"Secrets in Stone" is the fascinating story of the Maya and the hieroglyphs that made up their language. Written by Laurie Coulter with illustrations by Sarah jane English, this book begins with two explorers in 1839 who first began studying the Mayan ruins on the Yucatan peninsula, and looks at the first clues that helped them unravel the mystery of the hieroglyphics. Along the way we learn about Mayan culture, their creation myth, calendar, sports, chocolate drink, and other fascinating aspects. If this book was about just the aspects of Mayan culture or about their hieroglyphics it would be first-rate, but combining the two together this well is very impressive.

There are nice color photographs of ancient Mayan ruins and treasures, as well as the dozens of glyph drawings. Finally, to cap things off, there is a specially embossed GlyphMaster in the back of the book that allows you to make your own glyph rubbings, just like real archeologists. Special activities throughout the book show young readers (and interested adults) how to use the GlyphMaster to send secret messages, create signs and cards, and even host a Maya celebration. "Secrets in Stone: All About Maya Hieroglyphs" is wonderful interactive learning and just like the ancient Mayans does not involve the use of a computer.

I think this is an excellent way to present the Titanic story to children. The story is told from Polar's point of view which helps to hold the children's attention. I am an elementary education major and I just read this book in one of my classes at my university for a project. I read it with the Titanic Suite playing in the background. I do not think one classmate of mine blinked during my entire presentation. This book is also wonderful for children because it does not focus on the devastation of the Titanic voyage, but rather the joyous times between a bear, his master, and his family.

To me, "Polar, The Titanic Bear" is a precious book because it has so many fascinating dimensions to it. On the one hand, it is a charmingly written children's story about a child's stuffed polar bear and the journeys it takes with it's master around the world, culminating ultimately aboard the Titanic. Second, it is a must have for Titanic scholars as it provides us with insight into the Spedden family that traveled in First Class and survived the disaster by getting into Boat #3. The father, Frederic Spedden, was one of the few First Class male passengers who was so fortunate as so many other men that night died.

But finally, there is the extra poignance that this story takes on because of what it ultimately represents, and that is the love of a mother for her son in writing this book and presenting it to him as a Christmas gift, as Daisy Spedden did for eight year old Douglas. The closing narration of Polar reflects the hopes and wishes all parents have for their children, "I hope he will be blessed with a long and happy life" and then you find out that Douglas, after surviving the Titanic, lost his life just a year later at age nine when he was struck by a car while at his parents summer home. Only the hardest of hard-hearted people could not be moved to tears by learning that. In the end, as we read ultimately of how the Speddens were able to move on from this tragedy in their lives, this helps make "Polar" filled with more insights for adults than the average children's book might have. No Titanic enthusiast can afford to be without this book.

I found this book excellent! It's a great way for children tolearn, not only about the world's most famous maritime disater, butfor them to also have an understanding of what life was like for the wealthy to have lived during this era. I plan to be a teacher and have already acquired this book and have read it to several children. What a better way to promote history than through a true story, and with the perspective through a bear's eyes. Highly Recommended! If fact, I am doing a rhetorical criticism paper on this book.

Okay, let's say I was expecting actual meditations to record and listen to. Not so. What you get with this book is basically a Celtic rosary. Tells you what kind of beads to acquire to assemble your own rosary-type thing, and gives short Celtic poems to recite. Kinda interesting. I am actually inspired to make my own take-off from this idea and write little "prayers" that are meaningful to me. The little poems are presented in Gaelic and English, though there are no pronunciations next to the Gaelic, which was a little disappointing. There is a little pronunciation guide in the back, though, but I find it lacking many sounds I couldn't figure out. It is by no means a large tome. You could nearly call it a booklet. Based on looks, I probably wouldn't have bought it, or certainly wouldn't have paid as much as I did sight-unseen.

Although I don't look at Danu and Bile (Erynn's main "Celtic" deities) in the same way, the rest of the information is very helpful in creating, not only a Celtic Pagan rosary, but a Celtic Pagan circle of magic. I tend to see the winds differently than she does too (I stand in the South, to call the North wind across the "land" to welcome the energies of Samhain and full new year-winter stuff) but everything else is either completely useable without changing it, or just needs a little tweek to fit. I would recommend that anyone who uses it, even if they use each prayer word for word, that they copy it in their own writing. It will orient you physically with the magic of the words and into her idea of a Celtic circle.

Highly recommended for anyone wishing to get to know their Celtic Pagan roots without the trappings of too much neo-pagan and Wiccan influence. I hope she writes another book again soon.

I just got this a couple of days ago. I expected a little gift style book of Irish poetry and wisdom. Instead I got a wonderful insight into the beliefs of the ancient Celts of Ireland.

I've been trying to find a book on the religon of ancient Ireland and this is a wonderful insight into their beliefs. I plan to make my own Circle of Stones and practise the meditations provided.

For anyone following a Celtic path, who have Irish ancestry or love all things to do with the Celts, this book is a must.

For those who like to read and write quality memoirs, the best thing about the book was its introduction -- which makes the point that quality memoirs are "post-therapeutic" and dwell in ambiguity. Too bad too many of these memoirs fail to live up to the guides Stone set for herself.

The best memoirs here were the least sensational -- Lopate and Texier's detailed, anticlimactic stories of their fathers and families were head and shoulders above the rest. Some inclusions, like Lois Gould's, were well-written but did not really stand on their own. The worst were the most sensational -- Terminator's silly cartoon sex comedy, which sounds too fabricated to ring true. Stone's own entry is credible, but when she starts going into her own sex life, I just went into snooze-a-thon mode and flipped the pages until she started talking about human nature again. Why do these "hip" writers love sex so much and do such a bad job writing about it?

This is a book where I found a lot of great writers! This is the book that first published JT LeRoy under the pseudonym "Terminator". His story "Baby Doll" is as powerful, moving and unforgettable as his novel "Sarah" which I bought after reading this book. Jerry Stahl's story in here is genius, anyone that knows a fledgling drug addict will benefit greatly by reading Stahl's story. Anyone interested in writing that is honest, moving and inspires self-examination, this THE book to get!