G Books

Excellent, if you had 10 stars I would give it a ten, beautifully written story. Does anywone know what happened to the author?

This book oozes southern charm. The characters are very realistic and well written down to even the most minor characters. These people are real, as a southener, I know these people. This book is definitely a keeper!
The reader will love this layed back southern charmer, Billy Bob Walker.

I'm a Southerner that has lived all over the US and the world with my military hubby of 25 years. What makes us a unique group of people comes through Ms. Brown's books better than any author I've read. She has captured the Southern psyche and mannerisms.

Billy Bob Walker reminds us that people and circumstances aren't always what they seem on the outside. Billy Bob, a young man from the wrong side of the blanket, as well as the tracks, is far more noble and honorable than his priveleged half-brother, Michael Sewell who has had the advantage of the best things and education that money can buy. Everyone in Sweetwater, Mississippi, expects the heroine Shiloh to marry Michael. But as fate or Cupid would have it, Billy and Shiloh fall in love. They have a tough fight ahead of them. Her father, his father (though Judge Sewell has never acknowledged Billy), and Michael all try through hook and crook to keep our cross-starred lovers apart.

I discovered Lisa G. Brown's books through BILLY BOB WALKER GOT MARRIED in a bunch of used books I bought. I loved it so much that I acquired all three of her other books used (SLEEPING AT THE MAGNOLIA, CRAZY FOR LOVIN' YOU and HIGH STAKES which is written under the pen name Dana Warren Smith--all are out of print). I'm wondering when and if she plans to write more. I eagerly await her next novel.

If you get the chance to buy this book do it and be prepared to keep it in your keeps library. I have it and I read over and over it is one of the best written romances I have found. The only negative is that the author doesn't seem to be producing anymore books I keep watching and I haven't seen anything from her in 2 years.

Shiloh Pennington is the pampered daughter of the richest man in Sweetwater, Mississippi. She's a good girl, and is very close to her father; she does her best to please him and to live up to his expectations, including getting engaged to Michael, Judge Sewell's son.

Billy Bob Walker is known for getting into fights and in general being the town's favorite subject for gossip. He's also Judge Sewell's unacknowledged illegitimate son.

Four years ago, Shiloh and Billy Bob had a secret and very sweet romance, until her father found out and broke them up. They went their separate ways--she to college and he to help out on his grandfather's farm. Both are heartbroken, but her father, and circumstances, had done a very thorough job of driving them apart.

Now, Billy is in jail for getting into a brawl and is unable to pay the fine. Shiloh meets him there after getting caught for speeding (when she finally snapped and had to get away from the men in her life.) They make a deal--she pays his fine in exchange for his agreeing to a marriage in name to her, so that she won't have to marry her fiance.

So begins their path to happiness, but it's very rocky--he has his pride and his struggles to make something of himself. He's also had to face a lifetime of people thinking he's worthless trash, especially his father. She's trying to find herself and to move away from the shadow of her father's influence (he disowned her completely after her marriage). There are outside factors working to drive them apart as well, such as the Sewells, Shiloh's father, and the whole town's prejudices. The small town itself is protrayed very well and gives the book an authentic air. And the dialogue feels natural and just flows so well, you can hear the southern drawls in their speech.

That was just a description of the book's bones and doesn't come close to conveying the sheer emotion and poignancy in the story. The characters are drawn so realistically and nothing feels overly contrived. I like how Billy is characterized: he's tough, possessive, and just such a man. After he and Shiloh get married, she looks over at him and muses, "I wonder what kind of husband you'd really make." And he answers without hesitation, "A damned good one." He appears to be a worthless good-time boy, but in reality he works and gives everything he has for those he loves. And Shiloh is no passive Southern belle; she holds on to the principles she knows are right, and she's strong enough to take on her father, the town, and her new circumstances, all the while helping to build up a happy future for her and Billy.

This is a very compelling love story. It's about unconditional love that can overcome the biggest obstacles, it's about being true to yourself, and it's about how loving can help make people stronger. The ending is very well-done and the conflicts are realistically and satisfyingly resolved. This is one of the best romance novels I've ever read, and I highly recommend it.

....and pioneering development in Jungian thought. Required reading in most Jungian analyst programs, it deals with the operation of the archetypes (Jung's early thinking about them, anyway). Difficult in places but not lacking in amplificatory material.

This work is a comprehensive overview of Jung's major theories. The first essay reviews Jung's major discoveries concerning the unconscious contents of the human psyche: the personal and collective unconscious, Archetypes, and general approaches to including them in conscious awareness. The second essay deals with the specific issues involved in making the unconscious part of human consciousness through a process he called individuation.

In this work Jung suggests that there is a way for modern humans of Western descent to rekindle an experience with the unknown, transcendent reality. He challenges readers to reexamine their assumptions and preconceptions. He urges readers to examine their own experiences and to analyze them without prejudice or preconception, and Jung reports what he has discovered by so doing.

This volume is recommended to anyone who is ready to move to the next level in their reading of Jung; anyone who is involved with a process of psychological transformation and would like some guidance from a non-religious, "scientific" source, and anyone who desires an overview of Jung in his own words. Those unfamiliar with Jung's work might find this volume a bit intimidating.

_Analytical Psychology_ is one of the most succinct, miserly, and potent of all of Carl Jung's works. Most if not all of Jung's most important concepts are crammed into this slim volume. For experienced readers of nonfiction philosophy and psychology, this might be the best place to start reading Jung, especially if all you want is a crash-course in Jung's most important ideas. This is by no means an introductory-level book. For beginners, I would recommend Jung's masterpiece, _Modern Man in Search of a Soul_ (although that one's only slightly easier). _Analytical Psychology_ is for people who are already familier with Jung and want to reach the apex of his psychology, or for experienced readers who want to lean as much as possible about Jungian psychology in as little time as possible. Be forewarned that this book is extremely dense, yet this is a result of the inherent complexity of the subject matter, and not so much a result of bad writing or bad translation. Overall, I would say the knowledge contained in this book is well worth the effort. This book is packed with useful information that can actually improve the quality of your life, increase understanding and control of situations, decrease neurosis, and lead to overall enlightenment. Highly recommended.

This is perhaps Jung's most concise work. It has high knowledge-density & not very high readability, yet it's deep truths resonate & imbue the reader with profound realizations--not only within the individual but also between the individual & society. As Jung states, p. 239 "mankind is, in essentials, psychologically still in a state of childhood." As with the great geniuses throughout time, Jung herein attempts to help people grow up (wake up to consciousness via the unconscious)--on one hand:

pp. 4-5 "The great problems of humanity were never yet solved by general laws, but only through regeneration of the attitudes of individuals...But still too few look inwards, to their own selves, and still fewer ask themselves whether the ends of human society might not best be served if each man tried to abolish the old order in himself, & to practice in his own person & in his own inward state those precepts, those victories which he preaches as every street corner, instead of always expecting these things of his fellow men. Every individual needs revolution, inner division, overthrow of the existing order, and renewal...here is the beginning of a cure for that blindness which reigns at the present hour." (1918)

On the other hand: pp. 220-1: "I always advise my patients not to cherish the naïve belief that what is of the greatest significance to them personally also has objective significance...the vast majority of people are quite incapable of putting themselves individually into the mind of another...The most we can do, and the best, is to have at least some inkling of his otherness, to respect it, & to guard against the outrageous stupidity of wishing to interpret it." Jung looks towards the future by seeking universal truths via individual encounters. As he states, p. 203 "There are truths which belong to the future, truths which belong to the past, & truths which belong to no time." This book is timeless.

This is one of Jung's finest although it makes some demands on the cerebral capacity of the reader. Its main benefit is that the Jungian notions here comes out in their full theoretical depth. It's imperative, namely, to get a thorough and deep understanding of Jungian psychology, otherwise you haven't understood it at all. Jungian psychology is plagued by this problem that the notions are shallowly understood. Not even the very central concept of the archetype is rightly understood in many quarters. But here Jung takes us to the deepest layers of his thinking. The archetype is described as a living complex within the psyche of the individual, as a reasonably autonomous personality with a certain conscious luminosity of its own. This goes for the god-complex, too, although, Jung underlines, this doesn't disprove the existence of a transcendental God. This book handles many important questions and constitutes in fact a survey of Jungian psychology: personal and collective unconscious, anima and animus, transcendental function, etc. As this book is Jungian psychology in a nutshell it could be recommended as introductory, provided that the reader is theoretically adept. In fact, I really recommend taking on this book early when studying Jung in order to avoid shallow miscomprehensions of his psychology. However, as the book thoroughly treats questions concerning the encounter with the unconscious, such as phenomena arising from the assimilation of the unconscious, it is very much directed towards professionals. This book will satisfy the appetite of any person with a theoretical disposition. /Mats W

Touch therapy is the oldest and finest modality of healing on this planet. It treats the cause of an illness. This is one book that should remain on the market especially now with Reiki and Touch Therapy being used by more and more professionals, even in hospital settings. Patients should have the opportunity to understand that there is real hope, not traditional hopelessness. I am thankful that Ruth Montgomery wrote Born to Heal. I have been using this approach for 25 years and I have seen what it can do.

This is a fascinating story about the use of life energy!
Other recommended reading: Time To Heal by Linda Pynaker - this story will show you how you, too, can share healing energy!

I first got my hands on this book years and years ago. It was powerful then, and remainds one of the most awe inspiring books I have ever read! The medical profession, and scientific field will someday acknowledge Mr.A and the life energy's power to heal.

Previous reviewers have emphasized Mr. A's actual healing, a great thing, indeed. I was rather intrigued by his life philosophy, given at the end of the book.

For example: "The highest universal wealth is to be contented and to be at peace within yourself."

"...the more wisdom one has, the easier life is, because what people understand they do not fear."

"Wisdom can be dampened and distorted by education."

Tell me about it. I have a doctorate in psychology from a recognized graduate school, but wisdom? Well, I was wise enough to read this book, I guess that's something.

Mr. A tells the author, "We must reach for the higher and give to the lower, according to our level of wisdom...If everyone were doing this, people wouldn't be impairing their health by trying to outmaneuver each other on the present monetary basis...this would keep the human cycle closer to the natural cycles of the universe."

Wow! Have you ever heard anything so full of truth?

You could meditate on this your entire life, better yet act on it. I could, too.

Thank you Mr. A and thank you Ms. Montgomery for helping me in this way.

Diximus.

Ruth Montgomery chronicles the remarkable healing work of Bill Gray, the "Mr. A" of "Born to Heal". Numerous healers throughout the United States are now trying to replicate this important work. A center for those studying the work of Bill Gray can be found at www.pathwaysforhealing.com. It is well worth checking out. You might even be able find an actual photograph of "Mr. A."

This is a great product! It was very helpful when it came time for me to study for my tests! I would reccommend this to anyone taking a college botany course. The book came quickly and in excellent condition as well.

I am presently enrolled in a Botany course at Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA. This book was recommended as a study guide. I found it to be excellent in helping me to visually understand the inner workings of plants. Great coloring book, too.

This is an incredibly detailed and thorough examination of the anatomy and physiology of plants. A great way to for visual learners to supplement their learning experience. I found it extremely helpful in my college Introductory Botany course.

At first you have to hide the fact that at, age 53, you are using a coloring book! Nevertheless I have stuck with it through a number of pages and have found out that my retention and ability to recall through visualizing the diagrams increases many fold versus the read and think method. When I revisit the pages to study the topic it comes back much easier. The book seems to be a good balance between the written text/descriptions and the illustrations. It takes a fairly big time commitment and at times you ask yourself, "Is this the best use of my study time?". Well after a few days the accuracy of my retention answered that question with a huge YES. It is much more technical than how one might visualize as 'coloring book'. I really do enjoy it and am learning the topics.

I found this extremely helpful for a Botany For Gardener's course I am taking. Even though it seems to take a long time to color each page, it really helps to visualize the material and remember it more easily.

This story about Deanna Troi is the one of the best in the series! This story tells about Deanna's troubles with being empathic. She decides to take the Borrocco-Kai or the big washout and she succedes. Her mother (who is a full telapath) finally figures out that her daughter is old enough to handle the stress. Tis story also tells of Troi's decision to be a counseler on one of those new galaxy-class starships.

I enjoyed this book because it was fun to understand a little about what the people I know from the seris went through as a person my age.

I believe that this was a very good book because I like to learn about my favorite charater, Deanna Troi. She learned a very important lesson about aliens. I am only 12, but I know a good book when I see one. -Elizabeth Keeler

I really loved this very charming book; it is a book every young person (boys and girls) should read, whether or not they play soccer. it is a heartwarming story of real human values and teamwork. it has the best possible ending. no fairy tale, but a lot of satisfaction, drama and somehow all sides come out winners. comments by Gayle Cooper sent by Wayne.

This is a wonderful story of growing up and having struggles and dreams and finding solutions. It is an engrosing story all the way through. Everyone should read it. Adults and youth alike.

Accurate information presented in age-appropriate language for teen-age girls (as the sub-title suggests, the audience for this book is likely to be girls twelve and older). This is an excellent book that deserves a more appealing cover. The black and white photos are informative, but a bit off-putting (clinical and scary). The question and answer format works very well. Highly recommended.

Although Vogel's book was designed to explain the facts about breast cancer to young girls, older audiences should find this book useful as well. When I was called in for an ultrasound, following a suspicious mammogram, I turned to Vogel's book -- the only one in our house on the subject -- to discover what might be happening to me. Her clear explanations, along with the helpful illustrations, helped me understand my options. I recommend this book as a reference for any household that includes women of any age.

The author explores a difficult subject with great sensitivity and presents a complex problem (health, emotional upheaval, feelings of guilt) to the young reader. The book answers many of the questions, addresses the fears, clears the confusion, and presents a clinical picture not only to the young reader but I think to many adults who either face or know some one who faces this disease.

It is a good handbook to have if anyone in the family has breast cancer.

The author explores a difficult subject with great sensitivity and presents a complex problem (health, emotional upheaval, feelings of guilt) to the young reader. The book answers many of the questions, addresses the fears, clears the confusion, and presents a clinical picture not only to the young reader but I think to many adults who either face or know some one who faces this disease.

It is a good handbook to have if anyone in the family has breast cancer.

I happened to come across this fine book in the doctor's office and have since gotten copies for friends with breast cancer who have daughters. In fact, the book is helpful for ALL women, with or without cancer, with or without daughters. At a time of information overload, Vogel does readers the great service of sifting, evaluating, and organizing the latest information and then presenting facts in an easily readable, easily accessible manner. This book is enormously valuable. I cannot understand why it's not in every doctor's office and in every home that may be living under the threat of cancer.

The second book in a series, this space naval courtroom drama nonetheless contains sufficient explanation of what happened in the prior book that it can be read without leaving the reader lost.

Lt. JG Paul Sinclair, legal officer on the starship USS Michaelson by dint of a 2-week elective Academy course, is experiencing some ups and downs. A close friend is being promoted off of his ship, and the too-slick officer who replaces him (who happens to be a high-ranking Admiral's son) is not pulling his own weight. His relationship with his girlfriend's father gets off to a rocky start. And then there's a fatal accident onboard the ship with some questions remaining as to its cause, and Sinclair cannot in good conscience stay silent when he finds some evidence that the investigation into it missed.

There are plenty of space-naval dramas out there, David Weber's Honor Harrington being the best-known example. There are also many realistic courtroom dramas. What's rare is to find a book combining the two genres. In Burden of Proof, Hemry does an excellent job. Of course, there is nothing really requiring this book to be set in space; it could just as easily have been transposed to modern-day Earth in almost every respect, right down to replacing the "Greenspacers" who interfere in a military weapons test with modern-day Greenpeace protesters doing the same thing. But the SF elements are handled ably and well, and do not feel like window-dressing the way they could have in such a book.

The courtroom drama, though it only occurs relatively late in the book, is also handled well. By presenting it from the point of view of the inexperienced Sinclair, the reader gets to learn about elements of legal strategy as Sinclair learns, rather than simply being presented with them as in the average Matlock or Perry Mason episode. Although Sinclair insists that he does not want to become a lawyer, there are signs that his fascination with matters of law may lead him down that path despite himself.

Of all the books I read on the bus on the way to and from GenCon a couple of weeks ago, I think this is the only one for which I will actively seek out other books in the series (which currently contains four books in all). I'm glad that I bothered to pick it up in the dollar store after all.

I devoured this book and its predecessor (_A Just Determination_) in one weekend. They're both excellent.

As I said in my review of the earlier book, John G. Hemry may not have personally invented the genre 'military-SF legal drama', but there can't be too many examples of it out there. And reading these two superbly crafted novels will show you why: if you pay attention to the details, you'll see a lot of expertise lurking unobtrusively in the background. There can't be all that many authors who can write with confidence about the US Navy, the physics of space travel and spaceships, _and_ military law -- let alone keep all that stuff in the background while competently _telling an interesting story_ that doesn't bog down into technical exposition.

I'm not going to tell you a great deal about that story itself, and as with the earlier book, I strongly advise you _not_ to read the cover blurb and other book information if you haven't done so already. In each case, Ace has seen fit to promote the book by giving away things that happen well over a hundred pages in, and I would have enjoyed each of them more if I hadn't known in advance what was going to happen.

I can safely tell you that as this one opens, Paul Sinclair has just made Lieutenant Junior Grade and is still serving aboard the USS _Michaelson_. Again, the first hundred or so pages follow him through his shipboard experiences as we watch him grow and mature as a naval officer.

I can also tell you that early on, there's an extremely well thought out (and, incidentally, extremely funny) sequence involving a protest by an organization called 'Greenspace', who apparently do much the same sorts of things in space as their present-day predecessors do at sea. Hemry's portrayal of the Space Navy's personal and professional responses to these 'hippies' is both hilarious (this is where the meat of the humor is) and accurate (as a measure of Sinclair's assimilation to Navy life); his portrayal of the Greenspacers themselves is a _little_ bit of a caricature, but no one will have any trouble recognizing their real-life counterparts. One of my complaints about Heinlein's mostly-excellent _Starship Troopers_ is that Heinlein sets up and shoots down way too many straw men; Hemry doesn't make that mistake.

(Any actual hippies who read this book should read the narrative and dialogue very carefully. Hemry isn't taking sides at the authorial level; if he's making a sociopolitical point here, it's the one Commander Sykes makes: by all means question assumptions and challenge beliefs -- every society needs people who will do that -- but don't, don't, don't do foolish things that put lives in danger. And if anybody out there is still under the illusion that people in military service are 'fascists', Hemry's books should help to disabuse them of such silliness.)

Otherwise I won't give anything away. This is some of the best recent SF I've read, and I'm looking forward to reading the next Paul Sinclair book (due out in March 2005, I think).

This is a good legal procedural novel. It isn't a whodunnit, more a howcatchhim book. Hemry does a fine job with the naval atmosphere and setting.

The two things keeping this from a 5 star review are:
the exposition is a bit clunky in places -- the exposition doesn't flow smoothly from the characters, it is there to make sure the reader is keeping up. This can be a persistent problem both in the SF genre and in legal stories.

the antagonist seems to lack any redeeming features. It is fairly clear who the antagonist will be within pages of his appearance in the story. It would have been nice to see some redeeming features to flesh him out as a 3D person. As it is, even the people who liked him are doubting their judgment by the end.

An explosion occurs on the galactic cruiser USS Michaelson, killing Chief Petty Officer Asher and destroying much of the Forward Engineering section. While repairs are made, an inquiry into the accident occurs. The investigation team concludes that Asher violated regulations by working solo.

However, legal officer Lieutenant Junior Grade Paul Sinclair hears rumors from distraught sailors that they not only mourn the loss of a peer, but they have lost confidence in the leadership as it seems to the crew that a big cover-up happened. Everyone insists that Asher followed orders given by rising superstar Lieutenant Scott Silver the son of a very powerful Rear Admiral. Paul knows that the BURDEN OF PROOF is on him. However, all the JUST DETERMINATION in the galaxy could lead to the destruction of his own career and the end of his relationship with the woman he loves, the daughter of the head of the investigation team because if Paul succeeds it will embarrass the officer he wants as a father-in-law.

John G. Henry has pioneered a new sub-genre with his superb space ship military legal thrillers. As with the first tale (JUST DETERMINATION), BURDEN OF PROOF is more a tour of duty than an action packed tale as the plot focuses on relationships on an outer space vessel. The story line cleverly enables the audience to ride along with the crew and taste the pressure of the vastness of space inside relatively tight quarters, the seemingly endless stretches of time, and the protocol of rank. The legal aspects are brilliantly intertwined within a fantastic relationship military science fiction drama that should promote Mr. Hemry to a best selling admiral.

Harriet Klausner

With Burden of Proof, the follow-up novel to A Just Determination, John G. Hemry cements his position as the best writer of legalistic military science fiction working today. Drawing on his own Naval career, Hemry brings the world of the United States Space Navy of 2100 to vivid life, populating it with some of the most human, realistic, vibrant characters I've ever been introduced to. Paul Sinclair, recently promoted from Ensign to Lieutenant Junior Grade, is a remarkable hero. Committed and hard-working, he cares only about doing his job to the best of his ability and he constantly chides himself for his own small mistakes. While he struggles to live up to the expectations of some of his senior officers, he is on the best of terms with most of his fellow junior officers and the ranks of enlisted men and women, actively seeking the advice of those around him and always acting in the most thoughtful, ethical of ways.

Things are going pretty well for Paul. His relationship with Jen Shen remains strong, even though she now serves on a different ship, and he has finally witnessed a return to normalcy after his critical involvement in the court-martial trial of his previous captain. Unfortunately for Paul, that two-week legal training course he took early in his career is about to come back and bite him once again.

I love the opening of this novel, as it features the disruption of a test firing mission by protestors. In a remarkable scene, Greenspacers fly in and launch themselves in to the target zone in individual pods, forcing Sinclair's ship, the Michaelson, to pick them up one by one and take them back to port. Soon thereafter, most unexpectedly, an explosion rocks the ship and takes out most of Forward Engineering. With the chief engineer missing in action and the fire suppression system not working, Sinclair takes it upon himself to lead the dangerous fire-fighting mission in to the affected area. It soon becomes clear that Chief Asher died in the explosion, and an investigation concludes that Asher caused the disaster by working on a critical piece of equipment alone - a clear violation of Navy policy. The man in charge of that investigation just so happens to be the father of Jen Shen, a man who has already made it clear that he finds Sinclair unworthy of his daughter's affection. The official report actually blames Paul - indirectly - for the tragedy, but the most galling thing of all is the awarding of a medal to Lieutenant Silver, the new replacement for Paul's best buddy on the ship. Anyone with eyes can see that Silver gets by on his personal charm alone while foisting all of his work on his subordinates (including Sinclair), and Silver was particularly useless at the time of the explosion.

Soon, information reaches Paul's ears that casts the official report's conclusions in doubt, and Sinclair is anxious to clear the name of Chief Asher and see that justice is done. The focus of attention quickly becomes Lieutenant Silver, putting Sinclair in a tough position. If he recommends court-martial proceedings against Silver based on his growing evidence, some will question whether he is trying to make Silver the scapegoat in order to deflect the doubts cast upon his own performance. There's another tiny little matter to consider, as well - Lieutenant Silver just happens to be the son of a powerful vice admiral. Once again, Sinclair is forced to make a tough choice that could threaten his reputation and Naval career - not to mention his relationship with Jen Shen, as her father will of course be called to testify for the defense.

The case against Silver is far from a slam-dunk because virtually all of the evidence is circumstantial. Clearly, though, that evidence points to Silver's wrongdoing. As in A Just Determination, the climax of the novel plays out in a military courtroom. It is here that Hemry's incredible skills at characterization really come to the fore, as this is by no means a boring courtroom drama.

Hemry has done the impossible and actually produced a novel more exciting, more engrossing, and more impressive than A Just Determination. I'm quickly coming to the conclusion that Hemry is the best science fiction writer working today. No other author manages to hook me mind, body, and soul from the very first page, and no other author creates characters who become such an integral part of my life. The first hundred pages are quite telling, as Hemry spends all of that initial time describing Sinclair's performance on the job and his interaction with friends and fellow officers. Only when the reader is firmly grounded in Sinclair's character and the nature of life aboard a Space Navy vessel does the central action of the novel, namely the explosion, take place. It's a picture perfect approach to making this legalistic science fiction thriller such an engrossing, addictive reading experience.

I am a big fan of Edmund Keeley's translations of Demotic Greek and Katherevousa. Having an armchair scholar's knowledge of the language I can appreciate the labor that has gone in to the refinement of the translations in the decades since the first edition. This volume reads very well in English, and I have given many of these as gifts over the years to poetry fans who do not know a word of Greek, always resulting in a comment about how such a poet could be so little known. Cavafy probably would have preferred it that way!

There is nothing that can adequately describe the first time you read Cavafy. It is like a breath of fresh air or a cold shower on a hot day... completely envigorating and different to anything you've ever read before.

I've shared his poetry with friends and they are all blown away.

Cavafy's erotic poems show a sensitivity and directness that is quite unique.

His personal reflective pieces are extremely insightful. I would say that you will get a better understanding of Existential philosophy through this small book of poems than any tomes from the likes of Satre, Camus, Beckett.

His historical poems are best appreciated if you know Byzantine history and the notes in the book are a fantastic to set the context.

This book deserves to be in any personal or public library

Cavafy is a poet with a view that is both ancient and modern. It's a poet that has a language that is both exuberant and emotional without being too excessive.

I own a copy of the original collection of Cavafy's poems (in Greek) and I find that this translation has measured up to the task of translating the forceful and sensual poetry as closely as possible. And for anyone who cannot read Greek, this book will bring you as close as possible to the intense emotional response of reading the original. A must have for any poetry lover.

As with any poems translated from a language I have never learned, I am left wondering just how close Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard have come to the original style and substance of C.P. Cavafy, the great Alexandrian Greek poet of the early 20th century. (Keeley and Sherrard are scrupulous in their end notes, noting untranslatable words and the original rhyme schemes of poems translated into free verse.) Even in translation, these poems are exquisite, haunting both my dreams and my waking thoughts. Cavafy essentially had only a few subjects, but they were great ones--the lost glory of antiquity, the inevitable decline of the mighty, the death of love and beauty, the folly of human striving, the crucial importance of memory and history. In language of deceptive simplicity, he limned the ephemeral nature of beautiful things and the empty spaces their loss leaves in the soul. (Cavafy, openly gay at a time when homosexuality was truly the love that dare not speak its name, wrote only of lost, passing or unrequited love.) Most of these poems are very short, but they insinuate themselves inextricably into memory, such as "The Mirror in the Front Hall," depicting a handsome young man who stops to straighten his tie: "the old mirror was all joy now,/proud to have embraced/total beauty for a few moments." My own favorite in the book is one of the longer poems, "Orophernis," about a wastrel king of the 2nd Century B.C. who came to grief trying to be a real king for once. The final five lines of this poems are Cavafy in a nutshell; The figure on this four drachma coin, a trace of whose young charm can still be seen, a ray of his poetic beauty-- this sensuous commemoration of an Ionian boy, this is Orophernis, son of Ariarathis.

As a Holocaust education consultant and an English professor, I have learned that a story engages us because we remember it, therefore making it an effective teaching tool. The Call of Memory--A Teacher's Guide provides both scholarly Holocaust literature as well as the practicality of personalizing the facts and stats with imaginative, innovative lessons as taught by practicing master teachers. These personal best practices tell their own story of teaching the Holocaust by sharing actual experiences with curriculum and instruction, including activities, discussion and writing prompts, resources, and assessment. The teachers have created a positive, creative learning environment that supplies fresh insights into a dark period of history to strategically improve students' learning. Elie Wiesel, the Holocaust's most famous storyteller, noted that true writers tell stories because they believe they can do something with them. The Call of Memory--A Teacher's Guide provides both stories and field-tested ways to teach them. Finally, a teacher's guide that really works!

In December 1941 Abba Kovner, hiding outside Vilna, understood that the Nazis were going to murder all Jews, though the facts at his disposal did not support his certainty. This was the clairvoyance of the poet at its clearest.
This anthology is so valuable precisely because poets and writers sometimes understand things better, and the Shoah is almost inexplicable. The anthology is accompanied by a volume in which scholars who are educators ponder how to understand and use the literature. Fascinating.

This book is truly a MUST for teachers of Holocaust literature. The 27 Holocaust narratives, which are in themed, chronological order, are a classroom treasure. This book provides the specifics to teach them thoroughly and wisely. The editors present options to introduce and personalize Holocaust history and are completely aware of what time constraints all teachers face. The stories are typically short in length but not short on substance. Details regarding methods and materials are provided in a clear manner.

For those new to teaching Holocaust literature, there are concise literary explications, readable and informative analyses and detailed personal commentaries to help even the novice teacher feel comfortable exploring this era. For those who have been teaching classic Holocaust novels and diaries, a wealth of short literature is interpreted here, affording teachers the opportunity to present an overview of the Holocaust or an in-depth study of its various aspects.

As an English teacher who teaches a unit on Holocaust lit, I can honestly say this is the best text on the market.

The Call of Memory will prove to be an invaluable resource for teaching high school and college-age students about the Holocaust through literary narratives. Short stories by Holocaust survivors and contemporary writers are included in the anthology. For each selection, an in-depth literary analysis is provided by the accompanying Teacher's Guide. An entire Holocaust Literature curriculum could be developed using The Call of Memory. The companion volumes, however, are relevant not only to the study of literature and language arts but will also offer enrichment for courses in history, social studies, humanities and religion.

These books further remind us of why print still matters in the online age. Comparable Internet-based Holocaust instructional materials would be hard to find. Teachers will appreciate the chronological/thematic organization of the volumes along with the connection to content standards. Students will benefit from the occasion to read these literary selections in which vivid imagery and intimacy of characters and events promote an understanding of the Holocaust. As Elie Wiesel spoke in his 1986 Nobel Prize lecture, "Remembering is a noble and necessary act. The call of memory, the call to memory, reaches us from the very dawn of history."

As an ordinary teacher with an extraordinary passion for educating people about the Holocaust, I find the Anthology and the Teacher's Guide to be unique in the world of Holocaust studies. The complimentary set is exactly what every Holocaust educator needs. Nothing is missing:The narratives are in themed, chronological order; the analyses are thorough and scholarly; and the thoughtful lesson plans are classroom-tested by experienced master teachers. The set is a priceless gift to educators and students alike.
Darryle Clott, Adjunct Instructor History of the Holocaust, Viterbo University, La Crosse, WI.

(My review is on Thoreau's Cape Cod rather than this specific edition).

While some literary critics seem to slight this work by Thoreau, saying that it is not as "powerful" as his other works, etc., I personally find this one very enjoyable. Sure, it does not have as much "philosophizing" as other books by him, but it is full of humor and very fun to read. The part where he describes the old man spitting into the hearth is particularly hilarious. The part about him sleeping in a lighthouse is also very funny. It lets us experience the more jovial side of Thoreau. This is probably one of the easiest to read among Thoreau's books.

Published posthumously, this volume is surprisingly consistent and complete (unlike "The Maine Woods" which is chopped into three different parts), it gives one the feel of walking along the entire cape, although the materials are quarried from several different trips. One only wish Thoreau had lived longer and had seen the West, imagine him taking a trip in the Sierra! Oh, well, meanwhile, we still have this one to enjoy.

Thoreau visited Cape Cod in 1849, 1850, and 1853. These trips formed the basis for a series of essays, several of which Thoreau published in magazines. After Thoreau's death, the essays were gathered together and published as "Cape Cod" in 1865.

Thoreau's "Cape Cod" is different in tone in theme from his earlier books. The tone is leisurely and light. Instead of solitude or the wild woods, the picture that remains with me from this book is that of a long walk, or, as Thoreau puts it, a "ramble" through the sand and dunes of Cape Cod. The book is picturesque, full of humor and wry observation. Thoreau unforgettably describes the ocean, in its storms, vicissitudes, and moments of peace, the fish and the fishermen, the sands, birds, plants and lighthouses of Cape Cod, and the people. I have visited portions of the Masachusetts coast, but I have never been to Cape Cod. Thoreau took me there in his book.

The book is arranged into ten chapters. It opens with a description of the shipwreck of the St John on a rock off the Cape. Thoreau then describes a ride by coach across the Cape. But the heart of the book lies in the following chapters in which Thoreau with a companion walks the 30 mile beach from Nauset Harbor to Provincetown with many stops and diversions along the way. I felt the salt air and saw the fishermen and the sandy beach as I walked with Thoreau.

The most vivid characterization in the book is in the chapter "The Wellfleet Oysterman", as Thoreau describes a grizzled, taciturn, and ancient native of Cape Cod and his family who offer him hospitality for the night. Another memorable chapter involves the description of the Highland Lighthouse, no longer standing, and its keeper. The stops with the Oysterman and the Lighthouse punctuate Thoreau's long walks through the day over the beach and his meditiations about and descriptions of what he finds there.

Thoreaus walk ended at Provincetown, on the northernmost portion of Cape Cod, with its wood walkway, shanty houses, and ever-present scenes of fishermen, boats, and drying fish. Thoreau offers what I found an affectionate portrait of these hardy fishermen and their families. Following a description of what he found at Provincetown, Thoreau offers a great deal of historical background on the exploration of the Cape, from the Pilgrims reaching back to earlier French, Icelandic, and English explorers.

Thoreau's "Cape Cod" is a worthy companion to his books describing his experiences inland, on Walden Pond and on the rivers and woods of New England and Maine. It is beautifuly written with unforgettable descriptive passages. It made me want to get up and go from my life in the city, and over 150 years after Thoreau wrote, wander and walk for myself along the dunes and sands of Cape Cod.

This hardcover edition from Peninsula Press is unquestionably the best available edition of Thoreau's Cape Cod, for these reasons:

1) While all other editions are based on Thoreau's journal entries from only his first three visits to the Cape, this edition includes an epilogue compiling Thoreau's notes from his fourth and final visit, in which he traveled south to Chatham and Monomoy.

2) This is the only edition to translate the many, many Greek and Latin phrases Thoreau includes throughout the work, and it is also the only edition to provide illustrations, maps, and sidenotes in-text.

3) This is the only indexed edition ever created.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for fans of both Cape literature and Thoreau in general.

This book details the flora, fauna and people that Thoreau found in Cape Cod in the 1850s. Thoreau organizes the book around a single trip to Provincetown, although much of the material that he uses in the book came from various visits to the Cape, and to the ocean in general. He starts with a description of a shipwreck at Cohasset, then a stagecoach ride from Plymouth, then a walking trip with a companion along the outer shore to Provincetown. Along the way, he describes not only the plants and animals he encountered, but also the people who he met. The book finishes with a lengthy academic historical account of the discovery and mapping of the Cape.

I found this to be the most humorous of all Thoreau's work. The character sketches he provides in this book, sharpened with his trained eye for observation of natural phenomena, are legendary. The cultural description of the Cape and its environment is quite fascinating for those interested in the history of daily life in 19th century Massachusetts. As Thoreau describes the desolate, treeless desert that made up the far reaches of the Cape, one begins to comprehend what it meant for an economy to be based on wood and whale oil for fuels. Thoreau stresses how valued driftwood was for residents of the Cape, as one of their main sources of heating and cooking fuel. Doubtless, he would not recognize the Cape today with its lush new forests. Or its Wal-Marts--switching to an oil economy has brought mixed blessings for the Cape. For those who think Thoreau to be a humorless didactic philosopher, this book shows a very different aspect of Thoreau as a writer.

You will forget about the outside world when you read this; nothing but sand, wind, and water. Plus some natural history, local folklore, a few shipwreck tales. Typical Thoreau; he finds beauty, interest, detail in the wilderness. The desolate landscape will help to clear your mind. Highly recommended.