A Free Man of Color (Benjamin January, Book 1)

Amazon.com

In Barbara Hambly's rich and poignant thriller, it's 1833 and Ben January--a man of mixed blood making his living as a musician because he's not allowed to practice surgery--is back home in New Orleans after years of freedom in Paris. Trying to walk a caste line more complicated than India's, January risks his precarious position to investigate the killing of a young woman who--like his own younger, lighter half-sister--is the mistress of a wealthy white man. What has changed most in New Orleans while Ben was away is the influence of the white Americans: rough, ignorant, instinctively racist. Only one of these--a policeman named Abishag Shaw--seems to understand that January is at least as smart and valuable as he is, and even he at times appears to be ready to side with the white majority and pin the crime on Ben.

Book Description

A lush and haunting novel of a city steeped in decadent pleasures...and of a man, proud and defiant, caught in a web of murder and betrayal.

It is 1833. In the midst of Mardi Gras, Benjamin January, a Creole physician and music teacher, is playing piano at the Salle d'Orleans when the evenings festivities are interrupted--by murder.

Ravishing Angelique Crozat, a notorious octoroon who travels in the city's finest company, has been strangled to death. With the authorities reluctant to become involved, Ben begins his own inquiry, which will take him through the seamy haunts of riverboatmen and into the huts of voodoo-worshipping slaves.

But soon the eyes of suspicion turn toward Ben—for, black as the slave who fathered him, this free man of color is still the perfect scapegoat....

Customer Reviews:

DON'T MISS THIS AUTHOR.......2007-05-02

This is the first Benjamin January mystery, an outstanding series, especially for anyone interested in New Orleans history. Why hasn't Oprah latched onto this for her book club? I keep picturing Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (the late Mr. Eko on TV's Lost) as Ben. Great characters and incredible atmosphere.

This was probably one of the best, and painful, mysteries i've read........2006-11-21

As a young Black man this was probably one of the best, and painful, mysteries i've read, I actually had to put it down a few times. I've become a big mystery/suspense/detective fan over the last few years and I go to a local mystery bookstore here in Boston (Kate's Mystery Books) and she referred this book to me. It started off slow but picked up for me in speed, and emotionally, quickly.

The book, following the main character Benjamin January/Janvier, tracks his life upon returning to New Orleans in the 1830's, after being gone for 14 years. He left initially to pursue medicine, study music and escape the racial prejudice of the city/country.

Reading the other reviews of the book it's surprising/not surprising that the racial aspect's are referenced infrequently as background, or not at all. I've passed this book on to other Black people and their response was similar to mine: how painful it was to read this because it reminded us of so many things we'd experienced in our own families and/or seemed to explain the origins of the painful experiences.

I was surprised that a white woman wrote this and had such a high level of insight (even though this is historical non-fiction). Her references to January's struggle w/ being referred to as boy, in French, "vous" vs "tu", and his struggles with his own "congo dark" skin color (which stopped him from being accepted as a surgeon in Paris among the whites, and in New Orleans among the Free Colored. The dynamics between his mother (a "mulatto" former slave and placee) and his "congo dark" and octoroon sisters, was interesting. The other characters', the mystery and the historical backdrop to it all made for a great read.

All of this was connected to a history that intentionally or not showed direct connections to many of the internal issues that all Black (African American) people in this country still deal w/ as a result of slavery.

I'm not sure if Hambly's intent was to create this multi-layered world but welll done if not, and great work if it was. I've read all the books and pass them on.

Balls, Baubles, Bangles, and Bright Shiny Carnival Beads.......2006-11-13

An 1830s masked Carnival ball in New Orleans: what a great way to open a book. Author Barbara Hambly evidently did her homework for "A Free Man of Color:" you can almost hear the music, smell the sweat, taste the food, see the glittering diamonds, the intoxicating costumes. Outside on the streets, as ever, the mobs are also partying: wine, women and song, and the bright shiny carnival beads. But there is a downside to opening on a New Orleans masked ball: it feels like dozens of characters are thrown at us at once. They mainly all have confusing French names, frequently more than one name -- family and formal-- sometimes their professions, and then we're supposed to remember their costumes too? I think I'm as smart as the next person, and I struggled desperately. Eventually I did figure out all the important characters, but two men, Granger and Bouille, went off to fight a duel, and I never did figure out which was which, or exactly why. Never got as good a handle as I would like on Clemence or Hannibal, important supporting characters, either. And as for remembering, hundreds of pages later, that there was a mysterious purple pirate, well, really.

Nevertheless: Benjamin January (Janvier in the French) is a free man of color in Creole (that is, French and Spanish) New Orleans, just as carpet-bagging Americans are beginning to pour in and change everything, disregarding the powerful "Customs of the country," and the "black laws." New Orleans society is quite complicated at the time: next to the white Creoles stand their free cousins, half-brothers and sisters of color, locally graded by the fairness of their skins, and their percentages of black or white racial heritage: Hambly gives us all the local jargon covering these gradations, octaroon, quadroon and so forth, but, once again, I found it, though fascinating, a bit confusing, hard to remember, could have done with a table up front. At any rate, these cousins are also graded on their relationships to the city's most powerful families, and, "mais oui," their beauty. The most beautiful young women are "placees," kept women with their own houses, servants, slaves, carriages, jewels.

January is the son of a "placee," but he has only one white grandparent, and, as sometimes happens, he just popped out dark-skinned: that's an extremely heavy burden to carry at that time and place(not that it doesn't still weigh heavy now.) To find real freedom, he's spent 16 years in Paris, color-blind at the time, where he married and became a successful surgeon. But he's been widowed, and come back home, where he's too dark-skinned to practice medicine; luckily for him, he's a good enough musician and can support himself playing, and giving lessons. He's playing at this ball when a beautiful, pass-for-white placee is killed, and it doesn't take long before he realizes the local constabulary, as we've been long-since taught to expect in similar situations, would rather pin this murder on him than work too hard at it, or prosecute a white.

So, of course, January sets out to clear his name. The book does start slow, blame that brilliant but confusing masked ball, and takes some further time to get going, but eventually it rolls along like New Orleans' famous old river, the Mississippi. The New Orleans scenes continue to be riveting reading; the plantation scenes less successful, though still very informative. Hambly does emphasize the history over the mystery; that's solved off-the-cuff, late in the day.

How you feel about this book, therefore, will be largely determined by how well you like historical fiction; not all of us do. But it also closes with a bang, a very modern masquerade, as it happens. Worth picking up.

An acquired taste.......2006-08-21

3.5 Stars. As with most acquired tastes this novel does take some effort to apprecitate what Ms. Hambly has accomplised. However once the reader becomes acclimated to the time period and the societal differences and nuances of this era the story then becomes very compelling. The only other minor criticism I could have of this book is I wish that the multitude of characters had been developed a little more fully. I believe that because of her intention of growing this into a series this part of the novel was neglected a little bit. On the other hand I am blown away by the amount of research that had to be done to create the detailed and intricate atmosphere of 1830's New Orleans so intimately. This book takes a little more effort on the readers part but is well worth it in the end and like an acquired taste will leave you with vivid memories and a strong sense of appreciation.

storyline.......2006-02-22

was recommanded this book, having recently moved to Louisiana myself ,It is interesting to read a story taking place in Nola(New Orleans-Louisiana)....good style, good description of the 19th C...

From Fugitive Slave to Free Man: The Autobiographies of William Wells Brown

Average customer rating:

A uniquely insightful and powerful historical narrative

From Fugitive Slave to Free Man: The Autobiographies of William Wells Brown
William Wells Brown
Manufacturer: University of Missouri Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

African-American & Black | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Slavery & Emancipation | World | History | Subjects | Books

Book Description

In From Fugitive Slave to Free Man, two of Brown's best-known writings, Narrative of William W. Brown, A Fugitive Slave. Written by Himself and My Southern Home: or, The South and Its People, are reprinted together with an expanded introduction by William L. Andrews. Taken together, both of the books included in this volume provide fascinating contrasts, especially in their depictions of slavery, and illustrate the creative innovations Brown developed in various forms of life writing.

Customer Reviews:

A uniquely insightful and powerful historical narrative.......2003-07-19

Deftly edited for modern publication by William L. Andrews (E. Maynard Adams Professor of English, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill), From Fugitive Slave To Free Man is a compilation of the two autobiographical works "Narrative of William W. Brown, A Fugitive Slave, Written by Himself" and "My Southern Home" by William Wells Brown, who born in 1814 to a slave mother and a white father. Brown's varied life, and his perspective of slavery from all sides, make for a uniquely insightful and powerful historical narrative that has weathered the test of time. A welcome and valued contribution to American History, From Fugitive Slave To Free Man is a welcome addition to any academic or community library Black Studies collection.

BENJAMIN JANUARY - Book (1) One: A Free Man of (Colour) Color; Book (2) Two: Fever Season; Book (3) Three: Graveyard Dust

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BENJAMIN JANUARY - Book (1) One: A Free Man of (Colour) Color; Book (2) Two: Fever Season; Book (3) Three: Graveyard Dust
Barbara Hambly
Manufacturer: Bantam Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NRRWU6

David Played a Harp: A Free Man's Battle for Independence

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David Played a Harp: A Free Man's Battle for Independence
Ralph W. Johnson
Manufacturer: Blackwell Ink
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

African-American & Black | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

South | Regional U.S. | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This autobiography recounts the 20th century from the point of view of a mixed-race village barber in Davidson, NC who found himself, ironically, caught at the epicenter of the 1960's racial revolution. Picketed by Davidson College students on the eve of Martin Luther King's assasination for not cutting blacks' hair, he lost his business in the resulting ruckus. His story includes the charm of southern characters, inter-racial friendships, family ties, standing grudges all told with a lilt of faith by a master story-teller, practiced for years standing at the barber's chair, making the hopeless bearable.

Average customer rating:

A Free Man of Color
Barbara HAMBLY
Manufacturer: Bantam Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OPCS7Y

Free man of color: The autobiography of Willis Augustus Hodges

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Free man of color: The autobiography of Willis Augustus Hodges
Willis Augustus Hodges
Manufacturer: University of Tennessee Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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A Free Man of Color.
Barbara. HAMBLY
Manufacturer: NY: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000U2FL2A

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The Road to the Middle Islands: Wilderness of Four, No. 4
Niel Hancock
Manufacturer: Warner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Across the Far Mountain: Wilderness of Four, No. 1 (Wilderness of Four)

Calix Stay: The Circle of Light, Book 3 (The Circle of Light)

Greyfax Grimwald: The Circle of Light, Book 1 (The Circle of Light)

ASIN: 0446312118

Average customer rating:

Patient-friendly book

This has been the best book I have read so far.....

Review of Living Well with Autoimmune Disease:What Your Doctor Doesn't Tell You

Lacking in Facts / Full of Myth

Autoimmune Diseases

Living Well with Autoimmune Disease: What Your Doctor Doesn't Tell You...That You Need to Know
Mary J. Shomon
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Women's Health | Personal Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Immune Systems | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
Internal Medicine | Medicine | Subjects | Books | Cardiology | Critical Care | Endocrinology & Metabolism | Gastroenterology | General | Hematology | Hepatology | Infectious Disease | Nephrology | Neurology | Oncology | Pulmonary | Rheumatology | Urology
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Living Well with Hypothyroidism: What Your Doctor Doesn't Tell You... That You Need to Know (Revised Edition)

What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Autoimmune Disorders: The Revolutionary, Drug-Free Treatments for Thyroid Disease, Lupus, MS, IBD, Chronic Fatigue; Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Other Diseases

The Autoimmune Connection

The Thyroid Diet: Manage Your Metabolism for Lasting Weight Loss

Coping with Prednisone (and Other Cortisone-Related Medicines): It May Work Miracles, but How Do You Handle the Side Effects?

Accessories:

Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer

ASIN: 0060938196
Release Date: 2002-10-08

Amazon.com

Autoimmune diseases affect 50 million Americans, mostly women, who frequently remain undiagnosed and untreated, or are treated ineffectively. Living Well with Autoimmune Disease helps readers pinpoint symptoms, find the right practitioner, and learn cutting-edge approaches to reduce symptoms and reverse their disease.

Author Mary Shomon, who has the immune disease Hashimoto's thyroiditis, explains how the immune system is supposed to work, and what can go wrong. Then she discusses more than 20 specific autoimmune diseases--such as chronic fatigue syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, lupus, thyroid disease, Graves' disease, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, fibromyalgia, scleroderma, and multiple sclerosis. For each, she covers symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment.

Shomon, a patient advocate and Web guide for people with thyroid disease, hears the most success stories from people who combine conventional treatment with complementary therapies, so she gives specific strategies for using herbs, diet, and mind/body therapies. She also includes a 30-page checklist of risk factors and symptoms (helpful when you have no idea what condition you might have), a guide to finding and working with the right practitioner, and an extensive resources section that includes patient support organizations, Web sites, and books. --Joan Price

Book Description

A complete guide to understanding the mysterious and often difficult–to–pinpoint disorders of the immune system––and finding the keys to diagnosis, treatment, and recovery.

An estimated fifty million people suffer from symptoms including fatigue, joint pains, depression, or heart palpitations 埳igns that the immune system has turned on itself, causing conditions such as thyroid disease, hepatitis, or multiple sclerosis. And while doctors may prescribe treatments to relieve these surface ailments, when asked about the life–long health implications of an autoimmune condition, they often just shrug their shoulders. Yet much like cancer, having one autoimmune disease puts you at high risk for developing another, and understanding the underlying immune process can reverse a patients approach to a dysfunction––for the author, it changed the way she ate, the vitamins and supplements she took, and the types of doctors she visited. Living Well with Autoimmune Disease is the first book that goes beyond the conventional treatments by showing you how to work on your underlying autoimmune dysfunction with natural and alternative therapies.

Customer Reviews:

Patient-friendly book.......2007-09-09

This is a very helpful book for the millions of people dealing with autoimmune diseases. Shomon does an excellent job of identifying the many different types of autoimmune diseases and their symptoms. She offers many traditional treatments as well as more holistic options. Most importantly, she lets you know that if you have one autoimmune disease, you have a much greater chance of contracting another. I learned far more from this book than I did at doctor appointments.

This has been the best book I have read so far............2007-08-26

This was the most informative book that I have read. I have had fibromyalgia for several years and have had to learn on my own alot of the information that was contained in this one book...a must have for any new autoimmune sufferer.
GREAT READ ! GREAT INFO !

Review of Living Well with Autoimmune Disease:What Your Doctor Doesn't Tell You.......2007-06-13

This is a very informative book. It is well worth keeping on hand for referral. It describes many autoimmune diseases and tells, in many cases, how they are connected. It also tells, whenever possible, how these diseases may get started, what their symptoms are, and how they are treated. Since much of this information is very new to the general public, the book may be of great help to people searching for answers to their own medical problems.

Lacking in Facts / Full of Myth.......2007-05-28

The reason the doctor doesn't tell you: it isn't true.
This book contains a lot of information for the average patient, and it SOUNDS logical. Unfortunately, only about half of it is based on science. In a world where those desparate for solutions are easy prey for snake-oil salesmen and fearmongers, this book leads right to them.

Most of the information of value in the book can be found in simple one-page summaries that many organizations provide (including the NIH and CDC). It lacks anything truly informative and the time reading it is wasted.

Autoimmune Diseases.......2007-01-11

A good start for basic information on a wide variety of autoimmune diseases.

Average customer rating:

Martin Yan's Asia: Favorite Recipes

An excellent introduction to Asian cuisine.

Martin Yan's Asia: Favorite Recipes from Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Japan (Yan, Martin)
Martin Yan
Manufacturer: Kqed Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Asian | Regional & International | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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Martin Yan's Culinary Journey Through China (Yan, Martin)

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Martin Yan's Feast: The Best of Yan Can Cook (Yan, Martin)

ASIN: 0912333324

Customer Reviews:

Martin Yan's Asia: Favorite Recipes.......2001-02-08

Excellent introduction to a variety of asian cooking. Helpfully explains some of the more esoteric foodstuffs, et al. Based on the straightforward presentation I intend to buy more of his books. Also, I found the written forum a much more direct way to learn from Yan than his cooking show.

An excellent introduction to Asian cuisine........1999-06-12

Even if you find his television show to be over the top, you have to admit that Martin Yan always presents very tasty recipes. This book is an introduction to a variety of Asian cuisines with recipes and helpful hints not just on preparation, but on eating as well.

I've prepared roughly 40% of the dishes included in this book and have yet to find one that wasn't delicious. I was sufficiently impressed to buy his other books as well.

Book Description

Canines share their favorite capers

Kody relates how he flooded his entire home
Cleo explains the many uses for oil paint
Duke shares his method of harassing the police

You'll rethink banishing Rex to the basement after you've spent a few minutes with Bad Dog! True Tales of Trouble Only a Best Friend Can Get Away With. This hilarious compendium of stories, shared by the offenders themselves, is guaranteed to make readers laugh out loud. Bad Dog features the best of the Bad Dog Chronicles, a Web site created in 1996 for canine Webmasters. Dogs on the net tell of their proudest momentsófrom trashing furniture, stealing steaks and ìreadjustingî the plumbing. Every dog lover will relate to the writers' well-earned pride in their accomplishments, and the damages incurred. The book's tear-out card lets you vote for your favorite bad dog, with prizes for the voters who win the contest.

Doug Brown's Web site, Baddogs.com, grew out of his posting the story of his own bad dog. The site has become a smash with Web Interactive, Websight Magazine, Yahoo Internet Life Magazine, and many others. Mr. Brown has selected the very best of Baddogs.com for Howell.

Customer Reviews:

It's terribly written, I'm afraid.......2007-01-19

It's written from the perspective of the bad dog and is maybe something a 4th grader would read. I really wanted to like it and enjoy the stories, but it's just a poor compilation.

A must read for dog lovers and would-be dog owners..........2006-03-26

Bad Dog is a brilliant collection of `tails' about dogs who have gotten themselves and their owners into some very odd situations. Almost every breed is represented in the collection, which gives the dog's name, breed, and amount of damage caused. Most have a picture of the dog, and the stories themselves are only about a page long, and written from the point of view of the dog.

The book is a great quick read. People who already own dogs will laugh at the stories and feel relived that (hopefully) their dog isn't quite THIS bad, and would be owners should read this book before they get a dog so they can see some of the `fun' and creative things a dog can accomplish given time.

The stories range from the horrific to the embarrassing, to the utterly destructive. One dog cost his master $32,000 in plumbing repairs, for example. OUCH

Bad Dog will have both you and your dog howling with laughter.

HIGHLY recommended.

A Dog's Perspective.......2000-03-31

Hi. Jake the Golden Retriever reporting in on this book. My human received this book in the mail recently. She plopped herself on the couch and spent the entire evening reading it; at one point she was laughing so hard she had to wipe TEARS out of her eyes. Sheesh. Humans! She really enjoyed the book, and I heard her say she is buying a LOT of them for gifts.

A Must-Have Book for Dog Lovers.......2000-03-29

This book will make you appreciate your dog more. Either by realizing how good your dog really is, or that you're not alone in the vast asylum of people who are owned by their dogs. A perfect gift for the dog lovers in your life.
A great read filled with humorous short stories.

Truly Inspiring!.......2000-03-23

A super book; a must-read for any dog owner (or aspiring dog owner!) An hysterical collection of canine misdeeds, as related from the dogs' perspectives. I can't wait for the next volume!

Customer Reviews:

INDISPENSIBLE.......2004-12-16

These two books, along with the companion Golden Age volumes (I and II) are essential for the serious comic fan and collector. Here are covers of every Marvel comic from 1940's to 1991. Even though I am basically a one-character collector (Spider-Man) and am one book short of having every one ever published, these books are gems! Beautiful color photos of every cover on rich, glossy paper really brings these dynamic covers to life. Although basically a Spidey collector, I grew up reading all of the Marvel heroes and am still fans of them all. These 4 books (these two and the first two volumes dealing with Golden Age books) show comics to be the works of art we all know they are. These books might be a bit too serious for the casual comic enthusiast but are worth their weight in gold for the serious collector!

A Great Resource for the Comic Fan and Marvel Enthusiast.......2002-04-24

Book Description

Pierre-Joseph Redouté, regarded as a master in the field of botanical illustration, created several thousand images of botanical specimens in his lifetime. These notecards feature five exquisite bulbs and flower illustrations from his series "Les Liliacées."

Customer Reviews:

For "C" programmers only.......2003-08-15

Seems to be an excellent presentation but if you are not conversant in "C" programming language (I am not) best to forget it.

Best book I have ever seen on PCL rogramming.......2003-01-31

If you want to do serious PCL programming, this is a very good book. It's older and thus only covers older versions of PCL but there are great source code examples in the book.

PCL Kernel.......1999-02-07

Escape sequenc

LaserJet 4 Typography and Graphics w/disk: Unlocking the Secrets of HP's Enhanced PCL5

Average customer rating:

LaserJet 4 Typography and Graphics w/disk: Unlocking the Secrets of HP's Enhanced PCL5
Ross Smith
Manufacturer: Random House Information Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Programming | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Peripherals | Hardware | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Average customer rating:

"Guide to HP printers for Dummies" would be a better title
Covers PCL from a developers prespective.

Developer's Guide to Hp Printers
Norman E. Smith
Manufacturer: Wordware Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Printing | Graphic Design | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Programming | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Peripherals | Hardware | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Hardware | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Customer Reviews:

"Guide to HP printers for Dummies" would be a better title.......2000-06-08

Alas, only about 100 of 400 pages of this book contain useful information about printers. The rest includes such things as quotes from the factory manuals which are included with the printers anyway, description of the Forth programming language (a version named PAL in the book) and printout of the implementation of Forth. Because of this the useful part is extremely terse. It just lists the printer commands but provides very little descriptions. The reader is expected to find out what the phrases like "pattern 6" mean all by him/herself. Many commands are not described at all, the book just says "you don't need to know the details". None of the examples show the printed output. The description of PCL6 loudly advertised on the cover is almost literally "PCL6 does exist but HP does not disclose any details". This attitude could be understandable in a "for dummies" series book but not in a "developer's" book. Still, the book is not completely useless: it gives some initial information for experiments and is much cheaper than the HP manuals.

Covers PCL from a developers prespective........1998-07-28

This book covers various versions of PCL used in DeskJet and Laser Jet printers. It also provides general information on HP printers. The provided application (Printer Application Language) allows users to learn PCL by generating PCL code in plain English. This book appears to be a valuable tool for quickly learning about PCL. It is the most recent PCL book (c 1998) I have encountered.

Book Description

Inspirational, uplifting essays. Self-help through self-discovery.

Customer Reviews:

A Soulful Journey.......2002-10-06

A Woman's Soul On Paper is a soulful and thought provoking book which is written in a narrative voice by the author, Cassandra George Sturges. It's a story about a journey from self-help through self-discovery based on Sturges personal memoirs. The journey begins with the illustration on the book cover. A woman is writing in her diary and she is in deep thought as noted by her reflection in a mirror. This illustration is what inspired me to start reading the book.

Sturges bares her soul on paper in a quiet and spiritually uplifted voice. Her stories are indeed a testament of strength and spirituality. Although she writes about the most intimate details of her journey you know that she is sending you a heart felt message. Sturges is truly a gifted writer.

This book reminded me so much of my own journey in life. I was able to relate to most of her stories. I cried and laughed while reading this book. I highly recommend this book to all women. You won't want to put it down.

Reviewed by Dorothy Cooperwood

A very highly recommended, deeply personal glimpse.......2001-12-09

Cassandra Sturges is an African-American high school dropout who completed her G.ED., earned two masters and a doctoral degree, and became a counseling psychologist and founder of New Beginnings Social Development Program offering counseling services for families in the foster care system. A Woman's Soul On Paper is more than just Cassandra's personal memoir; it is also a testament to strength, independence, and spiritual faith. The gifted, earnest style of the narrative completely draws the reader into Cassandra's adolescence and personal travails. A Woman's Soul On Paper is a very highly recommended, deeply personal glimpse into the conflicts, choices, and struggles involved in understanding and learning to celebrate contemporary African-American female identity.

A LOOK AT MYSELF THROUGH THE EYES OF MY SISTER FRIEND.......2001-04-26

I found "A WOMEN'S SOUL ON PAPER" To be rivoting and thought provoking. Ms.George-Sturgis is a very talented writer who is well on her way to becoming a member of an "elite" group of author's not only within the African-American community, but world wide. I look ever so forward to her future works, and offer her my congratulations on this well written perspective of women of color. Each word I read reminds and makes me proud to be a member of a strong and distinguished people.

Soul Stirring!!.......2001-04-12

I read "A Woman's Soul on Paper",By Cassandra George-Sturges and I was deeply moved. I laughed, I cried and most of all I related!! This book reminded me so much of my own journey in life and some of the things I tried to tuck away in my memory. It brought back memories of when I was 15, 20, even 30 years old. It reminded me that I am beautiful and that I am human and I am o.k. Reading this book will help women...men... people understand that they are not alone. "A Woman's Soul on Paper" is about truth and self discovery. I dare others pick up a copy and enjoy. You won't want to put it down. It is a must read and a must talk-about. I thoroughly enjoyed it and my spirit was lifted when I finished it. I highly recommend this book.

Soul Stirring!!.......2001-04-12

Bianca, Detroit, Michigan

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