Clubs Books

I adored Connealy's first book, Petticoat Ranch. If possible, I think I loved Calico Canyon even more. Connealy has a great sense of humor and just the right touch when it comes to comedic timing. I also love the blend of genres--how the book is historical, romantic, suspenseful and humorous. Connealy manages to pull all of those genres together and create a delightful story.

Mary Connealy has done it again. Another fun yet touching romp with kids, bad guys and romance. I loved this book even better than the first!

I won't try to summarize the story since others have done a great job of that. I just wanted to add how much I enjoyed Calico Canyon. I laughed, I cried, I sighed, my heart raced. Connealy does it all. A great read you won't want to miss. I can't wait for book 3!

I absolutely loved Petticoat Ranch so I had very high expectations for Calico Canyon. I'm happy to say I wasn't disappointed. In fact, I found this book to be even stronger than the first, which is saying something.

Mary Connealy knows her way around emotions. She can make you laugh out loud one minute and tug on your heart the next. In Grace and Daniel she's created two characters you love and root for, even while they are contemplating knocking each other silly. It's a match reminiscent of classic movie pairings like Tracy and Hepburn or Gable and Lombard. Grace and Daniel are just as much fun... and romantic.

She also has some interesting secondary story lines which will almost certainly pop up in her next book in the series, Gingham Mountain. While this book can stand alone, I think you'll enjoy it more if you read Petticoat Ranch first. Not only will you have a proper introduction to Grace, but you'll get to read another fast-paced and fun romance.

Grace Calhoun has a past she doesn't want to share. She has a new job teaching school in Mosqueros, Texas, and her biggest problem is loud-mouthed, aggravating widower, Daniel Reeves. He eventually gets her fired and she is stranded, with no place to go and no money. Then her abusive foster father arrives and threatens her. In a desperate attempt to escape, Grace jumps out the window and hides in the back of a wagon, not realizing it belongs to Daniel. He doesn't discover her until he reaches home. He can't throw her out in a blizzard to freeze, and the pass back to town is closed by snow, so he's stuck with her. Daniel and his motherless brood of five sons live in a cave. There's barely space for them all and since they sleep on the floor in the one room, Grace and Daniel are sharing very close quarters. The preacher and his wife arrive the next morning, and immediately see that something must be done. Before Grace and Daniel realize what is happening, they end up married--to each other, something they rank right up there with a bad case of the plague. Mary Connealy has a wicked sense of humor, and her books are always fun. Calico Canyon has it all: supsense, likable hero and heroine, five rambunctious boys, humor, and a heaping helping of romance. Don't miss it.

CALICO CANYON by Mary Connealy is the second book in the Lassoed in Texas series. In it, we follow Grace Calhoun, a runaway adopted orphan, who is barely squeaking out a living as a schoolteacher in Mosqueros, Texas. She sends all her money home to her sister, Hannah, who is diligently caring for street kids in Chicago with the hopes of one day being reunited. With her adoptive father hot on her trail with a vendetta to settle, Grace is constantly looking over her shoulder praying she will be able to send Hannah the help she needs. Grace's determination to make a go of it as a teacher is challenged by the five Reeves boys that she has affectionately named "The Five Horsemen of the Apocalypse." When she has it out with Daniel Reeves, the boy's father, she is fired by the school board and left to wonder how she will ever be able to help Hannah.
Grace's fear for Hannah is short-lived when Parrish, her adoptive father, catches up with her in Masqueros and plans to mete out his vengeance. In a turn of events, Grace ends up in the back of Daniel Reeves wagon and is carried away to his ranch. Grace, Daniel, and the five boys are thrown together under the oddest of circumstances and have an entire winter to work out their differences. All the while, Parrish is in town plotting how he will one day make Grace pay for her disobedience.
I really enjoyed CALICO CANYON. Much of the premise of Grace and Daniel being thrown together is reminiscent of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, without the brothers. Though there are plots that take dramatic turns, I never found myself gasping in fear. The trials in the book are taken care of so quickly, you never really feel as if anyone is in real danger. I can only assume, since the story ended with Hannah determined to find Grace, that there will be a book three.

I first learned of Mistress Masham's Repose during a game of charades. (Can you imagine trying to act out this title, especially since it's a book so few people have heard of?) I had already read and loved The Once and Future King, and set out to find a copy. I have read this book three times over the past 20 years. Each time it strikes me anew as such a wonderfully funny, sweet and substantial novel. It could be that the title itself is what kept it from becoming a classic alongside Wind in the Willows and A Wrinkle in Time. Read this book! Buy this book for all the book-loving children in your life!

As an American child of about 10, I acquired a battered copy of this book along with a bunch of children's books from a family friend whose children had outgrown them. As other reviewers suggest, I was mystified by much of the book (the poet Pope?) but I still found it a great adventure story and loved the illustrations. It didn't hurt that I resembled Maria myself (a bookish tomboy with glasses--thank God for LASIK). I have re-read the book with pleasure on a number of occasions and now understand the references, but I wouldn't hesitate to give this book to an intelligent American child today. Perhaps it would prompt him or her to learn more about British history and literature. I'm glad to see it has been reprinted.

As kids, both my brother and I considered this one of our favorite books - and we did a LOT of reading. I can't tell you how many times I read it. Our copy was lost at some point, so I am thrilled that it is back in print so I can now read it to my own children. My kids are 3 and 6, so still a bit young for this book, but I'll probably buy a copy now for my own pleasure, and another for my brother.
I have always loved books that lead you to another book, and I just had to read "Gulliver's Travels" after reading this one. As a kid, much of it went over my head, but I still enjoyed it. Now that I think about it, I should re-read that one too...

Although one of White's lesser-known works, to my mind it's easily one of his best (Anne Fine regards it as her favourite children's book). The concept of Lilliputians living in an English landscape garden is superb, and White develops his theme in wonderfully enticing ways - and always with his typical 'feel' for character and setting. There's so much to enjoy in this tale - still a classic after 60 years.

After finishing university T. H. White worked as a teacher in the Stowe School which occupies a gigantic former Baroque stately home: here he conceived of the idea of Malplaquet, modeled after the greatest of all British country homes, Blenheim Palace, where the Dukes of Marlborough have lived and where Winston Churchill was born and raised. Malplaquet, an imaginary dilapidated repository of all its nation's history (we find out the Princes in the Tower were executed in its medieval dungeon, which also contains the ax which beheaded Charles I), would make a wonderful setting for any book, but rather than use it for a Gothic (the obvious choice), here White had the inspiration to make it the setting for a children's fantasy. White's mansion is not only the home of the little girl Maria who has inherited the estate (and not much else) and her warders--some cruel, some kind--but also a group of Lilliputians brought over from their island home during the time of Swift, whom Maria encounters one day. Maria's encounter with the Lilliputians becomes for her a means for learning about the nature of tyranny--both that exercised over herself by her guardian the Vicar Mr. Hater and her governess Miss Brown, but also that she herself can hardly keep herself from exercising over the Lilliputian community hidden on her estate.

This is a children's book that, to be honest, will best be appreciated by adults. White imagined his readers not only familiar with GULLIVER'S TRAVELS but also with some of the history of seventeenth and eighteenth-century England: American children particularly today would be confused as to who Mistresses Masham and Morley were, or what Malplaquet is named after, or even who Gulliver was. And their patience might well be tried by White's love of Wodehousean "types": the bluff Lord Lieutenant with an obsession with horses and hounds, and Maria's mentor the absent-minded and esoteric antiquarian the Professor . But adults (and even older children) should love this book, and its well-structured narrative is a real pleasure.

Out of the hundreds, if not thousands, of books I read during my childhood (I was a pretty big bookworm!), this is one of the one's I clearly remember reading. It is a very sweet book, which even as an adult brings a tear to my eye to just think about.

This book is an excellent read, not only for kids who can relate to the death of a grandparent or a loved one, but for all children who are just starting to learn about death. It's a great way to introduce the topic. I had it as a kid, and recently bought a new copy. It is one of my most beloved childhood books. The illustrations are great, too--I don't know how kids would feel about them today, considering all the technology we have now in terms of graphics, but I remember being really intrigued by all the little details in the drawings (in the late 1970s/early 1980s).

Tomie dePaola's Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs is a tenderly written story about the death of loved ones and the beautiful memories they leave behind. The story is multigenerational seen through the sweet lens of childhood eyes. The illustations are charming and the tale will make you laugh and cry.

We were looking for a book to help prepare our 4-year old daughter for the death of her grandmother from Cancer. This book was recommended to us. We first checked it out from the library and had to renew. It helped us start the discussion of death with our daughter. She related to Tomie being 4 and his love for his Nana's. We bought this book because she did not want to return it to the library. She is so happy to have her very own copy.

I had read this book several years ago so when my 87 yr old mother died last month, I bought a new Nana Upstairs, Nana Downstairs book for my grandson who is 10 yrs old. He told me that he will keep that book forever because it was so sweet and means everything to him now that his great-Nana is gone to heaven.

Jen is so much fun and so creative. There is something in here for everyone. This is a fabulous book and I am thrilled with my purchase.

I bought this book in order to support the crafty cause of Jennifer Perkins and other crafty ladies (and of course the naughty secretaries) worldwide and was so thrilled when I started reading it! I have been making jewelry for years, but this book has presented me with techniques and tricks that I have never even imagined!

The instructions are laid out in a simple to follow manner with lots of photos so that it makes it really easy to take her projects and create them exactly as presented or take the idea and run with it! I feel like I could read this book cover to cover over and over again and still find something new that I hadn't seen before - it is literally full of inspiration! Her helpful hints in the back of the book are equally inspiring and useful. Way to go Jennifer!

I just want to say that I did not purchase this book yet, just by reviewing on your site I love it! It' such a fun book and very informative. I'd like to buy it in the future. Thanks, Ida

This is a great book and will help u to be naughty!! At making jewelry! Great full color photos! Come on, join the club!

I LOVE this book! It's design and layout alone are worth the purchase. I have tons of ideas for scrapbooking and cards in addition to jewerly. The Naughty Secretary Club continues to rock and set a new standard for excellence.

As an English professor and an avid reader, it's been a source of distress that one of my grandchildren doesn't like to read. He is fast-paced and doesn't like to slow down long enough to read; like so many of my students, he'll "wait for the movie." Recently he told me that his class at school had been reading THE SHADOW CLUB and that he had been reading ahead because he loved it. I bought it for him on the spot and purchased THE SHADOW CLUB RISING, the sequel, and two other books by Shusterman as well. He was excited to have them and has told me at length what he likes about the books: the constant action and drama, the characters sympathetic to his age group (11), etc. I thank Neal Shusterman for turning my grandson on to reading at long last!

Book Review
Shadow Club
By: Neal Shusterman

Jared and Cheryl always were second best, always living in someone else's shadow. Jared came in second at the races he was in and Cheryl's cousin would always upstage her. No one likes to lose especially all the time. Always being kicked into the dirt. They were sick of it so they decided to fight back. They gathered all the second-best people and went to their old hide out in the forest and formed a club, the Shadow Club was formed. At first it was just about pulling harmless pranks on their enemies and thinking of ways to hurt them but it went to far. Is someone trying to frame them? What will happen to the Shadow Club?
Shadow Club is a thrilling story that both boys and girls will love an maybe some adults. I wish it didn't have to end. It's filled with action, humor, suspense, and lots of mysteries. I recommend this book to any one who likes to get sucked into their book and forget about the world around them. Its so detailed that it feels like your really there in the story. It will have your eyes glued to it until the last pages have turned.

-Megan C.

Jared, a ninth-grader, is so sick of always being the second-best runner on his team. No matter how hard he pushes himself, he is always beaten by Austin. To make things worse, Austin loves to rub it in when he beats Jared.

Jared's best friend Cheryl knows how he feels. Her cousin Rebecca, who is a year younger than her, is a better singer than Cheryl and she seems to be constantly rubbing Cheryl's face in that fact. Jared and Cheryl are both fed up.

When they feel they can't take it anymore, Jared and Cheryl decide to start a secret club to vent their feelings--The Shadow Club. They invite Cheryl's little brother Randall, who is the number two swimmer on his team. They invite the second best trumpeter, the second prettiest girl in the class, the second best basketball player, and the second best student to join.

All of the members of the club get together and at first aren't sure what to do besides say bad things about those who are beating them all of the time. Then they decide that more needs to be done. Jared comes up with the idea of playing practical jokes on those students they detest. He thinks if no one knows about the club and no one plays a joke on his or her own enemy, all of the club members will escape being suspected of playing the jokes. So it starts.

Green slime shows up in a trumpet before a big solo. The best student's pet tarantula is put in the hood of the best runner's sweatshirt. The best swimmer has his toenails painted bright red while he's asleep.

The members of the Shadow Club are thrilled with their accomplishments. But then things start getting out of control. Jokes are being played that no one seems to know about, and they are getting meaner and more destructive by the day. Could someone be trying to frame the members of the club?

I thought this book captured the attitude of many junior high school students--it highlighted the feelings of competition and the petty nastiness that occurs in students of this age. I thought Jared should have been able to see when things were getting out of control, though, and should have been able to stop the club before anything bad happened.

The Shadow Club
By: Neal Shusterman

Review done by: A Mid-Prairie Teen Student

You would have no idea what you would be expecting if you got a book titled The Shadow Club, I sure didn't. The Shadow Club is a great book having middle school to high schooled aged students making mistakes and seeing the consequences in the end.
Jared, a middle school aged kid, is the main kid in this story. He is the second best runner in his school and hates being second best. He absolutely hates Eric, the best runner in school, and would do absolutely anything he could to be better than Eric. This is where the trouble started.
Jared's friend Cheryl, the second best singer, wanted to start a club called the Shadow Club. This means for people to come to this club if they're second best in something. Like second best singer, second smartest person in school, and even second prettiest girl in school. All these second best kids formed this club and got themselves into trouble without even knowing it.
This is quite a story and it is written by Neal Shusterman a fantastic author. He is an American author of books for young readers, and also a screenwriter. He has won and award called the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for The Schwa Was Here, and he was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He now lives in Orange County, California with his four children. So as you have seen he has a busy life but he has certainly used some of his time to write great books.
This is an amazing book but I'm not going to tell you what happened in the end. Once you read it, it will shock you incredibly as you will see. I will tell you though that it teaches great things like making friends, the trouble you can get yourself into with just starting little things, and how much hate can really hurt someone else's life.
I dare you to read this book even if you think you're the best person in your school. Just go and read this book so that you can see the secrets some second best people may be thinking right now.

I have been reading the Shadow Club to my 7th graders for more than 10 years. The humor, especially in the character of Ralphy Sherman, keeps the class listening. The suspense builds to the point that I have students begging me not to stop reading. Many students tried to buy the book because they just couldn't wait for me to finish reading. I was happy for a few years that it was out of print, so they couldn't find it to read ahead of me.
There are many lessons that apply directly to children of middle school age, and my favorite is looking at how the students laughed at Tyson McGaw at the beginning, but feel for him at the end of the book. Hopefully they will look closer at individuals and not make fun of them because they are different.
I have never had a student who didn't like this book and it is the only one that I have read that when I finish, the students applaud.

I could not believe Stacey,AT ALL!She is so boy-crazy,such a snob,and she always seems to get what she wants. Cluadia wants to be her friend again...or at least tries to. And all Stacey does is act like a big b-word! It's like she doesn't care about Claudia anymore,only Jeremy. Claudia and Jemery were made for eachother. I can't believe Stacey has him. Well,Claudia's found a new friend. Erica. She's adopted and she wants to know who are her biological parents. And Claud totaly understands how she feels because she used to think she was adopted. They become good friends...until Cluad calls her "Stacey" by mistake and can sometimes only talk about Stacey. Claud and Stace almost made up but then Stacey screwed up.

This was the first Friends Forever book I've read, and I liked this really much! This books was more realistic than the BSC series (and definitely more realistic than the Super Special series) and so good!!! I like that Claudia's got a new friend, Erica.I also like the other baby-sitters got new friends outside the club (Claudia and Erica, Stacey and Rachel, ect.) But I didn't like that Claud & Stace are fighting over a boy. I think Jeremy is better for Stacey, but I'm in Claudia's side at the Friendship Feud.

In this book (number 4), you see the huge fight with Claudia and Stacey in Claudia's point of view (just so you know- if you aggreed with Stacey in book #2, you'll probably change your opinion).

Claudia gets a new friend- her name is Erica. (In the last book, Stacey became friends with Claudia's old enemy, Rachel.) Stacey also gets WAY more over-protective with Jeremy when he starts hanging out with Claudia more. Mary Anne is still kind of sad about breaking up with Logan, especially when she sees him noticing other girls.

My thoughts on this book: I thought it was great! I'd read the Stacey version of "the fight" earlier, and it makes you see "the fight" in a totally different perspective. As always, the book was fun to read, well-written, and kept true to Claudia-the-character... though Stacey DID seem to be quite a bit more mean than usual. All in all- a great book!

All right, this is how it goes. Stacey stole Jeremy and I have to say I despise her for it. Claudia saw and met him first. Also, I can't believe Stacey would want to make an attempt to apologize to Claudia and then say, ''Okay, Claudia, I will not allow you to get anywhere near Jeremy." What right does she have to say that! Claudia can choose her own friends, but obviously Stacey can't see that! The book was good, except now I know I am on Claudia's side in the friendship feud. I'm glad Claudia is friends with Erica now, too. Erica is much, much, MUCH cooler than Stacey. If you want to find out more, read "Claudia and the Friendship Feud." That book is awesome, and I'm sure #5: Kristy Power! will be just as awesome!

This book is one of my favorites in the BSC Friends Forever Series so far! A great job you're doing, Ms. Martin! Keep up the good work! I will certainly try to be the first one in line to recieve Kristy Power!

Claudia thinks her ex-best friend Stacey is a liar, a cheat, and a boyfriend-stealer. Sure, she misses Stacey... but she isn't about to talk to her. Instead she's finding new friends, like Erica Blumberg. And the most unexpected friend of all--Jeremy Rudolph, the boy who Stacey stole. Things are about to get very complicated...Will the friendship feud ever end? Read this book to find out!

I was fascinated by Huxley's use of this story as a way of trying to explain his thoughts on "man's deep-seated urge to self-transcedence, of his very natural reluctance to take the hard, ascending way, and of his search for some bogus liberation either below or to one side of his personality" - as revealed by our dependecies on religion and in joining mass movements like fascism or communism, as well as sexuality and substance use and abuse.
In Chapter Three he focuses on the religious aspects of these tendencies to "desire - and desire, very often, with irresistable violence - the consciousness of being someone else."
In the Epilogue ["In amplification of material in Chapter Three)"], he expands on these ideas by discussing substance use and abuse: "Alcohol is but one of the many drugs employed by human beings as avenues of escape from the insulated self." He adds to this the use of "From poppy to curare, from Andean coca to Indian hemp and Siberian agaric, every plant or bush or fungus capable, when ingested, of stupifying or exciting or evoking visions....seems to prove that, always and everywhere, human beings have felt the radical inadequacy of their personal existence, the misery of being their insulate selves and not something else.."
He then continues with the "crowd delirium" of mass movements:
"The professional moralists who inveigh against drunkeness are strangely silent about the equally disgusting vice of herd-intoxication - of downward transcendence into subhumanity by the process of getting together in a mob." leading to "The final symptom of herd-intoxication is a manical violence. Instances of crowd-delirium culminating in gratuitous destructiveness, in ferocious self-mutilation, in fratracidal savagery without purpose and against the elementary interests of all concerned, are to be met with on almost every page of the anthropologists'textbooks and - a little less frequently, but still with dismal regularity - in the histories of even the most highly civilized peoples."
His concluding sentence: "Every idol, however exalted, turns out, in the long run, to be a Moloch, hungry for human sacrifice."

This book is not merely an historical essay describing the lurid details of the events at Loudun [other books on the subject do that job], Huxley covers far more ground and delves far deeper into the experience of being human than that; it can be disturbing at times, but also illuminating.
Huxley's own later use of psychedelic drugs [mescaline, and, as has been said, LSD while on his death-bed] - which he describes in "The Doors of Perception" [1954] - indicates that he was still trying to reach an understanding of self-transcendence - in a more positive light.

It is the early 17th century in Loudun, France. The local parish priest, Urbain Grandier, has become embattled in various local rivalries with civic magnates and ecclesiastical officials. He makes powerful enemies among them but they are helpless to action against for the moment. Both sides are determined to see victory and religious sanctity takes a back seat to revenge and personal gain. Against this backdrop an altogether remarkable occurrence takes place; the inhabitants of the local covenant experience an extraordinary case of mass possession by demons. The head of the covenant, Saeur Jeanne des Anges, experiences the worst of the possessions and under an exorcism conducted by Jean-Joseph Surin she, or the demon within her, places the blame squarely on the shoulders of Urbain Grandier. The moment his enemies have waited for has arrived.

For those who are fans of Huxley's fictional and non-fictional works this book is not one to be missed. Although it falls into the category of non-fiction as it tells the story of a historical event in 17th century France, Huxley uses his creative powers and imagination to make the tale come alive. Granted historians may have an issue with taking such liberties in writing about a historical event, but Huxley's goal is not `pure' history, a pretty questionable term in itself, but rather to tell the story of a remarkable event with all the drama and suspense that it deserves.

His account of the mass possession in Loudun is backed up by an admirable amount of research. It is clear that Huxley's knowledge of both the time and place extend far beyond the details of the story and serve to enlighten his account. His understanding of human psychology as plays a prominent role in this book. It goes beyond a simple recounting of historical events, which as interesting as they are does not in itself make the book a unique one. It is Huxley's continual fascination with the human mind that really makes this book special. After setting out the basic historical framework for the story, he attempts to reconstruct the psychological factors that played a large role there. After examining the individual characters from the Loudun saga, Huxley takes the time to reflect and draw conclusions about humanity in general and what drives people to believe themselves possessed and the further implications this has.

Whether one agrees with the validity of conducting a sort of psychological analysis of historical figures hundreds of years removed from us and then in turn using those conclusions to draw wider ones about humanity or a time period in general, this book is an immensely interesting read.

Huxley has written a wonderful study of witchcraft,demonic possession and social commentary that is an historical cornerstone.Both religion and psychiatry are carefully intertwined in this lengthy novel.Set in France, it explores the human condition at that time.Greed,jealousy,revenge and theatrical performances are core themata.The inquisitional pressure coupled with political appeasement on the local,state and national level are explored.Mad nuns teased by repressed sexual needs and the subsequent outcomes are discussed. The careful documentation of the interplay between religious fervor and satanic influence are revealed in this exacting book.The twisted motivations of maladjusted individuals and the harm they can cause,the somatic possibilities and manifestations,coverups and intrigue are deftly and intellectually examined and detailed.The horrors of torture,self mutilation and sexual deviation as viewed as deviate for the times, gives one a sense of being voyeuristically one of the crowd.Watching the nuns perform their tricks,allegedly possessed by devils for the benefit of the church is amusing.Sister Jeanne,Father Grandier and Father Surin are all players in the game of gods love,human sexual needs,demonic possession and rather kinky goings on in the nunnery.It's a regular satanically,sexual soap opera with much guilt, regret and tragedy at the end.Any fan of Huxley needs to read this if they haven't already.Fans of the origins of psychopathology will marvel at the many mechanisms of defense used as justifiers for actions that were over the top for a pre-enlightened world.For witchcraft afficionados this is required reading.Again, it is a long read but worth it for purely historical anaylysis of the crypto religious/sexual linkage that to some degree is still present today.A must read for lovers of this subject matter.

HOW does a book this important come to be out of print?!!

No matter. Used copies can be had here for very little. Buy one and read it.

One of the joys of reading is how one subject can lead to a serendipitous find. Having recently come across a brief reference to the early 17th century barking nuns of Loudon I went in search of a more detailed exploration. In Aldous Huxley's book I found all that I sought and much more.

Urbain Grandier, the local parson of Loudon, is a very naughty cleric who partakes much too much of the sensual world. One morsel happens to be the daughter of his best friend. She becomes pregnant with unhappy consequences for many people. Grandier manages in this way of behavior to alienate nearly every important Catholic in Loudon as well as make an enemey of Richelieu.

When Grandier spurns the local prioress, Sister Jeanne, she claims demonic possession at the hand of Grandier as do 2 of her nuns. Grandier may have been guilty of many sins, but demonic possession was not among them. Exorcists are brought in as much too destroy Grandier as to throw out the devils (7 specific ones inhabit Sister Jeanne alone). The exorcists produce devils in 14 more nuns. The public exorcisms provide great entertainment, reviving the local tourist industry, but eventually produce the trial of Grandier, who in due turn is burned at the stake. The story continues when the Jesuit Surin arrives to finally successfully exorcise Sister Jeanne's demons.

Huxley's 1952 work explores the psychological aspects of demonic possession and exorcism, sometimes brilliantly against the backdrop of the madnesses of his own time. Liberal rationalists had "fondly imagined" an end to persecutions of 'heretics'. Instead, as he observes "from our vantage point on the descending road of modern history, we now see that all the evils of religion can flourish without any belief in the supernatural, that convinced materialists are ready to worship their own jerry-built creations as though they were the Absolute, and that self-styled humanists will persecute their adversaries with all the zeal of Inquisitors exterminating the devotees of a personal and transcendant Satan...In order to justify their behavior, they turn their theories into dogmas, their bylaws into First Principles, their political bosses into Gods and all those who disagree with them into incarnate devils. This idolatrous transformation of the relative into the Absolute and the all too human into the Divine, makes it possible for them to indulge their ugliest passions with a clear conscience and in the certainty that they are working for the Highest Good."

In the last third of the book he explores the nature of Sister Jeanne's possession, the possession of her exorcist Surin, and the manner of her recovery. The modern mind has some difficulty here. Clearly Surin and possibly Jeanne believed in the reality of demonic possessions (it is worth noting that many learned men, including those behind Grandier's fall and most Jesuits did not believe in the authenticity of these possessions). At the same, Jeanne is also play-acting at times as she concedes in her own subsequent writings. They believed in the Devil, they believed in possession, but understood that the Devil could not overcome the will of the possessed. Huxley paints a poignant, if oddly amusing, scene when he describes how Surin ordered Jeanne's devils to discipline themselves - in other words to flagellate Jeanne. Two of the devils lay on the whip with gusto, but Balaam and Isacaaron abhorring pain, would barely swing the whip and yet the possessed Jeanne would scream in agonized suffering.

An absolutlely fascinating read by one of the great minds of the 20th century.

This book was a double-edged sword for me. The characters and their situations were so very interesting. The writing was wonderful too. I loved so much about it but the plot left me wanting something more.

Sandy is the son of one of the richest men in the world. His parents moved to a large estate in the country before he was born and Sandy's never known much about the outside world. But then his uncles try to kill his parents but only succeed in sending them and the butler's wife into a coma.

Sandy with the help of his newfound love interest, the nurse Sunnie, has to move his parents into the asylum next door. That is when the fun really begins. As Sunnie spreads her sunshine to every patient at Walnut Manor, Sandy learns about the world through this interesting band of misfits. Here I have to repeat, the characters and the dialog were great. Each and every character was endearing in their own way. It's just that with the exception of some elements, the story itself was predictable with love conquering all in the end.

I think this book would appeal more to grownups than kids. The editorial review that compares this book to Holes is not accurate, in my opinion. This is a character-centric book like Holes but this story is more about the family and love relationships of each character than the solving of an intricate mystery with many intertwining plots.

I recommend this book to older teens and even grownups looking for a quirky story with a bit of romance. There are lots of wonderful life lessons in this one. Kids looking for a mystery (as the subtitle -" or, How I Saved My Family from Being Poisoned" almost promises) should steer clear.

This book is the best! It's a page turner. I think everybody should read this book! IT'S THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow! The best book I have ever read. I absolutely loved it! Many of my friends read it and when they said how good it was I tried it and I was blown away. Amazing!

I am an almost ten year old girl and I loved this book. It was
fun and silly.

Love Among the Walnuts is an enchanting read which teaches you the importance of family, respecting differences,and how to save your comatose parents and pet chicken from being further harmed by your greedy, criminal uncles. Take all of this, spin them up and add a hint of eccentricity and you get Love Among the Walnuts. 2 Thumbs UP!!!

The artwork stands out and the book is worth the price for that alone. The story itself is also wonderful and gives a good starting place for talking about what happens to a person after s/he "dies." My daughter loves this book.

Although my 20 month old is too young to understand the story he definately relaxes from the calm that this book brings to me as we read it together. Beautiful illustrations too.

I checked this out of the library and read it when I was 4 and have loved it ever since. It's one of those "must-have" books. It's a children's book but adults can enjoy it as well. The idea of the book is very sophistocated but can be easily understood by kids due to the simple language and color artwork.

I asked friends who practices Buddhism about any books that they could recommend that I could gift to a young friend who lost a companion very unexpectedly. Although they said that the content does not strictly follow Buddhist principles they suggested it with rave reviews. I was intrigued by the delicate simple manner of the story and noticed an interesting element in the illustrations ( read it to discover for yourself!)The story seems to soften the sadness of losing a loved one, reminds the reader of how dying is a part of living and raises hope that there is life after. It also beautifully narrates how fulfilling and rich a simple life can be. The illustrations are soft and enchanting like the story and the ending is all embracing....

Gorgeous illustrations and a truly beautiful story make this book a rare treasure in Children's literature. A valuable addition to the book collection of Buddhist parented children. Explains the process of death and rebirth/reincarnation in a gentle and interesting way. Not weird at all and so suitable for children of non-Buddhist background as well as it provides an valuable insight as to how Buddhism/other belief systems explain death and the afterlife.

"The Past through Tomorrow" is a collection of short stories, novellas and shot novels written by Robert A. Heinlein. They all have a common context, Heinlein's Future History as conceived by the author during the 1930s and 40s. It was during this period, the author created a timeline of mankind's progress into space.

To the best of this reviewer's knowledge, this was the first attempt of anything like this on this scale. Several of these tales are considered to be classics of their genre.

We start with "Lifeline" the first published short story written by Heinlein. Hugo Pineiro has created a machine that can tell you exactly when you are going to die. Of course the insurance industry and various other interests are not amused.

Another is the classic "The Man Who Sold the Moon". Delos David Harriman was a reluctant businessman. He couldn't go to the University of Chicago to study astronomy because he had to support his family. He started in real estate then prefabricated housing on to ballistic hypersonic transport. Now he thinks the time is ripe to make possible his true ambition - a trip to the moon. Harriman has only ever wanted to go to the moon but he winds up created an interplanetary business empire and a victim of his own success.

There is "the Green Hills of Earth" where we are introduced to "Noisy" Rhysling, the blind singer of the space lanes. Blinded in an engineering room accident, he is forced to change professions and becomes a traveling musician ultimately writing the songs that defined this era in human expansion.

In "Logic of Empire" two wealthy drunken dilettantes sell themselves into indentured servitude on Venus. In "The Roads Must Road" (voted one of the greatest science fiction stories of all time) a civil servant must head off a labor strike that will cripple the U.S. economy. "The Menace from Earth" deals with young romance while indulging in a distinctly lunar past time, flying with strap-on wings.

There other stories in this volume but the reviewer will mention just one more, "Methuselah's Children". This is where we are first introduced to the Howard Families, a secret group bred for longevity. They approximately 2.5 times as long as their more ephemeral brethren. This is where RAH first introduces Woodrow Wilson Smith better known as Lazarus Long, the oldest man alive. The Howards make the mistake of revealing their existence to the world at large. Humanity drops its veneer of civilization and arrests the members of the Howards in order to torture their secret of longevity out of them.

The problem is there is no `secret'.

If you enjoy science fiction and/or Robert Heinlein, this collection is required reading. It doesn't get any better than this in any genre.

Though I greatly enjoy Heinlen's writing, I didn't think I'd read very many of his short stories. Surprisingly, I had read "Life-Line", which is the first story in this book. But I didn't mind re-reading it one bit! One thing I had not realized before was that it was the first short story Heinlen had ever submitted for publication. I think the book is worth getting for it alone.

Now, not only is this book just an incredible collection of plain good 'ole fashioned story-telling at it's best, but the stories actually proceed in chronological order in the same timeline, which creates an incredible fluidity between stories. You find yourself trying to figure out how far in the future from the last story you read you are in the one you've just started.

I think of the stories in the book, "Life-Line", "The Green Hills of Earth", and "Methuselah's Children" are my favorites, though I think I enjoyed every one of them. And you have characters that flow from one story to the next, so every now and then you get to spend more time with a character that you found you enjoyed.

Do I recommend this book?! Absolutely! And despite it's thickness, it's actually great for people who aren't much into big books - because it's a collection of short stories. You can sit down and read for a half an hour or an hour and then put it down without regret. Awesome book!

"I wonder why nobody reprints it: look at all the good marks it gets!!! "

Fantastic book, but holds way too much in the way of stories that can be (and are) printed and sold seperately.
It's unfortunate for new Sci-Fi fans, very hard to find a decent paperback copy somewhere. Mine is so worn, I need to rebind it.

John W. Campbell, editor of the sci-fi magazine "Analog" coined the term "future history" about the chain of characters and stories written by Robert A. Heinlein. It's a brilliant term, because Heinlein literally created a fictional history of an entire people, from Earth, to early space travel, to settling the moon, to moving out among the stars.

This book, astonishingly out of print, contains many of Heinlein's best short stories and novellas, filling in the gaps for his major novels such as "Time Enough for Love" and "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress."

Heinlein apparently kept a complicated character-and-time chart in his study. This book has a copy of the chart, plus the award-winning stories and short fiction.

Included here: "Methuselah's Children"--the beginning of the story of the Howard Families that is taken up in the sweeping novel "Time Enough for Love." You'll also find stories that explain the founding of Luna City, pioneering space travel, and the revolution against the theocracy begun by Nehemiah Scudder.

If you are a Heinlein fan, this is a great book to have--fills out the gaps in his complete works. If you aren't a Heinlein fan, start with "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" or "Starship Troopers" to find out how great Heinlein's science fiction is.

The Past Through Tomorrow (1967) is an omnibus collection of the relatively short SF stories in the Future History series. These stories were originally published between 1939 and 1962. Many were first published in Astounding Science Fiction, but others first saw print in a variety of other venues. This edition includes an introduction by Damon Knight.

Life-Line (1939) tells of the man who could predict the time of death of an individual; this was Heinlein's first sale. The Roads Must Roll (1940) is about an illegal work stoppage on the mechanical roads. Blowups Happen (1940) depicts the tensions among the workers in an atomic breeder plant. The Man Who Sold the Moon (1949) relates the story of D. D Harriman and his efforts to establish a base on the Moon. Delilah and the Space-Rigger (1949) recounts the tale of the men who constructed Space Station One and the woman who came among them.

Space Jockey (1947) describes the perils of piloting a passenger ship in space. Requiem (1939) reveals the story of how D.D. Harriman finally got to the Moon. The Long Watch (1948) is a tale of duty, honor and death. Gentlemen, Be Seated (1948) tells of three men in a tunnel on the Moon that starts leaking air. The Black Pits of Luna (1947) concerns a lost child on the Moon.

"It's Great to be Back!" (1946) is a tale of homecoming for two Luna City residents. "--We Also Walk Dogs" (1941) discloses how General Services performed an unusual task for the government. Searchlight (1962) concerns another lost child on the Moon. Ordeal in Space (1947) is about a man who is afraid of falling. The Green Hills of Earth (1947) depicts the last voyage of Rhysling, the blind poet of the spaceways.

Logic of Empire (1941) exposes the reasons for slave labor in the colonies. The Menace from Earth (1947) relates the story of Holly Jones of Luna City and the beautiful tourist. "If This Goes On--" (1940) describes one man's role in the Second American Revolution against Nehemiah Scudder, the Prophet Incarnate. Coventry (1940) tells the story of a rebellious young man who defies the Covenant. Misfit (1939) portrays a young man with an unusual talent.

Methuselah's Children (1941) concerns the troubles of a group with greatly extended lifespans. This tale introduces Lazarus Long, one of Heinlein's most popular characters. This version of the story is much longer that the original and has been further extended into a series of novels.

The book also includes a chart of Heinlein's Future History upon pages 622 and 623. The chart includes the stories Universe and Common Sense, which are not contained in this omnibus. However, this chart also omits several full-length novels in this series.

Although Heinlein wrote many other stories and novels, the stories in this omnibus are probably the reason for his initial popularity within the science fiction community. Stranger in a Strange Land led to his fame within the general population, but was not treated as a cult book by SF fans. We understood a lot more about this novel than did the general public and accepted it as just another of his major works.

Highly recommended for Heinlein fans and for anyone else who enjoys classic tales of high technology, highly competent people and human values.

-Arthur W. Jordin