This fascinating book touched not only my mind but my heart with the truth of its channeled writings. Well organized by sections, the information was both thought-provoking and though-expanding. It provided new perspectives on the life of Jesus and his followers, the times in which they lived, and a clear expression of the humanity of Jesus. There was a simplicity in the message of the writings and of Jesus' teachings that is still pertinent to today. Love thyself AND thy neighbor. Acknowledge the Light within all humans. Seek and ye shall find, within Self. I found this book of channeled writings inspirational because the messages literally stirred within me a desire to be more Light-conscious in my everyday living. And there was much support and encouragement in the writings to help guide me in this way. I would encourage all those seeking more clarity on the true message of Jesus and his followers to read this book.

Enlightening book for everyone with an open mind and an open heart.

Timeless Testament is the story of spirituality's ongoing journey. Through channeling, the voice of Mary Magdalene speaks about faith, healing, wisdom, and truth. The lessons she teaches are about love, light, and energy that transcend time and connect us all in the Light of God. This book will make you introspective; it will make you question your own beliefs and their origins. Journeys have many destinations and many beginnings. This moving account of history and religion told through Mary Magdalene's voice is truly a timeless testament.

This is a story about a little girl named Stacy and her family. Stacy is excited for the birth of her new baby sister Ashley. However she has mixed feelings when the baby starts getting more attention from Stacy's parents then she is. Soon Stacy realizes that she wants to be a good sister and she cannot wait until little Ashley gets old enough to really play with. Sadly one morning Stacy wakes up to a crying. When Stacy goes into her parents' room she is told that Ashley had died that night from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Her parents try to comfort her when she thinks that she may have been responsible for her little sisters death or that SIDS is contagious.
I believe that the author did such a wonderful job in telling a story of a common occurrence with babies, as well as helping children to understand SIDS with a little description in the back of the book. The pictures and the story are just so touching that it would be so easily explained to a young child what Sudden Infant Death Syndrome actually is. If any child has ever lost a brother or a sister to SIDS the author does a great job of explaining that it is not their fault no matter how they felt about the baby.
I loved this book mainly because of the story. I was so sad when I read this book and then I thought of all the little kids and parents could really appreciate this book if they had lost a sibling to SIDS. I have never experienced a loss like Stacy and her family but after reading this book I have a little bit more of an understanding and sympathy.

This is a book about a family and it is based on the little girl of the family, Stacy. Her mom has a new baby and Stacy is jealous of her little sister. She wants all the attention from her parent's back. Eventually she decides that she wants to be a good big sister and wants to start playing with her baby sister. She realizes that her parents haven't forgotten all about her after all. One morning she wakes up to crying and she knows it's not her sister crying. She going into her parents room to see them crying. Her baby sitter had died during the night of sudden infant death syndrome. Everyone missed the baby so much including Stacy.
I liked this book cause it really told how little kids act like when they do get a new sibling. They do tend to be jealous and feel left out because the baby gets all the attention. I also like this story because it has a different twist to it. It is tragic the baby dies but it does happen and I think that it is good to have books to explain to little kids about things like this. It had great, very realistic pictures that really followed a long with the story.
I think the author was trying to get across the point that things like this happen but in a way children can understand it. I don't think children should be blocked off from bad things that could happen to anyone and this story really seems to get that point across. It also seems to say something about cherishing the time you have with someone because you never know when he or she might not just be there.

I bought this book for my son after his sister died of SIDS. He is only 2 1/2, and still doesn't grasp the concept of death, but I think it's a good book, and am glad that I will have it to show him, when he does begin to understand.

This publication provides a pictorial history of African Americans in Columbus, Georgia. It is one of the first publications of its kind, pertaining to African Americans in Columbus, Georgia. It is comprised of photographs depicting the history of a people and the places where historical events occurred. This document places emphapsis on a racial group that had not been depicted as an intregal part of the history of Columbus nor the history of Georgia.
The information contained in this publication can be used as a supplement to the study of Georgia History, African American History, Social Studies and or Cultural Studies.

The Black American Series- Columbus Ga. is an excellent source of information regarding life for the African American in the rural south.I am from Columbus,Ga. and thought that I knew a lot regarding the African Americans history in this city.Judith Grants book makes you cry,laugh and at the same time do alot of soul searching about a people who's history is so rich but yet still ignored.It challenges you to examine futher the lives of people like Dr.Thomas Brewer and Elizabeth Lunsford who were champions in the struggle for their people but unknown to many today.I highly recomend this work to all people but especially to young African Americans who need to see how their ancestor struggled and still suceeded despite all the odds stacked against them.

I took a break from Davies fiction this month to read this collection of non-fiction, culled from over thirty years of essays, and grouped into three broad categories: Characters, Books, and Robertson Davies. I say broad because Davies was not thinking of these categories as he wrote these essays. Instead, these were written to fill his column at the Peterborough Examiner ("A Writer's Diary") or book reviews for various American publications such as Harper's, The Washington Post, or The Atlantic Monthly. Characters, however, tends to be about "lives"--either the lives of authors (including Wodehouse and Freud), literary creations (mehitabel), or theater figures (Emma Calve and Melli Nelba). Okay, I'll admit it--I didn't know who Calve and Nelba were either, but that's because I'm a book person, not a theater person. Even so, some of the authors and books covered here do stretch even my prodigious reading (not to mention my memory), partly due to the age of some of these essays (some as early as 1942) and partly due to Davies quite eclectic interests. That's why I like him, however. Eclecticism is the mark of someone not afraid of change.

The Books section is just as varied, covering Graves' King Jesus and Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles. What was interesting for me is his comment on the Mervyn Peake's fantasy classic, The Gormenghast Trilogy, which I have tried to read several times and never found it to catch my interest. I must have another go at it sometime in the near future. In this section of book reviews, it is interesting to note the progression (the articles are arranged in chronological order) of how the writer views the writing of his forebears and his peers, especially in the light of the wonderful writer Davies himself was becoming. The essay that hits closest to home is his essay on Joyce Cary's novels and their inventive method of retelling tales using the same characters, which Davies was to modify for his three trilogies.

Finally, the section entitled Robertson Davies gives you a personal glimpse into the writer at work, as well as the curmudgeon at play. The essay entitled "A Chat with a Great Reader" alone is worth the price of the book. In it, Davies recalls a conversation with a fellow at a party who claims to be a "Great Reader" and is delighted to meet Davies, a "Critic." The distinctions are quite telling, and an indictment on those who play at the game of knowledge and entertainment. While not everything here is as funny or insightful, these two to five page essays are the perfect compliment to your bedstand or reading chair, as bon bons to your main meal of words.

Robertson Davies lives up to his reputation as Canada's distinguished man of letters of the twentieth century. In addition to establishing his abilities as a novelist and a playwright, he reveals in the showcased selections in "The Enthusiasms of Robertson Davies" how talented and perceptive a reviewer he was, covering a wide variety of writers and books.

Davies' superb economy of expression shines as the reader is treated to pristine vignettes about Thomas Mann, Vladimir Nabokov, James Agate, P.G. Woodehouse, Somerset Maugham, D.H. Lawrence and many others. His wit sparkles and he effectively and succinctly pinpoints the elements which made these writers succeed.

For the reader who has yet to read any Robertson Davies, this book is a great place to start. It is informative, easy reading that will frequently make you laugh. I recommend it highly.

It's startling how thoughtful, evocative and just plain funny a man can be in writing his regular correspondance. Makes you want to be a prolific letter-writer yourself. Makes you wish he were still alive so that you could respond to some of the more inflammatory things he says.

I don't think I'd realized quite how much Davies was concerned about the "place" of Canadian Literature in the world literature canon; it comes out so plainly here.

Judith Skelton Grant, who edited the letters, is mentioned repeatedly in them -- Davies apparently was amused, worried and sometimes just ticked off about the biography she was writing of him.

I enjoyed this book's organization, which was established by the various books Davies had written over the last part of his career. While not Canadian, and thereby somewhat in the dark regarding some of the letters' recipients, I found the editor's annotations brief but helpful. The main draw here is the author's distinctive voice, which emerges within the various letters.

I am not usually interested in reading compilations of letters. Here, however, I find a volume that constitutes a diversion from my other reading, a book which I can pick up from time to time and garner ideas for those brighter days when I re-read a Davies' novel. For this end, I found the collection worthwhile!

This young lady tells the story of surviving a house fire and the rebuilding that takes place afterword. Most people often forget about the long healing process after a tragic incident.

We feature this book in our library reading program where firefighters read to children at the library. It is a must-read book to both parents and children. It truly drives home the consequences of fire.

this was a christmas gift several years ago and while I ADORE everything that Davies wrote (esp Rebel Angels), this was a fawning, name-dropping, dull, pendatic read. Davies, I believe, was still living when it was written, and he cooperated in the writing of it, so there is no critical look at him, his life or really any aspect of his writing.

I look forward to a new biography that doesn't treat Davies as a sacred cow. I grew up in the same area where davies was a newspaper editor and theatre guy and his put-on english accent and snobbiness didn't impress the people of my grandmother's generation.

Still, I appreciate his writing, but wished this was a truer portrait of him, warts and all. I found it a drudge to go through

Judith Skelton Grant has done an absolutely outstanding job of giving us everything we wanted to know about Robertson Davies: his background and roots in small town Ontario, his three careers (acting, journalism, academia), critiques and illuminating discussions of his plays, novels, and occasional writings, his beliefs and philosophies, and so on. I could not put this book down; read the first 500 pages in two sittings and finished it on the third. Let's hope that she brings out an updated version to take the story up to Davies' death; as it is, there is no discussion here of his fine last novel, The Cunning Man. END

I had to laugh while reading the reviews for Sheine's new book on Schindler. The irate review by Lionel March regarding the NY writer's comments (which are frankly right on) comes from one of Sheine's friends and collaborators in previous quasi-academic writings about Schindler. Gee - do you think she put him up to it? One would think that (after how many books on Schindler?) she would move on to more interesting ground. Incidentally, L. March declares that the book's supposed 'revelation' of Schindler's and Wright's tumultuous and mutually influential relationship is Sheine's alone. Ms. Sheine may be the first one to rush that newsflash to print, but it's been discussed in academic circles for years. It's a bit like saying that Charles Jencks discovered deconstructivism. Also lending his support via a previously written review is Michael Webb, another FOS (friend of Sheine). These reviews need to be acknowledged for the non-objective critiques that they are.

Frankly, the book isn't all that bad, if accepted for the soft theory that it is. The photos and drawings are nice, although I have to agree with Webb's account regarding the shabby binding; the copy I received as a gift is falling apart already. Buy it for your coffee table and pray that no one really looks through it.

Judith Sheine's new book on Schindler is most proficient. It is a good book written in a clear, concise way that accomplishes what most other books on this master architect have not been able to - in that it is a well rounded book that addresses the many facets of schindler's life and practice.

Sheine's book traces the architect's Austrian upbringing and schooling (Wagner and Loos) and Schindler's fascination with Wright. It interestingly compares the two architects and asks which was the first 'space architect'? Sheine elaborates on Schindler's theory of 'Space Architecture and the 'Schindler Frame' and classifies his work in four phases (Concrete and Radicalism; Plaster Skin Design; Experiments with materials and roof forms; and the Schindler Frame and translucency). She also addresses the architect's omission from the International Style exhibit and argues that his work, in fact, had no place in it. The book has a great chapter on his practice methods and concludes with chapters on his influence and reputation and the recognition that Schindler has received since his death in 1953.

Sheine's writing style is most competent as she writes as someone whom seems to intimately know the architect. Although this is not true, the author has lived in a Schindler building and has passionately pursued getting to know Schindler's life and architecture.

I have most of the books on Schindler, and this is my favorite one. Unfortunately, I could not give it 5 stars as Phaidon missed an opportunity with this 8x8 book format. The photos don't read very well and the plan and section diagrams, which are so essential to understanding Schindler's work, are postage stamp size. Still, If I had to choose one Schindler book, this would be the one.

The review by 'Reader from New York' is frivolous. Her one star is for the photography of Mumford (sic). Grant Mudford certainly captures the genius of Schindler's highly individualistic architecture, but Professor Sheine's architectural understanding and sensibility is behind each photograph.

'Reader' compares Professor Sheine's monograph unfavorably with Taschen's Jumbo Neutra. She claims that Sheine adds nothing new. To pose just two questions: Had she seen previously the many cross-sectional drawings which express so well the meaning of 'space architecture'? Was she aware of the relationship between Schindler and Frank Lloyd Wright at the time Schindler was in charge of the Chicago office during Wright's absences in Japan? No, must be the answer, because this is all new and original and not to be found in writings by other authors.

This is a very welcomed addition to our knowledge of what Sir Colin StJohn Wilson has called 'The Other Tradition', or what Kenneth Frampton has described as 'Regionalism', in twentieth century architecture. Schindler -- in California -- carved out his own, very personal ground in the manner of Eileen Gray, Hugo Haring and others in Europe.

I quote from the review of Martin Fuller in the New York Times Book Review, 12/2/01:

"Judith Sheine's 'R. M. Schindler' provides a thorough, well-paced survey of his professional development, interweaving his biography and works to notable effect."

I think this book, is very wonderful. If you need some information about him, or just want to study about him this is the book for it. This BOOK is very GOOd.

This book is well researched, thorough and insightful. However, it is also dreadfully dull. That the author manages to make the life of Robertson Davies boring is quite a feat! Grant relies too heavily on her source material and doesn't allow her own voice to develop. This reads like a doctoral dissertation, not a popular book for a mass audience. I can only recommend this book to Davies scholars who want the facts--at the exclusion of readability.