King Books

I LOVE this book. When I don't know how or what to pray, I open this book and it is just what I was feeling but could not put into words. Again, I LOVE this book

Very inspirational especially for a woman. These prayers to The King, the Lord of Lords is nothing short of a true blessing. You will cry and humble yourself before your God ,as you read these beautiful and uplifting prayers.

Anything by Sheri Rose Shepherd is effective, motivational and pure. She's a blessing from God.

This is a wonderful way to get real with God, our Father in heaven. Every subject is covered for ways to bring us back to God when we might not be doing all that He has called us to do. It is also a way to give Him praise and honor for being such a wonderful God and loving us unconditionally. I highly recommend this book for women of all ages! Thank you Shari Rose Shepherd for loving the Lord and bringing women this beautiful book of Prayers to our King!

I love this book. If you want a more intimate relationship with the King of Kings, this book is a great catalyst.

This little book of Bible references is the best I've come across in my Christian walk of 25+ years. I can't say enough good things about it. I bought a copy in 1993, reading it regularly. Then in 2000 when a cousin of mine was experiencing great sadness over the lost of his mother-in-law, mother, wife and two children within a decade, I mailed it to him hoping he would read it and find solace and comfort. Apparently, it was allowed to catch cobweb, so I asked him to return it which he did today (8/22/07). Now I have my precious little book again. I'm in total agreement with my fellow posters who are asking that the publishers print more copies pronto! This book is one of the best gifts with which one can bless another. I love GOD.

Received my first copy on my Wedding day 6/1/1985. My wife and I have used this book for almost 18 years. It has given my Wife and I great encouragement, joy, and great reading. I haved used it praying for prisoners, homeless people, and numerous others in own ministry. People have asked my time and time agian for a copy of the book or how can they get one. Please, Please, ask the publisher to publish more of these books. They can change lives.

This book is a valuable tool to have handy at all times. Especially good gift item for those friends that need inspration in every day world. When is the publisher going to print more.

This is a great book to help narrow down a person's search of the Bible for guidance. However, when is the publisher ever going to print more copies?

A BEAUTIFUL BOOK FULL OF BIBLE QUOTATIONS THAT SEEM TO GIVE STRENGTH DURING ANY TYPE OF TRIAL OR TRIBULATION. THE CHAPTER HEADINGS ARE LIKE A MOTHER WHO HAS ANSWERS FOR ALL OF LIFE'S CARES & CHALLENGES. A FRIEND GAVE ME THIS BOOK 10 YEARS AGO DURING A DIFFICULT TIME FOR ME. IT GIVES STRENGTH & CHARACTER TO THE READER. I HOPE THE PUBLISHERS WILL START PRINTING IT AGAIN. I KEEP MEETING PEOPLE THAT I WANT TO GIVE IT TO SO THEY CAN BECOME THE STABLE STRONG PERSON I HAVE BECOME BECAUSE OF THIS BOOK.

[review by my 5-year-old daughter] I tell my mom to read this book all the time. It is so funny, we read it over and over again. I sometimes read it in bed to my stuffed animals. My stuffed animals laugh every time.

**From Mom: This is one of my favorite children's books. So, so funny (shocking, even!), and a great morality tale, to boot. I read it at my daughter's birthday party and all 10 girls clamored for me to read it 2 more times. They would have asked for more if the cake wasn't ready to be eaten!

Reviewed by Three Silly Chicks - Readers, Writers, and Reviewers of funny books for kids.


The title character of this cautionary tale, Princess Justina Albertina, is one of those horrid little girls you love to hate. She's nasty and bratty, spoiled and mean; a despicable twit who could easily give Veruca Salt a run for her money. You know the type.

Her nanny, on the other hand, rocks the casbah. When Justina demands a pet, nanny comes through. When Justina demands a BETTER pet, nanny comes through again. When Justina demands an EVEN BETTER pet, her unflappable, invincible nanny comes through yet again...until Princess Justina Albertina finally gets the pet she deserves.

Heh, heh, heh.

We won't tell you what happens next, but let's just say the princess suffers a fate worse than Veruca's. But lest you wonder whether the finale's a bit too grim for youngsters, rest assured that our unofficial focus group (a spry group of kinders from Ottawa, Illinois) found the ending so delightfully delicious, they immediately asked for seconds...and so will you!

Michael Chesworth's illustrations are a winsome hoot, the perfect accompaniment to Ellen Dee Davidson's wry, clever text. Don't miss this one!

Get this book if you want to have a good giggle with your kid! It's like Mrs. Pigglewiggle with a twist - or a fractured fairy tale with a bite! Great for kids who have developed their sense of humor a bit - and for parents who want to develop a sense of humor on those occasions kids are demanding. A "must read". Another plus for tired parents: it's funny AND short!

Princess Justina Albertina: A Cautionary Tale is a whimsical picturebook with an underlying moral - be very careful what you wish for! Princess Justina Albertina, a chubby, bad-tempered child princess used to getting her own way and giving her nanny headaches, wants a pet - but not just any pet will do. She mistreats and finds fault with every rare and exotic pet her nanny brings, and finally throws a tantrum until her nanny gives in and brings back the ultimate pet - a majestic griffon. "As soon as she saw him, Princess Justina Albertina ran over and said, 'He's perfect. He's exactly the pet I want.' The griffon opened his eagle beak and swallowed Princess Justina Albertina in one gulp. Then the griffon burped and flew away." The color illustrations vividly bring a spoiled young girl and her gaggle of amazing animals to life in this zany story with message.

Princess Justina Albertina likes to get her own way and if she doesn't--look out! When she decides she wants a pet, it is up to her nanny to find a pet with all the perfect qualities.

In this escalating story of a spoiled little girl, the author uses unusual animals with unique qualities that most any child would treasure. There is a wonderful moral to the story, but kids don't seem put off by that in the least, as it is funny rather than preachy. The illustrations are perfect for the text--and boy, will mothers recognize Princess Justina Albertina in her fit element.

In my first read through, I reached the final page and burst out laughing. My kids want to read it again and again and love to discuss the many different facets of the book. Boys and girls alike love this book and my three kids give it six thumbs up. I have to add my two thumbs to the count.

Armchair Interviews says: This book is a treasure to any child's library.

My four-year-old daughter has been brainwashed by Disney and thinks about princesses all day long. She loves this book. It's a different angle on princesshood, and I really think it's made her more enthusiastic about helping out around the house. (We now talk about "chores" a lot.)
This is a very well-written book, age-appropriate up to about age 7, brilliantly illustrated, fun to read, funny...fabulous.

I just saw and heard Kate Lum read Princesses are not quitters, and the book is even better read live. In drawing inspiration from her daughter, she was able to create a story that saw the other side of "princessdom" as she called it. The princesses learn what hard work is, and that there is more to life than privilege and possessions. Very cute and different! Most enjoyable!

Kate Lum's Princesses Are Not Quitters is a humorous picture book story about three bored princesses who decided to become servants for a day. But it turns out that servants have so much to do, in so little time! Charmingly illustrated by Sue Hellard, Princesses Are Not Quitters is an adventurous and recommended read about the race to discover one's own capabilities.

This is the perfect updated fairy tale. It's light and charming, and makes you feel it's okay to let your little ones indulge their princess obsessions. The three bored princesses trade places with their servants for a day, and it turns out to be a real eye-opener. The princesses make a change for good, and end up sharing the palace workload on a permanent basis. The message of compassion is never too sappy, sweet, or preachy, and the illustrations are truly humorous. I also really enjoyed the rhythm of the text when reading it to my kids. My two girls love it!

My niece is 5 years old and wants to be a princess. Princess clothes, princess stories, princess pictures. She thinks being a princess means you are the most beautiful of all, have the most beautiful clothes, and get the handsome prince. Beauty is the sole criterion for princesshood.

Thankfully, there's this book to teach her that the most important and admirable quality in princesses is that they try new things, work hard, are nice to others and never give up. This book gets 5 stars because it's funny, imaginative, excellently illustrated, and reminds kids that princesses have moral qualities of being good people. It's not enough to be beautiful, pampered, rich and wear beautiful clothing; a princess should also be kind, industrious and have a sense of self-respect and a strong work ethic.

During this era of skyrocketing identity theft crimes, violence and death to innocent victims by stalkers, and government's tracking and monitoring of citizens' business, money and communication, Americans are seeking privacy for personal security and survival. Grant Hall writes on how to live an anonymous lifestyle in his new book, Privacy Crisis: Identity Theft Prevention Plan and Guide to Anonymous Living. And he should know. He used a non-traditional 'defense' to avoid a civil court case by disappearing for four years. A number of privacy tactics outlined in Privacy Crisis belong to Hall. I have never seen these in print-and I began reading privacy books prior to the publication of W.G. Hill's first PT book. Privacy Crisis may be the best book of its kind ever written.

According to Hall, privacy living is the answer to preventing identity theft. One can escape from a stalker or disappear-for any reason by using the information in Privacy Crisis. Alternate identification, renting and owning a home in secrecy, driving and working under the radar and establishing a clandestine communication and computer system are covered in detail. This book is thorough and complete and cites case histories and challenges the author of 'How to be Invisible' on the use of nominees.
Hall provides insight on anonymous banking, cashing checks privately, alternate name debit cards and provides a resource for obtaining a safe deposit box requiring no name or Social Security number. There's information on how to keep investments, property and businesses a secret. All of this can be accomplished in the U.S.A. of all places-a welcome change from the many books offering unrealistic, inconvenient, expensive, offshore remedies for domestic privacy problems.

I have completed Privacy Crisis and this book answered many questions about privacy and the challenges we face today.

Grant Hall has covered all of the important money privacy issues and it is possible to make your assets and money disappear through the application of the principles outlined in the book. And this can be done in the U.S.A. What a break from the other authors who guide readers toward offshore banks and advise giving control to others.

I appreciate the attention to detail. Obviously, Hall has walked where other privacy writers have never gone. I would highly recommend this book to those who fear their bank accounts will be stolen or seized by government agencies or others. Thorough, complete and worth the money many times over, Privacy Crisis will become a big deal in the arena of Privacy Reference books.

This book may be the greatest investment a person could make to escape the threats of stalkers, identity thieves or others who wish you harm.
Buy this book.

PRIVACY CRISIS was written by an author who has proved that through diligence, effort and a working knowledge of the system, one can have privacy in their life.

Grant Hall has opened new doors for those of us who previously believed that the road to financial privacy must be traveled by transferring assets to offshore 'havens' in an attempt to control our assets. In fact, Hall uses business resources that cater to the privacy seeker combined with knowledge of the financial system and negotiating skills to keep bank and brokerage funds hidden from those who may want to find them. Hall recommends using a company that rents safe deposit boxes without identification, tax i.d. or Social Security numbers-not even a name for those who want total secrecy. There's examples of cashing checks that leave no trail to the payee. Hold assets and property in total secrecy. These methods were eye openers for me.

I liken this book to an information enemy to the powers that want to control freedom loving Americans. Those who choose to become invisible to identity thieves, stalkers, private eyes can do it by practicing Hall's principles in PRIVACY CRISIS.

This is the best book on the subject I have read and I highly recommend it to those who desire personal privacy.

Personal privacy is under siege these days. Mine was first invaded when cyber-crooks drained my checking account in a single day. If you don't take steps to protect yours, it too will go up in smoke. For you, maybe it's when an obsessed former spouse or fan starts stalking you. Or the government--claiming "national security"--begins wiretapping your phone. Maybe it's when your employer snoops on all your emails, a gumshoe rifles through your credit files, or you have to supply your most personal information just to open a checking account or buy a home.

You don't have to give up your God-given privacy. Believe me, this book will tell you everything you'll ever need to know about how to protect it--whether in just one area, or an entirely anonymous lifestyle. This author knows his stuff. He's practiced everything he writes about. So his book is far in advance of other privacy books that just recycle armchair theories or even worse, suggest you do things that are outright illegal.

Protect your identity. Protect the privacy of your home and business transactions--your computer, phone, mail, travel, bank account, stored items, credit files, hard assets, and investments. One invasion of your privacy will cost you ten or a hundred times the price of this one-of-a-kind book.

I wish I'd known about it before they emptied my bank account.

It goes without saying that personal privacy is a rare commodity in America today. Identity theft has become the country's fastest growing crime. Con artists relentlessly target us while greedy lawyers and vengeful ex-spouses threaten to drain our bank accounts and assets. Our personal computers have become open doors into the most discreet corners of our lives. And that doesn't begin to address threats to our privacy from the government, eavesdropping employers, nosey snoops with hidden agendas, eavesdropping employers, and increasingly intrusive marketing-crazed companies.

Privacy Crisis is easily one of the best books on privacy ever written. Through his eye-opening inside perspective, as someone who evaded private investigators and attorneys for four years by living "below the radar," Grant Hall has brought us an authoritative how-to guide for the average American who wants to protect his or her privacy on an practical level. Far superior to the many theory-laden books on privacy, Privacy Crisis is a revealing step-by-step manual written by someone who has walked the walk. This book is required reading for anyone concerned about their personal and financial privacy in an ever-threatening society.

Phillip Townsend
International Consultant and Privacy Expert

Great bible with lots of extras like diamonds for daily living and matching prophesy before and after. Gospels in Red. Lots of visual's to help the reader.

Chock full of just the right amount of notes, references and helpful charts, this has become my favorite Holy Bible. The commentary and diagrams make it very easy to cross-reference quickly and enrich my understanding.

The chapter introductions are very objective, acknowledging different opinions and escatological conclusions, not merely Hagee's interpretations.

I purchased this Bible edited by John Hagee, as a source of prophetic information, given the amount of study that Bro. Hagee has completed. It has far exceeded my wishes and has now become my favorite Bible. Bro. Hagee has given us the best of his prophetic insight, coupled with the "time proven" King James Version of the Bible.

If you are looking to improve your understanding of "end time" prophecy, you can't do better than to rely on this Bible as the basis of your study.

A quick easy referance to help you show others answers most commonly asked. This bible really helped me understand a whole lot more!!!!!!!!!

I purchased my personal copy over 2 years ago and since that time have purchased 4 additional as gifts. This is a masterpiece work.

I took Psychology of Money class with the Author, If you follow the instruction in the book you will find the lost-gold, Great work book for How to Discover Your Midas Touch by Ilya Julius Teplitsky MS, MA, MFT, He is teaching many other personal development classes such as DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS? and more in the Bay Area CA. more details on: [...]

The fascinating outlook of this book will dramatically enlighten you... Once you see all your past work experiences, looking at both the good and the bad, as an outline of life's wisdom, you will experience clarity of realizing your naturally given abilities. You might never notice these subtle details in your personality, but with the help of Ilya Julius Teplitsky, his case studies and exercises, you will uncover your true self - your instantaneous expertise. You will be led on a clear and lighted pathway to finding your luck, your inner professional know-how. I feel that I have been led is such a way to enjoy a very rewarding process, clarifying that which leads to profit and a deep sense of happiness. Learning to focus only on the essential is a true gift - a complete journey to prosperity through the application of your own innate and natural ability, given to you as life itself – Discover Your Midas Touch…
Alena Shubayev, C.Ht.

I couldn't put it down. I realize after reading Ilya's book that doing what you love doesn't necessarily bring in the money. We all have the midas touch, but of course few of us ever discover what ours is. This book made me aware of this very important fact. Now I can do what I love and make money with my new found midas touch. Thanks Ilya

I was touch by the way this book was written, I felt that it was talking to me. I could read the case studies illustrating the practical experience of people in search of finding ways to move in this society with more ease and confidence. It didn't give a general formula, but yes many possibilities.
The worksheets I finded very useful to practically see my situation and make me think of options, that didn't occur to me before reading this book.

I just finished reading "Discover Your Midas Touch". This well written book surprised me by not offering a single path to prosperity for all readers as wealth building books typically do. Instead, it guides the reader to find the approach that best suits them. As a psychologist, I was amazed that the author, Ilya Teplitsky, had used the latest insights from family therapy and the psychology of personality to help the reader choose their correct financial strategy from dozens he discusses. He does this by laying out a series of easy to follow steps that quickly gets the reader on the road to making money. This inspirational book is simple to understand and apply. It is worth reading and rereading and sharing with friends.
Allan H. Furhman Ph. D.

Lutyens, the architect of Queen Mary's Dolls' House, also designed the city of New Delhi and the Viceroy's House, one of the largest and most unique palaces in the world. Sadly, he was one of the world's greatest artists, but is remembered only for this (comparatively) tiny tourist attraction.

Tourists, architectural students, and historians should buy this book. This is the only thorough analysis of any of Lutyens' buildings, and as such, is an important historical document above and beyond its tourist appeal.

I was so enchanted by Royal Collection Official Guide Book to Queen Mary's Dolls' House that I ordered this one figuring (correctly) that there would be other unique pictures. This is the better of the two books - nearly three times as long and filled with more pictures, especially detail shots of the tiny furnishings and decorations. I am charmed by Cripp's method of showing scale: he poses the tiny cricket bat next to a regulation cricket ball, and the little golf clubs next to a real golf ball. This also includes a section on how the house is aging: fading wallpaper, damaged paint, etc. All of the pictures, except for a few that are historic, are in color. This is unfortunately out of print, and may be more expensive, so the purchaser will have to weigh issues of cost and availability for themselves. I think that either would do as a souvenier.

If someone is really interested, I would recommend getting both books. The Royal Collection Official Guidebook is a pretty good buy at $11.95 and a nice supplement to this one. A very few of the shots are in both, but not enough to make them redundant to the person who wants all the information they can get. Generally, the duplicate shots are slightly large in the S-W book. To compare and contrast the two, while the S-W book has more of everything, the RC book still has some unique shots. The photographs in this book take in the entire room, while the RC book often shoots the room at an angle, cutting off part of the room, but what is shown is sometimes in better focus and a bit larger. To compare the shots of the Queen's bedroom, the Stewart-Wilson shot shows the entire bedroom. The Royal Collection shot, at an angle , reveals some additional details such as the fire screen and the chinoiserie cabinet, but cuts off the exteme left-hand side of the room. (Her Majesty has apparently been rearranging her decorative items since the S-W book.) The S-W detail of the 18th century pietre-dure table concentrates on showing the design on the top. The RC detail shows more of the table and the objects normally on it. The historical sections, revealing how the house came to be built are the most different, and the RC book has more pictures of people who participated in creating the doll house and of the room in which it now sits with the Phillip Connard mural. The captions are overlapping, but not identical, and so one gains more information by having both.

England's Queen Mary--grandmother of the current Queen Elizabeth II--commissioned the construction of her extraordinary dollhouse (or "dolls' house" as it is referred to here) in 1921, during her own reign. It resides at Windsor Castle, as it has since being constructed there. Designed by Edward Lutyens (famous for his graceful furniture), the house is a reproduction of Windsor Castle right down to the last nail--almost literally.

David Cripps' photography beautifully captures the interiors of this amazing dollhouse, from the grand to the plebian. Here is the linen closet, each batch of towels tied with different-colored ribbon to denote whether they were intended for the nursery, the staff, or the kitchen. Here is a lacquer cabinet with gilded stand, dovetailed working drawers, and gold-leafed decoration. Here is a bed, complete with pillows, bolsters, sheets, blankets, and even a tiny walnut-handled bedwarmer. The toilet, complete with toilet paper discreetly placed in a bowl alongside, really works. The toothbrushes are made of ivory and have bristles made from the hair of a goat's inner ear. In the cellar, bottles of Chateau Margaux are properly corked and waxed and labeled. The pantry shows real bows of Fry's Chocolates sharing space with McVitie & Price biscuits, barley sugar candies in hefty glass candy jars, and Frank Cooper's Seville Marmalade in squat jars tied with brown paper and string.

The garage houses a miniature bicycle with brakes "in perfect working order," not to mention a Rudge motorcycle and sidecar, a seven-seater Rolls Royce limousine-landaulet, a Vauxhall, a "Sunbeam open tourer," and two Daimlers. Gorgeous royal crests are hand-painted on each. The house even has its own petrol pumps and fire appliances, as was normal for large houses in that era.

The house's garden is splendid despite the absence of a single living thing. The lawn, made of cut green velvet, boasts several tiny mowers (both motor-powered and not), and the nearby garden has its own lovely benches, hoes, spades and the like. There is even a robin's nest, complete with eggs, and a tiny, tiny snail.

Perhaps the most extraordinary thing in the house is the book collection. Famous authors were asked to contribute their own works. Arthur Conan Doyle obliged by submitted "How Watson Learned the Trick," an original 500-word short story done in his own handwriting. The bookplates for each of the books were designed by beloved Winnie-the-Pooh illustrator Ernest Shepard. Rudyard Kipling submitted not only two poems, but illustrated them himself as well. Other well-known authors who gave their own works to the Queen's house included G. K. Chesterton, Joseph Conrad, Robert Graves, Aldous Huxley, Hilaire Belloc, Rose Macauley, W. Somerset Maugham, and Vita Sackville-West. Topping off the fine works of this distinguished crowd are the leather-bound autograph books--one each for famous folks from stage and screen, famous folks from the military, and famous politicans.

There is even a room for storing the scepter, crowns and other regalia--all featuring flawless gemstones!

The details are endlessly fascinating and the house and its furnishings so well-constructed that without a tennis ball or coin or some other everyday real object, you easily forget that everything your eye falls upon here is miniature. For those who cannot get to Windsor Castle themselves to view the house in person, this book offers a very fine tour.

To further correct the first reviewer, the Doll's House is certainly not a copy of Windsor Castle. It is nothing like it. Windsor Castle is a CASTLE - stones and very old, and big. The Doll's House is an "ideal home" of the early 1020's - albeit intended for royalty and not for your average Joneses.

With a couple of corrections of the first review, I'd like to make sure that it's known that Queen Mary did not commission this dollshouse. It was the original brain child of the Princess Marie Louise, who spearheaded the creation of the house. Queen Mary was "extremely surprised" but agreed. The initial shell of the house was erected in Lutyen's office, then removed to the drawing room of his house in Mansfield Street in London.

It was unveiled to the press, once completed, in the Mansfield Street house, then moved and reconstructed in the Palace of Arts at Wembley. It went from there to Windsor Castle, then to an exhibition at Olympia. In February of 1925, the house was returned to Windsor Castle. The Daily Mail donated a glass case through which we can now view the dollshouse in Windsor Castle.

This wonderful book has photographs of the letters written by Princess Marie Louise to all the firms and manufacturers involved in the dollshouse creation, as well as numerous photographs of the interior and furnishings. Pictures of tiny dollshouse ledgers, keys, and even a garden snail grace this book.

I have enjoyed every one of Gerald Morris' books based on the Arthurian romances. They are witty and wise. At first I thought this one might be a let-down after the previous volumes; Galahad is so tiresome. Beaufils saves the day: His innocence and naivite remind us how odd we humans are.

However, I am saddened to recognize the dissolution of the Round Table in the quest for the Holy Grail. I fear it means no more of these marvelous books, as enjoyable for me as for my ten-year-old grandson, who has been devouring them at the rate of two or three a week since getting out of school.

I have read all the Squire's Tale Books. I enjoyed number 8 very much, just as I enjoyed all the others. Stories of knights and King Arthur in particular have always been enjoyable to me. One of the professional reviews referred to the beginning age for this book as 5th grade and another said age 9. I disagree, though not drastically. My daughter is in the 4th grade. I would not want her to read it until she is in middle school, which is now the 6th grade in our district. The main character is looking for his father who does not know he was born out of wedlock. There is at least one reference to young knights "tomcatting around". The earlier books could perhaps be for a slightly younger age, but the stories are a little more mature in the later books for at least a middle school age. Of course, the Arthurian legends contain many references to faithfulness and unfaithfulness in marriage. Other than this simple caution, I think the books are a wonderful read. I would have read everyone of them straight through if I did not have two wonderful kids to distract me. Gerald Morris does a great job with his characters, the way he uses the original legends in the stories, and the hilarious situational and verbal humor. I am delighted to have discovered all the books by Morris while browsing and waiting on my kids at the library.

THE QUEST OF THE FAIR UNKNOWN provides a fine fantasy telling of a boy's quest to find his father, a knight of King Arthur's court. Beaufils leaves his isolated forest home in search of a man he knows only as 'Father' and finds himself on a mission to seek the Holy Grail in this fine story of adventure and exploration.

The Quest of the Fair Unknown is a very good book. Starting with Beaufils (pronounced Bo-feece) burying his mother and taking off to Camelot, the story is filled with transformations, magic, and adventure. It is really funny and is a great read.

The speech is realistic, the details descriptive yet not boring, and the characters very interesting. While Galahad and the hermits are just hilarious, others are more quiet, fun, active or, (in Beaufils' case)innocent.

I gave this book four stars simply because in my opinion The Squire's Tale is better. But really, this book is a must read, as of all Gerald Morris' books. The Quest of the Fair Unknown has a surprising but happy ending, and I enjoyed it very much.

P.S (The lady on the front cover is NOT killing the donkey!)

I am a fan of Gerald Morris' work, and this is a delightful addition to his Squire's Tales Series. The story follows an innocent who goes in search of his father after the death of his mother. Supporting characters include new characters Galahad, Ellyn, Bors and Lionel, and old favorites Gawain and Terrance. There are no fools in this book, a change for the series, and I think it is an improvement. Everyone seems to have a motivation; each of them is trying to do right in his own way (some failing miserably), which is appropriate for the subject matter. Yes, admidst the light banter, there are suprisingly deep themes. Gerald Morris explores the nature of right and wrong and the purpose of existence, and I think he pulls it off nicely. This book can be enjoyed by children for its wit and adventure and by adults for [the same reasons plus] the questions it raises.

This book is a bit different from the rest of the series in it seems to set itself up for a sequal. It is much shorter than previous novels, and I suspect that this book may be half of the original story idea. Lancelot, for instance, is mentioned at the beginning of the book, but he never appears later on, even though the events of the book could be really close to home for him. A new bad guy character is introduced, and some characters are warned about him, but afterwards he disappears from the narrative. You should not take this to mean that the book has plot holes. It is more a sense that future events in the series are being foreshadowed here, and I look forward to reading that book as well.

Now, as a bonus, I will talk about my favorite aspect of the series as a whole--the cover art. This book is as ridiculous as ever (part of the charm), a hodgepodge of victorian clip art with visible scan lines. The artist has depicted a scene found nowhere in the book, complete with at least one unidentifiable character and a mysterious green glow immenating from the door on the right (a grossly misinterpreted "fair unknown" perhaps?) All this is hillarious, of course, but sadly, it does not top the previous book, The Lioness and her Knight, which must be seen to be appreciated.

I write this after reading the morning paper about retaliatory attacks between Hamas inspired militants and the Israeli government that resulted in the deaths of innocent civilians on both sides. It is a too familiar and painful story over the past months and years. Decision makers on both sides of this divide would do well the take a few moments from their mutual distrust and animosity to read Mary Elizabeth King's new book, A Quiet Revolution. Painstakingly researched and gloriously written, it tells a story of hope for nonviolent change and documents the arduous journey of peace-seeking activists involved in the first Palestinian Intifada.

After an uplifting review of decisive moments across the span of human history in which nonviolent resistance yielded positive and even revolutionary change (and there are more examples than commonly meets the untutored eye), Mary King plunges into the little know story of repeated attempts by Palestinians to defend their rights using non-violent methods. Occurring during the decades following the Balfour Declaration, these courageous efforts occur against the backdrop of accelerating Palestinian armed resistance that echoed similar efforts on the other side. Her own profiles in courage and imagination include Mubarak Awad, Jonathan Kuttab and Gene Sharp who were among "the accoucheurs for the Palestinians' catalytic alterations in thinking on nonviolent struggle" during the decade of the 1980s and beyond. Completely unattached to the PLO, their peaceful insurgency sparked mobilization that eventually led to the first Intifada. She also points to the East Jerusalem and Ramallah activist intellectuals who struggled vainly against the predations of the PLO to keep the first Intifada from turning violent. As the story of this resistance unfolds, regrettably both sides contribute to the sad narrative of escalating violence. The author gives full expression to the hope for an alternative narrative reminding us again and again that it could have been different.

By documenting the advances achieved during the "non-violent" phase of the Intifada, and corollary movements around the world, Mary King's book forcefully reminds us of the potential durability of solutions that emerge from non-violent resistance. We have only to look around to conclude that resorting to violence doesn't work.

I think the press is slanted toward Israel and Mary Elizabeth King gives a very unbiased picture of the Israeli-Palestinian situation.

Mary Elizabeth King's book, A Quiet Revolution, presents a thorough, documented description of the first intifada (uprising) of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza during the years of December 1987 through the late 1990's. It is a textbook on non-violence, really, and should be used in college courses on peace, non-violence, conflict resolution, etc.

I have been a close student of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the early 1960's, but I missed the significance of the Intifada. As King says, coordinated, non-violent resistance is hard to spot. It consists of a demonstration here, a sit-in there, a store closing in another location. Only a trained eye can see that there is a coordinated effort underway.

The book is full of stories of how the Palestinians coordinated their efforts. Such simple things as not observing the onset of daylight saving time (by setting watches ahead two weeks early) infuriated the soldiers who smashed watches that were not set at the correct time. Why? Because they are showing that they cannot be controlled. Leaflets announcing sit-ins were passed arm to arm during prayers when men are standing and kneeling arm-to-arm. The humanity and dignity of those who tried to bring their situation to the attention of the world is vividly described in this "must-read" book for anyone trying to understand the conflict in Israel and Palestine.

King, Mary Elizabeth. A Quiet Revolution: The First Palestinian Intifada and Nonviolent Resistance. New York: Nation Books, 2007.

This is an incredibly important book. The author details the overwhelmingly nonviolent first Palestinian Intifada (usually translated as "shaking off"). This is a quite thorough discussion that includes many interviews and archival research dating back to the 19th century. King employs theoretical discussions of nonviolent pioneers like Gandhi and Martin Luther King though she tends to employ a perspective developed by Gene Sharp (usually referred to as strategic nonviolence). She also develops ideas from Ernest Haas and Antonio Gramsci to explain the evolution and transference of nonviolent ideas and practices to the Occupied Territories. Given the dearth of scholarly or journalistic accounts of the nonviolent character of the first Palestinian Intifada, I suspect that quite a few readers will initially be skeptical. However, this book is very well researched.

Additionally, for those skeptical readers, I think that you will find the author's tone to be consistent with the nonviolent approach, primarily the notion that all human beings deserve respect (in this case Israeli and Palestinian). Further, she does not pull any punches and deals forthrightly with controversial issues like stone throwing and petrol bombs that were used in even during the most nonviolent phase of the Intifada.

Though the book includes significant and lengthy historical material as well as detailed discussions of the inner workings of various civil society organizations that developed during this period (1987-1990), the author does carry a strong argument: "the zenith, this phase produced the greatest and most enduring results of the uprising and lasted for more than two years, from January 1988 until March 1990, when leading figures were incarcerated" (296). In other words, the most nonviolent of this overwhelmingly nonviolent revolution was incredibly effective, resulting in significant political gains as well as the construction of a thriving civil society within the Occupied Territories. Though the gains of Oslo I and II were minimized over time as a result of Israeli backpedaling, the fact of the matter is that a few years of nonviolent activism were objectively more successful than decades of PLO advocacy of violent revolution.

King is also incredibly sensitive to Israeli fears. She concedes that it was Israeli fear that prohibited most Israelis from actually seeing that the first Intifada was not a movement to destroy Israel but rather a movement towards independence. In fact, one of the primary results of the Intifada was to reconcile a majority of Palestinians to the existence of Israel. Thus, the Intifada was waged against the occupation and against the PLO which was forced to concede acceptance of Israel in significant portions formerly Mandate Palestine.
King concludes with an epilogue that is both realistic and hopeful. She reinforces her earlier argument by indicating that further study of the development of a Palestinian civil society will benefit both Palestinians and Israelis. The nonviolent movement from 1987-1990 built institutions that have not been destroyed and there are leaders who have popular support among Palestinians who should be supported not jailed. As she says, the road to Israeli security lies through the creation of a Palestinian state and the road to a Palestinian state lies through a peaceful settlement with Israel.

Mary King has achieved an extraordinary feat. In A QUIET REVOLUTION she first demolishes the myth (especially popular among some academic experts on non-violent movements) that the first Palestinian intifada, or uprising (1987-1993), somehow wasn't "really" non-violent because of the iconic stone-throwing children. She demonstrates the strategic non-violence that in fact underpinned that movement, all the while recognizing that its mass popular character was an equally important feature. In doing so, King demonstrates how the breadth of that social mobilization - bridging class, gender, age, occupation, political views, factional affiliation -- made the first uprising so historically significant. And crucially, King understands, as so many observers of the photogenic intifada did not, that the real power of the uprising lay not in the children and teenagers challenging Israeli soldiers across the dusty streets of the occupied territories, but rather how it transformed and opened up Palestinian society itself. The very term, "intifada," refers less to direct resistance than to the notion of shaking up, or shaking out -- agitating and remixing sclerotic social relations.

Today, as Palestinians on the Gaza-Egypt border, those in the West Bank mobilizing non-violent direct action against Israel's Apartheid Wall and all those challenging the ever-encroaching expanexpansion of settlements, the lessons of the first intifada are more relevant than ever. We should all be grateful to Mary King for teasing out the lessons of history of that crucial time.