Leigh Books

This is one of my favorite books. On a fall day I love to pull it out onto a table and flip through the pages. The images in the book transport me to an idyllic place along the shores of the beautiful strait that connects Lake Huron to Lake Erie.

It's magical. After I experienced the book, it was impossible to see the Red Wings play Montreal at the Joe and not think of our shared heritage or stare at the RenCen and not imagine the old French fort and strip farms along the shores of the river. If you love Detroit, this is a must have book.

This stunning visual documentation of Detroit's evolution from western outpost to one the largest cities on the American frontier is remarkable for both its scholarship and its detailed graphic content. Lush with color, these pre-photographic images depict in vivid detail both the physical growth of Detroit from its earliest days as a European settlement to its mid-nineteenth emergence as one of the industrial/commercial giants of North America, as well as the passing of its role as a center of Native American life.

Created to commemorate Detroit's Tricentennial, the work's author, Brian Dunnigan, Curator of Maps at the University of Michigan's famed William L. Clements Library, has done the nation and Michigan a great service by gathering into one resource these rare and unique images, many of which heretofore never had been published. A wealth of intricate maps, colorful engravings, architect's renderings, military documents, portraits, watercolors, simple line drawings, and even a bull's horn scrimshaw of ships and buildings from 1765 highlight this remarkable work. In all 287 images can be found within its 256 pages. This volume is a welcome addition to scholarship on the Great Lakes and the Northwest Territories, and documents the crucial role Detroit played in the pre and post-revolutionary development of the United States.

A wonderfully written look at the auto sales industry - insightful, funny and too true in many ways. Loved the Tom (God) character. I couldn't put it down - read it in one day and was disappointed when the story ended - I wanted more! Can't wait for the next one.

I read the Green Pea, by Candie Leigh White. I found it to be a great read with a nice story to tell. I highly recommend it not only because I liked the way the story was told, but also because I want to read the sequel: Tom literally played God as a car salesman! Enjoy...
Steve Twiggs

I must confess to being a Richard Leigh 'groupie' having read all of his work and attended many of his public lectures. This book has been eagerly awaited and does not disappoint.

The writer really bares his soul in these pages and demonstrates a very acute keenness of observation, perception and sensitivity regarding the human condition which is the hallmark of the great artist in any medium.

In the 70's and 80's I seldom missed reading the book reviews of Anthony Burgess published in the British Sunday papers. I needed the dictionary by my side as Burgess always included one word that was new to me in every book review. Like Burgess before him, Leigh is a great lexicologist and you will have the thrill of meeting many new words in 'Grey Magic'.

I unreservedly recommend this book - have your dictionary at your side!

'If you remember the 60s, you weren't there.' So goes the old saw. But Richard Leigh was there, and he remembers: the civil rights movement, the rise of Black Power, the seamier side of things rather than the froth of west-coast hippiedom. But this novel, plainly autobiographical, is much more than a memoir. It is many things, but if I were to pick out one thread I would describe it as an account of how a man, loftily dedicated to high art (with occasional pranksterish descents into the real world), may be moved, when things get personal, to political activism of a kind - the 'grey magic' of the title. This is a good, fat book, but a real page-turner: funny, intelligent, thought-provoking, extremely well written. It rises to a stunning crescendo, a true climax not just in terms of the storyline, but also as revealing the extent of Leigh's mastery of the English language. Leigh is best known as co-author of a series of non-fiction books beginning with Holy Blood, Holy Grail, but it is clear that his true love is fiction, and this passion has been perfectly consummated with this book.

I've read the series and if you liked the white indian series, you'll love the hawk and the dove series.

Since Amazon didn't post an editorial review, here's the description from the back of the book to help you decide if this book is for you: "THE HAWK. Wild and free, the sole survivor of a brutal massacre, John Cooper Baines lives by his wits as he treks across the unclaimed wilderness. Brought to manhood in an indian village, he moves on to New Mexico -- a turbulent land ravaged by bandits and stamped by the legacy of aristocratic Spain. AND THE DOVE. Headstrong and beautiful, the daughter of an exiled Spanish nobleman, Catarina is torn by warring passions, haunted by a vibrant dream. Only a man who can tame the savage land can subdue her defiant heart. Together they will live the glorious beginnings of a dynasty as proud as royal Spain, as reckless and bold as frontier America."

Julian, a vampire, has just buried his mortal wife, Jessie, and reminisces with his mortal friend of thirty years, Dan, about their song-writing partnership and their memories. Jessie had cancer and repeatedly refused Julian's offers to make her an immortal. Now Julian asks for Dan's help in letting him die; he wants Dan to lead him outside at sunrise. Julian already has the corpse of a homeless man in place to appear to be his own. Julian's will is written up, but Dan knows Julian really doesn't want to die permanently or he would do it on his own without anyone's help.

Dan knows all about Julian's life, which is an open book to him, yet Dan's life has remained intensely private. Dan is bisexual, and during the night following Jessie's funeral, the two best friends find some small release and surcease in each other. It simply isn't enough for Julian though; once again he is tired of life, and his house holds memories of Jess everywhere he turns. He is determined to return to his vampire sleep and wake up at some future point.

Julian is awakened from a dream of Jess, seeing a woman whom he is certain is his late wife, returned. This woman identifies herself as Cara and tells him that Dan is gone. She also tells him that Julian died before she was born. To his great surprise, Dan has left Julian a letter explaining that he had loved him since the first meeting. Even more surprising events are about to unfold as Julian discovers that life indeed has moved on while he was in his deep sleep.

The Healing had less m/m sexuality than I've come to expect from Ms. Ellwood's more recent tales and it didn't read as smoothly. Julian's struggle against acknowledging his sexual feelings was interesting though and the surprise ending was quite enticing. I recommend this one.

Annie
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I read this one sometimes back, when it was first released under Venus Press, which has long since gone bust. But till now I still remember this short vampire M/M romance vividly because it is just so emotional, poignant and bittersweet. Thankfully because it is a M/M romance we do have a satisfying ending.

The vampire Julian, moaning for his human dead wife who refused immortality till the very end, decides to go for a long sleep as time is suppose to heal all wounds. The one thing Julian does not know or maybe he does but is too consumed with sorrow to acknowledge it, is his human best friend, Dan, who has loved him for a long time. Only when he finally wakes up and sees a very old Dan, who has kept guard over his sleeping form till the very end and now on the verge of death does he realizes his mistakes. All the time and love that is lost and is it now too late to turn back the clock ?
Love this one.

James Leigh has spent a lifetime listening to, playing, and writing about jazz. Possibly many people can say the same, but I doubt any could write with such warmth, acuity, clarity, musical insight, and open-mindedness about the full range of jazz styles from King Oliver to Bebop and beyond. He has no axes to grind, no scores to settle, no argments to win. Yet the book is chock full of concise critical gems, mostly in appreciation of the artists who have played and continue to play America's greatest music.

I urge everyone to read this book; odds are slim to none you would be disappointed. Have you ordered it yet?

This book is a wonderful read. It's a survey of a lifetime's passionate involvement in jazz, this unique book traces the experiences of one man as enthusiast, listener, player and, on a modest scale, critic.

"Jazz takes all kinds," James Leigh writes in his introduction to Heaven On the Side. "Going on sixty years ago it took me, and never let go, and it was mutual." His account renders in a fresh and original way the experience - and the mechanics - of listening to jazz and playing it, in Europe as well as in the USA. His concluding chapters take a close but deeply affectionate look at the state of the music after a century of existence.

Leigh recalls the intense partisanship - or "brainlock" - in which he felt himself trapped by an early commitment to a single small school of jazz thought, but does not deny the pleasures it gave. A main focus is on the difficult process by which his tastes broadened and deepened in the process of breaking free. In the course of this narrative he delivers a heartfelt message on the rewards of an "open ears, open mind" attitude for fans and players alike.

Heaven on the Side, however, is much more a book of personalities and anecdotes than it is a theoretical treatise. In his introduction, Leigh says the only way he call tell his story is "in terms of the people I've heard playing jazz, whether alive or on record, and those with whom I've tried to play it." Many readers will find the accounts of these people, whether famous or virtually unknown, to be the richest part of the book. They make an extraordinary collection. After beginning in high school on the guitar, Leigh began playing the trombone at 20, so it is not surprising that such heroes of early jazz as Kid Ory and Turk Murphy (who would later unofficially sponsor Leigh) receive much attention.

Other well-known figures associated with the older styles of jazz are also mentioned at greater or lesser length, including Burt Bales, Don Ewell, Frank (Big Boy) Goudie, Bob Helm, Paul Lingle, Wingy Manone, Louis Nelson and Muggsy Spanier.

One theme which runs through Heaven On the Side is the implicitly democratic nature of jazz, despite all the social, commercial, and artistic forces working against it. One form this takes is the affectionate detail the book lavishes upon individual musicians who never achieved great fame and never recorded widely (or at all).

Such details make vivid the chapters devoted to the pianist Bill Erickson, the clarinetist Rowland Working, vocalist Carol Leigh, and the Dutch pianist Emile van Pelt. A single remarkable band, the Sunset Music Company, is the subject of one chapter; others offer glimpses of dozens of individual players, and pay the writer's particular tribute to two inspirational trombonists - Bill Bardin and Dan Barrett.

Heaven On the Side also calls attention to the extraordinary virtues of several younger musicians who have been making names for themselves over the past decade.

The book begins with the writer's infatuation with the idea of the "real jazz" as a child, covers his beginnings as a record collector, his first experiences of live jazz, his exposure in high school to swing and bebop, his return to an interest in older jazz and his first attempts to play it. It deals with his term of miscellaneous service for a record company (Good Time Jazz) before following him to San Francisco, and a brief tenure as a band leader. He writes at length about the Bay area's "jazz loves and wars" of the `50s and `60s, a period during which his musical acquaintances, tastes, and opportunities to play were expanding dramatically.

For all true oyster lovers this is a must have book. Excellent recipes and well presented.
Any one who has access to fresh oysters will find this book invaluable.

Ms. Pomo has hit the nail on the head. I've tried several recipes, they all were winners! What a suprize!

If you get through this book and walk away unchanged then something is wrong. Nancy puts things in such a way that the concept of holiness will finally click for the reader. She helps us realize that becoming holy isn't easy but it can be done... with the Holy Spirit, of course.

"...I am often more bothered by others' failures than by my own shortcomings. I tend to minimize or rationalize in my life certain offenses that disturb me when I see them in others." (pg. 20)

As I read these words I realized that they easily could have come from my own journal. This is a struggle I face daily, as I clearly see the sins and shortcomings of others, but fail to see, or address them, in myself as faithfully. Nancy Leigh DeMoss, in her book Holiness: The Heart God Purifies, says:
"The message of repentance and holiness needs to be proclaimed, heard, and heeded among God's people in every generation. It must become more than a theological tenet that we politely nod agreement to; it needs to transform the way we think that the way we live." (pg. 21)

This book does just that. It clearly proclaims the message of holiness, and its importance in the life of the believer. But, it also gives the reader opportunity to make it personal - to transform sinful patterns in their own lives, and passionately pursue holiness.
In chapter one, she lists several of the misconceptions surrounding holiness:
-Somber, straitlaced people with outdated hair and clothing styles
-An austere, joyless lifestyle based on a long list of rules and regulations
-A monk-like existence - "holy" people talk in hushed tones, spend hours a day in prayer, always have their nose in the Bible or a spiritual book, fast frequently , hum hymns under their breath, and have no interest in "normal" life activities
-People with a judgmental attitude toward those who don't accept their standards
-An unattainable ideal that has more to do with the sweet by-and-by than the real world, which is right here, right now (pg. 28)

But, as this book reveals, this caricatured version is not what true holiness is about. Instead, "it is a warm, joyous, loving response to the God who loves us and created us to enjoy intimate fellowship with Him." (pg. 37) But, too often we do not see holiness for what it truly is, because we do not see sin for what it really is. "Somehow, the evangelical world has managed to redefine sin; we have come to view it as normal, acceptable behavior - something perhaps to be tamed or controlled, but not to be eradicated and put to death. We have sunk to such lows that we can not only sin thoughtlessly, but, astonishingly, we can even laugh at sin and be entertained by it." (pg. 75)

In chapter 4, "The Face of Holiness," DeMoss gives us a vivid picture of what holiness can, and should, look like in our lives, as it was lived out in the person of Christ. As DeMoss describes Christ's holiness, she reminds us that, "the call to holiness is a call to follow Christ. A pursuit of holiness that is not Christ-centered will soon be reduced to moralism, pharisaical self-righteousness, and futile self-effort." (pg. 103) In the Foreward to this book, Randy Alcorn similarly notes that
"God is the reason that we should be holy. But He's also the empowerment for our holiness. Many of us are convinced that we should be more holy, but we've gone about it wrong. To be holy in our strength, and for our glory, is to be distinctly unholy. To be holy in Christ's strength and for His glory...that's our calling, and our joy." (pg. 10)

At the end of chapters 6 and 7, DeMoss changes the tone of the book, and moves from an academic look at the various aspects of holiness, to a more reflective, personal application. She offers several pointed questions to stimulate thinking, repentance, and accountability.

I found myself convicted by the biblical truths in this book. I appreciated her honesty and boldness in exhorting believers to pursue biblical standard of holiness. I think that this book would be a useful tool for anyone who is serious about intentionally, and passionately pursuing holiness.

"As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, `You shall be holy, for I am holy.'" ~1 Peter 1:14-16 (ESV)

It has enough going on that you can't put it down. There's not only the romance between Matt and Sara. There's also the fact that someone is stealing company secrets, and that Jim(Sara's boss) was also interested in Sara. Altogether, it couldn't be put down!

If you like fun, romantic books with sexy heroes, HUSBAND 101 is for you. I laughed and sighed all the way through. You'll love the list of 30 ways to entice a man. I read a lot of romances, and this one gets 5 stars!

hilarious book. for any friend you have that will be going through menopause or is past it, chuckle she will..it's all in good humor and guaranteed to make u laugh.

If your thick hair and thin waist have changed places or your back goes out more often than you do, grab a copy of "I'm Not Getting Older (I'm Getting Better at Denial)." Leigh Anne Jasheway finds the essential truths in our lives and makes us laugh at them. Jasheway can do nothing about sagging bustlines, but she does wonders for sagging spirits. This book is a must for any woman who wants to turn her midlife crisis into a midlife laugh fest.