Race to the Moonrise, by archaeologist Sally Crum, is a wonderful resource for teachers teaching the history and cultures of the Southwest and Colorado. It is a fictional story which contains a vivid picture of the cultures of the Southwest from Casa Grande to Chimney Rock in Colorado. I used it with my fourth grade students to enable them to visualize the people and their lifestyle, compare the environments, weapons, religions, clothing, tools, foods, building styles, use of natural resources, trade, household objects, and travel of the Pre-Puebloan people. The story is appropriate for fourth grade and above and through a fictional narrative with carefully researched background, keeps students interested and learning throughout. The author has also published a teacher's guide with questions and activities to use with the book. I would recommend Race to the Moonrise to other teachers. It has been a great addition to my unit on Colorado History.

Race To The Moonrise is a carefully researched adventure tale of two young Mogollon trader children who run an exciting race against the full moonrise in prehistoric (1200 A.D.) northern Mexico and southwestern U.S. Little Basket, the young girl prophetess and her brother Long Legs make the arduous journey from their village in northern Mexico to the area of Chimney Rock and Finger Rocks, near the Four Corners area of today, before the 19th full moonrise to participate in a religious ceremony. All details are carefully researched and help authenticate this exciting children's educational action adventure book. Note: Race To The Moonrise was approved for use with Native American children by the Intertribal Cultural Committee of the Council for Indian Education. It is fascinating to follow the ebb and flow of this exciting tale. So much of early Native American prehistory is not known, yet what can be surmised of these ancient MesoAmericans is both intriguing and of enduring value to the young people of today. Race To The Moonrise is a fine work to honor one's ancestors with.

I have a really difficult time reviewing children's books. Until now. I have just finished "Race to the Moonrise: An Ancient Journey" by Ouray, CO author Sally Crum. It is a wonderful book. It was written for the fourth grade level, but let me tell you, I think readers of any age will not only enjoy the book but will finish it with a greater understanding of native American culture and feel good about having read it. The setting of the book is around 1200 AD and centers around Little Basket, a young girl with some very special powers, and her brother, Long Legs. These two, with their uncle, embark on a journey from their home in Mexico to what is now southwestern Colorado. The purpose of the journey, which takes them through the country of the Mogollon of New Mexico, the Hohokam of the Gila and Salt River Basins, the Sinagua of Wupatki Pueblo, the Hopi, and the Chaco Canyon, Aztec, Mesa Verde and Chimney Rock Pueblo peoples, is to save their village. Besides being a great read, the book is impressively accurate in its description of the native American cultures, and geographic and archaeological places which exist today. On a recent trip which included many of those places I was amazed at the author's accuracy. Do Little Basket and Long Legs save the village? To be sure, it's not here today. But then, when a little girl has special powers and a strong, brave, and protective brother...who knows? Sally Crum is a working archaeologist and has worked for numerous national parks and monuments over the past 16 years. The book has been approved for use with Native American children by the Intertribal Cultural Committee of the Council for Indian Education and published by Western Reflections Inc., so you know the quality is second to none. This is a wonderful, enchanting book. It is truly for children of all ages...right up into geezerhood!

One of my absolute favorite cookbooks that I picked up years ago on a clearance bin and until ... could not find again. Plan on buying several copies as gifts as every recipe I have made has been terrific, especially the vegetable ones like the Butternut Squash, Ginger Carrot or Asparagus Taragon. Just made the Mullagatawny with chicken tonight - yum! Recipes handle improvisation really well and they all have a lot of flavor.

I first came across this cookbook in a reader's preview version, typos and all. It went on to become my very favorite soup book. The recipes are straight-forward but yield delicious soups with assertive flavors. I don't think I have ever made a bad recipe from this book! Especially good is Spicy Black Bean Soup and Chicken Rosemary Soup. Also the White Gazpacho is different and wonderfully cool for the summer. Give it a try!

I love this book! I've used so many of the different recipes from warm creamy soups in the winter to cold fruit soups in the summer. I love how practical the book is with it's ingredient list and how easy the soups are to make. Each recipe give suggestions for varying it slightly according to your tastes.

Sally has created a real jewel, A very useful Homeopathic tool.

The rhymes helped her learn, A Homeopathic degree to earn.

About Homeopathy she really cares, This book is a gem quite rare.

I swear.

Sally Yamini has written a truly delightful book which deserves to be a great success.

Rhyming Remedies is a fun little book full of happiness and a good way to jiggle-joggle-tickle-toggle the mind into learning and remembering remedies you have studied. Sally Yamini, the poet-author, has been a loyal and faithful student of homeopathy for years, and she exemplifies what is good and wonderful about the lay homeopathic movement in the United States. If it were not for Sally and people like her, homeopathy in America might very well have shriveled, atrophied and died long ago. This happy book will be a fun addition to your homeopathic library.

I was in the process of returning this book to the library without reading it. I didn't like the cover and the story didn't sound too interesting, BUT BOY WAS I WRONG. The story was absolutely delicious and hotter than H...!!!I loved the female character Geri. Any story that depicts women as strong and sexy, I'm all for it!! But let's not leave out the leading man Alex, extremely sexy, creative and what an imagination!!! I felt the chemistry between these two literally leaping off the pages!!! I'm going to run out to buy a pair of handcuffs plus rent a big motorcycle!!! KUDOS to the author!!! Ms. Hayes is an exceptional writer. This is the first time I've read a book by this author, but it won't be my last!! The next book on my reading list is Dangerous Love.

I honestly could not put this down. The characters are both wonderfully drawn, vivid and totally believable, and the story will keep you on the edge of your seat. Plus, you'll never look at motorcycles the same way again. A terrific follow-up to DANGEROUS TO LOVE.

SPIES LIES AND LOVERS is a fast-paced, delicious book that absolutely drips sexual tension, featuring a heroine with enough guts for three men. Tip: if you miss the handcuffs scene, you'll be sorry!

Sally Fisher's book, 'The Square Halo', is a small but great book on some of the mysterious, often overlooked, symbols in Western art.

The idea of art for art's sake is a relatively new one -- the idea of using art solely for aesthetic reasons is largely one of the modern age. Art was, in fact, an important medium of communication when the majority or at least a significant minority of the populace was illiterate.

Paintings and works of art that we see today as mysterious, or sometimes without mystery and think are fairly straight-forward presentations, are in fact hiding meanings that we, because we have not generally been taught to look for meanings in these places, easily overlook.

'To many educated persons, a museum visit is mystifying. There is Aristotle--we know who he is--but why is he crawling on all fours with a woman named Phyllis on his back? There is a group of gorgeously dressed persons. Each holds an object: keys, a sword, a small dragon on a leash, a little tower, a pair of eyes on a plate. They gaze into space. No one says a word. The title is Sacred Conversation. What can it mean?'

Some symbols, however, we take for granted that we do know. For instance, the halo -- a common symbol. But is it?

'Now and then a person simply glows. We have all seen it, or perhaps more accurately, felt it. In the Mediterranean world this experience found pictorial expression. It began, as we might expect, with the sun. The fan of beams splaying from the edge of a cloud became the rays that emanated from the garland on the head of the Greek sun god Helios.'

The Christian adaptation brought about an outward expression of an inward light (much in the way Christian sacraments were considered outward expressions of inward grace). Halos come in many forms, hollow or full, head-only or bodily encompassing, and, of course, square.

Square??

Of course (the title of the book had to have derived from something, after all). One image that is used is that of Pope John VII, who is portrayed in a mosaic in the Vatican Museums. A square halo is a symbol. It tells us that the wearer was still living at the time of the art work.

A circle is perfect; so is Heaven. Earth is imperfect; so is the square.

Thus, the person was considered blessed and saintly, but, as official sainthood cannot be conveyed until after the death of the person, an 'official' round halo would be inappropriate.

Often a person will be holding an object (like a church, a house, etc.). These objects are in fact things that they built, or caused to be built (the same mosaic shows Pope John VII holding a model chapel which he had built).

Biblical stories are played out in art work, often the entire story (or a significant portion) portrayed by the symbols on one canvas or panel, which would have triggered memories of the complete story in the viewer, and which we, in our modern 'literate' phase have forgotten.

We also learn of some of the quirkiness of art -- the apostle Paul, for instance, is sometimes portrayed on horseback, and other times not. Generally, the horsey Paul is a Catholic painting; the pedestrian Paul is a Protestant painting. How do we know this? Because in the Catholic world, Paul was considered a person of importance, and people of importance travelled by horse. However, by the Protestant era, with a more literal reading of the text, as no horse was mentioned, no horse was painted.

Fisher examines 150 works of art, grouped into chapters on The Old Testament, The Virgin Mary, The Life of Jesus, Earth and Heaven, Saints, and Rome Revisited (which looks at mythological influences in art).

This is a fascinating book, lavishly illustrated in wonder colour plates, well written and intriguing.

This is a marvelous overview of western religious art of the late medieval period through the rennaisance. Ms. Fisher uses familiar examples of painting and sculpture, and explains painting traditions and conventions, and does so frequently through the use of subtle humor. This is a pleasurable books for the student of art history, the lover of western religious art, and anyone who enjoys expanding their horizons! A great read, which lifts the veil on many of our current religious and artistic traditions.

This book is great, if you can still find it. I've purchased 6 copies to give as gifts and my friends loved it! This is perfect as a coffee table book, or one that may inspire you! I highly recommend it! The pictures are beautiful and the stories complement. Don't read fairy tales to your kids, this is what they can inspire with and question.

(by E.M. Singer, author of "Mother Flies Hurricanes")This well-written, thorough, engaging account is prefaced by short biographies on Amelia Earhart and Jacqueline Cochran. The author focuses mainly on the WASPs, but England's Air Transport Auxiliary gets a chapter (which is only right, because the ATA was the forerunner of the WASPs). Roberta Leveaux, who wrote the foreword to Mother Flies Hurricanes, is featured along with other American women who served in the ATA. (She was known as Bobby Sandoz then.) These 25 women, most of them, went by boat across the North Atlantic in 1942, the worst year of the war for U-boat sinkings on Allied shipping. Once in England, they had to endure the same privations and hardships as the British people-rationing, bombings, poor or non-existent heating in the places they were billetted, among other things. This book paints a vivid picture of ATA training, which was strict, comprehensive, and exacting. It had to be, since the pilots had to ferry dozens of different types of aircraft to hundreds of RAF maintenance units and squadrons scattered all over England. Keil's account also explores the feelings of culture shock and homesickness the women felt at being in a foreign country, which was a war zone on top of everything else. They overcame all the physical, mental, and psychological challenges thrown at them, and became top-notch ferry pilots who are still remembered today with admiration and affection by their British compatriots. For more recommendations on books about women pilots and the role they played in WWII, check out the motherflieshurricanes.com website.

Those Wonderful Women in Their Flying Machines
by Sally V. Keil is a wonderful attempt at giving credit
to true heros of our nation. Today women compete in many
areas and mostly against other women. In the air, women
obey all the laws of physics that men do. And these women
were very special. On such women was the late great Aline Rhonie
Hofheimer who besides being on the first to sign up, she also
served in ther British Red Cross Ambulance Corp and flew also with the ATA. Prior she created a huge fresco/mural in Hanger
F of Roosevelt Field on Long Island. It is important that
todays youth understand that such women existed and if not
poisoned by our culture can rise to the top again. God bless
the WAFS and WASPS and all of those women who put themselves
in harms way and never asked for special consideration. Buy
the book.

Facinating! A true and candid account of history's flygirls and the Women Pilots during WWII, this book is almost impossible to put down. So little has been told about these pioneering women of the skies. The amazing, daring accounts of pilot training, WWII travels, and the prejudices battled during service are a revealed in such heart-felt and sometimes shocking detail. No other book about women pilots has delved into the day to day life or recounted the history of women flyers with such vigor. You'll head for the nearest flight school!

If your golf mechanics are ready to use on the golf course, then it's time to think about how to lower your score. Tom Watson is one of the best strategists in the game of professional golf. Read this book to discover how he picks clubs and where to hit them in various circumstances, how he hits repeatably shaped shots (straight, high and low fades, high and low draws, skyballs and worm-burning knockdowns), and how to get the advantage in matchplay. The goal is to lower the golf score, not to hit the world's most pure drive. And this is a good thing.

Highly recommended.

Step by step, this book is like a playing lesson. From the green backwards, Watson helps us realize what course maintenance is all about. This book will really help us begin to think a round out, rather than just look at the yardage, the obstacles and let it rip. Smart golf book. Higly recommended.

even a beginning golfer can reap benefits from this important publication. mr. watson is in touch with how to transfer knowledge to another golfer. this volume is so important to have if you are at all serious about the game. this book serves a wide variety of players from hackers wondering where they might get back strokes to single digit players seeking a new perspective. this is one must book for a golfers library.

About six months prior to my husband's and my trip to Vermont, I purchased Tree & Jennison's book and poured over its contents, intrigued by all that the New England state could offer these Texans. Because the authors had taken the time to visit the various locations noted in the book, I had no worries about the trip. Once in Vermont, I used the book as a bible, knowing what to expect in each village. I met many of the people that they had mentioned, and each had glowing remarks about them. Without this book, my vacation would not have been as organized or enjoyable, and we even went during Mud Season! I recommend this book wholeheartedly because the information is well researched.

This book captures, for me, something close to the heart of Vermont--it's clean, simple, direct, truthful, and deeply entertaining. I have done a lot of travelling in the state over the last 18 months, and found the Explorer's Guide reflects with accuracy and cultural compassion the experience of living and wandering here. Some people will buy it for the inn and the restaurant listings, but its real strength is in its quiet delineation of the regions and their differences. If I were allowed another star, I would use it.

We did not know much about Vermont but the book got us on our way quickly. The different sections are clear and get straight to the point.Wide variety of things to do, places to stay, eat and shop. A very satisfying purchase.

Among the educated of the half of the planet that lives in China and India, the name of Xuan-Zang is very well known. The records of his journey from China through India and back provide a great deal of insight into the culture along his route at the time, as well as the state of Buddhism. The texts he brought back had a strong influence on the development of Buddhism in China. This is an excellent book. I visited many of the Buddhist sites in India and found Xuan-Zang's descriptions to still be of use to the pilgrim today. If you're interested in the history of the silk road and central asia, this book will be of use to you also.

Since the destruction of the famous Buddhas at Bamiyan, Afghanistan in March 2001, the importance of this book has rocketted from its original publication.

Xuanzang wrote some eyewitness accounts of these gigantic statues around 630AD, and this book is an important starting point to finding out more about these monuments and what they originally looked like.

This is not an academic book but more a detailed compilation of events connected with a personage with whom the author has obviously felt a close connection. The text is well sectioned with good maps and useful information, notes and an extensive bibliography that makes the work substantive (e.g., it highlights the wider territory of ostriches in the past). Xuanzang becomes a portal through which we view the art and history of a predominantly Buddhist India before she entered a chaotic phase to re-emerge as a Mughal and Hindu civilisation later.

There is staggering insight into the mentality of the Chinese and Kings at the time and the art they bestowed on the world. The importance of the Chinese civilisation is highlighted at a time when Europe was in the grip of the dark ages.

The book contains minor errors, could have been more critical and Xuanzang's feet on the cover need alteration. Leaving this aside, there is a stunning picture from Bamiyan and we can see what was lost as well as related paintings and statues which are quite exquisite (at least one of them lost from the Kabul museum since the destructive episode recently).

A book worth treasuring as written by a professional, well travelled and strong minded author (and she found the time).

XuanZang's story has got to be one of humanity's most amazing adventures of discovery. I had heard brief references to him in various books about Buddhism, but when I read this book I was just amazed at what a prodigy he was. The amazing synchronicities that helped him on his travels really bespeak a divine providence.

I just wish there were longer direct quotes from his original book, so you could get a feel for his own writing. Also wish there was more discussion of his own spiritual journey or experience with the abbot of the Nalanda university, and the Yogacara/Vasubandhu philosophy.

Great pictures of Nalanda ruins. The story of Nalanda is really interesting in itself and the book gives you a good feel for what was happening there at its height.

All in all makes you want to read XuanZang's original book.

check out

A very clever alternative to the usual bedtime routine. You can read just one or two of the poems or fun facts at a time or a whole bunch, depending on the end of the day energy level of your child. A different kind of bedtime book that would make a great gift.

I think that this book is clever, diverse, and charming. The pictures are really lovely and the short exerpts on each page held my little girl's interest as well as mine.