Non-fiction Books

If you like the Harry Potter movies, you will love this calendar! It has most of the famous movie posters and is just plain excellent for any HP fan. I cannot wait for the 2008 one!

This is a wonderful calendar with great pictures from all of the films. I keep this one at work and I get compliments on it all of the time!

This calendar is nice because it features all of the Harry Potter characters, not just Harry. I preferred the 2006 calendar, but this one is still cool.

It captures the characters and events of the movies. As a rule, the Potter merchandise is a great buy and a fun gift for any Harry Potter fan.

It has a lot of other country's holidays marked. That's a plus or minus depending on where you are from!

I bought this calendar for a Harry Potter fan. It is on her wall and well loved.

Heat Waves by Janelle Denison
Harlequin Blaze # 12 - October 2001
Sexy City Nights # 3

Ian lost his fiancée tragically eight years ago, and ever since has buried himself in his work. For awhile now he's been listening to a late night radio talk show, Heat Waves, and has been totally captivated by the sexy voice of the DJ and her provocative topics. Erica's fear of becoming dependant on abusive men, just like her mother and sister, prompted her to run across the nation from California to Chicago. After three hard years, she's finally starting to make something of herself, and all without a man's domineering influence. When Ian starts calling in to her radio talk show, Erica finds herself sweating in the radio booth, and not just because the A/C is broken. Their nightly on-air debates jack up the ratings. When Ian asks Erica out on a real date on-air, she's forced by her listeners to agree. The chemistry is even stronger in person than over the telephone, so the station prompts them to go on a series of dates following a recent magazine article of erotic photos taken from various public places around the city, and then share the dates with Erica's listeners. The heat cranks up even more!

This was an exceptional read! Ian and Erica both share a scarred childhood and a lonely climb up the career ladder. The love scenes are very hot and extremely well written, esp. the scene in the limo. From the beginning, Ms. Denison brings emotional life to both Ian and Erica. Their story is both passionate and endearing. A definite keeper! And to me - a five star rating all the way!

Sexy City Nights - Multi-Author series
Exposed by Julie Elizabeth Leto - HBZ-12 - August 2001
Body Heat by Carly Phillips - HBZ-8 - September 2001
Heat Waves by Janelle Denison - HBZ-12 - October 2001
L.A. Confidential by Julie Kenner - HBZ-16 - November 2001

This is one of my top 5 favorite romances of all time! It had just enough depth mixed in with all the hot sexy scenes. It was fun and playful, and I really loved how Ian understood her. Don't we all wish we had a guy that really understood us? Sexy, smart man and fun witty woman! Great job Janelle Denison!

This was the second Blaze I've read and it certainly looks like the series is holding it's own. Janelle Denison's writing is tight, she's drawn up two great characters with hot action, and I will say, yes, the limo scene was hot!

I would like to see a novel on the other two lovers in the book though, I bet it'd be just as hot. But Ian and Erica, wow. Her treatment of Erica's past was handled differently than I expected, which made for better reading. I couldn't put this book down!

Radio personality Erica McCree really likes sex. Talking about sex, that is . . .

Ian Carlisle has already seduced Erica's imagination. Now he's trying for the rest of her . . .

Erica knows firsthand that you can hide a lot behind a microphone. Although she's earned a reputation for discussing every aspect of sex on her show, she's never had to back it up . . . until a sexy mystery caller proves to be even more irresistible in person. Their on-the-air chemistry sizzles and they heat up the airwaves, debating any and all provocative issues possible. As the ratings soar, so does the sexual tension. But what will Ian do when he discovers Erica's not the sex expert she professes to be?

favorite scene with erica-
the end where she's pouring out her feelings over the air to ian and her listeners.

favorite scene with ian-
gayle telling ian to go for it.

favorite scene with erica and ian together-
the fight they have about ian buying the company.

I have been reading this book over and over for years. It is a beautiful landscape novel set along the highways in California in its suburban, fast food squalor. The metaphor throughout the book is the emphasis on scientific elements and how they apply to a young boy and his mother on the run. Incredibly well written.

The use of language and the unbelievible accesibility to heavy intelectual concepts (e.g. cultural theory, metaphysics, and subjectivity) will make a lot of creative writing students a tad bit envious. I read the book and one night and after reading it I felt like I took the craziest drug possible, minus the brain damage. This novel is f-ing nuts, sick and disturbing, and yet you can't possibly not fall in love with its brilliance.

I accidentally found this book while browsing the stacks of a local bookstore and was really surprised that I hadn't heard of the book or the author. Not many writers have the ability to startle me with such a wonderful writing style coupled with a zesty storyline. This is one of those books whose words are placed together with great feeling and care, resulting in a sharp, clear and sometimes painful book.

I picked this book up from a remainder stack at a local bookstore because I liked the title... I'm keeping this book because it took me for a ride that few contemporary works of fiction have. A thoroughly enjoyable read, full of startling twists and intelligent writing.

The History of Luminous Motion is compact and clear as a diamond, as beautiful and strange as its title. Phillip is an eight-year-old psychotic genius, attempting through science, philosophy, action, abstraction and the glittering poetry of his narrative to make sense of the world he inhabits. No easy solutions here; there's no way of knowing what is "real" and what isn't, and the glib jargon of the policemen, psychologists and Juvenile Correction Officers at the end serves merely to emphasise the mystery of Phillip's condition. Reading this book, I was reminded of several others, notably Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle and Arthur Machen's story "The White People" - both of which weave beauty, insanity and youth into their heroines' dark, potent and obsessive autobiographies. But The History of Luminous Motion, while it may be more closely related to these works than to much else, is unique in its evocation of a mind at once more-than-adult in its intellectual capacity and infant in its emotional solipsism; the philosophical conversations Phillip holds with his friends Rodney and Beatrice are among the funniest and most deeply disturbing parts of the book. Perhaps most remarkable of all is the seamlessness of both the character and the story - you never forget for a moment that Phillip is only eight years old, any more than you forget the power, the sensitivity or the sickness of his mind. The ending is sudden, elliptical and heart-rending. Buy it and be haunted.

Several years ago my daughter and I saw this book on Between the Lions. We instantly fell in love with it. I missed the title and author. I've been looking for it for years. I finally found it! My daughter is now 6. She still loves it. I don't travel much, but we have family far away and are preparing her for her first extended stay with grandma. This book is perfect for reassuring her. There are books that I hope to give my daughter so that she will share with her children many years from now. This book is definitely one of them. This books portrays all the sentiments of what I would like to do for my daughter

This is a great bedtime story in general, but it is even more applicable for those moms who travel for work and want to reassure their little ones that they will ALWAYS come home to them. (e.g. via airplane, riding a leopard, the space shuttle, etc) Wonderful illustrations! Also highly recommend her other book "I love you Stinky Face".

Kinda have to slow down reading it to my son as the pictures are so intricate and he likes to see every aspect of them, but a great story.

My granddaughter has chosen this as her second favorite book next to the original Stinky Face book..... as always it asks questions that are probably on the minds of children with whimsy answers that are reasurring... lovely pictures too!

Like other reviewers, we have two copies. One comes with me in my suitcase so I can read bedtime stories and the other one stays home so my sons can read along.

I became addicted to Haim Potok's writing. Once I finish one of his books, I can't help it - I buy a new one. Amazing story-teller!

This is a beautiful story; it is my very favourite book. I love it with all my heart.

I too have read the more well known books of Potok. I picked up this one at a used book sale. This book is somewhat different from the others in that it it goes deeply into one characte's thoughts and emotions. One could label the book slow, but I didn't find it that way. I found the story of David Lurie's mother to be by far the most painful to read. As a reader, we are given only bits and pieces of this woman's very broken heart. Perhaps it's a sign of a wonderful writer that every character in this book seemed to warrant a book of his or her own.

I've never encountered a novel structured exactly like this one. The details given in the first 4/5ths of its length led a reader to believe In The Beginning was a story about a brilliant young Jewish boy and his family, their life in America, where the boy and his brother where born to recent Polish emigrants, and of the determined struggle this family undertakes, not only to establish their lives in the United States, but to honorably aid numerous Jewish families who wish to leave Poland and settle in New York. As the story of this family, the novel served a detailed, well-written tale that gave terrific insights into the psyche and values of east-European Jews in the early twentieth-century. The family thrives in the US in the prosperous 1920's, though the pre-school-age David is sadistically bullied by anti-Semitic local boys, and he lives to piece together the whispered secrets of his father's conduct as a one-time militant activist among Jews in the "old country." We follow this family into the Great Depression, when its fortunes declined, into World War Two, where its newly-discovered prosperity is scant comfort as its members learn of the Nazis' cruelty to family and acquaintances they left behind in Europe.

However, like a magician dealing out a slight of hand trick, Chaim Potok revealed the true story only at the very end of In The Beginning---and all else that came before this point was merely establishing the stage for the final act and a statement he wished to make on the subject of faith, reason, and evidence. The central character, David Lurie, due to his intellectual brilliance the shining star of his local school, stuns his family, friends, and classmates, by laying aside his Orthodox upbringing and upon college graduation becoming a secular Biblical scholar. Lurie announces his newfound conviction that the Torah was not given by G-d to Moses on Sinai, but was authored by numerous Jews across an indefinite time period, long after Moses' death. To Lurie's parents this is an act of unmitigated treason to all that is holy and life-sustaining in their world. That their much-loved eldest son, their pride and great hope, should plan to write skeptical books on this topic, and thereby "sin by making others sin" is crushing to them one and all. And only at the extreme conclusion of this 430 page novel is this revealed when beforehand a straightforward plot about Jews reacting to a changing world was what we had been lulled into expecting. The earlier tale of David's health struggles, his father's rise and fall, the immigration movement, and even at the end the horrors of Nazi Germany, all of that I found was Potok's subterfuge to sneak in an ending so different from what the deliberately-paced novel seemed to prepare us for that this work almost deserves to be spoken of as having some sort of twist at its shocking ending.

As always, Potok wrote well here and his characters and the setting were magnificently accomplished, but I was left feeling I had read two different books, one a family tale, the other a dissertation on modern Talmudic scholarship. I also strongly felt that the characters at the end, while bearing the same names they had 300 pages earlier, were not exactly the same ones I had been reading about as they advanced thru twenty harsh years in their lives. I also have read that this book is slightly autobiographical, so that deserves to be pointed out. This is a good book but it is slow-moving and spends much of its time inside David's head and the pseudo fantasy world which he inhabits, so be prepared for that. I also wish Potok had written a sequel, as he did with The Chosen. I ended up saying, "Yes, and what happens next?" Sadly, we'll never know...

Never before have I ever read something so influential, so vividly drawn before me. I am a huge fan of Potok, and after reading Asher, Promise, Chosen, and Davita, this obscure novel that barely comes up in Borders search is my favorite. It is a shame to see it is widely ignored.

Potok is a genious, and one can understand this brilliant man in this book. He is able to create a person, a character, that seems life like. You want to jump in the book to hug him, to stop him, or to help him. It is an impossible book to put down, and by far the best book I have ever read. He is the best author I have ever read.

I recommend this book to everyone. Everyone could use a little of Danny in their lives.

Other than the language being like in ancient times, "Thy, thee" this book was excellent and a good savory book. It is not a fast read though.

Why has it taken me so long to read this excellent book! It is not just a "children's" book. One of the best books I have read in a long time!

My 6-year-old daughter and I loved this book. We could hardly put it down as we trekked with Lassie across hundreds of miles and met many different people along the way. Many of Lassie's encounters on her journey do introduce difficult subjects - class difference, poverty, the horrors of war, the cruelty of humans and animals. But each of these subjects is dealt with very gently and through each encounter we learn to value the compassion, kindness and courage that triumphs over hardship and cruelty, sorrow and loss.

Still an interesting, emotion-provoking and relevant read for the 21st century's jaded youth. It's about the most basic kind of friendship and loyalty, where an animal exhibits more of both than do the humans. Some of the Depression-era references and rigid class distinctions probably aren't as relevant today, but the core of the book, the love of and for an animal, remains. Highly recommended.

This is a wonderful reproduction of the original World War II edition of the classic Eric Knight story. I find it appalling that many Americans do not know that the original Lassie of the story was British because I read the original "Lassie Come Home" short story (published in the December 1938 issue of the Saturday Evening Post) in school. This original story is a well-written, haunting tale of a poor Yorkshire family forced by economic times to sell their son's beloved collie (a tricolor dog, not a sable as portrayed in the movies and on TV) and of the dog's long torturous journey home during which she meets kind people--a couple who nurse her after she swims the river Tweed, a kindly peddler--and cruel--callous dogcatchers, bullying boys--as well as farmers protecting their livestock. A classic in every sense of the word.

Master "helper" Travis keeps coming up with frightened damsels. And thankfully, Meyer is frequently there to offer advice and consent.

Before reading The Long Lavender Look, I would have argued that Bright Orange for the Shroud was the best Travis McGee book. After careful consideration, I have to admit that The Long Lavender Look steals the crown, even though they both remain extremely entertaining. Since MacDonald sets a high standard for hard-boiled detection, this should tell you that I liked this book very much indeed.

McGee swerves to avoid a nearly naked girl running across the road, and ends up in a swamp of more than one kind. In order to clear his name, he has to find his way to the center of a secret at the heart of a small town Florida police department.

Smart. Fair. Entertaining. Easy to find at used book stores for a small bit of change. What's not to like?

While I still find "Flash of Green" to be my favorite John D. MacDonald book, there's something so appealing about the Travis McGee series that it keeps me coming back to them. And "The Long Lavender Look" is just another addition to the spectrum of colors that his novels get their titles from. Also "The Long Lavender Look" has such a gripping opening sequence of events, and such an array of fascinating characters, that you cannot put this mystery down.

And while I know that MacDonald enjoyed popularity in his time, it seems that his popularity is running out of gas. I hope I am wrong because he is horribly overlooked.

Travis McGee and his friend Meyer are driving home on an abandoned road when a nude young woman races in front of their car. McGee and Meyer end up going off the road and rolling the car, but that's just the beginning of their troubles. Before long, they're shot at by someone in a beat-up pickup truck. As a final welcome to the area, they're arrested for murder and accused of being involved in a robbery some years earlier. Needless to say, McGee digs in and tries to get to the bottom of things.

Travis is loved by a legion of fans and he's at his best here. The supporting cast is interesting as we meet characters like Betsy Kapp, a waitress turned part-time call girl. King Sturnevan is a former boxing contender who is now a sheriff's deputy and befriends Travis. And Lilo Perris is a psycho who mixes freakish strength, extreme sadism, and raw sexuality to keep McGee on his toes. These few and more form a rich stew for Travis to work with as he tries to unravel the mystery of robbery and murder.

The mystery is interesting, and certainly had me guessing for a good while. My only complaint is that it dragged on for a bit too long. There is a climactic scene 50 pages before the book ends where MacDonald could have easily wrapped up the story. Instead, he went for another twist and the actual ending felt a bit anti-climactic and stretched out. It's not like it completely ruined the book, but it does keep it from being as tight as it might have been.

The Long Lavender Look is a solid entry in the Travis McGee series. Long time fans will probably appreciate that the story is a bit of a change of pace from the norm since it doesn't involve McGee performing one of his standard "salvage" operations for a reward. It's not a bad choice for first time readers either. While I did think the ending was a bit sub par, the book is certainly an entertaining read overall.

John D. MacDonald's mysteries are as tasty as the hamburgers of the same name! I love all the Magee books!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

My 15-month old son LOVES this book ever since he was 9 months-old. We read it every night before he goes to bed. Taro Gomi has captured simple creatures in life and have made them animated and good teachers. The illustrations are purely magical. I highly recommend this book to kids, young and old.

Our son loves this book - and we love reading it to him. It's such a great sentiment, that we can learn so much from those around us. We're connected to our friends, and each one has a gift that we can appreciate. And the illustrations are fantastic.

I have been collecting bilingual books to read to my children and to help our whole family learn Spanish. This is one of our favorites and one the kids will listen to without complaining about me reading in Spanish (which is a problem with some other books with more words on each page). I highly recommend this book and have been buying copies to give to friends.

If you have a toddler, you know how much they enjoy hearing the same story over and over again. This book is sure to be one of your little one's favorites. The simple pictures and truncated text make this a great book for toddlers. And because there's no real storyline to follow, you can skip a few pages here and there if you need to... at least, until your little one is old enough to catch onto you.

My Friends by Taro Gomi is a beautifully illustrated book about learning simple skills...with a little help from your friends. And in this story, all creatures (from the tiniest ant to the teachers at school) are your friends. My daughter loves this book, reciting page after page which friend teaches her what task. The overall message of this book is that a child can learn something from everyone and everything.

The artwork is delightful: colorful, simple, and crisp. The language sounds lyrical, even poetic, as you read it aloud. This book will capture the imagination of your child. Whenever we read it, my daughter gives me different examples of who has taught her what. It is a great conversation starter!

I recommend this engaging book for all toddlers, beginning readers, or anyone who enjoys a sweet story.

Ann Elizabeth and Rob are a young newly married couple tryin too make it doing the racial times of the 40's, and 50's. Rob's dream is to be a pilot, but prejudice always get's in the way. The couple had to face so many trials, in there marriage. I was so hurt when Rob cheated on Ann, I wanted to cry with her. This book give you a look at a young married couple, and their family trying to overcome turblent times.

Ann Elizabeth and Rob are a young newly married couple tryin too make it doing the racial times of the 40's, and 50's. Rob's dream is to be a pilot, but prejudice always get's in the way. The couple had to face so many trials, in there marriage. I was so hurt when Rob cheated on Ann, I wanted to cry with her. This book give you a look at a young married couple, and their family trying to overcome turblent times.

This book is phenomenal... A must have for every bookshelf. This author is intriging, electric and fascinating. You will learn so much history and explore life in such a unique way. This is a page turner... REad it and pass it on.

IMPRESSIONS:
This book is a wonderful story that touches your heart and shows you the true beauty of the human spirit. The characters are wonderful and lovable and they literally come alive for you; one cannot help but care for and about them. A wonderful tale of family, love, death, life, war, racism, and every other aspect that you can imagine. It will appeal to all different ages and types.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
The race aspect of the book is very interesting and eye-opening. Due to the fact that it starts in the 1920s and spans until present day (or around there) it can really appeal to everyone and can also be very educational. I would recommend this book for anyone who wants to read a book which will make them laugh, cry, and most of all, love.

This novel by Eva Rutland was something that I just happen to see in the bookstore needing something to read on a train ride. It was a great read and for someone born in the 1970's it gave another aspect of the "high fallutin'" people blacks for the 1940's. The "n" word was used often so for those that are a bit sensitive to the usage...just a warning. It didn't take anything from the book or the author and I suggest that you still read the book. Great work Ms. Rutland and I'll look for future works!