Texas Books

It wasn't my choice to go into exile, my family moved to New England when I was a kid. I've lived here since, but Texas has always still held my heart. This book is a great tribute to the great Texan way of life. It's a fairly good illustration of Texas and Texans, and it does contain a few good chuckles, I wish there were more though.

I bought this book for my mom, a proud Texan who hasn't lived there since shortly after she got married, some 50 years ago. But she related to everything in this book and laughed so hard she couldn't talk. Over the years, I've bought my fussy mom countless presents, but this is the first one I felt she really liked.

Even as a non-Texan, I found the book to be hilarious (my mom called me up and read the whole thing to me over a few nights). I don't even like Texas (too hot and buggy for my taste), but after hearing this book, it kind of made me want to move there! This would be a GREAT present (or gift to yourself) for anyone who loves Texas, anyone from Texas, and anyone about to move there (fixin' to be Texan).

We are thinking about making a move to Texas from California, and I wanted to learn a little about the culture. This book teaches you everything you will need to know. I couldn't put it down. It was hilarious!

I am one on those people who is trying to get to TX as fast as I can, but I am stuck here in Tennessee until my son turns 18. This book offers a humorous look at life--Texas Style!! My favorite chapters are about food and pick-up trucks!! And there is a fun quiz at the end of the book!! It keeps thoughts of the LONESTAR state close to my heart and makes me want to head out West!! I recommend this book for anyone who loves the state of TEXAS!!

Helen Bryant has summed up everything you need to make the transition from being "from someplace else" to being a Texan, all in a compact and witty book. I lived in Houston and San Antonio for 17 years and I'm fixin to go back (from California) so I thought I'd better brush up. I feel ready, now.

After I finished the book I wrapped it up and gave it to friends, native Southern Californians who are soon to make Fort Worth their home. If you are bound for Texas, read this book first!

Enjoyed it very much, bogged down just a little in several places. The author really got me caught up in the first page.

This is the type of book that is hard to put down. It grabs you from the start and keeps you wondering what is going to happen next. It is not only a great story, it is also full of history of the Texas rangers and the Mexican border towns. I can't wait to read the sequel. I highly recommend this book.

Agree with others: hard to put down. A New Yorker married to a Texan, I had to take Texas history for teaching certification. It was extremely interesting, but this book beats all by drawing the reader in, so that you sort of live that slice of history along with the characters.

A great read. I was hooked at the first chapter. What a way to start a story! And the story continues with suprising twists and turns. You will enjoy the last chapter as much as you enjoyed the first chapter.

If you liked this tale about the Texas-Rio Grande region, then you will like Bart Skelton's monthly feature in Guns and Ammo magazine. And likewise, if you like Bart Shelton, then you will like this book.

Enjoy.

This is a captivating story with lovable characters. There is just the right amount of excitement, historical reference and Spanish language smattered throughout to make this book authentic and informative but easy and pleasant reading. I am anxious to see more from this author.

This is an excellent book. As a 74 year old Jewish native Houstonian I could not put it down. I strongly recommend it to anyone interested in Texas history, even if they are not Jewish.

This is an excellent book for anyone who wants to know more about Texas than football & beer!

This book delves into a part of Texas history that has been ignored. Hollace wrote with a very interesting style that kept me totaly involved until I finished. It is one of those books that you feel you become one with and never want it to end.

Hollace Weiner's writing kept me enthralled. This book is the rare combination of careful and accurate research while the presentation is that of an enticing historical novel. It's loaded with all the goods - mystery, politics, romance and more, but all the accounts are true. I couldn't put this book down as every chapter had a fresh and intriguing draw. The facts themselves are fascinating. Written in Ms. Weiner's engaging style, this book is a big winner. I give lectures on small-town synagogues and Jewish communities and I have already used some of the great new research covered in her book.

It is a very well written book which documents the great impact these Jewish Rabbis had on the people of Texas in general.

I read this book when my first child was a month old. It was exactly what I needed. I felt as if I had a sympathetic voice for everything I was experiencing emotionally. This book doesn't address the concerns found in most baby books such as how to dress and bathe your baby. Instead, it focuses on the changes you are experiencing as a new mother. It made me feel a little more sane while I was experiencing the crazy fogginess of sleep deprivation.

The best part about this book was that it was written in a question and answer format. I could easily pick it up where I left off as I was frequently interrupted by the demands of my newborn son. I was also able to tell when I didn't need the information on a certain subject and could skip right over it to the next question. I was able to digest the information at my own pace.

This book is a lifesaver for new mothers and I would highly recommend it to anyone who has recently had a child or is about to have one. It gave me hope when it seemed like my life was overwhelming and it reminded me that one day I will have a full night of sleep again!

I received this book as a gift, and now my best friend is pregnant so I'm buying her a copy. Every new mom needs this book! Anything and everything that comes up for new moms is addressed - from the baby's health and development to changes in your body and why you're fighting so much with your partner. Love the question & answer format, which makes for easy reading in quick "bites." I pick up this book over and over again and always find something new and inspiring. Highly recommended!

Motherhood Without Guilt: Being the Best Mother You Can Be and Feeling Great About It

I have read many books about how to care for your newborn, but this book was about how to take care of me, after childbirth. Every question I had and wondered if I was being selfish, greedy, overly protective or just depressed was included in this book. It gave examples that I related to. I am very grateful to know that I am not alone with my emotions and experiences of being a new mom!

As a family therapist and teacher, I thought I was quite prepared to become a mother. In reality, I was overwhelmed by the abrupt changes in my life after having a baby. This book addressed my concerns in a caring, supportive and nonjudgmental way. It discussed issues that I had difficulty verbalizing, and it normalized my early experiences of motherhood. This is my top pick for every new mother - it is my staple gift at every baby shower!

I cannot believe I had to endure the pregnancies and births of four children before someone wrote this book! The New Mom's Companion: Care for Yourself While You Care for Your Newborn is an amazing book that speaks directly to a new mom, and about practically ALL of the questions and dilemmas that a new mom has to endure! Wait, it really speaks to ANY mom! I have to admit that I quickly studied the "in-law" questions, to make sure I wasn't off my rocker for some of the concerns I had (and still have) about my ability to be a good mom, despite what the other side of our family thinks! The authors of The New Mom's Companion: Care for Yourself While You Care for Your Newborn have taken great care to respond to the many questions highlighted in this book, putting a positive light on some very emotional and misunderstood feelings of a new mom. We are pampered and doted on while we are pregnant, yet the minute the baby arrives, moms seem to lose their identity and their value. The New Mom's Companion: Care for Yourself While You Care for Your Newborn brings self-worth back to the woman, who just happens to be a mom!

I met Tom Dodge in 1980. He was the somber, bearded, denim-clad intellectual who collected and sold vintage books in his relaxed little store downstairs from my wholesale office in a restored 200 year-old jailhouse in Waxahachie, Texas -- a great place to work and to hang.

On balmy afternoons, when business was slow, I would venture downstairs, browse the bookshelves, drink some coffee, and swap a few stories. I did most of the talking. Our conversations would round many curves, some serious, many amusing, but none very invasive in a personal sense. When we laughed, I noticed that Tom's demonstration was subdued, as if a gnarled hand from deep in his soul had reached up, pained his features, and choked his laughter.

One day, I felt confident of his trust, so I asked him about his parents. He was forthright, but hesitating. He described his mother and her life in sparse detail. He tried to share some insight about the person whom he thought was his father. Finally, he confessed that he really did not know who his father was. I cannot recall our finishing that point, because I had to take a phone call upstairs. We continued our visits, Tom's justified preoccupation with a recently injured son diverted me from trying to "get into his head."

My company closed the Waxahachie office in 1984, and I relocated my work to Dallas. Although we did see each other occasionally, Tom and I really did not keep in touch until 1995. One afternoon, I gave him a call; he was talkative and enthusiastic, in the middle of writing another book -- a personal account, this time. By then, Tom was trying to "manage" his mother -- not only her home and finances, but also the aftermath of some of her bizarre behavior in and around town, the result of a diminishing mental capacity.

I found out that, while growing up, Tom had shoes, clothes, shelter, and food. And, he had the love of his mother's parents, who raised him. But, all through his life, he wanted -- needed -- to know who his father actually was. But, Tom's mother could not tell him -- especially as he grew to adulthood -- because he represented a shameful indiscretion with someone to whom she was not married. He tried to reach out to her, but she was running too fast, pursued by ghosts from her past. They never had a deep conversation; it was just too risky for her. Time was running out; Tom's mother would not be able to tell him, because she was losing her mind. One great day, however, Tom got his answer -- a simple, straight answer. His world changed after that.

Oedipus Road is an interesting book in which Tom Dodge deals with his frustrating journey into self-realization in a sensitive, but dignified, way. He does not try to pull the reader into a maelstrom of grief; Tom, himself, is too reserved. Rather, he takes you along on a sensitive, realistic tour of time and life in a couple of small towns in Texas; he guides us with reflection and awareness. Oedipus Road involves the reader through a captivating story and empathy for a man seeking significance.

I liked this book. I found it well written and very interesting. The tales of growing up in Cleburne, Texas are captivating, even more so since it's a world gone by. The chronicling of his mother's Alzheimer's Disease is heartbreaking and reminds us of what we all might be facing.

There is a hauntingly beautiful line in the movie "Shadowlands": "We read to know we are not alone." Every time I read Tom Dodge's OEDIPUS ROAD I feel its truth.

I had read Mr. Dodge's book of short essays and thoroughly loved it. I purchased this book at NorthLake College where I had the pleasure of hearing Mr. Dodge speak. My father died of colon cancer a year ago and spent a month in dementia at the end, and my mother has recently moved my 94 year old grandfather into her home. Due to these circumstances I could really appreciate Mr. Dodge's experiences dealing with his mother's situation - and understand the stress. But the beauty - and the mystery - of the story is his search for his father's identity. I kept turning pages because I couldn't wait to see what information he would discover - or extricate from his mother - next.

Oedipus Road by Tom Dodge is wonderfully engaging. I think I read it in three sittings. Normally I don't find mysteries my cup of tea, but when they are about birth rather than death and occur on a spiritual-emotional plane rather than a physical one, the drama changes entirely; this tea is just the right cup and just the right flavor.

The narrative's subtitle, "Searching for a Father in a Mother's Fading Memory," captures a basic irony of this tale with its classical allusions and provides the basis of its form. The author, stubbornly searching for his lost father in his mother's lost memory, begins each chapter with a candid recollection of his mother in her own voice -- setting the tone for her son who recalls his own childhood in parallels that oddly match his mother's memories on some level. However, Plato and Sophocles hover behind this story of small town life in Cleburne, Texas during the fifties with its insistence on knowledge, especially self-knowledge. In a sense, the author travels the long read that we all travel from the time we're old enough to question our identity. How can we make wise choices unless we know who we are? His mother, a victim of Alzheimer's disease, would seem to be little help on his path; however, the past is as vivid to her mind as the present is dim. Her lively language fairly vibrates off the page as she recalls her own childhood, evoking yet another generation, that of her beloved parents, in whose home the author is reared. We see life spanning generations, socially, politically, economically -- a history of the United States for three generations on a personal level.

As the author outlines his struggles with his mother's mental deterioration and his search for his father, we get not only only a book of changing times but one of morals and mores also. Unlike Jocasta, the author's mother knew who his father was, but as he says of his mother and gradmother: while they could bear any tragedy, scandal was indefensible. And thus never mentioned, ever. Dodge says he was the scarlet letter his mother refused to wear. It's not a bitter story, however. Despite the author's pain and ever-present anxiety, he recalls the pleasure of his small-town doings with nostalgia, great fondness and affection. And always there to guide him, like the chorus in ancient Greek plays, were his grandparents, his aunt Bernice and his mother's husband, kind beacons along the way.

Finally this mystery, aptly begun on Mother's Day, is solved, but it's a who-done-it until the very end. I was breathless by the end of one of the last chapters when the author has led the reader to believe that, if ever, it will be now, and his mother, like a character in a badly dubbed foreign movie, says the name for which so long he has searched. And oddly there is no blame. Because Dodge has allowed his mother to speak for herself, his story is her story too. Tragedy bequeaths itself only because it is inevitable, not because someone is to blame. Thus it is that Oedipus Road does what the best stories do: teaches us compassion and affirms life without ignoring its tragedy or folly.

Since Joe Coomer and I are distant relatives (cousins by marriage), I've been reading his books for about four years. I started with KENTUCKY LOVE because that's where his ancestors and mine began. What a book that was!

Then I read three more, in no particular order, so I'm wandering helter-skelter through his writing career ... and enjoying every moment of these fine reads.

Each book I read is so unique from the other, but each has common threads: warmth, love of family and friends, love of life, life lessons, smooth reading, realistic characters, etc.

I really looooooove the concept of ONE VACANT CHAIR, and appreciate finely-drawn characters who have unusual jobs in life.

Go, Joe!!! (And congratulations on the movie deal on THE LOOP. Can't wait to see the movie!)

This story has everything I look for in a book: excellent characters who evolve; a good, strong plot; romance; and humor.

Sarah is a fourty-something mother whose husband has betrayed her and whose grandmother has just died. She takes refuge with and also takes care of her grieving Aunt Edna, grandmother's caretaker for the last 20 some years.

The cast of characters includes a blind black man who repairs the chairs that Edna endlessly paints, the rest of the family who are quite quirky and a southern baptist minister with a bad toupee.

There's old family squabbles, new acquaintance mystery. And most of all, there's a big old life lesson - what you see is not always what you get. It's all in what you choose to see.

This is not quite a light read; it's a lot thicker than that. But it is utterly lovely.

(*)>

"We were two fat women, eighteen years apart, a chair artist and a designer of Christmas ornaments, who only knew we had troubles and a hot summer to get through," says Sarah. But as it turns out, there is a great deal more to quirky Aunt Edna's troubles than Sarah could possibly imagine. As the novel turns from the hot, oppressive heat of Texas to the misty beauty of Scotland, she learns of her aunt's remarkable secret life and comes to fully understand the fragile business of living, and even of dying.
My reviewing experience is minimal, but it would be remiss of me to not let you know how much I enjoyed this book. Joe Coomer's book "One Vacant Chair" is one of the most well-written stories that I have ever read. If you have the time this summer and you're looking for a great read, try this book. You won't be disappointed.
"It's where you sit down that determines everything in life."

This book works on so many different levels. It's a great read that's hard to put down once you start. It has wonderfully fleshed out characters who come to life on the page. The themes are compelling, and Coomer handles them with a strong sense of humor and sensitivity. The discussion of art technique adds another interesting dimension. All in all, I loved this book!

Friends and family have been phoned and emailed with the rave review I've given this book. Funny, touching, sweet, and spicy---it has everything you hope a book will have, and then some. Realistic characters, great dialog and a realistic plot kept me reading well into the night. Tell your friends...they'll thank you.

I love these kind of books and corey mitchell does an awesome job at this one. He makes reading it seem as if you are standing there watching it happen. I couldn't put it down. I can't wait to get to the next corey mitchell book. If your looking for a true depictions of a crime, well you have come to the right place, he doesn't sugar coat anything, he tells it like it was and that's what makes it a true crime book. Thanks corey for an awesome book. Write On !

I recall first learning of the tragic murders of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena after reading about the account in "Newsweek" in 1993 while I was finishing my first year in Seminary. I will always remember the cold and nearly heartless stare at the camera by Sean O'Brien, one of the young men accused of their brutal murder. Corey Mitchell writes a powerful account of the entire tragedy, giving a face to all of the players in the tragic story of kids who have been lost in this insane society, and in turn become its major cause of fear. While we may point fingers at the accusers and the supposed ones who allowed them to run rampant and do what they did, we are reminded of two beautiful young women, the best of friends who were taken away from their friends, loved ones, and the society that may have benefited by their presence. Mr. Mitchell tells a powerful story that does not hide us from the gruesome reality of what happened, yet doesn't seem to revel in the details. May the journey of the families of these young ladies and others who have lost loved ones in such a terrible way never be forgotten by us who are blessed with the gift of life and relative safety.

I was turned on to the work of true crime author Corey Mitchell last year when I was given the book Evil Eyes. I thought it was wonderful and immediately grabbed every book of his I could find. Each book was amazing and incredibly well-written, researched, and powerfully emotional. I didn't think Mitchell could top his latest book, Strangler, but somehow he has.

Pure Murder is heart-pounding, aggravating, intense, emotional, sad, beautiful, and a wonderful tribute to the girls whose lives were tragically destroyed at such an early age.

Mitchell's ability to delve into the make-up of everyone involved is astounding and sets the mark for other true crime authors. I truly felt like I could be friends with Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena. Strangely enough, I also felt like I actually knew all six boys involved in this horrible crime.

This is an important case that still has ramifications to this day. I don;t want to give too much away, but I will say Pure Murder is easily the best true crime book I have read this year and the best since Mitchell's last, Strangler.

Jennifer Ergman and Elizabeth Pena are interred about a hundred yards from each other at the Woodlawn Cemetery's Garden of Memories in Houston, Texas. The two young teenagers were walking to Elizabeth's house from swimming at an apartment complex when a gang of six young men attacked, raped, tortured, humiliated, and finally murdered the young girls who had such promise. Jennifer was an only child and Elizabeth was back on track after hanging out with the wrong crowd. Jennifer was still a virgin when it happened and she had planned to remain a virgin until her wedding night. Sadly, Jennifer and Elizabeth would never live that long until that June night in 1993 when they encountered true evil. The writer does an excellent job in researching and writing about the case. The six boys, one was only 14 years old would receive 40 years in prison while the other five would be sentenced to death. The author explains each of the boy's circumstances and backgrounds which help understand. Peter Canu was the ringleader who was obviously raised by a delusional mother who believed her son could do no wrong when he was obviously trouble since he attacked teachers, principals, security guards, and threatened to kill the principal as well. He was obviously a dangerous to others long before that June night. His mother was completely enabling him by continuing to defend him. She had no idea of how truly dangerous that can be with a monster in the form of her own son. Then there was Sean O'Brien who was abandoned by his father before birth and his mother would later leave him in the care of his grandmother who loved him until an accident rendered her incapable. He would move back to live with his mother who was a stranger to him. In the end of his life, O'Brien showed some emotion regarding his part in the crimes of the killing two girls and well as possibly Patricia Lopez. The writer does an excellent job in showing the parents of the victims' pain and horror during this emotional experiences, there are still four more executions to go. I don't think they do any good for anybody maybe except the families. They will never get out alive. I wondered if only they realized their fate of execution would they have allowed the girls to live and face imprisonment rather than a death sentence.

I read this book in one day. I am a fan of Corey Mitchell because he gives the reader the opportunity to get to know all those involved. He doesn't stay focused on the gore, he gives the reader just enough information for us to realize how the poor victim(s) suffered at the hands of the killer(s).

In this story, Elizabeth and Jennifer are young and beautiful teenagers, who set out for a night of fun with some friends. When the girls realize their curfew is minutes away, they decide to take a shortcut home. That shortcut would prove to be deadly. The young teens run into a pack of monsters. What followed is truly disturbing, but what's even more disturbing, is the two young men, who could have perhaps saved the girls from their deaths, did nothing. The rest of the book follows the families outrage, the arrest, and the trials of these monsters. This story is one, you will not soon forget.

A wonderful book for quilters and lovers of history. Written in the first person, you are drawn into the simple lives of these women. A quick and rewarding read.

Reading about the lives of these women makes you appreciate the ease of modern life but the simjplicity of their days is enviable. Wonderful quilts too.

This book is facinating with it's history of American pioneer women. It contains real quotes from real people about the lives that they lived. If you have seen or been in the play you will be delighted to see that some of the show's monologues are word-for-word from this book! I't's a moving book and a moving play.

This book is a wonderful tribute to women...quilters or not. The book is filled with interviews, pictures, and descriptions that bring the joy and sorrow of daily living to life. If the simple things in life are indeed the sweetest.... then these women and their quilts tell the sweetest story ever...they tell our story... they are our history.

I have read many books about pioneering women who set up homes from scratch and quilted for practical and soul-fulfilling reasons. Usually though, those women are long gone and we are left with rather dry details of their lives. The joy of this book is that the women whose words are recorded in it are living, breathing members of that pioneer group, and, even though their experiences were in the 20th rather than the 19th century,the issues and incidents are the same and they tell a vibrant story.
The book records conversations amongst Texas quilting groups, to which the authors were invited and the ladies seem eager to tell stories of their early days in dug outs and cabins, their families scaping a life from the soil and their role in that. None of them ever sound hard done by or as if they wish their lives had been different. And they are all keen to express the creative and fulfilling role that quilting has had in their lives.
If you are not a quilter, you will still enjoy the strength, friendship and nobility that run through these conversations - they are a link with a passed era, which I felt honoured to share as I read.

I had really almost decided to stop buying Junior League Cookbooks. They had all started to look about the same, recipe wise, with little if any regional feel to them. (and you guys in north dakota can just leave out the tex-mex, ok?) But I am extremely happy that I have this one. The book is a work of art in itself, with really nice design to it, and at least a hardback/spiral not a plastic comb (I know, some cookbooks could not afford to see the light of day without that)- but these recipes are terrific, very texan, and have for the most part left out the huge amounts of filler recipes that so many junior league cookbooks have started to have- like endless lasagna dishes, italian, etc. Well Done! I would have bought a few more for friends if I had any, IF they had left out more of the 'canned' sorts of things.... but there is not an overwhelming amount of that, like there was in the '60's.

South Texas women have always had a flair for entertaining. Nothing is ever ordinary! The book is filled with fresh ideas in a creative ensemble of South Texas cuisine. Recipes are easy to follow and offer a twist to the overly detailed companions. Your friends will delight in your cooking and be so ever inquisitive of the recipes, this I know from experience!

South Texas women have always had a flair for entertaining. Nothing is ever ordinary! The book is filled with fresh ideas in a creative ensemble of South Texas cuisine. Recipes are easy to follow and offer a twist to the overly detailed companions. Your friends will delight in your cooking and be so ever inquisitive of the recipes, this I know from experience!

This Cookbook has a lot of unique recepies that are very easy and and delicious. The variety also makes it easy to do a complete meal from the cook book.

This is a great cookbook! There are great recipes for casual entertaining with ingredients that are easy to find. I collect JL cookbooks from all over the US and this is one of my favorites. Maybe because there are lots of Tex-Mex and appetizers.

I read Santiago's Children after returning from a long-term volunteer placement in Latin America, and was thoroughly impressed. This book provides an unusually realistic account of volunteer work in a developing country. Although Steve Reifenberg occasionally sees dramatic results, he also learns to appreciate slow changes and small-scale victories in the lives of the children with whom he works. He depicts Chileans responding to political oppression not with heroic displays, but with quiet acts of kindness, courage, and generosity.

Fortunately, you don't have to be an international traveler to enjoy this well written and engaging story. Its protagonist, the young Steve Reifenberg, is a complex, down-to-earth, and entirely likeable character. Steve offers honest, self-deprecating accounts of his successes and failures, enthusiasm and frustration. His love for the people and places he discovers, and especially for the children of Hogar Domingo Savio, is apparent in every anecdote. He comes away from his experience in Santiago with a universally useful lesson: "I learned to believe that maybe it was not a bad thing to have big dreams, even if sometimes they fell short."

I read Santiago's children coming from two places :

First as an avid reader of autobiographies. This one will remain a gem in my memories. It is seldom that one finds a life story so well written, funny, terribly moving, sad, authentic and yet so humble. Reifenberg takes you from the first chapter to the very last page through numerous simple - yet incredible - everyday life stories in Chile. This book combines epics from the childhood of Chilean orphans, their wonderful "mama", Chilean history and includes Reifenberg's own story in the background. I roared with laughter, was moved to tears, even sobbed and did not want this unforgettable book to finish. A must read for anyone !

Secondly relating to the book as a career counselor. I wish that the choices my clients made could often take this path of self-reflection, as long, thorough and difficult as it may be. But where in the end one senses that the person has found his or her core values, the ones that will enable them a fulfilling career and life. Reifenberg seems to have set the ground for a lifelong self-understanding and calling during those two years in Chile.

In the years I spent working for an international volunteer organization, I was often asked whether volunteers benefit more from their experience than do the communities they serve. Steve Reifenberg's lovely memoir, Santiago's Children, provides the perfect answer: everyone benefits. Young volunteers who are often seeking guidance for their careers and lives come home with open minds and vastly broadened horizons; their families and friends at home learn with them and are given an opportunity to contribute from afar; and the children and communities in which the volunteers work acquire knowledge, skills, and affection for people from other countries. Reifenberg has written a funny, compelling, and thoughtful account of his experience in a beautiful country at a troubled time. Reading it, I came to care deeply about the orphanage and children he describes and to respect him for the quality of his observations. His book will be of value to anyone considering going overseas to live or work.

One of the most difficult things for persons who engage in meaningful international volunteerism is balancing the reality of the limitations on what they can actually accomplish with the idealism, energy and commitment to doing good that brought them to the decision to volunteer in the first place. "Santiago's Children" is a wonderful narration that paints one international volunteering experience with honesty and insight across the what will be for potential volunteers and others curious about international volunteering a surprisingly broad mix of experiences, successful and unsuccessful, that this particular volunteer had during his years at the orphanage in Chile. Probably even more importantly, this book shows how the volunteer experience can transform the volunteer in unexpectedly profound ways.

As the Executive Director of an NGO that sends volunteers to teach in developing countries, I have been looking for a book to send to our incoming volunteers to give them a realistic sense of what sorts of experiences lie ahead for them, as well as to show them how serious service can change their lives. We have decided on "Santiago's Children."

This is a great book for any recent college graduate, or for anyone older who is mulling over the meaning of life. Steve Reifenberg waited nearly 25 years to write a memoir of the two years he spent working in a small Chilean orphanage. The "hogar" was run by a remarkable young woman, who created a loving home for about a dozen young outcasts. As "Tio Esteve" works in the orphanage, he not only learns a lot about each of the loveable kids, and about raising children (even difficult ones), but also about what life is really all about. Reifenberg's beautiful, clear prose skillfully interweaves the story of the children, of Steve's coming of age, and the story of Chile under dictatorship. I found the book to be thoughtful, deep and affecting. This is not just a book for people who love latin america, or who may love children. There are stories and lessons in here that will appeal to a wide audience. When I finished reading, I wanted to start the book all over again. Santiago's Children is not only the story of the power of good, but it reminds us that one person can still make a difference.