The Pearls Of The Stone Man by Edward Mooney, Jr. is a riveting and complex novel of bridging the gaps between generations, and attempting to reconcile in the wake of impending mortality. Joseph and Anne Marion are very much in love even after 53 years of marriage, and find themselves confronting the inevitable reality of eventual one will lose the other in death and be left behind alone for months that could well stretch into years. Love, heartbreak, and adapting to the inevitable progress of time are central and familial themes to this poignant and highly recommended novel that dwells on what it means to be mortal and human.

This is a beautiful story of a man and relationships with his true love, a mountain, and some teenagers in desparate need of love. It's a powerful description of what Joseph goes through after losing the person who mattered so much in his life. It shows that you never stop loving, no matter what. Also, that everyone deserves love. I cried buckets and smiled lots. A well written novel, it's just so great! I want a sequel!!

Edward Mooney has written one of the best books I have read. Not only is he a great author, but I happen to know him personally, my old high school teacher. When reading the book, I didn't want to put it down. If your looking at reading this book or are interested in a great book, then go ahead and read it. This is one that you will not put down, it feels like you are actually in the book and you actually know the people. Mr. Mooney, thank you for being a great teacher and continue with your great work.

Anyone who's willing to write about Shelley Winters' HUGE bloomers in the underwater sequence of the Poseiden Adventure gets a snap from me!

This book is an absolute riot. The authors takes on these movies are great. What makes the book better than the standard bad movie review is how they trash movies you think might be good (like Fatal Attraction). My only complaint is there are sections with too many references to old (50's) movies that I have never heard of. Otherwise it is hilarious.

I hate to say it, but I think I have seen every movie in this book, most more than twice. This is a very funny (and helpful for the afficianado) book. The premise is different than the usual book about "bad" movies: no "Plan Nine from Outer Space" et al- that's left to Michael Medved and his ilk. No, these are movies that just are slightly crazed, over the top, or just, well, BAD. Ones that will make you ask "What were they thinking? What were they smoking! " Some of the movies are laugh-out-loud stinkers like "Female on the Beach", some are just jaw-droppingly awful like "Xanadu". But the writing is funny and fresh, and you will find yourself agreeing with the reviews of the movie you have seen, and going to the video store for the movies you have not. Unfortunately one of the authors is no longer living, but I would hope that they could collect the rest of the reviews from Movieline (the magazine from which this book sprang) and put out more editions as soon as possible

Peter Stone's play "1776", is not only a wonderfully entertaining piece of musical theatre, containing great songs and dialogue (often with a healthy amount of wit), it is also historically accurate. The story centers around the Second Continental Congress in Philidelphia (most notably John Adams), in the months immediately prior to the signing of The Declaration of Independence. One of the things that impressed me most about this play was that when writing dialogue between Congress members, letters from Gen. Washington, and conversations between Adams and his wife, Stone reviewed historical documents. Thus, many exchanges you hear/read throughout the play were actual conversations or letters written by those people. Therefore, the play is not only entertaining, it's educational. This play allows you to better understand the people who fought so hard to secure American independence. So often we revere our forefathers with such a sense of awe that we forget their basic humanity. Stone does a wonderful job of reminding us all that these were simple men and women, with everyday hopes and dreams, who were also willing to risk their lives for the freedom that they sought. I think that this play ought to be performed for every school in America -- it teaches while it entertains!

1776 is a very special play. It portrays true historical magic. I especially liked the play because of the character development. I liked how Peter Stone, the author, developed John Adams character. Stone portrayed Adams as an egotistical jerk who would not take no for an answer. The ironic thing was that his unwillingness to quit was the key to winning our independence.

I am especially involved in the study of history. The play was actually quite accurate except for all the singing and dancing which was added for theatrical purposes. The play had great lyrics and music. Not only was the book version well done the movie was also excellent. The movie stayed word for word with the book.

This play attracted my attention to a specific theme. When John Adams was desperate and discouraged he did not give up. He kept on pushing and pushing untill he had the outcome he wanted. A major theme of this novel would have to be to not give up when faced with tremendous odds. If John Adams had given up then we would most likely still be under British rule.

This play should definitly be read by all u.s. history classes. It inspires patriotism just at the mention of the title. This play is a great source and accurate account of exactly how this great nation became so great. A truly outstanding book.

This musical play really inspires patriotic feelings for any American that reads it. A sense of the magnanimity of such an occasion can be felt by its readers. From John Adams's beligerant character to Ben Franklin's sensibility, the reader will feel like he has known these great men and women forever.

This is a wonderfully written account of a missionary's life in early 20th century China. Both educational and entertaining. Well worth the reader's time. Ed Bliss does the subject exquisite justice.

From what I've read of reviews and from what I know of the content of this beautifully written biography of a father by his son.

"Beyond the Stone Arches" is the gripping story of a pioneer missionary doctor who served for four decades in a mission station deep in the interior of Fujian province. Each chapter could stand alone, for the scene changes from Imperial China to the shaky, new Republic in 1911, to civil wars, banditry, floods, plague and cholera epidemics - but through it all, Edward Bliss, Jr. tells the story of his father's daily work, his love for China and its people, his ventures such as raising milk cows so children could have milk, and his courage in the face of danger from Communist guerrillas, bandit gangs and rampant warlords. The book reads like an autobiography, for the author draws heavily on his own extensive interviews with his father and his father's letters, plus the author's own memories of childhood in pre-modern China. This is not a stereotype "missionary book!"

Just two words: read it! Okay, I can't leave it there. I loved the pseudo-Victorian language which made me think of HG Wells and Jules Verne, the amazing mix of genres, a fantastic villainess in the form of Archan and the best fantasy heroine fo years in the form of Annie. And the sideways world of Stone is just an incredible idea, flawlessly conceived and described. You'll get vertigo with this book, I guarantee it!

Stone and Sky is Graham Edwards forth book, and it is one of the most imagingative and mind boggling stories I have read. It is a loose continuation of his Dragon books and they are not necessary to enjoy this marvelous story. Now, all I have to say is that I loved this book... From the detailed and breathtaking eruption of Krakatoa to the arrival on Stone this book is impossible to put down. It takes a while for your perception to focus on living on a totally vertical world, and you will find yourself continually looking to the front cover of the book, just to make sure your imagination and inner eye are focussed right. The characters are fully realised, from the forthright Jonah to the amazing Annie - even when she is host to the fiendish dragon, Archan. To detail this book any more would spoil the brilliance - just read it - and then wait for book 2 like I am - with bated breath.

The book's author served as Cornell University's Professor Emeritus of Linquistics, so he is far from a fad-flaring fringe-fan of Viking rune-stones. Rather, Professor Hall has, in a very readable-yet-scholarly manner, argued the linguistic and archaeological evidence (corroborated by forensic insights) for the historic authenticity of the Kensington Rune-Stone, with a very helpful interlinear translation, followed by a word-by-word analytical commentary, especially buttressed by contemporary political history events of relevance, all the while using logic and historic philology for analysis. It is a shame that the detractors of the Kensington Rune-stone don't make a good-faith effort to reply to Hall's evidence and logic. To date I have seen no serious scholarship to refute Hall's work in this extreming interesting area of American Viking history. I say that as a viking history lecturer with a history-oriented doctorate that included a minor in European studies, as the author of a few publications on Viking history, as a past Historian for a chapter of the Sons of Norway, and after having served as a Icelandic saga analyst/Viking history lecturer abroad (involving research-related travels to viking history locations in 7 different countries). Sadly, many researchers today judge events in history by a "uniformitarian" approach, e.g., assuming that the "wine-berries" (grapes) of Vinland must match growth conditions under today's climate, as opposed to researching what a place's climate was like 1000 years ago, e.g., by noticing that the Norman Domesday Book of 1086 recorded at least 38 vineyards in England. Hall provides REAL research.
><> JJSJ, a college professor/Viking history lecturer

Being a CPA and Financial Consultant in Hong Kong, I still find this book provides a lot of usefull information about the industry in far East. It gave me a more solid theory backup and marketing idea from US in my practice in Asia.

Getting Started in Financial Consulting by Edward J. Stone is a well written description of what you need to do for a career in Financial Counseling. It is well organized, complete and provides inside information on what it takes to get started, run a business, and be a successful Finanacial Counselor. The review of the various certification programs is quite extensive. This book can be considered the bible in not only in getting started in Financial Counseling, but in making it a career. It is also helpful for present Financial Counselors to use as a benchmark to measure up to Mr. Stone's high standards that are essentially required in this profession. Follow his guidelines and you will be successful over the long term. A must read if you are considering going into Financial Counseling.

Great overview of the industry and how to enter into the Financial Planning profession. Highly recommended this book for those who want an insight into the job functions and roles of a typical FP.

I read this book after reading Ursula Hegi's "Tearing the Silence" which referred to it many times in the introduction. I found it highly readable and moving. The mood created is at once mystical and potent and the book has many well-drawn characters. Trudi, herself, of course, and my favourites -- her father (I forget the name now) and the unknown benefactor -- all of them contribute to the uplifting of the story and highlight the strength and generosity in the human condition amidst a very cruel world of senseless destruction. What is refreshing is the ability to discuss the very sensitive topic of the holocaust using the novel form and Hegi should be congratulated for the depth of exploration she put into the characters and the juxtaposition between personal trials and deprivation against the larger difficulties and crimes of the age. Some parts of the story are corny and predictable, but the book as a whole is good, as Hegi has masterfully weaved the lives of her characters with our own. I should be picking up "Floating in my Mother's Palm" soon to give myself a more rounded and complete picture of the story of Burghof.

The first time I read "Stones From the River" was with my book club. I believe it was the only book we all categorized equally with "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "The Grapes of Wrath"
Yes, it was that good.

The second time I read it was for the pure pleasure of Hegi's words. Her powerful voice is translated through Trudi Montog, the main character. A German girl whom happens to be a dwarf (Zwerg) A misfit. Who hangs from doorframes until her fingers are numb. "Grow, grow!" she prays to an ineffective God...why else would he create her short, stubby, ugly, and utterly despicable.
But she was given a gift. The wonderful gift of story-telling. This will save her as humour saves the character in "A Beautiful Life" or at least made life tolerable.

In the midst of Trudie's battles, Hitler is rising. Slowly, like a cancer spreading. Jews are being taken from their homes, disappearing, losing their German passports, given a yellow star to wear on their chests.
Nobody believes it is really happening.
"They are only working at those camps." they say.

INDIFFERENCE is worse than anything. Indifference makes monsters grow.

"Stones From the River" is about the human condition during war. How it can sometimes turn us into animals, Intolerant of our differences. Hating one another because of them.

Who understands better than Trudie about the ugliness of being different...."They will find anything. Anything to separate one from another. Widows. Jews. Swergs. Madness. Hitler will find something."

"Stones" is not an easy read. I wanted to scream at times...WHY did you all let this happen? WHY?" And at the same time...the story was so beautiful, I carry some of the sentences around like jewels to savor later.

In the end, Trudie accepts herself as she is...too much has already happened to feel sorry for herself now.

..."And what to end the story with. It had to do with what to enhance and what to relinquish. And what to embrace." ...STONES

A friend insisted I buy this book, telling me what a masterpiece it was. I was at first sceptical, and I must confess it did not grab me within the first few chapters as I had hoped that it would. The main character is a dwarf, the child of a mentally ill mother and a father disabled in World War 1, and whereas her life looked as if it would be interesting, if filled with angst, I was confident that this itself would not hold my attention for the whole of the book.

How wrong I was, becuase it is not Trudi's life that grabs you, it is the world she is living in - the horror of Germany between the wars. It is difficult to find words to describe how that world changes, with the rise of Adolf Hitler, and the slow and deliberate persecution of the Jews, and the terror of ordinary citizens who barely dared to question what was hapening to their lives. The story becomes shocking, unimaginable and utterly compelling. I also think that it is something that everyone should read, and I like my friend, will recommend it to everyone.

It is not an easy story to read, and Trudi, the main character is spiky and independent - not always easy to identify with. But is an important book because it also chronicles the life of everyday Germans who were caught up in unspeakable times, and it is with these characters that our sympathies lie.

I am pleased that I took my friend's recommendation. Again, not an easy read, but a picture of history that cannot be ignored. It is a truly compelling and magnificent novel.

Lots of history on stone shelters from around the world. Could be more photo's, and colour ones would be better yet.

...i waited a whole year to see the fantastic photos described by the editor, so the disappointment was a crushing blow -- let me be frank: this book does not contain the photos described. nor does it teach me anything new about homoerotic desire ... nor does it's photographic content approach the quality of it's scholarly writing. unfortunately many scholars dream great concepts but don't follow through in their practical attempts at creating what they've described. lucie-smith is a fantastic writer, but he admits in the introduction that he isn't a trained photographer...

Not only is Edward Lucie-Smith one of our more important art historians today and undoubtedly the most published (!), he is one of the more creative thinkers in bringing all of the art world to the public. In this volume he juxtaposes sculpture from all ages with photographs that seem as timeless as the stone bodies he emulates. The photography is his own, and though we have seen incidental works by him in other volumes, this essay is the first to my knowledge to extensively survey his output. The lighting, the angles, the cropping of the images all provide the viewer with an interpretive stance. Lucie-Smith does not settle for suggestions - he makes us work to understand the beauty of line. At times I see the surface of the images of his madels as too grainy for reproduction, but exposure to his previous thoughts and treatises assure that he knows exactly what he is doing. This is a very different - and welcome - take on the relationshp of sculpture and photography from the ever inventive Lucie-Smith.

Edward Lucie-Smith is an accomplished poet, art historian and now demonstrates his skill as a brilliant photographer--the joy of the educated eye instead of the academically trained photographer is transcendent. This is a book to sit down with and linger over. The juxtaposition of classical statuary seen from a unique angle and men in unique postures is brilliant. The use of natural light transforms stone into flesh and vice versa. The shots of lovers in a pool--the abstracted lyricism is breathtking. Buy two copies because you'll want to share this book.