Collins Books

This book is a winner. Thrilling and full of energy, I was shocked that this book didin't make more noise in the book stores.

Set in Gitmo in modern times, Secrets Unbecoming shows that rough seas can be encountered on dry land as well as water. Even more illuminating is the fact that being a Navy wife can be just as difficult as being an officer or sailor.

How did Elizabeth Collins know? She was a Navy wife for 20+ years. In 2003, Mrs. Collins died without warning, but her spirit lives on in her writing.

R.I.P. Mrs. Patricia Elizabeth Collins.

Elizabeth Collins has captured my heart with her endearing love story, Secrets Unbecoming. I was completely captivated by her realistic characters.

Abbey Whitfield wanted nothing more in life than to save her deteriorating marriage to Kevin. Convinced that the isolated military base of Guantanamo Bay would be the tropical paradise they needed, Abbey was more than disheartened when she discovered the secrets of unbecoming acts that dwelled within the base. Adultery, domestic violence, rape, drugs, prostitution - all secrets that had been hidden from the United States Military, by top ranking officials.

The tempestuous Molly Everett would stop at nothing to distract Kevin from his wife. How could Abbey possibly compete with the love her husband was developing for Molly's child, Sara Ann, when she'd unable to give her husband the family he'd always dreamed of herself.

Jack Parker had become her only friend, the only person able to comprehend her breaking heart and desire to help her friend escape her abusive husband. Jack's a rebel, understood by most. But Abbey soon finds him to be the most compassionate man she's ever known, with a heart large enough to save the world, or at least try. His rough exterior a mere facade, disguising his broken heart.

I loved the way Elizabeth wrapped this story up with twists and turns. No one seemed to be who they appeared. The story ends with the malicious finding judgment and the wounded finding peace, in one way or another. Ironically, Kevin forfeits rights to his family - the one thing that destroyed his marriage - and Abbey rides away into the sunset, family in tow.

Secrets Unbecoming was by far, a romantic escape from reality.

What a great read; tasteful, romatic, and quite a thriller. Secrets Unbecoming is a brilliant and extremely well-written novel about love and duty in the American-owned corner of Cuba, Guantanamo Bay (now home to hundreds of former terrorists). Though set around modern day naval life, the characters of Secrets Unbecoming are fascinating and easy to relate to via Elizabeth Collin's use of imagery and gift for description. The story is centered around one woman trying to salvage her marriage, while trying to help another woman whose marriage is life-threatening. With more twists and turns than the movie "Wild Things" the reader is compelled by curiosity to find out what happens next, and Elizabeth Collin's writing style keeps the reader moving swiftly, yet afixed to every word. A+, and then some. This book has movie written all over it.

The life cycle of a plant from seed to seed is beautifully illustrated and told as a story in the rhythmic pattern of the "House that Jack Built". Each page has a flap and under each flap is more information about plants, the garden and its other inhabitants. My 3 year old enjoyed the book and the flaps. I'm not crazy about the flaps because I'm afraid he is going to tear them up, but that is my only complaint about the book. The illustrations are detailed and visually interesting. It kept my small childs attention and he would have liked that I left the book with him. An improvement would be to republish the book with all the same information but make it a board book and no flaps.

This book has been great fun to use while planting our garden. It helps speed the process along to show what will happen next, plus has great illustrations to show what happens under the ground. This entire series of books is top-rate.

I really enjoyed this book that I donated to our school library. I seldom see books that are both non fiction and fiction in one edition. The illustrations were great and the flip format was fun.

I was introduced to Fr. Collins' work while studying theology and have come to expect much from this fine scholar. This book upholds the consistency and penetrating depth I have found in his other works. In this book, Collins explores relevant New Testament texts in both a historical and literary context, offering to the reader a new understanding of how discipleship and sexuality relate to each other, necessarily. Using poignant examples from the Gospels and the epistles, Collins dispels many misunderstandings about sexuality in the New Testament by using his fine exegetical skills, especially in noting the various lenses inherent to any hermeneutic task. Collins does not seek to define certain meanings or construct a systematic program; rather, he opens the New Testament texts to allow them to speak for themselves, to speak to the fact that human sexuality is a complex reality permeating any person's existence--hence the subtitle of his work: behavior and belief. The central motif of this book is that all disciples of Christ are called to embrace their sexuality as both gift and responsibility. In this affirmation Collins offers a look into the cultural conexts of the New Testament and elicits the reader to grapple with the questions offered in the New Testament texts themselves and those still very applicable in our own time: divorce, adultery and homosexuality. The parameters of this challenge can be found in Collins' conclusion; that a viable contemporary sexual ethics must include the following: the notion of embodied existence; the dignity of women in God's plan; and the overarching demands of agapaic love. Though written and executed in fine academic fashion, Collins also brings to this work his pastoral experience and compassion thereby making the book accessible to anyone who seeks to integrate sexuality and ethics as a living reality. Though attempts have been made to separate human sexuality and ethics, Collins invites his readers to integrate these realities. Thus, he gives us yet another great work, providing a valuable resource not only to ethicists and theologians but to all who wish to explore the possiblites of growth in their Christian identity.

I was introduced to Fr. Collins' work while studying theology and have come to expect much from this fine scholar. This book upholds the consistency and penetrating depth I have found in his other works. In this book, Collins explores relevant New Testament texts in both a historical and literary context, offering to the reader a new understanding of how discipleship and sexuality relate to each other, necessarily. Using poignant examples from the Gospels and the epistles, Collins dispels many misunderstandings about sexuality in the New Testament by using his fine exegetical skills, especially in noting the various lenses inherent to any hermeneutic task. Collins does not seek to define certain meanings or construct a systematic program; rather, he opens the New Testament texts to allow them to speak for themselves, to speak to the fact that human sexuality is a complex reality permeating any person's existence--hence the subtitle of his work: behavior and belief. The central motif of this book is that all disciples of Christ are called to embrace their sexuality as both gift and responsibility. In this affirmation Collins offers a look into the cultural contexts of the New Testament and elicits the reader to grapple with the questions offered in the New Testament texts themselves and those still very applicable in our own time: divorce, adultery and homosexuality. The parameters of this challenge can be found in Collins' conclusion; that a viable contemporary sexual ethics must include the following: the notion of embodied existence; the dignity of women in God's plan; and the overarching demands of agapaic love. Though written and executed in fine academic fashion, Collins also brings to this work his pastoral experience and compassion thereby making the book accessible to anyone who seeks to integrate sexuality and ethics as a living reality. Though attempts have been made to separate human sexuality and ethics, Collins invites his readers to integrate these realities. Thus, he gives us yet another great work, providing a valuable resource not only to ethicists and theologians but to all who wish to explore the possibilites of growth in their Christian identity.

While I do not consider myself a biblical scholar, this book definitely caught my attention. I have to admit expecting a Roman Catholic papal redundancy on this topic, but instead I found Fr. Collins to be very insightful and penetrating in his analysis of controverisal topics. This book has challenged me with its nascent call to a sexual identity that is both wholesome and spiritual. Kudos to Fr. Collins! He is a welcome beacon in an often stale, stolid tradition.

Erin Collins has written an epic story about generations of strong women - and their men- carrying us into the depths of evil: the devil and his vile kingdom. At Tanas Global Lab in the desert of New Mexico, terrible experiments are carried on, that if known by the general public, they would be horrified.
Lucifer himself is seeking the perfect body of a young lady to mate with and bear him a son who will rule this world, become its "God".
Somehow, SIR- as he likes to be called- begins to sense that the perfect hybrid is already `out there' and the frantic search begins. The mother and babe must evade the clutches of the detestable pursuer at all costs.
It's a wonderful, exciting story with shades of The Omen and Rosemary's Baby, but Ms. Collins has made it all her own. Highly recommended by this reader!

This novel has one of the most chillingly evil protagonists I've come across. He raises "goose bumps" when I think of him. Plenty of heroes and heroines to give hope for a triumphant outcome, but still one does wonder.
While it is an "End Times" novel it is definitly not in the usual stereotypical style.
As a child coming of age during World War II, the portrayal of events of that era are very well researched, from clothing style to victory gardens.
The romance between Ethan and Danielle captured my emotions. Their heartbreaking struggle against evil is a page turner. Other characters are as finely drawn as these two, keeping the suspense alive until the last page and beyond.

Margaret Hardy














ethan an

In today's world, fiction and reality appear to be merging toward an uncertain future. So it is with Shadow walk: The Gathering, the first of a trilogy based upon an insidious past and present with the terror of ominous days ahead. This book takes the reader back through decades ago, where the seeds of evil germinate and simmer in a cauldron of biblical prophesy, and intrigue as deceptive as `The DaVinci Code'. Some of the lab experiments written about in this fast-paced novel are already being whispered about and covered up by scientists, government and power mongers. Will humanity look the other way as horrors and the things nightmares are made of come to fruition? Erin Collins addresses the eternal question. Can evil, at long last, overcome good, while the world complacently ignores the many signs and evidence of a terrifying new world? With a touch of the sinister movie, `Rosemary's Baby,' Collins will shock readers with her compelling tale--while leaving them impatient for . . . the rest of the story. A must read.

Micki Peluso, journalist, columnist, short story writer and author of . . .AND THE WHIPPOORWILL SANG

Before the modern developers bulldoze the area, a team assembles to insure no ancient relics are buried under the earth near the English village of Wytchlow. Heading up the archeological dig is Patrick Kane a brilliant individual haunted by personal ghosts buried in a Welsh graveyard. The rest of his team is very diversified, but each one carries their peculiar baggage. Of particular interest to Patrick is local villager Bobby Redhead, who looks like a thirty-something version of his beloved Rachel, that is if the latter had lived another decade rather than died at nineteen.

The dig centers on Roman ruins, but Patrick finds the Saxon legend of the "German Queen" more interesting. Meanwhile Bobby is attracted to the dig's leader. She focuses her attentions on Patrick who retreats within his shell every time she boldly steps towards him. As they get closer to finding the lost Saxon treasure, Patrick knows he found his own valuable treasure if he can move past his own tragic past and reach out for her.

SILENCE AND SHADOWS is an interesting romantic tale that blends legends and archeology into a fantastic love story. The tale never misses a beat as readers come to know the key players including several secondary cast members like Bobby's brother, several other villagers, and a land developer, etc. The lead couple adds to the legends as both differently struggle with their pasts seeking each other for the future. James Long has written a rich tale that will bring him many accolades from fans and critics.

Harriet Klausner

Picked it up at a local bookstore just in time to get snowed in for a couple days. Great fireplace/hot chocolate read. While there is a romantic current running through out the book, it is not what I would call a romance. Therefore I think it will appeal to anyone looking for historical fiction. The song of the German Queen is fantastic. The history and bits about archaeology make this more than mindless entertainment, but not so dry that the average reader won't enjoy it. A great read. I'm here at Amazon looking for other books by the same author

I thought this book was fascinating for several reasons. The main character is a reformed rock and roll star who blames himself for a loss from which he still suffers. He has returned to his previous profession, that of an archeologist, and is asked to do a dig that turns out to be more than what he bargained for. There is a wonderful yet painful love affair that develops from this dig along with wonderful tidbits about a time long past. I highly recommend this book.

Politically charged and transgressive, Martha Collins' poems take on the risky themes of domestic violence, social repression, political deception and war, in Some Things Words Can Do. From the first poem in the book ("Pinks," a reflection on racial categorization) we see immediately what words are up against: they must penetrate and revise deeply sedimented patterns of suppression and subjugation that continue to affect social structures at every circumference (family, community, nation, world). At times, Collins' language operates quietly, such as when the speaker in "Lies" asks one of the most central questions in the book: "If we don't know,/ do we lie if we say? If we don't say, do we lie/ down on the job?" There are also flashes of shock and discomfort throughout: confrontations with victims and corpses, all of them strange, and at the same time startlingly reminiscent of one's own body. In "Little Boy," for instance, we peer into the flesh-peeled faces of the victims of American "wargasm" to witness military aggression as an atrocious yet largely unquestioned part of living in the 20th Century. In "Her Mother Said," we are asked to swallow (along with our "chicken marsala, rice... [and] wine") an excruciatingly detailed description of a young girl's murder.

Collins' interest in what words can do clearly extends beyond playful accidents and intersections of sound and meaning; her words perform, invite, test, and testify. She manages a wide range of perspectives, experimenting with different personae and points of view, as in "Likes," a poem that questions traditional gender roles and stereotypes: "beneath my dress my hands were his were find-/ ing me no her no him no both of us like/ he was she and I was he and we and they/ were both in both of us two like to like." She keeps her lexicon simple, preferring an investigation of meanings, double-meanings and syntactical twists, to abstruse and exclusive diction. Challenging assumptions without estranging anyone, Martha Collins absorbs and engages her audience, the way "the earth absorbs/ the forest, the water/ absorbs the stone."

You will feel as if you are tracking words through a forest, that the light by which you see is also words, that if you tail long enough the whole forest will flash its linguistic underparts, and you yourself will suddenly emerge as terminology, your body haunted by syntax, your soul swathed in significance, your viscera wet. The title of this book is accurate, for inside you will find yourself titillated by the clout and valence of language, of how we use it to manipulate (stage-manage) and are manipulated (moved/moved about), and even formed, by it ("We rend, undo, blather still"). Collins' work is daringly and unapologetically political, which, in a world (at a time) so sewn with the difficult sutures of politics, is refreshingly necessarily blunt ("You can take a country out but you / can't put it back in again, you can't / burn all the books, unlearn the words.").

She reminds us that language itself is political, subjugates, negates, constructs. And yet while dealing frankly with the inconvenient facts of our times, these poems are also innovative, subtle, textured, at times seductive even ("the daisies / are blooming their heads off"). There are traces of Dickinson ("Knife, sword, gun, we meet at some / point or other, yours, you designate, I'm point- / less, zero, blank ... Zero and one are all the machine / knows.") and Stein ("Mean to mean is one thought. Mean / time the apparent sun sheds light on things. / Apparent things: seeing meaning seeming / things. Marrying means to mean. I mean it. I do.") throughout, but always with a Collins' colander, a screen that sifts through connotation's flour / flower / flow-err ("I didn't, well, a paper / I wrote, I was seventeen, oh the mind's a swamp / with the color drained, like photographs, black / and white, like words on a page, mistakes erased, / And where did you get your evidence?").

Normally one expects linguistic play not only as the technique but also as the focus of LANGUAGE-canted poets, but in this book Martha Collins is after fleshier referential game. There's play, some of it for play's sake ("Cloud-Play for Four Hands"), but much of it opens onto raw vistas, exposing the seriousness inherent in (mis)using language ("Testimony", "Background/Information", "Little Boy"), or the ways in which language can circle around violence and interpersonal terrors (of racism, war, mutilation, rape). Collins's language circles inversely, not to conceal these subjects, but to outline their ugly inner contours. Many poems in the first and third sections of the first book (this volume actually includes two books: "Some Things Words Can Do" and "A History of Small Life on a Windy Planet"), and many in the second book, seem to batter language around playfully (as the sonnet section of the first book does), but turn suddenly, unexpectedly, worming into political or social problems like a power awl. They remain wonderfully non-preachy, however; violence, deception, greed, and the brute drive to power argue, as always, most eloquently against themselves when they stand naked.

Collins is able to reel incredible webs out of words ("Pinks", "Cuts", her "sonnets" titled with single focus words) with a compressed vitality that makes her formulations seem, after the fact, obvious, yet unexhausted. There is a decided lack of cognitive distance from the process; rather, an involving warmth and humor leaps down every page, sometimes stinging ("Middle") but never without purpose, and never to an off-putting degree. Watching her at work is like watching someone crack open an egg over a frying pan: El Dorado slips out instead, on fire and being bombed, the fragmenting glitter testimony to human insanity, human (and natural) beauty, and, somehow, the usefulness of eggs.

Spongebob is invited to Sandy's house. But when, Spongebob visits, he decides to get out of the place because no water!

I really like this book but sadly the dog ate it so my mummy bought a new one. My dog is called Bill and he ate it and had to go to the vets afterwards.

This book is a delight to read. It has great pictures from the episode. It also has a very good novelization of the episode. The author didn't leave anything out. This makes a great companion to the DVD "Tales From The Deep" which has this episode on it.

A great gift idea for veggie lovers! I loved the grumpy old men!

This book makes learning about the history of movies fun! From 'The Elephant Man' to 'Debbie Does Salad', these sculptures will have you asking for more. A page turner from beginning to end, Brock Lee's charasmatic personality jumps right off the page. He even dedicated the book to his wife, "The sweetest tomato [he's] ever known"!! Buy this book and you won't be sorry!

Perfect for movie buffs or anyone who just wants a quirky endive-orientated take on the film industry. Brock's incredibe sculptures, dazzling wit, and subtle yet pronounced insights into Hollywood combine to make this book a must-have for any home. This book will keep you chuckling and shaking your head in amazement from beginning to end. It had me at (s)hallo(t).

While many books now box girls into gender sterotypes,this book shows girls how to reinforce their confidence so they can overcome societal pressure to conform to the myths about girls and their abilities.You do not here the usuall "girls can't do math" or "girls are less aggressive" those being the sterotypes to overcome..what you read are insightful tools to reinforce confidence and individuality.

For anyone who has a daughter, niece, sister. For mothers who were once-upon-a-time daughters. For fathers, uncles and friends. This is required reading and requested sharing. It is a realistic definition of "empowering" -- but more, of "inspiring" -- girls to find/use their voices and goals within a society that still has a "pink and blue" mentality. The base -- an organization, Girls Incorporated, that has inspired millions of girls for more than 80 years to discover, stretch, and own their possibilities. The content is not anti-male but is full of realistic (and research-based) ideas to help young girls (based on Girls Inc. experience with girls nationwide) reach their full potential. Everyday tips and experiences; teachable moments; eye- and mind-opening opportunties. No lectures; no heavy research -- just a solid dose of reality. Valuable for grown-up girls, too! (Mid-life crisis gift??)

This book reminded me of the thoughts I had when our younger daughter was born. How could my wife and I help her to have an open door to pursue the opportunities that meant the most to her? I wish this book had been available to us then!

Give this book to parents when their daughters are born.

The foreword by Ms. Jane Fonda particularly moved me. She describes how she went from being a person with strong ambitions to a teenager who was timid and concerned about how others would see her. For many years, her "inner voice" was lost, and she finds herself only recapturing it in her sixties.

The model of this book is to have girls know their rights as people and to be advocates of those rights for herself and others. Girls Inc. was founded in 1945 and has done good work in helping establish equal opportunity by gender.

The organization has established a bill of rights for girls that includes the right to:

-- "be themselves and to resist gender stereotypes"

-- "express themselves with originality and enthusiasm"

-- "take roles, to strive freely, and to take pride in success"

-- "accept and appreciate their bodies"

-- "have confidence in their selves and to be safe in the world"

-- "prepare for interesting work and economic independence."

Many people would agree that these are worthy goals. What I liked was that the book reported about research that Girls Inc. has conducted to find out how parents can help.

As you may have guessed, girls look to their Moms to lead the way. In a recent survey, 99 percent replied that Mom was their heroine and guide to planning their own lives. By describing her own life choices at the same age, Mom can help make these transitions more understandable and positive.

Further, Mom and Dad can work together to emphasize filling in experiences and knowledge that girls might not otherwise get. Why shouldn't girls find out how cars work? Sons will often benefit from the same instruction. I know I would have.

Unlike many books and research on gender issues, this book does not try to make males out as the villain of the problem. Instead, the book emphasizes how girls can become more knowledgeable, confident, and able to take care of themselves. I was especially impressed with the section called "My Future."

After you read and discuss this book, I suggest that you think back to where you lacked support (whether you were a girl or a boy) as a youngster. Will your children have the same issues? If so, how can you help them have better choices and capabilities? What other issues will your children have that you did not? How can you help with those?

Give your children the benefit of thinking through their lives carefully and knowledgeably . . . with as few limits as possible!

I first used the "Student Companion" when I was a student at secondary school in the 1970s. Initially I was just trying to impress other students in debates by using big words that I read from the book but as I developed, I found the book as an excellent reference book on a diverse range of subjects such as English language, History, Geography and nature study, among others.

I have the latest revised copy of the book (1991 edition) which I sometimes refer to. I encourage my kids that are at secondary school to use it for general knowledge.

For a book that was written several decades ago but is still popular, I consider it as a timeless classic that every secondary school student should have in their library.

This small book is excellent. I got my first copy about 30 years ago and I currently use as a teaching aid. I recommend this book to all my English students and especially non-native instructors. An excellent book for all native and non-native speakers of the English language.

I USED THIS BOOK AS A CHILD AND THAT WAS THIRTY YEARS AGO, IT WAS A GREAT BOOK AND THE REVISED EDITION WHICH I BOUGHT AS A GIFT FOR A FRIEND IS STILL A GREAT BOOK. IT IS "THE STUDENTS' COMPANION".