What a daunting task for a writer - a novel dealing with the life and work of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. Sor Juana is considered by many to be the finest poet that Latin America ever produced - she is also a hero to many, and for good reason. In her day - the 17th century - women were looked upon pretty much as chattel. They were expected to make a home for their husband and children, to sew, to cook - and little else. They were certainly not expected to seek an education - indeed, they were not deemed capable of benefiting from one. Juana, from the time she was a child, knew better - she sought out ways to feed her hungry intellect from the time when she was three, tagging along with her older sister to school and insisting to be taught to read.

As she grew older, fame of her learning spread, and she moved to Mexico City, where she became a favorite at the court of the Viceroy and Vicereine - the attention she received there fanned the flames both of her intellect and her emotions. She joined a religious order and took her vows believing that it was the only way to further her in her quest of knowledge, and in her pursuit of literary expression. She didn't count on the incredibly, rabid opposition that she met - not only from the Church hierarchy, but from within her order, from other nuns who were jealous of the attention she received, and terrified of her intelligence. She was a threat to too many people who held power. Change frightens people - especially those who see it as a threat to their own position and influence. There's an old saying that 'absolute power corrupts absolutely'. I think in the case of Sor Juana's persecution by the Church, one could observe that 'absolute power breeds absolute paranoia'. If she had not, finally, succumbed - at least in part - to the will of the Inquisition, she would no doubt have been martyred. Some might say - and it's a valid observation - that, without her books, her writing materials, and her scientific and musical instruments, without any contact with the outside world, she died a martyr without being subjected to the gibbet or other tortures. The intellectual torture of repressed expression, imposed on one who had so much to express, was a death sentence in itself.

Sor Juana's sexuality has been discussed in many forums - it is, after all, a valid and vital part of anyone's personality and life. The film concerning her life - I, THE WORST OF ALL - is based on SOR JUANA, or THE TRAPS OF FAITH, by notable Mexican poet and author Octavio Paz (he being another treasure of Latin American literature), and approaches the subject of her sexuality very obliquely (I'm amazed that the film bears an 'R' rating). SOR JUANA'S SECOND DREAM, on the other hand, tackles the subject head-on, in a very open - but tasteful - manner. The author discusses her viewpoint briefly in her afterward, with a couple of references to Paz and others - she sees their attitudes as 'homophobic', that they distort truth of Sor Juana's life and work by turning a blind eye to her sensuality. She makes it very clear that she respects Paz and his work - but that she disagrees with his assessment of Sor Juana, as well as that of some other scholars.

What emerges from the author's viewpoint is a very readable, engrossing work. The sections of the novel that deal with Sor Juana's sexual orientation - her relationships with other women, her views of men in general, and the lifelong, ongoing struggles within herself - make this a very LIVING work, bringing to life the subject in a very human way. Given the prejudice that still exists in matters of sexual orientation, one can only imagine how much this was magnified in 17th century Mexico. Sor Juana's story is a testament to her achievements in literature and science, as well as to her own courage - courage in facing not only her accusers and enemies, but in her own psychological and emotional self-examinations. She was an amazing woman - an amazing human being, an amazing scholar - and she would be thus in any day.

The book is a long one - at over 400 pages - and goes a long way in bringing to life the everyday routine of the convent, as well as the atmosphere and intrigues in the court and Church. The characterizations are well drawn and patiently, carefully created - none of them come across as flat or stereotyped, which is a great relief in a novel of this length and scope. I found it to be both entertaining and enlightening - and I would recommend it to anyone interested in a story of a heroic, intelligent woman - or, for that matter, anyone in search of a good read.

In "Sor Juana's Second Dream," Alicia Gaspar de Alba unveils the "other -- sensual, human side" of an extremely intelligent and profoundly passionate monja/mujer -- who suffers from "unnatural, unnameable, pleasurable aches" until she comes to believe, in the depths of a hurting heart, that "love, our very soul, has no gender and is never a sin" -- and into another's orbit lets herself go!

Sadly -- however, Juana's comet soon loses its glow -- a victim of envious others and timely circumstance, she is forced to spend her short life struggling with/against the temptations of: the tender touch of an hermana's hand, the (al)lure of a soulful "cell-mate's" lips, and the unforgettable "chiaroscuro of an unspeakable love."

It has taken Gaspar de Alba's courage, creativity, imagination and interpretation to "kick the habit" off this "patron saint of rebellious women" and offer her well-rewarded readers a fresh, new look at a mujer who poured passion onto her written pages, using a quill that drew both ink/blood and inspiration from a heart's well of loneliness and love!

Juana's "re-creator" (Gaspar de Alba) gives us with her: calla lilies, comets, a meaningful medal and a long lost letter of professed and requited love -- significant symbols of very beautiful sentiments -- in juxtaposition to a hauntingly powerful and disturbing storybook tale of a young Juana's innocence/childhood lost.

I cannot find the words to sing the author's praises loudly enough! After my third reading of these pages, the passages still move me! --- perhaps that, in itself, says it all.

Sor Juana's Second dream, by Alicia Gaspar de Alba, is a must-read text by anyone who is interested in the major figure from Colonial Latin America, Sor (Sister) Juana Inés de la Cruz. I have taught for many years about the life and work of this Mexican nun, and never before has a work of historical fiction captured what I believe renders a true portrait of Sor Juana. Most works of the past, even academic ones, have avoided addressing Sor Juana's personal life; in Sor Juana's Second Dream, we see, as we should, an anguished personal experience that appears in many of Sor Juana's most famous texts. Bravo! Well done!

I highly recommend this book to new aquarists. It's loaded with all the information needed to maintain a healthy aquarium. Even though it is older than other aquarium books on the market, it's still one of the best. Barron's handbooks are some of the best pet books available.

This general reference book is excellent as it provides clear, simple, easy to follow explanations of some technical concepts involved in aquarium management: lighting, filtration, water chemistry & it's upto date with the latest products.

This is an excellent resource for the new aquarist. It is much like the one for salt water tanks and is designed in such a way that it will take you step by step through the processes of chosing a tank, chosing the right equipment, choosing fish, invertabrae, and plants, and finally, taking care of the aquarium.

A wonderful book for begginers at a really cheap price. The pictues show the text really well and just in case there are some misunderstandings about the meaning of the spanish sentenes, the english version is witten right below it. I am teaching my 2-year old spanish along with improving mine, and this book is really helpful. HIghly recommended to all ages.

I bought this book for my son, and think i'll have to get another pretty soon, he can't let go, either i have to read it to him every night or he has to read it to me, It's getting pretty worn out.
Some times we alternate, I read in spanish he reads in english.
So if your looking for a billingual book for your children look no further

This book does an excellent job of exploring the concepts of size, color and opposites using a storyline about two dogs who are very different, but also the best of friends. English text is displayed under the Spanish, making it an excellent choice for a bilingual classroom in the primary grades. ( or for English as a second language learners.)

Let me first tell you that I have a hardcopy of this book (for posterity) and a paperback (for late night, bed-reading abuse). This book, which I found while browsing in my local library, is by far the most powerful book I have ever read. Now, that may sound so typical of reviews.."5 stars..really great!" and all of that. The depth of this book goes far beyond that of any "ratings" guide.

OK, now for the content. Women, we will certainly identify with this book more than our male counterparts. Not because this is a "woman's book" which it is not. I always thought that was an ignorant term to begin with, but because most of the characters (both antagonist and protagonist) are female. This book deals with very strong themes of erotic love, evil, loss of innocence, and religious hypocrisy. All of that may sound 'juicy' but Arredondo has a way with words. Her writing is halfway between poetic prose and contains an eloquency beyond anything I have ever read in my short, yet hopefully long and fufilling life. Worth every penny.

As a lover of poetry and literature, I have found this book to be at the very pinnacle of both. The first time that you read this book, you are going to be overwelmed. Different than other books that paint imagery and scenery into your mind, Ms. Arrondondo brings to us a world of experience and emotion that lies dormant until awakened. We then realize--these passions live in all of us.

La Sunamita, es un análisis profundo de las relaciones familiares tradiconales en México, combinado con la influencia religiosa de "lo que debe de ser", a costa de la dignidad humana. La protagonista termina con sentimientos de culpa, con su soberbia desecha y con el rencor perpetuo a la vida que la obligó a perder su pureza. Mariana enfrenta al lector con la "anormalidad" de la pasión-locura, y con todos los prejuicios de una sociedad provinciana, que nunca entiende a la protagonista por ser "diferente" de los demás. La Señal es quizás el mejor cuento que jamás escribió Inés. La señal de la humillación, en un episodio religioso, es genial. Año Nuevo es una de las joyas literarias, que en seis líneas narra toda la historia de una mujer que sufre. Río Subterráneo trata también de la locura como la "anormalidad" de un ser, y la fatalidad de enloquecer para entender a la locura. Las Palabras Silenciosas es un cuento en el que se resumen los problemas de incomunicación entre dos culturas muy alejadas entre sí, y la importancia de la palabra en esta comunicación. Orfandad es un cuento también dedicado a la incomunicación, a través de una anécdota espeluznante. Las Mariposas Nocturnas refleja, con singular maestría, no sólo las costumbres de una época, sino los problemas íntimos de la homosexualidad (Don Hernán)y de los valores de la satisfacción artística (Lía). Dos cuentos preciosos (Los Hermanos y De Amores), precisamente sobre el amor en su máxima expresión. Los Espejos, (el último cuento que escribió) es un retrato de familia llevado a sus últimas consecuencias literarias, proustianas, de una ternura inmensa, y, creo, es una joya del romanticismo. Por último, Sombra entre Sombras, es un verdadero ensayo sobre la pureza y la concupicencia, analizándolas desde varios puntos de vista, pero que tienen un fundamento único, que es el amor (otra vez) llevado a sus últimas consecuencias. Hay otros cuentos traducidos al inglés, en diversas revistas universitarias, que! es muy recomendable buscar, para disfrutar de la obra completa de esta escritora singular en las letras latinoamericanas. Gracias por leerla.

Love the Bible Cyclopedic, the Concordance, the Christian Worker section, the Between the Testaments, the .... could go on and on with the pluses! AWESOME BOOK - AWESOME AUTHOR!

I have owned my New Open Study Bible since 1994. I have split the spine on my Bible from overuse so I had to order another. The topical index in the front is superb and covers more topics than you will ever need to teach or study the Bible. The background articles on the customs and manners of Bible times dispersed throughout this work give all the background necessary to teach an in-depth bible study on that topic. The charts of measures, currency, customs, feasts, kingdoms, and time are excellent. The Visual Survey of the Bible Chart in the center of the Bible is a fabulous overview of the key concepts and principles taught in the O.T. and N.T. It is worth the price of this Bible. It fabulously shows how all of the books of the Bible fit together and the main topics presented in each book. The book introductions found at the beginning of each book are meaty enough for a scholar but explained simply enough for a layperson. I wish that every member of my church would invest in this wonderful study Bible. I would never want to be without it.

Unlike many of her peers, this author writes well. She covers the issues you need to consider in a smooth style that makes learning easy and logical. Lots of pictures of fish, and a very clear *DETAILED* review of fish species appropriate for aquariums. I appreciate the book's to-the-point style, avoiding the let's-make-the-book-as-fat-as-we-can approach.

The first book I had was Piranhas by Barron's and it was a great book. I wanted to learn more about other fishes so I thought why not get Barron's, too? This book is for beginners and experienced home aquarists. The reason why I gave this book a five star is because it doesn't talk much about a specific fish like Discusfish. And that's good because it draws begginers the attention on thinking twice about keeping a fragile fish.

The sonnet form was introduced to Spain from Sicily in the fifteenth century through the writing of El Marqués de Santillana (1398-1458), a poet who wrote Petrarchan sonnets in Spanish. During the Renaissance, the Italian sonnet made its way to most of the countries of Western Europe. In England, Edmund Spenser changed the Petrarchan rhyming form of 'abba abba cdecde' to 'abab bcbc cdcd ee,' and William Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets with the form 'abab cdcd efef gg.' As Willis Barnstone says in the introduction to his book, 'Six Masters of the Spanish Sonnet,' 'the Spanish sonnet, a literary vagabond in courtly dress, began in the court of the Sicilian Frederic II, went up to England, and finally, seven centuries after its Italian birth, with its picaresque wits and form intact, dropped down just above the Antarctic Circle to appear in the poems of the Argentine Anglophile [his maternal grandmother was English] Borges.' Professor Barnstone goes on to present a thorough history of the evolution of the Spanish sonnet and a colorful biography of six Spanish language poets who used the form. His writing is informed by his long friendship with Jorge Luis Borges. Barnstone offers here a sampling of 112 Spanish sonnets by these six masters, placed side by side along with his own magnificent translations.

Francisco de Quevedo (1580-1645) is described as a 'monstruo de la naturaleza' [monster of nature] because of his prodigious outpouring of writing. 'Like Swift, Dostoyevski, and Kafka, he is one of the most tormented spirits and visionaries of world literature ['El Buscón' (The Swindler), 1626, is his masterpiece] and also one of the funniest writers ever to pick up a sharp, merciless pen.' Though Quevedo's sonnets are at times scatological and darkly satirical, they are also humorous and hopeful.

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1648/51-1695) was a Mexican discalced Carmelite nun who is considered by some religious scholars to be the first female theologian of the Americas. Although I was familiar with her love poems and her articulate defense of a woman's right to write in 'Response to Sor Filotea,' I had not read her sonnets in translation before. As he does with all six sonneteers, Barnstone faithfully maintains Sor Juana's rhyming, meter, and cadence in his translations of her sonnets. His analysis encompasses her writing and her life, including some critique of Octavio Paz's definitive biography, 'Sor Juana, or The Traps of Faith.'

Antonio Machada (1875-1939) recalls the landscape of his native Sevilla in his sonnets. In, 'El amor y la sierra' (Love and the Sierra), he writes, 'Calabaga por agria serranía / una tarde, entre roca cenicienta. (He was galloping over harsh sierra ground, / one afternoon, amid the ashen rock).' Barnstone calls Machado 'the Wang Wei of Spain' because 'he uses the condition of external nature to express his passion.' As Petrarch had his Laura, Machado had his Guiomar (Pilar de Valderrama). In 'Dream Below the Sun,' he writes, 'Your poet / thinks of you. Distance / is of lemon and violet, / the fields still green. / Come with me, Guiomar. / The sierra will absorb us. / The day is wearing out / from oak to oak.'

Federico García Lorca (1898-1936) was a Spanish poet and playwright who was affected by Luis de Góngorra and gongorismo. His 'Gypsy Ballads' was 'the most popular book of poetry in the Spanish language in his time.' Barnstone states that 'his closest attachment, his passion, was the painter Salvador Dalí,' with whom he carried on a six year love affair. Luis Buñuel castigated him for his Andalusianism; indeed, Lorca felt that Buñuel's satiric and surrealist film 'Un chien andalu' mocked him. After traveling to New York and Havana, Lorca became 'the playwright of Spain' with his brilliant 'Bodas de Sangre' (Blood Wedding). His 'Sonnets of Dark Love,' unpublished during his lifetime, were probably written to Rafael Rodríguez Rapún, an engineering student. Barnstone believes that 'dark love' is an allusion to San Juan de la Cruz's 'dark night of the soul.'

Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) of Argentina considered himself a poet, though he was a master at prose. According to Barnstone, because of the blindness that afflicted Borges in midlife, 'he could compose and polish a sonnet while waiting for a bus or walking down the street' and then later dictate it from memory. 'Borges's speech authenticated his writing, his writing authenticated his speech. To have heard him was to read him. To have read him was to have heard him.' In 'Un ciego' (A Blindman), he says, 'No sé cuál es la cara que me mira / Cuando miro la cara del espejo; / No sé qué anciano acecha en su reflejo / Con silenciosa y ya cansada ira. (I do not know what face looks back at me / When I look at the mirrored face, nor know / What aged man conspires in the glow / Of the glass, silent and with tired fury.)'

Miguel Hernández (1910-1942), a poor goatherd and pastor from the province of Alicante in Spain, wrote his best poetry while imprisoned during the Spanish Civil War. 'In the prisons, Hernández became,' in Barnstone's opinion, 'the consummate poet of light, darkness, soul, time, and death.' One of his poems, 'Llegó con tres heridas' (He came with three wounds), is a popular song, recorded by Joan Baez on her 'Gracias a La Vida' album.

'Six Masters of the Spanish Sonnet' is recommended to all who love this poetic form and want to know more about the lives of these remarkable poets. A good index and list of references are included for further study.

For those who already know the various authors of this book individually, words will be in excess to describe the treasures contained therein. The five Spanish already classical authors and Jorge Luis Borges closing the group with honors are a guarantee of high quality and deep touching entertainment. Tasting the fluent and sincere social verb of Quevedo, or absorbing in silence the sweet and perfect mysticism of Juana Inés would be sufficient to recommend this book. But we find much more, Machado, García Lorca and Miguel Hernández, marked by the horrors of the Spanish Civil War, found in their sensibility, the way to transform hate and blood into the purest and most powerful poetry. About Borges, well, what can one say about a man of his talents, his well known depth is something you will find easily linked to his enormous sensibility and human solidarity. Definitively, this multiple anthology is a treasure to keep forever.

What is it like to grow up as a stranger in your own land? Of all of the emigrant groups which came to the "New World", those who were already here experienced their country being conquered and their way of life almost destroyed. All to often their stories were dismissed, forgotten or seen as exotic curiosities for the anthropologists. Riley's collection of 22 Native American writers gives voice to a group whose lives show a spirit of survival and dignity in the midst of being a "conquered" people in their own land. Using excerpts from novels, memoirs, essays and autobiographies we are given a wide range of different experiences from the people who were here before there was an America. Growing Up Native American introduces us to the various native peoples of this continent. Through those various genres, we receive a bit of insight as to what they had to endure as they grew up in a hostile land. This collection of stories spans from the 19th to the 20th centuries. Growing Up Native American is an excellent text for intoducing one to Native American history,literature, culture and Native-American authors. You immediately are transported through time with the authors and characters. You identify with their challenges and triumphs. The book is not just a collection of tragedy. You are introduced to laughter, jokes, lifestyles and the joys of being a young person. I would highly recommend this book to those of us who are ignorant about the Orignal Voices who inhabited this land

Sobre una figura entre legendaria e histórica, La Malinche, Inés escribe un delicioso cuento para niños, mostrando una imagen del personaje que no coincide con la figura que la ideología oficial le ha impuesto, de traidora a los indígenas, para ayudar a los conquistadores a someterlos. Tratando a los actores de la leyenda como seres profundamente humanos, desmitifica la leyenda negra y nos presenta una Malinche humana, inteligente y enamorada, que al fin también hace gala de nobleza al perdonar a su madre, quien la expulsó de su pueblo para usurpar el trono que a ella le correspondía. La narración, sin embargo, está ampliamente documentada con fuentes primarias, como las narraciones de Sahagún y de Días del Castillo, así como las Cartas de Relación de Cortés. De este modo, sin faltar al rigor histórico, el cuento es un divertimento didáctico además de una obra de arte literario.

This book is really good. Some of the words are a little hard for young kids, but if your parents can help you it's enjoyable. Kingsley's style and allegorical references make this a delight to the senses, not only as a story, but as an example of a writer who truly enjoys his craft.

This book was a wonderful novel to read. It showed how little kids were treated durning this time period. Once the faries found Tom his life changed forever. The author explained how he started out as little boy and saying bad words to how he changed and in to a understanding boy. The book is a wonderful read because it shows what happens to others who don't know what it's like. Not all of this is true because it is a fairy tale. The author's one quote that stayed with me the most is "You're not supposed to belive all of this because it's a fairy tale even if you do believe. This is a powerful story and should be read to little children. It will show them that being bad is not the way to go. If kids learn tpo be nice when they are young then it can stop hatred and people being mean in future years.

The Water Babies is an excellent example of British Literature that should be promoted just as much as the works of Lewis Caroll or Dickens. Charles Kingsley's work was banned for quite a while. There is no question that this cleverly written fairy tale has a lot of hidden information to explore. Makes one wonder if one can still be an Anglican minister and promote evolution? Perhaps, one can. Mr. Kingsley has other wonderful works to explore and in addition, there is his niece, Mary Kingsley who wrote on Africa.