Writers Books

Thank you Jack Eadon for letting me share in your very personal journey of the sixties. Your honesty is captivating. You gave back to me memories of that era, the old neighborhood and people, which had long been forgotten. You made me smile. It took me days before I could pick up another book as I wanted more of "Got to Make It". Jack Eadon, you have truly made it.

Damn you Jack Eadon!! 'Got To Make It' kept me up until 2am for days until I finished it. I kept reading it in bed while trying not to wake up my wife with my booklight glowing through the darkness. Being in my early 30's I've only experienced the 60's as it probably wasn't: the TV-friendly Time-Life "Summer Of Love" packaged CD version, full of cliche'd images, shallow descriptions and dismissive attitudes towards the struggles of the era which are now illustrated through the words of someone who lived the political, social and music scene of the "60's" in 'Got To Make It'. This is a book that lays it all out there. The whole John Lennon sequence was literally a headtrip and a thrilling learning experience for me. You can just picture the scene all in white, just like in Lennon's music video for 'Imagine'! Now I always hear the "Hi" when I pop in "Sgt. Pepper's Reprise" in my CD player. I never did before. Wow, maybe he's saying Hi to all of us. This is a great story, full of tragedy, obstacles, small victories, innocent coming-of-age experiences that many of us never talk about, large defeats in life and love...and finally a huge victory that spans the globe and just makes you feel good. Sometimes with a little help from your friends....and sometimes not...you've got to make it.

I'll never forget Stanleys' mantra "It's all in the trying". There couldn't be an idea more important for every aspect of your life. And I'll never forget the philosophy that you and John Lennon shared: "to get 'it' out there...live your dream by doing it, getting thru the small failures, live thru the pain of being a true artist and don't be a fake...."

With 'Got To Make It' Jack Eadon reaches a new level as a writer. You've got to read it. Thanks, Jack!

Reading Jack's evocative book about striving to achieve his dream of making it as rock performer triggered a flood of memories for me about similar dreams, some pursued, some not. Jack's story is a must-read for anyone who shared his dream or had their own at that youthful stage when anything was possible. It's a wonderful narrative that brings back so many elements of growing up in the late 60s when everything seemed possible.

Emotional, entertaining and exceptionally evocative. Enjoy!

It still bugs me that I missed Woodstock.

I was only nine years old that summer, so I didn't fully realize what it was all about. Not until years later, after growing up with the music that had been introduced to me by my older brother, did I realize what an influential (and mind-bending)event that must have been. Looking back, I have always felt that I missed out on one of the defining moments of the '60s.

Fortunately, this book was written. After reading Got To Make It, there are now many more things I can understand, relate to, and appreciate more fully. With its personal, insightful perspective, the book speaks on behalf of those who lived through the turmoil of that decade -- and how it changed them and shaped them. The personal impact of events like the draft, the anti-war protests, and the hunger marches, and pivotal crises like the Kennedy and King assassinations and Kent State, are all brought home with a clear voice that sparks a direct connection, at a heart-to-heart level, between all those old rockers and their wide-eyed younger brothers (like me).

I now feel that I can better understand what my brother went through as we were growing up together in that tree-shaded, middle-class Vanilla World known as suburban Chicago. And why he always seemed a little bit smarter than me.

Jack Eadon pours out his heart and soul making himself vulnerable to the world and himself. He shows great insight on a universal level. True artists get lost in their medium; Jack's being the poetry. I see "Got to Make It!" as timeless. I was able to relate to the feeling of the 60's, paralleling the emotional environment today in our world. I found this book very thought provoking. I can't wait to hear the music!

Dr. Prieskorn offers up a beautiful story about his ongoing conversations with God. The story is told in simple, every-day language with examples that everyone can relate to. A great book for the holiday season!

Helaing Journey was given to me at a time when I needed some guidance and the book did just what I wanted. It helped me to see the simplicity of moving through any tough time in life. John presents in an easy to follow format and he keeps everything simple and easy to understand. John took me by the hand and led me into a beautiful healing journey. He did this gently and with a great caring spirit. I continually use the book as a reference whenever I feel "stuck". I am sure the book will continue to renew my spirit and teach me for many years to come. Thank you for a most beautiful book.

The Healing Journey is wonderful, uplifting and I highly recommend it. The author offers solutions to living life succesfully with the day-to-day realities of our life by introducing simple and powerful tools for transformation, leading you to stop judging (mainly yourself) and to start practicing another way of life. John Prieskorns personal stories and lesson will heal your heart. This inspiring book is a must read.

That wondrous something that dwells within us all, is revealed through John's book. He has captured the essence of discovery of "self" and the path it takes to achieve enlightnment. John has taken his experience and put into a format that frees the reader to obtain a workable principle for mastery. This is a book not only for my students, but for students of life. Thank you John for being a leader among lifes confusion.

If anything in your life could use a little healing, Healing Journey will prove invaluable to you. This is not the usual self-help book that tells you what is wrong with you and how to fix it. No, this is a book written in partnership with the reader, gently opening new doors of understanding and offering many opportunities for the reader to develop new tools to use in healing anything that needs healing, including relationships, business affairs as well as physical and mental health.

The message is clearly and interestingly presented. At the end of each chapter, the reader is offered several provocative questions to reflect upon which can be life transforming. This is a reader-friendly book filled with insights that can change your life.

"The Heart of Motherhood: Finding Holiness in the Catholic Home" by Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle is both encouraging and inspirational. A mother of five, Donna has weathered the storms and inspires me (as a new mom) with her experience and wisdom.

Peppered with inspirational quotes from Mother Teresa, among others, Bible passages and heartfelt prayers, The Heart of Motherhood, inspires from within. Donna-Marie begins the book with the statement that motherhood is, indeed, a truly ordinary and yet extraordinary vocation. By being mothers and by welcoming, loving and teaching our children, we are truly doing the Lord's work. She explains,

"A mother's day is filled to capacity with many ordinary tasks, not unimportant, but rather works of love that may be overlooked or unnoticed. Changing diapers, doing laundry, schedule keeping, house cleaning, planning and cooking nutritious meals and helping with homework are just some of the ordinary tasks in a mom's repertoire. Her own family family may take these loving acts for granted. Although these tasks may seem mundane, or even monotonous, they are the nitty-gritty details that keep the family going and together. . . . A mother's deep inner faith affirms that a day's sacrifices and seemingly ordinary tasks please our Lord because they are done with extraordinary love."

And later reminds us that "love is not merely a feeling or emotion. Love is also a decision . . . at times, this decision may be an enormous sacrifice."

Donna-Marie notes that today's society, unfortunately, rarely respects the woman's role as mother and wife nor the mother's domestic role in the home. However, rather than focus on that, she encourages her readers to bring back the dignity and respect motherhood deserves by being an example of holy mothering to one's family and, ultimately, to society. She continues by explaining how one can focus on holy mothering, the importance of a mother's prayer life, shares inspiration for those times when you feel anything but holy in your mothering, gives inspirational examples of holy mothers (including the most holy mother, Mary) in history and ends each chapter with beautiful prayer.

It is a blessing to me to have read this book. I kept starring and underlining passages and prayers that spoke to me! I couldn't put it down! This is a book that will be an inspiration for years to come. It does not tell you how to run a household, how to clean a sink or how to get your family pulled together each Sunday morning to make it to church on time. Instead, it delves deeper into the holy vocation of motherhood and encourages mothers young and old to keep the faith and to recognize the immeasurable importance of the job to not only their children and families, but to society, the Christian family and God.

I'll be keeping this book handy, by my bedside, on my kitchen counter, in the bathroom (yes, you read that right. You KNOW it might be the only quiet time you get all day!) . . . maybe for a few minutes of refreshing, or even for 30-seconds of inspiration and prayer.

The essence of "The Heart of Motherhood" is love. God is love. "And the greatest of these is love. . . . " We do easy, and difficult, ordinary and extraordinary things for our family and children because we are mothers (and wives) and we do them out of love.

This book came in a brown paper package a few months ago, and I saved it to be my hospital book (though it nearly killed me to see it sitting there so patiently on my shelf, waiting for the baby right along with me). What a book to read during those first few days with my new baby! As I savored the excitement of my new daughter, feeling much the way I remember feeling on the Christmas mornings of my single-digit years, Donna's book reminded me about the hard work and the bright rewards of motherhood. She doesn't gloss over the difficulty, nor does she make light of the responsibility. In this book, she does what she does so well - she encourages all of us mothers.

In the past few months, I've gotten to know Donna a bit, through her blogs and some emails we've exchanged, and reading this book was just like talking with Donna. Each chapter ends with prayer, the kind that you'll want to copy into your prayer book or post on your bathroom mirror. I felt the same sort of comfort in reading this book that I feel when I'm having a cup of tea with a dear friend. So go and grab a copy of this book and a steaming cup of tea. Donna has some words of encouragement for you!

I am a mother of soon to be 3 children ages 3 and under and have read THE HEART OF MOTHERHOOD and it has truly changed my life! The author's outlook on the vocation of motherhood could only have come from the Holy Spirit....Donna Marie Cooper Oboyle's writings are awe inspiring. I encourage all mothers to read this book. It is easy reading and one you can't put down. The writings of this book are ones you remember in the middle of the night when you are up with sick children and want to break down and cry or the days you don't know how you are going to make it through the day....the voice of this book sticks with you and truly helps you become a better mother and helps you to live a holy life at home. IT is a reminder of the true vocation of motherhood that has been lost in today's society.

This is exactly the book I was looking for. I am a stay at home Catholic mom who at times needs a few words of encouragement. It is hard to pray when the 3 year old is up at 5am, the 1 year old just went back to sleep, the 11 and 14 year old need to get up and be ready to go at 7:30 and I am trying to find time for a conversation with God. It is helpful to hear that everything we offer up for our children is a prayer. While I was reading this book I thought of friends and sisters who have and have not given up comfort and wealth to raise souls for God. The Chapter on the Cross made me think of my own Mother who lost my adult sister a few years ago. This book is highly recomended for moms and dads who suspect that there is more to life than what our culture is trying to sell us. God is love and the fullness of his love is in loving our children.

I've read MANY books about being Catholic, being a Mom & being a Catholic Mom...but none of them have touched my heart & mind the way this one did. It was SO common sense about how to weave our Catholicity into our daily lives when there are children at our feet before 5 AM (when it's near impossible to get up before them to pray...even if we really, really want to) and at night, we just pass out, not fall asleep. I read this book twice, have MUCH highlighting throughout & even bought a 2nd copy to give to my sil for her birthday this past Feb. Being a Mom can seem to be a thankless job, being a stay-at-home mom is less than respected in today's society and being a Catholic Mom in the truest sense of the word, can be rougher than anything else I could imagine. Using the practical wisdom in this book helped me to see that even though I can't physically be on my knees in prayer, my heart can be bowed down & focused on Our Lord all day, everyday, keeping my focus on the true Heart of (Catholic) Motherhood.

My wife and I lived in Rockport when Miss Van Wyk was still painting. We have the first version of her color recipes book in its original three ring binder form. Her book offers the beginning painter great suggestions and solutions on many typical color mixing problems. Thanks Helen.

I love this book. It's been very helpful for times when I just can't seem to mix the color I'm looking for. I look in this book and it always has good information.

Even though I have a BFA many things that would have been helpful in the real world, just weren't taught. This book fills in a lot of blanks.

Helen is a great teacher. I have taken art classes and learned 1/10th of what I learned by reading her book. I am colorblind and people argue with me about it because of my ability to use the right colors. I only wish she was still here so she could produce even more information etc.

An excellent book that covered many subjects of painting, and how to use particular colours successfully for that area, I found this very helpful and informative.

I have not had enough time to give a very detailed review on this book 'however from what I have read I am very impressed with the clarity in her descriptions on mixing colors and their use.

Isn't it strange that having lived up with Hem's books and later with all the student's stuff on him - every book and most writers take you back to those early day's good feeling which you had after having read his shortstory stuff?? And having read almost everything which is written about Hem until today, this is still one of my absolute favourites. I like his style and I appreciate the accuracy and all the work that is behind every project he publish on Hem. I recommend this book.

Here's the thing with most biographies...they're biographies. I'm a lover of fiction, the crafted tale, the sculpted language. There is a certain freedom of the word that seems to only exist in the "made up" story. A freedom almost never captured in the strict confines of an accurate and truthful biography. Enter Michael Reynolds. He tells the tale of Hemingway's Paris years with so much fluidity and grace you'd swear he fabricated this Hemingway guy out of his own gorgeous imagination. This reads like a novel and a damn good one. It's peppered with minute historical facts ie: the value of the dollar, the franc, the German mark, the pound, at any given time. Political unrest, social change, fashion, food, and most importantly...the state of literature at that point in time. All of this swirls around the incredibly multi dimensional main character. You'll read it three times.

Ah, this is one of those books that a reader savors. This is one of the most enjoyable books for the student of Hemingway or for those writing prose fiction in general. Many, many of Hemingway's techniques are explained here. Also, for those of us who have been putting up a good fight--writing short stories and novels all these years--it helps seeing what a beating Hemingway took when he started. This is a fabulous book and the only thing that mitigated its conclusion was the knowledge that Michael Reynolds wrote another three more books in this series. They too are great but this is the best one.

This is an engrossing book that makes you feel like you are actually walking alongside Hemingway during his early years in Paris. I could feel the cold that he felt on his cheek, I could see the smile that Hadley gave him every time he walked into their dark little apartment after a hard day of writing in the cafes. This is due to Michael Reynolds superb, painstaking research, the photographs, and the copies of original manuscript that he included in this biography. I cannot stress enough how unlike an usual biography this is...Hemingway literally leaps out at you from the first sentence and pulls you into his world, lets you experience his poverty and first marriage in Paris, the birth of his son, the arrival of his first mistress, and the amazing literary scene in Paris that has now apparently died for good. Hemingway has amazing quotes on writing, life, living through your failures, and it was a pleasure to get to read the library list of every book he checked out during this time period. This is an amazing book, and the best biography I have EVER read in my life.

I've been trying to read two other books, on top of The Paris Years, but put them both down yesterday so that I could finish this one. The biggest thing that stands out about it is the excellence of Michael Reynolds' prose. He has the rare skills which enable readers to successfully jettison themselves back in time.

This is the perfect companion to A Moveable Feast and elucidates the historical nature of the characters present in The Sun Also Rises as well. Reynolds, although sometimes pretending to do otherwise, is a psychologizing narrator. The good news is that most of his observations have the ring of truth. The biographer seems to understand his subject which is of great benefit to the rest of us. Hemingway's first marriage is discussed extensively and the coming of Pauline Pfeiffer is also elucidated at the very end. Hemingway had Ford and Pound as his philandering role models, and, eventually, he proves to be a most capable student.

What I liked best about the book was the way in which Reynolds lets us know what Hemingway's writing process was; the daily habits he undertook which allowed him to excel at his craft. He struggled mightily to master the short story and, throughout this work, his emergence as a novelist is far from certain. The scenes in Pamplona are vivid as is the depiction of the cafe life in Paris. You may well want to go back and tour it as badly as I do by the time you're done. Ah, the past. Anyway, it is unfortunate that more on F. Scott Fitzgerald was not included, but you'll understand Ford Maddox Ford almost as well as Hemingway once the last page is turned. Overall, it was simply outstanding, I may well read the other editions of the biography now based on what I discovered here.

This is a great book. Written in a clear, easy-to-read style the author does a great job of weaving together descriptions of the mountain gorillas in Bwindi National Park with descriptions of the Uganda people and their culture, the politics and history of the country and other aspects of his experiences there. If you are looking for a book with detailed, scientifically-oriented analysis of the mountain gorillas, this is not the book for you, nor is this the book for you if you are looking for great color photographs of the animals and the country (he only has black and white photos of so-so quality). But, if what you are looking for is a book that allows you to learn about a variety of aspects of life in Uganda, its people and the gorillas this is a great choice. It would be the perfect book to read prior to a trip to the region to see the park and its gorilla population.

I came across this book accidentally when I was looking for books on Uganda. It is truly a gem--very funny and full of anecdotes about life in Uganda as a volunteer, specifically what it is like to live in the forest working on gorilla habituation efforts.

I loved this book, couldn't wait to turn the page. I highly recommend it.

This book was an easy read but still packed with lots of information. Not only about all the gorillas, and their individual personalities, but also about what it was like living with the people in Uganda. It also touched on the history of African exploration and the study of gorillas. I really didn't know much about topic and I now have much more empathy for both the gorillas and also for the people who live near them. Even if like me you're not a "gorilla person" I think you'll find this book funny, compassionate and a good adventure story.

Excellent view of Uganda and the culture of both the people and wildlife in existence at the start of the eco-tourism movement in that part of the world. The ability to experience the world of Thor as he was experiencing the joys and hardships as he co-existed with the people and animals of Uganda was fascinating.

I really "felt" as though I was right there with him as he became accustomed to the new way of life - intertwined with his new culture, gaining acceptance with the natives.

An excellent read!

Jim Sandler
Vernon, N.J.

Thor Hanson has introduced me to a place I now would love to travel to. After reading this book I feel like I'm friends not only with Thor--who has a great sense of humor and an interest in all living things--but with the people and gorillas of Bwindi. Without being lectured to I learned about the habits and habitats of mountain gorillas, the many ways to make and enjoy the local beer or wine, the history and politics of Uganda and when and why you should paint a baboon's back end white! I highly recommend this book.

Robert Mercer-Nairne's The Letter Writer is a compelling novel, bringing together the lives of several Seattle-area residents in a most unlikely way. But when most of those residents go together on The Letter Writer's cruise to Hawaii, things suddenly start to change.

The Letter Writer is a wonderful novel, with just enough complexity to make it interesting and hold your attention, but not so much that the characters get mixed up in your mind. Novels like The Letter Writer are my favorite; I call them great airplane books, because they're so fascinating they hold your interest through late and delayed flights, turbulence, crying babies and roaring jet engines.

Mercer-Nairne skillfully weaves together the life circumstances of several characters. Until the middle of the book, you wonder where he's going with his characters, but then you begin to see just what he has in mind. It's not until the epilogue, however, that you find out all of the many twists and turns, most of them very surprising, that have taken place in the book.

The book has 351 pages, with 57 chapters, plus an epilogue; none of the chapters are very long, but several of them are further divided. This is one of the things that makes The Letter Writer great reading in my opinion; while it's certainly written so that it can be picked up and put down, you won't want to do that. You'll want to read it as fast as possible.

I think The Letter Writer would make a fabulous movie, but at any rate, I'm looking for more novels from Mr. Mercer-Nairne.

Rebeccasreads highly recommends THE LETTER WRITER as a leisurely saga of Seattle-ites from old wealth & hopeful entrepeneurs, & what happens when each receives a newsletter touting a once-in-a-lifetime deal.

Enter a cast of regional characters with histories & agendas, quite ably sketched, meandering along in a very Northwest fashion... (I live here, so I can say that!) until, in Part II, they set sail for Hawaii on David Dulalley's Golden Cruise.

On the high seas, surrounded by luxury & ulterior motives, marriages start cracking at the seams, seductions occur around every corner, & deceit winds its bitter tentacles around the charming & the loathesome, the naive & the lecherous, the suave & the desperate.

THE LETTER WRITER is quite absorbing -- a tad heavy on the financial intricacies -- a lively parable about greed, foolhardy optimism, vanity & the struggle to understand what truly matters.

Mercer Nairne is as good a writer as I've read in a long time. He has original style, a flair for literary nuance, and impeccable plot timing and structure. The Letter Writer is simply a splendid work, a real eye-opener into a slice of American culture, replete with get-rich-quick schemes and the like.

Highly, highly, recommended.

The Letter Writer is a fine work of fiction by an author with a unique and distinct voice. Mercer-Nairne captures a facet of American culture with vivid characters, a compelling storyline, and a wonderful writing style.

I recommend this book highly to all lovers of good fiction.

I feel strongly Mercer-Nairne is destined for literary stardom; he is that talented.

The Letter Writer: Book Review

"I enjoyed reading this book. The characters were portrayed very well. Jack, a multimillionaire who experiences mid-life crisis and ends up finding meaning to his life - but it costs him millions of dollars and emotional pain. Adele is a heavy-drinking, free-living, multimillionaire with an independent mind and a sense of humor. Wendy, a single mother who finds the love of her life. Mixed up educators playing with their students' lives in their conquest and the retiring professor who resists this plot has a big secret. A married advisor carries on an affair with another man and when he is discovered, he thinks his world has ended.
I would say this fiction is a light comedy that is quite entertaining and has some romance elements as well. Author Robert Mercer-Nairne brings attention to common human frailties with a sense of fun. He clearly reveals the desire to `get rich quick' in North American Society. Members of this society tend to hear what we WANT to hear and perceive the greener pasture out there somewhere - rather than in the here and now.
Readers are shown the foolishness of following others blindly and the danger of where our greed can take us. Innocents can have their life irrevocable altered by someone else's desire to climb a corporate or social ladder. The benefit of spiritual leaders to help ground the characters in this novel, helping them learn to forgive themselves and move on in life is used at several points in the story.
I recommend this book for anyone looking for a light, entertaining read."

ISBN#: 0974814105
Publisher: Gritpoul, Inc
Author: Robert Mercer-Nairne

~ Lillian Brummet - Book Reviewer - Co-author of the book Trash Talk, a guide for anyone concerned about his or her impact on the environment - Author of Towards Understanding, a book of poetry. (http://www.sunshinecable.com/~drumit)

I find this such an amazing book. I loved it so much. I am using this book for a book report and I find that it will be the best.I am doing a bookseller's day and I will try to sell this book. I feel that it will be successful for me because this book is so interesting. Sometimes it is so touching it can make you cry. Jean Little is such a brave girl and into such a talented young lady and to a real grown up person. I feel that this book will teach you a great lesson by having someone sharing their past with you and everyone around. Everything in the book is so real because all those things have probably happened in some school. People getting bullied. But the thing is, no one ever stands up for themselves and I find Jean Little such a spectacular person.

If you like sad but happy or a lesson to learn in a book you will like Little By Little. Jean has one of the most popular books help you in life. The genre of this story is autobiography. It will change your point of veiw as a reader and as a person because you know the things she goes through really happen. I like this book because when you get into the story it's hard to get out. The story is about how Jean, little by little, succeeds in different things like reading, school and many more. For example, when she's trying to learn to read, she didn't give up. She went through stages during lerning to make new frieds,and getting through school. Jean uses very interesting words to make you feel like you're there. For instance when it's her first day at school she explains how she felt and what she felt like doing. This book taught me that it's hard to live a normal life if you have a disability.

So I've been steadily working my way through the greatest children's books of all time for just over a year now. To do this, I've been attempting to use a variety of already existing lists, so as to bulk up my cumulative kiddie lit knowledge. One of these lists is the New York Public Library's "100 Favorite Children's Books". This list includes everything from "Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry" to "Freaky Friday". Now I had been doing quite well on these titles and was pleased with its choices right up until I came across the somewhat bizarre choice of "Little By Little" by Jean Little. This is one of those authorial biographies that are meant to tell an inspirational story by highlighting an author's struggles and tribulations. Now, this is not a badly told story by any means. Jean Little is, admittedly, not one of the better known children's authors living today (though a quick Amazon search will show you that she certainly doesn't lack for titles), but her story is fairly interesting. It's just that... well, I dunno. Maybe kids reading this tale would all find it fully fascinating. For my part, I was disappointed. What we seem to have here is a nice enough story about an obscure person dealing with some physical and social trials who triumphs in the end. It's nice, but the book does not strike me as being a particularly memorable experience.

Jean Little was originally born in Taiwan to a pair of overseas Canadians. And from the moment she was born there was a great deal of concern over her eyes and her eyesight. Jean popped out of the womb with scars on her corneas, a condition which left her cross-eyed and untreatable. Glasses, for all that she wore them, did nothing to correct the problem. After moving to Canada just after the outbreak of WWII, Jean faced constant ridicule and torment from her peers due to her partly blind condition. A brief period spent in a school for children like herself did her a lot of good, but soon it was right back into public school where the cruelty of children was concentrated on poor little Jean. Fortunately, she had her books and poetry to keep her happy. Over time, Jean started to write her own stories and poems, some getting accepted into magazines and publications. Her parents, always supportive, helped her to improve her skills and in spite of her handicap she managed to attend and graduate from college with a B.A. The rest, as they say, is history.

When I first began to read this story, I was struck by how similar Jean's story has been to the "100 Favorite Children's Books" biography, "Homesick: My Own Story" by fellow (better known) children's writer Jean Fritz. Both women began life in East Asian countries and had to move to North America while young. But while Fritz concentrates her attention on that particular transition and what it means to have two different homes, Little is more concerned with the tale of her own inspirational story. Also, Little's book isn't filled with interesting illustrations (like Fritz's) so it's a wordy affair. The occasional photograph does dot the text here and there, but that's all that breaks up the story. I was a bit shocked at the abruptness of the ending as well. Not to give anything away, but it shows Little receiving notice that her first children's book is going to be published. Suddenly the story ends, without the book summing up what Little's been through or explaining how she changed over the years. It was an odd way to end a story where the reader has been through so much with the protagonist.

To be honest, the book struck me as odd. It's a biography, but Little freely admits that no human being is capable of remembering perfectly every moment and conversation of their life. So there's been some tampering to make the tale readable. It's well-written. It has an interesting tale of individual struggle. And quite frankly I really didn't enjoy it. I can't pinpoint why either. Maybe it's the title. Maybe the fact that I found it hard to identify with Jean from time to time. Maybe it was the writing style or Jean's constant appeal for understanding. Whatever the case, I just couldn't get into it. I have little doubt that for some children that face torment due to their appearances, this book could be considered nothing short of a godsend. But I just didn't like it. Plain and simple.

Usually I can back up my reaction to one book or another with a host of flaws in the title. I don't think I can here. It's a nice enough story. And the writing is fine n' dandy. But if you were to ask me for my top twenty biographies written for children... I can't say this would make the list. But I may well be in a minority here. In any case, if my personal opinion means anything to you then I suggest you search out Jean Fritz's, "Homesick", and read that instead of this tale. It's fine and all. Just dislikable on some obscure hard to define level.

I have loved Jean Little's books about children facing special challenges for many years, but only found out recently that she has had her own disabilities to cope with. In this book, she talks about her childhood in China and then Canada, the difficulties she faced going through school with severely impaired vision, and the love and support of her family that enabled her to persevere.

With insight and humor but without self-pity, she tells of the challenges she faced at school, including bullying, as well as the relief when she was put in a sight-savers class and at last found a place where she was "normal" - like the other children in her class - and had teachers who understood her needs.

Against all odds, Little decided to go to university. The book ends as she works as a teacher and writes her first book - one inspired by the need of her disabled students to read realistic stories about children like themselves. After reading this book, I know understand how she writes so knowingly - it's because she has lived many of her stories.

I really enjoyed this book because it was obviously a stuggle for Jean Little, but she still kept on going. She had many goals in her life and most of them was to do something in order to be normal. I think the most important parts of the story is when she gets her different pieces of writing published and actually gets money for it. She has loved books ever since she grew up. I noticed that many books that she has written has connections with her life. Most of them have a disabled person as a character. I think she writes all her books by using her life as a base, but altering many things.

My grandchildren were fascinated with the story and loved the illustrations. I would recommend it.

Little Miss Sophie is an adorable must read for young children! This well illustrated, colorful book is sure to become a bedtime favorite for families
with young children!

my grandson loved the book---- great colors and easy to read . Terrific story line

My daughter loved the pictures and the story is priceless... A must buy for families with little ones!

This book truly entertains the little ones. The story and illustrations fascinated our grandchildren - they loved it.

This book is amazing. It has helped me realize what this world would be like without the catholic church, the inherent dangers of secularism, and the path to rectify the evil of modernism. By doing this, it has helped bring me back to the catholic church. This author is on par with Aldous Huxley and George Orwell in both his ability to visualize alternate worlds with precise understanding and his ability to write in a eloquent yet succinct manner. It is a short book and I highly recommend it.

R.H. Benson wrote two mystical visions of the future. _The Dawn of All_ is an extremely romantic and improbable 1911 parable of a 1971 world mostly Catholic and at peace, ready for the Second Coming. _The Lord of the World_ came first, in 1907, and was a darker vision. A world of flying craft, major scientific advances, and comfort has become a place of materialist despair. Euthanasia is routine, for the desperately ill and the terminally bored. Oliver and Mabel Brand, a rising young couple, are the golden ones -- Oliver becomes a major political figure, but Mabel chooses the cool despairing end of legal euthanasia. Father Percy Franklin is one of the last Catholic priests in a world hostile to freedom, church, university, and history. Eventually elected the last Pope, he is restricted to the dusty forgotten village of Nazareth. Julian Felsenburgh is a charismatic American adventurer who means to and does become Lord of the World, anti-Christ. Details are less important than the very modern mood. Believing in progress as the only good, people are swept into any movement that promises it. The past is ruthlessly exterminated. The quest for one world government that begins with Esperanto ends with one world dictatorship.

Robert Hugh Benson grew up at the end of the nineteenth century, when it looked like Socialism would sweep over the world and make religious worship outmoded. His father was Archbishop of Canterbury; and he joined the Church of England but later converted to Catholicism. In his introduction to this book he wrote that he took the idea of Man (not the Son of Man) becoming the ideal and 'took it where it would go'.

Knowing that this book was written in 1904, before the Great War and the dissolution of the European Empires, and the nascent beginning of flight, it is interesting to read his views of what the world would look like in 100 years (or about now). He saw the end of poverty and hunger, and the raising of HUMANITY to the paramount position. His views on woman are arcane, as one of his characters dismissed his wife as 'just a woman', and that they make no strides of independence. He talks about inter-city flight at the amazing speed of 150mph, one year after Kitty Hawk.

The stories bottom line is that once Man begins to worship himself (in the guise of Julian Felsenburg), he not only has no need for idealized religion, but that the persecution of anyone who disagrees will become an act of Sedition and punishable by death. Religion is represented in this story by Roman Catholicism (all others having given in and disbanded, except for a few 'elderly jews wandering in Palestine) which fights a peaceable rear guard action against the forces of HUMANITY.

The language is a little difficult and flowery, while the ideas are interesting but sometimes the catholicism is hard to comprehend, but all in all it's worth reading.

Robert Hugh Benson (born November 18, 1871; died October 19, 1914) was the youngest son of Edward White Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury, and younger brother of Edward Frederic Benson. Benson studied Classics and Theology at Trinity College, Cambridge, from 1890 to 1893. In 1895, he was ordained a priest in the Church of England by his father.

His father died suddenly in 1896, and Benson was sent on a trip to the Middle East to recover his own health. While there, he began to question the status of the Church of England and to consider the claims of the Roman Catholic Church. His own piety began to tend toward the High Church variety, and he started exploring religious life in various Anglican communities, eventually obtaining permission to join the Community of the Resurrection.

Benson made his profession as a member of the community in 1901, at which time he had no thoughts of leaving the Church of England. But as he continued his studies and began writing, he became more and more uneasy with his own doctrinal position, and on September 11, 1903, he was received into the Roman Catholic Church.

He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1904 and sent to Cambridge. He continued his writing career along with the usual elements of priestly ministry. He was named a monsignor in 1911.

Lord of the World is one of his more exemplary works and well worth reading.

"A Century before Left Behind there was Lord of the World," reads the cover blurb in the striking Wildside Press edition. But while both books deal with end times, that's where the similarities end. In Benson's vision, Catholics are the last remaining Christians. The Left Behind books, named for a line in Larry Norman's song, "I Wish We'd All Been Ready," on the other hand, follow the idea of the rapture popularized in Hal Lindsey's bestselling book, The Late Great Planet Earth.

I ordered this book from Amazon after reading Gwen Watkins' essay in Charles Williams: A Celebration (also available from Amazon) comparing Benson and Williams as writers. Williams being my favorite author, I was very excited to come upon a similarly gifted novelist. Benson wrote Lord of the World in 1907; it takes place in a future about a century later (around now). That's also around the time that Chesterton wrote his novels. Both he and Benson write so colorfully that it's sometimes hard to know what's going on. Whether people were more imaginative then or that was the style at the turn of the century I don't know. But having read GKC helps one read Benson, and vice versa.

Williams is often held to be obscure for his descriptions of supernatural and occultic ritual. Benson's obscurity lies in his pre-Vatican II Catholic vocabulary and bits of the Latin Mass, which will not be familiar to many readers. That aside, this is an absolutely gripping story. Having once started, I couldn't put the book down. Uncannily, in this 1907 novel, Benson prophesied a dark future that became reality, first in Germany and then in the USSR. Writing in the then new genre of science fiction, he envisioned a technologically advanced world nevertheless rushing headlong to destruction. It's amazing how contemporary he sounds as he looks forward in time to our present and his future.