Publications Books

The story of three very good friends who must check their baggage in order to maintain healthy and meaningful relationships. They all start out in not so good places and come full circle. Good book.

Baggage Check is the story of 3 male friends who grow up and outgrow their womanizing ways. The tale is well told and thought provoking. You will recognize some of the men who have pushed up on you in the past. If you're blessed, you are one of the women who these men finally recognized they needed. Read it - with a quickness!

Can't say much except Curtis Bunn is a future star. I can't believe Baggage Check is ihs FIRST novel, but I do see why it was No. 1 on the Essence best-seller list. I'm mad at myself that I just discovered this book.
Without giving away the story, it's a lot of life lessons and insight and humor and passion and emotion and fun in this book. Each character had a different voice and a different set of baggage, and the way Bunn crafted each person's growth was extremely smooth and realistic and moving for me. This is one of my favorite books. I highly recommend it ot anyone who loves great writing, great characters (and some strong women characters, too), great stories and learn something in the process, you should read this book.
Lana Rickett, New York, NY

I loved this book so much. When my book club chose this book, I wasn't looking forward to reading it because I don't like relationship books. But, this book isn't just about male/female relationships. It explores the bond between male friends. By the end of the book, I grew to like all the male characters, especially the bond shared among the three male characters. It was great that the author exposed this to the rest of the world. Also, the author came to my book club's meeting and we found him to be a great guy. You won't be disappointed with this book. It's a great read.

Julian, Greg and Larry have been best friends since their childhood in Washington D.C. All three have different career paths and place value on different things, however they all have two things in common, their love for each other, and their inability to maintain a monogamous relationship.

Julian, the professor, says he loves his girlfriend Joanne but ends up in the sack with her sister and soon after said tryst finds out that Joanne is pregnant. He plans on taking care of his child, but his commitment to Joanne is lukewarm. Greg, the penny pinching bookstore owner, made the "mistake" of telling his long time love that he plans to marry her. Now her constant haranguing about when the marriage will take place is getting to him. Finally there's Larry, the aspiring actor and "playa". He spreads himself around and sticks with no one long enough for the words commitment or relationship to pop up. No woman has been able to hold his attention in that way. In today's climate these three are really quite ordinary in terms of their behavior and value systems. What makes Julian, Greg and Larry special is that they all learn by means of one fairly extraordinary event that they all have "baggage", which needs to be checked. (read the book for explanation). Once their baggage has been checked they all learn to love more freely.

As a female reader I was skeptical about how a story about men, written by a man would speak to me and speak about women. However, Baggage Check was a pleasant surprise. All the elements of a good story are there, believable characters, a startling beginning, a middle that held the reader's interest and a happy ending. Parts of this story in fact were uproariously funny as well as touching. How women are portrayed really became background for the real story of personal growth that happened for each of the characters. Yes the women were there and aided in the growth but the men had to do the hard work on their own. Bunn enabled this reader to drop her skepticism by simply writing a good story.

I have had this tiny little book for 20 years. I treasure it as one of the greatest books filled with a cutting wisdom that reminds me of the simple and profound truths of God's Wisdom. Not written in religious tones, but carrying such deep spiritual healing wisdoms. Big Truths are simple, and we humans do seem to have an addiction to complicating life, and creating chaos when quiet reflection would reveal the simple nature of truths so well revealed in "The Book of Qualities". It has a centering quality about it, making one go, "Ah yes, that's the truth of it".....after reading a one page passage on anything from "COURAGE" to
"GREED", to "AMBIVILENCE", to "GUILT", to "POWER" and too many more to list here. Give yourself one of the greatest books you will ever own. I expect that you will put it in a special place,easily accessible, and always quitely waiting for that moment when you might need to remember what "truly matters" about being human in this life we create. As soon as I post this review I am heading straight to Amazon again, and purchasing 2 more copies to keep tucked away as I have worn the pages of this wonderful little book over 20 years of re-reading it.

I was given this book several years ago by a dear friend. As is always the case when someone gives me something, it sat untouched for almost a year.

When I finally picked it up... I devoured it. I plotted the relationships within the "community" and also used it to journal, hanging out with the characters in the book for a day or so and seeing how they lived in my life. Ultimately it made my understand just how life and time can affect us all. It's helped me be more tolerant of others... and myself.

This year I was the person who gave it away... It's funny the look on some people face... "Oh... GREAT... Yeah, thanks!..." When they actually open the BoQ and spend some time with the characters, they'll understand.

It took me longer than it should have, but it was there waiting for me when I was ready. I LOVE THIS BOOK! I wish I'd written it.

I owned this book for many years often quoting from it to friends. I either lent it or lost it in a move. I missed it. An old friend returned.

I absolutely love this book, and everyone I show it to falls in love with it too. Gendler had the idea to take qualities such as anger, complacency, joy, and contentment and write about them as if they were people. In so doing, she has captured their essence in a poetic and powerful way. Once in awhile you encounter a writer who reveals things that were right in front of you but went unnoticed for years, and in so doing enriches your vision and your world. Gendler is one of those writers. Every time I read it I experience the same sense of wonder and discovery. If I were stranded on a desert island, I'd want this book with me. I don't usually seek autographs but I am honored to have an autographed copy. Gendler is also a visual artist and has illustrated her own work.

April is National Poetry Month. Yeah, I know: there's a national month, or special week, or weird celebratory day, for every topic and group in the universe now. There's even a book up at WNBT that lists, by month, everything from "National Dental Health Care Week" to "International Talk-Like-A-Pirate Day". (Although those two topics might not be so unrelated as they first appear, har har.)

But I actually look forward to National Poetry Month. I love poetry. Poetry challenges me, feeds me, shocks me, makes me giggle, soothes me in songs, comes to me from sacred texts and coffeeshops and in emails from friends. And, unlike many genres of literature, I believe there is a poetry book for everyone. There may not be a story from the thriller group that you'd like, or a biography, or a book on investing. But I'm fairly certain if we looked, and probably not even for that long, we could find a poem or two that you would love.

I told Kevin I was prepared to write two or three columns for National Poetry Month, or even do the entire month of reviews. He gave me a look. He thought one column would be enough. "People just don't like poetry all that much," he told me, gently but firmly - although he writes fine poetry himself.

So how do I choose one book to focus on? Actually, it was a clear and easy choice. There is one poetry book that fits all of us.

When I had to be in the hospital for a while during my college years, a friend brought me this special book - J. Ruth Gendler's "The Book of Qualities". Since then, I have turned around and given copies of this book to all different people in my life. I've shared this beautiful little book as a gift for graduations, wedding showers, birthdays, major illnesses, surgeries, and as a thank-you note. I've read selections from it at open mike nights, support groups, and memorial services.

In "The Book of Qualities", poet and artist Ruth Gendler dedicates one page to each of almost one hundred human characteristics and feelings. These are the Qualities. With playful and insightful words, she describes each Quality as though he or she were a person you know. Change becomes your unwelcome houseguest; Honor could be your grandfather; Courage may be the woman who befriended you as you faced your divorce. Each of the Qualities has a favorite color, or a hobby. They have faces and hair and cars and clothes and jobs. And in those characteristics, in each Quality, you will recognize yourself and those you know - often in delightful and startling new ways. This little book is truly a classic: one of those books that you will find yourself revisiting time and again, once it has become a part of your life. Every time you re-read it, you'll find something new.

Editor,"Of A Predatory Heart"

when i first picked up this book i assumed it would be living on my bedside table for several weeks as i read a chapter here and there. i was surprised to find that once i began reading i just couldn't put it down. the book captivated me on three levels: the array of characters about whom dr. helfant writes are fascinating and run the gamut from a mafia kingpin to a tortured catholic priest; helfant also explains in some detail the various symptoms of cardiac disease as well as the limitations faced by the practioner and finally, and perhaps most important as indicated by the title, the transformative impact that life threatening illness has had on the seven patients about whom he has so eloquently written. each vignette offered a real-life drama which helfant has conveyed with a style one would expect from a first rate novelist rather than someone who has spent his life in the medical profession. this book was a wonderful surprise package.

Wow. Dr. Helfant's book is absolutely amazing. He is those rarest of doctors; one who cares deeply about his patients.

His stories of his patients' suffering, recovery, and life-changes were so heartfelt and touching. I'll remember those people for years to come. Don't miss this book. It's a must-read.

Dr. Helfant's accounts of courageous patients surviving near fatal illness and going on to change their lives for the better is truly inspirational. I was moved by each story, and for a different reason. This is a distinctly powerful book, and is sure to be a bestseller.

What is remarkable about "Courageous Confrontations" is the philosophy of hope offered by this dedicated and highly skilled physician. He explains in language easily understood by a layman the medical factors relating to diseases of the heart, and then demonstrates how one's fate is not solely limited to medical factors, how one's will and character can affect the medical outcome of the most serious condition. He vividly descibes his cases so that each person seems universally human and yet unique. The description and dialogue make this book as enjoyable as a novel to read, yet the fact that this is a work of non fiction makes the ideas expressed much more meaningful. I read this book on the recommendation of a friend and have recommended it to every one I know. It is amazing that a skilled physician like Dr. Helfant is also gifted with ability to write a book in which each case fascinates the reader while teaching the importance of the human spirit in the outcome of any disease.

As an Internist and Gastroenterologist with 36 years of practice experience, I have to confess that Dr. Helfant has written the book that I always wanted to write. Every physician, with any length of experience, has patient interactions that leave him amazed, astonished and enlightened. I can't tell you how often I've told friends and family, "I should write a book". Well, I never have, but Dick Helfant has, and it is a fabulous read. He is clearly, not only an excellent Cardiologist, but a marvelous story-teller. I heartily recommend his book to medical students, young physicians, and anyone else who just enjoys a good read.

Hal Kaplan, MD

If you like to curl up with volume of beautiful, rambling prose, then this is the book for you.

If you grow impatient with an author who takes 9 pages to discuss an idea that could comfortably fit into 2 - 3 paragraphs, then you should look for a different book. The writing style reminded me of Charles Dickens, who reportedly was paid by the word.

Yes, the book is beautifully written, but I simply lost patience with it. I also found it to be a bit preachy, as if the author believes herself to be the only one who knows the joy of simply being in a garden, observing all of its wonders, and must teach it to the rest of us morons. (I'm a bit sensitive to preachiness, however, and the average reader might disagree!)
It all depends on your personality.

I just finished reading this lovely book over a two day period while sitting in my garden. Joyce McGreevy's advice about living in the moment and appreciating even the smallest living thing should become words to live by for all of us hurtling through the beginning of this new century. She encourages her readers to establish and maintain contact with nature, even if it is just being aware of the new sprouts on our pepperomia. She offers receipes, practical advice and unique ideas about how to engage even a recalcitrant child or a grumpy crumudgeon in the wonders of the natural world.
This is a MUST read for all gardeners no matter what your experience!

This book is a jewel, a profound pleasure to read. From the first page, one enters a world of flowers and tendriled plants, Earth with its seasons and cycles, touching memories, wisdom, and wit. The book uses this material to present a rich philosophy for living life.

The author not only recounts delightful anecdotes, but also offers abstract ideas with precision clarity, utilizing graceful and wonderfully chosen vocabulary. Her metaphors and similes sometimes make you gasp, they are so fresh and original. They are also beautifully couched within the overall garden theme.

This book puts the reader in touch with the richness, depth, and beauty of life. It is true writing by a gifted writer.

Dear Sister,
We have a new best friend.

Joy! Today is Book Club day, and Joyce McGreevy, the author of "Gardening by Heart" is coming to talk to/with our group. We just finished her book and I loved it. It isn't a novel. It is not a self-help book. It isn't a gardening book. It isn't a poetry book. It is a poetic story about nurturing our hearts, our gardens. Hmm, is it a story? No, actually. There is no story-story, just a string of anecdotes and remembrances involving the author's mother and siblings and friends and jobs.

Her writing is the thing.

She writes like a poet, but it isn't poetry per se. Well, I'll go upstairs and get the book and excerpt it for you...hold on...

Without looking, I just opened the book to this page:

Strawberries at Dawn

"The first pale amber rays of sun have backlit the somber mountains. A coastal live oak rustles. The birds are stirring. In my garden, the poppies are rolled up tightly like saffron scrolls. I'm on my knees, coffee within easy reach, as I set a blue salvia into the ground the way a parent might ease a sleepy child back into bed."

Dawn is the best time of day to do almost anything. The phone holds its tongue and there are no appointments. One's mind is fertile with dreams whose meanings flower best in a hushed world."

[Isn't that wonderful?] more...

"In the garden, time itself seems to expand. Later in the day I may fret about getting to this appointment or achieving that task "on time", but early in the morning I seem to have all the time in the world. The killing frost of anxiety is held at bay, letting ideas and insights establish strong roots."

She starts each chapter with a quote from another author or poet.

"Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace."--May Sarton, Journals

She advocates keeping a nature journal...at the office.

"...it consisted of a burgeoning collection of index cards, each of which bore a hastily penciled sentence or two about something I had observed, whether on the way to work, from my window, or during a lunch break....The French say of good gardeners not that they have a green thumb but that they have un main vert, a green hand. With every entry I penciled in I was keeping my hand green and subsequently nurturing the heart, even in the midst of computers, stark white partitions, and fluorescent lighting."

Don't you just love her? I can't wait to meet our new best friend.

Love,
Your sister

I'm free, free, at last! Emancipated from a gardener's work ethic--weeding, deadheading, fertilizing etc. Joyce McGreevy goes literally to the heart of gardening and nourishes the soul with her grace and wit and exquisite writing. McGreevy's descriptions of her mother's gardens as a place for relating to people, for celebrating the spirit of the day or season, help the gardener to not only grow the roses, but wake up and smell them and share all that with others. Just BE in the garden. Of course, there won't be a garden without some routine work, but this inspirational little book shows us how to use our gardens or other people's gardens to renew our connection to the earth, to all creation, and to heal from modern day busy sickness. I hope to hear more from this talented writer.

Reading this made my son and me want to build, build, build. At the same time, the book achieves something else: the way people make their homes shows something very intimate and moving. This collection of photographs, drawings and stories shows how closely related the art of building, the art of art and the art of living are. This is one of the rare occasions where I would like to thank the authors.

followed by several days flipping through again and again, searching for my favorites...beautiful pictures. I could have done with more "on the road" pics and less (what I would refer to as) "normal" houses...I can see those kinds when I look out the window...but that's just a personal preference....I wish he'd take all the extra stuff he said he had and put it on a website or publish another book. I'd buy it!

this book is even better then the other books by Lloyd Kahn, and i didnt think that was possible. The photographs are outstanding, the text interesting, informative, and captures thoughts, people, homes and places of times past, present and some that look futuristic! This book is for anyone who has a passion for architecture, and culture. a great coffee table book.

MUST HAVE FOR ALL couchpotatoe MALES, and anyone who has dreams! This is such a fantastic book: inspiring and creative and so marvelous to see so many passionate people out their DOING THEIR THING! Get up from your desktops, ladies and gentlemen, stop the online dating circus and do something satisfying: BUILD YOUR OWN SHELTER. Lord knows I want to after pouring through every inch of every page and these great photos and life stories. Thanks, Mr. Lloyd!

This book is absolutely stunning. I spent hours poring over the pictures. It's mostly pictures of creative, unique houses people have built, with a few stories about builders' experiences and techniques.
It will put into perspective the amount to which we have limited ourselves when it comes to traditional housing. It shows how a house is not just shelter, but art, expression, and passion as well.
This will inspire you!

I could not survive without this excellent diary! Has all the information about moon phases and sabbats that any Witch could need. Great format - lots of writing space for busy teachers! Highly recommend this to everyone in the Craft - every year! Raven moon, HPS Coven of Corvus Moon

This is the first year I have ordered this planner, after wanting it for the last several. It appears decent and well researched. The one thing I didn't like is the birthdays and deathdays of 'notable witches' up to and including Allyson Hannigan from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Very pointless and arbitrary.

This is my new must buy gift for myself and some of my witchy friend's for Winter Solstice.

I love the articles and the oodles of information and recipes sprinkled throughout.

This is the second year I've gotten this planner and I couldn't see myself without it now! I was a little dissappointed in the thinner pages this year. I hope they don't cheap-out on 2009.

I buy this datebook for some years now and I find it very convenient. Its size is perfect for carrying it around and using it every day. It has everything someone with an interest in Pagan spirituality needs. Harvest and planting days for herbs, moon's phases are clearly displayed, along with planet retrogrades and moon void-of-course. Beautiful art work and a few articles of pagan focus. A few poems and recipes add some ideas about what to do for celebrating the eight pagan festivals. It is very discreet and with an eclectic flavor so pagans of every tradition can use it.
Its only drawback is that it is printed in black and white only. I understand that it is necessary to keep its price low but perhaps it would be a good idea to try a colored version too. I don't think though that this really affects the quality of this wonderful product. I will keep buying it as long as it is printed as I find it the best datebook in the market. And if you don't believe my opinion just give it a try you will be amazed!!

In Not Between Brother author David Marion Wilkinson relates the epic story of Texas spanning the years from 1816 to 1861. Wilkinson uses the life story of his primary protagonist, Remy Fuqua, to tell the Anglo, Tejano, and to some extent the Mexican parts of the tale. On the other side, Wilkinson puts the reader into a virtual alternate universe by following the life a Comanche warrior named Kills White Bear. The lives of Remy and Kills White Bear become inextricably bound together through a series of unfortunate incidents that are mostly fueled by their mutual desire for vengeance. Indeed, the book closes with one final tragic encounter between them.

On the larger stage of history, Wilkinson's book tells the story of Texas (or Tejas) from its days as part of the Spanish colonial empire, through its Mexican statehood, its days as an independent republic, and its annexation to the United States. The book closes as secession fever strikes and the state legislature withdraws Texas from the Union over the objections of its governor, Sam Houston.

Fuqua wants to ranch and by hard work and fortuitous marriage achieves an extraordinary level of success. All the more bitter, then is his struggle against the Mexican government, The Texas Republic, and Confederate Texas to keep what he has built. The eternal struggle, however, is between the Comanche, especially the Penatekas led by Kills White Bear, and the Anglos and Tejanos. The Comanche fiercely defended their hunting grounds and with some degree of success on the sparsely settled Texas plains. Both sides fought viciously - it injury to the truth to romanticize it. In addition to their sheer numbers and technological advantages, the whites brought diseases that no amount of courage or tenacity could resist. On the whole, the Comanche chose to resist, seemingly beyond all reason, rather than submit.

Wilkinson sprinkles his tale with historical characters such as Sam Houston, Buffalo Hump, Santa Anna, Juan Seguin, Indian agent Robert Neighbors, and Captain Jack Hay of the Texas Rangers. Wilkinson also puts the reader in the midst of historic events such as the Alamo (necessarily told second-hand to Remy), the Battle of San Jacinto where Houston won his fame and Texas its independence, and the Council House Fight, where the army's ham-handed handling of treaty negotiations led to a massacre of Penateka chiefs and warriors, which in turn led to the slaughter of captive whites and touched off a major round of Comanche raids.

The one negative review of this book asserted that the author is no McMurtry or' Mitchner' (sic - presumably the reviewer meant James Michener) - a range of literary skills nearly as large as the Texas plains, in the eyes of this reader. Wilkinson does not reach the heights that McMurtry can, but exceeds Michener in developing real characters in an historical setting (as opposed to the rather simplistic characterizations in Michener's `Texas'.

Highly recommended for fans of historical fiction and the American West. The insights into the Comanche and Tejano side of the story set Wilkinson's book apart.

This is one of the very best western epics I've had the pleasure to read.
Laced with historical characters and important moments in Texan history, this book will keep you reading until your eyes droop. I am now a huge fan of this author and have moved on to other of his books. I don't know if it's possible someone would want to make a film of Not Between Brothers but I surely wish they would. This book is a cracker.

Having received this book as a gift several years ago, I am now sorry it took me so long to get around to reading it. I assure you that once you start reading Not Between Brothers, you will find it hard to put down.
Others have rehashed the story in their reviews to some degree or another, so I'll try not to do that here. Author Wilkinson does an excellent job developing both the characters and his story. There's a surprise at nearly every turn, although the reader somehow knows that chief protagonist Remy Fuqua is going to survive.
This is not just a story of a titanic clash of cultures, it is a story of hard men and women in a harsh land, where nearly every day brings an often life-threatening challenge. It is written in an heroic fashion that reminds me sometimes of Michener and sometimes of Fraser (of the Flashman series), but nearly always in a way that keeps the reader wondering what's coming next. Wilkinson writes a balanced story with a great understanding of the points of view of all the cultures that once claimed Texas as theirs.
Those who know the parts of Texas where this story takes place will almost literally be able to visualize it, to taste it and to smell it. Those who don't know Texas will come away with a pretty good picture of its geography and climate. And everyone will come away with a greater knowledge of the forces that shaped Texas and made it what it is today.
This is said to be Wilkinson's first novel and he's done a heck of a job researching and writing it. His command of the language is impressive as is his attention to detail. I found only one major factual error about a third of the way through probably missed in the proofreading( see if you can find it too). There are also a couple of times where I was able to guess why a particular incident occurs ahead of it being explained, but most of the time the reader is left in breathless anticipation of what's to come.
Despite a few missteps and a weak final chapter after the dramatic and surprising climax, my overall impression of Not Between Brothers is that I have just read an epic blockbuster. A blurb on the cover claims that it was a finalist for the Spur Award for best novel of the West in 1996. Well, if some other book beat this one, I'll have to read it and see why, because Not Between Brothers is one of the finest books about Texas or the West I have read in years!

Being a native Texan and a former history I found this to be an
interesting book.The book tells of Remy Fuqua moving to Texas to
start his life.Once in Texas he marries Beatrice the daughter of
wealthy Mexican parents.Together they have three children.His
wife and two of his sons are seized by a feirce Comanche chief by
the name of Kills White Bear.Remy rescues his wife and one of his sons.Once home Beatrice has a child that has been fathered by Kills White Bear.Remy rides with Sam Houston and does battle
with Mexican bandits and the Comanche Indians.He later has a
confrontation with Kills White Bear.A very well written fiction
book that sounds like actual history.Read this book.You will have
a better grasp of the early days of Texas.

Texas is a huge state with a rich multicultural heritage. It takes a real tour de force, such as David Marion Wilkinson's "Not Between Brothers" to do it justice. In this epic view of Texas history, Wilkinson uses fictional characters Remy Fuqua and Comanche Indian Kills White Bear to tell the story of life on the frontier between the years 1816 and 1861. Remy is a Scotch-Irish orphan who grows up in Louisiana and is permanently scarred by his unhappy childhood. He carries a "never-say-die" attitude and a quick temper throughout his life. Kills White Bear is a Comanche warrior who nurtures a hatred for the white people whose diseases rob him of many of his loved ones. Remy and his cousin move to Texas where they negotiate a piece of land from Stephen F. Austin. Remy meets and falls in love with a beautiful, wealthy Mexican woman, and this causes problems for both of them throughout the rest of their lives. Remy and Kills Bear's lives weave their separate paths until at last they intersect, with predictable dire consequences for both of them. Wilkinson's wonderful prose and unforgettable characters make for an excellent read. He weaves in a lot of history and the reader is treated to up-close looks at Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston, Jim Bowie, and others who are painted in wonderful shades of gray and who are not made to look like saints. For anyone who enjoys historical fiction or who has an interest in Texas, this is highly recommended reading.

ISBN 0399231935 - A quick glance through the pages of the board book edition from G. P. Putnam's Sons didn't give me high hopes for this book, but I have - once again - been surprised by what can work in a board book!

The owl and the pussycat hop in a boat and head out to sea, where Owl proposes in song. They buy a ring from a pig and are married by a turkey... and that, you have to know, hardly tells the tale at all.

In few, very well-chosen, words, Lear's story can hardly be done justice in a simple recap. Jan Brett's illustrations are just slightly less difficult to put into words - the detail initially seemed to me to be a negative: young children tend to like simpler, less busy, illustrations. I think this is one time they will happily learn to love the busy-ness. The remarkable detail of everything, from Owl's feathers to the individual fronds on the palm trees, adds gorgeous depth to the book.

In addition, a second love story - told only in pictures - takes place, courtesy of Brett. Pussycat carries a yellow fish (we're going to call that one a girl) in a bowl onto the boat and the fish is seen on every page. Underwater, another yellow fish is seen "talking" to other underwater animals and each one he talks to joins him as he follows his trapped-in-a-bowl love, until Owl and Pussycat unknowingly have an underwater parade following them. Is everyone eventually with the one they love? Of course they are! Very well-worth picking up for your short person!!

This is a beautifully illustrated version of _The Owl and the Pussycat_. My three-year-old son absolutely loves looking at the whimsical pictures of the fish and other sealife that are abundant in this book. The pictures are done with beautiful colors and have their own story.

What a beautiful version of Edward Lear's poem. I've always been a James Marshall fan, but this book is absolute tops for his illustrations. The colors are glorious, the characters, as his always are, deftly and lovingly handled. I understand that it was his last work, and it's a shame that it is out of print. Buy it, save it, and pass it around.

Jan Brett's Caribbean-inspired illustrations for the classic Edward Lear poem are teeming with life, and the effect is stunning. The colors, textures, and shapes are a visual treat. Each page also has a different pattern of "straw" border, adorned with a different tropical flower.

The pictures overflow with detail, to the point where there's even a sub-story (pardon the pun) involving two yellow fish.

I didn't give it the full 5 stars because the way the text is broken up across spreads makes it difficult to read the poem with any kind of flow, and because some of Brett's admittedly gorgeous illustrations could (and perhaps should) have had more of a connection to the text. For one notable example -- there's no pot of honey on the boat, and we never get a look at the money wrapped up in the five-pound note!

But there's no denying the beauty of the illustrations, and the Caribbean theme works surprisingly well. This is a great book for anyone -- for newcomers to the splendid silliness of the poem as well as for old fans of the poem who are looking for an edition with fabulous illustrations.

I have always liked Lear's rhymes, especially this one, but more than the rhyme, it's the illustrations in this version that I like. We live in Florida and all our sub-tropical and tropical flora and fauna is in this book, beautifully illustrated and very recognizable to my 3 year old daughter. Following along with the secondary story of the two damsel fish (I think they're damselfish, but if they're not, the fault is my fish identification skills, not Brett's illustration) is really fun for her too. A bit further south, but still full of recognizable plants for us Floridians, is another of Jan Brett's books, "The Umbrella."

I really like this book. It's hundreds of color pics. break down each move 1/2 step by 1/2 step and from multiple angles. You don't even need to know how to read. Just follow the pics & arrows highlighting the important grips and positioning. I use volume 2 ("the guard") a little more, but both are really great.

This is a great book. Sequence of pictures are taken from two different angles to capture all the details. Tim Cartmell does a great job describing each step of the technique in simple words.
It covers most of the situations encounter when passing the guard. Will definitely boost you BJJ game.

I'm a blue belt, and this book can definitely improve your top game a lot. No other book cover the subject with so much depth. Sometimes the pictures aren't as crystal clear as Kid Peligro's ones, and you have to get used to the unusual layout. Aside from that the book is awesome and I think intermediate bjj practitioners will get the most out of it.

Too many books try to cover too much in their text. This often results in poor details, a small snapshot of someone's game, or unconnected techniques that don't integrate well. It is a fantastic idea to spend an entire volume on one aspect of the game.

I'd read Cartmell's good work in "Effortless Combat Throws" and liked it a lot. I'd never heard of Beneville, though, as per most of the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu community.

However, the most important qualification is whther your information is accurate and effective. This book is exactly that.

The book opens up with imporatant details on posture and position. What it is, why you need to get there and - of course - how. This is golden information to the beginner and early intermediate, but more advanced practitioners will even find some useful info here.

Then, onto the guard passes. The passes shown are the same ones you're taught in every class. The details, though, are intricate and accurate. There are a number of options for each pass and photos aplenty, along with concise, accurate text descriptions.

The book covers more than passing and is THE text for the whole game from inside the guard. It covers posture and position, passes from the knees, passes from standing, submission attacks from inside the guard, defenses and counters to attacks and even a great section on a ttacking the turtle position.

More still, the book ends with some great drills that will help you develop the skills described in the book.

This book pioneered the contrasting coloured uniforms on the models and the blue vs white is still a great idea. The photography is great and has views from multiple angles. As said earlier, the text is concise, clear and descriptive.

It's clear that the authors know their subject and have planned this book well. Kudos to them.

I'll start off by mentioning the only negative I can think of or noticed:

There are quite a few typos and grammatical errors in the technique descriptions/instructions. However, they only cause a minor distraction, and not enough to warrant giving this book anything less than 5 stars. The reason for this is because all you have to do is look at the accompanying picture and the problem is solved. For example, the instructions will say, "Grab with the right hand or swing to the right" and then you look at the picture and the guy is grabbing with his left hand and swinging to the left. I'm assuming those who buy this book already practice BJJ and are only purchasing the book for reference, so it should be easy to "understand" what the typos meant to say. This, however, leads to the best part of the book.

Everything else about the book is great. The only negative I mentioned above may actually go unnoticed by some. The reason for this is that the pictures are awesome. One may be able to learn a technique just by looking at the pictures. They're that good. The flow and clarity of the pictures makes the detailed instructions seem as an optional supplement.

Another thing that this book does well is it's order. The book starts from the ground up, literally: breaking the guard on your knees, passing the guard on your knees, standing up, breaking the guard standing up, etc, etc... More importantly, whenever the opportunity is given, the authors split the techniques into alternative "finishes" depending on whether or not the opponent reacts.

If you're looking for a well written book with plenty of details for BJJ as a reference, I cannot recommend this more. It's really great to look through and see a technique and think to yourself (or scream out loud), "That's what I should have done in that last fight/roll/etc!"

I will be buying volume 2 for sure.

This book works like a charm. I went to my first interview with a fire dept. and did horrible on my interview. I placed 42 on that hire list. A friend told me about this book so I bought it. My very next interview, with a different dept, which was only a month after the first dept. I aced the interview and I am now #2 on thier list. This is a must have book.

THIS BOOK WORKS/HELPS!!
Several of the questions on my interview were almost verbatim from this book. Having no previous fire service experience to draw from, this book gave me some insight into firehouse "psychology." I did very well on my interview and was hired on.
After reading this book cover to cover about 4 times in the month preceeding my interview, I feel it gave me an edge on the questions and what the interviewers were looking for.
I recommended this book to another candidate and he was hired also about a year later into our department.

This book will be a great asset for anyone preparing for their panel interview or B-pad video test. Is a small price to pay for a good investment.

Just on the first couple of pages and so far I have learned so much wonderful information! This book is so helpful.

Deanna's Husband Jay says....Best book I've used to help candidates get promoted or hired. So far my rate with this book is 100%. Granted we live in a small community there has been ten who have used this book and have either been hired or promoted. This is a must have if your looking for a job as a Firefighter.