This is a WONDERFUL book. It is detailed, well-written, and the photographs are gorgeous. It is A MUST for anyone interested in the roots of American fashion.

This is a well-written and beautifully produced book. It is a combination biography/retrospective on the work of Claire McCardell, a fashion designer popular in the 1940s and 1950s. She is virtually forgotten today, which is a shame--her work was unique and truly American. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in fashion design.

Quite simply one of the best poets writing today producing some of the finest work of rhyme that actually makes sense to heart and mind. Cogent and cajoling; humble and humourous;impassioned and yet not impulsive. If Richard Wilbur has an heir apparent to the great legacy of New Formalism, it would be hard to deny Timothy Steele a full reading of the will. College Prof. at Cal.State L.A., he makes sure his poetry is not steeped in musty,over-erudite academia. He's down in the streets of Southern California or under the Golden Gate Bridge or in a classroom or describing his wife after a shower or comfortable with Biblical metaphors. An example (not in the current volume, but on the internet-Poetry Daily): Toward the Winter Solstice (excerpt)

'Some wonder if the star of Bethlehem/Occurred when Jupiter and Saturn crossed;/It's comforting to look up from this roof/And feel that, while all changes, nothing's lost/To recollect that in antiquity/The winter solstice fell in Capricorn/And that, in the Orion Nebula,/From swirling gas, new stars are being born.'

A great New Year's resolution is to feed your poetic soul. Take and read anything by Richard Wilbur, Timothy Steele, Dana Gioia, and bon apetit!

Extending the range and depth of his two previous collections of poetry (available from the University of Arkansas Press as a single volume, SAPPHICS AND UNCERTAINTIES), THE COLOR WHEEL confidently establishes Steele not only as the premiere metrical poet of his generation, but also as one of the very best poets writing in English today.

THE COLOR WHEEL takes its title from one of the volume's central poems, "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Child," a witty and wise meditation that begins with a description of a small child coloring with crayons and segues smoothly into the poet's memory of first seeing a color wheel, a spectrum of choices not only for the budding artist, but also, on a metaphorical level, for the poet and reader. The poem ends with one of the most beautiful passages I've seen in recent poetry: "You're off and traveling through the wheel/Of contrasts and of complements,/Where every shade divides and blends,/Where you find those that you prefer,/Where being is not linear,/But bright and deep, and never ends."

This enticing invitation to choose freely from the world's variety extends to Steele's entire collection, which ranges from a mock-Stevensian anecdote about a sugar bowl to a sobering recollection of doomed Holsteins in "Georgics." The Horatian alcaics of "Luck," in which the poet confronts the good fortunes of others, complements the mildly brooding blank verse of "Pacific Rim," in which the poet hints at the luckless victims of 20th century brutality. Yet the tenor of the collection is decidedly hopeful, and perhaps no title (or poem) in the book better exemplifies this than the charming "Beatitudes, While Setting Out the Trash."

Steele's art, which frequently explores the interrelationships between nature and human nature, regards human consciousness as fragile and in need of preservation. His superb meditation on "The Library" draws upon and condenses some of the material to be found in his magisterial prose critique of the free verse movement, MISSING MEASURES, and yet the emphasis in this poem is on the wit of foraging squirrels as well as the cleverness of archiving humans.

The volume contains a number of exquisite lyrics, including the opening "Aurora" with its subtle echoes of Valery, and the delicate homage to Thom Gunn, "Vermont Spring." Readers who admire the poetry of Edwin Arlington Robinson will certainly enjoy "Cory in April," a poem about a drunken homeless man who was once a boxer, and admirers of Frost will be tickled by the humorous and moving "Fae," one of the most memorable poems in Steele's outstanding ouevre.

With his flawless ear, deft rhymes, and penetrating intelligence, Steele is already a poet for the ages. Read THE COLOR WHEEL and SAPPHICS AND UNCERTAINTIES to discover why.

On an October night in 1962, the voices had arrived without a warning. Ken Steele was only fourteen years old. The voices told him to kill himself, that the world would be better off without him and that he was no good at all. Ken had been listening to the radio in his home in Connecticut and began to think he was in a nightmare but realized he was not asleep. He knew he could not tell his parents because he was already a big enough disappointment to them. Ken's father wanted him to play baseball and become a professional, Ken wanted to read and write. His parents were in denial and Ken was in and out of hospitals being diagnosed with schizophrenia. When he turned eighteen he moved to New York alone and began a publishing job. Ken was suicidal and had attempted many times to set himself afire, hang himself or jump off of a tall building. Finally Ken had been checked into Manhattan Psychiatric Center, where they evaluated and tried to help Ken Steele with his mental illness. Ken had spent thirty-two years of torture from inner voices demanding him to kill himself. In this inspiring novel, Ken tells the story of his recovery from schizophrenia, his insanity, paranoia and coping with the out-side world with schizophrenia. Ken Steele still had hope despite his insanity and mental illness; he yearned for a state of sanctuary and wanted to be helped. He died from heart failure on October 7th, 2000 and would have been fifty-two on October 9th.

Steele's book is one of the best I've seen on the subject. He tells us an insider's view of schizophrenia that is rarely portrayed so accurately. He does not tout a particular drug or a particular doctor, therapy, or procedure, which I feel is important because so many times an author credits a "miracle cure" for their recovery. There are many treatments for this illness and the appropriate one may differ from one person to another. I found I could identify with Ken in his quest to start living after thirty years of being out of commission, his drive to unite people with mental illnesses and improve conditions for us all. After I went through 18 years of mental illness and recovered, it seems there is a lot to do to make up for lost time. The memory of Ken Steele will stay with the reader for a long time, and so will his message.

This cross genre by Heywood Steele may be one of the funniest detective novels I've ever read. The premise, a detective hired to locate the soul of a burnt out rock singer, is handled in a very mature and different way. The author takes a theme as old as the history of literature and puts a spin on it that has never (to my knowledge) been done before. His narrative style flows so beautifully that you'll finish the book after a few short hours and ask for another like it. What happens when you sell your soul? What happens if you want it back? Is there life after death? Can disillusioned people learn to love again, even at the twilight of their lives? Can an alcoholic cab driving private detective beat the devil at his own game? The answers are all here. The book was released a year ago with minimal fanfare, but don't mistake that for a lack of quality. This book is one of my favorites.

In 1968, Johnny Reno sold his soul to the Organization for a career in rock and roll. When fame and fortune became too much for him, he backed out on his contract and disappeared from the public eye. Since then, he has been forced to pay off his debt by working for the Organization, a sinister and mysterious company that has the power to make people famous. Tired of his forced lifestyle and heartsick for fame, Johnny hires private investigator Dorf Brentson to locate his soul. Dorf, for reasons more personal than Johnny can imagine, takes the impossible case, and is offered help by his mysterious new partner, a haunted ex-writer, a girl who is eternally twenty-three years old, and a disillusioned youth named Dutch. Together, Johnny and Dorf will cross the boundaries of life and death and journey to a world where they will learn the secrets of the immortal soul, a world from which they may never return.

A well-crafted cross genre story with interesting characters and fast paced prose. Steele blends fantasy with reality in such a way that you want to believe it, you want to get to know these characters. If you are a fan of Joe Lansdale, Richard Laymon, or Stephen King, you'll want to check this one out.

Recomendo ! É ótimo !O livro retrata sobre duas GÊmeas . Uma delas se apaixona por um empresário . A história não é chata . Para quem gosta do gênero romântico , como eu , vai praticamente DEVORAR o livro. No momento não estou com o nome do livro , mas quem quizer saber é só enviare-me um e-mail porque até lá já vou estar com o livro e poderei fornecer o nome que recebeu aqui no Brasil pela editora Nova Cultural . Vale a pena!!

Recomendo ! É ótimo !O livro retrata sobre duas GÊmeas . Uma delas se apaixona por um empresário . A história não é chata . Para quem gosta do gênero romântico , como eu , vai praticamente DEVORAR o livro. No momento não estou com o nome do livro , mas quem quizer saber é só enviare-me um e-mail porque até lá já vou estar com o livro e poderei fornecer o nome que recebeu aqui no Brasil pela editora Nova Cultural . Vale a pena!!

Hidden Heart by Jessica Steele is a wonderful book! The storyline of this book is set in Scotland where due to mistaken identity a millionaire named Brad Kendrick believes a woman named Mornay Haynes is the hit and run driver who caused his accident and she wanting to protect the reputation of a relative who is really responsible for the accident takes the blame and agrees to help him recuperate. I liked Mornay and Brad but even though I knew it was just a book with fictional characters I thought the relative who let Mornay take the blame for the accident was selfish and a coward and I just couldn't like that character but despite that I really liked the book it is one of my keepers that I just can't give away or trade in at the used book store!

Jessica Steele is one of my favorite romance book auhors and this is my favorite of her books. A rich man named Brad gets hit by a car where Mornay is a passenger and in his groggy state accuses her of doing it and Mornay is forced to take the blame for the person who actually did it and Brad kind of blackmails her into being his nursemaid, it's either that or jail I guess, of course they spar a lot and then fall in love and as good as this book is I have to think why? Why would a woman fall in love and want to marry someone who accused her of something she didn't do and why would he want to marry a woman who was covering up for the person who actually did it? Oh, well I like the book anyway even if it's kind of unrealistic.

When Emma's life was perfect, everything turn's upside down! Then things started falling apart. When you read this book, you follow Emma's struggles, and see her solutions. Nancy Brokaw turned the list of events into a exciting, moving, and great story! I suggest this to anyone through the ages or 9+!

I read this book initially to review it for a librarian journal and fell in love with it. Emma's struggles and strength will inspire children and adults to find the courage to try new things and experience what life offers them. This book would especially be helpful for girls from 8-11 who are trying to find out who they are in their families, at school and out in the world. I highly recommend this book.

Missing Measures is a great book. Steele is a remarkable scholar. The book is well researched and written in a style that is easy to understand as well as being a very enjoyable book. It's of interest to anyone who enjoys poetry, formal or not. This is a great text in literary history/criticism. And it is important for those who want to understand the Modernist movement.

Absolutely tremendous work of scholarship. This book is not a denunciation of "free verse," but a defense of formal poetry against irresponsible charges made by the practitioners of free verse--most remarkably Pound and Eliot. In lively and engaging prose, Steele traces the history of metrical writing from the Ancient Greeks to the moderns, following the rise of metrical poetry to its status as "the superior art"--and its critical decline in the post-Victorian era when influential writers began to feel that "verse must be at least as well written as prose if it is to be poetry." (Ford) Steele's knowledge of his topic is astonishing, and the breadth of his research impressive. His points are generously illustrated and footnoted. His argument, which the dust jacket blurbs describe as "controversial," is, to say the least, persuasive. A must-read for students or devotees of verse (formal or free), and simply a marvelous read for anyone else.

Although women experience "the curse" from their early teenage years until their early fifties, most of us don't discuss it in depth . . . and certainly don't write or read short stories and poetry about the subject! This book, by a collection of talented authors, is for women of any age and is inspired by the wonders, embarrassment, and power of menstruation. Surprisingly, it is a very funny and touching read. I am past menopause and who would have guessed that this book would actually make me nostalgic for that significant part of my younger years.

Moon Days is a one-of-a-kind look into the beautiful world of mentruation. Through poems, fiction, art work, and personal experiences of these authors, the reader is reminded just how wonderful 'that time of the month' can be. I recomend this book for mature audiences and for any woman tired of menstruation being viewed as a 'curse'.

I too stumbled upon this collection by accident. A fan of the typical, high-school-recommended-poets, this collection struck me with inspiration. The poems have great meaning with their simplicity and powerfulness. It's one to buy copies for friends and families because once you start reading, you'll want to share.

I discovered J.V. Cunningham quite by accident. I cannot thank the powers that be enough for this 'accident.' Cunningham is the most forward, bold poet of his time. A true classic, no library should be without his work.