Indiana Books

I first met the author via email when she was looking for a Celtic coin to use to promote her new children's mystery novel The Mystery of the Ancient Coins. I was immediately interested and bought a copy to read with my kids. It was a great read and one of the few fictional books I have found that revolve around ancient coins.

In this mystery novel for kids, the second in a series of three, 11-year old detective Elizabeth Pollack and her younger brother Jonathan are asked by a family friend to discover the whereabouts of five ancient Celtic gold coins that had been carefully hidden almost forty years prior.

With an engaging and descriptive writing style and interesting characters, Rosellini writes a believable story as the brother and sister team discover clues from an old diary written in German. An element of suspense is added to the story as the diary hints of a curse and misfortune to come upon the family if the coins are not recovered within a 40-year time frame.

With a few twists and turns and surprises along the way, they follow the clues and talk to a man who collects and repairs old German clocks, a professor of ancient history, a fun-loving aunt who loves practical jokes, a librarian, and a few others until they finally come to the home of a lonely old woman who unknowingly holds the final key to solving the mystery.

The theme of this book is the importance of "memory keepers," those people who keep alive the knowledge and traditions of the past and preserve them for future generations. The quest for the missing ancient coins ties in wonderfully with this theme.

The thoughts and questions Rosellini raises when Elizabeth finally finds the coins are compelling:

Elizabeth held out her hand.... In it was a small golden coin, round and rough-edged, with a simple design like the blades of a windmill. Elizabeth felt a strange power in the coin, as if a slender thread were connecting her to ancient times and faraway places. What other hands had held this coin? What did the people look like? What did they buy with it? "I wish I knew more about the Celtic people," she whispered (page 107).

These are just the kinds of questions that will spur young readers on to explore both ancient history and the hobby of ancient coin collecting-I would highly recommend this book as a way to introduce children to the fascinating world of ancient coins. This book would make a special gift for children or grandchildren as well as being a great way for teachers to introduce students to ancient coins.

Review by Marc Breitsprecher

Marc is a full time dealer in ancient coins and owner of Ancient Imports. He can be found on the internet at http://www.ancientimports.com

Our family happily gobbled down another helping of children's mystery by Eleanor Rosellini in "The Mystery of the Ancient Coins!"

This time, the dynamic brother-and-sister team of sensible Elizabeth and wacky Jonathan get to "work" cracking the case of the 5 missing ancient coins passed down for generations in the family of their "poor old Uncle Rudy Obermeyer." The story has everything our boys require to keep those pages turning -- scary moments, unexpected twists and turns, and plenty of comic relief (usually in the form of hilarious and "just-gross-enough" antics by the irrepressible Jonathan!) A fun and intriguing independent reading experience -- but also a wonderful read-aloud story for younger children or even the whole family!

Here's hoping for more great family mysteries from Eleanor Rosellini....

This is Mrs. Rosellini's second book about Elizabeth and Jonathan Pollack, ace detectives. The first book is The Puzzle in the Portrait. It is a really good mystery, too. The Mystery of the Ancient Coins is really good because the kids have lots of fun and adventures as they solve a mystery. It has good characters and good ways that the detectives solve their problems. They discover lots of clues along the way (and some things to throw you off) so you can try to solve the mystery as you read the book. It is a good book to read by yourself or with a grown-up. Plus, the author tells you at the end how to be a memory keeper for your own family.

I really like these kids. Not all brothers and sisters get along this well; often their frustrations with each other peek through but the reader knows they have each other's back and there is real affection there. The author has imbued her detectives with keen skills and they are not afraid to use them. My initial reaction to this series was, "No magic here." But there is a certain magic; Elizabeth and Jonathan use their senses, intuition, hunches to solve interesting mysteries. The joy they feel in the wake of discovery is contagious and both books are crafted so that the suspense builds at the end of a chapter so that the reader (or listener, for these are great read aloud stories) can't turn out the light before turning just one more page. The author has captured that enthusiasm that kids of my era had for entertaining themselves without TV or computer. Two other features to mention about these books: (1) These kids are American, descendant of immigrants (as are most of us), of German extraction and their mysteries have involved family (what an extended family!) history and heritage, and the author is dedicated to preserving family memories. (2) These kids are never at risk; their investigations never put them in any danger. The Mystery of the Ancient Coins is another wonderful visit with two sharp detectives.

Excellent autobiography from one of the giants of Chicago soul and a giant in the world of pop music in general.

Lots of anecdotes about life on the road and the Chicago music scene from the 50s through the 90s.

Butler is a major talent as well as an intelligent, literate man. A must read for fans of popular music in the last half of the 20th century.

A friend of mine gave me "Only the Strong Survive" as a Christmas gift, and now I treasure it as one of the best gifts I've ever received.

This is more than a book about music--although eighty percent of it is. It is a history book, political book, inspirational book -- you name it! One would never think that a rhythm and blues singer had that much depth. For example, Mr. Butler uses the tragic case of his former bongo player to show the horrors of the war in Vietnam. Then, turning to politics, he reminds us of the debt we owe the late Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, and what all of us can do to make this world a better place. It is at once inspirational and entertaining, thought-provoking and profound -- a must-read for all serious readers!

Jerry Butler's book tells an important--and fun--story about his history as the one great rnb singers. Did you know he co-wrote I've Been Loving You Too Long, with Otis Redding. Butler also worked with Curtis Mayfield, who produced and wrote for him. His composition "Brand New Me," has been covered by countless artists from Dusty Springfield to Phoebe Snow. Don't just get the book--pick up his greatest hits too.

A MUST READ ESPECIALLY FOR DUSTY RECORD FANS. MR. BUTLER IS CLASSY AND ONE OF THE BEST PERFORMERS BACK FROM THE 60'S, A TRUE PROFESSIONAL. I STARTED READING THE BOOK AND COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. TRUST ME THIS BOOK WILL NOT BORE YOU, WHAT I LIKE ABOUT IT IS JERRY AND EARL ADD A TOUCH OF HUMOR TO JUST ABOUT EVERY CHAPTER. THIS BOOK IS A KEEPSAKE. JERRY ALSO HAS ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VOICES I HAVE EVER HEARD, DID YOU KNOW THAT HE WAS THE LEAD SINGER OF THE IMPRESSIONS AT ONE TIME AND HE LED ON THE SONG "FOR YOUR PRECIOUS LOVE" I AM A LIBRARIAN, AND I CONSTANTLY REVIEW AND PREVIEW BOOKS AND THIS IS A WINNER. AS JERRY SINGS IN ONE OF HIS SONGS "I'M A TELLING YOU".

I love this dictionary! I'm a piano teacher and my students and I use it often to get the true meaning of a word, such as "allegro" as it was understood by the composers and the time period in which they lived. It really helps you to interpret the music correctly. I know Mr. Hinson and he has done a wonderful job in helping to educate pianists. A must for all serious pianists.

I have purchased this pianist's dictionary for myself and friends, and think it's wonderful. However, there are some notable omissions. For example, the text mentions such notable American pianists like Kenneth Amada, as a student of Isidor Phillip and Edward Steuermann, but does not give him his own separate entry, as it does pianist George Katz. Amada was a superior pianist to Katz, besting him in many international competitions: including the Queen Elizabeth of Belgium (where Amada made the finals and Katz was eliminated in the semifinals) and Leventritt (where Amada bested among others Katz, Sherman, Doppmann in the semifinals, before tying Malcolm Frager in the final round (there was no first prize that year, since the judges could not choose between Amada and Frager, the only other finalist). In 1960 Leventritt did not issue a prize. The two finalists were Malcolm Frager and Kenneth Amada, who had eliminated the aforementioned pianists. Kenneth Amada not only studied with the two teachers Hinson mentioned, but was like Charles Rosen, a student of Moriz Rosenthal, Franz Liszt's last piano disciple, who also studied with Johannes Brahms and Karol Mikuli (Chopin's piano disciple). He played over 160 concerts in Europe, and quit the professional circuit to teach graduate students at The University of Iowa, where he held the chair of the piano department and retired professor emeritus. Of course, Mr. Hinson's book is fabulous and is bound to include some important omissions. Please let me offer this feedback for the next reprint of the book, or next edition. No one text includes all the terms. To supplement Hinson's book, I also recommend both the Oxford and Harvard Dictionaries of Music. But please let me recommend Mr. Maurice Hinson's book without reservation. It is an essential book that everyone who plays piano must have. It contains translations of piano terms used in French, Spanish, German, and Italian scores. It's arranged alphabetically, and also includes brief biographies that are useful. My one request is for Mr. Maurice Hinson to expand his wonderful book to include such American prodigies and virtuosos as Kenneth Amada, even though they turned away from professional playing to teaching and reclusive lives. I would be happy to offer more information if contacted. Thank you Mr. Hinson for a fabulous text. I also recommend to readers Hinson's wonderful Guide to Pianist's Repertoire, which is the most useful source of its kind.

It isn't often that a reader turns to a dictionary for pleasure. But Maurice Hinson's new work, "A Pianist's Dictionary" (2004) is a rare exception to the rule. Hinson is Senior Professor Emeritus of Piano at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and has written a number of highly-regarded reference works for piano, particularly his "Guide to the Pianist's Repertoire". The "Pianist's Dictionary" is not only a reference work, but it is also a joy to read. It was a pleasure to work through this volume, to learn new things about music and the piano and to be reminded of things I already knew. I have been an amateur pianist since adolescence and throughout my adult life, and this book struck many chords.

There will be something for every pianist, teacher, and music-lover in this book. The entries cover composers, works of music, performers and teachers, literature about the piano, performance and interpretive markings, and much else. It is a fine reference but it is more. It will stir memory and thought.

Here are some examples of what I found in the book. In 1974, Reginald Gerig published an outstanding study, "Famous Pianists and Their Technique" discussing the history of theories of playing the instrument. I was familiar with the book when it came out but haven't thought much about it since. There are entries in Hinson's dictionary for the book itself (p.52) and for Gerig (p.64) Reading the entries brought back memories and made me want to pursue Gerig's book again.

To take another example, I grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and have a soft spot in my heart for the pianist Ralph Votapek, who when I was a teenager inspired the city by winning the Naumberg Award and the first Van Cliburn competition. I met Votapek briefly last year when he played a recital of Debussy at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. There is an excellent entry in Hinson's book on Ralph Votapek (p. 206) which brought back my pleasure at remembering him win his competitions, meeting him years later, and hearing him play.

I recently read a book which described a passage in Brahms's second string quintet as a "roulade". I was embarassed not to know the term. But it appears in Hinson's book ("A brilliant run; ornamental florid passage") and I was able to hear the piece, pick out the roulade, and increase my knowledge and enjoyment of the music.

A composer that fascinates me in Leo Ornstein (1892-2002), an immigrant to the United States who abandoned a virtuoso peforming career to devote himself to avant-garde composition and teaching. (A selection of his piano music appears on the Naxos American Music series.) I was happy to find a detailed entry on Ornstein in Hinson's book (p. 126).

Every lover of music or the piano will be able to read this book and find his or her own similar examples. This book is a great reference and a great way to remember or find music that moves the heart and memory. Many readers will enjoy thinking about the entries in the book and, perhaps, also about the entries that might have been in it. I found one small error worthy of note. In the course of a discussion of Charles Ives, (p.85) Hinson states that pianist Ralph Kirkpatrick was a "tireless advocate" to bring Ives's piano music to public attention. Ralph Kirkpatrick was a harpsichordist best known for his work on Scarlatti. John Kirkpatrick was Ives's champion. Both Ralph and John Kirkpatrick have their own entries in Hinson's book (p. 92) where the matter is set aright.

Any lover of the piano will enjoy Hinson's dictionary.

This is a very handy publication. It answers many of the questions which can arise during piano lessons and gives piano teachers an extra "leg" to stand on. Maurice Hinson's name is a guarantee of quality and one can assume that the factual content of the book is in order. The book's 220 pages contain a wealth of information and every pianist should acquire a copy

If one travels to Brenda Robertson Stewart's home town of Bloomington, Indiana, one will find sinkholes, snakes, and some very peculiar religious practices. Ms. Stewart earned a B.A. in English from Indiana University. Along with her obvious writing skills, she is also a forensic artist specializing in facial reconstruction, which gives her a very special perspective on forensic investigations and the art of doll artistry. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and several doll artist organizations.

POWER IN THE BLOOD is the first Lettie Sue Wolfe mystery. Lettie Sue is a widow who has come back to Indiana to rest after the death of her husband and to work on her hobby reconstructing faces from skulls. Her home town is happy that she has returned until one of her reconstructions turns out to be her best friend Sassy's long disappeared sister Marty. Lettie Sue becomes an instant celebrity, and odd things begin to happen. Her special relationship with her elderly neighbors, Aunt Mattie and Uncle Jim, who constantly worry about her and warn her of a wolf that Uncle Jim keeps hearing, enables her to begin to build her life. But the murderer has other ideas:

"Suddenly I heard violent barking from downstairs. I sneaked downstairs and peeked around the curtain. The security light was out. After my eyes adjusted to the dark, I saw movement just behind the old maple tree. Bailey began to bark hysterically again. I sneaked over to the phone, but it was dead. Thank goodness I had a backup for the security system. It wouldn't be so easily disabled."

Ms. Stewart's first Lettie Sue mystery is a barn-storming page turner! She uses the naturally sinister topography of her home town to cook up a plot that is as compelling as her relationship with her elderly neighbors and animals is sweet. This mystery is the best kind of cozy that is appropriate for virtually any age group, and is as entertaining as it can be. Lettie Sue is a likable character with talent, character, and is just nosy enough to constantly get herself into a pickle. Ms. Stewart adds obvious regional oddballs to give an already excellent tale more credence. POWER IN THE BLOOD is a good, old fashioned story with love, religious fanaticism, family togetherness, and healing after the loss of a loved one. Lettie Sue is just getting started.

Shelley Glodowski
Senior Reviewer

Lettie Sue Wolfe is a forensic sculptor, but most of the town is unaware of her profession. When local children find a human skull in a sinkhole, Lettie is asked to reconstruct the face.

Lettie is shocked to find the face of her childhood friend's sister's face staring at her when she finished. The sister had been missing for thirty years. She decides to try to discover what happened to her friend's sister. She uncovers information people would rather not be made public. She finds herself in some sticky and dangerous situations

She hires a distant friend who is a private investigator to help her discover the truth. But can they find the truth without becoming the killer's next victims?

I really enjoyed this story. I found it difficult to put the book down. There was enough suspense to keep me guessing. It's a great cozy suspense. I found the forensic matter to enhance the story, and the author did a great job of not going into too much detail. It was just enough.

I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more from this author.

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If one travels to Brenda Robertson Stewart's home town of Bloomington, Indiana, one will find sinkholes, snakes, and some very peculiar religious practices. Ms. Stewart earned a B.A. in English from Indiana University. Along with her obvious writing skills, she is also a forensic artist specializing in facial reconstruction, which gives her a very special perspective on forensic investigations and the art of doll artistry. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and several doll artist organizations.

POWER IN THE BLOOD is the first Lettie Sue Wolfe mystery. Lettie Sue is a widow who has come back to Indiana to rest after the death of her husband and to work on her hobby reconstructing faces from skulls. Her home town is happy that she has returned until one of her reconstructions turns out to be her best friend Sassy's long disappeared sister Marty. Lettie Sue becomes an instant celebrity, and odd things begin to happen. Her special relationship with her elderly neighbors, Aunt Mattie and Uncle Jim, who constantly worry about her and warn her of a wolf that Uncle Jim keeps hearing, enables her to begin to build her life. But the murderer has other ideas:

"Suddenly I heard violent barking from downstairs. I sneaked downstairs and peeked around the curtain. The security light was out. After my eyes adjusted to the dark, I saw movement just behind the old maple tree. Bailey began to bark hysterically again. I sneaked over to the phone, but it was dead. Thank goodness I had a backup for the security system. It wouldn't be so easily disabled."

Ms. Stewart's first Lettie Sue mystery is a barn-storming page turner! She uses the naturally sinister topography of her home town to cook up a plot that is as compelling as her relationship with her elderly neighbors and animals is sweet. This mystery is the best kind of cozy that is appropriate for virtually any age group, and is as entertaining as it can be. Lettie Sue is a likable character with talent, character, and is just nosy enough to constantly get herself into a pickle. Ms. Stewart adds obvious regional oddballs to give an already excellent tale more credence. POWER IN THE BLOOD is a good, old fashioned story with love, religious fanaticism, family togetherness, and healing after the loss of a loved one. Lettie Sue is just getting started.

Shelley Glodowski
Senior Reviewer

If one travels to Brenda Robertson Stewart's home town of Bloomington, Indiana, one will find sinkholes, snakes, and some very peculiar religious practices. Ms. Stewart earned a B.A. in English from Indiana University. Along with her obvious writing skills, she is also a forensic artist specializing in facial reconstruction, which gives her a very special perspective on forensic investigations and the art of doll artistry. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and several doll artist organizations.

POWER IN THE BLOOD is the first Lettie Sue Wolfe mystery. Lettie Sue is a widow who has come back to Indiana to rest after the death of her husband and to work on her hobby reconstructing faces from skulls. Her home town is happy that she has returned until one of her reconstructions turns out to be her best friend Sassy's long disappeared sister Marty. Lettie Sue becomes an instant celebrity, and odd things begin to happen. Her special relationship with her elderly neighbors, Aunt Mattie and Uncle Jim, who constantly worry about her and warn her of a wolf that Uncle Jim keeps hearing, enables her to begin to build her life. But the murderer has other ideas:

"Suddenly I heard violent barking from downstairs. I sneaked downstairs and peeked around the curtain. The security light was out. After my eyes adjusted to the dark, I saw movement just behind the old maple tree. Bailey began to bark hysterically again. I sneaked over to the phone, but it was dead. Thank goodness I had a backup for the security system. It wouldn't be so easily disabled."

Ms. Stewart's first Lettie Sue mystery is a barn-storming page turner! She uses the naturally sinister topography of her home town to cook up a plot that is as compelling as her relationship with her elderly neighbors and animals is sweet. This mystery is the best kind of cozy that is appropriate for virtually any age group, and is as entertaining as it can be. Lettie Sue is a likable character with talent, character, and is just nosy enough to constantly get herself into a pickle. Ms. Stewart adds obvious regional oddballs to give an already excellent tale more credence. POWER IN THE BLOOD is a good, old fashioned story with love, religious fanaticism, family togetherness, and healing after the loss of a loved one. Lettie Sue is just getting started.

Shelley Glodowski
Senior Reviewer

Peter is so creative! His book is captivating and interesting from cover to cover. Buy this book and you won't be disappointed. I couldn't put it down!

This is an excellent read. In fact, it is one of the best books I have ever read. I could not put it down; I read it in one sitting. By the end of the book, I felt like I knew the characters. It also made me think very hard about my own mortality. It ran the whole gamut of emotions; it is only the second book to ever make me cry. I would recommend this book to anyone, especially anyone that has been through tough situations in life.

Mr. West invites his readers along for the ride. Readers don't simply witness the emotional ups and downs during Richard's journey, they share in this emotional roller-coaster ride. And just when the reader thinks she might know the outcome, Mr. West takes her through another turn of events. A quick read, but packed full of emotion, love, loss and irony.

I really enjoyed Reluctant Journey by Peter West. It is a book that really is worth the price of admission. This book was written with alot of imagination and thought and obviously took some time to write. If this is any indication of Peter's writing abilities, the next two books in the trilogy should be terrific!

Chaim Kaplan begins by blaming Poland's 1939 defeat on the "incompetence" of the prewar Polish government (never mind the fact that Nazi Germany was powerful enough to roll over most of Europe, and that it finally took several powerful, industrialized nations--combined--many years to subdue Nazi Germany). He also misrepresents the Poles as ones who were basically sympathetic with Hitler and who were only forced to change their minds when Hitler conquered Poland. In actuality, many prewar Polish politicians (e. g. Pilsudski) warned of the evils and dangers of Nazism. Then again, positive opinions of Hitler were common all over the prewar world. And just as some prewar Poles didn't mind Hitler so long as he was anti-Semitic but not overtly anti-Polish, so also some prewar Jews (especially German Jews) were ready to support the Nazi movement and its Polonophobia if it would only outgrow its anti-Semitism and behave more like the old-style German aggressive nationalism.

Kaplan implicitly refutes those who say that there was no Polish Quisling only because the Germans never wanted one: "You will not find one single public-spirited citizen among them [the Poles] who is willing to be the conquerors' representative, to talk to his people and make them realize that they cannot change reality and must accept the yoke of German rule--like Hacha in Czechoslovakia and Quisling in Norway. We could also add Petain in France, that stupid old man who willingly said Kaddish for his country." (p. 206).

In early 1940, Kaplan rejected the notion that the Nazis would be able to stir up the Poles to large-scale violence against Jews (p. 101, 114), but he realized that isolated attacks may occur because: "No nation lacks hooligan elements, and the conquerors have paved the way for them." (p. 114) and because: "Terrorists and troublemakers are not lacking among any people, and at all times and places they can be found in sufficient numbers." (p. 101). He characterizes the Easter 1940 events as follows: "The conquerors have begun a new political operation. Gangs of young toughs, Polish youth (you won't find one adult among them), armed with clubs, sticks, and all kinds of harmful weapons, make pogroms against the Jews." (p. 134).

Kaplan comments: "The conqueror tramples upon both `inferior' races, but the Jews are on the lowest rung and the Poles on the next to lowest." (p. 81). At other times, he comes close to juxtaposing the victimhood of both peoples: "Nazi pride is unlimited. The Poles and the Jews are classed together as if they were both `natives' of African jungles. Both were supposedly created only to serve the conqueror." (p. 73). Kaplan includes the following amazing statements: "At heart, the conqueror hates the Poles more deeply than the Jews. Once the head of the Warsaw district, Dr. Fischer, said, `The Poles we hate instinctively; the Jews we hate in accordance with orders.'" (p. 204).

Kaplan presents evidence that, in many ways, Poles were initially victimized by the Germans more than Jews. Consider the summer of 1940: "Today, Aryans were seized for work!...When pedestrians disappeared from the streets after the hunt began, they stopped the trolleys and took the male passengers off, whether they were Poles or Jews. After personal interrogation the Jews went home and the Poles were imprisoned. How good it is to be a Jew!" (p. 179). At other times, Poles wore the Jewish Schandeband to avoid forced labor (p. 150). Poles also sent their children to Jewish homes overnight to prevent the children from being seized by Germans for forced donations of blood for German soldiers (p. 152). In spring 1941, Poles hid in the Jewish ghetto during German mass executions of Poles (p. 254).

About 140,000 Poles lost their properties, along with a comparable number of Jews, during the German creation of the Warsaw ghetto (p. 212; see also p. 266). (The occasional postwar Polish killings of Jews over properties, much exaggerated by Jan Thomas Gross in his recently-published FEAR, must be understood in the light of the atmosphere of complete disregard for property rights that had recently befallen both Jews and Poles.)

Katsh, the editor, credits a Pole, Wladyslaw Wojcik, for preserving Kaplan's diary for posterity and for later discovering the second Ringelblum Archive (p. 14). Kaplan himself credits the Poles for smuggling food into the Warsaw Ghetto (p. 304, 316), and, in general, for not falling for Nazi anti-Semitic propaganda: "We thought that the `Jewish badge' would provide the local population with a source of mockery and ridicule--but we were wrong. There is no attitude of disrespect nor of making much of another's dishonor. Just the opposite. They show that they commiserate with us in our humiliation. They sit silent in the street cars, and in private conversation they even express words of condolence and encouragement. `Better times will come.'" (p. 82). Also: "Common suffering has drawn all hearts closer, and the barbaric persecutions of the Jews have even aroused feelings of sympathy towards them. " (p. 114). Later, Kaplan repeatedly credited Polish messengers for scouring the entire General Government to ascertain the fact that, up to that point, 40,000 "resettled" Lublin Jews were definitely no longer alive (p. 286, 291, 309).

In his entry for July 22, 1942, Kaplan is candid about the fact that, even at that late date, Warsaw's Jewish officials continued to insist that Warsaw's Jews would never be deported (p. 319). And, in common with many Jewish chroniclers, Kaplan criticizes world Jewry for its indifference to the fate of Polish Jews (pp. 76-77). During the deportations of Jews to the death camps, Kaplan lambastes the Jewish ghetto police "...whose cruelty is no less than that of the Nazis..." (p. 324), and says that: "It is the Jewish police who are cruelest toward the condemned." (p. 326).

Kaplan writes: "Nazism is not original. They took everything from Bolshevism, only that they expanded its rottenness." (p. 329).

Kaplan's comtemporaneous recording of the destruction of the Jewish community in Warsaw, starting with the Nazi invasion of Poland is most gripping and compelling. It is most interesting because it was written without the "benefit" of other purported historical accounts or the need to explain why the Nazis acted as they did. Although Kapaln has a perspective and knows he is writing for history, his maniscript is mostly reportorial. When he is providing his opinion, rather than telling what actually happened that day, Kaplan let's the reader know.

How refreshing to be able to read an historical work, without the "spin" that now accompanies most works about the Nazi occupation of conquered lands and the extermination of the Jews of Europe. This book is must reading for both serious scholars and those who are interested in the subject matter.

This is the 4th Warsaw ghetto diary I've read and the 3rd I've reviewed. If I had to do it over again, I'd pick this one first. The author was a teacher and more than just a recorder of events. He was a gifted writer and master storyteller who was never deluded for a moment about what was going to happen and who never lost sight of the universal perspective. He writes in a wry, almost sarcastic style that makes his point effectively as he blasts the Nazis, Polish and Jewish collaborators, corruption in the ghetto, etc. He had me asking myself deep questions as I was reading. He constantly refers to the Nazis he encounters as stupid people. It shows how dangerous stupid people can be when given power. At one point, he says cruelty is a sickness that can affect whole communities and even entire nations. You see from his writings how contagious a sickness it is, and the more that violent, sadistic, atrocious behavior is permitted, the more it occurs. He vividly shows what can happen when people lose their sense of outrage. He knew what was going on at Sobibor and Treblinka and that the people being "resettled" were not coming back. He never trusted the Nazis, saying only evil can come from evil people. Who can argue with that when you are talking about people who lied up to the minute they closed the door of the gas chamber behind you? The last line in the book is "If I am taken, what will become of my diary?" He was not afraid of dying, but afraid that all his effort would be wasted. Well, it wasn't wasted. If only one more person reads this book on the basis of this review, I'll feel I have done my belated bit for a man who had real guts and unfortunately didn't live to see the ultimate survival of his people.

Having read many accounts of existence during the Holocaust, I recommend "Scroll of Agony" because it pulls the reader in on so many levels.
The reader can learn about the system the Nazis used to try and fragment Jewish morale, culture, health and lives by attempting to suppress every aspect of Jewish life. What a powerful and understated diary!

Another fantastic poet pushed to the chest of oblivion of women's achievements, in spite of her Nobel Price of Literature. Touching and profound stories of innocence, longing for one's roots, lost loves, and nature's beauty. The Spanish original poems are so rythmic and endearing, and yet, the excellent English version maintains the purity of its message. A book worth reading and re-reading.

This bilingual collection offers a superb selection of poetry from all of Gabriela Mistral's volumes. Gabriela Mistral (1889-1957)was the first Nobel Laureate from Latin America, teacher to Pablo Neruda, forerunner of writers such as Garcia Marquez and Rigoberta Menchu. Her work is hardly known in the United States in part because Mistral was not (unlike these other, better-known writers) identified with any particular political platform. She was always, first and last, a writer and a teacher...and incidentally one of Latin America's first celebrities, a public intellectual in every sense of the word. This collection draws from Gabriela Mistral's poetry alone (excerpted from five volumes; short selections of Mistral's poetic prose have been ably translated by Stephen Tapscott, published by the U of Texas, while the hundreds of journalistic pieces that Mistral wrote and circulated all over the Spanish-speaking world are still unknown to US readers).

The editorial standards in this text are very high. Pages have been laid out so that it is easy to consult the corresponding lines in Spanish and English. While LeGuin states in the introduction that she has little prior experience translating from Spanish to English, she makes clear in her introduction that she worked on this project for years, aided by associates fluent in both languages, and her motivation throughout was the desire to bring this extraordinary, brilliant, hard-to-classify poet's work to English language readers. LeGuin has succeeded admirably. The translations are close to the feeling of the Spanish, yet they avoid wooden literalism.

At all moments LeGuin opts to communicate the mood of the poem, and her choices of poems to translate is clearly dictated by a combination of elements. She chooses, first, what can be most readily translated - she prefers the narrative poems over most of the "songs" (cradle songs and rounds) since the rhymes and rhythms of latter are difficult to convey. Also the book selects more or less equally from the volumes of poetry that Mistral produced over her lifetime, so that we get an excellent overview of this poet's development. Finally, the translator has worked with poems that are among the poet's most intellectually complex works, ones that show the poet's utopian vision for the Americas, her unique feminism, her fascination with landscape and her travels all over the world.

This book gives you great insight about the amazing writer Gabriela Mistral. I wish more translations were available.

A simply outstanding addition to any personal or academic poetry collection, Selected Poems Of Gabriela Mistral is an extensive anthology of poetry by Gabriela Mistral who is the first Latin American writer to earn the Nobel Prize in literature. These free-verse poems are presented side-by-side in their original Spanish and expertly translated into English by Ursula K. Le Guin. Impressionable imagery and powerful, sweeping themes of the human condition mark this truly exceptional collection as highly recommended and memorable reading. Evening: In this sweetness I feel/my heart melt like wax./In my veins runs/not wine, but slow oil,/and I feel my life slipping away/still and soft as a gazelle.

This is an autobiographical account of a womans' childhood and although 'Zippy' is the main character of the story, the book is also a story outlining her Mothers' transformation from a housewife, making the best of things as they were setup for her by her own preconceived ideas, to a well-rounded person in charge of her own life. Ultimately, the entire family feels the impact, both good and bad from the changes that occur. This book is both entertaining and thought-provoking!

Such a funny book, made my rides to work SO much easier! :o)

I have both books on Audio CD. Loved them both, and now I am hoping for another sequel. Ms. Kimmel writes with such love and definition and humor, she is just a joy to read and to listen to. There is never a dry spot in her books. Now I have passed on these books to several friends, and we are all wanting to know more. Thank you Ms. Kimmel for a fantastic journey into your smalltown (but never dull) life. Linda Glick

A legion of readers responded warmly and enthusiastically to Haven Kimmel's memoir, A Girl Named Zippy. Warmly and enthusiastically may be an understatement as it became a New York Times best seller. If the Times had rankings for audio bestsellers She Got ff The Couch as read by Kimmel would surely be there.

While her second reminiscence about growing up in 1970s Indiana is every bit as witty and affecting as her first, this time we learn a great deal more about her mother, Delonda. Mom's story is one of empowerment for women. She is the "she" who got up off the couch. She did, indeed, and went to college and grad school.

Delonda buys a VW bug that has seen better days without knowing how to drive it. Tales of her learning to operate a motor vehicle are some of the most smile provoking segments.

And, education results in a changed woman - not at all the gal Dad married. How does he react to this?

We're also treated to reunions with some of our favorites from A Girl Named Zippy - sister Melinda and best pal Julie. What a pleasure that is.

A seasoned actress could not have given a better voice performance than Kimmel whose timing is on target and interpretation of other character's voices always entertaining. After all, who knows the speech patterns of her near and dear better than Kimmel?

Quite often, for me, the audio version is more enjoyable than the book That's true in this case.

Highly recommended - enjoy!

- Gail Cooke

Thorough research and good writing make this an excellent work of history. My great-grandfather participated in some of these actions and kept a diary. Reading Evans' book cleared up a lot of misconceptions I had formed from reading only my relative's private's-eye view from horseback.

This book made the events that occurred come to life. I couldn't put it down.

It is not often that we get a completely packaged history in a single volume. This is one of the few books that covers the subject and provides the reader with the background, off the field issues, personalities and operations. Sherman's cavalry operations are not a bright shining example of Union brilliance. They do show what will happen when average or below average commanders with vague orders embark on overly ambitious campaigns. For the Confederacy and Joe Wheeler, this was a very bright spot after many reversals. That the cavalry was not deciding the Atlanta Campaign saved Sherman and defeated Hood.

Most readers will not know the personalities involved and the author takes time to give us both the background and relationships. This enables us to understand the why of many decisions. Sherman is not well served by his cavalry commanders, something for which he is partially to blame. In addition, Sherman seems not to have wished to invest the time to correct problems and/or settle issues that divided this arm.

Each operation is covered in detail with maps in the proper place. I had few problems following and finding the places on the provided maps. Battles have maps are at the right point, allowing the reader to understand the situation. You will need these maps, as the battles are not familiar. However, the author manages to keep the reader in the battle with the right combination of participant's accounts and good writing.

This book belongs in every Civil War library and is necessary read to understand the Atlanta Campaign.

The descriptions of the cavalry charges are wonderful and terrify'ing. I would have hated to be on the slashing side of those swords.

On the other hand the ablity of the South to repair the damage done by the raiders is remarkable. It made me realize the futility of distroying low grade rail and bridges. These guys would burn a bridge, and 3 days later it would be completely rebuilt. Not really slowing down the pace of the war at all. Sometimes the repairs were done before the raiders were back in camp!

It was incredible the amount of useless looting that went on. Soldiers stealing tableware & clothes only to toss it as soon as they were attacked.

Another great civil war read. (For those fans of wars in a bygone era.)

This book is so informative. You get many different Shostakovich experts talking about what information exists out there. Incredibly informative about Shostakovich, but also about what information is reliable if you would like to do further research.
I highly, highly recommend this book, before all other Shostakovich materials out there.

I could not possibly agree more strongly with Mr. Katz, the other reviewer. The Washington Post review cannot be let stand as it misunderstands the problem and demonstrates more than ever our need for this book. It is a sad truth that every book of falsehood published needs probably five or ten books of truth to correct.

Plus, and alone worth the price of the volume, there is included one of Richard Taruskin's invaluable essays on Shostakovich demonstrating once more his astonishing vision and learning with respect to Russian music.

I write only to second the first two reviews and bring the debate up to date. When 'Testimony' first appeared in 1979, the naive political attack of the then Soviet union obscured the more profound criticism of those who knew Shostakovich well - namely, their incredulity that a personality as complex and secretive as Shostakovich was would ever have revealed himself to such a degree to a comparative stranger. Volkov did not help his cause by refusing to disclose the bulk of the transcript for many years.

But when he finally he did so, it turned out that his practical reasons for keeping the ms. to himself were correct - for inspection revealed such obvious indications that Shostakovich had by no means endorsed the book as to end the controversy and Volkov's reputation with it. This analysis is detailed in the Shostakovich Casebook, and also in the Bard Festival handbook. The material is not at all dry, but quite interesting to people wondering how working historials and biographers actually do business.

It is worth noting, however, that even the harshest critics acknowledge the enormous service 'Testimony' performed to Shostakovich, in presenting the West with a different image of the man than simply genius-cum-party-hack. It caused many people (myself, for example) to take a look at a musical accomplishment that was prodigious by any standard. The revitalized interest in DDS's chamber music, songs, and what were once considered his minor works, has led to a massive and long overdue appreciation of a towering musical genius. Volkov is owed a debt of gratitude for that that no one denies.

I've never posted a review before, but I can't allow the above "editorial review" to go unanswered. I don't understand how, after reading Laurel Fay's article in this book, there could possibly be a sliver of doubt in anybody's mind that Testimony is a massive fraud.


While I agree that the view of Dmitri Shostakovich as a loyal communist is naive and simplistic, the view espoused by Testimony is at least as much so. The veracity of the portrait of Shostakovich presented in Testimony is, at least, open to questions. The authenticity of the book itself has been demolished by Laurel Fay's excellent detective work. There can no longer be any doubt that what Shostakovich affixed his signature to was a collection of previously published writings. The departure from these earlier texts comes, in every single case, immediately following the end of the page which has been signed. There could not be any clearer evidence that the authentification of the book was carried out under false pretenses.


Mr. Page draws attention to the agressive tone and the sometimes-monotonous focus of A Shostakovich Casebook. Publishing this kind of jeremiad wouldn't be necessary if Western journalists didn't persist in their stubborn refusal to acknowledge that Testimony, whatever its merits may be, was written by Solomon Volkov without the help of Dmitri Shostakovich.


--Jonah I. Katz

Massachusetts Institute of Technology