Phillips Books

This sweet little children's book has it all. Right off the bat the main character makes a very bad choice and learns that getting what you want can make you miserable. Finally unable to live with himself he owns up to what he has done, and much to his surprise, discovers that what makes him truly happy is doing the RIGHT thing.

As a child I was intrigued by a set of nested building blocks received as a gift. When I opened the box, I first saw a single large cube with colorful images of animals on all sides. As I examined it further (bringing an array of quality tools to the situation), I realized that the cube contained a number of progressively smaller blocks. The gift, it turned out, was not just one cube, but a complete set of building blocks, each with its own theme and brilliant images.

Phil Scanlan's new book, "The Dolphins Are Back (Productivity Press 1998)", is very much like those blocks. It is at first look a book about a remarkable environmental cleanup project. In 1987-88, problems of water pollution had reached a critical point, as unprecedented numbers of dead and dying bottle-nosed dolphins washed ashore along the Atlantic coast from New Jersey to Florida. During this 12-month period, 740 animals were swept ashore and died, whereas in the course of a normal beach season, about three or four dead dolphins wash up. In New Jersey, the discovery of waste, debris and pollution also led to beach closings that destroyed vacation plans and threatened shore tourism. Ten years later, the dolphins are back, and New Jersey's shore ranks as one of the cleanest in the country. How was this feat accomplished? Phil Scanlan's book presents a detailed chronology and explanation of the steps through which the quality approach was utilized to bring about this most impressive outcome.

A closer look reveals that the The Dolphins Are Back is also an excellent textbook on the quality approach. It presents a comprehensive overview and detailed case study that illustrates the theory, concepts, strategies and tools of the continuous quality improvement approach.

Beyond this, the book is a tribute -- a tribute to AT&T and the leadership role the corporation has played nationally in advancing the cause of quality, and in generously contributing expertise and insight for the public good. It is also a trib! ute to the skilled and dedicated professionals from AT&T, and colleagues from Quality New Jersey, the QNJ Environment Focus Group and New Jersey state government who contributed their time and talent to the project.

Looking still further, The Dolphins is a testament to the power of teamwork and collaborative problem solving, and an inspirational reminder of what is possible when resources and expertise from the private and public sectors are brought together to address complex and critical issues of the day.

At its core, this is also a book about a teacher, Phil Scanlan. Between the lines it tells the story of a man whose insight, dedication and generosity have made a difference -- to the ecology of the Atlantic coast, New Jersey tourism, the quality movement nationally, and to the many people and organizations he has touched through his work.

So, The Dolphins Are Back is a book to have. It's a set of building blocks, each with its own theme and brilliance.

The book presents a variety of Egyptian plants (grains, oils, fruits, vegetables) and animals (cattle, donkeys, camels, cats, dogs, monkeys, birds, bees). The authors cover the origins of agriculture and of the plants, as well as the evidence of those found in Egypt. They also discuss breeds of animals. A concise bibliography is provided for those wishing to consult for further information; this is an excellent reference to have handy.

This book captured my interest as it is the basis of an oratorio by Sir Edward Elgar. Being a musician, I like to do a bit of research into literary sources of musical compositions.

The book contains a disclaimer that some pages may be missing or that print quality may be less than perfect or that strange paginations may appear. This edition of The Dream of Gerontius contained all of the pages and color quality was fine. There were some checks and X's throughout but nothing that hampered the intelligibility of the text.

As a twenty-five-year fan of Michael Phillips, I know I can always count on him for an enjoyable read; and the conclusion of the American Dreams trilogy did not disappoint. It arrived this week (finally!), and I couldn't put it down. With the thorough research and mature writing his readers expect, Phillips introduces new characters and plot twists, while tying up the storylines from the previous two novels. I heartily recommend this series to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, but the novels must be read sequentially.

Don't skip the introduction in which the author explains both the origins of the series and his general theory of why stories and genealogies matter; it's very interesting! Also, though I found the novel engrossing, this is not the book for those in the mood for light historical romance. It requires and deserves more attention than that. Like all Phillips' novels, it explores the meaning of living a life of faith, this time in the context of the American Dream. The theology challenges and inspires. The wrenching backdrop of the American Civil War reminds me of the cost of freedom and the American Dream, and of our frequent failure to live up to either one.

History, mystery, romance, high ideals are all here. I only wish I could start the books again for the first time!

This book is about eight people, who for various reasons, end up in a creepy town called Devin. Immediately, strange things start to happen and the mystery begins. I really enjoyed this book. Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. The characters are realistic and it has the perfect mixture of eeriness and suspense. I really look forward to reading the second book in this series.

For those interested in the life of a Very successful movie producer! Phillips is Honest about her Hollywood life, from her drug use, to her very wise insight into producing Hit Films! (Close Encounters of the Third Kind,etc)

After a third reading, *The Drowned City* continues to elucidate the vision I sensed in two earlier readings. If I am right, this unforgettable collection works in ways analogous to the continual (but more limited) defining of JPG images on computer screens. The silences and fragments of sensuality suggest, without over delineating, an understanding that transcends them--yet (paradoxically) is of them; they becomes clearer as one abides with them. A supremely human book that lifts a reader through true mastery: line break, silence, stanzaic order, and formal exactitude display an art as careful and deliberate as anyone writing. Never insisting on what cannot be known, *The Drowned City* effortlessly moves beyond the known and carries a reader along.

I'm sorry if this sounds too high flown or too easily paradoxical. The fault is in my explaining, not the poems.

And I will say, perhaps gratuitously, that my own sensibility is not Jennifer Atkinson's. Yet read *The Drowned City,* and a new way of being will be yours, no matter who you are.

Isn't that what one wants from a book? And seldom if ever gets?

There is not one shred of manipulating: this is absolutely authentic.

If the first three of the five sections establish Ms. Atkinson's authority and superiority in craft and carry one along on the surface of joyously sensual (look at the luxury and balances in "St. Veronica's Day"), the remaining two, without abandoning the immediate appeal of the first three, will challenge every reader to deny that this immersion in density can lead anywhere but where the poems say. Read "Still Life with Angel"; "Jack and Jill" will be transformed: more frightening and freighted, with a significance that you never thought of, but that having been shown you will find inevitable.

The poem below seems to me supreme and so characteristic in its tropes, its sounds, its formal precision, its embrasivess that I cannot excerpt, nor do I want to (please ignore the three periods between stanzas; without them the computer program will not recognize stanza breaks):

Letter from the Drowned City (III)

...

Jonah lodged three days behind the ocean's baleen gate

--unnoticed, unswallowed, undrowned,

buried alive under the sod of abreaking wave.

Until death discovered him there forgotten.

...

The floodwaters have all but withdrawn to the sea.

Love, love, the world revealed in the world

we were taught to pray for, saying

*Give,* overhead and underfoot another day.

...

Everything I own I've stolen. There's no

giving it back--not the shiver of wind

over olive trees, the touch of your tongue, or

the pitch of my mother's voice raised in anger.

...

He woke with pearls in his mouth like cherry stones,

like ballast. Terns and swallows dragged their shadows

back and forth to weave an awning, back and forth

before the sun. How else to repair the damage?

...

How else? Duty, my love, is delusion. There is none.

And yet like a dutiful daughter, I chose myself

the dress and the ring and the vows, determined

just the same to love the fetched-up stranger beside me.

...

This is a high point, but there are more such in *The Drowned City.*

This book kept me on my toes guessing as I turned the pages. Very descriptive, well written with a great story line. Once you start reading, you will not be able to put it down till you have read the last page. Best book by far by this author.

This book and the corresponding PBS television documentary offer an incredible look at the sacrifices of this family. Whatever one's personal feelings are in regards to the politics of Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and Rajiv Gandhi, one cannot help but to recognize the incredible sacrifices made by this family. Covering 4 generations of the family, the book details the virtues and mistakes of this political dynasty. What the book addresses best is that despite the fact that the family is called a "dynasty," it faced great political opposition, which ended the lives of Indira and Rajiv Gandhi. The succesive family members did not merely inherit the post of Prime Minister like it was their birthright. They had to fight for it, and both Indira and Rajiv lost elections and were thrown out of office, forcing them to make comebacks. However the book has a flaw that it shares with many others. It is oudated. Despite being a recent publication, it fails to cover one important aspect that leaves informed readers hanging. In January 1998, Rajiv's widow Sonia began to actively campaigning for the party in which her family was such an active force. In March, Sonia Gandhi became the Congress Party Presidentwhich continues this so called "dynasty."