California Books

I loved the book. It was exciting and educational. The author has a great imagination and knows how to keep the reader involved. Excellent reading material. I liked the plot.

This is a great book, I liked the short chapters, it was very insightful and quite a new idea in cyber trouble. I will be recommending this book to all my friends; it was hard to put down.

I enjoyed Dale Tibbils tale dealing with current technology concerns of us all. His description of application of computers in our daily lives and how it can be used against us is a message that Governor Ridge should keep foremost in mind as he structures the Department of Homeland Security.

I loved reading this thriller novel and could not put it down. Tibbils takes you behind the scenes to explore how terrorists can infiltrate our computers. Hopefully this fictional novel will not come to pass in light of recent events in NYC.

I love mystery/thrillers, and Cyber Invasion did not disappoint. The book moved along at a fast clip with unexpected twists and surprises along the way. Tibbil's intricate and detailed descriptions of computer viruses and weaponry made his novel very plausible. Cyber Invasion holds you captive until the very end, leaving you to ponder how vulnerable we really are. I am looking forward to reading Tibbil's next book.

I read this book after visiting Arcata this summer. While there, I went on a BLM ranger-guided hike into the Headwaters, the "lush, mysterious, ancient, holy" (p. 82) subject of Dunning's book. I wanted to see for myself what all of the protesting was about. Enjoy this book, then experience the Headwaters' redwoods.

Dunning's book is about many things. Trees. Community. Redwood politics. Bearing witness. The destruction of "one of the most magnificent ecosystems on Earth" (p. 3). Saying "enough!" Non-violent civil disobedience. Protecting America the beautiful. It is also about Dunning's personal journey, or "metamorphosis" as she calls it (p. 239), from naturalist to activist. "What is an 'environmentalist'," she reflects, "but simply a citizen who has shed denial, who has opened his or her eyes and said, 'it does matter nature does not have an infinite capacity to heal herself, himself, itself . . . I am responsible'" (p.228).

Dunning's book reads like an insightful journal, in which she sets out to tell it like it is. "This book is not about happiness," she warns her reader on the first page. Rather, it is about "yielding to conscience. It is about a forest, and it is about us" (p. 1). She reveals that the destruction of old-growth forests like the Headwaters isn't someone else's problem, but our own. Dunning reports that in 500 years, we have destroyed more than ninety percent of our country's ancient forests, leaving only 3.5 percent to protect (p. 263). By saving the redwoods, we save ourselves. Dunning writes, "I want nothing more than to dissolve the polarity that plagues this county and this country, to bring us all back to center--the owls and the pussycats, the loggers and the environmentalists, the business community, everyone--to put us all in the same life raft, which is our Earth" (p. 61).

Dunning also reports that redwood civil disobedience is nothing new. We learn, for instance, on November 19, 1929, Laura Perrott Mahan (1867-1937) lay down in the area now known as Founder's Grove in California's Avenue of the Giants to halt redwood logging. Dunning also writes, and her collaborator, Doug Thron's photographs show that clear-cutting "is an act of violence that affects trees, rivers, air, water, earth, and every person, owl, toad, or human who lives there" (p. 88). "Our whole earth is suffering from the cumulative effects of a million minute daily actions" (p. 240).

Although much of Dunning's book is downright depressing, her real message is this: "Find a corner of the world and fix it" (p. 240). Turn your driveway into a garden. "For each of us," Dunning says, "regardless of where we live, there is a valley, a mountain range, a beach, a whale, a peregrine, a gnatcatcher, that if we merely give our time as a witness to the loss, will gradually unite the being of its existence with our own, will ground us by putting us in touch with what is wild and speechless, will empower us when we speak out in defense of the powerless" (pp. 14-15). (Those interested in how each of us can make a difference might also enjoy Thomas Berry's, THE GREAT WORK (2000), which I also recommend as one of my favorite books.)

In addition to Thron's amazing color photographs (note the cover photo), Dunning's book is also illustrated with her own drawings of redwoods (p. 17), salamanders (pp. 25, 174, 179, 260), a banana slug (p. 41), flying squirrels (p. 56), frogs (pp. 67, 187) and an owl (p. 103), among other subjects.

In our world of "Cars. Cars. Cars." (p. 124), Dunning's book triumphs in showing the value of silent, "dark, dripping, ancient" (p. 37) redwood forests, that tell us to "Be still." For its insights, photographs, and drawings, this book about the wonders of tall trees should not be missed.

G. Merritt

I learned so much by reading this book. Joan Dunning has a way of tackling difficult, cumbersome and emotionally charged subject matter and making it easily digestible. It's a compelling read and the photography by Doug Thron is extraordinary.

No book has ever moved me the way this one has, I have tears in my eyes as I write this. I've just read many of the other reviews, and I don't have the way with words that some do, but they tell it like it is. Joan tells it like it is. Books don't get any better, and this one will change your life, like someone said it isn't all about happiness, and I have become informed and aware of too much to not so something about what is being done to our Redwood Forests, and what is being allowed to be done to our envirnment and watersheds. It's a true story, happening right now, this book documents it succinctly with amazing one of a kind pictures. It will open your eyes. Something needs to be done about Charles Hurwitz from Houston, Texas and his company MAXXAM. He is savaging The last of the Virgin Redwood Rainforest in California. I cannot beleive the CDF and the department of Forestry are "letting him get away with it." Not to mention the way he "aquired" the land, which is explained in the book. Please read this book. This book will light a fire in you, and like me you will have to do something. There are several websites listed in the back to point you in the right direction. I beleive this book is THE BEST one on the subject and if you plan on reading only one this should definitely be it. It has the most facts, information, and insight and is so well written, I couldn't say enough. And 57 pages of priceless color pictures! I am buying used copies for people, I would give one to EVERYONE if I could, and I have only said that about 2 books, and I read alot. The book is priceless. Thank You Joan

I had the opportunity to listen to Joan read from this book. It touched my soul, and I have started to give it to some of my friends to read.

This book explains in simple terms the descruction that P.L unloads on our earth. We are all suffering from the greed of hurwitz. When they "take" a tree alongside a stream, the sun hits the water. Then the water becomes silted, and the water heats up. Then the salmon do not come anymore. Then the eagles have nothing to eat, so they leave. With no trees, no air is cleansed, and with bad air we die. Somone else needs to leave.

This book is amazing!! I bought it about two weeks before my parents bought me a bearded dragon. It told me everything i need to know. It tells you everything about making terrariums and what to feed them. It also has sections on breeding and general information on the different species. This is a must buy if you are planning to raise a bearded dragon.

I bought this book when my parents bought me a baby bearded dragon. this has everything you need to know about raising dragons. it tells you all the feeding instructions and it also has an extensive list of diseases and ailments and there respective symptoms. it tells you all about how to create a good terrarium. it also has information on breeding and overall care of the dragons. this is an amazing book and i would recommend it to anyone that is looking to buy a bearded dragon.

what do you expect...this book was written by a man who breeds bearded dragons and it is a book about bearded dragons. It is a wonderful book and tells you everything you need to know about keeping a bearded dragon whether you are breeding them or not. I personally own a 1 year old dragon, and this has been like the bible to me. Whenever something is wrong i consult this book and it will always have the answer you need. All the other books are written by herpotologists who have never actually owned, bred, or loved a bearded dragon. This book is amazingly helpful and comes from a person who knows what he is doing. I would recommend it to anyone who is planning on owning and loving a bearded dragon.

This is a very through book on the care and maintenance of Bearded Dragons. It is excellent for the beginer lizard keeper. I highly recommend this book if you want to take good care of your Bearded Dragon(s).It contains information on their diet, vivarium design, and other very useful information. It is one of the most reliable reptile books I have read.

I don't like this book at all, the authors only writes about keeping the bearded dragons in big outdoor vivariums, and not about having just 1-3 bearded dragons as pets.

Very little information about feeding, housing and everything you really want to know. The authors also doesn't seem to think about the bearded dragons as pets, to cuddle with and have fun with, but only as something you can breed.

I almonst never read or look in this book, and I regret that I bought it.

I rekommend Liz Palikas book "Your Bearded Dragon's Life" and the book "The guide to a owning a BD" by David Zoffer and Tom Mazorlig instead!

A superb look a the Greene Brother's masterpiece ultimate bungalows. It includes some of the best Greene and Greene photography I've ever seen, and has a very good look at the details of the architecture, and the internals of the Greene and Greene houses. This book focuses more on the houses themselves, and the fixed appointments therein, rather than the furniture itself. Influences on the Greenes are coupled with a well laid out timeline give you a real view into the evolution of their style.

Excellent! The best book on this subject I've ever seen...

Superb photoraphic illustration depicts the design genius of the Greene brothers. A comprehensive study of leading architects of the Arts & Crafts movement...a high compliment to the monumental craftsmanship of those who executed their designs.

The book is beautiful, filled with both architectural ideas and furnishing ideas for items done in the craftsman style. I purchased the book for these ideas and was delighted with all the pictures. Some of the stonework illustrated is breathtaking in its beauty.

We were very disappointed at the quality of printing, inferior paper stock, and lack of clarity in the photographs. At the "coffee table" price we were expecting much higher resolution in the color photographs and better quality paper.

Earth shaking. Booty shaking. Think Archie for the Manga Generation and then some - that represents just one facet of this mindbending series. I picked this up on a whim but never expected how it would unfold. GTO # 1 is unassuming for the most part and as a series, truly twists and turns and reaches higher and higher - while maintaining its characters. Tohru Fujisawa is a master storyteller, who isn't afraid to use self referential, toilet humor, schoolgirl cliches, panty jokes, you name it - but keeps it relevant. Each volume is a cliffhanger which is what Manga is all about...Tohru, I salute you.

I've already watched the complete Anime TV series. I loved it so much that I did not expect that the Mange could have bin any better however the manga is much better then the TV series. It's about a punk biker who decides to become a teacher. There's comedy, action, love, brief nudity, mindless violence and everyone likes mindless violence... Just buy the damn thing.

This is the best manga ever written. The premice may sound questionable to you manga lovers out there,I know it does not have any magic but you will survive. Trust me buy it. Even if you have never read a manga before it may change your life. With its amazingly funny toilet humor and awsome well rounded characters. So just buy it, its a very quick read and very funny.

Tokyo Pop are know for quality, but GTO just blows every thing else away. The story is good, the art work is top class and it makes you laugh, but remains semi-believable. Tohru Fujisawa deserves so much respeck for both this and the rest of the GTO series. I would recommend this to everyone,I picked Vol. 1 up on a hunch and soon became a huge fan. If you like any manga and haven't read this you really have to. You will be left at the point you have to get (The 4-star rated by me and that's the worst!) Vol. 2. Get it now!

Great Teacher Onizuka, or GTO, for short, is one of the most popular mangas going, with over 37 million copies sold worldwide. I wouldn't really expect that, seeing as how it focuses on the life of a teacher. If you can imagine a cross between Marlon Brando as the Wild One and the beatnik attitude of Jack Kerouac along with the cool hipness of Japanese youth as a teacher. While being brillantly subversive, GTO succeeds as both entertainment and satire of the teaching establishment, much as Chaucer lampooned the Church in his Canterbury Tales.

Eikichi Onizuka is the 22 year old ex-leader of a biker gang who has found out that he's not going to be able to goof off his whole life. He has to find a job. Having a fetish for young girls in uniform, he decides to become a teacher. He finds out that his impulsive decision is going to take a lot more courage than he thought. This first volume is basically his origin story as he is disappointed by his dreams of becoming something great and having to reevaluate his life as he begins his teacher training. It also begins a pattern that will continue in the following books, namely that he has to use his wits to escape the plots of hateful students and a vice-principal who would like nothing more than to fire him.

This book was great. What can I say? If you are a teacher, you'll really get a kick out of seeing a cartoon character fulfill your wishes. Who doesn't want to karate kick their bonehead students sometimes? While Onizuka's attraction to high school girls seems lurid, we find out that he becomes overwhelmed with trying to help his students rather than wanting to seduce them in the end. I think it's just a Japanese thing to be attracted to girls in school uniforms. I think anyone with a sense of humor and semi-lewdness would find these manga entertaining and funny. I would especially recommend it to teachers.

What a candid book. I read it in one night. I volunteer in Los Angeles County Juvenile Hall. I read this aloud to the wards, 15-16 year old boys. That was last year, some are asking me when am I going to read it again. Some books about incaceration glorify the situation, but Mr. Abbott's account of an innocent childhood to a downhill spiral of abuse and survival really strikes a cord with the reader.

this is a great read. though much of it is tought to read through, the material is important and needs to be circulated!

The author of this book states that he wrote it while in solitary confinement. It's a trip into his childhood, where he came of age in California's Juvenile system. It takes place throughout his childhood years, beginning with an early stay at age 6 (along with a rape by a counselor). The rest is his teenage years spent trying to survive the brutal system of rape, violence, and sadistic counselors (also known as prison guards).

It's very chilling. I couldn't peel myself away from this book, even though it has graphic descriptions of rapes and brutal fights between gangs of boys not even old enough to shave. The fact that the author even survived that system, which incidentally took place in the 1960s, impresses me. When I was a teenager, a few friends of mine ended up in a juvenile drug rehab center at Horsham, PA, and afterwards they were extremely shaken up. It turned out later they had been raped. Not much has changed in the last 40 years.

Abbott and his companion quickly rise to the top of the ruling prison gang, which he uses to attempt several escapes. Each time, he nearly makes it. It's amazing that he goes for his parents, who are totally excluded from being able to help their boy. He forms a love relationship with his companion which he must hide in order to survive. The counselors maintain the order by daily beatdowns and shake-ups, and when it comes down to it, the boys are treated exactly like adults. The prison system makes people have to fight for their survival almost daily, or be pushed to a fate of worse than death.

It makes the reader wonder why anyone thinks that prisons can reform any person. Trapping someone in a room and punishing them for years with the most sadistic people doesn't seem like a good way to reform anyone. In the end, prison, for adults or kids, really just sweeps the problem of emotional disturbance underneath the carpet. Nowadays, a few million reside in United States prisons, the largest such population in the world (even more than China, which has 5 times the population). We're at a time when the ruling classes think it's better to completely separate millions into boxes than to even give a carrot to oppressed communities.

Dwight Abbott remains in jail today, and he says he wouldn't be there unless the Juvenile Youth Authority had twisted him as a human being to the point where the only place he could exist was in a prison. They destroyed him as a teenager at a critical point in any human being's development. Why? If you want a window into how a person can be destroyed, read this book. At the same time, if you want to see how a person can keep some amount of love and hope for a better day (away from the prison), read this book as well.

This plain autobiography is written with such directness that it is difficult to doubt the veracity of even the smallest incident. More important, it is difficult to doubt that these incidents (or similar ones) are fairly common place, not just the events of some freakish horror story.

The story is told with great specific purpose, to expose institutions so completely rotten, but one is aware that much is not being told. The author concentrates on what must be said to bear witness to what is wrong institutionally, and does not allow himself long divergences into his own feelings and ideas. The title is a bit ironic; it's about tears shed long ago, and mere personal understanding can no longer change much.

The book speaks clearly to the need for, at very least, massive alterations in the juvenile (and adult) justice system in this country, above and beyond any very small reforms made since this story occurred. Ultimately, one must question our reliance on "professionals" to do our thinking and social organizing for us. Every terrible action detailed in this book, each so obviously misguided and clearly bound to have exactly the opposite effect of it's supposed intention, is a reminder of how we as a people have turned our freedom and control over to institutions that serve only the dictates of cynical and uncaring power, and which operate directly against the interests of individuals and society in general.

Whatever tiny changes have been made in California's juvenile system must be looked at against the fact that America has few (or perhaps no) growing industries other than it's prison system, which cannibalizes the society it purports to serve, and is already a bloated hulk, claiming more far people per capita than that of any other country, two, four, or 10 times as many as any other major nation today.

I cried, You Didn't Listen was absolutely breath taking. The whole time I wanted to stop reading the horrors, but didnt stop looking at the text the entire way through the book. It placed a new perspective on a lot of things for me and I thank Abbott for such. This is a must read for anybody looking for some perspective on juvenile punishment within the Califonia Youth Authority. It is a tough one though if you have a passion for living beings, especially children.

First advice--don't try this (or any other type of diet therapy) without consulting the correct professionals--in this case, a neurologist and a registered dietitian. Having said that, my daughter began having severe seizures just before her third birthday. Medications helped marginally. We then started her on the Modified Atkins Diet, a spin-off of the Ketogenic Diet pioneered at Johns Hopkins by the authors of this book. This updated edition contains info about the Modified Atkins Diet. Long story short, my daughter has been seizure free for nearly a year and a half and we are weaning her off her medicine. THIS HAS CHANGED EVERYTHING--for someone with epilepsy, this book is of critical importance as a serious alternative to anti-convulsive medications.

This book contains up to date information in relation to the ketogenic diet and other seizure control options that is also easy to read and understand by non professional people.

I'm interested in unusual therapies, and know someone who has a child with multiple disabilities including a seizure disorder. I found a videotape about this diet at a rummage sale a few years ago, and while it makes the diet sound relatively simple, this book says otherwise and goes into detail about people who are good candidates for the diet and those who are not. Many testimonials and case studies are presented as well.

The woman I know was given this option and said, "We don't want to starve our child." After reading this book, I can see where she was coming from. The restricted calories don't concern me as much as the fluid restriction, which could potentially be very dangerous and the book addresses this problem as well.

For the proper person, this diet could potentially be a lifesaver and it's worth trying if all factors are appropriate.

I bought this book for my daughter who has a child with epilepsy. It was very imformative and helpful. Reading the case histories and the mistakes that were inadvertently made, diet-wise, helped us lookout for the same pitfalls. I would highly recommend this book.

If you have or know a child with epilepsy, THE KETOGENIC DIET: A TREATMENT FOR CHILDREN AND OTHERS WITH EPILEPSY is a 'must' for your consideration: it offers a solution beyond medication which provides a doctor-supervised diet high in fat and low in carbs and proteins, which limits calories - and is proven to control seizures. There've been many advances in the field, so this updated 4th edition is essential even for library holdings with prior editions. Besides the latest research, this book includes a new section on the Atkins diet and other alternative nutritional therapies. Very highly recommended as a top alternative to medication for kids with epilepsy.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Daniel Alarcon's "Lost City Radio" is a transporting, evocative, richly poignant depiction of the chaos of war. What is most surprising about it is that it lacks every cliche of what you might think a "war" novel is about. The protagonist is a female radio host, Norma, who becomes an unexpected surrogate mother to a young boy. He has heard her radio show in the remote village in which he grew up, the weekly reading of "names of the lost" acting as a beacon for people looking for missing loved ones. The boy sets off to the city to meet the woman after his mother is killed. Their relationship in the present contrasts with flashbacks from their previous lives: hers as the wife of a political dissident (now missing) and his as a boy in a jungle town. We also learn quite a bit about Rey, Norma's missing husband.

The prose here is top notch. Sights and smells come alive; the reader is taken away to a world you may know little about but will come to understand deeply. This is a very good novel, worth seeking out.

This has been one of the most engaging works of fiction I've read recently. Beginning with a made-up country and a fictitious civil war, in simple language Alarcon takes us through what feel like real dilemmas of people involved in a time of crumbling government and rural flight. But beyond this, the story is intriguing - a radio host, a hidden history, a mysterious boy. Enough to drive the story. Unlike many other books read recenly this doesn't just start well - it keeps the momentum going through the end of the book.

I was astonished by this novel. I thought it started off a bit slow, I thought the main characters Norma and Rey a bit dull at first, and some of the main plot twists were foreseeable. But even if the main characters didn't enthrall at first, many of the secondary ones did. Adela, Trini, Rey`s father and even the ambiguous Zahir and Manau are touchingly rendered. For me, the book really started to pick up during the first full chapter in "1797" - the jungle village were key events involving Adela and and her son Victor happen. But towards the final chapters the tension builds and even Norma and Rey grow in humanity: the last chapter in particular is devastating. The at times semi journalistic style with which the wartime events are described is also very effective.

All in all, this was a fantastic book. I look forward to more by Alarcon. Readers who enjoyed this book are encouraged to try Nathan Englander's "The Ministry of Special Cases" - an equally engaging, impecabbly written and emotionally gripping novel set in somewhat similar context of Latin American political instability.

Daniel Alarcon's debut novel chronicles the lives of three people -- Rey, Norma and Victor -- in an unnamed country, probably Peru, where Alarcon was born, during the monstrous 10-year civil war in the 1980s. Norma works at a radio station where she hosts the program "Lost City Radio," which lists the names of people lost in the brutal conflict. Rey is her husband who goes missing when the police nab him for not carrying ID. Victor is a street urchin who gives a list of the missing to Norma. Alarcon's prose is very well written, terse and visionary. The chronology of the novel is nonlinear, which makes it difficult, at times, to follow what happens and when. And since the name of the country and time period are not given, the historical context of the story cannot be provided. Of course, if this novel is meant to be applicable to all such conflicts throughout the world, who needs a context? However, I wanted one, though this is not necessarily a failing in the novel. Altogether, it was refreshing reading an American novel(Alarcon was raised in Alabama and graduated from Columbia University) with little or no figures of speech, slang or cliches. The best praise I can give the novel is that it could be considered "literature." Look for more material from this very talented young man!

This is a very good book, is easy to read and catches your interest as soon as you start reading so that you cannot stop! I had to read it in a couple of days cause I needed to know what came next in the plot...
When you have lived in Peru during those years, you get the feeling of this story, it has also used an actual radio program as a model but the mastership of the author is to join all those stories and create a new one that have a little bit of multiple stories but is in itself different but very nice. I highly recommend it.

I work a lot with Welsh Gods and I have to remind everyone, this is THE source of what we know about Welsh mythology. I am not sure if persons not interested in deciphering the stories would enjoy them, but if you want the mystery and challenge, buy this book. Too many people claim to worship Rhiannon or know all about Ceridwen, and have never read the original sources of what we know about them which drives me nuts.

I received this book the evening before departing on a trip. After settling in on the plane the woman who was seated next to me asked, "What are you reading?" I showed her and was greeted with an immediate "Oooooh.... ugghh." I must admit that I understood her reaction. Although I have steadfastly slogged my way through them, many translations of ancient works have left me wishing for the touch of a modern bard. This one, however, did not (or perhaps it had, indeed, benefitted from such a touch!). Ford was my companion on both the flight out and the return trip. He was informative, entertaining, insightful, and (I am told by others who would know), quite accurate. I recommend this book highly.

Patrick Ford's translation is the best that I've read. It appears to be the most accurate translation and the easiest to read and understand. Anyone who is interested in Welsh mythology or mythology in general should read this book. The tales themselves are interesting and entertaining. They give us a great glimpse into the world of the ancient Welsh people.

How does the handsomely bound new rendering by Sioned Davies, Chair in Welsh at Cardiff, compare with the standard version often used and widely praised, Harvard professor Ford's? I consulted my 1977 copy as Ford's new printing has not yet been published. Will his "30th Anniversary" U of California paperback reissued edition find itself in a dead heat with Davies? The race may prove a photo finish!

I compared their translations of a favorite passage of mine early on in the First Branch, Pwyll's tale. Arawn's just been reunited with his queen after the year's test by unwitting yet steadfast doppelganger Pwyll. She wonders, post-coitally after a long year's lapse, why it's been so long since her husband made love with her.

Here's Ford (1977 ed., p. 41) first at the starting line.

"Shame on me," she said, "if from the time we went between the sheets there was even pleasure or talk between us or even your facing me-- much less anything more than that-- for the past year!"

And he thought, "Dear Lord God, it was a unique man, with strong and unwavering friendship that I got for a companion." And then he said to his wife, "Lady," he said, "don't blame me. I swear to God," he said, "I haven't slept with you since a year from last night nor have I lain with you."

And he told her the entire adventure.

"I confess to God," she said, "as far as fighting temptations of the flesh and keeping true to you goes, you had a solid hold on a fellow."

"Lady," he said, "that's just what I was thinking while I was silent with you."

"That was only natural," she answered.

--You can feel the hesitant insertion of the teller's dramatic pauses implied with the "saids." These intensify rhythms of the poet's strong, confident prose. A few contractions and the well-placed dashes quicken the dialogue's pace. The language avoids the flowery exactitude and chivalric diction that marked Gwyn and Thomas Jones' 1949 Everyman edition. But, neither does Ford choose an entirely modern register. He keeps a slightly elevated style while emphasizing verve and a gently sophisticated voice for the couple.

--Compare and contrast Davies (2008 ed., p. 7). As in other pages I spot-checked, the two professors run neck and neck and overlap considerably-- a sign of how both scholars channel what Ford calls the "restraint" in this passage as well as its humor and tension.

"Shame on me," she said, "if there has been between us for the past year, from the time we were wrapped up in the bedclothes, either pleasure or conversation, or have you turned your face to me, let alone anything more than that!"

And then he thought, "Dear Lord God," he said, "I had a friend whose loyalty was steadfast and secure." And then he said to his wife, "Lady," he said, "do not blame me. Between me and God," he said, "I have neither slept nor lain down with you for the past year."

And then he told her the whole story.

"I confess to God," she said, "you struck a firm bargain for your friend to have fought off the temptations of the flesh and kept his word to you."

"Lady," he said, "those were my very thoughts while I was silent just now."

"No wonder!" she said.

--Davies in her preface emphasizes the "performative" qualities in her edition. In this passage, she appears to let the lines go longer rather than reining them in to English syntax. They drift away slightly before coming back to us. Perhaps this echo demonstrates Davies' own scholarship in the medieval Welsh interplay between orality and literacy. The author of two books on the Mabinogi, she stresses the "interactive" nature of the manuscript to be read aloud for the "acoustic dimension" embedded in the Welsh texts and through alliteration, tone, and beat, she tries to give us a feel for this tempo, albeit imperfectly conveyed perforce into our clunkier English.

--Both Davies and Ford include the four branches: Pwyll, Branwen, Manawydan, and Math. Both include Lludd & Llueyls. But, reflecting textual differences in the original manuscript anthologies, they also differ. Ford's tales attributed to Gwion Bach & Taliesin, Culhwch & Olwen, and his appendix on Cad Goddeu do not appear in Davies. She provides Peredur, The Dream of the Emperor Maxen, The Lady of the Well, Geraint, and Rhonawby's Dream.

--Both editors explain their textual choices and open with prefaces. They both add glossaries, pronunciation guides, and bibliographies. Ford situates the tales in Indo-European contexts and Davies delves into their delivery as recited stories. Ford begins each tale with a short introduction; Davies adds explanatory notes in a detailed appendix, keyed to asterisks in the body of the text. Davies keys her "Index of Personal Names" to pages in the text while Ford does not. For study and teaching, it looks like the competition may result in a dignified and spirited draw. Most serious readers doubtless will want to consult, as I have, both fine efforts side-by-side.

(This review's, fittingly, also at the Davies listing on Amazon US. May both translations flourish.)

An excellent and accessible translation of most of the stories normally included in the Mabinogion (minus the three Arthurian tales, Macsen Wledig, and Rhonabwy), plus "The Tale of Gwion Bach/The Tale of Taliesin" and the hard-to-find "Cad Goddeu". Includes introductions, a glossary of proper names, and an index.

This was one of my favorite Mandie books!I really loved the part when they find the gold in the cave.Everyone should read this book!!!!!!!!!

I started reading this series when I was 12 I fell in love with the charecters and story. I laughed and cried with Mandie. The second book in the series is one I have read over and over.

I was extremly impressed by this book.It was really cool when they found the cave and discoverd the gold.I think that T'sani was really mean to not save Mandie from the panther and when he left Mandie,Sallie and Joe in the cave.I am going to buy all the Mandie books that come out!!!!!!

WOW! I absolutely love Mandie and this book was definately AWESOME! I loved the waterfall and the cave behind it. Ever since I read this book, I have been dreaming that I could go on adventures like this one. Also, Dimar was socool. I dunno who Mandie likes more. I think Joe, but that's my opinion. Anyway, ya gotta read all the Mandie books and you'll will share my enthusiasm.

Mandie is happy that she finally has her family back. Her biological Mother has just married her Uncle John, and the three of them, or rather the four of them, if you count Mandie's beloved kitten Snowball, are preparing to go stay with Uncle Ned and the rest of the Cherokee Indian tribe. Mandie's best friend, and probable future husband, Joe, will also accompany them on their journey. When they arrive, Mandie hears of a mysterious legend involving the Cherokee people and long-lost gold, that has been hidden for centuries by an Indian chief. As Mandie, Joe, Snowball, their new friend, Sallie, and their new enemy, Tsa'ni begin exploring the Indian grounds, they stumble across treasure. Now Mandie is worried that the treasure may bring a curse upon the white men who find it.

As someone who absolutely adored Lois Gladys Leppard's previous tale about Mandie, MANDIE AND THE SECRET TUNNEL, I was skeptical about MANDIE AND THE CHEROKEE LEGEND living up to it. Surprisingly, MANDIE AND THE CHEROKEE LEGEND was just as good, if not better than MANDIE AND THE SECRET TUNNEL. Mandie is an exciting character, who is spirited, and loving towards everyone she meets, whether they are kind to her or not. I really love the way that Lois Gladys Leppard introduces a few new characters into each story, as it keeps the books fresh and interesting. Fans of MANDIE AND THE SECRET TUNNEL must read this book. You won't be disappointed.

Erika Sorocco