I read this book in my western civ class during college. I was not sure what to expect from it, but found that I was pulled in and the book and meaning of the book would not let go. This is the meaning of life at its best. Athough not much history is involved with this epic tale, the writing is. This well done verse translation gives a glossary at the end of the book to help with hard to pronouce words and makes the read a bit easier. I do suggest reading this great book. It is very well done.

I had to read this book for a school World History class. This tale of the ancient god Gilgamesh, was written in free-form verses. This book was short, with an intresting and thought-provocking introduction and conclusion. I have not read other translations, but this one semmed very benificial to the high-school aged student. Although I did not really enjoy the story, it really forced you to think; about life, death, and immortality. Also included was a great feature, a glossey at the back of the book so you could look up proper nouns when you got confused. I found the glossery so helpful as I read this book. In conclusion, although this book was not my peferred style of writing, this is a very good translation of an epic tale.

While there cannot be much doubt as to the cultural value of the Epic of Gilgamesh, the importance of the story transceds mere literary significance. The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of those simple and yet deeply insightful stories that one can relate to. The verse narrative style that mason adopts, while by no means a flawless poetic translation, takes you through the events in a seamlessly captivating manner. One can infer a lot from the story about the meaning of life, especially as regards how the ancient ones chose to answer questions such as eternity and why humans cannot live forever (u'll have to figure out which part of the story I am talking about!!).
Overall this is a great reading. Shouldnt take too long to finish either, although I recommend that you take your time reading this one.

This novel didn't appeal to me as much as the first Jurassic Park.Micheal Crihton should have left Ian Malcolm out of this story because any person who had suffered a life threatening experience like he had to face, would never go back to a similar place to Jurassic Park . The first novel had a plot which connected to everything in the story. This Novel was basically go to the Island, run from Dinosaurs,then escape from the Island. In the begining of the book Dinosaurs were being washed up on beaches in Costa Rica. The only reason they were going to go to the island was to see what was driving these creatures into the ocean. It never came out with why the dinosaurs were swimming from the island. There was some good action throughout the book . I was disappointed with this novel and that is why I only gave it 3 Stars.

The Lost World is even more exciting than Jurrasic Park. It has lots of twists and turns that should make you lose track of time and miss class. The main thing that made the book exciting is that it has missing links to the first book in the sequel.

Like i said before i recomend this book to anybody that likes blood and horrer,i saw the movie and it was scary but when i saw the book i was so amaized that i bought it and i read it over and over again and again.I think the book was better than the movie because they added more action and more of the scarry stuff and I know im going to read it again but i probibley wont right again but you can find another one of my coments in a book cald Desparete Persute,my name is JESSE GALINDO if you can find me.

Other Mason books would be more helpful, this one is older and less updated

I think the title is a bit misleading. This book is a wealth of information in and of itself! I read it after I had already read all of the Original 6 Volumes by CM herself. This handy litte book by Penny Gardener is a treasure chest for anyone intersted in pursuing this method of education. It is well written in "bite-size" pieces and easy to read/understand. It is very compact and we are using it in our monthly support meetings with great success.

This book is a must have. Not only do I have the book, but I was able to hear Penny annd Karen Rackliffe speak at our HS conference. What wonderful women. They inspired me beyond measure. They were funny, and open, and inspirational, just like both their books! 5 starts all the way!

First of all, please ignore the review below that proclaims this book to be "Pagan Lite". This reviewer has cut-and-pasted that review, verbatim, under all of the books in the Sabbat Series. Given that I've read several of them which don't fit the "Lite" description, I am surmising that the reviewer read maybe one of the books and made a generalization about all of them. Bear in mind that they are written by different authors, with varying degrees of knowledge and writing skills.

Anna Franklin and Paul Mason do a great job here with the fragmentary material they have to work with. Lammas/Lughnasad is possibly the most obscure of the Wiccan holidays, both because little survives about it and because the sometimes uncomfortable theme of sacrifice is present in it. The authors piece together what information remains to us about the deity for whom Lughnasad is named--Irish Lugh, Welsh Llew--and about the ways they were honored. Since this isn't a huge body of information, they supplement it with material about other sacrificial gods whose rites occurred around this time of year, such as Odin, Adonis, and Dionysos. They add in some of Robert Graves's evocative speculations about sacrificial kings, and together all this stuff will give you a good starting point for your Lammas rituals.

There are also recipes, incenses, spells, dyes, etc. Additionally, there is a large section on warrior magic, since Lugh was a warrior and Lughnasad is often considered a time to honor these fierce energies. This section almost could have been another book, dealing with things such as totem animals.

The book concludes with several rituals for the season, each with a different cultural slant (Druidic, Norse, general Wiccan, etc.) The rituals are relatively simple as written, which I like, since it means I can use them as a framework and flesh them out with my own writing and ideas.

Overall, a valuable book about an obscure holiday.

*--A chant I made up.

When discussing the sabbats, most pagan and wiccan books reserve only a few paragraphs to the various cellebrations, and most specific titles devote most of their time to Yule or Samhain/Hallowe'en. Lammas often gets a paragraph or two at best, and no real descriptive text giving you even a starting point on cellebrating the sabbat. Having taken a timid step toward the Sabbat series of books by Llewellyn with "Yule," and "Hallowe'en," I snapped up a copy of "Lammas" in time for my celebration in August, and read it cover to cover.

Much like Morrison's worldly take in "Yule," Franklin and Mason have penned a book that is a blend of various pagan and celtic folklore and world harvest celebrations. From Lugh to fashioning corn maidens, to specific Lughnasa magics, and rounding it all up with a cookbook perfect for any first harvest spread, the book was quite full of ways to craft a more serious Lammas cellebration, and had just the right mix of inspiration and lore to make it more than a glorified arts and crafts book for your New Age shelf. I cannot say enough about the folklore aspect of this book: there is so much here that helps bring a real focus to your Lammas cellebration.

Definitely more useful and in depth than Ravenwolf's "Hallowe'en" (the weakest of the series so far), "Lammas" will find a welcome home in the hands of beginner and more experienced pagans and wiccans alike.

'Nathan

It is true that the Llewellyn series of books on the pagan Sabbats is a mixed bag with some of the eight books being light-weight, some being useful and some, as in this case, being excellent in every way. Each of the books should be judged on an individual basis. This title has a thorough introduction and much history and lore on the subject of the pagan holiday or Sabbat called Lammas or Lughnasadh. The writing is engaging and well-researched and very informative. It discusses among others the customs of well dressing, Telltown marriages, handfastings, and Highland games. It provides good detail on the myth of the Celtic god Lugh from whom one name for this holiday is derived. It discusses similar harvest festivals and practices from other cultures around the world. It provides a well-rounded view of this holiday and does not depict it only as a harvest festival but includes the lesser-known aspects of competition, gaming, warrior activities, divination and the lore of the Ash tree. Even a well-read and experienced pagan is likely to find new and interesting insights in this book. It contains a good section on Lammas traditional foods that include Boxty Scones that I can personally attest to as being delicious. The craft section of this book has many seasonal crafts that are fun and easy, including the familiar and traditonal craft of making corn dollies. There are recipes for making incense and herbal dyes. The chapter on Warrior magic is filled with evocative and colorful crafts as well. Several simple but meaningful rituals are also included, adaptable for personal Sabbat celebrations.
The book is thorough and though not a beginner's book, certainly helpful and easily understood. It makes keeping this Sabbat a deeper experience and I think it will be much appreciated by the serious pagan. It is an interesting look at lesser-known cultural customs even for the non-pagan and can aid significantly in one's appreciation of the subtle turning of the wheel of the year.

The way things appear to be is not necessarily the way things are. Never has this been more apparent than in Testimony by Felicia Mason. This book made me exclaim several times "How did that happen?" and that's a good thing. The plot twists were so wonderfully woven throughout the book that I kept turning pages, excited to read what would happen next. Testimony is the story of a struggling choir, The Triumphant Voices of Praise, as they attempt to launch a CD tour. There are a number of mishaps along the way and things start to crumble and people start to unravel. Ms. Mason has done a wonderful job of character development so that each of the players tells parallel stories in their own voice.

This version of the choir is another of Roger's brainchildren. He's gone through a myriad of choirs and ensembles to get to this point and just when things start to go forward; a tour has been lined up; CDs have been pressed disaster strikes. Choir members are facing uncertain futures - choir members fall ill; there is infighting, backbiting, and utter chaos. Certainly disaster looms. Recognizing the inadequateness in preparation, people are forced to examine themselves. Is this the right place for them to be? The relationships are complex enough that each character has value. I'm really impressed with the way Ms. Mason tells a story. So much so that I want to go back and read her previous works. I'm hoping the level of writing maturity she demonstrates in this book, isn't new. Each person has a testimony. Through a strange turn of events, you will find that you're caught up in the lives of at least 12 different people and though that sounds like a lot to keep track of, you'll be enthralled. This is a Christian Fiction category but it's not preachy. As a reader, you're not overpowered by religious overtones you're free to enjoy a story that recognizes that some other power has ultimate control and a sense of right and wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed Testimony, as it reminds us that things aren't always what they appear to be and everyone has a story to tell.

Felicia Mason has fleshed out an interesting topic and turned it into a novel. What is it like behind the scenes of a gospel choir that is seeking superstardom? There is plenty of drama to go around.

The main character is Roger McKenzie the choir's leader (think Kirk Franklin, Kurt Carr). Roger is convinced that the message in his music should be earning his choir "The Triumphant Voices of Praise" Grammy and Dove awards. The book is divided into four parts that begin with the choir's ill-fated tour. During their journey we learn that Roger has a dark secret from his past that is coming back to haunt him. Other main characters include Roger's cousin Tyrone and his wife Georgie, choir members Margaret and Glenna, soundman Marcus, and the spiritual leader of the group Reverend Vince, among others.

The books one flaw is that each character has a storyline that the reader is drawn into and must follow to keep up with the book. These include unrequited love, a troubled marriage, a serious illness, gambling, and numerous personal conflicts between the choir members. To assist with discussion for a book club, questions are included at the end, as well an interview with the author.

"Testimony" did hold my attention and was enjoyable. This book was refreshing on another front; Ms. Mason did not have to resort to cursing, violence, or gratuitous sex to make her book a good read. I would give this book 3 1/2 stars on a scale of 5, and round up to 4 because of an original idea.

Reviewed by Sandra

Finished reading in 3 days!!!! I must first say that the sectional break down of the book is GENIUS! This book kept my attention on it's toes the entire time. I love the way she titled each section with a musical term. By the end of the book I was FLOORED!!! I loved the reverend in the story....he's so wise. There's over 8 main characters in the story....you would think that's alot for main characters but it'soooo beautiful how they all tie in together.

But.. it is a little too short. Not really but I would have loved to have more book. The book covers just about every topic. I personally would have enjoyed to have more examples in each area. They made sure that there is at least on example for each topic. They even give some information about other competing products and about products that use Mason as it's base (for example Bircolage - I think I spelled that correctly). I am really glad the book to come out, it is a perfect addition to my collection of O'Reilly and Perl books.

Thanks for a great book!

I am using Mason for about a year. Then I saw the Mason book. My first tought was: "Why should I buy a book about Mason - The online documentation is excellent...?".

But even the introduction chapters of this book gives you new ideas how to get things done. Starting with the second half of chapter 4 every Masonsite developer should take a close look. He will find a in deep discussion about every Mason feature - and more (e.g. The Bricolage-CMS-Appendix).

I my opinion there is no discussion "to buy or not to buy" this book. The only question is "when".

On the one hand this book can be a bit boring for "new" Mason user and as mentioned before the online documentation is very good. On the other hand if you have your first mason-site done and read this book you will have very likely the urgent desire to rewrite some code.

But this is a common perl problem: "There are many ways to get things done."

I dislike the "Example" chapter. One of the big advantages of Mason is the possibility to seperate perl-code and HTML. This ist not very well done within the example-site.

Conclusion: This book is not needed to get in touch with Mason althought usefull - but if you are really starting to deploy a site I strongly recommend this book.

From the standpoint of a person who knows Perl and Apache pretty well, I have to say this book is all I needed to get going with HTML::Mason. There are excellent online docs for Mason, there are places Mason fits better (and worse), and there are viable alternatives to Mason. This book covers that ground right off the bat, and I like that.

I was able to configure a couple servers, write up some test components, throw together some quick admin tools, and remake a custom database web app in a very short time using Mason and this book. It may not be for you if you are new to Perl or Apache, but I think Amazon has a wide selection of books available on both of these topics. Buy 'em, read 'em, then get this one.

I highly recommend it.

I love connie mason for her sizzling but tasteful stories that never leave me wanting. Her fiesty characters, passionate stories and involved plots always bring me back for her next book. "Ice and Rapture" was a good read though I got more than one curious look at the bodice ripper cover. Standing alone the book was a very nice read but compared to the rest of the her work it seemed to fall below her usually standards.

The story of Maggie Afton, a self proclaimed spinster at the ripe old age of 25 and a reporter, and Chase McGarret, a cowboy seeking gold in the klondike rush of the late 19th century was an intriguing one. It would have been easy for Mason to spin off on tangent after tangent on the numerous other characters that were just as colorful as the hero and herione but instead she always manages to brings the story back. When Maggie and Chase end up partnered together to make it to the Klondike goldfields sparks fly and a great story emerges. This tale travels across two years and from Alaska to Oregon to Montana but without the reader feeling overwhelmed.

That said... I had a few complaints about this book. There were so many misunderstandings between maggie and chase, that were really same scene being played out over and over again with a bit of variance. I literally threw down the book a few times screaming "again?! They are doing this again?" What I mean is chase keeps assuming Maggie is having an affair with one person or another, usually a secondary character named Scott Gordon. This jealous mistake scene is expected, once or even twice in a story, and can enhance a story but by the fourth time I was over the jealous lover bit and waiting for something new to happen.

Also there are a number of annoying secondary characters that are there solely to "tempt" the main characters but end up just making the story drag. This is most apparent in the mountie Scott Gordon and Chase's housemate, Virgie. Both go after the hero(or herione) purposely or not ending up wrecking chase's and maggie's relationship several times.

I personally wanted to punch virgie several times. This is all well and good, who doesn't like a nasty villian you can hate? But mason's conclusion with virgie miraclous and sudden about face and repentence was so unbelievable I felt cheated. A self serving, spoiled, brat who purposely tried to tear our hero and herione apart constantly suddenly becomes good? yeah right.

aside from that i actually liked this book. no really. the love scenes are fantastic. Aside from the first one that seemed odd because it just happened. There was little build up, but I can forgive that in the face of the rest of the book. Chase and Maggie are both head strong and if their story does seem a little unbelievable most of that is just the fantasy of romance novels.

so check this book out for a light read on some rainy afternoon but for something with a little more meat check out some of mason's other works.

I own a lot of Connie Mason books and this is one of my favorites. Its full of Adventure and Romance. Like most of Ms. Masons' books her love scenes sizzle. If your looking for a book that you will enjoy read this story of Maggie and Chase and you will love it just like I did.

This story is about Maggie , a 25 year old independent woman who is a newspaper reporter in 1897, in the days where women reporters were rare. She wants to do big in life and decides to go to Alasca, to report on the Klodnike gold rush. On the ship to Alaska she meets Chase,a brash cowboy who also wants to build his furtune. Fiery sparks fly as soon as the two meet. The two are complete studies of opposites. Maggie is cool, and reserved while Chase is hot and brash, and sure of himself.

Even though Maggie detests Chase at first because of his outrageous behaviour towards, (he does not hide his fierce attraction to her), she has to resort for his help when she decides she wnts to cross the Yukon to report on the Klondike gold rush -he is the only one who can take her there. The journey there is full of peril and the adventures these two pass throughout the whole book are numerous and awesome. The thrills keep on going until the very end of the book

If you like sizzly hot romance and lots of adventure than this is the perfect buy for you. I think this is one of the best Connie Mason books - actually quite detailed and sparkling dialogue with some humour scenes too.

Comprehensive in some ways, this book overlooks some of the most dramatic examples of the secrets clearly encoded by the designers of our capital city.

Washington DC was a thoroughly planned city - it did not evolve haphazardly. Those who have looked at a map of DC spot immediately the symmetry that structures the City. This book is a well-researched argument that behind the city structure lies a Masonically-inspired tribute to Virgo. I enjoyed parts of the book, but found that it presumed familiarity and/or sympathy with astrology and could have used a more thorough editing process (I found the book jumped around a lot and I had trouble following some of the themes. I would recommend this book to those who live and work in Washington DC who always suspected there was something suspicious behind the symmetry, but who also have the ability not to get bogged down too much in astrological arcana.

I found this book very interesting and educational. It is full of information of our history as a nation. I would recommend it to all the brothers interested in further education of the masonic faternity. Get ready once you start to read it, you won't believe how the great US of A was built. And still is to some degree. Enjoy!!

This book was entirely to long. I like the sex scenes but I think there were to many. I usually like Connie Mason books especially "The Black Knight". This one not so good.

I am a really big fan of Connie Mason. This was the first Connie Mason book that I read and I loved it so much, I decided to purchase everyone that she had ever written. I haven't been disappointed yet!

This was the first Connie Mason book I ever read, and I always find myself coming back to it. This book throroughly entertains the reader from start to finish. The sex scenes are hot, and the plot keeps right on moving.

I even lent this book to a doubtful male friend of mine, who scoffed at me for reading romance novels. I challenged him to read this book. If he thought it was stupid, he could feel free to mock me for the rest of my life, BUT if he liked it, he could never tease me again for reading "fluff". He confessed that even HE got aroused reading the sex scenes, and he enjoyed the book so much, he asked me for another. Any author who can entice a man to read these romance novels (which are usually written by women, for women) is extremely talented! It's hard to go wrong with Connie Mason.

This slim volume may serve as a excellent introduction to the life of TR, or as a bracing romp through familiar landscape for devoted TR aficionados. The book itself is a little pricey for what you get, however (I hope a paperback edition of this American Presidents series is made available eventually), and it is pretty evident to the informed reader that Auchincloss is merely reviewing the conclusions of previous biographers. Auchincloss does attend to a particularly interesting period of TR's life, i.e. his decline and fall. From TR's impulsive public declaration not to seek a "third" term, the bloodletting in Africa, his quixotic Bull Moose campaign, the misadventure in the Amazon, to TR's death shortly following the death of his youngest son in WWI ("poor Quinnikins"), Auchincloss's volume was for me a tantalizing foreshadowing of what is certain to be a grand event in biography -- the third volume of Edmund Morris's TR trilogy. This book should help keep you satisfied (if only for a few hours) until the release of Morris' next volume. And after you read Auchincloss's TR, you should read his THE RECTOR OF JUSTIN if you've never done so, and also Edward Renehan's THE LAST LION (excellent mini-biographies of TR's sons, fascinating characters in their own right).

This book serves as a good introduction to Theodore Roosevelt to either satisfy or stimulate one's curiosity before indulging in a lengthier biography. This is a "short" bio, and not meant to be a treatise on T.R. The author was better with his Penguin Lives book on Woodrow Wilson, but he seemed to have more fun with Roosevelt.
As a subject T.R. is especially enjoyable, but more for his forceful character than for any of his objective accomplishments (for which the author notes several, e.g., negotiating the peace between Japan and Russia, and his national conservationist orders, etc.).
The author addresses Roosevelt's sense that his presidency was relatively unspectacular, and since war time presidents receive the most historical attention (e.g., leading to positive evaluations for Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt, but negative for Wilson due to his post war failures), Roosevelt felt himself cheated from his place of greatness due to being a peacetime president.
As this author notes, many of T.R.'s beliefs had long lasting value (especially, I feel, his beliefs on the limitations of capitalism as spoken by a pro-business chief executive). Those who followed him, though, soon abandoned these attitudes. The reason for this seems to rest with T.R. He accomplished much emphasizing the forcefulness of his personality and took credit for improvements as being uniquely his. Since he can be the only T.R., his philosophy could not be transmitted to others. When out of office, he was no longer "T.R." and his so-called system collapsed as with a deck of cards. He was ultimately left a shell of his former self.
What if Roosevelt had toned down some of his tendencies? Might he have extended his influence over the next administrations and the country? If so, might this have led to a different result in how America influenced the developing European disputes that resulted in the First World War? These are some of the questions that remained with me from reading this book.

This is the second volume in the new American Presidents series edited by Arthur M. Schlessinger, and like the first on James Madison, provides excellent, although brief insight into one of America's most fascinating characters. The prime focus of this book is on TR's presidential and post-presidential years. Limited space does not allow for anything more than a brief summary of Roosevelt's early life, which may actually be his most interesting period. Still there is enough to give the reader a basis for understanding Roosevelt's revolutionary power-expanding actions as President. Auchincloss does a wonderful job of filling this short volume with all of the important events of Roosevelt's life while keeping to a very enjoyable and readable style. It is a good introduction to Roosevelt and will leave you wanting to learn more.