Stuart Books

Forget everything you know about this world - you need to suspend disbelief when you pick up Frantic Planet, and you'll be greatly rewarded for doing so.

When I bought this book, I honestly didn't know what to expect: was I going to get a series of throwaway stories that I was going to forget straight away, or would it be an astounding piece of writing?

Well, almost five months after buying the book, I still find myself flicking through it from time to time to relive the tales of the lunatic lottery winner, Ted Danson, and my own personal favourite, the man who was held hostage by an artist.

It's one of the best fiction books you read this year that hasn't been commandeered by a huge media-led bandwagon. Buy the book!

Frantic Planet is the literary bridge between reality and surreality.

The stories include three separate realities: the world we inhabit and know (complete with effectively apt cultural references); our world as it could be without social constraints; and a world where our laws of physics do not apply. The collection veers back and forth between these different worlds which, in the hands of a less-skilled writer might easily be clumsy and destroy suspension of disbelief. But here the juxtaposition creates an effective sense of uncertainty: by the time the reader deduces which rules apply to a particular piece, they will already be compelled by the story. And so that world becomes just as real as our own.

The collection also varies widely in length. Some are as brief as a couple of hundred words and, as might be expected, these can be hit and miss. It seems likely the author has produced the book over a lengthy period as there appears to be a notable disparity among the briefer stories in terms of the skill with which the pretext, the hook and the payoff are delivered.

It is the longer tales that highlight the anthology, and perhaps not coincidentally they all inhabit the middle of the three literary worlds: that which follows our conventions of time and space, but rejects our conventions of behaviour . 'Just a statistic' is a twisted literal interpretation taking to ever more grotesque extremes. 'Rooting for truffles' examines the consequences of a 'What if?' scenario where only fate will ever allow the reader to confirm their conviction that they would never behave that way. And the centrepiece 'Simple Choices, clocking in at 55 pages (a quarter of the full book) treads a dangerous line between the revulsion provoked by the story's events and the contemplation provoked by its themes. The specifics are of a fantasy world but the message is firmly rooted in our own.

A full appreciation of the subtleties of Frantic Planet may be contingent on a culture and humour overlap between audience and author. But the powers and burdens of free will are all that is needed to appreciate the way physical events in the book's fictional reality relate to less tangible ideals and behaviour in our physical world.

Are we Americans special ? Do we believe that we are somehow morally superior, or more benevolent than those others ? So much so that we are immune to being the prosecuters of evil ?

This book, which was seized by the French government upon its release, and the printing plates destroyed, in an attempt to prevent this story from coming to the light, shows, in glaring detail, how a so-called civilized society can resort to the most depraved measures when confronted with what is percieved to be enemies of the State.

It also shows the extent the governments will go to justify their actions and paint a picture over the facts, for public consumption.

This is the testimony of a few university students of Algeria who were brutally tortured by the French governemnt. These student were alleged to be members of the "rebels", the "resistance"; in effect "terrorists".

The chapters:
The Gangrene, A Sworn Statement, "We'll Treat You Decently", The Experts, The Minister Of Rats, "They'll Cut You To Pieces", Two Testimonies, Within The Law.

I was about to list this item on amazon for sale. It had come in a batch of books from a nondescript source, and it caught my eye. I read it through till the end and now feel compelled to present a review to any who will listen.

If you think that what America has done in Iraq is an aberration or unique to our psyche, think again. Here is a tale of torture committed by French authorities, who had only recently left the pain and oppression of Nazi Germany. But more than that, it is perpetrated upon poor Middle Eastern students (Algerian), in the same way our soldiers have perpetrated it upon the poor of Iraq. Including processes using electrodes, waterboarding, muscle stress, etc.

As the dust jacket states at the end, "Every one who cares about people must read The Gangrene".

It's not often you find a book that lives up to its cover blurb, but this one does. In it the author, who has restored and maintained some of England's most important gardens, shares his own garden and plant wisdom with the reader. The cover reads " The Garden Through the Year is an Invitation to stroll around the garden, season by season, month by month....The reader receives the benefit of Thomas's tremendous experience, delivered in the form of a conversation with an intimate friend." That, together with beautiful and relevant illustrations, are what you get in this book.

The author sets out to tell us which plants he treasures in his garden each month of the year and how they contribute, whether by flower, foliage or bark, to the beauty of the garden at that time of year. He throws in some suggestions to help us grow the plant more successfully.

Mr Thomas was about 90 years old when he wrote this book so we can honestly say he is sharing a lifetime of experience with us. His knowledge of plants and how they grow is profound and he has received almost all the chief honours of the horticultural world. The pleasure of this book is that his knowledge and experience are shared in such a conversational way, as if the reader was strolling around his garden with him and he was chatting about his plants. It's not often I feel enriched by a book, but this one both enriched me and made me feel more confident about my garden.

The Garden Through the Year is a beautiful and wonderful book. It would make an excellent addition to any serious gardener's own personal library. It would also make a terrific present for anyone you know who loves gardening.
I am writing this today, April 21, 03, on the day that I just heard that the author Graham Stuart Thomas just died. Thomas was easily one of the greatest of all the English garden writers. He wrote many marvelous books and in every one of them, his personality and vast experience shines brightly through.
This latest book is no exception to that rule of excellence in garden writing. I am a garden writer myself (Safe Sex in the Garden, Ten Speed Press)and I always appreciate extra good, extra informed garden writing. No one does it better than Graham Stuart Thomas. First, Thomas was an extraordinary gardener, in the finest tradition of English gardeners. In this book he brings in many new and exciting plants and always his writing is full of the best possible gardening advice. This is a very useful book for someone who is interested in how his/her garden might look (or could look!) in different seasons.
In my own back yard I have a large and beautiful yellow rose bush, a David Austin creation, called, 'Graham Thomas.' This rose smells wonderful, grows strongly, and has that old fashioned petal form that is a joy to see. Like the writer it was named for, the rose is a winner. If you have never had the pleasure of reading any Graham Thomas, buy this book and you'll be pleased. If you are already familar with his work, buy it also, and savor the high quality of an excellent book, probably the last one from the garden master, Graham Stuart Thomas.

This book lets you in on the dealings of Tecumseh with more details. The records of the decisions of the military commanding officers are astounding. As I was reading the events I wanted to kick somebody for getting so many people killed.

This book isn't as strong as some of Eckert's others, but as a part of his series, (and for a book that was previously out of print) I'd strongly recommend it.

I had read Frontiersmen, Tecumseh and Dark and Bloody River, and preferred them easily to this book, but still enjoyed it, and have re-read it many times.

This book is excellent if you believe in the supernatural and you are superstitios. With stories such as The Headless Nun & A Host of Ghosts, this book is excellent for the fearless type!

This book is a great read if you love ghost stories. New Brunswick, Canada is a little known province that was once referred to as "the realm of ghosts" due to the abundance of ghostly tales (whether they be fact or fiction). Trueman is a great storyteller and the book is well researched. If Amazon can't find it for you, check your local library for it (I've found it in most Ontario libraries).

I like this book as an introduction to fractions. I use it with my kindergarten students. They can all relate to having to share with siblings or friends..... and they love the food fight at the end of the story!

This book is an accurate description of how children react to sharing. As the brother and sister learn to share the food each of them have, they are also learning about fractions. Each child is reminded by their parents to divide the pizza, juice, and cupcakes in half to share equally. The children's first instinct is to share unequally. The book introduces new terms (i.e. divide) and gives the reader a fun introduction to fractions and getting along with each other.

This is an excellent book for those who are just getting interested in Southwest or New Mexico Archaeology. Definately a must read!

This is a great book for the casual reader on archaeology! The essays are entertaining, yet still enlightening, and are beneficial for both the newcomer to New Mexico and the long-time fan.

This is a fine introduction to the problems of 1688/89. The discussion of quite contentious issues is admirably judicious, and Miller is very sensitive to the long-term implications of the events he describes. In addition, Miller provides a very strong collection of supporting documents: while each of the "Seminar Series" includes some primary sources, this is one of the best collections in the series. 1688 is a crucial event in political history, and Miller provides an excellent way to begin a study of the subject.

This is the best short introduction to England's 1688 revolution and the consequences that flowed from it. It is an updated version of an earlier edition, and it pays greater attention than its predecessor to the revolution in England's public finances that stemmed from 1688. It also has new material on Scotland and Ireland. The choice of original documents to accompany the text is excellent.

Review: Going Without Peggy by Karl Stuart Kline

In prose and poetry, Karl Stuart Kline relates his early years growing up with epilepsy in a time when many people were ignorant of the disease and considered it a form of mental illness. When he meets Peggy, who has the same debilitating disease, their shared misfortune brings them close together. They fall in love.
Their love is the backdrop of Going Without Peggy.
After 17 years of love and marriage, they find that Peggy has breast cancer. All the treatments were to no avail. Karl's beloved, Peggy succumbs to the disease.

The poetry that Karl Stuart Kline has written about their life and love together is written with passion equal to that of Edgar Allen Poe when he wrote "Annabel Lee." I was very touched by his beautiful and sad story.

It is, as it says on the cover, a love story like no other!
It will also be of special interest to those readers who either have epilepsy or who can say that, "Someone I love has epilepsy!" A remarkable true story of two devoted lovers who are brought together by a shared disability and then it becomes a tragedy when breast cancer rips them apart...
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From "Epilepsy's a Dirty Word" to "My Last Haiku," "Peggy's Roses" and "Starting Over," this book is an emotional rollercoaster ride that you'll never regret!

This 160-page, 5 x 7 little book may be small in size by today's standards for self-help/healing books on allergies, fatigue, hypogylcemia, depression, hypothyroid, heart disease, alcoholism, and diabetes, but GOODBYE ALLERGIES is the best that I've read in years. Author Tom R. Blaine - a judge, not a doctor - speaks from experience without weighing down the manuscript with too much technical jargon. His message is clear, to the point, and as timely as the first year of publication. I found myself wondering why it has taken so many years for these concepts to finally hit the mainstream.

Judge Tom Blaine explains in an easy-to-understand manner why his recommended diet is effective at combatting allergic reactions. The book has been criticized on the basis that he is not a doctor. However, he has done his research and is mindful of both accuracy and clarity. Most importantly, the proof is in the results. My mother was at wit's end after visiting a plethora of doctors concerning a rash over most of her body. She saw this book on a discount pile and figured that it wouldn't hurt to try. In just two weeks, her rash was gone for the first time in years. My allergies are more respiratory. The program worked for me as well. Whenever I start having problems, I go on the program and my allergies clear up. I've recommended this book to many people and I encourage you to give it a try if you suffer from allergies at all.