Bell Books

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

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

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

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

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

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

The desserts in this book are beautiful and look like they take a lot more time than they do!

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

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

At first notice Mathis' illustrations drew me to "Grandmother's Bell and The Wagon Train 1849". The innocent expressions and gay emotions the illustrator conveyed on paper inhanced this quasi-historical children's story about a 19th century American pioneering family. I expected an excellent story and was mildly surprised as the illustrator is obivously an expert in story telling, as is, Joan Barsotti, the author of this grand adventure.

Barsotti's story is as poetic as it is page turning and together the authur & illustrator tell a beautiful tale worthy of promting love and courage in my children's dream adventures.

This book has become a favorite of my children and I look forward to Barsotti's next masterpiece.

This is a directory of about 250 progressive foundations, with contact information and descriptions of procedures and funding areas, indexed by areas of interest, state and size. Very valuable.

This extensive reference surveying corporate grantmaking for racial and ethnic communities provides a comprehensive listing of 124 major corporations and over ten thousand grants offered to benefit minorities. Grants is a 'must' for those involved in either fundraising or community projects, documenting the major supporters of ethnic communities and revealing trends in minority gift-giving.