Berry Books

Linda Berry's DEATH AND THE ICEBOX is a cozy cold case mystery with a fun sleuth and an intriguing look into the past of a small southern town.

Ogeechee, Georgia police officer Trudy Roundtree visits Eric and Stacy Riggs while they are clearing land on site for their new home. When the old icebox is finally moved, the door opens to reveal the body of a young woman. Forensic science places the death some thirty years or so ago. In order to solve the case, Trudy must dig into small town history. With a population of 3412 people, nothing passes by the residents of Ogeechee and yet the the paucity of clues comes close to matching the almost non-existent physical evidence left at the crime scene of the town's dump. Between old newspaper clippings and the memory of the present day residents, will Trudy be able to garner enough clues to unearth the dark secrets of the past without placing herself or others at risk?

Written in first person narrative through the eyes of Trudy Roundtree, DEATH AND THE ICEBOX achieves a unique cozy small town and yet progressive tone through the character of the sleuth. Trudy's feminism and the game of horrorscopes she plays with her friends add a flair to this mystery as she assesses her boss and cousin, Henry Huckabee, and the other town residents who she and Stacy label and describe according to southern items like Vidalia Onions and Sugar Cane. The look at a small town's past through old newspapers and memories adds a wonderful sense of nostalgia that never turns too sweet on account of the cold murder case that underpins the search. Even as Trudy narrows in on the culprit and the motive, the reader discovers a new twist towards the end. Throughout this mystery, Linda Berry creates characters and subplots that intrigue. To the mystery buff's delight, the final clues are not thrown in at the end but in plain site but through inference throughout the narrative. Fortunately for the reader whose interest in the past and present Ogeechee residents grows, Linda Berry does not just drop her story once the murder is solved. Instead, without resorting to a quick epilogue to tie threads together, Linda Berry adds new insights and an intriguing glimpse into the current day ramifications of this solved cold case and her search for clues.

Trudy Roundtree, young and recently widowed is back in the small town of Ogeechee, Georgia, where she grew up. Her cousin, Police Chief Henry Huckabee under some pressure from his relatives, has hired Trudy as one of two full time police officers in Ogeechee. Trudy is determined to come to terms with the double grief of losing her young husband and her beloved grandmother by doing a bang up job on the police force. So just after returning from homicide school, when the body of a young woman is found in an abandoned icebox, Trudy is faced with solving her first solo decades-old murder. Hen lets her have a free rein with the case, since he is too busy, and he also "knows" that this murder is too old to be solved easily. Trudy interviews the town librarian and looks at back issues of the Ogeechee newspaper and notices that in 1969 a Donnie Burkhalton died in an automobile accident. She also discovers that his fiancée left him and disappeared on the same day. Dental records show that Donnie's fiancée is the victim. Although the case is over 30 years old, Trudy is determined to see justice done by catching a killer although she is hampered both by the lack of clues and physical evidence. This series is rapidly getting to be one of my favorites. Trudy is a likable feisty southern young woman, who thinks it's her duty to raise the male consciousness of her cousin Henry, this results in some very funny dialog. DEATH AND THE ICEBOX gives an accurate depiction of what life is like in a small southern town. Trudy is independent, upbeat and believes police work is what she is meant to do. The mystery itself is complex and there are plenty of suspects, Linda Barry does a wonderful job depicting the people and the small town southern sensibilities of Ogeechee, Georgia.

Ogeechee, Georgia with its population of 3,412 is just right for Trudy Roundtree who returned home after the death of her husband. She is the only female police officer in Ogeechee. She visits friends clearing a dump when an old icebox flies open and the body of a dead woman is found stuffed inside.

The autopsy shows that a blow to the head murdered the victim at least twenty years ago. Trudy has no idea of the identity of the woman but as she looks at back issues of the Ogeechee Beacon she notices that in 1969 a Donnie Burkhalton died in an automobile accident. She later discovers that his fiancée dumped him and disappeared on the same day. Dental records show that Donnie's fiancée is the victim. Although the case is over three decades old, Trudy is determined to see justice done by catching a killer.

DEATH AND THE ICEBOX is a cozy police procedural that gives an accurate depiction of what life is like in a small southern town. The heroine is independent, upbeat and believes police work is her calling. The mystery itself is complex and intricately woven into the story line and there is a plethora of suspects but the stumbling block in figuring out who the killer is comes down to motive. Nobody, at least on the surface, had any reason to see the woman dead. So Trudy has to delve deeper and recreate events that happened years ago. Using people's unreliable memories, Linda Berry knows how to keep her readers' interested so that they finish the book in one sitting.

Harriet Klausner

Small towns in the U.S. are riddled with strange murders in mystery books. Ogeechee, GA, is no exception. What IS exceptional is Trudy Roundtree, the only female police officer, constantly balancing the delicate relationships between herself and family and friends with the objectivity and scientific skills required by her job. In the latest of Trudy's adventures, happenstance reveals a decades-old murder of a young, unknown woman. While Trudy solves the puzzle, she also unwittingly and almost unwillingly strips away the barriers, excuses and self-defenses a number of neighbors have raised around themselves. A sensitive view of the unforeseen human consequences of crime, peopled with characters and an atmosphere in a town you wish you could visit yourself.

This book brings tears to my native New Orleanian wife every time she picks it up. It is meant for anyone and everyone who has lived in New Orleans for any length of time. For old or young it brings back poignant memories and fond stories about the city by the river where time has stood still.

There are few books that can make you laugh out loud and cry on the same page. In the words of Louis Armstrong, the title simply asks you, "Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans?" I've never been there, but having read this book I dearly wish I had - it has brought home to me the immeasurable sense of loss felt by its residents in a way that the mainstream media never did, no matter how many panoramic shots of the disaster zone it showed.

The book feels rather like a diary, full of reminiscences on life in New Orleans before, during and after Katrina. Just after the preface, there is a list of census data from 1900 and 2000, along with a map of the city showing where the events in each chapter took place. The publishers have been unafraid to take a different approach to the book's content and diversify the style of its presentation: throughout there are 19th century engravings of the city, recipes for local dishes and the words to turn of the century Creole songs. As well as adding the excitement of never letting you know what you will find on the next page, these lyrical vignettes remind you of the city's history and cultural heritage at a crucial time when what hasn't already been swept away by the storm threatens to be destroyed by the corporate greed of `reconstruction' that will come in its wake.

Above all, this book is about hearing a wide variety of voices telling different stories. It is an incredible feeling to read all their outlandish tales and know they are actually true. On the other hand, in among these recollections there are other true stories that fill you with rage: Barbara Bush praises the fact that all these poor people are suddenly finding a better life as refugees and FEMA's Michael Brown receives an email from his press secretary telling him to roll up the sleeves of his shirt like the President so as to look more hard working.

It is a beautifully made book and a joy to hold, something I truly appreciated when the often shoddy mass production of books has taken away any sense of personal touch. The disaster that brought these writers together for this volume should never have been allowed to happen, and yet I am very happy that this book was published and I strongly recommend it. Having suffered such catastrophic negligence, New Orleans needs this kind of attention to detail.

Must have for any New Orleanian past or present. A truly unique work of art. Long live the Crescent City.

Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans? is a collection of heartfelt true stories told by survivors, evacuees, and natives of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the lethal city flooding. A handful of black-and-white illustrations grace this collection of brief reminiscences of New Orleans as it once was, the hardship of survival, attempts to return to the city, the hope of rebuilding despite the overwhelming challenges, and much more. A dollop of humor here and there intersperse the at times harsh true stories, in this highly recommended tribute. "The crime and poverty were always there. My garage was invaded three times so I quit locking it. You could not live in the city and avoid the dreary performance of democracy; yet the town was held together by a spiritual essence few cities in this country possess. We were like many families in having those we loved most within a short drive. That infrastructure of the heart is severely fractured now."

Every environmental professional who has to lead (which is all of us, at some point) should read this well-crafted little book. The premise, that others can learn from the contemporary practical experience of Dr. Gordon and Dr. Berry, as well as of their colleagues, is sound. The book explains the essential skills for current practice, why these skills are important, and how to develop them. Recent real-world examples and theory alternate, helping to keep your attention. As a 25-year environmental consultant who also teaches ocassional courses at the graduate-school level I'll be recommending this book to colleagues and students, and even a few clients.

John Gordon and Joyce Berry recognized the difficulties natural resource leaders are experiencing in guiding their organizations to successful, long-term solutions for difficult environmental issues. Both had experienced these difficulties in their respective professional careers. At the same time they saw a few natural resource leaders being very successful. As a result they surveyed these people as a way to identify the attributes that helped these individuals be successful in a highly political atmosphere. What they found was a new style of leadership.

In their book "Environmental Leadership=Essential Leadership", Gordon and Berry share the results of their survey and synthesize the results into tools for leaders. This book provides great guidance to leaders at all levels in their career. It captures the lessons I had learned the hard way during my 17 years as the Oregon State Forester (director of the Oregon Department of Forestry). I wish I had had this tool when I started my career as a leader.

I am impressed with the practicality of this book. The authors discuss not only theory, but provide examples and illustrate how to apply the concepts. I especially liked Chapters 6 and 7. However, this is not only a book on leadership, but also problem solving. I especially liked the focus on multiple leaders within an organization or agency as opposed to a single leader. Many discussions on leadership fail to recognize that institutional leaders (or merely holding a leadership job title) does not make someone a good or effective leader.

Notes for reviewers, "Environmental Leadership Equals Essential Leadership: Redefining Who Leads and How"
J. Gordon and J. Berry, 2006
Yale University Press

Gordon and Berry wrote the book. Dr. Christensen kindly wrote the Foreword. The rating is included because it is mandatory in this Amazon format and because we think it is a good book. But clearly we shouldn't be rating our own book so please ignore it. We provide these notes because we have been asked by reviewers to provide more than is included in the press release that accompanies the book and this is an efficient way to do it.

Approximately a decade after the publication of their first leadership book, "Environmental Leadership: Developing Effective Skills and Styles", Gordon and Berry reassess environmental leadership and outline their current view of its nature and principles. Their major conclusion is that all leadership is becoming like environmental leadership because the problems leaders face increasingly are or resemble environmental problems. Environmental problems typically take a long time to solve, are complex, have an emotion charged atmosphere, have a weak or scattered science base, and require integration across fields of knowledge and political and geographic boundaries.

To answer the question, "How has environmental leadership changed as its context has changed?" they did a survey of people they identified as practicing environmental leaders (listed in the book with their affiliations at the time of the survey). They expected that given the many contextual changes since the first book (e.g. globalization, increased terrorism, greater concern about global warming and a host of other environmental issues) a much changed picture of environmental leadership might emerge from the survey answers. Several interesting near consensus views did in fact emerge:
* Leadership is getting harder because the world is more complicated
* Gender differences in leadership skills and styles continue to exist
* "Command and control" leadership is sometimes necessary
* Leadership can and does occur in the absence of formal authority or "leadership position"
* Leadership is becoming more process oriented as complexity increases

The major characteristics and methods of environmental leadership, however, had not changed materially and the authors use their own experience as well as the survey results and the leadership literature to provide the leader with a leadership learning model. This model is based on the "leadership tree" concept, in which each individual constructs a leadership learning plan based on an inventory of their "tree" components: roots=ethics and values; trunk=skills, style and knowledge; branches and leaves=problem choice and application of skills, styles and knowledge; fruit=solutions, relationships and accomplishments. In their view, leadership is a learned set of skills. Further, they think in today's world, every person should study leadership as a basic component of their professional and organizational persona. Each member of any group will face the necessity, sooner or later, to be an effective leader and follower because, given the complexity of environmental problems, their skills or style will demand that they lead. Almost all environmental problems are "multidisciplinary" and each group member will need the capacity to lead when their area is to the fore.

The major themes of the book, encapsulated in 9 chapters, each with a summary of its essential elements at the end, include:

* There is no single model or theory of leadership now available that adequately describes environmental leadership. Each leader needs to develop a diverse tool kit of skills based on their own fundamental values that will serve a variety of circumstances.
* The creation of useful visions of the future (those that identify achievable goals and solvable problems and what to do about them) is the first step in essential leadership. These guiding visions should be bold but practical.
* Environmental leaders primarily are people who solve environmental problems; thus problem definition and solution are the key leadership activities once a useable vision is created.
* Solvable problems can be defined by specifying five components: a decision maker or class of decision makers, the objective or objectives of the decision maker, alternative ways of achieving the objectives, doubt about which objective to choose, and the context in which the decision takes place.
* The complex nature of environmental problems focuses on collaborative effort, so diversity and inclusiveness are always elements in their solution.

The book examines the path from "old leadership" to "essential leadership" (from hierarchical to inclusive and collaborative, from closely held information to widely distributed information, from geographic isolation to global participation) and examines how essential leadership can be installed in organizations and how to tell if it is working. Gordon and Berry examine selected books on business and political leadership and find common themes with environmental leadership in terms of the nature of vision, the need for inclusion and the need to fight "leadership inflation" (the emotive, soft approach to leadership that casts us all as potential Lincolns or Churchills).

They end the book with their view of the future of leadership and some things they think they have personally learned as leaders.

The book is intended to be used in leadership courses in universities, particularly in but not limited to environmental and natural resource programs,and for professional career development. The authors have used the principles in the book in courses taught over fifteen years to graduate, undergraduate and outreach students at Yale's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and Colorado State University's Warner College of Natural Resources. The book will be supported by a web site, www.leaderesources.com.

Fr. Thomas Berry emphasizes that all things and beings have a place in Creation. It is a stimulating relief to have such a well respected scholar support what is my heart's understanding of the world I know. He is calm and accepting of the concept 'inclusiveness'. Science and spirituality are shown to be not only compatible but inseperable. The Universe Story tells us how our world was formed and comes alive. Thomas Berry emphasises appreciation of the beauty and strength found all around us. We are told we are moving into a new geologic time called the 'ecozoic' by the author. This book will help smooth our moves into the next chapter of the Creation.

Outstanding brief introduction to the thoughts of Thomas Berry, one of the visionary thinkers of our time in terms of ecology, impact of the human on the earth, and providing a promising larger vision of the possibilities for the future. The collection of thoughts will appear a bit repetitive at first glance, but I found the repetition of the key thoughts from different perspectives useful. Highly recommended. Rated 4 star instead of 5 due only to the repetitiveness.

Every politician should read this book and then look into their hearts. I must say that Mary Tucker's Editorial Preface says everything about Thomas Berry and his desire to enhance human beings' relationship to Earth. His writing is accessible and undaunting. The gift of his genius, still going strong at 90 years of age is expressed again in this book and the message will bring you into the fold of his views with keen insight and compassion. I am so grateful for his gifts and just want you to read it and give it to everyone else you know.

The perspective I have come to is that for most of my life I lived in a human world which has not been able to offer in any comprehensive way, what really matters.

What is going on is that the sources of human survival, imagination, knowledge and emotional balance have been diminished, distanced, ignored and replaced by an enslaving, stale and insulting world views.

Enter Thomas Berry who after a lifetime of scholarship on human cultures has received the gifts of the scientific community and relit our human drama and our personal value. We are fortunate to be born into a community that knows how to survive through amazing trials. We are fortunate to be born into a school that has incomprehensible libraries and teachers to access. We are made with genes already experienced in phenomenal truth, art, music, flexibility and openness to diversity and enhancing possibility. There is nothing in the vast developing universe that is really foreign to us--it is our home and at this time in human history, we have a dinguished role to play. You'll have to read him to see what these remarks mean.

There is no one I have ever met, heard or read who comes close to explaining the grief and chaos of our times and to offering a healing of being and living as does Thomas Berry.

This is what children need to learn. This is the heroic task that young adults yearn to be presented. This is the good news that will bring a sign of contentment to more than our hopes. This is the story that provides a standard for every profession but especially education, economics, religion and government. At last we begin to hear what really matters.

Excellent book containing the lineage and qualities of many fruits, nuts and berries. A great reference book for any enthusiast. Used by many retailers as a guide for their products.

Thanks to this wonderful book, we have added many unusual fruits to our orchard and discovered some amazing mail order suppliers. Before we purchase any plants, we always refer to "THE BOOK" to make sure that the tree is one we really want and that it will thrive in the harsh Maine climate. I would recommend it to anybody wanting to successfully plant fruits, berries or nuts.

For the fruit nut, this reference is indispensible. When ordering specific varieties, we use it to source stock from nurseries. When searching for trees with certain characteristics, we peruse the descriptions, hunting for certain words (in the pear section, "fireblight-resistant", in the apricot section, "excellent flavor", etc.).
Few complaints: not revised often enough to list new varieties as they come on the market. For example, 'Goldrush' apple is not listed. Descriptions are very brief, probably due to space limitations. Descriptions are also generally a summary of the nursery catalog's text, and therefore not as useful as they could be.
In general, a very fun reference to keep on the shelf.

In the third edition of this excellent reference, the Seed Savers Exchange has provided a very useful tool for nurseries and gardeners to locate sources of heirloom fruit, nut and berry varieties. But it is much more than just a sourcebook, as there are brief descriptions of each fruit variety and indications of how rare or threatened each variety is based on the number of sources. Nursery operators and fruit gene bank managers will find this book to be indespensible!

For anyone with an already-primed interest in the terrible events of 1994 in Rwanda, this book is tremendously valuable.

It seeks to filter as little as possible the views of Rwandans. There are, in this book, some deeply disturbing survivor's accounts of the genocide, transcribed, unvarnished, from their own testimony. It is all the more powerful for the directness of its expression.

Most valuable to me was the material explaining the colonial origins of the division between Tutsis and Hutus. It is extraordinary to me that when Rwanda and Burundi were "assigned" to Germany in the 1880s, no European had even set foot in those lands. When they came, their pursuit of control caused divisions where previously - on this evidence - none had existed. Blame for the genocide must be seated in the Belgian colonial rulers in general (they took over after 1916), and the missionary churches in particular. This book explains why.

Rwanda, more than any other event since WW2, makes us consider the question put eloquently here by one of the witnesses: what is humanity? Who is included? Who is left out? For the world not to have acted effectively to have prevented the Rwandan cataclysm stands to its shame. Kofi Annan has admitted as much, but the real fault lies with everyone and we should all be ashamed.

The compilers of this book have acted bravely in including an apologia from the authors of the genocide. We hear their voices. We must be sickened by them. We must acknowledge that we were warned; the voices existed long before the worst of the genocide began.

Knowing what we know about the world, would we prevent it next time? Be honest now; would we?

This interesting historic document allows the often ignored voice of the Rwandan people to be heard. Witness testimony is horrifyingly poignant when the victim is made known so clearly to the reader. It is as if I could see their faces and feel their fears. I have read many reference works on the genocide in Rwanda but none so accurately put me in the shoes of the victims. The killers are also represented, as are the international community and their failures, the actions of the church, the former government, the current government and members of the Rwandan Patriotic Army. This book really made me feel for the writers, the Rwandans themselves who have suffered so much through the failings of the international community.

Definitely intriguing and disturbing how humanity can be so cruel and evil to fellow humans. "Genocide in Rwanda" offers multiple views on the genocide from different people, not just the authors. The book is an excellent place to start if you are have not learnt much about Rwanda. You watch the genocide through various lenses and angles. Rwanda (and every other country in the world) should realize that only it has the power to change itself for the better or worse. Ultimately, they (Hutus and Tutsis) should take responsibiltty for what they did to themselves and to their own country.

The origins of the genocide in Rwanda started on the day the Germans colonized the country. The Belgians further polarized the once unified country into Hutu, Tutsi (and Twa). From then on the whole country was on a down-hill spiral. The culture of impunity set in, and the country was never able to recover. One thing let to the other...then BOOM, April 1994 came. UNAMIR was never meant to be their salvation. Neither was the "international community" - which heartily ignored the genocide. The Somalia situation is often used as an easy excuse as to why the world did not intervene...which is quite ridiculous. How does this same "international community" explain why the genocide in Sudan today has been ignored for decades? This should teach individual countries to resolve their own problems and to frown on external/foreign reliance.

This is the story of the genocide in Rwanda in all its power and horror expressed by the people who experienced it - Rwandans themselves. Therefore, it is the most important of all of the books on the subject. The others are also important and some may be more eloquent as literature, but none match Genocide in Rwanda for sheer unvarnished and unfiltered honesty and integrity. The book also provides an invaluable chronology of Rwanda that illuminates a vital perspective on the political and tribal conditions that precipitated the killing.

Clint Gaige has written a very memorable book in "A Kerouac Christ," and a difficult one. For one thing, there is an awful lot of internal dialogue and that's difficult to deal with because usually, when it comes to internal dialogue, a lot "gets lost in the translation," so to speak, but not here. Gaige handles Chris Bradshaw's evolving internal confrontations expertly. The Midwest Book Review called it, a "highly recommended...literary work addressing fundamental issues of purpose and existence within the context of a deftly written and memorable story." I couldn't have said it any better, so I'll just second that assessment.

If you pick it up, clear some time because this is a book you won't want to put down.

Clint Gaige's A Kerouac Christ is an original novel of personal growth and evolution relating Chris Bradshaw's quest to find the source of his disenchantment with his own life. This search leads Clint on a seven-year quest for answers to life's ultimate questions. But enlightenment comes at a price, one of confronting both internal and external demons, and the profound consequences of his conclusions. A Kerouac Christ is highly recommended as a thoughtful literary work addressing fundamental issues of purpose and existence within the context of an deftly written and memorable story.

As a person that normally does not read a lot of fiction, I was totally collected up in Chris' journey. I bought this book on the recommendation of a friend and could not put it down! The characters were so real that I could see people I've known, people I've run into, or even myself at times. The way that Clint Gaige has addressed several society issues in this book were wonderful and at times, unlike a lot of fiction, were actually very thought provoking. This book does have two flaws, in my opinion: (1) It's hard to put this book down once you start reading it, and (2) I finished reading it too fast! I have never read one of Gaige's books before, but I can assure you that this will not be the last.

"A Kerouac Christ" is one of the most compulsively readable books I've read in a long time. I actually woke up early, couldn't sleep, so I picked up the book and started reading, that was at about eight this morning. I just finished, and I wanted to tell everyone that I think Clint has really written something that people need to read. It's not necessarily about the truth that the characters were seeking, but more about what Chris found in the end, after spending those years on his journey. The character of Chris was very believable, and I actually felt like I knew him by the end.

I was really impressed with the way Clint handled the consequences that came from the book Chris wound up writing, the two teenagers who took their lives after reading it. I've found this to be a difficult thing to deal with in this country, how people want to blame everyone and everything for the bad things that happen. People found fit to blame Chris Bradshaw for what he wrote, when he didn't even know that he had accomplished anything. The teenagers took his tale of what to him hadn't worked out in his life, and saw in it all they believed they couldn't accomplish. It's fairly ironic, the unforseen affects of what he wrote.

All in all, this is now one of my favorites, a book that I would list among the likes of "The Catcher In The Rye". Clint may not be today's Salinger or Kerouac, but his ideas are incendiary, and his words fresh. This is the kind of book you won't be able to stop thinking about.

5/22/03 The book " Needing Attention"(copyright 1996) explains to the child(ren) why they might feel the need to get attention;reviews the wrong ways they might do so(e.g. complaining,tattling,teasing) and the right ways to get attention without actually saying the words "I'd like some attention".Some of the others(now out of print by Berry from the "Help Me Be Good Series"copyright 1988) use the same method in helping the child(ren) to understand ways to correct such habits as individual books on Tattling,Lying,Interrupting,Throwing Tantrums,Teasing,Fighting,Breaking Promises,Being Bossy,Being Bullied..There are more to the out-of print series which can sometimes "show-up" at community flea markets as did the ones I purchased.

I really enjoy and recommend the entire "Let's Talk About..." series. They are above all concise and make it easy for you to explain to your child WHY a particular behavior is bad and shouldn't be continued. Bear in mind, however, that a child under four isn't really going to get it anyway and probably won't retain the information, so you may as well be talking to a wall. I recommend these for preschool and young elementary school age children. Any younger and they won't understand it, any older and they will (correctly) feel that these are "baby books."

This is an excellent book.
Buy it before it goes out of print! I have two books in this series and would like to purchase more but they are OUT OF PRINT.
This is one of the few books that teaches children about developing good character traits without being preachy or condescending (or resorting to "fairy tales" - - things that happened in a faraway place and time which have no bearing on today). The children can relate and they enjoy the stories.

i wish to find the set of books written by joy w berry in the eighties. they were in hardback and colored adeep pinkcolor.they all started with the words lets talk about... feeling sad, disobeying, gossiping, being a bully, stealing, etc.

Right from the start I was enchanted by the community of Stonewylde. This is a real page-turner. Congratulations to Kit Berry and please keep the books coming!

What a captivating book. Mysticism, fantasy, spiritualism and a great story combine to make this book completely and utterly unputdownable!! With Kit Berry at the helm, enter the magical world of Stonewylde - an old-fashioned self-sufficient community set in modern day Dorset - and experience a way of life that combines ancient pagan rites and customs, with 21st-century living.

Sylive is 14 years old and lives in a block of flats with her young mum. Sylvie is very poorly and sufferes from every allergy, intolerance, and illness possible. She's spent a lot of time in hospitals and they don't seem to know what to do for her, or how to help her get better. That is, until Sylvie meets a doctor at the hospital who comes from Stonewylde and suggests that she try and arrange a visit there for Sylvie to see if the change of scene and environment helps her to feel any better...

Slyvie soons flourishes in the natural organic environment of Stonewylde and before long is full of vitality and energy that she has never experienced before, so she and her mum decide to stay. Stonewylde seems like a perfect place full of happiness and beauty, but something niggles away at Sylvie when she befriends a boy from the village, Yul - a boy she's not supposed to have anything to do with because he is a lowly commoner and she is supposed to be residing with the better educated people from the "hall", under strict orders from the Magus (or king). From here Sylvie discovers a darkness at Stonewylde which she and Yul come to battle against together, each of them discovering magical powers in themselves they never knew they possessed.

This is a magical and captivating story of friendship and endurance, and discovery. Beautifully written, I was hooked right from the first page and couldn't put it down until I'd finished (at 3am!). The sequels are every bit as good too!

A brilliant book that is a joy to read. The warmth, love and caring between hero and heroine reflect the nature of our souls and who we really are whilst the Villagers and their way of life create a yearning for something missing and unrecognised in the way we now live our lives. The Hallfolk and Magus represent and epitomise our egocentric lifestyles whilst hero and heroine, Yul and Sylvie, represent our soul yearnings, aching to be heard and to win over against the noise, emptiness and turmoil of our ego's. An excellent read that didn't have to resort to in-yer-face killing, blood, gore and sex to grab the reader from the first page to the last. This book is the epitome of great storytelling and puts the soul back into mainstream writing. If only Hollywood could do the same with film-making.

The marketing verbiage for this book, the first in a series of five planned novels in the Stonewylde series (two others have already been published), states: "Not thriller, nor fantasy, nor romance. Yet all of these and so much more."

Although seasoned readers and reviewers learn to not spend too much thought or energy on short, powerful statements designed to spark interest and excitement, in this case, the cross-genre aspects of this book make it both noteworthy and worth a read. Berry has rendered the boundaries of several genres invisible, pulling elements from each to build her vivid world, and still manages to present a tight, well-crafted story. At 304 pages, Magus of Stonewylde is a quick, page-turning read.

Stonewylde is a fascinating place--a closed community in England, where the fair-haired, fair-eyed Hallfolk are supported by the working-class, peasant Villagers. Structured around the eight pagan festivals that mark the cycles of the year, Stonewylde seems to offer a remedy to the fast-paced, impersonal, material world. It is a place of great power and healing, full of wizards and shamans. A place where sexual intercourse is a path to the Goddess. A place where the Ancient Ways are alive and somewhat well.

If much of this sounds familiar, from both page and screen, keep reading--Berry brings plenty that is fresh and new to the table. Stonewylde is a garden teeming with Evil. Among her beautiful rock formations, ceremonial fields, and deep woods are dark energies and a past of twisted secrets. Berry teases us, as a good author does, with bits of information and history that will guarantee we come back to visit Stonewylde in the subsequent books.

I found myself deeply interested in the characters, even going so far as to scribble expletives and less than flattering monikers for some of the less likable ones in the margins.

Be prepared to be pissed off (and I mean that as a selling point of the book)--the teenagers are vacillating, ego-maniacal, and as quick to tease and scheme as any teenagers I've ever met on the page (they're very realistic)... and the "adults" are something to behold--those who should Protect inflict the greatest Hurt and their actions are often shockingly ignorant and cruel. I found myself pushing other things back so I could read "a few more pages" to find out just when those actions would be paid back in kind. I know of no better compliment than that.

Berry really does have a knack for creating multidimensional and moving characters. She has succeeded with the simple formula so many writers fail to make work--she has done her research to create a well-painted environment easy to enter and explore; she has populated it with characters that jump off the page with their humanness, for good and for bad--often in the same character; and she has energized it all with the key themes that resonate most with readers--Love, Power, Violence, Secrecy, and Destiny.

Magus of Stonewylde has wide appeal--for those still lamenting the end of the Harry Potter series, this is a magical world populated with the types of quirky teens and scheming adults that made those books such a success; for those who are interested in or practitioners of pagan/wiccan rites, this is a place custom-made for you to visit; and for those who just plain love a good story, with excellent pace and plenty of blood-rising action, you can't do much better.

I look forward to exploring more of Stonewylde--Kit Berry is an author that will no doubt be enjoying a continual increase in readership and accolades.

I have been buying Morningstar books for mutual funds since 2006. There are a lot of books about how/what mutual funds are, but this is the only kind available for evaluating PAST mutual funds performance. (The other one is from Lipper, which is only available from the web).

Morningstar has a long history to keep track of mutual funds and ETFs data. This gives them an advantage to publish their views on various mutual funds. However, readers must be aware that the ratings are based on historical performance. Nobody can predict the market, but if a fund manager performs well over a long time, it is very likely he/she will perform well in the future.

This book also provide some insight info such as the manager has his/her own money in, and risk data. A plus of the book is that it provides 50 free mutual fund reports downloadable from Moringstar website.

A must have for mutual fund selectors.

I really enjoyed the analysis provided, it seemed to cover most of the bases I wanted to learn about, expenses, tax efficiency, volatility, returns.
Obviously it gets dated. It appears to be published early in the year. Be sure to get the latest.

Great book very informative,a must have if looking to invest in mutual funds

While many people buy mutual funds because they find them easier than building their own portfolio of individual stocks, in fact buying into these funds is in some ways more complex than buying individual company stocks. How do you know what the fund in invested in (companies and sectors), fees, turnover, who the manager is, what their performance has been, how the fund has performed relative to its peers, and much more? It is not an easy task. This handy book provides you with loads of great information for 500 funds picked by Morningstar.

This isn't to say that you should necessarily buy the funds listed here. Morningstar also includes funds you should probably avoid (you have to make your own choices as to what is right for you). One of the interesting things I notices is that simply because something has a four or five star rating doesn't mean that you should buy the fund. This is due to the past performance versus future return probability. It might well be that a well performing fund is now trading at a high price and that the likely future return cannot justify the price. So, the analyst rating also has to be balanced.

The editors have packed a huge amount of information onto each of these pages. You get a snapshot of governance and management (with a stewardship score), a chart of performance, a graph with an historical profile, a star rating including risk for several periods, a portfolio analysis, and a few paragraphs providing Morningstar's take on the fund, and contact information. In the back of the book are several lists that slice and dice the various funds different ways according to specific criteria.

Since funds do not remain static for the entire year, another nice feature of the book is that you can download up to 50 fresh charts during the calendar year. One word of caution that I learned by hard experience is that if you block pop-ups, you need to make an exception for Morningstar. You will try to download the new chart, your count will decrement, but you won't get the chart because you browser will have blocked the pop-up containing the new chart! That was a tad frustrating.

Terrific and interesting information.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI