Bloom Books

Candy Montgomery is a true Narcissistic Sociopath. None of us were in the utility room of Betty Gore's house that day in June to hear what really transpired between the two women. I highly doubt Betty broached the subject of an affair between Candy & Allan. Allan himself testified he had no reason to believe Betty had any knowledge of the affair. Had Betty been suspicious it seems highly plausible the couple would have been fighting about it before Allan's trip that day. Instead Betty was happily planning their "second honeymoon" to Europe.

Also, the fact that Candy continued a connection with Allan via his daughter (after the affair was over) by inviting young Aylssa to spend the night numerous times, even though the Gore's were not attending Candy's church anymore, nor did Aylssa attend the same school as Jennifer (Candy's daughter)is highly suspect of her continued obession with Allan.

Candy's Sociopathic Personality is so apparent in her comments to Betty when she sees Betty's pain but continues to belittle her with the comments, "but, I don't want him" as though he is not good enough for her but will do for Betty.

If a slighty insecure woman is yeilding an ax in your direction your instinct to survive might entice you to convince poor Betty that Allan only LOVED HER not YOU CANDY!! Your gift of gab might of kicked-in at that moment to disfuse the situation not inflame it. Only a true Sociopath like Candy would think you could continue with a little coffee talk, because basically she didn't do anything wrong.

NOTE TO CANDY: The minute you saw an axe in Betty's hand - That was your cue or in your case, CLUE it was time to leave!!

Candy's defense attorney was truly a maverick. Who knew there was a "Dream Team" in the 1980's in Texas before O.J.'s???

Candance L. Montgomery Murdered Betty Gore because she didn't want her corner of the world to find out she was a phoney. Betty surely would have exposed the affair and that is why Candy chopped her 41 times. And then was mad about it, because in her own words, "it was just so pointless" "I didn't want him anyway!" Like a true sociopath she blamed her victim, as if Betty made her do it! Candy Montgomery was the O.J. Simpson of her time.

One other unbelieveable fact, Candance Wheeler, as she is now known, is a Marriage and Family Therapist in Augusta, GA

[...] says Candance Wheeler hasn't give a day's thought about the littlest victims, Aylssa & Bethany Gore, who lost everything. All someone like Candy would care about is her OWN well-being.

I just read that "Murder by the Book," a series on Court TV, filmed an episode in Wylie in March. The premise of the show is to take an author and ask them what real-life crime intrigued them. Author Sandra Brown found the 1980 Wylie axe murder of Betty Gore to be compelling. "Murder by the Book" does interviews with the principal law enforcement figures involved in the case and presents the case as a documentary with comment from the author. The Wylie episode should air in November 2007. I've also read this book numerous times and wishes for photos of the people involved. I'll be sure to tape this show when it airs in November!

I was only 12 years old and living in Dallas when Candy Montgomery took an axe to Betty Gore during the summer of 1980. Too young at the time to be concerned with local scandals and crimes of passion, I scarcely even remember hearing about the murder. "Evidence of Love" was first published in 1985 when I was in high school and that was when I read this book the first time. I'm 40 years old now and have just re-read it.

Having read it as a kid and now, having read it as an adult, I realize I see this story in a whole new light. It's well written and the character development is practically flawless. No effort has been made to gloss these people over - they are all too human and that makes what happened even scarier. The idea that average, ordinary, church-going people can be tangled up in such an unsavory mess is more than a little un-settling. The Gores and the Montgomery's could be your neighbors or mine. Additionally, the way the Collin County officials and judicial system handled the investigation and subsequent trial is alarming. Judge Ryan's obvious bias is enough to make anyone question the presumption of innocence in 1980's Collin County. I don't know if Candy Montgomery was guilty or not but I do know, that in this country, everyone is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by a jury of their peers. After reading this book, I question the methods used by the Collin County DA's office in building their case against Candy Montgomery. In reading this book for the 2nd time, I realized that secondary to the crime itself and the events that lead up to it, is the story of how skewed justice can be in small towns where everybody knows everybody else.

I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who is enjoys reading about true crime. Although these events took place almost 30 years ago, they are still stark reminders that things are not always as they seem and that justice isn't always what it should be. In that regard, it's still a very relavent story for today. I do wish though, that the authors had included photos of all the characters and of the places where these events unfolded. I think it helps the reader to see them as real human beings and not just characters in a story.

Strangely enough, I now live just minutes from where these events took place and I often drive through the Collin County towns referenced in this book. The landscape hasn't changed much - a Starbucks or two have gone up but other than that, these are still the same sleepy little towns they were in 1980...and after all these years, it's still shocking that they were at the epicenter of so much scandal and tragedy.

Fascinating true story with all of the elements, love, murder, adultery,passion, anger, jealousy...Read this one in a few days while on vacation. Read it.

I agree with everyone else, this is a GOOD book!
The only problem I had with it was that there are no pictures of the people involved. I like to see the people in the story, I really dont know why but I think it helps to see them in my mind's eye. But, otherwise I loved the book.
If it was fiction I'd have a hard time believing it.

This story of Lily and Alex is short, but very sweet. Lily is the owner of Bloom, a floral shop that she started after her husband of 1 year left for the Armed Services and never looked back. After picking up the pieces of her life and starting a successful business, Lily is living the single life.

Until Alex, the new flower delivery guy walks into her shop and into her life. As is fitting for such a short book, the action starts quickly in the first few pages as Alex starts a bold pursuit of Lily. Not one to take no for an answer, things look like they may get off to a good romantic start, even though Lily has strong reservations about dating a younger man. Things are moving along well until Lily's ex, who has been gone for more than 11 years, comes back to town.

The story is good from page one until the conclusion.

Bloom is captivating, mind-blowing and a wonderful emotional read.

I have never read a novella so captivating, well rounded, fast, believable and daring...and when Lily said, "I'm going to love him like my life depended on it." I could have fell out of my chair.

Thanks Dom...for writing what love should be. Many people need to read and learn a great lesson...forget opinions and love freely.

Wow!

BLOOM by Linda Dominique Grosvenor is the second installment in the Cradle Robber series, a series that portrays loving relationships between older women and younger men.
Lily Manchester's husband, Barry Johnson, enlisted in the Army eleven years ago and never returned from his tour of duty. Since that time, Lily's poured herself into her floral shop, Bloom located in Bliss, North Carolina. That is until the day a very handsome delivery man, Alex James delivered more than flowers to Lily's flower shop. Instantly, they are attracted to each other, but Lily convinces herself that it could never work out between the two of them, mainly because of his age. She didn't want to be the talk of the town and risk losing everything that was important to her, mainly her reputation and her business
Despite Lily's objections, Alex boldly pursues her. As their love blossoms, Lily struggles with the disapproval of her mother's best friend, Mrs. Miller. Out of the blue, the ex-husband returns, which further complicates things. Will Lily give into love with Alex, or will she find herself thrust back into the familiarity of the past with her ex?
This was a romantic love story proving that age is nothing but a number. Lily shows us that sometimes it's okay to throw caution at the wind in our pursuit of happiness. Although BLOOM is a short read of only 125 pages, the characters were well developed and the story line was very engaging. I thoroughly enjoyed this installment in the Cradle Robber series and I look forward to reading the next installment, Class Act by T. C. Matthews.
Reviewed by Vanessa A. Johnson, Readincolor Reviewer

Life in Bliss, North Carolina was anything but bliss for Lily Manchester the lovely but lonely owner of Bloom, who had been deserted by her husband years before. Seemingly, her only life passion was her flowers, that was until she met Alex James. Grosvenor handles this story with such delight. Definitely far from the ordinary romance. It was uplifting with its share of surprises. A definite must read for this summer.

BLOOM is the second book in the Cradle Robber series. This series embraces love between an older woman and a younger man.

Lily Manchester's husband enlisted in the Army eleven years ago and never returned. From the time of his departure, Lily's life and "love" has been her floral shop, Bloom. One day a very handsome delivery man, Alex James, delivers more than flowers to Lily's shop. There is an immediate attraction between the two, but Lily is determined to keep from being the "talk of the town." 

"We (women) weren't looked upon as savvy when we dipped below thirty. I didn't even want to think about what they would call me if I was ever caught up in a scandal liaison of any sort with Alex." [excerpt]

Despite Lily's fears, Alex boldly pursues her - determined to prove himself worthy and mature for his age. As their love "blooms" Lily struggles with the disapproval of a motherly, but nosy customer and the surprising return of her ex-husband.

This was a sweet love story proving that age is nothing but a number. Lily was at a stage in her life where it was time for a relationship - time to learn how to love again. Her fears were very real and the decision to be open-minded was a lesson for the readers about taking risks. It was a delight to read about a young man who truly pursued love rather than another sexual conquest. The author is to be commended for creating an extraordinary male character like Alex.

While BLOOM is a short read, the characters were well developed and readers will find the storyline to be engaging from the first page to the last.

A senior moment - forgetting something that should be obvious. Is it inevitable or can the mental decay of age be avoided? "In Full Bloom: A Brain Education Guide for Successful Aging" looks at the brain and how it ages, revealing that the loss of brain function as one gets older does not have to be the destiny of all seniors. Encouraging a program to keep one's brain in tip top shape much like one would work a muscle, "In Full Bloom" is a seminal guide for anyone getting up there and fearing losing their mind. Especially recommended for community library health collections.

This book contains so many useful exercises! Just doing the body balance activities has helped a lot with body awareness. The relaxation exercises are wonderful and help with more peaceful rest. It is fun to do all the brain balancing doings. To think these simple activities can help stimulate the brain. Thinking with more clarity is important, don't you think? Please give this book a try! You'll soon discover the power within our brain!

As soon as I heard this book was published and available, I ordered six copies from Amazon.com. To my surprise I had to wait as they were already sold out. I have given all six to friends, organizations, and a club. This book is true, simple, and life saving. Every exercise is celarly illustrated, easy to perform and needs no special equipment but ones body. It fully debunks brain myths that many of us grew up with and allows us to understand our responsibilities in aging gracefully, creatively and retain our faculties at the same time. I highly recommend this book for all adults to understand how their lives can be more rewarding and fulfilling. More power to the over 60.

As a practitioner of Hatha yoga with 10 years of experience, I was thrilled to find this book which shows what I would call a "martial-arts style" yoga. Ilchi Lee makes Eastern philosophy and exercise accessible to Americans in a way that we can understand and apply to our everyday lives. Thank you!!! I'm 42...not a senior... and I find the exercises in this book a great way to reduce stress and enhance mental clarity. Great illustrations and descriptions.

This is a short story about a `friend'. My `friend' spent most of his adult life as an unhappy individual. This `friend' hated the work he was doing but stayed with the same employer for 25 years. He didn't particularly care for his neighbors but is living in the same house for 17 years. He didn't want to keep in touch with friends or relatives unless he absolutely had to.
During his 30's and 40's, he was always complaining about his health and the aches and pains that conveniently kept him home from work and was also a good excuse to avoid keeping in touch with friends and family. He spent too many days going from doctor to doctor and hospital to hospital, throughout his life, only to get the same answers to all the tests he subjected himself to. The tests were all negative, but this `friend' was not convinced that there was nothing wrong with him.
This `friend' was living a self-fulfilling prophecy. He had used his failing health as an excuse for so long that he had convinced himself that he was really sick. Instead of being happy that all the test results were negative, he complained that the doctors could not find the problems, which made him feel sicker.
Finally at age 58, this 'friend' went to see a doctor who happened to be of Korean origin. After another round of tests with still negative results, this doctor told this 'friend' that he was in good health, in fact, he was in very good health. The doctor recommended that he should get into an exercise and diet program before long or his health would start to deteriorate. The doctor suggested that he should look into a Yoga program which is both physical as well as educational.
So this `friend' found a Dahn Yoga Center only a few blocks from his home. He gathered enough courage to go upstairs and speak with the Instructor. After a 20 minute initial exam, the instructor was describing all the ailments this 'friend' was experiencing, and he was right on. After an introduction to the Yoga exercise routine, this 'friend' attended his first Yoga class the same evening. Although he was always skeptical and doubting everything in his life, something about the Yoga class made him feel different. He continued with the classes and participated in educational programs called B.E.S.T.
The instructor recommended the he read a book named; In Full Bloom: A brain Education Guide For Successful Aging, by Ilchi Lee and Doctor Jessie Jones. This book helped this `friend' to understand how he was creating his own problems and how to start to correct his physical and mental balance back to a healthy body and mind.
If you didn't guess by now this `friend' is really me. At age 58, I am now able to realize that my negative outlook was causing my aches and pains. It all took place in my head. For over 25 years my constant complaining and whining brought myself and everybody around me down.
Just to be able to write this story shows how much I have changed. In one year I lost 14 lbs., my aches and pains have gone away, and my attitude has changed from negative to positive.
But writing this story serves another purpose. If anybody reading this story has the same or similar attitude, I urge you, I'll even beg you, don't wait for your life to pass by without changing how you feel. Get a copy of: In Full Bloom, and / or visit a Yoga center near you. You owe it to yourself to enjoy the rest of your life. It's never to late to change.

I bought this book as a bargain and in the description it said the condition would be knew and the only difference would be that it may be marked as a bargain. However, the condition of the book was really bad and it was so damaged that many pages were lose and the binding was completely broken. I will never buy a bargain book from amazon again, even though the book itself (if it was in good condition) is awesome.

First saw these photos on a trip to Stockholm. Huge photo posters were on display in a park and this book along with the photographer's other books, posters and postcards were for sale. We've all seen photos of animals before but these are quite "up close and personal." There is a "Wow" factor with what he has captured -- whether it be an action shot of wildebeest and zebra hurriedly crossing a river or a panda up in the tree to get a better look. This is not a book you'll look at once but time and time again.

Steve Bloom is by far one of the best animal photographers! The pictures he captures are incredible. Untamed is a great/huge collection of awesome pictures. The pictures and pages in the book are all high quality. Well worth the money.

This is an absolutely gorgeous book, oversized and chock full of awesome photographs of all sorts of creatures. Bloom works in the wild, from a distance and close up enough to devote a full page to an elephant's eyelid. He works in Antartica, in the Amazon, in Africa, Asia, all across the world, with herds of animals and with singles, young, old, and in between. Some of the photos are panoramas, with 2 pages opening towards the middle to full effect.

I first saw the book displayed on a table in an interiors store, and fell in love with it, came home and ordered from Amazon to save $$$. Now it's on the table in *my* living room. Eventually I will give it to my son to go through and share with my now-4-year-old grandson.

Steve Bloom has taken pictoral essays to new heights. In September 2007, a stroke of Irish luck led me to his exhibition in Dublin, Ireland. I spent a mesmerizing hour wandering St. Stephen's Green Park admiring his outstanding mini-billboard sized photographs and felt cheated when I ran out of time. So I bought the book, it sits on my coffee table, and I enjoy it day after day. Untamed is not a collection of animal photos. Instead, Steve gives us a greater understanding of the beast through a series of incredible exposures. Anyone who enjoys wildlife and excellent photography must own this book. It would make an excellent gift for those who share a passion for the wildlife that is vanishing before our eyes.

Very thought-provoking book. Covers a great many things that many may not think to ask about their potential spouse.

This book was read by me after I had gotten married, but many of the questions gave food for thought and are good for opening discussion.

I found this book to be very inspiring. It reminds me to look at the positive things about my relationship and encourages understanding and kindness in a relationship. It does support my own needs as well and the necessary things to feel fulfilled in a marriage. I would highly recommend it. It's super easy to read and relate to.

Don't let the title fool you. This book is great for anyone who is in a relationship.

this book is amazing. i stumbled upon it in the bookstore and it was the last copy on display. i picked it up and thumbed through it and i was hooked. i'd never heard of the authors and this book. unfortunately i think we give a lot of credit to authors who get on major television shows and some authors that have good stuff to say don't ever get the credit they deserve....

back to the book...it's a great book the chapters are short and sweet (but not too short) and as other reviewers have mentioned the couple has lots of experience as therapists and a real married couple. i plan to suggest to my boyfriend that we read a couple of chapters an evening and discuss them. i really like the concepts in the book and think if you're in a serious relationship leading to marriage you owe it to yourself to get this. i suspect if you're already married you can still benefit too!

"Marriage is not a fixed entity but a work in progress, inviting ongoing refinement." ~ pg. 20

One of the things I've realized after twelve years of marriage is that reading books about marriage has truly helped me not to become a statistic. While over half of all marriages end in divorce it is not necessary to end a relationship just because you have conflict. Linda and Charlie Bloom show couples how to communicate effectively to dissolve conflict and open the way to a more nurturing relationship. Instead of expecting there to be no arguments, the authors explain how to argue so you both win.

"Love isn't always enough to sustain a marriage." ~ pg. 63
"The real issue is usually not the one you're arguing about." ~ pg. 70

I found these two thoughts to be especially true in my own marriage. When there is conflict a deep commitment to the marriage can help you survive rough spots. From the stories in this book you can also see beyond what couples are fighting about to get to what couples actually want from a marriage. Linda and Charlie Bloom encourage couples to ask for what they truly want instead of dwelling on the negatives.

Throughout this book you can learn about what holds a marriage together and what drives people apart. By reading the 101 ideas you can learn how to deepen trust and intimacy in any marriage. There is also an interesting story of how members of a tribe in Africa handle marital problems.

While the authors do spend a lot of time showing how unrealistic expectations can set you up for disappointment they also explore the idea of how raising your expectations for a good marriage can also work in your favor. By following the practical advice in this book you can heal a broken marriage and save yourself the pain of divorce.

~The Rebecca Review

Unbelievably inspiring. I challenge you to compare his reading with any one else's or your own in your head. He makes it alive. Not perfect, mind you. You'll find yourself suggesting to him in certain spots that he missed the meaning by putting some emphasis or other on the wrong words. Nevertheless, you know you couldn't do better overall. A real treasure.

Great for a long drive or while driving cross town in Manhattan. You can debate the issues of suffering with Milton in your head.

Sure do wish it were the whole work.

First off, let me say that we're not talking here about the famous Qi gong instructor named John Milton. We're talking about the famous 17th-century English poet who wrote _Paradise Lost_ and _Paradise Regained_, two of the most wonderfully overlong Christian poems in the history of Western literature.

Your English teacher will tell you that _Paradise Lost_ "narrates the story of Adam and Eve's disobedience, explains how and why it happened, and places the story within the larger context of Satan's rebellion and Jesus' resurrection." And you know that can't be far wrong, because SparkNotes says the exact same thing.

But the main reason everyone should read Milton's grand epic is that it contains certain secrets about prayer.

In PL, Milton reminds us how important it is, when we pray, to be absolutely specific. The Lord has a strange, often disturbing, sense of humour (PL, books I-XII). If you leave Him wiggle room, He will answer your prayer in a way you never intended, and then say it was your own damned fault, because your prayer contained seven types of ambiguity.

John Milton writes from experience. Example: Almost every time a good-looking woman passed within view of John Milton, he suffered an involuntary erection. Daniel of the Old Testament might well have suffered such a condition without complaining, but John Milton found it onerous. John was both a Puritan and a student of Saint Augustine. He was not happy when he suffered an erection, he hated it, and he especially resented the women who made that thing happen to him.

In a Latin letter to his friend, George Wither, John Milton reports that, in his youth, he would sometimes see a pretty woman even in his dreams at night, and suffer, not just an erection, but the whole nine yards, up to and including a nocturnal emission; which he trained himself to handle according to Scripture, thereby to purify himself (Deut. 23:10); but sometimes he was unable to wait that long before he handled it, which filled his soul full of Puritan remorse and self-reproach.

At age 33, the poet took to wife a 16-year-old lolita named Mary Powell; and you may already have guessed the reason why, which is that she gave him an erection -- more accurately, she gave him "one damned erection after another," without remission. (Giving John Milton an erection was not the girl's conscious intent, but it just happened to him, every time they met.) And since Christian marriage is Saint Paul's only approved method whereby to deal with that kind of torment, John Milton (being an honourable man) thought it best to marry the girl (1 Cor. 7:9).

Frailty, thy name is woman! After two years of marriage - after just two years of witnessing those insufferable erections that could not be beaten down, or at least, not for long - the poet's young Puritan bride ran away and skipped back home to live with her mother, Mrs. Anne Powell, who likewise gave John an erection; which is why John Milton resented his mother-in-law as well as his estranged wife.

Those were the hardest years of the poet's life - nothing but a daily struggle against involuntary erections, yet here he was, trapped in a loveless marriage to a barely pubescent teenager who lived with her entirely-too-attractive mother. Which is partly why John Milton wrote those four revolutionary Christian pamphlets, correcting Moses' and Jesus' hardline policy on divorce (Mark 10:11-12).

In his Latin correspondence, some of which is preserved in the Bodleian Library, John Milton reports that he was fine when alone in his study, or when hobnobbing with Parliamentarians, or even when having a hasty pudding, or a figgy one, over at the Inns of Court; but let just one good-looker cross his path, showing good ankle between the hem of her dress and the top of her shoe, and it was boing! - instant erection, just like a spring-loaded mechanical device; causing John to exclaim bitterly, "Oh, God, please, not again! Save me from this penal fire!"

It even happened to him once when Oliver Cromwell's wife, Elizabeth Bourchier Cromwell, bent over to pick up a handkerchief that had fallen to the floor. On that occasion there was a lamentable accident ("an hard mishap" [verbatim quote]) with John's ordinarily modest codpiece - an incident so humiliating that John never even wrote a poem about it, although he did apologise, profusely, to Oliver Cromwell, and to Mrs. Cromwell, who saw the whole thing, and then fainted. (John at the time was employed as Cromwell's Latin secretary.)

By the way: It was modesty, not arrogance, that moved John Milton, after that embarrassing incident, to wear a baggy codpiece, with plenty of wiggle room.

Which brings me back to the beginning, when I was explaining why you should give the Lord no wiggle room when you pray: John Milton took his problem to the Lord in prayer, stating in his journal, "Father, I pray Thee, let me not suffer a stiffe joynt when I see a beautifull woman."

And here's how the Lord answered that prayer, in 1651: He struck John Milton blind.

At first, John thought that his blindness was a punishment for his own bad behaviour - which is how that whole thing got going, in Anglo-American Christianity, about how, if you are a boy who does what John Milton used to do, it could make you go blind. But God revealed to John, by means of a dream, that his blindness was actually an answer to his own prayers ¬- because the poet had said, "Father, let me not suffer a stiff joint when I see a beautiful woman."

John Milton then said, "Lord, that is not what I meant, at all" - but it was too late to change the outcome, because the prayer was already answered.

The erections that John Milton suffered in the years 1651-1674, and there were many, even after the Lord answered his prayer, were not from seeing a beautiful woman, it was actually because John had a condition that modern physicians call PSAS ("Persistent Sexual Arousal Syndrome"). So the chronic "stiffe joynt" problem was not really the women's fault, and it never was; but John Milton never knew that. Even when he wrote Paradise Lost (by dictation, from 1652-1667), John was still under the impression that women, seen or unseen, were to blame for his condition; which is why he makes all of those snide remarks in blank verse about your mother, Eve, in Books IV-V and IX-X of Paradise Lost. Because whenever he pictured Eve in his mind's eye, it was boing! - the same old problem. And there would come no more blank verse to his head for the next twenty minutes or so, until things settled down. John Milton hated that.

But it all turned out for the best: if God had not answered John Milton's prayer in that unusual way, by blinding him, Paradise Lost might never have been completed, and sold to the publisher, Sam Simmons, in 1667, for £5 - which was a tidy sum for a religious poem during the decadent Restoration era.

It was while writing the early books of Paradise Lost that John was introduced to Katherine, a ship captain's daughter, a fat woman whom he had never seen (because he was blind); whom he nonetheless married in 1656, but not for the same old reason as before: John asked fat Kate to marry him (a.) because he needed secretarial assistance with Paradise Lost, and (b.) because Katherine did not have the same pernicious effect on him as Mary Powell and her mother Anne had done. John could dictate blank verse to Kate all night long without feeling so much as a tingle down there.

Kate's surname was Woodcock. Beelzebub made a little joke about that: he said, "The Lord finally gave John Milton just what he always wanted."

- L.

My review is of the library binding edition released by Buccaneer Books. It is a very plain and small volume which is wonderfully bound. It contains nothing but the poem itself (including the prose arguments) with the original spelling and punctuation. That means no notes, commentary, or introduction, so if you're looking for lots of in-text help, this isn't what you want. The Fowler, Hughes, or Norton editions are all laden with helpful material like that. But if you just want to experience Milton's masterpiece alone, this is a lovely edition. I found that the book could be purchased much more cheaply if I ordered directly from the publisher's website.

Milton in Paradise Lost unfurls a morning star banner heralding the cosmic story of the fall of angels and men in language eminently civil. I am sure that Homer and Dante were Milton's schoolmasters yet Milton almost exceeds them in the slendid language and poetry of this epic creation. Philip Pullman said "No one, not even Shakespeare, surpasses Milton in his command of the sound, the music, the weight and taste and texture of English words". This is a poem of majesty and sublime lyricism as in Milton's description of Mulciber falling:
"from Morn
To Noon he fell, from Noon to dewy Eve,
A Summer's day; and with the setting Sun
Dropt from the Zenith like a falling Star".
Each book of Paradise Lost is introduced with an argument, or summary. These arguments were written by Milton and added because early readers had requested a guide to the poem. Milton's purpose in this masterpiece is to tell about the fall of man and justify God's ways to man. When the angels battle in heaven at one point they pull up mountains and hills and throw them at each other: "So Hills amid the Air encounterd Hills Hurl'd to and fro with jaculation dire, That under ground, they fought in dismal shade." After their coup attempt in heaven Satan and the other rebel angels are lying stunned on a lake of fire. Satan rises from the lake and makes his way to the shore. He calls the other angels to do the same, and they assemble by and above the lake. Satan tells them that all is not lost and tries to cheer his followers. Led by Mammon and Mulciber, the fallen angels build their capital and palace Pandemonium. They decide to get at God through his new creation and Satan sets off on this mission. In reading Paradise Lost the poem reads the reader while being read. What I mean is that Milton lets his readers go awry in their affections and he corrects and instructs those misreadings as well as anticipates them. In this way the poem becomes a live text with meaning apprehended through the interplay between the peruser of the poem and the text itself. Milton allows the reader to subjectively question the justice of the current religious paradigm and then leads them back to the perspicacity of deity. Ultimately Paradise Lost is Milton's paean to a vast pattern in the universe, the disruption of that pattern by rebels, and the weaving of those rebellion threads back into an ever more beautiful tapestry.

This book is right up there in the embroidery range of books. As a teacher of embroidery I find the ideas and the instructions are the best.
Have been using The Artful Ribbon since it was first available in Australia and this copy (second hand) was for one of my students. The quality, price and speed of delivery was excellent. Thank you.

This is the best book on ribbonwork. It incorporates many beautiful pictures of vintage and some contemporary work. The entire book is instructional (no silly projects to fill the pages!!!). The instructions are excellent and this is as close to a "beginners" introduction to the subject as I have been able to find. At first I was disappointed that there were very few photographs of instructions. Often the instructions use drawings and often drawings are the only examples of the completed piece. But, what I have come to love is the lack of pictures for instruction. This book achieves something many art/craft books fail to. It requires you to practice, to use a variety materials and to create your own color combinations. It makes the "copying" of another's work no concern, because basically, you cannot. The subject is so well covered you will have an understanding of it: from foliage, to flowers, to stabilizing your work for wear on clothing, hats, and pins, to stems and buds, to flat and dimensional, to texture and how to preserve your work, etc. I haven't found a better book and I do not expect to. I thank the author for covering subjects like the movement, or "dance," of the work and for challenging me with the drawings - to try it and then see how it looks. Last but not least, the author introduces a great way to figure how much ribbon you will need to make any project using any ribbon width! So you can make ANY size flower you want. Ms. Kling makes your journey an unexpectedly easy fall - into a creative medium more satisfying than anything I've dabbled in besides beads - which one can incorporate too, of course.

This book has got to be one of the best and most comprehensive books out there on ribbonwork. It not only showcases the antique items where the colors have faded to perfect glory, but also incorporates the new and runs the gamut from embroidering with silk ribbon to forming flowers and bows of the ribbons.

This book is a wealth of inspiration and a source of continual referral for most any project using ribbon and will keep it's prominent place on my bookshelf!

I've seen most of the ribbon flower books that there are--and this is pretty much the best. It has instructions that are clear and very easy to follow and there are so many different ideas for you to use. Not just a couple of projects--so many for you to combine. I have taken this book out of the library so many times that I wanted to keep it. Then I remembered I could buy it online!!!

In comparison to the other books available, it has more projects and I think the directions are easier.

If you love ribbon flowers (I make them as accessories in a business partnership) you will absolutely love this book!

This book makes you want to try ribbon embroidery! The varieties of applications are well illustrated. Loved just looking at this book! Really improved my roses...

It's amazing how soothing just reading William Blake's poetry is on the troubled soul. I always look for his work to ease my mind and lift my spirit. Everyone should treat themselves to his work. Peace be with you.

What to write for my last review? That was tough. Since I was a little boy I have always been one of those who had his face in a book. Books, books, books. When I began my jobs as a paperboy, and later at the grocery store, I began buying books. This hobby grew so large, that my father made our rumpus room a library for me. And it grew ever larger. By the time I enlisted in the Air Force, I had amassed quite a large number of volumes. While in Europe and the Middle East, I would scour book stores and began purchasing leather books. Some very old, and many in foreign languages. Since the Air Force only allowed for a 5,000 lb limit, I spent a fortune sending books home. When I left the service my house looked like a library. Running out of space, I began to make my garage a library. However, it grew ever larger. Therefore, I made use of my brothers garage, then my mothers, and eventually even had to make due with having to rent a few storage spaces.

Yes, it's that large. I was hoping to make a large home library some day. Books have been my life: Even though I write mostly about Asian films. And I was glad that VHS films came into vogue, as they afforded me the opportunity to begin amassing a large collection of Japanese films which I have a soft heart for. That got real big too! Anyway, back to the question as to what to write for my last review? Well, I just happened to stumble across this book last night, one of many. There is a poem by the gifted and enigmatic poet, engraver and painter William Blake. I do recommend the book by the way. Events in my life have gone in a very negative way, therefore, I have decided to impart a poem as my last review. Hope you like it. It's one I have remembered from my childhood. There are too many great things to write about, and I figured this would not be a bad goodbye. It is William Blake's "THE TYGER"

THE TIGER

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder and what art
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand and what dread feet?

What the hammer? What the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? What dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And water'd heaven with their tears,
Did He smile His work to see?
Did He who made the lamb make thee?

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?


William Blake (1757-1827)

A wonderful paperback edition, containing all the works of
William Blake, with a excellent introduction
of Harold Bloom. An priceless tool for students
and teachers

This is an outstanding resource for anyone interested in the works of William Blake. It's well organized and easy to work with. I'm very pleased with it.

It has all his writings: letters, anotations scribbled in the margins of other people's books, everything. Only downside: it doesn't show his illuminated printing.

Lauren is a lucky girl, mostly because of her perfect boyfriend Dave. He's a star football and baseball player and incredibly gorgeous, not to mention extremely smart, loyal, and nice. Her grades are fine and she's got a great friend Katie, but she doesn't realize that she's missing out on anything until Evan Kirkland shows up. Lauren is almost an entirely different person with Evan, because she doesn't pretend anything with him. But even as a passionate relationship with Evan develops, Lauren can't bring herself to break up with her perfect boyfriend Dave. She's torn between her two personalities: the one that accepts her life with Dave as perfect even though it's boring or the more wild and honest side that Evan brings out.

Bloom was a very romantic and sexy story. However although I loved the story, I didn't always love Lauren. She was just so frustrating sometimes, especially when she couldn't make up her mind between which guy she wanted. I have to forgive her though, because she's really only human (even if she is fictional). The setting of high school was not particularly unique, but I felt that the story worked well in it. Also, I liked how the story stayed pretty focused on Lauren's problems instead of meandering onto Katie's or Dave's problems. However, by touching on these other character's problems, I was left with many unanswered problems regarding them and I wished there were more of these characters in the story. Nevertheless, I felt that Bloom was a very honest and definitely romantic story that I'd reread if I had time.

I have to say though that I preferred Stealing Heaven by Elizabeth Scott to her first novel, Bloom because it was just more unique, but I still did enjoy reading Bloom. I recommend this novel for fans of Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, Wake by Lisa McMann, and When It Happens by Susane Colasanti.

I absolutely love this book! It's cute, funny, and shows that change can be scary. I loved the characters. It was all very believable. Every teen romance fan must read Bloom!

This novel is great in the realistic and honest narrative of Lauren who isn't beautiful or perfect no matter what people see.

Iread this book in 3 hours, it was so good! i never wanted to put it down, it had the best story to it. now im trying to find more books like thiss!

Imagine that your boyfriend is popular, drop dead gorgeous, crazy about you, athletic and wanted by every girl in high school. This is the relationship that Lauren has with Dave. Seems like she should be happy, right? Wrong. She's not. She's in the "perfect" relationship (so everyone thinks), but yet she feels so far from perfect and certainly not happy. In fact, she feels like a fake.

World History is the class she wants to get out of, however it's also where her story finally begins. As a new semester starts, Lauren dreads her World History class. It starts to get interesting when the teacher assigns seating in alphabetical order. Across from her is Evan Kirkland. The son of her father's former live-in boyfriend; a relationship that ended very badly.

As Lauren's feelings grow for Evan, she realizes everything she is missing with her boyfriend Dave. She struggles with keeping up appearances, lying to her best friend, Katie, and understanding these new feelings that Evan has stirred up. Lauren's mom left the family when she was young and her father has been in and out of numerous relationships. Now, he's hardly a presence in Lauren's life. This is also an impact on the triangle of Lauren/Dave/Evan.

Overall, I liked this book. Katie and Dave were good supporting characters, however I wanted to know more about their lives. Bloom is a good story about young love, trying to fit in struggling with doing what is expected of you, and discovering who you really are.

I'm coming to the end of my undergraduate studies (in PHYSICS!) and I was looking for some insight into what graduate school would be like to to try and figure out if a PhD is in the cards for me. This book is easy to read and FULL of useful tips. However the overwhelming majority of these nuggets of gold come from past PhD students in the medical/biological sciences. This began to get really annoying. I was constantly having to decide which comments to take onboard and which to leave behind (because I thought they wouldn't apply to me). As a result, I probably have in my head a very distorted picture of what grad school will really be like.
The title is very descriptive, it's just missing one word, but I suppose if they added it sales would drop significantly.

This book should be required reading for anyone applying to gradutate school in the sciences (physical or biological). A quick read of the text will give one plenty to think about before making the big decision. The earlier you read it the better off you will be. The most important reading regards selecting an advisor. I am in the process of completing my degree and in hind sight agree with the issues on which the author has choosen to focus.

The following was copied from another website's review of The Ph.D. Process, and I think it describes the book perfectly:

Graduate school in science is not an experiential extension of undergraduate education, where the passing of a sufficient number of courses usually guarantees one a degree; nor is it medical school or law school, where there is a delineated and set curriculum. Ph.D students are actually pretty much on their own--and they will sink or swim depending upon their own interpretation of how the system works.

The purpose of this book is to provide students with some insight into this unusual system. The authors--each a Ph.D. in the sciences--reveal the generally unspoken "rules" of the game. They offer the secrets of survival and success: What should you discuss in your application essay? What types of research advisors should you avoid? What kinds of research projects should you never undertake? How hard do you have to work? Are grades important? What steps should you take now to make yourself "employable" when you finish? What decisions can make or break your career? How can you network in the scientific community? What goes on at the oral defense, and how can you prepare?

Described also is the daily experience itself: research life, classes, seminars, journal clubs, lab meetings, interactions with peers and professors, qualifying exams, professional meetings, oral exams, dissertation preparation, etc. Anxiety, frustration, and joy-- all normal responses to a grad student's life--are also examined. (In quotes sprinkled throughout the text, numerous past and present grad students relate their individual experiences and emotions during their doctoral training.) A separate chapter is devoted to the special problems of foreign students, strangers to our culture and educational system.

There are many intellectual and emotional challenges inherent to becoming a scientist. This book prepares students for each stage of the experience. They will learn what to expect--socially, psychologically, and academically!

The PhD process is a great overview of graduate school in the sciences. It covers most basic topics such as choosing a type of school, applying, preliminary exams, comps, thesis work, etc. Of course each school does these things slightly differently, but the main points are there and the authors do a good job of pointing out where differences between programs are likely to turn up. This book also explains things that graduate programs aren't likely to advertise such as using students as `cheap labor' and what things to look for in an advisor other than interesting research. This is a fun to read honest book, and the anecdotes from current and past graduate students are the best part. I enjoyed reading them because so many of the same things have happened to me, and it's nice to know that I'm not alone.

I wouldn't say that I received any great insights from the book because I had some experience with academic labs before I applied to graduate school and had a pretty good idea of what I was getting into. I found it a little calming to read about others' experiences as I was waiting to get started. I think most students who apply to graduate school have already spent much time in labs with current graduate students so this might not be that useful to them as practical advise; however, I found this book to be an excellent resource for my parents. My parents had no idea what graduate school is like, and the fact that I'm at school all day and only go to class for an hour baffles them to no end. Reading this book helped them to understand the structure and goals of graduate school. Though I still don't think they understand journal club. (Why would anyone join that club? It doesn't sound like very much fun.)

I recommend this book to grad students for their parents or to undergraduates who aren't sure if graduate school is the right path for them. This book gives great insight into what graduate school is really like.

The book definitely unfold the whole map of graduate school life, especially for (biological) science students. Many aspects and stages of doing science research and how to survive in graduate school are covered. However, the lack of insightful guidence is the main drawback of the book. Pointint out possible obstacles does not necessarily makes gradute students' lives easier. The interviews from (past) graduate students do help readers build up confidence because it is comforting to know many people suffer as they do now, but at the same time few specific steps or directions are NOT distilled by the authors. It's like everyone just talks their experiences without any conclusions.