Ferguson Books

This book is written in a simple but concise manner. It hits on the simple but overlooked truth about why we sabotage ourselves. The only thing it misses is, sometimes these made beliefs about ourselves are so deep, we don't even know they exist and we need guidance to find them. The book hits on some ways to search them out.

High Water Chants is a new edition of the first novel by one of the greatest living writers in Canada, Trevor Ferguson. It tells of a murderous chase between the funny and exuberant Henry Scowcroft and the Duff brothers, powerful beast-like brutes who have a murder on their conscience. As Flood-like rain pours down on British Columbia's (imaginary) Skincuttle Island, Henry and his friends and enemies suffer wounds and beatings that hardly anyone should in reality survive. But the chase has strong mythological underpinnings to it, as if the characters were incarnations of some native spirits, rather than "ordinary" folk.

Ambitious and filled with strongly-worded prose, this is a novel that shows where Ferguson was headed when he started out as a writer: his talent is already clear, even though you can see some of the problems of any first novel lurking around.

High Water Chants is also an example of one of two distinct styles through which Ferguson has distinguished himself on the Canadian literary scene - with inroads now being made for him in France as well. It is a heroic, saga-like novel set in the powerful wilderness of Northwestern Canada, a style that is also at the heart of other novels like The Fire Line and The Timekeeper, and which could be remindful of Cormac McCarthy.

Ferguson has another distinctive style, however, that brings him closer to John Irving or a Robertson Davies gone wild in the 70s. Comedic and adventurous, this style has made Onyx John and The True Life Adventures of Sparrow Drinkwater some of the most enjoyable books I've ever read in my life. It's a shame that most of his books are marked as out of print, but it's worth hunting them down that way - or looking for them in Canada, where they're still in print.

This is a very fun read and one which will be particularly appealing to Tolkein fans. Ferguson has worked through some of the difficulties of the world of the Hobbits and has a new take on a world of orcs, wizards, magic rings, and salvation.
It is a terrific read and one in which the characters come alive! Highly recommended for a first novel.

The book is only a 4 because it does not helpp my character become overpowered. The game system is great. The transaction was smooth.

An excellent book for a beginner in dynamic economic models. It is presented in a simpler way that readers could them without much difficulty.

All in all this was a very good book on the puritan pastor-theologian John Owen. The chapters were adapted from papers that were presented on Owen in London. Each of the authors is fluent in the aspect of Owen's life that they are writing about and the different perspectives give the book a fresh feel.

The reason I gave it only four stars is that it is probably suitable as an introduction to Owen and not a full treatment like Marsden's work on Jonathan Edwards. With that said, it is a great resource that touches on many different facets of Owen's life.

Somewhat hard to read, but a great look into Roman life.

This book features good stories from people who knew Ken well and many beautiful images of Ken's work. It's one of the better books of this type that I've seen. I know the publisher spent several years putting the book together. Ken died about three years ago and the book was well underway at that point. I'm glad all the years and hard work paid off in such a fine publication. My hat's off to publisher Ted Rowland for his perseverance in bringing this book to the public. Ken was Chair of Ceramics at the Kansas City Art Institute for more than 30 years and sent many students out into the artworld. Ken retired in 1996 and Cary Esser (my wife) has run the department ever since. The KCAI Ceramics Dept. will dedicate a new display area for its permanent collection in Ken's honor in March of 2008. The collection includes more than 600 artworks donated by students, alumni, visiting artists and faculty over the years.
- Mo Dickens, Kansas City, Missouri

There a a couple of hot stories in the news this week about fake memoirs. This one is the real deal - no exaggeration, no playing fast-and-loose with the truth.

It isn't hard-hitting journalism, nail-biting suspense or a dark, brooding meditation on the nature of man's soul. It does have action and it does have heroes...but mostly it is about finding fun and humor in a difficult situation. There are a couple of anecdotes in here that would make Joseph Heller or Kurt Vonnegut gnash their teeth in envy. Yes, they are that funny.

The reason I give it four stars instead of five is because it is too short! Maybe we need a sequel!

Sometimes you need to either laugh or cry. Over the years, Bill Ferguson did a lot more laughing than crying, I suspect.

The book contained fewer pictures and more information than I had hoped for, but completely makes up for it by including all kinds of little doodles in the margins. The book gives good background of Owens, and the overall feel of the book gives you a real sense of her as an artist. It had enough pictures to keep me happy, and the right information to make me want to read.