Black Books

FAITH ON 40 YARDS is a stunning exposé on the blatant exploitation of black athletes by the NFL. It starts out as an autobiography, but is definitely not a mere chronicle of the author's life and his running ability or football prowess. With his unique fly on-the-wall perspective and biting, anecdote-rich prose, the autobiography of Anthony E. Prior turns out to be two different stories in a single binding; one being a story of the author's early years and the struggles he faced on and off the football field, as he pursued his dream of being a professional athlete, and the other being a call to action. Action on the part of athletes to stand up and be counted and take charge of their collective destinies, in a pervasively racist system, where, in the author's opinion, they are little more than chattel. In fact the author compares NFL players to slaves on a plantation, ranking them as field hands or house slaves, depending on the degree to which they cow-tow to the coaches and others in administrative positions.

Interspersed throughout the story are interesting tidbits about the author's life; his admiration for Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr., his love and devotion to his family, his love for BMX bike racing, his vibrant remembrances about his college years and above all else his unwavering disdain for the way some players allow themselves to be treated by the white coaches. He describes how some players, reminiscent of slavery, referred to some of these coaches as Boss or Master.

FAITH ON 40 YARDS gives a controversial interpretation of the workings of the NFL and its players that is as edifying as it is unsettling. The book starts out a bit slow but builds up to a startling crescendo as the author divulges his views on the NFL and black professional athletes. Aside from being an autobiography, the book includes a history lesson that questions the state of black leadership, exhorting black athletes to take a stand against practices that threaten their fundamental guarantees of liberty and equality. This book is sure to spark controversial dialogue for some time to come.

Reviewed by Autumn
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers

I found this to be a great read even though, I am girl who was never experienced with what goes on behind the scenes in football. Therefore, I think anybody can enjoy this book. I just couldn't put the book down. It was so interesting and the way Anythony expressed himself made the book easy for me to understand. This book would benfit ,not only black athletes, dealing with discrimination, but all young people trying to live their dream. Reading how hard he trained from the time he was a kid to acheive his goal of finally getting to the NFL was very inspirational.

I was greatly enlightened by reading Anthony's personal history and a fundamental history of Black Americans.

He digs deep, gives strong personal opinions and well-researched, relevant facts that made me, as a Canadian, aware of my naivety toward what really goes on in the football industry, and still today in the U.S. toward Black people in general. Through his experiences, he gives some raw statements about women, money, status, religion and the professional athlete. This is not a "feel sorry for me" book. He puts everything into perspective as he states that everyone has his or her prejudices.

He is a freethinking, bold man making a bold stand that shouldn't be ignored. It would be a worthwhile read in American colleges... a "think twice" before entering the NFL.

PLEASE NOTE WHEN ORDERING: APRIOR7 IS THE ONLY SELLER OF FAITH ON FORTY YARDS. THESE BOOKS ARE SHIPPED DIRECTLY FROM THE AUTHOR. ANY OTHER LISTING OF THIS BOOK DOES NOT EXIST!

I have always liked football and I thought the players always lived this glamorous life. This book gave me a view of what it's like to be an African American football player and it's not always glamorous or fair. Player's go though the same discrimination as average African American people do. Anthony gives an enlighten view to all fans of football. It's a must read.

Book Review of Fine Black Lines by Lois Tschetter Hjelmstad

Fine Black Lines is Ms. Hjelmstad's personal journey into surviving breast cancer. An illness like breast cancer often overwhelms a person's senses so much so that they never recover their balance or go back to what they were. People who suffer chronic illnesses that are death threatening understand this fine difference. With prose, poetry, and a self-worth, Ms. Hjelmstad struggles to overcome her breast cancer, her identity and how she will exist in this altered state known as breast cancer. I rate Ms. Hjelmstad's Fine Black Lines five stars.

A friend of mine presented me with this book while I was in the midst of being treated for breast cancer. It gave me what none of the other books I'd read could-validation for the wide range of emotions I was experiencing. It has proven to be the perfect comfort read when I most need it, and I still regularly refer to it. Lois put into words what I was unable to, and I have purchased several copies since reading it. It is a very thoughtful gift for those newly diagnosed, as well as a help to friends and family struggling to understand what the patient is feeling.

I found Fine Black Lines to be the VERY BEST book or pamphlet I have read. I am an ovarian survivor, not doing very well, and this book has been the most powerful of anything in the last 2.5 years. I thank the author for saying how it really feels. This book has touched me in a major way.

The only thing better than reading the book is meeting the author herself. She is an amazing and beautiful woman.

You'd never know by the title that Fine Black Lines is the story of a breast cancer survivor. In the book, the author, Lois Tschetter Hjelmstad openly and honestly reveals her most intimate feelings about breast cancer. Everything from the first symptom to her feelings in support groups.....no subject is off limits. This is a wonderful book; I don't have cancer, but I certainly benefitted from it. If you DO have cancer of any kind, I think it's a must-read.

The format of the book, which is prose mixed with poetry, makes the book perfect to pick up and put down, and just read in those few minutes you may find for yourself throughout the day.

Two reasons might put one off from reading Frederick Douglass's autobiographies: (1)Douglass's life was so admirable and heroic that they are likely to contain more virtue than interest; and (2) there are so doggone many of them (after all, "autobiographies" ?! three of them?!). Don't let this happen. First, Douglass is a very good writer -- he's funny, he's earthy, he's smart, and his attitudes are surprisingly contemporary. It's almost as if your Democratic neighbor (although Douglass was a stalwart Republican -- those were the days) were to visit 19th century America and report back on what he saw. Second, reading his autobiographies seriatim allows you to see Douglass's life as he lived it: one sees how his own views of his past changed over time, and one comes to appreciate the unbelievably dramatic developments contained in the later autobiographies(I don't want to give them away). That said, three (count 'em 3!) autobiographies are a little much and, in retrospect, I would skip the second one, but do not, under any circumstances, skip the third one. Finally, the notes to the Library of America editions are really, really, really unhelpful. There aren't enough of them, and so the reader has no idea of the significance of some of the events Douglass refers to. Bottom line: Buy it used. Read it now.

- As an author myself, I recommend that you purchase this book for personal study. "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" is a fascinating book and video that helped me understand one of my relatives.
Author. "Knowledge For Tomorrow" Quinton Douglass Crawford

Once you read Douglass's narrative, you will be surprised that Douglass learned enough to be able to write the first narrative written by an uneducated slave. This is one of the most moving narratives you can read -- I challenge any reader to read this and not understand the irony of the white people supressing black people's accomplishments for hundreds of years. The story of Fredrick Douglas in inspiring on many different levels. Once you read it, any reader will understand why this is mandatory reading in any American literature course. It is impossible to understand life after the Civil War without reading this moving, touching novel about how a slave learned how to read and write. Douglass's autobiography is a great literary achievement which should be savored by all who read it both as a historical and literary document.

Frederick Douglass (1818?-1895) was the greatest African American leader of the Nineteenth Century. He was born a slave on the Eastern Shore in Maryland and grew up on plantations on the Eastern Shore with several years in Baltimore. He was a physically powerful, highly intelligent, and spirited youth and developed quickly a hatred of the slave system. As a slave, he taught himself to read and write, and learned the art of public speaking from the church and from a book of orations popular at the time that feel into his hands. He escaped from slavery at the age of 20 and moved to New Bedford,Massachusetts. He became part of the Abolitionist Movement and achieved fame as a public speaker. He became a newspaper editor and writer. During the Civil War, he assisted in the recuritment of black troops. He met President Lincoln on several occasions and became a great admirer. In later years, Douglass was aligned with the conservative "stalwart" wing of the Republican party and continued to speak out for the rights of African-Americans, to oppose (somewhat belatedly) the end of Reconstruction, and to work for the life of the spirit and the mind.

Frederick Douglass wrote three autobiographies which are given in this volume. The first, shortest, and best was written in 1845, seven years after Douglass had escaped from slavery. It tells in graphic and unforgettable terms the story of Douglass' life as a slave, the growth of the spirit of freedom in himself. and the early part of his life as a free man in New Bedford.

The second autobiography was written in 1855. It repeats much of the earlier story and describes Douglass's visit to Great Britain. A higlight of this volume is the Appendix in which Douglass gives the reader excerpts from several of his speeches, including his perhaps most famous speech "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July."

Douglass wrote his third autobiography in 1888 and edited it substantially in 1893. It describes Douglass's relationship with Abraham Lincoln and John Brown. I also enjoyed the section of the book in which Douglass describes his trip to England, Italy, and Egypt near the end of his life. It is highly intelligent, perceptive and reflective travel writing. There are also excerpts in this final autobiography from Douglass's speeches and letters.

The most striking incident in all three volumes is Douglass's story of how he stood up for himself and became in his own eyes a man of dignity and courage. Douglass had been sent for a year to live with a small farmer named Covey who had a reputation for breaking the sprit of strong-willed slaves. Covey whipped Douglass unmercifully for the first six months. Then, after a whipping which left Douglass scared and weak for several days (he ran back to his old master who ordered him back to Covey) Douglass fought back. Covey attempted to whip Douglass and Douglass resisted. The two men fought hand-to-hand for hours. Douglass could not assume the offensive in the fight (it was enough to resist at all) but more than held his ground and had the better of it. Covey at last walked off and never whipped Douglass again. This incident is strikingly told in each autobiography and marks the moment when Douglass showed he could stand up for himself and not have the spirit of a slave. It is inspiring and it grounded his actions for the rest of his life.

There is much in these books that transcends the resistance against American slavery, utterly important as that is. We have, as I have tried to explain, in this book the voice of personal freedom and self-determination which is something every person must learn and undestand for him or herself in deciding how to live. In addition,I get the impression that as Douglass aged he became increasingly committed to the life of the mind and the spirit. This is apparent from his writing and from his interest in travel, in European high culture, art, literature, and music. Douglass learned the meaning for freedom. He tried to devote himself to matters of the spirit in addition to his lifelong quest to improve the lot of the former slave. I think there is still a great deal to be learned here.

Douglass had much to say about the nature of American freedom and democracy. He loved and had faith in them, in spite of the horrible stain of slavery. Here is a wonderful observation from the third autobiography in which Douglass' describes his activities during the Presidential campaign of 1888.

"I left the discussion of the tariff to my young friend Morris, while I spoke for justice and humanity....I took it to be the vital and animating principle of the Republican party. I found the people more courageous than their party leaders. What the leaders were afraid to teach, the people were brave enough and glad enough to learn. I held that the soul of the nation was in this question, and that the gain of all the gold in the world would not compensate for the loss of the nation's soul. National honor is the soul of the nation, and when this is lost all is lost. ... As with an individual, so too with a nation, there is a time when it may properly be asked "What doth it profit to gain the whole world and therby lose one's soul?"

There is a spirit and a wisdom in Douglass that still has much to teach.

As a man of the Nineteenth Century, Douglass tells us little in his autobiographies of his personal life. Upon his escape from slavery, Douglass married a free, uneducated black woman. Upon her death, Douglass married a white woman, which (as we see briefly in the book) caused shock among American whites and blacks alike. We also see little of Douglass' relationship to his children. The reader who would like to learn more about Douglass' personal life needs to read a biography, such as William McFeeley's "Frederick Douglass" (1891)

Douglass' autobiographies are are precious work of American literature and a testimony to the free human spirit.

This account of Frederick Douglass'
life and time by Henry Louis Gates
is the personifaction of Excellence
in Achievement through the Human Spirit.
In spite of the hardships of slavery, Frederick Douglass continued his fight for freedom. His dynamic oratory and leadership helped him to move barriers for all people. This self educated man rose to great prominence to serve as a testament to the world that if you have courage, persistence and faith in God, you can achieve anything that you set your mind to. He knew the power of education and the spoken and written word, which is manifested in his creating the NorthStar newspaper to communicate to others. Of course you have to have mortal men who believe in you and your abilities.

I believe that Mr. Gates captures this strength, this conviction and the essence of Mr. Douglass' spirit and his commitment to make a better life for himself and others like him. His dynamic use of the language allows you to feel conviction and essence of Mr. Douglass' concern. It was like listening to Mr. Douglass speak to me through those pages.

I found this book very intriguing and educational. It has something for the world to learn from.

Thanks to Mr. Gates and others for bringing this great American (World) hero to the forefront. We need to know and share in the histor and spiriti of this great man. By the way I was named after Frederick Douglass. I strive to be like him as much as I can. I am still working on my oratory!

This book is another great addition to the Pivotal moments in American history series. This series seeks to assess the events that led to a major paradigm shift in American history changing the country in some way. The argument here is that the Freedom Rides established a basis for social justice that had not been achieved previously. With this topic the author does an excellent job of putting a human face on the struggle the riders went through and you can feel the palpable hatred that the riders experienced and the racism is simply nauseating. It is unbelievable how clear the author captures it and not only for the hate towards the riders but the strict values that held this racism in place. What many people saw as right was the destruction of the freedom riders. The author does an excellent job at explaining the dichotomy in the country and showing how the Freedom Rides changed the perception of everyone towards social justice issues. For the first time white and black worked together not always seamlessly but with greater fervor than ever before. The direct action campaigns shifted focuses on what was happening the country creating new challenges. The book is extensively researched and relies not only on newspapers but countless interviews and the author should be commended for the work he put in. An excellent book to read and highly recommended.

In the past ten years or so we've witnessed staged "revolutions" - Orange, Green, Rose, etc. - funded around the globe by Western NGOs, toppling the chosen tyrant and installing the pro-Western liberal reformer of the moment. When it came to democratic movements within the USA, of course, the enthusiasm at home was markedly lacking.

Thus, before the age of NED or Freedom House, those who challenged entrenched tyranny in America faced real risk to life and limb, with only scattered support from the media and none from either the State Department or NGO clones. Such were the Freedom Riders, who were armed with naught but the courage of their ideals, as they embarked cross-country for the lion's den to stick their heads in his jaws.

That they ultimately prevailed is a commendation of the "American Way"; but they did so only after considerable risk, repression, and one-sided bloodshed. The "flowering of democracy" in the American South was fertilized not by the blood of tyrants but those seeking freedom. Would that such cheap imitators in Serbia, Ukraine or Lebanon - basking in Western funding and media cheerleading - have had to endure a tenth of what these brave people had to risk in the US itself.

I heard Mr. Arsenault speak recently and his love of this subject came through. I highly recommend this book.

As a participant,I can vouch for all material that related to my experiences as a Freedom Rider in the book.The writing accurately descibes the atmosphere and conditions of my experiences in Jackson City Jail and Parchman Prison Farm's maximum security unit.I was amazed by the fidelity of the narrative,it was like being transfered back in time!The short but excellent telling of the Monroe Freedom Rider Project with Robert Williams in North Carolina was enlightning for me as a participant because of the dramatic events of that disastorous Sunday.I was one of five riders not on the picket line and never heard of the experiences of those arrested downtown.I cannot recommend this book more highly for anyone interested in the civil rights movement. It should be read by anyone who is politically active in order to understand the complexity of social movements and the responsibilty of the participant to their cause and the people they are attempting to help.
We shall overcome!

The perfect follow up to "America in the King Years," (by
Taylor Branch) Arsenault focuses in on the single most important, ground breaking, and personally dangerous aspect of the civil rights movement.

This is a gripping story, and reads like a thriller. Truly, this is contemporary history that you can't put down.

Since I was born in 1945, World War II and the Holocaust had always been history to me. So when I spent five years working in Germany, I constantly wondered about the older people I met--"How did you respond to Hitler's regime? What do you feel now?" Even with Germans of my own generation, the topic was one I felt uncomfortable raising.
I have found Mimi Schwartz's book fascinating because she acknowledges very human conflicted feelings, the need for Gentile Germans to feel they did the best they could to help their neighbors, the deep-seated fear of a Jewish survivor who wants to believe people are basically good, the almost militant fervor of a young German Gentile seeking to discover the darkness of his parents' past. And Schwartz raises timely questions about conflicts between Christians, Jews, and Muslims that trouble this century.
Beyond the topic, I am intrigued with issues of writing memoir which Schwartz's book raises. How much should an author reveal about personal feelings? How does the writer reconcile conflicting memories? Can a writer allow herself to become vulnerable? To be too naive?
I have hardly been able to put this book down since finding it at the library, and now I want a copy for myself to highlight and reread.

In Good Neighbors, Bad Times, Mimi Schwartz writes a highly nuanced account of the Holocaust and how it affected the small German town where her father was born and which he remembered fondly until his death in the 1970s. While other reviewers have suggested this memoir for a Holocaust shelf or course, I recommend it to Christians seeking to understand how religious prejudice can blind us to the humanity of those who worship differently.

Schwartz writes engagingly of growing up in a neighborhood of mostly Jews and longing to break out. She did this by first attending the University of Michigan and later (after marrying her Jewish boyfriend) assimilating into the predominantly Christian town of Princeton, NJ. Schwartz seems to have identified more with her mother, a city girl, than her father, who was born into a cattle trading family and left the village referred to here as Benheim to fight in World War I. As a soldier, he saw how Jews were treated in Russia and when, in 1933, he attended a rally at which thousands of enthusiastic Germans saluted Adolph Hitler, he knew to leave.

While Arthur Loewengart and his brothers came to the United States, other villagers emigrated to Palestine, which was still under British rule. In the end, all but 89 of the village's Jews escaped. They were deported to camps where only two survived. Throughout her childhood, Arthur told Mimi that people in Benheim were different, kinder and more principled than the typical Nazi. After he died, she wondered if what he said was true. She began to connect the dots between survivors in New York and Israel and the German village where no Jews live today.

Her journey both physical and metaphysical is told here. It is a story of small kindnesses (and cruelties) in the midst of unimaginable larger horrors, and how truth is deeply textured but well worth knowing.

"Before Hitler, everyone got along," according to the author of "Good Neighbors, Bad Times: Echoes of My Father's German Village". This a true story of decency and compassion in a small German village and how its generosity stood in the face of an empire of Nazi hatred. Author Mimi Schwartz recalls tales from her father and goes on a journey that spanned over three continents and a dozen years to get the more complete story of her father's village and learns interesting details about it all from every interview and discussion. "Good Neighbors, Bad Times: Echoes of My Father's German Village" is highly recommended for Holocaust studies shelves and for anyone seeking a more upbeat account of 1930s Germany.

As those who lived through the Holocaust are rapidly disappearing, this sensitive and open-minded work captures the anguish and inner conflicts of Jews and Gentiles living in a small German village during the Nazi period.
Knowing a number of the people Mimi Schwartz depicts, I can enthusiastically attest to her accurate portrayals.
For those of us born after this time, but still bearing some of its burden, there are important questions: What was the flavor of 400 years of mutual tolerance? How did this harmony disappear? What can we understand about ourselves in reflecting on the daily moral challenges of life lived under an evil regime?
There are no easy answers here, but a moving and true story.

2008 marks seventy years since the tragic events of Kristallnacht, the night of broken glass. On November 9, 1938, the Nazis unleashed a wave of destruction against Germany's Jews. In the space of a few hours, thousands of synagogues and Jewish businesses and homes were damaged or destroyed. Mimi Schwartz, author of "Good Neighbors / Bad Times: Echoes of My Father's German Village" wasn't born yet. She would be grow up in Queens, New York, on milkshakes and hamburgers, and her father's stories of life in Germany, a life she had very little interest in. Her father grew up in Benheim (the name of the village has been changed to protect privacy), a little village of Christians and Jews in southwest Germany where according to all accounts Jews and Christians lived peacefully side by side. No allied bombs fell on Benheim during WWII so much of it is still preserved. The synagogue which was attacked during Kristallnacht is still there, now as an Evangelical Church. One can still visit the Jewish cemetery with 946 old graves.

Schwartz was in a village in Israel when she saw an old Benheim Torah and was told that "the Christians of Benheim rescued the Torah for us during Kristallnacht." That story sent her on a quest to discover all that she could about this little village, to determine if, like her father had always told her, Benheim was special in that the people there got along and would do anything to help one another.

In "Good Neighbors / Bad Times" Schwarz interviews many old Benheimers, some in Israel and some in America. She also visits Benheim several times, a village which now has no Jews. The Jews that were there either escaped in time or were killed in the concentration camps. Only two Benheimers who were interred in the concentration camps survived. The other eighty-seven were murdered. On her journey, Schwarz discovers a series of individual stories and individual perspectives which each tell part of the whole story. She discovers both the Jewish and the Gentile perspective on what happened. She struggles with knowing what everyone knows now versus what people knew then. There was a large swastika that had been erected in the town in 1934, but as one Benheimer stated, "It was not important; no one knew what it would mean." She learned of other kind deeds that occurred in Benheim and of a second Torah that was saved and is now located in Burlington, Vermont. She learned of how good people struggled to live through such difficult times, of people too scared to take a stand and the punishments that came to those who did. She learned of children being indoctrinated with hate in the local school and parents who struggled to fight against it.

"Good Neighbors / Bad Times" is a valuable work of social history. It is so important to preserve the stories of those who lived through these tragic events. In the end, Schwartz decides that Benheim was special, that decency managed to prevail there despite the Nazi hate that infected the land. As Schwartz states, "decency is often such a solitary act; it's evil that draws a noisy crowd." "Good Neighbors / bad Times" is recommended for anyone who wants to learn more about Jewish / Christian relationships during the World War II era. It would also make a wonderful text for a college course on the topic.

This book should be passed down as an heirloom. I am so proud of all the talent in this book. It would make excellent gifts and it's for such a worthy cause. SHARE IT WITH EVERYONE!!

Best Anthology of the Year

Everyone loves a good pot of gumbo for its unique blend of different ingredients filled with a spicy great taste and satisfying indulgence. The Gumbo for the Soul Anthology is the best recipe for success and encouragement in support of literacy in The African American Community. The roux for this gumbo is the intelligence and insight of several authors in a collection of poetry, short stories, essays and other forms of creative expression. Don't forget to pick your copy today you are guaranteed to be filled with motivation and self determination after reading this anthology.


Peace and Love

Gumbo, A Potpourri of Literary Treats

As any good cook will tell you, when you combine a cup of this, a pinch of that to a recipe, it will enhance the flavor of whatever you're cooking. Well, the same holds true for the ingredients included in Gumbo For The Soul, The Recipe For Literacy In The Black Community. Beverly Black Johnson has taken a pinch of poetry, a cup of essays a handful of testimonies and a drop of gumbo recipes to complete a literary gumbo fit to feed an entire community. We have a saying down south that when asked what's in our gumbo, we respond by saying, "Everything, but the kitchen sink!" You can see evidence of this by checking out my family's gumbo recipe listed on page 219 and see that there are as many variations of gumbo as there are ingredients to put in them. In Gumbo For The Soul, with its assortment of poems, essays, testimonies and recipes, there's surely something in there to whet your literary appetite, as you savor the flavor of your own gumbo recipe, or experiment with one of the recipes included in the book.

African Americans have a unique heritage and distinct culture which supports the saying - "it takes a village to raise a child". This collection of stories, poems, essays and testimonies offer direction, comfort and flavor for the village. As you read and reflect on the recipe for literacy presented you will be filled with pride, encouragement and drive to do more for those in your family and neighborhood.

Who did you look up to when you were young? Who took interest in you and provided motivation for you to reach for the stars? How did you get through that terrible college algebra class? Most of those from the old school, will say it was a parent, auntie, uncle, school teacher or church member. Surely, there was someone that provided insight on the difficult times and praises during those celebratory moments. What happened to the love freely given in the "hood"? Let's take it back by sharing the stories of warmth and devotion from those folks in the village.

GUMBO FOR THE SOUL should be standard reading in every household. The vast knowledge on education along with the promise that proceeds will support literacy definitely benefits our community. Invest in yourself today, purchase GUMBO FOR THE SOUL and support the village in which we all belong.


Deltareviewer
Reviewing for Real Page Turners

This was a wonderful book that I recommend to everyone, especially those in the Bay Area of California! Proceeds will fund the Gumbo For The Soul Literacy Program & Scholarship Fund based in San Jose, California. Comprised of stories and essays that celebrate our commitment to the education of our children, this anthology is a must have for anyone looking for inspiration. Great for teachers seeking to enlighten students or for parents looking for alternatives. Do your family and community and purchase this book ASAP!

Sorry for my english. This item has arrived very fast to its destiny in a great state, so I could enjoy it only 10 days after the shopping, with no problems. So... thanks to Amazon for to make easier this kind of business.

The Haunted Mansion is one of my favorite rides at Disneyland. I really enjoyed the stories in this comic. Some were humorous, others "deadly" serious. Some explained the history of a particular Haunted Mansion ghost, others were simply for fun. I plan to collect all the comics in this series.

If you don't want to read the comicbook, then please buy it for the artwork [best priced Disney Merchandise vs. what you will pay @ the Theme Parks] .... looking forward to future volumes from SLAVE LABOR GRAPHICS !!!!

~(^)~

The thing I liked most was probably the funny things in it. I also have been waiting to get the second issue to see the ending of mystery of the manse. The artwork I liked because the book has different artists for the different storys. The story when the fifi is away is hilarious so I really want to get the next issue soon.

To say that I am happy that Disney has finally licensed some of their best properties to Slave Labor Graphics is an understatdment. This first issue of The Haunted Mansion proves my joy well earned. Each little story in the issue looks at a unique aspect of the Haunted Mansion mythos, many revealing back story details that the general public probably had not heard of before. My one complaint is the lack of color inking, but that's a minor quibble.

As a former Chief Law Enforcement Officer, I found this book gripping, with the very REAL potential for the events described within to actually happen in American society within our own lifetime. Brilliant writing, brilliant concept, believable characters and some of the most awesome possible future fiction I have ever read! This book is truly believable in all it's implications for our potential future. ANY serious reader, despite his or her reading preferences will enjoy this book, and finish it feeling haunted. I give this work my highest recommendation and anxiously await the remainder of the series.

As a former Chief Law Enforcement Officer, I found this book quite believable in all it's implications for our possible future. Brilliant writing, brilliant concept, believable characters, and some of the most awesome possible future fiction I have ever read! The most gripping aspect of this book is the very REAL potential for the events described to happen in American society within our own lifetime! An excellent piece of literary work which appeals to ANY serious reader, despite his or her usual preference for subject matter. I give this work my highest recommendation and anxiously await the remaining books in the series.

"I'm from the Government and I'm here to help you." We've all heard that saying and snickered.

In Head Rites, the authors have portrayed how our Government knows more about what we want and need than any of us do. Big Brother is all-knowing. Sound comfortable? God help us if too many believe that.

Head Rites reminded me of Orwell's 1984.

But we know that can't happen. Or can it???????

A wonderful book! This book, told through the lives of 3 couples, examines the repercusions of government zoning laws. I couldn't put it down! Could something like this happen if we don't watch our government? An amazing tale from beginning to end! If you like Political Science, Suspense, or just plain good books, then this book is for you! Read it today! It might just change your view on the government!

I found head rites to be a skillfully crafted tale of what I hope america doesnt become. The characters are realistic and the writers have obviously done their homework. This book had me thinking about it for days after I read the last page.

I think this book is very informative and I recommend this to anyone. I'm still reading it, when I'm done, I'll be passing it along to relatives.

This is a very excellent book. I found it very informative and inspiring. I enjoyed the fact that it covered not only physical issues but emotional and spiritual issues as well. It made for a very good read because I felt the author really knew her subjects and what things might be underlying causes for ill health. I would recommend this book to all women who are on a quest to feel better physically and emotionally.

This was a refreshing look into not only how to achieve and maintain a healthy heart but also the interesting facts that surround the history of black women and their cultural differences. However I would recommend this book to all women, not just black women, as there is a lot of beneficial information for all of us here.

Dr. Yates has a wonderful gift of not only talking in laymen's terms so that a larger audience can make use of this important information, but she also breaks down the facts that lie around the issues of heart health in a way that allows you to retain the facts.

The chapter on Estrogen Replacement Therapy was particularly helpful. With a sea of information on this issue, most of which is either scientific garble to me or that of pharmaceutical representation skewed toward profit margins, I was relieved to get clear information here that any reader will be able to make sense of. I walked away understanding much more about my own body and the natural resources that lie within me. Thus allowing me to make better decisions about how I will proceed when I am at the age of menopause.

I commend Dr. Yates on a job well done and I look forward to more information on other topics by her in the future.

Finally there's an author who speaks my language! I happy to say reading this book has helped me turn some things around for myself. I realize no one's going to take care of me but me, and this author speaks to me in a way that's inspiring. And she knows what I'm dealing with. Sisters, this one is worth your $.

My name is Aliou Ayaba a physician from Benin in West-Africa.I have practiced in rural hospital in Benin for almost ten years now.I met Dr Yates by chance because she was willing to donnate medical equipments and supplies to rural hospitals in Benin after an ad I placed in a local newspaper. If I saw her book on stack in a library I would not have paid attention to it because like all today modern physicians alternative/traditional/ natural medicine is secondary, imprecise and sometimes not important. It is sad because everytime we want to make a prescription about High blood pressure, diabete, sickle-cell anemia, depression etc, we start with :" hygienic and dietetic counseling" even though we do not have time to explain all this section to the patient..But this is rather a big issue about the place of alternative medicine today. The book written by Dr.Yates impress me a lot for it reveals in a very simple language the hidden part of our health.It has more effect on me probably because I practice in a rural hospital in Benin where I cross every day in the hospital traditional healers giving secret care to their hospitalized patients just because unlike we modern physicians busy with "mathmatical medicine" they take time to listen to patients, their recipes are natural, cheaper easy to use and with less side effects...they care not only for the body but also the mind and the patient's environment as well. Cardiovascular diseases CVD are the first killer worlwide and as Dr.Yates indicates there is a single chance: they are preventable, their prevention is cheaper or only costs a little change in our lifestyle.For everyone and particularly black women all over the world I recommend this book because if today we cannot change our socioeconomic status which put us at higher risk of dying for CVD at least we can modifies slightly our lifestyle by following the simple receipes of Dr.Yates in order to enjoy this life that never rewind...

I have met SuzAnne and came away very impressed. Between 2004 and 2006, the author a combat medic with the US Army, served a tour in Iraq. She is a staff sergeant. At only 106 pounds, SuzAnne is one of the toughest and most capable people I have ever met. She has "been there, done that." I am glad that she was able to share her artistic talent with us before she went into combat. I am hopeful that she will be able to create more for us to enjoy. The fact that she has such a tender and loving heart after serving in combat, speaks volumes not only about her, but of all the men and women who put on the uniform of the United States Armed Forces.

SuZanne has captured the hope, faith, heart and spirit of these youngsters with her creative and caring lense. Paired with the scripture -- miricales are all around us. Thank SuZanne

A great photography book for every coffee table in the country! With the recent tragedies that our nation has experienced SuzAnne Libby has offered a glimmer of hope with her black and white photography book set with biblical scriptures. With her simplistic and elegant approach SuzAnne Libby's book has given me comfort at times when I needed it most. I have sent Heart Warmings to my US Navy friends serving in the Middle East who have also been inspired and comforted by her book. SuzAnne Libby's Heart Warmings will warm the hearts and offer hope to all who open it up. This book will get alot of use. A must have, I highly recommend it.

This is an inspirational photography piece for every coffe table in the country! In light of our nation's recent tragedies SuzAnne Libby offers a glimmer of hope in this wonderful work of black and white photography set with biblical scripture. With her simplistic and elegant approach this book has given me comfort in times when I most needed it. I have sent this book to my US Navy friends serving in the Middle East who have also been comforted and inspired by SuzAnne's book. SuzAnne has done a wonderful job and this book will warm the hearts of all who open it up. A must have, I highly recommend this book!

this book is great. I put it out on my coffee table, and everyone can't seem to put it down. The combination of scriptures and black and white photographs makes this book inviting. It is a good way to relax or "wind-down" after a long day. Makes a great gift as well!