Clubs Books

I really enjoyed all 3 books in this series. They really keep you interested.

Beth and her husband are married and settled down, two year old twins light up Marie's home, and now Trina has an overpowering desire to become a veterinarian. Of course, this is frowned upon in the Mennonite community to which she belongs. Even the man she loves and plans to marry is against her decision. Can she succeed without them, or does she even want to?

She has to fight and claw her way each time she tries to advance her dream. Beth allows her to use her computer to begin, but when her family finds out, the dream is cut off--again.

Trina's father is so dyed in the wool Mennonite, he refuses to accept change, and certainly not having his daughter go away to college.

In spite of her fiance coming over to her side and the support of her mother and the religious leaders, Trina's dream is again shattered as an automobile accident seriously injures her husband to be.

Will she ever find her dream, or should she be content just to count her many blessings? A beautiful ending of this series. Thank you Kim.

Trina Muller's story thread runs through the books of the Sommerfeld Trilogy.
In Bygones: Marie Koeppler Quin and her grown daughter Beth return to the Mennonite community Marie abandoned twenty-three years ago. Trina Muller and her mother are running the café which Beth inherited from her aunt.
In Beginnings: By her healing touch, Trina Muller saves a kitten that would have been thrown away. The kitten becomes a gift to Beth Quin.
In Blessings: We concentrate on Trina's struggle. She can never quite please, or live up to her mother's expectations. She struggles with her job in the café, which is not fulfilling to her because she knows her gift and concern for animals comes from God. Trina is caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. The community which she loves and needs does not think a woman with a career is normal.
After reading the book the real take home value for me was the healing of relationships from reading Gods word, not with preconceived beliefs, but with discernment of what the Bible really says.

Trina Muller loves animals, and wants to be a veterinarin, but that would mean going way to college. Her parents and her church would never approve such a move. And she knows for sure Graham Ortman, the man she loves and wants to marry would never understand. She is working with Dr. Groening, the local vet, which only fans the flames of her desire to work with animals. Graham is furious with her. Doesn't she know that a woman's highest calling is to be a wife and a mother? How can she go against the teachings of the Old Order Mennonite? A strong story of love and commitment, of two young people trying to live their faith and still follow what they believe is God's plan for their lives.

BlessingsTrina wants to be a vet. She is Mennonite and does not have even a high school education. Her dreams threaten to break up her relationship with her boyfriend/future husband, her immediate family, and her fellowship (congregation). Can she convince them that becoming a vet will help the community?
Coincidently, I read this after reading Dear to Me by Wanda E. Brunstetter. Both deal with young women who want to be vets. Brunstetter writes of the Amish. Sawyer writes of the Mennonites. Besides that point, the books are completely different, especially the endings. If you have read one, go ahead and read the other.
I have read all of Sawyer's other books: Blessings, Bygones, and Beginnings. This is by far her best. I used to think of her as second to Brunstetter, the obvious benchmark in this niche. Sawyer has come into her own place. All of her books stand alone, but go buy them all. Sawyer is an author to watch!

Audrey Grant's books - like Introduction to Bridge are exceptional. They are best used in a bridge class/training session where an instructor can lead and help the student through the the basics of bridge learning. The value of Audrey Grant's books are that they present a system of bridge which has revolutionized modern bridge.

This is a great book for those interested in learning about Bridge. We are using it along with an instructor and it is great. Highly recommend it.

It makes sense. No cryptic assumptions by the author. Discussion of every possibility, how to react, AND WHY. One of the best "tutorials" i have read in my life.
I started to learn bridge with one friend teaching a group of three. Made no sense. I bought this book, got pulled into the chapters, and at our next practice, i was leading half the session and teaching everyone.

I've been considering returning to contract bridge after a 10 year hiatus and wanted to brush up on my bidding. I was looking for an intermediate/advanced overview of American Standard. This is a basic textbook obviously designed to be used in a classroom with a teacher. You will get basic bidding techniques and some recommendations on play. You won't get any conventions past Blackwood, Gerber or Stayman. Transfers, Unusual Notrump and the like aren't covered. If you're a beginner, this is a good starting point, though it would be best to use it with an instructor. If you're an intermediate or advanced player. Look elsewhere.

If you are new to bridge I highly recommend purchasing all four of Audrey Grant books in the ACBL Series... CLUB, DIAMOND, HEART AND SPADE. She is unquestionably the best bridge teacher for a novice. In layman's terms she is able to explain and unravel the mysteries of bridge. If you begin with the club book and progress through the series as they increase in difficulty... club, diamond, heart and spade you will be able to teach yourself how to become proficient in bridge painlessly. Her books are written in lesson formats... and they are used by many people who instruct bridge classes i.e. adult ed. Buy one... I'm sure you'll add the other three to your library. I also highly recommend her "Bridge at A Glance" pocket guide which is a quick synopsis of bidding and the appropriate respones thereof. I bought many bridge books before I stumbled upon Audrey Grant and wish I had found her books first! Good luck!

I met Lolly Anderson when she opened her home to law students of her alma mater to share the passion for life she expresses in this book. Single, 20 something and in law school can be overwhelming for a woman. Inspiration is much needed in my life, and this book gave me what I needed. Lolly's refuse to give up spirit that led her through most people's worst nightmares (cancer, divorce, bankruptcy)allowed me to appreciate each day. My friends and I even went and got the Statue of David on our fridge in hopes of finding a prince charming.

I am very impressed w/Lolly's book and plan to purchase many copies of it for my friends and family for Christmas! Her words are music to my ears and I want to tell everyone of her wonderful wisdom. I carry her book in my purse and take it out and re-read it b/c it is full of positive affirmations I can always use in my everyday life. I can relate to the heartaches life hands out (divorce, death, etc.) and still do my very best to maintain a healthy and happy attitude. Everyone needs to know they deserve to be happy in life and this book will do it! Well done Lolly! Please write another book b/c your viewpoint feels like home! Laurie R. Gillespie

Lolly's example is one of triumph beyond what our natural vision can bring and the reliance on the unseen goodness that awaits anyone who's willing to venture to that place of audacious wonderment. She had many "reasons" not to believe things would come to her or work out, but she held on to the dream and was not averted by fear, which can derail many dreams. This book will show you how to move through any situation and to create dreams that will allow you to live to your fullest potential. Thank you, Lolly! - Gina Rowsam

Lolly's zest for life, refusal to stay down when the hard times come, and her desire to go for what she wants until she gets it - or something better comes along! - entertained, inspired and left me reassessing my own aspirations and taking a look at what I needed to do besides just "sit and wish."

Charlotte Lankard, Oklahoma City

Lolly Anderson writes as she is, positive, uplifting, and always with an eye on the future. To most of us, the difficult times in her life would have been crippling, but Lolly always expects good to come from challenges. This is a book that gives you hope, and is a romping good read.

Philadelphia to be exact - in this case, the city of Sisterly love!

Oh My! what an erotic book! and yet it had just the sweetest love story!

From hospital corridors to not so private sex near the softball diamond this book has it all!

Thirty year old Bren is attractive, thoughtful and introspective, she has a fulfilling job directing the rare books department at Temple University but has never been in a long term relationship.

Twenty-seven year old Candace, a model pretty blonde, has a high stakes job as a self-employed commodities trader who lives and loves in the moment.

Thirty-five year old Liz Ramsey is a medical attorney who is lovely inside and out.

The three met during their college days and have been fast friends since. Totally supportive of each other but that doesn't mean that they know all each other's secrets.

And gorgeous thirty-one year old orthopedic surgeon Dr. Reilly Danvers is a joy to read.

As a bonus for her readers the author has nice appearances from characters from her excellent novel 'Love's Tender Warriors'.

If you liked this novel you will also enjoy these tiles by the author -
Fated Love
Tomorrow's Promise
When Dreams Tremble
Passion's Bright Fury
Turn Back Time
Love's Melody Lost
Love's Masquerade
shadowland

Once it ended. Friends thought I had disappeared for a day when I started reading this book and made other plans! Seriously though, great book, intriguing characters, sex-surprisingly not all that much, but enough to really keep you interested. Anyway, Radclyffe proves that whether weilding a pen or a scalpel, she can cut to the heart of a her readers and her characters alike.

This is another one of Radclyffe's that I couldn't put down. Excellent story. Excellent characters. Great portray of true genuine friendship. It was good that there were three different storylines going on all at the same time, yet all linked together.

I really liked Bren. The soft spoken friend (well it appeared that way at first). I hope there is a sequel to this one. I would like to read more about her character in the future.

As usual I am never disappointed when it comes to Radyclyffe.

Radclyffe does her best work when she writes her stand alone novels. Unlike her series, which sell books, but have gotten rather mundane, this book has a fresh concept. It's not often that a lesbian novel features a central figure who is pregnant and alone. While Liz and Reilly are the major focus of the book, the most interesting character might be Bren, who has a couple of secrets she's kept from her best friends. Any of these characters could have carried the book and that makes them stronger than is usually seen in this genre. This is what Radclyffe excels at when she writes her stand alone novels. She should stick with it. The Lonely Hearts Club is a good read.

I have to preface this review by saying I'm a HUGE fan of Radclyffe's books. I think I have only rated two of her books 4, while all the others have been 5. Her last several books have really teetered on the edge for me, but this one is a strong comeback for my favorite author.

Here, much in the style of Saxon Bennett, the author delivers a variety of different women in a single plot. Even with the large cast, all are well-developed and their individual stories are tied together with skill and artistry.

I won't take the time to rehash to story here because the back cover text is pretty descriptive. However, I will tell you just how happy I am to finally see a Radclyffe book that is worthy of her talent and capability. This one is a don't-miss, absolutely.

A very comprehensive book for those who are interested in using literature circles to boost their students' interest in reading and speaking skills. It can surely help you to gain a very good understanding of what literature circles are and the "tips" provided after the description of every lesson are quite helpful. However, the lessons described in the book are for first language learners and you will need make adaptations if you want to use the ideas with your EFL students.

If you are a teacher like me, or if you are forming a literature group, this book is an excellent resource. It will help you work with students to ensure that they have organized and productive literature cirlce discussions.

Excellent resource. Lots of great ideas, easily adaptable to various grade levels and abilities.

This book is a useful tool if you plan to introduce literature circles into your classroom. It is an easy read, something that one can use as a reference as well as a lesson-planning tool. The way the book is written and organized allows me to use the individual lesson plans with my own literature, whether using novels, short stories or poetry. Having never used literature circles before and being a little skeptical, I am very pleased with this book's ability to explain the benefit and realistic purpose of using them in a high school classroom. The authors have definitely done their research and answer all the questions teachers have regarding the reality of using these circles. I am convinced and am looking forward to implementing them in my own classroom.

The premise behind this book is great. I was hoping to have some instant lessons to use with my fourth grade students. While some of the lessons are adaptable to that age, the activities are really designed for high school classes.

One of my favorite books for the last 30 years. A wonderful set of stories about kids who use their brains to figure out problems and have adventures. Positive stories that are well written.

The Mad Scientists solve a bank robbery, get outfoxed by Harmon Muldoon, save Mammoth Falls from a drought, invade the town with a UFO, then finally get even with Harmon and his gang in a satisfying and exciting sequel to The Mad Scientists' Club. Using classic technology and, of course, their noodles, the MSC romps through 5 short stories which are more complex than the originals, yet retain their smart and fun flavor. Henry thinks, Jeff leads, Mortimer snarks, Homer climbs, Charlie narrates, Harmon interferes, and Freddy and Dinky get kidnapped...twice! This book is great for boys AND girls 9-12 (and also for 42-year old women like me!) I'm so happy I found this book again after 30 years...it was worth the wait and then some!

If you loved Bertrand R. Brinley's first collection of stories about The Mad Scientists of Mammoth Falls The Mad Scientists' Club or the two novels: The Big Kerplop!: The Original Adventure of the Mad Scientists' Club and The Big Chunk of Ice: The Last Known Adventure of the Mad Scientists' Club, then you'll also love "The New Adventures of The Mad Scientists' Club". The boys return in five new stories, again mixing simple yet sound science and a gently wicked sense of fun.

In "Big Chief Rainmaker", a story originally planned for inclusion in the first book, the boys make clever use of simple scientific principles to break a killer drought by making it rain. Unfortunately, making it STOP raining, turns out to be a good deal harder.

In "The Telltale Transmitter" while investigating a series of unexplained seismic anomalies, the boys make an unexpected discovery.

In "The Cool Cavern" the boys acquire a WWII-era midget two-man Japanese submarine and stash it in a cavern behind Mammoth Falls' namesake Mammoth Falls while restoring it to functioning. Then one night the cavern roof collapses, hopelessly trapping Harmon Muldoon's gang, who had come to spy on the submarine, behind tons of fallen rocks. Or are they?

In "The Flying Sorcerer" Dinky Poore is so obsessed about wanting to see a UFO that he quits showing up for club meetings, until his fellow club members promise to build him a UFO. Hi-jinks ensue.

In "The Great Confrontation" Harmon Muldoon's gang kidnaps Dinky Poore and Harmon's cousin, Freddy Muldoon, and offers to trade them for the submarine and the right to use the Cool Cavern. Boy, are they going to be sorry!

As a boy, while I enjoyed this book very much, I never liked it as well or reread it as often as the first one, and after rereading it as a man I think I know why. It isn't the writing, which if anything has improved; it is the story topics. If the first book could be re-titled "The Mad Scientists' Club Triumphant", this book could be re-titled "The Mad Scientists' Club Get Their Comeuppance". In "Big Chief Rainmaker" the boys go from heroes to goats, and in "The Cool Cavern" the boys get made utter fools of. "The Telltale Transmitter" turns out to be a fairly conventional crime-solving, and even the wackiest story of all, "The Flying Sorcerer", is essentially "The Strange Sea Monster of Strawberry Lake" redux, except with a less triumphal ending, and it isn't until "The Final Confrontation" that the boys finally get even with Harmon Muldoon's gang for the events of "The Cool Cavern". The result is a little more downbeat than I prefer. In addition I regret the lost story possibilities of the restored midget submarine, which Brinley never made use of.

Note: the Purple House reprint of The New Adventures of the Mad Scientists' Club is worth picking up even if you own an older edition because it includes an introduction written by Bertrand's son Sheridan and a chronological listing of the stories so you can read them in the order they were written (the order of the stories in the book was not changed). Reading them chronologically clears up some confusion over places, geographical references, and characters.

Not many books can capture your imagination like the Mad Scientists books. I read these back in the late 60s and still have my original copy. Its been reread dozens of times and by the way where is Mammoth Falls? The location was always elusive. References to Chicago, the Air Force Base nearby, and the description of Strawberry Lake was most unusual. I keep two copies of the republished books on my shelf. I rarely rate 5 stars but this one gets it because after 40 years its still one of my favorites.

When I was growing up, I really enjoyed reading the 'Mad Scientists Club' and its influence may partly explain why I ended up in engineering research. Until recently I had forgotten all about it until I was looking at books by my favorite authors as a youth, such as Stephen Meader and Jim Kjelgaard. I came across the Brinley books and I decided to re-read the original and discovered much to my delight that there was a sequel of short stories and two additional full-length books by Brinley.

I read the sequel, 'The New Adventures of the Mad Scientists' Club'and I was both ecstatic and a little dismayed. The stories are uniquely excellent melding adventurous vignettes with some science. However, I noticed that the sequel showed some changes in personalities from the first book. I was a little surprised to see that in The Flying Sorcerer' Henry was both not fully truthful with Colonel March, but even after he was told how much personal trouble he was causing him, Henry proposed that the club continue with additional flights of the flying saucer. The readers had been told in 'The Cool Cavern' that Col. March had done them a big favor in helping them acquire the plexiglass nose from an old B-17 bomber for their midget sub. I guess it did not seem in character for them to treat their friends so shabbily. I know that the Mad Scientists are supposed to represent our rebellious American youth who do not respect authority, but I thought the stunt was taken a bit too far. Moreover, I was surprised when I read that Mortimer Dalrymple stole the rotor from Col. March's Air Force car, which is not only a dirty trick, but patently illegal. I am not sure if it was the length of time between Brinley's writing of his first story in 1960 to his last in 1968, but the characters in the sequel seem to not be as 'kind and gentle' as in the first book.

Regardless, I still really enjoyed reading the sequel and I plan on reading the two re-published full-length books.

This is gorgeously written novel, for a first novel or a 50th. Beautiful language, universal themes and totally believable flawed characters. I don't often feel compelled to mark favorite passages while reading, but this one is full of earmarked pages. I'm not sure why this one hasn't gotten more attention, but I look forward to reading more of Shauna Seliy's work in the future. Highly recommended.

There is something about this book's cover image - strong and gentle hands protecting and revealing the simple beauty of the fruit - that recalls Seliy's mastery of words and character in this stunningly lyrical first novel.

Seliy's ability to convey of sense of place while simultaneously developing Lucas's emerging sense of self carries you along in the way that a good book makes you forget to care about where you really are (on the subway, at the kitchen table, at your desk at work not working, etc.). Somehow Seliy manages to accomplish this without overwriting. Her sparse descriptions and sparing dialogue (alternately bitingly witty and suddenly poignant) did the job so effecively I found myself crying throughout this book - sometimes because of a plot point - but mostly because of the way the words on the page...felt.

I also cried at the end, mostly because I didn't want to leave this place and these people, along with the very real and the very mythical senses they evoked. It is impossible to believe that these people did not live, just as described here. Seliy's careful research - on mining life, old world traditions and dialect - and her own obvious sense of belonging to this part of our country - make it possible to doubt that they didn't.

A beautiful book by any account, made all the more impressive by its debut status. I eagerly await Seliy's next book. Until then, a reread of this one is something to look forward to.

This is a beautiful novel to curl up with and get lost in for a little while. Lost in 1970's western Pennsylvania, lost in a dying coal mining town with its strong ethnic history and mythology and family stories, lost in the boy's search for his mother and growth .... I absolutely loved it and you will, too!

This incredible novel is one of the best debuts I've read. The beautiful prose grabs you from the first page and does not let you go. I recommended it to my book club and it is by far our favorite book this year.

This book made me feel nastalgic for a time I never knew. I always heard stories about growing up in a mining town from my grandma. Reading this book, I felt like I was really there. It's definitely going on my new favorite book list!

i bought this book for my aunt who is a single, middle-aged, jouyful southern woman. she is an exuberant believer in Jesus Christ who unfortunately doesn't know much of his world beyond the USA, and i thought this would be a good way for her to explore it while connecting (a word that is very near to her counselor's heart) with people.
i don't know how much she has read yet, but my sister and i devoured it in the few days that we had it. we came away from it feeling even more curious about life in different places and reminded of our privilege as women to live in a financially independent manner.
all in all, if you need an antidote to self, this book will help.

I read the Material World several years ago and I was excited to see that Peter and Faith had published a "sequel" of sorts for the book. Women in the Material World is fascinating, especially if you can review it side by side to the Material World. I thought the questions regarding love in their marriage and their expectations for their children were so interesting. I am very happy with my purchase of this book and I recommend it to anyone who is considering it.

A sequel to the authors' successful, "Material World: A Global Family Portrait," which interviewed 30 "statistically average" families from around the world and photographed them surrounded by all their worldly goods, "Women In The Material World," by Faith D'Aluisio and Peter Menzel, revisits 21 women from these families.

With interviews conducted by women over a period of days, even weeks, and 375 color photographs of women captured in their daily lives, this is an absorbing look into an overlooked world of marriage, women's work and families. From female circumcision to divorce, from finances to education, gender roles, work, and friends, women discuss every aspect of their lives - seemingly freely.

Two themes repeat through this largely agricultural world - women's work begins before dawn and ends long after dark and most women feel they have enough children - whatever that number may be.

This is a fascinating, captivating and beautiful volume, to be read, not just browsed.

This book is a superlative sequel to the early Material World by Peter Menzel. I have read the earlier book so many times that when this new volume came out, I bought it immediately sight unseen. In this book, Faith D'Aluisio revisits 19 of the 30 families featured in the Material World to find out about the women's lives.

The articles are organized alphabetically, together with short features on marriage, laundry, work, education, childcare, hair, food, water, and friends. At the back of the book, we find statistical charts about women, and a useful statistics glossary. Each article has an extended interview with the mother of the family that reveals parts of her life story as well as her attitudes towards topics such as marriage, child care, education, money, and possessions. The articles are of course filled with numerous color photos, large and small, of the women at work and with other family members.

The Material World itself is a monumental book, but it was hard to go back to it after reading this book, where we find that the details presented in the Material World were so incredibly superficial. For example, family life for Maria dos Anjos Ferrerira in Brazil or Carmen Balderas de Castillo in Mexico isn't nearly as rosy as one might guess from looking at their original smiling photos in the Material World. On the other hand, Zhanna Kapralova from Russia continues to be a survivor. No matter how much you learn from the Material World, it will be far eclipsed by this book with its extended interviews and additional photographs.

A companion to Material World: Portrait of the Global Family, this book is an incredible expose of the lives of typical, average women all over the world. I, as an American woman with everything I could ever possibly dream of, especially appreciate seeing how things may have different for me had God just decided to make me the girl child of a Vietnamese working family vs. my background. It really makes you take stock of your life, appreciate it, and feel blessed no matter what your circumstances may be. America is truly a wealthy and favored nation. Even our poor, compared with most of the countries in the world, are rich! We should all feel compelled to give back, not matter how much (or how little) we have. I've been giving this book to my friends for gifts (thank you, Amazon!) A MUST READ!

I discovered Betty MacDonald when I was about twelve years old, after checking The Egg and I out of the Carmichael Branch library here in Sacramento, about 22 years after it was first published. My parents had mentioned that the egg ranch Betty lived on with her first husband in the 1920s, which she writes about in The Egg and I, was located some miles from the place where we lived in Washington state, in the late 1950s. Furthermore, they had actually taken a day trip with friends to look at the old place, sometime after the book and the movie of the same name came out in the 1940s.

This familial connection, however faint, to an old, famous book and the movies it inspired, piqued my childish mind, and I eagerly started reading about life on a chicken ranch on the Olympic Penninsula. I fell in love with Betty's easy, friendly, hysterically funny, down-to-earth yet somehow elegant prose, and immediately checked out her other autobiographical books: The Plague and I, Anybody Can Do Anything, and Onions In The Stew.

In all of her autobiographical books save Onions In The Stew, Betty uses the first chapter to presage her theme by describing her experiences as a child in a large, boisterous family, in loving and extremely funny detail. In Anybody Can Do Anything, Betty describes life with her family and her two young daughters, Anne and Joan, in Seattle after she has left her husband and the egg ranch behind. The Depression is on, and Betty, now a single mother, struggles with her large and interesting clan to make ends meet, somehow finding a lot of laughs and funny adventures, often with her exuberant sister Mary, the inspiration for the book, along the way. Anyone who is interested in what life was like in Seattle in the 1930s, in witty character descriptions, and in a personal glimpse of how families coped with the "Great Depression", will find this book fascinating, not to mention frequently hilarious.

Betty, I miss you and the way you used to make me laugh out loud--I was sad when I finished reading Onions In The Stew for the first time and then realized it was the last autobiographical book you wrote: the tuberculosis finally caught up with you in 1958, when I was only four years old, still living in Washington, not far from your home on Vashon Island. I re-read your books many times as I grew up, even visited Vashon Island, and often wished I could have met you and your family. It's silly, but I've always felt a sense of loss at never having known you, because I am sure you must have been a marvelous friend. Your sense of humor had a profound effect on me, and inspired me in my earliest writing attempts. It's been many years since I've read your books, but I've never forgotten your irrepressible, bona-fide funniness. Wherever you are, thank you!

My husband is one of Betty's nephews.All of the sisters had an incredible wit about them - probably because of their mother Sidney Bard. She did a wonderful job raising her children with out her beloved husband Darcy. It's too bad the children and grandchildren didn't learn lessons from Betty's books. She would be sad to see the way the family turned out.

It's just so heartening to know that others love Betty MacDonald's books as much as I do. I've been giving Anybody Can Do Anything as my female gift book of this year.

we get the story of what she and the children did with themselves.

Her father had been a mining engineer, and although he died fairly young he had been able to save quite a bit; her mother had come from a 'good' East Coast family--not REALLY rich, but apparently quite well off. Betty and her siblings had grown up in large houses with music and dance lessons. However, the Great Depression reduced the family's portfolio to wastepaper. The children had never been taught to actually *do* anything, and actually going out to work for a living was something that they (especially the daughters) had never thought that they would have to do.

The story of how they scrambled to make ends meet during the 1930s would have been grim, but the Bard family despises self-pity above all other faults, and Betty is able to find humor in any situation.

After women having to work to survive during the 1930s, and having to work in the 1940s when all the men were off to war, is it any wonder that the women of this generation and their daughters wanted to retreat into domesticity during the 1950s?

This book is hard to find, so if you get the chance, snap it up!
This is a hilarious account of the author's life post-"Egg & I."
Betty moves from the chicken ranch back to her family's home in Seattle.
Sister Mary, undaunted by the fact that Betty has no experience, eagerly launches Betty's business career and social life.
The mishaps that ensue are absolutely hilarious.
Skillfully written, this book makes the Depression a laugh riot.
BUY IT!
I only wish that Betty had written more books.

The origin of Africans in America and the music they produced over the last three hundred years was very interesting to read. Mr. Jones provides a chronological and historically based history of the evolution of Black music in America.

He also points out that when black music is accepted by the mainstream it becomes a diluted and pitiful shell of its former greater self. I agree. If anyone notices whenever a beloved artist goes mainstream, generally his or her music is so shallow, you wonder what happened to the real person. I guess it is all about the dollars. They want to get paid. They know that most folks in the mainstream society cannot take or intellectually and spiritually relate to the rawness of our people's music. It is too powerful and personal. The black experience is unique, which affects our worldview and attitudes.

However, the black folk, the masses, always create new music or keep the real music alive. We continuously create, and the mainstream is darn well lucky. If not for black folks, I don't know what in de world they would do with dye selves. Lady this would be such a dull place.

This is a really interesting look at the evolution of black culture through the lense of music. Some of the author's opinions about later music (50's-60's) may seem out of touch to today's readers, but overall it is well worth reading.

This is one of the most important books on America and American history, culture and citizenship. It would benefit the world if it were incorporated into public education. Someone said that nations are judged by their art and this book examines that subject superlatively. This study of the blues examines the evolving cosmology of the Africans and their journey and creation: the blues, one of the singular most powerful beauties of America. He shows how from the blues came all and embraced all other peoples and cultures. Baraka's ability to live the thoughts of the originators enables us to understand the profoundity of their sorrow and sublimity of their joy.

I actually purchased the first paperback edition this book a long time ago, and I learned that it had been out of print for quite some time. It was a time when I was a casual listener of blues and jazz, and didn't think about the roots of the music I was listening to. The book was interesting enough, but it didn't have information about more contemporary stuff, as it was printed in 1963.

Recently, I found this book in the upper shelves of my library, having completely forgotten about it in spite of my infatuation with the blues for the better part of the last two decades. It was a most welcome surprise for me, as it contained a compact but comprehensive introduction to the time period from the first Africans came to America to the 1920s when their music was first recorded, and laid the groundwork to how this music evolved in a sociological context. The rural lifestyle, the reflections of the exodus from the south on the music and subsequent refined, urban sound are discussed in this framework.

Although it would not really appeal to the casual reader and listener, "Blues People" is invaluable for the serious blues and jazz fan for setting the music into the general context of social life and external effects that made this music what it is today.

The other day a friend rashly claimed that art and music were equally hard to describe in words. I asked him to tell me about a certain painting of Picasso's. He did, but claimed it wasn't accurate. "OK," I said, "you're right, but now tell me about Mozart's Jupiter Symphony." He opened his mouth, closed it, looked at me, and said, "Yeah, I see what you mean." Writing a book about the blues would be equally hard, it seems to me. So, LeRoi Jones did what he could, back in 1963, to tie the indescribable to the more concrete. He wrote a social history of African-Americans in the USA through the prism of music or---maybe on the principle of red and yellow tile floors (are they red with yellow designs or yellow with red designs ?)---he wrote a book on African-American music through the prism of social history. It is one of the most important books on American music (and American society) that you can find. It has stood the test of time. He begins from the Africans who came to North America as slaves bearing very different cultures, confronted by an absolutely different view of the world emanating from their new masters. Here he tries to show how African music became transformed into African-AMERICAN music and then American. He continues then up through the generations of slavery, to Emancipation, migration to the cities, World War I, the Depression, World War II and the bebop age of the Fifties. The book is pre-Civil Rights movement, pre-Martin Luther King. Jones may have looked down on the NAACP and its allies as "white liberal supported organizations", I'm not sure, but they don't appear. The times are symbolized by the use of "Negro" throughout. I agree, the tome is dated, but don't reject it, don't pooh-pooh the man. This is a very intelligent, very worthwhile book. Anyone, particularly from outside the USA, who wants to know the history of African-American music within its social environment ought still to read BLUES PEOPLE. He writes, "If Negro music can be seen to be the result of certain attitudes, certain specific ways of thinking about the world (and only ultimately about the ways in which music can be made), then the basic hypothesis of this book is understood." [p.153] Jones goes to great lengths to get to the bottom of those attitudes and thoughts.

My main criticism, apart from the fact that history dictates that we must be left a half century behind contemporary realities, is that though Jones obviously knew and loved the blues and jazz and all the various styles ( if not swing), his approach is coldly academic, highly dispassionate. He may criticize people who tried to make money, he may downplay all those who "abandoned" their roots, but my disappointment is that there is nothing of himself in the work barring a few mentions of his family. He does not share his enthusiasm. Music is beauty after all. I am sure he wanted the book to be taken as a serious essay, which it is. But in keeping himself removed from the discussion, being so analytic and professional in the style of the day, he has robbed us "readers of the future" of many insights.

African-American experience in the USA expressed itself most particularly in the blues, only later did that musical mode become part of the general American culture, often watered down, sometimes imitated by those who didn't wish to fit in or who wished to cash in. When conditions have changed, when the black middle class has entered mainstream America, and the urban underclass is wrapped up in hip-hop, gangsta rap culture, which is relentlessly commercialized by the powerful media, talking about the blues may seem a matter for historians or ethnomusicologists. Still, BLUES PEOPLE resonates strongly if we try to understand where we have been. As for where we are going---that old line sums it up---we're goin where the Southern cross the yella dog.