THE BLOOD ABOUT THE HEART is an extensive collection of concise, imagistic poems, linked together by a thematic storyline, dealing with the fragmented lives of street people. Reading Menefee's poems will evoke the construction of the heart that comes when sincere human emotions have been roused. Menefee's style is often graphic and always thought-provoking and deeply moving.

"THE BLOOD ABOUT THE HEART is a deeply moving collection of pared down, distilled poetic thoughts and images [imbued with] incomparable clarity in depicting the startling truths of street life." --The San Francisco Bay Guardian

This book is a "must" for any person who loves, or will love, Bloomington, Indiana.

Bloomington, one of the premier communities in the United States, is a place that one visits and ends up staying because of its unmatched standard of living.

Offering the finest blend of small town ambiance and big city resources, Bloomington is home to Indiana University, which makes the community an oasis of sophistication in a traditional midwestern setting.

Located in the beautiful wooded, rolling hills of southern Indiana, the city, home to 65,000 Hoosiers, many who have left the hustle of large coastal cities to seek a higher quality of living, is a crown jewel of midwest communities.

The book captures all that is wonderful about Bloomington with stunning photographs and interesting, insightful text. Included are sections on the city's history, arts, sports, entertainment, businesses, educational institutions, economy, and volunteer activities.

Bloomington - A Contemporary Portrait, presented in quality large "coffee table" format, offers the perfect gift or purchase for the thousands of people who have a special place in their heart for Bloomington.

You won't be disappointed!

Listening to Odds Bodkin's tapes is like bringing a story teller right into your living room. These old tales continue to have messages for living that are still relevant for today's world. The "blossom tree" must be my favorite of Odds with a gentle tale from India about cutting down a tree. This tale touches on the dilemmas of decision making, finding alternative solutions to problems, how all things big and small have something to offer, and not least, what friendship is about. The tale of the "crane wife" is quite eerie and perhaps not suited for younger children so parents should listen and enjoy before deciding if their child is ready for this story. In our family, we use tapes on a regular basis after the usual bedtime reading and just the number of times we have played this tape is evidence of the enduring quality of the tales.

Jordan is a country that is known to most Westerners mainly for its front-line role in the Arab-Israeli conflict; for the spectacular Nabataean temples carved into cliff-faces at Petra; and as the scene of Lawrence of Arabia's adventures during the First World War. Now that it has a formal peace treaty with Israel, more westerners are making their way to Jordan. Those who do will find the Blue Guide to Jordan an invaluable companion. I also recommend it highly to armchair travelers who just want to learn more about this little-known but intriguing country.

As a series, the Blue Guides have long been famous among discriminating travelers for their astonishingly comprehensive coverage of history, archaeology, architecture, and art. At the same time, the series was known for its refusal to make any concessions to the mass market: Blue Guides typically had no information on hotels and restaurants, and while they always offered superb plans of archaeological sites and museums, they had no photographs or other illustrations, and their covers appeared never to have been run past a graphics designer. Moreover, while written in clear and impeccable English, the understated texts rarely offered much in the way of color or afforded any glimpse of the personality of their author or authors.

All that began to change around fifteen years ago, and the Blue Guide to Jordan is a wonderful example of new model Blue Guides. The series has hung on to all that was good in its original approach while adding drawings, photographs, practical information, and a more engaging and colorful text.

The Blue Guide to Jordan provides unexcelled coverage of Jordan's best-known sites - Petra and its environs are treated in no less than 45 pages, while 14 pages are devoted to the Roman ruins at Jerash (Gerasa). But the real riches of this guide lie in its coverage of lesser-known sites - the Omayyad palaces strung like pearls across the desert between Jordan's international airport and the oasis at Azraq; the black basalt Byzantine ghost town of Umm al-Jimal; the Crusader cave stronghold of al-Habis Jaldak; the enigmatic Chalcolithic site of Jawa, dating to 3000 B.C., its massive walls looming over the "Black Desert"; or the mysterious and tragic mountain refuge of Sela.

The Blue Guide to Jordan will also teach you that the legendary biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are to be identified with the Bronze Age tells of Bab edh-Dhra and Numeira in the Dead Sea valley, both of which were destroyed by fire around 2350 B.C. The authors note that "The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah may preserve the memory of an earthquake, a not uncommon event in the Rift Valley, perhaps causing some of the bitumen there to ignite. As for Lot's wife, most travelers have managed to identify her somewhere among the strange crystalline salt formations."

Another highlight is the Guide's meticulous coverage of the 5000-year-old King's Highway through the mountains of Moab on the eastern side of the Dead Sea, with such points of interest as Mount Nebo, the eminence from whence tradition says that Moses glimpsed the Promised Land and was buried; Madaba, with its famous 6th-century mosaic map of Jerusalem and the Holy Land; the deep gorge of Wadi Mujib; and the imposing Crusader-Ayyubid-Mameluke fortress of Karak.

Still, it is clear that the two doughty British authors, Sue Rollin and Jane Streetly, are particularly intrigued by Jordan's surviving legacy of Roman fortifications. This was the wild eastern frontier of the Roman Empire, and chains of robust quadrangular forts rose in the desert to protect commerce along highways like the Via Nova Traiana or the Strata Diocletiana. Rollin & Streetly have apparently never encountered a Roman ruin they didn't like, or were unwilling to try and reach, no matter how many miles of 4-wheel-drive exploring were required. Somewhat touchingly, Rollin & Streetly seem to assume that everyone else will share their passion for exploring these sites. Thus, you encounter descriptions such as the following: "Just before a small tyre shop on the northern outskirts of Qatrana, turn right onto a paved road and head west, crossing two sets of pylons. At 4km, the road, now unmetalled, swings north up and along a ridge. Look out for red-painted stones marking the way. Turn west at c. 7km and descend the slope. Bear right at 2 km at a fork and continue for 2.5 km. The impressive remains of the fort should be in view before then." I suspect most travelers will content themselves with seeking out the more accessible Roman fortress sites like Lejjun, but be warned: Rollin & Streetly's enthusiasm for archaeological exploration - which recalls that of such doughty distaff English predecessors as Freya Stark and Gertrude Bell - may prove infectious.

This volume is well illustrated with dozens of excellent site plans, drawings, etchings taken from earlier travelers' accounts, and an insert of color photographs. There are also recommendations on hotels and restaurants. In short, you would miss a great deal if you went to Jordan without this guidebook.

This classic book is back in print! Contact: Simonton Cove Publishing;66 Deake St.;South Portland, ME. 04106. Bill Willwerth. 207-799-4880.

What we get with this book is a sure-footed survey of indian writing in English that feels like a grand tour by a docent who also happens to be your close friend. Amitava Kumar is an emerging literary voice from the indian subcontinent. The intimate prose evokes feelings of alienation and displacement that serve as a recurrent theme in a manner common to many expatriate authors but what is special with this book is a poignant sociological component. The author is not content to rely on his own keen observations of the real world; he delves into the world of fiction that many writers of eminence have created. The academic and the writer of fiction come together in a way that left me feeling good about myself.

Several photographs adorning the book give an air of authencity to the prose. The book brings a sense of immediacy to the forgotten places in india in a way that was never done before.With this book he has created a portal to his brain, reminding me of the movie "Being John Malkovich".

There is everything here about the history of the I Ching. Richard Rutt has used among others the studies by Kunst on the oldest meaning of the book (that was lost to the later Confucian commentators of the Ten Wings) to attempt a translation that comes as close as possible to the original meaning. . This brings Bronze Age China back to life, a civilization that even performed human sacrifices (quite shocking!) A must for all serious I Ching lovers.

I discovered this book in my college library when conducting research about a year ago. It is really a wonderful work. It humanizes the politics by simply asking a cross section of Irish folk what 'the Border' means to them. One will not of couse understand the byzantine politcs of the paramilitaries or the complex history of Ireland but read in conjunction with other works one will come to a deeper understanding.

This book has catapultited me into a new level of consciousness!
I have been waiting for a book to educate me on this topic and not only have I been educated, but moved to look into activism on this issue. I am neither Jewish nor very knowledgeable in politics. This book is right to the point and I found myself totally engrossed. The men in this book are awesome and I am proud to walk the planet with them. They are educated, brave, compassionate and passionate. I hope that you not only read Breaking Ranks, but go to the website afterwards and become involved in some way.

An OUTSTANDING book for those who love the wonderful British Countryside of East Anglia or those who would like to become more familiar with it.