Gray Books

This is the perfect gift for my younger brother who likes to hunt. He's started to enjoy cooking for himself as well, what a great gift! And it has chapters for all the seasons!

This is one of the finest books of this type that I have ever owned.Not only is it extremely entertaining,but also,quite informative.This book will help to tame the wildest of men through conquering the heart by exciting the taste pallete.

If you like fish and wild game dishes, this is the book for you. There are recipes from over 100 years of the publication "Sports Afield". Every recipe that I have tried has been awesome(about 30). There is even a recipe for fruit bat, I'll let someone else try that one.

P. J. O'Rourke one of my favorite, conservative authors has said Rebecca Gray is Martha Stewart with a shotgun. That alone made me want to buy the book. Then there is the books layout which is quality all the way. No cheap, slap together book.

Historically the information on aging, traditions for cooking, meticulous instruction and illustrations provided made the book well worth the price.

There are recipes for venison, bear, boar, duck, goose, pheasant, quail, partridge, grouse, woodcock, dove, rabbit, perch, shellfish, squirrel, iguana, frog, crow, trout, pike, bass, turkey, salmon, swordfish, catfish, wild rice, dandelion, watercress and rosehips and wild and domesticated herbs means that there will be more than a little for the authentic hunter, cooker and feaster of wild game.

Along with Stalking the Wild Asparagus by Euell Gibbons also available thru Amazon.com, there is no reason someone like myself, living here in the Sierras of California should ever have an excuse for going hungry.

This is a book that will appeal to those interested in the history of food, self sufficiency, wild game, as well as a great gift for the man or woman in your life who has an adventuresome streak.

You can also subscribe to Sports Afield via Amazon.com as well.

In Eat Like A Wild Man: The Ultimate Game And Fish Cookbook, Rebecca Gray draws upon 110 years of "Sports Afield" magazine to compile an outstanding recipe collection for fish, fowl, and wildlife dining. From Venison Steak Paillard, Yearling Bear Roast, and Curried Grouse Breast, to Louisiana Oyster Soup, Malabar Curried Trout Soup, and Black Bass Mushroom Pie, Eat Like A Wild Man features unusual and highly recommended dishes that would grace any table, highlight any celebration, and please any palate.

Although I've been an avid scuba diver for twenty years, I've never really studied the scientific aspects of the coral reefs that I dive on. I hoped that this book would be a good introduction to coral reefs without getting too bogged down in textbook-level details, and it was all that I hoped for and more. The author, Osha Gray Davidson, knows his subject, and he knows how to write. Even though I have dived many coral reefs, I learned a lot of fascinating details about how coral reefs are built, how they reproduce, and how they are sustained. There are also many fascinating tidbits about the behaviors of reef fish and reef invertebrates.

The first half of The Enchanted Braid is about coral reefs and how they work. The second half is about the current state of coral reefs and the many threats to their continued existence. It gets pretty gloomy, reading about the worldwide decline of reefs and how much humans have contributed to this decline. There are some hopeful notes, but overall it's pretty depressing, which is probably the message that we need to hear if anything is to be done to preserve these magnificent creations.

A superb book for anyone who has an interest in coral reefs or oceanology but doesn't want to wade through a college textbook.

I have read hundreds of articles and books about coral reefs, "The Enchanted Braid" offers one of the best introductions you could ask for into the world of coral reefs. The book features both biological and historical descriptions of coral reefs as well as reporting on what is happening today to coral reefs around the world. It is clear, well written and easy for us "non-scientists" to understand. SCUBA divers, snorkelers and anyone else who loves the ocean should read this book.

I rarely read nonfiction in bed because I fall asleep too quickly. Not so with this book. Davidson's writing is compulsively compelling. Though the book details the disturbing trends affecting the health of coral reefs worldwide, it also offers hope by describing in vivid and accessible detail how corals have survived for millenia. Though they haven't survived rapidly warming surface temperatures like we're seeing today.

Davidson describes coral reefs as "the soul of the sea" and aptly describes their biology and importance to the ocean and to humankind. The book is simultaneously a travel narrative, scientific and environmental treatise, and philosophical look at why we need to take better care of coral reefs and other precious ecosystems. Though the messages in the book are clear that coral reefs are in trouble, Davidson's writing is not filled with gloom and doom and somber predictions of a coral-less ocean. By putting coral reefs in the context of survival, he inspires hope for their future. I cannot recommend this book highly enough!

Even if you have no prior knowledge about reefs, this book explains and makes sense of the entire reef ecosystem. I would highly reccommend it, especially for teenagers with an interest in coral reefs and thier preservation, to spark thier interest in environmental issues.

A book well written and researched for the layman. The Enchanted Braid describes the addiction to the sea that many sport diving enthusiast experience. It provides a global perspective of the mysterious plight of our coral reefs. I read the book while in Bali, Indonesia. The well travelled author's feelings about the plight of the reefs is true to form from my perspective. The message is one we all should read and heed.

With "Feast Of Faust", T. M. Gray solidifies her position as one of the true rising stars of the horror genre. This collection takes in every style imaginable (even experimental) and delivers the goods on each and every page.

A terrific collection from a terrific writer - now when do we see the novels?

Feast delivers the goods...and then some!! Very well written; Maine's maven of the Macabre engrosses the reader in each story, leaving you craving more as the final page is turned. If you haven't read this one, a massive 45 story collection, you're definitely missing out!

T.M. Gray's tales have a dreamlike quality, simultaneously repelling and enchanting, lulling you into a false sense of security, playing upon your subconscious terrors, then gleefully striking the hammer-blow when you least expect it.
Feast of Faust is the stuff of classic horror fiction, cleanly-executed prose, precise pacing, elegant. Gray creates a landscape of fear beneath the commonplace, a veritable cornucopia of emotions and situations that can go horribly awry in an instant.
This lady deserves great success. I, for one, cannot wait for her next offering.

Mark Edward Hall

I normally read sci-fi and dark fantasy (Crichton, Zindel) and some horror (King, especially his Dark Tower series), but this one is my mom's book, so I kind of had to read it.

I've read some of her stories before, but never in this format. All I can say is that I sleep down the hall from her...and I'm not so sure I'll be able to sleep very well ever again.

But really, she's done a great job with this book. My favorite stories in Feast of Faust are The Washing Machine...and Crater Lake... The Time Wrinkle was pretty good, too. There's 45 stories in there, hard to keep track of all of them.

Three thumbs up,

from Tom Gray, Maine

TM Gray blazes a trail through the horror genre for others to follow. That said, her first novel--a collection of terrifying short stories--is not only riveting, on the edge of your seat reading, but essential for anyone who loves to be scared. "Feast of Faust" is by far one of the best compilations ever to come along in years. Gray is a master of suspense; I devoured each tale voraciously and couldn't wait to see what was next on the "menu". She is a brilliant writer, crafting her prose with a chilling surefootedness that holds the reader spellbound. "Faust" is a perfect launching point for a career that I for one cannot wait to follow. Do yourself a favor...pick up Gray's "Feast of Faust" and dine with this phenomenal Mistress of the Macabre!

I was introduced to this book while visiting a friend in Nevada, MO, who took me to a dramatic reading of this gem of a collection of thoughts and observations on the wins and losses of the aging process, though Ms. Thornton manages to turn even the losses into wins with her ability to find the humor in everything from the difficulty of dealing with a newly organized purse to how to get out of a rocker with a new grandchild weighing you down. I laughed until my side hurt at the performance, and upon reading the book itself, surprised myself by chortling even more. The book also contains more than its share of profound observations on life, all colored with Ms. Thornton's obvious love and zest for the humor and beauty that surrounds us. I recommend this book unequivocally.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! Carolyn's sense of humor and her outlook on life creates positive energy and seems to lighten the road for us who haven't yet reached middle age. It's a fun, easy reading novel that will bring many laughs and enjoyment for all ages. Highly recommended!

Winning the Book of the Year Award in Missouri, this book is a classic read for anyone turning 50 and beyond. Ms. Thornton has an amazing amount of talent, and her wit and charm come through every page of this excellent book. Her column has been a success for years, and now with her publications, the trend continues. Read this book. You will love it. 5 stars and beyond.

You'll certainly be enchanted by this author's writings. I found myself laughing aloud at some of her tales! Yup, been there, done that myself :o) Carolyn Gray Thornton will take you down a pleasant 'memory-lane' throughout the book. I wanted to quote some of my favorite passages here, but I'd be quoting the WHOLE BOOK. Only bad thing about this is trying to lay it down for the night! It's a MUST read for "the Joy of Middle Age-Plus" or for the younger-set to learn of their heritage. And a great gift for your Senior family and friends!!

This book gives delightful tales that anyone getting older can relate to. The author provides a number of entertaining essays on various subjects dealing with life as a middle-aged plus person (her term for older people). A wonderful book for those over-the-hill birthdays. The recipient will enjoy this gift long after the black balloons have deflated and the cake appeared around the waistline. The author teaches you to laugh at the aging process and keep going. She is an inspiration to everyone that life does not end at 30, it only gets richer.

The author became a millionaire as a early teenager, made his second million by sixteen, and defied his background raised by a single parent in the impoverished south side of Chicago as the youngest of five children. His success was tied to attitude, tenacity and a rejection of the common lies about money and success - and GET REAL, GET RICH identifies seven lies and tells how to overcome them in real-world situations. It's an inspirational game plan for success that any general lending audio library needs.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I have only made it to chapter two and already feel like I am on my way to my first second, and third millions. I recommend this book to anybody who is looking for a real outlook on becomng a millionaire. Coming from one of the poorest neighborhoods in Atlanta I could relate to this author. I look forward to finishing the book.

Well, fellow readers, you've GOT to believe you can get rich if you're ever going to make that dream a reality! HOW do you change your thinking so you can aim for excellence and for success? Farrah Gray can help.

In seven chapters, he deconstructs seven "lies" that may be preventing you from:

--seeing your own potential
--discovering your life's purpose (and therefore your life's work)
--taking action (and getting rich is all about taking action!)

I can't say I agreed with every point the author made. But his advice certainly worked for him! He became successful at an early age, and there's nothing like following the lead of a mentor who's done what you want to do (in this case, get rich).

Read this one for the motivation, for new ideas, for a fresh look at what's been holding you back and what you can do about it.

After reading this book, it's clear that one must plan and execute in order to succeed. Everything Mr. Gray teaches, he constantly stresses that one must take CONSISTENT ACTION towards his or her goals, objectives and dreams.

I found the "7 Lies" interesting, especially the "Hard Work Lie". I think the re-evaluation of "hard work" as a part of success is necessary. Someone once told me that hard work is doing something you dislike in the name of survival. Doing what you love to do as a career should never be "work", but a labor of love that will make you the first in and the last to leave. We should all be SO fortunate to find our Divine Mission.

I was most impressed with Farrah Gray's earlier book (Reallionaire). My daughter knew I was an admirer of Mr. Gray and presented me with "Get Real, Get Rich: Conquer The 7 Lies Blocking You From Success", as one of my birthday presents. Reallionaire was informative, entertaining, and marvelously inspirational. Dr. Gray's life is a cogent reminder that wisdom is not synonymous with a number. Chutzpah is not exemplified by a number. Experience is not contained in a number. Some of the smartest people on this earth are young. Conversely, many of the dumbest people in the world are old.

Get Real, Get Rich: gives the reader more nuts and bolts than Reallionaire. It focuses on how to achieve success in all areas of life ... by telling the reader not just "what" to do but also showing "how" to do it. It is not filled with charts, graphs, and other mundane fillers. Instead, it is packed with lots of down-home-anecdotal information ... for quick, fun, and stimulating reading.

Mr. Gray is spot on when he states: "Too many of us live paycheck to paycheck and pray those compilations of books, CDs, and DVDs will somehow lead us to automatic wealth". He emphasizes throughout the book that everything comes with a price. If you are willing to pay the price, he subsequently shows poignant guidelines for fulfilling one's purpose in life. In one section the reader discovers "wealth potential". This deals with all facets of the individual ... not just his/her bank account.


My favorite part of the book shows all participants how to define, discover, and demystify, their mission in life. It is done by asking everyone to answer three profound questions. I will share one with you: "What comes easy to you but harder to others?" Similar to this question, I found Get Real, Get Rich ... easy to read but difficult to put aside ... until I had read it from cover to cover. I encourage you to do the same.
Reviewed by Reginald V. Johnson, Upper Saddle River, NJ

Marta is a wolf whose mate dies in the early spring. She has to support three pups with the help of oldtooth, an elderly male. Its the modern age in society, and Marta and Oldtooth travel into a further and more dense area...just to be captured and relocated. It was late summer when she last saw the Dahl Lake, but when she is sent to Alaska, she flees and leaves her pack behind. Without her, her pack dies, will she be next?

I like the broad language use and the many comparisons with things. I also love the plot, and how its based on a different point of view; one we seldom understand. THe survival theme will put readers on the edge as one thing after another unfolds.

4 stars, for good language use, suspence, and plot. Very realistic and eye-opening, with a non-anthropormorphic point of view. If you like the Oddessy-type books, you will love Wolf.

This is a great book! I would highly recommend it. 'Asta Bowen depicts these wolves lives so realistically that you might think she had walked right along with thwm. It is as if she can think like a wolf, live like a wolf, feel like a wolf, BE A WOLF! This tragic tale is an amazingly moving and catching drama that I would recomend to any one! On a scale of 1-10, it's a 20! I loved it and I hope she writes some more!:-)This book should be included in everyone's home library. I have read it over and over and I have loved it more every time I read it! All I can say is that 'Asta Bowen is an amazing author, simply amazing!

This book is amazing. Having 'Asta Bowen, whom I was a student of, read this outloud it was incredable to hear Marta's voice and experience through the person who gave that to her. I hope she will write more books about herself because she has many tales to tell that haven't been told. Great job Ms. Bowen, you're a great inspiration, an excellent teacher and a wonderful writer.

An alpha-female wolf named Marta lived in an almost perfect home in Pleasent Valley with her new litter of pups, but are soon "rescued" and relocated to a place where Grizzlies rule. Marta is then confident to return home-with or without the rest of her pack. She then struggles for her life, trying to find enough game to survive. She then finds a place which has much game, few humans, and just an all around great place to live. She then finds a mate and gives birth to her second litter of pups. Soon she...oh, I can't say or I'll ruin the book. You have to read this book! It's a sad book but a good one, too. This is a must read book.

This book is a must-read for animal lovers. Live inside the mind of a she-wolf and discover their thoughts, fears, and terrors. It will break your heart and take your breath away and you will think about it for YEARS to come.

Nobody explains mathematical ideas for the layman as does Lillian R. Lieber. And the fanciful illustrations that always accompany her work, done by Hugh Gray Lieber, are amusing and informative.

Infinity: Beyond the Beyond the Beyond presents an account of how mathematics has learned to deal with the infinite, through the work of Georg Cantor. Controversial in its day, Cantor's set theory and transfinite arithmetic are now part of the foundations of modern mathematics. Perhaps the most startling idea to be had from this book is that infinite sets are not all of the same size.

I have before me a copy of the 1953 original, as well as the 2007 abridgement. Aside from the fact that the older book is a hardcover, the abridgement is the better book. The editor, Barry Mazur, a mathematician at Harvard, has removed the dated, nonmathematical introductory material and the chapters on calculus. This book is now a superb layman's guide to the mathematics of transfinities.

If you would like more biography and less mathematics, you might try The Mystery of the Aleph: Mathematics, the Kabbalah, and the Search for Infinity, by Amir D. Aczel.

Note: In 1900, David Hilbert put forth a list of the 23 most important unsolved problems in mathematics. At the head of the list was Cantor's continuum hypothesis. The problem was still open when the Liebers wrote their book. In 1963, a mathematician named Paul Cohen proved that the continuum hypothesis is actually independent of the generally accepted axioms of set theory, and earned the Fields medal for it.

Beware! This is not Lillian Lieber's original work. It has been abridged. Approximately one third of the original text and presumably the drawings have disappeared. In the forward, Barry Mazur, states plainly that he zapped Lillian's preface, chapter 1, one half of chapter 17, and all of chapters 18 through to 24. Gone is Lillian's introduction to SAM, Lillian's spirit creature of Science, Art, and Mathematics. Why did Mazur do this? He thought the Liebers digressed too much. He wanted them to stay on track with the main subject, transfinite mathematics. He thought that some of their worldly concerns speak less to a modern audience than they did to their readers in 1953. However we have to take Dr. Mazur's word for it, as the sections are deleted and you can no longer judge for yourself. Despite my misgivings I give a 5 star rating as what is left is still beautiful. However you may wish to try the used book market to get the original version.

This is a great book. I first found it in my high school library. For the uninitiated, who would have thought there were different levels of infinity? This book explains infinity in a readable and entertaining way. It is too bad this book is out of print as I suspect it would still be in high demand. It would make a great title for a book club. Somebody needs to republish it!

As an Army brat, I found this book in the school library on the Naval base in Tianan, Tiawan in 1958.

As a 10th grader with a fondness for math, it was great. I think I'd seen a little bit about transfinite numbers in George Gamow's "1 2 3 Infinity", but this was an amazing tour of transfinite numbers, written so it could be understood by T C Mits. I learned a lot from it -- a real mind stretcher. I later recognized other books by the same author by the illustrations -- If you know her other books, nothing more need be said.

I've not seen the book in over 40 years, but decided I needed to find a copy -- it's one of the favorite books I read before college. I was looking at my copy of "The Education of T.C.Mits" and decided to see what I could find.

Lillian Lieber and her husband Hugh created some of the most wonderful books in the fields of mathematics, logic, and relativity. Although some of my fondest childhood memories are the hours I spent trying to fully grasp the meaning in her books, I find these same books to be no less enjoyable today as an adult. I cannot recommend her books highly enough.

Great italian recipes. Ingredients wonderfully spelled out,easy directions and beautiful pictures.Presented in such a way that you will want to cook Italian every night!!

This cookbook is set up in a very unique which sets it apart from others in this genre. The dishes are rustic yet sophisticated; definitely a nice fixture for a beginner but also for a seasoned cook looking for some inspiration.

'Italian Easy' authors Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers are two English chefs who seem to carry a lot of weight in the community of writers on Italian Cuisine. They are one of the first employers of Jamie Oliver and were, I suspect, a strong influence on his style and choice of cuisine. In spite of Oliver's great celebrity, Gray and Roger owe nothing to this. Their reputation is firmly based on doing good Italian food before Jamie came to the limelight. Mario Batali also offers their books as one of his favorite reads for Italian recipes.

Creating food that is both easy to prepare and sophisticated in taste and presentation always seems to me to be a chimera. An attempt to put together two things which are simply incompatible. I think Rogers and Gray have succeeded as well as anyone who has put their mind to this task. In their favor is the great pantry available to an Italian cook. Sometimes I think that if you put Parmesano Reggiano, fresh Tuscan olive oil, capers from Panteloria, sliced garlic, and basil from Genoa on shoe leather, it would taste good. It you replace shoe leather with artisinal bread, pasta, shellfish, spinach, or chicken and add tomatoes and anchovies, you basically have the recipes in this book. This is certainly an exaggeration, but not much. I am truly impressed by how simple and easy many of the recipes in this book appear on the page. Like a lot of simple recipes in Patricia Wells' new book 'The Provence Cookbook', they make you wonder how something so simple can taste good. I tried recipes in both books and I can attest that even a simple combination of pasta, broccoli, olive oil, garlic, and pancetta which comes together within 20 minutes, can be really impressive, especially as a dish which gives one both a starch and a vegetable.

The same surprisingly short list of ingredients is the norm for most of the recipes. This is not to say there is no variety in the recipes. Just the opposite is true. In the short chapter on ricotta recipes, there are two different Italian specialities based on similar short ingredient lists that are totally unfamiliar to me. The first is 'Gnudi' that may be loosely described as a ricotta gnocchi. There are two recipes, one plain or 'Bianchi' and the other with spinach. The second type of recipe is a ricotta gratin named 'Sformata di ricotta'. The very best aspect of this and many other of these recipes is that it calls for cherry tomatoes which succeed in being reasonably tasty even if they are grown in a hothouse out of season. Another example of a successful mix of novelty and diversity is the chapter of nine potato recipes. Two of the nine are gnocchi, so there is nothing new there, and one is mashed potatoes with nutmeg and parmesan, so there is nothing dramatic there. But the other six recipes make dramatic combinations of potato with fennel, mustard, pumpkin, lemon, and tomato sauce.

Speaking of tomato sauce, the book's pantry 'quick tomato sauce' is really quick with four ingredients and about 20 minutes of cooking time for an experienced cook. Compare this to Mario Batali's basic sauce which I find difficult to prep and cook in less than an hour (but then, I'm not the fastest knife in the kitchen).

Even dishes which may appear to have involved or difficult recipes such as potato gnocchi or risotto appear simple in Rogers and Gray's words. I think this is a symptom that these recipes are not as daunting as they may seem to the newbie, but it is also a symptom of the fact that Rogers and Gray are writing to people who have some experience in the kitchen. The dozens of helpful little hints you typically get on the 'Molto Mario' show about the technique for heating garlic in oil, for example, are simply not there. There are no tips on peeling fava beans or even a hint that fava beans are naturally double wrapped. There is no babble about terroir or commentary on how the recipes were found or invented. Unlike the 8 year old 'Italian Country Cookbook' there is no consistent use of Italian recipe names with English translations taking a second line role. While many recipes such as potato gnocchi are Italian classics, many others are either highly streamlined versions of Italian classics or they are River Caf? inventions with Italian ingredients and techniques.

I really like the many chapters with only a few recipes in some chapters, making it easier than usual to find the nine recipes based on potatoes or the three risotto recipes or the nine truly simple spaghetti recipes. The Brits must be as fond of spaghetti as we colonists. I really dislike the artsy presentation of the dozen bruschetta food photos on one page opposed to the corresponding dozen recipes on the following pages. What WERE these people thinking? Luckily, this nuttiness plays itself out by the time we get to the third chapter, carpaccio and we return to the sanity of recipe and photo on facing pages.

This is the first River Caf? cookbook I have reviewed, and I regret my having overlooked them up to now. The authors have truly succeeded in giving straightforward recipes, easy to prepare with readily available (but not necessarily cheap) ingredients.

Very highly recommended, especially if you have any taste for Italian food and need fast recipes. Also highly recommended if you like Jamie Oliver's style of food. This book is no nonsense good, easy cooking, as long as you have good basic kitchen skills.

You get the usual top quality presentations. Preparation is really easy! Triggers your own ideas.

I cannot believe that only two people have reviewed this book! It is by far one of the best books I own, and I have quite a collection. It is better than anything Giada DeLaurentis has done, simpler than Mario Batali, and as much as I love Jamie Oliver, is better than his new Italian cookbook as well. The book is simply beautiful. The layout and the photography make everything look irresistible. Even more importantly, everything I have made from here has been exceptionally good. The bruschetta ideas are inspiring. Almost everything in here is so simple, you wonder, why didn't I think of that? And yet the simplicity is deceiving as the outcome is beyond delicious. The pea and scallion pasta with prosciutto is insane. The sea bass with potatoes divine. The veggie dishes are so good I recommend this book to vegetarians despite the fact that it is not a veggie cookbook. If you buy one Italian cookbook, this is the one....

This is by far the best book I've ever seen on the Qabalah and its philosophy. William Gray has a feel for the technical nuances of the Qabalah that few others possess. While the Qabalah is indeed "mystical" as Dion Fortune states in her excellent book (a perfect companion to Ladder of Lights), it is also a living thing, growing, changing, and redefining itself as time passes and human culture changes. Gray's technical approach appeals especially to me as a professional engineer - as above, so below, especially with his excellent analogies that ring true today. Grey is not afraid of looking at the Qabalah in new ways, even ways that contradict "tradition". Again, Qabalah is a living thing and living things that don't change are, well, dead.

I've re-read this book every year for many years, and I always find new things in it. Few books come close to the sheer density of insight that this one possesses.

You can't go wrong with this book if you're looking for a way to cut through the veils and get a true understanding of what makes Qabalah the best-ever method of getting a handle on the way the universe works.

Unlike most books on the subject, William Gray's 'The Ladder of Lights' speaks to the reader personally in a simple and sane way, without any obstruction to meaning.

His writing style is very different to other authors who produced books around the same period or earlier and his approach is very down to earth.

He also has a clever capacity to put simple meanings into short phrases which are designed to illuminate and assist the reader in understanding concepts which in other books are consistently given obscure meanings.

He is frequently able to bring fresh meanings and contemplation to Quabalistic symbols and ideas in a way that is very matter of fact which provides the reader with ample room for contemplation.

A very good book that should be on the shelf of any serious Western Magician.

Hands down, this is one of the best books on modern Qabala ever written! Gray takes a step-by-step look at the Ten Sephiroth and their traditional attributions in each of the Four Qabalistic Worlds. A relatively simple, no-nonsense approach to modern Qabalism.

In some ways, I view this book as a companion piece to Dion Fortune's much better-known work, "The Mystical Qabalah," since both books provide the reader with a fairly straightforward approach to this challenging subject. Where Fortune starts at the top of the Tree of Life and works her downward, however, Gray starts at the bottom of the Tree and works his way to the top. Although Grey's interpretation of the Tree is similar to Fortune's, by approaching the material from a completely different perspective he is also able to provide new insight.

This book's greatest strength is that it analyzes each of the ten Sephiroth from each of the Four Qabalistic worlds, providing the reader with something sorely missed in Dion Fortune's classic book on the subject. This book's greatest weakness is that, unlike Fortune, Gray pays almost no attention to the organization of the Sephiroth upon the Tree, or to the relationships between them. Without a word of explanation Gray also reverses the traditional Yetziratic attributions of Malkuth and Yesod, assigning them to the angelic choirs of Cherubim and Ashim respectively, although I do see the logic and consistency of this attribution.

Overall, this is a good, solid title for somebody interested in approaching modern (non-rabbinical) Qabalism for the first time. I'd recommend reading Dion Fortune's book first, if you haven't already, and then tackling this book immediately afterwards for a different take on the same material.

This is by far the best book I have seen which explains the Qabballah. It uses simple language, and very clever symbolism to explain the workings of it. Well worth it.

This is by far the best book I have seen which explains the Qabballah. It uses simple language, and very clever symbolism to explain the workings of it. Well worth it.

It's practically impossible to find a novel that offers an insider's view of a relatively untouched subject, via fictional characters who are as admirable as they are likable. Anne Black Gray did just that in "Laughing Sickness: A Medical Mystery." I allowed myself a flip-through read to see what Gray had done with this latest addition to the mystery shelf. Once started, I couldn't stop. I had to see how young, smart, healthy Jessica, benched by an undiagnosable disease, plows her way through the laughably (if it's not you) bungling medical system to a diagnosis she can live with. Good for Gray.
Harriet Rochlin

Laughing Sickness is a fiction-based story of medical hope based on actual events. It is about a young woman who suddenly at the age of 25, after receiving a tetanus shot, becomes ill with a disease that causes episodes of paralysis and the appearance of unconsciousness. The debilitating condition is especially brought on by her own laughter. From her point-of-view we experience the alarming frustrations of dealing with a life-threatening disease and the response of ignorant doctors, baffled specialists, and a majority of the outside world who view the handicapped as invisible, invaluable, or just pitiable.

Laughing Sickness contains veins of social consciousness. Ms. Gray's insistent message is a patient wants and needs financial security, social dignity, employment and the best health care possible. The author wants to eradicate the assumption that lack of evidence of a physical problem is evidence for lack of a physical problem. You may bristle, accept, or defend Ms. Gray's cynical attitude toward doctors as demonstrated in an article written for an alumni magazine by her characater.

"If there is a God, I hate to think he only laughs at my cries for help. But I've evidence he's never touched by my pleas to watch over me in doctor's offices. Doctors with failings they can't face, who malign my sanity to save their pride."

The story's ending satisfies the mystery and the morals converge with an uplifting feeling that sometimes answers can be found if your determination doesn't weaken.

"... another world where gravity was stronger and the atmosphere more viscous." Author: Anne Black Gray

This image, for me, is strikingly vivid and evocative of Jessica Shephard's struggles with a disease that mysteriously and intermittently drags from her the energy to speak, swallow, breathe and remain upright. A disease whose diagnosis so persistently eludes discovery that in some opinions may not exist except as a construct of Jessica's psyche. The author carefully chronicles the progression of Jessica's symptoms, the frustrations and disappointments attending her interactions with the medical and nonmedical communities, the eventual "aha" that rewards the research efforts of Jessica and family, pins the diagnosis and also, significantly, Jessica's relentless efforts to maintain her independence and gift of laughter.

As an RN, I sometimes bristled at the author's broad-brush, black-hat approach to the medical community, but I suspect the incidents, though presented as fiction, were actually experienced by someone, therefore inarguable. One wish I do have is that Jessica's gift for making others laugh, an attribute she equates with power, would have more explicitly developed. The reader is frequently reminded of Jessica's gift, but in retrospect, I remember only one laugh out loud. In Chapter 1 where Jessica, having collapsed, lies there watching shoes while their owners discuss her, and she finally calls out, "Hey, how about listening to me... I have the floor here." There I laughed.

Of all the relationships realistically drawn, I especially appreciated the author's depiction of the relationship between mother and daughter--sometimes contentious, distant, loving, always poignant. The garage scene is unforgettable. Ms. Black Gray shows us that the loved ones of the afflicted also have much to bear.

This work, admirably, shows the authorial intent to foster awareness of "orphan" diseases, the need for improved medical research and development of therapeutic approaches and a greater respect and understanding of those with disabilities. This novel is more than the sum of its parts.

As an avid fan of the medical genre, I found Laughing Sickness fascinating. If you enjoy the diagnositic series "House" - you will love this book because it is medically precise without the over-your-head-writing of a medical textbook. The facts of this strange case don't have to be stuffed into a one hour show, but extend over a hellish two years where the experts turn helpless as the patient collapses with no one in her life to keep picking her up off the floor. She is almost alone in her torture as she alienates everyone who tries to help her because of her unrelenting desire to remain independent.

Who knows, we all react differently to discomfort and pain, but this book allows you to imagine things that seem impossible: like being incapable of communicating, losing the ability to walk, and having no answers to why you are slowly losing everything valuable in life. It unravels at a fast pace and gives a side story of the main character's faltering career in the engineering environment (where the author also tackles high-brow issues with ease). It's a teaching story and it would be rewarding to medical show voyeurs, or people in the medical profession like myself.

I believe that many of us at different times have weird things going on in our bodies that we don't understand. Thankfully, these usually pass, and we go about our merry way. But what happens when they don't? What happens when the doctors that we turn to for help, don't give it? I can only imagine the panic and fear that must occur in such a situation.
In this outstanding novel by author, Anne Black Gray, we meet Jessica. She is a young hard working woman who loves to bring laughter into life; she didn't know this was her downfall; when without warning she falls prey to a mysterious illness that literally depletes her life force. Scary. We travel with Jessica as she battles to find an answer to what is happening to her, and hits one stone wall after another. But she is determined, and although her independent spirit pushes many away when she needed their help the most, it is the factor that finally leads her to uncovering what is going on in her body, and why.
I found this book to be a grabber from the beginning to the end. Although fiction, truth was there, and the author brought to light many problems faced by people who have illnesses not of the norm; and all the trials and tribulations, pain and suffering they go through seeking their answers. I truly recommend this read, great story, informative, and inspirational as well. Well worth your time.