Hearts Books

Any Gabriel Dupree mystery by Peter Bowen is a literary gem, and this novel is no exception. Aided by a wonderful cast of eccentric family and neighbors, Dupree again unravels a knot of murder, greed, and human folly. I particularly enjoyed the prominent role played by the loveably klutzy priest, Father Van Den Heuvel, in this book.

This is not the best of the Gabriel Du Pre Mysteries but is still a good read.

is one of my favorite characters. Peter Bowen really shows what the West was all about in writing these books. I grew up in Central and Southern Oregon which is still cow country with authentic cowboys who wear pistols and carry rifles in their rigs. Gabriel Dupree and his friends are a little overdrawn but not by much. The language, characterizations, plots, and landscape are all entwined to create a sense of place and time that is fast disappearing. The story "Nails" has to do with horse racing and the use of young teens as jockeys. There is also a sub plot having to do with white supremists and certain individuals who have too much money and not enough brains. This book fleshes out some of the characters that have been floating through the earlier stories, such as Gabriel's granddaughters and Booger Tom.

Peter Bowen alternates between serious detective fiction and a more lighthearted style the often makes gentle fun of life in upstate Montana. I like both, but lately Bowen has been more humor than mystery (consider Stewball, for instance). Nails is a return to the harder fiction style of Wolf, No Wolf and Notches and once again proves that Bowen is a writer to be reckoned with.

The subject is a touchy one. A group of Evangelical Christian has moved into the Toussaint area, and trouble starts happening. Graffiti starts appearing on the door of Father Van Den Heuvel's church. For those of us who have become fans of the clumsy priest who habitually shuts is head in the car door, Nails is a special treat. The good father gets a real part and some surprising facets of his character come out. But, as Van Den Heuvel himself points out, this is hardly the real problem.

A young girl calls 911 and begs for help, a body found, and gradually a series of strange events centers around the evangelicals and the local people who have welcomed them. Not just a spate of graffiti, pop-up sermons, and minor larceny - child abuse of the worst sort is feared, and Dupre is once again on the hunt - and complaining about the lack of help from Benetsee, the local shaman. Even without spiritual help, Dupre is inexorable. He smells evil and intends to root is out.

As I've already said, Bowen focuses on a sensitive issue, and he doesn't pull any punches. It is interesting that I read this book just as several stories about excessive discipline appeared in the news. Most of us don't realize that what we see - what actually gets report - is the very tip of the iceberg. Bowen takes the issue head on, mixing in enough local color to provide a stark contrast.

I'm not sure where Peter Bowen got the title for his latest Gabriel Du Pre mystery, but it might be from a poem by Dame Edith Sitwell:

"Still falls the Rain---
Dark as the world of man, black as our loss---
Blind as the nineteen hundred and forty nails
Upon the Cross."

Of course there are more nails now. More like 2006 in this grim Evangelical-bashing novel. Bowen doesn't go after all Christians: just the ones who accuse their own daughters of witchcraft and lock them in small rooms until they repent; and the ones who disrupt the teaching of science in schools with their rants on 'intelligent design'.

I'm surprised Pat Robertson hasn't issued a fatwa against the author of "Nails." Bowen tries to show sympathy for the down-trodden ranks of fundamentalists--the murder that is the grim centerpiece of this novel is committed almost by mistake. But maybe the author tries too hard, because the bad guys exude stupidity rather than pathos.

Aficionados of Peter Bowen's Gabriel Du Pre mysteries already know that life is grim in the Big Sky Country. It doesn't matter whether you're a ranch hand, a fiddler, a rich alcoholic, or just a science teacher who is struggling to educate her class using the standard textbooks.

The small town of Toussaint is slowly losing population--there's very little in town anymore except for a bar and a Catholic church--but an influx of fundamentalist Christians temporarily reverses the trend. Bowen's detective-hero, Gabriel Du Pre, a laconic fiddler who lets his music and his deeds speak for him, thinks the newcomers are up to no good. For one thing, their appearance coincides with the discovery of a young girl's body in a road-side ditch.

He and his long-time mistress, Madelaine, Metis descendants of the French Voyageurs and Plains Indians, also have to wrestle with a few family problems. Madelaine's son returns from the war in Iraq, minus a few body parts, with nothing to look forward to except the false solace of alcohol. Madelaine's brilliant granddaughter, Pallas is back from her posh Eastern school and trying to deal with her own demons.

"Nails" is the best of the Gabriel Du Pre mysteries to hit the shelves in quite awhile. It is grim, and I fervently hope that Bowen didn't take his story from a true-life incident, but some comic relief is provided by ancient cowhand, Booger Tom, his two mules, and the hopelessly klutzy, Father Van Den Heuvel, Toussaint's agnostic priest.

Just don't get Booger Tom started on the topic of the current Administration in Washington D.C.

Imagine my suprise to read this account from the very unit, cavalry group,squadron,troop and possibly platoon in which I served. What a revelation to think I may have driven the author's jeep and fought with the men he left behind. An erie feeling since I was a replacement who followed in his footsteps after he was wounded. This is the only account I have read of the special soldiers who were trained as replacements to be inserted into fighting on the line. He recounts the incredible lonliness and feelings of isolation as the teen age replacement moves through training camps, trains, ships, encampments, trains, more camps until making it up to the front. Each move means new strangers and parting with short term friends who are really only aquaintences. The final assignment means an entire new order of friends meeting under fierce combat conditions. The author accurately captures this atmosphere of isolation and dread. I highly recommend this book which balances the reality of the young soldier in war against the usual histories which suggest that the fighting units were fueled by glory and esprit de corps.

I've read many World War II memoirs, and this is one of the best. Few veterans express the terror, dread, and danger of combat as well as Prof. Pagliaro. He faced a difficult situation and handled himself admirably. I recommend this book to everyone. It is on a level with other great World War II classics such as "Those Devils in Baggy Pants", "If You Survive", and "The Other Side of Time." Very moving to read.

I had the opportunity to read a pre-publication draft of this engaging book. When it appeared in print I was delighted to see that the publisher had produced such a handsome volume--in both paperback and hardcover. I immediately placed "Naked Heart" on the reading list for my U.S. History class at Drake University, and in many years of teaching I have never had a book received and reviewed so favorably. It provoked interesting class discussions and prompted many students to visit with their grandparents about World War II experiences. A number of students purchased extra copies to give to members of their families. It is hard to imagine a book that matches this one in cross-generational appeal.

"Saving Private Ryan" will undoubtedly generate reader interest in books about WWII and the individual experiences of combat soldiers. The most dramatic lines in this movie came when actor Tom Hanks says in effect: "I don't know if I can ever tell my wife about today or what I've seen." This struck a chord with me because my father was a WWI combat veteran of the European Theater, but he would never talk about his combat experiences. So prior to the release of "Private Ryan" I had read many books about the individual experiences of combat veterans trying to understand why combat had affected them so.

I recommend Naked Heart above many other excellent books about WWII held in high esteem by professional historians, who prefer to use a broad brush to paint the picture of the stories they tell. Naked Heart is the story of the military service of Harold Pagliaro, retired Professor of English Literature at Swarthmore College, Pa. The story begins with his induction into the Army, ASTP and Infantry training and transfer to a Cavalry unit prior to shipping out. His service in combat takes place in France, and ends in Alsace when he is seriously wounded.

It is the story of only one man but the same reveals the shared experience of thousands like him who faced all the fear, misery, uncertainty,and horrors that combat has to offer. The language, details, and writing style are clear, vivid, and straight-forward. The reader will have little difficulty envisioning or understanding what he is reading.

A medium like any movie as well done as "Private Ryan" is very visually graphic as well as audibly compelling with all the theatrical flair of the actors, the script, the special effects, sound effects, and background music to fill the viewer's senses. A book lacks most of these, but a book as well written as Naked Heart tells a story in a very personal way, much like a father might relate his wartime experiences to his son. I recommend Naked Heart for anyone interested in trying to understand the psyche of our WWII combat veterans.

John R. Walker

While I served in the European Theater during World War II, Professor Pagliaro's experiences and mine were significantly different. He served as a replacement, while I joined my armored field artilelry battalion before the unit went overseas. Infantry and cavalry performed the most difficult and dangerous tasks in combat and replacements served even more difficult roles in these units.

I found this book to be an excellent description of Pagliaro's combat experiences and also an excellent espression of his feelings and reactions to some very difficult combat assignments as well as difficult miltiary leaders. Pagliaro suffered problems similar to many ASTP students, but many of these persons failed to survive their assignments in the infantry and cavalry and few have expressed their feelings so adequately.

I highly recommend this book not only for veterans of World War II, but for all who wish to learn more about the role fo the "little people" in that conflict.

A Place to Belong is the first section in this book of four novels. It is fabulous. The story is about a young girl who has one thing in common with her father, they both lost her mother and brother in childbirth. He left and the girl, Maggie, was raised by her paternal grandmother. Years go by with bitterness left unresolved until the father tries and tries again to win over the love of his missed daughter. Only on his deathbed does he start to get through to her with his dearest friend and basically adopted son, Garrett Lucas; and then Maggie begins to find love both in the eyes of her father, the arms of Garrett Lucas, and in the heart of God.

Perfect Love is the second novel and the continuing story of A Place to Belong. Here Maggie's best friend from childhood Lillie is starting out her life of a perfect marriage, with a perfect husband, a perfect child in her womb, and just all around perfect love. Things begin to happen quickly, first Lille's husband becomes a Christian and she feels that she is losing him to a God that is not worth her money. Then she does lose her husband and her child. Lille thought she had it all and it is only when she is completely humbled and losing all material things, that she can see what she is missing. Here is where Dr. Monroe, a friend of Garrett's comes in... A widower of a wife lost in childbirth and an estranged Christian he understands Lillie's pain. It is by divine providence that they are both brought to the New Mexico ranch and both given second chances on life. Second chances through love, and forgiveness as each has their own struggles and burdens to pass. In this story, a reader is able to experience the necessity of actions that God allows so that his will maybe done. When you think you have something wonderful, it is hard to believe that sometimes God has something even better in mind for you, if you will just listen.

Tender Journeys is both a prequel to both of the first two stories as well as a caught up sequel as of chapter 12. Here you learn the story of Jenny and her past where her family was viciously murdered and she was left to live with a despicable woman of greed. Also, is the story of David and how he came to the ministry and New Mexico. They meet and learn to love each other and then make a life. From one escape and then to heart break three times, to Jenny being kidnapped and David being set up for another heart break that could be his ultimate chance of healing... Both Jenny and David have to deal with the past and things that they thought they were past and had forgiven. How many times can something be taken from you before you break? Can you ever be truly whole? Things are all things that are explored in this tale.

The Willing Heart completely tops all of the other stories in this set. Although, it has nothing to do with New Mexico as it is based in Colorado and Missouri. Here a woman, still a child as well as big sister, is set in a similar situation as the biblical Job. A man comes along appearing to all to be their hope and salvation, while only Alexandra knows the truth. The amazing power of God is fully shown in this story as Zandy can work through the evil skin of this man and find his innocence and help him find God. Tracie Peterson did an amazing job with this story making you really hate the evil and not the person. The empathy is amazing as you just strive to believe what is true, and what just cannot happen. This story was fabulous and so far my complete favorite. It was bold and daring, and quite enjoyable through the end.

I really enjoyed learning about the characters in this book, the first 3 really blend together as you get to know them. The last book was even more exciting and I could hardly put it down, it stayed within my thoughts until I could finish it!! Cant wait to read the Sunset series.

I picked up New Mexico Sunrise and took a chance on an author I had not read before. The four seperate novels were page turners and I ended up reading a novel a day. I had to keep reading to see how it would all end. The first three stories are about characters that show up in each, but with a different lead character. The last story is totally unrelated to the other three and doesn't even take place in New Mexico. The characters are appealing, with the exception of Riley in the last story, just keep reading for some surprises in that one. The romances are each unique and pleasing to read.

In "A Place to Belong" Garret Lucas is sent by Maggie's father to bring her home, and he is determined to do so. But Maggie is just as determined to stay right where she is. Using every trick in the book she tries to escape Garrett, even going so far as running away from the train. Finally Garret tells Maggie the reason he was sent to bring her home, because she's to be married . . . to him. When they arrive at her father's home, Maggie's animosity toward her father worries Garret and so he leaves so that they can reconcile. Maggie, already in love with Garret, is devastated . . .

In "Perfect Love" Lillie has recently lost her husband and her unborn baby. She decides to go and visit her friend Maggie Lucas and on the way she meets the insulting Dr. Daniel Monroe who keeps on her about her increasing weight. When she arrives at Maggie's she finds that her friend isn't there, but that another house guest has just arrived, Daniel. Maggie and Garret walk in to find Lillie chasing Daniel with a frying pan. It takes a lot for these two to see eye to eye . . . but they are both lost and searching for something to give them comfort.

"Tender Journeys" goes back a few years to tell the story of Jenny. Jenny was left alone and taken in by a self-serving woman who uses Jenny like a slave. When a young pastor, David, takes an interest in Jenny, a romantic interest, the lady panics that she's going to lose her income . . . so she sells jenny to another man. Jenny hopes David will come in time . . .

and in "The Willing Heart" a new man has come to save the town named Riley Dawson. Zandy is attracted to his good looks and him with hers. When he approaches her he makes an offer . . . one she could never accept. He warns her that her family will suffer if she refuses, but she could never do what he asks. Things go from bad to worse when she still won't do what he asks, so he involves the whole town. Then in a public meeting he tells all that it's all of Zandy's fault that these things are happening to them. Everyone presumes that she just won't marry him . . . and they all turn against her. . . she doesn't know how much longer she can keep this up. She starts to wonder where God is . . .

This set of stories are excellent . . . I've read them many times over and I never seem to tire of them. Tracie Peterson has done it again.

Four stories in one book and all are good! The first three deal with the same general cast but each features a different family. The last story is detached from the first three and actually sounds like a different author or certainly a different slant.

A Place to Belong features the life of Maggie, a wealthy young woman who refuses to be united with her estranged father. Only a threatened kidnapping changes her mind and subsequently her life. Perfect Love highlights the lives of Lillie and Dr. Daniel Monroe. Both have suffered horrible loss. Both are unbending when it comes to personal wants. The author does a fine job blending their complicated lives. Tender Journeys is Jenny's story. Actually, the reader may be a tad confused at the placement of this story in the book but finally one gets the connection. Jenny was orphaned by Apache Indians and hates them completely until she is forced to live with them. I was completely surprised in this one. Several excellent twists finally are evident even though the storyline moves somewhat slowly in places. The last story, The Willing Heart is the life of Zandy and Riley. He is the one character you can detest. Easily. Corrupt and wealthy from gambling and owning the whole town, he always gets what his money and power can buy. The one thing that is out of his reach is Zandy. Although she and her family suffer horribly for her moral standards, the outcome of the last book is definitely worth the whole thing.

Book 2 is titled New Mexico Sunset which I have already purchased. Way to go Tracie, and thanks for some excellent Christian Fiction reading!

I've been a buddhist for 30 years and I only in recent times really felt I was really touching something deeper, previously I guess I liked the ritual, meditation, the spirit and the sense of order I got from it, but when I came across Pema Chodron it was like tuning into a clearer frequency. These cds are a retreat which runs over 12 days for you to do at home. it has all of her trademark insight, simplicity whilst talking about the big stuff, and humour.. it is a brilliant set.

the only draw back is I live in UK where this is not available, and UK customs decided to charge me a $26 levy for importing it on top of the cost of the item and postage, which really was not welcome... so watch out if you are buying this for use in UK..

One of my teachers, my husband and I listen to this book over and over again while we work. It is an amazing teaching, but then, all her tapes are -- and it is delightful to hear the charming and funny way she ahs of reaching in and making her point! There are two other good reviews on this tape -- I agree with them.

Pema Chodron is a Buddhist nun in the Tibetan Vajrayana tradition. Noble Heart: A Self-guided Retreat On Befriending Your Obstacles is a profound audiobook narration in which Pema Chodron guides her listeners into an awakening their compassion, an appreciation for the beauty of vulnerability as a spiritual resource, the realization of strength that comes only through embracing the pain of experience, the treasured teachings of the six paramitas that offer the Buddha's own guide to the journey of enlightenment, and so much more. Noble Heart is an dedicated and recommended contribution to contemporary Buddhist Studies collections and offers students of Buddhism and practitioners of Buddhist philosophies and lifestyles a transforming and profound exploration of an enduring Buddhist spirituality for a new generation.

the most enabling book on spiritual life-not clutching on in usual addictive style prevalent in american media life-but really letting go and being ungrounded-this book saved my soul in a critical moment-we can live without clutching and grasping-let the universe supply without grabbingi just showed it to two therapists-one a director of a group of therapists-they were amazed at the profundity and helpfulness-and in line with more enlightened therapeutic practice-not advice -lots of support -see where this new way leads you

After having enjoyed Pema Chodron's wonderful video set "Good Medicine" (6305642842), Her "Noble Heart" set of 6 cassettes was greatly enhanced. I could picture her orchestrating this retreat at her Monastery in Eastern Canada. That is exactly how this tape set is arranged. She provides an enjoyable, enthusiastic lecture with examples, stories, personal experiences, input from her Master Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, etc. For each of the 12 segments (sides of cassettes) she also includes meditations and visualizations as appropriate. Topics include:
1. Bodhichitta Practice--ego, 3 noble principles, etc.
2. cultivating friendliness through meditation--posture, calm abiding (shamatha), working with thoughts, non-grasping mind...
3. developing inner strength/trust--experiencing reality, the 4 limitless ones (loving kindness, compassion, joy, & equanimity, materialism...
4. The Practice of Maitri (loving kindness)--the roots of suffering and happiness, ignorance, etc. Great presentation on Maitri practice!
5. Compassion practice--your "soft spot," ego's weaknesses, addiction and obsession, dualistic thinking, far & near enemies of practice, pity/overwhelm/forgiveness
6. Unlimited joy & equanimity--stages of practice, openness, melting practice, big sky mind, etc.
7. Tonglen (sending & receiving)--shunyata--openness of being, awakening Bodhichitta, stages of tonglen practice, dissolving the armor of self-protection, etc.
8. Meditation & wisdom--post-meditation, purity, categories of meditation, prajna (wisdom/understanding), etc.
9. Generosity, discipline, & patience--categories of them, undoing deep-seated patterns, antidote to aggression, etc.
10. Joyful exertion--the nondual paramitas, contemplation, exertion, nonduality, etc.
11. Shunyata Meditation--groundlessness, nature of mind, opening mind, contemplating equanimity, nongrasping, etc.
12. Bodhichitta to the world--connectedness, limitless compassion, dissolving barriers, the Dharmic habit, Bodhichitta slogans (only touched on here--see her "Start Where You Are" for this).
Overall, it's almost like being there. A wonderful experience. She covers lots of ground in her easygoing, warm, and wise style that balances theory with practice. A gem.

Thank heavens someone has had the good sense to put together this great sampling of the redoubtable Mr. Samuels' best work. Intelligence and wit like his are rare enough in journalism--add his unmatchable tenderness and empathy and you get a truly unique voice. This is going to be one of those books I read once and then keep around to dip into whenever I need a lift. Here's hoping Samuels is bluffing when he says he's leaving magazine writing for good, because he'll be sorely missed.

This is one of the best collections I have read in years. It really reminded me of the old school New Journalism days of Wolfe and Didion. I had read a few of these pieces in Harper's (I'm a big Harper's reader) but I didn't know most of them. Nearly all were funny and stylish and hold up to repeated reading.

I first came across David Samuels' work after reading his story on Britany Spears and the tabloid media in "Atlantic Monthly." I found his take quite original, his writing very strong, and his conclusions thought-provoking. His entire essay collection 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart' was equally enjoyable.

I can't think of a writer to compare Samuels too and I say that as a compliment. He is very original. If I was pressed, I would compare him to a more intellectual - and darker - Chuck Klosterman. There are some fascinating essays in this book, esp. the pieces on Woodstock 1999, the Super Bowl in Detroit, and the leftis lunatics in Eugene.

One minor quibble with the book is his personal essays. This is the reason I can't give 5 stars to this book. With all due respect to Samuels, I really don't care about his failed relationships or why he decided to move to Miami to be with some gal. These essays belong in another book and they detract from his investigative pieces. But they are a small portion of the book.

Overall, this is a very good book. I truly hope Samuels keeps writing articles, as a voice like his is much needed in contemporary non-fiction.

A terrific collection -- pulls the world apart, weighs the cogs, looks at the gears, then puts it back together again. Samuels is wrong: it's not only love that breaks hearts; the right word can do it, the perfect thought can do, and Samuels demonstrates this again and again.

On the surface, this collection offers dependable entertainment with its blend of sharp reporting and compassionate, good-humored storytelling. But woven throughout the stories is a provocative concept ignited in the reader's mind by Samuels' preface: that perhaps we owe it to ourselves to re-configure our notions about identity, and all the goals that follow.

"My story has something to do with our national gift for self-delusion and for making ourselves up from scratch, which is much the same thing as believing in the future," Samuels writes, noting younger generations' struggles to find a sense of self when traditional mainstays like family dinners are less prominent.

To suffice, we grasp for concrete systems to help us feel in control -- it may be a Florida greyhound bettor who feels invincible in the face of chance. Or Oregonian anarchists who think they're making a difference when reality suggests otherwise. Or a Woodstock 1999 organizer who's lost sight of what really matters so much that music and togetherness get trumped by four-dollar water bottles and corporate detachment.

The truth is, Samuels suggests, that in trying to define ourselves amid the tumult of modern America, we all get lost in the mire to some extent. "The fact that we lie like crazy while pretending to always tell the truth is such a common narrative strategy in American literature and American lives that we frequently confuse our wishful imaginings with reality." Or, as Neil Young says in the song that lends this book its name, "I have a friend I've never seen/ He hides his head inside a dream..."

Samuels' writing has an intelligent, approachable eloquence that brings the traditions of literary journalism to a new level. At points, it's hard not to get entranced in his stories of dreams and disillusionment, from Pentagon meetings to more personal experiences. But with subtle precision and piercing insight, Samuels colors every page with his particular wisdom. It's as if each piece were written for this book -- though the fact that this isn't the case lends a beautiful fluidity to the collection. He respects our ability to parse the stories for ourselves, taking from them what we choose. Each story offers a layer, creating what in the end is a new portrait of the reader's unique sense of self and appreciation of others.

This book is for anyone that wants to escape to his or her youth. It is a great book for a weekend. Cuddle yourself on a feather mattress, with a goose down comforter snuggled around you. Lying your head on a feather pillow that is covered with a soft cotton pillowcase. Are you in heaven? No! You are in the South in the 1950's. You will awake when it is all over. There has to be more to come. Dear Author is there?

A tasty tale to be read with a super sweet iced tea and the smell of homemade biscuits baking in the oven.

D.H. Eaton wrote a lively novel in an engaging style that keeps the reader eagerly flipping pages. The central character, a recently widowed Southern lady, recounts her youth as it relates to recipes in an old fundraising cookbook she finds at a used bookstore in Central Florida.

Do the characters from the narrator's past match the recipes they submitted? Read the book and judge for yourself. The accessible language, varied recipes, advertisements from the cookbook, and quaint drawings make "The Osceola Community Club" a delight to read.

Leslie Halpern, author of Reel Romance: The Lovers' Guide to the 100 Best Date Movies and Dreams on Film: The Cinematic Struggle Between Art and Science.

When I first heard about D. H. Eaton's novel, I thought it sounded like a fantastic idea. The novel wove stories of the residents of a small town by means of recipes culled from a cookbook. The narrator finds the book in a store that sells used books.

I'd met D. H. and through various conversations, felt quite a kinship with her. Our Southern upbringing coupled with the fact that we were both writers made for a broad stretch of common ground. She'd invited me to two different literary events, even featured some of my poetry at one of them. On both occasions, last minute problems with my younger child kept me from attending. My opinion of D. H. was based entirely on a social assessment. She's one of those women who has a natural grace about her. She has an energy that is contagious. She looks good in hats. And she is never, ever dull.

I had no idea what to expect of her novel, however. I'd never read anything she'd written. She'd been kind enough to send me a copy of her book. If the author is known to me, I try very hard to be objective, to look at the work with an even keener eye than I'd apply to the work of a stranger. Of late, I've been preoccupied with a manuscript deadline and other projects. But a few days ago, I was having my lunch and needed something to read. I read a few pages and was immediately put out with myself for picking the book up.

I found I could not put it down. In truth, I had too many things to do to get involved with a book, particularly a novel. But I was drawn into D.H. Eaton's novel in much the same way a bee is drawn to clover.

Within the pages of her book, an entire town comes alive. Each recipe in the fictitious cookbook is listed with the name of the contributor. Using the cookbook as a literary device is very effective. We see Charmaine Mosley's "Banana Salad" recipe, and the chapter it introduces relates the story of the Mosley family. In addition, each recipe builds into a composite whole that draws a picture of a culture, the Southern culture I knew and now recall with the same bittersweet emotions the narrator, Cassandra, carries to the end of the book.

I do not think it an accident, the choice of name for the heroine in the book. Cassandra, in some versions of ancient mythology, received the gift of prophecy from the god, Apollo. In Ms. Eaton's novel, Cassandra offers a historical account of Southern life that begins around 1958 and continues to the present, and within that account, the history of a small town, like so many, that, through growth and change, became quite a different place entirely. Just as the mythological Cassandra's warnings were ignored, so are the warnings of many, including the narrator in the novel, who caution that the culture we value will in time be lost.

As I read the book, each recipe, like the little cakes in Marcel Proust's Remembrance of Things Past, propelled me backwards, to my own upbringing and coming of age in a small Southern town. Food is a primary component in any culture, and using that as a means to move the plot works wonderfully.

D. H. Eaton writes in an unpretentious, staccato style that immediately engages the reader. As each family's story unfolds, there is a flavor of oral history-for what family below the Mason-Dixon line is without this exceptional legacy, from the poorest of us to the richest? She recreates a culture that put women on a pedestal and religion on the table, one that took care of its own, that tolerated those less fortunate and viewed the rich with a cynical eye. A sub-setting in the book is the front porch, that wonderful place where so many of us sat and took in summer evenings and stories spun by our elders, where philosophy and poetry were dispensed in plain language that shaped our hearts and values.

What strikes me about D. H. Eaton, besides her charming personality, besides her abundance of civic contributions to literature and history efforts, involves the fact that she is incredibly endowed with talent as a writer. The book deserves critical attention from serious quarters, and I certainly hope such attention will be given. For a writer to establish such a strong voice with a first novel is quite a feat.

This book is a valuable contribution to history, for it creates a metaphor for all the small, dusty towns throughout the sunbelt that fell on hard times when textile or lumber mills closed and the best and brightest left for big city job opportunities. For anyone doing research on life in the South in the decade after World War II, this novel is an incredible resource.

By the end of the novel, we have bonded to the families in Osceola in a manner that makes us sad the story is over. If we are Southern, we have journeyed to our own childhoods, and recalled the summers, the winter holidays, and the family reunions this author brings to life for us. And as a reader, we come to realize that the real character in the book is the very Southern village of Osceola. In a particularly poignant passage at the end of the book, the author writes:

"And don't forget Nanny Ellie's spices-her lighthearted expletives that mixed with her Confederate cooking smells and traveled from her kitchen outward, making us giggle, causing Mama to feign being shocked.
Nanny's kitchen. Impossible to duplicate. Impossible to recapture."

All I can say is, "Bless your heart, D.H. , you certainly did recapture that kitchen. And the one I grew up in as well. Most splendidly, I might add."

I've read many sensory stories in my time, but I can think of only two that made me hungry: "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and The Osceola Community Club. Remember all those delectable dishes in Irving's "Legend"? Those "heaped-up platters of cakes"! Those "dainty slapjacks, well buttered, and garnished with honey"!

Well, Darlene Eaton gives us equally tasty fare in The Osceola Community Club. "Hoppin' John," "Bird of Paradise," "Copper Pennies," "Sweet Potato Muggin," "Lazy Gal Brunswick Stew," "Poverty Chili"----just a few of the down-home delights in this novel! No, I won't give away any recipe. Read the book; enjoy the cooking and much more. This much more includes an extraordinary variety of story food served up by Cassandra Burquette, Eaton's main character/narrator.

In 2002 Cassandra arrives in Osceola, Florida, with a group of clubwomen for a day of antiquing. She barely recognizes this time-forgotten village where as a child she spent many hours visiting her grandmother Nanny Ellie and her cousin Della.

In "a hole of a bookstore," Cassandra finds Osceola's Favorite Foods Compiled by the Osceola Community Club, 1958. This "fundraiser of a cookbook" arouses memories of an unforgettable summer when Cassandra was 12 and felt her first womanly stirrings. As she relishes the cookbook, Cassandra also recalls later experiences, like her "Take Us Back" speech at the reunion of her 1964 high school class. Some of her memories stand alone as delightful stories like the "Civil Defense" tale (featured on the Fresh and Ripe page of this web site). Others sparkle as vignettes, like this one: 

"Christmas Eve morn. 1958. And colder 'n bare babies' butts hangin' downside in an outhouse. Granddaddy indulged my Nanny Ellie with the luxury of a nighttime burr pot beneath her bed. But the rest of us had to hustle our shivering butts to the outhouse, flashlight in hand, cold be damned. Don't never let anybody tell you it don't get cold in Florida. There's more to Florida than Miami Beach, folks. Wind could evermore rip snort up and down Nanny Ellie's hill, I'm here to testify...."

Eaton gives us Southern characters we've seen before and endows them with her own fresh vitality: For example, the no-nonsense grandmother, tough and straight-talking on the outside, loving and caring on the inside; the extra special childhood friend you told your secrets to; the stupid, self righteous preacher; admirable eccentrics; snooty girls; horny boys; gossipers; racist Christians; devious aristocrats; segregated blacks with deferential masks for whites; Atticus-Finch-like whites who defend the downtrodden; and others-all of whom give us vivid insights into small-town Florida of the 1950's.

On just about every page, Eaton puts a picture, drawing, or icon. These devices plus the recipes complement and underscore setting, characters, and action.

To my mind, the author's shining achievement is Cassandra Burquette. Perky, loquacious, sensitive, funny, keen, nostalgic, Cassandra shows traces of some of the most memorable women in Southern literature. Mostly, though, she is an original who galvanizes Eaton's vision of Osceola into a microcosm of the last days of the Old South.

Robert B. Gentry, Coeditor, www.writecorner.com

Reading "Out of the Closet Into Our Hearts" was a joyful experience. All too often, books and stories about gay family members who come out to their straight family members are about coping with the experience instead of celebrating it. Our gay family members have added much happiness to our lives. This book tells stories of family members who have had many positive experiences because of a gay sibling, child, parent, cousin, or other loved ones. It simply was an incredible book and a must for everyone. It will certainly open your eyes and your heart.

A beautiful book filled with honest heart warming stories. It was so refreshing to read about people that not only accept their gay family members but celebrate and cherish them. Highly recommended for all people that have a gay or lesbian loved one.

True to its subtitle, this anthology really does celebrate gay/lesbian family members. The stories, essays and poems in the book offer a refreshing alternative to psychologically heavy books about the family dynamics of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and their relatives, usually parents. I enjoyed opening it anywhere and reading a piece by a grandmother, niece, father, brother. I love the sense of family history in High Tea, a poem by the great-niece of writer Mary Ellen Chase, and the humor in Ten Reasons to Be Happy That Your Daughter is Bisexual. The many photographs, mostly candid snapshots, reflect the celebratory theme of the book. Out of the Closet Into Our Lives is a marvelous window into the beauty and diversity-and sometimes ordinariness-of people who happen to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.

The stories are unmistakably from the heart and the courage that these people display would be remarkable except for the love they have for their lgbt family member, which makes it all make sense. A mention of a relative who always wore dresses in a matter of fact way is refreshing. A mother riding on the back of a daughter's motorcycle in a 'dikes on bikes' contingent in a gay pride parade show the fun parents can have when they get over society's biases, they no longer claim as their own.
The proud father with the gay son license plate has to be a wonderful emotional lift to young person who is on the border of hating themselves from ingesting the homophobia in society. This is a wonderful gift to give for the holidays to family members who are accepting but haven't gone the next step to speaking out and educating society to make the world a safer place for their gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender loved ones.
The humor srinkled throughout the stories tickled my heart as the real stories of rejection teared my eyes as I learned so much about those who reached out in love and became better persons in the process. The mother who took her son to a gay bar so he could socialize while she could keep her eye on him as he learned to spread his wings was precious. Every gay man would love to be blessed with a mom like her.

Editors Laura Siegel and Nancy Lamkin Olson have given a gift of wisdom and hope to gays, lesbians, transgenders, their families and friends. Out of the Closet - Into Our Hearts presents the reader with prose balanced with poetry and drawings illuminating lives in multiple modes to reach and connect with every type of person who reads and is willing to listen. Brief narratives with depth of passion, love and being proud fill this book almost to the bursting point. The reader finds a wonderful slice of the real world -- as varied and unique as each person is whether gay, straight, lesbian or transgender.

Those that are the most personally touching include Mom, What's Gay? in which Deb Bridge exhibits the courage and love for her son that I wish my mom had been capable of expressing for me. Just Like Everyone Else, Laura Siegel's poem to her son, Stuart, brought tears to my eyes to see such joy by a mom for her son. Such absolute love and support, knowing and accepting all that her son is. The relationship of mother/son, friend and confidante at such a deep personal level is something I was never able to reach with my own mother. Melissa Pinol's Back to the Bear World shares the timeless love between Melissa and her brother Grant. In spite of overwhelming interference from their parents, including forced separation, the close bond between brother and sister persisted, developing into deep and compassionate caring. Melissa enabled her brother to reach the end of his life with dignity and peace. Duncan Zenobia Saffir's short poem about his brother, Uncomfortable, is packed with the simplicity of love. ...And All We Did Was Love is a collection of stories that are full of tears, laughter, support and love.

Out of the Closet - Into Our Hearts is a primer for all to read and reflect on the importance of love in each person's life. The stories offered are not only affirming to out gay, lesbian and transgender people, but also especially affirming for those struggling to come out and parents and family struggling to accept and understand.

As I sat in my living room engrossed in these stories, I asked myself `Why can't I stop reading this book?' The answer: Because it is compelling, honest, loving and sincere.

I came out to my parents in 1967 at the age of 19. If it weren't for the love and support of my mother, I would not be writing these lines. As the favorite and youngest of 3 sons, my mother and I developed a deep, loving relationship. She positively influenced my life in many ways, including my career choice, as I followed in her elegant footsteps and became a librarian. Back then, over thirty years ago, my gay friends and I yearned for a future that included acceptance, openness and civil rights. Back then, we would have said Out of the Closet - Into Our Hearts would be classified as fiction since it was inconceivable that anything like this could be written...and published. Lucky for us that today it is FACT.

What I want to know is...do either Ms Siegel or Ms Olson adopt?

Paul Underwood, Director of Library Services, San Mateo County Library, California

Outlaw Hearts is my favorite book. I own a copy and have read it over and over throughout the years. The romance between the characters is so real I felt like knew them. I didn't want the book to end. This is a must read for all Roseanne Bittner fans.

500 pages and I bailed out early. Yup, at page 300, I bailed out of Rosanne Bittner's OUTLAW HEARTS. Not something I'm proud of, but something I had to do. Why? The story is too gritty, too depressing, and too filled with raw emotion. But boy, can Rosanne Bittner write one hell of a story.

Jake Harkner is the product and the result of a miserable childhood. A dark childhood filled with relentless beatings, rape, and finally murder. He is a hard-fisted, gun-toting outlaw who defends his property, gets revenge, fears nothing, and most of the time is downright nasty. BUT cold-hearted Jake Harkner loves sweet, gentle Miranda Hayes.

Miranda Hayes is a proper woman, living the hard-life, in the American West. This proper woman should disapprove and avoid Jake Harkner, but instead she finds herself attracted to, lusting after, and loving this hard, violent man.

Realistically, and this is a bonus for Bittner, the author did not suddenly reform this turbulent man. Instead Rosanne Bittner, showed her reader, Jake Harkner's flawed and gentle side, as he struggled with his feelings for Miranda -- here Bittner demonstrates a brilliant writing maneuver. This maneuver, combined with a great writing style, and her excellent storytelling ability, makes OUTLAW HEARTS choice material. So, why the bail out? For this reader, the story proved to be too much of an epic, it was too much of a journey, and it just took too much inner strength to go on.

When I decided to stop, "The Wild Bunch" came to mind. This movie was Sam Peckinpah's provocative, brilliant, yet very controversial western -- an unrelenting tale of the savage American West. It was shocking, yet truly realistic! How well I remember my husband praising the action, while I sat there stunned. So, I guess my vision of the old west lays more in the "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" mode of thinking -- westerns with a little humor and a little milder, perkier type of gun play.

OUTLAW HEARTS may not be everyone, but it confirms that Ms. Bittner is a very talented author and I will read her again. Grade: B

Reviewer for: www.romancedesigns.com

I wish there was something to say that would do this book and author justice. Bittner is the western-civil war-frontier diva. No one does it better. Her characters are so real. They are filled with all of the emotions the human soul can have. This 500 pages held me in constant thrall. The uniqueness is the depth of the characters, especially jake. He is tormented and his despair leads him into a horrible and unhappy life. Enter Miranda, who is almost too good to be true. Although this is not about religion, the depth of her belief in Jake and her belief that God will indeed help him is inspiring. It's a story that brings real hope and an awareness that we are each responsibile for what we make of our lives. That we can bring about change and that forgiveness and love are the most important gifts we can be given..And that unless we intervene, mistakes will repeat themselves. If you only read one book a year.......make it this one........thank you Roseanne . You are a gifted, compassionate writer.

My sister and an Amazon friend (Ambrangel) suggested this book to me months and months ago. Honestly, I was a very hesitant in buying this book 'cuz of the Frontier/Western setting, plus R. Bittner is new to me. From time to time, I do enjoy these kinds of settings, however, I've always preferred England/Scotland locations. Since I was too stingy to buy this book, my sister decided to lend me her copy for trial. In the end, I bought a copy for my own collection and a bunch more of R. Bittner's work. What a stubborn dolt I am, huh? I should have listened sooner!

I totally agree with the reviewer Ambrangel, from Attleboro, MA. This book is a rollercoaster ride of emotions. It's fast-phasing and filled with electrifying adventure. Lots of heart breaking circumstances yet oh so full of LOVE too. I have never read a book that's so tragic and yet so magical at the same time. The obstacles & sacrifices they've been through will ache your heart. Their faith and the power of their love will amaze you. Miranda and Jake's love for each other and their children will truly touch your heart and your soul. Indeed, OUTLAW HEARTS is unique! I've never read a book that spanned 20+ years of the hero/heroine's life story. From the time they've met, all the way to them being grandparents... No epilogue needed here! It's complete and utterly satisfying. Read this one (with tissue on hand, by the way) and you won't regret it.

I have been a Bittner fan for about 11 years now. She always writes with such feeling and tenderness that you don't find in the romance writing genre. She brings characters to life, and spans wide ranges of emotions with them. This book is no different. It's a heartwrenching story of an outlaw who wants and needs to start his life over, and he does it with the help of one very determined woman, Miranda. Miranda lost her husband in the Civil War, and lost her father in a rebel raid on their ranch. She meets Jake (the outlaw) by accident. He is haunted by a terrible past that is tearing his life apart. Miranda makes him see he is good inside and loves him no matter what. This story takes us through the Midwest, the Oregon Trail, Nevada desert, the valleys of California, and the boomtowns of Colorado in a span of over 20 years. It shows the hardships they endure and the heartbreak of Jake being a notorious outlaw. I cried on parts and smiled on some too. My heart felt like it was on a rollarcoaster ride. The emotions this love story evokes is incredible. I would love to see this book on the Big screen. I am sure it would be a blockbuster. This is well worth the money and reading time. I will read this over and over again.

The power of the purse may be the most potent tool available to protect the environment. As Marti Barletta makes clear in her book, "prime time" women - those 50-70 - have enough clout to tell companies what to make, not just buy what manufacturers sell, all based on how they spend their money. "Prime Time Women" should make any producer quake: women want cleaner air and water, and as this book shows, they've got the marketplace muscle to get companies to pay attention!

What I loved about this book was that it just exudes respect for customers. Unlike a lot of books in this area, Marti Barletta isn't trying to teach 'tricks' about how to pretend to please women. She's much more serious than that. She's deeply informed, highly thoughtful and utterly determined that no company can really succeed without taking women very, very seriously. And she won't let women be ripped off by anything second-rate. This means that companies that want to win women's business have to take seriously the research she's done and the care and insight she uses to analyze it. There are a lot of "sell stuff to women" books out there that don't respect women at all, but just see them as easy pickings. They're phoney. But this book - and Marti Barletta herself: they're the real deal.

PrimeTime Women is a breeze to read - like sitting around with Ms. Barletta, chatting. And in the room are dozens of fascinating, ready-to-rumble women, chiming in every so often.

The overarching theme of PrimeTime Women really isn't the money they control - it's the fact that they are taking control of their lives. This is a phenomenon unique to Baby Boomers (and a bit older). After fifty is better than before fifty. There has always been a small percentage of women who bloomed in their later years. For Boomers it's become a generational ethos.

The second part of the book is nuts 'n bolts. I was swept away by many of her "word-of-mouth" marketing paradigms. She eschews the cheesy WOM tactics so often used today in favor of real, truly inspired marketing/PR/promotional techniques.

I've always considered Tom Peters the guru of marketing. I bought Barletta 's book because of his comments on the cover -- that PrimeTime Women should be the centerpiece of every marketing/strategic plan. As always, I now agree with him wholeheartedly. This book makes an excellent case about why this is the market to go after, not the youth market. Barletta draws on statistics from the New Strategist, AARP, the U.S. Census Bureau and other organizations, and combines them with her consulting firm's own proprietary research to come up with a true "how to" book, with strategies and tips that companies can put into action right away. I've since bought her other book on marketing to women, and plan to spread her name as the consultant to hire before the competition does.

Those who have already read Marti Barletta's Marketing to Women will welcome this sequel in which she develops in much greater depth her core concepts with regard to the purchasing power of what continues to be "the world's largest market segment." Of special interest to many readers is The GenderTrends(tm) Marketing Model that reveals in her first book why and how women reach different brand purchase decisions. She shares in PrimeTime Women some revealing and valuable new insights from all-new research and DDB Worldwide which will be of substantial value to senior-level executives - including but not limited to those primarily responsible for marketing - in all companies, regardless of their size or nature. Barletta carefully organizes and then presents her material within ten chapters which are divided between two Parts: Understanding PrimeTime Women(tm) and The Field Guide for Marketing to PrimeTime Women(tm), followed by an especially informative appendix which identifies "The Best Resources in the Business."

I presume to offer an admittedly unorthodox suggestion: After reading the Foreword and Introduction, proceed immediately to the final chapter in which Barletta offers an Executive Summary which includes a brief but brilliant explanation of "the seven building blocks" for understanding, reaching, and then increasing share of "the world's largest market segment." My opinion is that reading this final chapter establishes a frame-of-reference and thematic context for absorbing and digesting the material that precedes it. One reviewer's opinion....

As is her custom, Barletta makes brilliant use of a number of reader-friendly devices throughout her narrative that facilitate and expedite reviews later of key passages. They include clusters of bold face items, bullet points, and checklists. For example, in Chapter Seven, "The GenderTrends(tm)Marketing Model Applied to Women, a systematic and simple tool which is designed to achieve three objectives:

"1. structure the complexities of gender differences into an organized view of female gender culture;

2. show how to use the principles of female gender culture to enhance each element in your marketing mix; and

3. apply the resulting insights to the five stages of the consumer's purchase path."

In the same chapter, when examining the purchase decision process, Barletta focuses on the differences between men and women, and, the differences between PrimeTime Women(tm) and younger women. Then in the final chapter, "Notes to the CEO," she briefly discusses the aforementioned "building blocks" and this material offers a value-added benefit to non-CEO readers who are senior-level executives: She provides them with a convincing, research-driven argument to support whatever changes must be made in terms of (a) how their respective organizations view women 50-70 years old, (b) how they position what they offer to them, and most important of all (c) how they nourish and thereby sustain a relationship with them.

How important are relationships to women? As Barletta observes, "Women think that people are the most important and interesting element in life, and they are oriented this way from birth...Women see themselves - and everybody, really--as part of an ensemble company. Their core unit is `we' (sometimes `we two,' sometimes a larger group). They take pride in their caring, consideration, and loyalty to and from others...Women's first instincts are to trust and share, and their mentality is rooted in revealing, not concealing."

While explaining "how to win the hearts, minds, and business of boomer big spenders," Barletta also obliterates a number of misconceptions about female consumers in general and those who are 50-70 years old in particular. Did you already know that women control an estimated 80% of all household spending and the percentage is even high for PrimeTime Women(tm)? Also, that women make 55% of all investment decisions, 55% of all decisions concerning consumer electronics, comprise 60% of all home improvement buyers and make 80% of all home improvement decisions, control more than 60% of new car purchase decisions, and 66% of decisions to purchase computers? With regard to income, between 1990 and 2003, women's inflation-adjusted median income grew 26%, while men's grew only 8%.

"PrimeTime Women are the healthiest, wealthiest, most educated, active, and influential generation of women in history. This is their PrimeTime. And it's your prime marketing opportunity." Because of Marti Barletta, that "window" of opportunity is rapidly closing. What are you waiting for?

This book are nothing but stories of Jesuit Priest Gary Smith finding Christ in the heart of the poor. The book is full of the beautiful mess that is serving the inner-city poor and homeless. The stories are painful. At times physically sickening from the details of the dirt and despair. And they are sometimes so heavy with heartbreak that they leave you speechless. But then there are stories that carry with them an amazing amount of hope. Stories of simple romance and huge sacrifices. Smith manages to describe how he finds God in both extremes. In the pain and the hope and how they both convey beauty, even when it's messy.

What a great book! A great balance of compassion and indignation at the way we treat the poor. It gave a me a wonderful insight into the heart of the poor and challnegened me to look at each person as a precious individual

Gary Smith shows a view of the poor that I never thought of before. Ultimately, that they are human beings and have feelings. Smith helps people without wanting to receive anything in return. It's a fascinating book and very touching.

I could not put this book down. The poor were fairly and honestly represented and the author treats them with such dignity and kindness. One is hard pressed to find any fault with a man or woman who ministers to the poor. They are often a light to us and Mother Theresa made this blatantly clear through her life and work among them. A magnificent text; worth reading and worth living!

Halfway through his book, Jesuit priest Gary Smith describes a 2 a.m. street scene he once witnessed. A couple of guys, both probably drunk, were having a shouting and shoving match. Tempers escalated until one of the two pulled a knife. The other guy shouted: "You can't kill me, motherf***er! I'm already dead!"

This haunting scene serves as a metaphor for the book's message. The people with whom Smith lives and ministers--the street people, the abandoned, the unstable, the addicted, the hopeless--too frequently see themselves as the walking dead. Why wouldn't they? "Respectable" society dismisses them as the dark, dirty secret it would like to sweep under the rug. It doesn't take too much exposure to our success-oriented culture to internalize its standards of social condemnation. If you're told often enough that you're garbage, you begin to believe it.

The stories that Smith tells about these people are heartrending. But they also sometimes shine with a certain dignity and hope that helps readers break through the stereotypical way we've been trained to think about the homeless. In listening to Smith's stories, those of us who are fortunate to live on the right side of the tracks just might be able to recognize that we're also among the living dead. Our pocketbooks may be healthy, but our hearts are dead because we tolerate the suffering of our fellow humans and do nothing about it. Radical compassion--to which all of us are called--quickens us back to life. The poor's very existence is a challenge to our lifestyles and a gift to us of the possibility of conversion.

Smith refuses to be a zombie. As he says (p. 98): "I take it all [the suffering of others] personally. If a woman or a man is abused, then I am abused, and if I don't feel that way, then I want to feel that way. If your flesh is lacerated, so is mine."

To which I say: "Amen!"