Trapped! the story of Floyd Collins, is a very well written account of one of the first mass media coverages of an American Tragedy. The book itself flows very well and engrosses the reader in the details of the often heroic effort to save Collins who was trapped in a cave near Mammouth Cave in Kentucky. Murray and Brucker do an excellent job in discussing the noted personalities associated with the media frenzy that closely followed the efforts to save Collins. Also dealt with is the exploitation of the entire event by a number of self serving individuals. A great book for those interested in Kentucky History and a noteworthy work for those who prefer casual reading.

When asked about his earliest childhood memory, my late father would tell of his dad carrying him to his uncle's house to listen to radio news reports of the attempted rescue of Floyd Collins from a cave in nearby Kentucky. This book brings to life those events that captured the nation's attention in Jan.-Feb. 1925. Trapped is a well-written, well-documented account of the tragedy that occured in the central Kentucky hills and before watchful eyes of the nation. Its a gripping account that manages to capture the facts of the event, including great details of America's first modern media circus, while still attending to the many colorful characters who played a role in Collin's life, the rescue attempt, and the aftermath.

As a former resident of Lexington Kentucky, I quickly became fascinated with caves soon after moving there. After visiting Mammoth Cave and several smaller caves in the area, I heard the story of Floyd Collins. Being naturally curious I had to read the book. I read it in one sitting! The reader is wedged in that narrow space, the suspense is unberable. But it was not until a year later when I actually visited the site that the full scope of the tragedy hit home. The site is at least a ten minute treck through the woods. It's very lonely. At the end of the path is an outcropping of rock, not at all what I expected, tremendously overgrown with only a small written testimonial to his life and tragic death. At the bottom of a steep slope is an opening.Apparently the state or local government was in such fear of anyone trying this fatal mistake again, the opening is covered with thick metal bars. My fascination faded, a hard shiver went down my back and I truly felt a sadness for this unfortunate explorer. This book is a MUST READ, the reader will not be disappointed.

OK, so I gave away the "big surprise", but it's true. This book does an amazing job of detailing the early days of the FCC "dispensation" of the cellular phone spectrum, the companies and individuals involved, and how everything played out.

Sure, it's like watching sausages being made. The good guys who played by the rules often got chumped. The guys who bent the rules got away with a lot of things that they shouldn't have. The real sleazeballs sometimes went to jail, but sometimes just made a lot of people angry and still got to keep a lot of money. In short, it's just like America: Under the table wheeling and dealing with lawyers smoking cigars.

If you care at all about how so many people made so much money at cellular than this book is for you. I loved it. If you are expecting a nice antiseptic chronology of cellular from beginning to today you'll have to read about the personal foibles of McCaw, Yampol, and others to get it, but it's there.

This book is a must-read for anyone involved in the cellular industry, and should be very interesting (and entertaining) for anyone interested in entrepreneurialism or emerging industries.

I work in the cellular industry and often hear, from those who worked in the industry in the mid-eighties, references to the "old days." While the current success of the cellular industry makes it seem as if its success was a "no-brainer," Murray makes clear that this was not the case--he does an excellent job of describing the free-wheeling, if not chaotic, beginnings of the industry, the fateful steps and mis-steps of some of the early players, and the vast uncertainty of whether the industry would ever be viable. Most memorably, he provides interesting profiles of some of the pioneers, cowboys, and charlatans that participated in the creation of America's cell-phone sector.

This book provides useful insight for me in terms of assessing which markets and current players will play a significant role in the future. For people who wanted to aspire in making their own mark in this industry, let this book inspire you as stories on how the current cellular magnates were able to achieve their dreams and rise from the many challenges confronting them.

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 had originally panned this book in an earlier review because it had a 'dump it in and turn it on' feel. But I decided to give it another try, mostly because: 1. The other reviews were so positive and 2. Most people use a slow cooker for convenience.
Well all I can say now is 'mea culpa'. Crock-It offers some tasty meals for people who don't have time to spend hours in the kitchen. A nice feature is that most of the ingredients are probably in your cupboard or refrigerator. This is a great gift for someone new to the kitchen or a college student. And of course, you can always toss in spices and herbs that appeal to your taste. If you are giving a slow cooker as a gift, Crock-It would be the perfect companion.

Here is the strength of this book: these are REAL recipies for real food that real people actually eat. There's no weird ingredients, no time-consuming techniques, no long winded directions. Simple, to the point, good, old-fashioned home cooking, except the pot does all the home-cooking. It's great. I love how it's hand-written and full of humor - it really feel like my friend gave me a few of her favorite recipies.

I needed a crock pot cook book that had down to earth recipes and this one has it. I'll be changing measurements for my niece who has a 1.5 qt crock pot with her at college. She'll be able to make these recipes without being overwhelmed by finding the ingriendents. New crock pot owners well love I know I do.

There are many treasures to be found in this excellent book. According to Rothbard, "laissez faire" economy is not enough. What we require is a theory of justice, because so long as we exchange legitimate rigths to property, it is a philosophical and ethical matter to see what are the standards to establish when a particular title to property is actually just. Economics alone could'nt tell us that. So he sets to build a theory of justice and he is remarkably successful as to that, in general, but not in particular instances. This is a systematic work. It begins with the idea that "natural law" is a correct notion, then continues determining that property is a necessary consequence of the recognition of "human rights" -or rather, that in fact, all "human rights" boil down to property rights- In this respect, the foremost right is that one which concerns one's own person and body. Property rights over exterior objects are the consequence of men mixing their bodies (their labor)with natural resources, whence the right to own land that one has worked on if it was vacant before. Rothbard doesn't support "feudal" land ownership that comes from military conquest and does not imply the owner labor mixed in it. When this happens, the real natural owner is the laborer, the serf or the slave.

I'd wish only that Rothbard were somewhat more humble about his doctrines and convictions. He dismisses everyone else are nitwits and fools. I prefer the temptative and inquisitive style of Nozick or more recently, Jan Narveson. For example, he reviews "alternative conceptions of liberty", criticizing -sometimes quite cogently, but not always- flaws in Mises, Nozick, Hayek and Isaiah Berlin. Even James Buchanan is set upon.

When he departs from his main subjects in his construction of libertarian ethics, he reaches sometimes inconsistent or even preposterous conclusions. For example, when it comes to criminal law, he says that punishments should be the affair of the victim, himself or his heirs, either through private companies to the effect or somehow -Rothbard was, let us remember, the "enemy of the state", the greatest anarcho-capitalist-. The victim could choose the enforcement of the law or even to omit exacting any punishment or relatiation at all. But now I say: let us imagine a murder victim who has no heir or whose legacy is repudiated. Is his death to go unpunished? And what if the heir is the murderer? I'm sure that Rothbard had a answer for that, but it is not in this book.

Another reviewer has remarked upon "children rights" in this book. But I ask you, what do these rothbardian libertarians find so interesting about blackmailers? Rothbard writes pages on end to stress that blackmailers are legitimate suppliers of a good to their (should we say...?) victims. So does Walter Brock in other writings. Well, you go on like this, rothbardians, and I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun, but all by yourselves.

In sum, it is not strange that Rothbard has not found academic recognition. Nevertheless, it is worth reading if you don't take him too seriously because his recklessness is precisely what allows him to show the inconsistencies of other more sedate theorists.

Murray Rothbard was the leading libertarian thinker of the 20th century. In 1982, he published THE ETHICS OF LIBERTY, his central work on political theory and ethics. This work was republished recently with an excellent introduction by Hans-Hermann Hope (the endnotes have been converted into footnotes, a big improvement).

This work is probably the best discussion of libertarian philosophy from an anarcho-capitalist perspective. In addition, Rothbard develops a theory based on natural law, thus distancing himself from other strands of libertarian thought.

The book is particularly comprehensive. Starting with a discussion of natural law, Rothbard turns to practical issues such as voluntary exchange, contracts, and the rights of children. He then discusses the concept of the state. He ends the work with discussions of different approaches to rights and a strategy for advancing liberty. The comprehensive nature of the work is also its greatest weakness. Rothbard discusses too many subjects in too few pages. For example, the difficult question of the rights of children takes all of 15 pages. Yet there is no more difficult question for any theory of rights than that question.

Rothbard's discussion of the rights of children is emblematic of the weakness and at times superficial nature of this work. Take Rothbard's discussion of when the parents' "jurisdiction" over a child ends. He states: "Surely, any particular age (21, 18, or whatever) can only be completely arbitrary. The clue to the solution to this thorny question lies in the parental property rights in their home. For the child has his FULL rights of self-ownership WHEN HE DEMONSTRATES THAT HE HAS THEM IN NATURE-in short when he leaves or 'runs away' from home." [p. 103; emphasis in the original.] First of all, it may be arbitrary to establish the age of emancipation at 18 rather than 17, but such decisions are found in all areas of life and are not thereby rendered "completely arbitrary." In any event, is it "completely arbitrary" to set it at 18 rather than 5? Moreover, Rothbard's "solution" is in most respects even more arbitrary. For example, if Junior Jones runs away when he is 8 years old, does that mean his parents cannot force him to stay? What if Junior is 5 and wanders off his parents' property and stays at the Smiths' house, asserting that he would prefer to live with the Smiths. Has he then demonstrated a "right to self-ownership" in nature? Would it be wrong for the Joneses to take him back? Rothbard uses a similar argument against Laissez-faire advocates of limited government who believe the state may provided limited protection services. Supposedly their views fail because how much or little services such a government might provide can only be "purely arbitrary." [p. 181.] This type of argument leads Rothbard to advocate abortion-on-demand, a position with which I strongly disagree.

For whatever flaws it contains, THE ETHICS OF LIBERTY it is certainly one of the most provocative books you will ever read.

This is a very powerful work to say the least. Rothbard pushes natural rights and the non-initiation of force arguments to the full extreme. Despite this, I still disagree with him on one major point; the necessity of government. Although the idea has only been lightly touched upon by theorists, government is possible without any initiation of force against the governed. In fact, it is this ideal government that is the only alternative to both anarchy and statism. Nevertheless, Rothbard keeps you on your toes at all times. It is impossible to challenge anarcho-capitalism without an indepth understanding of this book. Ultimately, the premises of this book are virtually irrefutable, it is only the conclusions that one may dispute.

In this book, Spenser gets distracted, overlooks clues, even loses a fistfight. And I enjoyed it. Seldom in the series does our hero behave less than heroically (Spenser even makes reference to his outfit with the cape and the "S" on his chest). I liked this more humble, more human, more fallible Spenser. The character of Rachel is hard to warm up to at first (and I consider myself a feminist), yet I like that, too. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect and dignity, even humorless feminist authors. And Susan actually adds something to this story. Her insights are valuable and move the action along. It helps to remind us every now and again why Spenser puts up with the often exasperating Dr. Silverman. In all, a wonderful read.

Spenser has a lobster dinner and is contracted to bodyguard a lesbian author, Rachel Wallace. Rachel has received death threats after writing an expose of discrimination in the workplace.

You have to remember this is '80 while reading it - Spenser makes several "questionable" comments, and her foes are definitely many and bigoted. Right from the start Spenser has to protect her, although their personalities clash. He tromps all over her while trying to "save her" because of course she can't take care of herself. Rachel fires him, and *poof* she's kidnapped.

Spenser finds a bigoted family with some deep conflicts. He traces through a KKK member, some loansharks, gets beaten up and drives in the snow in his 1968 Chevy Convertible. Lucky he didn't try it in Susan's MG. Spenser drinks Becks, Molsons and Asti Spumanti. Rachel, of course, is rescued in dramatic fashion. The book ends with her curled up in Spenser's apartment, holding his hand as she sleeps.

My Notes: Well, I suppose even now bigotry exists, maybe I fool myself that it's not as bad as the book makes it out to be. It was pretty nasty for a woman who was just writing books. Spenser, who later has a gay police officer friend, is seriously offensive himself a few times. But I suppose to have him "supporting" a lesbian activist in '80 was a reasonably strong move. He has at various times lobster, shrimp, and oysters, even though he claimed earlier to not like fish.

Susan pokes her head in for a scene and *poof* is gone - not much for a woman he swore eternal love to and couldn't live without only a short while ago. As much as Susan can generally be annoying, I like when she and Rachel talk, and Susan is gently helping the Rachel-Spenser interaction go more smoothly. Rachel says "Jeez does Spenser protect you?" and Susan replies "No, we protect each other, sort of how I'm looking out for him now." Rachel grudgingly admits this is true, and healthy.

Interestingly, Susan knows how to cook in this one - onions, peppers, mushrooms. She even makes ham sandwiches (with the ham from Millerton NY, hickory smoked, no nitrates). She must have forgotten soon thereafter. Susan's power is growing - in this story it says "Her interest in people was emanating. One could almost feel it." It won't be long before the perennial word, "Palpable" shows up!!

Spenser is definitely relaxing into his role in the world - I think (bigotry aside) this is the first book that he's really "comfortable with himself" in. He doesn't question his right to do things, he just does them. He punches the picketer. He jumps in when people try to drag her off. He does his job, period. Susan calls him a "Sir Gawain".

It's interesting to hear Rachel bashing Spenser all the time but admit in the end that she needed him to be what he was to rescue her. I wonder if this is a pre-emptive strike at those reviewers who criticize Spenser for being so "macho" - right in the book you have the arguments both ways. Very entertaining. Sadly, no Hawk at all in this one.

Aside from EARLY AUTUMN, there is no question that this is Parkers best novel. It's funny, fast, lots of action, and a big ending. I read all of Parkers Spenser novels in a row, twice, about six years ago, and I've gone back and re-read this one a few more times.
Parkers short 200 page books are like movies, as you can have a bad day, come home, have a few beers and plow through a book in one evening. This is the one that always lifts my spirits.

Mother sits down to tell a story to Michelle about Michelle herself. Mentions mannerisms and activities this busy toddler girl does throughout the day, playing, going to the library, etc. Then it mentions when Michelle was a baby and shows illustration of nursing a little newborn and states (not in these words) that she breastfed and that milk was the only food she ever had. The text then tells how her teeth came in and how she loves to eat many foods. There is only one line that tells the reader Michelle still nurses: "One thing Michelle always knew--she'll still have lots of love when her nursing days are through" and shows an illustration of Michelle nursing as a toddler, and an illustration of a party, I assume a weaning party. That is all the mention of breastfeeding a toddler. I was a little disappointed as nursing was in the title and it played a tiny role in the text of the book. The subtitle of the book is "a story about sharing love" but really there is not much content about sharing love except to say at the end that her loved ones will always love her as she grows older. Thanks La Leche League for publishing this but I would have liked so see more images of toddler nursing because we definately don't see much toddler nursing in children's books, and anywhere else for that matter: parenting magazines and books or anywhere else! I also would have preferred a more general toddler nursing topic and included children from different families who are all nursing toddlers, different ages, several races and both genders.

How great! In a world full of high tech toys and fast paced lives, its nice to read such a sweet and simple book with such a positive message. I sure wish Oprah had "Michele: The Nursing Toddler" on her list. Better yet, has anyone ever seen this author interviewed or read any of her other books? We would love to read more about Jane Pinczuk and read more of her work. Our hats are off to Ms. Pinczuk and La Leche International as well.

My two year old tends to get tired of the same old books night after night. Not this one. Not only does the story entertain her and the pictures captivate her, but it also gently eases her transition into bed time. I don't know what I would do if I ever misplaced this book ... which is why I purchased two copies just in case. This is, simply put, a must read for all parents who love reading to their children. If you're going to buy just one book for your children this year, this is the one to get. Kudos to Ms. Pinczuk for a job very well done.

Although the book does a good job in describing an abusive teenage relationship, she gives almost no adivce to parents except those who are in abusive relationships themselves. I thought this book would have helpful ideas in how to deal with this situation when it comes into your family but all it does is insult the parent in the end.

Before I tell people who I meet that my life mission is to guide women and girls to earn trust in themselves, I often have the privilege of being asked relationship or mother/daughter questions by girls between the ages of 14 and 21.

With the comments that I've heard, lately, I feel compelled to review this excellent book, in hopes that those whom I haven't spoken to find something in both this review, and in Dr. Murray's book, to guide them to earn trust in themselves.

To earn trust in themselves does require you to accept the reality of now, and to admit what you may have up to now not admitted (If you have trouble doing this, this admission is a great beginning).

Let's start with what makes abusive relationships different from teen girls, versus women who are much older.

With teen girls the priorities are:
1. Peer approval (this is usually about image, not reality)
2. Gender-role expectations (some girls are taught that
having a boyfriend is analogous to being lovable)
3. Lack of experience (as a teen, you are trying to work out a
life that hasn't been lived)
4. Little contact with adult resources (with mother's feeling
threatened by their daughter's youth, many daughters have
difficulty finding role models)
5. Less access to societal resources (most require parental
involvement)
6. Less access to the legal leverage (the laws assume that the
daughter doesn't need this support)
7. She fantasizes about who he could be, with her help
(See, "The Princess Who Believes in Fairy Tales")
8. Once in the relationship, she decides that she can't get
out of it, even if she wanted to (See, "My Mother/Myself)
9. She doesn't know that both of them are willing participants
in the struggle to be with someone, while avoiding their
fear of recreating their past dramas (See, "Narcissim")
10. Unspoken social pressure has taught her to avoid herself,
that is avoid being visible to other girls, by going out of
her way to make a guy her project (See, "101 Lies Men Tell
Women: And Why Women Believe Them")

For the older women, the challenge is:
1. Social pressure to prove that she is a woman, as defined by the "invisible woman out there"
2. Financial needs
3. Blaming her inadequacies (imagined or real
4. Her decision that her needs are too great
5. Domestic Violence professional's expect her to experience
this again, at least 7 times, before she will be free, or
dead

This is a wonder book, written for parents, but certainly good for young girls to also read.

What I did not see in this book is something that I have seen again and again from those who are abused is that in the moment that the abuser attacks the girl's worthiness, what she does is choke off her own breathing. This causes her to cut off her thoughts. This also causes her punish herself for the idea of her being angry at what he is doing to her.

For all the teen girls who think that his jealousy, possessiveness, manipulation, or attempts to isolate you from being close to others is cute, or loving you, I invite you to assert these 5 statements, with unwavering conviction,each time you experience his jealousy, possessivesness, manipulation, or attempts to isolate you:
1. I don't like what is happening to me.
2. There is something here that does violence to me.
3. I deserve better than this.
4. I can do something about this.
5. I will do something about this, now.
6. I will not allow this to happen to me, again.

Besides these statements, and reading this book, I invite teen girls and women to stop asking yourselves, "Why does he act this way?"

When you spend time asking questions about why he is treating you terribly, you make his problems into being your responsibility. And this means that you will be trapped into believing that you are inadequate, because you cannot control his self-concept. You can, however, influence the boy/man's behavior, by reading books like Dr. Murray's book, as you make the commitment to love yourself.

By reading a book like this one, and truly making the commitment to master the lessons in this book, you will make sure that less girls and women are abused, because when the lessons of this book become part of your core identity, you will recognize the signs of abuse; you will speak up for yourself, in the present moment; you will congruently tell the guy that his issues are not your issues; and you will show him that not every female is willing to pity his unwillingness to face his fear of his fears - and the world will change.

I bought this book for myself just to keep informed about teens' issues. My daughter, then 13, saw the book and began devouring it and analyzing her relationships. She made immediate changes in one friendship, deciding that she shouldn't put up with being hit or belittled anymore. Now, a year later, she is buying the book for a friend who accepts controlling behavior from her boyfriend.

While this is not a classic tarot configuration, it is a must for those interested in Celtic and Druidic divination systems. As a divination tool it is easy to use and amazingly intuative in it's interpretations, making it wonderful for beginners. It uses the ancient Ogham alphabet and it's corelations to the trees and other icons held dear by it's creators, the Celts. While the companion book is not long, it is very informative and concise. Background information on the history of the alphabet is researched in depth with references to many associated resources. This book is an ESSENTIAL reference to druidic symbolism. If one is not familiar with Celtic symbolism, this set will draw you in completely and inspire you to dive head first into this ancient seed of western mysticism.

But most of all, the illustrations and intuative interpretations provided are excellent. While the illustrations do not overwhelm the eye, they do impart a very profound sense of connection to the representation of the letter and it's associated icon. The interpretations are clear without being overly simplistic.

I have had this deck for years and it will always remain one of my very favorites!

I keep reading how the Celts really DIDN'T use the trees as a calender system, that this was a system invented by Robert Graves. Well, having said that, it really doesn't matter to me in the year 2002; this deck is beautiful & insightful, & I believe that if you could travel back in time & show this set to an ancient Celt or Druid, they would like it a lot!
The art work is beautiful & the box container gives it a bit more class. As the other readers have said, this deck was not designed for the typical Celtic Cross layout, but you know what? I believe you can use ANY deck ANY WAY you want! As long as your intent is there, you will get good results, as I have done withthis deck..I sometimes just pull one card from the deck to get a feel for a situation or event. I have found it to be accurate & helpful.
This deck is truly a joy to own & I'd recommend it to anyone interested in Celtic tree magic.

This amazing little set is based on the Celtic tree alphabet, the Ogham (pronounced oh-um). As one reviewer mentioned, this is not just a tarot deck with tree cards: this is a completely different divination system. The Murrays present a complex layout which I think is rather exhaustive, but gives a very clear insight. If their system is too much, though, you can use other layouts; I've had good results with the standard Celtic cross layout and the three-card spread as well. The book is well-written and informative, and each card's meaning intertwines with the history of the tree. You can also use your own associations with the trees to interpret the cards' meanings. For me, the deck is incredibly accurate, and it's the one I turn to most often for omens or other divinatory purposes. I thought the wooden box was a nice touch, too. ;)

From the first sentence, these stories have a simple, direct tone that is reminiscent of Hemingway. "On the first morning of the training in Bombay, just minutes before she collapsed, Elizabeth Dinakar stood in front of two hundred people in the conference hall, pointed up at the cholera bacteria magnified on the wall in front of her, and said, 'this is your enemy.'"

Every event feels urgent and full of vitality. Though the characters may have feelings that are often ambiguous, the style has a clarity that pulls the reader into the story.

Often in a collection of stories, there is little to indicate how or why these particular stories fit together. Such is not the case here. Thematically, the stories in A Few Short Notes on Tropical Butterflies overlap quite a bit. The first story, "The Hill Station," crosses cultural boundaries, expresses an intimate familiarity with medical professions and explores the emotional isolation of a career professional. Variations on these themes are treated throughout the stories in this collection.

In exploring these themes, the protagonists are frequently introspective. They think and remember and think some more before taking the one decisive action that is pivotal to their lives and the climax of the story. These intensely analytical characters express their emotions through their obsessions. They are beetle collectors, mountain climbers and third world volunteer doctors.

As focused as the themes are between the stories, the settings are diverse. From the top of the Himalayas to the American Midwest, the author captures the essence of these locales and many more besides.

Each location has its own distinct personality that is conveyed by the vegetation and the weather, the sounds and smells, even the very feel of the wind and sun. All this adds richness and depth to this fine collection of stories.

The stories in this collection capture the poignant solitude that everyone faces in their lives from time to time. This is the bright start for Murray's writing career.

Overall, this collection of poignant stories is a treat. They show growth occurring through painful realizations of inadequacy.

I've met so many doctors over the years who have incredible talent in other areas. Some manage to balance a full career and still pursue their painting or their love of the cello until they retire to live amazingly long lives, fueled by their passion on which they can now totally focus.
I don't know what Dr. Murray's agenda will be, but I hope he can manage the balance between writing and a medical career. Murray understands the human heart. He has a great understanding of that one large or small situation or life event that hurls a person into choices they might never have made.
Add to this his knowledge of the exotic world and its suffering about which most of us are totally in the dark, his facinating data, probably collected over a lifetime, regarding entymology, and finally his amazing ability with language, and you've got a tremendous reading experience.
I envy anyone who has yet to read this debut of short stories. I grabbed it from the library after reading two Sunday newspaper reviews. I was so struck by his writing that I immediately sought out a signed edition. I can open it to any page and start reading prose that is closer to poetry.

I didn't quite know what to expect when I rec'd this book as a gift - and therefore I was delighted to discover how very much I loved this debut story collection. The stories overlap, and there is a sense of continuity, of steady progression, often lacking in such books. Most of the characters are scientific professionals fleeing from some tragic or compromising life event, only to find that you can't run away from what's within you.
Beautiful writing, straightforward but metaphorical and symbolic.
Wow...!