"On the Road of Life" is the third in a series of books called Bramble Days. Set in the 60's and early 70's, "On the Road of Life" follows Alex Sonnes west to life in Los Angeles where he meets many interesting, complex, and different people. The '60's were times of vast changes, life had challenges not thought of in childhood and adventures far from imagined. Those changes and challenges led to many new plans for life in the '70's. Thanks to new friends, family met in new and surprising areas, Alex was on a road of not just adventure, but an education in life.
Life on Bramble Road is the first in a series of books called Bramble Days. Set in 1950, Life on Bramble Road is a slice of life reflecting the day to day memories of Alex Sonnes as he looks back at a year of changes that would greatly effect his life and that of friends and family on Bramble Road. It was a time of sharing, when people gathered to celebrate life both in good times and sad. America was changing, new ways were beginning, but some of the old ways still seemed to promise to live on forever.
The Journey to the West, volume 3, comprises the third twenty-five chapters of Anthony C. Yu's four-volume translation of Hsi-yu Chi, one of the most beloved classics of Chinese literature. The fantastic tale recounts the sixteen-year pilgrimage of the monk Hsüan-tsang (596-664), one of China's most illustrious religious heroes, who journeyed to India with four animal disciples in quest of Buddhist scriptures. For nearly a thousand years, his exploits were celebrated and embellished in various accounts, culminating in the hundred-chapter Journey to the West, which combines religious allegory with romance, fantasy, humor, and satire.
"Ties that bind" is the second book in a series called Bramble Days. Set in the last half of the 1950's, it covers the higher school years and adventures of Alex Sonnes, his family and friends. It was a time when much was changing, roads and towns were re-arranged and new dreams began. It was an exciting time to be a young person, filled with music and high hopes for a better tomorrow for all.
Daredevil Bobby Bramble has often been warned that one day he will crack his head open, and when he finally does, his brain escapes and runs around town as if it has a mind of its own.
Federal Twist is set on a ridge above the Delaware River in western New Jersey. It is a naturalistic garden that has loose boundaries and integrates closely with the natural world that surrounds it. It has no utilitarian or leisure uses (no play areas, swimming pools, or outdoor dining) and the site is not an obvious choice for a garden (heavy clay soil, poorly drained: quick death for any plants not ecologically suited to it). The physical garden, its plants and its features, is of course an appealing and pleasant place to be but Federal Twist's real charm and significance lie in its intangible aspects: its changing qualities and views, the moods and emotions it evokes, and its distinctive character and sense of place. This book charts the author's journey in making such a garden. How he made a conscious decision not to "improve the land", planted large, competitive plants into rough grass, experimented with seeding to develop sustainable plant communities. And how he worked with light to provoke certain moods and allowed the energy of the place, chance, and randomness to have its say. Part experimental horticulturist and part philosopher, James Golden has written an important book for naturalistic and ecological gardeners and anyone interested in exploring the relationship between gardens, nature, and ourselves.
What an achievement! It is a major work. The letters taken together with the excellent introductory sections - so balanced and judicious and informative - what emerges is an amazing picture of William Sharp the man and the writer which explores just how fascinating a figure he is. Clearly a major reassessment is due and this book could make it happen. —Andrew Hook, Emeritus Bradley Professor of English and American Literature, Glasgow University William Sharp (1855-1905) conducted one of the most audacious literary deceptions of his or any time. Sharp was a Scottish poet, novelist, biographer and editor who in 1893 began to write critically and commercially successful books under the name Fiona Macleod. This was far more than just a pseudonym: he corresponded as Macleod, enlisting his sister to provide the handwriting and address, and for more than a decade "Fiona Macleod" duped not only the general public but such literary luminaries as William Butler Yeats and, in America, E. C. Stedman. Sharp wrote "I feel another self within me now more than ever; it is as if I were possessed by a spirit who must speak out". This three-volume collection brings together Sharp’s own correspondence – a fascinating trove in its own right, by a Victorian man of letters who was on intimate terms with writers including Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Walter Pater, and George Meredith – and the Fiona Macleod letters, which bring to life Sharp’s intriguing "second self". With an introduction and detailed notes by William F. Halloran, this richly rewarding collection offers a wonderful insight into the literary landscape of the time, while also investigating a strange and underappreciated phenomenon of late-nineteenth-century English literature. It is essential for scholars of the period, and it is an illuminating read for anyone interested in authorship and identity.
