What an amazingly fun book. As an educational psychologist student I have found this book very helpful to develop a lifeskills training programme for children from the ages of 5 through to 18. I have even gone so far as to enjoy the opportunity of tuning out of the rat race myself to play with some of my own wacky ideas by completing some of the exercises. What a stress reliever! My 10 year old daughter can not put it down and I am dreading the moment she tells me that she has completed it as we have another 4 weeks of holiday left. Sweet celebrations for Katherine Q. Revoir for a successful masterpiece of fun.

As an ex-teacher, grandparent and presently author and creativity coach, I found myself wishing that I had a whole series of these books to work with. The activities aren't just designed to keep kids busy, as is the case with so many activity books I've reviewed. Rather, this one truly stimulates creativity, for example, by having kids imagine fantasy animals that could only exist in their own minds. The author's sense of humor and her own creativity come through on every page, and that alone is going to inspire kids. Respectful, thought provoking, educational, creative and fun! What more could you ask for? I bought the book as a gift but really enjoyed reading through it myself. I can't wait to see my young grandchild's eyes light up.

Fun, creative, and goes where other journal and activity books don't. It makes kids expand their thinking and use their imaginations with interesting ideas and inspiring illustrations that won't intimidate. A great birthday present.

I've taken up history books of late - and picked up this novel to read it through a second time. Considered by most old Spaniards to be the most unbiased account of events leading up to the Spanish civil war.
What an amazing book! Not only is the story gripping, but the characters have an unmatched depth. Human conflict, both internal and external is portrayed with impressive daftness. The most influential philosophical movements of the 20th century are embodied in likeable, lovable, and sympathetic characters (anarchism, existentialism, communism, catholocism, etc). The Alvear family is touched by each through people they meet, and through changes in their beloved Gerona. But the Alvear's somehow avoid being absorbed into any one ideology and thus remain the perfect referees to convey the meaning in all that happens during these tumultuous years.
If you like history: read this book.
If you like philosophy: read this book.
If you like a great story: read this book.
At least, that's what I tell all the people to whom I've given copies.

I realize that I am overselling this book by calling it the greatest book I ever read but, it is. The reason for it is that I was always interested in the Spanish Civil War. I always viewed that event as a microcosm of the politics of the 20th Century. The problems with most histories of the event is that they don't fully cover the political spectrum. Gironella presents a review of life in Spain leading up to the outbreak of rebellion. In his use of characters, the reader is introduced to every faction involved; from anarchist to royalist and everything in between. This personalization of the politics makes it all the more understandable and gives one an insight to the many conflicts within the conflict. Yes, it's long but I didn't think so even after the second reading.

This book is filled with emotion and depicts with great skill the life and feelings of the people of the town of Gerona in Spain in the years before the Civil War. The most important thing is the personalities of the characters, but the suspense is great (I could not stop reading it for three straight days). It is a monument to catholicism too. It makes you understand how such a thing as the Spanish War took place. It was reprinted several times and had great impact in Spain and was followed by two more books. In my opinion the author deserves a Nobel Prize

This is a gem of a book. While there are many things to like about it, I am most enamoured of the richness of detail in its naturalistic description. Arguedas, with his Indian upbringing, has a perceptiveness toward nature not often found in modern, Western society. The translation conveys this beautifully, though I've heard that the original Spanish is even more vivid in its descriptions. The characterization is multi-layered: there's even someone highly reminiscent of the Grand Inquisitor in Dostoyevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov"...

Non-western thoughts, beliefs and fears still permeate 20th.century Peru, a cultural heritage of the Inca empire. Arguedas, although white, learned Quechua as an infant, forced by circumstances to spend long periods with Peruvians of indian extraction, an experience which he would forever remember with deep tenderness and affection, and which would transmit surviving elements of Inca thought as well. The problem Arguedas faced as a writer was how to express a non-western state of mind in Spanish, a western language. In "Deep Rivers", he sometimes shifts the structures of sentences, or uses diminutives, to mimic Quechua. Stones can talk, and rivers sing. Big black flies are attracted to persons who are about to die. For Inca thought, the reflections from a pool of blood relate to the reflections from rapids in a stormy river. In "Deep Rivers" Arguedas shares with us the deep undercurrents and contradictions which flow beneath the surface of modern-day Peru. Conflicting cultures related through cruelty and despotism. Deep rivers flow in every culture. Not the superficial, visible elements of a culture, but those intimate fears, obsessions, and dreams which lie at the core of its members.

JOse Maria Arguedas depicts two different worlds That can't bridge the difference that exists between them. He describes the conqueror's descendents who feel and think as their ancestors who believe that native Peruvians (Quechuas) are animals, who do not know any better, and therefore should be used and treated as animals i.e. kill and use Quechuas whenever they think is appropriate. The novel is a description of the mentality of the conqueror's descendants and their brutality towards the Peruvian natives (Quechuas),which is exploitation, Killing, no sense of value or least of all respect towards the Peruvian natives.

The first thing to be said about Ms.Velez' book is that it is written in a disarmingly straightforward style - a rare if not unique occurrence in contemporary scholarly writings. Without shying away from tackling the complexities of an issue (and there are many in the book) Ms. Velez' style allows the reader to concentrate on the content rather than wrestle with tortuous syntax and intricate constructions. It is perhaps for this reason that the author manages so felicitously to blend her cultivated voice with that of the "informer" in a delicately balanced counterpoint. This, in turn, is well suited to the multifaceted role of F.G.V., who play the role of a self-centered first actor as well as that of an anonymous yet ideally representative prototype of a time and a place. Or rather, multiple times and places.

If you consider yourself a serious drummer in the Afro-Cuban styles (batá, bembé, palo, abakuá, rumba, comparsa, etc.), you must read this book, as you will learn a great deal from it. It is refreshing to see the music and the culture through the eyes of a musician and practitioner himself (Mr. García Villamil), a true living legend. Every page is loaded with TONS of information, dating from his Yoruba great-grandfather's time to the present.

This is truly a unique book. Not only is it informative, but also easy to read. I don't know of any other source that delves as deeply into the life of a single Afrocuban religious musician or practitioner as this book does. It is a gold mine of information not only for the serious student of Afrocuban culture, but also for any practitioner.

I really like how this author has woven a story out of the several strands - of Edith's own writings - of others who have written about her - of the history of the Jews in Germany - and of the life and times of Adolf Hitler as it affected Edith's life and that of millions of Jews and Christians. The author has braided together some wonderful connections that set Edith's life in the context of her times and of our times. I found special joy in these connections because I have read almost all of the sources - primary and secondary - separately - and it is good to see them woven together with spiritual meanings. This book now holds a place of prominece on my Edith Stein shelf of books.

Maria Scaperlanda's book on Edith Stein provides those unfamilar with this fascinating, modern Saint with a great introduction to her life and thought. The reader will be able to follow Edith Stein on her passionate life journey, sustained by her desire to find truth, first pursued in philosophy and finally completed in her embrace of Catholicism and life as a contemplative, Carmelite religious. Although there are various books about Edith Stein on the market, Maria Scaperlanda's work is the best work to provide the reader with an introduction to Edith Stein and guide the reader on to further works on the Saint with an excellent bibliography. Edith Stein's life and work should be studied by all those who seek meaning and truth (not only Catholics), especially in our current post-modern, relativistic culture that so vehemently denies absolute truth. This book is also an excellent choice as spiritual reading for Christians desiring to study the life of a contemporary Saint.

In her book, Maria Scaperlanda attempts to unfold the the complex figure of Edith Stein/St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. The author gives us "snapshots" of the feminist, philosopher, Carmelite and saint. Ms. Scaperlanda not only tells us Edith's story, she also interweaves it with the story of others who died in the Shoah,(including Edith's family)while locating it within its historical context. Ms. Scaperlanda also includes a section on the Jewish/Christian controversy surrounding this saint. She is to be admired for going where others fear to tread in this regard. She is also to be congratulated for making Edith Stein assessible to the average American reader. If one is looking for a book on phenomenology, this book will disappoint, however, if one is seeking to learn more about the multi-dimensional personality of Edith Stein, the reader will be rewarded. The author includes an extensive bibliography for those who wish to dig deeper into the study of this remarkable woman.

I read this book in about 5 hours. It's pretty hard for me to do that...but it was just impossible for me to put down this book. Nicholas Sparks is a genius, he truly knows how to write. He is the William Shakespeare of our time. Any book this man writes is truly a work of art.

this book is just...really good. no words. just good.

Es la historia de amor, que mucha gente sueña para su vida... y solamente unos pocos podemos vivirla y difrutarla de esa manera y con esa intensidad.

Son de esas historia donde la piel, el corazon y el alma se extremecen de tal manera que lo unico que queda es agradecer a Dios, por amar y ser amado de tal manera.

Es una verdadera historia de amor, desde el principio hasta los "80 años"... tal cual como deseamos vivirla nosotros.

Felicitaciones Nicholas Sparks, sos todo un maestro

I remember reading these books on my summer vacations to my grandparents...I was bored and the local town librarian recommended them to me. Many years later, looks for books on mysterious houses for a nephew, I remembered and re-discovered them. My favorite is An Enemy At Green Knowe. The story is full of twists and turns and quite frightening events, with the excitement lasting just long enough to tantalize the reader. You feel the house itself is a living breathing character, as is true of the entire series. This is the kind of book an adult needs to put in the hands of the student -- as is true with A Wrinkle In Time -- and sit back while the child becomes wrapped in the world of Green Knowe. A superior children's book!

Why is this book out of print?

In this, the fifth Green Knowe book, Tolly AND Ping come to spend the summer with Tolly's great grandmother, Mrs. Oldknow, and do battle with the forces of evil as personified by a newneighbor, Melanie Powers.

Absolutely wonderful -- my favorite part is the very end, where everything comes together serendipitously to defeat Miss Powers, leaving you to feel that all is right with the world.

Like Tove Jansson's Moomin books & Arthur Ransome's Swallows & Amazons series, L.M. Boston's Green Knowe books remain underappreciated by American readers. Even so, these three series are arguably of vastly superior quality to the ubiquitous Harry Potter, Narnia, and Roald Dahl books. An Enemy at Green Knowe is the 5th in this series of 6 which do not need to be read sequentially. Tolly, the protagonist of the first 2 books is now united w/ Ping, the hero of books 3 & 4. Those familiar w/ the series will know that the "shadow protagonist" is Mrs. Oldknow, Tolly's great-grandmother & owner of the manse Green Knowe & its magical environs.

Green Knowe is a place whose past haunts its present. Mrs. Oldknow relates to the 2 boys an incident out of Green Knowe's past, when the mysterious Dr. Vogel took up residence at Green Knowe as the family tutor in the year 1630. Dr. Vogel became caught up in some nefarious activity, and as the boys soon learn, the evil force that was unleashed by Dr. Vogel still lurks in the present day. They must confront this challenge to Green Knowe and its proprietor in a series of hair-raising events -- although written for children, this book is not for the faint of heart.

The Green Knowe books differ from one another quite a bit, but in my estimation this one ranks w/ Children of Green Knowe as the best. While that one was delightful for its innocence, this one is notable for the way in which it gives the reader chills.

Boston's prose is graceful & intelligent & is recommended for the literate grade schooler. These books are the logical starting point for a reader to progress to the works of Susan Cooper, Alan Garner, and Robert Holdstock.

No mention of the Green Knowe books would be complete w/o mention of the marvelous illustrations by Peter Boston. Unfortunately, the Odyssey Classic reprints chose hideously garish covers, although to their credit they preserved Peter Boston's interior illustrations. Still, their choice of covers probably explains why these books are now out of print.

This is the kind of book that you can randomly flip through and always find something interesting, and can read about customs and ideas that are totally different than one's own. The diversity among human beliefs is indeed amazing and is an indication that the human mind adapts and invents concepts that are very different depending on the situation in which individuals find themselves. On the other hand, there are common themes in all of these myths that point to the necessity for the employment of certain concepts that are universal. A gigantic book, it probably would only be read from cover to cover by those who intend to specialize in the study of mythology both from an anthropological and historical point of view. But it is fair to bet that anyone who opens this book will walk away with a deeper appreciation of all human cultures, wherever they may be, and at all levels of technological development.

Lack of space prohibits a detailed review of all the articles I read, but some of the more interesting entries that I ran across include: 1. "Ababinili". This is the name of the supreme being of the Chickasaw Indians, and the god of the fire apart from the Sun. This belief is an indication again that the concept of an ultimate being is pretty universal among all cultures. Apparently the Chickasaws believed that Ababinili caused a great flood also, although this fact is not discussed in this article. 2. "abdominal dance". An article discussing the origin of "belly dance", as it is called in some cultures. Interestingly, in some areas it was not done as a seductive movement or to provoke a sexual response. In Asia for example, it was symbolic of the pain of motherhood. 3. "African and New World Negro folklore". The author discusses the "Tortoise and the Hare" story which interestingly was held by some African peoples. He compares it with the European version, with the tortoise winning in both versions. However, in the African version, the tortoise wins by employing his wits. This "brains over brawn" version of this story is fascinating given the bias towards logical thinking in European culture. 4. "bagpipe". The origin of bagpipes goes back to the emperor Nero, who reportedly played it. Bagpipes were played by the Romans in their colonization of Britain. 5. "barber's pole". There was a time when barbers were also surgeons, thus the red and white strips on the pole: white for bandages to symbolize the healing process. 6. "chain tale". This is a folktale based on a series of numbers, characters, events, etc. Supposedly the game of chess originated in a chain tale involving numbers in geometric progression. The inventor requested in payment one grain of wheat for the first square, two for the second, four for the third, eight for the fourth, and so on. 7. "Dalai Lama". The Tibetian monk of highest rank, who is the incarnation of Avalokita, whose spirit passes into a child at the death of each Dalai Lama. 8. "euphemism". This came from the belief that if you speak of the Devil he will appear. Hence one must refer to him by another name: a euphemism. The origin of the name "Jehovah" was also such a euphemism, since uttering the name of the Hebrew god was forbidden. 9. "female rain". Among some North American Indian tribes, this is a soft, gentle rain; to be contrasted with a downpour, which is "male rain" (How then did hurricanes become to be name after women?). 10. "games". This is an excellent article, too long to summarize here. 11. "grateful dead". Folktake in which a hero runs into a group of people who are refusing to bury the corpse of a deadbeat man. The hero makes good the debts, and later is rewarded with happiness. 12. "holler". A spontaneous, improvised song by American slaves engaging in solitary work. Usually with no words, it was meant to keep oneself company. 13. "jack-o-lantern". In some legends, This is a phosphorescent light frequently observed above marshes. The author describes many more. 14. "kitchen gods". The thousands of paper images representing Tsao Chun, the Chinese god of the kitchen stove. 15. "looking tabu". The act of looking at a forbidden object or person will cause its loss. 16. "magical inpregnation". A child conceived via some act or circumstance which has no connection with fertilization. Very common in mythology, the author gives several very interesting examples. 17. "mending the jug". A folktale based on a task considered impossible and always associated with an impossible countertask. 18. "mnemonic device". This is an excellent article, too long to summarize here, of the strategies employed by different cultures to remember or recollect things. Particularly interesting was the use of them when no language or mathematical systems were in place. 19. "momentary gods". These, interestingly, are gods who exist only for a special purpose and for a limited time, and then only at special places. 20. "need fire". This was a ceremony wherein fire was made when livestock were threatened with plague. 21. "never-finished weaving". The Shawnee Indian tale of the female creator who weaves a basket which is unraveled every night. Finishing the job will cause the world's end. 22. "orchesis". The Greek word for dance, which was considered indispensable in Greek drama. 23. "orgia". The winter ritual dedicated to Dionysus, and involving after sometime to what the author describes as "unbridled, licentious mass intoxication". He describes similar types of ceromonies in the West Indies, Indian peyote cults, and in Mexico. 24. "overlooking". This is the act of one who casts the "evil eye", a belief that according to the author is world-wide and found from earliest times. 25. "paternity test". An infant magically picking out his unknown father. The author gives several different tests employed by many different cultures. 26. "primitive and folk art". A very long but excellent article on all kinds. 27."scalp dances". These were American Indian "victory" dances done around the enemies scalps. Apparently in some tribes the scalps were considered tabu and contained supernatural powers.

these books you must. I have read enough reviews here to know that people dole out 5 stars with impugnity (the ones that don't like certain books don't bother to look at other reviews of them) and realize that the rating system here is meaningless (not because of Amazon), but if you have ANY interest in the serious study of mythology, these books, edited by Maria Leach, are a necessity; look thru whatever foul paperbacks pretending to be concerned with mythology you own and notice they all reference this grand work, full of SCHOLARLY treatise on a vast array of subjects. And they are fantastic reading in sortes fashion; to just open randomly and read whatever your finger touches. Nuff said.

This reference work is not specific to any particular mythos, pantheon, or people, but encompasses beliefs of the entire world. If one wishes to be as general as fire, or as obscure as rakshasa, he will find what he is looking for: and if not, this will tell him he needs a resource more specific to what he is after.

This is a superb book! The photos are excellent, showing Cuba as it truly is today, with whatever still stands after four decades of inattention. Anyone who has not seen Cuba in 40 years should pereuse this book. The photographer does not make a political statement of any sort -- he merely records the beauty that is there. One of the few books about Cuba that I would recommend to anyone, regardless of political sympathies.

My boss gave me this book for Christmas. Boy, did he pick the right gift. Engels' architectural photography is breathtaking. Even thought the splendid colonial buildings depicted in this book appear to be falling apart, one can't help but be mesmerized by the ghostly beauty of it all. Through these photos it appears as if Havana has been become frozen in another, more prosperous era, but has never been maintained since. What you take away from the book is a city that is eerily beautiful precisely because it seems as if it is only a skeleton of what once was. If you are, like me, a lover of architecture, these photographs will make you feel terribly sad because so much grandeur is rapidly vanishing. At the same time, there are more than enough traces of splendid architectural details seen in this book, albeit in crumbling pieces, to make any fan of architecture want to see more of Havana. I gained much from this book, especially seeing, with my sometimes too-American eyes, how a very close and small Caribbean neighbor has architecture that at times seems to rival that of European capitals. I highly recommend this book.

This books presents the beautiful and rich architecture found throughout Havana. Through his pictures Engels lets the architecture speak for itself. Beth Dunlop's 5 page introduction is concise and to the point; a great compliment. Great pictures, a treasure collection.

It is amazing to see what kind of atrocities go on in other parts of the world. What's even more of a shock are the institutions put in place to keep the masses oppressed for the benefit of a few. This book opened my eyes to the widespread repercussions of the cold war, and how the US supported tyranous regimes in the name of "defending democracy".

A must read for anyone who is the least bit concerned with human rights--A lesson in the truth vs. what the media provides us. Honestly written--a beautiful book

this is the best book i have ever read. it is very exicting and uplifting. Maria Tula is one of the most courageous individuals i have read about. being a woman i want to use maria as a model for myself and my future daughters. any one who has experiecned domestic violence should read this book because she expereinced and overcame it. please read and recommend this book to women and men.