This book was amazing to me the first time I read it and continues to touch me deeply....so much so that I just spent $90. for an old used copy so that I could own it and return to it again and again. It is the story of all women, women who are taken from their true selves to serve others, in places that are foreign to their souls. And, of course, the story of her return. A children's book, but one that speaks to all ages. Magical. Timeless. I have heard that this story has been told in many languages for many hundreds of years. I would welcome any information that anyone has about this.

This story has a gripping plot with a wonderfully poignant ending. Children will empathise with the dilemma facing the mother and her children in this tale.

Bert Stiles' "Serenade to the Big Bird" is generally considered to be the finest American literary work, describing the air war over Germany. Luckily, a reprint of this book has recently become available and this will probably boost interest in Bert Stiles and his time. For those who want to know more there is "Serenade to the Blue Lady". Robert Floyd Cooper has put Stiles and his work into perspective. In this biography many questions are answered in an easily readable style. Based on letters, essays and of course "Serenade to the Big Bird" Cooper describes the life and death of Bert Stiles. I have really enjoyed reading it. Many of my questions were answered, such as the identity of "Mac". It is illustrated with unique pictures. The two Serenades are now more or less inseparable and belong side by side on the bookshelf of every student of the air war and anybody interested in the writing of one of America's most gifted writers in the 1940's.

Serenade to the Blue Lady is an excellent review of the short life of Bert Stiles. As a writer, Bert was gifted and destined for great things. But it was not to be. He died in action flying a P-51 on an escort mission to Hanover November 26, 1944. Reportedly, he was a victim of target fixation and followed an enemy fighter too close to the ground. Bert's Lady of Luck was the Blue Lady, the seductive siren of the sky. She has lured many others to bask in her arms among the clouds. Jeffrey L. Ethell was enthralled by her and wrote several books extolling the wonders of flight and the men and women who flew. But the song of the siren is often irresitible and dangerous. Jeffrey died in a crash while piloting a vintage P-38 in 1997. However, in 1994 he wrote a letter to me stating, "I have been fascinated with Bert Stiles since reading "Serenade to the Big Bird" in 1959. Another writer of merit and historian of the 8th Air Force is Roger A. Freeman who stated, "I have treasured a copy of Serenade to the Big Bird since 1947. Indeed it has become something of a classic." Serenade to the Blue Lady tells the story of this outstanding young man. I feel certain that the fame of Bert Stiles will continue to grow and that his book Serenade to the Big Bird will be published again and again. Ultimately it may prove to be THE classic story of the air war over Europe.

John W. Howland Capt. USAF (Ret.)

A book which delivers its reader into the South, whether or not they've ever truly been here or not. The marvelous photography, shocking in its realism, tell the tales of generations past, and exhibits the departure of Southern Culture since the beginning days of Northern Occupation. The authors use brilliant words to narrate the imagery, and inspire the reader to embrace what is left of the Antebellum South.

The pictures tell the sad story of the decline of the south and Alabama after the War of Northern agression. They also show the imagination and beauty appreciated by the Antebellum culture. A must have for all southern history lovers.

Soul Theology causes you to think about what you believe and how your belief system influences everything you say and do. It is groundbreaking as it is a guide into the heart and soul of a people who have survived against the odds and continue to triumph. The definition of "core belief" has become the foundational piece for our health ministry. For we need to know what a healthy core belief is, to possess it, then use it as a point of reference in how we see ourselves in relationship to God and others. This book will be especially helpful for counselors who counsel persons who possess deep religious convictions. In general, it is an easy reading book for anyone interested in the subject matter.

This book broke ground becaused it identified and demonstrated that certain African American core belief could uplift and heal. Soul Theology showed that what was positive and healthy in one culture could be of benefit to others. African Americans can be proud and others can be glad. I may have a small bias. Thank you for reading the book. Nicholas Cooper-Lewter, Ph.D. Expect to read about Black Grief and Soul Therapy in the future. Peace, Health and Soul.

In this one beautifully written book, David Cooper wraps up many spiritual paths into the common denominator of Love. This book is, in fact the guide it says it is. Peace with yourself, peace with others and a delightful understanding of the world around us are brought together in a homogeneous spirituality that does not conflict with any other path yet provides you a grounded platform filled with love and blessings. This book is at least as powerful as James Redfield's "Celestien Prophecy" and "Insight" series. Without the mystical stories but in beautiful and touching prose, David shows us teachings that are common to virtually all the religions and how we can find the common thread that unites us all. In a clear and concise fashion where each idea is tightly explained, we are shown the way... Thank you David!

This book is for everyone who chooses to awaken to the TRUTH of "the who, what and why" humans incarnate on Planet Earth. The writing is in "everyman's" language, written from the heart of the author.

David Cooper shares his life experiences in a profound manner. He takes the reader on a journey with him, as he moves from the painfilled experiences of head/ego thoughts and reactions, to the blissed-filled experiences of heart/spirit feelings and actions.

The unconditional love energy imbued in each section of this book touched me at a cellular level awakening feelings in me and changing my awareness of who, what, and why I am. I began to feel rather than think. I felt opened to humility, and knew I needed help with these new feelings. Therefore I sent out an SOS in the form of an email to David Cooper. His Unconditional Love is a healing balm that has taken me from drowning in my ego, to living, loving, and playing in my heart. My major awakening is summed up in one line from the book. "Our outer universe is a reflection of our inner universe." When I took a look at myself from this perspective I knew my time had come for my heart to lead me ...in all things and in all ways.

If you would like to by-pass you head, (and avoid ever having a heart by-pass,) read this book!!! I discovered I had the only gift worth having...GOD'S LOVE IN MY HEART, and I no longer had to look outside myself to be complete.

Douglas Cooper's Steel Shadows is a gem. Although it is specifically about Pittsburgh, it is really about how we see, portray, and interact with the landscape around us, urban or rural. Cooper is first a wonderful visual artist, and has allowed us a rare glimpse into his methods here. Rather than look far afield for his subject matter, he has taken on the challenge of visioning his native city, in immense and powerful murals, which are remarkably well re-produced in the book. Cooper can also write, and illustrates with his words the process of producing the murals and the logic behind them. Together, his drawings and text serve to usher us into the world of Pittsburgh, that singularly muscular and angular American city, and to cast some light on what it is to be an artist at the top of one's game, working hard to make that art - in this case drawing - relevant and useful in a changing world. A very pleasing, entertaining, and thought-provoking book.

Imagine you are standing at the top of a cliff in a hilly city or on top of a skyscraper in a flatter one. Slowly rotate 360 degrees, taking in all that you can see as you turn. Then imagine doing the same thing 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 30 years ago and work older landscapes into your contemporary ones. Then imagine wrapping all that you see and imagine onto a flat surface. I don't think I could actually do that - but Douglas Cooper can and has. Cooper's new book, STEEL SHADOWS, does three distinct tasks. It offers an insightful autobiographical sketch on how Cooper, an architect/professor at Carnegie Mellon University, came to draw the way he draws. Writing in a naive style, he recounts 2nd grade experiments on perspective, his education at Carnegie Tech, his sojourn to Europe to study buildings, and the evolving style which puts myriad angles continuously onto a flat piece of paper in a way which makes sense - to the viewers as well as to Cooper. The second task is to help the reader fall in love with the landscape of Pittsburgh as Cooper did, first as a 6-year-old enamoured of trains. Cooper's drawings in STEEL SHADOWS, excellent reproductions of the massive murals installed permanently in a variety of sites in Pittsburgh, give one the feel of the steep mountainsides, winding streets, and crumbling industrial landscape of the city. Cooper seems to love it all, and his amazing drawings draw us into his love affair. The third element of STEEL SHADOWS is an illustrated collection of writings on Pittburgh including excerpts from architectural historian Franklin Toker, poet Peter Blair, writer Annie Dillard, historian William Serrin, and novelist Marcia Davenport. My favorite excerpt in the last section is actually by Cooper, himself. "Living with Meg across from Forbes Field" allows him to indulge in his second passion after Pittsburgh: baseball. Along with stunning drawings of the old ball park, Cooper tells us of the neighborhood of South Oakland, life in the bleachers in Forbes Field, and his life as a young married man sitting on his porch directly across the street from Forbes Field waiting for foul balls to be hit out of the stadium and to him. One might question whether this book would be interesting to those who are neither artists nor Pittsburghers. I am not an artist, but as a longtime fan of Cooper's work, was intrigued with his thoughts about how he came to draw the way he does. His writing is simple but not simplistic; even technical sections were clear to me, a layman. I am a Pittsburgher, so cannot state how one from another city will enjoy STEEL SHADOWS. Cooper's drawings, though, transcend the specific place he portrays. His urban landscape and his vision of the ways in which places and times come together have universal appeal. It is Pittsburgh that he draws, but it is Cooper himself as well as his city that we see.

This book has it all, adventure, history, fun and it doesn't read like an autobiography, but more like a wonderful entertaining story. I heartily recommend it for anyone who loves film and who would appreciate being transported into the heyday of the film industry. Kudos to the writers who did such a beautiful job.

This autobiography is fascinating and written in a very "readable" and easy manner. Mr. Neames' life is so interesting. The film industry is part of our history and is an important art form. Thank you for sharing your life with us.

An even-handed, page-turner that enables the reader to begin to understand an enigmatic statesman who exercised profound influence during the late 18th and early 19th Centuries. In studying Talleyrand, one appreciates his unestimable intellect and rhetorical gifts; and his contribution to the stability of Europe and the greater world both during his time and through the early 20th Century. Mr. Cooper's book paints a concise, yet illustrative, portrait of a legend with his tumultuous times as a scenic, but undistracting, background.

The best condensed book on " The Prince of Napoleonic Diplomacy", and the last one hundred days of the emperor's reign. Like Fouche a great visioner of the future and " Bon vivant ", who also knew when to keep a low profile at the right time . He sorted successfully his ups and downs and survived all the french revolution storm, from the reign of terror to the Vienna Congress.

This book is an excellent source for seeing the experience of apartheid from which the theory of black consciousness emerged. Biko lucidly articulates both the people and the regime he found himself in conflict with, and parallel's between his appraisal and his idea's are made clear. A must read for anyone who wants to get a full understanding of black consciousness.

Steve Biko's movement, Black Consciousness, is most fully articulated in his book "I Write What I Like," however, the testimony of Biko adds a crucial dimension to any understanding of Black Consciousness. It offers insight into the man behind the idea's, and offers crucial information about Biko's experience as a black man in South Africa. This information is necessary for a true understanding of what Biko writes, as he offers a lucid picture of the black experience during Apartheid. I have yet to find another writer with such tremendous insight into the oppressive nature of the Apartheid regime, and any oppresive regime in general. This book is a must read for anyone interested in understanding the oppressed mind.

Those Who Can, Teach discusses modern American education. The book is divided into sections on schools, teachers, students, the history of education, and careers in teaching. The reader will learn, for example, theories of learning; rules of conduct governing educators; issues confronting students; and the role of technology in the classroom.

Those Who Can, Teach explores the diverse and complex aspects of the education profession from grade school to high school.

I especially like the keywords and reflections at the end of each chapter. I am currently using this book as a text in a course designed for students who are seriously considering teaching as a career.