This was my favorite book growing up. I love the drawings and the ideas the boy came up to do with his string. I decided to go online to look for a copy I could read to my own kids. Now that I see how rare it is, I think I'm going to beg my parents for my old book back. Its a well worn book and has had its spine taped since it was read so much. But that's ok -- I still love it. (Besides, its all ready personalized for me -by me- in big red crayon "Kerry")

I am now 21 years old and I still remember this book being read to me as a child. My parents' copy is torn, colored in, and warped from humidity. If you are lucky enough to have this book for your kids, you can be secure in the fact that this is one that we (kids) remember fondly.

A wonderful rhyming story of Imagination and CAN-DO ability of a 6-9 year old child. The story begins with things to do with string out of bed. It ends with how many things can be done from bed. My decrepit copy begins at page 19, however is still enjoyed by, and hopefully inspires, first graders to step away from the TV. A MAGAZINE company advertises String a ma Thing a toy that had to have been inspired by this inventive boy. My copy is an orange-red hardcover, written and illustrated by Marion Holland and precious.

This cookbook is fabulous. I have given as gifts numerous times, and have been told by each recipient that it is the favorite cookbook! I have even bought this cookbook used to give as a gift when it was out of print for awhile! The pancakes and waffles are terrific, and the other recipes are great, lots of new and old things to try. I am a collector and I have one thing to say: Buy it! This is a must have cookbook!

As a student, I find this book FAN-TAS-TIC with a capital F. I just threw a biscuit and gravy party at my friend's house in WeHo, everyone loved it. Thanks Marion!

I just loved the fantastic recipes. Easy as pie to follow, yet the dishes turn out restaurant quality. My husband says this is the best eating since our bed and breakfast tour of Sonoma/Napa.

Collaboratively written Bill Bright and M. R. Wells, A Child Of The King is a fantastic and entertaining tale set in the mystical land of Withershins. A simple orphan's quest to find his father plunges him into an inexorable tidal wave of dark machinations, kings, princes, power struggles, and a great deal more in this magnificently engaging and fully satisfying fable.

A powerful tale for 'children' of all ages.....I was spellbound! Beautifull written, every page made me fall in love with the "People of the Book". This is a story that families will enjoy for generations to come. I'm eagerly awaiting the rest of the trilogy!

Biblical truths can often be taught more effectively via a a fictional story than the normal teaching and preaching we usually experience. Christ set the example for us by telling stories to teach His truths. Bill Bright and Marion Wells have followed that example in a profoundly effective way in this book. The illustrations of God's love, forgiveness, redemption and restoration have put a whole new focus on theological concepts I've intellectually understood for many years, but perhaps not deeply experienced in my heart. Reading this allegory I sensed a new and deeper understanding of God's heart, of how He really feels about me as His child. Prince Morning Star's interactions with Jotham in areas of trial and temptation I likewise experience has given me a whole new perspective on what it really means to have a victorious personal relationship with Christ--to be a child of the King!

There are only a few books that I enjoyed as much as this book. Dr. Marion is an amazing writer. He manages to keep readers interested without being unrealistic. I recommand this book for anyone interested in becoming a doctor or even dating someone that is thinking of becoming one. The book explores the shortcoming of modern day medical training and the emotional stress that students go through in the process. A must read for pre-med students!

I'm going to keep it plain and simple. This is one of the few excellent medical books that are avialable. I have read many and I highly recommend this one. I just wish I could forget everything I have read so that I could read it again for the first time. I couldn't put the book down. In case you are interested some other great books are "When the air hits your brain", and "first do no harm, reflections on becoming a neurosurgeon". Enjoy!

I really enjoyed this book! Dr. Marion is very honest about his experiences. The stories are sometimes disturbing and sad, but sometimes happy and they are well written. This book is much better than White Coat by Dr. Rothman because it is much more honest. When I read this book, I felt like I was right there with Dr. Marion.

I really enjoyed this book and was fascinated by the life in a Tower. someting which was only hinted at before. Then I read a later edition of this book and was very!!! annoyed. Is Jeff Kerwein really the son of Lewis Alton (brother of Kennard) or the son of a Ridenow. Between the two editions MZB changes her mind and this affects the books later in the series( Sharras Exile, Heritage of Hasture and the Marguerida Alton series)

This was the first Darkover book I ever read. I read them all about 10 years ago. Can't wait till her newest book comes out in paperback. This particular book is still fresh in my mind after so many years. I loved it!!!

Jeff Kerwin Jr. thinks he is full-blooded Terran. But a few of his Terran friends tell him about the matrix he has around his neck. A few of the Comyn have mistaked him for one of their own and more than a few people that don't belong to the Comyn! He wonders about it and does't know what in the world is going on. But he searches for his past. What he discovers is truly amazing!!! Jeff had barriers built in his mind, so powerful that it killed one woman. Later he gets accepted by a group of Comyn and is 100% accepted but for only one problem. A member is being hostile and isn't trying to hide it, either. Jeff falls in love with the Keeper of their circle and they both run away. They find out what has been troubling his mind and that if they don't warn their circle then there is a major cost involved, with the risk of their lives. But they are afraid because when they rushed off Jeff was blamed for some problems and after they left the rest of the broken circle hunted them down. They asked for the girl to come back but she refused. When Jeff and his beloved returned they were met with hostile and wary greetings. It turns out Jeff wan't his actual name and that a man was betraying the Comyn all along, right under their noses!!!!!!! This is one of the best books ever written, I think!!! Read it and weep!

"Man is the only animal that thinks not to improve his race...Should we not seek to better ourselves as well our world and our surroundings?"

This is a quote from Stormqueen, but it won't be long before someone raises this question in the real world, or before we have the scientific capacity to create such a future. Marian Zimmer Bradley's prescient tale, written in the '70's, explores the very real consequences, the temptations and dangers, of such genetic manipulation.

For those not familiar with Darkover, think of it as the Middle Ages with psychic powers. It is warlike, patriarchal and pre-industrial. The lack of machines is made up for by crystals, or matrixes, which greatly amplify naturally occuring psychic powers, or laran. These have been developed to take the place of mechanical technology, for both peaceful or warlike means. (There is a striking and again, prescient, parallel between the "relay screens" and the internet.)

Like any talent, skills vary from person to person. These psychic gifts being the very foundation of Darkover civilization, people have been bred over generations for specific gifts, much like an animal breeding program. For the resulting children, death is common, as is mental/emotional instability.

All of the characters in Stormqueen have lives maimed by the breeding program. Mikhail of Aldaran has seen all of his children die; Allart has been cursed with a gift that shows him all possible consequences of each act; Renata has worked desperately to have a life beyond a childbearing pawn; Donal is forced into an intolerable situation due to his stepfather's desire for an heir.

And of course there is Dorilys, the young Stormqueen, a child with a gift far beyond her ability to handle it. A lesser writer would have made Dorilys a one-dimensional spoiled brat or "witch girl." The typical male SF writer would probably have turned her into an evil sex nymph. (See lurid cover art, which is the original from the '70's.)

In Bradley's hands, Dorilys is a fully human young girl, sometimes arrogant and spoiled, but also courageous and loving. These two aspects of her character pull her either way; until the end, it's never certain which will prevail.

The story does have its rough spots and slow places. I could have done with a little less about Allart and Cassandra's marriage, for example. You won't miss much if you skim those chapters. Since it was in there, I would have preferred a little more about how Cassandra grows from a highly dependent, girlish character into a tried and true woman.

As another reviewer noted, this is a tragedy in the classic Greek sense. At each turning or crossroads, there seems only one option, yet inevitably it leads to a tragic conclusion. The flaws of more than one character bring about the tragedy, but still it's hard to see how it could have been avoided.

This book is powerful sci-fi/fantasy with underlying serious issues. If you are concerned about some of the questions the world is facing, Stormqueen will speak to you.

I also recommend MZB's other early Darkover novels: Hawkmistress, Heritage of Hastur, Thendara House, even The Forbidden Tower (though it's not a favorite). They all feature intelligent characters dealing with complex ethical or emotional questions, with plenty of action thrown in.

"Stormqueen!" was the second Darkover book I read. It shows that good writing is when you read a book, and no matter how awful things are going on in the story, no matter how much you want to put it down for sheer exhaustion (emotionally and physically!), you just can't, you have to see it through. The characters are some of the best MZB ever created; compelling, well-drawn, and so familiar to the way people feel and act, be it noble or obscene. No one does anything by halves in this book; you've got all the ingredients for a titillating mix. Love found, and lost; unrelenting hatred; jealousy; incest; coldly manipulating authority figures; exotic locales; action and adventure! It sounds like the usual fare for your daytime soap, but in "Stormqueen!" it works. You'll fall in love with Allart and Donal, and have mixed feelings about the Stormqueen herself. A great enjoyable read!

This was the first Darkover book I ever read, when I was about eleven. I found it fascinating but confusing. I didn't really appreciate it until after I had read The Forbidden Tower and The Bloody Sun. Even those these novels are set hundreds or even thousands of years after the Ages of Chaos in which Stormqueen is set, they give you the background necessary to understand what was going on in this novel. The bewildering references to terrifying mental weapons, the complex and hubristic (and eventually lethal) laran breeding program, the leroni, the bits of casta (e.g. barragana, nedestro etc) that are scattered through this novel are clear as day when you've read a couple of the others. Nevertheless this is one of the very best novels of Darkover, and the terrifying laran properties manifested by the characters in this novel make the laran of later days seem paltry by comparison. Some of the best characters in the series are present in this novel; Donal, Renata, Dorilys and Allart really are terrific. It's funny, but if anyone has ever read Jennifer Roberson's Chronicles of the Cheysuli I swear her Donal (Alix's son) was modelled on Donal Delleray. Similarly, Allart actually reminds me of Lew Alton - I think it must be the torment in him from his gift, a torment that MZB repeatedly illustrates convincingly. Although the adult characters in this novel have more control over events and show more character development, Dorilys, the Stormqueen of the Hellers, is a character who will linger long in the reader's mind. She is a powerful force, almost as elemental as the environment she controls. Her shadow looms over the whole series subsequent to this novel, with frequent references made to her legend, numerous women named after her and even her preserved body enterred in perpetuity at holy Hali. My sincerest dissapointment in the Darkover series is that the two characters who seemed most likely to rival Dorilys for sheer fire (as well as laran potential), Clendori and Alanna Alar, were never given their own book.

'Thendara House' follows 'Shattered Chains' in the Darkover series, and continues to focus on the Guild of Renunciates, particularly Magda and Jaelle, as they grow into stronger, more self-aware characters. Both are experiencing growing Psi-powers, and their destinies seem intertwined as they navigate the Terran/Darkover political world, explore the conflicts and pressures of their Oaths, and struggle to figure out exactly who they are, what they stand for, and where they belong.

I really enjoyed 'Shattered Chains' and 'Thendara House' gripped me from the very first pages. I read through this novel--longer than 'Chains'--over a weekend, during which I hardly put it down, and never left it behind! I just started 'The City of Sorcery' the next in the Renunciates grouping, and am already totally into it--thank goodness it's friday!

I liked the book because it struck specific cords. It speaks of love in it's many forms, but mainly it speaks of mixed loyalties. Everyone can relate to some of the events on an interpersonal base, but mainly people can go beyond the situations and relate to the feelings. The author has a brilliant writing that vividly evokes the characters feelings. It makes for good reading, especially when the reader can keep an open mind about the particular way in witch human relations are presented, non judgmentally.

This was the first Darkover novel I read and since then I've read probably 6 or 8 others. I think I like this one the best, although Hawkmistress and Stormqueen come in close. The conflict between the two societies is enhanced in this novel because of the culture shock Jaelle and Magda go through in each others opposite world.
I would recommend this to everyone.

My father was a H-46 helicopter pilot in Vietnam, and after seeing this book in his bookshelf I had to read it. It is a very clear and uniform account of what helicopter pilots in Vietnam experienced. There are gripping stories of courage and carnage, and several scenes that stand out in my mind as testimony to the bravery, comraderie, and absolute horror that so many men have experienced in times of war. I loved the quotations throughout the book from all periods of history, but which really never grow old. This book helped give me some understanding of a time that has been confusing to me, (and I'm sure many others) and it adds the perspective of the people actually participating in the struggle.
"The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here."

Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg, 1863

The pilots and crew members who flew under the call sign "Bonnie Sue" personify the unselfish duty and love of country expected of the baby boom generation. This book is testimony that when our genetation was asked to step up we reacted with the zeal and committment quietly taught to us through living examples of the veterans of WWII who were our fahers, coaches and community leaders. When I flew the same area three years after the time period mentioned in the book, I was humbled when flying over the helipcopter crash sites that I now know where those of the "Bonnie Sue" squadron. The book also alludes to the fact that once these warriors returned home, they went on to be fathers, coaches and the quiet role models that were also expected of them. Bonnie-Sue is an accurate tribute to those who faught and died in the belief that they were fighting for an honorable cause.

I bought this book for my Father, mainly a H-34 pilot while in Vietnam. He immediately started leafing through it and recognized a number of old and still current friends. While reading it he was impressed by how accurately Sturkey described missions that my Father was also a part of. He said that if I wanted to have any understanding of what Vietnam for him was like, that I should read it as well.

The first thing that struck me, and continued to strike me, was the casualness of how missions and battles were described. Marion describes a squadron mate's H-46 colliding with a grounded Huey in the same way that I would explain a Computer crashing while at work. It's all part of the job, and getting distracted from the task at hand could spell disaster for both the pilots and their crew. As I neared the end of the book, I noticed that even I was starting to view hot LZ's, steady ground fire, and rear wheel only landings as normal occurrences to be dealt with every day, by every pilot.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to have a glimpse at what it would be like to put your life on the line for your country, and your friends. I look at my Father, and all Veterans, in a whole new light.

I was recommended this book by Amazon when I purchased a "Living with Cancer" cookbook. I have been recently diagnosed with breast cancer and decided to read this so I could hear a "survivors's" story, and get hope and inspiration for my complete recovery. Whereas the storyteller does survive 2 major cancers, and does give good insight on body-spirit connection,nutrition, meditation, and reaching out for support, I was left feeling quite depressed after finishing the book. The storyteller survives, Thank Goodness, and apparently remains cancer free, but pretty much all the other characters in the book whom she befriended thru various support groups, eventually succumb to their cancer and pass away.
This may indeed be reality, but not one that I needed to be confronted with repeatedly at the beginning of my journey. So, if you are just starting down this cancer path, and you are looking for hope and inspiration, beware, this book may not be the answer to your prayers!! To be totally honest, even though the storyteller survives, and I am really happy about that, there was so much death in this book that I would not recommend it to anyone who does not want to dwell on where their journey might take them.

There is no way to change the ending. We all die. That's a fact. But Marion Rosen brings some cheer into the search for the end. She survives two major bouts with cancer. It's a surprise ending in a way. I enjoyed her novels and now Her book on cancer is very special indeed. Congratulations to the author!

My heartfelt thanks to Marian Rosen for this amazing book and sharing her battle with two forms of cancer. It is honestly and beautifully written, transcending any story I have read about cancer. This is an intimate account of what the author experienced and how she learned to cope with life-threatening diseases (breast and ovarian cancers),embrace life, and survive. Dance Like Nobody's Watching shows that one can move from a feeling of helplessness to hopefulness, from fearing death to choosing life, from feeling out of control to taking charge, and from feeling alone to finding a wealth of support from family, friends, and support groups.

Dance Like Nobody's Watching is not only a story about cancer, but also a highly informative or instructional manual/how-to guide for dealing with cancer. I was greatly impressed with the wealth of information presented on treatment,research, legislation, and groups dealing with cancer.

I highly recommend this book for everyone, including those with cancer or those who have friends or family members with cancer.

I once pondered, from my squalid apartment in Boston, joining a friend who was heading down to Texas to get a job on an oil rig. He told me nothing could go wrong and the pay was stratospheric. The oil industry was in dire need of guys like us to help get their oil out of the ground and into gastanks where it belonged. Still, due to certain unanswered questions, I continued to hesitate. Then my friend went on a five week drinking binge and nothing ever came of the plan to go to Texas.

Now, twenty years later, "The Empty Quarter" answers all my questions, questions like: Are there girls on oil rigs? Do roughnecks really mix their drinks with screwdrivers like it says in Trivial Pursuit? Does one have to be physically strong to be a roughneck? Is the title literal, i.e., is the employment contingent on the condition of the neck. Is roughneck related in any way to redneck? Or is the condition of the neck a result of the job, and if so, does it happen to women, too, or are their necks protected by long silky hair tumbling luxuriantly from under their hardhats? If there are no women on oil rigs, do they work close by in some sort of air-conditioned office, or, in the case of an offshore rig, on a boat moored within shouting distance of the platform? What is the social status of a roughneck? Is he or she afforded the same level of personal dignity as, say, a busboy in a New Wave dance club?

The story takes place on a rig in Saudi Arabia, where the protagonist, Logan, struggles to escape from the smothering influence of his onetime mentor, Jamie Strong. They are not roughnecks, having moved up a few notches on the oilfield ladder. They command a crew of roughnecks, who are from India. Far from being rednecks, these roughnecks are practicing Muslims, who send their earnings home to destitute families, much as Mexicans do from their jobs in the US. The Indians are treated less than respectfully by the Americans and Europeans, much as Mexicans are treated in Texas or California. In fact, the whole scenario is reminiscent of Texas of the Fifties, with Strong playing a sort of Lyndon Johnson, a powerful and demented yokel, with no thought of anything outside his own gluttonous appetites.

On a previous job in the North Sea, Strong had manipulated some machinery so as to deliberately maim some English roughnecks whom he felt did not show him the proper deference. During the investigation of the crime he switches tactics from swaggering to sniveling, and suborns the callow Logan to perjure himself. In this way he at once evades punishment and brings Logan further under his power by involving him in the crime.

Sadly enough, there are no women on oil rigs, and this could partially explain the tolerance of and connivance in racism and mayhem, since men do trend more toward bestiality when women are not present. It's unclear whether their nonpresence is due to Saudi strictures on mingling of the sexes, or to the heavy nature of the equipment used. "Empty Quarter" is full of huge and deadly machinery: tongs, drawworks drum, slug tank, rotary table, cathead... but none of it is never defined or explained in any way, which lends a patina of historicity to the story, as though it were an actual journal dug out of a roughneck's battered locker in the aftermath of an industrial accident.

So, too, does the story of "Empty Quarter" play out: inexplicable yet seemingly inexorable. The men on the rig rank themselves by race in an era when race has been discredited as a means to determine quality; they settle their differences by brawling in an age when lawsuits and subterfuge have been shown more effective in vanquishing foes. Most puzzling of all is that all the brawling and race-baiting and hatred is in the quest of a commodity that they won't even own, that their own nations won't even own when it is finally gotten out of the ground, so that these poor myopic men are at each other's throats for a few bucks an hour, like Treasure of the Sierra Madre set in a Taco Bell. All in all, it seems a tale of a world that is already disappearing. Probably by now there is software that can do Strong or Logan's job better than either of them--and not fly into a murderous rage when the roughnecks disobey it.

I read this straight through, when it first came out, on non-stop flight from Houston to Seattle. I couldn't put it down. It's that good because it comes straight from David's heart and from his own personal experiences in the oil patch and because he skillfully crafts a spell-binding story that goes beyond a personal memoir. It's wrought with the universal themes of trust, faith and comittment (to name a few). David Wilkinson takes the reader on a fast-paced journey through the eyes of his main character Logan, from Austin to the god-foresaken desert known as The Empty Quarter. There, Logan finds himself as he engages the Arabian desert's ocean of oil with a drilling crew that's made up of the real-life characters you still find in the oil business. I felt like I was there! Moreover, there's some real first-rate writing here that reminds one of Conrad and Hemingway. I hope to see a follow-up to this one from David Wilkinson.

This excellent thriller set in the uninhabited desert of Saudi Arabia on a drilling rig tips you off right away that the writer has both been in the situation himself and done meticulous research. The book is packed with action and fascinating interaction, between men from various countries working for an American/Arabian oil company. There are constant clashes of culture, race, religion, nationality and personality in one of the most isolated situations possible, where the people involved are forced to work aas a team, no matter how they may feel about each other. I particularly enjoy fiction that teaches the reader something about a new subject, in this case oil and gas drilling. The author thoughtfully provided a picture of the works at the front of the book, with many of the parts labelled. Even though it is fiction, I would have also liked some kind of glossary of technical terms. But I sure can't fault the writing--this is one of those books I just blasted through without wanting to put down, and one I can't wait to lend to family and friends. Good books are made to share!