All Saints Day Books

So the Ghost of Christmas Past came to visit me this year. He came through a porthole in the ethers otherwise known as Google, after I entered my name. There he showed me "Under a Christmas Star," a book published by an apparently Mormon outfit called Cedar Fort. This was a collection of new Christmas tales by various writers.
Here is how the Cedar Fort website touts it:
Under a Christmas Star is a collection of Christmas stories---not sappy or sentimental ones, not dark or hard to understand ones, but stories that uplift and inspire---tellable tales. These are the brightest and most prized Christmas Stories. Most are true stories about people touched by the light of the Christmas star.
One writer was singled out for praise in an Amazon.com review by a teacher who said she was going to read the stories to her third-graders. That writer, by the way, was. . .
Me.
Not since I walked into the living room at age 11 and saw a gleaming lime-green ten-speed Schwinn Varsity under (well, beside) the Christmas tree have I had such a Christmas shock. You see, Cedar Fort didn't bother to mention to me that they were publishing my story that is not dark or hard to understand and uplifts and inspires tellable (sic) tales, and paying me a whole lot of Christmas nothing for it. Nor did they mention to me that my story was so compelling that they used it as the inspiration for the cover illustration of the book: Santa Claus pumping gas into a taxi cab.
Merrrrrrrry Christmas, Rip!
Now, when I say Ghost of Christmas past, here is what I mean: the story that Cedar Fort---a Utah-based outfit that publishes religious tracts and Mormon-themed stuff under Latter Day Saints Books---published without consulting me concerns one of my oldest, most personal and cherished Christmas memories. And I don't have many! Allow me to summarize:
When I was ten, I was sent on a Greyhound bus to visit my mother on Christmas Eve. My father and jealous stepmother had fought about it for days, but my father prevailed and I was dispatched to Newport Beach, California, with a paper-bag suitcase and a whole lot of ambivalence. I was to call a cab upon arrival, in order to be taken to the hotel where my mom worked as a cashier.
One problem: the old man had forgotten to give me cab fare---which I discovered just as the taxi arrived around 7 p.m.. To make a wonderful story short and less than artful, here's the punchline: Santa Claus was at the wheel. Really. His halls were fully decked. Red suit, black gloves, nylon beard. I didn't tell him I didn't have any money, figuring I could just bolt when I got to the hotel.
In the end, I confessed, and Santa explained that in all the Yellow Cabs on Xmas Eve in the area, only one had a Claus, and if you got him, you rode for free. See? Great story, eh? It sure as hell thrilled me as a kid, let me tell you. Father Christmas was watching over me that night, if not my father. There is more to the tale, but I don't want to get into that here. You can read it in full detail in my forthcoming novel, which should be available in late January, if you want.
Or you can read it in the Cedar Fort book, which I ardently, fervently, and otherwise enthusiastically hope you. . .do not.
Here's why:
I wrote the story used in "A Christmas Star" for the L.A. Times in the early 90's, and they slapped the cheesey headline on it: "How Santa Spread Cheer Without Eight Tiny Reindeer." At the time, I was writing regular essays/columns for what was called the "Life and Style" section, more affectionately known as "Strife and Bile" for its pandering to political correctness and touchy-feely sentimentality. I wrote about a hundred columns for L&S before being offered a regular gig there---only to have said offer rescinded because, as one enlightened editor ruled, "we have too many white male columnists here." (See 10/11/06 Riposte.)
(Merrrrrrrry Christmas, Rip!)
Well, the Times paid me for that article, about $350 or $400, I guess, which enabled me to buy a few extra ginger snaps to go with my eggnog that Yule. But the Times also did something that would make Santy frown, that would take the rosy red glow right out of his cheeks, something very, very un-Christmasy---something you would expect from Scrooge and Marley, Ltd.
Some might call it extortion. The Times called it "business."
This noble newspaper changed its freelance contracts to claim total rights to whatever it purchased---as opposed to traditional first-publication-only. And if freelancers didn't sign such a contract, the Times would not buy their work.
At least they didn't send someone to your home to break your knuckles.
At that time, I was what was termed a "regular contributor" to the Times. This meant I was a full-time employee without any of regular rights or regular benefits of full-time regular employees. This is also called "business." What's more, because I was angling for that full-time column which was later withdrawn due to my gender and race, I cut back all other freelance work. The Times, at that moment, comprised about 90 percent of my regular income.
Then there was the little complicating fact that I could just barely manage to get up and walk to the store every day to buy groceries, courtesy of a paralyzing three-year bout with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. My Times paychecks, after rent, were going to doctors and supplements. Typing was a workout.
Did I want to sign that contract? Every bit as much as I would like to congratulate George W. Bush for a job well done in Iraq.
Did I sign that contract? You betcha.
Did I think that someday my Santa-in-the-taxi column might be licensed to a proselytizing Mormon publisher for profit? And used for the cover illustration?
You betcha I didn't.
And there are more presents under this tree:
The "author" of "Under a Christmas Star" is one Carol Jean Coombs. That's correct. Author. My name and story are in this book, but Carol Jean Coombs is on cover as the author, apparently because she compiled the contents. Gee, I'd sure like to be considered an "author" for compiling a bunch of stuff written by other people!
You're welcome, Carol, baby! Glad to oblige!
Of course, it just fills me with the Christmas spirit that Carol liked my story enough to want to compile it. And whew, that compiling is hard author work! Here's what Carol said to a little newspaper: "Getting permission from the copyright holders was time-consuming and because some of the stories are 20 to 40 years old, a real challenge." Right! Almost as hard as writing! I wonder how much of an author challenge it was to secure my column from the fine people at the L.A. Times.
Yes, of course I looked into suing. I know that's just so humbug of me, but gee, it's the season. So I spoke with an excellent attorney who specializes in theft of one's work. Well, it turns out that I have every bit as strong a case as Saddam Hussein had in that Iraq courtroom. Even if I wanted to sue, there is the little matter of the Times extortion---er, contract. And another little matter called a statute of limitations which gives me three years after publication to file (it's been five.) And another little matter called settlement not covering lawyer fees.
Ho ho ho.
It's just another example of legalized crime that defines our world, of course. I mean, you wonder why criminals bother to break any laws, when you can steal legally. No---no one here has broken any laws---not the Times, not Cedar Fort, not author Carol Jean Coombs. Moral and ethical laws are another matter, but anyone who believes in such things can go fly a reindeer.
Still, I can't help but say this is all not very. . .Christian.
So there you have it. My writing has helped enable some Mormons to make some money. Of course, I do not like or approve of the Church of the Latter Day Saints---I think their members are painting without a brush, buttoning without a shirt---and I suspect the Church would not like or approve of me. The closest I've ever come to a Mormon Church was stumbling around on codeine outside the Tabernacle one morning about 5 o' clock (long story.)
In the meantime, I hear that "Under a Christmas Star" is quite popular. A friend in Atlanta told me that when it was given away as a gift at a recent book club party, there were "ooo's and ahhh's."
I'm a commercial success at last.
Why, you might even call me a Christmas Star!
---RIP RENSE

This is a great Christmas Book to add to your Christmas book collection. The stories in this book are inspirational and full of the Christmas spirit. This is a book that the entire family will enjoy!!

I couldn't put it down. The stories are without exception warm and meaningful. I am giving this book to my grandchildren. Sharing these stories is sharing the best of Christmas with them.

This gem includes 25 stories that will appeal to readers of all ages. Most are true. Each story tells of the warmth and love of others--the real light of Christmas. They uplifted and inspired me. The author selected her best stories, most unavailable elsewhere, from a collection gathered over more than 40 years. Authors vary from famous writers and newspaper reporters to people who just wanted to share a personal Christmas experience. The 25 stories are short-- perfect for the whole family to read together each night throughout December. This is a book I will read over and over again--at Christmas time or whenever I want to remember the goodness we all have inside us.

Most collections of stories, Christmas or otherwise, have a bunch of mediocre selections, a few good ones, and one or two great ones--but this book manages to have ALL great ones. Plus, they're not those sappy ones that make you roll your eyes; they're touching without being obnoxious. Maybe it's because almost all of the stories are true experiences, told in a straightforward way. My personal favorites are "The Gold and Ivory Tablecloth" by Howard Schade, "A Christmas Gift I'll Never Forget" by L.D. Hummel, and "My Christmas Miracle" by Taylor Caldwell. Okay, also "How Santa Spread Cheer Without Eight Tiny Reindeer," by Rip Rense. (I'm a school teacher, and I'm going to read some of these to my third graders in December.) Enjoy the joy!

I've had the printed book by this name since its first publication, and it's one of those favorite "friends" on my bookshelf. One quickly learns that this author is wise, kind, and good.

To now have this on audio CD--read by the author himself--is like having "the old friend I always knew" still here, giving the gift that keeps on giving. It seems especially significant now that he has passed on and we no longer have the privilege of hearing him at various speaking engagements.

Thank you, Elder Neal A. Maxwell for making us wiser, kinder, better, stronger people for having known you through your writing and speaking.

An excerpt from this wonderful book/CD:

"The thermostat on the furnace of affliction will not have been set too high for us--though clearly we may think so at the time. Our God is a refining God who has been tempering soul-steel for a very long time. He knows when the right edge has been put upon our excellence and also when there is more in us than we have yet given. One day we will praise God for taking us near our limits--as He did His Only Begotten in Gethsemane and Calvary." (Neal A Maxwell, All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience" p 46)

Neal A. Maxwell, a sufferer of cancer and a man devoted to God, struggles with issues that eventually impact all of us: why do good people suffer? Why does God sometimes appear to take away hope from those who pursue an active discipleship?

Continuing a religious dialogue begun by C. S. Lewis, Rabbi Kuchnar, and others , Maxwell argues that pain and suffering only make sense when viewed within an eternal context: suffering, loss, and pain, rather than fermenting bitterness, can indeed deepen our empathy for others, allow us a greater approach to humility, and a provide a path to strengthen discipleship. In the words of C.S.Lewis, God sometimes wishes to create a mansion from our little cottage rather than the modest remodeling that we initially anticipated.

If you, or a loved one have experienced a loss, this book is a must- it offers a message of love, comfort, and engouragement. It will deepen your understanding of your relationship to the eternal and will help you better understand your own struggles and hardships. This is one of the most impressive books I have ever read since it springs from the deep well of the author's experience and speaks to a core issue at the heart of all our lives. Neal A. Maxwell is a gift to our world, and whatever your religious or non-religious background, I think you will fine his book thought-provoking and ultimately comforting.

Neal Maxwell is a man who "walks the talk." In this book, he treats through LDS scripture the concept of suffering, and its value. Subsequent to the publication of this book, Maxwell had an "opportunity" to survive a terrible battle with cancer. During this battle, Maxwell lived out those principles he elucidated in this great little tome.

Neal Maxwell is my favorite living LDS author. I read him still although I'm no longer LDS.

This book attempts to answer some of the deepest questions dealing with the issue of adversity, and why bad things happen to good people. If you feel you are suffering in your life and you don't know why, or you wonder why there is evil and wrong in the world then this book is for you. Elder Maxwell's soothing and comforting tone and style give comfort as you read. A must read for everyone.

You are rotten, you are crummy
nasty, smelly, and a dummy
you are absolutely awful
and your breath should be unlawful.

You are ugly, you are simple,
and your brain is like a pimple,
you should soak your head in brine....
WON'T YOU BE MY VALENTINE?

The above is titled VALENTINE FOR A FRIEND and it's from this excellent book for early readers. It's true my son is a little too young (almost three) to understand all the words, but he likes the poetic sounds. Maybe he'll grow up into a poet. Of course, most of the poems are not about rotten, crummy dummies, the one above just happens to be my favorite.

Mr. Prelutsky has penned a nice little book that is perfect for reading to a two-year-old child before he or she falls off to sleep. I used to read this one sometimes at naptime. The soothing sounds of the rhymes would put Devon to sleep. Of course now, nothing does. He just plain hates naps. Something about being almost three.

Also the pictures inked by Mr. Yossi have kept my son pointing at the pages and identifying things he knew or has just learned. That's important in a kid's book, illustrations they like. All in all you cannot go wrong with this book, not if you have a child. They'll love it. Devon does.

This is a great children's book. It is filled with Valentine's Day poems for kids of all ages. The poems are simple and easy to read, and theres pictures for each one, too. This book will surely bring happiness to your next Valentines Day.

I love this book. My mom used to read it to me when I was small, and it has always been one of my favorites. I lost my original book many years ago but now that I am an aunt I have searched high and low to relocate it as a gift for my nephew. The short stories in the book are touching as well as humorous and have a way of gripping readers both young and old!!

Jack Prelutsky has a talent for writing silly little poems about everyday things, bringing delight to young and old alike! In this book, he gives poetic justice to Valentine's Day in the most lighthearted way. My sons, now teenagers, were all fortunate enough to be introduced to this book, Jack Prelutsky, and poetry in general, by their first-grade teacher. They spent many happy moments reading these poems depicting a child's view of Valentine's Day...and I enjoyed them as well! Put this one on your list!

The best book I've seen on the subject!

As an anthropologist who teaches classes on Mexico, I use this book often. The "day of the dead" in Mexico exemplifies, for me, the difference between the U.S. culture and that of Mexico. Just as other cultures might find our U.S. Halloween celebrations strangely at odds with normally conservative Judeo-Christian religious observance, this book illustrates clearly the almost unfathomable blending of pre-Columbian cults of death and sacrifice with Spanish-Catholic traditions. Starting with its origins in Mexico's ancient civilizations, the book discusses and illustrates this observance through modern times, and takes the reader vicariously to the areas of Mexico in which it is most enthusiastically observed. Sit down with a cup of chocolate' and some "pan de los muertos" (bread of the dead), and enjoy a book whose topic you might have thought too morbid for your taste, but which you will probably end up finding much more compelling than repulsive. Unfortunately for me (but better for the publishing company!), I am about to order my 3rd copy of "Skeleton at the Feast"--apparently the students to whom I loan it find it too interesting to return!

I bought this book several years ago at the Museum of Mankind, in London. It was the book for the exhibition, which featured incredible paper sculptures of skeletons and demons.
I read every word of the book, and enjoyed the culture, history, and personal stories of these Mexican artists.
Buy it!

As an anthropologist who teaches classes on Mexico, I use this book often. The "day of the dead" in Mexico exemplifies, for me, the difference between the U.S. culture and that of Mexico. Just as other cultures might find our U.S. Halloween celebrations strangely at odds with normally conservative Judeo-Christian religious observance, this book illustrates clearly the almost unfathomable blending of pre-Columbian cults of death and sacrifice with Spanish-Catholic traditions. Starting with its origins in Mexico's ancient civilizations, the book discusses and illustrates this observance through modern times, and takes the reader vicariously to the areas of Mexico in which it is most enthusiastically observed. Sit down with a cup of chocolate' and some "pan de los muertos" (bread of the dead), and enjoy a book whose topic you might have thought too morbid for your taste, but which you will probably end up finding much more compelling than repulsive. Unfortunately for me (but better for the publishing company!), I am about to order my 3rd copy of "Skeleton at the Feast"--apparently the students to whom I loan it find it too interesting to return!

Misconceptions clearly didn't read the whole book. Or else he simply didn't understand it. Mauss masterfully discusses the LDS church's decision to extend the priesthood to black men in 1978. Thorough and expertly researched, this is THE definitve treatment of race in the LDS church.

Mauss' book is a treasure for thinking LDS and any others who seek knowledge and understanding. while the LDS hierarchy might never disown the racism of leaders (BY, others), books like this are not an attempt to soften LDS racism. A.M. is 'a thinking persons' Lund.

And he's not talking about how Mormon conceptions go down in Africa, but in America, the land of our religion's birth. This is an excellent book, thought-provoking yet fair. If you want to get a better grasp of the history of race and lineage within Mormonism from it's beginnings up to the present, this book is the one to order.

For those interested in finding out the real truth about polygamy in early Mormonism this book is wonderful. I have read many, many books on the subject and I put this first-hand account at the top of the list.

This book is written by an educated woman who lived in polygamy in the mid 1800s in Utah. Although she was a strong Mormon, she felt that God would not make women live under such a terrible "principle", as polygamy was referred to. Because of her husband's work for the Mormon church, she was in the highest circles of the Mormon elite which makes her writing very compelling reading. She was very brave to write this book and suffered the consequences.

Once in a long while you will find a book so compelling you can not lay it down and this is such a book! I felt like I was pulled into the story and suffered with Fanny Stenhouse as she fought the good fight against the Mormon Church and her enemies who wanted to shut her up.. This was not an off shoot of the Mormon Church but the original Church and it is a chilling example of an organization gone astray and exploiting women to satisfy men's lust. She quotes Brigham Young and how he received from heaven the exact dogma of plural marriage and as she says so well... "with bad grammar and all." It is a must read for those who enjoy history and want light shed on the issue of plural marriage and of women really felt of this practice, no matter how hard the church will try to define it. You will never forget this story and never defend this church with it's brutal and nasty past. Thank God Fannie did get out of Mormonism, but at a great risk to her life and limb.

All Saints' Day is a moving story of people in south Louisiana--their lives, their loves, their hopes, and misfortunes. Although there is a common thread, each chapter is a self-contained tale. The descriptions of the people are poignant--there is a girl who, by the side of the road, cradles the head of a dead dog in her lap. It is thought provoking--the story of a man who can only be considered schizophrenic as he fears that man others around him are machine men (robots). And many other characters that are both strange and familiar, yet all are caught in the nexus of just trying to survive in a poor area.

The realism of All Saints' Day should be expected. The book was written by an author who grew up near Baton Rouge, within sight of the Mississippi River. His eye for detail insures that this book remains a favorite of readers for Southern literature.

Great writing, great story. Benoit's amazing debut novel says something important about the ways that every family lives and dies and keeps living, how people are remembered and forgotten, and how love (and hate, and callous indifference) work into this. The style, mixing English with Cajun French, gives a sense of immediacy that allows the reader to inhabit the tense world of Maringouin. The hopes characters have pinned on gambles such as bush-track horseracing and oil rigs are heartbreaking even as the details are unerring and fascinating. The texture created by the multiple points of view gives a full, round portrait of the Gidot and Bueche families, and offers a welcome counterpoint to outsiders' misguided notions of what life in Cajun southern Louisiana has really been like: here it is, honestly, with all its bad health and poverty and real tragedy. Best book I've read in years.

It was about how two people struggle while in Louisiana City. They move to a bay and thier life is hard at first. It showed how two people can find their place in life!

It was about how two people struggle while in Louisiana City. They move to a bay and thier life is hard at firs. It showed how two people can find their place in life!

A rich representation of Latter Day Saint Artists. Having visited several of the areas portrayed, I am impressed with the debth and feeling exibited in the overall compilation. There are wimsical, historical, and literal portrayals of the Latter Day Saint culture. A Classic! I Highly recommend this book.

A rich representation of Latter Day Saint Artists. Having visited several of the areas portrayed, I am impressed with the debth and feeling exibited in the overall compilation. There are wimsical, historical, and literal portrayals of the Latter Day Saint culture. A Classic! I Highly recommend this book.

This is the 3rd book I've recently read on the Great Apostasy in the last year. Scott Petersen has clearly done a lot of research and summarized the concepts in an easy to follow manner. Years ago I had read "The Great Apostasy" by James Talmage which focused on the abuses that occurred in the middle ages and touched lightly on what occurred immediately after the apostles deaths since he did not have access to the writings of the early church fathers. Recent research has shown how quickly the Apostasy occurred immediately after time of the Apostles. It is fascinating to see how fast the doctrines changed. This book summarizes that data. The other two books I've recently read are "The Inevitable Apostasy and the Promised Restoration" by Tad R. Callister and "Turning From Truth: A New Look At The Great Apostasy" by Alexander B. Morrison. Morrison's book is the shortest and probably the best summary for someone initially getting into the subject. Callister's and Petersen's books are much longer, but give more details. Both are well written, but from different perspectives. I recommend this book as a very good entry on this subject.

Religion often raises so many opinions that few people are willing to discuss the subject -even objectively. Scott Petersen, fundamentally a businessman, has plowed in where many have feared to tread. He has done his homework by doing extensive research in a serious attempt to truly understand what happened in the early Christian Church and more specifically where that leaves believers in Christ today. I applaud his noble effort and believe he has lifted the cloak of mysticism that has covered reality for too long. Outstanding reading for anyone interested in the truth.