Evangeline Walton's retelling of the Mabinogion cycle should be in every Pagan's library. Keeping true to the historical sources, she has managed to craft a view of the world before the influx of Christianity and the subsequent coloring of traditional lore. It is a joy and delight to see this collection back in print!

The decades Ms Walton devoted to collecting Welsh folklore and oral tradition versions of these tales, combined with her acute knowledge of the Western Mystery Tradition and excellent scholarship makes this the single most valuable text for anyone engaged in serious study of Celtic literature, history or spiritual traditions. Outside of hearing the tales from Taliesin's own lips, this is as good as it gets.

The Mabinogion is an ancient collection of Welsh mythology. There have been quite a few modern translations, especially with the current Celtic revival. In my opinion, however, this four volume set by Evangaline Walton is by far the best. Many myths and fairy tales, while still enjoyable to read, are written in a less than scintillating style. Events and characters are duly described in a kind of methodical history book manner. Walton, on the other hand, brings the characters and stories to life in a truly literary fashion. Thus, these volumes can be enjoyed not only by folklorists and Celtophiles, but also by anyone who loves good fantasy novels --or good novels in general. The Welsh language has long been a source for many fantasy writers, including Tolkien. Though I can't properly pronounce most of the words and names in the Mabinogion, just reading them sends the imagination on an astral journey. Arawn, King of Annwn (the underworld); Rhiannon, Gwydion, Arianrhod...It would be too confusing to go into the details of the stories, but they are almost all concerned with magical battles (of wits as often as with swords) between various mortals and gods. Many of the tales of the Mabinogion are related, but they are not continuous. You could read any one of the four volumes by itself, which may be forced upon some readers if they rely on finding them in used bookstores. Fortunately, there are quite a few editions out there, including some newer ones, so you should be able to buy them as a set.

Ms. Bruce does an excellent job of portraying both Napoleon and Josephine with all of their human foibles and thus allows us to see them as people rather than just historical figures. The bibliography is a great reference tool and cites sources from both sides of the debate on 'Napoleon the monster/Napoleon the saint'. All in all an even handed account of one of the most noted marriages of the modern era.

I enjoyed reading "Napoleon and Josephine". It was entertaining and suspenseful like a soap opera. I couldn't put the book down. Evangeline Bruce brought out some interesting tidbits on Napoleon and Josephine. One example: the young and slender General Bonaparte, a newlywed, boldly kisses and fondles his wife while in the presence of his generals. On one such occasion during a meeting, Napoleon's open affections with Josephine forced one of his generals to move over to the window to give the couple some time alone. The "Epilogue" at the end of the book gives detailed information on what later became of indivduals such as Theresia Tallien, Barras, Napoleon's first love Desiree, and others. This is an excellent book!

Bruce brings to life the background behind Napoleon's meteoric rise and fall. The writing is lively and brings a different angle to the typical biographies of Napoleon.

Brunes has written a personable, informative account of traveling in the South Pacific useful to any traveler. The book tells you exactly what to expect as an independent traveler, how to find the wonderful local places to stay, and how to settle into the life style of the place. She writes in the uneffected style of a friend, rather than a travel writer, so you feel right at her elbow sharing the experience. She gives information, mood, inflection of the places and people that you won't find in a guide book. Whether your an on-the-road traveler or an arm-chair traveler, this book is a good read.

This is more than just a travel book. Ms. Brunes digs deep into the culture of the So. Pacific Islands. She does an excellent job of blending people, culture and adventure all while informing the reader of the information necessary to "get around". To stop here would be to do an injustice. Ms. Brunes.
shows fierce determination and courage, a grandmother travelling alone, with little resources but a lot of guts. She is truely an inspiration!

Evangeline Brunes takes us to lands which most of us are not privileged to travel.

As we admire her courage to travel alone to far-off places in the South Pacific, we also share vicariously in her wonderful experiences.

She is an inspiration to all women, but particularly to those with limited incomes, determination, and self-confidence. I hope she will write another book!

I enjoyed this book very much. I love a good character and The Whiskey Eaters stories are full of wonderful characters that came to life for me. Evangeline tells their stories without judgement, but with understanding and a knowledge of survival.

The Whiskey Eaters is a collection of stories about men and women who pursued the illusive dreams of the sixties, experienced the harder realities of the seventies, and endured the consequences of the eighties. These are stories of modern day live and survival for waitresses, carpenters, drug dealers, and common people caught in an uncommon world. Here are tales of single women struggling to raise their children in the midst of the loss that punctuates the modern world; of men married more to whiskey than women; stories of loss, despair, and the struggle to endure -- backgrounded by the community of Wilson, Wyoming. Here are universal themes and timeless, rugged characters related in a vivid, electric prose that captures the reader with an intensity that won't let go from first page to last.

"The Bowl of Heaven" is an exceptional book on the subject of astrology. Author Evangeline Adams (1865 - 1932) was the most esteemed astrologer of her day and she even had her own radio spot in the early '30's. At the turn of the century she predicted that a hotel owner was in the worst possible danger after examining his chart; he scoffed and his hotel burned to the ground in a bizarre fire immediately afterwards (No, she didn't commit arson!) Adams convinced a judge in New York City in 1914 that Astrology was an "exact science" . She was handed an anonymous birthdate (it was the judge's sons') and proceeded to tell the judge, with amazing accuracy details of the man's character, talents and major events in his life! - her case was dropped after she was accused of "fortunetelling" (which was then against New York state law). This remarkable woman foresaw WWII and her very own death in 1932. Any book this woman wrote is invaluable concerning the subject of astrology because she wrote in a fresh, clear and easily understood manner. I wish someone would write a biography about this very interesting person who was ahead of her time in her thinking and actions.

This book not only helped me but it changed me. Being quite like the author I believe that people that go through traumatic experiences should do the best that they can to pick themselves up and go on with life as best they can. It is true. Darkness is the touch of death and would be extremly hard to deal with if you were in the same situation. David Bisson is a very forgiving man and should be known as that sort of person. He rose above his past and went on. People do not apresiate what they have until they don't have it anymore. They don't realise how fortunate they really are until they read something like this. People get sick of each other and wish that they never see them again. This is natural but I think that this book should begin to show others what some people's lives are really like. Mental pain will always be more powerful than physicall. David faught for the acceptance of his parents, the acceptance of his brother, the acceptance of his peers and the acceptance of the darkness. DARKNESS KILLS...

Loved the book. The patterns are very southwestern and very well done. Would love to have more of her books. But cant find any. The patterns are very helpful in making up my own patterns and the colors she uses are bold and very well put together.

Would you help me ? I am Pastor Lee ... Sorry about my English .. I live in Korea Seoul I was challenged by Oswald Smith ' s book " The challenge of missions " That's why I really want to get it .

I am pastoring in Korea as like Toronto Peoples church . not jusk as like ... I hope ... I wanna visit that church also ... after that ..

Would you help me how to get it ? I didn't find it in this site .

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is perhaps the greatest rhymester to have ever lived. His endless rhymes almost seem to stay in one's mind, refusing to go. And this edition of his collected poetry just shows Longfellow at his best.

This here is poetry that - though over a hundred years old - is still fresh and alive with vigor. The poems tell tales of men and women, of birds and beast, and of gods and demigods (such as found in The Song of Hiawatha) in such magnificent form that it isn't a wonder why Longfellow was known to be the greatest American poet of his time.

"A poem should not mean but be," Archibald MacLeish wrote in "Ars Poetica." These poems are not intricate, and they're not incomprehensible, and they're definitely not senseless nor pointless; they are timeless, rhetoric voices of literature that tell so much . . . of so much.

And besides, how much times do we come across a poet who does not want to talk about how he feels and his emotions? It seems to be all that poets want to write about. It's good to sometimes read poems that simply want to tell stories and not what the Soul, or the Heart, or the Mind feels. Those things can be nice, but can make one ponder more than he or she should.

Another thing that will become apparent to the reader of this book is that Longfellow was a keen observer of people. In these poems, he writes about them very well. "The Village Blacksmith," for example, is a brilliant poem that tells of one ordinary man with an ordinary occupation: being a blacksmith. It's not of some Don Juan, or Rob Roy, or Casanova that in real life are as scarce as an honest politician. The story of the man in the poem - how he toils, and mourns, and triumphs, and suffers - is one that anyone can relate to.

It is even possible to find comfort in these poems that simply tell stories and not of emotional issues. Also, as I aforementioned, the iambic tales will stay in your mind as you might find it hard to forget them. It is probably the simplicity of these poems that make them so easy to memorize, and are probably what made Longfellow great.

After more than half a century, I remembered still the sonorous rhythms of the prelude to Evangeline. Much has changed since I first read the tale of Arcadian innocence torn apart on order of the heartless King, and Longfellow and his poetry have fallen on hard times and harder hearts in the interim

His allusions and images are strained; his words pathetically romantic and sentimental; and the story of Evangeline barely tracks the actual events of 1755. All of the charges are true, yet much of value remains in the poem. The poet recognized instantly a crime against humanity when he first heard the tale, and he had the talent, drive, and fortitude to create this vehicle to memorialize the sad story of star crossed lovers, families, and communities divided and exiled from their adored homeland.

That a heart could be committed to a lifetime of wandering in search of a lost love seems archaic to the sophisticates of the twenty-first century, but I believe it possible, even today.

I read the poem - aloud and silently - and the beat of the accents, like operatic arias, added to the the sorrow of the sentimental story. I recommend this poem to parents who love to read aloud to their children. I'm sure that Evangeline and her beloved Gabriel have the power still to stir the hearts of the young - and of the readers, too.

A very useful notes section offsets an overly wordy foreword. I found it easy to find and reference words and phrases no longer in common use.

Read it aloud to your early adolescent sons and daughters and to your love. You'll be happy you did.

I heard about this book from my mom a few weeks ago after I went to see the movie Serendipity. I told her about the plot of the two people in love searching for one another and just missing every time. She said it reminded her of another story, Evangeline. Since i attend an engineering school I am always very eager to read books with real meaning behind them, given that all my textbooks focus on is wastewater treatment, biological processes, etc... So given that I wasn't really expecting too much but a relief from textbooks when I picked up this book. Little did I know it was soon to become one of my favorites. I was pleasantly surprised by the Christian influences behind the poem and found myself crying a lot more than I expected. I highly recommend this to anyone who has a great appreciation for well written, romantic poetry and literature.

I am not going to sit here and claim to be the expert on English language poetic literature my 12th grade English teacher would like me to be. I have often fallen prey to the boredom of reading long poems and look upon poetry generally with some weariness.

When my father went to New Orleans, I asked him to bring me something back. He brought back a copy of this poem. It was required reading for my parents growing up - I had never heard of it.

I confess I was probably hesitant when I sat down to read it. But in no time I was hooked. The poetic language is perfectly styled to slowly tell the tale of two Acadian lovers doomed by the path of Acadian history to separate lives. Reading this poem is like suckling slowly on a sweet nectar under the gently rustling leaves of an oak on the side of a gently flowing river. If this sounds appealing to you, then you will enjoy this poem.