As Siskel and Ebert would have said, 2 thumbs up. It's a great book to learn about the "shores" of Alaska. WTG Dr.Mason

2 thumbs up....... A book worth it's wait in gold, its a must for readers who want to learn the truth about the "shores" of Alaska.........WTG Dr. Mason

2 thumbs up....... A book worth its wait in gold, its a must for readers who want to learn the truth about the "shores" of Alaska.........

I grew up down the street from Jane Shore and went to school with her, however, after reading her poems I realize that I never really knew her. "Music Minus One" opened up a flood of nostalgic memories for me of Jane, her parents, Bergenline Ave., the plane that crashed into the apartment house a block from where I grew up, and being Jewish in the 1950's. I knew Jane was talented but I didn't appreciate just how talented. I felt as if I was being reacquainted with an old friend who was now sharing her deepest thoughts with me. I haven't seen Jane in over 30 years but I feel like I just spent an afternoon with her. Her talent has reunited me with my past.

I had the pleasure of having dinner with Jane at the home of one my favorite professors. She had already published "Music Minus One" and she was in the process of writing "Happy Family." Not only are the poems in this collection beautiful, but the language she employs is a tribute to her artistry. She creates glorious imagery through sounds and reduces the pain of adolescence to a poignant and memborable symbol. Although I'm sure Jane has long forgotten the twelve students who huddled around her on a cold December night, none of us have forgotten her down-to-earth advice for new authors or her unforgettable presentation of her poetry.

What a marvellous story. From the cradle to the grave, we follow a woman who has the (mis)fortune to win the heart of the King. And Plaidy, true to form, plops the story right into the middle of history-in-the-making, where Jane Shore is driven by her passion to love first Edward IV and then finds herself in quite a bind, again and again. Jane could choose a simple, easy life with her betrothed - or she can risk everything for the love and heart of a King. I really enjoy how Plaidy doesn't gloss over anything in her novels about the lives her characters live. From the simplest acts such as cooking and riding and everyday life, to the massive banquets and the punishments for criminals of the day, Plaidy gives her readers an "inside view" into what life was really like in Medeival times -- and you don't realize that you are learning until you've finished the book!

These accounts of four western women and how they lived in exotic lands serve best as an introduction, not as a particularly authoritative reference.

Definitely more high-brow than romance novels, if only by virtue of being true personalities, this book is a welcome bit of romantic escapism. Despite the fact that the author clearly admires and reveres these intelligent and adventurous women, the book disappoints on a couple of fronts. The writing (nearly half a century old) is peppered with somewhat embarassing colonial language about native beauty, genetically determined intelligence, and primitive sexiness. No blatant racism here, but plenty of indulgent speculation that comes off poorly today.

I found it annoying that the author used French liberally but without any attempt at translation; this usually appears in quotations and with a disclaimer that the flavor of the original language would be lost in any translation. I disagree: a skilled translator could handle it beautifully.

I personally enjoyed these accounts of the lives of women who ventured beyond the realm of other western women, who supported great men, or who even changed the course of history. But I felt I had received only part of the stories. I have yet to find more writings about these women, but I am sure they are out there. A very entertaining introduction to each subject's life.

God what a beautiful collection of real life stories and ones about women that way up most braggart adventures of men!(and I say that as a guy folks!). I was in a state of awe & envy throughout, fell dangerously in love with 3 out of 4 of the characters and am left disappointed only by my own world in result. This book is highly detailed and revealing of ins and outs of secret minds, hearts, places, women, individuals, religion, history and in many ways is scarily telling about truths of all. Its a gorgeous voyage and I give this book away too often but its one of those you know? Men or women I dare you to call yourself the same by its end!

In 1954 Lesley Blanch, a hard-headed romantic, brought out her affectionate studies of four determined women who followed their dreams Eastward without regard for consequences. Even the demure Aimee, abducted and sold as a slave, doggedly created a life for herself within a Turkish seraglio. Recent muddled books on these women often verge on either the pornographic or the bathetic; Blanch's account was light-hearted; her humor, sympathy, and realism tempered her admiration. This was a best-seller in 1954, and is still immensely readable -- even if Blanch spoke more languages than some annoyed reviewers, and was not suitably PC for 2003. Her autobiography is excellent too.

This mother-and-daughter account of their experience of the Hollister Ranch upon which they both grew up moves the reader into a good feel for how land and psyche interact. There is a minimum of speculation and a maximum of sense and event. The life of the ranch, its voice, surfaces now and again through human conflicts and encounters against the backdrop of its imminent sale. As Jane Wheelright says: "The coastline of the ranch is like the floor plan of my life...."

Both writers are Jungian analysts, and most of the Jungian commentary is provided by Lynda Schmidt, who on occasions describes the ranch as a "manifestation of the Self" (for Jung, the Self with a capital S meant the archetype of totality; he also called it the God-image).

I think we must be very careful--and Lynda Schmidt generally is--when we bring in archetypal concepts, because how we do so can either illuminate or devalue their manifestations. It's like describing one's wife as a Goddess figure or an anima container: what happened to the actual woman? If we see wilderness as a manifestation of the Self, or even of God, is this helpful, or does it shift our attention away from the wilderness as an entity in its own right?

This is one of the few books that take the land seriously. Here is a characteristic passage:

I had a strong sense of being buried deep in the soil, lost under the vast, rocky ledges, melted into the landscape, submerged as an integral part of that place. None of the others in my generation had the remotest sense of being so influenced. I was starting at scratch and I felt like a child about to be orphaned.

Jane Wheelwright and Linda Schmidt -- a mother-daughter team -- authored this book, which is really a conversation about the intricate relationship between one's psyche and one's place. Both are trained in psychology -- Jane in Zurich at the Jung Center -- and both bring a refreshingly honest self-critical flair to this book.

The Long Shore is the story of the Hollister family ranch -- a vast oak-studded arroyo-dipping range of coastal grassland near Santa Barbara, California -- and how each author experienced the place psychologically. Their experiences are extremely different, much of which seems related to the gradual conversion of this vast cattle ranch to a series of late-20th century subdivisions. Sound familiar?

By treating this as a personal exploration, and by calling each other down from any soapboxes, the authors go new places in literature. The Long Shore remains the BEST examination I have read of how one's psychological state is derived -- at least in part -- from the state of the land surrounding. How a wild environment parents us. How it challenges us. How it forces a kind of a reflective relationship that few nature-writers have the first-person confidence to detail on the page, and few psychologists have the wherewithal to examine directly in themselves, much less in others.

If you incline toward this kind of exploration of inner nature and outer nature, The Long Shore is a book to own, to savor and return to. If you don't incline toward this, what else are you doing that's more important?

This book should be required reading for anyone contemplating a purchase of property on the eastern coast. While the "pulpit preacher" tone gets tired, we are seldom aware of just how much change occurs over a relatively brief period of time. Pay your money now or a million when your lot is under water in another 30 years.

I read this book while vacationing at Folly Beach, South Carolina. I loved the factual information especially the history of the development of the barrier islands However, the doom and gloom undertone predications got a little heavy handed after a while. It seemed like the book was a warning to anyone thinking about moving the the coast to stay away. Upon further inspection, it turns out that the "living with the coast" series was underwritten by FEMA!. An enjoyable read anyway.

For any person living or planning to live on the South Carolina I truly recommend this superb book. It is a perfect example of a strong combination of science and practicality. Of particular interest is the work of, Matthew Stutz. Stutz is a budding young star whose breakthrough work will we certainly be hearing more about in the future. I highly recommend you pick up this book for the knowledge of the South Carolina Coast and to get a preview of the genius of Dr. Stutz.

Jane Shore, Eye Level (U. Massachusetts, 1977)

Winner of the Juniper Prize for Poetry, this little volume was Jane Shore's first. She's published three more since then (as of this writing), and still hasn't even achieved the fame of such unknowns outside the poetry world as Jorie Graham and Gjertrud Schackenberg, both recent winners of major (well, for poetry) prizes. This points to something being wrong with the universe, as Shore's work can easily hold a candle to the upper echelons of that being written by the talented today.

Shore's work is deep, reflective, but still more accessible than most poets who write in the "academic" style; these are poems that are about the great truths, all right, but there's an easier-to-grok level above that deals in the day-to-day things of our existence, and the one doesn't have to be grasped to make sense of the other.

Because we landed on the moon, all Americans
can walk a little taller.

Planting our carpet roll of flags,
one for each state in the Union!
I feel so proud of my own Garden State
with vegetables stitched onto the blue field
of sky instead of stars.
(from "An Astronaut's Journal")

If you could smirk at that bit, you should be fine with the whole book. A small, unrecognized gem. ****