Some time ago I was fortunate enough to bump into the books by Jan Karon's Mitford series. I never ever, in my wildest dreams, imagined that I would or could find another author to compare in almost every way to Ms.Karon. Until JoAnn Levy and her "For California's Gold! Her Sarah Daniels completelly captivated me. She is real, and so very human!She became someone who I knew, not one I simply read about. The events, the happenings, the turmoil, the tragedies, all were not simply constructed descriptions. They catapulted me right into those times, those places, and I shared Sarah's sorrow, her utter despair, kl and her unheralded courage and feelings of fear, guilt and despair. The members of her family became as close to me as they were to her! And when she finally cried, I also cried. And yet, I was so very glad that ultimately she found a measure of peace and acceptance so that she could go on with her life. And so did I. Her most appealing quality was that she definitelyl was NOT a heroine, and the ones she met along the way were definitely not heroes. Thank God for that, and thank you, JoAnn Levy for allowing me to find true and honest ability and talent in a journalistic world filled and overflowing today with incompetence and unmitigated commercialized trash! So JoAnn, I also am pleased to utter what Mr. J.S.Holliday scrawled on your manuscript, "This is good! Ed Stember Sr.

"For California's Gold" filled in a lot of blanks for me, and it should do the same for most readers. We all know the rush west was an extreme ordeal. We all know settling California was an ordeal of another kind. We all know tragedy dogged the steps of the men and women who took on the challenge. But therein lies the unsuspected void in our knowledge, certainly in my knowledge.

Before reading this book I gave no particular thought to the nature of my understanding of these historical events. Now I've learned a new perspective is as beneficial in literature as it is in trying to find the car keys. In one 280-page book, JoAnn Levy has given the whole thing life.

Ms. Levy is a unique writing talent - she has done what few authors have the nerve to try; she has written a historical novel in the first person, and she has done it so beautifully it seems as if the book was indeed written in 1856 by a tempered-by-tragedy woman named Sarah Daniels.

Ms. Levy is remarkably clever in her use of storytelling techniques which successfully weave multiple threads of interest from the first page to the last. The attentive reader will pick up on this finely developed skill in the second sentence of the first chapter. Ms. Levy employs similar techniques throughout, and it is a delight.

This book is such a good read that it is recommended on that basis alone. But if a fascinating and unique look at one of the watershed eras in world history also interests you, then you will be doubly rewarded.

Thank you, Joann, for sharing Sarah Daniels with the rest of the world. I realize that she is a compilation of many of the ladies you found in your research for your earlier books on the Gold Rush, but her character is so real you can just picture her walking through her life with all its joys and sorrows. The numbness she felt at the death of each of her children especially rings true, as I watched my mother do the same thing.

This is Joann's best work yet. I look forward to the next.

The book was absolutely gripping. It is hard to believe that the writer of the Fairy Godmother books could produce such an emotionally overwhelming book of the horrors of the Vietnam war. You know the book is fiction, but you wonder just "how much" is really ficiton. E. A. Scarborough pulls you kicking and screaming through desperate war situations that you know, deep inside, must have been real, yet she makes it bearable with her "healing hand" of magic and mystery. Had I known beforehand what the book was about, I would never have read it. I was sick of the Vietnam war ages ago when it happened. But, Scarborough made me relive it with her, sometimes sobbing, sometimes livid with fury, and I wound up reading all night a book that years ago, I would have scorned. She is quite a lady, and a genius to have pulled *me* into her coils.

Being born in the early '80s, I never experienced what the Vietnam War was like for Americans, military and civilian. To me, Vietnam was "just another war"; another chapter in my history textbook. Until I came across The Healer's War. The Healer's War is pure fiction, set in the war-torn jungles of Vietnam. The plot revolves around a mysterious amulet that the main character Kitty "inherits" from one of her patients. (She's a nurse in Vietnam.) As time progresses, Kitty realizes the true healing power of the amulet. Although fiction, this book paints a vivid picture of Vietnam during the war. The conditions the soldiers had to tolerate, and the daily battles is described in excruciating, almost explicit detail. The Healer's War gave me a view on Vietnam that no textbook or history class could offer. I will never look at the Vietnam War the same way again, and I now hold a respect for those that served in it. This book is a must-read.

This is an excellent novel about a nurse serving in Vietnam during the war (the author was also a nurse in Vietnam). A Vietnam veteran myself, I recommend it highly. The main character, Lt. Kitty McCulley, is having a difficult time with her nursing responsibilities and with her interactions with others. An elderly Vietnamese holy man gives her an amulet which allows her to see the "auras" of others. It helps her guide herself through the war and helps her find herself in the end. I thoroughly enjoyed the novel and Ms. Scarborough's writing (note the five stars I awarded) and I recommend the book to everyone (the publisher should be shot for letting it go out of print). However, I do have a bone to pick! What makes this novel so different can be seen by the fact that it won the 1988 Nebula Award for best science fiction novel of the year, the Nebula Award being given by the Science Fiction Writers of America. I loved the book; but, it was not the best science fiction novel of 1988. It's excellent speculative fiction and I'm certain that is the reason the members voted for it; but, I'm sorry Ms. Scarborough, every few years the SFWA seem to go off on a tangent. Nevertheless, because it has won the Nebula, it is now incumbent that all serious students of science fiction literature read "The Healer's War." But then, they should read it anyway.

I was already a huge fan of Rebecca Lobo before reading this book. 'The Home Team' gives you a look into the lives of Rebecca and Ruthann Lobo. It's such a real look at how their lives truly are and how much they love each other. After reading this book I was blown away by the courage both of these amazing women have shown in thier lives.

I really love this book! I did not want to put it down. A couple of reasons I love the book is because now I know she was a normal child once and she did'nt always play basketball. I also liked it because her mom talked about her life. Now I know they had problems just like any other family does.

This book is a must read for all WNBA fans. Rebecca Lobo's life is revealed in many aspects, that of her point of view and her mother. It talks about many issues such as Ruthanne's struggle with breast cancer and how the family dealt with it. As a 15 year old girl, reading is not one of my favorite pastimes. When I heard of a book about my idol Rebecca Lobo, I decided maybe I should give reading a try. I finished the story in a total of two days and found myself waking up in the middle of the night wanting to know what was going to happen next. It is an extremely moving book in which I fould that it was very easy to relate to. As a basketball player, some of Rebecca Lobo's theories such as playing basketball to relive stress and cope with problems I use also. It gave a new perspective to why I am two different people a hustler and leader on the court and a shy and proscinator off of it. Athlete or not, this book will get you moving. It will leave the message in your heard that anything is possible and it will help you to get out and reach that goal that you have been striving for.

I enjoyed reading this book because the illustrations are funny. The funny parts made me laugh so hard my stomach ached. I will tell a friend to read this book if they want a good laugh.

I enjoyed this book because it was very exciting. The author used vocabulary that was easy for me to understand. The illustrations were very detailed and matched the text. I recommend reading this book.

The story Julian Secret Agent is one of my favorite books because I love books with a little mystery. I can look at the silly illustration in this story and laugh for days. We are finishing our unit on realistic fiction books and this book was a pleasure to read.

How refreshing to find this novel that synthesizes the elements of popular fiction with the texture and layers usually reserved for books to be read again and again. Ann Wadsworth skillfully reveals Mercedes Medina: a woman willing to examine and pursue the awakening she experiences. Mercedes welcomes the mystery she discovers within herself. Her conversations with the other pivotal characters in the book (Patrick, Lennie, and Diana) illuminate not only the relationships but also the mastery of language that Wadsworth so deftly projects. These three characters still hold hidden places for me and that is one of the reasons (other than simply reading the WORDS again!) that I want to reread the book immediately. The experience of the book mesmerizes the reader as surely as the experience itself holds Mercedes in its grasp.

The cultural parameter of Italy -- its language, its art, its passion -- provides the characters with a background worthy of their story. The motifs of the gardenia, the lisianthus, the "downward pull" throughout the book come together to impact the sensibilities of the reader. The ambiguity, which really wasn't ambiguity but more a sense of mystery, again spoke to me in the times the main character was called Mrs. Medina, Mercedes, or Merce. Mercedes says, "Although subtleties, I am told, are what give texture to one's life"; Ann Wadsworth's words give texture to her rendition of that story which is destined to haunt the heart and tease the imagination after the cover has been closed -- on the first reading.
Elizabeth Ackley, Professor of English, Wilmington College,
2 Triangle Park Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45246

Wonderfully observed and understood, this book is an inspiration. The story of a woman who breaks out of the resignation of her life to experience a physical, spiritual and emotional transformation. It is written with intelligence and style and left me feeling as if I had been on a long trip with fascinating people. It is a fully realized book.

After a lifetime of assuming that she understands her own sexuality, an older woman discovers that her feelings are much more complex than she has imagined in this beautifully-written novel. The protagonist and her confusion are finely etched, as are her dying (and defiant) husband and the many other people in her life. Eluding simple classification, this book raises questions that many women face, regardless of the actions they take, and its ending is grounded in reality while satisfying the reader's idealistic hopes for the main character. In addition to all these fine attributes, "Light, Coming Back" is a very engrossing read.

No matter what you think about time travel, or so many other unexplained phenomena, readers are always intrigued by irrational things that could happen--like human loving vampires, or helpful ghosts, or people slipping from one time frame into another.

Organized religion asks you to do that on a regular basis by requesting you to believe in an unproven god. I don't want to offend religious believers here, but I would ask that if you can believe in an unmet God, why can't you believe that other unidentified phenonoma can occur?

Gods were created by humans because of the things they did not understand in ancient times--lightning, changes in climate, natural catastrophes like earthquakes and floods, droughts and famines. And for thousands of years they had no knowledge to explain these natural phenomena.

This book is an attempt at saying that the conceived impossible MIGHT be possible.

Christopher Dunlap, the ninth Earl of Westerham is a very wealthy and respected member of polite society in 1812 Regency, England. He has a town house in London but his love for the land allows him to spend much of his time seeing to his country estate. One night he is riding his horse from London to his country estate when he simply appears in a car in 1981 Eastport, Connecticut.

Jessica Lund is shocked and very afraid when the handsome man in Regency clothes suddenly appears in her car. It takes her awhile to believe he is a Regency traveler who has journeyed through time. Once she comes to accept he's not crazy, she takes him into her house and eases him into the ways of the twentieth century. They fall in love and give into their passion but in the back of their minds they are always wondering if Christopher will be returned to his own time.

This reviewer read LOVE ONCE IN PASSING when it first came out and thought it was a beautiful love story twenty-one years ago and after rereading Jo Ann Simon's time travel today the novel remains a fantastic reading experience. The characters are timeless and somehow believable and the reader hopes they get the happily ever after they so desperately want. To find out the answers to that question, the audience will want to read LOVE ONCE AGAIN coming next month.

Harriet Klausner

Like a lot of others I read this book a long time ago and lent my copy to a friend. My friend lost it so I never got it back. I have been searching for a copy of it since and have had no luck. It is my absolutely favorite book and would love to find a copy. I fell in love with the characters and I cried at the ending,.it was the most touching book I ever read

BOOK REVIEW
by
Bob Heckel

A Forgotten Voice: A Biography of Leta Stetter Hollingworth

by

Ann G. Klein, Ed. D.
Great Potential Press, Inc. 2002

Psychologists have rarely been the subjects of published biographies, or autobiograhies, for that matter. The few published exceptions have had little to do with their psychological contributions, but much to do with their personal lives. Elitist Henry Murray rated an extended biography and even a review in The New Yorker, not for his psychological contributions, but rather for his affair(s) and his social connections.

So it is a rare treat to find a biography of one of the early important female contributors to the areas of clinical, school and developmental psychology, Leta Stetter Hollingworth(1886-1939). Dr. Ann Klein has produced a major contribution in her work, despite the extreme difficulty of tracking down information on a very private, independent, determined, taciturn midwesterner(some might have called her "feisty"). Dr. Klein's effort took 12 years to completion, during which time she sought every possible source and visited the few living relatives, as well as the places of Leta' s early life, the small towns and rural areas of Nebraska.
Her task was made doubly difficult because her husband, eminent psychologist Harry Hollingworth, destroyed her letters, and gave her research papers to her colleagues. Some of her poetry remains, and are presented in the book.

This work documents and describes the triumph of Leta's overcoming the traumas of her mothers death when she was three, an errant and neglectful father, a cruel stepmother, life in the primitive conditions of prairie living in a sod cabin. From this she rose, through her determination and extremely high level of ability to successfully complete her college training at Nebraska. There she met her husband, Harry and together they sought degrees in psychology at Columbia. Leta faced the problems of all women of that time, a psychological community that felt higher education was inappropriate for them. The book rercounts her struggles, the important figures who played major roles in her academic life and interests, Thorndike, Terman and others. Well documented are the flowering of her intersts and work with the gifted which resulted in a number of books, papers and research projects, many still highly relevant 64 years after her death.

Her efforts on behalf of female equality brought her in contact with some of the most outspoken and radical feminists of the time. She a active participant in their work, though she was not a political liberal. She also held conservative views on eugenics, heredity and other topics, not unlike many eminent psychologists of that time( Cattell, Terman, Yerkes, Hall). In many ways reading about her views suggests positions not unlike Libertarians of today.

What is missing in this work is a glimpse of the inner person. Leta was very private, and if she left any of the kinds of notes which would help us understand her long illness with cancer(10 yrs.), her feelings about not having children, or a deeper insight into her relationship with her husband, this was not to be.What does come through is a triumph over incredible odds, and the achievement of the highest level of success by a very determined woman.

This is a book well worth reading. Thoe interested in the gifted might become acquainted with the press publishing this work. They offer a number of interesting works in this area.

Far more than a biography, this book is also a history of gifted education and a snapshot of the life of the exceptionally gifted in our society. I learned a great deal while reading it, not only About Leta Hollingworth and her contemporaries in gifted, but about myself, and my fit within my world.

As a biography, "Leta" captures the imagination, taking you to turn-of-the-century Nebraska during the westward expansion. Life was not easy then, and Leta had a harder time of growing up than most. They say "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger," and this certainly applies to Leta's young life. Continuing to college at an early age, Leta faces a new challenge: she is a young woman in a man's world. While she is highly successful there, many still will not accept her, and her struggles continue.

As a history book, "Leta" is just as interesting, and should be required reading for any education or psychology degree program. The relationships between many of the leading historical figures in gifted psychology and education are explained, and the reader learns how their theories and experiences intertwine to form the basis of gifted theory of today.

And most importantly, Ann Klein has done a terrific job combining the elements of Leta Hollingworth's life into an enjoyable volume. Don't miss this book!

A Forgotten Voice: A Biography of Leta Stettler Hollingsworth
By Ann G. Klein, Ed.D

Which of us remembers when female students were not expected to excel in academic endeavors because of a belief that female physiology stood in the way of logical thinking and reasoning? Who of us can recall the time when equality in education meant that all children must learn the same things, at the same rate, and by the same processes of learning? Early in the 20th century, an exceptional young woman, Leta Stettler Hollingsworth, challenged those myths.
In her book, A Forgotten Voice: A Biography of Leta Stettler Hollingsworth, Dr. Ann G. Klein describes the hardships of Leta's early life and her struggle to take advantage of every educational opportunity possible to her. Leta's husband, Henry Levi Hollingsworth (Holly) was her constant companion, support and mentor. Together they moved from rural Nebraska to New York where each would find success and satisfaction though their involvement in the relatively new field of psychology at Columbia University's Teacher's College and at Barnard.

After a stint of baking lemon pies and researching the effect of caffeine in Coca Cola, Leta completed her graduate studies and had the opportunity to work with such eminent researchers and scholars as John Dewey, Lewis Terman, Edward Lee Thorndike, and Naomi Norsworthy. In addition to becoming an active feminist, Leta studied and worked with school children, primarily focusing on those who demonstrated very high intelligence. She was instrumental in founding the Speyer School, a New York City School for Exceptional students. Leta Hollingsworth served as educational advisor of the Terman classes for those students who scored 130 or above on the Stanford Binet IQ test.

In working with the Terman students, Leta introduced cooperative and thematic studies, observed the "special perplexities" (social and emotional needs) of gifted children, noted the frequency of uneven (asynchronous) development, and recognized the benefits of grouping gifted students to provide stimulus and challenge.

While the life of Leta Stettler Hollingsworth was cut short, her influence lives on. I thank Dr. Ann G. Klein and Great Potential Press for sharing her with us.

If you have any interest in sports, you have to read Glory for Sale. Jon Morgan has written a fascinating and carefully crafted book about the inner workings of professional sports. Few of us have ever been privy to the secret meetings, the betrayal, the calculated lies, and the greed at work whenever a professional sports franchise tears free from a city. This book is more than the tale of Art Modell's apostasy, it is the frightening blueprint for a society whose religion sports is founded on a single commandment: Thou shalt win. -- Tim Green, author of The Dark Side of the Game and sports commentator for ABC's "Good Morning America," "NFL on Fox," and NPR's "Morning Edition

Glory for Sale is a fascinating read. Morgan manages to penetrate the personalities and structures of the NFL in a lucid and compelling fashion while providing a probing and critical analysis of city stadium subsidies, franchise movements and the business of football. -- Andrew Zimbalist, author of Baseball & Billions: A Probing Look Inside the Big Business of Our National Pastime and co-author of Sports Jobs and Tax: Economic Impact of Sports Teams and Facilities

. . . a detailed, engrossing and fast-paced account of am increasingly volatile aspect of sports. -- Bortz & Co., Sports and Media Consultants

Team relocation is a controversial and complex issue that hotly divides avid sports fans. Jon Morgan's Glory for Sale insightfully lays out the importance of stadium economics in building a competitive team, and it clearly, easily explains why teams move. It is one of the best analyses I've read. --Paul J. Much, Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin (financial advisor on sports economics to teams, leagues, stadiums, and governmental agencies)

Morgan goes through excruciating detail as to how the cities of Cleveland and Baltimore will now be forever conjoined. The book gives the reader a true perspective of the shenanigans by owners who are looking for the "easy money" of professional sports and how they will stoop to breaking the hearts of thousands of loyal fans just to fatten their wallets. Not only does it cut to the quick about the move of the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore; it also touches off on that fateful winter's night when Bob Irsay packed the beloved Colts onto the Mayflower trucks and stole away the heart of a city. A great read for Clevelanders and Baltimoreans alike; both of which can take small consolation that the heartbreaks of '84 and '95 will finally be resolved when the Browns return next August.

"Glory for Sale" is full of the sort of detail most football fans only dream of accessing...the book enables readers to become part of the franchise process, to feel as though they were actually there. Jon Morgan's style is fluid and literary, and the book, however intricate, reads as easily as a novel. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the world of sports, and for anyone with a solid appreciation for plain old good writing.

*Idylls of the Queen* is so much more than a good murder mystery. It is a good murder mystery, but unlike an ordinary mystery, you can reread it, even knowing whodunit, without any of the fun being spoiled. The mystery is sort of a backdrop to the real show--which is yet another new take on the personalities of Arthurian legend, and a different look at chivalric ideals.

The narrator is the oft-maligned Sir Kay, the grouchy but well-meaning seneschal of Arthur's court. He's not a bad guy. He *is* a sarcastic curmudgeon, but that's because he's seen so many self-serving buffoons win glory and adulation while his own hard work goes unnoticed. He is also secretly in love with the Queen. Kay shares an uneasy friendship with a wonderfully written, morbid, fatalistic, and somehow sympathetic Sir Mordred. Together they set out to clear Guenevere's name of the murder charges, meeting fascinating characters right and left. Morgan and Iblis are especially engaging, and Karr puts some deep words into their mouths. Morgan's defense of her mixed Christian and pagan ways cuts right to the heart of things, and Iblis's observation that justice is different for women than for men, is shocking just because it is so true of the times.

If you're an Arthurian buff, read this book. It's a quick read, and a great way to spend a lazy afternoon or two.

"Idylls of the Queen" satisfies on many levels. One: it's a unique look at the world of Arthur's Camelot through the eyes of the much miligned Sir Kay. Two: It's a terrific murder mystery with red herrings and surprises. Three: It's a great fantasy, containing magic and otherworldly spells blended in a unique way.

If you're looking for something different, be it fantasy or mystery, I recommend "Idylls of the Queen" you won't be disappointed!

Phyllis Ann Karr has done all Arthurian fans a big favor by writing this book. "The Idylls of the Queen" is basically a murder mystery set in Camelot, with all the familiar knights and ladies as suspects when Sir Patrise is inexplicably murdered at a small dinner hosted by Queen Guenevere. Sir Mador accuses the Queen of the murder, and a race against time ensues to discover the truth. The usual knightly quest becomes a hunt for the killer--whoever that may be. Along the way Karr treats us to some very unique interpretations of the Arthurian cast, including Sir Gareth, Sir Bors, Sir Gawaine (more like the title character of "Sir Gawaine and the Green Knight") Morgan le Fay, and Sir Lancelot himself. Told in the first person by Sir Kay, King Arthur's foster brother and seneschal, usually noted by other writers solely for his comedic boorishness or ignored entirely, the novel clearly demonstrates that there is a lot more to Kay than he's usually given credit for--as was the case in the earliest Arthurain legends, where the sarcastic boor of later years is replaced by a loyal, courtly knight. Karr's version of Kay is still a fountainhead of caustic wit, but even so he's likeable and clearly indispensible to the well-being of Camelot.

A fast, suspenseful novel that should stand up to multiple readings, "The Idylls of the Queen" is an ingenious work that should please all fans of Arthurian literature.

I have a slightly older addition, which is why I'm not giving this book five stars. Some of the references are a little out of date.

Overall, this is a really useful book. Dr. Stearns clearly understands the grieving process. She provides a balanced exploration of what happens to to people during times of crisis, and helps readers to cope. I say balanced in that this isn't a typical 'self-help' book, lacking in depth, yet it isn't an overly technical, dry psychology book. The case histories and the overall writing style make the book very read friendly. Her arguments make sense and are backed up by good research. Readers who've read other work on the subject of grief, death, loss, crisis, etc., will find they may be familiar with some of the ideas already, but the presentation is fresh enough to keep this from being a big drawback. If you've gone through a major loss, or if you are personally or professionally trying to support someone who has, this is a great book to pick up.

This book is great for both people who are experiencing loss (it could be losing your house in a tornado) and for people who want to know how to be a friend to those who are grieving.

I keep giving my copy away and ordering more. This is not a "take a warm bubble bath and it'll be all better" book. The book makes several important points; you go through a whole range of emotions, it takes at a long time, you should take it easy on yourself, not expect too much of yourself, and you shouldn't make any life-changing decisions for at least a year.

But even more significant is that the book gives you permission to grieve in your own way and time -- there is no right or wrong way to grieve. This should also be required reading for well-meaning friends and family and co-workers and the book gives them permission to be tolerant and understanding of the person who is grieving.

It is a quick read, liberally sprinkled with case histories and examples.

I came across this book when I divorced. It not only helped me understand and accept the process of grieving, it helped me through other times in my life when personal crisis led me to heavy grief. I have bought it and given it to friends who also have been grieving for one reason or another. This easy to read book is surely a difinitive guide for those searching to heal.