Passion The Books

This is one of those older style books..a big,big read, filled with fascinating characters through five generations. Saffity, a Greek Jew who seeks to hide his religious background, is posessed by huge ambitions to succeed in life and to create an empire of wealth, his friend Max, a refugee from the pogroms of Poland and Colette, a Parisian courtesan with a dubious background, find that their separate lives intertwine through the generations, to make a rich and entertaining story of love, greed, wealth and hate. It's a great big satisfying read !

India is the home of more than one billion people and it is one of the most diverse countries on the planet. "Schooling Passions: Nation, History, and Language in Contemporary Western India" is an in-depth examination of the schools of western India. India, with its mixed Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu populations. The schools try to appeal to the one thing that all of them have in common - that they are all Indians. "Schooling Passions" is a model that American schools could draw ideas from on what to do and what not to do.

from back cover:

It might have ended years ago--before the drugs and the guilt and the girl he raped. But life was too good then, love was too sweet, he wanted Helen too much. And it made no sense not to have what was there for the taking.

Young, talented, restless, Andy lived for the values he knew would destroy him--seaking his pleasures no less than Helen sought revenge--and knowing every minute that this time his senseless craving could not end only one way.

"Fascinating truth...that extends beyond the authentic jargon of addict talk to the overwhelming human tragedy looming high above...heightened by the author's compassion for the victims of too much love of living. A novel much worth doing and Evan Hunter does it well." --The New York Times

Description from the book back cover:

Luis Angel Martinez had never forgiven Shontelle Wright for walking out of his Buenos Aires apartment - and away from their secret, steamy affair. For Luis, the sex had been entwined with deeper emotions. He could only assume that Shontelle had wanted no more than a passing sexual adventure. Now, with Shontelle suddenly in desperate need of his help, Luis saw a way to exact sweet vengeance for his wounded pride. He'd ensure his ex-mistress's safety - if she would agree to one more night in his bed ...

The study questions in this book really promote an honest evaluation of WHY you feel bummed out about something that's really gone wrong in your life. The author helps you, thru Scripture and her own insights and life experiences, figure out why you are hurt, mad, disappointed, discouraged - then helps you see clearly how to turn those feelings around.

This much is sure: James Hackman, a young clergyman, on 7 April 1779, outside of Covent Garden Theater in London, shot and killed Martha Ray, the mistress of the Earl of Sandwich, and then shot himself but failed to end his own life. What had gone on between the three figures before the murder was not clearly known, but this didn't stop speculations in the press at the time, and hacks, journalists, novelists, and historians have been having a go at the incident ever since. As John Brewer writes in _A Sentimental Murder: Love and Madness in the Eighteenth Century_ (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux), the unknown represented an empty space, and "Into the empty space rushed all sorts of speculation." Writers could wonder if the lovers were meeting secretly, were they having an affair, did they want to get married, was Ray willing or Hackman forceful, were they working together against Sandwich? Brewer's detailed and intriguing book does not answer the questions, but examines the answers that different writers and different societies have come up with to suit their own tastes and times. The murder of Martha Ray was legally an open and shut case, but its unknowns have kept it open to interpretation and to eager interpreters.

The British press at the time made much of the murder, because of Sandwich's involvement. Remarkably, all three figures were written about with sympathy. Sandwich was depicted as a loving all-but-husband who had made a protected household for his mistress and the children she bore him. Ray may have been a mistress, but there was admiration for a woman who could have risen from low origins and become not a prostitute or even a courtesan, but a respectable companion and mother who was able to fill the household functions of a lady. Even the murderer emerged as a romantic hero. It was the age when sentiment and sensibility were highly prized. Hackman had a bad case of "love's madness," an out-of-control passion with which readers could sympathize rather than condemn outright.

The first attempt to turn the case into a novel was not classed as a novel at all. _Love and Madness_ was published in 1780, and purported to be the actual letters between Ray and Hackman. It was written by Herbert Croft, a hack writer and would-be lexicographer who dedicated it to Samuel Johnson. Johnson told Boswell he did not like the book, as an example of a disagreeable mixture of fact and fiction, so he was not fooled by its claim to authenticity. Croft clumsily showed his hand by having Hackman lengthily discuss other literary forgeries that were current controversies, but he did amplify the view of Hackman as progressively maddened by his doomed love. Subsequent generations took up the tale, and "Victorian commentators worried over the story like a dog over a bone." In "Lyrical Ballads", William Wordsworth incorporated Martha Ray's name into the poem "The Thorn," its utterance symbolizing ambiguity. Physician Erasmus Darwin (grandfather of Charles) diagnosed "love's madness." The Victorians insisted that their Georgian ancestors were moral barbarians, and frowned on all three parties involved. Victorians had graduated from such depravity, and congratulated themselves upon how far all ranks of England had come since the corrupt days of George III. In the 1920's, the libertine Georgians were celebrated by the "fast set and bright young things" who admired the more open sexuality of the eighteenth century. In the 1930s, the story was retold by a novelist who gave it a racist connotation; the real villain was a guest at Sandwich's manor, Omai from Tahiti, a real figure who had played only minor roles in previous versions. The real story of the murder is not the real story of the murder, in Brewer's persuasive book, but the real stories that different generations have made of it. This is a book to examine the ripples the incident caused, and is a fascinating history for observing how writing history is itself part of history.

Lily Campbell presents a very clear view of Shakespeare's tragedies in this study. This book is essential for anyone's personal Shakespeare library, as well as for an understanding and appreciation of the theoligical and philosophical substrata of the works.

When I realized book was 30 years old I had to say that it was in good shape. Very happy to have old copy. I'm reading it after all these years and planned on giving it to a dear friend. Glad for this resource.

Nathan and Armand have a good thing going, but they want something more - Lena. But how will they get Lena, who is their best friend, to see them in a different light?

Lena has a problem - she is about to hit her fertile period and she really wants Nathan and Armand to be her mates. But will she risk their friendship in a bid for something more?

Shifting Passions is a fun and engaging tale that will keep you tuning the pages with a smile on your face. Nathan, Armand and Lena are great characters and I wish the story had been longer so I could spend more time with them. Also, the sensuality between all three will melt your socks off. This is the first book out by Xakara and I look forward to reading many more! Treat yourself to Shifting Passions the next time you are in the mood for an exciting and sexy read!

Sabella
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I have been a christian for over 25 years and after reading "Six Hours One Friday" by Max Lucado, I was deeply inspired by the decision I had made all those years ago. There is not enough time in the human life to express the emotion, feelings, love and true desires we all have time and time again, however, by walking our way through some of the chapters of this work, it is easy to see how we are watched over and protected by our Lord as He ministers in our lives. I was especially impressed by chapters 7 & 11 in this book. I have read the entire book several times, but I confess, I continually return to these two chapters to regain strength for life. God has truly blessed the pen of Max Lucado.