Spanish Books Books

I find that I agree with all of the positive reviews, but indeed what most haunts me about Mutis is his deeply introspective writing style. I read the book in Spanish (my native language, btw) and the language is enthralling and personal... If you took away the background, most of Macqroll's fears and feelings are rather universal, and as you read the book (especially that WONDERFUL! first chapter) the book becomes an introspective exercise, made bearable simply because Mutis takes you there with the gentleness of his writing, the magic of the geographical settings (and their descriptions) and the company of the most human and flawed characters (Ilona being my personal favorite).

Ah, this is a wonderful book for a sunny or rainy day. It is so perfect in all does. The stories are fascinating and amusing -- often poignant. You will never forget ANY of the characters, especially Maqroll. And Bashur. And the Mirror Breaker. And Jamil. If, since childhood, you have dreamed of tramp steamers and ports around the world, as I have, your ship truly has come in in this book. Well, I could go on just spitting out adoring adjectives, but, like all the other reviewers here, I enjoyed this book immensely. It won't be long till I pick it up and read it all over again. A book I'll always remember. A classic.

Alvaro Mutis wrote several superb short novels about the travels and trials of his creation, the wandering sailor Maqroll, gathered here in one volume in an excellent translation. Adventure, friendship, obsession, loyalty, bad judgment, and hilariously (sometimes tragically) desperate situations play out in obscure and exotic locations. "Maqroll" is an excellent companion for your own world travels.

It is densely written and discursive . . . relentlessly so, for 700 pages. Perhaps you will find this poetic, profound, or even titillating. Perhaps not. Perhaps, instead, you will think that Mutis is a brilliant, verbally gifted man in need of lithium and a good editor, or both. In all fairness, he gives plenty of warning up front. Page 17: "Our mistake is to think it's going somewhere, . . ." Page 19: "makes his sentences difficult to understand until we grow used to the rhythm of a language intended to conceal more than it communicates." Page 20: ". . . filled with long, rambling circumlocutions that made no sense." I think this award winning "emperor" is feeling a bit chilly, but laughing his chillies off.

Yes, I agree with the other reviewers who have asseverated that this is a great book. But they don't seem to want to spell out why exactly it is a great novel, or, rather, series of picaresque adventures. - Perhaps they're simply tired due to the 700 page literary trek. - But, come now, a great novel because of tramp steamers and the sea? While the sea is certainly the element in which Maqroll feels most at home, there are, literally, hundreds of novels about the sea and the love of it (In particular, there's one author who's made himself into a multi-millionaire by churning out these books like a sausage-machine).

No, what makes this book great is the underlying fatalism of the work sweepingly on display in Maqroll and the several other characters, and in the finely wrought passages on what this life offers us, picaresque vagabond or not. Many comparisons have been made to Don Quixote. - But not in the right way - Maqroll is Don Quixote's Twentieth Century doppelganger, or spectral double: Spectral, as is the case with many doppelgangers in fiction, in that he is the Knight's opposite. Where Don Quixote is chaste, Maqroll is licentious, where Don Quixote is naïve, Maqroll is instinctively wise to the ways of the fallen world etc. etc. --- In literary terms, Don Quixote is a Romantic. Maqroll is Tragic.

I wonder, reading the other reviews, if the other readers may have just possibly skimmed over the philosophical passages that glower at one on every other page or so. It is these passages, these lyrical, defiant, essentially dark reflections that make this much more than any mere sea novel or rollicking picaresque.

For Example, for starters:

"...it's not worry I feel but weariness as I watch the approach of one more episode in the old, tired story of the men who try to beat life, the smart ones who think they know it all and die with a look of surprise on their faces: at the final moment they always see the truth - they never really understood anything, never held anything in their hands. An old story, old and boring." P.24

And again:

"He thought that the real tragedy of aging lay in the fact that the eternal boy still lives inside us, unaware of the passage of time. A boy whose secrets had been revealed with notable clarity when Maqroll withdrew to Aracuriare Canyon, and who claimed the prerogative of not aging, since he carried that portion of broken dreams, stubborn hopes, and mad, illusory enterprises in which time not only does not count but is, in fact, inconceivable. One day the body sends a warning and, for a moment, we awake to the evidence of our own deterioration: someone has been living our life, consuming our strength. But we immediately return to the phantom of our spotless youth, and continue to do so until the final, inevitable awakening." P.261

And again, and again, and again...

Yes, there are mad illusory enterprises throughout the book- And jolly fun they are to read - But, like a requiem continually droning in the background, we are given, in Maqroll's reflections, that he is aware exactly how mad and illusory these enterprises are.

Fatalistic literature has never been popular, in America especially, which was founded on principles contrary to it, and where the recurrent mantra is, "You can be anything you want to be." This book shows, time and again, that you can't. It's no wonder Maqroll is enamoured of, among others, the Ancient Greeks.

Summing up, this is a great book because Mutis does the seemingly impossible here, giving us the pleasurable, lilting melodies of the sea yarn and adventure story, all the while beating the steady drumbeat of mortal doom.

La novela es excelente en la narrativa tan detallada de las culturas prehispánicas más importantes de México. Quizás se haya pecado un poco en la parte de la ficción considerando que es una novela histórica, pero en honor a la verdad, esto hace que la lectura sea más amena. Algunas partes fueron narradas con excesiva crudeza, pero en general tengo muy buena opinión del libro.

A book that every person who has any connection to Mexico should read. A captivating historical novel about the conquest of New Spain, written from a native's point of view. Gives a person pride about his or her Mexican heritage. Lots of adventure, sex, violence, fantastic descriptions, engaging characters. My Mexican husband read it in Spanish and I (Irish-American) read it in English 18 years ago and we were both absolutely mesmerized and captivated by this book. 14 years later our teenage son read it and also said it was one of the best books he had ever read, and recently our 18 year old daughter read it and had the same reaction. I ordered two hardcopies so that each of my kids will have one to keep and hand down. The only other book that I have done this with is Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt, which gave me the same feeling about my Irish Catholic roots.

Realmente es una extraordinaria novela de Gary Jenninigs donde mediante la historia de Mixtli, nos transporta al fascinante mundo de los aztecas relatandono las costumbres e ideologías de esta cultura, de una manera ligera. Realmente no me costo mucho leer las más de 800 páginas que tiene este libro el mejor libro que he leido.

En esta obra maestra de Garry Jennings, el leector es transportado al mundo de la mesoamerica, en una obra que pagina tras pagina te absorve, captiva y depicta de una manera tan elocuente y grafica que no solo se imagina, pero se transporta al leector a un mundo desaparecido, oculto, que ahora solo vive como parte del paisaje mexicano, esta novela abre la grandeza, gloria y caida de la cultura azteca, y la expone en una obra de arte que no debe de faltar en la biblioteca de ningun mexicano.

Este libro ofrece una descripción magnífica sobre la vida, sitios, sucesos y todo lo relacionado con la gente en el México antiguo durante la colonización españolal.

Se da una gran cantidad de detalles en historia, arquitectura, cocina, medicina, etc., que parecen bien documentados. Sin embargo, en todo momento tuve la duda sobre cuando termina la historia y comienza la ficción.

Disfruten el libro si les agrada este tipo de lecturas, pero por favor recuerden, este libro es una novela.

This dictionary is a gem. I have found it to include nearly every word I've looked for, including specialized legal vocabulary and slang from various countries. The example sentences are extremely helpful.

It's really a shame that this gem of a dictionary is not readily available through Amazon. Clave strikes a remarkable balance of thoroughness and simplicity, which makes it the most useful and enjoyable Spanish dictionary I own.

There are not many Spanish words which Clave does not include. Each entry is defined in the simplest way possible, referring to the most common contemporary usages of each word, and every definition comes with a sample sentence in italics.

Students of Spanish should make it their aim to switch from an English/Spanish dictionary to an all-Spanish dictionary as soon as possible, and Clave is "the" dictionary to move up to. It's so well-written that students will find it enjoyable just to browse through at leisure to improve their vocabulary. People who are already well-versed in Spanish will find it very useful as well. The Manuel Seco and María Moliner dictionary sets are more thorough and certainly not to be dismissed (like Clave, they borrow liberally from the DRAE without being enslaved to it), but for most practical purposes Clave fits the bill of an excellent arm's-reach dictionary. Seco and Moliner are like owning a Humvee, the ultimate vehicle that will do just about anything but is rather large and difficult to park. Clave is like the Ford Taurus that gets you to work and around on errands efficiently, providing you with a decent amount of comfort and amenities along the way.

Now, how to acquire a copy? Clave is readily available in Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries in either the paperback or CD-ROM version, and the paperback version seems to be available from some Amazon sites by special order. The book version is easier for just leafing through and building vocabulary, but the CD-ROM version is very handy as a reference if you work at your computer a lot. One little drawback to the CD-ROM version is that the entry box does not erase or reset itself like other dictionaries, i.e. to look up the next word you have to hold down the backspace button and erase the previous word-- weird. Speaking of the CD-ROM format, Editorial Gredos has just released a second version of Moliner on CD-ROM, for those who want its thoroughness without the bulk of the paper version.

This is my first Spanish dictionary, after several years of making do with translationaries. Making the switch was definitely a good idea. This dictionary is nice because, compared to its competitors, it is compact, and reasonably priced. It clearly marks which words are accepted by the RAE and which are not. The introduction by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is wonderful.

I heartily concur with the praise heaped upon this dictionary. I've taken to recommending it to my upper-division (undergraduate) Spanish students as a way of weaning them away from Spanish-English dictionaries. Many of them really do want to take their Spanish further, and this dictionary's definitions and usage examples are so clear that, in most cases, students can understand them without feeling the need to sneak a peak at a bilingual dictionary. In that way it's a tremendous confidence builder, as well as an excellent reference tool.

It's really a shame the comparatively affordable paperback version isn't available through Amazon.

Clave Diccionario is a very good dictionary. Particularly nice is its clear distinction of words you may hear and words you should use--e.g., privacidad (anglicism) vs. intimidad. I recommend it for all the reasons stated in the comments below.

One caveat, however, if you do obtain a copy. Do your darndest to check that the volume is complete. My copy, printed in March of 2000, is missing pages 77 - 124 and has duplicates of pages 125 - 172.

Wow, this is some cookbook. I picked it up in the Orlando Airport, and have been enjoying it ever since. Highly recommend it.

A recent salad made wonderfully by a friend convinced me that there is just about as much art in making salads as anything else. It made me think of the excellent 1905 Salad at the Columbia Restaurant which we get every time we're there. It has just the right combination of things and an especially fine dressing. But here's a case of "Don't try to do it at home" unless you are really accomplished at that sort of thing. The time we tried to do it, following the recipe provided exactly, it didn't taste anything like what you get at the restaurant. And we had purchased their own dressing. Anyways, they have have a new location in Palm Beach which I want to visit. The best we've tried is the one in Sarasota. You can go afterwards to see the Rubens tapestry cartoons at the Ringling Museum of Art. That's a fun afternoon.

This is a wonderful recipe that also goes into the history of the restaurant. I love the columbia and always got to the one at St. Armands circle when I am in Florida. I love the ropa vieja and cuban snawhiches are quick and easy

y la historia..te cautiva.
Lo que me fascino, fue el gaspacho...

This is such a wonderful cookbook. In South Florida, I visited Columbia and loved the food. I purchased it to try something new. The recipes are authentic with some background narrative woven in there. The language is easy and you can follow the recipe without any problems. Of the recipes I tried, most could be prepared from a well-stocked pantry, not necessarily a huge trip to the grocery store like some cookbooks demand. There are some really great seafood recipes in here too. You'll love the simple Cuban sandwich in here too. I believe this cookbook is well worth the price.

I purchased this as a Christmas present for someone who spent his childhood in Spain and whose son who is growing up in America. I thought the photos and recipes would elicit pleasant childhood memories and provide a great introduction to the varied cuisines and regions of Spain. I wanted a book that was a pleasure to peruse and that had authentic recipes.

I have not read the book in any depth but look forward to doing so when I get a chance. My look-through revealed a book that met my expectations in a satisfying way. Beautiful photos, evocative text and authentic recipes.

I was looking for a good book in traditional kitchen from Spain. This book is what I was looking for. The only thing I miss are more photos. The recipes are simple and easy to follow, but the best part is that the recipes I have tried actually taste like the ones I tasted back home.
If you are looking for the real cuisine of Spain, this is your book.

This is the only book you will need if you want to introduce your family and friends to authentic Spanish cuisine!
Enjoy!!!

`The Cuisines of Spain, Exploring Regional Home Cooking' is by Teresa Barrenechea is, unlike the other prominent writers on Spanish cuisine, Penelope Casas and Coleman Andrews, a professional chef. This means here recipes tend to be just a bit more practical and interesting to eat, especially compared to Andrews, but it does not mean she will be better at putting together a really interesting book on all the regional cuisines of Spain.

Until one gets to the chapters on actual recipes, it seems as if Mme. Barrenechea has everything you need for a good survey book on a national cuisine. For starters, there is a very decent physical and political map of the Iberian Peninsula, including the Balearic Islands and an insert on the Canary Islands. She follows up on this promise by including a discussion of the culinary geography of these two important island groups in her text.

Chapter I starts out seeming like it will be giving us a history of Spanish Iberia, but turns into a survey of the culinary geography and economy of each of the main regions of Spain, which she identifies as:

Andalusia
La Ribera del Ebro
Asturias and Cantabria
Balearic Islands
Basque Country
The Canary Islands
The Castiles and Madrid
Catalonia
Extremadura
Galacia
Levante

The sections here which are the most interesting are those which are not covered well by Andrews, Casas, and in Barrenechea's book on the Basque region. Unfortunately, in those regions on which I have read a fair amount, I find Barrenechea's book a bit lacking and downright inconsistent in places. In the introduction, Mme. Barrenechea states that the Catalonian sauce, alioli is made with eggs, similar to the Provencal aioli, yet in her recipe in the back of the book (and in Coleman Andrews book on Catalonia), it is clearly stated that the classic recipe does not include egg. Barrenechea's discrepancy is probably explained by the fact that Andrews explains that while the classic excludes egg, most Catalonians actually include it anyway!

Chapters 2 and 3 are possibly the best in the book, as they deal directly with simple matters, the primary ingredients and the distinct kitchen tools of Spanish cooking. In this regard, they follow the excellent model set up in Nancy Harmon Jenkins' `The Essential Mediterranean'.

The recipes sections are organized by type of dish, with the Castilian and English names for each dish and the region from which each dish came. I find this not quite as satisfying as the organization of dishes by region, as Ms. Casas does in `Delicioso' and as Ms. Claudia Roden does in her classic `The Food of Italy'.

I also spotted some significant oversights in assigning regions. On the one hand, the author is quite accurate in describing the `tortilla espanola' as a dish done throughout Spain, but her recipe is identical to the one in her book on Basque cuisine and the photograph presents the dish in the Basque style, squared and mounted on skewers rather than the more common Andalusian method of serving in wedges. This may not have seemed peculiar except that she did not make note of the fact that the version of the dish presented was Basque.

All of this, however, is probably nit-picking, and all it means is that this book is not a definitive book on Spanish cuisine. It is certainly a very good overview of the whole subject, and a very nice complement to Ms. Casas `The Food and Wines of Spain'. But, if you wish to own more than one Spanish cookbook, I recommend you start with all of Ms. Casas titles, then Coleman Andrews' book, and then Ms. Barrenechea's book on Basque cuisine.

Although I have travelled in Spain and loved the food there it never occured to me to cook it at home. I was recently given a copy of Ms Barrenecheca's "The Cuisines of Spain" and I'm so glad to have it. I haven't yet purchased the equipment she suggests (pg.51) the "cazuela" and a "paella" pan but if I find myself using the book enough I will. The food and location photographs are just gorgeous and had me reaching for my passport but instead I decided to just start cooking. I'm really liking the recipes, they are easy to follow and have an authentic feel to them AND the results taste good. It is interesting (to me) that I keep being attracted to the dishes from Murcia. Go figure. The two recipes I have enjoyed most so far are "Christmas Chicken" (p.242) from Extramadura which is really tasty and in my neck of the woods will be great for summer because you do it the day before, refrigerate it, then serve it at room temperature and "Baked Trout with Jamon Serrano" (p.227) from
Navarra, which is fast (high burner/hot oven) with a real nice combination of flavors. I'm looking forward to exploring this book and I suppose before I know it I'll be out shopping for "cazuela".

This is a wonderful book of popular songs in Spanish, which my triplet boys latched onto immediately. The songs are very engaging, and each page has lovely artwork. I speak Spanish, and my boys were born in Spain. I have been trying very hard to help them maintain a little Spanish, and this book has been very helpful. It doesn't come with a CD, but you can easily learn the tunes of the songs if you know how to read music. And even if you only speak rudimentary Spanish, I think it's possible to learn the songs and enjoy them.

This book quickly became the boys' favorite bedtime routine. I hear them singing the songs during the day as well. I highly recommend it.

I love the colorful pictures in this book and that it has music to all of the songs. It is a wonderful book and my baby loves when I sing to him!

Beautiful pictures, and easy-to-follow tunes. A must-have for anyone who has children whom they are introducing to Spanish, and very useful for us adults as well!

My family enjoys this CD a lot. Mr. Orozco has a wonderful voice to listen to and the lyrics are fun and interesting. One song "Paz y Libertad" is emotionally touching. It is easy to learn Spanish listening to these elegant songs. I bought the other CD, Diez Deditos as a gift for a friend's family and they like that CD too.

This is an excellent book full of poems and songs. All are beatifully illustrated. Our 2 1/2 year old spends a lot of time just looking at the pictures and humming the tunes. Songs are easy to learn, fun to sing, and many have hand signs.

This book of songs is really helpful whether you are trying to emmerse your child in Spanish (as we are), or just exposing your child to a different culture and sounds.

P.S. Don't forget to buy the companion CD!

I think this is such a hard topic for many of us who personally have gone through difficult times. I know the theology, but it didn't make my heart feel any better. I have three special needs children and I have never been able to really understand our suffering within our family. I know God is wonderful and works all things for good for those who love him. I believe in Romans 8:28, but my heart had moments where life felt so difficult for my husband and me. This book has been a real blessing to me and has really given me hope while raising these babies. I realize that God has called me to raise these children for a purpose higher than i really know here on earth. I needed this book at just this time in my walk. I pray that whoever reads this book will be as blessed as I have been. If God led you to read these reviews, i say buy this book and let God speak to you through it. God bless~

This topic could be no more relevant for the church. It's not a question of modern days, but one that has continued long throughout the history of Christianity. Maybe, however, no other group of gifted men have come together, as one, to put together such a gem of all books.

I am thankful for such a book. You will find it honest, true, straighforward, and absolutely and purely Biblical. If you're wanting a read that will make you feel perky, good about yourself, and inward focused, than don't read this. If you're ready for a heart-wrenching, long-enduring read, than pick this up (and be sure you can sit for a while).

This book will bring to the front of your heart one of the issues that you have just bumped down to the bottom of the priority list. Get it. Read it. Pray through it. Cry through it. Live with the truth of it.

In Piper's book, Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, he makes a clear distinction at the very beginning of Chapter 1 that the reasoning behind his book stems from the ultimate reality that God is the supreme value in and above the universe. I found that comforting, knowing that this book was going to focus on suffering without giving God the easy way out. After reading through it, I realized that this is exactly the focus that Piper intended to convey in his writing. It gives a very heartfelt and sincere, yet firm message that the Lord allows all things according to His will and purpose.

Throughout scripture we are reminded of God's purposes in suffering and the vital role that it plays in strengthening our faith and dependency on God. I had not yet come to grasp however, (until reading this book) that many times suffering is the cost of obedience. I think too often we are told that obedience leads to greater fulfillment and contentment in Christ. Ultimately, yes, but there is definitely something to be said for individuals that choose to be obedient, knowing full well that the road is paved with suffering.

I also found it interesting that this type of suffering leads not only to greater obedience but also to greater compassion. This wouldn't have been my natural inclination. I don't usually think about the Apostle Paul, Jeremiah the Prophet, or King David as being very compassionate. Perhaps this is due to their human perspective in relation to their sufferings and the call on their lives. However, you can not read the words of Christ and not sense the compassion that he has for us.

I would and have been recommending this book to a number of my friends. Excellent read!

When the condition of suffering is brought up in today's society, relatively few people can identify with. The modern world, more specifically Western society in all its affluence, is populated with denizens that spend most of their brief lives attempting to avoid suffering. People look to various techniques or goods in their quest to minimize any type of suffering for a mere hint of such a condition is undesirable. From drugs, money, sex, food, entertainment, religion and so on are being utilized for escapism as the reality of suffering becomes too much. As Christians, how are we to endure suffering or even explain it? All too often I hear Christians ask the question of why bad things happen to good people?

The recently released book Suffering and the Sovereignty of God edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor aim to answer the question of suffering from a biblical basis. Based on the 2005 Desiring God National Conference of the same name, the editors have assembled the speakers from that event to put to paper the content of their sessions. If you attended the conference, the book's editors have arranged the various essays by themes instead of the actual order of each session and included additional material outside the conference relating to suffering.

The heart of the book is divided into three parts:

1. The Sovereignty of God in Suffering
2. The Purposes of God in Suffering
3. The Grace of God in Suffering

Part one contains two essays - one written by Pastor Piper and the other by Mark R Talbot. - that tackle the role of God's sovereignty in our suffering. Part two considers the "why" of suffering in four essays - two by Piper, one by Steve Saint, and one by Carl Ellis Jr. Part three closes out the book looking at grace in suffering with writings by David Powlison, Dustin Shramek, and Joni Eareckson Tada. The last part of the book contains appendices of Don't Waste Your Cancer by John Piper and David Powlison as well as a transcript of the Q&A session with Piper and Justin Taylor from the conference.

The arrangement of the chapters is purposeful, attempting to let each chapter build upon themes and concepts addressed. Even so, the chapters do not have to be read in order to benefit from the writings. In part one Piper shows how God is sovereign over the various methods Satan uses to cause suffering. As humans we all too easily attribute suffering to the Enemy and leave God out of the picture. Mark Talbot, in his essay, reiterates God's sovereignty and goodness through suffering and simultaneously engages the errant view of open theism. Then in part two the book covers the reason of "why" suffering exists. Here in this section Piper explains the ultimate reason for suffering is to "display the greatness of the glory of the grace of God." The second essay is based on a chapter from another of Piper's books Let the Nations Be Glad and works out some reasons how suffering affects a Christian. Steve Saint then further extends this line of thinking into relationships in missions and relates it to his own personal experiences. The final essay of the section by Carl Ellis Jr. parallels Saint's in some ways as he examines suffering in a horizontal sense of one human to another. Part three then engages how God's grace in suffering. David Powlison's essay helps to demonstrate how God meets us in our personal sufferings. There is no quick and easy answer as Dr Powlison aptly points out but he guides us through some biblical principles to help us out. Dustin Shramek reminds us of the immense pain that suffering produces. Though Christians may know the theologically correct answers to suffering, as humans the emotional and physical pain of suffering still exists and does not usually quickly pass. Closing out this final part of the book, Joni Eareckson Tada shows us how we are to place our hope and joy in God and not our own circumstances. Suffering tends to draw our gazes inward and on the Self which is our naturally sinful tendency instead of looking to God. The appendices serve as a coda for a few months after the conference both John Piper and David Powlison were diagnosed with prostate cancer. Don't Waste Your Cancer is Dr. Piper's pre-surgery meditation on his condition that God purposed in his life; Dr Powlison added his own thoughts to this writing shortly after being diagnosed himself. The Q&A portion gives Piper an opportunity to address some corollary issues tied into suffering as well as some personal insights.

Overall this book is immensely profitable whether you read it from cover to cover or skip around. The writers all engaged suffering horizontally while at the same time vertically. Despite the brevity of each chapter for a collaborative work such as this, the topics were handled with conciseness and depth. Suffering is an immensely personal condition that creates more difficulty in our already difficult human lives. Suffering and the Sovereignty of God helps guide us in the biblical truth Christians have that answer the hard questions when such circumstances arise and how we should bring this Truth to a dying world.

This book has some great essays. It provides a great mix of theology, and personal testimony, and narratives of how God uses suffering to progress the gospel. The question of suffering is very complex so having a variety of writers from diverse backgrounds attacking the issue from slightly different perspectives helps the reader to understand how God uses suffering to glorify Himself, to mature us in Christ, and to progress the gospel. Suffering can not always be explained, but we have a God who has suffered through his Son and that should bring great comfort to us. The most poignant essays were by Piper and Joni. Another good essay was Suffering and Missionaries. The book starts off with essays by Piper and Taylor putting suffering within the framework of God's sovereignty.

I haven't suffered much. I was humbled by stories of suffering in this book. The book was very encouraging because the authors of these essays were very honest in their struggles, but yet praised God for the suffering. Their endurance was not their effort, but God's strength working through them.

This is such a simply told story and appears to be honest and straight from the heart. I am amazed - God can do anything. I also heard Gulshan's story in her own voice and words on uTube. She is a real person of Pakistani origin.

Torn Veil is a personal story of a daring woman. She has got guts, having the courage to go against an oppressive society to follow what she knows to be true. But I guess it helps a lot when you are healed by Jesus of a lifetime of paralysis. It is a recurring theme that though people, her own family, saw the great miracle happen, they still reject the Healer: closed eyes for fear of what people will think.

This is an amazing book and I would recommend it to all Christians, and perhaps more importantly, to anyone else who is open-minded about the claims of the Christian faith. The book describes how a Muslim girl, Gulshan Esther, is miraculously healed of a severe physical disability by Jesus when He appears before her. The book also details Gulshan's rejection by her own family when she becomes a Christian, and her great courage and determination to serve Jesus and tell His people what He did for her. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

For the reviewer below, Susan Mathew, who wanted to know Gulshan Esther's contact details, here is her address and telephone number:

A very interesting biography of a Muslim girl's conversion to Christianity. Very inspiring and humbling story. Recommended for Christian people, those week in faith will not believe this truly remarkable story.

This is a wonderful story of a muslim girl who is miraculously healed from her life long sickness by the special touch of jesus.Rather than rejoicing with her, she was forsaken by all at home. But God through his wonderful ways is using her as a powerful testimony around the world. This is the best gift for a muslim friend of yours.

A great book, and the shipping was faster than i have spected.
Thanks!

I have just read Biografia a dos voces - a biography of Fidel Castro, in which Ramonet asks searching questions of Fidel Castro during one hundred hours of interviews. The book is a 'tour de force' and shows Castro to be a man of great integrity, an intellectual and a truly exemplary figure of the twentieth century, contrary to opinions generally held in the US. I read this book on a visit to Cuba and witnessed first hand the truths this book contains. If you wish to know first hand the life of one of the greatest men of the last century read this book. The Spanish version also comes with a DVD of highlights of the interviews, which gives a memorable vision of this great statesman.

I appreciate very much the book, in original language. It gives the backstage of a big part of Cusa's hystory. The parts that I believed where the one's where Fidel Castro is remembering his life. When he was a children, in an ancient and poor country, where he had the oportunity to make bigger his natural instinct deploring the acts against the human right.
From this pages comes out a incredible part of Castro, made of sensibility, believe in equality, friendship. A complete different look on what we are used to know him.
Also all the Cuban's Revolucion comes out like a big and strong believe that peoples had to help the cubans to grow up and take his own identity.

The extensive and deep interview-conversation of Spanish-born, France-resident writer-journalist Ignacio Ramonet with Fidel Castro is surprising in that a leader so reluctant to grant interviews agreed to spend, as Ramonet says in his introduction, one hundred hours of mostly candid revelations about his life, including childhood, adolescence, student days, rebellious spirit, personal sense of justice, and his bravery not only in battle but also to face the immense power and extreme hostility of a United States scarcely 90 miles across the ocean.
Most autobiographies are self-serving, and although this "Biografia a dos voces," or in English My Life Fidel Castro, is not an autobiography in a strict sense, neither is a classical journalistic interview with challenges when necessary to clear up apparent contradictions or controversial statements or judgments.
The book reveals a deep devotion of Castro towards Che Guevara, great affection and admiration. His insights of how valuable Che was to the Revolution first as a doctor and then as a fighter and commander are of tremendous value to anybody interested in Cuba's tormented history.
I have with me the first edition in Spanish and the recent Andrew Hurley translation of the third edition.
There are substantial additions and changes to the first version, including in the latest edition an exchange of letters between Castro and Nikita Khrushchev during and after the Missile Crisis of October 1962.
In one of the letters, dated October 26, 1962, Fidel dangerously suggests that the Soviets should consider an atomic attack against the United States.
Castro shows in the book a deep knowledge on an array of subjets, including on political, military, economic and scientific matters.
He also shows his political prejudice when he asserts, without offering any proof, that the September 11, 2001, attacks against the Twin Towers were organised by the "same American institutions and services" who trained those who actually carried them out.
When Fidel says that no-one has suffered torture in Cuban jails since the triumph of the Revolution in 1959 and that the Cuban Bay of Pigs prisoners in 1961 were treated according to strict Geneva Convention rules, and that the cause of his country's woes throughout is history since independence from Spain has been the "Empire" to the north makes one think whether he has more than a point.
He is also believable when he says his Revolution has done away with illiteracy, that medicine in Cuba has advanced to the extent that now Cuba exports doctors and, despite the criplling US siege, its economy remains solid - after surviving "the special period" following the Soviet Union collapse.
People like Fidel only come once in history, and perhaps History will indeed absolve him.
Hugo Uribe
Sydney, Australia

Exhaustive and perhaps exhausting interview of Fidel. Fascinating questions in relation to salient issues of human rights and wrongs in Cuba. A rather astonishing intellectual dexterity in response to salient political concerns.
A truly remarkable work that allows for discerning skills and capacities of a knowledgeable and persistent political figure.
The accompanying DVD and what it reveals about childhood of Fidel and contemporary Cuba...so intriguing!

I'm so far a huge fan of this series, & the earlier volumes are easily some of the best. This volume is no exception. The artwork is adorable, the characters (while a little cliched at times) are likeable, & the storyline is decent. At times some of the cutesy may get to you, but as long as you take it in stride, it's ok.

(I'm not going to bother recapping the series, since it's so well known.)

Would I recommend this to a friend? To some, yes. This type of manga really only appeals to fans of shoujo, so die hard action & shonen fans probably wouldn't like this series.

I own this series in Japanese, and it is a wonderful read! It has all the important elements of a good shoujo manga: it is romantic, twisted, with a shoujo (in the traditional meaning of the word) involved in finding a new family and love triangles galore. It is just a very fun read, no matter the language!

I love Fruits Basket. It is really awesome, and I love Yuki! Anyway, I have something to say to Mew Pretear. If you had the smallest inkling about Fruits Basket you would know that its nickname is Furuba. Guess what? It was made up by the creator. She says so in either book one or two. So I suggest that you actually think before you try contradicting a fact.

I though this book was very good in this one it starts out with them at the summmer home place that Shigure brings Toharu, Yuki,and Kyo and since no of them can drive Hatori drives them there. When they get back they later find another member of the Zodiac, this time it's Kisa the one cursed by the tiger.
Trough out the book there was a lot of funny parts...but I was reading this in school so every time I can to a funny part I had to restrain my self from giggling in the middle of class(do you know how weird that would seem...). But I thought it was an Awsome book I rate it 2 thumbs up err... I mean 5 stars ^.^' .

Shigure decides to go to the Sohma family lake house for a much needed vacation, and to torment his editor. He invites Tohru, Yuki, and Kyo.. And persuades Hatari to come along as well (because he's the only one with a drivers liscence. This episode deals largely with Yuki and Kyo's changing relationship, and how Tohru deals with. At the Lake house Ayami Sohma shows up out of the blue. The rift between him and his younger brother, Yuki, is tested once again. He also reveals to Hatari that his former fiancee, Kana, has gotten married.

While out on a walk together Yuki and Tohru encounter Hatsuharu Soma carrying a small tiger. This turns out to be another member of the Sohma family, Kisa, also a member of the Chinese zodiac. When Kisa's mother comes to retrieve her it is obvious that she needs a much needed reprieve from her daughter's curse, so Shigure allows Kisa to stay with them for a few days. Kisa soon bonds with Tohru.

Kisa's mute behaviour causes some concern for the Sohma family, and for Tohru as well. Momitchi Sohma reveals the root of Kisa's silence and a letter from Kisa's instructor proves to be too much for Yuki. Then Hanajima suddenly invites the Prince Yuki fan club to her home after they ask to write a newspaper column about Denpa waves. President of the fan club, Motoko Minagawa has ulterior motives, and Hanajima doubts it not. Hanajima's little brother and his ability to curse people is awaiting for them at the house.

Much to Tohru's shame and dismay she fails one of her mid term exams and has to attend a make up test day. Under this stress her body becomes susceptible to a cold and the Sohma family becomes concerned that she is pushing herself too hard and force her to spend her illness in bed convalescing. Kyo proves to be an apt nurse when he makes her a cure all he loathes, and listens to Tohru reveal her anxieties about graduating high school and why it is so important to her.

Again...I am hopelessly addicted. I'm going to stop telling people to read this anymore. If you have read all of my other reviews of the manga so far, you already know how much I love it. Go read it for yourself. It's wonderful.