Beauty Books

I am not a victim of sexual abuse, but my mother-in-law saw the author speak and sent me this book. I have a son and am so incredibly glad that I read this book. I think it is one of the most important books written. Not only was it interesting - captivating, really - it was also incredibly educational. I learned so much about sexual abuse that I never knew before. I now know what to look for and what to ask to keep my son safe. The most unbelievable things DO happen and if we all know that then we have to act and it can't continue. This is one of the best messages I got from the book.

I first picked this book up in a library, as a 'good read'.
It is all of that...well written, evocative and shocking, but best of all, it offers hope to victims and survivers of incest, child abuse and all the associated crimes of one human being against another, that we can rise above it.
Marilyn does not pull any punches, however she does offer insights and practical ways to heal, including a directory of places to go for help.
If you suspect that you need help, you almost certainly do.
Start here, with Miss America by Day

I have a friend that went through sexual abuse with your father and has been suffering from this all her life. It was good to read the book to be able to understand her better and also feel it would be a good book for those that have been sexually abused by their father or any other person. You realize that you are not alone and the book helps you to understand what you are going through and why you are feeling the way you do.

I read the article in People Magazine when Marilyn Van Derbur first told the world she had been a victim of incest. I shuddered and literally sobbed because it triggered a new memory for me. I'd just learned a couple years earlier I, too, had been a victimized, and I was in the process of healing. When I read her book I could relate over and over again to what she'd been through. This is a must-read for victims who want to become (or already have become) VICTORS! Soar Unafraid: Learning to Trust No Matter What

Shame threatened to kill author Marilyn Van Durber if she revealed the truth about her childhood to her daughter Jennifer.

"I believed with all my heart, that when I told Jennifer [that I'd been sexually violated by my father], she would say, `I don't want you to be my mom anymore.' I knew I would be as unacceptable to her as I was to myself.

"If you are not a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, I'm sure it is difficult to understand that kind of shame but it is very real. We feel so unworthy and we believe, each time we disclose, that we will be shunned, no longer wanted. Sometimes our fears are confirmed."

Van Durber took the risk and lived. Her daughter did not reject her; in fact, she embraced her, and this led her to be able to help thousands of sexual abuse survivors face telling the truth--her reason for writing MISS AMERICA BY DAY.

Read this book, share it with everyone you know, and begin to "do the work," because all children--including the ones trembling inside adult survivors--need someone who will die for them.

Note: The author thoughtfully combines autobiographical and educational material, and does it well.

Being a new mother and father to a first, second, or third child can put a strain on maternal energy and on the relationship of the parents. This book gives realistic and helpful tools that parents can utilize immediately. The authors also support nurturing and providing loving care to the children. It's a win win for the whole family.

Having a three year old daughter and one year old twin boys, I was
definitely neglecting my needs. Mother Nurture helped change my
perspective. I believed I had to sacrifice and give everything I had to
my children. I read Mother Nurture and learned this is not true.
I now give to my children, and find time to give to myself as well.

The greatest peace Mother Nurture gave to me was telling me my thoughts and
feelings were normal and needed to acknowledged.
... Now, I use your book
as a tool. When I begin neglecting myself,
I turn to the book and the lessons it contains.

I have a number of friends pregnant for the second time. As their
babies are brought into this world,
my present will be a copy of Mother Nurture. Mother Nurture is a book every
mother needs.

I started to read Mother Nurture: A Mother's Guide to Health in Body, Mind, and Intimate Relationships a few days after my second child was born. Needless to say, I was a little ambitious in estimating how long I could actually stay awake to read, and the book sat on my nightstand for weeks. Once things around the house settled down, I picked it up again - and I'm sure glad I did! I found the book invaluable. Mother Nurture is a must-have resource for every mother and mother-to-be, and it wouldn't hurt for a few fathers out there to read it, either.

We as mothers juggle more tasks, work longer hours, and sleep less than our own mothers did. Family and friends, who once provided support and an occasional break from the kids, are scattered across the country. Yes, raising a child is harder than ever. So if you're feeling tired, cranky, overly anxious or downright depressed, trust that you're not alone. You, like thousands of other women, may be suffering from Depleted Mother's Syndrome.

In this ground-breaking book, psychologist Rick Hanson, acupuncturist and nutritionist Jan Hanson, and obstetrician/gynecologist Ricki Pollycove explore in depth the psycho logical, emotional and physical stresses of motherhood. They identify key risk factors for Depleted Mother's Syndrome and - referencing homeopathy, acupuncture, naturopathy, and western medicine - provide a balanced approach to getting your mind and body back on track. This book includes everything you need to know to help you feel your best, from meditation techniques to guidelines for suggested daily vitamin intake and ways to improve your post-children relationship with your significant other.

It's an essential reference book for every mother's library!

Mother Nurture is a must-read for all new mums (and dads). It feels like having a friend, coach, and doctor talking with you. The collaboration of 3 professionals has led to a truly holistic approach to guiding mothers as they embark upon (yes it's cliche but true) "the most difficult and rewarding" job in life. There's lots of specific, straight-forward, take action suggestions along with helpful anecdotes to illustrate points. I found this book to be of great comfort, inspiration, and help.

I have been overwhelmed with wonderful, but sometimes redundant parenting advice. It is refreshing to have such wonderful information about how to keep moms from losing their balance so they can raise the kids they want to raise. The authors have provided the strategies for moms to get their needs met, which is the key to meeting the needs of a child. Offering practical ideas and information on many crucial topics, including stress, moods, energy, and keeping a couple strong, along with addressing health and work issues, Mother Nurture is truly the most valuable book all parents can have.....or give. I highly recommend reading this book as part of your bedtime routine.

[name]
Editor/Publisher
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I read a friend's copy while visiting her. Since I have suffered from neck pain (not severe, but real) for about 15 years, I figured I might as well give it a try. I found that results were immediate. I was also shocked by having to confront how bad my habitual posture was.

I have been doing the basic one-minute routine for about eight months now. My neck pain (and tension -- I used to have two bands of muscle of almost wooden hardness running down the back "corners" of my neck) is reduced about 80-90%, and I continue to improve. I also look taller and slimmer, as promised (my parents both said to me, "you're so tall!" as if it were a new thing -- but then I suppose it was). I would agree that you will look ten pounds taller and ten pounds slimmer. Maybe more. Now, since then I've also *gained* about ten pounds...but that's another story.

This book is worth it's weight in gold!!! The techniques and posture improvement exercises work so well and fast that I am already receiving compliments on how I look - and it has only been a few weeks. I also found out Ms. Novak has a video containing all the exercises (ImproveYourPosture.com). I find it much easier doing exercises along with a video than from a book. The video has more exercises than the book but the book contains chapters of info on things like how to re-arrange your computer work station to make it better for your back, how to adjust your carseat, sleeping positions, etc. All of these chapters contain simple things you can do that make a huge diference in your posture and back comfort. The book and video have been a GODSEND for me. This program is better than any other on the market. I know this because I have tried them all. Thank you Ms. Novak for very valuable information.

The techniques in this book released back tension I did not even know existed. I had become accustomed to bad posture. If you have bad posture this book will show you how to fix it.

This book is great for those of us who may have spent many years bent over a desk, & are looking for practical, easy to follow tips on how to straighten ourselves up, & to alleviate that mild lower back pain from being just a touch out of allignment.
The writing style is easy to read & understand, & so are the exercise descriptions. The exercises are also very easy to do (as opposed to some posture books, where the descriptions are hard to follow, & just not practical).
My lower back is feeling a lot better thanks to the tips for stretching & standing up straight in this book.

This is a great book. I would recommend it to everyone. I've been working with my trainer at the gym to help my posture, and this book really helped me to understand some of the underlying concepts of posture.

This book is written to women, and I am a man, but I thought that this was actually a very good idea. There are a couple of references to "men should do this instead," when they are needed, but I thought that focusing on one gender made the book very clear and very understandable.

Which reminds me of the coolest thing about this book, which is the illustrations. All of the illustrations are of the same woman. And this is very cool, because I was able to tell really quickly what good posture was and what was not. By focusing just on women, and by focusing just on one person giving examples of good posture and bad posture, it made the book very understandable.

Also, Janice Novak gives the meat of the book in the first ten pages, where she talks about her "One minute to better posture" exercise. This is a really cool exercise that will transform your life instantly. It's really cool, because the book starts out with a real bang and then the rest of the book supports that initial bang until the end.

The only improvement that I would suggest for the next edition is to have pictures of all of the exercises, and have two pictures for the two-step exercises. This would increase the size of the book by about twenty pages, but I think it would be worth it. I can be slow sometimes and pictures help me a lot.

Just the chapter on Skin Care is worth the read.

Unlike other books, this one leads you into the recommended changes very gradually, so you don't come away after reading it thinking you cannot possible remember everything you are supposed to do and give up before even trying.

My recommendation is not to think about this process as a 10-week long program.

Just take it one day at a time, in week-long blocks. Mark the changes on your calendar. Don't look at the whole 10 weeks. Just look at what you will do during the first week. Then you look at what's on schedule for the following week when it starts. And so forth.

If you are consistent, you'll see dramatic changes.

I needed quickie proof that something in this book works, so I began the skin treatment first. Since you see your face every day when you wake up and before you go to bed, your face is a good place to start seeing changes. When your complexion shows improvement even after a couple of days, you'll think...."Wow...I ought to do those other things in the book."

Before you realize it, Voila! You'll have lost a few pounds, and the people at work will ask you what you've been doing with yourself.

I'm on week four. It must be working because my clothes don't fit as tightly and my skin looks GREAT.

Since the pig-out holiday season is starting up, don't punish yourself if you fall off the wagon. Pick up where you left off. One binge isn't going to result in total failure...just a little set-back from which you can quickly recover.

And if it takes you 12 weeks or 15 weeks, just keep doing this program. It worked for my husband, and it is working for me.

This book purports to assist you, O Baby Boomer, to remove 10 years of aging in only 10 weeks. This book has no schematics to build a time machine, instead it's a guide to vitamin supplements, health issues such as sexuality, diabetes and heart disease, how to preserve your mental accuity and much more. I was surprised to find some interesting nuggets of information that, taken together, form a good blueprint for healthful habits. Some of the habits (quitting smoking) are a given. Others, such as finding supplements like bilberry to ward off eye problems, are not so well-known.

This author is not on the low-carb bandwagon (recommends the more usual lower-fat, whole-grain diet) but this is in keeping with such books as "South Beach Diet."

What's valuable to me are lists of supplements and what degenerative processes they help deter, and a general plan for good health in your middle age and beyond. This is a readable, useful book.

Filled with practical, well researched information this book contains the distilled knowledge of the most recent studies on aging. The book is organized in a way that allows you to go to the areas that concern you most and read that section without having to read all the preceding chapters.
The chapters cover such topics as getting rid of fat, regaining lost muscle, boosting your brain power, getting rid of fine lines and wrinkles, recharging your immune system and others. Julian Whitaker and Carol Colman have created an interesting book that puts information you would normally have to search across many reference articles to find into one easy to read book.

I began reading this book after I quit smoking hoping for a healthy new beginning. It is absolutely a delightful understanding of how you can reverse past mistakes and embark on a fresh start to reverse aging. I have basically purchased many of the suggested items and have seen a remarkable change. Alot of the items were somehow difficult to find such as the high potency multi vitamins without iron which was suggested but I am searching vigorously. I think anyone who reads this will understand when I tell them to purchase this for friends and loved ones. Awesome reading!

When a dieter seeks to reclaim youth, health, and vigor, he or she would most likely turn to the newest trend: human growth hormone. Now there is nothing inherently wrong with that as there is a clear place for HGH as a tool for health, but before one goes that route, it might make more sense to go back to the basics of a balanced diet and food supplements. In SHED 10 YEARS IN 10 WEEKS, Dr. Julian Whitaker and Carol Colman urge the health conscious to reappraise their diet so as to eliminate harmful foods and increase beneficial ones. The approach of the authors is bedrock common sense mixed with the knowledge that each brings to the table, he with his years of expertise in diet and nutrition and she with her own contributions to Melatonin and hormone research. What separates these two from other more widely known authors is their ability to take complicated issues related to diet and supplements and make these issues ring with clarity. Whitaker and Colman divide their book into 10 steps or chapters, with each step focusing on one aspect of dietary advice. For example, in step 2, called "Lose A Decade's Worth of Fat," they outline a 10 week program that urges the reader to do all the right things: eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables; establish an optimum intake of carbohydrates, protein, and fat; cut down on red meat, add soy to the diet, recognize that some fats (like Omerga-3 fats) are necessary for cardiovascular health; choose which phytochemicals might help be useful; be aware of the importance of soluble and insoluble fibers. Now all this is what your Granny might have been telling you for years, but Whitaker and Colman manage to punctuate Granny's sage advice with the absolute need to listen to her and to them. The major focus of this book is on diet and supplements. It is interesting to note that if one were to follow their advice prior to adding human growth hormone to a health regimen, then the results of that HGH might likely deliver the fancy promises of the hype. SHED 10 YEARS IN 10 WEEKS is highly recommended in that it takes a complicated subject and breaks it down into easily manageable chunks.

My organization style used to be the following: have all my clothes lie in a heap at the bottom of my closet and just dig until I find something appropriate. Life was fine while I had a girlfriend, who would pick up and organize after me, but when she left I was bereft. Until I found this book...Melanie Fascitelli provides practical and useful information on how to shop for and organize your closet - such that even the most time-constrained, messy individuals can do the needful!

If you're like me (or even if you're not!) you should buy this book.

This book is very useful, cute and overall really great, i highly recommend it. Step by step way of how to re-work your closet so you get the most out of your clothes and space. With fun ideas and tips. I have bought a few to give to my girlfriends! Great gift item!

This book was just what I needed to overcome the daunting thought of organizing my closet for spring/summer. It was a joy to read, too.

Awesome. I now shop my closet all the time. Have removed countless shirts and tonnes of other stuff I have been hoarding for ages. Melanie Fascitelli is brilliant. A real eye opener!

This book is about so much more than just organizing your closet - it's really a lifestyle book that points to your closet as a metaphor for the life you lead. What a clever concept! Oh yeah, and it's pretty darn practical too, with tons of greats insights and tips for adding simplicity to your life. Written in a familiar, conversational tone that is fun to read and easy to relate to. A great gift item.

I loved this book, it is helpful to my collecting and my selling. It has wonderful pictures, and I love the section on '60's makers and just the way it is arranged in general is helpful and makes for fascinating reading. The only thing I would like to see with this book is a name index; this would make it so much more helpful as a reference. I do highly recommend it though, as a reference or just as a coffee table book.

If Hawaii or the aloha shirt has ever gladdened your heart, you'll want to own THE ALOHA SHIRT. Dale Hope conveys the TRUE SPIRIT (colorful, soft, peaceful, flowing) of the Hawaiian Islands by presenting both the fascinating history of the aloha shirt and 500 or so beautiful illustrations. These illustrations are so varied and exquisite that you'll get high just by perusing them. They also help you see how the aloha shirt can be an art form in and of itself. Hopefully, this book will inspire people to wear their aloha shirts more often -- not just when they visit Hawaii -- and to buy the new ones that are being created by the best artist designers.

Dale Hope grew up in the Hawaiian garment industry, taking over his father's clothing business at the age of 26. As the art director of Kahala Sportswear, Hope oversees the creation and manufacturing of 150 new Aloha shirt designs annual. In The Aloha Shirt: Spirit Of The Islands, Hope collaborates with writer Gregory Tozian to offer a magnificent, coffee-table artbook dedicated to the history of the unique and famous Hawaiian shirt style. This impressive treatise covers the history of Hawaiian clothing, the evolution of the tailor shop into the modern clothing factories, the designers, textiles, printmakers, and retailers that made the Hawaiian "aloha shirt" famous around the world. There are chapters focusing on Duke Kahanamoku, celebrities, shirt makers of the 60s, labels and buttons, and aloha shirt collectors. Profusely and beautiful illustrated, the text is informative, at times fascinating, and highly recommended for students of American clothing history and fads in general, and Hawaii's contributions to the garment industry and American popular culture in particular.

Wow, what a book!! Having been previously lightly infected by the `Aloha Shirt' bug, after having read this beautiful book, I became incurably and terminally struck down. Profusely illustrated from the collections of many well-known and extremely lucky collectors, this book has become my bedside bible. The research is also first-class, following the development of the Aloha shirt from a fun thing, to a full-blown industry. I now live and breath THE shirt. Buy this book and like me, change your life.

The Aloha Shirt: Spirit of the Islands is unique, as a historical and artistic book documenting the Aloha shirt, from its historic beginnings as a cottage industry, to the multi-billion dollar industry it is today. This definitive text has been extensively researched, with textile artists, designers, garment manufacturers and their families and friends all contributing to the consistency of the history as researched by Dale Hope. An educational and artistic book bringing over 500 aloha shirts with their Hawaiian inspired origins paralleled with the history and times of Hawaii. For those who have memories of Hawaii, and for those who share their memories to others, this elegant coffee table book is a "must have" for all!

Good advice on beauty tips and such in this book. Its pretty ordianry but still insightful and it will deff. come in handy in the near future.

I first saw this book and immediately thought it was just another beauty book that tells me information I already know. However, upon second glance I picked up the book and started to skim the pages. I was surprised to see that it actually has useful info inside.

The makeup section is a bit basic, don't expect to be wowed by how instantly beautiful you look by changing the way you apply mascara. It does, however, have extremely helpful tips if you are in a beauty disaster or just have something nagging you. Overall, It was worth the money and definitely opened my eyes to some new techniques!

I am only about ten pages into this little tome, but it is already packing in the valuable (and usable!) tips and bits. Not your typical "fashion editor's fluff". Highly recommend!

Es justo el libro que toda mujer necesita, tanto para aquellas que no saben de maquillaje y belleza, como las que estan algo informadas. Porque definitivamente el libro te muestra múltiples fórmulas no solo para belleza sino también para resolver problemas del diario vivir. Como por ejemplo para manejar el estrés, para el cuidado de los niños, para las mujeres adolescentes o aquellas embarazadas. El libro está sumamente completo, es una lectura ligera pero a la vez super interesante e informativa. Lo recomiendo sin duda alguna!!

Do you need a little help looking better? Do you have bags under your eyes? Is your back stressed? Do you fall asleep at your desk at work? Do your lips chap when you are outside? Go no further. "Fast Beauty: 1,000 Quick Fixes" will answer those questions as well as hundreds more to help you look your best quickly.

The book is arranged logically: Beauty RX, Hormonal Hangups, the Outside World, On the go, and Smart Products. If you are like me, you flip through a book like this, picking out the areas that most apply to you. Allow me to share information to reveal this book's big appeal.

On page 170 is a Japanese term that applies to a huge number of Americans: "Karoshi"--"death from overwork," aha! To alleviate, take a quick walk, do ten minutes of jumping jacks, anything quickly active to get the blood flowing.
On page 53 is a hint to ward off dry, flaky skin before a big date or just for yourself: use a body scrub to exfoliate. If none is available, use corn meal, oatmeal, or baking soda on a washcloth and scrub as usual. Apply moisturizer.

On page 27 are seven steps to revitalizing your makeup in two minutes if you go from work to a date.
On page 268 you will learn the beauty secret for skin that Italian women have used for centuries. Mix olive oil with blood orange or lemon juice to use as a one-step cleansing, exfoliating, and moisturizing agent.

I alway look for lavender in these books. On page 264 it is used in making bath salts, a product invented by the Romans for their spas and the means to soothe tired muscles.

I cannot end this review without looking at the cover. The kiwi is for decreasing eye puffiness, the spiral mascara brush is to remove mascara clumps, the opalescent lipstick is to make the bottom lip look larger.

To make the most of this book, read it in segments or find a problem of the moment, use the index to find a "fast beauty" fix and do it. After all, it is your beauty.

Addendum: This book is about beauty. That means men can use it, too, except maybe the pregnancy segment. Men, aren't you interested in your beauty?

I stumbled across this book at my local bookstore, and I feel like this book found me--I read it one afternoon, cover to cover. Amanda's insights are touching and real about the struggles and joys of living a single life. I think the best thing about this book is that Amanda's writing reaffirms the idea of having hope in oneself. A gem of a book!

Inspiring, reassuring, encouraging, insightful, compassionate, fun, and wonderful!

As a single woman, I'm often tormented with thoughts of unworthiness based on my marital status. Many factors contribute to these insecurities including cultural expectations and familial pressures. Somehow, we've convinced one another that life doesn't begin until you have married and have settled down.

There's nothing wrong with searching for "the one," but Amanda Ford reminds us that life can still be enjoyed while we are searching.

This book gave me much needed perspective in a time when I thought I should just throw in the towel and officially label myself a spinster and a failure. I had come to the incorrect conclusion that because I wasn't with anyone, I couldn't have an enjoyable, happy life. Amanda reminds us that the grass is just as green on our side (the single side) as it is on their side (the married side), sometimes greener.

What I have in my current state as a single gal is freedom--freedom to find out what I love, what I'm passionate about, and what I'm not willing to settle for.

We must be able to adapt and find happiness and contentment on our own, because even if we find our soulmates, he or she will not fulfill us all of the time.

I agree with the similar sentiments here that every woman needs to read this. And then re-read it everytime you doubt your worth. It will inspire you to keep going and never give up.

By far the best book I have ever read as a single woman- I have been struggling with my past breakup and this book has changed my perspective in life totally- and has honestly changed my life and the way I now think. I started on a mission of "finding myself" and went to the book store for some help and stumbled upon this book and it was perfect and exactly what I needed.

Amanda Ford understands the pains of being single, but says it's just a natural state of life. And isn't that the truth? If so, then why do we try to avoid those things in life which we find distasteful? Is it peer pressure? Media? Or maybe it's a little of both.

In KISS ME, I'M SINGLE, Amanda Ford has single women step back and evaluate their life, not run from it. She encourages us to rid ourselves of the falsehood that women must be in a relationship to be happy. Her book is packed with mini stories, all of which I could related to. Each story is followed with a bit of advice delivered in a loving and sometimes humorous tone.

Even though I am no longer single, Ford's message is one I can use. That message is that true love begins with me. I must look with myself in order to discover the joy in my life. It's not found in another person. In other words, two incomplete people do not equal out to be a whole. What you end up with is two unhappy people.

If a list of must read books for women existed, then KISS ME, I'M SINGLE would be on it. I highly recommend this book for ALL women, not just the single ones. Ford's sweet, upbeat tone will bring a smile to your face.

Kiss Me,I'm Single is for absolutely everyone who lives and breathes and longs for something more than the fairy-tale, miniscule and limited horizons we are led to believe are our due. Do not be fooled by the title which refers to being single, this book is a treasure awaiting discovery! Amanda Ford is brilliant. She asks all of the right question and she gives you answers without ever once telling you she knows or setting herself up as the authority. in the guise of a young person(could this author really be only 26??) and with fantastic wit she touches your heart. This book could be in the Philosophy secton or sitting next to the ageless wisdom of the seekers/masters.
Everyone, male, female, young and old, alone or in relationship, here, there, everywhere needs to read this book!

I bought this book in a bookstore in Hollywood,(my friends said I was the only person they knew who could go to Hollywood and find a bookstore). "Land of The Firebird" is one of my all-time favorite books. Suzanne Massie, the wife of Russian historian Robert Massie, (Peter the Great, Nicholas and Alexandria), has a great love for Russia and its people and it glows from every page. As a historian, I hate to admit it but too many history textbooks can bore one to the point of tears. No one who reads this book can be bored. In its pages you meet characters from Russian fairy tales like Maryushka and the wicked sorcerer Kaschei the Immortal, Prince Vladimir of Kiev who became a Christian and changed the course of Rusian history forever, the tragic Ivan the Terrible, and the titanic Peter the Great who brought Russia kicking and screaming into the modern world.
But along with the history of the great rulers of Russia is the story of how they all added to the body of work that makes Russian art some of the most beautiful in the world. Russians loved to live on a grand scale, and their art was as lavish as the lives they led. Even the common people had a great love for vivid colors and rich peasants made their wooden homes into works of art. The book comes with beautiful illustrations and leaves the reader wishing for more. It is great as a textbook in art history and history classes or for anyone who wants or needs to know more about the Russians. My copy of the book is worn and falling apart. I am going to order a new copy from [...] so I can keep this treasure for years to come.

This is a very detailed book on Russian History by Suzanne Massie and I greatly admire it. It is certainly a must have for those who are interested in Kievan Rus, the Mongol Invasion, Ivan the Terrible, or any of the Russian composers like Glinka and Stravinsky and the Mighty Handful. Just don't expect any Soviet history. This is all about the times before the Revolution.

A+

I've had this book for years and it's one of my all time favorites- a must read, insightful. Beautiful- exquisite illustrations.

I first read this magnificent tome on Russian history and culture in 1997. As it was part of a history class in college, the first read was a bit of a drag...page after page of description concerning the minutia of Russian life: clothes, churches, meals, religious & superstitious rituals, architecture, commerce, political strife, and so on. Really, with the whirl of the Social Circus of that college year, trudging through all this obscure information brought me no end of grief and silent lamentation! To think of all that time I could have been out with friends looking to score whatever cheap release was on hand or burning inside...spent instead sludging through *detailed history*!

Cut to four years later...

I'm going to Russia. In two weeks. Like so many other unplanned affairs that seem to formulate out of nowhere and take one by the lapels, shoving one screaming into the storm of life, this reviewer took it in stride and decided to find some quick-but-informative text on the destination in mind--especially one with such contradictory reports as Mother Russia. Thus, I dug this out of my library and began anew, stifling a faint unpleasant feeling no doubt inspired by those long sleepless college nights. There had to be some merit here, yes?

Oh yes.

'Land of the Firebird' is a WONDERFUL and ENGAGING in-depth look of Russian history from 987-1917, spanning the ascension of Vlad and the Orthodox Church to right before the Revolution. With colorful prose Suzanne Massie details the variety of Russian existence--tsars and serfs and merchant-princes and babushkas--no stone is left uncovered as she cross-references nearly a thousands years, writing with equal consideration of art, poetry, country-life, court-life, politics and its myriad games, myths and legends, influence "outside the sphere." It would be impossible to truly set down the full range of Russia experience for this time in the 450 pages allotted the reader, but the author does an admirable job in covering the major shakers and movers and events while sparing a considerable amount of print for the minor peoples and patterns that set the foundation of this ancient, troubled country. It certainly put an interesting light on what I saw come the spring of '01.

Indispensable for the casual student of Russia.

A comprehensive pursuit of pre-Revolutionary Russian history, well crafted and beautifully written. In my view, this is one of two distinctly outstanding single-volume histories of early Russia available. The other is Orlando Figes' "Natasha's Dance". The first six chapters proceed up to the first Romanovs, granting Ivan the Terrible a captivating revealing that is clearly informed by good scholarship. Chapter 10, "Catherine: A Mind Infinitely More Masculine", delivers a riveting, provocative look at Catherine and her Russia, with probably the finest chapter in the book. The VERY best thing about Land of the Firebird is the profusion of illustrations, all meticulously chosen. Photographs are plentiful (including an amazing snow-covered Church of the Transfiguration of the Saviour), but three ample sections of color plates pour out a stunning array of Russian paintings, which, if not unrivaled by other comparable single-volume efforts, is remarkable for an exquisite discretion. Land of the Firebird is a knowing work with respect to Russian art history. Here are Ryabushkin's "Russian Women of the Seventeenth Century in Church", Repin's "Ivan the Terrible at the Death of His Son", Serov ("Peter II and Princess Elizabeth Riding to Hounds"), Levitsky, Argunov, Kiprensky, Shibanov's "Celebration of a Marriage Agreement" (beautifully reproduced), Briullov, Venestianov, Chernetsov, and Sadovnikov (the darkly beautiful "View of the Winter Palace at Night"). Indeed, there are multiple paintings by Repin, F. de Haenen (five paintings c.1912, including the exuberant "Ice Slide"), Serov, Larionov, Malevich and Kustodiev (1916), including his bewitching "Moscow Tavern". The final plate is Serov's heartbreaking "Nicholas II". I mention these artists' names (and more are included) for those familiar with art history, to say to them this is a very worthwhile book. But the magic of pre-Revolutionary Russian art is unreservedly here for us all in a masterfully drawn Russian history primer. Useful bibliography in appendix. Absolutely recommended.

There are several things that stand out upon even a preliminary acquaintance with the book. The tasteful presentation of the book, the Klimt on the cover, the quality of the paper the book is printed on all exhibit careful attention to fine detail. But there is an additional quality, which I found particularly appealing.

The author unabashedly centers her attention on eternal values, such as beauty and higher aspirations of the soul. These Òold-fashionedÓ values which the author takes as given and forever relevant, our societyÑat least that part of it which expresses itself most loudlyÑdeems irrelevant and out of fashion. The bookÕs tone, with its unhurried soft-spoken concern for beauty and lofty values, strikes me as bold and courageous. For our time is interested in flashy, quick, loud and digital (that is, small and fractured and flat and two-dimensional). The society is much less interested in the quiet, the subtle and the deep, which this book espouses. The book is set against the background of the fin de siecle, only this time it is OUR own 20th centuryÕs fin de siecle! The message, whether conscious and unconscious, that the book delivers, becomes a counterpoint and an antidote to our culture.

If you know nothing or everything about music, read this book to open up a whole new world. Draper's simple, elegant writing and natural approach to her subject will inspire readers to pay attention and listen to music with a fresh approach. This is a great gift for yourself, your children, your parents, your new amour. Listening to the cds and reading the accompanying text with friends is a wonderful reason to have a series of dinner parties.
Thanks, M. Draper, for bring music back into my life through another door I didn't even know was there.

This book is full of love of music and inspiration for musicians of all ages and levels. For the historian, there are many lesser known, interesting facts. For the music student, there are words of wisdom about keeping the inspiration and love in daily practice. For the music lover just beginning to build a listening library, there are wonderful suggestions for starting a CD collection (not limited to classical music). This is a book to be read slowly, to be savored and contemplated. This book invites the reader to experience music in a very sensual way, not with ears alone, but with one's whole body, mind and spirit. It is an exploration of the possibilities of music as a mood setter, a mood enhancer, or a mood anti-dote. It is about music as a healer of physical and emotional disharmonies. It is an exploration of what is universal in music and what is highly individual.
There is something for everyone in this book. I highly recommend it as a gift to anyone interested in music.

Maureen McCarthy Draper's book is an invitation to return to the joy of listening to music in a way to set moods, to mark days of the week or to simply relax and be transported by musical experiences. This invitation includes examples via the carefully selected selections of music on the accompanying CD's which depict each of the examples of how music can soothe the soul within, or elevate the awareness of beauty in a way that no other medium can. This book reminds those of us that love music of its importance, but invites us to consider it at another level of perception and gives us the suggested methods to add to our perception.

It also makes a lovely gift to anyone who loves, and loves to share the joy of music....

Maureen Draper`s book is a jewel! In today`s time of high technology and speed, she slowed me down, called the voice of my heart and reminded me to listen to my body and to my soul. She did it all with classical music - speaking of it with great simplicity, and although i am a professional classical musician, i felt like i was entering an unknown field and wanted to know EVERYTHING about it! On the two cd`s that she recommends buying together with the book, she has chosen less known pieces, which allowed me to discover my own feelings and sense of the music, undisturbed by the familiarity of more famous pieces. She guided me through the many different landscapes of music and patiently showed me, with great knowledge and passion and tenderness, all their beauty, encouraging me, at last, to be alone in them, to observe and to fully sink in the emotions they elicited in me.

This book is an unusual, unique look into the depths of music and it makes a wonderful gift. Thank you, Maureen!