Mary Lee Settle is an American writer who tells us of her experiences as a woman member of the RAF during WWII. Because of her wonderful literary ability, these stories are vivid and thought-provoking. They deal with the cultural differences, class differences, and wartime conditions she experienced. A memorable read - you'll never forget her confrontation with some of her fellow women RAF members or how she learned to understand them. Highly recommended.

I loved this book so much that I was moved to come on here and tell you all about it. I had always heard of Mary Lee Settle, but had never read her work. I picked this book up in a used bookstore and feel so thankful that I did. Her writing is gorgeous, mesmerizing, full of truths and observations that we all see, but so few can articulate. It's a slender novel and yet rich with detail so you end up feeling like it's much longer than it is. Settle represents this entire community and culture so well that you feel like you know these people, and the love story at the center of the novel is utterly timeless. The book is romantic and heartbreaking and painful not in the popular "pink roses" sense of romance, but so much like the way many have lived romantic love....aching and bittersweet and complicated. I am a writer and an avid reader and this book knocked me out in a way that so few do. Highly recommended. I plan to read all of her other books now.

I had vainly considered myself to be fairly knowledgable about current American writers until that beautiful Sunday morning of 7 September 97 when I turned to the Book World section of my Washington Post and read an essay written by a septuagenarian author named Mary Lee Settle. She told it like it is, revealing how the literary marketplace of modern-day America has slid into a disgraceful period of not publishing unless it has a virtual guarantee of profit. Their business theory: only young writers can bring us a long stream of profit. I read her personal revelations with interest, likening them to my own experiences. For I, decades ago, had four hardcover trade books published by three different,notable publishers, and now - after a hiatus self-imposed in order to make myself financially secure - was finding it difficult to get published again. My age?

"Who is this woman?" I asked myself. "Her statements," I know, "are nothing but the truths. She tells it like it is. How refreshing!"

Then, on the subsequent Sunday, I was joyriding around on the net, accessed Amazon.com, and saw that this lady who was apparently considered "over-the-hill" had 39 - yes, 39! - books listed.

How could I not have read her? "I must correct my deficiencies," I told my deficiencies," I told myself. So, I scanned up-and-down, perusing the titles of her 39 entries. So many made the decision hard. Probably because I am, as she, a native Virginian and had just returned from a short vacation exploring the back roads of West Virginia, I chose her "Know Nothing" - a book billed as a novel that is a history of the western part of the State of Virginia, just prior to the Civil War and that land subsequently becoming the State of West Virginia.

I found it to be more than a history. I marveled at its rare eloquence; the conversations of Blacks with Blacks, Blacks with white people, and white people about Blacks. The vernacular and patois were perfect. Except, true to the actual;ity of that era, the term 'Black' was never used. It had not been invented at that time. It was always 'nigger' - a designation then, of itself, mot bearing any rancor or disrespect.

Soon, I was in love again. I saw that there existed out there, somewhere in the netherland of authors personally undiscovered, a will-o'the wosp who eluded me. She piqued my imagination. She of the intriguingly-beguiling persona - a mature person of the same generation as I, who had been blessed with the gift of verbally portraying people and events as they really were. I must meet her, I thought. She lives in Charlottesville, only about a 2-hour drive from my home in Fairfax.

Then, after the impetuosity of initial fascination wore off, I realized I am still in love with love. It would be best for us to never meet. What if a faux pas were to burst my bubble? I have found that the older one gets the more he or she needs a visionary shelter, a person who serves as an icon of one's dreams. That is the raison d'etre' of writers; to be the untouchable cloud in a heaven of imagination.

I recommend this vintage book to any and all, especially the current generation of "people of color."

Charlottesville, VA, home of Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe and of the University of Virginia, now offers up a new contribution: Mary Lee Settle. This book is a thrilling read, yet it's so evocative of the time in which it is set that Prof. Stephen Innes of UVa assigns it to his undergrad's (of whom, by the way, I've never been one). Try it, you'll like it!

Choices was a holiday gift to me in 1996 and I was surprised to discover a Southern writer who had written so many books that I'd not heard of. Then, once I read Choices, I was really amazed that I'd missed a writer of such quality with such a compelling story to tell. Because my books circulate to family and friends, this copy of Choices has been dropped in the ocean or bathtub or both and now bears a fair amount of tape.But it's battered condition shows the number of folks that have enjoyed it; each exclaims that this is such a good book.

As a Lit major I have read a lot of books that are blessed with the distinction of being "good literature." Choices is easily my favorite in my long list of quality books. Being able to follow the development of one character so intensly is sastisfying and Mary Lee Settle did a perfect job of making Melinda's life one to get involved in.

*Choices* is exquisitely written, epic in scope yet deeplypersonal. I found myself completely caught up in it.

Well, deserving of the book award except::: having visited Turkey many times; her overall description of the people is acurate however its also as foggy as each of the characters assesment of each other. Also she seems to think that all gays are either boring fakes, silly holiday makers and she compares lesbians to either smugglers, drug addicts or spies. Mary whats your problem with a positive gay character. Its a moving book, I enjoyed it though am a little disappointed with the ending; which I wont spoil. I can see how Turkish people could be offdended. I think her Turkish Reflections a much better read.

Her "Turkish Reflections" is also a marvellous read. This time, the author offers a true story in a "fictional" format along with her escapades in Bodrum. Her ability to understand and convey to readers Turkish cultural nuances is remarkable. The story itself is wonderful. Enjoy!

In ways reminiscent of "The Ugly American", "Blood Tie" explores the lives of a group of expatriates and reveals the impacts they have on the Turks living in a small coastal community along the Aegean. Settle does a beautiful and poignant job of immersing the reader in the landscape and lives of the characters. The story is believable and accurate. Her writing transported me back the town on which the setting is based. Excellent reading for those seeking to understand social transformations taking place in Turkey in recent decades.

What a gift Ms. Settle has! I could smell the wash on the line and dream in the back porch hammock. How wonderfully she evokes childhood with our oh so literal evaluations of the mysterious adults. To paraphrase e.e. cummings,--down we forget as up we grow--.but not so with Ms. Settle. The author draws sharply defined characters except for her own mother, interestinly enough. I sense a lot of unresolved feelings where her own mother is concerned; she's angry but tries to be fair. Addie, the grandmother, is in bright relief in contrast to the sharp and shadowy mother. Addie's self-righteous neighbor snorted over the misbehavior of a certain attractive young women. Addie's response: "I guess if you're not pretty, you're not tempted." says volumes.

As one who has written several family histories, I am intrigued with the idea of writing autobiography and putting it into the family history by beginning a generation or so before birth of the subject. This makes for a firm foundational picture of what the subject is born into and must learn to live with. Mary Lee Settle did a masterful job of showing the conditioning that goes into survival in a West Virginia family based on the marriage of lower caste Addie, her grandmother, to upper caste Preston, her grandfather. It is a clear, telling picture of growing up in the grey area of the depression years.

This was a very special personal find for me. I can't wait to read other books written by Ms. Settle. An excellent writer, researcher, storyteller. I know Cedar Grove well, the town where Miss Addie lived. The history, for anyone in the Kanawha Valley, alone is worth checking out this book. But I can recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading a story that flows so well that you can't wait to read the next page. The account of history, the personal relationships, the writer's command of the written word...not one line was wasted... and it makes one think about their own grandparents and those before them. I loved the book. I will definitely read Ms. Settle's eariler books.

Had this been the first book I read on Roger Williams, I might have enjoyed it more;however, I feel it is a weak attempt to present Roger Williams' beiefs and their evolution. There was way too much time spent learning of Edward Coke (although interesting, not the subject of the book). There is more to his leaving the Church of England that just being exiled from the Bay Colony. We get no religious philosophy; just political. Why did he found the Baptist Church in America and then leave it? Seven generations back he was my grandfather; he deserves a better telling. A much more filling work is Liberty of Conscience:Roger Williams in America, by Edwin S. Gaustad.

I stumbled across "I, Roger Williams" in the public library, while I was waiting for my wife to go through the check-out line. A brief glance was enough to capture my attention, even though I had heard nothing about this book. After a careful reading (sometimes with a dictionary at my side), I am ready to read it again. "I, Roger Williams" is a sublime work, weaving great insight about human relations with credible historical fiction. With a delicate touch Mary Lee Settle has written one of the finest works of fiction I have ever read. This is a book to read slowly and savor, as it sparks reflection about law and faith and tolerance, and it piques curiosity about historical detail. No other work of fiction has so artfully explored the continuity between old England and New England, or critiqued the weaknesses of our ancestors while celebrating their achievements. Mary Lee Settle breathes life into great men who have unjustly become footnotes for historians. And she paints the most joyous pictures of faithfulness in marriage and wisdom with aging that I have seen. I am deeply indebted to the author for her research, wit, grace, and maturity; and I recommend this work to all who have the patience to read a masterpiece.

I, Roger Williams by Mary Lee Settle, is a tour de force. A perfectly structured fictionalized autobiograpy of Roger Williams, the book makes the origins of the United States' most important freedoms, freedom of religion, belief, speech, and the separation of church and state come alive. At the same time it conveys the human side of our forefathers and the forces that shaped their thought and actions. A must read for anyone who would wish to understand and protect democracy.

This is an excellent and clear-headed book about Turkey before the dynamic capitalism of the 1980's really set in. As such, it is somewhat anachronistic as all books about Turkey quickly tend to become. On the other hand, the general portrait and the beautiful writing make this the best and truest introduction to Turkey yet written. Read it to understand this unique country, a veritable mosaic of ethnicities, customs and histories; spawning a bridge between the East and the West. For people who see the world through narrow eyes, Turkey might be a paradox: the most secular country in the world, with a solidly modern orientation and a predominantly Muslim (but secular!) population. Not a paradox for Settle who has an open mind.

Recall also that Turkey is a country that suffers an unjustly bad image, mainly because of fanatic Greek-Orthodox fundamentalists (e.g. see the one or two silly reviews below by Greek-Americans with no idea of Balkan history!). Mary Lee Settle has done more than anyone else to rectify the balance. She is uniquely qualified to do so because she clearly has no political agenda to settle with the past or with the future...

One can only hope that Mary Lee Settle writes another book covering the breathtaking changes in Turkey in the last 20 years or so with the same clear vision.

This is an excellent and clear-headed book about Turkey before the dynamic capitalism of the 1980's really set in. As such, it is somewhat anachronistic as all books about Turkey quickly tend to become. On the other hand, the general portrait and the beautiful writing make this the best and truest introduction to Turkey yet written. Read it to understand this unique country, a veritable mosaic of ethnicities, customs and histories; spawning a bridge between the East and the West. For people who see the world through narrow eyes, Turkey might be a paradox: the most secular country in the world, with a solidly modern orientation and a predominantly Muslim (but secular!) population. Not a paradox for Settle who has an open mind.

Recall also that Turkey is a country that suffers an unjustly bad image, mainly because of fanatic Greek-Orthodox fundamentalists (e.g. see the one or two silly reviews below by Greek-Americans with no idea of Balkan history!). Mary Lee Settle has done more than anyone else to rectify the balance. She is uniquely qualified to do so because she clearly has no political agenda to settle with the past or with the future...

One can only hope that Mary Lee Settle writes another book covering the breathtaking changes in Turkey in the last 20 years or so with the same clear vision.

This book reflects personal experiences and insights of the author, which is done very sincerely and poetically. It is not a history textbook nor carries a political agenda. I do not know if the reader had read the whole book but pages 66-67 contain references to Armenian genocide. I can also tell that this reader's knowledge of modern Turkey and Turkish people and their relationships with Armenians, Greeks and Kurds are limited to few subjective publications. If he/she ever lived in Turkey and observed how those people from diverse backgrounds live, go schools and work together, become best friends and marry each other, he/she would not believe every opinion so naively. Every country has its own unique disparities and ways to deal with them. Turkey regionally and politically has a very strategic position (historically much diverse compared to many countries in the world); hence, it experienced and continues to experience many uproars for claims of land. This situation is not unique to Turkey and I strongly believe that most countries would do the same to defend the integrity of their land.

This book provides a very good introduction to the Scopes Case mentioning everything from the plan hatched by George Rappelyea and various Dayton, TN businessmen, to the brilliant yet caustic Clarence Darrow, to the quiet John Scopes. The only bad point to this book is that it is quite one-sided. It portrays William Jennings Bryan as a buffoon,and the country people of Tennessee as illiterate. Bryan was probably the greatest orator of his time as well as a lawyer, not a buffoon. Otherwise this book was very good at giving an overview of the case.

Upholding the dignity of the rural Tennessee audience while still assailing the antievolution efforts of the Fundamentalists, Mary Lee Settle's "The Scopes Trial" is also an interesting combination of pro-evolution and pro-south. One of the few works about the Monkey Trial to chastise both Darrow and Bryan, Settle takes the prosecution to task for challenging science and chiding the defense for stereotypical thinking about the people of Tennessee and the South. When it was published this volume was "highly recommended" for "Grades 7 up." Certainly the account of the trial is understated and her choice of excerpts fails to convey the great emotional and intellectual impact of the event. However, the coverage is unbiased and effectively conveys the tenor of the period. Although this is a "juvenile" account of the trial, Settle provides insights into the region of Eastern Tennessee circa 1925 matched only perhaps in a few accounts by native journalists during the trial. Given her target audience, this is certainly appropriate.