So What Are You Reading?

She Comes First by Ian Kerner

2012-02-11T03:58:00.000-08:00

She Comes First: The Thinking Man's Guide to Pleasuring a Woman by Ian Kerner

She Comes First is a manual for men on how to provide sexual pleasure to a woman. The premise of the book is the fact that female orgasms are clitoral orgasms. He goes on to say that the best clitoral orgasms are achieved with cunnilingus and that, because of differences in male and female sexual response, it is best for heterosexual couples if the female orgasm precedes the male orgasm.

The author has a Ph.D. from the American Academy of Clinical Sexologists. Being an English major from Brandeis University, he has chosen to use the structure of Strunk and White's The Elements of Style to organize the information presented. The first section, "The Elements of Sexual Style," outlines female sexual anatomy and response. To make his case for the clitoral orgasm, he argues that the clitoris is much more than the glans, or love button, and that it has 18 parts, most of which are internal and not visible. Line dawings by Naomi Pitcairn are helpful throughout the text in illustrating anatomy and positions.

In the second section, "Rules of Usage," Kerner outlines the basic steps of cunnilingus from foreplay, through "coreplay" to "moreplay." This is basically an instruction manual on how to perform cunnilingus, broken into short chapters with a Let's Review section at the end of each.

The third and last section is called "Putting It All Together" and it provides routines, from beginner to advanced that the student can use. There is even a blank Routine Template you can photocopy and fill in with your own variations. The image of a young playboy keeping completed templates with women's names at the top, filed alphabetically in a ring binder came to mind when I saw this.

While I liked this book I felt that the format actually detracted from the presentation. Strunk and White's book may have been a revelation to some young college freshmen learning to write, but their methodology, does not always translate well to other disciplines. what saves the book is the author's enthusiasm for his subject and the knowledge he brings to it. If you have a clueless man in your life, this book may help him discover one of the greatest joys in life.

The Cartoon History of the Modern World Part 1: From Columbus to the U.S. Constitution

2012-01-28T00:53:00.000-08:00

The Cartoon History of the Modern World Part 1: From Columbus to the U.S. Constitution by Larry Gonick

Larry Gonick's Cartoon History of the Modern World Part 1 is divided into five volumes or chapters. It picks up where his 3 volume Cartoon History of the Universe (from the Big Band to the Renaissance) leaves off. For a humorous and popular account, Gonick's Cartoon Histories can not be beat. While telling the big story, his comic book style finds the quirky humor in the personalities of history.

Volume 1, War of the Worlds, starts with Native American Pre-Columbian history and tells the story of early Spanish conquest by Columbus and Cortes of what we now know as the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America. Volume 2, What Goes Around, looks at the rivalry between Spain and Portugal as they send ships out to explore and colonize the world. In Volume 3, Good Works, Gonick returns to Europe and takes on the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic response. Here the focus is on King Carlos V of Spain who ruled much of Europe in the 16th Century. With Volume 4, The United ___ of ___, Gonick looks at The Age of Enlightenment and the birth of Netherlands (aka the United Provinces of the Netherlands) with its non-royal governing and religious tolerance as a precursor of the USA. The final chapter, Volume 5 "Let's Be Reasonable", shows how the Age of Enlightenment and the conquest of North America develops into the beginning of the USA. He ends the book with a 5 page Index and a 4 page listing of Books, Sites, Etc. with notes on recommended further reading.

Vlad the Impaler

2012-01-27T16:37:00.000-08:00

Vlad the Impaler
by Sid Jacobson, Ernie Colon (Illustrator)

This is a graphic novel that is not for the squeamish. In telling the story of Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, the authors created 64 panels of carnage, 15 are visuals of impalements. Of course, people who read the life of Vlad Dracul are expecting bloodshed. He was a violent man in violent times. The book portrays the historical events and gives the reader some insight into the forces that shaped Vlad's personality. Battle in the 15th Century was bloody and brutal. Hand-to-hand combat with swords, axes and pikes was the method of battle, and cruelty like impaling was meant to deter opposition through fear. Surrounded by enemies, Vlad attempted to maintain control of his lands by instilling fear in his neighbors and enemies through liberal use of this method of torture. He was not a vampire but his name was chosen by Bram Stoker for the main character of his novel Dracula.

Through an American Lens, Hungary, 1938: Photographs of Margaret Bourke-White

2012-01-27T16:03:00.000-08:00

Through an American Lens, Hungary, 1938: Photographs of Margaret Bourke-White edited by Katalin Kadar Lynn
Katalin Kadar Lynn edited and wrote the introductory essays of this collection of photographs from Margaret Bourke-White's 1938 visit to Hungary. Many of the photos are of the leaders of the country, while others are landscapes and common people.
Each full page black and white photo is accompanied by a one-page essay written by Karoly Szerences whom Dr. Kádár Lynn describes as "a man of baroque sensibilities and deep erudition." She goes on to say that "in his essays Professor Szerences takes on the guise of Margaret Bourke-White's personal guide into the essence, the Hungarian essence, of each of her photographs. Steeped in the long, turbulent history of his country, his stream-of-consciousness narrative reflects the soul and conscience of the nation. Looking at the photos of Hungary's long-dead leaders, would-be leaders and citizens, he seems almost to channel each person's spirit swhile situating that person within the framework of Hungary's history. Some of the quotations in these essays may seem to the modern-day reader like flights of fancy, tailored to support the 'story'; each is, however, historically accurate and verifiable."
These essays are quite astonishingly descriptive. He starts by referring to post-Trianon Hungary as Potato Land and Budapest as Chameleon City. He calls Hungary's Parliament "crazy." One Prime Minister he calls a pirate and another a gambler. The Minister of Defense he calls a clown. They seem to be written to the cognoscenti and presume a lot of the reader. At the end of the book each picture has a "brief history of the places and people" written by Peter Strausz "to orient readers unfamiliar with twentieth century Hungarian history." I have found reading these histories along with the essay and viewing the pictures is the best way to get through the book, even though it means flipping back and forth.
Dr. Kádár Lynn has done a marvelous job of bringing these never-before published photos to the public eye. Bourke-White's portraiture of the leaders of the country is amazing and the large format (10"x12") pages show them in a wonderful way. However, they are a specialized treat for those who have an interest in 20th Century Central European history.

North of the Danube

2011-12-30T15:28:00.000-08:00

This travel book of a visit to Czechoslovakia in 1939 is one of three books Erskine Caldwell and Margaret Bourke-White collaborated on. In this book she photographed and he wrote separately, and they combined their efforts although they did not attempt to match the text to the photos.

Czechoslovakia, which was formed in 1918 in the aftermath of the First World War out of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire, was 20 years old and about to be divided up in 1939 between Nazi Germany, Poland and Hungary. Maybe the authors gave a geographic title North Of The Danube to their book because of the uncertainty of the continued existence of the nation.

Bourke-White's cameras capture beautiful portraits of the local people, landscapes and architecture in their last year of peace before the war, including a couple of photos showing the new Nazi presence. Photos used in this book are dated from April 1937 through August 1938 on the Life Magazine website

While Erskine Caldwell is a great writer, his lack of knowledge about the region is obvious. His text is full of vivid descriptions with very little context. As travel book it is good, but it lacks the depth of analysis he was able to bring to You Have Seen Their Faces which he wrote with Bourke-White about tenant farmers in the southern states of the USA. What is evident as they move towards Germany in the eight chapters of this book is the increasing Nazi influence that troubles the Czechs and Slovaks they meet.

They traveled from east to west starting in Uzhgorod which is now the capital of the Zakarpatskaya oblast of Ukraine and end their visit in Prague and Bohemia. At Uzhgorod they hire a chauffeur to drive them to a remote mountain village called Uzhok where years ago the peasants supposedly ate their seed wheat and have no bread, living on oat meal mush. Then they take a train across Slovakia from Kosice to Zilina where Caldwell reports on badly behaving German travelers. They visit almost every corner of this young country and Bourke-White's photos are a snapshot of the country in the two years before the war.

It is not obvious from the book itself how completely their travels were since there is no map and place names are often small towns and villages, some whose names have changed over time. This inspired me to write a Map Review of the book using Google Maps. You can see the completed map review here: http://dld.bz/NotDanube.

You Have Seen Their Faces

2011-12-24T15:47:00.000-08:00

You Have Seen Their Faces, by Erskine Caldwell and Margaret Bourke-White
In the early years of the Great Depression, the author Erskine Caldwell and the photographer Margaret Bourke-White spent 18 months in the American Southern states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee interviewing and photographing tenant farmers, commonly known as sharecroppers. This book, published in 1935 is the result of their work. Caldwell wrote about sharecroppers barely scraping a living from land drained of all fertility, the landlords who kept 10 million Southerners in economic slavery to produce cotton, and the politicians and ministers who supported the system rather than reform it. While he interviewed, Bourke-White sat quietly with camera ready to photograph them. It includes 75 mostly, full-page pictures taken by her that portray the destitute life of the tenant farming families. This is an amazing depiction of Southern poverty in words and pictures that I found very moving in spite of its age.

Blood Done Sign My Name

2011-12-23T10:59:00.000-08:00

This book is based on a racially-motivated murder in Oxford, NC in May of 1970. A white man and his two sons beat and shot a black man because they claimed he talked disrespectfully to the white wife of one of the sons. Despite eye-witnesses, the men were not convicted. Timothy Tyson was a friend of the younger brother of the murderers and the 10-year old son of a liberal white Oxford Methodist minister at the time of the shooting. He is now a professor in African-American Studies at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. He first told this story in his Duke University master's thesis: Burning for Freedom: White Terror and Plack Power in Oxford, North Carolina. This book is much more than the facts behind a murder. It lays out the events of the murder in two settings. The first is his one life as a son of a liberal minister growing up in North Carolina. The second is the context of race relations in the South since the beginning of slavery. White authors can only dimly understand the effects of racial prejudice on Black Southerners, but Dr. Tyson does a good job of laying out some of the events that created the segregated North Carolina that existed at the time of the Oxford murder. I found it a most profound statement of the effects of racism in North Carolina.One small incident stands out to me as a librarian in North Carolina. In researching his thesis and this book, Dr. Tyson sought out copies of the Oxford Public Ledger only to find the Oxford Public Library's microfilm copies for the era had mysteriously disappeared. The newspaper's own copies were also missing. He even claims that the North Carolina State Archives copies are missing and says: "Someone had gone to considerable lengths to destroy the paper trail" (Page 295).

The Age Of Revolution

2011-12-18T02:20:00.000-08:00

The Age Of Revolution is volume seven of a ten volume series called The Illustrated History of the World which is based on Roberts' 1993 History of the World. The first volume covered the origins of the human race through the first civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt. The second volume in the series reviewed the early cultures of India and China and then moved on to discuss Greek civilization. The third volume covered the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, from 800 BCE to 600 CE. The fourth volume surveyed the rise of Islam, the Arab empires, the decline of the Byzantine Empire, and the beginnings of modern Europe. The fifth volume offered a first look at Japanese, African, and American cultures and also brings the stories of India, China, and Europe up to the 18th century. The sixth volume looked at the forces that formed the modern face of Europe and colonialism's effects on the whole world.This seventh volume is focused on Europe and North America. It starts with the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, and Urbanization. Then it explores the French and American Revolutions, the Napoleonic reforms, and the nationalist revolutions of the mid-Nineteenth Century, and ends with the US Civil War and British political reform. Sadly, the rest of the world is left out, and no mention is given to the great struggle for women's rights.This is a book filled with beautiful color illustrations. Every page has at least one and most are photographs of artifacts, art works, or scenes. The text is well written and emphasizes brief summaries rather than scholarly examination. This makes it a good basic introduction and outline, but may be less useful to someone who wants to look at these subjects in greater depth. The lack of any bibliography of further readings is also a drawback for those wanting to seek more information. A two-page time chart of the period helps to put events in perspective. The chapter contents are confusingly placed at the end of the book, but they are well done and helpful for getting an overview of the author's approach. A two page listing of all the books in the series with their section and chapter titles helps to put the material into the broader view of all world history. All in all this is a great brief introduction to European and American 18th and 19th century history. However the emphasis is decidedly European and white male.The type face is large and the lines are amply spaced. Couple this with the copious illustrations and the book is actually a very quick read for its size and length. It is a few steps above the approach of Dorling Kindersley books that are predominately illustrations with supporting text. With Roberts, the text is the major part, but the illustrations are definitely more than an after thought. This is a good introduction for the general reader. It is not going to be a lasting reference book that you will turn to again and again.

The Lost Boy of Oz by Paul Dana

2011-11-15T02:00:00.001-08:00

The Lost Boy of Oz is about a minor character named Button-Bright from L.Frank Baum's series of children's books on the land of Oz. He made his first appearance in Baum's fifth Oz book, The Road to Oz as a wandering boy with a penchant for getting lost. This story by Paul Dana is a sequel to his other book Time Travelers in Oz which is also available on the Internet.
In The Lost Boy of Oz, Button-Bright sets out to search for information about his family with surprising results. It will appeal to Ozophiles as it sticks to the established canon and extends it by providing the back story to this character in an amusing adventure. It can stand alone without first reading Time Travelers in Oz, but what fun is that?

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

2011-11-15T01:41:00.001-08:00

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
Kingsolver writes of a one-year family project to eat only locally grown food and to grow a lot of it themselves. Starting in March, each chapter is a month's summary of the project. She and her family moved from Tucson Arizona to a farm in the mountains of Virginia and decided to explore deeply the locavore (eating locally produced food) life. In addition to a review of what life is like in rhythm with the growth cycle of the year, she, with contributions from her husband and older daughter, talk about the economics, community & environmental impact, and personal growth of such a food choice.
While her family values organic food, vegetarianism is not important. So while they oppose eating factory and feedlot raised animals, be prepared for chapters on raising & preparing your own food animals. Several side trips to others in the movement add variety and a loose approach keeps this from being too preachy. They drink fair trade coffee and eat flour from beyond the local area, but draw the line at bananas, even organic ones. If you have a vested interest in the food industry, you will find this book subversive. But both Kingsolver and her husband are biologists and you will find their positions well-reasoned.
If you are interested in being a locavore or in supporting community agriculture this is a book for you.

The Story of the Treasure Seekers by E. Nesbit

2011-11-12T03:20:00.001-08:00

The Story of the Treasure Seekers by E. Nesbit

Edith Nesbit is one of my favorite children's writers and this first novel from 1898 is one of three written about the six Bastable children. In this book their widowed father has lost all his money and the children, who are not in school for lack of tuition, seek to find a treasure to restore the family wealth. They are well-read and left on their own much of the day as they develop plans to find a fortune.

Related from the point of view of one of the children, the narrative explores the way children see the world and try to solve problems through games, fantasy and role play. So what could be a sad tale of neglect and poverty, if looked at objectively, becomes an adventure story where each chapter finds the characters digging for buried treasure, becoming highwaymen, seeking to marry a princess, trying to save a rich man, going into business, and devising other schemes designed to get rich quick.

Nesbit wrote over 60 books for children and The Story of the Treasure Seekers is one of her most influential and famous. It is populated by good-hearted people so no real danger threatens as the children confront a hard world with imagination and creativity.

Oz: Ozma of Oz

2011-11-04T04:27:00.000-07:00

This is a graphic novelization of the 1907 book by L. Frank Baum. Eric Shanower sticks close to the original story and does a great job of turning it into comic format. What is brilliant about this and the other books in this Marvel series is the artwork of Skottie Young, who brings a fresh look to characters that are over 100 years old. His Ozma has range of emotions never before seen in her, and his Tik-Tok rises to new levels of Artificial Intelligence.

If you love the story, this will be a great way to revisit it. If it is new to you, then you are in for a treat as Dorothy returns to Oz in a convoluted manner that places most of the story outside the fairy land. Instead she is cast ashore in Ev, a neighboring land to Oz, when she falls overboard from a ship bound for Australia. There she meets Ozma for the first time. Ozma has raised an army and come to Ev to free the Evian royal family from the Nome King who has enslaved them in his underground kingdom. At first young Ozma and her top-heavy army (26 officers & 1 private) seem no match for the cunning nome king, but poultry power carries the day.

Time Travelers of Oz, by Paul Dana

2011-11-03T18:40:00.000-07:00

Time Travelers of Oz is a book about some minor characters of the land of Oz and an adventure they take traveling back in time. The Munchkin boy Ojo and his friend Button Bright stumble across a grey dove who is the transformed Ugu the Shoemaker of L. Frank Baum's The Lost Princess of Oz.

Ugu has been looking for for the Ring of Time which would allow him to go back in time to persuade himself not to do evil. Out loud Button Bright wishes he could find it so he can go back to the day when the fairy queen Lurline turned Oz into a magical land, and then he disappears. He was sitting on the Ring of Time when he made his wish! So Ojo and Ugu wish to go back to that day also to find Button Bright and Ugu's former self.

Paul Dana creates a story of the first day of the magical land of Oz that is engaging and interesting to any loyal Oz fan. In addition to young Ugu and Lurline, he brings us to Mrs. Yoop's Yookahoo wedding. The adventure continues in a sequel called The Lost Boy of Oz.

Aunt Jane's Nieces in the Red Cross

2011-10-22T05:31:00.000-07:00

Aunt Jane's Nieces in the Red Cross, by L. Frank Baum writing as Edith Van Dyne

Aunt Jane's Nieces in the Red Cross, first published in 1915, is the 10th and final volume of this series written by L. Frank Baum under the pseudonym of Edith Van Dyne. In this volume Uncle John and his two nieces Beth and Patsy are at home in New York when they are visited by two of their California friends A. Jones and Maud Stanton. Jones has just sailed his ship through the new Panama Canal and Maud is preparing to go to Europe to become a nurse to help wounded troops in World War I. Beth and Patsy want to help Maud and soon wealthy Uncle John and Mr. Jones, who is called Ajo, have converted Ajo's vessel into a hospital ship, hired a surgeon and outfitted two ambulances.

This is the most daring plot of the series, which usually has the cousins solving minor mysteries as they engage in some new project like running an election campaign or a newspaper, or vacationing in Italy, California, or upstate New York. Baum plunges his characters into the battle zone on the border of France and Belgium, and has them dodging shells as they scoop up wounded soldiers to treat on their boat. The book explores the true horrors of war in a book written for teenage girls at a time when women didn't yet have the right to vote.

Written before US involvement in the war, the book portrays the problems of a neutral hospital ship on the front line of battle. Both sides are suspicious of their intentions and they have a hard time staying impartial. The ship leaves abruptly after only three months, feeling that they are unable to fulfill their mission. The book portrays well the feelings of US citizens watching the European war. They want to help but are stymied on all sides by their neutrality. Baum revised the book after the US entered the war in 1917, rewriting the ending to show the group actively supporting the Allies and staying much longer.

Aunt Jane's Nieces Out West

2011-10-06T19:08:00.000-07:00

Aunt Jane's Nieces Out West by L. Frank Baum writing as Edith Van Dyne
Aunt Jane's Nieces Out West is the 9th of a 10 volume series about Louise, Beth and Patsy, three cousins who meet in their teens through a visit to their Aunt Jane and become fast friends. They also meet their rich uncle John Merrick who realizes these three girls will one day inherit his financial empire and takes an interest in their upbringing. Written by L. Frank Baum, author of the Wizard of Oz series for young children, this series was marketed to teen age girls and written under the pseudonym Edith Van Dyne. Part informational and part detective novel, each volume of the series has the three young women exploring a new subject or place and finding a mystery there to solve with uncle John's help. It is sort of a Charlie's Angels for young girls at the beginning of the 20th century. In this volume Uncle John and the nieces spend the winter in Hollywood learning about the infant moving picture industry. This is a topic that Baum knew well since he had moved to Hollywood, and was just starting the Oz Film Manufacturing Company the same year this book was published. The informational content of the book is how Hollywood worked in its earliest years. They settle into a hotel in Hollywood and Louise's husband Arthur knows three of the guests: Maude and Flo Stanton and their aunt Jane, who are working for a moving picture company. The girls are actresses and their aunt is a script reader.

On an afternoon at the beach, Maude sees a drowning man and dives in to his rescue. Patsy and Arthur grab a boat and row out after her, pulling them out of the water. Uncle John drives the unconscious man to the hospital, where they learn he will recover. The next day the man shows up at the hotel to thank them. He is a man of mystery who seems to be extremely wealthy and, when the cousins decide to start a moving picture theater just for children, he offers to finance their endeavors. However he may not be who he seems to be and the mystery surrounding him continues to build. Finding out the truth about the stranger becomes the mystery part of the book.This is a pleasant novel that will appeal to Baum fans and people interested in early Hollywood.

Aunt Jane's Nieces on the Ranch

2011-09-25T10:10:00.000-07:00

Aunt Jane's Nieces on the Ranch
by L. Frank Baum (writing as Edith Van Dyne)

This is the eight volume of a ten volume series that follows three cousins who are the only heirs to a rich industrialist Uncle John Merrick. He takes an interest in their upbringing so that they can be prepared to inherit his vast fortunes. In this volume, Louise, the oldest has married Arthur Weldon and they have moved to El Cajon, an orange and olive farm outside Escondido California that once belonged to a miserly Señor Cristoval who left a large farm, a ranch house and no heirs. The birth of their daughter Jane, named after the aunt who brought the cousins together and gives her name to the series, provides the impetus for Uncle John to take Beth and Patsy, the other two nieces, and Patsy's father Major Doyle on a visit to Louise and Arthur's ranch.
Hearing that baby Jane is being cared for by a Mexican girl, Uncle John is determined to bring a proper nurse from the East Coast to take care of the infant. Patsy suggests that he hire Mildred Travers, a young nurse she has met, who seems ideal and excited about the prospect of going to the Weldon's ranch. Trouble and mystery start when the party arrives at the ranch and Inez, the Mexican nurse, meets and distrusts Mildred. Mildred seems to know the ranch house from her youth but no one in the area remembers her. While Arthur and his friends are in Escondido for lunch, both nurses and baby Jane disappear, setting up the mystery to be solved.
Uncle John's classism and racial attitudes, while common at the time, are distasteful to the modern reader, but are offset by the ultimate good nature of Baum's characters. One interesting feature of this book is its treatment of turn of the century lace smuggling across the Mexican border.

The Enchanted Apples of Oz

2011-09-25T08:23:00.000-07:00

The Enchanted Apples of Oz
by Eric Shanower

Eric Shanower is the best contemporary narrator of Oz and a worthy heir to authorship in the body of works started and defined by L. Frank Baum and John R. Neil. In this series of graphic novels Shanower is at his best! Others have done Oz comics with more edge and in a more contemporary style, but none have been truer to the spirit of Oz. His color illustrations bring the land and its characters to life as no other illustrator has ever done. This volume introduces the Ozophile to four new enchanting inhabitants of this magical land who are truly memorable: Valynn (the Guardian of the Enchanted Apples), Bortag (the love-struck but inept Magician), Drox (Bortag's friend the flying swordfish), and the Evil Witch of the South. How these four interact with other well-known inhabitants of Oz makes for an enchanting story. A special added treat is an introductory essay on the importance of Oz by the master fantasist Harlan Ellison. Get it today; you'll love it for the rest of your life.

Vampires in the Carpathians

2011-09-25T03:55:00.000-07:00

Vampires in the Carpathiansby Petr Bogatyrev

This book was originally published in French in 1929 with a title that translates as: Magical Acts, Rites, and Beliefs in Subcarpathian Rus'. The title Vampires in the Carpathians was added for this 1998 English translation and is really misleading. The last two chapters: "Funerals" and "Apparitions and Supernatural Beings" do make passing references to vampires, but focus mostly on other spirits. So if you are looking for a book on vampires, look elsewhere. What little is said about vampires will be only of interest to the serious scholar who needs to know every possible reference in the literature. The original title, which is the current subtitle, is a much more accurate description of what this book is about. However, Bogatyrev spends over 35 pages talking about his research methodology which he calls the synchronic method. Unless this is what you really want to learn about, I advise you skip the Introduction and Conclusion. His methodology is that he tells us what the ritual means to the people performing it at that time. He does not try to draw inferences back in time or determine origins. He just "tells it like it is" or, in this case, as it was back in the 1920's. What results is very unsatisfying. He tells you a ritual and what it means in village X, then tells you that in village Y they do the same thing, but have no idea why. Then, he relates that in village Z they don't do this at all. He goes through the whole religious calendar relating quaint old customs attached to each religious holiday, then does the same for rituals attached to births, weddings and funerals. We owe this author a debt of gratitude for documenting this snapshot of Carpathian village life. English-speaking folklore scholars will be glad to have access to this work and Americans of Rusyn descent may finally understand what crazy rituals and customs drove their grandparents to leave this rustic corner of Central Europe for the USA and Canada. On the plus side, this is an excellent translation and the biography of Bogatyrev is engaging. Not for any but the most dedicated readers.

The Cowboy Boot Book

2011-09-24T12:37:00.000-07:00

The Cowboy Boot Book by Tyler Beard

This is a book that works on many levels making it a great introduction to the history, art, and craft of cowboy bootmaking. It quotes Jack Reed, the only owner of a one-man boot shop left in Texas, saying it takes 372 steps to make cowboy boots, but is not detailed enough to list them all. Until I read this book, I had no idea that there was a market in vintage cowboy boots. I found out that original ornate tops can be fitted with a replaced foot to bring old boots back to life. Jim Arndt's photographs of boots, bootmakers, and boot collectors are outstanding throughout and really bring the book to life. The beginning of the book does an admirable job tracing the history of cowboy boots back to the old Texas-to-Kansas cattle drives of the post-Civil War era. This is followed by a great A - Z directory of the various skins that have been used to make the boots including characteristics, care, and current availability. The next section is a great history of the major boot making factories and the people behind them with chapters on Justin, Nocona, Tony Lama, Lucchese, and Rocketbuster. The rest of the book covers the rest of the cowboy boot business and personalities. Included are descriptions of individual bootmakers and cowboy boot collectors. Each is lavishly illustrated with pictures of them and their boots. The author and photographer are avid collectors and their collections are covered in this section of the book. The book ends with an outline of the retail side of the industry. Major sellers of new and vintage boots are described and a state-by-state Store Guide is included. Of course, not every state has a custom bootmaker or a vintage cowboy boot store, but you can still find the nearest one if this book has convinced you that you are ready for the next step above looking in the Yellow Pages under Western Apparel. The only place where I felt this book went too far is when they say in the caption to a photograph: "the details of this pair of boots could be compared to a fine oil painting." But if you want a basic knowledge of cowboy boots, or love to look at cowboy boots either in a store or on other people's feet this is the book for you.

The Runaway in Oz

2011-09-24T06:58:00.000-07:00

The Runaway in Oz by John R. Neill

When John R. Neill died in 1943 after writing three Oz books, the manuscript of this book was left without illustrations and unpublished. Preserved by Neill's family for over 50 years, Eric Shanower finally editing it and provided his own marvelous black-and-white drawings to bring it to press. At the time of his death, Neill had illustrated all but the first Oz book, and his illustrations have come to define the people and land of Oz to generations of readers. Shanower's illustrations follow in Neill's style, improving, if that is possible, on the work of the master. The story evolves around the theme of anger and its effects as Scraps, the Patchwork Girl, in a fit of anger decides to run away. Scraps is a living life-size doll that was introduced by L.Frank Baum in the novel The Patchwork Girl of Oz. She was created by Dr. Pipt with his amazing Elixir of Life that brings anything to life on which it is sprinkled, including the Wooden Sawhorse, Jack Pumpkinhead and the Gump. Originally designed to be obedient and submissive, Scraps brain was surreptitiously redesigned by Ojo. He felt it would be unfair for a living creature to only have a servile brain and he added lots of brain powders that made Scraps one of the most interesting beings in Oz.Upsetting many of the people she runs into, Scraps still manages to befriend Popla, the Power Plant, who is possibly the most unusual character in a land known for its strange inhabitants. Popla is the strongest plant in the world and grows alone on a windswept mountaintop. Scraps, finding a flowerpot, takes the Power Plant, who has never left the spot where she first sprouted, on a exciting and enjoyable journey. Together they travel on Scraps spoolicle, a bicycle with wooden spools for wheels, and through their adventures a lasting friendship is created that dissolves Scraps anger. Anyone who has ever enjoyed an Oz book will love this unique contribution to the Oz corpus.

Lourdes: Body and Spirit in the Secular Age

2011-09-23T02:20:00.000-07:00

Lourdes: Body and Spirit in the Secular Age by Ruth Harris

Ms. Harris tells the story of the wonderous events in the small town of Lourdes, and relates them to the history of France in the second half of the 19th Century. Her approach is to tell the story of the events through the lives of the people involved. To do so she quotes from letters and diaries as well as official records. In order to write in such depth, she must have read everything ever written during this period about Lourdes. Between the Notes and the Bibliography at the end of the book is a three page Dramatis Personae listing all the major people associated with the shrine. Not just for Catholics, the book devotes many pages to the role of women in 19th Century France and will be of great interest to anyone wanting to know about women's rights in France. It is also a "must read" for people interested in French social history. She also looks into the relationaship of anti-Semitism to the Catholic piety of the time. People are never presented two-dimensionally to represent the ideals or concepts they championed. Ms. Harris treats the people she writes about with respect and intelligence. As for Bernadette's vision and the miracles, she tells what is known (and she knows a lot!) and the reactions they caused without taking a stand one way or the other herself. Truly a great work of historical writing.

Aphrodite Book 3 by Pierre Louys

2011-09-22T14:27:00.000-07:00

Aphrodite Book 3 by Pierre Louys and illustrated by Claire Wendling

My copy of this book has a serious problem in pagination. The publisher messed up the order of pages 17 to 32, making this section impossible to read. Fortunately, I have the original text from which this was taken and can help you identify if you have a problem copy (I don't know if all copies were published with this problem) and tell you the proper order of the pages.The first sixteen pages are alright and page 17 is a full color plate. Turn to page 18. If it starts with the words:"She walked on following the street."your copy is defective.To read the text of a copy with this defect in its original order, read it as follows: pp. 1-16, 30, 26, 20-25, 19, 29, 18, 32-62.The pages between 16 and 32 not listed are full page illustrations.NOTE that this is a review of the defective copies and only deals with the defect, not the content of the work. Also Book 4 of this series was never released.

Aphrodite Book 2 by Pierre Louys

2011-09-22T14:23:00.000-07:00

Aphrodite Book 2 by Pierre Louys

This book is beautiful in many ways, but is disappointing at times. The combination of Louys' text and Manara's art in volume 1 is a sure winner. Originally published in France with the original French text, this English version chooses an anonymous, but wonderful, translation from the 1920's. Following a long tradition of publishing this work with sensuous illustrations, Humanoids, a French publisher, took a 19th century erotic novel by Pierre Louys and divided it into four hardbound books, each illustrated by a different artist.This first volume contained 15 full-page watercolors by Milo Manara, an artist better known for his adult comics. Those expecting Manara to have converted Louys' sensual story into a graphic novel may be surprised that this is not the case. Where Manara shines as a comic artist, his watercolors are uneven. While some are outstanding, the painting of the statue of Aphrodite is a disappointment. The illustrated binding and layout is sumptuous. In Book One Demetrios, a famous sculptor of ancient Alexandria, met and was smitten by Chrysis, a temple prostitute he met. She challenges him to commit three specific crimes to win her love. As he ponders the situation the next day, we see him struggle between his emotions and his reason as he faces his challenging tasks. The overpowering desire is strong and he seeks to understand its hold over him.In Book Two the illustrator is Georges Bess. He is an excellent choice and his eighteen full-page color illustrations are exceptional at setting the mood for the sensual nature of the text. All are of women in various stages of arousal and done in shades of red and saffron. Unlike Manara's illustrations for Book One most of these do not illustrate particular scenes in the book, but rather illustrate the time period and the costume of ancient Alexandria. The Bess illustrations compliment the text and make this volume of the series a success.Louys' writing in this English translation from the 1920s captures well the pagan sensuality he wanted to portray. This promised to be a beautiful set with Claire Wendling slated to illustrate volume 3. It is wonderful to see Louys' work getting this lavish treatment. The text is still vibrant enough to take on the sensual artwork of these modern artists.

Aphrodite Book 1 by Pierre Louys

2011-09-21T18:05:00.000-07:00

Aphrodite Book 1 by Pierre Louys with illustrations by Milo Manara

This book is beautiful in many ways, but is disappointing at times. The combination of Louys' text and Manara's art is a sure winner. Originally published in France with the original French text, this English version chooses an anonymous, but wonderful, translation from the 1920's. Following a long tradition of publishing this work with sensuous illustrations, the publisher has come up with a new approach. They will publish an original one volume novel in four volumes and illustrate each with the work of a different artist. This first volume contains 15 full-page watercolors by Milo Manara, an artist better known for his adult comics. Those expecting Manara to have converted Louys' sensual story into a graphic novel may be surprised that this is not the case. Where Manara shines as a comic artist, his watercolors are uneven. While some are outstanding, the painting of the statue of Aphrodite is a disappointment. The illustrated binding and layout is sumptuous.This promised to be a beautiful set with Georges Bess and Wendling slated to illustrate volumes 2 and 3. It is wonderful to see Louys' work getting this lavish treatment. The text is still vibrant enough to take on the sensual artwork of these modern artists.

Return to Ukraine

2011-09-21T17:53:00.000-07:00

Return to Ukraine by Ania Savage

From the Carpathian Mountains to the Black Sea, a great description of independent Ukraine. Ania Savage has written a wonderful book describing her journey to Ukraine during the time Ukraine was gaining its independence from Russia. The story of her family fleeing Russian persecution when she was six years old and her growing up in the USA with her mother's fond memories of home adds depth to her visit to the towns of her youth. Her description of her visits to both Western and Eastern Ukraine gives the reader a great sense of the cultural and geographic differences in this large Eastern European country. She works in a urban university and a rural school and her descriptions of the people she meets are respectful but insightful. She provides a lot of historic background to the places she visits and her bibliography in the back of the book is a valuable resource for further reading. This is a great book to read if you want to find out about Ukraine at the moment this great country gained its independence. The last chapter tries to bring the reader up to date for the year 2000, but it is only able to update us on the characters. It only briefly covers events in the first eight years of Ukrainian democracy and left me yearning for more.

The Incomplete Amorist

2011-09-21T16:15:00.000-07:00

The Incomplete Amorist by Edith Nesbit

Edith Nesbit was a social and political liberal who wrote some of my favorite children's novels. So I looked forward to reading this adult novel. It was published in 1906 and tells the story of naive Betty Desmond who, after her mother died, grew up with her unemotional vicar stepfather in a rural parish. Bored with country life and the chores of a parsonage, she is out drawing one day when she meets Mr. Vernon, a painter who courts women as a harmless game. Vernon also has little to do, and they start meeting with their art supplies in the forest. He paints her portrait and helps her with her artistic skills. Their attraction to each other alarms her prudish stepfather who sends her off to a French boarding school. Mr. Vernon and Betty meet again in Paris where a complex love quartet forms with a former lover of Vernon's and his best friend. Each of the four people think they are in love with the two people of the opposite sex and must make up their mind which is their true love. Intrigue, miscommunication, love, guilt, and jealousy all mix with Nesbit's charming writing style to produce enjoyable characters in a dilemma that kept this reader interested to the last page. The novel is a comedy of manners that relies more on charming characters than witty ones. The general good will gives the book an innocence that comes easily to an author who wrote primarily for children.

Lucky Bucky in Oz

2011-09-18T14:52:00.000-07:00

Lucky Bucky in Ozby John R. Neill
I just finished rereading Lucky Bucky in Oz and found myself laughing throughout the text. Neill does not write as tight a story as L. Frank Baum, but he does create characters as delightful as any developed by Ruth Plumly Thompson. Davy Jones, the wooden whale who befriends Bucky Jones and starts him on his quest, is one of the best. As with all Oz stories, getting there is all the fun. Bucky and Davy have a great time and so will you. Neill was the illustrator of Oz books for 40 years and this book contains the last views that he gave us of this magical land. If you love reading Oz books, this one will not disappoint you. From the Volcano Bakery to the Emerald City, go along for the ride. You won't regret it.

Queen Salote of Tonga

2011-09-18T14:45:00.000-07:00

Queen Salote of Tonga: The Story of an Era 1900-1965 by Elizabeth Wood-Ellem
Tonga is a unique place in being the only Polynesian kingdom to maintain its culture and government through the colonial period that brought down similar cultures in Hawaii and throughout the Pacific. Queen Salote adds to this uniqueness by being the ruling queen of Tonga in the first half of the Twentieth Century, an era dominated by male chauvenism. This story of her life and reign provides a wonderful view into the culture and history of this island kingdom. For papalangi (the Tongan word for people of Western society) this is not an easy book because there is a lot of Tongan names, geneology, and customs necessarily involved in the biography of their queen. Yet the very things that make it difficult also make it a rewarding book to read. What makes the book most enjoyable is the portrayal of this marvelous woman who ruled Tonga for almost 50 years. She ruled without use of force during a time of dissent from rival nobles and emerged one of the most revered leaders in Tongan history. She convinced her British advisors of her ability to rule and her island adversaries that their independence depended on her rule. I can recommend this book without reservation to anyone interested in women's studies, international biography, Polynesian history, or British colonial history.

The Song at the Scaffold by Gertrud Von Le Fort

2011-09-18T09:05:00.000-07:00

The Song at the Scaffoldby Gertrud Von Le Fort The story of 16 Carmelite nuns guillotined during the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution. Olga Marx's 1933 translation does not hold up well to the passage of time making the book less accessible to the modern reader. A fine, but one-sided, portrayal of the nuns' story, their motivation, and faith. Interesting use of a fictional character, the nun Blanche, to contrast the fear an average person would feel in this situation with the conviction and courage of these historical martyrs.

Paris by Emile Zola

2011-09-18T08:55:00.000-07:00

Paris by Emile ZolaParis is the third volume of The Three Cities Trilogy that began with Lourdes and continued with Rome. Published in 1898, Paris is Zola's summation of the 19th Century and his predictions and hopes for the 20th Century. In this work Zola gives a splendid portrayal of social life in Paris at the end of the century. He takes us into the lives of men and women of the upper classes, the working class, and even revolutionary Anarchists. This work is of particular interest to readers today who face the future of a new Milennium since Zola looks at the accomplishments of his century and projects his hopes for a new century ruled by Reason and Justice. We can see how the 20th Century has failed and succeeded in bringing Zola's vision of the future to life. Zola spent his career portraying 19th Century France through the lives of his characters. In this final work of the century, he uses his story telling powers to create a portrait of the end of the century (Fin de siècle) through the lives of his characters.

Rome

2011-09-18T08:25:00.000-07:00

Rome by Emile ZolaRome is the second book of a trilogy that started with Lourdes and concludes with Paris. Often called The Three Cities Trilogy, the books could also be called Faith, Hope, and Charity. Rome picks up the story of a disillusioned priest as he goes to Rome to defend his book which is to be placed on the Index of Prohibited Books. The story explores his hope for a new Christianity that will meet the needs of modern society and his confrontation with a religious organization unable to change with the times. Zola's critical description of Papal bureaucracy will not endear this work to devout Catholics, but his description of the inner workings of the Vatican is informative and fascinating.

Bird Brains

2011-09-18T08:16:00.000-07:00

Bird Brains: The Intelligence of Crows, Ravens, Magpies, and Jaysby Candace Savage (Author)This is a wonderful summary of the latest findings and theories on Corvidae behavior and intelligence. I read the book because I wanted to find out why crows acted the way they do and have come away with a deep appreciation for this wonderful family of birds. In addition to the fabulous text, the book is filled with large, gorgeous pictures that are awesome. This must be read by anyone interested in birds.

Carpatho-Ukraine in the Twentieth Century: A Political and Legal History

2011-09-18T08:06:00.000-07:00

Carpatho-Ukraine in the Twentieth Century: A Political and Legal History by Vincent Shandor Shandor tells the modern history of a section of Ukraine now known as the Zakarpatskaya Oblast. This is the fascinating story of a country that has been a part of five different nations in the 20th Century and whose people today live in six different countries. It was a part of the Hungarian Empire until the end of the First World War. After the war it was promised autonomy as Subcarpathian Ruthenia, the third part of Czechoslovakia, but this was never realized until the break-up of this country in 1938-39. Then for three days in March of 1939 it was the independent country of Carpatho-Ukraine, until the Hungarian Army crossed the border to reclaim it. In 1945 the Czechs and Russians agreed to make it part of the Ukraine without consulting its people. Shandor was the Ruthenian delegate in Prague between the two wars and has quite a tale to tell. Occasionally, the reader is swamped with names and details mentioned to prove Shandor's point of view. The presentation could have been more balanced, but overall it is fascinating reading.

Lourdes by Emile Zola

2011-09-18T03:07:00.000-07:00

LOURDES tells the story of a four day pilgramage to the famous shrine in the late 19th century from the point of view of an abbe who has lost faith. He accompanies a childhood friend and her father as they seek a cure for her paralysis and pain. The abbe is no believer in miracles and his story is about the faith of those who have no where else to turn. Still powerful today, as many turn from a science-based medical establishment, when it offers no cures, to faith healings which heal, if not always the physical symptoms, the anguish and pain of hopelessness, this book explores the hearts and minds of the faithful with respect and insight. Zola's descriptions of trains and hospitals full of the diseased hopeful are overwhelming to read. His mixing of the political, the spiritual and the personal is well-balanced and provides a great tale. You will find the story of Bernadette and the Lady of Lourdes here, but if you are looking for inspirational reading about miraculous cures, you should look elsewhere. This book is about the very human side of a place usually known only for its miracles.

The Art of Harvey Kurtzman: The Mad Genius of Comics by Denis Kitchen & Paul Buhle

2011-09-17T13:29:00.000-07:00

The Art of Harvey Kurtzman: The Mad Genius of Comics
by Denis Kitchen & Paul Buhle

The Art of Harvey Kurtzman is a large-format well-illustrated overview of Harvey Kurtzman's work. The book is divided into 5 chronological chapters based on major periods in his life. Each chapter is illustrated with rough sketches from Kurtzman's personal archives and other half-finished pieces or sections, as well as at least one finished work from the period.

Chapter 1 is entitled "Hey Look! It's the '40s" and is an outline of his earliest work in cartooning. Included are six of the 150 "Hey Look!" one-page comics he did for Stan Lee's Marvel.

Chapter 2 reviews his work with Bill Gaines' E.C. Comics, mostly doing war comics. There is a 7 page section where his story "Corpse on the Imjin" (from Two-Fisted Tales #25, January 1952) is reproduced in black & white drawings.

Chapter 3 is the heart of the book and devoted to his pioneering work with MAD magazine. Over 30 MAD covers are reproduced as well as the complete "SUPERDUPERMAN!" comic (from MAD #4, April 1953).

Kurtzman left MAD after disagreements with Gaines; and Chapter 4 covers the period in Kurtzman's life when he put out three other magazines: Trump, Humbug and Help! Two Trump covers, 14 Humbug covers, and 15 Help! covers are included as well as a complete 11 page cartoon called "The Grasshopper and the Ant" (from Esquire, May 1960) featuring a beatnik grasshopper and a workaholic ant.

Chapter 5 is mostly about Kurtzman's 25 years producing "Little Annie Fanny" comics for Playboy. A three page "Little Annie Fanny" origin story, which traces her life from a childhood in Al Capp's Dogpatch, through her growing up in "Peanuts" and "Little Orphan Annie," and ending with one-panel affairs with "Dick Tracy," "Beetle Bailey," and "Mandrake the Magician," appears here for the first time. Also reproduced is the Little Annie Fanny "Americans in Paris" (from Playboy, August 1967) and two cartoons on Dracula and Women that he did for French alternative comics.

This book, with its cartoonist-at-work sketches, roughs and thumbnails, will appeal especially to readers interested in Kurtzman's creative process. It may not be the best introduction to Kurtzman, but its finished pieces will provide enough for someone new to Kurtzman to grasp the importance of the man to the 20th century comics industry.

Ten Nights In A Bar-Room, And What I Saw There

2011-09-11T14:48:00.000-07:00

Ten Nights In A Bar-Room, And What I Saw There
by Timothy Shay Arthur
Having been raised myself in a bar next door to the author's home town of Fort Montgomery, I am fascinated to read what is called the best Temperance novel of the 19th century. Set in the 1850s, this morality tale portrays the evil of alcohol in the story of a mill owner who sells his mill to build a tavern in town. Told by a visitor to the town who stays at the tavern for ten days over a period of ten years, he shows how customers and owner are all too weak to resist the temptations of demon rum. An interesting look at pro-temperance literature of the 19th century.

The People From Nowhere: An Illustrated History of Carpatho-Rusyn

2011-09-08T01:12:00.000-07:00

The People From Nowhere: An Illustrated History of Carpatho-Rusyns by Paul Robert Magocsi

Both my parents are from a small town near the Carpathian Mountains in what is now Western Ukraine. In the last 100 years this small town has been in the following countries: Austria-Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Carpatho-Ukraine (for one day on March 15, 1939), Hungary, USSR, and Ukraine. They speak a language (or dialect) they call Ponashemu (which I am told means "what we speak") but is officially called Rusyn, and they call themselves names like Rusyns, or Ruthenians, or Carpatho-Rusyns, or Slavish, or Byzantines, or the "ponashemu" people. They are what Paul Robert Magocsi calls in this book "The People From Nowhere."

The title comes from Andy Warhol (originally Warhola), a famous Rusyn-American, who often said he was from Nowhere. The place he was from is the Carpathian Mountains and his people are the Rusyns who are the subject of this book. Their homeland stretches through south east Poland, north east Slovakia, western Ukraine, eastern Hungary and northern Romania. Various voluntary and forced movements have created large communities in Serbia, Czech Republic, USA, Canada and Australia. I have found people with my mother's unusual maiden name in Brazil.

Dr. Magocsi is Chair of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Toronto and the leading expert on the Rusyn people. He has written many books both scholarly and popular about them. I have found this to be the most scholarly of his popular books with pictures on every page and a good survey of the history of this people and their land. It was published in Uzhhorod (or Uzhgorod), the major city of the region, simultaneously in three different language editions: English, Rusyn and Ukrainian. The book is chronological and focuses on major male figures and historic events. His mastery of the subject is evident and the pictures are well selected. While this will mostly be of interest to Rusyns, it is a good book for getting a brief overview of their history for anyone who wants to learn about them or this region.

The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King

2011-08-27T05:41:00.000-07:00

The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King

Part of a series based on the retirement years of Sherlock Holmes and his young wife Mary Russell, this volume is the first of a two volume story that is completed in The God of the Hive.
Holmes and Russell come home from seven months abroad to find one of his bee hives has died out and that he is the father to a grown man. Waiting for them is young Surrealist artist Damian Adler, Holmes' son by Irene Adler, who was his opponent in Arthur Conan Doyle's story "A Scandal In Bohemia." Having outwitted Holmes in the Doyle short story, Laurie King creates this account based on the premise that Irene outsmarted Holmes a second time by keeping from him the existence of their love child Damian.
This first volume outlines the rocky beginnings of a relationship between the three unlikely family members, a retired detective, his young protégée and wife, and his war-scarred son. Damian needs his father's help and Mary gets drawn in to a family that keeps growing as we learn of Damian's wife Yolanda and 3 year old daughter Estelle. Yolanda's involvement in spiritual pursuits draws the newly united family into a confrontation with a religious leader whose penchant for human sacrifice threatens all their lives. Holmes brother Mycroft also plays a significant role in this family drama.
If you have followed the relationship between Holmes and Russell since their first meeting, this is a wonderful addition that adds depth to their characters and an exciting adventure that King fills with details of the time and place. Just be prepared to face the words "to be continued" as the story reaches a climax. The God of the Hive will be required reading for anyone who enjoys this book.

Aunt Jane's Nieces on Vacation

2011-08-20T07:07:00.000-07:00

Aunt Jane's Nieces on Vacation by L. Frank Baum writing as Edith Van Dyne

Aunt Jane's Nieces on Vacation is the seventh of a ten volume series written under the pseudonym Edith Van Dyne by L. Frank Baum. The series chronicles the adventures of three young women who are all nieces to John Merrick, a rich childless industrialist. Uncle John takes an interest in their upbringing because they will be the heirs to his vast fortune, and the books chronicle his adventures with them.

In On Vacation, the three nieces, Louise, Elizabeth and Patsy, return for the summer to Uncle John's farm in the upstate New York village of Millville where they decide on a whim to start a newspaper. Rich Uncle John buys them all the equipment they will need, setting up a modern newspaper print shop in an empty building, and the three nieces learn what it is like to put out a daily paper.

The description of an early 20th century newspaper from set up to production makes this an interesting story. Add in some local intrigue with a new paper plant, immigrant workers and a local politician. Season with a talented Bohemian female artist and a mysterious vagabond with amnesia. Stir well with Baum's talent for positive prose, and you have a delightful tale for a young woman of 100 years ago.

While we today may marvel at Baum's depictions of the locals, foreign workers and the members of polite society, these archaic portrayals are useful in getting a view of social structure and perceptions in 1912 just before the start of World War I.

The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu

2011-08-06T03:22:00.000-07:00

The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu: Being a Somewhat Detailed Account of the Amazing Adventures of Nayland Smith in His Trailing of the Sinister Chinaman
by Sax Rohmer

The first of a 13-volume series by Sax Rohmer, this is one of the most racist books I have ever read. Asians or Asia are always mentioned with a racist or pejorative adjective. An Amazon reviewer says of the Fu-Manchu series: "thematically, Rohmer serves as a literary bridge between Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories and Ian Fleming's James Bond." Complete with a doctor sidekick to chronicle the adventures, Rohmer tells the tale of Denis Nayland Smith and Dr. John Petrie as they struggle to oppose Dr. Fu-Manchu's exploits in London working for a shadowy Chinese organization whose goal is world domination. A brilliant scientist and leader of a band of devoted non-White slaves, Fu-Manchu's goal is to kill Western imperialists who stand in the way of Chinese advancement. The "seductively lovely" Kâramanèh, who is Fu-Manchu's Egyptian slave, provides a forbidden love interest when she becomes infatuated with Dr. Petrie. A rousing adventure, with Fu-Manchu killing people all over London as Smith and Petrie slowly come to grips with the powers they are up against, the book displays much of the European fear and misunderstanding of The East at the beginning of the 20th Century.

Pistols, Petticoats, & Poker. The Real Lottie Deno: No Lies or Alibis

2011-08-06T02:56:00.000-07:00

Pistols, Petticoats, & Poker. The Real Lottie Deno: No Lies or Alibis
by Jan Devereaux

The sensational exploits of "Lottie Deno" have been well documented in The Story Of Lottie Deno: Her Life And Times by J. Marvin Hunter, and Lottie Deno: Gambling Queen of Hearts by Cynthia Rose. Jan Devereaux looks behind the legend to piece together the facts. Her research is impressive and her writing is relaxed. Not being a native of the Southwest, it took me a while to get used to her narrative style, but I was rewarded with what she calls in her subtitle "The Real Lottie Deno, No Lies or Alibis." Devereaux is an amateur historian like Hunter, and she is wise to not give up her day job in the healthcare field. She has excellent local credentials and her work, while lacking academic polish, shows thorough research.

The Rebel Girl: An Autobiography

2011-06-11T02:40:00.000-07:00

The Rebel Girl: An Autobiography, My First Life (1906-1926) by Elizabeth Gurley Flynn

The Rebel Girl is a memoir by Elizabeth Gurley Flynn of her early work as a Socialist labor organizer for the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World). The first chapter tells of her life growing up in an Irish-American family. Her mother was an Irish nationalist and a feminist while her father was a Socialist. When she was 16 Elizabeth gave her first speech at a New York Socialist meeting on the rights of women.

She was so good at public speaking that it became her life's work, traveling all over the US while still a teenager. Mining towns in the Rockies and Minnesota, lumber camps in the Northwest, textiles strikes in Massachusetts and New Jersey are all places she went to help workers fight for safe working conditions and living wages.

Later on she talks of ideological struggles within the IWW leadership, her two marriages and raising a child, World War I, and the oppressive atmosphere in the US after the war against the Left. The Rebel Girl ends with the trial and appeals for the two Italian anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti.

The book was meant to be the first volume of her autobiography covering 1906 to 1924, her years before joining the Communist Party, and was first published in 1955. She died before she could complete the second volume which was to cover the 35 years she spent as a Communist.

Flynn is a great writer and tells her story of the early 20th century labor movement well. As a first person account, it is full of detail and personal perspective. At times I longed for a more objective account of some events for balance and this book has encouraged me to read further about the events described.

2011-06-05T03:25:00.000-07:00

Aunt Jane's Nieces in Society by Edith Van Dyne (L. Frank Baum)

Aunt Jane's Nieces in Society is the 5th in a series of 10 novels written by L. Frank Baum under the pseudonym Edith Van Dyne. The series is about 3 nieces of their rich uncle John: Louise, Beth and Patsy who met in the 1st novel of the series when they were invited to visit their dying Aunt Jane so she could decide which of them, who she had neglected all their lives, she would leave her fortune to. After her death, the nieces are cared for by their rich uncle John Merrick who, having retired from industry, takes them on various adventures which are detailed in the books of the series.

In this the 5th volume of the series, published 100 years ago in 1910, Baum contrasts the simple goodness of the nieces to the pretentiousness and artificial values of high society. Louise's social climbing mother asks John to see if he can use his connections to get the three nieces introduced to New York's fashionable society. John loans money to a prominent socialite and asks his help. This man's daughter Diana sees this as an opportunity to gain influence with the rich financier and takes the three girls under her wing. All goes well and the girls are accepted at their debut and a charity ball. However Diana's cousin Charles Mershone, a socialite sociopath and one of the darkest characters Baum ever created, is smitten by Louise. When Diana takes a shine to Louise's suitor Arthur, she plots with Charles to separate the naive Louise from her fiancé.

Baum creates a good adventure with a delightful new character while shining a light on the artifice of society. Today's reader will find interesting the limitations the three nieces had to work within as young women in the early 20th century.

2011-05-28T14:01:00.001-07:00

Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy.
Looking Backward, while written over 120 years ago, is about what the author envisioned the 21st century could have been like if the USA had embraced Socialist principles. Very popular when it was written (right up there with Uncle Tom's Cabin and Ben Hur), it is about a young 19th century upper class white man's surprising re-introduction to society when he wakes up from a 113 year nap at the dawn of the 21st century. Similar to Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle" and Woody Allen's Sleeper in plot structure but told without parody or humor, in Looking Backward the world has changed dramatically while our hero slept.

Bellamy's hero is awakened by a retired doctor and his wife and daughter when they find him sleeping in a chamber under their garden. This family slowly introduces him to the wonders of a modern Socialist state where the nation is the only employer and the people's army works for the common good. Each chapter explores a different aspect of this modern cooperative society. Chapter 15 describes Bellamy's vision of the future of publishing, 16 discusses art, 19 is devoted to law, and 20 to education. The ideas are mostly presented through dialogs with the doctor with few actual visits and interactions. Economic progress is stressed over technological change.

Written before the Great Depression, Communism, National Socialism, two World Wars and the Holocaust, Bellamy's book blames much of the world's problems on social inequality and the pursuit of personal gain. He envisions the United States leading the world into a just brotherhood where humans work together for the common good. It is interesting to read today Bellamy's vision of looking back from an alternative world that never came into being although fervently desired by many at the time. For Bellamy and his readers the enemy was Capitalism and salvation was to be had in Communism and National Socialism. He envisions a world where these ideas were embraced by the USA instead of Stalin and Hitler and led to a Utopian society.

2011-05-02T18:27:00.000-07:00

The 1909 novel Aunt Jane's Nieces at Work by L. Frank Baum writing as Edith Van Dyne, is the fourth volume in the Aunt Jane's Nieces series. The three young women, Louise Merrick, Beth De Graf, and Patsy Doyle, met in the first volume of the series on the estate of their Aunt Jane, who was dying and trying to decide which niece would receive her inheritance.

In this fourth book of the series Kenneth Forbes, the young man who inherited Aunt Jane's estate, is now running for the state legislature, in what he thinks will be an easy election against a corrupt politician. He is the richest man in this poor district but inexperienced in the ways of the world. When he starts to have a rough time, and it looks like all hope is gone, his three cousins decide to go to work for his election They show up with their rich Uncle John and, even though women can't vote in 1909, they organize an effective campaign. This is an interesting story that describes the type of political maneuvering of 100 years ago. Baum's mother-in-law was the famous women's rights activist Matilda Joslyn Gage, and I feel she would have been proud of her son-in-law's characterization of these three young political women.

2011-05-01T04:30:00.000-07:00

Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History by Yunte Huang

Yunte Huang was born in China, came to the US in 1991, and is now an English professor at UC Santa Barbara. Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese police detective created by the White American author Earl Derr Biggers, who wrote six popular Charlie Chan mystery novels. Biggers based Charlie Chan on a real Honolulu Chinese detective named Chang Apana who was a respected member of the department. Hollywood made 47 Charlie Chan movies with White actors in "yellowface" makeup playing the Chinese detective. Many Chinese find these movies to be racist and offensive.

In this book the author looks at Chang Apana, and the literary and film versions of Charlie Chan, and puts them into the context of very negative American attitudes and perceptions of the Chinese over the past 150 years. This survey of America's troubled relationship with its Chinese population is what gives this book its broad value. It also sets into context the stereotyped Chan and the use of "yellowface" actors to portray him in the film industry. When seen against the much more negative images and attitudes that also existed at the time, the author makes Charlie Chan seem like a positive portrayal of the Chinese in American popular media.

This book leaves unasked an interesting question. Are the original Charlie Chan novels fatally flawed because they were written by a White American author? The White American author James Patterson writes novels about a Black Washington DC detective Alex Cross. His books have been made into movies with Morgan Freeman playing the lead. Could a Chinese actor play Charlie Chan in a way that would reflect the racial tensions of the 1920s?

2011-04-20T15:37:00.000-07:00

Aunt Jane's Nieces at Millville by L. Frank Baum writing as Edith Van Dyne is the third book in a series written for young girls. It was originally published in 1908. The three nieces are Louise Merrick, Elizabeth De Graf, and Patsy Doyle and in this book they go to a fictional upstate New York town called Millville for the summer with their rich uncle John who has gotten a farmhouse there as payment for a bad debt. Much of the novel deals with the vast cultural differences between the small town farmers of the town and the rich "nabobs" living in the summer house. Soon after moving in the three young women sense a mystery in the sudden death of the previous owner of the house, a seaman named Captain Wegg, and the disappearance of his fortune. Suspecting murder and theft, each of the nieces has her own theory as to what happened and who may be guilty. The plot develops nicely providing a pleasant mystery/detective book with a happy ending.

2011-04-09T19:13:00.000-07:00

Austin and Mabel is an amazing record of 19th century adultery. Austin Dickinson was the older brother of Emily Dickinson and the chief financial officer of Amherst College, as well as a leading citizen of the town of Amherst, Massachusetts. He was married and had three children. When the college hired a new astronomy professor, David Todd, along with him came his lovely young wife Mabel Todd. She was an artist and loved socializing. Austin and Mabel fell in love and maintained an intimate relationship while both stayed married. This book tells their story and prints their 13 years of letters, providing a detailed history of their love. Through these letters we see Austin, who is 27 years older than Mabel, grow old and die, while Mabel matures into an accomplished writer, editor and lecturer. "No love story approaches it" Mabel said of their relationship. While reading over 200 pages of love letters can get repetitious at times, Mabel and Austin are both wonderful people and their story is impressive.

2011-03-27T01:59:00.000-07:00

Aunt Jane's Nieces Abroad by L. Frank Baum (writing as Edith Van Dyne)

With the fabulous success of his Wizard of Oz books, L. Frank Baum finally found himself financially well off. He and his wife Maud used their new wealth to take a trip overseas. On 7 April 1906 they were witnesses to a major eruption of Vesuvius. This experience becomes the background for Aunt Jane's Nieces Abroad which takes the characters to this same event and makes the novel interesting reading.

Baum portrays the three young girls and their Uncle John as nationalistic Americans, extremely proud of their culture and values, who are always making comparisons with how much worse Europeans are in all they say and do. This adds humor to the story which is basically an adventure tale that centers around the mysterious men they meet in their travels. Filled with detail from Baum's own travels, the book ends up being a cautionary tale for Americans traveling abroad.

2011-03-26T02:40:00.000-07:00

The Wish Express by Ruth Plumly Thompson

Originally serialized for the Philadelphia Public Ledger in 1916, Ruth Plumly Thompson's first novel The Wish Express starts when a boy named Berens, discontented with his math homework, wishes he was someone else somewhere else. The next thing he knows, a giant Discontented Bug with 19 arms and 17 legs has grabbed him and his dog Rags and is flying him to the wish trolley ... and Rags can talk! The trolley is filled with other discontented wishers, both human and animal who must make what Thompson calls "the perilous journey on a wish through Talktown and the State of Discontentment to the misty city of Somewhere Else" to have their wishes granted.

The publisher, Hungry Tiger Press, calls it "a tale of self-discovery, talking animals, amazing little towns, great new friends, and a happy ending!" The book definitely shows the delightful play of words and interesting characterization that Thompson will later display writing 21 novels as L. Frank Baum's successor to the title of The Royal Historian of Oz.

Never before printed in its entirety, the Hungry Tiger Press paperback features a flip-book Wish Express Trolley created by Eric Shanower that moves along the top of the pages as you read. If you flip through the pages you can watch it move. Also included are the original illustrations by Public Ledger artist James Hammon. The Wish Express is a delightful illustration of the proverb "Be careful what you wish for because it might come true" that has lost none of its charm in the 95 years since its first publication.

2011-03-16T14:44:00.000-07:00

The Forest: A Personal Record of the Huk Guerrilla Struggle in the Philippines
by William J. Pomeroy

Bill Pomeroy came to the Philippines as an American soldier in World War II. During the war, Philippine Huk Guerrillas battled Japanese occupiers. One of the Huk was Celia Mariano. After the war the Huk continued fighting for the freedom of the people against the Philippine government and oppressive landlords. Celia and Bill married and Bill joined the Huk movement.

In 1950 Celia and Bill left Manila to join the Huk guerrillas in the Sierra Madre mountains as they struggled to free the islands from foreign influence and the power elite. The Forest tells the story of their two years living with the Huk and training them in revolutionary theory in various mountain camps. It has short chapters in chronological order with months marked out as if it was a journal. As a personal account by the only American in the Huk movement it is a valuable inside look that can help us understand what it was like in such a group at the time.

2011-02-21T16:39:00.000-08:00

Mary Louise and Josie O'Gorman by Emma Speed Sampson is the eighth of a ten volume series of Bluebird Books for young girls featuring two young amateur female detectives. Originally started by L. Frank Baum writing as Edith Van Dyne, the series was continued by Emma Sampson after Baum's death in 1919. While Baum favored Mary Louise, Sampson continues the series focusing more on Josie,the young detective, and treats Mary Louise as a minor character. In this book, Mary Louise donates the house she inherited from her grandfather and a significant sum of money to the local orphanage. Two new orphans attract the attention of Josie O'Gorman who begins to investigate the mystery of their missing parents and the strange young woman who abandoned them. This was an enjoyable novel of the post-war years written with a strong female character which is a pleasant light read.

2011-02-06T10:25:00.000-08:00

Mary Louise Solves a Mystery (1917) by L. Frank Baum

This is the third in a series of girl detective novels L. Frank Baum created featuring Mary Louise Burrows and her friend Josie O'Gorman. They appear fairly late in the book with the beginning given over to the sad story of Alora Jones. Her wealthy mother dies when she is 11, leaving Alora and her inheritance in the care of her ex-husband, who Alora had never met. He is sullen, secretive and unsupportive, and Alora is neglected for several years while her father forces her to live in seclusion with him in a remote Italian villa. Mary Louise meets Alora and her father while traveling with her grandfather in Italy. Befriending Alora, Mary Louise senses there is a mystery, and seeks to find out what is behind the strained relationship between Alora and her father.
Baum's young adult novels usually involve class issues and this book is as much about class as it is about mystery. While the novel is almost 100 years old, the detective work is well crafted and will keep the reader interested.

2011-01-09T05:04:00.000-08:00

Mary Louise and the Liberty Girls, by L. Frank Baum writing as Edith Van Dyne

The Mary Louise series is about a girl amateur detective and were written for teenage girls. Set in World War I, Mary Louise and the Liberty Girls explores the themes of patriotism and dissent in wartime. Mary Louise is 17 and teams up with her friends aged 14 to 18 to form the Liberty Girls to help out the war effort. They start with helping to sell bonds, but, when anonymous letters opposing the war appear, the girls go searching for the treasonous pro-German people of the town. Are they traitors or are they just voicing their right to disagree?

Being in the Public Domain you can find a copy of Mary Louise and the Liberty Girls in Project Gutenberg.

2011-01-08T04:28:00.000-08:00

The Emerald Wand of Oz, by Sherwood Smith.

Sherwood Smith is an award winning author who was contracted by Byron Preiss to write 4 novels as the new Royal Historian of Oz for the L. Frank Baum Family Trust. This is the first of 2 novels published by HarperCollins as part of that agreement. The second book, Trouble Under Oz (2006), continues where this book leaves off. A third called Sky Pirates of Oz was written, but Preiss's death in 2005 & subsequent bankruptcy put the future of that book and the fourth book into doubt.

The story is about Dorothy Gale's modern day grand nieces Em and Dori who are transported to Oz by a tornado where they get caught up in adventures with local Oz characters new and old. Like Dorothy, they live in Kansas in an unhappy household. Their parents are separated and they respond to the stress in opposite ways. Em is practical and realistic like her namesake Aunt Em, while Dori is disorganized and imaginative, dreaming of the fairy land her namesake Dorothy once visited.

Every Oz story has a visit to at least one strange place filled with amusing but dangerous inhabitants. Dori and Em start their Oz adventure in Unicorn Valley, which is reminiscent of "My Little Pony" with brightly colored unicorns living with children who spend their days grooming and decorating the vain animals. The girls want to get home to Kansas to let their mother know they are alright, so they decide to visit the castle of Glinda the good witch of the south. Only the unicorns, needing groomers, will not let them go. Teaming up with a boy named Rik, and with the help of a freshwater mermaid, they escape Unicorn Valley. However they can't escape an ominous cloud with barely visible faces that seems to follow them.

When they arrive at Glinda's castle Dori and Em find out that a witch named Bastinda, the niece of Dorothy's Wicked Witch of the West, has ransacked the castle for magical tools and used an emerald wand to magically steal Glinda's smarts, leaving her and everyone in the castle laconic and dazed. Scraps the Patchwork Girl tells Em that Bastinda has stolen Ozma's smarts as well, casting an evil spell on all the people of the Emerald City. Meanwhile, Dori discovers that Rik is after magical tools for his own purposes. Dori and Em must team up with Scraps and other famous non-human Oz characters who are free of the spell in a three-way struggle with Bastinda and Rik to get the emerald wand and break the enchantments.

Sherwood Smith devotes 75 pages to Unicorn Valley which makes the first half of the book slow, but the pace picks up and never slackens once the girls leave. This is a wonderful book for anyone who has read L. Frank Baum's early Oz books or seen the movie. Smith is marvelous at character development and her characters Rik, Bastinda, and Bastinda's Giant Gecko Guards are complex and rewarding. They fit in well with her recreations of such Oz personages as Scraps, Scarecrow, Jack Pumpkinhead and the Glass Cat.

2010-12-21T08:20:00.000-08:00

This Brief Tragedy: Unravelling the Todd-Dickinson Affair

by John Evangelist Walsh

I picked up this book because I was interested in whether the sexual relationship between Emily Dickinson's married brother Austin and Mabel Todd, wife of an Amherst professor, had any grounding in the Free Love movement of 19th Century USA.
The Free Love movement’s goal was to prevent the state from legislating sexual matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery, claiming that these were personal issues of the people involved, and no one else. In the United States there were several 19th century Free Love advocates who lectured to packed houses. While Free Lovers argued for the rights of women, they were often rejected by the leaders of the first wave feminist movement.
Both Austin and Mabel, and her husband David, do seem to feel they are engaged in activities that should not be judged by the community, yet John Evangelist Walsh looks on their activities with a Puritanical eye. He spends most of the book portraying Austin's wife Sue as a wronged woman and Mabel as a home wrecker and opportunist. While Walsh quotes often from Mabel's letters journals and diaries to build his case, he never uses Sue's writings, leaving this a very one-sided presentation. There is a sub-plot of how Mabel Todd became, after Emily Dickinson's death, the first editor of Dickinson's poetry and letters which is also marred by this one-sided attack on her character.
While the story of the Dickinsons and the Todds is a very interesting one, Walsh's telling of it is lacking in depth, and will appeal mostly to those interested in protecting the sanctity of heterosexual marriage.

2010-12-15T14:55:00.000-08:00

Nikola The Outlaw.
Ivan Olbrecht

Nikola the Outlaw is set in the Ruthenian region of Czechoslovakia just after World War I. This area is now the Zakarpatska province of Ukraine, but at the time it was part of a newly formed nation. Nikola and his Ruthenian friends, who were in the Austrian army, return from the war and decide it is easier to be outlaws than to fit into a new social order run by Czech soldiers and Jewish shopkeepers. Living in the mountains with the secret support of many of the townspeople, they evade capture and become local heroes. However, as the village settles into its new life, the outlaws find it harder to maintain their existence. Rich in cultural details, the novel provides a detailed look at Ruthenian life in the newly formed country of Czechoslovakia.

2010-11-20T19:12:00.000-08:00

The Marvelous Land of Oz

Eric Shanower and Skottie Young's graphic novel is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's 2nd book about the Land of Oz written in 1904. Shanower does a wonderful job of taking the original novel and turning it into a comic, and Young's drawings give the characters new life. The book is the story of what happens after Dorothy and the Wizard leave Oz. So neither of them are in this story.

Baum used the first book's publishing success to turn it into a successful musical that made stars of the Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow. This second book was written with the idea of a second musical using these two characters but starring a giant talking bug called The Wogglebug. While the second musical was not a success, Shanower was able to use some of the added dialog of the musical to enhance this comic.

The story is about a young boy named Tip who is living with a mean witch named Mombi and runs away with her most prized magic, the Powder of Life, that can give life to inanimate objects. He creates a pumpkin headed wooden man and a living sawhorse, and they travel to the city of Oz to see the Scarecrow who is its ruler.

A story element that was timely over 100 years ago about a revolt of the women of Oz under the leadership of General Jinjur is a bit dated today. Jinjur loses a bit of her spicy independence to be just self-centered. Over all though, this is a delightful second collaboration between Shanower and Young to bring the Baum Oz books to life for a new audience.

2010-10-10T02:56:00.001-07:00

The Story of Lottie Deno: Her Life and Times, by J. Marvin Hunter

This book was the last biographical work of J. Marvin Hunter, an amateur historian who wrote and published magazines, pamphlets and books about the history of Texas. He had met Lottie Deno when she lived in New Mexico in 1901 under the name Charlotte Thurmond.

This work is made up of many short pieces that together tell the story of Lottie Deno, her 4 years as a gambler at Fort Griffin Texas in the 1870s, and her later life in New Mexico. By using short sketches to build the story, Hunter quotes many points of view and the focus is not only on Lottie, but also on the history of Fort Griffin and Deming, New Mexico.

During the 1870s Fort Griffin on the Brazos River was the US Army's outpost in their war with the Comanche and Kiowa people, a center for the slaughter of the buffalo, and a stop on the Dodge City Cattle Trail. These activities brought a lot of men with money to spend who were looking for a good time to the town outside the fort. That attracted people like Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, John Wesley Hardin, Billy the Kid, Sheriff Pat Garrett and Bat Masterson to what Mr. Hunter calls The Wickedest Town on the Frontier. It also attracted a woman gambler who called herself Lottie Deno.

The author does a good job of gathering together a lot of the published materials about Lottie and Fort Griffin that appeared in magazines and books and making it available again in one place. As a result the book jumps around and repeats itself, mixes facts and legends, and is as much about Lottie's times as it is about her life.

The first chapter is his own telling of her early life in a rich family in Kentucky where her father was a prominent citizen farmer with a love of card playing. Having only daughters, he shares his love of cards with his oldest daughter Charlotte. After his death, she takes up gambling on the Mississippi river boats and New Orleans as a way to support her mother and sister, moves on to San Antonio to gamble, and then is drawn to the fast and easy money of Fort Griffin. To protect her family from scandal she takes on the name of Lottie Deno, which was a short form of the slang term "Lotta Dinaro" - Lots of Money.

The second chapter is a re-publication of a description of "Old Fort Griffin" by Don H. Biggers that appeared in his 1908 Shackleford County Sketches. Biggers focuses a lot on the lawlessness of the town. While it was an Army base, the Army's job was war with the native Americans and not civil law, so the town that sprang up outside the fort was not their jurisdiction or concern. He paints a lawless town where over 50 people were killed in a dozen years with little or no legal proceedings.

Chapter III tells the story of Lottie's arrival at Fort Grffin with a long quote from Edgar Rye's 1909 book The Quirt and the Spur. Mr. Rye calls her "a female monstrosity" and relates a story where she stayed calmly at the card table as everyone else in the room fled as two players argued and shot each other. When the sheriff sees her calmly counting her chips near the carnage, he says she has a lot of nerve and that he wouldn't have "cared to take his chances in that scrimmage." Her reply is "Perhaps not, sheriff, but you are not a desperate woman."

The next two chapters are from the point of view of John Jacobs, one of the sheriffs of Griffin, and an acquaintance of the author in the 1920s. These are followed by a chapter that quotes from Alfred Henry Lewis's 1902 novel Wolfville Nights in which his character Faro Nell is modelled after Lottie. More chapters then tell the story of Fort Griffin from and some of the men who lived and died there. Basically, after the buffalo are slaughtered, the Cherokee and Kiowa are starved onto reservations, the fort closes, the town dies, and everyone leaves. It is a story of its own that deserves telling in more detail.

In Chapter XI Lottie's life picks up again in Deming, New Mexico where the author was a reporter for the local newspaper in 1900 and she is married to a rancher named Frank Thurmond. She is a founding member of the town's Golden Gossip Club, and an upright member of the community. There are only rumors that she may have been Lottie Deno.

Little is told of the saloon and gambling room Lottie and Frank ran in New Mexico after they left Texas. Frank killed a man in self defense, and they decided to give up gambling and move to Deming. Much of the end of the book is devoted to turn of the century Deming life.

One of the strengths of this book is the early sketches of Lottie's life and Fort Griffin that Mr. Hunter is able to bring together in one place. He knew Texas history well and was able to piece together a lot of different sources. However, this approach makes the book fragmented, episodic and dated. Hopefully, a new book by Jan Devereaux, Pistols, Petticoats & Poker: The Real Lottie Deno: No Lies or Alibis, published by High Lonesome Books, will provide a more cohesive in-depth look at this woman that many claim was the model for the beautiful, redheaded Miss Kitty who ran the Longbranch Saloon in the famous "Gunsmoke" television series.

2010-09-25T15:17:00.000-07:00

Mary Louise by L. Frank Baum writing as Edith Van Dyne

L. Frank Baum wrote book series for girls under the nom de plume Edith Van Dyne. Mary Louise is the first of a series featuring Mary Louise, a plain ordinary rich girl whose grandfather is wanted by the State Department. The novel starts with Mary Louise in a private boarding school while living with her grandfather and mother in a small town. All is well and she has been getting very close to the old man until he is recognized by a stranger staying at the hotel. It is then that Mary Louise's family steals away in the night leaving her alone at the school to face the sudden knowledge that her grandfather is a wanted criminal.

She doesn't know where he is or why the government is seeking him, but she knows deep in her heart that he is too good to have done anything wrong. Watched by secret agents who seek to find the old man through her, Mary Louise must find her way through a cloud of suspicion. The book is the story of how she goes about seeking to find her grandfather and to prove his innocence. A very good adventure story but it is plagued by Baum's stereotyping of black servants and a disabled friend that he refers to as "the chair-girl" because of her wheel chair. An interesting glimpse into the children's books of the early 20th century.

2010-09-21T16:39:00.000-07:00

My Talks With Dean Spanley by Lord Dunsany, 1936

A first person narrative of a man who meets Dean Spanley, an elder minister, at his club and discovers the Dean has a strong belief in Reincarnation. He begins to suspect the Dean has more than a belief, he may have actual memories of a past life and becomes determined to find out. Hoping to find scientific proof of the transmigration of souls if he can get Dean Spanley to talk, the narrator invites him to dinner. Believing in the adage "In vino veritas" he plies the Dean with wine. When Spanley drinks too much Imperial Tokay, a rare Hungarian wine, he starts talking about his former life as a country hound in the first person.
The narrator is astounded by the revelation and invites Spanley back several times hoping to discover scientific proof of reincarnation in Spanley's stories of his life as a dog. Each visit is harder since Spanley does not like to drink to excess, but each lapse reveals more of his canine existence.
An excellent short novel full of wonderful detail and dry understated humor. Recently made into a film called simply Dean Spanley starring Jeremy Northam and Sam Neill, this is a delightful tale.

2010-09-14T17:01:00.000-07:00

Don Rodriguez: Chronicles of Shadow Valley (1922)
A novel by Lord Dunsany.

"Don Rodriguez: Chronicles of Shadow Valley conveys its young disinherited protagonist through a fantasized Spain, gifting him with a Sancho Panza companion, good luck with magicians, and a castle" -- The Encyclopedia of Fantasy.

Lord Dunsany's first novel, this is a historic fantasy set in a pastoral Spain that could never exist with all the charm and innocence that the author attributes to it. Don Rodrigues sets out on a quest to find a war to fight in so he can win a castle and wealth of his own. Along the way, he finds a loyal servant who wields a mighty fry pan and encounters a magician who shows them how to astral travel and allows them to see the past and the future. Hi finds a lady he loves, wins his castle in a fantastic manner and they "live happily ever after."

The beauty of the story is in Dunsany's prose which is a delight to read and well-suited to the fantastic setting he creates. I totally enjoyed this first novel by one of my favorite authors.

2010-08-29T14:59:00.000-07:00

The Tough Coughs As He Ploughs the Dough: Early Writings and Cartoons by Dr. Seuss is a collection of writings from 1927 to 1937 by Theodore Geisel, from the time before be became known to the world as Dr. Seuss. These are not works for children, but rather humorous pieces for magazines like Judge, Life, College Humor, and Liberty. Filled with word play and absurdist writing, the pieces have lost some of their humor but are still interesting background reading for those interested in Dr. Seuss. The illustrations are probably more important than the writing as they show the development of the cartoon style that made Dr. Seuss famous.

Many of the essays are written under the pen name of Dr. Theophrastus Seuss, which would later be shortened to Dr. Seuss. There is a long piece where Uncle Theophrastus explains to his nephew Quackenbush "The Facts of Life." Another delightful story tells of a corporation that decides to forego profit to manufacture items of the highest "Quality."

A series of one-page Little Educational Charts attempt to explain the most absurd aspects of things like the importance of Simplified Spelling (see the book's title for a sample) and other one-page essays on imaginary uses of birds and beasts and whimsical word meanings were obviously humorous magazine pieces. The book ends with a series of ads for a spray insecticide called FLIT that all contain the catchphrase, "Quick Henry, the Flit."

While the writing has suffered a bit from the passage of time, the artistic humor of Geisel's drawings remains, and provides good background for those who only know his children's books.

2010-08-29T14:30:00.000-07:00

Milk: A Pictorial History of Harvey Milk is a tribute to a man who was a major force for Gay Rights in the United States. Billed as a photographic history, it also contains moving statements by people who worked with Harvey Milk during his political career in San Francisco.

Part One is called "An Oral and Pictorial History of Harvey Milk" and is filled with pictures form his life and statements from those who knew him or were influenced by him.

Part Two is titled "Milk, The Making of the Movie" and details the movie starring Sean Penn. Both sections were put together by the Academy Award winning writer of the movie, Dustin Lance Black, based on his research for the film.

The Real/Reel life story of Harvey Milk and the 1970's Gay Scene in San Francisco are laid out side by side in this book which provides insight into both the era and the movie.

Important reading to anyone interested in Milk the man or Milk the movie.

2010-08-07T06:11:00.000-07:00

The Art of the Aloha Shirt by DeSoto Brown & Linda Arthur

The Aloha Shirt is what people on the mainland call a Hawaiian Shirt, a bright-patterned, collared, short sleeve shirt meant to be worn untucked. Although today we cannot imagine a world without them, this book delves into the origins of the classic shirt looking for its creator.

But first the authors look into the roots of the Aloha Shirt which are deep in the multicultural society of these islands. Polynesian, Japanese, Filipino and Chinese influences are found in this garment's past. The Hawai'ian fabric industry is the subject of one chapter with the local small businesses importing and producing fabric designs and competing with the larger mainland factories.

The roots of Dress-Down (or Casual) Friday are found in the adoption of the Aloha shirt as acceptable business attire in Hawai'i starting in 1947. Hawaii's Aloha Friday during the summer months spread to the mainland in the 1960s.

While the exact date and creator of the Aloha shirt has not been discovered by the authors, they do point to the decade of the 1930s as the likely time. The first mention of Aloha Shirts they can point to is a 1938 children's book called Hawaiian Holiday.

The Art of the Aloha Shirt is richly illustrated in full color with pictures on every page. Celebrities in Aloha print garments abound. Many of the pictures are ads from shops or magazines. There are also pictures of shirts housed in the Bishop Museum and the University of Hawai'i's Historic Costume Collection (Linda Arthur, one of the authors, is curator of this collection).

The Aloha Shirt becomes a symbol of Hawai'ian culture, something that the diverse population can find unity in. As such, it is much more than a garment. It becomes a cultural symbol that is not based on ethnicity, but on a shared sense of place.

2010-07-31T03:33:00.000-07:00

The Beats: A Graphic History

This book is "by Harvey Pekar et al." with "art by Ed Piskor et al." While the majority of the text and art are by Pekar and Piskor, the book is actually 25 different pieces on various people and topics of the Beat Generation created by a diverse group of writers and artists.
In the first half of the book Pekar and Piskor tackle the lives of the three major figures: Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs. This is followed by shorter pieces on other people associated with the movement: Kenneth Rexroth, Michael McClure, Philip Whalen, William Everson, Robert Duncan, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Gregory Corso, Leroi Jones/Amiri Baraka, Charles Olson, Robert Creeley, Philip Lamantia, Gary Snyder, Diane di Prima, Slim Brundage, Jay DeFeo, d.a. levy, and my favorites Kenneth Patchen and Tuli Kupferberg.
To set these biographic pieces in context there are chapters on Jazz, Art, the City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, and women in the Beat movement.
All together Pekar writes 18 of the 25 chapters, giving the book a continuity yet allowing for diversity of views, while Piskor inks just over half the graphics which keeps the book visually interesting.
Highly recommended even if you only read the two chapters on Patchen and Kupferberg.

2010-05-23T17:39:00.000-07:00

A typical day in a Westchester suburb of New York for a family of four is shattered by a nuclear attack on New York City. Gladys is in the basement doing her laundry, her two daughters, Barbara and Ginny are at school, and her husband Jon has taken the train to Manhattan to his job when the bombs start to fall.

The following week's events are viewed from Gladys' viewpoint as she takes in the children's teacher, a discredited nuclear scientist critical of atomic bombs, and hides him and her Slavic maid Veda from the Civil Defense patrols who might see them as enemy spies or saboteurs.

Written in 1950 this is an early science fiction look at the after effects of a nuclear war. It was adapted the same year with a less provocative script as the television drama Atomic Attack, which was the television debut for Walter Matthau as the young doctor.

Judith Merril does a very good job or of presenting Gladys as the US stay-at-home mom of the post-WWII years facing a world turned upside down. I enjoyed reading the book and recommend it.

2010-04-20T16:09:00.000-07:00

City of Belief is a novel based on a true story written by a person who was there. The "Author's Note" at the beginning of the book starts with this statement:
"In the early morning hours of November 9, 1965 a young man walked up to the United Nations in New York City, sat on the cement island on First Avenue before the darkened building, doused himself with gasoline and lit a match. The young man was Roger La Porte and he was my friend."
Roger and the author were volunteers at the NYC Catholic Worker, a movement started by Dorothy Day and committed to nonviolence, voluntary poverty, and the Works of Mercy. In 1965 a group of the Catholic Worker volunteers including Roger were involved in anti-war protests and a draft card burning in New York's Union Square.
This novel is a faithful chronology of the events leading up to and immediately following Roger's self-immolation. They have haunted the author for 40 years, and she has finally written about them to share with the world.
It is a story of faith and belief and an accurate depiction of the tumultous times. No one may ever understand what caused Roger to set himself on fire to protest a war he saw as unjust, but this book will give you a glimpse into his life and thoughts.

2010-03-26T03:50:00.000-07:00

Besieged, set in 1630's Ulster area of Ireland, is the first of Small's Skye O'Malley series I have read which is a matrilineal historical romance series. It tells the romantic story of Skye's granddaughter Fortune Lindley and Kieran Devers, she a Protestant and he a Catholic, in a very intolerant world. They are faced with the classic “A fish could marry a bird, but where would they live?"

While Small does a fairly good job of portraying the conflict between the local Irish Catholics and their new Protestant landlords, Fortune's family is painted as the only tolerant Protestants in the book. The noble Irish under the cruel Protestant yoke makes the story a bit one sided. Kieran's brother William is a nasty, obsessive villain as is his stepmother, Lady Jane Devers, who marries a poor Irish lord for his land and covets Fortune's large estate.

It is in romance where Small excels and Fortune and Kieran are inspiring lovers. Their passion and devotion are well-portrayed. Her sex scenes are excellent examples of women's erotica, although they are less prominent in this book than they are in works like Love Slave.

2010-03-26T00:06:00.000-07:00

Last Dance For Grace : The Crystal Mangum Story — By Crystal Mangum with Vincent Clark

Crystal Mangum was a student at NC Central who in 2006 worked as an exotic dancer. In March of that year she went to a house to dance for a bachelor party being held for Duke University students. She claims she was raped by three people while there. The District Attorney had to withdraw from the case & was disbarred. The Attorney General took over and dropped all charges. She never had a day in court.

Working with Vincent Clark, a documentary film maker, this book is the story she would like the world to know about her. While there are two chapters about the events of March 2006 and one about the legal struggle that followed, the heart of the book is a six chapter biography and a final chapter on how she is putting this event behind her.

Her story is wrapped in three chapters by Vincent Clark who describes the Crystal he met in working on this project. A Foreword by Myra Shird, an NC A&T professor, looks at the broader implications and compares Crystal to Nathaniel Hawthorne's Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter.

If you are wanting to know what really happened that night in March 2006, this is not the book that will help you. If you want to know more about "the accuser" Crystal Mangum from her point of view, not that of the press or the Blogosphere, this is her story.

2009-04-13T08:09:00.000-07:00

2008-04-01T04:26:00.001-07:00

All Things Oz is editor Linda Sunshine's "whirlwind tour" of Oz, L. Frank Baum's literary fairyland. She teamed up with Oz memorabilia collector Willard Carroll to put together a sampling of Baum's writings, surrounded by images from Carroll's collection that provides a delightful introduction to new readers and wonderful memories for loyal fans.

Sunshine scoured all 13 of Baum's Oz novels as well as his short stories for passages that exemplify the wit and wisdom that has endeared these books to readers for over 100 years. Each page is in full color with illustrations of Oz and its citizens from all over the world. The result is a beautiful book in word and image that is truly a delight for anyone interested in learning about Oz.

2008-02-07T14:59:00.000-08:00

Scouts in Bondage is a photographic collection of book covers of titles that have not withstood the test of time. Compiled by a retired British secondhand book seller, this is an amusement for the bibliophile with a taste for the double entendre. This is a very short book with minimal text. Highlighted are about 45 photos of book covers whose intent was serious at the time but, over time, have developed unintended secondary meanings. Facing these covers is the bibliographic details (Author, title, publisher, date, and size) and occasional excerpts or additional information to add to the amusement.

Being an engineering librarian, I was especially drawn to the technical titles gone wrong such as:

The Resistance of Piles to Penetration

and

Hardening and Tempering Engineers' Tools

as well as the illustration of the goddess Hygieia holding a water closet pull chain on the cover of The Modern Plumber and Sanitary Engineer.

2006-09-24T09:05:00.000-07:00

I Love [heart symbol] Lord Buddha. Hillary Raphael

The setting for I Love Lord Buddha is the hostess bars of Tokyo in 1997. The main characters are western hostesses who spend their nights socializing and drinking with men in these bars. Amongst them is a charismatic leader from New York who takes the name HIYOKO and starts recruiting these displaced women into a new-Buddhist group called the Neo-Geisha Organization. Reinterpreting Buddhist philosophy through her cultish mind, HIYOKO plans for a cataclysmic event that will shake humanity into exercising Buddhist values so as to avoid a larger global catastrophy. It is a lively story with lots of sex, drugs, and Buddhist theory, which portrays the lack of spiritual values in modern commercial Tokyo.

The plot unfolds as HIYOKO's cousin Heidi Peterson, a sociology grad student from the States, arrives and starts doing her research on the Neo-Geishas and their enigmatic leader. It takes the form of Heidi's notes, interviews, police reports, and pages from various documents following each other in brief chapters, many only one page long.

Fast pacing and an interesting structure give the novel a unique look and feel. Very little is capitalized. which makes reading a bit hard since the break between sentences is only the tiny period. Without a leading capital letter new sentences can be hard to find at times. However this typographic style contrasts well with the fact that HIYOKO is always in all caps.

Well written and plotted the novel does a good job of creating the world of the characters and the moral dilemma of our times.

2006-09-11T15:01:00.000-07:00

The Visitors from Oz. L. Frank Baum

This book is considered by some to be the lost "Third Book of Oz" since the material it contains was written in 2004 and 2005 after the publication of Baum's first two Oz books: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) and The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904). The book features six characters from The Marvelous Land of Oz who leave Oz to travel through the United States of America.

This is probably the worst of Baum's Oz writing. Baum reused ideas from other books, and engaged in what are today offensive racial and ethnic stereotypes. Twenty six chapters of this book were originally Sunday newspaper pieces that were written as promotional material to advertise the books and the upcoming 1905 stage musical called Woggle-Bug. Seventeen of these were part of a contest in which each story ended in a situation that puzzled all the visitors except the Woggle-Bug who told them the answer but which wasn't revealed until the next week. The readers were invited to guess the answers for a chance at a prize. The last and longest chapter was originally published in 1905 as The Woggle-Bug Book. This segment follows the plot of the stage musical and, with its heavy reliance on ethnic humor, gives a pretty good idea as to why the musical failed. At the end of the book are 15 newspaper articles dated between August 18 and October 3 1904 that detail the flight to Earth by the Oz characters and relate their adventures in false news story style.

At the back of the book is a history of the material's creation and publication called "American Fairyland" that was written by David Maxine. Here we learn that two prior attempts to publish these stories in 1960 and 1986 were edited or abridged to remove offensive words and dialect. This is the first time since its original publication that the stories are printed as they were written.

The book does provide a look into life in the US as it was perceived by Baum 100 years ago. In that sense it provides a clearer perspective on Baum's world than his fairy tales. Also the illustrations by Eric Shanower, although created much later than the text, are delightful representations of the stories by the best Oz illustrator.

2006-09-08T16:21:00.000-07:00

A Kiss is Just a Kiss. Bruce Velick

This is not a narrow-minded boy kisses girl tribute to heterosexual romance although there are lots of pictures like that. The book contains 60 black and white pictures that span the 20th century from 1915 to 1988. In addition to the heterosexual romantic kiss there are men kissing men, women kissing women, people kissing animals, animals kissing people and other animals, children kissing each other, adults kissing children, people kissing statues, statues kissing statues, kissing in the foreground, kissing in the background, and even a person kissing the pope's ring.

Each picture has the photographer's name beneath it and a list at the end of the book lists the photographer, the title, the date, and the owner of each photo. Two are from before the 1920s, three are from the 1920s and 30s, eight are from the 1940s, nine are from the 1950s, five from the 1960s, eleven from the 1970s, and 12 are from the 1980s. Ten have no dates associated with them.

These are famous photographic kisses. Included are William Mortensen's The Kiss, Robert Doisneau's Le Baiser de l'Hotel de Ville, Dennis Stock's Cafe de Flore, Weegee's Palace Theater, an untitled kiss by Elliott Erwitt, Louis Stettner's On a Dutch Ferry, and Alfred Eisenstaedt's Times Square VJ Day,

There are also pictures by Peter Marlow, Bruce Davidson, Joan E. Biren (JEB), Chris Steele-Perkins, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Leonard Freed, André Kertész, Burt Glinn, Mary Ellen Mark, Ernst Haas, Barbara Crane, Gilles Peress, Lou Stoumen, Josef Koudelka, Sage Sohier and many others.

Combine this with a delightful essay on the history and importance of kissing by Tom Robbins and you have a great book. It would make a wonderful gift for a lover or a friend. Buy one for yourself and be inspired.

2006-09-05T16:53:00.000-07:00

Forever Fifty. Judith Viorst

Judith Viorst has become the poet of aging with books of poetry dedicated to her lyrical and funny perceptions of each decade of life from the 20s to the 60s. With Forever Fifty And Other Negotiations she explores with insight and humor the joys and fears of being in your fifties. The book contains 24 one-page poems that are accompanied by full page graphic illustrations in green ink on a rich cream paper. The 24 graphics are reproduced on the end papers. The attention to design makes this a wonderful gift for a quinquagenarian friend.

The poems are funny and sentimental yet bittersweet. In some poems we see a person who is struggling to accept the limitations of middle age (where running wild is to go for a walk without sunscreen and memory can't be relied upon). In others she seeks the joys that come with the wisdom of years as when she says "We're quicker to laugh, and not so eager to blame." In yet others, she makes affirmations to live life "as a sexy old lady" and lists the things she'd like to do before she goes.
There are poems that take humorous looks at adult children, long-term marriage partners, and young doctors.

Overall, a wonderful but light look at the aging process of the 50s. It is a book you will enjoy, but one that will not burn into your soul.

2006-09-04T06:33:00.000-07:00

Nothing Natural. JennyDiski

I found this to be a powerful book that delved deeply into the life of a woman named Rachel who becomes involved in a sadomasochistic relationship with an emotionally distant man. Initially I felt the title referred to this s&m relationship. However, as the author reveals more of Rachel's life, it appears that there is nothing natural in her emotionally starved world. Her parents fought bitterly when she was a child. She struggles with paralyzing spells of depression and is incapable of emotional closeness. She is delightfully articulate and quick witted - an intelligent woman with a large share of emotional distress. We watch her spiraling deeper into a suicidal state and it takes a strong reader to maintain compassion. Finally her darkest hour passes, and the novel ends with her first steps towards a healthier self concept. Compelling reading and wonderful character development - a great first novel.

2006-09-04T06:09:00.000-07:00

Parsival: Or, a Knight's Tale. Richard Monaco

This is the first of a now out of print four volume series based on the Arthurian Grail quest of the hero Parsival. The other three volumes are: The Grail War; The Final Quest; and, Blood and Dreams.

This first volume follows Parsival from his overprotective mother and his childhood home on his first quest to become a knight at King Arthur's round table. Once he is a knight, he begins his second quest to find the Grail Castle and discover its secret.

A parallel story tells of Broaditch, a servant from his mother's castle, who sets out soon after to find Parsival. The two quests compliment each other with short episodic chapters from each telling the tale of the book.

The book is not for the squeemish. There is a war and lots of bloodshed. The people are bawdy rather than chivalric, and the sexual relationships are not always consensual. However, it is an exciting and humorous retelling of a medieval tale. I can't wait to read the rest of the series.

2006-09-04T04:49:00.000-07:00

Mystics, Mavericks, and Merrymakers: An Intimate Journey Among Hasidic Girls. Stephanie Wellen Levine

I read this book as a non-Jew who was interested in Hasidism. This particular book attracted me because I am the parent of two teen-age daughters. Having close contact with the problems my daughters face in the modern world I felt would help me understand the issues of Hasidic young women. Although the book is not designed to give a rigorous introduction to Hasidism, I am quite delighted by Stephanie Levine's work and the chance it has given me to have a glimpse into the spiritual and mundane issues of modern Lubavitch Hasidism.

Far from being a broad review of young Hasidic women, Levine focuses on the Lubaticher sect of Hasidism and its community in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York. She spent over a year living with and interviewing the students, teachers, and parents associated with the Bais Rivka Lubavitch high school, a girls-only school.

Hasidic girls have very little contact with males outside their immediate families. Their religious beliefs allow them only the slightest contacts with the world outside their community. Popular videos and music are not allowed and dietary restrictions only allow eating in the most kosher of restaurants. The "mavericks" part of the title has to do with the rebellious response that the young women sometimes bring to these severe restraints.

The "mystics" aspect of the title has to do with the deeply spiritual aspects of Hasidism where every thought and action of an individual's life has cosmic implications as the community does all it can to bring about the coming of the messiah. The last chaper of this book, "Into The Future," begins with a wonderfully clear and concise description of Lubavitch mystical beliefs.

The irrepressible joy and exhuberance of the young women, that the spiritual practice of Hasidism seems to promote, leads to the author's use of the term "merrymakers" to describe the subjects of this book.

Levine starts off the book with a general introduction to the Crown Heights Lubavitch community and the background to her study. She talks about the Bais Rivka school and its students.

Then in a series of seven chapters she takes in depth looks at seven of the young women she was able to get the closest to in her year of research. We meet their families and see their day to day life. We hear them describe their current life and aspirations. As the most important duty of a Lubavitch woman is to marry and have children, their mate selection and preparations for married life are part of these chapters.

The last chapter contains a look at the future for both the young women and the Hasidic movement. This is a wonderful book for anyone like me who is interested in Hasidism or the lives of young women in the modern world. Levine is a wonderful writer and she treats her subjects with fondness and respect. Yet she is honest and direct. So this study has both objectivity and admiration, a delightful combination in such a work.

2006-09-04T04:45:00.000-07:00

Castle Rouge. Carole Nelson Douglas

Irene Adler is a character created by Arthur Conan Doyle and the only woman who ever outsmarted his famous detective, Sherlock Holmes. Carole Nelson Douglas has taken Irene and turned her into a detective with her own series of mystery novels. In this book, Castle Rouge, the action picks up from the previous volume Chapel Noir, with Irene seeking out the person or people who have perpetrated Jack the Ripper like murders in Paris a year after the Whitechapel murders in London. She is in desperate pursuit because it appears that her colleague Nell Huxleigh and her husband have been taken by the same culprits. But who are they? In this second volume Irene leaves Paris first for Prague and then a castle in Romania. Who is responsible for this international crime spree? Don't read the Selected Bibliography at the end of the book until you have finished it. You may find a spoiler of a clue there,
A long tale that stretches across two large volumes, but the excitement never flags. Highly recommended - a feminist point of view on the Victorian era.

2006-09-04T04:40:00.000-07:00

Chapel Noir. Carole Nelson Douglas

Irene Adler is the only female adversary to outwit Sherlock Holmes and she may have stolen his heart as well. Carol Nelson Douglas has taken the brief outline of Irene Adler in the Sherlock Holmes adventure A Scandal In Bohemia and fleshed it out into a marvelous sleuth of her own design. She has created her own series of books with Irene Adler as a 19th century detective with a feminist flair.

Adler's latest two-part adventure, Chapel Noir and Castle Rouge, is told through a series of journal entries by her female companion Penelope Huxleigh. Additional chapters are supposedly taken from notes written by a prostitute called Pink and sections of a mysterious yellow book of anonymous authorship. This multiple "authorship" allows Douglas to present her story from different perspectives.

And what a story! In Chapel Noir Adler is called on by Baron de Alphonse Rothschild to investigate a particularly bloody murder in a Parisian bordello. Before long Jack the Ripper is the suspect and Sherlock Holmes (sans Watson) has come to Paris to investigate. As the plot moves on, more famous historical figures are drawn in either as suspects or allies. 470 pages later I found, instead of the end, that this is the first of a two part story.

A rollicking adventure that continues for another 470 pages in Castle Rouge. Lots of fun if you can stand the gruesome aspects of the crimes.

2006-09-04T04:35:00.000-07:00

Kushiel's Dart. Jacqueline Carey

What an epic adventure! This book starts out slow and I was tempted to stop reading it often during the first 300 pages.

It is a hard book to read. There is a six page Dramatis Personae that lists the major characters and it can be very confusing at times. The second half is easier as less characters are introduced and the action kicks in big time.

The author sets up an alternative historical France that she calls Terre D'Ange, the Land of Angels, at around the time 800CE. There is a whole alternate theology based on the son of Jesus (Yeshua in the book) and the Magdalene.

The book reminds me of The Hobbit in the sense of it being an epic adventure through many lands and past many challenges, but the hero is a woman and a masochistic prostitute at that. The book is more sensual than explicit with a free love theology as a theme. However, the emphasis is on the machinations of courtly politics and war.

Once the action starts, it is hard to put down.

2006-09-04T04:17:00.000-07:00

Folly. Laurie R. King

Laurie King's Folly is a very sympathetic portrayal of the effects of psychosis and madness on the individual. In this case it is Rae Newborn who is literally reborn from her last bout of suicidal mental illness through the solitude of an uninhabited island and the project of rebuilding a burned-out house. We join her as she leaves therapy to live on an isolated island off the coast of Washington state. Her only human contact is a weekly visit by a tatooed man called Ed who drops off her supplies and picks up her laundry and shopping list. She starts off by dumping her medications into the Sound (pharmaceutical pollution!) to live drug free with her imaginary Watchers and her suicidal depression.

The mystery aspect of the novel is based on the old adage: "just because you're paranoid doesn't mean the world isn't out to get you." She is a famous artist with her own and inherited wealth. Her son-in-law is involved in shady dealings and always seeking money from Rae. Her geat uncle Desmond originally built the house and disappeared when a mysterious fire destroyed it just before completion. Is someone out to get her or is she just psychotic? As the work on the house proceeds and her health improves this question keeps up the suspense.

The structure of the novel is broad sections named after the progress of the house reconstruction (Clearing the Ground, Laying the Foundations Building Walls, Raising the Roof Beam, and House Warming). Each of these is introduced by some brief statement by an anonymous Victim who seeks vengeance against The Thief. Who these two are the ultimate mystery of the novel. Each section is divided into chapters that are told from the point of view of Rae Newborn. To break up this a bit, the author introduces chapters throughout the text that are selections from Rae's journal, Desmond's journal, Rae's letters to her granddaughter Petra, and letters from Petra.

Laurie King is a master of character development and locale. Her depiction of Rae and the people with whom she interacts brings these people to rich and complex life. Even when the readers know they are minor characters, we are still treated to people who bring a complexity to their roles. This is also true of the setting in the San Juan islands. The pace and ecology of this community is lovingly portrayed. Add to these the technical details of house carpentry and woodworking, and you have a very rich and satisfying novel.

Folly is an excellent mystery. Without the known anchors of Ms. King's mystery series (Mary Russell and Kate Martinelli), this book may lack some of the success of books in those series. I found it difficult at the start because Rae has been suicidally depressed and I have a natural reluctance to make friends with people like that. Yet it is by confronting our discomfort that this book is ultimately successful in providing a deep insight into the stigma of mental illness.

2006-08-16T19:09:00.000-07:00

Harding's Luck. Edith Nesbit

Are Edith Nesbit's novels where J. K. Rowling got the idea for her Harry Potter series in which magical witches and wizards live secretly among normal humdrum people (muggles)? It was Nesbit, who wrote 60 children's novels, that first started writing about everyday English children discovering magical people, charms, and spells in their midst. One of the founding members of the Fabian Society, Nesbit was famous in her time for her Socialist beliefs and friends. However, presently it is her children's books that are her enduring legacy.

Harding's Luck is the second of a pair of novels about Dickie Harding a young orphan in 1906 London who uses a crutch because his left leg doesn't work. When his father died he left Dickie an old toy that was to bring him luck, but as the story opens there is little luck or joy in the child's life.

Nesbit's Socialist beliefs are strongly represented in her portrayal of Dickie's poverty. She describes life for the poor of the time as follows. "...All the green trees are gone, and good work is gone, and people do bad work for just so much as will keep together their worn bodies and desolate souls. And sometimes they starve to death." She also portrays a society strictly divided by class in which Dickie is poor but has noble blood which elevates him above those around him.

The magic of the story is a spell involving the toy his father gave him that puts him in contact with a trio of magical moles called Mouldiwarps and a nursemaid witch. This group transport him back 300 years to the time of King James I where he is Richard Arden, a young boy of noble family who has two healthy legs. He travels back and forth between his London and that of James I with the help of the Mouldiwarps. In the process he saves the Arden family's fortune and has to decide between his present-day London and that of 300 years ago.

Nesbit is a wonderful storyteller and the plot is full of detail and adventure that make it a delight to read. Her use of the street language of the time makes this a difficult book for young readers of today, but adults who like children's literature will find it a delightful glimpse of English life. H. R. Millar's 16 original drawings help bring the tale to life. This Books of Wonder edition suffers from bad proofreading. I found over a dozen misspellings that should have been caught in the editing process. Although this is one of a two volume series, it can be read alone with no problem.

2006-08-12T11:00:00.000-07:00

To Play the Fool. Laurie R. King

To Play the Fool is the second of a series of mystery novels by Laurie King that feature the San Francisco homicide detective Kate Martinelli. The first book, A Grave Talent, was an Edgar Award winner.

This book picks up about a year after the first, and finds Martinelli and her partner Al Hawken investigating the death of a homeless man in Golden Gate Park. There are no witnesses or evidence, but an enigmatic old man called Brother Erasmus who speaks only in quotations becomes a prime suspect. Quickly the story changes from a homicide investigation to an attempt to find out about the mysterious Erasmus, who is either a saintly fool or mentally ill.

Laurie King is in her element as the scholarly street person quotes from the Bible and Shakespeare to answer all questions, leaving the two worldly detectives to puzzle over his meaning. Either he killed the man, or he knows who did. They must find a way to make him talk in a way that will make sense to the legal system to solve the crime.

As with A Grave Talent, King creates wonderfully complex characters that draw the reader into the story. Also her plot is sufficiently complex to keep you guessing. I fell in love with the kindly Brother Erasmus and the people who were drawn to him. A delightful story that is well told.

2006-08-08T19:12:00.000-07:00

The Amorous Busboy of Decatur Avenue. Robert Klein

The Amorous Busboy of Decatur Avenue is Robert Klein's memoirs of growing up in the Bronx in the 1950s. Born in 1942, Klein writes affectionately of the basic influences of his youth during the years 1951 to 1966. Each chapter begins with a picture of Klein during the period discussed.

His parents were children of immigrant Jews who were "careful, cautious, wary people" and passed on their concerns to Klein and his sister. His bedroom was a Castro convertable ottoman in the living room of their small 6th floor apartment.

The first four chapters cover his life in junior high and high school in the Bronx. Having grown up in the Bronx myself during this time, I found these very well written and full of delightful details.

The next five chapters are about his life at Alfred University in rural upstate New York. Here he confronts anti-Semitism and develops a love of acting and comedy. He also works summers in the Catskill Mountain resorts made famous in the movie Dirty Dancing. He is no Patrick Swayze, and his amorous nature is mostly unfulfilled.

The last six chapters tell the story of his breaking into show business. His first success in Chicago's Second City and his friendship with Rodney Dangerfield are highlights of this section.

One of the recurring themes of the work is his sexual relations over time. Beginning with his losing his virginity to a 112th Street prostitute, Klein reminisces about the women in his life and the sexual and sometimes loving relations he had with them. Although he is not very graphic in his descriptions, this male oriented portrayal of sex in the 50s and early 60s may seem insensitive by modern standards. Yet it is his very honesty at representing the male attitudes of the time that makes this aspect of the book especially interesting. He says he writes "not to titillate but to communicate the excitement that sex held for me and its importance in my life." This was a time of great changes in sexual attitudes and his depictions of his and his friends' sexual interests over these 16 years shows how radical the change was.

All in all this is a wonderful memoir of New York life in the 1950s. It is also an insightful portrayal of college life at the time, especially in an era when Jews were still being discriminated against in fraternities and other aspects of academia. Lastly, Klein does a great job of describing his beginning career as an actor. How he learned his craft, the problems he faced, and the people he knew are all well represented.

2006-07-30T13:22:00.000-07:00

Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife. Mary Roach

Spook provides a light-hearted look at the current status of research into the existence and survivability of the soul. Mary Roach calls it "a book for people who would like very much to believe in a soul and in an afterlife for it to hang around in, but who have trouble accepting these things on faith." At the end of the book, she admits that she began this project "from a state of near absolute ignorance." This is one of the book's most endearing features, since the reader gets a glimpse of how Ms. Roach goes about researching a topic.

The book does not end up with a definitive answer. If science had proof for or against the afterlife, it would have been big news. So this is an exploration of the current state of the research. The author claims that she does not approach the topic as a debunking skeptic, but she does throw in a lot of humorous asides in an attempt to amuse as well as explore.

Chapter One, "You Again," is about reincarnation. Ms. Roach goes to India for a week to visit Kirti S. Rawat, director of the International Center for Survival. Her purpose is to accompany him as he examines a claimed case of reincarnation. She meets the child, his family, and the family of the deceased man that the child claims to be. She also runs into cultural differences in a society where many people believe in reincarnation and don't need scientific proof.

The second chapter is a historic discussion on past research by people who believed there was a soul. Questions such as whether the soul came from the sperm or the ovum, or whether it entered the fetus at some point in its development are reviewed. Also looked at are those who searched for the exact bodily organ that contained soul.

"How to Weigh a Soul" is the third chapter. It explores the research done to see if the soul has weight. If so, can a drop in weight at death be proof of the existence of the soul leaving? The famous experiment by Duncan Macdougall that determined the soul weighs 21 grams is reviewed as well as other more recent attempts. The fourth chapter goes on to look at the attempts to photograph or capture an image of the soul as it leaves the body.

The next couple of chapters delve into the claims of mediums who say they can establish communication with departed spirits. Chapter 5 is a history of the attempts by mediums to produce ectoplasm, a physical manifestation of spirit energy. Chapter 6 then goes on to look at current research with gifted mediums at the VERITAS Research Program of the University of Arizona conducted by Gary Schwartz. This is followed by the author taking a Fundamentals of Mediumship course at Arthur Findlay College in England.

Chapter 8 "Can You Hear Me Now?" looks into attempts to use technology to establish communication with dead souls. EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena) on tape recorders and radio static is the current trend, but Ms. Roach also looks into the history of this field.

Chapter 9 begins a section where Ms. Roach looks to see if physical phenomena, rather than spirits, may cause the feelings of contact with the beyond. First she visits Dr. Michael Persinger at the Consciousness Research Lab at Laurentian University in Sudbury Ontario. He is studying the ability of complex electromagnetic fields to produce hallucinations that might resemble contact with the dead. Chapter 10 looks into whether low frequency sound waves (10 - 20 hertz) could do the same thing. Ms. Roach visits Vic Tandy who teaches at Coventry University whose research is in this area.

Chapter 11 is my personal favorite. It deals with a 1925 North Carolina ghost who appeared to his son to tell him where to find the most recent version of his will. The case went to court and the new will was accepted by the family. Both the old and new wills were on file in the courthouse, and Ms. Roach brings in the president of the American Society of Questioned Document Examiners. Although the family decided to accept the new will, it turns out to be a poor quality forgery. Yet the story of family intrigue is so interesting that the chapter left me wanting someone to write more about this case.

The last chapter looks into what Mary Roach feels is the most promising of the current research to prove the existence of the soul. Based on the reports of people who have had Near Death Experiences (NDEs) who claim they felt themselves rising out of their bodies and looking down on the room they are in, this research places an object that can only be seen from the ceiling in rooms where people might possibly experience an NDE. Interviews are then conducted to see if they experienced an NDE and saw the object. This research is being conducted by Bruce Greyson at the University of Virginia.

The books ends with a 13 page bibliography that goes chapter by chapter through the resources Mary Roach used for the book. Some may criticize her for attempting to write such a book without being an expert in the field. I find that her newness to the topic gives her a fresh unbiased perspective. However, I feel that she attempts to cover her inexperience with humor that sometimes detracts from the work. If you can endure the jokes, the information provided is well presented.

2006-07-22T06:20:00.000-07:00

The Living House of Oz. Edward Einhorn with illustrations by Eric Shanower

The Living House of Oz is Edward Einhorn's second collaboration with Eric Shanower on an Oz novel. The first, Paradox in Oz, was critically aclaimed, and took Ozma, the fairy ruler of Oz, on a rollercoaster ride through time into an alternative Oz where good and evil characters were reversed.

The Living House of Oz has the classic structure of an Oz novel: a young child coming of age visits Oz and, through his adventures and interactions with the good people of Oz, he matures and overcomes a crisis. In this case Buddy and his sorceress mom have fled to Oz to find safety, but have to hide because his mother uses illegal magic to protect him from danger. When she is discovered and brought to Ozma, all Oz is threatened by her enemies.

Although the structure is traditional, Einhorn brings it new life with his examination of the two themes of Nature vs. Nurture and the Role of Law in a Just Society. Einhorn's delightfully eccentric characters, like the living hat stand called the Earl of Haberdashery and the tuneful flying piccolo Flutefly, lend the work a joyful and humorous presence that is brought to life by Shanower's beautiful illustrations. His color cover and endpapers and the black and white drawings throughout the book show that he is still the best living artist of Oz themes. Einhorn has shown himself to be a master of the genre by skillfully weaving in, not only themes from his previous novel, but also from two of L. Frank Baum's original series: The Emerald City of Oz and Glinda of Oz. Together Einhorn and Shanower are the best Oz Historians since the original team of Baum and Neill. They capture the essence of Oz as Baum and Neill imagined it and keep its timeless character, while presenting a sensibility that can be understood by a modern audience.

2006-07-21T17:33:00.000-07:00

The Red Tent. Anita Diamant

Based on the second half of Genesis in the Old Testament Bible, The Red Tent tells the story of Jacob, his four wives, 12 sons, and one daughter from the women's point of view. It is a fictional life story of Jacob's daughter Dinah, whose name only appears in the Bible 9 times, with 7 of those in chapter 34 of Genesis.

Told in the first person, Dinah starts with how Jacob came to her family and married her mother Leah and her aunt Rachel. The red tent of the title is the place to which the adult women retreat during the new moon when they are menstruating, and is the place where the women's traditions and stories are passed on. Month after month Dinah, and we the readers, slowly learn the structure of this early tribal culture that will eventually become the Jewish people.

Unlike the Genesis version, this is a strongly matriarchal story, and the activities and visions of Jacob and his 12 sons are just background to the childrearing, farming, cooking, spirituality, and crafts traditions of the women of this time. Especially strong are the birthing traditions because Dinah is portrayed as a midwife.

Anita Diamant does a wonderful job of revealing the culture and setting through the words of someone of the time. Dinah is telling the story and it is not until the very end that we discover her intended audience. This is a well-crafted glimpse into the struggles and joys of ancient tribal women of the Middle East.

2006-07-19T15:49:00.000-07:00

Vox. Nicholson Baker

Back in 1993, before Internet erotic chatrooms, Jim and Abby meet through an erotic phone chat service and begin a conversation that becomes the text of this novel. Devoting a whole novel to one erotic phone call allows the author to develop his characters better than your average pay-by-the-minute erotic service would normally allow. Cost becomes no object to these two people a continent apart as they explore their fantasies with each other. While the conversation doesn't maintain a high level of stimulation throughout, there are exciting moments. Overall, a good light work with exciting episodes and a climactic ending.

2006-07-19T14:58:00.000-07:00

Nog's Vision. Brian P. Hall

Nog's Vision is subtitled A Fantasy Journey into Laughter, Dreams & Self-Respect for Pricklies & Would Be Non-Pricklies Young & Old. It is a parable illustrated with line drawings by Donna Griffin that is suitable for all ages.

Into a world called Prickle City, where everyone is defined by their function, a laughing visionary dreamer named Nog is born. The people don't know what to do with this misfit until Nog shares his dreams with them. The dream transforms the people of Prickle City.

It is the author's hope that it will transform you too, Gentle Reader. So if you are seeking a positive vision of self esteem and inner worth, this may be the book for you. Make Nog's Vision your own.

2006-07-03T16:57:00.000-07:00

In Cold Blood. Truman Capote

On November 15, 1959 Perry Smith and Dick Hickock broke into a rural Kansas farmhouse where they bound and gagged the four people they found there: Herb and Bonnie Clutter, and their teenage children Kenyon and Nancy. They took about $40, a small radio and a pair of binoculars. When they left, the Clutters were all dead of shotgun blasts to their heads.

In Cold Blood tells the story of the events leading up to the murder and those following it in a straightforward chronological manner. The Clutters were highly respected members of the small town of Holcombe and their deaths came as a big shock. The murderer's thought they left no clues and had committed a perfect crime. The book treats murdered and murderers with a similar respect for their basic humanity. Although a terrible crime was committed the author is able to present all sides of the story.

Truman Capote truly immersed himself in the community and in the lives of the criminals to provide as much detail as could be found. This is a classic work that is well crafted and thought provoking. Sadly, it also was the last major work of the author.

2006-07-03T07:14:00.000-07:00

In Search of the Divine Mother: The Mystery of Mother Meera - Encountering a Contemporary Mystic. Martin Goodman

In Search of the Divine Mother by Martin Goodman is a very human attempt to understand the mystery of the incarnation of the Divine. Christians claim this mystery to explain how Jesus, a man born of woman, was also the Christ: God come to Earth to redeem humans of sin. The gospels of the New Testament are the Christian story of how this happened 2,000 years ago. Mr. Goodman took as his starting point Mother Meera, a woman born in 1960 in the Andhra Pradesh region of India who claims to be an avatar (or incarnation) of the Hindu goddess the Divine Mother.

The book is in three parts. In the first part, "A Journey into Devotion" we learn how Goodman and others receive "darshan" (being in the presence of God) from Mother Meera in her home in the small German village of Thalheim where she has lived since 1985. "Her darshan consists of a ritual, where she will touch a person's head, and then look into his eyes. During this process, she reportedly 'unties knots' in the person's subtle system and permeates him with light. She doesn't charge any money for doing so and she will not give lectures." -- WIKIPEDIA.

The second and main part of the book is called "The Life Story." Goodman was encouraged by Mother Meera and her followers to go to India and to write a book about her life. They gave him a list of contacts and he went. He interviewed these people and others who knew Mother Meera, Venkat Reddy, the uncle who discovered her, and Adilakshmi, her devoted friend and follower. Among those he interviewed were Mr. Reddy's family, whom he left to pursue his devotion to the child-god he had found among them. Here Goodman explores the question of how the Divine manifests itelf in the human. Does the human know of their divinity from birth? How does their divinity manifest itself on the material plane? How does a very human creature respond to their divine nature? How do others, who have no knowledge of the Divine, interpret the divine spark in someone they know? These are difficult questions that are not easily answered in the limited vocabulary of human discourse. Goodman makes a valiant attempt yet, as with all writing, we see more of the author than what he is trying to describe.

The third part "A Journey into Life" tells of his attempts to get his words published. Mother Meera and Adilakshmi ask him to delete his first draft and he complies. He struggles with his decision and, in anger, writes a second draft which is also never published. The book we have is a later draft and this last chapter is his attempt to come to terms with his contact with the Divine. He sums up by saying: "Mother Meera gives powerful spiritual transmission that helps people bud into the fullness of life.... I have met a power that comes from Mother Meera, and it has transformed my life. It did not come from her words but from within the silence of her public meetings. ... It is wonderful to know her through her silence alone." He sees her as "a superb channel" of the Divine, that the Divine energy flows through her human form to those who approach her. Yet he seems to be saying that she maintains human form and does not transcend it.

Goodman's devotion to Mother Meera helped him to come to terms with his own homosexuality, something that was also stated by her first biographer Andrew Harvey in his book Hidden Journey. Her unconditional love and silent acceptance were very healing to both men. When her 1997 book Answers Part 2 states that "Homosexuality is against the law of nature," both men are shaken from their devotion. Goodman states: "...since I know with certainty that Mother Meera is wrong in her condemnation of homosexuality, I cannot accept her word on anything else."

This is a wonderfully honest attempt to write about the human experience of the Divine. It will be insightful reading for any who are interested in spiritual growth.

2006-06-28T18:39:00.000-07:00

A Grave Talent. Laurie R. King

A Grave Talent is the first novel written by Laurie R. King. it is also the first in a series of mysteries that features the detective Kate Martinelli, A lesbian detective in the San Francisco Police Department. It won the 1993 Edgar Award for Best First Novel.

In this book Kate has just been promoted to detective and is assigned to work with a seasoned male detective who has recently transferred from Los Angeles. The case involves young girls who are strangled, but not molested, and left on the grounds of a rural gated community which is a home to various unconventional folks. When a famous female artist, who is living in the community under another name, turns out to be an ex-con who was convicted of murdering a child, it appears they have their culprit. Yet after meeting her, they start to have their doubts.

At first the young inexperienced woman and the hardened male detecive seem an odd couple that will not get along. Yet the novel is as much about their finding commonalities, and finally friendship, as it is about solving the high-profile case. This turns out to be a strong start to a mystery series that will deal with character development as well as criminal activity.

Laurie King has also written the Mary Russell series of historical mysteries involving a young woman and an older detective, the fictional Sherlock Holmes. She seems at home with the older man/young woman dynamics of both these series and brings a very human side to her characters while writing convincing mysteries.

2006-06-11T17:17:00.000-07:00

The Emerald Wand of Oz. Sherwood Smith

The Emerald Wand of Oz is an Oz story in the classic form created by L. Frank Baum over 100 years ago. Yet it has a modern flavor that may make it acceptable to a young audience.

It has a seal on the front cover proclaiming that Smith has an Official License to be Royal Historian of Oz that comes from The L. Frank Baum Family Trust. Before the Baum Oz books came into the public domain this was very important because the family trust controlled the use and depiction of the characters created by Baum. Lately this has been less relevant, and many authors have taken their hand to writing non-official Oz books with varying degrees of success.

In this book two sisters, from Lawrence Kansas, who believe they are related to Dorothy Gale get transported to Oz by a tornado. They get adopted into a community of children who groom a herd of wild unicorns, and pick up a strange friend who, like them, wants to escape from the possessive and vain unicorns. Their goal is to find Glinda and ask to be returned home to Kansas. Yet, as in so many Oz stories, there is a threat to the fairy land of Oz. This time it is the niece of the Wicked Witch of the West, who has taken up residence in her aunt's old castle, and has cast a spell on the fairy ruler Ozma, the good witch Glinda, and the Wizard. As in the classic Oz stories, a group of Ozzy characters who seem silly and helpless join together to defeat the villain and restore order. Once things are returned to normal, there is a banquet in the Emerald City, and the children are returned to their normal life much more mature and aware of the importance of group action and compassion.

This is planned to be the first of a three volume series by Smith, and so there are parts of the plot that do not get resolved. This gives the plot a loose feeling that Baum would never have tolerated. Sadly, Byron Preiss who was funding this project tragically died last July, and his publishing company declared bankrupcy this February. So the future of the project is deeply in question. Hopefully, someone will pick it up and see it to completion. Smith feels that the other two books are even better than this one, and it would be a shame if they never see print.

2006-06-11T16:48:00.000-07:00

2006-06-09T16:13:00.000-07:00

Hidden Journey: A Spiritual Awakening. Andrew Harvey

Hidden Journey reminds me of the Joan Osborne song "If God Were One Of Us." It tells the story of Andrew Harvey's nine years of spiritual growth while a pupil of Mother Meera, an woman who claims to be an incarnation of God on Earth. He meets Meera at the Aurobindo ashram in Pondicherry at the end of 1978 when he is 27 and she is 18. She has been brought there by Mr. Reddy, an Indian who had been seeking the Mother Goddess his whole life and discovered Meera when she was an 11 year old servant in his in-laws' home.

The book is more about Harvey's mystical journey, but people interested in Mother Meera will also find the book useful. He describes her silent meetings with followers (darshan) where she first holds the devotee's head in her hands and then looks into their eyes, supposedly imparting her grace in this process. Also her early life in India and Thalheim Germany are presented, but in a very subjective way through the practice of Mr. Harvey.

Since Mother Meera is silent during her public appearances, much of what we learn of her is from question and answer periods that Harvey held with her in private. However, even these are presented basically as leading questions by Harvey to which Meera agrees. The other method that Harvey uses to reveal her thoughts is through Mother Meera's voice in Harvey's head. He presents Meera as being able to communicate with him telepathically and many discussions in the book, presented in italics, are of this nature.

Another large portion of the book is devoted to the mystical gifts of visions and dreams that Harvey gets from Meera during his spiritual progress. Many of them are of glowing radiances, golden glows, and other lights. While these and other unusual occurences present a very lively and dramatic view of the mystical path, I found them repetative and skipped over a lot of them.

The book does present how an average human being with a fair share of personal problems can make spiritual progress through mystical practice. However, although Harvey made lots of progress, one gets the idea that he still has a way to go.

2006-06-05T18:08:00.000-07:00

Daughters of Destiny. L. Frank Baum

Daughters of Destiny was originally published 100 years ago under the pseudonym Schuyler Staunton. This was the name Baum used for 2 of his novels written for an adult audience. It takes place in London and Baluchistan, on the Arabian Sea, which is now part of the countries of Pakistan and Iran. Famous for his children's books about the land of Oz, Baum was excellent at creating uncomplicated and strong characters and developing plots based on their interactions.

This book is no exception. A group of six Americans hires a Baluchi prince in exile to guide them to Baluchistan to negotiate the rights for a railroad. The prince is hoping to gain the throne when the current monarch dies. Their business plans get sidetracked by local intrigue over succession to the throne of the dying king.

Three of the Americans are women: the daughters of the two businessmen, and an aunt. They get swept up in the local affairs and romantic interests blossom. It is their destinies that drive the plot forward.

Baum's characters are either devious and plotting or noble and altruistic, and good wins out over evil in the end. Sadly, his ethnic portrayals are racist and stereotypical which makes this novel an interesting glimpse into the racial bias prevalent at the beginning of the 20th century. A good read for Baum fans and people interested in the portrayal of the Middle East in literature, but this will never be more than fringe literature in our modern culture.

The illustrations by Eric Shanower are well done and capture the essence of Baum's characters. While there is a hardbound edition limited to 250 copies, the complete work is also available in Oz-Story #4, both from Hungry Tiger Press.

2006-05-29T17:02:00.000-07:00

Made in the Middle Ages. Christine Price

Made in the Middle Ages is a 45 year old work for teens and general audiences about Medieval craftsmen and their work. At a time when seeing the artifacts of this era meant going to a few widely-scattered and specialized museums, Christine Price used her artistic abilities and historic knowledge to create a wonderful illustrated introduction to this topic.

The book is divided into two sections: "Things Made for the Castle," and "Things Made for the Church." These are subdivided into sixteen chapers on Armor and Weapons, Cloth and Clothing, Jewels and Enamels, Sports and Pastimes, Tapestries, Tableware, Books for the Castle, Diptychs and Reliquaries, Books for the Church, Embroidery, Wood Carving, Paintings, Carvings in Alabaster, Carvings in Ivory, and Treasures of the Church. Each page is amply illustrated with pen and ink drawings of artifacts of the time that now reside in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Morgan Library, the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Bodelian Library, and other places. The end papers are outline maps of Europe that show the places mentioned in the book.

Well-organized and well-presented, this little book provides much detail about life and crafts in Europe between the years 1000 and 1500. Today photographs of many of these items are on the Internet, but Price's presentation gives them an order and logic unique to this work.