Stone Books

If you've been finding haiku and tanka either stuffy, obscure, or dreary and are wondering why so many people seem to like it, this book will set the matter straight. Contained within its pages are dozens of truly excellent poems that engage the reader with surprising, eloquent, original, and evocative images and sensations. Covering far more than the usual range of expression, they touch on everything from being interrogation by the police to motherhood. Usually 'women's literature' tends to focus on the author's narrow view of what women 'ought' to be; this book presents a broad range of women experiencing all manner of things with all sorts of attitudes.

Unfortunately, the book shares one fault with many others of its kind: The notes are insufficient. Yes, each poem should and does stand on its own, but not all of them make them make it across the cultural divide as well as others. For example, Nakamura's 'land-locked bride / tempted offshore -- / the open sea' can be read as the straightforward longing of a woman for a broader horizon, but if the reader also knows that Japanese women often commit suicide by wading into the sea and drowning, then it acquires an intensity that lifts it from the realm of the good to the excellent.

The other thing that disappointed me is that the Japanese originals were not included in the book. For those of us that can read a little Japanese, being able to decipher even a few of the poems in their original form is a great gift. Even those who can't can still look at the shape of the poem on the page and note patterns of sound and syllable that helps to convey some idea of the original.

Nonetheless, the poetry works and works well. It is a breathtakingly beautiful work, and compares favorably to that hoary old classic, Ueda's Modern Japanese Tanka. If you're wanting to introduce somebody to modern Japanese poetry, I'd give them this book over Ueda's book any day - male readers included.

"A Long Rainy Season" is a refreshing collection of contemporary haiku and tanka written by Japanese women. The poems within speak of loneliness, and breasts, politics and menstruation. It is inspiring to see the haiku eye expressed from women's points of view. There is nothing dry or dull in this volume, and the content is as varied as the women who wrote the poems. I would recommend this to anyone who loves these poetic forms, especially those who just can't see past Basho and his poetic brothers .

The beautiful unfolding of a tradition that simply has not existed in English until now. Here, we are given an anthology of haiku and tanka by contemporary women poets tackling modern topics - feminism, sexuality, politics - with an elegant aesthetic. Hopefully, this long, rainy, fertile season will
continue with much more from these talented translators of hidden treasures.

As returning travellers will confirm, throughout the Asia-Pacific a tsunami of social and techno-transformation is unceasingly at work, directing outmoded Western notions of how Asia ticks toward the millenial trash bin. Odd therefore, how infrequently arrive the necessary antidotes to such shopworn myths as the "Asian female as Suzie Wong," and "Mother Asia as great slattern of the world," or Asia as "the inscrutable Other," etc. How welcome then comes the panache and sheer breadth of discovery to be found in this exquisite brace of new women's poetry compilations from the Japanese. Whether in English or elsewhere, only occasionally do poetry collections of such excellence come along that find immediate place of honour among readers, other poets, translators and critics alike. "A Long Rainy Season" and "Other Side River" are such books. The first major anthologies of contemporary Japanese women's poetry to arrive in English translation, they compose a brickhouse-solid tribute to the depth and strength of Japan's women poets who--until now--have remained virtually unknown abroad. And how delicious these translations are! The deeper one reads, the more absorbing becomes the enculturation provided by their poetic concerns, which begin to grow with commensurate familiarity--feminism, identity, emergence and constriction, sexuality, child-rearing, aging, existence. Lowitz and her collaborators demonstrate an intuitive sensibility regarding what qualifies among Japanese women poets, and their selections and interpreting skills are convincing. For an awfully long time, what we've had available in English from Japan's women poets has been chiefly the rough-legged classical translations of Rexroth and his disciples. With these two new books, however, Lowitz, Aoyama and Tomioka expand the canon enormously, and it is not overestimating them to number "A Long Rainy Season" and "Other Side River" among the half dozen most significant collections of poetry to arrive internationally in the past few years. That they are presented in handsome, affordably priced editions from Stone Bridge Press, a relatively new press dedicated to translations from the Japanese, makes their happy arrival all the better. Producing volumes such as these cannot have been a light task and we are indebted to such cross-cultural work in service of the muse.

My 8 year old son was a reluctant reader. It was this book that finally got him "hooked." He could not wait to read the next chapter. He has since read several more of the A to Z books and loves them all. I highly recommend this book and series for Second and Third Graders!

The book Lucky Lottery is a good book because it is interesting to read about the mystery. The book is kind of hard to read, but it is fun to see what happens next. We recommend this book.

We really liked this book (Mom included). Josh, Dink and Ruth Rose worked well together to solve this mystery and catch the thief. We were all surprised about the ending. We wish we could cross-country ski all over our town! Ron Roy's stories always entertain us and we can't wait to get the next in the series - The Missing Mummy.

I wish I could win a seven million dollar lottery ticket for my very own. If you would like to win a lottery ticket, you will sure like this book, because the three best detectives in the whole wide world are in this book and they catch a real lottery ticket thief! The book is also set in winter, many kids favorite time of the year. Although my favorite A to Z Mystery book is The Absent Author, I think this one is pretty good, and I think you'll like it too.

Well, I have been a fan of the Mab's Cross Legend for a long time. I even read the on-line version of "The Betrothed" by Sir Walter Scott, which is actually pretty bad! Scott loosely adapted the Mab's Cross story into his 1825 novel, but that work bears little resemblance to the actual story of Sir William Bradshaw and Lady Mab. This is a real shame because the true story has all the appeal of "Rob Roy" or "Braveheart". I have always wondered why no one turned this stirring legend into full-scale historical novel. After all, they have had 700 years! Well, the wait is over. Jon Norris not only found the makings of a book in Mab's Cross, but an entire trilogy! And this is the real McCoy - a historical fiction with as much history as fiction. The research behind this book is impressive. All the major historical events are as accurate as they are astounding. In short, the spectacular madness of 14th century England comes alive in these pages. If Volumes II & III are as splendid as Volume I, this work will give the people of Wigan Lancashire something relish for another 700 years!

Oh, and I have to mention the introduction to this book. What a surprise? I was expecting the usual scholarly cross-references or struggling artist bio, but I was delighted to find an insightful essay on the parallels between medieval government and religion, and the appalling state of current world politics! This author makes a strong argument that the abuses of the great barons of the Middle Ages continue unabated into the present. They have just been cleverly disguised by the myth makers of corporate empire and justified by the hollow promise of advanced technology! Suddenly, "progress" we take for granted in the 21st century begin to look quite suspicious. For instance, I will never look at a dollar bill the same way again. (If you read page 10, you will understand this comment!) Let's just say that the Introduction is worth the price of the whole book! Get this book. You will be entertained and you will learn some troubling truths about our past that will have you re-thinking the prospects for our collective future. You might even be moved to follow in Mab's footsteps!

A very readable novel - it reminded me of Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles trilogy, but set 800 years later. In addition to writing an entertaining action story, Norris displays surprising historical accuracy. I assumed the passage about Archimedes' "Method of Mechanical Theorems" palimpsest was a fictional account, until I picked up the March '07 Smithsonian magazine and found an article covering the palimpsest exactly as Norris described it. I'm looking forward to reading Volume II.

This book is so much more than I expected. In addition to the traditional legend of Mab's Cross, it is chockablock full of sub-themes. First, there is a story of forbidden love between a Norman heiress and a Saxon lord. Then, there is the mystery surrounding the murder of Sir William Bradshaw that I suspect will not be solved until Volume III of the trilogy. The chapter on the Battle of Bannockburn contains one of the most vivid and gut-wrenching descriptions of medieval warfare that I have ever read. On top of all of that, there is a side-story following the scribe who writes Lady Mab's memoir. He is a Cistercian scholar, who has access to the archives of the Roman Church, and the more he delves into those dark secrets, the more his faith in Christianity is shaken to its core.

This book is quite an achievement. It doesn't have the mythical quality of your typical Robin Hood romance; rather it makes you feel like you are right there in 14th century Lancashire! Longshanks, Edward II, Queen Isabella, Earl Thomas of Lancaster, Robert the Bruce, Pembroke; they are all here as real human beings. And what a character we have in Lady Mab of Haigh Hall! At one point during Banastre's Rebellion, she leads the women of Haigh to join a battle against Sir Robert Holland. I was sweating one minute, then crying, then cheering--incredible! If you are a fan of historical fiction, this book is for you. I can't wait for Volume II to see what happens next.

The Lost Rebellion is the first volume of a trilogy set in Lancashire England in the 14th Century. For those who don't know, Mab's Cross is an actual landmark on the Standishgate in the Borough of Wigan. This cross has long been celebrated as part of a local legend revolving around Sir William Bradshaw and Lady Mab of Haigh Hall. Lady Mab was given a penance to walk barefoot and bare-legged to this cross once a week. She performed this labor for over twenty-five years until her death in 1347. The cross has been known ever since as Mab's Cross.

I have just finished reading Volume I, and I must say it is incredible - much more than just another re-hash of the legend. This is true historical fiction in the tradition of Paul Doherty or Patrick O'Brian or Bernard Cornwell's stellar series on Capt. Richard Sharpe. There is even a hint of Umberto Eco in the sub-plot of the Cistercian scribe, Alain Houard, as he delves dangerously into the secrets of the corrupt Roman Church.

It is a rare thing to find a book with historical accuracy, splendid character development, and an intriguing plot to boot. There is much to enjoy here. In addition to the love story between Sir William and Lady Mab, there is a disturbing portrait of medieval Christianity, Plantagenet oppression, the Little Ice Age, and an intriguing murder mystery. Scottish readers take note: there is also the most amazing description of the Battle of Bannockburn as experienced by a defeated Englishman! The book closes with a chapter on Banastre's Rebellion. This little known civil war between Sir Adam Banastre and Sir Robert Holland is one of the unsung tragedies in the march toward English freedom that followed Magna Carta. It is this rebellion that gives the book its name.

Author Jon Norris is a tour de force. Try this book - you won't regret it. And the best part is we still have the rest of the trilogy to look forward to. As Bogie said in Casablanca, "This may be the beginning of a beautiful thing!"

It's tough to tell this from Amazon, but this book is a thousand pages, which makes it quite a hefty tome. But that doesn't make it a doorstop. There are screenshots, but they are, by in large, useful and relevant, and the book doesn't use them to tell a click by click story of the interface.

The book is organized into four parts that start at the user interface and continue to peel away levels of the system until, in chapter four, the author covers the command line unix shell at a surprising level of detail. A level of detail which rivals O'Reilly's other command line exclusive books. In fact, this book gives a fine introduction to scripting bash and tcsh. It does as good a job there as it does covering printing, or the vagaries of the new Finder in the chapters that precede it.

This is a quality piece of in-depth work about the unmodified Panther operating system. It's well worth the price for those who are more interested in understanding than hacking (though I admit a love for the new Mac OS X Panther Hacks book as well.)

The publisher, O'Reilly Media, seems dedicated to covering Apple's OSX operating system, OSX, from every conceivable vantage point. Its "Missing Manual" series on Panther is a user's reference on how to use the operating system and its applications for productivity and fun. Its "Hacks" series provides dozens of tips, guides, and project ideas. In the "Nutshell" series iteration, "MacOSX Panther in a Nutshell" designs to provide in-depth, comprehensive information about the inner workings of the OS. It is for power users and developers who want to master the OS and have the fullest description and explanation of OSX.

This book starts out detailing the multi-layered architecture of OSX and illuminates its power and elegance. In great depth and detail, it explains the Unix components, Aqua elements, OS9 and Classic, the Finder, and the multitude of Unix services, daemons, and applications.

This is terse, descriptive prose. The authors focus a sharp telephoto lens on the skeleton, sinews, and pores of OSX, starting with basic elements and probing deep into the details of the file system, networking components, directory services, printing configurations and more. This in-depth description and large handfuls of guides and tips totals over 1,000 pages.

A separate part of the book is devoted to Applescript, X-code tools, and Java. The X-code tools are for developers. Part IV is all about Unix, including three chapters on "shells" alone, plus sections on text editors, the X-Window system, and a full 262 pages of Unix command references, touted as the most complete such source in print publication.

No mere user manual would have ten pages devoted solely to understanding and managing preference files, or five pages on using the Colorsync feature with Quartz filter scripts.

Surprisingly, only ten pages are dedicated to security issues. Although the Mac is known to be extremely secure, recent news shows even the Mac is vulnerable to sophisticated exploits.

For those with a need to know, this is the definitive source for deep knowledge of OSX.

Since I converted I have found OS X UNIX is amazingly friendly and accessible. Some people who had never used it before type commands and work with the operating system directly as a "cool guys" in movies! This book is very helpful and well written and it is serves as a very nice reference. I paired this book with Linux and UNIX for a beginner training suite, 4DVDs + 2CDs includes 4 Unix Academy Certifications ed.2008 This book and a video they contribute one another greatly. You improve the reading and by reading you improve what you have seen.
The book is very particular about the subjects that related to OS X and because there are some differences between OS X and other UNIXes it is nice to have a book that deals with it.

Do any of you remember the O'Reilly books from the late 80s on X Windows? Those became the definitive guides to X11, and probably were crucial in putting O'Reilly on the map as a prominent technical publisher.

Well, this book on Mac OS X Panther captures some of that early O'Reilly spirit. In its comprehensiveness and heft. But also in its terseness. Turn to a random chapter and start reading. The authors try to get to the point, without wasting time. They write at a technical level that assumes you don't know the specifics of that chapter, but that you are no novice to computing.

It should be noted that the second half of the book is essentially a standard unix reference. As you may be aware, OS X is now a unix variant. Which is neat. But also accounts for much of the book's size. Unix has built up a massive set of utilities in 20 years, and the length of the unix sections here reflects this.

Don't let this put you off either the book or OS X. On the contrary! The building of the Mac operating system on top of unix gives you more power and stability (against crashes) on the Mac.

Wow... fiction, or prophesies revealed? You won't sleep well at night after you read this.... and for sure won't sleep until you've finished the book. This is "fiction"? at it's best. A worthy read.

Entertaining and provocative...and positively eerie in light of current world happenings. The "big plot" behind the story is incredibly clever. The dialogue is tight with good wordsmithing. I hope we'll be hearing much more from author Martin Stone.

This book grabs your attention from the very first paragraph and doesn't let it go until you are finished reading it! The way the author weaves biblical prophecy, fiction, mystery and current events into the storyline makes it so believable that you have to wonder... what if?....

Once you start into this book, you cannot put it down. The way the author weaves the Revelation predictions into our everyday lives, leaves you in a daze wondering if this is not really the true interpretation of scripture. An extremely amazing twist to what religion has taught.

Wow totally hot, I want more of this series this is the second book in a series and dose not follow the story line of the first book and dose split off onto different side stories but all of the stories are connected with the people you meet in the first book kind of like how Love Mode series is. So I really like it and I would say If you like stories that get to the point and have a really good story line then go get it you wont regret buying this one I really enjoyed this one. FYI its mostly about constriction works. If you like the forceful types this has a lot of that, that I Love.

Sequel to "I'm not your steppin stone", it is setting in the same world of construction workers (I wonder if that particular trousers they wear it's the standard "uniform" for construction workers...).

Three story, the first two deeply linked and instead the third is a story of its own.

First: Kousei is a 27 yd old divorced father. He only has the chance to meet his son early on the morning, when he brings him at school, and late in the afternoon, when he takes the boy from school to home to his mother. On the way he always stops to a deli where he buys a single pre-cooked meal and Kenji, the store clerk, fancies this single dad and his cute son. More when Kenji discovers that his nephew goes to the same school of Kousei's son. And when Kenji has a light accident and Kousei brings him home, Kenji takes advantage of the chance to be alone with Kousei. It starts a funny relationship where the stocky and muscular Kousei treats Kenji almost like a girlfriend.

Second: Kousei asks Nakano to work with him to his new found construction firm. With Nakano and Kousei works Yasu, a reclusive and brooding guy, whispers say ex con and gay: Yasu is a childhood friend of Kousei and so Kousei is a bit protective of the guy and also seems to comprehend his problems. When Nakano finds that Yasu harbors romantic feelings for Kousei, and both of them think that Kousei will not be interested in a gay relationship, Nakano blackmails Yasu in a strange relationship, ones where, if they aren't having sex, they continuously argue and fight.

Yasu's character is my favourite in all the novel, even if I have some perplexity on what it was his past and his reasons. I think to have understood, but it's not clearly explained. In spite of this, for me it's the story worthy to buy the graphic novel.

Third: A high school boy is sexual harassed by a female teacher, and when one of his schoolmate sees them, he doesn't understand that the boy is forced to do it. So also him blackmails the boy, but when he understands that the boy is more innocent of what expected, he takes his defense in front of the teacher.

Interesting story but really too short to fully comprehend and enjoy all the plot.

This sequel to "I'm not your steppin stone" is just as hot and of course hard core Yaoi. 3 couples here. The first story on Kenji and Kousei is sweet. Kenji is the timid store clerk, in love with Kousei (the hunky constructor worker from the first vol). But Kousei is in apprearance totally straight with ex-wife and son. How is Kenji ever going to reveal his love ? But he did as for one crazy moment, Kenji "lost it" and acted upon it. Thereon it is a sweet romance, with amusing moments. But I would have preferred the care-free Kousei to be more expressive in his love for the insecured Kenji.

The second couple in the titled story "Passion Honey" is more passionate, their sex more rough and really steaming hot. Their story is more angsy and romantic and I like both the younger and insecured seme and the brooding, tough but vulnerable uke here. Of course the uke has a disturbing past (loosely linked with Kousei) which spiced up their love story. Some reader may find their first coupling a trifle disturbing but hey this is true Yaoi!

The 3rd one on 2 fellow students would be better if it is longer. The sexual harrassment in school makes it darker in tone. And it is kinky, with the improvised sex toys. I have to say my eyes widen when I came to the panels!

Love this mangaka's artwork with her beautiful, tall and muscularly slim boys. And of course the sex is just marvelously drawn and scorching hot. Looking forward to more from Shiuko Kano.

I found this book to be rather cute. It has it's good points as well as some lame ones. As a sequel, but not including the original characters of the first book, it did rather well. Showcasing the new charcters and their story as well as some steamy yaoi scenes. The second story "Passion Honey" is rather good. With one of the main characters coming out a little psycho but cute (in a way). The last story, however, was rather disappointing. I found the characters lacked background info as well as charm. I did love the part, you'll understand when you read the book, when Hotta tells the teacher she's the worst kind of human. Other than the sex scenes, this story, sad to say, was very lame. Overall the book was well written and drawn. Can't wait for the next sequel, which will be subtitled "Adultness". Till' then see ya.

I heard of the name of the author because this year Japan is coming out with a tv drama serie about some of her hidden letters. This is a passionate observer/participant of life who articulates prose with clarity and ingenuity of an accomplished writer, and with subtle modesty representing a women of the last century.

Reviewed by Deb Shunamon for Reader Views (7/06)

"The Name of the Flower" by Kuniko Mukoda is a wonderful book that would be of particular interest to those who think they know and understand Japan. While I can envision a Japanese reader nodding his or her head and muttering over these brilliantly translated snapshots of male/female relationships, a lot of "gaijin" will likely be quite bewildered as to what is going on much of the time. The reader quickly learns that this is not going to be an easy read. That's exactly what makes this book such a delight - it's a great, emotional reading experience that will show Westerners how little we truly understand Japanese society.

Kuniko Mukoda was a prolific scriptwriter for Japanese radio and television, and at the time of her death in a plane crash in 1981 she was well into a career as a popular essayist and short story writer. The Afterward by translator Tomone Matsumoto is an interesting piece on just how popular and hard-working Mukoda was. So much can be learned and enjoyed from this collection, the least of which being that Japan is now, of course, a very modern, westernized society. That this modernity can be unrecognizable when it concerns human relationships, or that Westernization does not necessarily mean the North American way, is repeatedly revealed in Mukoda's book. In addition to outright bewilderment, feelings of being insulted or angry can be indicators that you've encountered a cultural difference, and these strong emotions are evoked by many of the stories. "Small Change" is guaranteed to make any independent, Canadian woman scream in frustration. "The Carp", "The Fake Egg", and a few others still have me puzzled, while "Half-Moon" and "Otter" will break your heart.

What will non-Japanese readers take away from this book besides knowing that they may never fully understand Japanese society? This will likely be answered differently depending on whether the reader is male or female, and could be the start of some great discussions. However, seeing the familiar importance of marriages, families, and lovers in these stories, as well as the struggles we all go through to understand our own lives, keeps you riveted to this cross-cultural reading encounter to the last page. Modern works such as Kuniko Mukoda's "The Name of the Flower" will leave all readers with a great deal of respect for how similar relationships are between men and women around the world, yet how truly different.

There is a fairly silly comment in the Publisher's Weekly review above that Kuniko Mukoda's stories "mix Eastern tradition with Western values." Another reviewer on this page states that this short story collection will demonstrate how little Westerners understand Japanese society. I couldn't disagree more. The late Mukoda wrote closely observed stories about domestic dilemmas set in Japan of the 60s and 70s. Although there are naturally references to Japanese traditions and cultural practices, I did not find them a barrier to understanding--and I don't think that's just because of my long acquaintance with the country. Mukoda's characters are typically experiencing a crisis in their family life that is illuminated or complicated by memories of past events. These characters, their emotions, and their struggles are very recognizable to Western readers, not because Mukodas wrote about "Western values" but because she is a talented observer of human nature, which remains a constant everywhere.

I picked up this book for some light reading over the weekend. I am doing research for an essay and I wanted a book of short stories to read while I was in between sections of the books that I am supposed to be reading. Unfortunately I found this book so interesting that I finished it in a couple of sittings. I am pretty sure that this book gets lost between the cracks left between the works of Mishim, Tanizaki, and Kawabata and those of Yoshimoto and Murakami. I'd certainly had never heard of the writer and when one reads the bak of the book one learns why. Kuniko Mukoda only wrote prose fiction for a very short time because soon after she started writing her short stories she was killed in a plane crash, before that she wrote radio and television dramas. The translator points out that she wrote over one thousand radio dramas.

The stories in this little book seem to follow under one main theme infidelity. The reader gets to see both sides of the relationship. We see the husband who is being eaten up inside because of his outside relationhips, and we see the wife's side in which wonders if in fact her husband is cheating on her. Interesting stories of daiily life that makes one wonder how Mukoda made such mundane things so interesting.

Although this book is certainly lovely enough to be a ''coffee-table book'', it is much more. The photographer found interesting historical photographs of New Mexico urban and rural scenes and then went to the exact same sites and photographed what the scenes look like today. Some of theses sites are extremely remote, and also must have been very difficult to find. The comparison of photographs of New Mexico scenes from the modern times with historical photographs is fascinating,and the quality of the new photographs is outstanding. What surprised me about the book was how intriguing the narrative was. The author did an excellent job of describing both the backgrounds of the historical photographs and also the nature or reasons for the changes in the new images. In addition, he included very readable anecdotes about what efforts he went through to gain access to the sites and how he approached each ''shoot.'' This is a book that would be enjoyed by people who enjoy beautiful photographs and who love to read about New Mexico and the history of the American West.

This book was extremely interesting and informative. I have lived in Albuquerque my whole life and found it to be accurate. I ordered it for my boyfriend, Thomas, but we both have enjoyed. I will be getting the Albuquerque, Then and Now next.

Sheryl nanco

Mr. Stone spent two years traveling around New Mexico searching out and rephotographing scenes first done by others over a period of about 1855-1945. The book is divided into sections (of the state) and each photograph, past and present, has details about it included.
Mr. Stone writes about how some of the locations have changed a great deal, some not so much, many he could get to (or at least close enough) to duplicate exactly but others he had to do what he could to approximate the original shot. He doesn't say much about what he used for equipment other than some very tall ladders or tripods, no film details, not much camera information either.
I found that some things have changed a great deal while it appears some would look almost the same today to the original photographer as the original shot did.
I wish the author had included a town by town index as well as the regional listing, if you know the name of a town but are unsure of it's location you wll have to search each section for it- assuming it is there.
This is a very fascinating book, I'd like to go see many of these locations myself.

If you like history and art, you'll love WILLIAM STONE'S NEW MEXICO THEN AND NOW. Using the principal of repeat photography--finding an old picture of a location and rephotographing the same spot--he created a photographic, geographic, and to a degree social history of the state called The Land of Enchantment. You'll have a good time looking through this beautiful coffee table volume. Like every region of the world, New Mexico has had its share of quirky places, where outrageous people did off the wall stuff. And--places where events were dead serious, and which still influence our lives, though they happened long ago. With his large-format camera and tall tripod, STONE has captured the best of The Land of Enchantment's spots for the now images. Even better, his then shots were taken by some of America's finest early photographers. William Henry Jackson, Edward Weston, and many others bring the pages of the book to life. STONE's captions add to the pictures, documenting his feelings and thoughts as he worked on each location. His writing partner, JEROLD WIDDSON's articulare essays tie the pictures together in a lively fashion. No dull paragraphs full of facts here. In fact, if you have sonmeone at home think's history class is boring, leave NEW MEXICO THEN AND NOW around to be discovered. If you have someone who finds history exciting, NEW MEXICO THEN AND NOW is the perfect coffee table book because it's designed to be opened and examined slowly--savored, in other words, like a nice, hot cuppa your favorite brew. In case you haven't figured it out, I enjoyed NEW MEXICO THEN AND NOW. I did it on many levels. Though it focuses on one region of the country, it carries a universal message about change and stability that's fun to discover and think about. It gives us a sense of the American contribution to photography as an art form--and that contribution was no small one. It offers a glimpse of what the west was like to settle and live in--and what it's like today, as a result. NEW MEXICO THEN AND NOW will make a great addition to anyone's living room.

I loved Ola'Wake as it brought me back in time to my own fond memories as a child. While reading with my two daughters, we laughed and cried feeling closer to one another as we related to characters in the story.

B.J. Stone writes with so much feeling and enthusiam she touches each and everyone of us in our hearts. We arelooking forward to her next novel.

Ten-year-old Josie never got to know her great-grandma, Ola, when Ola lived. Josie, who lives in Texas, is disconnected from extended family. Her father left to dodge the draft during the Vietnam war. Her grandmother died. All Josie has is her mother, whom she calls Ginny. When Ola dies, Josie and Ginny travel back to the Osarks in time for Ola's wake. This travel becomes a metaphorical, as well as actual, travel back in time for both mother and daughter. Josie learns much about herself, as she is introduced to her great-grandma, Ola, during this journey from past to future.

Reading this book is like visiting my Aunt Ola in the Ozarks! It's all there...the sounds, the sights, the smells, the adventurous spirit. From the overnight trip up into the mountains, to the rusty milkcan by the cabin door, to the scent of my aunt's perfume and facial powder---this brief novel registers authentic. But its greatest strength is the way it conveys her joy of life, surprisingly, in a book named for her wake. One neat by-product, for young and old, is that this adventure motivates us to think of the meaning of death and life.

B.J. Stone did such a wonderful job keeping the story exciting and ending each chapter with intriguing thoughts that made me want to keep reading. I enjoyed the book so much! I cried and laughed at the descriptions, knowing and seeing and remembering so many things. What a deep-deep, dig into your heart and soul, moving thought B.J.'s ending phrase was! Everybody who reads it will be able to relate. I know I did....

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.

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.

All biographies are written through the eyes of the biographer. They tell as much about the writer as the subject. Hence, biographies on Joseph Smith run the gamut of opinions. Bushman has his own, and this diary really helps to understand his thoughts on writing and promoting Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. It would be great if every biography (and history book, for that matter) came with a personal diary by the author like this one. History is not a set of facts, it is a story told by someone.

The extreme conserative Mormons will not like Bushman's scholarly approach, and those who pass too quickly on Joseph Smith as a fraud will call Bushman an apologetic, but I think the majority of us in the middle like RSR, and will really like this diary. Seeing the personal side of a biographer so important to American religious studies is a great opportunity. It's also not every day when you come across someone from a big university like Columbia who is also humble.

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.