Most of us having been reading the "metaphysical" books for the last twenty years and it is all basicly the same. I found "Tracking Freedom" refreshingly different. It took reading the book several times and suspending my own usual way of thinking to start to digest what Ken Eagle Feather is trying to get across. I love the book. I will undoubtly read it again and again. Ken Eagle Feather's style of writing makes reading the book a pleasure; like two friends having a conversation. A book to be savored.

Of the three books by Ken Eagle Feather, this one is my favorite. Each of his previous books led me up to this one - which launched me into a new way of perception. Tracking freedom is precisely what the book is about, with no wasted words. It is packed full of exercises and information that helps one along the path to freedom.

excellent history lessons on instruments and origens, good "overall" information but the flute building section is a little vague on dimensions but is still worth reading...lookingbear 2002

I work with Native and non Native kids, and am amazed at the information that I found in this book. It contains modern musicians as well as the older, more traditional forms. The descriptions are concise, and exacting. This publication is a must for any enthusiast of Native Americana or ethnic music! Of course, would you expect less from someone as great as Douglas Spotted Eagle?

At first this book bothered me with it's lack of references. Bowman would make an assertion (or state a fact, depending on your views) but not provide a reference for fact checking. Some of the government reports he quotes do not even appear in the bibliography. One example of this is when he refers to "a 1979 government report." Looking in the bibliography, there are no references at all from 1979. My question: "Which report?"

In spite of this recurring problem throughout the book, there are some very important points which he makes. Our country is completely reliant on energy distribution systems that are vulnerable to disruption.

When I finished the book, I felt like he started out with his conclusion (the last 3 or 4 chapters) and then wrote the rest of the book to support it. This didn't work very well, but... the conclusions are important enough that I have a hard time dismissing the book as I was initially ready to do.

This book tells us the public secrets none of us realized until the World Trade Center bombing. Without telling terrorist how to destroy us, the author helps us all to realize that international terrorism is not just an easily ignored horror overseas, but is imminent to us. Our lives, our dreams; the very survival our country may depend on how our leaders deal with the issues in this book. Our country's web of utilities and other services have bound us together, and supported us through decades of hard times. They may now be our downfall

Rosamunde Pilcher is one of those authors, at least for me, who never disappoints with any of her books. Like coming home from a hectic day and changing into a favorite robe and comfortable slippers, Pilcher's books take me away to a serene place filled with wonderful characters and a happy ending. And based on the popularity of her books, I imagine there are many other readers out there who also feel the same way I do.

The Shell Seekers was the first book I read by her many years ago. After gulping down this wonderful family saga, I couldn't wait to read all of her previously published titles and wondered how she had eluded me in the years before I found The Shell Seekers. Now I am saving her latest title and supposedly last book, Winter Solstice, for that proverbial rainy day. And I suspect that once I've read all of Pilcher's books, I'll simply begin to reread them once again.

Victoria Bradshaw at 18 fell hopelessly in love with London playwright Oliver Dobbs. But their romance was short lived and Victoria hasn't heard from him in years. She has finally moved on with her life when suddenly who should appear on her doorstep but Oliver with a young child in tow. As if no time had gone by, Oliver proposes that Victoria and he along with the child take a trip to Scotland. At first the reason for this trip isn't at all clear to Victoria and she is somewhat skeptical. But then Olvier is very convincing and Victoria is eventually willing to go along with his proposal. Once in Scotland, Olivers motives become painfully too clear and while Victoria sees Oliver for what he is, we as readers are also treated to Piclcher's special brand of characters and plot developments.

This was another one of Pilchers satisfying reads and one which I hoped would never end.

This novel is another in a terrific line of Rosamunde Pilcher books. Pilcher is one of my favorite authors because her unique characterizations and modern day Scottish settings are so true to life. In this book, Oliver Dobbs, a snide young egotistical playwright, kidnaps his little toddler son for his own selfish reasons. Then Oliver enlists his old girlfriend, Victoria Bradshaw to help him in his shenanigans, which involve a great amount of Scotch, temper tantrums by Oliver, increasing disgust by Victoria, and the most impressive conflagration since the novel "Rebecca." Pilcher has a way of writing that is comfortable and deft. Reading her novels allows you to enter a unique world, a place I find most satisfying. Thank you Rose of the world.

When I first saw this book my initial reaction was "Not another take on the King Arthur myth!" Now that I've read it, I must say, this isn't just another take on the myth. This is the Arthur Myth in a whole new light.

Jack Whyte presents Caius Brittanicus and Publius Varrus, the Roman forbearers of King Arthur and founders of Camulod. the novel starts off with the penetration of Hadrians wall by the Barbarian Hordes and takes us up to the end of the 4th Century. In it you will meet Picus Brittanicus, father of Merlin, and learn how Excalibur came to be. The characters are totally believeable and real. Each one has his/her faults as well as his/her strong points.

What I loved about this book is the fact that Whyte took his time and painstakingly recreated the Roman World. His description of the battles, the Roman Army, Roman life... It was all fantastic. This is more of a historical fiction than a fantasy novel, so if you are looking for wizards and warlocks, you will be disappointed.

I must say that some parts of this novel, and certainly in the ones that follow, contain "adult" themes. You might want to consider this before allowing young adults to read it.

Finally, the true measure of the first novel in a series is it's ability to get you excited about the next installment. As soon as I finished book one I immediately picked up book2, so it's a hit!

The SKYSTONE is a book that will grab you and keep you reading with wonder and anticipation until the very end . . . and then you will go out and find the SINGING SWORD. - and it will do the same. Mr. Whyte writes historical fiction in a way that you feel that you are there, that you are part of it. Rome and its politics, in all its ugliness (this story occurs as Rome is about to fall), is deftly depicted. Its legions in Britain, removed from the Roman fray for the most part, continue to maintain the peace and provide a framework for law and its administration until Roman troubles cause a tiny band of "British" Romans to make alternative plans for the future. This book lays the cornerstone of the foundation that will support the Arthurian and Camelot legends. It is a story that is at once real, full of fascinating characters and events, and very human. The "heroes" have real-life problems to solve (and to live with); the villains reflect the inhuman behavior of the Roman elite of the times. This is a book you will remember. This is a book you will recommend to friends and associates.

I picked up this book in the fantasy section, but it seems misplaced. I become King Arthur-fatiqued long ago, but this book captured my attention with a much different take on the legend. Whyte has written this book around the question "What true events could explain what has evolved into the popular legend of Arthur?"

The breakdown of the Roman occupation of Britain is extremely interesting, and the book is worth reading for this alone. Since none of the characters in this book figure into the Arthurian legend, the story stands by itself. If you read the next few volumes, the myth will begin to unfold.

This book is Whyte's most original and my favorite. For anyone interested in a novel of early Britain, I recommend it.

I have read other books by Ms. Siddons and found them to be very satisfying. This book held my attention all the way through and was very well written and plotted out, but left me completely unsatisfied.

I was in the mood for a good ghost story and when I found out that this one impressed Stephen King so much, I thought it would be a satisfying one. Unfortunately I was let down. It wasn't scary, it wasn't spooky, and in the end it didn't deliver.

This is the story a very nice couple living in a wealthy neighborhood. Next door is a beautiful wooded lot that they enjoy looking at and are dismayed when bulldozers come and a gentle architect begins building the house next door. They get to know him and care for him, they become the best of friends. You learn to like and care for all three of the central characters in this story -- that is truly the mark of a good writer. In succession, three different families live in the house and come to disaster -- you never get to know them well, but you feel sorry for them. Eventually this wonderful couple and this sweet man are drawn to the end together and that's where the major "thud" comes in. The ending was very unsatisfying and didn't seem well thought out at all.

The reason it isn't scary or spooky is because the ghost story portion of the tale is never fully delved into, only alluded to. This book did not gain keeper status on my shelf and I probably will never recommend it to friends.

In response to the previous reviewers comments: Don't get this one! You WILL regret it. If you really want to read it get it from the library then you'll be glad to give it back at the end.

This book is so different from the usual haunted house fare. There really isn't much that serves as a tangible reason for the house being so evil, it just apparently is. And it's a vicious house for certain, preying on psychological fear rather than manifesting itself as a poltergiest or apparition. Things just "happen" in or around the house, disturbing things. Lives are ruined and that is the only motiff that emerges. It's not a singular entity with just murder in mind. It wants to cause pain to its victims on an inner level and that is extremely frightening in concept. The novel is like a constant mind rape of the characters involved and it is so very delicious in its malice. One of the top 10 horror novels I have ever read and way more intense than Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House or Richard Matheson's Hell House. A must read for any fan of the horror genre or any new home owner.

I've read them all and loved them. Siddons is a fine tale-teller (just as you'd expect from a Southerner) and she has a talent for creating real and believable characters. I'm not a fan of horror and picked this up thinking it was suspense. I was right -- horror suspense!

When strange things begin happening at the new house next door to the Kennedys, this book just takes over. I couldn't get away from it until I finished it.

Siddons was a long time reporter for Atlanta magazine, honing her craft under one of the best editors of the 50s and 60s. That's why her prose is so magical -- descriptions of people and places are vivid and never dull.

This is Siddons at her very best. I hope she writes another suspense novel someday. I'd like to have that to look forward to.

This is the third volume of a superb series about the life and times of King Arthur from a historical perspective.

Whyte's narration and writing style continue to be excellent. Was this the way things really happened? Did Merlyn (using Whyte's spelling) and Uther actually exist, and really live their lives as Whyte describes? We'll probably never know for sure, but Whyte certainly made me believe they could have. All of his characters are three-dimensional, flesh-and-blood people - and though I know how the story had to turn out (this is, after all, the story of Arthur), there were quite a few moments in this volume that took my breath away. At some points I honestly believed that Whyte was going to play some kind of dirty trick on me and veer off into an alternate universe.

Along the way Whyte gives us several lessons in history and the religion of the time. I'm not enough of a scholar to know whether or not a debate such as the one he describes actually took place, but I certainly believed in his description of it. And he presents both sides of several religious arguments in a way such that any layman could understand them, without his (Whyte's) obviously taking one side or the other.

My only complaint with this particular entry in the series is that Whyte doesn't really dig into the life, history, or personality of Lot of Cornwall. What little description he does give makes Lot out to be evil personified, but I really would have liked to learn more about what made this man tick.

Unlike the first two, there is a little bit of "magic" in this volume, if you can call dreams magic. It seems that Whyte's Merlyn has a bit of precognition - his dreams accurately predict several events in the story. But there is no overt magic - nobody turns into a newt or anything else.

I'm eagerly looking forward to volume four.

OUTSTANDING!Mr. Whyte makes you feel like you are in the story. It's being there. This is storytelling at its very best. The plot, the characters, the pace, the detail, are all perfect. Can you tell I liked it? I do feel that one should read the series in order to get the full impact of the story. It does, after all, begin with SKYSTONE. This book kept me up late several nights simply because I couldn't leave it alone. The plot is rich with history and details that make you want to read more about the time this occurred. The characters are fully developed and have personalities (seen through the eyes of the storyteller) that are colorful and have a depth that makes them real people: you know them. You care for them and what happens to them. This is a magnificent saga. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys history, historical fiction, or just a real good story.

Another fast paced thrill ride from a writer that knows how to re-tell history. Jack Whyte pulls everthing together to yet again create a fascinating story. The series has been a page turner from the beginning. Jack Whyte creates a depth of characters that is unparalled by any other author. He excellently portrays the family and the lives that they live. With every page you feel like you are living your life beside Merlyn and his associates. If there was anything more going on in the story it would be too much.

Donald Spoto bases this book on the facts...not speculations and unseen sources. This is a very detailed account of Marilyn's Life,from the early years spent as a starlet thru her marriages...relationships with famous photographers and acting coaches thru ordinary people...
Marilyn's last days are realistically brought back to Life with a plausible explanation of what really happened the night she died.
One of the best parts of the book is the last chapter "Aftermath: the great deception", where Donald Spoto adresses all the tabloid biographies that sensationalize marilyn's death...the theories and speculations about her involvement with the Kennedys and the mafia and so called "best friends"....
Such as Robert Slatzer and jeanne carmen, to name the worst offenders among them.
I have read all the mayor Biographies on Marilyn and this one for me comes closest to what the truth might be about what happened to marilyn.

Donald Spoto must have done a lot of hard work to uncover all this information about Marilyn. In this extensive biography (the best I've read) we learn things that maybe we'd never heard about before.

And, by interviewing people close to Marilyn such as Milton H. Greene and Inez Nelson (?), by reading papers from Marilyn to Lee/Paula Strasberg, Pat Newcomb, and others influential in her life, DS gives us further insight into the life of this beautiful but misunderstood immortal screen goddess.

We also learn the truth about her death. No, Marilyn was not killed by the Kennedys. (Both Bobby and John had alibis, and the information DS presents show no reason why they would want to assassinate her anyway.) And from what DS says, Marilyn was planning to remarry Joe DiMaggio and to her friends it didn't seem that she was planning to kill herself.

His hypothesis is that her suicide may have been accidental, after being fed all those barbituates by different people through all the years, and Dr. Ralph Greenson and her housekeeper, Eunice Murray, may have had a hand in it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and learned so much from it!

I really enjoyed reading this book! It was so hard to put it down once you got going. You really find out a lot about Marilyn's life that no one has ever talked or written about before. I've liked Marilyn since I was about 13 or 14 and now I'm 26. I've always been interested in her life and now I feel like I finally know what it was like. This book really covers everything, from birth to death. To really find out what happened to Marilyn, READ THIS BOOK!

The first thing I thought when I read this book was, is this for real? Though the basic pconcept of the story, the twins living apart and on opposite sides, is rather contrived, and reminiscent of movies with bad stories, somehow, the way it has been written makes you feel that maybe, maybe all this is a historical account. That is one thing Higgins can do like noone else. However, there is a line to be drawn. I felt that the "twist" in the absolute end, those who have read it know which twist I'm talking about, and those who haven't, I won't spoil it, but the twist is, I felt, unnecessary. The story ties up quite nicely without it, and I can't figure out the author's motivation for that little extra.

But all in all, this play is an A-Class read! Definitely worth reading. It brought back a lot of the flavour of the era which seems to be fast becoming a lost art. All I can say is that this book was engrossing enough to make me miss a couple of appointments, and in the end, that's all that matters!

I found the Flight of Eagles by Jack Higgins to be very interesting and intriguing. The book had a strong plot in which Higgins caught the reader's attention by pulling in historical figures with fictional ones leaving you with suspense and thoughts of always wanting to find out what happens next. The books main Characters Harry Kelso and Max Von Halder are described with such realistic traits, thoughts, and actions by Higgins you would believe that they were real fighter pilots. The characters are described with great detail but often it is hard to keep track of them all until the end when Higgins ties them all together. I found it very interesting as to how Higgins used the bear Tarquin as a symbol in the book to tell the story of two separated brothers brought together by war. The realistic details of war, the planes the brothers flew, and the whiskey they drank made it seem as though you could be sitting right there with them. The book is full of suspenseful action that leaves you with a feeling that you just can't stop reading because you are eager to find out what happens next. The books ending is surprising but well organized in bringing all the events to a whole.

Flight of Eagles, by Jack Higgins,1998, Putnam Pub, New York,Hardcover, 336 pp., $17.47 U.S. (from Amazon.com)

"In the early days of World War II, brothers Max and Harry Kelso--born in the U.S. shortly after the first world war to a German war nurse mother and an American fighter ace father--find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict. For it seems that forces much greater than they have set into motion an intrigue so devious, so filled with peril, that it will require that they question everything they know, all that they hold most dear. A new thriller by the author of The President's Daughter."

Jack Higgins, who also writes under his real name, Harry Patterson, is a real yarn spinner. Among others, he gave us the 1975 best seller, The Eagle Has Landed. He reminds me of another author whom I knew personally, named R. Wright "Bobby" Campbell, who wrote The Spy Who Sat and Waited.

Both men were high school dropouts, with interesting backgrounds. Higgins' background includes the military, circus roustabout, laborer, and truck driver before he went to college and became a teacher and author.

Bobby Campbell, who lived in Carmel, California when I knew him, would sit across a restaurant table from you and spin a story. He was a natural-born story-teller, and seemingly couldn't help himself.

Another fiction writer of the same ilk was the late Louis L'Amour. He also had a background as a roustabout, truck driver, merchant seaman, prize-fighter and other such jobs, which enabled him to know about life close up and personal.

After all, before you can write convincingly, you need some life experience, and the best of them seem to spend years participating in life before they begin to write about it. But I remember asking Bobby Campbell once how much time he had spent in the Orkneys (the islands North of Scotland) in order to write with such authority about the people and their customs, whom he described so well in The Spy Who Sat and Waited.! He laughed, and said he got everything he needed in the way of research from the encyclopedia.

That will only work, though, for someone who has lived a lot, and observed people closely in their griefs, sorrows, joys, loves and hates. Fiction is an art form, unlike report writing or editorial writing. Not everyone can do it, and of those who can, not all are equal. Jack Higgins is truly one of the master story-tellers.

His protagonists are convincingly drawn, and his plots seem believable even when they are far-fetched. In this one, the Nazis want to assassinate Eisenhower. In The Eagle Has Landed, it was Churchill they were after.

This is good fiction. He works in real people, like Bubi Hartmann, the top-scoring German fighter ace of World War II, and Adolph Galland, who was their highest scoring ace in the Battle of Britain, and who eventually became their chief of fighters. The last I heard, both were still alive.

Higgins weaves a good tale, and you should enjoy this one.