Themes Books

Henri Nouwen had a truly God-given gift - the gift of explaining timeless spiritual truths in very clear, ordinary language in a conversational and deeply captivating way. His words and his explanations imprint themselves into the memory and stay in the heart, and truly help to change lives. Much of his wisdom surely comes from his own struggles, which he admits to in the book - he personally struggled with depression, pride, desire for success and fame, envy, etc. - common human ailments. He also struggled with feeling unworthy of God, and with feeling distant from God. Yet, he learned to overcome his struggles (though he admits that he is still on a journey), and he describes how.

This is the third book I have read by Neuwen. After reading Life of the Beloved I really didn't think that anything could compare, but this book, if not better, is at least just as good. It is an instantly timeless spiritual classic. The whole book is a reflection on Rembrandt's painting, The Return of the Prodigal Son. First Nouwen reflects on the younger son who came back from a foreign land. Then he reflects on the older son who witnesses his younger brother's return. Finally, Nouwen reflects on the father figure. His insights are deep and beautiful. He leads the reader to a natural and yet incredible insight: that after identifying ourselves with both the younger and older brother, we must realize that rather than being either of these two brothers, we are called to become the father!

"Return of the Prodigal Son" is a wonderful opportunity to hear the gentleness and genius that was Henri Nouwen. The book was originally a talk given at retreat when Nouwen was 57, about 8 years before his death, in the time following his famous service at Toronto's L'Arche Daybreak facility for severely handicapped adults. Nouwen's humility is on display, as are his deep spiritual and psychological insights.

The impetus for Nouwen's reflections was Rembrandt's "Return of the Prodigal Son," painted when the artist was elderly, and following multiple tragedies in his own life. Nouwen's inspiration is less the painting, though, than the parable. His lecture is split into three parts, focusing on the younger son, the older son and the father. Nouwen's take on the parable is Jesus's radical break with interpretations of God that held sway in his own day as they still do in ours. The God that Jesus defines is not angry, vindictive or retaliatory, but completely open in love and forgiveness. While many will agree with this description of the Father, fewer will agree with Nouwen that this image of the Father exists the rest of Holy Scripture (both OT and NT) as well. While many of us are willing to accept Scripture's seemingly schizoid vision of God, Nouwen does not. He is completely committed to the loving father portrayed in this parable. For those committed to the God of condemnation, hell and judgment, Nouwen will be a disappointment (or a challenge). Human beings separate themselves from a God who is always anxious to take them back, teaches Nouwen.

In Nouwen's take on the story, the younger son teaches the journey from dissolution to containment. Dissolution includes dissipation of the kind associated with the younger son in the parable -- insults to parents, arrogance, squandering of resources, immorality. But dissolution extends to other activities and attitudes that spread our energies beyond our capacities. We spread ourselves too thin, spiritually, usually out of a desire to impress those in our lives whom we want to impress or influence. But by recognizing our sonship with God, we realize that we do need to impress of fathers (whether heavenly or worldly) into loving us, allowing us to bring our spiritual energies into containment and focus. The elder son often lives in our hearts alongside the younger son. The elder son's error is in resentment and separation. He cannot rejoice that "this son of yours" has returned from death, whining about his own ceaseless and unrewarded labors. But his error also speaks to a misunderstanding of the Father's love. He feels he will be loved *because* of his obedience (evidently given grudgingly) and has missed that his gift is to have been in the presence of the Father all along.

Nouwen's deep insight into the parable, whose subtlety and profundity become apparent the more listen, is astounding. The parable has the power to heal as well. For any who have felt conflict or hurt in family situations, as has Nouwen himself, the parable points the way toward a recognition of our true place in the world, and in God's eyes. This is not a dewy "I'm OK, You're OK" insight, but can lead to a profound shifting of our existential relationship with ourselves, our parents and our God. What false fronts and defenses we might shed if we truly believed in a God who loved us as beloved children -- no matter how far astray we had gone?

Nouwen's style and delivery belie the intensity of his own struggle and the wisdom of his teaching. Yet the insights continue rolling in, like waves following the passage of a ship, long after the book is over. A fascinating and potentially life-changing book.

This book opened up so many different ideas on the well known story of the Prodigal Son. I loved reading this book. It was my first Nouwen read, and it definitely will get me reading more of his books. If you are not familiar with Nouwen, this is a good first read.

This is an excellent life changing book. Presents the core truth of the Christian Gospel in a way that touches everyday attitudes and struggles. A book so personal and touching you may find that Nouwen is addressing your own unique circumstances. I certainly did. You may find yourself thinking about a new way to live. This book changed my life.

Everyone needs to reflect upon their life at some point. This book is excellent in helping one to see how their journey in life has brought them closer to God.

I totally love fantasy, folklore, and mythology, so this book was naturally of great interest to me. The pictures of various classes of mythical creatures were absolutely wonderful, and the text that described the myths upon which the pictures are based was interesting and fun to read. I would highly recommend this book for someone interested in a book about fairy folklore that's not overly academic.

I LOVE THIS BOOK ABOUT FAERIES. I READ IT OVER AND OVER.
THANK YOU
PEGGY BOND

I've begun a bit of Faery book collecting and this was a great selection to sort of tie my many books together. The book is just like new and I saved quite a bit on the price. I am very faery happy!

The illustrations are hauntingly beautiful and the whole book just flows wonderfully. Really lets you feel as if you know all about the fairies...both good and bad!

This particular book is highly reviewed by many people. It is a love/hate kind of book. Either you love the story and lore, or you hate the imagery. If you want a book with a light hearted story and fluffy lore with beautiful pixies/faeries; this is NOT the right book. The ads for this book deceptively illustrated a different set of contents. So please check the negitive reviews too!

I thoroughly have enjoyed this book, looking at the people from around the world and their possessions and realizing how different I live from another. It was amazing to see each family so proud, of either how little they have or how much they have, and to have all that they own on display (from in the dead of winter to floating on a boat!).

This book is absolutely a wake-up call for many people out there who think they don't have enough! Beautifully put together. Outstanding.

Material World by Peter Menzel is one of the most exciting and informative books I have come across in a long time . No other book I have ever read has given me such in depth knowledge of the lives and circumstances of people living in other countries around the globe. The photographs are breathtakingly beautiful and the statistics are fascinating. Ursula Michelson, author of Alzheimers Patients in the Nursing Home: How Well Do Caregivers Meet Their Needs?

This book is a fascinating look at materialism, or the lack of it, around the world. Oddly enough, the American family was not the most obviously materialistic; there was a Saudi family with a 42 foot long couch! I have put this gorgeously photographed book in my classroom for independant reading time for my 9th graders. It is filled with statistics, information about the countries and the families and the stories of the photographers themselves. Also check out The Hungry Planet, a visual look at what people around the world eat, photographed and written by the same authors of Material World.

"Material World," written during the 1990 U.N. International Year of the Family, is a major achievement and, although it can seem dated in areas, is still timely and relevant for our world today.

Profiling 30 families from across a wide spectrum of the 183 U.N. member states, "Material World" depicts these families' struggles and triumphs in words, pictures, and statistics. Many of these vignettes are uplifting--the Cuban family holding on to each other as their nation suffers through communism--and many are very saddening--the three Carballo children sleeping in fear of being robbed each night. It is highly useful in perspective building and also a good way to see how others live elsewhere in the world. It is not going to make one "proud to be an American," but it is also not an "America-bashing" book. "Material World" demonstrates very powerfully the old proverb: 'It's not getting what you want, it's wanting what you've got.'

The Albanian family, with its minute amount of belongings; the Brazilian family, struggling to survive the slums; the Mexican sisters, window shopping before getting the very special treat of an ice cream bar--all exemplify this ideal. The children are in particular very inspiring, rising as they do above the conditions many sadly live in. This is their life, their daily bread--and in a powerful example, they make the most of it.

"Material World" is inspiring, beautiful, and still timely, even over ten years after its publication.

This is another awesome book to show Mount Everest. If you like nice pictures of mountains(especially Mount Everest), this is the best.

As a former climber, I've always been fascinated by Everest. This is a wonderfully written and beautifully photographed account of the ill-fated assault on Everest that took a number of lives.
Especially sad, since as I was reading it yesterday, we got word of the death of Sir Edmund Hillary.

A stunning photo-journal of Everest, focusing on the tragic/heroic month of May 1996. Excellent narrative accompanied by fantastic photographs.

This book is for anyone who has an interest in Mt. Everest. The photographs are magnificent. They show just how small mankind is. Our hopes, dreams and accomplishments are put in perspective. I loved it!

I bought this book for the photography alone: this is as close as I am ever likely to get to the Himalayas.

The photographs are spectacular, and I can see why so many people are challenged to want to make the journey to Base Camp if not further. Appearances can be deceptive: beautiful colour photographs portray a seemingly benevolent picture of Everest which is quite at odds with reality.

Recommended for those with an interest in the Himalayas as well as to those who admire beautiful photography.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

I have treashered my copy ever since I bought one on amazon 4 years ago.
but to let you know what the books like, the modles and the poses are ethereal and the simplisty of the composition seems to sugest a larger more metephorical meaning for each photogragh. I like to contmplat the poseble simbolism of each one. there is a sexuality to many of these pitures, but they are all as far from pornography as you can get. the modles mostly look serios. some of the compositions are oveasly poesed in intresting ways, but many appere casual and candid. they are all black and white .one or two have boys in them also.the reason these pictures are not phornagraphic is that each modles dignaty and identiy is striven to be expresed by Sturges. truly the finest example of what nude photagraphy can be.

Gerry Badger, in a listing of 250 key photographers, refers to Jock Sturges as the leading photographer of the "natural" nude (p. 170, Collecting Photography, Mitchell Beazley). This is fine, as far as it goes, but is too limited an introduction to Mr. Sturges's work. Mr. Sturges's photography is not limited to nudes. Neither can his subject matter be properly described as the nude or the natural nude. Rather, Mr. Sturges cares deeply about people. He is interested in people - in the whole of what a person is - and his work reflects this valuing. Simply turn to page 114 of the first Scalo book - the book I'm reviewing here - or page 31 or 87 or 126 - this is a wonderfully rich book - to find the definition of a great portrait.

I find that I can go back to Mr. Sturges's books again and again with pleasure and for profit. I look at people differently since meeting the books - with greater pleasure and discernment. Having Mr. Sturges's work in my home makes my house feel more like home. Enough said.

Mr. Sturges's monographs include Jock Sturges (Scalo), Jock Sturges: New Work 1996 - 2000 (Scalo), The Last Day of Summer (Aperture), Radiant Identities (Aperture), Notes (Aperture), and Evolution of Grace (Gakken). The Gakken book is printed too darkly (at least the copy I have is) but I'm grateful to the book, nevertheless, for the images it shares. Those wishing to catch a glimpse of Mr. Sturges's Irish work could look for an April 2001 copy of B&W: Black & White Magazine.

Many would say that art needs no message, that it is created simply to enjoy and not to inform. That may well be true most of the time but not for this body of work. We live in a world where, from the earliest age, we are told over and over and over again that we must always be afraid. You can't trust anyone or let down your guard for even a moment because if you do bad things will surly happen. Most of us wear cloths not just for modesty and for protection from the elements, we wear cloths for protection from each other.

By casting their fears aside the young people in this book prove their trust in Sturges. But even more remarkable then that, they prove their trust in us. The models in these photos have placed their trust in you and me and anyone else who might view or buy their images. They trust us to respect them as beautiful and natural and not regard them as lewd, indecent or obscene. Unfortunately not all of us pass the test. Some people believe that these images should be illegal. They consider them harmful for both the models and the viewers. I feel that that is more of a slap at the models and their parents then at Sturges.

I have only one small complaint and one question about this book. First the complaint. Why are images that have previously appeared in other books repeated here? Sturges is an incredibly prolific photographer creating more than a hundered stunning new images each year. There is more than enough material to publish twenty books without any repeats so why give us reruns?

Finally the question. Sturges has shot so many gorgious images of young boys and yet the best of these never appear in his books. In his published works we see a few boys with girls or their parents but seldom alone. A major theme of his work is simply missing. Why is that? Do publishers believe that girls are more marketable or less controversial than nude boys? If they were to publish a book called, "The Young Boys of Jock Sturges," what would the reaction be? I'd rather like to know.

I have the Sturges books and I really like the photography. The body tones and light are great.

You'll find some very good photography here, nothing pornographic and mostly well composed. Some of the pictures do seem to me to be oddly posed or taken at too great a distance but basically you've got a great book if you get it.

All I can say is Spirit Horse's is just Breathtaking. A beautiful book,I would recommed it for any horse lover.

This is one of the most beautiful books that I have seen of horses. Very well done. If you know somebody that loves horses, this is the book to buy.

The best art photography I've seen.. A must for horse lovers.

The photo book Spirit Horses is an must for every horse lover. The photo's are incredible and create or catch a mistical atmosphere as I have seldom seen. The captions are inspiring. Not a book to read but one to pick up once a week for half an hour meditation. Highly recommended

Misleading - Linda Kohanov only wrote the Intro.
Repetitive photographs and sparse text.

Cathy is such a wonderful artist. She found her niche in creating the wonderful Latin-inspired crafts contained in this book. You will love them! Since her books have come out, I have seen many copycat crafts by other authors.

This Crafty Chica is the original and the best! have fun making some of these lovely, cultural pieces, and enjoy learning a bit about Mexican culture as well!

¡Wow! What a great book, even if you are not into crafts. I bought the book, because I was intrigued by Kathy on DIY's CRAFT LAB. I am a Latino, Gifted and Talented teacher, and a professional artist, so her creative/artsy/ethnic persona and projects appealed to me. Although the book is geared towards Latinas, I can understand her witty journal entries. (My wife is Anglo, but I have many feisty Latina members in my family and work primarily with Latinas in a border town.) The crafts are very creative, and Kathy offers a plethora of open-ended suggestions at the end of each project. Many of the projects are also appropriate for males, so are great for classroom use. In addition, the Latino style illustrations created by Kathy's husband, Patrick Murillo, are marvelous! I highly recommend this book.

I LOVED this book. It not only had some great projects that almost made me get in the car and drive to the craft store but it was a fun read. I have enjoyed picking it up several times this summer and looking at the creativity inside. I would recommend this book!

Okay, I was ready to love this book. I'd been to Kathy's website and I do like most of the crafts. However, it is long on personal dialogue and week on technical "how to" instructions. I still can't get the glass slide charm bracelet to work. Heck...I can't even cut the slides. So...I can't recomend this book.

Kathy Cano Murillo, the author of Crafty Chica's Art de la Soul, Glittery Ideas to Liven Up Your Life, has delighted me with her craft book. I don't normally get all excited about making purses out of 50 cent hardbacks (That cool project is called "Hardback Book Purse" and is fabulous!), nor do I relate to holidays such as Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), which I find slightly scary. However, with Kathy as my guide, I understand that this tradition of honoring the dead is similar to the manner in which we honor our ancestors no matter what our ethnic background. After reading what she wrote, I opened my mind and learned what I had never understood before about this holiday, and now I find it compelling and fascinating.

Not only am I willing to learn about a culture which is different from mine, I am totally charmed by this craft book. When I first started reading it, I began giving my husband orders: "Jim: PLEASE go get me a balsa wood box! Please get me a roll of silver embossing tin! I want a knob! A really cool one! Please!(my husband is a builder). Yes, my first project was "The Empowerent Box". I particularly liked this project because it is beautiful and because you store your favorite quotes in it. You hand write them out, place them in it, and keep it next to your bed. I have several favorite quotes. One is "Hope is the thing wth feathers." As a parent with disabled children, I never give up hope. Another is "The buck stops here". Do you have any favorite quotes? A keepsake box, made by you, is such a lovely place to keep treasured words which mean something special to you.

Kathy Cano Murillo is quite an amazing person. Not only does she set you aflame with desire to create her projects, with your paintbrush flying and your glitter shooting sparks all over the place, she writes fun stories. Some are about mishaps she has endured (read the Chocolate incident and you will relate totally!), and some are touching stories about her family. It's a lovely combination: you get projects like "The Mighty Mosaic Address Sign", with has cool marbles and loteria playing cards decorating it, you get tales, suggestions on movies with crafty aspects to them, (this is cool--trust me), fun tips on how to take each project to the next level, and a style of writing which engages you from the first page.

I am not Hispanic, but because of Kathy Cano Murillo, I have a high respect for the family values, the hard work, the humor, the love, and the creativity she offers, here in this book, as an unofficial ambassador for the Hispanic people. She should be very proud of this book. It is superfun and cool.

Other than the projects I already mentioned, several of my other favorite projects are: "Wonderfully Worn Flower Fence", ALL the "Potions for Passion" (and why not!), and the "Love Letters Pocketbook". That one is really pretty.

I think this author is one in a million. Try this book and you will soar--she will be the wind beneath your wings! A great and unique experience! I love this book!

if you believe in God or not, i dare you to look at this book and not be in awe of nature. my husband and i enjoy looking at this book any seeing God's wonderous creation. anyone who has children should get this book. they probably won't read every word, but they will learn a lot from the pictures.

I have not had the chance yet to review this product. I'd thought I'd purchased the dvd set for this same title, so was surprised to receive a book. I decided not to return it, but I know I will enjoy it.

BEAUTIFUL BOOK TO HAVE. NOT ONLY IS IT INFORMATIVE, BUT THE PICTURES ARE TRULY A PIECE OF ARTWORK.

Breathtaking! What an incredible collection of photographs of our amazing planet. A great addition to the dvd collection.

It does have various bits of info that arent included in the videos (probably due to time constraints). The pictures are very nice but a couple do have a tiny bit of graininess to them. All in all a very good purchase and companion to the Planet Earth video.

I bought this book because I read all the wonderful reviews and frankly I was extremely disappointed. I am a real dog lover and melt at the sight of any dog but these photos lack life. They look like mannequins and very few of them show the wonderful expressions we so often see in dogs and which make dogs so utterly lovable. For a book that is trying to tug at your heart on the subject of shelter dogs, it has failed spectacularly.
Give this book a miss.

This was a very good book. The descriptions were great. The pictures were beautiful. I really enjoyed reading it. There was alot of information. Shelter Dogs

I'm an aspiring photographer/shelter owner...and this book just confirmed why I want to do each of those things. I cried when I read some of the stories in the back, and each picture was so darn cute. I love this book, and (when I get one) will sit on my coffee table for all my guests to look at!

This book gives us details on shelter dogs, who the author Traer Scott, has met in her travels. So touching, uplifting and heartbreaking, especially when we learn so much about them and are told at the end which dogs lived and were adopted...and which ones were not (sniffle)...If this book doesn't convince you to adopt from an animal shelter, then I don't know what will! A portion of the proceeds from this book and Scott's other book, Street Dogs, are donated to animal charities. Worth it to buy both! Thanks for this great, insightful look at America's animal shelters.

..of finding the soul of her subjects, and showing us all what loving, intelligent, sensitive creatures these abandoned companions truly are!

As the proud "parent" of five rescued canines (and three rescued felines), I can only express my regret that our "forever home" cannot accommodate more: I'd take in each and every one of these lost souls that she captures so hauntingly.

Complaint has been lodged that Ms. Scott erred by not including each animal's bio with their photograph, but I take exception to that: The impact is magnified, when the photograph alone is displayed.

My only dissatisfaction might be that the book is too short, and I can only implore the author to continue her exceptional work with additional issues: If only more people could truly see these loving creatures through the "eye" of her camera, perhaps our shelters would not be so full, and "euthanization" could become anachronistic...

This is the third edition of this book that I have bought. I love the format of them. They are imformative, yet entertaining. I am a "planner", and this helps keep me organized. We had made the major decisions of where to eat & where to go when in advance. I've been a Disney fan for years as are my children now. This book gave helpful tips when it came to deciding where & when to do things. I highly recommend it & look forward to the next edition.

We used this for many months before our vacation last year. It was almost drenched with highlighter markings long before we left for Florida. When we got there, it was like our Bible as we toured the parks. It has everything you need to know for Disney and beyond. Her sense of humor is most amusing and she does let you know where to eat without losing your mind or cookies with toddler in tow. So buy it and then keep it, because you will write notes in it and after your trip it will become almost a souvenir of sorts with all your little articles and receipts etc, tucked away in side. You will look through it a year or two later and laugh at your comments about whatever you were thinking at the time. We had teenagers and toddler and everything worked out great, she has some real tips that do everyone good, not just the kids. Mom and dad won't lose their mind trying to please everyone. We are heading to Universal as well this year, so we will definitely be buying her Universal book.

Since we take so few vacations, I like to make sure they're planned well so everyone gets the most out of them. I bought 3 Disney books (Unofficial Guide by Sehlinger and Birnbaum's 2001 edition too) but this is the one I found most useful for planning a trip with a 4 & 6 year-old. The tips saved us $1000 on room costs alone! The reviews of the Disney and off-site hotels offer useful details not found on websites. The excellent ride reviews feature details to help parents determine if it's too scary for your child (tells you if dark, noisy, surprise elements, etc) - not just a generic "may scare children under age 5" warning. The book is fun & easy to read... and with her realistic advice for visiting Disney with kids, you'll have more fun and be less stressed-out on vacation than if you did it without her book.

As you see from most of the reviews of this book it is an excellent source of information. As the author notes, the level of enjoyment of your trip is directly related to the amount of research you do before your trip.

In addition to being a great source of information before we left, it was a great read on the drive to Orlando. As parents, so much time is spent on the planning that the joyful anticipation of the trip is often left to the kids. The more we read and closer we got, the more excited we got.

One personal caveat that is inferred in the book, but not stated expressly is that the Disney experience can be lost on young kids. Our six-year-old had an absolute blast, our 3 1/2-year-old was a bit tentative about the characters and some of the shows, but our two-year old was scared by the characters (I don't think he understood that they would be life-sized) and the shows created sensory overload. Several parents of young children we talked to said they would not repeat the experience with a child younger than four. We heartily second that.

I have a three year old daughter, and this book was a tremendous help in planning out trip to Disney World. It told us when and where to find the characters (a BIG item for planning the days), what rides to ride first, and most importantly, the information about FastPass. I highly recommend the book to anyone taking kids to DisneyWorld.