Phillips Books

I have never been able to get my hands on the fourth book in this series, so this one was a bit hard to follow. Especially since I read it before reading number three. I must admit, I found it rather boring. And does the author have something against the Fedorcenkos? It wasn't as sad as the third one, but it was still a tear-jerking book.

I never would have thought that a series as big as the Russians would continue to be worth reading after the first couple of books! But this has to be one of the best series' I've ever read! I just get so caught up in the characters' lives each time I pick up one of the books. After war breaks out in Manchuria, Mariana travels there to be a nurse. But Mariana isn't ready for the horrors of the war where she meets her old friend Daniel Trent. Basil Anickin returns to St. Petersburg and plots a scheme to finally put an end to Mariana and all other people who loved Katrina. Everyone tries to cope with all the turbulence swirling around them and the country that they love so much. This book will definitely tug at your heartstrings and keep you interested and wanting more. The Dawning of Deliverance is a book I highly recommend for fans of The Russians not to miss!

The story is shifted away from Anna and toward Marianna in this book, however it is no less interesting. All seven books in the series get five stars from me!

This was an incredible book! I encourage you to read it was well as the rest of the series!

The Russian series has been one of the best I've read. There is so much history out there that I have never really learned much about, and these books make it exciting to expereince history. You become so engrossed in the characters and the story as it goes through the Russian history and learn so much as you view it through the eyes of each character.The author makes you feel as if you are right there and know these people personally. In this book, as the people face another war, you feel the devastation and desperation they felt.I also love how the author interweaves faith and trust in God throughout the story in the characters lives. The books are very hard to put down and you'll want to read the entire series.

Each poem is dedicated to an important person, an emotion, an experience that can touch any reader because of its sensitive and insightful expression. The writing is clear, simple, honest and delicate. The range of emotions expressed, confronting one's beloved Dad's sickness and celebrating other members of the family, is broad and encompassing. A wonderful reading experience for all, not devoid of hope and joy.

This is an impressive book of poetry by an author of amazing depths. Although Bookamer could have easily given in to depression over her father's alcoholism, she chose instead to channel her feelings into these beautiful and heartwarming poems. Her willingness to stop blaming her Dad and ultimately thank and appreciate him brings me to tears. This poetry expresses a triumph of the human spirit which will encourage, inspire and uplift readers for many years to come.

As a girl, Kelly Bookamer coped with her father's illness by writing poetry. Her insightful collection can be a source of comfort for those who share her experience. As a woman, the writer reflects on those years of doubt, but also celebrates what she has now. Particularly moving are "Holding Hands" written for her sister's wedding, "A Bright, Sunny Day" written after 9/11 and "And You'd Never Doubt" written after the birth of her son. Even if poetry is not your thing, you will find something that touches your heart!

These beautiful poems are a pleasure to read. The author shows a wisdom beyond her young years. I was especially taken with her poems about relationships, particularly "Holding Hands" which was written before her sister's marriage. Ms. Bookamer goes right to the heart with her well chosen words. Her poetry is deeply serious but never depressing. Her subject matter goes well beyond her experiences as the daughter of an alcoholic father. However, perhaps acknowledging the impact of this facet of her life has made her comfortable sharing the other secrets of her soul. We, her readers, are fortunate indeed.

This beautiful book details a daughter's journey through pain, heartache, understanding, and enlightenment as she sails through the stormy sea of her father's alcoholism. A must read for all Adult Children of Alcoholic Parents. I thouroughly enjoyed her insights, even though I did not share her experience.

Jan Phillips has a most wonderful way of explaining this so that you really "get" it. I have been trying to understand these things my whole life...now I do!
Everyone should read this. It is written to a more female audience but most of the information is valuable for men too.

This book contained new information as well as reinforcing concepts I already knew. If refer to different pages often, as I feel a need to reinforce new beliefs. A futuristic book much in line with many advanced spiritual leaders.

"The Divine, being invisible, needs our bodies to become manifest in the world...we have to abandon, once and for all, the erroneous, small-minded, sacrilegious notion that the body is evil and keeps us separate from the Divine." -From the book

For millennia, some forms of organized religion have taught that the body is the source of sin, temptation, and even evil itself-especially when it takes female form. The damage inflicted by patriarchal attitudes has created a culture of women who hate their bodies, and where parents give their children breast implants and liposuction as birthday or graduation presents. The cosmetics industry in America alone rakes in 8 billion dollars annually. Individuals allow their bodies to be sliced, stretched, lifted, tucked, reduced, or inflated so they can love themselves-or, more importantly, have the approval and love of others.

In her newest book Divining the Body - Reclaim the Holiness of Your Physical Self, author Jan Phillips explores the graceful curves, sinewy muscles, sturdy bones, and pulsating aliveness of the physical self. Using the latest scientific research as well as mystical traditions and personal experience, she puts the glory and magnificence of the human body on proud display. This insightful, gentle guide attempts to un-do the damage we've sustained from living in a culture that teaches-and thrives on-our self-hatred by renewing a sense of wonderment, respect and appreciation for the rich terrain of the physical body.

Phillips reminds us that the body is the "temple of God", and that the continuing creation of the universe happens through us as the "word made flesh". Indeed, energy medicine and quantum physics echo what mystics have known for eons: every thought and action we undertake directly influences the flow of our life force. Therefore, our well-being becomes a matter of mindfulness. This process of mindfulness is not the accumulation of facts, but the cultivation of feelings-for "there is nothing to learn, but much to unlearn."

Through exquisite prose and poignant stories, Phillips throws a sacred celebration and dares the reader to join in. She recounts the bliss of photographing birds roadside, and the excruciating pain of burning flesh experienced minutes later as a car hits her at 60 miles per hour. She shares the pain of being dismissed from a religious community, and the joy at discovering that the path she thought she was destined to travel was really a thru-way to something greater.

A breath-taking travelogue of the physical and metaphysical body, Phillips takes us on a tour of the feet, legs, hands, back, generative organs, belly, heart, breasts, throat, ears, eyes and brain. She deftly weaves scientific discoveries (such as those discovered at the Institute of Heart Math and the Max Planck Institute) with subtle-body observations ("Our throats are like the flue. When we don't open them up, speak our truths, blurt out our feelings as they arise, the fire within turns to smoke"), and challenges us to express our authentic self, discover our grandeur, claim our voice, and know our priceless worth that stems from within. Encouraging us to display "extraordinary heroism in the realm of the everyday", this revolutionary work:

"...calls us to take a stand. To stop colluding in the darkness of duality, to stop trafficking in negativity, and to let out, once and for all, over and over, the light within. To see through the veil of multiplicity to the kingdom of God within, we must act on the basis of what we feel and known from our own experience."

Divining the Body is peppered with a multitude of beautiful, profound quotes that are found throughout the text as well as the margins. Each chapter ends with a reflection, exercises, and a writing exercise aimed at re-connecting ourselves with a particular body part, promoting introspection, expanding perspectives, and igniting awe and gratitude for the Great Beloved that is in and around us. As "souls dressed up in sacred, biochemical garments", we're invited to see the body as a cauldron where alchemical transformation explodes into global transmutation. What's at stake, Phillips asserts, is life itself:

"...if we don't begin to find God in the bodies we see in the mirror, if we don't reel our God in from the heavens and honor God's holy presence in the flesh and bones in our neighborhoods, we're betraying ourselves and the Divine."

This book is a rare gem that nourishes, informs, and inspires. I've taken my time savoring (and highlighting) many passages in Divining the Body, and appreciate the timely message that Jan Phillips has delivered so artfully to the consciousness of humanity.

When I heard the title of Jan Phillips' new book, I thought of the word "divining" as a diviner finds water with a divining rod to know where to drill a well. I used the word myself in a poem I wrote calling "Divining Lake Louise," and in that context I was divining the truth. The Divine is also the Creator. In Jan's book, the word seems to apply to all the contexts: the well of wisdom inside us, the truth of our own authenticity and the Divine Creator inside.

At the beginning of the book, the author writes, "We need to climb back into our bodies and honor them as instruments of our souls. They are the means through which the Divine takes shape in this world, crucibles in which the raging blaze of spirit is transformed into luminous thought, radiant creations, enlightened action . . . In the process of divining our bodies, we embody the Divine as the mystics did."

As amazing as it is to be inspired by poets who lived long before our time (such as Rumi and Hafiz), it is just as inspiring to have Jan Phillips, a mystic in our own time, creating her own divine poetry. She ends her love song to the Divine with these lines: "So I am to you, Love, and you are to me. We dwell in each other, like salt in the sea."

There is a lot of damage to be undone as women have been bombarded with media images that have nothing to do with our divine selves, but only our outer shells. Jan goes a long way in helping us to heal those damaged selves. Reading this book was a journey of reverence through the sacred terrain of the body. Jan weaves her own story throughout the book that is full of research on the body. That weaving is evidence of her expertise as the information cited blends, as if effortlessly, with Jan's memories and the stories from women she has met in her workshops. Each chapter of Divining the Body has some questions for reflection and some exercises, including writing prompts.

Two years after Jan entered the religious community of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in 1967, she was dismissed as being a "radical." Her radicalism took her around the world on a peace pilgrimage, gathering stories and taking pictures. She wrote about that pilgrimage in "Making Peace." The peace pilgrimage, Jan says, became "an act of living prayer. It wasn't about changing the world or changing myself. It was about experiencing myself as an incarnation of a great force and being as true to my heart as I could be."

Another of her books, Marry Your Muse, was winner of the 1998 Ben Franklin Award. Jan also wrote God is At Eye Level: Photography as a Healing Art and Circling: A Guidebook for a Group Experience in Consciousness.

All of Jan's creations including her songs, photographs, documentaries, are from the heart and make her a "part of the ever-spiralling flow of creation." It's how she loves, shares her joy and it's how she knows who she is.

Jan's relationship to her body, particularly her back, changed dramatically when she was hit by a car that ended up on top of her. She was pinned under its exhaust system and received third-degree burns to her back and hip. The night before her skin transplant surgery she gave thanks for the back that had served her in so many ways. I found this section of the book very moving and yet Jan felt her "litany . . . stayed on the surface." She then received a healing from a physician friend who placed stones on each of the chakras in Jan's body. Jan came to believe that "it's this level of intimacy, this tender loving communication with our own vital energy, that enables and sustains well-being for all of us."

So as not to succumb to the outside world's "self-hating rant," we need to set up "rituals of self-love." Jan offers suggestions in the form of soothing meditations. Another idea is to throw a dinner party for a group of women friends with the theme of "Loving Our Bodies." A list of questions is provided so you can have women draw one at a time and give their responses.

Jan finds the Divine in the moment she takes a photograph for instance. It's a way of actualizing our potential and our ability to take a stand against violence. It's a way of activating our faith. Self-expression is also good for our health. Jan gives many examples of studies in her book including the work of neuroscientist Candace Pert. In Jan's words, "If we do not express our emotions and keep the energy flowing through systems, we are setting ourselves up for emotional and physical distress."

by Mary Ann Moore
for Story Circle Book Reviews
www.storycirclebookreviewsorg
reviewing books by, for, and about women

Divining The Body: Reclaim The Holiness Of Your Physical Self by award-winning author Jan Phillips is a spiritual self-help guide especially for women. Written to counter a negative culture of self-hatred by cultivating appreciation for the holy qualities of the physical body as God's temple, Divining the Body focuses on different physical parts chapter by chapter: the feet, legs, hands, back, generative organs, belly, heart, breasts, throat, ears, eyes and brain. Exercises and reflections offer means to dwell upon the sacredness in the body as a gift from God, and spiritual quotes in the margins from a wide assortment of authorities enrich this guide to life-affirming personal contemplation.

Easy to read and helpful for understanding the process of EMDR. I would have to agree with the previous reviewer Laura M that PEACEFUL HEART : A Woman's Journey to Healing is a must-read. Aimee Jo Martin's story clearly illustrates and details her journey with successful EMDR treatments. Quite powerful if you want to really see how effective EMDR can be.

I had an opportunity to review this book prior to its publication; that's how I first came to know Maggie Phillips. She is a highly accomplished psychologist and psychotherapist, and in this book she expertly integrates the best of traditional practice with cutting edge therapeutic processes. She also offers useful strategies for when to choose and how to combine hypnosis, EMDR, ego-state therapy, somatic therapies, imagery, and thought field therapy. An evolved perspective on energy psychology, "Finding the Energy to Heal" is required reading for therapists who take their craft seriously. --Fred P. Gallo, Ph.D., author of Energy Psychology: Explorations at the Interface of Energy, Cognition, Behavior, and Health, Second Edition (Innovations in Psychology), Energy Tapping, and Energy Tapping for Trauma: Rapid Relief from Post-Traumatic Stress Using Energy Psychology

Maggie Phillips is a fantastic therapist and teacher. I really believe this book is not only a very suitable and pratical book for therapists who wishes to improve their neuro-emotionnal therapy practice, but the result of several years of personnal research and intelligence !

I strongly recommendthis book to all EMDR practitioners. The chapters on EMDR are from my point of view, very encompassing complete and creative. In them the author explains concepts like Positive Image Installation, or Positive Target Image, Conflict Free Image, Resource Interweave, Ego State Therapy during EMDR without Hypnosis, Renurturing Interweaves, Developmental Learning Interweaves, concepts and procedures related to the Safe Place and Safe Place Image, Temporal Resource Interweave, and many concepts and resources which I had not heard of before and can really be very useful to any EMDR Clinician. She uses and explains EMDR in a very creative way that can be very beneficial to EMDR Therapists and Clinicians. The sections on Hypnosis, TFT, Imagery, Somatic Energy Therapies, and the one of Integration of Concepts are very useful.

This is an excellent book, outstanding, thank you Maggie. For the first time I understand what this Energy Therapy business, I've been hearing about, is all about and where and when it is advantageous to use it.

One of my teachers at The Focus On The Family Institute, Sheryl DeWitt, helped write this book. She was an inspirational Role-Model in my life.

This book is an awesome resource for every young married or engaged couple. It covers every possible topic that a young couple could encounter. Each question/topic is answered based on God's Word with Scripture references to back it up.

This book is very good for newly wed couples. I have given this book in memory of a lady that I use to work with. It reminded me of a lot of things her and her husband did together.

This book is a wonderful gift for yourself and for your friends who are newlyweds. It's a great resource for any new couple that will help establish a firm foundation in the first few years of marriage. I love this book!

Life brings alot of the unknown and unexpected. Being sure footed is essential for success. And, being sure footed does not mean there no weaknesses, differences, or faults to be found. It means holding to what is true in the relationship between two who are married. This book helps you see yourself and your spouse in every shade of color, and to know that those colors show best when it "rains". It has counsel that will help you to remain sure footed in what is True. A must for every newly wed couple and for those who are in the adjustment period of the first five years. The counsel embraced in the pages of this book will help you to know that what is faced in the first five years is normal.

I was thrilled to see Hands of Love for sale on Amazon.com. In an age when the allopathic medical doctor's word is no longer gospel and the general public is turning to alternative medicine for a second opinion, Dr. Phillip's approach to pregnancy and childbirth is refreshing and professional. The book clearly advocates a holistic approach to a natural process without discounting the value of the traditional medical community. The birth stories told as examples are spoken through the passionate voices of the parents themselves as well as their children, friends and family. I laughed and cried and kept turning the pages. It is intuitively written and illustrated with fabulous pictures. I am predisposed as the author is my mother, but it is one of the best books I have ever read, both on an educational and personal level.

Dr. Phillips combines practical steps to preparing for birth with scientific knowledge, testimonials, trust in the human body's innate intelligence, and common sense.

Appropriate for lay persons and professionals (midwives, doulas, chiropractors, etc.) dealing with childbirth. We use this book in our practice, and our patients love borrowing it!

This is the one to buy. I have read extensively as an expectant mother and this book is phenomenal. It is also an excellent resource for family members who have questions about the process.

If you are pregnant or planning to get pregnant, read this book!
I have read many many pregnancy and birth related books and Hands of Love is up there with the best of books. With wonderful, intimate photos and birth stories, Dr. Phillips outlines a lot of the choices parents have to make today . She does so in a gentle and informative way.
The book includes simple exercises to alleviate common complaints of pregnancy that can make a huge difference in birth outcome- including a really simple way to deal with preterm labor. I didn't realize how having everything your body in the right place can make such a difference in birth...
Check out this book!!

In an age when the allopathic medical doctor's word is no longer gospel and the general public is turning to alternative (complimentary) medicine for a second opinion, Dr. Phillips poses an approach to pregnancy and childbirth that is revolutionary. The book clearly advocates a holistic "humanistic" model without discounting the value of the traditional medical community. The birth stories used as examples are told through the passionate voices of the parents themselves as well as their children, friends and family. I laughed and cried and kept turning the pages. It is intuitively written and illustrated with fabulous pictures. The stories are interspersed with valuable information on the roles of chiropractors, doulas, midwives, birth teams and good birth plans, based on 15 years of qualitative research. I am predisposed as the author is my mother but it is one of the best books I have ever read, both on an educational and a personal level.

Just wanted to say that I love the new book.
As a visual person, I like the pop of the bright white paper and the over all easy to scan headers.
The content page is most user friendly which makes referencing fast. It meets the task of an extension material that is interesting and additive. This book has a personal touch and supportive feel to it that connects to the reader past textbook information. The "Meet the EFT Experts" brings a solid connection to the impact of EFT globally. Thank you for creating this new resource.

This book is an investigation of what is possible in the area of energetic healing. For anyone who has ever wanted to help really heal another being, this touches the core of that calling and resonates with a deep knowing that this potential can be activated. No hype, no glossy, no woo-woo, it is straight, genuine and truly inspiring.
As we move into a new paradigm of what is health and what is healing, individuals like Phillip and Jane are helping to make these possibilities alive and real.

While EFT can stand alone as one of today's most powerful, available-to-everyone energy healing techniques, the Mountroses demonstrate how to DEEPEN this process by accessing the healing power of one's heart and soul in order to "feel more connected to (one's) sense of wholeness"...which is true healing.

Along with clear-cut instructions, variations, tips, challenges and solutions for using EFT, this book takes us beyond by laying out a variety of additional elegant and powerful approaches. The combination and interchanging of these "tools" creates even more possibilities.

Best of all, Phillip and Jane wrote this book from their own heart and soul. It is delightful, uplifting, joyful, loving and fluid as well as clear and instructional - making it easy to read and available to practice...for everyone. Thank you for this gift.

If you are new to Emotional Freedom Techniques, this book is for you. Having used EFT for awhile now, this book is the best that I have read on the subject. Its clear that the Mountrose's did indeed put their heart and soul into this one. It is well written, clear in detail, and well organized. From the essence of EFT, exploring the depths of the mind, to the special challenges and opportunities, this writing is upbeat and easy to read in spite of the complexity of material. The last part of this book by the EFT Experts illustrates the many ways that EFT can be used in the field of holistic medicine. If you're new to this technique or need a thorough refresher, this is the place to get it.

An informative and easy to read gem providing the deeper issues of EFT which I found invaluable in preparation to becoming an EFT practitioner.

This book is about a bear cub who is afraid of the dark, and wants to be sure that God is big enough to watch over him and keep him safe. This is a beautiful rhyming story for children of all faiths.

MyParenTime.com highly recommends this book -- the rhyming is detailed, the illustrations are colorful and inviting, and the story is a wonderful way to bring up discussions with children about God.

The latest title in the outstanding "Discovering God" series from Kregel Publications, How Tall Is God? is a simply wonderful rhyming picture book imaginatively written and colorfully illustrated by Phillip W. Rodgers for young Christian children. How Tall Is God? is the story of a playful young bear who muses about the vastness of God's love and influence. This marvelous picture book for youngsters is a warm, uplifting read -- and ideal for just before bedtime! "God's very big, son," Dad said with a nod. "There's no building or mountain as big as our God."

It is a great book to read to your child just before bed. The story focuses on the nighttime fears of a small child and shows them that God is "Big Enough" for even the smallest of fears.

My daughter and I just finished reading this wonderful book for her bedtime story. Well actually, she read most of it. The pages just seem to come to life as you read all about Baliey's fears and his questions about God. You're drawn into the mind of the child and how he percieves the world around him and all the fun and silly questions that make children so wonderful. This really helps to put into perspective the thought process of the young reader. But don't worry, the kids love all the fantastic, FULL COLOR pictures and the way it reads so easily! We read it twice!

It was a treat for me to admire the FULL COLOR pages of Bailey the bear and his Dad, as I remember these characters being drawn as we grew up. To see them in this wonderfully illustrated book makes the characters almost real. I watched them grow up and evolve along the way, Just as I watch my own children grow today. I could very easily see this as the next animated cartoon series to hit the video shelves.

If you want a easy read for bedtime, with lots of fun, FULL COLOR pictures to keep the little one's interest, this is the book for you! The rhyming rhythm keeps the reader flowing, as well as teaching about God's infinite love for his children and a Dad's love for his son. Written using analogys that a child would understand and can relate too, Philip, masterfully conveys the lesson of God's love and protection for the young readers. Did I mention the FULL COLOR pictures, too!

My daughter and I, both, throughly enjoyed this book, and she can't wait till we visit again to get her book autographed. SSSush! She still thinks the book was written for her, but that's our little secret. She especially loved all the detail in the FULL COLOR pictures!

Knockout job, Phillip! We can't wait for the next one. I wholeheartly reccommend this book, not just because he's my bestfriend, It's just too great a book to pass up. Am I biased? You bet! Will you enjoy this book as we have? You better believe it! So stop punishing yourself, and go buy this book! You'll not be disappointed and your little ones will thank you too! By the way, Did I forget to mention all the FULL COLOR pictures! :-)

How Tall is God, by author and illustrator Phillip W. Rodgers, is a 36 page, high quality hardcover book intended for children ages four to eight years of age.

Written in fun, rhyming fashion, the books opening pages find young Bailey the bear cub shaking with fright. After his father tucks him in, Bailey begins to question his father "How tall is God?" Father bear lovingly reassures his son that God is big enough to keep Bailey safe no matter what may happen, but also a caring and loving God. With these reassuring images of God's strength and compassion, Bailey is able to confront his fears and rest easy.

Your child will enjoy the fun metaphors and illustrations that fill the pages of this book, while receiving a message to help them confront and deal with their own fears and anxieties. Young readers will enjoy the easy, rhyming method used and this will also become a "read aloud" favorite for your family.

Among the 100's of books (boardbooks, children's books, etc) that we've read to our daughter, this one is her absolute favorite and for a good reason. The text is written perfectly and the pictures accompanying it are fantastic. I am so glad we have this book. She always chooses it out of all of the others and wants to read it over and over, and it never gets tiring for us since we enjoy it so much.

Board books are an indispensable part of every family, daycare center, and family preschool collection for children from ages 1 to 4. The collaborative work of author Elizabeth MacLeod and illustrator Louise Phillips, "I Heard A Little Baa" is a gentle, charming, and very highly recommended story told in simple, engaging and entertaining verse. Presenting a colorful menagerie of animal sounds, rhymes, and guessing games, the board book format is ideal for entertaining infants and introducing preschoolers to the delights of reading. 'I heard a little growl; / I peeked behind a chair. / First I saw a shaggy paw, / And then I saw a bear.

Very creative, well-done book. My 10-month old loves it--I've probably read it to him 100 times at this point!

This book is absolutely great! My toddler loved it. She ended up reading it to me! It is now a beloved addition to her bookshelf. Don't miss out on this one!

This book was the absolute best! My nine month old little boy was entranced. This is the first book that he has let me read from cover to cover without stopping. Then he wants me to read it again. It is the household favorite. Everybody needs a copy! This one will last a lifetime if we don't wear out the pages!

Phillips transports his readers to ancient China, with extraordinary insights to court intrique and exotic adventures on the Silk Road. I was initially skeptical of the narration technique -- first person by a pug -- but discovered this to be an ingenious conceit. With the pug's access to all venues, and the helpfulness of such delightful characters as the droll Uncle Stupid to inform the pug and confide in her, we learn all. Phillips' obvious knowledge of the life, arts, and political intrigue of ancient China immerses the reader in that millieu. The humor and poeticism of royal eunuch Uncle Stupid and his concubine charges are particularly magical, as are the opening passages of Tutus' narration of her birth. A fascinating and utterly unique read -- strongly recommended. You'll want to move immediately from Book I to Book II of the Tutus saga.

A very fine first novel. Its author is rich in talent and promise. Readers should be intrigued by the mix of well-researched historical detail, lush Imperial Chinese court settings and equally lush language. The novel immerses the reader into a distant world of eunuchs and concubines as well as Silk Road bandits -- all from the perspective of a pug. Creative, it is. A great find!

I didn't think I would like this book but I was very pleasantly surprised. Not only is an extremely entertaining bit of unique fiction, but the characters are also well developed and the historical aspects professionally researched. A great first work by the author and I am looking forward already to the sequel. Disney ought to make a movie out of this enchanting tale!

This is a really grand tale of the adventures of a pug pup on the ancient Silk Road, starting in the Chinese Imperial Court. The extremely colorful and well-crafted background and characters, plus the wit and wisdom our puglet encounters in the course of her tail-gripping adventures, more than compensated me (I'm a fan of historical fiction and a dog lover)for my investment in this book. It's a really good read - I'm already waiting for the next one.

This book truly gave me something I was not expecting. What at first seemed to be a light-hearted, humorous adventure about a pug dog quickly turned into a captivating account of politics and intrigue in imperial China and the perils of life along the Silk Road. It is a well-researched historical novel whose canine heroine charmed me with her wit and insight. A real gem of a book!