Home sweet home: a place of love, refuge, and memories. For Helen Martin's it was also her life, her work and her Mecca. In the play "The Road to Mecca" Athol Fugard explores the question: Should we leave our Mecca, our spiritual fountainhead, when we can no longer take care of ourselves? The conflict between the three strong willed characters Helen, Elsa and Pastor Marius explores the question in the light of different religions, cultures, genders, ages and environments. Fugard said the play was suggested by the life and work of Helen Martins of New Bathesda, South Africa. The real Helen from age 50 to 75 transformed her house into a personal universe that enters the realm of archetype, symbol and metaphor. The house, furniture, windows and walls became a kaleidoscope of colored glass. In her garden she constructed over 200 figures: owls, Biblical figures, Buddhas, and ancient gods and goddesses. One South African scholar described her work as one of the most stirring experiences of his life and another called her one of South Africa's artistic geniuses. Fugard in his play shows Helen's creations as a glorious, makeshift oasis of creativity and life force and Elsa, his character, sees Helen as an example of freedom and transcendence. One powerful scene is when Helen, seated in her Mecca with dozens of candles playing off glittered walls and mirrors, tells Pastor Marius "I can't reduce my world to a few ornaments in a small room in an old-age home." The effect is stunning. The play is thought provoking and gives few answers. Helen is alive when it ends. Sadly, in 1975, the real Helen committed suicide. She drank caustic soda and died after three days I solitary agony. Her will included complex instructions listing in detail the ritual disposal of each of her sculptures. But today her home, known as "The Owl House" has been proclaimed a national monument and is a mecca for artists and tourists.

A reclusive elderly widow (based on the late Helen Martins, whose South African home is now a museum) has created her own "Mecca" by decorating the inside of her home with candles and mirrors and by surrounding the house with an assortment of personally-sculpted mermaids, wisemen, peacocks and pyramids. Although her neighbors view Miss Helen as a crazy old woman, she has made friends with Elsa Barlow, a young teacher who has returned for a surprise visit. On that same day, clergyman Marius Byleveld has come to help Helen apply to a nursing home. Marius is fond of Helen and fears for her safety. Elsa is in opposition to a move as it would take Helen away from her art.

I was originally concerned that a drama focusing on an old woman's artwork would not translate well to a listening experience. How could I care as deeply about Miss Helen if I was not able to see the oddball sculptures she had created? Surely the vision of "a city of light and color more splendid than anything I had ever imagined" could not be adequately transmitted through the speakers of my tape player. I need not have worried. One of my favorite parts of the entirely wonderful listen remains the moment when Helen lights her room with candles -- music comes up and there is absolutely no problem seeing a room aglow in a growing light of imagination and art. Adding to the experience is a superb cast performing a well-written examination of what it means to be an artist, what it means to be older, and what it means to be shunned. Fabulous!

Excellent recording quality, an interesting listen.

I have read bethesda handbook of oncology. It is a well written, user friendly book with many pictures, algorithms, tables and charts. I use it regularly as a quick bedside reference. I will recommend this book for anybody in clinical oncology. Moreover it is written by some of the well known names in the field. Many of authors have written chapters in the famous oncology text book written by Devita also.

The Bethesda Handbook of Clinical Oncology by Jame Abraham, MD, and Carmen J. Allegra, MD, comprehensively reviews the clinical features, current management & etio-pathology of all common malignancies. The chapters on supportive care, oncological emergencies and therapeutic procedures in medical oncology though brief are quite precise and informative. The best part of the book is its tables, flow charts and algorithms, which are a ready reference for uptodate information. It truly provides a quick access to information on most common practical problems encountered by clinicians in their daily practice and their solutions .The field of oncology is ever changing and new information is added each year. This handbook would certainly be of great help as an affordable ready reckoner for physicians practicing oncology in remote areas without much access to latest literature. However there are a few suggestions for improvement: (1) inclusion of a chapter on gestational trophoblastic tumors (2) inclusion of a basic chapter on cell cycle and (3) a more detailed description on anti cancer drugs

I am impressed with Beloved Bethesda. It is well crafted and painstakingly researched. It should be of interest to anyone who is a fan of early Georgia History. I hope it is being offered for purchase at historic sites,parks,etc. It would certainly fascinate anyone who is a Georgia history buff as it is a history continuum of this region.

The Bethesda System for Reporting Cervical/Vaginal Cytologic Diagnoses has greatly simplified and standardized the nomenclature for reporting the spectrum of pathologic as well as non-pathologic conditions of the cervix and vagina. The pictures are helpful, although it would have helped more if there are more than one picture for every condition to show the spectrum of any said condition. This would help guide the cytotechnologists/cytopathologists in naming, reporting the condition. What is exemplary in the system is its integration of the reporting of the adequacy of the specimen. This has a lot of impact in the clinical corelation as well as alerting the physicians of the possible limitations of the diagnosis. All in all, it is a well made system.

This book is sympathetic to the killer. One has to wonder about the victims and their families and the horror and pain they must all feel after being portrayed the way that they are in the book. I purchased the book because I know people who were involved, and I wanted to learn more. This book is written in such a ficticious manner, that it was hard to distinguish fact from fiction. You can be sure that things aren't always as they seem here. If you start feeling sorry for Hadden Clark, please put the book down for the sake of those who were victimized.

I bought this book at my local bookstore after being intrigued at what I read on the back cover. I had never heard of Hadden Clark up until that point and was willing to learn about his crimes. I thought the book did a good job at supplying enough information. Yes, some of the scenes are gruesome, but it's a true crime book not a fairytale. I liked the fact that they went into Hadden Clark's past. This helped give me some more insight as to why he would commit these heinous crimes. I don't feel that this book was sympathetic towards Hadden Clark. I believe the author tried his best to be impartial. I feel deep sorrow for the victims families and Hadden Clark deserves to rot in jail for the rest of his life because he is a truly evil man. The book was able to portray how evil he was by giving some examples in various spots of the book. The only dissapointment was that the author didn't go into more detail about the other victims he killed. I thought there was some injustice there.

Hadden Clark is a truly evil man. The third of four children, young Clark was killing animals and abusing others in childhood. He claims he committed his first murder at age 14 of a young boy in 1965.

Hadden's murderous appetite literally escalates. His older brother Brad, also seriously disturbed did not show signs of his mental illness until he had reached adulthood. In 1986, Brad had killed two women and cannibalized their remains.

Geoff, Hadden's second oldest brother abused his wife and children. Once divorced, Geoff appeared to settle into a more mainstream lifestyle. Alison, the youngest appeared to be the most stable of the four in adulthood. Repeated episodes of running away from home and subsequent hospitalizations literally drove Alison away from her family.

That left Hadden. Hadden, the overlooked. Hadden, the cruel to animals and violent with peers. Hadden of the bizarre non sequiturs. Hadden, who had found no real niche. An unsuccessful stint in the Navy did lead to what could have been a successful career as a chef. Trained at one of America's top cooking schools, Hadden did secure good jobs only to lose them within a few weeks after a display of bizarre and/or violent behavior.

By 1986, Hadden, then 35 had literally divorced himself from reality. At or around the time his older brother faced legal consequences for the brutal murders he had committed, Hadden appeared to be following suit. He abducted and killed his niece's playmate because he was angry at his niece. He trashed a landlord's home by stuffing rotten fish heads in the piano and furniture in retaliation for some imagined wrong. He even went so far as to steal his landlord's daughter's Chinese language books. Even when confronted with evidence, he maintained his innocence.

By 1992, Hadden was homeless. He lived in his truck and camped out in a wooded area. There he was able to continue his bizarre fantasies. He stabbed a young woman to death and stored her blood drenched linen in a storage shed. He wore women's clothing and insisted he was a multiple personality.

The arrest of Hadden was ludicrous to the point of bizarre. Two female officers, Paula Hamill and Liz Cornett were also odious. For three hours, the women alternately upbraided and cajoled him, pretending to sympathize with his actions. At no time did Hadden cave and answer any of their questions. He kept insisting on speaking to his attorney and was denied each time. In fact, the behavior on the part of the police department in general was degrading and unconstitutional. The man was plainly mentally ill. He slept with a stuffed toy. He enacted bizarre fantasies involving murder and cannibalism. He expressed concerns about gender identity.

Once provided with a court appointed defender, Hadden began confessing his litany of crimes. He even showed the police places where he killed his some 20 victims. He claimed he killed his "first woman," identified as "Debbie" in 1976, but his career in murder really began in 1965 with the death of an unnamed boy.

Hadden Clark was truly evil.