Beaumont Books

This book is perfect! My three year old daughter knows the whole book by heart, and I think I like it even more than she does. It's great to read a book that tells kids to be themselves. In a world that is so caught up on images this book is a sparkle of hope that our children will not buy into it. Buy this book, you won't regret it!

My grandchildren loved it, I could read it over and over again. I liked it too.

One of my favorite books to read to may daughter. We laugh every time we read it. This book gives her tons of self confidence!!

I really like this book, and so does my 3 year old daughter. The message is great, and the illustrations are too. The book really keeps her attention and I love the message it sends. My daughter likes to repeat the phrase "I like myself," while we are reading it, which is wonderful.

This is a great book about self esteem. My daughter is only 2 and she makes me read this to her every afternoon and evening before bedtime. It's by far her favorite and has been since she could communicate to me which book she wanted me to read.

This book has been taped and retaped over the past couple of years because my kids (now 5 and 3) have loved it so much. The rhythm allows for a sing-songy kind of reading that is delightful for me and for my kids -- unlike other stories that they want to have repeated over and over again, I never hesitate to read this one to them. The reveal/flap lift with the rhyming word is also especially fun!

This book is fantastic. I first heard it at a library "lapsit", and bought it for my daughter, when she was only 7 months old. She is 1 now, and still adores it. I get it for all the baby showers I go to. Highly recommended!

This book is truly wonderful. We had borrowed this book from the library and even extended the renewal time frame twice (the max!) When we finally had to return the book, we decided that we had to purchase this book, so we did - we even bought a copy for a good friend of ours! This book has a very catchy rhyme - very cute and our little girl loves the pictures (as well as the rhyme). We started reading her this book when she was about 4 months old and she is almost 8 months old today and still loves the book. i highly recommend this book to anyone with infants!

My 15-month old has loved this book since she was about 6 months old! I reccomend for every child! I'm so tired of reading this book.... ;)

I'm a children's librarian, so I come across a lot of books and very few stand up to many readings. This book is one of them. It's fun for the parents to read aloud, with a rolicking beat and humorous story. We've owned this book since my son's first birthday. He loved it then and at eighteen months, it is still one of his favorites. The illustrations are simple and pleasing with enough detail to invite a closer examination. I highly recommend it!

I could scarcely imagine why this book turned up first on my page of recommendations from amazon. I checked the reasoning, using the convenient little clicker, and found that Bunyan was expected to appeal to me because I had reviewed "Gosta Berling's Saga." That, my friends, is firm evidence that computers are still short on intuition.

Fascinated, however, I read the eight reviews of this fairly obscure title, and found that they were all written by sincere believers in the strict Calvinist theology preached by John Bunyan in his lifetime, according to which we are all "sinners in the hands of an angry God" whose judgment passes our apprehension. According the Calvin and Bunyan, our 'works' and even our eagerness to be 'saved' is of no fundamnetal importance; as one reviewer writes, "we do not choose God; God chooses us." That's not a system of belief I find appealing, though I ought to be consoled by the idea that God might 'choose' me whether I like it or not.

Bunyan was a cogent writer, though his style takes acclimatization. This biography is a major document of English history, as sure a way to get a feel for bookish English Puritanism as the masques of Henry Purcell are for the other side, the party of the theater-loving Cavaliers. As such, it belongs on the shelf with other profound self-exposures - Augustine's, Cellini's, Rousseau's - but don't expect the man to be any more attractive than his fanatical faith. He was truly "an angry sinner in hands he thought were God's."

A lot of us are familiar with John Bunyan as the author of The Pilgrim's Progress, whose influence in Christendom is second to the Bible. Bunyan was a preacher, a prolific writer and a shining saint for God. However when we read this book we find out that he was an atheist and infidel in his youth, enjoying sin and rebellious towards God. Inwardly he suffered from tormented nightmares of demons and judgment, but outwardly he went on pretty much as any other sinner, taking delight in sin and being the ringleader of mischief. Several times he nearly lost his life, and even though there were several close calls, still he did not turn to God. After his marriage, he participated in religious activities, went through the motions of attending church and generally lived as he pleased, each time successfully shrugging off pangs of guilt. One day, after church, while playing a sport, a voice seemed to call out to him from heaven to his soul, which said, "Wilt thou leave thy sins and go to heaven, or have thy sins and go to hell?" Bunyan was convinced it was the Lord Jesus looking down on him in displeasure. What follows details his sinking into despair, his desparate attempts at working his way into God's good graces, and his struggles with temptation and doubt. In a strange sort of way, it is comforting to read about Bunyan's struggles and identify with them because you can see how he turned out so greatly used by God. He rationalized, made excuses and tried every way to justify himself. Bunyan did not try to gloss over his motivations but gave an honest account of his struggles from avowed sinner, to religious hypocrite before he was finally converted. He describes in great detail his doubts and despair, his yearning to be converted to Jesus Christ, and then being assured of his salvation by reading the Bible and praying. Reading this book will help you realize how God's grace can abound and save even the most wretched of sinners and gives us abounding hope.

This is the autobiography of John Bunyon and his life. It is about his life before and after Christ and the grace of God upon his life. John wrote this classic while in prison. He went to prison for preaching the gospel.

I've been looking forward to reading this book for years ever since I read Bunyan's classis Pilgrim's Progress, I've wanted to read Grace Abounding to learn more about his incredible man of faith. I also recently read The Hidden Smile of God by John Piper who introduces the reader to three incredible men of God including Bunyan. So actually reading the journey of Bunyan himself in his own words was thrilled...but difficult at the same time. Bunyan struggled greatly with the concept of grace; he wrestled with understanding how God's grace could be sufficient to save a sinner as great as he. Grace Abounding is a peering into the soul of Bunyan as he goes through this deep personal battle wanting to believe that God was able to cleanse him of all unrighteousness, but constantly confronted with the holiness of the divine.

Just over half way through the book, Bunyan surrenders to the will of God in his life. He finally and fully grasp that the grace of God was truly sufficient. Then his heart is set aflame to share this grace with others and he becomes one of the great preachers and writers of all time, even though he goes on to spend a dozen years confined to prison for preaching contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church. Personally, it was interesting to see the cultural battle Bunyan faced at the time looking back from my vantage 500 years later to see that America is the beneficiary of his great struggles with the prevailing church of the day. As Bunyan sat in prison, he wrote about the great journey from a metal worker to a pastor of the gospel of Christ - in allegory form for the Pilgrim's Progress and in autobiographical form in Grace Abounding.

I can understand why many believe this book is a classic - the thoughts and insights that Bunyan has into the Word of God were profound and significant. It was amazing to read how Scripture flowed through his mind irrigating every thought so that his life bore much fruit. I wouldn't recommend the book to a younger reader, it is a difficult read, but well worth the effort.

Grace Abounding....is an excellent autobiography of John Bunyan and his spiritual struggle to obtain assurance of his salvation in light if his belief that he had committed the unpardonable sin. Recommended to anyone who may be facing the same struggle with this question. Each paragraph of the text is numbered and, thus, it is easy to put the book down at any point and pick it back up later without losing train of thought. Since the book was written over 300 years ago, it is interesting to have insight into the thoughts of a Christian who lived during that time and to compare with current Christian thinking.

I think what Mr. hellinger observed is how karma works in this world, though he said his finding is different from karma's ordinary definition. I believe we carry our original temperament and karma, and we are influrenced easily by people around us with their karma. In order not to be influrenced so easily, especially, by negative engery, we should pray oftenly to God for protection. Sylvia Browne's God, Creation, and Tools for Life will tell you how.

For MDs, psychologists, counselors of all kind, and psychotherapists, here is the basic text for Family Constellation work. My experience over the last few years with Family Constellations suggests that it is the most dynamic development in the field of psychological and physical healing in decades. The book is a flowing combination of narrative, anecdotes, transcripts and didactic material, illustrating how members of families carry each others traumas and misunderstandings, often for generations, and how these are resolved through re-establishing the proper "orders of Love". The theme of the book is much broader and deeper than "How To Have A Good Relationship". It is about the unacknowledged rules of love and relationship and the restoration of integrity to family and relationship systems.
I have consistently seen long term psychological and physical problems which have not responded to other forms of healing be resolved in a single constellation. Everyone in counseling work needs to read this book, and understand this material.
Oddly enough, when you consider how popular psychotherapy is in the United States, we are just about the last country on the planet to recognize and embrace the merit of Bert Hellinger's work.

For me chapter one alone is worth the price. As a group facilitator, Hellinger's insight on the how the system balances and how to approach it from the practitioner's point of view reveals a lot of system thinking in family/group situation. I particularly appreciate he sees his role as a Tao Master, which is really doing something by doing nothing. This book is now in Chinese and we have a study group and an on-going practitioner's group around the topic.

This is a marvelous book that addresses fundamental issues in our contemporary Western society with great, heart-felt insight.
The author discusses his theory and practice of the phenomenology of intimate relationships, which has the power to uncover the hidden dynamics of family relations, in order to heal individual people and their entire family system.

The author explains in great detail how any loss of balance - in our sense of belonging, give-and-take, and need for structure - within family systems necessarily causes feelings of guilt in both the family conscience and individual consciences of its members. Loss of balance in one part of the system invariably causes compensation in other, weaker parts, most often children - who will be adults later in their lives.
If the, mostly subconscious, causes of these compensations are not properly recognized and addressed, then therapy is bound to fail. If however we start from fundamental insight in the system dynamics well explained in this marvelous book, then we will be empowered to take the right course of action.

All sorts of causes are phenomenologically explained in this book, in order to provide fundamental insight in their "karmic" structures of cause-result: divorce, child adoption, sexual abuse, suicide, homocide, criminal behavior, abortion, unfaithfulness in marriage, a scape-goat within a family, different sexual needs within an intimate relationship, tragic loss, re-marriage after divorce, a child mothering or fathering a parent, homosexuality, jealousy, refusal to accept a parent, legal custody, illegal children, neglecting a partner in favour of children, and so on.

The author offers fundamental insight in these matters, as well as sound strategies to address them decisively. There is a sense of "natural magic" in his therapeutics, when Bert Helling has a client re-enact (and correct) their family constellation. One can easily understand that Hellinger must have learnt much of this from his work as a former Catholic priest among the Zulus of South-Africa, where a kind of "innate wisdom" must have been awoken in him - The short biography in the appendix anyway explains a lot about the developing "spirit" of Hellinger during his life.

In conclusion: This book may teach us to gain our rightful place within our family system, one that is our birth-right; gain freedom from "systemic guilt", and live in peace within our family.

What I like about this book is its redeeming spirit and its knowing heart, which anyone can understand. It is deeply human and I like it tremendously. If any book can change your life by gaining fundamental insight in family dynamics, then this is the one. I wish I could rate it with 6 stars.

I had therapeutic results just reading the book. Bert Hellinger reveals Truths that make a shift in one's heart that effects how we react to others and how they respond or react to us.
Hellinger explains how injuries in one individuals' emotional field can effect someone else in the system, often for several generations. He also shows how one individual can "balance" the system. No one has to change, one only does what needs to be done. For example, a mother may have a hurt from her reaction to her husband, and tell a son, "your father is no good." She may also tell the son, "you are just like your father", so the son feels rejected by the mother, that there is something wrong with his father and him. He may turn to drugs or alcohol to cover the feelings of unworthiness, and no amount of rehab will work until the family system is balanced and love is reconciled.
Hellinger shows how these fields impact us, causing us to behave in destructive ways. When one "sees" what is going on, without moral judgement, and just does what needs to be done, amazing healing can happen in the whole system.
The work is quite profound. It is not an easy or fast read. It is a book that you read a few chapters and process the information; then you read it again and again.

PAYMENT IN KIND by J.A. Jance is another installment in her fascinating J.P. Beaumount series. What isn't there to like about Beau? He's good at his job with just the right amount of cynicism. He doesn't have to work, but does because he cares about the victims and justice. He takes his problems to the line and battles his own personal demons head on with a little help from his friends.
Two bodies are discovered in a closet, the janitor and a woman educational executive in a building of the Seattle School District. Beau believes the betrayed husband is innocent, but who is guilty?
A fast read, that is well paced for Beau's fans.
Writing as a Small BusinessHaints

Any J.A. Jance book is a winner in my library. I love her writing style and this book does not disappoint.

Any JP book is a good ...book.
Are you kidding get this and all the others, I love JP Beaumount!

First I must say in response to an earlier review, no the villian is not revealed early on! I don't know how she knew, but I didn't know until the very end! This was a good book and a fast pace read. I'm not usually a big mystery reader, but I really like Jance's style and most of all I like J.P. Beaumont. He is a great main character.

I really enjoyed this book. Like the others in the Beaumont series, this was a quick read. The plot was entertaining. Just when you thought you knew who the killer was there was another slight twist. I also enjoyed learning more about J.P. Beaumont as the story was peppered with a few more details about his character. I would definately recommend this book.

Love a good detective/police procedural mystery, step into the world of J.P. Beaumont. The pace of TAKING THE FIFTH by J.A. Jance rockets through the pages of a finely crafted story.
Twists and turns deluged the reader from the time one man's body is found by the tracks with a bloody woman's shoe nearby. The police enter the man's home to discover the body of a second man dead from natural causes.
J.P. has his troubles after his previous partner has been taken off the rooster adjusting to the style of Big Al, but Peters is determined to stay in the game.
Enjoy the genre at its finest with TAKING THE FIFTH.
Writing as a Small BusinessSins of the Fathers: A Brewster County NovelSweet Man Is Gone (Five Star Mystery Series) (Five Star Mystery Series) (Five Star Mystery Series)Under the Liberty Oak

Have read every J A Jance book! They are equally well written and compelling. They have a wonderful flow to them, fascinating characters and she never gives up the mystery of who and why until the last few pages....excellent reading and nearly impossible to put down til its completely done.

J.P. Beaumont is one of the most likable and intriguing characters in the mystery genre. He is a divorced detective who has a daughter in college and enough money that he does not need to work, but he enjoys his job. J.P. is the proud owner of a long list of failures with women, not all of which were his fault. It starts with his divorce, and then follows with women with which he gets involved and who end up either dead or on the guilty side of a crime. Whenever I start a new book in this series I ask myself: will it be different this time?

This time around, the case involves a dead man by the tracks and a woman's shoe near the body with blood on its stiletto heel. This is complemented by another dead man, apparently from natural causes, in the house of the first victim. J.P. gets the case and he immediately suspects foul play in the case of the second body. And the discovery of a pack of cocaine in the victim's pillow adds timber to the fire. From then on, the plot starts moving full speed and there are plenty of twists and turns along the way to keep our interest at a maximum level.

All of the usual players are present in this story. We have the femme fatale, the annoying Maxwell Cole, who hates Beau's guts, and a new partner. Beau's new sidekick is Big Al Lindstrom, but we will soon see his old partner, Peters, help from the hospital. Peters is there due to a broken vertebrae, and after a period of depression he decides to start "living" again and pulls a "Lincoln Rhyme".

J.A. Jance has done it again. She delivers another novel that moves at a fast pace and that keeps us guessing as to what is really going on until the last few pages. The author shows how good she is at varying her style, and the contrast between this series and the one featuring Joanna Brady could not be clearer. She does a fantastic job in both series though.

I recommend this book to everyone that loves a good mystery, but I just want to give you a word of advice. Do not start this novel close to the end of your day, or you will find yourself reading well into the night. There is no letting go; trust me, I learned this from experience!

THE BOOK CAME IN GREAT CONDITION AND I AM SURE I WILL REALLY ENJOY IT. I LOVE THE AUTHOR AND HER WRITING. THANKS SO MUCH. JANICE

I feel that the fans of J.P. Beaumont will love this one. It is so typical J.A. Jance. I enjoyed every page of this one. Another reviewer has done a wonderful job of outlining the plot, so I will not repeat what is obvious. Jance's character developement (this author's strongest skill) holds very true to form with this work and we learn more and more of her detective Beaumont. We also get a look at the drug culture in that part of the country (Seattle of course) and some of the alternative life styles found their. This work has some fascinating twists (no spoilers here) and as one reviewer points out, just when you have things figured out, you get the rug pulled from under you. Of course, the book will be much better for those who have read the preceeding books dealing with this seattle Cop, but the book is also able to stand on it's own and is simply a good read. Recommend this one highly.

This is a very fun book! I first encountered it in the Manhattan Children's Museum and liked it so well I ordered it the day we returned home from vacation. It is fun for me to read to my son and he enjoys following along whe I do as well as making up his own stories to the pictures when he "reads" it to me. Very cute, very fun, very recommended.

This book is my favorite book to read to children. It teaches them names of animals, rhyming, and has a really great story. It has been a favorite of the children that I care for. I highly recommend this book.

My 3 year old can't get enough of this great book! Gorgeous illustrations and a funny story with a surprise she loves every time! Nice sing-songy repeating verses and easy for the children to recite along with you. A perfect book for age 3-7.Nice gift!Enjoy

This is a great book. The illustrations are wonderful. I think the age range should be lowered to 18 months and up. My 18 mo son loves it and seems to understand the plot. He loves holding his nose when the stinky skunk appears. It is great for teaching animals. The first page has all of the animals pictured and you can have your child search and point them all out to you.

I'll never forget the first time I read this book to my 3-year-old daughter - she started laughing about halfway through the book, and by the end we were both giggling up a storm. We've read this book every night before bed ever since. Needless to say, this is currently her favorite book.

The text is simple, consise and short, which is nice for the parent who may be reading this book at the end of the day. And the illustrations are captivating. They draw my daughter in to the story as she looks for Rover, the cat, the squirrel, the racoon, the snake and the mouse on selected pages. And the part that consistently gets her giggling is the repeated rhyming text in the middle of the book that always ends with, "Move over, Rover!"

I love every one of JA Jance's novels.The JP Beaumont and Joanna Brady series are my favorites. I have thoroughly been gripped by every one.

Failure to Appear J.A. Jance does it again in this 11th J.P. Beaumont mystery novel. Unlike most of the previous books, this one starts out, not with a crime, but with a personal mission. Detective Beaumont ("Beau" to his friends and associates) has left his Seattle home area to look for his runaway teenage daughter in an artsy community in Oregon. Of course, as anyone could have expected, violent crime soon intrudes.

For those who are familiar with this series, you can be assured that it is true Jance writing: characters who act like real people; a fast-moving story; plenty of self-deprecating humor; and a sterling protagonist who is all too aware of his not inconsiderable faults.

For those who are not familiar with J.P. Beaumont or Jance's Joanna Brady, who appears in a separate series, you have the pleasure of delightful discovery to look forward to. There are lots of books in this series. I've read 12 so far (and a bunch of the Brady ones, too) and I have yet to be disappointed with any of them.

If you're one who likes to start at the beginning of a series (which I think is not a bad idea with this one, for a number of reasons), the first is "Until Proven Guilty". However, if this isn't important to you, you can't go wrong with this or any of Jance's books, if you're in the mood for a fast-moving mystery novel with a bit more than usual in the way of character development.

My Wife reads these, and loves them! Looks like another all nighter to me!

In "Failure to Appear" lone-wolf Seattle homicide detective J.P. "Beau" Beaumont finds himself a fish out of water surrounded by family in southern Oregon and on the outside of a murder investigation.

Quite often, when a mystery author tries to fit so much of a protagonist's personal life into a book, the plot drags to a halt and the investigation into the crime is treated superficially because the focus is on massive character development. Jance manages to keep things moving at a fast clip and provide a mystery that is as multi-faceted as her lead character's personal difficulties. Beau has a lot to deal with in this book: a daughter who starts out a missing person and winds up pregnant and about to be married, a re-married ex-wife and her husband, a new girlfriend, a murder suspect that awakens painful memories, the siren song of a bottle of MacNaughton's, and a couple police officers out to nail his hide to a wall - not to mention the book's three murder victims or the loved one Beau loses in the course of the investigation.

There are a few nits that could be picked (Oregon vanity plates don't have 8 letters, for instance), but the quality of the rest of the book more than compensates. All in all, a great read.

This was the first Jance book I encountered. I decided to read it because it takes place in the town I live and work in. As much as I enjoyed reading about the places and cities I know well what I really enjoyed was the character of JP Beaumont. He is an ordinary man (a Seattle Cop wih an extraordinarily inherited fortune) who is caught between his work and his family. The characters seem very real and Jance's writing gives them a life and humanity that appeals strongly and makes you really care about them. The story never lets up either and you will find yourself hard pressed to put the book down. I have read every book Jance has written now and she is always on the top of my list of series that I am waiting for the next installment of!

A fascinating introspective look into the mind of one of the great American photographers of the beginning of the 20th century, Edward Weston. With his intricate, yet simple, and sometimes abstract images, Weston created a world of his own together with his "one true love," his camera. By evidently pouring his soul into every entry of his daybooks, Weston makes the reader gain a greater understanding of his technique and extraordinary eye for beauty. The chronological organization of entries takes the reader from Weston's days in Mexico through his days in California.
Not only writing about photography, Weston describes his many acquaintances (his encounters with Stieglits are most interesting), his dinner parties, his adventures in a foreign land, his romantic dealings, etc. It was interesting to read of his take on Mexico of the 1920's. Also interesting is the glimpse into the life of a struggling artist who depends of every "sitting" to survive...the life of a true artist. The pairing up of his writings with sporadic clusters of his wonderful photographs enhanced and completed this Weston experience. Alltoghether a fascinating compilation of thought, highly recommendable.

I can tell that this was a really interesting book. After reading it front to back more than once, I now have a new outlook on Edward and his work. I finally understand what he was trying to convey though his images thanks to this book. Edward Weston had a fascinating life especially with all who he encountered. This is a must read if you are an artist, photographer or not!

This book stands alone in the annals of art history. No other book gives such an intimate view into the day-to-day trials of a working artist. Weston, who from time to time fostered ambitions of becoming a writer, genrously shares his thoughts and his experiences over a 15 year period, culminating in a remarkable portrait of the artist as a human being. While literary critics may have occasion to fault his prose, which at times seems flowery and verbose, given his Victorian-age education this can be forgiven of him. Weston takes us through his decision to leave his family and travel to Mexico, where he chronicles not only his own work, but that of other artists. He writes of the bullfights, love affairs, the scenery, and of the many unforgettable characters he met along the way. Weston moved in many circles, and thoroughly enjoyed himself, whether his company be artists or revolutionaries. He shares with the reader his many instances of self doubt, of guilt, and of poverty. He also shares his many triumphs, as his original photography begins to garner commercial success. We see Weston as an art critic, giving unflinching opinions of the works of Diego Rivera, Carlos Orozco, Robinson Jeffers, and a host of others. He is no less honest in his evaluation of his own work. Included in the volume are 72 extremely well-reproduced photographs divided into the various periods of his photographic life. We are givin a behind-the-scenes look at how these photographs were made, from both the artistic and the technical point of veiw. Most importantly, the Daybooks is not just for photographers or Weston afficianodos, but for anyone who appreciates a well-written autobiography of a remarkable artist.

This book is a great book to get to know the thoughts of Edward Weston on his daily work of photography and personal life. This is a diary type book of daily entries of thoughts. It has some funny points and sad points (as a lives do). Photographers today can identify with the great Photographer on his progress of daily work. If you want to see Edward Weston's thoughts in his daily life this is the book to get! I'd have to say it's awesome to know the thoughts and happenings of a great photographer of the past!

Second time reading Weston's Day Books over thirty years. First time I was young and only looking for technical hints. This time I'm much more interested in relationships, family, and Weston's struggle with his art, money and life A must read for all artists.

Alma Schindler - the goddess, the muse, the center of attention ... How did she manage that? How did she become an obsession of so many genial men, a thing of admiration of the Secessionist Vienna? But simply - she was a remarkable woman. And also, happened to be pretty and at the right place at the right time, born into an artistic family. It was said that she had a hearing defect. She would move closer to her companion in order to hear better. Men found that irresistible.

One would expect her to be vain and conceited. Through her diary, we entered her mind - she is none of that. At least, not more than any of us. She is an insecure girl. She has fears, doubts about herself, she loves passionately... Alas, her anti-Semitic feelings are shocking. At first, she is quite tolerant and objects anti-Semitic sentiments. Then she changes. One can only find the reason in propaganda being already pretty aggressive. She lives among Jewish families, loves Jewish men and marries two of them. Why then? And how did it happen that she married Mahler so quickly?

"Please God, give me some great mission, give me something great to do!" She could have been quite a good artist. Her drawings show certain talent that could have been developed into something much more. She could have taken drawing classes and maybe, her mission would have been even greater. But she pursued music even though it
seemed that she lacked the talent - not one of her opera impressions on the notepaper correspond to the real score. She never composed a great opera she dreamed of. But she left her mark in the history of arts and love.

This book is a great document. The correspondence between the authors just adds to the value. I only wish there were more photos of Alma as well as letters that she received. It would have been nice to read passionate words of her admirers. At the end, instead of an epilogue, there should have been a short biography. And a word of two about her sisters and mother would have been valuable. What happened to her sister Maria? I guess I need to start searching.

Is it true that Alma claimed she was for decades the main authority of Mahler's works, values, character and his day-to-day actions and movements?
Is it true that, initially, and for many years, her various publications quickly became the central source of information and references for Mahler scholars and music-lovers alike?
Now we can know why, later, her accounts have been treated as unreliable, false, misleading and often impaired soundness? It is a fact that these imperfect accounts have nevertheless had a great influence upon several generations of music-lovers, hence the legend: " Alma's Problem""
How about what she wrote in her two books (memoirs) and their impact on Mahler studies'. (Why did she write two memoirs? - My Life, My Loves, and My Diaries 1898-1902) - Alma was a graceful, well-connected and influential woman who outlived her first husband by more than 50 years. (This reminds me of Cosima and Wagner. Cosima outlived Wagner by 47 years). How trustworthy is any story laid by women who outlive their notorious husbands for so long? Shouldn't they be given credence, though there may not have been full and final grain of truth in it?) - The greatest difficulty in writing one's memoirs is to keep a certain detachment at a time when passions were running high. True in her old age Alma wouldn't admit that her apprehensions with the past `'husband and wife"" days had been influenced with the benefit of hindsight when she now perceived the significance of events after they have occurred. Within 50 years Alma's reminiscences of past events couldn't pass without nostalgia or without an urging wistful desire to return, at least in written thoughts (modified and garbled), to a former time in one's life when young - I saw her picture, indeed she was very beautiful. Alma claims that Mahler 'feared women' and that their relationship was never really without danger, arguing that he had almost no sexual intercourse right up to his forties (he was 41 when they met). In fact, Mahler's long record of prior love affairs-- including a lengthy one with Anna von Mildenburg -- suggests that this was not the case. Whereas Alma's flirtation and first kiss was in her teens - as she boastfully said so. ".In her memoirs she must have been looking for an edge over Mahler. True?
Alma Mahler (then Schindler) played piano from childhood and in her memoirs reports that she first attempted composing at age 9. Was that false or true??(She knew that Mahler's parents had arranged piano lessons for him when he was six)
After Mahler's death, Alma did not immediately resume contact with the young architect Gropius. Between 1912 and 1914 she had a highly agitated affair with the artist Oskar Kokoschka, ((who created many works inspired by his relationship with Alma, including his famous painting: Bride of the Wind.)) Strangely enough, I read something like this: "" After Alma's departure from his life, Oskar Kokoschka notoriously ordered a custom life-size doll resembling her in details. Rumors say that he was seen at a local theater in Vienna holding the doll as his companion"" Could this have been true? Was he mentally insane? Was it plausible that Alma has had love affair with a mentally sick man that she did not recognize his flaws from the very beginning? Oscar must have been a most difficult partner, impetuous and mentally unbalanced. Such rumor must have made him the laughingstock for the intellectuals. How could Alma have been `attracted"" by such character? Gustav vs. Oscar (quite the opposite, yet she could sustain the dissimilarities! - Was she so eccentric?)
During the emotional instability in their marriage after Mahler's discovery of the affair (Alma's infatuation with Walter Gropius 1883-1969 - a German architect and founder of Bauhaus and is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of "modern" architecture) Mahler took a sincere interest in Alma's musical compositions; completely regretting his earlier attitude when he dropped her talents out. (Was Mahler a capricious person - dictating his authority - as when he dropped Alma's talents in the past?) (Controversial-no doubt!)
Upon Mahler's endeavoring, and under his coaching and assistance, Alma prepared five of her songs for publication (they were issued in 1910, by Mahler's own publisher, Universal Edition). During this time, Mahler had one and unique consultation with Dr. Sigmund Freud. Why? Backlog of hard feelings I believe; they had watched with apprehension the gradual encirclement of the Jews or was it the curse of the ninth - Mahler knew he would not live long after his composition of the Ninth symphony that he completed in 1908 (perhaps!) If it were to seek guidance from Freud on Mahler's unsatisfactory relationship with his wife, this would sound absurd to me. Okay, but what was the outcome of such consultation?? Did they discuss the behaviors of Mahler's wife' or the anti-Semitic backlog of hard feelings? (Mahler was Jewish, so was Freud- Sigmund Freud knew his compatriots only too well - they give in to moral pressure) At the Opera, Mahler stubbornness in artistic perfection had created enemies, and he was subject to perpetual attacks from anti-Semitic circles in the press. His resignation from the Opera, 1907, was hardly unexpected. (Incidentally: Dreyfus affair divided France from the 1890s to the early 1900s and its repercussion continued until well after WWI)
The hard feelings of anti-Semitism must have adversely impacted his marital relationship with Alma? Initially, under Austro-Hungarian laws, no imperial posts were to be filled by Jews!!! Hence, in 1897 when he was 37, Mahler could not occupy the Directorship post at the Vienna Opera.
Something else, Mahler has had a clash with Brahms (Didn't he?) While at the university, he worked as a music teacher and made his first major attempt at composition with the cantata Das klagende Lied. The work was entered in a competition where the jury was headed by Johannes Brahms, but failed to win a prize. (Did he feel the brunt of Jewish curse?? It could be!!)
(In later years, however, Brahms was greatly impressed by Mahler's conducting of Don Giovanni.)

Biographies can easily become subjective, as they rely upon the person telling the story. With diaries, we have almost a first-hand look at what the writer was thinking.

These diaries of Alma Mahler reveal the usual thoughts and feelings of a teenage girl and young woman. Alma desperately wishes to "be somebody," but she's not sure of how to achieve it. She spends years studying music, and practicing composition, but her works are simply fair or good, but not remarkable.

Then, she finds out what she's really outstanding at: attracting brilliant artists from all fields. This includes men such as Gustav Mahler, the composer, Walter Gropius, the Bauhaus architect, Franz Werfel, the novelist, Alexander von Zemlinsky, the composer, Gustav Klimt, the painter, Oskar Kokoschka, another painter, and many others.

Although her own art never achieved for her the fame she would have liked, perhaps she inspired all these other greats to go beyond what might have been their own limitations. There is a tendency, as you will see from photographs of Alma, to believe that men were attracted to her because of her spectacular beauty. But as you will see from these diaries, her personality must have also played a large role. She is coquettish, yet honest, and vacillates between between overestimating her successes, yet feeling humble about how much more she wishes she could be.

But what I believe you will find the best feature of this book, is seeing geniuses like Gustav Mahler and Walter Gropius, through the eyes of a young woman, who saw them up-close, as real, live men. It's like traveling back in time, for a close-up, personal look at these famous artists.

As a long-term diary writer myself I was interested in Mahler-Werfel's diary and the manner in which the voice of the nineteen-year old woman is expressed (and the next two years of her life). Often when I reread my own writings I cringe at my ideas and philosophies when I was young and it takes some time for me to empathise with myself and regain a feeling for the person I was. One of the great features of these diaries is that they truly express the voice of the nineteen-year old, they have not been edited to provide a more sophisticated voice. Perhaps Mahler-Werfel cringed a bit at herself in the way I do, perhaps that is why she never published these diaries during her lifetime, although we do know she gave it some consideration. But I think it is important that we heed the voice expressed in youthful writings because it reassociates us with the people we once were, and hopefully gives us greater empathy with the youth of today.
The most challenging aspect of these diaries is Mahler-Werfel's revelations of her growing sexual awareness with its contradictions, rapid changes of view, hesitancies, self criticism, and intemperate admissions. This is emotional and at times erotic writing. While we can allow Mahler-Werfel the licence to say what she wants about herself, it is less readily acceptable that she describes the behaviour of her partners - some of them quite historic figures. But this is the voice of youth going through very tumultuous personal times. Most people move through these times with varying degrees of ease and distress. Mahler-Werfel's writing reminded me of Wedekind's play `Springtime Awakening'. The awakening is not satisfactory for all - and is sometimes disastrous. For Mahler-Werfel we can only speculate.
Mahler-Werfel associated with many great artistic figures - in the times of these diaries there are Gustav Klimt, Alexander Zemlinsky and Gustav Mahler. Her reflections on these figures make them more alive than many histories. For her, they were living pulsing human beings and we see them in that way.
But was Mahler-Werfel extraordinary herself? I find it hard to decide. She obviously was not your average woman of the time, and yet it is possible to see her as just a spoilt rich girl who happened to have a pretty face. In her diaries she speaks of writing a song (lied) in a day, playing the whole of Tristan on the piano in an evening. And yet her musical examples noted in the diary are so poorly notated and often so inaccurate that it is hard not to think she had little genuine talent. Perhaps someone else completed the lieder from her tenuous musical ideas. But equally possible is that she was a real talent and, as popular history tells us, was suppressed by Mahler in their marriage. To me, however, there is another reading in that marriage to Mahler enabled her to renounce her musical ambitions, which she knew would never match those of Mahler no matter how hard she worked. To be fair about her musical notation however, we need to remember that all her writings border on the unreadable (perhaps that was deliberate - a sort of code?) although the single-minded line drawings she included are quite fine in a limited way (are they all of pretty Alma herself?).
Another way to judge her musical astuteness is her reviews and critiques of the many concerts she attended. At first look they seem to match the views of the day - wildly supportive of Wagner, dismissive of Bach, Saint-Saens and even Mozart. Was she just copying the view of the day? But then there are the changes of view - suddenly the opinion on Mozart changes, she starts to see some flat spots in Wagner. This does seem to suggest self-awareness in her musical views and even if it is selective acceptance of different critical opinion she shows a capability to make the change. There is one final thought that came to me as I read the diaries - perhaps her influence was so great (it certainly wasn't trivial) that she went some way to actually forming the critical view of the day.
I was immensely fascinated by these writings. If you are interested in human development and artistic creativity I recommend you do not overlook them. One thing is certain - Mahler-Werfel was an impassioned writer as a young woman.

Alma Mahler was a fascinating woman and this diary gives an unique insight into her personality and those she knew. Her growing years, developing both emotionally and in personality come through as does her determination and zest for life. Her time with Gustav Mahler is fascinating and sheds an interesting light into his character and fears at this time. A fascinating read.