Shaw Books

Great book, especially if you are interested in fly tying, its origins and the history of fly tying.

This is a great beginners or even experienced fly-tyers text with lots of pictures and easy methods. Black and white photos.

I got this book way back in 1967. It is fantastic, I still use it today from time to time. Now my grand kids are learning to tie from this book now.

This is the bood that really tought me to ty flies. I have read and tried to follow others, unlike all the other authors Helen teaches by method rather than by pattern. The pictures I personally think are excellent, she uses oversized materials for illustration. After reading and practicing the methods one will be able to ty a fly just by a list of materials without a picture or sample fly. If I were asked to reccommend only one book for one just starting this book would be it.

Shaw takes a unique approach to teaching how to tie. Rather than describing how to tie a Royal Coachman, for example, she organizes her chapters into fly parts and materials. So, there's a chapter on duck wings, a chapter on bucktail wings, etc. As a result, you can look at any pattern and figure out how to tie each part, regardless of whether you've tied the pattern before.

She also has hints on how to manipulate the thread or other materials to get a stronger and more lasting fly. No fly tyer shoud be without this book.

Great book that was simple and sincere. Greg Paul just tells his story and what he's learned. I wish more could write this way. Very humble and a good read.

This was one of the best books I have read in a long time. I had been bogged down with my seminary reading for the better part of the last 3 years, and while I absolutely love scholastic theology, I also understand the need for a practical application of the $30,000 worth of theological concepts that I learned in seminary. This book served as a great diversion from abstract, philosophical, theological perspectives and gave me a chance to walk with a real pastor through his journey "with" Jesus. You will need to read the book to get a full appreciation for what the author means when he uses the word "with." I guarantee he will challenge you to get "up and out" and to DO the work of the gospel. This book inspired me to get my hands back on the plow. Too much scholastic theology can make one stale and irrelevant. Though I keep constant watch on myself for relevance, one can get caught up in spewing rhetoric onto a page, and find oneself guilty of being a great articulator of biblical concepts, but a total failure at servanthood. Greg Paul is guilty of no such thing. Dare I quote the venerable Leonard Sweet who says of this book, "I dare you. No, I double dare you to read this book at more than one sitting." I'll say no more.

Although Christians would not consider me to be a Christian, (because I also believe in the best of what other religions have to offer) nontheless, to me Greg Paul demonstrates what it takes to embody the "Spirit" of Christianity. Jesus didn't sit in a comfortable pew every Sunday. He was 'in the trenches' as Greg Paul and his staff are.

This book is a great read. It will get you thinking about what it must be like to live in the 'shadow' city areas. It may motivate you to ask yourself deeper questions as to fate and purpose and God? Why them? Why must this be? Where is God in all of this? How can I help?

The personalities described in this book along with their successes and failures, help us understand our common humanity - these were folks who once had dreams and hopes too (and some still do) - despite the fact that reality has faded their aspirations greatly. How could we cope in their place? How can these people still show an indomitable spirit to survive the madness and pain they are exposed to every day?

Buy this book. It is raw and real. People of all faiths (those who are open-minded) will find these true stories to be uplifting and encouraging (no candy-coated trite Bible verses).

Is it possible to demonstrate the highest of spiritual principles on the street? Greg Paul wrestles to understand the complexity of this question and writes honestly about this issue sharing his experiences, vulnerabilities and insights.

If you love and follow Jesus pick this book up.
If you are curious as to why people might love and follow Jesus, pick this book up. If you don't care but just need a good laugh, a heart tug and cry, pick up this book.

Thank you Greg Paul for a wonderful little BIG book!
Great big thoughts and ideas in this one that will stay with me for a lifetime.

A friend of mine reluctantly read this book, thinking it would make him feel guilty. I suppose a lot of us approach a book like this with mixed feelings, hoping to be challenged but scared of where that might take us.

The book is called God in the Alley, and the subtitle says a lot: it's about "being and seeing Jesus in a broken world." For those of us who are sheltered, we are introduced to unfamiliar places and people, not far from home but far from our experience. I'm introduced to the underside of a park in Toronto that I've visited many times, and I learn where the high-priced working girls offer their services, and where the low-rent girls work. We meet crackheads, prostitutes, and victims of unimaginable abuse. And, surprisingly, we meet Jesus in the lives of these broken people.

"That's what I want this book to be about: the cultivation of our ability to both be Jesus and to see Jesus," writes Greg Paul, "if only by a dim flickering light - the afterimage on the darkened retina of a momentary, brilliant burst." Those of us who think our lives are not all that bad might overestimate our abilities to be Jesus, but Paul challenges us: you can't be Jesus if you aren't truly seeing him.

"If I truly want to be present as Jesus was and is, I must choose to act in very specific ways. Theory, or doctrinal correctness, is not enough. Seeing Jesus is a discipline of stillness. If I really want to see him, I'll need to avoid being consumed by trying always to do things in his name, and I'll need to learn to be motionless, intent on beholding what is in front of me."

Being present involves not only breaking through the comfort of middle-class life. It also involves breaking "beyond the internal barriers I have erected to protect myself.

So we read stories. These stories are not sanitized or romanticized. There is a lot of messiness in this book, and surprisingly, the messiness shows up in the good guys like Paul just as much as it does in the sinners. Even more surprising, we meet Jesus in surprising people: in those who are broken and who have little going for them. In one of the most moving stories, we meet a modern-day version of the story of Hosea and Gomer. Jesus shows up in the most surprising places, and if we're not careful we'll miss seeing him there.

Greg Paul teaches us to see Jesus in people rather than to see people as projects. He offers hope that we, too, may be able to develop the skill of seeing Jesus, just as he has, and ultimately in being Jesus to the people that we meet.

Paul reflects that at one point, if he had been asked how to be the presence of Jesus, he would have talked about being pure and strong and faithful. Although these are important, Paul explains today that he would answer differently.

"I am more likely to have Jesus revealed to me and through me in weakness than in strength, sinfulness than in purity, or doubt than in perfect faithfulness....I come to this astonishing conclusion: Jesus is found in brokenness..."

"The surprise of this brokenness is not just that the Almighty allowed himself to be broken, and that he invites me to touch him there in that brokenness. It's also that my own brokenness - that hidden, ugly, twisted stuff that I had expected would disqualify me forever from his friendship, and that, if it were known, would torpedo all my other relationships too - is precisely the place where he desires to touch me, and it is the place where I am most able to truly connect with other people."

I began this book expecting that it would teach me about how to serve those the middle class usually ignores. I finished realizing that it did much more than that: it introduced me to my own brokenness, with the "most attractive cover" we can find to hide the mess underneath, and it introduced me to the presence of Jesus in some of the people we see as being most broken. It gave me hope that I, too, can be and see the presence of Jesus in a broken world.

I read the book KIRSTEN SAVES THE DAY: A SUMMER STORY for my class book review. This book is great. It is about a ten-year-old girl named Kirsten, and her adventures in the summer of 1854. In the beginning, Kirsten, her brother, and their dog walked through the woods to a river. Her mother asked her to catch nine fish for dinner. Kirsten only caught one fish and that is when the adventure began.

I learn some interesting facts. Trees were turned into log cabins, barns, fences, and farm tools. Also, settlers had to store enough food to eat in the winter. They often washed dishes outside and they ate outside, too.

I would recommend this book for three reasons. First, if you like interesting historical fiction books in 1854, then you will like KIRSTEN SAVES THE DAY: A SUMMER STORY. Second, Kirsten was very adventurous on her journey in the woods. Finally, Kirsten finds a surprise in the woods.

KIRSTEN SAVES THE DAY: A SUMMER STORY is a FANTASTIC book!!!

kirsten saves the day has a BIG adventure
Ohh!NO! there is a... OOps i can not tell you the
rest. So.. you have to trust me on this one.
YOU HAVE TO READ THE BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My mother read thses books to me when I was only three years old. Now 16 years later, I am still reading them and collecting the Kirsten American Girl Doll stuff! Awsome stories for chidren!
-Mrs. Christina Cosgrove

My 8-year-old absolutely loves these stories. She can't wait to get to the next one and they help her to see what life was like in Kirsten's time (late 1800's). Your little girl will love them, and I love that there is absolutely NO questionable material in these books. I don't have to worry about questionable material or boy crazy stuff that my daughter is too young to deal with yet!

This is another in the American Girls Short Stories series about Kirsten Larson, a nine-year-old girl from Sweden, whose family has moved to frontier Minnesota of 1854. Kirsten's first Fourth of July is coming up, and her family will be going into town. There are many things they need, and everyone hopes that they can raise enough money to buy them. A miracle seems to beacon to Kirsten when she discovers a bee tree brimming with sweet (and valuable) honey. When she decides that she need not inform her parents, that she and her little brother can collect the honey, she learns a valuable and potentially fatal lesson.

Once again, Janet Shaw produces a wonderfully entertaining story, with a valuable lesson. Such wonderful stories, with such excellent illustrations! This is an excellent book, and a worthwhile addition to your library.

[For those parents interested in reading historical fiction about Swedish immigrants, please consider reading The Emigrants series by Vilhelm Moberg.]

One of Elizabeth Bowen's finest novels, THE LAST SEPTEMBER has grown in popularity in recent years thanks to the overtly political nature of its topic (the demise of the Anglo-Irish "county" life by means of the Irish War of Independence) and the recent 1999 film adaptation with Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith and Fiona Shaw. Most of the novel's action takes place in Danielstown, the Leinster country manor of Sir Richard and Myra Naylor and their wards Lois and Laurence. At the summer season, the estate plays host to all manner of guests, including the ill-matched and unhappy Montmorencys, the highly independent Marda Nolan, and some of the local garrisoned British officers and their wives whom Lois has befriended. As they play tennis and devour raspberries, their discussion is turned primarily towards gossip and flirtation--not to the escalating violence that surrounds and dooms their isled privilege.

Like most of Bowen's earlier fiction, THE LAST SEPTEMBER is difficult reading and demands close attention: the Naylors and their set rarely say either to themselves or to one another clearly what they mean, and express themselves via euphemism, overexaggeration, understatement, and/or indirection. Only when the change of independence, either sexual or political, threatens does language become more direct and urgent: this is one of the great themes of this important modern novel. Although its outcome is tragic, the book is ultimately quite funny (as are all of Bowen's novels), and its peculiar tension between these two modes captures well the odd tensions of the cloistered and privileged world of the Anglo-Irish.

Danielstown, the Irish estate belonging to Sir Richard and Lady Naylor, is the closed environment which allows Elizabeth Bowen to explore the Anglo-Irish lifestyle, values, and allegiances in 1921, a time when The Troubles are about to sweep the country and change it forever. The Naylors' niece Lois is nineteen, a bored young woman without goals, impatient to get on with the job of finding a husband so that she can fulfill her apparent destiny. Her cousin Laurence, an Oxford student who would rather be in Italy or France, also has little to do, a condition he shares with a married couple, Francie and Hugo Montmorency, who visit friends like the Naylors regularly, having no home of their own.

A British army unit is garrisoned nearby to protect their loyal subjects-and, not incidentally, provide a ready source of young men for garden parties and tennis matches. With an acute eye for detail, ironic detachment, and a sometimes caustic wit, Bowen reconstructs the lives of these aristocrats. One comments that it would be "the greatest pity if we were to become a republic and all these lovely troops taken away." Laurence remarks cynically that he would like to be present when "this house burns and we should all be so careful not to notice."

Throughout the novel, Bowen's prose remains formal and detached. When Lois and a young soldier begin to think they are in love, there are no passionate scenes--both are a product of their time and upbringing, and kisses are reserved for the engagement. When nearby estates are attacked, the Naylors simply change their schedules and limit their travel. Bowen's book has the ring of truth--she herself was part of the Ango-Irish tradition in County Cork, and she wrote the book in 1929, when the revolution was still fresh. Though she puts an iconoclastic spin on attitudes and values, she offers no apologies, preferring to present the facts, create the scenes, and allow the reader to judge for himself/herself whether Ireland was better off before or after The Troubles. Mary Whipple

Danielstown, the Irish estate belonging to Sir Richard and Lady Naylor, is the closed environment which allows Elizabeth Bowen to explore the Anglo-Irish lifestyle, values, and allegiances in 1921, a time when The Troubles are about to sweep the country and change it forever. The Naylors' niece Lois is nineteen, a bored young woman without goals, impatient to get on with the job of finding a husband so that she can fulfill her apparent destiny. Her cousin Laurence, an Oxford student who would rather be in Italy or France, also has little to do, a condition he shares with a married couple, Francie and Hugo Montmorency, who visit friends like the Naylors regularly, having no home of their own.

A British army unit is garrisoned nearby to protect their loyal subjects-and, not incidentally, provide a ready source of young men for garden parties and tennis matches. With an acute eye for detail, ironic detachment, and a sometimes caustic wit, Bowen reconstructs the lives of these aristocrats. One comments that it would be "the greatest pity if we were to become a republic and all these lovely troops taken away." Laurence remarks cynically that he would like to be present when "this house burns and we should all be so careful not to notice." When an informer tells the family that guns have been buried on their property, they are blasé about it-they don't want to tell the soldiers because it might result in the trampling of some new trees.

Throughout the novel, Bowen's prose remains formal and detached. When Lois and a young soldier begin to think they are in love, there are no passionate scenes-both are a product of their time and upbringing, and kisses are reserved for the engagement. When nearby estates are attacked, the Naylors simply change their schedules and limit their travel. Bowen's book has the ring of truth-she herself was part of the Ango-Irish tradition in County Cork, and she wrote the book in 1929, when the revolution was still fresh. Though she puts an iconoclastic spin on attitudes and values, she offers no apologies, preferring to present the facts, create the scenes, and allow the reader to judge for himself/herself whether Ireland was better off before or after The Troubles. Mary Whipple

Elizabeth Bowen's _The Last September_ is really a novel about internal self-talk and how that internal dialogue with the self is full of unarticulated desires, willful self-deceptions, and social anxieties of all sorts. Bowen has an incredibly penetrating knowledge of how people try to flatter themselves, read the world as revolving around themselves, and focus intently on an inner life that is completely wrong in many of its assumptions about what others think and feel. The way that ideology blinds people to reality of life and other's feelings is a continual subtle conflict running throughout the novel: two main ideological struggles occur. First, there is a constant tension between what "society" wants women to be and the reality of being a woman. There is a strong lesbian subtext in the novel although it is seems that the heroine has no conception of lesbianism or that frustrated lesbianism could be a reason for her problems in life. Yet at times the heroine makes such grossly inappropriate--yet spontaneous or seemingly irrelevant--remarks for a heterosexual woman that it is debatable if we are to see her as truly unaware of the potential for lesbian love. At any rate, the novel is so full of obsessive concern with gossip and what will people think of this or that to be blind to such desire seems absolutely mandatory.

Blindness is a major metaphor in the novel, one that Bowen specifically relates to the political situation in Ireland in 1918. The second major conflict in the novel is that between the Anglo-Irish and the English--despite the conflict between the pro-republic Irish and the English that is part of the plot. The real focus of the book is on the plight of these Anglo-Irish who feel such a huge gap between their worldview and that of the English. The English people's absolute failure to see this gap and assumption that of course these Anglo-Irish value all that is English and desire that is a major theme.

This book is achingly realistic in its depiction of the self-doubts that erode the joy of life with anxieties and confusion and its clear depiction of how the really important "rules of society" are the unwritten ones that determine who is able to communicate and share feelings and who is left feeling "unreal" and lonely. Ultimately the book is about the difficulty of finding happiness when people cannot understand themselves, their mental needs or desires, or the very different needs and desires of others. Bowen's best passages (to some they will be funny, to others heartbreaking) are the conversations between characters that are complete failures of communication. Bowen gives us glimpses of the self-talk of the characters and reveals their complete misunderstandings as well as their few powerful insights into each other's natures. The fate of the Anglo-Irish living in 1819 in today's Irish Republic is the most direct illustration of the theme of how difficult it is to communicate and find happiness, but I would argue it is meant to be symbolic of larger social problems that do not get enacted in violence.

An account of coming-of-age on a great estate in Ireland just before independence. Totally brilliant (though often knowingly vapid) as a portrait of upper-class life, with its tennis parties, discreet servants, and do-nothing guests. The "Troubles" remain mostly in the background, though they are not forgotten. The writing is evocative and perceptive ("The ladies were in the drawing-room laughing intimately, putting across the open door a barrier of exclusion") though at times rather overwrought in a Hopkinslike manner. Unfortunately, Bowen's stylistic self-consiousness rather veils the all-too-real tragedy taking place in and around her young heroine, but it is there all the same.

This was the first full-length biography (originally titled AND GOD CAME IN) ever published of Joy Davidman, who, though a noteworthy writer herself, would be most remembered as the wife of British scholar and author C.S. Lewis. The story of their marriage and of her tragic, premature death of cancer was already familiar to me from a number of sources, mostly focused on Lewis; yet I knew only generalities concerning Davidman's earlier life in America. Dorsett himself is not a flawless writer, but his work here is built on extensive research into his subject's many letters, the reminiscences of friends and surviving family, and her own writings. The endnotes at the back of my edition thus span eleven pages. Overall I found the account engaging and a helpful new perspective. The hardships (even those somewhat self-inflicted) of Davidman's younger years, and her once deeply ingrained biases, cast her later Christian faith in a fresh and more impressive light.

The first edition of this work was the source for many details portrayed in the original 1985 BBC-TV rendering of SHADOWLANDS, superior to the 1993 cinematic version -- details I had encountered nowhere else and long thought apocryphal. In a new Preface here, however, Dorsett indicates his dissatisfaction with either dramatic depiction of the Lewis/Davidman relationship, and takes the opportunity of the book's reissue to set the record straight on certain points.

Although these two very different individuals certainly found (or were Led to) each other at a time when they needed the love and support their friendship and eventual marriage would provide, Dorsett is correct in asserting that Joy deserves better than to have her own life's record 'obscured by the shadow of C.S. Lewis'. I rather think Jack would have been the first to agree, and to applaud this admirable attempt at re-introducing the world to a remarkable woman of full humanity (with all the good and bad which that implies) yet ardent faith.

This is an important book for those who want to understand C.S. Lewis. When you read a bio of Lewis and learn about this odd woman whom he married under very strange circumstances, you are bound to come away confused. Why would Lewis marry a woman with so much baggage (Former atheist, communist, multiple love affairs, divorced)? What could Lewis, the Oxford Don and intellectual giant, have seen in her?

Essentially, Joy was brilliant too. Dorsett makes it clear that Joy was a remarkable woman in many ways. She was an accomplished poet and writer. In many ways, she was superior to Lewis. Not only was she an intellectual on paar with Lewis, but she was a good cook, a great gardener, and wise with money (Lewis had no concept of finances).

Lewis aside, Joy Davidman led an interesting life in her own right. Well worth your time to read.

The first sentence in the author's preface says it all... "There was absolutely nothing ordinary about Joy Davidman Lewis." This book is a testament to the truth of that statement, and is unique in its ability to show us so much about Joy Davidman prior to (or besides) her relationship with C.S. Lewis. In fact, it is only towards the mid-section of the book that she even meets Lewis for the first time in the dining room of the Eastgate Hotel, across from Magdalen College in Oxford. Dorsett does an unparalleled ORIGINAL job of documenting Joy's early family life in New York. (95% of the biography is based upon hitherto untapped primary sources). Growing up in a family where religion was at once respected and deplored, we see her unfold as a reluctant Jewess, an atheist, a militant communist, Christian convert, gifted writer/poet and screenwriter, mother and divorcee. She was a many-splendored critical thinker, and Lewis's brother Warnie tells us that "she liked walking, and she liked beer."

In her search for critical truth, Joy was greatly affected by the writings of Lewis (in particular, his Great Divorce, Miracles, and Screwtape Letters) and in the early spring of 1946 she experienced a profound conversion to Christianity. In the midst of a tumultuous and intolerable marriage, she and her two sons sailed for Liverpool from New York in August of 1952. In early September, Joy met Lewis. Anyone who has seen the Hollywood movie "Shadowlands" starring Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger will remember the portrayal of this initial meeting, and the relationship that followed. It must be said that the movie, though excellent, is grossly inaccurate of their actual story in many ways. For the clearest picture of one of the most heart-rending love stories of our modern age, you can do no better than to sit down with this book by Dorsett. It is an extraordinary account of two lives that were anything but ordinary.

The film 'Shadowlands' tells the story of one of the more unlikely love matches of the twentieth century, that of C.S. Lewis, famous British scholar and author of the Narnia stories, to American author of Jewish extraction, Joy Davidman. This short, competent biography tells the story of Joy's early life as an atheist and Communist, her first marriage to a writer of thrillers, their two children, her Christian conversion, and her leaving her hard-drinking husband to come to England. C.S. Lewis enters the story as an author who influenced Joy, and later as a friend when she emigrates to England. The civil marriage of a divorcee to a famous Christian bachelor author in his fifties caused some shock back in December 1956, but was accepted by the majority who knew them. The plain authenticity of this book is greatly enhanced by Lyle Dorsett's access to family letters, papers, and also the friends and family who knew them best. It is a recommended read as it fills in details of a period of Lewis's life which is subject to a certain amount of debate and confusion, and is a good supplement to the film.

We have a plethora of information about C. S. Lewis: letters, books, biographies, etc. However, not much has been written about his wife, Joy Davidman. What led her, an intellectual communist atheist of Jewish heritage, to Christ? How did a divorced American with two children catch the eye of Lewis, a late-middle age British confirmed bachelor? These questions and many others are answered in "A Love Observed." For those of you who've seen "Shadowlands", the cinematic tale of their courtship and marriage, Mr. Dorsett's book provides the back-story behind the film (and takes certain parts of it to task). We are finally given a definitive look at the woman who challenged Lewis' mind and won his heart.

Joy Davidman was an exceptional person. She overcame various physical, racial, and gender barriers to become a noted published author in her own right. But the greatest leap she made was becoming a Christian. Joy intellectually struggled against God for years, but at the age of thirty-one her resistance crumbled, and in her words He "came in, and I changed (pg. 60)." After that, there was no turning back. Eventually she pursued and caught the eye of C. S. Lewis, and the rest, as they say, is history. Of course, there were difficulties. Her brash American mannerisms and straightforward personality were difficult for Lewis' friends to accept at first, and there was a bit of scandal surrounding his marriage to a divorcee. But by all appearances they loved each other, and there's no evidence that Lewis regretted marrying her.

"A Love Observed" is a fascinating glimpse into how a brilliant, strong-willed woman came to Christ and ended up marrying arguably the greatest modern Christian apologist. It's a bittersweet story because of her untimely death, but the intense, intimate love they shared despite her illness is encouraging in a world full of self-centered, disposable relationships. I'd recommend this book to anyone whose intellect is a barrier to faith in God, or who may be struggling with a loved one's physical problems.

Another excellent true Christian love story you shouldn't miss is "A Severe Mercy" by Sheldon Vanauken, a friend of C. S. Lewis. Its non-romantic sequel, "Under the Mercy" is quite fascinating in its own right as well.

In very good condition and on time. I recomended


jc

I am from INDIA. I come accross with so many books on this subject. But the work by CHRISTINE SHAW is very much outstnding by its quality.The command on the subject is commendable. She takes the reader simply along with her explaining all about the art of prediction which is nucleus of the subject.The simple style of narration will have a pleasant going through the book all the time.It is a must to a beginner. It draws simply to the essential area of the vast subject.

This book is for the reader who is well grounded in basic astrology. It describes progressions, which are various ways of moving the planets ahead (or backwards) to show current and future development.

I have seen only a few books on progressions, and Christine Shaw's book is at the top of my list for the counseling astrologer. Christine is an Australian astrologer who has had her own astrology school, and has lectured in Australia and New Zealand. Excellent astrology seems to come out of Australia, and Predictive Astrology is no exception.

Robert Blaschke's books on progressions are extensive and thorough, and give more precise instructions for accurate timing. But Christine's book is easy to use, and sufficient for day-to-day work. I would turn to Robert's books after familiarity with using Christine's book.

Christine not only knows her astrology well; she is able to convey her knowledge in a dynamic and practical fashion. The book includes a lengthy and rich discussion of progressions in general. Christine uses personal research as her raw material, and her discussion is grounded in real circumstances, thus bringing progressions down to earth. The bulk of the book describes specific planetary progressed aspects, from the progressed chart to the natal chart, and within the progressed chart.

Christine talks primarily about secondary progressions, which follow the basic formula of one year in the life of the person (or event) equals one day in the ephemeris. However, a progression is a progression, and similar dynamics will operate in any type of progression. She also includes progressions into houses, and stationing progressions.

Christine stresses the importance of the natal chart. Progressions do not correlate with developments unless they are promised in the natal chart, and the way a particular progression works depends on the natal disposition of the respective planets. This is why a thorough grounding in astrology is necessary before moving on to more complex interpretation. If you know natal astrology well, the rest is in fact easy because the same principles apply. A planet is a planet, a sign is a sign, and a house is a house.

Let us look at a major progression for GW Bush: his Cancer Sun progressed into Virgo, and joining his natal Virgo Mars. This progression came into orb two months ago, and will last for two years.

First, looking briefly at his natal Mars in Virgo: This is an analytical and fix-it Mars. It also makes for nervousness and irritability. Mars semi-sextiles its dispositor, Mercury in Leo, on GW's Ascendant. (Christine discusses the importance of minor aspects.) Mercury in turn has a partile conjunction to Pluto in Leo. This shows the potential for using that Mars for power-mongering and bullying. (Readers, aren't you glad I don't go through this with you regularly? And this is just the beginning of setting the foundation of this progression!)

Here are some excerpts about Sun-Mars Progressed Aspects from Christine's book:

"This is an excellent time for initiating projects. It is not a time for cooperative ventures. You need to identify with what you are doing, and to use vigorous action. Take the plunge. During these two years the qualities of your Sun sign can be more fully expressed. This period will show you what you are most interested in accomplishing. ...You need constructive direction and planning.. .Poorly used, there can be aggressiveness, accidents, fights, separations, and death."

We can see a turbulent two years beginning for GW.

Predictive Astrology is well worth while owning and using.

Christine Shaw's, Predictive Astrology, is not only a well-written and understandable guide, it is thorough and comprehensive for the intermediate level astrology student. Although the book does not really teach the reader how to "predict the future," it does guide the reader in finding the signposts for the possibilities that are out there for all to see. An excellent addition to any student forecaster's library. Crisp, clean and thoughtful.

I was glad to have read this wonderful book about progressions from Christine Shaw. Very down to earth, practical and full of true and proven methods and delineations. You will find a lot of information and rules from the own experience of the author. No theoretical approach but from real situations. Even experienced astrologers will find useful information in it. It's one of the best books ever published about progressions.

The package came in a precise time and exactly how it was described.

Execellent, very straight to the point Gives you an understanding about the pschology in its simplistic view.

This book has a conversational writing style and covers a wide range of subjects. I used it in an 'introduction to psychology' class and found it to be clear and accesible. The practice test were helpful, yet I'm skeptical about the answers, I think one or two of the answers were printed incorrectly. Also, the test questions my teacher gave us seemed to be in a different style to the ones in the practice test booklet. Overall, this is a well written introductory text.

I teach Psychology courses, and this text is great for the student and instructor! Even students who are not interested in psychology learn a lot from this text. It's written in an easy to read, 'grab your curiosity' way. It's thorough, fascinating to the new and experienced reader of psychology. Great text! It's updated regularly, so for the newest information, you've got the right book....

We used this text for my Introduction to Psychology class. The book is very well organized and allows anyone to easily possess a grasp of the fundementals of psychology.

This was the only one my textbooks for my first semester that I actually didn't mind reading. Lahey's prose is very readable and he includes several antecdotes to add flavor to the material.

I would recomend this one to anyone who has an academic or personal interest in psychology. If you are a student, the book is an additional plus because it is available in paperback, which greatly cuts down on cost.

Society tends to frown when poorer working black man has a rich upper middle class woman as a love interest. Even more so in the black community where issues of skin colour rears its ugly prejudiced head. Kennedy - the rich girl and Malik - the orderly find love in extraordinary circumstances when Kennedy is a patient in the hospital where he works. However Kennedy being reared to please her parents find it hard to deal with their objections. Will true love win out in the end? The book deals with the subject in a entertaining but moving manner. Looking forward to the sequel about Madison the rebel sister.

This was a great book. Although there were times I got frustrated with some of the characters, I couldn't put it down until I finished it.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story. It's totally different from any other romance novel I've read because this one deals with prejudices that a lot of us share. We all want that man that's got a good paying job and has a nice car and all that but we always put down the Malik's of the world that's hard working even though his job isn't something that's not money making. He's someone that you want to bring home but is afraid of being judged because he's not someone of a status quo. But Malik has a big heart and he genuinly cares for Kennedy, and it's a good thing that she became blind because if she wasn't blinded by the accident I don't think that she would have given him a second glance. I think that's what we all need. Good job to the author on this one.

SOUL CARESS begins with a horrific accident that robs Kennedy Daniels of her eyesight and she must endure the ominous task of rehabilitation and living without her sight. Kennedy has been on the fast track to becoming a successful financial analyst and with the support of her very elitist family, her life has been glorious. However, the accident changes her life and during her recovery she meets Malik Crawford, her orderly in the rehabilitation center. They find a common ground although their lives are totally different which Kennedy finds is part of the attraction.

Malik's attraction to Kennedy is immediate and goes beyond him being her orderly. He finds he can be himself with her and vice versa. He also is very aware of their different backgrounds, but decides to ride the relationship out until it ends. When Kennedy's family discovers the relationship, they are determined to end it by any means necessary. Will Kennedy be able to stand up to her family and follow her heart?

SOUL CARESS was a pleasant departure from the typical romance story where the man is rich and successful. Malik was a regular guy with a big and selfless heart. The story showcased that people cannot dictate who one should love. Kennedy's emotional growth was also amazing to witness as well as Malik's belief in his strength of being a man worthy of Kennedy's love. The characters were endearing and believable and the romance between Kennedy and Malik was beautiful. I love Shaw's ability to demonstrate, even with Kennedy's blindness she could see.

Reviewed by Cashana Seals
of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers

"Soul Caress" is the first novel I've read by Mrs. Kim Shaw and it was an enjoyable read. The story was about that age old tale of the "blue collar guy" not being good enough for the "high society rich girl", yet it had a different and interesting plot.~~~~~~~Kennedy was in a horrific car accident, that took away her eyesight and had her putting in major time with physical therapy sessions at a rehab clinic called Stillwaters. While wallowing in her misery, Kennedy meets Malik, the orderly assigned to her during her stay at Stillwaters and they instantly feel a connection. Malik is definitely a hardworking, honest, and very caring individual, who immediately wants to take away all the pain and anguish that Kennedy is going through. Malik motivates Kennedy to push through the painful therapy sessions and helps her to see that even though she is blind, her life isn't over. The chemistry and attraction between Kennedy and Malik was soul stirring. They had a unique situation considering Kennedy couldn't see and yet she still loved Malik with her whole heart and soul. She was able to appreciate who he was despite his upbringing, his social class, and his job, she loved him simply because he loved her. Malik didn't just express his love for Kennedy with words, but with his whole spirit. Even though she couldn't see the love in his eyes, she could feel it in his every touch and in his actions towards her.~~~~~~~Up until the accident, Kennedy lived her life to please and to keep the peace with her parents. Not being one to cause trouble and keeping them happy, she finally has to decide if she will do what she wants and live her life for her happiness or let her parents continue to dictate what they want for her. Throughout this novel you will see Kennedy and Malik grow and learn from each other. And despite their different backgrounds, they find an unconditional love with one another, BUT can they hold on to that love or is the possiblity of a happily-ever-after doomed due to the prejudices'and preconceived notions of our society??!!!

The is really a great book. It begins by detailing a factual history of the ancient martial arts and their interaction with Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. It then goes on to outline numerous meditation and Ki development exercises. It even throws in a few self defense techniques, just to show how the "Spiritual Warrior" can learn to consciously defend "Him" or "Her" self. This text provides the reader with not only a new and deeper understanding of the physical aspects of the martial arts but a complete how to for Ki development and the various forms of Buddhist meditation which have been developed for and associated with the martial arts over the centuries. I used this book as one of the references for my Master's Thesis.

While doing my Thesis I contacted Master Shaw. He was so nice and talked to me indepth about meditation and how it can become a natural evolution of the martial arts. He possesses a vast amount of knowledge on this subject, which is apparent in this book. I believe this book truly adds a new chapter to the martial arts.

One of the things I like most about this book is that it does not solely reference the martial artist, or "Spiritual Warrior" as Scott Shaw details all of us to be as, "He" or "Him." It also intermingles "She" or "Her" with this delineation. When speaking to Master Shaw he told me that this was not his idea, nor was it the way he had written the book. It was something done by the editors. None the less, I think this interchangable style is great. It acknowledges and gives power to us ladies, something most books on the martial arts never do.

Overall, I believe this to be an important work on breaking down the barriers of the traditional macho male dominated martial arts and taking them to the level where they can be embraced by the more spiritually inclined among us.

Your one stop shop...

For those that know their martial art history, the beginning chapter of this book is shady. Most of the information is true, but some of the printed material is speculative and not labeled as such.

The mixing and mingling of feminine and masculine pronouns assigned to 'the warrior' throughout the text made the reading...inconsistent and strangely difficult. There is no doubt that both men and women are/can be warriors, and I think the writing would have been more fluent if Shaw had just made that point, chose one pronoun, and stuck to it.

Shaw displays his opinions upon the spiritual path to the martial arts very well, but I think that he forgot to stay open to the idea that there is more than one way to skin a cat. When reading this book it sounds as if you are doing everything wrong if not following the path he is documenting, and I strongly disagree. To put it more poetically, "There are many paths up the mountain, but only one peak".

Sprirituality is a difficult subject to write about. It is like sand - when a person tries to take hold of it in a physical manner it simply slips through the fist. I bought this book looking for a truly spiritual text, and was disappointed to find yet another picture filled manual on the martial arts. Shaw's effort is to be commended, but I'm affraid that in his attempt to convey something very esoteric the sand slipped between his fingers.

I like this book. It thought me a lot of things. That is to say that it cleared or put in to words some of the ideas I was thinking at the time. The first part of this book is an exelent path for those who are looking for a different view on martial arts if not life as a whole. With the good things said, now I have to write about the only draw back of the book. The second part of the book talks about exercises and meditation technics, and these are fine and easy to follow. However, after these technics come a serious of fighting moves an teachings that quite frankly didn'tsit well with me. I don't mean that they are bad technics. I just didn't see a real reason to have them in the book because the fighting technics shown are common to most martial arts that teach some kind of grappling. Maybe after I mature more as a person and a martial artist the secound part of the book will make sense to me. In closing buy the book and pay attention.

I actually read the comments from the other readers before purchasing this book myself and the "he" / "she" reference which most of the reviewers mentioned didn't really get in the way of the content of the book itself. (Who knows, that may not have been the writer, but rather the publishing company, like so many other typos in books). I liked the way Scott Shaw intermingles spirituality with the martial arts; it reminds you of how the old Chinese practitioners see the martial arts - as an art and not just for fighting. I learned interesting tid-bits from this book and recommend it for anyone who is spiritually-minded.

This is a surprisingly enlightening book, with historical information on the development of the martial philosophy up to the modern day applications. It's written to be understood but doesn't talk down to people. One of the best books yet I've seen for martial arts. I recommend it to all new practitioners as well as the seasoned ones.

Every Civil War buff (and many others, too, thanks to the movie "Glory") knows the story of the 54th Massachusetts, the black regiment commanded by the boy-colonel Robert Gould Shaw which attacked the Confederate Fort Wagner in July 1863.

The story of the 54th is memorable for many reasons. The most obvious one--and the one usually focused on--is that Shaw and the 54th displayed extraordinary courage in the assault on Fort Wagner. Another less emotional reason is that the 54th proved to the nation that men of color could and would fight for the end of slavery. This was the shattering of an important color barrier and an important stage in the evolution of the conflict. By war's end, an incredible 74% of free Northern blacks of military age would enlist (p. 50).

But a deeper, more significant reason why the history of the 54th is important--and one, moreover, that's usually missed--is that it invites reflection about the standards by which our culture, then and now, measures "manhood." W.E.B. Du Bois (quoted on p. 123) put it well: "How extraordinary...in the minds of most people...only murder makes men. The slave pleaded; he was humble; he protected the women of the South, and the world ignored him. The slave killed white men; and behold, he was a man." Prior to proving themselves in battle, both the North and the South looked at men of color as bumbling and cowardly half-wits. Except for the minority Abolitionists, most whites considered blacks subhuman, and there seemed little or nothing blacks could do to break through that conviction. But he moment they proved themselves skilled at killing other human beings, they were accepted (even if reluctantly) as "men."

Duncan's Where Death and Glory Meet is a fascinating chapter in the history of how our culture determines manhood. Although a rather detached supporter of abolition, Shaw was skeptical about the fighting abilities of freedmen, and initially declined the command of the 54th. When he did accept, he was painfully aware that the eyes of the nation were on his regiment, and his training of them was relentless. But the 54th measured up by proving itself in battle.

Moreover, Shaw is also representative of the cultural measure of manhood. In his private letters, he expresses great ambivalence about commanding the 54th and almost panicky fear about assaulting Fort Wagner--a task that he (correctly, as it turned out) thought rather hopeless. Just as th But Shaw, fully aware of what was expected of a "man," overcame both doubts and anxiety in order to perform his duty. Just as the ability to kill men made his black soldiers "men," so Shaw's willingness to die in battle also demonstrated his own "manhood," his final maturation from a boy-colonel to a seasoned warrior.

What fascinating under-currents run through the Civil War. Too bad they're so often bypassed in favor of the surface stories of guns and glory. For more on our cultural conflation of manhood with battlefield courage, Margaret Creighton's magisterial The Colors of Courage is highly recommended.

HONOR THE MEMORY OF COLONEL ROBERT GOULD SHAW AND THE FIGHTING MASSACHUSETTS 54TH BLACK REGIMENT IN THE CIVIL WAR

COMMENTARY

FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Those familiar with the critical role that the recruitment of black troops into the Union Armies in the American Civil War usually know about the famous Massachusetts 54th Regiment under Colonel Robert Gould Shaw which has received wide attention in book, film and sculpture. Those heroic black fighters and their fallen leader deserve those honors. Glory, indeed.

Although Shaw was hesitate to take command of those troops after suffering wounds at Antietam when he accepted he took full charge of the training and discipline of the regiment. Moreover, as the regiment marched into Boston to cheering crowds before embarking on ships to take them South each trooper knew the score. Any blacks captured (or their white officers, for that matter) were subject to Southern `justice', summary execution. Not one trooper flinched. Arms in hands, they fought bravely at the defeat of Fort Wagner and other Deep South battles, taking many causalities.

I have remarked elsewhere (in a review of William Styron's Confessions of Nat Turner)
that while the slaves in the South, for a host of reasons, did not insurrect with the intensity or frequency of say Haiti, the other West Indian islands or Brazil that when the time came to show discipline, courage and honor under arms that blacks would prove not inferior to whites. And the history of the Massachusetts 54th is prima facie evidence for that position.

I should also note that the Massachusetts 54th was made up primarily of better educated and skilled freedman and escaped slaves unlike the black troops recruited from the plantations in the Deep South in the 1st and 2nd South Carolina black regiments. Thus, one might have suspected that they would not be up to the rigors of Southern duty. Not so. After reading a number of books on the trials and tribulations of various Union regiments, including the famous Irish Brigade, the story of the 54th compares very favorably with those units.

However, so as not to get carried away with the `liberalism' of the Union political and military commands in granting permission for black recruitment it is necessary to point out some of the retrograde racial attitudes of the time. It took a major propaganda thrust by Frederick Douglass and other revolutionary abolitionists to get Lincoln to even consider arming blacks for their own emancipation. Only after several severe military reversals was permission granted to recruit black troops, although some maverick generals were already using them, particularly General Hunter. As mentioned above there were qualms about the ability of blacks to fight in disciplined units. Moreover, until 1864 black troops were paid less than their white counterparts. The Massachusetts 54th is also rightly famous for refusing pay until that disparity was corrected.

One should also not forget that the North in its own way was as deeply racist as the South (think of the treacherous role of the Southern-sympathying Northern Copperheads and the Irish-led anti-black Draft Riots in New York City, for examples). This reflected itself in the racial attitudes of some commanding officers and enlisted men and well as the general paternalism of even the best white commanding officers, including Colonel Higginson of the 2nd South Carolina. It was further reflected in the disproportionately few blacks that became officers in the Civil War, despite the crying need for officers in those black regiments and elsewhere. Yet, all of these negatives notwithstanding, every modern black liberation fighter takes his or her hat off to the gallant 54th, arms in hand, and its important role in the struggle for black liberation

This book serves as an important source of information regarding the birth of the 54th Massachusetts,black soldiers, politics, Shaw's personal and Civil War life. It is well written and places the reader at the start of northeastern politics and Shaw's upbringing. Shaw leads a pampered life of a wealthy family. He travels the world yet comes back to fight for the Union in the Civil War. His family is influencial in his military promotions and sets his promotion to Colonel with Governer Andrew's backing. Shaw becomes Colonel of the 54th and dares to take a risk at leading the first ever black regiment. His daring tale of being an outcast and a potential political target for his role in getting the 54th ready for battle is courageous and inspiring. The book covers the plights of the 54th in learning drill, military life and battle in chronological fashion. Much is covered in this short yet informative book on Shaw and the 54th. The definate "must read" for anyone looking to get an understanding of how the 54th and Colonel Shaw came together and fought!

Although Robert Gould Shaw was only 25 years old when he died, leading the 54th Massachusetts Infantry in a futile assault on Fort Wagner, he has become an object of interest in the past dozen years, especially since the release of the movie "Glory," which gave a somewhat fictionalized account of the 54th. This book by Russell Duncan is a good introduction to the life of Shaw, and gives an extensive bibliography for those who want to engage in further reading and research.

In this book (which is an expanded version of the introduction to Shaw's collected letters that Duncan edited and published in the book "Blue Eyed Child of Fortune") Duncan gives a view of a life that one can truly say was tragically cut short by war. Robert Gould Shaw spent much of his short life trying to find his way and place in the world, something that many of us can identify with immediately. He had difficulty in accepting authority; he could not decide upon a career; he was the only son of well-known abolitionist parents, yet he had grave reservations about the abilities of black people. A "rebel" by nature, he could be rigid and unbending with others. He was dominated by his mother, only truly breaking away from her by marrying a lovely young woman against his mother's wishes. Married to a woman he apparently adored, he also engaged in a flirtation with a schoolmistress in South Carolina after accepting the command of the 54th. Shaw had found his calling in the military: he was brave, and able to inspire confidence within his men, yet he promised his future wife that he would not persue the military as a career once the war was over.

This book is a good introducation to the brief life of Robert Gould Shaw. It contains some photographs of the Shaw family and Annie Haggarety, Shaw's wife. It also dispells some of the myths about the 54th that were present in the movie "Glory," chief among them the myth that the 54th was made up primarily of unlettered escaped slaves. From reading Duncan's book it appears many were literate freedmen of long standing. Also, the sergeant-major of the 54th was the son of Frederick Douglass, not the middle aged recruit as played by Morgan Freedman in the movie. I would recommend this book for anyone who is interested in the life of Robert Gould Shaw, or the history of the 54th, as a jumping off point for further reading.

Where Death And Glory Meet: Colonel Robert Gould Shaw And The 54th Massachusetts Infantry is the fascinating military biography of Civil War Colonel Robert Shaw who commanded an infantry unit composed of Negro soldiers, the North's first Black combat regiment. Russell Duncan presents a poignant portrait of an average young soldier struggling against his mother's indomitable will and thrust unexpectedly into the national limelight. Drawing upon Shaw's letters home before and during the war, Where Death And Glory Meet tells the story of the rebellious son of wealthy Boston abolitionists who never fully reconciled his own racial prejudices, yet went on to lead his black regiment into fierce and bloody battlefield conflicts where they performed with heroic distinction and scotched forever the notion that black soldiers would not or could not fight successfully against the Confederate forces. Where Death And Glory Meet is a superb contribution to Civil War studies and will prove of deep interest to students of Black history.