Steal Away Home is a book that I think everyone would enjoy. The book has adventure combined with mystery and teaches the reader about our country's past history. It is actually two stories combined in one. The present day story is about Dana finding out who the skeleton is in the boarded room. The past history story describes the life of the Weaver family in pre-Civil War times and its part in The Underground Railroad. The story goes back and forth in history as Dana reads the journal of Mrs. Weaver. The journal describes the comings and goings of black people on their run for freedom and pieces of the life of one of those slaves, Miss Lizbet Charles. The book makes the reader more aware of the difficult lives of runaway slaves. The story is informative and interesting. As the pieces of the mystery of the skeleton fall into place, Dana learns about her house's history and her town.

I just finished reading steal away home moments ago. It was a nail-biter to the end, with so much invested in the characters. Clem Sheutz is a street smart kid from a 50's Cincinnati neighborhood of German Immigrants. In the main story line, he is in his 20's fighting in the Cuban revolution - just because he's nothing else to do. After witnessing a brutal hanging of a woman, he loses touch with reality. He tries to grasp onto some sense of self by reconnecting with his past. Meibers effectively uses flashbacks to critical moments of Clem's life, that shed light on his unexpected reactions to those he's reunited with from his past. You see an otherwise hopeless life mature into a character that you want to see come out for the better on the other side. This maturation is frustrated by many of those who he's reunited with. An enjoyable read. Great characters and fine details that immerse the reader in story.

Steal Away Home is a richly literate first novel that grabbed me with the opening line, "the scream sounded...", pulled me deeper into the story through powerful images and tactile metaphors, and left me reeling from the smells and sounds of a great adventure with people I knew from..."somewhere". Mr. Meiber's work made me laugh, cry, scared, exhilarated. In other words, I felt as I read. This is not a man's or a woman's book, it is for everyone. Scheutz is a sort of everyman and his experiences are ours; it is the journey we all travel towards self-acceptance and identifying our place in the universe.

Bravo Richard Meibers!

Naturally, my favorite Richard Adams' novel is Watership Down, but the next favorite has got to be this book, Traveller. It is the simple of a horse who lived through horrible times. But this horse does not know why - because for the simple reason - he is just a horse.

He tells (as only a horse can) of the Civil War (or is it the War of Aggression?). He does not know. He is a horse. He does not understand why men are doing these horrible things to each other. Why they are killing each other. Why there is so pain and blood. Why there is no food. No water.
His only concern is his owner, the tall man in grey. It is his duty to carry him safely everywhere and without fear. Traveller does enjoy despite the hardship when he is allowed to parade with his rider in front of the many men who cheer - are they cheering him or his rider. He wants to do a grand job whatever.

It also tells of the horse and his owner - the bond they had for each other. Traveller's wanting to do as good a job as he can for his owner because of this bond.

I really enjoyed this book as it tells of the war without taking sides. Of course, Traveller cannot take sides. He is just a horse, therefore, he can tell of the war without being prejudice to either side. Just the facts - all the blood, the gore and the questioning of why.

If you can get a copy of this book, read it. It is a great novel.

General Lee was a great man so he should have a great horse to go along with him. We always read how bad war is on human's well after reading this book I learned that war was just as bad for the horse. My heart went out to Traveller when General Lee died he just could not understand what happened. I know that you will come to read it time and time again, just like I have.

Traveller is in plain-speaking a magnificent masterpiece that is copacetic in bringing forth a new hero to the American Southern states. Traveller's views of war and its after effects are some of the best I have incurred. There is no one that can tell a story like Richard Adams. I wish he could write a new one each year. Why Traveller is out of print and all that trash still sits on the bookshelves in stores is beyond me. It is worth the read just to see how a horse views the white surrender flag!

This book was such a joy to read, I was genuinely sorry to see it end. And of course, it doesn't really end; it just goes on into the Guermantes Way. Rarely does one come across a novel that seems so completely pleasing and visionary in its effects upon the reader. Apart from the general relief one feels in seeing the author finally emerge from his prolonged sojourn in the shadow of his mother, there is also the vicarious pleasure derived from experiencing a long-ago summer at the mythical sea-side resort of Balbec, in the shadow of young women in the flower of youth. You feel as if you are truly there with him, walking the promenade, gazing out to sea, hearing the sea-gulls cry, feeling the sand between your toes, and being nineteen again and living carelessly.

Two great characters emerge from this novel who will exercise a profound influence on the young narrator as he matures in future volumes. The first is Robert de Saint-Loup, a dashing young soldier-playboy, whom Marcel clearly adores as a soul mate of sorts. This gives the reader pause; for considering how close the two young men become they manage to still consider themselves straight! Never mind, however, for we eventually learn that Saint-Loup is indeed bisexual, as are so many of the characters in this novel. Secondly we meet the playful, flirty Albertine whom Marcel decides is the one girl in the little band of jeunes filles whom he most wants as his female sexual conquest. Unfortunately, he does not have the capability of relating to her except in the most self-absorbed of ways.

Upon finishing WITHIN A BUDDING GROVE, the reader will have been introduced to virtually all the major characters in IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME. Most importantly for later volumes, we meet and get to know Albertine, Robert de Saint-Loup, the painter Elstir, the diplomat Norpois, and Madame de Villeparasis, as well as a deepened acquaintance with such characters as Gilberte Swann, Madame Swann, and the extravagantly bizarre Baron de Charlus.

Proust's extraordinary genius is evident on every page of this amazing book. One could point to any of a few dozen moments to illustrate this. What is amazing to me about Proust is how he can take an amazingly everyday event, and build it to proportions as great as any battle scene in WAR AND PEACE. For instance, at the end of "Madame Swann at Home," the narrator recounts the times he would wait at the Arc de Triomphe to take a walk with Madame Swann and her entourage. The ensuing eight or nine pages, which merely recount the group walking through Paris, become as majestic and epic as any scene in Homer or Virgil or Tolstoy. No scene would seem to contain less potential for greatness, yet Proust is able to make it something truly unique and beautiful. Or, to take another incident, have there been many incidents in literature as filled with passion and emotion and suspense as the Narrator's first attempt to kiss Albertine? In a mere two pages, Proust is about to pack a surreal amount of dramatic (and comic) action.

Although famous for containing at least part of both of the narrator's great love affairs, I find this novel even more fascinating for the extraordinary detailing of the myriad of social and class distinctions to be found in the seemingly infinitely varied French society. The great theme throughout the book, even when not specifically mentioned, is snobbism, and Proust owns the subject of snobbery as Homer owns that of war. Proust reveals snobbery primarily proceeding from those slightly lower on the social ladder. Ironically, he reveals those at the top guilty not of snobbery but of insolence and disdain, while not even his servant Françoise is innocent of being a snob. The tensions in the novel become particularly acute given the changes that were taking place in French society at the time. This theme is not restricted to this novel alone. It featured in SWANN'S WAY, especially in the attitudes of the Verdurin "faithful" and will be a major theme of ensuing volumes, especially THE GUERMANTES WAY.

The section of the novel recounting his getting to know Elstir contains perhaps my favorite passage in all of Proust, where Elstir, upon the narrator's learning something unflattering of Elstir's past, tells him that no one has not done things that they would not love to expunge, but that no one ought to despise this, because this is the only way one can truly become wise. "We do not receive wisdom, we must discover it for ourselves, after a journey through the wilderness which no one can else can make for us, which no one can spare, us, for our wisdom is the point of view from which we come at last to regard the world." This is not merely the opinion of Proust's character: it could stand as the central meaning of the novel as a whole.

Volume 3 of 12 of proust's Remembrance of things past is another great example of beautiful literature. In this volume Proust's leaves the innocence of boyhood and ventures forth towards young adulthood. His relationship with young Gilberte grows and eventually he falls in love with the pretty thing. Alas however there are problems and the narrator must face the fact that Gilberte will never be the one for him. All the while Proust's writes of Madame Swann the much talked about woman with a shady past. Though the mother of Gilberte the narrator paints her as a vision of beauty and grace. He is captivated by her as well and in one charming passage describes in great detail a spring coat she is wearing on one of her walks where in it he finds treasures and scents like no other. the reader can feel the coat as it is being described such a writer is Proust. this volume ends with Proust arriving at Balbec with his grandmother and observing the Hypocrisy around him. It is quite comical for no one is spared and each class at that time viewed the other with suspicion and disdain. I was quite disappointed when the last CD was through but I have already ordered volume 4. Naxos has done an excellent job in bringing to life Proust's masterpiece and I can't wait to listen to all 12 volumes. I will savor them however ordering one every so often just to excite my anticipation a bit more. this book contains 3 CDs and includes musical breaks between the reading.

really ignites a kid's imagination. i got this for my nephew and he loves it!

This Star Wars Cross-sections book is a must-have for Star Wars fans. The detailed renderings of all the main vehicles in AOTC is as impressive as the companion for The Phantom Menace. The writer, Curtis Saxon, has obviously done a great deal of investigation for everything, with so many detailed drawings and fascinating notes. For curios of the inner workings of all the speeders and starships, this is indespensible. Great stuff.

This book has it all and more! With over 10 ships drawn in amazing detail. Each ship (or vehicle) has cut away views that show power sources, shields, gravity technology, cargo space and more! The vehicles all have a Data File that tell you the manufactuar, the make, dimensions, speed, power, armament , crew, and all the data is thourgh and organized. This book is must have for any fan who want to know more than what is shown in the movie.

This is a useful text for those currently studying stage combat or interested in studying stage combat. A warning- THIS IS NOT A DO IT YOURSELF guide to stage combat. The only safe and sane way to learn stage combat is to study (i.e. take a class at your local university or acting studio) with a fully accredited stage combat teacher.

The book's information is thorough and useful if one is in a classroom setting.

It is important to remember that no book ever written will adequately prepare you for participation in stage combat. Though stage fighting is choreographed down to the instant and is tightly controlled, it remains very risky. Many actors have been hurt very badly participating in supposedly "phony" combat. Do not attempt to participate in stage combat without either taking a course with an SAFD-certified coach or ensuring your fight choreographer has done the same.

This book, however, is one of the most thorough primers available. You cannot learn stage fighting from this book, but you can use this book to prepare yourself for what's coming when you study with an SAFD coach. This book gives you instruction on postures, motions, workouts, acting attitudes, and more to get you started and get you in the right way of thinking and moving, preparatory to studying with a certified coach.

One attractive quality of this book is the amount of space it dedicates to unarmed combat. I have encountered many coaching texts that place all the emphasis in their material on fighting with weapons, especially swords. Unarmed combat, when mentioned, is primarily a sidelight. This isn't wholly unfair, since sword fighting is very difficult and involves many integrated skills; sword fighting without wounding or risking a wound to your opponent or yourself is all the more difficult. However, unarmed combat-fistfights, barroom brawls, catfights, and even physical gags in low comedy-require more skill than many people seem to realize. If you throw a punch or kick a foot at random, somebody's going to get hurt, possibly very badly. This book begins to teach readers how to brawl or tangle with somebody unarmed, make it look like it hurts, and walk away unscratched.

All in all, this is a superior book on the skills of staged combat. To repeat, this book will not teach you how to choreograph or participate in a stage fight. No book can do that. If you try to stage a fight without either SAFD-certified participants or an SAFD-certified trainer, injury is all too likely. However, as a side to more strenuous coaching, Richard Lane's "Swashbuckling" is one of the better primers available to you.

As an active stage combatant and member of a fight-based comedy show, I found Lane's book exceedingly easy to read, concise in explainations, and enjoyable. After a number of years in this business it is possible to develop a devil-may-care attitude to "basics" books, yet I found numerous points in this book where I reconsidered and/or restructured my thinking. I have incorporated many of his fine warm-ups into my work, both for myself and for instructing others. When asked what single book a beginning combatant should purchase, this is the one I always suggest.

I get a new Christmas Story book every year. I stumbled across this one several years ago and it instantly became my favorite. I look forward to reading the message each year and it is now a favorite gift to give to friends.

I am 6 years old and my mom read this book to me tonight. This book is not scary. It's good because it teaches you about the love of Jesus Christ.

This poignant tale of a generous little tree who gives wholly of himself to those around him reminds us all of the true message of Christmas and the sacrifice that each parent makes for his child. It's a moving legend for all ages and a wonderful gift for loved ones.

Even though I was familiar of the material before I got this book, I was still amazed. This book is a must for anyone who wishes to communicate more effectively. I have many uses for it. I bought both I and II. You really need both to appreciate the scope of this awesome technology.

Fascinating book about strucutre of language, how people represent their external world within their mind, how their speech reflects their representation of the world, and how therapists can use the speech patterns to help people improve their lives.

It's a neurolinguistic programming book, based on the work of some very gifted psychotherapists and hypnotists.

The Structure of Magic, along with Noam Chomsky's work on Language (Knowledge of Language, Language and Thought, Language and Mind) are the bedrock documents of neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), a rhetorical/psychological/spiritual discipline much misunderstood and much mis-appropriated by various well-meaning folks and charlatans alike, the most famous of whom is Anthony Robbins.

If you're serious about understanding where NLP comes from, begin with this book and with Chomsky. Since Structure of Magic relies on an understanding of transformational grammar, it may be necessary to read Chomsky (and a good textbook on transgrammar) first.

Additionally, you may find it valuable to have a general psycholinguistics text handy, and to have at least a passing understanding of psychoanalytic/psychological therapeutic technique (since Structure of Magic looks at the practices of particularly highly-performant psychologists/analysts).

Once you're mastered this material, you'll discover that most of the other texts on NLP either miss key aspects of the discipline, or appropriate NLP's vocabulary and models for peculiar and sometimes suspect ends.

A hard read, in the final analysis, but well worth it.

Dragnet (dum de dum dum), nursery rhymes (Little Boy Blue), James Cagney (you dirty rat), and Hawaii 5-O (Book 'im, ducko) all contribute to this clever detective tale, and the typeface looks like typewriter type, just as a detective's report would have looked before computers.

The inventive use of other sources and the logical detection of the plot make this a winner for adults. I can't wait to see how my four-year-old grandson likes it.

Parts of some illustrations didn't seem to have anything to do with the story, but the lettuce leaf hanging from the dirty rat's chin is perfect, though obvious.

If the children you read to like mysteries, try the Nate the Great series by Marjorie Sharmat. They are easy-to-read books and great logic puzzles for the young.

The Web Files is a wacky, hilarious detective tale set in a barnyard with two ducks as heroes. Dum De Dum Dum. Styled on the old Dragnet series model, the tale unfolds with minimum clipped dialogue and lots of implied action humourously expressed by the color illustrations of Richard Egielski. This school age child's book's style is contagious. Be prepared for repeat requests to read this one aloud.

What a fun and funny book Margie Palatini has written--and Richard Egielski's cartoonish yet deadpan illustrations complement it beautifully. Palatini has taken the "Dum de dum dum" theme from TV's long-ago "Dragnet" and applied it here to a barnyard mystery. Sounds simple, and simplistic, but she soars in weaving into the story all sorts of fairy tale and nursery rhyme goodies--not to mention wonderful wordplay, like:

"A lot of squawking going on down in the coop area, Ducktective Web. Looks like fowl play. Report says feathers are flying. Chief says we should check out the chicks."

"Chicks?"

"Check."

"Let's fly." DUM DE DUM DUM . . .

Palatini works in Peter Piper and his pack of pickled peppers (upping the ante by calling them perfect and purple as well), a falsely accused Little Boy Blue who offers the alibi that HE didn't do it because he was under the haystack, fast asleep--which the witnesses then confirm with: "The sheep were in the meadow. Cows in the corn." Swing back again quickly to the "Dragnet" end of things and the author makes one of the suspects an actual Dirty Rat (aptly named Ratzo).

This is fun for children and possibly even more fun for their baby boomer parents. It's a great read.

Really enjoyed this book. Had a hard time putting it down.

Generally, university press novels have a hard time getting the attention
they deserve, except, of course, for THE CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES, the
posthumous novel published a dozen years ago by LSU Press. Too bad, as
sometimes one reads a novel such as WHERE THE RIVER BENDS and feels it's not
going to get the coverage it deserves because of the size of its publisher
(SMU Press).

But this book ranks with Philip Roth's DYING ANIMAL and the new novel
PRAGUE, which I have just read, as well as EMPIRE FALLS by Russo--which, by
the way, I do not regard as a "regional novel" even though it is all about
Maine. Nor do I regard WHERE THE RIVER BENDS as a regional novel, even
though it is all about Texas. Novels with hefty themes and universal
characters transcend their setting. I'm a dyed-in-the-wool New Englander,
and I loved this book. Let's hope the wider public takes notice of it. -- A
reader from Arlington, Vermont.

This is a masterful book full of poignancy, humor and the kind of suspense we experience in the normal path of life. Richard Haddaway has a great ability to draw characters who live. His descriptions of places and situations are vivid and compelling.

I found it hard to put the book down. I wish there were more. And I hope a movie will be made of this book.

Read it!

For those of you who have the Are You Being Served? book by Adrian Rigelsford--are you free? For those of you who don't, are you also free? Well, gather around everybody, and that also includes special Grace Brothers board members.

This 25th anniversary book by Richard Webber with the two co-creators of the show, Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, is basically an update of the previous book, but in a slightly different format. The story-by-story synopses are there, but instead of the * to **** ratings, there are memorable dialogue bits, that are always good for a laugh or two.

New material: familiar BBC performers who made guest appearances (mostly as hapless customers) on the show, with a short bio on each one. However, why was Gorden Kaye, who later starred in Lloyd and Croft's French Resistance comedy, 'Allo 'Allo, excluded from this section? Also, an episode-by-episode list of guest appearances.

What really perks me are younger photographs of the stars. They are recognizable but it's interesting to see how they looked before they joined Grace Brothers. And Lloyd and Croft's personal observations on the stars are filled with the fondest and highest respect.

There are bios on some of the minor but regular performers, such as Vivienne Johnson (Mr. Grace's nurse), Milo Sperber (Mr. Grossman) and Benny Lee (Mr. Klein), as well as those in Grace And Favour.

There are some updates. Inbetween books, Arthur English, who played Mr. Harman the packing department head, died in 1995, as did Billy Burden (Mr. Moulterd), in 1994.
However, the icing on the cake is the list of hot dolly bird secretaries who appeared throughout the season. My favorites: Penny Irving, the luscious redhead who appeared during the show's peak era, Louise Burton, and the Barbie Doll Candy Davis, who now got a Master's degree and is teaching. Wow, brain and beauty! How rare! Another hottie, Debbie Linden, sadly died in 1997.

My recommendation: get this AFTER the Adrian Rigelsford book to get the optimal enjoying effect. You'll be right as rain then.

This lovely and indeed comprehensive tribute book commences with an introduction by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft (co-writers of the series) and a foreword by Lloyd's ex-wife (and two-time guest), Joanna Lumley, and it is sure to be treasured by fans of this entertaining British comedy.

What makes this book so enjoyable is the amount of participation author Richard Webber has received from everyone involved in the production (from writers, directors, costume designers, etc., to the actors themselves), and the book is filled with their many anecdotes. In the case of deceased actors Harold Bennett (Young Mr. Grace) and Arthur Brough (Mr. Grainger), assistance has been provided by their son and daughter, respectively.

The book includes a detailed history of the series--how it came about, how the actors were chosen, why certain actors left the show, how certain effects were achieved, and so on. Also included are chapters on the stage show, the movie, the 90's sequel (Grace and Favour also known as Are You Being Served? Again!) and a look at the success of the show (and its US and Aussie spinoffs) abroad.

My favourite parts are the four-page bios of the original cast, which includes b/w and sepia photos of the actors at various ages and stages in their careers. (A priceless inclusion are the childhood photos of most of these actors). This is followed by one-half- to one-page bios of "other memorable characters"--the maintenance men, the replacements for Mr. Grainger and Mr. Lucas, Old Mr. Grace, the nurse, and the canteen manageress. There are separate chapters for the secretaries and the lift girls with brief quarter-page bios and tiny b/w photos of each. Finally, there is a chapter devoted to "familiar faces" which contains brief quarter-page bios & tiny b/w photos of every actor to have appeared as a guest on the show.

The book also includes a complete episode guide, often with a particularly memorable snippet of dialogue from the episode being summarized or a "memory" from one of the cast of crew. An episode guide and brief quarter-page bios are also provided for Grace and Favour. Finally, there is a detailed index.

The book is a 10" x 7 3/4" 176-page hardcover printed on thick, good-quality paper with a matte finish, and it contains many b/w and colour photos throughout.

In conclusion, this is an attractive, well-researched, well-written, comprehensive and thoroughly enjoyable look back at one of Britain's most popular comedies and at the cast and crew who made it so memorable. Very highly recommended!

This is a wonderful book with great insight and very rare photos of one of the best shows on PBS!