Swimming Lessons: A Novel

Book Description

Laurel is terrified of water; Mama is a former swimming champion who abandoned her Olympic aspirations for the safety of marriage. When Laurel must learn to swim, she convinces Mama to give her lessons, tentatively beginning an extraordinary friendship. The two slowly reveal the secrets of their lives: Laurel cannot seem to tell her boyfriend about her phobia of water, or the tragedy that triggered it; Mama in turn shares her fears of having children, a powerful unease that has kept her using birth control as her unsuspecting, frustrated husband stews and their thirteen-year marriage slowly dissolves.

Just as Laurel and Mama are discovering the trust and ease that characterize the best of women's friendships, however, an intimate revelation turns their lives to chaos and threatens to shatter their bond.

The story behind the story of Swimming Lessons is one of women's friendship as well: The authors, who have never met, became telephone friends trading writing ideas until a collaboration grew over numerous fax exchanges and phone calls and Swimming Lessons was born.

Customer Reviews:

Two Voices, One Story..........2003-06-07

I usually don't read what I'd call a "chick book"--but I found this at a library sale and gave it a go. What a surprise! I just loved this book. Having 2 authors writing the chapters was unique and really gave the story it's own vision. When you "get" the premise (and it hits you like, WHAM!) you'll laugh and love it even more. It will also teach a great lesson in "walking in another's shoes"...grab your swimsuit, lay out on a towel and enjoy!

A story of friendship between women.......1999-08-09

Swimming Lessons is a great story of friendship. One of courage and determination. You cannot imagine my surprise to recognize the location of the swimming pool Marna learned to swim in. My best friend and I drove over and were delighted to find the pool as described, viewing window and all. What a kick! The characters were engaging. The relationship between Marna and her mother, Roxie, and the way it developed seemed very real to me.

Excellent, Engaging. The best book i have read in ages........1999-06-20

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I am a former swimmer so I really enjoyed the analogies between swimming and life. The writing is terrific. Right now my copy is almost completely dog eared so i can look back on certain passages!

A very-well written, thoughtful book.......1998-12-13

My mom recommended this book to me, but I was a bit skeptical. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that this book, which follows the relationship of two women, could hold my interest so easily. While I was able to predict some of the big twists and turns, the quality of the writing and the exploration of the two main characters developing frienship make this a must read for anybody...male or female.

Most say this is a women's book, but I loved it!.......1998-08-05

I am a guy and I have heard from a lot of people that the book is great but it may not be for men. I read the book and I'd just like to say that it doesn't matter what gender you are, Swimming Lessons is a great book for you.

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Great Beach Reading
Sweet, Satisfying Sequel
Wonderful Followup to The Beach House
Wonderful story
Receives Mary Alice Monroe's own reading

Swimming Lessons
Mary Alice Monroe
Manufacturer: Thorndike Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

United States | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literature & Fiction | Large Print | Formats | Books

Poetry & Short Stories | Large Print | Formats | Books
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ASIN: 0786294140

Customer Reviews:

Great Beach Reading.......2007-08-24

Swimming Lessons is a wonderful sequel to The Beach House. It has such wonderful relationships among the characters themselves and with the loggerhead turtles and the coastal environment.

Sweet, Satisfying Sequel.......2007-05-30

This absolutely wonderful sequel to "The Beach House" brings together all the "turtle ladies" whose mission it is to rescue endangered sea turtles who lumber up onto South Carolina's beaches once a year to lay their eggs in a timeless ritual. Civilization being what it is, the nests would be destroyed, purposely or not, if this dedicated band of women (and men) were not there each year to tirelessly make sure that doesn't happen.

Like "The Beach House," this book is based on fact; Monroe herself is a self-proclaimed turtle lady. The plot revolves around the characters we met in the first book: Single mother Toy now has her degree and a job at the aquarium, which is about to get much more prestigious. Her darling little girl Lovie, named after the matriarch who passed away in the last book, is a precocious, wonderful 6-year-old, a self-proclaimed "LITTLE turtle lady." Cara and Brett, who fell in love in the last book and married, are trying hard to have a baby. Irrascible Flo is getting older and too proud to ask for help. And in this book, the menacing father of Toy's child, Darryl, suddently reappears, wanting to connect with the daughter he abandoned before her birth.

All of this makes for a quick and interesting page-turner, but the backbone of the book is the conservation of the giant turtles, and for me, that's the grabber.

"Swmming Lessons" is the perfect summertime book, whether you're at the beach (how more perfect could it get?), around a pool, or just lazing on your front porch. I urge you to grab it and gobble it up!

Wonderful Followup to The Beach House.......2007-05-13

For several years, I've enjoyed the work of Mary Alice Monroe. And when I noted that Swimming Lessons was coming out, I knew I needed to catch up on my reading and start with the Beach House (the book that introduced us to the Swimming Lessons characters). As usual, the author didn't disappoint me and created a lovely book about mother/daughter relationships that I could easily relate to. But more than that, I became equally intrigued with Loggerhead Turtles. So the follow up book - Swimming Lessons, was an added bonus to keep involved with the characters. Again, wonderfully written, you form a deep attachment to the characters and get caught up with the lives of the turtles -- this time from a different perspective. I highly recommend Swimming Lessons, but also recommend you start with The Beach House.

Wonderful story.......2007-05-12

This was a wonderful sequel to the Beach House. Mary Alice Monroe does such a good job of providing an analogy between a mother and her child through her characters and with the sea turtles. It truly warms your heart.

Receives Mary Alice Monroe's own reading.......2007-05-12

Mary Alice Monroe's SWIMMING LESSONS receives Mary Alice Monroe's own reading which spices the lively story of a mentor's influence on the next generation. Three women who have experienced loss find friendship and support together one summer as turtle season begins.

Book Description

Harry Turtledove’s acclaimed alternate history series began with a single question: What if the South had won the Civil War? Now, seventy years have passed since the first War Between the States. The North American continent is locked in a battle of politics, economies, and moralities. In a world that has already felt the soul-shattering blow of the Great War, North America is the powder keg that could ignite another global conflict—complete with a new generation of killing machines.

“Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!” In 1934, the chant echoes across the Confederate States of America, a country born of bloodshed and passion, stretching from Mexico to Virginia. But while people use the word to greet each other in the streets, the meaning of “Freedom” has become increasingly unclear.

Jake Featherston, leader of the ruling Freedom Party, has won power—and is taking his country and the world to the edge of an abyss. Charismatic, shrewd, and addicted to conflict, Featherston is whipping the Confederate States into a frenzy of hatred. Blacks are being rounded up and sent to prison camps, and the persecution has just begun. Featherston has forced the United States to give up its toeholds in Florida and Kentucky, and as the North stumbles through a succession of leaders, from Socialist Hosea Blackford to Herbert Hoover and now Al Smith, Featherston is feeling his might. With the U.S.A. locked in a bitter, bloody occupation of Canada, facing an intractable rebellion in Utah, and fatigued from a war in the Pacific against Japan, Featherston may pursue one dangerous proposition above all: that he can defeat the U.S.A. in an all-out war.

The Victorious Opposition is a drama of leaders and followers, spies and traitors, lovers and soldiers. From California to Canada, from combat on the high seas to the secret meetings where former slaves plot a desperate strategy for survival, Harry Turtledove has created a human portrait of a world in upheaval. The third book in his monumental American Empire series, The Victorious Opposition is a novel of ideas, action, and surprise—and an unforgettable re-imagining of history itself.

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

I'm ready for the War .......2005-02-08

Another one of those Turtledove books where mostly nothing happens with the notable exception that Colonel Porter turns cloak and joins the Freedom Party and the rest of the cast moves slowly but surely to the 2nd world war in this alternate universe. A signifigant improvment over the last volume but still not perfect and readers still don't get a good view of what is going on outside of America.

Overall-Didn't much care for it but didn't hate it either would be a solid book for a returning fan but not the place for a Turtledove newbie to start.

Get ready to for war!!!!.......2004-12-19

First off, I like how Harry killed off most of his dead weight (i.e. Nellie Jaccobs and Sylvia Enos Lucien Galtier but the way how he died I'm sure most men would have loved to depart the Earth). I liked Sylvia but she started going down hill after she shot Roger Kimball back in book 5 (American Empire: Blood & Iron) and began dating that violatile loser Ernie who popped her in the end. Nellie just became that annoying grandma you have to visit in the summer and have to be nice to her but she gets to say and do what she likes. . . Bitter old crone.
Good replacements for the Settling Account Trilogy (i.e. George Enos II and Armstrong Grimes and Leonard O'Doull). The plot mirrors slightly with real histroy but goes off on some points with the Munich Pact(Richmond Pact if Harry ever gives the talks between Freatherson and Smith a name), Austria(Kentucky and Houston), Mexican Civil War between the Confederate backed Imperialists and the Union backed Republicans(Spanish Civil War between the Facist backed Nationalists and the Soviet backed Loyalists). Nicely done.
Many of you agree with me....where was the alternate Jesse Owens for the 1936 Richmond Games? I would have laughed to read about a union black athlete showing up a confederate white from Featherson's point of view when he'd get up staged just like Hitler did.
I'm surprise Scipio/Xerxes doesn't get seen by Anne Colleton until near the end of the book. Perhaps something for the next one. He has been able to stay away from her for 23 some odd years with a bounty on his head is nothing short of a mircle.
Harry does have some problems with the repetitiveness about Cartsen being sun burned and Scipio getting laughed at but overall well liked and read.
North America is going to war and Harry is our news man.

Good concept, tedious story.......2004-10-21

I have been a huge fan of Harry Turtledove for around 6 years now. With the excpetion of How Few Remain, I have loved eveyone of his books. However, I am starting to get the feeling that Turtledove is getting bored with the HFR/Great War story line. I found myself skimming over large sections of the book where Turtledove repeated information that had been recounted numerous times already. For example: Sam Carsten's sun burn problems. Turtledove spent a large portion of the book simply catching readers up with information most of his readers already know about the characters. Still, I have high hopes for the Settling Accounts stories. Hopefully the start of the new series wil reenergize this rather tired story line. Turtledove's writing seems to flourish when he's writing about war. In peace, he tends to resort to repetion and melodrama.

Setup for war.......2004-10-07

"The Victorious Opposition" moves the final pieces on the board into place. War is ready to begin.

The United States, weakened by Socialism, is ill-prepared but beginning to catch up on its military. The Confederates, who have descended into fascism, are gearing up for a major push. Meanwhile, they are also beginning an extermination of the black population.

Turtledove is doing a little elimination of his characters as well. Older characters pass on, with new ones taking over. Man-hater Nellie dies from blood poisoning; her nephew Armstrong takes up her line, with his perspective.

Another interesting glimpse into the world is the appearance of more real-life people. There were various "guest appearances" by certain individuals, like Louie Armstrong, Barry Goldwater, and Ronald Reagan.

Of course, being Turtledove, he can't get away from the repeated character descriptions. Still, this is an outstanding look at what it to come.

Jake Featherston Is Out Of Control.......2004-09-17

The Victorious Opposition is the seventh book in this series. I don't understand why Turtledove has to describe each character's background every time they appear in the book, because most readers will probably have already read all of the previous books like I have.

The Victorious Opposition (American Empire)

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The Victorious Opposition (American Empire)
Harry Turtledove
Manufacturer: Del Rey Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Historical | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Alternate History | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

American Empire: The Victorious Opposition

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American Empire: The Victorious Opposition
Harry Turtledove
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000P8CEH4

3 Titles By Harry Turtledove American Empire Series (1-3) : 1. Blood and Iron 2. The Center Cannot Hold 3. Victorious Opposition

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3 Titles By Harry Turtledove American Empire Series (1-3) : 1. Blood and Iron 2. The Center Cannot Hold 3. Victorious Opposition
Harry Turtledove
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000WCNEV8

Product Description

multiple books ship as one item. save on shipping/handling charges.

Customer Reviews:

Quite simply the worst Dr Who novel ever.......2003-04-01

What a disaster.

I'd believe this book to be one giant inside joke if the po-faced first few chapters had not been so deadly serious. I cannot describe quite how much this book disappointed me. So I will not even attempt to. The lack of color on the cover will tell you every single thing you need to know. Never has a title been more appropriate. Grim, in every sense of the word.

The Death of Doctor Who.......2002-10-05

It was an omen that this book was initially released in North America without page 146. When those misprints flooded bookstores in 2001, my initial reaction was to buy anyway... having read Simon Bucher-Jones previous offerings (and knowing not thing one about Kelly Hale), I assumed I wouldn't understand page 146 even if I had it.

Well, I waited, and I finally bought _Grimm Reality_. Almost as if ashamed to be part of the same line as all the other BBC novels, this book is unique in that there's no thumbnail reprint of the cover illustration on the spine. Page 146 is here, now, although it doesn't add all that much.

I will admit defeat here. _Grimm Reality_ is the first original "Doctor Who" novel (not counting _The Paradise of Death_) which I simply and utterly could not finish. My bookmark indicates that I gave up at around page 200-201, and that was six months ago.

Why didn't I finish? The style, for one. I think it's easy to tell which author wrote which segments of the book, for one, if Bucher-Jones's past style is anything to go by. My guess is that Grimm, the jokey fairy-tale segments -- those featuring Anji and Fitz -- are by newcomer Hale. The rest -- Reality -- is by Bucher-Jones, whose previous works _The Death of Art_ and _The Taking of Planet 5_ were muddled, unenjoyable messes.

Name-calling is one thing, but there's literally nothing I enjoy about this style of prose. The book's drive is set aside for pages at a time as the author devotes hundreds of words to describing technobabbly conundrums that don't exist. Sample sentences: "Candles the size of an albino blacksmith's arms in the cups of great candelabra as distant as the moon". "A ship the size of a city ploughing across a black, burned continent, records and images from shattered memory banks falling like microscopic confetti into the receiving earth." There's just not a whole lot of *book* in all this. Reading chapters comprised of sentences like the above really does nothing for me at all.

The Grimm half the book had some amusing moments. Turning the Jackson Five into ugly fairy-tale stepsisters might be a questionable notion (and maybe only in lightly-edited TV tie-in novels could such an idea bear fruit) but those sections are faintly amusing. Some of the fractured Grimm notions, such as the house that eats the travelers who spend the night, to "feed the pot", work well -- in this particular instance because one of the regulars is allowed a nice, human character moment. A rarity in the book as a whole.

On the whole, I found no impetus to finish _Grimm Reality_. Judging by the below reviews I may have been the only one who felt this way. But my reading time is precious and this is never how I want to spend it.

A real stitch.......2002-04-27

I have always loved the stories of Brothers Grimm, and here they are combined with Doctor Who. What's not to love? Clever, witty and fun. It goes back to the good old days when Doctor Who was allowed to be exciting and enjoyable. Later novels focus so much on the current dreary arc, even I a life-long Doctor Who fan am turned off. Enough is enough. Let's have some fun already. Reading Who shouldn't feel like a dreaded English assignment. This book not only stands alone, but breaks free of angst! Hallelujah!

Grim Banality.......2002-02-26

GRIMM REALITY starts off incredibly well. So well, in fact, that I'd rate the prologue of this book as one of the best that the range has produced. It's sharp, it's slightly surreal, and it does a wonderful job at conveying the mood and feeling of the rest of the book. Unfortunately, the remainder of the story fails to live up to this fantastic opening, as the plot starts off dragging and then explodes into incoherence, and the characters consistently fail to impress.

The plot starts off slowly, and for the first two hundred pages or so, it never seems to get out of first gear. It feels like a one-trick pony, where we are repeatedly shown the regulars put into different generic fairy tale stories. This generates a lot of amusement and hilarity at first, but it quickly becomes stale when the characters act like fools and simply repeat the fairy tale conventions rather than subverting them or doing anything interesting with them. Rather than becoming a part of the fairy-tale and bringing their own personalities into the old stories, it felt as though the regulars were shoehorned into the tales and weren't given the chance to act as their own person.

After that page two hundred mark, the story takes a turn for the worse. Given the excuse, suddenly random events start to occur that are given little justification and little reason. It feels as though it is being strange just for the sake of being strange and not for any other motivation. It's a shame that the ending of the book took this form, as there should have been some interesting ways to deal with the events of the beginning and middle.

Very few of the characters seem to be fully fleshed out and they all feel more like caricatures than characters. This made perfect sense as far as the fairy tale characters are concerned; after all, one doesn't expect stunning realism when dealing with wicked stepmothers and archetypal princes. But unfortunately this sloppiness extended into the entire cast, including the outsiders to the fairy-tale world and even to the regulars themselves. The exchanges (and the inner thoughts that were interspersed throughout those sequences) between Anji and the female starship commander were so clichéd and banal, that I had to wonder if there was some joke that I was missing.

With all that said, it's a shame that the book doesn't hold together so well, because there are several individual standout moments that border on excellence. The prologue is delicious, and does a great job of setting the stage for the book as well as being a superb piece of writing in its own right. This is one of the best openings to a Doctor Who book that I've read in a long time, and probably rests as one of my favourite ever openings in the series. Several of the jokes sprinkled throughout are rather quite funny, and when the book does try to amuse, it usually succeeds. Also of note is Anji's Cinderella subplot, which for the most part is quite enjoyable, although it becomes less endearing the longer it progresses. I also enjoyed many of the passages that were written in the same form as the old fairy-tales. It's a pity that the whole book couldn't have been written in this manner, as the prose really sparkled.

To sum up, I found GRIMM REALITY to be a disappointment. It had a great premise and failed to capitalize on it. By the time one gets to the end, one notices that there have been too many threads that were never tied together. The whole enterprise just feels like a letdown to what should have been a great story. The different portions just never seem to completely mesh together, and it feels rather disjointed. A few minor problems with the narrative at the beginning don't help. Sadly, not one of the more enjoyable EDAs.

Wonderful combination between Who and fairy tales.......2002-02-26

Grimm Reality is a Doctor Who novel that takes place on a world of fairy tales. It stars the Eighth Doctor, Fitz, and Anji, and has some wonderful scenes for all three of them. Bucher-Jones and Hale provide a science fiction explanation for the magical events on the planet, so any Who fans who don't like magic in their Who and were upset with the previous novel (City of the Dead) can be assured that this one is "safe."

The Doctor and his companions land on a planet and are very soon cut off from the TARDIS by forest that has grown instantly around the ship so they can't get back in. They start exploring the world, and all three of them stumble into three different situations that look like fairy tales. Fitz gets involved in a quest with two princes, Anji gets trapped by a witch into a contract to be a servant to six spoiled young girls. Finally, the Doctor gets involved with trying to revive a sleeping princess. Things steamroll from there, getting more and more strange as different fairy tale aspects start mixing. Things start to make a bit more sense for the reader once the Doctor figures out what's going on, but the ride up to that point is enjoyable as well.

Meanwhile, there is a starship with a crew consisting of three races, the Vuim, the Abanak, and humans, who are trying to establish mining rights for this world and the white singularity that's around it. To be honest, the plot surrounding the Vuim grinds the story to a halt every time the book goes back to it, and it has to work hard to retrieve its momentum when the story shifts back to one of the other subplots. The other aspects of the crew, though, are much more interesting, and the humans do provide impetus for the other subplots involving the Doctor and crew. In fact, its hilarious watching the rivalry between Anji and Christina, the human ship captain, after Christina gets drawn into Anji's plot.

The fairy tales that Bucher-Jones and Hale draw upon are not the nice, tidy ones that get read to children nowadays, but the ugly ones that were the original Grimm's tales. It can be a rude awakening for the reader who wasn't aware that Grimm's tales are actually quite grim and is expecting something else. The authors make great use of the inspiration though, putting the characters through their paces with elegant prose, interesting situations, and "what the f---?" revelations.

The main revelation comes about 2/3 through the novel, and it results in the only drawback to this book. Once the tales are "explained," the technobabble gets a bit thick. It's nothing a science fiction fan isn't used to, but it's sad that it degenerates to that. Given the magical nature of City of the Dead (the previous book), it would have been nice to have a little more magic and a little less science in this one. I guess that would have offended the purists, though.

This book is not one to be raced through. It's a book that should be devoured in chunks and savoured. The writing is wonderful, the plot is interesting, and the characters are marvelously portrayed. Something is done with each one of them, and this book is much more of an ensemble piece than the last couple of Eighth Doctor Adventures have been. It's good to see that the line is continuing such good stories. This one makes three in a row now.

Book Description

Dieters are increasingly embracing the concept that too much carb consumption hinders weight loss and general good health, but low-carb cookbooks have been few and far between until lately. In 1,001 Low-Carb Recipes for Life, food pro Sue Spitler and dietitian Linda Yoakam unravel the mysteries of this approach and show readers how to maximize its benefits by eating for good health - without sacrificing good taste. In clear terms, they explain how to eat healthily during the maintenance phase of a low-carb diet, why the low-carb diet works, what to eat or avoid eating, and how to keep the pounds off. They also discuss weight loss expectations and safety concerns, and provide complete nutritional data for each recipe. Also low in fat and cholesterol, the dishes include Caribbean Potato Salad, Sesame Shrimp Stir-Fry, and some surprises like Black Bottom Pie and Soft Molasses Cookies.

Customer Reviews:

this is NOT low carb cooking.......2007-08-22

This book is useless for the true low carber. The recipes are way to high for anyone with true carb intolerance. The introduction suggests an intake of 120 carbs PER DAY!!!! If I wanted that, I could eat at McDOnalds. For the healthy adult who just needs to cut back a little, this may be OK. For those of us who have real restrictions (mine is 40 carb/day) this book is next to useless. I read the whole book, and I think I found maybe 12-15 recipes that I can use. If I had paid full price for this item I would have been very disappointed. After reading the introduction, I think the author is completely clueless as to the reality of carb intolerance and related issues. This book is an attempt to make a buck.

Highly recommended for carb-counters everywhere.......2004-06-06

Ably compiled and deftly edited by Sue Spitler, 1,001 Low-Carb Recipes For Life is a healthy anthology of delicious, kitchen- tested low-carbohydrate recipes for the weight- and health-conscious. Dishes all types, from breakfasts and breads to soups, poultry, meats, seafood, vegetables and side dishes, salads, snacks, pizza, and desserts are presented with simple, straightforward instructions. A brief introduction offers some quick pointers on low-carb diets and calculating net carbs and the glycemic index, but the majority of 1,001 Low-Carb Recipes For Life is devoted to the recipes themselves. Each recipe also features a sidebar informing the cook of its net carbohydrates, calories, fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, protein, and carbohydrates per serving. Very highly recommended for carb-counters everywhere -- as well as anyone else with an interested in keeping an eye on their overall caloric intake as part of a general health regimen.

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Judith Miller: The Illustrated Dictionary of Antiques and Collectibles
Judith Miller
Manufacturer: Bulfinch
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Reference | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Reference | Subjects | Books
General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Bulfinch Illustrated Encyclopedia of Antiques

20th Century Glass (Dk Collector's Guides)

Antiques Price Guide 2005 (Antiques Price Guide)

Art Nouveau (DK Collector's Guides)

Collectibles Price Guide 2006 (Collectibles Price Guide)

ASIN: 0821227467

Book Description

From bourdaloue to Zwischengoldglas, Alvar Aalto to Frank Lloyd Wright, the world of antiques is full of strange and difficult terms and unfamiliar names. Judith Miller helps you to cut through the jargon, date your items, and make sense of the sometimes bewildering language used by those in the know. This is the key reference book that will be the cornerstone of your entire antiques library. With over 3,000 entries and 1,500 specially commissioned photographs and drawings, it is an instant source of information on identification, dates, and values.

Judith Miller: The Illustrated Dictionary of Antiques and Collectibles

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Judith Miller: The Illustrated Dictionary of Antiques and Collectibles

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0641565623

Book Description

Old Faithful Geyser, Emerald Spring, the magnificent canyons and falls of the Yellowstone River: these and other sites, familiar to the millions of visitors who travel through Yellowstone National Park each year, have been an inspiration to generations of artists. Thomas Moran, Albert Bierstadt, Frederic Remington, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and dozens of other artists have braved difficult conditions to capture the splendors of Yellowstone in many media, from delicate watercolors and pen-and-ink sketches to powerful oils and popular lithographs. They have portrayed the animals that lived there, the humans who passed through, and above all the remarkable natural features that have made Yellowstone a wonderland to so many artists and observers.

The first national park in the world, from the moment of its inception in Yellowstone National Park has been perceived as a vast visual spectacle. By the 1890s it was known as "the Nation's Art Gallery." Peter Hassrick traces the artistic history of the park from its earliest explorers to the present day in Drawn to Yellowstone, a richly illustrated account of the artists who traveled to and were inspired by Yellowstone.

Yellowstone was simultaneously an aesthetic experience and a potent force in America's search for national identity. Visitors made comparisons between the castles of Europe and the gleaming spires of Yellowstone, to prove that America, too, had its history and its grandeur. It was from Yellowstone that flowed, like the waters that pulse from its geysers, an artistic energy that at once captivated a nation and contributed to its philosophical and aesthetic history.

Peter H. Hassrick is founding director emeritus of the Charles M. Russell Center at the University of Oklahoma. Previously he served as the founding director of the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and as director of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming. He has written or contributed to many books, including Remington, Russell and the Language of Western Art and The American West: Out of Myth into Reality.

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Drawn to Yellowstone : Artists in America's First National Park
Peter Hassrick
Manufacturer: Autry Museum of Western Heritage /U W Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000F6H3LI

Book Description

Here is a magnificent looking, full-color guide to the world of Feng Shui in the home.

THE HEALTHY HOUSE BOOK is a practical guide to the skills needed to create a healthy home and lifestyle that supports us both emotionally and physically, as governed by the ancient eastern philosophy of Feng Shui. Complete with 180 beautiful full-color photographs, THE HEALTHY HOUSE BOOK offers practical advice on ways in which we can ensure deep, healing sleep, boost our immune systems, increase our vitality, enhance our enjoyment of life, and protect our children while stimulating their learning ability. All this can be achieved by reducing the levels of harmful chemicals and toxins in our homes, checking surrounding land for electrical wiring, dowsing for geopathic stress, changing our diets, space cleansing, establishing good interior arrangement, and improving the quality of the air we breathe. The first four chapters¾“Putting Your House in Order,” “The Home Detox,” “The Power of Color,” and “Preventative Medicine”¾lead to the final chapter, “Healthy Rooms,” in which all the knowledge and skills taught in the previous chapters are elaborated on and applied to each room in the house.

THE HEALTHY HOUSE BOOK is an invaluable resource for those interested in Feng Shui, parents of young children, or anybody interested in taking more control of their health and well being.

Customer Reviews:

A book on Feng Shui this isn't..........2001-12-19

The subtitle of this book "Using feng shui..." is misleading. I returned my copy.

An inspiring book and model to live by..........2001-09-19

This is one of my most favorite books that I reference often. Don't let the title fool you--it's much more than a "healthy house" book. This book is for anyone who wishes to improve their overall health and wellness, but is not sure where to begin. Modern western society, with all of its advancements, has overlooked some of the most important fundamentals for health living, and has taken us away from the natural rythmns of nature that we, as animals, need to survive. This book takes you back to a more simple time, and explains why we need and crave the things we do. It inspires you to reflect on your own needs, happiness and lifestyle.
I found the book to be very enlightening, factually and concisely written and filled with aesthetically therapeutic images. The Health House Book will answer so many questions that you didn't even know that you had!

A design-oriented approach with lavish color photos.......2001-02-06

Healthy House Book adds another Feng Shui home design guide to those on the market already, this taking on an art book style more so than most competitors to illustrate tried and tested methods for creating healing home environments. Also included are healthy eating guidelines and tips on stress reduction, complimenting the design-oriented approach and the lavish color photos of interior examples.

Book Description

She was one of the most important psychics of the twentieth century. Over 7.5 million copies of her books have sold throughout the world. Now, Speaking of Jane Roberts reveals the story of a woman as fascinating as the material she produced.

Susan Watkins and Jane Roberts were friends for sixteen years. Early on, Seth, the entity who spoke through Roberts, told the two women that they were counterparts, connected in this particular lifetime to work out some shared personal issues. In addition to being a compassionate and sometimes painfully honest look at Roberts' life---her difficult childhood, her constant questioning of psychic abilities and sources of creativity, her resistance to Seth's advice, her dramatic struggles with her health---Speaking of Jane Roberts is also a beautiful and applicable illustration of the counterpart relationship. The connection that Watkins and Roberts share reveals something important about the power and mystery of the connections we all share with the people closest to us.

Customer Reviews:

I was saddened.......2006-10-15

A vital perspective on Roberts and the Seth Material; I see now, as I had only glimpsed in the Seth books, how compulsively disciplined Jane and Rob were--very far from Seth's ideas about spontaneity--how severe their lives were, in terms of diet and overall lifestyle, although not in a classical "spiritual" way (obviously they drank and smoked, for example); how much more important was Jane's view of herself as a writer, than as a psychic. I'd never have guessed that Sue didn't like Jane's poetry much, something she apparently didn't have the nerve to write while Jane lived.

There are none of the eye-popping psychic experiences that make the other books such a blast to read, and make Jane's life seem so glamorous--in fact it's the difficulties and sadness and illness that come to the fore. How could the woman who brought us Seth's teaching have been so distant from it, in many ways, herself?

But it's not a biography--it's one friend's view of a woman who, perhaps, no one (other than her beloved husband Rob) really knew all that well. How I long to see two books published: Robert Butts' long ago proposed book on the phenomenon, "Through My Eyes", and Jane's unfinished autobiography "From This Rich Bed", which someone (are you reading this, Sue?) should put into some kind of usable form while people who knew Jane are still alive. This book gives only a glimpse of the brilliant woman who brought us the Seth Material but who was not the Seth Material, but a sad, funny, insecure human just like the rest of us.

Very disappointing.......2006-07-13

As I delved into the Seth works, I started wondering just who Jane Roberts was. Since this 'memoir' was the only book on her I could find, I bought it despite iffy reviews. Well, I have to say that although it was a quick read, it is an awful book and a real letdown since I really wanted to know about Jane's life.
This book is mainly about Susan Watkins. When it is not specifically about Sue, it is about Sue's opinions and judgements on Jane and how they relate back to Sue. This author might be one of the most biased, slanted, and judgemental people to write a biography yet. She judges herself so badly that the book becomes painful to read. I started feeling a dark cloud encompass me throughout. To be honest and searching with oneself is one thing. To think of everything you are and have done as not good enough and to write about it page after page in a biography on someone else is quite something else.

I told my husband that I could do fans of the Seth material a favor and edit out all the stuff on Sue and write a really nice 15 page booklet on Jane. I wonder what Rob, Jane's husband, thinks of this self serving piece of work.

I give the book two stars because it was a fast read and it made me question the validity of Seth and any psychic phenomenon. Sue makes it sound like Seth is just another part of Jane and after understanding her perception of Jane, I just don't know what to think anymore.

Really not worth it........2005-10-18

I really do regret purchasing this. Poorly written with the author going on and on and on about herself and trying desperately to associate herself with Jane Roberts. It was torture reading this.

Integral part of the Seth Material.......2005-09-17

Marshall McLuhan coined the famous phrase, "The medium is the message." As I began reading through Seth's books and Jane's books, I often thought how aptly this applied to Jane.

It seemed to me that Jane often fought fiercely to preserve her independence from Seth. While I admired her intellectual integrity, I felt that in holding to it so rigorously, she was actually missing out on some of the benefits of applying Seth's ideas in her daily life while having Seth around to coach her.

Still, it was seemed apparent to me that she had expanded her use of the inner senses tremendously from reflecting on Seth's ideas. That in itself was a testament to the material's validity and I used to point this out to others.

The death of Jane shocked and saddened me and I suppose I had the same reaction as many readers, "Couldn't Seth have done something? What was the point of the Seth Material if Jane couldn't use it to heal herself?"

That was only a knee jerk reaction though. I discovered Seth in 1973 and it only now that I am beginning to integrate it into every aspect of my life. I knew how difficult the translation of idea to behavior was and is.

Reading THE WAY TOWARDS HEALTH provided a sense of closure for me about Jane's death, as it laid out what had transpired in the last days.

SPEAKING OF JANE however, helped me UNDERSTAND Jane's death. It painted in stark relief, the beliefs that Jane held dearly to, which manifested her condition and death.

No biography could have done that in the same way that this memoir did. Life is not a series of events, it is an interactive dance between thoughts and the experiences that flow from those thoughts. SPEAKING OF JANE, for me, put the Seth Material into perspective.

Seth SOUNDS nice. His ideas FEEL good. But they also happen to be the governing dynamics of experience. Unless I act as if what Seth taught MATTERS, in the moment, his ideas are only a comforting bedtime story.

For me, Sue's books are an integral part of the Seth material and SPEAKING OF SUE, an indispensible illustration of the incredible value of applying the lessons of don Seth to every aspect of my personal journey.

Touching Memoir.......2005-01-30

This is a truly touching and revealing memoir of an extraordinary life-that of Jane Roberts. In reading the Seth books, I never had a true feeling for who Jane was as a person. Not that she ever seemed merely a conduit for Seth, but his teachings always took precedence in the writings. In Sue Watkins' book we are able to see the difficulties and doubts Jane experienced, the often very painful and austere life she lead (for example the issue of food, which Jane seemed to deny herself - eating a peanut butter sandwich, but not wanting to be seen doing so; or the belief that travel was a folly that could not be tolerated because it took her away from her writing desk). But the earthy humor and joy of Jane also comes through - dancing, smoking, drinking and hanging out at the local taverns. While I'm not sure the author really knew Jane on an intimate level (and says as much many times throughout this book), it is certainly the most revealing look we are likely to have of Jane Roberts and her extraordinary accomplishments during a particular lifetime. I believe this book will have more meaning for the reader who is already familiar with the Seth material.

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