Coleman Books

Jandor Mason founded the Action and Adventure Club when he was fifteen. Now ready to graduate and go off to college, he and the other seniors were preparing for their last yearly adventure with the A&A Club. The twenty club members board Mr. Eastman's private jet with their chaperone, Mrs. Guardman. The plane heads for the Isle of Adventure and the boys and girls aboard have no idea just how big an adventure they will soon be involved in, nor just how much it will change them and their lives.



None of the members of the A&A Club have ever heard Mendala. But they are about to collide (or is it merge?) with it and its people, good and bad. Their task? To destroy the Book of War, find the Five Jewels, and save the Universe. Their destiny? Read and see.



Harry Potter, Stargate, and Xmen, move over and make room for the Quest of the Seal Bearers. Thank you, Alan (W. G. Coleman) for the new world to explore and new people to meet.



Reviewed by Wanda C. Keesey

With the long-lost Book of War, wizard Davron can summon creatures who cannot be killed. He invades the mountain command of the world's leader and sends the legal government into exile, then consolidates his gains. But that world is only the beginning of Davron's plans. Using magical powers, he hopes to expand from one plane of existance to the next, until all of creation is under his control. The Book of War was defeated once before, and the planet leader, Fantasma, knows that he'll have to assemble the descendents of the original warriors who defeated the book thousands of years earlier. But the descendents aren't on the planet at all--instead, they're on Earth.

The Action and Adventure Club of Greengale, USA, is planning its big annual adventure. They agree to attend a fantasy-adventure resort, but Fantasma's power sends their plane into a crash landing in an uncharted island. Once there, Fantasma explains his dilemma, including the fact that the Action and Adventure Club contains the descendents of the original heroes. The group is sent to Fantasma's world, but something goes wrong--and they are scattered across both time and space. Gradually, they seek to find one another, facing attacks by Davron's armies and Book of War creatures. Worse, Davron captures one of the members and somehow converts her, making her his wife.

Author A. W. G. Coleman has many of the ingredients of a successful story. The fish-out-of-water Earth humans in a magic realm is always popular. The powerful and destructive enemy who is aided by treachery in the good-guy camp generally creates the basis for some interesting adventure. And it's obvious that Coleman has put a lot of thought into his world-building with such fun (if weird) innovations as a place where everyone becomes comics, two incompatible forms of magic power, and thousands of years of history. Coleman's prose is workmanlike enough, not distracting the reader from the story.

A few flaws keep QUEST OF THE SEAL BEARERS: THE WARRIORS RETURN from reaching its potential. The large number of club members, with frequent scene changes between them, makes it difficult to keep track of who is doing what, or to learn enough about the characters to care about their problems. If Coleman had intended QUEST to fit into the humor class of SF/Fantasy, he needed to push the envelope a little harder and give a few more laugh-out-loud moments. If that wasn't his intent, it's hard to understand why he included some of the settings and action. Then there's excessive good fortune of the school-aged club members, coupled with incompetence on the part of the enemy. It's hard to take the adventure seriously when the enemy is so incompetent.

QUEST comes close to being truly enjoyable. It has a lot of positive energy and ideas. Unfortunately, Coleman doesn't quite pull them together into a meaningful whole. Still, QUEST makes a light fun read.

Thousands of years ago on the planet Mendala, a tyrant named Multus unleashed a sinister force called the Book of War. Using the power of the book, he was able to create indestructible creatures as soldiers in his army. Multus was defeated, but now the Book of War has resurfaced in the hands of Davron, whose goal is to rule Mendala. Davron unleashes his army and all resistance is futile.
On Earth, the teenage members of Greendale's Action and Adventure Club have embarked on their latest outing. Somehow, they are transported to Mendala and discover that they are destined to do battle to defeat Davron's forces and destroy the Book of War. Their adventures take them many places on the planet; they fight many battles and assume many roles. In the end, they are momentarily victorious and unanimously vote to remain on Mendala rather than return to Earth.
I found the book to be tedious to read, with several plot devices that I found annoying. The first was the so-called indestructible warriors of Davron's army. It turns out that they are not indestructible, when really necessary, a spell was found that disintegrated them. Secondly, there is a bit of secret agent absurdity. There is a building in Sleuthmore, Mendala with a sign on the door, "Top-Secret Headquarters of SAM, Special Agents of Mendala." After a grand entrance through a window by a member of the adventure group, he gets up and announces himself by saying, "The name is Bond, Mike Bond." I know that the author was trying to engage in a bit of satire, but in my opinion, it fell flat. Finally, the majority of the spells had the form, "Mittius Mandamus ****" where "****" is replaced by the desired action. For example, "Mittius Mandamus Sleep" was used to put guards to sleep and "Mittius Mandamus Fire" was used to conjure up a fire. The simplistic nature of the set of spells bored me.
The action was also not something that really excited me, although I must confess that I generally do not read fantasy. Generally, I find stories where normal people are suddenly thrust into roles as planet-saving heroes difficult to tolerate, even if they are in the fantasy genre. They can only work if there is at least a brief training period like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker in Star Wars. Absent that, a teenager suddenly thrust into a situation where they must save a strange planet simply would not live long. These teenagers have no such mentors.

AWG Coleman must be a whirling dervish of a person: his writing spins around like a dirt bike out of control, but at the center of his book are enough good ideas that there must be a fairly solid talent present.

Spoiler: this reviewer has a low threshold of tolerance for science fiction, whether that be on the written page or the movie screen or wherever it arises to alter reality. It is not the 'fiction' part or the 'science' part that is off-putting. It is the need to make fantastical things seem real in the context of the story that is problematic.

The storyline for QUEST OF THE SEAL BEARERS BOOK is best read in Amazon.com's rather succinct distillation on the title page. Planets against planets and teenagers against villains all swirl in endless names and confusing syntax and that is where the mind wanders. Coleman has passages where his skills as a writer surface and one wishes those pages were less brief and infrequent. This book needs a sense of architecture and an occasional briefing of who is who just to keep things straight. Given that, the next volume in this projected series might be more successful.

There is an audience for Coleman's work and it probably includes younger readers, folks who enjoy video games, people who still flock to the latest sci-fi movies (they always seem to do well). So this reviewer is at a mindset disadvantage. But then that mindset also gives the opportunity to be a bit more dissecting in search of the good parts. And rest assured, there ARE good parts to this book. A suggestion - why not make the next book something other than sci-fi?....Grady Harp, September 05

Epic fantasy quests are a dime a dozen, but good ones are of course much rarer - and Quest of the Seal Bearers certainly has the makings of a good one. This first novel of the series does have the markings of a young novelist, but, in this case, that's more of a positive than a negative. A few aspects of the plot would sound silly if I described them on their own, and I don't think a more experienced author would have gone in those directions, but Coleman makes them work - and I have to give him a few bonus points for audacity in the process. In my perception, there's a youthful air of real energy swirling around the pages of this novel, and it gives the story an identity and character all its own. The Warriors Return is not only interesting and entertaining; it's just plain fun to read.

The story centers around a group of teenagers who are recruited to help save another world. These fledgling heroes crave the kind of adventure they can't find in their boring home town, so they've organized an Action and Adventure Club. This year's planned destination is Adventure Island - but the Club members never get that far. Instead, they are maneuvered into a fateful rendezvous with Fantasma, the ruler of Mendala. His planet is in major trouble, as an evil fellow named Davron has discovered the ancient Book of War and is using it to unleash horrible, indestructible monsters on his world. More than Mendala hangs in the balance because Davron's ultimate goal is to secure power over dimensions beyond that planet itself. The only individuals who can hopefully defeat Davron are the ancestors of those who defeated the last evil wizard to exploit the Book of War 10,000 years ago - and these young people are none other than the Earth-bound members of the Action and Adventure Club.

Mendala is a rich fantasy world, much like Earth yet quite exotic at the same time. Two forms of magic are in evidence there, as are some wondrous geographic locations such as the tunnels of Glorandor and the cloud-borne Rainbow Mountain with its menagerie of legendary creatures. The most striking creatures of this world, however, are the unnatural beasts unleashed by the Book of War - huge rats, flying pigs, rock soldiers, and assorted slimy and exceedingly dangerous creations borne of darkness.

There's a slight snafu in the young heroes' transfer from Earth to Mendala, leaving the club members scattered in both time and place. The majority of this first book in the series consists of the young friends finding one another and coming together for their first frontal assault against Davron and his minions. We learn a lot about the planet, its society, and its system of magic through these varied introductions to this strange new world. While it can be a bit difficult to keep so many characters straight in your head as you're bouncing back and forth between isolated groupings of them, I think the author does an excellent job of telling these mini-stories concurrently, always with a view toward bringing everything (and everyone) together in the end. Each character has a distinct story to tell about his/her experience on Mendala - a few are newly-arrived while others are well-established there already (one of them has even become a king). These individual stories really represent rich and quite interesting reads on their own, but they also effectively set the tone for the group dynamics that come later.

The magical qualities of this new world do offer some comparatively easy solutions to major problems, but all of the different talents and skills the heroes draw upon are really diverse and intriguing. The sense of danger is also quite real as the heroes are constantly harassed by infernal creatures and attacked and way-laid on frequent occasions. The big confrontation at the end also plays out well, although it carries the feel of what it is - the first major confrontation between organized forces of good and evil in a storyline that will includes additional volumes.

As a fantasy fan, I have to say I was really quite impressed by The Warriors Return, and I look forward to the second installment in the Quest of the Seal Bearers series. Coleman clearly has his own voice in the genre and is not simply re-hashing the same old fantasy quests we've read time and time again. These young characters are real and believable in their thoughts and reactions, and that fact allows the book to engage the reader on a personal level. The fact that the heroes consist of high school teenagers may make the book especially appealing to younger fans of fantasy, but fantasy lovers of all ages should find something to enjoy in The Warriors Return.

An old book brought to life. interesting research in the india's believe system of reincarnation. The souls travels after death back to reincarnation.

This book is certainly full of knowledge. It may take SOME time to get through. Interesting, though.

This book was too weird and kinda boring. It did have some cool pictures in it though.

To begin with: Whatever you do, do not touch the upper and lower ends of the spine of the 2007 Deluxe Edition, or it will look like a shabby edition ugly quickly. The cogwheelish cutting of the page edges are nice and unusual to look at, but it is a nightmare to quickly leaf through the book that way in order to find a specific page. Which you are supposed to do, as the book is very footnote ridden (32 pages of small print). That in itself wouldn't be the problem. But from there, you may get directed further into the glossary of key terms (85 pages). One glossary entry may include, say, 16 more terms to be looked up in the same glossary... and so on so forth. From there, you might get directed to Appendix One or Two (together 22 pages). You get the drift: Major obstacle reading. My advice: Read the glossary before you read anything else, attempt to remember it all and check the footnotes only while reading the book. And remember: While you are paging forward and backward - don't touch the edges of the spine or the fancy color will come off!

So much for what is more easily rated. Originally published in 2005, the many centuries old "The Great Liberation by Hearing in the Intermediate States" - as the literal translation of the Tibetan title really reads - had been translated into English in part and faulty at that in 1927. The Dalai Lama and other dignitaries thought it would be about time to introduce a complete and better translation. That work is comprised of 14 chapters (379 pages), including even three chapters which aren't really part of the book but fit in neatly for further overstanding. The XIVth Dalai Lama provided part of the introduction (14 pages). Altogether, there are 51 introductory pages. Together with the bibliography, index and 16 full color picture pages (which are actually two related subjects only, but each enlarged in sections on the respective following pages), this book is 607 pages heavy.

The theme of the book is the myths and rites approaching, during and after the transition from one body to the next as in the context of reincarnation. The book is best for those who would like to really delve into Buddhism, as the translation is done for perfectionists, students of religion and of course Buddhists in the English speaking world. The more generally interested may be put off by the concentration on utterly unexplained rites. As in: How do they know all those things from the intermediate states? By remembering? By a prophesy? By divine telling? The rites (of reading texts) are extremely repetitive. Which has the function of conditioning in a positive sense: The neophyte is supposed to automatically recall certain passages as only then the right behavior has a chance in the dream-like states of "death". Even more difficult to read are the many Tibetan words still included. There is no chance of even guessing how to pronounce them correctly. Many are unavoidable names, but many are also regular words. Even if difficult to translate, neologisms overstandable in English would have been my choice, such as this one Iyaric term in this sentence. And let's put it this way: Tibetan words do not easily roll off the tongue such as "Mandala". There are others such as "Sarvadurgatiparisodhanatantra", not even including the many potential accents unproducable on my current keyboard. In other words, this book may be appreciated most by those who already have some prior knowledge.

The rites are a lot about veneration of and prostrating to a caleidoscope of deities. Who are one, but splintered at the same time. I was hoping to find a bit more mysticism in this book. Well, at least the chapter on the confession of sins in the beliefs of dualisms are rewarding. If you are a mystic (no matter of what branch of religion), that is. There were more traces of mysticism in the introduction than the book itself, though.

Many words of advice from Buddhism I can take, no matter wether everything corresponds to my door which leads to the same room or wether the same door shines in my light. I find the book Mind of Clear Light: Advice on Living Well and Dying Consciously by the XIVth Dalai Lama on the same subject much more accessible, if I am correct on the English title of a book I read in another language. If I would follow "The Tibetan Book of the Dead", I would think of myself to be occupied with "death" way too much. As a mystic I don't believe in death anyway, therefore I am less obsessed with checking myself for potential advance signs of death all the Imes as suggested here. The book works under the premise that life is a very bad thing anyway which should be avoided by all means. That is not my approach. Maybe there's suffering in the everlasting cycle of life, but that's fine with me, for there are some nice moments in between all the suffering. Besides: What if God/the universe/Jah/etc., which we are all part of in the mystic overstanding LIKES to experience life in the forms of various bodies, accepting the suffering along the way? Wouldn't it be egoistical to refuse life? What if "everybody" would refuse "rebirth"? I had a lot of questions like that popping up while reading this book. Other Imes, the book put a smile on my face. For example, when I imagined another religious leader, such as the Pope, giving the advice, in a certain context, to inhale one's semen through the nose, while the former is still warm. I am not that sure, wether I will ever follow THAT advice either. But it's refreshing that we can talk about any possible body function and unorthodox use. I forgot: In Tibet, that IS orthodox...

This handsome edition comes with many credits. The title page tells us that it was composed by Padmasambhava, revealed by Terton Karma Lingpa, translated by Gyurme Dorje, edited by Graham Coleman with Thupten Jingpa, and has an introductory commentary by HH The Dalai Lama. This chain of transmission parallels the Tibetan Buddhist method of instruction: oral teachings, ideally, from master to student unbroken for millennia. "The Great Liberation by Hearing in the Intermediate State" was revealed in the eighth century, but Padmasambhava foresaw its esoteric nature might be misconstrued and its power diminished, so he arranged to hide it as a "treasure text." It was found by Karma Lingpa in the fourteenth century, and W. Y. Evans-Wentz in the 1920s popularized it after what he understood as its Egyptian counterpart (one remembers the Tut craze then); the misleadingly evocative title has stuck.

What the compendium shows, well over six hundred pages in its first comprehensive presentation, is much more than the twelfth book-- what Evans-Wentz, recently followed by Francesca Fremantle & Chogyam Trungpa, Robert Thurman, and Stephen Hodge with Martin Boord have separately translated as the TBoD. That chapter seen in context here falls into place as part of a broader set of pre- as well as post-mortem litanies, guidance, and rituals. Its editor-translators here capture its essence well when they refer to Jung's conception of the work as used in a "backwards" trajectory in reference to psychoanalysis. That is, we can interpret its teachings moving not only with us after death, but reversed towards our primordial life-force, "right back to a pure original cognitive event." (xxxii)

Coleman sees chapter 1 as setting out a perspective to realize this shift in awareness, 2-6 building a framework for mental and spiritual realization, and chapter 7 as setting up a framework for modulating and refining our motivations and actions accordingly. Perhaps non-Buddhists can benefit from such visualizations? It's not easy, especially when confronted with a mass of terms in Tibetan that will challenge the uninitiated, but an 85-page, small-type, glossary with comprehensive definitions is provided, along with pithy contextual prefaces to each chapter. Endnotes are also given with more scholarly transliterations of phrases and cross-references to a bibliography. This apparatus should therefore satisfy academics as well as practitioners. Yet, it may well overwhelm the more casual inquirer; I'd start with the smaller versions of Chapter 12 published separately and read more about Buddhism first.

Chapter 8 offers recognition of the signs of impending death, inner and outer; rituals to avoid premature death follow in Chapter 9. A very advanced practice of "consciousness transference" comprises Chapter 10. The "TBoD" conventionally translated in the West takes up Chapter 11. Aspirational prayers make up Chapter 12 and Chapter 13 gives a "Masked Drama." The last section's a litany of a mantras amulet to be worn for "the liberation by wearing" by the dying person-- it reminds me of the scapular or miraculous medal in Catholicism. Two appendices list and catalogue the plethora of peaceful and wrathful deities enumerated in Chapter 11.

In his rather elevated if concise commentary, the Dalai Lama quickly discusses the text within "Higher Yoga Tantra." He makes a vivid comparison between karma, the Buddhist laws of cause & effect, and the weather on pg. xv. Today's weather is linked to yesterday's and tomorrow's even as we view each manifestation as distinct. Our body's health ties past, present, and future together similarly. Likewise, in our consciousness according to Buddhism our past, present, and future tie together even as we perceive them as discrete phenomena.

Unlike Thurman's translation-edition (reviewed by me as is Hodge & Boord's; see also my review of Fremantle's commentary on the TBoD, "Luminous Emptiness"), there's little attempt to make these contents fully accessible within an ecumenical or (post-?)modern setting. Coleman's references to Jung are about as far as it goes. Dorje sets the text in its literary history, and the Dalai Lama keeps to Buddhist concepts. The team, assisted by eminent Tibetan scholars also credited, strives rather to set the teachings within the lineage tradition of Nyingma, the oldest extant school of Buddhist knowledge from Tibet. So, newcomers may want to start with a simpler presentation such as Hodge & Boord's, moving into Thurman's snappier version, before tackling this comprehensive edition. The language is a bit more British and refined than Thurman's direct vernacular. For example, what the American scholar renders as the frequent Chapter 11 vocative "Hey you so-and-so," Coleman & Dorje mediate into "O Child of Buddha Nature, listen without distraction."

There's lots of vivid examples here to show the depth of entry into the territory edging towards our mortal transformation, for a Westerner, to find in this in-depth look into one of the oldest and most formidable of death-ritual texts. Chapter 8 enumerates many visual indications of the signs of remote, impending, and actual death that may remind medical observers in our hospitals and hospices today how carefully, even obsessively, old-school Tibetans watched the body and the mind for predictions of its end. Perhaps, the filter of a thousand years removed, those who care for the dying today might find valuable testimony within admittedly daunting symptoms such as those metaphorically called "rupturing of the Wish-granting Tree from the Summit of Mount Sumeru" (171) or "ceasing of the monks' smoke in the cities of the earth element." (170) Certainly more memorable than Latin or Greek terms used by doctors today with detachment and bureaucratic efficiency.

Speaking of efficiency, one editorial addition that I would have added would be not only the chapter phrase headings atop each page under the title of the "book," but a number for the chapter, and also numerical references by paragraphs, to standardize references and to facilitate easy consultation. If this work is to be used by those needing an English translation, such "chapter-and-section" types of organization would have aided those looking up passages more rapidly. It slows the reader down when only the general chapter heading is given, although the last part of the book is a page-by-page topical index within each chapter, so this lack is somewhat balanced.

The paper, also, I wish would have been more durable. I have the hardcover, but it seems flimsy and pulpy inside vs. the elegant binding and dustjacket. This may be a trade-off for what's an affordable edition, and the fact such a volume will stay in print as a mass-market trade paperback attests to the continuing relevance with what might well have languished as an obscure devotional tome if not for a surprising literary history. Also, this text has corrected earlier inconsistencies "inherited" in translation of faulty versions.

A final thanks for the illustrations of the Hundred Peaceful & Wrathful Deities by the late Shawu Tsering, a scroll artist from Amdo in Tibet. These, commissioned for Dr. Dorje's collection, show a clarity and precision often missing from photographs of "thangkas" in book form. They beautifully help the reader see what the text tells.

I didn't realize when I purchased this book, that it was apparently written and published prior to the XP Server version of software becoming availalbe. Therefore, that version of the software is not covered in this book. Since the server software is apparently quite different from the "Home" or "Professional" versions, the book has been unhelpful.
This is not a criticism, just letting people know.

Even if you've recently bought a huge, great new book about Windows XP, I suggest you get this one too. Because of the way it's organized, you can easily and quickly find the steps to perform any everyday task. The writing is clear, concise, and to the point, and information focuses on how to get things done, not why things work a certain way. A must-have for all users of this new operating system. I keep it right beside my new Windows XP computer.

If you are new to Windows XP, the first book you need to buy is Windows XP A to Z. It's the book you keep on your computer desk and refer to whenever you can't remember how to do something in a previous version of Windows or is a task that belongs to a feature set that is new in Windows XP. This isn't the be-all and end-all book. If you're a system administrator or a power user, you'll want one of the thousand-page tomes as well. But for everyday use, you'll need Windows WP from A to Z.

Perhaps the most handy reference collection we have seen come through our ProCert Labs, Redmond Technology Press's From A To Z collection of quick reference guides really hits the spot. If you are using a Microsoft product (and if you are not: its time you bought yourself a computer), this handy reference guide will prove indispensable.

Organized alphabetically, each guide excludes an index because, after all, it is one. The navigation is easy and gets right to the point. I looked up "Selecting Text" in the Word 2002 from A to Z book and learned that there are six different ways to do so. I discovered each of the six ways in less than half a page; a testament to the concise and straightforward instruction in store for every reader.

And don't let me fool you; the information available in each guide addresses the complex as well as the mundane. You will find quick reference tidbits on everything from Autoformatting (a bane to every Word user) to managing Text Formulas in Excel (which most of us would use if we knew they existed.)

For you Access jockeys, having the Access 2002 From A To Z quick reference at hand will make Applying Filters as easy as cooking with Ron Popeil. The finer points of PowerPoint are described in understandable detail, and if you are looking to quell your questions about Outlook, you will find them the fastest in this quick reference.

Bonus Situation: MOUS! Aside from being a valuable desktop reference, each quick reference guide includes information about passing the Microsoft Office User Specialist exam, and promises that the guide includes all the information you will need to pass the test. Our quick review confirmed this, making these books an excellent choice for those of you who are working toward MOUS certification.

The current series of quick reference guides includes: Word 2002 From A To Z, Excel 2002 From A To Z, PowerPoint 2002 From A To Z
Access 2002 From A To Z, Outlook 2002 From A To Z, Windows XP From A To Z.

Each quick reference is about 200 pages, with the exception of the Windows XP quick reference, which tops out at 250. Under twelve bucks apiece, you can't miss with any one of the From A To Z quick references from Redmond Technologies Press. Each book individually provides excellent coverage of every function of its technology, and the entire collection represents a comprehensive must have for anyone who relies on the MS Office suite for advanced productivity.

-Professional Certification eMag.

The Windows XP operating system is just different enough from previous versions that you'll find having a quick reference like Windows XP From A to Z is a high-value, low-cost investment. This book does not use cute graphics or chatty anecdotal sidebars to fill space. Instead, it is filled with informative, instructional text that's written in an intelligent, straightforward manner for readers who have a working knowledge of Windows. Pat Coleman shows you how to accomplish specific tasks using the new XP interfaces, and the a to z format of the book makes this information easy to get at. Coleman emphasizes the importance of understanding and taking advantage of Windows Explorer for organizing files and folders, and she also includes discussions of Internet Explorer and Outlook Express. You're bound to learn some new skills with the help of this book and end up feeling that you got your money's worth.

This is an interesting insight into the 'olde' world. A fascinating subject with viable accounts of were-wolves (I realise that they are fiction) in history and how this reflects on the common psche of the time. Macabre at times, perhaps going into too much detail on the incidents that were blamed on people who claimed lycanthropy. This book is not for the faint of heart.

This book is an example of the Victorian type of scholarship that ropes in everything that could concievably have something to do with the topic at hand. This means you get lots of interesting things around the edges. It should have made the book longer though. I was rather disappointed. This is why I only gave the book 3 stars. It's great stuff but the book should be thicker.
A lot of the material centers on medieval France. It becomes pretty clear that what was known as a 'werewolf' at that time was what we would now call a 'serial killer' of a certain type, a modern example being Jeffrey Dahlmer. I wound up giving my copy to a friend who is an amateur criminologist, to be shared with her daughter the vampire expert.

This book is by far the finest factual account of lycanthropy that exists. It delves into the actual cause of the disease and gives vivid, stirring accounts with historic facts. The most truthful, non-fluff werewolf book you will ever read. If you want the truth and are willing to stomach the depravity of humankind, then definitely pick up the book. It is a classic read that has yet to be duplicated in quality or substance.

Sabine Baring-Gould (1834-1924) was a Vicar in the Church of England in Devon, an archaeologist, folklorist, historian and a prolific author. Baring-Gould was also a bit eccentric. He reputedly taught classes with a pet bat on his shoulder. He is best known for writing the hymn 'Onward Christian Soldiers'.

This book is one of the most cited references about werewolves. The Book of the werewolf takes a rationalistic approach to the subject.

The book starts off with a straightforward academic review of the literature of shape-shifting; however, starting with Chapter XI, the narrative takes a strange turn into sensationalistic 'true crime' case-studies of cannibals, grave desecrators, and blood fetishists, which have a tenuous connection with lycanthropy. This includes an extended treatment of the case of Giles de Rais, the notorious associate of Joan of Arc, who was convicted and executed for necrosadistic crimes. Margaret Murray had a controversial theory about this subject

All that aside, if you are the least bit interested in Lycanthropy, you have to read this book!

This is the worst book on werewolves! How completely boring this book is- it was probably still boring in 1865, when it was written. I couldn't ever get throught this book because it is written so badly and is ever so boring. And no illustrations didn't help, either! I'm glad I didn't buy this book; I checked it out of the library. What a waste of time this book is. Please don't read this because it is sodding awful! Get any other book on werewolves. I wish the author was killed by a wolf before he could publish this uninteresting piece of junk. Believe me- this book is duller than you are!

Reviewed by Danelle Drake for Reader Views (9/08)

Like the "Crooked Road in Virginia" guides you through Virginia's Heritage Music Trail, "Dixie Spirits: The Tales of the Strange and Supernatural in the South (Second Edition)" guides you to mysterious haunted houses, hotels and other haunts throughout the south.

This entertaining guide leads you through state after state in the south with the most interesting and eerie ghost tales you have ever heard. Each tale gives you a detailed history of when and why the entity first appears, real life encounters as well as the physical location of today along with address, web address and general directions to the site.

My family has visited the Brown Mountain Lights here in North Carolina several times. Although I have read about their origin from other publications and have heard about them all my life, I have never learned as much detail as I did in reading "Dixie Spirits." We have also been to both the Pirate's House Inn and the Juliette Gordon Lowe birthplace in Savannah. Although we didn't see any "going ons" at either, our daughters mentioned that they felt eerie in the Lowe home. My husband and I thought this was a bid odd because we didn't mention the haunted part - we were there visiting the birthplace of the founder of Girl Scouts of America. Perhaps they felt someone there?

Additional locations you may want to visit and information on any Ghost Tours available are given at the conclusion of each state's stories. My family has been on several Ghost Tours, including Asheville Ghost Walk here at home, as well as Ghosts and Legends Tour of Savannah which are mentioned here and have learned interesting historical facts and had our skin crawling after each experience. A city, a building, a room that you see during the day can look extremely different on a cloudy evening when given details you absorb in a Ghost Tour.

While planning your trip to visit haunted locations in the south, "Dixie Spirits" can be your all encompassing guide. In closing, the Appendix will give you haunted sites to stay while on your journey. That is if you do not mind sleeping next to a ghost.

Of the thirty-four beautifully detailed accounts "Dixie Spirits" by Christopher K Coleman leads you through; each one is unique in both character and detail. The strangeness and detail of the stories draw the reader in and leave you wanting more - with the lights on and the door locked.

Fairly informative, sometimes trite, account of ghostly happenings throughout the South. The writer's dialect seems to change from story to story, making the reader think that perhaps there is more than one author. Very light reading.

this book was very informative and entertaining and sometimes when I read it at night I'll ammit it even scared me a little the fact that florida was left out could be bad for some people i donm't know about florida ghost so it kind of bothered me but the ghost west virginia which is not a dixie state was interesting mainly because some of my college friends where from the areas described and told me about the ghost

Reviewed by Kam Aures for RebeccasReads (10/08)


"Dixie Spirits: True Tales of the Strange and Supernatural in the South" is a collection of ghost stories from the American South. "What is it about the South that makes it so congenial to the supernatural? Is it those long, languid, moonlit nights, redolent with the scent of honeysuckle and magnolia, that mesmerize the senses? Is it Dixie's turbulent and tragic past that has roused so many restless spirits? Or is it something less tangible, less definable, that stirs the Southern soul and draws the darkness near?" (p.11)

Whatever the case may be, the South is filled with stories of haunting and ghostly activity and this book explores many of the well known, as well as some of the more obscure incidences. The book is divided up by state and focuses on 3-5 stories for each area. Included in this book are tales from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

I was particularly drawn to the group of stories from Louisiana as I had visited many "haunted" locations throughout the New Orleans and Baton Rouge area. I was pleased to see accounts from places that I had been, such as the Myrtles Plantation. It is always interesting to read about areas that you have experienced firsthand.

I found the tales to be very interesting and informative. Many of the stories in the book were of places that I had not heard of before but would love to visit if I had the chance. Particularly helpful is the address information of the featured locations as well as listings of some of the other haunted places located in each state. I also like that websites of some of the locations are provided as this allows the reader to get more information. The only thing that I wished was different about the book was that I would have liked to see some photos of the areas and there weren't any. However, if you go to some of the websites provided you are able to view them there.

"Dixie Spirits: True Tales of the Strange and Supernatural in the South" is a wonderful book for anyone interested in "haunted hotels and mansions, diabolical curses, mysterious monsters, and assorted fearsome phenomena" (from the back cover). It would make an excellent reference book for those interested in traveling to these areas.

Dixie Spirits is a collection of ghost stories from the American south. Some of the stories in this book are hauntings that are very familiar to anyone who likes to read this type of books. The gray man, the Brown Mountain lights, and the Myrtles plantation are found within the pages of this book and just about any book about southern ghosts that one chooses to read. However, there are also some hauntings to be found in this book that I was not familiar with. For example the Sloss Furnaces, the Athens haunted pillar, and the Hornet ghost light. Also, the ghosts of some of the Lee homes in Virginia were completely new to me. I suppose that anyone writing a book of this sort would have to assume that his or her readers hadn't read about the Myrtles and would feel as if they had to include such a famous haunt. I guess that those of us who frequent these books will just have to learn to live with that fact.

The only other problems I found in this book were an over abundance of Indian legends and a last second rush of UFO stories. Coleman tries to explain his use of the UFO tales but I bought a ghost book, not a UFO book and had no real desire to find UFO stories haunting this book's pages. There are also numerous typos, which are somewhat irritating.

On the other hand, the writing style of the author is very pleasing and the stories in this book seem to just fly by. I assume that he has done a fair amount of research but there is no bibliography so I can't be sure. Overall, this is a well-written and interesting book. A little off target in places but still rather good and well worth the price. Read it on a cool October evening but don't get too lost in its pages or the mothman might get you.

Inspiring. Talks not only to the story of the great person Eddie was, but to what he means to Hawaii and the pride of their culture and roots.

Eddie Aikau is the personification of selflessness. You need to read this story to truly understand.

I recommend this book as a convenient source for information about Eddie Aikau for those who wish to know more about him or those who simply wish to know about people who have inspired others.
The subtitle of the book is well chosen: this is a story, not a biography or history. It is obvious (at times frustratingly so) that Coleman relied heavily on hearsay for much of his information (cf. some other reviews), and he does not hesitate to simply make up things he could not possibly know about (e.g., what sundry characters, including Eddie Aikau, think at various junctures).
Another shortcoming of the book is Coleman's poor writing. He is much given to hyperbole, and this detracts from the story. For example, several times he writes that surfing and water-related lifestyles generally are dangerous because the sea is "the most unpredictable thing in the world" (this being a paraphrase). Nearly simultaneously, he stresses that only the skilled dare or ought dare challenge the sea. Obviously, total (or even substantial) unpredictability precludes acquisition of any skill--there are no professional lottery players, for example--and such would make the process of learning about the sea, big waves, and what have you impossible. As Eddie Aikau obviously (on Mr. Coleman's own testimony and the testimony he collected) did possess such skill, the sea cannot be totally unpredictable. Coleman intends the reader to conclude only that the sea is not perfectly predictable; the reader would be better served if he had simply said so.
That said, however, the shortcomings of the way this story is related do not detract from its attractiveness. The story of Eddie Aikau _is_ inspiring, even to this reader. By "even to this reader," I wish to relate that I do not surf, have little special interest in Hawai'i, and fully intend to go happily to my grave (happily at least in this respect) without ever having surfed or visited Hawai'i again. A strong point of the story is that Coleman does not gloss over unattractive aspects of Aikau's character: political ignorance (visiting South Africa during the worst times), reckless drinking, a tendency to violence, etc.
Don't expect much of the book, and it won't disappoint; however, readers may well wish to do on their own more research than Mr. Coleman did.

Stuart Holmes Coleman did a wonderful job displaying the life of Eddie Aikau. The story entailed plenty of Hawaiian history and culture while telling Eddie's moving life story. The book also displays the difficulties of being Hawaiian and gives a good background of his loving family. Eddie was the first one to surf big waves, and I mean big (40-50ft.). He is a Hawaiian idol because he inspired many to surf, and there is a big wave contest every year in memory of Eddie. Eddie was on the yearly trip to re-enact how the Philippians founded the Hawaiian island when a storm broke loose and the boat was stranded at sea. Eddie convinced the captain to let him take the surf board and swim to shore to get help (that's where "Eddie would go" comes from). He left the ship with intent to save everyone but was never seen again, but the crew was later rescued by a ship passing by. I loved the book; I think that it is inspiring to live life to the fullest as Eddie did. After reading a story like this, my own life seems boring; I wish that I was as brave and bold as Eddie. This book can let you draw your own conclusions and learn your own life lessons, and the story is so great that is it worthy of rereading and retelling. I highly recommend the book to surfers, or anyone else that wants to read a good life story. Eddie Would Go is a great book for any kind of reader, and good for anyone over the age of eight. If you are contemplating reading this book, go and buy it, it is well worth it.

I have spoken to Mr.Coleman and he admitted to me, Butch's sister, that he did not verify his scorce(s) when he wrote Butch VanArtsdalen was the son of alcholic parents. This is a slanderous lie, and if our parents were still alive I would sue Mr. Coleman for it. If Scott would do this to the VanArtsdalen family,I can only wonder how much of the book is actually true.
Also, I do not see why he chose to attack Butch, since the book is about Eddie Aikau!
Shame on you Scott & Stick to your subject!

Sincerely & Always Butch's Sis

This is one of my favorite collections of poetry. The thoughtful talks of Inayat Khan are interspersed with modern interpretations of the poets and their poems by Coleman Barks.

There is beauty here both in the words and in the deeper mystical message that these C13th poets share with us. They take you on an exotic journey in to yourself. You sense a familiarity about what is said and Coleman Barks' translation is such that the words sound not from a bygone era but from this very moment...

I've bought four copies of this book and re-read it many times. After you're finished you'll want to give it to everyone you know!

Mr. Coleman's text has very little to do with the originals. I could see how someone could come to the interpretations that he has come to, - after all, there could be infinite number of interpretations to a text - but that then one would publish them as "translations" is in my opinion a bit too irresponsible, even if one mentions this fact in the introduction. Mr. Coleman has arrived at the undecidability of the text, and has realized that as Adorno would say, "one can not interpret anything out of a text, that one has not introduced into it." Once he has realized the hermaneutic call to interpretation can not ever be fully satisfied, he then decides to interpret pure kitch into it. I feel very sorry for those who get introduced to the great masterpieces of Persian literature as packaged in the butcher-shop of Mr. Coleman.

Yuk. This book came in the mail yesterday and its going back in the mail tomorrow (today is Sunday so I can't mail it today). Having read Hafiz for awhile, I went immediately to that section of the book in order to consider the virtue of the whole. First I felt dismay, then disgust, then dismay again. Bark's versions of Hafiz are not just bad, they're very bad. And I don't mean bad in a good way. I can't comment on his damage to the other poets because I'm not as familiar with them. If you're interested in Hafiz, I would recommend The Green Sea of Heaven. Its a very pleasing and legitimate translation. AVOID DANIEL LADINSKY if you're looking for Hafiz. He writes good original poems, but then deceptively claims that they are Hafiz translations. For Attar, check out The Conference of the Birds. Here's a tip: check to see if the "translator" is actually translating from the original language or is interpreting from pre-translated material. Why go into a nice restaurant and order a corn-dog?

The book consists of translations by Coleman Barks with lectures by Inayat Khan. If you love Rumi, prepare yourself for a treat because Khan takes you by the hand and introduces you to Sanai, Attar, Saadi, Hafiz, and of course, the inimitable Rumi in a crystalline translation.

"Let the beauty we love be what we do" - Rumi

Don't let the volume get away!

I always enjoy a book that is willing to go outside the box and discuss matters that are "taboo". And, the character, Jacob, definetly was just that. It was a little difficult for me to read about him because I would like to think grown men aren't like that.....but it is what it is. And things like that are happening everyday. So "big-ups" Mr. Coleman for bringing the subject to light. Other than that, the book was a grade B-/C.

This book held my attention from the beginning to the end. The only problem I had is that I kept getting confused with which character was speaking. At times, it was not really clear. Other than that, this book was good and I hope there will be a sequel.

In the beginning, this book was a bit difficult for me to follow. The author switched between both main characters so often and came up with such creative names for the chapters that it was hard to tell at times who was speaking. We'd love to think that school teachers wouldn't involve themselves with the likes of Jacob's and Diego's womanizing ways, but the sad reality is I'm sure that there are many teachers out there that can identify with these men from one extent or another--whether it be a high school teacher lusting over one of his students or an elementary school teacher ushering the kids off so he can get "busy" in the classroom. I felt sorry for Jacob at times and really had no respect for him. Diego, on the other hand, well, let's just say the twist in the ending brought a smirk to my face. I would love to read a follow-up and "listen" some more to these brothas.

Darren Coleman has done it again. This novel is nothing short of amazing. It capitavated me from the very first page until the last page. This is an absolute must read.

Everytime I read one of Darren Coleman's books I am left with my mouth wide open. From start to finish, Coleman has a unique ability to take you roller coaster ride. This book was even sexier than his previous titles (and they were all hottt!). I won't even lie, this one got me so riled up, at times I had to check the cover to make sure I wasn't reading a Zane title, then at other times I was reminded of a young Eric Jerome Dickey because of the writer's ability to weave fantastic storylines, non-stop action and true to life characters that jumped off the pages.

I love his books because they give us insight as to how men operate, though I hope and pray ALL men aren't represented here. The characters, Diego, Jacob and all the women they loved in between made for an interesting mix, especially Diego's sister-in-law. I literally had this book in my hands for six hours straight and was depressed when the ride was over, wondering what I was going to read next.

If you don't read anything else this year, do yourself a favor and read Ladies Listen Up! I laughed out loud, cringed at times and definitely was shocked and amazed as I read this one. No question, I'm a fan for life and will be waiting on his next one!!!

Sir Laurence Olivier (1907-1989) is arguably the greatest English speaking actor of the twentieth century. Among his immortal Shakespearean portayals on stage and screen are:
Hamlet; King Lear; Richard III; Romeo: Macbeth and all the major Shakespearean roles; several great films such as Rebecca, Pride and Prejudice; Wuthering Heights Henry V and Richard III.
He wed three times: (all were actresses) Jill Esmond; the troubled but brilliant Vivian Leigh (the immortal Scarlet O'Hara in Gone With the Wind and Blanch Dubois in Tennessee Williams'
classic "A Streetcar Named Desire"). and Joan Plowright.
Terry Coleman is a veteran British reporter and author. He has been designated by the Olivier family as the official biographer.
He portrays Sir Larry warts and all! Olivier was egocentric, high living and often profane. His tempestuous marriage to
the mentally ill Vivian Leigh is one of the classic love tales of the acting world.
Coleman gives us all the facts of Olivier's life but the reader still feels that Olivier was an enigma to himself and to the millions enthralled by his acting. Like most human beings he could be warm and caring and also aloof and cruel. His philandering is less than commendable. He comes across as a fairly shallow fellow concerned with his own glory and career. His directorship of the National Theatre was difficult and cost him
his health. Olivier is to be commended about the way he worked in films during his last years to enable his wife Joan Plowright and children to have financial security following his death.
Sir Larry along with Sir Ralph Richardson and Sir John Gieguld were the greatest thespians on the stage during their lives. Olivier was more of a natural actor and was an athletic and powerful force of nature.
All in all we shall not see his like again. Olivier was a high Tory who was conservative in his belief although his religous commitment seems weak (his father with whom he did not get along was an Anglican clergyman)
This is the one book on Laurence Olivier you want to read to know the story of a great actor! Well recommended!

This is a memorable rendering of the life of a great, and complicated actor. Read it along with a biography of Vivien Leigh, and you have a great story.

In the 1950s, other girls had crushes on Tab Hunter, Troy Donahue and James Dean. My crush was Laurence Olivier --- maybe it was because my father taught Shakespeare, but really I think it was his beautiful voice, sensitive mouth, brooding Heathcliffian eyes...you get the picture. I kept a scrapbook; I even wrote to him, and he replied --- well, sort of: a blue aerogramme thanking me for my kind letter and signed "L. Olivier." I wish I still had it.

So you can see that I was disposed to be fascinated by OLIVIER, the new biography by journalist Terry Coleman. Actually, this is the first and only biography to be sanctioned by Sir Laurence's widow, actress Joan Plowright, and the Olivier estate. The advantage of "official" works, of course, is that the author gets access to all sorts of formerly unavailable personal papers. The downside is that he tends to be weighed down by the need to document endlessly, explain copiously, and set the record straight. This is not a fast-moving book. But it is a compelling and sometimes touching one that lets us glimpse the private side of an honest-to-God genius.

The view isn't always edifying. Olivier is revealed as self-absorbed, vulnerable, flirtatious, excessive, sometimes embarrassingly silly (in his letters to Vivien Leigh, his second wife and grand passion) and surprisingly shrewd about business (I remember being a bit shocked when Sir Laurence did American TV ads for Polaroid, but it turns out that years earlier he had made a deal for the production of Olivier cigarettes, giving him a lot of free smokes and a hefty percentage of the take). A self-described "liar," he isn't the easiest subject for a biographer to decipher, though Coleman does his best to sort out the facts from the embroidery.

Olivier could also be generous and devoted: The sad story of his deteriorating relationship to the mentally unstable Leigh (she was a victim of bipolar, also known as "manic," depression) often shows him to be remarkably forbearing. The demise of the marriage took years; it's not clear why --- loyalty, public relations? --- but the circumstances were not made public at the time. I remember being distressed by the breakup and blaming him (he had already moved on to Plowright), but the truth is, Leigh had affairs as well (a long one with actor Peter Finch) and they seem to have inflicted equal-opportunity suffering.

The issue of sexuality is a principal one for Coleman. A less respectful 1991 Olivier biography by Donald Spoto got a lot of play for its "revelation" that the actor was bisexual and had a long relationship with comedian Danny Kaye. In a seven-page Author's Note, Coleman acknowledges the probability of a fleeting early affair with a man (not Kaye) and observes that Olivier's on-stage, on-screen appeal had an element of androgyny, but he devotes most of the space to emphatic denials of Spoto's assertions. Indeed, Olivier's bedroom prowess (extensive, on the evidence; he was unfaithful to all three wives) appears to have been overwhelmingly hetero. Although Coleman seems to me to protest a bit too much, his evidence is persuasive --- and anyway, who cares? As Shakespeare wrote in Henry V (and Sir Laurence spoke so eloquently in his film of the play), "Nice customs curtsy to great kings," and Olivier certainly achieved almost the status of royalty.

What OLIVIER doesn't really do is explore how the complex, flawed man got to be a great actor (some would say the great actor) of stage and film. In the '80s Sir Laurence did write his own books on the subject (CONFESSIONS OF AN ACTOR and ON ACTING), neither of which I've read; perhaps Coleman felt that his main brief was to venture into the less charted territory of Olivier's intimate life. Still, it's a pity not to have had more on the meat of his profession. A hint of his far-sightedness: Although Olivier did not care for Look Back in Anger, the subversive play by the "angry young man" of British theatre, John Osborne, in 1956 he nonetheless asked Osborne to write him something. The result was The Entertainer, a signal departure for Olivier and one of his greatest triumphs. There are glimpses in the book, too, of his physical audacity; his perfectionism; his acuteness and courage not only as an actor but as a director and artistic administrator.

Olivier really did do everything in the theatre short of toting flats and sewing costumes; he was a key player in the development of Britain's National Theatre (one of the houses in the complex now located on the South Bank of the Thames is named after him). But Coleman spends far too long on the NT's protracted and highly political struggle to be born; unless you're a true aficionado, it unbalances the book.

More successful is his moving account of the last 20-odd years of Olivier's life: I had no idea (nor did most of the world) that he'd had a series of illnesses, many of them grave; that he suddenly began to suffer from stage fright and memory loss; that his stunning cameos (many in mediocre films) and full-scale late roles (I'm thinking particularly of the TV films King Lear and Brideshead Revisited, though he may be better known in the U.S. as the sadistic Nazi dentist in Marathon Man) had been managed despite these handicaps, with gallantry and reliable brilliance. Even his address to Queen Elizabeth II (and the assembled throng) at the opening of the Olivier Theatre was a masterpiece.

Olivier died in 1989. He would have been "tickled pink," as his son Richard noted, to have known that Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's --- London's foremost Anglican institutions --- were competing over who would get the glory of hosting his memorial service and housing his ashes. His final exit, too, was terrific theatre.

--- Reviewed by Kathy Weissman

Before his death in 1989, Laurence Olivier wrote one of the more entertaining autobiographies on being a master thespian, 1985's "Confessions of an Actor". There was a pervasive modesty in his tone that came across at times as rather disingenuous. Now sixteen years after his death, we are finally provided the authorized biography of the world's leading Shakespearean actor. Whether he was the greatest actor of the last century is more debatable and one that author Terry Coleman doesn't really address in terms of the actor's gallery of performances. Instead, culling from Olivier's personal papers, Coleman paints an exhaustive portrait of an impersonal, driven man who was ruthlessly determined to become the greatest actor who ever lived.

Born the son of a clergyman in 1907, Olivier had an unhappy childhood and became passionate about acting in school. He did not touch Shakespeare until fellow actor John Gielgud asked him to trade roles with him in an Old Vic production of "Romeo and Juliet". This was his turning point and by 1937, Olivier was doing Hamlet, Henry V and Twelfth Night at the Old Vic. He was also wildly in love with the 24-year-old Vivien Leigh, and their two-plus-decade relationship is the stuff of legend. Coleman meticulously examines all the dynamics between the condescending Olivier and the mercurial, self-destructive Leigh, even though Coleman obviously has no love reserved for Leigh. Despite her legendary successes as Scarlett O'Hara and Blanche DuBois, Olivier was far more of an actor, and their professional competitiveness - actually more on his side than hers - was the crux of their marriage.

To the end of her days, Leigh had a narrow range, while Olivier knew no challenge beyond him. She, however, was arguably the greater star, and bitterness and jealously seeped into their relationship, especially when they worked together onstage in the 1950's, and he tortured her with his perfectionism. Olivier left Leigh for actress Joan Plowright in 1960, and while this provided some stability in his life with three children, Coleman is quick to point out that Olivier was not significantly changed temperamentally. What did change were Olivier's priorities - he established the National Theater in England and started accepting parts in putrid movies like "The Betsy" and "Inchon" to support his children. Toward the end of his life, he focused his legacy on the stage even though he developed debilitating stage fright.

Coleman's book is fascinating, but the one drawback is that he doesn't provide a career retrospective worthy of his subject. Personal insights aside (and he does get into Oliver's purported bisexuality), the author doesn't really capture the greatness of the actor in his journalistic-style writing. Writing about such a flamboyant figure like Olivier seems like a radical departure for Coleman, who has written books on Horatio Nelson and English emigration to America. He has even seen Olivier onstage but surprisingly does not share his impressions in the book. For someone like me who has enjoyed Olivier's performances in films such as "Wuthering Heights", "Rebecca" and "Sleuth", it's a bit of a disappointment. Regardless, there are plenty of penetrating insights into this complex man, and it's well worth reading for those alone.

People were aghast that Olivier could leave Vivien Leigh, one of the world's most beautiful woman, for Joan Plowright, whom even her mother said was plainer than a shaving brush, and they wondered what sort of man was Olivier anyhow, and this perhaps is what led rise to the suspicion that he was gay, and so when Spoto's book came out with the undocumented story that Olivier had had a happy affair with showman Danny Kaye, the only shock it provided was to the four people in the world who thought Danny Kaye was a straight man.

And now from what I understand, a forthcoming biography of Kaye will indeed set the record "straight" about him for once and for all. Terry Coleman is always gallant towards Joan Plowright in this book, but the truth is that, no matter how impossible Olivier must have been to live with, she was no picnic either. It wasn't that she was so fertile that he loved her, nor for her titanic talent on stage, no, I think he thought her lack of glamor denoted an authenticity that, whatever her other virtues, Leigh lacked at bottom.

It was a time of terrible stress for Olivier, what with founding the National Theater with Kenneth Tynan as his right hand man and dramaturge, and sleeping with Sarah Miles as sort of a sherbet between courses of Plowright's pregnancies, and beginning the long slide into films of the utmost inconsequence, so that moviegoers all over the world would pick up their movie guides and go, oh good, Olivier's made another picture, let's go, it will be two hours of silly popcorn trash! And then, at the very end, he made his finest film in forty years, Derek Jarman's incomparable WAR REQUIEM, which Coleman goes out of his way for some reason to denigrate, perhaps as part of his general anti-gay policy.

So for whatever reason, perhaps because Jill Esmond and Vivien Leigh are incredibly more interesting figures to read about than, oh, I don't know, Joan Plowright, the first half of Terry Coleman's book is lively and brisk, and then, perhaps after he meets John Osborne and John Dexter, the book slides into a slowdive which makes you long for Olivier's death, which is a shame. She--Vivien Leigh--was so much a better screen actor than Olivier was--that this book seems written by someone from Mars who has no idea about screen presence nor star quality. However, do buy this book, it's worth if just for the one 1930s RKO photo of Olivier bulking up while standing on his head, bare bottom gleaming out of a jockstrap, while nearby a muscular blond does some special coaching arrayed in a dazzlingly tight pair of fruit of the looms. The world's tiniest bar-bells lie scattered over the gym floor like dead flies, as though ignored in passion. Yowzer!