Journals Books

A timeless volume of America's finest editorialist's collected prose. I cherish my autographed copy (won through a WWN contest).

Ed pulls no punches. And I mean none. Overcrowded prisons? Ed's solution is electrified bleachers. Namby pamby pantywaist liberals from Washington telling you what to do? Ed's solution involves chains and shotguns. Whiners and crybabies over the current injury dejour? Ed heads up the "ironic punishment" department for both Heaven and Hell.

Railroad gothic hot type editorial prose. Ed is no Ring Lardner, nor Ambrose Bierce, but his direct style and strained homespun metaphors will warm the cockles of your heart long after you put this down.

This is another boonie dog book review by Wolfie and Kansas. We are chicken-biting happy about "Let's Pave the Stupid Rainforests & Give School Teachers Stun Guns", a collection of essays by Ed Anger. Anger is a columnist for the Weekly World News, a newpaper that is a favorite of puppies everywhere.

Anger addresses many issues of importance to canines. On the issue of dog intelligence, he wisely concludes, "The more tricks a dog will do, the stupider he is." Under this theory, we boonie dogs are geniuses! Anger also recommends that Socks Clinton be defanged and declawed. In a courageous editiorial, Anger suggest testing veterinary medicines on humans rather than testing human medicines on dogs.

Occasiionally Anger misfires, as when he asserts that a certain noncanine actress of primate derivation has an IQ slightly higher than a dog. Perhaps such lapses are only satirical. On the whole Anger is one of the most canine-sensitive columnists writing today.

Ed shoots in all directions, at everyone, at once. Not to be confused with humorless lightweights like Rush Lumbago, Ed Anger's commentary is the funniest stuff I have read in years. Read the book closely enough and you are sure to find yourself mocked and castigated by Mr. Anger. Therefore, the book is NOT recommended for those lacking in the ability to laugh at oneself. I particularly recommend his proposal for a special Women's Driver's License (though I hardly agree with him)

This is a wonderful and amazing book on so many levels. I remember when I was trying to get ahold of this book there was an original printing that contained three huge wolumes, it was very expensive, then I saw that there was an updated version in one single volume. It's not easy to find a copy of this book but if you can get one check it out. Aside from listening to his music the only other true way to get to know this wonderful man and his family is through their letters to one another. Anderson does a wonderful job leaving the letters as they were written, and giving the reader helpful footnotes along the way. This book is very thorough and a great read. I would say it is for someone who wants a great deal of detail about mozart's life and times, in his words. I think this is in some ways better than a biography about Mozart, even though there are some great ones out there. This is the closet thing to an autobigraphy of mozart as there can ever be. Sadly, after the death of his father in 1787, Mozart lost his main contact, so we don't always know his day to day activities as we were able to get before then, especially the last three years or so of his life. But to read some of those letters to his wife constanza, or to puchberg, who was helping him again and again with his finances, to me are just heartbreaking. Why is it no one in his time was able to see this man as the unrivaled musical genius he really was??? Through this book we learn about his fears and flaws, his likes and dislikes and the things that were happening during each year of his life. The letters between Mzt and his father are very insightful, whether they are arguing with one another or praising one another. Even though this is a much longer and harder read than a biography might be, the author is the Mozart family, so there is really no way for the book to be biased as an author might tend to be in some areas. Have I said enough to convince you yet??? Go and get this book if you truly love Mozart and want to see him as he really was.

The letters make one feel present throughout Mozart's life. One sees Mozart as a human being,loving and pious but also sometimes mean and petty. I looked for this book for years ( I considered borrowing it from the library and "losing it") and finally found it through the publisher, St Martin Press.Good appendix and notes makes this an indispensible for the Mozart lover.

This is a much admired and beloved labor of love. Mozart wrote words like he wrote music: full of lively play and energy. His "naughty" letters to his cousin are especially wonderful! How do you translate a long string of nonsense syllables from German nonsense into equivalent English nonsense? Emily does it! And she handles the prolific scatological references in robust 18th century style (no Victorian gloves for Emily!) This should not be out of print, but it is. Please let me know if you find a copy.

"Only you can discover exactly why it is that you write. I write to leave evidence that I was here, and to make my life journey as fully conscious as I can." ~Christina Baldwin

Christina Baldwin's beautiful voice leads the listener into a writing journey. She tells stories of her own experience with writing a diary and then explores a variety of exciting possibilities. If you are interested in writing a journal, creating a scrapbook or even writing the story of your life, then this is an excellent starting point. Christina Baldwin uncovers the true reasons we write, why we must write and why we love to write. She introduces "Flow Writing," "Collage Journals," and "Day Books." The main topics include:

Why Do We Write?
A Brief History of Writing
The Types of Writing - online, computer, pen and paper
Writing a Lifeline
Writing our way out of Despair
Writing a Love Letter
Creating Goals
Conversations with your Soul
Creating a Writing Sanctuary
Making Time for Writing
Writing about Relationships
How to Create Journals for Gifts
Bringing Art into the Writing Process
Starting a Writing Group

You may find yourself listening to each CD more than once before moving onto the next CD. The topics are inspiring and there are so many ideas for making writing part of your life.

If you especially enjoy any part of the CDs, there is a way to quickly find the area on the CD by marking it on the sheet of topics. There is also a card set with topics from each CD. On card eleven:

"Consider making special books that hold the best of what you have to say, and giving them as gifts to loved ones."

Christina Baldwin is right when she says that writing organizes life. You may also enjoy her book: One to One: Self-Understanding through Journal Writing. She is an author, educator, speaker and retreat leader who specializes in the process of personal writing. Her teaching style is more than inspiring.

~The Rebecca Review

For many thousands of years, people have been leaving their marks to tell a story. In the caves of Lascaux, pictographs became the first journal entries. "Story is really all we have of ourselves," says Christina Baldwin, the visionary who started (or perhaps we should say restarted) the personal writing movement. Baldwin's own writing story is one that began when she picked out words she knew from the newspaper, something I remember doing myself. Later, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, she buried a metal box of precious objects "to save [her] story," including her own journal and The Diary of Anne Frank.

Recording Lifelines was an opportunity for Baldwin to define and develop her philosophy of writing and life story, which became a gift of inspiration and affirmation for listeners. If you are about to begin a writing practice, you will receive guidance from a wise teacher. If you are already writing, and even if you have been doing so for a long time, you will be reminded of how important a lifeline writing is. The wonder of a recording is it's as if the speaker is talking directly to you. Another benefit to listening to a CD is being able to hear a writing mentor's voice even while driving in the car. I remember particular stories from Lifelines with a memory of the place where I heard them.

When Baldwin published One to One: Self-Understanding through Journal Writing in 1977, the Library of Congress had to create a new category for her pioneering work. It was followed by Life's Companion: Journal Writing as a Spiritual Quest, which the author wrote because she wanted to find her "tribe." You will find a review of the latter book on this site, and on www.storycirclebookreviews.org. Calling the Circle: The First and Future Culture describes the way of council where story is part of the decision-making. "The circle calls us to remember ourselves as carriers of the story," Baldwin says. This is the methodology she and partner Ann Linnea have shared around the world through their business, PeerSpirit, Inc. Baldwin's fourth book published in 2002, The Seven Whispers: A Spiritual Practice for Times Like These, invites people into exploring their relationship to the Divine. Her most recent book is Storycatcher: Making Sense of Our Lives through the Power and Practice of Story. See my review elsewhere on this site, and on www.storycirclebookreviews.org

As I describe Baldwin's books, all of which I've read, I recall my story of writing on my own and writing in the circle. We write to organize life, guide ourselves through life's transitions, reveal parts of our unexpressed selves, and to pass stories from generation to generation like a lifeline. But "only you can discover exactly why it is that you write," according to Baldwin. "I write to leave evidence that I was here, and to make my life journey as fully conscious as I can."

Along with the stories and personal experiences the author shares is practical advice and writing exercises. The most inspiring of these are included on thirteen Lifeline cards. One of her suggestions for getting onto the page is a foundational exercise called "flow writing." Close your eyes. When you open them, let the first thing you see be your opening word. Write for five minutes. Baldwin admits her own resistance to writing and advises, "Writing is a relationship that includes our resistance to it." I was so grateful to hear that. Listing her own ten essentials for her writing relationship, the author prompts listeners to create their own. "Look at how you create the time, the space, the environment, the permission that you need. This is likely to be an evolving list as you learn more about what truly supports your writing."

As you respond to life events, you begin the "Spiral of Experience" with a "survivor's tale." Questioning and acknowledging consequences leads to "the story of integration," taking you deeper into understanding how a particular event fits into the larger story of your life. Finally, through compassion and acceptance, you enter new territory--the "story of insight and meaning."

Writing is good for your health. It boosts the immune system. It brings you into focus. And writing can help you learn to love your body, waking up the chakras of the body that is your home. As an embodied writer, you can ask yourself, "What are the five senses I can put on the page?" You can write yourself out of overwhelm and write for social healing as well as for personal healing. Baldwin suggests bringing the world onto the page. Make a collage and write commentary on what is going on in the outside world. It's okay to be opinionated on the page. As you practice on the page, you articulate your life. "Personal writing is a private process that serves as the source of significant change in our journey. We proceed from the story into action."

"Practice certainty of purpose", Baldwin advises. "Articulate your understanding of the covenant you have made with life. Write it down, read it out loud to yourself, edit and refine it, work with it. Place this message where it will guide you again and again."

by Mary Ann Moore
for Story Circle Book Reviews
www.storycirclebookreviewsorg
reviewing books by, for, and about women

I'm an avid journaler and aspiring writer, and have become fairly jaded by the seemingly nonstop stream of how-to-be-a-better-writer books and tapes available. But listening to Lifelines has changed everything for me. Though the series focuses on personal writing for insight and healing, the natural clarity with which Christina illustrates the importance of The Story -- and the excellent exercises that are included in the set -- have made it possible to both capture and learn from my own life's stories AND become a better and more courageous writer all around. I set aside a portion of my morning every day for listening to Lifelines and writing. What a wonderful, wonderful thing she has created here.

November, 28, 2003

SERIES EXAMINES LIFE'S QUIRKS and SIMILARITIES

What do a spider and a Neanderthal have in common or molecules and humans? No, these are not the beginning of unfunny jokes your uncle told you at Christmas. These are examples of everyday life examined in the book of John Hodgson.
A former cellular phone salesman, Hodgson now writes full time from his home.
Using his own observations and research, Hodgson presents a series of book that look at the strange daily habits of life.
The Little Fun Book of Bees/Forests, The Little Fun Book of Spiders/Neanderthal, The Little fun Book of Molecules/Humans, and The Little Fun Book of Plants/Scorpions all take seemingly unrelated topics and find ways of showing that they are, in fact, similar in many ways.
Most people are aware that at one time Neanderthals roamed the earth hunting and gathering, crossing the landscape to survive. But how many people would instantly associate these practices with a spider? They, too, spend most of their lives hunting for food and building a home in which to live.
But Hodgson takes this to another level and looks at ways in which spiders and Neanderthals moved, ate, and survived thousands of years ago and, in the case of spiders, today. He then attempts to show that they are really not that different at all.
One only has to open the book to any random page and instantly find unique and fun comparisons written in a metaphoric and disjoined manner, aiming to make connections between the two subjects: "Spiders/Neanderthals lived together/didn't always get along;" or "Neanderthals sometimes eat spiders. Spiders sometimes bite Neanderthals."
After several of these comparisons, the reader begins to share the author's understanding of the natural world and its subtle connection Hodgson makes.
Each page has just one sentence, in large type similar to a children's book. Hodgson, however, deals with more complex issues, raising questions of how other living creatures could be related in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. In some cases he makes obvious links: scorpions and plants, for example, need dirt to live. Hodgson then takes a more philosophical approach, by showing how plants and scorpions symbolize humans in a variety of ways.
Hodgson presents to readers the ways in which life has learned to co-exist with each other despite obvious differences. He also looks at ways in which species depend on each other to survive and, in the end, it isn't always man who wins.
"Neanderthals were the building blocks of modern man. Spiders still exist." Hodgson writes.
The Little Fun Book series is certainly ideal for the person who enjoys learning and understanding the world around them from different perspectives.
The Little Fun Book series is published through 1st books library and are available at www.1stbookslibrary.com, www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.

November, 28, 2003

SERIES EXAMINES LIFE'S QUIRKS and SIMILARITIES

What do a spider and a Neanderthal have in common or molecules and humans? No, these are not the beginning of unfunny jokes your uncle told you at Christmas. These are examples of everyday life examined in the book of John Hodgson.
A former cellular phone salesman, Hodgson now writes full time from his home.
Using his own observations and research, Hodgson presents a series of book that look at the strange daily habits of life.
The Little Fun Book of Bees/Forests, The Little Fun Book of Spiders/Neanderthal, The Little fun Book of Molecules/Humans, and The Little Fun Book of Plants/Scorpions all take seemingly unrelated topics and find ways of showing that they are, in fact, similar in many ways.
Most people are aware that at one time Neanderthals roamed the earth hunting and gathering, crossing the landscape to survive. But how many people would instantly associate these practices with a spider? They, too, spend most of their lives hunting for food and building a home in which to live.
But Hodgson takes this to another level and looks at ways in which spiders and Neanderthals moved, ate, and survived thousands of years ago and, in the case of spiders, today. He then attempts to show that they are really not that different at all.
One only has to open the book to any random page and instantly find unique and fun comparisons written in a metaphoric and disjoined manner, aiming to make connections between the two subjects: "Spiders/Neanderthals lived together/didn't always get along;" or "Neanderthals sometimes eat spiders. Spiders sometimes bite Neanderthals."
After several of these comparisons, the reader begins to share the author's understanding of the natural world and its subtle connection Hodgson makes.
Each page has just one sentence, in large type similar to a children's book. Hodgson, however, deals with more complex issues, raising questions of how other living creatures could be related in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. In some cases he makes obvious links: scorpions and plants, for example, need dirt to live. Hodgson then takes a more philosophical approach, by showing how plants and scorpions symbolize humans in a variety of ways.
Hodgson presents to readers the ways in which life has learned to co-exist with each other despite obvious differences. He also looks at ways in which species depend on each other to survive and, in the end, it isn't always man who wins.
"Neanderthals were the building blocks of modern man. Spiders still exist." Hodgson writes.
The Little Fun Book series is certainly ideal for the person who enjoys learning and understanding the world around them from different perspectives.
The Little Fun Book series is published through 1st books library and are available at www.1stbookslibrary.com, www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.

November, 28, 2003

SERIES EXAMINES LIFE'S QUIRKS and SIMILARITIES

What do a spider and a Neanderthal have in common or molecules and humans? No, these are not the beginning of unfunny jokes your uncle told you at Christmas. These are examples of everyday life examined in the book of John Hodgson.
A former cellular phone salesman, Hodgson now writes full time from his home.
Using his own observations and research, Hodgson presents a series of book that look at the strange daily habits of life.
The Little Fun Book of Bees/Forests, The Little Fun Book of Spiders/Neanderthal, The Little fun Book of Molecules/Humans, and The Little Fun Book of Plants/Scorpions all take seemingly unrelated topics and find ways of showing that they are, in fact, similar in many ways.
Most people are aware that at one time Neanderthals roamed the earth hunting and gathering, crossing the landscape to survive. But how many people would instantly associate these practices with a spider? They, too, spend most of their lives hunting for food and building a home in which to live.
But Hodgson takes this to another level and looks at ways in which spiders and Neanderthals moved, ate, and survived thousands of years ago and, in the case of spiders, today. He then attempts to show that they are really not that different at all.
One only has to open the book to any random page and instantly find unique and fun comparisons written in a metaphoric and disjoined manner, aiming to make connections between the two subjects: "Spiders/Neanderthals lived together/didn't always get along;" or "Neanderthals sometimes eat spiders. Spiders sometimes bite Neanderthals."
After several of these comparisons, the reader begins to share the author's understanding of the natural world and its subtle connection Hodgson makes.
Each page has just one sentence, in large type similar to a children's book. Hodgson, however, deals with more complex issues, raising questions of how other living creatures could be related in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. In some cases he makes obvious links: scorpions and plants, for example, need dirt to live. Hodgson then takes a more philosophical approach, by showing how plants and scorpions symbolize humans in a variety of ways.
Hodgson presents to readers the ways in which life has learned to co-exist with each other despite obvious differences. He also looks at ways in which species depend on each other to survive and, in the end, it isn't always man who wins.
"Neanderthals were the building blocks of modern man. Spiders still exist." Hodgson writes.
The Little Fun Book series is certainly ideal for the person who enjoys learning and understanding the world around them from different perspectives.
The Little Fun Book series is published through 1st books library and are available at www.1stbookslibrary.com, www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.

This is a great gift for yourself or others. It's attractive, so it really makes one want to get involved with this life-enhancing path. The author , as you probably know, is well-immersed in this field. In this book/journal, she offers a weekly lesson for introspection and illumination. These lessons include a thought for reflection that is the essence of that week's journey. The last half of the book offers lined journal pages for your use in exploring journal topics, etc. Every page is nicely decorated with shamanistic symbols. Each week's topics are not just random; they are designed in an order to lead the reader on a year-long quest for better Self-hood. It's really an exciting opportunity packaged in an enticing workbook.

I love this workbook! It asks questions and gives you exercises that really help you define who you are, what you want and how to develope ways to get there. A wonderful personal development tool!

I happened on this journal in a little bookstore in Black Mountain, NC in August of 1999. At the time my Dad was terminally ill. My brother, my Dad, and I were going through a most difficult time, emotionally. Anyway, I started working in this journal the first of September, 1999. It is a very wonderful tool for healing and uniting our inner selves. It requires DEEP introspection and therefore offers DEEP healing. I positively recommend this book, but remember before you start the journey be ready to do some real, sometimes painful, rewarding work. God Bless You!

Robert Lax,who died late last year back in his "home" of Olean,N.Y.,was a writer of spare,minimalist poetry and prose.Lauded by his comtempories{writers as diverse as Levertov,Kerouac,Maxwell and Thomas Merton considered him an absolutelt essential poet}He writes about the Large{the title piece, a reworking of the intoduction to the Gospel of John} to colors. He work is so spare that it becomes meditative. In the early 1960's Lax moved to the island of Patmos,and began life as a hermit. His speech{and poerty }became even more lean,essentially stripping away whatever he viewed as accretion.One poem written like a cascading waterfall, simply spells out colors. His greatest work, the circus of the sun, is reprinted here in part. Lax travelled with a canadian circus for awhile, and viewed the circus,metaphorically, as life. This volume is rounded out with some dairies he keopt in the mid 60's on the Greek Islands. I believe that generations to come will view him as one of the great poets of the century.For that he certainly was. An essential volume!

Robert Lax, as much as the author of a wondrous body of poetic work as for his choice of a contemplative way of living his life, is one of those writers one must know, and know deeply.

As it happens so often when it comes to poetry, the recognition of artistic achievement does not always translate into any kind of sizable exposure to the general reading public, and, in Lax's case, it may even be limited even in poetry-loving circles. To make matters even more complicated, Robert Lax left New York in the 1940's, while still young -having graduated from Columbia and written for the New Yorker for a while- and moved to Patmos, one of the Greek islands, where he lived the rest of his life in a manner reminiscent of the Fathers of the Desert during the twelfth century. So, a poet who by virtue of his "profession" already limited his chances at real fame, further disappeared into the proverbial literary woodwork, by choosing the life of a medieval saint.

Now, having established some general biographical data, let us talk about the poet and his poetry and, more specifically about this particular book. There are two aspects of Lax's writing which are important to know, one is his economy of expression-which many have described as a "minimalism" yet I avoid for the potential assumptions about his belonging to a "school" of writing rather than having make some personal choices about how to say what he wanted to say.

When it comes to Robert Lax less is not only "more", it is actually greater, deeper, a form of communion with the reader who's invited to imagine each poem along with the writer. These poems are born of a certain appreciation for the reader's intelligence and sensitivity, refusing to serve the "liquid diet" of much of contemporary over-explained poetry. With Lax, you need to work ... no, more precisely yet, you need to attend, be present, be available to the magical evocation of language.

This becomes eminently apparent particularly in the included selections from his Greek Journal. in these texts Lax goes about being deeply interested in noticing whatever he notices -not unlike a Zen Buddhist sage- looking for the poems he would see, find first in life itself, rather than as constructs in his mind. More the telling of his small epiphanies, than self-important statements from a saint "wannabe:"

"the woman who lives in the house at the bottom of the hill asked me
with a great warm smile how i was doing; i said fine, and that I was going
to work. good, she said, tapping her head, or something, to show that
the work I meant was intellectual.

which perhaps it is: it feels more, the way i do it, like adam naming
the plants & animals. looking & naming: not doing very much more."

Lax is a true spiritual man and, because of that, his poetry is the poetry of a spiritual man rather than "spiritual poetry." Although this may sound merely semantic there's a valuable distinction to be drawn from it, these poems are not necessarily about spiritual topics -the triumphs and defeats of being a faithful man, or the counsels of someone who's attained certain degree of enlightment over material pursuits- yet it is, very much so, about spiritual matters, the diary of a man earnestly pondering over what it is to live a meaningful life, a poetic existence.

Whether it is one of his "diary entries" or one of his poems about circus life -the circus-inspired poems being another prominent aspect of Lax's writing, many of which are included in this flawless collection- what comes across so powerfully is the careful observation of trapeze artists and horse riders perfecting their crafts and longing to touch their audience. The circus and its people are not a childhood memory nor a passing interest in a odd, social group, it is a faithful community of men and women, a form of ecumenical work:

Our dreams have tamed the lions,
have made pathways in the jungle,
peaceful lakes; they have built new
Edens ever-sweet and ever-changing
By day from town to town we carry
Eden in our tents and bring its won-
ders to the children who have lost
their dream at home.

Robert Lax was this kind of poet, his so-called "hermit life" was his attempt to live a life of observation, meditation and, in perhaps a not so obvious way, a life of communion with this world.
Tolstoi is quoted as saying that if you "paint your village" you could achieve universality in your work. In the case of Robert Lax, what he has so beautifully depicted when it comes to the circus, or noted so wisely about a small Greek island, has made him a timeless, devoted observer of the welcomed difficulties of becoming an honorable human being.

" to be 'enlightened' is not to shine; nor to bring
multitudes to the hill where one sits cross-legged,
to listen.

it is rather to know what one is doing (& even,
perhaps, to enjoy it.)"

This book describes silence in gorgeous prose and poetry. I recommend it to anyone who loves the sound and feel of the written word and the sound and feel of quiet.

I bought this item as gift for my fiance. He currently lives in FL & often ask me about Love Is which is printed daily in the Chicago Suntimes.
I saw this book and I knew I had to buy it for him for Valentines Day. He Loves it and says it is a treasure.

Product arrived as advertised - very good quality.
Larger than previous Love Is books - Very Satisfied.

This is a cute paperback version of the hardcover cartoon collection that is also sold on Amazon. Amazon has done a lousy job with thier item descriptions and you never know what you are ordering anymore.

Scrapbooking is all about recording family memories in a creative way, so I was pleasantly surprised to find a book that contains not only the personal family journals of a few well-known scrapbook artists, but the expeiences that inpsired the work, and their ideas on how the reader can incorporate these ideas into similar scrapbooks. This book takes family journaling to a whole new level.

The book shows the various journals and then gives ideas -- jumpstarts, if you will, for how the reader can create a similar work that reflects their own family memories. That's the beauty of this book. It's not only provides eye-candy, but great ideas and instructions. For example, on page 26 we are introduced to The Strine family's Time Capsule created by Allison Strine (and the credits for each piece contains ALL the names of the family members, not just the name of the individual artist -- I love that special touch!). On the opposite page is a sidebar that contains ideas for things the reader can collect to create their own time capsule. I fell in love with the Adolph family's "South of the Border" journal designed by the children of Christine Adolph. The journal was created while on a family cruise vacation and the along with photos are ideas on what to gather during YOUR family vacations so you can create your own journal. Throughout the book each artist shares her ideas on how you can create journals just like theirs with your own artistic and familial bent.

This is no doubt one of my very favorite art books because it brings to mind what scrapbooking is all about...our own personal memories gathered together in our own artistic way. This is not about what the magazines are looking for, but what our families treasure most. Awesome book. I'll keep it forever!

Enjoy,
Cris Cunningham

This is an incredibly inspiring book. I own many books expanding on mixed media art and this book is by far the most inspiring, creative, colorful and delightful that I've run in to. The techniques are described sufficiently enough to get you headed in the right direction and encourages your own artistic touch. There is enough variety to keep you trying new techniques and ideas for a long time to come. This has become my most favorite of my collection. I will be coming back to this one over and over again! Enjoy!

This book is an amazing venture into journal making. My passion is creating journals, and I own several related books. This is perhaps one of the best. I've poured over it several times. Lots of projects that are technique driven. Many great tips. Well thought out, beautifully written and illustrated. If you love to journal, make journals, make alterted journals, or just love to read about their magic, this is an excellent book to add to your library. I'll be using it for inspiration for a long time.

I read this book in one setting. What a fascinating journey Sladen takes you on in this first hand account of a significant moment in history. I've been reading books on the west my entire life and I have to say this is the best single book one could read on the American Southwest. It chronicles the remarkable meeting between General O.O. Howard and the Great Apache leader Cochise. Sladen records Cochise's personality and style in great detail. He gives a vivid portrait of life in an Apache village. He presents Tom Jeffords and Howard as they really were. He describes the incredible county this drama played out in with the sensibility of a true lover of beauty and nature. Sladen's become one of my heros along with Cochise and Edward R. Sweeney who edited this book and wrote a brilliant biography of Cochise.

Cochise is an elusive character. There are no photographs of him, and only one eloquent speech, which was recorded by an Army interpreter. Otherwise, we are left with vague secondhand accounts that often make him a two-dimensional cardboard cutout. Sladen's journal breathes life into this dynamic individual. It is fascinating reading, and, as Sweeney the editor points out, Sladen is not judgmental. He simply describes life in the Apache camp. A wonderful book.

Another book on my shelf from U. of Oklahoma that gets better with rereading.

Though this one was released more than 5 years ago, it reads as though written yesterday. And that is something, since the diary that underpins it was written in 1872.

This is must reading for anyone enjoying information of the period of the Apache wars in Arizona/New Mexico area. Other than the author's previous biography on Cochise, nothing is available giving personal views of Cochise and his people. And Cochise's statement that no whiteman would look upon his face was well kept. These two military men, and Tom Jeffords were among the few that ever did.

Enough good words cannot be said about this one.

Semper Fi.

Wow. The PW excerpt is worthless. Worse yet, the reviewer doesn't understand Chabon's stance throughout the book. But what do I know? I'm just one of those "comic-book lovers" degraded in the review. (I'm also a professor. Should I be conflicted?)

I know a lot of these essays from other sources and have lived with them a while. They're good pieces, and the PW critic *did* phone it in with such a soft-boiled review.

Chabon's defense of genre isn't confined to comics. His right concern is that most genre writers are marginalized to some degree, regardless of their talents and achievements. It takes a Patrick O'Brian or JRR Tolkien longer to garner critical praise simply because they're "merely" writing sea novels or fantasy epics, and however good a sci-fi or western writer might be, chances are his or her book is stuck in a corner at the bookstore. In 1984 and Hound of the Baskervilles and Frankenstein appeared for the first time this year, they might get lost in the genre aisle, and would almost certainly confront dismissive criticism. All of which Chabon elucidates far better than I.

Genre aside, Chabon's essays about his own career are terrific and entertaining. If PW wants to imagine this book's audience, it's people who enjoy reading or writing fiction--literary *or* genre--and those who like Chabon and his books. That's a big readership.

I agree in spirit with with comments chastising PW for the review, but overall I appreciate it more than I disapprove. Attempting to disprove Chabon's stance -- genre fiction deserves a good, strong defense -- the PW reviewer's snide effort complete with shells lobbed out of some book beau monde, the whole works merely bolsters his position. The subject isn't a job Chabon puts up for the purpose of building a empty argument: In the past, when I set out to write weighty material and still wound up framing it in genre, I was near mortified. I've gotten over that, but sometimes I still feel skittish browsing the science fiction aisle. I take responsibility for my own foolishness, but something happened along the way; in my youth I unselfconsciously inspected the fantastical spines of at least every third book on those shelves.

Since we are now so fond of the likes of Lost through Transformers -- our culture has indeed always loved these sorts of things -- while certain literary connoisseurs lament an apparently lame-brained passion for these genre entertainments, at the same time mourning the demise of wholesale American literacy, what's the plan for bringing people back to good books? Stomping out the fun stuff?

So, yes, I'd say we could use a bold defense of genre fiction, comic books and -- gasp! -- entertaining authors. A fiery "tirade" may well suit. And, my stars, please don't confuse "emphatic" or "adamant" with "bitter". Otherwise published in this volume, Chabon's short-form memoirs collected are a welcome addition to his catalog.