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Review Date: 11/2/2020
100 Years of Lynchings Many years ago I read this book from cover to cover at least three times. I remember it was a paperback edition and was illustrated with the original news articles and photographs taken at the time the events enumerated actually occurred. I am disturbed that the most recent editions of this work was published with the illustrations and original news articles removed. I can imagine why this was done, but its unfair to the reader and researcher alike. If you are an African American I suggest ore than anything else... its an insult that the publisher would do this. I want nothing less than the original version of this work. Anyone, African American or not, who sees and reads the original will understand why.
Review Date: 12/15/2008
From Publishers Weekly
Who was the real Christopher Columbus? In Frohlich's captivating, extraordinarily vivid first novel, the white-haired widower and sea captain who alternately called himself Colombo, Colomo and Colon (never Columbus) was a Marrano, or converted Jew, an idealist who believed it his destiny to be "a light to the Gentiles." Frohlich, an attorney, spent eight years researching his book and brings remarkable realism to his chilling depiction of the fanaticism fueling the Inquisition. Queen Isabel is a merciless, sadistic, money-mad anti-Semite, and King Fernando henpecked. Among the other compelling characterizations are Beatriz, Columbus's outspoken Jewish mistress, cousin of the Grand Inquisitor Torquemada; and Boabdil, a weakling who deposes his own father to become sultan of Granada. Except for some patches of self-conscious dialogue, this is a convincing, detailed re-creation of the Old World on the brink of discovery.
Comments:
I bought this book hoping to read about Christophers trip to the new land, but instead got details about Queen Isabel's inquisition against the Jews, the war against the Arabs, and Christophers life and efforts to hide his Jewish background. His trip and discoveries were mentioned briefly in the last three pages.
This book however was enjoyable, and I do recommend it. It follows the efforts of Queen Isabel to finance her war, the problems the Inquisition caused, the war against the Arabs,and Christopher Columbus's efforts to get approval for his voyage. Too bad it's out of print.
Who was the real Christopher Columbus? In Frohlich's captivating, extraordinarily vivid first novel, the white-haired widower and sea captain who alternately called himself Colombo, Colomo and Colon (never Columbus) was a Marrano, or converted Jew, an idealist who believed it his destiny to be "a light to the Gentiles." Frohlich, an attorney, spent eight years researching his book and brings remarkable realism to his chilling depiction of the fanaticism fueling the Inquisition. Queen Isabel is a merciless, sadistic, money-mad anti-Semite, and King Fernando henpecked. Among the other compelling characterizations are Beatriz, Columbus's outspoken Jewish mistress, cousin of the Grand Inquisitor Torquemada; and Boabdil, a weakling who deposes his own father to become sultan of Granada. Except for some patches of self-conscious dialogue, this is a convincing, detailed re-creation of the Old World on the brink of discovery.
Comments:
I bought this book hoping to read about Christophers trip to the new land, but instead got details about Queen Isabel's inquisition against the Jews, the war against the Arabs, and Christophers life and efforts to hide his Jewish background. His trip and discoveries were mentioned briefly in the last three pages.
This book however was enjoyable, and I do recommend it. It follows the efforts of Queen Isabel to finance her war, the problems the Inquisition caused, the war against the Arabs,and Christopher Columbus's efforts to get approval for his voyage. Too bad it's out of print.
Review Date: 12/15/2008
From Publishers Weekly
Who was the real Christopher Columbus? In Frohlich's captivating, extraordinarily vivid first novel, the white-haired widower and sea captain who alternately called himself Colombo, Colomo and Colon (never Columbus) was a Marrano, or converted Jew, an idealist who believed it his destiny to be "a light to the Gentiles." Frohlich, an attorney, spent eight years researching his book and brings remarkable realism to his chilling depiction of the fanaticism fueling the Inquisition. Queen Isabel is a merciless, sadistic, money-mad anti-Semite, and King Fernando henpecked. Among the other compelling characterizations are Beatriz, Columbus's outspoken Jewish mistress, cousin of the Grand Inquisitor Torquemada; and Boabdil, a weakling who deposes his own father to become sultan of Granada. Except for some patches of self-conscious dialogue, this is a convincing, detailed re-creation of the Old World on the brink of discovery.
Comments:
I bought this book hoping to read about Christophers trip to the new land, but instead got details about Queen Isabel's inquisition against the Jews, the war against the Arabs, and Christophers life and efforts to hide his Jewish background. His trip and discoveries were mentioned briefly in the last three pages.
This book however was enjoyable, and I do recommend it. It follows the efforts of Queen Isabel to finance her war, the problems the Inquisition caused, the war against the Arabs,and Christopher Columbus's efforts to get approval for his voyage. Too bad it's out of print.
Who was the real Christopher Columbus? In Frohlich's captivating, extraordinarily vivid first novel, the white-haired widower and sea captain who alternately called himself Colombo, Colomo and Colon (never Columbus) was a Marrano, or converted Jew, an idealist who believed it his destiny to be "a light to the Gentiles." Frohlich, an attorney, spent eight years researching his book and brings remarkable realism to his chilling depiction of the fanaticism fueling the Inquisition. Queen Isabel is a merciless, sadistic, money-mad anti-Semite, and King Fernando henpecked. Among the other compelling characterizations are Beatriz, Columbus's outspoken Jewish mistress, cousin of the Grand Inquisitor Torquemada; and Boabdil, a weakling who deposes his own father to become sultan of Granada. Except for some patches of self-conscious dialogue, this is a convincing, detailed re-creation of the Old World on the brink of discovery.
Comments:
I bought this book hoping to read about Christophers trip to the new land, but instead got details about Queen Isabel's inquisition against the Jews, the war against the Arabs, and Christophers life and efforts to hide his Jewish background. His trip and discoveries were mentioned briefly in the last three pages.
This book however was enjoyable, and I do recommend it. It follows the efforts of Queen Isabel to finance her war, the problems the Inquisition caused, the war against the Arabs,and Christopher Columbus's efforts to get approval for his voyage. Too bad it's out of print.
Review Date: 11/28/2020
What a self-centered self-glorifying, perpetual Self-victimhood Drivel....
A lecture on how everyone is either failure -> read VICTIM or the systematic RACIST by the virtue of being born with less pigment and being drilled to work hard, thus stealing success from those born with more pigment but perpetually excused for their failures, therefore not encouraged or pushed to work hard at anything. If you are white and grew up on 50c a day (white trash I believe it is called) you are Racist supremacist robbing other races of opportunities. If you have bit more pigmentation in your skin (and are NOT ASIAN) and grew up in a middle or apple middle class household then you are still victim of someone who are crackers and ketchup for 16 years just not to starve. What a miracle of intelligence and deduction!
I wish Obama had spent more time on how he created divisive racial separation to advance his agendas. He glossed over how he promulgated how all blacks are victims even though he was President and we have a black supreme court justice, a black attorney general, a black national security advisor, etc. Always a victim.
A lecture on how everyone is either failure -> read VICTIM or the systematic RACIST by the virtue of being born with less pigment and being drilled to work hard, thus stealing success from those born with more pigment but perpetually excused for their failures, therefore not encouraged or pushed to work hard at anything. If you are white and grew up on 50c a day (white trash I believe it is called) you are Racist supremacist robbing other races of opportunities. If you have bit more pigmentation in your skin (and are NOT ASIAN) and grew up in a middle or apple middle class household then you are still victim of someone who are crackers and ketchup for 16 years just not to starve. What a miracle of intelligence and deduction!
I wish Obama had spent more time on how he created divisive racial separation to advance his agendas. He glossed over how he promulgated how all blacks are victims even though he was President and we have a black supreme court justice, a black attorney general, a black national security advisor, etc. Always a victim.
Review Date: 9/24/2012
Helpful Score: 26
Though the book hints it is possible to make a HEALTHY dinner for 4 people under $5. It is a myth.
I have shared this book with friends and this is what we found:
Though you can get cheap diners (that is true) a $5 budget is not gone happen!
For example: a black angus beef roast will cost more then $5/meal, especially if you have....
A: a husband, son or G..d help you husband AND 2 sons blessed with healthy appetite.
B: if you choose antibiotic/hormone free food (please do not read this as 'health nuts' that we are not)
C: if you are into healthy or low-to-no-meat foods
D: Loads of bacon is not what I would choose to include in HEALTHY (Nourishing) FOODS column.
The second problem was the dishes (read tastes) that do not fit many a tastebud:
A: If you are like me you will not appreciate meat/fruit combinations (80% book)
B: meat, meat MEAT!!! (not vegetarian friendly)
C: Not a low cholesterol/ gout/ diabetes/ food allergies friendly recipes (also not Atkins/weight-watchers friendly)
Meat pricing notes: (though this is not directly related to the book, a shopping list containing 80% cheap - discount priced - meats needs certain things to be noted):
A: That the cheap ground meat which you get at lowest 'rock bottom' prices almost certainly contains pink slime. (Think ground throw away cuts of 'meat' such as skin, bones, fat - no actual meat present -... all processed beyond recognition, and sterilized with delicious safe chemical mixture of ammonia.) This pink slime does not need to be noted on the label as long as it is less then ??? not sure here 30% ???
B: That the lowest priced cuts of 'solid' meats are far from 'choice cuts' and would most certainly lack tenderness or taste. That is why the recipes include tons of bacon, fruit and other flavoring agents.
Conclusion:
It is not funny, my friend told me, when your men start playing 'guess the meat... and no it is not a chicken' 'round the dinner table, or ask for a carving knife to cut their oversized steak bought as the lowest priced meat in an effort to fit the $5 budget dinner.
So it depends on your individual tastes, health, finances and other aspects wether any of you will find the book helpful, and to what extent. I'm sure some of you will but for my friends and me, it did not work.
Good Luck!
I have shared this book with friends and this is what we found:
Though you can get cheap diners (that is true) a $5 budget is not gone happen!
For example: a black angus beef roast will cost more then $5/meal, especially if you have....
A: a husband, son or G..d help you husband AND 2 sons blessed with healthy appetite.
B: if you choose antibiotic/hormone free food (please do not read this as 'health nuts' that we are not)
C: if you are into healthy or low-to-no-meat foods
D: Loads of bacon is not what I would choose to include in HEALTHY (Nourishing) FOODS column.
The second problem was the dishes (read tastes) that do not fit many a tastebud:
A: If you are like me you will not appreciate meat/fruit combinations (80% book)
B: meat, meat MEAT!!! (not vegetarian friendly)
C: Not a low cholesterol/ gout/ diabetes/ food allergies friendly recipes (also not Atkins/weight-watchers friendly)
Meat pricing notes: (though this is not directly related to the book, a shopping list containing 80% cheap - discount priced - meats needs certain things to be noted):
A: That the cheap ground meat which you get at lowest 'rock bottom' prices almost certainly contains pink slime. (Think ground throw away cuts of 'meat' such as skin, bones, fat - no actual meat present -... all processed beyond recognition, and sterilized with delicious safe chemical mixture of ammonia.) This pink slime does not need to be noted on the label as long as it is less then ??? not sure here 30% ???
B: That the lowest priced cuts of 'solid' meats are far from 'choice cuts' and would most certainly lack tenderness or taste. That is why the recipes include tons of bacon, fruit and other flavoring agents.
Conclusion:
It is not funny, my friend told me, when your men start playing 'guess the meat... and no it is not a chicken' 'round the dinner table, or ask for a carving knife to cut their oversized steak bought as the lowest priced meat in an effort to fit the $5 budget dinner.
So it depends on your individual tastes, health, finances and other aspects wether any of you will find the book helpful, and to what extent. I'm sure some of you will but for my friends and me, it did not work.
Good Luck!
Review Date: 1/4/2010
"I don't have time to workout!" is probably the most common excuse in the world, but this book will pull that rug right out from under you. 7 Minutes of Magic provides a realistic program that can improve your health in 7, 14 or 21 minutes a day. Are you going to lose 30 pounds in a month with this program? No, but you will certainly feel better and lay the foundation for a healthier lifestyle. I would describe the plan as a mix of yoga, isometric exercise and calisthenics, with a good dose of Tai Chi and Qi Gong thrown in. The primary plans are for morning and evening workouts with a bonus 7 minute plan and extra exercises that you can use to customize your program. The book also contains good advice about nutrition and meditation. If you already exercise an hour a day, you might still benefit from this program, but I think it is best suited for people trying to take the first steps towards a healthier lifestyle. You can also buy a companion dvd, but the book has enough photos and explanations to make that purchase optional.
Review Date: 9/6/2022
DESCRIBTION:
It all began with a very unusual series of dreams. Night after night, Michael Snyder kept having the same extremely vivid dream about the future, but at first he had no idea what those dreams meant. In a search for answers, Michael was led down some very deep rabbit holes which resulted in a chain of discoveries which will absolutely shock Christians all over the world.
In this book, Michael explains that we are right on the verge of the most apocalyptic time in all of human history. Jesus specifically warned that there has never been a time like it before, and there will never be a time like it again. Our planet is about to go through a dramatic succession of horrifying cataclysms that will be far more nightmarish than most people would dare to imagine, but the vast majority of the population has no idea that this is about to happen.
Unfortunately, much of what has traditionally been taught about the coming 7 year apocalypse is simply not accurate. Michael's previous books have changed the way that vast numbers of believers view the end times, and this book is destined to do the same.
Even though we are about to enter the most apocalyptic years the world has ever experienced. Michael also has a message of hope for those that have put their faith in Jesus Christ. God specifically placed you at this moment in human history for a reason, and the years ahead can be an absolutely amazing adventure if you have completely surrendered yourself to His purposes. All of human history has been building up to a grand crescendo, and we get to be here for it. This book will help you to understand exactly what is coming, and it will inspire you to face the cataclysmic events that are ahead with great confidence
It all began with a very unusual series of dreams. Night after night, Michael Snyder kept having the same extremely vivid dream about the future, but at first he had no idea what those dreams meant. In a search for answers, Michael was led down some very deep rabbit holes which resulted in a chain of discoveries which will absolutely shock Christians all over the world.
In this book, Michael explains that we are right on the verge of the most apocalyptic time in all of human history. Jesus specifically warned that there has never been a time like it before, and there will never be a time like it again. Our planet is about to go through a dramatic succession of horrifying cataclysms that will be far more nightmarish than most people would dare to imagine, but the vast majority of the population has no idea that this is about to happen.
Unfortunately, much of what has traditionally been taught about the coming 7 year apocalypse is simply not accurate. Michael's previous books have changed the way that vast numbers of believers view the end times, and this book is destined to do the same.
Even though we are about to enter the most apocalyptic years the world has ever experienced. Michael also has a message of hope for those that have put their faith in Jesus Christ. God specifically placed you at this moment in human history for a reason, and the years ahead can be an absolutely amazing adventure if you have completely surrendered yourself to His purposes. All of human history has been building up to a grand crescendo, and we get to be here for it. This book will help you to understand exactly what is coming, and it will inspire you to face the cataclysmic events that are ahead with great confidence
Review Date: 5/1/2021
Mandatory white guilt and self bashing.
Mediocre writing.
But superb "I hate me for the sins of those whom I never met but should be ashamed of because... When taken out of their time period, the cultural background, and the larger context, there is rich picking for even the most lazy "failed-to-launch" Trolls out there.
So lets read a book about a protagonist with a 2021 illiberal, totally WOKE outlook and put her in the Wild West 150 years a go, and let her rip everything apart, so we in the 2021 can see/read just how evil, corrupt, and toxic the white men (and women) were back then! So we can display our MANDATORY WHITE GUILT for the inspection of the MORAL POLICE.
What utter rubbish! Dont waist your time!
Mediocre writing.
But superb "I hate me for the sins of those whom I never met but should be ashamed of because... When taken out of their time period, the cultural background, and the larger context, there is rich picking for even the most lazy "failed-to-launch" Trolls out there.
So lets read a book about a protagonist with a 2021 illiberal, totally WOKE outlook and put her in the Wild West 150 years a go, and let her rip everything apart, so we in the 2021 can see/read just how evil, corrupt, and toxic the white men (and women) were back then! So we can display our MANDATORY WHITE GUILT for the inspection of the MORAL POLICE.
What utter rubbish! Dont waist your time!
Absolute Power: The Legacy of Corruption in the Clinton-Reno Justice Department
Author:
Book Type: Hardcover
10
Author:
Book Type: Hardcover
10
Review Date: 5/23/2021
After reading this book and loving it (although the corruption made me sick and wonder how certain politicians were able to stay in power), I felt compelled to buy it for a friend of mine.
Having voted in over a dozen presidential elections, I am still shocked at the blatant duplicitous behavior of so many of our politicians - Kennedy, both Clintons, Obama, etc, and now I'm in fear that the GP are being duped into electing an idiot who is a complete socialist without a brain. It scares me silly!
It's a shame that the media doesn't recognize Trump for being a black swan and doing more good for this country than any other president in decades.
Having voted in over a dozen presidential elections, I am still shocked at the blatant duplicitous behavior of so many of our politicians - Kennedy, both Clintons, Obama, etc, and now I'm in fear that the GP are being duped into electing an idiot who is a complete socialist without a brain. It scares me silly!
It's a shame that the media doesn't recognize Trump for being a black swan and doing more good for this country than any other president in decades.
Review Date: 8/5/2020
The Adoration of Jenna Fox explores the ethics of biomedical engineering in a way that is rarely seen in YA fiction. Told from Jenna's point of view, the narrative follows her as she wakes in a world with few memories of her life before. As they come trickling back, so do the circumstances surrounding the family move to California, her parents' secrecy, her grandmother's inexplicable dislike for her, and a bevy of question surrounding the why and wherefore of what makes a person human, where the line between legality and illegality lies in the biomedical and healthcare communities, and how people can define themselves when all they thought they knew about their identity has been torn away.
There are a few other things to note. Though the book is well written it has some serious flaws. Drilling in the co-learner / co-teacher as the ideal future classroom environment is bad enough. Only a person who doesn't teach but pushes politics into the classroom would applaud for the idea that ignorant students paying to learn are teachers and teachers with diplomas paid to share knowledge are students.
Then there is the whole end of the world in environmental disasters and the evils of bio engineering killing of native species of most animals and plants is just an over kill. Old story. We will all be dead in 4 years. We are told every 4 years. Strangely every prediction coincides with election year....
The whole idea about overused antibiotics is sound and very viable subject but the hammering of the idea that an oversight by the likes of THE most corrupt paper pushing organization like the World Health Organization is needed to stop the Antibiotics abuse is just laughable.
The story is well done though in a very simplistic sort of way. It touched deep ethical issues but didn't explore them in depth in any meaningful way. There was no real conclusion to the story. A happy ever after, after debating the morals of ethics is not satisfactory. There is no twist to the story, no dramatic ending, no struggle to fight for Jenna to survive the ethic malestorm.
It is interesting read that has slow start but does draw you in. But is predictable at every turn and totally lacks meaningful end. I recommend it with a caution. Worthy read but not a keeper.
There are a few other things to note. Though the book is well written it has some serious flaws. Drilling in the co-learner / co-teacher as the ideal future classroom environment is bad enough. Only a person who doesn't teach but pushes politics into the classroom would applaud for the idea that ignorant students paying to learn are teachers and teachers with diplomas paid to share knowledge are students.
Then there is the whole end of the world in environmental disasters and the evils of bio engineering killing of native species of most animals and plants is just an over kill. Old story. We will all be dead in 4 years. We are told every 4 years. Strangely every prediction coincides with election year....
The whole idea about overused antibiotics is sound and very viable subject but the hammering of the idea that an oversight by the likes of THE most corrupt paper pushing organization like the World Health Organization is needed to stop the Antibiotics abuse is just laughable.
The story is well done though in a very simplistic sort of way. It touched deep ethical issues but didn't explore them in depth in any meaningful way. There was no real conclusion to the story. A happy ever after, after debating the morals of ethics is not satisfactory. There is no twist to the story, no dramatic ending, no struggle to fight for Jenna to survive the ethic malestorm.
It is interesting read that has slow start but does draw you in. But is predictable at every turn and totally lacks meaningful end. I recommend it with a caution. Worthy read but not a keeper.
Review Date: 6/30/2009
From Publishers Weekly
As sweet and well-meaning as its title character, a 64-year-old restaurant hostess, this mystery is also as scatterbrained. Ziskin (The Blind Eagle) has created a sympathetic heroine, but the story is so full of flaky zigs and zags that it addles the pate. At work one day, Mona overhears a group of suit-clad men talking about a project. At first she assumes it is business-related, but she changes her mind when she also hears them mentioning "crime" and "robbery," and begins investigating?spurred on when robberies begin to occur in the very area they were discussing. Mona's daughter, Adina, and Adina's husband, Gideon?a prissy architect busy designing a new prison?wish she'd get respectable, quit her job and stop talking and acting like a crazy person. Their concern is understandable in light of the voices Mona hears in the night and her belief that her dead Uncle Gabe is trying to warn her of impending danger. Although each brief chapter is given a date and location, aiding orientation some, there are so many odd coincidences and mystical connections here that it becomes difficult to keep track of the whodunit at the center of the plot. Despite all the red herrings, the solution is obvious.
Review
In this adventurous tale filled with magic and myth, sixty-five-year-old Mona Pinsky uncovers a plot of political manipulation and theft. She faces ridicule, anti-Semitism, and ageism as well as alienation from her daughter, but Mona refuses to be silenced. She uncovers the inner strength to stand by her convictions and to speak out on an enchanting and heroic journey.
My notes:
While reading this, I found that I really sympathized with the main character, a 65 year old lady who overhears some business men discussing crime in her quiet town of Jasmine. As the men return to the restaurant where Mona is hostess, she hears more snippets of their conversation and is convinced they're up to no good. However, when she tries to warn the police, the Mayor, it seems no one will believe her. After all, she is the crazy old Jewish woman in this sheltered town, not to mention that she's friendly with one of the only black women around. Why should she be telling the truth? Even her own family has a hard time, with Mona's son-in-law trying to win a county contract to build a new jail, the last thing he wants is for his mother-in-law to be stirring up trouble. Throughout this book you just end up hoping that someone will listen to her story and help to stop the recent wave of vandalism and robberies.
This book is full of dreams and visions that Mona sees, of her Uncle Gabe, other heavenly symbols, and various references to Jewish angels. While her visions often related to other characters in the story, I felt a little lost without knowing much Jewish folklore. There is probably much more symbolism contained in the book than I realize, and it's mildly unfortunate that I don't understand all of it.
As sweet and well-meaning as its title character, a 64-year-old restaurant hostess, this mystery is also as scatterbrained. Ziskin (The Blind Eagle) has created a sympathetic heroine, but the story is so full of flaky zigs and zags that it addles the pate. At work one day, Mona overhears a group of suit-clad men talking about a project. At first she assumes it is business-related, but she changes her mind when she also hears them mentioning "crime" and "robbery," and begins investigating?spurred on when robberies begin to occur in the very area they were discussing. Mona's daughter, Adina, and Adina's husband, Gideon?a prissy architect busy designing a new prison?wish she'd get respectable, quit her job and stop talking and acting like a crazy person. Their concern is understandable in light of the voices Mona hears in the night and her belief that her dead Uncle Gabe is trying to warn her of impending danger. Although each brief chapter is given a date and location, aiding orientation some, there are so many odd coincidences and mystical connections here that it becomes difficult to keep track of the whodunit at the center of the plot. Despite all the red herrings, the solution is obvious.
Review
In this adventurous tale filled with magic and myth, sixty-five-year-old Mona Pinsky uncovers a plot of political manipulation and theft. She faces ridicule, anti-Semitism, and ageism as well as alienation from her daughter, but Mona refuses to be silenced. She uncovers the inner strength to stand by her convictions and to speak out on an enchanting and heroic journey.
My notes:
While reading this, I found that I really sympathized with the main character, a 65 year old lady who overhears some business men discussing crime in her quiet town of Jasmine. As the men return to the restaurant where Mona is hostess, she hears more snippets of their conversation and is convinced they're up to no good. However, when she tries to warn the police, the Mayor, it seems no one will believe her. After all, she is the crazy old Jewish woman in this sheltered town, not to mention that she's friendly with one of the only black women around. Why should she be telling the truth? Even her own family has a hard time, with Mona's son-in-law trying to win a county contract to build a new jail, the last thing he wants is for his mother-in-law to be stirring up trouble. Throughout this book you just end up hoping that someone will listen to her story and help to stop the recent wave of vandalism and robberies.
This book is full of dreams and visions that Mona sees, of her Uncle Gabe, other heavenly symbols, and various references to Jewish angels. While her visions often related to other characters in the story, I felt a little lost without knowing much Jewish folklore. There is probably much more symbolism contained in the book than I realize, and it's mildly unfortunate that I don't understand all of it.
Review Date: 3/17/2010
From Publishers Weekly
Riefe's first novel outside of her Iroquois series (Mohawk Woman, etc.) displays her usual attention to historical detail, but little else of merit. When Lucy Scott Mitchum's idealistic husband, Noah, gets bitten by the 1849 gold bug, she dutifully packs her worldly possessions in a prairie schooner and accompanies him from Baltimore to Sacramento with their four-year-old daughter in tow. The family's six-month trek across the Great Plains and over the Sierra Nevada mountains should have resulted in high historical drama, but Riefe's uninspired narrative robs even stampeding buffaloes and hostile Indians of their impact. Some of the flattening comes from the way characters remain passing acquaintances. When one fellow traveler of the Mitchums commits suicide by jumping in a river, for instance, it barely causes a ripple in the reader's consciousness. After building up anticipation of an impending massacre by Cheyenne of traders in Fort Laramie, Riefe describes the event as viewed from a distance, with little color or excitement. While trouble crops up continually for Lucy and her kin, they sail through nearly unscathed. The family will at last reach Sacramento, but a number of readers will have jumped schooner long before.
From Library Journal
Readers who normally avoid Westerns will find Riefe's (Mohawk Woman, LJ 12/95) novel a real treat. The author's clear, appealing writing tells the fictional story of Baltimore native Lucy Scott Mitchum; her husband, Noah; and young daughter Lynette as they journey across America in 1849 to the gold fields of California. They travel with four other families in a wagon train and encounter various Native American tribes, charging buffaloes, sickness, and a tragic massacre. The reader will learn how to cook buffalo meat, treat toothache with chamomile tea, and shoe an ox. Riefe's writing style is pleasing, and most of the characters are believable and quite likable. As Lucy Mitchum reaches California and begins a new life as one of Sacramento's first school teachers, the reader shuts the book and wonders whether this was in fact a true story. A nice buy for Western and historical fiction shelves?
Riefe's first novel outside of her Iroquois series (Mohawk Woman, etc.) displays her usual attention to historical detail, but little else of merit. When Lucy Scott Mitchum's idealistic husband, Noah, gets bitten by the 1849 gold bug, she dutifully packs her worldly possessions in a prairie schooner and accompanies him from Baltimore to Sacramento with their four-year-old daughter in tow. The family's six-month trek across the Great Plains and over the Sierra Nevada mountains should have resulted in high historical drama, but Riefe's uninspired narrative robs even stampeding buffaloes and hostile Indians of their impact. Some of the flattening comes from the way characters remain passing acquaintances. When one fellow traveler of the Mitchums commits suicide by jumping in a river, for instance, it barely causes a ripple in the reader's consciousness. After building up anticipation of an impending massacre by Cheyenne of traders in Fort Laramie, Riefe describes the event as viewed from a distance, with little color or excitement. While trouble crops up continually for Lucy and her kin, they sail through nearly unscathed. The family will at last reach Sacramento, but a number of readers will have jumped schooner long before.
From Library Journal
Readers who normally avoid Westerns will find Riefe's (Mohawk Woman, LJ 12/95) novel a real treat. The author's clear, appealing writing tells the fictional story of Baltimore native Lucy Scott Mitchum; her husband, Noah; and young daughter Lynette as they journey across America in 1849 to the gold fields of California. They travel with four other families in a wagon train and encounter various Native American tribes, charging buffaloes, sickness, and a tragic massacre. The reader will learn how to cook buffalo meat, treat toothache with chamomile tea, and shoe an ox. Riefe's writing style is pleasing, and most of the characters are believable and quite likable. As Lucy Mitchum reaches California and begins a new life as one of Sacramento's first school teachers, the reader shuts the book and wonders whether this was in fact a true story. A nice buy for Western and historical fiction shelves?
Review Date: 4/6/2021
MY NOTES:
There are some interesting and well worth reading passages in this book, but one should always consider the angle though which the book was written. Extreme feminism and "man hating" that basically makes every man look like a predator. Dont get me wrong she does make historical, religious and factual references that, though obvious, are often not acknowledged. Her book is worth reading. But with a critical eye and "feminist-propaganda-decoding" perpetually in the back of your mind. MEN ARE NOT THE PROBLEM. MASCULINITY IS NOT THE PROBLEM. Individuals are... Though it is baffling to me how someone who has no experience with violence, hates men so much as to make them ALL look worst than the devil him self.
************************************
Review:
Susan Brownmiller (born 1935) is an American feminist journalist, author, and activist; she co-founded the Women Against Pornography group in 1979. She has written other books, such as In Our Time: Memoir of a Revolution , Femininity , Shirley Chisholm , Waverly Place (a novel), etc.
She ends the first chapter with the statement, From prehistoric times to the present, I believe, rape has played a critical function. It is nothing more or less than a conscious process of intimidation by which ALL MEN keep ALL WOMEN in a state of fear. (Pg. 5)
She says, As the first permanent acquisition of man, his first piece of real property, woman was, in fact, the original building block, the cornerstone, of the house of the father. Rape entered the law through the back door, as it were, as a property crime of man against man. Woman, of course, was viewed as the property. (Pg. 8)
After discussing mob violence, she comments, it mattered little to the rapists acting under the cover of a mob whether or not their victims were attractive.' This, too, is significant, since it argues that sexual appeal, as we understand it, has little to do with the act of rape. A mob turns to rape as an expression of power and dominance. Women are used almost as inanimate objects, to prove a point among men. (Pg. 131-132)
Quoting the research by Menachem Amir, she observes,Far from being a spontaneous explosion by an individual with pent-up emotions and uncontrollable lusts, he discovered the act was usually planned in advance and elaborately arranged by a single rapist or a group of buddies. In some case the lone rapist or the gang had a particular victim in mind and coolly took the necessary steps to lure her into an advantageous position. In other cases the DECISION to rape was made in advance by a gang, a pair of cohorts or a lone-wolf rapist, but SELECTION of the female was left to chance (Pg. 199)
She states, A world without rapists would be a world in which women moved freely without fear of men. That SOME men rape provides a sufficient threat to keep all women in a constant state of intimidation, forever conscious of the knowledge that the biological tool must be held in awe for it may turn into a weapon with sudden swiftness borne of harmful intent. (Pg. 229) Later, she adds. Rape is to women as lynching was to blacks: the ultimate physical threat by which all men keep all women in a state of psychological intimidation. (Pg. 281)
She points out, All women want to be raped. No woman can be raped against her will, She was asking for it. If you're going to be raped, you might as well relax and enjoy it': These are the deadly male myths about rape, the distorted proverbs that govern female sexuality for they are the beliefs that most men hold, and the nature of male power is such that they have managed to convince many women. For to make a woman a willing participant in her own defeat is half the battle. (Pg. 346)
She acknowledges,;I have examined the Freudian theory of inherent female rape dreams to lay the groundwork for an exploration of the conscious female fantasy of rape, the opposite, but hardly equal, polarity of the male rape fantasy, its distorted mirror image. The rape fantasy exists in women as a man-made iceberg. It can be destroyed---by feminism. (Pg. 358-359)
She argues, There can be no equality' in porn, no female equivalent, no turning of the tables in the name of bawdy fun. Pornography, like rape, is a male invention, designed to dehumanize women, to reduce the female to an object of sexual access, not to free sensuality from moralistic or paternal inhibition her private parts the private property of man, while his are his rule by force over HER. (Pg. 443)
This book was one of the most powerful products of the Second Wave of feminism, and it has lost none of its power, in the intervening forty years since it was written. Its disquieting and troubling truths are something we all must face up to.
There are some interesting and well worth reading passages in this book, but one should always consider the angle though which the book was written. Extreme feminism and "man hating" that basically makes every man look like a predator. Dont get me wrong she does make historical, religious and factual references that, though obvious, are often not acknowledged. Her book is worth reading. But with a critical eye and "feminist-propaganda-decoding" perpetually in the back of your mind. MEN ARE NOT THE PROBLEM. MASCULINITY IS NOT THE PROBLEM. Individuals are... Though it is baffling to me how someone who has no experience with violence, hates men so much as to make them ALL look worst than the devil him self.
************************************
Review:
Susan Brownmiller (born 1935) is an American feminist journalist, author, and activist; she co-founded the Women Against Pornography group in 1979. She has written other books, such as In Our Time: Memoir of a Revolution , Femininity , Shirley Chisholm , Waverly Place (a novel), etc.
She ends the first chapter with the statement, From prehistoric times to the present, I believe, rape has played a critical function. It is nothing more or less than a conscious process of intimidation by which ALL MEN keep ALL WOMEN in a state of fear. (Pg. 5)
She says, As the first permanent acquisition of man, his first piece of real property, woman was, in fact, the original building block, the cornerstone, of the house of the father. Rape entered the law through the back door, as it were, as a property crime of man against man. Woman, of course, was viewed as the property. (Pg. 8)
After discussing mob violence, she comments, it mattered little to the rapists acting under the cover of a mob whether or not their victims were attractive.' This, too, is significant, since it argues that sexual appeal, as we understand it, has little to do with the act of rape. A mob turns to rape as an expression of power and dominance. Women are used almost as inanimate objects, to prove a point among men. (Pg. 131-132)
Quoting the research by Menachem Amir, she observes,Far from being a spontaneous explosion by an individual with pent-up emotions and uncontrollable lusts, he discovered the act was usually planned in advance and elaborately arranged by a single rapist or a group of buddies. In some case the lone rapist or the gang had a particular victim in mind and coolly took the necessary steps to lure her into an advantageous position. In other cases the DECISION to rape was made in advance by a gang, a pair of cohorts or a lone-wolf rapist, but SELECTION of the female was left to chance (Pg. 199)
She states, A world without rapists would be a world in which women moved freely without fear of men. That SOME men rape provides a sufficient threat to keep all women in a constant state of intimidation, forever conscious of the knowledge that the biological tool must be held in awe for it may turn into a weapon with sudden swiftness borne of harmful intent. (Pg. 229) Later, she adds. Rape is to women as lynching was to blacks: the ultimate physical threat by which all men keep all women in a state of psychological intimidation. (Pg. 281)
She points out, All women want to be raped. No woman can be raped against her will, She was asking for it. If you're going to be raped, you might as well relax and enjoy it': These are the deadly male myths about rape, the distorted proverbs that govern female sexuality for they are the beliefs that most men hold, and the nature of male power is such that they have managed to convince many women. For to make a woman a willing participant in her own defeat is half the battle. (Pg. 346)
She acknowledges,;I have examined the Freudian theory of inherent female rape dreams to lay the groundwork for an exploration of the conscious female fantasy of rape, the opposite, but hardly equal, polarity of the male rape fantasy, its distorted mirror image. The rape fantasy exists in women as a man-made iceberg. It can be destroyed---by feminism. (Pg. 358-359)
She argues, There can be no equality' in porn, no female equivalent, no turning of the tables in the name of bawdy fun. Pornography, like rape, is a male invention, designed to dehumanize women, to reduce the female to an object of sexual access, not to free sensuality from moralistic or paternal inhibition her private parts the private property of man, while his are his rule by force over HER. (Pg. 443)
This book was one of the most powerful products of the Second Wave of feminism, and it has lost none of its power, in the intervening forty years since it was written. Its disquieting and troubling truths are something we all must face up to.
Review Date: 1/20/2010
Helpful Score: 1
Product Description
The high stone walls of Barbal encircle a deep rift. At the heart of the city the Lord Alchemist, Mardak the Dark, reigns supreme. His pursuit of power has led the tyrannical ruler to treacherous deeds: seizing the opposing alchemist, Ogog, and holding him hostage in the Ziggurat. However, help is at hand in the shape of a young boy called Silas. Under the guidance of his charismatic mentor, Sultan Ash, Silas sets off for Barbal to free Ogog, armed with nothing more than sheer determination - and a pure white pebble in his pocket. Unbeknown to Silas, the pebble is a Turnstone, a talisman bestowed with magical powers. In Barbal, Mardak's wild obsession has culminated in the construction of the Entropoth, a deadly time machine powered by human souls displaying events happening in the past and future. Mardak may know Silas is on his way - but will he be a match for the Turnstone?
My Notes:
I have read both The Sight and Firebringer 3 different times. Due to them, David Clement-Davies has become my favorite author. After waiting 2 years for him to write another book, he came out with this one. I was very eager to read it. I ordered it, and read it right when it came in. The book however simply was awful. It had all the makings of a typical childish novel. Gone were the mature ideas found in his other 2 novels. Gone also was the book about a society of animals. Perhaps the only likeness this book had to the other 2, other than having the same author, was the inclusion of a prophecy. Even this wasn't really stuck to. Overall, I found this book to be a major disapointment.
The high stone walls of Barbal encircle a deep rift. At the heart of the city the Lord Alchemist, Mardak the Dark, reigns supreme. His pursuit of power has led the tyrannical ruler to treacherous deeds: seizing the opposing alchemist, Ogog, and holding him hostage in the Ziggurat. However, help is at hand in the shape of a young boy called Silas. Under the guidance of his charismatic mentor, Sultan Ash, Silas sets off for Barbal to free Ogog, armed with nothing more than sheer determination - and a pure white pebble in his pocket. Unbeknown to Silas, the pebble is a Turnstone, a talisman bestowed with magical powers. In Barbal, Mardak's wild obsession has culminated in the construction of the Entropoth, a deadly time machine powered by human souls displaying events happening in the past and future. Mardak may know Silas is on his way - but will he be a match for the Turnstone?
My Notes:
I have read both The Sight and Firebringer 3 different times. Due to them, David Clement-Davies has become my favorite author. After waiting 2 years for him to write another book, he came out with this one. I was very eager to read it. I ordered it, and read it right when it came in. The book however simply was awful. It had all the makings of a typical childish novel. Gone were the mature ideas found in his other 2 novels. Gone also was the book about a society of animals. Perhaps the only likeness this book had to the other 2, other than having the same author, was the inclusion of a prophecy. Even this wasn't really stuck to. Overall, I found this book to be a major disapointment.
Review Date: 7/7/2011
Lila was one of those who could, by diving deep, deep within herself, emerge in outer space. The few who could make that journey were honored above all other mortals; already the secrets brought back by the mind-travelers had transformed Earth from the pig-sty of the 21st century to the paradise of the 22nd. But Lila was to learn something beide which the secrets brought back by previous psychic astronauts would pale to insignificance-she was to learn the Truth...and it would not make men free.
Review Date: 9/28/2019
In the Appalachian Mountains, in a Transylvania County here is a legend that very few people today believe is based on a truth. The myth states that parents shouldn't let their children out at night, especially on the eve of the full moon.
In 1956, high school senior Chester believes there are vampiric space aliens up on Devil's Mountain and doesn't intend to be there after dark. His plans change when fellow senior John Croshaw goads him and Hannah Jane Goins into exploring the mountain on the night of the full moon. When they get near the summit of the mountain, Chester is separated from his two companions and sees the space aliens capture his friend Hannah Jane and realize John is one of them. The high school senior manages to escape but vows to return and free his friend and the other children, who the aliens captured, some of them dating back to the Civil War.
In 1956, high school senior Chester believes there are vampiric space aliens up on Devil's Mountain and doesn't intend to be there after dark. His plans change when fellow senior John Croshaw goads him and Hannah Jane Goins into exploring the mountain on the night of the full moon. When they get near the summit of the mountain, Chester is separated from his two companions and sees the space aliens capture his friend Hannah Jane and realize John is one of them. The high school senior manages to escape but vows to return and free his friend and the other children, who the aliens captured, some of them dating back to the Civil War.
Review Date: 3/6/2023
Another person cashing in on the eco hysteria. Anyone who is not "in" on it is killing the planet. I didn't find the writing style funny. Its was preachy, and heavy handed. Bonking the old-timers and the current farmers and anyone in disagreement, on the head for destroying the world, for not being truly organic and ... you know NOT using all them new techniques. Cow sh*** is now a pollutant because the Microsoft Guy said so. We need to be using ORGANIC stuff from SAFE sources. Chicken poop from chicken butt aint it.
Review Date: 8/27/2020
This book is well researched and has some brilliant lines. But it brings nothing new to the table. It's rehashing and borrowing what so many others already wrote more eloquently.
The problem is that the book is written in a very intellectual/educational format that makes it difficult to read. From reading other books on the subject I know what the author is saying but have to re-read the lines more then 3x-4x to comprehend her micro points. They are good points but so obliquely written that one is obliged to take notes in ...regular... English to keep track of the lectures. One feels like an exam will follow the sociological political geo religious lessons. Which are written as incomprehensibly as possible to make the subject look elevated and respectful.
This is unfortunate because she researched the subject of Islam extremely well and quotes many classics to make her points. Though it should be noted that she did not do as good job researching Christianity, which she uses as counter-points. She generalized the many denominations which made her reference points less valuable.
To summarize, this book is worth reading if you can get past the dry academic style with awkward sentence structures that make the subject comprehension difficult. It would make a good university school book. For most readers I will say that there are other books that are equally informative but more easily understood.
The problem is that the book is written in a very intellectual/educational format that makes it difficult to read. From reading other books on the subject I know what the author is saying but have to re-read the lines more then 3x-4x to comprehend her micro points. They are good points but so obliquely written that one is obliged to take notes in ...regular... English to keep track of the lectures. One feels like an exam will follow the sociological political geo religious lessons. Which are written as incomprehensibly as possible to make the subject look elevated and respectful.
This is unfortunate because she researched the subject of Islam extremely well and quotes many classics to make her points. Though it should be noted that she did not do as good job researching Christianity, which she uses as counter-points. She generalized the many denominations which made her reference points less valuable.
To summarize, this book is worth reading if you can get past the dry academic style with awkward sentence structures that make the subject comprehension difficult. It would make a good university school book. For most readers I will say that there are other books that are equally informative but more easily understood.
Review Date: 2/10/2010
Helpful Score: 1
This is my first Lynsay Sands novel and it will not be my last.Always is a novel tat has it all: Humor, romance and Mystery.The parts of the story with Aric and Rosamude's wedding night as well asAric trying to teach his wife to enjoy the " Matial Bed" are priceless.The real humor however, is when Rosamude dressed Aric's horse up in his clothes by the fire in the Keep to help the animal get over a cold. I laughed s hard people on the bus were looking at me.Although these two people did not start out loving each other the relationship and the love was so much fun to read. Learning about themselves and learning to trust easc other was wonderful.The novel also contained a little myster, Who killed Rosamude's mother and why issomeone trying to kill her is a question that takes center stage is the later part of this book.
Review Date: 12/26/2022
Repetitive and dry writing with many worthy quotes hidden in endless talking. Reading more then few chapters at the time will un-focus the reader. Reading is a labor mostly without joy. However just as the readers think the book is hopeless tangle of bland, dry text, there comes pages worth reading, redeeming the drudgery preceding it. Those pages are treasures of information, fascinating and scary. They are peppered throughout the book. Making the book a mixed blessing to read. I still can't decide if it's a keeper or not.
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