Georgia Books

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!

Portrait of an Artist is just that - a portrait of a powerful, unique artist. Refreshingly, for those of us who have an interest in art and some knowledge but are not familiar with technicalities, the book is very direct and honest. One comes away with the feeling they have met and experienced a fascinating woman - one who is not always pleasant and kind, but one who is always open and honest. Her art is used as a lens into her deepest feelings, although the only representations of her art are in photographs where she is posing in front of one of her paintings. Her devotion to her art was inspiring, although it seemed to overwhelm everything and everyone that surrounded her. I walk away from this book very glad to have met and experienced Georgia O'Keeffe, but also glad to have experienced her from a distance and not had to endure her intensity personally. This is a great compliment for a fascinating book.

For so many years to me, Georgia O'Keeffe was just a well-known woman artist who painted flowers. Thanks to this book I came away feeling that I got to truly know and admire this artist and now I can look at her pictures differently with a deeper understanding and appreciation for them. Thanks to this book I think I have learned to look at the beauty in nature in a different way and feel that this book has taught me much about people and truly opened my eyes in many ways to the world around me and made me curious about different areas of our wonderful country. Very enlightening in many ways and definitely worth reading.

There are parts of New Mexico that, if you know of the woman, just scream This is Georgia O'Keeffe Country. This honest and admiring biography lays out the story of this incredible woman who lived to age 99. That's a long, long, long life. Her life found its trajectory when, in 1916, a friend sent some of her drawings to renowned photographer Alfred Stieglitz. He proclaimed her to be "a woman on paper." Furious (as only O'Keeffe could be furious), she confronted him, became his lover, and eventually married him, initiating an emotional and artistic collaboration that endured until his death.
O'Keeffe became a feminist before the word was even invented. When she realized that it would be impossible to become her own person while working in his shadow, she established the pattern of spending 6 months with him in NY and 6 months on her own in New Mexico, a place she always referred to as her spiritual home. Stiegitz died in 1946, and O'Keeffe lived on for another incredible half a century.
If you have the opportunity to visit New Mexico, don't miss the O'Keeffe museum in Santa Fe - and my all means visit her home in Abiqueque. To say it's Georgia O'Keeffe country is to put it far too mildly.

When author Laurie Lisle advised the artist, Georgia O'Keeffe, that hers was a story Lisle "wanted to tell," O'Keeffe, as was her wont, elected not to participate but told Lisle, "you are welcome to what you find." ("Forward and Acknowledgments.") Lisle, equipped with a passion for her subject and steadfastness of purpose - qualities similar to those governing O'Keeffe's own work and life - pored through museum bulletins and exhibition catalogue notes, magazine and newspaper articles, memoirs about O'Keeffe's artistic peers (including her husband, photographer Alfred Stieglitz), and O'Keeffe's letters preserved in Yale's Beinecke Rare Book Library. She spoke with O'Keeffe's schoolmates, in-laws, and friends. And, of course, she viewed O'Keeffe's creations.

There is not one spot of color in this book except for the auburn and gold lettering on the jacket of my paperback. The sixteen pages of photographs in the book, only four of which show O'Keeffe posing with her art, are black-and-white. One imagines, had the artist participated in this project and accepted that a literary work, with an artist as its subject, could be as beautiful and fascinating as the flowers, skulls, rivers, and stones she captured in her own paintings, O'Keeffe would have appreciated the lack of color. For much of her life, O'Keeffe's signature garb was black with a touch of white, due to a belief that admirers ought to focus on the art, not the artist.

While reading this book, one obviously is tempted to take occasional breaks from Lisle's gorgeously plain, non-effusive prose to google O'Keeffe's paintings. After I read about O'Keeffe's initiation into the jet age, where she was surprised to peer down from her airplane window and "see so many rivers, tributaries, and deltas undulating through the earth's deserts" ("Chapter 13: Clouds"), I just had to view "It Was Red and Pink." However, this book clearly is not an art critique. Paintings are discussed insofar as they provide insight into O'Keeffe's mind, heart, and soul. Most of the time, while reading, I stayed far away from the computer. I was riveted by tales about family, femininity, marriage, the artist's apparent struggle between remaining dedicated to painting and perhaps having a baby, the conflict between how she and the public perceived her work, intimations of mortality, and a devotion to the splendors of New Mexico even after her eyesight failed.

I would recommend this book to anyone who relishes art, history, New Mexico, femininism, humanity, or just would love to read a great book.

Having just seen the Georgia Okeeffe exibition at the Phillips Gallery in Washington, DC, I had to run out and buy a biography to learn more about this incredible artist. This book gives deep personal insight to Ms O'keeffe's life and work.

Contrary to other information, this book is a good neutral source to the history of the middle east in maps.

The book does not take a stand on the issue of what land was and was not promised to arabs during the first world war. Anyone who claims they found an easy answer to that question in this atlas is misrepresenting the material.

Further maps show patterns of Jewish popluation growth. But none of the maps claim to show: 1) the price at which the land was sold, 2) that Palestine was a waste land, 3) the motives for land sales to Jews during the mandate and pre-mandate period.

Other maps show conficts between the communities within what is now Israel. They show a pattern of consistant and growing resistance of local people (palestinians) to the creation by force of a Jewish State around their homes.

The book also does not claim that Transjordan was ever a part of any intended jewish homeland, consistant with history. Any suggestion that the league of nations had ever sought to incorporate lands east of the jordan river into a jewish state is false. See the text of the mandate, the discussions of the negotiation of the mandate...etc. It is further false and not suggested by the book that the 1920-21 riots by palestinians against the mandate ended any jewish immigration.

The atlas shows the growing violence between palestinians and jewish settlers throughout the mandate period. What maps cannot show however are movements among the settlers to economically exclude all arabs from their lives. Movements such as hebrew labor which attempted to create economic segregation within palestine are not easily shown in maps.

The facts as shown by the book are that Palestinians resisted the creation of the mandate and a jewish homeland since the start. And that as the pace of jewish migration increased, violence and resistance increased in parallel. And throughout the mandate period there were deaths on both sides. The book also clearly shows the increasing violence that ended in civil war in 1948.

The peel commission did not find that Jerusalem was a predominatly jewish city. But it did use the example of the forced removal of greeks from Turkey in 1922 to suggest all non-jews be removed by force from the jewish state proposed by the Peel Commission. During the late 1930s, the Palestinians insisted on one country for all people. Every British proposal for division of the country involved large-scale explusions of Palestinians and a continuation of british rule over a large part of the remaining land (so-called international rule).

The book finally shows the war of 1948 and its disasterous results for palestinians. The flight of palestinians away from their homes during the war, the destruction of their villages by Israel and Israeli massacres like Dier Yassein of Palestinians are all shown in great detail. It also shows the patterns of settlement following the 1967 occupation of the west bank and gaza.

And while some will use the book to apportion blame, its better to look at the book and get a sense of who has lost what. Palestine, in 1921 was denied national existance and turned over to the british for colonization by europeans. In 1948, Democratic Israel was created by driving what would now be a non-jewish majority out of their homes within the new state of Israel. And after 1967, the clear intent of the Israelis to take all the land through settlements is more than visible.

Beyond that, arguments about what might have been in 1937 are utterly worthless today. The situation is that a huge population of Palestinians today lives in the west bank under Israeli military rule with no rights. That situation must change if there is to be peace. 1948 cannot be undone anymore than 1917 can be undone. But rather than apportion blame or point fingers or rehash the past, what needs to be done is to find a way to give the palestinians in the occupied territories a national state once and for all.

History can provide a source of facts, but it cannot make a peace. Peace can only be made by looking at the grim reality of the current situation and finding a solution.

My 1993 edition of this classic reference contains 147 maps imparting great wisdom, and a depth of understanding rarely presented in the evening news. Only three maps concern periods before the twentieth century. The third shows the Turkish conquerors' vilayet re-districting of the Holy Land in 1888, plus areas of Arab-Jewish conflict during the last three decades of Ottoman rule.

The book's fourth map clearly outlines the areas excluded in 1915 from the independence promised by the British to the Arabs, and requested by Hussein of Mecca for Arab cantons. Neither side mentioned southern Palestine, the Mutasarriflik of Jerusalem or the Jewish people--at all.

Further maps also evidence the eagerness of Arab property owners to sell waste land to Jewish settlers at very high prices, for very large tracts were made available.

Still others show the locations of Arab attacks on Jewish communities beginning in 1882. Through 1914, bands of Arabs assaulted at least 10 Jewish settlements between Jaffa and Jerusalem and in the Jezreel Valley.

From 1920 on, the maps show progressively more attacks, in which Arab assailants destroyed the new landowners' forests, wheat fields, orange groves and cattle, burned and stoned their shops and factories--and murdered unarmed Jews.

A March 1920 attack by a large number of Halsa Arabs on the Jews in Tel Hai killed six; an April 1920 attack on B'nai Yehuda killed one. In May 1921, Arab riots prompted Britain, the League of Nations' trustee of all Middle Eastern Mandates, to end Jewish immigration and "close settlement of the land" throughout Transjordan, both of which the League had sought, with Arab approval, only a few years earlier. Only these attacks, and the Arab 1929 riots that killed 20 Jewish children and elders in Safed, 7 in Hacarmel, 6 in Motza, 1 in Hulda, 6 in Tel Aviv, 2 in Beer Toviya--and 59 in Hebron-- persuaded previously passive Jewish farmers to take up arms, thereby defying British prohibitions against Jewish self-defense.

The fact is, Arab riots occurred well in advance of Israel's creation. They took scores of Jewish civilian lives. And then (in 1921)--as now--the only Arabs killed by Jews were killed in counter-attacks that followed the initial Arab assaults.

All this shows clearly on the maps readers reach page 14.

From here, the pictorials exhibit the precise dimensions of the 1936 Arab riots, with one page devoted to each of four months. The casualties to Jewish life and property were massive and nationwide. More riots in 1937 and 1938 followed.

Most enlightening of all, however, are those maps detailing the various partition plans over the years. The first of these, which the Jewish people accepted, and the Arabs rejected, was the 1937 Peel Commission proposal. The Peel Commission envisioned a tiny Jewish State, an L-shaped affair perhaps 6 or 8 miles-wide along the Mediterranean coast, from south of Rehovot to a few miles north of Acre with a northern corridor no more than 30 miles deep running from the coast, and inland on a border south of Afula to Beit Shean. Even this, the Jewish people accepted, and Arabs rejected.

But the Peel proposal was most remarkable for something else it inherently acknowledged: Jerusalem was not a "traditionally Arab city," as modern-day news repeatedly misinforms us. Its population--which was centered in the Old City--was predominantly Jewish. Christians and Muslims were minorities.

Thus the Peel Commission assigned Jerusalem, Bethlehem and a roughly oval-shaped area surrounding them, to an international trust to be managed by Britain for the League of Nations.

When that plan foundered on the Arab refusals, two subsequent 1938 partition plans proposed assigning even larger areas to the international trust. The more significant of the pair was the British Woodhead plan, as it was none too sympathetic to Zioninsts. Nevertheless, Woodhead expanded the international area encompassing Jerusalem and Bethlehem to include "traditionally Arab Ramallah" as well.

It is a lot more difficult after consulting this book, to lay blame for the Arab Israeli conflict solely on Israel's doorstep. The pictures tell the story. While the Camp David II final settlement offered in 2000 and 2001 is not shown, the book does contain maps of the "peace enclaves" as the future Palestinian Authority areas were then called. Moreover the later proposals almost seem unnecessary, given the illustrations of intense anti-Jewish attacks that began even before Israel was a state.

In short, Israel could and would have been much smaller than it is today if only Arabs had in 1937 accepted any Jewish state. They didn't, although none of the current issues even existed in 1937. But then, they had begun attacking Jewish farmers decades before Israel had any borders at all. These points are very telling indeed.

--Alyssa A. Lappen

Professor Gilbert may know more about this subject than any other scholar, and despite some inherent difficulties has reconstructed geographical areas with great precision. Even those who disagree with his views (occasionally expressed in the explanatory captions) must acknowledge the consumate scholarship underlying his maps--which have no "attitudes," only facts.

The Arab-Israeli conflict is a fiercely debated topic with numerous accusations constantly being thrown back and forth. For someone just beginning to study the Arab-Israeli conflict, it can be overwhelming. This book is a collection of maps drafted by a professional cartographer to show the real dimensions of treaties, ceasefires, boycotts, and other historical moments in the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Would you like to know exactly which land the Oslo Agreements included?

Would you like to know which parts of the Middle East belonged to biblical Israel?

Would you like to know which parts of Britain's Palestine Mandate they forbid Jews to dwell or buy land on?

This resource can answer all those question and more graphically showing you the exact boundaries of, countries involved in, and other important aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict. I particularly found this resource helpful in disputing allegations by people that "such-and such a percentage" of the land was to be given up in a treaty such as the original U.N. plan for Palestine or under the Oslo Agreements. After showing my fellow debater the actual maps, the arguments were ended since I was in possession of hard fact thanks to this fine reference book.

Sir Martin Gilbert is a well-acclaimed British scholar, who has written numerous titles in the Historical Atlas series, extensively written about the Arab-Israeli conflict, and was also officially appointed to write the biography of Sir Winston Churchill.

I have reviewed the 1984 Fourth Edition, but several editions have since come out with updated information and additional maps to reflect more recent developments. I recommend getting the most recent edition available.

I highly recommend this outstanding resource for anyone studying the Arab-Israeli conflict, whether pro-Arab or pro-Israeli.

Review by: Maximillian Ben Hanan

Very informative. Gives a good understanding of the conflict by one of the best historians alive right now. Buy it.

This is another excellent book from Georgia Heard. As always, Georgia has provided ideas that can be applied immediately to one's own classroom. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is focused on improving writing in their classroom.

I have used this book so many times with my third graders. Heard has some fresh, creative ideas on the different types of revisions that come up in Writers Workshop. If you love writers workshop this is a great addition to your library!

This book is a valuable tool for any teacher of writing. It gives a number of ways for teaching writers to look at revision with leads, voice, setting, character and much more dealing with the craft of writing. Each activity is easy to implement and can be utilized to fit any teacher's classroom situation.

Georgia Heard communicates clearly - in her poetry, in her writing. This book is a helpful collection of strategies and reminders that are straightforward and clearly expressed. For example, it addresses the importance of verbs, as the driving force of sentences, and of using specifics when naming nouns and then provides simple techniques and examples for practice. My middle school students and I find it valuable.

I took many courses with Georgia Heard when I was a graduate student at Columbia University. She changed my life as a teacher and writer. I cannot stop writing poetry and fiction because of her. Nor can I squelch my desire to work with students (primary school through adult ed) on their own poems.

The products of my students' writing and my own writing knock the pants off practically anyone who has a heart. Thank you, Georgia, for helping so much fantastic stuff to blossom.

All of her books are jewels. This book in particular is a steamer trunk packed with a zillion ways one can look at the revision process.

Buy the book and use it. See Georgia in person when she speaks at conferences. Write your hearts out, then re-read this book and write some more.

It's why we're here on earth.

I live in Los Angeles but have been on the Roswell Ghost Tour and now, after reading this book, all I want to do is go back! The thing I love about this book is that Dianna gives you background to the story. A scary story just isn't as scary without a little history. The movie "Psycho" wouldn't be as much fun without the story of the owner of Bates Motel!! This book is not only for those who live in the area. This book is for all lovers of the paranormal! I highly recommend it!
Dage Baker

My husband and I moved to the Atlanta area just this past May and one of the first things we did was go on the Roswell Ghost Tour with Ponyboy as our guide. Being new to Georgia it was great to hear about some of the history of this very interesting city as well as learn of its paranormal activity. We have been on other ghost tours, but Roswell is our favorite and we plan on going again. When I found out Dianna Avena had written a book on Roswell I eagerly awaited its publication and after reading it, it did not disappoint me. The stories were written in the order of the actual tour. It was well written and gives a good sense of Roswell's history along with the hauntings that so many people have experienced. The pictures were a good supplement to her stories. Whether you have taken the tour or not, this book is very entertaining and informative for all of you "ghost hunters" out there. I thoroughly recommend this book and look forward to more tours and books from Dianna and her crew.

The book is a wondering weaving of history and storytelling. Dianna's writing style is an easy read and kept me wrapped in the pages from beginning to end.

I found the book to be well written and very informative about both the history of Roswell, Georgia as well as the paranormal activities going on in this town north of Atlanta. I have lived in northern Georgia since 1990 and did not know a lot of the history of Roswell. This book educated me on both the history of Roswell as well as some of the "creepy" things going on in some of the locations around Roswell. If you live in or near Georgia and/or interested in the paranormal, this book is a definite must read. Two thumbs up! Now, I am going to go take the Ghost Tour of Roswell that is offered by the author! Wish me luck!

I found that the book was full of details and laid out in a way that it was easy to read and understand the content. It also had good pictures to go along with the stories so it made you feel as if you were there, not only through words but with the visuals as well.
It's very apparent that the author is very knowledgeable about the subject she wrote about!

Any one who has a personal copy of Walden with heavy underlining and pages falling away from the binding will read the words of David Kline with respect. This is a man so completely at one with his physical world, so at peace with his chosen lifestyle, and so appreciative of his environment that he makes Thoreau seem under-developed. While Kline, an Amish farmer who lives an economic life far out-of-step with his contemporary American culture, writes little about his religious philosophy, he is man at peace with himself and his God and he is able to convey that without talking directly about his theology. He expresses appreciation for his heritage of the family farm which has become his, and for his early teacher who taught him to see the wonders of the natural life which was found on that farm and in that area of Ohio. The life of a farmer is one of seasonal cycles which dictates the work, and the habits of the creatures of the wild. The book is roughly cyclical in scope, but has no straightforward time line. Kline writes as though engaging in easy conversation, reminiscing about berry-picking and manure-spreading, bird-watching and gardening. His life is an out-of-doors life, but he does not complain about the weather! Bad weather seems to be a time to read, and he cites authors from Kathleen Norris to A. Leopold, evidence that he is as much at home with the written word as with the topography of his farm Kline's little book makes me want to know more about him, to know how he relates to the strange and stressed humans with whom he shares this land. The book is as much spirtitual as scientific in content, bringing a sense of peace in a too-busy world. One waits for another from this delightful author.

Scratching the Woodchuck, Nature on an Amish Farm by David Kline sits on my credenza at work. I reach for it when I need an antidote for institutionalized schizophrenia.

Scratching the Woodchuck is a collection of about 60 short essays. They are organized into four catagories: The Farmstead, The Fields, The Woods, Creeks and Sky and The Community. The essays are rich in adjectives and read at a slow and leisurely pace.

For example:

"I was startled the other day to see a meadow vole (one of those fat little short-tailed mice that abound in meadows and fields) come charging out of the grass-covered ditch and dash across the road as fast as its stumpy legs could carry it. Before the sprinting vole had reached the safety of the opposite ditch, it was followed by two more of its kin. These, however, instead of racing across the road, made large half-circles and then ran back into the same ditch twenty feet down the road.

I stopped and watched the spot where the meadow voles had emerged. Soon a small pointed nose poked through the grasses and two obsidian eyes glared at me--a weasel. No wonder the voles were scared silly. Of all their enemies, nothing alarms the mouse family as much as the weasel, because there is no place to hide from the long, slender killer." Page 42.

Plusses:

*The essays are short. You can pick up the book and regain sanity in about 2.76 minutes.

*The essays are consistently high quality writing. There is none of the unevenness that results when a book is banged out in a hurry.

Minuses:

*The book does not come back quickly when loaned out. "Oh, I was going to bring it back today but my wife started reading it." kind of thing.

*Ultimately, you finish the book and you want more.

Scratching the Woodchuck is a good book to pick up if you feel like the pea-in-a-whistle. Mr. Kline's prose will slow your heart rate and reduce your blood pressure. Mr. Kline assures us that life only appears to be fragmented. The patient observer can find the connections.

Scratching the Woodchuck is probably *not* a good choice if your preference for escapism-liturature tends toward verb-packed, staccato writing (like Tom Clancy). You will find Scratching the Woodchuck maddeningly slow and boring.

Scratching the Woodchuck is quite simply the best piece of natural history writing I have read in decades. David Kline is a keen observer, a competent naturalist, and an eloquent writer. We need more books like this in our all too technology-based, human-centered society.

This book takes the reader back to humanity's roots, and to our essential relationships with other species that inhabit this planet with us. Something beautiful and important is found here that has been lost to many of us for a long, long time.

Reading Kline's book makes one want to immediately ditch city life. This talented writer takes a look at nature in simple, basic terms, bringing it close to everyone who has ever watched a spider in a web, or looked at tracks in fresh snow. His unpretentious approach is precisely the way that nature should be viewed. . . with knowledge, joy and kinship with the out of doors. (Review by Judy Wade, author of Seasonal Guide to the Natural Year; Southern California and Baja, published by Fulcrum and also available through Amazon.)

This story was a wonderful, lighthearted portrayal of nature on Kline's farm. The stories were short and a quick read. I found myself reading one story, every night before bed. I was not looking forward to the end of what became a daily companion. Kline is able to paint with words. He excels at describing life's simple, natural pleasures. This book could be compared to a more recent Sand County Almanac, but I didn't find that book as interesting. A good read!

You read this book and discover your true nature and how you fit in this world. Never have I felt that close to nature...

No more discussion about the abuses of chimpanzees in abstract terms. Peterson goes out to find out what specifically happens to specific chimpanzees and tracks their lives usually to their grim end. Dr. Goodall, the world's foremost expert on free chimapanzees contrasts Peterson with her insightful understanding which over thirty years of intimate knowledge of these great apes has given her. Sharing more than 98% of our genes with the chimpanzee and all of the cognitive and emotional similarities that go along with that, we need to rethink how we treat our closest living relative.

This brilliant, understated book exposes a terrible injustice in the United States, corporate medicine's aggressive attempts to undermine the Endangered Species Act and CITES for their personal gain. Like so many embattled exploiters, they have responded to criticism and revelations with mud-slinging campaigns and lies, such as NIMH's estimate that they needed 200-300 chimpanezees a year to continue research vital to human health. At the same time, NIMH had access to more than 100 chimps, and was only able to find uses for 25 of them.

Goodall has taken the productive path: honesty without invective or confrontation. This has allowed her to accomplish small but significant changes, but they are far too small and far too trivial. It would be nice if Dr. Robert Gallo would agree to be locked into a 5x5x7 cage, with a grate at the bottom so he would not find himself smeared with all his feces, but nothing to protect him from the blowflies his stench would draw. Welcome to medical research.

Human beings have a history of declaring those it would exploit to be "lesser creations": Jews, Negros, Indians, Gypsies, the harmless primates we have nearly exterminated. When the "lesser creations" are human, they can speak out to protest, and they are heard. Someone else must speak for the chimpanzees mutilated in research labs, the orangutans brutalized to entertain Las Vegas drunks, the gorillas slaughtered so their children can be confined in zoos.

The next time you see *The Tempest,* imagine Caliban turning on Prospero, with his complacent human superiority, and speaking the extraordinary and powerful words of Shylock: "Hath not a beast eyes? Pricked do we not bleed?" Animals are bleeding to make your mascara safe. Read this book, look long at the orphaned chimp huddled in one of the photos, and then look in the mirror.

No more discussion about the abuses of chimpanzees in abstract terms. Peterson goes out to find what specifically happens to specific chimpanzees and tracks their lives usually to their grim end. Dr. Goodall, the world's foremost expert on free chimapanzees contrasts Peterson with her insightful understanding which over thirty years of intimate knowledge of these great apes has given her. Sharing more than 98% of our genes with the chimpanzee and all of the cognitive and emotional similarities that go along with that, we need to rethink how we treat our closest living relative.

Certainly the most influencial book I've ever read - it led to my pursuing a degree, becoming a vegan, and an animal rights activist. And a better person. The tales of misery endured by these brethren of our are a very difficult read for those who have the capacity to care selflessly about all life, but gives the reader a very genuine sencse of what they suffer at the hands of humans who would do anything to make money and enhance their careers. Visions of Caliban is a very sobering experience, and it's very difficult at points to read beyond a couple of pages, because the reality of what these horribly unfortunate beings is truly sadenning. If everyone read this book, chimpanzee research would come to a very sudden conclusion. Read this Book!

As a 10 year old girl, I was stricken with Polio. This was in 1944. My home was in Florida. Within two weeks, my hometown doctor had contacted a doctor friend at Georgia Warm Springs Foundation and I was admitted to that wonderful facility. That year I spent 8 months undergoing Physical Therapy. I was one of the fortunate ones who recovered enough to walk without the aid of braces. I had a spinal curve and while it never got better, it never got worse. Three years later I had some surgery on my right foot.

While I was at Warm Springs Foundation in 1944, President Roosevelt was able to come for the annual Founders Day Dinner at Thanksgiving. I was included in a short skit during the prepared program of entertainment. At the end of the dinner, President Roosevelt sat at the doorway in his wheelchair and shook hands and had a few words with each of us as we wheeled past him. That is an unforgettable memory I have. I didn't realize then (now age 11) how amazing it was for the president to even be at Warm Springs. After all, he had just been elected to a 4th term as president and World War II was raging in both Europe and Japan. He was tired and was not really doing well physically.

I was able to return home that December. In April, 1945, President Roosevelt died at his Little White House in Warm Springs. I felt as though I had lost my best friend.

This book included many pictures of things I remember well. I would recommend it to anyone interested in history, polio, President Roosevelt,
or physical therapy. It is really a picture book with a narrative. I treasure it.

Lynn L. Rice

As a polio survior, I have been to the Warm Springs Clinic, so I am interested in anything I can find on this subject. I was very much impressed with the books' detail and overall reading and pictures. I would recommend the book to anyone who would have an interest in this type of book.

I bought one at the Bulloch House in Warm Springs and went to pick up two more for Christmas gifts and they had sold out. Amazon had them luckly and I received before Christmas. The book is really incredible and I agree with the other reviews. Between the hbo movie and their museum, this book is a treasure of photographs. Arcadia has some really good photo books but this is one of their best.

After I watched the movie on HBO about Warm Springs, I was so impressed with the subject that I bought and read everything that I could about Warm Springs and FDR. I have come to the conclusion that one can talk about FDR without mentioning Warm Springs but one cannot talk about Warm Springs without mentioning FDR. The authors have done a magnificent job of researching the subject. Their story flows seamlessly from their introduction and throughout each of the carefully written photographic captions. I loved it. I encourage every American to read this book, it's uplifting and educational at the same time. Well done to the authors for writing this book.

My father was a polio at the Warm Springs Foundation during the 1940s and he was at the Thanksgiving dinner in 1944. FDR was there but I had never seen a picture of him as many do not exist of the Thanksgiving dinners Roosevelt attended. All of the children performed skits and this book covered everyone of the things dad talked about regarding his stay in Warm Springs. Although I have some photos given to me of Warm Springs, this book did more than just add images to my dads memories, I was able to learn why Warm Springs is, and why FDR came there and how America benefitted from FDR going there. If you want to see images of President Roosevelt in a way that has not been portrayed before, this is it. I loved the Little White House chapter. Each chapter begins with a nice quote from Roosevelt stating his thoughts and the chapters are chronological from the times when Indians used the springs to today. I also saw the HBO movie with Kenneth Brannagh as FDR and it too only whetted my appetite for more information. I am giving mine to dad for Christmas as a visit down memory lane that honors the president of his time. Good picture book altogether and a good story read.

Eva Rutland's When We Were Colored is the slightest of these three books, but in some ways the most intriguing. A collection of personal essays originally printed during the 1950s in women's magazines such as Redbook, Woman's Day, and Ladies Home Journal, they were first published in 1964 under the title The Trouble with Being a Mama. Thus, with the exception of the new preface written for this reissue, the book is not retrospective but rather a series of contemporaneous accounts of her family's experience of what she calls "integration qualms." At times, Rutland would agree with Henry Louis Gates Jr., who wrote in his better-known memoir Colored People (1996), "For many of the colored people in Piedmont . . .integration was experienced as a loss. The warmth and nurturance of the womblike colored world was slowly and inevitably disappearing." However, Rutland's overall purpose was not to indulge such nostalgia, but to educate her readership, who were largely white women. Her pedagogical methods are shrewd. She begins each essay "seeking common ground with white mothers" on issues such as the role of "psychology" in childrearing, helping your children make friends, moving the family to a new neighborhood, difficulties with husbands and fathers, preparing children for school and dating, and joining the PTA.

Once she has built firm connections with her readers, she introduces the "hook" at the end of each essay. She describes the day her brothers, walking home from work, were jumped by a group of "white boys" and cut with switchblades. She ends the essay with a reflection on her brother Sam, a college graduate:

the deep, ugly bruises of a lifetime of blows--the long, long walk on a cold, wintry day to the segregated school, the push to the back of the bus, the climb to the "jim crow" section of the theater to see a special movie, the longing walk past the spacious parks and swimming pools reserved for whites, and job--truck driver, under the supervision of a man whose education could not touch his own. The switchblade marks were only the surface marks--a symbol of "what they think I am."
Many essays end with similar anecdotes: her daughter's white schoolmate whose mother won't let her "come over"; a bright black child with excellent grades placed with the "slow learners" in school; a school dance so fraught with racial and sexual tension that her daughter asks later: "I was so embarrassed . . . Why didn't they just tell me not to come?" In places she addresses her audience directly: "But I can only tell you that they are human as are your own children." Of the night she watches Vivian Malone walk past Governor Wallace and enter the University of Alabama under armed guard, she writes, "I cannot help but believe that somewhere, perhaps in the South, a white mother, simply because she was a mother, also watched with tears and pride and fear."

Rutland returns frequently to the theme of social class: her father was a pharmacist and though she insists they were poor, she admits "we were so much better off than many of our Negro neighbors." All her mother's relatives had graduated from college, and her mother consistently had hired help. As a child her world existed "across town," where friends and members of her extended family lived among the black bourgeoisie of Atlanta. Of her friends, she says "All had cars--comparatively rare in my day--many had fine houses, some had maids, and most attended private schools." Returning as an adult to these neighborhoods, she writes:

Visiting Atlanta, I would go from one spacious home to another--luncheon and bridge during the day, parties at night. Or we would visit Lincoln Country Club--the Negroes' private club with its own little golf course. Or we would take the children to visit our alma maters and the other surrounding Negro universities, stroll on the beautiful campuses, listen to a lecture, attend a University Players production, walk through the library. How I wished my children could grow up there, go to school there. How beautiful it seemed--Atlanta with its ermine-trimmed, diamond-studded, velvety cloak of segregation.
Though one may read the above sentence as tinged with irony, Rutland was a proud woman: proud of her race and class; proud of her family, especially her compassionate and tolerant mother; proud of her children; and proud of the "brave young people" who decided "segregation was wrong anywhere--schools, bus stations, lunch counters--and picketed all over the country"--even when they shut down her beloved five-and-ten cent store.

At the same time, though she denies it, she is touched by shame. She writes that the color of her skin is the mark of the slave ship, the stamp of shame upon her heritage. As she explains,

The shame transmits itself to you, and you lower your head when confronted with the symbols of your past--a bandanaed Aunt Jemima, a black-faced comedian with a Negro dialect, a bare-footed boy with his face sunk in watermelon.

And the shame becomes a burden on your heart, a chip on your shoulder, carried with you into the marketplace, the streets, the schools.
In the next breath, though, she insists that because of her family and her segregated schooling, where she learned Negro history and literature (especially the poetry of Paul Lawrence Dunbar), "I think I escaped the shame altogether, and the chip rests lightly on my shoulder." I'm not so sure. She does have a sense of humor and is able to laugh at herself. But in her urgency to convince her white female readers of the full humanity of Negro mothers and children, pride battles shame. Continually imagining herself through white eyes, she remains shadowed by what "they" think, the double-vision so well described by W.E.B. DuBois in Souls of Black Folk (1903). In the end, pride wins out. Her book closes as she watches the 1963 March on Washington: "But most of all I was proud of the people, black and white, who stood in the sweltering sun, tired and weary, quiet and dignified, saying more eloquently than we ever could, We, the people of the United States."

From the January/February 2008 Issue
"Stepping Out and Moving Forward" by Margo Culley

Ready or not, here comes the picture perfect African-American family
Norman Rockwell never got around to painting. Eva Rutland, with
absolutely no formal child-rearing knowledge, is the ever so
delightful wife, and mother of four children. She makes it
possible for us to sigh and then laugh in WHEN WE WERE COLORED. She
shows how raising four African-American children during the early
years of segregation was accomplished. There were no textbooks or
how-to magazines, and rarely does Rutland seem to be even advised
by her own mother; trial and error is the order of the day.
Recognizing no priorities keeps her sane, if you can call it that.
She is the normal African-American mother who is not afraid to take
advantage of segregated neighborhoods and allow her children to
develop into who they will become. Rutland is the pioneer
of "Mother Knows Best"(tm) or better stated, let the housework wait and
just go with the flow. She is the mother who never made it to the
sit-coms.

In a very charming and witty fashion, Rutland discovers mothering
four different individuals requires patience, delegation,
flexibility, and creativity. Plus adequate amounts of keeping her
children involved in community and church leaves no time for
destructive behavior. Just when her patience runs out, Rutland is
canny enough to pass the torch to Bill, her husband. She is
brilliantly funny enough to know when to retreat into the bathroom
with a magazine and locked door. Readers can follow this mother
through her children's dating years and laugh in spite of themselves
when she suggests how her daughter can remain a lady on her first
date.

You feel the peace emanating from this mother who courageously
selects a house in an all-white neighborhood instinctively trusting
her children will cope. Yes, Rutland is the quintessential mother of
yesteryear and all mothers can learn from reading WHEN WE WERE
COLORED: A Mother's Story. It will leave you enlightened
and inspired, it will make you proud that segregation, racism,
discrimination, riots, and prejudice did not weaken this strong
mother, or inhibit how her children turned out.

Rutland's memoir earned several awards and the only thing left to do, is come up with even more awards for this wonderful story.

Reviewed by Swaggie Coleman
for The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Eva Rutland takes us back to a time of penny candy, 5and 10 -cent stores, and racism. In times when the world seemed much gentler, some Americans could not simply sit down to eat at restaurants unless it was marked Colored, and could not go to the school of their choice. Ms Rutland struggled to rear her children without the emotional scars that sometimes came with dealing with racism.


Eva had an open door policy. All were welcome at her door; no one was discriminated against. Eva was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia in the house that her grandfather, a freed slave, built himself. That community had not segregated itself. Although Atlanta was segregated, where Eva lived, everyone knew each other and Eva knew how to find common ground with her neighbors no matter what race they were.

Bill Rutland, Eva's husband, was a trailblazer. He joined the Air Force at the time that it was first desegregated. Not wanting to be separated from his family, he packed them up and moved them to California. Bill met discrimination when he went out in advance to find a home for his family. Some neighborhoods were integrated but Bill had a hard time finding them or a realtor that would help him. Whenever Bill found a house that he wanted, he would have trouble procuring a loan to purchase it. He found a run-down house in a neighborhood that Whites had began to desert because of integration. When the family wanted to move to better surroundings they had to get one of Bill's co-workers to buy it for them, much to the outrage of the seller.

Eva combated racism by becoming a den mother, joining the PTA and every other group that she could find; so that she could help her kids understand that not everyone was a racist. Eva found that every mother has the same fears for their children so she reached out to all mothers and not just members of her own race. Instead of looking for adversity, Eva always looked for the common ground. Eva was a tireless worker who was so busy insuring that her children's mental health did not get ruined that she often did not have time for herself.



I loved this story! Rutland wrote strictly from a mother's point-of-view and did not let bitterness enter into the equation. I read this book and cheered for her She bared her heart to her readers and wrote with honesty stating flaws and all. Every man, woman and child, especially the younger generation, could benefit from reading this book. This book is not about color but about a mother trying to do what is best for her children, in a world determined to keep them as second-class citizens. Every race would gain something by reading this story.

Margaret Ball

APOOO BookClub- .

"Eva Rutland has done all of us a grand favor - [to] tell the powerful and poignant story of the courage and love of a black mother in a society that devalues black children."
-- Cornel West, author, "Race Matters," Professor of Religion, Princeton University

"Eva Rutland's chronicle of child rearing during the transition from segregation to civil rights is warm, poignant, and funny. It is also a powerful object lesson in how and why women - as mommas and grandmothers -have long anchored the soul of Black America."
---Willie L. Brown, Jr., former Mayor of San Francisco and former Speaker of the California State Assembly

"Rutland brings the reader back to a time and place in this country when there weren't protected civil right, when she couldn't swin in the local pools, when a visit from a neighboring white girl who wanted to use their phone prompted a dangerous visit from the police..."
---Martha Mendoza, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, Associated Press

"'When We Were Colored' has an amusing 'Moma Knows Best' sensibility. The book also gives the reader a serious look at the West's black middle class - usually invisible in American storytelling."
---Janet Clayton, assistant Managing Editor, Los Angeles Times

"Eva Rutland's evocation of race, place, and time has near perfect poignancy and verisimilitude. With a wonderful blend of intemacy and sociology, 'When We Were Colored' recaptures the wisdom, resiliency, and love of a family overcoming a world once oppressively divided into black and white."
---David Levering Lewis, Professor of History, New York University, and recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Biography

Book review of "When We Were Colored: A mother's Story" by Eva Rutland, 2007, IWP Book Publishers, ISBN 13: 978-1-934178-00-3, 152 pp.

Book reviewer: Joe Fabel, American Authors Association Review Board

Eva Rutland is a most unique individual who has shared with the reader the wisdom of her life as an individual, a wife and a mother. She is unique because she values the virtues which lie within. Exterior behavior norms are not what she is about for her family. Yes, she teaches her children how to live with others; yet she goes beyond to emphasize the true value of living a life of commitment to excellence. She instills within her children, whenever they will sit still and pay attention, the virtues of living and choosing to perfect themselves as full human beings.

There is reference to her upbringing in the South, a time of sheltering within the black community as defined by white segregation mores. She states that it was a time of comfort in the sense that she and her folks understood the boundaries established, knowing what the segregating Southern whites demanded. There was never a question of what one could or couldn't do.

The quiet segregation experienced among people in the West, the quiet yet definite
"lines marked in the sands" is a daily occurrence. Eva Rutland emphasizes that each of her family must achieve academically, socially and personally according to their abilities and gifts. There must be no question of squandering what the good Lord has allotted each of us.

This is a story by an insightful and sharing mother. The book should be on all reading lists of all levels of the schools, available for the parents of all the students. It contains
messages by which each individual must live his or her life, be you a child, a parent,
a neighbor or simply a citizen. Eva's message is a golden rule to live by.

This book was great. Tho I wish Each story would have been longer. But I enjoyed them either way. The only one I didn't much care for was Saving Grace, I found places where it didn't seem to make much since, but at the same time it did. haha. Im not sure just a lil confusing, but otherwise it was a great read :)

Yellow Roses is an anthology of Christian romances set in 19th century Texas. Each novella is a stand-alone story of plucky heroines and Texas Ranger heroes. All four novellas are good, short reads, but two are outstanding: Serena's Strength and Saving Grace.

DiAnn Mills skillfully weaves a tender romance between Serena Talbot and Chet Wilkinson while portraying their spiritual struggles in an unobtrusive, believable way in SERENA'S STRENGTH. Her historical and cultural accuracy blends an engaging story line and an authentic narrative of life as Texas Ranger in the developing Republic of Texas.

Kathleen Y'Barbo narrates the story of a tenacious Texas Ranger widow, Grace Delaney who struggles to keep her home and family together and Jedadiah Harte, ex-Texas Ranger turned preacher in SAVING GRACE. Their spiritual journey with God and to each other is a well crafted, uplifting read.

While all four are well-written and wholesome romantic stories, I'm sure you'll want to read other titles by both DiAnn Mills and Kathleen Y'Barbo.

Each short story is a satisfying read by itself, to get all of them in one book is a real treat. If you love fun heroines, good heros and love based on Faith, you will HAVE to read this book!

These tales of a bygone day, when Texas Rangers struggled to tame the young state, are exciting, romantic, and uplifting. These wholesome stories touched my heart.

Yellow Roses is an anthology of Christian romances set in 19th century Texas. Each novella is a stand-alone story of plucky heroines and Texas Ranger heroes. All four novellas are good, short reads, but two are outstanding: Serena's Strength and Saving Grace.

DiAnn Mills skillfully weaves a tender romance between Serena Talbot and Chet Wilkinson while portraying their spiritual struggles in an unobtrusive, believable way in SERENA'S STRENGTH. Her historical and cultural accuracy blends an engaging story line and an authentic narrative of life as Texas Ranger in the developing Republic of Texas.

Kathleen Y'Barbo narrates the story of a tenacious Texas Ranger widow, Grace Delaney who struggles to keep her home and family together and Jedadiah Harte, ex-Texas Ranger turned preacher in SAVING GRACE. Their spiritual journey with God and to each other is a well crafted, uplifting read.

While all four are well-written and wholesome romantic stories, I'm sure you'll want to read other titles by both DiAnn Mills and Kathleen Y'Barbo.