Judy Wells said: "To be an artist is to embark on a lifelong spiritual quest." In "Everything Irish" Judy joined poet Dale Jensen on a trip to dig up her Irish roots. She makes the reader feel the harshnes of the brutal land. She puts your face up against the moist stones. She saved and dreamed about her trip. And then one summer her dream turned to green. The book is divided into three parts. Part One is "Everything Irish In a Nutshell." It recounts her Catholic girl upbringing. I related strongly to this litaney because of my parochial school days at St. Mary's Catholic Elementary School. I remember we were required to attend confession once a week. I din't commit enough sins to earn my regular penance of five Our Fathers and five Hale Marys so I invented sins. I claimed to have poisoned the city drinking water. I declared that I planted bombs on random perambulators. Judy recreates the days when the nun loomed tall in her habit. I remember nuns walking down the hall with rosaries the size of bicycle chains. "Waking the Dead", part two is the molten core of the book and carries green waves of Irish history. "Warp Spasm" evokes the hero Cu Chulainn who knew the secret language of poets taught to him by his foster father & poet Amairgin. Judy mentions the Goddess Briget who in the literature of early Ireland was the goddess of poetry and wisdom. "The Cliffman" takes us back to the "father" of the documentary, Robert J. Flaherty who shot his movie "Man of Aran" on a barren island off Ireland's west coast. Part Three is "Hunger". It deals with her return to Berkeley and her job as Academic Counselor. After three summers in Ireland Judy took a vacation in Hawaii. She writes in "Antidote" that she wanted the sun to "penetrate my bones". She wanted to "scoop sweet, succulent orange flesh from the papaya instead of opting for a baked potato one more time so I could drink the antidote of my own green culture." The last poem describes an Irish wedding in America. The couple plan to call their first child Shasta. "The trees and grass are green and fertility is in the air". This poem concludes her Irish experience, the rerooting of Irish culture in America to the point that the parents name their chlld after a mountain in California. "Everything Irish" traces the influences on Judy Wells that combined to shape her into the great Berkeley poet she has become. It is a personal and universal journey into the heart of self discovery. Her life and work are a continuous spiritual pilgrimage.

As I read "Everything Irish" once more, I literally and figuratively shiver with joy, sadness, laughter--with everything that is deep and poignant and true about it. It moved me tremendously in many ways as I read the various poems and moods of the book. This work is a wonderful, significant, powerful cultural and coming of age achievement. The author evokes the spirit of a proud and complicated people, and seamlessly unites the past, the present, and the future. The harmonies of this book are the written counterpart of Irish bagpipe tunes and haunting Celtic melodies as well as Irish jigs! Nancy Zak

Wells' poems are wonderful vignettes and moment-in-time, telling about the Irish experience in America, with glimpses of Ireland itself. Although they are easy to read, and will often make you laugh, they also have depth and poignancy. A "good read" that you want to keep going back to read again.

When a colleague recommended this book to me, I did not have high hopes: I was afraid it would be another "conservative" diatribe full of "thou shalt nots," lacking depth both theologically and psychologically. How happily surprised I was when I read it!

Jack and Judith Balswick combine academic backgrounds in sociology and psychology with demonstrated knowledge and ability as Christian counselors. Rather than being a negative, prohibitive book, this is a positive, life- and love-affirming work, meant to guide individuals and families toward God's will for them -- not beat them into submission.

The book presents an abundance of academic and clinical research, but it is presented so skillfully and unobtrusively that the average lay reader will not be put off by it. Even difficult topics (such as masturbation, homosexuality, and divorce/remarriage) are presented in a sensitive manner, resisting the temptation to fall into an authoritarian tone, and encourage the reader to prayerful reflection. Quite [pleasantly] surprising!

I highly recommend this book; most especially, I recommend it to all clergy and lay counselors.

The Balswick provide an excellent basis for understanding the family from a Christain context. They deal with theological and psychological issues in a language that is easy to understand and informative to people with various levels of training. They deal with a broad range of topics in a sensative, yet intelligent manner. This book is a must for every church library!

The biblical model for family relationships proposed by the authors provides an easy to understand framework to explore family problems of today. The basic concepts of covenant love, forgiving grace, empowering service and intimate knowledge, which comprise this model, constitute a major advance in the formulation of a theology of family relationships.

Free Spirit is exciting, instructional, and captivating. I could not put it down. My journey through Stevens' book was exhilerating and uplifting...exhilerating from living with the characters, sharing their Gold Rush experiences, and becoming well-informed about California history and about life in the West...uplifting as the characters resolve their problems and surmount obstacles. Free Spirit is a rare treat!

Free Spirit is a wonderful book It combines history with a facinating story of a girl growing up in the 18 hundreds. Sabra travels to California at a young age and marches to her own drum. She is misunderstood by many, but becomes loved by all. She is true to herself, an adventurer who takes us on a wild ride. I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in how the west was born.

Reading is for enjoyment and this is exactly what Free Spirit possessed. Truly pleasurable reading mixed with much history of our old north west. You will find yourself not wanting to put the book down.

This is a great book. I enjoyed it because it was very real. I could relate, totally. Judy's story will really touch your heart as she shares the struggles of life and how God brought her to a place of peace and salvation through Jesus Christ.

This is a great book. I enjoyed it because it was very real. I could relate, totally. Judy's story will really touch your heart as she shares the struggles of life and how God brought her to a place of peace and salvation through Jesus Christ.

Life is full of struggles and challenges.This book shows how Judy overcame what seemed like a life dominated with circumstances filled with anxiety.This book will reveal the truth concerning how Judy's life went from being the victim to the victor. She shares with the reader the emotional struggles expienced when caring for a loved one through a terminal illness.This book brought me from laughter to heart-broken tears just as the cover of the book said it would. I was not able to put it down until I read the finish.

There were so many things that I thought were so different about me that I couldn't talk to anyone about, but reading this book helped me realize that I am "normal" and made it easier for me to communicate what I want out of my relationship. It's a great book for people who can't ask embarrassing questions!

I strongly recommend this book. Using a question and answer format, this book is sure to answer any questions you may have. You will learn a lot about love and sex. This book could easily replace a parent's talk. In fact, I believe this book exceeds any other source of sex knowledge.

I love this book! At times, I don't get to read it because all of my friends want to borow it.My advice: Buy your own!

Finally! Finally, there is a book on Micromosaics, and what a wonderful book! Prior to the publication of Jeanette Hanisee Gabriel's masterful research job, there have been no books available to the collector of Micromosaics or for anyone who wants to read about a little-mentioned, and fading art. And who better to write the book then Ms. Gabriel who has been Sir Arthur Gilbert's Private Curator since 1994. Sir Arthur Gilbert's collection which now resides at Somerset House in London can only be equaled by the collections of The Vatican Museum in Rome and the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.

There are a number of books that cover the vast and impressive Gilbert Collection: "Gold Boxes", "Monumental Silver", "Portrait Miniatures in Enamel," "Gold and Silver," "Hardstones" and now "Micromosaics." As I happily have the other books in my library - I can honestly say that the micromosaic book must have been the most difficult and yet it is extremely comprehensive. Ms. Hanisee's scholarly work on "The Gilbert Collection: Hardstones", must have been a bit easier to write as there is so much information on the art of Pietra Dura and Hardstone. Micromosaics is another ball of wax as so little was written - and I'm sure if it was to be had - Ms. Gabriel uncovered the information.

The Appendix has a fascinating section written by Professor Massimo Alfieri "New Notes on Giacomo Raffaelli and Michelangelo Barberi" two of the leading Master Mosaicists of the 18th and early 19th century ---- fascinating. It takes you to the time of the workshops, with letters, sales receipts, drawings and the like. Not only revealing, but just plain fun for devotees of the period. One can also find a section on techniques and materials used in the making of these compelling masterful and minutely executed works of art.

Seeing the fabulous color plates on almost every page, the items in the collection, one finds themselves rubbing their eyes in bewilderment over the artistry of these rare and intricate pieces. The footnotes are so interesting and well-written that they are a book within themselves, and my only wish was for a third hand to mark the place as I turned from text to illustration to footnote and back to text. In many books one tends to skip a lot of the footnotes, unless they pertain to a particular interest -- but Ms. Gabriel has added fascinating information and I told myself it was worth the digital exercise to read each and every one.

Lastly - Jeanette Gabriel has masterfully included very detailed Biographies of the known artists of the time and the literature connected with these artists; a Glossary - with full descriptions; a seven page Bibliography; Exhibition Histories, and an extremely well-written Index.

"The Gilbert Collection: Micromosaics" may look like a sumptuous coffee table book of 310 pages (which it is:), but it is definitely not fluff and mirrors -- it is a serious and fascinating work which should included in any library of Decorative Arts.

Obviously - I think it's just great, I thank Ms. Gabriel, and I give it 5 stars.

Margot Conte

Thanks to all of you who have sent me such lovely comments about this book and the Gilbert Micromosaics. Since the Gilbert Collection museum in London was formally opened by the Queen Mother in May, 2000, it has been deluged with inquiries. Thus, I have decided to take questions regarding expertise from my office in California. There will soon be a website with a link to this Amazon.com site for those wishing to purchase the book, and a link to me: gilbertcurator@aol.com.

Thanks again. Jeanette Hanisee Gabriel, Private Curator to Arthur Gilbert and the Gilbert Collection.

This is a beautiful and informative book with insights into historic and technical aspects of micromosaic provided by the leading authority on this art form. Beautiful close up photographs reveal the intricate details of these little treasures. This book is a must have for micromosaic and decorative arts enthusiasts and a beautiful addition to any library.

If you haven't read one of the 2 books in the series, I highly recommend you do so. The authors have owned restaurants and are now using that knowledge to write entertaining books. The couple in the story own a restaurant in the south. The husband is Greek. They have hired a Greek friend of his who speaks less English. This couple find themselves in many "jams" but always seem to find their way out. A very likeable couple and an easy reading book.

I've read the first in the series (So Dear to Wicked Men) and loved it for its clever plot and funny characters. This one (Go Close Against the Enemy) is even better. The characters are still funny and the plot still clever and there is an added seriousness that is thought provoking and at times heart-wrenching. I highly recommend this book.

Racism is openly flourishing in Delphi, Georgia. This becomes acutely evidenced at the funeral of a stillborn. April McNabb, daughter of the town preacher, married a black man in defiance of her father's commands. Although he disowns her for this sacrilege, he supports her when she wants her baby buried in his churchyard. However, Deacon Walter Fry objects, wanting the infant buried in the black cemetery. During the burial, a demonstrative and ugly protest occurs.

April pushed to the limit, fires a shot at Fry, but misses. However, Fry is soon found murdered and April is arrested for the crime. She calls on her friend Julia Lambros to help her since Julia has successfully conducted a murder investigations before. Though she and her spouse are having problems with an IRA agent, she decides to help her friend. Her snooping places Julia in danger from an individual who wants to remain anonymous.

In SO CLOSE AGAINST THE ENEMY, the victim has many people wishing him dead who also have the means and opportunity to kill him. This makes the story line very complex and difficult to solve. The protagonists are a working class couple whom strikes an immediate chord with the audience. Takis and Judy Iakovou demonstrate that racism is a destructive force that can tear apart a town. This enjoyable book tells a good story while making a powerful social statement.

Harriet Klausner

I can't say enough wonderful things about this book! It is truely a treasure... I think every child should read such a beautiful book. The teachings are important and the pictures are wonderful. After reading this book, I am buying other Elizabeth George books!

I learned a really important lesson myself while reading thhis book to my daughter. I would reccomend this book to any parent wanting to instill the Truth of God word to there daughters.

I have always hoped there would be a book like this one....and finally here it is! This book captures the essence of Proverbs 31 and how we can define and apply this Proverb today. Proverbs 31 has been my goal as a wife, mother and Christian for years, but I have been confused in that past how I could apply this Proverb to my life today. This is the perfect book for your daughters also - it is written on there level of understanding also. It can be used for the young and old alike, plus it would make the perfect gift for a new Christian mom that is having a baby girl. The pictures are beautiful and inviting. Thank you Elizabeth George!

Terry Hamburg'sGrand Entrances is an informative and compelling survey of attractive, artistic retail storefronts in San Francisco provides a closeup color portrait of some of the city's most colorful creations. Over eight color illustrations and photos capture everything from signage to murals and exceptional presentations. Art and architecture schools with sections on commercial art will find this a 'must'.

This book has heart and soul. The imagination and humor these storeowners and artists display is amazing! I especially appreciated the captions which tell the story of each storefront. The details are unexpected and funny. I also liked the Introduction which gives a great history of how San Francisco came to have so many "grand entrances." I know which book I will be giving to friends and family this holiday season!

Grand Entrances opens the door to the whimsy that is in the heart of San Francisco. The superb photographs capture the spirit of the artists, the shopkeepers who proudly display the creations, and the climate of the people who live in the area. This book rather reminded me of the children's book about the man who painted his house purple in a neighborhood where all the houses looked alike. However, in this case, everyone painted his or her storefront with wild imagination. Indeed, looking at the photos and reading the background about this era, I wondered if people at that time appreciated the beauty and creativity of the times. Personally, I savored the diversity of San Francisco. San Francisco encompasses all kinds of spirits, and this book captures that unique strength. Grand Entrances was fun!

A wonderful collections of Heart Healthy Foods with great taste and easy to prepare that are quick to make. Great Recipes for kids who will love the foods which are healthy. The desserts are a special treat which all can enjoy because they are low and non fat recipes. This cookbook is a must!!

I can not believe how wonderful the recipes are in this cookbook all healthy eating,children will love the foods that are healthy,it is a must purchase one your doctor will approve of.

It is Heart Healthy, Quick & Easy Comfort Food for Meat and Patoto Folks. The Cook book Heartfelt Cuisine is FANTASTIC.