Ann Ellis is the real deal! She's raw American...living, working, loving, and raising children in the gruelingly hard world of the mining towns of the Rocky Mountains, years before the amenities that we American women take for granted today...things like running water, ample heating, and doctors always available for very sick children.But Ann is tough and savvy, witty, and has a great sense of fun, even in the toughest of times. Her life is richly-laden with deep emotion.Her descriptive style is pure and simple, but takes us right to her heart. She never complains...only explains.You read the book with a great sense of admiration for these strong women who raised strong families,loved their men, had dreams and joyful aspirations, even in times when they were struggling to find their way in this sometimes brutal world of their husbands' lust for gold and silver.This lady was a true pioneer in every sense of the word. Her story should be shared with anyone who finds strength in true accounts of brave American men and women.

With ingenuous humility, Anne Ellis recounts the first phase of her difficult life as if it were a cakewalk. Several passages convey such emotional impact that I remember them months later. A great read for anyone wishing to understand how women really lived in mining towns of the American West around the turn of the century.

No matter what your own life experience has been you will find things in this great book that you identify with. This true life experience is from a woman who lived a heroic experience from penniless poverty to being elected to public office, rising above all her own expectations, A wonderful book full of comedy, tragedy, drama, supence, you won't be able to put this book down.

While many Christian books encourage thoughts about God's love and kindness, it's also good to see life as it really is in this world. Swindoll pulls no punches as he describes the emptiness of living to please self instead of God.

Among the many excellent points Swindoll covers are:

1. People focus on the external appearances while God focuses on the heart.
2. God can work through you in mighty ways if you let Him.
3. Wise counsel for those under pressure.
4. The world's movers and shakers are also often the most lonely people on earth.
5. Different world-views and their weaknesses.
6. How to handle the mysteries of life.
7. Excellent counsel on how to get the most out of life.
8. What keeps us from pursuing happiness.

An excellent and highly recommended book, be encouraged and challenged to seek God's wisdom instead of the wisdom of the world!

This book contains a timeless reminder of how futile it is to enrich our lives with material possessions. It is timeless because the book is based on the Book of Proverbs, taken from the Bible. Who else but the wise (and rich) King Solomon could give a first-hand experience of the lives of the rich and famous? So this is not a case of sour grapes.

Charles Swindoll, the author, translates Solomon's woes into present day terms. Putting it simply, more wealth, more worries. More overtime, less time with the family. But Swindoll's pitch is not reclusive nor a denial of material needs. As Solomon had realized many, many years ago, true wealth and joy is about a relationship with God. In God did Solomon discover reconciliation and contentment. And this is still true even after so many years for the rest of us.

Living on the Ragged Edge, although repetitive at times, is profound in it's interpretation of many areas of the Bible. As a young businesswoman living on the ragged edge, I found it to be painfully honest and a great source of inspiration for my future. Rev. Swindoll has a deep understanding of the professional world and at times described my life to a tee. I feel the content of this book will change my life forever and that the author is a truly "inspired" individual.

This is an incredible book we used for a guys small group. Every chapter has been highlighted an re-read many times, and I continue to get more from it every time I read it. I can't recommend this book any higher.

Alan Redpath gives precious insights in his study of the life of David and relates them to modern day Christian life extremely well. An excellent book for serious Christians!

This book is not for those who enjoy shallow relationships. But this is a MUST READ for anyone who desires an intimate and fulfilling relationship with God. Although this book is not necessarily written for ministers, every minister should have one and read it over and over. Mr. Redpath helps us understand how God takes us from a salvation experience and trains us through various processes, eventually forming us into faithful and effective soldiers for Jesus Christ. You can believe it: there are no better books on the subject!

Someone I know, thinks fiction is a waste of time. The other day he was praising the brilliance of the movie, An American Beauty(I didn't call him on the fact that it was a work of "fiction" he happened to be praising). I had rented the film because I still give the genre or medium its chances, but had to inform him directly that I pressed the STOP button on my vcr before too long. It was obvious that I'd insulted his sensibilities, but since he knew my reverence for serious fiction and had no problem insulting mine, I felt it was a fair trade. I have no idea why this book is not praised or offered as a benchmark of what stories can contribute to the fabric of humanity. Old Jack must have it pegged, "The Modern Ignorance."

I arrived at this book after first reading Wendell Berry's recent novel, JAYBER CROW (2000). This earlier novel is about an inner journey. Having "lost his life," 92-year-old Jack Beechum finds it again (p. 122) by travelling into the "deepest depths of his memory" (p. 110), the part of Jack "that holds nearly all of him" (p. 9). Born in 1860, Jack was once known as "a dancer, a drinker, a wencher, a fighter" (p. 38), and as a horse breaker (p. 86). Berry also describes Jack as "a limited man," though "satisfied within those limits" (p. 50), and the "incarnation of his solitude" (p. 61).

Also set in Port William, Berry's beautiful novel opens in the "first cool morning of September, 1952" (p. 7) with Old Jack's vision turned inward from the "stillness of his old age" (p. 79). "More and more now the world as it is seems to him an apparition of a cloud that drifts, opening and closing, upon the clear, remembered lights and colors of the world as it was" (p. 17). "His mind," Jack thinks, "would do well to settle down and be quiet, for pretty soon he is going up on the hill for the long sleep that most people he knows have already gone off to" (p. 24).

"Meditating on his memories" (p. 116), Jack revisits one of "the most powerful themes of his life," the "anger of regret" (p. 31). Among other things, he confronts the silence of his lonely marriage to Ruth, "a silence he was less and less able to bear" (p. 49), and his extramarital love for another woman, Rose. Ruth "remained to him an unknown continent. She offered him no welcome" (p. 45). Jack remembers "they fought it out among those trivial issues that later would show them both the failure of each of them to be what the other desired" (p. 89).

Berry's writing here is as honest as the sweat and dirt of the field on his characters' clothes. Like silence, Old Jack is a good teacher. "The modern ignorance," he observes shortly before his death, "is in people's assumption that they can outsmart their own nature. It is in the arrogance that will believe nothing it cannot prove, and respect nothing it cannot understand, and value nothing it cannot sell" (pp. 141-42).

G. Merritt

A wonderfull book, subtle and true. Berry's writing reflectsthe land that he writes of - not ostentatious, but brimming with life.You will not find cheap sentiment or flashy colors but you will findrealness in Memory of Old Jack. I highly recommend.

Last summer I went to Boston to visit the historical sites and the Constitution (ship not paper). Visiting the Constitution piked my interest in that fine ship, so I ended up picking up this book. The author took alot of time doing research on the ship through the ages and I'm glad he did because now we have this little gem. This book gives a little insight to the tenuous hold the United States had at the beginning and it also gives some insight into why the United States needs a military. It also shows the value of portraying historic treasures (like the Constitution) because they help people remember their past and thus get a better direction on their future.

The U.S.S. Constitution is the oldest ship still in service in the U.S. Navy. This book is a well-written with excerpts of the ship's logs and excellent illustrations. I am amazed at how much history of the United States I did not learn in high school! If you enjoyed watching Horatio Hornblower on A&E, you'll enjoy this book for sure.

I grew up in Massachusetts, and I can remember those field trips to Boston to see all the history, and the Constitution. I wish I could have appreciated it then as I do now. Oh well, at least I like it now.

This is a great book. What a fun read that is hard to put down. It's not dry history with lots of dates, numbers, and charts. There is a real story here, about a ship, the men who served her, and the history behind her.

There are a few other books on the market about the Constitution, some sold at the museum in Charlestown, but this is the one to read. Front to back, it's very entertaining. The author sites journals, letters, stories, legends, and even the ship's log to gather information to form the story of a ship that never lost an engagement, although almost the victim apathy. The decks are once again alive with activity and danger. The wind fills the sails, and the ocean sprays into the air.

If you like the sea and sailing, read this book. If you like ships and sailing, read this book. But if you like well told history, then definitely read this book.

For those who go to klez-kamp and those who don't.....this is a G-R-E-A-T book for the Klez-Fan

A delightful and informative romp through the footstomping, handclapping world of Klezmer music that's perfect for both experts and novices -- you don't have to be Jewish to enjoy klezmer and this book! Mazal Tov Henry Sapoznik!

For a history of Yiddish instumental music in America this is the Book to get. Hank Snow(poznick) live's and breaths the music in the pages of this must have book.

Hello cousins!How are ya'll doing?I'm fine.I am the grand-daughter of Fannie Lou (Ferris)Whittaker and Orville Eugene Whittaker.My mother Susie Marie was their oldest child-my aunts are Betty and Patsy and my uncle is Larry Whittaker.I am fixing to create a family website on MSN Communities-I have alot of stuff that was written by cousin Phyllis Kitson.Once I get it done you all are invited.My email address is neal36@msn.com-please feel free to drop me a few lines,I love hearing from family.Hugs and love to all,Lillie
PS-I'm going to buy 2 of this book-one for me and one for my mom!

I was most gratified to learn (quite by accident) that a book about WAF had been written. WAF was my great-grandfather, his son, Henry Ferris, was my grandfather, and my father was Carl Dallas Ferris. One error in the book referred to my grandfather as childless, when, in fact he had two sons and two daughters, & was living in Spur, Texas, where he died & is buried. (Most family records show he was living in Wink, Tx. at his death.)I don't consider this a major fault, as much of the rest of the book was as I had read and heard. I am sure most historical writings contain errors, if we but knew the inside story. My father was a great storyteller, & he used to entertain us for hours with stories of WAF which he had heard from his father and Aunt Kate. Warts and all, I am just glad that after all this time, Warren Angus Ferris is getting some of the recognition he so richly deserved. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the early days, regardless. Miss Starling did a very good job with old clippings and letters. Bravo! Janelle Ferris Berry

I appreciate Suzanne Starling for showing what Warren Angus Ferris did for Dallas, as well as showing what an interesting career and life he had. James Monroe Ferris was my great grand-father, who handed down the chain used to survey Dallas to my grandfather, Edward Eugene Ferris. He handed it down to my father, Raymond Edward Ferris. My father still has the chain and I wish a picture could have been included in the book. My father also has a gold watch which Warren Angus gave to his second wife. There are a couple of minor mistakes, such as James Monroe Ferris having been a United States Marshall for Greer County, TX (now Oklahoma) the entire time and not a Sherrif's Deputy. But, without a doubt this book is an accurate account of a complex, hightly intelligent man and his frontier life.

Leroy and the Old man was an interesting book. While I was reading it, I began to get more and more into the story line. The book was about a boy named Leroy who had witnessed a murder and went to grandfather whom he didn't know. Thier relationship grew and they became like the family the never were.

In the Blink Of an Eye

In the blink of an eye everything can change. Leroy Chambers was just a regular 18 year-old guy working in a kitchen in downtown Chicago, when he gets off the elevator at the wrong time and witnesses a murder. The murderers were caught and they think he turned them in. Now he's hiding from them with his grand father. It's a great book and I liked how it showed what life was like in this area of Chicago with all the hatred and racism, where you have to sleep below the windows afraid of being shot and how it differs from the fun-loving life in Mississippi and New Orleans where your skin color doesn't matter and everyone is treated the same.

I read the book Leroy and the Old Man. I think that this book was a great book and I rate it a 10 out of 10. I liked this book because it had great details and you always knew what was going on. I never had to stop and read a sentance again because I didn't get it. Or, another example is, that the book always stayed on one subject at a time. It never went from one problem to another or anything. A book I thought was especially similiar to Leroy and the Old Man, was a book called The Outsiders. I think that they are similiar because they both have to do with surviving problems that they have with other groups of people. If I had to rate this book, I would rate it a perfect 10. I would also rate it iwth 5 stars.

I loved this book for its insightful use of humor and understanding of what we as women go thru as we age.

Laughing at oneself frees you to move on and Mrs. Johnson demostrates in her book this with aplomb.

I would recommend this book to even young women so that they will not dread the aging process as much but be able to accept the conditions as they come as a part of life.

This book was my introduction to Barbara Johnson. Wow, am I ever gonna have to make up for lost time! She's great! I literally laughed until I cried. What a mind! What a sense of humor. I could relate to everything she said. The Bible says that a merry heart doeth good like a medicine. Boy, did I ever get a large dose! I'm buying some extra copies for my "over 50" friends! What better gift than the gift of laughter?

This is one of Barbara's BEST books. Very encouraging and full of insights, not to mention the laughs. I have read all her books and this is especially encouraging to women in this transition time in their lives. This book is a must for woman in their prime years! I have purchased copies for my friends and they thought it was a hilarious book, Try it.

This book is a beautiful edition, and serves the purpose of explaining sybolism in art quite nicely. There is, though, one flaw: Most of the large color plates are spread across the spine of the book. This is not a problem for most, but as an art student, studying the paintings with 15% lost in the spine is a problem.

I bought this book hoping that it will explain to me why some painters are so highly regarded and other copy caps are not. Book basically goes over mostly Renocence pictures and tell the story behind each painting either what it depicts in terms of symbolism or history behind it or resons and financing behind it. It is a combination History book and paintings. It tells yo that for example Boticelli's Birth of Venus is first in Ronecance for nudity but it does not tell me why her feet is crooked, why anybody else who probably did similar paintings at the same time did not get this much fame. That is what I was looking and could not find. Still looking for the right book but this book by itself is very good for the purpose of its design.

I received this book as a gift from a friend. The pictures are superb, the paper is a nice heavy stock, and the text is interesting and at times humorous.

So many times we look at a painting, but we really do not see what the artist is telling us. This book will show wonderful detailed areas of the painting for close scruntity. The pages are large so it is easier to see the paintings in detail.

Whether you are an artist who paints, or have an enjoyment of the arts, you will be extremely pleased with this book.