Wilson Books

Lutyens, the architect of Queen Mary's Dolls' House, also designed the city of New Delhi and the Viceroy's House, one of the largest and most unique palaces in the world. Sadly, he was one of the world's greatest artists, but is remembered only for this (comparatively) tiny tourist attraction.

Tourists, architectural students, and historians should buy this book. This is the only thorough analysis of any of Lutyens' buildings, and as such, is an important historical document above and beyond its tourist appeal.

I was so enchanted by Royal Collection Official Guide Book to Queen Mary's Dolls' House that I ordered this one figuring (correctly) that there would be other unique pictures. This is the better of the two books - nearly three times as long and filled with more pictures, especially detail shots of the tiny furnishings and decorations. I am charmed by Cripp's method of showing scale: he poses the tiny cricket bat next to a regulation cricket ball, and the little golf clubs next to a real golf ball. This also includes a section on how the house is aging: fading wallpaper, damaged paint, etc. All of the pictures, except for a few that are historic, are in color. This is unfortunately out of print, and may be more expensive, so the purchaser will have to weigh issues of cost and availability for themselves. I think that either would do as a souvenier.

If someone is really interested, I would recommend getting both books. The Royal Collection Official Guidebook is a pretty good buy at $11.95 and a nice supplement to this one. A very few of the shots are in both, but not enough to make them redundant to the person who wants all the information they can get. Generally, the duplicate shots are slightly large in the S-W book. To compare and contrast the two, while the S-W book has more of everything, the RC book still has some unique shots. The photographs in this book take in the entire room, while the RC book often shoots the room at an angle, cutting off part of the room, but what is shown is sometimes in better focus and a bit larger. To compare the shots of the Queen's bedroom, the Stewart-Wilson shot shows the entire bedroom. The Royal Collection shot, at an angle , reveals some additional details such as the fire screen and the chinoiserie cabinet, but cuts off the exteme left-hand side of the room. (Her Majesty has apparently been rearranging her decorative items since the S-W book.) The S-W detail of the 18th century pietre-dure table concentrates on showing the design on the top. The RC detail shows more of the table and the objects normally on it. The historical sections, revealing how the house came to be built are the most different, and the RC book has more pictures of people who participated in creating the doll house and of the room in which it now sits with the Phillip Connard mural. The captions are overlapping, but not identical, and so one gains more information by having both.

England's Queen Mary--grandmother of the current Queen Elizabeth II--commissioned the construction of her extraordinary dollhouse (or "dolls' house" as it is referred to here) in 1921, during her own reign. It resides at Windsor Castle, as it has since being constructed there. Designed by Edward Lutyens (famous for his graceful furniture), the house is a reproduction of Windsor Castle right down to the last nail--almost literally.

David Cripps' photography beautifully captures the interiors of this amazing dollhouse, from the grand to the plebian. Here is the linen closet, each batch of towels tied with different-colored ribbon to denote whether they were intended for the nursery, the staff, or the kitchen. Here is a lacquer cabinet with gilded stand, dovetailed working drawers, and gold-leafed decoration. Here is a bed, complete with pillows, bolsters, sheets, blankets, and even a tiny walnut-handled bedwarmer. The toilet, complete with toilet paper discreetly placed in a bowl alongside, really works. The toothbrushes are made of ivory and have bristles made from the hair of a goat's inner ear. In the cellar, bottles of Chateau Margaux are properly corked and waxed and labeled. The pantry shows real bows of Fry's Chocolates sharing space with McVitie & Price biscuits, barley sugar candies in hefty glass candy jars, and Frank Cooper's Seville Marmalade in squat jars tied with brown paper and string.

The garage houses a miniature bicycle with brakes "in perfect working order," not to mention a Rudge motorcycle and sidecar, a seven-seater Rolls Royce limousine-landaulet, a Vauxhall, a "Sunbeam open tourer," and two Daimlers. Gorgeous royal crests are hand-painted on each. The house even has its own petrol pumps and fire appliances, as was normal for large houses in that era.

The house's garden is splendid despite the absence of a single living thing. The lawn, made of cut green velvet, boasts several tiny mowers (both motor-powered and not), and the nearby garden has its own lovely benches, hoes, spades and the like. There is even a robin's nest, complete with eggs, and a tiny, tiny snail.

Perhaps the most extraordinary thing in the house is the book collection. Famous authors were asked to contribute their own works. Arthur Conan Doyle obliged by submitted "How Watson Learned the Trick," an original 500-word short story done in his own handwriting. The bookplates for each of the books were designed by beloved Winnie-the-Pooh illustrator Ernest Shepard. Rudyard Kipling submitted not only two poems, but illustrated them himself as well. Other well-known authors who gave their own works to the Queen's house included G. K. Chesterton, Joseph Conrad, Robert Graves, Aldous Huxley, Hilaire Belloc, Rose Macauley, W. Somerset Maugham, and Vita Sackville-West. Topping off the fine works of this distinguished crowd are the leather-bound autograph books--one each for famous folks from stage and screen, famous folks from the military, and famous politicans.

There is even a room for storing the scepter, crowns and other regalia--all featuring flawless gemstones!

The details are endlessly fascinating and the house and its furnishings so well-constructed that without a tennis ball or coin or some other everyday real object, you easily forget that everything your eye falls upon here is miniature. For those who cannot get to Windsor Castle themselves to view the house in person, this book offers a very fine tour.

To further correct the first reviewer, the Doll's House is certainly not a copy of Windsor Castle. It is nothing like it. Windsor Castle is a CASTLE - stones and very old, and big. The Doll's House is an "ideal home" of the early 1020's - albeit intended for royalty and not for your average Joneses.

With a couple of corrections of the first review, I'd like to make sure that it's known that Queen Mary did not commission this dollshouse. It was the original brain child of the Princess Marie Louise, who spearheaded the creation of the house. Queen Mary was "extremely surprised" but agreed. The initial shell of the house was erected in Lutyen's office, then removed to the drawing room of his house in Mansfield Street in London.

It was unveiled to the press, once completed, in the Mansfield Street house, then moved and reconstructed in the Palace of Arts at Wembley. It went from there to Windsor Castle, then to an exhibition at Olympia. In February of 1925, the house was returned to Windsor Castle. The Daily Mail donated a glass case through which we can now view the dollshouse in Windsor Castle.

This wonderful book has photographs of the letters written by Princess Marie Louise to all the firms and manufacturers involved in the dollshouse creation, as well as numerous photographs of the interior and furnishings. Pictures of tiny dollshouse ledgers, keys, and even a garden snail grace this book.

HA! big blond creep? - a jerk? ------- and Samantha [not a good girl]is excused for her part in the misunderstandings?
Someone didn't read the same book I did --
RANSOM MY HEART by Gayle Wilson!
And who the devil is Jim Wilson - at least get the author right, you guys! Gayle Wilson as is on the book!
Please get this book listed under Gayle Wilson's book list.

The two McCuller brothers are very close. An then Mac is killed.
Chase is convinced that Rio Delgado is responsible. I guess that is known as "Kill the messenger." It turns out that Rio is his half-brother.
Chase is a man of honor, at least he tries to be until Samantha seduces him. Her father has demanded that Chase stay away from her.
Chase has been in love with Samantha since she was 17 but he is older than her. At 21 she seduces Chase and then they sure get their wires crossed, as he deals with Mac's death and his determination to put Rio in jail.

Now Samantha knows she is pregnant but refuses to inform Chase - yup, bull-headed and stubborn just like her daddy. He still has no use for Chase. So many little things lead to their estrangement.

Ah, but Sam Kincaid wants the best man for the job, when his granddaughter is kidnapped. Lucky for Samantha that it turns out to be Chase. He would do anything for her.

Now to deliver the ransom money, which takes Chase and Samantha on practically a wild goose chase. They get ambushed and suddenly Samantha finds out that Chase still wants her and maybe she had gotten things all wrong about him. Yup! just like all women who operate on their emotions.

It turns out that Samantha and Chase dealing with a true Mexican gentleman as a kidnapper. But then who wants to kill them??

Finally these two learn to follow their hearts and make a family. Chase is still willing to give Sam what he wants. A grandson!

"HOME TO TEXAS" series is starting out with a bang and I hope it just keeps getting better. This is definitely a keeper!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED -- Even though Samantha is a twit.
Now onto Rio's story - "Whisper My Love" - 5 years in prison, UGH!

We have read almost all of the Harlequin books, and this one interested us the most!!! We thought that Samantha should have told Chase in the beging about Amanda being his daughter.We can understand why Samantha loves him, but why did he have to be such a Jerk to her?! Ugghhh!

"Ransom My Heart" is a great book, except for one BIG problem: the hero is a complete jerk. In the prologue that sets up the story, he has sex with the heroine, then casts her to the side for reasons that really don't hold any water for anyone with a brain. We move ahead five years, where the man, Chase McCullar, is hired to find the kidnapped daughter of his one-time love, Samantha Kincaid. Although Samantha is mysterious about the girl's father, the reader already knows who it is the whole time. That doesn't detract from the story, though, as they have to struggle through a danger-fraught trip through Mexico to find the girl, only to discover secret dangers lingering back in Texas... Wilson's action sequences are great, I liked Samantha (especially for putting up with the Big Blond Creep, Chase), but he ruined the book for me. Arrogant, condescending, and insufferably rude, I wanted her to knock him over the head through just about all of the book. Frankly, I couldn't understand why Samantha would even want him, considering the way he treated her, but I guess if the cover art is any indication, she thought his looks were good enough.

This is the first book of Wilson's "Home to Texas" trilogy, and it makes for a good beginning. Unfortunately, Chase plays a prominant role in the other two, "Whisper My Love" and "Remember My Touch," and he's a jerk in both of those too. Fortunately, a development in that last book takes him out of most of it, something that we all can be grateful for. All three books are worth checking out.

right up to the last page. I fell in love with Chase and Samantha's romance. This book, the first in a three part McCullar series, was the perfect mix of romance and drama. I've already started the second book, Whisper My Love and can't wait to get to Jenny's story in Remember My Touch. Gayle Wilson is going on my permenant to be bought list!!

This was definitely the best book I've read in ages! While some readers might feel that Chase is a jerk, if you read carefully, you'll know that he didn't mean the things he said, and he knew from the beginning that he loved Samantha with all his heart. This is one of those books where I couldn't wait for the end, and then when it came, I wanted more! Please, Gayle, write another book about Chase, Samantha and Mandy!

From "Somewhere, My Love" to "On Top Of Spaghetti", this book has so many songs that I find myself humming and wishing I could play. Did you like Sesame Street, Dr. Zhivago, The Godfather? Do you like showtunes? There's over a hundred of them here ... the breadth is part of the fun of the book!

Great songs to play for a party or for your own enjoyment: Georgia on My Mind, I Left My Heart in San Francisco, It's Impossible, My Funny Valentine, The Shadow of your Smile, The Way You Look Tonight, On the Street Where You Live, Honky-Tonk Train. ALL of the songs are excellent piano melodies sutable for the intermediate player.

I wish Reader's Digest would print some more of these books. It is such an excellent composite of popular music and the arrangements are fantastic. If anyone has a copy, I would love to buy it.

Great book for the intermediate pianist. It's one of my favorites. Reader's Digest needs to reprint it. I borrow it at the public library and would buy it if available.

This songbook has many of the great songs of my youth. The chords are easy, there are guitar chords written above the treble staff and the print is large enough for those of us over 50 to see. The arrangements are outstanding. I wish Readers' Digest would reprint this book. I'd buy it in a second. I have to borrow mine from the public library.

We loved this book. It seems as though we were always taught MORE about the perils of hell than the beauty of Heaven. The beauty of heaven has never been explained the way it is in this book. While the dread and darkness of hell should continue to be taught, we certainly need to go the extra mile in our teachings about the kingdom of God. Joe Beam allows your heart and soul to actually "long" for that day instead of being incapable of imagining what it might be like. Heaven sometimes seems like some ficticious place because we have always been told "we cannot even comprehend what it will be like". The danger in that explanation is that the mind sometimes shuts down at that point because we have nothing in this world to compare it to. Heaven IS beyond our comprehension but it will in no form or fashion be a step "back" from the heavenly joys we hold near and dear here on this earth. It will be so much more. We cant wait!!

Joe Beam and Lee Wilson go straight to the Bible for this one. I feel refreshed and excited about Heaven in stead of wondering if I will actually want to be there. This is a MUST read book for every Christian.

This book about Heaven uses plain language (not a lot of religious jargon) to take a serious, yet ultimately comforting look at Heaven. It acknowledges that even Christians can have doubts and concerns about what being a citizen of Heaven will be like. Referring to Scripture whenever possible, it addresses such concerns as "Will we have bodies or simply be spirits in Heaven?" and "Will we keep our memories of this life?" It has helped me appreciate God's power and anticipate Heaven even more. I highly recommend all Joe Beam's books.

This book challenged my thinking on what heaven is like. It opened my eyes in many ways and caused me to take a new look at what I thought the Bible said. It was very comforting and uplifting.

Heaven! What a great topic.This litle book is filled with the promise of real joy in our future. So often I and others I know have struggled with a quite fear that heaven will be boreing; with nothing to do. Joe, as always, hits the ball. His insight and people skills are just right. Read this book.

Tom Wilson's premise: Employee incentives are just as important to corporations as they are to employees. Why? Because a company that aligns its own achievement with that of its employees is well on its way to success. Wilson uses a wide range of case studies to bolster his common- sense advice, including reminders that your employee rewards plan should be simple to understand, geared toward the kind of people you want to attract and should frequently vary. Even the most experienced manager can stand to learn a thing or two from Wilson's keen analysis of Amazon.com, Southwest Airlines, Saturn, and a host of other successful businesses. We from getAbstract think that you owe it to yourself - and to your employees - to read this well-crafted book.

In the modern economy, organizations that compete for the best people must learn to design reward systems that drive performance. The author argues that in today's marketplace, more and more companies are seeing employee benefits not as an expense, but as a tool for achieving particular goals. The author further explains that with loyalty gone, workers need a reward system that works, or they will leave the company.

Author Thomas Wilson explored many different reward systems from different firms. As he reviewed the most successful firms, he started to notice similarities. The author noticed that regardless of the individual goals of each organization's reward program, they all shared these 10 key factors:

· Reward systems play a crucial role in performance.
· Measures give rewards relevance, rewards give measures meaning.
· Alignment with the company's philosophies and values, along with consistency are essential.
· How people are paid is often more important than how much they are paid.
· Build programs with a vision, improving them over time.
· The value of the reward, including psychological value, should exceed its cost.
· Recognize that the program does not become real for workers until the first payment.
· Translate measures into action guidelines for employees.
· Make rewards more meaningful by combing financial with non-financial rewards.
· Use rewards as strategic management systems used to support the strategy, goals, and values of a company.

Tom Wilson's new book is even better than his last, which I found to be one of the best reward systems books written. Rewards that Drive High Performance is a rich and easy reading collection of case studies from some of the country's leading organizations, including Amazon.com, Starbucks, Genzyme and many others. It is a book that I, as a manager, found to be very practical -- a compensation "text" for line managers because it shows what works and why, not just theory.

I really liked the way the cases were grouped, because it shows that reward systems need to be defined differently for different applications and company cultures. Best practices are useful to study, but Wilson's book goes beyond this to show how and why the best companies do what they do and align their reward systems with their business objectives.

It's refreshing to see a book from a leading consultant not geared to "provide just enough" to entice the reader to want to know more -- this book truly tells the whole story, and does it in a way that proves to be a compelling read.

This book provides insights into some of the most talked about companies in America. It helped me understand their situation, and how they developed an effective reward system. It also gave me specific tools, and hundreds of ideas. It is clear, well written, and well presented. Thanks.

"This book provides a series of stories that offer a window into today's organizations. While the focus is on the reward systems that these organizations devised and implemented, the true picture goes much deeper. Each story reflects an organization that was facing a need to change the way it coducted its business and developed a process to support and reinforce change. So, the reward systems are manifestations of a new set of values and practices within organizations...The case studies in this book were developed with representatives of these organizations. They are true, real-life descriptions of what goes on inside these companies...While this book can be read from front to back, it was not written to be read in a traditional manner. It may be useful to take a non-linear approach, jumping from one section to another...This book is not intended to represent the best practices of the best companies, although it often does. It is a book about reality. It may not include the design for the perfect reward system, but it should give you ideas and approaches that will change the way you think about, develop, and manage rewards (pp.1-7)."

In this context, Thomas B. Wilson focuses on:

* How does an organization such as Amazon.com instill or retain the entrepreneurial spirit that it had when it was small?

* how companies such as DuPont, Coca-Cola, and Cisco Systems seek to create a bridge between the requirements for success and each individual.

* how companies retain a customer focus so that people collaborate and strive to perform better.

* how companies such as DuPont, Cumming Engine, and K/P Corporation encouraged people to collaborate and provided a share of the benefit if improvements could be achieved.

* how companies retain their critical talents.

* how companies such as Allied Signal, and Harvard University Health Services have integrated a variety of quality management processes into their organizations.

* how companies have changed their reward systems to support new business strategies.

Finally, he writes that "to aid you in developing your own approach to change, I have summarized the 10 key factors that seem to most accurately determine what makes reward systems successful. While this list summarizes common characteristics, the true significance is in applying these principles to your own situation and to learn from the direct application of experience."

1. Reward systems play a crucial role in performance.

2. Measures give rewards relevance; rewards give measures meaning.

3. Alignment and consistency are essential.

4. How people are paid is often more important than how much they are paid.

5. Build programs with a vision, and then improve them over time.

6. The value of the reward should exceed the cost.

7. The program begins after the first payouts.

8. Translate measures into action.

9. Make rewards meaningful.

10. Take a strategic, systemic, and holistic approach.

Highly recommended.

Everyone will have a sauna one day in their homes for health. I got this book and acquired an infrared sauna that I use every day for 30 minutes. It's a great adjunct to a nutritonal program and hair mineral analysis. Look at this book as part of a complete program for yourself to help prevent disease and as a road to wellness, not just the absence of symptoms.
At the very least it makes your skin so much better. One throws off toxins and you feel better using it.
Read the book and decide for yourself!

This book is a godsent to the population at large, most of whom would be at least moderately interested in maintaining and improving their health.
The "old" Finnish Sauna has been around for so long and its healing properties are somewhat understood by many but actual use of the Sauna is limited to a small section of the population in the Western world.
Women do not feel comfortable in the Finnish Sauna as temperatures run at about 100º C (212 Fahrenheit) and the extra padding of subcutaneous fat in the female means that a woman cannot deal with the external thermal stress as well as a man, making the Sauna a less than enjoyable experience.

Enter the Infrared Sauna. Lower temperature, much more detoxification through sweating and excretion of fat-soluble toxins and a feeling of comfort, like a nice warm summer day, plus the reduced technical requirements make this the Sauna of choice.

The author does an excellent job of explaining all there is to know, including simple, inexpensive ways to create your own Sauna from readily available materials, the book is a real treasury of factual, relevant information and I highly recommend it.
Following the book's instructions, I built my own infrared Sauna for very little money, it works well and my wife is amazed how clever I am.

I came across [...]Dr. Lawrence Wilson's book through an article titled: "Light Saunas and Tesla" in the ExtraOrdinary Technology magazine some time back and was very impressed with his no nonsense approach to Sauna therapy. The article highlighted a case history where, a strict dietary regiment, and the light Sauna stopped the progression of bone cancer!

One sensed that Dr. Wilson's primary goal above all was to first help us improve our health. I, could not help but, admire his efforts to self empower his patients and others with one of the most profound tools. His unique approach and ability to cut through the mumbo jumbo on Sauna therapy and provide an highly effective, if not the most effective, Sauna design and it's associated methodology readily into everyone's hand is exactly the kind of data that is central to the theme of my Share the Wealth site.

The beauty of the Sauna is that it off loads the liver and the kidneys from their endless duty of detoxification, this then allows them to rest and rebuild. This is particularly important if the kidneys and the liver are not working optimally. In addition there are certain substances, discussed in the book, that are excreted better in sweat. Light Sauna is the only way to repair ionizing radiation damage (such as X-Rays and nuclear etc.)

"To be most effective the sauna needs to use red infrared heat lamps, not conventional electric heaters or the newer zirconium ceramic elements that produce mainly far-infrared energy. The wide spectrum of the red infrared heat lamps includes the entire infrared spectrum, not just far infrared, and light frequencies of red, orange and yellow. It also includes ultrasound and radio frequencies, both short and long wave. It also includes some audible sound frequencies. Every one of these components has healing properties which" are explained in the book.

The problem with Sauna therapy has been the expense and the associated space required for one. Dr. Wilson, multifaceted approach, has not only resolved this but may have provided one of the most effective design to boot.

Infrared electric light sauna therapy is one of the least costly, safest and most powerful ways to eliminate toxic metals, toxic chemicals and chronic infections. The benefits include:

* Skin rejuvenation
* Exercise benefits
* Decongesting the internal organs
* Fever therapy (hyperthermia) for infections.
* Tumors, radiation poisoning and mutated cells

While I am not treating myself for any particular ailment, my goal is to develop a lifelong method for detoxifying. Safe and clean - good nutrition (the building blocks), air, and water are rapidly disappearing hence detoxification is essential for all, no matter how healthy we maybe or think we are.... and Dr. Wilson's plans, for a light Sauna that anyone can build at home so cost effectively, fit the bill exactly!

All components are off the shelf, low cost, and easily available. I was able to build my own for $150 Canadian, strangely it took me a day and a half to round up the all the components and only an afternoon to construct it!

Dr. Wilson is also an expert hair analyst. Hence, he first tested the efficacy the Sauna on himself thorough the use of hair analysis, the striking results of which are in the book, and subsequently used it on his patients. It was this work that inspired him to recommend sauna therapy for all clients.

[...]His site contains the basics including the plans. The book is far more comprehensive and contains the following chapters

1. Introduction to Saunas
2. Physiology of Saunas
3. Heat Shock Proteins
4. Sauna Protocol
5. Detoxification
6. Other Aspects Of Sauna Therapy
7. A Total Health Program
8. Effects On Health Conditions
9. Saunas And Infectious Disease
10. Saunas and Cancer
11. Healing Reactions
12. Sauna Design
13. Light Sauna Considerations
14. Personal Experience With An Electric Light Sauna
15. Sauna Research
16. Review and Conclusion
Appendix A. Saunas and Hair Mineral Analysis
[...]
Appendix D. Notes For Practitioners
References
Index

[...]

I purchased Sauna Therapy in preparation for building my first sauna. This surprising little book contains a trove of information from the basic science behind saunas to practical considerations on how to choose among the variety that now exist, or even how to build them.

Dr Larry Wilson shares a lot of information in this book and on his website. I followed his sauna construction plans and have had my homemade sauna for close to two years. It's very inexpensive and has worked great.

This book was also my introduction to hair mineral analysis. My first impression was that it was something I would never want to do. But if you find yourself spending a lot of time in a sauna hair analysis is an effective way to learn just what it is you're sweating out and what you could be doing or taking to replace it.

There are things we can do to effect changes in our bodies if we want to learn about them and take the time and exercise the discipline to go through with them. Dr Wilson is definitely a good person to learn from.

I can't stress how deeply this book moved me. As a child of the North I simply didn't know that such conditions existed. Yes, I was well read and also active in civil rights in the early fifties, nevertheless, I didn't nor could I know about the agonies and fear of everyday life. Ms Byers does a brilliant job of bringing to life - a small Georgia family over a number of years but most of the action happens over one hot summer in post-world war II United States. This book should be required reading for Americans and would be eye-opening for most Europeans.

Growing up sheltered in a small town in Georgia the author learned lessons of faith and courage by watching the examples of her parents and their friends. The author deals openly with race, poverty and disease. Many of us who are familiar with her time and location identify with the trials of the family. Others will learn more about the daily life of small southern towns before the era of civil rights .

Separate Fountains is an absolute joy to any reader of any age. This story of how the unbreakable love of a family overcomes all odds will warm your soul and tickle your funnybone. I thought the reading was very much like Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird". This book is very very hard to put down. Once you begin, you are swept off into the South to feel the fear that was caused by the cold grip of the Klu Klux Klan and how good honest folk of Jonesboro thwarted their schemes to keep as much peace in the town alive as possible. If you are in need of an uplifting experience, this is the book for you. True family love will always rise above all that opposes it, and True friends will always be there when you least expect it. This is a book for everyone; be sure to pick up a copy for yourself and another for someone you love!

Patti Byars has written a most accurate and sensitive book on life as it really was in the rural south during the 40's and 50's. She handles segregation and its people, the good and the bad, with truth and dignity. Separate Fountains would be a great reading requirement in schools.

Mrs. Byars has written a masterpiece. I laughed and cried. The images are vivid and you can imagine yourself on the streets of Jonesboro in the 1940's. What a great tribute to her father, a man with great integrity and honor. A man who did not see color only the goodness in a person.

During the middle of the twentieth century, American black and white people lived in separate communities by law. White people never entered black areas while black people only entered white areas if they were employed as butlers or maids. This segregation created many impoverished black ghettos but there were a few black communities that prospered and this book is about one of them, in Greenville, in the American state of Mississippi.

The inspiration for - and focus of - the book is the collection of photographs by Henry Clay Anderson who died in 1998, a few months after selling that collection to Shawn Wilson. These photographs show successful black people going about their normal lives at school, at home, at weddings and a variety of other everyday situations as well as photographs taken in a studio. Most of these photographs would be unremarkable if they were of white people, but because most photographs of black people are of the poor and oppressed, these photographs may come as a revelation to some.

Supporting text by Clifton L. Taulbert, who remembers the area from his childhood (he was raised in a nearby community), explains what Greenville was like during the period in which these photographs were taken. Greenville is not one of America's more famous locations. I only recognize the name because it is mentioned in a song that I know well - Mississippi, by the Dutch pop group, Pussycat. As this book is about a particular period in Greenville's history, I (and I'm sure many readers of this book) would have appreciated the inclusion of a chapter about Greenville's history and culture to set this book in context, explaining what it was like before the period covered and hw things have changed since. In its absence, I have to drop the book (otherwise easily worth five stars), to four stars.

Another chapter is devoted to the rise of the civil rights movement and the murder of the Reverend Gus Lee, accompanied by some dramatic photographs that are not typical of the rest of the book, which set out to portray the good aspects of black people's lives. However, bad things happen to everybody and it was necessary to cover this episode in the book.

This book, despite the murder, shows that black people can be very successful. It's the kind of book that shouldn't be necessary and it's a sad reflection on society that it was felt necessary to publish this book.

This book is a moving pictorial testament to the daily life of middle class blacks in the deep South in the time of Jim Crow, as well as on the cusp of the civil rights movement. It is a slice of black life with which most whites at the time were unfamiliar, as most photo-journalists chose to capture the more sensational types of images in the black community.

Henry Clay Anderson was a black school teacher and minister who, courtesy of the G. I. Bill, studied photography and became a professional photographer. In 1948, he established his own business, Anderson Photo Service, in Greenville, Mississippi, where he lived. For more than forty years, he would photograph moments in the lives of Greenville's black middle class community, forever freezing in time images of a rich life that paralleled those of their white counterparts in the Jim Crow South, separate but equal.

The book has one hundred and thirty of his photographs, memorializing a time long past but one that continues to haunt America today. Clifton L. Taulbert, who was raised in Mississippi in a town not far from Greenville and is the noted author of the book, "Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored", writes a poignant and moving essay in remembrance of the black denizens of Greenville, grounding the photographs in the context of the times out of which they arose. It is as if it were a walk down memory lane.

Mary Panzer, curator of photographs at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., writes an essay that details Mr. Anderson's photographic involvement in the early civil rights movement, when he agreed to go travel to Belzoni, Mississippi in 1955. Belzoni had been the scene of the grisly shooting of Rev. Gus Lee, a black civil rights activist who had been involved in voter registration efforts. Mr. Anderson's photographs memorialized the shooting and its aftermath, appearing in magazines such as "Jet" and "Ebony", which were well known in the black community. Ms. Panzer grounds his photographs in the political context of the time, which affirm Mr. Anderson's political commitment.

There are also two essays in Mr. Anderson's own words that are culled from two interviews conducted by Daisy Greene for the Washington County Oral History Project and by Shawn Wilson, in whom the idea for this book germinated. The book is a loving tribute to Henry Clay Anderson. His legacy of photographic images will delight and haunt those who look at them, seeing in them not only America's past but its future. This is simply a beautiful book.

These photographs show proud and dignified human beings living in a culture that once really existed in America (believe it or not). You will not find pictures of people being chased by dogs or being subdued with fire hoses. You will not find pictures of lynchings or cross-burnings...

I am a Greenville native who just sat down and shared this book with my mother who still lives in Greenville, Mississippi. She remembers the photographer and we both knew people mentioned in the book and some of the people in the pictures. It is a great depiction of early Black life in the Delta and tells a compelling story of the photographer,
Mr. Anderson. It shows that not all black Mississippians in the early days were cottonpickers living on plantations. The town of Greenville has a rich history, this book gives a minor glimpse of it. I wish the photo index had of had exact names of the people in them, that would have made it even more personal and touching.

Separate But Equal is a unique gem. A combination of historic photographs and personal essays, it chronicles the lives of an African American working middle-class living in the Mississippi Delta during the years of segregation.

H.C. Anderson snapped the deceptively simple but beautiful photographs, and they are a revelation. Through the lens of his camera, he documented a segregated but proud society aspiring to its own version of the "American dream." Anderson provides us a personal glimpse into the lives of children and families celebrating special events - beauty contests, weddings, proms, birthday parties - and they are truly dressed for the occasion!
One of the more striking photographs depicts a mid-wife who has just helped deliver a baby in a family home. The bedroom floor is covered in newspaper, as the new mother looks on from her bed, covered by a clean crisp white sheet. Although the photographs primarily focus on the every day lives of their subjects, there are also powerful photographs documenting the burgeoning civil rights movement, and a grim reminder of the fate suffered by some individuals who chose to play an active role.

The essays accompanying the photographs provide insight into Greenville's history. As seen through the wide-eyed amazement of a child, noted writer Clifton L. Taulbert paints a vivid picture of his youthful visits to the prosperous and magical Greenville, the "Queen City of the Delta." Taulbert along with Shawn Wilson provides the reader with a fascinating insider's view of the process involved in bringing this book to print. In a personal and touching essay, Wilson reflects on how the search for an old photograph of his mother, long since deceased, led him back home to Greenville and Mr. Anderson. It was there in Anderson's now defunct photography studio, that Wilson discovered the wealth of photographs comprising Anderson's life long work. Reluctant but trusting, the aging Anderson handed over his photographs so that Wilson might share them with the world. In doing so, we have the opportunity to view images of a rarely explored segment of society, one that combines both the struggle AND celebration of life during the period of Southern segregation.

This wonderful book would make a great holiday gift for those that love history or photography!

Dr. Wilson-Howarth, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, has a finely tuned sense of humor & courtesy of our Victorian ancestors, our language is thick with euphemisms for this most basic of deeds.

Don't dismiss her timely & important information just because she's funny, she has a lot to teach us. You will learn how to:
-- avoid minor & major intestinal disruptions & diseases, as well as symptoms & cures.
-- eat, drink & be safe in a foreign place.
-- tame your bodily functions on those long rides.
-- travel with children & keep them well.
-- make environmentally & hygienically sound deposits
-- cope without toilet paper.
-- identify the critters who thrive in dark & moist areas.
Then set about discovering the amazing variety of foreign toilets...& so much more!

A seriously informative & amusing book with a host of helpful hints from well-traveled world trekkers.

The title of the book may sound somewhat crude, however, if you are a traveler, I am sure you have at one time or another being a victim of "Montezuma's revenge" or "Tourista."

No doubt most of us are aware that these are common terms used for an awful attack of traveler's diarrhea. Dr. Jane Wilson-Howarth, a fellow of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, in her book entitled, Shitting Pretty, How to Stay Clean And Healthy While Traveling, was daring enough to write freely about a topic we find revolting to discuss.

Nevertheless, we must be realistic, and if we plan to travel anywhere in the world we must be aware of the various risks involved pertaining to the food we eat and the water we drink. As the author mentions in the introduction, "this little book will-I trust- allow you to enjoy your adventures with the minimum of forced gastrointestinal stops." The principal objectives of the book are to provide the reader with strategies to avoid illness and ensure a healthy trip.

One warning I have is that some of the author's descriptions as well as the various sidebar antidotes provided by fellow travelers can at times be humorous but at the same time somewhat obnoxious. In fact, the reactions I received from my wife and friends upon reading the book were, "Oh My God!"

Nonetheless, Dr.Wilson-Howarth uses everyday language devoid of medical jargon in order that we can easily comprehend what she is attempting to explain to us.

The topics expanded upon in this medical advisory guidebook include the various kinds of diarrhea, their causes and how to avoid it. We are also apprised about toilet facilities in various countries, particularly in third world countries, and how to cope with them. Other issues such as, how safe is the water, weird foods, how to cope when on a long voyage and bathing are likewise expounded upon in order that we have a general knowledge of the risks inherent in traveling to various countries. The ending of each chapter highlights in summary form the principal topic of the section.

The author also enlightens us about certain subjects, such as the history of toilet paper. I bet you did not know that toilet paper is a recent invention. According to the author, the first Gayety's Medicated Paper was produced in England in 1857 and came in flat packs. It was a product for the rich, and one that people were embarrassed to purchase: it was kept out of sight under the counter and euphemistically called curl paper. It was only in 1928 that toilet paper appeared. This certainly can prove to be an interesting bit of information when you are trying to make conversation at a cocktail party!...

I just wish someone had given me this book before my last trip to India where I caught jardia. I like to think that this book may have helped. I had to bribe a bus driver to stop the bus in open country near Jaipur, but couldn't perform under the bemused gaze of about 50 Indian travellers. When I got back on the bus my bowels exploded when the bus hit the next pot-hole in the road and I soiled myself. If that was not enough, half an hour later I vomitted on an elderly woman sitting next to me who had until that point been polite enough not to mention the horrendous smell. I'll remember to pack this book next time I travel in the hope of avoiding a repeat of this ghastly experience.

This is a well written, thoughtful, informative book that provides real life examples on taking care of your natural functions in strange places. It also provides significant data on how to stay healthy in these strange places.

Even if you never venture forth to "go" into the wild, this is a great read. Dr. Wilson-Howarth's style is very, very entertaining.

The trouble is, you'll have all these fascinating titbits of conversation starters, but when to use them?

I arrived in Nairobi in 1981 for a two year stint with a multinational. When I voiced a desire to learn Swahili, my boss' wife recommended this book.

In one month I was speaking Swahili well enough to deal with any situation that could possibly arise. This would not have been possible without this book. Other sources, such as "Teach Yourself Swahili" aren't anywhere near as good. This book was originally written for the settler, missionary or expatriate who came out mainly from the UK, had to learn Swahili fairly well and fairly fast in order to cope in the area, and didn't have the time, money or inclination to sit in a classroom or hire a tutor. As such it is not written for the academic, traveler or dilettante, but is still designed to be thorough and move along at a reasonable pace. On completion of this book you will be able to deal with street situations, read the local newspaper and understand the radio, and yet also have a sufficient grasp of the structure of the language to move into more esoteric things, such as medieval Swahili poetry.

The copy I have was printed in Kenya, and I don't know whether or not it is being printed anywhere else. Anybody interested in learning Swahili should try to get a hold of this book, and I hope that Amazon will manage to track down a source, if possible. My copy's not for sale!

I have read the reviews, and agree completely and wholeheartedly--this book is the best one you could possibly find to learn Swahili. Hands down. Rather than reiterate what everyone else has already said, I would like to mention that it has an additional benefit that most people would not realize before they go to East Africa:

It will also simultaneously teach you British English.

East Africans use British English, and this book uses all the same verbs and phrases that East African English speakers use. Americans have no idea how much idiomatic language and slang they use until they go someplace like East Africa and people understand about half of what they say.

So if you are an American who says "when I get back" rather than "when I return," then you should get this book so you can ALSO learn which words of British English to use.

I lived in Tanzania for two years, and even now, when I meet someone from a former British colony in Africa who is in the US, I switch back into British English, and they understand me a hundred times better than when I use American English.

Just something to keep in mind.

I used this book throughout my 8-year stay in Tanzania, East Africa. Because Peter Wilson uses a step-by-step approach which fits well with the logical structure of Swahili, this book was most helpful in getting started. Later on, as I gained more language skills, the book helped me learn the finer points of vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure. For any traveller to East Africa who plans to stay a while in Tanzania, a good book to add to your library.

This book makes Kiswahili rahisi sana kufahamu. The lessons are very well organized and it's extremely easy to use. I stayed in Kenya for three months and with the help of this book (and a lot of babbling) I was able to communicate quite well.

This is the best book I ever used to study Kiswahili. And I've tried a couple... It is not apt for tourists who just want a quick insight into the Swahili language, but it is perfect for people interested in staying in an East African country. It contains good explanations on grammar, lots of vocabulary and lots of exercises. It teaches you, how to read, write and speak the language in correct grammar using the right words. In short: thumbs up and very recommendable!