We started our five week tour of India with Let's Go India Nepal, and found the Footprint guide four weeks into our tour. After looking it over, we quickly realized how much detail, clarity, and completeness we were missing. We didn't open Let's Go again, other than to retrieve our bookmark.

Some of the telephone numbers were slightly off, but that is par for the course in India. The correct numbers were easily located via directory assistance, which the book informed us of.

We stayed at two of the highly recommended hotels between US$5 and US$6 a piece and were delighted by the overall quality and cleanliness we found.

Its descriptions of some of the sights surpassed even that of our tour guide.

We liked this guide so much that we now use Footprint guides for our travels wherever they are available and up to date.

WARNING: The guide warns that the prices for many tourist attractions will go up on Jan 1, 2001. They actually went up on October 18, 2000. Now at most major tourist sites in India, foreigners pay the same number of dollars as Indian's pay rupees.

I spent one month travelling all over India with the 1999 edition of the India Handbook and what a life saver it was. The book was fantastic with its information and right on the money everytime with hotel rates, ferry schedules, etc. The brief anecdotes were especially helpful and I really appreciated the open mind the book had quick not to judge a country full of many different aspects. The book was enlightening and in my hand all the time, but my mind was still open to new experiences which were not preconceived by the authors. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to anyone who really wants to experience India in a different light!

The India Handbook is a thoroughly well-researched and detailed guide. The most informative guide on the market, it provides invaluable information which is useful to both the short and long-term visitor to India, particularly by the inclusion of accurate large and small scale maps. It is also strong and compact. However, perhaps the most appealing feature is it's direct and non-chatty text, packing important and need-to-know facts into a notey yet precise format, leaving the reader to form his/her own opinions on people and places.

This book has practical helps for parents to teach children about sex from God's point of view. Pornography violates that, and parents need to know how pervasive pornography is: sex-ed materials in public schools, dial-a-porn, the Internet, magazines, comic books, videos. If children don't learn about good sex from their parents, they'll learn about bad sex somewhere else. Highly recommended!!!

A better parental handbook will be hard to find. The authors have drawn from their own life experiences and decades of professional involvement to produce a volume that should be required reading for every parent.

Protecting Your Child sounds the alarm on an issue that should be alarming to every parent. The authors point out that there has been a 500% increase in rape over the 19-year period from 1980 to 1999, the decades during which the U. S. porn industry grew from a $4 billion annual business to a $10 billion dollar business. Worldwide, it is estimated that pornographers profit $56 billion a year.

York and LaRue document countless law enforcement records that tie pornography to sex offenses. Other disturbing statistics add to the cause for concern. For example, the authors write, "A report in the Philadelphia Inquirer in 1993 noted that nearly half of the nation's child molesters were children. In addition, in 1983 there were only 22 juvenile sex offender programs nationwide; in 1993 that number had grown to 755. Today there are more than 1,200."

Readers should not overwhelmed by the barrage of statistics and tragic stories told in the opening pages. LaRue and York always provide an antidote including concrete steps for action.

Both authors are honest and straightforward in sharing how they were themselves victims of pornography at a young age.

"I am fighting pornography for the sake of our nation's children who are becoming the primary consumers of pornography," says LaRue. The book documents how children are, indeed, being exposed to hard-core pornography at younger and younger ages.

York was first exposed to pornography as an 11-year-old in 1955 when a local drugstore began carrying the brand new Playboy magazine. "Pornography was not widely accessible in those days," he says, "or I might have become a seriously addicted child." Today York is editorial director of Traditional Values Coalition.

In Part 1, York and LaRue detail why pornography is a danger to families, then take a look at its pervasiveness. They illustrate how it has infiltrated even our homes, public schools and libraries largely via the Internet.

Part 2 gives practical responses for the challenge to stop pornography from destroying our children and communities. The chapters on how to keep it out of your home, and how to help the child who has already been exposed to porn are invaluable resources for parents.

Protecting Your Child may paint a scary picture of the present, but it also offers a vision of hope for the future.

This is an excellant book to equip parents with up-to-date information on how to protect our children from pornography. The authors include resources for internet filters, counselors, and groups that can provide additional support.

When was the last time you threw back your head and laughed out loud? If you feel like your life is getting a bit mundane, don't despair! Read Resurrecting Virgil by Dorie LaRue. This comical and profound book will take you on a romp through a local funeral home that is guaranteed to bring tears to your eyes. I laughed until I cried. John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces, Ernest Gaines' A Gathering of Old Men, and now Dorie LaRue's Resurrecting Virgil. Who could ask for more!
Happy Reading
Julie Moody, Art Lover

Charlotte On Books
-Charlotte Rice

The only thing more fun than reading a good book is reading a good book that is loosely based in Shreveport and features a variety of familiar places and faces. Therefore, it was my pleasure to purchase local author Dorie LaRue's new novel, Resurrecting Virgil. I bought the book because I am a former student of LaRue's (at Louisiana State University in Shreveport) and a current good friend. However, I read and decided to review the book by merit alone. It was incredibly good.
Resurrecting Virgil centers around Virgil Matthews, a quiet, nerdy fellow who works in a funeral home and is obsessed with golden-girl Lorna Jean Gibson, who, despite their small town, barely knows he exists. Lorna Jean dates Speed Maxwell a handsome, yet crafty post-highschooler who drives a red Bronco...and who can compete with that? Therefore, Virgil's closest connection to Lorna Jean is through Lorna's cousin, Daisy, a spitfire with a sarcastic tongue, who is, nevertheless, nice to Virgil. While the girls were initially creeped-out over the nature of Virgil's occupation, the three of them become serendipitously involved in a situation that is half-funny and half-horrific. I mean, taxidermy is involved. The deceased are referred to as "Beloved Ones" and the mourners are "Bereaved Ones." All of LaRue's characters are comic and charming, and she plays their weaknesses lazily and laughingly, like dominos on a Sunday afternoon.
There are also plenty of delightful tidbits about Shreveport in the book, although the town is called Harrisonville. There are references to former Shreveporter Van Cliburn, trips to the Duck Pond and Poverty Point, Louisiana, treks down Highland and Stoner avenues, and mention of LSU-S colleague Dr. Tom DuBose, who is named after a Beloved One. Good thing DuBose doesn't scare easily. Especially since his character is switched with another Beloved One, with the funeral employees hoping to bejeezus the Bereaved Ones won't find out.
LaRue studied creative writing under University of Southwestern Louisiana professor Ernest Gaines, who is best known for his works A Lesson Before Dying and Miss Jane Pittman. In addition to teaching all over the state, LaRue has written two poetry books, Private Frenzy and Seeking the Monsters.
LaRue's poetry background and maxing out of English degrees has lent her some pretty confident writing. The familiar characters and vivid images will have readers nodding in recognition and appreciation over LaRue's talent of capturing the quintessential Southerner and underlying quirks therein.
Resurrecting Virgil, published by Backwaters Press, was the recipient of the 2000 Omaha Prize as well as being supported by numerous grants and fellowships.

Dorie Larue's "Resurrecting Virgil" is an excellent book. It is well written, entertaining and thought provoking. Ms. Larue managed to keep a constant reader in suspense right to the very end. This is not "stock" fiction. The characters are people we know, yet the masterfully executed plotting and story telling combined with the unpredictability of events keep the reader's attention throughout.
The book is as original a work as I have seen in many years of reading. I will no doubt read this book again and cannot say that for very many.
To Ms. LaRue, a much deserved "WELL DONE!"

Love at First Type: An Online Romance
By Epstein LaRue
ISBN: 1-58898-177-0
Reviewed by: Kristie Leigh Maguire

LOVE AT FIRST TYPE is a fascinating glimpse into the world of the internet and online chat rooms - where anything is possible, even finding a soul mate and true love in a virtual reality coffee shop.

Epstein LaRue tells the true story of "Sassy" meeting "Repairman" and how their online relationship developed into love; how they overcame the obstacles of 24 years difference in ages, being 1000 miles apart - and married to the wrong people.

LOVE AT FIRST TYPE is a story that tugs at your heart strings and makes you a true believer of romance - and that soul mates will find each other no matter what. I could not put this book down. I had to keep reading to see what happened next to "Sassy" and "Repairman". I highly recommend it to anyone who has ever thought about having an online relationship.

***

Reviewed by Kristie Leigh Maguire, author of "Emails from the Edge (The Life of an Expatriate Wife)" and co-author of "No Lady and Her Tramp"

I can't believe that this story really took place. Tis amazing how two people can have so many things against them, but still have a happy ending. You have to read this book!!!

You've heard all the bad stories about online romances that end in a BAD way... Now read about one that is all about how online romance CAN HAPPEN.

This book is definately from the heart!

Upon the first read, I was actually disappointed with this book, mainly because it wasn't what I had expected it to be. But I went back to it and fell in love with it. I have read these stories again and again. So simple yet sophisticated. They are gentle, loving, warm, feel good stories that remind you to celebrate the joy of living. I return to this book when I feel down and it always brightens my spirit. It has remained a constant favorite since the early 1990's.

I had the pleasure to work with Andrea Carlisle as a student, and her very sincere personality shines throughout the pages of this book. Lazy LaRue and Pubah dance liltingly and gaze at the world with one another, one foot slightly in reality but always light-heartedly. These are two women who really love their lives, and through deceptively simple description and dialogue (the characters sneak up on you with subtle epiphanies on existence!), you learn to perhaps appreciate your own world more. I do dearly reccomend this well-loved book------ it is peaceful, loving, and a delight.

Kaitlyn didn't need anyone questioning her nursing ethics. And she certainly didn't need Lance Rosanthol complicating her life. But why did crazy thoughts of passion keep running through her mind every time she looked at him?

Epstein LaRue has created an intriguing look at nursing, ethics and romance in..... Crazy Thoughts of Passion. It is a great read.

Reviewed by Kristie Leigh Maguire for MyShelf.com

Once again, Debrah has produced poetry that not only reads well, but makes you think about the very nature and purpose of our existence.

This collection touched me deeply as I again experienced the purging of hurt and hate in the aftermath of a shattered relationship. I have been there and so has Debrah. The "Dance" is akin to a terrifying amuzement park ride of emotions.

As usual, Carl Howell's first (work) is a masterpiece. I highly recommend this tribute to Hardin and LaRue Counties Kentucky history and would like to thank Mr. Howell for his preservation and compilation of this information. Without him, it is likely that these valuable bits of the past would be lost forever.

Hats off to Carl Howell.

LaRue Piercy's "Hawaii's Missionary Saga" is complimented by illustrations or photos about every five of its 220 pages, and has eight helpful appendixes at the back. The author was a newspaper reporter and historian at Hawaii's first church in Kailua-Kona, Mokuaikaua Church (Congregational) on Alii Drive. A former Yale professor thought this book a fine overview.