In this beautiful and powerful little book Michael D. Aeschliman calls on a host of witnesses from throughout history and from various disciplines, including philosophers, poets, and scientists in order to build his case against scientism. Not to be confused with science, scientism is a philosophical belief system which claims that the material world is the only objective reality there is and that human beings are essentially nothing more than "machines made of meat." It claims that all values are ultimately subjective and denies that human beings are essentially rational. As the title denotes, the most prevalent of the witnesses Aeschliman calls on to support his case is C.S. Lewis, whom he sees as the foremost defender of the common sense tradition that has informed our view of ourselves as human for most of the history of western civilization. The book is beautifully written and easy to read, much like the writings of Lewis himself, and is full of wonderful, powerful quotes that you'll find yourself wanting to memorize. If you are interested in the writings and thought of C.S. Lewis you owe it to yourself to check out this book. I know of no better book written about Lewis and his thought. This book affected my intellectual life profoundly. This is not only a resource to be utilized for the information it contains, but a treasure to be cherished and returned to again and again.

This colection of Fairy tales and magic is great for any reader. I love anything with Scottish heros. The way Lily fights all that she knows for the man she loves. The story of a girl that sees her love in dreams before she sees him in real life. The disbelief of a man turning into belief. The strength of Stuart MacLachlan's love, that he will wait 100s of years and fail time and agian and keep trying to win her. These are true stories of hardships and the loves that keep going.

As a new resident of Washington D.C., this book, "Short Bike Rides: Washington D.C.," has become for my family an invaluable introduction of the area's numerous bike trails and routes. Each route is introduced with a short synopsis of its main attractions and challenges, followed by precise yet easy to follow directions. The book was obviously well researched.

First of all it should be said that this book is NOT out of print. It's freely available in bookstores in Australia and it is something I give as a present to people who mean a lot to me, or whom I sense WILL mean a lot to me.

How to define the eclectic enigma that is Michael Leunig? A poet, a painter, a singer of the soul's deepest longings - all of these and more. Leunig is best known as a cartoonist, but instead of lampooning politics, satirising society, he holds up a gentle spiritual mirror of the soul to the human condition. In doing so he whimsically touches what is fundamentally spiritual in all of us, and makes us better people into the bargain.... witness this little gem, accompanied by a gloriously simple yet moving sketched cartoon...

When the heart is cut or cracked or broken do not clutch it let the wound lie open

Let the Wind from the good old sea blow in to bathe the wound with salt and let it sting

Let a stray dog lick it. Let a bird lean in the hole and sing, a simple song like a tiny bell. And let it ring

Let it go. Let it out. Let it all unravel. Let it free and it can be A path on which to travel.

Leunig himself provides that path and reminds us, while we smile through our tears, that the history of happiness is as old as each of us. We just have to reach inside and find it.

Speak! is such a jewel. It's a cross-over book, great for kids and adults. Children love the quirky pictures. The stories are charming and from the heart. This book can be re-read, finding something new each time.

Over the years I have read many short stories, and one of the things that has led me to prefer the novel by no small margin over the short story is that so many short stories seem to say so little. They always ended before the story line and characters had developed into anything.

Today, I still prefer longer prose works, but reading this collection of stories by Vasily Shukshin was a revelation. Despite their brief length, the author manages to establish genuinely palpable characters and a sense of completeness and significance so often lacking in the short story. 'In the Autumn' and 'Styopka' are both remarkably poignant pieces. I highly recommend this collection to anyone who enjoys literature in any form.

Steig's project is to take reader response criticism at its word: this school of literary theory proposes that a book's meaning is in what real readers make of it. Steig takes up powerful, canonical texts like Wuthering Heights and Alice In Wonderland and explores both the texts and the process of reading by analyzying the actual responses of his students. His method makes reader response real and powerful, and also sheds light on the literary works. But the most powerful and unexpected result is our engagement with the rich and complex thinking of those whose responses Steig reprints and analyzes. This is a surprising book, at once highbrow and moving.

The state of Hawaii has long nurtured a literary tradition, and this collection showcases not only some up and coming talents, but also some well-known authors with roots in the islands. STRONG CURRENTS is a tasty candy box of short stories -- some sweet, some tart, and all worth savoring.
-- Tess Gerritsen

Melville studies are plagued by two contrasting types of criticism: turgid, historical treatises and fluffy, self-absorbed studies of trendy nonsense. This work, however, revolutionized Melville studies by combining historical, psychoanalytic and literary analysis in an exceptionally illuminating manner. It is without question the single best study of Melville in the past thirty years.

The book has 5 short stories - two are fantasy, one Sci-Fi, and two Westerns. All of them are funny, and they move at a good pace. The language is clean and colorful, and the descriptions lively. With dialog like: "Please, ma'am, call me Cres, and don't touch the cowhide. If you get my smell on yerself, the wolves will never leave you alone. Now, please step aside."
the stories don't get old no matter how frequently you read them!