Ford Books

I bought this as an introduction to Arthur Ford, and it serves that purpose admirably. It is a shortish volume published by the Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship, which Ford was instrumental in founding. It is, therefore, solidly pro-Ford -- but it doesn't ignore his personal flaws or the controversies surrounding his mediumship. It consists of passages from Ford's own writings as well as the writings of his closest associates. One particularly interesting part concerns an auto wreck in which Ford's sister and a friend were killed and he was left in a coma. Writing 25 years before anyone had heard the term "Near Death Experience," he described a classic NDE. In case you aren't familiar with Ford, he had nearly a 50-year career. Two of his main claims to fame were solving the riddle of the message Houdini had left for his wife ("Rosabelle, believe") and putting Bishop Pike in touch with his late son. I previously hadn't taken Ford seriously due to the controversy surrounding the Houdini episode and some of the other anti-Ford propaganda, but this book led me to do additional digging. Ford clearly seems to have had a great deal of genuine mediumistic ability (whatever that may be). He was also a complex individual who would make an interesting study even if he had been a complete fraud. I would recommend this as an excellent introduction to Ford (or a good summing up as to what he was all about, if you are already familiar with him).

I have always been interested in the paranormal and the major men and women of our time that have made a difference.
Have always been interested in Arthur Ford, and that he channelled through an entity named Fletcher - I remember seeing old films where Ford's face would literally change and he would do his reading.
I was saddened that upon Ford's death, Fletcher considered himself free - like he too had a lesson to be learned, and he was so happy to move on - always felt sorry for him.
Will be an interesting read, but look under the tale and feel what I just told you - there is more to the story delve further down and you learn more about Ford, and Fletcher -

I first learned of Arthur Ford through reading Ruth Montgomery books. It was Ford who told Ruth she would be doing automatic writing which later lead to all her wonderful metaphysical material. I was always fascinated by Arthur Ford and wished to learn more about him. This book tells it all from his beginnings as a medium who channeled Fletcher, an old friend he knew as a child who passed over after going to war. All the stories contained in this book are fascinating and within the pages I learned Arthur Ford was the medium who cracked the Houdini code! You will read the remarkable accounts of those who attended Ford's sessions and the information they received from Spirit. Its a most interesting read of a medium's life.

John Ford's book selected an interesting approach through his writing. That approach is interwoven with comical, political and economic perspectives that bind into Roswell's (New Mexico) UFO history possibilities.
His idea is interesting in that it cleverly combines the theme of his work with what the United States has grappled with for many years and has increased in velocity with our current political and economic predicaments.
His book not only needs to be classified under Fiction but also under several other categories; Politic Science, Economic, etc. There are philosophical messages in his book which can easily be enjoyed and discussed in English Literature classes in our public schools.

Andrew Gamboa, Psy.D.

The writing style is unusual and held my attention well. The story line is fun and the end unexpected and provocative. One can read this for light pleasure or for deeper thinking related to the issues of our time. Altogether worthwhile reading.

This is a quick, easy read but with powerful messages. I loved the ending!
It's a fun book in spite of the strong message. If you love the stories of 1947 Roswell, New Mexico, you'll enjoy this one.

If you've liked previous editions, you'll enjoy this one, too. Same formula, and a seemingly inexhaustible supply of human-interest stories from the sports world. Choosing a favorite or two is tough, but I love the bittersweet ones, such as about one of baseball's great "bonus baby" players who never panned out, or about the insane distance bicycle racer.

I'm delighted to see an article from a blog breaking through the "print barrier" in the series. I'm a little disappointed that so many stories came from the NY Times, as well as a couple of plain things from the Washington Post. A little more edge and a little less conventionality has been nice in other editions.

The 1999 edition of "The Best American Sports Writing" has plenty of moments that will enthrall avid sports fans and even those less avid who merely like a good story. The series is a national treasure, which collects the best sports related writing every year and puts it into a single easy-to-read volume. The sports included run the gamut from the traditional team sports of baseball and football to more extreme examples like mountaineering. The main requirement for inclusion is great writing, and that's wht this series delivers consistently.

The best articles in the 1999 edition include Thomas Boswell's account of Cal Ripken's voluntary stoppage of his historic games played streak, Steve Friedman's biographical article on tormented 2nd generation professional bowler Pete Weber, Allen Abel's hilarous tribute to the long-folded World Hockey Association, and Adam Gopnik's insightful explantion of why World Cup Soccer fails to excite American fans. As always, the quality of the reporting means that even if you have only a margainal interest in the sport described, you'll still find it entertaining.

Overall, another fine entry in an outstanding series.

Hard to believe Amazon.com can't keep their years straight when it comes to reviewing this series. Anyway, the latest collection of sports writing was all right but nothing special by the usual high standards. It's a smaller collection than normal, and there are a few hunting and fishing pieces that I couldn't get into. That didn't leave a whole lot, although what was left was pretty darn good. I particularly enjoyed the articles on the parents of a benched high school football player suing the school, and on the 1998 World Cup.

The General Instructions for the Roman Missal indicates that for Opening, Offertory, and Communion the preference should be 1) The Antiphon from the Roman Gradual 2) The Antiphon from the Simple Gradual 3) Another psalm 4) Some other song consistent with the above.

Until now, unless one was singing Latin, options 1 and 2 were eliminated, and option 3 was ignored, and option 4 all too often took the form of some banal hymn.

"By Flowing Waters" is an english edition of the Simple Gradual (which was prepared under a mandate from the Second Vatican Council), opening the door to the use of sung Scripture in worship.

It's one of the ironies of modern Christianity that the churches claiming to make the most of the Bible in their theology make the least of the Bible in their worship. Evangelicals, for all their insistence on the authority, infallibility, and God-givenness of the Bible, have the least biblical worship in Christendom. It is unbiblical not in the sense that it breaks this rule or that, but in the sense that the Bible itself plays little or no role in the language and content of worship.

If you visit a "Bible church," for example, you may find that the Bible is a closed book, liturgically speaking. It isn't sung. It isn't prayed. It is a springboard for the sermon, and no more. But if you step into, say, an Anglican or Orthodox church, you find a way of worship much more explicitly biblical. The people hear two or three readings from both the Old and the New Testaments. They sing the Psalms and the Lord's Prayer, and the service includes hymns shot through with scriptural language.

The point of the comparison isn't to vilify one church and idealize another. Every tradition has its liabilities. But it does raise a question: What are evangelicals missing that many other Christians aren't? The answer: The other Christians have not forgotten that the Psalms are the church's first and greatest hymnbook.

The Psalms have always occupied a central place in private devotion, of course. Jerome, the great fourth-century translator and scholar, reports hearing them sung by people in the fields and in their gardens. But the Psalms were also central to public worship. Psalm-singing churches are following a tradition rooted in the Bible itself. Jesus prayed the Psalms. They were twice on his lips when he was dying. He even said, after his resurrection, that the Psalms really speak of his own suffering and glory. What greater incentive does the Christian need to pray and sing them?

"By Flowing Waters" is a collection of biblical songs -- mostly Psalms -- set to some of the most durable and attractive music that the church has produced. The melodies are basically what we're used to calling "Gregorian" or "plainsong" -- unison and unaccompanied. (It's astonishing that churches haven't capitalized on the success of all those popular Gregorian chant CDs. Why don't we get to sing the best examples of plainsong in church? The appetite for such music is clearly there.)

Paul F. Ford's settings are intended for antiphonal or responsorial singing. That is, a cantor or choir chants the Psalm, and the congregation sings a brief response (usually a sentence from the Psalm) after every verse or two. But there's nothing to keep a church from learning to sing the whole Psalm.

Not all of the Psalms are here, and many that are have been truncated. The translations, from the New Revised Standard Version, will not suit every ear. But one great virtue of this humble music is that it can be adapted to any translation. It could be adapted to the phone book, for that matter. So even if you don't like the New Revised Standard Version, you could use Ford's settings as guide for your own arrangements with another translation. His introductory essay explains how the chants are structured and makes helpful suggestions about singing them.

The author and publisher are Catholic, but musicians from other traditions who want to add sung prayer to their churches' worship will find plenty to draw on. Ford invites them to use what they wish. And for anyone who reads music, "By Flowing Waters" wouldn't be bad for private use either.

This is the best and most comprehensive collection of English chant for Catholic liturgy that I am aware of. The collection contains the entire Graduale Simplex, translated into English and using the same chant melodies of the GS. The text was not forced into fitting the traditional melodies, but the melodies were slightly adapted to fit the text, resulting in a convincing chanting of the English language. Some other chants are included in addition to the Graduale Simplex. This book is amazingly comprehensive, well-organized, and extremely useful.

This is easily the best book I've ever read on the immediate circumstances of the English Civil War. Russell has proven himself consistently to be a brilliant Civil War scholar, and doesn't fail to do so here. In this slim volume, he ties together the unrest in all three kingdoms of Great Britain, religious conflicts and ambitions, the character of Charles I, and royalist and parliamentary ideals to explain the Civil War in its immediate context. Although he goes as far back as the Reformation to establish some long-term background, Russell pretty much concentrates on the events of 1642. Combine this with his Fall of the British Monarchies (a larger, more expansive, and ultimately much less readable book) and you have a pretty good coverage of all the angles in explaining the Civil War.

The origin of the English Civil War is one of the historiographic morasses of the last 50 years. The English Civil War resulted in the execution of Charles I for betraying the British people, establishment of parliamentary supremacy followed by an authoritarian republic, and generated an important body of political thought that persisted for over a century and formed the backdrop of the American Revolution. Because of the importance of the Civil, it attracted a large number of prominent historians, leading to a plethora of conflicting interpretations. These included fairly standard Marxian interpretations (RH Tawney), inverted Marxist interpretations (HR Trevor-Roper), and a host of others.

This book, by the distinguished historian Conrad Russell, is a much more modest effort. Russell carefully specifies that he is interested in the outbreak of the Civil War per se and not in the war itself or its long term consequences. This leads to a much more focused discussion of causes of specific events such as the successful invasion of England by the Scots Covenanter army and the failure of Charles to dismiss or prorogue the Long Parliament.

This is not, however, a detailed narration. Russell is primarily concerned with identifying structural features that made possible the outbreak of the Civil War. The first is the problem of multiple Kingdoms. Britain, composed of the Kingdoms of England/Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, were unified only by the Monarchy. The political, social, and religious problems in each Kingdom were different and sometimes contradictory. This meant that policies in one Kingdom could have adverse consequences in another with the result that factions in different Kingdoms could work with each other. This actually happened with the Scots-Parliamentary alliance on the eve of the Civil War. Another structural feature was the ambiguous nature of the Elizabethan religious settlement that left the nature of reformation of the English church unclear. Again, this had contradictory ramifications throughout Scotland and Ireland as well. Finally, the early 17th century was period where inflation and the costs of warfare greatly eroded royal financial capacity and made the King increasingly dependent on parliamentary provision of funds, which led to confrontation. A final structural cause was Charles' personality. His rigidity and personal religious convictions made it impossible for him to manage the demands of this situation, though it may have been beyond the capacity of anyone.

Implicit in Russell's analysis is that there is some dissociation between the proximate causes of the Civil War and its major revolutionary consequences. In this implicit model, the War itself had a radicalizing effect, which is creditable.

While this is a very good book, written with a high level of erudition and close attention to logic, it is really aimed at fellow scholars and primarily at others interested in early modern Europe. If you don't already know a lot about 17th century Britain, this book will be hard to follow.

You need to be familiar with the names, dates, places, etc of the English Civil War before you try to read this. Russell's "Multiple Kingdom" thesis is good, but he seems to overlook population and economic causes -I don't know for sure because I may have slept through those pages...not that I SHOULD have slept though them of course! It would have been a much more engaging book if I loved the English Civil War with all my heart.

Charlie Ford is a nanny. After she is fired from one job, she gets a job caring for Annabelle, the twelve-year-old daughter of one of Hollywood's top action heroes.

She soon finds out her summer will be spent in Africa taking care of Annabelle. Charlie is not excited about the prospects of her summer with a spoiled brat, let along huge bugs and lots of dirt.

On their way, their plane is high jacked. Charlie discovers she not only screams like a girl, but she also passes out a lot.

The Secret Agent man appears to help them, and soon her life is turned upside down in the jungle with many villains. Doesn't hurt that the Secret Agent man is a very handsome spy.

This book was fabulous! Lots of action to keep me turning pages. Was really hard to put down. Charlie is such an amazing character. She was very different than I anticipated. Her interactions with Annabelle and the Secret Agent man were great! The Africa jungle was a great backdrop as well.

I highly, highly recommend this book! Hope there will be more books with Charlie and the Secret Agent man.

I didn't give this one 5 stars because it was told in the first person, by a woman, and I'm a MAN. But I did give it 4 stars because it was funny, entertaining and had a great plot. The author did it again with this one! Charlie Ford is going to be a smash hit with lovers of adventure and international espionage, as well as a hit with older teens who love a good, action-packed thrill ride. A must read!

Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (4/07)

Thanks to author J.D. Tynan, I was actually able to enjoy a flight across the United States because I had this book in my hands. By the way, this flight was full of traveling junior high school kids... and I don't like kids.

Anyway, from the first page Tynan had me hooked. It is important to note that Charlie Ford is a woman. She is a pretty tough woman. The story begins with Charlie being fired from another nanny position. She seems to have a problem with spoiled rich kids getting the best of her. Unwilling to give up she takes another nanny position for a twelve-year-old girl who is the daughter of a movie star dad. The daughter initially seems like every other spoiled brat, but Charlie senses that she has some protective barriers up and starts to see past the facade. She and Charlie end up going to Africa to be with her dad while he completes filming a movie. Along the way, their plane is hijacked. Charlie and Annabelle manage to escape into the jungle with the help of a mysterious man.

Charlie spent eight years in an elite military unit. She learns that she must use her survival skills, military training, and her excellent physical condition to survive. In dealing with Annabelle she also comes to terms with relationships that she has with her family members. This ordeal brings out the worst of her issues. But it is these issues that help her relate so well to Annabelle. She has to deal with not feeling like she is good enough and how to relate to her family, especially her father.

The girls are not sure if they can trust this man or not. He aids them, but he also leaves them to fend for themselves. At one point on their adventure, Charlie ends up helping him out. For now he is nameless, because he keeps giving her different names. Charlie also finds herself attracted to him. This adds to the suspense.

I really loved, "Charlie Ford Meets Secret Agent Man," because of all of the aspects incorporated into the story. It has everything, adventure, romance, suspense and a great deal of laugh-out-loud humor. That might be why the kids left me alone on the plane.

Anyway, "Charlie Ford Meets Secret Agent Man" tops the list of great books that I have read. I cannot recommend this book enough. It would be a perfect selection for a woman's readers group.

I was on my way home from school, and as I was accelerating, I felt the front-end shutter, and when the shuttering had ended the car would not budge. The mechanic said that I would need another transition in the car. It would cost me $2,300 to fix the problem. I had no choice but pay the man. I found out later that this was a common thing for the 92' mercury sable. If you have any information about a recall on this please let me know... Thanks

When i am running on the highway around 140 k/h and a big freight truck cross close to me the taurus car are shut off the engine,always with the cold air and i need to stop for turn on again the key of the car. No body knows what happend with this in the winter. Do you know what happen with me car. Taurus 3.8L 1990.

one of the bolt on the cylinder head broke in half.I could not get it out,and antifreeze in my engine keep leaking out.how can i fix the problem

Who doesn't want to enhance their sexual desire? Who wouldn't want to make their sexual relationships top priority? Who wouldn't want to reawaken their sexuality?

Stop with the questions. Now we can find the answers to those questions and lots, lots more in Rachel Greene Baldino and Judy Ford's latest self-help book for those looking for strategies to boost their sexual desire, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Enhancing Sexual Desire (Penguin).

I throughly enjoyed this book because as a baby boomer who has seen better days in the romance area, romps in the bedroom tend to get put on the back burner. As more time goes on, you only get buried in that long dark hole and sometimes it's really hard to find that intimacy you once shared with your loved one.

After reading Rachel and Judy's book, my sex life has greatly improved because they have shown me steps to take to change bad habits and rejuvenate that tired, sagging libido.

Inside you'll find tips for successfully navigating the six stages of love relationships. You'll also find satisfying suggestions that will help you get back in touch with your sensuality. And, you'll also find ways to spice up your sex life and discover your personal intimacy style.

This is a very thorough how-to manual to feel passionate again with your loved one and who wouldn't want that?

It's wonderful to feel passionate again! I highly recommend The Complete Idiot's Guide to Enhancing Sexual Desire to keep those love fires burning!

This book gives absolute insight into how intimate relationships work. It lays out step by step the ways couples can become better communicators, better friends and better lovers. Well worth a read if the spark is a little less than lustrous in your marriage or partnership.

Who doesn't know of The Complete Idiot's Guide Series? I'm a longtime fan of these books and read as many as I'm able. I always gain knowledge and it's a great reference guide to keep on the shelf.

THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO ENHANCING SEXUAL DESIRE is broken down into three parts. Part one begins with the stages of love and then jumps in to the real issues couples have today. Much of what's mentioned in this section, we already know on some level. But we are in a fast-paced age where little things are easily overlooked. It's nice to have these reminders.

Part two jumps in to the exciting part of turn-ons with creative ways to enhance the mood for making love. It's not just the physical body that's address, though having a healthy body is a key point. The book addresses the emotional side as well.

Part three wraps it all up with how to find balance for family, work, and couple time. All the phases of being a couple - before children, post-delivery, small children, elementary school children, and couples with teens - are covered. There is even a section for couples who are also colleagues. (This would be my husband's biggest nightmare.)

My favorite part of this series is the little boxes that contain priceless bits of wisdom. For this series, these boxes are labeled "Mood Killer" and "Love Booster." I highly recommend this book to all couples, no matter which stage of the relationship you're in. It's a non-threatening way to put some va-va-voom into your relationship. And can't we all use at least a little bit of that?

i especially like the "station" poems that depicted christ's crucifiction..." last breath in snowfall," i remember fondly...this one i heard about also in poets and writers...the images she uses are striking and she is very creative with language...

Katie Ford's "Deposition" is a work of immediate beauty and pain that heralds an important new voice in poetry. In its exploration of faith and its absence, and of commitment and detachment, and of the ways by which the human body falls in and out of the numen's range, it establishes a model of question and response and punctuating silence that is as provocative as it is illuminating. These are wonderful poems. Rarely have I had so much occasion to look up from the page and see the world in sharper focus. Read this book and be unsettled and everything isn't going to be okay and this too is how to move forward.

Deposition is a collection of free-verse poetry by Katie Ford who in her potent and powerful verse expresses death, the human soul, and the inevitably difficulties of coping both with minute yet all-encompassing challenges. The brief, succinct, and evocative verse brings forward turbulent emotion in this exceptionally well-wrought and highly recommended collection. Last Breath With Belief In It: They blindfolded her put her in the closet for a month/they didn't want her dead grass pulled out they wanted her to believe//grass thickening a field once or twice dark month they had her/sit with them long wooden table why stray why desire and light came//through the torn robe over her eyes out of which birds were cut of which/hoods she listened into the night long into the closet she even thought blessing//even thought grace towards her she began to trust they had faith and truth/years pass ocean and winds and moons pass she is cold she pulls she opens//her closet any morning sees the dark corner she could crawl into its/over now but I beseech thee help her stop believing//help me sometimes I want back in.

I think this book's art is quite nice and that the text is gratifyingly bold, which I like.

Another good book on a Disney classic. Full of wonderfull drawings, sketches and animation concepts and background designs. I always buy the "Art of" books Disney puts out on each of their new films. It's always a treat to see how concepts of characters and backgrounds changed as they went along. Sometimes for the better, and sometimes not. Being an artist myself, I always enjoy seeing the drawings of the rough animation and characters studies. It's nice that they included some photos of the original source material from China in the front of the book. This again shows how far Disney's team goes to research a subject. The information and research shows up on the screen. And besides, the books pretty cheap, so you can't go wrong. My only complaint is that it could have been a slightly bigger book page wise.

This children's storybook is a shortened version of the movie, packed between two hard covers. The wonderful pictures are in full color and relive the movie's magic. A great addition to the disney classic storybook collection that every Mulan fan should have.