John Reed Books

I was fortunate enough to be a student in Dr. Trimble's American Liturature class at the University of Texas in 1989. Before I took his class, my writing was poor and insincere. I did not know how to use my own voice in my work.

After reading his book several times--and finally "getting it", I improved my writing significantly. I am a more successful person because of this book.

Thank you Dr. Trimble.

I've read a lot of books on writing over the years, so many that I've reserved a spot on the corner of my desk for the very best of them so I can refer to them every so often. Only a few books are in this pile: they are the special ones. And one of them is Trimble's book. I discovered it many years ago when it was in its first edition, and have held it in high esteem ever since. Not only does Trimble give you a lot of useful information, he does, indeed , do it "with style." I enjoy both the information and the way he presents it. He covers all aspects of writing, including grammar, and usually when I see a section on grammar in such a book I skip over it, but not in this case. Even it is a delight.

You can read the book very quickly(2-3h) because it is written with great style(Trimble applies what he tells you,which makes the book a very good example to what he says). The advice is very practical, even the chapter on punctuation is useful-very useful i would say. Reading it once was enough for me to start using more expresive punctuation. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve his writing,whatever he may wish to write.

ps:this is the first book on writing i read. it might be that some/much of the advice from this book can be found in other books on writing.however, i think it's good to read this book, because it is short and nicely written;in the end it is a good idea to rehearse some things,sometime

This book was a required text in a writing class I had as an undergraduate and I actually enjoyed reading it. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I kept my copy instead of selling it back to the bookstore as a used copy at the end of the semester and I've used it for a reference ever since. It often comes in handy when I run up against obstacles in getting a writing project done.

As someone else pointed out, it's not as in depth as some other writing books. It is infinitely more readable and enjoyable, though. I know "enjoyable" is not a word that academics like since there seems to be an attitude of "it's only good if it's painful."

This book shows that good style and enjoyment aren't mutually exclusive. In fact it advises to turn your views and resources to best account to produce writing you'll be proud of. It also gives much more practical and understandable advice for inexperienced writers than anything else I've read.

This book should be a required yearly read for academic writers everywhere. It seems that many have forgotten the reason that they're writing--to communicate effectively--not simply to show off and get a publication under their belt.

If you only have time and money for one book on writing, get this one. But if you want two books, get this one and "The Elements of Style" by Strunk and White.

A must.
Totally transported me to another time.
Such strong writing.

This is the BEST book I have ever read. Ever. Days after I finished it, the simplistic beauty of the writing still haunted me. If this isn't eventually recoginzed as one of the best books of our time, I'll be very disappointed.

I found this book to be very intriguing and thought provoking as well as quite entertaining. The day-to-day details of Civil War era life and lifestyle were fascinating additions to the "love story".

This book is written so beautifully that at some points I found myself reading pages over and over again just for the simple beauty of the words! This book is about love, loss and the hardships and the simple pleasures of life just before and after the Civil War. It is a poetic, funny, sad and romantic story about enduring love and how it haunts us. At times I did become a little frustrated with all the "horse talk" however, the "horse talk" does set the mood so one feels they are sitting on a old farm house porch in Kentucky staring at the horses grazing on the blue grass of that beautiful state! I recommend this book to readers who are tired of the same old historical romance books that grace the shelves of every bargain department store! READ THIS BOOK!! YOU WILL BE CAPTIVATED BY IT!!!

I wish more books were written along the same lines as "A Still Small Voice." John Reed has produced a meticulously written narrative full of grace and gentility, emotion and strength.

This is the story of Alma, orphaned and taken in by her aunt, the root doctor, who teaches Alma folk medicine, self-sufficiency, wisdom and courage. Set before, during and after the Civil War, this is not a war story, although the circumstances of the war figure greatly. This is a coming of age book in which the female lead learns what every American girl should know -- that it is okay to be yourself and like yourself.

Reminded me in many ways of the "Little House on the Prairie" series. Written without gratuitous violence, sex or foul language, I recommend "A Still Small Voice" for teenagers as well as adults.

This engaging book fills the void that other Civil War histories leave, and that is an understanding of the everyday experiences of the foot soldier. "Hardtack and Coffee or the Unwritten Story of Army Life" by John D. Billings is an exhaustive and fascinating look back at the flesh, bones, and blood of those lines and arrows on the maps of Civil War battle strategies.

The book is filled with anecdotes, observations, and songs arising from the era. (I very much appreciated the introduction which details the election of 1860 and started the whole terrible tragedy that ensued over the next half decade.) The generous amount of illustration truly helps evoke the period. "Hardtack and Coffee" is a perfect companion to Bell Irvin Wiley's "Life of Billy Yank: The Common Soldier of the Union" and "The Life of Johnny Reb: The Common Soldier of the Confederacy". And it is a perfect part of anyone's Civil War/American History library.

Rocco Dormarunno, author of THE FIVE POINTS

I am a Civil War reenactor, and this book has been an excellent source of ideas for first person scenarios and ideas for living history. It is an insightful, unique record of the soldier's life for living historians or students of history. I would highly recommend this engaging book.

This is the best book on the life of the Civil War soldier. The other reviews attest to this, so here is something different.
Charles W. Reed, the illustrator, was ALSO a Civil War veteran.
He served in the Ninth Massachusetts Battery and won the Medal of Honor at Gettysburg for saving his commanding officer, Captain
John Bigelow, who had been seriously wounded in the fight at the
Trostle Farm on 2 July 1863.
My favorite chapter was the one on the army mule.
Buy, read & enjoy this book!

Hardtack and Coffee provides an excellent picture of Army life in the mid-nineteenth century. The sketches illustrate the text superbly. This is a useful handbook for students and teachers as well as an intriguing introduction to the Civil War.

I'm one of those men with the "Civil War Itch" who can't get enough reading, can't get enough time on the battlefields. This book is hands-down one of my favorites in my extensive collection, re-read several times and dog-eared. It's something I always put in my bag for air-travel reading, because you can pick it up and put it down when you need to...the author and the illustrator both were participants in the Conflict, so you know it's accurate. The content is educational but not stuffy, since it was written to explain to soldiers' families what exactly Union Army life was like...and the humor still carries through to this day. After you've read the historical studies or walked a battlefield, THIS is the book you want to read to put yourself in the shoes of the everyday soldier--and it's easy to do with the author's skills. For me, the best chuckles are the chapters "Jonahs and Beats", and "The Army Mule". A must-read for those wanting more than just a general's biography or an order of battle.

Best of Dr. Reed's books I have read. One can't put it down. If you love the South or hate it you must read this masterpiece.

Slowing down along all those back roads of the world that is the South is the only way to appreciate the unique outlook of the southern spirit where life and events are often taken with a grain of salt due to the fact that the important things were the same yesterday, and the day before, and all the days before that. Emotional health is probably the most valued commodity, and perhaps the most scrutinized quality of southern communities. In many cases, it is the most important development to watch and gauge since much of the south is far from the pyramids of power that are often created in locations like New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago or Los Angeles. It is eons away from foreign influences of Paris, London, Asia or Japan. The living is easy and the sun is hot requiring local dynamics to be the most valuable in terms of acceptance. It gives a new meaning to the idea of majority and minority but not necessarily confined to color. To know the south, time spent there is a must. Southerners appreciate the meaning of home grown and honor their own perspective on life, which sometimes isn't the same as it is in other parts of the country. Rebel yells have a different meaning than up north and don't always reflect the civil war years. It helps to understand Hank Williams, Jr. and some of the other country singers who have it in their blood. 1,0001 facts about the south can only help people appreciate this unique part of the country where life is meant to be savored, not swift. It is greatly aided by a partner of commensurable sentiments.

I had to buy this for a class I'm taking on "The Southern Identity." It was very entertaining and informative. I would recommend it.

It's about time someone compiled this valuable data concerning one of the country's most interesting areas. This book is great for Yankees AND Southerners alike. The most wonderful thing about this book is that you'll find out what some of those expressions, terms, and shibboleths mean--the ones you always heard but were afraid to ask about for fear of being labeled ignorant of your own culture! A must-have for anyone interested in the culture of America and especially the South. Highly recommend this book along with McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD--a fascinating read about Southern culture and what it means to be from the South.

This boook includes, well, a thousand interesting facts about the South. Being Southern myself, I never knew what was in a mint julep (along with 90% of the rest of the South). This is a book that you can pick up, flip to any page and just read. Everything is interesting, and you might learn something, too. Recommended!

This really is a great beach book. Even more so if the beach you're on is an island beach, as the island setting rings so authentic. Obviously, the author has island experience. The writing is clear and concise, and the multi-layered plot will keep you guessing throughout, even if you think you know who did it. You may well be right. I was, for a change, but that knowledge didn't deter me from finishing the book to find out the `why' if not the `who'. The characterizations will keep you reading, regardless.

John Jarad is a fifth-generation Nantucket Islander, and at 30, has become a lieutenant on the local police force. He's the youngest of six kids, or so the 24-year-old Sarah thinks when they meet. She's an artist who came to the island to work over the summer, but stayed once she and John decided to marry. She's readily accepted into his large and sprawling family, as well as the close-knit village.

When John's great-uncle Ethan dies suddenly while talking to Sarah, an eighteen-year old mystery comes to light--the disappearance of John's youngest sibling, Danny, the seventh of Jenny and Jack's family. Even at the age of seven, Danny had been accustomed to going off by himself, so he wasn't immediately missed by anyone. But even after the entire town turned out to search for him, only his beloved bicycle was ever found. No trace of Danny, ever.

It was a major shock to everyone to discover that Uncle Ethan, who had become a recluse, had somehow acquired a sixty-plus acre chunk of land, including the `Lost Forest'. Of equal shock value was the fact that John was named the sole heir to the parcel of land that was appraised at 18 million dollars.

John and Sarah have just discovered that she is pregnant, so they decide to sell the land to a local boy-made-good developer and keep a piece for themselves on which to build their dream home. The rest of the money will be divided among the large family. But then, Danny reappears, and the whole island gets turned upside down.

Soon, there are several new murders for John and his force to solve. Island lore plays a large part in the story, but it's the characters that will keep you reading.

You should enjoy reading The Nature of the Grave, although if you're a stickler for this sort of thing, the many typos may irritate you a bit. Just ignore them and don't let them discourage you from reading this otherwise very enjoyable book. The author advises that there will soon be another book in the series, "The Witch of Wauwinet". I'll be sure to watch for it.

Martha Reed's quirky characters and sense of place make "Nature of the Grave" come alive. Fast-paced but careful plotting kept me reading through all 388 pages at one sitting. It's been a long time since a book has so captivated me! Can't wait for Reed's next novel!

I read this book in two days at the beach. I could not put it down. Dreamt about the characters...it was simply a GREAT story. I want to learn more about Sarah and John and the crazy closeness of this small town. I can't wait for the next book. Martha left room for the characters to continue on an interesting journey. When you buy this book, be prepared to want to read it in one sitting. It grips you as you enter the lives of this real life, old line, Nantucket family!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Martha Reed's - the Nature of the Grave. The manner in which Martha writes creates a captivating, vivid story that pulls the reader right into the plot. Enticing characters carry the reader from page to page. The book is beautifully written - a true treasure. Can't wait for the next one!

The Nature of the Grave is chock full of colorful characters, twists and turns. Ms. Reed's descriptions of Nantucket make you feel like you're right there with Sarah and John on the island. If you're looking for a mystery that focuses on the story and its characters, not gore, this one is for you. Bring it to the beach!

If you have serious mold allergies, and are motivated to create a relatively mold-free haven in your home, this is a great book. By using this book to track down some minor mold issues, I have been able to noticeably improve my health. Engaging and readable, but detailed enough to address specific situations.

I am a Certified Microbial Consultant (mold inspector) and a board member of the American Indoor Air Quality Council. I have this book in my library as a reference. It's quite comprehensive.

Jeffrey has done a god job. It's written for the lay person but also contains a lot of technical information (and technically correct information). The publisher is John Hopkins University. So it's a good read for the academics.

A good, comprehensive book for those who need to know about mold.

Despite the name "survival guide" I found this a calm and informative guide to environmental mold issues. It explained in an understandable way the scientific issues around mold such as what mold is, how it can be a health hazard, and more importantly how mold is not some sort of invisible killer, but something that requires certain conditions to become a problem.

Mold growth is a wide-ranging problem only recently receiving recognition in the process: turn to the The Mold Survival Guide For Your Home And For Your Health for significantly more depth and advice than any ordinary newspaper article could offer. Indoor air quality professional teams join a writing specialist to describe different types of molds and how to eradicate them while maintaining health. Tips on prevention are particularly well done.

This book written by long time professional home inspector Jeff May and his writer spouse Connie is a good introduction to mold problems in buildings, particularly homes. It combines an excellent narrative writing style, and unusual for a book that should appeal to many lay readers, a strong scientific understanding of mold, its growth requirements, its effects on human health, its detection in indoor spaces and ultimately its control. Jeff who I have known for over 20 years brings to this book many years (and of course many investigated buildings) of real-world experience with the scientific understanding to match. That is a rare combination. The book is a good read for the lay individual concerned about mold, the parent with a child with asthma, chronic sinusitis, or chronic non-seasonal allergy. It is also a good read for mold professionals of limited experience and those planning to enter the profession.
Thad Godish, Ph.D., C.I.H., Professor of Natural Resources/Environmental Management, Ball State University, Muncie, In. 47304 http://www.bsu.edu/IEN

This book is a great intro to Mr. Qabbani's poetry. Everything about it is well done. Cover art, binding, paper stock. All excellent. This volume will have the reader searching for more of his work.

So powerful, so sensual, so incredible. His poetry is earth shaking and primal.

I had thought your love would end my estrangement
but you passed like water between my fingers

~Nizar Qabbani

In my eternal search for poetry infused with images of water and passion, "On Entering the Sea" appeared on the Amazon horizon. How I love this site and the ability to locate life-enhancing selections of great beauty.

The poetry of Nizar Qabbani requires atmosphere and an imagination willing to travel beyond the daily drudgery of existence into longings for home, passionate encounters and the mysteries of sensation. At times his poems have echoes of ancient works that intertwine themselves with modern complexity. His work celebrates the love of country, women and sensuous images of coffeehouses and Andalusian experiences.

I write
to save the woman I love
from the cities of no poetry,
of no love
the cities of frustration and gloom
I write to make her a misty cloud

Only woman and writing
Save us from death.

As an introduction to Nizar Qabbani, On Entering the Sea presents his work in a pleasing arrangement by translator. While the introduction by Salma Khadra Jayyusi presents an overview of the book, how I wished for a section at the end to explain the details behind many of the poems. Would this enhance my enjoyment or do the poems speak of moments so profound, no other explanation is needed? It could be said that many of his poems have a universal appeal and need no further explanation.

While his words glow with a love for the female essence in life and in women, he also explores thoughts of protecting his home, lands he loves and a different perspective on war and loss. "Posters" may be shocking to some and yet it is a representation of how Nizar Qabbani sees the world and wishes for peace all while declaring war on pride. It is highly political and yet he delves into the heart of freedom for all people. Although, I think there are poems I have yet to read which apparently display a more revolutionary approach, although this is not foreign to poets the world over. I enjoyed reading Jerusalem:

Jerusalem, beloved city of mine,
tomorrow your lemon trees will bloom,
your green stalks and branches rise up joyful,
and your eyes will laugh...

He experienced so much pain and loss and was very controversial, especially in his hometown in Damascus where he challenged cultural taboos. Too often I think we as a society have condemned the erotic, all while longing for erotic pleasures of our own. Nizar Qabbani not only sets desire free in poems, he sets women free from oppression. In "Diary of an Indifferent Woman," he writes as a woman:

I want to escape from my own skin
from my own voice, from my own language
and stray like the fragrance of gardens
I want to flee from my own shadow
and from all addresses

By the end of the poem he talks about crystal bottles with dead butterflies and the images become revelations of eternal struggles for independence and for the freedom to love. During his teenage years, his sister committed suicide, because she could not marry the man she loved.

Time after time Nizar Qabbani displays an exceptional understanding of what it means to be female all while revealing what it means to be a man. Insatiable physical love and ecstasy from the sheer vision of a woman become spiritual expressions of love for God himself. "The Book of Love" is worshipful and timeless.

The name of my love.
I wrote it on the water.
I did not know
That the wind rushes by without listening,
That names dissolve in the water.

He also asks: "What is Love?" Then he humorously explains how he cannot change the woman he loves for she is "a storm trapped in a bottle."

Most of the poems are pleasing and passionate, but there are poems displaying private pain and horror as love is ripped from his hands by the ravages of terror. He perfectly describes his grief in an unusual moment where he is standing in the rubble of an attack and remembers his wife and the cadence of her name.

As he finds her handbag in the rubble, we are convinced no man has ever loved his wife this deeply, and yet the universal message makes us realize how many have loved and lost and longed for a woman like Balquis Al-Rawi. The vision he paints of honey, jasmine moons, rubies and roses will remain in my memory for as long as I love poetry. As in many passionate poems, the feelings of the poet flowed through me and appeared in tears. His poem about his mother's death is equally poignant and we are left with the scent of coffee, cardamom seeds and orange blossom water.

If you are a lover of world poetry, the poems of Nizar Qabbani are essential reading. Through his poems you feel the ancient longings of all people in all lands and in his uncensored thoughts, we can truly experience life through his eyes. I can only hope more of his work is translated in the near future. The exciting element of his poetry is often how he absorbs experience and then defeats his own inner tyranny by writing exactly what he thinks to display the beauty of truth. You will hear echoes in his writing and realize how many contemporary spiritual teachers and poets have been students of his poetry.

To peace...

~The Rebecca Review

These are the most passioante poems ever written. Some wail after unrequited love. Some bemoan the one that got away or an opportunity missed or ruined by thier own action. Many express devotion to the love that is present.

And then there are the political poems of longing for a lost land, agony for the end of a way of life and indignation at injustice. He was a great advocate for women's rights, but that work is not included in this collection.

I do not undestand why Qabbani is not better known in the US. In my opinion, he is far superior to Neruda (who was my favorite before I knew Qabbani). Less cliches, but more direct at the same time. And you hear what he has to say and reflect "that is exactly my feeling in this situation, why did I not think of that expresion...could it be said in any other way?"

I discovered him overseas, a few days before he died. I was so distressed to hear of his death, even though I only was familiar with his work a few days. In the Arab world, musicians of all stripes and capabilities attempt to use his poems as lyrics for their music. He has poems for every mood and every problem, each of them speak straight to the soul with emotion. Even people who can not normally appreciate poetry will become obsessed with Qabbani, when reading this collection.

Don't let the fact that his words have been translated from their original Arabic dissuade you from believing that somehow the work isn't as honest as it should be. Qabbani's work is so powerful it hardly matter shwat language it is in. In short, easily read dollops of wit measured out with a voice of quiet urging, he has given us work that transcends time and politics, while being above-it-all.

"If you know a man
who loves you more than I
guide me to him
so I may first congratulate
hom on his constancy
and later, kill him."

If poetry ever had a Luther Vandross, it was Pablo Neruda. If it ever had a Barry White, it was Qabbani.

In this collection of essays and articles, John Shelton Reed tackles the zeitgeist of the South. He goes about it with an academician's skill that enables enlightened humor and sound argument while avoiding cheesy, low-grade cliche.

Reed emphasizes the importance of cultural/regional distinction. He acknowledges that the South, like any other region, has its problems; however, when it comes to culture, it rules the world. In a country becoming more and more like the James McMurtry song "I'm Not From Here, I Just Live Here," this distinctiveness is more important than most people think; therefore, Reed takes great pride in it.

If you live in the South, Reed will articulate things you've always felt and will give you an appreciation for what makes your homeland unique. If you're from somewhere else, perhaps you'll gain a new understanding of what makes Southerners tick. But whoever you are, I think you'll like this book and I highly recommend it.

This book cannot be recommended too highly to anyone with the slightest interest in the South. It is, in every sense, a delight to read and will easily withstand repeated readings.

This is the third of John Shelton Reed's books that I have read and its style sits somewhere between that of "1001 Things Everyone Should Know About the South" and "My Tears Spoiled My Aim". The book comprises a collection of dispatches culled from Reed's contributions to newspapers, journals and magazines between 1979-1990. Most of these are 1,000-1,500 words long. The book begins with observations on two of his favorite themes, Southern identity and the New South, before moving on to Southern culture, food, politics and religion. Reed is a favorably prejudiced but acute observer of Southern manners, quirks, oddities and behaviour.

The dispatches are written to entertain and don't disappoint. I found plenty at which to laugh out loud. However, this is not to say that Reed is not surreptitiously engaged in a secret mission to raise his readers' awareness of the character and virtues of things Southern. There's plenty enough here even to make a Yankee laugh - especially some of his more elliptical humor. I particularly liked his comment on Ted Kennedy: "For my part, I rather like the fellow. He's certainly the closest thing to a good old boy that Massachussetts will ever produce - which isn't to say that he ought to be president, merely that I think he'd make a pretty good drinking buddy as long as somebody else did the driving."

Reed is exceptionally good at capturing the spirit or the essence of something and making it seem familiar to you. I have never visited Bob Jones University but, in just over three pages, Reed made me feel I knew what kind of place it was. He does the same for a number of Southern characters and institutions.

Reed is a gifted cultural interpreter who appraches his topics with respect, affection and good humor. It's tempting to say that Reed is a popularizer but that belies his considerable writing talents. Whilst everything is written in an engaging style, Reed makes few concessions to his readership - he delights in his use of language and deploys an extensive vocabularly that would make some of my students reach for their dictionaries.

All in all this book is an unqualified delight. Go buy it now - you won't be disappointed.

Mr. Reed sure can write. I don't always agree with him; to turn around what he says about Steve Earle, Reed's politics are suspect. And more importantly how can he believe that Randy Travis is better than Earle and Dwight Yoakam? Still even when I didn't agree with the book I enjoyed reading it. The essays on country music and Ted Kennedy are worth the price of the book by themselves. Best of all it's wonderful to see someone defending my home region who isn't a confederate flag waving idiot.

I've long been a fan of John Shelton Reed's "Letter from the Lower Right" in Chronicles magazine, and gave very high marks to "1,001 Things Everyone Should Know About the South," which he wrote with his wife. But for some reason, I had never made an effort to track down and read any of the collections of his essays. I see now what a mistake that was. I wish I'd read this back when it was new.

It was some consolation to find that the articles and essays here assembled were definitely worth the wait. Reed is a very funny writer, but he's not a "humorist" or humor writer in the sense of, say, Dave Barry or even (to move outside the region) P.J. O'Rourke. You'll definitely get a laugh out of many of these pieces, but you'll also find them deeply informative. Reed is, after all, a serious researcher and thinker, and the two indisputable facts that define his writing -- that he loves the South, and he *knows* the South -- feed off one another.

Granted, many of the essays here are more than a little dated (some date back to the Carter Administration), and I'd love to know how things have changed in the thirteen, fifteen, or almost twenty-five years since some of them were written. But that's no doubt just one more reason to track down Reed's more recent collections.

Southerners, including expatriates, will nod knowingly at much of what Reed says, and will get a kick out of seeing themselves depicted so accurately in print. I hope they'll also take to heart his commitment to preserving many of the things -- from culture to accent -- that make the South truly distinctive. Folks from other parts of the country will find that Reed has not only made that sometimes-puzzling region a little easier to understand, but has made the trip a remarkably pleasant one.

When I took Sociology of the South under Dr. Reed at the University of North Carolina, he immediately won the respect of everyone who heard him speak, by virtue of the mix of humor and humble generosity with which he offered up quite a prodigious wealth of knowledge, and because of his graceful personal style. These qualities are evident in his writing.

Now that I live in gritty Gotham, and am faced daily with a culture amazingly alien to the one in which I was raised below the Mason-Dixon, I think every day of the issues he explored in his class (and in his books). He has done depthy and earnest sociological study of issues which plague the minds of Southerners and people who know them: Why Are Country Lyrics So Sad? Why Are Cheating Husbands More Likely To Get Shot Down South? What Exactly Is A 'Southerner,' and Why Won't They Shut Up About That Old War? (and) What, Exactly, Is The Big Deal With Kudzu? I highly recommend this book, as well as My Tears Spoiled My Aim.

What remains in my mind after reading Meadow Boy to our children is the light in John Roberts' illustrations. They radiate with a magic and meaning that need no words. The brief text, written on two levels (you must read one or the other to fully appreciate its flow), is delightful in its own way. But the illustrtations remain after the book is closed. We would love to mount them on the walls of our children's rooms as lullabies for the eyes.

I can't give you a wordy, erudite critique of this book. I just know what I like. This is it! The pictures are beautiful to look at. And, if you want enjoyable reading for a child, or an adult for that matter, that doesn't 'talk down' to them, get this book.

Meadow Boy once again revs up the promise for family books that fall outside the cookie cutter standards of big publishing houses. This first offering from Pentultimate Publishing neither panders to kids' cartoon mentality nor to adults' harried expectations. Author Reed Parsley and illustrator John Roberts defy conventional children's book wisdom on many levels. Parsley's text is divided on each page into poetic headlines that flow naturally from page one to conclusion. And beside each of the illustrations, narrative poems ease you into the soul of the artwork, which by any measure, is wonderful. For a quick bedtime read, the headlines take you from the kernel of a daydream to its fully popped possiblities within us all. For those joyous, pokey family interludes, the poems both stand alone and add layers to the rapturous artwork. The illustrations offer an art gallery-like opportunity for your children to experience provocative art. Nature as story teller, messenger of beauty, background comfort, psychic shelter and pre-eminent friend, Roberts' pictures transport on many different levels. Overall, Meadow Boy is tinged with a sense of pervading melancholy, perhaps for the time we no longer have to savor such published beauty as evidenced here.

At last a picture book that both fires the reader's imagination and awakens the spirit...a glorious antidote to the "noise" and "violence" in today's society!

I have seen an advanced copy at a book fair. A wonderful book that works for all ages. This book is really written on different levels. Caldecott Material, in my opinion. A quiet, literate book to share with your kids. I hear it will be available before Christmas.

This is a fine starter book for the first time home owner. In the first few pages, I had the answers to the three major problems I had been dealing with! Nice and straightforward catch-all book on working over existing stuff or putting in new.

I, recently, purchased this boook (my brother said he had one, and it was great). I flipped through most of the book -- it isn't the kind of book you sit down and read straight through. I've done a fair amount of handyman stuff around the house (I just replaced the motor in my dryer - which wasn't too difficult once I had the right parts). Well, as I flipped through the book, I would stop and read sections which interested me. There are well-written sections on, basically, everything about a house and what is in it. After spending about an hour scanning the book, I said to my wife: "You could build a house with the information that is in here!" It is one of those "I'm glad I bought this book" books. A great book to have if you're looking for stuff to do around the house; it is a real "Home Improvement Encyclopedia."

I've read a number of these books. This one is very complete. The illustrations are excellent and the topics are covered in adequate depth to help any home handyman.

I picked up this book in Home Depot back in 1997. At a glance I found out how to take out a load bearing wall, something I needed to do. I bought the book, and with it I had the confidence to take on a major remodel of my house. The book has everything, from framing an addition to fixing a leaky faucet. I consult it often. Right now (03/2002) I'm using it to build a shed. The language is clear and concise and the book doesn't waste words. I recommend it highly.

Being as how my husband is in his 60's he has done everythingbut build a new home. In 1990 he was given your encyclopedia as agift. He wishes he would have had this fabulous book 30 years sooner.It has become his Bible for any kind of situation that he has run into and he has found it invaluable for things he has not done. Due to this fact we have decided to purchase your latest book for our Daughter. She seems to take after her dear old Dad and has to call him on projects or repairs that she gets involved with. Such as installing ceramic tile, toilet innards, thermostats etc. I am sure that through the years she will find it as beneficial in her undertakings as her father has. To think our daughter purchased this book for her Dad so many years ago and now one is being given to Her.