Scott Books

Robyn has a beautiful descriptive style, painting such vivid pictures that I almost feel I've been to Africa. Some parts have an almost lyrical beauty, while others are deeply depressing or thigh-slapping hysterical. Her parents, brother, sister, and grandparents -- especially the absolute character of Grandpa Ivor -- are so intriguing you want each of them to have a book of their own by the end. I absolutely recommend this book.

If you enjoy Alexander McCall Smith's books based in Botswana, you will probably enjoy this book very much. It tells of a young girl growing up in a rather eccentric family in Botswana. Her father is a doctor who works in a number of small clinics, and her mother chooses to home-school, albeit in a very unconventional fashion, her three children. Their adventures (even when they weren't looking for adventure) will keep you laughing. I look forward to the next novel by this author!

I loved this book. I am so excited to see that there is another writer on a par with Alexandra Fuller. I enjoyed Robyn's descriptions of her life growing up in Botswana - she is incredibly funny. I especially liked her horseback adventures and her description of the ticks on her horse as being the "welcoming committee" was hilarious. Each time I picked up the book, I felt transported back to my own African childhood. I really respect the way the author writes without ego or judgement. I will definitely buy this book on audio CD and wait in anticipation for her next book.

While set in Botswana and praised by Alexander McCall Smith as a "striking portrait of one of the world's most beguiling countries," the deeper subject of Twenty Chickens for a Saddle turns out not to be Africa at all. Rather, Robyn Scott has written a searching portrait of the limits of individualism and an exploration of education in its several forms.

Ordinarily, the problem with being idiosyncratic is that there you are, all by yourself. In this story, however, there's an entire clan of stark, raving individuals who totally delight one another and somehow come together as a family of eccentrics. I knew a family much like them when I lived in Botswana for three years in the 1970s, learning to speak Setswana.

What constitutes a good education? What makes a family, a culture, a nation? How does the individual fit into these gathering units? What is the trajectory of a marriage? What are the limits of change? How is the dignity of a human being colored one way or another? Searching for Robyn Scott's views on these basic questions kept me reading. Clearly, this is more than an exotic memoir of a faraway country and people having nothing to do with the rest of us except to entertain.

It is with a sense of homecoming that I enter Robyn Scott's Twenty Chicken world. Her family is one of a maverick breed of outlanders that has loved this country and contributed to Botswana's peaceful and harmonious development.

Seven-year-old Robyn came to Botswana in 1988, about 11 years after I returned to the United States. She was homeschooled by her mother until 1995, when her formal education began. A successful adult, she appears to have suffered in no way from her early fluid education of learning by doing, by observing, and by being read to.

Graceful asides define Botswana's history, culture, and challenges, including the AIDS crisis, which is told in frank language. Written mostly from the point of view of a child, this is a coming-of-age story of the best kind. As Robyn matures, she takes us through Botswana's changing fortunes in the Selebi-Phikwe area of the Limpopo River and later on a game farm closer to South Africa. This is an environment that both embraces her and allows her to grow up on her own terms.

Twenty Chickens is particularly good at describing Botswana's plant life and wildlife and the freedom of the bush land. The narrative is complemented by photos, a rough map, endearingly drawn icons, and glossaries of Setswana and Afrikaans. An index would make the book even more accessible.

One of my favorite sections is Chapter 16, The Whole Family's Half of an Island. Here, more than in other chapters, we are given a direct sense of Botswana culture and relationships and the heartfelt hospitality lavished upon extended family, even if part of that family is white. There is playfulness and ingenuity here, and a demonstration of natural Batswana diplomacy which is wonderfully revealing of this quiet people living in a vast land.

by Janet Grace Riehl
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

After finishing this book I was left with a rather strange feeling of nostalgia for someone else's childhood. In part I think that's a testament to the quality of the writing, as the setting of rural Botswana, and the many colourful characters encountered in the book, are rendered with a vividness and eye for detail such that you almost feel like you've been there.

The other aspect was a recognition that the type of childhood described in the book is all too rare. What kid wouldn't want to grow up in Africa being free to ride horses through the bush, keep snakes and monkeys as pets, and swim in rivers with crocodiles?

The darker side of life in southern Africa is referred to as well, with entrenched racism, the looming economic collapse in Zimbabwe and the spectre of the AIDS epidemic described in anecdotes that bring home the personal impact of these issues far more effectively than statistics and news reports can.

Overall this book serves as a great memoir of a unique childhood and a window into an Africa that many never get to see.

I love this little compendium. It gives a taste of Dribbleglass' quirky-yet-so-clever humor. I love the way Scott Roeben, the author, manages to translate his singular perspective on life into witty humor. The fact that billboards are his medium makes the whole package and the website even more unique. Bravo!

This package of comedy is such a treat! Scott Roeben is not only witty, but has an unbelievably clever imagination. wonderfully funny website, packed with an awesome collection of billboards, jokes, pictures, and quirky things (e.g., ugly toes contest). I hope that he compiles a second edition of magnets to clutter up my refrigerator even more!! Great work, Scott! bs

I bought this as a gift for a friend and they loved it.
The presentation of this book is very unique and creative and the billboards are very funny.

If you buy this for someone they will love you a little more for it.

I was in a big fight with one of my friends and I bought this book for them as a peace offering and now we are back to being friends and all prior wounds have been healed. Who knew that a little refrigerator shaped box of magnets could have worked such magic. Thanks Scott this book is a gosh darn miracle.

Because I've been reading Dribble Glass for at least five years, I was sure these were going to be funny. And they are. I bought some for friends, nieces and nephews, a neighbor, two dogs and a parakeet. I guess I got a little carried away.

As a huge Dave Barry fan, I knew this item would be worth purchasing since a Dave Barry quote is right on the front of the box.

Dave says, "These billboards are sick, perverted, gross, and tasteless. But in a good way."

Folks, that is DAVE BARRY. Enough said. I've always loved the billboards and now 10 of them are on my refrigerator holding up a shopping list from 1998 that I'll get around to sooner or later.

The little book that comes with the magnets is a funny read as well. Kudos to the dribbleglass.com people.

Dr. Scott Hahn has the reputation of a brilliant scholar and a passionate follower of Christ. This breathtakingly beautiful book is a reflection of great love and devotion to Salvation History.

The beginning of the book - the Foreword - is worth the investment. The illustrations are nothing short of spectacular. Extremely well documented with Scripture and quotations from the Church Fathers and from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, this is a classic masterpiece.

I just want to say that I love this book. Me and my husband bought it during the 1st Annual Catholic Scripture Study Conference 2006 in Charlotte, NC last April. We studied Bible with the International Catholic Bible Society (SOBICAIN)in Venezuela and we were looking for a compendium in English that could help us prepare ourselves to teach Bible studies in our parish. This book is so beautifully made that makes the excellent content and the visual design a delight for both intellect and spirit. And I admit it, we are also Dr. Hahn's big fans since we read his conversation story (Rome Sweet Home) and some other of his books (Hail Holy Queen, The lamb's Supper, Lord Have Mercy and his contribution to the books Catholic for a Reason). May God bless him and his family aboundantely because thanks to his books a lot of craddle catholics are coming back to the Church with a renewed faith and he's gaining countless of converts from other Christian denominations. I definetely recommend this book for both people seeking to study Bible for themselves or to teach a complete course in their parishes... and I don't give more stars because Amazon doesn't have more!!!!!

Honestly, this is the single most incredible Scripture textbook for High School aged students that I have ever seen in my life.

I was first made aware of this series about a month ago, when I learned that a local Catholic High School had chosen to use one of the titles. One of my closest friends, the theology teacher at my son's High School, then ordered the entire series.

As a professional theologian -- and as a professional educator -- I can only sit back and be amazed. This is simply the BEST one-volume introduction to Scripture that I have ever seen. It is faithful to the text, without denying the contributions of higher criticism. It is faithful to the Teaching of the Church. It is brilliantly illustrated and laid out. As someone who examines texts for a living -- it simply blew me away. I will be ordering a copy for my parish library as soon as possible. I only wish that a parish edition, suitable for CCD classes (and the limitations under which they labor) could be forthcoming.

Dr. Hahn has outdone himself.

Very, very highly recommended!

As the director of adult faith formation at a Catholic parish, I am using this text in tandem with the Bible as the textbook for a 9-month course on the Bible (30 classes, one class per chapter in this book). Our adults are devouring the material and *absolutely love* the content, layout, font, sacred art, diagrams, and beautiful photographs, which make this book such a fabulous resource for any student of the Bible.

I wholly recommend this text to all high school classrooms as well as to all parishes and organizations that wish to facilitate a complete course on the Sacred Scriptures in order to give the student a Catholic Scriptural worldview and an overview, a framework, by which one may understand Salvation History as mediated by the Bible.

Also, if you simply want to learn the Bible in the privacy of your own home - perhaps with your spouse or a friend - you should acquire a copy for yourself and read through it (perhaps one chapter per week). The chapters are short, easy-to-read, and full of amazing information.

If sitting on your coffee table, the textbook looks enticing, and I guarantee, from personal experience that visitors will open it up and start flipping through the pages to view the eye-catching, colorful pages. Then, you'll hear the question, "Where did you get this?? How can I get my hands on one?"

I love this guy. I watch him on EWTN all the time and he is great. He is the smartest guy about the bible and he makes it all so accessible. EWTN sells these books for $45 - I only mention this because of all the more than $45 prices I see here.

"Utten and Plumley" is filled with inventive, charming characters: who could resist Utten, who lives by himself in a bucket, travels around the world living a life of high adventure and, when he wants to, can turn himself into a bird? Or his friend Cranston, the troll proprietor of Cranston's Twaddles ("Loppings, Debris, and Frippery For Sale Cheap")? Utten and his new friends Old Man Plumley and Corker embark on a magical adventure through time, through fantastic places peopled with unforgettable beings. This is a perfect sort of book: funny, delightful, genuinely moving, and set in a beautifully realized world.

Utten and Plumley is one of the best novels
i have ever read. It is a heartwarming, bittersweet
and captivating adventure filled with fun. Man,it kicks
Harry Potter in the tushy!!! Whinnem,the genius author
of this book even made a website, www.utten.com.
I would recomend Utten and Plumley to anyone.

I read this book this afternoon from cover to cover, without stopping. I found it to be well-written, with creative characters, a great pace and a fantastic adventure. Once you read this book, you find yourself trying to picture Utten in your mind, trying to pin down exactly what an Utten is. I know that if I did indeed meet him, I would accept the offer to poke him, just to be sure.

I look forward to the day when my boys are old enough to enjoy this story as much as I did. I look forward to joining Utten and his friends on more adventures, wherever they take him.

I completely enjoyed the fun & whimisical world of Utten! Even when things got "darker", Utten kept his light-heart & helped his friends to know that things would be ok, somehow. I loved all the creatures that Reade Scott Whinnem came up with, as well as the full descriptions of the places Utten visits - I felt like I was there, too.
I recently gave this book to my cousin, and can't wait for her to read it!

I was drawn into "Utten and Plumley" in about two milliseconds. Reade Scott Whinnem's tale of a magical blue creature (who may or may not be related to the Norse God of Thunder and Applesauce Oton) is absolutely hysterical. Not only are there surprises, the writing itself is piquant and original. And the characters are really characters, not only Utten, but a cast of misfits including a scarecrow, a wolf and a chimpanzee.

The book reads a bit like "Alice in Wonderland" mixed with "Harry Potter", "Time Bandits" and a bit of "The Hobbit" swirled in for texture. But "Utten and Plumley" isn't like these books, it's similar only in that it's a classic fantasy.

The illustrations (pencil drawings) are entertaining and nicely done. I highly recommend this book for summer student reading, or for any fan of fantasy, young or old.

This is an excellent book with great information for women searching for options in dealing with fibroid tumors. Easy to read and understand.

This is the most comprehensive book on fibroids that I have read. It explains the different types, enumerates other conditions that may be confused for fibroids, details diagnosis techniques. It then thoroughly explores each treatment option currently available--and it is up-to-date, as opposed to another book I purchased which was so out of date it didn't even mention Uterine Artery Embolization. It gives statistics on the successes and complications from each treatment, and also suggests questions to ask your doctor and qualifications he/she should have. It assumes that you are intelligent enough to make up your own mind about what treatment you want and does not "sell" one over any other. It is just so refreshing!
I recommend it to anyone who is trying to get through the maze of confusing information about fibroids.

For years hysterectomies have been the "solution" for fibroids preferred by most doctors but that is changing and "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Fibroids" examines new techniques and therapies to treat fibroids including alternatives to hysterectomy. The book covers what fibroids are; how they are diagnosed; managing symptoms; watchful waiting; diet; exercise; stress; alternative medicines; drug treatment; options such as uterine fibroid embolization, myomectomy, and hysterectomy; and future treatment options. There is also a bibliography, a list of additional resources (books, organizations and websites) and an index.

I wish "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Fibroids" had been published when I was first diagnosed with fibroids. It is very informative and helps women understand what fibroids are and how to treat them (or in some cases not treat them). There are a lot of charts and lists throughout the book that are very helpful as they explain things such as facts about fibroids; risk factors for fibroids; fibroid sizes; symptoms of fibroids; a list of exercises; and some menu plans. Everything is explaining in layman's terms so nothing is too confusing to read.

One of the things that impressed me about the book is that it was written by a gynecologist and a radiologist, both men, who have an amazing grasp about the effect fibroids can have on a woman's life. I also liked the fact that even though there were some treatments they didn't agree with or recommend, they explained all aspects of treatments evenhandedly, giving the reader a chance to make up her mind. All the chapters in the book are excellent and the chapters on three procedures available (Uterine Fibroid Embolization, Myomectomy, and Hysterectomy) are especially well done. Each chapter describes the pros and cons of each procedure, when it is the best option, and how to prepare for each procedure and what to expect afterwards. I had a UFE in 2002 and I wish I had this book back then to prepare for my hospital stay.

This book was published in 2003 and I was surprised at how up to date it is - the authors even mentioned one of the newest (and still fairly rare) treatments - High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFUS). The authors clearly know their stuff.

"What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Fibroids" is highly informative and I recommend it for women who are looking for an alternative treatment to fibroids besides a hysterectomy.

I was amazed at the vast amount of information in this book and the unbiased way in which it was presented. It covered all types of therapies whether nutritional, medical or alternative and did so indicating which ones were backed up by studies and whether the studies were done in a scientific manner or not. It was very, very helpful.

Knowledge about fibroids and available treatment options has been changing rather rapidly. This book is clearly the most accurate and up to date at the present time (2003). In a changing field, accurate and up-to-date are critically important. That alone, makes Goodwin/Broder a must-read for any woman dealing with fibroids.

This book is well documented, giving citations chapter by chapter - so the reader has some idea what information came from which sources, and can refer to those sources should she wish.

It is very heartening to see an Interventional Radiologist (Goodwin) and a Gynecologist (Broder) COOPERATING to provide COMPLETE information about fibroids in ONE book. Too frequently, these two branches of medicine appear to be competing with one another, even trying to discredit one another, on issues relating to fibroids and treatment of fibroids. There are treatments for fibroids which involve each of these doctor's specializations. Together these two authors make it possible for women to consider the options based on the knowledge of doctors who support what is best for the PATIENT rather than what is best for the individual doctor's ego or pocketbook. This book does that and does it splendidly well. Broder and Goodwin together set out both the pluses and minuses of the various available treatments and what's appropriate when - regardless of whose specialty each treatment lies within.

The authors even cover what's known about treatments of the future including some currently in clinical trials. Goodwin and Broder also discuss lifestyle changes, suggest ways to implement some of them, and what effects one might or might not realistically expect from such changes. The book is rational rather than emotional.

Although this book is written by doctors, it is clear, concise, easy to comprehend and complete. It is not preachy. It does not talk down to the reader. These authors understand their audience and are able to effectively communicate needed information.

I have been a preacher for 42 years and have purchased more than 1000 books, When the Call Seems Small is without a doubt the best of all. I have purchased and given 24 copies away already. Recently, one was given to a bi-vocational pastor who had to sell his farm: I knew that this book would greatly encourage him!

When the Call Seems Small will help us all to realize that when we are in God's will our place of assignment is the most important thing in our life. If we take joy in being in God's will we will know that when He leads us, no place, nor position, is unimportant in His plan. You do not need a title, or a degree to be valuable to the Kingdom of God.

When the Call Seems Small will protect you from allowing Satan to make you discontent with your calling.

Read it, and pass it on to others.

Genuine, insightful, and practical, When the Call Seems Small delivers hope for our confused and frustrated souls who search for God's will. With every page we feel accompanied by W. Clayton Scott's upbeat genuine presence and we get the distinct sense that he has been where we are. Most importantly, Jesus' love and concern breaks through in abundance. What a relief and joy to know we can see God's side of our struggling dreams!

As I read Clayton's book I was reminded of each individuals' urgent importance in God's plan. I was inspired to hope hard in Jesus again in every seemingly small way.

As a professional working in a major corporation I am always thrilled when I find a book about living for Christ that is PRACTICAL and APPLICABLE to me. Working in a "cube farm" I really appreciate the message of "When the Call Seems Small." The Illustrations, biblical examples and words of encouragement found in this book have encouraged and strengthened me in my walk with Him.

I highly recommend this book to any parent. I am expecting my first child any day now and it has been such a comfort reading this book as I prepare for parenthood! My mother had the original version long ago before she had me. I must say I like this updated version better--even the author says she needed to make the changes/updates as she had become older/wiser. I believe the first version was writtin in the late 60's early 70's, so this version, written in the mid-late 90's is definitely an update. Regardless or time or era, this book is essential, in my humble opinion! If you consider yourself a spiritual person, this book is for you. If you don't, it could still be helpful.

This is my first Amazon review. Normally, I wouldn't waste my time. But, recently I wanted to reference this book, and I remembered, my copy was stolen. Bummer. But like in the old Zen parable, I wish the thief well with it, for I already have been blessed by the light the book casts like the moon on the landscape. Hands down, this is the best book on relating to and guiding your child, without abandoning a sense of discipline, I have ever come across. You quickly realize, however, that the discipline is with yourself, to lead by your own rooted example.

Very wise, very gentle. It will make you excited to get up in the morning and go parenting! Every chapter, you will want to put down the book and hug your child. It's really that good.

When you find yourself wondering how you can continue doing the mundane, day to day, oft mindless work of raising children then you need to read this book.

I am raising 4 children in a culture that does not value community or child rearing as a noble vocation. Polly's book gave me strength in the face of despair. It taught me that my children had chosen to come into my life to teach me how to live as much as for me to teach them how to be. Do not let the spiritual nature of this book frighten you. Her teaching is gentle and wise.

I read this 16 years ago (wish I could remember how I came upon it) before our son and daughter were born.

The philosophy of this book re-shaped my entire view of life and parenthood. Basically, once you realize that life with kids is ALL about the kids, frustration melts away and is replaced with infinite joy.

Children are as close to God as we will ever get on earth.

Please read it.

Wow, this book is the one parenting book that I have read that I can say changed my entire way of looking at my job as a mother. The spirituality of being a parent and the spiritual lessons that await us every single day are now so apparent in my mind after reading this book. My relationship with my spirited child and nursing babe has completely been transformed as I process this book and consciously live out the spiritual moments of my day. Please give this book at least a chance to enter into your journey of parenthood.

James Scott Bell is a truly blessed and gifted author. This is the latest book I have read by Mr. Bell and as with all the others it kept my interest from the beginning to the end. As I was half way through the book the though "disturbing" kept running through my mind. Until you understood "The Whole Truth" then "disturbing" was gone with a feeling of fullfillment or satisfaction that this was a well written, thoughtful and meaningful book. Christian's and non-Christian's will come away with a feeling that this book shows us everyday life, disturbing yes, but also fullfilling if you seek God.

"The Whole Truth" is yet another fine work of fiction from former trial lawyer James Scott Bell. This one, with the backdrop of a sinister cult hidden away in a barricaded compound, is interesting, suspenseful, and thrilling... woven with several unique twists. The author's legal background adds a compelling authenticity dimension which holds the reader's interest throughout. The novel also underscores Mr. Bell's Christian faith... which perhaps, sadly, is the reason that his and other Zondervan authors' works are bypassed by many, including movie producers who would otherwise find his suspenseful plot structures to be ideal for intriguing screenplays. In any event, "The Whole Truth"--and other James Scott Bell works--are highly recommended by this reader!
--R.C. Howe (a.k.a., Toby Martin II) / Erskine, Minnesota

The Whole Truth is one of those novels that forces you to stay up later than you intended because you have to see what happens next. It's a delightful mixture of humor and suspense. You'll cheer for Steve Conroy as he attempts to outrun shadows of the past and make decisions that will affect his current and future life. Jim Bell did a great job creating characters we care about, and a story that keeps the pages turning.

This story will keep you reading late into the night. Chilling suspense, I found myself captivated until the very last page. James Scott Bell has really created a character to love and a story that will linger in your thoughts for days after you've read the last sentence.

Steve Conroy, 30 years old, is the miserable lead character in James Scott Bell's new legal thriller, THE WHOLE TRUTH. Miserable, meaning his marriage is falling apart, he's a former drug addict, he's been evicted from his law office, and he has no money or clients. Steve's tragic adult life can be traced back to when he was five years old. One night, two strangers broke into his house and kidnapped his brother. Steve was too afraid to say anything until the morning. That event has haunted him every single day since then.

One day, a prisoner named Johnny LaSalle contacts Johnny and claims he is Robert, the brother that disappeared so many years ago. Steve knows it can't be possible because his brother was later found dead. However, Johnny knows things that only his brother would know. Then Johnny offers Steve a large amount of money to be his lawyer, and the lawyer to his religious group living at a mountain compound. The middle of the novel consists of Steve fighting to stay off drugs and trying to cope with the idea that Johnny could be his long lost brother. If Johnny is his brother, then Steve has to reconcile his sense of morality with Johnny and his friends' white-supremicist beliefs. Can Steve be the lawyer that the White Supremicist group wants him to be? Can he stay off drugs? Can he convice young law clerk Sienna Ciccone to take a chance and go out with him? Will ex-wife Ashley give him another chance?

In my opinion, this novel had a great beginning, a strong ending, and struggled in the middle, thus only 3 stars. Bell describes vividly the closeness Steve feels to Robert and how he idolizes his older brother. Then Robert is taken and Steve must live with the devestation that the kidnapping was somehow his own fault. Then the middle comes and Steve comes off as an obnoxious character. He tries to be funny, peppering many of his jokes with pop culture references that will soon be out of date. I feel like Steve needed more of a seriousness about him since his life was in such dire straights. Perhaps Bell wrote Steve as a comedian as a way of coping with his pain, but for me there was too much of it. Once the final act arrives, and the novel picks back up again. Steve has been attacked, betrayed, saved, shot at, rescued and lied to. He's been through the ringer. He meets a girl named Bethany that had been held captive at the LaSalle compound. He finds out the truth about his brother, and he even begins to believe in God. I liked the end. It had plenty of twists and turns and packed an emotional punch.

This book isn't as good as some of Bell's recent novels. The opening kidnapping is such an emotional tragedy and what follows just doesn't have the same feeling. However, the ending is good and makes the novel worth reading.

Had this book recommended to me over two years ago; however, just got around to reading it. It is so well written and provides a perspective that is so clear and truthful. Anyone who is interested in the historical perspective of the Deep South and the attitudes which prevail (ed) should read this book. AWESOME!! INSPIRING!!

I applaud Ms. Scott for compiling her father's interviews and writing this book, which has enormous historical significance. It is customary to read and hear about the heavy weights in the struggle for civil rights, such as Martin Luther King and Booker T. Washington. However, this book serves as a reminder that grass roots workers like John H. Scott represented pivotal forces in helping to bring about justice for African Americans. As a South Carolinian, I tend to read with greater frequency about historical events of places like Charleston and Savannah and Atlanta, GA. Reading about Louisiana broadened my knowledge and I was able to garner a history lesson from nearly every page.

It is unbelievable how steadfast John Scott and others were in fighting simply to be able to vote. Equally unbelievable are all of the atrocities perpetuated against them. But they persevered, and the story is very well told.

At a recent book signing in Charleston, SC, Ms. Scott told me that she is writing another book. I look forward to it.

The late John H. Scott and his daughter Cleo Scott provide a griping account of the life and experiences of a civil rights pioneer. The book makes something as bland as history, something engaging and entertaining. I learned a great deal from reading this book and enjoyed every minute. Looking forward the movie...

This book is the testament of a determined person who has raised the consciousness of a parish. He along with others refused to be refused a right that many of us take for granted today. From the Scott Scholarship to the visits Cleo Brown makes to Louisiana (thank you Tallulah for bringing her October 2003!), John H. Scott lives on. His words ring out pride in yourself and hope for your community. I am challenged to not let his and others' efforts go in vain. This book, which certainly has a place in (a certain book club), should be read by every student in the Delta area. They should know that great people can come from humble beginnings. Thank you John H. Scott Memorial fund for helping me through school and thank you Cleo Brown for compiling this book to help me through life.

I just finished this book and am so glad and elated that Cleo Scott Brown decided to document her father's story.

My great uncle is Francis Joseph Atlas, Sr., the other man who testified with Reverend Scott as well as the one who endured financial hardship just because he wanted to vote. My family has been in East Carroll Parish for centuries, and through this book, I have learned a ton of information that I did not have available to me. It also helps me a lot with my genealogical project.

This book was written wonderfully; there were many times I couldn't put it down because I just had to know what was going to happen next! I also enjoyed the perspective from which the story was told, and the righteous spirit that Reverend Scott held onto, even when it was extremely hard to do so.

Every African American owes it to themselves to read this.

I own a large pile of how-to-write books. Many of the books do not get you from here to there in terms of acquiring writing skills. Most give you a destination, but only a vague sense of how to get to that destination. It's like trying to go from your house to Oz, on a clear & sunny day.

Meredith's book is simple and excellent because it provides very clear directions & instructions for how to get to your writing destination.

When I first read this book, I was expecting it to be about writing stuff that publishers would buy. Well, it had that all right, but not until it went through what they ARE buying, what other genres there are, how others broke in to the business, etc. In other words, stuff you could find pretty much any other place you look. On the other hand, when it does get into the actual "writing" of the book, it gives good information and good techniques that I believe any good writer could use. Whether or not you actually want to get published is beyond the point - you can skip that part if you want to.

First appearing in 1950, and a hilarious 1974 introduction by the redoubtable Arthur C. Clarke, pioneering literary agent Scott Meredith's (I923-1993) Writing to Sell is an excellent tool for the aspiring writer. Meredith has a deep understanding of the marketplace (although some of his observations have become dated), as well as of what makes plots work (his original aspiration was to be a science fiction writer).He generalizes the successful plot as one in which an initial conflict is complicated to a climax, makes useful distinctions (e.g., between "incident" and "story") and gives many practical suggestions on novel writing and revising. (There is one chapter devoted to nonfiction.) Perhaps reflecting Meredith's financial success, there is a tendency to equate literary success entirely with sales reminiscent of Mickey Spillane's comment that what intellectuals don't understand is more people eat peanuts than caviar-or Tom Clancy's comment not to "commit art." Meredith's clients have included Norman Mailer, Ellery Queen, Robert Silverberg, and Philip K. Dick; and he was mentor to many agents and editors. With the qualification that his "just-sell-it" tonic may quash artistic originality, there is a lot to learn from his distillation of the American writing experience-which is no doubt why this book remains in print with Writer's Digest Books half a century after its initial publication. From the need to start off in a recognizable genre, to the importance of not skimping on the first draft and presenting likable characters with seemingly impossible problems, Meredith's work is a highly readable primer on the basic attributes of a salable novel. In short, although somewhat mercantile and dated,Writing to Sell is an excellent craft of writing work.

When I was given this book, I had never been paid for my fiction. Now I make a living at it; in fact, since I started applying these principles to my fiction, I've never FAILED to sell a novel. I've sold nine so far.

This book contains everything you need to know.

Now that I've read eight or nine how-to books on novel writing, I can say with certainty that this one, along with Sol Stein's, has had the greatest impact on me. Both of these men have significant experience as literary agents, so it behooves aspiring writers such as myself to pay greater heed to them than to writers who merely let us in on their personal secrets or academics who publish scholarly papers about fiction, but are unable to sell any themselves. Editors and literary agents are the ones who must be sold on the script in order for it to be published, after all.