Themes Books

The lives of Rembrandt and the author take vivid shape before the mind's eye of the reader as Henri Nouwen tells the history of Rembrandt's painting. Rembrandt's famous canvas is inextricably intertwined with the story of the painter's own life and, as the author movingly shares, Rembrandt's experience was so powerfully human that it transcends generations and centuries and resonates clearly with contemporary women and men. The Return of the Prodigal Son may be said to be much more than the story of a painting; it is a beautiful story of love conveyed by Rembrandt through his painting.

In as much as love may be considered both human and spiritual, the reader is invited in to the intimacy of two men's deeply human and profoundly spiritual journeys though life. Despite life's suffering and bitterness, the author and the painter share their reasons for maintaining a firm grip on hope and inner peace. This is wonderful jewel of a book that has yet to be discovered and appreciated for it full worth - at least judging by its sales rank.

Having "The Genesee Diary" many years ago, and upon learning of Nouwen's untimely death, I was surprised to learn that he had written over 30 books. I was, and continue to be, overwhelmed by hearing his talk on "The Prodidgal Son." This represents a magnificent synthesis of his lifetime of searching. The fact that his cascade of insights is triggered by the painting of a fellow Dutchman, Rembrandt, and a searching soul as well, is remarkable. Because Nouwen is both priest and psychologist, I found his insights to be even more pointed and thought-provoking. When listening to this tape while driving, I have often pulled off the road because I was stunned by his cutting right to the core of so many issues. This could only come from a lifetime of struggling.

Native Americans believe in the healing power of stories. Jesus was, among other things, a story teller. Nouwen tells his own story of going out and returning, using the prodigal son parable as a framework, in these talks. This is truly a warm, wonderful, and deeply human volume. I highly recommend it.

I found this book very moving. It changed how I think about the story of the Prodigal Son, and how I think about my own spiritual journey. Highly recommended. If you read the Genessee Diary and related to Nouwen's personal reflections there, you will get even more out of The Return of the Prodigal Son.

The spiritual genious, Henri Nouwen, carves on paper an enlighting personal experience of Love. By contemplating Rembrandt's masterpiece; "The return of the prodigal son", the author reveals an aparently hidden road to happiness, and impells us to follow his steps towards a deep conversion. It is our own story, one of a long journey away from the Father, pursuing things that keep us far from his motherly womb. He offers always his gentle and healing embrace. Let us walk along with Henri Nouwen towards our home, our Peace, and our true Joy, to the arms of this everforgiving Father.

Because the author, biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann, has chosen to list and expound Old Testament theological themes in alphabetic order, the entry for YHWH comes last. Yet in most of the 105 entries, YHWH (or LORD, where Brueggemann quotes the NRSV) appears at least once, in many instances several times. This speaks of the all-encompassing significance that that inscrutable name, reckoned to be too holy to utter, assumed in the life of the community and found a permanent place in the Hebrew Scriptures as the focus of faith. Like the leitmotif of a musical drama, YHWH sounds and resounds across the pages of this readable book of OT theology. Laid out dictionary-style in two columns per page, the discussions are anything but isolated dictionary definitions. Brueggemann writes, "I have attempted to reflect the complexities, depths, and interrelatedness of these entries, wherein one must entertain them all in order to sense fully any one of them." Thus, entries reverberate with other entries. He might have added that the recurring theme of YHWH intensifies the echoes. You may start anywhere, read two or three entries, and other themes will suggest themselves; these, in turn, will lead to still others. Don't be surprised if you find yourself back at one of the starting entries; read it again, by all means - chances are that it will now speak to you with added meaning and power. Brueggemann develops the OT implications of each theme, reflects on its NT or later Christian understanding where appropriate, and sometimes remarks on relevant present-day issues. In this last category, he can be trenchant, if brief, in his (implicit) criticism of, e.g., those who would use theological promise to justify a political agenda, or of "our human pretensions, all the claims of self-assured superpowers ..." His writing is simple and effective. For once, I feel comfortable using the hackneyed expression, "Highly recommended."

I have not red the whole book yet but I have red enough to say it is a brilliant book. easy to understand and learn a lot that I didn't know from the Old testament. using it mostly for preparations looking up different topics and words and I'm so glad for it, a very good and interesting book.

Since he gives Kathleen O'Connor the credit helping him choose discrete entries that all have interpretative coherence, Prof Bruegge has chosen topics "which reflect a focused theological center to his listing." In order to better connect our favorite Professor's preface comments to my personal point of seeing this new Theological Handbook of Old Testament Themes alongside some eight other copies of Bruegge's creations, I will relate two other Gems: The Commentary on GENESIS and his definitive later THEOLOGY Of The OLD TESTAMENT!

On becoming familiar with GENESIS, Interpretation Commentary, I was transported back to his numerous books focused on Psalms. When I stopped over in his classes at Columbia Seminary, I soon became entranced with his Survey of the Hebrew Bible and his session with THEOLOGY Of the OLD TESTAMENT, his signature work!

Reverberations of Faith has become a specific number of Seven topics which are the more longer from ninety ++ : Deuteronomic Theology, Exodus, Image of God, The Persian Empire, Priestly Tradition, Suffering and Theodicy. In the Image of God he moves from being "astonished in the priestly creation narrative of GENESIS" to New Testament texts of John 14, Corinthians and Colossians. He lists ten pages of Scripture references with far more from Exodus, Deuteronomy and Psalms!

Not only is Bruegge a first class writer and research artist, he displays his fantastic memory in every class. He continually is moving from one scripture to another with his endless naming of resources for future study of Memorable Themes. From years of multiplied classes, I have discovered the unforgettable example of the consumate teacher! This ranks in the top of his long list of all-inclusive books for layman and scholar.
Retired Chaplain Fred W. Hood

Walter Brueggemann is a prolific writer and teacher of Biblical Theology. He has a remarkable knack for understanding the ancient Israelite context and meaning in Scriptural narratives, while applying them appropriately and powerfully in situations that relate to Christian faith and practice. Brueggemann is a brilliant scholar, so you are getting top notch material. But many of his books are user-friendly and oriented to the people in the trenches. This book, which is subtitled "A theological handbook of Old Testament themes" is no exception. It contains about 100 entries, arranged alphabetically. Each entry is a powerful theme from the Hebrew Scriptures, which is explained with clarity and insight. Some examples of entries are: Covenant, Day of the Lord, Faith, Forgiveness, Jerusalem, Land, Messiah, Neighbor, Redemption, Retribution, Sacrifice, Suffering Servant, Torah, Wilderness, Wisdom. As you can see, each one of these represents just the kind of theme that really matters when reading Scripture! Most entries are about 1 to 3 pages, and a few are 4-5. They will give you the basic ideas you need to know (with key passages noted), the historical context, a sense of the theology involved and why it matters, and sometimes ends with a paragraph or two giving a sense where there is a connection to the New Testament and Christian doctrine. Each entry ends with a bibliographic list of references for further study. I think this text is perfect for anyone involved in studying Hebrew Scripture (you can just keep it with you all the time!), as well as for teachers and preachers. Basically, it will do for anyone interested in the really important messages of the Bible and understanding their relevance in theology and faith. I assume, by the way, that most readers will be Christians, but I think it would be acceptable to Jewish readers as well, as there is no anti-Judaism or anti-semitism to be found in it.

I love this book.After sending it to the wrong address, Amazon mailed a new copy to me very fast and free of charge ! I did appreciate this and I will look at Amazon.com first when I will be looking for a book.Thanks!

I gave this book to my Dad as a gift and he loves it, as do I. It's a trip down memory lane with lots of nice historic pictures and descriptive writing. I especially am interested in the Celilo Falls and saddened to see what a treasure was destroyed by dams.

The Columbia is by no means the biggest, the longest or just any other 'est of the rivers in North America. Well maybe it's the roughest. At the bar where the Columbia enters the Pacific Ocean is quite possibly the consistently roughest water in the country. It's called the 'Graveyard of the Pacific,' having claimed over two thousand ships. That's why the Coast Guard located their small boat school in Astoria, Oregon, just inland from the bar.

Anyway, now the Columbia is tamed to a great extent by a series of dams that regulate the flow of water. No longer are there the hundred-foot waves breaking along the bar. This book, though is composed of pre-dam pictures of the river that remain only as memories.

The book is organized in an interesting manner. Just inside the front is a map of the first 200.5 miles of the river. Along the track of the river are a series of numbers. These reflect the page numbers of the pictures that follow. The first number is 5, and the picture on page 5 shows the bar, along with a note that it's 1,243 miles to the source of the river. The pictures range from the mid 1800's to current.

Further into the book are more maps, more pictures. To the old-timer of the area, here will be a collection of memories. To the rest of us, here is simply a spectacular set of photographs of a place that is no more.

The River is a bueaty today but yesterday - WOW! This is a beautiful work on a great river!

Being born in 1970, I missed out on the natural men of the 70's. I can remember crushes on the natural looking men of the era, but was much to young to realize the erotic value or to even see many nude. This book showcases the wonderful men of a time that I missed out on! The average, but very hot, bodies of Blakey's models are wonders of real life and not the bulked up gym bunnies so overwhelmingly predominant in art photography of recent years. The photos are extremely well done with a variety of types of men from street looking to professionals...all with a relaxed and casual attitude that shows through in the pictures. I enjoy this book a lot and will surely be going back to look at it repeatedly many times in the future!

As Roy Blakey states in his forward, "BLAKEY'S RESURRECTION, just at first glance, might have made an arresting title for this book of male nudes, or perhaps the even more intimate "ROY'S RESURRECTION," and he further states, "Nevertheless, I definitely have been resurrected." He thanks photographer Reed Massengill, now a close friend, who helped him to secure a gallery exhibition and with the publication of this book. These male nude images from the 1970's have been stored away for many years. If you were coming-of-age in the 70's, you may be familiar with Blakey's work and the publication HE. I think it's great that his work is being exhibited, published and now is being introduced and made available to a whole new generation.

If you liked the look of the men in the 70's, you will likely enjoy these photographs as much as I did. They bring back many memories of that era, the long hair, the light bodies, the innocent looks and poses, and good-looking boy next door type male models. I think these photographs are beautiful for the simple reason that Blakey is a "Master of Light and Shadow." All of these black and white images are posed with no props. I believe the starkness of these images make the models more intimately sensual. Roy Blakey was a former professional figure skater and as you view these photographs you can clearly see the influence that this has had in the way he posed his models.

If the publication of this book is a dream come true for Blakey, then it is a dream come true for us as avid fans and collectors of male nude photography! I sincerely hope he continues to browse through his storage boxes and releases more of his photographic images for us to enjoy. A stunning collection!

Joe Hanssen

I am excited that this book is available. I can remember when I saw some of my first artistic photographs of men in the 1970''s. The men were "perfection", and the images were those of people who represented the idealized man of the time. Awe struck by those pictures, an entire generation of men proceeded to redefine the male image and liberate the American male from the constraints of the generations that preceeded that generation. As a 20-something in 1970, I was permitted to redefine my concept of masculinity, and the images of Blakey helped to solidify that concept. I adore this book. I wish there was more of Blakey's work available.

What a refreshing addition to the study of male nude photograpy! The men have nice, natural bodies without being "buffed and waxed." And believe it or not, they have hair, both on their heads--some actually have tresses to their shoulders-- and bodies. For that reason they look very 70's. They also look very innocent and appear to be having a good time. Some of them smile directly into the camera. I couldn't help but ask the question though-- there is no information given about who these models are-- as to how many of them are still alive today.

All the photos are shot in a studio with incredible lighting. Some of my favorites are found on pages 53,54 and 104.

Reed Massengill, who edited this book, remembers the first time he saw a Blakey photo in a short-lived magazine of the 70's called "After Dark." I remember fondly my first enconter with that magazine as well. I still have all my copies somewhere. (It was the rag that the now Governor of California chose for his full monty spread.) Mr. Blakey to his credit was shooting male nudes when almost nobody else in the U. S. was. This book, however, is much more than just a nostalgic picture of life before the awful 80's. These beautiful photographs will endure.

Everything about this book is of the speaks of quality. The numerous color prints are excellent,and the paper and binding have a luxurious feel.

This is a combination art book, art history book, book about religion, and travel book. The different perspectives that are brought together in this one volume makes it absolutely essential reading for anyone interested in Haiti. I have read it cover to cover twice, and plan to read it a third time.

Only one chapter suffers from a dry, academic approach, that is the one on African Voudou, and may be safely skipped without missing much. That chapter, which contains no color prints, is much below the standards of the rest of the book.

I am surprised that I am the first person to write a review of this book, because it is really an incredibly well done volume.

The authors include anthropologists, folklorists, art historians, voudou practioneers, and artists. Yet the organization of the book makes each chapter fl! ! ow into the other. Well worth the $100.00 purchase price.

Don't be put off by the word "voudou". This is not a goofy "new age" kind of book that teaches you to do spells. It is high quality, facinating analysis of the art, culture and lif of Haiti.

This book is the catalogue of the recent New Orleans Vodou exhibit. I had studied comparative religions when I was in college, so the origins and practice of vodou are of natural interest to me, but I knew absolutely nothing about vodou until seeing this exhibit. Having lived in New Orleans, I had always thought that voodoo involved sticking pins into dolls to bring bad luck or disease to an enemy and other darkly occult rituals. Obviously, I didn't understand vodou at all, not even to know the correct spelling. The Hollywood film industry is responsible for a large part of our misconceptions about vodou.

I quote André Pierre, a contributor to the catalog: "The Vodou religion is before all other religions. It is more ancient than Christ. It is the first religion of the Earth. It is the creation of the World. The World is created by Vodou. The world is created by magic. The first magician is God who created people with his own hands from the dust of the Earth. People originated by magic in all countries of the world. No one lives of the flesh. Everyone lives of the spirit."

Spirits (lwa) of vodou define parts of the universal human experience. The spirits all have names and personalities, very much like Roman Catholic saints. Like Mexican altars to deceased ancestors for El Dia de los Muertos, these vodou spirits are offered their favorite things that represent these personalities. These items are placed on altars or sewn in sequins and beads on 36" x 36" flags in their honor. The spirits, like saints, are invoked to grant favors or assist in getting through a difficult time, or they are praised for their virtues and help.

My two favorite Vodou spirits are Ezili Freda and Ezili Danto. These cousins are diametrically opposed forces of femininity. Ezili Freda represents love and luxury, a city girl who has elegant fashion sense, likes sweet drinks and Virginia Slims cigarettes. She looks pretty, dressed in white lace with pink trim. Her day is Thursday. Mater Dolorosa represents Ezili Freda.

Her country cousin Ezili Danto is linked to protective motherhood. She dresses in bright red and blue calicos and drinks strong rum. Black pigs symbolize Ezili Danto and her favorite food is fried pork. She smokes unfiltered Camel cigarettes and her days are Tuesdays and Saturdays. Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Mater Salvatoris represent Ezili Danto.

This catalog allows a closer study of the brilliant sequin art associated with vodou. Spirit bottles, mirrors, jackets, vests, leggings and flags are covered with the flash of sequins that are anchored with seed beads. The symbols of the vodou spirits and their aspects are reflected by the designs made with the sequins and beads.

The Sacred Arts catalog is an obviously well researched and comprehensive look at Vodou. I highly recommend it for a broad range of people, from cultural anthropologists to decorative artists.

I've been obsessed with this book ever since I was introduced to it. I find it well-researched and unbiased. It provides an accurate glance into this unfairly shunned religion.

As the title says, if you are interested in Vodou-influenced Haitian art (in other words, most Haitian art), this is the definitive book on the subject. If you are not interested in the subject, the breathtaking illustrations are likely to make you a convert.

Consentino has compiled some excellent information to go along with the pictures, including interviews with Vodouisants and artists. He avoids the all-too-common sensationalist treatments of Haitian Vodou, and is never condescending or patronizing. He (correctly) treats Vodou like a world religion, and gives it due respect; his scholarship is impeccable both in art and comparative religion. Well worth the cost: this is a coffee table book you will cherish.

Jim Griffith's Saints of the Southwest is a beautiful gift book that combines photographs of images or representations of thirty-one saints with very short essays that summarize the life of each saint and describe his/her following in Northern Mexico, Arizona, or New Mexico. The saints range from the obvious - San Martín de Porres, la Virgen de Guadalupe, el Santo Niño de Atocha - to the more obscure, like San Ramón Nonato and San Pascual Bailón. Many of the images themselves are exquisite, reflecting some of the artistic traditions of the Southwest. That they are located in a variety of places - from roadside shrines commemorating accidents to private chapels to churches open to the public - attests to how deeply these saints resonate in the region's consciousness. Griffith's descriptions of how and when the veneration (and representation) of the saints developed tell us a lot about the popular religiosity and cultural history of the region. This book will appeal to many readers, whether they are aficianados of Southwest culture and art, faithful Catholics, religion buffs, or folklorists.

I found this book at a small shop in Ann Arbor Michiganand and fell in love with it. There are beautiful photographs of altars, shrines, saints, Mother Mary, and more. The inside of the front has an amazing photo of a private chapel devoted to the saints which actualy served as the inspiration for ma to create a similar chapel for myself. This book is truly worth the price and has so much to offer. Dont let this one get away.

Jim Griffith's book is a beautiful departure from the more academic work on southwestern culture that he has produced over the last few decades. This is a wonderful gift book for anyone interested in catholic saints, folk arts or the southwest.

Again, a beautiful book.

Featuring twenty one saints, six "Mary's", three angels and one manifestaion of the Christ child this book is a bit of misnomer. However the book is beautiful in it's presentation with short one page explanations of the significance of each holy representation. I received this book as a gift and cherish it 's brevity yet immenesly powerful imagery and accompanying stories on the origins of each person. The photographs are taken from various locations including such diverse places as churches and roadside shrines. Their are several wood carved bultos and retablos that are of particular interest to those interested in the folkloric arts of the southwest. A fantastic little gem for those moments of reflection to be enjoyed over and over. The antiqutiy of some of the art pieces is amazing and deserves more than a second look. If you want you could whip through this in less than hour but really it should be read and enjoyed numerous times. If you know someone who likes the religious arts of the southwest this is a good choice to give as a gift. I found the section on Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha particularly interesting, the first native American on her way to to becoming a saint in the Catholic Church. I would recommend giving this book to someone or treating yourself if you love the arts of the southwest.

Beautifully presented and printed. The images are vivid, bold and very stark. The photographers really know how to isolate and present their subjects, and the large format photography really shines through. As a fan of good photo lighting i was a little distracted by the double-shadows in some of the images. Apart from this, technically all the photos are wonderful.

In "Salt Dreams" photographers Jimmy and Dena Katz have used large format technology to capture the strange clashes between people and what was once a vast naked desert. The images are produced in such clarity and detail they seem to insist on the discovery of a new reality, neither hyper- nor sur-real, but a pop-reality made of rocket and race-car dreams, and civilization's discards. These photos make both artistic and conceptual statements in brilliant color and fantastic precision. No more fuzzy roanticism; this is how we really are.

"Salt Dreams" by Jimmy and Dena Katz will mesmerize you. In unique large format color photographs this inspired artist couple captured the other-worldliness of Utah's Salt Lake flats. Spending months of patient observation, they came upon scenes of such strangeness you may think they were contrived but they're not. And that's the real magic of this work. Buy the book and read the excellent introduction by Vicki Goldberg, photography editor of the NYTimes to appreciate the freshness and brilliance of this work. It's unlike any other professional photography you've ever seen.

This is a beautiful and interesting book. Having shared it with others I have found that everyone has a different opinion of the story the pictures tell, and all were impressed. I would reccomend this book highly to all those interested in people being people in the desert.

You can actually smell the ocean while reading SALTY DOGS!
This book is for anyone who loves dogs and the beach(or both!)
Dogs and the beach just seem to go together,well like the sand and the
surf.The captions capture the perfect melding of canines and salt-water
and sand.
I particularly like the one that goes: "Happiness is not a destination,it's a method of life. After reading SALTY DOGS,my destination is....you guessed it...THE BEACH.....with my smooth-fox terrier....NUGGET! That's if I can get him out of our swimming pool first!

Pure enjoyment for the dog lover in you. Each page featured a page that would make any dog lover envious and make you wish that you and your dog were at the beach. The quotations on each page only enhanced the page-turning appeal of this book. A must read for the dog lover and a must buy as a gift for the dog lover in your family or circle of friends.

This is a great book for everyone who loves dogs and loves the beach. The photos in this book are fabulous and the quotes put with each picture are just right and a slight reminder to us all what life is really about. I gave this as a gift to several Dog People and they loved it. We should all be lucky enough to have a salty dog in our life. So If you enjoy watching dogs romping on the beach, buy the book, it's well worth the cost of admission!

"Salty Dogs" is a title that no dog lover should be without! Each page in Jean Fogle's book is has an exceptional photograph of a canine on the beach, plus a fitting quote to accompany the page. This book will be a perfect gift book for all your dog-loving friends, this holiday season.

Do yourself a favor and check out "Salty Dogs," it is sure to bring a smile to your face.

Beautifully printed, LOTS of color photographs and only a little text, this book is a great way to learn about one of the lesser known California Impressionists. Paintings, posters and illustrations, compositional sketches. Best of all, there are many detail views of the paintings that allow you to see Harris' brushwork, and a couple of essays on painting and drawing that Harris himself wrote.

This gorgeous, generously sized and illustrated volume is a very good one to have for those interested in the "eucalyptus" school, Southern California Impressionism. Not only is it very informative about SHH, but also is a great collection of images of how things were - one of the attractions of these paintings generally - California's beloved scenery and atmospherics without freeways, windfarms, subdivisions, or man-made pollution. Of course it is a must-have for collectors considering acquiring works by SHH.

With only a few pages of text, perhaps little more than a dozen, plus an extensive record of exhibitions and a chronology, this is primarily a catalogue of the artist's work.

The text provides a brief introduction to Sam Hyde Harris and a very brief biography, and some short descriptions of his practical approach to his work.

The real delight of the book however is the wealth of illustrations which adorn virtually every one of the two hundred and forty pages and must total well in excess of that number. They range from the artist's graphic work and illustration, include a few personal photographs, but of course concentrate on his paintings, both oils and watercolours. All the images are in full colour with the exception of a few which for obvious reasons are duo-tone or black and white, and are beautifully reproduced

This is a truly splendid volume, of generous proportions, which clearly conveys the power of his graphic work and the subtle beauty of his paintings. This is surely a book to be highly prized.

This is a beautifully illustrated and printed book of the works of Sam Hyde Harris who was a prominent illustrator and landscape painter in the hay day of California plein aire artists. Hyde's focus on color and value in his commercial illustration work often spilled over into his landscapes and seascapes. Some of his landscapes are reminiscent of Maynard Dixon's stylized natural shapes and colors, but Harris had very much his own style. Also included in this heavily illustrated book are examples of Harris' work in wood block prints which are as good as any done in the 1920s and 1930s.
Overall, this work by Maurine St. Gaudens and collaborators is extremely well done and does justice to one of the best artists of the period.

I love this book. Great concept - it's not about some foreign Magnum photographers coming in to Sarajevo for a few days and publishing a book but the exact opposite! It's Sarajevo photographers portraing their country going through horrible change.
This is really a great and unique book. Double thumbs up for the author and photographers. I think they did a wonderful job!

I recently came across this book and a testament to its power is that I am not personally or particularly involved or interested in the Sarajevo conflict but found myself deeply impacted by these photos and accompanying text. I found this to be a wonderfully original idea--to have a compilation of photos from native photographers as opposed to the standard international reporters. It gave a unique perspective.

The killing fields of Bosnia, like so many wars, attracted the world's most renowned journalists. But of all of the war correspondents who covered the war in Bosnia, none have depicted the tragedy, suffering and heroism of war as honestly as Leslie Fratkin - and that's because Fratkin had the foresight to realize that no outsider could tell the story of Sarajevo as well as Sarajevans. Fratkin, an accomplished photographer in her own right, arrived in Bosnia to cover the war and simply set down her camera. She spent the next five years tracking down Bosnian photographers, who now live all over the world, looking at their pictures and listening to their stories. Sarajevo Self-Portrait is the culmination of her efforts. It tells the story of nine Bosnian photographers as they chronicled the destruction of their own country. Through a series of extensive interviews, which accompany their bodies of work, we hear how they struggled to hold their lenses still as their friends and families were struck down by snipers' bullets, how they schemed to smuggle film into the city through and underground tunnel, and how at times they used their won urine instead of developing chemicals to make their prints. At times tear-jerking, and at other times gut-wrenchingly comical, Sarajevo Self-Portrait is one of the best, and certainly the most sensitive book to come out of the war. Anyone who wants to understand the human side of that war should buy this book.

At a quick lookthrough Sarajevo Selfportrait looks like any other warstory because you tend to fixate on the photos of graves and blood - but after reading the photographers introductions and seeing all the other photos of everyday life in a city under siege this book stays with you for a long time. Without being sentimental or sensationalizing it takes you on a heartwrenching journey down bombed out streets and sniper warnings. After listening to international news and seeing pressphotos from Bosnia for a long time this books gives you a chance to get a realistic and sometimes even humorous look at how to not only survive but live with terror everyday.