I think this book is exactly what a,person needs in to building the perfect car. Thats pretty much all that I know what to say.

"Changeling -- a creature begotten by some supernatural being and then secretly exchanged for the rightful child."

"Dread Companion" begins and ends in a future where humanity had long ago reached the stars and scattered itself across thousands of planets. Terra itself is nothing but a half-remembered legend of origin.

Norton combines a theory of parallel universes with themes from folklore to create her story of a changeling who drags her brother and governess out of the twenty-fifth century AF (After Flight) and into the world of Faerie.

It's an odd amalgamation, but I think it works well because her story is anchored by the governess, Kilda and her brave attempts to rescue her charges. Almost as soon as she meets the children, Kilda realizes that the girl Bartare has some kind of unnatural hold over her younger brother, Oomark. The governess does everything she can to solve the mystery of Bartare's invisible 'Dread Companion'---invisible that is, until Kilda and her charges are yanked into Faerie.

Kilda has to drink the water of Faerie before she can even see properly. The boy Oomark stays with her, but eats freely of alien fruit. When Kilda finally regains her normal vision, Oomark has begun a physical transformation into a creature of hooves and horns---a faun. Kilda must now struggle to stay human, locate a gate back to the sane world of the 25th century, keep Oomark by her side, and find Bartare who has gone to join the Dread Companion she believes to be her true mother.

"Dread Companion" was published in 1970, sandwiched between the Witch World novels, "Sorceress of the Witch World" (1968) and "The Crystal Gryphon" (1972), as well as many other works by this prolific author. Norton fans will discern several common elements between her excellent Witch World fantasy series and this stand-alone SF novel. Examples: there are nurturing trees that are havens from evil hound- and vulture-like creatures; and Bartare's kidnapper turns out to be a Great One of the Light---not that it matters so unhuman is She.

I think if you can find a copy of "Dread Companion," you will read some of the best descriptions of Faerie ever written, even though this book is officially classified as science fiction.

Norton has written of a place that is wondrous, terrible, and truly alien.

If you are even remotely interested in fantasy that is more than just a bunch of wizards and dragons and cliches, then read this book if you can find it. It combines Surrealism, revolution, the power of dreams... The main character must find himself, realize who he is and what he wants out of life, while his friend, the historical father of Surrealism Andre Breton, tries to influence his writing and personality. But he has met a strange woman from the future, and followers her to the Paris Revolution of 1968, and eventually to the revolution to end all revolutions. A great mixture of historical characters and fictional characters. The writing is consise and beautiful, saying just enough for the imagery to come alive.

Early Tejano Ranching: Daily Life At Ranchos San Jose And El Fresnillo by Andres Saenz (Professor of History, Austin Community College, Austin, Texas) is the story of the author's family (the Saenzes and the Lopezes) who established San Jose and El Fresnillo during the 1850s and 1860s. Drawn and composed from interviews, historical records, visits to historical sites, and more, Early Tejano Ranching presents a fascinating picture of life in the past, the daily work of ranching, the labor of self-sufficient families who struggled to surviving against drought, wild animals, and even Indian attacks. Early Tejano Ranching is solid and highly recommended representation reflecting the history and heritage of Texas. Also highly recommended is Professor Saenz's earlier work, Tejano Empire: Life On The South Texas Ranchos (0890968349)

Toiled over by Zavatsky and Rogow, this book provides the reader a peek into the window of the surreal. The images that Breton creates are brilliant and pulsating, and completely accessible. At times I laughed out loud, other times I wanted to cry, Breton was speaking so close to my heart and mind. I highly recommend it especially on trains and planes.

This book is, well, encyclopedic. Drapeau knows his stuff. And he shares it with us. He doesn't shy away from the details and he uses his extensive knowledge of the underlying chemistry to good effect. I would have to say that this book would be good for someone who has outgrown the "Basics"and "Introduction" books and wants to expand their horizon. A must for every winemakers library.

...of Schwaller de Lubicz with which to begin an approach to this unique, major thinker. Though I purchased his recently-issued $200 (list) massive 2-vol. tome THE TEMPLE OF MAN, and regret it not for a second, its sheer bulk is daunting to those of us unblessed with nice work-desks, or not as at home with geometric formulations as with the written word (there's plenty of both within)... But a valuable taste of this author's style and essential philosophic thrust is contained in E & S, which reads more poetically and resonantly than the slim volumes SYMBOL & THE SYMBOLIC and THE TEMPLE IN MAN by the same author. To clarify, the best pocket-size, affordable volumes to begin with by this author are this one and NATURE WORD; I also strongly recommend the larger volumes SACRED SCIENCE & THE EGYPTIAN MIRACLE...and the book AL-KEMI by Vandenbroeck, which is about de Lubicz... From one who's approaching 50 years of living and slightly fewer of reading, whose tastes run the gamut of great east-west spiritual/literary/esoteric/initiatic traditions, I confess no author seems more brilliant, original, multi-disciplined, and worth-the-effort-to-comprehend, than R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz...

If you're interested in ancient Mesopotamian civilization, you'll probably love this book. It's full of fascinating information about the day-to-day lives of the ancient Sumerians and Akkadians. Chapters include such topics as Love and Sex, Women's Rights, Food and Cuisine, the Law, Religion, and so on. The book is written mostly by Bottero, but there are also several other scholars who contribute some of the chapters. Most are well written and not too technical or difficult to read, and as I said, full of lots of interesting and intriguing information and facts.

The ancient Mesopotamians come across as practical, no-nonsense people who, in contrast to the ancient Egyptians, weren't especially religious and believed in living life in the here and now as best one could. Although they did have a religion, it was mostly for propitiating various gods and deities who they hoped would bestow their blessings on them in their personal or public affairs. There was a concept of the afterlife, but it was basically a dark, dingy, netherworld where not much happened, it seems, and they regarded the present life as far preferable to it.

A good example of their practical approach to affairs is that marriage was a simple contract without much ceremony. Women could marry who they wanted and could divorce much as men could, although adultery was tolerated much less for women than for men. A surprising fact is how extensive their food and cuisine was. According to the writer of the chapter, the Sumerians knew how to make hundreds of different types of breads, soups, beer, and other dishes, depending on the ingredients and how they were prepared.

Overall, a fine book and addition to the practical history and understanding of the ancient Mesopotamians.

This book ... a classic in the French Psychoanalytic tradition ... has only recently been translated into English. Andre Green, a noted French Psychoanalyst, trained with Lacan, then broke away to incorporate the work of the British School (Winnicott, Bion, etc.) into his conceptualizations. In this volume Green sets as his task the elucidation of the consideration of affect in Freud's work, and the application of this understanding to varied clinical phenomenon encountered in practice. Green's writing style is clear, and his mastery of this complex area of study is evident.

I would recommend this book, and Andre Green's other works ("The Work of the Negative"; "The Dead Mother", etc.) to any and all who wish to advance their understanding of the best of psychoanalytic theory.

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Don't count your chickens until you've got them in your sack Fast Fox.

Fox counts to six, but there's more. He's going to need a bigger sack.

There are 10 little chicks sitting around the table loaded up with tasty party treats. Mother Hen is in the kitchen icing the cake. Good old Slow Dog is helping with the party games.

Let's play hide and seek, then its blind man's bluff. Now it's time for big bouncy castle.

Fox sees a perfect way to catch the chickens. One by one, they bounce into his sack as they tumble off the castle. The tenth little chicken was too scared to go bouncing. Slow Dog showed her how.

Slow dog bounces right on top of Fast Fox and all the chickens escapes.

We think the story is over. The party is definitely over and Fast Fox has gone home to his house.

But ! There is the Fox counting chickens again. He's up to 99.

Ah! It's in his dreams.

Young children will love the "Fast Fox, Slow Dog" books. There's is quite a set of stories in this series now.

The stories are fun. There is nothing too scary here, despite the Fox's sharp teeth and his insatiable appetite for chickens. Good old Slow Dog always comes to the rescue.

The drawings are bright and cheerful with clever layouts of text and pictures. Allan Ahlberg's kid's books have a broad appeal. Look for more of his books. You'll love them and so will the young ones.