Elliott Books

I really liked this book. It kept you guessing because of the many suspects and it wasn't predictable and I liked the writing style and the story. The Roosevelt's second son was a great mystery author. It was set in 1940, and a prominent senator who was having many affairs was found murdered. I would rate it 4.5 stars.

It is June of 1940, and German troops are nearing Paris. In the White House, concern over the defeat of France is suddenly joined by shock. Senator Gibson excuses himself from a dinner in the State Dining Room and is later found murdered in the deserted East Room. Eleanor Roosevelt immediately goes all out to aid Police and Secret Service in tracking down the murderer. Unfortunately, the Senator's many adulterous affairs had infuriated not only his wife, but also a string of misled women. He also had political enemies willing to kill him. With her usual calm insight, Mrs. Roosevelt sorts out the mass of suspects until she reveals the murderer. Along with the mystery, you also get a picture of goings on in the White House during that momentous time in history. It's always fun to match wits with the First Lady in these mysteries while you watch history being made.

The series is wonderful for the intended reader (ages 9 - 12) and taken as a whole, gives a very comprehensive look at life in the middle ages. As a stand-alone book, however, it is very narrow in it's scope. It deals exclusively with growing, acquiring, serving and beliefs about food during that time. While it has many lists of the kinds of food found in the area, along with who eats them and when, it does not have any descriptions of prepared dishes, and has only one recipe, which is basically melted cheese on crackers. For a child writing a report on food in the middle ages, this is a perfect book. For a child or adult wishing to host a recreation of a middle ages feast, this book is nearly useless. For a child who has just discovered a love of the middle ages, it is going to be the start of an expensive collection.

These books in The Medieval World series (there are 20), published by Crabtree Publishing Company, serve myriad purposes. For the intended reading age, 9-12, they present medieval life--very confusing to our contemporary conventions--in a perfectly understandable fashion. For that age range, I could not recommend these books higher. If I'd had such materials when I was younger, I might have ended up as a medieval scholar.

Yet they also serve a purpose that the publisher may not have intended, and that is for the casual researcher of medieval life.

There are accessible texts for the casual researcher, this is true, but none that I've seen contain simple explanations and diagrams. For example, this book is full of wonderful illustrations that depict: a timeline that begins with the feudal system and importing rice to Spain from the Middle East in 700 ACE to Christopher Columbus and the introduction of new food around 1493 ACE; what different food shops looked like; taverns and inns; and a two-page diagram (with numbers!) of a noble's feast; and many, many more.

Every page in this book (there are 32 pages in every book in the series), is presented in full color, the pages colored to resemble parchment, and the illustrations done to wonderfully evoke the period.

The "chapters" included are:

The Middle Ages
Ideas About Food
Farming
Peasant's Food
Markets and Fairs
The Spice Trade
Eating in Towns
Food Shops
Cooking in the Castle
A Noble's Table
A Noble's Feast
Hunting, Hawking, and Fishing
Feasts and Fasts
Food in Other Cultures
Glossary and Index (wonderful to have!)

If you're a writer, and you're looking for simple information on what medieval life looked like, this series of books can't be beat. To buy the entire series may be prohibitive, but if you have an idea of exactly what you want, this is a great starting point.

An amazing resource. Morgan has forgotten more than most people will ever know about the history of jazz. Spectacular work!

I think that this book provided me with great knowledge about African American music in the early years. It went into great depth and was easy to read. Great for research papers.

Derived from bits of truth, author George Elliott Clarke narrates the fictionalized account of the Hamilton brothers. In Nova Scotia, Ontario, Canada, the boys are born to Asa and Cynthy, a young couple living in poverty. Growing up, the boys witnessed their father abusing their mother and later turning his wicked ways toward them. The brothers are uneducated, dropping out of school in the third grade. George and Rue become thieves and social deviants at a young age especially since they received no direction from their parents. By the time they are sixteen and fifteen, respectively, they are on their own as both parents are dead. Clarke takes the reader inside George and Rue's lives as he chronicles their turbulent existence as they seek employment, join the armed forces, find love, become family men and then commit a crime so bad, they end up on death row.

The life George and Rue led was very interesting and that made this almost all narrative novel an interesting read. One of the most interesting aspects for this reader was how the author described incidents of prejudice and discrimination that happened in this rural Canadian province. History would have one to believe that Canada opened its arms to African Americans since they were major supporters of the Underground Railroad and emancipation. In fact, life in Nova Scotia, Ontario, Halifax and other regions of Canada was very hard for the African American. Also, very interesting was the pretense of a fair trial in Canadian court for the brothers.

While not really a book I would pick up on my own, I liked it enough to recommend it to those who enjoy Canadian history and fictionalized accounts of real crimes. I also recommend keeping a dictionary handy, because this author seems to have an extensive vocabulary that he is not afraid to use

Jeanette
APOOO BookClub
Motown Review Book Club

When I picked up this book and read the inside cover, I wasnt sure what to expect. First of all, I've never heard of George Elliot Clarke but I thought, "hmmm, (reading the inside cover to my self)..a story set in 1949(the year I was born)..about two siblings and the authors search to find out what forces would reduce men to crime and violence and ultimately murder", intrigued me to the point of sitting down and at least starting the book. In addition, the story is set in the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, areas I know nothing about in terms of black folks and how they fared in that time. The author gives us a history lesson woven in with a complex subject matter that had me at times weeping other times cringing as these young men had a ROUGH childhood filled with pain. Mr Clarke hooked me from the introduction and took me inside the world of these people up north with words that had me feeling the pain and suffering with each page. There were times he used words I felt I needed to look up yet I knew what he meant as I continued to read. The "Blackened" English he uses is so appropriate that Im not sure why he, in his own words "accepts total guilt for it; I LOVED IT. His writing reminds me of Richard Wright as it is such a powerful piece that I will read again. Let me also state this disclaimer: it is not for the faint of heart as some of the descriptions of child abuse and other experiences the brothers faced and crimes they committed are brutal yet they give you a complete picture of who they are and I suggest why people sometimes resort to crime as a way out. Clearly we read every day about crimes that seem senseless to us but underneath the story line is a "reason". This is George and Rue's story. If your looking for that book that is just plain ole good story telling from start to finish, this is the one.

Linda

The book was good. I felt it wasn't complete, however, in the section on roadblocks to healing. I also saw some doctrinal errors. For someone really needing healing, I think a book like T.L. Osborn's Healing The Sick goes in depth and teaches more. An Invitation to Healing is worth a look, though. You may pick up something in here to help you.

This book is a must for anyone who no longer wants to be a victim in life. Carefully written in an easy-to-read style, Lynda Elliott helps to peel away the pain and begin to lose the fear one feels when faced with tough times. Misconceptions about being "worthy" of God's love are replaced with a faith-based understanding that we are all worthy of Divine love and healing. If you know someone in pain, this book will be a welcome gift.

Description from the book back cover:

Sinclair's Sleeping Beauty - Janice Jennings refused to be any man's trophy ever again. So she hid behind drab clothes and thick glasses. And the camouflage worked. Not one man looked beneath the surface to discover the woman inside. Until Mr Sinclair came along ... Taylor Sinclair was sophisticated, sexy, irresistible. Janice was sure he'd had his share of beauties, and had broken a number of hearts. But something about Sinclair just wasn't right. He didn't mind her plain appearance; he wanted to kiss her, hold her, drab outfits and all! Once, she would have believed Taylor was too good to be true. Dare she trust her heart now?

Joan Elliott Pickart does it again. This time Ms. Pickart captures her readers attention and hearts with this three part series called the Bachelors Bet. The three books follow the romances and livies os three friends- Brandon Hamilton, Taylor Sinclair and Ben Rizzoli.In this the second in the series we follow two people who are afraid to love, yet can not help themselves when they meet.Taylor Sinclair - handsome, smart and afraid of losing the one he lves, so he decides never to love.Janice Jennings - a beautiful, sucessful woman who because of past experiences decides to hids her loks behind an old maid outfit.The romance of this story is wonderful. The two characters learn how true love can conquer all. Also the supporting characters are wonderful and add humor. It is also greatto see how the main character from the first boo are doing.This is a great series with friendly characters and wonderful lessons in love.

Dominique Lecourt, now Professor of Philosophy at the University of Paris VII, is best known as a collaborator and follower of French Marxist philosopher Louis Althusser, and had a few Althussreian-flavored works translated into English in the seventies. The publisher, Verso (imprint of New Left Books) used to issue in translation many such tomes when they were more in vogue, but that has now virtually stopped with the fall of Marxism from academic favor. The appearance of this short book was thus a welcome sight, as so little is being published today that could remotely be construed as Marxist. The sub-title, however, ("French Philosophy Since the Mid-1970's") is slightly misleading. For an anti-humanist in the Althusser and Foucault tradition, Lecourt goes at philosophy in a strikingly "humanist" manner. The first half of the book, "The Mediocracy", is a series of mini-biographical and anecdotal accounts of the main figures on the French philosophical scene in the last thirty years. Lecourt traces the decline in French intellectual life from the militant sixties to the hegemony of neo-liberalism and "free market" ideology. He gets in his licks at the "New Philosophers," the main subjects of his ire, right-wing historians and others. Anyone expecting a dry, analytical account of recent philosophical trends will probably be disappointed, but Lecourt writes well and his vitriolic account is good fun. The second part of the book seems somewhat tacked-on , an essay from the late-seventies entitled "Dissidence or Revolution?" that deals with, and laments, the depoliticization of the intellectuals in the U.S. and abroad. Unfortunately, it has not been updated (e.g.,"the class struggle in the USSR")and reads as if there was still a Marxist USSR. On the whole, however, I enjoyed this, and suspect others drawn to the subject will too. Someone should take Lecourt's lead and do something similar for the U.S. situation, in tracing the decline of American philosophical and intellectual life from the struggles and promise of the sixties to the morass of what passes for intellectual discourse today.

Serious students and professors of French history and culture between 1968-1998 will find this book fascinating. Lecourt, a professor of philosophy at the University of Paris VII and a former intimate of Louis Althusser at the celebrated Ecole Normale Superieure (rue d'Ulm), claims that French thought after the publication of the seminal works of Foucault, Derrida, and Deleuze suffers a trivialization in theme and scope.

"The Mediocracy" is essentially a polemic written against two currents of French intellectual life: first, the so-called New Philosophers of the 1970's; second, a somewhat later "libertarian" trend in French thought that is embodied by Luc Ferry and Alain Renaut. This book is interesting not because it is a work of penetrating, original philosophy but because it recreates the intellectual atmosphere of Paris during the thirty years following the "events" of May 1968. Lecourt helps us understand the clashes, tensions, hatreds, and alliances that developed during this time as they appeared in a rich tapestry of sources: books, newspaper articles, TV broadcasts, and university lectures.

Unfortunately, this brief volume is marred in two ways. First, the book combines two essays that have no compelling justification for being published together. The first essay, entitled in English "The Mediocracy," was originally published in 1999 by Flammarion as "Les piètres penseurs," a much more accurate and honest title than the one that appears on the volume under review. The second essay is entitled "Dissidence or Revolution?" and was originally published in 1976 by Maspero. This essay is bland and now obviously dated. Second, the translator has occasional lapses in the admittedly difficult task of transposing French philosophical prose into readable English.

Description from the book back cover:

Mother At Heart: Raising her late sister's baby had been a joy for Tessa Russell. But now her family's happiness was threatened by her unwelcome desire for an arrogant, impossible man -- a man who would never acknowledge this child as his ... Father By Chance: Dominic Bonelli wouldn't believe it, no matter how much the boy's alluring mother conjured up dreams of a fairy-tale family. That is, until he saw little Jason ... and the telltale sign members of Dominic's family sported: the infamous Bonelli ear. Was it possible after all, that the irresistible tyke really was a Bonelli -- and his son??

Description from the book back cover:

Mother at Heart - Raising her late sister's baby had been a joy for Tessa Russell. But now her family's happiness was threatened by her unwelcome desire for an arrogant, impossible man - a man who would never acknowledge this child as his ... Father by Chance - Dominic Bonelli wouldn't believe it, no matter how much the boy's alluring mother conjured up dreams of a fairy-tale family. That is, until he saw little Jason ... and the telltale sign members of Dominic's family all sported: the infamous Bonelli ear. Was it possible after all, that the irresistible tyke really was a Bonelli - and his son?

Misty Vale has loved Cullen Elliot for years. An ex-Vegas showgirl, she's been his secret mistress living in Las Vegas while he's lived in New York. A few years older than Cullen, she's always known that she has more invested in their relationship than him, but this hasn't stopped her from living for the moments that she spends his arms. But surprise pregnancy changes everything. Cullen is convinced that they should get married, however Misty knows that she's not the type of woman his high society family would accept, bringing into account the fact that Cullen doesn't love her, and she decides that marriage is definitely out of the question. As the years have gone by and he's spent more time with Misty, Cullen has found his feelings for her deepening. He's not sure what it is, but he knows that he's not ready to let her go, especially now that she's expecting his child. Can they make a marriage together work?

I've never read a Heidi Betts book that I didn't like, and Mr.& Mistress is no exception. I found it a little troubling that Cullen had relationships with other women during the early part of his relationship with Misty. And this knowledge detracted from the romance of the story for me. However I loved the fact that Misty was little older than Cullen and the passion between them smoldered from page one. While the pregnancy storyline is one that is used often, Heidi Betts, writes it so well, that I found myself unable to stop turning pages. Readers who enjoy Silhouette books will want to add Heidi Betts to their auto-buy lists, and I wouldn't be surprised if we see her soon with longer length novels in the very near future!


Melissa
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

This is the fourth book in the Elliotts series and the storyline is not as good as the others. This is the story of Cullen Elliott who lives in NY and who for the past 4 years has kept a mistress, Misty a former Vegas showgirl and five years his senior, in Vegas. After 4 years of supporting her financially, seeing her whenever he was in Vegas, while sleeping with other women inbetween trips, Misty discovers she's pregnant. Now Misty decides she must break off the relationship b/c she feels she's not good enough for Cullen. When Cullen finds out about the pregnancy he wants to do the right thing and marry her. Misty declines b/c he's only doing it out of a sense of duty. She decides that he can still see her and the baby but it would ruin him in the eyes of his very wealthy scandal conscious family and the media if he were to marry her. She feels being an ex lowly Vegas showgirl she's nowhere near in the Elliott's family league. At this point the author is trying to convince you that Misty's doing all of this b/c she's really been in love with Cullen all this time and that's why she's been a kept woman and why she's refusing to marry him now.
I found Misty's character to be unbelivable, unlikeable, selfish and for a 31 year old woman, the senior of the two, juvenile. It seems she'd rather Cullen's family and the press learn that Cullen is having a bastard child with his mistress, a Vegas showgirl, and he isn't going to marry her. Yeah! Such a better scenerio for both Cullen and the unborn child. She'd rather do that than marry a man that swears to take care of both her and his child and by the way a man she purports to love.

Cullen of course doesn't feel that Misty's inferior in anyway and wants to marry her regardless of how his family feels about it. He wants to be a part of his childs life. He just needs to convince Misty she should marry him. During the course of this convincing he seems to have convinced himself that he's really in love with her and has been for some time. Frankly, I think it was b/c Misty was so adament that she wouldn't marry Cullen that he wanted to marry her to begin with.
I didn't like Cullen's character very much either. I thought he was a nice guy and wanted to do the responsible thing. But I felt he didn't really know what he wanted. After 4 years of having exclusive access to Misty, while sleeping with any other woman that catches his fancy, he decides he's now so much in love with Misty. Based on this storyline I found his revelation unconvincing. There was really nothing in the story to negate that the only reason these two people were getting married was b/c of the baby. While I can commend them for wanting to raise their child within marriage, they should at least be honest about the reasons for the marriage. It seems the story was all about convincing themselves and the reader that they were really really in love all this time. If you the reader can believe that, then you will probably enjoy the book more than I did.

This reference to a line from a recent comedian popped into my head as I was trying to get into this book. After my 6th re-read of the beginning of the second chapter I felt like I was beginning to grasp some of the concepts the author put forth regarding Carter's music and Time, and it wasn't too far after that that I realized this book was interesting but not really necessary to enjoy Carter's music. And most likely, if you don't enjoy Carter's music for the way it sounds and unfolds, this book will not help you enjoy it.

The author does a great job of putting the concepts behind Carter's music into words, but I still found them to be very esoteric. This book reminds me of texts that I used to read in my 20th Century music theory and history classes in college, and I would have benefited greatly with this text by having a professor around to help clarify some of the more obscure comments. For example, in the section describing Carter's music as Collage, the author quotes Carter as saying: "`The form I seek is Coleridge's "form as proceeding", and I try to avoid "shape as superinduced".' For the latter, he says, `is either the death or the imprisonment of the thing; the former is its self-witnessing and self-effected sphere of agency.'" Far out. And gibberish, to me. Along with some of the rhythmic tables that made me chuckle, as a musician, imagining trying to figure it out--for example, from the 2nd quartet, part of the structure of the rhythm: 2nd violin pulse--six dotted 32nd notes plus a dotted 32nd rest under a septuplet bar=70, matched to a tempo of dotted quarter=60, with a ratio to the others of 7:6. Okay. There's also the tempo marking of dotted eighth=163.3 and 186.7.

I soon realized that I though I already like Carter's music, the contents of this book will not make me listen to Carter's music any differently. Even though I find the concept of the Time Screen interesting, I won't be envisioning it next time I listen to his Concerto For Orchestra. So, if you like to read about what's behind really high concept music and have a mind to hold the information, I can see getting through the whole tome. Otherwise, browsing for fun seems to be a better use for someone approaching Carter's music non-academically.

Schiff has done a lucid job here for the readers,he writes quite well, not slipping into piles of set theory or analytical jargoneze,that speaks to a diminishing elite. Many have labeled Carter an elite creator,but that's a matter of reference(well Carter did walk out on a performance in Chicago due to Leonard Slatkin's pre-concert remarks). Schiff remarkably covers all the great Carter works, the turbulent works of the Sixties and Seventies, the darkly brooding Piano Concerto(written in West Berlin) and the Concerto for Orchestra,a Sixties work of violence, a reflection on the Anti-War Times. The latter unaccompanied solos are all here as well, all works written,for the most part after the First Edition. Schiff frequently reflects upon what works in a piece, a purely function premise that explains much, and is food for thought to any youngster hoping to someday write just like Elliot Carter. I miss the photographs from the First Edition, those with Stravinsky and Boulez, and the Carter manuscript reproductions included there. Schiff seems quite lucid in speaking about all this complexity whether rhythmic,structural or pitchbound. I didn't know for instance that Carter has kept a harmony book, sort of a creative Oracle to refer to over ones life. The chapters divide things again quite clearly, The Chamber Music, The Vocal Music, The Piano Music and Orchestral, with a nice Appendix of Carter's Listing of Three to Six Note Chords, also a Chronological Catalogue of Works, a select Bibliography and Discography, a List of Charts. A shame however is, although the winner of numerous Pulitzers, Carter until quite recent times has been neglected here in this country fighting in his home territory, the Eastern Musical Establishment and the Bernstein Clique of the Sixties and Seventies. Boulez did much to repair this damage with The New York Philharmonic and now Barenboim has in Chicago, as well as premiere ensembles,Arditti and soloists,Chas Rosen and Ms Oppens. Schiff also always points to Carter's extracurricular interests in literature, where he frequently finds an impetus for a work, as well as the Italian language for a conceptual working premise. The Glossary at the beginning also is a wonderful clarifier, of forms we frequently hear about but seldom understand within the context of the subsequent work these terms refer to.