Duke Books

I read this book many times when I was young and was thrilled to find it still in print. I would recommend this for anyone who loves romance novels with historical fact mixed in.

Thought this book was a very good read. I Love fiction with historical facts. Beautiful love story. The end got a little long so thats the only reason i didn't give it a 5.

This book is worth purchasing. Yet, somehow that's an understatement. I now have my own copy and am reluctant to lend it!

Several of my friends raved about this book. I liked it okay. And I love to read so much; I'm not that hard to please. There were several kind of raunchy parts that I didn't expect, as well as numerous bawdy references. But there is a theme of redemption in the end that I liked quite a lot that makes the story more...well, redeeming. The last 150 pages or so were the best, I think. It wasn't riveting for me, but the history was really interesting, and I learned a lot.

This is one of my very favorite books ever. In fact I've gone through 2 copies already I read it so often. I'll keep buying it because each time I read it I find it more fascinating. I would highly recommend this book.

I loved this book, it is definitely one to keep in my collection. Although I noticed that the type is very small and therefore a bit difficult to read ( and I have good eyesight ). Also I think something should be mentioned co: the pictures in the book, I knew it was tribal but I was not aware that there were photos. I still would have bought the book but I would definitely give it a PG rating.

If you are a Christian - this is a must read. If you are not a Christian - this is a must read.

This book should be a part of every Christian's library. I had heard Elizabeth Elliot talk on the radio and had known the story of "the five missionaries" but reading the book gave me great insight to the lives of these families- devoted to ministering to the unsaved. They gave definition to 'the purpose driven life!'

Great book. Poor presentation in this current printing. Words and pictures are small. Paper and physical book itself is low quality.

This book really makes one question: How much do I truly trust the Lord? What would I be willing to give up should I be called to it? Would I be willing to sacrifice the basic comforts I know and depend on? Would I be willing to sacrifice my life with forethought decision? Even harder for me to think of than the sacrifice of my own life, would I be willing to sacrifice that of my husband, packing him up for a trip not knowing if I would ever see him again on this side of heaven?

Elisabeth Elliot does a fantastic job of giving an account of the families' journeys to and in the mission field by using the journals and letters of some of the men and women. The men's and women's excitement at God's faithful attentiveness to their prayers is stirring, and their spiritual struggles are also encouraging. I give a lot of credit to Elisabeth Elliot for that. She doesn't fluff up the missionaries as uber-Christians. She shows through their struggles and lives that they have the same power as you and I, and that power is the blood of Jesus Christ.

Even if you are not a Christian, this book may shed some light on both tribal culture and missionary culture. Whatever you believe, this is still a powerful tale of sacrifice, struggle, hope, and forgiveness. It is also still well written and well organized with multiple story lines forging into one giant one. Elliot knows how to pull you into the story. If for no other reason, this book is an interesting read because it shows the developing stages that led to the historical event that captured the compassion of the world - Christian and non-Christian alike.

This particular version has updates to the story as well, which is a definite plus. I hope you are blessed by this book.

Please say this review is helpful to you. They told me that if I post another unhelpful review they're going to kill my ferret.

It was obvious to anyone who has known Peyser that something like this was bound to happen. I refer, of course, to Peyser's bout of aphasia during his freshman year at the College. Clearly this mysterious illness has returned in book-length, perhaps even a global, form. We may never really know what Peyser is up to in this book. Oh, for some Young and Champollion to decode this, the Rosetta Stone of post-modernism!

I don't usually tolerate so-called theory, but this was fun!

Don't let the title fool you--this is a down-to-earth, engaging work that deserves to be read by a much larger audience than the academic field it's probably relegated to.

This is a powerful, bleak book. None of the writers Peyser deals with is particularly optimistic. The possible exception is Howells but there is a dark undertow even to his work which Peyser makes sure we see. So a book about utopia is also a strangely, depressing read. 40 years or so after Brooke Farm, who would have thought things would have gotten so sad? Of course it was the turn the century and the best of the Western thinkers were thinking sad and pessimistic thoughts. And now here we are at the turn of another century and we have this powerful, bleak book. Have we come all that far after this century of bloodthirsty carnage? Is Utopia even further away than it was 100 years ago? Read Peyser's powerful, bleak book and see if you can answer some of these sad questions yourself. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

You know, this is not the sort of book I would normally read. But there it was, suddenly, on the coffee table one night. How it got there I have no idea. Just curious, I began to leaf through the pages, and the words began to resonate with me. Unable to sleep, I read it through in one sitting by candlelight. The next morning, I began to look at things around me differently. First, I removed several unessential appliances from the house in an effort to simplify my existence. Then it became time to de-clutter and I threw out several items I realized I had no more use for. Then, and this all seemed so logical in light of the things I'd read, I divorced the wife and sent her on her why. Sure, she cried a bit, but I knew I was doing the right thing. And I've never regretted it. This is, indeed, one of the best books I've read all year.

I did like this book but I am not quite sure why she was so hard on Molly. Why all the characters were really pretty cold to her. She didn't know he was married right? So ease up already! I wish she had a little more backbone and stood up for herself. Keegan should have apologized for his behavior!

I loved the McKettrick's, every book I have picked up I cant put it down until I have read through, and cant wait till he next.

I love Miller's McKettricks series... she is such a brilliant writer... this one was so sexy... I loved the plot and the characters. Molly was independent, and strong, she practically carried the weight of her world on her shoulders... Keegan was sexy and manly... I loved their chemistry in this book. Psyche was so understanding and she even pulled a trick on them, despite the fact that she was dying from terminal cancer. To me, she was a sweet character, and I was glad to see some of the other characters in there, such as Jesse, and Rance...

Another excellent addition to the McKettrick series. Premise was very unusual and caught my interest right away. Both Molly and Keegan are fractured but honorable people. The family aspect is very good. Jesse, Rance and Travis play important rolls in this issue.

Sensuality is an 8. But it also involves a tearjerker of a story. Keep a tissue handy. I enjoyed this story and all of its characters immensely.

LLM has a good story plot but the hero in this book is a Class A Jerk from day one. He proceeds to make life miserable for the heroine.
I did not like this character. However, it is good reading material and
worth the time it took to read it. Get your hankies ready because it is
a tearjerker

Very accesible book & good introduction not only to Duke Ellington but the world of Jazz. I suppose an author is limited by the number of pages how in depth one can get but still I expected a more critical examination of the contradiction of Ellington's public persona w/ his spirituality and how he reconciled these contradictions. That said, I still found Steed's argument convincing, especially his leading up to his sacred music. This is especially a good book for the new initiate to Duke Ellington.

The author's knowledge of Duke Ellington, and descriptions of his compositions is impressive. After studying Ellington's life and compositions through this book more closely, in his music, even when it is not overtly religious, one can quickly see that Ellington did indeed work out his spirituality through his music, as this author so convincingly argues. Of especial interest is the author's conception of spirituality and her deep artistry of both genuinely recognizing Ellington's and making that connection with his music, and how both shaped and influenced his life. This is not a scholarly tome, but rather a wonderfully quick, short read. As one of many old Ellington fans, my guess is that Duke Ellington would have smiled brightly and given his big stamp of approval to this book.

I just got finished listening to the new CDs of Duke Ellington's Sacred Music, picked up at Borders. Wow! While I was listening to this great stuff I was reading this book. And Wow! again. If you want the nitty, gritty, the lowdown, or dope so to speak, on the Duke you'll have to go somewhere else. Miss Steed does give you the whole story but her emphasis is on his work, his artistry, and his legend--what the Good Man left us with--and his Sacred Music, which he said, was not his best work, but his most important work. And it was real, man, this is what I was looking for, someone who really had something new to say about The Man, and knew what they were talking about! Buy this book and get to know the Duke and the man behind the legend.

I just recently joined a book discussion group and last night, during my first meeting we were discussing Janna Tull Steed's new book "Duke Ellington: A Spiritual Biography." In just 192 pages Steed traces Ellington's development from a piano player to bandleader to composer and his truly thrilling and sublime sacred concerts in the last decade of his life. Steed also discusses in depth Ellington's ability to write for the individual voice, or band member, which seems to be, at least partly, what made and marks him as such an extraordinary and perhaps greatest American composer--that and his overwelming dedication to his music and a relentless ability to constantly break new ground.

Steed's grasp of Ellington and his music, particularly Ellington as a composer is tops. She draws on the enormous archives at the Smithsonian Institution but also on extensive firsthand interviews with scores of people who were intimately familiar with Duke Ellington and his music, and especially his development of his sacred music and concerts. It is in the area of the sacred concerts that Steed breaks new ground but also her focus of Ellinton as composer, as well as his oft forgotten important work in Hollywood. Her outstanding achievment is that she accomplished this in 192 pages. Steed covers the entire scope of Ellington's remarkable life and career and her insights are very welcome and as engaging as they are informative.

I picked this book up after reading Joan of Arc in this Lives and Legacies Series. This new book delivers everything it promises. I'm a real biography nut with an interest in a very broad range of subjects (and that's just what this series delivers) but have little time to immerse myself in a 500 or 700 page reading. So it's great to be able to pick up these short biographies, get a great read, and then decide if I want to explore a subject in further depth. But I can tell you with both these books, short as they are (192 pages), they are still very in-depth, scholarly and but still accessible to the popular audience. Duke Ellington was a particular pleasure as I knew nothing about his Sacred music and Concerts, nor have I run across anything that examines so fully the films that him and his orchestra were featured in, and which by the way Ellington had a significant role in developing. Author Janna Steed offers up a terrific little gem with this new book on Duke Ellington.

This is an excellent book/series. I could not put this book down. It is 'action packed',from a spiritual and physical perspective. (A large percent of this book seems to be fact rather than fiction).

Having had the opportunity to read Brother G's works was a joy in itself. It is about time someone has given readers the opportunity to read and enjoy the "truth". As opposed to fantastical tales like "300" which redirect the attention from who really did what. "Shades.." is as accurate a fictitious tale as there could be. It was more than my pleasure to read the first two volumes of "Shades..." and I plan to read the rest ASAP!!
VERY POWERFUL, AND A GREAT PIECE OF WORK. I RECOMMEND ALL READ THIS MATERIAL!
"D"

Finally someone has created a great mythology featuring people of color. It's about damn time. Brother G has done for people of the African Diaspora what Hollywood had done for white people for the past 100 hundred years. He has created an African hero the brothas can be proud of based on true world history and ancient mythology. Brother G gets the original Hip Hop Hooray. I own the whole series and recommend it to every black man and boy in the world. Hotep. Two words describe Brother G: Griot/Jeli Extraordinaire. This is what a Griot/Jeli is:

The Griot/Jeli in Mande society was as a historian, adviser, arbitrator, praise singer (patronage), and storyteller. Essentially, these musicians were walking history books, preserving their ancient stories and traditions through song. They were said to have deep connections to spiritual, social, or political powers as music is associated as such. Speech is also said to have power as it can recreate history and relationships.

Considering I am not a big fan of science/fiction, I have since become one after reading this book. It was full of action, sadness, triumph, and most of all imagination. It was if when I opened the pages I transformed to the person in the tale following Memnon around through all of his trials and tribulations. Excellent book I must say. I read it quite a while ago, and now I think it's about time to refresh my memory.

This book is definitely an interesting read and the adventures of Memnon are memorable, but what does this author (or Afrocentrics) have against Jews? According to the glossary at the beginning of the book, Jews were exiled heretics who were banished from Kamit and who, in their anger for having been exiled, "concocted a false history based on Kamitic history... including hateful stories about the nation that had banished them." (p. 19) How can this book be classified as mythology when the author's agendy is to "educate" readers about historical misrepresentations? I think there are sore spots on the part of Afrocentrics towards Jews because the Jews translated the Bible from the Greek and some Afrocentrists have claimed that the Jews mistranslated or something. I could be wrong. That HUGE issue aside, there are too many typos in this book. Grammatically, it is well written; however, there is evidence of punctuation and spacing errors. The publisher needs to print another edition of this work.

This book really illustrates the problem we have in this country. Most people are busy paying on 300K + houses, paying SUV bills and are starved for time to live life the way it is to be lived. My hope is that people will use this book to fight corporate greed and gain a real life.

This book is not repetitive like others book in genres similar. This has many wonderfully written topics on time and our lack there of it in the United States. Different issues can arise due to lack of time. Some others also cross compare other countries who have more time and leisure, yet still have a great economy with more relaxed workers. Defienntly worth the time to read and may give you ideas on starting a movement to bring about more time for us.

For years I've thought of Europe as like the grandfather... sitting on the porch, watching America in action. He sits there, somewhat envious, reminiscing about the days when he used to be the top dog himself. But the envy is shortlived; in truth, he would never trade places with us, for he knows that the true cost of being able to call yourself #1 is far too high.
Money and power, after all, aren't everything.
In Take Back Your Time, de Graaf looks at a culture that is all about the material short term and cannot see beyond. It's a book that reminds us that it's OUR time, that this is a commodity that we CHOOSE to trade for things like money, status and comfort. I use the word 'remind' loosely--in truth, it's almost a new concept, for many. We hear stories of millionaires on their deathbed who would give everything to have one more year, yet other millionaires will do 15 hours tomorrow rather than think about it. Our culture is basically designed to HAVE TO work like this: the economy would go bust if we put anything before money. You could argue it's always been that way, but not to this extreme: every year we trade more hours so as to buy bigger houses, better cars, more gadgets, etc. This is a book that all of America needs to read. If only we had the time.

This is something that needs to be forwarded around. We need to spread the word.

MSNBC had the nerve to do a news story saying people in the US have the lowest productivity in the first world, but as this book points out, people in the US work an average of 9 more weeks than other first world countries. People who put in 10 and 12 hour work days as we do and don't take vacations are exhausted, and have terrible health and productivity as a result of it.

European countries such as the United Kingdom where they eat more sugar and fat than we do, are thinner and in better health because they are not working themselves to death as we are.

One of my favorite quotes from this book, is "Time is a family value."

The Mother Manifesto is is a co production of Take Back Your Time and MomsRising
The Motherhood Manifesto: What America's Moms Want - and What To Do About It

With this book, John de Graaf provides an opportunity to sit down with talented writers and perceptive thinkers, and hear their views on one of society's most pressing problems - time poverty. As we race to produce more stuff - stuff that is poisoning our environment - we lose the time we need to take care of ourselves and our families, particularly those most in need of care, the very young, the very old, and even our pets. As this book shows, Americans' single-minded focus on production comes at the expense of other areas of life that desperately need our time and attention. Children growing up in institutionalized care, pets being dumped at shelters, citizens relinquishing their right to vote, obesity becoming epidemic as fast food replaces home cooking, landfills overflowing with the items we frenetically produce; the list goes on. In addition to viewing the problem from several interesting and diverse perspectives, the book includes essays on possible solutions and provides ways for readers to get involved. Everyone should find the time to read this important and engaging book.

In "Good Intentions" Duke Robinson offers the distilled essence of his faith journey. In language that cuts across the exclusiveness of cultic talk he speaks in an inclusive way about life and the role grace and truth can play in its living. In our family there is a wide spectrum of religious orientations and of no orientation at all. We have given copies of "Good Intentions" to each one confident that it will meet them where they are and add a dimension of richness to their lives.

Always being "nice" looks so good from the outside, but oh, the pain that is there inside. Duke Robinson's touching book guides you through simple, yet challanging steps to relieve that pain forever.

My first intention was to read this book as a self-help guide in learnng how to deal with my mistakes. I found my "niceness" in many chapters and immediately began trying some of the suggested changes. They do work and I feel better!

Being a believer that continuing education is a lifelong process, I want to share this book with others. Using the author's study guide, I plan to introduce "Good Intentions" to an adult study group at my church.

This is one Oprah should have picked up on -- solid and witty advice on how to stop making those same mistakes, and start getting a grip on your own life. I read it slowly, absorbing its wisdom in increments...I recommend it to anyone who has a berth on this crazy ship called Earth.

We do not have to expect
that this book can completely change our life,
but it will surely help !

Reading "Good Intentions" evoked feelings similar to those when I first read Emerson's "Self Reliance" in college. The power of the book comes from reading in print what I have experienced, fell prey to, and have had similar thoughts on in the areas of personal relationships, anger and trying to always do the "right" thing. The pleasure of the read is having my own inner-examination verified and examined in an easy to read manner.

I found the sections on anger and reasoning with irrationality excellent reference guides for healthy management of these (nearly) everyday occurences. This book will be kept on my shelf as a reference book for life. Thanks for writing it Duke!

A self-described "working class intellectual" with a passion for collecting jazz records and a "flunky gig" as a file clerk in a VA hospital, Harvey Pekar pioneered the literary comic genre. His long-running series American Splendor portrays not caped superheroes with bulging muscles, but the everyday life of an ordinary guy in Cleveland. Pekar's autobiographical vignettes are introspective, honest, and often funny, candidly revealing his flaws and failures as he pushes on heroically in pursuit of love, companionship, and creative fulfillment.

Pekar's realistic dialogue (the characters speak in different dialects, which helps you "hear" them in your head) accompanies a wide range of art styles by a number of comic artists, from the quirkiness of R. Crumb to the stark realism of Greg Budgett and Gary Dumm and the meticulous, photographic detail of Gerry Shamray.

For me, this book was a great introduction to an addictive series. Chock full of amusing anecdotes and musings on everything from race relations in Cleveland to the joy of a good pair of shoes, it's a slice of life in comic book form.

I've been a fan of Harvey Pekar's work for over fifteen years. The first time I ever read his self-published comix, American Splendor, I was impressed by its examination of everyday life. His self-effacing humor grows on those who want more than mainstream comics starring spandex-clad teens with superpowers. Compared with Pekar, Spidey has it easy.

I was happy when this movie tie-in release of his early collected work was published. The everyday brilliance of the real life interactions between Pekar and his friends, co-workers and loved ones merit more attention by discerning readers. It would behoove anyone who cares about the comix medium to claim a copy for their personal reading enjoyment. This volume is not for collectors, but for fans of alternative graphic literature who want more meat and potatoes rather than the visual eye candy of more mainstream publishers.

Pekar has been described as a "working class intellectual" (The Comics Journal), and this label is respectfully accurate. He comes from a generation who grew up devouring a culture that had more respect for intelligence than is common today. Instead of just mourning this trend, Pekar rebels from it in true beatnik fashion. His long-time association with R. Crumb (who drew the very first American Splendor story, "The Harvey Pekar Name Story") attracted other artists within Cleveland as well as from other locations as the series has progressed.

The everyday heroism of Pekar working a civil service job in order to create his vision of the potential of graphic literature comes through in every page of this collection. I am glad that there are other collections and issues of American Splendor that are available. It would be grand if future generations of comix fans could gravitate around the work that Pekar has never tired from creating. Even at the worst of his lymphoma and chemo treatments, he has never quit observing and relating the drama of everyday life.

i own i think every american splendor collection book there is, and this one is my favorite. there's a few in particular that really blow me away (the one with pekar wondering around a park, reflecting on his past marriage, his present, and whether there is a God is spectacular). there are a wide variety of artists, from the goofy robert crumb drawings to more serious ones. there are certainly weak points IMO, but not as much as in the other collections. while "the quitter" is his most consistent i've read so far, there's no replacement for finding a really cool comic collection like this and reading through it, finding a bunch of random pekar stories and seeing which ones you enjoy best.

American Splendor: The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar is the largest published collection of the comic series, containing the complete text of American Splendor and More American Splendor. With an introduction by R. Crumb and art by Kevin Brown, Gregory Budgett, Sean Carroll, Sue Cavey, R. Crumb, Gary Drumm, Val Materick, and Gerry Shamray this is 320 pages of a classic American comic.

Pekar's work is a cerebral approach to the comic medium. Many of the panels have no dialog and only illustrate the external while the text reveals the thought stream of Pekar's mind. His ability to portray the inner workings of his thoughts, in a humorous and sympathetic manner, is the key to the success of his writings. The comic is a working class version of Seinfeld with a populist self-made intellectual as the leading character. Yet there is a Existentialist angst to this work that puts it in a class by itself.

This collection of Pekar writings from the 1970s and 80s was issued on the heels of the film "American Splendor," and it collects some of the best of Pekar's earlier work. Although not exclusively chronological, the presentation of the material gives a good idea of Pekar's life from his post-high school days through his meeting and marrying Joyce Brabner. (For a strictly chronological memoir, see Pekar's recent The Quitter.)

In the later Pekar work, the centerpiece of much of it is Pekar's obsessive-compulsive anxiety. But a lot of this work focuses on what might be described as Pekar's existential anxiety: his terrible loneliness, his anger and alienation, his dark reflections on the meaning of life, his desire for recognition, his regret over wasted opportunities and adolescent hubris, and his worries about future contingencies (financial security, illness and death, old age). The Pekar who comes through in these pages isn't the lovable crank of the film. Rather, the person who comes through is the outsider, a self-educated man, extremely knowledgeable in literature and music, who disdains a "normal" lifestyle and seeks freedom through nonconformity. Perhaps the finest single piece Pekar has ever written, "I'll be Forty-three on Friday (How I'm Living Now)" speaks to all this. The collection's lead story, "The Harvey Pekar Name Story," in which Pekar winds up asking "Who IS Harvey Pekar?" is a perfect set-up.

Of course, there are also lighter moments in this collection. Mr. Boats (wonderfully illustrated by R. Crumb) appears here a couple of times, and he's always good for a bit of gently funny homespun wisdom. "Mrs. Roosevelt and the Young Queen of Greece" and "On the Corner: A Sequel, June 1976" are touching pieces about the bittersweetness of memory. And the penultimate story in the collection, "Common Sense," would make even a dyed-in-the-wool misanthrope love humanity.

Highly recommended.

As a mom of two, this book is so very helpful to navigate the parenting obstacles we encounter every day. Sharon Duke Estroff brillantly guides parents with humor and passion. Once you pick up this book you won't be able to put it down. LOVE IT! Thank you to the author.

There are so many reasons why I loved this book, but one of my top five is the Lego analogy. Parenting is like Legos, the author explains. "When you first dump the contents of the package on the playroom floor you feel overwhelmed and perplexed. You don't know if you're trying to build a spaceship or a castle. It's not until you see the big picture on the front of the Lego box that all those disconnected plastic bricks take on new meaning as a totally cool medieval fortress. That glimpse at the final goal - while admittedly a bit daunting at first - ultimately gives us the faith, inspiration and direction we need to begin building our Camelot." This book helps parents take a good hard look at the big picture and shows them how they can use it to their family's benefit.

My mother gave me this book for Chanukah and I read the first three chapters before the candles burnt out. (Really!) Can I Have a Cell Phone for Hanukkah isn't just great because it's a fun and easy read, it's also packed with helpful advice. The author is a professional educator but she's also a mom who totally gets what it's like to raise kids today. One of my favorite chapters was "Countdown to Kindergarten" since I have a child who will be starting kindergarten next year. I also love the social chapters called "Pladate Protocol" and "Surviving the Schoolyard Social Jungle". I know that as my son gets older the chapters on school, homework and the internet will be invaluable to me. As a Jewish mom I also enjoyed the holiday by holiday guide. A fun read packed with tons of practical, useful information. What more could you ask for in a parenting book?!

This is the first book of our generation that puts parenting into a realistic, sane perspective. It acknowledges all the challenges and noise that we have to deal with as we raise kids. It puts into very simple and funny terms how ridiculous the standards are that we are foisting upon our children. Its like a cup of coffee with a good friend that sets you straight when you're feeling down on yourself for not having the family you see in advertisements. Uniquely refreshing and easy to read, this book is a great gift to new moms and struggling moms as a place to turn when they need a positive attitude adjustment.

I read Can I Have a Cell Phone for Hanukkah in one afternoon. I could not put it down! Sharon Duke Estroff really helps parents navigate "parenthood." I highly recommend this book for all parents!