I found this book at a library books sale a couple of years ago and I must say, it is one that I will never forget. I wasn't fortunate enough to grown up during this time of social change but I was able to live vicariously through this book. "Witch" is an amazing character and her transformation from a pissed-off, scare girl to a mature adult is just remarkable. It made me want to run off and join a commune by the end of it. An excellent read, I would recommend it to anyone who is young and free at heart.

How is it that certain male writers can jump inside the head and heart of a young woman so well? Wally Lamb does it in She's Come Undone, and in Season of the Witch, James Leo Herlihy makes you believe that you are reading the actual diary of a teenage girl.

In 1969, Gloria and her friend John decide to run away from their homes in suburban Detroit when he gets his draft notice. They choose New York because Gloria's real father lives there and she wants to meet him. She is hoping he will provide an escape from her plastic suburban life and be the loving, wise parent she wishes her mother could be. Of course, things don't turn out quite as expected but the great thing about Gloria is her total honesty with herself and her ability to really learn from her experiences. Tough and sweet, smart and funny, she is an inspiration for any young person.

I first read this book when I was 15. I am 40 now. I have reread it every few years since then. I feel like I know these characters, they are so real to me, especially Gloria. Some of the "hippie" stuff is a little much for a post-hippie era punk like myself, but it is totally believable in the context. I have always wished that James Leo Herlihy could spend his all his time continuing to tell us Gloria's story - what was she doing at 20? 28? 35? - but you get to know her so well in Season of the Witch you can imagine it for yourself.

This book seems to be available on several used book sites. Get it!

I first read this book when I was 14. Five years later I was hitchhiking across the country, carrying my father's original hardbound copy with me. Witch taught me everything I needed to know about living a life without walls. I recommended it to everyone I met and somewhere along the way, left my copy with a friend. I have been looking for a replacement ever since. Although I am now married and don't hitchhike anymore - I am still a Witch at heart.

This is an enchanting book, so well written and beautifully illustrated and it includes a CD narrated by the author and his niece and nephew. It has a very positive message of the value of perseverace in the face of obstacles. I love this book and have given it to every child I know!!!

Our three-year-old son received this as a gift from Grandma and has been requesting it for reading sessions or listening to the CD version several times a day for the last week and a half. And amazingly, I am NOT sick of it yet.

Very enjoyable encouraging story but not at all preachy. The CD story is one of the best quality pre-read stories I have heard. It has music, sound effects, and several different and very expressive voices participating. At the same time it is not over-the-top detracting from the story itself.

My only critique is that on the CD the page turn signals are very subtle. But my son quickly memorized the book anyway and learned exactly when to turn the pages. Also, unlike some the books-on-tape there is no audio version without page turn signals. Both very minor issues.

This is a great value for both a beautifully illustrated hardcover book and an audio CD. A great gift!

Charming and delightful, Leo encourages self-confidence and perseverance while entertaining its audience. Children that don't usually enjoy books can play the CD, follow the pictures, and hear the story--good for those beginning to read and visually impaired. (Parents will enjoy it too.)

Great as the film is, Herlihy's book is even greater. Joe Buck, the naive Cowboy with dreams of making it big selling himself to the women of New York City, comes off better via the written word.
What the book drives home so well is Joe Buck's thorough feeling of loneliness, and filling that void in the most unlikely place, and in the company of the most unlikely character. The "country boy goes to the cold, sprawling metropolis" theme has been done over, and often with a one-dimensional viewpoint. Herlihy illustrates Joe Buck as a young man who is plagued by shallow and aloof folk from his hometown in New Mexico to the City of Houston to New York City. Ironically, it is New York City where he encounters the one person he truly can be himself around; the explanation for Joe's comradery with Ratso Rizzo is more effective on page than on screen.

This is definitely a heavy read, but James Herlihy was an excellent storyteller. His writing paints such a colorful and tangible setting, you almost wish you were hanging with Joe through his misery just to catch the scenery and backdrops! Herlihy's writing reminds me of the films by director Kar-wai Wong; no matter how dismal the situation, it is portrayed so wonderfully that you wish you could hang around the scene.

This is one underrated gem.

I couldn't put it down, simply breathtaking!

Writing that cuts to the bone of lonliness. If only Joe Buck had been born a hundred years ago he could have taken his beauty out west and lived among a gang of horse-rustlers and been considered a romantic. I never saw the movie and hopefully never will.

Leo was a very normal little rabbit with a cotten tail and soft fur. The olny diffrence between him and the rest of his family is that his ears don't point straight up! To Leo's surprise, the rest of his family started laughfing at him when ever they saw him! Now Leo must find a way to make his ears stand stright up in the forest he calls home. On the way Leo learns an imporant lesson about being diffrent.

I cannot tell you how much I love this book. As a kid I remember reading it. When asked to do a review in my Children's Literature class this book instantly came to mind! This is a book that will speak to your children no matter who they are. Every child has something 'different' about them that makes them feel insecure. "Leo the Lop" is a great book to help your children feel positive about these 'differences'! I was so crushed when I found out my mom had given it to Goodwill that I ordered it here with the quickest delivery! This is a FANTASTIC book!

I remember a lot of books from my childhood, but this is one of my all time favorites. I've been looking all over for it since my mother accidently gave away my copy. Now I can share this story with my nephew!

Great book! Great man! I place Leo Pfeffer as one of the all-time greats in the field of religious liberty.

Coach Roger Williams and the Fabulous Five:

James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, Leo Pfeffer, Sam J.Ervin Jr., Thomas Szasz

"Religion and the State" has been selected for listing in "Religion and Psychoactive Sacraments: An Entheogen Chrestomathy." http:www.csp.org/chrestomathy

Damrosch's book is the most definitive treatment of Nayler (also spelled Naylor), the controversial contemporary od George Fox, who was tried byt he English Parliament for blasphemy. It corrects many of the factual errors in Bittle's book on the same subject.

Friends; I have finished a new book, "The Sorrows of the Quaker Jesus; James Nayler and the Puritan Crackdown on the free Spirit", by Leo Damrosch, Prof of Literature, Harvard. One of Prof. Damrosch's main interests is the Puritan reaction to Quakers, to do this he develops, as background, a description of mid-17th Century Quakerism. I wish he had done as well for Puritanism. Another interest is the shoddy treatment Nayler received from Parliament (which really had no business dealing with Nayler, but since there was no Constitution, who is to say) and the shoddy (but different) treatment Nayler received from G. Fox and other Quakers. Since Damrosch is not trying to "convince" to Qism this was a refreshing treatment for me. He has worked with a concordance to find the Biblical allusions of Quaker speech and writing to fair success, missing only a few important ones. University presses are pricey, this is $40, but I am glad I paid the price. Joseph H. Condon, Engineer, Quaker

All Fall Down is just as good as Midnight Cowboy...this novel touches one and delights the reader.

The low-key, down home alternative to George Simon's often-lauded "Big Bands," this has a charming, almost DIY, quality to it. The graphic layout is pretty funky, but there are more and better photographs than in Simon's book. Also the writing is less jaded and more breathless, conveying the author's continued enthusiasm for his favorite artists of year gone by. Most significantly, Walker puts all the artists on an equal footing, listing them from A to Z, whereas Simon makes a big distinction between "major" artists, and lesser or non-swing musicians, shunting them to separate sections in the back of the book. Both books are informative, but I have more of a soft spot in my heart for this one -- I'd recommend it first!

"Dan Stuart's Fistic Carnival" appears to be a slight history of a long-forgotten boxing match at first glance, but Leo N. Miletich has undercovered the real significance of this event. The heavyweight Championship fight that gambler and "sport" Dan Stuart tried to bring about set off reactions that reverberated from state capitols to the Capitol Hill. These events occurred in 1894, at the height of the Gilded Age and the beginning of a great progressive movement in America. Dan Stuart of Dallas, TX promised he would set up a series of boxing matches which would bring revenue to Dallas and the chance for some serious wagering. Stuart unwittingly stirred up a political and religious hornet's nest as his attempts to stage the match were thwarted in Dallas, El Paso, California, Arizona, New Mexico and Mexico. In fact state and national political leaders took unprecedented action and haste in drafting and passing legislation to prevent the "fistic carnival" from taking place. Then, as now, many people considered prize fighting immoral, and judged the crowds that such a spectacle attracted as the dregs of society. However, Stuart was just as determined as his opponents and he was going to keep his word at all costs. The story that follows mirrors today's events: some people still protest boxing and deride its followers; boxers still do their best fighting in the press with their mouths and demand hugh sums of money; and it's still foolish to try to draft moral legislation for a vocal minority. The actions taken by the governor of Texas left many contemporary observors shaking their heads and wondering if that's all the governor of the largest state at that time had to worry about. Unfortunately, the same things still occur today. Stuart, the self-professed sport and gambler, comes out of all this as a decent guy who promised a big fight, and who means to keep his promise without ending up in jail or dead. How he does it is the basis of some of the most fun reading I've had in years. In the long run, this story isn't really about boxing, but about how fruitless it is to try to legislate an issue that's morally unpopular with some, but treated favorably, at worst indifferently, by the majority. Miletich deserves special praise for his abiltiy to tell this story in a fresh manner, liberally using contemporary newspaper accounts and editorials. Highly recommended.

I read this to my daughter, Rachel, and she really enjoyed it. She smiled throughout the entire book. She loved the animal folktales about Bruh Rabbit, and Bruh Fox. She trembled with delight at the reading of the scary tales. As for her mother, my favorite was the title tale, The People Could Fly. It was magical!

I read this book as a child. The lessons that I learned from it have lasted well into my young adult, I am now 23 years old. The illustrations are first rate. This book should be a literary standard for all children books. Anyone with a child needs to have this in their children's personal library.

Fascinating folktales from an African-American perspective, this work evokes memories of the strength of a people to find magic, wonder, and spirituality in a time when oppression was the norm. Miss Hamilton, along with illustrators Leo and Diane Dillon, has produced a work of timeless importance. One of the few books that I can't keep on the shelves of my classroom, it is an essential for every teacher or person interested in exposing children to a wealth of literature.