Book Description
What would you do to inherit a million dollars? Would you be willing to change your life? Jason Stevens is about to find out in Jim Stovall's The Ultimate Gift. Red Stevens has died, and the older members of his family receive their millions with greedy anticipation. But a different fate awaits young Jason, whom Stevens, his great-uncle, believes may be the last vestige of hope in the family. "Although to date your life seems to be a sorry excuse for anything I would call promising, there does seem to be a spark of something in you that I hope we can fan into a flame. For that reason, I am not making you an instant millionaire." What Stevens does give Jason leads to The Ultimate Gift. Young and old will take this timeless tale to heart.
Customer Reviews:
Read the book, watch the movie - both will inspire!.......2007-10-01
I received this book as a gift shortly after watching the movie by the same name - I was greatly impressed with the movie and anxious to read the book (since everyone knows that the book is always better than the movie). This book is no exception to that rule - an outstanding read and it was as easy to read as the movie was to watch. This is a novel, a work of fiction that drives home some real life points! The premise of the book is about what's really important in life - is it what we build with our hands or the money and worldly success we achieve, or is it something more than that, something that isn't tangible and can't be bought or sold for any amount of money? In his final will, a dying wealthy man tries to communicate from the grave the true meaning of life to a family member who up until this point hasn't got a clue!
I would think that this book could probably be read to children in upper elementary school and could be read by 7th or 8th graders on their own. The book should be read by parents first so that they can engage their children in conversation along the way. While the book isn't overtly Christian, you'll find that the lessons taught in this novel are very similar to the wisdom shared in the Book of Proverbs and throughout Scripture. Stovall isn't preaching, but he sure can drive a point home with this story; and these twelve "gifts" passed from one generation to the next are essential for each and every one of us to learn as well.
While some say that the movie isn't as good as the book, I say that they are a pretty good compliment of each other. The movie takes various liberties with the book to get this message on screen, but you won't be disappointed with either. The book is written to provoke thought and discussion and families should use them as tools to teach valuable life lessons to their children - Red Stevens would have wanted it that way!
The Ultimate Gift DVD.......2007-09-27
The Ultimate Gift you sent me was a total disaster. I ordered the movie edition and you sent me a book and a promotional DVD. I did not receive the movie edition of the Ultimate Gift. Unfortunately I had ordered it to take on a bus trip that I was directing and I had not taken the time to watch what you sent me, thinking it was the movie edition. When I put it in the DVD player with everyone on the bus eager to watch the movie there was only the promotional disc. Needless to say I was embarrassed and not too happy. Fortunately along the way I was able to purchase the DVD that I thought I was buying from Amazon at a much higher price. I have ordered from Amazon before and have been very pleased but not this time.
A Timely Gift.......2007-09-24
Several copies of The Ultimate Gift were placed on a table at my workplace. A handwritten note read, "Take one and pass it on." The title was intriguing and never one to pass up something free or an opportunity to read, I took one.
Having gained knowledge of most of these gifts through the ups and downs of life, I enjoyed the validations, while unfortunately identifying with Uncle Red's mistakes. I am grateful to the person who made it possible to have a copy of the book.
I titled this review 'a timely gift' because I received in time read it and mail it to my son as a gift for his 26th birthday. Like Uncle Red, wishing to provide, I robbed my children of many of the gifts. I am hoping the book will make a difference in my son's life as he is not a happy person even though he has many blessings. When and if I am in touch with my prodigal daughter, I will share The Ultimate Gift with her, also. It is my goal to share copies of The Ultimate Gift with many, many young persons.
Good , but not terrific.......2007-09-19
The reviews I read promised an inspiring book. It was not to be. It was an interesting premise and story. But the lack of detailed story left me disappointed. Reading the story from the lawyer's view did not give us an opportunity to really travel the road to enlightenment. I felt I was reading the summary, not the story.
A movie of the book is coming out soon. I dare say, I see an immense opprtunity for the movie to outshine the book.
Great book!.......2007-09-17
This is a great book and I would recommend buying used items from Amazon as I have always been satisified with my purchases and most of all, the money I save. This book has been made into a movie that is really great, but the book is always better.
Average customer rating:
- Funny and profound
- Grace (Eventually) thoughts on Faith
- Not her best, but still brilliant
- No thank you, no good.
- She's the Best
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Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith
Anne Lamott
Manufacturer: Riverhead Hardcover
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Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith
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Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
ASIN: 1594489424
Release Date: 2007-03-20 |
Amazon.com
Through Anne Lamott's many books (including six novels, her bestselling parenting memoir, Operating Instructions, and her popular guide to writing, Bird by Bird) the subject she keeps returning to is her faith, her deeply personal--"erratic," she says--journey in Christianity. Her latest book, Grace (Eventually), is her third collection of her "thoughts on faith," and she took the time to answer a few of our questions.
Questions for Anne Lamott
Amazon.com: This is your third book on faith. How has your perspective changed since you wrote your first one?
Lamott: I wrote my first book on faith when Bill Clinton was president, and I was in a much better mood. I wrote Plan B during the run-up to war in Iraq, and the ensuing catastrophe, so I was very angry, but trying to reconcile that pain and hostility to Jesus's insistence that we are made of love, to love, and be loved, to forgive and be forgiven. Some days went better than others. Also, my son Sam was in his early teens, and that was a LOT easier than when he turned 16 and 17, his ages when I was writing the pieces in Grace (Eventually).
In general, I think Grace (Eventually) is a less angry book. I like how I'm aging, except that my back hurts more often, my knees crack like twigs when I squat, and my memory fails more frequently, in more public and therefore humiliating ways. But I think I complain less. As my best friend said when she was dying, and I was obsessing about my butt, "You just don't have that kind of time."
Amazon.com: What does grace mean for you? How can we better communicate it to each other?
Lamott: Grace is that extra bit of help when you think you are really doomed; also, not coincidentally, when you have finally run out of good ideas on how to proceed, and on how better to control the people or circumstances that are frustrating or defeating you. I experience Grace as a cool ribbon of fresh air when I feel spiritually claustrophobic. Sometimes I experience it as water-wings, something holding me up when I am afraid that I'm going down, or the tide is carrying me away. I know that Grace meets us whereever we are, but does not leave us where it found us. Sometimes it is so small--a couple of seconds relief here, several extra inches there. I wish it were big and obvious, like sky-writing. Oh, well. Grace is not something I DO, or can chase down; but it is something I can receive, when I stop trying to be in charge.
We communicate grace to one another by holding space for people when they are hurt or terrified, instead of trying to fix them, or manage their emotions for them. We offer ourselves as silent companionship, or gentle listening when someone feels very alone. We get people glasses of water when they are thirsty.
Amazon.com: Many of the essays in Grace (Eventually) first appeared in Salon, the online magazine, and that's the way that many readers first found you. How do you see the Internet changing the way people read and write?
Lamott: The Internet makes everything so immediate and spontaneous, which I totally love--UNLESS it has to do with the immediacy of people's negative response to me. Several of the Salon pieces in Grace--for instance, the story about the horrible fight with my son, and the piece about turning the other cheek while being ripped off by The Carpet Guy--generated a couple hundred letters, many of them extremely hostile. Perhaps "spewy" would be a better description. I also sometimes get knee-jerk responses to my mentions of Jesus in my Salon pieces that seem to lump me in the same tradition as Jerry Falwell. But for the most part, I love the populism and egalitarian nature of the Internet: everyone counts the same.
Amazon.com: What stories do people tell you, when they've read your books or know you are a writer?
Lamott: People tell me how relieved they are that I try to tell the truth about how hard it can be to be a mother, or a daughter, or an American in these times. They tell me stories about how awful their own teenagers can be, or how awful they themselves behaved towards their kids or parents; how hard it was to finally be able to adore their mothers, or to forgive their fathers. They tell me their sobriety dates. They whisper to me that they are Christians, too.
Also, they ask if I am able to read their manuscripts, and the name of my agent, and my e-mail address. They ask if we are going to survive the current political difficulties--and I promise them we are. They ask how old my son is now--17 and a half--and how he is doing, which is fantastically, after some of the hard months I wrote about in Grace.
Amazon.com:What lessons do you think you can pass on to others: to your readers, to your son? What lessons does it seem like people have to learn for themselves?
Lamott: All I have to offer is my own truth, my own experience, strength and hope. I can pass on the tool of a God Box, and how for 20 years I have been putting tiny notes in mine and promising God I will keep my sticky fingers off the controls until I hear God's wisdom: sometimes I get an answer because the phone rings, or the mail comes, but at any rate, during every single terrible problem and tragedy, I have been given enough guidance and stamina and even humor to bear up, and be transformed, for the good. I always tell Sam that if you want to make God laugh, tell Her your plans. I tell Sam that if he listens to his best thinking, he will suffer: and to listen to his heart instead, to listen in the silence, and to seek wise counsel.
Amazon.com: You've written nearly a dozen books (including an incredibly popular guide to writing): does writing get any easier? Does it get harder?
Lamott: In a very important way, writing gets easier, because I've been doing it full time now for thirty-plus years, and just as you would get better and better if you practiced your scales on a piano, I've gotten better, and can try harder and harder pieces. But writing is always hard. It does not come naturally to me at all. I sit down at the same time every day, which lets my subconscious realize it's time to get to work. I give myself very short assignments, and let myself write really terrible first drafts. But I grapple with the exact same problems every writer does, which is having equal proportions of self-loathing and grandiosity. I sort of live by the Nike ads: Just Do It. So I sit down. I show up. I do it by pre-arrangement with myself, because I know I'll feel sad and terrible if I shirk on that days writing. I do it as a debt of honor, to myself, and to whatever it is that has given me this gift of being able to tell stories, and to make people laugh. Laughter is carbonated holiness. Other people's good writing is medicine for me, and I hope mine is too, for my readers.
Book Description
The sharp, funny, and heartfelt follow-up to her bestselling Plan B, Anne Lamott's newest collection is a personal exploration of the faith and grace all around us.
In Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith, Lamott examines the ways we're caught in life's most daunting predicaments: love, mothering, work, politics, and maybe toughest of all, evolving from who we are to who we were meant to be. This is a complicated process for most of us, and Lamott turns her wit and honesty inward to describe her own intimate, bumpy, and unconventional road to grace and faith.
"I wish grace and healing were more abracadabra kinds of things," she writes in one of her essays, "that delicate silver bells would ring to announce grace's arrival. But no, it's clog and slog and scootch, on the floor, in silence, in the dark."
Whether she's writing about her unsuccessful efforts to get her money back from an obstinate carpet salesman, grappling with the tectonic shifts in her relationship with her son as he matures, trying to maintain her faith and humor during politically challenging times, or helping a close friend die with dignity, Lamott seeks out both the divinity and the humanity in herself and everything around her. Throughout these essays, she writes of her struggle to find the essence of her faith, which she uncovers in the unlikeliest places. By turns insightful and hilarious, pointed and poignant, Grace (Eventually) is Anne Lamott at her perceptive and irreverent best.
Customer Reviews:
Funny and profound.......2007-08-12
Anne Lamott is honest and engaging. This book is a beautiful testament to a real life lived in faith and hope in the midst of inevitable disappointments and hardships.
Grace (Eventually) thoughts on Faith.......2007-08-08
I bought this book thinking I would get an inspiritial read. Instead I found that the title totally misrepresented the book. This is nothing but a self-centered, self-indulgent, whiny bunch of writings from a drug user/alcoholic, over age hippy, feeling (what?). Certainaly not faith!
Title should read "Poor Me, I can't Think Straight"
Not her best, but still brilliant.......2007-08-01
One of the most popular voices in contemporary spirituality, Anne Lamott has a remarkable gift at handling serious and unfunny topics - religion, motherhood, eating disorders, death - in a witty and disarming way.
Lamott's new book, "Grace Eventually: Further Thoughts On Faith," is a collection of essays, many of which Lamott wrote as a columnist for Salon.com. If you haven't read anything by Lamott before, the best places to start would be "Traveling Mercies" (her bestselling memoir), and "Bird by Bird," (one of the best guide to writing anywhere, another bestseller). But the two things you should know before reading Anne Lamott is that 1) she is an incredible prose artist, quirky and profound, with a style that seems all her own. And 2) she is almost completely neurotic.
"Grace Eventually," is a special book in that Lamott's description of ordinary events make them feel sacred. She is a writer with an ability to make the reader pay attention, feel present, and tune in to the story taking place around them. Although she refers to Jesus consistently, there is little that seems orthodox about Lamott's spiritual journey, and perhaps that is one of the reasons she has such a wide readership.
You'd have to be made out of granite not to find something that moves you in this unique collection of essays. You would also need to adhere to Lamott's precise and strident political positions not to find at least one portion of this book infuriating. Either way, "Grace Eventually" is a provocative and unique read, and any avid reader owes it to themselves to become familiar with one of the country's top writers.
No thank you, no good........2007-07-25
I read another one of Anne's books. The first one I did not like much, and really did not want to read this one, but when you already own it, you feel you must with 16 dollars into the book. It was some repeating of stories I really did not like in the first place, there were a few highlights or good moments, but not enough. I still feel bad for her, but most times I was like "get over it." Now I loved Donald Miller's book, which was along the same mindset, but he seemed deep or maybe just a man. Sorry Anne, you are twice if not more the writer that I am, but I was just not into the book.
She's the Best.......2007-07-25
Her words are equivalent to the phrase "A sight for sore eyes." My copy now has so many underlines and dog ears that I just don't know where to start with quotable quotes--
"IT FEELS AS IF SOMEONE FINALLY CRACKED OPEN A WINDOW THAT HAD BEEN JAMMED."
"...taught me a willingness to help clean up the mess we've made is a crucial part of adult living; that our scary, selfish, damging behavior litters the planet."
"...we get mad at each other, over and over, then we apologize, become friends again: I see how each time this is redemption. How amazing it is to share that."
"Joy is the best makeup."
"Prayer is not asking for what you think you want, but asking to be changed in ways you can't imagine."
I use this like a Bible when I need to be called to a higher place. It soothes me, calms me down, and calls me to a (much) higher place. Buy this, Bird By Bird, and the other two from this series. They are GIFTS.
Average customer rating:
- A good foundation
- PLEASE... Read the 1 star reviews BEFORE you buy this book!
- Everyone on this Planet should read this book, it should be a teaching material in Schools
- Critical information, so powerful it should be taught 7- 12 + college
- Easy to read, let's see how easy in practise
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The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book)
Don Miguel Ruiz
Manufacturer: Amber-Allen Publishing
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ASIN: 1878424319 |
Amazon.com
Sit at the foot of a native elder and listen as great wisdom of days long past is passed down. In The Four Agreements shamanic teacher and healer Don Miguel Ruiz exposes self-limiting beliefs and presents a simple yet effective code of personal conduct learned from his Toltec ancestors. Full of grace and simple truth, this handsomely designed book makes a lovely gift for anyone making an elementary change in life, and it reads in a voice that you would expect from an indigenous shaman. The four agreements are these: Be impeccable with your word. Don't take anything personally. Don't make assumptions. Always do your best. It's the how and why one should do these things that make The Four Agreements worth reading and remembering. --P. Randall Cohan
Book Description
In The Four Agreements, don Miguel Ruiz reveals the source of self-limiting agreements that rob people of joy and create needless suffering. Based on ancient Toltec wisdom, the Four Agreements offer a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform anyone's life to a new experience of freedom, true happiness, and love. These agreements are deceptively simple: Be impeccable with your word (speak with integrity; say only what you mean); Don't take anything personally (nothing others do is because of you); Don't make assumptions (find the courage to ask questions and express what you really want); Always do your best (and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret). Peter Coyote's resonant reading emphasizes the power in these remarkable tenets.
Customer Reviews:
A good foundation.......2007-10-01
This is a compelling book that provides a straightforward, easy-to-understand methodology for improving one's quality of life. In this work Ruiz first reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that tend to rob people of joy and create needless suffering. He then recommends a technique for overcoming these beliefs: adopt four new agreements with respect to how they approach the world and conduct their lives.
Is this some new, revolutionary technology for self-improvement? No, the fact is in one way shape or form we've all heard these types of admonitions from other sources in our lives. What Ruiz does well is package them in a novel way and provide practical insights into how we can best apply them. Bottom line, even if you've heard something like this before it never hurts to be reminded about good advice you've received in the past.
PLEASE... Read the 1 star reviews BEFORE you buy this book!.......2007-09-27
I am shocked at all the 5 stars and positive press this book has received. PLEASE, read a few of the 1 star reviews before you purchase this book. Quite often people who rate something with just 1 star are grumpy individuals who just want to argue... not this time. Many writers of the single star reviews are extremely well spoken, very well read and positive minded individuals. They are worth reading! (More so than this book.)
Everyone on this Planet should read this book, it should be a teaching material in Schools.......2007-09-25
The four agreements is not only a book, it is a lifestyle. Most of the wisdom in self helping books i have read thruout the years has mostly washed away, vanished in to the sea of mind few weeks later after i read them. This one is different. It has somekind of power. And it forces you to do the doings not just read about them.This one stayes with you cause you wan't to pick it up over and over again.
Critical information, so powerful it should be taught 7- 12 + college.......2007-09-24
I did not receive any critical information about my role in relationships from any source including school, religious education, parents, or advisor's.
The Four Agreements and the Mastery of Love has now provided this knowledge and it is and will always be a reference source for living the rest of my life
It is so ingrained and with me every day as I work to improve on my relationships with my family, friends, and business relationships. After you listen to the message of the Four Agreements, you will see the need for this information to be made available to your family and friends.
My wish is for this to be a part of the curriculum for the public school systems.
Cecil Sterne
Pawnee County, Oklahoma
Easy to read, let's see how easy in practise.......2007-09-18
I think we've all seen this stuff before in various incarnations (e.g. Bible - "Do unto others...") but it is a very easy read and the agreements are plain and unambiguous. They are not cluttered with ceremony but come down to principles of values and self context. And like alot of similar readings, the battle or challenge lies in the effort to achieve and not only the achievement itself. I like that it advocates largely a position or development of an inner strength that is personal. All too often, I have noticed some of these personal freedom type writings from authors who present their writings in a stadium type environment and whip the crowd up in a frenzy to create a mob frenzy that attempts to portray the message. That's clearly the domain of some charlatans that we've all seen. I'm looking forward to the challenge involved in implementing these agreements. It won't be easy but most thnigs worthwhile aren't so they say.
Book Description
The astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones and his humanitarian campaign to use education to combat terrorism in the Taliban's backyard
Anyone who despairs of the individual's power to change lives has to read the story of Greg Mortenson, a homeless mountaineer who, following a 1993 climb of Pakistan's treacherous K2, was inspired by a chance encounter with impoverished mountain villagers and promised to build them a school. Over the next decade he built fifty-five schools—especially for girls—that offer a balanced education in one of the most isolated and dangerous regions on earth. As it chronicles Mortenson's quest, which has brought him into conflict with both enraged Islamists and uncomprehending Americans, Three Cups of Tea combines adventure with a celebration of the humanitarian spirit.
Customer Reviews:
A must read - for parents and teachers!.......2007-10-05
I was skeptical at first, but I could hardly put this book down. I was sneaking in pages at every chance I got. I finished the book in just a few days. It is powerful and motivating book. It makes me value what I have and at the same time strive to serve a part of the world I had practically ignored. I am buying copies for my friends.
My only critique is that I wish it came with a map, with dots at all the schools. The author wrote about this school map in his head - and it helped him feel less alone.
A change your life book.......2007-10-02
This book was required reading for all incoming freshmen in Montana's university system this year, and my book club chose it last spring. At first I had a hard time "getting into" it. The first 50 pages or so I considered not finishing it...there were so many foreign names and places that half the time I couldn't put the letter sounds together to make words I could even understand...BUT THEN!
This book really grasps your soul. Every time I sat down to read I felt a wave of goosebumps over my excitement with this story.
This book is very motivational also. Everything you'll read makes so much sense about changing the world through education, but you'll also find yourself finding lessons and motivation for your own life as well.
I ABSOLUTELY loved this book. I've recommended it to everyone and I've passed my copy on to a friend. I also had the honor of hearing Greg Mortenson speak at a small community library, and he told his story to us like we were friends and family. It was wonderful!
You must read this book!
Buy it, read it, pass it on, give as a gift.......2007-10-01
For everything else that has already been said about this book. I agree. I also have to add that it is a page-turner. I had a hard time putting it down. I didn't expect that. I expect to be inspired and then, be unable to finish this worthy book. Instead, I was fascinated, enthralled, encouraged and rooting for Greg. I'm not finished the book yet, but I came online to order a copy for a friend. I highly recommend it.
Three cups of tea.......2007-09-30
I rated this book 5 stars. I had no idea who Greg Mortenson was until my
wife recommended his book to me. My only familiarity with Pakinstan and
Afhganistan was what I read about these countries in the news about the
Afghanistan-Iraq wars. I have a totally different concept of the people of these two countries after having read Greg's book. They are peaceful, loving, caring, intelligent people interested in the welfare of their children, whether male or female, and intent on educating them and
preparing them for the rest of their lives. I was so glad I read this book. It really opened my eyes.
If only we all took the step to reach out.......2007-09-30
Magnificient! If only we all took the step to reach out and make this world a better place for each unique human being on this earth. I couldn't put this book down because Greg is actually doing it on an amazingly large scale. If only each child in the world had the opportunity for education.....we can erase if only
Book Description
A Roaring Twenties adventure unfolds in Jennifer Chiaverini's latest bestselling Elm Creek Quilts novel, another in "a series that neatly stitches together social drama and the art of quilting" (Library Journal).
Newly wed in a festive yet poignant ceremony at Elm Creek Manor, bride Elizabeth Nelson takes leave of her ancestral Pennsylvania home. Setting off with her husband, Henry, on the adventure of a lifetime, Elizabeth packs the couple's trunk with more than the wedding quilts she envisions them dreaming beneath every night of their married lives. They are landowners who hold the deed to Triumph Ranch, 120 acres of prime California soil located in the Arboles Valley, north of Los Angeles.
"Triumph Ranch," says Mae, a traveling companion whom Elizabeth has let in on the promise of the Nelsons' bright future. "That sounds like a sure thing." But in a cruel reversal of fortune, the Nelsons arrive to the news that they've been had, and they are left suddenly, irrevocably penniless.
They are hired as hands at the farm they thought they owned, and Henry struggles mightily with his pride. Yet clever, feisty Elizabeth -- drawing on her share of the Bergstrom women's inherent economy and resilience -- vows to defy fate through sheer force of will. As her life intertwines with Rosa Diaz Barclay, native to the Arboles Valley and a fellow quilter, their blossoming friendship sheds light on many secrets that have kept each of them and their families from their rightful homes.
In the cabin where Henry and Elizabeth are living on Triumph Ranch, Elizabeth discovers quilts belonging to Rosa's mother, and in their exquisite patterns recognizes a misplaced legacy of love, land, and family. But her newfound understanding of the burden of loss that Rosa shares with the mysterious Lars Jorgensen places her in mortal danger. Only by stitching the rift between the past and the future can the inhabitants of Triumph Ranch hope to live in peace alongside history.
Customer Reviews:
She did it again!.......2007-09-13
Ms Chiaverini did it again!! This newest book is just as wonderful as the past books in this series have been! When I started reading it, I was a bit disappointed that it was only set in the past, but once I got into to reading that went away quickly! This is a 'don't want to put it down' book, highly recommended.
The Quilter's Homecoming: An Elm Creek Quilts Novel.......2007-08-28
Jennifer has done it again: another novel of one of my favorite quilt series and had me burning the midnight lamp to finish this well written story about some great characters. Can't wait for the next episode!
The Quilters Homecoming.......2007-08-17
I read all ten of her books in the Elm Creek Quilters series and they were all wonderful. She follows "quilting" families back and forth as the country developed, the hardships they encountered, up to the present day. Occasionally the books jumped around a little from generation to generation, but I was able to catch up. Being a quilter myself, I was interested in her vast knowledge and explanations of quilting. This would be a wonderful series to give to a quilter as a gift.
The Quilter's Homecoming.......2007-08-14
After reading all the other books in the "Elm Creek Quilters" series, and hearing so much about Elizabeth,it was great to read a book that told about her and Henry's adventurous beginnings in California. Jennifer Chiaverini's gift for spinning a tale peaked in this novel as she unfolded the events of Henry and Elizabeth's cross-country trip and the dreams they shared, along with the trials and disappointments. Things did not go as they had hoped and planned, but all things worked together for good.
Still a good read.......2007-08-04
Would really rate it about 3.5 stars- I enjoyed it but it's not my favorite. I prefer the ones in the series that are more about the main core of characters. I have read the other books but didn't actually recall Elizabeth being mentioned. Still, the way Chiaverini weaves quilting throughout her stories is always clever and crafty- definitely worth reading.
Book Description
“There are places that I have never forgotten. A little cobbled street in a smoky mill town in the North of England has haunted me for the greater part of my life. It was inevitable that I should write about it and the people who lived on both sides of its ‘Invisible Wall.’ ”
The narrow street where Harry Bernstein grew up, in a small English mill town, was seemingly unremarkable. It was identical to countless other streets in countless other working-class neighborhoods of the early 1900s, except for the “invisible wall” that ran down its center, dividing Jewish families on one side from Christian families on the other. Only a few feet of cobblestones separated Jews from Gentiles, but socially, it they were miles apart.
On the eve of World War I, Harry’s family struggles to make ends meet. His father earns little money at the Jewish tailoring shop and brings home even less, preferring to spend his wages drinking and gambling. Harry’s mother, devoted to her children and fiercely resilient, survives on her dreams: new shoes that might secure Harry’s admission to a fancy school; that her daughter might marry the local rabbi; that the entire family might one day be whisked off to the paradise of America.
Then Harry’s older sister, Lily, does the unthinkable: She falls in love with Arthur, a Christian boy from across the street.
When Harry unwittingly discovers their secret affair, he must choose between the morals he’s been taught all his life, his loyalty to his selfless mother, and what he knows to be true in his own heart.
A wonderfully charming memoir written when the author was ninety-three, The Invisible Wall vibrantly brings to life an all-but-forgotten time and place. It is a moving tale of working-class life, and of the boundaries that can be overcome by love.
Customer Reviews:
A captivating story of a harsh life.......2007-09-03
This book is full of the details of a life that many of us will never experience. The authors story of extreme poverty living in a large family with a hardworking but struggling mother and a distant and often abusive father is both horrifying and captivating.
While it sounds like this should be a depressing book, the details of the moments of hope and happiness lifts it out of the dark side of life in Lancashire and made me wonder about the future for the various key characters. The book is set before and after the great War, but it could be timeless. The central location is a street of two rows of houses facing each other with the 'jews' on one side and the 'christians' on the other. For most of the book there is almost no mingling between the two sides. But at times when their lives are most difficult, they do get together to support one another.
I don't want to give away the story line too much. Some of the difficult scenes are extremely hard to endure, but the details really light up this book even things are hardest.
I would not recommend for anyone younger than about 13, there are too many difficult details here. But for the rest of us, there's LOTS to learn about the silly things that divide us and the fact that despite religious difficulties our lives are more similar than we'd like to believe.
Poignant and profound.......2007-06-26
An absolutely wonderful book written by a 93 year old author who captures the very essence of anti-semitism in pre-World War I England through his own childhood experiences. The last chapter is so descriptive and poignant...really tugs at the heartstrings. I hope Mr. Bernstein continues to share his gift of the written word.
Excellent book.......2007-05-28
Wonderfully written. This book surprised me because of its unpredictability. I couldn't put it down. Mr. Bernstein's story is beautiful, it's a wonder why he waited so long to share it.
A read to get you thinking.......2007-05-25
My six member book club read this last month, and all of us, including our most critical member, found this book very enjoyable and enlightening. The inclusion of dialog easily puts the reader in the time period. The tone and style of the author encourage empathy and understanding of both populations on either side of the invisible wall. The author conveys his and his sibling's emotions in the gentlest of ways while the reader easily grasps that at the time they were much more. While not quite a page turner, my attention never lagged and I would have willingly read more. I would have appreciated more wisdom on the overall subject such as was found in Arthur's letter to Lily.
Vivid Memoir.......2007-05-25
Harry Bernstein writes in a descriptive manner that makes all the characters seem to be living right in front of the reader's eyes. The story is so interesting that I could not put the book down until I finished. It was hard to believe that a man at ninety years of age could remember so much detail and emotion back to his early childhood. The book was well worth reading. I look forward to Mr. Bernstein's next book.
Book Description
Book Description: In Wahida Clark phenomenal, gritty new novel Angel is getting ready to marry the man of her dreams - but his past isn't about to let go...
Angel, Jaz, Tasha and Kyra are four girlfriends pulling themselves out of the ghetto-and trying to bring their hearts up to higher ground with them. Now Angel has started her own law practice and new life with Kaylin. But when an unwamted guest crashes their wedding, all the rage and bloodlust from the hood comes bustin' out - and Angel's gonna need every prayer in heaven to make it to the altar alive...
Customer Reviews:
Kaylin Kaylin Kaylin!!!!!!!!!.......2007-10-03
This is the thrid installment in Whahida's Thug series. This book is about Angela and Kaylin with mention of the other friends(Roz, Tasha, Kyra). I really enjoy Wahida's books but this one was not as exciting 2 me as the others. Although the book is very well written, it lacks the action the other books had. There is one bright spot in the book, KAYLIN. I know every woman that has followed her series would love 2 have a brotha like Kaylin. Damn, Wahida makes him seem so real. I would advise readers that follow the "Thug" series to read it to stay up to date on what's going on with the friends so you won't be lost once the next book comes out. Not my favorite but a good book non-the-less.
OKAY 4 ME.......2007-09-27
I LOVED ALL OF HER BOOKS THIS ONE WAS JUST OKAY 4 ME TOOK A LONG TIME TO READ IT
Free Wahida!!.......2007-09-25
Whoa, Wahida, slow it down!! I can't keep up. When I started reading, guess who was first? I am truly a woman who loves (and married) a thug, because he needed a lady. And you know what, payback is a mutha and we still carry that thug matrimony. Holla!!
Thug a Great!!.......2007-09-11
This book is well worth the wait and brings another great chapter in these character's lives!! I am glad my co-worker turned me on to Wahida and the series she has a fan for LIFE!!!
Everybody loves Kaylin..... Including me !!!!.......2007-09-07
This entire series was beyond great, and you really should read them all from Thugs and the Women Who Love Them, Every Thug Needs a Lady, and Thug Matrimony. I have to admit though, I too love Kaylin!!!! This dude had it goin on!!! (in more ways than one)I had never read any Wahida's work before, but her series was the selection for the book club that I am in, I couldn't beleive I read all 3 books in 3 days, they are real page turners!! I loved the characters so much, I read the books again a week later!!!! i can't wait for Every Thug needs a Lady vol II, or whatever she decides to call it!!! If Wahida writes it, I will be reading it!!!
Amazon.com
In Dinner With a Perfect Stranger, David Gregory relates the story of two men sharing a meal. The point of interest is knowing that one man believes he is Jesus. What will the other man think by the time the evening is through? The conversation begins, as one could imagine, scratching the dry hard surface of skepticism and doubt, but gently and persistently goes deeper and deeper, spiraling in from that starting point until they are eventually talking about the true stuff of life; the career drifting off-track, the marriage experiencing its own kind of strain, the life being lived where the philosophical questions of youth have given way to simply coping with modern day-to-day living.
Gregory's book is a refreshing reminder of what evangelical Christianity is at its very best -- a faith enlivened by the personal relationship between the Creator and the created. In the end, evangelical Christians are focused on who Jesus Christ is, and more specifically, who He is to them. Doctrinal stances, theological conundrums, questions about literal or non-literal Biblical interpretation, these are all beside the point for the certain type of Christian whose central focus is the life and person of Jesus.
In the Narnia series, C.S. Lewis touched on some of the core questions of religion, from the Christian viewpoint (is there a hell? What is heaven like, really? How can other religions be wrong, and just one be right?) Taking his cue from Lewis, Gregory does the same, realizing that questions like these come alive when they're in the context of a story, and we can be the third party, watching with interest while they are put on the table and considered. In the end, Gregory's book succeeds because of his willingness to approach interesting, hard questions like these. He is always, undoubtedly, aiming for the heart, but he realizes that to win the heart one must never forget that the mind has to come along for the ride. --Ed Dobeas
Book Description
You are Invited to a Dinner with Jesus of Nazareth
The mysterious envelope arrives on Nick Cominsky’s desk amid a stack of credit card applications and business-related junk mail. Although his seventy-hour workweek has already eaten into his limited family time, Nick can’t pass up the opportunity to see what kind of plot his colleagues have hatched.
The normally confident, cynical Nick soon finds himself thrown off-balance, drawn into an intriguing conversation with a baffling man who appears to be more than comfortable discussing everything from world religions to the existence of heaven and hell. And this man who calls himself Jesus also seems to know a disturbing amount about Nick’s personal life.
…………..
"You’re bored, Nick. You were made for more than this. You’re worried about God stealing your fun, but you’ve got it backwards.… There’s no adventure like being joined to the Creator of the universe." He leaned back off the table. "And your first mission would be to let him guide you out of the mess you’re in at work."
………….
As the evening progresses, their conversation touches on life, God, meaning, pain, faith, and doubt–and it seems that having Dinner with a Perfect Stranger may change Nick’s life forever.
Customer Reviews:
A Perfect Book.......2007-09-17
I received this book as a gift and enjoyed it so much that I bought it to give to my daughter-in-law. What would it be like to have dinner with Jesus? This book answers that question in a way that includes humor and an inside look at witnessing as Jesus might do it if he invited an unbeliever struggling with life's problems to dinner. A thought-provoking book beautifully written.
A wonderful book.........2007-09-07
An excellent book. Perfect for the whole family to listen to. It is funny at times and then brings the right amount of drama at the right time. It makes you think things through and to a higher level.
kateinkalifornia.......2007-08-29
A quick read, I actually read it twice. I will keep it and lend it out, but I want it back. It's one for my permanent collection.
Reads like a religious brochure.......2007-08-24
My mom gave me this book to read as, one would guess, a last minute ditch effort to get me back into religion. Flipping through the book and seeing that it was only around 100 pages, and was printed in nice big "kid's book" letters, I figured, hey, what's a couple hours? I'm certainly willing to hear other viewpoints, and weigh them accordingly.
My first complaint is that if this is how religious people think that non-religious people think, feel, and act, then they are sorely mistaken. It's as if everyone that isn't Christian is empty, sad, and just sort of generally depressed. I guess using logic and consistency in your life makes you depressed? I guess not accepting whim-based rules about how to live life because "this book said so" and instead working rigorously to come up with a consistent set of morals and values makes you feel empty?
Anyways, the author attempts to make logical proofs, and in doing so, shows that he has no clue what a logical proof is. His undeniable, irrefutable proof that god exists is that an earlier part of the bible predicts a later part of the bible. Seriously. Nevermind that the later part of the bible was written a couple centuries after the fact, and by monks who were fully aware of the prophecies in Daniel, etc.
He also makes the claim that either Buddhism, or Hinduism, (i forget which, and i don't have the book in front of me) can't be true because it says that the universe is eternal. "How does that stack up against what your scientists have recently discovered?" alluding to the idea that we now *think* that the universe had a starting point. Regardless of the fact that we don't KNOW that it had a starting point, using science to dethrone one religion after another but not applying it to your own is a methodology only useful to those completely wrapped up in their own beliefs. One wishes the guy having dinner with Jesus would have responded with "well... that's funny... what does our science say about the idea of consciousness without matter? Or simultaneously being all-knowing and all-powerful? Or energy without any means to measure it? I guess that means your dad doesn't exist... which in turn means you don't exist, because you're one with your dad or whatever... so I guess I'm talking to myself... which would explain why the waiter has been looking at me strangely all night."
There was also a fantastic bit at the end about how if Jesus was in this guy's heart, he (Jesus) could love the guy's wife when he (the guy) couldn't anymore. Or something to that effect. I'd talk more about that, but I don't want to misquote it and have someone negate the whole review based on it, so I'll let it go.
I could go on for pages about the rediculous assumptions this book makes about how life should be lived, and the causes of evil in the world, etc. But I won't. Suffice it to say that this book is patently ridiculous, and actually rather offensive to truly free-thinking, open and honest people.
Then again, the author believes in a god that said "Thou Shall Not Kill" and then went on to murder millions and millions of people, as well as an entire planet's worth of animals that are completely amoral. So I guess anything goes, and he's as capable as anyone else to cherry-pick the parts that he does and doesn't support out of the bible.
Profoundly entertaining........2007-08-04
This little book is captivating. It answered many questions that often come up about who God is. It was so interesting I couldn't put it down. I found it profoundly entertaining and historically accurate.
Average customer rating:
- Very good book!
- BIG HEART
- Has Life for Afghani Women Improved Because of Rodriguez?
- Eye Opening But Sad
- Good
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Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil
Deborah Rodriguez , and
Kristin Ohlson
Manufacturer: Random House
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ASIN: 1400065593
Release Date: 2007-04-10 |
Book Description
Soon after the fall of the Taliban, in 2001, Deborah Rodriguez went to Afghanistan as part of a group offering humanitarian aid to this war-torn nation. Surrounded by men and women whose skills–as doctors, nurses, and therapists–seemed eminently more practical than her own, Rodriguez, a hairdresser and mother of two from Michigan, despaired of being of any real use. Yet she soon found she had a gift for befriending Afghans, and once her profession became known she was eagerly sought out by Westerners desperate for a good haircut and by Afghan women, who have a long and proud tradition of running their own beauty salons. Thus an idea was born.
With the help of corporate and international sponsors, the Kabul Beauty School welcomed its first class in 2003. Well meaning but sometimes brazen, Rodriguez stumbled through language barriers, overstepped cultural customs, and constantly juggled the challenges of a postwar nation even as she learned how to empower her students to become their families’ breadwinners by learning the fundamentals of coloring techniques, haircutting, and makeup.
Yet within the small haven of the beauty school, the line between teacher and student quickly blurred as these vibrant women shared with Rodriguez their stories and their hearts: the newlywed who faked her virginity on her wedding night, the twelve-year-old bride sold into marriage to pay her family’s debts, the Taliban member’s wife who pursued her training despite her husband’s constant beatings. Through these and other stories, Rodriguez found the strength to leave her own unhealthy marriage and allow herself to love again, Afghan style.
With warmth and humor, Rodriguez details the lushness of a seemingly desolate region and reveals the magnificence behind the burqa. Kabul Beauty School is a remarkable tale of an extraordinary community of women who come together and learn the arts of perms, friendship, and freedom.
Customer Reviews:
Very good book!.......2007-10-01
I had heard the author on a radio station and bought the book afterwards. I really enjoyed her fresh and candid style of describing her experiences in Afghanistan. Her uncomlicated style of writing made the book a pleasure to read.
BIG HEART.......2007-09-29
I think that Deborah Rodriguez teachs us a beautiful lesson of kindness and love when she decided to leave her own family to go to Afghanistan to help women to build a life for them, and even when people said that she did wrong going there beacuse of the consecuences of this book for the afghan women, i strongly recognize that not all of us have the courage to leave the comfort of our lives here in the U.S to go to third world countries to help people and forget ourselves helping them.
Has Life for Afghani Women Improved Because of Rodriguez?.......2007-09-27
I have mixed feelings about this book. It's easy to read and certainly provides an interesting and informative portrayal of what life is like for the women of Afghanistan. I'm not sorry I read it, but it did seem to drag on in the end and I started counting pages wondering when it would be over. There is one heartbreaking and shocking story after the next, and too many "characters" to wrap one's mind around. This mélange of stories primarily boils down to this: Terrorizing Men and Terrorized Women. I don't believe life for Afghani women has improved because of the Kabul Beauty School, and from what I understand, because of their portrayal in this book, some of the women are in more danger now that the book is out and Rodriguez has fled.
In the end, reading Kabul Beauty School did not elicit the feelings I thought it might, which was to have met an extraordinary, selfless woman who achieved a major accomplishment. Throughout the reading, I didn't understand or appreciate the author's motivation. It's excellent memoir or journal material, but that's where the excellence ends. Does it entertain? Absolutely not. Unfortunately, there's a certain lack of credibility from the merely average writing skills of the author. (Perhaps hairdressers should stick to creating hairstyles rather than trying to create prose.) Deborah Rodriguez often comes across as victim of circumstance. She makes a series of foolish choices particularly when it comes to marriage, acts rashly, and often irreverently, probably drinks too much and smokes. (This may be harsh, but these traits, to me, have nothing to do with "beauty.") For example, it doesn't make her the least bit likeable when we learn she verbally assaults a man at an outdoor market when he follows her around and grabs her backside. Embarrassing and endangering her closest friend (and translator) in the process, the friend tells her outright that she will "never go to the market with her again." Rodriguez brings her strong, independent and liberated American woman traits with her, wears them on her sleeve, and it does not earn her respect from the people around her, or from this reader. It makes her nickname "Crazy Debbie" perfectly understandable. Also, she lets her friends arrange a marriage for her, (and granted the presence of an Afghani husband, "Sam," does help her cause in one dangerous and surprising circumstance after another), but this man already has a wife, and we soon learn, a baby on the way. It's all very bizarre.
It feels as though Rodriguez returned to Afghanistan (after her first genuine venture there to provide aid after the ousting of the Taliban) in search of an extraordinary life rather than because she wanted to be the savior of Afghani women. I'm not saying this is true (I don't know this woman), but if the purpose of this book was to tell the world who she is and why she went to Afghanistan at great personal expense to become the director of a beauty school with the hope of making life better for the women there, she has been successful. The book, published by a major house, and the movie deal also deem her "successful." As for the school and the cause? A failure. She is not, like the book jacket indicates, living in Afghanistan and still running the school. According to an article on NPR, "the subjects of her book say Rodriguez and her newfound fame have put their lives in danger. They say they've seen none of the money or help to get them out of Afghanistan that Rodriguez promised them in exchange for having their stories appear in the book." Rodriguez counters by saying the women misunderstood what she promised them.
In spite of this rather negative review, I do think Kabul Beauty School is an excellent choice for book clubs as it will no doubt, provoke a very interesting and thoughtful discussion about the lives of women living in Afghanistan, and whether or not the outside world should or shouldn't have something to say or do about this culture and the emancipation of women there.
From the author of "A Line Between Friends," McKenna Publishing Group.
Eye Opening But Sad.......2007-09-26
Clearly a memoir instead of a polished expose, this book showed both the best parts of the human spirit and the downfalls of being human and learning as we go.
The author's energy, enthusiasm and heart for her students clearly shows in her writing. Her honest good will and perseverence are a tribute to the best of human nature.
Unfortunately, like the rest of us, she learns through her mistakes. Some she recognizes, others she breezes over and leaves us to wonder at. For example, being married to a man who already has a wife. Though acceptable in that culture, it seems to go against all her other intentions to improve the lives of women in her new home.
I recommend this book if only for the insight the author's experiences have made available into the lives of Afghani women. The things they live and perservere through will make you daily grateful for the life we lead here in America and give a little more clarity and heart to the battle our brave men are fighting over there.
Good.......2007-09-23
Came at a good time, was in a new condition. Couldn't ask for anything better.
Book Description
Praise for Blood and Thunder
“Kit Carson’s role in the conquest of the Navajo during and after the Civil War remains one of the most dramatic and significant episodes in the history of the American West. Hampton Sides portrays Carson in the larger context of the conquest of the entire West, including his frequent and often lethal encounters with hostile Native Americans. Unusually, Sides gives full voice to Indian leaders themselves about their trials and tribulations in their dealings with the whites. Here is a national hero on the level of Daniel Boone, presented with all of his flaws and virtues, in the context of American people’s belief that it was their Manifest Destiny to occupy the entire West.”
—Howard Lamar, Sterling Professor Emeritus of History, Yale University and editor of The New Encyclopedia of the American West
“The story of the American West has seldom been told with such intimacy and immediacy. Legendary figures like Kit Carson leap to life and history moves at a pulse-pounding pace—sweeping the reader along with it. Hampton Sides is a terrific storyteller.”
—Candice Millard, author of The River of Doubt
“Hampton Sides doesn't just write a book, he transports the reader to another time and place. With his keen sense of drama and his crackling writing style, this master storyteller has bequeathed us a majestic history of the Old West.”
—James Bradley, author of Flags of Our Fathers and Flyboys
“Blood and Thunder is a big-hearted book whose subject is as expansive as they come. Hampton Sides tackles it with naked pleasure and narrative cunning: In his telling, the vast saga of America’s westward push has a logical center. The dusty town of Santa Fe becomes the nexus around which swirl the fortunes and strategies of a mixed set of serious overachievers, from Kit Carson, the original mountain man, to James K. Polk, the enigmatic president whose achievements, in the dreaded name of Manifest Destiny, were almost biblical in scope. Sides is alive to the exuberance and alert to the tragedy of the taking of the West.”
—Russell Shorto, author of Island at the Center of the World
“For a huge percentage of us immigrant Americans (those whose ancestors arrived after 1492), Hampton Sides fills a gaping hole in our knowledge of American history—a vivid account of how ‘The New Men’ swept away the thriving civilizations of the Native Americans in their conquest of the West.”
—Tony Hillerman
"BLOOD AND THUNDER is a balanced, thoughtful summary of the American conquistadors in the 19th century Southwest. Hampton Sides has re-created violent events and such inflammatory figures as Kit Carson without bias. Carefully researched, thoroughly enjoyable."
-Evan S. Connell, author of SON OF THE MORNING STAR, CUSTER AND THE LITTLE BIGHORN
A Magnificent History of How the West Was Really Won—a Sweeping Tale of Shame and Glory
In the fall of 1846 the venerable Navajo warrior Narbona, greatest of his people’s chieftains, looked down upon the small town of Santa Fe, the stronghold of the Mexican settlers he had been fighting his whole long life. He had come to see if the rumors were true—if an army of blue-suited soldiers had swept in from the East and utterly defeated his ancestral enemies. As Narbona gazed down on the battlements and cannons of a mighty fort the invaders had built, he realized his foes had been vanquished—but what did the arrival of these “New Men” portend for the Navajo?
Narbona could not have known that “The Army of the West,” in the midst of the longest march in American military history, was merely the vanguard of an inexorable tide fueled by a self-righteous ideology now known as “Manifest Destiny.” For twenty years the Navajo, elusive lords of a huge swath of mountainous desert and pasturelands, would ferociously resist the flood of soldiers and settlers who wished to change their ancient way of life or destroy them.
Hampton Sides’s extraordinary book brings the history of the American conquest of the West to ringing life. It is a tale with many heroes and villains, but as is found in the best history, the same person might be both. At the center of it all stands the remarkable figure of Kit Carson—the legendary trapper, scout, and soldier who embodies all the contradictions and ambiguities of the American experience in the West. Brave and clever, beloved by his contemporaries, Carson was an illiterate mountain man who twice married Indian women and understood and respected the tribes better than any other American alive. Yet he was also a cold-blooded killer who willingly followed orders tantamount to massacre. Carson’s almost unimaginable exploits made him a household name when they were written up in pulp novels known as “blood-and-thunders,” but now that name is a bitter curse for contemporary Navajo, who cannot forget his role in the travails of their ancestors.
Customer Reviews:
An entertaining and rewarding read........2007-10-03
I came upon this book in searching for an understanding of the historical period in which Cormac McCarthy's masterpiece Blood Meridian is set - the SW of North America in the early to mid-19th century. The book's central theme is the life and times of Kit Carson coupled with the demise of the Navajos in the face of the onslaught of American expansion. Nonetheless, in setting these themes in context, the book addresses all the forces that bore upon them - from the relationship of the early trappers with indigenous society to the seizure of New Mexico and California - in fascinating and enlightening detail. The book is scholarly and authoritative - although there was a complete absence of reference numbers in the text itself to tie in with notes at the back of the book. Even had these been inserted, more detailed references would have better exploited the enormous amount of original research clearly conducted by the author.
The style is informal with a turn of phrase that occasionally touches on the cliche. Still, for all this it is a highly readable, entertaining and vivid account. Perhaps a little hagiographic at times, but then Carson was an extraordinarily self-contained and capable man of principle and character.
In all, this is a highly rewarding book that vividly portrays the broad vistas, horrors, tragedies, heroics and sheer physical hardships that marked the clash of civilisation in America's South West. A great read.
Bury My Soul With the Navajo.......2007-09-26
If you want to dare look into a horror that can haunt you, read this heart stabbing book. It sheds light on the history of the American west and the US government's heartless to destory a people. The details of Kit Carson are as perplexing as mankind is troubling. I also recommend two other books along the same lines: On the Trail of the Pony Express and especially Walking the Trail, One Man's Journey Along the Cherokee Trail of Tears, both by Cherokee author Jerry Ellis. Ellis was the first person in modern history to walk the 900 mile route of the Trail of Tears and the book is a Native American classic, nominated for a Pulitzer and National Book Award.
Blood and Thunder.......2007-09-20
A really exceptional book. It covers one of the most interesting series of events in the history of America with complexity and insight.
Sometimes One-Sided and Misleading.......2007-09-10
As I read through this book, I was amazed that very detailed research had been done and that both sides of the many stories/events had been told. I was severely disappointed when I read chapter 40 - The Children of the Mist when the description and events leading to, during, and after the Mountain Meadows Massacre. The author would like the casual reader to think that the whole event was endorsed by the then President of the LDS Church, Brigham Young. In my personal research, this is far from the case - the presidency of the church at that time would have never approved an act such as that. I would like to note that Mr. Sides did not give any references for quotes by Brigham Young or notes to what happened to the actual ringleaders of the massacre. This was a horrible event and the story needs to be told in the right context. These missing references make me question the quality of the real research that went into the book on a whole.
Blood and Thunder.......2007-09-05
This is a sobering history of how the west was tamed and the significant role Kit Carson played in it. Kit Carson played a key role in saving various American Indian Tribes from extinction. An excellant history of New Mexico. A must read for any New Mexican.
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The Ultimate Life (The Ultimate Series #2)
You Don't Have to Be Blind to See
