Breath and Shadows (Ballantine Reader's Circle)
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Spans 3 generations and centuries
  • some things you will never know
  • Something Missing
  • Weaving Order out of Chaos
  • Overly ambitious, a waste of a good talent
Breath and Shadows (Ballantine Reader's Circle)
Ella Leffland
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0345439236
Release Date: 2000-06-06

Amazon.com

In Howard's End, E.M. Forster exhorts his readers to "only connect." In Breath and Shadows, Ella Leffland shows us how difficult that is to do. All of the characters in her elusive and exquisite fourth novel are connected, though none of them knows how truly intimate those bonds are. Spanning three centuries in the history of one family, Leffland presents us with three major characters: Thorkild the Counselor, a Danish dwarf already approaching the end of his life in the early 1800s; his great-granddaughter, Grethe Rosted, a young wife and mother living outside of Copenhagen in the 1880s; and Paula, their modern-day descendant, born in Illinois but living in Switzerland. Rather than organizing this generational tale chronologically, Leffland chooses to move back and forth between life stories, emphasizing for the reader a connectedness that the protagonists can only dimly understand. Grethe, for example, was orphaned at an early age and raised by relatives. She knows nothing about Thorkild and only a little about her grandfather, Thorkild's son, who escaped death as a child only to meet it on the battlefields in Napoleon's army. Wandering in her garden one day she muses:
If her grandfather had fallen a hairsbreadth differently, he would have perished on the fence spike, a child of tender age, without issue, a child with a child's seed dead before its journey. But for that millimeter her father would not have been born, she in turn would not have been born. Nothing. An eternal void.
Grethe understands that it is "only by the grace of a millimeter" that she is alive; she cannot know that her own grandchild will not even know that much about her. For Paula, just 10 months old when her mother left her father (Grethe's son), grew up never even knowing his name. It is for the reader to make those links that the characters never can: a grieving man's beloved only son becomes, in time, merely an anonymous paper silhouette on his great-granddaughter's wall; a young boy's "magic carpet" is barely rescued from the scrap heap 50 years later by an unknown daughter who will appreciate its beauty without ever understanding its significance. And with each succeeding generation still more will be lost until, at last, the only evidence of one's existence will lie solely in the genes. And yet Leffland's book is anything but depressing; we may all be "but breath and shadow, nothing more," but the fact that we choose to live at all in the face of oblivion is cause for celebration. --Alix Wilber

Book Description

Breath and Shadows is about three pairs of people who live in widely separated periods of time -- the late 1700s, late 1800s, and late 1900s. These people, as gradually becomes clear, are three generations of the same family, none of which has any knowledge of the other two. But there exists down through these far-flung generations a meshwork of cause and effect that reverberates all the way into the present.

The interrelatedness of these three pairs of people, the twining of their destinies, is the core of the book.

Though the novel takes place in three different centuries, it is rooted in such timeless attributes as social mores, class and money, as well as in historical events such as the battle at Leipzig, where Napoleon was crushed, and the ruins of Berlin in 1945.

These events are woven through the private lives of the characters, among whom are a lonely and young officer, a sculptress trying to find truth in the stone she works with, a man terrified of flying who forces himself to fly constantly, a woman who embodies the ineffable bond between an animal and a human being, and others responding to their world, their natures and their needs. It is a novel about the attempt of human beings to know the past, to know one another and to know themselves. It is about love, loss, sexual passion, human perception and the possibility that the search for goodness may be an act of insanity.Breath and Shadows is about three pairs of people who live in widely separated periods of time -- the late 1700s, late 1800s, and late 1900s. These people, as gradually becomes clear, are three generations of the same family, none of which has any knowledge of the other two. But there exists down through these far-flung generations a meshwork of cause and effect that reverberates all the way into the present.

The interrelatedness of these three pairs of people, the twining of their destinies, is the core of the book.

Though the novel takes place in three different centuries, it is rooted in such timeless attributes as social mores, class and money, as well as in historical events such as the battle at Leipzig, where Napoleon was crushed, and the ruins of Berlin in 1945.

These events are woven through the private lives of the characters, among whom are a lonely and young officer, a sculptress trying to find truth in the stone she works with, a man terrified of flying who forces himself to fly constantly, a woman who embodies the ineffable bond between an animal and a human being, and others responding to their world, their natures and their needs. It is a novel about the attempt of human beings to know the past, to know one another and to know themselves. It is about love, loss, sexual passion, human perception and the possibility that the search for goodness may be an act of insanity.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Spans 3 generations and centuries.......2004-03-03

An epic tale that spans 3 generations, each separated by a century, Breath and Shadows is authored by Ella Leffland, a reclusive San Francisco writer. A dwarf from the 1700s wins our sympathy while disgusting us at the same time. Next comes a lovely couple with children living out their affluent life in a country home in the 1800s - but there are ominous hints that disaster lies just around the next corner. Then there are two siblings living in our modern era, and they seem strangely disconnected, bored with life and their existence. These people cannot know each other, separated as they are by 100 years - but readers begin to grasp subtle connections that make sense of their combined histories.
A tour de force.

5 out of 5 stars some things you will never know.......2003-03-05

I confess that I am awarding this novel 5 stars in part to counter some of the low ratings given to the book by other customer reviewers.
I was not put off in the least by the three-part structure. Every third chapter is about the same generation. The generations are presented in chronological order and each block of three chapters is prefaced by brief description of the interior of cave, the significance of which is made explicit at the end of the novel. There is absolutely nothing confusing, puzzling or arbitrary about any of this. Quite the opposite: it makes the unfolding of the plot(s) more dramatic and drives home the theme of the novel, which is a meditation on the difficulty of finding truth in your life.

The recent movie "The Hours", based on a Michael Cunningham novel that I have not read, uses much the same technique, but is focussed on a different theme and the geneaological relationships among the characters are not as extensive. Each group of characters in the Leffland novel are members of the same family, one separated from the other by two or three generations. Leffland is quite good at making connections among the generations, some of the physical, such as the flowered rug made by Grete Rosted that has talismanic significance for Paula, although she never finds out that her own grandmother made it. Some of the connections are metaphysical, such as the compulsion to travel extemporaneously shared by Thorkild, his grandson and Philip. She is also quite good about showing us the hazy boundary between the memories of old people and the written historical record. And the varying reliability of both.

Leffland is an excellent plotter. The narratives are each compelling in their own right and while some threads are tied together at the end, the author has the art and good taste to leave some hanging, allowing the reader to imagine, for example the grimness of Thorkild's end. She uses a trick of switching to the present tense at the beginning and ends of each chapter, which makes the action quite immediate and has the effect of repeatedly building a bridge between the generations. One can almost sense the author's growing excitement and engagement as the book progresses. The prose of the initial chapters is a bit halting and the chapters are short. But as the novel progresses, the prose grows more fluid and the chapters stretch out to accomodate the sprawling plot.

If the book has a weakness, it is the failure to bring the theme into more focus. The Rosteds are not world beaters. They are intelligent members of the aristocracy in the nineteenth century and of the upper middle class in the twentieth century, but they are not geniuses or great in any sense. Therefore their struggle to find truth in their lives is constantly doomed to less than complete success. Thorkild wrestles with life's verities in his endless writings, which he eventually burns. Holger and Grethe throw Bohemian parties and Holger paints, but only as a gentleman painter. Paula is a sculptor of no discernible talent and Philip deserted his creative side while still in college and became a businessman.

So no one in this novel ever has a sort of 'aha' moment. Rather they all fail to discover the whole truth and must learn to settle for that. While this is the situation that most of us find ourselves in, I thought that perhaps Leffland could have limned the theme a little more clearly. However, it is quite possible that I simply need to read the book again. It is a great temptation in the last third of the novel to read very quickly as many of the climaxes approach. I may well have missed some of the art in order to know the end of a sad and beautiful story.

3 out of 5 stars Something Missing.......2000-05-24

There were interesting and vital characters. There were three independent plots woven together by a very clever subplot. But something was missing. Theokild, Grethe, and Paula seemed to wander aimlessly for a little too long. I wanted to tell them to get out of their isolated worlds and find each other. Paula came the closest. I'm not asking for time-travel but the book needed a more unifying theme--perhaps their physical home or an animal?

5 out of 5 stars Weaving Order out of Chaos.......2000-04-17

The nine year wait for Ella Leffland's new novel has been worth its while. This three generations saga of a Danish family is at once unique and mesmerizing. "Take care!" Is the opening line. The words warn the reader--as much as the child clutching the cat, Olaf--to take care! Read this book with care! Nothing is quite what it seems. The leitmotif of the novel is finding continuity, permanence within this world of impermanence. The heroine, Grethe, muses that everything in life is fleeting, all goes somewhere, but where? The existential question of what will survive when we are gone, is repeated throughout this novel. Leffland's novel is provocative and sad, and at the same time strangely uplifting. There is rain and fog, ice and sleet, but there are also midsummer-nights and a plethora of flowers, "...Golden chains and bursts of fiery reds and lakes of blue, of violet, of sparkling white. ...Blooms bursting up everywhere." A little later Grethe thinks with a foreboding pensiveness, that "...these same blooms will only flake and shred and in their seeding decay give rise to more of the same." Leffland weaves order out of chaotic lives spanning three centuries, and leaves the reader to marvel at her ability to braid darkness with light. Sophocles' thought, "Man is but breath and shadow, nothing more," has given rise to Ella Leffland's finest book.

2 out of 5 stars Overly ambitious, a waste of a good talent.......1999-07-29

I would be hesitant to disagree with the other reviewers if my opinion of this book had not been unanimously shared by the rest of my book group. We found the connections between the generations insufficient to justify the artificial and annoying structure. The characters and their lives are well drawn, and we all felt we could have enjoyed reading about any of them very much. However, the constant shifting between generations was irritating and seemed almost arbitrary. The passages beginning each chapter also seemed too artificially connected with the main story. I can enjoy unusual structures when they are well done; this one wasn't. This author is very talented.I might like to read other works by her if she could get her muse under control, but until then, I'll give her books a miss.
Breath and Shadows
Average customer rating: Not rated
    Breath and Shadows
    Ella LEFFLAND
    Manufacturer: William Morrow & Co.
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback
    ASIN: B000UZZEVA
    Breath and Shadows
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      Breath and Shadows
      Ella Leffland
      Manufacturer: Harpercollins
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Hardcover
      ASIN: B000O2FBL2
      Set of 15 Historical Romance Novels by Teresa Medeiros (Lady of Conquest, Shadows and Lace, Nobody's Darling, Yours Until Dawn, Breath of Magic, Touch of Enchantment, Charming the Prince, Bride and the Beast, A Kiss to Remember, One Night of Scandal, After Midnight, Vampire Who Loved Me and More!)
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        Set of 15 Historical Romance Novels by Teresa Medeiros (Lady of Conquest, Shadows and Lace, Nobody's Darling, Yours Until Dawn, Breath of Magic, Touch of Enchantment, Charming the Prince, Bride and the Beast, A Kiss to Remember, One Night of Scandal, After Midnight, Vampire Who Loved Me and More!)
        Teresa Medeiros
        Manufacturer: Bantam
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Mass Market Paperback
        ASIN: B000TFKNMG

        The Avalon Collection: Web Of Magic, Books 1-3 (Vol. 1)
        Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
        • Awesome book!!!!!
        • Boundless possibilites
        The Avalon Collection: Web Of Magic, Books 1-3 (Vol. 1)
        Rachel Roberts
        Manufacturer: CDS Books
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Paperback

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        2. The Heart of Avalon (Avalon Quest for Magic) The Heart of Avalon (Avalon Quest for Magic)
        3. The Avalon Collection, Quest for Magic: Books 1 - 3 The Avalon Collection, Quest for Magic: Books 1 - 3
        4. All's Fairy in Love and War (Avalon: Quest for Magic, 2) All's Fairy in Love and War (Avalon: Quest for Magic, 2)
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        ASIN: 1593151462

        Customer Reviews:

        5 out of 5 stars Awesome book!!!!!.......2006-06-21

        This book is FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!! I read this book for fun. It was soooo goood!!! I started reading and didn't want to stop. This book has three books in it. I have read all three of them and they are probably my top three favorite books I've ever read! If you are interested in a very adventurous, magical, fiction story, I HIGHLY SUGGEST THIS BOOK!!!!!!

        5 out of 5 stars Boundless possibilites.......2005-10-17

        The Series starts out with mediocre fantasy and relativly slow, But it has so many possibilites of what could happened I was hooked. The First book is a setup of the intricate story that is slowly revealed to us book by book. I would highly recomend this to anyone willing to give it a chance you won't regret it. 8>
        The Avalon Collection Web of magic books 1-3 and 4-6
        Average customer rating: Not rated
          The Avalon Collection Web of magic books 1-3 and 4-6
          Rachel Roberts
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Paperback
          ASIN: B000WAZ4OK

          LUCKY THIRTEEN: D-Days in the Pacific with the U.S. Coast Guard in World War II
          Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
          • LUCKY THIRTEEN: An engaging true life WWII story told from the heart
          • One Of A Kind Tale
          • A personable and engaging tale of World War II from an oft-overlooked point of view.
          LUCKY THIRTEEN: D-Days in the Pacific with the U.S. Coast Guard in World War II
          Ken Wiley
          Manufacturer: Casemate
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Hardcover

          GeneralGeneral | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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          ASIN: 193203353X

          Book Description

          The images of soldiers and marines coming ashore on hostile shores are embedded in our collective memory of World War II. But what of the sailors who manned the landing craft, going back and forth under fire with nowhere to take cover, their craft the special targets of enemy gunners?

          In this book, Ken Wiley, a Coast Guardsman on an Attack Transport in the Pacific, relates the intricate, often nerve wracking story of how the United States projected its power across 6,000 miles in the teeth of fanatical Japanese resistance. Each invasion was a swirl of moving parts, from frogmen to fire support, transport mother ships to Attack Transports, the smaller Higgins boats (LCVPs), and during the last terrifying stage the courageous men who would storm the beaches.

          The author participated in the campaigns for the Marshall Islands, the Marianas the Philippines and Okinawa, and with a precise eye for detail relates numerous aspects of landing craft operations, such as ferrying wounded, that are often discounted. He conveys the terror and horrors of war, as well as, on occasion, the thrill, while not neglecting the humor and cameraderie of wartime life.

          An exciting book, full of harrowing combat action, Lucky 13 also provides a valuable service in expanding our knowledge of exactly how World War II's massive amphibious operations were undertaken.

          Customer Reviews:

          5 out of 5 stars LUCKY THIRTEEN: An engaging true life WWII story told from the heart.......2007-06-09

          I particularly enjoyed this book because it is an important story about our nation's history and is told from the inside by a man who was there and lived it, instead of by some scholarly historian or journalist with an axe to grind. The pace is even and fast and the story is told compassionately without the slightest hint of bitterness toward the military, the enemy, the author's superiors, or his mates - even the ones who lost their courage under fire. This is the story of young men coming of age in the most extreme and trying circumstances. In any age of our history this will be an important book, but especially now with so many over-stuffed politicians on both sides of the aisle vying for attention while our young men and women, such as the ones in this story, are doing the brave and dirty work. This book gives us reason to stand proud of who we really are as a nation, and reminds us of the sacrifices that were paid for our standing as the world's freest nation.

          4 out of 5 stars One Of A Kind Tale.......2007-05-26

          Since September 11, the US Coast Guard, the nation's fifth armed service -- almost always overlooked or ignored as even *being* an armed force -- has finally begun receiving the public acknowledgment and respect due the US's oldest, continuously existing branch of service. Most Americans don't know much if anything about the Coast Guard, especially its participation in every American war except Korea, where it had no purpose, or that it is in Iraq and the Persian Gulf today, where it has taken its first killed in action since Vietnam.

          When there was an amphibious landing in WW2, a large percentage of the landing craft coxswains were Coast Guard enlisted men. It was the service that had the most coxswain experience with ocean-going small boats, after all. More, Coast Guard, and sometimes Navy, beachparties went ashore with the first wave of Marines in the Pacific theater's island battles, fighting alongside them until a beachhead had been established, when they'd begin organizing the first medical stations, evacuation of the wounded, and orderly supply depots on the beach.

          Finally, this book -- Ken Wiley's *Lucky Thirteen* -- has appeared to document this virtually unknown aspect of WW2. A personal memoir told in the first person, the book reads like what it is: a CG coxswain's account of his service in the Pacific. It's apparent that the writer is an amateur recording personal experience from memory, but the book is nevertheless an important contribution -- the only book of its kind, to my knowledge -- documenting a little known part of the war by an often ignored armed force.

          And a rollicking good tale.

          You want this one in the WW2 section of your library.

          Gary Sisco,
          former ET3,
          USCG,
          Vietnam Era

          5 out of 5 stars A personable and engaging tale of World War II from an oft-overlooked point of view........2007-04-10

          Author Ken Wiley tells of his service in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II in Lucky Thirteen: D-Days in the Pacific with the U.S. Coast Guard in World War II, a military memoir in first-person perspective. Wiley was only 17 when he enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1943; in the Pacific Theater, he was given responsibility of commanding "Lucky Thirteen", his own Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel. His task was to shuttle troops and supplies form the transport to the beaches, often while under fire and during inclement weather conditions. He served in campaigns for the Marshall Islands, the Marianas, the Philippines, and Okinawa. Lucky Thirteen recounts beach combat, kamikazes and suicide boats, sniper fire, and dangerous jungle river expeditions as well as sad tales of lost loves, friends made and lost, and humorous accounts of shipboard life. A personable and engaging tale of World War II from an oft-overlooked point of view.
          Lucky Thirteen (Replica 11)
          Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
          • Esprit de Corps or just A Spree
          • Aly isnt your ordinary clone!
          • Lucky 13
          • Lucky I got this book....it's good!
          • :)
          Lucky Thirteen (Replica 11)
          Marilyn Kaye
          Manufacturer: Skylark
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Paperback

          Science Fiction, Fantasy, & MagicScience Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic | Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
          GeneralGeneral | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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          ASIN: 0553487124
          Release Date: 2000-04-11

          Book Description

          Amy thinks being perfect can be a real drag. Everyone expects her to behave responsibly and to use her extraordinary talents for good. But when she meets one of her clones--an unexpected Amy, Number Thirteen, who goes by the name Aly--she gets a taste of normal teen life and wants more. Aly is a reject from Project Crescent. She runs with a wild crowd whose motto is Good Times Now! She convinces Amy to hang loose and have fun. Drawn by Aly's free spirit, Amy rejects her genetic roots. But Aly's carefree ways come at a high cost. . . .

          Customer Reviews:

          5 out of 5 stars Esprit de Corps or just A Spree.......2003-09-25

          As with other books in the series it is best to read them in order. However in the first part of the book you are gracefully brought up to speed as to what Replica is all about. If you get a chance watch the movie "Anna to the Infinite Power." This has a similar theme.

          Amy is informed by a fortune teller at the carnival that we will meet a stranger and that stranger would be familiar. Amy Seven encounters Aly (Amy Thirteen) and a different life style. Amy Seven must make a few decisions. The decisions may prove to be fatal.
          Is using her special abilities in the service of her friends being "taken advantage of"?
          Is dummying down to be a friend worth the price?
          Is it ethical to give someone else the false hope that they can be like her?
          If you were Amy what would you do?

          Now enjoy the saga of "Lucky Thirteen" Sometimes it's better to be superstitious!

          5 out of 5 stars Aly isnt your ordinary clone!.......2002-08-05

          In the eleventh book in the Replica series, Amy goes to a carnival where she sees a girl who looks like here so she has to be an Amy right? Wrong! Amy follows her and sees her playing some of the games and she cant even throw a ball through a net! Amy finds out that her name is Aly, and that she was a reject from project cresent. This was a great book and a great addition to the series. You should definitely read it!

          5 out of 5 stars Lucky 13.......2002-01-10

          Lucky thirteen is the BEST Replica book yet.It is SO cool how Amy meets Aly and how they devlop a friendship.

          So the story is:At a Carnival Amy finds another girl she thinks is an 'Amy' clone,and tries to find her.But, it turns out Aly is the thirteenth clone the 'Reject'.Amy and Aly soon become best friends,and also get in TONS of trouble...

          To find out what happens you have to read the book.It is Definetly worth it!!!

          4 out of 5 stars Lucky I got this book....it's good!.......2001-12-08

          This is a good book. I will tell you a little about it so you can decide if you want it or not. Amy meets a reject clone, Allie. Allie thinks they are biological sisters or something, but Amy knows what really happened. Allie is jealous of Amy and vice versa. I didn't like the ending or some of the story, but this book is a must buy!

          3 out of 5 stars :).......2001-08-30

          --Amy meets Aly, the "reject clone" - that is, Number 13, the only one of the group without special powers. She sees how normal twelve-year-olds are living and likes it quite a bit, and starts to hang out with Aly's friends and family, who are delighted with meeting their adopted daughter's biological "twin sister"! However, Aly feels that Amy is better at everything than she is, and after trying to climb a Ferris wheel at the local fair to prove she is just as good as Amy, she is injured and the family moves away to avoid Amy's influence. --I didn't especially like this book. The ending is terrible, cruel, and completely unlike the Amy we know. I wasn't satisfied, though the rest of the book was pretty good. --Marisa
          Abby's Lucky Thirteen (Baby-Sitters Club)
          Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
          • Great!
          • Pretty good
          • SHE IS SUSPENDED!
          • better than I thought it would be
          • Jewish Coming of Age for Abby
          Abby's Lucky Thirteen (Baby-Sitters Club)
          Ann M. Martin
          Manufacturer: Scholastic
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Paperback

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          ASIN: 0590228803

          Customer Reviews:

          5 out of 5 stars Great!.......2005-05-10

          Abby is suspended from school because of cheating in her math test. And Abby keeps it as a secret. She doesn't want to tell her mother and anna what really happened.

          4 out of 5 stars Pretty good.......2004-03-13

          Abby and her twin sister Anna recently turned thirteen, and are preparing for their Baht Mitzvah. Not long before the Baht Mitzvah, Abby is wrongly accused of cheating on a math test. Her teacher suspends her, and Abby tries to keep it a secret! Read this book and find out what happens!

          5 out of 5 stars SHE IS SUSPENDED!.......2000-02-27

          Abby and her twin sister, Anna, recently turned thirteen. They are preparing for their Bat Mitzvah, which is a big deal for the twins and their mother. And now, just when Abby should be acting like an adult, she is caught cheating on a math test and is suspended from school. Even though Abby didn't cheat, she refuses to tell what really happened. She even keeps it a secret from her mother. Abby is heading for big trouble on the biggest day of her life.

          4 out of 5 stars better than I thought it would be.......1999-09-12

          This book was better than I thought it would be. It dragged on in some parts, and it isn't a book that I would read over and over again, but all in all, it was pretty good.

          4 out of 5 stars Jewish Coming of Age for Abby.......1999-06-18

          I am preparing for my Bat Mitzvah and I found this book extremely informative and comforting. In my opinion,more books should be written about religion for children.
          Lucky Thirteen (Canadians in Battle Series)
          Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
          • From the back cover
          Lucky Thirteen (Canadians in Battle Series)
          Hugh Godefroy
          Manufacturer: Stoddart
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Paperback

          GeneralGeneral | World War II | Military | History | Subjects | Books
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          ASIN: 0773751025

          Customer Reviews:

          4 out of 5 stars From the back cover.......2006-06-23

          Out of the blood-spattered sky they swooped and circled and preyed on one another until only a very few remained. Hugh Constant Godefroy was one of the "Lucky 13".

          When Canada followed Britain with its declaration of war in 1940, Hugh Godefroy was filled with pride. That pride was turned to fury when Hitler retaliated by sinking the defenseless oceanliner Athenia; Hugh's girlfriend, Peggy Hodge, was on board. Hugh, an engineering student at the University of Toronto, signed up for duty that very day and went on to become a member of the RCAF and a wing commander.

          The thrill and danger of aerial combat against the German Luftwaff is vividly recounted. As a fighter pilot he sought out German pilots over the sea and dueled them to the death, becoming one of the most decorated flyers in Canada's history. As a young man he found romance and love, becoming both husband and father during the dramatic days of the Second World War. As drama, Lucky 13 is absorbing, as a close-up record of World War II's air war it is invaluable.
          Lucky numbers;: Thirteen stunts, sketches and monologues,
          Average customer rating: Not rated
            Lucky numbers;: Thirteen stunts, sketches and monologues,
            Carl Webster Pierce
            Manufacturer: The Dramatic Pub. Co
            ProductGroup: Book
            Binding: Unknown Binding

            GeneralGeneral | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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            GeneralGeneral | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
            ASIN: B00086FLYG
            Lucky Thirteen
            Average customer rating: Not rated
              Lucky Thirteen
              Ramesh K Sharma
              Manufacturer: iUniverse, Inc.
              ProductGroup: Book
              Binding: Paperback

              GeneralGeneral | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
              SuspenseSuspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
              GeneralGeneral | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
              Action & AdventureAction & Adventure | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
              Action & AdventureAction & Adventure | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
              GeneralGeneral | Mystery & Thrillers | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
              GeneralGeneral | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
              SuspenseSuspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
              All 4-for-3 DealsAll 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
              ASIN: 0595397891

              Book Description

              The story revolves around the life of a young man who came from a poor family but has strong will power to make a big success in life. Running away from home, due to circumstances he discovers path of crime. He makes his first money by blackmailing his boss about his extra marital affair. With this money, he starts a bogus finance company. He disappears with money and all blame goes to his partner. His partner commits suicide and the case closes. He then becomes a diamond merchant. He earns a big fortune by getting his business colleagues kidnapped. He gets superstitious as he finds that all his successes were coming on thirteenth day of the month. He starts doing all his major work on thirteenth day. He gets married by falling in love and has two kids.

              He shifts to Delhi and starts business as a real estate developer. One day he meets a very sexy woman in party. He gets bowled over by her charm. She joins him in his business and slowly starts controlling him and his business. He passionately falls for her and decides to leave his faithful wife and kids for her. One day, he accidentally reads her mail box in computer and comes to know her real picture. He designs a perfect murder for her and commits on his lucky day. But this time his luck runs out and he is arrested as her body is discovered in most unusual circumstances.

              The Lucky Thirteen
              Average customer rating: Not rated
                The Lucky Thirteen
                Kent
                Manufacturer: Pantheon Books
                ProductGroup: Book
                Binding: Hardcover
                ASIN: B000JBZJEM
                Lucky Thirteen: A Collection of Thirteen Smart Recitations for Male Entertainers
                Average customer rating: Not rated
                  Lucky Thirteen: A Collection of Thirteen Smart Recitations for Male Entertainers

                  Manufacturer: Samuel French
                  ProductGroup: Book
                  Binding: Paperback
                  ASIN: B000C0NZ4Q
                  The lucky thirteen;: Stories from around the world
                  Average customer rating: Not rated
                    The lucky thirteen;: Stories from around the world
                    Margaret Hatwell Kent
                    Manufacturer: Pantheon Books
                    ProductGroup: Book
                    Binding: Unknown Binding

                    Children's BooksChildren's Books | Subjects | Books | Baby-3 | Ages 4-8 | Ages 9-12 | Animals | Arts & Music | Books on Cassette | Books on CD | Authors & Illustrators, A-Z | Computers | Educational | History & Historical Fiction | Issues | Literature | Obsessions | People & Places | Popular Characters | Reference & Nonfiction | Religions | Science, Nature & How It Works | Series | Sports & Activities
                    ASIN: B0007E1AVW
                    Our Jolly Trip Around the World with Captain Parker or the Lucky thirteen and Their Long Voyage of Discovery in Search of Knowledge
                    Average customer rating: Not rated
                      Our Jolly Trip Around the World with Captain Parker or the Lucky thirteen and Their Long Voyage of Discovery in Search of Knowledge
                      Ella Hines Stratton
                      Manufacturer: D. Z. Howell
                      ProductGroup: Book
                      Binding: Hardcover
                      ASIN: B000UVCE0I

                      Call of the Minaret
                      Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
                      • Call of the Minaret - by Kenneth Cragg
                      Call of the Minaret
                      Kenneth Cragg
                      Manufacturer: Oneworld Publications
                      ProductGroup: Book
                      Binding: Paperback

                      GeneralGeneral | Theology | Reference | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
                      GeneralGeneral | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
                      GeneralGeneral | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
                      GeneralGeneral | Islam | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
                      Comparative ReligionComparative Religion | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
                      Similar Items:
                      1. Muhammad and the Christian: A Question of Response Muhammad and the Christian: A Question of Response
                      2. Jesus and the Muslim: An Exploration Jesus and the Muslim: An Exploration
                      3. Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions (Baker Reference Library) Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions (Baker Reference Library)
                      4. Introduction to the Qur'an Introduction to the Qur'an
                      5. Mission in Acts: Ancient Narratives in Contemporary Context (American Society of Missiology Ser) Mission in Acts: Ancient Narratives in Contemporary Context (American Society of Missiology Ser)

                      ASIN: 1851682104

                      Book Description

                      First published in 1956, The Call of the Minaret remains one of the most acclaimed works in the field of Muslim-Christian relations. The author reveals that the Muslim call to prayer contains a summons for Christians and Muslims alike.

                      Customer Reviews:

                      5 out of 5 stars Call of the Minaret - by Kenneth Cragg.......2001-12-11

                      This book by Kenneth Cragg is superb. Cragg has a heart for people, all people, and at the same time, a deep and abiding faith in Jesus Christ, King of kings, and Lord of lords. He is an articulate and scholarly Mother Theresa.

                      The first half of the book describes Islam and its beliefs. He apparently has the approval of Muslims, who say that his descriptions are accurate. He does not shrink from spelling out the problems and issues within Islam, nor its radical differences from Christianity.

                      The second half of the book describes how Christians can helpfully relate to Islam. It ought to be required reading for missionaries and all Christians for its powerful perspective on how to reach out to persons of other beliefs.

                      Cragg wrote the book in 1955, when Islamic peoples were just coming into modernity and finding their own national identities, largely because of WWII and the collapse of the colonial empires. Charges of terrorism were even then being leveled. The book is a superb introduction to the Islamic world leading up to the present confrontation with terrorism from within their ranks.

                      Cragg does not deal with the issues of terrorism as we see it half a century later, but he does help the reader understand how Islam must inevitably drift in that direction. Allah is a distant deity, whom one never gets to know personally, never as "Father". One gets to know only the law of Allah. That kind of distant, almost deist, deity is guaranteed to inspire deep feelings of resentment and anger in its worshippers. Just as with a human father of like character. It is a religion without grace in the Christian understanding of the word.

                      Cragg describes the plight and yearnings of the Muslims with great sensitivity, and with clarity on how Christians can maintain their worship of the Triune God and at the same time reach out with social and political as well as religious integrity.

                      It would be hard to imagine a better introduction to Islam, especially in light of the current spiritual warfare developing (yet once again) between Islam and Christianity. Christians are very ill equipped to deal with spiritual warfare on almost any front. They would do well to learn about Islam from someone who sees their need for Christ, and at the same time loves them deeply.

                      Blessings,
                      Earle Fox
                      Call from the Minaret
                      Average customer rating: Not rated
                        Call from the Minaret
                        Muhammad Iqbal
                        Manufacturer: Hodder & Stoughton Educational Division
                        ProductGroup: Book
                        Binding: Hardcover

                        GeneralGeneral | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
                        ASIN: 0340256826
                        The Call of the Minaret
                        Average customer rating: Not rated
                          The Call of the Minaret
                          Kenneth Cragg
                          Manufacturer: Galaxy
                          ProductGroup: Book
                          Binding: Paperback
                          ASIN: B000KV9G68
                          The Call Of The Minaret -
                          Average customer rating: Not rated
                            The Call Of The Minaret -
                            Kenneth Cragg -
                            Manufacturer: Oxford University Press -
                            ProductGroup: Book
                            Binding: Paperback
                            ASIN: B000O65BKO
                            THE CALL OF THE MINARET
                            Average customer rating: Not rated
                              THE CALL OF THE MINARET
                              CRAGG KENNETH
                              Manufacturer: OXFORD U. PRESS
                              ProductGroup: Book
                              Binding: Paperback
                              ASIN: B000PGRS36
                              The Call Of The Minaret
                              Average customer rating: Not rated
                                The Call Of The Minaret
                                Kenneth Cragg
                                Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
                                ProductGroup: Book
                                Binding: Paperback
                                ASIN: B000OKL0U0
                                Call of the Minaret
                                Average customer rating: Not rated
                                  Call of the Minaret
                                  Kenneth Cragg
                                  Manufacturer: OXFORD UNIV PRESS (NY)
                                  ProductGroup: Book
                                  Binding: Paperback
                                  ASIN: B000UYMZI6
                                  An Introduction to Islam: A Catholic Answer to the Call of the Minaret
                                  Average customer rating: Not rated
                                    An Introduction to Islam: A Catholic Answer to the Call of the Minaret
                                    Patrick Madrid
                                    Manufacturer: Surprised By Truth Seminars
                                    ProductGroup: Book
                                    Binding: Audio Cassette

                                    ChristianityChristianity | Religion & Spirituality | Books on Cassette | Audiobooks | Formats | Books | Bibles
                                    GeneralGeneral | Religion & Spirituality | Books on Cassette | Audiobooks | Formats | Books
                                    GeneralGeneral | Books on Cassette | Audiobooks | Formats | Books
                                    GeneralGeneral | Catholicism | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
                                    GeneralGeneral | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
                                    GeneralGeneral | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
                                    TheologyTheology | Islam | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
                                    ASIN: 1931973008

                                    Book Description

                                    In this riveting discussion, Catholic author and commentator Patrick Madrid teams up with Daniel Ali, a Kurdish former Muslim who converted to Catholicism in 1996, to provide an unprecedented and compelling look at the religion of Islam. You'll learn what Muslims really believe about the nature of God, Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, Jihads, and what the Koran says about how Muslims should view non-Muslims. And you'll discover why this devout Muslim converted to faith in Jesus Christ and entered the Catholic Church and why he has since devoted his life to reaching out to Muslims with the saving message of Christ. Now more than ever Islam's call of the minaret must be answered with a vibrant Catholic response. This exciting and deeply informative new tape set will help you learn how to understand and respond to Islam. This is first in a series of new tapes giving a Catholic answer to the challenge of Islam. Powerful and penetrating!

                                    Books:

                                    1. Broken as Things Are: A Novel
                                    2. Bronstein's Children
                                    3. By Salt Water: Stories (New Island New Fiction)
                                    4. Cincinnati and Other Plays (includes the plays Cincinnati, Nightmare with Clocks, Captain Cook, Dead Men's Fingers, Axis Sally, How Many Children Had Lady Macbeth, and Full Fathom Five)
                                    5. Cleopatra: Being an Account of the Fall and Vengeance of Harmachis, the Royal Egyptian, As Set Forth by His Own Hand (Works of H. Rider Haggard)
                                    6. Collected Tales and Fantasies of Lord Berners: Including Percy Wallingford, the Camel, Mr. Pidger, Count Omega, the Romance of a Nose, Far from the Madding War
                                    7. Colored Waiting Room
                                    8. Communities in Nature - Shorelands (Communities in Nature)
                                    9. Confessions of Zeno
                                    10. Cuba Libre

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