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Alice Adams writes fifteen stories ... each about some travel experience ... every story is different from the other and captures or explores some human emotion, self-discovery, personal quest, conflict or innner turmoil, or gradual awakening to some deeper aspect of being human and alive.

In "You are What You Own: A Notebook", a married couple inherit antique furniture after the death of one of their parents. The author explores the emotional ties of one partner to the furniture. The reader is drawn to how the author examines their marriage through the eyes of the other spouse who comes to unusual discoveries about her self and what she considers important in life. Ultimately, Helen totally surprises herself and the reader by her actions. The deeply engaging story "Return Trips" is about the romance between two people who are wildly in love. The reader learns it is a May/December relationship and Carl has a congenital heart condition, which essentially means ... he is dying. Oblivious to or blocking out the inevitable, they live a carefree existence on an island off the shore of Northern Yugoslavia. Told from the first person view, the main character revisits this island many years later, after she is married and has a successful career. She compares her current feelings and life situation to the memories of those idyllic times in the past. She resolves certain problems in her life by reliving the strong passionate emotions of the past. The story "Time in Sante Fe" examines the unexpected unusual friendship between a straight female and a gay male. They agree to meet in Santa Fe, New Mexico, stay at a hotel together and explore the city and sights. This trip renews their friendship and reinforces their positive feelings for each other. Most importantly it helps them transcend everyday reality to see life from new perspectives. It fulfills each of them in ways they did not imagine. Another extraordinairy story is "Elizabeth", a highly educated and cultured lady with a fine Austrian accent, who touches the lives of two people very deeply. Minerva, a law student, is "house-sitting" when her parents, both psychologists, leave town for a conference. Due to sheer boredom, Minerva invites Elizabeth, the neighbor, over for a swim. She becomes life-long friends with this world-traveler with whom she can share her cultural interests, intimate thoughts, everyday problems and hobbies - more so than with her own parents. Elizabeth buys a house on a beach in Mexico and invites, Judson,a poet, and Minerva, a lawyer ... The two are distantly cordial and each make assumptions about the other's relationship with Elizabeth. Elizabeth's intentions are not clear ... until an unexpected event draws Judson and Minerva closer together. All the stories are contemporary and thoroughly enjoyable to read.

Each story is deeply engaging and captures the readers interest from the beginning. The reader is magnitized and kept glued to the pages as emotions and events are explored, revealing nuances of meaning and transformational experiences. The stories are magical in how they portray the lives of ordinairy or extraordinairy people in either exotic locales or in everyday situations revealing perceptive insights.
Erika Borsos (erikab93)

First off the mark, a slight disclaimer: I am of a very, very removed (to the nth degree, one might say) relative of this author, and while I was always aware of him and his father from an early age as the only authors in English literature slightly related to me, I always shied away from them because of 1) A dislike of the Theosophical twaddle for which the father is known and 2) A superstitious fear of what I might find that reminded me of myself, a fear that "blood will out" as it were.

That having been said, I found this trilogy both enchanting, and tediously tendentious, by turns. The writing is superb throughout and the scenes depicted deliciously evocative. Even at its most tedious and ham-handed, the writing (almost) always manages to pull one through. A review of the three separate books on its own merits is, I think, the best way to go about reviewing this trilogy. They are very different, indeed, despite a superficial show of having the same characters in play and having the same Asiatic backdrop. Before embarking on this, however, it is necessary to put to rest a criticism that has been voiced concerning all three books: To wit, that Myers never went to India (though he did travel extensively and to nearby Ceylon) and is therefore unqualified to write a book about it. The book is set during the reign of the Emperor Akhbar in Sixteenth Century India, where nobody has been for quite some time. You may as well criticise an author for not travelling to 16th Century England or America. As is commonplace: "The past is a different country. They do things differently there." So, on to the books:

1.) The Near and the Far---This is my favourite of the three, though clearly, I think, not what my distant relative meant to be the best. This trilogy has been dubbed a philosophical novel, quite rightly so. But in this book, the philosophy, such as it is, complements rather than obtrudes into the beautiful passages and contains the characters to whom most mortals can relate: Hari and Sita. Both characters are flawed, in a sort of moral sense, that is. On the other hand, they are the only three-dimensional, fully fleshed out characters in the whole trilogy. As Sita puts it to herself, "She preferred to love, even if loving meant suffering." And who of us doesn't?
2.) Prince Jali----Here, things start to unravel for the book as a work of art. Prince Jali is thirteen years old and though the book is described as a "Bildungsroman" by Penelope Fitzgerald, with whom I disagree on just about everything, in the Introduction. It isn't. Jali is thirteen at the beginning as well at the end of the book, there is really no detectable change or growth or "coming of age" of the character, which is what a Bildungsroman is all about. The critics are right about this one: It's a very flimsily veiled philippic reflecting Myers's own experience with Bloomsbury and "artistic" groups in general. Also, a caveat for homosexual readers: You are bound to be offended by Myers's depiction of Prince Daniyal and his "Camp" of catamites, which is really what this book is about. To my mind, it should have been entitled The Camp.
3.) Rajah Amar----Here the philosophy becomes overbearing and the writing heavy-handed and we are, indeed, a far cry from the deftness of touch in The Near and the Far. Clearly, Amar, with his renunciation of the world and unworldly affect are clearly what Myers admired most and desired most to effectively convey. But, really, it just won't do. The English humanist, Smith, for example, is so clearly a take on Bertrand Russell that the book seems to be a bit of a sham. Furthermore, the confusing political machinations that have always been in the trilogy come to the fore here and make for, perhaps deliberately, unpleasant and confusing reading. It is clear that Myers was attempting to contrast all this worldliness with Amar's calm (until the end) renunciation of it, but he just doesn't pull it off to good effect.

Summation: My distant relative once said, "Why should anyone want to go on living once they know what the world is like?" This thread of melancholy pessimism and renunciation is especially evident in the last book. It comes as no great surprise, to this reader at least, that said distant relative took his own life. What is surprising is that he was, nevertheless, able to write about the beauty of life and love so poignantly. Even in the third book, which I find generally disappointing, there are stirring passages like this:

Later, when all was quiet again, he and I walked down the bare spur of a hill to a point where we could look out over the plains. The night had been dark, but now the moon, which was nearly full, came out and hung above the low mists that lay like a sea beneath us. That ghostly sea was ruddy as if dust and mist were mixed up together; and it foamed against the globe of the reddening moon as she sank. Spectral and lurid she sank, and all that region of the sky about her became the scene of a silent symbolic tragedy. P.492

This sort of brilliance and enchantment is what keeps one reading and makes the work remarkable, for all its faults. As Amar says, "When Art is great, it is by virtue of something that is not itself..." What Amar is talking about, of course, is the transcendental. And it seems to me he is spot on. From Proust to Thoreau to Shelley to, well, any great artist, we know this trait when we feel it as the mark of great literature. I humbly submit that, especially in the first book of this trilogy, Myers, with his bewitching descriptions meshing human love and enchanting beauty has attained to this realm and deserves to be ranked as one of the (perhaps lesser) immortals.

you made this book a great way to reinforce the ideas of how i would have done a service and also came in handy to prove a point to others that i not crazy i was right thanks

Do you know how to tell if a tarantula is in its burrow? How about how far a jumping spider really jumps? This book is great for any home or classroom. Children love to learn facts about their environment and I'm sure that they would love this book. I found this book to be fun and educational... I even loved it!

A page has anywhere from two to four questions with the answers provided below and illustrations to enhance the readers' knowledge on that specific insect. The book is broken into a few sections, first Insect Ways, Growing Up and Insects you might meet. The very first question is How Do Flies Walk Upside Down? with the answer that they use their claws to grip rough spots. They explain that there is some sticky stuff covering their feet that makes it similar to walking with gum on your shoe sole.

The illustrations showcase all the insects with their names beside them as well as documenting the four stages of metamorphosis. This is when certain insects change. Some insects do not pass through the four stages while others might grow wings. The insects you might meet would be butterflies, moths, ants and mosquitoes as well as flies. A butterfly will hold its wings straight up while a moth spreads its wings out flat.

There are many questions inside How Do Flies Walk Upside Down? with interesting answers sure to amaze and interest any child with a curious mind. These books usually open up the discussion for more questions with more books to search for. This sparks the imagination and opens up the world of science and nature to my six-year old. He has become a walking encyclopedia on many animals and when we go outside he gets to see many of the same insects profiled inside the book. The illustrations show the insects up close and in their natural environment. There is one of a mosquito on skin as well as bees making honey. The colors are vivid and full of life showing all parts of the insects.

My son was thrilled with this book - he loves sharks and absolutely loved this book!

When I showed this book to my son he was very excited and proceeded to skim through the pages. Not even half way through Why Do Volcanoes Blow Their Tops? Questions and Answers About Volcanoes and Earthquakes, he found a page that portrayed a volcano model to do in your own home. In four easy steps the picture guides you along with the text on watching your own volcano blow its top.

This was truly the highlight of the book for my two children and they insist on repeating this experiment. But on to the forty-eight pages of the book that includes an index at the back listing where you can find craters, epicenter, foreshocks, landslides, lava, nuclear bomb, seaquakes and volcanic ash. The illustrations portray craters, ash and eruptions in various stages and color.

The authors also welcome letters from any readers that have experienced either a Volcano or Earthquake as they prefer research to experience on these matters. There are answers to seventy-eight questions on both these topics. A Volcano will erupt due to pressure. Lava comes out as a red-hot liquid before it cools and becomes solid. A cinder Volcano is when rock and ash shoot into the air and fall back around the opening. Composite Volcanoes are also known as Strato Volcanoes, which would be the Mount Fuji in Japan.

At the top of Volcanoes are craters that can be measure from a few feet to one mile. Australia is the only continent where a Volcano does not exist. They are near the Mediterranean Sea and the Caribbean Sea. Rift Volcanoes erupt under the sea and happen more frequently than Volcanoes on land. Venus and Mars also have Volcanoes.

I felt that Why Do Volcanoes Blow Their Tops? Questions and Answers About Volcanoes and Earthquakes was quite fascinating and worth investing in for the facts and details on these two events that can happen at any given time.

The recommended age is from kindergarten to second grade and older as well as adults. I learned much about Volcanoes that I never knew about or thought I would care to know but found it informative as well as always wanting to know about Earthquakes. This happens when you live in what we call "earthquake country".

*Release Source: Brad Sharp



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



Brad Sharp Aims to Share his works with Print-on-Demand Availability of ~Scribblings~ From a Sidewalk Notebook at Lulu.com



Plano, TX --AUGUST 05, 2007-- Brad Sharp shares his experiences of growing up as a gay male in a small Texas town while struggling with everyday issues and working them out through poetry and writings that he now shares with others in hopes of helping them come to terms with their own struggles with the publication of ~Scribblings~ From a Sidewalk Notebook in conjunction with Lulu (www.lulu.com), the world's fastest-growing provider of print-on-demand books.



~Scribblings~ From a Sidewalk Notebook is one boy's journey into adulthood, discovering himself and how the world works. With shades of childlike naivety, hope, and love, he hopes to let the world understand who he is and how he got to be this person.



Brad Sharp wrote ~Scribblings~ From a Sidewalk Notebook to help others in need of understanding and compassion, even if it's just to let them know that they are not alone. ~Scribblings~ From a Sidewalk Notebook is available for purchase at www.lulu.com, in a marketplace filled with other unique and wonderful surprises.



"I could not have done this without the help of Lulu," said Brad Sharp. "I did not know were to go or what to do with the twelve year collection of my writings. Having little or no money at times forced me to push back the dream of publishing my book. If it wasn't for Lulu, I don't think I would have ever fulfilled my dream."



Link to Publication*: http://www.lulu.com/zaxxonq



ABOUT AUTHOR

Brandon (Brad) Nead Sharp was born in Cleburne Texas on January 19th 1980. Graduating from home school in 1998, he longed to make more of himself through writing and took on the pseudonym Zaxxon Q Blaque. Having no further schoolings has not deterred him and he is currently working on his second book, a novel entitled Nobody. He currently resides in Plano TX and works for a software company.



ABOUT LULU

Founded in 2002, Lulu is the world's fastest-growing print-on-demand marketplace for digital do-it-yourselfers. Please see www.lulu.com for more information.



# # #

MEDIA CONTACT: Brad Sharp, zaxxonq@yahoo.com, www.myspace.com/zaxxonq, 469-826-3663

Brewster Denny's book, "Seeing American Foreign Policy Whole" is an intensive, yet concise, examination of the basis of American foreign policy. The author begins by examining the Constitution and how the founding fathers decided upon the need for a single executive to act in the international arena. However, the practical need to conduct foreign policy is counterbalanced with the need to prevent an imperial executive. Accordingly, this led to the need for approval by Congress (through treaties as well as appropriations). With this foundation, the author explores a variety of different situations -- the national defense establishment, the need to collect intelligence weighed against the need to protect individual liberty. I would recommend this book as a must read for anyone interested in how America conducts foreign policy; given the credentials of the author, as well as the illustrative examples throughout the book, it provides a comprehensive review of why we do what we do and how we do it.