Adventures in the Grove is a fabulous anthology of children's stories. A delight for all ages.
I loved all the colorful characters and the hilarious situations they got themselves into. This book is ideal for children up to the age of 9 years or so, although I believe that adults will also find it hard to put down. My 8 year old bookworm son loved it. And just quietly, so did I.
Do yourself a favor and don't pass this one by.

Henri Troyat's "Alexander of Russia" (1980)serves as a nice sequel to his "Catherine the Great" (1977). Alexander I, Emporer of all the Russias (1801-1825) succeeded Catherine the Great (1762-1796) to the throne of the Russian Empire separated only by the brief reign of Alexander's father, Paul (1796-1801). Troyat's presentation of Alexander is a wonderful, vivid portrait of man known to history as the "enigmatic Tsar." Alexander had been provided an "enlightenment education" by his grandmother Catherine the Great. He had a fondness for liberty and a hatred of despotism and serfdom. Yet Alexander was frustrated in his hopes for reform of the Russian nation throughout the entirety of his reign.

Napoleon came to power in France and proceeded to conquer much of Europe. Suddenly, France, the traditional ally of the Russian Empire was an enemy. Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812 but was defeated. Alexander then played a major role in the restoration of Europe following the Napoleonic Wars. Meanwhile, reform was postponed.

Troyat has a lively writing style that holds the interests of the reader all way to the end of the book.

Richard Rutt was an Anglican Bishop living in Korea who translated many of the classic Korean songs or sijo. First published over 30 years ago by University of California Press it is now again available with a fine introduction by David McCann. Sijo is the national poem of Korean and consists of a 42 to 49 syllable poem in three lines. The first line states a theme, the seocnd line develops it and the third line is a an ironic twist or counter theme. In English the form is frequently presented in six lines. Modern sijo are not so rigidly conformed to the syllable count but not doing so takes all the fun out of it. Rutt's translation holds up very well and he presents some of the finest examples of sijo, which are sung in Korean. World weary courtiers and those distressed by urban life fled to the countryside in fourteenth century (the flight to the countryside has been going a long time)took up writing sijo. The themes are of nature, the changing seasons, the fickleness of court life and the beauty of the simple life. There is a symbol system of pine, stones, water,sun, moon, mountain etc. but it not necessary to worry about it. They are quite exquisite. Teachers of poetry will find sijo are fun to teach. Frequently the last line of a sijo will be a seventeen syllable haiku. I love this book. It is handsomely printed. It is a good reference to the classical poets of the form. Anyone with an interest in poetry and does not know sijo would be well advised to start here. Thanks to David McCann and the University of Michigan for reprinting this volume. Put it in your shopping cart without delay.--W. Edward Harris

Dzovig, a young woman brought up in communist Armenia, escapes to Portugal after her love affair with Tomas ends in tragedy. In a small Lisbon restaurant where she takes a job in exchange for shelter, she is forced to face the unspoken truths about the horrors of war and, ultimately, taught how to love again. Vecihe, Tomas's mother, mourns the death of her son as she confronts a disintegrating marriage and comes to terms with her own past, all the while searching for Dzovig, the girl who would have become her daughter. 'Between the Stillness and the Grove' is a novel that speaks to the weight of history, the leave-taking of lovers, families and land, as well as the price of silence. - Quoted from the cover of the paperback edition

Virtually, this is a contemporary story of two women, Dzovig and Vecihe, who are fleeing from their turbulent past, a baggage that has been passed onto them by fate. Vecihe, the daughter of the 1915 Genocide survivor, who finds solace in painting and trying to erase the atrocious memories passed down by her mother. Dzovig, who is lost between the crude Soviet life and a passionate love affair with Tomas, a young troubled man. De Vasconcelos, being an outsider, paints a very graphic canvas on the neglected psyche of a people that survived the invisible years of the 1988 earthquake, Perestroika, Independence from the USSR, Sumgait, the war in Karabakh and the post-Soviet Renaissance. "Like beaten dogs, who are suddenly let free," these people are traumatized and lost in an unfamiliar system. A moment of anarchy in the history of the newly established Armenian Republic, that changed the whole life of a generation. This is a chronicle of real persons, where one's past reflects indirectly on the other's future, and where nothing can be contained between the stillness and the grove, except a screaming silence.

Special thanks to Lara Aharonian, for introducing me to De Vasconcelos's second most unique novel. Shnorakalutiun!

This is the book later republished under the title _Fleet to Fleet Encounters_. It is an excellent overview of the naval battles of Tsushima, Jutland and the Philippine Sea. While the Jutland section may have been overtaken by new analyses published later, the Philippine Sea section is a major account of this battle which is somewhat neglected in comparison with Leyte Gulf, 4 months later. Particularly illuminating is Grove's use of the battle to effectively demolish criticisms of aircraft carriers as "having half their aircraft devoted to self defense" by pointing out that the success of the US fighters in destroying the rebuilt Japanese carrier air force was a decisive victory in and of itself. Much better than Keegan's foray into naval history.

Themes of this stories are the opposition eros/thanatos, old/young, jealousy, the prime impulses of humanity.
His scenery is the Polish countryside with its noblemen and peasantry.
His technique is modern, mingling past and present with flashbacks.
The Birch Grove, for instance, relates in violent terms a live-and-death struggle of two brothers for a girl.
Surprising work.

This book provides color photographs, in-depth descriptions, and migration/nesting habits of many birds in the southwestern US.

Bird species include water birds, birds of prey, hummingbirds, songbirds, etc. that residents or visitors to the southwest may encounter.

The book is very well organized and is useful as a quick reference when viewing birds.

I have read or skimmed dozens of works on navigation. I have also navigated a variety of small boats along the coasts of Nova Scotia. None of the other books provided the degree of realistic and practical advice that this one does. It takes a pragmatic view that the typical small boat operator will use visual navigation where possible, backed up by judicious use of GPS/Loran and/or radar. In my experience, this is the way that most of us navigate. The book provides lots of excellent tips based on the author's extensive experience in small boats, ships, and the coast guard. It also debunks common misconceptions about GPS and LORAN accuracy and clearly explains how to use these tools. One caveat is that the book is biased to North America. This makes it clearer for an audience on this continent, but not as useful below the equator or in Europe or Asia. All in all, if you buy one book to help you learn or improve your small boat navigation skills, this would be the one I recommend.

New Mexico is called "the Land of Enchantment" and as a native New Mexican I can tell you that it is an apt description. Those who travel through the state on I-10 or I-25 can barely sense it. It is a harsh desert land; but it is also forested, and mysterious, with a long history, older than that of many other states, dating easily back to the 1500s. Keith Wilson knows this too...all this and more and his poetry reveals a hushed secret, as if a breath has been drawn in, then expels the secrets, the soul of the place. And his laughter reverberates. --Ronald L. Donaghe, author of Uncle Sean and All Over Him

This is a very high quality pictorial describing places, people and events in Cedar Grove, N.J. A very well done specialty item that should appeal only to those who are interested in Cedar Grove, Essex County or New Jersey history. For any of you who were raised there, as I was, and moved away, as I have, this book is just wonderful for the memories. Best of all, no Sopranos here, although the popular HBO program is set primarily in Essex County.