Henry Books

It's very easy to compare a book to Cormac McCarthy simply because it's set in the southwest and has a horse. This book is much more. The language is better. The story more involved. The themes greater. It is an impressive debut. A great read and truly a wonderful book.

This new, soon-to-be-classic, coming of age story is sure to be a hit with all contemporary literature fans. Gatewood's command of the the English language evoke's memories of a young Hemingway. The descriptive prose employed along the inspired oddyssey of Trude Mason is sure to envelop all readers.

This is a replete tale. The world created is one so austere and beautiful in its sense of nature, that we feel almost like we are intruding, like setting foot into the wilderness for the first time. For all of its western themes and love of nature, this book is also deep because it explores several themes that one would not expect in a western novel with a male protagonist. The first is violence against women. Trude Mason and his mother set out to flee the wrathful hand of his father. The flashbacks are poignant and sharp. Set in the 1930's, it also gives us a feel for the powerlessness and desperation that would cause a son and his mother to flee into the stark wilderness to escape abuse. The second theme which is all the more profound because Gatewood does not dwell on it is that of race. Trude Mason, a young white man, comes across Delilah, a black girl, in the woods, herself abused, and falls into a long-distance attraction that propels the novel to its rivetting conclusion. Trude's morality, upon which he neither dwells nor preaches, gives him the eyes of the innocent, aware of the evils of the world, but not a part. It is this journey that so fascinates us. When I got to the end of the book, I spent several-day break before I could bring myself to read the last two chapters. I thought myself, "Well, you must be more deeply affected by this novel than you realized since you almost don't want to know how it comes out." The suspense is intense. Gatewood's rhythm and pacing are distinct and powerful. His minor characters from the doctor in the Masons' hometown, to Jane the waitress, to Trude's one friend John Frank, to the mayor and the thug Ralstons and well-drawn. The Indian woman who concludes the novel with the great moral about how we carry a person with us in our heart, and although grief can be like a spike in the heart, we learn to live and go on, is masterful. Take a walk into this wonderful world Gatewood has created; there is no need to intrude.

A great read. This book conveys tremendous detail of landscape and emotion using an economy of words. I have read several reviews of this book and almost every one compares this author to Cormac McCarthy. This comparison is warranted but also too narrow of a view. This author also employs a powerful and gripping writing style but clearly has his own voice and themes which he develops. Don't think because you have read McCarthy there is nothing new here.
This book is deserving of your time.

Very strong debut. Yes, the influence of Mr. McCarthy is all over this, but the author has a wonderful command of language that is distinct to that of McCarthy. He's maybe a little more readable while still being poetic and strongly evocative. I felt the story meandered a little bit, but on the other hand the ending was more satisfying than I expected. You head toward the climax really wondering which way the author is gonna take things and, fortunately, he provides an unexpected and reasonable outcome. Good stuff. I'd be happy to read his next one and hope he keeps at it.

The Humorous and Hilarious side of family life!

I am biased, but this is a great read for the whole family.

Contrary to an earlier post, the DIY projects were not over my head. I played up my inabilities to give her more material. You will see I did this often as my personal contribution to her.

I've been a fan of Tracey's since she began writing for Backwash.com a couple of years ago, and the comparison is apt. Like the Sainted Erma, Tracey is funniest when she writes about the little things that we can all relate to, but the book has its serious moments. Some of them brought tears to this old ex-cop's eyes.

Buy the book. Buy a couple as gifts. Anyone with a family will be able to relate, unless they're in total denial.

None of the fairy tales told about the messy realities of a monarch's life. No one informed her she would be driving the chariot strapped with car seats around all day every day. Or that she would not be eating from golden plates, but rather more often from golden arches. And she was still waiting for her lady in waiting. ~Smudges on Glass Slippers

It is always rare to start laughing while reading an introduction, but definitely an indication of good times to come. So with ideas about princesses and expectations, Tracey Henry introduces us to the world of the Suburban Diva where castles may not be provided by the prince. She then proclaims her mystification over her lifestyle as a modern princess and delves into the raucous and comical realities.

Tracey Henry, "The Suburban Diva" has an especially entertaining writing style (reads like a reality show) and she presents her topics like a creative artist of words. Each entry introduces you to a different facet of her existence and the format is visually entertaining, complete with diva illustrations throughout.

If you have not laughed at least four times just reading the introduction, you may be living as a real princess in a real tower overlooking a real lake in a real kingdom and shouting out things like "let them eat cake." For the rest of us, this book is highly entertaining.

The Suburban Diva uncovers such topics as pre-marital counseling, favorite TV shows, literary neglect, trips to the mall, holidays, depression episodes, scrapbooking, hair dying, yoga, rites of passage, pregnancy, flying on a plane with baby, low-carb diets, cell phones, parties and the dreaded neighbors. She even finds time to write a poem about waiting in car lines and writes letters to the FDA.

She wonders what would really happen if you gave a mouse a cookie and contemplates the domestic skills she still must master. The entry about yoga is pretty funny as is "the day I cheated on my hairdresser." Items of note in the chapter on "Dressed to the 943s" left me laughing out loud.

There is an especially beautiful moment in "Wind Talker" and through the difficulties of parenting; Tracey Henry makes it still sound like a comforting journey filled with challenges, but always rewarding. Like a Bridget Jones of Motherhood who has an advanced degree in psychology (she likes to observe life and draw conclusions while always keeping her cool), Tracey Henry even finds time for Diva Diversions and writes extensive notes on what she did on her summer vacation.

Put this book in your new handbag and you will never be bored. So I am not the only Suburban wife to dream of her own lavender field! You have to love a woman who lets her princess alter ego out to play. She even has an extended and somewhat hilarious conversation with herself. Why can I relate?

The Suburban Diva is possibly one of the funniest books you will read this year. I hope she will publish a second book.

~The Rebecca Review, brunette using Henna

Currently waiting for pots of lavender to arrive
by mail...and wondering if Tracey has found
out about Lush beauty products and the most fantastic
Bi-O-Kleen natural cleaning products.

Tracey Henry the "Suburban Diva" has a wonderful humorous approach when it comes to relaying the highs and lows of a modern married mum and the reigning "queen" of her family empire. Keeping true to real life, this is no fairy tale, and it doesn't stop with the happy ever after ending. In fact, since she was wooed and married by her "Ralph Cramden" prince (as he was once referred to) and walks the courts of a life she has become accustomed to, raising her own royal subjects is just the beginning. And a frank and amusing portion of reality pie it is, too.

We are taken on a magical, but bumpy ride in a carriage to a land where the prince of her dreams can wave his magic wand of man's logic, uttering thoroughly modern words of wisdom like,

"Don't call when you are going to be late. Why be yelled at twice?"

This reminded me, (and probably every other woman on the planet) that the spectacle we make of ourselves behind closed doors in our suburban castles is in fact, no different to everyone else's.

When the queen is in succession, this Diva can and will talk about the most mundane chores, such as getting the short end of the shift stick and driving the crappy car, ("Car Wars") in an uproarious fashion.

If you are not laughing as soon as you pick up this book and read the introduction "Smudges on Glass Slippers" then all I can say is that there must be something wrong with you. Or maybe, it's just that you haven't yet met a prince (or princess) of your own and wandered down the woody path where green crusty snot turns your baby into a little green grinning ogre, as it is so realistically portrayed in a sub chapter titled "Shrek III".

There are many of these hilarious antidotes, one of my favourites, (and it was hard to choose as there were so many of them) is Ms Henry's version of taking her son to get his first pair of glasses. This is how she compared it to when she was first "fitted" with her own goggles, in her own guileless words,

"...the glasses weighed well over 27 pounds. I know this must be close to accurate; as this was that age that I stopped growing; because no longer had the muscle control in my neck to hold my head upright."


What makes this book special is that as a parent myself, I could more than relate to her daily quibbles, and the heady fumes of her Sally Hansen/Clorox concoction that that pollutes her life, even from across the pond here in the UK.

The Right Side of the Picket Fence is an exceptional read that will have you laughing out loud and nodding your head in agreement. Ms Henry is to be commended for retelling, with passion and wit, events which reveal the real "Diva" in all her crowning glory. The reader will revel in all the gory details as Tracey Henry gets this spectacle on the road, with as few potty stops as possible.

If you have one book of poetry, or one book of art reproductions, for your family (or for yourself at any age), this may be it. All of the poems are short and vivid, and the images are stunning, as befits a book issued by a museum. The choice of poetry may not be everyone's cup of tea, as the New York School poets are rather over-represented and there are a lot of poems in translation that include good images but unfortunately sound a little clumsy. But year after year, I find new things to delight in here.

I disagree with the tag "children's poetry" for this book. This is not kiddy poetry, like Shel Silverstein's, but real poetry that children can appreciate.

As a father, poet and art fan, I think this book makes a brilliant gift for artistically inclined children. The art graphics and choices are excellent. The poems are excellent. Most importantly, the book doesn't condescend to intuitive children. Koch understands that kids don't crave excessively sentimental hooey. They like to be fascinated. This is the kind of book that, over time, will increase a child's creativity.

This is a book of poetry and art. The poems are good for adults as well as children (even though this is called anthology for "young people"). They are arranged loosely by theme and are from different time periods.

There are also many pictures throughout the book. These are color and are reproductions of art from different time periods and cultures. The pictures and poems are arranged to fill each page. This makes for a charming book to browse.

This is not an essential book for a family library. It is a nice edition and has a good collection of poems for all ages displayed attractively with pictures. Depending on what you already have and how much space you have this might be a nice edition for you.

Poetry. Could be used for any age level.

Summary
This book is a collection of art work that accompanies more than a hundred poems by an array of writers, including Nash, Dickinson, Tennyson, Carroll, ethnic poems, and many by people I don't know.

Illustrations
The illustrations are photographs of art work from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Application
This book would be great to read while waiting in line. We could look at Egyptian art page, for example, and I could ask students what they think about the people who created these sculptures? Who are these people today? How old do you think the child in this painting? Why? What kind of hairdo would the child have today? What kind of job do you think this woman had? I could have the students look for details in pictures. What happened to the rest of this sculpture?

I am 25 now, but I was given this book as a child, and I loved it. It is filled with lavish art and short poems that are meaningful and interesting to children as well as adults.

A great book to give a child as a first exposure to poetry.

Most classics enjoy a broad audience, and maintain their popularity through the years because they are so fantastic. Other classics are no less fantastic, but for some reason never attained the iconic status that they deserve. This is that kind of classic, a quiet classic which is little-known, but still has that special ability to impact those who read it.

This book tells the life story of Tarka the Otter, who is born in the Devon countryside and faces the struggles that all otters must endure as they grow up, mate, and grow old. Tarka is the main character of the book, but the author refuses to anthropomorphize him, instead bringing us into an utterly realistic world of life, death, joy and loss, without pretending that otters can actually speak in anything approximating a human language.

I've read other books that purport to show us the life of an animal in this way, but none of them bear the richness of detail and the feeling of authenticity that come with this novel. The author has such an intimate understanding of the particulars of Tarka's life that we are drawn into his world with a stunning immediacy. Every feature of the land is known from the ground up; every bend in the creek is lovingly described. The way that the land and the various organisms that populate it interact creates a breathtaking tapestry of life that puts most other nature writers to shame.

The language, particularly the language used to describe the natural settings, is rich and exotic, making us appreciate the wonders of an unremarkable countryside setting in a new way. No matter how well read you are, this book will throw new words at you, and enrich your vocabulary. Turning to a random page, I see references to "a sandy rabbit-bury," the "slot of deer," an "old dismated ketch," and "the frore air." What a wealth of words, and yet the unfamiliarity doesn't prevent us from enjoying every poetic sentence.

If you like to read about animals or appreciate nature, this is a book that will speak to you more profoundly and more eloquently than Thoreau, and which will allow you to appreciate the wonders of nature even moreso than the books of Bernd Heinrich.

If you devote a little time to reading this book, you'll be rewarded out of all proportion to your investment.

I really loved this book. It really did a wonderful job of showing how joyful Tarka's life was, and how, even when he was hunted, his life was still joyful. I highly recommend this book!

This book is quite possibly the best novel about nature ever written. It's gorgeous and epic, not a kid's book by any means. This was T.E. Lawrence's favorite book, by the way, and there is more wonder, beauty, and realism in any one paragraph than in most books you'll ever see

Tarka the Otter is written very descriptively, from an otter's point of view. It's similar to Watership Down, but Tarka's thought is much less anthropomorphized than that of the characters in Watership Down. You'll find this book quite sad in places, perhaps even upsettingly so, because of the realistic (and unfair) interactions Tarka and others have with English hunters and their dogs a few times (such is life). If you cried at the end of Where the Red Fern Grows, beware. If you are unfamiliar with the endearing antics of members of the weasel family, you are in for an educational and fun treat. Perhaps you'll run out and get a ferret after this.

My mom bought me this book when I was ten I immediately thought it was going to be a good book as it had a charming front cover showing an innocent looking otter. Tarka is a sweet young otter and the book is like his life story in a way his life is like a human's . He is born ,he grows up,he loves he loses and he dies. The discription of him and his surroundings create a vivid picture in the readers mind. It really is a charming story and I would recommend this to anyone who loves animals and/or reading.

As a boy, I found this book in the public library and read all about the ill-fated Apollo 13 spaceflight of April 1970. I had lived through the experience as an 11-year-old, and I remembered the drama of the real-life explosion aboard the Apollo spacecraft as it made its way to the moon. But it was not until I read this remarkable story, that I gained true insights into what had happened and how NASA flight crews and engineers were able to bring the crippled ship home safely. I read this book about 20 times as a kid, finding it again in the libary and checking it out regularly. I loved it so much that I always checked for it in used bookstores, because it went out of print quickly. Author Henry S.F. Cooper is a gifted science writer, making complex matters simple and understandable, yet he never underexplained what was happening. I finally located it in the summer of 1991, in a used book store in Cooperstown, N.Y., while on a visit to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Remarkably, I had stumbled into a bookshop in the very town where Henry S.F. Cooper's family lived, and the store had used copies of several of his science books. I bought one of each, including my beloved hardback copy of ''13: The Flight That Failed'' (that was the original title). I still re-read it from time to time, with the same awe and love that I have had for it since I was little. The film, ''Apollo 13,'' was a fine film narrative, but Cooper's classic book should not be missed. Give it to a 10-year-old you love. :)

The first detailed account of the Apollo 13 accident (this book originally came out in the early 70's) and one of the best (second only to Lovell's "Lost Moon"). Cooper tells the entire mission story and uses many of the Mission Control transcripts that (in my opinion) are the difference between a third person telling of a mission story or a feeling of actually being there. This book has been re-printed, so it's availability isn't an issue. Read this along with Lost Moon and you'll see the blatant errors in the movie "Apollo 13". Highly recommended.

This is the Apollo 13 story almost exclusively from the Mission Control perspective. It very thorougly and completely details what went on in Houston from the moment of the "accident" to the recovery of the astronauts. This book helped me to understand how critical Mission Control is to space flights, how the astronauts are not necessarily piloting their spacecraft but that it is a joint effort. I was surpised by many facts given here such as that Mission Control had more information about the status of the spacecraft than the astronauts themselves. The author does an outstanding job of expalining the technicalities of what happened and why without making you feel like a dummy.

Through the lens of 25 years, it is very interesting to read this account and feel some of the respect and almost naivete the author and the public felt for NASA and the government at large that has long since been lost. I also enjoyed how the book was divided into three sections "Out" "Around" "Home".

I did feel the book suffered from its narrow focus on Mission Control only during the duration of the "event," and no pictures -- none and only one line diagram. These are small complaints, however. The book makes a wonderful companion to Jim Lovell's account.

I too found this book as a child in the public library some years ago and have remembered it always. In gripping and understandable detail, Cooper successfully recounts how close we came to a space disaster and how the entire NASA team managed to avoid it. Richly textured narrative that allows you to understand how space flights were run and controlled without drowning in minutia.

I've never been able to forget this book. I still remember the feeling that a vast and incredible secret was shared with me. For years, I was the only one who knew anything about the Apollo 13 mission and could recite the details I learned from the book. I knew the astronauts, controllers, and personalities. Watching the movie brought all of that back and confirmed what I knew. This was a compelling and incredible story. A must read for anyone even mildly interested in the Apollo 13 story.

A short anecdote:

After reading "A Man on the Moon" by the great A. Chaikin (space author, god-like genius) I developed a ravenous hunger for any reading material relating to the early space program (and Apollo in general). So when I saw this old book, "13: the flight that failed", in my school's library, I HAD to read it!

I was not disappointed. Mr. Cooper's book is THE story of Apollo 13.

I appreciate the fact that Jim Lovell's book "Lost Moon" was written as a first hand account but it seems a little mishandled (most likely Kluger's influence) and didn't live up to it's full potential. Furthermore, It is more of a biography of Jim Lovell. "13: the flight that failed" sums it all up nicely in a gripping yet thoughtful manner.

btw: "A House in Space" (i think by Cooper also but i'm not sure) is a great story of the Skylab space station

I commute 4x a week to work, which is roughly 130 miles round trip (but very worth every mile), and I am always looking for books on CD to listen to on the ride. This story was wonderful to listen to; it made the drive fly by. I found myself excited to get in my car for my trip back and forth, just to hear the next chapter and adventure. The stories of Nicholas Sparks' childhood were my favorite part.

This is one of the most wonderful, inspirational, and moving books that I have read. At first, I didn't realize that the authors were Nicholas Sparks, author of The Notebook and Message In A Bottle, among other best selling books, and his brother. I hope this doesn't give anything away except that I am kinda dumb when it comes to remembering authors and titles. The book is really an autobiography covering Nick and his entire family. He covers their many trials and tribulations and still manages to see the good that came out of what for me and others, I suppose, would be absolutely devastating and horrible things to happen. The descriptions of his family members, especially his wife, are outstanding and again food for thought and inspiration. We see how ordinary people can be extraordinary when you know them better.

I listened to this book on CD while driving alone to and from Florida and in a pretty deep depression not being helped much by medications. The CD was really selected because of the travel theme. I love individual travelogues that have a literary and philosophical point of view and have visions of writing something similar myself.

While Three Weeks With My Brother could easily be depressing to some, especially like me, suffering from severe depression and still grieving for a loved one, I found it to be both sad and uplifting as Nick and his brother talked out their life, including the ups and downs. They spoke from the vantage point of both being on what anyone would say is a material up, but they carried with them memories of severe tragedies in their lives, mostly brought about through their unusually strong family ties and love.

I feel the CD edition might be better than the print version since the narrator is so good and the book is both interior thoughts of the author and many conversations. I wondered if they were recorded or all taken from notes, but they were certainly believable.

Anyone facing tough times in their personal life should read this book or listen to the audio. You will be inspired, I feel, if you go to the end. You might be inspired, as I have been, to try once again to take a long trip to think over and contemplate my life. Now I do this in the dead of night at home, making my neighbors think I am either a recluse or some type of secret agent.

Excellent memoir. Kept my attention the entire book and you really felt for the characters. I love all of Nicholas Sparks' fiction books, but this one, you got to know Nicholas Sparks' and read about his interesting life. My husband loved it, too. Very, very good read. Highly recommend!

As i was traveling with my boyfriend to Florida to visit with my family i acciedntly bought this book. i meant to buy something else by Nicholas Sparks but it just so happens that is was Three weeks with my brother. I dont not have any brothers and up until this point i didnt think that the realastionships between brothers and sisters could be so close. I loved how this book tied in the relationship that the two brothers had as well as the relationship with the whole family. I myself have not done too much traveling around the world and loved the insight that the book gave me. I actually have looked into a trip to see some of the locations that the two brothers went to.
This book was very inspirational. It allowed me to want to connect more with my family as well as my surroundings. I loved it......

It took me a while to get into the autobiography of Nicholas Sparks, but if you can get past the beginning, it is a very emotional story. I listened to it while I was driving and I was tearing up a few times, which isn't too good while driving, LOL. I think this would actually make a good movie.

I "stumbled" across this book at the library. The title caught my attention--it captures my vision AND I was 55 years old at the time. I like another reviewer am taking my time reading/"listening" to Ella and Henry as they share what we get so little of in our culture: a real, deep and truely satisfying basis for marriage to another and to the world--true love.

As more of a taoist than a christian, my experience with Ella and Henry is a bright light as I continue to re-frame the "how and why" of connections with others, signals that have long term promise. They demonstrate how we can create love each day in our actions. Thank you for giving voice to my hopes for the future.

How refreshing in a culture that touts Gone With the Wind as a wonderful love story.

This book is absolutely wonderful. It is such a wonderful encourager for married couples. I 've been reading this book since September 2001 and have not finished it yet (now April 2002). This is by choice because I try to savor every bit. In addition to the bible, this book was the only book I was able to read as I was going through the loss of my unborn child. It lifted my spirits, comforted me and encouraged me oh so much as a wife and a mother. This will be the first book that my marriage group will read.

I recommend this book for both spouses to read and reflect.

Praying for a Part II.

Henry and Ella Mitchell have given us a beautiful gift: their love story. This book, chronicling their fascinating lives in New York, California, and Atlanta, is a testament to their love of each other, their love of family and friends, and their love of God. It is a tribute to their talents and tenacity in the face of considerable challenges. The format of the book keeps the reader engaged by alternating perspectives from chapter to chapter. Henry and Ella take turns providing their unique perspectives on the adventures they experienced in fifty five years of marriage. Each voice provides a slightly different interpretation of events. Their personalities, different but complementary, are revealed through their words. If you relish love stories and biographies of living saints, this book will thrill you. It provides a testimony to the enduring potential of a relationship grounded in mutual respect, trust, affection, and spirituality.

In a day when so many social institutions have lost their luster, "Together For Good" provides a sterling testament of the enduring virtue and value of a "vibrant" lifelong commitment. The Mitchell's unique recollection of their more than half century journey together holds forth a hopeful note amidst our hi-tech concerns of alienated households, fragmented families and ruptured relationships (in every regard). It is a highly recommended reading for those who would contemplate the gift of mutual companionship at it's very best!

Thank you Dr's. Ella & Henry Mitchell for this timeless treasure!

The Mitchells speak straight from their hearts to ours and provide practical help and open honest means for healing the hurts of those of us who are in new or long term relationships. The book is a tender dialogue between them spanning a half century of changes, crises and challenges; reminding us that all of life is indeed dialogue and that something mystical and magical happens in relationships when we truly see, hear and tenaciously embrace the other. Their story is a special gift.

It's February. St. Valentine's Day is rushing hard onus all, with its thoughts of love and flowers, cards and kisses. Perhaps this Valentine's Day will go particularly well, and you'll decide to marry the person you're kissing this February 14th. That's when the hard work starts. You have to plan a wedding. There may be conflicting religions, conflicting beliefs. You have to learn to accommodate one another and to work together to make this launching of your lives together successful. Friends and family will have a lot of advice to offer, but ultimately the decisions belong to you and your partner.

Henry S. Basayne and Linda R. Janowitz have written a book to help you navigate the passage to the altar. Weddings, subtitled The Magic of Creating Your Own Ceremony, is a guidebook to help lovers make their special day their own. Not so much a book to be read as a book to be worked through, Weddings doesn't offer any dogmatic solutions but offers readers a number of alternatives. The authors note that even if a couple is involved in a traditional religion, the celebrant will want their input on how the ceremony should be performed, so this book has something to offer even those couples who think all the decisions have been made.

Mr. Basayne and Dr. Janowitz pose questions for couples to ponder: What sort of ceremony? Who should be included? What are we promising to do? How should we promise it? Recognizing that no two couples are alike, the authors don't anticipate the answers to any of their questions, but they perform the valuable service of asking them. Planning a wedding is often the first big thing a couple does together. It is a time when they learn a lot about each other, and an opportunity for learning that shouldn't be missed. Weddings is a workbook that can help couples find their way through this process, especially the process of composing vows. When you're making vows that are meant to last a lifetime, it's very important to be sure of what you're saying.

Mr. Basayne and Dr. Janowitz also cover more practical matters: the choice of music and the choice of celebrant. They offer a selection of poetry and prose readings that might be useful, and examples of a number of contemporary ceremonies. None of these are meant to be definitive, but rather they are points of departure that are meant to help a couple think about what they want to include. Weddings is likely to be a useful tool for a lot of successful valentines.

by Mark Mitchell, reprinted with permission from The New Fillmore, vol. 14, No.10, February 2000. (MARK MITCHELL is a neighborhood poet.)

I don't usually come back to write reviews of the stuff I read, but I felt I really should for this book. My fiance and I are writing our own ceremony (not just the vows) and we kept coming back to this book for ideas. It poses questions to you that get you thinking in the right direction, has several good examples and is appropriate for those planning a non-religious ceremony or a religious ceremony. So many of the books I read focused on the vows only, or still had the traditional church overtones we were trying to avoid. It focuses on what's important to you as a couple, and it's been a great process for us to go through together. I highly recommend it!

This is a fantastic, practical resource for all types of wedding ceremonies - it provides not only sample wording, but advice on choosing rituals and readings, and things to consider for setting the tone of your wedding. There are full, sample ceremonies and lots of great information. Highly recommended!

This book is proving to be an excellent source of ideas, wording, and suggestions for our ceremony. It covers everything from formal, traditional content to very informal and untraditional approaches, including same sex unions, etc. .

Everything from openings, vows, ring exchanges, vow renewals, closings, thanking people, prose, poetry, music, and even how to handle stage fright. Lots of detailed examples and material to work with for ideas. What a gold mine! I dreaded writing vows from scratch -- this makes it fun and it stimulates ideas.

When I first flipped through it (lent to me by my sis-in-law) I didn't yet appreciate its value, but now that we are writing our vows it is *immensely* helpful and really helps us formulate what we're trying to express. It's got a wide range of material, and has lots of non-religious material also. Once I see the examples, then pretty soon my own unique words come tumbling out. Tons of great real text from what feels like real people and situations.

I've read a bunch of wedding vow books, and this is the only one that I've found to be really useful. It not only covers writing vows, but also writing statments of appreciation, the celebrant's address, music, opening, closing, etc. It also asks some excellent questions, like how are people going to know the ceremony is starting? How are they going to know it is over? How are you going to put a ring on the grooms finger while you are holding a bouquet? I'm certainly not experienced with writing ceremonies; this book was a great help.

This exquisite volume discusses the underlying theme of Advent, and builds theological momentum with each section. Anyone truly interested in theology should repeatedly read this classic. You will be slowly immersed into a shockingly different universe. These challenging sermons date to 1964, less than 20 years after the end of World War II; clearly, the charge against Pope Benedict XVI being a Nazi is untrue, the Pope does not hide from, nor excuse, antisemitism. Prejudices clearly exist and must be unearthed, no matter how self-consciously Christians may praise their Semitic roots. Unfortunately, others do not follow the Pope's example in this: Richard John Neuhaus, who while mentioning the Church's relationship to Jews through Jesus, becomes huffy and arch while reviewing "Hitler's Willing Executioners." Get real and look at the results - if only there had been more unwilling executioners. Neuhaus excuses Martin Luther's hateful writings against Jews, the blueprint for the 1938 Nazi Kristallnacht.

Pope Benedict XVI has a personal awareness of the Holocaust, and the question of how we can have faith despite the horrors of the world are addressed here. This book is the antithesis of self-satisfied, smarmy spiritual drivel, as perpetrated by Hahn, et al.. It's clear why this Pope has never supported the neurotic, elitist Opus Dei, and in fact has distanced himself from this egocentric, self indulgent organization (which seems to attract converts like flies). In "What It Means to Be a Christian," the Pope wrote: "Everything we believe about God, and everything we know about man, prevents us from accepting that beyond the limits of the Church there is no more salvation, that up to the time of Christ all men were subject to eternal damnation" (pg 45). The Pope addresses the eternal question of human evil and the problem of faith, the advent of Christ, and what it means to be human. He advocates that faith must look at the hard questions, and bring our doubts and anger to God, and that, like Job, we must wrestle with these issues in an open way. The formation of real faith requires the strength the ask tough questions.

This little book -- three sermons by Joseph Ratzinger, is a real gem. The first sermon: Are We Saved? Or, Job Talks with God is the best of the three sermons. It is remarkable in what it says about, "What it means to be a Christian," and serves as an honest examination on our failures as a so called "Christian" people. There is salvation outside the Church, and being inside the Church does not necessarily guarantee the salvation of anyone!

The Second Sermon Faith as Service was well done but about half way through it lost some of its sharpness. It spite of that it was still an excellent sermon and a call for all of humanity to serve their brother or sister. The "judgment" of all religions is, "How does it serve its fellow man?"

The Third Sermon Above All: Love was, in my opinion the weakest of the three sermons. Perhaps my brain and spirit was dulled by the time I read this sermon since I read straight through all sermons is one sitting. I probably should have taken a break between readings.

All in all a great book! Recommend it to Christians and religious skeptics -- it might just open the eyes of the reader as to how open minded this Pope, Joseph Ratzinger, Benedict XVI really is! He proves himself a theologian and thinker.

Given the anti-Catholic reviews on this (and other Catholic book pages) by folks who have never read the texts they are posting reviews on, I thought I would actually buy and read this book. I've read through the book this week, and must say it was well worth it.

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger in this series of sermons is not speaking to the North American Fundamentalist, it should be pointed out. In fact, his sermons are not even addressed specifically to Americans. It is certainly not a treatise on justification as some may think from the title. Cardinal Ratzinger is very aware of the decay of European society and the decline of Christian values and spiritual well being in Europe. Many of his texts, this one included, calls us back from secularism and individualism. He calls Christians to service to the Gospel message, to be heralds in the world and not to lose that important missionary zeal. He notes that the true Christian does not only become a Christian for the salvation of his own soul, but for others as well:

"Becoming a Christian is not taking out an individual insurance policy; it is not the private booking of an entry ticket into heaven, so that we can look across at other people and say, 'I've got something the others haven't got; I've got salvation arranged for me that they don't possess.' Becoming a Christian is not at all something given to us so that we, each individual for himself, can pocket it and keep our distance from those others who are going off empty-handed." (pg 54)

The intent of the text is not to say "This is how you become a Christian", but to address Christians and say "You are called to live a life of service to the Gospel, to work in the vineyard of the Lord, this is what it means to be a Christian".

An entire text is well worth reading, Protestant or Catholic.

I was a non-catholic christian for 26 years. I used to think like a couple of the reviewers of this book. But PRAISE GOD I don't anymore. This book is incredible. It is simple, concise, and TRUE. This orthodox Pope is a gift from God to all christians, Catholic or protestant. I would encourage everyone to read this powerful collection of sermons from this very devout, humble, and loving man. And just to clear up a couple of things from some of the other reviews of this book, Catholics don't worship anyone but the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We honor Mary as Jesus did and still does. Even He obeys the commandment He wrote, "Honor your mother and father", which in His case would be , Mary and the Holy Spirit. And we don't worship Saints either, we simply ask them to pray for us, it's called the communion of the saints. One might want to look into what one thinks is the Catholic Church, not what one assumes it to be. That's what I used to do too.

Peace of Jesus,
Keith

This is a collection of three sermons given by the young Joseph Ratzinger (decades before his elevation to Cardinal and his eventual election as pope) to an audience of Catholic College Chaplains. Orienting his reflection on the metaphor of Christianity understood as Advent, Ratzinger does a splendid job elucidating the Gospel message of what it means to be a Christian in contemporary terms that strike a chord some 40-plus years after they were first spoken.

This is the second publication in English, the first by Franciscan Herald Press - same publisher of his dissertation - and it bears a new translation. While the opportunity to be more inclusive in some of the general references to humanity (vs. "Man") was neglected, and may prove to be a mild burden to the reader conscious of the exclusive nature of such a language-choice, the translation as a whole is very approachable and easily read.

Perhaps the most frequently mentioned milestone in Ratzinger's life by his biographers and scholars is his so-called "intellectual conversion" (or "regression as some have declared) during the academic turmoil in 1968. For those who wish to read something that predates that event, this is a great starting place. Sermons given in December 1964 and first published in German in 1965, this is a taste of his theological vision nearly a half-decade prior to the 1968 revolutions. A must-read for any scholar (professional or "armchair" alike) of Ratzinger/Benedict XVI!

I love this book. Unfortunately, it appears to be out of print, so when I happened upon it here, I had to get it. This is a clever story that is told from the house's point of view and talks about two families that have lived in it and how they are different and the same. The first family being the ones that built it in the 1700s and the second family being the current residents. When I read the part about using an outhouse instead of having indoor plumbing to my four year old. she thought I was making it up and couldn't imagine that children long ago had to actually leave the house to go to the bathroom.

I'm a senior citizen. I like to read books before I give them to my grand daughter. I enjoyed "When I was Built" The illustrations are lovely and the story gives a good account of how things used to be. Ofcourse my grand daughter loved the book.

As our daily lives speed up, we often forget how far and fast technology has advanced our living conditions. "When I Was Built" by J. Thermes is a fantastic reminder of what life was once like. She intuitively compares the past and present, allowing us to see those dramatic changes through youthful eyes, charming children and a historic house.

Growing up in the North Dakota farmland, I heard countless stories from my grandparents about how life once was. Thermes' book allows me, and others, to reminisce about what life was like, even if we never experienced it firsthand. I truly hope we continue to remember. With books like hers, I'm sure we cannot forget.

As a teacher in an urban area, I have used "When I Was Built" to teach a variety of themes in students' writing; we have also used this in learning how to become better readers. The students enjoy placing themselves away from the world around them; we are given a moment's escape. Thanks!

I really like this book. The art is clean and simple, and the writing flows well. It's a nice way to introduce children to the good things about both the past and present.

"When I Was Built" is an incredibe story that weaves historical information and children's perspectives into an enriched picture/text children's book.

The reader takes a journey into the past lives of people who lived in this old New England home. For anyone who grew up in an older home on the East Coast, this book will bring a smile to their face. The house has character and a history. As the world developed around the house, so did the families and the children who grew up there.

This story is a powerful way to view a house, its history, and the generations of children who once called this house their home.