People Books

This well-written book took me back to Shelbyville IN in the 1950s, when every barber shop displayed a picture of the 1947 championship team and every patron knew all their names. No one would question the effect Bill Garrett had on his home town, but few could have predicted the impact he would have on collegiate sports for years to come.

The little town of Milan provided great sports drama for the movie "Hoosiers," but the life of Bill Garrett is more than a sports story. He did for NCAA athletics what Jackie Robinson did for Major League Baseball. Young people of today would be shocked to learn what he endured just a couple of generations ago.

Thanks to Tom and Rachel Graham Cody for this great read. As a Purdue grad, it pains me to praise a book that casts such a positive glow on Indiana University!

This is a good book and a good read. If you're from small-town Indiana (like me) and old enough to understand what single-class "Hoosier Hysteria" really meant, then you'll like this book.

However I respectfully offer that it's not a 5-star book. It may be a 5-star story in search of a 5-star telling.

I just finished the book yesterday, and I find myself wishing the authors had been less dispassionate. Or more passionate? Whatever.

So who was Bill Garrett? The book talks a lot about his life and times, and provides some ancedotes, but always left me wanting more about Bill. Sadly, Bill wasn't available to be interviewed, but his teammates, friends and wife were all sources for the book.

Here are some examples:

We learn a lot about how Bill came to enroll at IU, but we don't learn about the man himself. Bill left Tennessee State after enrolling, and took a bus to IU. No one was available to meet him there! How did he feel about this?

Bill was on the road and separated from his wife for several years while he knocked around the fringes of professional basketball. How was their relationship affected? We don't know.

Finally - the authors talk about the changes in college basketball in the 1950's (pp 169-175), Branch McCracken's sporadic recruitment of black players, yet fail to mention that IU WON the NCAA championship in 1953!

Sorry 5-star raters...it's a good book and a story worth telling, but could be a lot better. Probably a better movie than a book.

Seldom have I been so touched, entertained, and educated by a book as I was by Getting Open, which I read in two days. It is truly a masterpiece and something I will keep on my bookshelf for the rest of my life.

Although born and raised in Indiana, I didn't know much if anything about Bill Garrett before reading this book, but I was just blown away by his story. Not knowing the story, it was almost like reading a well-crafted novel and I hung on every new development the authors revealed. I also didn't know much about the racial intolerance of the times. My neighborhood and high school were all white, so I really had little if any contact with blacks before I went to Indiana University as a freshman in 1963. It hardly seems possible that such racial intolerance existed in the Midwest so recently before then.

This book exceeded all my expectations and I highly recommend it to anyone, whether you're a basketball fan or not. If you have any ties to the Hoosier State or to Indiana University, you will love it all the more.

At the pinnacle of his high school career - leading Shelbyville High to the Indiana state championship; a team that had three black starters - not one college scout in the arena attended the game to recruit Bill Garrett or his two teammates due to the color of their skin.

At the pinnacle of his collegiate career - leaving the court to a standing ovation that lasted several minutes - Bill Garrett was refused service in a restaurant days later; one that had on its marquee that it welcomed fans of Indiana Unniversity basketball.

And when Bill Garrett was ready to launch his pro career, the team in his home state did not draft him.

But Bill Garrett was stronger than those who attempted to keep those doors closed. And we are better because of him.

For author Tom Graham - with his co-author/daughter Rachel Graham Cody - the book took seven years of reseach, and certainly a lifetime of not denying the facts from the past and understanding the urgency in the present to set the record straight.

Getting Open is more than a biography on Garrett and how he integrated Big Ten basketball by playing and starring for IU. It is a history of institutionalized racial hatred in the State of Indiana - at one point in the 20th Century, the KKK essentially controlled all essential government offices - and the tireless work of person's from different sides of the tracks to fight the good fight.

Graham is a Shelbyville native who was old enough to vividly recall the times, which certainly helped as he meticulously did his research to cut through the fiction that builds from facts as the years tumble on.

It is a book from the heart that will make you realize how we must celebrate those who had the courage then by continuing to challenge those who want to forget - or rewrite - the past.

This book is an incredibly well written and well documented story that should be more widely read. It is an important history that many sports fans, and non-sports fans, will enjoy tremendously. It is an inspiration to us all, and offers many lessons and insights about overcoming racism. Thank you to the father-daughter authors for getting out this story!

My favorite part was when Jack and Annie figured out that the book they had was written by Slim Cooley.

This was a very great book, because it was a good story.

Annie & Jack find out that there's a rattlesnake in a ghost town and they have to hide from some people. And they find a piano that's playing all by itself. And we don't know what ...was playing it. It's a surprise for you, because you might find out. And I might find out too, because I have it at home. I have a lot of Magic Tree House books at my house. ...

My 1st grader hates to put it down, he would rather read Magic Tree House books, than play video games. He even reads them to his class and explains the story for show and tell. In his kindergarten class the teacher would also let him read the Magic Tree House books out loud, not to give her a break, but to promote reading out loud. Great books!

I'm a children's reading specialist and author (Teaching Kids To Read for Dummies). I use these books with kids who are really starting to take off with their reading and consistently get great feedback. Kids love the Magic Tree House series so if you're looking for great gifts or a bunch of books to keep your reader hooked, buy the lot.

The book where Jack and Annie are warped in Wild West and sees a ghost!

Joralemon and Sharon's work was lacking a female point of view on northern peruvian shamanism. This book delivers that point of view along with a very personal account of the experience.

Other reviewers have described the breadth and depth of Glass-Coffin's study of Northern Peruvian curanderas and have noted how effectively she weaves her personal story through the book. I would like to add my kudos as well. I appreciated the solid historical context and enjoyed reading about her experiences with some of the ancient healing traditions and their modern incarnations. Having traveled through the region myself, I have can concur with her observations about some of the differences between male and female practitioners. It provides much food for thought.

Glass-Coffin's book will provide a great deal of insight for anyone interested in healing traditions or South American history. Although Post-conquest influences have mutated the expression of native spirituality, they did not completely eradicate time honored practices.

We have all enjoyed the charming and entertaining look at sorcery and witchcraft as experienced by the fictional Harry Potter. No less interesting and fascinating is Bonnie Glass-Coffin's realistic look at sorcery and shamanism as they exist in South America today. "The Gift of Life" incorporates Glass-Coffin's extensive research as a talented anthropologist with her own personal healing experiences to produce a highly readable and well-documented book on female shamans (healers) in Northern Peru. She provides a history of sorcery and healing in South America, a contextual explanation and description of the healing practices of five different female shamans she met while in Peru, and an examination of gender and socioeconomic differences in the world of spiritual healing. Academic rigor does not preclude a "good read". Scholars and general readers alike will be pleased with this book. When I loaned the book to a friend who has traveled in Peru, she returned it quickly, noting "This is too good not to have a copy of my own!" I recommend it highly.

Prior to THE GIFT OF LIFE, little had been written about the role women play in healing and shamanism in Northern Peru. Part of the reason for this oversight had to do with the way European colonization brought the concept of "witchcraft" to Peru, and the fact that Peruvian women who practiced traditional healing arts were frequently beaten and tortured until they confessed to standard European-style "witchcraft" practices. Author Bonnie Glass-Coffin was trained as an anthropologist, so she knew that women have historically played a large part in shamanism from looking at the ancient sculptures of the Moche and Chimu, which both portray women involved in healing arts. With the intention to find and interview modern-day women shamans in Peru, Glass-Coffin set out to do exactly that.

Bonnie Glass-Coffin shares the stories from five female curanderas (shamans) she met with between April 1988 and September 1989. Her extraordinary book, THE GIFT OF LIFE, describes the daily life of these female curanderas and the story of how they became healers, and includes black and white photographs of their mesas (curing altars) and healing herbs (plants such as the San Pedro cactus). Glass-Coffin's background in anthropology and her accounts of her experiences living in Peru as she grew up give this book a unique feeling of personal relevance and social perspective.

I was impressed that THE GIFT OF LIFE does not shy away from describing the ways curanderas have used their spiritual powers on some occasions for sorcery. Glass-Coffin describes "dano" as intended harm by sorcery, and tells stories and includes pictures of how Peruvians have discovered and dealt with the harmful magic of others. She also describes some of the differences between male and female healers in Peru -- such as the way female curanderas tend to involve patients more directly in their healing. I was also impressed that Glass-Coffin described her own personal involvement being healed by curanderas, giving this book tremendous warmth. The first-hand accounts of what it feels like to suffer as the recipient of a dano help the reader better understand the way our thoughts and feelings affect one another.

I give this book my highest recommendation to anyone who is interested in ancient traditional ways of healing, wishes to know what is unique about women healers, and is intrigued by reading stories about how our thoughts and feelings affect others.

Prior to THE GIFT OF LIFE, little had been written about the role women play in healing and shamanism in Northern Peru. Part of the reason for this oversight had to do with the way European colonization brought the concept of "witchcraft" to Peru, and the fact that Peruvian women who practiced traditional healing arts were frequently beaten and tortured until they confessed to standard European-style "witchcraft" practices. Author Bonnie Glass-Coffin was trained as an anthropologist, so she knew that women have historically played a large part in shamanism from looking at the ancient sculptures of the Moche and Chimu, which both portray women involved in healing arts. With the intention to find and interview modern-day women shamans in Peru, Glass-Coffin set out to do exactly that.

Bonnie Glass-Coffin shares the stories from five female curanderas (shamans) she met with between April 1988 and September 1989. Her extraordinary book, THE GIFT OF LIFE, describes the daily life of these female curanderas and the story of how they became healers, and includes black and white photographs of their mesas (curing altars) and healing herbs (plants such as the San Pedro cactus). Glass-Coffin's background in anthropology and her accounts of her experiences living in Peru as she grew up give this book a unique feeling of personal relevance and social perspective.

I was impressed that THE GIFT OF LIFE does not shy away from describing the ways curanderas have used their spiritual powers on some occasions for sorcery. Glass-Coffin describes "dano" as intended harm by sorcery, and tells stories and includes pictures of how Peruvians have discovered and dealt with the harmful magic of others. She also describes some of the differences between male and female healers in Peru -- such as the way female curanderas tend to involve patients more directly in their healing. I was also impressed that Glass-Coffin described her own personal involvement being healed by curanderas, giving this book tremendous warmth. The first-hand accounts of what it feels like to suffer as the recipient of a dano help the reader better understand the way our thoughts and feelings affect one another.

I give this book my highest recommendation to anyone who is interested in ancient traditional ways of healing, wishes to know what is unique about women healers, and is intrigued by reading stories about how our thoughts and feelings affect others.

Synopsis: This is the story of a young girl venturing out on her own for the first time. This experience would lead to anxiety, excitement, and also trouble for most children. However this story has an added element to it. The main character, `Tricia Ann, is an African-American girl living in the south during the era of segregation. From the beginning of her journey, she encounters the Jim Crow laws of that time. Through everything, `Tricia Ann tries to keep from crying. She meets her friends along the way and they all remind her that she is somebody and to keep her head up. She continues on, trying to reach her special place. Finally, at the end of the story `Tricia Ann reaches her destination--the Public Library. And over the door in big letters it says--ALL ARE WELCOME.
Evaluation: This book is a great way to teach about segregation and civil rights. The book is written in an easy-to-read story format that allows children to read it on their own. Then, teachers can discuss the important topics with the children. This book is a great cross-curricular reference for social studies. Also, this book can be used to begin a research project on the civil rights movement. This is a great book to use during Black History month.

Goin' Someplace Special is a very powerful,moving book. This book foucuses a lot on the problem of segregation. I think that every person in the world should read this book. When you learned about segregation you learned a lot of things but this focuses on a lot more different things. It talks about the hard life that the colored people had. I think that every person shouldn't care about the color of the skin but the personality of a person. I think that everyone should be like the little boy in this story. In the book I thought it was wonderful that the library was not segregated.

The book Goin Someplace Special is very historic,it starts off with a 13 year old,black african american girl and her grandma.Her grandma was it the hot kitchen cooking up a storm while soing her grandaughter a dress for church a beautiful flower dress,when she came out the blue and asked, her grandma if she could go out in the world alone she responed very slowly,finally she said,yes.She rushed out the house while still soing.
So there she was walking down the street as happy as can be,when she reached the bus stop.When the bus finally came 4min. later she started to sit in the front when the white people was looking at her crazy,until she read the seats they said whites only.There was a lady in the back that she knew and was telling her to come to the back there wasn't much room.so every one had to share seats well blacks did.
Well her bus finally came to her stop,when she got off the bus the bus she was crying ,not because she was lost,but ecause every one wasn't atting right in the world.so she find Someplace Specail and felt better.

Goin' Someplace Special is a story of a little girl named Tricia Ann living in the South during the 1950's when segregation was occurring. The story follows her through her first day of going to a special place all by herself. Although the reader is unaware until the end of the story, Tricia Ann's special place is the public library where all are welcome, and there are no Jim Crow signs that keep African Americans out.
The illustrations are done in watercolor and help portray the emotional journey of Tricia Ann's first day traveling alone. The point of view is done to the effect that the reader is following along right next to Tricia Ann. Some, however, are seen as if the reader is hovering above looking down. The artwork is very colorful and detailed throughout, and all the illustrations are very realistic.

Growing up in Nashville, Tennessee in the 1950s was not easy for African-American children. Most public places--including hotels, restaurants, churches, movie theaters, parks--were open only to whites. On buses, only seats in the back rows were available to them, even if the front of the bus was empty.

But as the author explains in her endnote, the board of Nashville's public library in the late 1950s voted to fully integrate, and opened the main downtown branch fully to all. Like Andrew Carnegie, whose wealth helped to build it, her grandmother considered the library more exciting, interesting, informative than any place else. Her grandmother made it into a "doorway to freedom."

This is a fictionalized story of the author's youth--an afternoon on which the main character, Tricia Ann, took a bus from home to downtown and the public library. She encountered much hatred en route, but she also met some love. She gave up her seat to a friend of her mother when the rear section was full. Mrs. Granell called after her, "Carry yo'self proud."

Her friend Jimmy Lee instructed her, "Don't let those signs steal yo' happiness," and another gentleman at the Southland Hotel told her she resembled an angel from heaven. She also received encouragement from a kindly white gardener, Blooming Mary, to recall the lessons her deceased grandmother had taught her. Lots more happens here besides. In summation, a young woman is born.

"You are somebody, a human being," her grandmother had said. The author shows that arriving to a place is not always easy. But quitting is not the route to take.

Patricia McKissack's grandmother was right: Libraries give a special gift. Help your kids find out what and why with this book.

--Alyssa A. Lappen

I keep buying this darling book to give to friends. It's a perfect gift for the holidays. We can all relate to Lee's personal stories.

Grace in the First Person is equal parts funny and inspirational. A hard mix to do well, but this author does. I liked it so much I bought 4 extra copies to give away to friends I deem "worthy!" Hope she writes more of this stuff.

Reading the very first line of Lee Knapp's introduction to her book of essays, I had the feeling I was really going to like this book. Half way into the first chapter, I knew I would, especially when I realized I was smiling as I read.

Maybe I was smiling because Lee Knapp is so much like me --- we're both recovering fundamentalists, mothers of boys, as well as sharing similar chaotic childhoods --- and yet, she's so much better at articulating what I'm thinking and feeling than I am. Or perhaps, she's just more honest about her struggles to fulfill everyone else's expectations for her ---her parents', her children's, her faith community's and even her perception of what she thought God wanted her to be. Whatever the reason, her book is very good, particularly because she's such a good writer.

The lines in the introduction that grabbed me were these: "About a fourth of the way into writing the first draft of this book, I found my voice. This was a much better proportion than the 50 percent of my life I have spent trying to figure out who I am." A sentence or two later, she writes, "The other half of the time I've tripped into the traps of comparing myself either to someone else or to some impossible standard."

And so starts chapter after chapter of well-written prose examining bits and pieces of her life as mom, wife, daughter, artist, writer, friend and church member, learning to tune out everyone else's voice and discover, for the first time in her life, a true sense of freedom. As a writer, this freedom allows her to stop trying to sound on paper like somebody else; as a Christian, she learned to cease conforming to her faith community's impossible standard of perfection and "lack of emotionalism." As a mom, it meant stopping to try to make her three boys perfect and as a daughter, it was a fresh permission to look back on her father's life from the perspective of adulthood, with a much better appreciation of how much he loved her, even if he had trouble expressing it.

In her first essay, Knapp explains she was voted "Most Likely To Succeed" by her high school classmates, a title she found flattering at the time, but in looking back, "was actually rather cruel." The phrase "carries a burden of proof that is missed at eighteen, but painfully obvious at forty." In less than a hundred paragraphs she unravels what it means to be a success comparing her son, who is complaining he'll never grow to be able to compete with much larger and more talented boys, to her own life.

"I have wanted the desires of my heart and the toil of my hands to produce instant results, like the time-lapsed National Geographic films of lilies blooming or baby chicks hatching. Anything I could imagine producing --- whether it was art or money or children --- would seamlessly and gracefully unfold while a soft-spoken narrator gently explained every well-ordered and beautiful phrase. But in my experience, life doesn't work that way...When my Big Zero year was approaching, I was defending myself against the feeling that zero was also the sum total of my life. I couldn't get the thought out of my mind that by forty I should be slam-dunking life in a tank top with armpits full of hair too. Like Eric's, my desire for stature and my need to achieve something really big by then had grown so overblown that it blurred a long-ago strongly held sense of identity. I should have heeded my own advice to Eric, only slightly adjusted for middle age: You do need a deep sense of who you are on the inside when surrounded, seemingly, by people whose glands drained way before yours."

As a writer myself, I often hope for one or two great sentences --- and I mean, really great sentences like Knapp's --- per essay. Knapp's work is filled with so many great lines that thumbing through my copy shows more underlined prose than not. This quick read has plenty of "ah ha" lines that will leave you not only smiling, but also wanting to leave your copy on the nightstand to come back to, again and again.

--- Reviewed by Diana Keough

I loved this book!! It helped me confirm that my ordinary life is really quite extraordinary....wait...or is it the other way around...?!! I will recommend it to all of my friends.

Lee's writing has that "every woman" quality. Just like Bruce Springsteen has the ability to sing just to me in a crowd of 60 thousand, Lee's writing gives me goosebumps as it seems like she somehow found my life's collection of journals. This book is a feel good, feel real gem. I love her honesty and genuine appreciation for all the little things in life that make up our one big experience here on earth.

Rather than focusing only on the process of recruiting and hiring, this book also discusses the importance of the decisions you confront when finding candidates, making your selection, negotiating offers and integrating new employees into your firm. Claudio Fernández-Aráoz shows you why people decisions matter more to your career and your company than you probably realize. The writing is clear and full of helpful real-world examples from his successful career. getAbstract recommends this conversational book to proactive managers who want a holistic approach to recruiting and hiring.

Making people decisions are oftentimes taken for granted. This book is a must read for those aspiring to have an edge in something that can never be set aside.

I enthusiastically recommend Great People Decisions to all managers! This book is rich in real life examples, insightful, well written, and covers all the fundamental areas of the subject. The author is clearly an expert in the subject and passionate about sharing his knowledge with others. Whether you work in the private (for profit or not for profit) or public sectors, if your responsibilities involve selecting people, reading this book is a well worth time investment that should help you become much better in making those people decisions. While it is clearly directed for senior C type roles, I believe this work is also helpful to younger managers; as a young manager myself, I already started to put some of the learning into practice and I am glad that I read it at this point in my career (as this is definitely an important skill to develop).

This is one of the best-written books on this topic that I've read in some time.

It makes a strong case for the strategic value of making good people decisions; why this is so important and the lessons learned from someone who is a true expert practitioner. The author demonstrates clear mastery of his craft by showing the impact of people decisions on strategic business needs. He makes the importance and relevance of this work come alive by balancing real stories from his personal experience supported with research-based evidence.

This book is helpful to me as a practitioner as I learn and recommend it to colleagues and clients; it serves the significant need for more sophistication in this field. Based on my experience as a researcher, as an organization development consultant, and as an internal Learning & Development HR leader, I strongly recommend this volume to the many varieties of people-decision practitioners and students. This book may be particularly valuable to seasoned HR managers and business leaders; helping them raise their game in this very important aspect of their jobs.

This interesting book shows you why people decisions are important to your own career and the health of your company. The author, Claudio Fernandez Araoz, admits that these are hard decisions but spends most of the book showing you how to get better at them. He points out on page 89 that three quarters of executives believe their own companies don't recruit highly talented people, don't identify high and low performers, don't retain top talent and put them on the fast track, don't hold line managers responsible for people quality, and don't develop the talent they have very effectively. Does this sound like your company?

Since people are a network or matrix of traits, it is a very large task to compare people. Is it their IQ that matters? Well, it does matter? What about their experience? Depending on the job it can matter a great deal. For lower level jobs that are strongly defined, potential matters more, but the higher and more executive in nature the job is, the more the track record and experience matter. Personality does matter, but more important is the collection of competencies captured by the term Emotional Intelligence. Araoz spends a good chunk of the book talking about and referring you to books on articles on EI.

He also talks about when to look for the candidate inside or outside the company. For example, if the CEO just got fired because the company is in a tailspin it is time to look outside. However, if the CEO just retired, if you ignore the internal candidates you could create resentment and lose key experience that has kept the company successful. An outside CEO could actually end up destroying value when a natural successor is available.

The author also gives good advice on what to look for in candidates, where to find them, and how to find them. He offers insights on how to create a disciplined process for appraising and making offers to candidates, how to win in hiring the best candidates. I also found his discussion on the importance of having a process for successfully integrated all newly hired employees very convincing.

A very useful book.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

Excerpt:

"Was it possible the only reward for a lifetime of work and risk was deterioration and disease? The naked eye of death seemed to fix him, the terror that none of his fellows seemed to fear, because unlike him, they believed. And if that was true, then who was really more alive in the mind? He who saw through the tricks and lived in constant fear? Or one who succumbed to the mirage and lived his life in joy? And if there was nothing but the struggle of life, then what good was it all?"

These words slapped me across the face harshly. I can relate to the turmoil of Frog Hopping. When you see things as they really are, rather than living in a world of belief and fantasy, life can be quite interesting. You don't have too many illusions, and facts, not belief, generally rule your existence. However, at the same time, you may feel envious of people who live in a world of illusions and fantasies and myths, because they seem to have joy from believing, than knowing. As they say, "ignorance is bliss", and when you are no longer ignorant, the world can be quite painful. Is having knowledge freeing or imprisoning? I think it is both - painful and freeing.

I feel that the story of T'Cori and Frog Hopping nem was a very interesting read, exciting, and fascinating. The author has done some serious research to write such a book. The book is well written and takes one's mind to another place and time, which is the mark of an excellent writer.

The Ibandi are fictionalized and are the first humans to stand erect(conjecture). They are most likely the ancestors of us all. The Msk may be the Neanderthals, being partial ape and human, not having evolved to full human status. These half humans posed an enormous threat to the Ibandi. They were bigger and stronger and vicious. We all known what actually happened to them. They died out. .

Places that I never gave a second thought, now they are firmly etched in my memory. Mt. Kilimanjaro now has a permanent place in my head. Mt. Kilimanjaro is situated in Tanzania. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the tallest freestanding mountain on earth. Mr. Barnes story has encouraged me to know more about the mountain and the people and/or original inhabitants that live in its shadows.

If you want a great story that challenges you, I would highly recommend Great Sky Woman by Steven Barnes.

I have been a fan of Steven Barnes work for the past 4 years. This newest novel of his is wonderful. It reads like a history novel, you can imagine these very events happening so clearly. Yet you can almost forget you are reading a novel set 30,000 years in the past as it contains elements true to this day. T'cori and Frog dared to question the unquestionable. Its what youth has always done and always will. It always frightens the elders who don't take change in their beliefs too lightly. If you decide to pick this up be prepared to expand your mind and think. Think about what might have been and what might actually be.

I am ashamed that this is my first Steven Barnes novel, as I have been meaning to "get into" his work just as I have with that of his wife (T. Due). With that said, this is an excellent novel and I agree with the editorial review. His attention to detail and sense of place and time are outstanding, as is his pacing: the novel covers a good near-20 years yet progresses seamlessly. For those who are interested in both good writing and humanity's ancient history, this is a must for you. I hesitate to compare it to anything, but I'll go ahead anyway and say that it more than on par with "Clan of the Cave Bear," and even more relevant for those of us with African Ancestry (which ultimately is actually everyone).

Steven Barnes in GREAT SKY WOMAN tells the story of two youngsters of the Ibandi people living below Mt. Kilimanjaro, which is known to the Ibandi as Great Sky. T'Cori, abandoned to wild animals by a father who thinks she is blind, is rescued by a mystic, Stillshadow, who teaches her to be a dream dancer. Frog Hopping, an undersized teenager who is being raised by his Uncle Snake, is attempting to prove his worth as a great hunter. Frog Hopping realizes he also has premonitions that let him know what is about to happen. After a brutal and hairy group attack the Ibandi people, the hunt chiefs who are left and the dream dancers must climb Mt. Kilimanjaro to set things right.

Steven Barnes has spun a wonderful tale of life during prehistoric times in Africa. He delves deeply into the religious beliefs, the customs and cultures of the Ibandi people and what they must do to survive in the harsh region on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The suspense keeps you tense and wondering what is going to happen next. How can even extraordinary teenagers survive the many tribulations that beset them and their people? The story has many twists and turns that confound you before a possible solution is discovered. Barnes is a wonderful writer well worth reading again and again.

Reviewed by Alice Holman
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

As always, Barnes has written another phenomenal, detailed piece of fiction that allows African American's to feel like we are truly a part of mainstream literature. When I read Barnes, I feel as if I have a story too--one that is rich with details, hope and beauty. Something that is fiercely lacking in most other literature. The new craze among writers to depict us as one demensional sex-craved vixens and thugs is neither uplifting or representative of what I believe most African Americans want when they go to a book store. We fought too hard for the voices of Langston, Zora, Alice and Toni to be heard to now have them silenced by this new generation of writers that have started "selling themselves" to the highest bidder.

T'Cori (the nameless one) is an orphaned girl raised to be a Dancer. Frog is a young man raised to be a warrior. The two, whose path cross in a way that is unimaginable, allows both T'Cori and Frog to become greater than the selves they started out to be. Both rely on the other's strengths and change their history and the history of their people. We need literature like this. One that allows us to see ourselves as the beginning not the end of what makes this civilization of ours great.

I appreciate writers like Barnes, his wife Ms. Due and the late great Octavia Butler. They allowed us to be a part of the science fiction genre in a way that challenges the status quo and gives credibility to the fact that African American readers want to be challenged and put in the forefront of the literature that is written about us in a way that is classy and multi-layered. Thank you again, Mr. Barnes for another wonderful work of literature. I look forward to the sequel to this book(if rumor proves correct).

This book is a combination of Lacey's three earlier 'Great Tales' books, and so covers events from the Celts until WWII. It's presented as a series of short pieces, each written in an amusing, non too serious, style, which I liked. The book is great for dipping into, and comes with a good selection of references (including lots of Web links). The title under-sells the book a little, since the collection adds up to a good overview of English history.

What we have here is a collection of historical material that was originally published in three separate volumes. Robert Lacey introduces it with some especially interesting comments: "There may be such a thing as pure, true - what actually, begin italics] definitely [end italics] happened in the past - but it is unknowable. We can only hope to get somewhere close. The history that we have to make do with is the story that historians chose to tell us, pieced together and filtered through every handler's value system." With that acknowledgment, Lacey then reassures his reader that the tales he shares are true, based on "the best available contemporary sources and eyewitness accounts" rather than on revisionist versions decades and even centuries later. his approach to this book was not cynical: "it is written, and recounted for you now by an eternal optimist - albeit one who views the evidence with skeptical eye...the things we do not know about history far outnumbers those that we do. But the fragments that survive are precious and bright. They offer us glimpses of drama, humour, incompetence, bravery, apathy, sorrow, and lust - the stuff of life. There are still a few good tales to tell..."

Each of the hundreds of tales Lacey shares averages 3-5 pages in length and covers a period that begins with "Cheddar Man" (c. 7150) and concludes with "Decoding the Secret of Life " (1953), indeed offering "a treasury of true stories about extraordinary people - knights and knaves, rebels and heroes, queens and commoners - who made Britain Great." Before reading this book for the first time, as I always do, I checked out the table of contents and then began to cherry pick entries that immediately caught my eye, such as "The Legend of Lady Godiva," "Murder in the Cathedral," "Geoffrey Chaucer and the Mother Tongue," "Thomas More and His Wonderful `No Place,'" "Elizabeth Queen of Hearts," "Sir Francis Drake and the Spanish Armada," "Isaac Newton and the Principles of the Universe," "Thomas Paine and the Rights of Man," "Rain, Steam, and Speed - the Shimmering Vision of J.M.W. Turner," The Greatest History Book Ever," and "The Battle of Britain - the Few and the Many." Reading those took less than an hour so the next time I took up the book, reading other accounts that dated from "The Legend of Lady Godiva," c. AD 1043. Then I eventually returned to re-read "Cheddar Man" (c. 7150) and the accounts that followed. In the future, I will probably re-read all of the accounts (nor more than two or three at a time), with the selection depending on my mood of the moment and what interests me then.

Here in Dallas, we have a "Farmers Market" area near downtown at which merchants graciously offer slices of fresh fruit as samples. In the same spirit, I now offer a few "slices" of Lacey's wit and style, provided in chronological order.

"...in the village of Berkeley, tales were told of hideous screams ringing out from the castle on the night of 21 September and some years later one John Trevisa, who had been a boy at the time, revealed what had actually happened. Trevisa had grown up to take holy orders and become chaplain and confessor to the King's jailer, Thomas Lord Berkeley, so he was well placed to solve the mystery. There were no marks of illness or violence to the King's body, he wrote, because Edward was killed `with a hoote brooche [meat-roasting spit] put into the secret place posterialle.'"(Piers Gaveston and Edward II, 1308)

"Many of Caxton's spelling decisions and those of the printers who came after him were quite arbitrary. As they attached letters to sounds they followed no particular rules and we live with the consequences to this day. So if you have ever wondered why a bandage is `wound' around a `wound', why `cough' rhymes with `off', while `bough' rhymes with `cow', and why you might shed a `tear' after seeing a `tear' in your best dress or skirt, you have William Caxton to thank." (William Caxton, 1474)

"Imagine that you have been devoting your principal energies for nearly twenty years to a Very Big Idea - a concept so revolutionary that it will transform the way the human race looks at itself. And then one morning, you open a letter from someone you scarcely know (someone, to be honest, you never took seriously) to discover that he has come up with exactly the same idea - and has picked you as the person to help him announce it to the world." (Charles Darwin and the Survival of the Fittest, 1858)

"Winston Churchill wrote all his own speeches. He would spend as many as six or eight hours polishing and rehearsing his words to get the right impact - and it was worth the effort...He cracked jokes: `When I warned them [the French government] that Britain would fight on alone whatever they did,' he related at the end of December 1941, `their generals told their Prime Minister and his divided Cabinet, In three weeks England will have her neck wrung like a chicken. `Some chicken! [Pause] Some neck!'" (Voice of the People, 1945)

I envy anyone who shares my interest in English history who has not as yet begun to explore the material that Robert Lacey has so carefully assembled and then presented in this volume.

A very good first approach to English history. Summarizes its milestones and adds some notes of colour. The shortness of the stories doesn't allow for in-depth analysis, but the book provides an excellent overview and lots of references for further reading.

A great read! All the interesting bits of British history that were left out of the history books.

I am a history buff and a teacher and this book is ideal if you're both or either!
Great story-telling and SO readable.
These tales very from one page to about eight pages at most. In other words, they are easy to tackle before bed or use with a class to discover British history and famous Britons.
Lacey knows his stuff and knows how to entertain - a wonderful combination.

As a person surving MS, times of pain,frustration and stress can really be a hinderance to you and the disease. Just taking a few needed precious moments to listen to this guided imagery tape will help you "let go." I listen to it every night and never get tired of it. There have been many times during the day when I have made time to listen to it also. The tape has gotten me through some tough days. You will be pleased to have this as part of YOUR MS survival armory.

This is an incredible little tape. Side 1 is the guided imagery which is I guess about 20 minutes and side 2 has some reinforcement phrases to say to yourself. The guided imagery is terrific. She takes you to a s pecial place, you address your immune system directly, telling it you're ok and they can stand down, and she helps you surround yourself with support. The first time I listened I cried like I hadn't cried in a long time. I didn't know how much I had kept inside. It is such a good tape I can't say enough.

With a soothing voice Belleruth Naperstek leads the listener to a sense of peace through calming meditative words. It would seem to be helpful to anyone contending with cancer. It is not, however, as helpful to those experiencing other cancer related disease, especially blood related. Leukemia, for example, would require very different images. Still, it would be somewhat helpful to someone with leukemia or lymphoma if they are not terrible distracted by the brief imagery specifically related to tumor cancers.

I found this tape one of the most healing avenues that I have tried. It helps me to let go of the tense, and feelings whether they are mental or physical. It is a gift to yourself to try this tape. I love it.

I think is great to have an imagery tape to relax or heal. Please don't try the tape while driving.

When I read this book, images filled my head. The author has a way of writing that creates pictures. And what pictures they are: Gorgeous men, sexy scenes, nature, alcoholism, infidelity and adventure in words describing glances and the touch of fingers in the night. And the characters! I'd like to meet them, Tony in particular. Does anyone really have a tongue like that? This book is a great book, but it would be a great movie too. Any producers reading this? Hello Miramax?

This is the most engaging book I have read in a long, long time. Winchinchala plays hardball with the human psyche, and just when you thing you've run the gamut of all possible emotions...bang, zoom...another kidney punch sends you careening into the next chapter. Get a good HMO and get a copy of Hebe Jeebie!

This is the most amazing book I have ever read. I cannot stress enough how much you need to read this. It echoes all of the childhood pain that I ever went through, albeit in a different way, but you relive that through Heebie. She touches your heart, all the characters just become so real, you can't believe it when the book is over! I really hope there is a sequel, although I can't imagine what it would be like. With Winchinchala, I get the impression anything could happen. Such an incredible author.

This book is both entertaining and very real. A treat to anyone who loves a good story. I can't stop praising the author for her entertaining yet thought provoking masterpiece. A joy to any reader. :-)

There seem to be only a few people in this world that can write about life with passion, wonderment and actually put it into a coherent, wonderful story. Winchinchala, who happens to be my professor currently, has given the public a piece of writing that personally made me grin from ear to ear at the conclusion. Books can be such powerful objects and "Heebe Jeebie" explores many different perspectives on subjects life can bring about. Being a motherless daughter, the exploration of this complex relationship was extremely enticing. "Mothers have a way about them...they show up in aromas and flowers, the shapes of sapphires...a mother shows up in the shade of another woman's hair...she is everywhere even though she is nowhere." Absolutely touching brialliance.