Beloved

Book Description

Staring unflinchingly into the abyss of slavery, this spellbinding novel transforms history into a story as powerful as Exodus and as intimate as a lullaby. Sethe, its protagonist, was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. She has too many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. And Sethe’s new home is haunted by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved. Filled with bitter poetry and suspense as taut as a rope, Beloved is a towering achievement.

Customer Reviews:

An absolute must read (and read again).......2007-09-19

Here is a shockingly raw story that could only be told so completely by Toni Morrison's unique brand of lyricism. This book is more than a tutorial on the atrocities of slavery. It is a jagged look at the power of fear, intimidation, guilt, shame, and how we can be haunted mercilessly by our pasts. It is also a story of the redemptive power of love and forgiveness (beginning with onesself). The movie Beloved follows the story line, dialogue, and symbolism almost verbatim. It's a great visual to enhance this book that should be read again and again throughtout the years. I think the reader will be surprised by their burgeoning understanding of this powerful work.

NOT A STORY TO PASS ON . . ........2007-08-28

I read this book for the first time in 1999; I had to think about it prior to knowing how I felt about it. However, I have come to realize that this is a kind of African American Reference book, not only for understanding slavery, but for many cultural pitfalls that are indigneous to the Af-Am community. Therefore, if you don't know anything about the history of blacks as enslaved community, or if you don't wish to be provoked into thinking, don't attempt to read this or any of her earlier works. I came to the understanding that Morrison writes in a kind of double consciousness when I was reading the inane reviews of Paradise. One can't be taught to understand Morrison, nor can she be read superficially.

Ain't no sin but white people.......2007-07-23

Each whitepeople should be made to read this book until he vomits and cries. This is what whitepeople did to black people--they stole their souls, took color from their eyes. . .If this book doesn't break apart your heart and scar up your soul, you ain't human.

One of Those Never-to-be-Forgotten Works [7][31][T].......2007-07-15

Written about slavery and post-slavery travails and the impossibility to enjoy new-found freedom, the horrors experienced by the family of Baby Sugg - most particularly her daughter-in-law, Sethe, and her granddaughter, Denver - lead us to cry for each and their Beloved.

To anyone who has not read Morrison, I give one warning: her topics are very depressing. But, her writing style is not. Therefore, she manages to capture your attention in reading about horrible events and opens your mind to things which we ordinarily do not read about or learn: for instance, after majoring in American History, I learned for the first time in this book that black men would be punished by having a tack put into their mouth at which time their mouths became deformed, tongue dried to the point of needing weeks to repair, and became mentally humiliated to an unknown degree.

There is a bit of Stephen King in this book - an apparition with the single name of Beloved returns to the family. To avenge? Or, to love? Or by her love is she an avenger? In any event, this character speaks few words but influences Denver and Sethe immensely, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse.

One force which seems to wrestle sanely in the insanely cruel world of slavery is Paul D. After having experienced worse tortures, mental and physical, than most others, he maintains a balanced perspective. He is the ballast to Sethe's tumultuous inner conflict. Sethe, we learn, experiences a "Sophie's Choice" situation which others view with disdain, but which we learn to understand. Even though we may not agree to the same, we understand. Morrison explains to us why good people can perform bad acts. In most simplest terms, she writes their reason of being good people that do bad things is, " That anybody white could take your whole self for anything that came to mind. Not just work, kill, or maim you, but dirty you. Dirty you so bad that you couldn't like yourself anymore."

But, those who had been slaves sought to protect their young - those who would be born free or became free before their memories jelled - from having this white-man manifestation of hate for self.

Strong topic. Strong delivery. Unique writing style. Great novel. Deeply touching. Deeply depressing. Probably, one of those never-to-be-forgotten works which you will remember for years after you turned the last page.

Powerful on so many levels.......2007-07-12

_Beloved_ is my first Toni Morrison book. If this is any indication of her skill as a writer, I will certainly be reading more by her. Initially the book is confusing, unsettling and leaves the reader with many questions - this is intentional, as Morrison wants us to experience the dislocation and chaos that was the daily bread of a slave in the mid-nineteenth century. Stay with it; the struggle is richly rewarded.

_Beloved_ on the surface is the story of Seethe, a runaway slave, haunted by her dead daughter. As the story progresses, each character we encounter has a secret of their own that they are coming to terms with (or are trying to hide.) Gradually the questions raised in the first 50 pages are answered and order made of the chaos, as the rich interconnectedness of the characters becomes apparent, and their secrets are exposed.

Slavery plays a large role to be sure, as Morrison shows the scars the institution left on both African - Americans and whites. But _Beloved_ is also about forgiveness, leaving the past, and coming to terms with past wrongs. These themes are masterfully woven through the perspectives of a wide cast of characters, each wholly unique and human. I am also dumbstruck with Morrison's way with words - at times poignant and touching, elsewhere horrifying and shocking, reading this book was an emotional experience. Only a handful of authors can make that claim, in my opinion, and Morrison is one of them. I highly recommend this book.

Cry, the Beloved Country (Oprah's Book Club)

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South Africa - 60 Years Past
So Glad I Discovered This Book!
Great Simplicity; Great Depth; Remarkable Humanity
Masterpiece of Prose
Cry the Beloved

Cry, the Beloved Country (Oprah's Book Club)
Alan Paton
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0743262174
Release Date: 2003-09-29

Book Description

Cry, the Beloved Country is a beautifully told and profoundly compassionate story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son Absalom, set in the troubled and changing South Africa of the 1940s. The book is written with such keen empathy and understanding that to read it is to share fully in the gravity of the characters' situations. It both touches your heart deeply and inspires a renewed faith in the dignity of mankind. Cry, the Beloved Country is a classic tale, passionately African, timeless and universal, and beyond all, selfless.

Customer Reviews:

South Africa - 60 Years Past.......2007-09-01

Although this book is about 60 years old I just read it for the 1st time. It is a keeper and a treasure. It is a book that you will want to revisit often at least for awhile. I find the book to be filled with spiritual messages. You will see the making of aparthaid long before it was abolished. The story itself is quite suspenseful and Paton's writing style is unique. I like it.

So Glad I Discovered This Book!.......2007-07-26

The story of one man's quest to find his son and to seek forgiveness. I had never heard of this book prior to the 1001 Books To Read list (it had not been required reading in high school), and I am sorry I didn't read earlier. This book is one of the most memorable books I've ever read, and I know I will look forward to re-reading it again one day.

I understand some here have not taken kindly to Mr. Paton's writing style, but I found it engaging and very easy to read. His descriptive style, for me, was far from boring and kept me involved in the story to the point where I could envision all that was happening. For me, his words just flowed so evenly.

The story may be a little dated for today's politics being as the novel was written in 1946; however, it provides a thought-provoking point of view of the beginnings of apartheid in South Africa. The issues are complex, and the answers are not always easy or simple, but the effect on people is amazing and long-lasting. Mr. Paton describes how every facet of life is touched through this horrible policy. The dilemma of complexity is driven home when the stories of two men, Kumalo and Jarvis - one black, the other white - come together. Sympathies for both men are strong and the reader can find their hearts wrenched at what happens simply because that's the way it is done.

Well done and thoroughly enjoyed!

Great Simplicity; Great Depth; Remarkable Humanity.......2007-07-11

Many friends recommended CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY to me over the years, but it was not until May of this year that the book came my way in the form a gift. I picked it up one evening and--much to my own amazement--read it in a single sitting. Yes, it really is that good.

Published in 1948, the book tells a simple story. Zulu-born Stephen Kumalo is the elderly Christian priest of a tiny church who has seldom set foot outside his rural South Africa village; he is both uncertain and frightened when he summoned to Johannesburg to attend his sister, who is in great crisis. Once in the city, however, he determines to locate his son Absalom, who also lives in Johannesburg and from whom he has received no news for quite some time. Kumalo conducts his search with a mounting sense of despair--and ultimately finds himself in the midst of both personal tragedy and public scandal.

Although the story is grim, the novel itself is not. Alan Payton (1903-1988) wrote several novels, but CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY is best-known and most widely read work, and much of its power rests on the remarkable way in which he styles his prose: it possesses a shining simplicity that not only seems to capture the vocal cadence of South Africa but also allows the reader to see through the novel's several levels with a remarkable sense of clarity.

Much of the novel's power resides in its portrait of South Africa in this particular era. The word "apartheid" had not attained its full implication in 1948, but Paton not only identifies the almost accidental seeds of apartheid, he forecasts the ultimate result as well. Paton also endows the novel with a very clear idea of what Christianity should be in actual practice as opposed to what it too often is in actual fact, and although the story is indeed dark, the humanity involved is such that one never feels the darkness cannot be dispelled.

The older I become, the less inclined I am to keep books; these days I read them and give them away, and new permanent additions to my library are rare. But CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY is a keeper, a book I've no doubt I'll return to again and again.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer
With Thanks to Kate, Whose Gift This Book Was

Masterpiece of Prose.......2007-06-13

I didn't think I would like this book. I have never seen a writing style like this, so it was a little strange to start. However, I quickly changed my mind. It was a wonderful book that is uplifting and thought-provoking. I cried at the end of it because the story was so beautiful. This is a must read.

Cry the Beloved.......2007-05-15

Alan Paton's Cry the Beloved Country is an eye opening look into 1940's South Africa. The main character pastor Stephen Kumalo tries to save his family from the trap that is the city of Johannesburg. Once in Johannesburg Kumalo quickly realizes hard life is in the white dominated society and how easy it is to fall into the trap. The book does start off a bit slow but by the middle it will have you sucked in. Paton vividly shows how crupt people can be but also shows how good hearted people can be. If you are looking for a book with emotion and life lessons this is a must read.

Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World

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Life of the Beloved
Dated but still superb spiritual writing
A Great Read for those who want to go deeper
Life of the Beloved
An Uplifting Read

Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World
Henri J Nouwen
Manufacturer: Crossroad General Interest
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0824519868

Book Description

This spiritual classic began as a simple request from one friend to another. Fred Bratman, a secular journalist and writer, asked friend and renowned author Henri Nouwen to write a book explaining the spiritual life in terms that he and his friends could understand, avoiding theology and technical language.

Customer Reviews:

Life of the Beloved.......2007-10-09

Insightful and uplifting. Conveys a concept of God's love in a way that can be understood by individuals who are not well read in Christian theology.

Dated but still superb spiritual writing.......2007-10-07

I first read this book more than 10 years ago. I loved it then. It really touched me. I recently led a book group discussing this book. Some in the group found it to really touch them deeply giving them the balm they needed; others felt that it was a bit dated. They felt that this was written for a different time.

The book's initial purpose, a apology for faith, never really was met, but for the Christian seeking a deeper insight into faith this book is great.

A Great Read for those who want to go deeper .......2007-06-27

This is a well written book on our relationship with each other and the beloved. I highly recommend it for those who are ready to be intimate with God

Life of the Beloved.......2007-05-25

Our Bible Study is using this book as their current study. Nouwen speaks to the heart.

An Uplifting Read.......2007-05-22

In "Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World" Nouwen attempts to answer the request of a secular friend : "Say something about the Spirit that my secular friends and I can hear." Through many long conversations about the book, the relationship between Nouwen and his friend deepens considerably. But, in the end Nouwen realized that he had failed to succesfully meet the need of his friend.

I read the book, on the recommendation of a counselor at a time of my own searching for deeper understanding of my own spiritual journey as a Christian. What I found most uplifting and assuring was Nowen's central thesis: each of us is the beloved of God.

My heart responded with "Yes" when I read Nouwens words to his friend: "All I want to say to you is, 'You are the Beloved,' and all I hope is that you can hear these words as spoken to you with all the tenderness and force that love can hold. My only desire is to make these words reverberate in every corner of your being-'You are the Beloved.'"

I believe that each of us is on a journey with God, however we name that being. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is wondering about his or her relationship with God.

The Spirit of Notre Dame: Legends, Traditions, and Inspiration from One of America#s Most Beloved Universities

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A Wonderful Gift !
I've been waiting for such a book.

The Spirit of Notre Dame: Legends, Traditions, and Inspiration from One of America#s Most Beloved Universities
Jeremy Langford , and Jim Langford
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0385510810
Release Date: 2005-08-16

Book Description

Finally, a book that captures the spirit of Notre Dame. One of the most famous universities in the world, Notre Dame has come to symbolize excellence and faith in action, which sets it apart as an institution and a place that has deeply influenced millions of people. Call it a mystique or grace; there is something about the lure and lore of Notre Dame that evokes admiration and respect. The Spirit of Notre Dame marks the first time that a single book collects the stories that personify the character that is uniquely Notre Dame.

Notre Dame is the Golden Dome, the Victory March, the Basilica, the Grotto, playing fields, dorms, chapels, the library, classrooms, and research centers. But most of all, it is people: from faith-filled visionaries and world-renowned scholars to celebrated coaches and athletes to professors, students, janitors and cooks, volunteers and friends. From the university’s bold founder, Rev. Edward Sorin, to American legends of the football field (and silver screen) Knute Rockne, the Gipper, and Rudy, Notre Dame is the setting for some of our culture’s most uplifting stories of perseverance in the face of tremendous odds. The Spirit of Notre Dame tells these stories and more . . . of miraclulous athletic comebacks and incredible victories against the odds, of the Notre Dame graduate who survived the Bataan Death March by focusing on the university, of football stars like Chris Zorich who overcame tough circumstances, and of walk-on players who realized their dreams of playing for the Fighting Irish. Included in these pages are stories of the women’s teams who have won national championships in basketball and soccer, and dedicated leaders such as Fathers Corby, Hesburgh, and Malloy; professors Frank O’Malley, Emil T. Hofman, and a line of great teachers whose blood is in the bricks; coaches Leahy, Ara, Holtz, Willingham, and McGraw; and a host of graduates like Dr. Tom Dooley and Judge Ann Williams who have devoted themselves to serving others both on the campus and in the world. Engaging, amusing, and inspiring, The Spirit of Notre Dame is the absolute essential title for the millions of people who have a place in their heart for the Fighting Irish.

Customer Reviews:

A Wonderful Gift !.......2005-10-04

I received this book as a gift, and the gift was more than just a book, it was the "gift of spirit of Notre Dame".
I went to a huge state university, and was little more than a number. At Notre Dame it must be so very different, the students become a part of a "family". They were nurtured, cared about and stayed a part of the school's extended family. What a wonderful feeling of warmth and security this must generate to those many students who were away from home!
The Langfords do an excellent job of re-creating Notre Dame's unusual history, and the determination of its staff to keep the college open despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
The stories of individual students were sensitively told -and I found myself in tears several times as I read this book.
Although I've not yet visited the school, I do want to go there to meet the staff and students , to see campus, especially the grotto that is so vividly described in the book, and to FEEL the Spirit of Notre Dame for myself.
It's a wonderful gift!

I've been waiting for such a book........2005-09-06

I'm surprised a book like this hasn't already been published--There are so many great stories from Notre Dame, some of them even part of American lore itself. As a graduate of the university I'm obviously not completely impartial, but I got a great deal of substance out of the stories that are told here. I would recommend this as the perfect gift to give anyone who has a fondness for Notre Dame.

Average customer rating:

Voice for the Voiceless - Noble (and Nobel) attempt
Okay
A Work of Art
She really is impressed with herself
Not the best portrayal of pre-Civil War America

Beloved (Plume Contemporary Fiction)
Toni Morrison
Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0452264464

Amazon.com

In the troubled years following the Civil War, the spirit of a murdered child haunts the Ohio home of a former slave. This angry, destructive ghost breaks mirrors, leaves its fingerprints in cake icing, and generally makes life difficult for Sethe and her family; nevertheless, the woman finds the haunting oddly comforting for the spirit is that of her own dead baby, never named, thought of only as Beloved.

A dead child, a runaway slave, a terrible secret--these are the central concerns of Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize-winning Beloved. Morrison, a Nobel laureate, has written many fine novels, including Song of Solomon, The Bluest Eye, and Paradise--but Beloved is arguably her best. To modern readers, antebellum slavery is a subject so familiar that it is almost impossible to render its horrors in a way that seems neither clichéd nor melodramatic. Rapes, beatings, murders, and mutilations are recounted here, but they belong to characters so precisely drawn that the tragedy remains individual, terrifying to us because it is terrifying to the sufferer. And Morrison is master of the telling detail: in the bit, for example, a punishing piece of headgear used to discipline recalcitrant slaves, she manages to encapsulate all of slavery's many cruelties into one apt symbol--a device that deprives its wearer of speech. "Days after it was taken out, goose fat was rubbed on the corners of the mouth but nothing to soothe the tongue or take the wildness out of the eye." Most importantly, the language here, while often lyrical, is never overheated. Even as she recalls the cruelties visited upon her while a slave, Sethe is evocative without being overemotional: "Add my husband to it, watching, above me in the loft--hiding close by--the one place he thought no one would look for him, looking down on what I couldn't look at at all. And not stopping them--looking and letting it happen.... And if he was that broken then, then he is also and certainly dead now." Even the supernatural is treated as an ordinary fact of life: "Not a house in the country ain't packed to its rafters with some dead Negro's grief. We lucky this ghost is a baby," comments Sethe's mother-in-law.

Beloved is a dense, complex novel that yields up its secrets one by one. As Morrison takes us deeper into Sethe's history and her memories, the horrifying circumstances of her baby's death start to make terrible sense. And as past meets present in the shape of a mysterious young woman about the same age as Sethe's daughter would have been, the narrative builds inexorably to its powerful, painful conclusion. Beloved may well be the defining novel of slavery in America, the one that all others will be measured by. --Alix Wilber

Amazon.com Audiobook Review

As with the ghost at its center, Beloved has taken many forms--from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel to Oprah Winfrey's decade-in-the-making movie to this challenging audiobook read by Lynn Whitfield. Whitfield, who won an Emmy Award playing the title role in The Josephine Baker Story, has a tough assignment as she guides us back and forth in time with Sethe, an escaped slave who's still shackled by memories of her murdered child. But, as we shift between Sethe's brutal plantation days and her haunted life immediately after the Civil War, we learn one secret after another until, finally, past and present are masterfully reconciled. (Running time: three hours, two cassettes) --Kimberly Heinrichs

Book Description

2 cassettes / 3 hours
Read by Lynn Whitfield

Beloved is also available Unabridged, read by the author, Toni Morrison

"An extraordinary novel." -The New York Times

Toni Morrison's magnificent Pulitzer Prize-winning novel brings the unimaginable experience of slavery into our comprehension. Set in rural Ohio several years after the Civil War, it is the story of Sethe, an escaped slave, who has risked her life in order to wrench herself from living death; who has lost a husband and buried a child; who has borne the unthinkable and not gone mad. Sethe, who now lives in a small house on the edge of town with her daughter, Denver, her mother-in-law, Baby Suggs, and a disturbing, mesmerizing apparition who calls herself Beloved.

Profoundly affecting, this is one of Toni Morrison's greatest novels - a dazzling and spellbinding achievement.

Customer Reviews:

Voice for the Voiceless - Noble (and Nobel) attempt.......2007-05-29

Beloved HAD to be written. The African-American tragedy is told here in a way that the slaves could not have articulated themselves - but here their souls cry out. True, Toni Morrison does not quite make this a total work of Art. The devices are too obvious as she fulfills this almost impossible task she has set herself. In this book you LIVE the destruction/denigration of life - in a way I cannot remember experiencing in any other book. The characters, especially Beloved, are symbols - and yet they are very real and quite fascinating too! These are vibrant, exciting people - and Morrison gives them a voice and makes them so real!

Okay.......2007-05-18

I read this book after reading The Known World and March so I had already had a good (better, actually) dose of reading about the inhumane conditions slaves lived under. This was a ho-hum book for me. I thought it was more work that it was worth and I wanted it over with and was glad when I finished it.

I was really struck by Morrison taking you inside the damaged spirit of some of the characters. You learn how they only let themselves love others a little as all things important to them will likely be taken away. You learn the significance of a star or a leaf to someone who has no joy in their life whatsoever. You come to understand why a mother would rather take the life of her child than subject it to a life of continuous degradation and misery.

A Work of Art.......2007-04-04

Get a peek of what is to come next in this novel without knowing you're seeing the future. Morrison's artistic lyrics are outstanding.

She really is impressed with herself.......2007-01-15

The only thing worse than reading _Beloved_ (read my review of the novel) is listening to Morrison read it. She goes so s - l - o - w - l - y, and seems more impressed with her book than the reader. Quite frankly this book doesn't really demand this close of a reading.

Although trite to say, the best compliment a writer can have is having someone else make the text come to life, and this audio book is interesting only as an historical artifact.

Not the best portrayal of pre-Civil War America.......2006-11-30

Beloved is one of the most famous novels by Toni Morrison, America's only female to win the Nobel Prize in literature. Set in the America before the Civil War, the story moves from the slave South to the non-slave North. Free the North is not, as this book depicts, for slaves could be captured and returned down South. The book is conglomeration of multiple themes and storylines. First and foremost is the story of Sethe, a black woman who used to be a slave. Second, the book focuses on her baby who died at birth, who goes by the name Beloved, and the reappearance of the baby as a ghost.

Third, the book examines slavery, racism, and the politics of inclusion and seclusion. In the South, Sethe is excluded from civil society in many ways by her color and the institution of slavery, but being a slave, is an integral part of society in general. In the North, she is not a slave per say, but instead she is excluded from society in general by the ways of white people and their benign racism. The storylines of this book also explore the physical punishments and practices used to enforce slavery at the personal level. Here is where this book stands out from others like it like Uncle Tom's Cabin or Huck Finn. This book could be described as doing for black literature on slavery as what Passion of the Christ did for movies based on the Bible. it is quite graphic with big servings of the natural thrown in. But I would not use this book as a study of slavery and the racism built into it. The text is very confusing and I, the reader, spent much time trying to understand the entity of Beloved, and its use in furthering the story. In fact, I would call this book a tragedy not about slavery and racism, but a tragedy set against the backdrop of slavery and racism. Overall, a difficult book to read and though not boring, is not on my list of great American works.

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Hearing God's Voice
God will speak to you through this little book
Come Away My Beloved
Great Devotional Book
Peace for Your Soul

Come Away My Beloved
Frances J. Roberts
Manufacturer: Barbour Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1593100221

Product Description

This powerful book has touched countless lives-reminding readers of the Lord's invitation to ""come away"" and experience His all-sufficient care and provision. A book ""forged in the crucible of life,"" Come Away My Beloved shares the ministering spirit of the heavenly Father to those in need of encouragement, hope, comfort, and conviction. Equally helpful to new Christians or longtime believers seeking spiritual renewal, Come Away My Beloved offers instruction for successful Christian living and inspiration for deeper devotion to God. This classic book has been updated for ease of reading and incorporates Scripture from the New King James Version.

Customer Reviews:

Hearing God's Voice.......2007-09-24

My first copy has long since lost its cover and the pages are dog-eared and tear-stained. I use this every morning during my prayer time to launch a converstation between me and the Master of the Universe. If you have ever longed to hear the sweet, intimate words of God and His plan for you, this is the book for you. Encouraging, and uplifting. After 8 years, this book still challenges me to walk intimately with God each moment of the day.

God will speak to you through this little book.......2007-08-25

I have probably given at least 50 of these books to people that the Lord lays on my heart. This book speaks to me all the time, whatever I am going through. It is like the Lord is standing right in front of you talking with you. Everyone I have given it to says that they have been so blessed by the words in this book. I highly recommend it.

Come Away My Beloved.......2007-06-26

I have purchased ten of these little daily devotionals. I give them to people who are hurting, grieving, feeling like failures, etc. The devotionals continually lift me up reminding me of how much our heavenly Father loves us and wants an intimate relationship with us. It encourages the broken hearted and gives HOPE.

Great Devotional Book.......2007-02-12

This classic devotional book has been updated in today's modern language. It is easy to use and easy to understand. Each devotion is written as if God were speaking directly to the reader. Very meaningful and highly relevant. I would highly recommend this little book for the more mature Christian.

Peace for Your Soul.......2007-01-10

This is a wonderfully comforting book. I've had a copy for years and reading it has calmed me through many difficult times. It makes a great gift for a friend going through grief or fear.

The Best of James Herriot: Favorite Stories of One of the Most Beloved Writers of Our Time

Average customer rating:

A Great Book for all ages
Many hours of pleasure await the reader of Jame Herriot
A Must Buy!
The Best of James Herriot
Don't expect to laugh as much or long as usual

The Best of James Herriot: Favorite Stories of One of the Most Beloved Writers of Our Time
James Herriot
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0312192363

Book Description

The Best of James Herriot is one of the most extraordinary volumes ever devoted to the work and world of a contemporary writer. Within its covers are unforgettable episodes from the remarkable series of memoirs that began with All Creatures Great and Small-"the ones my family and I have laughed at over the years and the ones my readers have said they most enjoyed," as Herriot, himself, put it. Yet the book is far more than a simple anthology: Its gorgeous pages also include hundreds of line drawings and color photographs, capturing Herriot's Yorkshire in a worthy complement to the writer's words.The 1991 publication of Every Living Thing, rendered the original edition of this book incomplete. This fall will mark the publication of the complete, definitive edition with the addition of five of his best, more recent stories, as well as new art. Once again The Best of James Herriot becomes the quintessential Herriot volume-one of those invaluable books that will be loved as much in decades to come as it is today.

Customer Reviews:

A Great Book for all ages.......2007-01-16

A very bright and beautiful book, with nice pictures and side articles, which help you know more about animals described in the book. All stories are easy to read and full of sparkly humor and affection to animals and nature. Reading it you may easily find yourself laughing over things at one page, and crying at the next one. This book is equally great for both children and adults.

Many hours of pleasure await the reader of Jame Herriot.......2007-01-10

If you love animals and you haven't read James Herriot then you simply must! These stories are so full of humour, sadness, joy and lots of plain common sense and wisdom that you will love every minute of reading them. It is amazing to read that the author had such a long struggle to have his work published that he almost gave up. What a loss to the world that would have been! The story of his life is told by his son in the book "The Real James Herriot" - make sure you read that one also!

A Must Buy!.......2005-11-05

What can one add to the already vivid detail of the life of Alfred Wight? Fortunately nothing except the illustrations for those of us with little perception of what the farming community and the towns around Yorkshire were like in the 30's and 40's. The fact too, that it's in hardcover will ensure it's permanent place on your bookshelf of treasured writings.

The Best of James Herriot.......2005-10-16

Even though the book was used, it was in excellent condition. The pictures throughout help to make this book a very good purchase for the money. James Herriot is a wonderful storyteller and the reader finds himself/herself able to have the experience of almost being there in person.

Don't expect to laugh as much or long as usual.......2005-02-16

Knowing the unabridged version of one of Herriot's books, I was disappointed at not being able to laugh as much with these, shortened versions of the stories and abridged collection in general. But even if you have Herriot's unabridged volumes, this book is still worth buying for the illustrations and descriptions of his tools and world, not to mention the photos. If you buy it and it makes you go out and buy the whole collection, just give this copy as a gift; it's that worthy.

The Zuni Cafe Cookbook: A Compendium of Recipes and Cooking Lessons from San Francisco's Beloved Restaurant

Average customer rating:

Awesome Cookbook
chicken recipe is well worth the price
Food
Zuni rocks my kitchen
Desert Island Cookbook

The Zuni Cafe Cookbook: A Compendium of Recipes and Cooking Lessons from San Francisco's Beloved Restaurant
Judy Rodgers , and Gerald Asher
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0393020436

Amazon.com

Judy Rodgers, chef-owner of San Francisco's Zuni Cafe, has produced a true classic with The Zuni Cafe Cookbook. This book gives the cook and the reader two accessible temptations: to read from cover to cover, and to cook from cover to cover. One of the great voices in food writing today, Judy Rodgers truly stands shoulder-to-shoulder with any of the master food writers who have preceded and influenced her. Her writing is as delicious as the famous Zuni Roast Chicken with Bread Salad, as simple and elegant as the Zuni Cafe Caesar Salad.

While firmly anchored in the food sentiments of California, Rodgers explores the honest cuisine généreuse of France, Tuscany, Umbria, Sicily, Catalonia, and Greece. Her chapter "Small Dishes to Start a Meal" runs to 65 pages! Look for her Lentil-Sweet Red Pepper Soup with Cumin and Black Pepper, her Citrus Risotto, and her Tomato Summer Pudding. Be sure to try Short Ribs Braised in Chimay Ale, and Rabbit with Marsala and Prune-Plums. Chapters are devoted to eggs, starchy dishes, sausage and charcuterie, and the cheese course; you'll also find all the basic chapters one might expect. Throughout, Gerald Asher provides insight into matching wines with foods.

Rodgers's natural instinct is to share and to teach, and the instructional material in The Zuni Cafe Cookbook is like a deep-tissue massage, improving any cook's posture and performance. Rodgers's fine book invites both the novice and the experienced cook to delve deep into the heart of real food and real cooking. --Schuyler Ingle

Book Description

For twenty-four years, in an odd and intimate warren of rooms, San Franciscans of every variety have come to the Zuni Café with high expectations and have rarely left disappointed. In The Zuni Café Cookbook, a book customers have been anticipating for years, chef and owner Judy Rodgers provides recipes for Zuni's most well-known dishes, ranging from the Zuni Roast Chicken to the Espresso Granita. But Zuni's appeal goes beyond recipes. Harold McGee concludes, "What makes The Zuni Café Cookbook a real treasure is the voice of Zuni's Judy Rodgers," whose book "repeatedly sheds a fresh and revealing light on ingredients and dishes, and even on the nature of cooking itself." Deborah Madison (Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone) says the introduction alone "should be required reading for every person who might cook something someday." 24 pages of color, 50 black-and-white photographs.

Customer Reviews:

Awesome Cookbook.......2007-09-15

I was eager to purchase this book after tasting the best "Roasted Rosemary Potatoes" I have ever eaten in my life at a friends house. I am a simple cook, but love good food. This book is beautifully written, and does not intimidate me. I feel as if I can make every recipe and make it successful because Judy Rodgers will walk you through each step. I have not tried a recipe yet, but will soon. I am just enjoying reading it right now. You really want to savour this book as you read it.

chicken recipe is well worth the price.......2007-05-07

zuni is my favorite san francisco restaurant. i bought this book for the chicken recipe, the restaurant signature dish; it works perfectly and satisfies a life long goal of making a perfect roast chicken. have only glanced at other recipes.

Food.......2007-01-11

The book was bought as a gift. I looked at it and I do not know if I would purchase a copy for myself. Some of the ingredience might be difficult to obtain if you do not live near the coast. The recipies seemed advanced.

Zuni rocks my kitchen.......2006-04-17

I have not eaten at the restaurant, and I have no special culinary skills outside of being a good home cook. In fact, I can rarely follow a recipe.

This book is a really fun read, and inspirational. Some rather mundane foods, like stale bread/onions/greens/cheese come together in a most divine way, with lots of variations possible and suggested. It's called a Panade.

The big revolution here is salting meat and waiting for the herbs to seep in for a couple of days - a dry brine. Genius, and totally effective.

I think the recipes are easier than they look. I am not put off by a three page description because once you read it, it is your own. Not intricate technique, just great ideas!

Desert Island Cookbook.......2005-07-17

As my cookbook collection continues to grow, this book remains one of my favorites. It is a well written classy book that I personally admire. It is definately a book for foodies and not a quick reference for some quick dinner ideas.

The recipes are very obviously real and tested and if one wishes to acheive the best results do not try to take shortcuts. As far as finding certain ingredients, there is a wealth of resources availible online and virtualy any ingredient that you can imagine can be found if you look.

Embracing the Beloved: Relationship as a Path of Awakening

Average customer rating:

GREAT BOOK!
The Beloved
Want something -really- challenging? This Is It.
One ought not "dis" an icon, but . . .
Intimacy's Joys and Challenges

Embracing the Beloved: Relationship as a Path of Awakening
Steve Levine , and Ondrea Levine
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Self-Help | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0385425279
Release Date: 1996-01-20

Customer Reviews:

GREAT BOOK!.......2006-05-26

One of the best written books on what everyone searches for in life...

The Beloved.......2006-03-30

About a decade ago, I was having an early midlife crisis. I had been focusing heavilly on my career and work, and relationships had become somewhat peripheral, accessories, extracurricular.

What I didn't get was brought around to me by a flood of synchronicity that included a mad affair, Sufi poetry and several really good books. This was one of them. I think this is one of the best books available on learning to love The Beloved in self and others. Though we are born knowing how to love, we aren't born knowing how to have relationships.

I'd highly recommend this as a book to share with a young couple who is cohabitating or considering marriage, or for any young person who is mature enough to understand the differences between affection, infatuation, and love.

Want something -really- challenging? This Is It........2002-07-28

Of all the relationship books we've seen and used, this one is unique and dear to us.

Once you've got talking techniques and fair fighting methods down, and you've figured out what planet you're from, this book will help you take the next step in relationship. For those of you wishing to go beyond the nuts and bolts of relationship to a transformed way of inter-being, this book is perhaps the most lucid, light-filled, and compassionate description of the steps along the path.

Eminently practical, do-able, and relevant, the Levines outline multiple pathways to a deeper spiritual relationship with your partner - and with yourself. As well, anyone in the process of considering ending a relationship will find healing and hope in the chapter on conscious separation. Those currently unattached will find opportunities for deep learning and healing in preparation for their next relationship.

There is a lifetime of study in this book, or as the Levines say, this is the work of a lifetime. It may take a while to "get it". Persevere: the effort is well worth it! The potential in your relationship is glorious!

One ought not "dis" an icon, but . . ........2001-06-05

This book bored both my husband and myself . . . and we're eclectic readers, hard to turn off once we've committed to a book. Levine's earlier work is good, but IMHO by now success has gone to his head. Take a "Marriage Enrichment" course or something, but don't waste your $ on this book.

Intimacy's Joys and Challenges.......1999-11-30

This book is a treasure, one that I will return to over time as Life's different lessons surface to challenge me. The authors present the many questions that arise from relationships beautifully, grounding them in the necessary but often-belittled work we must do on ourselves, alone as well as with another. Viewing the relationship entity itself as a third partner, the Beloved, helps in recognizing that we each interact not only with our partner, but also with the energy of partnership as though it were an individual. The chapters can be read either sequentially or separately as their specific energies are needed. In fact, I think the stand-alone nature of the chapters makes the book particularly useful. The meditations also work well whether you do them progressively or return to them as you feel the need for a specific meditation's strengths.

Most importantly, the book focuses on the importance of consciousness at all levels of relationship. The authors manage to make the book germane whether or not the reader is engaged in a relationship at the moment. Those who are in a relationship can use the book to deepen their bond and understand one another. Those leaving a relationship can use it to learn and heal. Anyone can benefit from the familiarity that comes from consciously examining their relationship persona and its impact on interactions with others.

Book Description

From the USA Today bestselling author with a special gift comes the highly anticipated conclusion to her Scottish Highland trilogy. Here is the story of Patrick Maclean-a bold warrior who must rethink his strategy for defeating the enemy if he is to rescue the woman he loves from doom.

Customer Reviews:

A Keeper.......2007-05-03

A wonderful story by a very talented author. I don't normally read this kind of historical but picked it up just for something to read. It was a beautiful love story that touched my heart. Buy it! You won't be disappointed........

Mutineer steals galleon and lady's heart.......2007-04-28

Patrick Maclean has been a prisoner/oarsman on a Spanish Galleon for years. Finally on a voyage to England, he executes a perfect mutiny. Well, almost perfect. The oarsmen overpower the crew but he has the Captain's niece Juliana Mendoza on board, a witness to the mutiny. The crew want to defile her but Patrick, now captain of the ship, decides she will travel unmolested to his home in Scotland. Patrick desires to become laird. He has been missing for eight years. He needs to save the crew from certain hanging and only with the assistance of his clan can he accomplish this.

Juliana is terrified of the mutineers but strangely attracted to Patrick. At first, she sees him as a blood thirsty killer but as their voyage toward Scotland progresses she recognizes him as an honorable man trying to reclaim his life.

When they arrive in Scotland, Patrick and Juliana allow passion to flow between them. There are many obstacles they must overcome, not the least of which is Juliana's impending marriage to a cruel English nobleman and the political intrigue engulfing Scotland. Additionally, Patrick must hide a ship and 100 mutineers. Ms Potter never lets these plots overshadow the growing romance between Patrick and Juliana. In fact, the novel never gets bogged in details. Her writing style is fluid and she really drew me in every time there was an action sequence. She seamlessly weaves high drama and emotion during many great action filled scenes.

The secondary characters were wonderful, each with very unique personalities. I would give this book five stars except for one slight imperfection. I would have loved to see the main characters spend more time together. Of course, Patrick was busy sailing a ship and fighting political intrigue, but even in Scotland while they both resided in the castle, they never spent as much time conversing with each other as they did with the other characters. I hope Patricia Potter continues this series. I would love to read a story about Patrick's fellow oarsmen Diego.

wonderful historical romance.......2007-04-05

For six years Patrick Maclean has been held prisoner on a Spanish slave ship waiting for an opportunity to escape. He finally sees the right moment and leads a successful mutiny with his plan to go straight to his Scottish clan.

However, still a gentleman in spite of his horrendous mistreatment, Patrick learns two women were on board the vessel so he assumes their protection from his peers. When he learns their identities are the daughter of the ship's owner Juliana Mendoza and her maid Carmita, he wants to hand the former to the mutineers as he loathes her father for what he did to him. Still he does the right thing by both women though Juliana does not trust him. On the way to Scotland they make love and fall in love, but she is engaged to another aristocrat; to break their upcoming nuptials would prove lethal to her mother.

The third Maclean early sixteenth century romance (see BELOVED STRANGER and BELOVED IMPOSTER) is a superior historical tale starring two strong characters whose love is the worst that could happen to either of them. Patrick is terrific as he cherishes the daughter of the man he loathes; Juliana is trapped in an untenable dilemma caused by her father as she loves her Patrick, but must marry someone else for the sake of her mother. Subgenre fans will gain immense pleasure from all three Maclean tales.

Harriet Klausner

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