S Books

This book had pictures that I have never seen before and I thought I had seen them all. Worth every penny

I was captivated by this book. James Spada has compiled several well-known photographs with many photos I had never seen. He does not try to analyse or to delve into the behind the scenes. He presents the photos with a paragraph or two, and lets us glimpse into Jackie Kennedy Onassis's life. I was entranced by the pictures of her youth and the pure beauty and joy in several ungarded moments. A beautiful tribute.

Despite her need for privacy Jackie Kennedy was a major target of photographers when she retreated to private life. This is a great collage of her moments being herself in New York City and elsewhere. Whether she was just walking in Central Park or throughout Manhattan, Jackie's poise never left her. The pictures prove it.

I really adored this book - it is so much more than yet another reprinting of the famous pictures of Jackie. The photos chosen by Spada are remarkable in their ability to portray both the remarkable strength possessed by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, as well as her frailties that we can all relate to. While many people have seen the countless photos that have been published of Mrs. Onassis from her birth to death, Mr. Spada managed to select mostly photos that are little-seen, as well as photos that needed no text to give the reader a better sense of the people portrayed in the book. The text that does accompany the photos is well written and restrained. Purchasing "Jackie: Her Life in Pictures" will be money well spent.

The texts are good but particularity the photos, there are a lot buy it!!!The photos chosen by Spada are remarkable in their ability to portray both the remarkable strength possessed by Jacqueline Kennedy .
Jackie: Her Life in Pictures" will be money well spent

This book offers an excellent insite to the period at the tail end of the beaver trapping erra of the "Mountain Men".

Trappers were the first to blaze a trail across the wild frontier west of the Mississippi. Osborne Russell's Journal of a Trapper edited by Aubrey L Haines is a first-person must have account for fur trade enthusiasts whether those who read of the era or those who re-enact.

Russell's first hand comments, descriptions and discourse concerning the time, the topography, the wildlife and life in general provide a peek into the area we know as Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Oregon long before settlement took place by the pioneers. Russell's book provides much information regarding many of the events in the Rockies during this time. Russell was a discriminating observer who was careful to mention distances, directions, who he was with and names of physical locations, as well as animals, topography and the like in his writing. He describes other fur traders, including some of the 'big' names we know from history, as well as providing description of many Native People in the area; particularly Snake also known as the Shoshones, the Blackfeet and Crow.

The hardships faced by the first whites into the country far from the -civilized- East Coast is documented, as Russell provides insight into the Native people already living in the area, and the mountain men who made their way to the Rockies.

Russell lived the time of the 1830s and 40s as a fur trapper/trader in the Rocky Mountains he set down a journal to record his thoughts, impressions and what he saw, in doing so he has provided a realistic depiction for those who have interest, but no first hand knowledge. He was not one of the lauded of history, rather he was a simple man, who described in detail the day to day life, survival, excitement and events of the time.

Joining an expedition heading into the Mountains during the mid-1800's acquired the skills essential for survival in the mountains, and kept his journal recounting the last days of the beaver trapping era of the Mountain Men who have appeared in movies, stories and books.

Rather than the romanticizing of events as is prone in Hollywooded up movies Russell listed the typical commonplace tasks of cooking, cleaning, and other camp chores which all Mountain Men performed while on trapping expeditions and in doing so he offers true insight into what it was that made these men leave the comfort and safety offered in the towns and homes of the Eastern Coastline to tramp out into untried, little known areas where privations were many and ease was hard to come by. He told of laying traps and hunting for game, of scouting the country, and problems that came from weather and terrain, and he described the rendezvous which was the highlight of the fur trapper year as men carried their furs to be traded or sold, re-supplied their food stores, enjoyed the company of others for a short time before returning to the mountains. Russell himself attended six rendezvous before he left the mountains for good.

He told of the travels and the exhilarating episodes of the life experienced by the fur trappers. Trapping for beaver in the Northern Rockies between 1834-1943 Osborne took part in a number of expeditions in addition to battles with the Blackfeet who were less than thrilled to find the white men on their hunting grounds.

Editor Haines has set down the routes of travel taken by Russell as 10 maps in addition to adding clarifying notes to his account. The maps are scattered throughout the text. Without chapter or paragraph divisions to aid the reader the journal is set down pretty much as a man might do in his own journal.

At times it takes a little digging to figure exactly where or when an event is taking place. On the other hand, a true devotee of the era should have no trouble muddling through, as is done when reading the originals of many of the old journals of the time. Leaving the journal pretty much intact in the newer edition provides the reader a better feel for the man and his writing than might be accomplished were the text -cleaned up- with modern paragraph breaks and the like.

The landscape of the area changed so much during the decade Osborne describes. Disease, in particular small pox, alcohol, and loss of lifestyle are the depressing legacy left for the Native People. Reading of the decline of populations of Native Americans, beaver in particular, but all fur bearing critters and the near disappearance of buffalo leads the reader on to the last journal entries as the reader follows Osborne. He grimly describes the plunge in buffalo populations and the approaching finish of the fur quest as beaver populations dwindled, the European desire for the fur declined and other furbearers were becoming more profitable.

Born in Maine in 1814, Osborne Russell left home at sixteen, and became a fur trapper when he was seventeen. He spent eight years as a trapper working for several of the big fur companies before becoming an independent trapper working out of Fort Hall on the Snake River. Opportunely for us, when Osborne first went to the mountains with Nathaniel Wyeth's expedition in 1834 at age twenty, he began keeping his journal.

After leaving the mountains in 1843 to settle in the Willamette Valley in Oregon Osborne used his journal to compile a manuscript for publication. From that manuscript the present book has been built. Osborne wrote in the fashion of the day, despite Samuel Johnson's 1755 dictionary; spelling rules had not yet been standardized as hard and fast, and writers often used a variety of spelling in the same text. Osborne had a tendency to run sentences together and to present unusual language usage, plus, Osborne as journalists then and now tended to abbreviate and use his own form of shorthand, all of which editor Aubrey Haines has kept in this text. Reader's quickly gets used to it Osborne's style and his style is what makes the text such interesting reading.

Working from the original handwritten manuscript housed in The William Robertson Coe Collection of Western Americana at Yale University, Aubrey Haines' edition represents one man's enormous effort for getting Osborne's work to the people. For a step back to life as it was before the Interstate, McDonalds, shopping malls, and rockets in space, Osborne Russell's Journal of a Trapper can carry the reader to the open clear sky of the Rocky Mountains and to the camp of the fur traders who were an important component of our collective history. Excellent read, excellent resource, Happy to recommend.

Molly Martin
Reviewer

Osborne Russell was never one of the elite of the Mountain Men. He spent most of his time in the mundane tasks of cooking, cleaning, and other camp chores while on trapping expeditions. But he wrote one of the best accounts -- certainly one of the most accurate -- of the peregrinations and the exciting events in the life of a Mountain Man. Osborne was in the Northern Rockies between 1834-1943 and was a minor participant in many expeditions and fights with the Blackfeet.

Editor Haines has compiled the routes of Russell's travel in 10 maps and added explanatory notes to his narrative. However, a lot more could be done to make this book more readable. First, there are no chapter or paragraph divisions to ease the task of the reader. It's even hard to keep track of what year Russell is talking about. Secondly, there is room for many, many more footnotes and explanations of what Russell was doing and when and where.

We need a new edition of Russell's work which will make it more accessible to the reader. This old edition is invaluable if you are a student of the Mountain Man, but the casual reader will bog down.

Smallchief

There's not much that one can add to this list of great reviews. That's what kind of book this is. I found it remarkable how quickly the landscape changed in those 10 years regarding populations of Native Americans, buffalo, and beaver. In the last few entries we begin to see some of the damage done upon the Native Americans i.e. small pox, alcohol, and lifestyle and it's very depressing. Likewise, Osborne describes the plummet in buffalo populations and the approaching end of the fur quest as beaver populations dwindled and other furbearers were becoming more profitable. These were a rugged bunch of men and this is perhaps the best look into their lives and into the changed and vanished West.

This well-known and highly-regarded account of the life of a fur trapper in the Rocky Mountain West was born as a corrective by its author of an earlier narrative (Pattie's PERSONAL NARRATIVE) that he thought was filled with inaccuracies. Osborne Russell spent eight years as a trapper in the employ of a number of fur companies before becoming an independent trapper working out of Fort Hall. Fortunately, when he first went to the mountains with Nathaniel Wyeth's expedition in 1834, he began to keep a journal. From his journal he compiled a manuscript for publication; it's from this manuscript that the present book is based on. Osborne had a tendency to run sentences together and to practice unconventional language usage, all of which editor Aubrey Haines retains in this edition. One quickly gets used to it, however.

Russell was an acute observer and, especially in describing his travels, was careful to mention distances and names (streams, mountains, etc.) when possible. Haines has been able to trace Russell's travels accurately, and ten accompanying maps illustrate his wanderings. (Haines's annotations are also numerous and thorough.) He trapped for a time with Jim Bridger, and some of what we've learned about him has direct bearings on Russell's journal accounts. In fact, Russell's book is the major source of information for a number of important events in the Rockies during this time. He also writes about the Indians (especially the Crows, Blackfeet, and Snakes) and much about the animals found in the West. Most of all, he tries hard to convey the life of a trapper - scouting the country, the laying of traps, hunting for game, dealing with the weather and terrain, the rendezvous experience (Russell attended six of them) - all the everyday routines trappers went through. This indeed is the most valuable thing about the book. Russell left the mountains in 1842 and settled in Oregon City; after an unsuccessful run for governor in 1845, he wrote his manuscript for JOURNAL OF A TRAPPER. He got the gold fever in 1848 and went to California, where he became a merchant. After his partner ran off with the company funds, Russell spent the rest of his life trying to pay off the creditors. He died near Placerville in 1892.

This is a must-read book for anyone interested in the fur trade period of the trans-Mississippi West. It's gone through many editions and always seems to stay in print, thank heaven. Highly recommended.

What a blessing to listen to these sermons of my brother in Christ Dr. King. Never throughout my life did I hear these. Why?

America, wake up!!! You are a great nation, because of the freedom bestowed upon us by none other than Jesus, the Messiah (Christ).

And those people, brought here as slaves (believe me I've heard it ad nauseam going through school, but just listen), have helped make us a great nation!

Now listen - we are ALL slaves - every one of us. To who? To ourselves!

If you think I'm a religious zealot - absolutely, freakin' not. I am a former slave, that's all. No more, no less. Saved by the blood of the Lamb. And now filled with the love of His Spirit, and loving my fellow man, regardless of color or background.

I look forward to meeting you in heaven Dr. King!

(Let's pray for Dr. King's constituents, that they would come to know the Lord, and love all, black and white, and gain God's strength as Dr. King did.... and keep loving one another, faults and all - 'cause we know we all got faults, but our hearts should be turned towards perfection! Thank you Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords!!!)

The sermon series is awesome!!! Each sermon has an introduction that gives the listener valuable tidbits about the sermon. You can feel the effect of MLK's powerful oration abilities. All of the sermons are still relevant today and anyone who has a pulse can benefit from listening to the set.

I have had A Knock at Midnight in book and cassette tape form for many years, and at least twice a year I listen to them. The sermons are timeless, and make clear that we were in the presence of greatness when Dr. King was alive. Listening to this CD truly is inspirational. I have given them as gifts for years, and always receive heartfelt thanks.

This set of Dr. King's sermons/speeches is a dream come true. To hear his powerful words coming from his own mouth is so inspirational. I'm really glad I purchased these. Arthur Dunklin, Ph.D.

It's hard to believe Martin Luther King was 39 when he died. His eloquence can be heard in his famous speeches but the fullness of who he was, his spiritual depth, can only be heard in his sermons. These CDs are inspiring and profoundly moving. He is one of the greatest American preachers of all time and the greatest in the twentieth century.

Many other reviews of this fine book go on at great length extolling the virtues of Dr. Nadler's "Leaders' Playbook," and I agree with them, having just these thoughts to add: I have something approaching 100 books on leadership on my shelves. "Leaders' Playbook" is the one I use the most in my coaching practice. It is practical, useful and full of great ideas that you can actually implement to help your clients.

Instead of buying yet another book that explains a great new way to think, or more likely, another variation on one of the standard approaches, buy this book!

Reldan Nadler's Leaders' Playbook has become a key "go to" resource when I am working with clients and teams on building Emotional Intelligence competencies. The book has impactful practical exercises to utilize with leaders in the areas of building confidence, collaborative teamwork, developing others and communication. In addition, the book provides great teambuilding exercises complete with debriefing instructions that are easy to facilitate and have a lasting impression. This book is a very valuable resource for executive coaches and leaders; as well as trainers working with teams.

An important contribution to leadership literature, Reldan Nadler's Leaders' Playbook is a valuable guide for acquiring and enhancing emotional and social intelligence.

Writing from deep experience, Nadler provides both beginners and seasoned leaders with a range of case studies to reflect upon, and sound practices to apply when interacting with others. I have found this book especially useful in teaching and coaching both emerging and experienced leaders; they consistently report and demonstrate that Nadler's perceptive insights and exercises have led to positive changes in their thinking and behavior. Particular favorites are the materials on "star performance" and "derailers." An experience-based, highly practical manual fusing emotional intelligence with leadership skills, The Leaders' Playbook is a first-rate resource for all who lead.

Karen Jambeck, Ph.D.

The concept of emotional intelligence became popular after the immense success of Daniel Goleman's book in 1995, Emotional Intelligence, Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.

Unlike IQ, which is unchanging from childhood on, emotional intelligence can be developed. In fact, it usually does become greater with age and maturity. The importance of developing one's emotional intelligence is essential to success in the workplace. Utilizing the power and energy of one's emotions leads to high motivation, and improves problem-solving and decision-making.

The Leaders' Playbook is a treasure trove of actionable strategies to develop emotional intelligence. If you want to improve self-confidence, teamwork, collaboration, interpersonal communication and empathy this great resource will show you how. It is the most clear, precise and pragmatic book on how to enhance performance by developing key emotional intelligence competencies that I have read.

Whether you are a company leader, coach, consultant or individual performer Leaders' Playbook wisely provides essential tips to help you excel. My executive coaching and leadership development clients love this book.

Dr. Maynard Brusman
Consulting Psychologist and Executive Coach

Do you want to improve your leadership skills? In this book Dr. Nadler has taken complicated information and made it easy to understand and put into use. This practical book with step-by-step guides will help you improve your coaching and leadership skills and is ideal for supervisors, managers, executives and coaches.

I was talking with a woman who is a sponsor in a 12-step program who asked me if I knew of a book that would help to improve her coaching skills with her clients. I recommended this book. She called back a few weeks later after applying the tools in the book and had gotten great results. She is now going to use the book to teach other sponsors.
Sabrina Braham M.A. CPC WomensLeadershipSuccess.com

Wonderfull stories actually written by Elinore Pruitt Stewart. The woman was a tireless worker with a special kindness to her fellow man. You can picture in your mind just what she lived. Her descriptions are as good as they can be. Her kindness will melt your heart. She makes me wish I had lived in the area at the same time. It's such a world of difference from todays progression. I'm not so sure we have progressed to a better life. Even though it was a hard life and a short one I think it may have been a slice of heaven back in old Wyoming. She will tug at your heart at times and make you smile at others.
A great easy enjoyable read. I highly recommend it.
Steve from Boulder Creek, Ca.

The audio version of this book is so well read -- it is well worth the cost. You cannot help feeling cheerful and energized about your own life, as you hear it. I gave the paperback version to a couple of discouraged women friends who prefer to read rather than listen to books. Both women loved it, and were inspired to face their own hardships more buoyantly. The very gifted author has blessed us with a wonderful history and narrative!

Genuine substance and sincerity describe Stewart's letters from the early twentieth century while homesteading in this remote corner of Wyoming. Whereas most women would not even consider putting down roots in such an isolated area, Mrs. Stewart was determined to make a life for herself in this territory. And she did just that. It took a special kind of person to live in this far-removed landscape.

Her writing, subject matter and approach to life were most admirable. Hard working and always enthusiastic for adventure, she writes of various encounters with surrounding neighbors and experiences into the countryside. If she had any dull moments on the ranch they must have been few and far between.

Very optimistic about life, Mrs. Stewart affirms, "...all my own efforts have always been just to make the best of everything and to take things as they come."
To further quote, "It has always been a theory of mine that when we become sorry for ourselves we make our misfortunes harder to bear, because we lose courage and can't think without bias."

A wonderful read furthering an appreciation for life in the homesteading era.

Dear fellow Book-lovers:
I found this little gem at the local library today and I can't put it down. It is so good--easy to read (perfect for a busy Mom of 5 like me), inspiring, wholesome, funny, and informative. I am fascinated with this woman: her love for people, her giving heart, and her passion for fun and for life. I'm only on page 81 (out of 282) but I can already sit here and tell you to buy this book and enjoy it! I'm buying myself a copy and also one for my best friend. Christmas is coming!

I listened to the audio version of this book and after the first part, I went online to check to see if this was actually taken from real letters or just a modern novel. It was so interesting and so well-written that I couldn't believe it wasn't the creation of a novelist. But no, they are the authentic letters of an incredible woman. Ironically, she apologizes in her letters, for writing too much. If only she could have known that a century later, people around the world would be wishing she wrote even more.

If you choose the audio book, try to get the Sound Room Publishers version, narracted by Kate Fleming. It is far superior than Blackstone Audio's version read by Rebecca Burns (who does a good job, but whose voice is too much like a young girl's to express the wisdom and experience that Fleming projects).

I agree completely with Cindy Lee's July 12 review of this book. I am also a sansei (3rd generation Japanese-American), and have heard only bits and pieces of my parents experience in the internment camp. The other bits and pieces I heard about these camps when in school were that they were for the "protection" of the Japanese who had migrated to this country and that it was a "good" thing.

Even though this happened back in the 1940's, it was very frustrating and angering for me to read the account of how people of Japanese ancestry were deprived of all their rights just because of that ancestry, and also because they could be more easily identified by their physical appearance than the German or Italian people. You can see the same situation brewing now with people of Middle-Eastern descent.

Ms. Gruenewald puts us right in the scene with her and her family as they undergo evacuation to the camps, and make do the best they can when they are forced to live there for several years.

I would also like to say that I felt the author tried to be objective in her writings. Her feelings are expressed very well, but she does not let it degenerate into a black and white, one side is all good and the other side is all bad portrayal. There are good and bad guys on both sides, and she also does a good job of pointing out the conflicts within the internees as far as loyalties. This was a very difficult time for everyone and decisions were not easily made. Ms. Gruenewald gets that across in her narrative. She does not try to incite the readers by making anything overly dramatic, she simply tells what she saw and experienced, along with how she felt about it, and I am appreciative of her account. Very well done.

On a side note: there is a reference to her website at the end of the book, but beware - it has been identified as a site that downloads viruses onto your computer. This was announced to me by my Firefox browser, which then allowed me to skip the page. Internet Explorer, which is not so secure, allowed me to visit the site at which time my anti-virus software warned me that the site was attempting to download viruses onto my computer, and it blocked them. Hopefully the author can get this remedied because I would like to visit the site and see what else she has to say.

I'm a history buff of sorts and alsways looking for books on American History. I've just started reading this book and it is already very interesting. We need to know how our citizens felt when they were treated like the enemy. We don't want to do it again.

I loved this book. As a Sansei, 3rd generation Japanese in America, I learned so much from reading this book. Both of my parents were interned during the war, but in all these years, they've only shared bits and pieces or vague generalities of their own experiences. Reading Mary Matsuda's vivid and detailed account of her own experience gave me a much greater appreciation and understanding of this traumatic, stressful period, along with a better understanding of basic Japanese customs and beliefs that have guided my own life. It has been a powerful step towards better understanding my own family's history, and I so appreciate that this story was shared by the author. It was beautifully written. I highly recommend this book to all.

A must. Extremely readable. Should be required reading for Junior or High School students. Evokes a sense of what it felt like to be Japanese during that infamous time.

My family was also sent to internment camps, actually some of the same ones as this author. We came from the same beloved Vashon. Being a child of a parental figure who came from that era and having had aunts and uncles, grandparents and great grandparents who had lived that experience but never spoken of it, this book has opened my eyes and helped me understand the severity of it all. I can understand now the turmoil emotionally and physically that they under went. I cried with this author. For even today, in this wide spread nation, I can still see the ripples of underlying current made from this time period and the choices made by our leaders. This is a wonderful book. You'll learn something, and if you don't, you should ask yourself some hard questions.

Daniel Alarcon's "Lost City Radio" is a transporting, evocative, richly poignant depiction of the chaos of war. What is most surprising about it is that it lacks every cliche of what you might think a "war" novel is about. The protagonist is a female radio host, Norma, who becomes an unexpected surrogate mother to a young boy. He has heard her radio show in the remote village in which he grew up, the weekly reading of "names of the lost" acting as a beacon for people looking for missing loved ones. The boy sets off to the city to meet the woman after his mother is killed. Their relationship in the present contrasts with flashbacks from their previous lives: hers as the wife of a political dissident (now missing) and his as a boy in a jungle town. We also learn quite a bit about Rey, Norma's missing husband.

The prose here is top notch. Sights and smells come alive; the reader is taken away to a world you may know little about but will come to understand deeply. This is a very good novel, worth seeking out.

This has been one of the most engaging works of fiction I've read recently. Beginning with a made-up country and a fictitious civil war, in simple language Alarcon takes us through what feel like real dilemmas of people involved in a time of crumbling government and rural flight. But beyond this, the story is intriguing - a radio host, a hidden history, a mysterious boy. Enough to drive the story. Unlike many other books read recenly this doesn't just start well - it keeps the momentum going through the end of the book.

I was astonished by this novel. I thought it started off a bit slow, I thought the main characters Norma and Rey a bit dull at first, and some of the main plot twists were foreseeable. But even if the main characters didn't enthrall at first, many of the secondary ones did. Adela, Trini, Rey`s father and even the ambiguous Zahir and Manau are touchingly rendered. For me, the book really started to pick up during the first full chapter in "1797" - the jungle village were key events involving Adela and and her son Victor happen. But towards the final chapters the tension builds and even Norma and Rey grow in humanity: the last chapter in particular is devastating. The at times semi journalistic style with which the wartime events are described is also very effective.

All in all, this was a fantastic book. I look forward to more by Alarcon. Readers who enjoyed this book are encouraged to try Nathan Englander's "The Ministry of Special Cases" - an equally engaging, impecabbly written and emotionally gripping novel set in somewhat similar context of Latin American political instability.

Daniel Alarcon's debut novel chronicles the lives of three people -- Rey, Norma and Victor -- in an unnamed country, probably Peru, where Alarcon was born, during the monstrous 10-year civil war in the 1980s. Norma works at a radio station where she hosts the program "Lost City Radio," which lists the names of people lost in the brutal conflict. Rey is her husband who goes missing when the police nab him for not carrying ID. Victor is a street urchin who gives a list of the missing to Norma. Alarcon's prose is very well written, terse and visionary. The chronology of the novel is nonlinear, which makes it difficult, at times, to follow what happens and when. And since the name of the country and time period are not given, the historical context of the story cannot be provided. Of course, if this novel is meant to be applicable to all such conflicts throughout the world, who needs a context? However, I wanted one, though this is not necessarily a failing in the novel. Altogether, it was refreshing reading an American novel(Alarcon was raised in Alabama and graduated from Columbia University) with little or no figures of speech, slang or cliches. The best praise I can give the novel is that it could be considered "literature." Look for more material from this very talented young man!

This is a very good book, is easy to read and catches your interest as soon as you start reading so that you cannot stop! I had to read it in a couple of days cause I needed to know what came next in the plot...
When you have lived in Peru during those years, you get the feeling of this story, it has also used an actual radio program as a model but the mastership of the author is to join all those stories and create a new one that have a little bit of multiple stories but is in itself different but very nice. I highly recommend it.

If you appreciate an 'old fashioned' tale free of graphic intimacy and violence, if you appreciate vivid description, romance and intrigue this is for you. I read all but one of Mary Stewart's books in my early twenty's through late thirties. Now, nearing seventy, I am rereading them and cherishing the stories I read in my young years. I have divested myself of hundreds of books. Mary Stewart's remain a constant. Though I prefer some over others "Madam Will You Talk" is one of my favorites. It tells of a young widow vacationing in Southern France who accidentially stumbles on murder, betrayal and intrique. Of course there is a romantic touch, but who is the object of the heroine's affection? Good read...

Yes, yes, yes to all the earlier reviewers! That's why I put Madam, Will You Talk? on my listmania list of favorite romances - along with my alltime Stewart favorite: Nine Coaches Waiting. They both hold all the essential ingredients for a good read - not the least being excellent writing. It's all too true that most contemporary love stories, suspense thrown in or not, are written at an elementary school literary level. I've submitted 3 manuscripts to Avalon, all of which were returned with comments that my writing was excellent and my characters engaging but I spent too much time on plotlines and peripheral characters outside of the central love story - which is exactly what I prefer in a story! Thank goodness Stewart never followed Avalon's "Rules for Writing"! Unlike some other reviewers, I lost interest in Stewart with her Merlin series. It's her early first-person narratives that enthralled. Her sense of place, plot, and people cannot be beat in this genre! Sad to say, my local library does not carry a single one of her early romantic suspense novels, so I'm on a quest to build my own Stewart library. I don't reread many authors - but Stewart just gets better with time. Madam, Will You Talk? holds a line I've never forgotten over 30 years: "Who's Johnny?" Not what I expected the hero to ask in that scene but what an impact! Read the book and see if you agree. Lily's Sister

First Sentence: The whole affair began so quietly.

WWII war widow Charity Shelbourne whose holiday in France becomes life changing. It starts with a large dog and a young, clearly troubled, boy in Avignon and progresses with a suspicious step-mother, an Englishman who reads poetry and a way-too-handsome Frenchman via a thrilling car chase to a man who had been accused, but acquitted, of murder and is desperate to connect with his son in spite of others desperate attempts to prevent it.

I love Mary Stewart's pre-Merlin books. The story starts off placidly but you are told things are going to quickly change as all the players are in place. Stewart's writing is incredibly visual. Her sense of place is vivid to the point that you feel the heat and smell the flowers. Her use of analogy is wonderful. With only a few words, you know who these characters are. Her protagonist is strong, smart and very capable. Her friend, Louise, plays a minor role but is memorable in her own right. I don't always like the way children are portrayed but, again, Stewart has drawn a lovely character in the boy, David. Stewart creates and builds the suspense, but adds just a subtle, mostly off-scene, dash of romance to make a wholly satisfying read. Even the chapter headings add to the story. My only personal nit-pick is the use of portents, which is just a personal irritant for me, but so minor when compared with the rest of the story. This book was an absolute pleasure to read.

I first read this nearly 30 years ago (yikes), and it left such an indelible impression that when I recently started visiting this genre again, I had to have another taste of this story. There are a couple points where it's obvious this is an early work, but they are few and do not detract from the vivid descriptions and characterizations. By the end of the novel, I have been to Avignon and Marseilles, and I'm quite fond of Charity and her friends. Even Louise, a minor character, is well drawn and you feel you know her.

Time to revisit all of Mary Stewart's books, I think. I remember the Merlin series fondly as well. If you like this genre, you may also like the works of Victoria Holt, Susan Howatch, and Phyllis Whitney. And if you liked the Merlin series, I highly recommend The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley.

Mary Stewart writes great romantic suspense. This novel has the beautiful settings, fast-paced mystery and charming protagonist of all her suspense novels, plus an edge-of-your-seat climatic car chase that will leave you wanting to rush out and get her other books.

I really loved this book. It made you laugh and made you sad. I wish I could have the courage to rescue dogs in the same manner as Randy Grim does. Truly inspiring stories.

Mr. Grim is a living saint in the mold of Brother Francis. If you believe that a dog dumped by someone who doesn't want him anymore will end up wild and free like a wolf . . . if you think neutering your dog will somehow affect your own manhood . . . if you think your dog should have "just one litter" because "the kids should see the miracle of birth" . . . read this book and then try to sleep at night. Dogs are not wolves in Snoopy costumes, able to return to the wild at a moment's notice. Dumped dogs die slow and terrible deaths, and dogs born on the street live short and wretched lives. They need us. They can't survive without us. Our ancestors made them that way, and passed on to us the responsibility for their life and death. Randy Grim knows this in his guts.

Read this book, and when you stop shivering, call your local animal shelter and ask them what they need most. And if you see a dog wandering alone, look into its eyes. You'll know what I mean when you're done with The Man who Talks to Dogs.

Randy Grim hates being called a hero. He feels like a fake when people use that term to describe him because, in his eyes, he's a frail and fearful person, full of complexities and issues. It takes all his energy to face life's challenges but, for some reason, it all changes when he's on the trail of a dog that needs his help. Then he's a fully focused, driven machine that will wade through filth, skid along icy, dark streets and face down the roughest, toughest people to accomplish his task. He can't and he won't leave that canine alone on the street.
This book is fast paced and fascinating. I was hooked from word one. The author has managed to weave together the story of a fascinating, though reluctant hero with the graphic and gritty reality of the price being paid by the strays in our midst. The author dissects the various causes and brings the tragic results into sharp focus. It is hard to blink, to look away, to pretend it doesn't exist. Those weary, confused eyes stare back from the pages.
While we witness the dark side of humanity and it's wretched victims, we are also allowed to share the small and great triumphs that result from Randy's dedication. Many are the hurdles that have to be overcome but, step by step, the right people join the battle, sanctuary is provided, supplies appear and donations arrive.
This is how heros and saints come to be. It's the leap of faith that says, "I don't know whether I'm making a difference. I don't know how I'm going to manage but I will. Because I'm not taking my eye off this one, and the next one, and the next one until they're safe." One small miracle at a time creates a haven. For the strays, for the people who care and for the children who see that brutality or indifference are not the only choices.
Thanks Randy, for showing the way and thanks Melinda, for telling the story so well.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. There are few people I have encountered that are as dedicated to a cause as Randy seems to be. His devotion and tenacity are to be commended. He is doing such a great service to the city of St. Louis. There are a lot of us out there that would've never even realized there was such a stray problem in this country. I am so glad to have read this book and to be more informed on the conditions these dogs have to live in. It has been said over and over about this book, but the prevailing message is that one man can make a difference and seeing that proven in Randy's case is a great motivator for the rest of us. For anyone who loves dogs and/or loves inspiring stories, read this book.

A warts'n'all portrait of a man who devotes every spare moment and every spare dollar to rescuing abandoned and abused dogs from the streets of St. Louis. Though numerous stories about dogs tortured and neglected may be upsetting to sensitive readers, this is ultimately a deeply inspirational story about how one man CAN make a difference. As soon as I can, I'm hunting down his address and sending him a check. Makes a good companion piece with Kat Albrecht's THE LOST PET CHRONICLES.

PS: As I write this, the animal shelter in Buffalo may be a victim of budget cuts. One step forward, two steps back.

Connell's extended character sketch is as close to perfect as novels come. His depiction of a mid-century St. Louis housewife haunted by the limitations placed her on society, but too timid to directly confront those limitations (even in her own mind) is both deeply touching and often wildly funny. Connell never lets his humor become mocking, however; he clearly has great love for the character he has developed here. Although the companion novel Mr. Bridge is excellent, this is the better of the two.

Evan S. Connell's "Mrs. Bridge" is one of the truly outstanding works of Twentieth century American literature, a restrained, yet brilliantly wrought fictional portrait of upper middle class married life in the decades surrounding World War II. Connell tells the story of India Bridge in 117 short chapters, each a spare vignette of her enervated life in the perfectly manicured "country-club district" of an affluent Kansas City suburb. Linear in its narrative and meticulously realistic in its style, "Mrs. Bridge" follows India's life from marriage, to the birth of three children, to the rejection by those children of the repressed life of their parents as they grow into adults, to lonely suburban widowhood. While it is, at its heart, a grim tale of one woman's life of repression and, ultimately, loneliness and resignation, Connell's flawless and restrained narrative ultimately leaves the reader feeling exhilarated at the sheer literary achievement of "Mrs. Bridge".

Ostensibly the story of a marriage, Mr. Bridge is noticeably absent from much of the narrative. A successful lawyer, he is a man who is unable to express love or affection for his wife or his children, a man who is focussed on becoming "rich and successful," the epitome of the status-conscious husband and father whose identity lies in material possessions. "The family saw very little of him. It was not unusual for an entire week to pass without any of the children seeing him. On Sunday morning they would come downstairs and he . . . greeted them pleasantly and they responded deferentially, and a little wistfully because they missed him. Sensing this, he would redouble his efforts at the office in order to give them everything they wanted."

Mrs. Bridge, too, is powerfully repressed, unable to articulate her feelings of dissatisfaction, a woman who is beholden to the expectations of respectability and obsessed with appearances. "She brought up her children very much as she herself had been brought up, and she hoped that when they were spoken of it would be in connection with their nice manners, their pleasant dispositions, and their cleanliness, for these were qualities she valued above all others." Thus, she ultimately drives all three of her children from her life, her unthinking obeisance to social convention destroying any thread of relationship that she might have had with them. Her oldest daughter, "curiously dark", flees to New York City, where she pursues her more unconventional dreams. Her second daughter, an accomplished golfer, enters an ill-fated marriage with a college dropout who cannot provide the country club life that she has been weaned to expect. Her son joins the army, asserting an act of individuality that Mrs. Bridge never seems able to accept or reconcile.

It is, most notably, however, in her relationships with her peers-with the other affluent housewives of the "country-club district"-that the grim and vapid nature of Mrs. Bridge's life becomes most apparent. In particular, her friend Grace Barron becomes a kind of outward manifestation of India Bridge's discontent, someone who lives a life of equal desperation, but not so quietly as Mrs. Bridge. Grace Barron "was a puzzle and was disturbing" to Mrs. Bridge. Why? Because she actually questioned the life she led, moving outside the banal, the conventional, if only in her discourse. As Grace once said to Mrs. Bridge: "India, I've never been anywhere or done anything or seen anything. I don't know how other people live, or think, even how they believe. Are we right? Do we believe the right things?"

Unlike Mrs. Bridge, who talked of "antique silver, Royal Doulton, Wedgwood, the price of margarine as compared to butter, or what the hemline was expected to do," Grace Barron talked of "art, politics, astronomy, literature." Ultimately, Grace cannot cope with the ennui, the claustrophobia of her life, and she does what Mrs. Bridge ultimately lacks the fortitude to do; in a sense, Grace is a sort of "double" who acts out the dark alternative to Mrs. Bridge's repression. And when Grace does act, all that comes to Mrs. Bridge's mind is something Grace once said to her: "Have you ever felt like those people in the Grimm fairy tale-the ones who were all hollowed out in the back?"

Denounced in 1959 for not being a 'real' novel, Mrs. Bridge is judged differently these days--and rightly so. The novel is a compelling portrait of American suburban bourgeois life; reading it causes precisely the same claustrophobia Mrs. Bridge sometimes realizes she's suffering from. In a way, this is Sartre's La Nausee moved to Kansas City, but an easier read--almost deceptively so. Closing the book though doesn't really relieve the angst the reader shares with poor Mrs. Bridge in the final section (no I won't give it away)--this book is too real. Don't look for plot, don't look for cheap thrills, but do look for detail, look for the Real peeking into Mrs. Bridge's seemingly perfect life in the Imaginary.

I'll be brief: others have said plenty. Just one quick remark: Connell is a stylist of the highest order. His prose is crisp; style matches subject matter. Example: "It was necessary to be careful among people you did not know." Every sentence is carefully crafted to the point where grammar itself becomes a web of cleanliness, clear and transparent. It may seem nothing special, but Connell is a craftsman. All the more striking, both in grammar and in plot, are the few moments, aporia, where something else could have happened--such as when Mr. Bridge is breathlessly studying, in Paris, "a black lace brassiere with the tips cut off," a moment Mrs. Bridge returns to later with vague uneasiness.

I am glad I was recently introduced to Connell's work. It is a treasure trove, and it's a pity so few of his works are still in print. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some more of his novels to read: Deus Lo Volt! is next.

This book is a sharply written work of literary realism, and paints a crisp portrait of the very prim and proper Mrs. Bridge. By the end of the book I was thankful that we all (hopefully) live in less repressed times -- a sentiment made possible because of Mr. Connell's excellent writing. Jonathan Franzen owes a large due to the books of the Bridge's for his in vogue novel "The Corrections" -- much of that family material is first seen in the Bridge books.

Set in Kansas City of the 30's and 40's the author uses his mother as the basis of India Bridge. She lives in an upper-middle class home in middle America and views her times with detachment born of reliance on her husband -- the subject of a later parallel novel -- and her secure position in the local society. She is comfortable with, but slighly puzzled by the actions and motives of those arround her. She is certain that when all is said and done, everything will turn out all right. The calm and physical and emotional flatness of her surroundings and her life are beautifully developed by Mr. Connell. His precise, intimate but undramatic style is a perfect complement to his subject. I see a whole generation of my female relatives, all deceased, in Mrs Bridge. Satisified, well provided for, devoted to their families, but faintly aware of missing something. They are of a generation that begain to fade away during WWII and had completely disappeared by the Kennedy inaugration. More so than "Mr. Bridge" this novel is an insight into the life and times of an interesting, but nearly invisible segment of our society: the society matron of of urban middle America -- beautifully done and a pleasure to read. They don't make novels, or people, like "Mrs. Bridge" any more.