Bishop Books

A great book on mostly British kitchenware, but also includes some German and French items, it offers not only details on pricing expectations but also some good ideas on what to collect.

Very helpful book for the beginner collector of kitchenware, especially old English kitchenware. Lots of colour photographs of the items the author talks about, which makes for quick identification. Wonderful book.

This is a very useful book to know how much my own collections are worth. But it is not for american anthique,only for french and british.

This book is a "must-read" for all Native Hawaiians as well as a serious student of the Hawaiian culture. Priceless!!!

Everything and anything is excellent that comes from Mary Kawena Pukui...a major keeper of the culture and this book belongs in all libraries of those who study Hawaiian culture and society.

For anyone interested in learning about the poetry and eloquence that is the Hawaiian language, you have to buy this book. The book "Olelo No'eau (which means wise sayings) illustrates the ways in which Hawaiians used examples of what they observed in their everyday surroundings to express themselves. Each of the wise sayings covers a wide variety of topics including family, relationships, battle, life, and honor. Mary Kawena Puku'i has long been an avid perpetuator of the Hawaiian culture and I am very pleased to have this publication to share with others.

Can't put it down. The intro promises that all the stories will be related to Dante's Inferno theme of Hellish portals on Earth, but they aren't all on that theme (in fact, one is a remake of the Christmas Carol). Scary and thought-provoking none-the-less.

I can't agree with the other reviewer. I found many of these stories scary precisely *because* they were based in metaphorical hells - hells we might actually live in, rather than encounter after death. Also, many stories were set in hells that were not on Earth but were also far from the fire-and-brimstone stereotype. The story "Office Space" alone makes this book worth buying.

I had seen this book at the library, and being a fan of Dante's Inferno, I checked it out. I was a bit disconcerted when I realized not all the stories take place in or near Hell, as the title suggests. Most of them occur here on Earth, where the characters are in a metaphorical hell. Surprise! Only a handful of the stories are worthy of note, including Gene Wolfe's and James Longrove's. The stories take place either in Hell, Chicago, or London. I found this last fact sometimes discouraging--i.e., I ended up skimming the story.

I recommend you get this book from the library before you spend the cash at a store.

I enjoyed this book as a member of the Episcopal Congregation because I know the players or know of them. It sheds some light on church politics and clarifies why this presentment was directed at Righter rather than Bishop Spong. If you share the view point of Bishop Righter, you will enjoy sharing his fight through this rather well written book.

Walter Righter, retired Bishop of Iowa, was chaged with heresy in the Episcopal Church in the USA, only the second time in the Church's history in this country. His personal account of the events of this historic moment will be a valuable insight into a kind man thrown into the forefront of the Church's mission and growth toward the Kingdom.

Bishop Righter is one of the Church's current heroes and anyone who feels that Christianity has lost its relevance as we approach the new millennium will be encouraged by this very readable account. The Bishop is to be congratulated for taking the time and trouble to relate his first-hand experience of ignorance and cant among reactionary elements in the Episcopal Church. Gays and lesbians reading this book will likewise be encouraged by the fact that there is at least one mainline Christian denomination that has the wisdom to refrain from the adoption of mindless attitudes towards human sexuality.

This is another one of De Wohl's historical novels on the lives of the saints. The focus of this effort, St. Augustine, is in his youth arrogant, self-seeking and ambitious to a fault. And yet, the young Augustine has a thirst for truth; a thirst that would eventually lead him to the wellspring's of Catholic Christianity.

If you have read St. Augustines autobiography, Confessions, you will easily discern that the vast majority of De Wohl's research came from the pen of St. Augustine himself. If you are in the mood to learn about the conversion of one of the greatest doctors of the Church and to be edified by his conversion story, I recommend this book. It certainly leaves out the dry parts of St. Augustine's musings in Confessions, while retaining all the vibrancy of the saint's own conversion.

To that end, I highly recommend this book.

As a home educator, I read this book with the intention of screening it for my teen for a school assignment. In no time at all, I found myself unable to put the book down. I read it in just three nights - quite an accomplishment for a mother of five. Louis de Wohl presents the life of Augustine in novel form and makes it very interesting. The reader participates in Augustine's transformation from pagan to Christian. I can't wait to share it with my teen, I think that he will like it as much I did. (note: Before his conversion, Augustine and his friends speak very poorly of women. If sharing this book with a teen, use the opportunity to discuss Augustine's error in treating women as inferior, having a child out of wedlock, etc.) I am glad that there are books such as this one available that make learning history exciting.

Louis De Wohl does an excellent job telling the story of the life of Saint Augustine. This novel is a wonderful book for any reader and if you are a catholic looking for an introduction to Saint Augustine you should read this book. The novel shows us the errors of Saint Augustine's youth and how he became one of the great doctors of the church. We can relate many of the issues Saint Augustine dealt with to issues we all deal with in the world today. I believe the strength of this novel is how well the author shows us how Augustine felt about his life and why he made the decisions he did. I would recommend this book to any catholic man and to anyone who would like to know more about Saint Augustine.
You will not want to put this novel down or want it to end.

I'm so happy to have found this book again, as it was a keeper that I mislaid. Diana Pentland is a widow in desperate straits when the agent of an unknown benefactor provides a means of earning a comfortable living. She is hired to raise an infant as her own, along with her daughter, provided that she does not travel without the consent of her employer. All is well until she takes a trip before her employer's warning reaches her. Her destination is one that reveals the identity of her mysterious employer, with whom she shares a deepening attraction, and the shocking circumstances behind the birth of the child she has come to love as her own. The murky secrets that lurk behind the scenes of quiet country life soon crystallize into a shattering revelation that could destroy two families.

Sheila Bishop excels at themes of innocent or unsuspecting heroines becoming unwittingly enmeshed in the scandals of a great family. Her novel A Well-Matched Pair is another great read with a similar theme. These universal familial themes, with a few differences of degree, could place these characters in the 18th century or the 21st. But the strictures placed upon 18th-century society, especially women, make the story especially poignant.

This story kept me turning pages.

My chief criticism is that the romance took a backseat to the plot: who is Elizabeth, and who fathered her baby? This has been a tragedy for Elizabeth, and will cause more pain in the family circle, and it tends to take over the story. However, it an is interesting enough question to keep you involved, and Mr. Wood, the hero, plays an important role.

Sheila Bishop does know how to keep her readers engaged and in suspense. She also knows how to write intelligent characters. Diana and Mr. Wood are likeable (Diana perhaps a little more so than Mr. Wood, who is a little hard on his own son), and the secondary characters are mostly people you can imagine yourself knowing.

As in many of her books, adultery and its consequences play a role. One problem was that I felt one character's understandable anger was given short shrift (it seemed included primarily to give Diana a reason to feel superior), and some conflicts were resolved too quickly. Other than that, a fairly satisfactory afternoon's escape.

Diana Pentland, a young widow, has an unwed girl's baby left with her. A mysterious benefactor provides funds to bring up the child provided certain conditions are met. Rather a fun tale and quite one of my favourites.

Reading Basil on the Holy Spirit, and the controversy in the 4th/5th Century helps to put things in perspective. Basil addresses the Holy Spirit more from a pragmatic angle - how the Church has practically approached the person of the Holy Spirit in liturgy (lex orandi, lex credendi est). What is helpul is that this early Church pastor shows loads of wisdom in addressing those who disagree. Reading his sound and solid thinking is a breath of fresh air in this age of hyper-experientialism. The 30th chapter will open the reader's eyes to a very modern picture of the divided, beaten-up Church. A delightful, serious read.

Among the names attached to patristic literature, Basil is among the most celebrated in early church conflict. Some scholars have suggested that he was the most capable writer in Christian antiquity. He was one of ten children, raised as a product of atavistic Christianity, and educated in the classics at Athens. As founder of Western Monasticism, this Cappadocian Father spent most of his theological career promoting the ecumenity of the Church in light of the proliferation of theological dissension. This present exposition is a defense of orthodox Trintarianism, conducted in a confutation of Arianism, a multi-faceted heresy that enjoyed a popular dissemination within the church in the East during the 4th CE. However unintentional, Basil's denunciation of Arianism and its various proponnets, as scurrilous detractors, is evidenced in his own work which manifests the same vitrolic intensity in objection to their position. The antagonistic discourse was a putative activity among disputing schools of theology and this element is predominant throughout this exposition. Although a modern scholar will find Basil's methods of refutation unimpressive and possibly infantile, it is important to avoid the interposing of contemporary value on a work that appeals to theological identity exclusive to its age and prespicuous to its opposition. What remains fascinating for the contemporary linguist is the development of argument centralized on a few pivotal words which Basil believes have suffered superfluous exaggeration in the propagation of Arian opinions. However, pretentious his motivations are, Basil admits that his ultimate objective is to reunite the vacillating church in the midst of insurmountable oppression from the heterodoxy. For the theological enthusiast, this short but impressive work defines a crucial juncture in the formation of church thought. Ironically, the literary critic will find redemption in the exhaustive linguistic argument and the unilateral dedication to the niceties of grammar. As I previously stated, the only discouraging aspect of this purveyor of moral perscription is the interspersed derision introducing virtually every theological refutation. Endeavoring to maintain the unanimity of the Church, Basil's fasetious derision is at times inappropriate and such audacity can denigrate his position as well as his character. After all, ad hominum arguments are delicate when you are purporting your spiritual superiority in matters of divine importance!

All too often we in the West tend to forget how influential Christianity has been on shaping and forming our culture. In St. Basil's work on the Holy Spirit we see how exacting the early Christian faith was in articulating its beliefs. St. Basil the great is known in Orthodoxy and one of the fathers of the Christian Church to bear the title, "Great." When you read this seminal work you can feel the passion and intensity that St. Basil has when dealing with the distortions to the faith. Yet, there is always a sense of hope, humility, and compassion for those who were outside of the Orthodox Church. Read this work and see how important a few little words are to the Christian Faith.

Hemlock Falls is a beautiful community in upstate New York, but its depressed economy is troubling to Quill and Meg Quilliam, sisters who are the proprietors of the Inn at Hemlock Falls. Their only guests are the Crafty Ladies, a group of senior citizens who make things out of plastic spoons, boat seats, and whatever else they can find. They seem a bit eccentric and giddy, but a murder sobers them up quickly. Quill wants to solve the murder so that her business can resume as normal. Added to this, she is balancing an impatient fiance, employees who are leaving because they're not being paid, a stray dog, an aggressive insurance man, and the usual characters from town. The suspects include other guests and the townspeople,and Quill speculates about several of them until she stumbles upon the killer. This is an enjoyable mystery and the characters are not quite as "over the top" as in some other books of this genre.

I LOVE this series. I was surprised by some of the changes that happen in this book, but I think they will make for an even more interesting series. I really enjoy Meg and Quill, the 2 sisters that run the Inn. When I read one of these books, I feel as if I'm reading a letter from an old friend as I've gotten to know the characters and especially enjoy it when they stay in their home town as I've gotten to know most of the townfolk as well.

The depressed economy of central and upstate New York is hurting the business of the Quillian sisters, proprietors of an inn, since most people are not going on vacation. The only solid booking they have is the "Crafty Ladies" society, a group of senior citizens who sell craft kits.

As Meg and Quinn worry over their sagging hotel business, a fire breaks out in one of the rooms where one of their elderly guests is staying. When the blaze is extinguished, it is obvious that the woman was murdered. As more members of the club are killed, Quinn conducts an investigation to learn who and why someone wants to kill defenseless elderly women.

Claudia Bishop delivers a first class mystery that includes two well-designed surprises. Though the clues are provided, the villain remains a complete shocker and the motives for murder even more stunning. An added bonus is that the Quillian siblings' lives take an unusual twist that will leave readers wanting to learn more about what happens to them in future novels. A TOUCH OF THE GRAPE is an intoxicating novel that leaves the audience feeling pretty good.

Harriet Klausner

This must be the best book in its category. Hundreds of breathtaking pictures (color and B&W), very interesting text, well documented, very clear structure, well thought page layouts. Don't hesitate!

This semi-large format book covers all the aircraft used in the Vietnam conflict, with a chapter for 1949-1959 and then a chapter for each year 1960-1975. In each chapter there are many color and black and white photos, color engineering drawings of important aircraft, descriptions of strategies and tactics, many firsthand war stories and profiles of significant aviators. The focus is on U.S. Air Force, Army and Navy aircraft, and there're all here: choppers, counterinsurgency craft, recces, patrol and SAR platforms, bombers and fast movers. There is also relatively limited material on the South and North Vietnamese air forces, North Vietnam's air defense system and neighboring countries' aircraft. The pre-1965 years, often forgotten, are particularly interesting; did you know that when the French returned after WWII they used some abandoned Japanese military aircraft?

Appendices summarize U.S. and South Vietnamese air force order of battle throughout the war, list all carrier deployments and associated carrier air wings from 1964-75, a chronology of all U.S. Mig kills with details for each shoot down (including two by enlisted B-52 .50 cal gunners!), a very useful alphabetical reference with brief technical details for all U.S. and foreign made aircraft used in the theater from 1945-1975, and an excellent index for finding all references and photos for particular aircraft types.

Another reviewer asserts "there are a lot of errors in the text and captions in this book", but fails to provide a single specific example. There are hundreds of picture captions and hundreds of pages of text, and the material seems consistent with other sources so the bulk of the material must be accurate. Perhaps that reviewer's particular area of interest or expertise was slighted or had some errors.

I enjoyed this book, pull it out to read often and recommend it highly. It is a "must" for Vietnam and Cold War history buffs, model aircraft builders and Vietnam vets.

Bob Dorr is a friend of mine and I respect his work, but there are a lot of errors in the text and captions in this book. The one good thing about it is that there are a lot of photographs. But don't expect to learn a lot about the details of the Vietnam War. It's worth the price for the photos alone but without them I'd give it a two.

Sam McGowan
Vietnam Veteran and author of "The Cave," a novel of the Vietnam War.

The Bishop on this tape is a surprise. She reads easily, congenially, interrupts herself to comment on what she's doing. She's funny, and the humor that's under the surface of the poems gets to bubble up at odd moments. It's a great selection of poems, and it's fantastically handy to have the booklet of the texts of the poems (some of which are interestingly different from the versions Bishop reads) tucked into the pocket in the front of the elegant package. J.D. McClatchy's introduction to her work is, as always, illuminating.

Elizabeth Bishop disliked the sound of her own voice, and often refused to permit recordings (even private ones) of her readings. Bishop's executor, Alice Methfessel, respected the poet's keen protective instincts, and allowed no commercial issue in the two decades since Bishop's death. As a result, the speaking voice of this great poet has remained a mystery, even as Bishop's following and reputation has grown by bounds.

I still remember the shock of hearing Bishop's voice for the first time. Bishop's voice is so -- I don't know any other word for it -- so ordinary. This is as true on her early recordings (from the late 1940s) as on her mature readings (mid 1970s). At times, the listener is tempted to think she does not understand the meaning of what she is saying: she is so shy about drawing attention to her poetic craft, and so embarrassed about revealing any hidden emotional content, that she almost seems to be reading the work of another person. "Don't you realize," I want to shout, "that you are speaking some of the greatest lines in American poetry?" But we must remember that Bishop's self-effacements, however ineffective in a public reading, are part of the reason why her poems are so emotionally satisfying. Meaning and memory resonate in the most lightly observed surface details.

I would highly recommend this recording to anyone who already knows Elizabeth Bishop's work and biography -- it is an excellent reference, even if it is not the most entertaining recording. However, I would caution a newcomer to Bishop NOT to start here. It is far better to read the poems and the letters first so that you have a sense of the many masks this poet wears. Another good place to start is the hour-long documentary on Elizabeth Bishop in the "Voices and Visions" series, which appeared years ago on public television (available in many libraries). James Merrill and Mary McCarthy are interviewed about their friendship with Elizabeth Bishop and make many illuminating comments. Blythe Danner -- Gwyneth Paltrow's mom! -- reads the poems of Bishop, and frankly does a better job of it than Bishop does.

i bought this tape on a road trip and logged the miles spellbound by how Bishop's voice and inflection turned the poems I blew through in college into delightful, insightful stories. This tape, and i'll bet the others in this series, is an example of why poetry needs to be heard, rather than read. Send these tapes to schools everywhere!