Ward Books

This is fantastic Christmas tale (although I would read it anytime of the year) about a mysterious and elusive Newfoundland dog who saves a disabled man in a snowstorm and then disappears on his way. I agree with the other reviewer that it is certainly a real "tearjerker" but in a wonderful "power of miracles" way. The most compelling thing about the book is that the text depicts the story of the man's family awaiting his arrival on Christmas Eve, while the pictures show what is actually happening to him on this dangerous, stormy night. The art is fantastic and I find new details during every reading. My thanks to author, Frances Ward Weller, and illustrator, Robert J. Blake, for such a fabulous work.

My five year-old daughter likes to pick out books that make mommy cry "happy tears"-- and this is one of them. Beautiful illustrations tell the story of Uncle Ambrose struggling home through a harsh storm on Christmas Eve, while the text tells the story of the concerned young neice waiting at home for his return. Uncle Ambrose's miraculous rescue inspires hope and belief in the miracle of Christmas. After drying our tears we read it again and again, watching the illustrations to find that someone watching over Uncle Ambrose.

Another World: A Retreat in the Ozarks by William Claassen appeals on many levels. Yes, it is set in a Benedctine monastery and I learned some things about the Order of St Benedict that I can connect to my work as an expressive arts practitiioner. However the book is more catholic, small "c" that big "C" and by that I mean it has universal appeal to anyone who is digging around in their humanity for a way of life that makes sense in today's chaotic world. I love the way the author's character comes through in his descriptions of the members of the order who live at the monastery, sometimes stern, sometimes quirky and always sketched with a light touch. I enjoyed reading this book very much.

Reviewed by Vicki Landes for Reader Views (2/08)

Ever want to get away from your life for awhile? Need a break from the everyday grind to regroup and evaluate your life? Author and activist William Claassen has discovered you don't need an expensive vacation or a laundry list of tourist sites to enjoy your time away. In fact, you barely need anything. In his book, "Another World: A Retreat in the Ozarks," he tells you exactly how.

"The retreats are not an escape, but rather an opportunity to come face to face with my shadows and with my light." Claassen emotionally describes his time at a Missouri monastery, living day-to-day as the Trappist monks do. Without modern conveniences or annoying tour guides, these getaways bring his life events flooding back to his memory, give his inner soul a voice, and allow him to see his existence in a unique and altered light. "Each retreat day I peel back yet another layer of consciousness and, in so doing, reach a deeper level of awareness and vulnerability."

"Another World: A Retreat in the Ozarks" is an expressive account of a lifestyle that most of us don't even know exists amid our modern society. Claassen writes in such a way that it places you there while experiencing everything in the monastery - walking outside in the crisp, cool air, sitting in deafening silence on a wooden pew, or hearing the hypnotic chanting and praying. Each seemingly insignificant action becomes much more fascinating and even spiritual in this setting.

Author William Claassen is an appealing writer for religion and spirituality book enthusiasts as well as travelers who enjoy finding destinations off the beaten path. Further, as a Missouri resident I had no idea that a place like this existed in my state; I think other Missourians would find this book - and the abbey itself - to be very intriguing.

Up before dawn, no room service, and outings consisting of walks in the woods - not what we normally think of when planning a vacation. But for William Claassen, the daily life at a monastery brings peace of mind and a deeper knowledge of self. "Another World" is just that - a spiritual journey into a completely different plane of existence.

As a child I read and reread Around the World With Ant and Bee and was most upset to hear my mother had sold it when I needed it to pass on to my children. What a wonderful book! I still travel around the world when I can - my interest in the world commenced with And and Bee.

I got my first Ant and Bee book for my son on a recommendation from a nursery school teacher from the Bank Street School. My son is not quite two years old, and already follows the pictures and words in these classic books with glee. And because they are just his size, in bright colors, he especially likes to carry them with him when we travel. He likes pointing out characters like the Zoo Man and the Kind Dog, and of course, Ant and Bee. Most interesting about these books is that the text itself is fun for children to look at. Key words are highlighted with in varying fonts and colors, and sections are sprinkled with minature versions of pictures from larger illustrations. Since Around the World... is about a search for Bee's umbrella, my son calls out, "Bee's umbrella!" every time I point to the little umbrellas printed right into the text. Each book has its own special twist with familiar objects. I recommend the entire series.

This book is a must have if you frequently find yourself lucky enough to enjoy Australian seafood. It features almost all of the commonly available species you are likely to find in a restaurant or a fishmonger.

This book enables you to plan your meals- it mentions eating qualities for each species, and oil contents so you can actually "get the good oil"! It also features latin names, habitats and similar species guides.

Recommended marketing names are also used which is essential for Australian exporters. It is recommend to the novice fish eater and the professional seafood exporter. You can also get this in a laminated version which I suppose you could safely take to sea with.

Hard to find, even in Australia but well worth the hunt. Fantastic photography throughout of the whole fish and fillet.

As a commercial fisherman this book has been invaluable to my day to day working life.If you like to eat seafood , wish to learn more about fish , crusteations , molluscs , and invertibrates of Australia then this book is a fantastic reference item. inside are clear sharp images , protein fingerprints and a complete written breakdown of each species mentioned.The text is clear , concise , and straight to the point without scientific mumbo jumbo to confuse you. what can i say BUY THIS BOOK !!

This is a thoroughly entertaining popular history of 16-17th century English Pirate/Privateer John Ward who deserted the English navy and defected to the Ottoman empire. There he was responsible for modernizing Ottoman privateering including the use of North Atlantic ships and mixed-ethnicity/religion crews and captains. He was such a menace to Venetian shipping that his massive attempts to buy his way back to England were thwarted by the Venetian ambassador's manipulation of James I's Christian unification agenda. At the end of his life John Ward converted to Islam and remained in Ottoman North Africa. Dr. Bak's book goes on to examine how the myth of John Ward was used in English storytelling and literature for centuries after his death.

John Ward's life has fascinating episodes of deserting the English with a small boat and crew and on the way to North Africa, and even though outnumbered, capturing several larger ships and building his own fleet; capturing the largest merchant ship of its day and retrofitting it as a war-galley; his loyalty towards and respect for the men who worked under him and sailors in general (several times he went out of his way to buy European sailors out of pirate slavery). Besides it being a great story, the book is also an excellent window on early European perceptions of Islam.

BARBARY PIRATE: THE LIFE AND CRIMES OF JOHN WARD, THE MOST INFAMOUS PRIVATEER OF HIS TIME tells of a sailor who led a mass desertion in 1603, stole a civilian vessel and defected to the ottoman Empire's Tunis outpost, where he led a piracy campaign that made him the most feared privateer of his times. His many adventures and exploits became legend, and BARBARY PIRATE here separates legend from fact in a lively treatment perfect not just for history holdings but for general-interest public libraries.

In this little known story by Robert Louis Stevenson, a trader gets stationed on a small island in the South Pacific, but he immediately has trouble establishing himself as a taboo has been placed on him by the natives. The story brilliantly portrays how any foreigner be he white, black, or Asian holds superiority over the natives. Such relations between races on an isolated island were normal during imperialism but are shocking now. For example, the main character has free choice of any native girl to be his wife. Stevenson honestly portrays imperialism's influence on the island while also exploring the beliefs of the natives and how they can be easily manipulated. This was a great page-turner, one of those rare ones that left me thinking about it months later.

Probably Robert Luis Stevenson's most brillient work. A sensitive probeing of race relations in a turn of the century setting involving an English Trader and a beautiful island girl.

An interesting story, a sensitive love story and an exploration of what is best and what is worst in humanity. This piercing examination is as important today as when Stevenson wrote it.

One can easily understand why he did not want it published in his lifetime.

This book contains one of the first sweaters that I ever knitted. I love animals and the patterns in this book are amazing both in terms of their realism and the easy way that they have been transformed into patterns. There are patterns for all the members of the family - including the kids. The best part is that each pattern has a full-colour illustration of what the finished sweater will look like. I have made several of the sweaters and the instructions have been easy to follow, and the graphs are well laid out.

There are fuzzy knits, and scary knits to enjoy in this great book. While some of the techniques in this book require a certain level of skill as a knitter, a beginner could quite easily make some of these projects just by following the instructions and the advice. You will not regret purchasing this item.

I've been using this book for several years. The patterns are easy to understand (even for a beginner) and the pictures of the finished sweaters are beautiful! If you like animals, this is the book for you. I haven't seen another like it!

"Becoming Fully Human" works well for discussion groups in churches, Protestant as well as Catholic, especially when having a small group (let's say, under 15) that is educated and enjoys depth discussion of topics. We have a group of about 12 ladies who meet on Tuesday mornings for discussion of chapters one at a time. The group is somewhat led by our interim pastor (also a woman), and we've had a great time discussing various facets of each subject (getting older, just war, simplicity) in a biblical context. It is fairly simple for us to spend 10-20 minutes at home before each session. Each chapters focuses on a variety of "quotable" quotes about each topic. It's probably a good idea to preface each discussion with the Bible verse that it's based on. Our group enjoys about two hours each week with one topic, but your discussion might well be shorter. The topics encourage thinking about current events, science, etc. I'd recommend it highly for people-centered discussion (not information but ideas). The book might work well for couples as well as teenagers. The topics are definitely relevant to peoples' lives.

This Jewel from Sister Joan is her 6th Creation I am familiar with enough to have reviewed. I believe that Called to Question was my third and most favorite of all! Both this and the PSALMS For Everyday are equally simple and just as profound! The third one, Called to Question hit me at a time when it needed to ring bells within my psyche`!

My title poses the question, "From where does Sister find the clues for her succinct Chapter Titles?"
"What is a Simple Life? Matthew 6:30
"When Is War Unjust? Isaiah 2:4
"What is Sanctity? Matthew 5:48
"Second Grade is a very dangeous time in life! At least it was for me..."
"What does it mean to be enlightened?" Proverbs 1:20
"Do the Little Things Matter? Ecclesiates 1:2,3
"How Does One Balance Patient Waiting And Action on the Behalf of Justice? Luke 18:11

She uses balanced scriptural emhasis on Theological Themes in human life experence of caring for self and others ++ stewarship of God's handiwork! It is another Jewel in her treaures of Scarred By Struggle, Search For Belief, Called to Question and Psalms for Everyday! Retired Chap Fred W Hood

Wonderful choices made by the editors from the best of modern Catholic short stories. Not an overtly "religious" collection, but a highly readable group of stories which are simply beautifully written and deal, in one way or another, with the over-arching concept of redemption. Can only hope the editors are gathering material for volume two!

Here is a great collection, some authors I was familiar with and some not. It spans almost 70 years of Catholic short stories and for the most part is in chronological order. This is a great book to get some idea's for further readings in Catholic fiction. Like Andrew M. Greeley's Sacred Visions, did for Catholic Science Fiction of Fantasy this book will introduce you to a whole generation of Catholic authors and give you a good sampling of their works. I am already planning on tracking down more from the authors I had not encountered and broadening my spectrum of reading.

There is so little available on the subject of black artists in America. This was written in 1971 and includes many of the major artists from then and before including such greats as Fred R. Wilson , Elizabeth Catlett,Noah Purifoy, Jacob Lawrence, Reggie Gammon, John Riddle, Ruth Waddy and many others. The interesting information and photos of both the artist and their work is very helpful in doing research on this subject. Thank you for making this book available. I wish there were many more of this quality which were more contemporary.It is very difficult to find this book in bookstores around the country and it is very important that it is available to collectors and schalars.

There is so little available on the subject of black artists in America. This was written in 1971 and includes many of the major artists from then and before including such greats as Fred R. Wilson , Elizabeth Catlett,Noah Purifoy, Jacob Lawrence, Reggie Gammon, John Riddle, Ruth Waddy and many others. The interesting information and photos of both the artist and their work is very helpful in doing research on this subject. Thank you for making this book available. I wish there were many more of this quality which were more contemporary.It is very difficult to find this book in bookstores around the country and it is very important that it is available to collectors and schalars.