I found Maxine's debut novel, "No Pockets In a Shroud" to be a fascinating book about complex choices, sacrifice, revenge and redemption! I loved it. This book should be required reading on the high school level.

Margie Gosa Shivers, Author of "Anonymity"

Like so many, I read Maxine Thompson's "The Ebony Tree" before "No Pockets In A Shroud." The characters, Jewel Shepard and others, took us on an emotional rollercoaster with leaps and bounds through shame, betrayal and secrets. However, I wanted to know what started this journey of disgrace. The answer is given in "No Pockets In A Shroud," the forerunner of "The Ebony Tree."

"No Pockets In A Shroud" is the ultimate definition of ...."What's done in the dark will come out in the light." It is written with the boldness and tenacity that has become the signature for Maxine Thompson. Imagine Nefertitti, absent from her family because of her imagined shame. She returns only to find that she was the only one who didn't have a reason to be ashamed.

This is 244 pages of fast-paced drama, with one secret after another being uncovered. You cry, you laugh, you challenge your own motives of keeping secrets. But, you will also wait at the bookstore for another riveting book from Maxine Thompson.

No Pockets in a Shroud is an excellent book, I couldn't put it down. My heart jerked as the voices from the grave called out in this brillant amazing well crafted novel. Pain, love and slavery is so real in this novel. I deeply encourage teens and adults to read and learn from Maxine Thompson work.

The only reason I gave this story 5 stars is because there wasn't six, or ten, or a hundred available as choices.

Simply put, the Sandman is one of the greatest, most involving, most touching, (even for a hard to touch person such as myself) work of literature (yes, despite being a mere comic book it is literature, or as Peter Stuab says, nothing is) in the past century, perhaps in the past several centuries.

And Brief Lives is the best volume in the Sandman series, hands down.

The story, plot wise, is about a quest to find a missing brother.

The story is really about so many things more; about death, fate, redemption, mercy, terrible kindness, the meddling of gods and endless in human affairs, what happens to a family when the person that is its glue leaves, what it means to have a conscience, pride, honor, and much more.

Brief Lives is, even more than the other Sandman volumes, rich with beauty, imagery, imagination, and scenes that fire the imagination and touch the heart. Who cannot be moved by the anguish of Delirium and Despair, who is not awestruck by the scenes in the garden of Destiny or the conversation with Destruction, who is not genuinely saddened by the death of Orpheus and at Dream's terrible grief after the act, and who cannot be uplifted by the ending and the bond of love between Orpheus and his servant.

As an aspiring writer, I can honestly say that Brief Lives is both an inspiration and a goal; I hope that I may be able to write a single work that compares to it.

I will admit to being initially reluctant to pick up Brief Lives, perhaps because I sensed where Gaiman would take the Sandman in the last four issues, the inevitable turn to tragedy. Brief Lives is like the last warm day before winter or the last flash of light and color at sunset. The course of the Sandman was always destined to be a tragic one, and Brief Lives is the beginning of the end, the movement from dreamy stories to true tragedy, and watching it happen to an incredible character like Dream only makes it that much more affecting. Towards the end of the story, Desire, foretelling the future, says that Dream was wreck waiting to happen, and that has been true. Dream has been a wreck waiting to happen since he escaped his captivity, or maybe since Orpheus went down to Hades, or maybe before that. Up till now, though, there was always the chance that things would go another way, that there was a way around that destiny, but after Brief Lives, that is no longer the case. There is only one possible outcome, and it is only a matter of time.

That knowledge, heart wrenching as it is, is what makes this the best of all the Sandman series, and the best story, of any type or genre that I've read in quite some time.

Oh, yes! Change is indeed the topic debated throughout Neil Gaimans masterpiece volume in the highly thought-stimulating saga of the Dreamlord. It is the book that sees Gaiman making his main character emotionally vulnerable (whereas "Preludes & Nocturnes" portrayed his "physical" weakness), thus more human in action, thought and word. By doing this Gaiman's genious sends this fascinating, somewhat inexplicable dark and mute, "human" incarnation of dreams from the rather easily awoken sense of a "sympathetic" prothagonist in action, to the empathetic core of our hearts. His clumsy approach at establishing a dialogue with the elf-housemaid Nuala on his return to the dreamcastle, stands out as proof of change - actions and reactions within this brief conversation bear witness to the Dreamlords waking will to take other beings welfare into consideration, within the limits of all realms.

The turning points are, due to the non-linear narrative, generally spread out through most of the volumes of the Sandman story, but to me the ultimate change of the storyline occurs as Morpheus initiates a final rendez-vous with his human son, as described in this wonderful, and not least powerful, collection of beautiful stories. In short a powerful set of thoughts on the nature of "the word for things not being the same always".

The presence of the Almighty is felt briefly through actions, beyond the control of even the Endless Seven, and dialogues reflecting an inevitable masterplan that will seal the fate of Morpheus as we have come to know him.

Delirium, the youngest of the Endless, who was once Delight, needs a change. She decides to find her missing "prodigal" brother. She begs Dream to accompany her and surprisingly, (for reasons we don't discover til later) he agrees. But their prodigal brother is none other than Destruction, and as Dream and Delirium soon learn, few can seek Destruction unscathed. One of Gaiman's many skills is the use of doublespeak, and this story is no exception. It is a brilliant interplay of past accounts and current journeys, mirroring each other.

"What's the name of the word for things not being the same always.....there must be a word for it. The thing that let's you know time is happening. Is there a word?"

"Change" replies Dream, and that is the basis for this story. It marks the realization of what Dream boths needs and yet cannot accomplish - he must change to survive, or cast about the seeds of his own future destruction.

"Brief Lives" is the glory of an already impeccable series. It is for me, the jewel in the crown of the entire Sandman saga. It manages to be haunting, thrilling and hysterical all at the same time.

when i read i have this tendency to underline or highlight phrases and words that strike me. reading this book i eventually had to give up on the note-taking, because otherwise the entire book would have been highlighted! i saw myself in nearly everything tracy went through. it helped me to understand things about myself that i wasn't even aware of. the periods of being "fine" in between the depression, the way it would sneak up on her, the way all motivation to work or function would just fly out the window, the way a person could seem perfectly "normal" to everyone around her and yet inside be a complete mess. all i want to say is thank you!

I have read many books on Depression and other mental health problems since the summer of 1993 and this is the best that I have read yet. I would highly recommend it to anyone that either suffers with, or knows someone who suffers with Depression. The way Ms. Thompson has written this book really hits home for me and it was inspiring to know that there are people who have overcome this terrible disease and are successful at their chosen careers. IT IS THE BEST, THANK YOU MS. THOMPSON FOR SHARING YOUR STORY.

For many, many years, I suffered terribly from depression, a tradition in my family. I was finally diagnosed a few years ago, and now take medication that enables me to live a normal life. Even so, this book gave me powerful insight into The Beast. I saw myself on every page. There were elements of this disease that I wasn't able to see until I read this book. (Like the fact that I was lying to myself and others about having the disease.) Reading it, I had "aha" after "aha." Since then, I have told three people - my friends - about what I go through and what I have been through. That's a big step for me. If you can't sleep, or if you sleep too much; if you aren't in counseling because you're afraid you'll be committed; if you are in agony but you think "everybody" lives this way and just handles it better than you; if you don't want to live like you live anymore; if the anxiety is like a sock in your throat; if you feel like "nobody" could understand, please buy this book. It will help you. If you know or love someone who you think may be suffering from this disease, I recommend reading it. It will help you understand why they are doing what they do and may help you help them.

I'm 32 years old and I LOVE Eloise - she is an absolutely delightful character! I have bought several of the Eloise books for my 5 year old daughter and she just loves Eloise as well. How fun and inspiring is it for a little girl to read about a character as whimsical and independent as Eloise?

The illustrations in this book are fantastic and really bring Paris to life for children. I have read this book at least 100 times to my daughter, and each time I enjoy it more. My daughter now wants a champagne cork necklace just like Eloise...thanks Kay Thompson for laughs you have allowed my daughter and me to share!

I read Eloise (at the Plaza) and Eloise in Paris - all 'very much' Kay. I loved that woman - a very good friend of my mom's. I worked with/for her when (as a teenager) I did her musical arrangements and orchestrations for her fabulous act with The Williams Brothers - which opened in Vegas and played all over the world.

She was one of a kind (you can see her in Funny Face) brilliant musical/vocal arranger herself, world traveler, racounter, incredible lady. I've bumper into her in Rome, Paris, London, New York, LA and was terribly saddened by her death (even though she was painfully painfully thin her whole life). She was one of the great women in the history of show biz. The Eloise books are thrilling to say the least and I continually laugh every time I pick one up even after I've gone through them 100 times. I'm ordering them once again as I left mine in London and MUST have them once again. Buddy Bregman

I love Eloise!!! Eloise in Paris is my favorite Eloise book. What's really fun are those long made up words such as "zuk zuk zhwocky zuk zuk nnnn" for their Plaza telephone. With the "charming" six year old as the star, this book is about how a rich girl spends time in Paris with Nanny, Skipperdee (Turtle), Weenie (dog), and Koki (chauffeur). It's very creative; all of Kay Thompson's books are. I read the first Eloise book to a bunch of friends in my college dorm, and I only got past four or five pages because they were all saying, "C'mon, Hilary!!! That's enough!" I also went through this phase a year or so ago where I sent E-Mails saying: "The Bell Captain Knows Who I am!" which left most of my friends perplexed. I remember the response of one friend: "That's really great, but who's the Bell Captain?" It's quite odd because books can create all sorts of situations for people. The funny words or phrases can start jokes as well. One of my friends and I thought it was weird that Eloise said that paper cups were good for talking to Mars, and we sometimes say on the phone to eachother, "have you talked to Mars yet?"

From the viewpoint of a Beatnik, Eloise In Paris and all the rest of the books about her are some of the beatest kids books I've seen!

This is a very opinionated book and that's one of it's biggest strengths. There are all the facts, tables, and charts that you'd expect in a book about PC hardware but the book really shines because the authors aren't afraid to name names and give no nonsense advice about what to buy (and what not to buy). I'm building a new PC and was dithering between a fast Pentium III and a fast Athlon. After reading the chapter on processors I decided to buy a mid-range processor that isn't much slower than the top end ones and spend the $400 I saved on more memory, a faster hard disk, and better video. I bet Intel and AMD hate these guys.

My wife bought me this book for Christmas. I was impressed just flipping through the book and reading random sections so I decided to sit down and read it cover to cover. This is clearly the best PC hardware book on the market. Solid coverage, factually correct, and the opinions expressed are never contrary to my own experience. It's not as big as those huge compendium PC books with twenty different authors but there's more real information in it. If you're only going to buy one PC hardware book this is the one to get.

This is an excellent comprehensive guide to the insides of the PC. There's a chapter on each component (motherboards, memory, processors, hard drives, CD-drives, you name it). For each component the authors describe and explain in detail what it does, how it works, how to install/config, the different types, preferred models and much other relevant info. It's very well-written, too; no time spent wondering what the authors are trying to say. I'd been looking for a book like this for quite awhile: a comprehensive PC 'innards' book done in the O'Reilly Nutshell style. I've been poking thru it almost every day since I got it. And I am SO much smarter at work... :]

Deep within the mind of the creative artist often lies the tendency to become destructive. Nowhere is this more apparent than in this brilliantly written work. Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" describes the effects of alcohal and drugs in calculated journo-prose. Initially assigned to cover a motorcyle race in the desert, the emphasis soon shifts from responsibility to reckless partying. The book meanders between odes to opium, mescaline and other mind-altering substances to ethical issues and social commentary. The book is a true story, which recounts the adventures of Thompson, alias Duke, and his obese lawyer, alias Gonzo in Las Vegas in the early 70s. Generally regarded as a collection of infamous drug exploits, the book also captured critical acclaim for it's abrupt and edgy style, and has remained a favorite in journalistic circles. The drug concotions enable Thompson to comment carelessly on everything from social issues to personal exploration, providing an objective critique of modern American life. The language is edgy and vulgar, lacking refinement and dignity. As well he knows, Thompson himself resembles these remarks and at least in this instance, life does imitate art. Overall, it is an odyssey into the mind of a true gonzo-journalist, chock full of emotion and definately worth a few hours of your time. The brains cells are up to you.

Other books of interest: "Post Office," by Charles Bukowski, and "THe Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test," by Tom Wolfe.

I loved this great,savage,and wild novel on Hunter S. Thompson. Its all about HST going on his way to Las Vagas to find the American dream.He's got his attorney side kick with him and there doing every thing you would of never thought possible. Breaking all the rules in a beautiful way.There is no way I can really explain it, it shifts thoughts from flash backs from the sixties and it will explain all your dreams in a way.It's a mind twister, well to me it was.You have to read it 5 or 6 times because you learn new things from it every time you read it.There are secerts all in there even if they were not ment to be, but it's all in your in your mind. Its a very good book on the drug culture also ,HST Knows how to have savage fun, and take all the sick and twisted thoughts of highly powerful LSD trips and spill them out in front of you while you read this great book and truley show you the mind of a genius. It just shows you a very good way to live life to the fullest. And it's funny too in a good and weird way.Well i could go on for ever about HST and this great book but every thing stops some were ,so just go get the book and read it because you would be missing somthing very amazing and savage at the same time. Hope you enjoyed and Goodbye.

Thompson possesses a magical way with words, and his writing style is a pure pleasure to read. Incredibly funny and surprisingly poetic and insightful; Hunter waxes on elegantly, with a perspective and intelligence that is astonishing. The first half of the book, and in particular the opening scene, is excellent, witty, and about the funniest thing in print. The latter half, while still intoxicating and good, is a bit chaotic, as the quest for the Dream winds down and the aftermath of the search is examined. The movie with Johnny Depp is also great; it is best to read the book and then immediatly watch the movie because so much is said in Hunter's unique way of talking, that without reading the book first, much of what he says is missed; also, everything takes on a greater significance, yeilding a better understanding of the rapid series of events. Thompson, with this book alone, proves his genius for all of time.

Buy this book and hesitate to read - all other poetry afterwards will pale in comparison. Then buy a copy of Neruda's autobiography to understand how Neruda can 'write the saddest lines'. I have given Twenty Love Poems and a song of Despair more frequently than any other gift. The perfect Valentine's or anniversary gift.

Never read anything as beautiful as these words!! So poignant, so honest, so real! Speaks of love in terms that we all understand. It speaks of love in all its glories, pains, frustrations and ecstasies. It captures love in all its moments, from that first adrenaline rush to the last bitter moments of a relationship, as in "Tonight I write the saddest lines". So much passion and sensitivity wrapped up in one book! This book has become my travelling companion. I take it everywhere with me!! I LOVE YOU NERUDA, MI CORAZON!!!!!!!!

I have always been thankful that English is my first language, for I would hate to read a translated version of a Shakespeare play. Neruda (and perhaps Gabriel Garcia Marquez) is one writer that makes me wish I could read Spanish, for as amazing as his poems are in the translated English (and the are amazing), they must be pure and unabashed magic in their original language. Neruda is able to write on emotions that we occassionaly feel, and often long about, but can seldom work into spoken (yet alone written) words. By far, my favorite in this book of poems is Number 20, which has come to be known as "Tonight I Can Write..." Only after losing the love that I thought would last forever did the words "Love is so short, forgetting so long" sincerely ring true. Neruda's poems in general are amazing, and his ability to capture human emotions is remarkable.

The four funniest books I have read in my life were: 1) Candide by Voltaire, 2) A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy O'Toole, 3) My Gorgeous Life by Dame Edna (Barry Humphries) and 4) Buddy Babylon. This book is so funny, I was laughing out loud while reading it during lunch at a restaurant. Scott Thompson is funny to the extreme. And I do not mean "smile" funny but out loud hilarious funny. This is the kind of comic book I will be reading every couple of years just to enjoy all of the routines and great lines over and over again. Absolutely the funniest book in years!!!

Being a Kids in the Hall fan, I may be biased, but I have loaned this book to some of my friends who aren't quite so lucky to have experience the hilarity of the Kids. They have quite enjoyed the book, and rightly so! It is a well-written, and although unsuffice enough to say, very funny. Scott's character recalls hilarious anecdotes and manages to make something that would normally be serious and unlaughable into just that, a laughing matter. I suggest this book to anyone unless you're homophobic; you never get the full gist of Buddy Cole's flamingness until you read Buddy Babylon. It's great.

I have read this book 27 times already, and it gets better each read! If you think your life is a little sick and twisted, read Buddy's story! I am a huge fan of The Kids in the Hall, and think Scott Thompson is GOD! This book peeks into why Buddy is the way he is...FLAWLESS! You have never read a more creative book in your life, nor will you ever, (unless part two comes about)! Reading this book will leave you continually fantisizing about the Canadian wilderness, and thanking God your not there! You will become a child again, and pretend Buddy is a close personal friend, (who you don't like)! I no linger fear circus freaks, but now love them as other people's children. This book is a true spititual journey! Buddy is genius!

In Mario Puzo's The Godfather, he uses the crimes of a family and their Italian heritage to show how it affects a large loving family. I thought this was an excellent book, because the plot sequence was amazing with constant twists and suspense. The irony of this book comes through the crime boss Vito Corleone who is a kind-hearted and loyal friend of all who come to him with a request. However, he makes his living off of corruption and death which really doesn't affect the reader's attitude towards this loving character. The vicious side of the mafia comes through Vito's son Sonny. Sonny's rage leads to the death of many mob-related characters as well as to the his own death which is another irony evident in this novel. The Godfather uses masterful description of each member's life and how mob-life affected them. Another example of irony in The Godfather is the youngest son Michael's situation. At the beginning of the novel, Michael is returning from World War II and has no part in the family business. However, when his father nears death after gunshot wounds, Michael is drawn into the family business and chooses to pay back the antagonist Solozzo by spilling his blood for the sake of the family. Michael becomes the leader of the family after his father and Sonny die and he returns from Italy after things die down about his assasination of Solozzo. This transformation from an upstanding servant of the country to a crime boss looking out for the wellbeing of his family alone is the ulimate irony in this novel. Women and children are not major characters in the novel, because Puzo uses them to show how the mobs goal was to keep the innocent free from encountering their violent troubles. Puzo incorporates the lives of everyone involved in this crime family to show how much love and loyalty lead to their success and rage and deceit lead to their downfall. After reading the novel, I gained a greater appreciation for the movie which I had seen earlier and an understanding of how loyalty leads to power in the world.

If you've seen the movie The Godfather, then Francis Ford Coppola, Marlon Brando, and Al Pacino struck you with greatness. Now its time to buy and read Mario Puzo's all time classic and be blown away all over again. But if you're expecting a peaceful read that you can relax at night and read before sleep you'd be sadly mistaken.

Puzo's classic novelization of the mafia saga of Vito and Michael Corrleone is a must for every literate in the world. Between these covers are tales of crime, corruption, savage murder, love, drugs, Las Vegas, triumph, tragedy, and Vito Corrleone's rise as the nation's greatest Mafia kingpin. And all these stories are written with fiery intensity and passion that brings the characters to life in ways few authors can. Puzo writes this book so well that you will cringe in horror at the savage and corrupt ways of the Sicilian mafia, and all the terrible things that the members of these Mafia families will do.

So if you've seen the movie and was simply blown away or if you're just a fan of good reading that brings the characters out of the pages of the book and leaves them stamped in your mind then here is an offer you can't refuse; buy it now, and enjoy some of the greatest literature EVER!

The Godfather by Mario Puzo is about an Italian Mafia family, the Corleones, who live in New York, and it gives an inside look at how the Mafia runs. The many characters include Don Vito Corleone, the Godfather, and his three sons, Santino, Fredo, and Michael. The first main event happens when a man by the name of Virgil Sollozzo enters Don's office and asks if Don would help him import drugs into the United States. Don rejects saying that even though the profits from drugs are high, so are the risks. A couple days later, when Don is getting into his car, he is shot by two men. Even though he is severely wounded he is not killed and Santino is forced to take over the business. I won't give away the rest of the book, but I will tell you it kept me on the edge of my seat. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys nonstop action in the novels they read. I found Mario Puzo's writing style to be very good with lots of unexpected twists and turns. This helped make the book very exciting. I also recommend it to anyone interested in the Mafia. This book provides an inside look about how the Mafia is run. Overall, I enjoyed this book very much.

For many years, I searched for the "ultimate" Bible. Being an avid New King James Version reader, we don't always have as many resources available as the King James or NIV people. My most useful Bible study tool is many, many cross-references, which I always looked for in NKJV Bibles that had the most. The Thompson Chain has much more than the standard cross-references. The chain references are just that: you go to the alphabetical index to find your subject, (which there are listed around 4,400 different topics) and you go to the first reference, and simply chain through the scripture references. In other words, they are cross-referenced in sequence order! The topics are as detailed as "blue" and as extensive as "God"; these more extensive subjects are then broken down into various sub- topics. Also, in the back of the Bible, the subjects are listed by title, then all the references are given, and the more main ones are chained throughout the scriptures, and some topics' scriptures are written out in the back also! There are also absolutely no commentaries, nor any conclusions drawn in this Bible! I would 100% recommend this Bible (in any version you use) for those of us who love many, many cross references, and believe first and foremost to compare scripture with scripture (1Cor. 2:13) in Bible studies. For those who like this, this Bible has everything!

I have owned one version or another of the Chain Reference Bible since I was a teenager in the seventies. My 'standard' Bible has been the large print KJV for many, many years and it remains the first Bible I pick up. I purchased the NIV Chain Reference, but just didn't like the translation, it just didn't 'read' right for me. I've enjoyed the NAS translation, but it is awfully dry reading when the heart desires poetry. So, I ended up purchasing the NKJV. It has been a real pleasure to read, combining the elegance of the KJV with a modern and accurate adaptation.

As for the chain reference system used by Thompson, it's such a part of my Bible reading and study that I'd have a really hard time switching to another system. Some of the illustrations and charts have been revised from my older KJV, but not to an extreme. The Thompson system remains, for me, the quickest and easiest way to study a topic through the Bible, or just through either the New or Old Testament. The Bible also includes an excellent concordance; for someone new to chain reference study they can start with the traditional concordance and work their way into the Thompson system. Also included are excellent maps, revised from the earlier versions, and a historical dictionary with photos of significant Biblical locations, with explanations.

I agree with another reviewer that Nelson Bibles are, in general, not made for people with serious intentions on daily Bible use. They are constructed down to a price, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, as these can provide a very inexpensive introduction to the Bible. However, when one is ready to use a Bible in a serious, daily way, a better Bible will easily pay for its higher price.

Though this Bible is well-made, it is NOT as well made as my older, large print KJV. My older Bible has whipstitching clearly seen in front and back, with pages secured as well today as when I bought it. This newer Bible appears to have pages that are glued in like cheaper ones. Additionally, the paper is comletely different than my older edition, and thinner. The older paper had almost an eggshell texture, whereas the newer paper is much slicker and thinner. In first use it's really quite difficult to get the pages apart. However, it's still a very well-made Bible, just not up to the standard of the older ones. That should in no way deter someone from buying it, though.

As a one-volume Biblical library, I haven't seen anything to beat the Thompson's. As another reviewer noted, it's also refreshingly free of editorial bias, which certainly can't be said of all its competitors. Most of all, each of us needs to find a Bible they can live with daily, and any Bible available is better than none at all! Thompson Bibles aren't inexpensive but they will last twice as long as cheaper Bibles, particularly if kept in a cover. Also, the supplemental atlases and historical additions might well save purchase of other books to accompany Biblical study. Highly recommended!

My old, marked-up Thompson Bible is the "Olde Reliable" that I keep coming back to. I have been using it for over thirty years and find it invaluable to "quick find" verses on nearly evey imaginable topic.

On the plus side, are the MANY chain referrences with marginal "PILOT" numbers and brief word discriptions which also serve as mini-commentary on the verses. While the chains may not contain all the referrences a particular denomination may wish to emphasize, it more than make up for it with an ABUNDANCE of referrences most scholars whould never even think to look up! The handy exhaustive indexes, concordance, cross-references and helps enable the user to find nearly every subject in the Bible.

On the minus side, 1.) the text is rather small and 2.) it would be benificial if the bold-face marginal headings were included in the OT as well as the New.

Overall rating:FIVE-STAR EXCELLENT!!! It is a lifetime of research and study marvelously condensed into a handy-sized volume for both home study and portibility. I heartily recommend it for new Christians as well as those who "think they know it all". As advertised, it is a Bible that will SURPRISE you. Get it!