Tracy's life is in an uproar. Her publisher has just called to say that they are dropping her mystery series unless she drastically changes her latest book, the advance for which has already been spent. The contractor shows up two days early to enlarge her closets. Her husband is panicked because he's starting the biggest case in his legal career that morning. And that's all before her mother, movie star Martha Collins, calls to say she's been arrested for murder. What a way to start a Monday.

To Tracy's frustration, Martha doesn't seem interested in proving her innocence, so, despite promises to the contrary, Tracy begins to investigate. With Uncle Philly along to help, she starts finding connections and clues that lead back 30 years. But what do they all mean? And is Martha really innocent?

As you can probably guess, this book is loads of fun with hilarious goings on all over the place. Tracy's sarcastic narration also adds to the humor level. The plot itself twists every which way. I hadn't read it for a couple years and was just as confused as the first time, even if I did remember the ultimate ending. And the characters are well developed and pull you further into the story.

Anyone looking for a fun, lighthearted mystery need look no further then this series. Buy it today for a romp on the wild and fun side of murder.

Tracy Eaton was the author of the "Tessa Graham Mystery Series". At that point in time her house was like a pig sty (due to a small redecoration project), her publisher had a lot of changes to be made to the latest book (to be completed within three days), and her husband was stressed out from trying to make partner in the law firm. When Tracy believed it could get NO worse, her mother called!

Martha Collins had been a Hollywood goddess for what seemed like forever. Yet she still looked wonderful and made people notice her. She found Vince Sperry's body, called the police, and became the number one suspect! No matter how hard Tracy tried to clear her mother of the charges, her mother kept blocking her from doing so. Tracy kept wondering just WHAT was a daughter to do in a time like that and just WHY had she not been an orphan?

***** An excellent "who-dunnit" mystery that kept me guessing right up until the end! Tossed with bits of humor that I could not help but enjoy. This is one I definitely did not want to end! Luckily for me, this is a series of mysteries that began with "Revenge Of The Gypsy Queen" and will continue. I find myself eagerly looking forward to the next mystery in Tracy Eaton's bizarre world! Highly recommended for all mystery fans! *****

What do you do when your mother is found, alone, with the bloody remains of a corpse and won't tell you or any one else what happened? Dem Bones Revenge, Kris Neri's new hilarious look at murder, mayhem, mystery and parents, mystery writer Tracy Eaton, whose mother, Martha is a famous film star accused of murder, must defend her mother. Never mind that her mother doesn't want to be defended and impedes Tracy's efforts at every turn. Add to that trying to meet a publishing deadline, dealing with a double-dealing editor, a father that can't or won't be found, and decades old scandals and you have a story that is will have you laughing out loud, squealing with delight when you solve the murder, only to turn the page and find out you are wrong and feeling very good that Martha isn't your mother. And the more Tracy digs into the past, the more she realizes that she really doesn't want to do this as she finds herself suspecting everyone from her dad to her own husband. A book that will make you very grateful for your mother's idiosyncrasies, because whatever they are, they can't be this bad.

A clever, funny, well-done look at college life for the first daughter. Lots of good stuff here, and the authors get the details of college life --and the Clintons -- exactly right. I especially liked learning that Chelsea Clinton rearranged spells "Hells acne tonic" and the picture of Chelsea roasting that porker Newt Gingrich. Highly recommended ...............

When we, my wife and I, first read this book, we couldn't sleep for days because we were laughing so darn hard! I mean, chelsea's first year, filled with her triumphs - and numerous catastrophes - are narrated with the utmost ability. Mr. Eaton brings a new comedic twist to the classic humor/parody book. I wouldn't be very surprised if Mr. Eaton doesn't become the next Matt Groening - giving us a dose of reality in his quite comedic world! Two thumps up...four if you count my wife Mindy's!

I loved the illustrations! It was well thought out and executed . . . as well as being very, very funny! Not for Clintonistas.

I have read the other translations. Red Pine not only got it right, he also got all the hidden messages. He went to the cave. This book is the Cold Mountain book. For readers that bought any other of these books, get this. I wish this book was a NY Times best seller. Reads well and is complete

It seems inevitable that something will always be lost in translation. At least I thought this was true until I purchased this volume. Not only does Red Pine stay true to the beauty of Han-Shan's verse, but the underlying Zen essence comes through loud and clear. I have heard it said of the Tao Te Ching that you can spend a day reading the entire work and a lifetime trying to truly understand it. This is also true for these poems. Short verses of simple construction that manage to capture something so vast. No, not capture. Illustrate. In several lines the universe is displayed before us, if only we pause to look. This edition is as much a must for any seek to understand Asian religion as it is for those who love Asian poetry.

Twelve hundred years ago, Chinese recluse-poet Han Shan ("Cold Mountain") "fled to the woods to dwell and gaze in freedom" (poem 26), where he also wrote the 307 poems collected here "on trees and rocks and walls" (p. 9) around the cave where he lived. In 1974, while living in a Taipei monastery as a Buddhist monk, Bill Porter (a.k.a. "Red Pine") began translating Cold Mountain's poems.

Red Pine breathes new life into Cold Mountain. "I enjoy the simple life," Cold Mountain writes in poem 224, "between dark vines and mountain caves/ the wilderness has room to roam/ with white clouds for companions/ there's a road but not to town." It is easy to appreciate Cold Mountain's verse not only for its "spiritual honesty, poignancy, and humor" (p. 15), as Red Pine observes, but also for its rich, natural imagery. White clouds cling to dark rocks (poem 1), and old pines cling to crags (poem 256). Cicadas sing (poem 300). Yellow leaves fall (poem 300). "My mind is like the autumn moon/ clear and bright in a pool of jade" (poem 5).

In a recent interview, Red Pine compares Chinese hermits to "a mountain spring that brings fresh water down into town" (Tricycle, Winter 2000, p. 69). Cold Mountain is a good teacher, and his poems offer insightful lessons. He writes: "Trust your own true nature" (poem 2). "Rock sugar and clarified butter/ mean nothing when you're dead" (poem 8). "The moon is the hub of the mind" (poem 10). "Silence thoughts and the spirit becomes clear/ focus on emptiness and the world grows still" (poem 82). "Drop a ball of mud in water/ and behold the thoughtless mind" (poem 86). "Retiring to my hut I accept white hair" (poem 122). "The world is full of busy people/ well-versed in countless views/ blind to their true natures" (poem 132). "People who wander among clouds/ don't have to buy the hills" (poem 219).

Red Pine's collection will become an well-travelled path on your bookshelf to contemplative, Cold Mountain. (It is easy to understand why Jack Kerouac dedicated his DHARMA BUMS to Cold Mountain in 1958.) For those interested in meeting other Chinese hermits, I recommend Porter's ROAD TO HEAVEN: ENCOUNTERS WITH CHINESE HERMITS (1993). For some contemporary poetry reminiscent of Cold Mountain, I recommend David Budbill's recent MOMENT TO MOMENT (2000).

G. Merritt

I didn't mean to like Winnifred Eaton. After all, she was a bit of a fanfaronade and very much of a poseur, not at all the sort I wanted in my circle of intimates.

But Diana Birchall's sparkling biography changed my mind. Writing with unblinking honesty, Birchall describes the many lives that her chameleon grandmother lived, from journalist and novelist to story editor and screenwriter. Of most interest to me were the stories of her career as wife in two unconventional marriages and mother to four children. Birchall's graceful use of language is enhanced by her wit and intelligently ironic style. She concludes this delightful biography with the acknowledgment that sharing what she has learned about her grandmother has been a privilege and a joy. Surely it is no less a privilege and a joy for the reader.

Birchall's fascinating and beautifully written account of her grandmother's life is an important work for scholars in women's studies, Asian-American or American studies, Canlit, and the movie industry, and for the general reader seeking a compelling biography.

Other reviewers have mentioned Eaton/Watanna's background. I will stress instead the absorbing interest of Winnifred's successive reinventions of herself in societies that had no ready place for her. Like a brilliant slackrope walker with an increasingly awkward load, Winnifred managed to shift her balance not only to survive, but pulled off one tour de force after another. Her performances as a Japanese-American novelist, as a screenwriter and as a rancher doyenne would win applause from Daniel Defoe.

Eaton/Watanna has become a focal interest of American scholars in recent years. As her granddaughter, Birchall had informaitonal advantages in writing on her. Her graceful, well-considered book shows how glad we should be for Birchall's advantages.

"A jolly, laughing lady" are the first words of the bigraphy; the last ones are: "To be able to share what I have learned with others has been a privilege and a joy. Has not this journey been an enviable inheritance in itself?"

Inbetween these words Birchall indeed shares with the reader the life of Winnifred, in personal and intimate detail. Birchall also seduces the reader into not just reading, but thinking about the culture and times Winnifred faced in her own inimitable style, from her life in Canada as young girl down to the years of Hollywood.

Normally I am none too fond of biographies but this one enchanted me, by the content and by the style of Birchall's writing. Full of zest, lifely images and easy to read on and on. As non native reader I appreciated this very much; it was a joy and a privilege to share. Would that all biographies were such a good read!

I'm 28 years old. I have no children. I don't even have any small children anywhere in my immediate family. And here I am, buying and writing a gushing torrent of praise for a children's book.

This is the best book in the whole world. No, really. Okay, except maybe the proper Harry Potter books, but. It's still a darn fine book.

The crystal ball lamp is really what I'm itching to make. Meanwhile, I've been busying myself with churning out wizard money, rings, and baby unicorn horns to dole out to Potter-loving friends. And you bet I'm going to try the Every Flavor Be--ah, I mean, All Flavors Gumdrops recipe posthaste. Can't wait to see the look on my boss's face when I slip him a tabasco one. Ahem.

Kids WILL need help from grownups for most of this stuff, but that's not a bad thing. And, if I may make a suggestion: if you help your kids whip up a batch of Dragon Blood, put it in little plastic bottles from the craft store--and glue the caps on. Messy stuff

Anything that encourages kids to put away the mouse, turn off the TV, get offline and open an old-fashioned adventure - a book - should be treasured. The Book of Wizard Craft does just that. In this visually brilliant book, an old wizard encourages kids to awaken their imaginations, get out the glue, glitter, string, and create! And in a slight-of-hand way he teaches them fascinating facts about alchemy, the runes, and some spooky-fun stuff, too! Lindy Burnett's illustrations are pure magic! The genius of this wonderful book, she has worked wizardry at her own cauldron - the painter's palette. Each beautiful page draws in the eye and the imagination as she spins straw into gold at every stroke of the brush! Ms. Burnett brings exceptional artistic delight to this fun, playful and educational journey through ancient teachings. It is a brilliantly crafted, colorful, alive work of art!

... Or at least pretend to be! (NOTE: This is not a Harry Potter book, although it's certainly riding his "robe-tails.")

Not only does this book have some really neat and practical projects (container herb garden), but also has some pretty icky, kids-love-it projects like a terrarium for carnivorus plants and a mold garden. You can make your own wizard's robe, invisible ink (that you can use with your newly-made quill pen), and sew your own journal. The recipes include gumdrops, rock candy, and homemade slime (!). There's bits of history and folklore in it, too, just in case you get tired of making all this great stuff and want to read a while.

The illustrations are wonderful, the writing is engaging, and it has a ribbon bookmark (okay, it may be a silly thing to mention, but I love ribbon bookmarks). This is a very entertaining book. Many of the projects would lend themselves nicely to a theme party, and there are a few suggestions for that, too. Your Harry fan will have a *blast* with the ideas in this book. I can't wait to some of them with my own little HP fan...

The best book on Kwan-Yin I have read.If you think of a better one let me know.John Blofeld has a very heart felt way of expressing his affection for the Bodhisattva.I was touched and learned alot.Take Care....

If the rest of us "foreign devils", as Blofeld's friends refer to him, manage to inbibe even half the wisdom offered in this book, we'll be better off. His gentle, academically bumbling, tireless search for the origin and nature of Kuan Yin is something many of we rational Westerners can appreciate. I especially enjoyed the point that lesser path and greater path Buddhism are equal; one is not more "real" than the other. Kuan Yin is real as is the keyboard on which I type, as long as we remember that void & non-void are the same. The Chinese make no distinction...why should we?

This is perhaps my favorite book by John Blofeld. The stories of Kuan Yin are well told, diverse and moving. He strikes an excellent balance between philosophy, history, story telling, Kuan Yin meditation techniques, and personal devotion.

There are a few pages of b/w photos, of Kuan Yin, Tara and Avalokiteshvara, the pictures vary in quality. However, many of them I have never seen before and a few definitely inspire devotion.

The fact that John Blofeld lived and traveled in China, his joyous devotion to Kuan Yin, and his knowledge of the Chinese language and culture adds immensely to the book and puts it in a class by itself.

The dedication of this volume tells us that Cummings wrote these tales for his daughter when she was a very little girl. But even if it hadn't, any reader would have known. As you read, it's as if you can hear a parent telling the stories to his child over a sleepy bedtime. The stories have an effortless feeling as if they are being spoken rather than written. This free and easy quality combined with the spectacularly imaginative subjects make for a really fun reading experience.

Unless you have a really patient child, however, I wouldn't recommend this edition for sit-on-the-lap reading. The illustrations aren't particularly engaging. Rather, I would let your kids sit down with some blank paper and a box of crayons and ask them to draw their own pictures while you read out loud to them. Or read to them at bedtime when their eyes are closed. These are the kinds of stories to be savored by the senses rather than "follow-along-while-I-read."

i will begin with "the elephant and the butterfly," and then will work on "The Old Man Who Said 'Why?'"

one day before i die...

These fairy tales are beautifully nonsensical and touching to even those who are less than sentimental. They are precious, without any reservation using such a word. Each was evidently written with a careful, loving authorship and a sense of humor that without a doubt is the creative quirkiness of the poet Edward Estlin Cummings. If you know the poet, the tender, innocent personalness of these tales might even surprise you, or, at least, bring you closer to him and his writings.

If you loved the first Minnowknits book, you will most likely love this one too. It is filled with bright, adorable, simply constructed children's knits. Since it is basically a book of patterns (rather than a book of techniques, theory, etc., that you would refer to again and again), you do need to ask yourself if it is worth getting the book rather than buying the patterns individually. In my case, it was definitely a good investment, as I have used many of the patterns. I only wish they were written for big kid sizes, too!

I am an advanced beginner/intermediate knitter. I was really surprised with how easy some of the sweaters were to make and how cute they came out. I made one sweater for my 4 yr. old that so impressed my husband that he asked me when I was going to make him one. The instructions are really clear and the photos are great.

This book, like her first book, MinnowKnits, is just adorable. It's a great book to look through the only problem is which pattern to knit first. No worries they are all fairly quick to knit so you can knit a few in no time.

The directions are clear, the designs are sooo cute and the children are too adorable for words. Definitely a must have. Happy knitting.

This little book has a lot of wisdom. Sometimes it's a bit hard to grasp at first but it's nothing a little zazen wont fix. It's well worth the read if you're interested in Chan especially from the Rinzai sect as Huang Po was Lin-chi's (Rinzai)teacher.

There may be no way to "say" the unsayable, and Huang Po's most celebrated student went on to not say it masterfully, beginning what became the Rinzai school. But if you want to experience perhaps the clearest, most accessible attempt at saying it, try John Blofield and Huang Po. The book is so disarmingly clear that one may believe one has "gotten it." Maybe it was just this (misleading) clarity that pushed Lin Chi into his famous antics.

The definitive Chan (Zen) book. If I had to choose a book to carry with me to a desert island, I would choose this. Huang Po words are clear and powerful, they will dispel your doubts about the Way. Thank you Master Huang Po, thank you Mr. Blofeld. If you are interested in Zen (Chan), you must read it.

This is not your average history book in that the story of ancient Ireland flows off the pages to entertain and delight. It is a well written, lyrical and well researched history of ancient Ireland. The writers take us to the top of pagan ritual mounds and inside ancient caves, crawling through dark passageways. They visit monasteries where the residents have long since vanished but the ghosts of the past remain to haunt and remind us of an Ireland that once was noble and classical in its learning. When Europe entered its Dark Age, Ireland and the Irish were there to bring the light of scholarship back. I have read other books on this subject but there is so much that is new here. McCaffrey and Eaton consult with the best Irish archeologists, historians and anthropologists to tell their story of Ireland's ancient past with a clarity that is refreshing and enlightening.
I loved reading this book and felt as if I had gone back in time and that the past was alive again. An Irish past that I did not even realize existed! Different characters jumped off the pages - St. Patrick, Brian Boru, an interesting king/bishop called Feidlimid MacCrimthannn and even the Vikings all take on a real form. The research into the period is excellent, dispelling many myths and giving the correct sources. I loved reading the quotes from the ancient Irish annals and learning of the current archeological discoveries. This book is an excellent source book for everything you want to know about ancient Ireland. It made me proud of my Irish ancestry.

Collaboratively researched and written by Irish history expert Carmel McCaffrey and television writer, producer, and director Leo Eaton, In Search Of Ancient Ireland: The Origins Of The Irish From Neolithic Times To The Coming Of The English offers a truly fascinating and informative look at the origins of the Irish people and culture from the "New Stone Age" down of pre-history to the Norman invasion of 1167 AD, which brought the country under control of the English crown for the first time. Monasteries, ring forts, mountains, sacred caves, and as much as can be excavated or deduced of ancient history is superbly featured with a wealth of fine detail in this fascinating and highly readable resource. The companion book to a PBS television series of the same name, In Search Of Ancient Ireland is enthusiastically recommended for personal, academic, and community library Irish History Studies collections and reading lists.

This book offers great scholarship and is well researched on the issues surrounding the origins of the Irish race and culture. I was particularly interested to read about what Irish scholars have to say about the Celtic invasion. Just about every book I have read say that this occurred around 500 BC. Well, Irish scholars in Ireland are no longer saying this and in fact there is no archeological evidence for such an invasion. This was new information to me. But I appreciated also that the Celtic culture arrived and the writers give us a chapter on what this culture was about. I loved reading about the ancient Irish laws, the Brehon Laws. I also appreciated the chapter on St. Patrick and how he came to be the national saint of Ireland. It was as McCaffrey and Eaton point out 'clever politics and propaganda', which elevated him to this status. You get a great feel for the man in spite of his not being the only one to convert the Irish.
The chapter on the Irish monastery system is also full of interesting information. I almost felt like I was there reading about the families who owned the monasteries and what day to day life was like back then. The fact that women played an important role in early Irish Christianity to the point of having women bishops!
I really enjoyed learning about Irish families and seeing how great families like the O'Neills originated and the role they played in early Irish history. This is also the first time I have read about the details of the English invasion in such clear prose.
This book really is well researched on the most up to date scholarship on early Ireland. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn the truth beyond much of the mythology and pseudo-history that so many books on this topic contain. Highest rating.