Creators Books

I truly appreciate Dr. Scorgies book sharing God's desire for men and women and how we need to reinstate that in our world. I belong to a denomiation that view women as equals and are permited to be Ordained as an Elder and be a Senior Pastor of a church.

I recommend this book. It is culturally relevant and sensitive to truth. The author is innovative yet grounded in dialogue with past and present scholars. Many Christians (and others) have adopted a stance on gender issues without really articulating their own posture. Here a person will find fresh ideas. The book will create tension for one who opposes the viewpoints espoused by the author; however, in considering such perspectives an individual is better prepared for debate, if not a change in outlook. The author outlines several compelling cases for gender equality, frequently using concepts (such as trajectory of the spirit) that have eluded the mainstream. Given that young couples and unmarried individuals often view the gender code through a lens muddled by dogma or a few, partially-explored scriptures (i.e. Ephesians 5:22-33), this insightful exhibit should be added to the public discussion.

Tsunesaburo Makiguchi is one of Japan's most significant yet perhaps least-recognized educators. His fame as the founder of Soka Gakkai has somewhat eclipsed his reputation as an educator. (Soka Gakkai International is now the largest Buddhist organization in the world with over 12 million members in 128 nations.)

Mr. Makiguchi had spent a lifetime developing his "value-creating" educational philosophy from his experience as teacher, principal, and teacher of teachers before he founded the Buddhist lay organization.

A man ahead of his time, Mr. Makiguchi made proposals over sixty years ago that are being made anew today. He was staunchly opposed to the rote memorization that was the backbone of Japanese pedagogy in his day (and largely remains so today), and he called for greater involvement by community members in the education of children.

The author, himself an educator, gives a clear and vivid picture of the magnitude and revolutionary quality of Mr. Makiguchi's theories. Until this book, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi has gone virtually unrecognized in the West because so little information on non-Western educators has been available in English. This work fills a need at a time when Mr. Makiguchi's impact on education and society is of increasing importance.

Tsunesaburo Makiguchi is one of Japan's most significant yet perhaps least-recognized educators. His fame as the founder of Soka Gakkai has somewhat eclipsed his reputation as an educator. (Soka Gakkai International is now the largest Buddhist organization in the world with over 12 million members in 128 nations.)

Mr. Makiguchi had spent a lifetime developing his "value-creating" educational philosophy from his experience as teacher, principal, and teacher of teachers before he founded the Buddhist lay organization.

A man ahead of his time, Mr. Makiguchi made proposals over sixty years ago that are being made anew today. He was staunchly opposed to the rote memorization that was the backbone of Japanese pedagogy in his day (and largely remains so today), and he called for greater involvement by community members in the education of children.

The author, himself an educator, gives a clear and vivid picture of the magnitude and revolutionary quality of Mr. Makiguchi's theories. Until this book, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi has gone virtually unrecognized in the West because so little information on non-Western educators has been available in English. This work fills a need at a time when Mr. Makiguchi's impact on education and society is of increasing importance.

This biography of Mary Shelly offers very moving insights into the life (sorrows, defeats, triumphs) of the young enfant terrible who brought us the world's first truly "modern" monster, literature's most famous abandoned child. Nichols deftly conjures the fears and desires that allowed young Mary to dream such a terrible vision, and offers invaluable insights into the legacy Mary would ultimately sow. Strongly advised for all fans of Lit, Horror, Gothic Romance, and good old fashioned storytelling.

Couldn't resist the temptation to write that headline. It's true that this book brings Mary Shelley to life as a fascinatingly modern person; it shows the world she grew up in and how it ended up in Shelley's most famous book; and it brings up, through Shelley's concerns, questions of very modern import. As an adult I enjoyed this book thoroughly and hope it finds a variety of readers who will find in Shelley a kindred spirit. I thought the reading level was pitched a little low for teens, but that shouldn't bother them and the content is definitely appropriate for Young Adults. In fact it will probably offend a lot of parents who are not, shall we say, on Shelley's level... Shelley and her circle of friends might have made some mistakes; they took lots of risks; but they did all this in attempting to be true to their own ideals. A great story which has fascinated scholars for years is made accessible here, in all its gory detail, to teens (and, as I say, adult readers can enjoy it, too).

This is a terrific resource book! As a public library children's librarian, I am so often asked if I know anything about the kids' favorite authors. Now I have a reference book that helps me answer those questions! Many of our favorite authors are included, such as Tomie dePaola, Steven Kellogg , Chris Van Allsburg, and my personal favorite, Jean Fritz. "Meet the Authors and Illustrators vol I" has a wonderful, unique feature. The book is divided into two sections: Picture book authors, and Intermediate authors. Sixty authors are included! I can't wait to get Volume II!

"Meet the Authors and the Illustrators, Volume One" is both a mental and a physical tool for young readers because it has the potential to either spark or further encourage their interest in books. Photocopying individual worksheets is not prohibited, as noted in the copyright information, and would be instrumental as a classroom reference for every child. Suggested activities proposed by the featured professionals, coupled with the insight each has volunteered in their previously presented interview, foster an atmosphere of literary acceptance. A definition of writing styles, solutions for writer's block, the importance of researching and rewriting, as well as the source of an author's ideas are presented with each profile in a transcriptual style, answering the intuitive reader's silent questions. Favorite childhood authors, such as Dr. Seuss, produce juvenile memories, while more advanced novels invite the reader to explore for himself. One of the most valuable assets of this collaboration is its tangible insistence that authors and illustrators are indeed ordinary people, coping with the challenges of creativity in the same ways as young people. Photographs, biographical synopsis, and bibliographical summaries also provide familiarity, reinforcing the concept of average people with extraordinary talent. If an open book is an open mind, "Meet the Authors and the Illustrators" is an essential introduction to the halls of literature.

What an exceptional book this is! I haven't been able to put it down. Without a doubt it's the best exposition of musical theatre creation that I've ever read - and I've read many! Not only does it tell you about the amazing lives of the two Frenchmen who wrote Les Misérables but, with a series of exclusive personal interviews, it details exactly how they did it. Not just Les Mis but all their shows, and there's long interviews too with all their co-writers, directors and producers. Vermette's skill in presentation is magnified many times by her ability to pull nuggets of wisdom out of such talented and diverse people, such as Trevor Nunn, Cameron Mackintosh and Herbert Kretzmer as well of course as Boublil and Schönberg themselves. It's a tour de force of form and substance and a fascinating read.
I discovered this book through the brilliant website which is colourful, informative and gives news and updates to the book[...]

This book is a wonderfully insightful book to some of my favorite musicals! I really enjoyed the background information as to how some of the musicals came to be, the processes that were followed...everything! I highly recommend this book!

Many today are backing away from A.A. This happens, as I have experienced, because religious leaders see the idolatry in today's recovery language, or see the absurd names for a "higher power" or believe A.A. is not "of the Lord." On the other hand, many in A.A. are backing away by saying A.A. is too religious, has "too much God," and is too Christian oriented. My own experience is that you can be in A.A. or in recovery or in a 12 Step program and still: (a) Believe in God. (b)Be a Christian and thus a child of God. (c) Study the Bible. (d) Pray. (e) Seek God's guidance. (f)Fellowship with like-minded believers. (g) Lead others to Christ and help them get straightened out by the power of God. And all this is exactly what Dick B. has told me in his history titles about the early A.A. Christian Fellowship, its 75% to 93% successes, and its simple Christian technique. Now---is A.A. Christian today? No. Are Christian AAs banned from A.A. today? No. Is there room for Christians and those who want to come to Christ to do so in A.A. today? Yes. This book explains the "way out" of the cross-fire from anti-A.A. churches and ministers and anti-A.A. humanists and atheists and unbelievers. The way out is the Way. Learn the history. Stand on your beliefs. Apply the A.A. principles from the Big Book and Twelve Steps. Look to God for protection and cure--even while the bullets fly. As Dr. Bob said on the last line of his story in the Big Book (p. 181). Your Heavenly Father will never let you down. You can be a victorious Christian in or out of A.A. All you need to do is stand, obey, and walk to the glory of God in love and service for those who still suffer IN A.A. This book is an inspiration for me and can be for the reader. I certainly endorse it.

Reviewing Dick's new title A New Way In, I pointed out that it dealt with the need for an effective way of presenting early A.A. history and successes to the newcomer today in such a way that he or she would see their value, learn their content, and use them in recovery. The way in is the way in to the heart of the suffering newcomer or old-timer who, despite Christian beliefs, feels uncomfortable in the backwash of "higher powers," "spirituality," and absurd names for a deity that predominate in 12 Step thinking today. Now--in A New Way Out--Dick explains how to keep the newcomer and oldtimer comfortable within A.A. today, rooted in, and practicing their own Christian beliefs just as the founders did. To be sure, the newcomer Christian needs to know that the early fellowship was a Christian one, studied the Bible, had prayer meetings, and relied on the Creator. And teaching him those facts is paramount. But the next task is preventing him from splitting for the door and joining a humanist or religious fellowship because of the spiteful things he hears in the rooms about his own religion and belief, about religion in general, and about A.A.'s own shortcomings. How do you show him the way out of the "way out inclination?" You do it by showing him the successes, rates of cure, and precepts of pioneer A.A. and then persuading him that the way out is not the way out. The way to stay in and profit and love and serve is either to ignore or repudiate those who seek to intimidate with wrong ideas. Religion and churches and clergy often spurn A.A. by saying it is godless and lacking in specific references to God, the Bible, and Jesus Christ. And that may be the case at times today. It was not in the 1930's. But religion and churches and clergy need to know that a Christian in A.A. today can stand on the rock of Christ, knowing that his predecessors did likewise with great success and that A.A. cannot and does not prohibit one from believing in God, in accepting His son, and in studying the Bible. Now what about the humanists and atheists who hit him from the other side. Oddly, they say that A.A. is religious, that it fosters cultlike and prejudced religious views, and that it offers little in the way of success when one turns to God for help. Now what's the answer? The answer lies in telling it like it is: God is, and He rewards those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:16). God heals those who believe. The answer for me is not to flee, not to cut and run, and not to allow myself to be intimidated by those who don't know the real A.A. The real A.A. today still has a glowing history, it has an early success rate, and today it has adopted universalist and secularist ideas to the point that many think A.A. is a queer religion and that it discriminates against the people of other lands and creeds. Not so. A.A. is not going to change or be changed. The changing took place after the first twenty years. But you can't change God, can't change Jesus Christ, and can't change the truths in the Bible. They were the standards for success for the pioneers. And anyone in A.A. or a 12 Step Fellowship today needs to know that he doesn't need to flee from A.A. to find religious comrades and escape atheist badgering. He needs to stand for what he stands for and let others do likewise. Love and tolerance are our Code, wrote Bill Wilson. And that still holds today. Dick's two books present the problem and the solution for the devoted Christian who wants to get sober, who loves the fellowship of A.A., who is quite willing to read its text and "work" its Steps, and who sees the importance of placing the Good Book right beside the Big Book without feeling guilty.

For all the molecular biology students out there, here is the scoop. If you are working on or planning on working on some aspect of molecular biology and dont know where to start this is the book for you. If you want to become a serious investigator of biochemistry and molecular biology, and dont know what scientists in your specialized field did before you, this is the book for you. Remember, you cannot make an original contribution to science unless you know what has already been contributed!

The book is similar to the higly acclaimed "eigth day of creation" by H.Judson in that it nicely describes the history of what happened in the field of molecular biology in its earliest years and I bet it will be a lot of fun for someone coming into this field. Where the book differs from the other book is when it looks at events that happened much later in history - more recent events. For example, how did the discovery of ribozyme happen? The book goes into the various experiments that were performed in collaboration with other researchers working in related fields. Whats most impressive to this reviewer is that the book cites specific original research articles everytime it makes a bold statement like "this is how the discovery of ribozyme was made" which makes it very easy to get the article and put things in historical perspective (look at the extensive "Notes" section). You will also remember both the experiments that were performed to derive at the original contribution and the scientist. you can take my word, you will not forget either!

Last but not the least, the book has nice pencil illustrations of scientists who made the big contributions and it is essential to relate the scientists with the science. For someone that is not in science, this book will take some effort to read but is definitely not overwhelming. There is a glossary at the end of the book which I bet will be extremely helpful for the non-specialist reader. Overall this book is a gem and will be in my permanent collection.

Hatch Echols was a well-known biologist. He spent years working on a personal history of his field. After his untimely death, his widow completed the manuscript. This book is the result. It is a history of molecular biology from about 1948 to about 1990. By molecular biology he means the attempt to understand biology using the tools of physics and chemistry. It is a superb book, as makes a fine compiment to the OTHER definitive history of molecular biology, Horace Freeland Judson's "Eighth Day of Creation". Judson's 1979(I think) book was a detailed account of three or four episodes in molecular biology, and stopped at 1970. Echols'book gives a much broader overview, focusing on the questions that arose and the people who answered them. The margins are graced by line drawings of the the major actors, done by the author. The result is a fine account of both the science (briefly) and those who made it. Most of the participants were his friends, and it shows. On the other hand, unlike most books, I am unaware of any animosity or basic unfairness towards any of the participants. Those of you looking for revelations of scandal had best look elsewhere. This is an idyll of discovery. Having studied the subject through textbooks, I enjoyed finding out about the twist and turns, the false starts and blind alleys and leaps in the dark that really lay behind the development of the most exciting science of the last half of the twentieth century. Highly recommended.
This book seems to be languishing in obscurity, and I think Judson's book is out of print. This is deplorable. Another reason to purchase it is because feel Operators and Promoters is a good book to dip into and read a few chapters here and a few there, so you will want to have a copy about the house.
Worth purchasing? Definitely

Professor Knox offers a splendid overview and critique of contemporary Oscar Wilde criticism. She illustrates how "-ism-guided" approaches tend to utilize Wilde for their own agendas rather than trying to come to terms with the contradictory and fascinating nature of his oeuvre. This book is a must read for any Wilde scholar as well as for advanced students pursuing work on Wilde or on approaches to literature.

I greatly enjoyed both the thorough examination of many important Wilde critics of the 1990s and the sensible point of view. The author defends clear writing and makes a forceful defense of biographically and psychologically based criticism, enlisting Wilde's own remarks in her argument. Her criticism of literary jargon is occasionally biting, and justifiably so. This is a book not for the politically correct, but rather the openminded scholar or student of literature. It is safe to say that Wilde himself would have enjoyed it.

If you're intersted in movie sound, this one is a gem. LoBrutto interviews the people who made some of the greatest impacts in film sound in the last 25 years. We're not just talking about legends like Ben Burtt and Walter Murch (Star Wars & Apocalypse Now, respectively) but the whole gauntlet of roles that make up what we hear at the movies. Production sound mixers, ADR (looping) editors, Foley artists, supervision sound editors, sound designer, boom mikers, music editors. You get conversations with top names in every field. I learned a great deal about what goes into making the overlooked half of what makes a great movie.

If you have the slightest curiosity, buy the book! This is an engrossing book of interviews with experts in film sound. LoBrutto doesn't just limit himself to sound editors (though you should buy the book for his interview of Walter Murch alone!) but also interviews production sound mixers, ADR and foley mixers, and creators of film sound systems. I work in film post production, and though I don't have a lot of knowledge of the sound editing, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. LoBrutto references many films in his interviews and the reader will find an abundance of delightful anecdotes. Well worth it, for those who know film and those who don't.

Three weeks before Sue Ross, the author's, untimely death in 1996 from cancer she received her doctorate in Fine Art for her thesis and signed a contract with Oxford Books to publish "This is My World" a book about the life and work of South African artist Helen Martins. The book was published a year later after her death. The photographs in "This is My World" are stunning and the book is an illuminating study of Martin's life story. Martins created a fantasy world of sculpture and light (known as Outsider Art) in her Karoo village home, named "The Owl House," in South Africa. In 1976, when her house and garden were filled with more than 200 camels, owls, peacocks, Buddha's, Bushman and Biblical scenes, she seemed to feel her life's purpose was complete and committed suicide. After her death she became a nationally acclaimed artist and her home was proclaimed a national monument and museum. "This is My World" is both inspiring and heart wrenching. It is not only a tribute to Helen Martin's work but to the life and work of Susan Imrie Ross as well. I'm proud that Helen Martin's is my great Aunt!

Three weeks before Sue Ross, the author's, untimely death in 1996 from cancer she received her doctorate in Fine Art for her thesis and signed a contract with Oxford Books to publish "This is My World" a book about the life and work of South African artist Helen Martins. The book was published a year later after her death. The photographs in "This is My World" are stunning and the book is an illuminating study of Martin's life story. Martins created a fantasy world of sculpture and light (known as Outsider Art) in her Karoo village home, named "The Owl House," in South Africa. In 1976, when her house and garden were filled with more than 200 camels, owls, peacocks, Buddha's, Bushman and Biblical scenes, she seemed to feel her life's purpose was complete and committed suicide. After her death she became a nationally acclaimed artist and her home was proclaimed a national monument and museum. "This is My World" is both inspiring and heart wrenching. It is not only a tribute to Helen Martin's work but to the life and work of Susan Imrie Ross as well. I'm proud that Helen Martin's is my great Aunt!