Book Description

"A book of stories, a book of prayer, a book to be read meditatively and well," DAKOTA offers a timeless tribute to a place in the American landscape that is at once desolate and sublime, harsh and forgiving, steeped in history and myth. From the award-winning author of AMAZING GRACE, DAKOTA is Kathleen Norris at her most thoughtful, her most discerning, her best. She gives us, once again, a rare "gift of hope and balance, a place to begin" (Chicago Tribune) and assurance that wherever we go, we chart our own spiritual geography. ... Read more

Reviews (39)

This book rings true
My grandparents live about 30 miles from Lemmon, SD (the setting of Norris's memoir). I was overwhelmed at times while reading Dakota: A spiritual Geography. She has portrayed the people as only an insider/outsider can -- seeing both the faults and the strengths of a small midwestern town. What touched me more than anything, however, was her portrayal of the land. This beautiful, striking, and awe inspiring landscape is brought to life by Norris. I had tears in my eyes while reading and felt pangs of homesickness. Dakota can be a slow read, but it is a beautiful book.

a beautiful, deliberate book of faith
Kathleen Norris is the author of Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith, and The Cloister Walk. She is a poet. Dakota was her first work of nonfiction/memoir. Having read both Amazing Grace and The Cloister Walk, I had an idea of what to expect from Norris's work. She writes deeply personal and deeply spiritual books. Dakota has the same type of feel to it, but the location and the subject is different.

Kathleen Norris's past lay in western South Dakota, but for twenty years she had abandoned both her faith as well has her history. She went to school in New York but decides to move back to Lemmon, SD with her husband. Her book is subtitled "A Spiritual Geography". She writes early on that geography comes from the words for earth and writing, and so knowing that this is a spiritual geography we immediately know that this is a spiritual discussion of the Dakotas, as well as also being about Norris herself.

Norris writes about small town life and small town church, and a semi-history of the town of Lemmon. Since most of the details are told in anecdote, it makes things easier to read. One thing that struck me was how she was comparing monastic life to small town faith and how much things tied together like that. The focus on monastic life and on monks is a theme and a topic that will run throughout the book as well as into her subsequent books. Kathleen Norris may not have a mainstream Christian faith, but she has a deep reverence and respect for the Christian tradition and faith, especially that which has come from the monasteries.

This is a slow moving, peaceful book. It is thoughtful, intelligent, and moving. It is filled to the brim with a steady faith in Christ and in some ways, it moves like time spent in a monastery. I don't know if this sounds like a recommendation, but it is meant to be. I found Dakota to be very interesting and along with Dakota, I would recommend Norris's later book: Amazing Grace.

Slow But Steady
I wasn't sure I'd like Dakota because my spirituality leans toward activism rather than asceticism. Kathleen Norris, however, in her elegant, steady way, encourages reflection and thinking, not just about the geography of the land but also about the geography of a spirit-led life.

Wide open spaces
We have read of the emptying out of the population in selected areas of the prairie states. We have also read of the demise of the family farm because of competition from industrial-style farming operations and consequent over production. We have also read of the destruction of the habitat and other kinds of environmental abuses resulting in the near disappearance of the actual prairie eco-system. Some or all of the factors noted above have resulted in the creation of a new frontier. Kathleen Norris provides a subjective account of the same phenomena in her book, Dakota.

In immediate and human terms she identifies the economic causes and cultural consequences of a broad regional trend. In places her commentary is caustic as she quotes someone who opines that now the farmers are becoming Indians, too, that is to say that everyone in the western areas of North Dakota and South Dakota is becoming marginalized. She describes well the defensiveness of the remaining people who question the motives of professionals who seek to settle in their midst, deeming that such individuals must be second rate or failures of some sort.

Another related characteristic is the inwardness and the creeping parochialism of the community subject to population loss. It would seem that there is a loss of connection to the values of the greater society. She finds that in the course of her observations she has seen instances where families overvalue the children who manage to leave the region and undervalue those who remain to care for family members and to farm. It seems as if the children who stay in the region are seen as losers, diminished beings, who did not cope well in the competition of life.

In addition to the bitterness imposed by psychology and economic circumstances, Norris leads the reader to a position of hope and opportunity in the creation of new American deserts suitable for personal artistic and spiritual growth. For example, deserts make people slow down and take stock of one's surroundings. They may heighten awareness as limitation of sensory input opens out to attention to detail and wonder.

A full spirit in the stillness of emptiness
'Nature, in Dakota, can indeed be an experience of the holy.'

From the earliest days of Christianity (and indeed, since the earliest days of religion, period!), women and men have sought understanding in the the large, unpopulated expanses of the earth, far from the madding crowds of urban life. Moses discerned his call from God in the desert wanderings after fleeing Egypt, only to return as the Deliverer; Jesus' first act after baptism was to wander the desert; Mohammed had his desert experience; prophets, sages, wise women and men have always found in the solitude and magnitude of places such as Dakota a spirituality hard to express.

Kathleen Norris, however, does an admirable and enlightening job of putting words to that very ephemeral concept. Combining personal stories with prayerful reflections and mediations, Norris weaves together a book whose riches slowly unfold only for those who give particular attention; however, it yields treasure to even the most cursory of readers, too. Neither Kathleen Norris nor her husband were natives of the land, both having come from vastly different places than the sparsely populated, silent and enigmatic plains. Yet Norris has become a spokeswoman of sorts for the spirituality that is found in a place such as this, the modern equivalent of the early Christian Desert Fathers.

Like those early fathers (alas, not much is recorded about the women who made such decisions in favour of isolation), she has attached both a meditative and monastic framework to her searchings. Being a protestant by upbringing, Norris brings a critical, outsider view to the understanding of monastic practice and the spirituality inherent therein. One of the particular vows of a Benedictine monastic, the variety with which Norris has become most familiar, is the vow of stability--i.e., to remain in one place.

Remaining in one place is important, for in the modern world (as in past times) there is a tendency to see residence in any given place as impermanent and transitory; it is only by becoming wedded to a place that one can get to understand the hidden and secret aspects that are crucial to forming the fabric of life in such places. Dakota is one such place. Those of us who are more urban cultured (and, chances are, 92% of you reading this are urban- or suburban-cultured) tend to regard the plains as empty.

'Everything that seems empty is full of the angels of God.' - St. Hilary

The Plains have become for Norris, quite simply, her monastery -- her place to be apart and to be set apart, so that she may thrive and grow. There is room to move and grow. There is silence to grow into, without the problem of being caught by the noise and stunted. There is an emptiness to contemplate, to fill, to deplete, and to marvel at as it continues its vast expanse.

How much more of a spiritual awakening can one have than to witness the passing of a storm, seen rolling in from miles away, to fill a vast expansive sky, and then to dissipate, leaving the wideness free again to its original stillness? In the contemplation of such natural events, the wonders of all creation become present.

Of course, Norris points out the advantages of this kind of isolation.

'Living in a town so small that, as one friend puts it, the poets and ministers have to hang out together has its advantages. We raid each other's libraries and sustain decent arguments on matters of science, politics, and religion. ...There is a wariness on both sides: poets and Christians have been at odds with one another, off and on, for two thousand years. There is also trust: we are people who believe in the power of words to effect change in the human heart.'

Norris intersperses weather reports with her narratives and essays -- weather being a crucial and vital elemen to the life of the plains. After all, one might get wisked off to Oz by the upcoming twister. Alas, this happens all to often in spiritual development -- one becomes mesmerised by the storm, the power and awesome force, the elegance, or one becomes terrified; rarely does one have a neutral response. How one responds to the internal storms makes all the difference. One spiritual director of mine used to start our discussions with the 'weather report', by which he meant for me to report simply what is happening spiritually, with a minimum of interpretation (saying a cloud looks like Mickey Mouse may be well and good, but is that cloud just floating by or is it turning into a tornado?).

Life on the plains, life on the farm, is earnestly cyclical, as is the pattern of the rule of monasticism. The cycle is never ending, regardless of any events or crises that may arise--the community carries on, and life carries on, always with the long-term in view. The storm will pass, the seasons will pass, the harvest will come, and come again, and again. And still it all remains.

Thomas Merton wrote:

Love winter when the plant says nothing.
Be still
Listen to the stones of the wall
Be silent, they try
To speak your
Name.
Listen
To the living walls.
Who are you?
Who
Are you? Whose
Silence are you?

Dakota is a place to find the answers. Come find treasures beyond rubies in the empty fullness of Norris' Dakota. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

"The War Against The Unregenerate Self Goes On"
Written over a period of twelve months, May Sarton's Journal Of A Solitude (1973) is a meditation on life, living alone, romantic love, and the creative process. Composed in diary form, the book was produced while Sarton was living alone in a small village in rural New Hampshire. By 1973, Sarton was fifty - eight years of age and an established novelist and poet who had known and corresponded with such literary luminaries as Virginia Woolf and Hilda Doolittle. Journal Of A Solitude is a warm, touching, very human book, which, after its successful publication, became the cornerstone upon which Sarton's uneasy reputation has settled. But Journal Of A Solitude also reveals Sarton to have been something of an odd duck modestly dressed in the clothing, mores, and mannerisms of a gentile Belgian lady. Sadly, what Sarton seems determined not to come to terms with is that she was a tepid, literal - minded poet as well as a less than first- rate literary novelist; this is important, because the lack of critical attention her work received ("What I have not had is the respect due what is now a considerable opus") is a constant theme of the book and source of tension. As a result, "ornery" Sarton shifts continuously between states of creative over appraisal and damning self - recrimination. Sarton's quoted poems clearly reveal a lack of lyrical skill and an absence of any visionary power whatsoever. Though she states, "Whatever peace I know rests in the natural world," Journal Of A Solitude also reveals a tender - hearted animal lover and enthusiastic gardener who nonetheless appears to lack a higher sense of nature as a symbol, sign, or metaphor for the transcendent forces evident in human reality.

Badly advised by friend and poet Louise Bogan to "keep the Hell" out of her work, Sarton, accepting Bogan's suggestion, struggles daily with a devastating, irrational temper, depression serious enough to drive her to suicidal states, loneliness, and, at only fifty - eight, a sense of herself as "old, dull, and useless." Sarton, who appears to have surprisingly little self - knowledge for a person of her maturity, is haunted by reoccurring image of "plants, bulbs, in the cellar, trying to grow without light, putting out white shoots that will inevitably wither," but doesn't consciously relate this image directly to herself or her difficult present. When a close friend visits for several days, Sarton is incensed when the woman makes an offhand comment about the faded state of a vase of flowers (though as the photographs included reveal, flower arranging was not among Sarton's talents). Clearly, some or most of Sarton's "hell" should have gone into and fueled her creative work, as it does in the case of most artists. Is appears that there were many things in her life that Sarton simply didn't want to confront or acknowledge.

Sarton makes contradictory statements about God and her religious beliefs, commenting first that writing poetry is her method of communicating with God, but later states, "I am not a believer." Though she frequently writes at length about the emancipation of women and the need for the abolition of gender roles, she also makes generalized statements like "nurturing is women's work," and believes that "blacks" have the "grace and instinct and intuitive understanding" necessary for the nursing profession. Today, Sarton's expression "we have so much to learn from them ("blacks")" sounds like well - intended but unconsciously smug pandering.

Sarton was not an intellectual, but the limited perspective cumulatively elaborated in her novels and poetry found a ready audience in "nice" like - minded women for whom more challenging authors like Muriel Spark, Isak Dinesen, Virginia Woolf, Jean Rhys, Katherine Anne Porter, or Jane Bowles apparently represented an arduous uphill climb. What the book does illustrate is the danger of making an unquestioning habit of "impeccable" WASP manners and politeness over a lifetime. Sarton, her close friends, and colleagues all appear to exist in a brittle world where truthful communication and direct, honest criticism are to be strenuously avoided in the name of continued social niceties.

Sadly, the success of Journal Of A Solitude had an ultimately negative effect on Sarton's career, as she began producing journal volume after journal volume (Recovering, At Seventy, After The Stroke, Endgame: A Journal Of The Seventy-ninth Year, etc.), of which only The House By The Sea, which immediately followed the present volume, had the same freshness, integrity, and lack of self - consciousness. Sarton was soon to become a cottage industry for her publishers, turning out further volumes of banal poetry -- "Moose In The Morning" -- and, like Edith Sitwell in old age, simply publishing too much without due editorial consideration.

Journal Of A Solitude does reflect a genuine, shadow - casting human presence as well as a state of being which many people, especially the creative, the introverted, and those moving uncertainly towards later life may respond to fully. Sarton's moments of anxiety, despair, and doubt, as well as her stoicism, fortitude, and courage, are sincerely expressed, touching, and inspiring. Sarton accurately perceived herself to be country - loving, intelligent, and serenity - seeking individual who put a high premium on the simpler aspects of life. But for an author who had over twenty books published by 1973 and who was on a first - name basis with some of literature's most notoriously critical figures, Sarton was a surprisingly unsophisticated person. As a result, it is the fallible human being, and not the creative writer, who shines most brightly in Journal Of A Solitude.

Discretely out
How refreshing to find a work written by a woman who, though unafraid to state exactly who she is, nevertheless does not need to stand and SHOUT IT OUT! As a fellow lesbian and poet, I would like to commend May Sarton's journal both for its discretion and lack of temerity. To think that she wrote her most meaningful work several decades ago, yet one can so easily relate to it today! Her universality speaks for itself - I am sure that very few women will be unable to resist responding to her revelations, whatever their standpoint on sexuality. I just wish so very much that I could have had the privilege of corresponding with her.

soothing reading
reading this book was like meditation for me. She is a wonderful writer. I keep her journals close to my bed. If I've had a particularly stressful day I will pick up her journal and start reading. Like a Matisse painting, her words are "mental rest for the weary."

touching the soul
I keep this book with me throughout my life. I first read it quite a few years ago, and felt it touch truths that I didn't dare go near previously. Thank you, Ms. Sarton, for sharing your world, for daring to articulate what really goes on in the mind. Everyone should give it a shot, and maybe another because its different each time I read her words. Sometimes I'm receptive, sometimes not; after all, we are all reading through our own lens.

An intriguing introduction to Sarton
The first of Sarton's Jornals, this one introduces the readers to the players -- both human and animal -- that make return appearances in her subsequent journals. In these pages, Sarton provides us with a view of one who looks closely at the everyday. She examines larger themes as well creating a journal that speaks plainly of the seasons and the cycles of life. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

How to teach peace...and how to learn to be peaceful
In 2002, I read 101 books. "I'd Rather Teach Peace" was the best one.

Colman McCarthy tells stories about teaching people to resolve conflicts. He describes what worked and what didn't. He also tells you what his students taught HIM --- he's humble enough to know he's a student, too.

I learned that I don't think about peace enough. Now I think about it more and I keep an eye out for conflicts that I can help to resolve. I don't know exactly how to create peace around me, but thanks to Colman McCarthy I know I need to learn.

This is an inspiring and simple book. I'd gladly read another 100 just to stumble across something like this again.

It changed my stance from hardcore military to peace seeker
Get this book and absorb it! I have reviewed it for two publications and still marvel at its contents. This man changed my mind about the subject of peace, so give him a chance to reach you. Even if you are a diehard military person (I'm a former sergeant of the 101st Airborne) you will still see the common sense in what this man is teaching. His solutions will work, but only if enough of us heed his words and apply them. I wish every person in the world would read this book!

Lessons from a master of peace education
Longtime and now retired Washington Post columnist Colman McCarthy was for many years one of the most prominent voices writing about peace and social justice issues in the mainstream press. In 1982, he was invited to teach a course on writing at a public high school in a poverty-stricken area of Washington D.C. But rather than teach about writing, he responded "I'd rather teach peace." This simple declaration set in motion a series of events that has now led to him teaching over 5000 students about the principles of nonviolence, pacifism and conflict management. This slim volume (140 pages, including an excellent, concise bibliography) recounts several of his experiences in a variety of settings. As word spread of McCarthy's resourceful and engaging teaching, and the positive responses of his students, many other schools and organizations saw an opportunity to have him come to share his insights. Here, McCarthy takes a representative sampling and weaves it together smoothly, demonstrating how practical and applicable a nonviolent ethic is in all walks of life.

The settings that McCarthy taught in run the gamut of contemporary society, and he shows no favoritism as his experiences are recounted with equal compassion and critique of the various audiences with whom he interacts. From prestigious graduate schools (like Georgetown Law) to youth detention centers, private religious academies, alternative high schools, and other settings, McCarthy recognizes that no matter what the circumstances his students may find themselves in, they (and we) all share a common humanity that puts whatever differences may exist among us in perspective. He blends humor, intriguing anecdotes of pacifism in action, and a more than infrequent use of confrontational questions to get students to, as he says, not merely ask questions, but question the answers that they and so many of us have been conditioned to receive about many of the social and cultural dilemmas facing us in today's world. McCarthy is truly a master at getting people to reconsider their old assumptions, and this may be among the most valuable contributions of this book. His confidence in the ultimate value and wisdom of a determinedly non-violent approach is unshakeable, event to the point that I sometimes wonder how he was able to put up with all the examples of people around us who not only are so quick to concede the "necessity" of violence but often seem to prefer it to anything resembling even a mildly pacifistic approach. In the current circumstances of the "war on terrorism" (which McCarthy alludes to in the book's introduction, written in November of 2001), we need voices like his to speak forth in the public arena, as well as to offer us encouragement when it seems like so many around us are all too ready to plunge further into a violent struggle aimed at somehow promoting "peace and security."

Anyone interested in getting some good tips on how to communicate principles of peace to an audience that isn't necessarily already committed to a lifestyle of non-violence will find plenty of helpful material here. But the appeal of the book doesn't stop there. McCarthy also addresses a range of significant socio-political issues including the death penalty and the criminal justice system, the effects of US foreign policy on other nations over the past 55 years, the benefits of a vegetarian diet, racism, substance abuse and its treatment, communication and cooperation skills, and a host of other topics, all delivered in the casual, easily readable style of one who has been studying and living out these values for decades. Never at a loss for an opinion on something, and able to produce the facts to back himself up, Colman McCarthy is a man committed to realizing a vision of a world where peace is taught as the first, best and only justifiable response for young and old alike. His book offers us a needed boost of encouragement that we who share his vision are indeed helping to create a more harmonious and sustainable world.

A gem of a book
Most of us know Colman McCarthy as a perceptive and sensitive journalist and religious commentator. But what we may not know is that he's also a devoted teacher of peace issues and peacemaking--so devoted, in fact, that he gave up his position at the "Washington Post" to devote himself full time to teaching. Moreover, he's taught in an amazing variety of contexts: university law schools, colleges, correctional institutions, inner city schools, suburb schools, alternative schools, public schools.

*I'd Rather Teach Peace* is a running account of some of McCarthy's experiences at the various places he's taught peace. Three features make the book especially worthwhile. The first is McCarthy's wonderfully flowing style. Reading his prose is like having a conversation with a person who loves words and people. The second is McCarthy's reflections on peace and peacemaking, and why so few folks in this country take either very seriously. But the third feature--and, for my money, the heart of the book--is the story of McCarthy's adventures in the classroom, chatting with kids about peace, overcoming their resistance, learning from their experiences, challenging them to think outside the box. McCarthy clearly teaches peacemaking as a way of life, not merely a cessation of war, and one of the first conditions is that his students begin to ask themselves some tough questions about how and why they value what they do. In reading his accounts, we find ourselves in the classroom with him and his students.

Professional teachers (and I'm one of them) will profit from the pedagogical strategies that McCarthy writes about. My favorite one, an exercise for encouraging students to reflect on the meaning of authority, is the "red car, green car game." Excellent! ... Read more

Reviews (3)

It's true; the rich do live differently from the rest of us
This well-written memoir is an opportunity to get a first-hand peek at a whole different culture, society and way of thinking. The author is not pretenuous at all in the almost matter-of-fact style that she uses to describe a privileged life where money was always available to provide the necessities and the luxuries. Here we see a glimpse of the reaction of the privileged class to the horrors of war when it made its way to the door steps of their salons.

The best part of the book though was the insight into the author's opinions about the philosophy of writing. Here the modern middle-class American is allowed into the thoughts and opinions of one who was raised with all the advantages of tutors, exposure to the best art in the world, and variety of influential and interesting characters who sailed through her life.

The book would have been much better had the author allowed her emotions to shine through when writing about the deaths of her loved ones. This is the only flaw in the book and this failure leaves the reader with a longing to have had more opportunity to learn the complexities of this intelligent lady.

Anyone who enjoys reading about the aristocracy will enjoy this small, spare book.

A Beautiful Book
This a charming and moving account of what on the surface appears to have been a very privileged life; however the author tells her story (which at times is very sad) without 'showing off' at all.

For those who have enjoyed this book, I recommend Kinta Beevor's A Tuscan Childhood and, also, although it is about an English childhood, James Lees-Milne's Another Self. Both manage to evoke the magic of childhood in the early 20th century in settings that are closer to, say the 17th century, than to today's world.

From the Introduction
I turn to this memoir whenever I need perspective on what matters in life. Origo, despite her privilege and access to many of the great figures of the 20th century, never lost sight of what mattered: the people that she loved. This is how she introduces her memoir: "It has sometimes been pointed out to me that I have had a very varied and interesting life, have lived in some extremely beautiful places and have met some remarkable people. I suppose it is true, but now that I have reached `the end game', I do not find myself dwelling upon these pieces on the board. The figures that still stand out there now are the people to whom, in different ways and in different degrees, I have been bound by affection. Not only are they the people whom I most vividly remember, but I realise that it is only through them that I have learned anything about life at all. The brilliant talk that I heard at I Tatti in my youth, in Bloomsbury in the thirties, in New York and Rome in later years, has lost some of its glitter. All that is left to me of my past life that has not faded into mist has passed through the filter, not of my mind, but of my affections. What has not warmed by them is now for me as if it had never been." ... Read more

Book Description

First published in 1949, Jesse Stuart's now classic personal account of his twenty years of teaching in the mountain region of Kentucky has enchanted and inspired generations of students and teachers. With eloquence and wit, Stuart traces his twenty-year career in education, which began, when he was only seventeen years old, with teaching grades one through eight in a one-room schoolhouse. Before long Stuart was on a path that made him principal and finally superintendent of city and county schools. The road was not smooth, however, and Stuart faced many challenges, from students who were considerably older -- and bigger -- than he to well-meaning but distrustful parents, uncooperative administrators and, most daunting, his own fear of failure. Through it all, Stuart never lost his abiding faith in the power of education. A graceful ode to what he considered the greatest profession there is, Jesse Stuart's The Thread That Runs So True is timeless proof that "good teaching is forever and the teacher is immortal." ... Read more

Reviews (11)

The Thread That Runs So True
The book was first copyrighted in 1949. The author, Jesse Stuart starts out as a teacher in a rural Kentucky school house. His sister was not able to finish the school year because of some bullies. Jesse, even though he was not of age, was determined to teach in that community. He did and proved himself by fist fighting the school bully in order to get respect from the bully. Jesse soon became principal and then went on to be superintendent of schools. The book weaves the struggles of educators with trustees and boards. Some with little education were controlling the teachers. Read the book to find out what it was that makes the thread that runs so true.

Unbelievable Autobiography
The Thread That Runs So True was a marvelously written autobiography with much meaning. Jesse Stuart wonderfully depicted his life as a school teacher. Somewhat near the beginning of the book, the written meaning of the title is revealed when Stuart is singing a song containing the words. The thread that runs so true is play, which is emphasized throughout the book. Yet, there is a more meaningful lesson taught. Contextually, it is evident that the thread is also the teaching profession itself. Stuart's thread would most likely be the country life. After being a successful teacher and administrator, traveling abroad, and numerous other ventures, he returns to his Kentucky home and farms sheep. This is fantastic for almost any audience, students, teachers, and those who were once either or both. It is filled with unbelievable experiences from Stuart physically fighting his students to him being shot at for dating a particular lady. In the case of good fiction, you must remind yourself that the events didn't actually happen. In reading this book, I learned that with the most interesting non-fiction, you must realize that the events actually did occur.

Good Book
This is the autobiography of a school teacher in Northern Kentucky, he comes across different obstacles some of those 2 churchs that have divided the county almost like opposing armies, violent students and many other problems. Be he still runs a successful country school.

"The Needles Eye That Does Supply'
"The Thread That Runs So True!"

The Thread That inspires lives
I read this book while preparing to do the play based from it, and I must say that it is an amazing piece of literature..... each student in the book is so lifelike that when it came time for my friend and I to play the parts of Guy Hawkins and Vaida Conway, we knew just what to do. It is a heartwarming tale....... Jesse has so many experiences with so many people in the book that it makes the story easy to follw and believable..... I would recommend this book to anyone!

Classic book on teaching
I first read this book in jr. high and it has always stayed in
my mind. Probably the most important part of Stuart's autobiography is when he finds the key to teaching--make it play, not work. When he realized this, he had very few problems with his students--and these were kids from the hills who were
having such fun at school they would walk there barefoot, or in
the winter. Anyone who wants to be a teacher--or is even mildly
interested in teaching--should read this extraordinary book. ... Read more

Book Description

LARGE PRINT Illustrated.Excellent compilation of Jane Austen's letters to family and friends. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A Must Have for the English Regency reference shelf
Primary sources are always the best in understanding the mindset of a period. Here we have a thick collection of Jane Austen's letters, which have been very well annotated by the editor. The contrast between the Memoirs of Harriette Wilson (who lived in the same period, published by the famous courtesan in 1825) are hilarious. Witty but staidly Anglican Jane at one point savagely attacks the very high aristocrats romping their scandalous way through Harriette's world, that "race of Pagets". Jane Austen's letters let us have a glimpses of what daily life in the English gentry and aristocratic class was like in Regency England; seeemingly trivial details such as the buying of Wedgwood china with the personal crest, buying the breakfast set separate to the other china sets (longing to see what a Regency breakfast set looked like! The breakfast set is mentioned in Sense and Sensibility) are actually very difficult to find out about, it is not something historians generally write about. The notes by the editor are fascinating and could lead to further research, for example how did one lord prove his title after being a Dublin potboy? And the gentleman who divorced his wife after the proper lady decided to become a professional actress...usually it was the other way around, the actress became a proper lady! The biographical details added by the editor on various gentry/aristocratic families mentioned in Jane Austen's letters are very tantalising.

A must for all fans
This collection of Jane Austens letters is a must for all fans who would like a peek inside the mind of the author. It is the most extensive collection to date and Le Faye has done quite a lot to make it as accessible as possible. It features all of the surviving letters from Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra plus some letters to some of her brothers, a niece, etc. It also includes three letters from Cassandra to various relatives from the time immediately after Jane Austens death and so also shows Jane Austen from another persons perspective. The only drawback of this book is that all the notes are in the back, arranged by the number of each letter, and so you find yourself flipping back and forth quite a lot but it is an annoyance well worth putting up with.

I have read quite a few bibliographies on Jane Austen but there is no competing with her own words. If you have any kind of interest in Jane Austen as a person then you should definitely get this book.

An absolute must for Austen fans
Proving that Austen was as fun and readable in her everyday letters as she was in her novels. These letters (about 160 of them) are great fun to read. The biting wit of her novels is clearly evident here.

As pretty much most people know Jane Austen was incredibly close to her sister Cassandra and most of these letters are from Jane to Cassandra while they were separated. After Jane's death Cassandra destroyed goodness knows how many of Jane's letters and all of her own - so this small collection is all that is left - along with some to her neices and other family members.

The collection was first put together in the 1930's by Chapman, but Le Faye has uncovered a few more since then (as I understand it).

The book is great value for money. Le Faye has done a phenomemal job in providing all the support information you will need to read and understand any aspect of the letters. They are footnoted clearly. There is a biographical and Topographical index in here - along with a chronology of Jane's life, and a chronology of the letters themselves - and if all else fails there is a comprehensive index.

For the history buff there is a great amount of really useful everyday infomration - for instance in 1813 apples were scarce in the country and cost 1 pound 5 shillings a sack. And insight into Jane herself - in April 1811 she is searching for a novel called 'Self Control' but says "I am always afraid of finding a clever novel too clever." Perhaps something that guided her own writing.

Over 600 pages of great value reading, pure pleasure and wealth of information.

A Must For All Janeites!
As a Jane Austen, Regency period and history fan I loved this book. Highly recommend it for fans of any of the above. We get to peep into Jane Austen's real life and real love for her family in the wonderful letters to her sister and her friends. We learn about the period's social mores, what they did for entertainment, the joys and losses of living in the late 1700's/early 1800's. The author carefully explains geographical names and the intricate web of family and friends in the back of the book. I read it with two bookmarks to keep track, but it's easy to read. A must to round out your Jane Austen library. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (5)

Could this be any more boring
My wife encouraged me to read this book because of the great reviews.All I can say is that this is a complete snooze.I have been reading it for nearly a month because I fall asleep after 10 pages.It seems like it could be a lot more interesting if he got into some of the darker stuff that takes place on the communes.All we get to see is a bunch of bored kids running free because their parents are off doing god knows what.I'm giving up at page 200 on moving on to something else!

osho the fraud
the author of 'my life in orange ' , tim guest, stayed at various osho communes all over the world, from india to germany ,from the age of 4 to 14.this book is mostly serious and factual , but is very funny at places .guest reveals the hipocrisy and power struggle that carried on in the name of spirituality in the communes .guest spent ten years in the osho communes , where people only wore orange clothes.as a child, he was left on his own , while his mother tried to find 'heaven on earth ' with the help of osho,her guru;a guru who got high on laughing gas and pissed all over his walls ,a guru who had 93 rolls royces ,2 for every week of the year,a guru who was laden wih jewel encrusted bracelets , but swore they were all 'worthless'.the book narrates in detail , how this hindu guru rose to great heights and then fell to steep depths,finally dying .though the book is well written and very informative , it lacks personal feeling and emotion .for instance , it would have been nice to know how the author felt living in those communes , what were his personal thoughts and feelings at being partially abandoned by his mother?instead ,the author has written more about how the other commune children and he passed their time in the communes ,devising new games and tricks to entertain themselves.on the whole, however,this book is worth a read , especially for those people who are curious about or intrigued with the indian guru , osho.

Interesting But Not Enough
This story of Tim's life growing up in thecult has some interesting aspects to it but I would have liked to have more information about the cult itself mixed in.What pulled his mother so to the cult?What were the grown ups doing there?It was interesting but it left me wanting to know more.

A fascinating glimpse of a life caught up in a cult
Tim Guest is a young British man who was thrust at an early age, by his mother's spiritual search, into the commune life of the controversial Indian guru, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. In this fascinating and moving biography of his early life as a member of that cult, we witness a boy who nurtures a broken heart through his mother's neglect and self-absorption in her search for enlightenment. We see parallels within the life of Tim's mother and the arc of the cult itself, moving from an off-kilter yet earnest spiritual seeking to a finale best characterized as a sad and empty waste of time. Any intense movement that comes to an end will always have its casualties, and we often think only of the adults who have been directly involved in a cult or movement as such "victims", but this book poignantly highlights how the children who are given no choice in the matter can be more messed up by the experience and also in later life.

Tim writes with a contained emotion about his lonely and strange upbringing, shunted back and forth between confused and misguided parents, particularly his mother, who may have meant well but served to give him absolutely no grounding, real love, or sense of self. Aside from occasional visits with his father, much of the time described in the book concerns Tim's pre-teen years, after his parent's separation, spent with the mother who becomes quite an important figure in the European growth of the Rajneeshi movement. She is no mere rank and file follower, but a key figure in the British leadership, and has some direct encounters with the Bhagwan himself. Eventually, the movement unravels under the weight of leadership scandals, tax, immigration, legal and other myriad problems.

Tim gives a very well researched and appropriate level of insight into the movement, as if seeing it again through the eyes of the adolescent he was. We read only obtuse accounts of the rumoured sexual scandals, rape and violence for which the cult was known, since Tim, as the last paragraph of the book tellingly alludes to, was luckily spared some of the darker activities that were going on around him. Needless to say, however, he still has his scars to deal with, most centrally his parents' lack of real involvement in his life. Through it all, he appears to have emerged as a deep and thoughtful person, and this memoir is a top-notch and moving read.

"Can't put it down" child's view of life in a cult
What happens when a child is swept up in his mother's quest to become a follower of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, an Indian guru? How does a child have a normal childhood when it is spent traveling from England to Germany and other locales, all because of a parent's search fortruth and enlightenment?
If Guest's memoir is any indication, the children of such parents may well be left feeling dazed, confused and neglected. In Guest's case, hismother spent much of her time involved in such activities as ecstatic dancing, group sex and bizarre rituals, some involving violence and even abuse. She wore bright clothing in the colors of the sunset.
In all fairness, his mother was not aware of the darkness at the heart of the Rajneesh movement and when charges of embezzlement and even a possible plan to commit murder came to light, she had a change of heart and began to examine all her earlier assumptions. In her own way, she was nearly as naive, trusting and innocent as a child...although I can't help feeling she should have known better and been there for her son as a parent first, with her spiritual adventures coming second.
I was happy to read that she did eventually make peace with her son and come to realize the harm she'd done to him, however inadvertently.

... Read more

Book Description

Johnny Gunther was only seventeen years old when he died of a brain tumor. During the months of his illness, everyone near him was unforgettably impressed by his level-headed courage, his wit and quiet friendliness, and, above all, his unfaltering patience through times of despair. This deeply moving book is a father's memoir of a brave, intelligent, and spirited boy. ... Read more

Reviews (75)

A Fight for Life
Don't let this title fool you, Death Be Not Proud, a Memoir is not the story of death but the story for a fight for life. This true story is sad but one of the best books I've read in a long time. It is sad in the sense that John Gunther Jr. is diagnosed with a maligant brain tumor at sixteen years old. He has everything to live for. Johnny is a bright high school student, at Deerfield, and plans to attend Harvard University. His father writes a true account of his son's fifthteen month struggle with cancer. He had operations to remove the tumor but they were unsuccessful. His father researched treatments to find a cure. Johnny tries a chemical mustard treatment, X-ray treatment, and a special diet but the cancer is still not cured. Johnny has an inner spirit that can not be crushed by cancer. He is determined to keep studying and remain in contact with his friends. He never complained about his treatments or setbacks when the tumor begin to grow again. He sets an example of courage for his parents and those around him. Johnny's death does end the book but his spirit and fight for life are the real story. The story made me think about the life I have, and how I should appreciate the chance to make the most of it.

Death be not Proud
Hope v.s. Brain Tumor
The book Death be not Proud is a story about a 16 year old that was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The story is written from his father's point of view. Johnny was a high- spirited young man that wanted to live life to the fullest. His mother was always there to help him enjoy he fifth teen months in the hospital. Johnny got out of the hospital and said hello and good- bye all his friends in high school before graduating. He was fine for a couple months taking meds and having help. Things got bad when Johnny couldn't remember how to tie his shoes or button up his shirts. Johnny started to feel a lot of pain in his head so they re-admitted him to the closest hospital and he passed away a few days after. All of his life he dreamed of going to Harvard University and if there was anyone that could have taken this away it would have made a difference in his friends and family's life. If you are looking for a touching story read Death be not Proud.

Death Be Not Proud
John Gunther's only son, Johnny Gunther, died in 1947. Death Be Not Proud is the remarkable and compelling memoir of the death of his son, Johnny Gunther, who suddenly developed a brain tumor at the young age of seventeen. The tumor emerged, seemed to be almost gone, and then suddenly came back and killed him fifteen months later. By the book's title and the first few pages, the reader knows that Johnny will not survive. This makes the story even more tragic as the reader turns every page knowing that even if things are getting better, they are about to go wrong again.
Johnny's brain was possibly the most important thing in his body, as he was a very intelligent person. The subject Johnny loved the most was science; if he had survived he probably would have been able to develop a cure for his very own tumor. He was deciding between two occupations at the time of his sickness: a physicist or a chemist. During the fifteen months of Johnny's illness, he was optimistic about living - the disease hurt his brain, but never his spirit. He went through much pain, but he never complained and kept up with his schoolwork while he was in the hospital or, sometimes, at home. Although he missed his entire senior year at Deerfield because of the tumor, he was allowed to graduate with the rest of his class. As his father wrote, "He died absolutely without fear, and without pain, and without knowing that he was going to die." Unlike most people with a deadly disease, Johnny lived his short life victoriously. Johnny "...did not die like a vegetable. He died like a man, with perfect dignity."
John Gunther writes about his son's struggle with death in a vivid and intriguing way. As the book was written in the late 1940's, the writing is also a little stilted - although it is still very interesting. Part of Gunther's writing style is to use exclamation points at the end of many sentences for emphasis. For example, when he wrote about the early days of Johnny's illness, he used many exclamation points: "That first spinal tap!-the first of many, and spinal taps can be frightening as well as painful. All the other tests!...And the doctors! So many doctors!"
I admire John Gunther for writing this book about his son's death, probably with tears in his eyes during the entire process of writing it. Johnny's parents divorced when he was young, but Gunther still talks about his ex-wife fondly throughout the book. There is also a section written by Johnny's mother at the end of the memoir allowing the reader to view Johnny's struggle against death from both his father and mother's perspective. John Gunther concludes the story by writing in his vivid, lucid style: "I felt his arms, cupping my hands around them, and warmth gradually left them, receding very slowly upward from his hands. For a long time some warmth remained. Then little by little the life-color left his face, his lips became blue, and his hands were cold. What is life? It departs covertly. Like a thief Death took him." The memory of Johnny remains with the reader past the moment of his death. I would recommend this book to all parents who have seen their children suffer, or those who simply enjoy a well-written (although heartbreaking) book.

Every teen wishes to have the strength that Johnny does
I also attended a private school near deerfield (the school Johnny went to). John Sr. tells an amazing story of his son's strength through a terrible brain tumor during the 1940's. John explains the positive attitute that young Johnny poses even after he finds out he is sick. Johnny keeps up his spirits and instead of worrying about dying, his main concern is getting back to deerfield academy as soon as possible so he can see his friends and graduate. Its always great to read about the Gunthers ride up through western massachusetts and to talk about the famous Mr. Boyden- who was the beloved head master of the school at that time and a legend to the old deerfield community.
This book makes any teenager want to cherish life to the fullest as Johnny did and also makes adults who read this show much sympathy to the parents because losing an amazing son like John is devistating.
This book is easy to read and definitely makes you want you thankful for the small things in life- as Johnny did!

A bit tedious
Death Be Not Proud is a memoir written by John Gunther about the death of his seventeen-year old son. Johnny Gunther was a bright and spirited boy interested in everything from chemistry to religion. It was a shock when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor at sixteen, but Johnny dealt with it with grace and hope. He continued to take a lively interest in science and the arts, even keeping up with his schoolwork. After more than a year of harrowing treatments, Johnny died on June 30, 1947, shortly after graduating with his class.

Throughout this book, the author continuously explores the themes of hope and death. Unfortunately, these insights are clogged by many needless details, ranging from Johnny¡¯s dinner that day to his latest scientific experiment. These seem to imply that the author did not really know his son very well. The book reads rather slowly and tediously. In addition, the journal entries and letters at the back seemed to serve no purpose besides filling up space.

However, Death Be Not Proud would be an excellent book for someone suffering the death of a beloved one. The author, instead of focusing on his own grief, wrote fondly on his many memories. Instead of dwelling on the unpleasant aspects of Johnny¡¯s illness, John Gunther spoke poignantly on the almost normal times in-between. Death Be Not Proud would help many channel their grief into remembrance of the richness of life. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A MUST READ!
Leslie Li's memoir is nothing less than astonishing! Beautifully written, it is a true gem, a heavenly memoir, subtle, mythical, evocative and strong, the real deal so to speak. Li is a writer of extraordinary talent, don't miss out on this one, it will give you pleasure and food for thought!

Daughter of Heaven : A Memoir with Earthly Recipes
Author, Leslie Li, guides us through her life as a Chinese-American. You will journey through her ancestry, her relationships with her family and growing up in New York with the strictness of the Chinese beliefs.Well written and easily read, this work gives you insight into the author's life and way of life.This work also includes stories from her grandmother, Nai-Nai and recipes from her heritage.Four stars for Li, a novelist writing her family story. ****

Circular Odyssey
I liked Daughter of Heaven and would definitely recommend it to other readers.I enjoyed getting to know Li's paternal grandmother, her father, her grandfather's second wife, her mother, and the food, and significance of Chinese life here andin China.

On occasion I found the juxtaposition of a recipe after an emotionally wrenching chapter a bit jarring.I have yet to try the recipes, but I plan to.And I am curious about the significance of the title.Did I miss something?

The book helped me understand Li and what it meant to be a Chinese-American in the United States, Europe and China.The episode involving Li's buying two bamboo flutes in New York's Chinatown and being told by the clerk that she was like them -- empty inside, with no Chinese culture -- was especially powerful.

Her odyssey has been a circular one -- away from Chinese culture and then back to it for an understanding and an appreciation.And I understood how important her father had been in shaping that journey.His verbal cruelty when she were growing up was hard to take, but somewhat mitigated by Li's travels with him to China and learning of his own odyssey.

Li's book brought home once again how long a parent's reach is and how we, no matter how old, are looking for approval or deliberately challenging them. It's how most of us achieve our own identity. Few of us can simply walk away, but dealing with one's parents
often forces us into a response that we then have to resolve at a later date, as Li has attempted, successfully, I'd say, by writing her memoir.

For future projects, I hope Li will continue to use her own stories. They are compelling -- the conflict between two cultures and the search for self.

A wonderful book about family, life and food!
What initially attracted me to this book in a shop in Zurich was the cover. The title, colors and images made me pick it up. Then there was the inner sleeve, a quick read told me - Hmmm - meeting this person Nai Nai, some recipes, and listening to Leslie Li describe her life sounds like a fun read - but it was so much more.

Daughter of Heaven takes you deep into Leslie's life - that of her wonderful family, of their interaction with each other and the changing world around them. Leslie gives you insight to her world as a child, where she is a little bit spoiled, a little bratty, and somewhat annoyed by her grandmother - Nai Nai and her conservative father. She then returns to these images as a woman, and in realizing what a treasure her family had become to her, finds answers to many questions that have followed her for decades.

Nai Nai - we have the pleasure of enjoying the life (in pages) of this incredible woman - #1 wife of Li Zongren - Chiang Kai-shek's choice for vice president. You get to enjoy Nai-Nai's food (with sumptuous recipe's at the end of each chapter), hear about her subtle yet carefully planned undoings of wife #2, and are witness to her departure from life after age 100 (I was quite sad during this part of the book). You also get to meet Leslie's father, a caring and sensitive man, caught between his stoic traditional Chinese upbringing, his American wife and their children, who are a constant source of challenges and discovery for him.

Leslie has such a colorful family, and does a magnificent job of making the reader a part of her family - it's as if you were Leslie's best friend and she was imparting these experiences to you first hand and inviting you to dinner. I know I want to meet Nai Nai (unfortunately she has passed away), her father, and Leslie herself to probe for more stories.

This is an honest take on the discoveries of life, one which I am certain we can all relate to in some way, as well as getting `a lovely parting gift' at the end of each chapter of a recipe, which brings this book into another dimension - the universal language of food.

heart and soul of a Chinese family
"Daughter of Heaven" is a charming and wildly useful book that allows one into the heart of a family and the soul of a Chinese kitchen. The recipes are complex in taste but easy to follow! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Like 84, Charing Cross Road, Leona Rostenberg and Madeleine Stern's charming bibliocentric memoir is as much about relationships as it is about books. Charing Cross chronicled the decades-long epistolary friendship between American book lover Helene Hanff and Frank Doel, the equally devoted British bookseller in the London shop from whom she bought many of her treasures. Rostenberg and Stern's book once again proves how a passion for great literature can make for fast friends. And in their case, these two octogenarians occupy the same geographical space, sharing both their professional and private lives.

In their introduction, Rostenberg and Stern write: "Several readers inferred ... that our relationship was a Lesbian one. This was a misconception. The 'deep, deep love' that existed and exists between us ... has no bearing upon sex." With that out of the way early on, the tworecount the stories of their lives in alternating sections. And oh, what lives they've had! From identifying some of Louisa May Alcott's previously anonymous early writings to traveling the world in search of rare volumes and pamphlets, they have done and seen it all. Successful antiquarian book dealers Rostenberg and Stern undoubtedly are, but as this memoir makes clear, their greatest accomplishment just might be that rarer commodity of friendship that lasts a lifetime. --Alix Wilber ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Old Books, Rare Friends are marvelous.
Given to me as a birthday present on a misty Northwest beach,the whimsical allure of these charmingly self-possessed women residingin one of the toughest cities in the world, drew me into its first pages even as the rest of my party sat around on logs, barbecuing fine local viands & feeding the camp dogs. From their student years, surviving the Depression & WWII; to studying & getting published through the exciting times of starting a company & their book-hunting jaunts to musty basements in faraway places this is a lively, lovely duet by two voices weaving a deeply evocative memoir...

Loving books and each other
For everyone loving books, history and detectives this book is a great pleasure to read. With great enthusiasm Leona & Madeleine write about their lives and the books which they bought and sold. It makes one jealous of times when rare books could still be found under piles of dust instead of being sold for fortunes. So stop reading the reviews and start reading this book now.

Unusual and delightful lives
Those who love books and the history of the written word have benefitted from these devoted "literary sleuths" who not only devoted themselves to located lost treasures, but who pioneered the rights of women in academe. A story of how devotede friends could pool their talents to rescue lost arts and discover the literary secrets of groundbreaking authors. A suprisingly exciting read.

An enchanting and thrilling saga
I didn't expect to be so enthralled by this fast moving and engrossing joint autobiography by original thinkers and literary sleuths/feminists who were drawn together by a devotion to literature, the printed word, and a thirst for adventure.

I expected to be interested, and was rewarded with a page turner that I was reluctant to put down. The dedication with which the authors pursued lost works of the printers' art, and unravelled conundrums of history make marvellous reading.

If you love literature, as I suspect most Amazon book customers do, than you'll enjoy this most unusual duo.

Half satisfying.
Although I envy these wonderful women and think it is great they were given an opportunity to tell there unique story, it was not balanced. Book dealing the over covered and their incredible friendship was just barely shared. The power of one "true" friend is something I would have enjoyed reading about. ... Read more

Book Description

When John Dos Passos walked into Ernest Hemingway's room in the Florida Hotel in Madrid, the air was thick with tension. Hemingway was fuming; Dos Passos was caught off guard. They were there to witness the Spanish Civil War firsthand, but something more personal was going on: as Spain was unraveling thread by thread, so was their friendship.

Dos Passos was widely regarded as the literary voice of America's new socially engaged generation-his face had been on the cover of Time the week the war broke out. And he had long considered Hemingway one of his best friends. Yet they were completely opposite in personality, with Dos Passos's calm temperament and mild manner standing in stark contrast to Hemingway's machismo. Dos Passos was probably oblivious even to Hemingway's envy of him-an envy that was soon to erupt into full-blown resentment.

They had arrived in Spain as comrades, leftist writers-in-arms. But when Dos Passos went looking for his close friend JosŽ Robles-a Spanish-born Johns Hopkins professor who had moved back to Spain to help save the Spanish Republic-Robles was nowhere to be found. Dos Passos's search for Robles would eventually take his literary career and his friendship with Hemingway to the breaking point.

In this stunning historical narrative, acclaimed writer Stephen Koch explores the short time the two men shared in Spain, and how their split changed the life and work of each man-and changed the course of American literature itself. A real-life literary mystery written with a novelist's eye for detail, The Breaking Point is the story of two lives at the intersection of friendship and murder, of love and death, and of literature and history.

... Read more

Reviews (1)

Couldnt Put it Down
A fast paced, wonderful and insightful read.For those Hemingway fans who have gone through all of Hemingway, this book reads like the memory of an old friend. Hemingway is further depicted as a flawed and unlikeable man but a deeper understanding of the source of his talent and material is supported through the weaving of his personal life with the works he had produced during and shortly after the Spanish Civil War.Dos Passos is depicted as sincere and caring in his search for the truth of the demise of Jose Robles. The strained relationship between Hemingway and Dos Passos and thier reasons are carefully constructed throughout the book.The real hero of the book is Jose Robles himself, who silently haunts throughout the chapters.Dos Passos and Hemingway were American spectators of the Spanish Civil War.Jose Robles Pazos was the real thing, a Spaniard committed to his beliefs, rightly or wrongly, for the betterment and love of Spain. ... Read more

Book Description

Even more than 30 years after his death, C.S. Lewis still remains widely read and extremely popular to both children and adults alike.His writings are imitated, quoted, studied, and revered.With a body of work spanning from science fiction to religious philosophy, he is considered by most scholars to be one of the greatest religious writers of the twentieth century and is often heralded as the "Theologian for Everyman," bringing struggles of faith and meaning to the forefront of American culture.But surprisingly, his life story has never been made into a documentary for American television. Now W Publishing Group is proud to introduce the biography of C.S. Lewis as the companion book to the first North American documentary ever produced on the life of C.S. Lewis.

Reviews (3)

A fanstastic journey into the life of Lewis!
This book, along with Kilby's "C.S. Lewis: Images of His World" and Hooper's "Through joy and Beyond", is essential for those Lewis fans who like to see the actual photos of where is used ot lecture, walk, talk, etc, along with the other key places in his life. With high quality paper and binding, the text is made up in large part by interviews of those who knew Lewis. This is the best book on Lewis to come out in years. Well worth the purchase! Enjoy!

Spiritual Magic-- for Children and Adults!
As a newcomer to the works of C. S. Lewis, I'm thrilled with "The Magic Never Ends". Recently, I've read "A Grief Observed", "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe", and
"The Screwtape Letters", three very diverse examples of Lewis's ability to offer spiritual magic to all age groups. John R. Duncan said it best in his introduction: "The greatness of C. S. Lewis's writing comes from his ability to simplify an intellectual or philosophical concept and to assist readers on a spiritual journey of their own." With input from other Lewis scholars, Douglas Gresham, Walter Hooper, Dr. Dabney Hart, Dr. Lyle Dorsett, Dr. Christopher W. Mitchell, and Colin Manlove,"The Magic Never Ends" provides a "rainbow overview" of one of the 20th Century's most influential writers, C. S. Lewis.

It really is magic!
This book is magical. I have been reading C.S. Lewis for quite a few years now. The authors have captured something of why Lewis' books have never gone out of print. The chapter title "The True Myth" alone is more than worth the price of the book. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

From the best-selling author of The Professor and the Madman, The Map That Changed the World, and Krakatoa comes a truly wonderful celebration of the English language and of its unrivaled treasure house, the Oxford English Dictionary.Writing with marvelous brio, Winchester first serves up a lightning history of the English language--'so vast, so sprawling, so wonderfully unwieldy'--and pays homage to the great dictionary makers, from 'the irredeemably famous' Samuel Johnson to the 'short, pale, smug and boastful' schoolmaster from New Hartford, Noah Webster. He then turns his unmatched talent for story-telling to the making of this most venerable of dictionaries. In this fast-paced narrative, the reader will discover lively portraits of such key figures as the brilliant but tubercular first editor Herbert Coleridge (grandson of the poet), the colorful, boisterous Frederick Furnivall (who left the project in a shambles), and James Augustus Henry Murray, who spent a half-century bringing the project to fruition. Winchester lovingly describes the nuts-and-bolts of dictionary making--how unexpectedly tricky the dictionary entry for marzipan was, or how fraternity turned out so much longer and monkey so much more ancient that anticipated--and how bondmaid was left out completely, its slips found lurking under a pile of books long after the B-volume had gone to press. We visit the ugly corrugated iron structure that Murray grandly dubbed the Scriptorium--the Scrippy or the Shed, as locals called it--and meet some of the legion of volunteers, from Fitzedward Hall, a bitter hermit obsessively devoted to the OED, to W. C. Minor, whose story is one of dangerous madness, ineluctable sadness, and ultimate redemption. The Meaning of Everything is a scintillating account of the creation of the greatest monument ever erected to a living language. Simon Winchester's supple, vigorous prose illuminates this dauntingly ambitious project--a seventy-year odyssey to create the grandfather of all word-books, the world's unrivalled uber-dictionary. ... Read more

Reviews (30)

A Story of Flawed People Who Together, Made A Masterpiece
The Oxford English Dictionary is an unrivaled monument to the history, beauty and complexity of the English language. The story of the men and women who made this marvelous work makes for compellling reading, especially in the hands of such a skilled storyteller as Simon Winchester.

"The Professor and the Madman," Winchester's first best-seller, was the story of Dr. W.C. Minor, an American who had gone to England in what wa