Butler Books

I bought a few copies as early Christmas gifts because I know my dad and brothers are big fans. After flipping through just the first few pages of photos and text, I knew I made the right choice. The author really covered his tracks. The photos are fantastic! There's no better time in the midwest than fall -- and this book seems to bring out the best of that season.

Touchdown! This book drives the length of the field to take the reader on a journey through small towns and big cities who live and die for football. The tradition of Ohio High School Football is second to none and Butler's brilliant narration mixed in with interviews from coaches, players, parents and fans captures what Friday night in the fall is all about - a social gathering of sorts where football is the main focus. Rothchild's photography allows the reader to experience every facet of Friday night football from the star quarterback to the mom selling programs to raise money for the band.

Across Many Fields is a must for anyone who loves high school football.

I hesitated to buy this book because I had read some negative things about it on some Ohio high school internet sites. Then I browsed a copy in a local bookstore and realized how foolish I was to wait. This is one of the finest books on high school football I've ever seen (and I own many).

Across Many Fields is about football with capital "F". Having read it now (which I suspect some critics have not), I realize the authors were looking for the whole picture and that people unhappy with it were upset because their team wasn't represented. Well, this book isn't about one team or another. It's about all the teams in Ohio that strap on the helmets each season and all the people who support these young men (and a few women).

The pictures are tremendous, glorious and the writing is smooth and creative. For any football fan, for anyone who has relished the crisp autumn air on a Friday night in a local football stadium, this book is a can't miss. You'll be transported!

This book took me back to my high school years. I was a 320 pound offensive lineman. The 4 years I played high school football were the best of my life. I can never get them back, but with this book I was able to bring back all my memories. Chris and Jen have provided ex-jocks like me something to hold on to. I reccomend this book to anyone who wants some way to recall those glory years of high schoo.
Giles Powell.

While Across Many Fields chronicles the 2001 Ohio high school football season, this book is to be enjoyed by all -- regardless of the reader's geographic location. Across Many Fields goes well beyond statistics and X's and O's to explore the very essence of high school football; whereas a Friday Night Lights exposes the darker side of a big-time high school program, AMF is a celebration of the sights, sounds, athletes, and communities that make autumn evenings special for so many. From big-time rivalries to small town tradition, this book explores high school football with a depth and passion that make it a captivating read.

Handsomely photographed and insightfully written, Across Many Fields is a timeless tribute to a uniquely American institution.

Here is a unique work of reference for the embroiderer. As a result of extensive research and experience, Anne Butler brings together some five hundred individual stitches used in embroidery through the centuries. Each example has been worked by the author and photographed, to the same scale, to illustrate the complete stitch. Accompanying each photograph are diagrams explaining the step by step method of working the stitch. For ease of reference and identification, Anne Butler has grouped the stitches under families and these include: Line; Couchings; Stem; Running and back; Herringbone; Feather; Fly; Cretan; Buttonhole; Chain; Straight (including cross); Single Unit (such as woven wheels); Edgings; and Filling stitches. The colour plates show the working of the more complex stitches. Anne Butler (now Professor Anne Morrell) lectured at several schools and colleges before becoming Principal Lecturer and Head of the Embroidery School at Manchester Polytechnic (later Manchester Metropolitan University). Examples of her work have been exhibited all over the world, and her embroidery is much sought after by provate collectors, with many items purchased for public display. This definitive encyclopedia of embroidery stitches will be of the utmost value to everybody interested in embroidery, regardless of age or ability, and it is a book which no student of embroidery, at any level, should be without.

This book was a milestone in embroidery... every stitch you could possibly want to use, identify or practice is in here. A great book for working embroiderers or even just identifying the best stitch for mending things

This book, the result of extensive research and experience, brings together some five hundred individual stitches used in embroidery throughout the centuries. Each example has been worked by the author and photographed to the same scale, illustrating the complete stitch. Additional diagrams explain, step by step, the method of working the stitch. Most highly recommended!!

If you are at all interested in the medium of embroidery, or want to try it yourself, this book is the absolute essential- the Embroiderers' Bible, if you like! Nowhere else is there such a comprehensive descripton of stitches, with diagrams showing you how to do it. The author is renowned in her home country of England, and also here in India, where she was born... in fact, she has recently been lecturing here, showing us how to do stitches from our own traditions!

Discover exciting new ways of adding interest and variety to your embroidery designs! Here, you can choose from some five hundred individual stitches used in embroidery through the centuries! Each example has been worked by the author and photographed to the same scale to illustrate the complete stitch. Accompanying each photograph are clear diagrams explaining the step-by-step method of working the stitch.

The beginning of the book jumps into action when Canadian Valerie McCormick witnesses the murder of two FBI agents while on vacation in Seattle.

The FBI has been trying to track down this evasive Miquel DeOlmos. Witnesses end up dead when they try to testify against this Latin drug lord. Valerie agrees to help, but she has no idea what's in store and ends up in a witness protection program only to find out it's not enough. When her children's safety is at risk, she takes matters into her own hands by hunting down DeOlmos herself.

My only complaint was I didn't completely believe all of the FBI procedures. Keep in mind, I'm not expert and all of it might be true. As a reader, I wasn't convinced.

Although the story was about the FBI and witness protection, it had a CSI Miami feel to it. I loved the story. The characters were crystal clear with depth. Once I got started, I had trouble putting the book down.

Joylene Nowell Butler is an author to put on your watch list. Her books are packed with non-stop suspense and I look forward to reading more.

More reviews can be found on http://j-kaye-book-blog.blogspot.com/

If Chapter One doesn't force your adrenaline pumping--you better check your pulse. You've ceased breathing.

Author Joylene Nowell Butler words on a white sheet of paper is the equivalent of a master painter creating a scene that comes to life on canvas in every detail. The reader will make the same journey as her characters--and sense the action, joy and sorrow, as witnessed and experienced through fictional eyes.

Ms. Butler is as talented as those whose names are featured on the bestseller list. Pack up your beach bag, suntan lotion, and a copy of Dead Witness--then lean back in your lounger and enjoy the ride.

--WR.PARK, author of the highly acclaimed suspense-thriller COMA

No good deed goes unpunished.

When Valerie McCormick takes time from her vacation (which she won) to take a photo of a boat one of her husband's clients is wanting to buy. She has only 15 minutes to do this, but that's okay--she can run down the pier. While rushing down the wharf, she comes upon the scene of a double murder of a pair of FBI agents and everything changes.

Valerie is now running for her life whether she knows it immediately or not. The killer, Miguel DeOlmos, is the head of a South American drug cartel no one has been able to identify and that's the way he wants it. DeOlmos is the kind of man who can smile killing a faithful retainer.

You can barely catch your breath while you're reading, "Dead Witness" moves so quickly. Valerie is a flawed and fascinating character as is her antagonist.

This is Ms. Butler's first novel and I sincerely hope it is not her last. If you can find a copy of this book, grab it--and reserve about 4 hours to read it. You won't want to stop.

Rebecca Kyle, September 2008

Imagine being on an innocent vacation - one that has been won, no less, and suddenly being the unwitting witness to a murder. To top things off, this is not just any murder, but the murder of two undercover FBI Agents, the gunman one of the highest on the most wanted lists and the leader of a powerful Latin drug cartel. Murder is horrible enough, but with these dangerous circumstances, it can be deadly to the witness.

Valerie McCormick, a wife and dotting and loving mother of three precious girls, lives in a small Canadian town. After winning a trip to Seattle, Valerie is alone when she encounters a seemingly heated conversation between several men. Before she knows it, one of the men pulls out a gun and kills two of men, right before her eyes. As she turns to escape, she drops her camera, which just happens to have one picture of herself in front of the hotel that she is staying at. Being the honorable person that she is, Valerie goes to the police with what she has witnessed, and her life is never the same again.

Imagine being a mother whose one true purpose and reason for living is her children. Then suddenly being told that you will never again be able to see your children and if you do not cooperate, you will be putting those precious and cherished lives in grave danger. This is just one, but the most vital heart wrenching circumstance that Valerie must come to deal with. Until the murderer is found, her life is no longer her own and it does not take long for Valerie to take matters into her own hands.

Invoking on a dangerous and life threatening quest, Valerie comes face to face with horrors that would break the average person. However, finding a deep inner strength and courage unlike any other, Valerie does what must be done to save her family and regain her life.

I loved the character of Valerie and felt easily connected to her. The development that she goes through, as she engulfs upon this life threatening journey, is heartwarming and makes the reader want to cheer her discovery of inner courage and strength.

Ms. Butler does a superb job of bringing the story of Dead Witness and her characters to life. I found it difficult to put this book down and though greatly satisfied with the ending, I was left wishing for more. Dead Witness is an excellent story of suspense with just a dash of romance thrown in. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a great read - you will not be disappointed. From the first word, until the last, there were never any dry spots, over-wording, or story lagging. I, for one, cannot wait to read more by this author and hope that the wait is not long!

Joylene Nowell Butler's mystery, "Dead Witness," is a heart pounding, visceral story about a mother's love for her three daughters and the impossible decision that faces her: should she endanger her own and her family's lives by testifying to a murder she witnessed?

The primary character, Valerie McCormick, will win your heart. Vulnerable and full of self doubt, she is fiercely strong when her family is threatened. And the antagonists, the deadly DeOlmos brothers, are creepy, charming, and gorgeous - enough to make any sane reader get up and lock the doors.

Ms. Butler, a Canadian native, sets her tale in Seattle; Prince George, Canada; and Los Cabos, Mexico. The story races from one place to another, leaving you gasping with its twists and turns. The delightfully complex plot rivals any police story I've read, and the compelling characters far surpass those usually found in genre fiction.

If you like a dynamic read with remarkable characters, get out and buy Dead Witness

The Iliad*****

The Iliad is a story of martial heroism and a fascinating historical document. Although the Iliad is a fictional account, it provides considerable insight into ancient Greek warfare, technology, society, and metaphysics. To someone who's not being forced to read it in high school, the Iliad offers considerable attractions.

As the story opens, the Greeks and their allies are camped near the walls of Troy, many years into the Trojan War. Achilles, a demigod and the fiercest warrior among the Greeks, is angered by the commander of the Greek forces and withdraws from the fighting. Despite the loss of their best warrior, Ulysses and Nestor persuade the Greeks to continue their war against the Trojans. Throughout the rest of the book, over a period of several days, the two forces slaughter one another with arrow, sword, and spear, greatly preferring the latter weapon. The reader learns about the armor and shields that the fighters used, and every possible way they can fail their owners. The narrative focuses on the most prominent men on each side, but the opposing armies numbered in the thousands. Homer relates the action in terms that his listeners would understand, either realistically ("Diomed struck him in the middle of his neck with his sword and cut both sinews ...") or through simile ("... as a couple of well-trained hounds press forward after a doe or hare that runs screaming in front of them, even so did the son of Tydeus and Ulysses pursue Dolon ...")

There is a great deal of appreciation of martial spirit and character in the text. At one point, Sarpedon turns to Glaucus and says:

"Glaucus, why in Lycia do we receive especial honour as regards our place at the table? Why are the choicest portions served us and our cups kept brimming, and why do men look up to us as though we were gods? Moreover we hold a large estate by the banks of the river Xanthus, fair with orchards, lawns, and wheat-growing lands; it becomes us to, therefore, to take our stand at the head of all the Lycians and bear the brunt of the fight, that one may say to another, `Our princes in Lycia eat the fat of the land and drink the best of wine, but they are fine fellows: they fight well and are ever at the front in battle.' My good friend, if, when we were once out of this fight, we could escape old age and death thenceforth and for ever, I should neither press forward myself nor bid you to do so, but death in ten thousand shapes hangs ever over our heads, and no man can elude him; therefore let us go forward and either win glory for ourselves, or yield it to another."

The men encourage one another during the fighting, and share their strength. Diomed "of the loud war-cry" agrees to spy among the Trojans at night but asks for a companion: "When two men are together, one of them may see some opportunity which the other has not caught sight of; if a man is alone he is less full of resource, and his wit is weaker."

Interludes between the fighting offer scenes of a kind of domesticity and a glimpse at societal structure. The Greek leaders eat, drink, and rest in their tents, attended by large retinues, and the common fighting men sleep on the ground, using their shields as pillows. Decisions are made in assemblies that include all.

The fortunes of the two opposing armies wax and wane, and their fortunes are attributed to the gods, who intervene to help their favorites and even fight among themselves.

I read the Iliad rather slowly, over a period of three weeks or so, mostly before going to sleep at night, and drew a considerable amount of pleasure from it. The Samuel Butler translation is superb.

The Odyssey***

This Homeric poem focuses on Ulysses, one of the Greek heroes portrayed in the Iliad. When the story opens, Ulysses has been away from home for ten years, and a great deal of the book recounts his fantastic adventures as he tries to return to Ithaca. Meanwhile, at home, a group of suitors courts his wife, Penelope, while they eat his livestock and drink his wine. When he arrives home, Ulysses prowls about in disguise to establish who has been loyal and who disloyal in his absence. This done, he unleashes an unbelievably violent revenge on the suitors and their allies among his household staff.

Ulysses' adventures are highly imaginative, and, as in the Iliad, it is interesting to see how the ancient Greeks supposed that the gods intervene in our affairs. It is interesting, too, to see how they tried to read the gods' intentions through portents and omens. The extreme violence is rather surprising to a modern reader, and the poem could possibly be criticized for its rather abrupt resolution of the conflict between Ulysses and the other townspeople.

This book was a gift for my son. He is enjoying reading this book

It has been years since I had a chance to get reacquainted with one of the classic writers, Homer. I've been able to do just that with this book. Mr. Ford has provided me a copy of both the Illiad and Odyssey, in one paperback. I consider this larger paperback an easier format that allows me to concentrate on the story at hand.

I don't often recommend books to my wife (an assistant librarian at our high school)but I believe she should order several for our students. Job well done!

Homer - The Iliad and The Odyssey is a great book. It is considered to be a classic for good reasons: it is a good read, it deals with really important matters, it is superb literature and it is a landmark in the history of civilization.

For about two thousand years, it has been on the reading list of most educated people in the Western Hemisphere. Undoubtedly, it will still be part of the curriculum at most of the world's colleges and universities two thousand years from now. You just can't consider yourself to have received a proper education without having read this great Greek classic.

While you are at it, you should also read:
Aristotle - Ethics and Politics
History of the Peloponnesian War
and
Anabasis: The March Up Country

Classics like these are not stuffy, pompous, overblown literature as some ignorant anti-intellectuals might think. They are genuine looks at life by excellent writers who had something important to say - and said it well.

It is hardly an exaggeration to say that Homer is to World Literature what Shakespeare is to English Literature. With the two books combined into this one volume - the scribe, scholar, genius or whatever Homer really was - made a mark on literature that stands alone. The epic siege of Troy and the adventures of Ulysses are so deeply ingrained into the consciousness of Western culture that these works are a part of us even today.

The world of literature, and culture itself, owes a debt to Homer that cannot even be estimated. To not have read (the movies are but pale imitations) the Iliad and The Odyssey is a loss beyond description.

Anyone who has AA or loves someone with this condition will benefit from this book! Not only does it have up to date information about the condition, treatments, wigs and concealment strategies, but it is so funny. Sometimes it can be very hard to laugh about this condition; it robs you of part of your identity. This book does it, beautifully!
Not only did this book make me laugh out loud, but it validated many of the feelings I had when first afflicted with this condition. For women especially, this condition can be very isolating. If you have Alopecia, or love someone who does, buy her this book!

What's on one's head seems to matter a lot to a lot of people in the world. "If Your Hair Falls Out, Keep Dancing" is a guide for sufferers of AA, also known as Alopecia Aretea, to cope with their disorder. The disorder, not well known to the public, causes hair loss all over one's body - most importantly, the head. With a focus on women sufferers, although men can have it as well and could benefit from the advice within, she tells her story about dealing with it all, including the annoyances of wigs, covering it up, and how to deal with people finding out that you're a bald woman, a look that hasn't been accepted in modern society. "If Your Hair Falls Out, Keep Dancing" is a fresh and inspiring look at dealing with a disorder that shouldn't be anymore than what it is - a mild annoyance.

If ever I become bald, I would make tracks to the book store to purchase Leslie Ann Butler's book on alopecia. It is funny, smart, instructive and entertaining. Any woman who is hair-challenged, in any way, should read this book as the words Leslie Ann writes will inspire and you might even want to run out and purchase a fabulous hair piece, wig or any other hair enhancer. I am not hair-challenged but I thought her words could apply to many other medical challenges - deal with the cards you are dealt and discover a way not to feel like a victim. Leslie Ann is a living example of what she writes: Love your life and it will love you back.

The book is wonderful!! It explains things so well yet is not doom and gloom. Emily especially enjoyed the "Don't you just hate it when..." section. Never before has she laughed so much about alopecia. What a wonderful gift you have given my daughter, helping her see a lighter side to alopecia. I cannot thank you enough for that.

Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (6/08)

Losing one's hair is probably high on the "disaster" list for most people, and I would imagine even higher for women than for men. That is why I found it so surprising - in the best possible way - that the cover of Leslie Ann Butler's " If Your Hair Falls Out, Keep Dancing!" is so cheerful looking and so attractive. Looking at the cover illustration one cannot help but feel joyful and uplifted; having said that, I need to add that the author's artwork, included throughout the book, lends a similar upbeat, positive tone to the entire book and makes it visually extremely appealing.

Leslie Ann Butler wrote a tremendously important and impactful book for people suffering from the auto-immune disorder called alopecia areata, which affects nearly five million people in USA. Having been affected herself - and with the most severe form of it, leading her to lose all of her hair everywhere - she is in the position to be not only highly informative, but also highly personal and compassionate in her writing. The book stays upbeat, giving hope - but not false hope! She offers advice for just about any "sticky" situation a person with alopecia areata might find her- or himself in.

The opening chapters deal with the facts about this immune disorder - what it is, what could possibly cause it (nobody really knows...) and what could help alleviate it. Later chapters deal with the day-to-day living with alopecia areata - when and whom to tell about it, how to deal with your hair loss in different "extreme" situations (think sports and sex...), how to travel with wigs, how to choose the right wig and how to deal with loss of eyebrows and eyelashes as well as what your options are in such situations.

The last few chapters, while still practical, really deal with this condition from the psychological perspective, helping one accept the hair loss and coping with it in a positive fashion, as well as even finding some positive aspects in it. No more bad hair days, anybody? How about not having to pluck those pesky stray facial hairs ever again?

The Resources section at the very end of the book should prove to be an invaluable selection of contact information for both the general information about the disorder and sources for wigs and other items the alopecia areata sufferers might need or want.

Warm, upbeat, but first and foremost realistic and informative, "If Your Hair Falls Out, Keep Dancing!" by Leslie Ann Butler, would benefit anybody with alopecia areata or anybody who in any way cares for or about somebody with it. Gorgeous illustrations turn it into a work of art and the written part turns it into a very valuable resource and a deeply wise work.

In this book Dean Tracey Lind writes beautiful "stories" which she experienced in her own life, but they are more than that: the collection of essays are a sincere testimony of faith in God's creation and all its highs and lows, light and darkness. Her creed is not simply an autobiographical compilation of events in Tracey Lind's life, but it is a caleidoscope of the true world around us. The reader can easily find herself/himself in these stories, either as the people she encounters, or having encountered similar characters in one's own life. So, the author invites us to find God in the creation around us, and in all of the creation, not merely in a few postcard images which we may treasure above the full reality of our worldly existence. God is everywhere, and Tracey Lind wants to remind us of that fact in our daily journey.

This book brought me to a place where I haven't been in a long time. It gave me a chance to see God, through the essays and photographs of Tracey Lind. To truly see hope in these words and through depictions of those who are normally seen through not noticed,is life changing. Tracey Lind captures a rare vision and shares her space with those in the book as well as with us. God is truly at work. This book is a must read for all. Tracey's special insight into our Creator in unsurpassed.

This is a book for those for whom the traditional church is perhaps not especially relevant. Out of her mixed, "edgy" background, Lind challenges conventional thinking about what is a church, and what is God. Her stories, about the interruptions through which she has met the Spirit, argue for a wider, more inclusive faith.

The author's highly personal story illuminates Jesus' life and teachings. There is no us vs. them self-righteousness in this book. And we aren't encouraged to believe that faith alone will bring us to God. To the contrary we are challenged to go to the uncomfortable edges of life, including inside ourselves, to find God. Lind's book made Jesus' life and teachings more accessible for me. To love the stranger is to know and to love God. I am glad to have been introduced to this book.

While one is tempted to dwell upon these striking black and white photographs that seem to capture the soul of the subjects (individuals and places), the essays themselves are what really push the "edge" in gaining a glimpse of the Divine in the lives of people who inhabit the margins of daily life. The book is also an extraordinary value. It's rare to find a hardcover book of this length, with photographs, slighly oversized, at $24. A true gift for any reader.

A beautiful selection of tales and descriptions that only Yeats could have told. He lived in Fairyland, you know.

This is a new and expanded version of the original volume published by in 1892 under the title "Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry." It was subsequently re-titled, "Irish Fairy and Folk Tales," and has seen several editions from different publishers.
This edition, with an illuminating forward by Paul Muldoon, also has other additions that help the reader penetrate the sometimes dense and archaic language. If I had to choose between the original edition and this one, I would definitely choose this one. The main body of the book is identical to the original.
Both Yeats and Lady Gregory were especially concerned that the best of the tales from the Irish countryside be preserved before their main purveyors, the Shenaches (storytellers) vanished. Those collected here are a varied lot, and not all of them will appeal to every reader. That, however, does not affect their value at all, for here a way of life is preserved and we can look through a small window into the beliefs and habits of the Irish people in the days when the "Fairy Faith" was still common amongst them. It is probably best not to read the collection straight through, but rather peruse it, selecting from it that which most appeals.
Yeats's singular contribution is the dividing the denizens of the Irish Enchanted Countryside into categories: The Trooping Fairy, The Solitary Fairy, the Sociable Fairy, etc, together with Ghosts, Witches, Giants and the like. Within each "type" there are essays, songs, poems, hearsay, histories ... in short, something to appeal to every taste, as long as that taste has a goodly sampling of fancy about it.
These fairies are not the gossamer winged, luminous beings of Victorian paintings. These fairies are as likely to curse as to bless and it does not benefit the unwary or skeptical to offend them. Here are pookas, leprechauns, far darrig, Ban-Shees, and lanawn-shees.
These creatures were ever present to the Irish peasantry, and were forgotten with the industrialization of modern times. Fortunately, thanks to the efforts of Yeats and others like him, much of this world was preserved for us.
Some of the stories and poems retain their Irish intonation and syntax and may be difficult for some to follow, but patience will be rewarded; One can almost "hear" the storyteller and the bard.
This is a volume well worth going back to again and again.

This absolutely charming collection of stories truly represents the best of "fairy" tales in which the fairy folk feature prominantly as well as a number of other folk beasties. WB Yeats has managed to capture all of the humor, fright, and love involved in the fairy world and it is a joy to follow him around in a world he seems to know so well.

In this delightful volume, first published in 1892, William Butler Yeats has collected all manner of Irish folklore (mostly short stories, with a few poems) from a wide variety sources. He has divided the works into categories as follows: the "Trooping Fairies" (fairies, changelings, and the "merrow" or mermaids); the "Solitary Fairies" (the lepracaun, the pooka - an animal spirit, and the banshee); "Ghosts"; "Witches & Fairy Doctors"; "T'yeer-na-n-Oge" or "Tir-na-n-Og" (a legendary island said to appear and disappear); "Saints & Priests"; "The Devil"; "Giants"; and "Kings / Queens / Princesses / Earls / Robbers." Yeats introduces each section with background information on the creature the stories in that category will concern. He also includes numerous footnotes of interest, making this book a valuable resource for anyone seeking to learn about the tradition of Irish folklore.

While I have given this anthology a five-star rating based on it's value as a source of information on Irish mythology, it would probably be worth only four stars for entertainment value alone. Some of the stories are very short and/or don't have much of a point, and are less interesting. These tend to serve more as testimony to the nature of a particular mythical being rather than being an actual story with a plot and message for the reader. Nevertheless, the book as a whole offers a very comprehensive look at just what defines Irish folk culture. The stories that do have a point sometimes take the form of "how things came to be this way" tales, or provide a moral lesson, etc. Many of the stories are rather dark, as that tends to be the nature of lore from this region, but there are also some lighthearted and cheerful pieces.

Despite the book having been compiled more than one hundred years ago, most of the stories are quite easy to read. Yeats makes things even more simple for the reader by making footnotes where old Irish words or phrases are used, giving us their meaning. However, there are a few stories that have been left in a more archaic form, which is distracting and a bit harder to decipher. Take, for example, the following excerpt:

". . . the minit he puts his knife into the fish, there was a murtherin' screech, that you'd the life id lave you if you hurd it, and away jumps the throut out av the fryin'-pan into the middle o' the flure; and an the spot where it fell, up riz a lovely lady - the beautifullest crathur that eyes ever seen, dressed in white, and a band o' goold in her hair, and a sthrame o' blood runnin' down her arm" (pg. 46).

I should probably make note of the fact, for those whom it might interest, that although the title page says the book is "profusely illustrated," there are actually only a few pictures. I believe only six of the over seventy stories are illustrated, and these with simple (but nice), old-fashioned line drawings in black and white. However this is not really a criticism as I view it, since I like the book for its literary content and wouldn't really care if it had no pictures at all.

One of the things I enjoy most about literature is finding connections with other works I've read, and "Irish Fairy & Folk Tales" does not disappoint in this regard. Many of the pieces are derivations of other, more common fairy tales. For instance, "Smallhead and the King's Sons" (Ghosts / pg. 194) incorporates some elements from both "Cinderella" and "Hansel and Gretel," while "The Giant's Stairs" (Giants / pg. 355) has some similarities to the story of "Jack and the Beanstalk." There are more connections like this. On the whole I found this book to be very enjoyable, and also a valuable read from a literary / academic standpoint. I'd certainly recommend it to anyone interesting in the history of Irish culture, the study of fairy tales and folklore, or both.

Yeats has long been one of my favorite poets; however, I did not expect his re-telling of Irish Fairy and Folk Tales to be up to his poetry standard. With that said, let me say he does an excellent job re-telling these old stories and if you have any interest whatsoever in fairy tales or Irish Mythology, read this book. "The Trooping Fairies" and "Witches, Fairy Doctors" were 2 of my favorite chapters but overall the whole book is a delight to read. It's an easy read, some stories are funny, some are scary, but most are just entertaining. Also there are some poems mixed in with the stories which add to the story-telling. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

In this novel, also published as Bertie Wooster Sees It Through, farceur supreme P.G. Wodehouse brings together all the elements for a delightful Bertie and Jeeves adventure: the endangerment of Bertie's bachelorhood, threats to his physical well-being, Aunt Dahlia's magazine Milady's Boudoir, the necessity for Bertie to steal jewelry, the possibility that Aunt Dahlia will have to part with her marvelous cook Anatole, and more.

Bertie's narration, always a joy, is in particularly fine form in this novel, and, as always, Bertie's engagement is broken off when his fiancee decides to wed another, Anatole stays with Aunt Dahlia at Brinkley court, and things in general turn out for the best, thanks largely to Jeeves's genius. Any veteran reader of Wodehouse's work knows that this will be the case, but Wodehouse's genius is such that the book is an absolute joy, anyway, on the first reading or the seventh.

I listened to this again for the first time in over a year. It has lost nothing. Every humorous incident is just as funny the second time around. Wodehouse has an ingenious way of pulling you into comedic situations and you're suddenly there before you realize it. Jonathan Cecil is one of the best of the Wodehouse narrators.

With delightful, tongue-in-cheek humor, P. G. Wodehouse continues the adventures of Bertie Wooster, an often silly member of the upper class who depends on his much more sensible "gentleman's gentleman," Jeeves, to keep his life from falling apart. In this novel, Wooster has been growing a mustache for the two weeks that Jeeves has been on a shrimping holiday, and he fears that Jeeves will not like it. Sure, enough Jeeves does not, and neither do any of his other friends--except for Lady Florence Craye, his former fiancée, now engaged (to Bertie's great relief) to Stilton Cheesewright.

The fate of the mustache is only the starting point for Wodehouse's comedy of errors, however, as Bertie goes from London to his Aunt Dahlia's country home, where Lady Florence, Stilton Cheesewright, and Percy Gorringe, a young man who wants to produce a play based on Lady Florence's book, are also in attendance. As Lady Florence and Stilton Cheesewright play out their on-again, off-again romance, Percy is casting longing eyes at Florence, who is flirting with Bertie, once again.

As is always the case with Wodehouse, events quickly become more complex. Percy wants Bertie to invest one thousand pounds in the play. Aunt Dahlia, wanting to sell her magazine, decides to "salt the mine," secretly selling her pearls so she can serialize a novel by a famous romance author to make the magazine more attractive. Her husband, at this point, decides to have the pearls appraised. Bertie takes Florence to a nightclub to "do research for her new novel," and he is arrested. Not surprisingly, it is the resilient Jeeves who comes to the rescue, time and time again, proving that good sense and grounding in the real world are far more important than the silly pretensions of Bertie and his friends.

Wodehouse's gentle satire of upperclass life makes his novels appeal to a broad spectrum of readers. His word play, consummate sense of irony, and ability to make dialogue sound simultaneously absurd and realistic create a fast-moving set of outrageous scenes in which Jeeves, the "gentleman's gentleman" proves to be the real hero, the one person who knows how to live in this silly world. Mary Whipple

To the ever growing Audio Partners catalogue of complete books on tape can be added yet another of those hilarious Jeeves novels, this one called "Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit." Written in 1954, this Bertie Wooster epic brings in many characters familiar from earlier works (Roderick Strode, Aunt Agatha, Uncle Tom, Frances Craye, Stilton Cheesewright) and many all-too familiar situations. Yes, Wodehouse does repeat himself, but I look upon it as ringing the changes. A line of bells is a line of bells, but their various combinations are what make things interesting.

Again Bertie is trying to avoid both marriage and having his spine broken in an increasing number of places, again having to purloin a valuable object to help out his only likable aunt, again depending on Jeeves first, middle, and last to extricate himself from dilemmas of his own doing and (at least in this book) those of others. Of the four actors assigned to read these novels and short stories on Audio Partners tapes, I think Jonathan Cecil is the best. He gives Wooster just that goofy intonation and all the other characters their due, making this set of four audio tapes a real humdinger. I have grown to realize that it is not so much that Wodehouse says funny things as that he says ordinary things in a funny way. That is why almost all of the Jeeves adventures are narrated first person by Wooster himself.

Just the ticket to cheer one up after a hard day or during a long boring drive.

As a PS, there is a very good life of Wodehouse by David A. Jasen put out by Schirmer Trade Books, "P.G. Wodehouse: A Portrait of a Master." It makes an easy read and brings you closer to the creator of the dreamworld in which lives the Woosters and the rest.

P.G. Wodehouse writes in a Dave Barry meets Agatha Christie style which makes you laugh out loud. P.G. Wodehouse was Agatha Christie's favourite author for a good reason. He gives you a visit to England in 1930 (or thereabouts) and plots with every twist you can imagine. In this one, Bertie, the upperclass twit, gets himself into the usual fix, and Jeeves finds a way out. The plot carries you along and keeps you in both suspense and stitches. Please listen to it if you have even a smidgen of the blues! If you have kids who are intelligent teens, this is a great family car trip book.

Great book to accompany How to Study in College by Walter Pauk and Use your head - Tony Buzan.
Great on concept idea map building and how we can learn better or more efficiently.

This book teaches two tools. One is the V-diagram which involves a sceintific discovery approach of looking at an event which you ask a quetion about and that can be approached using reasong using concepts in terms of principles in the context of a theory or doing observations, recording transformations and forming conclusions. This is something you can use in everyday life. The second tool of "concept mapping" is like similiar mindmapping ibut is also different in it's structure. I found its method much better in terms of forcing me to organize concepts into principles into a whole of a theory. Its numerous examples of both tools from elementary and high school didn't dumb down the text but instead game me many insights because it explored common errors in reasoning and how a teacher can use these tools to diagnose what are the mistaken assumpitons in the student's mental model.. GREAT BOOK! Not a book of slick techniques. But two powerful tools once mastered that help you be lifelong learner on the job and in life.

Concept Mapping is a way to organize, display, and develop information. This well-written and informative book describes very nicely how it can be used in education. For educators, scientists, information technologists, and anyone else interested in clear presentation of information.

This is an excellent book for researchers, or anyone in the sciences. But for most people this book will be too difficult. If you would file a book titled "Theory Construction" under Architecture, you would have difficulty with this book.

The author discusses Concept Mapping (Entity Relationship diagrams for computer people) and Vee Diagrams, a template for structuring knowledge on specific concepts.

He shows how these two tools can improve learning in students. His examples start with a science class that uses a laboratory to teach practical skills and scientific method learning to students. For these students, the two tools become important for structuring knowledge and directing future research.

His results show that students need to make learning relevant to their existing knowledge and these tools will help do that. His results show an initial drop off in standardized testing after applying these tools, but then the scores pick back up and exceed standard rote-learning. I would agree with this -- if you're talking about the upper 20 % of the students. But I can't see the class laggards buying into these tools, as they require the student to be in love with their subject. These tools show you how to go deeper and how to find new knowledge.

I would recommend these tools for advanced classes and motivated students. I agree with the author that they will help researchers push back the envelopes of knowledge on their fields of specialization.

The Vee tool forces a template of things to "Think" and "Do" when you are formulating questions on a topic. Although perhaps tedious for some, it appears to work very well. I liked it very much. Students in a science lab can use these templates to decide what questions to research, what tests need to be run, how to know if they are successful, etc.

It is in this scientific area where the big payoff for these Vee charts are. I doubt that John Q. Public is going to find them as a useful tool on everyday learning decisions. For this reason I recommend this book for any type of researcher. The author describes how these Vee Charts have been used successfully by graduate students on their theses.

But John Q. Public can easily apply the Concept Maps. And, the author uses these maps as a tool to interview and assess students. The author also uses them to help develop books, articles and learning materials.

This book would be excellent for someone who has read Kuhn (scientfic revolutions) and wants to find some tools and methodologies for extending knowledge in his field.

I think the author is correct in most of his work. This book is particularly recommended for graduate students doing any kind of research papers.

John Dunbar
Sugar Land, TX

This author deserves great credit. He developed the concept mapping concept during the 60s and has been researching it ever since.

The book itself is very clear. The most important aspect is the theory that supports the practice. However, for the average reader, the book will add a great deal of knowledge for helping to apply this technique and set of principles.

There are a wide veriety of styles and examples throughout. Unlike the ridiculous new age hype supporting mind mapping, Novak
gives a refreshingly accurate picture of what you can expect from using the techniques, thus, allowing the reader to apply concept mapping appropriately.

This book is useful for all wishing to improve their ability to learn.
Regards
Victoria

Life's No Fun Until You Get Your Feet Wet! by Stu Tinney, is a wonderful journey through life. Stu Tinney has not just gotten his feet wet; he has dived into life with enthusiasm, sensitivity, and humor. Each story in the book reveals his enjoyment of people and life, sharing his perceptions and experiences with a crisp style and the ability to evoke vivid mental images. Tinney's skill as a storyteller makes this the kind of book one starts reading and keeps picking up in order to see what the next chapter has to offer. Treat yourself to a grand journey.

Stu, I am calling you Stu because after reading your book i feel as though I know you. You gave me insight into you as a boy and as a man I grew to like. The stories you shared about the famous, near famous and not so famous had me grinning, laughing out loud and on occassion shedding a tear. I am a non-fisherwoman who is a voracious reader. I had to be convinced to pick up your book. It is not about fishing, it is about life and you wrote it with heart, love, understanding and humor. Thank you for allowing me entry into your wonderful life.Jeanne from Florida

Every chapter, a short story
Every short story, a gem
I read most of this book in an all day retreat, the culmination of which left me feeling blessed.
Mr Tinney's book conjures up a time when life was simpler, paths clearer, and people friendlier. It suggests that that time is not lost. The book hints that the American Dream is still alive for those with a passionate pursuit, an open heart, and a sense of humor and gratefulness.
Read a chapter for a sweet treat at the end of a long day.

What a lovely book to read chapter by chapter. The author was able to document those stories that left an impression on his growth and development into what appears to be one fine human being.

I laughed, I cried, I felt like I was right there in all the adventure highs and lows. This writer takes you by the hand and draws you into the tales...each chapter stands on it's own, like the Herriot tales of All Creatures Great and Small...and strums a few heart strings, but split my sides too!!! Only these are true stories. Although some of the people involved were the famous..I enjoyed the ones involving we regular type folks the best!
I loved the fishing information..the descriptions of the catch left me drooling..but it is so much more than what I expected...I think couples will find both enjoying the read....Thumbs up! Careful if you read on a plane full of people, they will stare at you!
In a word...delightful.