Let me put it to you this way...I am considering buying this book for $45 and I am a poor college student. The most touching story of childhood generosity ever.

Rumer Godden delivers another unsentimental children's story that explores the quiet devotion that Peter has to his Ukranian housekeeper. A solitary boy who does not liked to be kissed or hugged, Peter scours London for a "Kitchen Madonna " that will make his homesick nanny feel welcome. In the course of his search, Peter makes new allies and discovers that even he needs the warmth and companionship of his family and neighbors.

Heartwarming tale of a standoffish London boy who goes to great efforts to make his Eastern-european refugee housekeeper feel welcome in her new country.

This is a well-researched, explosive Madonna biography! Great pictures well worded; cool.

"Madonna" is a really nice book about Madonna. It has lotsa facts about Madonna. You might not have known some of the facts before. I strongly recommend it. Madonna rules

This book is a absolute must for everyone who loves the best singer on earth as much as I do! Madonna makes the world go round! M-rules !!!!

This tpb collects Avengers Volume 1 issues 129-135 as well as Giant Sized Avengers issues 2-4. It is filled with origins tales (The Kree, The Cotati, Moondragon, Mantis, The Vision, The Original Human Torch, etc.), and a few good brawls. As another reviewer noted, there are many plot threads going on throughout, but they all converge at the end to form a cohesive whole. There are better Avengers tales out there, but this trade reeks of Marvel History and is necessary for any true Avengers fan. 5...

An excellent and nostalgic trip though Avengers past, with stories by Eaglehart and beatiful artwork by Sal Buscema. While centering around the enigmatic character of Mantis, there are numerous pearls in this collection such as the origin of the Vision (and his relationship to a certain fiery android from the Golden Age), as well as origin tales of Moondragon and Mantis. The collection also includes the death of a certain sword-wielding Avenger. The story lines wander and converge, yet in the end all come together in an issue including the weddings of not one, but two Avenger's couples. Numerous villians appear, the central being Kang which of course means lots of cosmic time travelling tales. All in all, an excellent and enjoyable collection for Avengers' fans..

Jelly's work is both readable and well researched. While it is written for a Catholic audience, it helped this Protestant understand the Marian dogmas for better than I did before.

Excellent book. Starting with the Old Testament, through the New Testament, through Patristic, medieval texts the author provides a faith-filled and reasonable account of how Mary has been viewed in the Catholic Tradition. A pleasure to read. I recommend it highly.

This book makes a great companion to the controversial sex book. Though the Sex book was controversial regarding whether it was true art or not, this book proves that Madonna is indeed a true artist, explaining that her concerts are not about her songs, they're more about creating an ambiance, mood, and journey. Though the book is relatively hard to find, it's definately worth it to any Madonna fan, or anyone who wants to impress their guests by displaying it on their coffee table.

OK, so Madonna's second book was less controversial then her first (I forgot the name, something that rhymes with REX?). But this follow-up is nonetheless creatively assembled and beautifully shot. Think of it as "Truth Or Dare: The Written Edition". Stunning color photographs document Madonna's limited 1993 World Tour, which still ranks as her most glamorous and visually stunning show. Other goodies include behind-the-scenes photos and Madonna's own personal journal of the complicated tour. While turning the pages, you can listen to the CD insert, which features highlights from the show. An excellent book to read right after viewing her original concert film "Truth Or Dare", this is also a great companion piece to the home video "The Girlie Show-Live Down Under".

This coffee-table book barely even meets the expectations of the genre; that is, the title would lead one to anticipate pages of glossy, dazzling plates of famous Madonna images over the centuries. Many of the plates here are of mediocre quality, and the choice of works is eccentric, with some well-known paintings and sculptures illustrated among many obscure or unrepresentative examples of certain subjects and periods. About the text, the less said the better. The author's narrow reading of the place of Mary in the tradition of Western Christendom offers an overly simplistic, reductive, and repetitive take on the "Great Mother Goddess suppressed by Patriarchal Society" idea; it is not that there is no truth here, but the presentation of this notion is almost completely lacking in serious scholarly argument. Furthermore, though a charitable view might attribute the constant inaccuracies in factual information to careless proofreading, the result is a volume with virtually no value to professionals or advanced students, and one that might be misleading or worse for beginners (encouraging them, for example, to continue confusing Mary's "Immaculate Conception" with the conception of Jesus).

Kyra Belan's Madonnas: From Medieval To Modern is a truly stunning, full-color book that reproduces more than 200 artworks of the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of Christ, and widely revered symbol of both Christianity and motherhood. Accompanying Belan provides an informative commentary text informing the reader of the context of each artwork, the name of the artist, and countless other relevant factors that affected the Virgin's enduring presence in paintings, murals, and sculptures, up to the present day. A truly beautiful artbook, Madonnas: From Medieval To Modern is enthusiastically recommended for anyone with an interest in the history of Christian art in general, and portrayals of the Blessed Virgin Mary in particular.

This large picture/coffee table book is a treasure for all ages. This book has pictures of the gorgeous Marian shrines throughout Europe and each section describes the statues, when, where, and how they were made. Imagine Mary statues with real diamonds for tears, some made from wood, others have fine gold threads for garments, others still are ordained in gold, silver,diamonds and other precoius metals and gems. But what really made me buy this book was the pictures of the Black Madonna shrines. I am African-American and all my life I went to Catholic church and I saw Caucasian Mary statues. In Europe, of all places, there are MANY shrines that have Mary statues that are black. I won't go into the history of the Black Madonna, seeing as how many Catholics will not believe me anyway, but the Black Madonna statues far surpass the Caucasian representation by centuries!! I am glad to see that this book has many pictures of these gorgeous statues. This book is gorgeous and a treasure for Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Definetely woth the money.

Perhaps one of the best books on the subject in print. Beautiful pictures and wonderful text make this a book to treasure for years to come.Anyone who has devotion to the Blessed Virgin . Or would like to go to her shrines in Europe , but can't, need this book.It is all the way a A+ book. Large its makes a good coffee table book. But also one of those books that you can't put down.Well worth the price of the book.5-stars

This is one of the best thought provoking photography books I have seen. William Mortensen ideas and opinions are still very real issues facing today's artists and photographers. The book's message on harmonizing artisic technique and creativity will pose a great question; are you a true artist or just a wanna be?

Mortensen's photography is known more for his art work in hand finishing than for pure mechanical photography. It is my opinion that his original prints should become more valuable in time if they are preserved. Monsters and Madonnas has some of the most beautiful reproductions of his original prints that you will find. I knew Mr. Mortensen and have seen his original photographs.

Sister Bridget has done a remarkable job researching and bringing to life the reality behind the myths about the lives and accomplishments of these strong women who shed the roles they were born into and helped shape the Celtic religious beliefs for Pagans and Christians alike. Bridget Mary Meehan has shown me the Catholic religion can change and grow to allow women their rightful place in history. I hope women (and men) will read this book and realize the incredible importance women had in the development of religion in the Celtic world and take pride in these strong women who attained equal footing for all time.

...At age 76, I'm getting too old and set in my ways to deal with a fresh, sparky book like this by a couple of women who apparently couldn't care less what some male out of the past might think of them. The authors are celtic holy women themselves, no doubt about it. (Pronounce that kel-tic" -- unless they play basketball.) The celtic women inside the book turn out to be some twenty-one legendary, mostly celibate, holy characters too, often associated with one of the sacred wells that bubble in that part of the world by the thousands.
In the book wonder-filled legends are recounted unapologetically: you can make of them what you like. Into the mix go accounts of what happened on their own trip to the shrines. For people who want to make the pilgrimage that Bridget and Regina made, or want to do so through their private prayers, a lovely ritual is provided in each chapter. Then come discussion questions. A nice job, testifying to immense enthusiasm judiciously salted by the courageous conviction of women's full equality with men. Equality or better.
We might personally disdain "superstition" when we encounter it in ancient societies, but I would guess that the mentality that produced it is healthy. Our world is well described as magical in many aspects. Science has its superstitions too. Almost every scientist believes in the Big Bang, but what actually happened 4000 million years ago made no bang (there was no air) and was exceedingly small (expanding from a minute beginning). The thousands of "holy wells" in Ireland are considered awesome for the same reason as is the Big Bang. It's something wonderful, and no one seems to understand how it happened. Both seem the voice of the Divine..
The companion authors are women Religious, Meehan being the best known. She is surely a writer after my own heart. She has written and published 19 books by various small publishers, so, like myself, she obviously doesn't give up easily. Trying to get my lifeguard certificate at summer camp, a counselor fished me out coughing up water and said: "You passed, you passed," though I knew I hadn't. That's the trick for people like Bridget and me: never say die, even when you're restless heart is choking on great dreams. If St. Peter tries to detour her from heaven, he's in trouble.
This beautiful new book is a paperback for a hefty price, but you'll love the color plates that justify the expense. Who can blame a feminist for wanting her heroines to look their best? A beautiful Mary shines out from the Book of Kells. (The Blessed Mother once visited Ireland, you know.) St. Non glows from a flashy stain glass window -- as does "Brigit" herself. You even get a color view of Bantry Bay in Cork where St. Cannera hung out in "a small hermitage" back in the sixth century. You may ask, how do you get through the day as a solitary lady in the sixth century? My guess is you don't. You may call yourself a hermit, but there had to be a crew of a dozen people who brought food, washed linen, emptied the trash, walked the dog and brought you the news, not to mention someone to say Mass, lead the singing of hymns, and hear the confession of sins - if there are any. For Cannera's sake, I hope there were at least a few. Her life story suggests as much.
On the book's cover there's a lady Excellency leaning on her crosier, wearing a red halo around her head, and carrying a bible face up in her arm like she's selling it door-to-door. I don't find her identified in the book but I suppose she's Bishop Bridget. She looks dangerous, like someone who would ordain a woman priest in a heartbeat. She's definitely someone to look out for.
Should we not honor the Faithful Departed? In so-called primitive societies the people often felt the presence of their ancestors, and why not? Both physics and evolutionary theory insist that nothing in creation is ever destroyed but merely changed, so why should something as undeniably real and unique as a celtic holy woman - or ourselves, for that matter -- cease to exist? That would be an evolutionary anomaly.
So perhaps at last - with books like this to help us -- moderns will catch up to primitive societies and learn to live in an awareness of ancestors around us, welcoming into the present all the holy women and men, our departed parents, for instance, who had so much to do with who we are. My Irish cousin-in-law once walked me to a holy well near her home in County Down, a place she frequently goes to pray. There she talks to her departed husband, agonizing mostly, she says, because of "the awful silence." I was touched. None of us can do religion or science without our imaginations to help deal with the impenetrable mysteries on all sides. Books like this one ease an otherwise awful silence. Good work. #

I have listened to JC since 1986. He and the Breakfast Club were always my favorite morning show. Everytime he would get fired from one station or another I would get ticked off and swear never to listen again....but I always returned when he would magically reappear. The books explains the firings and confirms some of the stories I had heard of the firings. I now have a strong dislike by those mentioned in the book that transgressed against JC. Go beyond the arrogance and read it, then try to listen to those two rednecks (with out a strong dislike) that were a source of a lot of JC's outbursts.

J.C. Corcoran first went on St. Louis radio in 1984 at a well-known St. Louis rock station. He immediately took over the town with his prank phone calls and other radio high-jinks. Most damaging to him was his insistence on calling a spade a spade, even if the spade was radio titan Bob Hyland. Through the years, his detractors took aim at him by way of lawsuits, name-calling and complete lies. This book is J.C.'s attempt to set the record straight, and the result is riveting.

J.C. never ducks the questions raised by his controversial actions and even apologizes for his behavior when necessary. However, most of the goofiness that made J.C. a St. Louis household name can be summed up by the words a judge used to dismiss a lawsuit filed against him - "broadcast journalism at its best." He may have offended, but he also made us laugh.

The most disturbing section of the book discusses a physical assault against J.C. by the intern of J.C.'s most aggressive competitors. (These competitors had previously stooped so low as to spread vicious rumours that J.C.'s child was a mongoloid.) What a relief to learn that J.C.'s ensuing lawsuit ended with a large jury award and the offending intern being reduced to tears on the witness stand.

J.C. gives us a honest account of his headline-filled days in St. Louis that are still going strong. After reading, one feels compelled to shout at the competition the question asked by J.C. himself - "Instead of taking cheap shots, why don't you give it your best shot and I'll give it my best shot and we'll see what happens? Or is that what you're afraid of?" It's because they know they'd lose.

I could not put down this book. JC really captured what has happened in his radio career in St. Louis. From his early days at KSHE to KLOU, you feel like you are at those meetings or you followed along to surprise Mike Bush by reporting from his basement. A must read for anyone interested in St. Louis radio. Believe me, JC leaves no stone unturned. Great, fun book.