Groups Books

How often do we live our lives as if we are victims...discouraged, distressed, separate from ourselves and the ones we love? Living a full life, a life of joy and fulfillment is a matter of choice. Selter and Tumey guide us on a marvelous journey where we discover that changing our mind can change our life. In an engaging conversation between two fellow travelers, their stories guide us in our own journey to reconnect with the things that truly matter in life. Ultimately, as we give of our selves, selflessly, we return to our higher calling as human beings. The message is simple, potent, empowering, engaging, and profound.

The Journey has an urgent message for us to hear. Absolutely, it gives us simple, straight-forward insight and advice on how to return to what matters in life. For me, this book lays a powerful foundation for our collective transformation to a responsible global community. Indeed, our lives depend on it.

The Journey was engaging and personal from page one. It is humane and helped to surface the humanity that can get buried during the daily struggle. It is a gentle anecdote that I can revisit anytime I start to loose touch with myself.

Self-help books are notoriously bland because they treat the reader as if he's Mr. Potato Head. All you're supposed to do is sit there on the end of the table and soak up whatever supposedly new and insightful perspective the author reveals. This is supposed to help your business and personal relationships, but does it? No, it doesn't, because you have difficulty applying the self-help book to your everyday life.

How many self-help books are available today? Thousands? How many self-help books truly inspire and challenge the reader to propel themselves into a different realm of thinking and reasoning? One. It's this book, The Journey.

The Journey took me on my own journey, into a world of self-discovery that made sense. I can actually take the functionalities within this book and apply them to my life, thereby changing my world and the world of those around me for the better. After I finished the book I felt as though I had been enlightened with an inner peace and a higher sense of wisdom.

Read this book. Experience your own journey.

I read The Journey and wrote Jed, the author, that very night. It went as follows:-------------------- With having just finished your book I'm enjoying a wonderful sense of peace, enthusiasm and beauty. It turned out to be icing on the cake and fuel for some personal growth I've been experiencing lately. For over a decade I traveled the world and spent a healthy % of my time talking with strangers..philosophizing..sharing...moving and being moved. Your story put a smile on my face as it sparked nostalgia and fertilized hungry seeds from travels past. Thank you. ----------------- The Journey is food for the soul, wisdom to light your way, and fertilizer for good vibe growth. Some of nature's most beautiful contributions are simple and sweet. Thanks again Jed and Gil.

T-

In the beginning I was without direction, usually without a guide or guidance. My path had been very directional with successes but not the achievements of passion that I truly wanted. Now, midlife and midlife crisis finds me looking to my inner self for answers. I was introduced to this book "The Journey", last year by Jed Selter. This succinct and poignant tale of two strangers on an airplane speaks in both poetry and prose of the path of life. It puts in perspective where you are and where you are going down that road. It is a storybook as well as a textbook that can be applied to everyone's life story and reaffirmation of the self. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

This has been one of the most fascinating books I have ever read. Parfitt traces the origin of the Lemba, a self-described Jewish tribe in South Africa. Although its oral tradition is vague some elements recur persistently: "Our forefathers came from Sena... They came from the North... they built Great Zimbabwe...". Tracing backwards the journey that the Lemba took over the course of many generations, Parfitt travels North from South Africa to Zimbabwe, Malawi and, ultimately all the way to Yemen. Along the way, he encounters proof of the Lemba's passage and demonstrates that their oral tradition is, indeed, correct and they originated in Yemen.

Subsequent genetic testing brought further support to Parfitt's conclusion. This is detective work at its best, without the crime.

There is not a dull line in this book - I just got it after reading the author's Ark of the Covenant. It is one of the most remarkable journeys across Africa and the Middle East written in the sort of prose that is fast disappearing. The subject matter you feel is real. the charcaters are real. It's a journey with a point. It's a real mission. And a wonderful read.

It should probably be no surprise that the two most peripatetic peoples in the ancient world, Jews and Africans, should sooner or later have encountered one another.

Tudor Parfitt, a British academic, traces the origins of a Southern African tribe known as the Lemba, whose history both recorded and unrecorded embraces a claim to Jewish ancestry and identity.

Relying on scant written data and on the Lemba's own oral traditions and reports by contemporaries, the author traces backward the journey that the Lemba took over the course of many generations. Parfitt travels North from South Africa to Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique and, ultimately to Yemen.

Along the way, he confronts evidence of the Lemba's passage and demonstrates that their oral tradition is, indeed, correct that they originated in Yemen where they embraced Judaism. Subsequent genetic testing brought further support to the Lemba's claims indicating not only a high proportion of Jewish genetic markers but specifically those markers associated with the Cohanim, the Levitical priestly caste of ancient Israel.

Starting off from Lemba villages in Vendaland, South Africa where he encounters Lemba customs such a circumcision, food taboos and a devotional life that to all appearances seem Jewish, the author retraces the quasi-legendary path of the Lemba's forbears through Southern, central and Eastern Africa and the Arabian peninsula, along the way embracing the lore and romance of King Solomon's mines and the building of the walled city of Great Zimbabwe.

This is a delightful story, delightfully told. The author's writing style is lively, mixing the styles of the travel essayist, the novelist and the scholar and gives rise to a rarely-encountered kind of work that is so compelling that once begun it simply cannot be put down.

I think that this book is very important because it preserves the legacy of the Lemba on paper, a legacy that for centuries, has relied mainly on oral traditions. The Lemba tribe, who presently reside in various parts of Southern Africa, have kept a tradition for hundreds of years that they are Jews, and Parfitt takes the journey to explore these claims.

The author, Tudor Parfitt, starts off in the northern parts of South Africa in Vendaland, where many Lemba reside today. From here he goes to the Zimbabwe ruins, then to Malawi, briefly to war-torn Mozambique, up to the east coast, and off to Yemen in search of "Sena," where the Lemba attest that they came from. In all these areas he finds interesting facts through his research about the Lemba and their history.

There is no doubt that the Lemba contributed to the building and livelihood of the Great Zimbabwe civilization that flourished in the 14th century, but the big question here is just how big was their role? With the history of the Lemba becoming more popular, I think this debate is going to resurface once again as to who built the ruins.

This book relies on earlier descriptions of the Lemba by mostly European and Arab explores. Parfitt really makes good use of these. The book also highlights the indelible influence that colonialism has had not just on the Lemba, but on all African societies. It also underscores the prevailing attitudes that many "white Africans" today have on black Africans.

The genetic evidence presented in the afterword makes for a good ending to strengthen the core theme in the book. I highly recommend Journey to The Vanished City and I think it's an excellent, scholarly work.

The author's quest for the origins of the Lemba, a Southern Africa tribe with certain Semitic customs and a folk memory of Jewish origins, took him from Johannesburg via the Limpopo province of South Africa, through Zimbabwe and Malawi to Tanzania and ultimately to the Hadramaut in South Arabia.

In Johannesburg's Soweto township he encounters his first Lemba people and researches the tribe in Wits University library. Then he takes the train to Pietersburg where he visits Lemba scholar Professor Mathiva at the University of the North and makes excursions into the surrounding areas of the Venda and Lobedu tribes where he encounters Mojaji, the famous Rain Queen. The known history of the area, including the colorful figure of Joao Albasini, spices up the narrative.

In Zimbabwe his journeys take him to Bulawayo, the Matopo Hills, Mberengwe and Dumghe Mountains, Masvingo and the ruins of Great Zimbabwe. On the way he takes part in a Lemba tribal assembly. The next stage takes him to Malawi and a short way into Mozambique where he sees the town of Sena from afar. In Tanzania he visits Dar es Salaam, Bagamoyo and Tumbatu, concluding the African leg of his journey.

His research finally leads him to Yemen where he visits Sanaa, Aden and the Hadramaut towns of Habban, Terim, and ultimately, the town of Sena on the Wadi Masila, where he discovers that the Lemba clan names are familiar to the area.

Along the way he has funny ecounters with a wide variety of interesting people. The travelogue is interspersed with relevant quotes from an impressive array of explorers, missionaries, scholars and ethnographers, including Joao de Barros, Livingstone, Junod, Mauch, Schlomann, Schapera, Van Warmelo, Jacques, Von Sicard and Roger Summers. Their observations - including the legend of Monomotapa - are engagingly woven into his always arresting travelogue.

The Afterword contains the results of genetic research conducted in 1996/97 that shows a significant similarity in DNA between Jewish groups, the Lemba and the Hadrami of Terim and Sena. For more detailed and up-to-date information, please consult DNA and Tradition by Rabbi Yaakov Kleiman. The Buba clan of the Lemba has a high frequency of the Y-Chromosome type called the "Cohen Modal Haplotype" which is known to be characteristic of the paternally inherited Jewish priesthood.

For a very thorough ethnographic study of the Lemba, I recommend The Lemba: A Lost Tribe of Israel in Southern Africa by Magdel le Roux. It is a selective comparison between the social and religious practices of early Israel and the Lemba of today.

Journey To The Vanished City contains plates with black & white photographs, maps of Africa and Yemen, 18 pages of notes arranged by chapter and an index. The book is a most engaging read on account of the author's humour, wit and flowing narrative style. There is not one boring moment in this fascinating account of a journey in search of lost origins.

The first time I read this book was when I was a child in 2nd or 3rd grade. I fell in love with the descriptive details found within the text. Stephen Cosgrove painted an amazing picture in my mind with his colorful language. I found this book again when I started teaching. It was at the bottom of a box within the classroom in which I was teaching. I read it again and was so impressed at how timeless this story is for all children. It's about accepting differences and believing in yourself. It's kind of like-"You're good enough, you're smart enough and gosh darn it people like you." My students fell in love with this story and its sequels. This would be a great book for teachers and parents to have on hand to read aloud to children. What a wonderful way to deal with compassion of others and teaching acceptance. This is a great story with a timeless moral.

bought several of the serendipity books, the illustrations and story
lines are wonderful for children...hope to obtain more

My children enjoyed this and the other Stephen Cosgrove books when they were young; now we've been able to read them to our grandchildren. The stories are straightforward, teaching lessons about self-confidence and sharing, and good to read to toddlers, or for early readers on their own.

This book is the first of three others. This book is magic. I have used this book with all ages (adults to the non-reading child). I have given many copies away. There are beautiful illustrations. Both the author and the artist are very talented. This has a story that we each could remember when confronted with difference (our own or others). This book is one of my favorites of all time.

The first book I ever learned to read! I am now teaching a few reading classes, and in my attempts to tap into whatever it is that motivates us to read, I immediately thought of this book. Partially I loved it because it represented an achievement, but I loved that Leo's differences ended up making him so special in the end. I am sure that we can all appreciate his struggles to "fit in", such as hanging upside-down from a tree to make his ears go straight. My mom still says, "Normal is whatever you are," whenever I have needed some affirmation, or when I have become critical of others. The use of animals to portray the moral makes the story universal and entertaining. I guess it's geared for readers 4-8, but I recommend it for anyone.

I bought Light Force because I enjoyed another book about Brother Andrew called God's Smuggler. Light Force chronicles the middle east climate through the eyes of Brother Andrew, Palestinian Christians and Israeli Christians, and Muslims, from not long after Israel became a nation through 2004.

This book opens my eyes to the suffering of others based upon race and religion in a captivating way and offers readers an interesting story as well as a fresh perspective on the mideast crises.

I couldn't put the book down.

If you have not read any of Brother Andrew's books, start here then proceed w/ the rest. Very insightful. He exhibits a view of the Middle East through Christian eyes that everyone should read. It does not matter if you're Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Christian, Black, White, Red, Purple; reading this will change your heart. Brother Andrew grasps hold of the human soul and exposes what GOD's Children are experiencing in one of the most chaotic places on EARTH!

Light Force is a real eye-opener, presenting the plight of Christians caught in the crosshairs of the Middle East battle. Christians are right to support Israel--obeying God's command to "bless them." At the same time, we should not ignore our brothers and sisters in Palestine who are often lumped in with the worst of the terrorists and jihadists.

Kudos to Brother Andrew for having the courage to share Christ with Hamas leaders and other dangerous men. He's right when he says that this is the only way to change the world.

Fortunately, for Christians, we have hope. Jesus is our only hope for peace and stability in this world.

I would encourage American believers to read Light Force, if only to help them realize that not all Palestinians are terrorists. In fact, most aren't. Most just want to live their lives as we do.

God bless Brother Andrew for his life and work.

In our newspapers, we tend to read a great deal about the Jewish people and the Muslim people--but what about the 15 million Christians who are caught in the crossfire of the Middle East? It's a story the media doesn't often explain. Brother Andrew with the excellent writing of Al Janssen tells a riveting story of the Middle Eastern Church. The faces become more than names but memorable people whose stories will burn into your hearts and minds.

I was very moved to read this paragraph in the book, "The Church was the only hope for the Middle East, not because she had a better program or more political insight. She didn't. What she had was a way to bring people from both sides together based on the work of one Man whose birth two thousand years ago would be celebrated in a few days. His light still shone through believers here in the Holy Land. Many didn't understand the light. Many covered their eyes and refused to acknowledge the light. Others attacked the light and tried to put it out. But surely there are those who realized the bankruptcy of a peace process that had brought no peace for fifty years. For those who were willing, they could see the answer--Palestinians and Jews meeting at the foot of the cross." (p. 313)

I highly recommend Light Force. It is excellent.

In a recent conference, Brother Andrew said that terrorists are not born but made. He adds that they become terrorists because no one cares for their souls. Light Force is a book that prompts its readers to be concerned about the souls of terrorists. It also wants its readers to be involved in the struggles of their brothers and sisters in the Lebanese and Palestinian churches.

Light Force is a fair book that is not marked by any mindless emotionalism. Instead, it reflects a strong commitment to Christ, to supporting God's people in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, to loving both Arabs and Jews, and to evangelizing Muslims.

In four parts, the book introduces a world marked by horror, violence, and death. We see this world through the eyes of Brother Andrew who travels throughout Lebanon and the Palestinian territories seeking to encourage the churches in these dangerous areas. As he travels, he meets courageous evangelical men and women who love God wholeheartedly and serve Him in the midst of very depressing circumstances. This could be the unique contribution of this book for it unpacks before its readers the stories and struggles of many faithful Lebanese and Palestinian evangelicals who are committed to following Jesus Christ. Through their lives and struggles, the reader considers the dwindling numbers of Christians in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, and the escalating influence of Muslim fundamentalists.

Most of the book deals with the Palestinian Evangelical church and its context. It focuses on the contributions of Bethlehem Bible College, the Palestinian Bible Society, the Jerusalem Alliance Church, Musalaha, and the Baptist Church in Gaza. Brother Andrew meets with the leaders of these ministries. He encourages them and inspires them to be faithful in the midst of trouble. He also listens to their needs and through "Open Doors" partners with them in prayer and financially.

Last, the book presents a unique Christian perspective concerning Muslim fundamentalists. On the one hand, they are not mindless, nameless, or faceless terrorists. Instead, they are hospitable friends and hurting people. On the other hand, the authors emphasize that they don't condone any terrorist actions. Their words and actions lift up Christ without demonizing or dehumanizing Muslim fundamentalists. They see that doing the former properly demands a deep and sincere love for all Muslims. Such love seeks to visit these Muslims, hear their anguish, and respectfully present the living Christ to them.

By the time, the reader finishes this book, he or she will be informed, inspired, and prompted to be involved in remembering their brothers and sisters in the Middle East, in reflecting on their eschatological/theological positions in light of the Middle Eastern church, and in responding with love to Muslims, Jews, and Christians in the Middle East.

Yohanna Katanacho
PhD Candidate @Trinity International University

From beginner to expert this book contains all of the answers to your lingo needs. It is packed with examples and thorough descriptions.

I can't find an updated version of it - if anyone knows of one please let me know!...

This book has got to be the best computer related book I ever bought. I wish there were reference books in this format for every other programming subject like Perl and JavaScript. It's the only book you will ever need for Director's lingo.

The thing I like most is having the Lingo grouped by subject, it makes things so easy to look up.

Darrel, please make a reference like this for Perl!!!!

If you are already familiar with the Director interface, and want to do things in Lingo that most people only wish they could do, pick this book up right now! This is the only book I use on a daily basis for quick information. Darrel Plant not only gives a clear explanation on every command but also gives you examples that you can understand and use in everyday applications. I also greatly appreciated the way that the book content is organized. Rather than list the commands in alphabetical order, they are grouped according to the type of element or function that they control. It's nice to put something together that the user/client likes, but use this book and they will be saying, "Awsome! Love it! Wow, how did you do that?" ------ Thanks Darrel

...your life will be easier if this book is within reach. I even take it with when I have to go on-site to a client. Very useful having the Lingo grouped by subject. Also very useful icons by each Lingo word showing if it can be used in Shockwave and which versions of Director it can be used in. A must-have for a Lingo programmer.

(excuse my english, I'm Swiss) Before purchasing this book or even knowing about it, I had some heavy problems in finding the right way (or a shorter one) to solve several problems in programming Multimedia-applications. I ordered this book and everything changed! It's descriptions are so easy (even when you aren't originally english-speaking!), because you just can read the text and know what the command, keyword, property a.s.o. is all about. You have even more than one solution showed in examples. There is only one bad thing: if you use this book very often, the cover of the book looks old soon; it could be a little stronger. My suggestion: if you suffer a headache from studying and controlling your non-functioning scripts, you better get this book as soon as possible and keep it handy! You will gain a hell of a time!

Have fun

Best regards

Patric Simon

im a great fan just want to express my thoughts the web site contains to many commercial thoughts i dig all the cds you have releasded the one that striked home is yes i am #5 that is the greastest tune ever released melissa is cool just a human like me

Melissa has always been a favorite artist of mine since my girlfriend and I found a tape of hers on the dollar rack in a Walgreens in CA. We discovered that she had more than one tape, and we immediately went to find the others. Everything us nosy fans wants to know is in this book. That and more! I would most definitly encourage and Melissa fan to read this book and to buy a copy to add to your personal library. It is a must have info book!!!

This is the most informative and entertaining book about Melissa Etheridge. The book is well written, well organized and has some detailed information on how each CD was made and what the stories were behind them. It's the only book about Melissa Etheridge you will ever need.

The book, to me, was very good. It was very vivid in the telling of Melissa's life. It wasn't like reading an exam paper like the first book I read about her. All in all, the book was excellent.

This was the book both Lifetime's "Intimate Portrait" and VH-1's "Behind the Music" used as a reference for their specials on Melissa. Can't get much more definitive than that!!!

T. W. Hunt has done a good job of combining personal experiences with Biblical references to convey the process of attaining the mind of Christ.

I titled this review Expose because I think this is just what this book does. It exposes your inner nature. This is not for the NEW Christian. It would be a bit overwhelming.

As I went through the workbook I began to learn my pattern and ways of thinking. The book urges us or suggests ways that we can began to be more Christ-minded and it breaks down through scriptures Jesus Christ's ways of thinking. The author even gave some examples of his personal life experiences. There are activites in there that you can do to help you see your thought patterns. I think it made me more aware of how I really am. It's a growing tool for a Christian's walk, I would say, which is a lifetime process. Definitely a keeper that you can hold onto and refer to from time to time to re-evaluate where you stand and sort of check yourself.

I highly recommend if you are tired of drinking milk and are ready for solid food! Even for the seasoned saints out there, it really makes you check yourself if you allow yourself to be transformed and renewed.

This is a book that you need to take time/days/weeks/months to study, hand-in-hand with the bible. The Holy Spirit will convict you on what ever sins or weeds that need to be pulled from your garden.(mind) The lists that are recommended by Hunt, are an awesome tool to really get at those sinful thoughts and wants. Pray for courage to be fully honest with your thoughts and allow the Holy Spirit to do the awesome transformation of your mind and heart- to be closer to the our Savior.

This book is at the top of my "highly recommended" reading list. But, you don't just read this book - you get lost in it. The truths that are written within this book make you stop and pause in wonder. There is much to meditate and reflect on as you take in the words. A must read!

Like other reviewers, my copy of The Mind of Christ has been highlighted so many times, the pages look like they are in technicolor. Which is appropriate for how enlightening I found this book. T. W. Hunt uses examples from the lives of real people (including himself) to illustrate the life-changing principles taught, and lived, by Jesus. It helped me unlock not just the power of prayer, but the power of actually living the life of an empowered Christian. As a man thinketh in his heart, so also shall he live. I was particularly moved by Pastor Hunt's vivid description of the betrayal, trial, death and resurrection of Christ. Throughout his book, Pastor Hunt shows that our life won't always be fun and games, that real troubles come to one and all, but that having the Mind of Christ can help us successfully come through the rough (and good) times. Thank you for a helpful, inspirational book! Blessings to you!

What an amazing and touching story! Even though I am not Jewish, I cannot help but love Patricia Polacco's stories of the Jewish faith and culture. What is most striking about this book is the comparison and contrast to African-American culture. Of course, first and foremost this is a story about friendship between a lonely old woman, a little boy, and a tailless cat. It's absolutely delightful.

What a sweet story of connection. My 4 yo liked it a lot, and i was moved to tears. Lots to the story.

What a beautiful story to show children that, despite our differences, i.e. age, race, family background, we still have some many important things in common. Characters have wit, charm and integrity. Story is very moving and good for all ages.

This is one of the best children's books I have ever read. In fact, it is one of the most beautiful (in language and illustrations) books I have read--period. Patricia Polacco is a master at bringing diverse, meaningful relationships to life. Every sensitive, mature parent should buy this book for his/her child!

This is the story of a loving friendship between an elderly Jewish lady from Poland named Mrs. Katz, and an African-American child named Larnel. Mrs. Katz lives alone in her apartment and doesn't have anyone to visit her. (It's not stated in the book, but, since this appears to be a predominantly African-American inner city neighborhood, one wonders if she was left behind by the Jewish community when the more affluent members moved to the suburbs? In real life it has happened...) Larnel's mother stops by to visit her every other day or so, and brings Larnel with her.

One day, Larnel gets the idea to give Mrs. Katz a kitten from the litter that was born in the basement of his apartment building. (Get the pun -- Katz/cats? Actually, the name "Katz" has nothing to do with "cats," but it's cute anyway.) Mrs. Katz names the kitten Tush, which is Yiddish for "bottom," because it has no tail. Larnel agrees to help her care for Tush, and from this sharing, a lifelong friendship grows.

The story is well-written, the characters are well-developed and "real." The illustrations are vibrant, beautifully done, and ethnically accurate. Well, almost. There are a couple Jewish bloopers. For one thing, the menorah sitting by Mrs. Katz's window only has seven branches. A Hanukkah menorah has nine -- eight for the eight days plus an extra for the "servant" candle. The seven-branched menorah mentioned in the Bible was specifically for the Jerusalem Temple, and is not usually found in the home. Since Hanukkah was mentioned in the story, I have to assume that this was supposed to be a Hanukkah menorah.

The second blooper is the scene in the bakery. Mrs. Katz is shopping for PASSOVER -- a time when no leaven is to be found anywhere in a Jewish home. It is not just a matter of eating matzoh. The entire house is cleaned of anything even resembling leaven, and even owning leavened products is forbidden. That being the case, why is she shopping for her Passover feast in a bakery, of all places? She is clearly pointing at a cake or some rolls, and these would NOT be served on Passover! So nu, maybe she's a Reform Jew and not so strict? But in that case, why is that very Hasidic-looking gentleman in the corner shopping there? Surely HE would not serve bread for Passover! (...)

These are relatively minor quibbles, given the overall good quality of the book. But when it comes to children's books, I insist on total accuracy with regard to Judaism, because these are the images that will stick in the mind for years to come. Granted, this is not a "Jewish" book per se, it's a multicultural book -- which is all the more reason to pay more attention to the Jewish details, lest the reader(s) be misled. For the bloopers I'm docking it a star, but it's still a great story and I highly recommend it to both Jews and gentiles.

Adorable. Anybody who is a cat lover, thinking about getting a cat or has kids interested in cats should get this book. Both the prose and photos are of excellent quality. It's just as entertaining a read for adults as it is for kids. I have an adult nearly-ferile cat and two little Siamese kittens who enjoyed it too. Nicely done!

Adorable story that is both fun and educational. A great book to read with your early reader, a fun book for young readers, and a must for the non pet owner thinking about aquiring a cat for the first time. Packed full of kitty adventures and informative facts. You and your children will love it.

What goes through the mind of one's pet? "My Secret Life as Peanut" is a tale about a day in the life of the cat Sassy, who calls herself peanut. Told from a distinctly feline perspective, "My Secret Life as Peanut" a refreshing and humorous book that cat lovers will simply adore. Enhanced with cute photos of Sassy and intriguing facts on cats, "My Secret Life as Peanut" is recommended for community library collections.

This book is a fun and easy read, imaginative and informative. It includes facts I never knew about cats and answered questions I always wondered about. Cats are very interesting creatures! I enjoyed sharing the book with all of my "grands."

My kids couldn't wait to hear more about Peanut's life. Very enjoyable for kids and adults.

Carol Drinkwater provides so much information and knowledge about her Olive Farm. Delightful Memoirs of her life. Excellent.

All of Carol Drinkwater's books are very well written and hard to put down. If you like the subject matter of olives, this is a particular treat. Beyond the work and detail involved in maintaining olive trees, the hard work of the harvest, the anticipation of having them pressed and rewarded with fine oil as a result..Carol's books are to me, a realization of a dream. She and Michel took the risk of buying a poorly maintained property and poured their hearts and soul into it.

The Olive Season, the sequel to Carol Drinkwater's The Olive Farm, transcends the travel memoir genre to create a searing personal narrative.

In The Olive Season, Drinkwater has wed her fiance, Michel, in the South Pacific, and has returned to their farm in southern France to bring in another olive harvest. The harvest season proves difficult, however, and the care of the olive farm becomes a challenging undertaking for the newly pregnant Drinkwater, whose situation is complicated by her husband's absence, her own professional obligations, and intrusions from her past.

The events of The Olive Season force Drinkwater to revisit her past, transcend her present and muster her courage to shape her future. Suffused with the idyllic scents and scenery of southern France, The Olive Season is both a superb piece of travel writing and a wrenching examination of life, its tragedies and its triumphs.

A five-star read that will not disappoint.

THE OLIVE SEASON and THE OLIVE FARM are excellent as is THE OLIVE HARVEST. When I recently saw A CELEBRATION OF OLIVES, I thought C. Drinkwater published a new book and ordered it. I received it today and was disappointed to find it's a double volume of THE OLIVE SEASON and THE OLIVE FARM combined, both of which I have. According to Amazon.com readers who buy A CELEBRATION OF OLIVES also buy her other books. I feel like I was duped and cannot return the book.

In the Olive Season, Carol Drinkwater continuous Michel and her dream-come-true olive farm experience in the south of France. Other reviewers of her first book, as well as this reviewer, hoped for a sequel and Carol did not disappoint them. Although the book can be read and enjoyed without reading The Olive Farm, this reviewer strongly recommends that readers first read the Farm, as it provides the necessary backdrop and introduction to characters that enhances the enjoyment of the Season.

In the Season, Carol shares a lot more on personal level than in the Farm. Although I have enjoyed the first book specifically because it largely revolved around their farming experience and dealt less with them at intimate level, I can accept the change in focus because it is quite understandable when one reads about their tragic loss halfway through the book. The closing paragraph of the book confirms this conclusion. Do yourself a favour and do not read the last page of the book before you "legitimately" can after you have read the rest of it - apparently some people actually do that! It will not necessarily spoil your reading experience, but the story unfolds very well and pulls the reader closer to the author as it develops. Similar to the first book, the Season is well written and/or edited.

I again enjoyed Carol's description of the French rural characters she and Michel meet during their farming adventure. Although I appreciate her sharing of her research into various aspects of farming and nature, I find that those specific paragraphs tend to clash with the writing style of the rest of the book. Although short, they are almost reference book fact-like descriptions. However, they are far and in between and do not really distract from the overall reading experience. Their exploits into the French countryside and visits to interesting little shops and eating places do a lot to make the reader want to get onto a plane and explore those hide-away places!

If you have enjoyed The Olive Farm, you will also enjoy The Olive Season, although it is somewhat more "heavy" because of the dramatic events referred to earlier. Would I buy the next episode if Carol writes it? Yes, probably, even if only to find out whether they have managed to find a beekeeper! She clearly wrote, or at least completed, this one, inter alia for her own personal healing, but her writing style is such that I would support sequels in the Olive-saga much more positively than I would support Hollywood follow-on's!