Spencer Books

This isn't really my kind of book, but it's nicely crafted and attractive to flip through. I bought copies for my grandparents for Christmas.

I thoroughly enjoyed the many comments by people great and small on their remembrances of November 22, 1963. This well-written narrative of the last days of JFK also provided some unusual comments and insights from friends of JFK from Robert McNamara to Jerry Lewis that I had not read before, as well as the the feelings of shock and despair that prevailed with ordinary people on hearing the horrific news of the assasination. This book has certainly supplemented my information on this well documented tragedy.

The collaborative effort of Chuck Fries, Irv Wilson, and Spencer Green, "We'll Never Be Young Again": Remembering The Last Days of John F. Kennedy combines history, narratives, and personal testimonies of the final days of America's 35th President. Over 125 letters written by notable individuals such as Senator John Kerry, Jerry Lewis, Dominick Dunne, Liz Smith and more offer a compelling, collective human testimony to the loss of a charismatic, strong-willed and truly unforgettable and martyred "Camelot" era political leader. "We'll Never Be Young Again" is a superb and highly commended contribution to the growing library books on and about JFK.

I was moved and emotionally caught up in the great memories of JFK and Camelot from the thoughts and stories of the many great people interviewed here. The selections here are terrific, and rather than the oft-told, dry history of our greatest president, the personal reflections that are recounted in the excellent book reflect who what and where we were as a country then, what we lost, and what we can aspire to be in the future. An amazing book.

Growing up I remember two prominent portraits on the wall of my home. Jesus and JFK. I almost didn't read this book. I felt I already knew everything there was to know about that fateful day and I didn't want to remember the painful details. But I did and I don't regret a minute of it. This book is filled with vivid recollections from a cross-section of people that moved me from tears to laughter with a flip of a page. I found the narrative fresh and the timeline helpful. I know what I'm buying my loved ones for Christmas -- this book!

Chief advantage of author's approach lies in bringing together many dispersed areas that are relevant in understanding individual and social behavior of archaeological populations with critical and introspective evaluation of various up-to-date analythical methods as well as more classical morphology-orientated approaches in physical anthropology.Although,regrettably,there is no attempt to provide sociobiological explanation of cultural phenomena(a very controversial subject) ,neverethless,author's erudite presentation of long-neglected potentials of skeletal material in archaeological context brings so much needed anthropocentric perspective in exgesis of behavioral content behind'bones and artefacts'. ,Bioarchaeology..'with it's comprehensive and concise-styled presentation of everything essential in this branch of science (excavation,taphonomy,wear and striation analysis,dental anthropology,paleonutrition,behaviour-induced changes in osseus tissue,biodistance,paleopathology,dating techniques and many other interesting topics) plus most complete and relevant bibliography is textbook from which both professionals and students worldwide will benefit.

A quite outstanding clarity in usage of concepts that used to be property of paleoanthropology is achivied here that will certainly provide archaeologists with full account on value of skeletal samples in forensic analysis that includes not only well known paleopathological procedures,but a very vividly exposed summarisation of pecularities that are to be found within skeletal samples of non-pathological character,thus providing full and fruithfull synthesis between social and biological sciencies.Back-up with solid refference and carefull,non-spectacular exposure of results that are achievable conclusive to book's publishing,caries insight into archaeological methodology a large step further.

Three stars is a bit un-generous and, for the right purpose, this book deserves more. I was looking for an intelligent, not dumbed-down synthesis. Certainly the book is intelligent, well researched, apparently encyclopedic. It is an excellent reference. What it is NOT (at least for me) is a book to read through. This is why: (1) I found the retention of the notes in the middle of the text very distracting. Although I am sure you can get used to it, it really breaks up the continuity between sentences. The fact that the book IS so very well noted aggravates the problem of reading through the notes in the text. (2) A great deal of knowledge about skeletal anatomy is assumed. Although I am reasonably well-read, I do not know the names of all of the the skeletal parts and the potential medical abnormalities, which made parts of the book read like a foreign language. A glossary would have been helpful to me. (3) The information felt very "episodic" to me -- not much more than a paragraph on any topic. This made it hard to stay engaged, because each topic was over just as I was becoming interested.

None of the foregoing should matter if what you are looking for is a reference to go to - like an encyclopedia - for direction. My issues were with the disconnect between what I wanted (an intelligent reading experience) and what I now think is the book's purpose.

What make this book unique is its dealing with various interaction between humans and their ecological milleau in a non-procedural fashion,but rather in an affirmative one.Examples from which author derives his conclusions are drawn mostly from North American stone age,but some sites from Euroasian as well as African prehistory are also discussed.Even a reader with elementary knowledge of human biology can comprehend this book,by its virtue of presenting logic of deduction about biological realities,quite unlike mechanical and mathematic idealisations of old physycal anthropology.Highly recomended title not only for anthropologists and archaeologists but also for everybody dealing with historical and paleosociological issues.

"I always wanted to put together a book to be called 'Country Churchyards,' composed of the pictures I took in cemeteries."

So explains Eudora Welty to Hunter cole in 1999, only a couple years before her death. So it seems strangely appropriate that one of this great author's last works was a photographic record of various churches, graveyards and tombstones that she saw over her long lifetime. And "Country Churchyards" only proves Welty to be as brilliant and insightful a photographer as she was a writer.

Elizabeth Spencer spins out an essay about Welty and her attraction to churchyards, the Souther attitude to graves, as well as the transience of these monuments. It's a lovely piece of prose, especially since Spencer has quite a way with words (".... a quiet spot surrounded by an iron fence, entered by an ornamental wrought-iron gate, dripping grey with Spanish moss, m may be knowing in its silence that it is not forgotten any more than it forgot...").

But the stars of this book are indisputably Welty's photographs. The first few are striking but not terribly accomplished pictures of churches, as well as a lone statue of a tiara-wearing angel with one arm held up. It looks like it's waving.

But the pictures become more striking and more polished as the book goes on, and Welty's focus shifts to the more unusual churchyards -- ornate monuments, mossy stones surrounded by willows, striking churches veiled by fences and forests, statues of women weeping and drowsing, worried-looking saints, a life-sized Jesus carrying a cross, bas-reliefs of fallen trees, sleeping babies, and wrought-iron gates.

Not to mention the angels -- lots and lots of them, and only a couple are drippy child-cherubs. More often they are beautiful strong androgynes who are pointing at the horizon and watching over the graves. And the beauty of the graveyards themselves are brought to light occasionally, such as the misty sunlit pictures of vast leafy trees, flowers and tangled grasses, with a few tombstones among them.

Everybody loves a beautiful old graveyard, and I used to live near one of the loveliest ones you can imagine, crammed between a library and a busy side-street. Despite this, the exquisite old stones and elaborate Catholic statuary gave the whole area a feeling of peace.

So it's unsurprising that Eudora Welty, who spent a lifetime sketching eloquent, bittersweet, warm stories and novels about the South she grew up in, is able to convey all that beauty and history to her readers. And her photography is no less effective than her writing -- once she overcame the initial amateurish problems, Welty was able to infuse a lot of feeling into what she photographed.

The photos are all black-and-white, and most of them have a misty sunlit feeling. And Welty successfully gives many of her photographs a wistful, poignant feeling -- especially when she focuses on the little sleeping stone babies, or a stone dog waiting patiently on its master's grave. Then again, there are graves where you wonder what the designers were thinking -- for example, what is with all the SHEEP? Were some of these people unusually attached to their woolly bovines?

Additionally, the photos are also taken from a variety of angles, which is especially important when photographing the gorgeous old churches, or special shots like the angel watching the graveyard (who is photographed from behind). Accasionally you get the feeling that somebody has wandered into the photo -- such as one man who appears on horseback near a church, and seems surprised to see Welty's camera.

"Country Churchyards" is exactly what it sounds like, but in Eudora Welty's hands it became a sweet, melancholy chronicle of where the dead lie. A sweet little photographic record.

Did I say I love this book enough? Eudora Welty, the great Mississippi writer took these photographs many years ago. They cover churches and cemeteries around the Jackson area. Some of these places I know and have in my own collection of photos. Haunting places. There is much to be said of Welty's work with the camera. She has a great eye for detail, for light, and for mood. She has captured a period that is long gone. She loves angels. There are few commentaries because this is a book, not about words, but about churches, tombstones, and their lasting message. A great addition to both collectors of tombstone art and Eudora Welty's work. A classic. Buy it while you can. It will be a collectible one day.

I obviously am coming late to this book. I've been a fan of Miss Welty's writing since growing up in the sixties. I actually wrote her a fan letter and got a reply and like a stupid child, didn't keep it.

I also own Miss Welty's other photo books. As a photo bug of forty years, I enjoyed her other work during the Depression, though it certainly was not special in itself. It is worth more as a historical record.

Upon buying this book I was surprised that it made it to publication. I have shot hundreds of the same type of photos traveling through small towns myself. These photos remain as did her earlier photographic work--snapshots of a time and a place. There's nothing wrong with snapshots, but I them for what they are: a historical record. Others have done much better work on cemeteries and gravestones.

I'm confident that, without Miss Welty's name, this book would never have reached publication.

Those who cherish Eudora Welty's earlier collection of photographs (_One Time, One Place_) need no urging from me to sample this new jewel box of images from a Mississippi past. Like the earlier collection, these black-and-white photographs document the rural South of the 1930's and 1940's when Welty worked as a photographer for the WPA. As its title suggests, this book offers a tighter focus: on the burying-places of the rich and poor, the black and the white. Here be angels of all sorts, urns and chapels, sheep and dogs, children who seem but to sleep in masks of marble. Those who know Welty's keen gift for description will see how her eye for detail, setting and atmosphere was trained up in her early photographic work. Each image seems surrounded by the rich and generous spirit through which Welty sees the world and those who toil in it.

The photographs are preceded by an account of a conversation with Miss Welty (as we Southern men and women of letters have learned to always refer to her) and interspersed with excerpts from the novels. Also a joy is the introduction by fellow Mississipian Elizabeth Spencer, who places these images in the landscape of Welty's fiction, as expressions of "Eudora Welty's vision of death as a part of life." Spencer continues, "It must find its ceremony within family and community, and its symbols, beautifully displayed here, arise out of the beliefs and feelings of shared love."

To spend time with this book is to walk among the mossy trees, rest among the cool white monuments, and feel the pull of that greater community which surrounds us. It gives further evidence why Miss Welty is one of our great national treasures. But I leave the last word to her, in this excerpt from _The Optimist's Daughter_: "The top of the hill ahead was crowded with winged angels and life-sized effigies of bygone citizens in old-fashioned dress, standing as if by count among the columns and shafts and conifers like a familiar set of passengers collected on deck of a ship, on which they all knew each other -- bona-fide members of a small local excursion, embarked on a voyage that is always returning in dreams."

Anybody who knows what Tantra is essentially about or teaches will know that this book is not about practising Tantra but enjoying sex in tantric positions.

If you are new to Tantra, you will be misled by this book. But if you aim is just to try out something new and enjoy sex, this book is okay.

I have just broken into the world of Tantra and this book was very helpful to further introducing me to it, It has allowed my wife and I to break into a world that we have always known was there yet have been unable to access.

You'll be blown away, and your ideas of sexuality and tantra will be ripped open by the sheer force of love.

Just wait, and read.

Kenneth Stubbs has taken the concept of Sacred Sexuality and given it an erotic and poetic presentation. As a teacher of Sacred Sexuality, I highly recommend this book to all my students who truly want to recapture the sacredness of sexual energy in their lifes. Tantra is a philosphy that recognizes sexual energy as life force.

EveLynn, Sacred Haven Atlanta

Faerie Tales is a volume of twelve short stories "about the folk of Faerie as they mix in mortal affairs". I love short stories, and am continually drawn to collections like this. It's hard to find a collection where all the stories are of good quality - this is one of them. An excellent read, with authors putting thier own spin on the old tales.

FAERIE TALES contains twelve delightful stories from a virtual fantasist who's who. Each contribution entertains the audience with its enjoyable link between humanity and faerie lands that make the latter seem genuine. Many of the stories actually provide deep messages, which normally are surprising for shorts yet with authors like De Lint, Rusch, Hoyt, Huff, and Spencer, etc. it is to be expected. The other contributors are also top rate (Waggoner, Helfers, Fiscus, Lindskold, Stemple, Scarborough, and West) furbishing winners as Greenberg and Davis obviously got the top guns to provide a tale. Some inputs are amusing while others contain serious tones, but all are fun. Fans of fantasies will appreciate this strong compilation in which each contribution holds the bar of excellence at the highest levels. An aside to Mr. Greenberg the guru of anthologies: looking forward to seeing how you can top this treasure.

Harriet Klausner

Faeries, the Fair Folk, the Old Ones: no matter what name they take, Fairies have long fascinated us, holding our collective imagination in their small, yet inescapable grasp. In this anthology DAW presents 12 original tales, some funny, some sad, all about fairies. They include:

***Sweet Forget-Me-Not by Charles de Lint
*** The September People by Tim Waggoner
*** Judgment by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
*** Changeling by John Helfers
*** Yellow Tide Foam by Sarah A. Hoyt
*** He Said, Sidhe Said by Tanya Huff
*** A Very Special Relativity by Jim Fiscus
*** Witches'-Broom, Apple Soon by Jane Lindskold
*** Wyvern by Wen Spencer
*** A Piece of Flesh by Adam Stemple
*** The Filial Fiddler by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
*** The Stolen Child by Michelle West

Really, this book gets 3.5 stars in my eyes. It is not the best DAW anthology out there. Many of the stories use repetitive themes. One third of the stories deal with changelings and stolen children. There's so many other things the fairies are known for, why dwell on this one point? Also, Stolen Child and Witches'-Broom, Apple Soon were both clinkers by usually good writers. However, to balance this, a Piece of Flesh and Sweet Forget-Me-Not are both bloody brilliant, the type of haunting story that sticks in your brain long after you're done reading the book.

This is more of a mixed bag than the usual DAW excellence, but it's still well worth buying in my opinion.

FAERIE TALES does the near-impossible; it retells old, shopworn tales, giving them life and up-to-the-minute relevancy in the process.

Sometimes, the oldest plotlines are the best. That surely is the case here; the absolute, #1, best story here, bar none, is John Helfers' "Changeling." This uses one of the oldest plotlines anywhere (that of an Elf baby being exchanged for a human baby) to explore the problems of adoption in a brand new light. The Elfling never quite "fits," and when he finds out the truth of his birth and adoption, goes to look for his birth parents. And what he finds . . . well, let's just say that I was reasonably sure how it'd end, but Mr. Helfers did an excellent job in keeping me riveted to the page until the story was complete.

Five stars plus with the highest recommendation possible for "Changeling."

Two other stories were very good, and nearly up to Mr. Helfers' in quality. These were the stories by Charles de Lint and Tim Waggoner. Both of these stories were interesting, well thought out, and I enjoyed them very much. Five stars for each of them.

I didn't really care for Ms. Huff's story or Ms. West's story, but other folks might like them. I'd give those stories a three rating (so-so), with the remaining stories all three and a half to four ratings. Which is why the anthology gets an overall four-star rating.

And while I'd recommend the anthology itself anyway, I highly recommend Mr. Helfers' exceptional story, "Changeling." Read it. It's very good, probably one of the best short stories I've read all year. (And I've read a whole lot of good ones.)

Barb Caffrey

This little guide is the best choice for beginners and children. Book gives the reader an idea about what a fossil is, where and how they can be found, and some information about major fossils. All the pictures are hand drawn illustrations, so that they are not very detailed but still OK for kids and beginers. (I liked it when I was young!)

Small and compact, this pocket-sized book provides a good introduction to prehistoric life, how organisms fossilize, and how man then discovers, extracts and analyzes these fossils. The book is written both as an educational guide and a field guide; something that can be used in the classroom or out in the field when actually looking at or for fossils. The text is simple enough for highschoolers to understand, but contains a lot of information. Good addition to the libraries of those who like fossils, or just glossing over nice color illustrations of ancient organisms such as dinosaurs.

I own a fossil quarry and this book explains better about our fossils than the other books that the fossil stores carry around here. I recommend this book very much.

I can remember pouring over the pictures in this book,using my book light,long after the final lights out call from my parents. I traveled back in time, imagining dinosaur growls and prehistoric seashells. By day, I would wander the acreage on my Grandma's farm, scouring the weedy earth for the slightest hint of ancient rock or dinosaur footprint. I wanted my school-age children to enjoy the imaginative art of archeology and paleantology and immediately remembered my favorite book, Fossils: A Guide to Prehistoric Life. I was delighted to see that it was still in print with the same exciting drawings. I immediatley ordered my copy! I then decided to order a copy for my kids! This is a great book that will encourage your children to look beyond the video games and satellite channels and into the fascinating world of the ancient past.

Having a loved older brother who fought in the European theater of World War II, I've always been fascinated by that time and events. But I'd never known anything about the China-Burma-India theater. So "From Calcutta with Love" was a fascinating story about two very real people. The commitment to their marriage, each other, and their future family was rather inspiring. The times weren't as the romantic movies often portray, but often very difficult even if not in combat. I really enjoyed getting to know about the people, places, and things even before getting to the letters. That helped to make it all so real and honest. By the time I finished I felt like I really knew Richard and Reva. What wonderful parents they must have been!

Elaine Pinkerton's "From Calcutta with Love" offers a unique way to look at World War II. I enjoyed learning about the China-Burma-India theater of operations and getting to know about Richard and Reva Beard through their daily letters. Their devotion was the old-fashioned kind, their relationship one that could serve as a model for today. The book is a powerful reminder of the way WWII tested values, built character and deepened love affairs. "From Calcutta with Love" stayed with me long after I read the epilogue. I was entertained, touched, and inspired!

This collection beautifully captures both the magic of letters and the exotic, turbulent China-Burma-India theater of World War II. The devotion this couple, Richard and Reva Beard, have for each other will renew your faith in steadfast love. Their daughter Elaine Pinkerton has added her intriguing, informative historical essays, enriching the reader's imagination and understanding of this little-recognized part of WWII.
You'll find yourself marking letters to re-read later - for their moving sentiment or marvelous wit. Whether you read "From Calcutta with Love" for literary or historical reasons, you'll be amply satisfied.

I enjoyed this book so much! The totality of the letters is finally a story of love, patience, endurance, and the way we and two people in particular are able to live through a long absence and the fears of war. The book gave a strong sense of how very difficult it would be to be separated for TWO years when one is very much in love, and really how brave Richard and Reva both were to keep going, doing what was necessary to get through one day and then the next and then the next. These characters, the mother and father of the author, come through so well, not only through their endearments, but through the everydayness of their lives (when they can be everyday) and the specialness of their lives in times of stress, loneliness and disgust and fear. The author did a superb job of putting all this together. FCWL also includes several fairly long essays about the China-Burma-India theatre, which gives the reader a good grounding on this aspect of World War II. It was nice to have the author tell "the rest of the story" too--about how she and her brother were adopted by Richard and Reva and about their lives as a family.

Same book I had as a kid 50 years ago. It was one of my favorites. Now my grandson has a copy.

The "Golden Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians" was another of the books in the Golden Guide series, edited by Herbert S. Zim, that influenced my early interest in natural history. The high quality color pictures, cheap price and handy size made this a natural for any youngster interested in the natural world. Certainly reptiles and amphibians are fascinating to many (if not all) kids of any age. The illustrations are, like many of those from the series, pretty well burned into my brain because I would sit for an hour just perusing the book, while reading about such exotic creatures as hook-nosed snakes, snapping turtles, collared lizards or spade-footed toads. This book expanded my interest in reptiles, which had been initiated by the Ditmar books ("Reptiles of the World" and "Snakes of the World" - both now outdated, but to my young eyes just wonderful books). I was , however, actually more influenced in my choice of a profession by books on insects and spiders and went on to become an invertebrate zoologist. Even so, I will still always fondly remember this neat little book and the fascinating information on cold-blooded land vertebrates that I acquired through its use.

A great starter book for kids interested in herpetology.

This compact book is nicely done and the pictures and commentary an easy reference.

When I was a kid my uncle gave me a copy of this book and it opened up a world which still intrigues me...reptiles and amphibians. Even today I consult the book for info on some lizzard I don't recognize or to see if salamanders actually spend a lot of time out of water. In fact, I'm sharing it with my own nephew now--age 11--who's discovering this new world of life for himself. This book is well-presented and easy-to-use, as well as full of great illustrations that alone make it worth reading through. Profiles of each reptile and amphibian are thorough withough being overwhelmingly scientific. A timeless classic for young or old...one to share over the generations.

I bought this as a Christmas gift. My sister thought it had useful, practical information as well as very nice illustrations.

Though the information is on a novice or intermediate level, the pictures reflect the highest level of beautiful photography of some of the finest guppies I have seen.

I was not disappointed! Definitely a keeper!

High quality book, filled w/ thick glossy beautiful pictures as well as a lot of information on keeping and breeding guppies. Well worth your money in the end!

I found this book to be most helpful in learning about the how and what to do for the proper care of guppies. It explains things in easy to understand terms. I have found that I constantly refer back to this book when I have questions.

I loved this book! All three stories were great. THE HELLION was heart breaking, Rachel's father was so domineering and caused people 20 years of unhappiness. SEPARATE BEDS was the most interesting to me, I thought it took Clay a long time to figure out what is really important to make a good marriage, that similar life styles and backgrounds are not it. Catherine had to learn that she was a good person, how to show love and except the fact that she was loveable. I really liked the humor that was in HUMMINGBIRD, and what a man Jesse was! Abigail was so "up-tight", it was such fun to see Jesse make her loose her control. But in the end, it was Jesse that had to admit she had got to him too.

If you are a LaVyrle Spencer fan, you'll love these stories!

I haven't read this compilation of 3 books. But I have the book Hummingbird. It is 1 of my favorite books... one that I could never part with. I have already read it several times. I can't really comment on the other 2 books but for the Hummingbird book alone it is well worth it.

This book contains three wonderful novels by LaVyrle Spencer. The Hummingbird is one of the most well written books I have had the pleasure of reading. Abbie's character unfolded gradually and I felt myself really identifying with her. Jessie was such a devil, but I absolutely fell for him. The Hellion makes you think about lost love and what it would be like to rekindle the romance of yesteryear. It took me a while to warm to Rachel. Tommy Lee was pretty much a diamond in the rough. I really empathized with him. I liked Separate Beds, but it was my least favorite of the three. Catherine frustrated me throughout much of the story. She was just so darn stubborn! It kept me reading, though. All in all, a very enjoyable read. Each time I started one of the new books, I was reluctant to leave behind the characters from the previous story.