Plants of Life/ Plants of Death by Frederick Simoons is a terrific book. I am a garden writer myself (Allergy-Free Gardening) and I appreciate well-written horticultural material.
This book is full of unusual and interesting facts and stories that you probably won't find any where else (pregnant women are in special danger from eclipses, garlic warms the body, makes fighter more pugnacious, and increases semen). Garden writers would be wise to own a copy of this for reference. Folks who enjoy gardening, botany, nature and history, will appreciate
this treasure. There are quite a few useful and interesting illustrations in the book but probably what most impresses is the thoroughness of the work. It is obvious that many years of study and research went into this labor of love and the results are evident. I highly recommend Plants of Life/ Plants of Death.

"Plants of Life, Plants of Death" has been selected for listing in "Religion and Psychoactive Sacraments: An Entheogen Chrestomathy." http://www.csp.org/chrestomathy

Having just seen the Georgia Okeeffe exibition at the Phillips Gallery in Washington, DC, I had to run out and buy a biography to learn more about this incredible artist. This book gives deep personal insight to Ms O'keeffe's life and work.

Having read Portrait of an Artist in college I learned to appreciate the talent, determination and self reliance that success requires. It should be required reading for every young woman

This book is astoundingly interesting, attempting to tell the story of a people long ago vanished. The historical and archeological information is well grounded and the book is an exciting read. This hard to find gem is definitely worth a look.

Although written in the 50's, this book still remains one of the cornerstones of Pictish studies.

Divided into several parts (by several authors) which address language, customs, etc., the book explores the pre-Scottish people of Scotland known to history as Picts. Although several issues have been clarified in subsequent years, the basic problems raised by the editor as to origin, language and cultural ethnicity of the Picts remain unanswered to this day.

A must read for Pictophiles!

This book should be compulsory for anyone who desires to enter the ministry. It is scholarly and at the same time understandable to the layman.
First rate material

Bible scholars used the Bible to justify separation between blacks and whites, but the Gospel had been twisted and misinterpreted. Race, Religion & Racism: Volume 2 provides a discussion of how the Bible was used to subjugate blacks in America from early to modern times, with liberal attention to passages and quotes throughout. An intriguing history and challenge to the legacy of biblical teachings in America.

I have worked with scott before he became famous and know that he is a brilliant writer. I hope Scott reads this because I have been trying to get back in touch with him to no avail! Scott, if you are reading it's Steve Shepard here and I'm back in Sarasota and want to get back in touch with you. drop me a line. my e-mail is tranquil_union@yahoo.com

I'v e been to the bookstores and have seen a lot of your books and find the characters to be believable and empathetic. Young people seem to really enjoy your style and ability to create surprise, mystery and excite, all the while weaving very grounded principles and morals to the stories.

Great Work!!!!!!

Steven.

In this third installment in the Dinoverse series, the time machine that caused all the chaos in the first two books flares to life once again, bringing three new teenagers and a teacher back to the time of the dinosaurs. I have thoroughly enjoyed this series, and highly recommend them. These books show young readers the value of friendship, as each teen must put aside their personal problems to help one another, so they can all return to the present day safely. The teens also begin to see their teacher as a trusted friend rather than just another adult authority figure. These books would be great for boys who may not be interested in reading; they contain a lot of adventure and excitement. These books also present good values associated with friendship and "fitting in" with a peer group as a teen.

This is a wonderful collection of essays and sermons from a novelist and theologian who doesn't check his intellect or doubts when he steps into a pulpit. Which makes him credible to skeptics like me who are struggling back toward the faith of their childhood. In my other favorite Buechner - "Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy and Fairy Tale" - he begins with the point that any preacher who fails to address the experience of God's absence in much of our lives stands little chance of credibly carrying the message of joy and magic. His use of Shakespeare's Lear in that book is elegant.

As for "A Room Called Remember," I found myself moved over and over again by a central message of Hope that transcended all of the various chapters - hope for the possibility of things I long ago gave up as illusion. As a clinical psychologist approaching age 60, I can think of many psychoanalytic and existential explanations for my return to faith at this point in my life. But writers like Frederick Buechner help give me the courage to quit analyzing and simply to accept the gift. The doubts will remain - but that is a part of the gift as well. Without it, there is no challenge or experience of Faith. Or Grace.

I plan to buy copies of this book and give them to people in my life who I most care about.

There is an immediacy and intimacy about this collection of essays. I felt a connection with Buechner, wanting to thank him for sharing his wisdom, honesty and gentleness. The opening and closing essays, on the holiness of remembrance and aging, respectively, were my favorites, but he covers everything from gleaning from sermons to everyday examples of the sacred's presence. His writing speaks to the sophisticated and the broken with the same message of God's redeeming love for us. Read it on the bus or before bed and let it change your perspective.

Julie Kavanagh's biography of Frederick Ashton has been splendidly reviewed below, but there are one or two things I should like to add.

This biography of Sir Frederick Ashton is a panorama of 20th century dance in Britain and, in some aspects, America also. It is, and will remain so for future generations, a marvellous "Who's Who" of the British ballet establishment.

I confess I started to skip the love letters to and from the boys. A little love letter goes a long [long] way. Was Ashton really so creatively tied to such people as Martyn Thomas? His choreographic talent was such that I am left wondering how very much greater Ashton's work might have been without the sturm and drang of those relationships. Was Ashton 'passionately lazy' or did he, I wonder, suffer from undiagnosed depression from most of his life because he could not be the great dancer he longed to be? His attempts to 'keep the slate clean' as far as having a good war record and not get caught out in his homosexuality at a time when it was illegal in the UK are commendable, but how stultifying for him artistically! He could never let go and have a really life-enhancing grand passion. I have the feeling that secretly Ashton longed to be a voluptuously beautiful courtesan with the world at his feet. He had his world at his feet most of the time, and his palace was the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, so there were compensations of course. The whole hypocritcal business of the illegality of homosexuality in the UK affected not only Ashton but Noel Coward, Cecil Beaton, Terence Rattigan and above all, Benjamin Britten. How much greater might their artistic output have been otherwise?

It doesn't matter that many of Ashton's ballets have not stood the test of time. Some of them certainly have, Les Patineurs and Les Rendezvous are great works for, beside, and because of, their choreographic content, they are wonderful for improving and strenghtening any corps-de-ballet - and how many ballets of the 20th century can one say that of? Symphonic Variations and Scenes de Ballet are masterpieces of their genre. Daphnis & Chloe was a marvellous realisation of the score, as was La Valse. I use the past tense deliberately.

Julie Kavanagh has captured the essence of the life Ashton led, and brings him to life with more sympathy than perhaps he deserves. Objectively, then, one should seperate the man from his choreography, and it's up to each reader to do so. One aspect of his art that Ms Kavanagh has captured is the man's 'theatrical theatricality.' Ashton was theatrical in the best sense of the word. It pervades his ballets and certain effects, such as the billowing curtain in Marguerite & Armand stay in the mind's eye, [well, it has in mine anyway], long after the image of the choreography has faded. That a man of Ashton's years could produce A Month in the Country is a testament to his genius, his theatricality and his self-revitalising humanity. As Ms Bonifaccio points out below in her review, should one judge a ballet for it's revivability? No. Ballets are here and now. I am reminded by this by a friend of mine who knew Mme Karsavina in old age. He once said to her: "I'd love to see Le Pavillon d'Armide revived." Mme Karsavina laughed, and replied, "Believe me, you wouldn't."

Julie Kavanagh's book is here and now, but I do see great 'researcher trouble' ahead. Some of the prose is misleading because she assumes, rightly, that we KNOW what she is writing about. I can just see a post graduate student doing their thesis in say, Kansas in 2050, and writing about Dame Ninette de Valois longing to jitterbug with a handsome negro at the Caribbean Club. [Page 305]. This is because Barbara Ker-Seymer tells Billy Chappell that 'Madame was in charge... She longed to be whirled into a jutterbug.. but nobody asked her to dance. Maybe it was her WAAF's uniform that put them off.' 'Madame', 'she' and 'WAAF' all in one sentence are going to be read by the uninitiated as though Dame Ninette de Valois was present in uniform when she was, clearly, no-where near the place. [And how I do agree with Sir John Drummond that calling Dame Ninette de Valois 'Madam' was a fearful practise.] That irritating habit [bad theatricality this time] of referring to men as 'she' pervades this book. [Jocelyn Bowlan, a dancer in the English National Opera Movement Group in the 1980'S once complained to the ENO's Head of Dance, Nicky Bowie; "DO the boys have to always call each other SHE?" Ms Bowie replied: "Jocelyn, I joined London Festival Ballet when I was 18 years old and since then everyone's been SHE."] On page 435 'Debo' is mentioned. She is, of course, the Duchess of Devonshire, but you won't find this in the index. Little things, they may seem quibbles, like this are a minefield for future generations who will be hard put to understand where Ashton and The Royal Ballet establishment stood in relationship to the British upper classes. In fact, Ms Kavanagh captures the glorius postwar collision between the Brideshead generation and the Establishment. The whole situation, outlining Ashton's artistic predicament, is wonderfully and accurately summed up by Lincoln Kirsten to Cecil Beaton on page 438. This alone is worth the price of the book.

A wonderful wonderful book!!

The most amazing thing about Ms Kavanagh's book is that it NOT a hatchet job on what seems to be a rather unpleasant man. Underneath the many layers of Ashton's exhibitionism, egocentricity, tightfistedness and manipulative scheming Kavanagh reveals a rather sad, but talented, figure, whom one feels a certainy sympathy for.

Was Ashton a great choreographer? Probably he was. Future generations will be hard pushed to know though, as his ballets are massacred by the Royal Ballet in the UK. One should, I feel, never judge a ballet by it's revivability. Those of us present at the first night of "Enigma Variations" or "A Month in the Country" knew we were in the presence of greatness. In many ways Ashton was a choreographic Somerset Maugham, who managed to evoke a lost world in a few steps of a short ballet, very like Somerset Maugham's short stories. Who knows whether they will stand the test of time?

I can't help feeling that Ashton wasn't a very pleasant person, though not as unpleasant as the snarlingly awful Antony Tudor with his chips on his shoulders and his deep seated inverted snobbery. Ashton's sexual politics within the Royal Ballet would be considered highly politically incorrect, [while his treatment of some of the dancers would be considered sexual harassment and, if pursued through the courts would have won huge payouts], in this day and age. The whole set up sounds [and probably was] terribly incestuous. Ms Kavanagh quotes extensively from Ashton's love letters to and from young men, letters which, in most cases, are too foolish and should have been submitted to a strong editorial hand.

It's bizarre to read that Dame Ninette de Valois retired from the Royal Ballet in 1964 for she wielded enormous influence there even 30 years later. In fact there was no real reason for her to retire then at all, as her retirement caused a choreographic block in Ashton. Her shoddy politics in the affair do not show her in a good light at all. It's also bizarre to think that the cradle of British ballet as such was in the hands of these people, who were little more than dilettantes, and who lost in the early post-war period the two great influences on them; Constant Lambert and Sophie Fedorovitch. What was the alternative? Marie Rambert? I think not! Page 476, Ashton to Kavanagh: "There are things I have to say about Ninette....but I'm not going to tell you while she's alive." Did he ever say them? I bet he did!

I do have some small issues with Ms Kavanagh's approach. She talks about the men of the early post-war Royal Ballet as having good techniques. This is nonsense. Believe me, until the advent of Nureyev British male dancing was of a pretty poor standard as there were no outstanding male teachers at the Royal Ballet School in those days. For instance, there was no male variation for the Prince in Sleeping Beauty until just before the Royal Ballet's Russian tour in 1961 and no coda to the pas-de-deux until well into the late sixties. There were one of two plausible dance-actors, Alexander Grant being one of them, but he was miscast in any thing remotely classical, i.e. The Two Pigeons. Michael Somes [and what a fearful baddie he turned out to be, his behaviour bordering on psychotic!] simply could not dance by today's standards. He couldn't even walk properly onstage and was really just a 'porteur' for Margot Fonteyn. I never in my life saw David Blair [page 446] perform eight en dehor turns consecutively onstage, and I saw him often. Nureyev's arrival at the Royal Ballet did not really wipe out a whole generation of British male dancers [page 471n] because there weren't any who could be remotely compared to Nureyev. Certainly not the gormless looking Christopher Gable who, with Lynn Seymour, nightly mistook barnstorming for acting. Which reminds me: There is a myth that is gaining circulation [page 485] that Seymour and Gable were deposed from the first night of Romeo and Juliet. There would never have been any question of them doing the first night whilst Fonteyn and Nureyev were in the offing. When the press announcement of Romeo and Juliet was made [if memory serves] in late December 1964 it's opening two performances, February 9th and 11th 1965, had Fonteyn cast as Juliet with Nureyev as Romeo. Think about this: If Nureyev had been around in 1960, "La fille mal gardee" would have been for Fonteyn and Nureyev, not Nerina and Blair. Nadia Nerina, [page 472], should keep this in mind when criticising "Marguerite and Armand." If one Ashton ballets survives it will be "La fille mal gardee" and Nerina, for all her bitterness at not being Fonteyn's successor, will be remembered as the first Lise in Ashton's production. [Mercifully preserved in a complete black and white kinescope.]

Despite my quibbles Julie Kavanagh has produced a great book. I hope she's planning a companion piece, the life of Dame Ninette de Valois! That will be something to look forward to.

This book is the best book about the Nigerian civil war written.

It is very detailed with a very complet information about the activities of the diferent aircraft in this war. It give information about the aerial operations of both parties but the book is focusing in the biafran side.

I recomend this book to all people interested in the african conflicts and especially in the air war.

This book could serve as the master template for future books on air warfare and its associated civil aviation involvement. When reading and looking at this book I was immediately wondering which other conflicts should be devoted a book like this: the 1960s conflicts in Zaire/Congo, the Libyan arm airlift in the 70s, the Vietnam War (Air America/World etc.), etc. The quality of the information and the photographs are outstanding. A definite "to buy" book.

i thought it was brilliant
its called enter Fredrick K bower in england
great mashed potato scene at the end
why is it still not in print?

Thi is a great and well written first book. My only doubt is why it is not still being printed

The number of books avaiable on Sjogren's Syndrome are very limited, and this book is a welcome addition. I found it to be informative, easy-to-read, and honest. I liked the frankness of this book as it portrayed a realistic picture of what life is like for people who have Sjogren's. This book covers a wide range of topics and does not make light of life with Sjogren's. I could relate to much of what was written. Also, this "survival" guide does not offer easy solutions on how to "conquer" Sjogren's. It recognizes that Sjogren's cannot be conquered but, at the same time, it provides the reader with realistic and helpful suggestions on how to cope with this illness. It also recognizes both the variability of how the illness affects people, as well as the commanalities that we all may share. My thanks to Dr. Rumpf and Ms. Hammitt for taking the time to write The Sjogren's Syndrome Survival Guide.

This new book offers a wealth of information on both the medical and psychological aspects of Sjogren's syndrome. It gives the reader a comprehensive, but plain spoken, perspective on living with this complex disease.

Dr. Teri Rumpf is a clinical psychologist and Kathy Hammitt is Past President of the Sjogren's Syndrome Foundation. Both authors have Sjogren's Syndrome. Because of their personal and professional qualifications they are able to describe the subjective and objective aspects of the disease.

This book is totally captivating. It reads like a novel. It is guaranteed that the reader will see themselves over and over again throughout the book. The medical section include chapters on how Sjogren's is defined and what makes the diagnosis, as well as chapters on the ways in which Sjogren's affects different parts of the body and the various treatment options available. Chapters on living with the illness include sections on the doctor/patient relationship, relationships with family and friends, and riding the emotional roller coaster with which we can all identify.

Additional chapters discuss adaptation to life with a chronic illness, healing, work, and the hope that research currently offers. There is a section on Resources that is useful to those who are newly diagnosed or to those who have had the disease for many years.

The explanation of all of the abnormal blood work that accompanies Sjogren's, in the chapter entitled "What Makes a Diagnosis," is particularly useful. It answered so many of my questions. The chapter on relationships dealing with family and friends really hit home. Every reader will be able to identify with this section.

The Sjogren's Syndrome Survival Guide offers information in a way that readers without sophisticated medical knowledge or psychological backgrounds can understand, but it does not oversimplify. This is a book that both healthcare professionals and patients will benefit from reading. The authors give a well rounded picture of living with the disease and they do not sugarcoat it. They make it clear that knowledge is power and that is important for patients to be well informed and educated.

This is a welcome addition to the small, but growing, arsenal of books on Sjogren's Syndrome.

One book, even a great one, is not likely to make Sjogren's into a household word, but this one does all it can to explain what it's like to have Sjogren's Syndrome.