page 10/7: "E. Medical Treatment....And dependents and survisors of a veteran who has a service connected disabilities, or who receives a veterans pension, are entitled to care in VA facilities if they are unable to afford private care."

I have been a VA employee for 16 years. The above is WRONG. There IS a pilot program in a handful of VA hospitals allowing dependents to use the VA hospital. Otherwise, this is NOT the case.

..."The VA can also pay for long-term care of an elderly or disabled veteran in a private nursing facility if there is no space in a VA facility."

This is also not entirely correct. The operative would is CAN. However, the VA is only obligated to pay for the care of veterans who have a certain percentage of Service-Connected Disability. If they pay at all for any others, most VA's only pay for care for a VERY limited period of time.

The authors of this comprehensive guidebook come close to achieving this feat. As they point out, many Americans are not receiving all the benefits they deserve under our current system. By explaining the various benefit programs and laws in conversational English, they hope to help readers ensure they are getting everything to which they are entitled. It's also helpful that the text is presented in a visually interesting two-column format with plenty of headings, boxes, and even the occasional illustration.

Each chapter explains a different benefit program or set of laws designed to protect the rights of older Americans. Security and Medicare take up more than half the book. The discussions of Medicare claims and appeal procedures are particularly thorough, complete with samples of Medicare summary notices explaining what the sometimes confusing columns of numbers mean. There also are chapters on Medigap policies, Veterans benefits, private pensions and 401(k) plans, and federal civil service retirement benefits. However, if you're looking for in-depth information on Medicaid coverage of nursing home costs, this is not your best resource. While Medicaid's basic eligibility rules are briefly discussed, the complexities of transferring assets to qualify for Medicaid benefits are not.

The authors mainly stick to the facts, but every once in a while they reveal their view of our society's tattered safety net. For example, they call our failure to enact a comprehensive, universal health care plan a "national disgrace."

This happens to be the best all-around book concerning the difficult subject of Social Security that I have read. Understandable and very well written. The sections regarding disability are filled with just the info I needed to know.

The only reason I gave this great book 4 stars is because its plot takes place in the Medieval Era. For those who do not feel they lived during that time...this book would not be as interesting or intriguing. However if you feel a strong resonance, whether its a positive or negative, to this time Era then buy this book and you will be taken back to that time through the stories of those who actually did live. You will hear how their horrible death, how they found love, how they lost love. Wonderful book!

Barbara Lane is a hypnotherapist, who after studying Civil War reenactors in her book Echoes from the Battlefield: First-Person Accounts of Civil War Past Lives, decided to do the same with Medievalists. She interviewed thirteen subjects involved in either the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), Renaissance Fairs and various living history organizations about their lives, interests and beliefs so that we know a bit about each person then she regressed them. Some had more than one session with her. Following their regressions, she had experts in Medieval studies look over the material gleaned during the regressions to historically verify the plausibility of the details revealed. The stories are so interesting I couldn't put the book down. At the end, Lane did a statistical comparison between the Medievalists and the Civil War reenactors (Echoes from the Battlefield, which I haven't read yet but plan to) making for a more scientific study of reincarnation. Highly recommended!

Barbara Pym has been compared to Jane Austen. I think that the similarities lie in the two authors' portrayal of characters.

In Austen's world, and a century later in Pym's, the women had comparatively little to do. They have lunch or dinner with friends, attend parties or volunteer at church. But even so, they have great amounts of time left over for introspection. Therein lies the beauty of both authors' stories. Who else could make such ordinary, uneventful lives seem interesting, even gripping?

Pym treats her characters with a gentle humor, making even their foibles seem genuinely endearing. While reading "Less Than Angels," I cared what happened to level headed Catherine and flighty Phoebe, two single women in love with the same man. Her characters are people I would like to know. Together we'd drink tea and have a pleasant chat, whiling away a rainy afternoon.

"Less Than Angels" is full of classic Pym characters: the eccentric, Alaric Lydgate, who sits in the evenings with an African mask on and wishes it were permissable to wear it out in public; Rhoda Wellcome and Mabel Swan, sisters, Rhoda given to peering at the neighbors from behind lace curtains; Catherine Oliphant, a writer and spinster, but with a twist she is living, unmarried with; Tom Mallow, one of many anthropologists in the story. Readers of "Excellent Women" will enjoy the reappearance of Esther Clovis and the references to Everard and Mildred Bone. The men in this story have more character development than in previous Pym novels. They are shown to be real people not so different form their feminine counterparts. There is competition in this story, a three-way competition for Tom Mallow's love, and a four-way competition for the Foresight grants, for the study of anthropolgy. The competitions mirror each other in subtle ways. Catherine is one of Pym's most endearing characters. You really yearn for her to find happiness. This is one of my favorites.

Wow, time flies when you enjoy a series. This sixth edition involves a pretty good mystery, a marriage of convenience, revenge, time travel, and friendship willing to go the illegal distance.

I could hardly believe the blurb that came with the book saying Brenda married her ex-boyfriend's slim ball agent Lemmy Crenshaw, but it looks like it's true, and knowing Brenda, there's one heck of a story behind it. It seems Lemmy came to Brenda with a problem. She agreed to help out under certain conditions. When off and on love interest Johnny Verlone finds out, he reveals all creating a vengeful mad hatter. Brenda's anger and frustration at being tricked is apparent in her language and demeanor, a perfect mood for revenge certain to backfire. To get back at Lemmy, Brenda becomes a bra napper, and just her luck, in mid-revenge, she becomes a possible murder witness. During the mystery, her relationship with Johnny spins like a whirling derby with so many breaks up in one storyline that it's dizzying.

The same familiar characters return with Brenda. Elizabeth, her neighbor and friend, Ralph, her doorman and protector, Chuck Rily, who has this time travel thing going on, and of course Dweena who wouldn't dare be left out of the action, illegal or otherwise. It's amazing what one will do for those one associates with, especially in acts of revenge. It certainly makes for great entertainment, and readers will be entertained with Brenda and her cohorts' revenge until about chapter eleven when the mystery begins. Brenda turns to Detective's Turner and McKinley who have to deal with a department problem named Duxman. The characters personal lives and the mystery play well simultaneously. The murder mystery, with some great light moments, is pretty impressive. The turns fooled me, and the murderer revealed took me by surprise. Ms. Wilson has a great sense of humor and it shows - even through Brenda's intense moments. It's a fun series.

If Brenda Midnight used her brain she would have said no when her boyfriend's sleazy agent Lemon B. Crenshaw asked her to marry him. He wins her hand in matrimony by persuading her that he illegally resides in this country, but not for long as the INS has caught up with him. If deported, Lemon explains that he will not be able to rejuvenate her boyfriend's sagging career. Unbelievably, Brenda falls for the entire sad sack story and marries Lemon even though they keep separate residences.

Brenda becomes furious when she learns she must remain married to Lemon for six months. Her ire rises to stroke levels when she finds out he actually needed to wed her to win a bet. Determined to get even with the slimy Lemon, Brenda breaks into husband's apartment and steals her husband's valuable brassiere collection. A thump in the apartment above frightens Brenda who flees Lemon's apartment. At the elevator, she runs into a rude stranger. At home Brenda learns that someone murdered the wealthy philanthropist who lived above Lemon. She knows what the thump was and tracks down her fellow elevator rider. Each accuses the other of murder to the bewildered police.

Barbara Jaye Wilson writes humorous mysteries that will appeal to fans of cozies and amateur sleuth tales. Some of the one-liners throughout MURDER AND THE AND HATTER will leave the audience deeply laughing. Whimsical characters from previous works augment a tender feeling of familiarity while propelling the complex mystery forward without giving many clues to the reader. Ms. Wilson makes reading fun.

Harriet Klausner

The author of the magnificent books, 'The Bean Trees', and 'Pigs in Heaven', leaves her protagonists Turtle and her mother in the Southwest and puts us in Africa, the Congo, Kilanga, in 1959. This stunning book is the tale of the family (of girls) of a Baptist preacher who moves them to a Congolese village to convert the heathens. The story is told through the voices of the girls: Rachel, Leah, Ruth May, Adah, Rebecca, and their mother, Orleanna Price. Their father's ignorance and somewhat violent tendencies, the sheer poverty and simpleness of the village, and the vast differences in their lives for these girls from Georgia are expressed by all of them. Their personalities, their strengths, their needs and their confusion are evident by their every word and their complex thoughts. Kingsolver, who is a brilliant writer anyway, brings a fascinating perspective to her imaginary family in the Poisonwood Bible - as she, the daughter of public health care workers who spent time in the Congo when she was very young, "waited thirty years for the wisdom and maturity to write this book." A powerful story, an excellent read.

I first discovered Barbara Kingsolver several years ago and loved her novels, The Bean Trees, and Pigs in Heaven. Even though she, herself, is not Native American, her books stand as were beacons of enlightenment about their often misunderstood world today and have been praised throughout the world. The Poisonwood Bible is a more ambitious book, and the landscape is the Belgian Congo, but her voice lays bare the same kind of clashes and misunderstandings that exist between cultures.

Well researched and deeply moving, it tells the story of a missionary's family from Georgia who move to the Congo in the late 1950s. The father is a religious fanatic, driven to convert the world to his brand of Christianity .His wife and four daughters have no choice but to respect his wishes. Using the technique of alternating first-person voices, each chapter is told from the point of view of these five female family members.

A poisonwood tree grows by their house. It is beautiful but it causes rashes and boils on the skin. It's a great metaphor.

There is the mother, Orleanna Price, who struggles daily with the effort of keeping her family together in a world that is suddenly devoid of electricity, plumbing and food. Precious wood must be found for the stove, water must be boiled to remove parasites, and vegetables do not grow. The oldest daughter, Rachel is 16. She misses her friends and her life in Georgia and yearns for nailpolish and hairdos. Then there are twins of 14: Leah and Adah. Both are smart and open to learn about the world around them but Adah cannot speak or move one side of her body. The littlest one, Ruth May, at age 5 teaches the native children to play games.

Each one of these voices is totally distinct from each other and tells her tale in her own distinctive way. Their overlapping views of the same incident turned them into multifaceted prisms instead of simple story lines. I wanted nothing more to go on reading, finding myself in their world, feeling the heat and the beauty of Africa as each one, in her own way, discovered her own Africa.

But Africa was changing even as they were . Revolution was happening. It was dangerous for the missionaries. The father refused to leave. And the family gets caught up in total upheaval. When one of the daughters dies and I felt the grief throughout my bones. It wasn't just happening to a person in a book. I had known her so well that I, too, mourned the loss and felt their struggle to leave the madness. Felt the raging fever of malaria, saw how each had changed.

The last third of the book follows the surviving women through the next 30 years of African and American history. It is a political statement and it opened a world for me I never even knew existed. Often in books that span 40 years, the first part of the book is the best. But this book even got better as it moved along. It's 543 pages long and I was sorry to see it end.

This is a truly important book. It sent me to the internet immediately to learn more. I've lived my comfortable life here in the United States all these years and never had any understanding about what Africa was like. In this one book, Ms. Kingsolver brings me there. She does it with her art. She is more than just telling a story. She is opening people's eyes. Hooray for her!

I give this book my very highest recommendation. Read it!

Having read Pigs in Heaven and The Bean Trees, I expected more of the same from Poisonwood. I couldn't have been more wrong -- or happier. TPB is one of the best books I've read in the last several years.

The book deals with the effects of the Congo and the political turmoil of the early 60's on a family of very unprepared missionaries. It doesn't stoop to easy moralizing or condemnation, but instead focuses on the people involved and how they change. Each of the daughters has a distinct personality that reacts to and affects that of their parents. The villagers they attempt to convert are three-dimensional, neither the ignorant savages the father expects nor the romanticized pacifists that some stories feature.

I was skeptical that a writer whose previous books (at least the ones I'd read) had focused on women in Arizona and Appalachia could believably recreate the tumultuous Zaire of the 1960's. I was completely wrong. Having read King Leopold's Ghost before it and Genocide in the Congo after, it definitely rings true in its portrayal of central Africa trying to emerge from a brutal colonial period. When I later watched "Lumumba", it seemed as if the world she had described came alive...

Read it, laugh, learn and cry! It will all be over far too soon...

Tuchman sets out to offer a survery of governments acting contrary to their own interests, and after a wide-ranging introduction, she offers four case studies: Troy, the Renaissance Popes, Britain and the American Revolution, and the US in Vietnam.

The introduction is brilliant, as is the Vietnam case study. The material between ranges from adequate (a solid but pedestrial treatment of Britain's bungling before the American Revolution) to awful (a peevish, presentist scolding of the Renaissance Popes) to irrelevant (what is Troy, whose internal politics remain obscure, *doing* in this book as a case study?).

Saying that "It seemed like a good idea at the time," then going on to explore *why* it seemed like one, is nearly always an effective way to understand the actions of historical figures. For Tuchman, though, the answer always seems to be the same: "It seemed like a good idea because they were too stupid, venal, deluded, or blind to see that it wasn't." This doesn't help us, much, in understanding history or applying its lessons.

The notable exception to this--the one chapter where Tuchman seems willing to trace the internal logic of misgovernment--is the Vietnam chapter. If you're interested in, but not an expert on, Vietnam, that chapter may be worth the price of the book.

In the same way that Pauline Kael used her movie reviews, Barbara Tuchman uses history as an outlet of moral yearning. Every book is a cry of pain and joy for the injustices and beauty of life. Tuchman chooses her subjects carefully to convey a message to her readers, usually a cautionary tale of the abuse of power.

"The March of Folly" is her most direct message yet. In it, she describes the folly of government-defined as action against self-interest despite an overwhelming preponderance of evidence to act otherwise-and how it led to several notable disastrous events. Namely, the sack of Troy, the split of the Catholic See, the loss of the American colonies, and the policy of Vietnam.

But let's face it. Tuchman wrote this book with the Vietnam chapter in mind. Each chapter simply lays the groundwork for the material on Vietnam.

The chapter Trojan Horse provides us the groundwork, the mythic case of folly we are all familiar with, and the lasting image we carry as we consider Vietnam.

The Renaissance popes provides us an example of a self-perpetuating and stale system we can remember when thinking of a moribund Congress mindlessly voting appropriations for a war no one wanted. Consequently that same chapter gives us the image of a pope throwing lavish parties for which he hired prostitutes to crawl about on all fours, completely naked, picking up scattered chestnuts with their mouths-which might remind some of our own nation's zeal in its misuse of third-world nations-El Salvador, Iran, Panama, and Vietnam spring to mind-in Cold War play.

The chapter on the loss of the American colonies allows readers to take pride in their forefathers' proaction and righteousness in comparison to the slothful and ignorant course corrupt, money-bought English Parliament followed, before comparing U.S. government in the 1950s-60s to those same English aristocrats of the 1770s. This chapter later raises uncomfortable questions about the U.S. anti-nationalistic policy in Vietnam, which worked against self-determination and, consequently, democracy.

But by the time she arrives in Vietnam, she has stored up too much information. Tuchman bombards us with so many facts, memos, and bad decisions that we get lost in a labyrinth. Her prose gets bogged down. We forget where we are in the war, every page sounds the same, and it ends up so overwhelming that it's ineffective. It's like she's waited years to write this chapter, and has done too much research and wants to cram it all in a few pages.

In the end, I have to agree with other reviewers who say it's not her best work. It is a work of passion. And as such, it's admirable for its passion, because it all rings true.

PS - Ignore all that conservative/liberal claptrap. Both sides of the political coin had their hands bloodied in Vietnam. And if you can't learn from your mistakes, you're bound to repeat them.

In the "March of Folly", historian Barbara Tuchman surveys four episodes in history - disparate in culture, chronlogy and geography but otherwise united in folly by the ruling leadership. Tuchman defines folly as the pursuit policy contraryr to self-interest. Self-interest is not to be confused with selfihsness, can be understood as the course that gives those who follow it the greatest benefit, whether the benefit is perceived as such. The Trojans fail to heed the warning of Greeks bearing gifts; The renaissance papacy provokes a protest; the British lose America and America loses Vietnam. In each of Tuchman's episodes, man's leadership not only trails his advances in science and the arts, but is actually inverse in relation. Tuchman's prose is always crisp and inviting and her analysis rarely lacks any power. Unfortunately, her thesis is not flawless - folly is meant to represent self-inflicted harm by government policy. This is meant to be uncomplicated by moral decisions which, given the actors involved, is not to be expected. Governments are expected to act in ways that benefit themselves. Nevertheless, self-interest is not selfishness, which, when coupled with greed or blind ambition, does more harm than benefit. (Often, a government's self-interest is to act morally, not based on any innate good, but merely because this legitmizes its rule over the people who prefer to see themselves on a moral high-ground.) The problem lies in Tuchman's equating any lack of good government with active self-harming policy, even the two shouldn't share an equal footing. Active, if ill-informed policy-making mires America in Vietnam, while the Trojans all but knock down their walls to make way for that Greek horse. On the flip side, British policy in the colonies seems clumsy, indicating that those for or against the colonies were incapable of formulating a cogent policy - the bane of a purely parliamentary system. Most lamentable, but also the most absorbing, is the case of the renaissance popes. Being at once the product of the college of cardinals and also the architect of its new generation, the renassance popes can do no more than prolong a corrupted system that bestowed upon them the papal tiara. Of the six popes cited, three actively pursue policy - while the remaining can do no more than continually tax christendom (especially the disunited German states), pursue confused alliances, arrange for lavish parties and deplete papal reserves. Under Tuchman's definition, self-harming policy is too inclusive of leadership incapable of forming policy. The corruption that bred the renaissance papacy was clearly endemic to the church of that era - with greed and manipulation of religion hardly limited to the seat of St. Peter - so it's hard to fault the popes. Tuchman clearly understands when recounting the reproach given to the future Leo X, that, were the Cardinals better men, they'd elect better popes, and all men would be better for it. Unfortunately, as Tuchman notes, the Renaissance Cardinals could not be better men because they were chosen by the poor popes to begin with, while the Popes are stymied by the fact that they were chosen by an earlier generation of imperfect cardinals. How Rome broke this cycle, vindicating Tuchman by proving the papacy capable of doing so, gets too little shrift. In fact, the renaissance papacy, while corrupt, was also remarkably tolerant, and the reformation that it bred held dire consequences in terms of war and religious persecution of the Jews, every bit as painful as the machivellian schemeing of the pre-protestant papacy. It's all exasperating, heart-breaking and entertaining, but one wonders whether these episodes should have gotten their own book.

This is the first book I have read by Kat Martin. From the first page I was compelled to continue to read. She blends mystery, intrigue, deception and romance in such a way that made me stay up until far into the night to read just one more page, just one more....

When I finished Dream, I started another book but just could not get Dream out of my mind. Even though I know the ending, I WILL read this book again.

I am an avid fan of Kat Martin. I have every book she has written (including The Silent Rose, aka, Kasey Mars). Historical Romance is my first love, however, when one of my favorite HR writers ventures into the contemporary genre, I give them a chance to impress me. Paranormal is not a subject I normally buy.

What made me sit up and read eagerly to the end, is the fact that historical or modern subject, Kat Martin is one of the most unique, masterful writers we have today. Every chapter was well written and defined to perfection. Kat's hero and heroine, Jack and Genny, come to life, enabling me to automatically take them personally to heart. "The dream" is one of the most enjoyable, well plotted contemporary novels I've read to date.

If you're looking for a well written, interesting read, I highly recommend Kat Martin's novel, "The Dream". Seldom do I read a contemporary novel a second time. This one I will. Too many details and marvelous plot turns to absorb the first time around.

Another fabulous contemporary romance/suspense from Kat Martin. She could never write too many for me. :) Just the imagination that she has to have in order to come up with this kind of book amazes me. Oh, to have her brain and gifts. This is definitely a page turner. Grab a copy and enjoy.

This book is a true page turner! Barbara Michaels is an obviously brilliant woman. She has her PhD in Egyptology yet the woman knows everything about everything! Gothic novels, history of any kind, suspense and so much more! The story was just fascinating, yet once you reach the end, there are silly reasons for the supernatural! I would reccomend it to any history/suspense buff

Barbara Michaels (Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Mertz) pens two kinds of thrillers: plodding, humorless and unsympathetic, or sparkling with wit and liveliness. This is one of the latter, and displays that Ms. Michaels is also an intelligent literary person (and that Nate Hawthorne was a nauseating chauvinist)

English professor Karen Holloway once found a privately printed book of poetry from the eighteenth/nineteenth century, by "Ismene." After the poetry becomes a roaring success, she is summoned by a friend named Simon, who shows her a battered old manuscript -- also by Ismene. Karen is desperate to have the Gothic thriller, which follows the beautiful Ismene and her empty-headed sister Clara as they arrive at their cousin's enormous mansion. A brooding doctor, stormy weather, hidden house and a ghastly figure complete the Gothic sense.

Karen encounters a little drama of her own -- due to the success of Ismene's poetry, a bunch of other writers are trying to get their hands on the manuscript. The locals are acting more than a little odd also, either unhelpful or deliberately searching...

And as Karen deciphers the old story, she begins to wonder about it. Is it just a story that the talented Ismene created, or is it a memoir of terror and deception from long ago? Ismene's unfinished manuscript and a haunting line of poetry may hold the key.

Though the label "feminist" on Karen may turn off some readers, she's not really a feminazi -- rather, she has to deal with the very real sexism of her male colleagues, who scorn such authors as Jane Austen and George Eliot. (And it's shown that this is not new -- each chapter opens with a quote about women and literature, such as the pig Nathaniel Hawthorne's suggestion that women who write should have "their faces deepley scarified with an oyster shell.") Her colleagues don't have a problem with the money Ismene's novel would give them, though. Karen's feminism is fairly low-key, though there is one hilarious scene where she deliberately makes a shocking speech to isolated small-townsfolk. I liked how she found a kindred spirit in the long-dead Ismene, who was a fierce feminist and abolitionist of the times.

Supporting characters are even more sparkling. Tough-on-the-outside, marshmallowy-on-the-inside Peggy holds Karen up throughout her adventure, and charming old-world Simon is a delight. Bill Meyer, on the other hand, will honestly leave you wondering whether to sympathize or not.

Someone who has read extensive Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Michaels books will know of her particular faves, such as Louisa May Alcott and the Brontes. Comparisons are made to Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, going over such now-cliche items as the Tall Dark Brooding Man, the Frightened Heroine, the Big House/Castle on the Cliff/Moors, the Dark Secret, and so forth. Ms. Michaels utilizes these herself (well, not the Frightened Heroine.... Nervous Heroine would be better) with wry twists and observations about their appropriate nature.

A particularly enjoyable note is that portions of Ismene's book are interspersed. They have appropriately overdescriptive prose and hyperdramatic dialogue (both staples of the times) and are very evocative in emotions and imagination. The only problem is that the ending is quite rushed and becomes a bit incomprehensible, especially as characters only briefly referred to suddenly seem pivotal. There is, fortunately, a geneological map at the beginning, so be sure to look there.

This book is a gem, both for fans of mystery and of Gothic lit. "Houses of Stone" does for Gothic novels what "Die For Love" did for romance!

I love this book. I enjoyed every minute with the lead character and thought her friends were the perfect foils to bring out her character quirks. The plot is fantastic--gothic horror, modern romance, feminist ideas, dueling lovers, best girlfriends--it's all here! I was in suspense to the very end, and I liked the ending. I've read this book twice so far and have recommended it to friends. Also, each chapter is headed by a pithy saying that you'll want to quote to certain men in your life. I wish Barbara Michaels would write a sequel (hint hint).

Animal Dreams is a vivid book that takes you through the life of Cosima while it makes you think of your own. It is touching and inspiring, reflecting on the different sociological (like the Indian reservations and lands) and ecological issues (like the river and the dam) it addresses. Although I found this book a little bit tough to read because of its rich and complex language, I found Kingsolver's words uniquely descriptive and full of emotion. You will be kept at the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next, in her love life, in her professional life, with her family... I definitely recommend this book. If you find it confusing and boring at the beginning, you are not alone, the book bounces from love to science to land. Have it a little patience and it will take your mind to places it has never been before and your heart to emotions it has never felt before.

Like all of Ms. Kingsolver's books, Animal Dreams is so well written that you are accutely aware of the author's genius as you read. The characters are so well developed you can "feel" and "see" them. Intricate storylines are delicately and seamlessly woven together with beautiful prose, creating a "big picture" that is cohesive and thoroughly believeable. Without giving too much of the storyline away, Ms. Kingsolver's ability to subtly incorporate several social and political issues into her story - family relationships, Contras in Nicaragua, American Indians, ecology and corporate responsibility, to name a few - makes this book multidimensional. In my opinion, this is not Ms. Kingsolver's best book ... but she was well on her way to perfecting her incredible writing and storytelling skills while writing this book. It is an excellent, thought-provoking read.

Animal Dreams is a rich tapestry woven of many threads: mystery, love, politics, environment, benelovance, history, culture, and the finding of oneself. When Codi Noline returns to her hometown of Grace, Arizona, she must confront all these things while taking care of an ailing father, worrying about her sister in the fields of Nicaragua, and dealing with the deterioration of the town's river. She is conflicted with who she is and where she is going; she repeatedly reminds her new lover she is not going to stay yet has no idea why. While Codi searches for something to look for, she unearths a town with many secrets and many stories. Like Codi, the reader learns about the powers of culture and history; of politics and environmentalism; and of family and love. Kingsolver's ability to catch colors, emotions, and life makes for a very engaging, beautifully-written book.

from a huge fan--have read most of her books over the past ten years. This one lacks the passion and compelling characters of her other books. Try other Barbara Delinsky books instead.

This is only the second book I've read by Barbara Delinsky, the first being Three Wishes, and I definitely enjoyed this one more than the other. The setting is a beautiful town in New Hampshire called Lake Henry, where the residents are very protective of their own. Lily Blake was born in Lake Henry but left to pursue some career dreams. She has a wonderful life in Boston as a teacher and a part-time job in an exclusive private dinner club playing the piano and singing. She also has a close friend, Fran Rosetti, who has just been elevated to Cardinal in the Catholic church. Of course, now that Lily's life is almost perfect, something has to come around to destroy it. That something is Terry Sullivan, a journalist, who prints a damaging story of the relationship between Lily and the new Cardinal. The story is untrue but the damage has been done and Lily returns in shame to her hometown.

The good news is that Lily finds strength and support from her former neighbors. She also rekindles a friendship with John Kipling, who has also returned home to Lake Henry and is now the editor of the local newspaper. Together, they forge a bond and find out that there is strength in numbers. Was this another Thorn Birds? Definitely not....just a good, well-written, enjoyable book.

I've never read a book by Barbara Delinsky I haven't enjoyed. So why did it take me nearly two years from the time I bought LAKE NEWS to read it? I'm not sure, but I am sorry I didn't read it sooner. This is a fabulous story and very timely.

Lily Blake has had a longterm friendship with Father Francis Rosetti. When he is elevated to Cardinal, an unscrupulous newspaper reporter, in his attempt to dig up some dirt, accuses Lily and Father Rosetti of having an affair. This results in a media frenzy, Lily losing her jobs (music teacher and a singer/piano player at a private club) and having to flee her Boston home.

Unable to afford an attorney to help clear her name, she seeks refuge in her hometown of Lake Henry, New Hampshire. Although she hides out at first, Lake Henry takes care of their own. Befriending her is John Kipling, the editor of the local newspaper, THE LAKE NEWS.

John has always wanted to write a book and with the news of Lily's alleged affair he feels he has the perfect subject. When he discovers her pleas of innocence, he decides the theme of her story can be the misuse of power by the press and paparazzi (which at one point in the story are called "princess murderers). But as he gets to know Lily and begins to fall in love with her, it's clear that his goals have to be something a bit different. He attempts to exonerate Lily by discovering what made the reporter want to exact revenge on Lily and/or Father Fran in the first place.

This is a compelling read, absolutely unputdownable. I was up until nearly 3 AM in the morning finishing it. Delinsky is a wonderful writer and storyteller! Both John and Lily have issues with their parents to deal with in an attempt to get to know themselves better. There's a wonderful little secondary romance between Lily's younger sister and a writer who is also attempting to write a book on the brouhaha. I also loved the way Lily dealt with her 10-year-old niece, Hannah, an awkward child who just needs some extra TLC.

And how, do you ask, do you follow-up such a wonderful read? By reading another Barbara Delinsky book, of course! I'm off to grab THE VINEYARD off my TBR pile!

Maudeen Wachsmith, Charter Member Reviewers International Organization (RIO)