Journals Books

First person narrative of the Boer War written just one year after the end of the war. Gives unusual insight into the life of a Boer commando during this conflict with the mighty British army.

Excellent primary source for research papers on the Boer War! I highly reccommend it!

Written in a matter of fact style, the simple experiences of a young man at war are piled one upon the other with no guile and in a straightforward manner. What emerges is one of the greatest stories of war of all time. This stands alongside Dispatches and Black Hawk Down but is perhaps even more remarkable as it was written by a young man at war, not a professional writer or journalist.

Written by a teenager, albeit, a resourceful, fit, intelligent son of a farmer and distinguished South African, it recounts in considerable detail the honourable soldiering on horseback and mule of young Deneys Reitz. His many encounters with the enemy; the harsh weather, difficult landscape, starvation and disease on a guerilla operation that lasted over two years, is testament in part to luck, but also to his survival skills, marksmanship, courage and tenacity. A great read which should be read with some advantage in conjunction with The Boer War by Thomas Pakenham.

Commando is the first and best known of the Deneys Reitz trilogy. It autobiographically tells the story of his part in the Boer War. He started as the sixteen year old son of a prominent Boer politician and ended with him joining Jan Smutts on his raid on Port Elizabeth. This is a story of guerrilla warfare based on minimal resources, for instance they used to visit the abandoned camp sites of British Columns just to pick up ammunition that the Tommies had dropped. They then used this to attack the very soldiers who had dropped it.

However, at the end of the Boer War Reitz was unable to accept British rule and went into exile and this is where the second volume, Trekking On starts. After a disastrous effort at hauling freight by ox cart in Madagascar which nearly cost him is life, Reitz is persuaded by Smutts to return to South Africa where he regains his health and enters local politics. At the outbreak of W.W.II Reitz joins the South African Army and takes part in the putting down of the Maritz rebellion and the campaigns in East Africa. Once the Germans are defeated in Africa he travels to England and , having decided firmly which side he would prefer to be on, joins the British Army as a private. Following a chance meeting with Smutts in London he experiences a dizzying rise in rank and ends the war, after seeing much action as the Colonel of a famous Scottish regiment.

The final book in the trilogy, No Outspan, covers Reitz's life in South African politics between the wars and concludes with him as Deputy Prime Minister of South Africa sitting on an advisory panel to Winston Churchill. in London. During this time he is visited by an Englishman who returned to him the Mauser rifle he took from him when Reitz became his prisoner during the Boer War. The last time I heard this rifle is still in the possession of Reitz's son and is regularly shot by him.

The Trilogy has been published by Wolfe Publishing as a one volume set in recent years and if you see a copy for sale, grab it!

Montaigne explained his own purpose for writing these essays: To create a portrait of himself. Not a physical portrait of his appearance, but a portrait of his character, his thoughts and ideas. Based on this literary portrait of Michel de Montaigne, I believe I would have liked the man immensely if I had been able to meet him.
The book is huge & intimidating and the subject matter seems incredibly dry at first glance, but once you start reading, the language of this immaculate translation will lull you into almost believing that Montaigne himself is talking to you. His writing style can best be described as conversational; he rambles, philosophizes, quotes classical authors, loses his initial train of thought... and every minute of it is fascinating and enjoyable. He wrote about everything, his favorite topics being history and philosophy, his true subject always, of course, being himself. He explores the Big Universal Issues like death and honor and morality, and I was amazed to see how well he had everything figured out nearly 500 years ago. Montaigne was apparently a model of sanity and maturity despite his outward persona of a self-deprecating and amiably eccentric country gentleman. Every few pages I found myself nodding my head in agreement and admiration of something he had written.
The Everyman's Library edition is very well-made, though a bit too thick to be held comfortably in the hands for long periods. Simply as a physical object this book is worth the purchase price, and based on the merit of its contents it would be a bargain at three or four times the cost. Definitely, definitely buy this book. It is potentially life-changing.

"My library is in the third story of a tower; on the first is my chapel, on the second a bedroom with ante-chambers, where I often lie to be alone; and above it there is a great wardrobe. Adjoining my library is a very neat little room, in which a fire can be laid in winter, and which is pleasantly lighted by a window..." Michel de Montaigne (1533 - 1592) wrote in the chapter "On Three Kinds of Relationships". Montaigne liked being retired, seeking distance to a world of bloody fights between religious groups. Did these things develop, 400 years later? Montaigne tried to escape dogmatic thoughts finding a new way of writing and hammering out thoughts via his typical relaxed method of writing. Living 200 years earlier than the other genius of essay, the poor Soeren Kierkegaard, Montaigne was not as filled up with anxiety as the Danish philosopher - he instead managed to stay calm with a solid resource of optimism, though things outside his favorite tower often run very worse. His courageous goal was the overcoming of the stereotyped medieval conception of the world, in which humans usually had been overwhelmed by church- or government-authorities like puppets on a string. Montaigne established the departure to individual noticing, founded an anthropocentric view of world. This probably had something fresh to his contemporary readers. Montaignes program was to dip down in ones own mind: "Everyone, who is listening to his inner landscape of thoughts, is able to discover his identity, so that he is able to repel everything, which does not fit this." About his style of writing essayist Elias Canetti noticed: "Montaigne is most beautiful, because he does not hurry." Aged 17 Michel de Montaigne had ridden to Paris, to complete his humanistic education. There he had attached important relations, had operated with prostitutes notoriously and had squandered one the family wealth, until the father pulled the emergency brake and called him back to Bordeaux, where he had to begin a boring job at the local court (if we can trust the speculations of the French biographer Lacouture). Historically more secured is Montaigne's political identity: the France of his time had torn up, the faith splitting escalated in the "St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre" in Paris on 24 August 1572, bloody amuck in many other French cities followed, also in Montaigne's Bordeaux. He had been the mayor, and particularly in the second term of office 1583-85, he skillfully succeeded to calm down the parties (Catholics tried to slaughter the Protestant Huguenots). His "ideology-free" position had been developed in expanded studies of the classical philosophers - and in a thereupon diametrically opposite literary attempt to justify an own individual kind of thinking and writing: precisely analyzing human conditions (using oneself as the only field, we can explore without too much strange mistakes) without being paralyzed by social regulations of how to search and communicate. "I do not proclaim doctrines of faith, but not obligatory opinions, which you can classify as a gesture alike children, trying to show their experiments: they only want to learn, not to instruct or indoctrinate." The skeptical, further-asking, essentially open dialogue of Montaigne influenced such thinkers as Diderot, Lichtenberg or Nietzsche. His writing method encouraged philosophy, psychology - and hundreds of essayists. Indeed we hope, that Montaigne's voice will never get lost ...

Montaigne was one of those paradoxical characters who was both utterly lazy and completely devoted. His essays are like he is. Lazy, glad (but not too glad), and content to let the blasted world roll by with all of its absurdities and madnesses. Yet he is also taut and tense, intellectually stimulated and willing to stimulate.
Montaigne was wise because he was one of those rare characters who accepted his own humanity without the need to curse at it, exalt it, make it seem ordinary, and make it seem simple. I almost wrote that he made complexity look simple; he almost made it look easy. He did that by have interests that were as broad as that most capacious of faces - the face of the universe. But add to that Montaigne's central conviction that in the sight of God all things are small and you begin to get at the unobtrsively strange and humane part of his art. He combines (in his interests) things that are profoundly trivial and things that are profoundly - ah - profound.
Montainge has been described as a cheerful sceptic and no few harsh and ecstatic souls have been outraged by such a combination. But his cheer was based on the fact that he was both a sceptic and a man of faith - a man of faith before this dreadful age (the age we live in) settled in with its grand bifurcation between the assertive intellect born in the Renaissance was left to battle the pseudo-faith of the fundamentalist Christians. Montaigne would have been politely bewildered to have to speak to either Karl Marx or Jerry Falwell. They would have seemed both absurd and absurdly deranged to him. He was too balanced.
He was and remains a great corrective to our mystical tendencies. He does not cancel them out but he does smack them in the teethe and put them into order. He despised that perennial human desire to destroy humanity in the name of a state higher than humanity.

Six months ago, I got into the habit of losing my mind. No day passed without some evidence of madness: depression, compulsion, mania, panic. Nothing helped--least of all the gray city where I live. One morning while reading this book, I felt my mind click back into place and I knew I would be all right. Since then, the Essays have been, for me, a touchstone of sanity. There is something about their boundaryless curiosity, their open admission of human frailty and mess, that pulls me back every time. It's a book of ideas that never forgets about blood, sweat and semen. Every day I sit with it there is some useful treasure. Today I was grateful to be reminded, "It is not victory if it does not end the war."

Or how about: "No quality embraces us purely and universally. If it did not seem crazy to talk to oneself, there is not a day I would not be heard growling at myself, 'Confounded fool!' And yet I do not intend for that to be my definition."

I distrust Montaigne's opinions on women and God--but to be right about mankind and life on Earth is a lot. As heavy as it is, this big book is always in my bag. Spend some time with it--it will help you stay sane.

"My library is in the third story of a tower; on the first is my chapel, on the second a bedroom with ante-chambers, where I often lie to be alone; and above it there is a great wardrobe. Adjoining my library is a very neat little room, in which a fire can be laid in winter, and which is pleasantly lighted by a window..." Michel de Montaigne (1533 - 1592) wrote in the chapter "On Three Kinds of Relationships". Montaigne liked being retired, seeking distance to a world of bloody fights between religious groups. Did these things develop, 400 years later? Montaigne tried to escape dogmatic thoughts finding a new way of writing and hammering out thoughts via his typical relaxed method of writing. Living 200 years earlier than the other genius of essay, the poor Soeren Kierkegaard, Montaigne was not as filled up with anxiety as the Danish philosopher - he instead managed to stay calm with a solid resource of optimism, though things outside his favorite tower often run very worse. His courageous goal was the overcoming of the stereotyped medieval conception of the world, in which humans usually had been overwhelmed by church- or government-authorities like puppets on a string. Montaigne established the departure to individual noticing, founded an anthropocentric view of world. This probably had something fresh to his contemporary readers. Montaignes program was to dip down in ones own mind: "Everyone, who is listening to his inner landscape of thoughts, is able to discover his identity, so that he is able to repel everything, which does not fit this." About his style of writing essayist Elias Canetti noticed: "Montaigne is most beautiful, because he does not hurry." Aged 17 Michel de Montaigne had ridden to Paris, to complete his humanistic education. There he had attached important relations, had operated with prostitutes notoriously and had squandered one the family wealth, until the father pulled the emergency brake and called him back to Bordeaux, where he had to begin a boring job at the local court (if we can trust the speculations of the French biographer Lacouture). Historically more secured is Montaigne's political identity: the France of his time had torn up, the faith splitting escalated in the "St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre" in Paris on 24 August 1572, bloody amuck in many other French cities followed, also in Montaigne's Bordeaux. He had been the mayor, and particularly in the second term of office 1583-85, he skillfully succeeded to calm down the parties (Catholics tried to slaughter the Protestant Huguenots). His "ideology-free" position had been developed in expanded studies of the classical philosophers - and in a thereupon diametrically opposite literary attempt to justify an own individual kind of thinking and writing: precisely analyzing human conditions (using oneself as the only field, we can explore without too much strange mistakes) without being paralyzed by social regulations of how to search and communicate. "I do not proclaim doctrines of faith, but not obligatory opinions, which you can classify as a gesture alike children, trying to show their experiments: they only want to learn, not to instruct or indoctrinate." The skeptical, further-asking, essentially open dialogue of Montaigne influenced such thinkers as Diderot, Lichtenberg or Nietzsche. His writing method encouraged philosophy, psychology - and hundreds of essayists. Indeed we hope, that Montaigne's voice will never get lost ...

Having read a number of articles on Useless-Knowledge written by Argile Stox, I was curious about his book "Computer - End Program." I was not disappointed with what I read.
Argile Stox is not in the same literary league as some of the great non-fiction writers, e.g., James Thurber, Norman Mailer, Tom Wolfe, or Joan Didion. Of course, he isn't, if you're looking for that kind of quality, head for your local library and dust off the shelves.

But, Argile Stox has a story to tell and tell it he does. If I could affix a label to Stox's writing style, the word "honest" comes to mind. Argile gives an honest accounting of a brief period in his life when he was without a home, a job, and a tomorrow. He did have unemployment checks, but if anyone has collected unemployment checks, they know that unemployment checks barely cover the cost of an electric bill (especially in the Big Apple).

The idea of this story fascinated me because I am one of those "nasty" social workers depicted by some. However, my approach to social work is oriented to the "whys" and the "hows" of the dilemmas suffered by humanity. I wanted to know what a homeless person goes through in a shelter. I wanted to know about the emotions and the rejections. Argile did not disappoint me. Living in a huge men's shelter and struggling to keep the same bed every night, became a way of life. Being moved from one dormitory to another almost weekly, became a routine. Yes, even homeless shelters were run in a thick bureaucratic blur of logic.

Argile played the system of bureaucracy correctly. He flowed with the tide of illogic and used the programs (good or bad) to his advantage. He was fortunate. He left the huge men's shelter downtown and went to a better shelter where he was able to access electricity and use his computer laptop (yes, homeless people do have some niceties). Argile was able to keep in touch with the outside world by going to Internet Cafes or using computers at Public Libraries.

He was not your stereotypical man in rags, dirty, and disheveled. He shaved and showered everyday and took care of his health needs. He was hassled by some and befriended by others. In other words, life in a homeless shelter is not much different than life elsewhere. Except, Argile did not want to be homeless. This fact defined Argile Stox. He was not willing to accept his station in life. He wanted his life back and with determination and cleverness, he got his life back.

If you are just a little bit interested in life on the other side of the tracks, I recommend this book. If you're a "nasty" social worker, don't bother.

This is one of the most brutally honest and moving books I have read in my lifetime. This author is raw and unapologetic in his anger and disappiontment with the system, and still survives as best as he can. It is gripping from the first page, and holds you until the very end. I can't wait to read more from this talented author!

Argile Stox provides an autobiographical account of a life turned upside down and later, much later, right side up again. "Computer End Program" is the captivating tale of Stox, who, through no fault of his own, is relegated to the dark underworld of the homeless. Peppered with subtle humor at the expense of himself, the system, and the tediousness of homeless living, Stox delivers an engaging tale. Cigarettes and coffee provide comfort the mental health professionals are unable to provide. Resilience and perseverance fuel Stox's recovery and ultimately saves his life, literally and figuratively. Humor and tragedy intermingle to deliver the message everyone should take the time to appreciate all that they have, especially the little things. - Brian Scully

Argile Stox was released from his publishing contract with PublishAmerica on April 20, 2006. His book, Computer-End Program, ISBN 1-4137-2496-5 is now OUT OF PRINT.

Do you ever wonder about the homeless people you see in your daily travels? This is your chance to walk a mile in their shoes and experience their lives. Citizens and politicians can pretend the homeless problem does not exist, but those thrown into the situation don't have that luxury. Computer - End Program is one man's story. Argile Stox is a pseudonym.

In the wake of 9/11, the life of Argile Stox is rather swiftly deconstructed. Economic downturns in the New York City area make his job obsolete. Jobs paying enough to maintain even his frugal lifestyle are hard to find, if not impossible. His savings are depleted first, then he loses his vehicle, and finally after several months his apartment. A quiet, unassuming man who always paid his own way is left standing on the street with everything he owns stuffed in a rolling duffel bag. He turns to the Salvation Army and finds housing in an all male homeless shelter until he can regroup. His hopes for the future are high. He's intelligent and capable, after all, and surely this will be a temporary setback.

Although he isn't a drug addict, alcoholic, or convicted felon, Argile is placed in a shelter warehousing such men. Life in the shelter is structured by hard rules and domineering overseers. Newfound friends make life bearable, but Argile soon begins to suffer from his losses. The once productive self-sufficient member of society is plagued by anxiety and fear of the unknown. Exhausted in body, mind, and spirit, he struggles to gain needed health care, permanent housing, and a paying job. When Argile is transferred to a homeless shelter for honorably discharged veterans, he trusts that life will soon turn in his favor. What he discovers there is danger from violent residents and cruel, injust treatment at the hands of those paid to serve the homeless. Overwhelmed caseworkers try to distance themselves from the hopeless souls they should be serving. Psychiatric teams have as their only goals maintaining power and control. Suffering from bleeding ulcers and contemplating suicide, Argile leaves that second shelter in desperation. Even life on the street is preferable to injustice and harassment.

With dignity and scathing honesty, Argile writes his story on the laptop purchased in his pre-homeless life. Writing is a purgative and calming exercise. The message he delivers is clear: Don't take for granted the small pleasures and blessings in life because millions of decent Americans are one or two paychecks away from homelessness.

In closing, I must stand in agreement with points made retrospectively by the author. America has lost the war on drugs, poverty, domestic violence, mental illness, and homelessness. Until our elected officials turn their attention away from funding problems overseas, they cannot address dire social problems within our borders. This book is a sobering commentary on social problems esixting long before 9/11 and the current economy. I suggest you read this book, if you have the courage.

This is brilliant! Very well observed and unusual examinations of the world. John Waters is a very funny writer, what catches his eye is superbly amusing If you like his films you'll love this, if you don't know them, check 'em out!

This book is hilarious and creepy all at once. It is also extremely well written by a unique individual with outstanding literary skill.
His Love/Hate essays had me clutching my sides and his observations are so far out of the mainstream that you just want to hug him! There should be more of it!! Viva Waters.

This book is so well-written, I think if John Waters hadn't become a film director he would have made an even better author. This book is so funny, but it is also a goldmine. There are so many references to obscure and interesting movies, books...all sorts of things. I learned so much! I had never heard of the film "Christmas Evil" before, but read about it in the book and was delighted to find it on netflix! It was insane!!! What a gem!

You could literally keep a notepad to scribble down movies to rent, books to read and things to google while reading this book. Lots of fun to read, and tons more to discover after you are done.

Amazon actually asked me to write a review of this book. some people must have found my last review useful (I've only written two previously).
anyway, I've only given the book 4 stars instead of five because its neither comprehensive nor definitive, but I value just about anything pertaining to john waters. so, let's see. john waters lives in a real city (Baltimore), and goes to new York and L.A. on business (expenses paid). living in baltimore gives john waters a wonderful slant on events. (Baltimore is associated with E. A. Poe -- I don't even like verse except for "the raven"!) so, we know from reading the book that john waters will subscribe to any publication that will publish an article he has written. the early days of his films must have been desperate times, requiring divine to eat dog excrement. can't say enough about the importance of divine to some of john waters' films. so far the best john waters movie seems to be "hair spray". divine and riki lake were incredible! can't imagine john travolta as Tracy's mom in the new picture directed by someone else, but the actress playing Tracy looks very good from what I have seen of the trailers. so, the book is definitely worth reading just to find out more about john waters. for instance really good to know that john waters steaks-out the locations of his films in his tuna boat car like a detective before filming in Baltimore. imagining john waters in his comfortable apartment pondering his next move, while drinking
ovaltine.

I have been a fan of John Waters for years. I read Crackpot: The Obsessions of John Waters while sitting at a coffee bar near Bloomingdale's in NYC. I was surrounded by "the ladies who lunch." The book made me snicker, chuckle, guffaw, and produce a series of embarrassing noises produced when you try to suppress hysterical laughter in an inappropriate place. The embarrassing sounds made me laugh even more, and the looks of disgust from disapproving shoppers ultimately sent Diet Pepsi through my nose.

I could not offer a finer tribute to anything produced by the mind of John Waters. God bless you, John.

This book is what every child should have to spark their imagination, esp. with all the TV and video games that require no thinking on their part. My 6 1/2 year old got this for Christmas from us, and she loves it! It's helpful to have reading skills, but a parent could help too. She has been doing this book every night since she got it. Highly recommend! Lots of creative questions and scenarios in the book. Lots of spaces for answering questions and drawing (about half writing, half drawing).

This was bought for a very artistic 11 year old girl and she absolutely loved it! It came quickly, was a great price, and was in perfect shape.
Definitely would recommend!

I'm thrilled to have found this book--some books that offer prompts for journalling do not inspire kids to write more than a sentence or two. Not so here! Revior offers many different types of activities to expand upon. Possibly geared more toward girls than boys (although not exclusionary of boys in any way--this is based more upon my opinion more than anything), and the pencils aren't really worth much (Revoir suggests using items from your own art supply), this spiral-bound book is wonderfully fun. Offers interactive activities as well as more private, introspective prompts.

My daughter loves this book and we take it to long trips where she has taken incredible notes and drawings. It is the best present to give to a child that enjoys creativity..!

What an amazingly fun book. As an educational psychologist student I have found this book very helpful to develop a lifeskills training programme for children from the ages of 5 through to 18. I have even gone so far as to enjoy the opportunity of tuning out of the rat race myself to play with some of my own wacky ideas by completing some of the exercises. What a stress reliever! My 10 year old daughter can not put it down and I am dreading the moment she tells me that she has completed it as we have another 4 weeks of holiday left. Sweet celebrations for Katherine Q. Revoir for a successful masterpiece of fun.

Very entertaining and enlightening. Pepys gives us a glimpse of what life was like in that period before the "Glorious Revolution" in England which was so important in the developement of democracy in England and the United States. Pepys was on the wrong side of that revolution - a loyalist to King Charles II, although he was never convicted of treason. Good thing, since there seemed to be a lot of beheadings, etc. in that era. Occasionally, it is not absolutely clear what Pepys is talking about, and sometimes the vocabulary is not easily understood,as language and customs have changed, but that is to be expected.

I've long been a student and a collector of information on the personalities of Restoration England, growing out of a desire to know more about the background in literature classes. The Restoration crowd loved life, and in this volume (and presumably the next) you see how tenuous their lives were -- 5000 a week in the City of London dying of plague, two fleets of 100 ships each at war in a narrow sea, everyone so intent on feathering their nest and getting their next place, and an honest man rarest commodity of all. I love all these diaries. I've learned to ignore a lot of the textural (not text) notes that tell you if there was a blot on the page, or the symbol was not quite clear, but the footnotes are amazing and so is the information. Love Sam; he could have done pretty much as he pleased with me, I fear. But in his daily strolls of 5 miles and more I fear I could never have kept up as he went up and down the town, up and down the river. I've been to London and took the boat tour on the Thames from the houses of Parliament down to Greenwich to see the naval museum and Queen's house -- and he would walk, day or night, from London to Depworth, to Woolwich, to Greenwich (though he'd borrow the boat if he could) and pay attention to all he passed. What a companion!

Unfortunately for my budget's sake I started buying these in 3s and am now having trouble filling up 1666-1669. I will persevere, though, and anticipate a re-read of all or part probably every summer (while TV takes a dive and there's good light to read by until long into the evening). The only thing I have wished for is more portraits of the people he is speaking of--and the portraits by Huysmans and Lely that he reports having seen fresh painted. However, financially that may not have been doable. Will have to keep searching for a companion Restoration Portraits volume to keep me happy.

Great reading - do start from the beginning to get into the swing of things. A random paragraph doesn't put you "in the life" like the unrolling panorama does. A better map of London at your elbow (though there is one in the back of each volume) will also increase your pleasure.

It is kind of hard to match up these reviews of the Pepys' Diary with specific volumes, probably due to the nature of ISBN numbers. However, this review is about Volume 10, the Companion to the 10 vol. set of paperbacks (complete edition) by the University of California Press. IT IS a valuable book indeed, being 1700 entries, alphabetically arranged, on the details about the people and places mentioned in the Diary. It has 626 numbered pages and genealogical tables and maps.

When I started reading the diary, I expected it to be extremely boring and very old fashioned (seeing how it was written in the 1600's) - how wrong I was!!!
Samuel Pepys (pronounced 'peeps') is a human, funny, moody man who has his ups and downs like the rest of us. His narrative during the plague records his concern about neighbors, and his real sorrow when people he knows succumb to it. He also records his experiences during the great fire of London in 1666 and his first mention of it strikes me as entirely human - he says that his maids wake him as they have heard of the fire and as it is not near his doorstep he simply goes back to bed as he's tired. He has arguments with his wife, and has cast a lusty eye upon the kings mistress for years! He also has, what I call 'mini affairs' where he kisses and fondles women quite regularly, (including his own maids) and seems to have no guilt about this whatsoever. Most mornings he 'drinks' his breakfast and at one point is outraged that his new wig is teeming with nits! An historical and very human read. Makes me realise that after 450 years we are all no different at all........

There are on the Amazon site two excellent, informative reviews of the Pepys' diaries. They say far more than my own contribution.
I have read in and out of the Pepys' diary more than once. I did this in part because I have read many times that they are the ' best diaries' ever written. Without contending with that I found that they were not for me the most interesting. This probably shows more about my own shortcomings than it does about the work of Pepys.
Pepys' work is filled with description of the life of the time. It is rich in perception of the great city of London in Restoration times. It is filled with personal anecdote, gossip including that relating to his prodigious sexual appetite and activity. It is a busy, businesslike work. And it tells more about a world outside than a world in.
In the diaries I most love there is the quest of the soul to deeply understand itself and its relation to other people, and God. I find that the flurry of activity in the life of Pepys does not lead to this kind of reflectiveness. And thus for me the 'diary' is not a highly significant work personally.

I found myself feeling joyful and inspired while reading this story and believe women - especially those that married young - can benefit from reading it. The Prince Charming fantasy is real for many of us. All long-term relationships must evolve for us to live a fulfilling life as an individual spiritual being in-relation to others. Once the initial blush of getting to know each other runs its course, most people have no idea where to go next or what to do. This book guides you through the process of self-exploration with caring and gentleness and does it with no judgments or blame.

When I read a book, I usually form a bit of an idea of what the author is like and I felt like it was written by a friend who understands me. This book has a flow to it that makes it easy to read. It's 'reality-based' and would be worth a read by anyone at any stage of a marriage, or any other relationship for that matter.

By the time I got to chapter three of this delightful Marriage Life-line, I was certain Suzanne Harrill is my Fairy God Mother. Her remarkable insight into how I feel about the hard-hitting reality that after five years of sincere heartfelt mutual joy with my husband--the honeymoon is "somehow" really over--is a bright light of hope into a rats nest of confusion. The book imparts a sense of universal compassion and understanding for the position and perspectives of both wouldbe Cinderella's AND our Princes such that, contrary to how it seems, our plight is natural in the maturing of a long-term comitted partnerships. Each chapter offers hands-on processes to reflect and clarify thoughts, feelings and goals personally and as a couple. Following the guidelines, each person has a chance to explore individual needs and desires while helping each other decide what is best for the relationship. It is a priceless tool for anyone navigating a marriage individually or together.

Accessible. Lighthearted but deeply wise. I read this book on a friend's recommendation because my husband is having a mid-life crisis. I got him to read this book and he said, "Oh, I've been projecting." In other words, he was blaming me for things about himself that he didn't like. It was an important step in a living nightmare that came after 15 years of a mostly wonderful marriage. If only we all took classes in what a mature marriage looks like -- we see our parents' marriages but there is much they don't reveal to children. This book fills that gap. Read it early -- before you *need* to read it. At first, we don't talk with others because we feel shame. But this book helps you see how common these painful problems really are. You aren't alone.

The book was first read by the woman that I am involved with. She really enjoyed reading it and was able to understand more about our relationship. I read the book a couple months later and it also gave me more understanding about our problems between us. The book does stress how important a third neutral party can be of great help and as you might of guess unless you believe in Fairy Godmothers the third party is best left up to an Professional Therapist.

I have used the Everywoman's Travel Journal on trips all over the world. The wide lines inside the journal along with the plastic cover that holds receipts, copies of your insurance papers, & itineraries make it perfect for travel.

Have used this product before. It has all the space and categories I like in a travel journal.

I purchased this journal for my first trip abroad ten years ago, and have purchased one for each of my trips since. It's size makes it easy to carry in a day bag or carry-on luggage. Space is provided for phone numbers, addresses and e-mail addresses. Credit card numbers, packing list, expense lists, etc are all included. This journal is a must for all travelers!

I have used the "Everywoman's Travel Journal"
for seven European trips, and have found it
exceptionally useful. As other reviewers have
mentioned, it contains pages to record
traveling expenses, film notes, an address
section, maps, calendar (missing in newer
editions), and space to record your complete
itinerary.

One thing I especially like is the fact that
the spine doesn't crack, and the pages do not
fall out, even with rough handling. There is
a clear plastic dustjacket, with space to store
postcards, tickets, and the like. The journal
is compact, and fits easily into a purse or
pocket. There are plenty of pages to record
extensive daily notes.

Of all of the Travel Journals I have seen or bought,
this one is my favorite.

This is my second journal like this and it is wonderful. It is the perfect size for my purse and easy to write in while traveling. I especially love the cover that protects it from dirt and stains. It has a place inside the cover front and back to keep extra receipts and postcards in while traveling. It is a must for anyone who wants to keep a record of their travel adventures.

It would be easy to assume that Fragrant Palm Leaves is what it says it is---Thich Nhat Hanh's journal between the years 1962-1966.A period chronicling the time he spent at Columbia University, and, in Vietnam where the reality of an escalating war was taking place.However,this book is so much more.If you are someone familar with Nhat Hanh's writings,you will recognize here the essence of his teachings on mindfullness as well as appreciating the beauty and wonder in what seems to be in everything that most people take for granted.Great and insightful writing for sure.
But,there are two things that make this book really special.First, is the bluntness with which Nhat Hanh writes regarding the nature of certain people and governments in general.It's a candor not seen in his later writings, which to me,seem a little too much like self-help Buddhism for the masses.Don't get me wrong,these recent publications are still great but pale in comparison to what's in Fragrant Palm Leaves.The second, is his writing on what him and his associates did on a grass roots level to improve the lives of people and villagers in Vietnam during the war years.Courage,resourcefulness,dedication,love,ingenuity and a persistence in the face of what would seem to most to be impossible odds is the lesson readers will gain from this book.Yes,we can as individuals make a change.
Ever read a book and think as you are reading it,I've got to get this book into the hands of as many of my friends as I can? This is that book.

An extraordinary journal - after reading several of Thich Nhat Hanh's key works, I think this may be the best introduction to his ideas.

In FRAGRANT PALM LEAVES, we have writing and ideas expressed with great clarity, and a calm thoughtfulness that contrasts with the turbulence of the era in which they were first written: during these years, Thich Nhat Hanh was moving between New York and New Jersey and the beloved Vietnam he would soon be permanently kicked out of. Through it all, there is a great sense of purpose, and a deep and sophisticated joy in life, but not an ounce of bitterness.

There's a lesson in this - whatever one seeks in Thich Nhat Hanh's writing, you'll find it here, though not perhaps in the expected way - there are few if any 'teachings' here, but instead slice-of-life examples of a mindful life in the face of tremendous adversities.

An unexpected delight.

-David Alston

Thich would not need my review of his work. I can no longer wash my hands and not think of rain and mountain streams.

This is an incredible memoir and philosophical discussion. Thich uses the memoir as a vehicle to teach his philosophy. But in that you can still sense the pain of loss, the pain and frustration of rejection by his country and his abandonment. But it is also a hopeful piece. He does not let the external struggle defeat his soul and his personal peace. He accepts wars and destruction as things he must try to change but must not allow to change him.

The beauty of this book is its honesty. Thich's religion is attractive as a portrait of his individual testimony and light.

There is also a history in the story. A struggle of a simple man and a patriot. A patriot who perhaps lost the war for now.
Also a man who understands that thought and love and peace are separate from the boundaries of politics and culture. He may have lost his war at home, but he certainly won a larger war.

-Mike

Reading Thich Nhat Hanh's 'Essential Writings' is like having Michael Jordan teach you how to play basketball. The focus is not on the dazzling tricks. It's about the fundamentals. And they are few --- compassion, mindfulness, tolerance, breathing.

Hearing Thich Nhat Hanh lecture is to experience holiness on a very high order. We once drove hours to hear him talk about death. You would expect him to focus on theology. But what I took away was completely practical: Hold the dying person's feet, as he/she may not feel connected to the earth.

But it is when he is most personal that Thich Nhat Hanh is at his best. And 1962 to 1966 were key years for him. With some other "committed" Buddhist monks, he had tried to broker peace in his native Vietnam. No one --- not even the Buddhist hierarchy --- wanted any. In 1966, he was exiled. (He didn't return to Vietnam for 40 years.)

'Fragrant Palm Leaves' begins in a cabin in the New Jersey woods. It's 1962. Thich Nhat Hanh is 36. American troops have not yet been dispatched to Vietnam, but there has already been death aplenty. Thich Nhat Hanh, sick of heart, has come to teach and study at Columbia University.

The journals begin with scenes of a peace that Thich Nhat Hanh can find anywhere, even in this unfamiliar country: "Some mornings I stay in the woods all day, strolling leisurely beneath the trees and lying down on the carpet of soft moss, my arms folded, my eyes looking up to the sky. In those moments, I'm a different person; it would probably be accurate to say that I am 'my true' self." He is childlike: "Today I went with two eight-year-old boys to pick some [berries], and we stuffed our mouths until they turned blue!"

Surrounded by nature, he can't help recalling Phuong Boi, the monastery he and some friends built in Vietnam. In 1957, its 60 acres cost $140. "Here, for the first time," he recalls, "we were sheltered from the harshness of worldly affairs." On full moon nights, in deep silence, he watches, in awe, as the moon and forest merge. By day, he works the land, meditates and prays. Walking can't express his joy at being here --- so he runs.

You may feel a great peace as you read his account of daily life at the monastery. At the same time, you'll feel a deep dread --- you know this peace can't last. And, soon enough, the arrests begin: "You could be accused of being a Viet Cong by anyone who opposed you."

For Thich Nhat Hanh, the war is both external and internal. "Finding truth is not the same as finding happiness," he cautions. "You aspire to see the truth, but once you have seen it, you cannot avoid suffering." And does he ever suffer! "I feel the unbearable pain of a woman who is about to give birth to a child she already knows will be sentenced to death." But he always finds a balance. Suffering is a wonder. It helps us learn "how to ride the waves of impermanence, smiling as one who knows he has never been born and will never die."

In 1964, he returns to Vietnam, and the ideas he explored in America are put to the test. He's ten miles from Saigon now; he can hear gunfire. Phuong Boi has been abandoned. And the United States is pushing an unworkable strategy: "How can you win a war with bullets when you do not even know where the front line is?"

Now it is 1965. The house at Phuong Boi "is a pile of ashes where wild mushrooms grow." And yet, for Thich Nhat Hanh, the house still exists --- it was a place of love, and love endures. Indeed, if he too is burned to ashes, "those ashes will be love and will nestle in the heart of the earth to nourish the flowers."

His conclusion couldn't be more gorgeous: "We will return to the circle of life as flowers, grasses, birds or clouds to bring people the message of eternal love. Like the village children who, even in this time of war, sing: 'We will love others forever and ever, hand holding hand. We love others forever.'"

What a thing to learn from war! And he learned it the hard way: "not from intellectual investigation but from my actual experience of suffering." To have compassion for those who have made you suffer --- I have such trouble with that. And yet, as Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us, there is no other answer.

From the New Jersey woods to Vietnam, and then beyond --- in just 212 pages, Thich Nhat Hanh takes you very far. Like all the way to peace.

Even if you're not interested in Buddhism, this book offers food for our everyday thoughts. Written in a clean, lucid style, Thich Nhat Hahn shares moments from his life during the tubulent period of the 1960's. From the shores of a lake in New Jersey, to the bustling streets of New York City, back again to his beloved homeland of Vietnam, Nhat Hahn's experiences appear to have provided him with valuable insight, strengthing his resolve in matters concerning compassion and love. For those who enjoy memoirs, this book is a must read. His approach to writing is simple, yet poetic, offering sections both humorous and sad. In other words, it's about life in the here and now.

Here is a book that captures, with humor, the travels of two young American single men, searching for exotic adventures and new experiences in a foreign land. By the flip of a coin, the two headed off to Asia with exuberance and enthusiasm. Jon Olmstead leads the reader across Asia from one exciting and hysterical event after another, as well as back home with his flashbacks of delightful and sometimes comical "growing up" happenings and mishaps. A great book for the guys to relive some of their own similar "events" and a fantastic book for the gals who are curious about the most personal thoughts of young gents - on American soil or while traveling and fancy free!! Highly entertaining and light, easy reading that is sure to make you yearn for more!

I read this book in two sittings. The first was over some wine, but the next sitting was so funny I didn't even want to get up to go to the kitchen. It's witty, original, and comedic storytelling style is sure to make anyone laugh.

I picked up this book in the airport on my way to France. It is a great travel companion, Mr. Olmstead completey draws you in and entertains. Before you know it you're in final decent and that's the best way to travel.

Very funny travel log. It reads like an extended email from a friend writing about his travel. Mr. Olmstead also finds a way to weave in stories from his childhood. It comes off as a friendly extended travel note.

The humorous and self deprecating nature of this travel writing is very much in the tradition of Tony Hawke. You'll find yourself alternating between laughing out loud and screaming, "Doh!"

I am thankful that I'm not a friend of his. :-) I'd hate for him to dog on me like he reams on his buddies!

Going Down In Asia is rekindling youth and innocence impacted by the world's reality and diversity in a hilarious and insightful way. Its been some 40 years since my carefree days of foreign travel and it brought it all back. How much more meaning there would have been if I had the book then. A fun and fine read.