Literature Books

This is one of those rare stories that seeps into your soul and leaves a lasting impression. The language itself, while a bit difficult at first becomes a song you want to sing and long to hear it spoken. The story, sometimes achingly sad and violent is ultimately triumphantly romantic - with a sequence of events that leaves the reader breathless and yearning for more. Shortly after reading Precious Bane, I was lucky enough to discover a small theatre group in Chicago performing the stage version. My husband and I were in a packed theatre of about 30 people, where I sat front and center with the actors not more than two feet in front of me. Knowing the story line as I did, I made a spectacle of myself sobbing through the second half of the play. I'm sure the actors were gratified that they had such a strong effect on their audience. Suffice it to say, no one who picks up this book will be disappointed, nor will they ever forget it.

I inherited a 1920's hardcover copy of this book when my Grandmother died- it had always been one of her favorite books. When I read it, I begin to see why. My Grandmother was a person whose spirituality was unconventional, and this is a theme that strongly runs through this book. Traditional Christianity is there, but so is ecstatic spirituality inspired and manifested by nature. She sees God in nature. There are many many beautiful passages where the heroine is literally transported spiritually by the slight of flowers, or the songs of birds. Traditional beliefs and local magic are explored in detail and with an amazing lack of Judgement ( folklorists take note), and the Wizard, though he is not expected to go to Heaven, is a friend to a poor disabled girl and teaches her many good things. Her struggle for a "normal" life with her disability, a hare-lip, is very touching and inspiring. The author also deals with bigotry, persecution and rejection of those who are different, and the difficult question of what truly manefests Goodness- is Goodness something people truly strive for, or do most people simply go through life follow social pressures? Is the Wizard, who reached out to Prue and helped her with and open heart, a "better" person then the hard hearted comformity driven Churchgoes who would not even allow the Wizard's ( staunchly Christian) wife to enter their homes, condeming her to a lonely life?
There is Magic here, and unearthly beauty seen though the eyes of a sensative young girl, and what must have been a very different exploration of true human nature in those rigid times. A thoughtful, highly recommended book.

This is an amazing book which should be read by all those who enjoy British literature. It is a touching, romantic story. The writing is sensual in that there are sounds, smells, sights, tastes and textures to be experienced in its textual descriptions. The natural setting almost becomes a "character" in and of itself because you could not take the story out of the beautiful, natural, country setting Webb creates.
Look at other reviews to understand the plot. However, it truly doesn't make sense to try to recount it. Be patient when waiting for the "hook", when you won't be able to put the book down, it will come. Also, allow yourself a bit of time to learn to read and hear in your mind the syntax and sound of the words. Mary Webb takes you to a different place and time and you come to understand what it would be like for a young woman with intelligence, family devotion, character and longings who happened to be born with an external defect.
May this book become one of your favorites as it has become one of mine. (If anyone knows how I might obtain a video/DVD of the Masterpiece Theatre version with Janet McTeer and Clive Owen, please let me know.)

Once in awhile, you run across a book that's like coming home, that places you in a persona and setting that is hazily familiar. Mary Webb's Precious Bane does that for me. Set in rural England in the early 19th century, it tells the story of Prudence Sarn, a young woman whose mother encountered a hare while she was pregnant with Prue. The baby was born with a harelip.
For those who knew her, it meant that Prue would never marry--what man, after all, would want to kiss her? For those who did not know her, it was an excuse to make up tales that she "roamed the country at night in the body of a hare" and that she could curse with a look. For Prue, it was reason to hide from the man she loved, the weaver Kester Woodseaves.
Prue worked like a slave for her brother Gideon's dream of wealth and power in exchange for his promise of money to have her affliction cured when they were rich. But Prue took moments to appreciate the lilies on the lake's edge, the molting of the dragonflies, and the heady scent of apples in the attic where she retreated to write in her diary.
Mary Webb (1881-1927) lived most of her life in Shropshire County, England, where she and her father wandered the hills and lanes, a pastime she continued after he died. Later, Webb--who was also a poet--enhanced her stories with the naturalism and mysticism she learned from her father and the land.
Shropshire English is heavily influenced by the Welsh language, creating a lively and colorful dialect that Webb has distilled in her novels. It takes some getting used to, but once you catch the rhythm, it's hard to let go. Webb's prose will sing in your mind days after the book is closed.
She also used local traditions such as telling the bees when someone has died, and the employment of a Sin Eater, who, for a fee, consumes the sins of the dead person in a glass of wine and a crust of bread. When Gideon's and Prue's father died, Gideon agreed to eat the sins of his father if his mother, who was upset because her husband "had died in his wrath, with all his sins upon him," turned the farm over to him.
But it was the people she met on her wanderings and trips to the market where she sold flowers and produce from her garden that proved Mary Webb's greatest resource. Her novels are enriched by minor characters like Isaiah in Seven for a Secret, who said little but "Ha!" That one syllable was enough to make him a wealthy farmer because people felt they had been found out and out of guilt gave him their best prices. Sarah, the housekeeper in The House in Dormer Forest, broke the favorite china and vases belonging to whomever she was angry with.
Mary Webb's protagonists make her novels shine. Hazel Woodus in Gone to Earth seems more animal than human; she is as wild as her beloved Foxy. Deborah Arden, in The Golden Arrow, loves deeply and totally with all her soul. Robert Rideout, in Seven for a Secret, composes music and poetry while he herds sheep. Prudence Sarn is Webb's greatest achievement as she brings the reader to care passionately about Prue .
The novelist was able to draw from within herself to create Prue Sarn because she suffered most of her life from the facial disfigurement brought on by Grave's Disease.
Precious Bane is a masterpiece. Mary Webb's other novels do not reach that pinnacle--they are too didactic and sometimes simplistic, but they are well worth reading as they poetically explore love, passion, and social norms.

I first learned of Precious Bane when I saw the movie adaptation on Masterpiece Theater in 1989. It immediately became my all-time favorite story. After reading the book, which is even more satisfying than the wonderful movie, Mary Webb became my favorite author as well.
Mary Webb was more than the consumate wordsmith, her character development makes one feel that Prue Sarn is a cherished friend. This story works on so many different levels that it is hard to catagorize. Yes, it is a romance, but it also is a fairytale. It contains beautifully detailed imagery of nature that is nearly scientific in its observation - yet is transcendingly lovely, poetical, prose. It is both tragedy and comedy. Webb employs allegory, theology, philosophy...her work is multifaceted, literary artistry.
I give this book my highest recommendation for it is of inestimable value to the lover of literature!

An excellent edition of Graham Greene's The Quiet American because it combines this prescient novel with superb contextual documents about the Vietnam War, Greene's role in it, and a wide-range of critical essays about the novel. It's stunning how Greene in 1952 was able to see what would happen and why in Vietnam, but the novel speaks as well to us today about the dangers of imposing our own ideologies on other cultures and being blind to human suffering. It also shows the dangers of sterotyping and objectifying the "other."

To read The quiet American now, some thity years after the end of a sensless and disastrous war, gives us an unexpected vision of Vietnam, its people and the United States involvement in that war. Furthermore, it's inevitable to think of the present war in Iraq.
It's no news that Graham Green is a magnificent fiction writer, witty, sometimes funny, always capable of digging deep into historical situations and different people habits and values (The power and the glory and The comedians are very good examples)but in the qiet American he is also a cruel reporter and a skillful creator of full size human characters.
The Viking Critica Library edition has also an enormoues value for the inclusion of literary reviews from the first edition of the book and the opinons of experts both in literature and Vietnam history.
Javier Olmedo,
Mexico City, Mexico

Into the intrigue and violence of Indo-China comes a young, idealistic and quiet American called Pyle who is employed in the Economic Aid Mission. He is sent there to promote democracy through a mysterious Third Force. But his naïve optimism about democracy starts to cause deaths and his friend the cynical British foreign correspondent Thomas Fowler finds it hard to stand aside and watch. As Fowler intervenes, he wonders whether it is for the sake of politics or for his love for the young Phuong.
Commissioned during the 1950s to write an article on guerrilla warfare in Malaya, Graham Greene stopped off in Vietnam to visit a friend, and soon fell under the spell of Indo-China. This novel is a result of his love for the country, inspired by his experiences there. Although the political situation has changed dramatically, The Quiet American continues to reflect accurately and powerfully the problems of war and the people involved in it.

If you plan to buy this book by all means get this edition. The novel is very readable and Greene is a real wordsmith. The thing is this edition has news articles by the author about Indochina,
critical reviews (the good and the bad), interviews with Ho Chi Minh and American generals, a plot summary of the film and documents about the war. It also has topics for discussion or school papers. The text is less than 200 pages and readable so there is time to read the additional material. This book has the last chapter first such that you know the final result and the rest is leading up to the events in the first chapter. It is a gimmick but it works. I had to re-read the first chapter when I finished; couldn't help it. Find this edition, Viking Critical Library.

One of the most amazing things that jumped out at me about Graham Greene's novel, "The Quiet American," was the copyright date. 1955. How many years BEFORE America found itself mired in the nightmare of the Vietnam War?
Why didn't anyone in power or policy see the warning in this novel?

I'm still reading through all the extra material but I feel confident enough about the book itself and what I have read that I can definitely give this book five stars (the novel is over a third of this book).

Alden Pyle, Greene's "quiet American," clearly represents America in this cruel world. He's young, strong, sure of his beliefs and willing to act on his own convictions--but in this world of deceit and corruption, he doesn't have a chance. And quite a few people have said the same thing about America in Vietnam.

Beyond the deeper meaning of the setting and story (more powerful since it was written BEFORE the USA got stuck in Nam), the characters really make for some fiction. Pyle, the clear-eyed Yank looking to do good in Indo-China, runs into the narrator Fowler, an opium-smoking old Brit journalist who's seen too much and forgot how to care about anything--except the Vietnamese woman who comes between them.

At the end of the 1970s, "Apocalypse Now" got a lot of kudos for its dark humor ("I love the smell of napalm in the morning!") but Greene had written along those lines in the 1950s: Fowler rides along on a bomb run and, after a village is blown to bits, the pilot points out the beautiful sunset on a nearby river.

Up to this point, my favorite Greene novel had been "The End of the Affair," but now it's "The Quiet American." I also want to see the Michael Caine movie they made a couple years back.

One thing that poverty didn't diminish is Woodruff's powers of recall. Though, as soon as he becomes literate, one senses he'll inexorably transcend his meagre beginnings which ring most vividly in this tale. I loved the regional patois as much as the rising political conscience of the working class boy. The years roll by with the daily grind, humilities accompanying the unjust disenfranchisement of workers; Dickensian conditions that were worse in Lancanshire than other industrial zones. Woodruff's effortless prose is as tough as his father's persistent presence and as nuanced as his mum's mercurial mood shifts. Fortunately for readers,'Nab's End' is no end, but a beginning to further tales from post adolesence. Having just closed the covers on Roy McFadyen's, 'at A Cost', I opened Woodruff to discover a parallel story in times bedevilled by poverty and dire economic depression. If you want to visit the comparison and find, at a pinch, an even more extraordinary childhood,'At a Cost' is published and distributed by its author @ 15 Maryann Street, Golden Beach, Queensland, Australia 4551.

This is a wonderful book which, as an Anglophile, I loved reading. Just a word to those who feel it some of the terms are American. Remember, please, that the author is now living in the US, and new terms become automatically one's own after a while. And yes, there is a sequel to this book!

You don't have to have been born in Blackburn (as I was) to appreciate this wonderful true story of a childhood in poverty with all the wit and humour and honesty of the working class. Their hopes for a better and fairer future are vivid and the story ends with an emotional desire from the reader to know how and if this young man succeeds as he takes his steps away from Lancashire. Inevitably the reader will read the sequel Beyond Nab End which is even better but read this first.

William Woodruff and I have something in common; we were both born and reared poor in Lancashire, doubly lucky as Mr Woodruff puts it. The book itself is a reader, you pick it up and you can't put it down. There is always something else you want to read in the next chapter. It is a shame the book had an ending to it as it leaves you wanting more.

Like one of the other reviewers I was a bit disappointed when the text was dumbed down, probably for our American cousins, as little discrepancies showed through the text. For instance, stating ten pennies instead of ten pence (we would have said it 'tenpunce') and the absolute glaring mistake of calling a tanner 6p when it should have been 6d and a dodger is 3d not 3p. Little details like this tend to eat at me.

The book was easy to read and if you know a little about Lancashire, specifically Blackburn, you will find it fascinating.

Tim Brimelow 19 May 2003

I came upon this book after hearing brief snippets of it serialised BBC Radio 4 and the World Service.
It had added interest for me as I know Blackburn (at least modern Blackburn) very well, it was later a surprise to discover I knew virtually nothing of the town.
The book is evocative and stirring as you follow the authors journey from early childhood to his 16th year, when he finally leaves a deprived, economically and spiritual broken town for London, in hope of work and a better life.
The journey in between is a rich array of colourful and long forgotton characters and ways of life. Most striking by far is the harshness of past societies in which the poor were virtually ground into the dirt and totally at mercy of commerce. Yet still the love and joy of these kindly, caring and sweet natured people shines through, it took a great deal to make them lose all hope. One cannot help but to think that these poor and hardworking forbares made more than a little of the muscle in the British national psyche.
The Authors journey is one of love, loss and curiousity, his intelligence is meant for better things than the dust and grime of cotton mills but so hard worked are his people and he that this realisation is a long time coming.
Highlights characters are Grandma Bridget and the lovley Aunts he visits in Summer. Quite a journey and very much a joy to read.

This book is spell binding, excellently written and so full of history that it makes you want to reach out for more info.

A true story for our time and one that needs to be shared. If you want to know more about the Coast Guard and what it's like to be at sea, this is the book to read. I'm having trouble putting it down.

This book is superbly written. The amazing story of the SS Badger State is magnetic, and even more fascinating because it's true! I will recommend this book every chance I get, and I will keep my copy as a prized possession.

I recently sailed with a person who was a crewmember on the S.S. Badger State when this tragic incident occurred. Your book brought the story full circle, thanks for writing such an illuminating account.

Paul J. Gunis

Mr. Benedetto has brought history alive with his accounting of the horrific journey of the S.S Badger State. One feels the struggle and dispair of the Captain and crew as the drama unfolds. Sailing into the Abyss is a compelling real life story that would rival any fictional tale.

Very few people are likely to have heard of the loss of the American merchant ship Badger State at Christmas of 1969. She was carrying a load of bombs to resupply the Air Force in Vietnam, and a chain of unfortunate events--poor stowage of the explosives, carrying an insufficient amount of cargo so that the ship rode high, bad weather--combined to lead almost inevitably to tragedy.

Benedetto, in very simple and unadorned prose that is not bogged down by a great deal of nautical jargon, provides a workmanlike rendition of the last days of the ship and crew. He draws heavily upon the documented testimony of survivors before a Board of Inquiry and received very significant input from Charles Wilson, the captain of the late vessel.

He also throws in a great deal of material (which at times verges on simple padding) about the tragic experiences of many other ships of the U.S. Merchant Marine over the last two hundred years, particularly about their destruction by, or, in some cases, escape from, Axis forces in WWII.

A small number of black and white photos are included. The diagrams of the ship and of the bomb pallets would have been better placed at the beginning of the book for easier reference.

This is not a lyrical and haunting masterpiece of man's struggle against the hostility of nature, but it's a serviceable enough rendering of an otherwise forgotten disaster and a nice primer about the sacrifices of the merchant marine.

I would wager that more than a few adults who favor science fiction or fantasy were set on that path as youngsters by the works of Daniel Pinkwater. Speaking for myself, Pinkwater instilled in me an interest in fiction that was reflective of more than just the ordinary world me (or, more than likely, awakened an existing, but dormant, interest in such literature). In the case of Avocado of Death, we are presented with aliens posing as realtors, a supercomputer fashioned out of a single avocado, and an international criminal mastermind who employs orangutans to do his dirty work, just for starters. And Pinkwater's books are without a doubt offbeat, zany, absurd, and certainly whichever other such adjectives the critics proffer. But their zaniness is beside the point, or at least it is subordinate to a larger point.

Though Pinkwater's books have a wide appeal, I can say from experience precisely who they're aimed at, and to whom they appeal the most: the kid who's bored with school, who looks in vain for something new or unusual to engage his interest; the kid who knows how much he doesn't know, who knows that there are things that his parents and teachers aren't telling him and is almost certain that there's a great deal that adults don't know either. Pinkwater's protagonists slog through the mundane world of the everyday, until some circumstance allows them to catch a glimpse of what's behind the curtain and have some idea, for the first time, of What's Really Going On. Generally it involves conspiracies, outlandish coincidences, and general wackiness, and generally none of it makes any less sense than what we normally think of reality. In fact, it occurs to me that a reader of Pinkwater's could graduate to Douglas Adams without too much trouble.

I'm not sure that Avocado of Death is Pinkwater's best work; if I were to make a recommendation, I would start a kid off with Lizard Music. But whichever you begin with, I have to recommend giving a kid who enjoys reading a Pinkwater novel; there's no telling what kind of imagination you might unlock.

I first saw this book in my school library . I was in middle school and was not into reading very much. We were required to check out a book so this one caught my attention with the colorful jacket. The first page pulled me in and I was able to see the characters in my head. I have been an avid reader for 24 years since this book. My kids are "lovin' it", too.

I did not discover this book until I listened to it this week at the ripe old age of 23. As such, I did not feel the book was long enough.
Pinkwater is engaging beyond my understanding how he does it, although the absurd characters and their stranger actions are a sure start. Take Uncle Flipping Hades Terwilliger who has not missed a late night movie in 17 years despite being kidnapped numerous times, or Walter's mother who is paranoid of communists beyond all rationality, or the fellow with the painted on sideburns. A few of Walter's exploits were things I did as a kid. Others were opportunities I wish I'd had. Except for the orangutan wrestling. I frown upon that. The silly care-free writing, and the flawless speaking performance by Pinkwater had me wishing my commute were longer.

I've been meaning to sign up for bookcrossing and this is a prime first candidate. Or maybe I'll send it to my silliest friend.

My "hippie" aunt and uncle, in New York City, sent me this book, and Fat Men From Space, when I was about eight. I loved it!
I am now almost thirty; yet I remember these books with great affection. Mind you, what you remember and what was true are two different things; but a book that can make you smile more than ten years later is worth the investment.

I remember reading (and rereading) this zany, gripping, urban adventure when I was in third or fourth grade (and its worthy sequel, The Snarkout Boys & the Baconburg Horror). On a whim, some twenty years later and with a law degree to my name, I tracked down a copy at the public library and ... wow! I enjoyed it every bit as much. Daniel Pinkwater deserves major kudos for such a book--someone buy that man a Napoleon or twelve.

The fast-paced story is told from the viewpoint of Walter Galt. Walter is a teenager on the verge of dying from boredom at Ghengis Khan High School, until he meets Winston Bongo, another suffering student and the self-proclaimed inventor of 'snarking out'. The boys' late-night snarkouts eventually bring them into contact with a smorgasbord of oddball characters (such as Ms. Bentley Saunders Harrison Matthews, aka Rat) and places, from Blueberry Park to Lower North Aufzoo Street to Beanbender's Beer Garden and beyond. Ultimately, with the help of the world's greatest living detective, Walter, Winston and Rat must locate the world's largest avocado and save the world (or at least the nations' realtors)--but watch out for stuffed Indian fruit bats!

Pinkwater is a true original and writes this surreal, comic yarn simply, cleanly, and hilariously. Highly recommended for kids, parents, avocado lovers ... and even lawyers who used to be kids. Five stars!

Excellent tool for teaching your children about the Orchestra. The CD that comes with it is great.

I purchased this book in preparation for teaching a group of homeschooled students (ages 7-14) a short course in music appreciation. It was a terrific resource for them. The text was brief but engaging; the cartoons were entertaining; and the photography was so eyecatching. It covered the musical periods, with information on several representative composers. Then each of the orchestra sections was covered, with a helpful CD included to hear snips from pieces that featured the instruments. The students all learned quite a bit from this book. I recommend it highly.

"Santa" brought this book for our 4 year old. She loves it! It is layed out in a way that we can read just portions of each page without her getting overwhelmed. It is definitely a book she can grow with. Because a mom has to brag: My daughter can now easily name each instrument and knows which "family" it belongs. She laughs hysterically over Beethoven's picture, knows Tchaikovsky composed Swan Lake and the Nutcracker (the sweetest thing is hearing a 4 year old rattle of Tchaikovsky and Vivaldi!) etc. Highly recommended!

We bought this book (with accompanying CD) as a self-contained music course for our homeschooled son (10). Although he had no prior interest in orchestra music, he is reading along together with Mom in the book and listening to an excerpt of orchestra music once a week. The first part of the book has interesting tidbits on musical eras of orchestra music, with biographical overviews of some of the major conductors of each era. The second part of the book contains drawings and descriptions of various orchestra instruments. After a composer or instrument is discussed, the book then refers you to listen to a track on the CD that illustrates the composer's work or the instrument's sound. It's surprisingly difficult to find a good self-contained program for teaching music to children. This book and CD worked well for us.

I was looking for resources to help make teaching about classical music and composers to primary grade children more entertaining and I found what I needed all wrapped up in this book and CD combination.

Part I of the book concerns composers and is separated into the periods in which they composed, ie., Baroque, etc., with a brief description of art, architecture and feeling of the period. The composers covered for all periods are Vivaldi, Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Mahler, Debussy, Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Gershwin, Copland and Bernstein.

Part II of the book is about the instruments of the orchestra. Again, this is further broken down into the different sections of the orchestra such as strings, woodwinds, etc. Then within each of those sections a feature on the individual instruments.

The accompanying CD has brief examples of the compositions introduced in the composers section and for each instrument. It really helps the kids hear what they've been discussing.

One of the best things about this book are the illustrations. They are colorful and entertaining. Sometimes there are humorous illustrations such as a drawing of the ideal Baroque instrumentalist needing 2 right hands, 3 left hands, and 3 eyes which really had my 3rd grade kids in giggles after hearing the intricacies of "Spring" by Vivaldi. There are also entertaining illustrations showing how an instrument produces its sound and they are mixed with photographs of the instrument itself. I highly recommend this book for music teachers to use as a reference and for parents who have children interested in learning an instrument.

When my brothers and I were little, this book was one of our absolute favorites! In fact, I still have it, although now it is beaten and taped together. The illustrations are cute and colorful (I love the dragon eating pancakes and then the bread from the bread truck!) and the story is imaginative. Best of all there is plenty of opportunity for children to interact with the reader. For example, my mom or dad would read to us and we'd chant "There's no such thing as a dragon!" at all of the appropriate places! Kids will identify with Billy who has a very active imagination, and they will wish that they too had a dragon! I'm so glad it is still available so I can share it with my daughter!

Though this book has been around a while, I only recently discovered it at a book store. I got it for my child's school library (endorsed by librarian). My 6 1/2 yr old 1st grade daughter liked it. This age group still adores fantasy, but is beginning to be able to separate truth from fiction. Children delight in the boy in this story being right about the dragon being real. They can relate to parents not taking things they say seriously. It is fun to imagine this scenario really happening, but then admit it probably could not!

Hands down, my favorite book as a child. It was out of print for a while and I had to scour auction sites for a copy. It was well worth the hunt. I actually read it to my 4th/5th grade children in my classroom and they love it as much as I do. The fact that it is being reprinted for a whole new generation makes me very happy.

This is a book I had when I was a child. Got it for my neice for her new baby. It's a great kids book!

Jordan Petersen reads this book to his audience while explaining what the most important story ever told is all about, and why we find it in a child's book, or dreams.

I have just seen the book read on TV, but it certainly has charming pictures and by Petersen's account a primal message.
I'm getting a copy for my kids.

I thought this book was really great, it made me cry. It touched my heart!

It is such a gift when we have the opportunity to see life through the eyes of a child. This book gives us that gift. Such simple words with such powerful images.... Thank you Jack, for sharing yourself with all of us.

This is a truly wonderful book for both siblings and parents who have experienced loss. The thoughts expressed both warm and break your heart all at the same time. Jack's innocence is touching and very realistic. Bereaved children will certainly see themselves in his story. It is a beautiful tribute to grief and loss.

I recently read this book, published in 2000, written by Annette Simon's son Jack, age 5 (and illustrated by Annette). The rather lengthy title of the book is "This Book Is for All Kids, but Especially My Sister Libby. Libby Died..." The book chronicles Jack's comments and questions to his mother after the death of his younger sister from a rare disorder. Despite the sad topic, the book is surprisingly upbeat and filled with humor, though it brought tears to my eyes, too.

Even more so than in Mocking Birdies (Annette Simon's other book, which I also reviewed), the fonts and colors and illustrations make the book really stand out. Some words are in a huge font, like shouting, while others whisper from a tiny font at the bottom of the page. Clever touches abound, like the question mark that has a picture of the Earth for the period beneath it (on a page with oversized text asking "In heaven, are you as big as you were on Earth?").

Jack's questions and observations range from the mundane ("And when you die, you don't even have food"), to the humorous, to the profound ("And when you die, you're set free"). Overall, the book is uplifting and positive. The Amazon reviews are all highly enthusiastic, too.

I think that this book could help any child to understand and deal with loss. Though the book is focused on the loss of a sibling, I think that it speaks to anyonewho has lost a parent or grandparent or other loved one. And I think that the simplicity and faith of Jack's responses will help adults, too. Which is a pretty remarkable achievement for a 5-year-old.

This review was originally published on my blog, Jen Robinson's Book Page, on February 18th, 2006.

This book is wonderful. We are sharing them with all of the children at our grief and loss camp and we hope it gives them comfort during such a difficult time. It is important for children to know that they are not alone in their grief and we will use this book to open up dialog so they can begin to understand. We will keep copies of the books at our hospice for all of our families to read.

Peter Hopkirk is a child of the British Empire, having been to many places where generally only mad dogs and English men dare venture; among other exploits he was a soldier with the late and largely unlamented Idi Amin. As a historian he has made a name for himself as a very capable chronicler of the Great Game in Asia in the 1900s. This is his book about the Western Drang nach Osten, the quest of European, an American, and Japanese explorers to investigate Tibet and its secrets.

Tibet was a backwards and forbidden kingdom ruled my monks under the Dalai Lama; with China, Russia and the British in India keen to encroach on Tibet, the Tibetans were at least equally determined to keep foreigners out; officials who let foreigners get past them on their mad quests for Lhasa were at times decapitated on orders from on high. Hopkirk recounts the stories of the various Englishmen, Indians, the American and others who were intent to be the first to make it to Tibet and sometimes Lhasa, who did so in disguise, in an airplane, behind rifles the Tibetans couldn't match and more (I am frugal with details lest I spoil the stories.) I highly recommend them.

When it comes to delineating the history of Central Asia and environs, few writers can touch the craftsmanship of author Peter Hopkirk. In his hands, what could easily be boring history, becomes, instead, vibrant excitement. As in his other books, Hopkirk makes these mysterious and fabled lands come alive. In this book he describes the many attempts by adventurers from the outside world to penetrate remote Tibet and its almost-mystical capital, Lhasa. Chapter by chapter Hopkirk ticks off the sagas of these opportunists, some seeking fortune and fame, some on their majesty's (or tsar's) service. In the contest between Tibet versus the world, Tibet scores early and frequently, thus keeping the others out. But eventually, overpowered by modern weaponry, the outsiders win. It's tempting to cast this in terms of good-guys versus bad-guys. But it's not that easy, as the reader will see. What IS easy is declaring this book a fantastic and exciting history of a mysterious land that just wanted to be left alone.

Hopkirk stays on top of the world with this book!

Learn about the "real" Tibet[before China invaded]...

An extensive review of the many attempts to gain access to the hidden city of Tibet. Well done, authoritative, exciting events in the time line of the many documented attempts to gain a look into the mysterious city that has been protected from outsiders for centuries. The reasons from military desires to the hope of finding hidden gold deposits are some of the many exploits of carefully planned adventures presented by Peter Hopkirk. They will keep your interest from beginning to end, guaranteed.

Although extraordinary geography was the best natural defense the Tibetans had against foreign invaders, it can also be the sole reason that lures many a traveler, visitor, and tourists to Tibet to date. Of course, religion, spirituality, culture, art, and life on the high altitudes in the most extreme of climates are other reasons for venturing into this land. In Hopkirk's book, trespassing by foreigners, especially Europeans, was an extension of the Great Game, the struggle between Britain and Russia for expansionism in Central Asia. Military supremacy, a face-to-face encounter with the Dalai Lama, or recognition by the Royal Geographical Society and other prestigious societies at the time was the prize for people from different walks of life--missionaries, soldiers, geographers, naturalists---to venture into this forbidden land. Alas, no matter how well-guarded the country, especially Lhasa, was, the Tibetans' defense was no match to the military might of the British. China proved to be a formidable occupier as soon as the British lost their firm hold on Tibet during World War II. An American pilot was the first intruder from the air---by accident. Nonetheless, relentless trespassing by foreigners was the inevitable truth that many Tibetans must have found hard to swallow.

The book is a masterpiece of historical writing. Starting with Tibet's stupendous geography, the book segues on the origin of Tibetan Buddhism. Eventually the reader is initiated to the challenging craft of punditry, the only way the outside world could glean some scientific information on this forbidden land. If Hopkirk intended to instill wonder and suspense on the reader as he narrates a series of close calls by pundits and disguised explorers from being caught and daring-do attempts by intruders in order to be recognized as the first outsider to set foot on this forbidden land, he has succeeded. With exquisite writing style and a penchant for vivid description of people, places, and events, the book is a highly engaging read. Those who risked their lives and their families to venture into a forbidden land can be easily blamed for folly, but Hopkirk brings out the humanity in them. Every adventure is told so well that can make good reading anywhere and anytime. History reading can't get to be more fun that this!

My teenage son was diagnosed recently with Type 1 Diabetes, it was very scary not knowing anything about Diabetes. This book is easy to understand and it explains everything about Type 1 diabetes. Wonderful help to me.

Great book for the Type 1 patient or the parent/spouse/family member of one.
Gives good suggestions on a variety of topics. Well worth the money.

This book has helped us so much.
The doctors don't help you too much so you are left with a million questions and this book has helped so much.
This disease is so overwelming and this book is so helpful in easy to understand words.
Instead of going into a panic when something happens we now just go to the book and it calms us right down.
Thank God this book is here.

I have found this book VERY helpful. From time to time we have questions/concerns that come up, we have found easy to understand answers/advise for real life issues.

I have only received this book recently, so I have not read the whole thing. The author doesn't recommend reading it from cover to cover, but to use it more as a reference. I started reading it at the beginning and am now on page 46. It is so interesting, and easy to read, that I see no reason NOT to read it straight through! Even though a lot of the information is technical, it is written in such a way so as to make it fairly easy to understand. My 13-year-old son has only had Type 1 diabetes for three months now and I am hungry for this kind of information. I want to understand this disease as much as possible, and so far, this book is great!