5 comments about One Last Time: A Psychic Medium Speaks to Those We Have Loved and Lost.

1. This book touches on various subjects including an autobiographical account of John Edward's life and how he came to become a medium. It also has him telling the reader what he sees during a reading and how he interprets it and how he can make mistakes. For me this was the most interesting part of the book, it reminded me of reading how a writer got an idea for a book. He also recounts several stories of people who he did readings for that made a permanent impression on him for various reasons.
   The book is very easy to read, I read the entire book in two days. It is almost like he is in front of you talking to you. He doesn't come across as arrogant, in fact he acknowledges that he has a gift, and seems warm and sincere. He even tells you how to separate a good psychic from a fraud.
   If you have any interest in the subject of the afterlife, psychic ability, or just an interest in John Edward, this is worth reading.
   
   In the last chapter there is a meditation exercize, which in the beginning is similar to the guided fantasy relaxation we used to do in theater, but then goes further. I haven't tried it yet, but even if it makes you relaxed, it is worth the time.



2. This book is very well written and the stories touch your heart. John Edward shares with you his struggles of being young with his gift and how he learned along the way. Loved it!



3. This was such a great book. It kept me so interested, I read the whole thing in 2 days time.



4. This book is written for those who wonder how John does what he does, and tells the stories of readings he has done and how those who have passed on come through. The last chapter gives an outline of how to develop your own psychic abilities and seems like it would be interesting to try this exercise and see just what or who comes through. You must have an open mind to do this and I think everyone should at least give it a try. As of now I have not done it, having just finished the book.



5. This book is well worth reading, and opens our minds to so much more than we can easily or readily understand- it is comforting and disturbing all at once. I highly recommend it.

4 comments about The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano: Written by Himself.

1. Prospective buyers of Mr. Allison's edition of Equiano's autobiography should be advised that although Mr. Allison says that his "edition follows the first American printing . . . (New York, 1791)" and that "the only significant changes . . . are the insertion of paragraph breaks and notes to the text," Mr. Allison does not warn the reader that he's silently combined parts of various editions of the autobiography to form a book Equiano himself never published. For example, if you compare the next-to-the-last paragraph (p. 195), in which Equiano mentions his marriage, to the passage on page 187, where he says his hand is free, you might get the impression that he's saying he's available for adultery or bigamy. But the fault lies not in Equiano, who changed the earlier passage after he added the paragraph about his marriage in 1792. What Mr. Allison gives us is his text, not Equiano's. And he might have mentioned that the New York edition was published without Equiano's knowledge or permission. Readers should also not assume that all "facts" given are true. For example, on page 21, Gronniosaw's book was published in 1772 (not 1770), Marrant's in 1785 (not 1790), and Equiano died on 31 March 1797 (not in April).



2. The 1772 publication date of Gronniosaw's _Narrative_ seems to have been recently established by Vincent Carretta in _Unchained Voices: An Anthology of Black Authors in the English-Speaking World of the 18th Century_ (Kentucky, 1996), with the evidence offered on pp. 53-54. The post-1791 editions in which Equiano understandably deletes the wording "My hand is ever free--if any female Debonair wishes to obtain it" after his April 7, 1792 marriage to Susanna Cullen are the 5th (Edinburgh, 1792), the 6th & 7th (both London, 1793), the 8th (Norwich, 1794), and the 9th and last (London, 1794). My source for this information is Vincent Carretta's authoritative Penguin edition of Equiano's _Interesting Narrative_ (1995), pp. 297-297, note 633. A reader from Virginia



3. The 1772 publication date of Gronniosaw's _Narrative_ seems to have been recently established by Vincent Carretta in _Unchained Voices: An Anthology of Black Authors in the English-Speaking World of the 18th Century_ (Kentucky, 1996), with the evidence offered on pp. 53-54. The post-1791 editions in which Equiano understandably deletes the wording "My hand is ever free--if any female Debonair wishes to obtain it" after his April 7, 1792 marriage to Susanna Cullen are the 5th (Edinburgh, 1792), the 6th & 7th (both London, 1793), the 8th (Norwich, 1794), and the 9th and last (London, 1794). My source for this information is Vincent Carretta's authoritative Penguin edition of Equiano's _Interesting Narrative_ (1995), pp. 297-297, note 633. A reader from Virginia



4. Olaudah Equiano's narrative is his experience away from his dear home. The slave trade from the very beginning was one of the worst components of European history. This narrative is a moving but important historical document that recounts the hardship the slaves had to endure and survive in their nightmare to the New World.
   
   "In this way I grew up till I had turned the age of eleven, when an end was put to my happiness..."(p.47). This way began the Olaudah's odyssey after been kidnapped and taken through many African countries reaching finally the African west coast and the slave ship that brought him/them to the West Indies and North America.
   
   Africa, as the land of Equiano, was divided among different tribes with different organizations and related customs, in some cases speaking similar languages, in other cases as we see in the towns close to the coast, almost strangers. These tribes used to have their own defense system against the hunt and persecution of slave traffickers, which during the XVIII century it was a dark business, a daily affair, and a way of revenue.
   
   That was the circumstance of this little boy and many others like him experiencing 'fatigue and grief'(p.47), 'violence and despair' (p.49), and wishing for death rather than anything else'(p.59). After they reached the slave ship waiting for its human cargo a chained multitude of black people of every description expressing dejection and sorrow (p.54) awaited to board in an overpopulated deck filled with horrors of every kind.
   
   Many, as Equiano, were young and ignorant of what was happening, where they were going, and the reason for such adventure. They were told by other prisoners confessing to be 'carried to white people's country to work for them'(p.55), but of course the pain and suffering yet to come was a disguised mystery and heart destructive lifelong encounter. The living conditions of the journey were brutal and cruel: the smell, the vomiting, the cries, the anguish, and the suffocation under decks overcrowded where many of them were unable to reach the other side of the Atlantic, dying under those inhuman conditions. Sometimes some of them, embracing hopelessness, ran toward the open board and preferring death to such a life of misery, jumped into the sea (p.57), to die in the deep waters of the dark blue sea.
   The Mediterranean labor shortage after the 8th century primarily brought about the African external slave trade. But the West Indies European demand for slaves changed all the institution of slavery transforming it in a deadly and huge intensive labor business. Two-thirds of all these immigrant slaves went directly to the Caribbean (Caribbean-West Indies-Brazil), and fewer than 1/20 went to Colonial North America which started 100 years later; and in 1671 we had already in Barbados (where Equiano first experienced the new world)30,000 slaves and 3,000 in Virginia.
   
   A great deal of trembling and bitter cries from these terrified Africans of all languages did not stop whites from transporting them, as in Equiano's case, first to the island of Barbados unloading them at Bridgetown. They were transported to the merchant's yard, like sheep in a fold (p.58) without regard to sex or age. On a sign given to the buyers they run at once toward them and 'picked up' what parcel they like best. Many of them, family and friends, from that very moment were separated forever. Never to see each other again.
   From the merchant's yard they were shipped to different North American Colonies as was needed and pleased the slave traders; one after another chapter of disgrace would be recounted over the 'white' shoulders for generations to come. Some slaves, as this poor boy, were taken as servants to England.
   The conditions they confronted later on in sugar or rice plantations by their brutal slave codes and violent methods of control were deadly; much of the cases included diseases and no possibility to become free one day. They were treated as cheap merchandise, deprived of any human right given by our Creator.
   The story of Olaudah Equiano over moistens my eyes. His narrative and lack of vengeance or hate; his imploration to the heart and the reason of supposed Christians made me feel the need to meet him and embrace him, and tell him: "Hope is not gone at all my friend.
   Olaudah young boy, you were right when you cited those true gospel words:
   "O, ye nominal Christians! Might not an African ask you--Learned you this from your God, who says unto you, Do unto all men as you would men should do unto you?"
   
   Alejandro Roque.

5 comments about Listography Journal: Your Life in Lists.

1. if you know anyone who loves making lists(as i do!),this would be the PERFECT gift!
   
   I was so excited to receive mine in the mail and I'm slowly making my lists so it will last longer.
   
   I wish it had less pictures and a few more lists but it has almost every list you can imagine with space to make your own in the back.



2. I've been addicted to making lists for years, I came across this book on a blog and I went threw the roof. I ordered it immediately, received it today and have spent most of my day filling it out already. I'm glad to have found others who share the love for lists. Use it to learn about yourself or to just have fun.



3. I bought this book for my friend for Christmas because she is always making lists and she loved it.



4. Visually it looks great! Kooky illustrations on nice paper - you do want to write in this journal. Plenty of room for your ideas. The pages are headed up with list topics and you just jot down "answers". I think the idea of the book is to add to the lists over a period of time, having a giggle at your previous comments. This is something that I do think I will continue, not like a journal which I can't keep going for longer than a month!



5. I really liked this book because i love making lists and this book provides you with great questions. One, because it's things I wouldn't have really thought of listing on my own, and two because it's makes a list of things that you might later forget in life so it's like a mini biography

4 comments about Modern American Memoirs.

1. This is one of the most intoxicating books I have ever read. Annie Dillard, one of America's most well known authors for her detailed illustrations of nature, has magnificently compiled a book of memoirs that colorfully describes the American society and its struggles throughout history. This book gives you the bitterness of struggles by various well known figures such as Malcolm X and Maxine Hong Kingston. It builds an intense image of the daily life in the most detailed and delicious way possible.



2. This wonderful collection of autobiographical pieces is extraordinary in the variety of lives that are represented. I cover my eyes from Wallace Stegner's Saskatchewan dust and then I open them to witness the East River sunset from Barry Lopez' window. I sneak books out of a Memphis library with Richard Wright and then I'm with Cynthia Ozick digging out of a crate from the Traveling Library. The book's radiance comes not only from the rainbow of lives reflected but from the craftmanship, the nuts and bolts of changing the stuff of life into art. So many ways, so many self-less, ego-less ways to transform the personal into the universal, to say I am you and you are me and we are all.



3. Annie Dillard, the editor of this collection, is widely considered one of the foremost American writers of nonfiction. Akin to the sophisticated, peerless, but somewhat dry,"The Art of Fact, " a fabulous, though now somewhat-dated anthology for those journalists who wanted to expand their rule-driven pieces, these are only somewhat relevant as contemporary examples, mostly useful to the writer studying how the genre of creative nonfiction has evolved over the last century into modern-day anthologies, such as the "Best American Magazine Writing," or even, "Literary Journalism." The writing is, line by line, richly artistic (far too many people are misusing the word "artful" lately--my pet peeve, but maybe I should just give up and start using it to mean "full of art"). On a positive note, Dillard has carefully chosen varied forms to show the genre's possibilities. Loren Eiseley's, "The Star Thrower," depends heavily on symbolism and theme to great effect, while Chris Offutt's stunning piece is one of the more contemporary. All have heart and emotional honesty; every writer here showed great courage. Scholars and writers of creative nonfiction should have this on the shelf, and certainly there is much to learn from studying these ("study" being the operative word; all are investments of time). A better selection for the younger writer in the genre looking for a quicker fix of literary gems might be Dave Eggers new anthology, "The Best American Nonrequired Reading," (not exclusively nonfiction but a winner) for more new and exciting experimental techniques. Nevertheless, a valuable and well-chosen classic work. Extra half-point for nice cover art. (This is not a yearly anthology). Also see "In Fact: The Best of Creative Nonfiction," ed. Lee Gutkind, for peerless, and more contemporary, work in the genre.



4. This was the text book for Memoir and Fiction, a Continuing Studies class at Stanford University, and it turns out to be a great recreational read. Perfect for the bathroom.
   
   Mark Fulton
   Returning Stanford Dropout

2 comments about Marshfield Dreams: When I Was a Kid.

1. In 35 short chapters, Ralph Fletcher shares stories of his childhood neighborhood, family, and friends. Covering topics that include a description of his neighborhood, his feelings and memories of the important people in his life, games he played, school days, pets, and childhood illnesses, this story kept me entranced from start to finish. I loved the author's simple yet moving revelation of his own feelings, especially the poignant chapter about his father, "Last Kiss."
   
   Publisher information sets reader age at grades 5 to 8, but the kid-friendly layout of this book will appeal to readers in grades 2-4, particularly if read aloud. Teens working on author reports or personal essays will find the book interesting as well. Teachers will find this memoir a handy tool in writing workshops, if used in conjunction with specific writing topics such as description, characterization, or dialogue. Fletcher's use of details brings his stories to life. Student writers can learn much about turning ordinary life events and feelings into effective stories.
   
   As an adult reader, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It's got a little something for every reader. I can't recommend this book enough for teachers. If you assign journal writing for young writers, this book will provide infinite topic inspiration.



2. As a teacher, I find Fletcher's collection of small moments to be a great teaching resource. Each short story is carefully crafted with great detail. I use this book to model writing small moments. The children in my class ask me to read a story before writing or when they "get stuck." Marshfield Dreams is a must have for teaching small moments or memoirs.

5 comments about Twelve Extraordinary Women Workbook.

1. Like other MacArthur studies I have done, it is sometimes hard to figure out where he is going with some questions. Overall, though, a great study!



2. This is a wonderful tool to help our ladies Bible study group walk through the book "Twelve Extraordinary Women". It is teaching some how to glean all there is to learn from our ancestors.



3. This book has been very inspiring. The author brings these women in the Bible to life. A must read.



4. Heavy as in ponderous. The questions in this study are difficult to answer, don't point towards the scripture or toward God and take way too long with too little result. I am very disappointed in both the book and the study. Each lesson is approximately 15 pages of tedious questions that are impossible to answer honestly. It is obvious that John MacArthur wrote the whole thing to direct people to certain conclusions. UGH! I don't recommend it and will only continue because of my commitment to my group.



5. The workbook is a must have companion to the book 12 extraordinary women. A few of the questions are difficult to understand alone, but in a study group with discussion they can be talked out. The questions are thought provoking and insightful. The really make you think about where you are in your walk with God and how you want your relationship with Him to proceed.

5 comments about Journals.

1. great product, fast shipping. Shipping package ripped when received. Slight scratches and bending. shipper may want to consider better packing method for shipping but, all in all a good experience!



2. This book is simply great. I'm very impressed with its quality and have learned a lot about this iconic figure by reading Kurt's entries. I hope everyone picks up a copy! = )



3. I can definitely see both sides of the issue of the moral quandary concerning this book. However, I think it's really pathetic that people on both sides are trying to assume what Kurt would or wouldn't want. I don't think that by reading these journals you somehow aren't a true fan of Nirvana just as not reading them somehow makes you a true fan. That's absurd. I will say, though, that in my personal opinion this book is a blatant and disgusting invasion of privacy. I think that it's rather obvious that Courtney Love is lacking scruples with her obviously cavalier attitude about releasing things that probably should have stayed private. I'm sure she will suffer some sort of karmic retribution (if she hasn't already) for doing so.
   
   Regardless, I personally have never read these journals, nor will I ever do so. I'm not trying to be elitist by pretending to have any kind of moral high ground. It's a personal choice. I'm genuinely not interested to see what is in them. I think that the music kind of speaks for itself. That is, after all, why I personally am a fan of Nirvana and of Kurt. I don't think that reading some personal journal entries is going to suddenly give me or anyone insight into his genius or what led to his death. The story surrounding his death is tragic enough without crap like this being commercialized and his overall image being exploited and sold, which is really why he despised being famous to begin with. I think stuff like this is further evidence that far too much attention is being paid to the personal lives of celebrities as opposed to their work. This is precisely why people like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears are famous.
   
   I don't think that by reading these journals anyone is going to be less of a fan or suffer any karmic retribution. I think that will be reserved for the person who allowed it to be released to the public in the first place. Regardless, I can also definitely understand the curiosity that people have and I don't think they should be judged for having a thirst for more information about a very important and brilliant musician.



4. If you are a fan of Kurt Cobain and or Nirvana, then this book is a MUST read. I've not finished the book just yet, I got it this morning and I am already on page 205, I just can't seem to put it down, and I rarely like to sit and read anything.



5. It's fun to flip these pages. You'll see a lot of writing, less of art. There is no story telling or even coherence in this published work. Really cool to own, sometimes you'll get a glimpse of what was going on in his mind.

1 comments about Historical and Philosophical Foundations of Education: A Biographical Introduction (4th Edition).

1. The book is average for texts of this type. However, Amazon's presentation of the book for prospective customers is terrible! Unlike many other books they sell, they DO NOT allow you to see a table of contents, index, or sample pages. They seem to want the customer to "buy a pig in a poke." That's Amazon's fault--not the author's. I passed on purchase, not because the book is bad, but because Amazon does not seem to want to share what's in this particular book.

4 comments about One Ranger Returns (Bridwell Texas History Series).

1. If you found "One Ranger" by H. Joaquin Jackson interesting, yea, inspirational, then you are going to treasure "One Ranger Returns."
   
   This is life in Texas, "hair down" face-to-face, how it really is. The chapter by his wife, Shirley, is straight from the heart of a beautiful, highly talented, and courageous woman, sharing the details of her personal life.
   
   One Ranger Returns has chapters by their sons, and I'll leave it to those who can truly read human hearts to decide what the first son has learned. Second son, Lance, is as near a clone as a man like Joaquin can ever have hoped for. Lance is very much his own man.
   
   I recently heard an experienced forensic officer describe how, while she didn't have all the latest technology, she did know the fundamentals and they still worked as evidenced by cases won. "One Ranger Returns" is about fundamentals that worked and still works if the officer is man enough to learn them and employ them with integrity and courage.
   
   A review of "One Ranger" is perfect for "One Ranger Returns:" "The book is awesome.... Joaquin Jackson is John Wayne with a real badge."



2. Nice to hear the other side of the story. Joaquin Jackson's books are a good read.



3. Seemed a reach to have enough material for a second book--not as interesting as the first book.



4. Couldn't put the book down. Great sequel to his first. A great sense of history in plain spoken words. Hope he writes another.

5 comments about Hollywood Babylon--It's Back.

1. I would like to apologize to the trees who gave their lives for this piece of trash. The pictures are either dark, blurry or worse, obviously photoshopped. There are items written as fact, which were proved to be false years before this piece of trash was thrown together. Some stories are so completely made up it's embarrassingly obvious no thought was given to making them even appear to be honest or true. This "book" is quite simply, nothing but trash. Save your money and buy Globe Magazine or the National Enquirer. You'll get alot more honesty in journalism from either of these supermarket rags. I was looking for reliable, well researched, entertainment history. Instead I received a book with obvious mistakes, pictures clearly "put together" and essenitally stories without any credible references at all. Hollywood Babylon -- It's Back is a long and nasty tabloid, in the worst sense of the word. What a waste of money!



2. Honestly didnt like this book too much, almost sent it back. Just flipped through it, bit too gory for me.



3. Don't. That is the key word for this review. I read Hollywood's Silent Closet and you can read my review of that book on this site, so I was very eager to read Hollywood Babylon It's Back! I have the original Hollywood Babylon by Kenneth Anger, and it was, and remains, in a class of its own. Not so this shoddy, error filled book.
   What a waste of money. The authors misspell names, give inconsistent birth dates and glaring spelling errors. What a poor editing job. Distortion of facts and just fiction spinned with fact. Photos are of inferior quality, and it is simply a second-rate undertaking. Entire sentences are lifted straight from imdb.com.
   I go back to the title of my review: "Don't." If anyone wants this book for a really, really, really cheap price, contact me. It's yours. I don't want it.



4. Like the vast numbers of readers today, scandal regarding famous people in different walks of life seems interesting, however, this book contains too much information for one's mind to process. It's slapped together with side articles and photographs that could be better designed by the average scrapbooker. It is pure smut, bottle of the barrel gossip, with quotes of running conversations between various individuals that makes you wonder how they were obtained and if, in fact, they were obtained or just created for shock value. This book is a mockery of the original Hollywood Babylon and my suggestion would be not to waste your hard earned dollars on it. I read it and sold it immediately before my "investment" became a total loss.



5. That's right. Remember how in THE WIZARD OF OZ Dorothy got to look behind the curtain to see what the wizard was really about? If you love Hollywood, and are truly interested in the real lives (and sexual identities)of the people that were created as living icons for all of us to dream about, you can't go wrong with any of these authors' books, specially this one. The book is enourmously entertaining. Does it speak the truth? I'd like some of the objectors on this page to tell me what "truth" is. We're talking here about the biggest factory of dreams on earth. It's ALL Show-Business. The star personalities & their wonderful films that you get to see are only one side of the coin. The authors have gone further than anyone else on print (honorable mention goes, of course, to Kenneth Anger who paved the way) to show you the other side of the silver screen & it's fascinating. Their research is not one-sided & when they mention tabloids, it is but one more informational piece of the story (after all, tabloids will go where others - specially the more mainstream media -fear to tread).The book IS titillating & i wouldn't have it any other way. All you need is an open mind, some sense of humour, to enjoy it. Do yourself a favor & seek out this publishers' other bios on Brando & Hepburn. Their book on Michael Jackson is un-put-downable. And they have the coolest Gay & Lesbian film guide too.
   Finally, you can rest assured i am a real customer. I just like to give credit where credit is due. Enjoy the show!