Easy to read, more difficult to integrate. I found the Arcane School course of study very helpful with respect to Occult Meditation since the simple reading of this book does not help one advance in the practice. Step-by-step guidance by the Arcane School courses was essential for me to learn the intricacies of occult meditation. They showed the way that must be trod beyond thought to recognition of the voice of the Soul. Aspects of such meditation are clearly explained in this volume, but nothing can replace the practice, which must go hand-in-hand with the study.

Most readers know already that meditation comes in many "forms". This book talks literally of these forms and the "principles" behind a large many of them and fits them into the groupings of the 7 rays. A "form" is a construction in thought matter, and the book explains that whatever kind of meditation you do constructs this as a bridge between the lower and higher self. For example, a person who prays and worships God is constructing their bridge from devotional "thought matter". The spiritual scientist uses rational or concrete thought to arrive at the Divine aspects of Truth in the substance of the created form. The spiritual magician uses rules and ritual.

There are "forms" the result of intelligent aspiration to God, and forms from application of Willpower. Obviously these forms are of a huge variety. There are the collective forms, all more or less valid, created by the world's religions and their meditative techniques. There are forms the result of colours, forms from mantras, forms from prayer, forms from music, forms from seeking the Void, forms from symbols, and forms from simply visualising God or the higher self.

Most important though is the form the disciple chooses in conjunction with their Teacher (whoever that may be). If you fully understand this book, you are probably a long way along The Path. If you use this book as a tool, you will gain as a person and as a soul. This book also has a very good section about dangers to be met in meditation, which is essential reading.

Charles Calhoun's MAINE is a departure from most travel guides. Rather than just pages and pages of lists of motels, restaurants, and things to see, Calhoun focuses on the state's people (past and present), natural history, and state-of-mind. Instead of simply an address and phone number for the famous L. L. Bean's (outdoor outfitters, for example, Calhoun gives us several pages, including the story of the founder of the company.

The book opens with a chapter entitled "Learning Maine" and is organized geographically into nine main sections which cover the entire state. The final chapter, "Practical Information" gives all the usual, plus "A Dozen Fun Places to Eat" and antiquarian booksellers. Scattered throughout the book are literary excerpts and topical essays by authors such as May Sarton, John McPhee, and Longfellow. There are maps, reproductions of period art, and plenty of gorgeous color photos. Whether the reader is planning a trip to Maine or merely wishes an intriguing armchair journey, this guide is a must.

Kimberly Borrowdale, Under the Covers Book Reviews

An excellent book to take along with you during your travels to Maine. The photos in this book are simply beautiful! The photographer, Thomas Mark Szelog actually lives in the lighthouse on the cover!! I was lucky enough to meet him and he was kind enough to show me some of his photgraphs. Absolutely beautiful work. This is a great book and I highly recommend it when you travel down east!

I am a high school student and I remember my mom reading a lot to me when I was a child. This book, "The Little Rabbit Who Wanted Red Wings" is/was one of my all time favorites. The illustrations (in the edition that I own) are wonderful and I would recommend it to any parent. I will deffinately read it to my children someday. The reason I'm writing this is because I'm reading it for my drama class tomorrow. I'm sure everyone, even the high school students, will enjoy this book.

My aunt Theodora gave me this book in 1947. I am very glad to see that it has been reprinted. People need to be careful what they wish for in life. They may get it. People should be happy with their situation in life and quit wishing for something different. The little rabbit keeps wishing for things and wishing for things and finally he gets red wings. No one likes him as his new self and so he wishes himself back to his original condition. I am reading this book to a group of preschoolers today, (March 4) as part of NEA read to a child day. I can't wait to hear their reaction.

Just going to show that there really were rude people 2000 years ago as there are now, the Roman poet Martial left us hundreds of biting epigrams that show a talented observation of Roman society.

Martial's epigrams poke fun at many of the leading figures of his day, and were originally composed to recite aloud at his presentations. Much of what he wrote is either risque or outright obscene; Martial enjoyed exposing the adulterers and homosexuals of his day.

Martial's humor ranges from apparent to subtle. One example of one of his epigrams would be:

Hesterno fetere mero qui credit Acerram,/fallitur: in lucem semper Acerra bibit.

(Anybody who thinks that Acerra reeks of yesterday's wine misses his guess. Acerra always drinks until sunrise.)

And of course there is the epigram which is familiar to thousands of American high-school Latin students:

"Thais habet nigros, niveos Laecania dentes./quae ratio est? emptos haec habet, illa suos."

{Thais' teeth are black, Laecania's snow-white. The reason? The one has those she has bought, the other her own.)

This edition, translated by D.R. Shackleton Bailey, and published by Loeb Classical Library, is the one worth having. The translation is accurate and Bailey's footnotes are always handily at the bottom of the page to clear up details of Latin usage (Martial from time to time uses puns which don't translate).

The other reviewer here is right. If Cicero and Virgil are too stuffy for you, Martial provides quite the incentive for dilligently pursuing Latin. I'm certainly happy I took advantage of high school for it.

Very few people today appreciate the rich history of obscene poetry in the classical world. The new Loeb translation, replacing the c.1911 Ker edition, does a fine job of bringing Martial up to date with the contemporary profanity and vulgarisms that were unacceptable in a scholarly work back then. Also, these Loebs are the most thrifty entre into the field, since the annotated translations are now out of print and cost several times as much when available. For all of the Latin students who chafed with Caesar and Cicero, this text, particularly Books I and IV, show what you failed to see by quitting too soon.

This book, just like all the other Bailey School Kid books, presents mystery and adventure. Mrs. Jeeper's Secret Cave is one of my top favorites because it is more mysterious than some of the others. I've read them all and this one is a must read!

I really really liked this book. Get it today!

Mrs.Jeepers is the weirdest person the Bailey School Kids know.This time Mrs.Jeepers takes them to Ruby cave!Could bats and batty freinds be living their?Whatch out........here comes the bailey bandits!

This series is refreshingly different - from the quirky Lizzie, her adorable straight man, Quinn to the eccentric old-money southern bells. Of course I couldn't put it down. I appreciate the way Dr. Bailey slowly builds the characters, giving them endearing, and in some cases, down right infuriating, depth. The inventive way everything ties together is quite simply, masterful. As this installment intimate, I look forward to reading yet another of the unconventionally fascinating processes she uses to find out what became of her mother, Lizzie's apparent antithesis. As well as enjoy her blooming relationship with Quinn.

The small southern college town of Gallagher, Virginia might seem quiet and tranquil to an outsider but crime historian Professor Lizzie Stuart certainly knows better. A Yankee real estate executive and a local businessman are locked in a bitter battle over the fate of downtown Gallagher. Lizzie doesn't know whose ideas are the better choice but since she just accepted a permanent position at Piedmont State University, she knows she has to get involved.

Local politics become the furthermost thing from her mind when she discovers that local artist and Piedmont student RoeAnn is missing. She hasn't come home to her baby in days and the aunt that is watching him doesn't want to get the police involved. Since Lizzie's lover John Quin is the college chief of police, she notifies him, which sets in motion a series of events that end with a local lawyer being shot. A guilty Lizzie starts asking questions which brings her to the attention of somebody who will do anything to make certain some secrets stay buried.

Once again Frankie Y. Bailey has created a realistically refreshing cozy that captures the ambiance of the area and the temperament of the people who live there. One of the charms of this series is that the heroine continues to grow and change so that readers never get bored with the character. The who-done-it is well constructed and in these cases the reader is left to ponder whether the two crimes are linked or are committed by two different individuals with separate agendas.

Harriet Klausner

I don't often open a book that I'm looking forward to reading and swear; I did this time because I was afraid the stories in this collection were too familiar. My dismay didn't last long; I hadn't read the familiar stories in a long time, and there were a number of unfamiliar ones as well.

Dick Lupoff's one helluva writer and I've always liked the stories of Marvia Plum and Hobart Lindsay, and as a former Berkeley resident, I appreciate the settings of these stories. Several appeared in Mysterious Intent magazine (where yours truly was a regular writer) and Dick contributed some of these stories for the first time. It's about time they were collected too.

One standout story that was new to me was "News from New Providence", a story set in the Bahamas, where Marvia's father Marcus appears. It's a story featuring a, well, an unnamed Duke and Duchess, who are shown to be as self-absorbed and snobby as I always thought from what I read. The familiar themes of collecting and the odd folks who often collect rare objects appear in several of the stories, and Lupoff's sure hand and sure knowledge of history show up everywhere; especially in two stories created for this collection: "Golden Glory" which has to do with a favorite topic of radio, and "Old Folks at Home", which revisits memories of Nazi Germany.

Alas, the "bonus story" was not to my taste, but that's not that it is a bad story. It's that, sorry folks, but I am not in any way a Nero Wolfe fan and it really helps to read this story featuring agoraphobic rose mavin Caligula Foxx. That hardly matters overall in this collection. Timmy in "Chinese Gunboats" - a sensitive an fascinating story that deals with an autistic man who knows whodunnit and tells Marvia about it in his own way.

One final note: I know that the author is truly pleased with this publisher. They've done a pretty good job, but I can't get excited about the interior illustrations. I think they're that combination of art and computer and they didn't work for me. However, the cover is truly wonderful. I think it shows off well Lindsey's slightly nebbishy qualities and Marvia's forthright cop nature. A welcome book in our household....

It was wonderful to see that Mr. Lupoff hasn't forgotten about Bert and Marvia. I really enjoyed these stories, separate though they were, I kept hoping these two guys would cross paths. When they eventually did, in "Old folks at Home," I was surprised, and intrigued, at how cleverly the reader was manipulated into expecting (and not getting of course) to see a more personal glimpse into their first encounter since the split up. I was disappointed, but it definitely made me anxious for their next mystery together. If you haven't read the series, you're really missing something. I'm holding my breath, Mr. Lupoff

"Raindrops had frozen from branches, like suspended motion. The day is suspended too, between winter and spring." Pg. 144

There are rare and beautiful books and this is one of them. The author moves from a deep winter of the soul to a spring where she can again appreciate life, the love of family and the feeling of just being alive.

Through the pain of her loss, Carolyn Kent Bailey learns that even the Tulips come back into bloom after a long winter. That in the spring, there is renewal and hope.

When Carolyn decides to undergo a hysterectomy she never imagines what will occur months and even years down the road. She has no idea how depressed she will feel or how she will have to cling to every shred of happiness just to make it through another day.

Through writing in a journal, taking action to heal herself through her own research and by surrounding herself with loving friends and family, Carolyn survives. As the years go by, she heals. Not just physically, but emotionally.

This book is in itself, very healing. It is a journey into the most secret thoughts of a woman who has had a total abdominal hysterectomy. She is blunt in her honesty and yet even as you are crying along with her, you start laughing moments later. I felt emotional when reading the first page. I think she captured my heart in one sentence and from there I went on an emotional roller coaster throughout the entire book. Laughing at the uniqueness and genuine wit of the frivolous moments and empathizing and contemplating the emotional upheaval, the panic attacks, the depression.

Even in her emotional pain, she somehow manages to conjure up a child-like joy. Even in the depth of her depression, she worries about the animals having enough food in the winter. I laugh to myself as I read: "I lie to myself when I need to but there are only ten occasions." The list makes complete sense to me.

There is a delightful story of how she raised a squirrel and there is even a poem about how to enchant a squirrel. There are thoughts of pure delight balanced by worries and thoughts about how life changes vividly as you age. This is set up as journal entries.

There are poems that are highly relevant to the moment. Carolyn's thoughts inspire her to create poems. From her pain comes great beauty. I found her poems to all be deeply meaningful because I understood the context. After all, she had just told me the story that went with each one

Everyone was unique and yet had a definite purpose within the complete process of her inner discovery.

When the Sun is a Peony

Dip your fingers in the green sea
and write a love letter in my hair.
Trace the words that tell of a plunge to coral gardens
where the flowers are parrotfish
and the sea surrounds us like music,
of how we lie in the silk of the sun,
how your hand on my skin ripples like water
and the scent of the air is yellow.

Pg. 171

Then, there were quotes, delicious quotes sprinkled through the pages in places where they became a natural part of a sentence, of a thought, of a moment. I want to share so many things about this book with you, but it is best experienced in a few hours, reading it alone, maybe in bed.

I found the first part of the book was mainly about the surgery, but then Carolyn's writing could really be for anyone who wants to have one of those silent conversations with an author who we know would understand everything we are feeling. Strangely, her natural wit and love for life comes out most boldly when she is in the most physical pain. When she moves into the stages of depression, her creativity seems to bloom like a field of flowers and yet there are dew drops or tears on the flowers. And then when the wind blows and she is refreshed by a moment in time, the flowers laugh.

I cannot tell you how many times I laughed out loud and then went right back
to crying! Part of me was emotional because of the beauty of her writing and part of me was empathizing with the moments of pain, frustration and the depth of her depression.

I hope gynecologists will also read this book so they can empathize with their patients emotional needs. Too often it does seem that we find doctors who are simply viewing the physical symptoms and have forgotten their patients have a soul.

I can recommended this book to every woman because you might have to make this choice. I personally had no idea this was the most common surgery performed in the United States! I can think of so many people I want to share this book with because parts of this book touched me so deeply. I felt that some of the author's words have now
become a part of me.

In losing a precious part of herself that enabled her to give life to two children,
Carolyn Kent Bailey has given birth to a book from her soul.

What a beautiful gift!

My colleague at work showed me this book this morning, and I couldn't put it down--I kept wanting to know what happened next. Carolyn is an honest and vivid writer who makes you feel as though "you are there," through the highs and lows of her journey. Perhaps it would have frightened me, if I were about to undergo a hysterectomy, but it could also have helped me be pro-active in my medical treatment. But this book is about much more than recovering from surgery. It is a book about dealing with the frightening reality of being "out of control," mustering one's resources to cope with crisis-- and making peace with the fact you don't always get what you need when you ask for it-- and re-discovering the joy and beauty of life.

Oh, what is death but parting breath?
- "Macpherson's Farewell" by Robert Burns

I recommend the unabridged audio recording by Robin Bailey to anyone who's interested; he's a great narrator, and his recordings of various adventures of Inspector Sloan have all been excellent.

The University of Calleshire at the beginning of the fall term is a mass of discontent, among students and professors alike. The students' Direct Action Committee is incensed that Malcolm Humbert was expelled - and they want to use him as an excuse for a sit-in, to lure the University administrators into suing Humbert for trespass. The few sitters-out are grousing about their holiday jobs - particularly the ecology students, who had a massive amount of holiday work. As for the faculty, Hilda Linnaker (English literature) is melancholy that her magnum opus on Jane Austen is nearly finished, marking her upcoming retirement, Bernard Watkinson (History) is grumpy about putting up with female students, while Simon Mautby (ecology) is in one of his usual volcanic outbursts over the unavailability of good lab help to look after his animals so he can get away.

The administrators' determination not to get the police involved with the upcoming sit-in is matched only by Superintendent Leeyes' resolution not to entangle the Berebury force in it. Unfortunately, Sloan and Crosby are called out to investigate a burglary - Colin Ellison, rising star in ecology, suffered the loss of his holiday essay and notes, together with the trashing of his room, the day before it was due. And on the day itself - the first night of the sit-in - another young ecologist, Henry Moleyns, is found stabbed, very professionally, leaving only the mysterious last words "twenty-six minutes".

Are the theft and the murder connected? Why would anyone kill a penniless ecology student, fresh back from a bicycle tour of Europe? Why did Moleyns have a falling out with the committee and refuse to go near the sit-in - what happened to him over the summer, and where did he go? Then a second murder takes place, suggesting a possible motive - but for whom?

And what does "twenty-six minutes" *mean*, anyway?

This story is both a completely fair puzzle, and a very good story. As a subordinate thread in the narrative, we're kept up to date on Sloan's private life - he and his wife are expecting their first child, and it's affecting his brain. :) The child's birth occurs in _Some Die Eloquent_, if you're interested. Crosby, his assistant, gets a little respect for something other than driving, for once, as he unearths some interesting evidence, and lack thereof, while searching various rooms at the university.

Detective Inspector Slon expec ted trouble when he was called in to the student sit-in at Calleshire University. The dons were nervous, the students excited - it seemed inevitable that there would be a clash of some kind... But murder?

Another thoroughly enjoyable classic British mystery from Catherine Aird. In this, the eighth in her Inspector Sloan series, we have red herrings galore as well as the usual goodly quantity of clues. While it might seem a bit dated to some, involving sit-ins, etc., in fact it holds up quite well. Aird gives both sides (dons [professors, to you Yanks] & students) a sympathetic hearing - there is no condescending tone or false liberality - just people being people and interesting ones, at th at.

I can recommend this completely and again wish that more of her books were in print. If you enjoy Ellis Peter's series of George Felse mysteries - you'll like these.

Loved this woman - love this cookbook! After many years my copy is wearing out. Sincerely hope it will be published/printed again so I can replace my copy and have copies to give family and friends.

I stumbled upon this delightful book at my local library. It is filled with wonderful, down-home recipes by Pearl Bailey. Most of the recipes are simple and easy to follow. My husband was even able to follow one and make a complete meal!(without burning down the kitchen). There are recipes for everything from "Sweet potato pie" to "Rice Henry" to "Macaroni & Cheese If I Do Say So". I reccommend this book to anyone who loves to cook.