I love this collection of poems. The poems are well-organized and compelling. A good read! Not just for men--I'm female and enjoyed going through the book.

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There is nothing but water in the holy pools,

I know, I have been swimming in them.

All the gods sculpted of wood or ivory can't say a word,

I know, I have been crying out to them.

The Sacred Books of the East are nothing but words,

I looked through their covers one day sideways.

What Kabir talks of is only what he has lived through.

If you have not lived through something, it is not true.

-- Kabir, translated by Robert Bly (p. 282)

This eclectic offering of verse reminds the reader of what he has lived through. It illuminates forgotten & ignored experiences through rhythms and images of people who have made their lives' works out of committing the unconscious to the written page. These nuggets of truth find value as they elicit Truth from the reader's experience.

DON'T trace out your profile

forget your side view--

all that is outer sutff.

LOOK for your other half

who walks always next to you

and tends to be who you aren't.

-- Antonio Machado, translated by Bly, (p. 366)

It's difficult to flip at random through these pages, and not find an echo of something stirring deep, writhing in forgotten darkness. These words shine from the page to cast the shadow of that "Other" in sharp relief upon your mind. This is not a book of pretty verse, not poetry to read to grandma during the Christian Ladies Tea Party in the rose garden. These are words to sever the bondage to dysfunctional social programming: "We have been busy accumulating solace / Make us afraid of how we were." (Rumi, p. 135)

Although the subtitle says "Poems for Men," I'm certain women will find power & freedom in these words, too. Some poems specifically name masculine woes, sorrows & challenges. Where these do not apply directly to the lives of women, perhaps they will open a portal into men's souls for the other gender.

I've nearly worn mine out and will soon be getting another copy. If I only had one book of poetry to take to a desert island, this would be the one.

I have been hooked on the power of words in poetry -- secretly, of course, since I'm a guy -- since I was a little kid. I have absolutely no problem with reading an entire book of modern poetry and coming away with a single line, a single image that moved me, the hunger is that great in me.

I found this book back in '92 when it was first published. It spans the centuries and the continents; but has a healthy dollop of contemporary writing that is stunning. It's quite possible to imagine that all greatness belongs to ages past; this book proves that a lie by nestling examples of past excellence with their contemporary heirs.

My favorite pieces especially include "Becoming Milton" (p. 81), "The Colonel" (p. 89), "A Story About the Body" (p. 266), and "What Happened During the Ice Storm" (p. 249); which I have redubbed "A Sack Full of Ears," "Entombed in Tanks," "A Bowl Full of Bees," and "Frozen Pheasants," respectively. I just read the last one at a poetry reading in New Hampshire on the first Wednesday in January 2001. A third of the way into the poem, the entire room audibly gasped and tensed. At the end, I felt a tremendous sense of redemption and relief overcome the SRO room as they burst into applause. No credit is due to myself; it's entirely the power of Jim Heynan's words. If you believe, or need to believe, in good poetry, you should own this anthology and read from it frequently, as I do.

And the search continues ...

These are rare, beautiful poems. Her images breathtaking. I love this book.

Octavio Paz said once that to read a poem is to let "words enter through our ears, appear before our eyes, disappear in contemplation." This is what Marissa de los Santos offered us. And in its various incarnations. In her poems, the writer also allows the words to enter our eyes, appear in contemplation and to never disappear from within.

Lightness and grace permeate the words in this book. Throughout, the reader can sense a warm heart and compassionate eye. A joy to read for observations on family, on history, on nostalgia, on desire...the poems create a beautiful presence and experience for the attentive reader. I thank the poet for her words.

Baked the "howl" wheat biscuits for my Jack Russell terrier this weekend, substituting missing link powder for the cornmeal. He really seems to like these biscuits. I plan to try the other recipes also.

is exactly what the recipes in this book did! The bones are the perfect size for small training treats for any dog, and the recipes lend themselves well to adaptation (a batch of apple doggie bones, based on the veggie bone recipe but substituting two cups of grated apples for the veggies, pure unsweetened apple juice for the water, and with the addition of 1/4 c. molasses) are baking in the oven as I write this. My Standard Poodle knows what the cookie cutter looks like; once she sees the bones go in the oven, she walks by it every few minutes to check their progress and gives me beseeching looks if they're not ready...

Both my dogs (and many of my friends' and coworkers' dogs) give this book their enthuiastic howl of approval!

From whole wheat and vegetarian bones to BBQ bones, this book has a good variety of choices for your dog. The author gives tips for making perfect dog biscuits and also encourages adding your dogs favorite flavors to her recipes. Of the biscuits I have made so far, my dog has begged for seconds, which is more than I can say for most of the biscuits I have have bought for him at the store.

James Strecker's poetry is like minimalist music: deceptively simple while being enormously hard to pull off. It is elegant, entrancing, and memorable stuff. Unsanitized, unsentimental pathos, and dry wit. I discovered Strecker 13 years ago, collected all his books, and go back to reread them often. I also recommend his collaboration with the artist Harold Town, "Pas de Deux".

In Tullahoma, Mississippi, retired sixty-year-old school teacher Ernestine "Ernie" Carpenter enjoys solving problems. Being single, Ernie, who works from her home, relishes helping people with their troubles. She has quickly earned a reputation for results.

However, even Ernie is a bit taken aback when venerable wealthy icon Mary McElroy comes to Ernie's home for assistance. The elderly patron of Southern Belle Letters hires Ernie to uncover the identity of the individual who murdered writer Sukey Lytton six months ago in a reported accidental drowning. Since the same group will be at Mary's home, Ernie joins them on the pretense of helping Mary write her memoirs. Ernie quickly learns that Sukey's final manuscript is missing and wonders if that is the cause of the murder; that is if someone actually killed the author. Ernie also wonders if murder did indeed occur, and it is not the ramblings of a senior citizen, will the murderer strike again if the amateur sleuth gets too close to the truth?

This Ernie Carpenter tale, CLOSER THAN BONES, is an engaging mystery starring a fabulous lead protagonist. The story line moves forward in a genteel way as expected from a Southern cozy, but never slows down or looks back. Ernie is a great character and the support cast, especially the writing group provides the audience with an insightful novel that readers will enjoy while demanding Dean James return quickly with his heroine.

Harriet Klausner

i was absolutely enthralled with the way macgregor ended this book. it is amazing and has left me on the edge of my seat - i am disappointed not to find more macgregor books. give me an ending i can believe - and this is it! ...

I FOUND THIS BOOK WHILE RESEARCHING OUR OWN MASTODON FIND NOT MORE THAN 75 MILES NORTH OF THE SITE OF THE FIND RECOUNTED IN THIS WONDERFULLY WRITTEN STORY. I HAVE PRESENTED MY RESEARCH TO VARIOUS SCHOOL GROUPS IN OUR AREA AND HAVE ALSO DONATED COPIES OF THIS BOOK TO THE VARIOUS SCHOOL LIBRARIES. WHILE THE BOOK IS WRITTEN FOR CHILDREN, I DID NOT FIND IT BORING. I ACTUALLY FOUND IT VERY INTERESTING AND LEARNED ALOT MORE FROM IT. I WAS AMAZED BY THE SIMILARITIES OF THE ORIGINAL FIND WHICH TOOK PLACE IN THE EARLY 1900'S AND OUR RECENT FIND. ALTHOUGH OUR TECHNOLOGY IS MUCH MORE ADVANCED, THE SITE IN WHICH WE FOUND OUR MASTODON, IS STRIKINGLY SIMILAR. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ANYONE INTERESTED IN THIS SUBJECT.

I work for a Southern California-based property management firm/home builder and we have been looking for a property tax guide for awhile now. I've attended property tax seminars and have not been able to find a good comprehensive guide to help me through my various questions on the subject. Most property tax manuals, I have found, are filled with the complex California tax code or are too broad in their attempt to cover the large area of property tax. With the Property Tax California Style reference book, I believe we have found what we have been looking for.

James Bone, the author, apparently wrote this book with the non-property tax professional in mind. The chapters are laid out in an easy to understand format. The sections covering the various areas are explained very well. For example, we specifically wanted to find out what type of property tax exemptions exist in California and by quickly looking in the table of contents, we found the chapter covering the area.

For a non-property tax professional this book covers all areas of property tax from real estate base year calculations to personal property tax issues. The book can also be useful as a quick reference guide for a property tax professional who wants to polish up on a specific area that they are not too familiar with. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about property taxes in California.

I've never seen my dog so happy, his face lights up and his tail starts wagging when he smells the Veggie Bite bones cooking in the oven. Will their be a follow up book, with new recipes? I hope that a book comes out for cats , my kitties need some homebaked treats too.

Michele Bledsoe's cookbook is such a prize! I've ordered several -- one for myself, and one for a close dog-lovin' friend, who was thrilled with it. I wondered how the biscuits would turn out, and if the dogs would like them.... Well, I was very surprised and pleased to see that the bones looked like the ones professionally made and sold in stores!I couldn't believe that they looked so good, and were so easy to cut. Also, I found that I could roll the batter thinner and make smaller ones for my dog that's on a diet. (The "smaller collar diet bone" has been perfect for him!) And, there's just something so special about seeing a cookie pan full of your pup's favorite bones come out of the oven, while he sits there and drools waiting for them to cool!!

I've made bones and given some in gift bags, and the recipients were always so appreciative to get "homemade" snacks for their puppies!

The book makes a perfect Christmas gift for those petlover friends on your list! Or, send it to your pet friends to give to their owners...!

Here are the top five reasons why The Doggy Bone Cookbook deserves a rating of 10:

1.- The recipes really WILL please your dog (they are easy and healthy).

2.- If you're too busy, give the book to your son or daughter. Kids love baking these bones as much as dogs love eating them.

3.- I've given The Doggy Bone Cookbook to other dog owners as a gift, and they love it, too.

4.- The book is stain resistant, and the cookie cutter stores right inside the book.

5.- It's a fun read. The recipe names are a riot!

While yearning for more Tony Hillerman after reading his last book, I accidently came across The Shaman's Bones. I absolutely loved it. I could easily imagine neighbors from my childhood that could easily play some of the characters in this book. The only problem I had with this novel were the few dream sequences, which I thought tended to be unnecessarily long and disruptive to the flow of the the plot. Regardless, I intend to read the other 'Shaman' novels.

Mr. Doss writes in a style that gives the reader vivid mental pictures of what is happening with each of his characters. I have not enjoyed any murder mystery this much before. The Shaman's Bones integrates humor, murder, and mystery with emotion and Ute mysticism and lore.

Anyone who likes Tony Hillerman's books will LOVE the Shaman series by James D. Doss. I recommend that anyone who wants to step into Mr. Doss' world, begin with the first book in the series (The Shaman Sings) and work their way through the series. Warning: If you read one, you'll have to read them all!

Always enjoyable reading and a good yarn. Great characters.