Gray Books

THE SOUL OF THE WOLF : A Meditation on Wolves and Man. By Michael W. Fox. 131 pp. New York : Lyons & Burford, 1992 (1980). ISBN 1-55821-150-0 (pbk.)

A few years ago I read a whole shelf of books on animals - Animal Rights, Animal Theology, Animal Experimentation, Ranching and the Meat-Packing Industry, and books on individual animals such as elephants, whales, gorillas, chimpanzees, pigs, sea otters, hamsters, and so on. Although all of the books were extremely informative, and left me with a considerably heightened respect for the many wonderful qualities and powers of our animal kin, one book seemed somehow different and more inspiring than the others : Michael W. Fox's 'The Soul of the Wolf.'

Although all of the books are still sitting on my shelves, I never open them anymore. I don't even like to be reminded of them. They're just too depressing. For what all of them have in common is that they bring home forcefully the enormity of the crime that we daily and unconsciously perpetrate against animals all across the globe. Tens of millions of animals are daily tortured to death in laboratories dedicated to the worship of Mammon. Tens of millions of others are cruelly slaughtered to provide some of the unhealthiest food that humans have ever eaten.

In contrast to the average unthinking selfish denizen of the modern world, who tacitly agrees to the prevailing evil, and who seemingly couldn't care less about the sufferings of animals, Michael W. Fox comes over not merely as a concerned and compassionate figure, but as a truly saintly person.

He has lived with wolves. He has seen very deeply into their nature. He respects them as fellow creatures with whom we have many things in common, but who at the same time are vastly superior to us in many respects. And he has understood, of course, that they too have a soul.

His book is at one and the same time both inspiring and profoundly saddening. We are inspired by the marvel that is the wolf; we are sickened at modern man's treatment of this fellow creature.

In the Buddhist Prajnaparamita literature there is a wonderful verse:

"For all creatures, O Lord, desire happiness; all creatures desire happiness and are averse to suffering...."

Most of us, presumably, are aware of this, but if you read Fox you will also become aware that wolves too are every bit as deserving of happiness, if not moreso, as the humans who are involved in a cosmic crime, not only against wolves, but against the whole of nature, for wolves too have souls.

Michael Fox has an amazing and refreshing understanding of wolves and their world. Not your typical coldly scientific wolf biology book. I highly recommend this to anyone who has even a bit of an interest in wolves or canines in general.

Excellent collection of heart warming stories, acting as a reminder for us to treasure our lives and relationships, especially friend and family relationships. Articles from this book can really touch and move the reader's heart. I haven't been deriving such wonderful experiences (from a book) for ages, until I discovered the Stories for the Heart series of books.

This group of 'stories' is just as heart-warming and more inspirational than the Chicken Soup Books. Many of them made me cry and most of them gave me hope. I really felt that God touched the lives of these more than 100 authors. Alice Gray did it again, choosing great stories for this newest of the Stories For The Heart Anthology

Laughed so hard I cannot listen to this album all of the way through in one sitting. I think it benefits from the lack of a 'moral to the story.' It's just Spalding relating his life for the cautionary tale it is.

Required listening for first-time home buyers, it's the story of how he was bullied, albeit willingly, to buy a house he felt pity for: "The little house that cried." (Better that shack than the one that the agent said they could get cheap because the owner had to pay for a kidney transplant for his daughter.) Having just bought a house I can attest that it's just like Spuddy said it was. ...it's refrigerator day ...it's refrigerator day!!

Both the Gang of Seven CD/Audio download and the video are blindingly funny. Do not try to operate a car while listening to this performance.

This is a tale for anyone who's bought or is about to buy a house. Gray creates a nightmare for himself in buying a rundown, white trash hovel - a story which just when you think he can't make matter worse for himself he does.
Gray's monologue's are brilliant constructions of autobiography and metaphor and this is no exception.
You'll have to listen to it all the way through in one sitting, as just as Gray's hysteria builds so will your laughter.
Highlights include an answerphone message from the seller, who in trying to cover up a lie only makes the lie more apparent, and Gray's audition for a movie of the week.
Much better than the HBO TV version, and a good introduction to Gray's work.

please inform me when this book is available ( theraputic choices

The book provides a bird's eyeview on the whole concept of therapeutics. However, the subject framework provided in this book needs to be fortified more with other detailed subject guides. But it is important for anyone to get the length and breadth of the subject, and that is there in this publication. The depth is a relative thing depending on the reader. Subject matter well defined for the PEBC Qualifying examination.

With little over a hundred pages and primarily written as a text for a course on skepticism, this book is deceiving on both these counts.

It is excellently organized, succinctly packed, and is brilliantly written. And most refreshing thing of all - it is neither pedantic nor overbearing. The logic and arguments are presented in layman terms and hence can be an easy introduction to people with no prior skeptical background. People with prior knowledge of the subject would definitely appreciate the insight, strength of arguments, and classification of the wide subject matter presented in a condensed form.

After I read the chapter on how word definitions (mis-)lead people into seemingly unresolvable arguments, I remembered some arguments I witnessed over the years which could have been avoided and peacefully resolved if only the participants knew that their 'language' is not precise and accurate. Hence the author shows skepticism works for us in day to day affairs equally as with strange happennings and claims.

By presenting very simple logic, the author provides insight and solves such seemingly complex problems as the Russell's paradox, without the reader even knowing the "heaviness" of the subject. He effectively uses the same simple arguments to debunk nasty pseudo-scientific claims that are draining our precious energies and resources.

In short this book is a must read for all of us.

This book was used in my Psychology of the Paranormal class. It is a useful tool to help people learn to think critically about thier own thoughts and the thoughts of others. Included within it are basic fallacies, common arguments for the paranormal and against it, and other useful psychological information concerning how we make sense of the world. A must read for anyone serious about examining paranormal phenomena of any kind.

Wow! What romance! I'm not one to read poetry. I was introduced to this book at the Madison Street Inn in Santa Clara, CA. Evidently, the author of this book stayed at the Inn a few years back.

The owner of the Inn, Theresa, left the book open on my bed. The book was opened to the poem titled, "The Kiss." It was the PERFECT way to start a very romantic evening with my partner. We were passionate and loving and moved to purchase Beverly's book.

Great work Beverly! We're really impressed...

A romantic book of poetry to share with your loved one. Very sensuous and moving--we took turns reading a poem to each other each night. Makes a very nice and memorable gift to that special someone in your life.

Tania Holzknecht found out too late that she was married to a notorious assassin with the nickname `The Wolf'. For the sake of her children, she agrees to testify against him and gives the CIA enough evidence to put Karl Holzknecht in prison for what is supposed to be the rest of his life.Tania enters the witness relocation program with her twin daughters and finds herself always looking over her shoulder, especially when her husband finds her no matter where she hides. When Karl miraculously escapes from prison and manages to find her yet again, she contacts Interpol only to find out that the CIA has taken over her case.The CIA sends in Bart Matthews. Bart had tracked Karl for years before he was put in prison, so he knows everything there is to know about The Wolf, except how to find him. Turning to Tania, he asks for her help in locating him. For the sake of her daughters, whom have never known a normal happy life, she agrees as long as her children are kept safe.Tania and Bart find themselves drawn to each other, as they try to lure `The Wolf' from wherever he has hidden himself. As Tania openly makes herself a target for her vengeful husband, the danger to herself increases....not only the danger to her life, but her heart as well.

T.L. Gray has written another spectacular suspense novel. This heart-pounding thriller will leave you on the edge of your seat as you are pulled into a story that takes place in various locations internationally and around the U.S.One of Ms. Gray's strengths is the development of her characters. Each and every character is beautifully detailed and unique, whether they are the main characters or secondary ones. By concentrating her efforts on the creation of memorable characters, Ms. Gray writes a suspenseful story that just about knocks your socks off.Filled with a wealth of emotion, an intriguing mystery, and action packed suspense, `Til Death Do Us Part is a fantastic read that will haunt your memory long after you read it.
Cindy
Reviewer for Love Romances
loveromances.com

Tania Holzknect's life is literally a living nightmare. Her husband, an international terrorist, known as The Wolf, is in prison, yet still manages to terrorize her. Five years after his trial and conviction, Karl continues to stalk Tania and their eleven-year-old twin girls. No matter how many times they change their names, no matter how many times they run, no matter how many small towns and large cities they try to lose themselves in across the globe, he always, always tracks them down. Tania knows that he is coming to kill her; it is just a matter of time.

Karl has contacted Tania once again, but this time something is different. Something is terribly wrong; she can feel it. When Tania's contact at Interpol tells her that the CIA will be taking over her case and to expect an agent, her instincts warn her to bolt. But secret agent, Bart Matthews, is one step ahead of her. When he arrives at her home and confirms her suspicion that yes, The Wolf has escaped, Tania realizes that the end is near. For her children's sake, the time has come for her to confront her worst fear and finally end the nightmare, one way or another. But after so many years of depending only on herself, can she really trust in Agent Matthews to keep her girls safe, let alone herself? And can she really do as he suggests and pose as his wife to draw out The Wolf?

In Tania, Bart Matthews finds a complex woman, one that he is extremely drawn to, albeit reluctantly. As a former runway model she is still an attractive woman, and she is very vulnerable. But she is also strong, resilient and filled with determination. Unlike other witnesses he has protected, she disdains his help. He must constantly push her, trying to crack her composure and break through to emotions and memories she holds inside. Then perhaps she will stop fighting him, and in the process, become an asset to him in his pursuit of The Wolf. For what Tania does not realize is that Bart is the man who brought down the elusive assassin once before, and that the hunter has now become the hunted.

'TIL DEATH US DO PART is a psychological thriller not to be missed. It pulls the reader in from page one and does not let go until the very end. Ms. Gray has created a truly gripping story filled with unforgettable characters, from the chilling villain, The Wolf, to the supremely compelling hero, Bart Matthews, and of course the long suffering but tough Tania. And there are many, many more players, all of whom have important roles because Ms. Gray uses them all to propel the plot along. Particularly engaging are Tania's twin girls who recognize the gravity of the situation to a degree. But being children, they still romanticize it, as is evident by their code names of James Bond and Miss Moneypenny. The story volleys at super speed to and fro amongst all the characters. At times it is a bit confusing but not so bothersome as to detract from the overall enjoyment of the book.

Bart and Tania are perhaps two of the most forceful characters I have ever read about. While he is the ultimate secret agent working for the U.S. government, he remains a maverick. He always gets the job done, usually by his own set of rules, and no matter what, his job always comes first. The confidence and power he exudes is very sexy and many women would willingly place themselves in his very capable hands. What also makes Bart so alluring, is knowing that if he ever devoted himself to a woman like he does his job, that woman would be the recipient of something powerfully intense and special. Tania is the perfect foil for Bart. Such a strong man needs a strong woman or he would crush her spirit in a heartbeat and in the process lose interest in her. I like the way that, until the bitter end, Tania wants to rely first and foremost on herself. And the reader knows that if the romance that springs up between the two does not make it, Tania will still go on, bruised perhaps, but never beaten. Meanwhile, The Wolf is very unnerving with his cold, calm, detached and methodical manner. And the reader quickly learns that when he kills for personal reasons rather than professional ones, he is even more frightening.

There are many other aspects of 'TIL DEATH US DO PART that make it is so satisfying. One lies in the fact that even with all the "spy stuff" going on, the plot still remains believable. Nothing is so over the top as to make the story lose credibility. This also holds true for the way the characters themselves behave in a situation. I appreciate that once the CIA enters Tania's life, she never tries to act like an agent herself, and neither does Bart treat her like one even as he uses her to get to The Wolf.

With its powerful story and memorable characters, 'TIL DEATH US DO PART is one book that I will not soon forget, and I highly recommend it.

Sandra Brill
Romance Reviews Today

I work in the human resource department of a large school system in Virginia. After reading this book I have a new perspective on my job. Mr. Holland makes some very valid points and has me rethinking the way our school district hires teachers. This book should be a MUST read for ALL Administrators in the education field be it Principals, Superintendents of School Districts, the Head of Human Resources or the people in HR who do the actual hiring. Teachers should read this book to see that there are alternatives to traditional public education and that while NCLB will change things for them, all is not lost. So even if you disagree with the theory Mr. Holland present, reading this book should open your mind to the different approaches to the public vs. private education debate.

Again, an insightful book that you should read if you are in the education field in any manner.

Kristi Hurd

REVIEW

To Build a Better Teacher
The Emergence of a Competitive Education Industry
By Robert Gray Holland

Written by J. E. Stone, Education Consumers ClearingHouse

Robert Gray Holland is a former columnist and editor for the Richmond Times- Dispatch. He has won the H. L. Menken Award for incisive writing on education.

His analysis of how teachers are trained and its relationship to public education's failings reflect that heritage. There is no better overview of the issue available today.

Holland's assessment revolves around what most people would find a surprising observation: Teachers and schools are substantially less effective than they might otherwise be because almost all teacher training programs advocate a teacher-as-facilitator approach to teaching. Practically every educational fad of the last eighty or so years has been a variant of this approach. It works, but only under ideal circumstances.

Teachers know that there is a problem. Despite their varied situations and backgrounds, the teachers Holland interviews see a disconnect between the training they receive and the realities they confront in the classroom. All recognize that classroom realities require them to manage student learning and behavior to a far greater extent than theory suggests.

Of particular importance to policymakers, Holland explains how schools of education, state and national accrediting bodies, and teacher licensure agencies effectively control access to the teaching profession and resist reform. As the system currently works, anyone who would become a teacher has to undergo indoctrination in teacher-as-facilitator theory.

Especially useful is his account of the battle between the forces of change and defenders of the status quo. Both call themselves reformers. Defenders of the status quo, however, want to improve the current system through greater centralization and control while those who want change seek decentralization and the emergence of alternatives to the teacher-as-facilitator orthodoxy. Holland compares the clash to the struggle for baseball supremacy between the NY Yankees and the upstart Arizona Diamondbacks.

Holland discusses policy alternatives as well as the advantages of training practices such as "mentoring" as a means of bringing new teachers online. Equally useful is his discussion of value-added assessment as a means of monitoring teacher performance. Unlike many proponents of teacher accountability, Holland recognizes the huge advantage of tracking the value-added achievement gains of individual students rather than simply comparing test score averages for comparable groups.

In the end, Holland suggests that teacher preparation and public school outcomes could be substantially improved by mixing New Jersey's teacher certification policies with Tennessee's value-added accountability system. Both are tried and proven.

Agree or disagree, Holland's case is well put and clearly worth a read.

Tongues of Fire, a Book About The Holy Spirit, is very inspiring. It's more than a book. It's a well- written and documented study of one of the most misunderstood topics in mainstream Christianity today--The Holy Trinity. If you ask 10 people to explain The Trinity or The Godhead, you're likely to receive 10 different answers, if they are able to explain it at all. Sad to say, some ministers are not able to explain or give a definitive answer, except what they have been taught by a previous elder. The average Christian can't either. The Bible warns about false prophets and their teachings (Mt. 7:15-16). It also tells us to search the scriptures for in them we think we have eternal life. (Jn. 5:39). Evangelist Ezell's study de-mystifies the subject and is backed by scripture. It's a writing that I believe was guided by the Holy Spirit. It's not the words of man. It's an in-depth study that I recommend for new converts or anyone seeking a better understanding of The Holy Spirit and His role in our lives. If you want a deeper personal relationship with God, you need this book!

Tongues of Fire: A Book about the Holy Spirit is an anointed book for both believers and non-believers in the Holy Trinity (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit). For the believer, this book gives personal insight on the significance of the Holy Spirit and importance of Him (the Holy Spirit) dwelling on the inside of humankind. The believer will also understand how the gifts of the Spirit function, each characteristic and the drawbacks. The non-believer wiill gain personal insight on Ms. Ezell's personal journey through early salvation to her being filled with the Holy Spirit. Through the transparency of Ms. Ezell, as a reader, you begin to understand the personal walk of a Christian - a living epistle or human being. In addition, they will learn who the Holy Spirit is, His job and responsibilities and how He operates in an individual's life. I highly recommend this book!!!!!! It is a must read for all!!!!

Armed with the case details & strategic information in this book, child-protection and law-enforcement agencies would be better equipped to protect children and convict abusers. The book is written in an easy-to-read tone, and statistics from many surveys are presented in clear format. This should be required reading for every social-worker, pediatrician and district-attorney's office.

hi...my name is amy...and i am ellen gray's niece..yeah so anyways....i love this book..it is the best book...actullay i never read it...but it must be good if my aunt wrote it....she is the best anut..actually i never see her..but when i do..she is cool....i guess..i dunno but whatever..aunt ellen if you are reading this.....come see me soon...i am going to move to rockfrod..but still come see me ...ok well tell jery and emily i said hi......amy