Butler Books

What an incrediable book. I have read it twice. Once for the story and again for all the history. Even if you aren't from "The City" you will will be completely surprized and amazed at how this tradgedy unfolded

As others before me have stated, this is a well-written, engaging book, but dear me. His editor was out to lunch and his fact checker was just plain out of it. I cite four examples on pp. 30-32. Reference to "Thomas Sutter" of Sutter's Mill, when a fourth-grader could tell you the gentleman's name: John (Johann) Sutter. Next graf: Collis "B." Huntington should, of course, be Collis "P." (for Potter) Huntington. An extra "c" is added to the San Francisco pioneer family Fleishhacker. But the most bizarre is Smith's claim that Mark Hopkins had "nothing to do with San Francisco's famous Mark Hopkins Hotel." While the hotel was built after Hopkins' death, it was built upon the land that Hopkins' mansion had formerly occupied and was named for Mark Hopkins. It's a shame a book this well-researched was sabotaged in this way.

Dennis Smith's well-researched account of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and ensuing fires delivers a level of fine detail on a disaster that is all too relevant 100 years later. It is a story of predictable disaster, inadequate preparation, government incompetence and corruption, fear, power, and greed.

But, most of all, it is a story of heroism. Smith, a former New York City firefighter, effectively tells the story of the San Francisco earthquake and fires from street level. He tells us about homeowners - who, despite being ordered out of the city at the point of a gun - tried to save their property (and how, if they'd been allowed to do so, perhaps could have prevented many of the fires from spreading). He tells us about the San Francisco firefighters who left their own homes and families to work for days on end, without rest, relying on an inadequate, low-pressure, underfunded and damaged water system. He tells us about Navy lieutenant Frederick N. Freeman, who, through his own initiative, took heroic action to aid the firefighting and rescue efforts.

Among those who died as a result of the earthquake was San Francisco's most experienced fire chief, Dennis Sullivan. He plunged 40 feet through an unseen hole in his apartment above the firehouse in the minutes after the quake struck, landing in the basement next to a boiler spewing scalding water and steam. He died four days later.

The fires burned for three days. More than 28,000 structures were lost as a result of the twin catastrophes. More than 3,000 people died and 225,000 were left homeless. Property damage has been estimated at $400 million in 1906 dollars.

Although Smith's book is made choppy by an over-reliance on chapter breaks - there are 95 chapters in 277 pages - "San Francisco Is Burning" reminds us, sadly, that we have learned too little in the last hundred years about disaster prevention, control or relief. I recommend it to every first responder, every disaster management official, and to every citizen.

My grandparents,their first child (who died of meningitis two months after the quake at age 13 month) great grand parents 2 aunts,and a grand uncle lived in SF during the earthquake, this book gives me some background of what they saw and lived through. My mother was born in 1907 and lived in SF for two years. She just died Sept 6th, 2007 age 100. Anyone wanting to know what it was like day to day would enjoy the pages of this book.

Firefighter Smith (FDNY, Ret) is one of my personal heroes and he has not let me down with this book. I now feel I have an intimate and personal connection with the tragedy of 1906. I was unable to put this book down. FF Smith's unique ability to weave the facts among the personal accounts of real people draw you in and grip you with their honesty, bravery and desperation.

There is an advantage to reading a book a few years after it is first published. The advantage in this case is that the Saddam dictatorship is history and many of the assurances that lead us to war have been proven to be a little over hyped, to be generous. That comment leads us to this book. The author was the head of the UN weapons inspectors in the last two years they were in place, ending in 1998. This book is his review of his time on the job and the obligatory musings about what needed to be done with Saddam circa 2000. I had heard in a number of other articles and some books that the author was a bit arrogant and pushy. To be fair, those personality traits, if they even exist, did not come out in the book. The author presented his case in a rather fair sounding and well thought out process. There were no over the top dramatics nor did it seam to me that the author was trying to stretch the truth to prove his point.

I started this book thinking it would be one case after another of how Iraq had hid WMD`s, yet they were hardly ever mentioned. By this I mean that the author only detailed out a few cases of papers being found and old weapons parts being dug up. In all his pages on the inspection process, the author gives the reader no finds of the actual weapons the world was looking for. All the author really detailed was the unlimited number of ways the Iraqi's found to be unhelpful, arrogant, and just plain nasty to his team. If there ever was a case for how not to play well with others the Iraqi's are the hands down favorites. In hind sight, what is rather humorous is that if they would have just swallowed a little crow and let the UN run all over their county unmolested for a few years, they would have left and the Saddam cronies would still be in power. This could be the first dictator to loss power due to unending amounts of arrogance coupled with a good helping of plain ignorance.

The last item I found interesting was the side story that bordered on a male cat fight. This author and Scott Ritter, another of the weapons inspectors, had a few words while working together and both decided to finish the disagreement in the press. About the only value in the comments is that it makes you smile a little to think that this author lowered himself to grade school play ground name calling in a book for the masses. Overall, I found the book interesting in its detail of the way the Iraqi government dealt with the UN and how the French, Russians and Chinese all interacted with the US. I also thought the very apparent lack of evidence of WMD`s being discussed in the book was a precursor of things to come. If you are interested in the conservative thinking that lead up to the Iraqi war, then this book is an interesting bit a the picture.

Now is the time to read this book. All other reviews may be nullified at this point, because they were written before our war with Iraq.

I read this book with a gaping mouth that only got bigger and bigger with amazement as I went along.

The book has come to us through a time warp from the past to present time. Richard Butler accurately hits the nail on the head in his book. He relates events and issues to our present day situation with Iraq prior to them happening. The book helped me to see that situations and concerns that are being debated today have been known and existed many years. There is a lot of knowledge about Iraq that has existed for years and hasn't been dealt with, just swept under the rug.

Accusations about Saddam are true. I can see why when reading this book that France, Russia and China are against helping. I couldn't understand that before. It is scary and chilling to read each and every word - because each and every word validates the move against Saddam.

Richard speculates about a terrorist attack against New York and how it would be difficult to track the Saddam connection, but it most likely would be there. This book gives the evidence many are asking for, and confirms what it is being discovered everyday in Iraq.

Richard speculates that if the terrorist connection could be made or will not disarm who would be bold enough to start a war against Saddam. It would most likely be America and Britain, and that France, Russia and China would oppose.

Richard talks about evidence of chemical, biological and weapons of mass destruction that was found, but how Iraq squirms, lies and avoids answers, etc. They are aided by forces to help deceive.

You will feel like you are reading a newspaper of today - a newspaper that gives the un-muddled cold hard truth of the situation in Iraq.

Scarier than a Stephen King book.

This is a very good book by Richard Butler. Who is Richard Butler? He is an Australian diplomat who has been in the nuclear disarmament field for decades and was the Australian ambassador to the United Nations. Richard Butler was appointed the head of UNSCOM, which was the United Nations' body set up to oversee the Iraqi dissarmament of weapons of mass detruction after the Gulf War. If anyone should know what the world faces from Iraq, Richard Butler is the man and his story needs to be heard.

His views on Iraq are frightening and his information on the United Nations as a body and some of the countries that belong to it are disheartening. Throughout the book Butler explains why Iraqi leadership actually thinks they won the Gulf War. He explains how the United Nations waffled on enforcing the rules that they had instituted. His take on Kofi Annan and the politicians that made it easier for Iraq to evade the international laws passed by the U.N.

Is Iraq still harboring weapons of mass destruction? I think that is a foregone conclusion. Iraq has lied, cheated, broken treaties and evaded international law. Saddam has succeeded in stonewalling international monitoring.

Would Iraq use such weapons once they gather enough? I think the judgement on that is also already concluded. Saddam and Hitler where the only two people in history to use chemicals for genocidal purposes. Saddam already proved he would when he used them on the Iranian soldiers in the Iran-Iraq war, on the Iranian POWs (testified to by Iraqi defectors) and on the Kurds - citizens of his own country. Saddam showed once again his sinister side in 1991, shortly before the Gulf War, when he dispatched hit squads around the world to take out "coalition" diplomats.

Richard Butler's words should be read, his thoughts and insights should be considered. The book needs to be recognized by those in power before it is too late.

What an eye opener. The Greatest Threat gave me goose-bumps. I couldn't put the book down. Scary! Everyone needs to read this book. It grabs you right from the start as if you were right there with the UNSCOM inspectors. I agree with the author on American and International politics needing to be over-hauled. Maybe the mess we find ourselves in today could have been avoided if our country and other countries had worked together to promote disarmament. Then, inforced it when the country refused to comply instead of sweeping the issue under the rug.

The book is well written and reads like a the latest thriller. The trouble is it is very real. It's sad that one ruthless leader can cause so much pain to his own people and the world. I don't like war either, but it looks like that is the only choice we have as the author pointed out. This book is a must read if you want to know what is going on with Iraq and how we got where we are today.

This book is, in hindsight, horribly wrong. It is now known that there are no WMD's in Iraq. Saddam did not pose a threat to America and the world at-large. It's just sad that the trumpeters of the Iraqi war were playing to the wrong song. It's packed with faulty and "highly dubious" intelligence. The CIA has since admitted as much but I do not expect as much from a hack writting a book to profit from a "massive intelligence failure".

Reading DREAMERS is like returning to the astonished pleasure you felt when you first started reading fiction: that here was your own secret world, that here were people you really wanted to know, here was a new universe of ideas. So much of contemporary fiction, with admirable skill, drags us through places and into the company of people--and through a dreary suite of used ideas--that we would, if we were there, immediately plan to get out of, as out of a place of death. We read such works, if we do, to justify to ourselves the less creditable aspects of our lives. Butler's Santa Fe, and his characters, and his ideas, are alive: they raise us above ourselves. When we put down the novel we feel that we have saved the airfare in going there and the social trouble and embarrassment getting to know the people, and the years of scholarship we'd need for such intellectual insight. They are the home we always wanted, but did not know it.

The novel would be worth readi! ng alone for its brilliant theory of dreams, the first serious challenger to the basically Freudian theories that have framed psychological research and have dominated novelistic character development for nearly a century. If Butler is right about dreams, then a whole new kind of fiction will become possible. Among other things, the mainstream novel will become invigorated by the brash new energy of science fiction, while science fiction will acquire the depth and poetic richness of the best regular fiction. Add in the magic of the medieval dream vision and the shamanic fairytale, and the driving suspense and delicious paranoia of the contemporary mystery and the thriller, and the evocative language of a major poet, and you have DREAMERS.

Jack Butler is one of the sovereign poets of the English language and one of its greatest fiction writers as well. His last novel, LIVING IN LITTLE ROCK WITH MISS LITTLE ROCK (1993), was one of the landmark novels of the 20th century, breaking new ground in fictional technique. DREAMER is a more accessible book in the way that Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy novels are more accessible than McCarthy's first five works, two of which are among the greatest novels ever written. In DREAMER Butler reminds us that characters such as John Shade and Benjamin George, last seen in NIGHTSHADE, are very much alive and kicking way back here in the late 20th century, and that his talent for conveying stupifying dream sequences to the reader is even greater than before. As usual, he makes us feel sorry for some of the villains toward the end of the book (the deaths of the gay CIA operatives, Leonard and Toynbee, are almost unbearable in their cathartic beauty), and his heroine is not only sexy and brilliant but fragile in her sensuous quest for understanding. "What is it with you white people," asks the shaman in DREAMER; "I'm not asking you to BELIEVE in anything, I'm asking you to DO something!" To think deeply about the implications of this statement could change one's life. Add to this Butler's wonderful satire of such garbage as Language Poetry and the pretentions of California airheads newly moved to Santa Fe and the stage is set for a delicious, mind-altering read. The title is DREAMER, not "Dreamers." It's a delight of literary synesthesia. Grab it and fly forever, feel forever, forgive forever.

Reading DREAMERS is like returning to the astonished pleasure you felt when you first started reading fiction: that here was your own secret world, that here were people you really wanted to know, here was a new universe of ideas. So much of contemporary fiction, with admirable skill, drags us through places and into the company of people--and through a dreary suite of used ideas--that we would, if we were there, immediately plan to get out of, as out of a place of death. We read such works, if we do, to justify to ourselves the less creditable aspects of our lives. Butler's Santa Fe, and his characters, and his ideas, are alive: they raise us above ourselves. When we put down the novel we feel that we have saved the airfare in going there and the social trouble and embarrassment getting to know the people, and the years of scholarship we'd need for such intellectual insight. They are the home we always wanted, but did not know it.

The novel would be worth readi! ng alone for its brilliant theory of dreams, the first serious challenger to the basically Freudian theories that have framed psychological research and have dominated novelistic character development for nearly a century. If Butler is right about dreams, then a whole new kind of fiction will become possible. Among other things, the mainstream novel will become invigorated by the brash new energy of science fiction, while science fiction will acquire the depth and poetic richness of the best regular fiction. Add in the magic of the medieval dream vision and the shamanic fairytale, and the driving suspense and delicious paranoia of the contemporary mystery and the thriller, and the evocative language of a major poet, and you have DREAMERS.

Don't listen to some pseudo intellectual reviews for this book. If you like mystery, like from Dean Koontz, Patricia Cornwell or Tamy Hoag etc. then this is a great read.If you can imagine a mixture of Tom Robbins and Dean Koontz, that is pretty close. If you like Santa Fe or the SW to boot - read it!! Bernd Phoenix

I recommended this book to my mother-in-law who devours a romance/mystery a day. I also recommended it to my wife who is finishing her thesis on questions concerning gender in scientific inquiry, something that borders on an exploration of epistemologies or how we actually KNOW something. My wife does not, like her mother, read fiction purely for the escape. How could one novel satisy both readers? Butler excites everything you've got that's still working. You'll want to chew on some of his prose--figuratively as well as literally. Some of his juices from the cook book have over-runneth their cup. You'll also want a well stocked bar on hand as you read this. Not to numb your gray matter after Butler's serious musings on intelligence and dreaming set it spinning, but just because his characters drink as well as they eat. And as for all your other parts...well, people are different, but Butler's writing makes my wife downright squirming-in-her-seat horny. When a white southern male writer can do that to a feminist....

A quick, fun read. His stories say a lot about the human persona and our interactions/reactions with/to each other. We could all be a lot kinder to each other.

I have read the columns from Michael Suib in the Key West Citizen and the Miami Herald and have yet to figure out exactly where in Key West he spends his time. As a resident I can assure you that his vision of Key West has been candy-coated to best serve the wants of the readers and the needs of his pockets. He does spin the story well - but remember that this is fiction and don't take that cozy laid back lifestyle he portrays as what Key West is all about. That attitude left when the hippies filed outta Woodstock and is not what our island is all about. This is an island for the better class of wealthy tourists and second or third homeowners who value the finer things in life and have the money to spend.

UPDATE:Michael Suib, the author, has since left Key West for greener pastures up north. Sold his houseboat and is no longer the cabbie around town. He also no longer has a column in the Key West Citizen (and hasn't for many years) or the Miami Herald. Take this news as you may but if he really loved this town why did he leave? I guess it just proves my point - he really doesn't know Key West. Never has and never will.

Suib's prose reads like he learned to write from a J. Peterman's catalogue. He's wordy,pretentious, but likeable. Would be great writing for a high school English student's assignment on travel writing.

I have visited Key West every year for the past 15 years. I read Michael's column in the Miami Herald every week. I read the Key West Citizen every day.
"Confessions" was a pleasure to read. The form of the book is a series of about 70 or 80 articles Mr. Suib has written about driving a cab in Key West. It reminded me of the many reasons I love Key West. The book also pointed out the obvious problems within the Conch Republic. But it is the people who live & visit there who make Key West very special. And Michael writes about those people colorfully.
I may not agree with all of Mr. Suib's political views but his writings provide me with a connection that I deeply appreciate. My favorite article in the book is "My Wife is Gonna Kill Me" because it explains the old "Barracuda Ploy".

I've read this book twice and it makes me want to go back to Key West twice as badly. Great color and vivid characters. A good read

This book flows nicely. It gets straight to the point without being overly wordy. Anatomy is not the easiest subject for me, but this book does a good job of explaining the human body and it's functions very clearly and concisely. The diagrams are plentiful and clearly show all viscera, muscles and bones. These authors make use of drawings and cadavers. You really begin to understand the workings of the body systems and exact locations of all bones, muscles and cavities from posterior, anterior, lateral, and ipsilateral views....absolutely every angle and region is covered. A good amount of pathology is included within this book.

I ordered this great text book at a very unbeatable price, which saved me a couple of dollars as compared to the school bookstore. This site was really a life and stress saver. The book came in great condition and within the time frame. I really like the clarity of the pictures. Its very self explanatory---easy to understand. I love it and will never hesitate on purchasing my future text books from this site. Folks Keep up the good work in satisfying your customers. Thanks for cutting back on my stress for this semester. God bless you all.

The book was good was in excellent condition when it arrived. It came at the appointed time. I recommend the book if anyone is planning to pursue a field in medicine. It explains things, gives pictures and real medical stories pertaining to the particular topic.

Overall a very nice transaction. The only downfall would be that I bought the book "new" but it was not in the plastic, and it did not include the CD that a new book would provide. Shipping was fast and book was received in excellent condition. Thanks!!

Thanks for the super quick shipping on this book. It was in brand new condition.

A friend recommended this book--excellent resource on a variety of subjects. I've referred to it several times, finding a topic and reading that chapter. I bought one for me and a second one for my sister. I'll continue to refer to it through the weeks, months and years ago. I'd recommend this book.

This is exactly what I needed. All the answers to questions I hadn't even thought of! GREAT BOOK!!

This book is an exceptional reference for anyone who may care for an elder, who is taking care of their elder, making funeral arrangements for them, or who is settling their estate. It is comprehensive. The book includes, among other things, ways to approach sensitive topics with one's parents, preparing to contain crisis management, signs that an elder may need help, options, resources and best practices for application at any point from full health through closing an elder's estate. Additionally, the author understands the emotional and physical impact to the care giver and offers very helpful recommendations. This book was a tremendous help to me and, because of its pointers, my father. I used this book for the three years I had the privilege to be my Dad's care giver. I have given this book as a gift to numerous friends who have shared it with their friends and family.

I was alerted to this book by a friend. Originally, I used a library copy, but decided it was so full of information I may need in the future that I purchased my own copy for reference. It is the most help in one place that I have found.

This book was recommended to me by a co-worker who had dealt with the illness and eventual death of her father-in-law. It provided so much excellent practical information that I used immediately in caring for my parents. An added bonus is the reassurance it gives to me and my siblings as caretakers for the ones who once cared for us. Highly recommended!

To be given another chance to create and do what he loves the most it wonderful. As the Phantom slowly comes out of his shell and cocoon, you can picture this man without his mask, you can see him creating from his heart and you can share his sorrows and his joys. I have enjoyed these books and thank the author for going beyond the monster he was portrayed to be.

"The Phantom's Opera" is book 3 in Sadie Montgomery's "The Phoenix of the Opera" series. This book is as good as the first 2 and I was unable to put it down once I started it. Once again, we follow the adventures of Erik and Meg, Raoul and Christine, and those moving in and out of their lives. As with the other 2 books, the story is told from shifting perspectives, which give us a glimpse of each character's motivation, emotions and thoughts.

Erik and Meg are living in Italy, working in the new opera house built with Erik's participation. During a suspicious fire, Erik is presumed dead after rescuing those trapped within. But, he isn't dead! Having sustained a serious head injury, he awakens with no memory of who he is. Thinking that he is married to the woman who rescues him, he takes up what he thinks is his previous life. But he keeps having nightmares, about a beautiful blonde woman, and music that weaves in and out of his dreams. A woman he loves but cannot remember. A woman who isn't his wife! Feeling a restlessness he doesn't understand he returns to Rome, only to discover that his dream woman is the star of the Teatro dell'Opera. He is torn between what he feels is his duty to his wife, and his love for the beautiful diva.

I have become addicted to this series and cannot wait to see how the whole thing ends. It was so easy for me to feel the pain, love and frustration of these characters. I have begun to think of them as close friends. Ms. Montgomery has done a fantastic job of creating individuals that seem real, warm, haunted. I don't know if I will be satisfied with just 4 books in this series!

I loved the Phantom of the Opera movie and I feel that Sadie Montgomery's book closely follows the tone and imagery I would have if I had read the movie screenplay starring Gerard Butler. The phantom characteristics of seductive darkness and sexy duality of strong yet repentant villain/misunderstood victim of an abusive history really pull you into the plot. There is plenty of action in the book and personal character development to keep things moving, and I found myself unable to put the book down and eager to read the sequels as quickly as possible. It was nice to have the image of the piercing eyes of Gerard Butler constantly described and his amazing body finally finding some sexual tension and release--plenty of surprises and twists. Highly recommended reading for the romantic woman who enjoys the tragic love stories...

I just finished reading The Phantom's Opera...the third book in Sadie Montgomery's wonderful series! She really outdid herself with The Phantom's Opera. She finally pulled me in with Erik and Meg's relationship. I found that hard to accept and she did it in this one...for me! They were so suited for one another...just beautiful! What strength Meg had to be with him and not let on that she was married to him.......during his bout with amnesia! Erik was so passionate and loving....such a wonderful father and husband! I loved that Erik and Raoul became such wonderful friends....and the humor between the two was precious! I loved this book and cannot wait for the 4th one.....I don't know how it could be any better than The Phantom's Opera! You will love this one! What a fantastic writer Sadie is!

Having just finished Sadie's fourth installment, which I might add is as wonderful as the rest and Kleenex necessary, I find that this third intallment is my favorite of them all. Sadie brings Erik to an unforgetable innocence, taking a man with a violent past and making him a marshmellow in the presence of a diva he is deeply attracted to -- Meg. But you say, he's married to Meg already! Oui! How he is brought to that position, you'll have to read for yourself, suffice to say, it's an innocent endearing love he feels for her, untainted by the past. Sadie explores the depths of Erik's personality even more so in such a wonderful way, that you can't help falling in love with this character through every page. It also challenges each of us with the question what would you do for love. I highly recommend it.

Diana Butler Bass chronicles both her own journey and the journey of recent protestantism all in this one book, where each chapter describes a particular Episcopal parish in which she was a parishoner. The book is authentic and certainly interesting. Clearly, Bass' faith decisions were hard to make and the background information she gives both on the parishes and on the movements behind them add a lot to her story. Still, one wonders whether Bass' journey is truly faith-based--she makes decisions more on what's comfortable to her, not necessairly where God is leading her and might just be enamored with the institution of the Church, rather than God himself. In other words, she seems a bit too mechanical and well it works somewhat, this spiritual journey lacks a little spirit and a little heart.

Diana Butler Bass offers herself as a cherished and cherishing companion to the many souls whose journeys of faith have been erratic, halting, tentative, exuberant, and unorthodox. Her honesty as she shares her own sometimes limping, sometimes soaring travels (from a childhood Methodism through an evangelical path that she began to perceive as more and more restrictive, into the Episcopal church in several of its many manifestations), gives each reader permission to admit their own disappointments and dead ends, to grieve their losses and sorrows, and to celebrate their continually renewing and awakening relationship with the Living God who is Love Incarnate.
But this is more than an autobiography; it is a reflection on the anxious and hopeful state of the Christian church in the time and place of the 21st century United States. The diversity of faithful witness is heartening. The honesty of mistakes is not only comforting and amusing, but encouraging as transitions unfold from seeming tombs to radiant hope.
Diana Butler Bass is not only a highly trained observer, but a deeply skilled theologian. She is not content with simple answers or trite generalizations. She admits that she is a fallible witness, but that doesn't stop her from sharing the truth as she sees it.
You may not agree with everything she says, but you will be challenged and informed to deepen in your own reflections.
Well worth reading by anyone on a spiritual journey, including clergy, lay leaders, lifelong church-goers, brand-new converts, and anyone who wonders, "Who would ever want to go to church, anyway?"

As the daughter of a retired Episcopal priest and a "cradle Episcopalian," I was glad to see the term "Protestant" jettisoned along the way during my spiritual development in the Episcopal Church (when it was called the Protestant Episcopal Church until my late adolesence.) While not leaning to the "high church" (Roman Catholic format) of some Episcopal parishes, my father wasn't "low church," (Protestant) either--which to me is nearly synonomous with "evangelical". I saw him as one who leaned more toward the "catholic" side of the Episcopal church than the "protestant." He served in areas (i.e. towns and cities) very much influenced by protestant religious majorities, as well as where Roman Catholicism was the predominant religion, but retained his views throughout. He wore a clerical collar, not a coat and tie, at work. In some towns, my father was also my primary Episcopal priest, which can give an interesting perspective, as any clergy child can tell. Relocating to various areas of the country with him gave me a wide view of the Episcopal Church, including my father's attendance at an Episcopal seminary when I was an elementary school child. I was looking for a similar broad view in Bass' book, and it seems she rebelled for a very long time against anything but Evangelical worship practices which I found frustrating about her book. But to each his/her own in terms of what they like or don't like about the Episcopal Church. I miss the 1928 prayebook liturgy now as a forty-something year old, though I initially liked the modern language of the current prayerbook. Looking at the modern language now makes me miss the beautiful Elizabethan/Shakespearean language of the former liturgy.

Bass' book was an OK overview of how broad the spectrum individual congregations of the Episcopal Church can be, but I'd recommend Nora Gallagher's two books over this one.

Diana Butler Bass has done a wonderful job of describing her faith journey. It is witty, intelligently written, well documented, and compelling. It probably helps to be an Episcopalian to enjoy it and to see one's self in parts of the book. Bass is a churchgoer. Always has been. Always will be. I understand where she is coming from. However, her education and experience at eight different parish churches from Massachusetts to California makes very entertaining reading as well as giving the reader much to reflect on and ponder. There is nothing flip about this book. It is serious stuff and it is also uplifting. Her path in the church does not mirror mine, but that just makes the twists and turns in her faith life more interesting. It also explains why the Episcopal Church can be so frustrating to many and misunderstood by others. It is a journey worth reading about and who knows, you may find strength for yours there also.

Diana Butler Bass is a church goer. Always has been. Always will be. However her faith journey has been long and sometimes difficult. This is a very personal and compelling recounting of one woman's travels in the faith and also an interesting and thought provoking discourse on the condition of the Episcopal Church. Her church attendance has spanned the country. From Massachusetts to California and several places in between. She brings to the recounting of it, not only her description of her faith journey, but a scholar's understanding of the dynamics of the Faith. It is personal, it is uplifting and it is instructive. This is a wonderful book to read and reread.

Reiffen's Choice by S.C. Butler is the first book of the new young adult fantasy series, The Stoneways Trilogy.
In a world filled with so much wonder that the presence of talking animals, dwarves, and shape shifters seems mundane, twelve-year-olds Reiffen, Avender, and Ferris desire the good-natured fun of young people everywhere--sneaking extra candy, visiting friends, and complaining about school--all the while enjoying a safe home among adults who love them so that mortal dangers remain the stuff of myth.
When Reiffen, the heir to a great throne, is kidnapped, Avender and Ferris must put away the comfort and security of home in order to rescue him. But they are running out of time. Will Reiffen succumb to the temptation of wielding the power of magic--a power so great that his soul and self will be forfeit and death and destruction will follow in his wake?
Mr. Butler wields the power of words like a delicate knife. I was entranced by the first paragraph of his book.


One warm spring day in Valing, a large, fat bear sunned himself on the gray stone of the Neck. His russet coat gleamed, sleek as a nokken's: the long mountain winter didn't seem to have bothered him at all. Half-asleep or half-awake, he lay comfortably between the orchard and the top of the cliff, where the scent of the apple blossoms was almost as lovely as the hum of the bees. Behind him the lake glistened a deep and sparkling blue. Except for a long plume of spray from the falls to the west, there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

Valing? The Neck? Nokkens? Three unknown things in the first paragraph and I didn't care--the charm of the description carried me along.
Mr. Butler has written an innovative creation mythos to anchor his story, much the way J.R.R. Tolkein created a founding mythos to secure his world in The Lord of the Rings. While I could find logical nitpicks because of my technical background (training that I rue at times), in general, I found his mythos enchanting.
Though the character development of Reiffen, Avender, and Ferris fell flat at times because of a wandering viewpoint, Mr. Butler told their stories with an empathy and affection that drew me throughout the book, and, at the end, I knew that I would purchase (and have done so) the sequel--Queen Ferris.

Reiffen is the heir to both the thrones of Banking and Wayland, but b/c his parents' marriage was not officially recognized his uncle is king. Living in exile Reiffen is treated much like the other children living in the isolated community of Valing. Life is good at the Manor with this mother and his friends Avender and Ferris, until Reiffen is kidnapped by three evil Wizards who want to use him in their plans to spread chaos among the kingdoms of the world. Reiffen is thrust into a world where nothing is as it seems and choices are not what they seem. Meanwhile, his friends, with the help of Redburr the Shaper and Nolo the Dwarf, won't stand by to let him rot in the Wizards' dungeon.

Reiffen's choice is the rare bit of young adult fiction that not only spins a great yarn, but also takes us into fantastic situations that make us think about what happens when our deepest held convictions are tested to their limits. It is well written, fast paced, with memorable characters, and a twist you won't see coming. Very enjoyable for all ages.

As a fantasy writer myself, I often have trouble really getting engaged with someone else's work. It's hard to turn off the internal editor and just discover a new world, but this book did it for me.

It begins right away in a well-realized world, full of believable characters. The plot turns are startling and delightful to follow. For me, it's the voyage through the Stoneways that made the book take flight. Butler let me see things I'd never imagined. It reminded me of reading Tolkein for the first time, because my eyes were opened, my senses alert to the fascinating world around me.

My only complaint, in fact, is that Butler's Brydden are so intriguing as a people, and so different from the stereo-typical "dwarf" of fantasy, that I wish he had used his own terminology exclusively, in the way that he invented other perfect words for the things they made. I'm definitely looking forward to the next book.

Fantasy fiction is not my usual choice in a novel. However, my daughter encouraged me (actually she challenged me) to read at least a bit of Reiffen's Choice, which she insisted was an outstanding example of this genre. What a great read. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am delighted that there will be two more. Is the book targeted to 'young' readers? Perhaps. But as an 'old' reader I'm convinced that anyone, of any age, who has a modicum of imagination will be fascinated by the world and the characters the author has created.

Reiffen's Choice by S.C. Butler is the first novel in The Stoneways Trilogy. It also marks Mr. Butler's first published novel. Admittedly I had never heard of Mr. Butler, nor this novel, until I was perusing the shelves of a bargain book store and found it. That is one of the great things about bargain bookstores; they give you the opportunity to take a chance on authors, and books, that you have never heard of before. Here are my thoughts on this novel.

The plot of this novel is riddled with clichés and overused plot devices. What seems like an interesting concept quickly deteriorates into plot lines that I have read in countless other novels. Things such as a boy being the `true' heir to the throne are just heaped in unimaginative plots in this book. It almost seems as though the author picked plot points from a variety of different fantasy books and combined them into a book. If the book was not so repetitive of other books it may have been a decent read, however, as it stands it fails to capture my imagination or hold my interest. Other plot points include talking animals that can shape change and seem to have the one answer that will solve every situation, to the loss of a friend only to find out that friend is still alive and well. One or two of these minor subplots being clichéd and overused may have been okay, but this book just seems steeped in them.

The characters of this book are a mix of kids and adults with a few `exotic" characters mixed in. Characters such as Reiffen, Avender, Ferris, and Redburr are slightly interesting, but again the drawback of all the characters is that they are so predictable. I don't recall being surprised by any characters actions in this book. In fact I would even go so far as to say fans of the fantasy genre may be able to read the first one hundred pages or so of this book and know what will transpire for the characters throughout the book. The dialogue seems stiff and unimaginative. The characters say just enough to move the plot ahead without really focusing on character development. To me, the characters seemed flat and rather one-dimensional and mere card board cut outs of more interesting characters in other novels I have read.

Some criticisms about this novel:

1 - Too much description. There are several times throughout the book where Mr. Butler over describes things to the extent that the actual story becomes bogged down and sputters through the descriptiveness. While the adage of show don't tell holds true, sometimes show too much takes away from the story.

2 - The length of this novel. It is marketed as a young adult novel. However, at well over 400 pages and needless description it doesn't come across as such.

3 - The clichés and unimaginative plots and characters. When I read a book I am looking for something new and interesting. I got neither with this novel.

A positive about this novel:

1 - Mr. Butler's prose, with a little more honing, is good. It just seemed like he didn't trust his imagination instead using others as a crutch. Word choice, flow, and narrative were, for the most part solid. For a new author I was pleased with what I found.

In the end I simply was not satisfied with this novel. I wanted to like it, but the inconstancies, clichés, and repeated plot elements severely affects the novel. After finishing the book I was left with the feeling that Mr. Butler is a talented author and just needs to trust his own imagination instead of using plots from other author's novels. Maybe, fans who are just starting to get into the fantasy genre will appreciate this novel. However, when reading the cover blurb and seeing that it is being compared to Raymond Feist's Magician my expectations are naturally raised. This novel is no where nears Feist's work and it's a shame the publisher tried to place it up there. A may check in on Mr. Butler's later works, but my expectations will be much lower next time.

So I finally finished the patternmaster series. Not really a series, as there's no big finale but all the books are linked. I have heard that Butler didn't like this book and didn't want it to be printed again. I'm not sure why.

The only problem I had with it was the changing narrator. She went from 1st person with a human, to 1st person with an alien, and then to 3rd person. It was a bit jarring at times. Sometimes she would label the chapter with the narrators name but then she would change to 3rd person with just a couple lines of space.

As with her other books, this is sturdy work, well written and harsh. No hi-tech gadgets but some pretty cool aliens with a fully developed culture that reminded me of -Speaker for the Dead- in their alien-ness. The difference is that she writes shorter stories so her characters aren't as well developed as Card. So I like her stuff but it hasn't blown me away yet. Maybe the Xenogenisis trilogy will, I'm going to try to read that later this year.

Please Ms. Butler! I'm sure the publishers would jump at the chance. How about a limited edition release? People (like myself) are scavenging for any copy they can find, paying upwards of a hundred bucks just to get a worn out old copy of this book!

Ms. Butler has said that she's sorry this book was ever released. She knows what she's doing. This is a great story for any other SF writer. But it's mediocre coming from Ms. Butler. It's more shallow than her other stuff. Since it was out-of-print, I thought it would be the only story of hers that I would never read. I felt tortured until I found a library with a copy. I feel better now. But if you can't find one, don't torture yourself wishing you could.

I read this book several years ago and loved it so much that I bought it again when I misplaced the first copy. I can't believe the current price.

This book was straightforward and easier to read and understand than the other books I read by Ms. Butler. It was definitely worth reading!

It seems mrs Butler regrets that this book ever found its way into print. I guess I can understand this as "Survivor" is a much more straightforward and action-directed story than the rest of her work. Nevertheless I found this to be mrs Butler's most readable book. It has plenty of depth and lacks the bitterness that apparently always is present in her other work, and alway seems to be on the verge of spoiling it.

"Survivor" should definitely be reprinted!