Johnston Books

Just kidding about the title.

Anyway, Norma Johnston does a jolly good job on this book, tis one of my favorites, and occupies a special spot on my bookshelf. The plot isn't especially shocking (Good girl, bad boy) but really is done in a wonderful way. Saranne--our heroine, for those of ya'll that are a bit dense--is believable, loveable, and not insanely, disgustingly gorgeous. If the latter must be true for you to enjoy literature, do the world a favor and beat yourself unconscious using one of those ghastly "Gossip Girl" books.

Ahem. Got a bit sidetracked. Here's a succint version of the plot, that doesn't give away key details: Saranne realizes that "wild" Paul Hodge has been hated and condemned his entire life, feared even when he hasn't done anything wrong. (Or, people assume he has, but there isn't any evidence to justify locking him in the juvie.)Thus, Saranne determines not to treat Paul as the rest of the world seems to, and (excuse the cliche) takes Paul for who he is, and tries to ignore the odd sort of thundercload always hanging over his reputation.

I could tell you more, but that would ruin the point of reading this wonderful book for yourself. Norma Johnston's descriptive powers really are quite amazing (excusing the one typo I stumbled across *wince*) and it's so sad that they're out of print. Even sadder is how expensive a copy has gotten. Ah well. It's worth it.

The fifth book in the Keeping days series, Tish is the aunt of the main character, Saranne. Saranne is the only daughter of Bronwyn Sterling Albright. It chronicles through the last 6 months of the school year when Saranne is 16. She defends the "wild" and "dangerous" Paul Hodge from the hypocrises of her small New York town.

As a private piano teacher with more than 30 years experience,I like this book because it is easy for students to read and give some thought to their practice.

This book was a quick read with great information for piano parents, students of piano and teachers of piano. I sat down and read it in a day.

Pie In The Sky: A Memoir About Writing And Publishing is Patricia Condon Johnson's personal testimony on the joys and hardships of writing for magazines, writing books, self-publishing books, and the tragedy of losing her daughter to murder. Black-and-white photographs illustrate this thoughtful and deeply engaging accounting which is hallmarked by the author's tenacity and insight. Pie In The Sky is highly recommended reading, especially by those who aspire to have their own writings published, regardless of the pressures and challenges life puts in their way.

In Pie In The Sky: A Memoir About Writing And Publishing, Patricia Johnston shares her personal journey as a writer and self-publisher. Along the way Patricia also shares her views regarding the 1993 murder of her daughter, Jane Ellen Neuman, the subject of a CBS "48 Hours" television program and Patricia's ultimately successful crusade to bring her daughter's killer to justice. As a publisher, Patricia's Afton Historical Society Press has produced 37 titles (many of them award winners) and has pursued partnerships to produce and sponsor television documentaries and art exhibitions. Pie In The Sky will prove of intense interest to anyone who aspires to have their writings published, to become a small press publisher, or who has an interest in the small press phenomena and trends in today's highly competitive and rapidly evolving publishing community.

I have been reading books by Witold Gombrowicz (1904-1969) since I was a regular subscriber to The New York Review of Books and read in an article by Milan Kundera that his form of intellectual existentialism was much more comic than anything Sartre managed to write. One of the few things I learned reading the New York Review of Books was that praise for comedy of that kind was extremely rare. I had been reading philosophy for most of my life and only considered Nietzsche a master of irony, in the form of "many lies tell the poets," and not just the poets lately. Gombrowicz had written a comic novel, FERDYDURKE, in Poland in the 1930s. Most of his novels were written in Argentina after World War II in Polish and were published in Paris.

POLISH MEMORIES, published in a Polish language edition, Wspomnienia Polskie, in 2002, translated into English in 2004 by Bill Johnston for Yale University Press, is based on a typescript that has a few gaps. The flap at the front of the book says these sketches were written for Radio Free Europe during his years in Argentina. There is no date at the beginning, but within the text the dates run from July 4, 1960, to August 30, 1961. His DIARY contains many reactions to the literature being produced in the Polish language during his life. POLISH MEMORIES attempts to explain how well he knew many Polish writers and those who invited them to solons or café tables. The section dated February 6, 1961, starts with "I cannot recall how I first met Bruno Schulz." (p. 113). When his CINNAMON SHOPS was published, Bruno was still a modest schoolteacher in Drohobycz. "He remained such a browbeaten provincial teacher till his tragic death in a German camp." (p. 113). The people in Poland were vulnerable to that kind of influence from outside their borders. The main narrative ends with Witold Gombrowicz reaching Vienna on a train just after Hitler's Anschluss. One of the last characters described was a Nazi spy, which was not obvious until his interaction on the train with Nazi guards was a bit too easy to understand.

The book starts with Gombrowicz's boyhood. What could possibly be wrong with being a Polish country bumpkin who hates school, where he only has a knowledge of Polish and French and is uninterested in learning anything else? Mainly he notices that the schools put so much emphasis on things that are Polish that any knowledge of anything beyond the end of their Polish noses gets crowded out. When Witold has the opportunity to study in Paris in 1928, he does not like the museums because people trying to appreciate great art look so stupid. He walks at night and finds people in a café that he can talk to, usually by opposing their manner of speaking, the reasons they like Paris, or whatever.

Back in Poland as a young writer, he `became known as "the King of the Jews," since it was enough for me to sit down at a table to be surrounded by hordes of Semites; at the time they were my most gracious listeners' (p. 178) in the Ziemianska Café where he became acquainted with a lively group. Joined there by the Nazi spy, "Mr. Brochwicz-Kozlowski, a journalist and author of a volume of short stories, I welcomed him with friendly interest, because he was a groveling coward and a hysterical desire to rise to the top and prey to a sense of his own weakness, arrogant and fainthearted, a slyboots and a ham" (p. 186) and "I found it rather hard to believe that he might be working for Hitler, since it turned out that his mother was evidently, visibly Jewish." Gombrowicz believed that Polish squires had a coexistence with Jews that had lasted for centuries:

One of my cousins, gifted with a sense of humor not infrequently found among the gentry, would converse with his Israelite not on the verandah but from a second-floor balcony, so that he could yell down at the merchantr standing in front of the house: "What are you trying to tell me, Moishe?!" I imagine that many people would see this as a typical manifestation of the gentry's pompousness; but I think that my cousin, in turning himself into a proud master and the merchant into a poor "Moishe," was making a rather profound joke--for he was mocking himself as much as the Jew, and turning the very attitude of the gentry toward the Jews into something grotesque. (p. 177).

We live in a very comic society, where legal protections are likely to fail in the case of anyone who might actually benefit from having some rights. Comedy has become a very deep manner of reacting to what modern society confronts, if we could just figure out what it is, besides comic.

Gombrowitz's memoirs. less obtuuse then the diary. less eccentric and charming also, but truthfull and quiet insightfull in many small quirky ways into phycological depths that are not usually developed in this culture

This is the quilting book that I've been longing for. It is not a how-to book but rather walks the reader through the design process. An easy read and a reference that I plan to refer to for a long time. I'm recommending it to all my quilting friends.

If a quilter cannot attend one of Ann's workshops, her third book is a great substitute. Her students know that she is exacting, helpful, creative, and provides directions with clarity. Once the basics are absorbed the student can embark on their own waywardness and she encourages this, but always with a guideline about the basic rules. The book would be a help to non-quilting artists, too.

Terry Johnston makes the battle come alive, the way he moves from how Crazy Horse is dealing with the battle, General Crook to Miles and Royall is incredible. I have become completely intrigued with the Rosebud Battle and looking for additional information. The whole Plainsman series is very good and I've enjoyed reading them all, they continue to get better and better. Can't wait to pick up the next one.

His descriptions of the terrain, weather at the time of year, wildlife, and general conditions of the southeastern Montana Territory are so vividly accurate as to envelope the senses into believing you are there with Crook and his men (and woman). He takes a single historical act and brings it to life through the personalities of the characters replete with all of their emotions.Excellent reading. The pages move at a pace much quicker than expected.

This is a fabulous overview of death and related issues (miasma, psychopomps, ect) in Greece. It was even written in an interesting style, which is refreshing for an academic book.

Originally, I took it out of the library for research on Hekate (Ms. Iles Johnson's pet subject), but I got caught up and ended up reading the whole book instead of just the chapters pertinent to my work. Fabulous. Someday, I will add it to my own library.

I bought this book as soon as it came out. I became a fan of S.I. Johnston as soon as I read her Hekate book.

In this book she describes the evolvement of the relationship between the living and the dead in ancient Greece. Being a Greek I was amazed of how much it has survived of what Greek think as far as the dead are concerned. It is very rewarding to see that so much of the old religion is still around us and that Christianity has not destroyed everything yet...

Having said that, this book is an academic endeavour and not a New Age or Neo-Pagan writing. Mrs. Johnston is a true scholar and she does honour to the University she teaches.

Read her other books too.

While other books try to teach the selling process, this piece of art helps you understand all the issues underlying in a sales force area, it's administation, the relationship with pre and post sales areas and the way to succeed in a managing position. One of the best books I've read on this subject.

I teach in one of the finest schools of Mexico, MBA Marketing and Field Force management topics, and was really tired of looking for comprehensive, complete and reasonable readings that covers the most important areas of managing a Sales Force. Churchil is a must-have text for both, college and high level (superior / undergraduate) students, since it really takes you through every important aspect of the topic.

Perhaps more than any other individual, the paintings of Seth Eastman have become associated with the pictorial history of early Minnesota. Extremely detailed and devoid of the romanticism which often clouds later and, too frequently, lesser works, Eastman's paintings and sketches beautifully and accurately capture the landscapes and lifestyles of the Minnesota Frontier.

The written narrative offered by Boehme and Johnston provides both interesting details and a historical context which enhances the paintings. However, the true power of this book remains the illustrations themselves. Anyone interested in Minnesota history, Native American history, or American frontier and landscape artistry will find this book thoroughly enjoyable as an addition to their coffee table. For those with more than a passing interest in these subjects, this collection of Eastman's paintings provides a valuable historical resource beyond the its coffee table appeal.

Seth Eastman: A Portfolio Of North American Indians showcases fifty-six watercolor paintings by a career army officer who was assigned to frontier duty (including a seven-year stint at Fort Snelling in the 1840s). The artist was also a gifted pictorial historian of the Native Americans who was scrupulous in his accuracy of portraying the whole complex fabric of Native American dress, culture, and daily life. This outstanding compendium of his work ranges from temporary summer encampments to winter villages; courting and marriage customs; the making of maple sugar, protecting cornfields from birds, spearing fish, gathering wild rice; the menstrual lodge, how Dakota women sat, the medicine man; as well as breaking camp and traveling. Enhanced with informative, insightful, descriptive commentaries by Sara E. Boehme, Christian E. Feest, and Patricia Condon Johnston, Seth Eastman: A Portfolio Of North American Indians is a superb addition to any Native American collection and will prove to be of immense interest to students of the 19th Century American art history as well.

At home in Derry, young Joe Logan is tormented by the demans of his father and all his 'fairytale' stories. The atmosphere in this book is enough on its own to keep you enthralled.

At home in Derry, young Joe Logan is tormented by the demands of his father who was once a hero. This book is a look at Joes life, the good and the bad. The atmosphere of the area around him is enough on its own to be enthralling.