Robertson Books

An engrossing account of a novice teacher sent to teach art to the children of British coal miners. Her description of how she used clay modeling to engage her students and unlock their expressiveness is riveting.

This is a unique collection of rubbings from various Maya archaeological sites. Its a fantastic way to view the engravings, stellae etc. The scans are hi-res, indexed by a mini database, and nicely detailed. This collection is a lovely preservation of the historical data as it is in our era. As the various Maya ruins get worn down from weathering, vandalism, and tourism, these rubbings will only increase in value.

This collection is a "must have" for anyone seriously interested in the Maya.

This is a great picture book, which I would highly recommend as a read-aloud for toddlers, a book for early readers, as well a something to share with older kids who have retained their sense of wonder. As with many of my favorite childrens' books, this one stands out for both its story and for the incredible illustrations, which are colorful and detailed, fanciful yet realistic. Magical!

The Sandcastle tells the story of a boy who builds a sandcastle by day, only to see it washed away, and then dreams about the sandcastle at night. In his dream, he awakes and walks down to the beach to discover that the sandcastle has grown to full size in the moonlight, and is now filled with people and merry-making. Yet once again the tide returns, washing away the giant fortress of sand, and turning all of its inhabitants back into mer-people and fishes. In the morning, we find the child back at the beach, building another dream...

Two similar books which I also highly recommend are "The Whales' Song" by Dyan Sheldon, and "The Girl Who Danced with Dolphins" by Frank DeSaix.

Stoddart identified sociological issues facing Australian sport back in the early 1980's, and his prophecies have been seen to come true. This book provides an excellent analyses of issues plaguing major and minor Australian sports, including how issues such as class, gender, the media and corporate sponsorship have contributed to post-modern Australian sporting culture. Very easy to read, making it an excellent book for anyone interested in Australian sports sociology, and especially academics. Highly recommended.

I found this to be an eXcellent book covering all the aspects of sawmilling in Nova Scotia During the late 19th and 20th centuries. It was very informative with plenty of photographs and illustrations. A great book indeed for anyone interested in sawmilling, young and old alike

Part medical history, part medical handbook, Garding Lui presents in this work the practice of medicine in China. Written in 1943, he discusses the methods of diagnosis, the different medicinal herbs and their uses, and behavioral practices that allow one to live a long and healthy life.

I'd like to entice you into buying this book - or any book - of Rosemary Dobson's poetry becuase her work is full of treasures. Perhaps the simplest way of doing this is to write out one of her poems. It's called "The Rider". It has a marvellous ambiguity. Is it about the experience of insomnia? Or is it about the uncharted territories of the subconscious? It could be about the fear of madness or some deeper nameless fear.

The Rider

Time in my ticking clock becomes A desperate traveller of the night. Heard hooves down highways of the mind Beating with midnight urgency. Past quiet pools pricked out with stars, Crusted with bright autumnal mire, He rides, with fire from flint and iron; Past leaning darkness fenced apart By hedges white with final dust He needs no sign, but wheels and turns Obedient to the wheeling sky, And rides to warn - but whom he warns I know now and I fear to know. Rosemary Dobson

This poem is somewhat similar to James Stephen's poem, "The Shell" which also trespasses into some murky inner world, an eerie, "sunless" place that makes us rush up gasping with longing for the refreshing "ordinariness" of everyday life.

The Shell

And then I pressed the shell Close to my ear And listened well.

And straightway, like a bell, Came low and clear The slow, sad murmur of far distant seas,

Whipped by an icy breeze Upon a shore

Wind-swept and desolate.

It was a sunless strand that never bore The footprint of a man Nor felt the weight

Since time began Of any human quality or stir, Save what the dreary winds and waves incur.

And in the hush of waters was the sound Of pebbles, rolling round: For ever rolling, with a hollow sound:

And bubbling sea-weeds, as the waters go, Swish to and fro Their long cold tentacles of slimy grey:

There was no day: Nor ever came a night Setting the stars alight

To wonder at the moon: Was twilight only, and the frightened croon, Smitten to whimpers, of the dreary wind

And waves that journeyed blind ... And then I loosed my ear - Oh, it was sweet To hear a cart go jolting down the street. James Stephens

If you love exploring in these forbidden territories and also if you enjoy looking at ancient paintings but in a different light, then Rosemary Dobson will delight and surprise you. Go for it.

My copy of this book belonged first to my grandmother (born in 1888 I think), and then my mother and aunt. I loved it as a child (in the sixties), and love it still - although it has a VERY sad ending that still makes me cry.

Reading the extract from Chapters 1 and 2 will give you a good idea of the writing quality, so I'll say little of that.

As a child I though it was a child's book, but as an adult I've come to the conclusion that it was probably written as a book for "young ladies". My grandmother was in her late teens when she was given it, which backs up my theory.

What makes it stand out from children's books of the era is that the children really are just like ordinary kids, getting into all sorts of mischief, but no morals are drawn. At least not overtly, and those that CAN be drawn are more along the lines of "this is what can happen when you stifle your children's originality and natural exuberance" than the more usual "this is what happens to naughty children". Not that the parents are horrible, but the father is somewhat stern and withdrawn - typical of many fathers even nowadays. He features mostly as someone who gets angry at the children's mischief, or who has to be applied to for funds. The stepmother is just lovely, although you get the feeling that the father married her more because he needed someone to look after his kids and satisfy his lusts (just because she's young and pretty, lusts are not mentioned in the book) than because they were in love. But then as far as I can see love didn't really come into marriage much in those days.

The What Katy Did books are the closest American comparison I can think of, but they are very goody-two-shoes-ish and moralistic compared with Seven Little Australians. This book is what made me realise, as a child, that children born "in the olden days" were just like we were.

In general, this is a jolly good book. Get it, you'll love it. (But make sure a hanky is at hand when you get close to the end).

Good for kids my 8 year old liked it. Nice illustrations and presented for kids. I would buy non fiction again from the same publisher.

Before I get started, an apology is in order to the ghost of Karl Popper ("Autobiography of an Idea") for the title. This book is not only about his life and deeds but his teachings and beliefs. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran German theologican who struggled as he interpreted his faith for a modern world. He was an avowed ecumentalist, decrying "national" churches. As such he traveled broadly, absorbing a variety of influences.

He faced a consumate magician of darkness, Adolph Hitler, who plunged the most educated nation in Europe into a maelstrom of destruction and depravity. More and more he was drawn to ultimate questions of good and evil. More specifically, he began to inquire into the nature of evil and the response to that evil fomr a Christian perspective. He refused safe pastorships out of the country, electing to work from within.

His theological writings, sermons and speeches were concerned with ecumencalism and living a Christian life in the world. Through contacts with state officials he knew that Hitler was bound for war. When the Jewish persecution began in earnest he began an internal debate that many Christians have had - what is the proper response to violence? Gandhi, who he admired, was able to protest only because he was dealing with a civilized nation. Against a Stalin, Mao, Castro or Hitler he would not have rated even a footnote.

He was faced with three alternatives: Pacifism, joining the German Christians (state church), or resistance. He chose the latter and paid the ultimate price. His last sermon in prison, given at the request of the one communist/atheist in his Buchenwald cell, was from the texts "With His stripes we are healed" and "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ."

After the service his name was called. He gave a last message to the bishop, "For me it is the end but also the beginning". An eyewitness reports that before mounting the scaffold he knelt in fervent prayer and walked peacefully to the gallows where he was hung until dead.