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.

John Harricharan's books are extremely enjoyable for all readers. John writes in simple language about what might be the most important question for all of us...Is life over when we die? Having lost a love one, I have searched this question often. Being a very analytical person, I needed a practical answer. John's stories provide not only an explanation but also forces the readers to do more "soul" searching on their own to find answers to not only this question but to many of the questions we have.

Readers will find it difficult to put John's books down.

John Harricharan brings us a book full of hope. If you like Richard Bach (especially ILLUSIONS and JONATHAN LIVINGSTONG SEAGULL), you'll like John Harricharan. Few books have inspired me as much as ILLUSIONS, but IF YOU CAN WALK ON WATER TAKE THE BOAT and MORNING HAS BEEN ALL NIGHT COMING are two that have. Full of wisdom, inspiration and hope.

I have read over 35 books on Motivation, Inspiration and self-help, and I have rarely read any book that is as good as John Harricharan's book "The Morning Has Been All Night Coming". This book deals with many questions that many of us have. This book also reveals a whole new "you" to you. You will learn through this book much about the way how God is and who you truly are!

This book is a good resource for your spiritual growth. It is written in universal style so you can be from any religion and you will still find this book a good resource. This book will answer most of your questions concerning the life and death.

If you have read any books from Neale Donald Walsch, I am sure that you will love this book.

This book is a good investment for your future. I am sure that you will love this book, and it will comfort you through your journey to success.

I strongly recommend this book.

Having spent the better part of the last three years holed up in an underground bunker, I can say with some authority that J.C. Cunningham's Y2K preparedness guide is an indispensible tool for surviving "The Coming Crisis". The tips on stockpiling nuts, berries and ammunition were invaluable, as was the suggestion to cease all contact with bears and other woodland creatures. And I shudder to think what would've happened had I not stopped bathing in the days leading up to the Y2K catastrophe. Every time you take a bath you lose thousands of precious cells! (p. 17)

Cunningham has performed a valuable service here, and if I thought for a minute it was safe to leave my property, I'd try to thank him or her personally. I sleep soundly at night (using my long beard as a blanket, p. 87), content in the knowledge that I've done all I can to protect my family and me from Y2K: The Coming Crisis.

This is MinnesotaSmith, author of a Y2K website. I am proud to know J.C. Cunningham as a friend. His book is one of only seven (out of the hundreds currently available) books related to Y2K that I have classified as "must-buys" on my website. It covers practically every topic you will have to consider for getting your family to the other side of Y2K, and gives you numerous leads to follow to go further. There are many resources listed both to obtain goods and additional information. If you think there is any chance Y2K could be much of anything at all, you should obtain this book.END

Having read this book, amongst others, I have found that you could replace the "Y2K" in the title for any natural or man-made disaster and still have all the basic information you and your family need to survive. As a former SERE (Survival, Escape, Resistance, Evade) graduate and instructor in the U.S. Armed Forces, I feel that this is one of the best, if not THE best book, of the "Y2K" books around. It covers a myriad of topics so that you are not limited to a narrow range of information for a specific scenario. If you believe that TEOTWAWKI is upon us then this for you. If you just believe that Y2K is a minor 'blip' in the history of mankind it will help you prepare for almost any emergency or disaster, such as, power outages, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, etc.

This is one of many 'Survival' books that I have in MY library and I feel that, page for page, it holds it's own with those books written by wider publicized writers.

Get it, Read it, Put on your shelf, Refer to it, Recommend it!

Incredible. Everything you've ever wanted from a band that time forgot, but never get. Really well written, with the ring of truth and a great sense of humor. Some great cold war stuff too. Maybe this is what Johnny Rotten was refering to when he talked about going under the Berlin Wall. Such a strange, interesting story, that now I've read the book, listened to the CDs over and over, even saw one of the guys walking around NYC with a baseball cap on and still have a hard time believing all this really happened. But right there in the book is a photo of a tonsured Dave Day comparing notes with a spit-curled Bill Haley; and there's even a German poster advertising, in clockwise order, an album from The Who, Hums of The Loving Spoonful, Fresh Cream, and lo and behold, black monk time.

After reading this book and listening to the CD of the same name, readers/listeners will say "The Velvet who?" This is rock and roll at its strangest, most twisted and rebellious. Mr. Shaw's story borders on the fantastic, but it really happened! Five GIs shaving their heads and dressing in black and pumping out punk music a decade before the Sex Pistols, the Clash et al. Who woulda thunk it? This is truly an essential addition to any rock musicologists library.

Eddie Shaw's book, BLACK MONK TIME, is an in-depth look at the mutation of a standard 60s rock n roll group into the first punk band. As bassist for the Monks, he is able to give readers an inside look at the dynamics of a working rock n roll group. His prose really starts to catch fire, appropriately enough, when the band begins to undergo radical changes; both musically and satorially. Fans of the Velvet Underground to the Sex Pistols should give both the book and the Monks sole album (entitled BLACK MONK TIME also) a whirl.

I definitely recommend this book to both young and old. It will take you back to a time when life seemed innocent and interesting. I found myself laughing out loud in public and couldn't imagine someone not being touched by such a work of brilliance and humor. CHECK IT OUT! Women...especially encouraged. (Guys would like it too though)

"Coming Attractions" by Fannie Flagg is one of the most brilliant pieces of work I have ever read. It is absolutely hilarious, and very touching. It is about growing up with a young girl, named Daisy Fay. From day one she is getting into trouble. Her mother is busy trying to cover up her and her husband's bad relationship, while all 'daddy' does is sit around and drink Pabst Blue Ribbon all day, so Daisy has plenty of time to sneak in strip bars, be a Jr. Debutaunte and find an albino. The novel is in the format of a diary from Daisy at the age of six until in her twenties. This is a book that I feel every woman should read, you'll see a little bit of yourself in Daisy Fay! I believe the book is still in print, unfortunately, I don't know the name of the new novel.

Funniest Fannie Flagg yet. Did you know this book is in print under the title: "Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man"?! Find it right here at Amazon!

I read this titillating tome cover to cover on the way home, laughing and being illuminated. I love it. I've already loaned it to my kid. I can't tell you how much I laughed. It was so good to find two people with a sense of humor and smarts and no-holds-barred courage. The honesty, coupled with the humor, sets a challenging example, I think, to any writer who reads it. Loved the raving about Viagra. Loved the actual conversations reproduced -- or produced. Loved the jealousy stuff, the women conspiring together against the guy stuff, the faked orgasm stuff -- if I keep going I'll end up citing every chapter and verse. I'm going to be recommending it far and wide.

This is an amazing, wild ride of a book. There is nothing else like it. The authors call it a 'rant', which is as good a description as any, I guess. It is funny, insightful. Very literate, tongue-in-cheek, but at the same time perfectly serious. That's what I found so amazing, the combination of humor and seriousness. Perhaps this is subject matter that can only be handled seriously by doing it with humor. And it is funny.But it's refreshing too. I've read a lot of self-help books, and sex books and none of them had the sheer nerve of this one. It's rare to read something both genuinely original and entertaining at the same time. I am still reeling.

I started reading your book. I like what I've read so far but there are still too many big words in it. Here's what I mean. "Then the man put his penis into the young woman's bottom to disentagrinize the moment into one, long dirty filamigtorism. As the man orgasms the woman screams "Oh, oh estigalitistic demophore!".

Were just plain, simple working forks. On the next book, please try and give us mouth-breathers a break and use words we can understand. Nothing breaks the flow of a paragraph than having to stop at every third word and go running for the dictionary.

I've read my fair share of Civil War books and this was my first Catton book. I'm ashamed to say I waited this long to read one of his works, it was fantastic. His writing style is an engaging, comforting read that was informative and well structured. This is the first in a trilogy and as the title alludes to, it lays the foundation for the ensuing war. The period covered is approximately a year before the war starts to First Bull Run, covering the political, societal and military events leading to the war.

I can't recommend this book enough.

Jim Gallen has, in an earlier review, summed up quite well the content of Catton's first volume in his centennial history of the Civil War. What I will say is that having read this book, and the two that follow, more than 30 years ago, and having read numerous works on the Civil War since then, I keep coming back to these three volumes. Why? Because more than any other writer on the Civil War (Shelby Foote included) Bruce Catton has produced a book that is almost poetic in its style. His prose makes the people who fought the war or who were otherwise affected by it come alive. From the very first pages of The Coming Fury he gives us a sense of forboding, for the tragedy, the senselessness, and the inevitibility of what lay just down the road for the celebrants at the Republican and Democratic conventions of 1860. Catton is one of the first, I think, to truely take advantage of the letters and diaries of soldiers, sailors, and civilians, and not just official unit histories and canned secondary accounts. If more recent historians have surpassed Catton in digging up details of virtually every aspect of the Civil War, none can touch him in the poetic sweep of his narrative. For anyone interested in a good introduction to our most costly war, Catton is the one to start with.

"The Coming Fury" is a powerful rendition of the sad tale of the disintegration of the Union from the political maneuvers of 1860 to the aftermath of the First Battle of Bull Run.

In this, the first of the Catton trilogy, we are show how the breakdown of the spirit of compromise, which had held together a house divided for four score and four years, contributed to the conflagration to follow.

The major theme of this book is that nothing was inevitable about the lines on which the Union would fracture. The lines of division resulted from a multitude of decisions made by the actors in this national tragedy.

For many with only a superficial knowledge, history is the story of conflict between right and wrong, heroes and villains. When I read history I enjoy books which permit us to see the stories and characters with all their triumphs and failures, virtues and faults. "The Coming Fury" ranks high on the list of such books.

The first casualty of the failure of compromise was the Great Democracy, the Democratic Party, which split into its Northern and Southern wings in 1860, making the election of Abraham Lincoln inevitable that fall.

The election of Lincoln convinced many southerners that the Union was no longer provided a suitable home for them. This book tells the story of how the breakup occurred.

We see James Buchanan, trapped by a cabinet which was as divided as the nation, presiding over the rejection of the Constitution and the dissolution of the Union which he was sworn to preserve and protect and who, incredibly, retired in the belief that he had done a good job under the circumstances.

We see Abraham Lincoln, whose eloquence and political magic are the stuff of legends, stumble his way into Civil War. We learn that the speeches along his route from Springfield to Washington contain nothing of the inspiring rhetoric which now adorns his Memorial.

We see that the South did secede in one monolithic movement. The first seven states seceded nearly in masse, while the remaining slave states waited to see whether a compromise would permit the survival of the nation.

We all know about the firing on Fort Sumter, but how many know what was really at stake? The truth is that the main issue was over the possession of forts. In fact, there were several forts which could have provided the spark which set the nation ablaze, but the honor fell to Sumter and South Carolina.

Although the issue of Fort Sumter revolved around the possession of real estate, the implications were much greater. Several of the Border states swung toward the Confederacy after the attempt to reinforce Fort Sumter. It can be said that Lincoln's first crucial decision, that being to reinforce Fort Sumter, lead to the secession of Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas, with Maryland and Missouri being held in only by military force. It was Lincoln's political decisions which almost transformed the Confederacy from a rump nation with virtually no chance of survival into state with an excellent prospects.

I was interested in the treatment of General Winfield Scott. I had always thought of him as an old soldier who occupied his chair until he was pushed aside for younger men. In fact, Scott played a major role in the preservation of the country during the period of transition as well as in the formulation of the battle plan which eventually restored its unity.

After the succession of the states, the focus shifts to the preparations for war, both in the north and the south. In the north, the challenge was to organize the forces with which to subjugate the rebellious states. In the south, the simultaneous establishment of both government and army was a truly incredible accomplishment.

With the early preparations completed, the First Battle of Bull Run tested the expectations of all contestants. The battle proved the ineptness of both sides. Bull Run dispelled many notions. Both sides now realized that they were in for a long and hard struggle. Both now realized that the lack of compromise, which had rendered asunder the Democracy in 1860, had rendered any chance of a political resolution null and void. Bull Run had set the stage for the long and bitter struggle which Catton would report in his subsequent two books.

This is a outstanding introduction to our great national tragedy.

I was very enchanted by this book. Lex Hixon had opened my eyes to the different worlds of faith. It guided me through a vast arrys of Eastern and Western walks of religions. The works in this book had brought a whole new prospective from teahers of different walks of life. I, myself, being the son of a preacher was searching for answers from the loopholes of christianity that was taught to me. Lex Hixon had enlightened my world into a spiritually journey I thought I can never find the answers to. This book had helped me on my search. Even though, I still searching this book had helped me on my quest. Coming Home is well craft and very inspirational. This book will always be a keeper!!

I enjoyed this book so much that I wrote to Lex Hixon. To my suprise, he telephoned me and we talked for an hour! His PhD in comparative religion from Columbia University should not make you think that his approach to the world's mystic traditions was the least bit dry or academic. He was an ecstatic lover of God, like Rumi, while remaining an encyclopedic scholar and a wonderful writer, like---well, like Rumi. I've read all of his books. This is one of his best. Lex Hixon died of cancer at age 55, but like a 20th Century version of Ramakrishna (a great mentor of his) he had lived the lives of several devotees rolled into one.

An excellent book - well written and insightful.

At one level the book is a survey of "enlightenment" or the mystic experience/way of life (direct experience of the Divine) in several religious traditions.

At another level - and the more important one from my perspective - the book uses its discussion of the particular nuances of each of these mystic traditions to draw a common definition/description of enlightenment. The clear message here is that the apparent differences among religions are more a matter of the nature of human perception/ways of communicating than any fundamental difference at the real level.

The last chapter of the book contains a valuable set of guided exercises in prayer and meditative practice to equip the reader with the tools to embark on the path of mystic experience.

Hixon was both a scholar (Ph.D. in Comparative Religions from Columbia) and a practicing mystic (Sheikh in the Havleti-Jerrahi Sufi Order) so this book combines the best of scholarship and direct experience. He is the author of several other very valuable books.

How to Be a Happy Lesbian:A Coming Out Guide descibes the beginning of a ... relationshipand how it's important to take the time to please your partner.I thought this was wonderful.I especially enjoyed the personal aspects of the authors telling about what happened to them.It made the reading more enjoyable--knowing they had "been there,done that" and this wasn't a "put tab A in slot B" kind of a book.Thanks again for writing this book.I learned alot and tried a few things I read in the "Romance and the art of making lesbian love chapter." They worked pretty good.

This book has a wonderfully casual and informative style. It dispels many myths and is packed with information that is pertinent to young women, especially the chapters on STDs and safer sex. Tracey Stevens and Katherine Wunder write like the warm and witty big sisters we all wish we had.

This guide is obviously written from the heart. The tone is gentle and supportive, a big sister encouraging other lesbians to love and accept themselves and live a full life, free of fear and shame. This is a much-needed book, one Stevens wishes had been available when she was younger and needed advice on how to "make it" in a predominantly homophobic world. It's not preachy, clinical, or cynical. It's readable, humorous, and, most important, kind. Plus, it's chock full of useful information and resources. Hooray for this courageous woman!

So often you hear the sports writers say "there's no such thing as a good baseball book or movie, just good baseball games." This is the exception. Real true to form. Deals with real life issues that even players deal with. There's just one thing that I find hard to believe and that is the way the Mets won game six. Other than that, this is a great baseball book.

I bought this for 2 bucks at an A&P checkout counter. It was worth 10 times that. Mr. Baker writes beautifully about the game. Our hero John Barr is more a Freddie Couples on spikes than Robert Redford, yet there are enough subplots to keep the reader curious....Contains one of the greatest descriptions of a perfect throw that you will ever read.

It is unfortunate that this book is out of print. In my mind, it is as stirring a book as "If I Never Get Back" or "The Natural" or practically any baseball book short of "Shoeless Joe." It's about a hybrid Dimaggio/Teddy Ballgame type player who is driven to excel by an almost psychotic urge to prevent things from happening before they happen. The book also includes a cast of memorable characters, from the Rickey Henderson-esque Old Swizzlehead to the shortstop Roberto Rodriguez, who knows two words on English, one of them being "you" and the other word being unprintable in a family website.

A great book; well worth reading if you can get your hands on it.