England Books

Terry Spear's debut novel (Vintage Romance Publishing 2006), Winning the Highlander's Heart won this reader's heart from the first page.

Spear deftly weaves in details of history and culture of 12th century England and Scotland while at the same time creating characters with whom modern readers can readily identify, particularly the comely Scottish Lady Anice.

The story is set during the reign of England's Henry I, known to have had numerous mistresses and illegitimate children while married to his wife Matilda. In the opening scene, Lady Anice--to escape the sexual overtures of King Henry, who's married to her cousin Matilda--slides down a rope from a second story window and unwittingly lands in the arms of Laird Malcolm McNeill.

Spirited, Scottish Lady Anice thinks for herself, wields a mean bow and arrow, and lets no man best her in battle or in bed, despite her innocence when it comes to the latter. In fact, she's so feisty and intriguing that Malcolm soon has second thoughts about taking an English bride. Expect Anice's and Malcolm's romantic encounters to be realistic while at the same time tastefully sensual.

If you like witty dialogue, intriguing cliffhangers, and danger around every curve, Winning the Highlander's Heart is sure to please.

Winning The Highlander's Heart is a delight to read. An engaging romance, a suspenseful mystery, a wonderful hero and heroine, and an exciting and dangerous "road trip," all in one. In addition to all that, it's an intelligent story, with characters who actually think and act as adults. And the reader is firmly ensconced in an accurate historical time and place that adds richly to the story. I strongly recommend this book to those looking for a good read.

Ms. Spear has written an excellent book that weaves history, romance and adventure in a truly engaging style. Anice and Malcolm will draw you into their world and hold you captive until the very end. I hated to come to the end of their story.

This is definitely a book to add to your collection. I can't wait to read Ms. Spear's next work.

Terry Spear's Winning the Highlander's Heart is an entertaining tale of Countess Anice, a spirited Scottish lass, and Highlander Laird Malcolm MacNeill, a man determined to get an English bride and solicit favor with King Henry I. The King's ward, Anice is desperate to avoid his amorous advances and return to her home in Scotland. As Malcolm escorts Anice home to discover who is killing off her staff, the mystery and intrigue unfolds, and the two can no longer deny their love. But King Henry and the Norman baron he insists she wed, stands between them and the happiness they might otherwise find.

Countess Anice would like nothing more than to return to her home in the Highlands and find a Laird to marry. As a ward of King Henry I, she's expected to remain with the court until he chooses a husband for her. Unfortunately, King Henry intends to wed her to a Norman lord. There seems to be no escaping Henry's inappropriate propositions for Anice until she literally drops into the lap of the Lord McNeill.

Lord McNeill is a titled lord without property. Marrying a Scottish lass would be impossible due to a past scandal caused by his father. Malcolm is seeking an audience with King Henry in hope of acquiring a propertied English bride. Malcolm never imagined he'd find the perfect Scottish lass to wed by visiting the English court or the danger that would come from loving Anice.

Anice is forced to flee yet another of the king's attempted seductions. This time she avoids his advances by climbing out the second story window and lowering herself with ropes to the ground below. Of course, her flight did not go unnoticed by the people already gathered in the bailey. One supposed gentleman in particular even thought to help by manhandling her when she refused to jump and let him catch her. Anice recognizes his Scottish burr and can't help wishing that he would take her back to her beloved home in the Highlands. Once she leaves the Scotsman who'd helped break her fall, Anice finds her cousin and King Henry's wife, Matilda, and begs her to convince His Grace to allow Anice to return home. However, Anice never tells Matilda of the king's advances, choosing instead to blame homesickness for her need to leave the court. While conferring with Matilda, Anice inquires about the Scotsman, only to learn that he's looking for an English wife. Lord McNeill's plans are put on hold as the king gives him the position as steward of Anice's holding. Unbeknownst to Anice, various members of her staff have gone missing and foul play is suspected. Malcolm may be her new steward but there's no way Anice is going to allow him to leave for her home without her. After spending time with the determined Anice, Malcolm may just discover everything he could possibly want in the arms of a Scottish lass.

WINNING THE HIGHLANDER is a delightful story right from the very first page. I was easily able to envision Anice in all her stubborn glory as she avoids the king's advances, refuses to allow Malcolm to dictate what she should do, and insists on returning to Scotland in order to help determine what foul play has befallen her people. You can't help but adore Malcolm. He's an honorable man, trying to do the right thing by traveling to England and seeking out an English bride but becomes attracted to Anice even before the king entrusts her estate to him. This story is fast paced, full of witty dialogue, and interesting characters that will keep readers entertained for hours. If you like historical stories about those braw Highlander men, you'll love this book.

Chrissy Dionne (courtesy of Romance Junkies)

This book opened my eyes to how the birthing process can work with the mother's body rather than against. This is my second child and I didn't read anything with the last. I enjoyed learning about other women's expierence with birthing in other atmosphere's rather than the hospital. It was a great book that I couldn't put down right away. The book went into detail about the midwives and doctors and what the differences can make. I recommend this book for women who want to learn more about birthing naturally.

I really liked the diversity of stories in this book. They weren't all perfect as planned but offered a realistic and optimistic look at natural childbirth. I appreciated the different types of mom's. Single moms, different backgrounds, first timers and old pros. I have enjoyed reading the stories as I lead up to my own birth experience. I would recommend it to anyone considering natural childbirth.

I believe in the power of narrative, particularly for those of us pregnant women who are bombarded by unwanted horror stories. This book is the perfect antidote. My husband gave it to me soon after we got our BFP. It contains 39 women's birth stories. All of the women wanted a natural childbirth going in -- not all of them got what they wanted, which was valuable to read in and of itself. The book contains good information about choosing caregivers (you may want to steal some of the questions to ask when interviewing potential caregivers). It organizes the stories by which caregiver the women used -- OBs, midwives, doulas (OK, doulas aren't usually the primary caregiver, and here they are in addition to OBs, but giving them a separate section hightlights their value), and a small final section on unassisted childbirth. Some of the stories are a play-by-play, some a little more atmospheric. If you are planning a natural birth and you want some encouragement, you want to read this book!! Or if you are in search of a gift for a pregnant woman who wants a natural birth, this is an overwhelming vote of confidence -- my husband got it for me as a congratulatory gift.

This is basically a book full of birth stories, mostly unmedicated births. It includes stories about birthing at home with a midwife, birthing with a doula, birthing unassisted, and birthing in a hospital. It also includes stories about VBACs. I LOVE this book. I think one of the best ways to prepare for natural childbirth is to read real stories about it.

This is a great book for anyone who is curious about what birth is really like, and can boost the confidence of women to believe in their own capacity to birth. It also is a good reminder for everyone to stay flexible, because you never know what birth will bring! Highly recommended by this childbirth educator and doula. :)

I bought this book after reading an excerpt, I believe it was in Vogue (or possibly Elle?) Anyways it's a really captivating but not long read. Might be good for a plane trip, etc. Despite her trying experiences of being a refugee and having psoriasis, she has a really refreshing, upbeat outlook and attitude.

I bought this book for my mom and she loves it! She is from Panama and has a dark skin complexion. She saw a lot of herself in Alek esepcially in her stories about familiy life. It's amazing how things stay the same even though years have passed, technology improved and continents separate you.

Alek Wek shared a story with me, through this book, that helped me to appreciate the mind of child growing up in poverty, in a family, in a culture, in a world of others who are not alike. Alek's story helped me to make connections to the old ways of my mother's mother and my mother and the very old ways that perhaps originated back in Africa; ways that were somewhat preserved from modern "civilized" ways. Alek's story helped me to appreciate the story I am leaving and hope to leave with my own children. Alek's words encourage me to be careful with my own (to say that Alek is "well-spoken" would be an understatement. As an aspiring author, myself, I would say about Alek's writing: it would seem she truly appreciates the gift of language and the power of thought behind it). Alek's book is appropriately titled in my opinion, she is not the girl of an impoverished African village or primitive tribe, she is not the rags to riches to story. She is Alek, a unique life force that has been affected and infected by the life around her.
This was a special treat for me for many reasons but mainly because it reinforced my hope that our kids are listening; not only to our words but to their environment. It was again a special treat for me...to be infected with the spirit of Africa, to feel the power of her words and her love for herself...who she truly is.

I'm not a fan of reading. I really only picked up Alek Wek's book because she came to a book singing at my school, Howard University. She impressed me as a down to earth, humble, kindly demeanored woman. She personally autographed it and took a picture with me. I sat the book down for several months, but, when I did pick it up over the Christmas break it gripped me. It is both entertaining and informing. She speaks about her life as child growing up in war torn Sudan, and the atrocities which occurred there, her move to New York and London, her subsequent conquering the fashion industry, and her eventual return to her birthplace. Throughout the book I literally laughed at times, and was on the verge of tears at others. It not a difficult read. It's simply a really good read. Pick it up!

this book is amazing, touching, i cried my eyes out. its very inspiring and motivational. it made my everyday problems seems so little compared to what she went through. i will definitely recommend this book to everyone.

Steve Turner has done a great service to Christians everywhere. In the first part of his carefully researched book, Turner gives us an excellent account of the life of John Newton, the author of the famous hymn "Amazing Grace." Here he covers much that is familiar, and at the same time corrects some common misconceptions.

The second half of the book traces the history of "Amazing Grace." It is fascinating to learn how the song's tune has developed and changed, how the verses of the song have evolved over time, and how the hymn has grown in popularity over the years. Not as enjoyable was learning how "Amazing Grace" has been reinterpreted since the 1970's to support the views of whatever unsaved person or group using it at the time. I am sure ol' John Newton would be spinning in his grave if he knew what our postmodern society has done with his marvelous hymn. Still, Turner's book should do nothing for the Christian but endear even more to "Amazing Grace" the song, and amazing grace the message.

I'm not sure why,but this book has a lot more to it than first meets the eye.Often books of this nature are of the 'edited 'type with very little effort put into them and while the concept is good ;usually filled with a bunch of fluff.But not this one.A great effort has gone into it and as a result we have an excellent work.
While he never gets away from his topic,Turner gives us an awful lot about the history of Newton and everyone associated with him,a thorough understanding of the slave trade,a good understanding of the various Protestant churches of the18th and 19th centuries .If that isn't enough, he has covered in minute detail the evolution of the hymn,it's meaning word by word,it's associated music and how it spread ,and by whom ,throughout it's 225 year history.
He has beautifully shown the deep religious and theological meaning the hymn has for those who understand it and have a faith in God.He has just as well explained how and why so many people love and get inspiration from the hymn even though they may have little in the way of faith or religious involvement.He does this without being judgemental in any way.
As to how Newton could be involved in the slave trade.."Slavery was as acceptable as abortion is today-it was legal,it had immediate and tangible benefits,and people predicted widespread calamity should it ever be banned.There was no social pressure for him to feel shame.Cities had been built on the fruits of slavery and the great merchants of slaves were celebrated,giving their names to buildings and streets.It was those who were opposed to slavery who were regarded as irritants-ememies of social stability,troublemakers,idealists with no concern for progress."
There is one thing I would like to add and that is..If there ever was a book that would have benefited from an included CD,this would have been it.

I love Steve Turner books, and I love the song Amazing Grace. What a combination!...a work of history that reads like a good mystery novel! I couldn't put it down until I'd read it from cover to cover. This book has everything...a great redemption story, both for the man, Newton--and his song, which didn't really take off until someone put the perfect tune with it a hundred years later. Turner manages to present the context of Newton's theology in a scholarly way that will be informative, but not off-putting to those who are not into reformed theology. The secular life of the song is fascinating...to see how this song was popularized, and now touches millions. To me this song has what we wan't all music to have...something that touches our insides in a way we can't describe, but we know that it makes our lives more complete. And the biggest surprise of the book?...Newton became a slave-trader AFTER his conversion, and only opposed slavery much later in life. Considering how slowly America has repented of it's historic racism, there may be a lesson for us all as we see the sanctification that occurred over time in Newton's life.

I sing and Amazing Grace is one of my favorite hymns. I'm also a nontheist. I'm pretty comfortable with those two seemingly incongruous facts, but I thought I'd read Steve Turner's book Amazing Grace to see if other folks like me had made it into the text. I'm also an Arlo Guthrie fan and I figured I'd do some fact checking on the version of John Newton's story Arlo tells when singing Amazing Grace in concert. Folks like me show up towards the end of the second part of the book and Turner indicates that Arlo is aware that his version is condensed and inaccurate.

The first part of Amazing Grace is the story of John Newton and how he came to write the words to what is now America's favorite hymn. I learned a lot of history, especially of the slave trade in the 1700's, while getting the non-Arlo, complicated version of Mr. Newton's life. The second part of the book follows the history of the hymn post-Newton. Turner has done his homework and I especially enjoyed learning about the history of the hymn in the 1800's, including how Amazing Grace picked up the tune we now sing it to.

I highly recommend Amazing Grace to fans of history, music, and, of course, the hymn Amazing Grace.

I just led a church service about "Amazing Grace," and Steve Turner's book served as my main resource. I read it cover to cover during the process, and found it highly intelligent and interesting, with far too many "tidbits" that I wanted to include in the service and couldn't! I encourage the reading of this book AS a "pleasure read," not just as research material.

I particularly appreciated the section on contemporary versions of "Amazing Grace" and its impact on the secular community. As a Unitarian Universalist, I was greatly cheered to find one of our ministers quoted on the impact of the hymn on those who don't necessarily believe in a divine presence.

The discography of AG recordings included as an appendix was also hugely valuable, as I compiled a CD of recorded versions as a "party favor" for my (small) congregation. Turner's correct when he says it's a "select" discography, but he got most of the really good ones!

Angela the Upside-Down Girl is a revelation. Emily Hiestand is one of Robert Frost's true poets, "one upon whom nothing is lost." As she trains an eye of the rarest perception on the world we thought we knew, we discover the heart of light within ordinary and not-so-ordinary things. I marvel at her scope: her Weltyesque Aunt Nan Dean; her eloquent witness to the power of faith and community at Union Baptist Church; her love affair with automotive neon, which manages (as Emerson never could) to be both transcendental and funny; and, of course, there's Angela, whose gravity-defying grace can be seen as a figure for the whole book. But perhaps most engaging of all is the voice of our guide--Hiestand herself--the unifying principle through the book's many travels, wise, witty, shimmering in its clarity, a wonderful companion.

Angela the Upside-Down Girl is a revelation. Emily Hiestand is one of Robert Frost's true poets, "one upon whom nothing is lost." As she trains an eye of the rarest perception on the world we thought we knew, we discover the heart of light within ordinary and not-so-ordinary things. I marvel at her scope: her Weltyesque Aunt Nan Dean; her eloquent witness to the power of faith and community at Union Baptist Church; her love affair with automotive neon, which manages (as Emerson never could) to be both transcendental and funny; and, of course, there's Angela, whose gravity-defying grace can be seen as a figure for the whole book. But perhaps most engaging of all is the voice of our guide--Hiestand herself--the unifying principle through the book's many travels, wise, witty, shimmering in its clarity, a wonderful companion.

Thoreau lives! Emily Hiestand could take you on a trip down the most familiar street in your town and show you things you've never seen before. She has a way of noting the realities of everyday existence that simultaneously lights up their surfaces and illuminates their deeper significance. What a mind this writer has. What an imagination. --And what a way with words. I simply loved this book.

I knew Emily for a very short time when I lived in Boston. She and my sister were friends, along with a group of people whose lives centered around a triple decker on Wendell Street.

A new book from Emily is like a long letter. I get to catch up on her life and comings and goings. I always feel sheepish about not staying in touch when I'm through with it. She writes such beautiful and thoughtful things, I think. I really need to write her back.

Reading her prose is exactly like having a conversation with her. I can hear her light, sweet voice as if I'm at a reading, and can summon her laugh in my mind's ear too.

It's impossible for me to separate my acquaintance with Emily from her work, but I will say I'm always astounded with her descriptions and way with words. She is at once erudite and approachable, and her work is always informed by both these things. Being a poet, Emily brings thoughtful cadence to her essays, and very often I will read them outloud to myself.

For those of you who don't know Emily personally, you will after you read this book, and what's more, you'll want to know her better. You'll also learn that New England watersheds are not only interesting but epic in their own way, and that stories are told in the details.

Thanks Emily. I'm doing quite well and think of you often.

[An] enchanting new book of essays.... Many personal essayists today try to capture our interest by being confessional but run the risk of revealing, like clumsy strippers, what we'd really rather not see. Hiestand has taken the more unusual risk of writing about the quotidian, and produced a tour de force. "Oooouuuweee!" as her cousin Bill would say. What a good book this is. --Boston Sunday Globe Book Review

Angela the Upside-Down Girl is about how to live creatively, see life through an artist's eye. With a subversive sense of humor and a wicked ability to pierce convention, [Hiestand] takes us on her journey to discover a meaningful sense of place in a chaotic world. Her place turns out to be North Cambridge, which she describes with the freshness and originality of Joyce in Dublin...

Angela the Upside-Down Girl reveals Emily Hiestand's exceptional talents which include an artist's eye for color and form, a cu! ltural anthropologist's ability to get people to tell their stories, and a poet's facility to express what is felt but not seen. --Cambridge Chronicle

Rich, revealing, and often hilarious... This book travels between only two places...but it travels so deeply into each place, both their pasts and their presents, that you come away from it feeling enlightened and enticed, and ready to hop on the next train heading north or south. --Hope Magazine

...and I say, also, "What a good book this is!"

-Chuck Eisenhardt

I really enjoyed this cookbook - it had a wide variety of recipes that were both time consuming and quick. I also liked the commentary about the Riggin along the sidebars.

Born and raised in the Ozarks between the Missouri and Arkansas rivers; we didn't think we would find anything in this ocean cookbook that would excite us. Just goes to prove that hillbillys are sometimes (but not often) wrong.

For instance last week the cookbook was used to prepare some great "tailgate" dishes; our guests were impressed. But we had to tell the truth, its Annie's book. Two guests used our computer to log on and order the book.

Along with barbque the book's dishes appear in a hillbilly's dreams.

This was a happy surprise in my Christmas stocking this year, after my mother ran into the author at Barnes and Noble. I'm so glad she snagged me a copy, since I'm not quite sure what I'd do without this cookbook in my home.

This is one of those cookbooks that you don't know if you should put in your kitchen with the rest of the cookbooks, or out on the coffee table so that everybody can enjoy it. This book features wonderfully sophisticated home-cooking style recipes, breathtaking photos from the J&E Riggin, the Maine Windjammer that's currently cared for by the author and her husband, and oodles of stories about the Windjammer, their voyages, their history, and the ideas behind these recipes. This cookbook has the feel of a family journal or photo album, which is really a great feeling that is lost with a lot of cookbooks. So often these days when you buy a cookbook, it feels like the recipes featured in it are made once or twice in a test kitchen before getting a rubber-stamped approval to be shown in their mass-produced cookbook. But you don't feel that with this book. You know that these recipes were made dozens, maybe hundreds of times to hundreds of hungry people before being collected and featured in a cookbook that feels like should be a personal family cookbook, not something you can just pick up at a bookstore. I love that feel.

There are a ton of recipes in this book, not different versions of the same ol' meals that you can find in any cookbook. Unique recipes, ones that I've never seen on paper other than from my mother's handwritten recipe cards. Recipes like German Apple Pancakes, Roasted Mushrooms and Artichoke Sauce, Nectarine-Blueberry Bread, Ginger Shortbread, Black Bottom Banana Cream Pie, Pumpkin Cheesecake, Pork Pot Pie, Lemon Lobster with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Wassail Bowl Punch... I could go on and on. Amazing. And this recipe book is a "from scratch" book, which I think is such a blessing, because there is nothing more frustrating than buying a cookbook with 100 different ways to prepare a can of "cream of chicken" soup and a can of refrigerator biscuits. This is a cookbook for cooks, and those of us who wish we were. We need more cookbooks out there like this.

There is next to nothing wrong with this cookbook. The only observations I have made is that sometimes I need a little more description on the making of a recipe (for example, a notation the dough will be runny, lumpy, etc) as there have been a recipes that I made where the consistency or appearance wasn't quite what I expected. Also, it is obvious that some of these recipes were reduced from a recipe that made more servings for more people, so some of the seasonings and ingredients have to be tweaked for a more intimate setting. No big deal, just something to keep in mind.

I love this cookbook. My favorite recipes thus far include the German Apple Pancakes, Pork Pot Pie, Rita's Double Toffee Delight, and the Wassail Punch. Even as we speak I have a batch of Double Toffee Delights filling my house with its delicious aroma. Every time I use this book, I remember Maine vacations, fine meals, happy memories... It's the best investment in a book I think anybody could make.

This cookbook is a must-have for anybody. I can't say enough wonderful things about it.

I was really glad to receive this cookbook as a gift as I have found it great fun to use. I think the layout of the cookbook was very well done as well as the color of the pages. . not something you see very often in a cookbook. The pictures are really beautiful and catch the feeling of the sea. I enjoy the margin notes in each section as well as, for example, in the Meat Section, Anne's description of the dinner menus she serves on board or under Yeast Breads her suggestions on proofing, flour vs water, etc. I found these very helpful. My one suggestion would be that if you weren't familiar with yeast breads, you wouldn't know how hot the "warm water" should be. Possibly if a temp. was added indicating that the "warm water" should be 105/110 it might be helpful. Also, after you make muffins some indication on whether they should be left in the pan or taken out. I loved the Blueberry Lemon Bread and so did some of my friends and especially Dana's Maple-Dill Dressing . .yum-o! I like to be able to make quick and good meals and this tops my list.

This is one of the prettiest and most colorful cookbooks I have ever seen. On top of this, the recipes are wonderful, easy to prepare and different. The personal observations of the author add interest to the book. I recently had the pleasure of sailing with Captain Anne and the crew of the J.&E. Riggin and can attest to the fact that her cooking skills are outstanding. This book is well worth the money.

What a great read! Thomas breezes us through a year in the life of an unstoppable single mom, as seen through the lens of a novice beekeeper. She braves the vicissitudes of her first year of beekeeping with pathos, humor, intelligence and grace. As she interweaves her care and tending of the bees and their hives with the care and tending of her daughter, herself and their memorable home, I turned page after page with an ever-widening smile. Many thanks to the author for granting me a glimpse into her personal and universal world.

While most of us give a wide berth to stinging insects, memoirist Roseanne Daryl Thomas cozies up to bees, affectionately calling them "my girls." - quite an about face for one whose prior knowledge of apian life consisted of "They buzzed. They stung. They were yellow."

Following a divorce Ms. Thomas, her then 7-year-old daughter, August, and Ruffy, a geriatric cat, sought new life in a small New England community populated by 3,000 inquisitive souls.

There she met Farmer Tom; farmer being an unlikely sobriquet for a man with clean fingernails and a business card. Another unlikelihood was Ms. Thomas's out-of-nowhere comment that she might like to keep bees. At this, her daughter smiled, and Farmer Tom offered his land.

Smitten with the idea of having a mother who was a bee keeper, August "danced jubilantly about the house, composing beekeeping songs, drawing beekeeping pictures." Not wishing to disappoint her daughter, and just a little enthralled by the idea herself, Ms. Thomas began a task about which she knew "a teaspoonful more than absolutely nothing."

She visited a master beekeeper who introduced her to a hive body or deep super where bees live. Inside the deep super would be wax covered moveable frames where honey is made. . To her chagrin these did not come ready made, but had to be assembled - a daunting task for one who was not sure she owned a hammer. She bought three unassembled hives.

Another necessity was "The Outfit," first of all, gloves, elbow length cotton covered with yellow latex. Gloves did not come in a 7 ½; the smallest size in the white beesuit was a men's 42 regular. Finally, the hat. She was hoping for something in "a pale gold closely woven straw." Instead, she was handed "a hard white plastic pith helmet with ventilation grates at the temples."

There was no time for second thoughts as she had also ordered six living pounds of Italian honeybees. (According to the Bee Master Italian honeybees had the best dispositions). After many bruised fingers, considerable help from a friend, and countless visits to True Value, the hives were ready. Named Har, Jafenhar, and Thridi for the mythic trio who guard Valhalla, they were placed on Farmer Tom's land.

Weeks passed as Ms. Thomas tended her bees, sloshing through the field in Wellingtons bearing Ball jars of sugar water and toting other necessities in a lavender Bergdorf's shopping bag. With each visit she felt a deepening affinity for that spot of earth. Her respect for the natural world grew as she observed a blue heron seeking sustenance, and heavily laden black ants climbing ant mountains.

After a year the author had survived numerous stings and slings of fortune. She harvested her first crop with the observation that she had learned much but not enough.
Readers will find that they have learned much about bee keeping but not enough about Rosanne Daryl Thomas. "Beeing" is a memoir oddly lacking in emotional intimacy. Her marriage is dismissed with several lines, and there is scant reference to personal feelings. As "Motherhood" is found in the subtitle, one wonders what August's response was to the breakup of her home, and moving to a new community. Did Ms. Thomas ever address these issues with her daughter?

Practical matters also prove puzzling. With no apparent income how does one undertake a costly hobby that requires full time attention? Questions remain unanswered.

Nonetheless, "Being" is fluidly penned, at times lyric in descriptions of the changing seasons. And, there are lessons to be learned in this memoir, not the least of which is, "If you want to get honey, you have to be prepared to get stung."

There's no question at all about that.

- Gail Cooke

I love this book!!! It is sweet, funny, touching
and completely charming. (also inspiring: makes you
want to keep bees and appreciate them more.)
This is a "keeper" for the personal favorites library.
It is the gift I want to give my favorite friends and
relatives. The only thing possibly better than reading
this story would be to see Sandra Bullock make this into
a movie!
******Sandra Bullock please make this into a movie...
it is PERFECT for you!!!!!****************************

What a deeply satisfying book, rich in character, witty and warm, reflective without being ponderous, a marvellous read that holds your attention. Recounting her troubles and travails as a novice beekeeper and single mother in a quaint New England town, Rosanne Thomas creates a vivid collection of characters full of quirks yet helpful and kind as she struggles to juggle the challenges of three buzzing hives, a number of unsuitable suitors and the vagaries of nature with the needs of her sensitive, bright young daughter. In the process she paints a panorama of life and death, courage and perseverance with such intelligence, humor and charm and renders the beauty of nature with such deft but delicate strokes that I laughed, spilt a tear, and will never again spread honey on my toast without acknowledging the painstacking labor of love it takes to produce. Beeing offers us by example the gift of true being.

I love reading books about someone passionately engaged in something new, and this book is exactly that. Author Rosanne Daryl Thomas tells a tale of becoming a beekeeper almost on a whim, but it goes deeper than that. Clearly, there was something that drew her to the bees. It simply took circumstance to bring it forward. More importantly, she triumphs over the setbacks that occur with an honesty that seems missing in many books today. Reading this story was like listening to her tell it over coffee in her honey-covered kitchen.

Thomas' tales of learning the beekeeping trade from the bottom up are humorous, enlightening and presented in a conversational tone that kept me turning the pages. So much so that I finished the book in 1 day! She also throws in a few lessons about life and love, without being heavy handed or bogging down the story.

Even as someone who knew a little bit about beekeeping, I learned new stuff about the processes involved. For the gardener in me, it is great to learn a little more about how my garden helps bees to survive and thrive. My neighbor has a single hive on top of his garden shed and I can sit in my garden swing, watching their comings and goings. He makes sure we get some honey each year, too. Tasty! Even more so since part of it arose from my garden.

Several of my favorite books are based around the cycle of the year's passage. I think growing up on a farm certainly plays a part in this, but we all instinctively relate to the passing of the seasons in some way.

Once again I am drawn into the gritty world of the London crime scene. In Ken Bruen's books, I am never sure who is more vicious and criminal, the serial killers or the police who are searching them out.

This book has our serial killer going after the police starting off with a traffic warden and aiming toward the protaganist himself, Ken Brant. We have all of the usual police who we got to know in previous books including Brant (of course), Falls, Roberts, the incompetent Super with his "golden boy - snitch" McDonald. Alas, we no longer have my favorite, Lisa since she killed herself in McDead.

This book may be a little rough for many readers and it might be hard to follow by people who have never been exposed to the peculiar language that is spoken in South London (some say that it is English, but I would not swear to that).

After years of reading George Pelecanos, James Lee Burke, John Harvery, George V. Higgins, Raymond Chandler, Ross Thomas, and others who can turn a phrase while inducing me to turn a page, I've finally started reading Ken Bruen. "Blitz" introduced me to a world so sloppy and hungover it feels as real as anything the aforementioned writers have created.

Here's the 3rd person narrator on Brant, one of the protagonists: "Brant considered asking her for a ride but she looked the deep type. She'd have issues and want to talk after. He hated that." Sharp, politically incorrect, perfectly believable. And the killer, who decides to create his public persona as a vicious murderer who only takes out cops? A complete, drunken screw-up.

Bruen is the real deal. The most exciting thing about finishing "Blitz" was knowing that he's written a shelf and I'm just starting him.

Blitz is the name of a sadistic killer who begins bumping off London bobbies. Tell the truth, I loved BLITZ. I loved the main cop characters, Detective Sergeant Brant and Chief Inspector Roberts, and hope they show up in another book. This is an alcohol-saturated book: it seems all the characters are up till 3 am boozing and look like hell the next day at work. What fun! Wouldn't we all like to be like that, throwing our health to the wind, devil-may-care like. No, probably not. But it is somehow liberating to live vicariously through such tough, hard-as-nails characters. In our overly PC age, when smoking a cigarette is a fineable offense in many places, it does the soul good to see people being free to make mistakes even if only between the covers of a novel. Living badly should be a choice, not a crime, in a free society. Brant and Roberts live badly and are tough, funny and likeable. Ken Bruen has written a series of novels with Jack Taylor as the protagonist which I haven't yet read but have received good reviews. BLITZ is my first Ken Bruen book. Tell you what, mate, it won't be my last.

...he'd probably ask Ken Bruen to write his scripts.

Ken Bruen's "Blitz" is a rock `em, sock `em, no-holds-bar brawl of violent men and hard women on both sides of the law - an in-your-face tale told from the wrong side of London.

Remember the days when Lawrence Sanders was bringing crime fiction to the masses with NYPD's tough Captain Delaney and gripping crime drama like "The First Deadly Sin?" Well, carve up Sander's pedestrian prose with a broken-off beer bottle, run Captain Delaney through the gutters for some edge, strip out any regard for political correctness or social redeeming value, and you'll start getting a feel for Bruen's brand of raw drama on the mean streets. There's no genius in the story - a maniac decides to declare open season on London's cops, and starts indiscriminately killing them. In tracking down the murderer, this is not as much a police procedural as it is a character study in misfits and miscreants - and that's just the good guys.

This is black prose that finds beauty along its jagged edges - a searing journey through vicious deeds and twisted minds that builds to an unexpected and cynically satisfying climax. Ken Bruen is the real deal - if you're hooked on Lehane, Child, Huston, Rankin, or Gischler and haven't added Bruen to your reading list, don't wait another day.

Call it "Irish Noir," "Post-Modern Noir, " or whatever other adjective or descriptive phrase you can come up with; it matters not one bit. There's noir ... and then there's Ken Bruen. Blitz is the sequel to Bruen's The White Trilogy, a series of novels that introduced us to the cops in the South East London squad. A more dysfunctional collection of police officers would be hard to imagine. This time around, their loyalties, their training and what's left of their fragile sanity will be put to the test as they attempt to collar a sociopath who is out there killing cops with a hammer. (Leading Bruen, of course, to insert an irreverent reference or two to the Beatles' immortal "Maxwell's Silver Hammer." Would you expect any less?). The killer, nicknamed "the Blitz" by London's rabid tabloid press, is a total `nutter. As the novel progresses, the reader is left with the sneaking suspicion that this whack-job is probably going to get away with his crimes and maybe even make a few pounds selling his story to the highest bidder. The fact that you are tempted in that direction, however, is dead giveaway that the author has something else entirely up his sleeve.

What Blitz lacks - relatively speaking, that is, compared to some of Bruen's other novels - in terms of sheer primal energy and visceral impact, it more than makes up for by means of a subtle and not-so-subtle sense of humor that is as grim and as dark as it gets. It's not that Bruen has become domesticated. It's just that his technique has become more sophisticated over time. Indeed, the author's implicit indictment of society is all the more searing because it is couched largely in such outlandishly humorous terms in this novel. You'll laugh your arse off in places while reading this book. Five minutes later you'll realize that what tickled your fancy was definitely no laughing matter a' tall. And five will getcha ten that's what the author bloody well intended in the first place! So strap yourself in and grab a motion-sickness bag. You're in for a wild ride through the sights and sounds of a London that will never, ever make the pages of any guidebook.

Read the entire text of this review in MYSTERY NEWS (October/November 2004)

Scotsman of high ideals and weak moral fibre spends several months in London crashing dinner parties, schmoozing aristocrats and chowing down on free food. On his way to and from these shindigs, he nails hookers and gets the clap. (Quote of the book: "She is in all probability a most consummate dissembling whore.") Resolves to change his ways. Doesn't. Writes lots of nasty things about various fifteen-minuters of his day and also meets a few bona fide intellectual lights like Johnson. This book is a salacious page-turner, beautifully written by a young man with an indiscriminate penis but a keen eye for character. Highly recommended for teenage boys with summer reading lists; it offers enough smut to be interesting, while you get credit for reading a classic.

Tired of all those solemn "memoirs" and "remembrances" that are on the library shelves? Well, this one will knock your socks off!
If Boswell were alive today and using videotape instead of a quill pen, the talk shows would have him as their constant guest.

I'm not sure if I'd want to have known him, but this lecher, alcoholic, and moocher had a keen eye for London high- and low-life that will keep you hanging on every page.

To anyone who, like myself, has found a real and deep enjoyment in reading the Life of Johnson, I can only recommend Boswell's own diaries. The first volume - his 'London Journal' starting in the year he met Johnson - is pure delight. Boswell always saw himself as a character acting in the drama of life, and he could be almost excruciatingly honest and objective about himself. His voluminous diaries record all the trivia, triumphs, and despairs of his own life, day by day and year by year.

My own opinion is that Boswell is a far better diarist than Pepys, though not nearly as well known in this respect. There is a fascination about seeing his whole life recorded from youth to shortly before his death, with all the same force and liveliness that went into his Life of Johnson. His inner life is at least as entertaining as his outer life. He seems totally determined to write about himself as he wrote about Johnson - warts and all.

It's this courage and honesty about himself that makes us respect Boswell even when he is at his most foolish or debauched. The diaries make it extremely clear that he was no idiot, and that the Life of Johnson was no fortuitous masterpiece. From his diaries he comes across as a deeply sensitive, romantic, self-conscious man. Charming, likeable, and often playing the clown to his acquaintances; but often filled with self-doubt, frustration, insecurity, and a deep depression that he concealed from all except his closest friends.

We see Boswell puffed up with vanity at some silly social success, and the same Boswell quietly devoting large amounts of time and money that he could ill spare to helping people in trouble. We see Boswell in love again and again with totally unsuitable women, and eventually marrying the cousin who had always been a good, close friend rather than an object of wild romance. We see Boswell in his vibrant youth, and his tragic final years, as an alcoholic filled with bitter shame and despair, yet unable to reform.

His diaries are certainly one of the great undiscovered treasures of literature. They deserve to be a lot better known than they are.

It has been quite awhile since I have read this book but and can remember few details. What sticks in the mind is the complete humanity displayed by its author. Frankly, Boswell is unlikable and hardly to be admired but his passion and candidness make this book very readable today. Not many tomes from this era can make this claim. It is a must read for both those interested in Johnson and those students of the human condition.

I read this book to prepare for a trip to London a few months ago and loved it! What an honest journal that sums up the wonderful daily life of a prolific man. There are no big ideas or revelations but I got so much out of each and every detail Boswell offered. Extremely insightful and engrossing!

Brian Epstein's magnificence and decency as a person, and secondly as manager of the Fab Four, is what really comes across in this warm, revealing account of the rise of the Beatles. I really think that had Brian lived, the boys would never have split up. Argued yes, but split, no. Not if Brian would have had his way. His integrity (such as not going back on a contract, even though it would have meant the Beatles could have made a ton more money) makes me respect him highly. One such incident was referenced by the Ed Sullivan show, which was contracted at a measly amount, before the mop tops took America by storm and were commanding much larger contract dollars. It's seemingly rare to find this kind of integrity in the entertainment industry, and probably garners the criticism of those who later said Brian was a 'poor' manager, not getting the Beatles their due share. Maybe true...but I don't think anyone around them loved the boys more than Mr. Epstein. There's a very interesting anecdote about Brian's wavering loyalties at one point. He was so tired of the strain and the 24 hours a day work that came with being the Beatles' manager, that he considered selling his contract with them, for a good amount of cash. When confronting the boys with this idea, they thought he was joking, then realizing he was serious, threatened to pack up and quit if Brian left. Brian's quote in this regard speaks to his admiration and loyalty, in return, to the boys. After telling his prospective dealer that the deal was off, Brian remarked:
'And this was the point. The Beatles are not a deal. They are unique human beings and I believe that even if the whole thing peters out I will always be with the Beatles. I would like to look after them in some way throughout their lives, not because I want a percentage but because they are my friends'.
And a true friend they, and we all, lost when Brian passed.
Thank the stars above he brought them, and their joy, to the world with his unflagging, unwavering hope and belief that the Beatles were, and are, a once in a lifetime 'deal'.
A must read for any Beatle lover.

This is an interesting book, though you'll likely have read the story elsewhere in other Beatles books. But it's from the manager's mouth, so worthy in that regard. Some trivia: When (homosexual) Brian asked the other Beatles what he should title the book, John--with his cruel streak--said, "How about `Queer Jew' or `Cellarful of Boys'" Ridiculously, Lennon's cruel streak made Epstein just more infatuated with John!

Just to counter the praise of Brian Epstein's writing in the review below: Epstein didn't write the book; his and the Beatles' press-man Derek Taylor ghost-wrote it (and he himself said he thinks it would have been better if he hadn't written it so quickly).

Brian Epstein, by writing this book in the middle of the Beatles phenomenon, provides us with a great snapshot in time - a time unlike any other before or perhaps since. Without being conceited (in fact, he reveals in his own words many of his own faults) he provides a fascinating insight into what was probably one of the great judges of pop music talent of the last 30 years. Reading this now, knowing how Brian's life was to turn out, leads one to wonder just what might have been. His style of writing, more conversational and "simpler" than one might have gathered from his outward appearance, makes this an easy and entertaining read and a must for Beatle fans.

This book is probably one of the best books I have ever read. I read it constantly and I never can put it down. It is the most beautifully told story of the early beatles from someone who was actually there. A must for ALL Beatles fans.