I am 30-ish. When I was a child, my grandfather who lived overseas sent me "Tanglewood Tales." From the second I opened it, I was enthralled - not just by the stories, but by the fabulous illustrations. I agree wholeheartedly with the 79 year old reviewer who commented on how much good illustrations enhance a good book. But even without drawings, the book is well worth reading. I took that book with me on one of our family's summer holidays and the entire family spent many an evening before bedtime absorbed by the doings of the Gods.

A wonderful collection of tales for children, however, the edition available from amazon does not have the wonderful illustrations which did so much to enhance the stories. Try to get the old version.

This is an absolutely fabulous book for anyone interested in the tradtional style of piping that has gradually disappeared over the years. It is well documented, follows a logical course of instruction from Scotland to Nova Scotia and gives quite a bit of what I think is extremely interesting information about the old "community pipers" of Cape Breton and their parallel style of piping. I've read and re-read the volume, highlighting areas of import and interest as I went along until my volume looks like a well-thumbed and multi-indexed textbook - which in my case, it is. The only area of disappointment is that I wished it contained more photographs of some of the old-time pipers like Joe Hughie MacIntyre, etc. But, the text makes up for any shortcomings in that area and is definately a MUST read for pipers with an interest in the beginnings of their craft or anyone who just enjoys the skirll of the pipes. I highly recommend this book.

This book is a great gift to those of us who enjoy Celtic music, and especially the Great Highland Bagpipe, and wish to enrich our understanding of the origins and traditions of this increasingly regarded art form. Gibson focuses on the bagpipe as an instrument "of the people," who used the pipe and its music more or less for everyday and special occasions, from entertainment at the hearth to music for weddings and funerals, the latter of which, perhaps ironically, is what most people today associate with the bagpipe. But Gibson also intelligently, and sometimes rather provocatively, discusses the other piping tradition, the grand and myth-laden one of ceol mor ("big music") or piobaireachd, the classical music of the Highland pipe, a strict and often dour-sounding theme-and-variations form that may have developed from harp music, and which has tradionally been viewed as the "original" and somehow more artistically worthwhile music of the pipe. In developing his major themes, Gibson masterfully describes the history and culture of Scotland and, eventually, Cape Breton, where so much of the piping tradition was carried forward in perhaps a purer (and, amazingly, not at all sentimentalizing) form, after the Clearances and emigraton had taken their toll on Scottish culture. Of special interest is Gibson's denunciation of the eternally heard claim that the Highland pipe was proscribed as an instrument of war, along with all weapons and Highland dress, after Culloden in 1746. He effectively shows that from a legal standpoint this was never actually the case, though in a way, he simply spoils a lovely if somewhat silly myth that has only added to the romance of this impressive instrument. A must-have book for every Celtophile and lover of pipe music!

Elizabeth Gibson's novel of Northern Ireland, "The Water Is Wide", is an exquisite piece of work, full of controversy, soul, faith, and the realization that we all have prejudices - and we all can change.

The book centers around the life of Katherine Hamilton, an English major at the New University of Ulster in Derry. The year is 1969, and Northern Ireland is in civil war. Katie, who was raised to believe that all Catholics are bad and that the North should always belong to the Queen, is thrown into the middle of the conflict along with many of her friends. Throughout this period of social unrest, the group struggles to find compassion, forgiveness, and hope in a land seemingly destined for bloodshed.

A beautiful gem written with grace, poise, and love, "The Water Is Wide" is a story that you won't be able to put down. As you travel through Katherine's journey of self-discovery, you will find yourself re-evaluating your own life - and finding that you, too, can change.

Touching look at a group of college students attending the New University of Ulster during the turbulent late 60s/early 70s. Follow Kate, Deirdre, Sheila, Roger, Liam and Jack as they struggle with what it means to be Catholic, Protestant, Irish, Christian, just and loving in a world that has, sadly, changed little since then.

I went on line today just to find this book. I saw it at a friends house, her 6 year old daugher was painting out of it, and I fell in love with it. My seven year old son wanted to try some of the crat ideas and my 12 year old daughter couldn't wait to try some of the painting ideas. I highly recomend this book. It is a great value and it will keep the kids intertained for hours.

This is an excellent book for learning step by step drawing and craft work for children aged 4 to 10

I forced myself to read this book because I needed to figure out my insurance situation. I actually enjoyed reading it and it gave me some very useful tips. This book makes buying insurance much easier for the small business that can't afford the time or money to mess around.

This book deals with an important subject -- the interaction between a distinctive immigrant group and the surrounding community; does so in a scholarly and thorough way; and yet is a pleasure to read. I have no background in sociology but I was fascinated by this research, which is presented in an understandable and engaging way.

The only caution I'd suggest to other readers is that one should be careful about extrapolating these findings about Sikh farmers in rural California to the larger Indian-American community. The subjects described here are clearly different from many (perhaps most) other Indian-Americans -- in religion, dress, social customs, occupation, education and economic class; so different in fact that I think one should be hesitant about reaching any conclusions about the larger community just from this book. As an Indian-American who grew up and attended high school in suburban New Jersey, I can testify that my own experience was far different from the one described here.

who made accounting. way he made accounting. wear he made accounting. when he made accounting. how he made accounting.

Initially, this book was given to me as a gift from my sister when I had my first son in 1993. My husband and I have kept good records since his birth. When we had our second son in 1996, my sister was able to locate this book, again. Then with the birth of our third son, we searched high-and-low, and were able to finally locate a third copy. The fourth son arrived in 2002, and now our favorite memory book is no longer in print! For someone who likes to keep every memoir of their children's lives to share with them down the road, this is an awesome book. We plan to give them their copies when they take their bride...it is a great wedding gift! I wish this book was still in print, or that I could locate another copy! I find it to be the best Memory Book Ever!

Compassion and love leave no statistical traces. But we see their absence in disregard for the environment, high rates of violence against women, and school rage by teenagers in an AMERICA IN SEARCH OF ITS SOUL. Author Gibson Winter's interest in the links between community-nurtured people, spirituality, and world challenges fits in with former Vice President Al Gore's EARTH IN THE BALANCE and Thomas Merton's CONJECTURES OF A GUILTY BYSTANDER. His book encourages us to develop the sacred within us and to learn from the successes of support groups. Perhaps some of the ways to do just that are covered in Peter Campbell's BIO-SPIRITUALITY, C.S. Lewis' MERE CHRISTIANITY, Henri Nouwen's REACHING OUT, and Rev. David Wilkerson's THE CROSS AND THE SWITCHBLADE.