Easter Books

i enjoy reading this because it reminds me of joyces ulysses in the travels about dublin, many other inferences pop up as i remember the works of yeats, ocasey and liam oflaherty, ( the informer). 1921 is a good followup to this book as is the film about michael collins, i really enjoy it because it discusses the lives of plunkett and pearse who i enjoy as poets and patriots as well as thomas mcdonagh. at times morgan creates images of the times and the people that are so real you think you were there i will have read it in 2 days , so i like it. also dont forget to study seamus macmanus if you can find him , another great writer as well as padraic colum

This book was a pleasant surprise. I haven't read any historical fiction since grammar school but my Da recommended this since he's into Irish republicanism. It probably helped that I was familiar with the history, but I was completely engaged in the story the whole time. The part about Easter week was a real page-turner for me even though I knew what would happen. The fictional main character, Ned, is seamlessly woven in with the freedom fighters, and the love story is crafted well.

I particularly enjoyed the in-depth portrayal of historical figure Padraic Pearse. I knew a little about him but was completely charmed by Llywelyn's description. I feel I got to know the personalities and perspectives of all the signers of the Easter Proclamation.

The book is pretty good writing as well, with the full gamut of historical viewpoints and motivations. Very well edited--I don't remember any typographical errors. This book is everything it sets out to be. If you want to learn more about the fight for Irish freedom, but aren't interested in a dry historical text, this is an excellent read.

As much a history as historical fiction, Llywelyn populates the story of the Easter Rising in Ireland with many more real people than fictional, along with copious notes indicating her historical sources for the details she weaves into the tale.

It would be hard to find a better subject for an historical novel, and Llywelyn does a fine job of balancing story-telling with historical accuracy and completeness. Some of the characters remain two-dimensional, but there are so many characters in this tale, that it's hardly surprising.

An all around good read, and a great way to learn a lot more about this time in Irish history.

What a great book and what a great series of books that covers the history of Ireland throughout the 20th century. Fictional characters interact with historical figures to tell the story of the Halloran and Mooney families.

This is a beautiful book,poignant,stunning,gripping.
And there is something in the way Morgan Llywelyn writes that without her having to use any great excess of adjectives you see the picture she is painting with perfect clarity.
An important novel for anyone to read but an absolute nesceccity for the Irish fanatics.I also suggest "Six Days to Shake an Empire" and Frank Delaney's "Ireland".
The story of the Easter Rebellion always reminds me of one of Jimmy Stewart's lines in Mr.Smith goes to Washington,when he says that the lost causes are the only ones worth fighting for.
Brilliant,brilliant,brilliant.

I think this could have been a much more enjoyable book had the editor had a stronger hand. It's very easy to read, not too many vocabulary words to look up, in fact I only have six written down and the book is over 600 pages.

Unfortunately, I thought the first 370 pages were pretty dull. Eventually the story does pick up and I did appreciate learning about Richard III and the turbulent politics of the times.

There are some seriously forced situations that made me roll my eyes and the real story is the love story between Richard of Gloucester and Kate Haute so it is a bit I hate to say it...chick lit.

I thought that Smith had a difficult time transitioning from one scene to another. I would have liked more details on setting so that I could picture the situation more realistically. Often times I was wondering where we were. I thought she needed to develop the characters better, they all seem rather flat except maybe John Howard. I also thought that she could have done a better job using the character's names and titles more consistently. Thank goodness for that family tree in the front or I would have been baffled for another hundred pages or so that George and Clarence were the same person. And I don't think that Anne Easter Smith does a very good job describing whose who in general, there are a lot of people mentioned and it became difficult for me to keep track of them. I need more that just a name mentioned once to remember someone. Someone better acquainted with this period in time would likely have done a better job than I did of keeping everyone straight.

I'm glad to be done, it was rather long as I said before, though only took six days to read, again it was an easy read. It did spark my curiosity to read more about Richard III and the princes in the tower. And I was moved by Kate Haute's choices for her children. Overall it wasn't a very satisfying read, I felt like the author bit off more than she could chew with this complex period in time.

I was just about to put the book down when the story actually started. The first third of the book, I guess, is simply background on the main character's life at the farm, and how she came to be a companion to her noble cousin, blah, blah, blah. If I wanted to read about farm life in the 15th century, I would have looked it up.

Once the story gets going, the Mary Sue character REALLY shows herself. Kate Haute is perfect. No, really. Everyone loves her, even the people who for whatever reason shouldn't. She behaves thoughtlessly with a friend? The friend is angry for three seconds, and then they are holding hands again. She does the same with a servant? The servant chalks it up to being a servant and moves on happily with serving her mistress with devotion. There were teensy bits of potential drama that I wanted to grab hold of with both hands, but in each and every case they petered out completely.

Add this to the equally perfect Richard, and we are beginning to get tired of the fantasy. As a fan of history I wanted to know more about the period (rather than being informed second or third hand as Kate finds out much after the events take place) and as a fan of romance I wanted some actual romance in the book. The ease that Richard sets Kate aside for the entire last third of the book and the annoying mooning that Kate does for the rest of the book left me more tired than fulfilled.

It was an interesting enough read because of the period that I finished it, but I am glad that it was a library book and not my own wasted money.

Excellent well researched historical fiction. I found it hard to put down and was sorry when it was finished.

Anne Easter Smith is known for the extent of the research that she does in writing her books. Unfortunately, she is not quite so talented with dialog as she with her historical facts and descriptions. But that does not take away much from this large and graceful novel.

I gave this two stars instead of one because I did enjoy the first two parts. It lost me in the third. When the heroine gave herself to Richard and agreed that it was ok to break her married vows, but when he marries into a woman of "his station" it would not be ok for him. I say, No Deal. I decided to give the woman the benefit of the doubt, as she had been a strong, rather independent for the times, and outspoken gall up until this point. However, she proceeds to give Richard three sons, the last of which she throws away as not to harm his marriage to Anne. I would also like to add, she allowed her gay husband to smack her around a bit. I am truly not impressed. I like to read about strong, admirable woman and I found this woman horribly weak. My only other compliant is the peasant speak was a bit much. "I be here.. You be there.. I be sorry" are examples. It makes it a difficult read at times.

This is a great book to be read during Easter week to follow in Jesus Christ's footsteps. It is based on the Gospel of Mark and is a blend of theology and historical facts.

A scholarly, but accessible treatment of the biblical account of Holy Week. Well worth it: either to read straight through, or to use it as a reference book.

Two deep friends and New Testament scholars combine to review this last week of Jesus. Both have previously written extensive scholarly works clarifying their non-belief in the supernatural story of Jesus. In this work they are not challenging the main account in Mark, but adding simply written expansions of what happened. While denying the divinity of Jesus, they clearly love the man and are advocates for his intent to establish "The Kingdom" on earth--a wish for fairness and justice.

My main objection: The authors first adopt an idea and then reconstruct their story to fit that idea. I am aware that we are dealing with a popular, NOT an academic book, but still I consider that unfair, since most of us are learning from such books.The authors made several contradictions, assumptions, false statements and omissions. They contradict themselves by writing in the preface that they will use Mark's Gospel only and they present good reasons for it. However, in the subtitle it is printed: "What the Gospels REALLY Teach About Jesus'...".This contradiction allows them to use other Gospels when the authors can support their objectives. What is worse, they omit the passages in Mark which do not support their objectives. Throughout the book Pilate is described as a sovereign ruler having the Jewish hierarchy under his control. However, even from the authors' quotes taken from the Mark's Gospel the Pilate's questions to Jesus are NOT what one would expect from a supreme commander. Furthermore if Pilate were convinced about Jesus' role as a leader of an actual political insurgency, he would have executed at least some of his disciples. Among the farfetched assumptions: :"Two processions entered Jerusalem on a spring day in the year 30". However, Mark's gospel says NOTHING about this coincidence or a planned thing. Moreover, there is NO support elsewhere that it happened the same day. Among the false statements I would classify the authors' conclusion that Jesus had to be executed since he was a revolutionary, although a non violent one. It is well established truth from the other reliable historical documents that the Romans were rather tolerant occupants with regards to the religious beliefs; they even accepted Greek gods. Therefore one can assume that only violent uprisings were recognized and considered dangerous for the Romans. The itinerant rabbis proclaiming nonviolent utopias were probably taken for "religious cranks" and posed no danger to the Romans.Indeed such a view was taken by Pilate at the beggining of the trial, as recorded by all four Gospels.
In conclusion one can say that the authors by focusing on the Jewish high-priestly collaboration with Roman imperial control lead us to regard Jesus as an earthly revolutionary, although a non-violent one. This is in my view a dishonest simplification and selling Jesus short. It is well known that according to the MARXIST philosophy we were born into two certain antagonist social ranks, rich and poor and the history is progressing through this irreconcilable class struggle. However, Jesus gave us an example NOT to follow so called "history necessity", but to "die to ourselves", to be "born again" and that way to transcend that class awareness and to build the "Kingdom of God " regardless of the class, race, nationality AND religious differences.

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"The Last Week" by Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan address several problem areas in the traditional interpretations of the Passion of Jesus Christ and the events of Easter Week. Rather than seeing his teachings and purposeful orchestration of his last week as metaphor, most Christians have come to accept Jesus himself as metaphor. His suffering, death and resurrection have become a "passion" sacrifice or atonement for the failings of humankind. Crossan and Borg re-examine this metaphor. These authors describe the passion as an intensely and profoundly fundamental belief that the current, normal societal norm of political and economic dominance of government (legitimized by religious authority) be challenged and replaced. What Jesus offers in its place is human compassion and human service -- resulting in a transcendence of humanity itself. It is a solution that replaces man's kingdom and priorities with those of God and his kingdom, stressing that the work is not done by Jesus alone, but by Jesus as he inspires and transforms others to be him. As transformed, humans recognize "the dominant life of human normalcy versus the servant life of human transcendence." Focusing on Mark as the earliest and "cleanest" version (before the elaborations added by Matthew, Luke and John), Crossan and Borg stress a second theme: to quote St. Augustine, "We without God cannot, and God without us will not." The key to the mystery of Easter Week is identification of God as within humans and the acceptance of responsibility by humans to take on Jesus' role. No doubt, this is a radical interpretation and one that requires the most of our time and effort on this earth. The one drawback of the text (why it rates a four and not a five star standing) is that points made are often repeated. Perhaps, however, they need to be restated to bring full attention to them.

I have never read Case for Christ, so I did not see that this was much of the same info. I enjoyed the book and thought that it has something to offer a doubter, new believer and mature believer. Deffinately worth the three dollars I bought it for.

THE CASE FOR EASTER is a thin little book printed on cheap paper that seeks to prove three momentous tenets of the Christian faith. First, that Jesus Christ died on the cross; second, that he vacated the tomb in which he had been laid; third, that he afterwards appeared alive before others. The author, Lee Strobel, presents himself as an atheist who interviewed a different theologian on each these points, tested his reasoning and found it convincing. Distinguished as a legal reporter, he asserts that his method is no different from that used when collecting evidence in the case of a murder, a fraud or a missing person.

The book is laid out neatly in three parts, one for each question. The first is "The Medical Evidence: Was Jesus' Death a Sham and His Resurrection a Hoax?" Here Alexander Metherell, a medical doctor, engineer and Christian, describes for the author the gruesome physical effects of a Roman flogging and crucifixion followed by a spear through the ribs. He leaves no doubt that anyone who suffered the ordeal of Jesus Christ as described in the Gospels could not have survived to perpetrate a hoax. Nor, if by some amazing happenstance he did manage to survive, would he have been in a condition to get up and go anywhere on his own.

The second part is "The Evidence of the Missing Body: Was Jesus' Body Really Absent From His Tomb?" Here the theologian, professor and author William Lane Craig argues that Jesus' body was not thrown in a common grave along with others of the crucified, but taken by Joseph of Arimathea and placed in a separate tomb, just as Scripture says. He describes the way such a tomb would be sealed, explains why some women followers of Christ would have gone to visit the tomb and reconciles discrepancies in the different Gospels regarding their names, their actions and the presence of guards. He seconds the finding of historian Michael Grant that "if we apply the same sort of criteria that we would apply to any other ancient literary sources, then the evidence is firm and plausible enough to necessitate the conclusion that the tomb was, indeed, found empty." (p.46)

Anticipating the supernatural event of part 3, Craig dismisses the idea that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is improbable. What is improbable is the idea that his dead body spontaneously came back to life. "But the hypothesis that God raised Jesus from the dead doesn't contradict science or any known facts of experience. All it requires is that God exists, and I think there are good independent reasons for believing that he does... As long as the existence of God is even possible, it's possible that he acted in history by raising Jesus from the dead." (56)

The third part is "The Evidence of Appearances: Was Jesus Seen Alive After His Death on the Cross?" Here the theologian Gary Habermas, who has authored seven books on this question, lists all those witnesses named in Scriptural accounts, relates these accounts to the period immediately following the crucifixion and disputes the contention of naysayers that they could be based on legends or hallucinations. The once-atheistic author is so impressed that he confesses: "Although I tried, I couldn't think of any more thoroughly attested event in ancient history." (74) He concludes the book by avowing his faith in Jesus Christ as his savior from original sin. (87)

Needless to say, those who already believe in Scripture will find this exercise rewarding, because it will help them to combat the objections of non-believers and possibly to settle their own doubts. Non-believers will find it rewarding for exactly the opposite reasons. Few readers, I suspect, will be converted one way or the other, because the inquiry is clearly rigged. The attempt of the experts (and the already converted author) is not really to weigh the so-called evidence pro and con as a jury, but rather to plead the case as a defense attorney, producing all the reasons, suppositions and imagined scenarios that could possibly support Scripture. In the process, a huge number of methodological problems arise, nearly one on every page.

I shall mention but three. First, Professor Craig allows that the evangelists collected various stories and recast them according to their own lights, so that Matthew with his story of the guards (pp.40-41) and Mark who "loves to emphasize awe and fright and terror" (p.48) need not be taken whole cloth. This allowance removes the "inerrant word of the Holy Spirit" and throws everything in the Gospels up for grabs. It allows not only Craig to pick and choose, but also the skeptics.

Second, Craig and Habermas presume that "legendary corruption" of a historical event takes years to form, so that if the original stories of Jesus Christ's resurrection came soon after his crucifixion they must be true. (37, 53, 77-78) This argument denies the reality, which everyone knows, that stories of miracles can spring up overnight, urban legends can spread like wildfire and sightings of ghosts, aliens and missing persons happen all the time. The last Russian tsar, for example, was seen in different cities shortly after his execution in 1919, and his executed daughter Anastasia surfaced a few years after that. Hitler was seen repeatedly after World War II. Elvis is still being seen.

Third, Habermas uses twisted reasoning to smuggle in "eyewitness testimony." He accepts that Peter and James saw the arisen Christ, because Paul says so in Corinthians I:15 and he must have learned it from them. (67) He accepts that 500 brethren saw the arisen Christ at one time, because some of them were alive at the time of Paul's writing and could have contradicted him were it not so. (68-71) He accepts St. Luke's versions (in Acts of the Apostles) of speeches by St. Peter and St. Paul, which tell of the revelation, because they must have come from "very early sources." (73-74) The lawyer-author should not have admitted even one of these pieces of evidence: the first is hearsay collected at best three years and written down twenty years after the event; the second is hearsay and does not name any one of the 500; the third is reported and possibly invented speech written down forty to fifty years after the event and probably after both speakers were dead.

The worst flaw in the author's investigation is his double standard. He and the experts pretend to apply the same critical standards to the Scriptural accounts as they do to other ancient texts, whereas in fact they accept supernatural events in Scripture and rule them out in everything else. If plausibility is the supreme criterion and the supernatural need not be excluded, as Craig asserts, then every ancient history, myth and religion can be proven if one has the wit and the will.

Obviously the supernatural is the stumbling block. Professor Craig's statement that "the hypothesis that God raised Jesus from the dead doesn't contradict science or any known facts of experience" is simply a bald-faced contradiction of science and all the known facts of experience. The hard truth is that every single organism in the history of the earth has died or will die, and so far none of the dead has returned to life in any verifiable way, but only in memories, dreams, hallucinations, myths, religions and fiction. The hypothesis that God raised Jesus from the dead contradicts everything, absolutely everything. Hence St. Paul, hence the evidence of things not seen, hence the hope in the miracle of Easter.

This book is really an excerpt from The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. If you've already read that book, then your've read this one. I think that should be spelled out so everyone knows that this is not a new book. It's wonderful to pass on to others to use as a witness tool; it's a short easy read which encourages people to take a close look at the evidence of the resurrection.

Lee Stroebel does a great service for humanity with many of his works, by pointing out the facts which support Scriptures. However, when he names a book "The Case for Easter" instead of "The Case for the Resurrection" he is not doing a service. As most know Easter is just another name for the pagan goddess Astare. The Savior did not rise on her day, nor did He die on the day our modern calendar calls "Good Friday." He was the Passover Lamb. He was crucified at Passover. If we want to celebrate His resurrection, instead of doing so on a day set aside to honor a pagan diety, we need to do it 3, not 2, days after Golgotha, namely 3 days and nights after Passover. Yahusha does not want us to drink of the cup of demons and His cup too. One of the things He came into the world for was to defeat paganism in all it's forms. Would you want your special days celebrated not when they really happened, but on days set aside to honor pagan "gods" (or as Paul says, actually, demons)? What's wrong with celebrating the actual days associated with Him Who gave His life for us? Why should it be that traditon is more important than the truths of the Scriptures? Stroebel tells us we need to stick with the truth. He is right. When do we stop thinking we are honoring our Savior by celebrating events of His life that do not correlate to events in HIS life, but to pagan celebrations? Something to think about.

Who knew that Salvation could be found for $2.99 between the newspapers and the KK doughnuts at the Kroger? This book is one that I have now read twice and have committed to reading every Lent. Strobel provides a compelling case for Christ's resurrection. The best part is it's written in a clear, simple style that does not take away from the power of his argument. Many Christians criticize apologists like Strobel but I applaud him for speaking up on behalf of those who discredit the story of the resurrection, the main premise of Christianity. No matter where you are on your faith journey, there is something to be learned from this book. It graphically paints a vivid picture of the suffering of Jesus. With scriptures used throughout and only 3 chapters, it can be easily divided into three thought provoking Sunday School lessons leading up to Easter.

Plain and simple... this book WOULD have saved me quite a few pains in developing installations... however... I was only lucky enough to read it in time for it to cure A LOT of pains developing an installation which runs in 14 languages and is as complicated as it gets... almost all major problems and issues I ran into are covered... and it is a great reference... I am waiting to begin learning windows installer until this author publishes another book... hopefully it will be as high quality as this one.

Overall, the book is good. Better than the IS docs anyhow.

Bear in mind that the book is written for Version 5.1 and below.

InstallShield made a major switch to an event-driven installation and script model in Version 6.1 So a lot of the examples are out of date and need to be converted.

I found this confusing as I was trying to learn and port to the new version at the same time.

This was an OK book in it's time, but it is now completely out of date. This book covers InstallShield 5, which is not supported on Windows ME, Windows 2000, or Windows XP. Both InstallShild 6 and InstallShield Windows Installer Edition are different enought from InstallShield 5 to make this book obsolete.

Audience: Beginner to intermediate

Table of Content:

1. What is an Install Program

2. Designing an Install Program

3. InstallShield File and Directory Organization

4. Creating a Simple Install Program

5. Explaining InstallScript

6. Understanding the Operating System

7. Defining the InstallShield API

8. Creating a Standard Install Program

9. Creating a Custom User Interface

10. Importing Routines

11. Creating an Advanced Install Program

This book is about developing installation programs using InstallShield 5.1. I originally bought this book more out of curiosity because I had never used InstallShield and wanted to understand the capabilities of the product. I searched on Amazon and B&N and this is the only book I found on InstallShield. With a rating of 4 stars, I thought I'd try it.

It's a good beginning book, I would have liked more details. It explained the directory structures of InstallShield and a newly created project and what some of these *.ini files were. It will give you insight on where you should place your code for doing modification to the setup scripts. It demonstrated writing custom handlers for their existing dialog ( which I found useful ), you may alter the behavior of the dialogs by making calls to the Windows SDK API functions, sorry no MFC calls. It explained writing your own custom wizard dialog from scratch. It demonstrated calling Win32 API functions and how to write your own custom DLL to be used with your project. Some useful information on the registry run once, copy over after re-boot, file association, the uninstall settings ....

Being that this is the only book available on InstallShield besides the actual reference manual, there isn't much to compare it with. My rating is about 7 out of 10 because it did teach me a thing or two about InstallShield.

I originally purchased this book to help me with a massive project. Most of my installations required installing my device drivers (data acquisition and motion controller drivers), my own software, and third-party applications (computer vision). As a result, the standard documentation wasn't exactly overly helpful.

This was the best book on the market. At the time, it was the ONLY book on the market. Although it offered a nominal amount of help for me, it did give me a fuller understanding to InstallShield and really helped when I needed to build installers for more standard applications.

Considering at the time this book was originally published, the only other avenue to get IS information was to attend a high dollar seminar, it was a great value.

This book comes with a CDROM with InstallShield 5, DemoShield and some other demoware.

I give it 3 stars, not because it isn't a great book, but because Microsoft redefined how installers should work with the operating system (driver signatures, system directory protection, etc.) and some of the information is now obsolete.

A 5th edition of Moon Handbooks Tahiti: Including the Cook Islands (ISBN 1566914124) was published in September, 2003. Search for it on this site!

This book is good in a sense that it has a lot of information in it,mainly concentrated on history and ecology. However, what I was looking for is info on accomodation, places to eat, things to see, entertainment etc and this book does not provide a much explanation on those kind of things.

This book was informative, but was on the preachy side with respect to commentary on ecotourism, the history of the Polynesia and other topics. I consider myself a responsible tourist and found myself feeling guilty about even visiting Tahiti while reading this book.

Many guidebooks have come out on the South Pacific, but this is most definitely at the top of the list. Although Lonely Planet guides are - in my view - usually better and more comprehensive, in this case Moon Handbooks have surpassed them. With superb maestry, David Stanley has put together a masterpiece, with a combination of unparalleled travel advice for all types of travellers, as well as easy-to-read, yet deep, insights into the history and reality of this fabulous region of the world. Several factors add to the marvel of this book. One is that Easter Island and the Cooks have been included, thus comprising in one single guidebook so many islands which, despite their geographical distance that separates them, have a lot in common. Another is the unmistakeable talent of the author, so strong in all of his guidebooks.

This is the only book you need for a trip to Tahiti, catering to luxury travelers right on down to backpackers. The author separates the Polynesian island chains into different sections, giving complete coverage to history, accomodations, food (including cooking local cuisine), getting there, getting around and more for each island. The maps are simply spectacular, starting with the entire region (including air travel routes) all the way down to individual island and primary city maps. In fact, individual maps even have exact, pinpointed hotel and attraction locations, an extremely useful reference during your actual trip.

The Tahiti handbook also contains useful background on this region. Topics include the coral reefs of the Pacific, typhoons, Tahiti's climate, plants, animals and local customs. Show me another guidebook that has such unique content like Polynesian dance diagrams or instructions how to buy a black pearl.

The book concludes with a complete bibliography, related Internet web pages and some useful direct email addresses of contacts in the region. Overall, I highly recommend this guide book to anyone planning a trip to Tahiti/French Polynesia, Easter Island or the Cook Islands.

This is the only book in the series that I've read and while my daughter seems to like it, my wife and I find it indescribably creepy. The Easter Bunny is kind of bizarre and looks like the kind of person you should NOT accept candy from. Max is disobedient and his sister is arrogant. If there's a character here that we should like, I'm not seeing it. The illustrations aren't cute, they're just sort of... off.

My kids LOVE this book! It figures that someone who thinks that stuffy Ruby bossing her brother around (Bunny Cakes) would NOT like poor Max unable to resist the chocolate chicken! I cannot believe that people take this book so seriously! Our kids giggle and smile while we read as Max hides from his industrious, single-minded, bossy boots sister while messily munching the chicken. I love the new version of the Easter bunny, the artistry on the eggs is delightful as well as the droll humor.

I think that the lesson that this book teaches our children is that life is fun and chocolate chickens shouldn't be taken too seriously! Or- since rule-making Ruby is the oldest, she would no doubt be the winner of the egg hunting contest and once again a frustrated Max outwits her! Hooray for the underdog (bunny).

"Max's Chocolate Chicken" is another favorite Rosemary Wells book of mine. It's simple and funny, so entertaining and beautifully drawn.
Max and Ruby are on an egg hunt. Whoever gets the most eggs, gets the chocolate chicken. But when Ruby spies the chicken is missing, why does she go search for Max?
Max doesn't surprise us and that's why we love him so much.
Great book, as usual!

if they're smoking something. I got this as a discard from the library, and decided it might be suitable for the library in my preschool class. The pictures are cute and yet, disturbing as well. The story makes no sense, and the children did not really enjoy any part of it. I left it in their little library for months, and they never looked at it. This story is simply too bizarre for children, although I'm sure it's great for adults after enjoying certain herbal refreshments.This teacher gives it a "D".

This book was so cute! It reminded me so much of me and my one sister. I used to always find her candy and sneak a piece or two (she took forever to eat hers!). My sisters and I all love each other and we're extremely close. Kids will be kids and have their little antics--that's what gives us times to look back on. It is also what makes us so close to each other. This book is one we read every single day during the Easter Season!

I like this book because it caught my interest right away

While this story doesn't give away the solution to MURDER AT THE FEAST OF REJOICING, it continues a major investigation begun at the end of that book, so to that extent, there are spoilers. Also, I'll assume that the reader has some familiarity with Lord Meren, his family, and their fellow members of the court of Tutankhamun. Robinson has made this a stand-alone book, but as part of a greater story arc, it's best appreciated in context.

In the 21st century, many serial killers with religious delusions believe themselves to be various instruments of divine retribution: God, the Archangel Michael, and so on. But in the Egyptian pantheon, when a soul fails to measure up in the Halls of Judgement, the demon Ammut, Eater of Souls, carries out the punishment: annihilation, consuming even the heart. (In ancient Egyptian parlance, the heart, rather than the brain, was considered the seat of thought.)

In the 5th year of the reign of Tutankhamun, Eater of Souls has been called forth from the Halls of Judgement to Memphis, pharaoh's capital, to punish those who have woundsssed the nameless 'favored one'. Since part of the narrative, including the very beginning of the story, is from Eater of Souls' viewpoint, I was worried at first that Robinson had broken one of the fundamental rules of detective stories - no supernatural explanations - but the character is within bounds: the killer is a divided personality, part of which believes it is Eater of Souls.

In this series Robinson often introduces supporting characters in one book, laying the groundwork for appearances in later books. EATER OF SOULS introduces the Caverns, the rough area around the docks of Memphis where Kysen goes undercover seeking information. Ese, the beautiful but embittered tavernkeeper of the Divine Lotus, has many connections, ranging from Tcha (a floorsweeper with a night job as a housebreaker) to Othrys (Mycenaean ship's captain and crimelord). Tcha found his partner's heartless corpse after a robbery, and in a panic got the news to both Othrys and Kysen. Since the first victims were ordinary people, the lazy chief watchman has refused to see any patterns, launch any investigation, or pass any distressing facts to his superiors - but Kysen in his public persona brings in Meren. Then to the tally of killings 'not of the city' is added a devastating victim: the Hittite ambassador.

Meren is greatly troubled; he fears that various events in his own past will find him wanting in life's final judgement, and like many others in Memphis, he's afraid that this may be the *real* Devourer, after the troubles the kingdom has had of late years. If that weren't enough, his younger daughters are back in Memphis after their training in estate management by his sister. Bener is perceptive, clever, and wants to participate in her father's investigations. (She has talents in that direction - watch her inquiry into some suspicious purchases on the household books.) Isis, the younger, is preoccupied with attracting suitors; worse luck, she's developing a mutual interest with the irritating Reshep. (The king ordered Meren to sponsor him to get him away from the royal princesses; his attraction for women is a deeper mystery to Meren than any murder.)

The Nefertiti investigation takes a back seat to the 'heart thefts' - not because it's less important, but because 1) the pharaoh and the vizier must be kept stable for the kingdom's sake, so they're kept in the dark, and 2) anyone who seems to know too much about the matter tends to come down with a serious case of death. The slow start is believable, but maddening. The various dissatisfied courtiers and half-brothers of pharaoh at court tended to blur together at first. Finally, for any fans of THE LOST QUEEN OF EGYPT out there, Ankhesenamun is not a sympathetic character from Meren's viewpoint; her strained relationship with the king has kept her mostly off-stage in the series until now. In this book, she begins attempting reconciliation with Tutankhamun, but he and Meren both doubt her motives.

This is the fourth of the Lord Meren books that I have read and I, personally, think this one is the best. It is written in such a way as to make the reader think it is a thriller -- the Eater of Souls is loose in Memphis (Ancient Egypt) and Lord Meren must find a way to appease the g-ds or find the person who is impersonating The Devouress. And when The Devouress comes after Lord Meren himself . . . I don't want to give anything away. GOOD read!

These books combine eerie mystery with a fun fantasy of everyday life in ancient Egypt. The entire series is like a dessert topping for those of us who enjoy reading about ancient civilizations. Ms. Robinson brings to life in a fascinating way the details of daily life in old Egypt. The fourth in the Lord Meren series is gruesome and just a tad confusing. But it's rewarding in the end and I'm looking forward to another.

As a lover of historical mysteries, I had a great time reading Eater of Souls. Robinson's descriptions of ancient Memphis recall images of Holmes' London. The action keeps things going and the story flows pretty well. There are a few wild goose chases that are a bit frustrating, but overall the story remains focused. My only major complaint is that, outside of the main character Lord Meren, the characters are all quite simple. Most are one-dimensional and overly typed. I especially was annoyed by the other main character, Lord Meren's son Kysen, who comes across as an early day Ferris Bueller. But all in all, a fun read that brought ancient Egypt to life at a level rarely reached.

This book is a magnificant piece of literature; It is well researched and wonderfully written. It held my interest from beginning to end. As one with an Irish heritage I was captivated by the author's well written story line and factually based history. It is not a book to be read in a hurry or taken lightly. It is to be "eaten" and relished and then given a prominent place on my bookshelf where I keep books that have great meaning for me and will be picked up and reread again in the future. I have the honor and priviledge of knowing the author since childhood and am so pleased that I know how much the publishing of this book meant to him and his family. May this author write many, many more books to keep this Irish lass entralled in her heritage.

Cathal Liam's intertwining of fact and fiction only serves to make this period in Irish history a most enjoyable read. Liam captures the passion of every Irishman's wish for freedom from British tyranny and translates it into an historic novel set during the Easter Uprising of 1916. His attention to detail and historic fact makes one almost forget that his main character is a fictional hero who moves through reality as if he were meant to be there.

Consumed In Freedom's Flame: A Novel Of Ireland's Struggle For Freedom 1916-1921 by Cathal Liam is a powerful and provocative work of historical fiction. Written from an Irish point of view, it encompasses rebellion against injustice and the inward-turning flames of slow destruction. Consumed In Freedom's Flame is profound and irresistible reading.

The Irish have always had more history than they knew what to do with. This fact is at its most obvious in their ongoing attempt to understand the seven-day uprising of April 1916 and the ensuing struggle against the British which ultimately led to the Irish Free State, a civil war and formation of the current Ireland. Essayist and poet Cathal Liam has entered the ranks of previous Irish fiction writers such as Morgan Llewelyn and Liam O'Flaherty by assembling a comprehensive and intelligent piece of historical fiction for the general reader, as well as for those who can recite "The Bold Fenian Men" at a moment's notice. THE KNOXVILLE NEWS-SENTINEL, July 22, 2001

I thought this book was absolutely terrible. The main character is extremely handsome, intelligent, a crack shot and a brilliant strategist with women swooning all around him and historical figures such as Pádraig Pearse showing up to clap him on the back and tell him how great he is. In other words, dull and wooden. The book is dull and riddled with stage-Irishisms and inaccuracies. It reads like "Tintin's Fight For Irish Freedom." I've listened to many veterans of the War of Independence speak of their experiences, but I've never heard the British refered to as "Redcoats."

Before I purchased this book, I was wondering how I was going to keep my kids entertained during the school break and how I was going to make Easter special. This book answered both of those questions perfectly. We made the crafts and tried the recipes. Everything turned out great! Thank you Jill O'Connor! I'm looking forward to seeing books by this author for other holidays as well. How about a Christmas book or even a summer/4th of July book?

This was a fabulous find in my opinion! These ideas were simple enough for the average person to understand and succeed without being just for the kids. The whole family spent an entire rainy day experimenting with these ideas and having some wonderful quality time together. Ms. O'Connor gave us the guidelines for success but even the kids started to get new ideas in the process and go wild with their imaginations. Without this book we would have ended up with the same tired looking easter eggs, but now we have little unique works of art that the kids are so proud of! I have never seen so many children of such varying ages come together with so much enthusiam over eggs, decorations, and easter treats! BRAVO!

This is my fourth cookbook by Mrs. O'Connor. This one has craft ideas for the whole family to enjoy. Mrs. O'Connor writes in plain English with easy to understand recipes that help you get your children involved in the kitchen. There is a wide variety of dishes in this book. It's great. I hope she keeps them coming.

Ok...this is a 96 page book concentrating on Easter (crafts and recipes). I had high hopes for it, based on the wonderful valentine volume in the same series (also available, Summer Time Treats, Halloween Treats, and Christmas Treats). I love the layout and format of the book...it's a soft cover book that is easy to handle. I do have concerns about the long term sturdiness of the book when actually doing the crafts and making the recipes...I don't know that the binding will hold up over the "long haul." I do like the overall cover design and layout -- very nice and visually appealing!

In the introduction, the author says:

"Easter is one of the most joyous holidays in Christianity, celebrates the resurrection of Christ. The Easter season is also a time when we honor the unity of our family and friends, welcome spring,,and revel in the awakening beauty of nature after the long days of winter."

Now, obviously, since I'm reviewing this volume from a Wiccan/Pagan perspective...I simply cannot "get behind" the first part of this...but I can whole heartedly embrace the latter part!! I did enjoy the very brief blurb in the introduction about the Germanic origins of Easter Eggs...but would like to have seen a more original suggestion than an Easter Egg Decorating Party for the "ideal" holiday get together!

You will also find standard tips for Boiling blowing, and dyeing your eggs.

As a book of "Recipes and Crafts for the Whole Family," I find this somewhat lacking in the "whole family" area!! Perhaps if your family consists of you and your husband or you and an older child or two, this might apply -- but for people like me (kids ages 3 and 5)...who are looking for a mix of elegant adult crafts and and fun and/or easy kids crafts...this books leaves me wanting. Certainly not in the adult crafting area -- there are a plethora to be had in this area -- but in easy, fun kids projects, there is MUCH to be desired!!

Page 18 has a cute Easter Egg Tree idea, but the ribbon eggs (which are stunningly beautiful) are WAY too complex for small children -- older children or teens looking for a bit of elegance might enjoy this seemingly time consuming project...


As with the Ribbon Eggs, the Washi Eggs (pg 22) and Candy Cones (pg 29) do not seem like kid friendly project either...they ARE beautiful, but definitely an adult project!

The Easy Easter Daisies (pg 25) and brilliant yellow dyed eggs would look STUNNING on an altar, there is just something about them that says SPRING...and with a bit of adjustment on the size of the daisy pattern, could easily be done by younger children!!

The Starry Sky Eggs (26), Jelly Bean Bags (32) and Marzipan Play Dough (Also pg 32) would all be well received by kids of all ages...and easy enough for them to enjoy doing...small kids will need help tying the bags on the jelly beans (be sure to have extra beans, snacking is inevitable with this project -- and half the fun...lol). There are also several projects (like bunny ears and finger puppets for younger children...but my kids already do this stuff at school and I was hoping for a few NEW ideas to do with them!!

The secret message eggs are a very cute and fun idea -- kids (with parents help) should delightin making and then smashing them (or helping the recipient to smash) to get at the message -- this craft also has possible applications for magickal workings -- I know you magickal crafters out there have your motors running already!!!

All the recipes (with the exception of the "chicken feed," pg 26) are adult caliber -- I would not attempt any of these -- well, perhaps the Easter Bonnet Shortbread ones (72)...but they would NOT look as elegant and refined as the ones pictured in the book...kids LOVE to decorate cookies...so this one is a definite kid friendly food project!!

So...overall I give this book:

B- for Content -- rated as a book for the "whole family," I find that it's lacking in easier recipes and crafts for kids younger than 8 or 10, but RICH in ideas for the adult crafter and certainly plenty that the adult Wiccan looking to spruce up that spring altar!! Not much I found here in the way of magickal application (beyond altar decoration...and the possibilities for spell work with the Secret Message Eggs). I would recommend it but not as a "main" source for your magickal library...

B+ for Price -- same as the Valentines for size and content...I'd really expect to see a price of 9.95 or slightly less -- with a 14.95 list price and about a 12.00 price tag on Amazon...its' a tad higher than I'd expect or like to see!

Cannot wait 'til I can afford to get the other three in this series, despite my dislikes about this volume, overall I think it's a good buy... and frankly I'm hooked and must have the rest!! Look for my reveiws of them when I can afford to buy them!!

Well, it all started with the Halloween Treats book and now I'm hooked. This certain book has many yummy recipes for dinners, drinks, sweets, and even a cute bunny cake. There are also adorable and easy to do crafts for the kids, such as making a little chick and cute bunny finger puppets and you can't forget the dying of the eggs. The instructions are extremely easy to read and follow and the colorful photos of many of the projects are very helpful. I highly recommend this book, as well as the others 'treats' books. You won't be disappointed.