I had the good fortune of taking a graduate course with the author some years ago. In the course we read a chapter excerpt from her dissertation research, which this book is largely based on.All of us were struck at the keen insight and sensitivity of Dr. Goldstein's writing. Rather than hide behind educational jargon, her observations are plainly presented, yet often eloquent in their analysis. Although this book focuses on younger children, it would be helpful reading for all educators. To some degree, she helps those of us who have taught to rediscover what we always knew was there but never articulated in this way. Goldstein draws on the ethic of caring proposed by Nel Noddings of Stanford University. Her research was deemed as less than rigorous at the time by some but fortunately Noddings saw the essential merit in it. This book puts the core concern before the reader without resorting to polemics. It lets the actions of the loving teachers speak for themselves. I now plan to use the book with Chinese colleagues striving to develop their own humanistic curriculum.

This well written and straightforward book breaks ground in the realm of elementary education. Showing different perspectives in her varied education career, Goldstein touches upon many of the issues young teachers face in confronting their feelings toward their students. Goldstein expertly tackles each issue one by one and encourages the reader to take their own approach to education and embraces the differences in teaching styles while maintaining her expectations.,

If you are even remotely interested in fantasy that is more than just a bunch of wizards and dragons and cliches, then read this book if you can find it. It combines Surrealism, revolution, the power of dreams... The main character must find himself, realize who he is and what he wants out of life, while his friend, the historical father of Surrealism Andre Breton, tries to influence his writing and personality. But he has met a strange woman from the future, and followers her to the Paris Revolution of 1968, and eventually to the revolution to end all revolutions. A great mixture of historical characters and fictional characters. The writing is consise and beautiful, saying just enough for the imagery to come alive.

This is one of Goldstein's best. Not quite fantasy, not quite reality, but extremely intelligent, compelling fiction. I was deeply caught up in this rich world, and sorry when the book was over.

I'd recommend anything by this author, with this and A Mask for the General being my personal favorites. Anyone who likes Neil Gaiman, Orson Scott Card, Neal Stephenson, Alice Hoffman or Marge Piercy should give this a try.

Lisa Goldstein has a very unusual style among fantasy writers. She doesn't fall do anything resembling Tolkien's writing style (as many try) or his epic world of elves and dwarves. She doesn't fancify, she doesn't try to make her works grandiose. She refuses to write a series, as almost every other fantasy author does.

She enchants instead, but using surprisingly simple language, depicting surprisingly normal-seeming events, and evoking wonder on every page despite. I have heard her work compared to oriental brushwork - the description fits.

This collection of short stories is one of the best single author collections I have read. She explores a huge variety of subjects, from the historical, with Sir Walter Raleigh, to the disturbing story of an old woman, neglected for years, chosen by aliens to decide if the human race should be exterminated, to the story of a man, given photos that show his future, in a desperate search for the woman who appears ion one picture.

She skirts her personal rule of never writing series' a bit closely, by returning to the same fictional country of Amaz in two stories (also featured in her novel Tourists), but those stories are decidedly stand-alones, each exploring the theme of being a stranger in a foreign country, but viewing that theme from a different angle each time.

A reader looking for sweeping action will likely be disappointed; even Walter Raleigh's journey across the sea to seek El Dorado is not an action-adventure, but rather a smart moral dilemma. Anyone seeking intelligence, creativity, truly human characters, and sudden moments of beauty, will be delighted.

Picked this up on a whim--I think it won a children's book award--and read it in a day. Nice little contemporary (20th Century) fantasy about a Jewish girl in Hungary before, during, and after WWII. "Fantasy" may be the wrong word, for while there are some fantastic things going on, the happenings are startingly realistic. In some worlds, this one might be considered magic realism, except that the characters are surprised and awed by the fantastic. They seem to accept it as natural, however. The really surprising thing about this book, though, is the changes of the lead character and the time scale. I didn't expect the character to "grow up"; I didn't expect a lot of what happened. A non-predictable fantasy? Yes. How rare.

I picked up a copy of this book from our employee book swap for something to read on the train home and, in the process, have discovered a new "favorite author". This is a compelling tale of a young girl (Kisci) coming of age during the Holocaust. Her life intersects with that of a mysterious red-haired stranger (Voros)who seems to have the ability to predict the future. Although her relationship with the stranger creates turmoil within her family and town, the bond between Kisci and Voros eventually saves both of them from death. Laced with magic, this tale can also be seen as an allegory for the importance of finding strength within yourself and going on with life even when it seems impossible.

Lisa Goldstein's first novel came out of nowhere and won the American Book Award. Compelling and heartrending, with beautiful prose and a wonderous, magical story, *The Red Magician* captures readers into the life of a Jewish girl, Kisci, coming to adulthood in preWWII Poland, detailing her friendship with the Red Magician--the truly magic magician--who tries to warn those around him about the coming horror he has forseen. The novel follows Kisci through the Camps and to the point where, as a DP, she embarks for America. This novel is possibly the best realization of Magical Realism I have ever read, blending Jewish Kabbala mysticism with the events of the time with the intimate story of Kisci with such a grievous beauty that even after many readings I cannot pick up the book just for a moment: the novel almost forces me to finish it in one sitting.

"The Alchemist's Door," takes what should be an exciting story and through the lack of detail that brings prose to life end up rather ho-hum. It's a story of alchemy, Kabbala, demon possession, shape-shifters, vampires, and the attributes of a "just man," told as a search-mystery; with locations various - Prague, London, Translyvania - but with little but the story to pull the reader into the magic that is, supposedly, all about. Not only are action and locale left sketchy, but characters are somewhat vague as well. Though we're given broad outlines no one but Magdelana, a horribly abused young woman desirous of knowledge, appealed on an emotional level. I was left with the impression this novel was written a bit too quickly, and the author's decision to sacrifice detail showed either a lack of research, or a lack of interest. I was looking for a good read in the fantasy genre, but got a sketch instead.

Scientist and astrologer John Dee and his family have left the court of Queen Elizabeth fleeing from a demon. The demon pursues them, however, and Dee finds himself in Prague where the mad Emperor demands delivery of the 36th righteous man--the man who's death will lead to the destruction of the world order and an opportunity for a man or demon to reshape the universe. Together with the Rabbi Judah Loew, legendary creator of the golem, Dee searches for the 36th righteous man--and for a way to stop the forces of evil that threaten to overrun Europe. Because the doorway between the universes stands open and demons have begun to make their way back into our world.

Author Lisa Goldstein delivers a deft mixture of history and fantasy. Her writing is clear and keeps the pages turning. I was distracted, however by some of the logic holes. Why, for example, didn't Emperor Rudolf simply kill everyone on his list rather than engage Dee and Loew to find the one man? He certainly didn't show much respect for life. What, exactly, was the whole Erzsebet thing about--was it really only to bring in old Hungarian legends? And what happened to the second demon--the one that could physically manifest itself and that served Kelley? Finally, the ultimate battle seemed anticlimactic and I was left wondering whether Dee really sacrificed much, really made a heroic gesture. Attempting to close to door between the universes would have been a more powerful symbol if Dee had been able to truly use the magics that came through the gateway. Instead, his sacrifice wasn't particularly large, reducing the power of the novel.

THE ALCHEMIST'S DOOR is a pleasant read with its setting in the historically significant period of Elizabeth I, its use of historic characters in alternate history settings, and its travels through the mystical world of Eastern Europe at a time when the Turks were still capable of threatening all of Christendom and when Jews were forced into ghettos.

Set in the sixteenth century, The Alchemist's Door chronicles the life of legendary English mathematician, alchemist and astrologer John Dee, the inspiration for Prospero in Shakespeare's Tempest and the title character in Marlowe's Dr. Faustus. As the story opens, Dee and his strange associate, Edward Kelley, have accidentally summoned a demon that now dogs Dee's every step. Hoping to evade the demon and improve his fortunes, Dee accepts potential patron Prince Laski's invitation to visit Poland. But the demon follows him there, prompting Dee, his family and Kelley to flee to Prague.

In Prague, Dee senses that something terrible is about to happen. By chance he discovers that the city straddles the border between earth and a demon dimension inhabited by, among other evil entities, the very creature that's been plaguing him. Prague is also home to the mad Emperor Rudolph, a devotee and patron of the black arts, who seeks Dee's assistance in fashioning the legendary Philosopher's Stone.

On a visit to the Emperor Dee has a fateful encounter with fellow mystic Rabbi Judah Loew. Dee and Loew join in a strained alliance, even as the Emperor initiates a pogrom against the Jews of Prague. Loew seeks and receives Dee's assistance in creating a Golem-a man fashioned from clay-to defend the city's Jewish quarter from the Emperor's troops.

Dee also becomes involved in Loew's search for the fabled 36th righteous man. Prophecy foretells that if the last righteous man dies, the world will end, and the dark spirits of the neighboring dimension will remake it in the own image. The Emperor, believing he can influence the shape this new world will take, orders his troops to scour the city to find this man so that he may personally put him to death. Dee, realizing that this is what his demonic tormentor has wanted all along, works with Loew to frustrate the Emperor's apocalyptic plans, even though it may cost him his life.

Some quick research on the Web indicates that Goldstein has done the same thing with John Dee's life that Tim Powers did with Kim Philby's in Declare, exploiting historical gaps and coincidences to tell a story that could have occurred, given certain supernatural assumptions. Thus, she posits a relationship between John Dee and Rabbi Loew that history does not record. Like Powers, she also manages to put human faces on legendary characters, carefully balancing glimpses into their personal lives with the more fantastic action.

The Alchemist's Door is lively and engaging, a skillful blend of history, legend, humor and high adventure, an exciting dark fantasy rich on character and colorful incident. Considering the success of this novel, and the fact that Dee lived another two decades after the events chronicled therein, a sequel seems appropriate. Here's hoping Goldstein is considering one.

This is one of Lisa Goldstein's weaker works. Since it still garnered four stars from me, this is hardly a sign that it is a weak book.

The story takes place is a slightly futuristic America. The USA as this world knows it was ruined by a sudden economic collapse, and taken over by a dictator mostly known (Surprise) as the General. People with dissenting opinions are sent into 'rehab' facilities.

The story centers around two women living in this world. The first is Mary, young and idealistic, travelling to Berkely, California, where the Tribes, an underground culture centered around masks, has arisen. There she meets Layla, one of the mask-makers, and most respected among the Tribal folk. Mary is drawn to this world, but soon begins to fear that Layla has gone past the point of religious belief into troubling madness. Layla, in the meantime, tries to persuade Mary to follow her path.

The story succeeds best in its characters. Even bit parts are given their own motives, and attitudes. It also triumphs on occasion with the setting, the strange world in which these chracters live. It works the least well where Ms. Goldstein is obviously taking the Berkeley and San Francisco she knows, and tearing them down. But when she conjures up the small apartments, each of which reflects its owner, the mood of streets, then the world seems real enough to touch.

Unfortunately, this story does have weak spots, and most of them relate to plot. The story's end suits the underlying themes of the story perfectly, and suggests, without outright telling, how the future of the country will go, but leaves a great many threads dangling. The most obvious example is the character of Nick. A traitor to the Tribes, he is shown in strong detail in the first third, implying he will become important again, then vanishes, with only a few further references to hint at his fate. The book was so well-written overall that I can forgive these plot weaknesses, and would still recommend the book, but they do mar an otherwise exceedingly pleasant reading experience.

This book is what one of my writing instructors would label a plot-driven novel. It tells a story in which the protagonist, Molly Travers, orphaned at the age of three and raised by her great-aunt, gradually discovers the history of her extended family and meets relatives that she never knew that she had. In the process she learns about herself and about ways in which people in family and romantic relationships can use and misuse power over each other. She finds that her family traces its roots to an illicit union in Victorian England between a lower-class girl with a magical Gift and a gentleman with an interest in the occult, and she eventually learns how and why the family emigrated to the United States, of the life they led as vaudeville performers (illusionists who could perform tricks that baffled other magicians), of family conflicts that isolated her branch of the family from the rest, and of the family's connection with the secret Order of the Labyrinth. Information is revealed at a pace that adds steadily to the reader's knowledge while sustaining enough of the mystery to make each chapter a pleasure to read. The metaphor of the Labyrinth ties a genuine physical labyrinth in the story to the process of learning that goes on through life. I suppose this is not earth-shakingly original. Still, since I experienced a few frustrating setbacks in my own life while reading this book, it was actually very helpful to hear in my mind the echo of the question that characters in the book are asked when they experience such a turning of the labyrinth: "What have you learned?"

The protagonist isn't the only one who "walks the labyrinth." Reading this book is a labyrinthine journey in which the certitudes keep shifting and nobody and nothing is ever quite what it seems. It has the feel of a modern Alice-in-Wonderland adventure. Definitely original, and a most enjoyable read.

After reading her book "Dark Cities Underground" I ordered this book and the "Red Magician." I thoroughly enjoyed both books. I think anyone who likes urban fantasy or magical stories would like her writing. It is good to see solid women writers in this genre.

I note the positive reviews and blurbs all over the cover, but I didn't think much of this book.

The Faerie Folk have come to Elizabethan London, bringing problems in their wake, especially for Christopher Marlowe and for Alice, whose son turns out to be a changeling.

I found the language use here to be a bit mundane, meaning that a mood was never really developed. Plot events jolted from one to the next, without a sense of flow. Characters, especially secondary characters, seemed faceless and lacking in personality.

I was bored, therefore, and cannot recommend the book.

I picked up this book because I thought that a fantasy story set in the London of Elizabeth I would be an interesting read. While I enjoyed it, I soon realized that such an extraordinary mix of genres and themes could not appeal to a very wide audience. One finds in this world a very historical novel trying to merge with a typical fantasy story of the fairy world. In the novel itself the merge is more of a clash than a smooth blend, and the same can be said for the literary style. Given that I am a student of history and literature as well as a fantasy fan, I rather enjoyed the concept and had fun making my way through the process.

In the book, one is presented with a picture of Elizabethan London. Court intrigue, meetings in pubs, bookselling rights, and the scare of the plague all are part of the basic setting. The author has done her homework and seems at times to almost go out of her way to include some interesting tidbits of history. Real figures from history, such as Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Kyd, make their way into the story. (But fear not, while the author does take liberties with these personalities, they are not subject to the same brutal misrepresentation as befell Chaucer in A Knight's Tale!) Amidst this historical cast, one encounters Alice Wood - a widow who is struggling to keep her husband's business of bookselling running. It is her missing son, Arthur, that draws the fairy folk to London and involves her and her friends in the battle between the light and dark fairy.

It took me awhile to really become involved in this story. There are so many subplots at the beginning that one doesn't know which to follow or become attached to. Nevertheless, they all are witty and entertaining and eventually one sees how they all fit together. I enjoyed the story as it developed and appreciated the rich description and philosophical musings as well. This book is not for everyone, but for those who find Elizabethian London and the fairy realm fasinating, I would highly recommend it.

Entertaining story of court intrigues, alchemy, magic, poets and playwrights, and the Faerie Folk in Elizabethan London; even Christopher Marlowe makes an appearance. I bought the book because it was listed as recommended in the Alternative Sexualities in Science Fiction and Fantasy online compendium; and it was a good read, but Marlowe is something of a minor character.. in fact, I'm not sure why he's in the book at all: any character could have played his part [ though it did make for flavor and fun reading ].

I just finished reading this yesterday. Lisa Goldstein has created an intersting world connecting up the various subways in cities around the world. She also brings in Egyptian mythology, children's literature, and literary archetypes as parts of her Nefer Lands(Netherworld). The only weak aspect was her trying to tie in what seemed like all great children's literature. I could see a connection to some, but not all of the books mentioned.

In all though, it's a pretty good story. The characters are interesting and fleshed out enough to make them sympathetic protagonists or effective antagonists.

Two years ago I bought and read Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. There are obvious parallels between that book and Dark Cities Underground. I enjoyed both and would recommend both, but I feel that Neverwhere is the superior book.

DCU is a bit thin. Much is written of the build up to the main characters realizing that something else is down there underground, but there just isn't the development of the underground world the way there is in Neverwhere. I also liked the characters in Neverwhere a bit better.

Read both books and see what you think.

/Dark Cities Underground/ has a great title and a kick-ass cover--just the kind of book that'll catch your eye at the store. Let it. It's a fairly slim volume, unlike what passes today for a typical fantasy, requiring great strides in the book-binder's art simply to keep the whole damn thing from falling apart, and wonder of wonders, it is complete in a single volume. But don't think there isn't a wealth of invention, some highly sympathetic characters, and some just plain neat stuff, because there is. Goldstein was able to make her story resonate with some of our most cherished children's books, and I was constantly thinking, "Wow, cool. I hadn't thought of that." She made me think, which is something to be treasured. If there was a problem, it was that she's too concise--I would have loved to see more of her invention, and more of the Dark Cities, and more of her characters. But not three volumes' worth. In that sense, I heartily agree with her choices.

This book will become an "underground" best seller (pun intended)! The author ties in history, myth and literature to create a timeless story. A fast paced and exciting roller-coaster ride. No, make that a fast paced and exciting subway ride! You'll get my meaning when you read the book.

No, I'm not going to tell you the plot. That would just spoil the fun. And shame on those reviewers who do tell you the whole story instead of just wetting your appetite. So, here's your hors d'oeuvre...

Could there possibly be a connection between Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, The Hobbit and Wind in the Willows? Could they all be stories that were told, not by the authors to their children, but rather by the children to their parents? Could they all be about the same place, a fantastic world that only children could enter and return to tell stories about? When a struggling journalist is hired to do a biography of A. E. Jones, the author of the classic children's series "Jeremy in Neverwas", her suspicions are aroused. Especially when she meets the author's son, now a disturbed, middle-aged man, who has become estranged from his mother for stealing his childhood. As she continues her research into truth behind Neverwas she never expects that her own daughter will also be drawn into this fantastic world. A world far more dangerous than any children's book.