Ward Books

My sister gave me a copy of this book several years ago because I have complained so often about my bizarre and vivid dreams. A week after I received the book, I had an unusual dream that my next door neighbor was in my house while I was sleeping. The dream seemed so real that I wasn't sure if it actually happened, or if I dreamed it! The next morning I looked up "neighbor" in the Gong Hee Fot Choy Book of Dreams. It stated that a dream about a neighbor indicated that the dreamer would soon receive flowers. I thought that was ridiculous, as I was not in a relationship at that time, and there was no reason for me to receive flowers. But later that day when I arrived at my office, there were a dozen red roses on my desk. I couldn't make out the name on the card, but after a little investigating with the florist, I discovered that they had been sent by a fan of a reality show that I was on the year before. Wow! I love this book and sleep with it next to my bed!

This is one of the best books to describe your dreams and explain their meanings. Very easy to understand. It has eased a lot of concerns.

As a long-time collector of woodcut novels, I am overjoyed to see the republishing of these gems. In this one very reasonably priced volume, you get a great introduction to this little known art form. If you have an interest in art history, early-to-mid 20th century political movements, art deco style, or if you simply enjoy good stories, you'll love this book. You really do not need an interest in modern-day graphic novels to appreciate these works (I don't). If you do have an interest in graphic novels, get this book, and learn some family history of the art.

Each of these books (four books for the price of one!) takes a slice of the artist's contemporary life and then explores the timeless conditions of humankind. Masereel was profounding affected by World War I and the European chaos between the wars, so his art addresses social conditions, including the urbanization of society, during those years. Ward and Patri were also affected by their times -- so the hardship and civil unrest brought on by the Great Depression and the trade union movement is the background for their stories here. Ward also presciently treats the rise of nazism in his other woodcut novels.

Patri's "White Collar" in particular is a real find, because this story is not readily available in any other form, as far as I know. Finally, Hyde's story was printed in 1951, and he addresses the first man-made weapon of mass destruction, the A-bomb, and its effect on the environment of the South Seas.

This book also gives a good sampling of the art of the woodcut novel, over time. The earliest is Masereel's work of 1918, and his figures have the least detail, and thus lack an ability to communicate nuance in the characters. Ward's work, is highly detailed, in a distinctive art deco style (akin to the work of Rockwell Kent) and I find more enjoyable.

To fully appreciate all these works, you need to spend some time with them on a second and third "read." It takes only a few minutes to go through each story, which is all it takes to get a general understanding of the story. However, upon rereading, and studying the figures, you will probably come to a different understanding of the story. Without words, there is a lack of precision, so your life experience and imagination will fill in the blanks.

Congratulations to the publisher (Firefly Books) for preserving this important art form, and making it accessible at a very reasonable price. Kudos!

These four graphic novels cover a range of relief printmaking techniques: woodcut, linocut, and wood engraving. They cover a range of styles, as well: Masereel's Expressionism, Ward's delicate linework on bold figures, Patri's crisp realism, Hyde's detailed primitivism. And, although they cover very different eras and stories, they all end in pessimism about people's treatement of people.

Masereel's story is the most ambiguous. His imagery has least in the way of explicit continuity and the most in dramatic contrasts. Masereel makes it clear, however, that the urban world has dozens of ways to chew people up and spit them out. Ward's "Wild Pilgrimage" tries to escape an urban hell, but finds rural America is no better. It includes a lynching early on, an ugly blot from the country's not-so-distant past. Patri's "White Collar" conveys the hopeless of The Depression, a world where no amount of hard work can be enough to make ends meet. Finally, Hyde's "Souther Cross" brings us up to the atomic age, examining one of the human costs of 50s-era nuclear testing in the Pacific.

Walker's collection reminds us that the graphic novel, as we know it today, drew from many sources. On one hand, comic strip culture evolved upwards through generations of comics towards today's graphic novels, and now presents very mature works by contemporary writers. In the other direction, fine art printing found itself too constrained by the single image. It needed plots, not just snapshots. As a result, it's easy for today's reader to appreciate these moving graphic series - and maybe easier, when that reader learns about the persecutions and McCarthy-eras black-balling of some of these artists and their works.

-- wiredweird

I have not read this book as of this writing. I look forward, as usual, to reading her words.

Unique, alive, pulsating and quiet. A wonderful, inspiring read. Highly Recommended.

Edwina Gateley has the unique ability to hear, in her silence, the resonance of God. She hears the same way that Stradivarius, knew perfection when he heard it. In this book of poetry, she sings her ballad "Growing into God" in such a melodic way that you will nod, affirmatively, with her canter. By the end of the book she brings the presence of God almost within touch.

What makes her poetry both timeless and infinite is her lonely, brave, sojourn - a lifetime of seeking. Her spiritual pilgrimage took her to places and spaces that few have known. She says, "My journey with God was full of ups and downs, a roller coaster, touching heights of love and joy, and depths of despair and anger." She goes on to say, "Betrayal, insecurity and loss are all part of the deepening process of faith by which we come."

I needed, and used, "Growing into God" while I was on a self-imposed exile from first world modernity and if possible, myself. For six weeks I retreated to the high Peruvian Andes. Often the experiences she told of in "Growing in God" mirrored my own. I found warmth and reassurance in Edwina Gateley's insights and her tapestry of words. Poems such as: Silence, Faith, Fall, Listen, Vision, Stirring, Sitting, Spaces, Farewell, Journey, Reunion and Deeply Grateful affirmed that I am not alone. My favorite, if it is possible to have just one, is her classic poem, "Loss." I will quote a part of it.

Loss

"I do not know you, God.
I thought I did -
your attitudes were listed long
in my Divine inventory....

One day
a grayness fell upon my world,
like a shroud,
choking my hymns and prayers.

Thought I called on you,
there was no answer,
no cloud by day nor fire by night,
only a terrible silence
screaming your absence -
leaving me,
not knowing,
my deep, deep faith
disintegrating
floating away like ashes
on a night breeze,
dissipating in the darkness,
leaving me all hollowed out."

"Growing in God" is for all of those believers who no longer feel close to the God they once danced with. "Growing in God" is for those, who in younger years, were confident in their faith; who would, without hesitation, sonorously tell other, invited or not, how they too could believe. Now, years later, their faith is only whispered and their words couched in relativity.

"Growing in God" is for all those who, like Edwina Gateley, dare to believe that God is still there, seeking to reconnect and renew.

"My dance was lost
to pilgrimage.
But your dance
never ceased, God.
Still you circled waiting -
to play and whisper
once again."

Highly Recommended

As an attorney who regularly represents clients in guardianship proceedings, I strongly recommend that my clients read The Guardianship Book so that they understand the sometimes confusing process. In some cases, I hand the book to my clients during our first meeting, as "homework" to read before I will prepare and file a petition. For those who cannot afford an attorney, I recommend this as a resource that will save considerable time and avoid court hearing delays. For clients who can afford to pay my fees, the book still saves my time explaining many issues -- the $25 book can easily save $250 in attorney fees. (Mark J. Welch, Pleasanton, CA)

I recently became a guardian of my young nephew but could not afford and didn't want to deal with a lawyer. This book made it possible. It layed out the steps in a well structured manner. I was very satisfied with my purchase. The forms it included with the book were just great. Buy it.

ãæÖæÚ ÇáßÊÇÈ ÑÍÇáÉ ßÊÈ ãÐßÑÇÊå Úä ÒíÇÑÊå áÍÇÆá æ ÔãÇá ÇáããáßÉ ßÊÇÈ ããÊÇÒ íÓÊÍÞ ÇáÞÑÇÁÉ

Oasis City of Saudi Arabi

My emotions were stirred greatly by the portrayal of good and evil, as they collide all around us. The story and the characters took hold of me from beginning and hold on even still. It's a wonderful read.

I could not put this book down. An incredible look at good versus evil. This book is written on many levels. A complex thriller which will leave you weak.

This book was the first I had read in the "religious/spiritual" genre, and it has inspired me to not only read more books like it (including the other by the same authors), but made me a believer in the power of prayer and spiritual healing. This book is very well written book. It is not "preachy" as many spiritual books can be. I was surprised and impressed by it. For anyone searching in their lives for healing (physical, spiritual, or otherwise), this is a great place to start learning about healing and healing ministry.

From a former student of the Institute for Christian Ministries who will always be learning thanks to books like HEALING MINISTRY.

This is an absolute must-read-first book if anyone is thinking about prayer ministry either as one to be prayed for or one who desires to be a prayer team partner. For many the term "healing ministry" conjures up some pretty interesting images. I found HEALING MINISTRY to be engaging, insightful, and simply written as though the reader was sitting in front of the authors in conversation. "Further Readings" gave me a seemingly endless supply of more to soak up. The exersices were stimulating, enriching, thought provoking, and I believe I have become a more mature Christian having done them. A very valuable lesson for me was to learn how we all are ministers in our every day lives. The authors successfully conveyed that the Cycle of Ministry they wrote about is comforting and healing for all participants, and if used as a practical guide there will always be the ever-loving presence of God in ministry.

Thank you Father Leo and Jan Alkire!

I agree with this Harrisburg PA review by Mary O. Bradley in the April 16, 2006, Sunday Patriot newspaper:

"The 80-page book is a collection of 60 poems that looks at life's hardships, rejuvenation and relationships. Some poems succinctly capture a thought, such as the three-line 'Hit Head-On': 'We were hit head-on./Do we always recognize/the traffic we see?'

"In longer poems, he lingers, caressing and emoting with each word, such as lovely imagery of 'The Seasons' Leaves.' Here is an excerpt: 'She fell in autumn./She lay in blowing brown heaps against the wire fence/with the candy wrappers and magazine shreds/where still,/on their surface,/a few words could be read.'"

This is fine verse with both impact and insight. Ward's reflective and genuine observations come together with a passionate affection for detail and craft. Jack Veasey, in his foreword, says that Keith Ward's poems have a way of making you see how much there is to the fine art of noticing, something too few of us find the time to do in our hectic world of never-ending obligations.
Amen! Seriously, slow down, you move too fast; there are many ways to look at April.

And there are many, many Aprils. Right?

One of the best ways to teach children or youth the books of the Bible. The poster is an added bonus to the tape!

This is an excellent means of learning the Books of the Bible for Children or Youth. The poster is just an added bonus to the tape.

I have read Phyllis's books a lot of times and I can definitly say that this book is my favorite. All of Phyllis's stories are beautifilly written and are a pleasure to read. I know many people who feel the same way. I think that it is a big mistake to take this book out of print because it tells people all about a nice peaceful world which is possible with God.

The stories in each chapter have such a significant value to our lives. Some were very touching as I read them... And I could honestly relate at a personal level. Yet once I completed reading the book I honestly have to say that almost daily, I can relate to a situation in life that makes me revert to a story in Phyllis' book. It is very warm, and touching. My favorite is "The Christmas Secret". It makes us realize the presence of Christ in our lives, day to day. A "Strong - Realization that He is Alive an amoung us". I want to pass this book along to other's as a gift, a soft yet loving inspiration, to rekindle a faith that some have lost. To know "He" is alive in our everyday, as "He" was 2000 year's ago. My Love & Blessings to such a gifted author - I pray her grace from God the gift she has through her writtings -- touch mulitudes of people.