Gray Books

Enthralling words of those who fought the war as well as those who endured it at home.

R.J. Stewart has created a tarot deck using a system of his own that, if one is willing to study the books he wrote to accompany the cards, can turn out to be shockingly accurate for readings, and an excellent source of knowledge regarding correspondences as a whole.
The Merlin tarot breaks with Rider-Waite tradition to recreate the four suits in a new way. Instead of Pentacles, Swords, Cups and Wands in that order, Stewart presents Beasts, Birds, Serpents and Fishes. The four suits Stewart uses are Beasts to represent Pentacles. Birds to represent Swords, Serpents to represent Wands, and Fishes to represent Cups. These correspond to the elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water, in that order.
It gets more complex after that, but doesn't need to be dug into too much deeper, at least for the deck to work for me it didn't. I love the three of serpents card so much with the fairly simple line drawing design of the twining dragon-ish serpents forming a Celtic-looking knot that I have often considered it for my next tattoo.
The Warriors as well as the Pages (too bad he couldn't think of a better name than Pages) are unisex, and they are really potentially of either sex. Some decks try and fail to pull that off. This is helpful in readings to a degree that makes it a quantitatively more natural experience to perform meaningful readiings with this deck.
I especially love the little dragon that the Queen of Serpents holds in her hand and the cat at her side (and yes..the red hair!) I usually relate much more to Cups/Fishes and to Swords/Birds as a suit but this deck drew me deeply into the Serpents/Wands (fire) suit even though actually the suit of Wands/fire isn't really my thing. I identify with water and air in that order, but in this deck I just couldn't get past the suit of Serpents. The beauty of Stewart's overall presentation in the Merlin Tarot isn't immediately going to hit you in the face. It's a subtle deck.
The other thing that made this deck magic for me was his spread called "The Three Rays." Using only four cards, it works beautifully. First card is at the top of a triangle shape or pyramid and is number 1. representing the seed, heart or root of the query.
Second card is placed below and to the far right of the pyramid shape, number 2 represents the positive aspects or energies within the situation.
Third card is placed to the far left of the pyramid (on the corner of it as it were) and represents the negative aspects or energies of the situation.
Fourth card is placed in between 2 and 3 and forms the bottom of the triangle. Card 4 represents the fusion of the first three cards and the result or outcome or basic answer to the query.
This spread has another expandable level laying cards in another row below the 2, 3, and 4 cards. It's not a revolutionary spread...but it worked so perfectly for me with this deck that I thought I'd share it for those who do have a copy of the Merlin and haven't tried it, or for those considering getting a copy of this deck. Another startling facet of the Three Rays Spread is that it worked so well with the Merlin Tarot but I was amazed that it worked rather poorly with any other tarot deck I tried it on.
One of the cards to fall in love with is the High Priestess with her cape of feathers and also the design on the backs of the cards. The court cards are especially warm and humanly inviting in this simply drawn deck. The minors are not illustrated except with lovely designs of the representative number and symbolic suit design. I realize that this is a real drawback for many tarot students. It works well with Stewart's larger book about the Merlin tarot that is NOT INCLUDED in this set. That book elaborates much more fully his complicated systems pertaining to deeper study and is called "The Complete Merlin Tarot" by R.J. Stewart.
The small but quite thorough book that accompanies the Merlin tarot is well written and illustrated. It certainly contains enough material to get to the heart of this unusual tarot deck, even with it's unorthodox system of suits and some of the other unique traits that come from Stewart's extensive background in Celtic studies and a creative approach that is quite uniquely his own.
Anyone looking for a new experience of the tarot will benefit from the time spent learning to use the Merlin deck. Of the thirty or more decks I own, this has been my best deck for giving readings to other people as well as a good deck for study. It makes a great companion deck to the Thoth deck, which I believe is the ultimate tarot deck of all.

Accessibly written by expert wildlife biologist Randall L. Gray (with contributions by herpetologist Dan McCarron and zoologist Tim Tytle), Desert Lizards: Captive Husbandry And Propagation is a detailed and "reader friendly" guide to keeping a wide variety of desert lizards in captivity and overseeing their reproduction under diverse circumstances. 60 color photographs and 14 tables enhance a wealth of practical information concerning the taxonomy, natural history, reproduction, feeding habits, and ways to simulate a desert environment for spiny-tailed lizards, horned lizards, chuckawallas, desert iguanas, colored lizards, and geckos. An excellent, authoritative and straightforward resource, Desert Lizards is very highly recommended for anyone considering the responsibility of caring for a captive desert lizard.

Best book out there on running Desolation canyon. Plenty on the major rapids, history of the canyon, geology, good camps etc. Also has color photos and great maps. Author has a website with updates and is very friendly and easy to get in touch with.

Would that we all experienced a wise and witty philosopher-professor such as this gifted writer! A. Gray Thompson's life-wanderings took him from elementary to university classrooms, from a principal's office to a jewelry-making shed, from California to Wisconsin to Mexico to Central America to ... with lots of Detours and experiences along the way. He developed a "philosophy for children" program that's described in such a way that every teacher (and parent) can try it out. He also developed a worn-down coffee farm into a teaching tool for his indigenous Maya neighbors, while creating a botanic garden-wonder which I'm eager to visit some day.

Rich anecdotes of a curious observer and experimenter fill each chapter. All that's missing is a chance to sit with the author and hear him tell these experiences while sipping some of his coffee - but heck, make your own coffee, settle down in your own home, and let this brilliant fellow share his wisdom with a heavy dose of humor. These are marvelous ramblings indeed!

My entire reasoning for attending a KMax concert in the fall of 2004 was to obtain a copy of this book.

The traditional church is sure to flinch at Kevin's method of laying his ideas out in the open; raw and bleeding like a wound. Poets and those with poetry in their hearts will appreciate the eccentricities of this collection of poetic thought. Kevin chooses his words in such a manner that the reader can visualize his emotions as he puts pen to paper.

One thing is certain: the reader will either love Kevin's artistry or hate it. In my opinion, there is no middle ground.

I found a copy of this book in our local, very small library. It was published in 1937 so it was rather moldy but the title intrigued me. It appears to be a true diary but once I started reading it just seemed too good to be true. It reads like a Masterpiece Theater production. The language is quaint but eloquent. John Knyveton as young man sets off to London to begin his career in medicine, studying under various doctors some of whom were quite learned and some of whom appeared to be outright quacks. The description of the medical facilities is harrowing - two patients to a bed, linens changed once a week, the floors washed just once a month. Blood letting, balancing humors, mysterious distempers are all described here. John particularly agonizes over the deaths of young women who give birth under his care. He even writes of going from autopsies to deliveries never suspecting his dirty hands will doom his female patients. Eventually he ends up on a British naval ship tending horrendous injuries and is even put ashore on an island where everyone is dying of some sort of plague. He writes entries almost every day and makes even the most commonplace events entertaining. It is fascinating to see the state of medicine in 1750. For instance, John sees the pus exuding from his patients wounds, sees little creatures under the microscope but cannot quite make the connection. Malaria is described accurately but its cause is a mystery. Has anyone else read this book? Is it a true story? The book itself was never catalogued in our library so Dewey can't help me here. I wish some publisher would reprint it. It is one of the best books I have read in a long time.

A collection of personal stories demonstrating that corporations must go beyond affirmative action and embrace and value workplace diversity. Corporations that look for conformity lose valuale assets that they have cultivated. The authors have divided the stories into three sections: Those Who Leave, Those who Stay but Stay Mad, Those Who Continue to Debate the Issue. The book concludes with some recommendations that will benefit all concerned.

This is the most interesting book about war that i have read and not only enjoyed and find it very interesting and facinating to read but it gives me a prospective viewed on how a family during war stayed close and loved love one another despite the distance that they encouter during the war. This is a very beautiful love story between a husband and wife. I can feel the very intense love between the two and how strong their love for one another. I suggest everyone to have a copy of this book and highly recommended to have one copy.

Thomas Burnett Swann was one of the finest writers of fantasy in the 1960s, although his work is criminally out-of-print and neglected these days. He was always at his strongest in the short story form -- even his excellent novels are more like novellas -- and in this collection, we see him at his peak.

First there's the title piece, a wonderful quest tale which finds an Estruscan, a Triton, and a dolphin in search of the immortal Circe; lastly there's "The Murex," a short tale of a young Amazon warrior who finds an unexpected new life when she encounters a Myrmidon insect-boy. And between those two stories is "The Manor of Roses," set during the Middle Ages, which I've always considered his single finest work, with emotional weight & a quiet, sere beauty that resonates like a heartfelt prayer. Frankly, even if the other two stories were terrible (and they're anything but), the book would be worth it for "The Manor of Roses" alone.

Much of Swann's work is told in the first person, placing us right in the midst of his recreated past, which is always part history, part legend. He has the gift of making the mythic seem real, even everyday, without ever losing the wonder of it. His narrators take it all for granted, while we marvel at the world unfolding before us through their eyes.

Sooner or later, someone has got to collect his work into one or two large hardcover volumes! Until then, you'll have to track down the out-of-print paperbacks wherever you can ... but believe me, it'll be worth the money & effort. Definitely recommended!