Caldwell Books

I love this book. I found it very inspiring and empowering. Eases the burden of homeschooling and gives tools to a better education for your child. I highly recommend this book.

How can I review this book if it's been over a month and I haven't even received it yet?!!!

Don't read my review. Buy the book and read it instead. If you only ever puchase one book on home education, then let it be this one. John Holt is simply the best.

This single book completely transformed our family's plan for educating our child. After 3 years of perfectly normal, traditional (private and public) schooling, the light bulb went off and we are now embarking on the incredible journey of homeschooling. John Holt speaks such truth, and reminds us that all human beings are born naturally curious, wanting and able to learn. Imagine the potential of our world if each child spent 11,000 hours out in the real world, hungrily soaking up all that life has to offer, instead of sitting all day, being fed information to regurgitate with no apparent and immediate relation to their needs, their interests or their lives. Holt reminds us that "school" is a relatively new invention, and that earlier generations who could not only write exquisitely, invent, create, build and lead, were all schooled at home. Holt also helps every parent who has ever said "I could never homeschool my children" rethink the entire idea of being "the teacher". Rather, every parent can assume the role of "facilitator"... simply providing access, resources and examples... and watching the miracle of natural human development take off on its own. Take the journey. You will never look back.

Do you remember what they taught you at school? Me neither. I learned to read very early on, mostly at home, and I still remember some math, but only because I balance my checkbook and know when I'm getting correct change at the market. All those years, isolated from the real world in the artificial environment of school, sitting at a desk all day with 30 of my same age peers, how was I to learn about what an actual life in the world is like, or about what I wanted to do with mine? I remember learning to take tests. Now I never take them. A lot of it was pleasant enough, some of it was not, most of it was boring, and somehow I never noticed that I was mostly wasting my time.

Now I know better having read John Holt, a sweet, caring man and a wonderful writer. He's radical, but he never rants. He persuades, gently, eloquently. He learns through years of careful, loving observation and by trial and error and he shares that with you in a way that makes it seem as though he's one of your oldest, most comfortable friends. He reminds you of what you went through in school. He makes sense. He's fun to read. And you know he's right as you read him, because we have all gone to school.

Once in a great while you stumble across a work of fiction that makes you reevaluate everything you think, everything you feel, even everything you think you know. Michael Blumlein's collection The Brains of Rats contains twelve such works. Nine of these stories were previously published, and three of them were new when this collection was released by Scream Press.

upon reading these twelve stories the first question you will find yourself asking is: "what genre is this?" I can't answer that question. Blumlein can't answer it either. These stories are largely unclassifiable. They are truly Sui Genres, that is, they are their own category.



These stories defy comparison. While reading them one begins to think of Swift's most acerbic and caustic satire (think of A Modest Proposal), or Gibson's Cyberpunk (Mona Lisa Overdrive), or Saunders' Post Modern satire CivilWarLand in Bad Decline, or perhaps Lewis Carroll. But none of these are quite right. And yet, these stories call out toward all of these styles, and more. I guess the closest comparison is Roald Dahl (not the kid's books we all know, but his adult collections such as Someone Like You, and Switch B*tch), or perhaps the films of
Luis Bunel.


So, what are these stories about, you ask. Well, the title story concerns a doctor. He's male, but effeminate. He's married to a masculine woman who controls him. Sometimes he likes to cruise for men who will abuse him sexually. It seems that the doctor has discovered a way to insure that all children born from now on will be of a single sex. That is, he is going to choose which gender to eradicate. It never occurs to him that his decision (either one) will spell extinction for the human race. Along the way we get discussions of Jean D'Arc's sex, sexual deformities, and gonorrhea. This tale is presented in a paranoiac first person style that draws the reader into the skewed psyche of this very unreliable narrator. It is a queasy, yet exhilarating experience.

A few of the other stories include:

Best Seller is about a writer who's down on his luck. To support his family he begins selling parts of his body to a rich old man. Told in the form of diary entries, this story always remains distanced. This distance sucks all emotion from the story. It is cold, calculated. Beautiful.

Tissue Ablation and Variant Regeneration: a Case Report is presented like a paper written for a medical journal. Blumlein is, in real life, a practicing MD. It shows in this story. With cold, dispassionate precision he recounts how a patient "Mr. Reagan", is dissected while awake and un-anesthetized. This is done so that portions of his body can be used to produce much needed goods for the third world. This story reads as the most vicious satire I have ever encountered. In this instance, Jonathan Swift aint got nothin' on our boy here. If you thought Network was angry satire, think again. If you think MAD magazine is satirical, well, not by these standards. Maybe you think South Park is strong satire? Have they ever dissected a live, conscious human on South Park? I don't think so. The point being made here is not a subtle one. This is clearly meant as redress for the foreign policy adventures of "Mr. Reagan's" administration. This story is powerful.

Drown Yourself is a sort of Cyberpunk whodunit? Kind of a `guess who's an android' tale. Nicely done, even if the idea isn't particularly new or novel.

Interview With C.W. is a surreal little gem. Impossible to get a hold on, this story just twists around in your mind. Like all those tubes on Star Trek, it goes nowhere, does nothing. But it does it nicely. Entertaining in a nightmare inducing way. In fact, this entire book is like a nightmare that has gone terribly out of control.

Freud would have loved Blumlein's work. He would have relished all the scarred psyche's, the out of control Id's, the unresolved sexual tension, and the (dare I say it?) Perversion. Somewhere, buried inside the plots and characters that inhabit these stories, is a moral. It is this: we hurt each other. We break each other. We leave scars, and other distinguishing marks. We bruise, and batter and break the minds and souls, even of those we love. Perhaps of those we love most of all.

Blumlein slips into and out of different writing styles effortlessly. He is a master of the written word. He is a genius (I think that word is much over used these days, but in this case it applies). Each of these stories will grab you by a vital organ (or, at least one you think is vital), and drag you along. You will hate Blumlein for forcing you to look at the delicate terrors he has presented (a decaying corpse, a horny android, a wet suit and a sex swing, and a man who is making himself a defacto leper are just a few that will haunt you). But, in the end you will be glad you took the journey. You will finish this book, and you will be different.

A word about the physical aspects of the book itself:
Released by Scream Press, this hardcover is beautifully designed. Bound in black, with silver inlaid writing along the spine, it is a lovely book. The dust cover, faded blue with slightly grainy images of faces, set into these pictures are close-ups of faces and brains. The book contains nine wonderful illustrations by Stephen Elston. These drawings have the feeling of some strange collage. They depict cruelty and gruesome violence, mixed with odd Victorian sexuality. These illustrations perfectly fit the mood, and tone of the stories.
One illustration of note features a revolver and a microscope fused into one deadly piece of scientific equipment.

As a final note: this book was published in 1989. It was never a best seller. Most people have never heard of it. The world isn't fair.

The short stories in Michael Blumlein's "The Brains of Rats" are very difficult to classify by genre. In another sense, they're quite easy to identify; they're all very well written and fascinating. Though the book's spine identifies the collection as "horror," that label applies only to some of the stories. The title story, for example, deals with the questions of gender and gender identity. My personal favorite story is the second, a little opus entitled "Tissue Ablation and Variant Regeneration: A Case Report."

Written in a clinical manner, this story is heavy in medical terminology and describes an operation on a conscious albeit paralyzed man. Blumlein's style here is both complex and powerful. Though the writing seems to attempt to give maximum attention to the clinical nature of the operation, there is a subtext of the feelings of the man on the table; it is almost impossible not to empathize with the patient, to feel his agony to at least some degree.

The stories in "The Brains of Rats" are extraordinarily diverse, from relatively benign fantasy at times to the significantly darker aspects of "Tissue Ablation." Almost without exception, they are fascinating and engrossing. This book is highly recommended for those who enjoy well-written, short fiction of a speculative nature.

This is an extremely hard book to categorize; it's quite disturbing, teeming with unsettling visions of madness and aberration. That said, it's also quite engrossing, containing stories that worm their way into your brain, lingering in memory for quite some time.

Blumlein has a medical background, which is very evident in the work presented here. "The Brains of Rats" features a geneticist who holds the fate of the world in his hands. "Tissue Ablation" and "Best Seller" both deal with organ harvesting, but veer off in wildly different directions. "The Thing Itself" is a tragic story of love between a doctor and nurse, so full of physical and mental anguish you'll feel exhausted after finishing.

But Blumlein's talent goes beyond this, as demonstrated by the other stories in this collection. Highlights include "Wet Suit", an intriguing look at fetishism, "Keeping House", which demonstrates that cleanliness is not always next to godliness, "Domino Master", a moving look at child abuse, and "The Promise of Warmth", which would have made a memorable "Twilight Zone" episode (the story did in fact first appear in the late, lamented Twilight Zone magazine).

The estimable Harlan Ellison said of The Brains of Rats, "This is not a book for everyone. Only those who delight in splendid, original thinking and rich, pyrotechnical language need apply...Mr. Blumlein carves enigmas and fabulous dark surprises from the magic mountain of his imagination." I wholeheartedly agree.

My dad picked this up at random from an MPH warehouse sale in Kuala Lumpur. I don't think he actually read any of the stories...I don't think he knew *I* read any of the stories, or he'd probably have given it away. The general impression one gets from these stories is like the Corinthian character in Neil Gaiman's Sandman comics: creepy but really cool.

I'd never heard of michael blumlein before I read The Brains of Rats. I picked a copy up at a local library - and i've never been so fascinated. Blumlein has a wonderful writing style and his stories are some of the most bizarre pieces of fiction ever. This is one of the best authors of dark fiction that I've ever found.

Classic Bible Stories: A Family Treasury provides an excellent overview of the Bible. It is the best unbiased view of the Bible for youth that I have ever encountered.

The initial appeal of this book for children and adults alike is found in the beautifully illustrated pages of the book. The colors are rich and the realistic form is attractive.

Lise Caldwell stayed true to the original source content of the Bible and often included details that came as a pleasant surprise when double-checked for accuracy in the original Scriptures.

As a former school teacher, I found this book invaluable in constructing a Bible curriculum for a local private school. My students scored very high on standardized tests on Bible knowledge compared to students in other similar schools.

Eventually, I was asked to share my teaching skills in this area with other educators at an area conference with the Association of Christian Schools International. It was a pleasure to cite Classic Bible Stories: A Family Treasury as my primary source.

I have definitely selected Classic Bible Stories: A Family Treasury by Lise Caldwell as a first choice for gifts for children of family and friends.

This is a terrific book, my daughter loves it! On the cover, it has Joseph sleeping in his coat of many colors, dreaming of the sheaves bowing down to his sheaf. Throughout the entire book there is a realistic, vividly colored, full-page illustration to go with each story. The stories are not too long are too short. I can read two stories a night to my daughter (she's three) and also some other books. She loves the pictures and listens to the stories attentively.

A FAMILY TREASURY CLASSIC BIBLE STORIES contains 33 popular Old Testament stories, and 42 well-known New Testament stories; each your children will enjoy and learn a great deal from. I've been looking for a collection such as this since my daughter was born and this is the first one that I liked enough to purchase. I believe you will enjoy it as much as your kids do, I know I do! Enjoy.

I ordered this book for my sunday school class and I was VERY
impressed with the book. The pictures are beautifully done and the
stories are wonderful. The children in my class loved them.

Every two year old that graduates from our church's nursery receives one of these books. The book is well-written and beautifully bound and illustrated. It makes a wonderful presentation as a gift and will be cherished for years to come by the whole family.

We received this book as a birthday gift and now spend each night reading two stories. The pictures are absolutely beautiful and the stories only take a minute or two to read. This book is now a permanent part of our bedtime routine. My six year old loves it and asks for it each night.

I first bought this as a matter of mild interest--I liked the cover art.

But I got a big suprise! Caldwell has real talent! His cross between cartoon zaniness & noir sensibilities is a crowd-pleaser, & darn easy on the eyes.

While the rabbit character could use some development, the villainess, Madame Bleu, is a full-bore loon, & suitable for catch & release into Gotham City. Not that Gotham has any shortage of villains, mind you...


All in all, this gives you a heckava lotta bang for your buck, & I bought the second volume. I hope there is a third. Caldwell is well worth your time & money.

He has been my favourite author and artist after the first encounter with his book, Action Cartooning! This small comic book printed on newsprint was a good read, enjoyable, fast paced and fun. The actions were dynamic and were drawn with lots of energy. For first time readers, this is a must-buy. For all time fan like me, it would be a great collection!

Caldwell's work is absolutely inspiring. His style with dynamic characters, rich backgrounds, and superb villians makes for very entertaining reading. The characters he has created are some of the most interesting and original that I have seen in quite some time. The Dare Detectives only flaw is that the story is over far too soon. If you are a fan of comic art, this is a must buy.

This is a really fun comic, from the badguy pandas
to the clumsy toby,and of course the price, This comic gets a 5 star review

At just 6 bucks, or less, a 96-page color digest comic is already a great deal-- but animator Ben Caldwell's witty and well-thought out story, and stunning, animated art make this my favorite comic of 2004. Dare Detectives is a bit of a mystery, featuring a likeable, and interesting cast of characters-- the cigar-chomping Ms. Dare, her loveable, yet goofy muscular helper, and...a surly rabbit. The baddies are made up of monsters, dragons, and PANDA BEARS. There is also a making of section in the back-- very cool. This book is cool for kids of all ages- in a Looney Tunes sort of way!

The authors once again have written a fine book which looks at landmark closing arguments. In this book, the third in their series, they focus on noteworthy crimes that formed the basis for trials. You will read the closing argument of Clarence Darrow, one of the 20th Century's most famous lawyers, that he gave in 1925 when he defended an African-American family that shot at a mob that was attacking their home. What I really liked about the book is that the authors put each trial in the social context in which it took place. In the example above, the authors give the reader a great insight to the racial tensions that existed in 1925 which provides needed background in order to understand the significance of the trial.

Yes, some chapters get pretty boring...but in all of the "Greatest Closing Argument" series, there's atleast two that truly shine. In this book, I personally enjoyed Gerry Spence's defense.

If you are a quick reader, or someone who is not bothered about spending a couple hours on reading about how someone supposedly killed someone and this and that supports what, this book is for you. If you cannot stand reading for more than ten minutes, you should save that money for movies.

Truly amazing and inspiring, beautifully read, a must for any litigator.

This is a great book. Not all the arguments in the book are closing arguments, some are arguments made before the Supreme Court such as in Ch. 2, but all the cases in the book are very good and fascinating. What I really love about the book is that the authors give plenty of background information on the case and the events that led up to the case. This is a must read.

I simply cannot heap enough praise. Oh...how I wished I had this audiobook - of nineteen disks - when I studied criminal justice and trial practice in law school.

What makes this book extraordinary? The audiobook provides dramatic recreations of the great speeches before juries or stirring appellate arguments before the Supreme Court coupled with comprehensive and intelligent contextualization. The cases and arguments are explained within the framework of American history and jurisprudence. For example,in discussing the landmark case of Mapp v. Ohio which created the
exclusionary rule for evidence obtained in violation of the Bill of Rights, the authors delve into the history of the Warren Court, the biographies of the justices, the social changes in the 1960's and the entire legal history of search and seizure from the days before the American Revolution to the time of the argument and beyond. Yes, it is the marvelous background and explanation that makes this a five star book. Thinking of a gift for that young adult who just took her LSAT or gained admission to an Ivy League law school? This is IT.

I loved this book! I couldn't put it down once I started it. It captured me until the very end. I am sure that I will read it again. It brings you in and captures your interest. It makes you realize what you have could be taken away in an instant. It makes you want to live everyday to the fullest. It gives you an outlook on people dealing with an illness like no other. I felt like I was really there with them during their trials. I wanted to be there. I would recommend this book to anyone.

This book is a heart-warming, heart-wrenching book about the Caldwells and their fight with and for their son Brian through cancer. Ms. Steffke-Caldwell fills the pages with her many thoughts and feeling as well as facts. She also attacts the health care system who refused to make referrals for the proper treatments and also questions drugs used, especially the high levels of Tylenol that Brian had taken, convinced that it caused his liver cancer. Ms. Steffke-Caldwell obviously did a lot of research for this book. The medical information is astoundingly easy to understand. But the biggest reward is to understand the love, fight and determination the family had and how it led to the ultimate eternity for Brian-Heaven. Read the book! Brian, some day we'll join you. Will you lead the music?

This book should be read by everyone. It is a story about parents having to watch their son die of cancer. It speaks of medical frustrations, parent/son relationships, husband/wife relationship and of their walk with the Lord. At times I cried at times I felt an overwhelming love. Ms. Steffke-Caldwell does an awesome job. Buy it, read it. You will be rewarded.

This book tells a dramatic, spell-binding true story that will indeed move you. Superior use of dialogue. The story progresses quickly; chapter after chapter moves directly toward the book's memorable conclusion. Highly recommended

As a hospice nurse, I deal with end of life issues on a daily basis. Unfortunately, my perspective as a health care provider can become narrow as I muddle through my day to day routine. The battle to remain fresh and helpful to my patients and their families is ongoing. Ms. Steffke Caldwell's book was a poignant reminder of the family in crisis' perspective. It gave me a glimpse into the hearts of some loved ones who were being battered and bruised by an often impersonal health care system. It reminded me of the confusion, fear and helplessness which accompany families and patients facing terminal illness. Besides being well written, this book gave me fresh incentive to work towards understanding the myriad of emotions experienced by my patients and their families. This is a must read for those of us who are committed to delivering the best to those people placed in our care

The authors have done an excellent job on this overview of the aerial defense of the Reich during daylight. The night defense is touched on as it impacts the daylight defense, but the focus is the daylight defense. In addition to the air combat reports of aviators, which you can also find in other books, this book has the big picture of the overall strategy and organization and the overall military outlook and how they worked together with the technology to drive tactics as the war progressed. I've read a lot of other books on this area and still learned a lot from this book. Good selection of photos too. Highly recommended!

This book fills a gap in the usual study of the history of World War II. We have had many books about the part played by the RAF and the USAAC, but what was happening on the other side? This helps fill in the gaps in the total picture.

An exceptionally well written book that reads very easily even while taking on what can often be a very dry subject... organization. In that role the book fills in many gaps that have been missing in previous works. If you're looking for a re-hash of which was better the mustang or the focke-wulf, or which side over-claimed victories more, this isn't it. It deals purely with the air defense of the Reich and is a marvelous telling of what decisions (and who made them) resulted in the German's loss of air superiority over their own country and the struggle by the men in the cockpits to prevail even after the outcome was unavoidable. Highly recommended!

Don Caldwell is well known for his excellent JG 26 unit history and if you enjoyed that I should think this would be an automatic purchase...
However an overview of the air battles that raged over Germany during the strategic bombing offensive in only 320 pages was always going to be a hard task- as it is this book only covers the day battles - no mention at all of the RAF's campaign. The book is relatively large format and the narrative scope is wide. The main events are related chronologically but while the material is nonetheless well organised the book reads a little breathlessly at times. It is not a scholarly work - nor is it an Osprey. Chapters 1 & 2 cover the period 1914-1941, while other chapters deal with the 'Oil campaign', 'The big 'blow' that never fell' and 'The final desperate expedients'. The text is detailed, very readable and well written, with most 'big' dates (7 July 44, 27 Sept, 2 November, 14 January 45, 24 March 45) given reasonable treatment within the space allowed - however the style of treatment probably makes it a little difficult to pick out certain themes that might be of interest, eg the bomber destroyer activities of the Bf 110G-2 and Me 410 ZG Gruppen, or the Sturmgruppen. That said there is an index..

Photographic content is OK, but you wouldn't buy this for the pictures.. There are of course a number of portraits of JG 26 personalities (perhaps too many portraits, but I guess they were easier to lay out) .. Otherwise the text has a good number of pilot accounts - although some of these are severely curtailed no doubt for reasons of space, eg Ernst Schroeder's long account from 17 December 1944, which in the JG 300 history published by Eagle Editions runs to over five pages of text... Elsewhere Caldwell's map and diagrams are good as is the lengthy discussion of fighter command and control techniques and organisation, fighter doctrine, morale and motivation and the summing up. A little irritatingly perhaps the authors use their own term 'RLV' throughout - standing for Reichsluftverteidigung or Reichs Air Defence - but I've never seen that abbreviation in any German language text...but probably a useful shorthand I guess..

One criticism; when dealing with my favorite unit JG 300 - leading Reich's Defence Geschwader - the authors have used some old and unreliable sources such as Jung, Hennig & Bethke & Dahl. ..While III./JG 300 had specifically been charged with the defence of Berlin there is no sense here of JG 300 as the leading German air defence unit of 1944/45. Bretschneider downed by flak on 24 December 44 ? .. from Hennig & Bethke's fanciful account ..the Kommandeur of the 'newly-formed' IV./JG 300 lost on 17 December..? ...Maj. Heino Offterdinger survived the war - pictures of his 'Green 45' taken in March 1945 feature in the JG 300 book. Elsewhere the account of Walfeld's (II./JG 300) ramming on 11 September 44 is taken from Walther Dahl's largely discredited memoir - unfortunately Wahlfeld (spelling) was a Sturmstaffel pilot and this incident occured in January 1944 and featured on the cover of an edition of the Berlin Illustrierte Zeitung. Similarly the G-6 photo taken from Jung on P234 is not 'Yellow 2' in the fall of 1944 but 'Red 12' in the summer of 43 at Hangelar.. and so on...
That said these are nit picks and this is probably the best we could have hoped for between one set of covers...so recommended without hesitation...

The product of a 10 year-collaborative effort by noted Luftwaffe authors Donald Caldwell and Richard Muller, LUFTWAFFE OVER GERMANY is a well-researched, well-written, fast-paced account of Luftwaffe air defense operations. Equal parts critical analysis and popular history, the book is must reading for air war enthusiasts.

Caldwell, who wrote the marvelous JG 26 trilogy, and Muller pack a great deal of information in the book's 290-odd pages of text. (If anything, the subject cries out for more pages). After tracing the development of German air defense from 1914 to 1939 in their first chapter, the authors discuss the initial air assaults by RAF units from 1939 to 1941, America's 1942 entry into the European air war, the American build-up from January-June 1943, the air defense's great victories in the last six months of 1943, the turning of the tide in January-April 1944, the oil campaign that lasted from May to August 1944, Adolf Galland's attempts to rebuild the fighter force (September-December 1944) and the final desperate struggles in 1945.

Throughout the book Caldwell and Muller do a first-rate job of weaving together myriad combat reports, technical reports, meeting minutes and other materials into a cogent and fascinating narrative. Their discussion, analysis and conclusions regarding the German - and Allied - developments in the air war make for fascinating reading. Among the most startling - to me- was their assertion that the Germans lost the air war in l943, long before they suffered crippling losses, by not diverting sufficient aircraft to air defense operations. A number of commanders on both sides likewise come in for well-deserved criticism.

The text is illustrated with over 190 photographs of commanders, aircrew, aircraft and combat scenes. Had space allowed, the book would have benefitted from the inclusion of diagrams of Luftwaffe and USAAF combat formations and attack tactics.

Make no mistake about it: Caldwell and Muller's book is a major addition to the literature on Luftwaffe air operations. It may, in fact, be THE definitive book on the subject. Highly recommended.

To my surprise while researching our Louisville, KY genealogy roots I came across the connection of Miss Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch and Louisville. I had never realized the author was from Louisville. I opened my book case to find my 1962 copy and re-read it at once. It was as if our family stories came to life. The poverty of a hard scrabble life along with ingenuity were just as my Granny described her life. I think if you can get a child to read this and understand what roots our people have in poverty (not just something now known in their minds as a distant third world problem)it could really enlighten them.

I was first introduced to this story some 33 years ago by my fourth grade teacher, Ms. Elsie Sanders, at Kimberly Elementary School. To this day, I vividly remember the values conveyed through Mrs. Wiggs actions. This is a book that should be read aloud to an audience. It inspires young minds to creatively and compassionately respond to life's challenges, as well as inspiring one to get more involved in reading. I give it two thumbs up!

This is a gem of a children's book. I highly recommend it for kids over 10 and adults. It's a story about a poor family led by a very eccentric matriarch. The children's adventures will delight young readers. Adults will shed some tears, because the story deals (in a compassionate and hilarious way) with serious themes -- poverty, equality, social responsibility, family ties, loss. Granted, the book will seem old-fashioned today, but everyone I have ever known who has read this book has felt enriched and has kept it on the shelf to revisit periodically.

Most children were privileged to read about Mrs. Wiggs in grade school but I only recently discovered this delightful little book. Mrs. Wiggs turns lemons into lemonade, finding good in everybody and everything.

My mother bought an old copy of this in the mid-fifties and read it to me as a bedtime story. I think I remember her telling me that her mother did the same thing for her back in the early part of the century after moving here from Vienna, Austria.

[Miss] Rice had remarkable writing skills, and also a fertile (and rather profound) imagination. All this is displayed firstly in her recreations of the poor white southern dialect coming out of the mouths of Mrs. Wiggs and her family - the speech cadences are marvelous, and very musical. But there are also the little snatches of poetry and proverbs she composed for the beginning of each chapter, which truly border on the sublime. And the occasional descriptive passages are full of feeling and artistry, clear-sightedness and wisdom.

There are plentiful little seed thoughts, scattered discretely to instruct young people, and not only consciously. Even if one doesn't understand this or that little gem, a child would tend to embrace it, taking it in on some level - each one serves its young patrons well, beginning to work it's little lifelong magic. This is a very deep, free-flowing child psychology, several years before Freud's more cantankerous "discoveries" became widely known and intellectually fashionable.

Much of this "short" story is about the interaction between the poor and the rich, and how each serves to enrich the life of the other. This is done in a well-rounded fashion, never becoming preachy, often with beauteous touches of humor, tenderness, and sadness. Sure the story is in big print, and it's obviously not Henry James, but there's nothing going on here that could ever be termed 'simplistic'.

I guess you could say that back in the old days when literacy was considered more a gift than somewhat of a burden, they really knew how to instruct, as it were.

Item arrived in condition as described.
Delivered on time.
No problems!

What mommy and/or wife doesn't wish sometimes that Calgon would REALLY take her away?

The Rebel Housewife Rules by Sherri Caldwell and Vicki Todd is a compilation of delightful personal anecdotes that most wives and mothers (except the Stepford variety) will relate to. It will not only keep you smiling from start to finish; but it will remind you that you don't have to be perfect, like the Kool Aid mom on TV. Your family will love you, even if you aren't June Cleaver.

This amusing, lighthearted book frees women from the myths many of us grew up believing, such as:

* You can turn a frog into a prince (i.e. change your husband),

* A Normal Rockwell Christmas is possible (without fist fights under the tree and mashed potatoes flying at the table).

* If I'm a good mom, I'll produce perfect children

Rebel Housewife Rules is an enjoyable read that reminds women to keep things in perspective, remember what's most important, and take one day at a time. Most of all it reinforces what we all know deep down: we should just relax and enjoy our families. This delightful book will help you to do all that you really CAN do: live, love, and laugh.

~ Marsha Jordan ~
Author of Hugs, Hope, and Peanut Butter
www.hugsandhope.org

This book is hilarious! The writing style is fun and familiar and the book is hard to put down. Sherri and Vikki did a great job of making the every day job of being a wife and mother hysterically funny. I have to admit, this book also made me feel better about all of my shortcomings. Who knew that other mothers and wives felt the same way? It is a great read and I highly recommend it!

I'm a stay at home mother of 2. This book helps you laugh at yourself especially when you have those crazy days!! This is a good book for any woman who is married or not, w/kids or not and working or staying at home. We can all have a laugh with this book and learn tidbits of info on how to make it better!

I had the grand privilege to meet Sherri this summer. She was a warm delightful woman. Consequently, it came as no surprise when I read " Rebel Housewife Rules..." to find it equally delightful and upbeat. (I get the sense that the other half of the dynamic duo, Vicki Todd, also ranks high on the delight-o-meter scale.)

The book is fun, warm and very real. It deals with women's core life issues of husbands, children, family, friends, sex, house repairs, and nurturing one's self. It talks about how to have an affair...with your husband. You get helpful advice for real women in the real world, i.e., when you find yourself near the breaking point with your husband, kids and chaos, put a little Kahlua in your coffee. (Yea!)

Although the book is chock full of funny moments and clever humor, there are creative practical suggestions on how to cope with being a woman, mother, wife, daughter-in-law, and yes, an actual person. One particular suggestion I love is that we pay our children to do their chores and if they fail to complete their chores, leaving us to do them, we take money out of their account. They pay us to do their chores! Great idea. (Dr. Phil would be proud.)

Each chapter exposes a myth, for example: The Myth, "Honesty is the best policy in marriage, family and life," then offers The Reality, "We all need `little white lies' to get by...." Then we get The Rule, "Learn to keep your mouth shut so your foot can't get in," and then the Rebel RX: "If you can't say something nice... make something up." (I love that line!)

There wasn't one of the thirty-eight busted myths that I couldn't relate to in a big way. It praises the human spirit and lets us chuckle at ourselves. The book exposes our human foibles and reinforces that all important wisdom we sometimes forget: to be perfect...well, just doesn't happen.

With tasty tidbits for women in their everyday lives, "Rebel Housewife Rules..." is a fun, upbeat book for fun, upbeat women.

Carmen Richardson Rutlen - Author, Dancing Naked...in fuzzy red slippers

I read this book twice a number of years ago and the thought that this can possibly be true is very spooky!

Jess Stearn and Taylor Caldwell were friends. They shared the same literary agent. At the opening of this book they were at a social gathering and debated the premise of reincarnation. Taylor Caldwell stated flatly that she didn't believe in it. Stearn admitted he was skeptical as well. Hence, their search for the soul began -- Stearn full of enthusiasm, Caldwell full of doubt and denial. Jess Stearn took Taylor Caldwell to a hypnotist and lo and behold, the skeptic Taylor Caldwell told of the many lives she lived, all revealed over numerous hypnosis sessions. I won't say much more (don't want to spoil it for you), but I will tell you that this was a fascinating (and fun) read. Jess Stearn's skillful writing makes you feel like an old friend is sitting with you telling you a story. This book is very much worth your time and energy to read. Don't miss it.

Taylor Caldwell did not want to believe the evidence of each hypnotic regression. Yet each time she came out of each session she felt remarkably better.

All her previous books were written as if she had experienced them first hand. After they began to regress her to her previous lives, they found she had actually experienced the events before ever writing them. One example is the book "My Great Glorious Physician" She was actually able to describe the surgeries performed in Ancient Egypt, as if she had performed them herself. Research later verified the procedures to be authentic. Other titles elude me at this time, but the subject matter some of which were "The deciples of Christ", in which she was Mary Magdeline. The Lives of Socrates and Pluto", The story of Judas and how he felt about the betrayal. Plus contents of many books she was yet to write.

Fascinating reading on reincarnation, psychic lives and the relationship of physical and emotional ailments with our past lives

The last thing I recall Caldwell saying in this book was that she did not believe in what Jess Stearn and the Hypnotist was doing, and she hoped that it would never be proven to be true

One thing I was impressed by was a constant sore neck and always being cold, in this particular session it was found out that she had died by hanging in a cold, wet well. After she was returned to the present time, she no longer had the neck pain, and felt much warmer .

Again I repeat how fascinated I was, and how I experienced knowlege and amazement beyond my wildest imagination.

Review by Elizabeth

While in medical school I realized the body is nothing without the soul and started reading about the soul being the intricate part of you. While the body changes,the soul continues with you as seen by Ms. Caldwell's experiences. Why do you recognize certain places and dislike certain people? Is deja vu an imprint from a past life? That is with what this book tantalizes us.A completely objective evaluation of Ms.Caldwell's past lives lets us to think that we are a compilation of our past.

At the time book was written Taylor Caldwell was still alive and having read her books "Search for a Soul" provided an insight into her writings and the basis of her knowledge of ancient times. This book explains how her knowledge baffled others when she actually had no formal education. I highly recommend it for her fans and persons with an interest in reincarnation.