"But is old, old, good old Christmas gone? Nothing but the hair of his good, gray, old head and beard left? Well, I will have that, seeing that I cannot have more of him."

-- "Hue and Cry after Christmas," from the opening page of Old Christmas.

This book is what Washington Irving called a "sketchbook" -- a collection of impressions about something, gathered into a fictionalized story. It's a melancholy, fond evocation of fading English Christmas traditions of the author's time.

The story's simple: Irving sets himself in the English countryside, where he's travelling one Christmas Eve. At a country inn he runs into an old schoolmate, who invites him home to spend Christmas at the family estate. The friend's father, it turns out, dotes on all things Christmas, and has tuned his household to some of the more quaint and obscure English traditions celebrating the day. That lets Irving include lots of odd little bits and pieces of Christmas tradition, told through the old man, as part of his plot. The book covers a night and a day. The chapters are pieces of that time: the stagecoach ride is one chapter, then "Christmas Eve," and so on through "Christmas Dinner."

I read this every year lately, and it's a nice, low-key, sad and happy little way to mark the Christmases passing. Washington Irving wrote it in the early 1800s -- the dates of most of his "Sketch Book" are right around 1819 or 1820 -- and the story is mostly a reminiscence about even earlier Christmas traditions. Then it took until 1894 for this edition to be printed, with the illustrations by Caldecott. Later the facsimile edition I have was printed, in maybe the early 1980s... For a little book about Christmas past to have made it through all those years, and come down to me in this personal "sketch," is a glad thing. Coming back to the same copy year after year makes a nice little private tradition.

The text to this is available in a few places on the Web. That's an okay way to get to know the language, but a facsimile of the original book, with the illustrations, is still worth the few dollars it'll cost. The Caldecott who illustrated this is the one for whom the children's book award was named, among other things. You need to read this one next to the Christmas tree, not by the glow of a computer monitor.

Written in 1854 and published the next year,this book is fascinating in providing personal sketches of distinguished Americans Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Andrew Jackson,Henry Clay and John Randolph with many references to other prominent men who were their contemporaries. The author's
analysis is interesting not only in the spirited description of the individuals profiled but in his comparison of each of them with their political antagonists. The unique perspective he brings a man whose life overlapped some of these figures is worth a read for history or politics buffs. His admiration and defense of some he buttresses with argument. His passion is clear.
His oratorical style is typical of the time yet conveys a vivid impression of his subjects, and reminds one of a time before soundbites and simple words geared to a mass audience.

This book is filled with many interesting facts about A. Philip Randolph. Beginning his life as a little black boy in Crescent City FL, he later attended four colleges, and became the longtime head of the Union of Sleeping Car Porters. He was known for his great communication skills, both speaking and writing. He also was a good actor in his college drama productions.

Because of his height and being very slim, he earned the nickname of "Stringbean" as a teen-ager.

His experiences in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, where his father was an effective minister, contributed to his persuasive speaking skills.

This book was a great help to me during Black History Month in third grade at Stoddert Elementary in DC. It was the basis of my monthly writing assignment. Mrs. Levy gave me a wonderful grade, because I used this book as my major resource.

I would highly recommend this book for students in third through sixth grades. It gave a great view of the life of Philip Randolph and his achievements in winning many benefits for his fellow African-Americans.

This book was marvelous. It gave the reader a vast overview of the life and times of one of the most prolific civil rights activists. it chronicled his life and told of achievements such as his founding of the Brotherhood Of Sleeping Car porters, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and his membership in Phi Beta Sigma International Fraternity, Inc.

The book is an excellent educational read, and has many little known FYI tidbits

It's full of data with knowledgement of Piling faudation.

Smith and Davis present a concise discussion of the major facets to research in the field of Psychology. It guides the readers through all stages of the experimental design, from conception through implementation and interpretation. The authors succeed where others fail in conveying their ideas in an untechnical yet methodologically sound manner. It is a more than adequate preparation for undergraduate psychology students.

This collection of poetry is entertaining and thought provoking!
Cheryl Farris speaks profound truths...

This is a great historical accounting of the life of an American aviation pioneer. Tex Johnston's life was a colorful mix of barnstorming through the flight testing and air racing of WWII fighters, and finally the experimental flight testing of the Bell X-1 (prior to Chuck Yeager) and the Boeing aircraft when the jet age was underway. The book is a little scant in his accounting of the famous (infamous?) barrell rolls of the 707 prototype over Lake Washington, which is disappointing. Overall, a great book and must reading for any fan of the early years of experimental flight testing.

David Randolph blows the dust off 500 years' worth of serious music, and explains how best to approach the art--as a purely abstract medium that is incapable of conveying concretes. If you think you should be "seeing" swans when you listen to Saint-Saens, or rivers when you hear Smetana's "Moldau", or little Napoleons in Beethoven's "Eroica", then you definitely need this book. That is its main value: clearing the way to an understanding and genuine enjoyment of serious music by disposing of the myth that it can convey anything other than generalized emotions. Along the way, Randolph also offers an elementary course in basic musical forms, and a cogent analysis of musical styles peculiar to the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods. He also discusses whether the creation of music is (or should be) an "emotional outlet" for either the composer or the performer. (If his answer to the question surprises you, and you accept it, you'll never again see the more flamboyant of classical music's performers--and, especially, orchestral conductors--in quite the same light!) My only reservation is that Randolph's listening suggestions are a bit sparse, and include too many pieces that most newcomers will likely find less than immediately appealing.

This astral "tour guide" would be an inspiring introduction for those who have very little time to read and yet need a good overview right away of what astral projection is mainly about. The editors of Llewellyn Poblications tried to cover every wonderous aspect of astral projection (except how to do it) in 64 pages, including near-death experiences, astral romance, astral healing, apparitions, the different levels of existence within and beyond the astral worlds, astral music, beings of light, etc. They also involved out-of-body (or related) experiences from Ed Morrell, Ingo Swann, Harald Sherman, Sylvan Muldoon, Reinee Fender, and several others as examples. For actual instructions on how to astral project, they recommend, The Llewellyn Guide To Astral Projection.