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With sweeping descriptions of the battlefield to domestic life in medieval England, relationships ebb and flow, with Ailith finding herself alone except for the newly met Norman neighbors. She reluctantly agrees to nurse their son as the Norman Felice is too weakened by childbirth. She then becomes Norman Rolf de Brize's chatelaine at his English estate, after having met him previously, and eventually becomes his mistress and bears him a daughter. Meanwhile, Rolf already has a wife and daughter in Normandy. Their love endures many twists and turns but cannot survive what Ailith considers the ultimate betrayal. Their child Julitta, after having been a cherished and indulged daughter, is taken away from it all and her love for Benedict, her mother's Norman friend's son, is fraught with many trials and barely endured hardships.
All in all, this book is a page turner that I found difficult, at best, to put down. It grabs your attention and holds it throughout the entire story. If you haven't read anything by Elizabeth Chadwick you are missing out on some great medieval historical reading! Do yourself a favor and read this and all of Elizabeth Chadwick's books! You won't be sorry!
For young Saxon wife, Ailith, who is newly pregnant she wonders what the future will hold for her and her child. She has developed a friendship with her neighbour, Felice, also pregnant.
When Ailith's husband is killed in the Battle of Hastings, she is persuaded to become nursemaid to Felice's new son, Benedict. But her heart is heavy and she cannot reconcile her friendship with the fact that Felice's countrymen killed her husband.
This is an epic romantic tale, which just sweeps you away into the sights, sounds and smells of eleventh century England, where tensions are high and danger lurks around every corner.
I've been to Battle Abbey and the field where it took place, and it was amazing to see everything brought so vividly to life in the book. Ms. Chadwick has the gift of making history come to life.
Not to be missed.
Reviewed by Annette Gisby, author of Shadows of the Rose.
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Although I believe in the sanctity of life, the subject matter of this book almost kept me from reading it. I feared a thinly veiled anti-abortion discourse--and one thing I don't handle well is agenda-heavy fiction. If you want to make a point, make sure to entertain and tell a good story at the same time. That's why Grisham's legal thrillers continue to sell even while taking on the tobacco industry, the homeless crisis, etc.
Cutrer and Glahn dispelled my fears quickly. The medical details, the unflinching looks at difficult subjects, and the likeable characters drew me in. ...
Although "False Positive" doesn't have the immediate hook of a Grisham-type thriller, it does have the very human motivations, readable dialogue, and ethical dilemmas that Grisham has used to such marvelous effect. The authors handle this medical mystery with maturity, surprises, and grace. As the story draws a growing number of characters together, the action accelerates and the emotional impact rises. While never veering from their spiritual beliefs, the authors (and publisher) demonstrate open minds and open hearts. Beware: stanch advocates of either side of the abortion debate will cry foul, but this book rises above the mudslinging. Cutrer and Glahn raise questions not easily answered by either side. They write about real people who don't always agree. And I liked that.
In fact, I liked this book. A lot! Although "False Positive" was my first read by these authors, it will not be my last.
The characters are real and it should be required reading for those who have strong opinions on either side of the abortion question. All but the staunchest defenders of abortion, under ANY circumstances, will find this book worthwhile. This book is especially timely for women contemplating abortion as well as comforting to those who may struggle after having an abortion.
The heroes of the book (and the real world) are the tireless volunteers who give of themselves to help women facing unwanted pregnancies. Thumbs up to the authors.
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If you don't have a student at home, get this book anyway. Read it. Just the outline of English and American literary history in the back of the book is worth the price. You undoubtedly will find books here you never knew existed. I thought I'd read all of Eudora Welty, for instance, but I found a "new" title listed here -- new to me, at least. I also discovered a James Gould Cozzens book I'd never heard of.
The handbook is actually an encyclopedia of words and phrases pertaining to the study of literature. Listings are defined, explained and often illustrated. There are cross references. Appendices include complete lists of Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize winners for fiction, poetry and drama. The index of proper names in the back lists over 2,300 authors and prominent literary figures.
This book is a must for the home library. Also, it's entertaining as well as informative reading. You may well find yourself curled up with it, unwilling to tear yourself away.
Easy-to-use alphabetical format allows reader to look up terms essential to the analysis of literature, and is highly useful to students of other humanities. The definitions are easy to digest but are quite thorough and supply sufficient context. Take this to college and use it often. An excellent tool for your research and writing.
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When you read this fantastic story, you'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll rejoice in the human/pet connection. This is a first person account of a wonderful relationship. I highly recommend it!
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Cultivating Communities of Practice is and excellent handbook for anyone involved in the setup, participation or stewardship of "communities of practice" within a corporation. I would though suggest that the emphasis is on "corporation", which in some cases implies individuals having some predetermined alignment (presumably with the interests of the corporation). There is some very good discussion at the end of the book covering communities of practice outside of the corporation with and some review of supply chains and 3rd sector examples, although very limited coverage. It was noted that the focus has been on corporations as this is where there are solid examples of these practices. Hopefully a future book will address this area in more depth.
This book is identified as "A Guide to Managing Knowledge", and it does fit this description well. If you still believe that technology can be the primary component of a knowledge management strategy, then you need this book to better understand the nature of knowledge management in terms of communities of practice.
A community of practice (CoP) is a group of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis. This book explains the potential value of CoPs, their structural elements, principles for crafting CoPs, analyzes their stages of growth, explores their downsides, investigates how to measure the value they create, and what role they play in community-based knowledge initiatives. It seems unfair to criticize this book, but more detail on how to implement CoPs would have been welcome. The authors have developed a helpful framework for understanding CoPs, illustrated by examples, but the reader will still need to think hard to implement them in a new setting.
The approach to "cultivating" and nurturing communities, as opposed to "managing" them, is also explained so that managers will hopefully resist the urge to try and control them using mechanistic mental models. At last, the question of measuring value creation for organizations is addressed in convincing and, again, practical ways.
There is also some wisdom in this book. The "dark side" of communities of practice is also addressed. If unproperly managed, communities of practice can indeed create isolation, collusion, or tensions, which can be quite destructive for community members and sponsoring organizations.
This book is an essential reading for any leader in today's knowledge economy. It will undoubtedly remain as a reference for all of us practitioners who want to develop communities of practice for the benefit and long-term success of organizations and their employees.
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