Going Home: Unfinished Business/ Island of Flowers/ Mind Over Matter

Book Description

Three women must rediscover the love of family before they can give their hearts to others. . . .

Unfinished Business --

She wanted answers from her estranged mother and went home to find them. But Vanessa Sexton also found Brady Tucker, the man who'd once broken her heart . . . and still left her breathless.

Island of Flowers --

Innocent Laine Simmons hardly expected the father she barely knew to welcome her. However, she was completely unprepared for the suspicion of her father's sexy partner Dillon O'Brian -- or for his intense passion.

Mind over Matter --

Protecting her mother's interests pitted no-nonsense agent Aurora Fields against ruthlessly determined David Brady. But there were few David couldn't charm if he set his mind to it -- and this time it really mattered.

Customer Reviews:

I love Nora, but these are far below her usual standard.......2005-07-12

Unfinished Business is a cute 200-page story about a classical pianist who left home as a teenager to pursue her career under the overbearingly high-pressure of her father/tutor/manager. Now, 8 years later, after the death of her father, she decides to return home to Western Maryland to rest and recover from an ulcer and severe burn-out, and to reconcile with her mother and childhood sweetheart. From her new adult prospective, and out from under the misguided influence of her father, she realizes that the misunderstandings that to her estrangement from both of them wasn't what she had been lead to believe. A nicely presented story about repairing mother-daughter bonds that seemed damaged forever, and about reconnecting with one's soulmate. This was the only story in the collection I found to be worthwhile reading.

I could tell right away that Island of Flowers was written very early in Nora Roberts career (copyright 1982) because it is not up to the well-polished and skillfully written standards we've come to expect from her. There are flashes of Nora Roberts brilliance in the detailed descriptions of the beautiful Hawaiian scenery, in particular when Laine and Dillon are snorkling in the reefs. However, the story is very weak. The dynamics of Laine's troubled relationship and subsequent reconciliation with her father is poorly developed. Dillon is so abrasively hostile towards Laine that it is impossible to believe that she ever falls in love with him - there is nothing at all likable about him except maybe his brooding good looks. The dialogue between them is painfully unbearable to read because it flows so unnaturally and unrealistically. Even the housekeeper, who is supposed to be a ally, isn't presented in a favorable manner. Thankfully this story is only 100 pages, otherwise I'd never have been able to finish it - it was that bad.

Mind Over Matter is a pure escapist reading that cannot be taken seriously or realistically. I found it difficult to get through, mostly because it wasn't believeable and the dialogue was so unnatural. I had a hard time looking at it superficially. A clairvoyant mother-daughter duo hooks up with a documentary producer who wishes to portray them in the most positive light possible. The mother is very likable, but the daughter is so prickly and hostile that it is hard to imagine the sympathetic producer becoming interested in her. I have to admit to skimming through the last half of the story because I couldn't bear reading it any further that I already had but I needed to satisfy my curiosity as to whether the story got any better and my need to know how it ended. The subject matter was interesting and unique enough that the story had great potential if only it had been better developed and was well-written.

I liked them all.......2003-08-02

I really enjoyed all three of these earlier Nora Roberts stories, I read this book in one day. All three stories are well-written and will pull you right in. The characters are charming, sassy and sometimes frustrating - totally human all of them. The romantic tension between the main characters is perfection. Nora Roberts writes about the lives of a concert pianist, a doctor, a bush pilot, a schoolteacher, a documentary producer and a Hollywood agent as if she has worn all of these hats herself, the stories flow well.

I really cannot say a bad thing about this collection of stories. Find a sunny porch or patio, a comfy chair and lose yourself in this wonderful book.

Interesting set of stories........2003-05-15

Well actually I would give it 3 1/2 stars only because of one of the stories I could not warm up to. The first story was excellent,Vaness and Brady Tucker were easy to like characters I gave it 4 stars. The second one with Lainie and Dillon only 2,why, because they were not easy to like characters. I had a difficult time warming up to them, and also a complete reversal to the first story. The final story Mind over Matter was to me the best of the three I can see an early begining to her witch series and the Donavon Series. All an all a better group of stories than her last Dangerous series. I still think that she is great and you should give this book a try.

2 out of 3 are really good.......2002-10-25

This is a collection of 3 early Nora Roberts stories. Unfinished Business and Mind over Matter were both good stories. Fans of Nora Roberts' work will recogonize her trademark style, and though they didn't have the suspense her later work has, the plot was still entertaining. I didn't like the middle story Island of Flowers. It was very short, and in my opinion, none of the characters were very fleshed out. I also didn't like how naive the heroine was in that one. Nora's stories usually have strong, daring women. That is one of my favorite things about her work. I didn't like this heroine. Buy it because of the first and third stories.

An Outstanding Nora Roberts Anthology!.......2002-10-17

"Going Home" is a delightful omnibus of three older Nora Roberts novels, repackaged into one fabulous collection. The three tales that make up this book are wonderfully matched and I loved each and every one. I can't even choose a favourite; each one was unique, compelling, and fun to read! I was utterly charmed and satisfied by this Silhouette reprint and I'm sure you will be too.

"Unfinished Business" introduces Vanessa Sexton, a hugely successful but strung-out concert pianist, who is returning to her small home town for the first time in 12 years to get some answers from her estranged mother. But the one thing Vanessa never expected to find was her high school sweetheart Brady Tucker, who broke her heart on the night of his senior prom. Brady had his reasons for what happened that night, but after only minutes in Vanessa's company this bad boy turned doctor realizes there's a lot of unfinished business between them, and that Vanessa can still turn him inside out with one of her pouty looks!
Vanessa slowly begins rebuilding a tentative relationship with her mother, while trying to sort out the powerful emotions Brady stirs up in her. Vanessa knows that she's still intensely drawn to Brady, despite her lingering hurt from what happened 12 years ago. Confused and in emotional turmoil about her life, Vanessa finds that Brady is the best person to turn to. And the more time they spend together, the more Brady and Vanessa come to see that they never stopped loving each other.
But Vanessa is feeling lost and uncertain as to what her future holds for her. Though her music is a vital part of who she is, she's not sure she wants to continue with the stressful life she's been leading. Vanessa is afraid that what she and Brady feel for each other is only an echo of remembered love, and her insecurities about herself lead her to start pushing Brady away. Will Vanessa see through her self-doubt to the truth and find love and happiness in Brady's arms? Or will she turn her back on the only man she'll ever love?

"Island of Flowers" tells the story of Laine Simmons, a young boarding school teacher from France who has traveled to Hawaii on a whim in hopes of finding her father. Laine is awed by the paradise in which her father lives, and Roberts' brilliant descriptions make the island of Kauai come alive.
And though Laine didn't expect her estranged father to greet her with open arms, she was totally unprepared for his sexy, and hostile, business partner, Dillon O'Brian. Dillon believes Laine has ulterior motives for this reunion with her father, and a misunderstanding regarding years of unreceived gifts and correspondence leaves Laine without a way to clear her name. So she simply goes about trying to get to know the father she never had, but while he's busy with work at his airport, Laine spends a lot of time with Dillon.
And despite his suspicions about Laine's intentions, Dillon just can't stop thinking about her. As they get to know each other, Dillon falls hard for the unbelievably innocent and sweet Laine. And the lovely young Laine finds herself caught up in a storm of unfamiliar and intense emotions, as the passion between her and Dillon grows. But even though they have both fallen in love, they won't admit it to each other. Afraid of Dillon accusing her of being a gold-digger, Laine stubbornly keeps her true feelings to herself. So when a terrible misunderstanding sends Dillon into a hurt rage, it prompts Laine to take her broken heart and leave. Is there any way to overcome the pain and misery that Dillon's mistrust has caused? Or will they be denied the lifetime of love and happiness they could have found together?

"Mind Over Matter" introduces Aurora "A.J." Fields, a tough and respected Hollywood agent. When her mother, known psychic Clarissa de Basse is approached by renowned documentary producer David Brady, A.J. is determined to protect her mother. David wants Clarissa to be a large part of his newest documentary on psychic phenomena, but A.J. isn't sure it's a good idea. A.J. and David spend a lot of time negotiating a deal, and the more time he spends with her, the more David becomes intrigued by A.J.
A.J. too feels a strong pull towards David, and she tries to fight the attraction at first. As time passes, David gets to know Aurora, the soft, vulnerable and unsure side of A.J.'s personality, totally at odds with her prickly agent persona. No woman has ever made David feel the way A.J. does, and he doesn't know what to do about it.
But A.J. has what she considers a terrible secret burden. She's inherited her mother's psychic abilities, and even a lifetime of burying them as deep as possible can't close them off. A.J.'s first and only love rejected her because of her abilities, labelling her a freak, and A.J's terrified that now David knows of her talents, he'll either abandon her or want to dissect her mind. David's not sure how he feels about A.J.'s gift, but he knows he wants to break through the wall she keeps firmly between them, and show her how he feels about her. Will David be able to accept A.J. for who she is, and convince her that he means it? Or will A.J.'s fear of rejection ultimately destroy their love?

"Going Home" is an excellent read, containing three stories that will amuse, entertain, and satisfy the romantic in all of us. Each of the three tales is beautifully written and though they are all quite old, none of them seem dated. "Going Home" is an undeniably terrific anthology and you don't want to miss it. So buy this book today, I very highly recommend it!

Average customer rating:

A poingnant and amusing autobiography

A must-read for all Jamaicans

THIS TEACHER MAKES YOU LAUGH & LEARN

well worth the reading

Going Home to Teach
Anthony C. Winkler
Manufacturer: LMH Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 9766101523

Customer Reviews:

A poingnant and amusing autobiography.......2006-04-20

Anthony Winkler is a really gifted author and he has a talent for clearly reproducing the essence of raw Jamaica, even if it is a Jamaica that existed before I was born. He also wrote "The Lunatic" which I need to find and re-read again as well. He is a white Jamaican who currently lives in Atlanta, GA.

This book "Going Home To Teach" recounts his experiences when he returned home to Jamaica to teach back in the 1970s. Those were tumultuous times for Jamaica, when Michael Manley was in power and socialism was the philosophy du jour. Many people left, while Winkler was coming back. The book has a lot of pathos, humour, and drama; but what really makes it impressive and relevant to me are the observations on Jamaican, American and English culture. Here are some samples. I don't necessarily agree with all his observations, but I think they are worth noting.

On being white in Jamaica, specifically referring to his American wife's experience:
"To be white in a black country with a long English colonial history is to be a pariah, an ambiguous entity. It is to be simultaneously respected and despised, to arouse suspicion and curiosity, to evoke defiance, rudeness, envy and condescension. It is to be separated from that inalienable birthright every white American enjoys in his own country; the expectation of being treated with indifference in a public place. When you are white in a black land like Jamaica, you are no longer merely a man, or a woman, or a child. For good or ill, you are also immediately transmogrified into a living symbol of a detested colonial past."

On Jamaican and American attitudes towards economic roles:
"The American nation is essentially a confederation of economic tribes known as businesses and corporations, each with its own totemic history, identity...when you work for an American corporation it defines you, moulds you...and eventually changes your values and perceptions...Americans are reared with the expectation that a large part of their personal identity will eventually be defined in adulthood by an economic role. One becomes what one does...Jamaicans DO their careers, their occupational pursuits; Americans BECOME them...This wedding of personality and occupation is a most peculiar trait for Jamaicans to comprehend mainly because they have inherited from their own cultural experience a deep-seated dislike for ready-made economic roles. Jamaicans revel in the expression of an idiosyncratic self, and reject any occupational role that brings with it blanket expectations of the self. Why this is so no doubt goes back to our experience with slavery when we waged and endless war of passive resistance against the slave master's desires and struggled hard to repudiate what he wanted us to become."

On "getting on bad"
"This expression has a peculiar meaning to the Jamaican, and no known equivalent in America. To `go on bad' is to employ the behaviour of the lower class in a sphere of life where it is outlandishly inappropriate. One cannot `go on bad' in a true democracy like America, but only in a society that separates people into classes by a strictly prescribed code of manners. Under the Englishman's colonial blueprint, the ragged brute in the streets is expected to rant and rave over grievances and raise his voice in profanity, but not the tuxedoed gentleman at a formal dinner. And should the gentleman so behave for whatever reason other than rare excusable drunkenness, he is said to have `gone on bad.' His sin is not so much bad behaviour as it is a degenerate hybridisation of manners-bringing the lower-class brute into the drawing room- and the penalty is social expulsion. He simply will never be invited back."
The unfortunate thing is that many times, getting on bad is the only way to get anything done! He notes this in the anecdote that follows this quote, which I won't replay here.

It's a great autobiographical novel told from a point of view that I haven't even considered too much; that of the person who is born in Jamaica and is just as Jamaican as I am, except that he is white. It is an accurate snapshot of Jamaica in the 1970s as well. Well, I assume that, since I wasn't born then :D At any rate, I highly recommend it. Also read the rest of his books: "The Lunatic" "The Painted Canoe" "The Great Yacht Race" and "The Duppy". I have read them all except for the last one, those I have read have been very good also.

A must-read for all Jamaicans.......2003-12-15

I was a schoolgirl in Jamaica, during the 70s, the period Mr. Winkler writes about and I can attest that all the things he says are true. The book is hilarious and poignant at the same time, capturing all the things that make Jamaica a difficult place to live in, yet an impossible one to stay away from. He captures the crazy drama of everyday life there, with humor and beauty and sadness. The scene in the patty shop when he asked by two people behind him in line to judge which is the blacker one, is one of the funniest things I've ever read.

THIS TEACHER MAKES YOU LAUGH & LEARN.......2002-10-20

Just seeing his name on the book spine was enough to make me pick up the book.

Over the years, Anthony C. Winkler's rollicking novels of Jamaican life have given me considerable pleasure and insight into Caribbean sensibility. He writes with a great affection for the island nation's people, reveling in their culture and contradictions, equally amused by and compassionate toward all the social strata. However, I'd been curious about the writer himself since first reading THE LUNATIC years ago, after a St. Kitts-born friend and mentor pressed the book into my hand with a smile, saying "You must read this!" The brief bio in his books mentioned he was a native Jamaican and scant else. Who was he? I wondered to myself about his background, his roots, his understanding of Jamaica.

GOING HOME TO TEACH answered my questions and delivered a lot more. At heart, it's Winkler's memoir of his mid-1970s stint, when Michael Manley's "democratic socialist" administration ruled, as an instructor at a government-sponsored rural teacher training school. His return is part altruism, part nostalgia: As the author of successful, widely used college textbooks, he's got tidy sums squirreled away in American banks, so he can afford to return home and work for a pittance. On the other hand, at the time he's thirty-something, divorced, and he's spent thirteen years away from home to study and teach in the U.S., whose society bewilders him.

The meat of the book, though, is both personal and general. Winkler is a raconteur, a griot--a natural born storyteller--and he regales you with stories about his family (particularly his eccentric grandparents and crazy aunts), his encounters with hidebound administrators and bureaucrats, striking students, madmen, and the impossibility of finding competent repairpersons. And then again, there are his observations on American society and culture, the contrasts with Jamaica, and the cultural idiosyncrasies that he attributes to the history of slavery and English colonial rule. GOING HOME TO TEACH is a dense stew of memorable people, incidents and conclusions, richly seasoned with rib-tickling anecdotes.

Indeed, what makes the book really work is Winkler's humor and humanity, his conversational tone, his equanimity whether describing the absurd or the nearly tragic. He's not shy about his foibles, his family's or his countrymen's, and completely droll even when revealing the unpleasant side of paradise. Be cautioned about reading this book in public: you risk indelicate stares for laughing out loud, as I did particularly as I was reading his account of "night life"--the panoply of insects and other critters--in the Jamaican countryside.

There's also the bittersweet. Winkler's ancestry is European and Middle Eastern--which adds up to "white"--but he's Jamaica-born and bred (patois is his "native tongue" much as any other Jamaican's), and that's the land he loves. It results in a certain "double consciousness," which I find ironically analogous to the lot of "Black Americans":

"To be white in a black country with a long English colonial history is to be a pariah, an ambiguous entity. It is to be simultaneously respected and despised, to arouse suspicion and curiosity, to evoke defiance, rudeness, envy, and condescension. It is to be separated from that inalienable birthright every white American enjoys in his country: the expectation of being treated with indifference in a public place....

"The hardest thing about growing up white in a black country is the nagging feeling of not belonging.... Jamaicans of all races who have lived abroad for any length of time also suffer it after returning home, but for the white Jamaican the feeling of not belonging is a cross he must bear even if he has never set foot out of his own country."

If you're already a fan of Winkler's writing, I believe you'll also love this book. If you're not already acquainted, this should be a fine introduction to the man and the land. A highly recommended, rewarding read.

well worth the reading.......1999-09-13

If you live in the Caribbean you will be able to identify with all the occurrences. If you used to live in the Caribbean, this book will bring back all the memories. If you have no Caribbean connections, then you will be highly amused by the "peculiarites" of the natives as Mr. Winkler cleverly reveals the culture and personalities of the island

$Going Home: Unfinished Business\Island Of Flowers\Mind Over Matter (Silhouette Romance;)$
Average customer rating:

Love the author, not one of my favorites
Thumbs up!
Disappointing Collection
Not really worth the time
goood boook

Going Home: Unfinished Business\Island Of Flowers\Mind Over Matter (Silhouette Romance;)
Nora Roberts
Manufacturer: Silhouette
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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Spellbound

ASIN: 0373285035

Book Description

Unfinished Business
She wanted answers from her estranged mother and went home to find them. But Vanessa Sexton also found Brady Tucker, the man who'd once broken her heart . . . and still left her breathless.

Island of Flowers
Innocent Laine Simmons journeyed to Hawaii to get to know the father she hadn't seen in years. Was she ready to face her past -- and find her future in the arms of her father's sexy partner, Dillon O'Brian?

Mind Over Matter
Protecting her mother's interests pitted no-nonsense Aurora Fields against a very determined David Brady. But there were few David couldn't charm if he set his mind to it -- and this time it really mattered.

Customer Reviews:

Love the author, not one of my favorites.......2007-10-03

I have recently just begun to dive into the huge collection of Nora Roberts novels. The first book I read was Angel's Fall which I really enjoyed. I have to say that I was disappointed with this collection as a whole. I did not realize when I bought this book that two of the three stories were from her early career(1984 and 1987). The first story is Unfinished Business and of the three this was my favorite. It was written in 2000 and I think it flowed well and I enjoyed the characters and plot. It was a very fast read. The second story was Island of Flowers which took me awhile to get into. I thought it was very choppy and didn't particulary care for the characters at all. The third story was Mind Over Matter and this one was mediocre at best. Maybe it was the fact that I didn't really care to read a story on a clarvoyant mother and daughter. A quick recommendation, don't pick this as your first Nora Roberts book.

Thumbs up!.......2007-06-04

Wonderful book. I couldn't put it down. I own the book and I read it again and again.

Disappointing Collection.......2006-06-13

The stories in this book were mediocre with the first one, "Unfinished Business," being, in my opinion, the best in the bunch. However, even that story wasn't what I expect from picking up a Nora novel. The book itself would never have been my choice (a co-worker passed it on to me to read). All three stories were the same old, same old. Girl meets boy, girl and boy are at each other's throats, then girl and boy have sex, then they fall in love. One mistakes the other's intentions but in the end all is happily ever after. The stories lacked substance. "Island of Flowers" at least took us on a nice tour of the Hawaiian Islands, however the female lead in that story, Lainey Simmons, was nothing but a milk toast, annoying creature as you watched her fall apart (but immediately fall in love even though he was downright arrogant and rude) under the influence of Dillon O'Brian, her father's business partner. "Mind Over Matter" was a boring and ridiculous story of a clairvoyant mother/daughter, the daughter, A.J. (Aurora) working as a talent agent and involved with a producer, David Brady, who wants to produce a show with her mother in the starring role. The ending was tiresome with all the female/male mind games and misinterpreted emotions - very ho hum and enough to put you to sleep for lack of a storyline. The one story that was anywhere near decent to my mind was "Unfinished Business" about a world renowned concert pianist (Vanessa Sexton) coming home to make amends with her mother with whom she had never really had a relationship. She hooks up with her childhood flame, Brady Tucker, the good doctor in town and learns quite a bit about not only her mother but the feelings she and Brady begin to rekindle as the story moves along. All in all, this book is very early Nora and while I am an avid Nora fan, I feel the stories were definitely not worth the time reading. Nora has some excellent early works so don't let this bad egg discourage your reading them. "The Villa," "Homeport," "Carolina Moon," "River's End" and "Honest Illusions" are just a few of her early works and part of a very long list that are definitely worth the read.

Not really worth the time.......2006-01-18

The stories were very dated and everyone fell in love within about a week of meeting, how tidy. The middle story was too short and I didn't even finish reading it, just skimmed, but it wasn't satisfying at all. The third story had potential, but again, with everything is perfect, happy endings all around, no real problems. I wouldn't recommend this title when there are more contemporary works available by Roberts that make for much better reading.

goood boook.......2006-01-12

I read this book because it's a book I could read. It is romantic and funny and does a good job with the funny and romantic parts. You should read this book if you like books that are easy to read but also romantic and funny. But sometimes this book is serious too. You should read it if you like serious books but not very serious books. This is a good book for people who are reading.

Going Through Hell Without Help from Above: A True Crime Memoir

Average customer rating:

Hell...
My heart goes out to Mr. Eder and His Family
Thoughtful & Necessary
My classmate
Couragiously Written and Extremelly Insightful

Going Through Hell Without Help from Above: A True Crime Memoir
James Eder
Manufacturer: Axle Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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

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True Crime | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0972964509

Book Description

A candid true crime memoir by the father of a year old rape and murder victim. It reads with the pace of a novel and recounts how an ordinary middle class family copes with the brutal death of a daughter and the dramatic trial of her accused murderer. It also relates how it is possible to survive such a tragedy without spiritual support.

Customer Reviews:

Hell..........2006-07-20

I had Mr. Eder as a Professor for two Philosophy classes, so I knew a bit of the background behind his daughter's murder but I never completely grasped the tragedy of it. I cried like a baby in a few places...Mr. Eders' memoir is the heart-wrenching story of a father living his worst nightmare; the dissappearance and murder of his only daughter. I couldn't put it down until I had finished the book. My favorite quote from the book is so classically Eder: simply put yet powerful..."I teach the great Philosophers, study the great ideas, and search for God." Thank you for introducing me to this book, Professor.

My heart goes out to Mr. Eder and His Family.......2005-04-04

As a former student of Mr. Eder's (and the former-Mrs. Adrienne Eder), I felt an instant connection to this book & the author. As a student, I knew that something bad had happened to their daughter, but I was not aware of the extent. This book is provacative, poignant and I must commend Mr. Eder for having the courage to write it.
As a teacher, myself, I know that it is hard to put your heartfelt personal life out there for students (let alone others in the general public) to see...this crime was so horrific, that I can't imagine how this man managed to inspire students the way that he did everyday. He has been through Hell and it is inspiring to see how he and his family have carried on with such dignity and courage.

Thoughtful & Necessary.......2004-07-30

James Eder has written a thoughtful and provocative memoir. His tone is candid and at times brutal in his frank inner pain. To read him is to discover our own worst fears; to walk with him is to realize the immeasurable power of the human spirit. The book aches in the very pages, but there is much beauty and craftsmanship in Eder's stirring journey. Ultimately, Eder's story is necessary reading for all of us.

Recommended to anyone who loves a good book; excellent for libraries.

My classmate.......2004-06-30

Vicki was a fellow classmate of mine at Northport High School (Class of 1981), we were also in the Environment Team together(those who went to Northport know what that was). I remember vividly the day when they found Vicki's body, I cried like a baby. I suppose that was odd considering we were not good friends, but just aquaintances. Yet I cried like a baby none the less, the hurt and sorrow were real. After reading this book, the sadness all came back.
My heart goes out to Mr. Eder, and I thank him for sharing his terrible ordeal with us.

Couragiously Written and Extremelly Insightful.......2004-02-15

This book is amazing! I couldn't put it down! Eder is beautifully spoken and writes with pure honesty, emotion, and detail. Of course I'll never know what it's like to be in his shoes but this book comes close. He makes the intense thoughts of a father, husband, teacher, and human being during a time of crisis so real to the reader. There are things in this book that we can all relate to like the loss of a loved one, questioning of your worthiness as a parent, and questioning your relationship with God. Eder raises the questions we have all considered at one point in our lives - How can an all loving God allow such horrible things to happen? and Are our troubles in life punishments from God? I highly reccomend this book to anyone and everyone. The content is universal wether you believe in a God or not, wether you believe the world is an evil place or a good place, we all have something to gain from understanding the experiences of others.

Amazing Animal Adventures on Islands: Going Wild (Amazing Animal Adventures)

Average customer rating:

Amazing Animal Adventures on Islands: Going Wild (Amazing Animal Adventures)
Brian Keating
Manufacturer: Fifth House Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Look Inside Teen Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 1894856589
Release Date: 2006-10-20

Book Description

Chosen as Canada's Environment Hero of the Year for 2005 by Reader's Digest

Brian Keating continues to inspire children and adults alike in his exciting Going Wild series, which is perfect for reluctant readers. The fifth book in the series places readers squarely in Keating's shoes as he explores some of the most remote islands on Earth and finds out about the amazing adaptations that animals, fish, and birds have made to survive island environments.

In Amazing Animal Adventures on Islands, natural surprises abound as Keating:

Tries to keep his hiking boots out of a kaka's beak on the slopes of a New Zealand mountain
Travels deep into the forests of Sarawak, Malaysia, on Borneo to find the elusive orangutan
Sleeps on the forest floor of Haida Gwaii to see ancient murrelets call their chicks out to the ocean
Sails to the Galapagos Islands in Charles Darwin's footsteps, into the land of vampire finches and giant tortoises
Lives every birdwatcher's dream in Papua New Guinea, dancing with birds of paradise
Dives into the waters of Lake Malawi and swims with the amazing cichlid fish that keep their babies in their mouths
Leaps from tree to tree with the indri lemur of Madagascar

"As the zoo's head of education for 15 years, Keating didn't just want people to learn more about nature, he wanted them to fall in love with it . . . 'We need someone like Brian, someone who tells us what is going on out there in the wild places of the world.'"
-- Reader's Digest

Average customer rating:

Chasing Dreamtime: A Seagoing Hitchhikers Journey Through Memory and Myth

Amazing tale of near-death turning to life

exciting sea tale

Good Story but too many stereotypical characters

A truly captivating memoir filled with love of the sea

Chasing Dreamtime: A Sea-Going Hitchhiker's Journey Through Memory and Myth
Neva Sullaway
Manufacturer: Brookview Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

Chasing Dreamtime is the incredible true-life story of a young traveler's journey through memory and myth. In 1975, after college and a brief, disastrous marriage, Neva Sullaway attempts to escape her anguish as well as the post-Vietnam confusion of her generation by sailing alone around the world, but her plans are abruptly scuttled. A string of unlikely events occurs and sends her boat-hopping across the vast South Pacific.

While sailing among the exquisitely beautiful Pacific atolls, Sullaway is arrested for a visa violation, hunted by sharks, stricken with tropical fever and held at knifepoint. Even after being entangled in a drug-smuggling scheme and facing death several times, Sullaway continues her journey, taking a brief respite from sailing the seas to pedal a "pushbike" 2,000 kilometers along Australia's northeastern coastline. There the odyssey takes its sharpest turn as she ventures onto a fishing trawler in the remotest outback regions.

While poised at the brink of her physical and emotional limits in the stark Never-Never, Sullaway catches a glimpse of the elusive Aboriginal concept of Dreamtime and her darkest demons unfold into wings of flight. For Sullaway and the reader alike, reality can never be the same again.

Customer Reviews:

Chasing Dreamtime: A Seagoing Hitchhikers Journey Through Memory and Myth.......2007-04-11

A tremendous read! I could personally relate to the journey. Would make a super movie!

Amazing tale of near-death turning to life.......2005-05-28

It is amazing Sullaway lived to tell this tale and we, the readers, benefit by getting to tag along from the comfort of our couches. You don't have to be a sailor to be enthralled by this tale of a woman who runs away to find herself. Armchair explorers and true adventurers alike will appreciate this book.

exciting sea tale.......2005-05-02

an exciting, one of a kind journey in real time and dream time: sullaway weaves together her adventures in sailing the pacific with an internal journey through memory and self understanding. Highly recommended, whether you have even been on a sailboat or not!

Good Story but too many stereotypical characters.......2005-01-13

There is much to like about this book. Sullaway is a descriptive, analytical writer who can combine scenery with reflection. There sure is plenty of time for reflection while adrift emotionally, and at sea, as Sullaway is in this book. In the dramatic ending, the author manages to weave meaning into seeming disconnected events.

Maps, hand drawn and almost piratelike, contain clues about about adventures in the book: Three Kings, Glasshouse Mountains, ominous sketches of sharks and cyclones.

Yet for all that, the characters in this book are far too stereotypical and undeveloped. Mick is just another burned out Vietnam Vet; Clari a bitchy British wife born into wealth and irrelevance who married for adventure. Squids is the scrawny but tough runaway kid who ends up at sea. Reading this book you have to ask: aren't there any NORMAL people in the South Pacific?

Like clouds gathering for a storm, the first references to Sullaway's troubled past come in floating sentences and afterthoughts: her fathers' polio, the nuns at her school. Still they are drowned in seafaring stories that are more like disjointed narratives. Only after reading the book a second time did the foreshadowings become powerful to me. Its almost like the author saves TOO MUCH for the end.

Sullaway becomes so cynical the only true pain I feel in this waterborne litany of recycled memories is when she blew off Richard in Brisbane, only to find Katy and Tom weren't in Bundaberg after all. At Innisfail she turns into Dr. Phil with an australian accent. It is too bad; because she shows true mental strength in Weipa, staring down an 'Abo' beating on his wife.

Overworked mentally and physically as a cook and deckhand on the prawn trawler, Sullaway's past was able to come thru without being filtered first by her politically correct takes on Catholicism and its priesthood. Her dreaming---snakes as a metaphor for the groping hands of a priest, for the slithering guilt of original sin, for hands around her throat---crystallizes with stunning effect on the reader in the final pages.

A book sure can be hoky when the climax comes in the last few paragraphs, but not Sullaway's. The snake pattern on the Didgeridoo; the pilots' recovery from the sea snake bite from the Abo healer; the ocean covering her troubled past. Sullaway touched her dreamtime and cast off her memories as easily as they threw the squirming mess of seacreatures back into the ocean after they sorted out the prawns. Having faced her worst fear, the snake saved her life. The snake saved the book as well, for which Sullaway should be grateful.

A truly captivating memoir filled with love of the sea.......2004-12-10

Chasing Dreamtime: A Sea-Going Hitchhiker's Journey Through Memory And Myth is the memoir of a woman who, after survivng college and a disastrous marriage in 1975, attempted to sail around the world and had her plans abruptly crushed when she was arrested for a visa violation, hunted by sharks, held at knifepoint, and stricken with tropical fever. She pursued her journey despite multiple brushes with death, sailing the seas and even pedaling a "pushbike" 2,000 kilometers along Australia's coastline, and encountered a stunning glimpse of the Aboriginal concept of Dreamtime. A truly captivating memoir filled with love of the sea, and a profound account of one woman's determination to survive and make sense of her life in spite of cruelty and hardship.

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