African Sunshine and Shadows is beautiful inside and out Among other rare abilities, Susan Jahme shows rather than tells. Before we know it we are in Africa. . .and we want to stay. If not forever, long enough to get to know her. Her people! Be prepared to grieve as well as celebrate. Because of Susan Jahme, Margaret Collingswood's The Poisonwood Bible and my latest find, Alexandra Fuller's, Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, I find myself hunting avidly for African histories. Which could not be more fitting for a poet. One of many debts we owe to the vast and fascinating and beleaguered continent is her strong and lasting influence on music and poetry. Susan Jahme lives in Africa, and she knows. Reading her carefully-crafted poems is both joy and eye-opener. Brava!!
Phyllis Jean Green {aka Phyllis J. D. Green}, Author/Editor/Educator...

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I think Susan gives very vivid descriptions of the African people and sites in her poems. I especially loved the one about the warthog that she calls "Africa's Clown". My favorite line there is where she compares him to a little gray jeep.
I understand she has another book about growing up in Africa and I hope I'm lucky enough to read it when it is published

She uses musical, picturesque words to paint Africa in your mind. The animals are real, the people will make you want to cry. The scenes are accurate and, in many poems, express the despair of the African people/culture. These poems will stick in your mind. And Africa's clown with the "flexible aerial" will make you laugh! I don't generally enjoy reading poetry, but I did enjoy this book. Try it!

While this book did allow me a glimse into a far away world (Mainly Africa)only some of the stories were truely worth reading. Most of them seemed to drag on and have no particular point. Even so, the environment and the dialogue were exceptional, and i truely learned about other cultures. There were only two stories in there i thought actually deserved four stars. One was "My First Lion Hunt." This story had plot, characters, humor, and a great ending. I would recommend just reading this story! I was a bit dissapointed in the lack of depth and plot in a few of the stories, and the terrible endings (they didn't seem very well thought out). However, for the most part this was an enjoyable and educational book. FOR FURTHER READING go the PEACE CORPS web site and read some of the stories there! Enjoy!

This collection of 13 short stories written by Peace Corps volunteers with advanced degrees and American ways of seeing social and economic life, is full of unexpected insights. As the stories unfold, one understands just a bit better why a fish farmer gives away most of his hard-earned first harvest; how school lessons reinforced with beatings are still considered the only way to make students learn in one village; how young tribal Africans, with good humor, put a young volunteer in his place with an elaborate version of a rural snipe hunt; why one older volunteer chose to remain permanently

Geraldine Kennedy's choices cannot be faulted. I don't know of any other volume that has captured the Peace Corps spirit as insightfully as "From the Center of the Earth."

As I sit today watching all the anniversary specials on TV commemorating the people who were heroes and those who were victims on that fateful day, Sept. 11th, 2001, I can't help but think that it is sad so relatively few people had the opportunity to read this book prior to that date. Although written for entertainment, and written very well, the story also included some incredibly accurate prognosticatons about how the terrorist's fixation on killing westerners leads them inevitably to act out their diabolical plans. Everything our leaders needed in the way of a wake-up call was in this book, including what now seems in retrospect, an eminently practical method of exterminating the fanatic organizers and directors of such horrible events. I applaud Carpenter for his insight and expertise, the flashes of brilliance in his writing, but commiserate with him that apparently the message did not get through in time, despite being couched within an extraordinarily imaginative adventure plot that should have enticed every lover of action-oriented fiction to read it. I found it by inserting a keyword search for books on terrorism and among all the dry semi-documentary non-fiction treatises, found this extremely satisfying jewel. One day Osama's fate may be finally verified and it will be interesting to see how closely it parallels the epilogue of Arabian Assignment.

This book is one ... ride. Written prior to the 9/11 attacks, the story interweaves Al-Qaeda (who had heard of them before that?) Osama Bin Laden, slavery in the Sudan, terrorism, courage in the face of unbelievable circumstances, and yes, even love. The amount of insider information regarding not only US national security, but how things really work in the rest of the world is amazing and mesmerizing. The author's knowledge of weaponry, intelligence, tracking, and African government is well-versed, knowledgable and seemingly hands-on (only the author knows for sure).

Although as a whole, I enjoyed this book greatly and, indeed, had difficulty putting it down, it was off to a slow start. The first 75-100 pages or so I found to be slow moving, weak, and with some very cheesy dialogue: a couple of rewrites would have tightened this up. However, having said that, after page 100 or so it picks up speed and does not slow down. Although there is a lot of gore and violence, some realistically depicted and some implied, it is not gratuitous and adds to the story, rather than detracting from it. For the squeamish, do not let this deter you.

... A timely write that is not just great action and adventure, but "Arabian Assignment" may be the handbook for the world we now live in.

Such coincidences don't happen often where a book comes out that includes a scenario where Osama bin-Laden executes a major plot against the United States and then such a thing really happens just a short time later. I loved the richnesss of this book, the way you felt sympathy, fear and pride with the young girl captured by the Sudanese slavers, the bravery she showed in her ordeal. I also admired the rescuers, two men from completely different age groups and backgrounds but who shared the values of integrity and courage. The humor shown by the various characters, including the villains, made them seem even more real. I was so gratified at the way our government dealt with the terrorists, including bin-Laden, that I actually said "Yes!" out loud, earning a strange look from my cat. I certainly felt this book was well done, the plot was complex but not murky or unrealistic, the action scenes were so vivid I felt I was there myself. The educational aspect of this book is not to be dismissed either, as it had a wealth of information about African and Middle Eastern politics and military activities. I am recommending this book to my women's reading club despite it's gritty violence and explicit sexual content, since those aspects are a natural and truthful part of life in that part of the world. A really great read!

the book was about when there was a drought and the cows did not
have anything to eat or to drink. The cows were sick and then a bird drops a feather and then it brought rain to kapiti plain. I liked the story because it was a good book and i understood it! I would reccomend it to anyone who likes indian tales

The PBS show "Reading Rainbow" featured this book; James Earl Jones read it; I fell in love with it and have been giving it as a gift to friends ever since. The gentle story unfolds line by line, with a tender rhythm that entrances: "These are the cows, all hungry and dry, Who mooed for the rain to fall from the sky..." Ultimately Ki-pat, who's watching his herd, brings rain to Kapiti Plain by launching an arrow into the sky. But the charm is in the telling. My 11-year-old still obliges me and lets me read it to him every once in a while.

I really love the book "Bringing The Rain to Kapiti Plain," by Verna Aardema. I have enjoyed it so much that I am planning to give it as a gift to my sister who has two young children, ages 4 and 7. This is a simple story about a cattle herdsman and his wish for rain on the African plain. The narrative structure of the story is based on a sequence of events that builds suspense and interest in children until the end of the story. This is a memorable story; it is very simple to understand and has a powerful musical quality that, as a young adult, I enjoy reading aloud. The rhymes and rhythms are so strong that all young children will be wide eyed with suspense and interest until the very end of the story. I particularly enjoyed one line where the author rhymes "fat" and "Ki-pat": "So the grass grew green/ And the cattle fat!/ And Ki-pat got a wife/ And a little Ki-pat-." This story is suitable for young children because its tone is happy. It deals with the relationship of humans with water, plants and animals. Scientifically, it is unconceivable, but 4- to 8-year-old children do not have to understand the facts of science. From this book, however, they will learn about the connection between humans and nature by enjoying the colored pictures. The pictures are so vibrant that it is easy to imagine the world of Ki-pat. As an adult, I enjoy this book because it describes the cycle of life in a very interesting way. Readers of all ages will see that human life is totally dependent upon nature, and the existence of human beings without nature is nearly impossible. Readers will also learn how the lives of humans and animals are dependent on rain; people and animals need each other and every part of nature for their perfect existence. I highly recommend Verna Aardema's "Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain" to anyone who has young children and is looking for a book that illustrates the relationship between nature and human beings. The colorful, detailed pictures will keep the children interested while they are learning about the connection between nature and human beings.

Caputo' Horn of Africa is a well-written novel in a style that emulates or aspires to Graham Greene or Joseph Conrad. I enjoyed the book, and admired the writer but the story never completely 'clicked' for me.
Horn of Africa is a psychological/military thrill that takes place in a fictional province of Ethiopia, Bejaya, that closely resembles Eritrea but is not really supposed to be anyplace. The story is told through a first person narrative of one of the characters, Charlie Gage. Gage is a burnt out journalist hanging around Cairo. He's recruited by a simultaneously creepy, pompous and shadowy CIA character to go along on a clandestine mission to Bejaya to assist local rebels against the Ethiopians. Gage is joined on his mission by an uptight, by the book Britain with local experience and a larger than life American, Jeremy Nordstrand, with a borderline psychotic sociopathic philosophy about life and their mission. Nordstrand is both philosopher (in a base way) and soldier, with obvious capabilities despite his slightly unbalanced philosophy. Soon enough, he becomes the group's real leader. Nordstrand first willingly descends into violence, testing both himself and his idea of society, and then slowly descends into madness.
Caputo has Gage set the tone of the novel in the first two pages: the reader knows that this is not a story with a happy ending, and that ugly things happen. This is both good an bad: I thought it simultaneously gave a great sense of foreboding throughout the novel, but when the dark events occur they were anti-climatic.
Also, Nordstrand wore his psychosis on his sleeve, as did the British character. I had a hard time believing that they would be put in a position of power on an important mission, rogue or not. The story was interesting but the base premise, in my mind, was a little hard to believe.
Anyway, I don't think you will be disappointed by Horn of Africa. Its extremely well written with deep characterizations, and an interesting story. Is it quite up to Conrad or Greene? Maybe on one of the formers' worst days... but its still a good novel and a worthwhile read.

Mind you, I said "novel" rather than "book" or "story." Caputo's best book, of course, is his memoir "A Rumor of War." His best story (actually, novella) is that incredibly haunting piece "Standing In" from the collection "Exiles."

As far as novels go--and I hate to say this, because I like very much what this writer stands for--Caputo has certainly written some stinkers. "Indian Country" is truly awful, "Equation for Evil" reads like a Grisham-type potboiler, and "DelCorso's Gallery" has a lot of clumsy writing and emotional posturing that mars a potentially good story. I haven't read "The Voyage" yet, but I have noticed that there are a considerable number of negative reviews.

If you read any of Caputo's fiction, read "Horn of Africa." It is a good "second-rate" novel. Edmund Wilson once called Jean-Paul Sartre a "first-rate second-rate novelist." If Caputo's work was as consistently good as "Horn of Africa" he might merit that title himself.

Caputo, like his contemporary Robert Stone (whose work, although superior, bears a great deal of similarity to Caputo's), is going for the Graham Greene-Joseph Conrad approach; dignifying the novel of adventure and action with philosophical depth and resonance. This novel is an exploration of the old "heart of darkness" theme (the idea that man, unfettered by civilization, tends toward brutality and atrocity), set in the deserts of eastern Africa (in a fictional country called Bejaya, which seems to be a composite of Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, etc.) No doubt, Caputo is no Conrad, but "Horn of Africa" at least comes close to the caliber of one of Greene's lesser novels.

The story, narrated by a troubled Vietnam veteran, Charlie Gage, concerns a group of mercenaries/thrill seekers who are hired to run guns to an Islamic mujahideen group fighting against the Ethiopians. Eventually they become involved in the actual fighting themselves.

The main character, who emerges as the real leader of the group, is Jeremy Nordstrand, a Nietschze-reading Great Blonde Beast who seems to be modeled after Jack London's Wolf Larsen (from "The Sea Wolf"). Nordstrand, having misread "Beyond Good and Evil", seeks self-liberation or self-definition through the violent imposition of his will upon those weaker than him--those fit only to be "slaves." Nordstrand views his adventure in Africa, far from the reach of laws and police forces, as an oppportunity to explore his darkest impulses with impunity. Charlie Gage, the Marlow-like character, watches horrified as Nordstrand plunges to the bottom of the moral abyss, and then lives to tell us about it.

This is a tightly-woven narrative with solid, rich characterization.

Caputo here gives us Conrad in a modern context--and in a way we of the Pepsi generation can understand. Herein we find supposedly civilized men thrust into a primitive situation; but then, what is war, anyway? Who are the savages? Lines drawn by rationalism are blown away by the winds of the moment. The story will grab you by the neck, and you will see man as he naturally is.

I liked the illustrations. I enjoyed how the illustrations were done on the computer and that they weren't colored. They really described the topic the picture was about. I'd recommend this book for Grade 4-5 girls. It was fairly easy to read except sometimes I had trouble pronouncing the African words(eg.Fuh deh, Jollof Rice). I liked the idea in the story that all Awo's relatives said "nobody quite like Awo" and her nickname was "Sweetie Awo". I also liked the idea of Christmas Huts and how most families live really close together. I enjoyed how Mrs.Trebi-Ollennu described the dresses and clothing of people on "Our Day". I also liked Awo's Grandma's attitude toward everything. This book really made me think about what Christmas in Africa is like. Over all it was great.

AUTHOR:Flora A. Trebi-Ollennu

Numerous African authors have endeavored to describe the African culture especially to anyone alien to it. In this book, Flora A. Trebi-Ollennu tries to describe how Christmas is celebrated in a particular part of Africa. Targeting elementary students, she addresses the extended family structure ( living in the same compound) to graphically illustrate the African adage that states: "it takes a village to raise a child." Thus, she focuses on relationships between father/mother, father/child, mother/child, parents/grandparents, grandparents/grandchildren, and relationships between uncles, aunties, cousins, nephews, etc., in the conglomerate family during Christmas season. Christmas, in Africa is very special. It is one of the most anticipating days of the year. As much as Africa tries to mimic the western commercially based end-of-the-year event, much emphasis is not on boxed presents but on new clothes.

Christmas day is a big day for children to surprise their friends and relatives their new clothes; women showing off their expensive jewelry and laces; and grandparents showing off what their sons and/or daughters have bought for them to mark this special day. It is a joyous day for the young and old alike as they parade their newly acquired attires. Sharing food to neighbors, relatives and friends marks the opening event on Christmas day. This is followed with a church service in the community church. After church, the big party begins in a carnival-like fashion. You will find various cultural dancers singing and dancing for joy. The party may continue to New Year's day.

Those interested in poetry and theater arts or drama, or even those interested in comparative studies of cultures would find this book valuable to read.

Francis Achus
(Teacher)

Every child that reads this book will surely fall in love with Sweetie Awo. For the most part, the way this little girl celebrates Christmas in Africa makes this book so fun to read. It is also a book for anyone who wants to learn about a typical african family life. For one, it illustrates the big family in Africa with grandparents, uncles, and other relatives involvement in every child's life.

I bought "Ripples from the Zambezi" thinking, okay, person-centered development from an Italian who did government-sponsored work in Africa, perfected his methods in remote western Australia, and now spreads his gospel in the United States. Ought to be an interesting read and a good 'little' story.

I was *way* off.

This is - in my estimation - a great book by a true visionary, Ernesto Sirolli. The two chapters in the middle of this book "The Esperance Experience" and "The Esperance Model Applied" are as good as business-writing gets. In Sirolli's world, the glass is neither half empty nor half full. Rather, the water is gushing over the top of the cup. The stories he tells here of enterprises 'facilitated' in the bleakest economic conditions imaginable...well, it can't help but turn you into an optimist.

But Sirolli goes further. He takes these experiences and imagines them on a grand scale where, as he says, "reciprocity matters." Calling it a "civic economy," he envisions a world benfiting from "generalized reciprocity, from people helping people to succeed, with the understanding that well-being of the community is to everybody's advantage."

Don't misinterpret these sentiments. Sirolli is a capitalist at heart, but he presses for a system "beyind capitalism...which enhances participation in the creation of wealth, not only in its accumulation."

How does he connect the dots from tiny Esperance to his grand vision for a civic economy? I urge you to read "Ripples from the Zambezi" to find out.

Anyone who cares about the economic future of Iowa should read "Ripples from the Zambezi: Passion, Entrepreneurship and the Rebirth of Local Economies" by Ernesto Sirolli. It might be the closest thing to an economic cure-all Iowa can find.

Sirolli is an Italian native who now lives in St. Paul, Minn. He's worked for 30 years in economic-development efforts in Australia, Africa and North America. He's started something called the Sirolli Institute, where they teach a concept called "Enterprise Facilitation." It's a way to provide help for Iowa's languishing rural and inner-city economies.

Under Sirolli's program, small communities are assigned "facilitators" who go around town finding people with ideas for starting new businesses. Sirolli has found that most potential entrepreneurs are passionate about their idea but lack management or marketing skills. Working confidentially with the potential entrepreneurs, the facilitator helps put together an elementary business plan, early financing and a marketing plan. The facilitator doesn't try to motivate anyone or dictate solutions, but only works to bring the right players together in a community to help them launch a small business on their own.
 
It looks to be a huge success wherever it has been tried. The National Commission on Entrepreneurship recently profiled the book by saying the boom economy of the 1990s transformed American society but left-behind many rural communities. "What can be done to develop prosperity in these so-called 'left behind' communities?" the commission asked. Traditional economic-development efforts may not be available to small towns.
 
"The remaining option for small communities is to build on their own existing assets and resources. But how can this happen? How can untapped resources be uncovered and exploited? A pioneering approach, called Enterprise Facilitation, may offer a potential solution," the commission said.
 
This oddly titled book describes how it all works. The title comes from Sirolli's early experiments in economic development in Africa, where the young developer was first sent by the Italian government to help poor villages. Ideas pioneered there worked in Western economies, too.
 
In Western Australia, Sirolli helped fishermen in a rural community sell fish to the Japanese sushi market that paid six times what the local cannery was paying for their catch. Another business was started smoking the fish for gourmet markets. Another new business made quality sandals from local kangaroo hides. Sheep farmers developed a processing business that turned worthless old ewes into valuable hides, wool and mutton kebabs.
 
In rural Minnesota, the Communicating for Agriculture folks hired Sirolli to work in one of the poorest counties in the state. Within four years, the effort had started 30 new businesses, helped 127 existing ones, retained 55 jobs and created 71 new ones. The county's work force was only 3,000.
 
In rural South Dakota, a broke cattleman developed a welding repair business in a small town. Within two years, it employed 27 people who processed $90,000 worth of orders a month.
 
These communities are no different from those in rural Iowa.

Sirolli's group has been hired by local banks, colleges or farm organizations, such as the Farmers Union or the Farm Bureau, to work in rural communities. More groups could do the same in their communities.
 
Sirolli writes that a facilitator working for one year in a community of 10,000 can see between 150 and 200 clients. From this group, between 25 and 35 will open a news business or expand an existing one. Between 25 and 60 jobs will be created with an economic impact of $5 million to $10 million a year. Imagine if that track record were repeated all across Iowa. It could be worth billions in just a few years.
 
Someone once estimated that more than 1,000 people in Iowa earn their living working for various "economic-development" programs. Imagine if just 50 of those people were retrained in enterprise-facilitation work and placed in Iowa's poorest counties and run-down inner cities.

It's clear Iowa has to try something new like this. All that we've been doing hasn't been enough. Things like organic grain processing, fish farming or welding shops aren't very sexy. But these sorts of businesses form the backbone of the Iowa economy. Hard-pressed rural towns and depressed inner-city areas are that way because they've lost many small businesses. They need to find ways to start some new ones. Sirolli's "Enterprise Facilitators" can help them do that.

This could be one of the most important books anyone in Iowa reads this year.

Many people wish to strengthen their local economies, reduce dependence on multinational corporations, build community by doing things, or achieve self-fulfilment through meaningful work. Yet these results are not coming easily or economically from the top-down, programmatic, and strategic approaches typically used by governments, economic development districts, and even by community groups, nonprofits, and advocacy organizations.

As E. F. Schumacher observed in Good Work, we cannot expect to raise the wind that will push us to a better world. What we can do is hoist a sail to catch the wind when it does come. Ripples from the Zambezi tells the gripping story of how Ernesto Sirolli learned to catch the wind of passionate, skillful, creative, intelligent, and self-motivated entrepreneurs--the acknowledged powerhouse of the economy as well as of social change.

Sirolli's experiences as a volunteer for the Italian government in Africa during the 1970s convinced him that "development" schemes were anything but. After absorbing Schumacher's Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered and the person-centered psychology of Carl Rogers, Sirolli put his radical, antidogmatic ideas to the test in rural Western Australia. Instead of trying to motivate people, he made himself available as coach and advocate for anyone who was serious about starting or expanding a business enterprise.

By treating economic development as a byproduct of personal growth and self-actualization, Sirolli was able to make a quantum leap in the effectiveness of business coaching, as well as create local miracles of economic development. He has devoted himself since to teaching committed civic leaders how to do what he has done.

"In every community, no matter how small, remote, or depressed, there is somebody who is scribbling figures on a kitchen table. If we can be available, for free and in confidence, to help that person go from the dream to establish an enterprise that can sustain that person and his or her family, we can begin to change the economic fortunes of the entire community."

The strategy that Sirolli teaches to communities often involves a committed volunteer local board, who hires an "Enterprise Facilitator" who is then trained by Sirolli. The facilitator does not initiate projects or promote "good ideas." He or she responds to the interests and passions of self-motivated people. Because no one has equal passion for production, marketing, and financial management, all of which are necessary for business success, and because people only do well what they care about doing, the secret of success and survival for a business of any size is to find people who love to do what you hate. "The death of the entrepreneur is solitude." The facilitator and the board, with networking, help people form teams to advance their idea.

This is a strategy that is always followed in large business, but remains unusual in small business, where most people are still advised to write business plans singlehandedly, and to get better at what they hate. For example, farmers and ranchers whose inclinations and personalities do not lend themselves to marketing are often told that they must learn marketing skills to get off the commodity roller coaster.

Sirolli's ideas are not just good. They are inspiring, inflammatory, they resonate--and they are based on 15 colorful years of failing and succeeding at hoisting the sail in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the U.S.

The underlying philosophy has to do with empowerment rather than control. "A shift from strategic to responsive development can only occur," Sirolli writes, "if we are capable of believing that people are intrinsically good and that the diversity, variety, and apparent randomness of their passions is like the chaotic yet ecologically sound life manifestations in an old-growth forest."

The message is that bottom-up, person-centered, responsive economic development works--and if well understood and led at the community level, it works better than anything else. When a community can help motivated people succeed, the motivation spreads. "The future of every community," Sirolli writes, "lies in capturing the energy, imagination, intelligence, and passion of its people."

Love story. Epic. Adventure. Travel essay. There are many aspects and genres Gilman's novel "Caravan" can be attributed to. Perhaps it is its emotional and physical range that makes the novel so appealing to so many readers. I myself had never read a Dorothy Gilman novel but knew of her series of books, such as "Nun In The Closet" which I began to read shortly after finishing this book.

The number of books I read every year has slowly been dwindling due to unseen circumstances, but of the books I have read this year, I am most grateful that I chose to read Caravan over them all. Gilman's style and prose, though well researched and pleasant to read, might lack a certain degree of complexity, but she makes up for it with a plot and cast of interesting characters that is unrivaled, say that of the classic epics.

Yet, what I found so alluring and intoxicating of Caravan, was the scenery and montage she depicts so aptly, that I too crossed the desert at night. I was there in Tripoli, smothered by the smells and masses of people. And I finally returned to England, to reminisce the adventures, places, and people from my life in Northern Africa.

Gilman is able to transport the reader in a way that is magical, allowing you and I to feel the sorrow, joy, adventure, and love felt by Lady Treal.

My greatest dissapointment ... finding The Nun In The Closet mediocre in comparison to the wonderful story of Caravan.

Dorothy Gilman's Mrs. Pollifax mysteries have delighted me. I am late in coming to them. They have been out for years. But I love the pattern of suspense and the new cultural treats that are in store for her readers. I always learn in a Gilman book. And her sense of respect for other ways of living, of relating to God and one another, enrich the tales she gives us.

I recently gleaned the shelves of Half-Price Books and found a few of her titles I had not read, among them was Caravan. And it is a true jewel of a tale.

One feels a bit like this character, a carny child sent to finishing school, is historical, a veritable Unsinkable Molly Brown, and yet the story, as told in retrospect by Lady Teal, encompasses only a small part of a very rich life. And what a vibrant small part that is!

Caressa's survival in the stark desert life of the early 1900's is impressive, and Gilman's finesse in presenting a foreign world and its pecularities make for suspenseful reading beyond the norm. One thing that Gilman never does is shy away from the brutal and the violent realities of her character's situations.

In the primitive 1914 imprisonment that Caressa faces among the conquering Tuareg tribesmen, there are an amazing set of obstacles that just shouldn't have been lived through. No Indiana Jones character could out do Caressa's challenges.

Most beautiful of all are the endearing friendships that she makes with the unusual likes of a fellow slave, a black boy, Bakuli, and earlier with Mohammed, her Arab host in Tripoli.

Delightful endings wrap up Gilman's books with happily ever after as their due. But one is not disappointed with Lady Teal's surprise to readers. In fact, one should have guessed such an ending would be in store.

Typical Gilman in some ways, but very nice escapist reading overall. Brava!

If you like being captivated and lured away to exotic locales for breath-taking escapades, this book is for you. Most of the novel is set in the years just prior to World War I, and a lot of the plot takes place in Northern Africa--a strange and wonderful and sometimes terrible place, as author Dorothy Gilman paints it. The American heroine is strongly etched and unique and her character development fascinating as she manages to overcome a series of hair-raising adventures that would have felled a woman of frailer spirit. In sheer power of storytelling, this novel makes one think of the novels of Rider Haggard (She, King Solomon's Mines). It's adventure on a grand scale.

C. S. Lewis said that by talking incessantly about it, our age has managed the unimaginable feat of making sex boring. One would add that by making sex casual, we have made the the central act of communion between a man and a woman emotionally barren and spiritually empty. The two young Africans whose letters shape this book have a lesson about love and hope for us, medicine for a cynical, aimless, and jaded people.

Walter and Ingrid Trobisch were a missionary couple in Cameroon (a former German and then French colony in West Africa) in the 1960s. Francois, a young African man they had known from the mission school, writes to Pastor Trobisch for advice on what to do after being fired from his job.

Along the way, he meets and falls in love with Cecile, a clever and courageous young Christian woman whose family demands a bride price of $400--an impossible fortune for an unemployed youth.

"I Loved a Girl" consists of excerpts from the private letters of Francois, Cecile, and the Trobisches, which tell better than any description the struggles they had in overcoming their situation and the way in which their submission to Christ's will in their lives led them to joy.

This is a profoundly moving book, and an inspiration to all of us not to lose the mystery of Eros, in its right place at the heart of Christian marriage, and not to settle for less than the best God has for us.

C. S. Lewis said that by talking incessantly about it, our age has managed the unimaginable feat of making sex boring. One would add that by making sex casual, we have made the the central act of communion between a man and a woman emotionally barren and spiritually empty. The two young Africans whose letters shape this book have a lesson about love and hope for us, medicine for a cynical, aimless, and jaded people.

Walter and Ingrid Trobisch were a missionary couple in Cameroon (a former German and then French colony in West Africa) in the 1960s. Francois, a young African man they had known from the mission school, writes to Pastor Trobisch for advice on what to do after being fired from his job.

Along the way, he meets and falls in love with Cecile, a clever and courageous young Christian woman whose family demands a bride price of $400--an impossible fortune for an unemployed youth.

"I Loved a Girl" consists of excerpts from the private letters of Francois, Cecile, and the Trobisches, which tell better than any description the struggles they had in overcoming their situation and the way in which their submission to Christ's will in their lives led them to joy.

This is a profoundly moving book, and an inspiration to all of us not to lose the mystery of Eros, in its right place at the heart of Christian marriage, and not to settle for less than the best God has for us.

this book... is a treasure. a wealth of inspiration for persons who are waiting for real love. i wish every teenager in the world could read this book-- i think premarital sex would become almost rare. Trobisch paints a picture of what a loving relationship should be, and what it can be when it is held together by God. he gives the best arguements, in humble, simple, but poignant examples, of why waiting until marriage is the only way that sex can be enjoyed as it was meant to be. this book always reminds me that love is so precious because it takes such commitment, patience, and sacrifice. the very opposite of what society today will tell you. hopefully this Christian classic will again find its way to the hands and hearts of people young and old.

Two years ago I read the Global Witness report "Conflict Diamonds" and watched the documentary "Cry Freetown". Both of these were quoted as sources by Greg Campbell in his book "Blood Diamonds". Two years ago I was so deeply shocked by what I read and saw that throught the foreign press I have been following the sitution in many African areas (Sierre Leone, Angola, Liberia, Democratic Republic of the Congo) affected by what are called "Conflict or Blood diamonds". In Sierre Leone, like many other African countires, the conflict was driven by greed and the wanting to control the diamond mines and wealth that these stones bring. Greg Campbell's book is what history is about. How these terrible conflicts devestate the lives of innocent people and devestate countries. As Campbell points out it is important to realise the consequences of these conflicts extend worldwide. It is ironic how a commodity societies view as so precious can produce something so hideous in the humam nature that at first it hurt to much to believe that it could possibly be true. But this is the truth that Glen Campbell recounts in his well researched and heartbreaking book "Blood Diamonds".

I have always questioned the materialism of friends and family after years and years of seeing DeBeers on Tv, magazines, and newspapers senselessly pounding their marketing into my head. I've never been one to go along with the crowd, and I've met some Sierra Leonians and heard their stories of how they'd escaped. I quote this book whenever someone asks me about the jewelry I wear--the ever-present, "Oh, BUT YOU don't have any diamonds." I refuse to give up my political beliefs (enormously illustrated in this book, take a hint Family and Friends!) in order to wear a shiny piece of carbon. A diamond is forever? So is death, mutilation, bloodshed, and amputation. Mr. Campbell, you've done the entire Western world a great service by exposing all in this book. This is a pulverizing read, impossible to put down. You will never look at the words "engagement ring" and feel the same ever after reading this book.

I lived in Sierra Leone for quite a number of years and hence had the opportunity to experience what it was like to live sorrounded by poverty and diamonds (the Kono area). Unfortunately for me and my family, security reasons forced us to leave the country in the nineties.
Nowadays I live in Madrid, Spain. I'm a doctoral student and my research area is the diamond industry of Sierra Leone and its implications on the underdevelopment of Sierra Leone.
Mr. campbell's book has been very valuable to me because of the information it contains (for my disertation) and because it has sadly/happily brought me back to the country that I love most in the world.
Thank you Mr Campbell!
I strongly recommend the reading of this book.