The utter simplicity of this book is deceptive. The ideas go very deep and are shattering in their implications. Yet they are proffered like cookies with afternoon tea.

Mary Catherine Bateson presents learning as something directly related to the capacity to enjoy life; learning as an activity pursued throughout life, having only a tenuous connection with school as such. The quotes below give you a flavor of the depth of her reflections and of the pithyness of her expression.

"Increasingly, we will cease to focus on learning as preliminary and see it threaded through other layers of experience, offering one of life's great pleasures."

"The capacity to enjoy, to value one experience over another, is the precondition of the capacity to learn."

"Looking, listening and learning offer the modern equivalent of moving through life as a pilgrimage."

"It is hard to think of learning more fundamental to the shape of society than learning whether to trust or distrust others."

"Human beings construct meaning as spiders make webs."

"The solution is to take responsibility for the choice of metaphors, to savor them and ponder their suggestions, above all to live with many and take no one metaphor as absolute."

"School casts a shadow on all subsequent learning. Trying to understand learning by studying schooling is rather like trying to understand sexuality by studying bordellos."

"Not only don't we know what we know, we don't know what we teach."

"Most of the learning of a lifetime, including much of what is learned in school, never shows up in a curriculum."

This book deserves more than five stars. It is an effective and eloquent statement of how to create personal growth through lifelong learning. The writing style of the book exemplifies the author's thesis in an effective and satisfying way.

Try this experiment. Ask someone to concentrate on everything that is red in the room for 60 seconds. Then ask the person to close her or his eyes. Then ask the person to tell you everything in the room that is yellow. He or she will struggle.

Focus helps us to see what we focus on, but causes us to miss most of the rest. Focus comes from our cultural preferences, our sense of attractiveness, and our expectations. Professor Bateson effectively shows us how to unfocus so that our peripheral vision becomes our primary way of sensing the visual and mental worlds around us.

Peripheral vision has several advantages. It can capture more than one event at the same time. It also covers a wider field of range. And biologically, we know that our eyes perceive images better at the periphery than at the center (thus, why the reading lenses in bifocals are at the bottom of the glasses).

Mentally, the same thing happens. A further advantage is that we are more likely to liberate the processes of the unconscious mind by considering things more obliquely. Walking away from issues to let them stew is a good example.

The book gently leads the reader into this perception through a series of examples that spiral and recur onto one another, until Professor Bateson's examples become our own. These experiences begin with her taking her young daughter to a ritual slaughtering of a sheep in Iran, connect to her high school years as a gentile in Israel, touch on her research in the rural parts of the Philippines, and run through her two months at an artists' colony in New Hampshire.

Professor Bateson (and we, as her invited guests) become outsiders in these circumstances, but with a guide to help us see the alternative perceptions of the same events. Then, she follows a winding path (like the spiral of a Nautilus shell) back into the center of what all this means.

Continuing to consider sight, she also helps us to see that we are blind when we have only one perspective. Yet it is difficult to overcome that pespective on our own, so we are likely to remain blind. The cure: experience events as people from other cultures do in a nonjudgmental way. This is a sort of psychological "monkey see, monkey do" type of learning, and I agree that the jolt of this fresh vision should work.

My main concern after reading this book is how I can hope to become such an acute observer without being a trained anthropologist born into a family of two genius parents. I suppose I'll just have to work at it harder. Certainly, I came away with the concept that I need to immerse myself in other cultures rather than just live like an American when I travel around. In the same way that half of my reading each year is outside of my fields of expertise, it sounds like I need to get a high percentage of my life experiences in environments dominated by people with different assumptions and perceptions than my own. Hmmmm. Sounds like fun!

Now that I've got the basic concept, I do wish she had provided a few more guideposts for the individual learner. The ones she does provide are very helpful, addressing sex-based, religion-based, geography-based, and culture-based differences. I wonder what other ones there are.

For those who are interested in what multiculturalism should mean, there is a fine discussion of the roles of multicultural experience that emphasizes the potential for learning rather than merely creating self-confidence. I also liked that she doesn't believe the term is a good one, and does some definitional work on the subject.

The book comes from her personal perspective in many places, and you may not agree with her. Rather than having that repulse you, I suggest that you go with the spirit of the book and try to fit inside her perspective and see what you can learn from it.

After enjoying this wonderful book, I suggest that you plan a vacation where you can experience first-hand a culture much different than your own or one that you have experienced before. Perhaps you should do what Henry James suggested, and simply travel to an uncertain destination until you can go no more and stop there. Then live as the people there live. And use Professor Bateson's example to see and think as the people there do. Then, come back to your own culture and see it in two ways now. Then add a third perspective, and so on. Eventually, the overlap of these perspectives will provide you with a new focus on the core of what is important and real.

Overcome your own blinders to truly see all the potential around and within you!

Once again Mary Catherine Bateson, daughter of Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson, writes a book that makes the reader look at people, cultures, and society through a different set of glasses. In this book, Bateson is looking at cultural norms of countries such as the Philippines and Iran as they compare to US culture whether it be on the issues of life, death, courtship, or parental roles. Bateson provides a thoughtful framework for engaging the reader in realizing that one culture/perspective is not the only way but we can expand our thoughts/feelings through opening our eyes to differences.

Can people who claim to be Christians hold grudges against people because of their religion, ethnic origin, or handicap? In Prairie Fire, Palmer shows an entirely different side of the citizens of Hope than she did in Prairie Rose. When Caitrin Murphy falls for Jack Cornwall, her sister, brother-in-law, and the other citizens of Hope do not approve because of his Cornish heritage, traditional enemies of the Irish immigrants of Hope. When Caitrin tries to point out the irony of Hope residents who accept German and Swedish immigrants but not Cornish, her brother-in-law Jimmy O'Toole won't listen. He tells her not to forget her Irish heritage and her allegiance to it. Caitrin replies that she is now an American and "won't be bound by petty prejudice." Jimmy refuses to listen, even when Jack gives his life to the Lord and changes his previous ways. When Jack's mother and sister arrive in Hope, the townspeople become even more suspicious. How can a family keep one of its members in chains? The townspeople resolve to force the Cornwalls to leave. The drama builds to an exciting climax at an emotional prayer meeting of dedicated Christians that ends up in a scene not unlike a bar room brawl. Can these so-called Christian citizens ever accept those who are different? I found Prairie Fire an enjoyable novel, one that teaches as great a lesson to Christians today as to those of the town of Hope over 100 years ago.

I loved this book and don't plan on exchanging it any time soon. It was always exciting and it made me laugh. There were some good lessons to the book too, but even though the morals were serious they were mixed in with a cheerful and happy tale. It was a funny book that takes you away and doesn't bring you back until it's over! You should read it!

As Rosie and Seth Hunter begin their married life, the town of Hope flourishes. The mercantile and post office are now run by Caitrin Murphy, sister of Mrs. O'toole, and the focus shifts. Jack, the bully and the outlaw of book one, is attempting to escape town after being shot in the shoulder. He hides in a barn and encounters red-headed Caitrin for the first time. Both are firey, opinionated, mouthy and fiesty. The highlight of this book for me was when Jack learns that God loves him and he is so humbled by that realization. When he heals, he tries to return to Hope, start anew and make peace. The people of Hope do not intend to make peace with the likes of Jack, and bigotry and prejudice especially in Jack's mother and Caitrin's brother in law keeps the town in an uproar....mostly against Jack. He has brought with him his sister, Lucy, who seems like a mad woman. She cannot relate to normal people...but no one except Caitrin makes any attempt to reach her. Lucy's family's dark, ugly secret is kept for only the 3 of them to ever know. It is not until Jack is actually threatened himself that Lucy has to decide whether or not to break her silence, admit to her dark past and save her brother. The author does a superb job in identifying the ugly and mean side of some of the townspeople, and the good and the gentle side of others. She manages to elicit fear, anger, sympathy, hope, despair and excitement in the reader. Familes are divided, loyalties are questioned, love seems destined to die and the town struggles to stay alive in the drought. The reader is left to wonder whether the real "Fire" is the prairie fire, or the fire of hate and dissention which burns out of control several times in the book. I could hardly put the book down, and I am sooooooo anxious for "Prairie Storm" to be released!

I am PASSIONATE about this book! It's written as a mix between a journal and an autobiography and lays bare a lot of the feelings that I thought only I had about the importance of quilting. I love the way that the passion for quilting is woven into Janet's love for her sisters and her sometimes difficult relationship with her mother. As you read, you begin to see her working her way out of the depression that imobilised her, and it shows how she re-chanelled her creativity after her writing "avenue" of expression was blocked. This is a book for anyone interested in the stresses of 21st century woman, and even if you don't quilt yourself, you will still enjoy the sharing of emotions. I defy anyone not to say at some point "I have felt exactly like that!", whatever your interests or background!

Berlo describes the way a sudden depression turned her from a highly esteemed, publishing professor to an almost obsessive quilter overnight.
She talks movingly about finding balance, and the way that "playing" with colors, patterns and fabric helped her find that, both in her work, and with friends and family.
In a society that undervalues "women's art" (especially textile arts), Berlo makes an interesting case that it is both therapeutic and historically significant.

This compelling memoir is composed of a series of essays which center around the author's struggle to find a way through an unexpected onset of writer's block. She describes how she found solace in the creative acts which go into the creation of quilts, and how the creativity she found an outlet for there helped her return to the life of a professor and scholar. The author gives readers a glimpse into the life of an academic--the pressure and the difficulties as well as the accolades and successes. The most interesting sections of the book are those which give valuable insight into the importance of quilting--an extremely undervalued art--in the lives of modern women, including the author and her two lovingly-described sisters. Interspersed within the memoir are yummy recipes, for those readers who are cooking-inclined. Overall, I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in the importance of quilting, the experiences of modern-day female academics, or instructions on how to overcome writer's block. An excellent read!

If you think about it...so much of the pain from childhood came from our peers treating us with disregard or nastiness. This book teaches our children in a beautiful and fun way that we should accept everyone as they are, for their talents may one day change the world we live in... and that everyone's heart and soul matters. I will read this to my child over and over...she reads it over and over to herself!!!

I ordered this book for my son's 9th birthday. The day it arrived we sat down and I read it to him. We both loved this story, which was a catalyst for a wonderful conversation between us about how he has been like "Cat Calloway" in his life, as well as thinking of ways that he could emulate this beautiful example of how to bring more beauty to this world. He has read it many times, on his own, in the past several weeks. When our family arrived for a visit this weekend he ran to get "Cat Calloway" and announced that he wanted to read them " the best story ever!" I think he was able to identify with "Cat" as well as with the other character in the book - they each represent different sides of himself. Bravo to david Essel for bringing this wonderful book to feed our children's souls!

David Essel brings optimism to everything he does. His first book titled: Phoenix Soul is a wonderful book of poetry. In this book, he branches out into stories that will be read enthusiastically by 9-12 year olds or could even be read to younger children. The message of kindness is universal and this story bridges all cultures and ages.

This is a story about Catherine "Cat" Calloway, The First and how she sees the good in life and reaches out to others to make their world a more happy place. The story encourages the reader to look around and find someone who they can help. This story shows that everyone wins when we are all kind to one another.

Susie Campbell's illustrations make the story come alive. Cat's outgoing personality comes through in the drawings and Ling Ling Lu's loneliness is very apparent in some drawings. Cat befriends Ling Ling Lu and soon finds out she is a talented artist. What happens next makes Cat realize that when you make the right decision and befriend those who are lonely or don't have many friends, you get back more happiness than you could ever imagine.

I can't wait for the next book. This is "Book One" in "The Real Life Adventures" series and deals with the issue of "The New Kid in School." You will just love this story.

Prayers Written At Vailima is a gem. These simple, yet beautifully expressed thoughts was over you like a refreshing shower. They calm the soul and put you in a quiet place of reflection. True spirituality glows in these lovely invocations. In addition this volume is elegantly produced and adds visual and tactile pleasure to the pleasure of the reading.

This edition of Stevenson's Prayers Written at Vailima is simple, elegant and beautiful. Although Stevenson wrote these Prayers in another place and another time, his words are still relevant to us today. He prays for many of the same things we wish and hope for: friends, family, success and strength. I recommend this book to people of all religions (and even those who are not religious at all). Stevenson expresses his emotions and desires with such clarity and spirit that any reader might identify with and enjoy this remarkable book.

Prayers Written At Vailima is a collection of the daily prayers written by the famous English novelist Robert Louis Stevenson for his family and their Samoan neighbors during his time in the south seas. Also included is an introduction by his wife about their life on the island of Samoa and twenty-one original linoleum-cut illustrations designed with a Polynesian feel buy Catherine Kanner. For Friends: For our absent loved ones we implore thy/loving-kindness. Keep them in life, keep them/in growing honour; and for us, grant that we/remain worthy of their love. For Christ's sake, let/not our beloved blush for us, nor we for them./Grant us but that, and grant us courage to/endure lesser ills unshaken, and to accept death,/loss, and disappointment as it were straws upon/the tide of life.

Whether you have children or not Buy this book. If you have children read them the landscape poetry in here. They will sing them in their sleep. It will take them on magical journeys to happy places and you also.

I just started browsing through a book of his poems in spanish one day and loved them, but my spanish is marginal. This has the spanish poems side by side with english translations, many of which I don't really like because they do things like switch words and lines and take a little too much freedom and change the spirit of the poem, but that's okay. You can read the spanish, read the english, and see exactly what has been changed, but the beauty is in the spanish ones, and though his vocabulary is large, yours doesn't really have to be to appreciate the sound and sight of these poems in spanish. I love many of the sonnets, plus the king of harlem, which reminds me of HCE from Finnegans Wake, this character that becomes the landscape itself, "after walking", and many others from the poet in new york. I've just been getting into some spanish poets after reading some st john of the cross and seeing what types of flows and life can be infused into words in this language, and these dark, bloody grimy oozes of language have had me high for weeks.

Brilliant, emotions of positive and negative are tasted in this work

A person who writes with such depth of understanding has lived the "reflective life" and has been able to process the various experiences encountered. Catherine Marshall left a legacy treasured by any Christian who reads her work with an earnest, seeking mind. When she doesn't know the answers and the mystery remains, she says so. Some things she doesn't understand and is honest about it.
From the perspective of Christian stewardship, she writes about the joy of being a channel of blessing to other people and the importance of giving, even if it is out of poverty. On using one's talents she notes "the essence of creativity is to seek Him first." She adds "He will show us how to make the best use of our talents and create something that other people need or enjoy." He certainly did that with her talents. Her ministry continues posthumously. The books she's contributed continue to bless those of us who are still on this side.

For Christians who are looking for answers to some of life's questions, or if you're just looking to further enrich your Christian walk, this book is for you. The author covers the subjects of: -Praising God, even when things are going bad and it doesn't seem like you have any reason to. -Forgiveness; if we don't forgive, we only hurt ourselves. -Obedience; how to jump out in faith instead of always questioning God. -Dreams; how God used them to communicate with His people in Biblical times and still is today. -The Enemy; S****, his characteristics and battle tactics that he uses against Christians. -Healing; why God heals some but not all. -Tithing; how to act as a "channel" of abundance and blessings. -The Holy Spirit; the third person of the Trinity. -Rebellion; the spirit brought to the earth by S**** and how it adversely affects our lives. Catherine Marshall intersperses her own experiences with each of these very pertinent subjects as she gives Biblical descriptions and references to each of them. I found this book to be an excellent source of material for personal and group Bible studies. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

I first read Catherine Marshall's Something More about 20 years ago and have reread it and saved excerpts from it over the years. Catherine, Peter Marshall's widow, starts this book with the death of her young grand child. She then reviews her Christian walk and provides a thought provoking encounter with a loving God who can allow the young, innocent and good amongst us to die and yet remains a God of goodness and love. She allows that callousness, bitterness and resentment are normal responses to disappointments but paints a broad, loving and caring canvass that facilitates overcoming one's own hurts and frustrations. I come away feeling refreshed and encouraged and recommend the book to anyone trying to cope with personal loss.

Most of the books I've read on grieving were personal accounts which are somewhat helpful, however this book actually helps you handle your grief and dealing with living again which I'd been having a problem with since the death of my husband years ago. I would definitely recommend it for anyone who has lost a loved one to death and wants to understand what is happening to them. This book makes grief make sense. And is written in an extremely understandable and readable style. The only problem I had getting through this book was I had to keep putting it down because I was crying. The book lives up to its title.

This was the first book I ever read that discussed the aspect of grief that caused me the most trouble. Although I looked like the same person on the outside, after experiencing the deaths of my brother and mother, inside I was NOT the same & had a very difficult time tying to step back into my life and this book is one of the few that deals with that. I have bought copies for friends coping with loss and grief and they have benefitted from it as well. If you or someone you know is dealing with the death of someone, do yourselves a favor & buy this book!

A concise but thorough look at surviving grief. The author is well-aware that one doesn't "get over" grief..but survives it.

Dr. Sanders' "Self-Profile of Bereavement" beginning on page 19 offers a thumb-nail sketch of "where you are" in your grief. Although there could be a cautionary note: "In the first days/weeks/months you may feel all of these things and if you seek professional help, that shows strength not weakness."

Perhaps I was drawn to this book because the author, like me, lost a son named "Jim."

It's so easy to see why Catherine Mann is one of the hottest risign stars around. From the first word to the last, this book pulled at my emotions. I cried, but it was happy, make-your-heart-swell tears. What wonderful, deep, rich characterization! Col. Zach Dawson is as much of a real life hero as you can get, and heroines don't come with more backbone and love than Julia Sinclair. I can't wait to get the rest of the Wingman Warrior books now. If you like an intense, emotional read with a real slice of military life and a beautiful, happy ending, don't miss the series!

Lt. Col. Zach Dawson might know how to run a unit, but he's having a heck of a time running a family. This divorced father tries to juggle his daughters and his career, but feels as if he's dropping too many balls, and his daughters are the ones who suffer.

Julia Sinclair lost her husband a long time before his airplane went down. But this young widow is determined to build a happy life for herself and her infant son. Zach comes up with a plan...a plan that will help him with his daughters, and allow Julia extra time at home with her baby. A marriage of convenience. A business arrangement.

But sometimes business plans can fall to the wayside when love enters the picture!

A fantastic, heart-tugging read by Catherine Mann!

His ex-wife's departure did not break Lieutenant Colonel Zach Dawson's heart, but he did resent her abandonment of their daughters when she ran off with her cooking instructor boyfriend. Shelby, a rebellious teen, feeds her mother's international food offerings to their increasingly overweight dog while eight-year-old optimist Ivy eats every confection in hopes that it means her mother will somehow be with them. Only Julia's help with the girls has kept his family together. But his responsibility to her deceased husband Lance Sinclair overshadows any friendship they might share.

Raised in a commune, Julia found the life as a reserve Air Force pilot stifling. She had fought a loosing battle to salvage her marriage with Lance, only to loose him anyway. Eight months later she bore his son, a child afflicted with Down syndrome. Overwhelmed by the responsibility and needs of her young son, she accepts Zach's sudden proposal so that she might quit work for a year to care for her child. In return, Zach needs Julia's help with his daughters. Unfortunately, both have underestimated the damage such an arrangement might inflict upon the heart.

Author Catherine Mann pens a lively, entrancing read in UNDER SEIGE, deftly capturing life's challenges with finesse and grace. Mann's characters sparkle, including newborn Patrick whose Down syndrome neatly balances the challenges presented by Zach's daughters, especially the troublesome Shelby. Julia's free spirit radically defies Zach's military perfection, yet together they balance in a heart-stopping story readers will find impossible to forget. In addition, Mann boldly captures the heart stopping challenges a pilot's wife faces, including the dreadful fear of the knock on the door with the announcement that a pilot will not be returning home. A remarkable read that belongs on the keeper shelf, UNDER SEIGE earns the WordWeaving Award for Excellence.

One of the best things about Catherine Cooksons family saga novels is the way she points out the vast differences in person- ality that the children have. Siblings are usually more different than alike. Parents discover that not only do they sometimes not love their children, they often actively dislike them, and vice-versa.

Cookson's novels aren't afraid to be brutally honest when it comes to the reality of the nuclear family. I find that quite refreshing.

The Upstart is about surviving in the class system and the effects family members have on each other. Janet Fairbrother and Roger Maitland are the obvious good-guys to root for here, we're very happy for them when they finally come together. I found the concept of the perfect butler who's still very human quite interesting. The misguided workaholic Dad was also somewhat sympathetic. I didn't know what to make of Alice the mother though, her cruelty to Janet threw me.

The wealthy have problems too, and Catherine Cookson tends to deal out an equal amount of unhappiness to her rich, middle- class and poor characters alike. This common touch graces her books with heart and believability.

This book is one of Catherien Cookson's best. you can feel for this family the pain & unhappeness they go through. The father thinks he is better than everyone else even though he isn't & the children and his wife are not happy with their lives. Some rebel.

In 1898 England, wealthy shoe merchant Samuel Fairbrother decides to move his wife and eight children out of their working middle class environment into a home once owned by a penniless aristocrat. Samuel wants his family to hobnob with the gentry, though his household is very contented where they are. In spite all of his money, the local gentry refuses to accept him as their equal. Samuel still feels that his money, the home and his butler, Roger Maitland will eventually provide the necessary bridge to his goal. However, his upscale lifestyle begins to fall apart when his wife announces that she no longer loves him because he loves only money.

Nine years later, the world is about to collapse around the Fairbrother family. The oldest son, Howard has become a lying cheat, who tries to get money from anyone he can in any manner he must. Alice, the oldest daughter is falling in love with Roger, an unacceptable situation to Samuel. Because he has failed to love his family, Samuel may end up with no one who cares for him.

Readers will enjoy the latest family drama from the great Catherine Cookson. The story line about the hypocrisy of the British class system is well written and made interesting by the various characters. With THE UPSTART, the author has cooked up a classy Victorian relationship novel that will be devoured by Ms. Cookson's myriad of fans and by readers of historical fiction.

Harriet Klausner