa's farm. It's been so hot that the pond has dried up. Pete hooks his wagon to
a
kid-sized tractor and off he and Polo go to find the ducklings. Pete knows they're likely to be near
water. Bingo! He finds two in the dog's water bowl, two more splashing beneath the old water
pump
and so on. When they return, Grandpa is filling the duck pond with water, and Pete leaves the
wagon for just a minute to talk with him. When he goes back to take the ducklings to the pond,
they're nowhere to be seen! NOW where could that wagonful of wiggling, webbed-feet
water-loving
waddlers have gone? The story depicts children's "want-to-help" attitude, and carries the subtler
message that to be truly useful, the helper has to look at the world through the eyes of the
"helpee."
The illustrations are clean, and vivid with ample use of the primary colors.
The Other Goose
Judith Kerr
HarperCollins Children's Books
1350 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019
0060082542; $15.95, Ages 4-8, 1-800-242-7737
Pity Katerina, the only goose on her pond. She longs for a friend. And she can see one on the side
of
a shiny car. It won't come out, however. Mr Buswell hasn't a clue why the "silly bird" keeps
staring
at his car. On the other hand, little "Millie Buswell said nothing. But she knew." After a heavy
snowstorm, Katerina can no longer see the other goose in the car. Convinced it has come out, she
searches for it. When she sees a man with a big bag, she is sure the goose is in it. She pursues the
man, nipping at him and honking loudly, to the town square, where folks are celebrating the
holiday
season. The man stumbles. He drops the bag, spilling not a goose, but lots of money. Katerina is a
hero! But WHERE is that other goose? Only little Millie knows what Katerina really wants as a
reward for capturing the thief. Will Katerina get her heart's desire? This is a honking good picture
book, both in story line and soft color-pencil drawings.
Matilda Bone
Karen Cushman
Clarion Books
215 Park Avenue South, NY, NY 10003
ISBN: 0395881560, $15.00, Ages 10-14, www.houghtmifflinbooks.com
Tutored by a priest since childhood, Matilda has learned her lessons well. She is a keen judge of
"right and wrong, sin and Hell, and the evils of joy and pleasure." She doesn't know, however,
which
saint in her pantheon to call upon for help in her current dilemma. Father Leufredus has arranged
for
Matilda to serve as helper to Red Peg, a bonesetter in Medieval England. Matilda thinks the
boisterous Peg is heretical she cares more about healing her patients than about attending Mass or
following a rigid prayer regimen. Matilda sums up her "dreadful" situation "I am somewhere
named Blood and Bone Alley, with a mistress who is noisy, untidy and not at all holy." Will
Matilda
shun "earthly attachments" to devote her life to "holy words and higher things"? Or will she
decide
to learn to use her gifts to live in the world? Within an intriguing story, Newbery-award winning
author Karen Cushman opens a medicine-chestful of fascinating information about the healing arts
in
the Middle Ages. She includes additional information in an author's note.
The Recess Queen
Alexis O'Neill, Illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith
Scholastic
555 Broadway, NY, NY 10012
ISBN: 0439206375, $15.95, Ages 3-7.
Mean Jean is playground dictator at recess. All the kids are afraid of her. Then one day a new girl
comes to school "A teeny kid. A tiny kid. A kid you might scare with a jump and a 'Boo!'"
Appearances are deceiving. Katie Sue is lively and quick and not easily intimidated. What will
happen when this "puny thing, this loony thing" dares Mean Jean to jump rope with her? Readers
may be surprised!
Arithme-Tickle: An Even Number Of Odd Riddle-Rhymes
J. Patrick Lewis, Illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz
Harcourt
525 B Street, San Diego, CA 92101
ISBN: 0152164189, $16.00, Ages 6-9, www.harcourt.com
Lewis and Remkiewicz have used a light tone and humorous Illustrations to present math as fun
and
relevant to everyday life. The puzzles range in difficulty from very easy (4-2=2) to somewhat
involved, such as the following: "The Mailman For The 92-story Building" My ordinary day goes
like this:
I start delivering mail on the 92nd floor,
Jog down 9 stories to the health spa,
Back up 4 floors to the plumbing company,
Ride the elevator down 25 flights
To the yo-yo office.
Fly up the stairs 2 floors
To Hot-Air Balloons Unlimited,
Drag myself up 6 more flights
To the Motorcycle Association,
Then drop into Bungee Cords, Inc.,
13 stories down.
Whew! I'm ready for lunch.
And the cafeteria's right here!
What floor am I on?
Hopefully, creative books such as "Arithmetickle" will set a positive tone for children just learning
math not allowing negative attitudes to creep in.
Matthew A.B.C.
Peter Catalanotto
Atheneum
1230 Avenue of the Americas, NY, NY 10020
ISBN: 0689845820, $14.95, Ages 4-6.
This book is almost too clever and silly to be classified as an "alphabet book," in the traditional
sense
of the genre. Its premise is stated in the opening pages: "Mrs. Tuttle has 25 children in her class.
They are all named Matthew. Principal Nozzet wonders how Mrs. Tuttle tells them apart. She
finds
it quite simple." Simple, perhaps, but definitely unusual. Matthew G., for example, has trouble
with
glue. (While working at the art table, he inadvertently sticks crayons, scissors and papers to
himself.)
Matthew V. is constantly volunteering (even in his sleep at naptime) and Matthew Y. is an
inveterate
yodeler. When a new student joins the class, his name is You guessed it! And he just happens to
wear zippers all over his clothing and backpack! Catalanotto has raised the bar for alphabet books
with this zany compilation.
Pi-Shu, The Little Panda
John Butler
Peachtree Publishers, Ltd.
1700 Chattahoochee Ave., Atlanta, GA 30318-2112
ISBN: 1561452424, $15.95, Ages 4-8
Butler provides an affectionate, close-up view of the world as seen by a Mama giant panda and
her
baby, members of one of the world's most endangered species. (Only about a thousand remain.)
Playful and curious, Pi-shu follows a troop of golden monkeys down the mountainside. At the
forest's edge, the boom of a crashing tree frightens the year-old panda. People are clearing trees
for
firewood and new farmland. When Pi-shu finds Mama again, she senses his alarm and knows it's
time to take the strenuous trek to a new home further in the mountains. Butler's soft illustrations
paint an idyllic childhood and cuddly mother-youngster relationship that soon may no longer exist
in
the wild. Endnotes provide "panda facts" and plug the World Wildlife Fund, an organization
dedicated to protecting giant pandas.
Hello, Hello!
Miriam Schlein. Illustrated by Daniel Kirk
Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas, NY, NY 10020; www.SimonSaysKids.com
ISBN: 0689834357, $16.95, Ages 2-5, 1-800-223-2336
This cheerful book introduces one aspect of animal behavior to young children how they say hello
to one another. Penguins salute and then sing a raucous little duet. Beavers swim to one another
and
touch noses. Wolves wave their tails and lick one another's faces. Chimpanzees touch hands, hug
or
kiss. Then, of course, there are human children and their parents who, like elephants, have many
ways of greeting one another. "Hellos" usually imply happiness; the large pictures of the animals
that
dominate the colorful pages impart this message.
Swallowed My Head And Other Zoo Stories
Edward R. Ricciuti (written for the Wildlife Conservation Society)
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
1230 Avenue of the Americas, NY, NY 10020; www.SimonSaysKids.com
ISBN: 0689825323, $17.00, Ages 9 up, 1-800-223-2336
Due to the situation of Pi-shu and the many other animals in danger of extinction, the role of zoos
has changed markedly in recent years. Likening today's zoo to a "modern Noah's ark, " this author
writes, "One of the modern zoo's main functions is to help disappearing species survive." To do
this,
zoos are now imitating natural habitats so that animals-in-residence are happy and healthy enough
to
breed, with the hope that their offspring may someday be released back into the wild. Meanwhile
an
array of animal specialists and keepers interact with the animals daily, observing their behavior
and
getting to know some of them especially well. They remember the quirkier or special ones, such
as
the mean and cunning Mrs. McNasty, an Andean condor, and Timmy, a gorilla who spent so
many
years in a bare cage before being moved to the grassy outdoors that zookeepers didn't think he
would mate, let alone become the doting father of 12 youngsters. "A Pelican Swallowed My
Head"
is an entertaining and educational story-album of animal behavior and protection, care of the
Bronx
Zoo.
The Sissy Duckling
Harvey Fierstein, Illustrated by Henry Cole
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
1230 Avenue of the Americas, 4th floor, New York, NY 10020
0689835663; $16.00, Ages 5-8, 1-800-223-2336
Talk about personality! Webster J. Duck, meet Elmer. "Elmer was the happiest duckling in the
whole forest. He loved to build things and paint pictures and play make-believe." He enjoyed
helping
around the house, and he especially liked to decorate cookies. But ."not a single other boy
duckling liked to do ANY of the things Elmer did. Not one. They boxed while Elmer baked. They
had a football game, and Elmer put on a puppet show." Elmer is happy with himself, even if he
doesn't fit in. Mama accepts her son as he is. Not so Papa. He wants a son who can hit a home
run,
or at least aspire to do so, like "normal" boys. After Elmer strikes out in a baseball game, the
other
players and even Papa call him "Sissy." When Elmer asks Mama what a sissy is, she proffers this
sage opinion, "Sissy is a cruel way of saying that you don't do things the way others think you
should. You are special, Elmer, and being special sometimes scares those who are not." Soon
Elmer will display to Papa, wounded by a hunter's gun, just how special he is. He will also be
emboldened to exclaim to the other ducks, "I am a BIG SISSY and PROUD of it!" The
illustrator's
quirky, comic drawings give Elmer his unique personality and lend a lighthearted touch to a
serious
topic.
Emily Will
Reviewer
Jennifer's Bookshelf
Perfect
Treva Harte
Ellora's Cave
www.ellorascave.com MS Reader (LIT)
ISBN # 1-84360-203-2 Mobipocket (PRC) ISBN # 1-84360-204-0
Other available formats (no ISBNs assigned): Adobe (PDF), Rocketbook (RB), & HTML
(c) Copyright Treva Harte, 2002.
Ms. Brooke Pennington has everything. She's from a wealthy family. She's tall and slim, has long
blond hair and the face of an angel and a body to damn any saint. To top it off, she's a brilliant law
student. In other words, she's perfect.
Sam Martinez, on the other hand, has worked his way into law school by sweating blood. He's
been
working odd jobs to pay his school and help support his family. They have nothing in common,
and
they know it. They fight all the time. So, why can't they keep their eyes off each other? The
answer,
to them at least, is plain; lust, pure and simple lust. Being adults, they decide to solve their
problem
the best way possible in bed. Being in their third year at law school and having too much work
and
stress to leave time for romance, they decide to make a deal. They know they can't stand each
other,
but they realize they are attracted to each other. So, they will have sex with no strings
attached.
It's perfect. Except except now Brooke can't stop thinking about Sam, and her feelings are
starting
to get involved. And Sam is finding it harder and harder to despise the 'Ice-Princess' as he's
dubbed
her. As the layers peel back, each finds out that the other is far from what he or she seems, and it
gets harder and harder to deny what their friends have already figured out that they're in love. But
Sam doesn't want to fall in love, and Brooke is terrified of losing her heart to someone again.
Perfect is a smart, sexy book about smart, sexy people. With a cast of characters you'd want to
meet
in real life and a tight storyline that keeps the pages turning, it is one of the best-written books I've
come across in a long time. I found myself rooting for Brooke and Sam, hoping that they would
find
each other and overcome their prejudices and misgivings. Altogether, Perfect is a great read.
Just Doing It For Science: An Ellora's Cave Quickie
James Miller
Ellora's Cave
ISBN: 1-84360-271-7, www.ellorascave.com
Rated NC- 17
Just Doing it For Science is a quickie. That is, it's a short story like its namesake. It's brief and
uncomplicated. This story was a fast, easy read about a gorgeous co-ed, Lisa Flemming, who,
besides being a good student, has a sex life that keeps her very busy all weekend. On Friday night,
she and her three best friends go 'trolling'. To do this, they scout out the local nightclub for some
young, horny guys and they all go home together and screw their brains out all weekend to put it
nicely.
But this weekend is different. Lisa is now part of a research group run by a young, handsome
professor who is interested in proving the link between a good sex life and intelligence. To take
part
in this interesting experiment, she must let the professor observe her while she trolls, then give
him a
blow by blow er minute by minute description of her weekend.
So, a bit self-consciously, she goes to pick up a young man while the professor watches.
However,
something happens that wasn't on the assignment, and Lisa and her professor end up in a wild
experiment of their own. And that is when Lisa takes over.
Now, this is a short story, so if I say anything else it will spoil the plot. It's Lisa's tale with lots of
sex, where the action all takes place in the space of an evening. If you're into trolling and co-eds,
try
this.
Thunder
Vonna Harper
Ellora's Cave
MS Reader (LIT)
ISBN # 1-84360-225-3 Mobipocket (PRC) ISBN # 1-84360-226-1
Genre: erotic romance / Time travel, www.ellorascave.com
'Thunder' starts, appropriately enough, with a storm. Mala Bey is driving through Alligator Alley
in
the Florida everglades during a fierce storm. While she's driving, a man on a motorcycle passes
her.
Something about him catches her eye. Maybe it's his face behind the helmet - or his keen gaze, or
more likely, it's his wet tee shirt plastered to his muscular body. Whatever it is, she cannot take
her
eyes off him and so sees when his motorcycle suddenly skids out of control and vanishes into the
deep underbrush on the side of the road. Panicked, Mala stops her car and goes to search for him.
However, there is no sign of either motorcycle or man, and when she returns very soon after with
the state police, they can find no sign of him. Laird Jaeger has an accident, and finds himself in a
strange place. Is he in the past or even in another dimension? It is unclear to him at first. But it
seems a tribe of Seminole Indians, who welcome him, has been expecting him. He becomes
Thunder
- a savage warrior - who lives with a tribe of Indians, speaks their language, and hunts for food in
the untamed wilds of the ancient Everglades. But between Mala and Laird is an inexplicable
connection that seems to link sex and survival. Laird can appear to her in a sort of sexual trance,
and
Mala can hardly tell where reality leaves off, and Laird's fantasy's begins. She senses he needs her,
and decides to do everything in her power to rescue him, to go to him and bring him back. But
does
he want to go back? Mala must struggle to win Laird from his savage freedom, and draw him into
the real world. Her only weapon - her sex. Their struggle, with the jungle as the sultry
background,
is as hot and lusty a read you could hope for. Laird as the untamed savage, and Mala as the
woman
who will do anything to get him, are unforgettable characters. The book's premise is fascinating.
Mala and Laird can meet in a sort of halfway point in the jungle, and she goes there to try to lure
him back. But will he come to her as a civilised man, or as the unamed warrior? Who will finally
gain control? With explicit sex scenes set in the sultry jungle, this book will have you steaming as
you read it!
The Pirate Queen
Susanna Valent
Ellora's Cave
ISBN: 1-84360-255-5, www.ellorascave.com
rated NC 17, genre: historical / lesbian romance
Poor Lucy! It's the 1800's, and she's bound for Canada to marry a man she's never met. On the
boat
are her unsympathetic cousins, her guardians, who have cared for her since her mother's death.
Lucy
wanted to become a governess or a teacher and remain independent, but her cousins have other
ideas. Now she's left her English home and is voyaging across the mighty Atlantic towards her
destiny. But fate has a sense of humor, it seems. Her life is not to be that of a landowner's wife in
the
chilly wilds of Canada for a pirate ship is bearing down upon their vessel, and soon she finds
herself trussed up and tossed on a pirate captain's bed.
Her heart is pounding, her chest heaving in fear- she's sure she's about to be raped and killed by
some terrifying woman? The pirate captain, Jean-Marie St. Honore, is a six-foot, Junoesque
woman with blond hair and sparkling brown eyes. And she's got a thing for sweet, innocent
girls.
Lucy certainly fits the bill. Neither man, nor woman has never touched her, and her confusion
when
Jean-Marie strips off her gown is complete. What on earth is going to happen?
What happens is Jean-Marie, a skilful lover, soon has Lucy on her knees begging for more. In no
time Lucy is a willing slave to love and delighted to learn how to please her master er, mistress.
But their relationship is not an easy one. Jean-Marie is a pirate captain and masterful ruler of her
ship. She's used to discipline and complete obedience. Lucy, an English schoolgirl, has a lot to
learn,
and the lessons are hard. But her heart now belongs to Jean-Marie, and she follows the most
demeaning order without protest. Madly in love, Lucy begins to wonder if there is any way for a
woman to make her way and fortune in the world without being a pirate for every time
Jean-Marie
captures a ship her life is in grave danger. In a time where a simple cut can go septic and kill,
piracy
is a deadly business indeed. Especially with the Spanish, French and English war ships patrolling
the
warm waters of the Caribbean. Lucy dreams of a safer life with her pirate queen.
I never read a lesbian romance before, and I had no idea what I was in for. I have no way of
knowing if this is a typical book for its genre, but one thing I can say - It was a jolly parody on the
stereotyped "Pirate and the Fair Maiden" story. If Jean-Marie had been a man, her treatment of
Lucy
would have been intolerable but somehow, since she's a woman and Lucy obviously relishes her
role
as slave, the story didn't shock me as much as it could have. It is a fast read, a playful romp, and
an
intimate look at an uncommon relationship: that of a Pirate Queen with a heart of gold and her
adoring slave.
Playing His Game
Kit Tunstall
Ellora's Cave
ISBN: 1-84360-236-6, www.ellorascave.com
Mya is ecstatic for her boyfriend, Bobby. They've moved from their hometown to Hollywood so
that
Bobby can pursue his dream of acting. Now he's had his 'big break', and he's about to start filming
a
movie with an important cast and director. Things are finally looking up, after living on Mya's
small
salary for so long.
Mya talks Bobby into taking her to the studio on the first day of shooting, and while he's working,
a
man comes to her with a message. She's to go up to see a certain Roarke Thomas, the owner of
the
studio. Nervous, sure she's done something wrong, Mya steps into his office. What happens next
is
worse than anything she can imagine.
Mr. Thomas gives her an ultimatum. Sleep with him; be at his beck and call for the remainder of
Bobby's contract or her fianc‚ can kiss his acting career goodbye.
Stunned and furious, Mya storms out of the office. She tells Bobby everything, despite Mr.
Thomas's orders that she keep the affair secret. But instead of offering to get a lawyer to draw
and
quarter the guy Bobby actually tells her to obey! His argument is that his career is on the line. A
phone call from Mr. Thomas and no one will work with him. Defeated, Mya prepares to spend
the
worst month of her life.
But there is a twist to the tale. Roarke Thomas is actually, secretly in love with Mya. And he sees
Bobby for what he is an insufferable fool. And so the seduction begins. Roarke uses his
imagination and sensual physic to bring Mya to her senses. But will sexual satisfaction make Mya
leave her fianc‚?
I enjoyed this book I loved Roarke's character his spur of the moment seduction is funny,
especially when he tries to explain it to his brother. The plot twists and turns and there is never a
dull
moment. What I could never understand was Mya's loyalty to her jerk of a boyfriend, Bobby. Her
self-esteem needs a boost, and the story would have been more believable if Bobby had some sort
of
hold over her other than a simple engagement ring. But other than that slight detail, the story is a
fast, enjoyable read with plenty of action, seduction in a mud bath (I loved that scene!) and
characters that stand out from the crowd.
Dream Lover
Cassie Walder
Ellora's Cave
MS Reader (LIT)
ISBN # 1-84360-227-X Mobipocket (PRC) ISBN # 1-84360-228-8
Other formats (no ISBNs): Rocketbook, HTML, Adobe, $6.20, www.ellorascave.com
Edwina has been dreaming of Klaus for years. In her dreams, they are lovers and Klaus fulfils her
every fantasy. He's kind, handsome and swears undying love for her. Edwina keeps a dream
journal,
and every morning she carefully records her dreams, their settings and the conversations she has
with Klaus. To her, he's a dream lover, nothing more. The problem is, she compares all other men
to
him, and they come up short. In more ways than one. In her dreams, she's made love to Klaus in
every position and way imaginable, and yet in real life, she's a virgin. She works in her flower
shop,
and she lives with a ghost called Catherine.
Catherine is a Victorian ghost, who mostly complains and likes to scare Edwina's cats, but she
also
warns Edwina against her dream lover Klaus. Klaus, who suddenly turns up in her flower shop
one
evening just before closing time.
Edwina can't help staring at the man she's dreamed of for so long. She feels as if she's known him
forever, and so she greets him by name and like a long lost friend. Klaus! Edwina is in a bind. Her
dream lover has just appeared on her doorstep but she's not sure he's for real. Plus Catherine the
ghost keeps prophesising disaster. Edwina decides to listen to her common sense, for once, and
tries
to keep Klaus at a distance. He is strange, after all. He won't go out during the day, claiming a
pigmentation disorder that makes sunlight fatal to him. Dead people have a habit of turning up
when
he's around. To further confuse the issue, her dreams of him have turned from loving to
nightmarish.
Now, in her dreams, he's some sort of demon. Catherine, the ghost, tells her to listen to her
dreams
but which ones?
This was a fascinating book. The characters are unique Edwina and Klaus are biologists and
scientists, Catherine the ghost is a wet blanket, but she's funny. The secondary characters are just
as
interesting as the hero and heroine. The fact that Edwina guards her virginity in real life, while
making mad, passionate love in her dreams is just part of this book's puzzle, but one that will keep
you turning pages late into the night to find out who or what, Klaus is. But if you do stay up late
you'll want to keep the lights on!
Jennifer Macaire
Reviewer
Harwood's Bookshelf
Papal Sin: Structures of Deceit
Garry Wills
Doubleday & Company
1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036
0385494106; $25.00, 326 pp., 1-800-726-0600
First published in Australian Humanist, Winter 2001.
In the introduction to Papal Sin, Catholic historian Garry Wills refers to "the great truths of the
faith-the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Mystical Body of Christ." That was an early warning that
this
book was not going to include any competent evaluation of papal beliefs, regardless of how
effectively Wills was able to analyze various popes' interpretations of those beliefs. Clearly
someone
who, while simultaneously claiming to be a scholar, could label such Outer Limits fantasies as
"truths," epitomizes the truism, "There are none so blind.... And yet Wills is not purblind when it
comes to papal teachings that have a modern rather than a Nicene genesis (p. 5): "The cartoon
version of natural law used to argue against contraception, or artificial insemination, or
masturbation, would make a sophomore blush. How can one be in service to others, yet peddle to
them 'religious truths' whose truthfulness rings so obviously hollow?"
Wills summarizes the rationale behind the papacy's continued endorsement of indefensible taboos
by
paraphrasing an argument actually offered to Pope Paul VI and accepted by him as valid (p. 94):
"If
the church sent all of those souls. [who practiced birth control ] to hell, it must keep maintaining
that
that is where they are." He states (p. 162), "Popes do not claim to derive their authority from the
people but to be rulers appointed by apostolic forebears going back to the mythical laying on of
hands by the Twelve or to the nonexistent episcopy of Peter in Rome." So Wills is able to
recognize
that Peter was never a bishop; yet he accepts as factual that Peter did travel to Rome, even though
the only testimony for such a trip is the Manichean "Acts of Peter" that even the early church
hierarchy rejected as spurious. Wills barely touches on Pope Pius XII's complicity in the atrocities
of
Adolf Hitler, since that situation has been thoroughly detailed in John Cornwell's Hitler's Pope.
Instead, his primary targets are Pius IX, Paul VI and John Paul II, three men who by all logic
should
have destroyed the Catholic Church, by showing it to be the plaything of megalomaniac popes
best
described as sick jokes.
On John Paul's adamant denial of equal rights to women, Wills shows the absurdity of his
forbidding
the ordination of women on the ground that Jesus' (mythical) Twelve Envoys were all male, while
simultaneously forbidding priests from marrying even though at least some of those same envoys
(those who did exist) were married. John Paul and his predecessors were able to doublethink
because (p. 127), "New Testament passages are twisted, omitted, distorted, perverted to make
them
mean whatever the Pope wants them to mean." On papal tyranny, Wills reports (p. 152), "Eighty
percent of young priests think the Pope is wrong on contraception, sixty percent of them think he
is
wrong on homosexuality, yet the Vatican keeps up the pressure to have them voice what they do
not
believe."
Wills devotes two chapters to the sexual abuse of children by pedophile priests, and makes a
strong
case that papal enforcement of priestly celibacy is the primary cause. Homosexual men are drawn
to
the priesthood because it gives them access to lots of unattached men and boys, and because
precedent tells them that, no matter how many times a pedophile priest is caught, the church will
do
everything in its power to cover it up. "In a survey of 101 gay priests, those ordained before
1960
remember their seminary as having been 51 percent gay. Those ordained after 1981 say their
seminaries were 70 percent gay." (p. 194) "Many observers suspect that John Paul's real legacy
to
his church is a gay priesthood." (p. 190) Wills' chapter on abortion, while not mentioning Carl
Sagan's evidence (Billions and Billions) that first-trimester fetuses have absolutely no brainwave
activity consistent with even minimal self-awareness, presents an equally strong case against
anti-choice fanatics by showing the self-contradiction inherent in their position when they claim
that
a fetus is a person while treating it as a non-person whenever it suits them. For example, most
anti-abortionists approve of abortion when a pregnancy is caused by rape or "incest" (inbreeding).
But if a fetus is a person, there should be no exceptions. And nuns in Catholic hospitals rarely if
ever baptize miscarriages, as they would assuredly do if they really believed fetuses have souls
from
the moment of conception.
I found little in Papal Sin with which to disagree, other than Wills' self-inflicted blindness that
prevents him from recognizing his Bible as an anthology of fantasies qualitatively equal to those of
the Brothers Grimm. Unfortunately, his unquestioning adherence to all dogmas dating back to
Nicea takes up a disproportionate amount of his book, and his three chapters on the theology of
Augustine of Hippo will be of no interest whatsoever to his book's presumed market. He may be
right that criticism of papal absurdities will be more favorably received from a professed practising
Catholic. But that does not make his toeing the party line any less boring to persons who know
that
the 2,000-year-old Jesus myths were borrowed in toto from 5,000-year-old Osiris myths.
So on balance, is this a good book or a bad book? In answer, let me say that it has nothing to
offer
anyone who already knows that the Catholic Church is a totalitarian tyranny comparable with
Mussolini's Fascists, Khomeini's Ayatollahs and Hoffa's Teamsters. But it should be mandatory
reading for the minority of Catholics who continue to believe that right and wrong are whatever
the
current pope says they are.
Confirmation: The Hard Evidence Of Aliens Among Us
Whitley Strieber
St Martin's Press
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
0312967047; $6.99, 290 pp., 1-888-330-8477
First published in Rational Inquirer, July 2000.
The bibliography of Whitley Strieber's Confirmation lists books by Bud Hopkins, John Mack and
J.
Allen Hynek, but none by Phillip Klass, Robert Sheaffer or Kendrick Frazier. That, and his
endorsement of the Roswell myth, the hypnotism delusion and the alien-implant hoax, stretches
the
defense that Strieber is "sincere but delusional" to the breaking point. In his opening chapter
Strieber
writes, "This is not a book of proof of alien presence." That may be the only line Strieber has
ever
written that can be accepted as unvarnished truth. And when he writes, "I wished often that I
could
return to being a ... fiction writer," the obvious rejoinder is, "When was he ever anything
else?"
Fictional detective Sherlock Holmes stated that, when you have eliminated the impossible,
whatever
is left, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. When Strieber wrote Communion, the
book's
basic coherence eliminated as impossible the diagnosis that the author was insane. The Holmes
dictum left only one alternative: Strieber is a conscious, blatant liar. Initially it seemed possible
that
Communion was a prank, and when it had run its course Strieber planned to admit that it was his
version of James Randi's "Project Alpha." It is still conceivable that that was his original intent.
But
Communion made him so much money that would have to be refunded if he admitted it was a
hoax,
that he wrote a series of sequels aimed as wresting as much money as possible from gullible
ignoramuses before the well ran dry.
Perhaps Strieber was discomforted that so many people denounced Communion as an unmitigated
fraud. Confirmation is a collection of anecdotes that he reports in a manner calculated to
minimize
accusations that he, rather than his sources, is lying. He expresses credulity in absurdities, but he
does so in a way that will enable him to pass himself off as the hoaxee rather than the hoaxer if
some
of his reported cases are exposed as fantasies. Only in the chapters about his own alleged
experiences can the possibility that he really believes what he is saying be dismissed as the least
likely
hypothesis. For like the new generation of spiritualists, Strieber panders to believers while
carefully
avoiding making statements that can be readily falsified.
While Confirmation contains no clear evidence that Strieber is developing a conscience, it does
raise
the possibility that he is preparing for the day when he can announce that he has "lost faith" (or
something analogous) in the little green men, in hope of restoring his credibility. If that does not
work, perhaps his next move will be the Charles Colson solution: "Sure I burgled the
Watergate-but
that was before I found God." Confirmation all but eliminates any possibility that Strieber is
merely a
crank, no more capable of recognizing that he is peddling hogwash than John Mack, Immanuel
Velikovsky or Shirley MacLaine. Reasonable readers will conclude that he is simply a liar. Case
closed.
They Call It Hypnosis
Robert Baker
Prometheus Books
59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228
ISBN 0-87975-576-8, HC, 313 pp., $35.00, 1-800-421-0351
"In many ways the concept of hypnosis is analogous to some other mysteries that have confused
and
confounded scientists in the past-such as phlogiston, the ether wind, and 'N-rays.'" (p.12) Those
are
not hypnotism's only analogies. More than a century after historians proved the Judaeo-Christian
bible to be a product of the human imagination, containing over 19,000 provable errors, the
unlearned masses, encouraged by the prostitute media, continue to believe that the sadistic,
megalomaniac serial killer known as "God" not only exists but is a nice guy.
Decades after the Condon Report established that UFOs are misidentified mundane phenomena,
the
same media encourage the ignoranti to believe that humanoid aliens are abducting human beings.
A
decade after James Randi's Project Alpha proved that all claims for the reality of ESP come from
gullible investigators incapable of detecting trickery, the masses continue to believe in paranormal
phenomena, again urged on by media hacks to whom truth will never outweigh profit. And a
decade
after Robert Baker proved that "the phenomenon called 'hypnosis' does not exist, has never
existed
in the past, and will not exist in the future," (p. 17) the masses, whose only source of information
is
the vast wasteland, continue to believe that "hypnosis" is more real than demon possession or
witchcraft. I did not need Dr Baker to tell me that hypnotism does not exist. Forty years of
touring
with stage hypnotists who also practised hypnotherapy ultimately made such a conclusion
inescapable.
My book, "The Disinformation Cycle," devotes a chapter to the subject. But the eight
experiments
described in that chapter cannot compare to the wealth and depth of information in Baker's
definitive
debunking of the hypnotism delusion. Anyone who continues to believe in hypnotism either has
not
read this book, or is unteachable. Baker shows that (p. 24), "all of what we call 'hypnotic
behavior'
can be accounted for by a number of much simpler sorts of psychological processes that are well
understood.... When normal human beings close their eyes, go into a sleep-like trance state, and
do
strange and unusual things ... the volunteers are merely complying with the hypnotist's requests,
and
... nothing other than suggestion and their own imagination is responsible for their behavior.... As
for the claimed therapeutic effectiveness of hypnosis and the many seemingly miraculous cures
and
events apparently due to the effects of hypnosis, in reality, these are due to a number of external
social factors such as suggestion and conditioning interacting with internal psychological variables
such as relaxation and imagination." And on the kind of hypnotic brainwashing popularized by
the
novel and movie, The Manchurian Candidate, Baker reports (p. 48), "Fortunately, the scenario
described in the novel could never happen. Years of experimentation by the CIA has shown this
sort
of programming simply does not work and never will." "Whenever it is argued that hypnosis does
not exist or is nothing more than relaxation and suggestion, the other side responds, 'Well, what
about those people that have surgery without anaesthetics, using only hypnosis?'" (p. 199) Baker
devotes a whole chapter to answering that question, very effectively. In the case of Dr James
Esdaile, one of the first practitioners of ostensibly painless operations under mesmerism, he writes
(p. 200), "Esdaile reported how he mesmerized men in law court by making passes behind their
backs.... If you are skeptical of this, then you should be skeptical of his ccounts of analgesia with
mesmerism!"
On the fallacy that hypnotism can improve memory, Baker explains that a technique of relaxation
and an instruction to "think back" can indeed enable an individual to remember unforgotten
experiences in slightly greater detail. What it cannot do is guarantee that the added details are
accurate: "At the moment we cannot tell whether a subject is telling the truth or is 'confabulating,'
i.e., providing pseudomemories." He explains that "Confabulation is a tendency of ordinary, sane
individuals to confuse fact with fiction and to report fantasized events as actual occurrences." (p.
194) And in an experiment to test the validity of alleged past life memories, he encouraged one
third
of a group of sixty volunteers to believe that past life regression is valid, another third to be
semi-skeptical, and the remaining third to view past life regression as nonsense. The group given
positive expectations produced the most past lives, while those to whom the concept was
ridiculed
produced the least. "Regression subjects take cues as to how they are to respond from the person
conducting the experiments and asking the questions.... Therefore, it is hardly surprising that
hypnotic age regression is a rich and inexhaustible source of confabulation." (p. 197) But while
Baker uses the word "hypnotic" in such passages, he had previously made clear that a person who
is
relaxed and treated as if he is hypnotized in all likelihood believes that he is hypnotized. In the
chapter, "The Uses and Misuses of Hypnosis," Baker debunks age regression by showing that
equally convincing "memories" can be elicited by telling the subject he is traveling into the future.
He explains how the Betty and Barney Hill alien abduction hoax was created by a hypnotist
prompting the subjects to concoct the kind of tale the hypnotist wanted to hear-and then
persuading
them that the confabulation was a genuine memory. "This is, of course, one of the worst if not
the
worst misuse of so-called hypnosis." (p. 237) Baker cites several novels and TV script about
hypnotism, all of which credited hypnotists with powers that simply do not exist. He makes the
point that the dissemination of such disinformation, not always by persons who believe their
scenarios could really happen, has much to do with hypnotism's reputation, not only as a force for
potential evil, but as a state of being that exists outside of science fiction.
In 1990 as far as I am aware there was no novel about a hypnotist in print that showed the
"author's
viewpoint" character reaching the conclusion that hypnotism is a delusion. Such a book is
currently
in production. It is called The Great Zubrick. I have to dispute Baker's contention (p. 15) that
magician Kreskin's "powerful demonstrations of the power of suggestion and compliance in
persons
who are wide awake" are contributing to the delusion's demise. In fact many in Kreskin's
audience
interpret his performance as evidence that hypnotism does exist, since what he demonstrates
either is
hypnotism, or is conscious playacting. Kreskin is well aware that his volunteers are simulators,
and
his attempt to pass off fifth-rate playacting as something called "power of suggestion" is a
hypocritical attempt to have his cake and eat it. Baker is also too charitable to Dr Milton
Erickson,
a medical hypnotist whose claims of incredible successes went far beyond a gullible or naive
interpretation of observed phenomena, and are more reasonably viewed as imaginative
fiction.
Baker questions Erickson's interpretations of his alleged successes, but not the claim that such
things
really happened. Among the seventeen questions and answers that constitute Baker's summation
of
the book's content are the following (p. 289): Q: Then people under hypnosis don't become
extraordinarily strong, are not able to remember accurately everything that ever happened to
them,
and are not able to have surgery without pain? A: They do not and are not able to do those things
under hypnosis any more than they can do them when they are wide awake. Q: But why have
there
been all these claims about the mysterious powers and abilities people are supposed to acquire
under
hypnosis? A: Because some unscrupulous or naive people like to deceive and impress others and
make them believe things that aren't true. Salesmen do it all the time in order to sell us things. So
the next time someone tells you that hypnotism is a panacea for all ills, or conversely a diabolical
power, ask yourself: Would you buy a used car from that person?
Duffy's Bookshelf
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Thomas Hardy
Modern Library
c/o Random House Trade Group
280 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
ISBN: 0375756795, 544 pages; $7.95 at Amazon.com, 1-800-726-0600
Great classics in literature, like Tess of the D'Urbervilles, distinguish themselves from lesser
works
because when they are read again or reviewed one more time, there are still new things to
discover.
Thomas Hardy dramatized effectively that when a man and a woman have a child "out of
wedlock,"
it is the woman who pays the heaviest price. This may have been more true in his time than in
ours,
but the "fall out" of these relationships still has a double standard. The dramatization of Hardy's
principal theme is made especially powerful because after Tess is made pregnant by a wealthy
young
man named Alec, who cares little about her, she finds a handsome young man named Angel Clare
who really does love her and marries her. But soon after marriage, when they decide to be
completely honest about their past and they both admit to previous affairs, Tess forgives him, but
Angel cannot accept the fact that his wife has had a previous lover. This is true even though her
youthful innocence was so great that she never understood quite what it was all about, and she
never
really loved Alec. She describes herself as having been briefly dazed by Alec's wealthy social
position, nothing more. The great irony of the story is that Angel has always had doubts about
conventional morality and institutional religions, but despite that cannot live at rest with the
knowledge of his wife's pregnancy because of the ingrained preconceptions of which he is a
part.
A second major theme of Hardy's book is skepticism of "organized" religion and the literal
interpretation of dogma, but Tess accepts personal spirituality. Thus, when Angel tells Tess that
she
seems to have no religion, she answers simply "But I have. Though I don't believe in anything
supernatural." Hardy was criticized for an expression of doubts regarding religion. He answered
that
other prominent writers had done the same thing, and as evidence he presented a quotation from
Lear, in which Glo'ster says "As wanton boys to flies are we to the gods; They kill us for their
sport."
A third theme in Tess, is respect and compassion for all living creatures. There is no more telling
dramatization in literature than the events when Tess takes refuge in the woods at night. There
she
hears sounds in the night which include fluttering and periodic thuds. In the morning she realizes
that
the sounds were produced by "game" birds which had been shot during the day, but did not die
immediately. During the night, the birds had bled slowly, losing their grip on branches, and falling
to
the ground. Tess proves her ultimate devotion to other living things when, in order to prevent
suffering in those still alive, she makes herself break the necks of those still alive. Tess, and
Thomas
Hardy's attitude to hunting are expressed as follows: "She had occasionally caught glimpses of
these
men[hunters] in girlhood, looking over hedges, or peeping through bushes, and pointing their
guns,
strangely accoutered, a bloodthirsty light in their eyes. She had been told that, rough and brutal as
they seemed just then, they were not like this all the year round, but were, in fact, quite civil
persons
save during certain weeks of autumn and winter, when, like the inhabitants of the Malay
Peninsula,
they ran amuck, and made it their purpose to destroy life-in this case harmless feathered creatures,
brought into being by artificial means solely to gratify these propensities-at once so unmannerly
and
so unchivalrous towards their weaker fellows in Nature's teeming family."
A fourth major purpose in Tess is to examine the lives of "ordinary" people, as opposed to
previous
literature which emphasized great personages, wealthy and powerful characters, and legendary
figures. Angel Clare, who would not have had to do menial work, chose to learn to be a farmer.
Living at a dairy, he comes into close contact with farmers, milkmaids, and other farm hands, and
he
learns that the lives of these "common folk" are just as vibrant and significant as those of notable
and
powerful people. Each of these ordinary people has some hope for something more in his or her
life-"And as each and all of them were warmed without by the sun, so each had a private little sun
for her soul to bask in; some dream, some affection, some hobby, at least some remote and distant
hope which, though perhaps starving to nothing, still lived on, as hopes will."
A summing up takes place at the end of the book after Tess is executed for the murder of Alec
D'Urberville. There, the textual comment is that 'Justice' was done. This is an ultimate irony,
because
it is clear that Thomas Hardy did not believe that justice had been done. Beleaguered throughout
her
life, Tess had maintained strict honestly often to her own disadvantage, and ultimately committed
an
act of desperation to protect herself and Angel against Alec. One might have said of her whole life
"justice was undone."
The book is full of penetrating insights into human nature. A single example shows Hardy's great
perception when he speaks about the alcoholism of old John Durbyfield. In that short passage
Hardy
points out what medical science had not fully recognized at the time-that there is in some people a
predisposition to alcoholism. Hardy wrote this: "he had, in truth, drunk very little-not a fourth of
the
quantity which a systematic tippler could carry to church on a Sunday afternoon without a hitch in
his eastings or genuflections; but the weakness of Sir John's constitution made mountains of his
petty
sins in this kind..."
The dialects of Thomas Hardy's England are beautifully and accurately recorded.
First published in Great Britain in 1891, if you have not read Tess of the D'Urbervilles, you
should;
and if you have read it, you should read it again, because there is always more to discover in these
pages.
The Remains of the Day
Kazuo Ishiguro
Alfred A. Knopf
c/o Random House, Inc.
280 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
ISBN: 0-679-73172-5, List $13.00 (Amazon $10.40), 1-800-726-0600
Kazuo Ishiguro was born in Japan, but his parents brought him to live in England as a child, so his
observations upon English culture are made with that marvelous advantage spawned by a capacity
to
look at a country both as an insider and as someone looking from outside. The result is a dazzling
and sensitive portrayal of the English class system before World War II, and after-all developed
through the personal life of an English butler, in reminiscence of his life.
The story is initiated by tracing a vacation by Mr.Stevens, butler at Darlington Hall. He has
undertaken this trip, unusual for him, at the suggestion of the new American owner, Mr.Farraday,
who thinks that Stevens ought to see more of his own country. Stevens goes to Salisbury,
Dorset,Taunton,Moscombe, and Little Compton,Cornwall. He will meet Miss Kenton, who was
formerly the housekeeper at Darlington Hall, but left to get married in the West of England where
she became Mrs.Benn for 20 years. A letter from her had caused Stevens to think that she might
return to Darlington, but actually she has no such intent. From this point forward the story of
Stevens' life and of the English cultural patterns just before World War II, are revealed to us
through
his reminiscence.
Mr.Stevens is the epitome of a proper butler in one of the great houses in England, owned by
Lord
Darlington. Stevens is loyal, proper, meticulous, organized, and proud of his heritage-he embodies
everything in the characteristics of a first rate butler. Stevens recalls how the new housekeeper,
Miss
Kenton first came into his world. Miss. Kenton argued with him often about procedure and larger
issues having to do with prejudice against Jewish maids at Darlington Hall. But slowly,
inexorably,
Miss. Kenton falls in love with Mr.Stevens and tries to transmit her feelings for him as frankly as
she
can without being forward. Mr.Stevens is totally unable to respond to this because of his extreme
reserve, and his deep belief that a butler should be completely preoccupied with his position. The
portrayal of this attitude is powerful because Ishiguro does it with respect and sympathy of the
English conservative values, while at the same time displaying its limitations.
An equally important portrayal is the role of Lord Darlington in seeking peace with Nazi
Germany.
Lord Darlington is representative of a considerable number of influential Englishmen whose
motivations were well-meaning, but whose perception of what pre-war Germany was really like,
was
myopic. In modern times it is common to blame Neville Chamberlain for his policy of
appeasement,
but there were many others in England and America, who persisted in seeking peace at any cost,
partly out of a desperate desire to avoid war, and partly out of blindness toward the intentions of
Germany. Lord Darlington tells Stevens that he had known a German friend who, after the
harshness
of the Versailles treaty, committed suicide. From this, he seems to make the specious conclusion,
that somehow German militarism would all vanish if only one were more accepting of their point
of
view. Lord Darlington invites high ranking members of the German political and military circles to
meet at his home to seek new paths toward peace. Here the Germans say all the right things, but
their secret intentions are to split the British leadership and public.
In this setting Mr.Stevens manifests the greatest weakness of the class system, because his
unalterable respect for his employer makes it impossible for him to see what is happening-in fact
he
believes so much in Lord Darlington that he does not believe it proper for him to think about
political issues independently. In a memorable scene, one of lord Darlington's English guests
argues
that the ordinary Englishman is not fit to make political decisions, and to prove the case he calls in
Stevens and asks political questions in full view of the other guests. To each of these questions
Stevens answers "I'm sorry Sir, but I am unable to be of assistance in this matter." It is not native
intelligence that inhibits Stevens, but his sense of class, which leaves momentous world decisions
to
his superiors. In the final outcome of a failed peace it will become clear that these upper class
gentlemen were also ill-fitted to make these decisions.
It is risky to draw any parallels to current history, and yet there is something repetitive in the way
some people believe that if only one meets the minimum requirements of any tyrant, one can have
peace, while other people believe that no negotiation can make a leader bent upon using force
from
finding some pretext to use it. So the lessons in The Remains of the Day may be as pertinent
today
as they were before World War II.
Many incidents in this book are used to illustrate further the interplay of social strata in England,
such as the management of Mr.Stevens' elderly father who continues also to serve as a butler
while
he is obviously failing. And there is, in the people whom Stevens meets on his "vacation," a
revelation of the social changes which cause post-war English citizens to question and reject many
of the assumptions by which they had lived.
At the end of the book, when Stevens meets Miss Kenton by the seashore some twenty years after
she has left Darlington Hall to marry a former butler, Stevens still hoped that she might want to
return to Darlington Hall. But then he understands that it is too late for them to find their personal
lives together. In a heart-rending scene, they separate permanently with reluctance expressed in
their
speech and manner, and yet even then Mr.Stevens cannot relinquish his formality.
Parenthetically, it may be mentioned that a movie was made of this story. In most instances in
which
a movie is made of a great book, the results are disappointing. But in this instance the superior
acting by Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, James Fox, Christopher Reeve, and others,
renders
this a memorable experience and legitimate interpretation.
Some people who review Ishiguro's book, report that the stilted behavior of Mr.Stevens is
archaic,
or even humorously out of date. But Ishiguro knew better than this, in his capacity to see the
values
of an ancient class system with their sense of order, loyalty, and responsibility, while at the same
time illustrating the limitations it imposed upon free thought and independence. This book has
lasting qualities.
Philip Edward Duffy, Reviewer
pduffy5@optonline.net
Cindy Lynn's Bookshelf
From The Ashes
Meghan Brunner
1st Books Library
2511 West 3rd Street, Bloomington, IN 47404
ISBN 0759681708, $TBA http://www.faire-folk.com, 1-800-839-8640,
www.1stbooks.com
Ryna, a gypsy and veteran Renaissance Faire worker has been looking forward to the Pendragon
Renaissance Faire all year. Last year, she met and fallen for the handsome and incredibly dashing
Liam, and was looking forward to seeing him again. His first act upon her return is to is to dump
her, causing her much confusion and hurt...not the best way to start of the Ren. Faire. A rookie
faire
performer, Bea, also has been waiting anxiously for the faire to start. Her brother Daniel, is a
veteran, and has finally convinced his little sister to try out. Now as she wanders the village in the
persona of the crotchety herb woman Phoenix, she is introduced to the wonders of the faire life.
Unfortunately, now that Liam is free he has set his sights on the extremly sheltered young woman,
and his intentions are far from pure. This would not be a huge surprise, but Liam is willing to do
anything, including forging an alliance with dark powers to get his desires. He won't stop if Ryna
stands in his way...in fact, he's hoping she will.
Bea and Ryna make an interesting contrast as well as a romantic pairing. Ryna grew up on the
road.
She lives in a vardo that she pulls behind her truck every time she and her large, extended family
more to the next show. She understands the ropes, and has a very snug, nice nitch for herself.
Everyone knows her and likes her. Her fellow gypsy family are warm and very caring. She is also
comfortable with her magick, and knows the ways of the world of the Bright, as well as the way
of
the mortal. She's very hurt by Liam's desertion of her, so she is unwilling to allow herself to love.
Bea, on the other hand, is totally new to the Ren. While we see things through Ryna's eyes as
comfortable and familiar, we see things through Bea's as bright and exciting and new....she has a
strong sense of wonder, and it makes everything seem more amazing. Seeing the Renaissance
Faire
from both these points of view is really neat, because we get to explore a world made new by
Bea's
explorations, but we also get the commonplace feel that a old hand like Ryna must feel. Bea is
also a
very sweet person...she's been protected all of her life, and because of this enforced shyness, she is
very unsure of herself. Through the book we watch her open up, and develop. The camaraderie
between the two girls is wonderful to watch, because they balance each other so well.
The true beauty of this book is the setting that the reader find themselves in. Brunner herself is a
long time Rennie, and therefore can create for us the world of the faire in incredible color. The
antics
of the peasants, who are always looking for something funny to do, where it's to eat out of a
(rigged!) garbage can or see how many of them can fit into a privy, or port-a-jon. We're
introduced
to the O'Malley's, a croft living family who spend their days much like any other Irish Family of
the
time would, the Bertenelli's, who make the most wondrous of deserts, and the Merry Maids, who
with their fearless leader Robyn, happily act out the antics of Robin Hood in genre revered roles.
Along with the gypsy family who play beautiful music, dance amazingly or blow fire, we have an
eclectic group of talents and entertainment. All these people have good hearts, and get along like
a
large family. Perhaps in some ways, their caring for each other, and their great sense of humor and
openness are the most magical aspects of this book of all. Who would not want to be welcomed
with
open arms into a place were everyone looks after each other, where people share readily and tease
each other with gentle jokes that are made out of fondness, not spite? In some ways these things
lovely and ideal things are really what makes this book the happy and great read that it is, that we
see the Ren so clearly, and that we, ourselves feel welcomed within it. I was struck with a great
longing to see if I could put together an act and hit the road myself. The people are so accepting
and
so diverse that it is hard to believe that any of us could not fid a content home among them.
True, there are Bright Fae and Shadow Fae, and magicks galore, but it's the people who will bring
you back for the sequel.
Ruse: Enter The Detective
Mark Waid (writer) and Butch Guice (Penciller)
Cross Gen Comics
4023 Tampa Road, Suite 2400, Oldsmar, Florida 34677
ISBN 1-931484-19-8, $15.95 US, www.crossgen.com
On the surface, it looks like a simple Victorian detective novel. All of the elements are there --
you
have Simon Archard, a genius who can solve murders and other such mysteries in a matter of
moments. There is also Emma Bishop, his long suffering partner -- or, if you listen to Simon,
assistant -- a young woman with a need for adventure. In the first few scenes, Simon solves a
crime
after a brief study of the evidence, and the killer takes a hostage in a last ditch effort to escape
prosecution. When the hostage suddenly plummets towards her death, Emma commits the one act
that shatters your preconceived expectations...she stops time. Suddenly, the whole world and
what
you think should happen changes. The City of Partington opens its gates fully, and shows you a
world where gargoyles flit about like pigeons, where magic is possible...but not widely accepted.
Emma herself keeps her powers a secret from Simon, as part of some strange wager she has with
an
unknown person. She has to learn to trust Simon, despite his highhanded, cold logic ways,
because
only if she learns to trust him, will she be able to accomplish her goal -- to teach Simon
compassion.
This six issue story arc also introduces us to Miranda Cross, who I am sure we'll be seeing more
of
in the future. Seductive and mysterious, what the wealthy Baroness wants with Partington is
uncertain at first, but her motives clearly indicate that she is up to no good.
Emma is the person who tells us the story. She is the perfect narrator, acting the part of Watson
to
Archard's Holmes, but with much more intelligence. She's sensible, with a wry sense of humor
that
makes her a pleasant companion. She is also very daring, not afraid to dig into graves or to
present
herself as bait. Archard is much harder to get next to, for he is very much like a slightly less
misogynistic Sherlock Holmes. They get along well together, mostly because she is willing to
bend a
bit.
Sometimes he shows -- never tells -- her real affection, such as one scene where he cups her face,
which gives us the feeling that if he were to learn to accept any kind of emotion, he would have to
admit some genuine liking for her. But now, she is simply his hardworking assistant who is usually
just this shy of adequate. The possibility of him softening up -- and her obvious interest in him that
she, herself, probably doesn't realize ( though no one gets that jealous of a man she doesn't have
some sort of emotional interest in.) gives a nice romantic tension. Also, Archard's almost
supernatural intellect gives the mystery some spice, because you can't wait to see what clever plan
he
has for getting out of the situation.
The mystery works well, unrolling itself sensibly as Emma and Simon chase down the clues.
Perhaps the hardest thing about any serial form is to build hints into the context. Four or five
issues
down the line, you may need a foreshadowing of a character or event, yet it's too late to go back
and
place it in. Mark Waid shows a strong grasp of this, tucking in many hints that worked out well in
the story, and laying down many things for future episodes. The story is wonderful...I really enjoy
Emma as a character, and can find myself admiring Simon.
The art is amazing. In the first part, Butch Guice handled the pencils, and Mike Perkins added the
inks., and in chapter six Jeff Johnson and Paul Neary took over these duties. I thought each team
was great, crating the wonderful architecture of Partington, as well as making the women look
beautiful, but not overdone. I especially enjoyed the gargoyles., who fly on the edges of the
panels,
no two alike. I also thought Laura Depuy and Dave Lanphear's choice colors were beautiful and
evocative.
Ruse: Enter The Detective has made a wonderful start, and I am looking forward to seeing how
future issues resolve the conflicts began in this collection.
Cindy Lynn Speer
Reviewer
Skea's Bookshelf
Pobby And Dingan
Ben Rice
Random House (Australia)
ISBN: 1740510208, A$19.40, hardback, 90 pages
Knopf
ISBN: 0375411275; $18.00, hardcover, 94 pages
Ashmol Williamson is a smart kid whose sister, Kellyanne, has two imaginary friends he would
like
to kill, but he can't because they don't exist.
His mother, a homesick pom [Aussie slang for an English migrant] who works in the local
supermarket to keep the family alive, is more accepting. Asked why she set places at the dinner
table for non-existent people she tells Ashmol that they are quieter and better behaved than he is
and deserve the grub. In any case, she is used to dealing with his father, who spends his days
grubbing about down a hole dreaming of the opal find which will make them "bloody
millionaires".
Pobby and Dingan seem to her to be just as real as this million-dollar opal.
Then, Ashmol's father, who used to side with him and make sarcastic comments about Pobby and
Dingan, changes sides. Ashmol, is philosophical, figuring that it is just a ploy: "He wasn't a very
subtle sort of bloke, my dad, when it came down to it. He drank too much for a start and spent
too
much time underground in the dark".
But the same applies to half the population of Lightning Ridge. And if you ever wondered what it
must be like to live in a hot, dry place in Australia which only exists because of the opals found
there; only came into existence after the first opal was accidentally found in 1901; and is full of
fiercely independent people, then Ashmol Williamson seems as good a person as any to tell you.
He
goes to school there, knows all about digging mining shafts and tunnels and noodling in the
tailings,
and knows the unwritten rules about not ratting on other miners' claims. And after Kellyanne's
friends go missing (carelessly left behind at the mine by his father) and Kellyanne gets sick, he
gets
to know the townspeople even better, because he decides to ask every one in the town to help
find
them:
LOST! HELP!
KELLYANNE WILLIAMSON'S FRIENDS POBBY AND DINGAN
DESCRIPTION: IMAGINARY. QUIET.
REWARD IF FOUND.
Soon just about everyone in Lightning Ridge is looking for Pobby and Dingan, and some even
claim
to have found them. But Kellyanne knows when they are lying or just pretending.
Well, if I say any more I will have told you the whole story - but not half as well as Ashmol
Williamson tells it. All I will say, is that Ashmol is smarter than some of the other adults in the
book. He's a pretty good amateur philosopher, for a kid, and he has a dry, down-to-earth, Aussie
way of saying things which is both penetrating and funny. And Pobby and Dingan, for two
non-existent people who love Violet Crumble chocolate bars and dancing in the lightning storms,
cause a heap of trouble and anguish, but they do also bring out the best in people. And they are
eventually found.
And who is to say, in a place like Lightning Ridge which was never settled by the Aboriginal
Australians, perhaps because of the powerful spirits that inhabit the ironstone ridge and cause the
lightning - who is to say whether Kellyanne's friends were real or not?
NB. Ben Rice's delightful story about Pobby and Dingan was first published in the 'Australia'
edition
of "Granta: The Magazine of New Writing", No. 70, Winter 2000.
Pobby And Dingan: Specks In The Sky
Ben Rice
Random House (Australia)
ISBN: 0099285622, A$21.95, paperback, 147 pages
Pobby and Dingan is everything the blurb and the chosen quotations on the cover say it is -
unexpected, quirky, funny and moving - it's a wonderful story, beautifully told (see my separate,
re-posted review). Ben Rice deserved to win the Somerset Maughan Award for it in 2001. Now,
it
has been published in paperback, back-to-back with another of Rice's stories, Specks in the
Sky.
Pobby and Dingan was Rice's first book and it is superb. Specks in the Sky (first published in The
New Yorker in 2001) is a quirky puzzle - a totally unreal fantasy, in a realistic setting, told by the
strong voice of a young, tomboyish, girl. As in Pobby and Dingan, it is the voice which is its
strength.
In a remote American location, on a derelict property where Ryder Jarvis lives with her mother
and
sister, bizarre things happen. Out of the sky comes a team of elite parachutists, super specimens
of
new-age (but tough) manhood, led by a Commander who talks in gung-ho clich‚s. They cannot
reveal their top-secret mission but they take over the property, repair everything, clean
everything
up, cook gourmet meals, discuss literature and charm Ryder's mother and sister. Ryder is
impressed
but sceptical. She suspects that the men are fakes: and fakes they turn out to be. The story ends
with a mad, comic, shoot-out which leaves all the men dead; and Ryder and her mother and sister
ride off in their newly repaired pick-up into the sunset. Or so it seems!
Half-way through the story everything was so unreal that I suspected that Ryder was making it
up.
Or that her missing father (responsible for the abandoned ant factory, gecko maze, chewing-gum
sculpture of Lawrence of Arabia, and failed camel safaris) had planned it all. I half expected him
to
turn up at the end, explain everything, and be taken back to the bosom of a loving and forgiving
family. But no, that didn't happen. Maybe Rice once thought of ending it that way but his
characters
decided otherwise. The story has that sort of crazy, unreal, unplanned pattern to it.
Specks in the Sky is nowhere near as satisfying and accomplished as Pobby and Dingan but it's
fun,
and Rice's 'voice' is so strong and his imagination so fertile that his name, as the cover blurb says,
is
certainly one to watch.
Ann Skea, Reviewer
http://ann.skea.com
Roger's Bookshelf
Making Markets: How Firms Can Design and Profit from Online Auctions and Exchanges
Ajit Kambil and Eric van Heck
Harvard Business School Press
60 Harvard Way , Boston, MA 02163
ISBN 1578516587, $29.95, Hardcover, 224 pages, 1-800-668-6780
Yes, Virginia, there are still frontiers to be explored and conquered. The internet is a very active
place, but still full of exciting opportunities. Feeling entrepreneurial or adventurous? You can
create
your own market on the net. The authors suggest that the future of exchange of products,
services,
and payment will accelerate in cyberspace. While the opportunities abound, there is a lot to learn .
. .
and there are risks. But, that's why you read a book like "Making Markets."
First, some perspective. The authors emphasize that "electronic markets are not technological
interactions. They are human interactions supported by technology." Ignore this principle and
failure
awaits you in the way it doomed the electronic markets in the 1990s. "Cyberspace markets cannot
be
thin replicas of the traditional market. Rather they must be as rich, complex, and compete as the
traditional markets themselves." The basic trade processes of search, pricing, logistics, payment
and
settlement, and authentication must still be in place. Value must be created for all participants, and
the electronic marketing venture must fit with the firm's other marketing vehicles. Creativity will
have a significant influence on success.
The authors begin with an explanation of the opportunities, the value of marketing in cyberspace.
The first chapter includes an explanation of the design of their presentation in the remaining seven
chapters. Chapter titles give us an insight into the content: From Place to Space, Making Markets
Work, and Auctions: The Devil is in the Details. Readers will learn about Using B2B markets in
the
Supply Chain, Using Markets Creatively, and Market Tactics. Dynamic Market Strategies are
address in the final chapter, followed by a call to action encouraging you to stick your toes in the
water and try this approach.
Each chapter is filled with education, insight, and mini-case studies to show us what has worked
and
what hasn't worked. You'll learn the jargon and the steps in the process. A good notes section,
including website addresses, is complemented by a helpful index. And, expectedly, the authors
offer
a website for the book where more information and support is available. If you're ready to open
your
mind to some fascinating possibilities, curl up with "Making Markets."
Smart Videoconferencing: New Habits for Virtual Meetings
Janelle Barlow, Peta Peter, Lewis Barlow
Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
235 Montgomery Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94104-2916
ISBN 1-57675-192-9, $18.95, Trade Paperback, 172 pages, 1-800-929-2929
Before September 11, 2001, videoconferencing was becoming more popular. The distractions of
not-fully-developed technology were being overcome and the media was increasing in use-for
ongoing meetings as well as formal conference presentations. Some people are fairly proficient
with
the use of videoconferencing-understanding when, where, how, and why. Most of us are relatively
ignorant, a dangerous position when videoconferencing on an individual and group level is
exploding.
Finally there's a book that guides us through the many important aspects of this emerging field.
Lead
author Janelle Barlow is an accomplished speaker with an international reputation. The co-authors
work for the same consulting firm. They have extensive experience participating in
videoconferences, so they've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. Realizing that there was not a
good comprehensive layman's book in the field, they did the research and prepared a tool to
educate
and prepare us. Their perspective is that videoconferencing is growing, but will not replace
face-to-face meetings. The new technology has its place, and reading this book will help you
understand where that "place" is in the grand scheme of human-to-human communication.
The authors propose that there are four habits to learn and embrace to look good and have a high
level of effectiveness. The habits, which are each explained-taught-in separate chapters, are
Leverage Your Choices (videoconferencing is not always appropriate), Think Prime Time
(viewers
expect you to look good-and professional . . . just like what they see on commercial television),
Make Technology Your Friend (it all works for you, if you let it . . . but then, there's Murphy's
Law), and Maximize Your Presence (the little tricks of the trade to improve your appearance and
presentation).
Rather than throw readers directly into the deep end of the pool, the authors invest the firsts
section
of their book in a valuable explanation of videoconferencing's position, opportunities, and
limitations. After they've presented their habits, they conclude with a comprehensive checklist,
legal
issues like copyrights, and a perspective on the future of the field. More added value comes from
the
appendices on storyboarding and commonly mispronounced words. Included are a bibliography,
index, and a comprehensive list of terms used in the field. Vignettes about experiences with
videoconferencing spice up each chapter, providing a lightness and a sort of permission to be
human.
This is a developing medium, not a science. Learn from this book, try videoconferencing, allow
yourself to make some mistakes, and build your competence and confidence. The future is
here.
Call Center Operations: Profiting From Teleservices
Charles E. Day
McGraw-Hill Book Company
Two Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121
ISBN 0070164304, $65.00, Trade paperback, 486 pages, 1-800-722-4726
I never cease to be amazed at how many call centers-inbound and outbound-operate in the United
States, and in other countries as well. Thousands and thousands of people reaching out for more
business and servicing existing customers through call centers.
But, all is not happy in call center land. These facilities are often plagued by high-and very
costly-employee turnover and a wide range of inefficiencies. Many of the people running these
operations are relatively untrained people who have been promoted from within, because there are
too few true professionals in the field. Think about it: how many people do you know who have
majored in Call Center Management? You'd think there'd be masters-level programs in the field
with
the tremendous opportunities that abound. Sorry. You'll have to learn the ropes some other
way.
There are really two choices to learning everything you might need to be a real pro in this field.
One
is to understudy someone who really knew the field and could coach and mentor you to success.
Those wise people are few, far between, very well paid, and probably too busy to spend much
time
with you. The other alternative is this book.
Imagine a 486-page book that would teach you every aspect of call center operations. Imagine
that
this book would explain each facet of the business so you could really "get it"-well enough to
write
your own ticket in the field. "Call Center Operations" is about as close as you'll ever get to the
dream book in this specialty. Fifteen chapters, six appendices, and a comprehensive eight-page
index. Yes, for $65 there should be a lot of value! If you're in this field or contemplating call
center
management as a career, it may be the best $65 you ever spent.
Given the volume of information between these covers, a listing of the chapters will help you gain
a
better appreciation of the power in these pages: Introduction to Call Center Operations;
Management, Business, and Marketing; Telecommunications and Network Facilities and
Premise-Based Telephone Systems (these two chapters hit the technological side of the business).
You'll learn from chapters on Telecom Industry Perspective, Automatic and Predictive Dialing,
Client-Server Technology, Graphical User Interface and Legacy Hosts, and Relational Database
Management Systems. Yes, we're getting deep now, but the more you know the stronger manager
you will be. Chapter 10 addresses Call Center Software Packages and Systems and 11 gets into
Computer-Telephone Integration. Continue with Workload Management, Forecasting, and Staff
Schedule Modeling and then ask How Does Your Call Center Measure Up. The last two chapters
look at Service Bureaus and Reference Materials.
If this book is beginning to feel like a college textbook, you understand. This is not a book for the
weak or the meek. This is a treasure for the pros who have been searching for an "everything you
ever wanted to know" book. Working my way through it to write this review, I learned more than
I'll ever need to know about this growing field, and I gained a deep appreciation for those
responsible for running call center operations professionally.
Economy By Thredgold
Jeff Thredgold
Thredgold Economic Associates
Suite 417, 136 South Main Street, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84101
ISBN 0970722605, $22.00, 164 pages. Hardcover.
Since his name's in the title, let's begin with learning who the author is. Jeff Thredgold is an
economic futurist, a well-grounded forecaster. Today he works as an economic consultant and
professional speaker, but his career includes 23 years with $85 billion banking giant KeyCorp,
where
he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. He's frequently interviewed on CNN,
CNBC, and the financial press. He has a reputation for explaining economic trends in terms that
everyone can understand and appreciate. He takes "the dismal science" and makes it interesting
and
enjoyable.
This book is a sort of Everyman's Guide to Economic Issues. Everything You Ever Wanted to
Know, but Didn't Know What to Ask. Information, insights, and observations are presented in
eight
categories: The US Economy; the US Government; Money, Inflation, and Interest Rates;
Investment
and Savings; Global Issues; Global Players; The American Consumer; and The Changing
Workplace.
Each chapter is filled with background information and lots of short-takes about various aspects
of
our economic life. Boxes contain more information and, along with some graphs and charts, break
the flow of the text. The result is greater readability, combined with a tight focus USA
Today-style
presentation of what could be complicated material.
Even though this book was published in 2000, the knowledge Thredgold delivers is still relevant
and
educational. His appendix on "Happy Talk" reminds us of many of the positive aspects of the
economy, while many dwell on how terrible things are. You'll be amazed at the depth and breadth
of
material covered in just 164 pages-which include some good-natured humor and several pages of
helpful definitions. The index is complemented with a list of charts and tables.
If you're looking for a book that will help you understand this all-important field, I'd recommend
"Economy by Thredgold." He doesn't cover the Middle East, the Pacific Rim, or Africa in depth,
but
gives the reader enough insight to better understand how actions in those arenas affect us all.
Guerrilla Publicity: Hundreds Of Sure-Fire Tactics To Get Maximum Sales For Minimum
Dollars
Jay Conrad Levinson, Rick Frishman, and Jill Lublin
Adams Media Corporation
ISBN 1-58062-682-3 $12.95, trade paperback, 304 pages, 1-800-872-5627
Jay Conrad Levinson has developed a reputation as a "guerrilla marketer," doing non-traditional
things-along with the proven-to grab and hold the attention of the prospective buyer. Guerrillas
are
defined as "business operators who substitute time, energy, and imagination for money . . . small
businesses who have big dreams rather than big bankrolls."
Although his name as shown as the primary author, I don't think Levinson had much to do with
writing this book. And that's OK. It's OK because the other co-authors are well-known and
respected publicists who have achieved results for their clients for many years. They know what
they're talking about. Personally, I don't think they had to hitch their wagon to Levinson's star; but
the name and theme do add something to the book.
Frishman and Lublin have written a book that addresses fundamentals. You'll read things like
"Publicity never sleeps. It's an ongoing, 24/7 process that never stops. Since you're the product,
you're also your own best marketing tool." Beginners who use this book (note my word "use," not
just "read") will find a wealth of advice and technique in these pages. People who have built some
experience over the years, promoting themselves or their product or service, will find refreshing
reminders and some things they haven't thought about before. This "new stuff" aspect applies
particularly to some of the ideas about using e-mail and the internet. There's even more that
Frishman and Lublin didn't cover in this area, but once you get started, you'll find those new
approaches. Their writing will stimulate your creative juices to develop more strategies. Their
resource guide at the end of the book will give you more places to go for learning.
Most of the book consists of over 30 short chapters, each addressing a particular aspect of
publicity.
Ideas and concepts are presented, developed, then summarized in a "Remember" paragraph at the
end of the chapter. This pattern makes the book easy to follow and use as a tool to enhance your
ongoing publicity campaign. The index will help you go back to find particular topics, so this
book
will remain on your shelf as a long-time reference tool. The easy-to-read title on the spine will
make
it easy to spot and retrieve.
Appendix A provides almost fifty pages of sample promotional materials for books.
Understandably,
Adams Media, the publisher, is dominant. In this section, the authors could have included samples
of
promotional materials for other products and/or recognized materials from other publishers or
publicists. The book also includes the obligatory worksheet, quotations at the beginning of each
chapter, and a few proofreading errors.
This is a book that you can read cover-to-cover, marking pages and highlighting. Take notes as
you
develop your publicity plan. It's a great tool for catapulting yourself to fame and fortune-if your
product is worthy and you follow the publicity principles presented here.
Close More Sales! Persuasion Skills The Boost Your Selling Power
Mike Stewart
Amacom Books
1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
ISBN 0814479901, $17.95, Trade Paperback, 250 pages, 1-800-250-5308
Whether you're new in sales or a seasoned veteran, this book is a treasure. The publisher had to
use
smaller print just to fit it all in! It's amazing how much information is here-the traditional stuff that
you find in most sales books, plus a lot more. And it's all focused on helping you make the sale;
the
title of Part VII is You Must Close the Sale in Order to Go to the Bank. The message can't be any
more clear!
Let's start at the beginning. There are three sections at the start of the book that caught my
attention
right away. You know there's something special going on when you see sections titled "Why You
Need This Book," "Why You Will Love This Book," and "Why an Intelligent, Sophisticated
Person
Like You Will Appreciate a Simple Book Like This." Simple book? In the fundamental principles
that are presented, yes. In the depth and strength of the material, I wouldn't call this book simple.
Sales professionals will spend extra time with each section to draw out all the value for
themselves.
It's just that kind of a book . . . the kind of tool that can be used for reference as well as
straight-on
learning.
Stewart starts his substance with Position Yourself for Success presented in six chapters. The last
chapter of the section is focused on closing. Part II: Develop Rapport and Build Relationships of
Trust and Confidence: four chapters ending with emphasis on closing more sales. Continue
through
sections on pre-call planning, prospect involvement, discovery, presentations, and handling
objections. Want more? A good resource section and an index complement the powerful
content.
If you want to close sales, not just make sales calls, make friends with this book. Renowned sales
trainer Mike Stewart has stuffed all of his seminar material into 250 pages for you to absorb and
apply for higher achievement.
Elizabeth I, CEO: Strategic Lessons From The Leader Who Built An Empire
Alan Axelrod
Prentice Hall Press
240 Frisch Court, Paramus, NJ 07652
ISBN 0-7352 0357 1, $14.00, 274 pages, Trade paperback, 1-800-631-8571
A huge proportion of Chief Executive Officers has no clue about how to deliver effective
leadership.
There is a vital need today for strong, deliberate leadership in organizations today. We can learn
lessons from history, such as what this book offers from the leadership of Elizabeth I, the Virgin
Queen of England.
This book is a leadership book, with illustrations from the 45-year reign of Elizabeth I over 400
years ago. Queen Elizabeth inherited a realm-a corporation-that was in horrible shape.
Turnaround
time. The leadership she applied carefully and deliberately moved the country from a dysfunctional
feudal condition to be one of the most powerful and influential countries in the world.
After an introduction to conditions at the time, Axelrod presents 136 leadership principles, each
illustrated with strategies and behaviors from Elizabeth's experience. An interesting historical
treatise
is interwoven with leadership lessons. The author, in illustrating his principles, uses examples from
the Elizabethan period, but not in chronological order. This approach makes the book a bit
difficult
to follow historically, but that's not the purpose of the book. An appendix provides a timeline of
the
period for those interested in that aspect of the topic. An index enhances the value of the work, as
well.
Each of the lessons stands alone, creating occasional redundancy and repetition. It's noticeable in
places, but not really a bother when you appreciate how each lesson is independent, yet integrated
with the others. Executives will benefit from reading these pages and contemplating how they
express the principles in their work, in their lives. Good for group discussion in ongoing staff
meetings, as well.
The Fall Of Advertising & The Rise Of PR
Al Ries and Laura Ries
Harper Business
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022-5299
ISBN 0060081988, $24.95, Hardcover, 295 pages, 1-800-242-7737
The fundamental principle is public relations first, advertising second. The message is strong-over
and over and over again, starting with the title. The authors, respected marketing consultants
(previously-published gurus?), relate that marketers have placed advertising on a pedestal.
Advertising is King. Long Live Advertising!
Wrong, they say. Advertising has historically and consistently been a waste of money. They cite
case
after case (it gets tiring after a while) of major advertising campaigns, many very well known, that
were highly successful in winning awards and high profits for advertising agencies . . . but did not
accomplish the results for the clients. I suspect there are great case studies of ad campaigns that
increased sales substantially, but the authors don't share those examples. Instead they relate story
after story of advertising's failure to deliver sales, preaching in page after page that sales actually
suffered-especially in relation to competitors' sales-as a result of advertising. The reader gets the
distinct sense that most advertising is a total waste of money and a manifestation of poor
management. If this message takes hold in corporate America, advertising media such as
magazines,
newspapers, billboards, and broadcast will be in serious trouble.
The first section of the book is an extensive, perhaps overdone, sermon against the evils and
misfortunes of advertising. The second section explores how public relations-publicity-has been
substantially more effective and considerably less expensive for organizations seeking to
communicate their message and attract customers. In section three, Ries and Ries suggest that
advertising does have it's place, behind PR, to maintain the brand established through PR.
The authors complete the book with a series of short comparisons about what Advertising is,
compared to what Public Relations is. Examples: Advertising is the Wind; PR is the Sun.
Advertising is Spatial; PR is Linear; Advertising Reaches Everybody, PR Reaches Somebody; and
Advertising is Brand Maintenance, PR is Brand Building. Postscript chapters for management,
advertising, and PR complete the book, which is supported by a helpful index.
It's an interesting book that probably could have been a bit shorter, given
that the early section began to get repetitive almost boring. The authors offer a wide range of
good
points; the book is instructive. Some will argue with the premise of the book, but it makes sense
when you consider that various aspects of the presentation. Is there a counterpoint? Are there
examples of successful advertising campaigns? Is this situation black & white, or are their
significant
shades of grey?
Never Offer Your Comb To A Bald Man
Alexandere J. Berardi
New World Library
14 Pamaron Way, Novato, CA 94949
ISBN 1577311264, $22.95, 248 pages, Hardcover, 1-800-972-6657
As we rise in levels of responsibility in organizational life, we begin to hear the tern, "servant
leadership." Essentially, it's giving of yourself to support others, rather than leading by dominating
others. A number of books have been written on the topic, but this one is different. The title is
deceiving; your first thought might be that it's a parody or pick-up on Harvey MacKay's "Never
Give
a Naked Man Your Shirt."
This book is about knowing yourself so you better understand others to serve them and the world.
It's about getting off the merry-go-round of life and making a positive difference in the lives of
those
around us. Berardi has given us a book that is thought-provoking . . . and heart-provoking.
I found myself turning down so many page corners that I finally gave up. There are nuggets on
practically every page. "All things are possible for those who find their own unique way of serving
others." "You don't have to be perfect to live a purposeful life as a servant leader." "We have
blocked so much from our lives, we find that we're not really living at all." "People don't
necessarily
know what it is they actually need because they're focused more on what they want."
The first of the four sections of the book explains servant leadership. Then readers gain a
wonderful
experience in part two, learning how to get themselves ready to truly serve others. Part III is The
Practical Side of Identifying and Serving the Needs of Others. The last section of the book
describes
Miracles in the Making. A reading list and index enhance the value of this volume.
Never Offer Your Comb to a Bald Man is illuminated by stories from the author's life, from the
experiences of perspectives of people he has known, and from stories of others who bring life to
each of the author's points. Although, this book is hard to put down for enjoyable and thoughtful
reading, it can also serve as a text for what a lot of business leaders need to learn. I imagine a
number of people who have read this book have slowed down, reoriented their thinking, and
gained
a whole new perspective and level of productivity in their lives.
Roger E. Herman, Reviewer
www.hermangroup.com
Kinni's Bookshelf
Capitalism And Commerce
Edward Younkins
Lexington Books
c/o Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group
4720 Boston Way, Lanham, MD 20706
ISBN 0739103814, $26.95 1-800-462-6420
"Every person works within or deals with the business system and therefore needs to understand
its
nature and foundations," writes Wheeling Jesuit University's Younkins. In Capitalism And
Commerce: Conceptual Foundations Of Free Enterprise , the best book of the month, Edward
Younkins , a noted advocate of free markets, offers the vehicle to that understanding -- a
comprehensive overview of the philosophical basis for, and the moral and ethical rights and
responsibilities that underlie, the capitalist system.
The Art Of Profitability
Adrian Slywotzky
Warner Books, Inc.
1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
ISBN 0446531502, 254 pp, $20.00, 1-800-759-0190
Consultant Adrian Slywotzky's new book, The Art Of Profitability , describes a series of
twenty-three fictional meetings (between a frustrated manager and a guru), each covering a
distinctive "profit pattern." Put yourself in the student's role -- do the homework and the
recommended reading -- and you've got a complete toolbox of strategic models for profit-making.
Seeing The Forest For The Trees
Dennis Sherwood
Nicholas Brealey Publishing
3704 Beard Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN 55422
ISBN 185788311X, 346 pp, $29.95, 1-888-273-2539
Seeing The Forest For The Trees: A Manager's Guide To Applying Systems Thinking is a
practical
handbook which explains the basics of systems thinking and shows how to construct causal loop
diagrams and computerized dynamics modeling. UK consultant Dennis Sherwood explores how
these tools are used to analyze common business issues, such as stimulating growth and
establishing
policy and strategy.
Building Project Management Centers Of Excellence
Dennis Bolles
Amacom Books
1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
ISBN 081440717X, , 240 pp, $49.95, 1-800-250-5308
PM Consultant Dennis Bolles explains how to drive project management expertise into every
corner
of the organization using centers of excellence in Building Project Management Centers Of
Excellence. Half of the book describes how to create the centers; half describes Project
Management
Institute's Methodology Guidelines. A CD-ROM includes all of the book's tools and templates in
MS
Word and Excel files.
The Deviant's Advantage
Ryan Mathews and Watts Wacker
Crown Business
299 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10171
ISBN 0609609580, 292 pp, $25.95, 1-800-726-0600
"Deviation is the ultimate source of growth and innovation," proclaim futurists Ryan Mathews
and
Watts Wacker. In The Deviant's Advantage: How Fringe Ideas Create Mass Markets , they
describe
the process through which deviant ideas become social conventions and offer guidelines for
capturing the "devox," that is, the voice, spirit, or incarnation of deviant ideas, products, and
individuals.
Leading With Purpose
Richard Ellsworth
Stanford Business Books
c/o Stanford University Press
521 Lomita Mall, Stanford, CA 94305-2235
ISBN 0804743851, 407 pp, $35.00, 1-800-872-7423
In order to prosper, businesses need to switch their primary focus from shareholders to
customers,
says Claremont Graduate University b-school's Richard Ellsworth in Leading With Purpose: The
New Corporate Realities. He finds that shareholder-focused purpose disenfranchises other
stakeholders and customers, while a customer-focused purpose enhances strategy and
management,
supports global operations, and provides a worthy motivation for employees.
The Cycle Of Leadership
Noel Tichy with Nancy Cardwell
Harper Business
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022-5299
ISBN 0066620562, 435 pp, $26.95, 1-800-242-7737
"Winning organizations are explicitly designed to be Teaching Organizations," proclaims Noel
Tichy, co-author of the bestseller The Leadership Engine. In The Cycle Of Leadership: How
Great
Leaders Teach Their Companies To Win , he focuses on the leader's critical role as a teacher. The
Cycle Of Leadership describes a mutual, interactive process called the "virtuous teaching cycle," a
key tool in the creation of an organization that features "leaders at all levels."
Blockbusters
Gary Lynn and Richard Reilly
Harper Business
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022-5299
ISBN 0060084731, 251 pp, $24.95, 1-800-242-7737
Stevens Institute professors Gary Lynn and Richard Reilly studied 700 new product development
teams to distill their five keys to successful product innovation in Blockbusters: The Five Keys To
Developing New Products. The five are active involvement by top leaders, a clear and stable
product
vision, prototyping and market testing-- early and often, open communication, and effective
teamwork
The New Law Of Demand And Supply
Rick Kash
Doubleday Currency
1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036
ISBN 0385504322, 255 pp, $27.50, 1-800-726-0600
Cambridge Group CEO Kash introduces the consulting firm's latest performance booster -
"Demand
Strategy," in which companies are advised to concentrate on producing what customers want and
will pay a premium for. The New Law Of Demand And Supply: The Revolutionary New Demand
Strategy For Faster Growth And Higher Profits describes the six "very complete and
easy-to-understand steps" to implementing such a strategy.
Cause Marketing
Joe Marconi
Dearborn Trade
155 North Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60606-1719
ISBN 0793152585, 214 pp, $25.00, 1-800-621-9621
Consultant Joe Marconi makes the case for cause marketing - in which corporate philanthropy
and
marketing are mixed. Cause Marketing: Build Your Image And Bottom Line Through Socially
Responsible Partnerships, Programs, And Events offers advice for choosing causes and managing
campaigns, as well as a chapter on corporate responses to 9-11 and an extensive "casebook" that
analyzes real life examples.
Accountability
Rob Lebow and Randy Spitzer
Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc.
235 Montgomery Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94104-2916
ISBN 157675183X, 258 pp, $17.95, 1-800-929-2929
Accountability requires a switch from control-based to freedom-based organizations, says this
Lebow Company author team of Rob Lebow and Randy Spitzer. Accountability: Freedom And
Responsibility Without Control , wrapped in a fictional train trip, describes three activities for
establishing freedom: granting individual freedom as a right; asking employees to take personal
responsibility; and having faith that they can -- and will -- do great things.
Smart Videoconferencing
Janelle Barlow, Peta Peter & Lewis Barlow
Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc.
235 Montgomery Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94104-2916
ISBN 1576751929, 172 pp, $18.95, , 1-800-929-2929
The technology has been refined and travel is expensive, so more and more companies are turning
to
videoconferencing, according to the consultant team of Janelle Barlow, Peta Peter & Lewis
Barlow.
In Smart Videoconferencing: New Habits For Virtual Meetings , they collaborate to deliver a
practical planning and participant's guide that is organized around four habits: how to leverage
your
choices, think prime time, make technology your friend, and maximize your presence.
The Extraordinary Leader
John Zenger and Joseph Folkman
McGraw-Hill Book Company
Two Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121
ISBN 0071387471, 296 pp, $27.95, 1-800-722-4726
A survey asking over 200, 000 people to rate leaders provided the raw material for The
Extraordinary Leader: Turning Good Managers Into Great Leaders , a guide to creating
leadership
development programs. Training consultants John Zenger and Joseph Folkman suggest that
leadership training concentrate on five elements: character, personal capability, interpersonal
skills,
leading organizational change, and focus on results.
Chairman Of The Board
Brian Lechem
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
605 Third Avenue, 4th floor, New York, NY 10158-0012
ISBN 0471228893, 205 pp, $39.95, 1-800-225-5945
Toronto-based Brian Lechem's overview of the chairman's role in Chairman Of The Board: A
Practical Guide effectively covers the basic responsibilities of the position - board leadership,
selection and evaluation, organizational oversight, and agenda setting. In general terms, Chairman
Of The Board also explores some of the legal liabilities and ethical issues that are making
front-page
news these days.
Theodore Kinni, Reviewer
http://home1.gte.net/bizbooks
Shelley's Bookshelf
Murder In China Red
Dean Barrett
Village East Books
Countryside #520, 8775 20th Street, Vero Beach, FL 32966
ISBN: 0966189949, $11.95
Dean Barrett began his considerable Asian experiences as a Chinese linguist in the Army during
the
Vietnam War. He returned to the United States after the war and finished a Masters Degree in
Asian
Studies from the University of Hawaii. He has written four novels with an Asian theme. Several of
his plays have been performed in New York, including Fragrant Harbour. Mr. Barrett is a member
of
the Mystery Writers of America and the Dramatists Guild.
Liu Chiang-hsin is commonly known as the "Chinaman." He is a displaced victim of the Red
Guard's
attack, which killed his parents and have left him with severe emotional scars. One woman has
managed to gain entry into his heart, and she has just been killed in what looks like a professional
hit. Chinaman employs his considerable talents as a private detective, as well as calling in a few
favors to exact vengeance for the murder of possibly the only woman he has ever loved.
Unfortunately, two of the people he needs help from are his ex-wife and her cop father:
"Chinaman waited for the ominous silence to end while in the background ringing phones went
unanswered at Manhattan Properties. When she spoke again, something new had crept into Mary
Anne's voice. Something toxic. 'Let me get this straight. You put your other cases on hold to
solve
the death of the woman who destroyed our marriage and now you have the unmitigated nerve to
call
ME and ask for money? You want ME to loan you money?"
In spite of his propensity to innocently infuriate everyone around him, Chinaman is a lovable and
tragic figure. He has much to teach us about East/West differences, and there is much about him
that
is honorable and noteworthy. Barrett writes a finely crafted mystery/suspense novel, with enough
spy stuff to keep the reader rifling through the pages to see what is just around the corner. His
denouement is excellent; set in Brooklyn's Red Hook area. What is most noteworthy about this
tale,
though, is the fact that ordinary, intelligent people are caught up in nefarious activities simply to
make a living, and how easy it is to slip over the line into crime.
Dick McNabb, Private Dick
John McCafferty
McSeas Books
1532 Santa Rosa Avenue, Santa Barbara, CA 93109
ISBN: 0971282706, $7.99
John McCafferty presently lives with his wife, who is also a writer and journalist, in Santa
Barbara.
He writes fiction, travel stories and newspaper features as a freelance writer. He has taught high
school and junior college English and has worked as an editor for the Los Angeles Times.
Dick McNabb is a fairly recent widower and retired teacher. He has come out of his funk, and
decides that being a private investigator sounds like an exciting and dangerous thing to do. His
libido
is also slowly being awakened by the women surrounding him. Between the two, he suddenly
finds
that he is enjoying life again. That is, until he discovers that chasing after the "bad guys" involves
nasty things like guns and sleazy stakeouts. He is also driving his cop friend, Pal, crazy with his
own
quirky techniques in chasing after criminals:
"It was time to get the guy's gun. Ol' Dick McNabb, fledgling private investigator, was feeling just
independent, ornery, pissed off for no reason, aggressive and reckless enough to break into a
probable perpetrator's house and steal his rifle and the hell with what his cop friend would say
about
that. Let's not put it that way. He was going to inspect a firearm as possible evidence in a murder
case. His first case. He was confident that the big guy with Arizona license plates on his car had
a
rifle, and he had probably used it to "off" poor Mrs. Betty Lachter, and Dick was gonna send the
sonuvabitch to the Happy Hunting ground."
McCafferty employs a breezy stream of consciousness style of writing to pull the reader into this
zany and entertaining misfit detective novel. McNabb is a lovable character, who is fairly horny
(yeah, baby!). He is a sixty-something retiree who is looking for a good time, but actually wants
to
make a go of being a private dick. We get a glimpse of his world of teacher friends, who each
have
their own skeletons to hide. McCafferty does a nice job of stepping into the mystery fray with this
unusual and very funny look at a bumbling private eye who actually helps the police solve a
murder.
No doubt McCafferty is setting us up for a reprise of Dick McNabb, jogging senior private
detective.
Sanctuary
Edith Wharton
Pine Street Books
c/o University of Pennsylvania Press
4200 Pine Street, 3rd floor Philadelphia, PA 19104-4011
ISBN: 0812217926 $14.95 1-800-445-9880
Edith Wharton was born in 1986 to an upper class family in New York City. She could trace her
ancestry back three centuries, and was expected to live an aristocratic life. She was educated at
home, and married Teddy Wharton in 1885, settling into her role as society marm. Her marriage
ended with the discovery of Teddy's affair in 1913, and Edith set herself free to publish many
books,
of which the most well known is probably The Age Of Innocence. Edith Wharton was a
contemporary of Teddy Roosevelt, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Henry James. The
quality of her writing is just beginning to be appreciated.
Kate Orme is a young woman engaged to Denis Peyton. They are both aristocrats, and as such are
expected to remain in rigid roles, with the man shielding the woman from all upsets. When Denis
confesses to a despicable act to protect his family's name involving the death of a young, pregnant
woman who was secretly married to his brother, Kate is shattered by the exposure of this act. She
decides to marry Denis anyway to protect his future children, and sets out to become the perfect
mother. She has a son, who she raises by herself after Denis' death, but this son seems to have
inherited the faulty character gene of his father. When a situation arises to test the meddle of her
son, Kate has her doubts as to her ability as a mother:
"As she sat there in the radius of lamp-light which, for so many evenings, had held Dick and
herself
in a charmed circle of tenderness, she saw that her love for her boy had come to be merely a kind
of
extended egotism. Love had narrowed instead of widening her, had rebuilt between herself and
life
the very walls which, years and years before, she had laid low with bleeding fingers. It was
horrible... How she had come to sacrifice everything to the one passion of ambition for her
boy..."
Wharton is, obviously, a first rate writer who has gone without accolades for far too long because
of
her gender. It is fitting that her works be rediscovered by a wider audience. Her insight into
gender
differences and difficulties is far ahead of her time...a time when women were relegated to narrow
roles of motherhood because they were thought to be of inferior intellect. Aside from that,
Wharton's writing is so smooth that the reader is instantly ensnared. A great read.
Beyond Hate
Michael McGrath
iUniverse, Inc.
5220 S. 16th St., Suite 200, Lincoln, NE 68512
ISBN: 059520600X, $15.95 U.S./$25.95 CAN, www.iuniverse.com
Michael McGrath, M.D. is a practicing psychiatrist from western New York state. His areas of
specialty include forensic psychiatry and criminal profiling. He is the author of several articles and
is
the co-author of a chapter in the upcoming book Criminal Profiling: An Introduction To
Behavioral
Evidence Analysis.
Daniel More is a forensic psychiatrist who has escaped New York to live in the western part of
the
state, where he feels life will be more calm. But his marriage is crumbling, his wife jealously keeps
his daughter from him, and then his life takes on a bizarre twist when someone flattens his tires
and
he gets mugged. Then one morning he wakes up to find his wife dead in the bed beside him.
Naturally, he is the prime suspect:
"'Maybe,' Howell said, lifting an empty coffee cup to his lips. He stared into it a moment then
placed
it on the desk. 'I have my own doubts about this case. But, so far, nothing's come up to make me
feel I could convince myself, let alone somebody else, More's not guilty. All you've got are
doubts.
There's nothing concrete to work with. You're looking from the angle that somebody could have
had
access to More's property from the back without being noticed. You've found a house that was
empty for a few weeks and the garage door was messed with. So what? What you need is
evidence
that the person or persons you think killed More's wife and kid exist. And we don't have any of
that."
McGrath uses his considerable writing skills and psychiatric skills to lead the reader into a
labyrinth
of murder and deceit. We are treated to life inside of a state psychiatric hospital; life inside a
courtroom; and are introduced to a whole host of insidious characters, who leads us around by
the
nose. McGrath plays his plot close to the cuff, not enlightening the reader until the very end, when
we are positive we have the picture. Naturally, we are wrong, and that is what makes for a great
murder mystery. Beyond Hate is a good read, which reminds us that there are a lot of loonies out
there...and not all of them are locked up.
Celia
S.L. Cullars
VirtualBookworm.com
PO Box 9949, College Station, TX 77842
ISBN: 1589392086, $14.95
Sharon Cullars is a veteran of fifteen year's worth of writing; much of which, including her poetry
and short stories, has been published in literary e-zines. She has her own website at:
www.sharoncullars.net, and is also the editor of the e-zine ELAN, which focuses on issues for
African-American women.
Celia is a Southern tale, set in North Carolina. Cheryl Thompson has driven from New York,
where
she runs a successful investment firm, to her home town after her grandmother, M'dear, has
passed
away. She begins seeing her Aunt Celia's ghost, who was murdered in 1967, everywhere she
looks.
Celia is obvious trying to tell her something, and her other aunt, Gladys, isn't telling. Cheryl meets
Arthur Blevins, the young attorney with a gorgeous smile and winning personality, and together
they
try to piece together a mystery that is thirty-five years old:
"He didn't know what to make of all these haunting incidents, but despite his initial doubt, he
believed her about Celia's appearances. And given the facts, he suspected that some foul play had
been done. And yet, knowing this, he wished that this business would just go away so that Cheryl
wouldn't feel compelled to put herself at risk. The Grahams were not some local yokels. They had
enough power in this state to have things taken care of quietly."
Cullars weaves a chillingly sensitive tale about how the racism of the Old South is still played out,
only in more subtle and even more evil ways. She weaves circles of touching love stories, both
requited and unrequited, and the horrible murder of a young woman about to break out of her
cultural bonds. Celia is an extremely sensitive tale, with nuances and layers of textures. Cheryl is a
New-Age woman, struggling to help her dead and living aunts find peace after their family is
cruelly
singled out by a prominent political family for a perceived wrong going back generations. Cullars
shows the reader that being African-American, and particularly female, is still a dangerous
journey.
Unfortunately, race relations still have a long way to go. It is a daily battle for those who are born
into it, and Cullars' tale does an excellent job of enlightening those of us who have never had to
live
the nightmare. She also entertains us with a fabulous whodunit with characters who are vivid and
wonderful, and a plot to match. A truly great read.
Prodigal Logic
Paul Petrucci
Booklocker.com
ISBN: 159113112X, $14.95, www.paulpetrucci.com, e-mail: paul@paulpetrucci.com
Paul Petrucci actually lives in a floating home, close to the University of Washington campus. He
is
an Information Technologist for his day job, and writes mysteries at night. Prodigal Logic is his
first
mystery.
Ray Gabriel is the author of "Sherlock-in-a-Box," a software program that solves mysteries. He is
trying to gain enough funding to launch his own company with Sherlock. But his involvement and
attempted rescue of a priest who falls to his death at the campus Cathedral propels Ray into the
middle of a murder investigation including a suspicious psychology professor, Dr. Julius Dexter;
his
nubile secretary, Zelda; a cathedral engineer in the person of Miriam Towson, who is beautiful
and
has a past she refuses to divulge; and some odd Satanic activity surrounding the cathedral. Ray
and
his program are enlisted to solve the mystery of Father Peter's fall, but not before he is dragged
into
a war of wits with Dr. Dexter:
"Regaining his composure and his ferret's smile, Wordsmith/Dexter said, 'I'm putting the final
touches on a short story I've written. What do you say, Ray, to a friendly challenge? I'll put my
mystery story against your computer program, and may the best man win.' 'Delightful!' Said
Father
Aquilino. 'Zelda and I can act as referees.'"
Ray finds himself in the middle of the most illogical of human situations: a murder that is
associated
with possible Satanic cults; two women who are involved in their own nebulous relationships with
Dr. Dexter; the actions and personalities of the priests themselves; and a contest Dr. Dexter
devises
to play with Ray himself. Ray pushes himself to make "Sherlock's" sleuthing more sophisticated,
even as he places himself in more than one kind of danger.
Prodigal Logic is an excellent first mystery, written around the tenets of Sherlock Holmes'
mysteries.
Petrucci uses the most illogical of human conditions to fit a scientific protagonist.. Indeed,
Petrucci
does a wonderful job of combining contradictions to make a plot with enough twists and turns to
confuse even the most skillful reader. A great read!
Tahoe Death Fall
Todd Borg
Thriller Press
3440 Lake Tahoe Blvd. PO Box 612711, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96152
ISBN: 1931296111, $16.95 US/$22.95 CAN
Todd Borg is a Minnesota native who followed the lure of lakes in the mountains to live in Lake
Tahoe. He has created the art-loving detective, Owen McKenna, in his action-packed series
beginning with Tahoe Death FALL, which was published in 2001. He quickly followed his maiden
book with Tahoe Blowup. Thriller Press launched its business with Todd's Tahoe Death Fall,
which
was an astute decision.
Fourteen-year-old Jennifer Salazar, a wealthy young heiress, shows up at Owen McKenna's office
to
hire him as a private investigator because she feels the death of her twin sister nine years before is
no
accident. She has the I.Q. of a genius, is set to inherit almost four hundred million dollars, and is
rightly convinced someone is out to kill her. McKenna, his Harlequin Dane named Spot, and his
girlfriend, an exotic beauty who is an entomologist named Street, believe Jennifer. Her claim is
verified everywhere they turn as dead bodies from the past and present speak of a family full of
evil
secrets and unsuspecting victims:
"'That's what they say,' Immanuel said.
'What do you mean?'
'Just what I said. That's what they say.'
'You don't believe it?'
'Put it this way,' the old man said wearily. He leaned his head back and rested it
against the pillow. 'There is something wrong with the woman. She is disturbed.
No doubt about it. But a paranoid schizophrenic needing to be locked up? I doubt it.'"
Todd Borg writes a rip-roaring, suspense-driven mystery that keeps the reader glued to his book
until the final breathtaking denouement. His characters are superbly crafted, especially his dog
Spot,
who looms over the action like a benevolent giant, finally risking his life when necessary. Borg
knows how to spin a yarn, and he is adept at utilizing every nook and cranny of the Lake Tahoe
area
as his backdrop. Tahoe Death Fall is an outstanding effort from a true up-and-comer in the
mystery
business. Borg is able to send shivers up our spine and make us think twice about checking all the
doors and windows before we go to bed at night, as well as looking for skeletons in our ancestry.
A
tremendous read from a great writer.
Shelley Glodowski
Reviewer
Buhle's Bookshelf
Painting The Word
John Drury
Yale University Press
Box 209040, New Haven, CT 065209040
0300092946 $16.95 1-800-987-7323
Painting The Word is a truly outstanding guide to Christian paintings and their meanings brings
art
and spirituality together in an inspiring coverage. More than a history of painting, Painting The
Word discusses how Christian images reflected and influenced Christian civilization as a whole,
with
a universal quality delivering balanced messages. Color reproductions of significant classic
Christian
art works appear throughout.
A Gallery Of Grace
Warren W. Wiersbe
Kregel Publications
PO Box 2607, Grand Rapids, MI 49501
0825440890 $10.99 www.kregel.com
A Gallery Of Grace: 12 New Testament Pictures Of The Christian Life by Pastor Warren W.
Wiersbe is a compendium of dynamic, profound, and powerful interpretations of the New
Testament
and its message for daily life as a Christian. A Gallery Of Grace is very highly recommended as a
moving, soul-searching account of what it truly means to live in Christ and embrace the love of
God.
Love Is Stronger Than Death
Cynthia Bourgeault
Lindisfarne Books
PO Box 799, Great Barrington, MA 01230
1584200022 $14.95 www.lindisfarne.org
Essentially a powerfully moving love story of two aging individuals, Love Is Stronger Than
Death:
The Mystical Union Of Two Souls by resident teacher for the Contemplative Society and spiritual
retreat authority Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault, is drawn from the life and experiences of Brother
Raphael
(Rafe) Robin, an Episcopalian priest, author and a Trappist hermit. The ability of human and
spiritual love to transcend death and open the way to joyous bliss is superbly presented in this
highly
recommended and heartwarming tale of building an emotional, personal, and loving relationship
for
the future that transcends all earthly limitations.
What Was God Thinking?!
Daniel Raphael, Ph.D.
NBH Co. Publishing
PO Box 3718, Boulder, Colorado 80307-3718
0971266301 $14.95 1-303-641-1115
What Was God Thinking?! is a powerful essay, in which author Daniel Raphael proclaims three
truths of God - that God is loving, compassionate, and good; that God has never needed or
required
sacrifices for His love; and that God created humans for a profound reason. What Was God
Thinking?! is highly recommended as an uplifting and enlightening treatise on faith, the power of
love, and a reverence for the divine that may diverge in "letter of the law" according to some
traditional Christian teachings, but that is undeniably written straight from a faithful heart and
soul.
Jesus: God Or The Son Of God?
Brian Holt
TellWay Publishing
1072 Cedarcreek Village Road, Mt. Juliet, TN 37122
0971376085 $19.95 1-615-773-5091
Jesus: God Or The Son Of God? by Brian Holt presents a balanced discussion of a Christian
controversy as to whether Jesus Christ was the literal personification of God, or whether this
widely-held belief is more philosophical than absolutist in its meaning. From whether the Hebrew
scriptures truly say that Jesus is God, to the foundation of the Trinity, and the interpretations of
Jesus' contemporaries, Jesus: God Or The Son Of God? is a profoundly important, fair presented,
and highly recommended study of a central religious issue within Christianity.
The Faith And The Power
James D. Snyder
Pharos Books
8657 S. E. Merritt Way, Jupiter, FL 33458-1007
0967520029 $19.95 1-800-462-6420
Researched and written by writer, journalist, and Presbyterian elder James D. Snyder, The Faith
And
The Power is an informed and informative history of the early Christians who struggled to survive
a
series of bitter and lethal persecutions in Rome during the first century A.D. Highly recommended
reading for both scholars and non-specialist general readers, The Faith And The Power integrates
Biblical text with historical accounts by early Jewish, Roman, and Christian writers forming the
basis
of a scholarly, chronological documentary that accessibly explores the fascinating era of nascent
Christianity.
Building From Belief
Michael E. DeSanctis
The Liturgical Press
PO Box 7500, Collegeville, MN 56321-7500
0814627552 $19.95 1-800-858-5450
Building From Belief: Advance, Retreat, And Compromise In The Remaking Of Catholic Church
Architecture by Michael E. DeSanctis (Associate Professor of Fine Arts, Gannon University) is an
informed and informative descriptive analysis of Catholic church architecture in the United States.
Black-and-white photographs provide a visual correspondence to these carefully worded
ruminations on the balance between modern design and centuries of tradition. Building From
Belief
is a unique contribution to Catholic Studies, and very highly recommended for its projected views
regarding Catholic church construction, as well as DeSanctis' arguments for a comprehensive
liturgical catechesis.
Assisi: Home Of Saint Francis
Janson Associates
88 Semmens Road, Harrington Park, NJ 07640
1568390904 $24.95 www.janson.com
Produced by Nove-T Produzioni of Italy and directed by Paolo Damosso (with cinematography
by
Antonio Morabito), Assisi: Home Of St. Francis provides the viewer with a guided tour of the
famous pilgrimage town of Assisi by its favorite son, Staint Francis, played by Italian actor Flavio
Bucci. The son of a wealthy local merchant, Francis was born in the late 12th century and,
although
raised as a young and privileged Assisian nobleman, grew dissatisfied with his life and in his
twenties, publicly renounced his father's wealth and embarked upon a life of prayer and service the
poor which evolved into founding the Franciscan order of the Roman Catholic church. Francis
died
on October 3, 1226 and was canonized in 1228 by Pope Gregory IX. This highly recommended
video tour includes all the sites in Assisi that played a significant role in the life of Saint Francis,
his
spiritual and mystical dimension, and Assisi's artistic and culture heritage with its winding
medieval
streets, city squares, and annual festivals.
Turning Back The Darkness
Richard D. Phillips
Crossway Books
1300 Crescent Street, Wheaton, IL 60187
1581343981 $15.99 1-800-323-3890
Turning Back The Darkness: The Biblical Pattern Of Reformation by Richard D. Phillips
(Associate
Minister, Tenth Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia) is a critical examination of God's principles,
and
pivotal turning points in the era of the Christian Church. Turning Back The Darkness does not
specifically focus upon the crucial historical juncture of sixteenth-century Europe; rather, it
reaches
all the way into Old Testament and New Testaments, and ranges from the wisdom of Solomon to
Christ's letter to the churches. Turning Back The Darkness is a very highly recommended and
insightful religious analysis of interest to Christian scholarship and the non-specialist general
reader
alike.
Wrestling With Doubt
Frank D. Rees
The Liturgical Press
Box 7500, Collegeville, MN 56321-7500
0814625908 $19.95 1-800-858-5450
Wrestling With Doubt: Theological Reflections On The Journey Of Faith by Frank D. Rees (Dean
of
Theology and Professor of Systematic Theology, Whitley College of the Melbourne College of
Divinity, University of Melbourne, Australia, and President, Australian and New Zealand
Association of Theological Schools) is an impressive and scholarly analysis of three theological
frameworks that postulate on the issue and phenomena of doubt. The reasonings of Newman,
Barth,
and Tillich are all discussed, compared, and set forth in this meticulous, well reasoned, informed
and
informative examination of faith, doubt, and belief in Jesus Christ.
The Blessed Surgeon
Archdeacon Vasiliy Marushchak
Divine Ascent Press
PO Box 563, Point Reyes Station, CA 94956
0971413908 $14.95 1-800-967-7377
The Blessed Surgeon: The Life Of Saint Luke, Archbishop Of Simferopol by Archdeacon Vasiliy
Marushchak is an impressive biography of a devoutly religious man in the Russian Orthodox faith.
Oppressed by the anti-Christian Soviets, exiled and tortured multiple times, Saint Luke retained an
abiding faith and openly spoke his mind. He was also a master surgeon, who oversaw the
treatment
of injured soldiers during World War II, and ironically, received the Stalin award for his pioneer
medical work. The Blessed Surgeon is very highly recommended reading as being an incredible
documentary (first of its kind in English), of one man who selflessly devoted his life to God and
man
during one of the Orthodox Church's most difficult periods in Mother Russia.
The Writings Of The New Testament
Luke Timothy Johnson
Augsburg Fortress Publishers
Box 59304, Minneapolis, MN 55459-0304
080063439X $39.00 1-800-328-4648
The Writings Of The New Testament: An Interpretation By Luke Timothy Johnson (Robert W.
Woodruff Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins, Candler School of Theology,
Emory
University, Atlanta, Georgia) is an erudite, scholarly, yet thoroughly "reader friendly" commentary
on the New Testament text, in relation to history of the ancient world, Christian beliefs, and a
page-by-page analysis of the scripture itself. An accompanying CD-ROM provides ready access to
cross-referenced text. The Writings Of The New Testament is highly recommended as an
exhaustive
study enhanced with extensive bibliographical annotation and thought-provoking questions.
Emmanuel
Barbara Revor
Infinity Publishing.com
519 West Lancaster Avenue, Haverford, PA 19041-1413
0741408856 $10.95 1-877-289-2665
Emmanuel is a collection of Barbara Revor's short poems, prose vignettes, parables, and other
writings reflecting her abiding faith in God and her love and enjoyment of His gift of life.
Gentle,
warm, and touching, Emmanuel reflects on the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for humanity, an
insightful perspective on classical Biblical stories, and much more. A soulful and touching read.
Things We Hold Dear: Fragile is the grasp we hold/To things we think so dear/Things that bring
us
sorrow--/Worldly things of fear//Solid is the love from One/Who died to free our fear/Who gave
before we knew the love/Whose wait is ever near.//Whose patient wait we oft ignore/Pursuing
things of dust/Whose love transcends the bounds of time/To vanquish our mistrust.//Teach me,
Lord, to know the truth/Of what is right--what not/To grasp Your truth, to love Your Words/The
world an afterthought.
The Challenges Of Roger Williams
James P. Byrd, Jr.
Mercer University Press
6316 Peake Road, Macon, GA 31210
0865547718 $40.00 1-478-301-2880
The Challenges Of Roger Williams: Religious Liberty, Violent Persecution, And The Bible by
James
P. Byurd, Jr. (American Religious History, Vanderbilt University) is a scholarly examination of
how
interpretation of the Bible prompted violent and fatal persecution of religious liberty in colonial
America. Puritan punishments, banishment, and executions of Baptists, radical thinkers, Quakers,
and more are all brought to light, as is the story of Roger Williams, who founded the colony of
Rhode Island and the first American Baptist Church. Roger Williams dared to advocate religious
liberty and paid the price of banishment; his arguments and their repercussions today hold weight
in
this profound glimpse into colonial American history. The Challenges Of Roger Williams is a
highly
recommended contribution to American History, Baptist History, and Christian Studies reading
lists
and academic reference collection.
Willis M. Buhle
Reviewer
Bethany's Bookshelf
From Hurting To Happy
Barbara Bartocci
Sorin Books/Ave Maria Press
PO Box 1006, Notre Dame, IN 46556-1006
1893732541 $12.95 www.sorinbooks.com
From Hurting To Happy: Transforming Your Life After Loss by professional speaker and author
Barbara Bartocci, is a profoundly inspiring self-help guide to coping with all forms of loss,
specifically including the loss of home, career, marriage, or loved ones. The long journey of
learning
to accept life and move on is rarely an easy one; anecdotes, recommendations, and soulful advice
helps make the burden easy in this highly recommended and "reader friendly" instructional
guide.
The Passionate Steward
Michael O'Hurley-Pitts
St. Brigid Press
21 Shaftesbury Avenue, Ste. A., Toronto, Ontario M4T 3B4
0973137800 $19.99 www.stbrigidpress.com
Edited by The Reverend Canon M. Ansley Tucker and enhanced with a Foreward by Archbishop
Edward W. Scott, The Passionate Steward: Recovering Christian Stewardship From Secular
Fundraising by Michael O'Hurley-Pitts is a clarion warning against the modern-day trend of
Christian
churches to fall in too easily with secular fundraising efforts, a weakness that has the potential to
erode the purpose and theological mission of the church itself. Persuasively advocating
"passionate
stewardship" as a means for the churches to control their own financial destiny, The Passionate
Steward offers a profound and thought-provoking message that is not to be ignored by either the
clergy or the congregation.
A Concealed God
Stefan Einhorn
Templeton Foundation Press
Five Radnor Corporate Center, Suite 120, 100 Matsonford Road, Radnor, Pennsylvania
19087
1890151939 $19.95 www.templetonpress.org
Thoughtfully written by Stefan Einhorn (Professor of Molecular Oncology and Chairman of the
Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institute, Sweden), A Concealed God: Religion,
Science And The Search For Truth is a careful and inquiring examination into the nature of God's
existence. Eschewing both blind faith and absolute secularism, A Concealed God looks at the
common factors found in seven of the world's most widespread religions: Judaism, Christianity,
Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. Drawing upon each faith's profession of
a
higher power, A Concealed God presents and eloquent and highly intriguing investigation into
eternal questions. A Concealed God is informed, informative, and highly recommended reading
for
students of theology, metaphysics, and comparative religion.
Going On Retreat
Margaret Silf
Loyola Press
3441 N. Ashland Avenue, Chicago, IL 60657
0829419942 $10.95 1-800-621-1008
Going On Retreat: A Beginner's Guide To The Christian Retreat Experience is a straightforward
guide by Jesuit trained author Margaret Silf, to finding a suitable retreat in which to meditate and
embrace one's Christian faith. Anecdotes of personal experience by the author, as well as simple
guidelines for anyone embarking upon a Christian retreat for the first time, make Going On
Retreat
an brisk and very useful introduction on what to expect and what to do.
Teaching The Dead Bird To Sing
W. Paul Jones
Paraclete Press
PO Box 1568, Orleans, MA 02653
155725303X $16.95 www.paracletepress.com
Teaching The Dead Bird To Sing: Living The Hermit Life Without And Within is the memoir of
theologian and former social activist W. Paul Jones, who describes the phases of his life and
meditations as he progressed toward an internal and external retreat from the evils of the world
and
the self. Teaching The Dead Birth To Sing is highly recommended reading as a deeply spiritual
and
inspiring autobiographical treatise about embracing a solitary life for greater understanding and
clarity.
Joyful Mind
Susan Piver
Rodale Books
400 South Tenth Street, Emmaus, PA 18098
1579546080 $29.95 www.rodale.com
Compiled and edited by Susan Piver (Founder and Creative Director of Padma Projects, a media
company creating products in support of an awakened life), Joyful Mind: A Practical Guide To
Buddhist Meditation combines soothing, easy-to-understand, practical instructions with
illustrative
color photographs, and two music CDS to enhance the quite pleasant experience of learning to
practice Buddhist meditation. Simple exercises, mental disciplines, and natural wisdom fill this
inviting spiritual practices guide which is especially recommended for those new to Buddhist
meditation and studies.
The Idanha
Dick d'Easum
Caxton Press
312 Main Street, Caldwell, ID 83605-3299
0870044141 $14.95 1-800-657-6465
The Idanha: Guests And Ghosts Of An Historic Idaho Inn by Dick d'Easum is the minutely
detailed
story of a picturesque and landmark Idaho hotel with it's grand and colorful history. This was a
place
where Governors lived, an assassin plied his trade, Celebrities like Ethel Barrymore, Sally Rand,
and
Clarence Darrow stayed. Black-and-white photographs enhance a wealth of enjoyable and
memorable anecdotes. The Idanha is written in a warm, conversational tone providing the reader
with a thoroughly enjoyable and informative glimpse into highlights of an Idaho past.
Beyond The Castle
Mavis Tofte
Creative Quill
460 Myers St., Salem, Oregon 97302
0970990618 $19.95 1-503-363-2843 creativequill@aol.com
Beyond The Castle: The Enchanted Forest by Mavis Tofte is a fascinating, informative description
and history of the Enchanted Forest, the oldest family-owned theme park in the hills south of
Salem,
Oregon. Beautiful, full-color photographs enhance this brilliantly presented guide and tribute to a
wondrous repository of history and culture, -- which is complete with its own spooky haunted
house! Whether in preparation for an onsite visit or an armchair traveler's reading list, Beyond
The
Castle is very highly recommended reading.
Food, Fun 'n' Fitness
Mary C. Friesz, PhD, RD, CDE, LDN
Designs for Healthy Lifestyles
PO Box 81-1974, Boca Raton, FL 33481-1974
0971566208 $14.95 1-561-999-8941 www.FoodFunNFitness.com
Food, Fun 'n' Fitness: Designing Healthy Lifestyles For Our Children by psychologist and
nutritionist
expert Mary C. Friesz (who is also a Certified Diabetes Educator and a Certified Exercise
Instructor) is a comprehensive, "parent friendly" guide to teaching children good eating habits, the
value of nutrition, and the incorporation of fitness into daily life as a basic family value.
Highlighting
the importance of avoiding childhood obesity and the complications that can result from it, such
as
type 2 diabetes, as well as staying wary of "quick-fix" solutions that do not address building a
positive, health-conscious lifestyle, Food, Fun 'n' Fitness is a solid and highly recommended
compendium of advice and wellness-conscious wisdom, and an appropriate instructional reference
for families of all backgrounds and socio/economic levels.
Sinclair Lewis: Arrowsmith, Elmer Gantry, Dodsworth
The Library of America
14 East 60th Street, New York, NY 10022
1931082081 $40.00 www.loa.org
Three of Sinclair Lewis' classic novels and true works of enduring American literature
(Arrowsmith,
Elmer Gantry, Dodsworth) are combined under one cover in this scholarly Library of America
edition. "Arrowsmith" is the story of an idealistic physician who finds greed and corruption at
every
turn; "Elmer Gantry" is a historically controversial account of a cynical and selfish preacher using
his
trade to amass wealth and power; and "Dodsworth" is the story of a decaying marriage between
an
American industrialist and his wife as they travel through Europe. Complementing the great
works
of 1920's literature are a thoughtful chronology, and a brief yet insightful selection of informative
notes on the texts. Published with acid free paper, this volume of Sinclair Lewis' classic fiction is a
welcome and very strongly recommended addition to academic and community library
collections.
Susan Bethany
Reviewer
Burroughs' Bookshelf
A History Of Citizenship
Peter Riesenberg
Krieger Publishing Company
Krieger Drive, Malabar, Florida 32950
1575241323 $19.50 1-800-724-0025
A History Of Citizenship: Sparta To Washington by historian Peter Riesenberg is a solid,
scholarly,
and heavily researched study of what it has meant to be a "citizen" as human civilization has
evolved
through the centuries. An extensive selection of documents from classical literature and ancient
treatises supplements the eloquently methodical narration of the essence of citizenship from
ancient
times to the modern day. A History Of Citizenship is a seminal and enduring work of scholarship
enhanced with an extensive bibliography and recommended as a core acquisition title for academic
reference collections and Western Civilization supplemental reading lists.
Foreigners In Their Own Land
Steven M. Nolt
Penn State University Press
820 North University Drive, University Support Bldg. 1, Suite C, University Park, PA
16802-1003
0271021993 $29.95 1-800-326-9180 www.psu.edu/psupress
Foreigners In Their Own Land: Pennsylvania Germans In The Early Republic by Steven M. Nolt
(Assistant Professor of History, Goshen College) is the story of Pennsylvania's German
population,
ranging from the first immigrants to arrive and continuing through the assimilation of their
generations of descendants, and how these people were able to maintain their German cultural
heritage and background while embracing their citizenship and identity as Americans.
Meticulously
researched and highly recommended, Foreigners In Their Own Land is a truly fascinating,
scholarly,
and highly accessible study of the religious, political, and philosophical evolution of this specific
American subculture.
Organizing Your Home Business
Lisa Kanarek
Made E-Z Products
384 South Military Trail, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442
1563825155 $14.95 www.MadeE-Z.com
Organizing Your Home Business: Arrange Your Home Office For Maximum Productivity by
home
office expert, business consultant and public speaker Lisa Kanarek, is a solid written, "user
friendly"
guide to managing time and space in a home office for maximum efficiency. Step-by-step
instructions and guidelines for setting one's own hours, tricks for saving space, troubleshooting,
learning computerized record keeping, dealing with the IRS, staying organized, balancing work
life
and home life, creating a "car office kit", and much, much more fill this extremely practical and
useful guide. Organizing Your Home Business is very highly recommended for novice home
workers, and has a great deal of value for even the more experienced home office based
entrepreneur.
The Forgotten Air Force
Anthony Christopher Cain
Smithsonian Institution Press
750 Ninth Street NW, Suite 4300, Washington, DC 20560-0950
1588340104 $34.95 1-800-782-4612
The Forgotten Air Force: French Air Doctrine In The 1930s by Lt. Col. Anthony Christopher
Cain,
USAF, is an informed and informative history of the French air force, which despite its many
ranks
of talented officers and pilots, suffered from incompetent high command and was ultimately
crushed
in the early years of World War II. Meticulously researched and presented, The Forgotten Air
Force
closely studies an important and often overlooked facet of the war and the nation. Cain is to be
commended for his meticulous research leading to this seminal and enduring contribution to
Military
Aviation History Studies.
Jack Burroughs
Reviewer
James A. Cox
Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
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