Cunningham Reviews

Although a relativly simple story, it is rich with the air of fairytale. Some history trickles through as well. When ever I finish reading this book, Marian's lilting song always echos through my mind for a few hours. Altogether a sastisfying read.

The other unfolds a ploit of scheme and lost love. I think this book is great for readers of a higher maturity above their age. It may be short and not always in a child's depth, but provides a haunting effect that causes the book to be an all time favorite for readers of all ages.
T.L.K.

This a wonderful book with lovely designs and a full color picture of each completed quilt. The paper templates are preprinted on heavy cardstock paper in the center of the book. My only complaint is....if you intend to machine quilt these, you will have to add a 1/4 seam allowance around each template. It is well worth buying for the beautiful traditional designs such as: drunkard's path, broken dishes etc.,

This is a really good value for the price. It shows 20 different quilt patterns for miniature quilts that could all be made into full-size quilts. It gives great easy-to-follow instructions and includes the pattern pieces you need. I am really enjoying it!

Barbra is a charasmatic lady with a magical voice that stays with you long after the song has ended. In this book, readers will find a very in-depth account of her career, love life, dreams, expectations, tribulations and achievements. Barbra has had some very infamous men by her side. I clearly remember her visit to my home province, Prince Edward Island, many years ago on the arm of our now deceased, former prime minister, Pierre Trudeau; they made a stunning couple. When the public showed up to welcome her, she was cold, stand-offish and seemed truly elated to be putting herself on her own pedestal far above the public and her fans. Maybe she was having a bad day? However, as an actress and singer, she has certainly made in mark in this world.

There is a side to Barbra that is funny, witty and a side that appears cold and distant. The author tends to reveal only her positive nature, and I guess if someone was to write a book about us that is the side we would want to be revealed. In any event, Barbra is who she is and when her it comes to her musical career, most will agree she is a tremendously talented lady.

I guess the problem with books about celebrities is that they always have a bias. I mean, writing a book is an enormous undertaking, so for someone to write a book about Barbra they realistically have to love her a lot or hate her a lot. Mr. Cunningham, it seems, neither loves Barbra nor hates her, he writes objectively not for himself, but for the rest of the world who very definitely has an opinion of her. I myself LOVE her. I don't know how to say it, but Mr. Cunningham has certainly helped me. He distilled her life into fewer than 300 pages. I could almost formulate an admiration for her that has taken more than thirty years to create just by reading this book.

It should come as no suprise that a book about the rural areas of Vermont will have much to say about public nudity. This book, and its sequel VUII are a product of that state's most famous nudist. Mr. Cunningham and his family wrote the book on public nudity in Vermont. The book visits the many popular spots where one would be likely to encounter regular folks engaged in a skinnydip. Good quality photographs, coupled with detailed descriptions of every site are there. This book is not your father's nudism; no hedonism or 50's idylic portrayals. Just contemporary portrayals of mixed nudity in public, which in Vermont is apparently the norm. Surprise, this book is authored by one of the country's most outspoken defenders of the Catholic faith, and quite conservative in his views as well. Go figure. Wow, what a book.

This book is for anyone that believes that the human body should be celebrated and not hidden. It is the ultimate guide for naturalists living or visiting Vermont. Every naturalist resort, every skinning dipping site and every clothing optional hiking trail is well documented. I encourage all naturalists to get a copy and follow the format to make guides to naturalist sites in your states and locations. Nudity is natural, not obscene.

This book came to me highly recommended. It lived up to its billing. Rarely do you find this in literatures, or movies for that matter. If you are looking into juvenile sex offending, this is an excellent place to start.

I have been using this book for years. It has an abundance of activities and recommended resources specificly directed to each problem/issue that needs addressed. The activities are fun, yet serious and teach appropriate behaviors. I have used some of these activities in therapy with other children who have different presenting problems.

My first exposure to Scott Cunningham. Found the book very easy and enjoyable to read. I was able to read it in one sitting. He provides a great deal of information and presents it in a clear and easy to understand way. This book would make an excellent reference tool and I recommend it for anyone seeking such a resource. The only downer was (to me) the excess of "money making" spells, delivering a message the average wiccan is a very financially challanged or money centric individual. I would like to imagine there are more graceful things we can apply energy to than making money.

I have a lot of Cunninghams guides and books... it has the same setup as herbs and oils and incense... easy to find the info you need and skip what you dont want.... a must have for anyone using gem magick.

I read this book cover to cover and I learned virtually everything I could ever hope to know on the magic of stones and metals. It is an excelent beginner's guide or expert's reference. Very highly recommended (Along with anything by Scott Cunningham).

When I read The Hours I was totally blown away by Mr Cunningham's use of language and the absolutely brilliant way in which he blended Virginia Wolf's writing and life with his characters. Seamless is what others have said and I can't agree more. Perhaps it is because Mr. Cunningham is now a more seasoned writer--but I found his earlier work disappointing.. I kept having to go back to see whether I was getting Bobby and Jonathan mixed up their voices seemed to blend. In the book Flesh and Blood I kept seeing the same themes repeated from the other books. In any case I find him to be very talented writer and am eagerly awaiting his next novel with the fervent hope that it comes up to The Hours. Evelyn Apte

This being one of Cunningham's earlier books, I wasn't expecting much. But this book surpirsed me. It was brilliant in its portayal of the different levels family operates on, The strain of past events that are never fully delt with. Cunningham in this three generation saga presents a cast of characters that are each deep enough to have thier own books written about them. I found myself identifying with all of them at different times. No one here is purely bad, though they sometimes are miserable to one another. Cunningham's prose is so lovely. There is alot in here about the way peoples designs for thier lives come in conflict with the reality. (who can't identify with that). I have now read all three of Cunningham's books, and I have to say its a three way tie as to which is my favorite- can't wait to read the next one!

the characters and story are so interesting

you don't want it to end

No, I didn't like this book at _all_. I read it back to back with Mrs. Dalloway, so that the original would be fresh in my mind, and the contrast shows just how wanting this new take is. Plenty of reviewers have summarized the plot, so I'm going to cut to the chase: this book should either have been a lot longer, or a lot shorter. Dalloway got away with its wisp of a plot because plot wasn't the point, and its couple hundred pages were plenty to explore the richness of the quotidian in fascinating, quiet fashion, a feminine counterpart to Ulysses. The Hours, on the other hand, interweaves 3 stories in the same space, giving so little time to each that none of the characters acquire real personality or gather even a scrap of sympathy. Instead we get an intricately plotted (yes, I admit that Cunningham knows how to diagram a plot, but this book is like a soulless machine, and there are more suprises in most rereadings of novels than in the first read here) series of whining and sighing women and men. Furthermore, there is ZERO variation in writing style, pace, or tone, no humor, and simply nothing to keep one interested: people whine, and then they die and turn out to be related. To add to the insult, the present-day thread of the story is a pedantic game of "spot the transposition", as lacking in cleverness as the butchering of Austen's Emma into the movie "Clueless".

Now don't get me wrong, I like daring fictional experiments, as well as more traditional narratives, and if one places great weight in one element of writing--plot, characterization, style, philosophy, a message, even just plain fun--to the detriment of the others, that can be fine, even brilliant, but even the plot, the best element of this, is lukewarm at best. Dull, faintly depressing, _and_ stupid. An utter travesty he got the Pulitzer for this tripe.

I thought this book did a disservice to Virginia Woolfe by transposing her brilliant and poignant novel (Mrs. Dalloway) onto a modern day plot. Substituting character names, locations, and various major and minor sub-texts (AIDS in place of post-war trauma; a movie star in place of a queen) does not create an original novel (or even a thought-provoking sequel). I don't think you can "cover" literature in the same way you can cover a song.

The other two sections of the book, which dealt with the 50's housewife who read Mrs. Dalloway, and the fictional account of V. Woolfe writing the novel, were much more enjoyable and well done.

Three Characters - Three Lives and there lies the imprints of an author Virginia Woolf in 'Mrs.Dalloway. The Hours pays ironic tribute to Virginia Woolf, the acclaimed author of many pathbreaking novels, who committed suicide in 1941. Michael Cunningham became the winner of the Pulitzer prize and no wonder its been a contemporary bestseller book. Virginia Woolf, as described by the author is a gifted eccentric and not a writer at all. The central characters are Woolf herself and two other fictional women who are connected with her work in some way. We follow the three women with fascination, concern, watching as Woolf struggles with the novel that will name of the Cunnigham's characters and shape the life of another. As their life unfolds, it is irresistible read and urge to stop Virginia from taking the final step into the river even though Cunnigham has told in the first chapter, that she will and she does. The novel is a turnover pages into the world of three very different women celebrating and mourning their lives. The movie The Hours has three women reaching wider audience with performances given by Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore and Nicole Kidman. Though I've yet to see the movie, the Book is par emotional read in an easy chair in the corner of a room and effortlessly plunge into the world of three lives shaping the life of another. A nice Read.

"Daughter of the Drow" is yet another foray into Forgotten Realms by Elaine Cunningham - and her first attempt at Underdark novel. This may not be her best book, but it showed once again that even at her average, Cunningham is miles above the other Forgotten Realms writers. Her flowing language, intriguing plot, likable characters make a delightful combination and a worthy read. It seems even better when compared to Salvatore's Drizzt Do'Urden novels with its blatant moralizing, two dimentional characters and linear draggin'n'stamblin' plot. Menzoberranzan, the City of Boredom, finally gets to show its true colours; and even though at the end of this book our two heroes leave the city, never to return, I will be eagerly awaiting the continuation of their journey in the form of another Cunningham's book - "The Tangled Webs."

This has to be one of the best Forgotten Realms books I have ever read (non-withstanding its sequels, which I also found to be great works of fantasy). I'm not going to compare it to Salvatore in any way except by mentioning that Liriel (main char.) is a mage (her dad is the archmage, Gromph), and the stories are much more magic-based, where as Salvatore spends hours going over swordplay details (though does it quite quite well). Cunningham's writing is complex without being boring, and fun without being stupid. I do highly recommend this book, especially if you are into the drow culture, Sorcere, etc., and even if not, it is an entertaining read!

Elaine Cunningham breaks all bounds with this unbelievable story of Liriel, a dark elven priestess who desires more than the usual drow treachery and intrigue. Liriel finds herself on a quest with an unlikely companion and numerous enemies. Daring the harsh rays of the sun, this drow takes a step up... out of her home tunnels and into the light above. The very best part of this book, is the way Cunningham brings the characters to life! Her ability to make you feel for the characters is brilliant! You will go through stages of grief, anger, humour, and joy in this utterly amazing story. This is a book you can't put down!

This series of stories had tremendous promise but they got too mired down in the - pardon the pun - nuts and bolts of the matter. This is MILITARY history with a capital "M" and a sharp salute. While this is interesting within the context of a story a little can go a long way. Some of these stories are fairly interesting while others read like punishment exercises by the Marines.

Of course these are better than the abominable Turtledove monstrosities (in which despite earth-shaking action changes the characters remain the same) but that is not saying much. I look forward to another WHAT IF of a decidedly less military tone.

For anyone who likes history, this book is an uneven, but overall excellent and very enjoyable, series of exercises in "counterfactual" history. Not the silly, frivolous, or nonsensical kind, where Robert E. Lee all of a sudden is given a nuclear bomb, but instead serious, meaty (even highly PROBABLE) ones, like what would have happened if there hadn't been a mysterious plague outside the walls of Jerusalem, or if there had been a Persian victory at Salamis, or if Genghis Khan's drunken third son (Ogadai)had not died just as his hordes were poised to conquer (and probably annhilate) Europe, or if Cortes had been killed or been captured Tenochtitlan, etc.

The major flaw with this book is that the essays are of somewhat uneven interest level, style, and quality. Personally, for instance, I found the essay on the Mongols to be fascinating, sending chills down my spine! "D Day Fails" by Stephen Ambrose, on the other hand, didn't do much for me at all, nor did "Funeral in Berlin." In general, I would say that the essays covering earlier periods in human history tend to be better than ones covering more recent history. Possibly this is in part because the later periods have been covered to death. I mean, how many "counterfactuals" on the US Civil War can there be before we get sick of them? But a well-written, tightly-reasoned counterfactual which, based on events hundreds or even thousands of years ago, quite plausibly leads to a result where there is no Judaism, Christianity, or Islam, or Western culture at all, is absolutely fascinating in my opinion. If nothing else, books like "What If?" show how important CHANCE is in human history, as well as the importance of the INDIVIDUAL, as opposed to some Hegelian/Marxist-Leninist historical "inevitability." The bottom line is that it is rare that anything is truly "inevitable", and the aptly titled "What If?" gives us some excellent case studies.

Heard the taped version of WHAT IF?: THE WORLD'S FOREMOST
MILITARY HISTORIANS IMAGINE WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN, edited
by Robert Cowley . . . I often speculate about lots of things, and so do the contributors to this book--including Stephen E. Ambrose, John Keegan, David McCollough, and James M. McPherson (to name just a few).

For example, what if:
George Washington had never made his miraculous escape
from the British on Long Island in the early dawn of August 29, 1776?

a Confederate aide hadn't accidentally lost General Robert E. Lee's plans for invading the North?

the Allied invasion on D Day had failed?

These and a whole host of other questions are considered . . . the resultant answers are often fun, but at the same time, sometimes frightening . . . as in, Hitler's case . . . had he not attacked Russia when he did, he might have moved into the Middle East and secured the oil supplies the Third Reich so badly needed, thus helping it retain its power in Europe . . . can you just imagine the present-day implications for that scenario?

If you're a history buff, this is a MUST read . . . but methinks
that others will enjoy it and become much more interested
in the subject as a result . . . I know that I'm now looking
forward to Coweley's follow-up effort, WHAT IF? 2.