Cox and Rathvon are the best in the biz at cryptic crosswords, and this is an excellent introduction to their work. They have written a very clear and helpful explanation for how cluing works in cryptics, and also a variety of puzzles to practice with, ranging from those for rank beginners to some "variety" cryptics that will challenge savvy, experienced solvers.

The American crosswording public is largely unfamiliar with the cryptic crossword, and are baffled when one turns up. No more! Cox and Rathvon introduce us to this clever and entertaining form of wordplay, taking a very effective phased approach, teaching us the tricks one by one until we're ready to set off on our own. The book also includes eight practice puzzles and 65 full-sized puzzles, graded by difficulty. Anyone who loves word games will want this book. But beware! You'll become hooked on cryptic crosswords; don't say I didn't warn you!

Emily Gardiner Neal is not a household name today. The healing ministry of which she was a part has been eclipsed by various movements not as traditional in the Episcopal Church. Though of the same denomination as the better-known Agnes Sanford, she was much more traditional in her approach to healing, emphasizing the role of the church and its healing ministry. In favor of the church's current romance with abortion and gays, her work and others like it have faded. Still, for those who are interested in God's healing, there is a great deal upon which to ponder.

Emily Gardiner neal was a skeptic in the early 1950'sand a professional journalist. Strongly affected by witnessing a healing service, she felt compelled to investigate the phenomenon. She began to talk with those who were healed, their pastors, their families, and their physician. In the process, she began honestly to face her own apprehension, subsequently writing A Reporter Finds God Through Spiritual Healing. Her journey of faith and her particiaption in the healing ministry of the church for the next thirty years are recorded in her additional six books - all out of print. An anthology of those books has been skillfully written by Anne Cassel to share the essence of her timeless stories and her extensive research. The book, formerly titled Celebration of Healing, is scripturally sound. The Episcopal Healing Ministry Foundation had sponsored the reprint of this work entitled, The Reluctant Healer.

What a great book. It is amazing how much correspondence reveals about people. This book was so interesting. It truly covers decades of Black artisitic history.

Bernard gathers and edits the letters of Langston Hughes and Carl Van Vechten, written between 1925-64, presenting a notable work of Hughes' mentor and the friendship which evolved between the two men. From discussions of literature and the publishing world to politics and gossip, these letters hold important keys to the personalities and concerns of two great men of the Harlem Renaissance.

Stella and her mom find out that one of the newly introduced wolves has been killed. By a gunshot wound. This means that someone is hunting where they aren't supposed to be. Will Stella and her mom find out who before it's too late?

The book is about a 9 yr old girl named Stella who helps her mother and aunt Anya in a variety of animal situations. She must help rescue a piglet from a well, perform surgery on a goldfish, help vaccinate cattle, treat a colt who was bitten by a rattlesnake and rescue wolf pups after Romeo, the Wolf Cubs father is killed by hunters. This is a book that keeps you interested with all the many things the girl and her family go through with the animals. It teaches many things about a variety of animals. It has such a compassionate depth from all the characters, it brings to heart an inner urgency to help the animals you come in contact with. It is enjoyable and very well written for all ages. I felt the content was a little much for the younger advanced reader, but it never would scare them.

Many children are kind to dogs and cats. Unfortunately, this compassionate attitude isn’t always extended to wild animals or those that much of society callously regards as “food animals.” Many usually caring and thoughtful children (and some adults) don’t think (or don’t want to think) about where their burger or bacon & eggs come from. Some people mistakenly think, or are wrongly led to believe, that animals raised for society’s unhealthy and cruel diet live carefree, enjoyable lives free from any hardships until they are quickly and humanely killed for food.
Saving Emily is a wonderful novel for children aged 9 and up. In telling the stories of Emily, the heifer, 12-year-old Chris, and his friend Gina,Nicholas Read not only provides an interesting and enjoyable story, he also effectively informs the reader of the cruel existence that cows and bulls must endure until they are killed.
While Saving Emily is an interesting story and provides valuable insight into the business of growing and killing animals for food, it also deals with the important and common issues of dealing with—and overcoming, difficult childhood experiences. Chris must leave his friends and school in the city. His parents are divorced and his mother has married someone who lives in a small town. Gina is different from the other children in her school. She is a vegetarian and she helps out at the Rescue Ranch where dogs, horses and cows who have been saved are cared for. Her love for—and attitude toward, animals doesn’t sit well with the other students in the ranching community.
Finally, Saving Emily conveys the vital message that the efforts of a few can result in positive changes, making an often hostile and cruel world a little kinder. Children who like animals will enjoy this book. Children who aren’t as caring toward animals should read it! –Reviewed by Glenn Perrett

Saving Emily is an engaging story about a girl, a boy and a cow named Emily. When Chris moves to the country he feels lonely and different - until he meets Gina. Chris thinks Gina is a little crazy because she cares so much about animals - but after meeting Emily and finding out her destination is the slaughterhouse, he begins to understand how strongly people can relate to animals!

I'd recommend this as a must-read for all children, since they seem to be born with an inherent love for all animals.

Shade was the first one of the Emily Devenport books that I picked up, at the last count I actually had 3 copies of the book. Shade plays out like a true street kid, hungry all the time, almost maniacally looking for a way out and in more need than she can cope with. The way she responds to the aliens in her world is priceless, this is it, this is the book that I have been waiting for AFTER humanity has been introduced to EVERYONE else in the galaxy. No more of this, we are the superior beings because of X... Shade is a delightful read, a true piece of mind candy and the kind of book that I recommend to my friends.

Be aware that the language in this book and some of the ideology on prostitution may offend some readers--definite view of sadism given to the Lyrri. Billed as a "survivor at any cost", and with nothing to lose, Shade stows away on an interstellar freighter only to wind up on a planet where anything can be had for the right price. As a young adult with no protection but her attitude and her wits, her talent for reading other people's minds (including aliens!) attracts the wrong kind of attention. At least 3 factions from the recently fought war have their own ideas for using her talents. Which side will she choose, if any?

Though written for the victims of stalkers, this book is a boon for the professional counselor who wants to help those whose lives have been devastated by stalking. Emily Spence-Diehl writes extensively of the physical and emotional needs of stalking victims and, in providing guidelines for victims, also provides external, objective facts for the counselor dealing with an exhausted, confused, and traumatized victim. Most valuable are extensive checklists as well as toll-free numbers and Internet sources for assistance and further information.

I was stalked by an ex-husband....this book helped me understand I was not just "imagining things" about his behavior (the stalking behavior described in this book mirrored my stalker's behavior at about 90%). Also, the book helped me understand some very, very important ways to avoid escalating the problem. The book describes all the "ploys" stalkers use to keep interacting with their victims. They play on our guilt, sympathy, fear, anything they can get. I found the book concise and to the point, easily understood, with intelligent advice. I would recommend it for anyone who finds themselves the target of obsessive behavior.

I was given this book at at stalking seminar for advocates in Virginia this year. I found this book to be one of the few comprehensive how-to books that are out there on the prevention of stalking and encourage all victims of stalking to read this book first. It has checklists, safety planning, and many other sections that we as advocates consider essential for empowerment of the victim. I am so thrilled by this book, that I asked our program to buy 15 copies and we include this handbook (and The Gift of Fear) in our stalking bags that we give out to victims. A must read!

What a useful tool for the creative person to use for reflection and insight into motivation and sources of inspiration and application. A brief description of the symbol and its meaning can serve as a guide for the day, or a project... simple exercises help to make the understanding of the particular lesson, from "Play" to "Failure", a Muse in its own right. I would recommend this set highly to anyone who finds themselves "stuck" in their process, be they business oriented, artists, writers, or anyone who needs a boost to correlate ideas with action.

I pull a stone nearly everyday and find inspiration for any creative task. Business writing is a challenge for the soul full of passion, and the runes provide fun motivation for otherwise dismal responsibilities... Thanks for the help!

This is one of two books written by Margolies which I have just re-read. Emily Gwathmey co-authored this one. (The other is Pump and Circumstance.) Regrettably, copies of both are now difficult to obtain but well-worth the effort. Each focuses on what may seem to be a highly specialized subject. In fact, both offer a wealth of information and commentary concerning a basic component within the development of U.S. culture during the 20th century. This volume focuses on the "American movie theaters and how we had fun." Obviously, I have no idea how many readers of this review settled into a seat in one or more of the theaters which are featured in this volume. Many of them are no longer exist or have been converted to serve other purposes.

The excellent material is carefully organized within an especially appropriate format: a Prologue (written by Harold Ramis), followed by "Now Playing" (a brief history of film theaters) and then eight "Scenes" which focus on specific developments such as Saturday matinees and drive-ins. The illustrations (especially archival photographs, most in full-color) are superb. I was surprised to learn that several of the most ornate theaters were located in small towns throughout the United States. Margolies and Gwathmey provide a wealth of historical information about the theaters themselves, of course, but also about the entertainment entrepreneurs (many of whom combined films with arcades and even vaudeville programs), and the architects they retained to design theaters for them. In most small towns, the film theater was the major (if not only) cultural center. More often than not, an usher in uniform (perhaps wearing white gloves) guided people to their seats. Once the film began, the same usher used a flashlight to assist late-arrivals.

In the final chapter (Scene Eight: Elegy), observe: "the beautiful and ornate movie theaters we went to when we were growing up live on in our minds. Many of them survive as treasured landmarks, painstakingly restored to their former opulent splendor. Nearly all have suffered sadder fates. An unfortunate few cling to life as porno houses. Others live hermit-crab existences as nightclubs, churches, and bowling alleys. The saddest of all stand as dying dreams, withering away on the Main Streets of America. The vast majority, however, were violently and irrevocably demolished, replaced by faceless cinder-block cinemas I, II, III, and IV on the edge of town. Drive-in theaters have had an even harder time. Decaying slabs and overgrown parking lots litter the borders of civilization. Others have disappeared completely, leaving no traces at all."

Now that I am in my anecdotage, I frequently reminisce about my childhood in Chicago, recalling so fondly what "going to the movies" was like at the Avalon, Chicago, Granada, Oriental, and Paradise theaters. Until recently, my three sons and daughter, and especially my older grandchildren, simply could not identify with the experiences I described. Thanks to Margolies and Gwathmey's book, now they can.

I highly recommend it to those who share my interest in icons such as the movie theater. Its evolution has been inextricably involved in the cultural history of the United States. It has certainly been of unique and enduring importance to me.

My first job was at a multi-screen movie theater in a mall only 13 years ago, and that theater is gone too. "Ticket to Paradise" by John Margolies is a wonderful, captivating look at the bygone era of grand movie theaters. Full of intriguing photos, most in color, this book leads you by the hand through the days when going to the movies was fun. I was astonished at how extravagant even the small town theaters were, and the thought and ingenuity that was put into the design of the signs and marquees.

It's heartbreaking to me that most of these georgeous old theaters were shut down, to be replaces by sanatized 20 screen theaters that had nothing memorable about them, most even built without marquees, these days. This book will take you back before the term "multi-screen" was ever used, when they're were ushers to guide you down the dark aisles when you came in late, and those wonderfule snack bar trailers... "Let's go out to the lobby..." etc...

If you have a passion for movies, and the bygone age of Hollywood, you will love this book.

It was so good I cried because it was so impressive. No, I'm kidding, it was the best book I've ever read in my whole life. get it.

This book was interesting. There was a lot of intercourse throughout the book, very detailed. If you like those kinds of books, which are my favorite, you should get this book. I'm telling you every other page is something about it. Anyway, it's very good, I recommend you get it.