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Her life and world was being tore down around her as the Hitler war machine made its way into Budapest. Yet in the middle of all this turmoil, true love was found and the only thing that could tear it apart was the simple fact that she was Jewish. Her love for Richie Covacs' outweighed her safety, outweighed the gold star she was forced to wear, and eventually, it out outweighed her sanity.
My heart ached for Betty the day the SS and the Arrow Cross came knocking at the doors and gathered up what was left of her family. I wanted to spring into the book and help Richies' 'Kis Pofa" (His pet name for her which means: Little face.) Was she ever going to see him again? Would they get married, have children, be in each others arms ever again?
"To See You Again" is also a story of the human will to survive. Betty's Mother is one of the most heroic people I have every read about. A woman, despite all the grisly horror around her, kept her undying faith in God. It was that faith that kept her and her family from dying on a grueling death march and in the concentration camps.
This book will make you shed tears of joy and tears of pain.
I have meet Betty and Otto during the taping of her son's (Robert Schimmel) HBO comey special. It was an honor!
Rolin Timmerman Grand Rapids, MI.
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For those of you who don't know the story, Black Beauty is horse in England during the 19th century. He begins life with a loving master, but due to circumstances is sold several times -- to owners both kind and cruel.
Sewell, a Quaker woman, wrote this book (first published in 1877) to enlighten the public. Horses at the time were often beaten, starved and overloaded. Sewell's book, however, became a catalyst for change and ushered in a new way of thinking about the treatment of animals.
It really openend my eyes as to the abuse and cruelty - and majestic fraility - that these wonderful creatures suffer at the hands of their human counterparts.
Ms Sewell opted to write this book from " the horse's point of view " and she was one of the very few authors that was able to pull this off with such great success.
This book also, laid the cornerstone for the ASPCA aims and goals, and brought to light the conditions and treatment of working horses in 20th century London, England ( and elsewhere ).
The story is such a wonderful tale of a horse's life from start to finish; told with a quiet dignity and warmth - and serves as a successful analogy also, as to how humans should interact with one another.
This book also laid the cornerstone for my interest and love of horses, and further spurred my interest in reading about all things Equine.
From there, and I went on to read all of Walter Farley's "The Black Stallion" series ( I used to collect the hardcover editions), and Marguerite Henry's books, and National Velvet(which really wasn't about a horse per se, but more about a little girl who's dreams come true), and anything else I could get my horsey-hungry hands on!
I now keep a copy of Anna Sewell's "Black Beauty" in my library at home, and have given a copy to my daughter to read.
This is a tale that sensitizes the reader to the plight of horses at the hands of their human caregivers, trainers, etc - all told from the horse's mouth ( so to speak )..!
And lest we think that the inhumane treatment of horses has abided since this book was written - one only has to follow the controversy surrounding the use of "Premarin", or abusive training methods of gaited horses, or the Thoroughbred racing industry, or rodeo...etc.
There is still much to be gleaned about the exploitation and abuse of animals from this book - which will always remain a timeless classic.
Kim C. Montreal, 05/2000
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Actually, the premise of the book was quite original for its time. I have enough books popular during the 1950s to see that, at a time when a number of "good sports" were writing of adapting to wilderness conditions (some far worse than Betty's - which has no elements of children dying or life threatening illnesses), Betty had the ingenuity to show the other side of the picture. However, reading her later, far more polished works, makes one see how very raw her talent was at this point. Various characters, such as the Kettles, seem far more fictional and caricatured than those who appear in her later work.
Perhaps another reason that I dislike the Egg and I, while loving Betty's other books, is that there is a very unhappy undertone. All of Betty's books treat of some sad situations (one cannot do much worse than having tuberculosis!), but the overall feeling is very positive, and Betty's knack for finding humour seems part of a generally happy and accepting attitude. There is something very tragic about a "city girl" of only 18 so obviously marrying the wrong man, and one doubts that she would have gone through with it had she had the slightest notion of the living conditions ahead.
Mrs. MacDonald's description of the Washington countryside make you feel as if you were there and her descriptions of her neighbors makes you thankful for yours. It is absolutely a thoroughly charming & delightful book.
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Just like Frannie in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, you'll fall in love with Annie. Annie moves west to Chicago from Brooklyn to marry Carl, her sweetheart. And the story is about her first year with Carl, getting pregnant and making new friends in a strange town and making do with little money. And throughout this whole book, Annie faces every challenge with an upbeat and cheerful spirit. And she will steal your heart too!!
I am almost afraid to watch the movie because the book itself is absolutely wonderful!! It's incredibly romantic and wonderful. Please don't hesitate to buy it ~~ it's a good buy and one that will warm your heart forever!!...
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Also, I once attended a class taught by one of Betty Edwards' students. It was such a helpful and inspiring class, and everyone improved dramatically. It was a wonderful class.
Even though I am no longer a drawing "newbie", I found new insights and new ways to observe and see, thanks to this book. It truly can help new artists and "non" artists draw more accurately. It's amazing! Fabulous!
However, this book is not the ultimate book on drawing, and it should never be regarded as such. It cannot possibly answer every question, or provide every insight. It is only a first step. Drawing accurately is just one component to being an artist. (And I hasten to add, I'm REAL big on drawing accurately, I think it is important.) There is a lot of exploration and growth that each artist must undertake in order to fully develop. There will be further study of anatomy, color, line, etc. etc. This book does not pretend to teach everything, and no one should expect it to.
But, don't worry about that right away, if you are a "newbie". Get the book, enjoy it, learn from it, and then look into other books. This book will give you that needed "jump start" and will help you gain a great deal of confidence. You will be most pleased with the progress you will be able to make, thanks to this book.
The best strengths of the book are the sections that actually teach techniques and tricks that break down how to see and draw. For a rank beginner who has never tried drawing before this getting down to the nitty-gritty is essential to get them headed in the right direction. Before Ms. Edward's book there were few art books (none,in fact, to my knowledge) that gave such low-level basic instruction in such a clear, concise manner. Now many of the techniques she teaches have actually been in use by artists for centuries - witness for example, the grid and the picture plane as teaching tools and concepts. She gives a nitty-gritty explanation of sighting techniques that have been used by artists since at least the Rennaissance and possibly earlier. The reason so many people have given this book 5 stars is that this was one of the first drawing books to realize simply telling someone to compare object 'a' to object 'b' and draw each in proper proportion to the other is not detailed enough. It's the case of an expert forgetting what it's like to be an absolute beginner. This book does not make such statements. Instead you get very detailed diagrams and analysis of exactly how you "compare 'a' to 'b' " and draw accordingly. So the book is full of "assignments". Each chapter introduces more techniques, continues giving nitty-gritty instructions on use of classical methods of drawing to build your skills. Essentially these techniques are drawn upon by anyone who draws in a realistic manner.
Once the reader has spent a lot of practice and time drawing objects around them using these sighting techniques Ms. Edwards shows how to use them for portraiture. I personally think it was good decision. Portraiture is widely (and rightly) perceived as being a difficult thing to do. But everyone who begins a portrait uses exactly the same techniques introduced earlier in the book. The methods are exactly the same no matter what the subject. She just gives again a blow-by-blow, nitty-gritty account of using those techniques to draw someone's portrait and do so believably. Now whether the before portraits had more charm than the after portraits (as one reviewer said) can be debated. I don't think this book is concerned with such higher aims - at least not for someone who has been faithfully following the instructions so far. You have to walk before you can run.
Now as far as the drawing assignments in the book I have a mixed opinion. On the one hand, this latest edition relies a lot more on aids such as 2 different sizes of plastic viewing planes, L-shaped frame borders, etc for the assigments. She offers a kit on her website and through mail-order in the back of the book if you would rather not construct your own drawing aids and tools. The first edition of the book didn't depend nearly so much on all these many aids and still helped many people learn to draw. I rather prefer the older methods but it may be that her workshop experience has taught her that people have more success when they start out with these mechanical sighting aids. And as she mentions in the book eventually you can put them aside because you'll have in-grained the habit of seeing as an artist sees.
I would also like to comment about the constant R-L Brain theories that pepper this book and have so many reviewers split. In my opinion the book would be just as good without any references whatsoever to R-L Brain theories. And I do say theories because technically they still are. That's why Ms. Edwards mentions in the book that some scientists have grumped about her writing about something she doesn't have research experience in. Current research on brain lateralization is ambiguous at best. Some experiments suggest strong lateralization, some suggest it's weak and malleable, and some suggest lateralization doesn't really exist at all. The field of brain research is still quite a young science so the jury is still out on whether there truly is such a thing as a R-Mode or L-Mode dominant brain state for various tasks. There are a lot of good books and articles published every year on brain research. Maybe Ms. Edwards book will encourage more people to read such books for themselves.
Finally, I would like to mention one final thing. Anyone who enjoys this book should by all means get Mona Brookes "Drawing for Older Children and Teens: A Creative Method for Adult Beginners Too". I can not stress this strongly enough. The Mona Brookes book is a 5 star-book and deserves to be far better known than it is. It is DEFINITELY the equal of Drawing on the Right-Side of the Brain. If you want to learn to draw and do so with a much greater focus on your own personal creativity - do yourself a favor - get the Mona Brookes book too. You won't regret it.
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Having lost my copy of the original transcripts I purchased this edition without regard to the Editor and find this edition and this editing misses something from the original.
I am sure it will serve many that are unfamiliar with JC, but I want the un-edited version as it changed my life forever.
This really is no matter as what is present provides the reader with a fine introduction to Campbell's passionate devotion to World Myth. Campbell's life thesis, that man posseses the innate desire and need to create myth, is a compelling idea the binds us all to ourselves and each other.
"The Power of Myth" is NOT to be taken as a religious tome. In that context, it certainly does come off as a cockeyed New Age concoction of non-commitment. It is meant, however, to be taken as a work of deconstructionist literary criticsm that seeks to celebrate the common threads running through all cultures and perspectives.
Campbell openly celebrates man's ability to imagine as well as his devotion to ideas. He does not seek to debunk or trivialize the devout (one must be careful to realize this as they read Campbell). His scholarly intent as I see it, is to encourage and nurture the seed of faith inherent in all and encourage everyone to embark on their own heroic adventures of discovery.
"The Power of Myth" serves as an excellent bibliography of sorts as it lists the many great folktales and religious texts which demand re-reading. Campbell urges his audience to read for themselves and search for their own discoveries.
If one is searching for a far more in depth study of myth, I cannot praise enough Campbell's excellent "The Hero With A Thousand Faces". As is, "The Power of Myth" is a fine starting point.
And to give Bill Moyers due credit as well as an excellent journalist who always knows the right question to ask-and whom unlike a lot of journalists today-actually cares about what he is and was covering. In fact, sometimes Moyers says something quite insightful on his own-it is the coming together of two great minds in a question and answer format-that produces the end result of genius-pure genius. If you are unfamiliar with the Bill Moyers interview, I would recommend purchasing it on here, the 6 tapes, or waiting until PBS airs it again-they always do. Afterall, it's one of PBS's all time ratings grabber. The reason I say that is hearing the way Joe Campbell speaks, seeing in flesh just how engaging of a man he is-allows the reader to "imagine him speaking through the book." To me-that makes a huge difference.
This book is a winnner all the way-regardless of what religious background you hail from-what sort of philosophy if any you engage-this book will certainly impress you the reader. It could actually change someone's life in the context of stimulating someone's interest enough in mythology-to begin looking into it. Or, it can broaden your insight into your own spiritual life in of which you have already established. Any way you toss this book up-it's heads. So buy it.
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The title of this book is so stark that many will, unfortunately, miss out on how beautifully and with such love that it is written. Still, it is the most powerful book that I have read in a long time. Moreover, I strongly recommend this as a resource for any sort of womens' support group or literary group. I would also recommend this for college curricula in a feminist studies or gender class (in conjunction with "Reviving Ophelia"), provided the title will not prevent it from being carried on a campus bookstore.
I do think the majority of college-educated, pro-choice American women will get a kick out of this, if they can get past the embarassing cover (buying this book felt very much like buying a box of tampons - this is fallout from the author's relentlessly sex-positive attitudes). However, extreme feminists will probably find it overly personal, insufficiently rigorous, and too focused on the lives of women of the demographic I mentioned above.
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The first chapter opens up on the morning of 9/11 and then the rest tells about Todd and Lisa's lives, how they met, their life together, their children, etc. Lisa also shares family photos with the reader. It is so obvious that these two meant the world to each other and cared deeply about their family and their relationship with God.
Anybody who believes Lisa Beamer is trying to cash in on this tragedy is sorely wrong. It's clear by reading this book that she wants no publicity, just the opportunity to share her husband's story.
I was especially moved by the part in the book where Lisa says "that this world is only the preparation for an eternity of joy beyond compare in heaven."
"Let's Roll! Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage" is an intriguing book that will have you smiling and will bring tears to your eyes that Todd Beamer's life was cut short, along with thousands more.