This work is a treasure, I don't know how we can thank Pof. Carson enough.

There is precious little known about the ancient Greek Poet, Sappho. Most of us know the obvious, that she was a famous poet and lyricist (meaning, she composed music to be sung with the lyre) and that she lived on the island of Lesbos off the Greek coast in about 630 B.C.. However, almost all other details about her life, such as they are, come from texts written about her by other ancient writers; of the 9 books of lyrics she is reported to have written, none survive today.

Fragments of poetry written by Sappho still exist, but most are damaged or illegible. Hence, here as in other previous works of the poetry of Sappho, the reader is left with only fragments of what clearly must have been delicate and breathtakingly beautiful poetry. As Ms. Carson says in her introduction to her translations, the reader is left with a profound sense of wonder when confronted with the small snippets of Sappho's poetry. For example, all that survives of poem 36 is "I long and seek after". What, we wonder, does the rest of the poem pertain to? What flowing scenes did she paint with her words that we can never know?

I personally am not a Classicist, though I HAVE read through many of the surviving texts of the ancient worlds: Beowulf & The Odyssey, for example, and occasionally I'll attack some texts in Latin and have a go at the translation. However, for the most part, I am not a scholar of ancient times or texts. I'm here to say that one does NOT, even for a second, need to know much about ancient Greek culture, text or times to thoroughly enjoy these translations. Granted, you will find that most poems are little more than bits of a whole (sometimes only a word or two survives), but even these small pieces will cause your imagination to soar.

Ms. Carson has also boldly gone where no translator has gone before (to my knowledge). In previous translations of Sappho's poetry that I've read, the pages are crammed tight with the fragments themselves, explanations and footnotes. In Ms. Carson's book, each page is dedicated to one fragment of Sappho's poetry, regardless of it's length. In this respect, a poem that is only three words long has an entire page dedicated to itself. This is a wonderful touch, as it means that the reader's entire attention can be focused only on that poem, no matter how small, without the distraction of commentary by the author (Ms. Carson puts an extensive appendix at the back where she adds her thoughts and comments on the fragment's origin, word meaning and characters). Opposite the English translations are the original fragments in their original Greek characters. I myself cannot read Greek, but I found it a beautiful and thought-provoking touch to be able to look at what Sappho wrote in her own language. Though I'm not able to read Greek, it made the text more alive to have it there for me to look at and examine.

In conclusion, anyone who enjoys ancient Greek culture, ancient history or simply enjoys reading poetry should not hesitate to add this book to their collection. I'd personally go so far as to say that if you've got a different volume of Sappho's poetry, make some shelf space to add THIS book as well. For the clean, uncluttered page and lyrical, moving translation, I highly recommend this work and highly compliment Ms. Carson on her work.

Going. ..Going. ..Gone! Successful Auctions for Non-Profit Institutions
By Anne Connelly & Maureen Winter Publisher: Target Funding Group, Inc. 218 pages, $$$
Special events are often staff and volunteer labor intensive. Details and multiple niceties can make the difference between a good event and a great event. Special events can be overwhelming to an organization and can become the focus of its development if staff members are not careful. However, they can be great friend makers and publicity opportunities and if done right they can even raise money.
Auctions are a popular event. They can also present some of the highest demands in staff and volunteer time. This book is a handbook designed to help staff and volunteers get a handle on the planning and execution of the numerous details involved in an auction. It is full of structural ideas of committees and lists of responsibilities. However, it pushes heavily to hire a consultant and to purchase the computer software that happens to be designed and sold by the publisher.
In spite of its sale pitch, this book could be valuable to anyone who runs special events. It examines not just auctions, but it could be used to plan other events such as benefit dinners, concerts, raffles, and seeking sponsors. It has nearly 70 lists, samples and schedules. It has ideas on themes and how they could be used in multiple events. It takes you step by step from the planning stages to the appreciation at the end of an event.

"Winter Reckoning" is a solid piece of work from an author who is better known for her poetry. A tale of finding one's self on a new and brutal world, "Reckoning" combines a knowledge of sociology and anthropology with a deeply creative imagination, resulting in a tale both rich and compelling. ~ Anne W. Brennan (SorchaM@aol.com), Providence, RI, USA

Compiled and edited by Anne Dunn, Winter Thunder: Retold Tales is a compendium of forty imaginative tales drawn from the Anishinabeg oral tradition. Taken as a whole, this anthology of engaging stories offers keen and loving insights into the mythic origins of the natural and supernatural worlds around and within the reader. Living on the Leech Lake Reservation near Cass Lake, Minnesota, Anne Dunn is an Anishinabeg grandmother and elder story-teller who has provided a compelling and invaluable contribution to Native American folklore studies. Also very highly recommended are her previous books: Grandmother's Gift (Holy Cow! Press) and When Beaver Was Very Great (Midwest Editions).

I thought that Anne E. Hill did a wonderful job on this book. I loved all the pictures included, many from G & G's earlier years. The cover illustrations are beautiful, and the layout is easy to read. If you have read "My Sergei", a lot of the information is repeated, and there are many quotes from there. However, I did learn a lot of new facts too. An enjoyable read, would recommend for anyone, not just fans. Tells the incredible story of love, heartbreak, and moving on with life throughout tough circumstances.

this book is aimed at young readers, and it tells the story of Ekaterina Gordeeva and her late husband Sergei Grinkov's first meeting, first success as a pairs team, Olympic glory and to her life now without Sergei. An interesting topic and well worth reading as Gordeeva is talented and strong minded young women that young people can admire.

Anne Stuart is usually a dab hand at romance writing, but here she (unusually) fails to transcend her maudlin genre. Oh dear, the old hackneyed memory-loss plot device. And am I really expected to believe that two supposedly non-stupid people madly in love with each other completely mis-read the other even through marriage? The heroine's character undergoes drastic change when she loses her memory (even though the book itself admits that amnesia does not bring on personality change) which is never satisfactorily explained. The plot is not only predictable, it is too incredible to work for me. Sure, romance is never realistic (by definition; life is not romantic) - but good romantic writing should bear at least a passing resemblance to reality.

Nothing is as it appears in this romantic suspense. The heroine Molly, who suffers from amnesia, tries to discover why she was running away from her husband and her seemingly perfect life. She knows that she was found in a car wreck, a murdered man beside her in the passenger seat, and that she is afraid of leaving the hospital to return home. Why does her husband Patrick hate her? Why do her relatives believe her capable of murder and theft? Why does her best friend plot to destroy her marriage? Molly can depend on no one but herself to figure out why someone is trying to kill her now that she has returned home. Each character is suspect as the reader, along with Molly, tries to piece together the mystery of Molly's connection with the dead man. Anne Stuart excels at romantic suspense. If you enjoy this novel, try some of her more recent novels - Moonrise, Night Fall or Ritual Sins.

Molly woke in the hospital to find she could not recall anything of her life, not the dead man who was found in her car, the 350 thousand dollars - nor the husband. This book was a little rushed because of being a series, and would have been much better as a big book, but it still is a very good read.

Molly leaves the hospital to return to Winter's Edge, the only home she has ever know. Yet suddenly, she is a stranger there. She does not recall her husband, nor the various people in their lives, and she especially does not to know the woman everyone says she is. She does not like the clothes she wears, does not like the bedroom she supposedly decorated, and she cannot believe she behaved as everyone said she did. She knows Patrick, her husband hates her, but not why. And she does not know who is trying to kill her.

Stuart delivers as she always does, just wishes this one had a little more room to deliver fully.

The O'Shea family tries their best to stay out of trouble. Despite their religious beliefs and high values, trouble always seems to find them.

Patrick O'Shea thinks he's found the perfect job. But it turns out, his past and a dangerous old friend have found him in Northern Ireland.

In Southport, England, Ken O'Shea steps off a train to begin new mission work. He faces a brand new set of challenges far more difficult than he left in Scotland.

Ruth O'Shea boards a plane in America, determined to face her brother and confront him about her abusive past at his hands. Her meeting with Gerald comes as quite a shock to her family and the whirlwind circumstances even surprise her.

As Patrick fights a hopeless battle with extremists, Ken attempts to teach a willing family about the church. Ruth begins her path to England, in a last-ditch effort to begin her own healing.

The events that bring the O'Sheas back together involve deceit, courage, disaster...and even death.

Chamomile Winter is Anne Bradshaw's follow-up sequel to Terracotta Summer. Catching up with the O'Shea family is like following the lives and adventures of your closest friends.

I used to work in a public library so that's where I first saw this book. I was intrigued because I had once lived in Milwaukee, and yes, the winters there can indeed be "murder"! Beth Hartley, our protagonist, has quit her law firm to start her own business. She takes her secretary with her and they work out of this wonderful historical home that Beth's aunt has left to her. In "Milwaukee Winters" the secretary's brother has apparantely commited suicide but they find that hard to believe. Beth sets out to prove that he did not kill himself, and suceeds, but WHO did kill him? There is a hint of romance in the story as well. The character of Beth is very likeable, independent like "Kinsey Milhone" and the setting of Milwaukee is very real. I enjoyed this book so much that I bought copies for my relatives who also live(d) in Milwaukee. I have also read the other books in the series, and anxiousely await more!

"The Winter Wife" is an Abenaki folktale, retold by Anne Eliot Crompton with ink and watercolor pictures by Robert Andrew Parker. The story tells of a hunter who is suffering during the long, cold winter. He is hungry, his traps are empty, and his wigwam is lonely. But everything changes he encounters a moose in the forest. From then on there are always animals in his traps and a fire cooking over his fire. Then he discovers a woman in his wigwam. She becomes his winter wife, and each spring when she refuses to return to his village with him, she warns him not to take another wife. Young readers will immediately know that the hunter is fated to break his word to his winter wife and the question is how tragic a tale this will turn out to be in the end. They will also be fascinated by the artwork, while may inspired them to try something similar themselves. "The Winter Wife" will help young readers develop their sense of narrative structure and how to anticipate what might happen next.

If you want a view of Central Asia from someone who knows nothing about it, then here's your book. Valuable only for its laughable idiocy. More exoticizing garbage.