Unearthing Seeds of Fire: The Idea of Highlander

Unearthing Seeds of Fire: The Idea of Highlander
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Highlander- adult education

A Tale for all Americans

We could all stand to have more Myles Hortons and Highlanders in the world...

Educational Empowerment

Book Review - Unearthing Seeds of Fire
Unearthing Seeds of Fire: The Idea of Highlander
Frank Adams
Manufacturer: John F. Blair Publisher
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Customer Reviews:

Highlander- adult education.......2006-12-17

Unearthing Seeds of Fire: The Idea of Highlander by Frank Adams with Myles Horton

Frank Adams first heard of the Highlander Folk School in 1959, when he was working as the secretary of the Local 219, American Newspaper Guild, AFL-CIO (Adams p. xi). He was looking for help with the union cause, and although clouded with controversy the Highlander Folk School was recommended. Later Adams again was intrigued by Highlander and their involvement with the civil rights movement. After being educated at Goddard College, a college that shared some ideas and ties with Highlander, Adams began his formal quest to understand Highlander. In order to truly understand the school Adams worked for the school. Documented in a recent newsletter from the Highlander School, Adams and his wife were honored at the 2005 Homecoming for their work at the school and Adam's publication of Unearthing Seeds of Fire: The Idea of Highlander quoted as "still one of the best books about Highlander's history" (Newsletter p. 5).
Unearthing Seeds of Fire: The Idea of Highlander follows the life of Myles Horton, the schools founder, and his quest for adult education. Myles grew up in a poor Southern family that believed strongly in education. While a student in 1927 Horton was sent to organize bible study schools in Ozone, Tennessee. Horton realized that the traditional bible education was not working for the people of Ozone. They needed a form of adult education that would teach them valuable lessons for their everyday life. It was here that Horton learned that "people knew the answers to their own problems" and only needed help in organizing and sharing their ideas (Adams p. 7). Although a start for his ideas, Horton still had many questions about education.
Horton continued to search for answers and moved back to New York City where he met many important leaders, and continued to develop his own ideas on life. During this time Horton became aware of his social conscious. In a specific example Horton was in favor of the teacher Scopes that was being persecuted for teaching evolution. This is when Horton "realized that he had taken a step away from the mores of his own society" (Adams p. 7). Also in his quest for the type of adult education that would help the people of Ozone, Horton traveled to Denmark to study the Danish Folk Schools that had helped the Danes rise above poverty. One of the basic principles of the future Highlander Folk School was framed after the Danish schools, and based on the ability of teachers not to teach material, but to "teach a capacity to learn" (Adams p. 23).
In 1932, along with fellow recent graduates John Thompson and James Dombrowski, Horton started the Highlander Folk School in Grundy County, Tennessee. The main idea for the school was to gather together members from the community and figure out what they needed to learn. Soon it became apparent that one of the biggest problems facing the poor Southerners was poor working conditions and wages. This started Highlander on a nearly twenty year span of continuous work for the development of strong leaders to battle the oppressive companies. The school educated students on leadership skills, union organization, and strike organization, along with other valuable skills the students believed they needed. Working with unions didn't put the school in a favorite light with many people, an issue that Highlander faced over much of its existence. Myles Horton was arrested in 1933 for the first time facing charges of "coming here and getting information, and going back and teaching it" (Adams p. 33). Later on in life this was merely a joke for Horton, after decades of battling with the law and superior powers.
In the fifties Highlander began to shift from working with unions, to working for civil rights. From the beginning Horton and his followers didn't support many of the current racial biases in the South. Horton "hoped to bring black and white students together" and after 1944 most workshops at Highlander were interracial (Adams p. 90). Dr. George Mitchell was quoted in saying "the next great problem is not the problem of conquering poverty, but conquering meanness, prejudice, and tradition," which became the next goal of Highlander (Adams p. 101-102). Throughout the next few decades Highlander focused on civil rights through education and organizing the civil rights leaders. Many influential civil rights leaders like Rosa Parks, and Dr. Martin Luther King were associated with Highlander.
One of the key aspects of civil rights work for Highlander was in educating the African American population. Previously education had been used as a control for minorities (Stubblefield, Keane p. 120). Through working with leaders in their own communities, Highlander supported literacy programs for underprivileged African Americans. Just as the bible schools hadn't worked for the citizens of Ozone, neither did many of the current literacy programs work for the African Americans. Learning to read children's literature in a primary education situation did not appeal to adults, they didn't see the importance of their work. By developing programs where the adults learned how to read the Constitution segment required for their right to vote, participation soared.
Reading Adam's account of the Highlander Folk School was very interesting. Adams's truly understood the school, and believed in it. As he stated in the introduction the book was bias, Adam supported the school. I also agree with many of the ideas and concepts expressed in the book. Adult education is very important not only for traditional skills, but for overall social growth. In some cases the student has a better grasp on the necessary material than the teacher. I recommend the book to anyone interested in social growth and adult education. In more ways than one education is a means to power.

by Carrie Olsen

Works Cited

Adams, F. (1975). Unearthing Seeds of Fire: The Idea of Highlander. North Carolina:
John F. Blair.

Biggs. C. (2005, May-October). Homecoming 2005. Highlander Reports, p.5

Stubblefield, H. W., & Keane, P. (1994). Adult Education in the American Experience:
From the Colonial to the Present. San Francisco: Josey-Bass.

.

A Tale for all Americans.......2006-12-04

Unearthing Seeds of Fire: The Idea of Highlander (Adams, 1975) is an engaging narrative describing the birth, struggles, and successes of the Highlander Folk School from its beginnings in the early 1930s through the retirement of its founder, Myles Horton, in the early 1970s. Set in the backcountry of Tennessee, the unconventional school is not about textbooks or teachers or personal enrichment, but rather the school promotes meaningful content created by participants, informal workshops, and community empowerment.
Horton, having grown up in the impoverished Appalachian coal communities of eastern Tennessee, was moved to establish Highlander after becoming disillusioned with education which had little relevancy to the every day struggles of the poor. Recalling a summer administering a vacation Bible school program on the Cumberland Plateau, Horton said, "I couldn't put this in words...but such education failed to connect with their lives" (p.2). After college in both the South and the North and a trip to Denmark to visit the Danish Folk Schools, Horton learned not only to put his ideas into words, he put them into action. In the fall of 1932 Horton and a colleague opened the Highlander Folk School in Grundy County, Tennessee. The new school was dedicated to "social change and community action" (Merriam and Brockett, 1997, p. 57). Highlander would, "get behind the common judgments of the poor, help them learn to act and speak for themselves, [and] help them gain control over decisions affecting their daily lives" (Adams, 1975, p. 24).
Highlander was run as a residential school where those suffering from social and economic injustices could come and voice their problems, work through solutions together, and create plans for community action upon returning home. As Adams details in his book, Highlander began its career empowering Southern workers to unionize for better pay and working conditions. Later Highlander proved instrumental in empowering Southern blacks to press for civil equality. The school's method of bringing people with like problems together and facilitating their efforts to understand and combat their problems proved to be highly successful; however, such methodology, as it resulted in structural change, proved to be controversial. Those advantaged by the status quo frequently threatened the school, its personnel, and its participants, and, moreover, denigrated its technique. Highlander was condemned as being communist, socialist, and anti-American.
Historically adult education programs for the lower classes and minorities in America had been instruments of social control, whereby individuals such as Native Americans were taught to be 'civilized' farmers or African Americans were taught 'useful plantation skills' (Stubblefield and Keane, 1994). Too, the focus of adult education for all groups had generally been the improvement of the individual. As far back as the days of the early Republic, adult education was primarily viewed as a means to personal enrichment or personal advancement (Stubblefield and Keane, 1994). By the 1920s however, the idea of adult education as a path to social reform and social change--an idea championed by the likes of Edward Lindeman and Joseph Hart--had gained recognition and was an oft discussed topic during Horton's college years in the North (Adams, 1975); in the end, what Horton's professors preached, Horton, through Highlander, practiced.
Unearthing Seeds of Fire is an unassuming book, written in both a matter-of-fact and intimate manner. Adams' style is straightforward and uncomplicated, seeming to evoke the very atmosphere of Highlander itself. Yet, the reader is also introduced to an endless stream of individuals and events, giving the reader a sense of the breadth and depth of the personal connections made at Highlander. Perhaps most remarkable to the uninitiated, is the history of the Southern labor movement and the fight for civil rights which the book provides. It is inspirational to learn that one man who put his vision into practice was able to establish an alternative institution which proved to have such a positive and profound effect on the lives of so many people and on the very conscience of a nation.
The story of the Highlander Folk School should be known to all Americans, for it is a tale of the struggle for justice and equality by the most maligned in our society. It is a story of hope and empowerment. Educators, activists, social workers, community advocates, and those interested in marginalized groups or part of marginalized groups have much to learn from the educational methodology developed and followed at Highlander. Unearthing Seeds of Fire provides a solid introduction to the ways and means of Horton and Highlander.

References

Adams, F. (1975). Unearthing seeds of fire: The idea of Highlander. Winston-Salem, NC: John F. Blair, Publisher.

Merriam, S. B., and Brockett, R. G. (1997). The profession and practice of adult education: An introduction. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Stubblefield, H. W., and Keane, P. (1994). Adult education in the American experience: From the colonial period to the present. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

We could all stand to have more Myles Hortons and Highlanders in the world..........2006-11-18

In Unearthing Seeds of Fire: The Idea of Highlander, Frank Adams describes the many successes and struggles of Highlander Folk School, brainchild of Myles Horton. Following years of education and research to open a school that would help improve the lives of poor country folk, Horton began Highlander in 1932 in Grundy County of Tennessee. It operated under Horton's notion that students "would learn to act and speak for themselves and would learn to gain control over decisions affecting their daily lives" (Adams, 1975). Horton believed this was the way to rid America's social structure of poverty and racism.
According to Adams, Highlander Folk School had a mission of "what ought to be" rather than "what is." Horton believed people will always work to improve the future and have dreams and took a vested interest in education that could impact both these positively. The Highlander education model was an ongoing process for its Southern, poor adult students that tapped into cooperative or collective, yet independent thinking under the realm of democracy, brotherhood, mutuality, and united social action to solve problems. Highlander fit itself into its students' culture, allowing students to feel comfortable sharing thoughts with teacher and peers while learning.
After describing the unthinkable living conditions of New York City's tenements in How the Other Half Lives, Riis proposed education as a solution to breaking the poverty cycle of those victimized by the tenements (Riis, 1997). Adams' book about Highlander Folk School shows that the right form of education can break the cycle of poverty and inequality, though not without challenge and strife.
Just as in the tenements of New York City described in Riis' book, many of the South's poor country folk had terrible working conditions and low, unfair wages, if work could be found. Highlander Folk School helped the South's poor find a means to improve their lives at home and work using a theme of communication, such as group singing and peer group discussions. Students, through direction of their own learning, found ways to organize unions and effectively strike against employers when necessary. Highlander's role in helping organize unions led to improved working conditions, and therefore livelihood, for many of its students as well as their coworkers.
In the early 1950's when labor unions in the South seemed to have accomplished as much as they would with Highlander Folk School, the board decided it was time for the school to move its focus to the civil rights movement. Highlander's first African American students wanted to learn so they could register to vote and conquer prejudice. The school room was in the back of a grocery store with like teachers and students. These students had previously been in classrooms in which children's chairs, tables, and books were used, immediately turning them off.
Through Highlander, many African Americans learned to read by referring to material that was immediately relevant to their purpose as adult learners. They studied the U.S. Constitution, sang, and discussed issues surrounding their lives. Much of their education at Highlander taught them to be self-directed learners. Self-directed learning can lead to autonomy and promote emancipatory learning and social action (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999), which Highlander's poor adult African American students much needed. Rosa Parks exemplified the autonomy gained from Highlander's self-directed learning groups when she refused to give up her bus seat for a white person in 1955 (Adams, 1975). She had learned that many others were in her same position and realized she could take a stand.
Due to the empowerment Highlander Folk School gave to its poor or minority students and its unique educational methods, many outsiders opposed the school and attempted to close its doors. Government officials and local police forces were often part of the opposition, which at times was violent. In their crusade for equality, many students were injured or murdered, not to mention the emotional turmoil they experienced. Highlander itself was raided several times and went through many court battles. Horton went to jail a few times defending his quest for a successful form of education to improve the lives of the South's poor and oppressed. Horton said that Highlander could not physically be closed because it was an idea, not an institution, just as the book's title refers to it.
Adams states that Highlander did not achieve its original goal to educate for economic and political equality for the poor and powerless, as these inequalities continue to exist today in America. However, Highlander was successful in making large strides toward this goal and educating many individuals who have in turn fought for equal rights or improved working conditions (1975).
Horton stated, "Learn from the people, start their education where they are" (Adams, 1975). Unearthing Seeds of Fire gave me hope that learner-centered education can be successful for making positive change in the world. It was intriguing to read about Horton's methods of teaching and his perspective of how education fits into American life and social change. Benjamin Franklin would have been a proponent of Horton's school, as it promoted a true democracy, just as Franklin himself worked to create throughout his life (Isaacson, 2003).
Adams' description of the struggles and strife Highlander went through to have its presence makes one wonder how something so logical, practical, and beneficial could have been opposed. The struggles Highlander experienced reinforce just how inequitable the balance of power is between various classes and races, largely as a result of governmental politics and economics. We certainly could stand to have more Myles Hortons and Highlanders in the world.
This book should be read by anyone who is interested in learning about alternative methods of education or ways to a true democratic society. Anyone interested in learning about the labor union or civil rights movements of the twentieth century would benefit from reading this book as well.
References:
Adams, F. (1975). Unearthing Seeds of Fire: The Idea of Highlander. Winston-Salem, NC: John F. Blair.
Isaacson, W. (2003). Benjamin Franklin: An American life. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Merriam, S. B., & Caffarella, R. S. (1999). Learning in adulthood: A comprehensive guide (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Riis, J. (1997). How the other half lives: Studies among the tenements of New York. New York: Penguin Books.
Stubblefield, H. W., & Keane, P. (1994). Adult education in the American experience: From the colonial period to the present. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Educational Empowerment.......2006-11-04

Throughout the history of America, man's inhumanity to his fellow man has been consistently present. However, some men are born with a spirit of compassion, a need to help others, and a willingness to enhance changes in people's lives. One of these men, Myles Horton, nurtured a dream and a desire and embraced an idea. An idea reinforced by years of concerted study, times of exploration, and moments of soul searching. This was a simple idea but a difficult task; help poor adults educate themselves. The beginning of Myles Horton's dream and the fulfillment of his desire started with a community school in 1932, at Ozone Tennessee. The story is shared by author Frank Adams in a book named Unearthing Seeds of Fire; The Idea of Highlander. The reader encounters information about the educating and learning of adults as well as the complexities and diversity of life and living.
The community school aptly named Highlander Folk School (a Highlander was an Appalachian), served the needs of a poor Grundy County populace (Adams, p.28). The reason for the existence of Highlander Folk School, the educational empowerment of poor adults, often led to the struggle for social change. These struggles included the social movements of unions and civil rights. Valuable lessons were learned during these controversies by Myles Horton and his staff. Highlander School learned their purpose was not labor organization, but rather labor education. Further experiences with labor and unions provided insight about the educational methods of Highlander and the people they empowered, "the education at Highlander had to recognize the fundamental ways by which people live, and change as those ways changed" (Adams, p. 71).
Highlander School provided support in the battle for civil rights. Educational initiatives empowered black individuals toward freedom and democracy. An example of the Highlander's programs included citizenship schools taught and run by blacks, where students learned necessary skills of literacy and arithmetic. The struggle for civil rights was emphasized by Myles Horton as he carried a single message across the South, that black people must decide their own destinies. The programs at Highlander illustrated both the achievement of this message and the significance of whites in a supportive role (Adams, p. 120). Additionally, the controversy over Highlander's educational assistance provoked the wrath of racist Southern segregationists. These men of hate and opposition forced the closure of the Highlander School. However the idea of Highlander lived on and the school reopened in another location.
The Highlander School still survives today. Offering the same simple message of hope; "learn from the people, start their education where they are" (Adams, p. 206), and still supports an ideology, a "process through which people could find purposeful and democratic unity with others to solve their collectively defined problems" (Adams, p. 207)..
A simple message that evolved from an innovative and utilitarian idea enabled Highlander School to plant the seeds of fire. The fire was kindled and burnt through the hearts of adults as they educated themselves to overcome illiteracy, futility, frustration, and discrimination. Accordingly, the ideals and purpose of Highlander grew from experience, adapting and changing in order to help people educate them selves.
Assuredly, Highlander School concentrated on the needs of people and included focused methods of action. The result was progress of individuals along with effective adult learning. Examples included a program of workers education intent on empowering social change in the lives and workplace of adult students, the educational advancement of adults in their fight for their civil rights of freedom and democracy, and the meetings of poor adults in discussion groups affirming Highlander Appalachian Self-Education Program (Adams, p. 187). The Highlander School enabled adults to take control of their education. This control helped lead people toward a better life. Certainly then, the ideals and the methods of Highlander achieved an important purpose; the educational empowerment of individuals and the provision of adults with the necessary skills and knowledge to pursue social change.
Assuredly, the book, Unearthing Seeds of Fire; The Idea of Highlander, illustrates important principles of adult education in action. In addition, the importance of lessons imparted by the Highlander School about life and living cannot be underestimated. The idea of Myles Horton, the basis for Highlander School, is supported by forerunners of adult education. One of these men providing background was Eduard Lindeman , who previewed the purpose and accomplishment of Highlander School as he wrote "adult education will become an agency of progress if it's short lived goal of self improvement can be made compatible with a long term experimental but resolute policy of changing the social order" (Lindeman, 1961, p. 166).
The messages of the Highlander School, their processes of adult education, and the fulfillment of Myles Horton's idea are successfully conveyed by author Frank Adams. A masterful and detailed narrative with a story like approach reveals the intense and meaningful experience. Additionally, Adams developed a background and experiential knowledge by working at Highlander School while he wrote the book. This stimulating saga of the struggles, trials, tribulations, and joys of life is an enjoyable and rewarding reading experience. The interesting, stimulating, and beneficial story line along with the lessons about life assuredly touches the heart and soul of the reader. And undoubtedly, the information, the experiences, and the answers brought forth about ideas and processes concerning adult education, make this book not only invaluable, but a necessity for the adult educator, the student of adult education, and anyone interested in adult learning. Unearthing Seeds of Fire; The Idea of Highlander added to my knowledge of adult education, and as a benefit, it imparted meaningful lessons about life and living.

References
Adams, F. (1975). Unearthing seeds of fire; the idea of highlander. Winston-Salem, NC:
John F. Blair Publisher.
Lindeman, E.C. (1926). The meaning of adult education. New York: New Republic Inc.

Book Review - Unearthing Seeds of Fire.......2006-10-21

In the book, Unearthing Seeds of Fire: The Idea of Highlander, a few themes were dominant throughout the entire reading. First and foremost was the theme that adult education needs to meet people where they are. Myles Horton believed in veering away from education as was known in this time period and taking it to the people. "Most of the institutions Horton visited offered only what he came to call `national education,' an education not adaptable to peculiarities of the Southern mountains." (p. 15) In other words, "national education" was not working for all people, not all people fit into the same mold. So, taking education and morphing it into something the Southern mountain people could use was important for Horton to undertake.
The second theme of the book was that adult education is a collaborative effort. Through the Highlander example, Horton was able to meticulously plan for outcomes but acted as more of a facilitator than a teacher-leader. He wanted answers to questions and learning to happen through the participants interacting with one another. In his earliest experiences in education "Horton had begun to bridge the chasm between `knowledge' and `practice'; he had glimpsed learning arise from the questions of concerned citizens..." (p. 10)
Finally the theme of people empowerment through education was significant in the mission of Highlander. Even though Myles Horton was accused numerous times of having Communistic motives through Highlander, it is so much more important to recognize the outcome of empowerment that Horton was able to show through educational opportunities offered. Highlander's statement of purpose says it best. "Our purpose is deliberately to use education for the realization of certain social and cultural values. We do not consider other education any less propaganda, because its teachers are ignorant of the fact that they are supporting an unethical status quo, than our approach which consciously seeks to bring about a more just social order." (p. 194)
As the previous themes are analyzed, connections can be made between them and education and society of today. It is important to note that today's adult education takes on so many forms and happens in so many places. The idea of Highlander was a pacesetting one in its day, unbeknownst to Myles Horton, I think. So many places of employment will bring educational opportunities to the workplace for the convenience of the employees. Or, adults will seek out educational opportunities because they are conveniently located close to home or close to the heart.
Secondly, when adults today are allowed the opportunity to collaborate and exchange, the learning outcomes will increase in volume. Putting adults in a lecture-type setting and expecting them to learn can be detrimental to the learning process. Involvement and engagement are very important to ensuring learning takes place, at any age level.
Finally education at Highlander helped to empower people to act. Good education today as well should empower people to act equipped with what they have learned through a specific learning opportunity. Adult educators can accomplish this empowerment idea by taking the advice from Highlander, "learn from the people; start their education where they are." (p. 206)
Reading this book was refreshing for me to see that this sort of education began so long ago and is still alive today. Prior to reading this book, I had never really thought about how this model of adult education began and what the thought process behind it was. Now knowing that the idea began in a place called Ozone and that the Highlander concept came from a trip to Denmark, makes me appreciate the thought-process that went into the creation of such an idea and has manifested itself today into what I know as adult education practice.
Through this book, I believe that those pursuing any avenue in adult education could benefit. This is an amazing account of the success of tasking risks to be a pioneer in educational reform, or thinking about education in new ways for the benefit of the learner. Myles Horton was not afraid to try new things, meet his audience where they were comfortable and withstanding criticism all for the benefit of the learner. What a great example for those of us in education to follow!

Average customer rating:

Where in the sam hell is Forge of Virgins?
A little hard to get into...but it gets there.
Heartwrenching & Rewarding
What a fantastic story!
SEVEN STARS, or OFF THE FRIGGIN' CHART

Seeds of Fire
Karin Kallmaker , and Laura Adams
Manufacturer: Bella Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

THEY FOUND EACH OTHER in their dreams. Autumn Bradley used the magic in her hands to save Ursula Columbine from the darkness that hunts for her. They have only met in dreams of a dark turbulent past, and the Ursula in Autumn's arms doesn't recognize her. Autumn only knows that it is up to her to hide the defenseless Ursula. Darkness searches for them. Light hunts for them as well. Their nightmares are only beginning.

HER HEART KNOWS only a curse.

Darkness has spilled into Kelly Dove's life. She will use all her strength, no matter the cost to anyone, for what her dreams seem to promise: Ursula hers again. Her dreams demand secrets she scarcely knows she possesses, but she will give them up and all she can learn -- past and future -- for love and vengeance.

THE BATTLE LINES are drawn among themselves.

Taylor St. Claire risked faith and spirit to save Ursula but failed. No longer cleric, no longer priestess, Taylor's bitterness threatens to consume her completely. From the ancient music that haunts them all comes a clue in the search for Ursula, and Kelly seems only too eager to help. But the face of Ursula's captor is not the woman Taylor expects.

IN THEIR DREAMS, no one is who they seem.

Customer Reviews:

Where in the sam hell is Forge of Virgins?.......2005-08-08

I thoroughly enjoyed Seeds of Fire, just as I enjoyed the first book in this trilogy, Sleight of Hand, but where, oh where, is the third book, Forge of Virgins? Karin Kallmaker has released (by my count) four books with Bella since Seeds of Fire, while Laura Adams, her fantasy alter ego, sleeps. Wake up, Laura! I'm ready for the conclusion to the Tunnel of Light trilogy!

Note to Bella Books: for heaven's sake, stop insisting that Ms. Kallmaker release at least one romance per year and let Laura Adams finish her Tunnel of Light series. Her readers -- okay, I -- am growing impatient and weary. You cannot leave this cliffhanger hanging on its cliff for three solid years. It ain't right and it ain't fair.

A little hard to get into...but it gets there........2004-03-07

I was interested in more of the magical aspects depicted
in the blurb. The story starts out quite well and finishes
satisfying. But in the middle there is this torpor situation
that lost me..

Heartwrenching & Rewarding.......2003-06-14

A strong warning to would-be readers: begin with the first book
of the sequence: Sleight of Hand.

This wonderful book continues the story of a dozen women,
who are introduced as we go along, and prove to be pivotal
along the way. Two of the most identifiable characters are
the richly portrayed Ursula, and the mischievous and lusty
Hilea, who are respectively reincarnations of St Ursula, and
Abbess Hildegard of Bingen. [If you like Hildegard, this is
probably a trilogy you shouldn't miss.]

The idea of a set of present-day individuals re-treading paths
they have tread in the past is not new. However, Karin
Kallmaker raises the device to attain new heights of poetic
power. The constant theme of the story is the tension between
the conflicting desires of the women, and their transforming
love for each other, and the focus of their existence, Ursula,
which is sometimes a battle, but at othertimes in blissful alignment.

The mythic tone of the narrative comes from the fact that the
women remember their numerous previous encounters only
imperfectly. They sometimes seek someone or something they
only know vaguely, from dreams. So their discovery of each
other is alway new, and ever more poignant. And sometimes they
proceed on a path despite painful intuitions about its futility.

In places, though, the author is juggling up to three
time layers at once, with the action in each affecting the
outcomes in the others, and we lose sight of the cause-and-
effect factor, the motivation, the triggers. Should Kelly
pull, or push? Why? Why should A shoot at B? (Was I too
sleepy when I read that page? ;) In once sense, their
motivations leak between the layers. On the other hand, some
of them are more aware of the other layers than others, making
it nearly impossible for the reader to make sense of the action
except that it was horribly and tragically necessary.

In spite of its minor weaknesses, I can honestly say I enjoyed
the two books very much, and I pulled out my Canticles of
Ecstasy (since I do not have 11,000 virgins) and wallowed in the
wonderful feeling of exaltation both the book and the music
Of Hildegard Von Bingen evoke.

There is a scene in book one, when the women are together, that
sets a mood of great innocent delight. It is like the kiss of
an angel, and I keep reading in the hope that such bliss will
be found again, perhaps in the final book of the trilogy!

Arch

What a fantastic story!.......2003-02-03

It's almost always true that second books or trilogies are never as good as the first or third, but Laura Adams has broken that rule -- along with a bunch of others in writing this "lesbian" fantasy story.

Where are the weakly-developed characters, the vanilla plots, the good and true goddess loving women who overcome everything by the power of love? Or who solve all their problems by being wizards of technology and science? Not in this book!

The Tunnel of Light Triology features women who are strongly developed, deeply flawed, plagued by their darker impulses and not at all sure that love will help them overcome an evil that has hunted them for 1500 years. As they live out the patterns of pursuers and pursued, of lovers and enemies and seekers and finders, they lose memories of their past knowledge and awareness of where their moral lines must be drawn to survive.

This is a great series with a full range of human emotion -- not just what lesbians are "supposed" to feel. These women can hate each other, and hurt each other, and love each other -- sometimes in ways so erotic that this easily qualifies as romance.

If you like fantasy, lesbian, gay, straight or otherwise, you will like this triology and this middle book. Laura Adams (an alter ego of Karin Kallmaker) must be doing something right -- unlike book 1, this middle book has been nominated for a Lammy Award. Like the rest of her readers, I am on the edge of my seat for book 3.

SEVEN STARS, or OFF THE FRIGGIN' CHART.......2002-12-18

It has become apparent to me that Karin Kallmaker is possibly the greatest American writer alive today. Put aside the ever-present need to slap a sexual orientation qualifier in there -- it is unnecessary and limiting. Kallmaker has moved into a starfield inhabited by the great tale tellers.

For example, throughout this story Kallmaker is using phrasing structures reminiscent of Gertrude Stein. A descriptive phrase is repeated several times in a paragraph to emphasize a message, while at the same time Kallmaker twists the phrase to a new meaning with each placement. Kallmaker is not stealing Stein's technique, for it is definitely altered, morphed into Kallmaker's own skillful means of bringing revelation to the reader. In another example of great craft, Kallamker constructs a flow of unusual adjectives and rich but economical description. She uses sentences like brushstrokes in a Japanese waterpainting, rendering suggestion steadily until she leaves in one's brain snapshot-like scenes dripping with medieval history and emotional nuance. This is brilliant use of language to tell a tale. The woman is creating stuff that is stunningly above what anyone else is producing right now. Anyone on the Lambda Literay Award Panel paying attention?...P>In this book, a middle story, Kallmaker has extended her scope and her technique to a new level. A skilled craftswoman and bard has evolved into an artist. She is doing more in this book than telling a story about friends, power and magic; she is holding up a mirror and reflecting back to us ourselves. She is playing a harp so sweetly and compellingly, that we are charmed into listening as she tells us how ugly we can be.

This complex, multi-leveled plot deftly succeeds in raising the curtain on the unappealing human acts we all engage in and hide: the non-stop jockeying for advantage, the subtle pressing of our own self-serving agendas on others, the wronging of friends while we lie to ourselves and anyone who will listen that we are only serving the common good. This is a relentless and graceful study of the casual worst of the human soul.

For me, there were parts of this story that were hard to face, for interlaced in the storyline, I recognized glimpses of my own darkness, my own treachery and glib shabbiness, my own fear of what may come. And yet I was fascinated. During the course of the past few days, everywhere I went, I had the book tucked in a coat pocket or under my arm. I was slipping it out and reading whenever I had to stop and wait for anything for more than a minute during the course of my day. This is a gem of a read, a gift to all voracious readers from a splendidly gifted imagination.

Perhaps this book is also the dark before the glorious light -- created for contrast against the bright promise of what book three, The Forge of Virgins, might be in this intriguing trilogy. Treat yourself to an encounter with masterful writing: read this series.

Seeds of Fire: China And The Story Behind The Attack On America
Average customer rating:

A book that exposes the betrayal of Israel against America.

Only Cold Warriors and conspiracy theorists need apply

Not exactly about an attack on America

not what I expected

Too Bad there was no 0 Star Option
Seeds of Fire: China And The Story Behind The Attack On America
Gordon Thomas
Manufacturer: Dandelion Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The New World Order Exposed

Hegemon: China's Plan to Dominate Asia and the World

Unrestricted Warfare: China's Master Plan to Destroy America

The Coming Conflict with China

Red Dragon Rising: Communist China's Military Threat to America

ASIN: 1893302547

Book Description

Seeds of Fire: China and the Story Behind the Attack on America reveals why Pollard was sentenced to die in prison after he had been found guilty of being the greatest traitor in the history of the United States. Seeds of Fire shows how, compared to Pollard, the damage done to U.S. security by others spying against the U.S. pales into significance. Pollard was a civilian senior analyst in the most secret Field Operational Intelligence office in Suitland, Maryland. The post required top security clearance because Pollard had access to highly classified files in the entire U.S. intelligence community. Seeds of Fire documents how a powerful lobby WITHIN the United States has lobbied to have Pollard freed. It names the lobbyists. They are headed by Harvard Law School Professor, Alan M. Dershowitz, once Pollard's attorney. Seeds of Fire quotes the attorney thus: "There is nothing in Pollard's conviction to suggest that he had compromised the nation's intelligence-gathering capabilities or betrayed worldwide intelligence data." Backed by such powerful sources, Israel has now begun a new campaign to persuade the Bush Administration to set Pollard free. But CIA Director, George Tenet, as Seeds of Fire reveals, is leading the opposition to such a move. Tenet is not the only one who has joined in the battle over Pollard's future. Four retired US admirals, one who had served as a director of US Naval Intelligence, have circulated a paper within the Washington intelligence community that bluntly states Pollard's release would not only be "irresponsible to the highest degree, but also a victory for the clever public relations campaign waged for the worst traitor this country has had." So far such trenchant views have remained within the intelligence community, but a number of senior members of the CIA, FBI and other agencies who were involved in assessing the damage Pollard did, have begun to say they will go public on what they know the extent of that damage to be. Though reluctant to be named "for the moment," one FBI agent told Gordon Thomas: "Pollard stole every worthwhile intelligence secret we had. We are still trying to recover from what he did. We have had to withdraw dozens of agents in place in the former Soviet Union, in the Middle East, South Africa and friendly nations like Britain, France and Germany. The American public just don't know the full extent of what he did." Ironically, Pollard in his youth had made no secret of his support for Israel. The youngest son of an award-winning microbiologist, his family and friends have described as his near obsession with "the power of Mossad." At Stanford University he said he was "waiting for the day when Israel will call upon me." Nobody took him seriously; many thought he was a fantasist. For that reason the CIA rejected his job application, dismissing him as a "blabbermouth." But the agency also saw that he had an extraordinary gift as an analyst. This talent allowed Naval Intelligence to overlook his other faults. His former chief, David Muller, admitted that "despite his stories about his visits to Israel when he claimed to have met with Mossad, he was a genius when it came to breaking down complex data. He was a one-off in every sense of the word. With hindsight we all should have listened to the alarm bells ringing. Pollard had a drug habit. He had huge debts. He lived well above his salary. In every sense he was a prime target for a foreign intelligence service to recruit." No other US spy in modern intelligence has generated such controversy as Jonathan Pollard. Now forty-seven years of age and incarcerated in a maximum security jail supposedly for the rest of his life, no one publicly still knows the full extent of the damage he did after he was recruited in November 1984 to spy for Israel. The man who did the recruiting was Rafi Eitan, Mossad's legendary spymaster who captured Adolf Eichmann. Pollard was to be an even greater triumph for Eitan and Israel. Eitan is one of the few who knows the full extent of the top-secret materials Pollard passed over. But within the Israeli intelligence community it is accepted that Pollard also provided a clear picture of U.S. intelligence gathering methods in the Middle East. For over eleven months Pollard had raped US intelligence. His trial was told "over 360 cubic of paper was transmitted to Israel." Yitzhak Shamir, then Israeli's prime minister, had personally approved the recruiting of Pollard. Pollard was arrested on November 21, 1986, outside the Israeli embassy in Washington. He elected to plea-bargain rather than face a full trial. The US government agreed with alacrity: no state secrets would have to be revealed, especially about the extent of Israeli espionage. After the plea bargain, the Justice Department supplied the court with a sworn declaration signed by Caspar W. Weinberger, the Secretary of Defence, which detailed by categories some of the intelligence systems that had been compromised. In prison Pollard divorced his first wife Anne (who had been sentenced to five years imprisonment for being his accomplice), and converted to Orthodox Judaism. In 1994 he married, in prison, a Toronto schoolteacher named Elaine Zeitz. Esther Pollard, as she was from then on known, became the spearhead of the campaign to have her husband freed. Now she has been enjoined by Benyamin Netanyahu. "Much of what he knows is still in his head. And some of what he stole is still in use by us," "Seeds of Fire" reveals. "The reasons the key was thrown away to his cell is because until he died he would be useful to Israel. They would just have to show him something and he would know how to extrapolate from it. A man like that doesn't lose his touch because he is locked away." Yet the lobbyists are now arguing that Pollard has to be seen within the context of the 'big picture' in the Middle East," says Gordon Thomas. A former FBI officer who had been involved in tracking Pollard told the author he would have no objection to a deal over Pollard "providing Israel listed everything Pollard had stolen and what they have done with the materials in terms of all their friends in Beijing". He conceded that such a hope was forlorn. Far more realistic he thought, was that one day soon Jonathan Pollard might yet get to use the Israeli passport that spymaster Rafi Eitan had provided him. Certainly the old spymaster is more than ready to welcome Pollard to Israel. "It would be really nice to see Jonathan again and discuss old times," Eitan has told Gordon Thomas.

Customer Reviews:

A book that exposes the betrayal of Israel against America........2004-02-13

This book explores the case of Johnaton Pollard, an evil man who spied on behalf of our supposed ally Israel...against the United States. It tals about how Pollard stole vital US. Secrets and then attempted to undermine the brave members of the US intelligence community. The fact that incompetent Israeli leaders such as Benjamin Netanyahu, and former Mossad chief Rafi Eitan support this man is a travesty, and proves they are traitors who are NO friends of America. According to the book Netanyahu even tried to blackmail Bill Clinton to get Pollard out of prison. But America has made clear that Pollard will rot in Jail for the rest of his life as well he should.

Only Cold Warriors and conspiracy theorists need apply.......2003-02-10

I read this book in the store and, though attracted by the radical premise, finally decided not to buy it. The reasons are two: firstly, Thomas seems to have had much first-hand and second-hand insight into the Tiananmen tragedy, but I seriously doubt that he understands Chinese culture and society enough to understand the origins and consequences of the event. For example, a Chinese doctor who plays a major role in Thomas' Tiananmen narrative obviously has his first name mistaken for his family name, and his daughter is then given her father's name as her family name. If Thomas had really known and interviewed these people personally (as he claims), one suspects he would not have made such a blunder.

Secondly, as many reviewers have pointed out, Thomas' book mainly consists of accounts of the Chinese army's violent actions in Tibet and at Tiananmen - accounts sure to fire the emotions of American readers and obscure the fact that Thomas' book was actually supposed to prove that China diabolically instigated Al-Qaeda to destroy the World Trade Centre. Thomas does not in any way succeed in this latter aim, since he hardly devotes any space to the supposed evidence. Yet this conspiracy theory remain the book's stated selling point. I find this unscrupulous and dishonest in the extreme.

The reason this book has received numerous rave reviews is because lots of right-wingers and conspiracy theorists in this country WANT to hear such things about China. It gives such moral clarity to their world to have a clear foe again. Perhaps Al-Qaeda is still too secretive, its resources too limited, to fill that role. But China does not hate America. What the Chinese resent is being demonised by Americans one day and despised the next. If you want to change China, the first thing you can start to do is see its people as human beings, like Chinese everywhere else. Today's China is no longer the China of Tiananmen. What it will become depends on how it sees its place in the world. And no American is going to help that by refusing to buy "Made In China" products (as if that were possible). All that will ensure is that millions of Chinese factory workers will never get to own the products that they made with their own hands.

Not exactly about an attack on America.......2002-12-07

Don't let the three stars fool you, as Seeds of Fire is, I believe, essential reading for those who are interested in the consequences of reform in hostile nations. It's also key to understanding the brutality of some nations, in particular those that practice communism, in their pursuit to quell the masses. Nobody can be certain that their rights (in this case the student's constitutional right to demonstrate as per the Chinese constitution) will forever be secure; no matter where they live.

However, the deduction of two stars was for the following reasons. First, this book is NOT a compilation of reasons why some believe that China will go to war against the US by 2015. That is the premise under which the book is promoted, but it simply isn't true. Not only does the author not provide a modicum of reasoning as to why China would even want to do this, but he tries to demonize China by pointing to its domestic policy in the handling of the student uprising to claim that it is indicative of potential conflict in the realm of foreign policy. Clearly, how a nation handles the affairs of it's own people is going to differ from how a nation handles the affairs of citizens from other countries. Basically, if you are looking for a book which discusses the threats of China on the US in the possibly near future, you had better look elsewhere.

Next, the book is a little disjointed. It can basically be broken into three parts:
1) The sale of enhanced PROMIS to foreign countries by Mossad agents to steal national secrets.
2) The Student uprising of 1989 in Tiananmen Square and the resulting massacre
3) A Pentagon report on the status of many nations (not just China) dealing with their potential threats to the US.
Unless the author had some highly sophisticated and transcendental writing style which I simply could not comprehend, the three sections, in my opinion, are loosely joined.

There were some aspects about the Tiananmen massacre which were left out that I feel would be of interest to the reader. One example is that many of the leaders, such as Wang Dan and Wuer Kaixi, profited by all the publicity by becoming successful businessmen.

Overall, the story is captivating, but I wonder how much of it really happened and how much is the author filling in holes that resulted in interviewing many different people who each had their own, and sometimes conflicting, history of the events leading up to the Tiananmen massacre.

not what I expected.......2002-09-26

Read the back of the book first and then start from the beginning! Seeds of Fire has nothing of what it promises to the reader. I was thoroughly dissappointed and am sorry I was taken in by the title. Seeds of Fire took me six months to get through because it was not at all about China and the Attack on America, it was about Tiananmen Square! I give this book a YAWN! Tianamen Square is an interesting subject yet I did not bargain for it. Don't buy it unless you want to know about the assault on China's citizens by it own communist government. VERY SAD!

Too Bad there was no 0 Star Option.......2002-07-29

This man is a crank!! Thomas would have been hard pressed to write a worse book than the one he did on the Mossad but this dog easily surpasses his earlier work in bad writing, terrible research and altogether inanity. Once again Thomas spins fantastic tales that are impossible to prove. I mean please, the CIA using a gyroscope to induce mental illness, who would believe such nonsense, except maybe Thomas. Then the part about the Chinese teaching the Israelis to make bio-weapons, I mean hello, I think bio-tech in Israel is little more advanced then in China. At best this book is a bad work of fiction, where were the editors? Save your money, this book belongs on the rack alongside the UFO and Bigfoot books; then again that sells those books short. This book is in a class all by itself. REALLY BAD!

Average customer rating:

Semillas de odio (Seeds of Fire)
Gordon Thomas
Manufacturer: Suma de letras, Punto de Lectura
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Conspiracy Theories | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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Book Description

At the time of the September 11th attack, a Chinese delegation landed in Kabul to sign a contract, supported by Osama Bin Laden that equipped the Taliban with missiles and air defense. In return, the Chinese obtained the promise of a seize fire on northwestern China. Few hours later, the director of the CIA received a "red alert" message from Mossad headquarters in Tel Aviv, about the possibility of China using Bin Laden as a means to attack the United States. In Seeds of Fire, Thomas reveals first hand information on this astonishing issue based on investigation of thousands of CIA and FBI documents.

Description in Spanish: En el mismo momento del ataque del 11 de septiembre a Estados Unidos, una delegación china aterrizaba en Kabul con el objeto de firmar un contrato, auspiciado por el propio Osama Bin Laden, que dotaría a los talibanes de misiles y de sistemas de defensa antiaéreos. A cambio, los chinos obtenían la promesa de terminar con los ataques en las regiones de la China noroccidental. Unas pocas horas más tarde, George Tener, director de la CIA, recibía un mensaje del cuartel general del Mossad en Tel Aviv, codificado como "alerta roja", sobre la posibilidad de que China utilizara a Bin Laden para atacar Estados Unidos. En Semillas de odio, Gordon Thomas nos revela información de primera mano sobre esta apasionante cuestión a partir de la investigación de miles de documentos de la CIA y del FBI recientemente desclasificados.

FIRE IN THE SEED
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FIRE IN THE SEED
Fay Martin
Manufacturer: Olive Leaf Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0957878109

Fire Seed
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Fire Seed
Pamella Lee
Manufacturer: Hats Off Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Anthologies | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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Inspirational & Religious | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1587365286

Book Description

Gratitude is the theme running through Fire Seed, a book of inspirational poetry by newcomer Pamella Lee. Hoping to motivate us to think about the spiritual connections in our lives, she speaks of finding the things that are different and special about ourselves, sharing them with others, and expressing thanks for the gifts that others share. When we learn to connect with whatever we believe is more than us, we open ourselves up to inspiration and answers that can change our lives and the world.

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History Labour Night Fire Sleep
John Seed
Manufacturer: Pig Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Average customer rating:

Intelligent historical fiction with the juice of real life.

Seed of Fire
Virginia Warner Brodine
Manufacturer: Intl Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0717807223

Customer Reviews:

Intelligent historical fiction with the juice of real life........1997-07-03

Seed of the Fire is a superbly conceived and written portrayal of the conditions faced by immigrant Irish canal laborers and their families on the Ohio frontier of the 1820s. Dan and Mary Griffen emerge from the pages as real people fighting to keep their family together in the face of powerful disintegrative forces. A host of other vivid characters surround Dan and Mary, bringing texture and depth to this fascinating tale of an almost primal struggle to overcome brutal working conditions, the forces of nature, uncaring and manipulative bosses, and epidemic disease. At the heart of the story, with significance for our own time as well, is the desire for a solid family existence integrated warmly and naturally into community life, but there is no taint of proselytizing to be found in this work.

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