P Books

An excellent pocket size reference aide-memoir for those who work or play in remote or rugged environments. Small enough to fit into a fair sized medical pack and robust enough to survive the elements. Well worth the money!

I am pleased with the field guide. My original goal was to find a resource that is compact and light, allowing use for backpacking. The book meets that goal.

Additionally, a benefit that I didn't expect -- the outline format used makes this a good tool for giving the frequent first aid training bits that we do with our Boy Scout troop.

This is the most concise, simplest to follow, and overall best field guide I've seen. It lays out procedural illustrations and diagnostic algorithms in an easy to follow format that would still be easy in the middle of nowhere at 3 in the morning. Definitely a must for anyone with a WFR, WEMT, or other wilderness medical cert.

That all being said, there are things I don't like about this book. Some of the acronyms used, and certain "laymen's terms" don't make the most sense, the most annoying of which are "PROP" for Position of comfort, Reassurance, O2 if available, and Positive pressure ventilation, and the use of the term cork for an airway obstructing object. This is just my feeling towards these terms, the rest of the book is absolutely phenomenal, and you can substitute your own care guidelines and terms if you have the training.

Lastly, get the training, this guide is only as good as the skills you have practiced. If you have never practiced these skills, this book will help you, but I assure you it is much more useful if you have taken some training to go with it.

I just received the 2008 edition after a long back order and it's well worth the money as a small concise emergency guide. I have one in my backpack, one in the glove compartment of each car, and one in the medicine cabinet.

I teach Wilderness Medical Care to the WFR level and I strongly suggest all our Advanced Wilderness First Aid students buy it, and require all WFR students to have one. These is simply no book that compares to Morrissey's Guide. Personally, I have two...one in my backpack medical kit and one for my bookshelf. If you are a wilderness guide, a SAR team member of just an avid outdoors person, you need this book. (and the training that goes with it.)

Don't leave home without it!

This book was illustrated so beautifully that I wanted a copy for myself. The story is based on a real individual and that just added to the power of the book. I recommend this book for any family, school or public library.

Freedom River
By Doreen Rappaport and Illustrated by Bryan Collier
Review by Shelley Styles, Maggie Mathena, and Sylvia Robison


This nonfiction picture book is a true story of one of the journeys made by John Parker, a successful business, into Kentucky to help an African American family escape to freedom into Ohio. John Parker owned a foundry where he employed white people. This particular story began with one of John's employees saying that some one had helped a slave woman cross the river during the night. Another employee answered that perhaps Mr. Parker had helped the woman escape. One of John's employees, Jim Shrofe's father owned slaves. Jim Shrofe taunted, "I dare him to cross the river and try to steal my father's slaves, if he does, my father will set the dogs on him and rip him to shreds."
Although there was a $1000 reward for John, dead or alive, he kept trying to help others. In November, John crossed the river and saw a black man in the shadows and told him about his boat to freedom. The man told John that he couldn't go and leave his wife and baby. As the man ran away, a white man swung a club at John, they wrestled and John escaped back to the river.
December and January came and John couldn't get across the river to help slaves escape. Jim Shrofe continued to taunt that John was too scared to mess with his daddy's slaves. John kept quiet, until April. John went back across the river and found the same man and told him that he had come back for him and his family. The man told John to leave him alone because since the first time he had come the master watches them carefully and took their baby and makes her sleep at the end of his bed. He also said that the master has a loaded pistol at his side and would kill anyone who comes after the baby. John went home feeling bad that he could not help this family.
The next night, John rowed back across the river to save the family. They were afraid, so John told the father to hold his shoes and he would go get their baby. Soon John came back with the baby followed by the sound of gun shots. They ran to the boat and rowed back across the river. The man lost John's shoes when he was running.
Soon after John made it home, he heard a knock on the door. It was Jim Shrofe holding John's shoes. He offered the shoes in exchange for his father's slaves. John said that he had never seen the shoes before and invited Jim in to look for the slaves, allowing more time for the family to get a head start to freedom. Jim Shrofe did not show up for work the next day, or ever again.
The author used words like Listen, Listen; wait, wait; run, row to describe how John planned and accomplished his tasks to help others to freedom. She used text to self and text to world to help the reader visualize the events that took place during John's plight. The illustrator used wavy lines across the faces of the characters to represent the river, for the river was the path to freedom.

Doreen Rapport Freedom River; Illustration by Bryan Collier
14pp. ISBN 0-7868-0350-9.-ISBN 0-7868-1229-X (pbk.).-ISBN 0-7868-229-0 (lib.bdg.)
(Intermediate)

Freedom River is a true story, about getting from Kentucky to the free state Ohio. John Parker a former slave, and now a businessman of Ripely Ohio. John then helps a couple and their child escape being slaves to freedom. The freeing of these salves is taken place through out the year. Both the author and the illustrator work wonderfully together to make this book seem real. The text clearly goes along with the pictures. The illustration is remarkable, the pictures look like photographs. Bryan Collier uses a different technique for his illustrations, it looks as if the pictures are pieces of a puzzle arranged together. As you begin to read this book look closely at the faces of the people, you will see wavy lines, these lines represent the Ohio River. The color schemes really put things in perspective also, they are realistic colors. Through out this book, Doreen Rapport uses short phrases to describe the event that is taking place: Run. Run, Row. Row, Listen. Listen, Wait. Wait, Closer. Louder, Crawl. Crawl. This gives the reader insight to what is going on in the picture by just two word phrases. Another author that does this same technique is Under the Quilt of Night by Deborah Hopkinson. The ending of this story is really surprising, I but when thought about it makes sense. This book is just not about the freeing of slaves, but it is about doing what is right in life, helping others out. I recommend this book to adults and children in the intermediate level. An interesting addition to the end of the story is a historical note which explains in great detail about the life of John Parker.

Doreen Rapport Freedom River; Illustration by Bryan Collier
14pp. ISBN 0-7868-0350-9.-ISBN 0-7868-1229-X (pbk.).-ISBN 0-7868-229-0 (lib.bdg.)
(Intermediate)

Freedom River is a true story, about getting from Kentucky to the free state Ohio. John Parker a former slave, and now a businessman of Ripely Ohio. John then helps a couple and their child escape being slaves to freedom. The freeing of these salves is taken place through out the year. Both the author and the illustrator work wonderfully together to make this book seem real. The text clearly goes along with the pictures. The illustration is remarkable, the pictures look like photographs. Bryan Collier uses a different technique for his illustrations, it looks as if the pictures are pieces of a puzzle arranged together. As you begin to read this book look closely at the faces of the people, you will see wavy lines, these lines represent the Ohio River. The color schemes really put things in perspective also, they are realistic colors. Through out this book, Doreen Rapport uses short phrases to describe the event that is taking place: Run. Run, Row. Row, Listen. Listen, Wait. Wait, Closer. Louder, Crawl. Crawl. This gives the reader insight to what is going on in the picture by just two word phrases. Another author that does this same technique is Under the Quilt of Night by Deborah Hopkinson. The ending of this story is really surprising, I but when thought about it makes sense. This book is just not about the freeing of slaves, but it is about doing what is right in life, helping others out. I recommend this book to adults and children in the intermediate level. An interesting addition to the end of the story is a historical note which explains in great detail about the life of John Parker.

In the book, A Freedom River, the writing of Doreen Rappaport along with the illustrations of Bryan Collier together create a stunning retelling of one particular trip on the Underground Railroad. This is the story of a slave family escaping from the slave state of Kentucky to the free state of Ohio.
The book's uniqueness lies not in its topic, but rather in the characters. John Parker, this true story's hero, was not only a conductor on the Underground Railroad, but also an accomplished businessman from Ripley, Ohio. He was born a slave and worked to buy his freedom. He owned his own foundry, and employed both black and white individuals from both Ohio and Kentucky. He helped to make this book unique because he is not a well known conductor, but his impact on the Underground Railroad was just as great. It is said that he helped over 900 slaves escape to freedom during his lifetime.
A Freedom River draws the reader into the experience of the Underground Railroad. It masterfully pulls forth every imaginable emotion, as the characters must make choices that may end in the separation of families, death or freedom. The pace of the book along with large, bold directives, such as RUN, CRAWL, and LISTEN, create a feeling of breathlessness, much as if the reader too, were running for freedom.
The illustrations work hand in hand with the written word in order to create the overall experience of the book. The multi-textured collages with realistic faces add emotion and dept to the story. Wavy lives found throughout the illustrations deeply symbolize the river and its importance in the search for freedom.
This is a beautiful book and worthy of a rating of more than five stars. It could be successfully used with children from 1st to 6th grade. It is an excellent book for introducing and further understanding the Underground Railroad.

Could the Dodo bird still be hiding out there? How about Blue Tigers in China? Some of the extremely interesting possibilities revealed in this book. Real can't put down reading, zoologist Karl Shuker is a leader of today's Cryptozoology investigation. Have enjoyed reading Mr. Shuker's articles in the Fortean Times for years.

I rank this book with Willy Ley's Exotic Zoology for delightful, yet level-headed reading that doesn't insult the reader's intelligence. Shuker ignores brainless sensationalism and writes with a mind that is at once open and analytical. His approach is that of a confirmed scientist who marvels at nature's capacity for producing known and yet-to-be revealed wonders. With a writing style that is relaxed and laced with subtle humor, "Flying Toads" is a book that is hard to put down and even harder to end.

While it appears that most of the previous reviews were from dedicated cryptozoology buffs, I had a much more "normal" use for this book. I run a role-playing game called "Conspiracy X" and I had just purchased the Cryptozoology sourcebook only to be dismayed by the lack of ...er... noncommon creatures (although there was plenty of Nessie, Bigfoot, et al.). I found this book here by accident and bought it and I have to say that I was plesantly suprised. Extremely well written and intelligent with all kinds of facts and tidbits that can be easily dropped right into a game. I'd recommend this book to anyone wanting to run an "X-Files"ish RPG.

Although I've always been big on the paranormal, and supernatural, and all things abnormal, this was my first strictly cryptozoology book and I thuroughly enjoyed it. It's not the sort of thing you sit down and read strait through, but I had a hard time putting it down. It's fascinating and extremely well written, and very informative. It was a stroke of luck that I happened to run across it in the bookstore, and I think that anyone with even the slightest interest will be more than pleased.

Cryptozoology, the study of undiscovered animals, is a relatively new science. One of its foremost pioneers is Karl Shuker, who has a doctorate in Zoology and Comparative Physiology from the University of Birmingham. Dr. Shuker has collected dozens of his cryptozoological articles in his book From Flying Toads to Snakes with Wings. The book is a fantastic journey through every corner of our planet. Throughout the journey the reader encounters a parade of rarely seen creatures, including: whale-sized sharks, man-eating elephants, and blue tigers. Dr. Shuker's writing style is educated and fanciful. The result is a book that can be enjoyed by cryptozoological novices and veterans alike.

The Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot are perhaps two of the world's most notorious cryptozoological entities. Dr. Shuker presents a far more diverse group of lesser-known creatures. In fact, two of his chapters deal with newly discovered animals and proven hoaxes. This impressive collection of creatures would appeal to anyone interested in animals or the unknown.

Dr. Shuker uses thorough scientific research and eyewitness accounts in each of his articles. For example, in his chapter devoted to sharks Dr. Shuker describes an incident involving a very large shark: " They told him that their series of heavily weighted three-and-a-half-foot crayfish pots had been carried away once by a shark of ghostly white coloration and so extraordinarily immense that they estimated its length to have been anything between 115 and 300 feet." Dr. Shuker then goes on to explain that recent research on fossilized megalodon (prehistoric shark) remains have proven that sharks over 50 feet did indeed exist, a mere 11,000 years ago. Dr. Shuker believes the fishermen who saw the shark were shocked and therefore exaggerated the shark's length. Most of the creatures discussed in the book appear to be highly elusive and rarely seen by man. Others like the monster salmon of China, 33 feet in length, are alive and well.

From Flying Toads to Snakes with Wings is skillfully divided into eighteen chapters. Each chapter discusses a certain type of monster, such as: mystery bears of the world, giant jellyfishes, and the graveyard of monsters. The book has many illustrations and contains illustration credits to help locate the source of an illustration. There is also a selected bibliography and an index of animal names. This book would be useful to zoology students, science-fiction writers, and passengers aboard a long plane trip. Dr. Shuker clearly explains scientific information and presents each animal with the enthusiasm of a proud father. The number of animals presented in the book is incredibly lengthy and richly diverse. It has provided countless hours of enjoyment, and the book itself has held up quite well, with minimal wear and tear.

From Flying Toads to Snakes with Wings sheds light on a subject not usually discussed. With this book Dr. Shuker has made a significant contribution to the field of cryptozoology. Dr. Shuker does not limit his research to the common lake monster; he discusses the existence of the Golden Fleece and the macabre eating habits of sheep during food shortages (they bite the heads off young birds). Dr. Shuker's book is a sometimes frightful, thrill ride through the zoo of the unknown.

Arguably, one of the best SF stories about people, under the pressures of the Gaea mission, not being able to return to Earth because of world-wide civil conflict, and the normal emotional baggage each crew member brings.
The interplay among the crew members is superb, as is the realisation of alien (yet strangely familiar) landscapes, and it keeps the pages turning !
A space adventure, with modern and future concerns for humanity at core, par excellence !

P.D. Gilson's Gaea: Beyond the Son takes place in a not-too-distant future, after we've run dangerously short of potable water on Earth. There's a technology called D-salt that can make large amounts of wastewater completely drinkable, but the catch-22 is that it takes vast amounts of clean water to make D-salt in the first place. That's where the distant planet comes in--the idea is to set up D-salt production facilities there, and ship the D-salt back home. Unfortunately for Doyle, the shakedown and test flight of the Gaea technology ends up becoming a flight to that distant planet when war intervenes, forcing the crew to rely on prototype technologies for their safety.

Of course, even though they sleep through the decades of their long flight, the war hasn't magically ended by the time they get to their destination. They're the enemy now, on an alien world where simple survival would be difficult enough. And Doyle's determined that one way or another, his flight won't end until he's reunited with his son.

The setup provides us with a great science-based adventure novel crossed with a war novel. The main characters are largely scientists, each with their own areas of specialty, allowing for some fascinating uses of technology in the desperate battles that ensue. The two sides in the war are given enough due that they aren't reduced to stereotype. The characters have their quirks, flaws, and so on, largely giving them appropriate depth.

Unfortunately, despite that depth, I could never shake the feeling that the characters were held at arm's length. I could watch and even sympathize with the tragedies that shook them, but I couldn't feel the heart-wrenching of empathy that I feel when I'm really pulled into a character's suffering or joy. Gaea definitely succeeded in the realm of page-turning action-adventure--I constantly wanted to know what happened next--but the character emotions were somehow distant. Because many events are triggered by characters reacting from emotion, this sometimes gave events a slightly `off' feeling. I'm not entirely sure what it was about the writing that created that distance, but I can't help thinking that while this was definitely a good and enjoyable story, if it had had that additional empathy, it would have been positively stunning.

While the book does involve topics such as global warming and water shortage as a previous reviewer says, it focuses far more on the stories and struggles of the main characters. I found the characters to be well developed and the pace of the story kept me interested through the last page. Quite a debut for the author. I look forward to reading more of his work and further books in this universe.

It is a desperate time in Earth's future. Global warming is taking its toll. The polar ice caps are melting, raising sea levels and contaminating fresh water supplies. Man has two choices. Rely on D-salt, itself a much sought after commodity, to remove impurities from tainted water, or look to the heavens for a new home.
Doyle Gage is the poster boy for the promised Gaea future. A long serving United Earth Coalition (UEC) soldier, Doyle has been hand picked to be commander of the Gaea-02 spaceship. Its mission, to forge a new colony on a distant planet called M38 But Doyle unexpectedly finds himself alone to raise his young son and resigns his post, electing only to accompany the ship on its six month, slingshot test flight as a civilian consultant.
On returning to Earth, the crew of Gaea-02 are horrified to discover that the Asian Pacific Alliance (APA) has started all out war with the UEC. It soon becomes clear, the APA are after one thing, the Gaea ship and all its technology, so they can mount their own bid for M38.
Stranded in space, and considered fugitive by the APA, the crew of the Gaea-02 will be forced to make difficult decisions and Doyle must decide if he should return to Earth and learn the fate of his son or head for the stars and fulfill the Gaea dream.

Gaea: Beyond the Son, is the brilliant first offering from P.D. Gilson. Crammed full of action and with a plot played out by believable, likeable characters, it's hard to put this book down.
If you're looking for hard, techhy sci-fi, then this isn't for you. But if you like your SF a little on the pulpy/adventure side with a splash of military thrown in for good measure, I heartily recommend it.
The initial premise is good, the future world Gilson writes about not too much of a leap of faith given current warnings about global warming and climate change. The characters are engaging and their individual stories are slowly revealed to the reader through a series of flashbacks and hibernation dreams. Yes, it's been done before but it's executed well, bringing to the surface conflicts and motivations that draw you into the story as the book progresses.
The crew of the Gaea-02 get thrown from one situation to the next, and the action scenes are exciting and written well, yet none of the obstacles or hardships encountered seemed contrived to pad the story out, they just added to the snowballing pace of the plot.
If I had one minor criticism of Gaea: Beyond the Son, it would be the use of unexplained acronyms. Lovers of SF will have no problem, with a little bit of thought, figuring out what they all stand for, but readers new to the genre might not be familiar with them all. It's a minor issue.
Completing the package is the gorgeous cover art of Tomas Kuklik. A beautiful collage of scenes from the book, you'll find yourself constantly flipping back to view it and pictorially relive the scene you just read. They say never to judge a book by its cover but I'm afraid to say I did - and I wasn't disappointed in the least.

When the Gaea-02 returns from her first mission in deep space, the crew discovers that the volatile situation on earth has escalated. Earth's factions are at war, leaving the Gaea-02 no option but to head for the planet that Earth plans to colonize. But one crew member has left a son back on Earth. And Doyle won't give up until he finds a way back home.

Gaea: Beyond the Son is an exciting tale of heart-pounding action and suspense, and read like a gripping, scifi film. But the characterization doesn't suffer for it. Short backstories for several of the crew members, give insight and depth to the characters, and help to engage the reader. Even the antagonists were multi-dimensional.

This novel was impossible to put down. With the feel of military scifi and the heart of a space opera, this debut novel has made the list of my favorites for the year. This was more than an impressive launch release for a brand-new small press. Helios has set a high standard with a fantastic story and beautiful cover art.

We purchased this book on recommendation from a friend and have fallen in love with it. Many similar books into our search, this one provides plentiful beautiful and illustrative pictures to accompany well-written and knowledgeable prose. This combination and organization allows me to quickly introduce myself to a new wine or region, but also then spend more time to gain a greater insight should the need or desire arise. I would definitely highly recommend it!!

The book is a wonderful coffee table book with many pretty pictures, weighing better than 5 lbs. The accompanying CD is more or less useless as a wine guide or a wine record. The text is illegible. Very frustrating to work with.

This book is a treasure, and it lives up to its name as a global resource for wine. The book comes with a CD that is quite good, is organzed in a rational way, and designed for ease of access. The bright, clear, glossy photos in the book are truly exceptional, and they are suggestive of an attractive coffee table book. But behind the pictures is a throughly researched book. Essentially, you get a graduate level course on wine in 900 pages of readable prose. Of course everything about wine is about taste, and as tastes vary, so do opinions. The book has 36 contributors, so the reader enjoys a variety of views as well as a variety of writing styles. While most of the book is organized geographically, there is an excellent opening chapter titled "The World of Wine," which will tell you more than you ever thought you'd ever know about the winemaker's craft. Then follows the geographic chapters, where the jumping off point, appropriately enough, is France. By the time our journey is ended, we have met all of the wines of the world face to face. Well, not all, actually. The index omits many wines that are popular in their own backyards, but have yet to make in impact in the global marketplace. But overall, you cannot be disappointed with editor Peter Forrestal's monumental book. You'll be delighted by the book's complexity, balance, and clarity.

There are currently several major wine reference books available in the English language. Originally, there were the definitive Schoonmaker Encyclopedia of Wine and the entertaining Encyclopedia of Wines and Spirits by Alexis Lichine. These were the reliable wine reference books 20-30 years ago. Then there were the beautiful World Atlas of Wine by Hugh Johnson and the Oxford Companion to Wine by Jancis Robinson., These were the standards 10-20 years ago. NOW THERE IS THE GLOBAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WINE which eclipses them all! Current, timely and with 33 diverse authors all respected in their fields. Complete with full color photos and maps as well as reliable wine ratings. This is the one book that can replace many wine books in your wine book collection.

I have always enjoyed drinking wine but I have never had the necessary
background and information about how to distinguish a good wine from a bad
one, which are the most famous wine regions in the world and what are the
most famous wine denominations. That was before my friend gave me this book
as a gift and I must say it was exactly what I needed.

It helped me understand about the different types of grapes and wines,
their specific characteristics, how to taste a wine, which wines are to be
consumed younger and which ones are to be left for aging. I also found out
about the influence of the soil on the vine's growing, the harvest time for
each type of wine, etc.

I think this book is a good start for someone who would like to be
initiated in the amazing world of wines and also for those who already know
well wines.

This book is very detailed and discusses every wine region of the world
(Europe, South Africa, Australia, new Zealand, South America, etc.),

mentioning its wine producers, the history of the area, the climate and in
certain parts it also gives suggestions about specific food that can be
combined with the wine of the area.

Regions like France, South Africa, Germany, USA, Australia, are very
detailed presented, with maps and informations about every single producer
in the area. If you want to take a vacation and visit some wine areas, this
book is everything you need.
Unfortunately, regions like Eastern Europe don't offer so much
information, despite the fact that they have a big potential, but are not
historically so well known.

This is not something to read once and then put it aside. It is meant to
be kept within easy reach and read from it every time you taste a new wine
and want to find more about its origin and history. Knowing all these
things, it will make you understand better its personality and perhaps you
will enjoy it more.

I'm sure you will like the experience of reading from this book.

Goblin Market, a verse fairy tale that was first published in 1862, is a rather fascinating piece of masterful poetry. It tells a wonderfully sensuous tale that has inspired a myriad of interpretations. I've spent more time reading about Goblin Market than I did actually reading it - savoring it, rather, for it really calls for a much more personal treatment than a mere reading. This pre-Raphaelite work harbors latent eroticism that echoes with both renunciation and desire. Thus, some term it a work of repressed Victorian eroticism and grin knowingly (and leeringly) as they recount the fact that Goblin Market was quite a popular children's fairy tale in its day. Christine Rossetti was herself a recluse along the lines of Emily Dickinson, allowing her heart to sing freely even as she kept herself separated from any possible objects of her latent desires.

In the poem, one sister gives in to the temptation of the forbidden fruit offered by the dark goblins forever lurking in the twilight to seduce their victims to a first taste of their exotic wares. The desire to obtain more of the passion fruit overtakes her young life, yet the goblins appear to her no more; as a result, she begins to waste away near to death. At this point, her sister, who sensibly avoided temptation, willingly seeks to bargain with the goblins, only to have them force their juicy wares upon her. The fruity residue is enough, however, to revive her sister. The act of salvation is obviously the juiciest part of the story on a number of levels - such a sensual act between sisters, with lines such as "Hug me, kiss me, suck my juices" and "Eat me, drink me, love me," cries out for interpretation of all kinds - and those quick to criticize the hypocritical prudishness of Victorian society have a veritable field day with it.

Some say this is not a poem for children's ears? Balderdash. Like any masterful work of poetry, Goblin Market can be read and interpreted on many levels. Children will delight in its lyrical rhyming patterns, its allusions to wee goblins hawking the most delicious of fruits, and interpret the salvation of the tempted sister in comparatively innocent terms. I say leave the interpretations to the adults. And what interpretations there are of this lengthy poem. Some see in it a recreation of the genesis story, a story of sacrifice and redemption, a tale of lesbian yearning, a declaration of the power of sisterhood, a commentary on women as commodities in market society, evidence of sexual molestation by Rossetti's father, etc. There's no limit to the interpretations put forth about what is, on the surface, an engaging fairy tale set to verse.

This is a fascinating work of lyrical poetry that can be read fairly quickly yet will sustain your interest through multiple readings, all sorts of fascinating research into analysis and interpretation, and just plain wonderment. As sensual as it is beautiful, Goblin Market is probably one of the most fascinating and insightful products of Victorian literature.

I wonder if the good folk at the end of the 19th century when this poem was originally published were just too obtuse to understand the gist of Rossetti's work; if so, we have an innocent artifact that has evolved into something erotic because of our twentieth century sensibilities (we have dirtier minds than our compatriots from the past).

Don't let the word "erotica" scare you away. This is not a blatantly sexual work in its language; it is not a "dirty" book. Just understand that despite what anyone else says or writes, this is about as unambiguously EROTIC as you can get. With phrasing like "Eat me, drink me, love me; Laura, make much of me; For your sake I have braved the glen; And had to do with goblin merchant men."

Since the original work is now in the public domain, if you want to read the full text online just do a search using most standard search engines with the terms "Christina Rossetti Goblin Market" and you should turn up a number of links to the actual poems, go read it, and decide for yourself about it.

This makes a wonderful gift for people you are very close too. However, it is also a very personal poem, and if given inappropriately could actually scare someone away!

Noted Italian/English poetess of the 1800's Christina Rossetti's imagination catching poetry has stood the test of time, being still loved and studied today. Because of its title, Goblin Market sometimes gets put into a juvenile category, but this is a poem for mature readers. This moral tale depicts the epic struggle between bad and good. The goblin's onslaught on virtue immediately engages the reader's inner ear and heart. This poem is really gripping reading. Goblin Market is often considered Christina Rossetti's best poem. This re-issue, replete with noted illustrator Arthor Rackham's beautifully eerie drawings, is a book worth owning.

A children tale for adults. It's a light and thoughtful reading. The story of two sisters and lewd goblin men. Innocence, temptation and emotions all together. This inspiring story has wonderful work of Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

This tale is not about sexuality but about redemption and the need to help others. Read deep into the story to find the meaning that Rossetti intended.

This is a practical book that gives good pointers on how to address issues that people have with God and Christianity. It gives a lot of specifics and also has sidebars that allow you to go deeper yet. It deals with: pain in the world, disasters (which I wish they would have given better reasons), Jesus' resurrection, etc. I liked the conversational style of the book.

I'm thinking I will shop other sites before purchasing from Amazon. Turn around time is so slow, items back ordered, out of stock even when web site says item is in stock. This has happened one too many times when I order from Amazon and that has been several times.
Huge selection, poor service.

This book opens a whole new approach to witnessing and winning others to Christ. It is patterned after Jesus's and the disciple's examples of reaching people who do not want to hear a bunch of religious jargon. Thumbs up and thankyou for punctually sending it.

Wouldyou believe some of the books I ordered never got here but I paid for them just the same.

The God Conversation is an important book in apologetics and evangelism because it makes ideas-that are powerful in and of themselves, but not always immediately accessible to many people-come alive. J.P. Moreland and Tim Muehlhoff take clear thinking and compelling arguments and then attach them to memorable images and stories. This book will help you be ready to give a defense for the hope within you at the office or a family gathering that is memorable and compelling. A picture is worth a thousand words indeed.

Welcome to College: A Christ-Follower's Guide for the Journey

Great Book! Taking part in a Bible Study and this book has been a tremendous help. Lots of great ideas on how to speak with someone concerning God without making them feel that you are "shoving religion" down their throats.

Wow, I read this on a plane ride and didn't want to put it down. Machen did an amazing job of creating this atmosphere of terror and horror and dread and evil...without ever actually spilling blood and showing us what happened. The way he described what transpired with Helen was awesome. The way he led us along these different paths and then brought them all home so that everything made perfect sense was brilliant. I would have loved more of a backstory and more details into Pan...but that's minor. Can't say enough great things about this little book of "terror." Has something this short and this powerful been written in the last 20 or 30 or 40 years? Great stuff!

Arthur Machen's "The Great God Pan" (1894) delves into Machen's favorite subject: the supposed existence of a spiritual realm that is imperceptible to the human eye. A realm -- in the mind of Machen -- populated by golden-haired fairies haunting Welsh meadows, sex-crazed demons of ancient mysticism, furry red-eyed changelings that drag children underground with ropes, and phantom Roman legions glimpsed on foggy British moors. Clearly, Machen was a dreamer-sentimentalist, but with a very, very creepy sexual side. His Orthodox Anglo-Catholic upbringing imbued his mind with a love/hate fascination of aberrant sexuality; in particular, its spiritual ramifications. It was this fascination that lead to his writing "The Great God Pan."

Machen's "The Great God Pan" is based upon the concept of spiritual demons that seduce their victims. This age-old story shares some of its esoteric origins in the Old Testament. Prior to textual expurgations by Christian Councils, the Old Testament once referenced the existence of incubi (male) or succubi (female) which preyed on sexual debutantes. Their queen was Lilith -- the Night Hag -- the first wife of Adam in Hebrew and Akkadian folklore. Lilith was a nymphomaniac whom Yahweh made from dung, prior to the creation of Eve. Lilith's inability to obey Adam led to her banishment and replacement by Eve. Later, Lilith mated with beasts and had offspring. Although in Hellenistic myth Pan was the foster brother of Zeus, some of Joseph Campbell's monomyth theorists claim that Pan was one of Lilith's children.

The Pan deity present in Machen's horror story borrows from the aforementioned lore and also from the contemporary exorcism of his day. In the 19th century, exorcists believed that a demon could invade a weak soul and, if a child was conceived in lust by that soul, be born into the resulting child. Another variant was that a person in a hypnotic or drowsy state of mind could glimpse the spirit realm and have unwanted "encounters" there. Machen expounded upon this latter variant of exorcism in "The Great God Pan" by having Dr. Raymond create an experiment that allows others to glimpse that spirit world and creates tragic, yet kinky results.

In "The Great God Pan," the experiment performed upon a seventeen-year old female, Mary, results in her seeing the "real world [...] beyond the veil" and, in doing so, she is raped by Pan. Mary goes insane, but bears a child nine months later from that unholy union. Years later, Helen Vaughan, the offspring of Pan and Mary, shocks London society by engaging in bizarre sexuality and destroying lives as the result of her taint by Pan. Machen foreshadows these events with the Latin adage: "Et diabolus incarnatus est. Et homo factus est." The English translation is: "And a devil was made incarnate. And a human being was produced."

Overall, I enjoyed Machen's "The Great God Pan." To me, Machen's tale is similar to Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897) minus the clear-cut, black-and-white demarcation between good and evil. I also think "The Great God Pan" would be an excellent story to have your girlfriend read if the topic of marriage and children has just come up...

"An incoherent nightmare of sex . . . " - The Westminster Gazette.

_The Great God Pan_ is the first book of the Welsh writer of weird tales and mystic Arthur Machen, published first in 1894. This book was regarded as a form of decadent literature and was panned by critics of the Victorian era. Arthur Machen was a fascinating character and antiquarian whose weird writings reveal his learning in the occult and his mystical inclinations. Machen was an Anglo-Catholic opposed to modernism in all its forms who was to join the secret society of the Golden Dawn, though he would reject the nefarious doings of such individuals as Aleister Crowley. Machen had an enormous influence on later writers of weird tales including especially H. P. Lovecraft who mentions him in his essay "Supernatural Horror in Literature" as an important influence. This book, republished by Creation Classics, is complimented by automatic drawings of Austin Osman Spare, a friend of Machen and a fellow occultist and mystic. In addition, this book contains Machen's introduction to the story proper.

_The Great God Pan_ begins with a scientist/doctor and his friend attempting to perform a surgical operation on the brain of a seventeen year old girl, Mary, so that she may "see the Great God Pan". The doctor discusses his theories of "transcendental medicine", in which he believes he can control her through this operation. The operation fails and Mary is rendered an "idiot". The story then skips to the memoirs of Mr. Clarke, the friend of Dr. Raymond from the experiment on Mary. Mr. Clarke recounts a tale involving a young girl named Helen Vaughan, who encounters a pagan idol from Roman times in a field. The story involves murder and intrigue as well as a demonic sex change, which occur later in the tale. Machen's mystical inclinations can be seen as he presents the reader with an alchemical transformation.

Though this book was initially criticized harshly by the establishment in Victorian times, it has endured and set the place of Arthur Machen as an important writer of weird tales. Machen's stories are quite unique and his influence on subsequent writers of supernatural fiction continues to endure.

The REAL grandeur of this little gothic gem lies in the power of suggestion. Machen, much like a Nicholas Roeg film or the Lovecraft mythology, only hints at the unspeakable horrors in "Great God Pan" and therein lies the novel's strength, short and negligable as it may seem. It's up to the reader to "fill in the blanks", and make the right connections as to which abominations lurks beneath the sinister series of seemingly unconnected events, that are displayed in "Great God Pan."

Scattered around in the book are twisted images of the many abominable faces that the Great God Pan may take, drawn by the esoteric occultist Austin Osman Spare.

I got this because the author was at one time affiliated with the Golden Dawn. It is horror that was an influence of H.P. Lovecraft. I liked it because the author maintains an aura of darkness that could be disturbing. This is neo pagan horror that you usually don't see any more. Stehpen King commercialized horror but this is more obscure. A few pages in I already thought highly of it. I thought it was cool that he was such an icon back at the turn of the last century.

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This book is, a hilarious look at wordplay, images, and symbolism towards a very serious subject... war. A lot of the literal ideas I do not totally get (give me a break, I'm 27) but I read it has to do w/ vietnam. It relates to any inane/insane fight based on questionable info... a breath from that... it's humor is really funny... the games he plays with words are genius, (a horse named I = I is a horse)... stuff like that. I would have given it 5 stars if I understood it more... but a great read, if I had not researched it and found out it was about Vietnam, I would have enjoyed its funkiness, just the same.

The epic is conceivably the endpoint of the modernist implosion into premodern aesthetics and anti-formal/anti-perspectival tribal art. Whether that makes GUNSLINGER modern, postmodern, or premodern is anyone's guess, 5 of 8 dentists prefer "postmodern." The book smears semantics and Heidegger and cocaine into a psychedelic, post-industrial dreamscape. Ed Dorn studied an americanized version of "psychogeography" at the Black Mountain College with Charles Olson and Robert Creely which contributed to the development of his slow-acid-laced-western-sound poetry aesthetic: "I have no wish to continue my debate with men, my mare lathers with tedium, her hooves are dry. Look, they are covered with the alkali of the enormous space between here and formerly."(Gunglinger, Book 1). This should be read with some cigars and cactus and MM's cover of Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show's "Get My Rocks Off" and Beck's parenthetical "Lazy Flies" ("The skin of a robot vibrates with pleasure, Matrons and gigolos Carouse in the parlor").

An epic poem so richly filled with wisdom, wordplay & laughs that a little of it is often enough. Dorn's characters - who are derived from both John Bunyan & Paul Bunyan - wander through a landscape that feels like a spaghetti western existing inside a Star Trek wormhole. All of the rituals of the Great American Desert are honored & performed in ways that surprise & delight. The cinematography is nonpareil. Does the Zlinger fall in love with Lil? Does he ride off into the Sunset of Happy Trails? Does Walter Brennan make a cameo appearance? Read on, fellow pilgrims, read on.

Bob Rixon

It's great that Ed Dorn's poem (in book form, though it was originally published in a sequence of smaller parts, and assembled) is back in print, after the single-volume version took a short drop to the OOP lists. There are few poems that so effectively capture a decade -- and a century. Read it; fight with it; enjoy the sensibility. This is a book about the American West and, like the work of Charles Olson (one of Dorn's teachers), it is about poetry as a means of understanding aspects of the psyche, motivation, and acquisitiveness that is so American.

That's the good new; you'll read this and laugh about parts, and agonize over others, and relish still more. But be wary of the "Introduction," which is a heavy bolus of words (read the back cover excerpt, if you doubt me). Yes, the folks at Duke (a University Press) felt it necessary to drop a scholarly "Introduction" on the book, but Perloff's offering will inspire you to reach for your Metamucil. As a scholar, she is accomplished (publications on Beckett, Plath, Pound, O'Hara, Lowell, Stevens, Yeats, Williams, Berryman, Rimbaud, Zukofsky, Blackburn, John Cage, Goethe, Ginsberg, Ashbery, and a dozen others), but her treatment of Dorn is at best wooden, and with 35 years of writing on poets she musters great range without summoning either a notable depth or enthusiasm.

Buy the book for Dorn's own work and fight to cherish the results.

The late Ed Dorn wrote a masterpiece with "Gunslinger", an anti-epic poem that prefigures many post-modern gestures from its 60s era starting point. Funny, cartoonish, erudite to the extreme, it also locates a tuned lyricism in the Western vernaculars that Dorn uses: the metaphysical aspect of our legends, the sheer questing for answers as Euro-Americans come treading closer to a West coast that will stop them and force them to settle and create lives from dust and ingenuity, comes alive in way that never escapes the zaniness of Dorns' narrating inquiry into the nature of the search.

A masterpiece