Boyd Books

very good listening i enjoy demills writting but listening to his book was a great thing to do on a trip to fla.

The only thing Detective John Corey knows about a serial killer called 'The Lion' is that he is a young Arab who will stop at nothing in his quest for revenge against the Americans who bombed Libya and killed his family. "The Lion's Game" is a suspenseful thriller that presents a roller coaster ride of plot twists peppered with a cast of truly memorable characters. Boyd Games provides a superb narration of Nelson DeMille's riveting thriller in this flawlessly recorded, 8 CD, 8.59 hour audiobook which will easily prove to be an enduringly popular addition to any community library audiobook collection.

Abridged audio -- in paperback. Original printing 2000)

When you read or listen to The Lions Game, keep in mind that this book was written well before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

The Lions Game is not about terrorists flying airplanes into the twin towers killing thousands, but about a single terrorist on a mission of revenge. After his bloody entrance into the U.S. and absorption into the country, The Lion leaves a trail of very specific murders across the United States, heading to his final act of revenge.

John Corey, formerly NYPD homicide, now with a special task force on terrorism, is feeling his way around his new assignment (and partner) while trying to analyze the next move of the Lybian terrorist, save lives and figure out his own love life, quite a bit to handle for just one guy!

Nelson DeMille has brought us another entertaining yet thought-provoking action novel that is well worth the time it takes to read or listen to the unabridged version.

I listen to a lot of books on audio. But, I almost never listen to and very much dislike abridgements. They do a great disservice to the author even though authors have to approve the abridged versions of their books. Still, it's a little like just listening to the refrain of a song, you miss the essence of the creator's intentions.

Armchair Interviews says: Good listening.

This is another great book by Douglas Boyd. Mad Bear was one of Rolling Thunder's teachers. This book shows some insight to the common thread that medicine people share; it also shows their different personalities. Mad Bear had a special connection with people, he had a way of making people smile and be happy. I highly recommend this for anyone who is studying medicine people.

Doug Boyd again, as in "Rolling Thunder", has shown us the everyday life of a remarkable man. Thank you Doug for reminding us how it is possible to live the sacred path with gusto. Since we are not all able to sit at Mad Bear's knee to learn his great wisdom, Doug shows us that the traditions still exist and are practiced. This is a book that should be read by everyone.

This book follows Boyd after his meeting the eclectic Tuscarora medicine man and documents their travels across the country, with the aim of promoting inter-religious dialogue and cooperation. It is written well; Boyd managed to captureMad Bear's culinary and other idiosyncrasies in a way which is genuinely funny and, at the same time, filled with valuable information about modern native medicine. With native Americans information rarely comes in an explicit way; likewise, the most valuable stuff in the book is hidden between the lines: the Tuscarora/Iroquois dreaming practices, the practices used to take care of and obtain feedback from nature and the commitment to working together with spiritually aware people from all over the planet.

The Native Americans understand (suggests the book) that these are important times when teachings have to percolate from their keepers to a wider, global audience, that we have to work together to neutralize the forces of chaos and greed that are destroying the fabric of life on this planet and that life can be an amazing and mysterious adventure if one allows it to manifest itself through us. These things are brought forth in an easy conversational style, especially in the first half; the second has to do more with specifics of Boyd's own participation in inter-Indian dialogue etc which I did not find as gripping. Still, this is a valuable book and if you want to learn how to speak (and keep your mouth shut) with the Indians, you will found it useful.

There are so few books for kids of incarcerated parents in this, the country which imprisons the highest per capita percentage in the world, that this stands out as a great resource. The gift that mother gives her child is the gift of stories, which every prison literacy program ought to take to heart as the basis for a writing program that actually helps the inmates. The age rating on the book says 4-8 but it really has a much wider reach, probably four to 13. It would probably be helpful to teachers and caregivers of kids whose parent is in prison to connect to the Center for Children of Incarerated parents, which offers national correspondence courses, as well as educational services of all kinds. They can be reached at [...] For those teaching in prison programs this story would provide a good impetus to begin a writing program for women with children left behind to help heal the wounds of separation and disappointment. Pat Brisson, who volunteers in a literacy program in a correctional facility, has captured many of the details in her text and obviously passed along information to the illustrator. Never is the mother's crime or sentence mentioned. It is a fine book to begin parents thinking about how help their children on the outside and foster family storytelling, not just in writing but on video, in art and on tape.

My daughter loves this book! Her dad was incarcerated recently, and I have been looking for books like this, to make her feel that she is not alone, that there are other children like her, who can understand her pain. Like Sugar and her mom, my daughter and husband are strongly attached, and they struggle to find new ways to do the special things they've always done together. This book is a little dose of sweetness and inspiration in a very, very tough situation. I am grateful that it was written.

Incarceration is tough for parents, traumatic for their kids.

Mothers of dependent children, mostly single nonviolent drug felons, currently are the fastest-growing segment of the burgeoning United States prison population, according to About Children: An Authoritative Resource on the State of Childhood Today, published by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Their vulnerable children are a growing population as well whose emotional and physical lives can get pretty rugged. Generally, children sink further into poverty, have tenuous care arrangements, face unhealthful levels of uncertainty, and deal not only with loss and separation, but also with an anxious mix of shame, guilt, anger and fear. They feel abandoned and hopeless. Behavior deteriorates.

When an adult is arrested and sentence passed, intervention on behalf of the offender's young offspring is necessary. Relatives or friends, social agency professionals and foster care providers do try to help. Still, the challenge is gigantic, the need is growing, kids are losing out.

Although no bibliotherapy approach can address the problems remotely, much less remedy any part of these children's real-life situations, representation of parental incarceration in decent books for children seems important. Satisfying stories of substance in which children may recognize plights similar to their own, or with which unaffected children might be able to empathize with families in such situations, may be beneficial.

Only a few picture books are presently available, two of which are attractive, and one of which nicely portrays an elementary aged daughter of a mother in prison and their strong, somewhat idealized, relationship.

Author Pat Brisson's familiarity with incarcerated mothers, through her volunteer work with a prison book-recording program, lends Mama Loves Me From Away, verisimilitude and thoughtful details. Without specifying the crime or mentioning the sentencing, she concentrates on the experience, in the first person voice, of daughter Sugar whose close, loving mom "went away and everything changed."

On Sundays, if Grammy's knees aren't acting up, she takes Sugar to visit Mama in prison. The illustrations show a relatively grim atmosphere with barbed wire fence, guards at the visiting cage, and expressive faces. The rest of the week, Sugar is sustained by remembering stories of their lives she and her mom shared which incidentally reveal a realistic profile of teenaged pregnancy, partying, friends, single parenthood and low level employment. Sugar is in a stable living situation but misses her mom terribly.

The story pivots on their shared birthday. Sugar creates a fine card for her mother while sadly trying to overcome her anticipated disappointment that her mom won't be able to give her a birthday present this year. At their visit, Mama presents Sugar with a notebook in which she's written the family stories Sugar loves.

Perhaps Brisson and the illustrator present too comfortable an impression of Sugar's life, and too wonderful a mother-daughter bond, but the story is respectful, palatable and meaningful. It captures longing and attachment movingly. Children separated from their own incarcerated parents might feel strengthened to have some of their feelings acknowledged, and children who know little of such a life may gain understanding through this appealing book.

Mary Anne gives a wonderfully detailed look at England in the tumultuous years right before the Regency. This was the exciting time of Nelson, Napoleon and Jane Austen.

As an armchair historian, I enjoy a well-crafted story that allows me to see the decadence available during this time. And it helps that Du Maurier is writing about her own ancestor, and being rather honest as to Mary Anne's ethical and moral failings to boot.

But as with all such true stories, there is no happy ending. Still, it is well worth your time and effort if you enjoy history.

It's obvious that Daphne du Maurier felt a powerful connection with her ancestor Mary Anne Clarke. Indeed, her characterization of Mary Anne reflects a remarkable perception, echoing both the frustrations of a woman in a world of men and foreshadowing the feminist works that would follow in the years after this novel's publication. At times skilfully, at other times awkwardly, du Maurier incorporates historical fact into the narrative. While this works well at times, there were a number of parts in the book where I felt that details were being skimped, or satisfied with merely a mention, such as the death of Mary Anne's first child. The final part of the novel, set in the House of Commons, is the book's most significant failing. It is dry, dull, and slow, depending entirely too much on dialogue. The novel seems to peter out at this point, although I felt that the final chapter was very well written. I would class this book as average.

Opened in a flashback style, beautiful and tempting, the biography of Mary Anne Clarke, the notorious heroine, unfolded. Based on her great-great-grandmother, Ms. Du Maurier weaved a story of a woman's power struggle and web of intrique played in society dominated by men. Set in London at the time when Paris was being ruled in Terror regime, London was in parliamentary turmoil and both countries are in war at the end of 18th century.

Mary Anne, with her cunning wit and unbeatable Irish blood, was born in London slum neighbourhood. With her resourceful mind, she determined to be a success in men's world by playing the same game, with the same rules. She first tried to find a wealthy husband but got a big-mouthed, good-for-nothing one instead. Not to be beaten by circumstances, she left her husband and started to use her unique beauty to make connection, to be a 'social climber', in order to provide food and shelter for her 3 children, a mother, a half-sister and a brother. As time would have it, she was introduced to The Duke of York, became his mistress and the scandalous dealings began.

Being a mistress to a prince didn't mean she would have unlimited income. On the contrary, to maintain the house, lifestyle and servants, she must do 'side job' by promoting soldiers to the Duke with some amount of fee. This would lead to the most scandalous trial(s) in England concerning royal family.

The dialogs and the statements were beautifully written (but no ramblings) while the characters each had their own strength and weakness. It was said that there are some resemblances between the author's life with the main character which added to the substance of the story. All I can say is I admire her wit and I see the reasons behind her every move.

Feel the spirit, see the dreams and understand the love of life which came from a woman named Mary Anne.

This story will go down in history - have the courage to read this book and pass it on.

RJS

This is a classic text that chronicles the degrading and dehumanizing process of intimidation of by a dictatorial regime embedded in repressive antics and deviously blood-thirsty. This book comes from the lived experience of Ken Saro-Wiwa, Nigeria's foremost environmentalist and literary writer. He, it was who led his Ogoni people to challenge the environmental degradation of their environment by the Anglo-Dutch Shell corporation through gas flaring, oil spillage and soil degeneration, and the exploiting gimmicks of a militarized centralist and thievery regime. In this work Saro-Wiwa, chronicles his role,in the evolution of the history of the struggles for relevance and records the methods of organization and mobilization of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP)into a vibrant, virulently vocal and highly feared movement. This work derived from the author's contact with the evil of human authority, hence it is a direct a product of his experiences with the malevolent human-evil-forces that were unlynched against him and the struggle. The expereinces reminisced here is just one of his many in the series of unwarranted detentions in the hand of the evil regimes of Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha in unkempt cells of the Nigerian security apparatus in different cities of Nigeria. On another occassion- the detention from which he smuggled this book out to be printed- he would not come out alive. He would be "judicially murdered" by the junta whose guns were brought by the sweat of humble and victimized tax-payers like Ken- representative of repressed Nigerians- and from the money derived from oil that springs from underneath his Niger-Delta homeland-including his Ogoni group. Ken did not leave out the Nigerian Police and their inhumanity- dogs who devour the flesh of other dogs- in fact they act like "vulture." A loaded term in Ogoni parlance! This work goes to show the plight of minorities within such colonial contraptions as the Nigerian nation state, under the dominating rule of a northern hegemony and a limited military clique in collaboration with their favor and fund-questing (fat-bellied) civilian cronies. This goes to further prove the fact that colonialism subjugated many ethnic groups under a contraption that was never dialogued nor radically sanctioned.Is it any surprise that Somali, Rwanda, Burundi, Zaire, Sierra Leone have gone on ruptured by the thunders of machine guns! In this vein the book brings to the fore the problem of such political hypocrisy as such as the overtly caricatured Federalism which is practiced by the Nigerian government. In a way Ken Saro-Wiwa, credenced the fact that all ethnic nationalities must radically be allowed to shape their destiny and control their resources. Further, this book reveals the filthy environmental practices of the multinationals who without regards to safety measures and ecological ethics endanger the lives of people in the orgy for profit-making. Profit-making predominates in the psyche of the multinations in deterrence for the sanctity of the human life! Double business and ethical standards-one for Africa another for the West- in fact Ken calls this "environmental racism." This book is a resplendent classic, and it is essentially valuable for all those who want to educate themselves on one of the most forceful and feared Social, ethnic and environmental movements that has arisen in post-colonial Africa today. In fact, the book goes to show the courageous fights of minorities and social movements towards advocating and ensuring changes. Ken Saro-Wiwa its author was crudely exterminated with eight others on a farce of a trial- a militarized set-up tribunal of the despised tyrannt of Sani Abacha in 1995. Saro-Wiwa is dead but remains a living-dead, an ancestor of a sort for the many social movements that revolves around emphasizing rural development and sound environmental norms and sanctity for the community where companies are located that are emerging in Nigeria today, and it would not be an overstatement to add Africa. His ideas and views radiates and takes on flesh in this little book. Buy one today, read and digest it and realize what a portent book it is, and know why the author was most few by a modern day dictator, who feared men and women of ideas than he feared the men and women who hold the guns! Happy reading! Bon voyage!

The more I read this book, the more I understood how important it was for the erstwhile military junta of the time to eliminate Dr. Kenure SAro-Wiwa. This book is a blinding shot in the eye for anyone who was in one way or the other called out for acts the author painstakingly makes the reader to personify. It delves into all manners of "human's inhuman to human," if I dare call it so. Read this, especially if you wish to know the state of the current Africa, using Nigeria as a backdrop, in relation to the rest of the world.

You may think Movies and Mental Illness is a book intended strictly for the mental health professionals and/or educators. Although I do not fall in either of these categories, I was enlightened by the wealth of knowledge offered by this book.

I felt the authors did a remarkable job educating us on mental disorders, the misconceptions associated with them, and the powerful effect film has on public perception of those with mental disorders.

Each chapter discusses a psychological disorder and includes several well-known films that portray each one. The authors showed us a fabricated case history of a lead character in the film with a particular disorder. Also included is the patient's psychological history, behavioral observations, diagnosis, treatment plan, and the prognosis. I found the tables and charts that were included throughout the book to be very helpful and user-friendly.

This book is a useful resource for everyone.

A really fine layman's guide to several prominent mental illnesses where specific films accurately portray manifestations of and reactions to those illnesses. It is now much more enjoyable to watch those films again with a better understanding of what the characters are attempting to portray. Highly recommended to any movie viewer who would like to know more about specific mental illnesses, but aren't able to attend psychiatric Grand Rounds as a physician.

A good book covering a host of movies across time. Apart from one movie at the beginning of each chapter for a disorder category, not much diagnosis detail. Written by sound researchers in psychotherapy

The story is a hoot in both the words and the pictures. It's a fun story to read to a child or for a child to read to him/herself. Mr. Tuggle is a nice guy, just a little disorganized and forgetful. Can't find a hat, make one. Can't find your shoes? Improvise! It takes poor Mr. Tuggle a full week to realize the error of his ways, even though his fellow commuters in the morning begin to notice the problem on day one. The message is subtle, and is nowhere in the words, but kids will get it just the same (even though Mr. Tuggle himself didn't quite get it...). Lots of laughs here for parents and kids alike. Highly recommended.

The troubles that Mr. Tuggle's is having through the week
are captured with a great sense of humor, with a hidden lesson tucked in. Easy to read and entertaining, my kids loved the story, easily identifying with the "lost" item troubles. The feline friends add to the story, feline lovers will relate.

All of us have difficulties from time to time, but Mr. Tuggle is having an especially troublesome week. It began on a Monday, a beautiful spring day, but not for Mr. Tuggle because he cannot find his hat.

Dismissing the idea of even needing a hat, he went off to work. There was more to come - as he sat outside eating his lunch a pigeon dropped a souvenir on his head. "Jumpin' jelly beans!" cried Mr. Tuggle. "I guess I do need a hat."

So, he made a hat out of a newspaper and tied it on with a string.

Tuesday didn't get much better because on that morning he couldn't find his shoes. Youngsters will laugh when they discover what Mr. Tuggle substitutes for shoes, and what he did when he couldn't find his shirt.

Finally, Mr. Tuggle discovers how much easier life is when he simply puts everything away where it belongs so that things are easily found. Maybe youngsters will learn the same lesson in this smile provoking story.

Mr. Tuggle looks a bit like Ed Wynn in Karen Dugan's amusing watercolor illustrations. Cat fanciers will especially enjoy Mr. Tuggle's feline friends.

- Gail Cooke

What could be a more precious gift than learning to read? It's time for Santa to take second place! Do children today really lack interest in our 'wider world'? Writers for newspapers & magazines frequently write about *GEOGRAPHICALLY-CHALLENGED* young people. Author Margriet Ruurs' book tells children of the many ways in which libraries are brought to the doorsteps of readers in thirteen far flung countries in this world. It isn't dry-as-dust information -- it is exciting & colorful; mind-boggling in some instances.

Our Bloomington (IN) daily paper does print a map frequently with squibs of news from about ten 'hot spots' on this Earth. Everyone could gain by studying such a map & adopting a regular habit of "connecting the dots" between countries and happenings, and between happenings and long-term effects on individual lives, and our Universe.

In Australia huge trailer-trucks are solar-powered & very high-tech, powering computers and air conditioning, plus. A librarian-storyteller travels with the materials and keeps kids' minds stimulated with stories.. In Azerbaijan (former Soviet republic) there are funds for sending library trucks to only two refugee settlements. In contrast beach deliveries of books are made in England with wheelbarrows!

Native Inuits in Canada rely on the mail service with prepaid 'returns.' Finland supplies a boat for service to outer islands, some of which are populated only during the brief summer. Indonesia provides boats & bicycles for deliveries. The most dramatic carriers are in Kenya where camels carry tents for 'setting up shop' with boxes of books . . . AND, in the mountainous areas of Thailand elephants go on 20-day round trips to make their deliveries! Imagine elephants instead of Bookmobiles here in the U.S.! It might awaken our sensibilities to the lengths some governments go to take *LEARNING* to the people. In Mongolia motor bikes have replaced camels & horses to deliver books; in Peru & Zimbabwe donkey carts are used. All over the globe in hard-to-reach areas people are making great effort to bring literacy to children & others hungry for learning. We can cheer, too, for inter-library exchanges to fulfill assignments, for research and/or just plain JOY.

After reading a recent National Geographic poll we can see that people's apathy is as serious as gaps in knowledge. Reviewer mcHAIKU believes this would seem pathetic, if it were not so frightening. CHEERS for Ruurs' engaging book that brings us a gift of optimism.

"Neither rain nor snow, nor sleet nor dark of night shall stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." The postman's creed, you say? Yes, but now it applies to a new group of people: mobile librarians.

Margriet Ruurs, writer and educator, read a newspaper article describing the mobile library in the desert areas of Kenya. She began to wonder if children in other remote areas receive books. Thus began the scrapbook of mobile libraries from all over the world. After Ruur made the contact, librarians shared stories and photographs of their unique mode of book delivery. Ruur includes a total of thirteen mobile libraries. Each shows a two-page spread containing a map insert of the country's location, a box about the area, and the story and photographs of each mobile library in action.

Because there are thousands of islands in Finland's geography, the library goes to the children by boat. In the northern Lapland region of the Artic, a book bus serves Lapp children in Finland, Sweden, and Norway.

In Mongolia a book minivan and a horse-drawn wagon take books to the herders' children in the Gobi desert. In Azerbaijan a blue truck serves refugee settlements. The children love their "library-in-a-truck." In fact, the librarian wrote: Because these children have nothing, not even school, "the mobile library is as important as air or water."

Loaded with crates of books, elephants are library assistants in taking books to children in northern Thailand. Homeless children in Bangkok have access to a classroom and library in old, transformed train carriages in stations around the city.

The most dedicated delivery of books occurs in Papua New Guinea, where trucks with four-wheel-drives go as far as they can. Then the librarians tote boxes of books on their shoulders for four hours. As they come to each village, they drop off books and medical supplies. In a few weeks they will repeat the process.

Ruur leaves a few questions unanswered. Who funds these libraries? Who funds these books, as surely all are not returned. She mentions one foundation in Mongolia, where there is almost no illiteracy! Other readers may be curious and want to participate.

Ruur makes clear the importance of the mobile library. What matters is that children are being served where they are. This is a very fine book about dedication at its best and and a promotion of the love of reading in the most unlikely places. Every school library in the United States should buy this book and every librarian should share it with her students, if only to show that children everywhere love books!

How are books brought to children around the world? We're used to a library consisting of a building - but some move from place to place by bus, boat, and even animal or wheelbarrow. Mobile libraries are often the only ways books come to remote world locations - and My Librarian Is A Camel comes from libraries around the world. Margriet Rurrs asked librarians to share stories about their libraries: the result often was not only a verbal description and stories, but color photos: all of which are included in this lively, unusual, and enthusiastically recommended title.

Great book for Public Health professionals, doctors, nurses, and all of those interested in the health field.

I found this book difficult to read, as there were few illustrations, pictures, no color, etc. This is a compilation of information from various writers, requiring you to critique each article. The information is very broad, making it difficult to dissect for information on a particular topic.

This book provided my students with a clear view of the development of Health Policy in the United States. The articles in this text provided a clear explanation of what the definition of health is, how health policy has developed, comparisons to other industrialized countries, and where health policy reform has failed. This is an excellent text for undergraduate health policy students. It also provides a great deal of insight into the making of policy decisions in the United States

If a person wanted to tell the story of their life in a biographical format, why would they choose to make their intended audience children rather than adults? Maybe the person in question would feel that children could better appreciate their life and accomplishments. Or maybe they're unsure of their writing skills and thought that kids rather than grown-ups would be easier to write for. Maybe they are of an artistic temperament and feel that if they spotted their book with beautiful glossy illustrations, kids would gravitate more readily to that aspect of the story. And maybe they've always seen their childhood, rather than adulthood, as the part of their life with the best narrative, and unless a biography has copious amounts of abuse in it, adults aren't going to be as interested as children. For artist Neil Waldman, his motivation for writing, "Out of the Shadows: An Artist's Journey" for children may have knowingly or unknowingly have their roots in all of these reasons. The book is lovingly put together, with fantastic pieces of arts spotting the text. It is not, perhaps, the first autobiography I would hand to children that need to read one for school, but it may contain some of the best explanations on how a person truly becomes an artist. It's flawed but worthy.

Neil Waldman was born in the Bronx, one of the first American-born children of his Russian/Galician immigrant relatives. At family gatherings, Neil would often have to face the inevitable question that began, "You are our family's first generations born in freedom. So what are you going to do with it? What are you going to be when you grow up?" A hard question for a child at any age, but early on little Neil hit upon what he wanted to be. An artist. When he found his mother's book of Vincent van Gogh paintings, Neil discovered a love that would last him his entire life. He needed it to. In his parents' household, growing up meant dealing with constant fighting and violent words. With his siblings, Waldman was able to cultivate his skills and become an artist in every sense of the word.

In this book, Mr. Waldman continually plugs the children's books he's written over the years like, "They Came From the Bronx", and "The Starry Night". I didn't mind that. I liked how he was able to tie distinct moments from his own past into the work he would do years and years in the future. There is no distinct moment in time when the book's narrative ends. Waldman is far more interested in showing "a childhood" rather than a strict assessment of years between such n' such an age. The last glimpse into the past we get is of Waldman and his three siblings working on their art to escape their parents' fighting. It ties in rather nicely with the first image of the book, where Waldman is unable to deal with the fights and has not yet found an artistic escape route. Often it's difficult to determine when one action or event takes place in time as Waldman is not prone to listing his age or any dates all that often. Still, there are worse crimes in this world.

Neil is continually adored and doted on by his grandfather and, in time, his own father. It was interessting to me that we never hear if his younger siblings received the same attention as their eldest brother. He was the one that Grandpa Meyer took to the zoo every day. He was the one that went to concerts with their father. It would have been nice to have seen how Neil's siblings felt about this, perhaps, preferential treatment, but as this isn't the point of the book we don't hear much about it. I did appreciate that Waldman was able to look with nuance at his father, the simultaneous villain and hero of his early years. For much of the book, Neil's father is a verbally aggressive unknown figure who one day, out of the blue, takes his son to see a symphony play. From this, Neil determines that he has seen a softer side of the man he's feared all his life. Kids reading the book, on the other hand, may determine for themselves whether such actions humanized Neil's father or simply make him more complex.

If Mr. Waldman has a weakness, it's in his dialogue. Whenever he speaks in his own voice as a child, the world are italicized and set apart from the rest of the text. This in and of itself isn't a problem. The difficulty comes when any two characters have a conversation that lasts longer than four or five sentences. Waldman is adept at facts and histories. In recounting actual speech, however, he has a tendency to simplify everything into the kind of sentences an adult would imagine a child to have. In one case, the word "Yup" is used six times within a single conversation. In another, when little Neil asks his mother about her book of Vincent van Gogh, he says, "Please, Mommy. Please tell me everything about the colors." It's a form of overly formalized pseudo-childish dialogue that occasionally weakens an otherwise strong narrative.

Surely the best part of this book is the art itself. Waldman has cleverly culled paintings, sketches, drawings, and who knows what all from his extraordinarily talented family to illustrate distinct moments from his own life. At first when you read through the book, the viewer is confused by the unexplained paintings. Some of them were created by people with the same last name as the author. What are we to make of that? Eventually, however, we find that each work of art was created by a member of Neil Waldman's family. It gives the book the much needed weight and oomph when you can see the sheer range of talent that gushes from this family unit. I was more than a little sad to see that in the midst of all this magnificent work Neil chose to include only one painting from his own youth. The painting, "Creatures" created at age 11 is a remarkable surreal watercolor, with such fantastic shading and depth that the reader is left wanting to see more and more of what Waldman made when he was a child. Perhaps these paintings were lost in time. Perhaps Waldman didn't want to focus too closely on the work from his early years. Whatever the case, I wish the reader could have seen more, but in the meantime this single picture will have to suffice.

On the whole, the book is an honest examination of how and why creativity blooms. And while I felt that the writing itself could have used a little work at times, the overall effect of, "Out of the Shadows" is to show how art can come out of pain. It doesn't hurt any that Mr. Waldman is a fantastic painter either. His works, spotted throughout the book, are consistently engaging and enticing. For any child that has ever flirted or seriously considered a future as an artist, Waldman's book will stand as an important touchstone.

Sometimes we find, in a book, a drama behind the drama. In Neil Waldman's new book, there are two such dramas, and fortunately, a comedy. First there is the ongoing battle between his mother and father--fights so ferocious that even behind closed doors they cause their children to tremble. Then there is the comedy of a charming, jovial, whimsical grandfather who could always be counted on for companionship, adventure, imagination and a certain sangfroid. And last, but most importantly, there is the development of the artistic sensibility. From where did it emanate? As a means of escape from their parents' tirades, surely; but the lyricism of the art, the inspiration, the children's proficiency, from where did they come? This is what Waldman has set out to explore and share with his many readers and admirers. His mother evidently loved art. She had brought with her on the boat from Russia, a treasured book from an art museum in Russia--"a book whose soft velvet cover and shimmering golden title drew the young boy to it like a magnet." It was in this book that he first discovered the work of Vincent Van Gogh, an artist whose oeuvre would be a lasting influence upon him. Suddenly, Neil knew this is what he wanted to do when he grew up. This encounter, however would transform the lives of all four Waldman children. They came from a family that already contained a talented artist, his aunt Jean Morris.

The recognition of beauty as adventure was nourished by his Grandfather Meyer, whose accent is perfectly represented in the book, and who not only took him to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but also to the hidden wonders of Bronx Park, an island of beauty among the trolley cars and pavement of his East Bronx neighborhood. And finally, there is the art, itself, prodigiously represented in this book, art by all four Waldman children. When we wonder how did a well-known celebrity or accomplished person get from there to where he or she is today, this book affords us a marvelous insight. Written in an informal, conversational manner and enriched with full color reproductions, it is a worthy addition to anyone's library, but particularly as a gift. Ages 12 and up.

How does a child evolve into an artist? Author Waldman's discovery of a mother's precious velvet art book from a Russian art museum served as the starting inspiration for him early on, introducing him to a painter whose works would change not only his life, but the lives of his siblings. Painting quickly became key to the family's survive as well as key to discovering a route away from their warring parents: here are over forty reproductions of the drawings and paintings of the Waldman family artists to accompany the story of four siblings who used art as a survival mechanism.