I absolutely loved this book and all the other sequels! Sue Harrison made reading it an adventure, and you actually felt like you were there with the characters. It had a great plot that thickened as each book went by. I felt like I was actually a member of the town by the last page! The love story between Kiin and Qakan gave it a romantic twist! It also made me appreciate the way of life I have. Some other good authors are Sue Harrison, Linda Lay Shuler, and Lucia St.Clair Robson. :-)

I loved this book. Unfortunately, I jumped right into the middle of the trilogy. A friend gave me this book as a gift and ,I, not knowing this was part of a trilogy began...

The book was wonderful..I will definitely get both "Mother Earth, Father Sky"-Vol.1 and "Brother Wind"-Vol.3.. I can wait to be a part of Kiin and Samiq's life again.. the story draws you in. Mrs. Harrison really knows how to make you feel like you are right there among the First Men. I will also make sure to get the Storyteller Trilogy as well.. !!!!

Not very often are sequels as good as originals, but this one definatly is! It was better than I could've ever hoped for. Sue Harrison once again shows how a great story is to be told! From the second I opened the book I was unable to put it down, I felt as if I were a part of it. I lost hours of sleep staying up until I fell asleep reading, but it was more than worth it! I encourage all people to read these magnificent stories!

very detailed & the best explanations of what intervals, scales,chords,modes etc. are and how they are built. you will make strong the topics by solving well designed exercises. i have been studying it about 1 week and so happy to see my rapid progression.

Quite the best explanation of music theory, for both classical and contemporary music, that I've come across.

Mark Harrison does not "put the cart before the horse" (as he explains himself) and as such brings clarity.

Even though there is some repetition to bring home important points, overall there is a delightful brevity.

Don't even think of skipping any.

The appendices contain a very useful set of triads in all keys.

Highly recommended. I can't wait to order volume II.

I have 3 of mark's books. This one, the second one and the pop piano book. The one I like most is the pop piano book but this book is almost required reading. On with the review!

This book teaches music theory and it is what you will get. It is very clear and moves in a slow steady pace. If you pay attention you will never lose yourself. It is ideal for someone learning alone because it has exercises at the end of each chapter you can use to brush up on what you just learned. Just like chemistry (which is what I always read!) theory isn't going to take you anywhere. You need to use it too. This is almost prequisite reading for the "pop piano book" unless you already have a good grasp of music theory. I use it in conjunction with my keyboard playing. If you just read and go through the exercises, you will learn but you will forget too! So it is recommended you actually use what is learned in conjuction. This will not tell you how to "use" the theory. That is up to you. Play your instrument frequently!

So if you always wanted to know the background about music get this. Stop memorizing chords having no idea why they are what they are. The print is clear, large, easy to read. But I don't like the binding on the book. kind of weak.

Pierre has all the markings of an awful book--flat characters, overblown writing, shameless melodrama. So why is it such a masterpiece? Melville seems to have put all of himself into this work--his despair, his religious doubts, his understanding of human psychology--with an intensity that makes the usual standards of plot, style and character obsolete. The analysis of Pierre's mother as she turns on her husband/son and Melville's agonizing descriptions of the writing process were two of the book's highlights for me. The Beats loved Pierre--maybe they saw a model for their own art, where elegance takes a back seat to energy. The novel was a critical disaster at the time, but look where it ranks on amazon 150 years later. I hope Melville's somewhere watching.

This novel, which I believe to be the greatest ever written by an American, is far too complex and profound to be neatly summarized here. It relates the story of Pierre, a young man born into American high society in the late 19th century, who gradually discovers that his beloved family and society are in reality profoundly false and corrupt. The analysis of this corruption in the novel is centered in the fact that Pierre's deceased and revered father has an unacknowledged, abandoned daughter whose existence Pierre discovers. Pierre attempts to stand up against this corruption and from there the unbreakable threads unwind steadily into tragedy. This is no melodrama or romantic fantasy, it is tragedy as objective and profound as anything created by Aeschylus or Sophocles. It is more bold and profound than anything ever conceived by Melville's contemporary, Hawthorne. But it connects Hawthorne with the Greeks in a most unexpected way: Pierre, or The Ambiguities is the only novel I know of that could be called an authentic Christian trgedy. What I mean is that Melville presents Pierre to us deliberately in a light that recalls classical tragedy all the way back to its mythological roots. He compares Pierre with the rebel, earth-born, giant, Enceladus, brother of the Titans, who perished in his struggle against the transcendent tyranny of Zeus. But though a giant, Enceladus was a mortal who could not overcome corrupt divine power. And early in the novel, in the first chapter, long before we are introduced to the comparison with Enceladus, Melville tells the reader clearly, even while he so beautifully describes the beauty of Pierre and his fiancee, Lucy, that we are dealing with a story of tragic fate, of doomed mortality colliding with divinity: Nemo contra Deum nisi Deus ipse ( No one against the Gods unless a God himself.) But the God that Pierre collides with is not Zeus, but the inscrutable Christian God who seemingly inspires him. The amazing ambiguity here is that it is by trying to be a Christian that Pierre, a beautiful, but mere, mortal, is brought relentlessly to his destruction. Why? For what possible purpose?
One of the most impressive and profound elements of this story is Pierre's relationship with his fiancee, Lucy, and his discovered sister, Isabel. Both of these amazing females, though real individuals, seem to be countering reflections of Pierre's tormented soul, one bright and glorious, the other dark and mysterious, both essential and necessary. What is the answer? What resolution can there be? What is the nature of this mortal? And of this God whose only voice is silence?
If you have not read Pierre, then you have not experienced the deepest places that American ficion has ever gone. Melville was ostracized and virtually exiled for writing Pierre. It went too far, too deep. America has never forgiven him, has never given him his rightful place, but he was and remains America's greatest artist.

I think of two points here than which nothing is more obvious.
1. This novel about a young man from high American society in the late 19th century who gradually discovers the spiritual corruption of his family, his society and of all ordinary human consciousness is a work of genius that remains more modern, more penetrating of frontiers, and more bold in form and content than any American novel before it or after it. It is in that small group of the most profound novels ever created.

2.America has never even begun to really absorb and integrate the genius of Melville, especially as it is manifested in this novel. Americans have so much time and opportunity to cultivate artistic sensitivity, but mostly they choose not to. Most 'educated' Americans have no familiarity with this novel. And this is not an accident. America has always been afraid of Melville, has rejected him, and turned him into a harmless museum-piece, a distinguished man of letters, but he is in reality America's horned black sheep, it's enfant terrible. Pierre is safely put away on dusty library shelves. But this book still burns with prophetic energy and one day the truth of its fire will burn through the walls that enclose it.
Stars? I would give this book enough stars too fill the sky.
"Enter this enchanted wood ye who dare."

I can't believe I am the first naysayer to weigh in.
For starters, referring to this elfin tome as a "BOOK" is patently misleading. At 95 pages (15 are picture pages-another 5 pages are predominantly maps or photocopies of letters)I think "pamphlet" or perhaps "brochure" would be a better description of what your [money] will get you. Also be advised that NO SINGLE PICTURE INCLUDED IN THIS BOOK WAS TAKEN DURING GEORGE'S VISIT!! NOT ONE!!
Combine this information with the fact that the author was nowhere near Benton Illinois in 1963. Now you're starting to get the picture.
The concept is a good one- I purchased the book in appreciation of that fact. Mr. Kirkpatrick, however, does not come close to delivering the goods. I was disappointed to say the very least.
On the bright side, I only wasted an hour reading it from front to back.
I would describe this book as a pathetic ploy to separate Beatles/Harrison fans from [some money]. Shipping and handling extra.
For the record, I am a 52 year old Beatles fan/musician who actually saw the group on their last tour.

I was fortunate enough to purchase a copy of this book from George Harrison's sister Louise Harrison, at Liverpool Days in Pasadena this year. I must tell you that she fully endorsed the book as being true by offering it up for sale. I had a chance to talk with her at length and louise is a forthright, humorous woman. After reading the book (being a 53 year old woman who is a die-hard Beatles fan) I felt I had a little more understanding of the times and of George's vast curiousity of the US. Ultimately I became a huge admirer of George's for his belief of a higher power and his quest to know more. I would highly recommend this book for a little peek into this most private man's early life. The goodness and kindness of this man should never be forgotten. I think he was always FAB, he just didn't know it at an early age.

Being a Beatles fan from southern Illinois who enjoys quirky Illinois history, I thought this book was a perfect fit for me. Granted, it delves into minutiae that only the most obsessed Beatles or Harrison fans will appreciate, so casual fans be warned. Jim Kirkpatrick did a splendid job on such a specific topic, and had access to Louise Harrison, who was more than willing to share the stories from September 1963. I also enjoyed the firsthand recollections from other people whose paths Harrison crossed when he was still a nobody in the U.S. Out of the 25+ Beatle-related books I own, this is one of my favorites.

Not a great book, and not the best of the Rat pack. Harrison has a lot of fun making fun of modern foibles in the future, but the story is overly episodic, the technology of the future seems less advanced than our own (but for space travel), and the author's ideas about authority and responsibility come across as identical to those of a thirteen-year-old slacker. But the story is rapid, the cliffhangers well constructed, and the Bishop is a joy of a character.

There is some information in this review which may be considered Spoiler information. You stand warned.

The book started off well, and I think that Harry Harrison had a good premise...for a short story. Attempting to turn this plot into a whole novel, let alone a series of them, is somewhat foolish. The material just isn' t there for a whole series of books about Slippery Jim. The first book alone seemed to stretch over one hundred pages past where it should have. I can't, offhand, think of any particular place that it should have stopped, but after Jim met the Bishop and he got turned down, or after the Bishop was captured and freed, or even after they left Bit O' Heaven would all have been good stopping places with a slight rewrite to give a conclusion. Even at the end of the book the way it is, though, there is relatively little conclusion, and the reader is left dissatisfied.

Not a bad book, but probably not one you should pay full price for, either.
Harkius

I've read tons of Sci-Fi but somehow missed the Stainless Steel Rat series. Only read this one so far. It was a lot of fun. Made a guy want to take up a life of crime for fun and frolic! Bit 'O Heaven sure reminded me of Wisconsin or Iowa, complete with McSwiney's and big ornery farm critters to chase you around.

When he lands in that godforsaken warlord land, it made me wonder if Harry had ever been to Chechnya, Dagestan or Afghanistan. Except that if he had, I'd guess he'd have made the characters intervening with the warlords much less idealistic and a lot more clueless and idiotically bureacratic, as only the CIA can manage. In real life, nobody has a clue except the field ops guys and they can't make a decision.

I've met characters along the lines of Jimmy Digriz. They are alive and stealing millions from the World Bank in the Balkans and other places like that, arranging to have themselves kidnapped in the Caucasus, etcetera. Can't say as I like them - they do terrible damage, but Jimmy Digriz certainly makes it seem like the way to go.

Maybe ... :-)

Angelica wanted to get out of her marriage. Yes, her husband Phillip was attractive and charming, but he was no good. He was involved in things a ligit lawyer wouldn't be involved in. He talks her into going to dinner with him on the boat named after her. She reluctantly agrees and this day changed her life forever. Angie is in an accident and can't remember what happened to her after she is rescued by the handsome doctor Matt and his dog Buster. Matt is running away. His wife is dead and they think he killed her. Matt wants to help Angie. The only reason he even knows her name is because of a piece of jewelry she is wearing. In helping Angie get well and regain her memory, they fall in love. Angie wants to help Matt put his life back together. Of course, he resists, but when true love's involved you might as well quit running.

This is Ms. Harrison second book. I purchased this book when it was first published and just hadn't read it. This book had a lot of suspense and I would like to see Angie's brother Reed with his own story. If you have never read Ms. Harrison, please read her first book Picture Perfect. It was excellent. This one was good too, but I really loved Picture Perfect.

A nice read though I didn't enjoy this one as much as her first novel, "Picture Perfect." There were a lot of things unresolved and some parts not believable. But I was able to get through it and I still look forward to her future works.

This second novel by Shirley Harrison shows that she is truly in the right profession. Ms. Harrison has a firm grasp on creating a visual with her descriptive narratives. Many times throughout the book I felt as if I was on the beach, running through the wooded area, etc., right along with the main character. And I definitely wished I was there for the love scenes! It's so nice to see a contemperary writer that doesn't rely on a lot of dialogue and profanity to express a point. This is a must read.

Kathryn Harrison's The Seal Wife is quite an intense read. It is the story of Bigelow Greene, a young man who moves to Alaska in 1915 to establish a weather station. He becomes obsessed with a silent Aleut woman he becomes sexually involved with and when she mysteriously disappears, his world, and perhaps his sanity begin to crumble. He becomes involved with another silent woman and his simple life grows more and more complex. The brutal Alaskan landscape serves as an excellent backdrop for this novel and its language. The Seal Wife is certainly not for the faint of heart--Bigelow is obsessed with sex and Harrison is not afraid to delve deeply into that obsession. If you can take that, try this intense read. It's hard to put down.

Kathryn Harrison, author of "The Kiss" and "The Binding Chair," underscores her reputation as a writer of compelling fiction with this tale of passion and obsession on the desolate Alaskan frontier. Fred Stella provides a superior reading.

It is 1915 when Bigelow, a young scientist, is dispatched to build a weather observatory in Anchorage. He is optimistic and enthusiastic, little realizing what life will be like in an arctic railroad town peopled by men and precious few women. The nights are endless and lonely.

Before long he is held sway by a seemingly unknowable woman, Aleut. She is not his only obsession - he designs a kite intended to fly higher than any kite has ever flown.

Harrison's recreation of an icy landscape in all its beauty and danger is spectacular. Stella's reading illuminates that world and her words.

- Gail Cooke

Kathryn Harrison's THE SEAL WIFE is far and away her finest work, and one of the finest works of fiction published this year. Written in a very spare style, Harrison doesn't waste a word, a paragraph or a chapter in telling this story of a US government scientist sent to the wilds of Alaska in 1915. Bigelow's assignment is to map the weather patterns of the area, where railroads and infrastructure are to be built, extracting the riches of gold, furs and other precious commodities. Bigelow embarks upon an ambitious quest to construct the biggest kite known, which will aid him in understanding the changeable nature of the region's weather. The kite itself becomes a metaphor for a man's quest for unattainable love, his desire to conquer nature, and the consequences of reaching too far outside one's known experiences in life.

Bigelow has three relationships through the course of the story: one with the kite, which consumes not only his intellect and emotions, but great periods of his time every day; a physical and strangely emotionally distant relationship with an Aleut woman whose name and background he never knows fully. Thirdly, he has another physical and highly emotional liaison with a young woman who communicates only through song.

Harrison's descriptions of the Alaskan frontier with all its vastness, great white blankets of snow and ice, and the long stretches of light and darkness bring the reader into Bigelow's setting like no other novel I can remember.

THE SEAL WIFE is the finest example of the novelist's craft! I would really, really like to see her write into a screenplay. This is a story of great drama veiled by the whiteness of Alaska, and the loneliness of a man's soul. Beautifully done, Kathryn Harrison!!

Fop Flop In the most elegant apparel Nothing but worm silks In the finest golden thread And superior king red velvet sashes

You'd think I would have known better? I couldn't blame them who wouldn't? cut air with scissors while sewing their needles into invisible cloth for the very low price of..... silk a loom golden thread a full bag of coins Oh those Villain Scoundrels! Now, I know not to buy such vestments with rather large investments Oh what a bratty gnatty I was For I thought I was cool but truly a fool Why emperor you look rather bare, that's quite rare! I was in such a pursuit For only a birthday suit I must admit now Me, My very own self yes indeed, your emperor himself have become a stupid and incompetent dandy All for the Imaginary Image! and now I live happily ever after, no more garb well, that is until the next apparel discovery (Now if you'll excuse me there's a clothier waiting at my door who says he's created the latest design in Pajama attire)

Generally, I do not care for audio books; many of the readers speak in a dull voice that rapidly drives me either away from the story or to sleep. However, there are a few exceptions; this is one.

Understand, that this is not the normal audio book; this edtion has a large cast of actors who collaborated to produce this item as a fund raiser for Starbright.

The result is an ensemble piece that is witty and charming. Part of the fun for me, was guessing who was reading before looking at the cast list included in the box.

Other folks feel that this isn't for children; I don't know as I don't have children, but I found that my "inner child" was highly entertained for 40 minutes with this tape.

If you are a fan of one or more of the actors in this edition or like puns (there are many here!), then you will probably like the Starbright edtion of the Emporer's New Clothes.

I had been given 2 of these books from a friend and I decided to see if there were anymore. My son loves this book. He's now working on reading the adult side. It's a great idea to have a page each, 1 for the adult and 1 for the child. We have several of these books now and I see my son sitting down and reading them on his own.

Kathryn Harrison is one of my favorite writers, but of all her five books this is the worst. In substance it is nearly identical to "The Kiss", which is a superior piece of work.

Kathryn Harrison weaves the reader inside her detailed writing in "Thicker than Water" with extreme craft and precision. Her subject matter is real and disturbing, but at the same time her writing is beautiful and multi-layered. Unlike "The Kiss" and "Exposure," she strays from the mainstream to experiment in this poetic-prose masterpiece.

Kathryn Harrison's debut novel is a masterpiece of darkness. In the same lyrically beautiful words that read more like a poem than prose, Harrison magically weaves a tale of a daughter who is both forgotten and clung to. Although melodrama abounds in this book, Harrison has it all well under control and the characterizations and pacing are just perfect. This is a book that will haunt you, years after you finish the last word.

Herman Melville's style of detailed descriptions certainly comes though in this slim 210-page volume written in 1846. He describes life aboard ship, the geography of the island and the technical aspects of making clothing, tattooing and preparing food as well as many native ritual customs. This is all seen through the eyes of his lead character, Tom, called Tommo by the natives. The book put me right there with him, when, exhausted and starved, he and Toby, the other seaman he jumped ship with, find their way into the world of the Typees. The two sailors are treated well, but are kept virtual prisoners and there is apprehension throughout about the Typees' cannibal tendencies. In spite of that, there is also joy as Tommo views the simple and carefree life of the people he considers savages and contrasts it to life in the so-called "civilized world".

The Typees seem perennially happy and content. They spend a lot of time amusing themselves as food is plentiful and there is not much work to do. Their lives are idealized so much that I found myself raising a quizzical eyebrow at times. But the story was so good and so well written that I didn't let it get in my way of enjoying the book, which must have been received with similar delight when it was published as it not only painted a picture of a better world, it appealed to everyone's sense of adventure.

I loved the book, especially the social commentary. I found myself reading it quickly and at odd times during to day just to see what would happen on the next page. It sure was a good story and seems as fresh and meaningful today it when was published more than a century and a half ago.

Herman Melville's "Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life" tells the story of a white sailor who lives for a time among the Typees, a native people of a Pacific island. According to a "Note on the Text" in the Penguin Classics edition, this book first appeared in 1846 in no less than four different editions.

"Typee" is a marvelous story of cross-cultural contact. It is also a fascinating glimpse at a pre-industrial culture; Tom (known as "Tommo" to the Typees) describes in detail the food, dress, tattooing, physiology, musical instruments, architecture, warfare, religious practices, and social customs of the Typees. The book is full of vividly portrayed characters: the gentle beauty Fayaway, the "eccentric old warrior" Marheyo, the talkative "serving-man" Kory-Kory, and more.

Melville's prose style in "Typee" is irresistible: the writing is fresh, lively, and richly descriptive. There is a satirical thrust to much of the book. And there is a lot of humor; at many points I literally laughed out loud. Such scenes as the description of a wild pig's frustrated efforts to break open a coconut really showcase Melville's comic flair.

A major theme of "Typee" is that of the "noble savage" (Melville actually uses the term). The narrator often wonders whether Typee life is in some ways better than Western life, and is quite critical of the work of Christian missionaries among Pacific Island peoples. The book is richly ironic, as Melville's narrator reflects on the problematic nature of cross-cultural observation: "I saw everything, but could comprehend nothing" (from Chapter 24).

"Typee" is more than just a colorful travelogue or a philosophical reflection; it is also a genuinely exciting and suspenseful adventure story. Melville's story of a visitor to a strange alien world curiously anticipates a major theme of 20th century science fiction; thus a novel like Ursula K. LeGuin's "The Left Hand of Darkness" would make a fascinating companion text. Also recommended as a companion text: "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass," another 19th century American classic which casts a critical light on Eurocentric Christianity.

In Chapter 17 of this book, the narrator conveys his feelings about the differences between Western civilization and other cultures: "The term 'savage' is, I conceive, often misapplied, and indeed when I consider the vices, cruelties, and enormities of every kind that spring up in the tainted atmosphere of a feverish civilization, I am inclined to think that so far as the relative wickedness of the parties is concerned, four or five Marquesan islanders sent to the United States as missionaries might be quite as useful as an equal number of Americans dispatched to the islands in a similar capacity." This portrayal of primitive cultures as being more civilized than Western society is part of a long tradition, beginning at least with Montaigne's essay "Of Cannibals." This and other similar statements by Melville in this work caused quite a tempest in Europe and the United States, but one which was a gentle breeze, compared to the current storm raging in academia regarding the origins and validity of the terms "civilized" and "primitive."

I am myself interested in the statement above for another reason. Some fifty years ago, a small group of inhabitants of the Marquesas Islands, in which this book is set, came across this romance. They had long before adopted Western ways, but these individuals decided to use Melville's work as a means to recreate the pastoral moment which the author had captured in this book. Such an effort was as feasible as would be an attempt to recreate the America portrayed in Norman Rockwell's paintings, but these islanders were convinced of the necessity and possibility of this act, and they reconstructed, with admirable accuracy, a past that had never existed. They gave up their new houses, their churches, their Western foods, for a lifestyle closer to that portrayed in this work, a large part of which consists of quasi-anthropological description of rituals, feasts, customs and dress. Naming children after characters in the book became common, though only in those regions in which the Melvilles, as they were called, were predominant, just as there are still a few adults named Rainbow and Sunflower in the U.S., a legacy of the hippie movement. And in keeping with the full spirit of Melville's portrait of the Marquesans, and inspired by the passage I cited above, several families did indeed move to the United States in order to proselytize their lifestyle to the Westerners whose ways these Marquesans had rejected.

It is well known that their efforts failed, for the most part, both here and in their home country, but it was a happy accident that my interest in Melville led me to meet Fayaway, one of the descendants of that tribe of emigrants to the United States, and that she and I would soon after wed. As a result, I have become indoctrinated into the remnants of this culture; without either of us being true adherents to the religion, we observe its customs, much as agnostics celebrate Christmas. Our favorite part of the entire set of customs is to replay the Ritual of the Canoe from Chapter 18, as gently erotic now as when it was written, first in Hobomok Lake in Phoenicia, New York, and more recently in Malibu Lake, California. The puritanical fussbudgets in both neighborhoods were appropriately scandalized.

As a result of my marriage to the living incarnation of the female protagonist of the romance, I am well familiar with this work, and must say that it is more nearly perfect, in its own way, than is Melville's masterpiece _Moby Dick_. It embodies many of the same themes as that larger work, and reveals, because of its imperfections, a deep glimpse into the author's mind and his longing for that tropical paradise where he sought Arcadia and found a nymph fit to his fancy. Rarely have adolescent male fantasies been given such a beautifully complex form, and if, as many have noted, the anthropological tangents detract from the narrative, it is helpful to recall that Melville was attempting create a fiction that looked like an authentic travel narrative, and that in any case those tangents can become of themselves interesting diversions, and commentary on the greater narrative. They even inspired a small group of South Pacific Islanders to fly from their homes and settle in the wilderness of the United States, in an effort to save us from our wicked ways.