Campbell Books

The Blue Yonder Inn by Helen Campbell is a thoroughly "reader engaging" novel about a mother's struggle to keep her ill-tempered teenage niece out of trouble. Their gradual coming to terms with one another, amid the backdrop of the family business - a pay-by-the-hour roadside motel that depends upon airmen, prostitutes, and visitors to the state penitentiary for its clientele - evolves through the turbulence of an extended voyage of discovery and more, in this sometimes sardonic, sometimes heartwarming look at the effort it takes to forge true family ties. The Blue Yonder Inn is a deftly written and highly recommended for personal reading lists and community library contemporary fiction collections.

This book is highly entertaining and a very quick read. For a great view of life in West Texas in a different time in history, check this out!

Tired of the same old character cliches? Sick of the same old plots? Well, drive yourself over to the Blue Yonder Inn where you'll meet a memorable assortment of oddballs whose resumes aren't exactly worth a second call. Bonnie Blue, the down-and-out protagonist, leaves Blackie, her baby, in a wheelbarrow outside the Blue Yonder Inn and heads out on her own hero's journey. On the run from her good-for-nothing husband Gil, Bonnie meets up with more curious folk - some unsavory, some endearing. This story is sharp, fast paced, and has well drawn characters. Helen Campbell's biting wit makes even the most tragic of circumstances humorous. You'll find yourself laughing and sympathizing with people you might otherwise avoid completely.

Helen Campbell scores again! Just as Turnip Blues was too hilarious to put down, so the character development in The Blue Yonder Inn makes you not want to quit reading until the end. Though the central story of Bonnie Blue, Blackie, and Darnelle covers but a brief span of time, you are transported back and forth through the generations of their family and friendships resulting in a panoramic encounter that seems all so familiar. Campbell writes with such detail and clarity that the reader's emotions are continuously engaged. You want to hold Blackie in your arms, punch out Gil, and share a bourbon with Darnelle.

This is a wonderful novel, easy to read and hard to put down --staying in my mind ever since I did finally put it down, sad to finish it.
A surprising book, because the heroine, Bonnie Blue, is a [weak person] if ever there was one -- and yet there's something about the way Campbell describes this young woman that made me care about her, and the sad and difficult life she leads, and the people around her, particularly her wayward uncles and enterprising aunt. Authentic, funny, poignant, insightful -- Campbell's novel doesn't shy away from the ugly truth about the underside of American society -- as it was in the 60s in Texas -- but you'll end the book feeling joyous rather than depressed, trust me.

In an age of all kinds of self-help books, this one is simple and it SHINES. Written from a (subtle, non-infringing) Christian perspective, it is loaded with information about how anyone can immediately improve not only their relationships with their children (and therefore their child's well-being) but can also apply this information to all relationships. I think it would work wonders for teachers as well!

You know when you hear truth because it's so simple, and makes so much sense, that you think, "Of course that's the way it is! Why didn't I figure that out myself??" That's the feeling this book has all the way through. An unforgettable message that could change the way you live!!

I have two other sisters one younger, one older and we all have at least two children. My mother bought three copies of this book and sent one to each of us at the same time. By some grace I happened to have recieved my copy at a time when I was having horrible problems with my 3 year old son. At three he was on the verge of being expelled from the Christian Daycare he was attending. My husband I were at our wits end so when I got this book I immediately picked it up and read it.(I found out later that of us 3 girls I was the only one who did).I read the whole book in 3 days going over sections several times. My husband and I began putting Dr. Campbell's suggestions into practice right away and within one week it was like living with a completely different child. Once we understood the whole "Emotional Gas Tank" theory we began to recognize quite easily when our son was getting low. What a difference. We sat down and talked with the director of the school whom also helped us to identify some personalized areas that we were not setting limits for our son thus compounding the discipline problem. The frist week was very tough but it was so worth it. It has been over a year now and we continue to practice the things we have learned in this book. I have recommended it to many friends and encouraged my sisters to read it as they continue to have problems with thier children. It is written from a Christian Standpoint which I personally find a big plus. This book is worth its weight in gold.

An absolutely wonderful book! Dr. Campbell writes from a Christian perspective on how to REALLY love your child. He asserts that everyday a child is asking his parents, "Do you love me?", not only through his words, but more importantly through his behavior. It's our answer to this question that will have the biggest impact on his/her life. Loving UNCONDITIONALLY is the answer--this means loving your child no matter what and even when at times you detest his/her behavior.

Specifically, Dr. Campbell teaches that in order to love unconditionally, you must do four things: Show love through eye contact, show love through physical attention, show love through focused attention, and finally show love through discipline. He explains how important each of these things are and how big a mistake it is to only focus on discipline. I especially liked his discussion on what he thinks Proverbs 13:24 really means regarding "Not sparing the rod". "The shepherd's rod referred to in Scripture was used almost exclusively for guiding the sheep, not beating them." In other words, we need to guide and train our children, not beat them to instill obedience.

Can't recommend this book highly enough. It's a very easy read and it really convicted me to be a better parent by loving my kids unconditionally. Read it and see if you're not convinced it will make you a better parent.

This book tells, in a straight forward manner, how to "read" your teenager; what they are trying to say through their body language and small "clues" they give to try and signal their needs, fears, and desires. You can tell that the author is not merely a father - but a dad. I have recomended it to numerous people and all of them have found it invaluable. I have read and re-read it over and over. It is THE book to get if you are trying to "figure out" where your teenager is coming from, and how you can span the large gulf that separates parents and teens.

This book is very well written, easy to read and the most "on target" parenting book ever! Thank you most of all for the inspiring section in Ch. 10, The First Requirement, pages 132-133 of the paperback edition. I have re-read those paragraphs so many times. It's what every child and every adult thirsts for.

The pleasurable "Q Road" provides the reader with a genuine experience of rural Michigan coupled with characters who have grown from this place, whose lives are a reflection of their landscape.

The story, centered on an irascible, oft-cussing brute of a girl (Rachel) and her relationship with an ageing farmer (George), allows the reader to become engrossed in a landscape rife with contrast. The primary arc of the novel encompasses a few years from the late 1990's. Aside from the quirky and delightful love story between Rachel and George, as well as a few other minor arcs concerning the loveably flawed residents of Greenland Township in Kalamazoo County, the novel is a study on the friction between people with fundamentally different views on how their landscape should be shaped.

Rachel, along with her mother Margo, live off the land, hunting and skinning their meals with ease, as one with the natural environment as possible. George is caught in between. As a farmer he maintains an intimate relationship with the land while at the same time experiencing the near futility of his occupation with the constant pressures of money and labor. Then, with an assortment of characters, the rural/urban divide is examined through the clashes between wealthy developers, a middle class fleeing the city, and those who (like the Potawatomi in another arc of flashback skillfully threaded through the narrative) are forced to respond to the invasion.
A terrific, fast read. Highly recomended for anyone who loves the beautifully rugged ladscape of the nothern Mid-West.

This first novel begins with the image of wooly-bear caterpillars crossing a rural road. If this doesn't seem auspicious, read on. I found Q Road to be a generous surprise and I don't say this easily. The depiction of the extinquishing of a goldfinch's life is beautiful and perfect and right,though I fought it all the way. The depictions of the people and their sudden realizations are equally stunning. What it is to believe in God, what it is to love another person, to gasp even for air: all these are given to us by this young author. This is a monster, a wondrous, beautiful book.

Campbell's book revolves around a quirky cast of characters in rural Michigan: foul-mouthed, child-bride Rachel, her husband George, and her best friend, asthmatic, 12-year-old David, to name a few. The story itself is not particularly remarkable, but Campbell's writing makes you want to not miss a moment.

Rifle-toting Rachel, abandoned by her distant, fur-trapping mother, marries the much older George Harland, a down-on-his-luck farmer, because she wants his land. She grows to love him in her own weird, tacit way. She also loves David, who becomes even more devoted to the mysterious Rachel after his near-death experience in a burning barn. There are some more neighborhood characters thrown into the mix, but you get to know these three the best. There wasn't so much in the way of a plot, it was really just a simple story, beautifully written, about loving the place you live and the people who live there, about getting lost, even in familiar territory, and finding your way back with the help of family and friends.

Q Road is not for the faint of heart. Author Bonnie Jo Campbell takes you down a Michigan side-road to a rough-hewn world of brutally flawed characters. No sparkling wits, no dreamy introverts here; rather these misshapen and misfortuned people struggle through each and every day. Cantankerous and eccentric, they are driven to alienate kin and neighbors alike. Victims of violent acts of their past, broken marriages, rural recession and self-abuse, they gain pleasure from the misery of others.

Around them caterpillars are splattered under the wheels of cars, crows munch the remains of road-kill squirrels and cats devour birds, all in a landscape haunted by the death-march of the indigenous Potawatomi Indians. Out of this harsh reality, Campbell builds a story of grittiness, purpose and great humor that is suddenly jarred by a tragedy. An act of carelessness not malice, it threatens to overwhelm the community and break their spirit.

In Campbell's competent hands, there is no hysterical reaction and no desperation, just people digging deeper and accepting less. Q Road becomes a road to recovery. No giant steps, no minor miracles, just a poignant reminder that the human spirit needs just small kindnesses to prevail.

Bonnie Jo Campbell has, rightly, been described as a fresh new voice in American literature. This, her first novel, should be the launching point for a distinguished career.

As carefully stitched together as a patchwork quilt, with colorful squares made of quirky characters, the inhabitants of Greenland Township, Michigan, are bound by the commonality of their daily labor and innate love of their farmland. This is the heartland of America, land that has sustained generation after generation. But as much as a failing farm economy, suburbia encroaches upon this pastoral existence, and city people are willing to tolerate only so much discomfort in their newly constructed rural environment. Once sprawled across the countryside, secure from city confines, the old families are slowly replaced by pre-fab housing developments.

Q Road's three main protagonists are strikingly different people, each with particular idiosyncrasies, forming their own core family: father, child-bride, and son, love filling the solitary loneliness so long entrenched in their hearts. The spirited 17-year-old Rachel, a new bride who has married for the security of owning land, smashes through life with no guidance or socialization, save that of her own invention. George Harland, her middle-age-plus husband, is a sixth-generation farmer who knows only that his days are suddenly more bearable with Rachel sharing their backbreaking work and love-drenched nights. George cannot imagine life without Rachel.

When twelve-year-old David is drawn to the Harlands, it is for George's fatherly protection and Rachel's pure female strength, his own mother ever more distant and self-involved. On a clear day when trouble hovers in the air, David is the catalyst for catastrophe, his one breach of judgment forever changing the landscape of their future. For the three of them, life will never be the same again.

The Darwinian inevitability of nature vs. progress lurks around the perimeter of Greenland Township and Campbell skillfully portrays the hardships and realities of farming, as even the vigorous landscape becomes a vital player in the drama. Campbell's reality is hard-edged and she never shies away from its blunt and often brutal surfaces. Yet the eccentric characters of Q Road fit snugly into the environment, their own edges sharpened early by experience.

Q Road is like an Alice Hoffman novel with sharp teeth and a rapacious appetite. At the same time, the peculiar township inhabitants have many of the intransigent qualities of Carolyn Chute's Beans of Egypt, Maine. Sprinkled with quirky individuals, neighborhood malcontents and busybodies, Q Road is overflowing with the many faces of humanity, as they reach bravely toward their better selves. Luan Gaines/2003.

A year and a half ago I found this book at my Daughter's Scholastic book fair. This is a GREAT book! As a Mom I have a very difficult time spelling due to Dyslexia. I can read perfectly, however spelling is a real challenge for me. I help in my child's first grade class one full day a week, and the children are always asking how to spell words. I keep this dictionary handy, and when I am not sure how to spell a word, we look it up together. This book contains thousands of words! It is written in an easy to read font, and it is simple to use! I am buying two more copies for home - one for me and one for my 6 year old!

This product came in handy for my seven year old daughter who want to know how to spell Every word she hears...I love it...simply because it's so easy for her to understand and read the meanings

It is very handy, the size is a little big for me but nevertheless the content is what counts.

I have come across these Scholastic Language books and this seems to be a great Vocabulary resource for kids. Especially with the slow learners, the Dictionary of Spelling is a blessing. Words that are seperated into syllables with clear indication in bold, makes easier for pronunciation. Moreover, the phonetic reads become easier when children can use the book as additional reference in classroom. Scholastic has made way to India in classrooms too and as we teach them these easy scholastic book, it is fun way using and great resource to teach kids while they play and learn.

- ilaxi patel

Not only does my daughter love this book, but her teacher wanted to see it and loves it too. It's an excellent book for allowing a child to be able to find out how to spell a word by themselves. And since they do the work of actually looking up the word, it reinforces the spelling that much more within their minds.

There are several pages of useful information on how to spell words and on how to use the book effectively. My daughter has read parts of this and has learned much about spelling. It has improved her spelling abilities in school (she now gets 106% on her tests) and made her more self-reliant, which is important to me.

I'd recommend getting this book and Merriam Webster Children's Dictionary together, as one is good for looking up spelling, and the other is a great reference for definitions.

This is an excellent walkthrough of Skype all the way from getting started to using special phones and other VoIP appliances. I'm impressed by the depth of the coverage, and the quality of the writing. This is easily the best book I've seen on Skype.

"Skype Me" is an excellent book for both beginners and advanced users of this free Voice over IP (VoIP) application. With easy instructions for downloading, installing, and using on any system, Skype is remarkably effective, but simple. It allows you to talk by voice in computer-to-computer conversations, conferencing, and even video capabilities with the necessary security features to protect your conversations.
This "family and friends" phone plan could put the phone companies out of business - except to bring us the DSL line. I've seen my wife use Skype to conference with her local partner and their Australian customer.
While basics are great, there's plenty here for the more advanced users including using Skype with other hardware and software (eg, wireless devices like cell phones). The authors also walk you through the security aspects of Skype - absolutely necessary these days.
Overall, a great book to own and keep handy as a reference for expanding your cyber knowledge.

Skype is a simple to implement Voice Over IP (VOIP) solution for the average computer user. If you are tired of long-distance charges, want to be able to tell when someone is online and you can call them, chat in a secure, encrypted environment, engage in video chatting with others, or call someone who has a regular phone system at substantially reduced rates then Skype may be the product you need. This book covers installation, configuration, and basic usage as well as configuring advanced features and personalizing your Skype. While this is useful, I found the software to be so user friendly that it was easy to figure out most of this by just exploring the basic options of the system. That being said Chapters seven and eight were well worth the price of the book by themselves. These chapters cover software and hardware add-ons that can greatly enhance your Skype system and make it work the way you would like it to. The final two sections of the book cover setting up Skype in a business environment and writing custom interfaces to it by accessing the Skype API. This section includes important information on how to set up Skype behind a firewall. Skype Me is a highly recommended purchase and a great way to access the VOIP world for anyone with a computer and good Internet access speed.

Skype Me! is a book that everyone needs to have. It's less technical than Skype Hacks, which makes it more accessible to non-techies. Gough starts off with basic lessons about VoIP, Peer-to-peer technology (as it's used in VoIP), even Skype security. These basics will help anyone who is looking at setting up Skype in their home.

Installation is covered in Chapter 2. Gough gives detailed instructions on testing individual computers setups to make sure that Skype will work properly, and shows how to install Skype on Windows, Pocket PC, Mac OS X, and Linux. Then, in chapter 3, he covers the basics of using Skype.

Gough spends a lot of time on using Skype from Pocket PCs, even Pocket PC cell phones and smart phones. This is something I'd never thought about, honestly - my cell phone bill is pretty small, and we've got a good family plan. I can see where people who use a lot of cell phone minutes each month could save some money.

Skype Me! also goes into detail when it comes to implementing Skype in a business setting. This is one area where I think that Skype is being under-utilized. There's a perception that Skype is for home users, but isn't powerful enough for enterprise use, but it's clear that Skype is a lot more powerful than people think. There's a lot of potential for business use - especially when you look at the call center hack that I mentioned in the review of Skype Hacks.

One disappointment I had with Skype Hacks was that it didn't really talk much about the Skype API. Skype Me! does this in chapter 14, and goes into enough detail that people with a computer background will be able to take advantage of the API in customizing their own installation of Skype. Skype Me! also goes into more detail in discussing the various Skype-enabled devices that are available, or will soon become available. Gough includes mini-reviews of a lot of popular Skype hardware add-ons that will make your Skype experience much more pleasant - and productive.

For new users, Skype Me! is a valuable addition to their library. The fact that Michael Gough is the guy who runs SkypeTips.com and is constantly adding material at that site is just another reason to get this book.

Skype Me! is the perfect introduction to Skype for users of all skill levels. It could serve as an example of how to write a product-centric book that delivers real value. The text is well written, clear, and focused. The material becomes progressively complex as the reader moves from learning about Skype, to installing it, to using it, to extending it into areas I hadn't previously considered. Anyone who wants to get the most out of Skype should read Skype Me!

I believe Skype is an incredibly intuitive and simple piece of software. I didn't spend much time with the first four chapters of the book, since I think the ease of installing and using Skype is one of its main attractions. Beginning with Ch 5, however, author Michael Gough started expanding my sense of what could be done by Skype. With advanced features in Ch 6, software add-ons in Ch 7, and hardware accessories in Ch 8, I was entering new territory. The material was well-covered.

I have no real concerns with Skype Me! I have a minor issue with the author's suggestion on p 270 that using a 900 MHz cordless phone is a sign they need to be "upgraded". A 900 MHz cordless phone is a great way to avoid interference in the 2.4 GHz range used by modern wireless networks and newer cordless phones. I would have also liked some expert commentary by a security professional regarding controlling Skype in the enterprise.

Overall I highly recommend Skype Me! I would feel comfortable sharing this book with my parents as a way to encourage them to try Skype. I would also share it with friends who want to tinker at the edges of traditional Skype usage.

Well, I started reading the Thoroughbred books about 3 years ago. Ever since then I've been hooked! But, I read all of the newer books first. So when I was looking around my home town liabrary, I saw " Wonders Yearling" I picked it up and read the back. I couldn't believe it! Ashleigh's Wonder was having her first foal! I had just finished reading Without Wonder! It was really cool to see how the whole series started. And to imagine that Sammy, Mr.Maclean and Ashleigh had all lived at Townsend Acres! I can't beleive that!!

Ashleigh is a brave girl who loves horses. She and her family have to move to a huge thouroughbred racing farm. She gets attached to a mare named Holly. When Holly has trouble giving birth to a beautiful filly, Ashleigh vows to save the small, sick filly's life. When she succeeds,everyone at the farm decides to name the filly Ashseigh's Wonder.

I absolutely loved these books!!! They are so interesting! I couldnt ever put them down! She is such a great writer! I cant wait to read the other books in the series and the other horse series that she has wrote!

I love the series. I only have books 1 and 2 but I just got number three. The series has ALOT of books plus some other series in it like THOROUGHBRED Super Editions and ASHLEIGH'S Thoroughbred Collection but the doesn't matter because I love to read. The series is outstanding and Joanna Campbell makes it feel like you are right there with Ashleigh and Wonder at Townsend Acres. I am going to buy the whole series because Thoroughbred horses are my personal favorite breed of horse and I love the books. If you're a horse lover then you should too!

The begining of this series is the best out of all of them. i have read this series since the sixth grade and now am in the twelveth. the supence of these books do the best to show the talent of Joanna Campbell. dealing with Brad Townsend and all the other doubtful staff memebers, Ashleigh shows that with a little love and tender care, anything is possible. i highly recomend these books to anyone who loves horses and anything about them.

I can't believe how sad this book was! That must have been hard for Ashleigh. But I agree with another reader. She should have accepted the fact that he should be put out of his pain. This is an excellent book and you should read it but be prepared! It's really sad!

this book was awesome,but really sad.It made me cry. What happens is Ashleigh and her Friend Mona go horseback riding,But when Ashleigh gets back to Edgardale Farms, she finds out that a couple (Mr.&Mrs.Finch-Brown)who own Stony Brooks Farms want to buy Midnight.Then when Ashleigh's parents go into the house to discuss the sale, Midnight gets into a fight with Sparky.(one of the other yearlings). Midnight fractures his cannon bone in the fight. The vet thinks that Midnight should be euthanized to prevent furthur suffering, but Ashleigh begs her parents for more time, And devotes herself to trying to cure Midnight, But Midnight only gets worse,And tragically he has to be euthanized.Ashleigh blames herself for his tragic fate and vowes that she will not become attached to another horse. Can Ashleigh overcome her sadness over Midnights death? READ THIS BOOK TO FIND OUT!!

This sure happens a lot. Ashleigh or another character gets attatched to a horse and when it dies they close themselves off from horses until another horse magically makes them feel better. These books are great--I ALREADY HAVE FOURTEEN FROM THE SERIES--but there should be a little more variety.

This was a great book. Ashleigh's favorite yearling colt, Midnight Wanderer got injured in a fight with Sparky, another yearling colt. His canon bone was broken in the fight, and the vets says he should be put down. He is given to weeks to get better. Midnight only gets worse and must be put down. That was the saddest part! Midnight was so beautiful! Ashleigh neglected her mare Stardust after that, and she became depressed and bored. Ashley finally tries riding her again and they really come to like each other, and Ashleigh feels a lot better. This book was great! If you like the Thoroughbred series, read it!

This is definitely one of my favorite Thoroughbred books. It has me crying through most of the book. On a scale of 1-5 stars, I would give it 100 and then some.
Tragedy has struck Edgardale, leaving Ashleigh Griffen's favorite colt, Midnight Wanderer, with a broken canon bone. The vet thinks it kindest to put him to sleep, but Ashleigh begs her parents for a few weeks to try to save Midnight. Ashleigh spends every spare minute with him. Everyone else has given up hope, but Ashleigh can't believe her beloved colt could die! She knows he will probably never walk comfortably, let alone do the thing he was bred to do-race. But she believes he could be a pleasure or stud horse. Two weeks fly by quickly, and the vet is back to examine Midnight. He finds that the colt's leg is getting worse, and he has an infection in the bone,despite the medicines. Ashleigh knows it's right to put him out of his misery, but it terrifies her to think of seeing him once and then never again. So she agrees to have him put down, but has her mom say good-bye to Midnight Wanderer for her. Ashleigh blames herself for the colt's sad fate. On the day he broke his canon bone, Ashleigh and Caroline were out watching the weanlings play. Midnight started fighting with Sparky,another colt, and Caroline wanted to get their parents. But Ashleigh said the horses would be fine. And now Midnight is gone. Ashleigh vows never to become attached to a horse again-it can only end in tearful good-byes. She avoids the barn, and neglects her own horse Stardust. But can any horse mend Ashleigh's broken heart and save her love of horses before it's too late?

I've read this book several times, and it never fails to move me. I don't think I've read a more powerful book. Oprah needs to get on this one.

Brother to a Dragonfly is the story of 2 brothers who, in their own way, idolize each other. Will looks up to his older brother Joe. Joe is the protector. He always wants to make things right. And Joe knows that Will is destined to have a mark on the world. But Will D. Campbell has written more than a memoir in writing about growing up with his brother Joe in rural Mississippi. He has captured a piece of America's past. This book reads like a novel - poverty, war, race relations, the civil rights movement, drug addiction, domestic violence - it's all there. Occasionally Campbell makes an awkward jump in the story, but this some how enhances the voice and reminds the reader that this is life. Life doesn't always flow like we would like it to. While telling the story of his brother, Campbell paints a portrait of southerners (himself) during the civil rights movement that don't always get the recognition they deserve. I was surprised by the insights he had 40 years ago about both sides of the civil rights movement. I was even more surprised to find that I had bought into many of the southern stereotypes, and I'm southern!
If you are interested in southern literature, coming of age stories, family relationships, American history from 1930's to 1960's, or the Civil Rights Movement, you need to add Brother to a Dragonfly to your list of reads. Will D. Campbell gives a first rate account of his experience. While it is only one man's view, it is a rich one!

This book sets the standard for brotherly love: through the joyous days of youth, through sickness, through the reversal of who worships who, each standing up for the other no matter what.

This book also wrestles with faith, guilt before the law versus guilt before God, examines stereotypes and throws them away.

"Suddenly I knew a lot of things I had not known before. I knew that I had been caught in my own trap. (In a discussion with a Klansman) Suddenly I knew that we are a nation of Klansmen. I knew that as a nation we stood for peace, harmony and freedom in that war (Vietnam), that we defined the words, and that the means we were employing to accomplish those ends were identical with the ones he had listed."

Follow Will Campbell in his journey with his brother and your horizons will be broadened.

If you were raised in the south as I was, have an interest in the civil rights movement, or want to enjoy one of the most irreverent Christian curmudgeons ever to irritate the church, then read Will Campbell (b. 1924). Campbell was born and raised in the rural and very poor deep south of Amite, Mississippi, "ordained" by family members at a local Baptist church when he was seventeen, and, in a delightfully improbable life, played a central role as an activist and agitator on behalf of African Americans. But to leave it at that would badly misrepresent him.

After World War II Campbell studied at Tulane, Wake Forest, and Yale. He served as Director of Religious life at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), but left after two years because his controversial views attracted death threats. He then did a stint for the National Council of Churches where he worked with most of the civil rights luminaries. In 1957, Campbell was one of four people who escorted the nine black students who integrated Little Rock's Central High School; and he was the only white person to attend the founding of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference by the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. So, how did he come to sip whiskey with the KKK and get hate mail from the left?

Campbell came to distrust all movements and institutions, especially the church (he once referred to television preachers as liars, frauds, and "electronic soul molesters"). He dismissed all politics as impotent. It was less than Christian, he realized, to agitate for the oppressed but to hate the oppressor. No, one could not preach what Luther called a "fictitious grace." God loves the redneck Klansmen as well as the disinherited blacks. For the most part, Brother to a Dragonfly tells the story of Campbell's deep love for his brother Joe, and how the latter's tragic demise to alcohol, drugs, and domestic violence led to his premature death. But it was through Joe and an overtly pagan family friend that Campbell had a conversion later in life. Without realizing it, he recalls, his twenty years of ministry had become one of "liberal sophistication. An attempted negation of Jesus, of human engineering, of riding the coattails of Caesar, of playing on his ballpark, by his rules and with his ball, of looking to government to make and verify and authenticate our morality, of worshipping at the shrine of enlightenment and academia, of making an idol of the Supreme Court, a theology of law and order and of not only denying the Faith I professed to hold but my history and my people--the Thomas Colemans [who murdered two civil rights workers]. Loved. And if loved, forgiven. And if forgiven, reconciled." There was all the difference in the world, he realized, between being a "doctrinaire social activist," however laudable, and a follower of Jesus. The key? "I came to understand the nature of tragedy. And one who understands the nature of tragedy can never take sides."

Christian renegade, preacher, author of twenty books and plays, farmer, country musician, friend of Thomas Merton, and agent provocateur, Will Campbell loves a good chew of tobacco and will strike many as enigmatic. Not everyone will appreciate his rapier wit. But PBS profiled him in their documentary "God's Will," in 2000 President Clinton honored him with a National Endowment for the Humanities medal, and Brother to a Dragonfly won numerous literary awards.

Brother to a dragonfly, Will D Campbell's brilliant,evocative, nostalgic luminous memoir teels the story of his family in the pre-tva rural south. Though much much more then a simple coming of age story,it is the story of 2 brothers,their lives amid the greatest change in this ountry since the civil war. Will D Campbell and his brother Joe stories are told so movingly,and with such deep power that ,by the end it will move you to tears. It is the sory of a man,family,RELIGION,the south,race,addiction,love and death. It will shatter any preconcieved notions and stereotypes,for Will D Campell is a true iconoclast. I run out of superlatives to describe this book. Read it.

I MET AND BOUGHT CHESTER CAMPBELLS SECRET OF THE SCROLL AND LOVED IT, SO I IMMEDIATELY BOUGHT A COPY DEADLY ILLUSIONS. BEING BORN IN NASHVILLE AND RETIRED FROM THE AIR FORCE, I REALLY ENJOYED THE MYSTERY THAT SEEM TO COME ALIVE. CHESTER HAS A WONDERFUL STYLE THAT LETS YOU STEP INTO THE PAGE. I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ANYONE WHO LOVES A MYSTERY! KEEP IT UP CHESTER!!!!

Chester D. Campbell, former journalist, writer, speechwriter, ad copywriter, public relations executive, and now mystery writer, is someone with an obvious zest for life. He served in both World War II and Korea, and now enjoys life with his wife, children, and many grandchildren.

In this latest Greg McKenzie mystery, the newly formed McKenzie Investigations, run by Greg and his wife, Jill, is off to an auspicious beginning after solving their first case. Greg has run a bit amok with the local police, but still has contacts in the Nashville Police Department. But when a high profile personality is gunned down in a local hotel just when Greg and Jill are dining a new client, they have no idea that their next case will be integrally connected. In the meantime, they take on a case for a questionable character named Molly Saint who is a shirttail relative of Jill's. Molly's husband, Damon, is not quite who he seems, and Molly has a nagging feeling that she may be at risk:

"'As I told you on the phone, Damon's wife Molly hired us to look into him. He had made some threats that were quite worrisome. But before we could get very far with our investigation, she left a message on our answering machine to call her back as soon as possible. She was really excited about something. But when we tried to call, we found they had moved.'"

Chester D. Campbell has his own unique style of writing that is both dashing and touching. His obvious affection for his wife shines through just as he outlines a nefarious plot based on his own military experience. Greg McKenzie is a senior investigator who relies on his experience to compensate for the brawn he might have engaged in the past. His wife, Jill, is an accomplished pilot, cook, and is the perfect partner for her husband. Campbell juxtaposes her correction of Greg's "blue language" and her obvious spirituality with her determination when the going gets rough and she has to use some of the private investigator skills that most people would shrink from. All in all, DEADLY ILLUSIONS is another winner in the Chester D. Campbell literary cabinet. Campbell obviously has many stories to share, and he continues to write fabulous mysteries.

Shelley Glodowski
Senior Reviewer

Greg and Jill McKenzie have opened an investigations firm and are working cases together. In walks Molly Saint. She wants them to look into her husband's past. The McKenzie's, especially Greg, are initially skeptical about taking this case. Molly has been married to Damon Saint for five years. But, Jill has a feeling that something isn't right and convinces Greg to do some preliminary investigations. If they don't find anything alarming, they will stop.

They are already working for Leisure Foods Group investigating missing funds from a King Cole specialty restaurant. Jill goes undercover as hostess in the restaurant. Greg gets friends to eat there so that they can determine if the money they pay to the restaurant is actually accounted for in the deposit the next day.

The day they met with Mr. Logan from Leisure Foods Group in the Opryworld Hotel, Dr. Elliott Bernstein, chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, was gunned down at the hotel. Since Greg used to be an investigator for the DA's office, he knows some officers. But since he left that job after some comments he made about Detective Mark Tremaine ended up in the newspaper, he doesn't get along with many of the officers. The one officer that is still his friend is Detective Phil Adamson.

Once Molly disappears, the McKenzie's begin to delve deeply into Damon's background. They never lose sight of their other cases, but this one has become priority.

The Greg McKenzie series is fast becoming one of my all-time favorite series. Mr. Campbell has a great way of telling a story while weaving the various cases that Greg and Jill are working on. I find his characters to be very believable. I like that they don't just center on one case. That's not how it is in real life.

I like the Nashville setting. And the fact that Jill is a pilot and owns a Cessna allows them to travel to gain additional information and not lose much time.

The only complaint I'd have is that they turn off their cell phone too much, especially during important cases. But, since they are older, this is still believable

I can't wait to read the next Greg McKenzie mystery. I highly recommend this book and the whole series.

Chester Campbell has created a unique blend of sleuthing with the Greg McKenzie series. In this installment, McKenzie, retired from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and former investigator for the Nashville DA's office, has opened an investigative firm with his wife Jill. While investigating the disappearance of funds from a popular restaurant chain, they agree to take on a case for Molly Saint, who asks for a background check on her husband Damon. When Molly mysteriously disappears, Greg and Jill try to track her whereabouts, which leads to entanglement with contract killers tied to the murder of the Chairman of the Federal Reserve.

The McKenzie duo is a fresh addition to the mystery genre. An older couple, Greg and Jill complement each other personally and professionally and make for good reading. Campbell writes in an engaging style, delivering a mystery that twists and turns throughout the book. A compelling read.

In DEADLY ILLUSIONS, Greg and Jill McKenzie have opened McKenzie Investigations, not without trepidation. Can they make this a successful business without pursing domestic disputes and photo-jumping hot pant spouses? Their first case doesn't look promising. Molly Saint, a hottie despite her name, wants our dynamic duo to do a background investigation on her husband,a dark, secretive guy she married without much forethought or background info. She fears Damon may be violent, and she doesn't know what he does or where his money comes from. Damon told her he was a former Special Forces operative, and he claims to do occasional favors for his military buddies. But beyond that, Molly says the guy is a question mark, with a personality becoming more aggressive, violent even. She fears he may kill her.

Greg wants to decline, thinks this may be a hot pants ride, but Jill sets him straight: They need to pay the rent.

And so it begins. Routinely...until Molly disappears. No trace. Just a message that she finally got a look at Damon's basement workshop, and she's terrified. The McKenzies fear the worst. They search the house. Swept clean. But the basement looks like a meth lab. Was Damon a meth'er? Need the cops now. But then the house is torched, all trace evidence gone. Nothing left but a slip of paper with some phone numbers.

Who is this guy, Damon Saint? And why doesn't he have any bank accounts? Is Molly alive? Why did Damon flee a thriving business in Indiana without notice? Where does he get his money? Is he really Damon Saint, or just someone posing as him? Greg and Jill probe deeper and somebody gets offended. Threats, their office is trashed, their home vandalized.

Meanwhile, as if nothing else is going on, the Fed Reserve Chairman is murdered, almost in front of the McKenzies. A black man was seen running away. The feds and locals suspect the wrong man, but the McKenzie's find a witness who can clear him. The witness is murdered.

Greg and Jill find the dilapidated farmhouse where Damon was raised. There's a shovel, some signs of recent occupation. Is Molly buried here?

Not gonna say much more, because I don't want to give anything away. Suffice to say, this is the best of the series, a real humdinger. Chester has developed Greg and Jill into intriguing characters with smarts, wit, grace and charm. But don't take these folks lightly: They're serious investigators and carry serious weapons -- they're not afraid to use them

I laughed, I cried, I found it hard to put this book down. This book is a collection of informative and amusing wisdom of Sarah Ferrell's love of her life with dogs. Her writings in this book covers it all from puppy training to the passing of your beloved companion. This book is sure to be a "must read" for any animal lover not just dogs. I love the style this author writes. She writes truly from her heart and it shows! I have already started to recommend this book to all my friends.

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Lots of good information for us dog lovers, and so enjoyable a read.....Smart information delivered in an entertaining way. The author has a great sense of humor in her writing and filled the book with sweet personal accounts. If you have a dog, you need the book to go with him/her....

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