This is a valuable book for anyone interested in the decorative arts, especially for understanding the impact of the respected artist and teacher, Arthur Wesley Dow within both the American Arts and Crafts movement and American visual culture. It is a book suited both for the serious academic as well as the art enthusiast. Nancy E. Greene an Jessie Poesch have achieved a fine balance between their insightful scholarly text and the beautiful illustrations of prints, watercolors, photographs, pottery and furniture by Dow and other well-known exponents of this aesthetic shcool. This is truly a visual feast, a great book all around!

This is a beautifully illustrated book that sheds new light on dwarves, as hard as that may be to do. New clanheart feats, stoneblood powers, prestige classes that are actually useful and fun (such as the thunderthrower) and great flavor text, this is a book that just makes you want to make a dwarf character. Highly recommended.

My husband and I both enjoyed the book immensely. For those outside gay society, he provides insights into the search for meaning that many gays go through, since they usually don't have the simple fix of having kids. The book is most interesting in its discussion of his lover's background, the history of gay parenthood, and descriptions of life with the kids. As some other readers have indicated (rather harshly), the section on his own past is not that interesting and could have been greatly condensed (maybe because his childhood was so ordinary). Possibly the author is just being hard on himself, because he portrays himself least sympathetically of all the characters -- as a somewhat aloof, cold person. Despite this, the book is compelling and a good read. It's a pleasure to read a book on parenthood and adoption that is well written, since there are many, many poorly written ones out there!

As a 44-year-old gay adoptive father of two, and a sperm donor for a lesbian couple's child, I found that Jesse Green's book resonated with many aspects of my own experience. His candor about his own weaknesses and doubts, and his loving yet unflinching look at both his and his partner's lives, is moving and beautifully expressed. I found myself laughing frequently, and in tears just as often. Anyone who sees this parenting story as just a recipe for dysfunction doesn't know anything about being a gay man or adopting a child. There are no perfect families in the world, in spite of cultural stereotypes and religious prejudices; Jesse Green's window into one's man's journey to fatherhood is one of the most genuine and honest parenting stories I've ever read.

In Jesse Green's newly released in paperback, "The Velveteen Father", he spends an entire book waxing philosophic about the joys and pains of rearing a child in today's world. It might be so tempting to pigeon-hole this book into convienient, politically incorrect categories (as several reviews have shown; to which I qiuckly respond: why are you reading this book in the first place?), but in doing so, the true message and meaning of the story is missed. This isn't a book about two gay men adopting a child, this book really is about adopting a child, and the joys and pains and complexities of child-raising. To me, the fact that a gay man is doing the adopting was secondary, but still an important part of the story.

For anyone, the path of adoption is complicated and emotionally-charged, as Jesse so brilliantly captures in his book. He covers all the usual bases in his story (how to conceive a child, the conservative world that may fight him tooth and nail, personal childhood stories) but does it in a poetic, wordy manner that forces us as readers to slow down and feast.

I highly recommend this book, along with "The Kid" by Dan Savage, for anyone of any sexuality wanting to adopt a child in today's complex world.

The Creation Myth of the Zuni Pueblo is fascinating to say the least. This book begins with a short preface relating the current location and brief history of the Zuni. The introduction tells us of Frank Hamilton Cushing's life and research among the Zuni. The body of the Work sets forth Editor Barton Wright's versions of the original Myths. Mr. Wright also illustrates the Myths with original and descriptive scratchboard etchings. The original Myths were recorded by Frank Hamilton Cushing in the late 1800's, however, none of Mr. Cushing's particular style of writing is demonstrated in this book. An excellent modern interpretation follows the immediate Myths telling what the myths are describing and how they were formed. Because the Myths were recorded from Zuni Oral Tradition the possibility of misinterpretation is always present.

The book also includes two helpful appendices. In the first appendix Mr. Wright gives us a list of the sources of the Myths he has presented. The second appendix is a glossary of Zuni and Hopi names and terms. The Glossary falls short by not including some of the very basic terms and concepts used in the Myths. This might encourage an interested reader to use the bibliography at the end of the book, however, the lack of basic terminology could be frustrating for the casual reader. Although well done, the book is not for someone without a fundamental knowledge of the Southwest Native American history.

This book is an excellent introduction to the incredible work of Frank Hamilton Cushing. For the student of anthropology, it provides the prototype for the development of the science. For those interested in American Indian Culture, it serves as a starting point for serious study. However, it is most successful as a source of inspiration for those seeking a spiritual connection with things natural and ancient.

Green's editorial work can be mind numbing, even for those used to reading academic works. This is particularly evident when he rambles on about the significance of Cushing's literary style. However, his comments do contain a wealth of fascinating and useful background information. Despite it's flaws, this is an important academic work.

The portions of the book that come directly from Cushing are just the opposite. They provide richly textured and colorful insight into this world that so many know so little about. They do a remarkable job of showing how a culture can develop and use a complex system of spirituality to enable them to cope with the problems of daily existence in a harsh and unforgiving environment. It is a powerful testament to the potential strength of the human spirit. In many ways, it is the best description of what separates man from the animals that I have ever read. It is indeed powerful medicine.

The bibliography is excellent, however most of the referenced material is difficult to find.

All in all, this book is a worthwhile experience for serious students of anthroplogy, students of the American Indian, students of human nature, or the merely curious.

It is unfortunate that Steven MacCauley's recommendation is on this book, because anything MacCauley has written stacks up better against O Beautiful, the story of an overly pensive prissy gay man who pines away for his unobtainable straight "roommate" Matt. It starts out promising, becomes a bit intriguing, and then turns out to be exactly what I thougth it would be. No surprises as promised on the book jacket.

While we wonder what Matt's up to and what his real story is, Green treats us to flashbacks to a painful childhood and neurotic family life, and mental perambulations about the nature of life, beauty, etc. There are some funny moments, too, but not the laugh-out-loud hilarity of **The Object of My Affection** that made MacCauley's book one of my favorites.

Along with Martin and Matt are a variety of neurotic New York types: fag hag Stella, Martin's theatre friends, and a sassy child actress. The is also a healthy dose of internalized homophobia here that I hope doesn't reflect the author's own views. The oddest fact: After reading most of the novel, I was shocked to see it was taking place in 1984, not 1992 (the copyright date). How does Jesse Green's Martin float through gay New York in 1984 without ever seeing the real ravages of AIDS? I was astounded.

O Beautiful is interesting if only for one reason: Jesse Green's longing to validate himself by having children. Jesse Green is also the author of the excellent **The Velveteen Father**, the story of his "unexpected journey to fatherhood. Green has written for years, and his nonfiction is very good; unfortunately, this fiction did not measure up. But it is a good footnote to his recent real-life memoir.