Magnificient and soul-stirring poetry. The words flow like honey and transpose the heart into a restful state. It seems as if Runi had a direct connection to the glory of God. Sentimental and romantic to say the least. It is as if I was reading words written in gold and diamonds.

This is the best Rumi rendition I've seen, by far - and I've seen pretty much all of them (from Nicholson to Arberry to Barks to Schimmel to Shiva to Star). Khalili takes in Rumi in the original Persian, ingests, digests, and spits out pure ecstasy in English. He is free with form and selective with the verses - yet his rendition is closer to the original Persian than many of the non-native translators'. I keep one copy in the house, one in the car and one at work - each page is a momentary trap-door into another world. Khalili's is as Rumi was intended.

These poems are so poignantly rendered in the English language from the Persian, it's as if Rumi himself had traveled forward in time to rewrite them just for us. You don't have to be a Sufi to appreciate the wisdom of these words, and you don't have to like poetry to find them unbearably beautiful. This is the ultimate gift of love.

About two pages into this I realized I'd come across an incredibly sublime, intelligent, and aware narrative voice, that of a 12-yr-old girl in turn-of-the-century London, and from that point on read the rest of the novel in a page-turning fever of amazement, delight, and pleasure. Ostensibly a fictionalized account of Rebecca West's real family, the story follows the lives of the narrator, Rose Aubrey, her twin sister Mary (both of whom are prodigies on the piano), their older sister Cordelia, who apparently stinks at the piano, but doesn't realize it, much to the chagrine of the rest of the family, their thoroughly adored younger brother, Richard, a flautist, and their ragged, brilliant mother who tries to keep the family running while the father, a brilliant essayist and pamphleteer who is completely lacking in all matters of practicality and stability, loses one job after another. A brilliant cast indeed, but it's West's inimitable prose and intelligence and generosity and imagination and wit that brings the trials and tribulations of the Aubrey family to unforgettable life. When you close the book, you feel as if you had just remembered moments from a real family you'd known while growing up but who you lost touch with because your family moved away. Astounding. Please, if you love beautiful things, read this.

Rebecca West's THE FOUNTAIN OVERFLOWS, published in 1956, is one of the last great British modernist novels. Usually overlooked on modernism course syllabi in favor of West's shorter (but not as profound) THE RETURN OF THE SOLDIER, THE FOUNTAIN OVERFLOWS is an exceptionally funny and evocative portrait of a shabby-genteel family of thinkers and artists at the turn of the century in a London suburb. The narrator, Rose Aubrey, and her twin sister Mary are young pianists; like their younger brother, the adored and otherwordly Richard Quin, a flautists, they are encouraged by their nervous and kindly mother, herself an accomplished musician in her youth. (The musical inadequacies of the eldest daughter, Cordelia, form the lonegest running joke in the novel--and eventually its greatest emotional payoff.) They live practically hand-to-mouth given their unending state of destitution wrought upon them by their handsome and mercurial father, who loves his family but cannot provide a stable life for them. Yet despite their poverty the family's life is never shown to be anything less than magical, given the gifts and talents the children's parents for seeing the world always as a wondrous place. This sense of the ordinary transformed into the extraordinary, the book's great theme, is mirrored both in West's gorgeously descriptive prose and in the family's regular encounters with the supernatural: ghosts, telepathy, and poltergeists play important parts in the novel. The novel is episodic, in the way of its comic antecedents, such as Fielding, early Dickens, and Elizabeth Gaskell's CRANFORD. Still, West's sense of a strong narrative to the family's fortunes keeps you in narrative suspense nonetheless: as you read it you cannot wait to see what happens to the family next.

I have been reading, reading, reading for fifty plus years. Oddly I don't dream about books, but this one was an exception. The character Cordelia came to haunt my sleep, lively and unforgettable. A vidid, surprising, unpredictable, eccentric, and thoroughly original work. Seek it out.

A truely awesome book. I came upon it when I looked through Angel Lee's review list and ordered it. I am indebted to her! I have been making my own fountains since I bought my 1st home 6 years ago, and wanted new ideas. These are wonderful. Some of the simpler dish-type gardens will make lovely Christmas gifts, and I look forward to starting them. For the more adventurous, there are more complex and larger fountains/ponds, all truely picturesque, which would be great fun for anyone with a reasonable sized yard. A friend has created one on his terraced front lawn, and it captures the attention of by passers, making his neighborhood The Place to visit of late. For the truely enthused, there are directions for casting subjects in ceramics, for designing cement fountains or basins, and even for making masks of living persons. Although many items can be collected from the "saved" materials everyone seems to store away in garages or from yard and garage sales, those like pumps, tubing, and other hardware items can be found at nurseries and hardward stores. There is also a very useful list of addresses where other types of supplies may be found. I can hardly wait to get started! Thanks again Angel.

This is a wonderful book for constructing beautiful & impressive looking fountains. The fountains here are unexpectedly easy to construct & cost far less than commercial ones. It is filled with ideas that allow the maker to add his own unique touch.

The materials selection is varied. Almost any watertight vessel can be the basis of a small fountain. Other materials include bamboo, wood, ceramic, concrete, stone & metal. Pump selection & mechanical requirements are also covered.

Projects range from small table-top fountains to elaborate outdoor units. There are even instructions for a 3' high tiered waterfall. All have clear construction diagrams & color photos of the finished work.

Helpful extras include lists of suitable plants to use with the fountains, suggestions for finding materials, & a list of mail order suppliers. This is the book to get if you want to know the joy of building a fountain of your own creation.

I knew the minute I saw the cover of Simple Fountains for Indoors and Outdoors that it was exactly what I was looking for. The cover photograph is an appealing table fountain. Inside the book is a well thought out plan designed to help the novice achieve success making tabletop or other indoor/outdoor fountains.

Every conceivable problem is addressed with buying information,pictures,diagrams and trouble shooting.

I know I can create a beautiful water fountain from the information presented in Ms.Adkins' book. I recommend it highly.

I have always admired Lambrou's book, 'Fountain Pens of the World', but could not justify the price -- after all the cost of this book could go towards another fountain pen -- I WAS WRONG!!

I wished I bought my copy years ago, it would have saved me so much money in buying pens that were not exactly the model that the seller described (going to a few markets/pen shows and especially on-line auctions).

The history of pens from around the world is well documented. The pen manufacturers are grouped in chapters by country.

Every pen is life size. More than 2,300 pens are shown and the color representation is great. Even a Parker Snake, Aztec, Swastika, Forget-me-not and many, many more I just dream about! Only gripe -- no price list, but Lambrou states that people can abuse the information as the price list is only valid at the time of print.

To date, I 've yet to see any other book as well put together's as this one.

Don't use false economy like I did. Buy this book as soon as you can -- it gives many, many happy hours of pen collecting and reading!

I have always admired Lambrou's book, 'Fountain Pens of the World', but could not justify the price -- after all the cost of this book could go towards another fountain pen -- I WAS WRONG!!

I wished I bought my copy years ago, it would have saved me so much money in buying pens that were not exactly the model that the seller described (going to a few markets/pen shows and especially on-line auctions).

The history of pens from around the world is well documented. The pen manufacturers are grouped in chapters by country.

Every pen is life size. More than 2,300 pens are shown and the color representation is great. Even a Parker Snake, Aztec, Swastika, Forget-me-not and many, many more I just dream about! Only gripe -- no price list, but Lambrou states that people can abuse the information and the price list is only valid at the time of print.

To date, I 've yet to see any other book as well put together's as this one.

Don't use false economy like I did. Buy this book as soon as you can -- it gives many, many happy hours of pen collecting and reading!

My love affair with fountain pens - particularly vintage fountain pens - entered a new stage the day that my copy of Lambrou's Fountain Pens of the World arrived. Covered with a gorgeous dust jacket, weighing in at several pounds and measuring 9" by 12.5", the book made an impression before the first page had even been turned.

This first impression, positive as it was, in no way prepared me for what I was to find inside: over four hundred pages with glorious color plates. Literally thousands of pens - mostly vintage - spectacularly photographed, and presented exactly life size. (Ever wonder whether your newly purchased vacumatic is a sub-deb, debutante, junior, slender, standard, major, oversized, or Maxima? Just lay it over the photographs in Lambrou's book!) Fascinating reproductions of vintage advertisements. Detailed histories - model by model - of all major manufacturers and many lesser-known ones, including Edward Todd, Triad, Diamond Point, Chilton, Stephens, Mentmore, Summit, Wyvern, Burnham, Soennecken, Osmia, Tropen, and so on and so forth, covering the U.S., the U.K., Germany France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Japan. The book is, plain and simple, a work of art and of incredible beauty. I could spend weeks just browsing its pages.

In retrospect, my biggest mistake in fountain pen collecting was to wait for several years before purchasing a copy of Lambrou's Fountain Pens of the World...

Wendy's book is very beautiful. Not only are the poems insightful and enlightening, but Jon Anderson's artwork provides a unique view on both her work and in the workings of a modern artist who usually is known for his own poetry. Reading the poems and enjoying the paintings provides a nice respite from the normal material one reads.

I consider myself fortunate to know Wendy Vig personally and when I read this book it fulfilled my expectations of what I feel when I speak with her. Wendy is one of those rare individual's who can obsorb life's energy and emotion through her contact with people, music, art, just about anything she comes in contact with. Her work in this book is a direct reflection of her heart's reaction to both Jon's music and her own personal love and understanding of life's emotional up's and down's. If you are a person who feels the emotional beauty of music and yearns to put those feelings into words, you must read this book. The 28 pages of poetry and art in this book will fill the library of your heart for the rest of your life.

This book of poems is very special. I could feel it the day I received it and read the poems. Each Page has wonderful watercolor artwork by Jon Anderson. You can read it daily and just think all day about the poem that stays with you that day. Each day I carefuly read this fragile book of poems and read into something I didnt notice the first time I read it. I highly recomend this book of poems and artwork. Rob S.

Jane Fountain wants to understand the implications of information technology - particularly the Internet - for institutional change in government. The research reported in this book deals with three experiments in applying information technology in the U.S. government in the 1990s: the establishment of an International Trade Data Base (ITDB) for administering the North American Free Trade Agreement, the development of a one-stop shopping informational web site for small businesses called the U.S. Business Advisor, and efforts to modernize the use of information technology within the Ninth Infantry Division of the U.S. Army. On the basis of these three cases, Fountain concludes that the introduction of information technology "disrupts complex ecologies of institutionalized power relationships" (p. 205) inside governments and institutional actors, as a result, attempt to reconstruct those disrupted relationships in unanticipated and sometimes regrettable ways. Sometimes the disruption is so great that the resistance to the introduction of new technology prevails and "many potential connections remain unforged, and numerous opportunities to gain stunning efficiencies, cost savings, integrated services and joint problem solving in complex policy areas lie fallow." (p. 201)

In Chapter 1, the author distinguishes between "objective" and "enacted" technology. Enacted technology is the result of the introduction of objective technology in a set of social relationships where resistance to introduction is possible. This distinction reflects the author's concern for possible gap between the potential of objective technology and the actuality of enacted technology.

Chapter 2 focuses on the National Policy Review (NPR), an initiative of the first term of the Clinton administration that was led by Vice President Al Gore. The NPR was supposed to come up with recommendations on how to "reengineer" government in a manner analogous to the contemporaneous reengineering of business - that is, via the introduction of information technologies to reduce the costs of sharing information within organizations. It was hoped that this would reduce hierarchy, make possible huge cost savings, and empower citizens. The NPR provoked a lot of discussion and debate within the government about how to accomplish these aims and the three experiments studied by Fountain were all influenced by it. Nevertheless, each of these experiments had its own impetus and logic that went considerably beyond the NPR.

The first experiment, the establishment of ITDB, followed mainly from the signing and ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). NAFTA required important changes in the handling of trade-related traffic across the U.S.-Canadian and U.S.-Mexican borders. The previous growth in international trade had already forced the U.S. Customs Bureau (a sub-agency of the Treasury Department) to automate its processing of trade clearances. The ITDB proposed to go much further by integrating a variety of trade and non-trade functions at the borders to deal with trade in both legal and illegal goods, legal and illegal immigration, while simultaneously upgrading the ability of the government to collect and analyze trade data. Unfortunately, worries about the potential delayed deliveries of goods due to overly ambitious government monitoring of trade on the part of businesses gave them a good reason to support efforts of the Customs Bureau to maintain primary authority over the processing of trade documents. The Customs Bureau felt threatened by ITDB and resisted efforts by other agencies to invade its turf. A series of bureaucratic battles ensued with the results well described by Fountain in Chapter 7.

In Chapter 8, Fountain considers the efforts of an interagency task force to establish a web site to provide a single portal for information about government regulations for small business owners. The U.S. Business Advisor was developed and deployed successfully and it won awards for utility and user-friendliness. However, the incentive structure within the U.S. government was not very good at encouraging the sort of continuous interagency coordination and cooperation needed to maintain the site, so it soon developed broken links that were not repaired and needed upgrades did not occur.

In Chapter 9, Fountain describes the efforts of the Ninth Infantry Division to modernize its information systems by creating a Divisional intranet. The first problem, that of overcoming the resistance of field commanders, to substituting paper-and-pencil-based systems with electronic ones, was dealt with by giving too much power to mid-level officers to design the system. The superior officers had difficulty specifying what particular information they needed because of the complexity of the tasks they performed, so they ended up being swamped with a lot of unnecessary information. The soldiers who previously were trained to submit written forms to the mid-level officers moved to electronic submission without sufficient training and without complete knowledge of how this information would be used at higher levels. They became "de-skilled." The mid-level officers suggested intranet designs that enabled them to do their jobs more efficiently but did not enhance the quality of information that went to their superior officers.

The best feature of this book, therefore, is the honest description of what actually happens -- as opposed to what is supposed to happen - when new information technology is introduced into government agencies. In order to get to this part of the book, however, the reader is made to plow through six chapters on theory, all quite well done, that do not necessarily have to be there given the empirical focus of the research. Students of bureaucracy and technology will certainly benefit from the reading of these chapters. But other readers may be excused for getting impatient when the first empirical material is introduced on page 107. Nevertheless, Jane Fountain's book is a serious and well-written effort to understand the challenges associated with modernizing the U.S. government by introducing new information technologies.

This book is the first work analyzing Digital Government, with special emphasis on the the risks and caveats of egov projects and dynamics between structure and technology. Fountain's "Technology Enactment" framework is specially useful for analyzing egov projects, and understanding their complexity generated by strength of institutional barriers and required operational change.

The strength of this book, as some of the other reviews state, is that it clearly illustrates that the promise of technology will be fulfilled only if governments and other organizations understand how the human side of organizations either supports or undermines the implementation of technologies. This has become very clear particularly this past year as we read press reports that focus on how political divisions between government departments inhibit our ability to effectively pursue critical initiatives (e.g., terrorism is the most striking example, but decisions related to health care is another example). By describing and analyzing several real cases, Fountain identifies problems that hinder the best use of technology as well as solutions that promote best practices in an engaging way. The theoretical rigor, as well as practical application, makes this a useful book for both academics and practitioners. Personally, I hope that all people who are responsible for implementing policies related to the use of technology in government read this important book.

Title Fountains of the Spirits
Author Marcyle Taliaferro
Rating Green Light

Review: In the sleepy small town of Cocodrie, Louisiana, young Laurel Chandler finds her life changed forever. Not that the recent death of her parents, escaping the obsessive clutches of her boyfriend, and finding a good teaching job will compare as to what happens when she meets the Lassiter family. Through their southern generosity, stories of the past, and their son T-Jack, Laurel finds herself intrigued. With her new friendship with the family and widowed Emily Conner, Laurel discovers a new belief in God and the love he has for her. Laurel takes her newfound knowledge about God's grace and forgiveness and helps her to relate to the challenging students in her classroom. Laurel also uses her desire to reach out to others and it is when previously struggling T-Jack uses Bible scriptures to compare a trainer's relationship with a horse, that Laurel realizes God's true miracles. Fountains of the Spirits is an endearing read. Marcyle Taliaferro develops characters that you truly care about. Taliaferro has a unique way of reaching beyond the pages of her book to the reader and helping them reflect on their own life. If you enjoyed the characters in Fountains of Spirits you will soon be able to get a follow-up on them in Taliaferro's new book, A Cry from the Harbor.

How do I describe Fountains of the Spirit in just a couple of paragraphs? I don't think it's possible to write a review that does justice to this wonderful endeavor. Not only is the author an accomplished writer, whose descriptions make her readers feel that they're right there in Cocodrie, Louisiana, but she has created a versatile cast of characters - people who you come to care about as you get caught up in the sorrows and joys that make up their lives.

In this book there's truly something for everyone. Horse lovers will delight in the author's obvious knowledge of these wonderful creatures. For me the book was a learning experience, since my firsthand knowledge of the equestrian world is limited. I feel the overall message that Marcyle has attempted to impart is a religious one. By weaving the threads of her obvious love of God and her faith in the power of prayer throughout the novel, she has accomplished her objective beautifully.

Marcyle Taliaferro brings home the power of redemption and the manisfestation of God's Spirit in her heartwarming tale FOUNTAINS OF THE SPIRITS. Southern charm weaves through a family tradition as the characters unveil and explore their heritage orally handed down. The plot surprises and delights as it twists while maintaining simplicity at its core. This message needs to be repeated again and again. --- Stephanie S. Sawyer, author FACING ME

Mrs. Byars has written a masterpiece. I laughed and cried. The images are vivid and you can imagine yourself on the streets of Jonesboro in the 1940's. What a great tribute to her father, a man with great integrity and honor. A man who did not see color only the goodness in a person.

Separate Fountains is an absolute joy to any reader of any age. This story of how the unbreakable love of a family overcomes all odds will warm your soul and tickle your funnybone. I thought the reading was very much like Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird". This book is very very hard to put down. Once you begin, you are swept off into the South to feel the fear that was caused by the cold grip of the Klu Klux Klan and how good honest folk of Jonesboro thwarted their schemes to keep as much peace in the town alive as possible. If you are in need of an uplifting experience, this is the book for you. True family love will always rise above all that opposes it, and True friends will always be there when you least expect it. This is a book for everyone; be sure to pick up a copy for yourself and another for someone you love!

Patti Byars has written a most accurate and sensitive book on life as it really was in the rural south during the 40's and 50's. She handles segregation and its people, the good and the bad, with truth and dignity. Separate Fountains would be a great reading requirement in schools.

Paris Mannion's Create Your Own Tabletop Fountains (1-58180-103-3, $24.99) provides a fine guide to creating the fountains which have become so popular in hardware and houseware stores. From supplies and materials to crafting 15 selected fountains using shells to pots, this provides color photos and directions for a range of fountains.

Wow! Lots of great info and imaginative projects in gorgeous color layout. The feng shui cures, tips on hiding the cord, and how to drill slate were particularly helpful to me. I got a noisy pump, and this book tells ways to make it operate quietly! It answered all my questions on fountain plants, how to turn the fountain off and on without getting under the couch, where to get decorating accents, and how to water seal and patch clay pots.

The illustrated projects make it so easy to get the results I want. I am very happy with my purchase and feel like I know the insiders' secrets.

I compared several fountain making books, and found this one to have the most complete information and the best instructions. The step by step photos are better than the drawn diagrams found in other books, because they tell the exact sequence of events in building a tabletop fountain. I also found this book to have the most useable projects ( I was not interested in outdoor fountains and the plumbing challenges inherent in making them). I have already made 3 awesome fountains, the most ambitious being the copper leaf fountain, which sounds like music and drowns out the noise of traffic that I used to hear in my living room. I had no trouble putting it together following the photos and directions. When it splashed too much, I found the remedy in the book, too. The author's lists are amusing and informative (example: 10 ways to hide the cord, how to quiet noisy pumps, and 10 ways to know you need "fountains anonymous") . The book describes a fountain as an "oasis connecting you to nature." That pretty much sums up my feeling when I go home after a busy day and hear throughout my house the endless sound of falling water.Because the projects vary in difficulty, I would highly recommend this book, no matter how much fountain building experience you've had.

I admire Arthur C Clarke, because in most of his books he manages to rattle my perceptions, to push me through a conceptual breakthrough. Fountains of Paradise is no exception to that. In the midsection of the book the alien computers observations on man's religions had me baffled, laughing out loud (having just studied Thomas Aquinas, and Ockham) and pondering.

Unfortunatedly the book is unballanced. It starts as an historical antropological novel. The midsection deals with alien visitors and filosofical conceptions, the end has the plot of an action movie, featuring a disaster and rescue mission. On the whole not a pleasant read. But the reactions of the alien computer made it more then worth while.

When people talk about ACC's best books The Fountains of Paradise is rarely mentioned. And although it's not quite as good as 2001, Rendezvous With Rama, The City and The Stars, or Childhood's End, it is certainly just a step below them. The book is an interesting mix of SF and historical fiction. It's not the same type of story that Clarke usually delivers, but equally good. The mentions of the space elevator (though not original) are fascinating, not to mention many of the other things in the book.

It's a crying shame that they let this book go out of print, it needs to be reissued. Try to find a "mom and pop" used bookstore somewhere (or use the auctions or Z-Shops here at Amazon) and pick you up a copy of this book.

I was given this book and a lot of others by a friend who was doing some spring cleaning and remembered my love for reading. I had it for a long time before reading it. I can't believe how long I owned this incredible book before I "discovered it". Some of the ideas Clark comes up with are simply astounding. If you can find this book, grab it!! You won't regret it.