Die Like the Carp ! The Story of the Greatest Prison Escape Ever. In August 1944 - Just Outside the Small Township of Cowra - the Biggest Prison Break in World History Took Place. Over 1100 Japanese POW's Made a Carefully Planned Mass Break-out.

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Die Like the Carp ! The Story of the Greatest Prison Escape Ever. In August 1944 - Just Outside the Small Township of Cowra - the Biggest Prison Break in World History Took Place. Over 1100 Japanese POW's Made a Carefully Planned Mass Break-out.
Harry Gordon
Manufacturer: Corgi
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0552112216

Average customer rating:

Not as good as Swimming

Meh.

well done, but a bit repetitive

Excellent Read!

A deftly recorded, technically flawless audiobook

The Outside of August (Ballantine Reader's Circle)
Joanna Hershon
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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Swimming (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

Seduction of Water (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

The Drowning Tree: A Novel

The Lake of Dead Languages: A Novel

The Ghost Orchid: A Novel

ASIN: 0345441834
Release Date: 2004-04-27

Book Description

Critics and readers alike hailed Swimming, Joanna Hershon’s fiction debut. “Compelling,” said the Washington Post, while Vanity Fair called Swimming a “page-turning premiere.” Now Hershon brings us her anticipated second novel, in which she vividly explores the secrets of an American family. The Outside of August is a mesmerizing, beautifully written story that combs the emotional landscape of its characters with power and precision.

For as long as Alice Green can remember, her elusive mother, Charlotte, has moved in and out of family life—disappearing relentlessly and often without explanation. Despite the exotic clutter of souvenirs that detail Charlotte’s international travels, the Green’s home becomes progressively hollow, as nothing but Charlotte can fill the empty spaces.

With their mother’s tenuous presence, and their tender but distant father working long hours, Alice and her brother, August, react in different ways. While seeking constant affection from other women, August relies on an unspoken bond with Charlotte that allows him a certain freedom. But Alice feels no such security and grows increasingly unmoored, always in search of ways to keep her mother at home.

When, years later, her unfettered brother becomes strangely remote, Alice journeys to find him in an isolated beach town. It is there that a deeply buried secret will have to unravel in order for Alice to come to terms with her fractured family and her place within it—and learn to let go of a mother she perhaps never really knew.

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

Not as good as Swimming.......2005-11-02

This book was not nearly as good as her first novel, Swimming. While I was captivated by the first part of the novel, the second half fell flat as the characters did not develop any further. I felt that the explanations were unsatisfactory and did not feel a level of completeness or understanding that I was looking for.

Meh........2005-08-22

I enjoyed the first half of the story, but once things moved to Mexico, I had to plod along. The characters didn't develop well enough as adults for them to be at all interesting. The story meandered somewhat predictably to a dull ending.

well done, but a bit repetitive.......2005-06-30

I enjoyed this read a lot (after a slow start) but I was slightly disappointed to see Hershon revisit the same exact territory she dealt with in Swimming. Superficial details have changed, but she follows the same formula: a main character's life is defined by a family trauma from years ago, she searches for an estranged brother- who she has an intense, near obsessive love for- in order to find out "what really happened", and once she finds closure, she is finally able to become emotionally available and present in her own life. It worked, but for anyone who read her first book, it will no doubt feel familliar.

Excellent Read!.......2005-04-28

Once again, Joanna Hershon writes a compelling story about tangled family relationships with charm and wisdom. I enjoyed this story more than her first book, Swimming. I recommend them both. I was sad to finish this one - it's rare to find books that keep me interested from the very first page to the very last!

A deftly recorded, technically flawless audiobook.......2003-10-14

The Outside Of August by Joanna Hershon is the story of Alice Green, a girl whose mother is rarely home and a workaholic father who keeps her at an emotional distance. Alice's brother is of little help in her struggle to come to terms with her absentee mother, the discovery of her family's dark secret, and her aspirations to make her family's fractured structure whole again. Kate Reading gives an excellent and dramatic narration in this deftly recorded, technically flawless audiobook which is especially recommended for community library collections.

Computing in Civil and Building Engineering: Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference : August 14-16, 2000, Stanford University Stanford, California

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Computing in Civil and Building Engineering: Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference : August 14-16, 2000, Stanford University Stanford, California

Manufacturer: Amer Society of Civil Engineers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0784405131

Fortune Magazine August 15, 1969: World Business Issue: The Top 200 Industrial Companies outside the U.S.

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Fortune Magazine August 15, 1969: World Business Issue: The Top 200 Industrial Companies outside the U.S.
unknown
Manufacturer: Time, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KFU8TI

Fortune Magazine August 1965: Directory of 200 Largest Corporations Outside the U.S.

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Fortune Magazine August 1965: Directory of 200 Largest Corporations Outside the U.S.
unknown
Manufacturer: Time, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KFSFWU

Fortune Magazine August 1971: 200 Largest Corporations outside the U.S.

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Fortune Magazine August 1971: 200 Largest Corporations outside the U.S.
unknown
Manufacturer: Time, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KFWDVE

MAGAZINE OF HORROR - Volume 2, number 1, whole number 7 - January (Jan) 1965: The Shuttered Room; The Thing From Outside; Black Thing at Midnight; The Shadow on the Wall; The Phantom Farmhouse; The Oblong Box; A Way with Kids; The Devil of the Marsh

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MAGAZINE OF HORROR - Volume 2, number 1, whole number 7 - January (Jan) 1965: The Shuttered Room; The Thing From Outside; Black Thing at Midnight; The Shadow on the Wall; The Phantom Farmhouse; The Oblong Box; A Way with Kids; The Devil of the Marsh
Robert A. (editor) (H. P. Lovecraft; August Derleth; George Allan England; Joseph Payne Brennan; Mary Wilkins-Freeman; Seabury Quinn; Edgar Allan Poe; Ed M. Clinton; E. B. Marriott-Watson) Lowndes
Manufacturer: Health Knowledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

The Outside of August {Unabridged Audio}

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The Outside of August {Unabridged Audio}

Manufacturer: Books on Tape, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
ASIN: 0736694064

Product Description

A mother who is scarcely home at all, inexplicably disappearing over and over again, leaves a house full of travel souvenirs and a daughter searching for answers. Alice Green is that daughter, and she feels increasingly hollow as her mother's relentless peregrinations combine with the cool distance of her workaholic father to create a family environment that really is not family at all. Only her brother is proof against this subtle alienation, as he relies on a silent bond with his absent mother, while Alice is consumed by strategies to keep her mother home. Alice must come to grieve for her absent mother, come to grips with her family's long-buried secret, and accept her place within her family's fractured and endlessly distant whole.

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Outside, August 2002

Manufacturer: Outside Magazine
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NPCIDE

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Outside, August 2006 Issue
Editors of Outside
Manufacturer: Mariah Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Single Issue Magazine

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ASIN: 1580608698

Book Description

The powerful magic of ruthless Elvenlord masters has for centuries rules the world. Even Shana, the legendary Elvenbane prophesied to deliver the oppressed into freedom, is helpless before such power. She and her ragtag band of outcasts, half-blood wizards, escaped human slaves, and free-thinking dragons have gained only a token victory against the mighty lords.Only the long-forgotten Iron People, a band of human nomads, have escaped the tyranny of the reigning wizards. How have they survived through the centuries?As the winds of change sweep the world, and as tensions seething beneath the surface of Elven society threaten to break into open revolt. Shana meets the ancient tribe. Could an age-old secret free Shana and her people....or will its discovery call down their doom.

Customer Reviews:

Adventure.......2007-05-07

"Andre Norton", just the name says a lot. Intricate story line, but a grand trip.

Poorly Written/Edited & but decent story.......2003-12-20

I liked both this book and its predecessor but I thought both were poorly written and edited, the second more so than the first. The beginning of the first book started well, with rich descriptions of the world and the things in them, but by the end of the book I felt like I was being told a story by a child who was making things up as he/she went along. This book had a very similar feeling, except without the rich description in the beginning. Both books seemed rushed toward the end of the story.

It almost seemed that the book was quickly penned during a "rap session" between the two authors but was never "smoothed out." There's even one part in the book when two character's names are substituted for one another. It made me begin to wonder if anyone REALLY read (not just scanned) the book before it was published.

Keep in mind I did really enjoy this book as well as the first, and it was definitely a nice change of pace to see a lot of things happen in one book (unlike the sometimes molasses like pace of the most recent books by Robert Jordan). I just wish the book(s) had a bit more polish and depth to them. It's a very interesting world with a lot of potential, but it just doesn't seem as well developed as some of the others from different series.

For crying out loud, where's the third book already?!?.......2002-07-16

I loved The Elvenbane. I really liked the stereotype-defying, "evil, nasty elves" concept. The characters (that mattered) were fairly well developed, and the plot, while a bit cliche, still kept me entertained. This book was good also. Not *as* good as the first one, but still good. I thought the story moved a bit too quickly-I finished the book in about a day. I've been waiting for the third book ever since since. The publishers have been lying about the release date of Elvenborn since 1995! I enjoyed the series and am still waiting for it to continue. Please TOR, make me happy!

good, but a bit of a let-down.......2002-04-28

The first book in this series, The Elvenbane, was excellent, but I experienced a feeling of dissatisfication at the end of Elvenblood. The plot was more confusing and the resolution of the conflict seemed abrupt and very connived, as if Norton and Lackey were in a hurry to finish the book. It was still an wonderful read, but I expected more, especially coming after such a phenomenal first book.

Wheres the third book!.......2001-05-26

Why isnt there a third book, the second ends half way through the story! and if the previous statement about ElvenBorn is correct, where is it!!!!! I dont believe its not meant to be a trilogy (at the least). That ending is far too open, so much more needs to happen, and since when do they use the title "Book Two of the Halfblood Chronicles" if theres not meant to be more ... arrgghhh im so frustrated!

Elvenblood: An Epic High Fantasy (Halfblood Chronicles, Book 2)

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A great book!
neck breaking adventure

Elvenblood: An Epic High Fantasy (Halfblood Chronicles, Book 2)
Andre Norton , and Mercedes Lackey
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0312855486

Customer Reviews:

A great book!.......1999-08-09

I thought this book was extremely good. The characters seemed alive, and the plot was very entertaining. I couldn't put it down! The authors did a good job of building upon the previous book, but I'd have liked to read more about the dragons. Hopefully they weren't left out of the book on purpose! I can't wait for the third book to come out, I hope it's soon! If you've read the first book, you have to read this one!

neck breaking adventure.......1999-06-03

IF you read the first one you have to read this one. And if you didn't read the first one you have to read this one. The breakneck speed this story runs at made it impossible for me to put the book down. And there are absolutely no characters you could care less about in this book. The only thing I could find wrong was that I wondered if the authors had maybe too many characters, because I want to know what happens to Kelyan? He was there, and then after everything he does for the Elvenbane she just ups and forgets he's around? Please tell me that was an oversight! But this will be one that will keep you up until the dawn finishing it.

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The Elvenblood

Manufacturer: Tom Doherty Associates
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HKJOI2

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The Elvenblood

Manufacturer: Tom Doherty Associates
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HKBKPM

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Elvenblood: One Born of Two Races
Diana J. Curtis
Manufacturer: 1st Books Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Adventure | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1414008295

The Halfblood Chronicles: Elvenbane, Elvenblood & Elvenborn

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The Halfblood Chronicles: Elvenbane, Elvenblood & Elvenborn
Andre Norton , and Mercedes Lackey
Manufacturer: TOR
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000W11DIK

4 HBs by Mercedes Lackey: Elvenblood, The Elvenbane, Beyond World's End, Firebird

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4 HBs by Mercedes Lackey: Elvenblood, The Elvenbane, Beyond World's End, Firebird
Andre Norton Mercedes Lackey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000RMHRB6

Product Description

Hardbacks

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Elvenblood
Norton Andre
Manufacturer: Tom Doherty Assoc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000LB5DLO

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Elvenblood :Halfblood Chronicles 2
Mercedes Lackey
Manufacturer: TOR BOOKS ST MARTINS MASS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UYGDMU

Book Description

Kids Take New York is the ultimate guidebook for families in New York whether they be visitors or local New Yorkers. This complete insider survival guide is everything you need to do, see, buy and eat with your kids all in one handy "Zagat-size" format. With sections on kid-friendly restaurants, indoor and outdoor activities, the Top 10 kid attractions, fun day and weekend trips, the best in shopping from discount to designer and a special 'New York Confidential' section. Kids Take New York is the guide no savvy New York family leaves home without.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent book.......2000-11-15

This book is fabulous. I recently travelled to NYC with my 15 month old daughter, and was looking for a book with suggestions fo fun places to take her, and also wanted to know where the "cool" clothing and toy stores were. This book was right on target-answered everything I wanted to know and more.

Finally a "Zzagat-Like" Guide for families.......1999-02-12

Finally a "Zagat-like" guide for families. Although I have lived in the New York area all my life, New York with kids is a whole different place. This book has the inside scoop on activities, restaurants, shops and a ton of things I did not know. What's more-it's easy and it's fun to read.

Truly an invaluable source for New York!.......1999-02-03

All of my friends in New York were talking about this book, so I bought one before my trip. It's great to have everything from shopping to restaurants, to what to do in one book and be able to carry it around. It really made New York with kids easy and fun!

Average customer rating:

Jane, jane, please come home...
Please write the sequel!
WHERE IS THE SEQUEL?
Ditto
Excellent! But Where Are The Other Two In The Series?

City of Diamond
Jane Emerson
Manufacturer: DAW
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0886777046

Amazon.com

Six centuries after the alien Curosa imparted the wisdom of their dying race to Adrian Sawyer and gave him three massive city-ships, two of those ships -- City of Diamond and City of Opal -- are locked in a battle for intergalactic political dominance. Now the Protector of Diamond has chosen a protege, young Adrian Mercati, and told him the hiding place of the Sawyer Crown, an artifact that will give him and the Diamond unassailable superiority over the Opal. But spies are at work, and a desperate race to find the Crown begins. Yet what neither side can see is that finding it may prove their downfall.

Customer Reviews:

Jane, jane, please come home..........2006-09-01

I love, love, love this book. I love it so much, that almost four years after reading it I am still mourning the fact that apparently there is no sequel in the stars. Doris Egan (aka Jane Emerson) seems to have abandoned books permanently in favor of the flickering screen. (Oh well -- probably explains why shows like Smallville have been such a success...)

What is it about this book that is so marvelous? It's the intricate, fascinating characters that Egan masterfully brings to life. From Adrian, the confident young leader of Diamond, to his sociopath friend Tal, to Tal's warrior by contract, Keylinn (warning: I've listed about 1/8 of the main characters...) they all have depth, personalities, motivations, dilemmas that organically propel the action of the story. Honestly, I have a hard time remembering what actually _happens_, but I know for sure that I burned the midnight oil many a night to see what these people would do next.

In The City of Diamond, Egan also explores one of my favorite sci fi themes - how drastically different cultures interact and develop, the prejudices that form vs. the commonalities between people. No earth-shattering conclusions, or overly moralistic commentary is made in this book - but it's all very interesting nonetheless.

Well written, with snappy dialogue, and oh, did I mention terrific characters? This book should be read, sequels or no! Egan's other three novels can be bought in one volume, The Complete Ivory, and are also very good. We can only hope that maybe one day Doris Egan will leave Hollywood and come back home to the world of prose. Please, please...

Please write the sequel!.......2005-08-09

I have been waiting for the sequel since 1997. Bought the 'Doris Egan'/ Ivory books and it wasn't the same at all. Twice a year I search to see if Jane Emerson has changed her mind and written the rest of this incredible story. This alone should tell you of the quality of this book. If not, try this: incredibly detailed, deep world building, which manages to be fascinating instead of stultifying. No mean trick, that. Add to that some truly interesting characters and cultures, with humor and a riveting plot. Buy it.

WHERE IS THE SEQUEL?.......2003-11-24

I LOVE City of Diamond. It's one of my favourite books. A cast of fascinating characters, a world on a spaceship that's a mixture of the futuristic and medieval, mysterious artefacts to track down, future mysteries to be solved, moments of pathos and humour, a clear and flowing writing style . . . What more could you ask for?
I've been waiting years for the sequels and they haven't appeared. To my knowledge, this is the second time Doris Egan/Jane Emerson has had a series cut short. DAW, what's going on?

Ditto.......2003-10-23

Interstingly enough, I was actually browsing Amazon to see if Ms. Emerson had published the rest of the story yet. I thought this book was a great read, if you like your science fiction heavy on fantasy with lots of great characters to identify with.

Excellent! But Where Are The Other Two In The Series?.......2003-02-08

Excellent read. Where are the other 2 books? Publish! Publish!

Ghost Ship of Diamond Shoals: The Mystery of the Carroll A. Deering

Average customer rating:

horrible writing style for a book, almost unreadable
Simpson's Best Yet

Ghost Ship of Diamond Shoals: The Mystery of the Carroll A. Deering
Bland Simpson
Manufacturer: The University of North Carolina Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

True Crime | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

North America | Travel | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0807827495
Release Date: 2001-12-09

Book Description

In the misty dawn of January 31, 1921, a Coast Guardsman on watch at the Cape Hatteras Life-Saving Station sighted a mighty five-masted schooner, all sails set, wrecked on the treacherous Diamond Shoals. Rescuers rushed to the ship, but when they arrived they found the Carroll A. Deering deserted, with no trace of the captain, Willis B. Wormell, or the crew. When, several months later, a bottle was found on a nearby beach, purportedly containing a note from a crew member who ascribed the schooner's fate to its capture by pirates, a sensational panic in international shipping ensued. The captain's daughter successfully lobbied for a federal investigation, but months of inquiry failed to turn up either the missing crew or a reason for the ship's demise. To this day, the fate of the Deering has remained one of the greatest mysteries of maritime history.

Bland Simpson assembles the known facts into a compelling reconstruction of the Carol A. Deering's final voyage and its baffling aftermath. Using contemporary sources including newspapers, FBI reports, ship's logs, and personal and official correspondence, he weaves together historical narrative with the voices of key participants in the drama. Simpson's haunting chronicle keeps the story of the Deering alive, an apt memorial to the ghost ship and its lost crew.

Customer Reviews:

horrible writing style for a book, almost unreadable.......2005-12-23

I was really looking forward to reading this book over the Christmas holidays. I enjoy reading true, unsolved mysteries but after reading and rereading several pages I gave up.

Reading should be a pleasure and the reader should not have to keep rereading words and sentences to try and decipher what the author is trying to convey.

In reading this book it was like every sentence was overly long with each phrase seperated by commas when it seemed for clarity the sentences should have ended and a new sentence begun.

Also,have you every read a book when you get the impression the author is just trying to show you how intelligent he is by constantly using new uncommon words just to show you, the reader, how vast his vocabulary is? Also I noticed every noun in almost every sentence had to be preceded by about 3 descriptive words when one would have been fine most of the time.

Paragraph after paragraph has sentences like this:

"The gusting January wind blew spray and sand at them, and the damp sand gathered and caked upon the three foot, wooden spoked wheels, and the sea oats and grasses around them bent seaward, as the men and their boat slowly dragged through the dunes and over the open seabeach, the half-dozen men and the one beast drawing forward as if they next intended, like poseidon of old, to plough the very sea itself."

ALSO

"In the wet sand below the tideline the men halted and unhitched the front set of wheels from the boat carriage and led the mare forward into the shallow surf that was sheeting rapidly beneath tem, till the wheels were clear and the front fell into the water and made a skid down which the boat would go, and one of them walked the mare around and away, pulling now just the wheels, till she too was clear and unburduned and, standing alone and apart from the surfmen, looked away from them and their incompcomprehensible task".

Page after page of reading this type of writing becomes so tedious and frustrating you just give up and go on another book.

Just to be fair I want to let the readers of this review know I also ordered from Amazon two 900 page books, Shattered Swords(about the Battle of Midway) and Ultimate Sacrifice(about the Kennedy Assination)and I would wake up in the middle of the night and go back to reading both of these books because they were so well written.

Simpson's Best Yet.......2002-10-16

I started this book on a Saturday at 1:00 pm, and put it down, finished, eight hours later (and jumped right into "...Nell Cropsey" by author same. This is simply a must-read for any lover of shipwreck stories, mysteries, or American history...and particularly for anyone (like myself) who's fallen in love with coastal North Carolina. Thanks Bland!

Diamond in the Emerald City: The story of Safeco Field

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Diamond in the Emerald City: The story of Safeco Field
Natalie Fobes
Manufacturer: Seattle Mariners
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0967045401

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A multifaceted multimedia feast

Blue
Benjamin Zucker
Manufacturer: Overlook Hardcover
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 1585670006
Release Date: 2000-07-10

Amazon.com

Blue, a wildly original first novel by Benjamin Zucker, is a richly illustrated, multilayered story about aesthetics, love, brotherhood, and tradition. The novel's main character, Abraham Tal, is (like Blue's author) a gem merchant in New York City. Tal's treasure is a Venetian Jewish wedding ring, a mysterious link to the traditions of his family and his culture; his search for the ring's origins and significance drive the book's main plot. Blue's design is highly unusual and worth close attention. The text of the main story, about Tal and the ring, appears at the center of every other page in the book (each page of text faces a full-page illustration, meant to shed light on the story--subjects range from a photograph of the Taj Mahal to a self-portrait by Claude Monet). This central text is surrounded by commentaries in the margins, which are written in the voices of historical characters such as Vermeer, Crazy Horse, Bob Dylan, Proust, and Kafka, as well as the voices of Tal's mother, father, and girlfriend. The commentaries, like Talmudic writings, play with, build upon, and illuminate the primary story. Blue moves fluidly through time, offering its reader countless opportunities to discover the harmonies and beauty that, over the course of this story, its main character gradually learns to see. --Michael Joseph Gross

Book Description

A stunningly original first novel--modeled after the Talmud--in which the central story is surrounded by the voices and images of numerous characters, real and imagined.

Blue is the story of Abraham Tal, a diamond merchant in New York City who spends his days counseling friends and neighbors in what has come to be referred to as his "advice shop." It is here that his real passion lies, for Abraham is a commentator--a man who prefers to sit back and discuss the finer points of life rather than to go out and live.

In this kaleidoscopic novel the great irony is that Abraham's story itself is, page by page, surrounded by the stories of others. Franz Kafka, Marcel Proust, Bob Dylan, Elie Wiesel, Chief Crazy Horse, various Jewish Mystics and Rebbes, Vermeer, Kierkegaard, Abraham's mother, his father, his girlfriend--all are allowed their commentaries, often in the form of parallel stories from their own lives. Each page of text is also accompanied by a piece of art--a color photo, a painting or an illustration--that further comments upon the story. The result is a novel that can be read over and over again, in a seemingly endless variety of ways. Like Perec's Life: A User's Manual or Breton's Nadja, Blue makes a claim to enlarge the boundaries of literature.

Customer Reviews:

A multifaceted multimedia feast.......2001-04-01

'Blue' is a multifaceted work that has no beginning and no end, no straight lines, and where the past and present intersect. In that sense, it is a design fabricated to evoke the experience of Kabbalah. At the same time it is constructed like pages of Talmud with a central text that contain the modern story but vaguely evoke relationships and events in the Torah, and with parallel commentaries/stories on the margins, the story spins off in many directions, sometimes off on its own tangents and sometimes bending back on itself to illuminate and elucidate the text. These parellel stories are a comingling on each page of famous Jewish mystics such as Luria, numerous Rabbis of old, with Kafka, Bob Dylan, Vermeer, a Native American chief, and the fictional Tal's parents, taking the form of direct quotes, actual and imagined lives which can be read in any order along with or without the main text. In yet another dimension, this is also a great art book of past and present, combining masters like Van Gogh and Vermeer with photographs of Kafka and Bob Dylan, and of Jewish scholars and students in Poland prior to World War II. The art work, too, also intended as a commentary to interact with the various texts.

The central story, which reads like an allegory belongs to Abraham Tal, a New York gem merchant and advice giver, who can't solve his own problems. Among other concerns, he is torn with indecision and regret about whether to marry Rachel Heller. Eventually this leads him on a journey to Safed, the center of ancient Jewish mysticism, presumably to track down the origins of a 16th century Venetian wedding ring, which of course contains a sapphire, but also as a personal quest for spiritual answers.

Blue holds many meanings. The most obvious is the blue sapphire gem which narrator, Abraham Tal, is using to make a suite of jewelry. Tal connects the word sapphire to "sefer" which means "book" in Hebrew, and to the giving of the book, the story of Moses finding a blue sapphire at the burning bush and the continuity of a people commemorated in the blue thread of the tallis. There is much more. Almost every page refers to a blue stone, blue in someone's clothing, blue walls, blue light.

I found Mr. Zucker's notes at the beginning and end of the book a good source as well as a help to confused readers. One cannot help but be confused (it even seems intentional), but at the same time delighted with this highly imaginative and light-hearted multimedia feast.

Average customer rating:
Calgary, Alberta city map: Including Airdrie, Banff, Black Diamond, Bragg Creek, Canmore, High River, Irricana, Okotoks, Turner Valley, regional map, over 500 revisions
Rand McNally and Company
Manufacturer: Allmaps Canada Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Atlases & Maps | Reference | Subjects | Books | Atlases | Canada | Historical | Maps | United States | World
General | Geography | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0886401488

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City of Diamonds
Rosalie Lamet
Manufacturer: Targum Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1568710976

Book Description

A powerful memoir of the Jews of Antwerp in the terror of World War II, and the story of one young girl who must find within herself the courage to bid farewell to the old and face the new.

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A Dash from Diamond City
Manville George Fenn
Manufacturer: IndyPublish
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1435342984

Average customer rating:

Desperate Hoodwives: An Urban Tale
Meesha Mink , and De'nesha Diamond
Manufacturer: Touchstone
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Romance | Subjects | Books

General | Contemporary | Romance | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 141653752X

Book Description

A stirring true-life story of how the daughter of a revered nurse leader was saved by a Lakota Sioux. It probes the meaning of being a healer and being healed, of being a mother, and how spiritual issues are passed from one generation to the next.

Customer Reviews:

A Must Read.......2006-08-08

This book provides a powerful message, so much so, in fact, that I bought a second copy just so I could share it with friends. The line dividing western medical practices and those based in nature (Eastern, Native American, etc), is becoming more and more blurred. This book may help open the reader's mind to techniques beyond those that our practitioners provide.

An extraordinary book .......2005-01-02

This is an extraordinary book about a conventional nurse executive who is led by her work, her family and her destiny to explore Native American healing to heal her daughter and her family history of traumas around birth in five generations.

In the course of her work in the Sioux Valley Hospital in South Dakota, she met and befriended Wanigi Waci (Spirit Dancer), a Native American healer of the Lakota Sioux who was ministering to patients served by her hospital. Wanigi Waci offered classes to the hospital staff in cultural sensitivity, to help the conventional medical personnel appreciate the traditional ways of healing of his people.

Koerner's daughter, Kristi, nearly died in birthing her first child, requiring an emergency caesarian section. Her son nearly died of an infection due to the prolonged labor. He had repeated hospitalizations for respiratory infections during his first six months. Kristi's second pregnancy was marked by diabetes, hypertension, toxemia and preeclampsia. In both childbirths, Wanigi Waci was present, unbidden, and enormously helpful with his Native American healing treatments.

Koerner went on to study and participate in the healing ceremonies of the Sioux. She shares from her many lessons of the heart and spirit, in a book that is hard to put down.

Koerner is clearly gifted as a nurse and as a teacher of the essence of nursing. She shares many insights around conventional and Native American healing.

Koerner's integrity as a healer who walks her talk is evident in the stories she shares about her healing journeys. What she writes of others is also true of herself.

Hopefully, Koerner's pioneering work with Wanigi Waci will open more nurses and hospitals to healing collaborations and spiritual lessons.

Mother, Heal My My Self.......2003-07-22

This outstanding book should push back the horizon for every nurse dealing with persons of differing faiths, healing modalities and cultures. It may help to eliminate bias and lack of information regarding self healing. It should be useful to both the healing professions as well as the general public. I caution the reader against drawing any personal conclusions about the author's content until the entire book has been read for the content is a complicated mix of biography and theory.

Powerful.......2003-07-21

This is a great book and a powerful message. It is a must read for everyone associated with health care.

A True Nurse's Story.......2003-07-20

This book is a wonderful exploration of intergenerational caring and the power of the mother daughter relationship. Willing to do anything to save the life of her daughter, the author, who is herself a well known registered nurse, explores the depths of native american medicine and its healing powers. This is a wonderful book, I have given it as a gift to all the important women in my life.

Spirit to Heal: A Journey to Spiritual Healing

Average customer rating:

"The Spirit to Heal"
Spirit to Heal - Spirituality's Profound Influence

Spirit to Heal: A Journey to Spiritual Healing
Torosian Michael
Manufacturer: Spirit Press International
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Healing | Alternative Medicine | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Spiritual | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0972941908

Book Description

Based on case histories and pioneering research, this book illuminates the pathway to personal growth and awareness, spiritual transforamtion, and the healing of your spirit.

Customer Reviews:

"The Spirit to Heal".......2003-12-17

Drs. Torosian and Biddle have written one of the most informative and instructive books on cancer to date. I was extremely impressed by the combination of their talents and their profound knowledge into the nature of disease and healing. This isn't just a book about Cancer, but rather a book about HEALING - Healing the deepest portions of our Body, Mind and Soul. This is a book about how spirit can prevail and triumph in adversity, how love can conquer and diminish fear, how faith sustains courage, and how prayers transcend all barriers. From the mind of an inspired therapist and from the hands of a caring doctor comes a book but once in a lifetime. This is a must read for anyone who has ever been challanged by fear and who needs his/her Spirit to Heal.

Spirit to Heal - Spirituality's Profound Influence.......2003-12-16

This awesome book related to me so much of the journey of cancer which my husband and I experienced. I am so grateful to Dr. Torosian and Dr. Biddle for bringing their experiences through research and practice and making known the profound effect of spirituality. My husband who had lung cancer and I both shared a deep faith in God. Shortly after his death, I attended their seminar on 'Spirit to Heal' and purchased the book. It was so amazing to read what we had gone through and understand the multi-dimensions of the spiritual process. 'Spirit to Heal' is a gift of love to all who know suffering and want to rise above their pain and meet God, Face to face.

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