The Presbyterian Hymnal (Pew Edition):Â Hymns, Psalms, and Spiritual Songs Review

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(More customer reviews)
We understand that the Presbyterian Church is at the start of making a new hymnal (due to debut in 2014) to replace this one. Their theory is that every generation needs a new hymnal and if you look at the preceding hymnals (the blue or green hymnal of 1933, the maroon hymnal of 1955 and the ill-fated Worshipbook of the 70s), you see their point.
Even so, this one gets most things right and will be hard to beat.
The second half of the 20th century experienced what has been called the Hymn Explosion, and many of the best hymns of that time are represented in this book which is still called the "new" hymnal in most Presbyterian churches. There are some works that were hard to introduce to congregations that are now among their most beloved hymns represented: Let Us Talents and Tongues Employ, Here I Am Lord, etc. Fred Pratt Green, Timothy Dudley-Smith, Jane Parker Huber and Hal Hopson are all represented here, as well they ought to be.
There are also some under-utilized gems in it as well, songs like "Come O Spirit" (for Pentecost) and "God Bless Your Church" (for an anniversary) that have also found their way into other denominational hymnals.
All in all it is a great hymnal for expanding the congregations "Favorites" repertoire without being too jarring.
LindaJo McKim and company did yeoman's work in creating it. The layout is according to the liturgical year. The indexes are thorough and easy to use. The print is clear; the size is comfortable to hold while singing. There is a non-denominational version of this hymnal available too, from the publisher, for non-Presbyterian congregations who find it to their liking.


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Songs Without Words Review

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(More customer reviews)"Songs Without Words," by Ann Packer, is a realistic novel dealing with the interior lives of five members of an extended suburban American family during a period of prolonged psychological crisis. This contemporary Bay Area family consists of two branches. The more normal and apparently contented Palo Alto branch consists of Liz, Brody, and their two teenage children, Joe and Lauren. Across the Bay in Berkeley lives Sarabeth, the second part of this extended family. Sarabeth is Liz' virtual sister and life-long best friend. In midlife, Sarabeth is still alone and lonely--a woman with a long history of sabotaging her long-term happiness though repeated dead-end relationships with married men. Liz and Sarabeth have been inseparable since their teens, when Sarabeth's mother committed suicide and she came to live in Liz' family while her father pursued his career and a new life on the East Coast. Their sisterly bond is strong but unhealthy. It is built on a shaky foundation of one-way mental support--it is Liz who is always on the giving end, providing Sarabeth with the constant emotional support her friend requires to maintain emotional balance.
This extended family is shattered when Lauren attempts suicide. No one sees it coming, and Lauren's tragic action throws the entire family dynamic into chaos. Everyone flounders and struggles to regain emotional equilibrium. All their relationships are derailed--some far more than others. In particular, the relationship between Liz and Sarabeth implodes. Liz is no longer able to tend to Sarabeth's emotional needs, and Sarabeth is too emotionally unstable to provide Liz with the emotional support she needs during this time of crisis. We watch as all the family relationships disintegrate and then slowly rebuild. By the end of the novel, most relationships have reformed along stronger and more emotionally healthy lines. It is a frustratingly slow but fascinating process to watch.
During the course of the novel, the author takes us deep into the interior lives of the five main characters--Liz, Brody, Joe, Lauren, and Sarabeth. She takes us into their minds and we observe, in painstaking and often excruciating detail, how each person navigates the psychological minefields that follow in the wake of Lauren's attempted suicide.
The book starts and ends with the relationship between Liz and Sarabeth. But two-thirds of the book is taken up with Lauren's descent into, and eventually out of, major depression. For me, this was the most realistic and interesting part. It is also interesting to observe Sarabeth barely clinging to sanity as she navigates the terror of living life without Liz' emotional support. The author has a keen understanding of clinical depression, and her depiction of this process is wholly authentic and convincing.
This has been marketed as a book dealing with a derailed relationship between two close friends. I believe that is misleading. Perhaps the publishers thought it would scare readers away if they knew that this book was primarily about depressive personalities--about the interior mental landscapes of those fragile individuals genetically wired for depression, people like Lauren and Sarabeth. It is their stories that dominate the novel. The book is primarily about their disordered thought processes--about how these unhealthy thoughts work to sabotage their happiness in everyday small ways.
Make no mistake: this is a book about depression. It is effective and well done, but it is not an easy book to read. Not much happens, and what does occur...well, it is so over-the-top with mundane detail that the novel is realistic to a fault--it is a bit like what it might be to watch a non-stop unedited reality TV program dealing with a dysfunctional family in crisis. One gains a lot of insight by taking a journey like this deep into the chaotic, anxious, guilt-ridden, and often totally disordered thought processes of individuals in crisis, but the journey is wrought with frustration and as compelling as it is tedious.
Personally, I found this novel satisfying and worth the effort. I would recommend it to readers who are strongly motivated to improve their understanding about the inner workings of the depressive mind.

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Broken Music: A Memoir Review

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(More customer reviews)When Sting announced that he was writing a memoir, like most people we thought that the book would focus on the life of Sting the rock star and of Sting the celebrity. After all, he has sold close to 100 million albums around the world, fronted the most successful band of the early '80s, subsequently pursued a solo career that has outstripped the success of his Police days in album sales, has been a long-time supporter of good causes raising some $18 million for the Rainforest Foundation, and is generally recognised as one of the most famous people on the planet. It was a no-brainer.
Except that Sting is a self confessed risk taker.
So perhaps we should not be too surprised that his memoir, 'Broken Music', is a product of that risk taking. Instead of opting for the easy route and focusing on the years of fame and success that would have guaranteed wide publicity and huge sales, Sting decided to tell us a much more interesting story. 'Broken Music' is the story of a boy growing to adulthood in an industrial city in northern England; of his relationship with his parents; of first love, lost love, his love of music and where these experiences eventually took him.
As with most individuals, certain events from his childhood are not happy memories for Sting. The separation from his friends as a result of passing the "11-plus" exam that sent him to grammar school and the regular canings at school for trivial offences for example are still resented to this day. Like many families at that time, open displays of affection were uncommon in the Sumner household, and Sting is very open and honest in describing both the relationship between his parents and his relationships with each of them.
Sting had discovered music at an early age through the family's piano and his parent's record collection and later with a battered old guitar donated by an emigrating uncle. His mid-teens saw him learning guitar licks from records, playing music with his friends at the local YMCA and attending Newcastle's Club a Go-Go, where he witnessed influential appearances by the likes of the Graham Bond Organisation, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and Jimi Hendrix.
'Broken Music' tells a fascinating tale about Sting's involvement with his early bands, Earthrise, The Phoenix Jazzmen, The Newcastle Big Band and Last Exit and of his time on a cruise ship with the Ronnie Pearson Trio. Relatively little has been known about this period, and to read it in Sting's own words is a real pleasure. The trials and tribulations of Last Exit - including their Spinal Tap propensity for losing guitar players in bizarre circumstances (to local pantomimes) - make fascinating reading, and fans of The Police will love the unique insight into the chance meetings that led to the formation of the band, and of the pivotal moments in the band's early days.
'Broken Music' (the title actually comes from a phrase his grandmother used to describe his early attempts at playing the piano) is a wonderful written memoir. In turns it is sad, wry, often very funny and always interesting. In retrospect it is no great surprise to find that someone with the ability to write lyrics as beautifully as Sting should be able to write so eloquently and descriptively in a longer form such as this. We found our attention gripped throughout its 300 plus pages and are firmly of the view that the risk of telling the story of Sting 'the man' rather than Sting 'the celebrity' was certainly one that paid off. It is a book that provides a genuinely insightful look at the events that shaped the person we hear on the radio and see performing for us on stage. If this is what Sting intended then 'Broken Music' is a complete success.

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Having been a songwriter most of my life, condensing my ideas and emotions into short rhyming couplets and setting them to music, I had never really considered writing a book. But upon arriving at the reflective age of fifty, I found myself drawn, for the first time, to write long passages that were as stimulating and intriguing to me as any songwriting I had ever done.And so Broken Music began to take shape. It is a book about the early part of my life, from childhood through adolescence, right up to the eve of my success with the Police. It is a story very few people know.I had no interest in writing a traditional autobiographical recitation of everything that's ever happened to me. Instead I found myself drawn to exploring specific moments, certain people and relationships, and particular events which still resonate powerfully for me as I try to understand the child I was, and the man I became.

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Alice Faye: A Life Beyond the Silver Screen (Hollywood Legends) Review

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(More customer reviews)I was absolutely delighted to see that someone finally took the time to write a book about this lovely lady. Alice Faye was one of the best performers to come out of 20th Century Fox and this book is a long overdue profile of her career as well as a revealing study of her life.
Written with the full cooperation of her daughters Alice and Phyllis, it is surprisingly objective and isn't one of those saccharine biographies often authorized by family members after a person's death. It presents an interesting portrait of Faye. There is the public Alice who was seemingly very accessible to her fans. The private Alice is a woman with a bitingly sarcastic sense of humor who could be a warm and caring friend, but always sort of held back and had few intimate friends.
What I found most interesting was some of the things discussed in the book such as her relationship with Rudy Vallee (where they ever romatically involved?), her interesting yet enduring marriage to Phil Harris (a strange dynamic here, but it worked), her reticence to discuss family history with her kids.....all these elements made her seem a lot more interesting than what appeared on the surface.
While I can't say that this book answers all the questions surrounding Alice Faye, it certainly has made a solid attempt to try to present the facts that are known and letting the reader draw his/her own conclusions.

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Alice Faye's sweet demeanor, sultry glances, and velvety voice were her signatures. Her haunting rendition of "You'll Never Know" has never been surpassed by any other singer. Fans adored her in such films as Alexander's Ragtime Band, Rose of Washington Square, Tin Pan Alley, Week End in Havana, and Hello, Frisco, Hello.
In the 1930s and 1940s she reigned as queen of 20th Century Fox musicals. She co-starred with such legends as Shirley Temple, Tyrone Power, Carmen Miranda, and Don Ameche and was voted the number-one box-office attraction of 1940, placing ahead of Bette Davis and Myrna Loy. To a select cult, she remains a beloved star.
In 1945 at the pinnacle of her career she chose to walk out on her Fox contract. This remarkable episode is unlike any other in the heyday of the big-studio system. Her daring departure from films left Fox mogul Darryl F. Zanuck and the rest of the movie industry flabbergasted. For years she had skirmished with him over her roles, her health, and her private life. His heavy-handed film editing of her fine work in Otto Preminger's drama Fallen Angel, a role she had fought for, relegated Faye to the shadows so that Zanuck could showcase the younger Linda Darnell.
After leaving Fox, Faye (1915­1998) devoted herself to her marriage to radio star Phil Harris, to motherhood, and to a second career on radio in the Phil Harris­ Alice Faye Show, broadcast for eight years. She happily gave up films in favor of the independence and self-esteem that she discovered in private life. She willingly freed herself of the "star-treatment" that debilitated so many of her contemporaries. In the 1980s she emerged as a spokeswoman for Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, touring America to encourage senior citizens to make their lives more meaningful and vital.
Before Betty Grable, before Marilyn Monroe--Alice Faye was first in the lineup of 20th Century Fox blondes. This book captures her special essence, her work in film, radio, and popular music, and indeed her graceful survival beyond the silver screen.
Jane Lenz Elder, a librarian at Southern Methodist University, is the author of Across the Plains to Santa Fe and The Literature of Beguilement: Promoting America from Columbus to Today. She is co-editor of Trading in Santa Fe: John M. Kingsbury's Correspondence with James Josiah Webb, 1853-1861.

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Never Let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You : Chiasmus and a World of Quotations That Say What They Mean and Mean What They Say Review

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(More customer reviews)Dr. Mardy Groethe not only introduced me to the literary deviceof chiasmus, but completely engaged and entertained me with his bookon the subject. The book is truly a joy! Dr. Groethe's chiasmi span from old to new, from light to meaningful, from humorous to serious. He shows how chiasmus are used by everyone: from poets to politicians, from writers to actors, from coaches to philosophers. Adding to the book is how Dr. Groethe organizes it, essentially enabling the reader to find a chiasmus for any occasion. It's no surprise to me that "Never Let A Fool Kiss You..." is the 8th best-selling quotation book in amazon.com's history (as of 1/10/00) and going strong!
A new lover of chiasmus, I visited Dr. Groethe's website immediately after reading his book and signed up to receive free daily chiastic quotes directly from him!

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Engaging new territory for word lovers, speech makers, and party show-offs--this quotable collection enshrines a classic linguistic trick. Pardon me--do you know what chiasmus means? Here's a hint: Mae West used chiasmus in her signature line "It's not the men in my life; it's the life in my men." So did John F. Kennedy: "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." Language maven Dr. Mardy Grothe discovered that many of the world's great wags and eloquent orators have been virtual masters of chiasmus--Churchill, Wilde, Shaw, Ben Franklin, Samuel Johnson, and Shakespeare, to name just a handful. In this unprecedented and quotable collection, he assembles the best examples of chiasmus ever written or spoken. Not since the oxymoron, the palindrome, or An Exaltation of Larks has there been a whole new category of wordplay so likely to fire the public imagination. In the tradition of Woe Is I and The Transitive Vampire, Never Let a Fool Kiss You...will make chiasmus a household word and help you wax profound in the company of the greatest wits of all time.

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Graceful Passages: A Companion for Living and Dying (Wisdom of the World Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)Death is not an easy Passage. Seventeen years years of caring for hospice and hospital patients have taught me that. While the dying process has the potential for tremendous meaning, beauty, and sacredness, it is also deeply human. This Companion is an illustration of each of those qualities.
For myself as a professional caregiver, this selection of words, music, and printed pages continually stirs my heart. The package includes a book that features text from several wisdom and faith traditions. The text is read with accompanying beautiful - indeed, haunting - music on CD1. The second CD has just the instrumentation. These CDs are masterfully produced: the music, the readings, the production itself. No sacrifice was made in quality or in meaning.
MIchael Stillwater and Gary Malkin have done an enormous service in preparing this deeply human and humane collection of words and music. It is well worth the money spent on it.
I have had the privilege of hearing Michael speak twice at seminars for the health care system of which I am part. He has an amazing sense of intuition about what will speak to people and what touches them. On both occasions, staff spoke of his giftedness and blessing to each of us.
It should be noted that there are numerous traditions represented on the CD, as well as styles of music. While I consider myself a fairly inclusive person, I initially found myself really wanting to hear readings from traditions more familiar to myself (just being honest here). But, as I listened, I began to take increasing levels of comfort from these other Wisdoms. Indeed, they were quite rich in their meaning. I can see though, that someone at the time of life's end might not want to be "dipping their feet into new waters." Particularly those of more fundamentalist traditions may find this harder to embrace. One can always listen to the instrumental CD, though.
Of the two CDs, I find myself missing whichever CD I don't have on at the moment. The instrumentation along with the voices of those from other geographies and traditions offers it's own solace, so I want on the Reading CD. But, then I want on just the instrumentation CD because I can work well with just the music playing.
Of the media that this occasionally soul-tired old chaplain values, this package is the most frequently turned to. Not a week passes by that it isn't on in my office. If I need something to lift my heart, this is what I listen to. That's been true for a year now. And, I'm moving into my second year...

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In words and music, Graceful Passages provides an atmosphere of relaxation, fresh insight, and a renewal of faith for anyone exploring the challenge of dealing with grief from the loss of a loved one. Cofounders of the Companion Arts Foundation, the authors have gathered Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Native American, Confucian, and Buddhist sages to create a truly broad-ranging multifaith resource. From many perspectives the themes of letting go, closure, expressing love, forgiveness, appreciation of life, and the continuity of spirit are reviewed. We hear the words and voices of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, Thich Nhat Hanh, Ram Dass, Arun and Suranda Gandhi, Sam Keen, Dr. Ira Byock, Kathleen Dowling Singh, and others. A customized musical score composed by an award-winning composer and pioneering healing music artist, stunning still-life color photographs, and a handsome design make this set a gift to treasure in both good times and bad.

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