This book reveals an exciting new field in the investigation of ancient sites: acoustic archaeology. It brings to light a vanished aspect of the past with the aid of computer modelling and sophisticated equipment to calculate frequencies and resonances. These investigations have demonstrated that stone chambers, temples, dolmens, menhirs and even paleolithic caves were deliberately constructed or used in ways that would enhance the ritual sounds produced within them. In the process it reveals the very origins of music and a lost world where echoes were regarded as the voices of the spirits. It assists in our understanding of the biochemical and physiological reasons that lie behind the reasons why dance and rhythm and percussion are such powerful human experiences. Particularly interesting sections include the one on Infrasound (below the hearing ability of the human ear, but one can feel it), on brainwave states, the resonation of body parts, and music and mysticism. Locations tested and reported on, include Stonehenge and other spots on the British Isles, French and Spanish paleolithic caves, Grecian and Mayan temples. The text is enhanced by black & white illustrations, musical notations and beautiful color plates. There are also references & notes and an index. Being the first work ever in this exciting new discipline, this book is very valuable and I highly recommend it to readers who are interested in mankind's unknown past, and to musicologists, ethnologists and archaeologists.

Stone Houses is a splendid survey which focuses exclusively on residential architecture in the USA. The book begins with several breathtaking photographs of historical sites in the Southwest where the Anasazi built beguiling settlements out of local stone over one thousand years ago. It then proceeds to document numerous stone structures of interest from colonial times right through to the present. Moreover, in addition to his commentary on the buildings presented within the pages of this beautifully realized volume, Lee Goff provides a thoughtful discussion of the qualities of stone itself which makes for such a superb, durable building material in the first instance as well as an inspirational source for imaginative residential design. To quote briefly from the introduction: "Stone has different moods. It can be warm or cold, protective or inhospitable. Before all else, however, stone evokes an image of power, strength, impregnability and endurance. Even more subliminally it conveys a sense of the primordial...Instinctively, we feel the millions of years ago the stones were formed. Thus, the materials of nature become the material of shelter, and the form the shelter takes in turn reflects the origin of the stone and the house's setting, connecting the dwelling and its inhabitants to the most permanent world of all-the natural world."

Stone was the first material used for shelter. It can be (and has been) assembled in any number of creative, aesthetically pleasing ways. Stone Houses takes us on a wondrous tour of many of the possibilities inherent to this medium of construction. "Whether cottage or château, cabin or castle, stone houses embody feelings of romance and the picturesque. Their walls speak of permanence and history; their stones give whispered accounts of their prehistoric creation. They are an ongoing part of what Tennyson referred to as 'the eternal landscape of the past.' "

Lore Segal and Paul Zelinsky have created a timeless, fine, humorous work that is delightful for both adults and children. Mrs. Lovewright is among the funniest and most beautifully rendered characters I've found in children's literature.

I give this book the high praise I reserve for such children's stories as Grasshopper on the Road, Caleb and Kate, and Mr. Dog.

Last year, I read Mrs. Lovewright over public radio and received numerous calls from adults who wanted to find a copy of the story for themselves. It's sad that such a hilarious, heartwrench and warmer has been lost to the black hole called "out of print."

Dr. Albury's book is very good--a terrific introduction to the history of the Bahamas.

The title to this slim volume of lyrical mini-essays on film is deceptively academic. Coates is a rarity in film writing--a really great writer. The essays here on such apparently banal subjects as color vs. black and white, the aesthetic and political ramifications of dubbing, the iconography of the western, etc. are closer to poetry in tone and insight rather than traditional criticism. Coates is able to say more penetrating things about a filmmaker in one paragraph than most critics can say in an entire book. His essays on Herzog, Tarkovsky, Truffaut, Coppola, Bunuel, etc are essential. Whenever I was in a film class this book came in handy no matter what the subject matter. Coates is the Walter Benjamin of film writing. BTW I picked this book up after reading a highly positive review by the esteemed New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael.

After having done personal development work for over 18 years, I can honestly say that the simple exercises in this book have been some of the most profound at rapidly changing the quality of my relationships with anyone.

Not only do the processes in Straight From The Heart work extremely well, but they have worked EVERY time that I have utilized them.

Just simply reading the guidelines prior to doing a "Heart to Heart" talk has dramatically shifted my feelings and opened my heart thereby creating closeness and love when there had been hurt and anger.

Do yourself a favor and get this book and USE it!

Podrazik certainly knows the Fab Four. Having previously collaborated on the definitive three volume discography on the Beatles, he uses the opportunity of the new releases on CD of the Beatles' music to update us on their music, the impact of it on the world, and that intimate minutiae that only a real scholar can dig up. Well worth buying and reading. Michael Class

God and Goddess. Grace and Justice. Priest and Priestess. Right or Wrong? Mormonism, perhaps more than any other Christian sect, is replete with paradox and seeming contradictions. These paradoxes lead to inevitable questioning by those Latter-day Saints who study their religion deeply and passionately. Margaret and Paul Toscano endeavor to examine these paradoxes and provide some "religious ideas" along the seeker's path to exaltation that may help them find the dynamic median between spiritual extremes. Their book not only endeavors to discuss questions that have perplexed theologians for centuries, but applies this study to our modern experiences as Mormons and asks powerful questions about what these paradoxes mean for us as individuals and as a Church. This book is absolutely the most profound text I have ever read on Mormonism outside of the scriptures themselves, and has helped me find my own answers to the many problems I've encountered in my experience as a Latter-day Saint. It asks such questions as "What is the role of Heavenly Mother in the Godhead?" and "Do Mormon women hold the priesthood?" without glossing them over with pat answers as many in the Church do, or taking an argumentative, polarized stance on the issue as many outside the Church have done. Count on this book to present a thorough, profound examination of the issues which concern all faithful members of the LDS Church, and many that concern theologians and feminists in the greater Christian community.

Contents:

Introduction
Part I: First Principles
Chapter 1: Cornerstones
Chapter 2: Keystones
Part II: Godhead
Chapter 3: Holiness to the Lord
Chapter 4: The God of Flesh and Glory
Chapter 5: The Divine Mother
Chapter 6: Jesus Christ and the Mormon Pantheon
Chapter 7: Beyond Matriarchy, Beyond Patriarchy
Chapter 8: The Marriage of Time and Eternity
Part III: Redemption
Chapter 9: Divinity and Humanity
Chapter 10: Bringing Good Out of Evil

Chapter 11: The Case for Grace
Chapter 12: Metaphors of Salvation
Part IV: Priesthood
Chapter 13: The Nature and Purpose of Priesthood
Chapter 14: Priesthood in the Book of Mormon
Chapter 15: Women and Priesthood in the Bible
Chapter 16: A Kingdom of Priestesses
Chapter 17: The Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood
Chapter 18: Women, Ordination, and Hierarchy
Chapter 19: Zion: Vision or Mirage
Part V: Sex Roles, Marriage Patterns, and the Temple
Chapter 20: Sex Roles
Chapter 21: Monogamy, Polygamy, and Humility
Chapter 22: Rending the Veil
Chapter 23: The Mormon Endowment
Bibliography

As a experienced middle school teacher (120 12 and 13 year olds per day), I have long understood the need for active teaching strategies in my own classroom; strategies that will engage kids, keep them active, teach content and help them to improve their thinking skills. As a workshop provider and teacher trainer, I have also come to understand the hunger teachers have for such strategies in their classrooms.

Strategies for Teachers: Teaching Content and Thinking Skills by Paul D. Eggen and Donald P. Kauchak is an important resource for those teachers of all levels who wish to expand their repertoire of active teaching strategies, and for those education professors who wish to introduce future teachers to engaging and exemplary teaching strategies that have a strong theoretical and research base.

Moving from a discussion of information processing models of teaching, teacher effectiveness research, and active teaching, Eggen and Kauchak guide their readers through various strategies of teaching: inductive, concept-attainment, inquiry-based, and cooperative learning strategies. While stressing the importance of the constructivist teaching models, Eggen and Kauchak also acknowledge the need for direct instruction models of teaching and have an excellent chapter on the lecture-discussion strategy.

For teachers of all levels and all stages of their career, the journey toward more active teaching is a powerful one. Strategies for Teachers: Teaching Content and Thinking Skills can be an important guidepost in that journey.

Michael M. Yell, 1998 National Social Studies Teacher of the Year

'Street People,' comprising Paul Perry's award-winning short stories in an arresting collection, is a poignant look at folks whose homes are wherever they are. The stories are not maudlin or oversympathetic, nor are they unnecessarily aesthetic. They are simply presented. And they are teeming with life. People blessed with four walls and a roof, count your blessings. Perry brings to absolute life the stark, matter of fact existences of the homeless, the wanderer, the seeker, the down-and-out. He's a good writer and his subject matter is compelling, but most of all, he's a great storyteller. From the homeless pair whose frustration is laid bare when their dead acquaintance's body lies ignored by the side of the highway for days, to the prostitute who carries her pimp's baby, to the simple act of sheltering in an abandoned automobile on a cold night, these stories touched a deep chord in me. I deeply appreciated that Perry gives these folks, through 'Street People,' credible and legitimate voice. Three cheers for Pocol Press of Virginia, which has begun to anthologize the work of some very talented emerging writers. Support this press and pick up Paul Perry's book -- you'll be pleased on a number of levels that you did.