Salida Book Review

Small Island: A Novel, by Andrea Levy. Andrea Levy's award-winning novel, Small Island, deftly brings two bleak families into crisp focus. First a Jamaican family, including the well-intentioned Gilbert, who can never manage to say or do exactly the right thing; Romeo Michael, who leaves a wake of women in his path; and finally, Hortense, whose primness belies her huge ambition to become English in every way possible. The other unhappy family is English, starting with Queenie, who escapes the drudgery of being a butcher's daughter only to marry a dull banker. As the chapters reverse chronology and the two groups collide and finally mesh, the book unfolds through time like a photo album, and Levy captures the struggle between class, race, and sex with a humor and tenderness that is both authentic and bracing. The book is cinematic in the best way--lighting up London's bombed-out houses and wartime existence with clarity and verve while never losing her character's voice or story. --Meg Halverson

The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain, 1649-1815, N. A. M. Rodger. The Command of the Ocean describes with unprecedented authority and scholarship the rise of Britain to naval greatness, and the central place of the Navy and naval activity in the life of the nation and government. Based on the author's own research in a dozen languages over more than a decade, it describes not just battles, voyages, and cruises but also how the Navy was manned, supplied, fed, and, above all, how it was financed and directed. N. A. M. Rodger provides convincing reassessments of such famous figures as Pepys, Hawke, Howe, and St. Vincent. The very particular and distinct qualities of Nelson and Collingwood are illuminatingly contrasted, and the world of officers and men who make up the originals of Jack Aubrey and Horatio Hornblower is brilliantly brought to life. Rodger's comparative view of other navies—French, Dutch, Spanish, and American—allows him to make a fresh assessment of the qualities of the British. 24 pages of illustrations.

The Art of Star Wars, Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, by Jonathan Rinzler. Packed with breathtaking visuals created by a team of world-class artists, The Art of Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith reveals an essential element of the climactic finale of the Star Wars film saga. For years, George Lucas’s handpicked group has labored feverishly to bring Episode III’s unforgettable creatures, exotic worlds, and mind-bending action to life. Together, they created character drawings, costume designs, droids and starships, planetary vistas, animation sketches, matte paintings, and animatics–every type of illustration imaginable. This extraordinary volume unveils the best of their efforts: never-before-seen images–storyboards, models, production sketches, and ILM-generated art–that chronicle the fascinating journey from first draft to theater screen.

How to Be Idle, by Tom Hodgkinson. ISBN 0060779683. With advice, information, and reflection on such matters as lying in, long lunches, the art of the nap, and how to skive, How to Be Idle gives you all the inspiration you need to take a break from your fast-paced, overworked life. From the founding editor of the The Idler, the celebrated magazine about the freedom and fine art of doing nothing, comes not simply a book, but an antidote to our work-obsessed culture. In How to Be Idle, Tom Hodgkinson presents his learned yet whimsical argument for a new universal standard of living: being happy doing nothing. He covers a whole spectrum of issues affecting the modern idler -- sleep, work, pleasure, relationships -- bemoaning the cultural skepticism of idleness while reflecting on the writing of such famous apologists for it as Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr. Johnson, and Nietzsche -- all of whom have admitted to doing their very best work in bed. It's a well-known fact that Europeans spend fewer hours at work a week than Americans. So it's only befitting that one of them -- the very clever, extremely engaging, and quite hilarious Hodgkinson -- should have the wittiest and most useful insights into the fun and nature of loafing.

What We Ache For: Creativity & the Unfolding of Your Soul, by Oriah Mountain Dreamer, from HarperCollins, ISBN 0060011963. In her previous books, Oriah Mountain Dreamer challenged us to live with passion and honesty, to embrace the true, fallible, human self. Now she calls us to delve deeply into our creative selves and offer our creative work to the world. The creative process is as essential to human nature as spirituality and sexuality, she says, and in fact all three are deeply intertwined. This eloquent and practical book invites us to embrace the urgency and necessity of creativity, whatever our medium.

The I Ching for Writers: Finding the Page Inside You, by Sarah Jane Sloane. ISBN 1577314964. The ancient oracle system of I Ching has provided guidance to wisdom seekers for 5,000 years. Now writers seeking ideas and motivation can take advantage of these ancient predictions, recast by Sarah Jane Sloane into relevant suggestions for contemporary writers. Each of the I Ching's 64 hexagrams, interpreted by Sloane from years of study as well as from comparisons of over fifty translations, offers commentary and direction for what the future will hold for the writer. In addition to this oracular system of advice, the book outlines the five stages of the writing process - brainstorming, planning, generating a first draft, revising the draft, and polishing - and provides a clear introduction to the philosophy of the I Ching. Inspirational quotations, writing prompts, solutions to common writing problems, and over 270 activities, exercises and suggestions are also included in this wonderful exploration of the creative process.

The Singing Life of Birds: The Art and Science of Listening to Birdsong, by Donald Kroodsma. ISBN 0618405682. Kroodsma, professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, shares what he's learned from more than three decades of recording and analyzing the songs of birds in this intriguing, instructional book. Using "sonagrams" (also known as sound spectrograms, they plot a sound's frequency over time), he illustrates the songs of 30 birds, from the familiar American robin to the exotic three-wattled bellbird of Costa Rica. He considers how birds acquire their songs (some species learn them; others have their tunes "encoded somehow in nucleotide sequences of the DNA"), what makes the songs unique, what functions they serve, and how they've evolved. No two species sound alike, of course, but groups of birds within each species have their own dialects, and individual birds have their own repertoires as well. A CD of the bird songs discussed is included, as are descriptions of the recording equipment Kroodsma used and explanations on how to make similar recordings and "sonagrams." Kroodsma is a warm, encouraging guide to the world of birdsong, and his enthusiasm is contagious. Illus. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Multi-Orgasmic Woman: Discover Your Full Desire, Pleasure, and Vitality, By Mantak Chia and Rachel Carlton Abrams, M.D., from Rodale. ISBN 1594860270. The Multi-Orgasmic Woman is a for-women-only, intimate journey into female desire and sexual satisfaction, guided by every woman's dream doctor. With its help, you can not only reach your true sexual potential but also discover a more joyous and healthy way of living in your body. The book begins with a self-assessment to help you discover your own unique sexual potential. It then leads you through a series of exercises that will allow you to experience both multiple orgasms and increased wellness and vibrancy, ending with a life-cycle guide that illustrates the changes in a woman's sexual needs over her lifetime.

The exercises in these pages will help woman who do not orgasm regularly to have them, women who are not multi-orgasmic to become so, and multi-orgasmic women to deepen and intensify their sex lives. This whole-life approach to sexuality will show you that profound sexual fulfillment arises not from the number of orgasms you have, but from allowing your sexual and emotional lives to be a source of infinite joy and boundless vitality. you will realize that your relationship to your body, your desire, and your pleasure are essential to your overall well-being, your satisfaction, and every aspect of your life.

For the millions of women who have never experienced the pulsating pleasures of orgasm, and for the millions who have, The Multi-Orgasmic Woman combines the secrets of ancient Eastern sexual practices with the best of Western sexual knowledge. Women of all ages, whether partnered or not, can benefit from the time-tested exercises in this book and learn how to not only orgasm any time they want -- but to orgasm as many times as they want and to prolong those orgasms into expanded full-body orgasms.

But orgasms are just the beginning. The authors, a Taoist master and a medical doctor, reveal an ancient secret that's only recently gained the support of modern science: we can live truly healthy lives only if we connect to the source of our overall well-bring -- our sexual energy. In step-by-step exercises, the authors guide you in harnessing that sexual energy in a way that nourishes and enriches the rest of your body, your mind, and your soul.

Authors:
Master Mantak Chia is the world's best-known teacher of the Taoist arts, from Tai Chi to Taoist sexuality. He is the author of the best-sellers The Multi-Orgasmic Man and The Multi-Orgasmic Couple as well as the self-published classics Taoist Secrets of Love and Healing Love through the Tao. He lives in Thailand and teaches in the United States and around the world.

Rachel Carlton Abrams, M.D. is a family practice physician who specializes in complementary medicine as well as women's health and sexuality. The coauthor of The Multi-Orgasmic Couple, she lives in northern California with her husband and three children.

Morning, Noon, and Night:, Living the Creative Life, by Judy Collins, from Jeremy P. Tarcher Inc., ISBN 1585424153. Take an enthralling peek into the creative mind of a woman known for her songs, books, and paintings. Beloved singer and songwriter Judy Collins describes her approach to the creative process and breaks down each day of that process into morning, noon and night, giving readers insight into how to stay creative throughout the entire day. Charming anecdotes combined with practical instruction offer inspiration for every artist in every creative discipline, as well as for every Judy Collins fan!