ISBN 9992645571; Maria Valtorta: "THE MAN-GOD" The Book written by Maria Valtorta about the life of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ is very good for understanding the universal love of God to us. In this book there are many unknown situations of Jesus' life on earth including things I've never understood as I read them in the Bible. And I believe that it is the truth that Jesus gave those visions to his servant Maria Valtorta because I've found all important situations of the New Testamony here, too. But they are explained in a very detailed way through the words of Jesus. In my opinion this book "THE MAN-GOD" written by Maria Valtorta is to be seen with the same importance as the four evangelia written by Mattheo, Mark, Luke and John. If you will read it you are able to feel this love of god to us.

The Book written by Maria Valtorta about the life of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ is very good for understanding the universal love of God to us. In this book there are many unknown situations of Jesus' life on earth including things I've never understood as I read them in the Bible. And I believe that it is the truth that Jesus gave those visions to his servant Maria Valtorta because I've found all important situations of the New Testamony here, too. But they are explained in a very detailed way through the words of Jesus. In my opinion this book "THE MAN-GOD" written by Maria Valtorta is to be seen with the same importance as the four evangelia written by Mattheo, Mark, Luke and John. If you will read it you are able to feel this love of god to us.

If God became a man would he hug or embrace His mother? What would he say or how would he act in any given situation in
detail? If the four Gospels were written today what would they be like? In her book Poem of the Man-God, Maria Valtorta an Italian stigmatist and writer, answers these questions by writing about in beautiful prose the visions supposedly given to her by Jesus about His life. The book ,about 4,000 pages long, reads like a novel with dialogue and descriptive scenes. There are details about facial expressions, how rooms, buildings, streets and whole cities looked. The character of Jesus as both man and God is carried off perfectly for 4,000 pages. The brilliance of His reactions in every situation, His love for all people is inspiring. His love for the oddball Judas is especially wonderful. For me this is the best book I have ever read.

I was given this book by my brother almost 25 years ago, and I still consider it the best children's book I've ever read. In fact, I still pull it out from time to time and read it when I need a lift. I love the fact that Steig respects children enough to use sophisticated language and themes. This book has always made me feel smart and brave--just like Dominic himself! He is a wonderful hero and role model for boys and girls alike. It's a joy to read that so many others have also been touched by its magic. And the illustrations (by Steig) are incredibly evocative--they really draw one into Dominic's adventures AND his emotions. It doens't get any better than Dominic for bright, curious kids.

I read this when I was eight years old. I am now 22 and I still think that Dominic is one of the best books that anyone could ever read. It got me excited about reading and I haven't stopped since. This simple tale of a dog leaving home for adventures throughout the world has opened the world up for me. It taught me that there is more to life than what I see around me and that even walking to the end of the block can be an adventure. Dominic the character is a hero to me, and the book (which I still find myself reading from time to time) is still one of my favorites.

Despite winning a Walt Whitman and being an ALA notable, I still feel that Dominic has been overlooked for the past twenty years. Whenever I see lists for suggested reading I rarely see Dominic included. I have a theory for this, but it may sound like a bunch of hogwash. It is well documented that the main cogs, levers and bearings in the English departments for the past 40 years at least have been women. No, I'm not getting ready to say something sexist. Dominic, I think, is a book for the male population, and it could easily have slipped through a female reviewer's hands with the opinion of "good, but not superior." Now, this is not to place blame anywhere, simply to suggest that perfectly natural forces were and are and always shall be at work. Dominic embodies a certain masculine spirit, one which is infused with honor, nobility and simple virtue, yet at the same time he is complex and curious, wondering what makes his world go around. The illustrations which Steig provides match Dominic completely: simple, yet revealing. Dominic is the story of a dog who feels the bite of adventure take hold one day, and he sub- sequently tacks a note on his door and runs off into the wide world (with his collection of mood hats). He goes through a series of archetypal adventures, has brushes with death in various forms, develops an honorable reputation, and in the end finds true love. The entire book is infused with a light humor. The language in the book interesting. There are large words here and there which challenge the reader, not letting him/her get by without discovering meaning in some way, whether by dictionary or context. The reader can't simply stop reading the book because the story is too good, so they must discover meaning. (deconstructionists please hush!) - Dave Leaton

Beginning with John Gunther's DEATH BE NOT PROUD, there have been many poignant and touching books written, tragically, by parents who have lost beloved children. Hannah's Gift is different than all becuse it is the story of a very young girl who died at the age of four of cancer, but whose lasting legacy was to change the lives of all who loved her -- and, at the same time, live the end of her much too short life with dignity, grace and joy. It is also beautifully written in very surprising ways that come right off the page and grab a reader who will never forget many of the moments of this amazing book. I am the mother of a seven year old girl, and for me, one of the most astonishing moments in any book I have ever read comes near the end of Hannah's Gift. At Hannah's burial, her mother writes that the family decided to bury Hannah instead of cremate her because "I wanted to be able to come to her grave and know that the little hands I held and the form I had loved were there." Need I say more? The book is a must read for...everyone.

This book grabbed me and wouldn't let go - even now I can't get Hannah and her family out of my mind. I felt the tears and smiles, looks and hugs this family shared. This story will stay with me for a long time. This book will touch anyone who reads it and I am telling eveyone about it. The light moments grabbed me as much as the sad ones - Hannah freezing in place and staring when she saw Cinderella and another time grinning broadly while the wind whipped her "hair" that spring morning in the convertible. I also liked the fact that it didn't end after Hannah's death but that Maria stayed with us to detail the struggles she endured and the life changes she made as a woman. I definitely learned a lot about living with illness and grief. Now I aspire to be more of a free spirit and speak the truth - because Hannah did!

One wonders if there has been an increase in the sale of red shoes...in all sizes...following the publication of this book...? Red shoes exemplify Hannah's zest for life. As adults, Hannah's story reawakens our own desire for zestful living, our own need for "red shoes."

Even though my son Jim died at the age of 23 rather than 3, Hannah's joyous spirit reminded me very much of my son as well as of the many children whose parents I've been honored to meet (following the death of their children).

Maria Housden's gentle prose distinguishes this book from many books written by bereaved parents. Hannah's life, rather than her family's grief, is the primary focus of the book. Hannah taught her family great lessons on "how to live life more fully." Hannah's legacy continues as readers learn much about life, death, and grief through Hannah's example.

This book should be on the bookshelves of bereaved parents, nurses, physicians, and all caregivers.

For every parent who tried to get their child to give up their favorite blanket, and who had no response to the observation that Linus never gave up HIS blanket, there is the story of "Owen." Written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes, Owen is a young mouse who has a fuzzy yellow blanket he has had ever since he was a baby and which he loves with all his heart. Mrs. Tweezers lives next door and she thinks Owen is too old to be dragging a blanket around. Owen's parents are forced to agree and so Mrs. Tweezers has a series of suggestions on how to get Owen to give up his fuzzy yellow blanket. However, Owen REALLY loves that blanket. Still, school will be starting soon and Owen cannot bring the blanket to school. Fortunately, Owen's mother is a lot smarter than either Owen or even Mrs. Tweezers know. What makes "Owen" a great story for families trying to deal with separation anxiety because of a beloved but well worn object is that in the end, everybody wins, and if Owen thinks the solution is mother comes up with is a great one then maybe your child will have a similar reaction to YOUR great solution.

But unless we are talking about a blanket, you are probably going to have to come up with an idea all on your own. After all, there is no Blanket Fairy and "Owen" is one of those books that a wise parent might have to choose for their child.

Owen has a yellow blanket that is worn, tatty, and just plain raggity. But he doesn't care; his blanket "Fuzzy" has been with him through haircuts, dental appointments, sleepless nights, and other milestones in a child's life. Owen's parents are at a loss over what to do; fortunately, nosy Mrs. Tweezers, the next door neighbor, has several suggestions, none of which work. Only Owen's Mom can come up with the perfect solution to change "Fuzzy" into a big-boy item. A perfect book for parents who are having a hard time getting ther child to part with "security" items told in a way that only Kevin Henkes can tell.

Buy this book! Everyone can relate to the sweet story of Owen and his favorite blanket Fuzzy. Hooray for Owen's Mom who comes up with a creative solution to an age old dilemma. Delightful illustrations. This will be a favorite at bedtime.

This illuminating interview of a simple Austrian woman, who God graced with the charism of communicating with souls from purgatory, will motivate you to have masses said, without delay, for your deceased relatives and friends as well as for those unfortunate souls in purgatory who have no one to pray for them. Maria Simma is a highly credible mystic, well known in her native country for finding the living relatives of souls who have appeared to her and implored her to have their relatives make reparations for the wrongs they have done. She has, in numerous instances, possessed information that no one in her capacity could have obtained, but from the decedent himself. It is a short read, but makes the important point that God is so holy that we must be perfectly purified to be in his Divine presence. Contrary to what one of the other reviewers stated, there are two types of pain in purgatory: the pain of separation from God; and the pain of sense (physical suffering). Make no mistake, it is a place of excruciating suffering. Almost all theologians teach that the souls in hell and the souls in purgatory suffer the action of the same fire. The same fire, says St. Gregory, torments the damned and purifies the elect. In my opinion, the quintessential book on purgatory is "Purgatory", by the 19th century French theologian, Fr. F.X. Shouppe, S.J. Amazon sells it. Thank you.

I can't recommend this book highly enough! It's a must read for everyone. I read the book in one sitting. Read this book before you die, while you still have the chance to grow in love. Learn how to help the souls in Purgatory so they may assist you when it is your time. It is possible to avoid Purgatory and go straight to heaven. Yes, indeed! Would you like to know who goes to hell? Read the book and don't forget to share what you've learned!

Sr. Emmanuel NEVER disappoints - this is a lovely, unaffected book that tells a beautiful message. We all know someone in Purgatory - maybe someday we'll have an address there ourselves! Maria Simms gives her information and thoughts in a simple and direct manner. The book is written in conversational style and is so easy to read that you feel you are there. Even small children will pick up on the points in an instant and without scaring the wits out of them.

I CANNOT RECOMMEND THIS HIGHLY ENOUGH AND NO READER WILL BE DISAPPOINTED.

I would also recommend Medjugorje - the 90's to you - also by Sr. Emmanuel. Another inspired book that gives you a feeling of being treasured by Heaven long after you have finished it.

Except for All Quiet On The Western Front and Spark Of Life, there is a strange sameness to all of Remarque's novels. It's as if he spent his life attempting to perfect a specific theme populated with a specific set of characters. Invariably, the main character is a life-torn man, outwardly bitter and cynical, yet emotionaly informed by a romantic core which allows him to navigate life with great sensitivity. Typically these men find themselves in relationships -- usually sweet, sometimes tempestuous -- with a woman who is doomed to die in either body or spirit.

Three Comrades is the first such book Remarque wrote, and sets the thematic stage for almost everything which followed. To those who have read any of his refugee novels, you will recognize the root characters of all his later work: they who survive life by day, philosophize over drinks at night, and eventually watch each other die for the sin of living in the 20th century. Anyone who knows and loves Remarque's novels will find old friends here, and be delighted with the reunion.

To those unfamiliar with the main body of Remarque's work, you would probably do better reading The Black Obelisk, Night in Lisbon, or Arch of Triumph for an introduction to Germany's Lost Generation. The type of characters he habitually portrays are less compelling here. Possibly it's because the characters are new to him in this novel. Possibly it's because there's less opportunity for them to shine: The 1928 Weimer Republic depicted here is a relatively comfortable period compared to the extremes of rabid inflation or spreading Nazism in his other books. Remarque is only at his best in a completely shattered world -- a vaguely restless one just doesn't suffice for his stories.

If Remarque had any great message, it was "people are to be loved, but humanity is always suspect." Although that point is not shrouded here, it is distracted beneath the fluff of an charmingly iffy love story during a time when, despite shootings in the streets, it could still be an issue of concern whether or not a man's necktie looked too ratty to wear on a date.

This is perhaps the most poignant of Remarque's novels. Much like Remarque's other works, it is told from a first person point of view, adding a powerful realism and humanity to the story. Three Comrades follows the story of three World War I veterans and how they survive in Weimar Germany. Robert, Otto, and Gottfried, own an auto repair shop and constantly have to scrape about for funds to stay in business. When Robert meets a mysterious young woman the story catapults into a love story as only Remarque can tell one--with great sympathy and insight into the tragic side of human existence. Using parts of his own life as a template, Remarque masterfully tells the story of Robert and Pat causing the reader to laugh and to cry with the rise and fall of the characters' dreams. Written in 1937, this book is not only a wonderful story, but an insight into the conditions that spawned the rise of the Third Reich. If you like this novel, then definitly read the Black Obelisk.

this is the book that got me hooked on Remarque. the story takes place in 1928. world war 1 is over, but its traces are conspicuously intertwined with the characters' lives and the world around them. the story is told through the eyes of the youngest comrade- Lohkamp. the three lead a monotonous existance in this world of violence and melancholy, an existance sweetened by the cherished bond between the three. later on, Pat, a third party, enters the life of the main character. with her presence, events unfold that bring the comrades to closer to one another, and allow them, as well as the reader, to delve deeply into the intricacy of the human spirit. overall, it is a story of life, love and war's aftermath, and anyone could learn from the humanity and occasional eccentricity i so admire in Remarque's characters.

With his heretical views on dinosaurian (and other paleo-species) lifestyle, Bakker's Heresies has helped change the view of dinosaurs in both the public and the scientific community's eyes. But, for all the good Bakker's book did, it still has its flaws. Since the majority of reviews here have been extremely positive, I thought it might be best to focus on the less accurate parts of the book. First there is the nomenclature.

Bakker generally avoids using scientific jargon in the book. This is good as it opens the market for more people to read his book. Names like duck bill and horned dinosaurs are easier to remember than hadrosaur and ceratopian. Still some of Bakker's actual scientific terms are horribly inaccurate and hurt paleontology more than help it. I am talking about a certain term in particular; Brontosaurus. This name has been defunct for over 50 years and it is only in popular culture that it has lived on. Bakker uses it because it's more descriptive and because he believes that the fossil Brontosaurus excelsus is different enough from _Apatosaurus_ to warrant an entire generic distinction. Modern paleontology on the other hand, did not see the distinction then and still does not now.

While I commend Bakker's paradigm altering view of how dinosaurs were, I wish that he didn't have to make them warm-blooded in order to do it. Today's "cold-blooded" animals have a wide range of energetic behaviours that Bakker never really gives mention to. And while he does devote an entire chapter to reptilian diversity (chpt 3, which is by far the most ironic chapter in the book), the final page of that chapter, featuring a _Pristichampsus_ taking out a _Hyracotherium_, has at the end of it a caption that reads that due to its rarity, this was positive evidence that "...cold-bloodedness was a great disadvantage." It was almost as if he was saying "Reptiles are an amazingly diverse group of animals with a wide range of lifestyles and body plans. Now I will show you why dinosaurs could not possibly be reptiles." This pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the book. The following chapters deal with changing the popular view of dinosaurs while simultaneously removing them from the realm of "cold-bloodedness."

In order to show how dinosaurs could ONLY be "warm-bloods" Bakker relies a variety of circumstantial evidence. In the fossil record he uses predator to prey ratios to determine how active the creatures are. Besides having to deal with fossil record bias, Bakker's "control" is a living survey of a wolf spider to its prey. While Bakker knocks off interesting numbers (Wolf spiders making up 15-20% of the predator/prey population) he gives no mention of the prey themselves, so no one knows what kind of prey he was comparing the spiders to. Luckily Bakker does have a reference section that is divided up into the various chapters so one can go looking for it if one really wants to.

Then there is the use of haversian canals, stating that they indicate warm-bloodedness, when in reality all they indicate is a high level of activity (one can see these same haversian remodeling in varanid lizards). While the above was only found out recently, one of Bakker's "proofs" of warm-bloodedness is a dangerous use of taxonomy. Using the rules of punctuated equilibria Bakker states that species turn over is greater among warm-bloods than "cold-bloods." He shows this with fossil record evidence from Como Bluff Wyoming showing the average life of a species of dinosaur compared to a crocodilian (_Leidyosuchus_) and a chelonian (_Aspideretes_). Now in this modern era taxonomists have a hard enough time as it is to tell what is a new species and what is not; to use this criteria as evidence for warm-bloodedness is dangerous and a tad sloppy. This is especially so when one considers the fact that being "cold-blooded" crocodilian and chelonian fossils are less well studied than other fossils and there are bound to be more than a few taxonomic blunders in there.

Bakker does voice other ideas, such as the thought that sauropods had trunks, a thought that is OK to entertain but probably not worth serious consideration. Bakker's view of the gizzard style digestive system of a variety of dinosaurs is eye opening for those who ever wondered how a sauropod could feed itself with a mouth so small.

Then there are the contradictory parts of the book. In Bakker's haste to remove the dinosauria from the Reptilia, he unwittingly removes a group of animals that he himself admits to be real reptiles. Bakker believed (though histological and predator/prey evidence) that the pseudosuchian "crimson crocs" (beautiful name) showed the same warm-blooded evidence that dinosaurs show and should therefore be removed from the basal Reptilia on this and other shared derived characters. The problem inherent with this is that in order to do it, Bakker would also have to remove another pseudosuchian descendant, the crocodylians. These are the same creatures that in previous chapters he had been calling "cold-blooded" reptiles.

All in all the book is a good. Bakker provides his own illustrations, all of which show his creatures as dynamic animals, regardless of warm or cold-bloodedness. The ideas themselves are actually the resurrection of older ideas from the 19th century and not so much new ways of thinking, and much of Bakker's examples of warm-bloodedness should be taken with a grain of salt. I give this book a higher ranking than I normally would, because of the uproar that it caused in the area of reptilian paleontology and especially metabolism. Thanks to Bakker's book we now know that the arbitrary lines of warm and cold-blooded are not as black and white as we thought. In fact there is an increasingly growing amount of creatures that don't easily fit either definition. For that reason alone, the book is a worthy purchase, even if most of the text is of more historical value than anything else.

Back in the 1970's Robert Bakker, with a push from John Ostrom, stirred up the field of Vertebrate Paleontology with an article in Scientific American and a paper presented at a conference published in: A Cold Look at the Warm Blooded Dinosaurs. This book is the popularization of that paper. Bakker,s defense of his theory was so effective that suddenly the consensus about dinosaurs, best represented in popular form by the books of Edwin Colbert, fell apart, and dinosaur study stopped being primarily about classification and moved out into realms of biology only given minimal cosideration before. Suddenly, paleontologists were out serching not just for specimens but for evidence of dinosaur behavior and phisiology. This tightly argued book is your ticket into the controversey, by the man whose arguments started a renaissance in dinosaur studies, the so called bad boy of paleontology, Robert Bakker.

Dinosaur Heresies is everything a popular science title should be. This book is a free-wheeling, thought-provoking, incredibly fun jaunt through the range of controversies and rethinkings paleontology has seen in the past twenty years or so.

Robert Bakker, first of all, is probably the best popular science writer I've ever come across. His voice is accessible, full of humor and character, and he writes a lean, sharply-turned argument that's easy and fun to follow without being at all pedantic. You don't think, at all, about the welter of disparate arguments Bakker's making in this book, because he just tells them so darn well, he really does. This book is pure delight for anyone with even a passing interest in dinosaurs.

I will mention, again, that this is a pop science title. It's a summary of the sorts of things that show up in academic articles, and a broad, idea-spinning take on those issues and problems. If, reading some other reviews here, you get the impression Robert Bakker singlehandedly rethought the whole cold-bloodedness thing, well, don't get too carried away. Pop science books don't do that work. Peer-review journals are where the evidence lives, in science, and books like Dinosaur Heresies get the word out to you and me.

I would recommend this as a gift to give anyone twelve or older who has an interest in Dinosaurs. Later on someone may be enthused enough to try Jack Horner, who's slightly less accessible in my experience, and closer to the journal writers than Heresies is. Then, too, reading this book might throw you in all sorts of other directions. (I personally became really excited about prehistoric mammals.) I hate to be hackneyed, but that's what a dazzlingly good popular science book will do; it'll broaden your world and make you remember what curiosity is good for. Dinosaur Heresies does that, in spades. You'll reread it.

I would recommend "The California Dog Lover's Companion" to anyone who has a dog and lives in California or plans on visiting the Golden State. This book is very well researched and put together. Locations to take your dog are easy to find because the book is split into sections for each county in California. The book lists places you can stay and restaurants that are dog friendly; I even discovered a few places I didn't even know about that were close to my home. One very valuable thing this books does is to tell you the parks and open areas that allow dogs to run without a leash or if you'll need to keep your pet on the leash. This is a great book for all dog lovers in California!

In our opinion and our dogs', this book is truly the best thing that ever happened to dogs, at least California dogs!!! It's written with such a sense of humor and a love of dogs that sometimes we just read through it like it's a regular reading book, not a guidebook. Our dogs want to meet the author one day and shake her paw. We took a coastal vacation, staying at only places in this book, and the dogs were in total heaven, from Mendocino down to Santa Barbara. No other dog travel books compare.

We have used the California Dog Lover's Companion for travel all over northern, central, and southern California, and it has never let us down. All recommendations for lodging, outdoor activities, restaurants have been completely accurate in terms of quality and price -- unlike some other books we have used. Also, the author provides charming anecdotes about her dogs which make the book an enjoyable read, and not just a dry reference tool. We actually wore our first copy out (our dog ate the first few pages, and then it got all wet from a romp in the snow), and had to order a second!

I can say without a shadow of doubt that this is my favourite book. It was the first book of Machado de Assis that I read and which made me follow in love with his work.
It is a story about an old man who "try to attached both extremes of his life" on the own words of this character, Bentinho who explains his nickname, Dom Casmurro, on the first pages of the book. He tells the reader about his youth, his studies and mainly about his first and only love: Capitu.
However, if you are expecting another novel talking about love, reading the book will surprise you. It is not only about love, it is about insecurity and doubts. Better, this novel is about the human soul, its worst and best sides.
I would say that the talent Machado de Assis takes the reader into an investigation. But it is not an usual one. It is necessary to enter into Bentinho's mind looking for clues that could absolve him or his beloved, Capitu. The reader is overwhelmed by the doubts that disturbs Bentinho and which made him took drastic actions.
The most fantastic element in this book is that reading it over and over never guarantees the certainty about what it is right and what is wrong. If we suppose that there is some truth to be found. It is a game between the character and the reader!

"Dom Casmurro," by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, is a delightful novel by this great Brazilian writer. I have read the English translation by John Gledson. In the foreword to his translation, Gledson notes that the book was first published in 1899 or 1900.

"Dom Casmurro" is a first-person narrative about the life of Bento, a 19th century Brazilian man. Bento recalls his youth and adulthood, and tells about his friendships, education, romantic life, and family relationships.

The content of the novel sounds straightforward enough, but its execution is a virtuoso display of ironic playfulness. Machado's narrator addresses various potential readers, from the "'most chaste' lady reader" to young lads. The narrator comments on the structure of the story and plays with readers' expectations, and even at one point challenges the reader to throw the book out. Machado's narrative technique blurs the line between fiction and reality.

"Dom Casmurro" is an effective mix of comic and tragic elements. Particularly interesting are the gently satiric portrayal of religion, the tender evocation of youthful romance, and the many European cultural references. This is a story of love, jealousy, and loss, told with wit and compassion by Machado. Highly recommended for all those interested in Latin American fiction.

European students of literature usually concentrate on writers from their own continent, with occasional nods across the Atlantic to North America. Americans have a somewhat more respectful attitude to Europe, but that's all. Neither take the rest of the world all that seriously and that's a big mistake. Among the national literatures most consistently ignored, none has more to offer than Brazil's. Four writers stand out to my mind----J.M. Machado de Assis, Jorge Amado, João Guimaraes Rosa, and Euclides da Cunha---but there are many others. Of these four writers, three have written great books that reveal aspects of Brazilian history, society and culture in rich detail. The fourth, Machado de Assis, (1839-1908) the writer under review here, is much more a universal author. You will not learn very much about 19th century Brazil from his works. Of course, a little bit of knowledge will stick to your brain---slaves, Emperor, eyes on European trends, tropical climate---but it's amazing how little atmosphere or description there is. Machado de Assis never wanted to be a realist; he is very far from writers like Balzac or Zola.

DOM CASMURRO is divided into 148 chapters. Obviously in a book of 277 pages, each chapter cannot be very long. Machado de Assis uses his chapter titles as part of his work, sources of humor, direction, and irony. The novel is arranged as a memoir written by an embittered man in his sixties about the period of his life from roughly ages 15 to 30. When you begin reading, you think that the theme is "coming of age in Brazil" as the author describes his early romantic attachment to the girl next door and his struggle to avoid the seminary and a priestly future. His family members emerge as complex, interesting and somewhat amusing characters. Machado de Assis is strong on irony, whimsy, and a kind of self-deprecating humor. He also likes creating or using aphorisms and epigrams, of which the novel is full. Slowly he weaves an amazing, complicated story of jealousy and bitterness. Though initially it seemed clear to me that Bento, the main character, was justified in his jealousy of his best friend, the author never takes sides. He allows Bento to write that his wife had betrayed him, but Capitú, the wife, never admits it. On reviewing all the evidence, I have to admit that everything is seen only from Bento's point of view. According to your nature, you will decide yourself on finishing this subtle and well-written classic that deserves a place alongside the best that Europe and America have to offer.

I have read Incidents in the Life of a Slave by Harriet Jacobs, twice! I enjoyed reading her book. Her book is full of rich vocabulary. Her writing skills and the description of events she used was impressive, i.e. the separation of mother and child being sold to slaveholders, I felt the pain. In her writings, she constantly humbled herself because of her circumstances of being a slave and how she felt incompetent to write her life story. I must say that Jacobs did a magnificent job, considering her life of chattel slavery. Besides being courageous, strong and enduring, she was a very wise person. I think Jacob's does not give herself credit for being wise. She was very wise because she had to plan various strategies to outwit her devil master's attempts to capture her. She was wise in not trusting Harriet Beecher Stowe. What was Stowe's purpose of forwarding Jacob's writings to Mrs. Willis, which included her sexual history? Jacobs was no fool. Finally, the most indelible impression on my mind was when she hid in her grandmother's house, above the storage room, for seven years! I was right there with her. Great job Harriet Jacobs!!

Intended to convince northerners -- particularly women -- of the rankness of Slavery, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl presents a powerful autobiography and convincing writing that reads like a gripping novel but is organized and argued like an essay.

Incidents follows the "true story" (its authenticity is doubted in some places) of Linda [Jacobs uses a pseudonym] who is born into the shackles of slavery and yearns for freedom. She lives with a depraved slave master who dehumanizes her, and a mistress who mistreats her. As the novel progresses, Linda becomes increasingly starved of freedom and resolves to escape, but Linda finds that even escaping presents its problems.

But Incidents is more than just a gripping narration of one woman's crusade for freedom, and is rather an organized attack on Slavery, intended to convince even the most apathetic of northerners. And in this too, Incidents succeeds. The writing is clear, and Jacobs' use of rhetorical strategy to preserve integrity is astonishing.

Well written, convincing, entertaining, Incidents is an amazing book.

This is without doubt one of the best autobiographies I've ever read. On a very touchy but ever pertinent subject, Harriet Ann Thomas' story of her life as a slave is a remarkable document of antebellum life in the US, both south and north. Unlike the patent attempt to play with the readers' emotions of fictional works like Uncle Tom's Cabin, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Written by Herself, is almost a graceful understatement. At the time it was apparently believed to be a work of fiction, but it lacks the florid style of the Nineteenth Century narrative.
I had expected to have problems reading the book. For one thing, I expected either a convoluted prose style or an offensive parody of slave dialect. I also anticipated a graphic description of the violence perpetrated on individuals considered chattel by their owners. Instead I found the work to have been clearly written. It is remarkable for the literacy of its author-Ms Thomas was taught to read and write by the first owner of her family-and the care with which it's editor, L. Maria Child, took to preserve the author's intentions. Dialect was introduced only where it furthered the narrative and where the individual was likely to have spoken in the manner described. Violence is described but not so graphically as to entirely put off the reader.
Instead of the sensationalism that might have been used to promote her cause, the author provides insight into the emotional losses, personal deprivations, and incredible uncertainty in the lives of the individuals enduring slavery. She emphasizes her point by demonstrating her willingness to undergo a seemingly unending imprisonment in an attic with only a tiny peep hole out onto the world rather than continue as a slave. The great sacrifices and risks that others assumed in order for her and others like her to escape to freedom in the north underscores the extent to which the vicissitudes of the institution created a network among those opposed to it and those oppressed by it. Most poignant is her description of New Years as being a time of great tribulation for the slave. Unlike the white members of southern society who looked forward to the new year with festivity and expectation, the slave family looked upon it as a tragedy waiting to happen. Rentals and sales of individuals on that day tore families apart, husbands from wives, children from parents, often never to be reunited or even heard of again, and no slave or slave family could ever feel they were entirely safe. Sadder still were those cases of slaves who had been promised their freedom by kinder owners, only to have these promises abrogated by the heirs or to discover that no actual paperwork had been put into motion prior to the death of the individual.
Ms Thomas also makes a strong case for the damage that slavery caused to white society as well. Just by relating her own experiences and those of people around her, she recreates the anger felt by white wives who discovered that their husbands had had children by slave women, the blunted feelings of white men who, no matter what their feelings for those children, were caught up in a society that punished them for "recognizing" any children by black mistresses, the poverty and anger of the average white wage earner caught in an economy where he had to compete with poorly maintained, unpaid labor in order to make a living, and so on. In short Ms Thomas makes it abundantly apparent that the institution of slavery dehumanized both the enslaver and the enslaved.
One thing especially of note is the author's observation that the north was hardly better. She was free, perhaps, but only free to be second class. While recognizing that slavery was incompatible with the institution of democracy, northerners were still, with rare exception, prejudiced against individuals of non-white background. I think a case could easily be made that it is the more silent prejudice of the north that has perpetuated the inequities that still plague the lives of non-white Americans today.