My mother knew Elithe Hamilton Kirkland when she was in college. When I was 11 years old my mom bought Elithe's book ... & had her sign it for me November 1981. I have kept the book with me as I've moved, married and grown up, although I didn't read it until the end of last year, 2002, 21 years later. I don't know why I waited so long! I guess I just wasn't ready...

What a wonderful tribute Elithe completed when she made Harriet the Brave's story available to all for eternity. I learned about real challenges & tragic circumstances during the time when Texas became a Republic. I learned no matter what happened, Harriet overcame. She & Elithe are an inspiration to all women. If you're considering this book, please buy it & make it yours!

For those of you who are curious, here is what Elithe (1910-1992) wrote to me many years ago: "For Melinda Darlene (who shares my Aquarian Birthday), Young Woman of the Future in time, you will come to know Harriet the Brave and Beautiful - to know her well and to love her! I predict that you and this Kishi Woman of Caddo Lake will be seekers of Truth and Tejas forever! Elithe Hamilton Kirkland, Kyle (at the Allen Bend of the Blanco), Texas, November 28, 1981"

If you'd like to know more about Elithe Hamilton Kirkland, ref: http://www.library.swt.edu/swwc/archives/writers/kirkland.html

I first read "Wild Assault" in 1978. Given to be by a new friend as I moved from Houston to Wimberley,TX. I could not put it down and never wanted it to end.To make a long,interesting story short, I met Elithe Hamilton Kirkland at a review in Hamilton,TX. We became very close friends though she was 30 years my senior. We corresponded as she continued to write her last novel "The Edge of Disrepute". She then moved to Wimberley to be closer to me and other friends.After she passed on I dedicated a guest room to her in our new ranch home and placed her papers,books and poems there for all to enjoy. Elithe's room is well used and enjoyed by old friends and new. I loved her very much.NA in Wimberley.We also placed original papers in the Alkek Library, dedicated to Southwest writers and photographers, at Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos. This is a MUST visit place for fans of Texas writers.

One of the librarians shared this book with me thinking that I might like it. I was so overcome by this book. If anyone thinks that they have it bad in life, I would recommend that they read this book. "Love Is a Wild Assault" has a certain charm. It's many adventures grab at your heart. I was impressed with the idea that this book was based on the life of a real person, a true Texas pioneer, and hero. I have read sections of this book to my children, written about it in my journal, and share it with my book buddies. It's unforgettable!

A good sized book, with good binding & paper. The printing is clear, font type & size well selected & adequate.

Dr. Hamilton begins by explaining how as a veterinarian, he grew he grew increasingly frustrated with the limitations 'modern' veterinary care; of how he was often only able to provide temporary relief, with ailments returning time and time again. He tells of his exploration into alternative veterinary medicine and how by the mid/late 90's, he had become convinced of the benefits of natural/homeopathic sustenance, prevention & treatment.

The book is essentially divided into 2 sections:

a) The 1st Section contains a reasonably detailed summary of the history of homeopathic care & sustenance, its nature, philosophy and development. Dr. Hamilton carefully explains the theories and principles behind homeopathic care, of how it deals with the entire being (pet or human), seeking always to identify and treat root causes of ailments and diseases. He expresses his concerned that 'modern' medicine is too often symptom oriented, and drugs are prescribed to suppress symptoms without curing the ailment itself. With symptom suppressing medication, relief is temporary and over time, ailments often reappear in even more virulent forms.

Dr. Hamilton cautions the reader of common pitfalls faced by beginners and emphasises that proper homeopathic care requires much careful & systematic observation.

He tells how homeopathic care is deeply rooted in human civilisation and quickly dispels any notion that homeopathic remedies are 'quack' remedies based on old wives' tales.

(b) The 2nd Section consists of a series of chapters which carefully details common disorders and diseases afflicting our dogs and pets. From skin disorders to bloat, from cuts & scratches to death-causing diseases (and practically everything else in between). The author explores causes and effects, and suggests homeopathic preventive care and remedies. Potencies & dosages of homeopathic medicines are explained.

The chapter on vaccination is particularly interesting. This issue is dealt with in some detail and Dr. Hamilton is openly critical of the current vaccination practice.

An extensive list of further reading & references is provided.

This book requires careful reading & concentration. This is definitely not the book for a quick introduction on how to use aromatic scents & oils ... but, I suspect will be invaluable reference for anyone seriously wishing to learn homeopathic care, diagnosis and treatment.

I know I'm going to have to re-read this book several times ... The book leaves no illusion about me being ready to prescribe any but the most simple of homeopathic remedies ...

This is probably the best homeopathic veterinary book for pet owners/guardians in the market.

In the first part, Dr. Hamilton explains the basics of homeopathy and how the rules apply to home caring for a sick animal. He even gives instructions on how to medicate your animal, since the administration of homeopathic remedies differs from allopathic ones.

The second part is a detailed and easy to follow Repertory, meaning that conditions by system are presented and remedies are suggested according to symptoms. This is followed by special conditions, such as pre surgery and after surgery care, heat-stroke etc. The section ends with a Materia Medica adapted to the animal symptoms.

This book has been a great resource for my cats. It does not replace the veterinary care of a trained homeopath, but it can be vital in cases of emergency. I used it at least on two occasions with my younger cats, and the both recovered in a matter of hours. One of them, my younger kitty had been ill for months, and both my homeopath and my allo vet had not been able to help him. Fed up by the failed attempts, I went through the pages of this book, until I stumbled on a remedy that seemed to fit perfectly. And it worked! My boy has been healthy ever since.

Now I keep it close to my bed for easy access.

I have read just about every book on veterinary homeopathy and this one is the best! In fact, because of the excellent chapters on the nature of disease and vaccinations, I recommend this book even for dog and cat lovers who have no interest in homeopathy.
This book is an absolute must-read for anyone interested in treating their dog or cat with homeopathic remedies. Unfortunately too many people, being unaccustomed to a holistic concept of health, use homeopathic remedies in a decidedly allopathic manner; i.e., they choose a homeopathic remedy the way they would choose a drug, without taking into account the totality of the patient's symptoms and conditions. Dr. Hamilton tells you what you need to know to treat acute and minor health problems homeopathically (chronic illness needs to be treated by an experienced veterinary homeopath): how to take a case, choose a remedy, handle and administer remedies, select potency and repetitions, and recognize signs of a cure or partial cure as well as the signs of suppression or a noncurative aggravation (contrary to popular belief, not every aggravation signals a positive healing crisis). He also covers the very important subject of eliminating obstacles to a cure (e.g., low-quality processed foods, vaccinations, unnecessary stress).
Dr. Hamilton also includes a Materia Medica that, while brief, is very accurate. Those with a serious interest in homeopathy will probably want to invest in at least one comprehensive materia medica and repertory though.
Like the previous reviewer, I disagree with Dr. Hamilton's views on purebred dogs. IME, it's simply a myth that mixed breeds today are inherently healthier than purebred dogs. Our German Wirehaired Pointers are naturally reared and in excellent health!

I stumbled across The Star Kings shortly after I seriously got into SF, probably when I was about 12. This book blew my mind with its very colourful writing (love the characters' names) and the majestic sweep of the universe it presented. Sure the science is pretty badly dated, but if you can look past that, it's a rip-snorting tale as they say. This book still remains in my top 5, although I can't be sure that's not for sentimental reasons. I searched for about 5 years to find the sequel, Return to the Stars. For those who've read and loved this book, check out the campy movie Starcrash starring Marjoe Gortner next time it comes on late at night - the villian's name is Zarth Arn!

John Gordon and Jarth Arn were both looking for something that was beyond them, beyond the lives they led. For Jarth, it was a world in the past that he had never visited. For John, it was adventure and excitement beyond his dull existence. Jarth needed John to see the world he was looking for and John needed Jarth for the adventure he sought, though John didn't know it at the time. John and Jarth switch bodies and time periods to seek the unknown, but only for a short, limited time. However, as usual, things never go as planned.

Jarth Arn is the second son to one of the most powerful Star Kings. This is just the beginning, as John fights off the League of the Dark Worlds He is torn between the Jarth's love of a mistress named Murn and his love for Princess Lianna, the ruler of a Star-Kingdom. He has to prove his loyalty to his older brother after Jarth's father is assassinated and he is framed for the crime. Then he has to save the entire galaxy from the evil that tries to overtake good.

As I started THE STAR KINGS, I must say it was nothing I ever dreamed of, but boy, it was a great surprise indeed! Mr. Edmund must have had an imagination beyond anything to have dreamed up and written a tale such as this one. From one excitement to the next, I could not stop turning the pages. STAR KINGS is one of the best paranormals I've ever read.

Romance At Its Best ...

Listen lads!
I am 50 years old now, and I read "Star Kings" in 1958... I felt devastated then!
I could never forget it in 44 years, and I just happened to learn that it was written by Ed Hamilton, right a few days ago!... (The Turkish language edition I had read did not mention the author's name, it was a cheap pulp edition of about 50 cents of the day and I got money from my late dad to buy it, oh dear...)
I know it almost by heart after all those years...
To all Hamilton fans and the people of every age who dreamed of being a John Gordon, hail!
Engin Ardic
Istanbul, Turkey

If you're a die hard fan of this classic film then you'll want to read this well-researched "making of" tome. The book is filled with all sorts of wonderful trivia tidbits but most of all it gives an insightful review of those behind the camera in a way I've yet to find in other "OZ" related books. The one and only shortcoming of this book is to be found in the number of pictures, in my opinion there could have been more, otherwise it's a behind the scenes look that most OZ fans won't be disappointed with.

It doesn't matter unduly if you didn't grow up watching MGM's 1939 color movie "The Wizard of Oz" in re-release or on TV. You might think that a "Munchkin" is what used to be called a "doughnut hole." You may think of Judy Garland only as Liza Minnelli's mother, and avoid prewar movies like the plague. Maybe you didn't feel that shock of recognition that "Cora the Coffee Lady" in Maxwell House TV commercials was none other than Margaret Hamilton, the green-faced Wicked Witch of the West.

Of course, if you love "The Wizard of Oz" you've love THE MAKING OF THE WIZARD OF OZ all the more. I just read this book for the second time (the first upon its initial publication), and was astonished and pleased by how well it has held up. Author Aljean Harmetz has crafted a book relevant not only in terms of one particular "prestige" movie off the Hollywood assembly line; but indeed her insight, research and friendly presentation make the book stand as a metaphor of all Hollywood filmmaking during the height of the Studio Era, ca. 1940. Perhaps the late Irving Thalberg was one of the few Hollywood insiders who could "keep the whole equation of pictures inside his head," but Ms. Harmetz opens up this world for us, and shows us both its realism and its wonder.

We return to an era in which studio moguls were as eccentric and powerful as today's software barons, when studio hands were nonunionized yet intensely loyal to their studios, when no movie studio even thought about a future containing broadcast TV, when movie stars were better known than Presidents or Kings, and when Technicolor would give you any color except the one you wanted. Nonetheless, solving the creative problems inherent in bringing L. Frank Baum's novel "The Wizard of Oz" to the screen was seen as an invigorating set of challenges to be met and conquered.

Back then, MGM had a real "can-do" attitude. So no one had
ever created a moving tornado for a film? After two tries the MGM tech people got it right, and the depiction of that horrendous twister so set the tintype for what a tornado ought to look like that it persists in our collective consciousness today, despite today's ubiquitous video cameras.

There were no tape recorders. How, then, to raise or lower voices artificially for dubbing? This book tells how. What happened when Buddy Ebsen almost died from an allergy to aluminum dust he had worn as the (originally intended) Tin Man? Why was Margaret Hamilton burned severely and ignored, yet Billie Burke turned an ankle and was whisked off the set in a white ambulance? Why did the film need four directors and half a dozen screenwriters, yet was fondly recalled as a labor of love by practically everyone except a prematurely embittered Judy Garland? Was the film the great commercial and critical success you might think it would be? And, by the way, what about those Munchkins' alleged sexual proclivities? Excellent answers provided by excellent research present a fully-formed world view, warts and all.

THE MAKING OF THE WIZARD OF OZ would be a wonderful companion to the new restored DVD version of the film, which is so crisp you can count the gingham checkers on Dorothy's blue dress (which was actually violet, to fool the Technicolor process). How were the ruby slippers made? What about that poppy field? Read on. Some critics have said that Harmetz's later work is not as excruciatingly well researched as THE MAKING OF THE WIZARD OF OZ, but I don't care. This book and the movie are not only as much fun as ever, but a great education in the good old/bad old days of the Hollywood "Dream Factory." Don't miss it!

"The Making of the Wizard of Oz: Movie Magic and Studio Power in the Prime of MGM--And the Miracle of Production No 1060" is just downright enthralling. It is an expose' that breaks down the machinery and the machinations of what it took to get a major movie made in the days of the autocratic studio heads. The book offers an entertaining and totally engrossing look at the legendary film. Judy, Ray, Jack, Bert, Margaret, and Toto, too, are all analyzed in this brilliant work. The songwriters, the respective directors, the many other craftsmen, as well as the "little people," in more than the figurative sense, are all here. Vividly embellished with stills from the production, the book's text is just as captivating. The familiar as well as the unfamiliar stories about the production make for a most satisfying read for any "Oz" fan. It is also a good primer for anyone with an interest in pursuing film as a career.

PERMITE ANALIZAR A TU PEQUE Y SABER BIEN A BIEN CUAL ES SU PERSONALIDAD..
DE ACUERDO CON SU PERSONALIDAD UNICA, TE ENSEÑA COMO MEJORARLA:
Si es tímido, desde la cuna se corrige con facilidad y se le da seguridad en si mismo.
SI ES BERRINCHUDO, DESDE LA CUNA COMIENZAS A TRABAJAR CON EL NENE
Y asi sucesivamente, EN TODOS SUS ASPECTOS.

A Diana y a mi, nos ayudo muchisimo a conocer pronto a los nenes..Y A MEJORARLOS DE MODO DIFERENTE, DE ACUERDO A LA PERSONALIDAD DE CADA UNO.
NO es posible EDUCARLOS IGUAL....TODOS SON UNICOS Y DISTINTOS

ES MILAGROSO !
Pero no te bases solamente en el para conocer a tus hijos...porque el amor empaña al instinto y a la razón!
No se puede educar a todos los niños igual, porque TODOS SON DIFERENTES...
Y para conocerlo y saber como educarlo...NADA MEJOR QUE ESTE LIBRO!
ADEMAS, ES SUPER INTERESANTE CONOCER A FONDO LA PERSONALIDAD DE TU HIJITO !

because he just arrived to your armas with a HUGE, monumental genetic charge that comes down maybe from 20 or 30 generations back !

Only this book can help us diving and delving into his tiny heart and just born mind...

The symposium is Plato's famous dialogue on love. He brings together some of the greatest minds of Athens and together they debate the nature of Eros, the parentage of Love, and the Divine. Aristophanes, the comic, explains the human desire to unite with another using his favorite device: humor. Socrates, for whom Plato obviously has enormous admiration, gives us more pearls of wisdom, this time concerning love, beauty, and the ascent of man. Even the great general and statesman Alcibiades makes a cameo toward the end scene of the dinner-party.

At the very least, we learn about the Greek concept of Love. From this book we may garner a far deeper understanding of Eros than we might have previously hoped. This is the finest of Plato's works, in my opinion.

The Symposium will continue to tower among Western literature as a work of truly insightful genius. Buy this book and be prepared for enlightenment.

This is perhaps the most enjoyable of Plato's dialogues, and one of the most enduring.

Plato imagines his mentor Socrates, the comic playwright Aristophanes, and other Athenian luminaries of the Golden Age met for a dinner party and a night of discussion on the nature of love. The various guests present their positions in manners ranging from thoughtful to hilarious, but all of this is but an appetizer for the main course: Socrates' concept of Eros as the fuel for the soul's ascent to the Divine, as revealed in Socrates' reminiscence of his own mentor, Diotima, the woman of Mantinea. At the end, a drunken Alcibiades breaks in upon the festivities to reveal Socrates as an avatar of the very divine Eros which he praises.

Robin Waterfield's Oxford translation is one of the best. He captures each speaker's individual idiom, a major translational feat in itself. That he is able to do so and also render the text into lucid modern English is a further coup. The Oxford edition also includes an extensive introduction, very helpful notes, and a complete bibliography.

The Symposium is great philosophy, great literature, an intimate peek at the social life of one of western civilization's formative eras, a work of spiritual inspiration and transformation, and, not least, a wonderful read. Most highly recommended!

Plato's "Symposium" will always be read because there will always be people who question the nature of Love. Agathon's dinner party is the scene of a conversation between a small group of men, who go around the table offering their views on Love. What does Love mean to us to-day? Reading over the responses of the dinner-guests and their host, we find the same range of answers in Ancient Greece that we are likely to find now.

Phaedrus and Pausanias are utilitarians and materialists. Phaedrus looks at love between people and a proto-Burkean love for government and state. Pausanias complicates the argument, saying that there are two different kinds of love, one which is common and one which is heavenly - yet still oriented towards the real and the tangible. Eryximachus is a proto-Swedenborg, trying to reconcile or harmonize the two kinds of love.

The jewels of Plato's "Symposium" are Aristophanes and Socrates. Aristophanes gives us the profoundly moving depiction of Love as a fundamental human need, a desire for completion. For a writer of comedy, whose aim as an art form is forgiveness and acceptance, Aristophanes's explanation is no surprise, though its depth is amazing. While women are generally discounted throughout the "Symposium," not only does Socrates, as we might expect, completely astound his audience (both inside the book and out) with his progressively logical and ascendant view of Love, but he also does it through the voice of a woman, Diotima. When we realize that Socrates is a character in this fiction, and that his words originate in a woman, the egalitarianism and wisdom of Plato the author truly shines forth, like the absolute beauty he claims as the ultimate goal of Love.

Was Plato a feminist? I don't know. I do know that the "Symposium" is a tremendous book. I picked it up and did not stop reading it until I was finished. The style of the Penguin translation is smooth, with a lighthearted tone that can make you forget that you are reading philosophy. Plato's comedic masterpiece in the "Symposium" is the character of Alcibiades, who provides the work a fitting end. Get the "Symposium" and read it now. You cannot help but Love it...in a Platonic sort of way.

I am Laney's youngest sister and have suffered from the emotional and verbal abuse referred to in her story. Her book was able to put in words something that was buried deep and locked tightly inside of me since childhood. It is my hope that many wounded survivors will find their way to this book of gentle healing and journey out of the darkness into light and life.

As a friend of the author and fellow "survivor", I found this story both motivational and enlightening. Laney has a way of story-telling that gets to the heart of the matter, and, at the same time, speaks to so many people on so many levels. I have suggested this book many times to my clients (I am a psychotherapist), and I have had person after person come back to me and share how much The Mud People touched their lives. A true delight, and a cache of wisdom from which we could all benefit.

As an avid reader of many, many books on healing of emotional and physical abuse, this little book, The Mud People is one of the finest little books I have ever come across. I have continually recommended this book to many people who have suffered emotional and physical trauma from parents and family. It is so profound in its story of a little girl who had a small inner voice who kept nudging her, reminding her that she had worth and value. Having the courage to leave the tribal-minded thinking of her abusive family and begin a journey that would lead herself to her own true worth. When you first pick up this little book and start reading it you might be tempted to think that it was a childrens book, written for children, but I assure you it is for adults. It brought tears to my eyes as I read the story, and made me appreciate the courage it takes to leave an abusive people and claim value for oneself....and the expected anger and rejection that will follow from family and parents when they realize they can no longer control or dominate. The book makes powerful yet subtle insights about the tribal thinking patterns, the family history of abuse from generation to generation, and the courage of one child to break the rules of abuse and leave it behind. It will help those who have grown up with cruel and insensitive parents and family. It will help those of sexual abuse and it will confirm and support that inner voice that speaks to many of us which says....there must be a better way, I must have self-worth and I am willing to risk finding it, even if it means leaving people who are not willing to journey with me into healthy-minded relationships. Read this little book....it will help you.

Sweet Clara is taken from her momma and sent to work as a field hand for Home Plantation. The work is hard and Clara dreams of going back to her momma. Lucky for Clara, Aunt Rachel teaches her how to sew, which means being a seamstress at the Big House. There she hears for the first time other slaves talking about the Underground Railroad that can carry them to freedom. But without a map of where to go, runaways fall prey to "paterollers." Then Clara gets the idea that a quilt could serve as a map to freedom once it is completed. Gathering information about the Railroad as she collects scraps of fabric to make her quilt, Clara dreams of the day it will be finished and she can travel the road to freedom with her loved ones.

Deborah Hopkinson's story assumes young readers already know about what slavery meant in the United States in the years before the Civil War. The focus on "Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt" is on the inventiveness and courage of a young girl in helping her people wind their way to freedom. What I like best about James Ransome's paintings are the evocative looks he always captures on Sweet Clara's face, which help tell the story as much as Hopkinson's words. This is an excellent book for young students to learn more about the Underground Railroad and the quest for freedom.

Sweet Clara's aunt teachers her how to sew and she makes a quilt. She and young Jack leave because they were slaves, but you are going to have to find out if they make it to freedom or not. I liked this book. It was very interesting and I learned about history. I think you will like it too.

I have read and reread Hidden in Plain View and Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt and I have learned more than I ever knew about the slaves and the underground railroad. It is a shame that such great and informative books are not better known. I am 65 years old; I read a lot and I am a quilter.

When I read this book, images filled my head. The author has a way of writing that creates pictures. And what pictures they are: Gorgeous men, sexy scenes, nature, alcoholism, infidelity and adventure in words describing glances and the touch of fingers in the night. And the characters! I'd like to meet them, Tony in particular. Does anyone really have a tongue like that? This book is a great book, but it would be a great movie too. Any producers reading this? Hello Miramax?

This is the most engaging book I have read in a long, long time. Winchinchala plays hardball with the human psyche, and just when you thing you've run the gamut of all possible emotions...bang, zoom...another kidney punch sends you careening into the next chapter. Get a good HMO and get a copy of Hebe Jeebie!

This is the most amazing book I have ever read. I cannot stress enough how much you need to read this. It echoes all of the childhood pain that I ever went through, albeit in a different way, but you relive that through Heebie. She touches your heart, all the characters just become so real, you can't believe it when the book is over! I really hope there is a sequel, although I can't imagine what it would be like. With Winchinchala, I get the impression anything could happen. Such an incredible author.