Stone Books

Talk about food for thought, this book should be required reading for everyone. I plan to read it to my granddaughters when I finish it. I love how Indians tell a story that raises one's consciousness. How we have treated the land and one another has cost us too a high price. There is value in taking this wisdom to heart. It's not just a fairtale, it's truth well said.

"Mark of the Stone" is written in a modern context, but the style and presentation are reminiscent of Tribal storytellers, making the message of the story ageless. Like the stories told by elders to grandchildren, this story has a strong underlying message and it is told in a very entertaining way. I highly recommend this book for the young or old.

Rabiah Yazzie Seminole's "Mark of the Stone" really got me going. The writing style is terrific and really reminded me a lot of the "Harry Potter" books with it's detailed description and fantasy elements.

I think this is a great book for Indian kids and their parents. The book has a lot of great messages to impart -- things we ALL need to hear above the noise of the modern world.

Get it, read it and enjoy! I'm a fan!

Rabiah Seminole has written a wounderfully enlightening book with a message for everyone. It lets you use your imagination as you follow the journey of a young boy who learns about himself and the world that we live in, the good and the bad. Once you start reading this book it is so engrossing that you can't put it down, you want to see what is going to happen next as the journey continues. I highly recomend this book to all, young and old alike. I am looking forward to reading more books by this exciting author.

Rabiah Seminole has written a wounderfully enlightening book with a message for everyone. It lets you use your imagination as you follow the journey of a young boy who learns about himself and the world that we live in, the good and the bad. Once you start reading this book it is so engrossing that you can't put it down, you want to see what is going to happen next as the journey continues. I highly recomend this book to all, young and old alike.

My wife is in recovery from sex and love addiction. We wish that we would have found this book prior to reading any other literature on the subject. There many great books out there, but by far this is one of the best. If you are a woman suffering from the shame of sex addiction, sex and love addiction, or romance addiction, this is a must read. You owe it to yourself to read this book. I read the book to improve my insight and understanding of the addiction. It was eye opening.

Marnie shares her story of struggle and redemption in such a fantastic way. I couldn't put the book down. It felt like she was writing to me. I loved it and it has helped me tremendously.

"No Stones" is a comprehensive approach to recovery for female sex and love/romance addicts. In part one, Marnie defines the secret sin of sexual addiction, then explores messages about being female. She details the consequences and cycle of addiction as it presents in females and provides a diagnostic tool. In part two, Marnie explores the roots of sexual addiction: unhealthy families, abuse, abandonment, generational patterns, and the core beliefs and emotions of an addict. In part three, Marnie outlines the path to recovery and healing: surrender and sobriety, disclosure, community, accountability, boundaries, healing from trauma, and on-going recovery. There is a special chapter for the husband, family, and friends of a female addict. Marnie's writing is engaging and professional. Highly recommended.

The book, "No Stones" by Marnie Ferree is an excellent book. Very in-depth and compassionately written, I would highly recommend it to any woman who has any kind of struggle in the area of sexuality or relationships. Marnie has tackled a sensitive subject with great sensitivity and compassion. She is truly a pioneer and her work is breaking ground for others.
The book is easy to understand but not always easy to read. It has the potential to open up painful areas of one's life. I would consider this book a gift from God to humanity.
Sincerely,
C.H.

This book is does a great job of defining sexual addiction from a female experience...it is different than men! Marnie shares her personal journey as well as her professional expertise. It has transformed the lives of many female sex addicts that I know from my counseling practice.

Judy Stone is disarmingly engaging, a trait and quality that has endeared her to many of her fascinating subjects for attention in this thoroughly embracing and terrific journey of conversations and commentary with (incredibly!) 120 filmmakers, writers, and artists from every continent and culture. Reading the stories I felt an unusual intimacy, often forced or lacking in standard interview formats, with stilted questions or stock inquiries, which Stone adeptly avoids. She enables the person to reveal themselves without it seeming intrusive. Her remarkable, incisive curiosity and talent spans generations (from pre-WW2 to the present) and genres, revealing not only what we previously didn't know about the artist or subject, but also illustrating how a creative life is imperative. It is Stone's life that is the real revelation, however. As she writes about the playwright Jon Robin Baitz, he says "Ideas live. Ideas vibrate." So does this book! Get it to discover the astounding array of humanity inside its covers, get it to curl up with this national treasure, Judy Stone!
Not Quite a Memoir: Of Films, Books, the World

Judy Stone's Not Quite a Memoir is the printed equivalent of one of those late-night pub conversations in which the world's great thinkers get together and come up with viable solutions for all the world's problems. And right there in the middle is Stone's unflappable voice, asking the hard questions.

Judy Stone (the sister of I.F. Stone) has been writing these indispensable articles (now collected in an omnibus edition) of both American and international movies for the past three decades.

In between, she has conducted revealing and intelligent interviews (also in this book) with a startling array of directors, actors, and writers from every corner of the world, often traveling to do so. Stone's impressive body of work has actually been collected in two volumes, "Eye on the World" (1997) and this brand new book, "Not Quite a Memoir."

Stone modestly prefers to call herself a reviewer, not a critic, but if any film reviewer has a knowledge of the world as deep as hers and manages to show how films function in that world, I believe Judy Stone has earned the right to be called a critic.

Keep this book around, and you'll find yourself reading it each day, just because it's so much fun and remains so imformative about our world today.

For anyone who has enjoyed Judy Stone's perceptive articles over the years, this book is a feast: a look back at several decades of writing and filmmaking. The only problem is that it reminds you of all the books you wish you had read and the films you wish you had seen. But still, in a world where there is more culture than we can possibly take in, it's nice to have this kind of guidebook to the highlights.

"Not Quite a Memoir" flies around the world from the U.S's Gus Van Sant to Iran's Abbas Kiarostami, Israel's Amos Gitai,Spain's Carlos Saura, Chile's Isabel Allende, India's Satyajit Ray...At every landing, Stone creates a portrait of the artist as a force for social change. Intriguingly, the author backs up her portrait in words by capturing - with unassuming genius--astonishingly insightful photographs of her interview subjects...For medical reasons, Kiarostami never takes off those enigmatic sunglasses. Yet Stone's camera flash cleverly shines right through the artist's dark glasses to give us the first glimpse of eyes that revolutionized filmmaking with how they saw the world. Judy Stone's short interviews, like that camera flash, are just as clever and penetrating."
Ari Siletz, author "The Mullah with No Legs and other stories."

When Richard Bushman sent the final proofs of Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling to the publisher, he started an author's diary which he kept regularly for the following year, through publishing, reviews, book signings, lectures, and more. This slim book is that diary, and in just 130 pages it delivers the insights of several books. I think the book will be interesting to biographers who will see kindred struggles, to writers seeking to reach diverse audiences, and to Mormons who seek orthodoxy without sacrificing intellect. (It will be most interesting, however, if you have read Rough Stone Rolling.)

In the pages of this diary, we read Bushman's candid reactions to reviews: "I realize I don't like to read any kind of review, even the favorable ones. I am annoyed by what the reviewers choose to emphasize in Joseph's life. Most of them pick up a few fragments and present them as if they were the key elements" (31-32). He also admits to monitoring other indicators of reception: "I look up my Amazon rank a couple of times a day. I tell myself I am curious about how the system works, but it is mostly vanity I know" (55). The play-by-play response to reviews illustrate the frustration of an author in seeking for his work to be understood and seeing reviewers read only part of the book or completely miss the point.

Bushman also provides some of his own doctrinal exposition. He is a practicing Mormon (a patriarch and a temple sealer, both respected positions in the Church) with - as he puts it - an orthodox testimony. "A man...said, I bet your testimony is different from that of people in this room. I said it was, but that I believed in the gold plates" (108). He shares in this very personal book some of his views on our relationship to God (60-61), his view of a potential new public persona for the Church (105-106), and spiritual counsel on how to deal with doubts about Joseph Smith (110-111).

Bushman's principal dilemma in writing Rough Stone Rolling was trying to speak to both believing Mormons (many of whom have heard only praise for Joseph Smith throughout their lives) and curious non-Mormons (many of whom have never taken Smith seriously despite his accomplishments). As he reads reviews and gives talks, it becomes clear that he has lost some of the Mormons (one unnamed General Authority suggests his book will provide ammunition for anti-Mormons, others are supportive) and many of the non-Mormons (who see him as too sympathetic). He formulates an alternative approach he could have used to help non-Mormons along, and he questions (but ultimately defends) his decision to be explicit in his position as a practicing Mormon. Throughout, and especially in an essay he includes in the last few pages (123-127), he explores the question of how much of oneself to insert into a biography.

Finally, on a personal note, I enjoyed encountering books and people I have read. He talks about Greg Prince's recent (excellent) David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism and about having interactions with Laurel Thatcher Ulrich (whom I have had the pleasure of getting to know). He talks about interactions with Church leaders - Elder Holland, Elder Packer. These made the book feel a little more like family.

Fascinating, quick read, with parts to be enjoyed more than once. Highly recommended.

Great book. One would need to read Rough Stone Rolling prior, but put the frosting on the cake. Received from Amazon in great shape in good time.

I suspect this review is more personal than will be really helpful to Amazon readers. I write more to the the man than about the book.

Professor Bushman is a deep thinker. I am impressed by his dedication to his profession (and why shouldn't he be dedicated), and to his faith.

I also appreciated his candid discussion of his foibles and vanities. I think I begin to see that great things are accomplished by those who continue to "show up" as much as by those with genius (though I think Professor Bushman has plenty of genius). I get a chuckle from thinking of him checking his Amazon ranking because I'm just sure that I would do exactly the same thing. Isn't it just too human of us to want to know where we are "ranked," how we stack up against others.

Perhaps the most compelling part of this book, though, is Brother Bushman's obvious efforts to be true to his convictions and spread the word in ways that are consistent with his academic AND spiritual views. I find him to be living up to the Mormon motto that "all things are spiritual to God."

Well done, Professor. You are a credit to your faith.

This brief memoir (140 pages including the index) is a book about a book--Bushman's Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling (Alfred A. Knopf, 2005)--and the reaction it generated from Mormons and non-Mormons of various sorts during the author's yearlong promotional tour. On the Road will obviously be of greatest interest to those acquainted with Bushman or who at least have read Rough Stone Rolling; but the volume may also appeal to those curious about contemporary non-fiction book publishing or who are interested in how contemporary Mormon intellectuals try to sort out the more awkward aspects of their faith.

Bushman confesses to having a "sensitive temperament," and he is sometimes so revealing that the reader feels on the edge of voyeurism. For instance, Bushman expresses his frustration at forgetting his cell phone charger, he regularly checks the Amazon.com rankings of his book, and he compares the quality of his own interviews with those of President George W. Bush: "He seemed unsure and forced in his answers....Sitting before a reporter who was going to be more critical, he faltered, and I do the same. I also thought it was partly because he is not entirely honest. He keeps thinking of the criticisms of his statements and is not certain he is answering satisfactorily. As I watched I was of course applying these observations to myself." (94) The volume is full of what one nineteenth-century after-dinner speaker called "carriage speeches"--the revised discourses he made to himself on the way home in his carriage.

Bushman includes curious speculation about the nature of ultimate reality (60-62), which concludes with his pronouncement that "Mormons are not the only source of light" and that "Christ radiates throughout the world, through many voices." Yet he is willing enough to play down such sentiments for the present when Mormonism is "under attack from evangelical Christians." Bushman also expresses discomfort at Joseph Smith's polyandry and yet, for unspecified reasons, he swallows Smith's angels and golden plates whole. In the end, Bushman admits that by writing Rough Stone Rolling for both Mormons and non-Mormons, he attracted educated believers but lost readers at "both ends of the spectrum"--conservative Mormons who wanted an unsullied prophet with supernatural gifts and non-Mormons who were confirmed in their previous belief that Smith was only a charlatan.

Richard Bushman has published a brief account of dealing with his book, "Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling." I have read several other accounts of author's process of writing and reacting (John Steinbeck most notably), but have not felt that I reached the heart and soul of a man as this book does with Richard Bushman. He leaves nothing out.

Most interesting are his attempts to deal with an anti-Mormon audience vs. conservative Mormons. His motivations are pure and having read "Rough Stone Rolling," I think he has pulled off a major accomplishment. He is a great and sincere man. He certainly is at the forefront of LDS historians and scholars.

Tom Stone has developed the most powerful model for understanding human egoic conditioning that I've ever found. The techniques contained in this book provide clear simple methods anyone can use to access our essential nature of pure awareness and thereby escape the "prison of the intellect."

I have worked with Tom and I now use these techniques with my clients on a routine basis and they really work! Very powerful stuff here.

Practicing these effective, easy to learn techniques continues to amaze and astound me. As a coach it is my greatest gift to provide both my clients and myself such a powerful means to address all the primal, pre-verbal conditioning that derails our best and highest intentions. Such elegant simplicity, such profound and lasting results.

Tom provides links in the book which allow the reader to listen to and experience different techniques online.

This book is a direct and powerful way to truly apply - and experience - all the glorious magnificence and stillness of Now - as taught by sages, masters and yogis of the past - and current teachers/paths such as Eckhart Tolle, Zen, Buddhism, ACIM, etc.

Rather than "talk" about enlightenment - it provides simple, direct ways to cultivate it - make it real - in one's life. In practicing these techniques, I've felt layers of my ego self fall away as I become Present to my True self.

The material in this book is powerful and life-changing- a must-read for anyone "on the path".

Of all the books I've read about Pure Awareness or Pure Consciousness in the past decades, this is the first one that does not just talk about it, but gives some really effective and easy techniques for actually experiencing it. According to most of what I've read there are two things that prevent us from living in Pure Awareness all the time, the left over emotional baggage from incomplete emotional experiences from the past and being identified with inner and outer things other that who or what we truly are in our essential nature. The CORE Technique and the GAP technique directly address these two biggies. They have worked wonders for me personally and they are creating wonderful results with my clients. And Mr Stone has somehow managed to get it all into one small book. When I felt I needed some support, there were the recorded links and when I called his company, there were many more supporting resources available. This little book is going to help a lot of people!

Tom Stone has been discovering, developing, and refining these techniques of self-awareness and personal growth for many years. For the past four+ years I've enjoyed studying and learning them from Tom directly. Now, for just a few bucks, everyone has access to these literally life changing processes. A unique bonus for readers is that Tom has included in the book links to online files where he talks the reader through each of the techniques. You get to not only read and understand the information, but actually experience them personally. As a beneficiary of the processes I recommend this book to everyone who wants to see their life with clarity and enjoy it more fully. And as a long-time Coach I recommend this book for every practicing Coach. You will get insights about yourself and your clients which will greatly improve your coaching effectiveness.

I first stumbled upon Rafi's Song at a publishing conference several years ago... it was in the "making." Knowing a bit about the variety of characters, I dove in with the completed book. Fred Perrin is a gifted writer. What kid wouldn't love 3 rats,a `preying' mantis and a little girl off to save the world? Why not? Their adventures are delightful and sure to tap into the curiosity factor that growing kids have. Kudos to the publisher for presenting it in a wonderful cover.

Judith Briles, author
The Confidence Factor

Frederic M. Perrin's "Rafi's Song and the Stones of Erebus" is an epic story of love and friendship that should be part of any young reader's collection. The story concerns Rafi, a young girl from Drumheller, Canada and her quest to save the planet from the malign forces of evil. If that sounds like well-worn territory the similarity stops here. Channeling equal parts Homer, Tolkein, and Aesop, Perrin shows great respect for his young readers' intelligence as he weaves complex and sometimes surprisingly obscure mythological themes and modern political realities into a consummate hero's journey that would leave Joseph Campbell salivating to analyze. With a menagerie of animal friends at her side (no saccharine ponies or their ilk here- try three rats and a preying mantis with a prodigious intellect!), Rafi must combat intolerance, bitterness, and greed with her indomitable will and peerless skills in diplomacy. Perrin encourages his young readers to pursue big dreams through the actions of his characters, dreams of law school or ambassadorship without any preaching or lectures. Perhaps the most important thing that Perrin emphasizes is courteousness, not only in the sense of manners but courteousness to all living things on the planet whether they are of other cultures or other species. I can imagine few other books that espouse these same ideals and fewer still through contemporary terms that will leave young readers spellbound. "Rafi's Song" is a delight.

I was thoroughly intrigued and caught up in the world that Mr. Perrin created. This is more than a children's book. It deals with life issues and struggles that impact all of us in one way or another. It is fast moving, yet he develops that characters very deeply and I loved the undertone of very sophisticated humor.

As a parent and former English teacher, I would highly recommend this book for kids of all ages. Well done, Mr. Perrin!

This was a great book. I really enjoyed reading it. My favorite character was Pud. He was so funny and Rafi is so sweet. F.M.Perrin is a fabulous author and I am really hoping for a sequel. Anyone between the ages of 8 and older should read this book. It is a great read!

-Cici Cush

Influenced by some of the great children novelists before him, this book is destined to be considered a great book for a long time. The 3 brothers and Zigh are characters you won't soon forget. Plus the interaction between them will leave you in stitches. The adventure storyline is great for kid's, allowing them to get excited about every step along the way.

A delight.... I read this in 2 days. I love this fantasy genre, and this was right on target. the fact that the Neanderthals were the "good guys" and the Cro Magnan, "not" made it a little unexpected. A good read for all ages.

Another great read by P. L. Parker. Adventure combined with romance certainly seems to be this author's forte. I look forward to the next book.

"Riley's Journey" by P. L. Parker is an absolutely wonderful read, and I might lose my guy card for saying so. Riley journeys back in time to the Ice Age, finds Nathan and begins a series of adventures that kept me on the edge of my seat for most of the story. It is exciting, funny, heartwarming and, at times, intense. Ms. Parker's ability to create in the written text a mental image that is so vivid, you feel like you are experiencing it with the characters. I give this book my highest rating.

I just finished reading this book and, wow, did I love it. The story was intriguing and kept me glued to my seat. I hated to reach the final pages! The author has a wonderful storytelling style and I thoroughly enjoyed how she portrayed the characters' thoughts and actions. I also loved how the plot took its own twists and turns, ones that were definitely not predictable. This is an entertaining book with a great love story and I highly recommend it. I can't wait to read her first book, Fiona.

What if you could travel back 40,000 years ago to when saber toothed tigers and Mastodons roamed the earth? This is exactly the world that Nathan has been surviving in for five lonely years with only his dog, Demon, for companionship. Dr. Bethany Collins, the mastermind behind the experiment that sent Nathan catapulting back in time, is determined that Nathan will not remain alone; so determined that she is willing to send the unsuspecting Riley Ames back in time under the guise of a fake research experiment. Riley's arrival to an age when Cro-Magnon and Neanderthal men walked the earth is only the beginning of RILEY' S JOURNEY....

I have never read a time travel in which the setting was so far back in time, and so it was with great excitement that I started RILEY'S JOURNEY. P.L. Parker did not disappoint! Her vivid images of a time long past made the pages come alive with the excitement, the thrill, and yes, the danger of modern man (and woman!) trying to survive in such a perilous time. More than once P.L. Parker had me on the edge of my seat, anxiously awaiting to see how further events would unfold. Would Riley and Nathan survive each new hazard? And just as importantly, would Demon survive?

The harsh beauty of the past as seen through the eyes of Riley and Nathan is only part of the joy of RILEY'S JOURNEY, however. P.L. Parker throws in some interesting twists that made this romance a truly heart warming tale. The love between Riley and Nathan has time to develop and blossom into a strong, unbreakable bond that is both sexy and uplifting. RILEY'S JOURNEY is truly a tale about love growing in any environment!

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

I am a cousin 4th removed from Janet. She came from Cape Town and I from Johanneburg South Africa. We barely knew each other at the time. However, on the rare occasions that I vacationed in Cape Town I saw her briefly and was told that she was very bright, much to the chagrin of her Aunt whose daughter was regarded as the buxom blonde bombshell, with zero brainpower. When reading Janet's story I was most impressed by her wonderful descriptive powers, her accuracy and her sharp retentive memory. I can highly recommend reading this snippet of her life.

You just know when you've latched onto a memoir that's bigger than life and transcends all others. That's because this comes through not just for its astonishing content, but because the style reflects oh, so much knowledge, wisdom and poetry. Hollywood, eat your heart out. This is the real deal.

Amazing, poignant, sadly believable but most of all ...real.
I can't wait to get my hands on the finished work.

Sometimes you can find the same levels of magic in autobiographical works as you can in fiction, but empowered by reality in ways that make-believe can't achieve. River of Stones is a wonderful slice of a rich, full life, and if it's any indicator of things to come, the beginning of a truly amazing book.

This is a wonderful beginning to what looks like a rich and intriguing memoir. I note that at least one other reader didn't understand it was the first chapter of a book - but thougt it would make a good one. I, for one, will be waiting eagerly for forthcoming chapters.

EK

When I first saw this book I was amazed that there could be so much information on the subject of rubies & sapphires. This is way beyond Ph D Thesis. If the author has not been awarded a Ph D (H.C.) for this huge book it would be a crime. Amazing creation (with a wise-guy attitude that makes it twice as good). Wow!!!

Ruby & Sapphire by Richard W. Hughes is quite expensive.

If you don't value what you'll get.

As a professional who has been for quite some time now in the gem business (>25 years now. Wow, time goes by...) and who has seen quite some books about ruby and sapphire I would rate "Ruby and Sapphire" the best of its kind.

Written by a ruby/sapphire addict full of high class photo footage and excellent text, you'll love what you get.

Great for professionals and also great for owners. lovers, potential buyers of those little red and blue wonders of nature.

BTW: this book costs a tiny fraction of a single heat treated, coated, crack filled ruby/sapphire. I won't offer my copy for sale not even for the double price I paid for. So you'll have to rip my copy out of my dead, cold hands.

Enjoy!

Wow. What a sparkling mix of erudition and irreverence. Everything you might even begin to wonder about ruby and sapphire is here, in detail, packed with fact, lusciously illustrated, spiced with attitude and wickedly opinionated in the manner that only the truly expert can properly carry off. What's even better, the man can write! Consequently, the knottiest technical subjects are lucidly laid out, while the history, the legends, the myths and the gossip are offered up with all their zest and spice intact. We're talking "encyclopedic," here - but encyclopedic in the 18th Century French Enlightenment sense, before the Germans came along and dried us all up with their only-the-facts-ma'am pedantry. Hughes is omniverously curious about his beloved gems and unashamedly passionate in his devotion to them. Thus, nothing is beyond the scope of his interest or scholarship, from the hardest of hard science to the most romantic of Arabian Nights-type legends. And in the unlikely event that there might be something he's left out, [Hughes] supplies bibliographies of altogether stupefying dimensions, and in several languages to boot. Diderot would approve. There are all sorts of ways to read this book, each of them satisfying. You can of course dutifully do what the White King told Alice: begin at the beginning, continue until you get to the end, then stop. This means commencing with the chapter on History, working your way through the dense scientific chapters (e.g., Chemistry & Crystallography, Inclusions, Treatments, Geology, etc.), and concluding with Hughes' world tour of every known source of ruby and sapphire on the planet, its history, detailed characteristics of its gems, and oh yes, a huge bibliography specific to each one. That is what I did and it is undeniably satisfying. But it is by no means the only available way to enjoy this Gargantuan feast. You could also just cruise your way through the dozens of intriguing, sometimes quirky and often gleefully opinionated sidebars, and you will have a splendid time at that, too. Or you could just page through, looking at the pictures, because the illustrations alone are an education. In addition to everything else, this book is a wonderful history lesson and so, in addition to the dozens of luscious photos of glorious gems you would expect, there are scores of fascinating pictures and photos of long-lost mines, legendary personalities, gem cutters past and present, and my absolute favorite, a be-turbaned, leather-skinned old Burmese gal with a twenty megawatt smile, chomping on a mammoth cigar. Then, again, if you absolutely do not wish to indulge your sense of fun, curiosity and wonder, you can simply station the book on your essential reference shelf and refer to it only when you need a detailed rundown on, say, typical inclusions in rubies of the Thai/Cambodian border. Many of the sidebars are in the form of detailed tables summarizing the facts in the text (example: `Fluorescent Reactions of Untreated Corundums') so if you're in a hurry, you can use the book as a technical handbook without searching through the text for the information you want. I'd say that was rather like eating all the spinach at the buffet and passing up the chocolate eclairs, but there's no accounting for taste. Particularly when you open the book more of less expecting a dry-as-dust, edited-to-death textbook, encountering Hughes' damn-the-torpedoes attitude is gorgeously refreshing. Incidentally, be ready for Hughes' ardent, peppery opinions on the issue of treated vs. untreated gems. He has no objection to heat treating otherwise dim or badly included gems to bring out their potential beauties, but he absolutely and positively insists that such gems are not - repeat not! - to be considered the equal of their natural, untreated sisters. Whether you agree or not, it's hard to resist the verve with which Hughes states his conviction. Indeed, for this reviewer, the book's unapologetic opinionatedness was one of its major delights. So whether you need a complete reference guide, a stroll through history with a lively, expert guide, a survey of sources and markets, or a guide to everything that would ever seem to have been written about either of these two lovely gems, this is your book.

Brenda Forman, GIA Alumni Association, Washington, DC Chapter

EXCELLENT BOOK (both for interest and research)-- Reading this book by Richard Hughes, you can feel the decades that the author spent both in the field at mine sites and in the lab (Hughes was head of AIGS in Bangkok) researching this monograph. Some of the chapters bring the gem business to life, especially the chapter on Burma. The photos are accurate, dramatic or beautiful and go well with the written text. The maps are good, some being quite rare. Perhaps the greatest research went into the extensive bibliography (over 2500 entries!). As president of Pala international, an import-export firm dealing in colored stones for over 30 years, I would rate this book as one of the very best in the gemological field!

This is the most comprensive book ever writtten on rubies and sapphires. It will answer any question you might have about sources, treatments, history, great specimens, cuts, and colors. Seldom can one say that the definitive book has been written on any subject. This one is.

Deborah Smith's books are addicting- you can't put them down! I have read several of her books, and the last two being Blue Willow & Silk and Stone. I loved them all, stayed up late reading these- I can't get enough of her characters. Silk and Stone like many of her novels gives us wonderful descriptions of the mountains, the small southern towns, you feel like you are there. Her characters are fantastic, and I love how she brings them through family histories, and childhood freindships to romance and soulmates. All involving many tragedies and triumphs that keep your heart pounding! Her perfect timing with poems and verses had me tearing up- especially the verse from the bible " her price is far above rubies". To me that sums up the beautiful love in this story. I will keep reading anything she writes! Get the book!!

This is the second book of Ms. Smith's I've read. I loved the first, Blue Willow, and this one is even better. Ms. Smith not only makes you believe in soul mates and love too strong to die, she is an incredible writer. If you enjoy a good love story, I promise you'll love this one.

It has been a long time since I read a love story that so wrapped me up -- and also one I will recommend to my 16 year old daughter and to my 60 year old mother. Wonderful character development; excellent plot lines; nice historical touches; good dialog and just on and on . . .! Give it a try -- I just can't believe you will be disappointed. This was my first Deborah Smith book -- it won't be my last.

I have enjoyed every book by Deborah Smith. Her characters are never flat, never dull, always passionate. But I have found that in this book especially. Jake and Samantha are an amazing couple, one I would love to see in every romance. They go up against harsh realities that would strain any normal relationship, but nothing truly separates them. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a powerful romance.

This is one of the very best books I've ever read. Deborah Smith is my 2nd favorite author (1st is Nora Roberts). Deborah is a master of the human spirit and personality. And her heros are bigger than life. This book is not only a wonderful story, but is full of suspense and surprises. Couldn't put it down. If I could rate it a 10, I would!