This book should convince most readers that reading the Desert Fathers (and Mothers) is enjoyable religious reading for the common spiritual seeker. The translations and the art accompanying them create a presentation that will appeal easly to those who enjoy the collections of Anthony de Mello, Idries Shah, various Jewish collections, Zen Buddhist stories ...

The tales and sayings themselves are short and evocative. For example: "Abba John the Little said: We have abandoned a light burden, namely self-criticism, and taken up a heavy burden, namely self-justification." It is accompanied by a picture in Japanese style with two women carrying loads on their head (sticks and basket) and two men with Sumo wrestler builds with large, heavy loads. The picture is as effective as the story at drawing the reader into the story.

After reading these stories, read Roberta Bondi's excellent theological introduction To Love as God Loves and the translations of additional tales by Merton, Ward and others.

Yushi Nomura has put together a collection of roughly 100 sayings from the 4th and 5th century monks that we now collectively refer to as the Desert Fathers. In addition, each saying is illustrated with Japanese style brush drawings, which gives this collection a distinctive flavor when compared to either the collections by Thomas Merton or Helen Waddell.

This is not a comprehensive collection of sayings. Rather it serves as a superb introduction to this body of Christian literature. The sayings of the Desert Fathers are characterized by their pithy and direct nature. You will not find abstract theologizing here; the desert was a place where the hard realities of living the Christian life - humility, hospitality, forgiveness, failure, mindfulness of everyday things - were confronted every day.

Originally published in 1982, this new edition from Orbis includes a wonderful epilogue based on Henri Nouwen's unpublished lecture notes for a course on "Desert Spirituality and Contemporary Ministry" that he taught at Yale in the early 1980's. It was Nouwen's course that introduced Nomura to the literature of the desert and began the process that led to this book.

Nomura's collection was my first introduction to the Desert Fathers back around 1984. The book has long held a special place in my heart, and I am overjoyed to see it reissued.

absolutely beautiful paintings. i orginally saw some of this work in a little address book a french friend brought to our house. i liked it so much she sweetly put little pieces of paper over her entries and gave it to me as a parting gift. then i find this book at a friend's house - some of the same paintings but even more. the beauty of a rose is captured, as much as paper and color can do it. enchanting.

This is a tabletop book in a smaller format. The prose is flowery (of course) the art work sublime. Pages are so beautiful, they could be framed. I originally bought the book for the illustrations as I had seen it at a country house hotel in England (in the original French -- which I do not read). This book is the English translation -- philosophical rather than technical -- and rewarding to read.

Friends of mine from Littleton Colorado told me that this book helped change the life of Columbine martyr Cassie Bernall. It is specifically mentioned in her life story "She Said Yes". This would have brought great joy to the author, Heinrich Arnold, who died in the same year that Cassie was born. A book like this is an amazing thing. The spirit that is captured in its pages waits quietly until discovered by a future generation who is then frees it for a blessing on their life.

I bought this book based solely on the publisher's reviews. I was looking for a book on Discipleship that would challenge my Christian walk, and also give solid answers to theological questions. In a personal, sharp way, Arnold does this. This book is a compilation of letters and notes that were put together by his community after his death. This makes the book great because there is no filler - it's packed with to-the-point insights. I recommend it to anyone. The only reason I give it a 9 instead of 10 is because only the Bible gets a 10! :

Pamela Geiger Stephens' Dropping In On Rousseau is an enjoyable and rather elegant picture book that blends the famous Rousseau's classic artworks with simple and engaging color illustrations by Jim McNeill. A bumbling Puffer flies into early twentieth-century Paris to meet the self-trained artist Rousseau, in this cleverly written and presented book that introduces young readers to memorable artistic treasures. Also very highly recommended is the sixteen minute VHS video of Dropping In On Rousseau (CP-6185, $$).

Have you ever visited an art museum and wondered what people were thinking as they stood for extended periods of time in front of a masterwork? Have you ever wondered what it was that you were missing that everyone else saw? "Dropping in on Rousseau" might be just what you need to help you better understand how to describe, analyze, and interpret works of art.

While "Dropping in on Rousseau" is specific to the artwork of the self-trained French artist, Henri Rousseau, many of the descriptive, analytic, and interpretative skills that the book introduces can be applied when looking at other art objects. Although the book is categorized as a book for children, the skills that it introduces and fosters are skills that could help adults as well as children learn to understand art better.

This is a book that belongs in every well-read child's home collection. It is a book that should be in every school library. Beautifully illustrated and well written," Dropping in on Rousseau" will appeal to children and adults; it is a perfect companion to the animated video of the same title.

I couldn't believe this book hadn't been reviewed more than once, so I had to write in. We just got this from the library, and believe me, we'll be purchasing our own copy very soon, as well as checking out other books by this author. There are only one or two short paragraphs per page, so there's not too much text for my three-year-old, but it's written so poetically that we can talk about the meanings of new words. I can easily see older children enjoying this book as well. Or I can just ad-lib the story by pointing to the beautiful illustrations that show how the various forest flora and fauna benefit from the dead wood and help reduce it to rich forest loam. It's a great story that shows the cycle of nature, the seasons, forest ecology, decomposition -- all in a poetic and beautifully illustrated book that a three year old can easily grasp, and which I know will be a favorite of my daughter's for years to come.

This lovely picture book is a wonderful tool for teachers and environmental educators, such as myself, to use to help students see the ecological processes going on all around them. The story follows the life and death of a tree, and shows how the tree contributes to the ecosystem even long after death, as a home for animals -- different animals as it passes through different stages of decay -- and enrichment for the soil. I read this story to my outdoor school students (5th-6th grade), even though it is meant for younger children, then send them out to explore a rotting log. It is an eye-opening experience for many of them! This is a very sweet, simple story illustrating the cycle of life and death in an ecosystem. Enjoy!

THE Cartier-Bresson book to own. The reproductions are high-quality and large, the selection is superb, the book is made to last. Almost all my favorites are here. In short, worth the high price. He always deserved a book like this.

This is a beautiful book of duotones of Cartier-Bresson's work. It features the most famous photographs Henri has ever photographed and because it was excellently printed, you can truly feel the images with such intensity. This is a definite book to own if you love Henri's work.

The strongest point of this book is the quality of its color plates--which of course makes or breaks an art book. Fortunately, the prints in this book are very rich and most images are full page. The accompanying text is also very thorough, informative, and interesting. My only complaint is that this book doesn't present much of the posters for which Toulouse-Lautrec is perhaps most famous; however, it does cover much of his other work. In that sense, I got to learn a lot about the body of this artist's work outside of the usual cliche of Toulouse-Lautrec. I would recommend this book for any art library.

"Being able to show people in simple, real moments of their lives was one of Henri's greatest talents", p 18

The young reader will learn about Henri's being born into a rich family, his having broken both of his legs in his early teenage years resulting in his small stature, and his years in Paris painting the life with which he came in contact.

Toulouse-Lautrec's painting of lively scenes of the theaters, dance halls and circuses makes this a perfect choice for young children. His Moulin Rouge advertisement prints are easy to read, uncluttered and therefore grab the young reader's attention. The young are frequently in motion. As a result they will appreciate Toulouse-Lautrec's ability to capture a scene in mid motion. The young reader will be drawn in by Henri's choice of brilliant colors and will have fun finding Henri in some of his paintings.

Henri's portrait of van Gogh is breathtaking. He van Gogh'd van Gogh. He does honor to the painter by mimicking van Gogh's style.

Venezia's illustrations are humorous. His narrative is delightfully entertaining. His approach brings the artist within reach of the young. His illustration of the Parisian friends that Henri may have introduced to his parent's is jokingly exaggerated.

The size of the book is perfect for smaller hands. It enables the young to have art within their grasp. Venezia gives the locations of the paintings and as result if the child lives near one of the museums or will be near one on vacation, she/he would be able to see the original.

This is the 18th in Venezia's "Getting to know the World's Greatest Artist" series. He also has similar series on composers. Venezia's back cover illustrations tie back to the subject. "Greatly influenced by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Mike also tries to capture the private moments ...".

The price of the book is well worth paying. The book contains the following: Toulouse-Lautrec's Paintings (13) and Prints (4), Photos of Toulouse-Lautrec - 2, Venezia's Illustrations - 6, Others' paintings/prints - 3.

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Horses have to be among the best loved of all animals. This book is a celebration of these magnificent creatures.

This book is highly informative at a level readily understood by young readers.

We are given a comprehensive profile of all the main breeds. We learn about the life of a young foal, a horse's diet, and how to care for them.

The book contains beautiful illustrations, particularly on the many transparent overlays. In the scene of the equestrian jump, you have the horse coming towards you on one page and then there is a rear view on the next. You get a real sense of movement.

For the young zoologist we are shown who are the relatives of the horse. Most of us would know that the horse and the donkey are cousins but would you have guessed that the rhinoceros is part of the horse family?

These classy "First Discovery" books have both style and substance. They will appeal to children who enjoy pictorial qualities in a book. They will also appreciate and benefit from their factual content.

Most highly recommended. 5 out of 5.

This book is a beautiful way to introduce your child to horses! It is full of great information and wonderful pictures. I reccomend it to all horse lovers.

Yet another wonderfully photographed book by an original member of the Magnum family. Rodger's images circle the globe and tell wonderful stories from everywhere. Rather well printed, excellent b&w compositions that any photographer or artist must respect.

I bet you know some of his photographs. Startet as an stills photographer in the BBC George Rodger became famous with his pictures made for the LIFE magazine, was a co-founder of the Magnum Pictures agency and was later active in Africa and Asia. The book concentrates on his work while and after World War II, starting with his pictures of british people under the german Blitz, the air raids against british towns and civilists. Then the liberation of Europe, France, Italy ... the horrible pictures of the first Concentration Camp freed by american troops (Bergen Belsen), journeys through africa with the first pictures of the Nuba Tribe (there is a whole book available about this), often claimed to be much better then the later works of Leni Riefenstahl, Asia - the time range goes from the forties to pictures from Africa from 1979. George Rodger died in 1995. If you're interested in reportage photography then this is a must have.

After my mother's death, I felt the deepest pain of my life. This book helped heal my heart. It is impossible to read without shedding many healing tears.

This book helped me through the darkest days after the death of my mother. I thought, I was prepared for her death and being without her. How surprised I was to feel such a deep sense of loss and longing. I thought I was going crazy. After reading the author's reaction to his mother's death and how one grieves, I realized with a thankful heart that I was not crazy. I began to start to heal my broken heart.