Journals Books

This is the most spectacular cook book I have ever seen, splashed with the colours of Monet's house and gardens, garnished with photos of the foods served therein. I wish I had his kitchen stove - it looks as though it provides 24 square feet of cooking surface. Biographical notes put it all into historical and human perspective; and to top it all off ... the recipes. Ah, the recipes, all placed before us in modern terms that make these wondrous foods perfectly doable. After reading 'Monet's Table' and trying out the mussels in herbs, I bought three more copies to send to my closest foodie friends.

This is one of my favorite books in the whole world, not because of any one thing, but because of how its different parts hinge together to stand you right in the middle of a completely creative spirit. You can get lost in the pages and sense Monet's life. His gardens, the notes on food, the kitchen. It is a large book, perfect for a lap. Sit with it and list-making tools. Think of a kitchen in another time, when food was beautiful and flavors strong and true. I have made the green cake (vert-vert) and it was pretty good, amazingly pretty. The recipes chew at the back of your mind and then you find yourself making something from it on a rainy day when you have also bought flowers at the grocery. If you get this book you will probably buy flowers at the grocery from then on, and that will make you happy.

Overall, this is a nice book to add to a collection and a great gift. For those interested in art, particulalry Impressionism, it's a unique look at the everyday life of Claude Monet. There are some great pictures of Giverney, as well. As an "everyday" french cookbook, it has a very limited, but interesting selection of dishes. It's old style french country cooking (heavy on the butter and duck fat) that has some very easy selections (Chicken in White Wine Sauce) and some that require some real effort and time. You might think of it as a book you'd reference when you had some time to prepare something different for a Sunday dinner.

If you purely want a french cookbook, buy something else. For those that want something unique and broader in terms of French culture/history, this might be a good choice.

I asked for this book for Christmas after glancing through it at the Bostom Museum of Fine Arts. Monet's one of my favorites, and the biographical stuff (about a third of the book) is fine.

But the recipes are remarkable! Monet was a fanatic in the kitchen, swiping recipes from everybody he knew -- there are reproductions of some of his notebook pages, and they're interesting even if your French (like mine) is weak.

I've done six of the recipes, pork and fish and potatoes and what-all -- and every one was remarkable. This was a period in French cooking where haute cuisine was starting to materialize out of the various regional traditions, and Monet was a careful and discriminating observer of the process.

If you love painting and eating, you have to have this book!

As a lover of the Impressionist movement, I felt compelled to make the pilgrimage to the house of Claude Monet located a few miles north of Paris in the small town of Giverny, Normandy. Monet's refuge is a shrine of the art world renowned for its beautiful and expansive garden filled with flowers, trees, a lake and its famous bridge.

When I entered Monet's home, the dining room made a strong impression upon me: large, very inviting and splashed in yellow as if Monet had tried to capture the strong summer sun to overcome the cloudy winter days of Normandy. The table for twelve was tastefully set with blue and white china with a centerpiece of dazzling fresh flowers, as if beckoning its guests to prepare for a savory adventure to be accompanied by lively discussion. As I passed through the dining room into the kitchen, I noticed that the old, black oven fitted with brass trim and graced with copper pots and pans was still capable of generating warmth, even if the fire went out of it long ago. It was at that moment that I decided to purchase "Monet's Table: The Cooking Journals of Claude Monet", and I have reaped far more from this book than the French francs I had traded in return.

In an interview published on November 26, 1900, in "Le Temps", Claude Monet declared "I am a Parisian of Paris. I was born there in 1840, ... I was born incapable of being disciplined. No one was ever able to make me stick to the rules, not even in my youngest days." Despite this boastful protestation, I am of the personal opinion after having studied his art, visited his home and read books and journals about the artist, that he was, if not disciplined, then certainly dedicated and devoted to the creation of the sensory arts of painting and fine dining in their truest form. These qualities are beautifully illustrated in this beautiful cookbook featuring 160 recipes of Monet's best-loved dishes such as Cezanne's bouillabaisse, Coquilles Saint-Jacques a la Florentine, Lobster Newburg, duck pate', chestnut soufflé, crepes made with Cognac, orange and almond cake and even banana ice cream. The book is comfortably divided into sections including soups, egg dishes, entrees, poultry, meat, game, seafood, desserts and conserves. I personally appreciate the range of simplicity to complexity offered by these recipes that enable me to select from those that are easy and fast to prepare and those that require more time and ingredients, depending upon the time I wish to allot. What I most enjoy sharing with my family and friends is the old world taste and richness of the dishes offered by this book that you do not readily find in most cookbooks. As an added and unexpected bonus, I am transported to a beautiful part of our world, rich in its history and creative in its many art forms that live on in my memory through this book.

The Preface was written in the form of a dedication to Claude Monet in May 1989 by Joel Robuchon, the Jamin Restaurant Chef de Cuisine. He researched the notebook of recipes kept and used by the Monet family for their family meals as well as those prepared for such noteworthy guests as Clemenceau, Renoir, Pissaro, Durand-Ruel and others. Mr. Robuchon adapted these turn of the 19th century recipes to accommodate modern day kitchen equipment that was unavailable at that time. His Preface ends with his grateful appreciation to Mr. Monet for all of his discovery, his generosity, his artistically beautiful and excellent tasting recipes which were a testament to authentic cuisine of the period, and lastly, for Mr. Monet's legacy to us of living art of every day life. The photography by Jean-Bernard Naudin is excellent. He was assisted by the stylist Nanou Billault in recreating the meals served at Monet's home; however, the subjects of his photography in this book exceed the replication of beautiful recipes such as foie gras truffe' en croute (foie gras encased in a crust) and oignons blancs farcis de Charlotte Lyses (stuffed white onions incorporating Gruyere cheese, fresh herbs, and roast pork or chicken). There are photographs of hand-written recipes on paper yellowed with age, framed by broken edges and stained by life's usage; "la sorbietiere" or the "ice pail" to make the traditional banana ice cream on Christmas Day; Monet's famed kitchen, dining room and studio; baskets filled with wild mushrooms; a picnic table on the grass under an apple tree; and, of course, photos of many of Monet's paintings, such as Le Petit Dejeuner painted in 1868, Le Dejeuner Sur L'Herbe painted in 1865, and Les Galettes. For devotees of the artist as well as history buffs, there are also some wonderful original photographs of Monet, including photos of the painter in his car leaving for his weekly trip to the market, in his garden with family members as they greeted the first American painters to his home, and in the company of Georges Clemenceau, former French prime minister, mayor of Mont Martre, author and teacher, in June 1921 on the Japanese bridge surrounded by wisteria.

The photography of Monet's garden is nothing short of breathtaking. I found myself lulled into daydreaming especially while browsing through the photos of the winter scenes of Monet's garden. One picture displaying the hues of green, blue and icy gray features Monet's lake surrounded by trees, bushes and tall blades of grass laced with frost. By the landing, there is a lonely rowboat on this mirrored lake with two paddles beckoning you as a passerby to come closer and fill the emptiness created by the chill of winter. As you turn the page to another beautiful winter scene, you can see the renown pink and white house with its vine-covered trellis in the background, and the forefront dominated by the landscaping filled with trees and their green leaves, shrubs, arches and even pink roses, all of which seem to be completely taken by surprise with the early frost clinging to the pink flowers and green leaves as though they were dusted with sugar crystals. I treasure this book as much for the memories of my visit to Monet's house and garden as for its insight into the realm of Monet including his time honored recipes.

I ordered this for my daughters bridal shower and it was everything we wanted and more. I highly recommend this book.

This was exactly what I was looking for. There are places to attach sample shower invitation and other such items, plenty of space for photos, and areas for the guests to write in their advice to the couple. The one small complaint I have is that the size is a little small. In order to attach the sample invitation, I had to cover the printed heading for the page. The spiral binding makes it easy to open this flat so the sections can be filled out easily.

This book will complete every girls special Day, it has a place to add all your favorite pictures, Guests, Gifts, & Jolees for decorating! We presented it to my Sister all decorated at her rehearsal Dinner & she loved it!!!!

I looked through the album prior to the shower and decided what I needed to get pictures of. I took the album to the shower and had guests sign and contribute to the end pages. I also used it at her lingerie shower if guests wanted to add additional advice. I added many photos, napkins, ribbon, game sheets, etc. Overall, the finished book was a great keepsake! Hope to have one like this for my own bridal shower one day!

I just got the book and I LOVE it. It is a hard shell spiral bound book. Great illustration and color on each page. This is exactly what I wanted. A place to describe the shower, place for guests to sign in, place for you to write gifts recieved and by who. Place for guests to leave advice. And places for pictures. I would recommend this book to any brides or bridesmaids.

I bought these cards years ago when there were only 80 in the deck. when I bought my cards they were just pieces of paper that I had to cover with plastic to even use. don't get me wrong I loved the cards and their messages. they must be out of print now because they are so expensive. I didn't pay but about 19.95 if that for the ones I got so I was really disappointed that they were just paper. they were sealed so I couldn't tell. I highly recommend the Angel of light cards by Diana Cooper I got some of them recently and the are good cards. and the meaning of the card is printed right on it. you don't have to look it up

I bought my first set in 1994 and use it often. I love them. It is often helpful and profound in a very positive manner. As of July 2007 you can buy a very nice boxed set with book, cards and box to hold both at AngelGifts and save money.

I'm a professional psychic, tarot reader, astrologer - these cards are among the best divination tools I've come across. I use them whenever I feel "down" - they never fail to pick me up, to inspire, to nudge me forward on my path. They are unfailingly right-on, answering every single question with a profound wisdom. I'm a writer, too, and whoever wrote these is a literate, clear-thinker and communicator. I recommend them highly to all who seek guidance.

These cards can answer questions and give daily inspiration.

Yes folks this book is kind of like a tarot/oracle book with 88 cards in one. The major difference is that this one is based on inspiring words, nothing negative here. Really fun just put the cards into a beautiful glass bowl with the book next to it onto your coffee table. The book will speak for itself. By the way its not really out of print, just go to Barnes and Nobles for their new price of $29. Hopes this helps.

This is a charming and wonderful book. I too am surprised that it did not get more "buzz" at the time it was published.

How fascinating it is to eavesdrop, as it were, on authors' musings about their life and art. The diary entries help me fill in a multi-dimensional picture of what Virginia Woolf, Kafka, Dawn Powell, and others were like.

But not all the diarists are famous. Ordinary people's journals tell us a great deal about what it was like to be a Londoner evacuated during the Nazi bombing, or a wealthy slaveowner in the American South just before the Civil War.

There are, to this American's taste, too many British diarists here and too few Americans. I would have loved to have read a U.S. senator or cabinet member's personal observations of some political dust-up, but alas, that is not here. So I read the book at least partly as a window into British civilization.

For a compulsive reader or diary-phile, I can't imagine a better day book to accompany you through a year. To take 10 minutes out of the day and read the wonderful (really--I wondered at some of the things that people would write in the diaries) selection of entries for the day will provide you with a refreshing start, bookend, or break for your day (your choice). Even the potted biographies of the diarists (found at the back of the book) are delightful.

The authors have provided some lovely groupings of entries. January starts off with three entries from Mahler's lover, stretched over three successive days, that made me laugh. More complex emotionally is the chain at the end of January: two different diarists record the death and funeral services of George V of England in 1936, along with the assencsion of Edward III. A few days later is a recollection of meetings between Charlie Chaplin and Edward III (now the Duke of Windsor after renouncing his crown for Wallis Simpson) in the middle of World War II. Towards the end of January, in the 1930's, Count Ciano records the advice he gives Mussolini--on the same day, but in 1943, a nurse records the arrival of refugee children evacuated from Italy.

Some small errors in the bios at the back that I noticed: Goebbels kept his diary right until 1945 (not just until 1941); Delacroix did start his diary at 24 but dropped it after 2 years and did not resume it until he was 50 (the bio suggests that he kept his diary continuously); Pepy's diary wasn't kept in code but written in shorthand (a contemporaneous book describing the system Pepys used has been discovered)--but these are hardly the point with this delightful book. On the other hand, I didn't think that Woodeforde's diary revealed author to be a glutton (as the editors suggest) but I may not have read between the lines sufficiently.

I found this book on the remaindered shelf of my local bookstore (a crime!) but it even made the price right for me: $7.00 Canadian.

Wonderful book.

January 1, 2003: Bought this collection of diary and journal entries based on a review that said it would be a great book to leave in the guest bedroom for visitors. Have resolved to read a day's worth of entries each morning, and finish the book in one year.

February 16, 2003: Have discovered that this book is much more conveniently placed in the bathroom, where I am sure to spend five minutes each morning, rather than the guest bedroom.

April 13, 2003: What a remarkable collection of fascinating historical figures! The featured diarists are carefully chosen, as are the selected entries. Together they span four centuries and at least as many continents.

June 1, 2003: Have started to develop personal favorites among the many diarists. Pepys, for his unrepentant lasciviousness. Chips Channon, for his loveable pretentiousness. Kafka, for being Kafka. Warhol, for being Warhol. Coppola, for her intriguing insights into the life of her film-making husband. Woolf, for her introspective moodiness. Gide, for his sarcasm and arrogance.

July 5, 2003: Have become utterly addicted to my morning routine with this book, and have now started reading ahead.

July 29, 2003: Have only two minor complaints so far. One is that the diarists are predominantly British - perhaps a more diverse selection would have been better. The second is that there is a disproportionate number of entries during the WWII time period. Without doubt a fascinating and important time, historically, so I guess this is understandable.

August 7, 2003: Finished the collection, almost five months early. Will now return this book to my guest room, where friends and family will be sure to enjoy it for years to come.

Fascinating stuff. The book progresses through each day of the 366 (leap year, too) calendar days. Excerpts from all the diaries are organized in chronological order (from earliest year to most current year) within each day.

The earliest you get is from the 1600s (usually Samuel Pepys) on up through Alec Guiness and others in the mid 1990s. The excerpts vary from only one phrase to about a page. The stuff from the 1660s is rendered with its own peculiar spelling and grammar. You really get an amazing sense of our shared humanity across the ages.

I deemed its only overall flaw to be a preponderance of British entries and World War II entries. Plus, two entries I wished I hadn't read: the artist Delacroix blandly witnessing the mistreatment of a horse, and some English guy shooting a heron.

The excerpts from Jewish diarists right before the Holocaust were chilling.

There were diarists who became my favorites:
Eleanor Coppola (a shy woman in a high-profile world);
Virginia Woolf (wonderfully perceptive about herself and her social class);
Noel Coward (often hilarious);
Alan Bennett (gentle irony);
Evelyn Waugh and H.L. Mencken (both funny like Coward but even more acerbic);
Andy Warhol (so banal); and
Katherine Mansfield (haunting).

There were other diarists I grew to dislike:
Goebbels (fanatically anti-Semetic);
Brothers Goncourt (misogynistic);
Alan Clark (also misogynistic);
Marie Bashkirtseff and Liane de Pougy (twits);
and Leo Tolstoy and Franz Kafka (both morbid and difficult).

Overall, a varied and fascinating window on the world of journal-keeping.

What a surprisingly marvellous anthology. I was initially put off by the arrangement - with wildly disparate entries for each day of the month, at first this seemed more like a novelty book than a serious exploration of diarists and their work. Yet I've found this eclectic approach to be absolutely perfect, not least because the entries for each day have been so thoughtfully selected: some amplify the themes of the others, while some offer instead a comic or tragic counterpoint. Indeed, comedy is one of the hallmarks of this edition: diaries are always "bitchy", to some extent - as the title suggests, the diary is like an assassin's cloak we wear while stabbing comrades in the back with a pen - and the dark, neurotic humour so typical of the diarist is here in spades. The Taylors have also been kind enough to package their selections with an insightful introductory essay, thumbnail biographies of all their sources, along with full bibliographical references and a comprehensive index by diarist. The only thing missing is an index by subject - but that would probably be bigger than the volume itself. This is a brilliant, must-have anthology for anyone interested in literature, social history, and the art of the diary.

It's beautiful and teaches kids (and parents) how to appreciate art in a simple way. Lifelong lesson that demystifies art. Love it. It engaged my son since he was 3 and he's 4 and still loves it.

The story and illustrations are top-notch. This book is an excellent tool for children learning to appreciate art and artists. Every child should own a copy of this book!

Buyer beware -- these note cards fold to 3"x5".

My 4 year old granddaughter loves the book. I enjoyed seeing many famous works of art converted to elephant-views of the world -- a refreshing reframing of the familiar. All ages can benefit from this.

This is a review for the note cards. They are beautiful. The whimsical images lifted from the book are printed on decent/usable cardstock, and are definitely fine but the envelopes are much, much higher quality than you normally see in a product like this. The box itself is wonderful and will be something you keep long after the cards are all gone.

This baby book is very cute. The pictures through out the book are adorable. And the contents are thorough with pages for just about everything. I would recommend it.

This is my favorite baby book and I buy it for gifts now. It has the most beautiful illustrations inside.

I looked everywhere online to try to see pages of this baby book before I ordered it, but couldn't find a site anywhere to search inside. I had looked at so many baby books in book stores, at Babies R Us, WalMart, Target, etc... and hadn't found one that really seemed special. I ordered this one due to the great reviews (I was very nervous since I couldn't look inside first)and to my surprise, it is my favorite! While most baby books now have pastel pictures and words that you can barely see, this one is very brightly colored, easy to read with words in black, and the pictures and layout are darling. It has pages to record moments through the first five years, including pages for special artwork and class photos. I highly recommend this precious book.

I love this baby book. My other daughter has the Thomas Kinkade baby record book and I was looking for something simular for my second daughter. This book has beautiful pictures with poems, quotes, and some biblical quotations. It is a beautiful blend of nostalgic illustrations and thoughtful prose and scripture.

I was completely happy with this book. The description and other reviews were right on target. Highly recommended

A bottom-up social history of some of the most important radical struggles in the last two decades; a critical, first-person account of revolutionary movements, their successes as well as failures, their potential as well as their flaws. Ryan's radical anthropology of a dozen different movements reads like an ethnography of activism, from Ireland to Kurdistan to Guatemala and Chiapas.

Never one to blithely proceed as a militant tourist, Ryan consistently critiques his own role in the narratives he recounts, exploring tensions of race, class and nationality in the brave new world of global neoliberalism. Nor is he simply a lifestyle radical, playing mount-the-barricades in a dozen different cities. "Unconditional solidarity for any political party or movement is a foolish stance," he writes after discovering the new neoliberalized version of Sandinistas in Nicaragua, "especially when one has no participation in the process of decision-making or ideological direction. But one's loyalty remains to the idea and the revolutionary actions of a movement in a particular time." (264)

Who are the "clandestines"? As Ryan describes it, "clandestinity is about protecting ourselves, our rebel spaces and allowing the seed to germinate underground." (273) His description of developing, maintaining and deploying these spaces will be interesting to anyone pursuing radical social change.

Written by diehard anti-capitalist Ramor Ryan, Clandestines: The Pirate Journals Of An Irish Exile gathers memories of an anarchist's travels and exploits across the world during the 1980's and 1990's. From the hovels of Berlin during the fall of the wall, to a mystery in the Zapatista Autonomous Zone, to a Croatian Rainbow Gathering following G8 protests in Genoa, to a Kurdish guerilla camp, Clandestines tracks the struggles of a world in flux, on the cusp of transforming into a post-Cold War society. A sharp-eyed perspective from an author who despises all forms of imperialism and is utterly unafraid to declare it.

I can honestly say that I learned a great deal from reading this book, and enjoyed every minute of it. Ryan's stories are full of grit, hope, morality and rebelliousness. Highly recommended.

I never thought I would enjoy a travel journal, but Ramor Ryan changed my mind. At first I thought it was going to be an over-romantic story of this guy traveling around the world in order to avoid himself, in the way that a lot of Crimethinc type of stuff reads. I'm really not into that kind of stuff. However, he really surprised me, and I'm ashamed I thought that of him in the first place in association with Crimethinc, because this guy is a real character, a great writer, and no one can call him fake for leaving out the messy details. In fact, read about his review of the two different "Days of War and Nights of Love" (one by Crimethinc, and one by Eduardo Galeano) online.

In the great tradition of Irish story-tellers, Ryan recalls experiences from the squats of West Berlin, the war zone of Kurdistan, the revolution and post-revolution repression in Nicauragua, his youth in Ireland watching the British army attack a Republican demonstration, and much more. He is an exile from his native land, moving from situations of struggle across the planet with a keen analysis of each. Ryan left Ireland in the 1980s for Nicaragua to help defend the Revolution there, and ended up seeing the Sandinistas crumble under the might of the US-funded Contras, alienating Indigenous peoples struggling for autonomy in the process. He remarks that a generation of international solidarity activists in the 1980s got their start in Nicaragua; much like many saw the same in Chiapas in the 1990s.

If you've never heard of Ramor Ryan, look him up. I would love to meet him, because this guy has such a wealth of information and has seen so much without thinking he is better than anyone else for having done so. He brings a personal touch to bloody places stormed by revolution, repression, and fights for a better world. By the end of it, I thought to myself that he had really lived his life thus far to the fullest, and brought a whole new meaning to what I thought of as an "international solidarity" activist. Much of what he writes is exciting in that revolutionary situations are very much within reach, but at the same time depressing when he discusses the aftermath in the case of defeat (like in Kurdistan or in Nicaragua).

If you want to find an inspirational person, you have to meet Ramor Ryan by reading his Clandestines.

I have read numerous engrossing and exciting novels this year, but this book tops all of those, and these stories are true! If you like adventure, or want to simply know more about the world, read this book. He puts a very human face on the trials and tribulations of so many varied people, you ultimately feel like you were there. This book is your chance at a small piece of Ramor's varied experiences. Don't miss-out on the adventures.

Remember when you were a kid and everything delighted you? Little things like a butterfly lighting on your finger or a jawbreaker that lasted for hours? Laura Jensen Walker's book reminded me of just that. I wrote my own list and felt immensely grateful when I lifted my pen from the journal. Wow, all of a sudden it was the little things that surround me that brought a sense of childlike joy. Good job, Laura. For a moment, you opened my 42-year old eyes to the pleasure of small wonders. This will be a favorite part of my daily quiet time!

As a busy mom of MANY kids, who also loves to read, I find that I have to read in snippets of time here and there. I've never really had TIME to stop and think about what I'm grateful for! But this book allows me to feed my passion of reading, on a limited time budget and still challenges me to review the things for which I can give thanks. In a time of so much uncertainty in our country (I'm married to an Air Force Pilot) it's good to stop and thank the One who made the roses!

Ferris Wheels, Daffodils, & Hot Fudge Sundaes Book Review

In her beautiful new gratitude journal, Ferris Wheels, daffodils, & Hot Fudge Sundaes, Laura Jensen Walker has managed to capture life's bountiful blessings in a litany of delightful lists for our observation and celebration. I must admit that at first glance I couldn't imagine the big deal about a listing of seemingly incongruous information. And admittedly, I wasn't having a very good day. But by the time I'd read a couple pages, I was laughing, crying, and praising God. In a deceptively simply way, reading a blessing list has a cumulative, exponential effect. By the time I was finished, I was not only blessed, but adding my own personal joys. And that's the point. By proving to readers that blessings abound in our lives, from the overwhelmingly obvious, to the present but overlooked, to the definitely obscure, we are encouraged to "take note" and come away profoundly grateful to God for all of life. Walker knows about treasures found in darkness. She started her list while undergoing chemotherapy for life-threatening breast cancer, yet found reasons for praise. After reading the blessings she found in her "dark night," I came away knowing that God could bless me in any situation. I am thankful to Walker for the prompt to count my blessings and grateful to the God who supplies them. Because I have a feeling my journal will fill quickly, I've got several blank notebooks waiting in the wings!

Laura Walker's gratitude journal is one of a kind. An exceptional amount of work that brought tears to my eyes, inspired me to think about my own blessings, and write down so many things I'm thankful for, miracles large and small. So in between those crazy moments of everyday life, sit down with a cup of tea and Walker's journal--you'll be amazed at how much you have to be grateful for. I can't wait to buy a few more for Mom, sisters, and best friends!

No one is as capable of gratitude as one who has emerged from the kingdom of night. ~Elie Wiesel

Laura Jensen Walker created her gratitude journal during a time in her life when she could have followed a completely opposite direction in attitude. Her resilience and positive spirit not only helped her to survive cancer, she developed a new love for life.

At times I feel Laura and I have lived similar lives because she enjoys so many of the same thing, has traveled to so many of the same places and has experienced similar turning points that became enlightening moments defining her existence.

In her Gratitude Journal she celebrates chocolate, fields of lavender, movies, English Trifle, Rose Gardens, Whistling Kettles, Monet Paintings, Cherry blossoms, Peppermint Stick Ice Cream, the Winged Victory in the Louvre, Garlic Bread and English Fish and Chip Shops.

There is a sense of comfort as she remembers to list her Norton Anthology, writes about the first time she saw windmills in Holland and talks about her love of music. She also has a love of quotes and makes some excellent points to awaken our own sense of thankfulness for the life we do experience.

If you haven't all the things you want, be grateful for the things you don't have that you wouldn't want. ~Anonymous

Within this slim volume of inspirational ideas, there is also room for you to write your own list. On the left you will find Laura's list and on the right, there is a lined page for your own thoughts. Laura Jensen Walker creates comforting little escapes in writing. Her soul's beauty is especially apparent in this selection.

~The Rebecca Review

I wish the descriptions had told me that it was basically a bird-watching book, since a vast majority of the chapters dealt with birds and that is not what I was interested in.





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This is a wonderful book. I live in an Amish area so was very surprised to discover such rich vocabulary and stunning visual imagery due to the fact that typically the Amish only have an eighth grade education. Reading this book is like spending days walking through the woods following animal tracks or bird watching. Or just lying in the hay and watching the world go by!

"Great Possessions" radiates serenity and joy, but there is an underlying sadness for things lost--American chestnut trees, passenger pigeons, family farms. It is a rare natural history book that doesn't have this poignant undercurrent.

Here is an author who can write knowledgeably about diversified sustainable farming, because he is Old Order Amish and practices what he preaches. In the introduction, Wendell Berry says, "David's life--informed as it is by the Amish reverence for the natural world and the stewardship everywhere implicit in Amish farming--makes a union of economy and ecology."

This particular farmer-naturalist times his hay cutting to permit bobolink fledglings to leave the nest. When he top-seeds his wheat in the spring, his hand-cranked seeder flushes the horned larks and allows him to avoid their nests.

The Ohio Amish practice five-crop rotation so crop-damaging insects don't have time to build up. Horse-worked farms absorb almost seven times more water than conventional no-tilled farms.

Is it any wonder that the Amish in my area of middle Michigan at least, are quietly taking over the farm land that could not be made profitable by gigantic machines, insecticides, herbicides, and major debt?

Most Amish farmers are not pure organic farmers, but their use of herbicides is minute compared to the average non-organic farmer. The Soil Conservation Service (SCS) keeps trying to persuade this author that spraying poisons on his land would free him from tilling. An SCS technician informed him that "If I'd join the no-till crowd I'd be freed from plowing, and then my son or I could work in a factory. He insinuated that the extra income (increased cash flow) would in some way improve the quality of our lives."

The author, thank God, fails to get the point. He asks, "Should we give up the kind of farming that has been proven to preserve communities and land and is ecologically and spiritually sound for a way that is culturally and environmentally harmful?"

In one year, David Kline counted 155 different species of birds on his land.

When I was growing up a few hundred miles north of this author's Ohio farm, it was rare in those DDT-laden days to hear even a sparrow sing. At least we learned a lesson about that particular pesticide, and the birds are making a comeback. I counted 44 different bird species on our ten acres this year.

Maybe that's because I live in a county where the Amish farm.

The author, David Kline, is Amish and a farmer, so he lives very close to nature. While the subtitle is, "An Amish Farmer's Journal," this book is not about the Amish. It is about a man's love for God's creation that surrounds him on his farm and his sadness at what has been lost and what we continue to lose.

The introduction by the author is a powerful statement for sustainable, small scale, family farming. Wendell Berry in the foreword notes this with his statement that Kline's life, "informed as it is by the Amish reverence for the natural world and the stewardship everywhere implicit in Amish farming--makes a union of economy and ecology." In the introduction Kline asks, "Should we give up the kind of farming that has been proven to preserve communities and land and is ecologically and spiritually sound for a way that is culturally and environmentally harmful?" This truly summarizes the viewpoint David Kline brings to his journal.

Kline takes us through the year on his farm and lets us see the different plants, birds and animals that migrate through or live on his farm and those around him. He talks about the loss of Chestnut trees, mushrooms, Woodpeckers and a hundred other birds as they appear in his region of Ohio during the year.

This is a `must read' for those who love nature.

Kyle Pratt

When I originally received this book, I was really unhappy because I was looking for something by Wendell Berry and he only wrote the 2 page introduction. However, this is a wonderful, beautiful book. You feel as though you were walking with Mr. Kline on a lazy afternoon while he explains the world around you.

"The Haymakers" is beautifully written. Hoffbeck begins with the story of his own family and engages the emotions of his readers from the start. The experiences of the five families are intricately woven together and create an accurate picture of haymaking in Minnesota. "The Haymakers" explores the technical aspects of making hay and also the sweat and tears that went into the process. It provides a look into the lives of several haymaking families in different regions and different time periods. The stories of the five families are gripping and Hoffbeck's personal story is tragic. "The Haymakers" is captivating and tells a historical story well worth reading.

I have read this book twice. The first time was for Dr. Hoffbecks American History class and the 2nd time was for my American Studies class on the Midwest. Dr. Hoffbeck is a wonderful professor and the way he writes is as if you are in the classroom with him. I've done the very laberous job of making hay. When I read this book only someone who has done it like Dr. Hoffbeck while growing up can capture what it is like to have done this work. If anyone out there is enrolled at MSU Moorhead I urge you to take a history class with Dr, Hoffbeck.

This is a wonderful and well written book that will capitivate and hold your attention to the very last page. Readers of all generations would enjoy this book. The book is about haymaking, but also so much more. The illustrations and pictures help you to envision life on the farm. I will anxiously await his next book.

The previous readers already praised this book so beautifully in their reviews that I don't know if I can improve on what has already been said, other than to say that I found this to be a very moving and lyrical testament to a vanishing way of life--the family farm. I loved Hoffbeck's detailed descriptions of the five farm families, ranging from early settlers to his own experience, and I thought he very masterfully combined factual details with personal revelations and insight. Extremely illuminating.

Dr. Steven Hoffbeck's fast-moving book is about haying, or the process of putting up of hay, to feed farm animals through the long winter months. This is an unusual topic and if the book were only about haying techniques, it would have little interest except to farming historians, but the book is more than haying, much more. "The Haymakers" is about the struggles and triumphs of real people dealing with the joys and many heartrendering difficulties of farm life. Dr. Hoffbeck takes the reader through 100 years of haymaking by describing and telling us the personal chronicles of 5 farm families.

Haymaking methods are described, from the simple yet laborious scythe-harvest method through the making of large round and small square bales by machine. I found the evolution of haymaking facinating in itself, and it gave me an appreciaton of what farm familes have to go through to "get in the hay". For without hay, there is no winter feed for the many farm animals; and without farm animals, there is no farm.

As any farmer will tell you, close calls and accidents are unfortunately all too frequent on the farm. Dr. Hoffbeck shares his experiences of losing his own father, and then tragically his brother, all due to accidents on the home farm. I was touched by the way Dr. Hoffbeck writes about these tremendous losses, and one can feel his pain, anguish, and loss through his words.

Dr. Hoffbeck also clearly explains the farm crisis American farmers face today, that of debt, the trend to larger and larger farms, and the slow but steady passing of the small American homestead farm. Not having been raised, or even associated with the travails of farming life, I found his explanation quite enlightening. When he describes the crushing debt load that farmers take on to survive and modernize their farms, I can almost feel the weight of that debt on my shoulders as well. It is easy to understand the economic problems farmers face after reading this book.

If you are looking for fast adventure, high suspense, or international intrigue, this is not the book for you. However, if you are looking for a book that delves into the farming lives of our pioneers, our grandfathers and grandmothers, and our uncles and aunts, then this book will touch your mind and your heart. It will give you an everlasting appreciation of the hard toil that our independent and strong-willed ancestors faced on a daily basis. I highly recommend it.