Non-fiction Books

Whatever their origins and means of transmission, these are excellent and entertaining stories. I cannot think of one tale in this selection that I did not like. Included in the book is the instantly recognizable Aladdin story, as well as the Sinbad voyages. Other tales are just as interesting: "The Tale of the Hunchback," "The Tale of Judar and his Brothers," "The Porter and the Three Girls of Baghdad," and many others. Many of these stories are cycles; they have stories within stories, as characters in one story tell their own stories. At the end of the cycle, the story is cleverly wrapped up, usually with a happy ending. I do not think I need to go into detail about Aladdin or Sinbad, except to say that I was surprised to see Aladdin described as Chinese. Providing details to these stories would be useless anyway because they are so detailed as to be impervious to summary.

There is no doubt that many of these stories started as oral stories, and retained that shape into the written versions. The best example is the Sinbad cycle. All of the stories in this cycle are framed in the same way. This repetition made it easier to memorize the stories, or at least the basic outline. A good storyteller could take the frame and fill in the blanks with whatever his heart desired. You often see this kind of writing in the Bible.

Social roles and class play a large part in these stories. Women are presented as wily and dangerous, but not always. Several stories show men trying to pull fast ones on the ladies, with the results much to the detriment of the men. Many stories show how the high and mighty come crashing down, or how the lowly are elevated to great status. These movements are attributed to the grace or condemnation of Allah, and the characters all act out their movements with Allah close by.

You will not go wrong with this book. These are immensely entertaining stories for both children and adults, although you might want to find a toned down version for the kiddies. Why? I am thinking about the tale where a man and some women play "name that body part." My only criticism of this version is that the tale of "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" is absent. I have no idea why it is missing, but the book loses one star for this grave omission.

this is the most adorable childrens book i've ever had the pleasure to read to a child or myself...lol !!!

For a first time author, Jennifer Wagner has surpassed many a veteran author. Her talent I'm sure has a base of hard work, but also a gift, one to be nurtured, one to be treasured. This book, I am sure, is just the first of many. The story telling skills of this newest master of Romance will one day earn her the title of `The Queen of Romance".

Anna Ramsey has worked hard to make a success of her life, with her career & as a single mother. She had been devastated when her children's father was killed even though they had been estranged. Years later Anna feels an attraction for her new neighbor & starts to think it's possible to feel passion again for someone other than Rico.

Rico Carella's 'death' had been staged to protect himself as well as his family & reconstructive surgery had changed his looks drastically. Rico had survived horrendous torture by his captors as well as Anna's betrayal as a committed lover. However his love is still alive for this one woman & he hopes to convince her he had deceived her to protect her from harm.

This is a terrific debut from a promising new author. With interesting characters & a captivating plot. I hope to see stories for all of the secondary 'hunks' that were so brave & courageous in this story...in the foreseeable future. In the meantime, this was a great book!

Rico Carella was Anna Ramsey's first love who died a tragic death. She never thought she'd be attracted to another man with the same fierce intensity until Gage moves in next door. She's blown away by the power of her desire for this stranger...but is he truly a stranger? There's more going on than Anna can imagine. Things that put Anna and her children at risk. The only man who can save her is the man who's brought the danger with him--Gage, a man who's hiding secrets that not only puts Anna at risk physically, but also risks her heart.

Jennifer Wagner tells an emotional, action-packed story of a love that couldn't die.

Consider the following: "The ninth Earl of Emsworth was a man who in times of stress always tended to resemble the Aged Parent in an old-fashioned melodrama when informed that the villain intended to foreclose the mortgage. He wore now a disintegrated air, as if somebody had removed most of his interior organs. You see the same sort of thing in stuffed parrots when the sawdust has leaked out of them."

How's that for failing to "omit needless words"? And how's that for vividly portraying the feeble-minded Lord Emsworth, one of Wodehouse's most memorable of his many memorable and hilarious characters?

The plot here is typical Wodehouse: a few love-stricken young people see their dreams of eternal wedded bliss threatened by either misunderstandings or lack of cash or both, and a young ne'er-do-well has run up some gambling debts, a circumstance which puts him in danger of some painful bone-crushing. Enter Uncle Fred, an aging playboy with a manipulative mind and a sense of adventure. He orchestrates a plan involving a visit to Blandings Castle (the Emsworth estate) which results in everyone living happily ever after.

But, of course, that plot outline is pretty much the plot outline of every Wodehouse novel. What makes it (and every Wodehouse production) a 5-star novel is the delicious phraseology, the preposterous and yet believable characterizations, and the continuous twinkle in the author's eye. You either "get" Wodehouse or you don't. If you don't, then go to a doctor and get it fixed immediately!

If you read you understand how difficult it is to write anything, much less a full book, and then have it selected for and win a prestigious award. In the case of the book I review now it was the 1987 Whitbred Award that was awarded to Mr. Nolan. All very impressive, but that's just the start.

This is an autobiography written by a very young man who next wrote the book "The Banyan Tree" and would take 12 years to do so. This is a painfully candid, but uplifting book about a man with the support of a wonderful Family overcomes extreme realities that are his life to become an Author of international renown.

Mr. Nolan cannot speak, he can barely move at all. He types with what he calls his "Unicorn Stick" that he wears on his head, and even then his head must be supported while he works.

An Autobiography is a courageous work if honestly presented. When you add Mr. Nolan's additional challenges he faces as a writer, and as a person living with his physical issues it becomes an extraordinary autobiographical book.

I hope more readers find Mr. Nolan, he is a unique writer of immense talent, and if you pass by his work you deprive yourself of great literature.

The novel is also a love story about two people who go beyond the mediocrity of their surroundings to embark on interior journeys where they learn to know themselves and unite with each other in spirit.

For 80% of the novel I was gripped, running home from college to read more and more. My only qualm would be the ending, as the tension dissipates and the last 80 pages or so peter out under the excessive Christian symbolism. But there is no way that a potential reader should be put off by this assessment

Sentence for sentence, word for word, Patrick White is as good a prose stylist as I've ever read. The phrase "tour de force" could have been invented for this book.

If you answered "both," you have the correct answer. L. Frank Baum's original story (found in this book) has magical silver shoes in it. The movie version of the story, starring Judy Garland as Dorothy, had ruby slippers. Why the change? Well, ruby slippers film much better. So the Wicked Witch of the West wore both types of footwear, depending on whether you are reading the book or watching the movie.

I share that example with you because 9 people out of 10 have seen the movie, but never read the book. When I was a wee lad, I started in the opposite direction and was sorry to see how much of the Oz story was left out in the movie.

Now, you can make up for lost time by reading or rereading the original. I commend it to you for three primary reasons. First, the book version is built around the idea that the different parts of Oz cannot be easily traversed and the ensuing travel complications make for a better plot. Second, there are many more types of imaginative creatures in the book than in the movie. Third, the book has been lovingly enhanced by new illustrations done in turn of the 20th century style by Michael Hague. The illustrations encompass styles from immediately post van Gogh (yes, there are sunflowers) through Art Deco. I especially liked the water colors of gloomy and darkening skies.

If you are like me, you will chortle when you read L. Frank Baum's comment in the beginning that the story was "written solely to please children . . . a modernized fairy tale, in which the wonderment and joy are retained . . ." while the scary parts are left out. If you remember frightening moments, you are thinking about the movie. The book is much more gentle, which makes it more suitable for the youngsters. Yes, there are frightening villains, but they are quickly dispatched rather than being allowed to hang around to menace and frighten children just before bedtime. Still, children must have been braver in those days. This story is still scary enough for most to feel a deathly chill now and then.

Many of the ambiguities and confusing aspects of the movie are clearer and less disconcerting in the book, as well.

I won't go into a fine comparison of the two, because that will just spoil the plot for you. Do let me mention a few chapters that you will not recognize from the movie . . . just to whet your appetite for the book -- Away to the South, Attacked by the Fighting Trees, The Dainty China Country, and The Country of the Quadlings.

After you have finished enjoying the wonderful story and new illustrations, think about some of the lessons of the book. Notice that by teaming up, Dorothy and her friends could combine strengths to overcome individual weaknesses. This is the ultimate group of superheroes. How can you combine your talents with others so that all of you combined can accomplish vastly more than any one of you can individually?

Stay on the Yellow Brick Road with effective allies!

I read a book written by A.E. Maxwell and Ivar Ruud, and it is called The Year-Long Day. This book is called this way since in the Arctic Circle a year seems like a day in terms of weather and light. This book is written in the form of a non-fiction book or narrative and its genre is considered to be travel-adventure. The book was published and copyrighted in 1976 in the United States of America. I will try to review and identify the topics covered in the book, which have made it so interesting to read.

The thesis of the book was to narrate the story of Ivar Ruud, a Norwegian who felt he could live in solitude with nature for one year, in a novel-like manner. He arrives in Spitzbergen Island, in the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, slightly north of Norway. This is where it all begins. As his life unfolds, it becomes increasingly interesting because of the struggles he must go through in order to triumph or in some cases be let down by nature and himself sometimes. The true story becomes more amusing with the meticulous planning of every action, every little detail. A perfect example of this is the way he times the hunting season, so that if he were to shoot a seal it would be in winter when the water was dense and he could lift it into the boat before it sank, or the way he prioritizes what supplies should be stored and in what order to prevent wildlife and especially polar bears from getting to his cabin. The book clearly illustrates the type of person he is. Not everyone has the will and courage to live for one year in Hornsund Fjord, where sometimes he would be stuck in his cabin for days because he was snowed in, because he was being hunted by a polar bear, or because he woke up under the claws of one of those dwarfing creatures.

The story deals a lot with survival, courage, independence and more importantly, learning to change your way of life. There are many ways in which Ivar tries to keep his life normal. One of these is taking a years supply of newspaper, building a mailbox, and reading the year old news every day. Survival is another topic that is covered in the book and it is important because he knows what he must do, even if it hurts, even if it means not eating for a day. At one point in the book he shoots an 800 pound bearded seal and accidentally drops it into the water. Since the seal was tied by a rope, he decides to drag it 11 miles back to bird mountain cabin where he realizes there is no snow in the beach to drag it and is forced to let it go to waste. He also identifies the place as his by naming the landmarks himself, after his experiences, rather than using the official name. The book is divided into the different times of day and it explains the changes in the lifestyle that occur in each of them. Basically an example would be that the animals that can be hunted in the summer and vice-versa. This book had very interesting facts and is told in a way that it doesn't seem like a text book, but a novel.

I have reviewed and identified the topics covered in the book, which have made it so interesting to read. I would recommend this book to others very much even though it is the kind of book that people either can't stand or love. I identify more with the second type, since I think Svalbard is a beautiful place and I have also seen the cabins and other landmarks described in the book, I think it is even better. This can be vaguely seen in the pictures from the book. This book is not only entertaining, but also important. The book teaches a lot about geography, animal behavior, and human necessities as well as unconformities. The best thing of all is that it teaches all these things without facts; but rather, second hand experience. Everything in the book is described thoroughly, in ways that people understand and are convinced by, thus improving the effect on people. This book is without a doubt one of the best narratives I have ever read and I recommend it to whoever has the opportunity.