Clubs Books

A friend recommended Dathan Charles to me as an antidote to the many formula style books on the market now. Wasn't that the truth! Warned in advance, I settled down in my most comfortable chair, put a full bottle on the table beside me with a large glass and set out to be entertained. The following morning I finished the book and the bottle. During that night I was transported to another time and place filled with characters, good and evil, so real they were like family.

When you enter the world of Dathan Charles, you encounter a rich tapestry of very human beings playing out their lives against a background of international business, organised crime and world events. It is by turn a thriller, a mystery, a romance as the twists in the multi-layered life of Dathan Charles unfold.

Born into a very old English landed family, falling foul of the Nazi regime in the early thirties, Dathan goes to New York to avoid repercussions. There she attempts to build her business which is popular one with organised crime. Lethally dealing with the opposition, she falls in love and into a business arrangement to launder money with an ex-gangster and his partner.

With her lover in jail for ten years, Dathan dedicates her life to her business to find she now has various government agencies determined to ruin her because of her connections. On the other side of the Atlantic, her problems come from the nefarious activities of her family. To her fury both are drawn together during WW2 when British Intelligence start sharing information with their American counterparts. Eventually, in 1948, she is forced to devise a scheme to bring all her adversaries down at the same time, by exposing them and diverting them into fighting each other.

By introducing real life characters and events, with historical accuracy, the narrative seamlessly draws together all the threads of Dathan's life in such a way, it's hard to believe she herself is a figment of the author's imagination.

I wondered, laughed and cried as the many plots unfolded and finished the book with regret. Soon I'll read it again for the sheer pleasure of walking around the "labyrinthine mind" of Dathan Charles and picking up what I missed the first time.

I hope to there's going to be more books about the de Charles family, this author is brilliant.

Prepare to devote an entire weekend to an extraordinary new novel written by Dione M. Coumbe. Through 600 pages of mystery, intrigue and compelling action, Coumbe chronicles the life and times of Dathan Charles, the charming, beautiful, devious, always ingenious tycoon phenomena of a huge international business empire. Crossing the ocean from England at the age of 21, just before the outbreak of WWII, Dathan Charles begins her odyssey by opening a small bridal gown emporium with her own, made-to-order designs. Coumbe hereby sets the stage for the herione's rise to head Dathan Charles International. But on the way to that goal lies a world of amazing business acumen, thrilling adventures involving the Nazi SS and the flight of the Jews from Germany, maneuvers in high finance, intrigue in gangland NYC and wonderful piano concertos which fairly waft among the pages. Behind all this is yet another facet, the world of art and the artists who mingle in Dathan Charles' life.

Coumbe has brought together an absorbing cast of characters, each wonderfully rounded and complete in themselves, yet interdependent and integral to the heroine. Coumbe, as a historian and genealogist in her own right, follows the history of pre WWII to the mid 90s in this country, England and Europe, allowing the reader to visualize how each character is a product of history and their own family trees. The weaving of this web is so deft that one is amazed at how smoothly it all comes together. A risky flight from the SS, a chilling gangland shoot-out, financial finagling of the highest order, romance which warms the heart, fashion, art and music all surround and intermingle with the international cast.

This is a heart warming, heart rending, heart stopping story, one guaranteed to fascinate, captivate and dominate the reader. Coumbe, already a published author, has come on the fiction stage with a truly distinctive concept and a wonderfully unique and thrilling reading experience.

Where has this author been all my life? A brilliant and intelligent book. human, serious, flippant, romantic, comic, written with a real knowledge of the events and places. In Dathan Charles, the author has created a larger than life character, who leaps from the pages with joi de vivre, deviousness, loyalty and an iron determination not to allow her business, family and friends be destroyed by any organization, good or bad. Her greatest asset is her ability to keep silent. "She's so secretive, she does n't even talk to herself", sums up her prime tactic and her philosophy,"Justice,! Government,! the Mafia, there's them and us!" The author knows her stuff on the period and the psychological aspects ring true. The reactions described after the rape scene are atypical of a victim as are those of someone receovering their memory afer injury, rationalising sexual sadism, or homosexuality. Each are treated with sensitivity and understanding, without crudity. This is not sex and incident for the sake of it, each event is integral to the plot. The panoply of all virtues and vices which everyone has make you want to laugh and cry. Either Dione M. Coumbe is an ace researcher or her insights come from personal experience. A really terrific fast paced read, I could not, and did not, put it down.

A friend recommended Dathan Charles to me as an antidote to the many formula style books on the market now. Wasn't that the truth! Warned in advance, I settled down in my most comfortable chair, put a full bottle on the table beside me with a large glass and set out to be entertained. The following morning I finished the book and the bottle. During that night I was transported to another time and place filled with characters, good and evil, so real they were like family.

When you enter the world of Dathan Charles, you encounter a rich tapestry of very human beings playing out their lives against a background of international business, organised crime and world events. It is by turn a thriller, a mystery, a romance as the twists in the multi-layered life of Dathan Charles unfold.

Born into a very old English landed family, falling foul of the Nazi regime in the early thirties, Dathan goes to New York to avoid repercussions. There she attempts to build her business which is popular one with organised crime. Lethally dealing with the opposition, she falls in love and into a business arrangement to launder money with an ex-gangster and his partner.

With her lover in jail for ten years, Dathan dedicates her life to her business to find she now has various government agencies determined to ruin her because of her connections. On the other side of the Atlantic, her problems come from the nefarious activities of her family. To her fury both are drawn together during WW2 when British Intelligence start sharing information with their American counterparts. Eventually, in 1948, she is forced to devise a scheme to bring all her adversaries down at the same time, by exposing them and diverting them into fighting each other.

By introducing real life characters and events, with historical accuracy, the narrative seamlessly draws together all the threads of Dathan's life in such a way, it's hard to believe she herself is a figment of the author's imagination.

I wondered, laughed and cried as the many plots unfolded and finished the book with regret. Soon I'll read it again for the sheer pleasure of walking around the "labyrinthine mind" of Dathan Charles and picking up what I missed the first time.

I hope to there's going to be more books about the de Charles family, this author is brilliant.

This is one of the best books I ever read to my kids. And they usually picked it first for bedtime reading. It is written in rhyme and the illustrations are absolutely wonderful.

This is a great rhythmical story that supports early readers because of it predictablitly of the story. The antics are fun and exciting. Also, the illustrations are absolutly FABULOUS and is what kept me interested as a child and still today as a new teacher.

This book is one of my all time favorites. I started reading to my children when they were babies - it has great rythm. It is delightful for adults, and my children have always been riveted. My one year old twins stop whatever they are doing to listen to the story whenever I start reading it. (I even "read" it to them in the car or bath because it is an easy little poem to memorize!)

Written in rhyme, this book makes it easy for young readers to experience the thrill of reading all by themselves. Of course, the goose's antics only add to the excitement. This is a great book to motivate your preschooler to want to learn to read.

This is a complete departure from his other books. It is a clever approach to thought provoking subjects of our times. Makes you sit back and think about whether our current and future politicians will ever get it right and get the job done. A great read and one I highly recommend.

I have to admit that I'm a bit biased about Harris Baseman's latest book "The Dead Presidents Club" because I strongly encouraged him to go forward with it after reading an early draft of the first two chapters!

What grabbed me right off -- and even more so after reading the finished product, was that this book gave me an easy and entertaining way to get an in depth grasp of today's major political and social issues. And the big bonus is that I also received an entertaining history lesson along with many looks at the personality quirks of many of our U.S. Presidents now long gone -- until Harris brought them together for these historic interviews.

Great summer reading -- or for that matter year round reading!

PS: I'd give "The Dead Presidents Club" Five Stars even if I weren't biased! :-)

Interested in immigration reform and global warming? The author presents these and other issues in the interesting context of a lively discussion between the likes of Theodore Roosevelt and Thomas Jefferson. The book combines a somewhat whimsical review of the personalities of the famous and departed along with provocative thoughts about issues facing the United States today.

This book really resonated with me as I am sure it will many other Americans who are disillusioned with the current administration's complete and utter incompetence and total disregard for the middle class. The author (Harris Baseman - also published "Turncoats"), actually brings back to life some of America's most well-regarded presidents like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, Jack Kennedy and other deceased Presidents who are interviewed by a local tv reporter to find out how they would solve 21st century issues like the energy crisis, the Iraq war, terrorism, our government's ineffectiveness, environmental issues, along with a host of other serious matters that affect millions of Americans every day. The dead presidents actually do come up with actual solutions which, if implemented properly, could probably help our nation recover and heal from all the damage that has been done in the last eight years. It's remarkable that a book author and several dead Presidents are more effective than our current government at solving today's issues. A must read!

A brilliant scientist, a twisted man who loves her beyond measure, twins separated by time, an ancient religious book, speech-control and more. Mix these up and what do you get? You get Degranon, a fascinating read that blends intrigue, time-travel and the attempted resurrection of what was thought to be an ancient religion. Filled with the undercurrent of how important family is, Mr. Simolke successfully combines all of these elements into a suspenseful story about betrayal, lust for power, love and the need for truth. Set on Valchondria, a far away star-system, Degranon refers to the Book of Degranon, an ancient text that is thought by some to be the ultimate source of truth. But, perhaps it's just a story. Degranon mirrors Earth's current events in many ways. Reflecting the clash of fanatical beliefs due to modern-day monotheistic religions, Degranon speaks to the extremes that they produce in our own civilization, as well as for the civilization that is the setting of this story. I was constantly reminded of our own modern day woes while reading this tome. All in all, Degranon is fitting entry into the science fiction genre.

I recommend DEGRANON for its exciting, well-constructed narrative, its often intriguing characters, and its wealth of ideas both political and philosophical.

However, I do have a couple minor - and I hope constructive - quibbles. Although we're all used to colorful invented words in SF (from "Barsoom" to "Arrakis"), too often I scratched my head over whether there was some allegorical, and hence thematic, significance to a word or name. Take "Degranon" for example: It sounds like "degrading" and "anonymous" - and that sort of fits with what's in the novel... but it's not a snug fit. And the gap, both here and in other instances, produced a nagging doubt that I'd missed something important. And that pulled me out of the story.

The characters, although vivid, spoke a bit too much in "exposition-ese." On the other hand, I was often fascinated by the details of Valchondria or Degranon which they revealed. As I said, these are minor criticisms of an ambitious and entertaining novel.

I hope that Simolke will continue exploring these engrossing worlds in future books... or take us to entirely new places.

Duane Simolke adds yet another dimension to his diverse literary offerings with this science-fiction novel. He has already established that he can create whole communities with his Acorn Stories-a book of short stories. With his collection of essays and poetry in Holding Me Together, he has shown that he is equally adroit with research and a breath-taking turn of phrase. In Degranon, Simolke brings it all together, creating not a single community, but a whole world. His characters are as unique as anything he creates with his Acorn Stories, but in Degranon, he weaves a tightly plotted story of a planet on the verge of political and social ruin, exacerbated by those with misguided and therefore "evil" intentions. Layer upon layer of intrigue and counter-balancing moves make this scifi story one that will hold your interest and surprise you with its twists and turns. Definitely a good read. --Ronald L. Donaghe, author of the fantasy novel, Cinátis (coming in 2002)

"Degranon"
Duane Simolke
Review by Mountman
Degranon is Duane?s first venture into the world of Sci-Fi. And what a venture it is. Duane really shows just how talented he is with Degranon. When I was asked which of Duane?s book I wanted to review it was very hard for me to choose. As you may know, I reviewed Acorn Stories. I was excited about reading it, but, when I got Degranon, I chose it because I am a Sci-Fi fan from way back.

The story begins on the world of Valchondria. A negative utopia that is ?Maintained? by, who else, the Maintainers, sort of, like the Firemen in Ray Bradbury?s Fahrenheit 451. They watch for people using words from a banned word list. Words that are considered anti-glory to Valchondria, words such as colonization. There are no books, like in Fahrenheit 451, only wallscreens that project the things that the Maintainers want the people of Valchondria to see and think. For their own good, of course.

There is a ?miracle drug that has given the people of Valchondria a virus that makes them immune to almost all diseases and the ravages of time? but, along with that there are things that it takes away also like, the ability to see in color, and hear as many tones as we do now. With this loss people have lost interest in music and anything related to it, such as dancing.

There are some that have not lost the ability to see in color. One such person is Dr. Lorfeltez. A 26-year-old scientist that recently became a representative of the SSC (Supreme Science Council), a strong branch of the government. She is as strong willed as her adversaries. She thinks that Valchondria should reopen space travel exploration, something that is considered anti-glory.

She along with another brilliant scientist, Dr. Nabold, creates Life. Life is a computer that had many tentacles that reach deep into the Valchondria soil looking for energy deposits. There is another ?scientist? along with them, Dr. Geln. Did I say scientist? I forgot to add the word Mad. Dr. Geln is also an operative placed there to watch, and make sure that Life does what it?s actually meant for, creating a doorway to Valchondria?s past.

Dr.?s Lorfeltez and Nabold fall in love and become married. At the same time, Dr. Geln falls in love with Lorfeltez. Which creates some very interesting twists later in the story. When Dr. Lorfeltez becomes pregnant with twins, something that is forbidden on Valchondria, Dr. Geln, with the help of Life, takes one of the twins, Telius, to the past, where Alom brings him up. Alom is an aging priest of his time.

Dr. Geln has got to be fashioned after 20th Century?s worst criminal, Hitler. He creates a youth organization called Youth For Valchondrian Reform. Where he brain washes, Argen, the twin that stayed in Valchondria?s present. Argen, best friend is Kryldon who happens to be same-gendered, something that is considered normal in Valchondrian society. Sometimes it is even preferred. Kryldon unwittingly, gets Argen involved in the Youth For Valchondria?s Reform. You can take it from there.

Whether you are a Sci-Fi fan or not, Degranon is a must read. It is fast paced, and compelling. Thanks Duane for giving us another place and friends I would like to revisit again.

Born in 1973, Satish had the good fortune or good karma to be one of the K.i.d.s In Divine Spirit, that is to say a second generation Sannyasin. This joyous book is the story of his childhood and youth: wild, riotous, loving and free. The book starts with some of his earliest memories, waking up to the sound of dynamic meditation in a German commune, Purvodhaya. It is full of details of daily life in the commune, groups, sannyas initiation etc.

Soon eight-year-old Satish was in Rajneeshpuram, one of the first residents, where he was deluged with Osho's bliss and awareness for four whole years. He tells of his endless hours of play and work there, the drive-bys, his first experiments with girls. He was a fireman, an electrician, warehouseman, plumber... all before the age of twelve. In the summer he swam, in the winter the kids went icebreaking in their tiny canoes on the lakes in blizzards...the moms would have had heart failure if they had known.

He tells the story of Sheela's descent into craziness, and exploring secret passages in Jesus Grove after Sheela quit. But most important of all he tells us what he thought and what he felt at the time. He was a real rebel. Sheela would call a meeting to announce her latest crazy plan, and Satish, a nine year old, was about the only person to disagree with her publicly! Talk about intelligence!

After the demise of Rajneeshpuram Satish worked in European discos before gravitating towards the trance scene in Pune and Goa of the early 90s. He tells of a long overland journey to India in the early 90s, getting stuck in Tadjikistan and Uzbeckistan, and the endless kind people who looked after him.

But most of all he tells of a youth lived with love, courage and awareness (well, most of the time anyway!) His many loves and many friends, the abundant gifts from existence.
For every friend I had he seems to have had ten. I even met some of them once.

My only quibble is that the subediting/proofreading is just appalling. Perhaps the book was dictated, or translated from German, but there are sentences in it that make no sense at all (even taking poetic licence into account.) Satish, if there is a second edition, please get someone (not me!) to correct these errors.

This book is just great. Read it and you will see that truly Osho "Never Died".

No one so far has given me this kind of insight before.
The unique writing style is unmatched.

This book has made me shiver weep laugh and think about
my life. god bless!

I loved this book. The sense of adventure left me feeling excited and inspired.
It made me get out there and start living!
Buy it. Read it. Live it!!

Kamehameha enjoyed surfing Hawaii's highest waves with his human pal Jeffrey. Such a sight to see, an Irish Terrier perched on the front of a surfboard with Jeffrey right behind him, riding the waves. Until the biggest Kahuna of a wave came out of nowhere and killed his best friend and surfing companion.

Kamehameha now had a new owner, Sharon, Jeffrey's daughter. Sharon wanted to be far away from the sea; and didn't give Kamehameha any choice but to go to California with her. On the plane ride Kamehameha meets Georgie a spider monkey always looking for mischief and adventure. Georgie became a great friend and literal lifesaver to Kamehameha.

With Georgie and Juliet's help, Kamehameha escaped the plane to California only to end up in the jungle where dangers lurked around every turn. Kamehameha encounters animals he had never seen before such as; twin jaguar kittens, a gigantic snake, vampires, and many more interesting carnivores. Each of which were always looking to make Kamehameha or his friends into a tasty snack.

Will Kamehameha survive in the jungle with all the beasties wanting to have him for dinner? Has he ridden his last and final wave; or is there still hope?

Billy Lambert has a very vivid imagination. Children will love to hear this story many times over. Exciting events popped up all through this book, it never ceased to amaze me at what Kamehameha and his friends could get themselves into. Mr. Lambert had me laughing aloud while reading; that along with his colorful characters, gladly earns 5 hearts from me.

This adventure goes from the warm surf of the Hawiian islands to the jungles of South America in a action-packed trail of chaos, adventure, fun and danger that kept my 8 year old begging for "a few more pages" when I read it to him each night. The antics of dog and monkey, coupled with the interaction of other animals they met along the way in their effort to find their way to freedom and home, is alternately amusing and educational, with the occasional dangerous moment to get the adreneline going. Just enough to peak a child's interest and keep him hanging on for more. It was a delight to read. I found myself wanting to read 'just a few more pages' with him!

La

I've read some definitely mundane, inane, downright silly books to my two kids. And that's okay. They liked them. Although I grimaced and simultaneously wished for something as enjoyable...hey, I had to read the darned things!...for me, as well as for them. Luckily, ever so often, a book comes along that can span all age groups, by way of enjoyability, and DOG ON A SURFBOARD (AND THE REST OF THE ADVENTURE) by Billy Lambert is one of those, rare, universally appealing pleasers. My kids liked it. I liked it. Heck, my 82-year-old mother liked it.

What's not to like about this book's hero, Irish Terrier, Kamehameha? Never a more endearing surfer, not even Bridget, came riding down the sheer face of a wave. But even this book's villains are a delight, despite their obvious attempts at mischief. Victor and Vera Vampire, and their fellow inept bloodsuckers, had me laughing aloud. As for Mother Jaguar and her twin cubs, Jack and Jock, out to make a meal of our hero?...what can I say? but that I loved them!

I loved Huge Hugh (the anaconda), Helen Harpy (the eagle), Kerry Caiman (the retile), Georgie and Juliet (the spider monkeys). What's more, I'll bet you'll find them equally as irresistible as my kids, my mother, and I did! If you pass on this one, you're passing on a book that has every potential for becoming as classic as it is classy.

This book was so hard to put down!! Dog on a Surfboard has appeal not only to children, but adults too. It follows the adventures of a strong-willed dog who gives a canine perspective to human emotions. We all wish that we could see the world through our pet's eyes, and this book does the best job I've seen so far. While Lambert has written the book in a way that is appropriate for children, it definitely has emotional and psychological undertones that adults can appreciate and analyze. Bottom line: Read and enjoy!!!!

This is my absolute favorite English/Old Norse Translation of the Poetic Edda. It has marvelous woodcut illustrations and is side by side Old Norse and English, giving the reader an instant feel for the beauty in the poetic meter of the Original. Bray's translation is soft and artful and at times emotional, and yet the power behind the epic words is not at all compromised. For the Eddic enthusiast, Norse Lore scholar, or heathen devotee this book is worth every penny of its $100+ sales price. It succeeds where Lee Hollander's very literal acedemic translation feels dry and boring. This book is a treasure no Norse Mythology library should be without.

This book is very readable and the drawings give a added attraction to the book,a great translation

First of all, I really like this book, and am saddened that it's currently out of print. Some have expressed some criticism with the "Christianization" of the material, particularly in some of the illustrations, but it still is a favorite.

Sombody should explain to these knuckleheads at Amazon that the title of the book is indeed "the Elder or Poetic Edda"; however, it is attributed (mistakenly) to an Icelandic bishop named Saemendur; Saemunder's first name is not Edda. The actual author is unknown. Olive Bray is the translator.

Lavrans Reimer-Møller
Cambridge MA
USA

I have had this edition of the Edda Saemundar for many years now (the Viking Society first published it in 1908), and consider it the most valuable simply because it is in both Old Norse and English. This makes it possible to unquestioningly follow the original as closely as possible. The Viking Society has always maintained high standards of scholarship.

This is the finest collection of charted historical embroidery patterns I have ever encountered. The illustration articles and patterns are of exceptional quality and extremely well reproduced - many of the original painted patterns appear in a size one can work from as easily as the selection of black and white patterns produced for the book. We can only hope that Raffaella Serena will produce more works of this calibre.

This book is the best source I have found for original designs. Anyone looking for extremely detailed and diverse designs would enjoy this book. Most of the designs could be used directly from the photos of the charts. This book is magnificent! Truly different than any other needlepoint book I have seen, well worth purchasing. There is enough material to last a lifetime of stiching!

The book displays part of the unique collection world-wide of classical needlepoint designs of the Biedermeier period (early 19th century). The editor is a professional researcher and well-known for her "beautiful" publications. The exquisite colour charts in this book, representing flowers, landscapes, borders etc. were hand-painted by specialized artists, similar to early Victorian needlework designs. In addition to 37 black & white embroidery designs, also pictured in colour, most of the excellent illustrations could serve, if magnified, as colour patterns for embroiderers. The almost 200 colour pictures are delightful for anyone interested in needlework, either for just looking or for using the designs for petit point, gros point or cross-stitches. It is one of the "richest" books for classical designs I have seen, including American and English publications.

I bought this book in order to make a truly unique seat cover for a vintage chair. The photos are great, the charts easy to follow and there is even a list of colors needed in both wool and DMC floss, depending on your preference. The results were fabulous. And this is only the second needlepoint project I've done in my life. I've bought a second book by Ms. Serena called Berlin Work and I'm looking forward to a third with Animal designs. If you're looking for some truly historical designs, this is the book for you. If you can find my website, there are pictures of my chair there. m. LAIUPPA

Hey folks. To whatever else good you can say about this book needs to be added that Smith was a card-carrying great photographer. Look at the ways he understands the effects of natural light on his subjects.

Fortunately, his prints and negatives are now cared for in the RIBA library in London.

This is a good introduction to parish church architecture. The format presented in the book does require quite a bit of page turning but the format does produce an effective learning process.

As I read the text I turned to the photos and studied them as they were referenced in the text. At the conclusion of the text there are notes on the photos and then the photos follow. This format occurs throughout the book. After reading the text I then read the photo notes and studied the photos for a second time. This format and study method links the visual study of the photos with the textual study causing each to develop the other. As a result, the second photo exam reveals far more to the reader than the first.

This book has been very beneficial to me and I recommend it and the study method it creates.

It seems hard to overstate the importance of the work of photographer Edwin Smith to the preservation and cataloguing of English ecclesiastical architecture. This book, first published in 1952 and substantially updated and enlarged after Smith's death in 1971, is, if not the definitive guide to the subject, probably one of the most important.

Smith's photography is enhanced by informative chapters, written by Graham Hutton, that trace the evolution of English parish church design and construction from well before the Conquest up to and through the Victorian era. Of course, the story of parish churches is also the story of the parish, and therefore the reader also will find here a fine capsule summary of changing sociological patterns over many centuries.

If I have one complaint, it's in the way the text, explanatory notes, and photos are arranged. Hutton's chapters are annotated with references to the photographic plates, which are all generally in one section following the relevant text. The explanatory notes on the photos, in turn, are in a section following the plates. So a reader who wants to look at a photo to which Hutton refers must turn ahead several pages to find the photo, and then several more pages to read, essentially, the caption to the photo. In all, it makes for a lot of flipping pages back and forth and a less than entirely efficient reading experience.

Apart from that, though, this title should have a lot of appeal, not just to architecture and art historians, but also to the not-insubstantial number of people who have affection for historic churches, the English countryside, and the preservation of both. There is much here to learn from, and enjoy.

Classic account of the subject. Beautiful pictures. Distillation of the views of people who've spent a lifetime on this subject.

Outstanding brief introduction to the thoughts of Thomas Berry, one of the visionary thinkers of our time in terms of ecology, impact of the human on the earth, and providing a promising larger vision of the possibilities for the future. The collection of thoughts will appear a bit repetitive at first glance, but I found the repetition of the key thoughts from different perspectives useful. Highly recommended. Rated 4 star instead of 5 due only to the repetitiveness.

Every politician should read this book and then look into their hearts. I must say that Mary Tucker's Editorial Preface says everything about Thomas Berry and his desire to enhance human beings' relationship to Earth. His writing is accessible and undaunting. The gift of his genius, still going strong at 90 years of age is expressed again in this book and the message will bring you into the fold of his views with keen insight and compassion. I am so grateful for his gifts and just want you to read it and give it to everyone else you know.

The perspective I have come to is that for most of my life I lived in a human world which has not been able to offer in any comprehensive way, what really matters.

What is going on is that the sources of human survival, imagination, knowledge and emotional balance have been diminished, distanced, ignored and replaced by an enslaving, stale and insulting world views.

Enter Thomas Berry who after a lifetime of scholarship on human cultures has received the gifts of the scientific community and relit our human drama and our personal value. We are fortunate to be born into a community that knows how to survive through amazing trials. We are fortunate to be born into a school that has incomprehensible libraries and teachers to access. We are made with genes already experienced in phenomenal truth, art, music, flexibility and openness to diversity and enhancing possibility. There is nothing in the vast developing universe that is really foreign to us--it is our home and at this time in human history, we have a dinguished role to play. You'll have to read him to see what these remarks mean.

There is no one I have ever met, heard or read who comes close to explaining the grief and chaos of our times and to offering a healing of being and living as does Thomas Berry.

This is what children need to learn. This is the heroic task that young adults yearn to be presented. This is the good news that will bring a sign of contentment to more than our hopes. This is the story that provides a standard for every profession but especially education, economics, religion and government. At last we begin to hear what really matters.

Fr. Thomas Berry emphasizes that all things and beings have a place in Creation. It is a stimulating relief to have such a well respected scholar support what is my heart's understanding of the world I know. He is calm and accepting of the concept 'inclusiveness'. Science and spirituality are shown to be not only compatible but inseperable. The Universe Story tells us how our world was formed and comes alive. Thomas Berry emphasises appreciation of the beauty and strength found all around us. We are told we are moving into a new geologic time called the 'ecozoic' by the author. This book will help smooth our moves into the next chapter of the Creation.