This book is essentially a waste of time and a waste of money. It is so for two reasons. The first being that the priest scandels are not finished yet. This story is far from over and further developments are sure to come. When the scandel starts to rack the seminaries, then we may have reached the middle act. Being a Protestant myself and given the sexual horror stories extant in churches in which women play a greater leadership role, "priests" already can marry, and the laity have a far more powerful voice in the direction the Protestant churches will go, it is difficult to see how all these "reforms" will fix what's ailing the Catholic Church.

The second reason concerns a common shortcoming among American Catholic Church activists: they fail to recognize that the American Catholic Church is only a small part of the Universal Catholic Church. American activists fail to see that what is high of their list of concerns has little play outside America and Northern Europe. The fastest growing evangelistic fields for the Church are in Africa and Asia. Peoples in these areas have provided the most gains and excitment for Rome; and Asians and Africans don't warm up to the West's new-fangled notions.

In listening to all this talk about "the next pope" and all these "big changes" that will come when the present pope passes away, one can only wonder what planet these folk come from. The next pope may very well come out of Africa and he may be far more "orthodox" than the American Church is prepared for.

Gibson's evaluation of the current state of Roman Catholicism in the United States is something of a rarity in the world of contemporary Church discussion. Balanced, fair, and level-headed, he illustrates the impact the 2001 priest scandals have had on the faithful, but also touches on such phenomena as the shrinking number of clergy and religious, the disaffectedness of many of the faithful before, during, and after the scandals hit, and the effects various factions (left- and right-wingers, among others) have on what direction the Church is taking. Gibson's work, while delivering some sobering news, is nonetheless possessed of a sense of hope for a better future, as well as deep faith in what the Church means to Her many children. All in all an excellent and well-worth-reading examination of the current American Catholic Church.

Until now, the books about the current crisis in the Catholic Church have come from two flanks: the crotchety right, blaming everything on a lack of fidelity or those rascals behind Vatican II (George Weigel et al) ... and the defiant left, blaming everything on an ailing Pope who refuses to get with the program (Gary Wills et al).

Now, at last, comes a balanced and clear-eyed view from the vast middle -- not only that, but it comes from a convert with a passion and genuine affection for his beleaguered Church.

David Gibson's "The Coming Catholic Church" manages to synthesize two centuries of triumph and turmoil in the American Catholic Church into a coherent, intelligent and altogether revelatory work that, at this moment, stands as a definitive account of how the church got where it is today -- and where it may be headed tomorrow. Drawing on history, sociology, theology and just plain good storytelling, Gibson presents the most complete and compelling picture of the modern church that I've found (and I've slogged through a lot of them!) He brings to the book a journalist's eye and a committed Catholic's concern, and the result is an invaluble document that should be required reading for every American Catholic, both lay and religious.

Gibson gives equal time to arguments from conservatives and progressives, and avoids taking sides; both, he suggests, have their strengths and weaknesses, and neither is completely right or wrong. That gives the book a credibility and balance that I found most welcome. And he divides his book clearly into three sections: the laity, the clergy, and the hierarchy, showing the fundamental role each must play in the Church, how each has reacted to the recent scandals, and how each will be challenged to change its relationship with the other if the Church is to be renewed and reformed.

"The Coming Catholic Church" will help readers see the Church as the wonderful, flawed, monumental and maddening institution it is and always has been -- and understand, perhaps for the first time, why. What you will find here are tales of a confused and conflicted clergy, an angry and impassioned laity, and the defensive and sometimes helpless hierarchy.

What you will also find is a quiet but insistent plea: we are all in this together, and must work together to renew our Church. The book's ultimate theme is one of hope and redemption -- the triumph of Easter over the despair of Good Friday.

I can't overstate how important and necessary this book is. I'm sending one to every Catholic I know, with the urgent message: "Read this. Now."

I can't state it any plainer than that. For any Catholic who cares about the Church, and wants to know what the future may hold, pick up this book. It's all there. Read this. Now.

Susanna Rowson's "Charlotte Temple" is not the first novel and certainly not the last to deal with the topic of the morally fallen woman. Poor, pitiful Charlotte finds herself in the midst of an immoral and unforgiving world where one transgression sends her on the road to permanent ruin. Rowson encases her heroine Charlotte Temple within a world of virtue and vengeance. Charlotte has no possible means of escaping her inevitable fate because the author/narrator makes it clear from the onset that she has written this story as a lesson to young woman. She has no real interest in Charlotte as a dimensional character. Charlotte simply serves as a symbol of lost virtue and symbols do not have real emotions or feelings. "Charlotte Temple" was written in 1794 and became one of the first best sellers of the newly formed America. A morally abhorrent woman who pays for her sins almost always guaranteed a best seller in the eighteenth century and now "Charlotte Temple" has been rediscovered and published in a Scholarly Press edition. Was this reclamation of Charlotte really necessary? In the past twenty years, feminist scholars have rediscovered authors and texts that have gone out of print or been totally ignored by the literati. Authors such as Anne Plumptre, Frances Burney, Aphra Behn, Sarah Fielding and Charlotte Lennox have been dusted off and given new literary lives. Feminist scholar Cathy Davidson has taken Charlotte Temple in hand and aims to join Rowson to the above list of rediscoveries. Unfortunately, Rowson does not warrant such treatment. Rowson has a flat, humorless approach to the fallen woman story. Unlike Burney's "Evelina" or "Camilla," Rowson does not imbue her narrative with needed levity. Her pedantic iron-fisted preaching smothers the modern reader in a moral morass that confounds rather than illuminates. In many of the fallen women stories, authors would use the genre as a subversive technique to criticize the patriarchal structures. Rowson does engage in such subversion within the novel. She seeks to preach to the young women who may fall victim to the unscrupulous man -- in England and America, it was not considered altogether lady-like to read a novel, so Rowson would be preaching to young women who had already transgressed. Rowson does not criticize men within the novel. She does not censure Montraville for taking Charlotte as his mistress, impregnating her and abandoning her for a wealthier woman. When he believes that Charlotte has becomes his best friend's mistress, he does not believe that she would soil her reputation even though she has ruined her life by engaging in an illicit affair with him. He aims to enact revenge upon the friend for acting "dishonorable" against her. Yet if he had not acted dishonorably towards her, she would not have been reduced to a penniless, pregnant ex-mistress scrounging the streets for food and shelter. He never takes responsibility for his role in Charlotte's downfall. Rowson had the perfect opportunity for savage criticism of the patriarchy with Montraville but she fails to take it. Instead, Rowson places the blame for Charlotte's ruin on the women within the novel. When Charlotte leaves the safe bosom of her morally upstanding family, she enters into the deviant world of the female who fail to protect her from licentious men. Madame Du Pont errs in judgment by hiring the morally loose Miss La Rue. Madame Du Pont sets Charlotte's downfall in action. Rowson does not punish the ignorant Madame Du Pont by killing her, she ends up an hysterical mess after the Montraville/Charlotte "elopement." Miss La Rue, the woman who pushes Charlotte into the arms of Montraville, must be punished for being a promiscuous woman. She ends up poor and begs for her last scrap of food. She ends up dying painfully as Rowson takes the opportunity to lecture her readers on the improper behavior of loose women. Why would modern readers want to read this? I do not think any intelligent would reader would want to subject themselves to the depressing experience of reading this novel. At 125 pages, it seemed to progress at such an excruciating pace. No character has any shadings. There are no subplots to divert the attention from the static Charlotte. Rowson does nothing to keep our interest. Unfortunately Rowson has become a heroine to feminist scholars for her feat as the first American woman to have a best-selling novel. That accomplishment is noteworthy as literary trivia, but it does not make for engaging reading.

"Charlotte Temple" is a sentimental, moralistic 18th century novel by Susanna Rowson, an English-born author who lived much of her life in the United States. According to Cathy N. Davidson (who wrote the introduction to the Oxford edition), "Charlotte" was "America's first best-selling novel in the early years of the Republic." According to the book's bibliographic notes, it was first published in 1791, with the first American edition appearing in 1794.

The book tells the story of an innocent young English schoolgirl who becomes involved in romantic intrigue. She eventually winds up in the vicinity of New York City; thus, the novel has an interesting theme of a foreigner coming to America. The book's plot reminds me of a contemporary soap opera, but with a much more judgmental and religious tone. The characters are, on the whole, cardboard stereotypes. The book is full of female hysterics, male villainy, cruelty, dangerous passion, and heartbreak.

Rowson fills her book with asides to the reader, and, ironically, I found this ongoing conversation to be more interesting than the melodramatic plot. Many of the asides are preachy, such as this example: "Oh my dear girls [...] listen not to the voice of love, unless sanctioned by parental approbriation" (chapter VI). But as the book goes on, Rowson begins to anticipate objections from possible readers, and some of her asides are witty and quite entertaining.

Ultimately, "Charlotte" is not a great piece of literature as a novel, but as a sort of metafictional exercise, it's quite intriguing. It's especially interesting when read in comparison with such self-referent 20th century novels as Ernest Hemingway's "The Torrents of Spring" or Kurt Vonnegut's "Breakfast of Champions." Also, the book's presentation of 18th century femininity and sexuality is an interesting precursor to 19th century books like Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin." "Charlotte" may try the patience of contemporary readers on certain levels, but I believe it to be a literary milestone that is still oddly relevant.

"Charlotte Temple" is about a young British girl who runs away from her family and country because of a lieutenant named Montraville and her promiscuous French teacher, Miss La Rue. When Charlotte is fifteen, La Rue convinces her to run away to America with Montraville, La Rue and La Rue's temporary companion, Belcour. Once in America, La Rue marries a wealthy colonel and moves to the city. Montraville purchases a house for Charlotte outside the city and she becomes pregnant. She is left alone day and night with only her worries to give her company. Soon, Montraville abandons Charlotte for another woman and leaves for the Revolutionary War. He plans to send her rent money but his evil friend, Belcour, deceives him, keeps the money and leaves Charlotte to ruin. Charlotte is desperately poor and far along in her pregnancy and wishes to return home to her loving parents. She sends them a letter but must wait a long time for their reply. When Charlotte is eventually evicted for failing to pay rent, she goes out in a terrible storm to the city in search of La Rue, only to find that La Rue has disowned her. She is alone but La Rue's servant takes her in as she is going into labor. Although the novel was written in the late 1700s, the theme is applicable today. Charlotte suffers an illigitimate teenage pregnancy, her boyfriend abandons her, she is unable to contact her parents and feels they no longer care about her, and she falls into poverty and ultimate destruction. Rowson's novel is a must read for all young women, because it functions as a guide of what not to do with one's life.

I read about halfway through this book, and then I gave up. I read James' "Turn of the Screw," and "Daisy Miller" in high school, and I remember liking the former and thinking the latter was just okay. (I know, I know, it's a major classic by one of America's most celebrated writers, but just because something has merit doesn't mean I like it better.) One of my all time favorite books was James' "Washington Square." It's hard for me to believe that the same man wrote "Square" and "Maisie." This book is only for MAJOR Henry James enthusiasts.

I don't regret having read this book, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who isn't already into Henry James. The style is hard to understand, apparently because it was dictated, and the subject matter is even more obscure. I don't think Henry James had much experience with children: even assuming that Maisie is twisted by her strange situation, she doesn't talk like any child I know or can imagine. Weird moral undercurrents and jealousy take up most, if not all, of the novel. I wouldn't take claims of this book's modernity too seriously - it's more on the byzantine side. Read The Europeans instead: so much more fun!

I think this is the most modern of Henry James' stories. Young Maisie's parents divorce and then seem to spend their lives using her to get a teach other, until they develop other interests. Sadly, the story resonates today - immature, self-centered parents and the children that they create. Henry James' insight into the life of such a child is brilliant.

The Red House Mystery by A.A Milne was a mystery set in the late 1900's. The story was about a lady named Miss Stevens in the red house. There is a man or a woman that is killing people, so the public has to try and figure out who did it, when and how. This is probably one of the best mystery stories I have ever read. This book really had a lot of suspense and surprising points. I think you'll be very shocked about what happens at the end. I recommend this book to whoever likes mysteries or who is at a high school level.

"I envy those readers who are coming to this lighthearted masterpiece for the first time," writes Douglas G. Greene in the introduction of A. A. Milne's "The Red House Mystery." Since Greene is considered the leading expert on John Dickson Carr--one of the greatest Golden Age detective novelists--I was tremendously excited by his recommendation and plunged into the book straightaway.

It took me a little under two weeks to finish. Yes, for a book that isn't even two hundred pages. The story features Antony Gillingham and Bill Beverley as a rather unlikely Holmes and Watson who set out to unravel a bizarre murder at the Red House. Although Gillingham and Beverley make an interesting pair, the way they tackle the problem is a bit too languid and leisurely for my taste (and I usually thrive on cozy mysteries), and since there is virtually no action and almost no other major characters to focus on--well, it's not exactly a page-turner. There are a few nifty plot tricks--one twist involving a door key is particularly clever--but the resolution (which falls back on that most irritating of cliches, the letter of confession) doesn't carry much in the way of suspense or surprise.

Still, it's all very witty and well-written, and the droll humor that spawned "Winnie-the-Pooh" is very much in evidence. Anglophiles will treasure it for its delineation of mid-1920s England alone. But I was expecting a masterpiece, and as a detective novel, "The Red House Mystery" is no masterpiece--but then again, Mr. Milne is no John Dickson Carr.

This was the most fun I've had reading a mystery since I read the Hardy Boys as a kid. It seems you should be reading it under the covers with a flashlight. In The Red House Mystery, A.A. Milne (of Pooh fame) lets us pal around with Tony Gillingham, a jack-of-all-trades who is trying his hand a being a detective. The setting is an English country house loaded with guests, including the British major, the willful actress, and the dim-but-lovable young athlete. These are stock characters; Tony and his friend Bill even gleefully refer to each other as "Holmes" and "Watson". It's all very playful, despite the corpse. So much so that Tony and Bill are guilty about how much fun they are having.

There are tons of mentions of amateur theatricals and acting. Tony is playing at being a detective and so is the reader, which draws you into the story alongside him. In a way you are competing with Tony and Bill to solve the crime. It's a fair contest: only amateurs allowed. Milne gives you all the clues, even to the point of saying things like "This would be important later." In the reader's head a siren goes off and a sign lights up saying "CLUE". Tony and Bill bounce theories off each other and the theories change as the clues mount up. Still, Tony is always ahead of Bill (and probably the reader). He knows the real question in a mystery is not "How?" but "Why?"

The best parts are the gasps of surprise and moments of anticipation while we wait in darkness for the sounds of approaching footsteps. Milne has a great way of setting the mood, whether it's nervous tension or eager curiosity. A fun mystery is like opening up a big present: You can't wait to know what it is. Milne conveys this sense of "I need to know" in this his one-and-only mystery novel. If you're like me, you'll need to know and keep saying to yourself, "One more chapter and I'll put out the light."

I've read all of Ms Kellerman's Peter and Rina Decker books. The earlier ones are the best. Now her stories seem to get weaker with each new one.

The characters and their motivations in this outing were just not credible. Peter Decker takes vacation time from his job and volunteers to look for a missing teenager. He continues to pursue the case even though the people for whom he is acting turn on him. His reasons to do so seem very thin. Peter and Rina's perfect marriage is getting harder to credit. Hiding important information from each other the way these two do would destroy a marriage, not make it stronger.

The story itself wasn't much better. The supposed psycho criminal from Decker's past kept popping up like a jack-in-the-box without any reason except the plot needed juicing up about then. It was just annoying. The switch to first person for one of the characters was jarring. Why was this character brought into the story anyway?

Finally the ending was particularly poor. The deus ex machina contrivance to climax the story went against the personalities developed for practically all the characters. In particular it involved Peter in behavior and attitudes strongly at variance with his persona as developed in earlier books.

One wishes Ms Kellerman would re-read her earlier works. Perhaps she would be reminded of what made them work and what made this one fail.

This book sounds a bit like one of the earlier ones in the series where Peter Decker is searching for a lost family member. Peter's biological brother's brother-in-law (are you following me here?) is killed and his niece is missing. Peter is called from LA to help the family, yet every time he tries, he is rebuffed by them. He and Rina are supposed to go to see his parents in Florida but Peter keeps putting this off to work on the case. (I have a lot more trouble changing airline tickets than Rina seems to.) Besides the plot being somewhat a rehash, there is also the return of Chris Denotti, a psycho killer and sexual predator who needs to disappear from the series but who seems to be set up in this book to return again. Also the relationship between Peter, his adopted brother and his biological brother is revisited, but there are no new insights. The plot is dark and somewhat complex and is not as satisfying as most of the other books in the series. Still, Kellerman fans should probably give this one a chance.

I absolutely think this is one of her best. I really liked that she brought Chris Whitman Donatti back into the series. He appears to be an equal in intelligence to Peter Decker, and therefore made the plot even more exciting. His good guy/bad guy role kept me glued to the book.

Keep him and Terry coming back!!

Story of young woman who is given a measure of financial independence by her oppressive father, and how she gradually reaches for some small measure of autonomy. The "Five Towns" are the author's fictionalized version of the corresponding cities of the region in England where the famous potteries & glaziers are.

Frequently, reviewers note the Methodism in this novel -- it does give a look at the everyday lives of Methodism when it was much more controversial (!) than it is today, if it ever was particularly revolutionary in America. I was more struck by the personal circumstances of Anna's plight than her religious questionings, although the latter are definitely imposed on her character by the author.

An interesting attempt by a male author to describe a woman suppressed by her domineering father, by strict moral and religious conventions, and by her own personality.

Described by the prolific author as "my serious novel," _Anna_ is the story of a young woman's struggles to free herself from the oppression of her domineering father. The title character is given a chance to live undreamed-of experiences when she inherits a fortune in properties and business ventures on her 21st birthday. Simultaneously, she finds herself the declared object of affection of one of the town's most desirable men. As her story unfolds, she is attracted to another man, more vulnerable, and must try to resolve many different demands on her sense of duty and her emotions.

Set in the early 1900's, Bennett succeeds in evoking a strong sense of place with his fictionalized Five Towns of the Staffordshire Potteries. Critics have praised his full description of Methodism and Methodist church life of the time, as well. Bennett conveys sympathy for his protagonist and portrays the limitations placed on her for her gender without falling into condescension, concluding, "She had sucked in with her mother's milk the profound truth that a woman's life is always a renunciation, greater or less."

Anna's attempts to expand herself spiritually and personally, and to gain a sense of personal efficacy, make for an interesting read. However, Bennett violates flagrantly the old writer's adage, "Show not tell," as when we are told repeatedly Anna's father is a miser and a tyrant long before we see him saying or doing anything miserly or tyrannical. Further, anyone looking for an intensely psychological novel with thoughts portrayed as stream of consciousness should be aware that Bennett's style descends from a Realist tradition.

I had to use this textbook for a class, which you probably do to. So you probably have to buy this one. It was okay, not hard to read, but I won't be keeping it as a reference work. The authors definitely have an agenda, promoting certain kinds of nutrition over others with very little reasoning, also seems to act like a lot of alternative medicine couldn't possible work even when there are studies to the contrary. I guess it handles the rudiments of biology okay. I will be selling this when I'm finished with this semester.

Oh, and there appears to be both a hardcover and a paperback. I bought the paperback used, and it seems to have matched perfectly with the hardcover. Never even used the CD.

This book was very easy to read, I read the whole thing in a little over a week. Highly reccommended.

I'm sure that Ms. Gruzen has the best of intentions behind this book but I'm afraid that is will not be helpful to interfaith couples. First I must object to the term 'Jewish/Christian' as it's inaccurate for the majority of children. Most of us are, and just prefer to be called the religion we practice i.e. Jewish, Cathloic, Mormon, etc. as is our right. Each has a definition that includes those of mixed backgrounds and that can be a definition itself for those who don't have a set faith.

She shys away from the really sticky issues like the questions if grandma believes you're going to Heaven like she is, even if you don't believe in Christ or that the other grandma wont accept you as being Jewish even if you're practicing. Just 'talking about G-d' wont cut it with kids. She also has really young children so she hasn't faced any of their hard questions they'll be sure to ask in the future.

I wont claim that I have any answers either but it is more than just what decorations to use in December. There are better books on the subject out there for couples that tackle these issues with a little more insight.

I found this book to be one of the first I discovered that truly examined the option of raising a child to know and respect BOTH religions of the parents. Up until I read this book I was saddened that all advice I'd read said, "Pick one religion and stick with it..."

This seemed too simplistic It would necessarily exclude one parent from sharing their own childhood faith with their kids in a meaningful way. We intend to raise our own children as Jews, but I also want them to have a sense of respect and knowledge of my own religion.

Now in a completely revised, expanded and updated second edition, Lee Gruzen's Raising Your Jewish/Christian Child: How Interfaith Parents Can Give Children The Best Of Both Their Heritages continues to be an invaluable compendium of keen observation and sound advice for interfaith parenting. All of the problems and challenges confronting a Jewish/Christian family are drawn from hundreds of interviews as well as Gruzen's extensive professional research and personal experience. The issues covered wide range from beginning talking with children about God, and moving on to planning ceremonies, celebrating holidays, relationships with grandparents, developing and sense of self, and more. Raising Your Jewish/Christian Child is enthusiastically recommended and invaluable reading for anyone in an interfaith marriage and seeking to instill values and an appreciation of heritage within the character of their children.

I love Edith Wharton and have read many of her books, but this one is just BORING. It goes on and on and nothing ever happens. If the people in it could just be honest with each other instead of lying to try to avoid confronting difficulties the story would have been a lot better and a lot shorter. It is agonizing to read.

The Reef by Edith Wharton, with an introduction by Louis Auchincloss. Recommended.

In his introduction to The Reef, Louis Auchincloss notes that modern readers may not appreciate a moral climate in which a woman opposes her stepson's engagement to a girl who has had an affair with the man the woman is about to marry. The Reef, however, is as concerned with morality as with class.

On his way to France to see his beloved, the widowed Anna Leath, George Darrow receives a telegram telling him not to come "till thirtieth" due to "unexpected obstacle." As time passes and he doesn't receive an explanation for the delay, he experiences growing feelings of disappointment and humiliation. At one point, he imagines the umbrellas and elbows of his fellow travelers saying, "She doesn't want you, doesn't want you, doesn't want you."

As he waits undetermined as to whether to go back to London or to press forward, he encounters Sophy Viner, a recently unemployed servant of a woman whose dinners he once attended. She is on her way to Paris to look up old friends and to pursue a theatrical career. Darrow, who feels sorry for himself and the loss he thinks he is about to suffer, finds himself manipulating Sophy into staying with him to attend the theatre and finally into a short liaison. He is unaware that she has fallen in love with him and his kindness in her hour of uncertainty.

A year later, Anna Leath eagerly anticipates Darrow's arrival, for they are to be married and begin an overseas stint as part of his diplomatic career. She is also excited because her stepson, Owen Leath, wants to do something that they know will upset his aristocratic, old-fashioned grandmother; he wants to marry Anna's daughter's governess, who is none other than Sophy Viner.

Darrow and Sophy's secret is safe with one another, yet Darrow is faced by the uncomfortable fact that the ignorant Anna wants him to support Owen's choice of a woman he knows to be unsuitable but whom he pities. He tries to convince Sophy that Owen is not right for her. "You'd rather I didn't marry any friend of yours," she says "not as a question, but as a mere dispassionate statement of fact." Darrow's lack of feeling and poor conduct make Sophy an undesirable wife for Owen. She is a painful reminder that both of them have broken social conventions.

Auchincloss calls Sophy a "fallen woman" in the context of the times, but this is too simplistic. The real issue with Sophy, both before and after Anna finds out about her relationship with Darrow, is her class and lack of social background. After all, in The House of Mirth, extramarital liaisons are commonplace, understood, and accepted if they are discreet and do not upset the social balance. Within the correct parameters, such affairs become a comfortable topic of gossip and speculation.

Once Anna has finally divined that there has been something between Darrow and Sophy beyond the casual acquaintance previously admitted, he acknowledges it by saying simply, "She has given me up." This does not refer to Sophy's feelings, but to her expectations. Sophy has learned that, in the world she inhabits, the Darrows seek temporary solace from the Sophys, but permanence and stability from the Annas.

The issue that Anna keeps returning to is not that Darrow has deeper feelings for Sophy, but that Sophy has been there before, whether it is to the theatre with Darrow or in Darrow's arms--. True, the liaison happened while he was on his way to Anna and she is bothered by that, but it does not dwell so much in her thoughts as that the kiss he places on her neck has also landed on Sophy's-and that Sophy has been even more intimate with him than she has. Anna asks Darrow, "Do such things happen to men often?" (phrased passively, as though Darrow had been the pursued rather than the pursuer). "I don't know what happens to other men. Such a thing never happened to me . . ." The "thing" here is not the physical aspect of the relationship. Even the "fine" Anna knows that he has indulged because one of his relationships, with a mutual acquaintance named Kitty, drove her away from him in their youth. The fact is that this relationship is outside their social sphere and reflects a lack of discretion that may make him an unsuitable husband and stepparent.

Sophy, with her finely tuned perceptions, her delicacy, her generosity, and her genuine feelings (Darrow assures Anna that she is no adventuress, which Anna wants her to be), does not deserve her fate. She goes off to India to return to the service of Mrs. Murrett. In one of the weaknesses of The Reef, Anna's encounter with Sophy's fat, frowsy, common sister and her equally common lover, Jimmy Brance, puts the noble Sophy in her proper place for both Anna and the reader.

The Reef is in shallower waters than The House of Mirth or The Age of Innocence, and its structure is weakened by a forced reliance on dialogue. A large part of the final third consists of various characters talking to Anna in her room, coming and going what may as well be a revolving door. Sophy's fate further weakens the drama. Yet, who but Wharton could write, "Her frugal silence mocked his prodigality of hopes and fears"? Such elegant prose and insights alone distinguish The Reef.

(As an aside, it would be interesting if, in the same fashion Jean Rhys gave Bertha Mason from Jane Eyre "a life," a writer were to do the same for Sophy, whose viewpoint is never shown.)

Diane L. Schirf, 7 July 2003.

Whatever you think of "The Reef," it contains one of Edith Wharton's most wonderful scenes. Our "hero" has been dallying for a while in a hotel with the young girl he picked up on the boat dock, and he's wearying of her. We see his boredom and disillusionment through his reactions to the mere sounds she is making in the next room. He is so familiar by now with her habits and movements that he knows what she's doing without actually seeing her. A gem of a scene, in a strange jewel of a book.

This book is a waste of money, folks. What this guy tells you, you are able to figure out for yourself. I buy the guide so that I don't need to go through all of the combinations and permutations for puzzles that need this type of solution. I buy the guide so that I am sure that I have the right item to solve a problem. I look for accurate information and not misleading strategies. This book did not satisfy my needs. It was misleading, inaccurate and incomplete.

When I ordered this book I was completely lost in the game, so as many people would I waited patiently for the guide. It was the weekend so I had to wait....but early Monday morning I got it! It was very prompt in delivery :) I want to thank the compnay personally for making my game play a lil easier. The book was a life saver (literally)

I know some of you guys think this is a waste of money, but i would say this is worth your money. I mean, do you want to print 200+ pages full of words? or would you like a book with pictures and cover everthing in W&W.

Why I put my rating to 5: This book covers all the quest. This book gives you tips for completing quest at certain levels. This book has maps on all the places like forests, swamp or crypts. This book is a easy to understand. And finally, this book is a life-saver!