Authors Books

I enjoy the adventure in all these books and particularly like the fact that there is a series of books and they have the same characters.

A famous writer is coming to Green Lawn, but after the writer doesn't show up for a book signing event in the Book Nook, Dink, Josh and Ruth Rose are worried.
Later in Dink's letter it says the the writer was probly kidnapped.
SO they started investingation, was the auther really kidnapped and by whom?
You need to read the book and find out!

My eight year old grandson is avid reader. He reads 2 years ahead of his grade level in school. I always think of books for my grandkids as gifts. When his birthday was coming, I came looking for books. I found this series. They are called the A-Z mysteries. I bought the first ten books A-J and they were such a success. He loves everyone of them. I am going to buy more of them to use as gifts for good report cards, etc. I think that books are the most important gift that you can give to a child and these books are great.

I like everything about the kidnapping stuff. I like Dink, Josh and Ruth Rose. I think the pictures should be in color.
It was a good mystery.

I wanted to get a beginner's chapter book for my almost 6-year-old daughter. I thought about Junie B. Jones or the Magic Tree House series, but I was turned off by Junie's poor grammar (or at least the author's attempt to make her sound like a "real" 6-year-old), and by the Magic Tree House's female character being "dreamy" while her brother was "logical". This book managed to avoid those caveats, while still being an entertaining read for my daughter. I wasn't sure at first if she could follow a chapter book on her own, with illustrations only appearing every 3 pages or so, so I read her the first two chapters last night. This morning, the first thing she reached for was that book. Instead of getting up and watching Saturday morning cartoons, she sat in bed, ate a banana, and finished her new book. I couldn't ask for anything better.

The book definitely wears the title well. A wonderful truth revealing walk in the thoughts and reality of the community and a home in the average life of a strong and motivated against the odds woman.

If you wanna know a real "Woman's Worth", then the journey Stacey McAdoo takes you on in "Baring My Soul" will give you the true meaning of the trials and tribulations not of just a black woman in the south,but as a woman period. Many of you who take this journey with her, may not be able to relate to her experiences, but you can learn from them. Mrs. McAdoo puts herself out there on the line in ways most people wouldn't dream about. It was refreshing to see someone who has nothing to hide and her words may well force you to deal with difficulties of your own. Wonderful job!

I really enjoyed the book. When I need a reality check or some uplifting, I pick up the book and re-read specific chapters. The book "Baring My Soul" is very inspirational. It made me laugh, cry and go hmmmmmmm! I am waiting on "Baring My Soul II" because I feel that there was so much yet to be told and now I would like to know about how Stacey & her family have dealt with the loss of her brother.

In a crowded airport, as I sat impatiently awaiting my delayed flight, I began to read "Baring My Soul". I thought I was just going to skim through a couple of pages and just sorta waste time. I bought the book outta of support and because of a referral, without having a clue as to what it was going to be about. And boy, was I in for a shocker. The people at the airport probably thought I was CRAZY because I was literally talking outloud. I finished the entire book at the airport...and it is the best book I've ever read. I'm going to re-read it so that I can let certain parts soak in and make sure I didn't miss anything! Stacey is one extraordinary lady...and a BADDDDD [meaning good] writer! Good luck and I wish you much success.

I loved this book. I initially sat down to read a couple of chapters, and before I knew it, I was through! I thought the book was intelligently written, yet at the same time, it was written in a "down to earth" understandable language where everyone could relate and comprehend. The whole time I was reading, I just kept shaking my head and thinking to myself, "this sister is deep". At times I found myself talking outloud to the book...lots of the stuff I just couldn't believe! This book stirred up a lot of emotions...I often found myself getting angry, crying and even laughing. This is a heavy book and everyone should buy a copy. (I wish I could convey that my momma, my sister and my daddy - because right now it's rotating through my family!)

This is a great anthology on Asian American history that's well worth your time to read!

I am a proud owner of the Big Aiiiieee. It is absolutely refreshing to hear from other voices than the popular writers such as Tan, Kingston, and Hwang. Chin certainly has made many great and valid points. Tan, Kingston, and Hwang, together, represent a body of cultural sensationalism against especially 'Asian American' men. I agree with Chin on many points; however, Tan, Kingston, and Hwang are wholly to be blamed.
First of all, the term "Asian American" should be eradicated. I am not an Asian American. I am a Chinese-Vietnamese American, as specific as that. With that in mind, this anthology is mainly composed of Chinese and Japanese-American perspectives. Where are representational voices of Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, and South Asian people (India, Parkistan, Burma).
Secondly, I agree with Mr. Chin that Tan's and Kingston's portrayal of Chinese culture is primitive and backward. Tan's Joy Luck Club contains lot of images that promote cultural sensationalism and exoticism. For example, An Mei's mother cuts her flesh from her arm and dumps them into her grandmother's soup. The non-asian readers will subsequently thrive on this stereotype and apply it for all "Asians." This is like another form of canibalism. Another example of cultural sensationalism is the uncle eating live, jumping shrimps with his chopsticks (or Did I miss something?). As for Kingston, the Woman Warrior clearly was written with an intention as a feminist piece. Because there is no greatly equal novel to dispute its exaggerated feminism, mainstream readers take this as a true portrayal of Chinese/Asian men -- brutal rapists.
Furthermore and on a positive note, what makes this anthology fresh is the fact that it includes other fresh(not new)but neglected voices such as Louis Chu, John Okana, Monica Sone, Gish Jen, and so on, writers that are not given a fair chance in mainstream publishing.
Finally, I think this is a great anthology. Unfortunately, it does not truly represent me and my Vietnamese American community. What I got from reading this anthology is a sense of freshness as far as perspective is concerned; however, emotionally, I am more identified with Flannery O'connor, Toni Morrison, and Duong Thu Huong.
For those dire fans of Mr. Chin and harsh critics of interracial relationship: He married a caucasian woman, so are some of his colleagues.
Beware of whom you worship!

What gives people like Amy Tan, Maxine Hong Kingston, and David Henry Hwang the right to take my cultural distinctions and cater it to a white audience who want the stereotypical Chinese?! I'm glad Frank Chin exposed these sell-outs in this important book. There are Asians who are far from being these sorts of stereotypes described in the literatures of Tan, Kingston, and Hwang, and these editors prove it. Read this book and you'll find that out yourself.

and I know how much these editors helped my ethnicity in the first Aiiieeeee! These people (Chan, Chin, Inada, and Wong) know their stuff, and they're not ashamed of their cutlure. They are unassimilated, brave, talented, and strong. You would be more proud of your Asian race after reading this book.

Since the publication of this book, it has been criticized for it's "machismo, misogynist" morale. Guess who these criticisms are coming from? White feminists (or those who support them). They cannot look beyond history and textual matter, instead they force and assume their principles and try (and unforunately, they succeeded) to make this a battle of Women's rights. I have read Chin's "Come All Ye Asian American Writers of the Real and of the Fake" and in nowhere is there any misogynistic dictum. Why? Because this isn't a matter of Women's views or MEN'S! It's about history and how it should be interpreted. People like Kingston, Hwang, and Tan want to deconstruct Asian American history. Feminists want to help Kingston's and Tan's deconstructive views by arbitrarily labeling Chin as a misogynist. If Chin or the editors of The Big Aiiieeeee! were misogynist why would they have women writers in this anthology? Just because there aren't that many women writers doesn't mean it's totally and utterly sexist. Could it be because there aren't that many authentic Asian American women writers?! If there are no authentic texts to Asia America, would it hurt to say that stereotypes (or whatever) are actually right?

I am not much for poetry in general (having been forced to determine feet and meter and memorize types of sonnets, etc...), but Service's poetry is simple, amazingly clear, and beautiful. His descriptions of the Northern Lights and the wonders of the North are worth the price of the book just in of themselves.

Exactly what I was looking for for my husband. I think it has everything Robert Service ever wrote and is fabulous.

Exactly what I was looking for for my husband. I think it has everything Robert Service ever wrote and is fabulous.

I hunted far and wide to find this particular volume of poetry by Robert Service. Robert Service is without any doubt my favorite poet. His poems are classics. But many years past when I was just a youth, I stumbled onto a volume of Robert Service where he wrote short prose introductions to his poems. Hoping one day to become a poet myself, I thought these prose introductions provided the greatest insight to how a poet creates. I looked and looked and looked but could never find that volume. Then one day in a second hand book shop some where I found it. It was this volume. I paid a good price for it. I've recorded all these poems with the prose intros on my karaoke and I play them for myself sometimes at bed time. My wife has her "ears" on her burrow (she's hard of hearing) so she is not disturbed. In my opinion Robert is the epitome of fine poetry. He has it all humor, pathos, romance, intellectual content, melody, beauty, intensity, warmth, toughness, manliness - you name it; he's got it. Buy this volume you will not regret it.

As pointed out by a couple of other reviewers, Robert Service's work has been rather putdown over the years by the elitist and, indeed, still is. That is just fine by me. The only problem here is that because of this "looking down upon attitude" many, who like to associate with such people may not read Service's work for that reason. That is a shame because they are missing some great poetry and a whole group of fun. Recently, the "cow boy poets" in our country are making a come back and rightfully so. These "unsophisticated" poems reflect our culture, tell a story and are simply good. Service falls withing this genre. I enjoy poetry in most forms and I certainly would feel much poorer for not having read this author's work. Service tells simple stories with simple words, that are to the point and few frills. There is little pretentiousness here. These are stories from our past and need to be treasured. Recommend this work highly.

This collection lacks 22 poems which appeared in "The Palm at the End of the Mind", Holly Stevens carefully edited selection highly approved of by Harold Bloom. Missing are "Of Mere Being", "A Child Asleep in Its Own Life" and "For an Old Woman in a Wig" to name but three. It leaves out the added lines of "The Man Whose Pharynx Was Bad". It lacks an index of first lines. If you're going to buy a book of Stevens' poems spend the extra $10 and get the magnificent Library of America "Collected Poetry and Prose" which contains EVERYTHING, is a huge bargain and will keep you occupied for the rest of your life. Or possibly get Holly Stevens "The Palm at the End of the Mind" which eliminates a lot of lesser poems which could confuse a newcomer to Stevens. The Vintage people have thrown this together without much thought. It's better than nothing, but the other two books I have named are the one's to get.

"Her terrace was the sand/And the palms and the twilight" -- and those are only the first two lines. Dipping into surrealism and imbued with spirituality, his poetry is compiled into "The Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens," which includes seven compilations of his work.

Over his lifetime, Stevens wrote several books of poetry, but his exquisite poems are best taken by themselves: the lush grandeur of "Sunday Morning," the hymnlike "Le Monocle De Mon Oncle," and the humid grittiness of "O Florida, Venereal Soil." He takes multiple looks at "Thirteen Ways of Looking At A Blackbird," and the lush "Six Significant Landscapes."

In other poems, Stevens dips into outright surrealism, like in the delicate "Tattoo" ("There are filaments of your eyes/On the surface of the water/And in the edges of the snow"), and also adds a meditative bent into "The Snow Man" ("For the listener, who listens in the snow,/And, nothing himself, beholds/Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is").

If nothing else, Stevens' poetry can be read just because it is exquisitely beautiful. He lavished details all over almost every poem he wrote, and gave many of them the quality of a dream. His descriptions are simply written, but brilliantly laid out: "When my dream was near the moon,/The white folds of its gown/Filled with yellow light."

His style tends to be a bit on the ornate side -- Stevens freely uses the more exotic terms -- such as "opalescence," "pendentives" and "muleteers" -- wrapped up in complex verse, sometimes with a rhyme scheme and sometimes free-form. And lush detail is added to many of his poems, with descriptions of the moon, sun, plants and lighting, along with dazzling descriptions of the colors.

But his writing is more than beautiful. Stevens' work often poses questions about death, life, religion, and art, taking the conventional and turning it on its head. His belief in the importance of his art is reflected in poems like "Not Ideas About The Thing But The Thing Itself," which ends with the portentous lines: "Surrounded by its choral rings,/Still far away. It was like/A new knowledge of reality."

Wallace Stevens is one of the most unique poets of the 20th century, and the sprawling "Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens" is a wonderful read.

Wallace Stevens is my favorite poet. This collection was prepared late in his life and is in a sense definitive, though the excellent Library of America collection is to be preferred as including a number of additional poems (including the controversial long poem "Owl's Clover"), as well as alternate versions of some poems, juvenilia, and also Stevens's essays.

Stevens is known, it seems to me, in two separate ways. In the popular sense, he is known for a series of remarkable early poems, in most cases not terribly long, notable for striking images and quite beautiful prosody. Of these poems the most famous is surely "Sunday Morning" -- other examples are "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird", "Peter Quince at the Clavier", "Sea Surface Full of Clouds", "Tea at the Palaz of Hoon", "The Emperor of Ice Cream", "The Idea of Order at Key West", "Of Modern Poetry". The great bulk of these come from his first collection, Harmonium, and indeed from the
first edition of Harmonium, published in 1923. These were certainly my favorite among his poems on first reading. And they remain favorites.

But his critical reputation rests strikingly on a completely different set of poems, all later than those mentioned above. (Though it must be acknowledged that at least "Sunday Morning" and "The Idea of Order at Key West" as well as two early long poems, "The Comedian as the Letter C" and "The Monocle de Mon Oncle", are in general highly regarded critically. And that most of his early work is certainly treated with respect.)

I think it's fair to say that "late Stevens" begins with "Notes Toward a Supreme Fiction", perhaps his most highly regarded work. Of course the terms "late" and "early" are odd
applied to Stevens. His first successful poems appeared in 1915
(including "Sunday Morning"), when he was 36. He was 44 when the first edition of Harmonium came out. That's pretty late for "early"! And by the 1942 publication of "Notes Toward a Supreme Fiction" he was 63. Indeed, his production from 1942 through his death in 1955 was remarkable: two major collections each with several long poems as well as at least another full collection worth of late poems, some included in this _Collected Poems_ but quite a few more not collected until after his death.

What to say about late Stevens? The most obvious adjective is
"austere". But that doesn't always apply -- he could also be quite playful. However, there is never the lushness of a "Sunday Morning" or "Sea Surface Full of Clouds" in the late works. The sentences tend to extraordinary length, but the internal rhythms are involving. The poems are all quite philosophical, much concerned with the importance of poetry, the nature of reality versus perceptions of reality, and, perhaps more simply, with growing old. (A Stevens theme, to be sure, that can be traced at least back to "The Monocle de Mon Oncle".)

So: Stevens is an impossibly wonderful, remarkable, poet, either early or late. His lush and imagist early work remains a delight, and his philosophically involving late work rewards rereading and concentration. He is a poet to whom you can return again and again, and he will always be new.

Wallace Stevens is a god! If you don't know him than there is definately something wrong with you. Have your head examined. Then, buy this book. It is an excellent compilation of Stevens's great work. If you don't like him than you are a caveman with a shallow brainpan, and I just don't like you. What a wonderful poet. He really really is just a wonderful poet.

Stevens is for me the great American poet of the twentieth century.
His music is the supreme music of poetry . Not since Keats is there anyone as rich in the most elaborate kind of longworded poetry.
His metaphysical meanderings may confuse but somehow find themselves justified by the memorableness of the great lines- and again the music.
No one comes close to him in the kind of deep and complicated beauty he presents- and again the music.
The meanings he makes are musical meanings, and the sounds of his lines sing in us ever more strongly , the more we read and reread.
Stevens is the kind of poet we want to memorize and always have with us inside, so wherever we go , we can stop and to ourselves recite lines of beauty in joy.
I may be wrong but I simply hear his poetry as the greatest America has had in the twentieth century - though lesser than Whitman and Dickinson.

Thirty short stories by W. Somerset Maugham including "Rain" which is about a prudish missionary and a prostitute and "The Three Fat Women of Antibes" which is an ironic story about self-denial and greed.

As a writer, Maugham considered himself "on the first row of the secondraters". I think he was being modest. Maugham has written some of the finest short stories ever written. His purpose was to do no more than tell an interesting story, but the reader gets much more. Each story is perfectly told; not one word is wasted, each character is fully realized. Maugham observes and never judges his characters. His short stories can be read many times and with each reading the reader finds something new and interesting. Somerset Maugham's short stories takes the reader to a time that is now past but still very relevant.

Somerset is an amazing writer whose words flowed so freely and expressively it makes you want to cry. This book of shorts is classic Maugham and un-put-downable. You'll love it.

The story" Fall of Edward Barnard" is a confrontation between what is called'the Civilized World' and the indigenous, the savage, the primitive world. Edward, thankful to a relative already fascinated by the beauties of the islands around tahiti, had a one life opportunity to have a very introspective reflexion about the meaning of his life. Sent from Chicago for two years, he will delay his return and the promise he made to his bride Isabelle. Why ? Because facing the natural beauty, almost thunderstruck by such simplicity, he wonders what the use of all this hustle and constant striving in our cities which are all but stones with ceasless turmoil. After a unsuccessful beginning in working, he chose a simple life based on beauty, truth and goodness. His thoughts reach the universal when asking himself ( throughout the author's philosophy ) why do we come into the world for to hurry to an office and work hour after hour

I came to know Maugham through his novels, especially The Razor's Edge, Of Human Bondage, and Cakes and Ale. I purchased this collection not knowing what to expect. The stories are character focused, at times incredibly witty and amusing, at times melancholy and near heart-breaking. As in his novels, Maugham has the ability to make the reader see what is not written. Highlights include The Rain, a commentary on the work of missionaries, and The Pool, one of the saddest shorts ever written. Others, such as The Three Fat Women of Antibbes, will probably make you laugh out loud. A first rate collection.

I bought this as a gift for my mom, and she loved it. It is a great book that keeps you interested, you won't want to put it down.

No te arrepentiràs, me encantan todos los cuentos de este libro, so tan originales y tan fuera de lo común, que te transportan a otro mundo en tu imaginación!!

Cuentos de Eva Luna arrived rapidly. I am reading it for pleasure and I'm not being disappointed. The book is well bound for a paperback, comfortable to hold, easy to read for a student of a second language.

A friend introduced me to this collection this summer. It's a relatively easy read for anyone with a college education in Spanish. Allende uses modern stylistic devices and vocabulary.

The frame is a Scheherazade set up... a series of stories about love relationships.

Some stories are a bit schematic and unsatisfying but when she hits paydirt, it's killer. I especially liked the stories 'Si me tocaras el corazon' and 'Walimai.' These felt almost like deep folk/ fairytales.

If you enjoyed A.S. Byatt's "The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye," you'll like this one too.

What a collection of characters! An illiterate woman who sells words. A man obsessed with a little girl. A woman whose marriage was based on letters written by the wrong man. A woman who spends her life waiting for revenge. A rich man who keeps a girl prisoner. Rascals trying to break into society. A lonely dictator. Invisible Indians. Every character is flawed in some terrible way, and yet, somehow appealing. Somehow you become attached to each of the characters and you want to hear their stories. There is something absolutely magical about these stories by Isabel Allende, stories you can't put down.

What is her secret? I don't know. I think she writes with magic ink. But, there is something else, too. Her characters never give up. No matter how bad, how flawed, how actually depraved they may be, they keep struggling toward the light. And so, each of us, with our own struggle to escape from darkness, can relate to these people and their stories.

These are some of the finest stories I have ever read. I recommend the collection most highly. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.

Exactly what, I asked myself, is a Diva?

Well, according to most dictionaries I checked, Diva is a noun, and it describes a "distinguished female operatic singer; a female operatic star." Synonym: prima donna

Hmmm. I've noticed in today's usage, Diva seems to be applied to anyone who is at the pinnacle of their career, or knowledge, or special in some other way. Let's find out if it applies here.

Our Diva in this book is one Aubrey James, the reigning Queen of Country, residing at the top of the charts for over ten years. We meet Aubrey onstage at a CMA special. She's exhausted. Her boyfriend pops out onstage and publicly proposes. The ring is thrust on her finger. He leaves, she steps up into the spotlight - and the Diva takes a dive. Total wipe-out.

As she recuperates, she learns she has been cruelly betrayed by a former band member. Her "story" has been sold to a major tabloid. Up to this point, Aubrey has kept her very public life separate from her private life. Now, she realizes she's going to have to open up and talk about the real Aubrey James.

She chooses the venue for her interview, but they change her scheduled interviewer. A person from her past she'd rather forget. Now she faces her past--her personal life--on more than one front.

Aubrey James refuses to become a victim. She is strong. She faces everything head-on. No hiding, no prevaricating. Brought up by Christian parents, at their death, Aubrey moves away from her faith. Yet, though she doesn't realize it, her 'faith' never left her. When things happen to her, accusations thrown at her, she handles them with grace, though she doesn't realize that. Some of those things made ME angry. I wanted Aubrey to lash out in anger, throw something, do something--anything. But she didn't.

And she remains a Diva.

I loved this book. I highly recommend this title, even if you don't reach much Chick-Lit.I believe this is Rachel's strongest book to date It is not a "girlie" book - it is full of depth and rich with symbolism. Get it!

extremely well written. the characters dont feel like they were pushed and forced into being and the conversations and story feels natural. extremely good book and i would recommend it to everyone. i enjoyed the storyline in that it could be read by anyone, man or woman. its a chick lit thats not too romancey.

Diva NashVegas is the touching story of a country music superstar trying to get back in touch with herself, her faith, and her love for music. In the first few pages of the book, the main character, Aubrey James, bursts forth as a glitzy, glamorous star of the stage who has everything that anyone could ask for - love, money, success. But it doesn't take long for the reader to get to know the inner turmoil of Aubrey's life as she has learned to deal with the loss of her parents, the betrayals by lovers, and the duplicity of former band members, all while under the bright spotlight of the public eye. Now, recognizing that there is nowhere left to run and hide from the mistakes and misfortunes of her past, Aubrey decides to face them head on by doing a one on one interview with Scott Vaughn, one of the co-anchors of Inside NashVegas. Rachel Hauck does an amazing job of bringing to life the complex character of Aubrey James whose larger-than-life, diva persona is balanced perfectly with that girl-next-door, down to earth quality that makes Aubrey irresistibly relatable despite her status as a country singing legend. Aubrey's encounters with Scott span the gamut of emotions from embarrassing and nerve racking, to compassionate and even comedic. The moments where Aubrey dreams of her mother will touch the heartstrings of anyone who has ever felt sad and alone and wanted nothing more than to crawl inside a warm, motherly embrace. Turning the pages on the growth of a woman on the brink of a breakdown as she turns into someone enjoying the process of regaining her faith is a joy to witness!
--Amey Libman, Author of Heart of Blue

I loved this book. I read it during down time at work but had to be very careful... due to the fact that I busted out laughing at the antics between Aubrey and Scott. Singed eye-brows, the driving lesson, teaching Aubrey to cook.

I found Hauck's writing to be down to earth, weaved with love and humor. Aubrey was so well-rounded that I could relate to bits and pieces of her personality. Scott was such an easy character to love. He would be a lot of fun to hang with. When I neared the end of the book, I found myself procratinating to finish it. I didn't want the story to end.

I am going to buy this book for my 12 year old niece. I know she will love it.

Diva NashVegas is a good, fluffy read but it's not quite as good as Lost in NashVegas. As a heroine, I found Robin Rae to be more relatable than Aubrey James. Honestly, in the beginning chapters, I didn't like Aubrey very much at all- she seemed too cocky (I realize that she is supposed to be a `diva'- so this characteristic is fitting but still annoying), pessimistic, and at the same time, weak and spine-less (had a hard time standing up to her schmoe of a boyfriend/fiancé/live-in lover). There were more than a few instances where I tried to yell through the book at her for not making a bigger deal about things that were in fact a big deal. Another point of contention was her living with her boyfriend- granted, her faith wasn't that strong in the beginning but, still, for a Christian fiction book it bothered me how sugar-coated it all seemed- it was written and handled in too blasé a manner, as if it wasn't a big deal that they were living and sleeping together. And there was really no remorse, regret, or anything from Aubrey after the fact, never realizing or admitting that it was a mistake.

Still a good quick read but a disappointment after the fun of Lost in NashVegas and the plucky Robin Rae. Although the plot was predictable, I'm not giving up on Ms. Hauck; I just hope the next story in more in the lines of the first and not this mediocre second installment.

Both my 5-yr old and my 2 1/2yr old girls love this book! So simple, and beautiful pictures!

I gave this book to my daughter on her 2nd birthday and for over 7months now it has been one of her favorite books she has her Nonna read her "Busy Timmy" everyday and when its time for my daughter to do things on her own like use her potty or eat if you remind her that Timmy does them she just can't wait to do them as well! This book is a treasure for any toddlers library!

I love this book. I grew up with "We Help Mommy". It brought back memories and tears!

Eloise Wilkin Stories (Little Golden Book Treasury)
The sub-title says Little Golden Book Treasury and treasury is an appropriate title. This book is a treasure! Each of the 209 pages is a delight! The pages have a sentimental familiarity for me as I can remember relishing them as a child, reading them to my children, and now sharing them with my grandchildren. The reproduction is excellent- much better than some other publishers are offering- each detail still intact altho some of the images are as old as 1948. I heartily recommend this edition to anyone who enjoys the peaceful beauty of Eloise Wilkin's illustrations!

My toddler loves Eloise Wilkin's illustrations-- they clearly make the "babies" (as he calls them, whether they are or not) very sympathetic. He will ask frantically for the "baby stories," and start begging for more when we get to the penultimate page of whichever one we're reading. Some of the books selected for the anthology are a bit long/wordy/tedious for a very young child, but half are suitable for even the youngest. I was sorry to see that "We Help Daddy" was not included along with "We Help Mommy," but that's my only complaint.

For me this was an amazing discovery. I read a review of it in a literary magazine in the waiting room of my optician and when I got home I immediately ordered it from Amazon.
What caught my eye in the review were the names of the inhabitants of the February House - Auden, Britten,McCullers... in that amazing year. I knew of their work individually but to read of them living under the same roof was a revelation.What a cauldron of creativity! All against the background of the war in Europe and the period leading up to Pearl Harbour.As I read the book I felt as though I were there. I hope that someone will make a documentary about it or better still a dramatised reconstruction. The two Truman Capote films have blazed the trail.

A friend just recommended this book to me and it's fabulous!!! I live in an artist bldg and it's nothing compared to the energy of Middagh Street. The book is a great read and the research is most impressive. I cannot wait to read the one she's writing about the Chelsea Hotel!

Thomas Wolf once famously said "only the dead know Brooklyn." There might be some truth in that, but some of us know Brooklyn, N.Y.,U.S.A., pretty well,and are still very much alive. Quite a few people are aware of Brooklyn's brownstone belt, that swath of historic houses stretching from the East River to Prospect Park and beyond. Many of these people would declare Brooklyn Heights the ultimate Brooklyn brownstone neighborhood. It's beautiful, and gets scenic views of Manhattan. It's got history galore--an important Revolutionary War battle was fought here;and it's been, and still is,home to a lot of well-known important people.

One little-known fact is that a number of celebrated people shared a house on Middagh Street, in 1940-41, right in the middle of the Second World War. That house, which came to be known as February House-- a number of its residents had February birthdays-- has long since been torn down to make room for the Promenade that provides storied views of Manhattan. But among occupants of February House were poet W.H.Auden, writer Carson McCullers, writers Jane and Paul Bowles,composer Benjamin Britten, and stripper Gypsy Rose Lee.

Writer Sherill Tippens has produced an interesting, pleasantly gossipy book about the house's residents and their accomplishments. Jane Bowles began "Two Serious Ladies," her only completed novel here. The young lesbian Carson McCullers had just tasted, at the age of 23, great success with her novel "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter." She began two other great successes, "The Member of the Wedding," and "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe," between drinking bouts, right here on Middagh Street.

Auden and Britten, both homosexual, but not involved with each other, were being raked over the coals at the time by the British press for choosing to sit out World War II in the U.S. But they were working: they collaborated on the opera "Paul Bunyan,"not critically well-received. Auden who continued to live in the Heights, on his own, to pursue his lifelong, unrequited love for the young American Chester Kallman, was working hard in the interstices of his personal soap opera: He produced "The Double Man" in February House. Britten produced "Peter Grimes;"considered one of the great masterpieces of 20th century opera. Meanwhile, he pursued his own personal soap opera: many critics believe this opera echoes developments with his partner, tenor Peter Pears, at the time.

The most unexpected resident of February House would have to be Gypsy Rose Lee, burlesque artiste. She was talked into joining the fun by George Davis, homosexual himself, fiction editor of "Harpers Bazaar" magazine, whose idea February House was, and who worked hard to keep it alive. Davis had published some of his own writing, but he was best known for the talented writers he kept on discovering.

In Gypsy Lee's case, she brought some money, a lot of common sense,and a cook to Middagh Street. The house's residents needed all the above. Her reward for her support: George Davis, great editor, midwifed her book, "The G-String Murders," a publishing sensation for many years.

George Davis continued to live at 7 Middaagh Street after its time as an artistic commune had passed. After Kurt Weill's death, Davis married his widow, Lotte Lenya, and devoted his life to introducing America to Weill's great works,such as "Three Penny Opera,"from which we get "Mack the Knife."

There are some informative photographs, extensive notes and acknowledgements in February House. Tippins evidently did a lot of primary research, but she managed to organize the voluminous results in a very readable style. February House well rewards the reader.

Sherill Tippins has done an amazing job of finding the significant narrative threads in the chaotic convergence of creative lives that occurred in the months before Pearl Harbor when Harper's Bazaar editor George Davis and British expatriate poet W.H. Auden rented a brownstone on 7 Middagh Street in Brooklyn Heights and actively recruited other creative artists to live with them. Among the co-renters were Carson McCullers who had recently published her highly acclaimed first novel, "The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter," soon-to-be famous British composer Benjamin Britten and his parnter, singer Peter Pears, unpublished novelists Paul and Jane Bowles, Broadway set designer Oliver Smith, writer Richard Wright and his wife, and burlesque sensation Gypsy Rose Lee, who it turns out was the most reliable in the rent-paying department and joined the little "creative commune" on the condition that she could bring her own cook and maid. Her fiscal reliability and drive along with Auden's willingness to take on the unpleasant role of house disciplinarian (collecting rent and other "dues" and establishing and enforcing many house rules) are probably sufficient explanation for why this menage managed to last the two or three years it did.

Tippins wisely focuses her attention on the leading figures (without neglecting to name the many others who partied but did not reside at 7 Middagh--Salvador and Gala Dali, Lincoln Kirstein, George Balanchine, Erika Mann and her brothers Klaus and Golo, to name a few). One passer-through, Anais Nin, christened the dwelling "February House" because so many of the residents had February birthdays. Tippins has a good knowledge of the works of these creative people and is able to see how one of the artists intentionally or inadvertantly influenced a subsequent work of one of his or her co-residents. For example, McCullers was struggling with the novel that would later become "The Member of the Wedding" when she was able to appropriate an experience from Chester Kallman's childhood to explain her heroine's profound sense of alienation and abandonment (Kallman was Auden's lover).

Tippins other great achievement here was her ability to slice through history and palpably recreate the political atmosphere in pre-war New York and to do so in a way that reflects on both British and US perspectives. She takes a good hard look at the criticism expatriates like Auden, Christopher Isherwood, Britten, and Pears faced from the British press and fellow artists who chose to remain in Great Britian during the war. She is similarly insightful in her analysis of the role the Mann family had in trying to get an apathetic America to respond to the European crisis. A lesser writer might not have bothered with these issues and chosen to report only the salacious and saleable anecdotes about the goings-on of the February House residents.

I highly recommend this book to anyone even passingly interested in one of the artists who lived at 7 Middagh Street (you're sure to learn something new), to anyone who ever wondered how great works of art come about, or to anyone interested in knowing how history and art intersect. I'm sure I'm going to use Tippins's Selecte Bibliography as a basis for future Amazon.com purchases.

Sherill Tippins' volume fills a tantalizing gap that fans of Auden, McCullers, Britten, and Gypsy Rose Lee have long wished could be filled. Most overdue is Tippins' portrait of George Davis: failed literary wunderkind; editor extraordinaire (who "discovered" McCullers and got much-needed writing jobs for her and W. H. Auden in the lean months before Pearl Harbor); husband to Lotte Lenya and the catalyst that re-invented her for American audiences in Marc Blitzstein's staging of Weill's "Threepenny Opera"--the list goes on and on. Davis and Auden are central to Tippins' account and to the amazing colony of artists who called 7 Middagh Street in Brooklyn Heights their home in 1940-41. But Tippins gives everyone in that circle his/her due. Her depictions of Auden's rocky romance with Chester Kallman, of Benjamin Britten's coming to terms with his artistic destiny in England, not America, and Gypsy Rose Lee's ability to charm and disarm everyone she met are more than engaging--they are extremely moving.

Tippins' research is exhaustive and impeccable, and she lets her characters speak naturally and eloquently. I could not put this book down and practically read it at one sitting. I was hungry for the kind of information Tippins delivered, and I finished the book with the deepest satisfaction. Gracefully written, carefully organized and researched, and extremely relevant: this book wins on all counts.