Bell Books

If you are not familiar with those intriguing ornamental objects that graced many Victorian era tables, be parepared for a superbly enlightening excursion into these beautiful servant callers in Al Trinidad's "Glass Bells." Filled to the brim with a multitude of superb photographs by Bruce Waters and Jean Vong; a good majority in stunning color; "Glass Bells" is a must for anyone who wishes to view what may be considered a miniscule object in the antique universe. Additionally pleasing, the literary work matches the visuals with an easy to read composition and typestyle; producing a very educational, very entertaining work. Mr. Trinidad has itemized, categorized, and identified with engineering precision all the beautiful objects in the book. "Glass Bells" should be considered a prime acquisition for any reader of antiques books. A marvelous effort by all those associated with the publication.

I found this book charming, often touching, and just offbeat enough to keep it from being sentimental or conventional. A nice gift for dog lovers, and an unexpected pleasure.

This book of spiritual thoughts has caused me to stop dead in my tracks and think through what she said. There are some downright 'primal' thoughts in some of this poetry that will cause every person who reads it to go into reflection. Ms. Bell has a unique ability to express ideas in a way that often asks the question and answers it at the same time. A few didn't speak to me, but most overwhelmed me!

Very worth the read!

This is now available in Resurrection Update : Collected Poems, 1975-1997; see the latter title for a review

Two plays for production in the sanctuary during Christmas/Advent.
THE BELLS OF CHRISTMAS EVE: 8 speaking parts, 30 minute performance time.
THE GOLDEN GIFT: Based on "Les Miserables" from Victor Hugo. 10 speaking parts. 30 minutes performance time.

Exactly what the purpose of this book is and how to describe it cannot be put into words, but I know that any persons with a fascination of the state of being and thought and the concept of existance will find the ideas put forth in this book to be mind-opening. Bell's style of writing is wordy and sometimes confusing, but once one grasps the plot of the actual story and the meaning behind it, the translation of his legnthy articulation becomes more readily apparent. I reccomend this book to anyone who thinks of space beyond space and thought beyond thought and has no problem with deciphering long, elaborate sentances.

Excellent book which I used for my Geography class. Good illustrations and maps and updated information.

I have a small collection of cake books and most of them sit on a shelf in the kitchen. I look at the pictures every now and then thinking how much fun it would be to create this cake or that cake, until I look at the recipe and then decide I have better things to do.

I received "Gorgeous Cakes" as a Christmas present and was encouraged by the short recipes. My first cake was their "Classic Victoria Sponge Cake" on page 34. It is such a simple recipe that I made this cake in no time -- twice. It is a great cake to make when you need a good dessert in a very short amount of time. All of the ingredients, except for perhaps the heavy cream and confectioners' sugar, are ones that you would probably already have in your kitchen. Using this cake recipe as a foundation you can start branching out into other options, either of your own creation or move onto one of the many cake varieties given in this book, still using the same sponge cake base.

My second cake was the "Rich lemon curd cake" and wow, it was really, really good. This one I needed a little help with and with two people, and the help of my newly purchased double boiler, (and it wasn't really that scary to use after all), I soon had an amazing cake to share. This cake book is great for people of all different levels of experience, from beginners (sponge cake) to more experienced bakers (iced lemon loaf with crystallized rose petals). You may want to have your computer around to look up different cooking terms. Many of their cakes seem to require an 8-inch spring form cake pan so you might want to pick up one of those before you get this book. My next cake is going to be the "Black Forest Victoria" a spin-off of the classic sponge cake. I'm really looking forward to this!

Once again Derrick Bell artfully weaves fiction in to the fabric of what are essentially life lessons on race in America. As an avid Bell fan I was familiar with his storytelling style and was not disappointed by this latest entry. The test for me with any book is whether there are quotes or sections which stand independent in my mind and can be easily identified with or transplanted to other settings. As I find so often with Mr. Bell's books, there are several intances where this is true. As indicated by the book's title, here he uses frequent references to gospel passages and with much success. Given the role that gospel music has played in African-American history, I am surprised that its use as a metaphorical agent, isn't employed more often. I highly recommend this book to the Derrick Bell fan and newcomer alike. And to the newcomers I say run don't walk to pick up his earlier works in this series - "And We are not Saved" and "Faces at the Bottom of the Well". Its well worth the trip.

Everyone who cares about this sadly battered world of ours should read Mr. Bell's wonderful book. Mr. Bell courageously goes against the current of Islamophobic fearmongering, presenting an artful discourse about Muslim-Christain dialogue based upon his years of real life experience in Islamic cultures. While I do not agree fully with Mr. Bell's missionary aspirations, I nevertheless hugely respect him for his good will and deeply-held spirituality. If everybody, Christians and non-Christians alike, followed his suggestions about building cross-cultural bridges, this would be a much better world. Thank you, Mr. Bell.