James Armstrong, in his _Monument in a Summer Hat__, makes an impressive debut. Intellectual without being pedantic, classical without being pretentious, his well-crafted poems are profound in their depth but accessible. His major theme here is the opposition of nature to civilization, nature consistently being the victor, as Armstrong criticizes the mercenary, utilitarian, quick-pop-psych-fix tendencies of our modern world at the expense of our more spiritual impulses. At times reminiscent of Stevens in his profundity but rooted in the the concrete quotidian, the collection has many strong poems, my personal favorite being "Paradise."

This is a buoyant, wise, and witty book, a record of wrestling with powerful forces that sculpt our lives, among them order and chaos, time and history, desire, locality and land.

"Monument In A Summer Hat" is not only brilliant, it is a delight. The poems have wonderful music: of "scantling light" and "neon scripture," a night that "presses her migrant face against the glass," of trees that hiss silver. In the jazz world, this poet's counterpart might be Marian McPartland. Armstrong's language has the balance of elegance and edge, emotion and intelligence that marks McPartland's memorable keyboard. Such equilibrium is a dynamic state, and Armstrong's "Saltwater Snails," for example, is a small masterpiece about how to move through a world in which uncertainty is "the first rule of order."

Armstrong has an eye for the absurd and haunting tones of our age (women pondering psycho-pharmaceuticals in the Café Triste; a crew of migrant leaf-blowers who arrive like a "divine wind"), but he is never curmudgeonly. His chosen tools are the more creative and compassionate ones: wryness, patience, wit, and scrupulous attention. He can also be very funny; "Meditations" is a hilarious, moving portrait of the tussles of Mind and Body. There is a benevolence and honesty in this language which give some of the poems a nearly ceremonial feel. Cumulatively, the poems of Monument offer a rich set of proposals about how to be.

Here, the American provincial landscape of small town barrooms, barns, and hilltop prospects are proper places for contemplation, and Armstrong's poems about place are among the most penetrating in his book. Monument In A Summer Hat opens with "Granted," a poem that acknowledges the "terror of this age," and states a faith in the moisture and steadiness of the earth itself. Emblems of frontier, forest, and deer are rescued from nostalgic amber, are precise and factual strokes in an eerie American scene, a disjointed culture in which an older world ghosts about rooms, stares glassily from the walls.

The natural world that Armstrong encounters is a source of a quiet and ongoing abandon, and his television poem, "Dump," seizes the chance of a found image--a cast-off television tube being slowly entwined by vines--to play with the tension between the organic and technological realms. "Leaf Blowers"--a characteristic appeal to proportion--locates the human within a vast aliveness, an order beyond the specifically human world. Elsewhere, Armstrong relishes that fact that, although the mass media's lines "suture every hamlet to the national ear"--"no field is uniform from the air," and "furrows trace purely local contours." Like Horace, Armstrong is an urbane lover of nature who moves fluently across temporal and geographical space.

The occasion of an airplane trip gives Armstrong a perch from which to meditate on abstraction and specificity, on the global and local. It is telling that even when cruising at 30,000 feet, Armstrong stays grounded, locating his metaphysics in the corporeal, plying a reader with sensory detail: "a blue tile in a little Portuguese chapel," "an angel in stiff garments," "the haybale swagger of Autumn." He states his preference clearly in "After Rilke:" "The soul grows heavy from the / irritants in paradise, / and falls of its own specificity / into the gutter." Here is a poet who feels the breath of the absolute, but who, even in extremis, throws in his lot with the particularities of our world. His Christ on the cross thinks "not of the silver towers of Paradise," but of "his mother's garden in Nazareth, a sunny patch by the wall where butterflies hovered above the melon blossoms."

The limits and borders of language also fascinate this poet: his "Heron" is a portrait of a mute, yet eloquent "blue messenger," and "The Language" is rueful about what we shrink from saying, what we ask floral emmisaries to convey on our behalf.

Perhaps one reason Armstrong is so alive to life's abundance is precisely because he has acknowleged the tragic dimension of life, the "way of sorrows." Among the most poignant poems in this collection are those about time, and the passing of time. We like the past, Armstrong says, because it has "dwindled to a purer form." In "Time" (for L.), he suffuses time with sorrow and desire, likens love to a gentle ruler. Graceful as a minuet in its music and tone, this is a grown-up account of how our loves tell time, how the blessed weight of love shadows each heartbeat. And, in "Omnia Vincit Amor," Armstrong muses that after passion is spent "Time re-enters the clocks" and one is left with only one god, "the bleak one, the one with the hammer." (That would be Hephaestus, the lame smith, with his ringing hammer of craft; and what a moving observation to find in a poetry suffused with the power and pleasures of craft.)

"Monument In A Summer Hat" marks the debut of a remarkable poet, one steeped in history, with a vision all his own.

First and foremost, Armstrong's collection effectively proves that contemporary poets publish works deserving of canonization. Any one who reads "Summer Hat"--whether familiar with poetry or not--will feel, at the reading of the last word of the final poem, elated and hungry for more. Armstrong's works owe their magnetism to his ability to investigate those mundane experiences--taking a picture, going to the airport, observing a pile of junk rotting in a backyard--we fail to recognize, or at least on any significant level. It is as if Armstrong observes the familiar through bewildered and curious eyes (like those of an infant observing a goofy relative's antics); he is seeing things for the first time.

The imagery that prevails throughout "Summer Hat" is simple and poignant. I think often, since reading the collection twice over, of the "wet lead" of the gutted trout in "Eros Turannos."

Armstrong does not inflate his poetry with academic conventions that would otherwise repel the the non-academic reader. This book will convince all who read it that poetry--while a rarefied art--provides "easy" access to the healthy introspection to which we each defer when so moved.

This book is one of the best I have ever read. It truly shows what a special place Tiger Stadium will always be. An excellent narrative and pictoral work of art. This is the best book I have read concerning stadiums and their history. Truly a great book to pass down to future generations. I highly recommend this to anyone who has a passing or a diehard interest in sports or historical buildings. EXCELLENT READING. CUDOS TO EVERYONE INVOLVED WITH THIS PROJECT.

Anyone looking for an accurate account on the history of Tiger Stadium and the personalities that played there need to buy this book. It's a must-buy for any Tiger fan and I am anxiously awaiting Bak's new book "The Corner". My only (slight) complaint I have with this book concerns the Detroit Lions. They are included but the personalities aren't fleshed out as well as they are with the Tigers.

There are many photographs of the many incarnations that this site has gone through in this book. But unlike many sports-related books, there is considerable detail to history, baseball and of course the stadium itself. Edited by two professors from Wayne State University, this book is a through retrospective on the history of Detroit and baseball in general.

I loved this book. The soothing voice of Dick Summer immediately puts you in a relaxing state. As you listen to his words you start to feel the comfort of the Quiet Hands soothing you. You know that this is a place that you will have to return to, again and again.

Dick Summer's recordings are undeniably mesmerizing: storytelling at its best. He uses his voice to bring us into his world, and our ears respond by making his world ours. He has the ability - like all great storytellers - to simultaneously conjure an environment out of thin air, and also to make us feel at home there. The enchanting quality of his stories cannot be overemphasized: listeners are engaged with a voice that somehow soothes and overwhelms us at once. His tone is warm and sincere, and he responds to the demands that modern life makes on our capacities to feel and to desire. If you appreciate respite from the dutiful administrations and obligations of everyday living, Dick Summer is a master storyteller ready to tap into the importance of love and memory in our inner life.

You are instantly transfered into a mystical world of romance and passion. You have arrived at a place in your mind, that has never been visited. Within this space, there is only you and your lover, there to feel contentment and the roar of the fire within. You know that this is a place that you will have to return to many times................

Anyone interested in politics or American history should love this book. The writing style is crisp and entertaining and the author strikes the right balance between explaining long ago and long forgotten events without drowning the reader in unnecesary details. The 1884 election itself was one of the most interesting of our history with sex scandals, charges of political corruption, party splits, and campaign blunders. The author brings the excitement to life and lets the reader understand not only what happened but why it occured and, even more interesting, what the participants had hoped to accomplish with their political strategies. The book succeeds in describing how late 19th century elections looked and felt to the participants. The human dynamic skillfully set out in this book (the cynical maneuverings, the overheated rhetoric, and the intense partisanship)are very familiar with what we experience in campaigns today-this very familiarity helps make Blaine and Cleveland seem real and not just sterile historical figures. Read this book!

The last half of the 19th century is a period that the historians generally give short shrift to. They dutifully plow through it in the obligatory chapter in their rush to get from the Civil War to Teddy Roosevelt, Wilson, and the Progressive Era. The campaign of Grover Cleveland against James Blaine for the presidency in 1884 is just about forgotten. This is too bad because what with the emphasis on character and values (accompanied by some really gross mudslinging), the extensive changes in technology and business, the factionalism and divided government, it was a period much like ours. Summers does an excellent job of dispelling the prevailing view of this period as a doldrum bookended by Lincoln and TR. In a comprehensive yet not overly long book, he shows that substantive issues like the tariff, the relationship of the national government to the states, morality in politics, substance abuse (ie prohibition), and other pressing matters really were at stake, he explores those issues and the men and women who had to face them. This book is one of the best treatments of the 1884 presidential campaign (or any other campaign for that matter) out there. Find a copy of this book and read about a time that is so much like ours.

As an undergraduate at the University of Kentucky some years ago, Professor Mark Summers changed my life and I eventually devoted my life to the study of history. His lectures made the past come alive and seem so fresh and real and vital. Anyone who has read any of his books can relate to the sense of excitement that I am describing, and his latest book is no exception. In fact, it is perhaps his best book yet. Lively, fast-paced, yet scholarly and thought-provoking, Summers' book is everything that his readers have come to expect. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in nineteenth-century politics or U.S. history in general, or for those who consider history dry and boring and would like read a book where the past truly does come to life.

This book is a find--a first hand account of two Rosie the Riveters. The contemporaneous memoir of two school teachers who spent the summer of '43 building B-24s in San Diego fascinates with details--getting hired, what was security like in wartime factories, how were these two educated women treated differently when they donned slacks and became factory workers? The writing is quick and humorous, like Betty MacDonald's The Egg and I which has remained popular since 1945. Constance Bowman Reid's epilogue, written in 1999, is a touching finale. You'll want to know what she's been up to in the intervening 50 years.

This Book evokes a unique time and experience for women in this country. It accurately depicts the rigors and effort that came as a surprise to all of the work force as women pitched in for the war effort. That it is cleverly done with good humor and the ability to poke fun at the situation, makes it even more of a jewel.

A great Read! Cleverly written and laugh out loud funny. An interesting primary source of history--a must read for WW II enthusiasts. My wife was intrigued by the women's history angle. We both loved the illustrations.

Not only have I been ordering and sending this book to as many of my 1970s camp friends as possible, but we're already starting to do a sequel! We think this book is long overdue, and full of the most wonderful memories! So, we plan to do one for our 70-year-old camp. I sent my daughter (who is at camp now) this book, so she'd perhaps understand why she was destined to be 3rd generation at her camp, and why it means so much to me to go back for reunions and mother/daughter weekends! Thanks so much for the words and pictures on each page. Even my mother loved it!

Open this book and you will be hit instantly with the smells and sounds of piney cabins, iron bunk beds, quiet hour, grace sung before meals, campfires, swimming buddies, skinny dipping after dark, whispers in the night, and more. If you're like me, the best summers of your life will come spinning back gloriously. Filled with instantly recognizable pictures of campers in those dreadful uniforms that made dressing so quick and easy -- white shirts, dark bloomer-like shorts, and satin neckties -- all happily sharing experiences and friendships we'll never ever forget. Nostalgia never tasted so good! This book is for every woman who was once a girl who, as soon as school was out in June, packed her metal trunk and sent it off with the Railway Express man as she took a sleeper car train trip to the New England woods for an unforgettable, carefree eight weeks of making lanyards and ashtrays (!), passing swim tests, singing silly songs we still remember the words to, playing hares and hounds and color wars, liking chipped beef on toast, loving storms that blew rain through the cabin screens, washing our hair in the lake, crying at the final campfire. I want to track down every camp friend from 13 years at 6 different camps and show them this book.

who wished the rest of life could be more like camp. This book was written for me and about my experiences. Most of the quotes were taken straight out of my brain. I am going to send a copy to all my camp friends.

There are a number of companion volumes which point one in the direction of seeking contact with Knowledge (holy spirit). The 365 exercises, suggesting a daily curriculum, is like ACIM. They are less intellectual in wording, but powerfully take one down a path to connect with your own life. As I write this I am on step 231 "I have a calling in this world." The process is giving me a broader perspective on life and my place in it. An ACIM reader will recognize concepts, but Steps lead one to engagement in the world - not rejecting it as an illusion. In this respect it logically carries forward from The Urantia Book which ends with an empahsis on the life of Jesus as an example of how humans could live. Steps to Knowledge is a means of self-development within a greater community which is available to all. It is a way to find your small part and contribute to the world.

This is book is a curriculum - a curriculum for living - a curriculum for Truth. Until I found this book and this teaching, I always felt that something was missing. Situations seem to arise in my life as a result of my practicing these steps and slowly I begin to see what I need to know or do to move on to the next phase of learning. It is peeling away the layers of error thinking and bringing a depth to my understanding that I have never experienced before. I've gone through it step by step at many different paces and each time an "issue" arises, the step I am on seems to be exactly what I need to know at that particular time. I highly recommend it.

These step by step meditation practices and lessons take me directly to Knowledge, my own authority. This has given me a way to live and a way to be at peace with myself.

A truly great book of poetry leaves me with few ways to speak about it except to say, "Read the book." Still have questions? Read the book again. It's like when you are on a bus in a town that is not your home and you overhear a stranger, who is just getting out, utter to someone who is not you the exact words you have been searching for all your life to describe the one thought and feeling you've been having for all of your life but have been unable to even formulate much less articulate it in any way, ever. The bus pulls back into traffic, and you're like, "Wait," but the moment has passed, and you can't remember the words when you go to tell somebody else what you just heard. That's "A Summer Evening."

This is a mysterious and singular little book. The poetry inside is neither "hard" nor "easy". Each 10-line poem has its own logic, and also relates in dreamlike ways to its bookmates. It reminds me of reading the Tao Te Ching, where one can find in every handful of lines both vexation and inspiration. You can amuse or stump yourself trying to untangle each little 10-line knot. Or you can just open the book at random and be taken to a specific, inexplicable spot that is the intersection of a memory, a mood, a place, a season, a smell, a thought, a history.

A Summer Evening creates a world of interlinked linguistic and imagistic elements that weave their way in and out of the individual poems, evoking a sense both of momentum and of a motionless eternity, a world turning and yet utterly still: "Because I can find no fault can this be named Paradise." Each poem represents a moment in time, and yet there is no progression, only succession: this summer evening is infinite, and can be entered or exited at any instant. Each of the end-stopped lines (largely declaratives, asserting "This is so"-as one line goes, "You said, 'This exists,' you knew it existed") is both a complete poem in itself, a kind of occidental haiku--"In the evening the sun is a scientist," "The sky says Yes by landing in the tree," "The world is not round, it is more beautiful than that, a kind of blue gas," "Deep down, some predators may generate a purple light to hunt by"--and one of the building blocks of larger poetic units. As readers, we participate in the assembling of the poem, and in each poem's process of constructing the book's two sections ("A Summer Evening" and "Ming") and finally of the book as a whole, which is both a collection of poems and a single long, potentially unendingly ongoing poem.

Book three in the "Mossy Creek Hometown" series, Summer in Mossy Creek is the collaborative effort of twelve women (Deborah Smith, Sandra Chastain, Debra Dixon, Martha Shields, Anne Bishop, Kim Brock, Patti Henry, Judith Kim, Bo Sebastian, Shelly Morris, Susan Goggins, and Carolyn McSparren) and offers the reader a wealth of unique, original, brief, and homespun tales, each of which arises from life in Mossy Creek, Georgia, a warm-hearted mountain town of simple joys, emotional gatherings, and wistful nostalgia. An immensely rewarding joy to read, Summer In Mossy Creek will compel those new to this series to seek out the earlier two volumes, Mossy Creek ... and Reunion At Mossy Creek ... -- and leave those already familiar with this outstanding series to eagerly await the next volume related the adventures of the folks who live, work and love in the community of Mossy Creek!

How to describe the charm of Mossy Creek? By turns hilarious and heartwarming, Mossy Creek is populated with the funniest, homiest, sometimes orneryist bunch of characters south of the Mason-Dixon line. If you like Southern humor and superb writing, go on down to Mossy Creek!

If the Lovin' Spoonful had been in the Georgia village of Mossy Creek rather than Greenwich Village, they would know that hot time, summer in the mountains means plenty of fun, ole southern style. The townsfolk look for a quiet uneventful season, but also know their enemy in slimy Bigelow still remains on the prowl. Meanwhile the librarian pushes the Police Chief into bluffing an abusive parent while the Mayor leads by example applying common sense to seemingly difficult problems. Much of the townsfolk meet eating dessert at the diner, but along with fans will find hot fun in the summertime here.

The third Mossy Creek tale is a series of vignettes written by a virtual whose who of the irons maidens of the south (more talented than steel magnolias). The contributions differ in size while providing a slice of life in a small remote Georgia mountain town. Each story builds up on the previous contribution so that the audience receives an anthology that uses the best elements of a novel and that of a short story into a tremendous collection. SUMMER IN MOSSY CREEK holds its own with its superb predecessors. Fans of the series already know that the first two books flow smoothly; the third tale shares in common with the previous duo a southern comfort smoothness.

Harriet Klausner

Probably the most rewarding work that such advanced souls as Mary Summer Rain could possibly do....helping Lost Souls (?Ghosts?) go "towards the light", home, away from the suffering they have endured here on Earth, into the arms of Our Mother and Father.....

This book kept me glued to it, I could't lay it down for long. I actually stayed up till 5 AM to finish this one. I hope she continues to writes more like this one. Summer and Bill rescue wayward spirits and send them home to God. It gets pretty intense at times.

Having been interested in ghosts since I can remember,this book helped me really understand what and who ghosts are. I cried each time I read about Mary and Bill helping another lost soul find her way home. This book helped answer so many of my questions involving spirituality and eternal life. A must read if you are at all interested in ghosts!