Product Description
A gutsy woman's tale of marrying the Chief Mate of a mammoth containership and sailing the seas with today's modern mariners. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Great Review of America's Once Great, But Now Shrinking, Merchant Marine
Books about today's American merchant marine are practically non-existent.In this book, Nancy Allen, wife of a chief mate, focuses on the individual members comprising the crew of a giant container ship.

In addition, she manages to relate many facts about
merchant shipping including those related to economics
and maritime labor unions.

This book is an easy and fun read, a reflection of the author's experience as a frequent contributor to yachting magazines.

Yet other enjoyable morsels are when the author quotes sea-faring experts of another century such as Richard Dana ("Two Years Before The Mast"). Much about the business of sea-faring seems to be eternally consistent.

A good personal narrative, but not flawless
I found this book strangely unfocused: part romance, part travelogue, part history, part sociology, and several other things as well. Nancy Allen is a skilled writer and observer, but it didn't seem to me that the various parts of this book always knitted together well.

For a 'honeymoon,' I came away knowing some of the other crew members of the M/V Sea-Land Endurance better than I knew Nancy's new husband Bob, the Chief Mate. For the rest of the 'adventure,' the author relates what she saw, in her role as 'supernumerary, ' with style and immediacy. But the picture of the life of the modern merchant mariner still felt somewhat incomplete.

High points of the book were Nancy's descriptions of foreign ports; her enlightening discussions with female crew members and with Keith, the radio operator; her visits to the stern of the ship (in the midst of a storm) and the engine room; and her discussion of issues of foreign flagging, unions, and the impact of regulation. The typographic decision to print excerpts from Nancy's journal in italics was somewhat annoying: page after page of italicized type can get hard on the eyes.

Personally, I thought the foreword by former Maritime Administrator Albert J. Herberger was pretty much useless -- though it could have been his kiss-up to Bill Clinton that turned me off. But then, who expects much from forewords anyway?

Despite its weaknesses, this was not a bad read, and I recommend it for anyone interested in true-life sea stories and the American merchant marine. At its best, it's highly personal and told with great style. Despite the hyperbolic dust jacket copy, it's not quite 'a saga of the sea and the modern mariners who sail it.' It's more like a conversation with a friend than a latter-day Melville. And there's nothing wrong with that.

A maritime love story I couldn't put down.
I thank Nancy Allen for writing her story about life on an American Flag cargo vessel.Her husband, Bob Allen is stuck in the same position my father was in during the 60's - that is - sailing as a Chief Mate with aMasters license.It must have been difficult for Nancy to see the time anddedication her husband puts in while on-board ship and the frustration hemust feel being responsible for almost everything and not being in charge. Bob Allen is in love with the sea and Ms. Allen followed the man she lovesand wrote a great story about the places and people that make up the worldof a disappearing US Flag Merchant Fleet.

Well written look inside the world of todays supercargo ship
I have been involved with the sea for almost thirty years. I read Fair Seafarer and learned quite a thing of two about life on an American flagged efficient cargo vessel.Nancy, the author, told the tale of her voyage and avoyage through the Merchant Marine service with great style. It is a bookthat you might even read wothout putting it down. Believe me, she is righton target with the problems that plague American crews. Shares with us thejoys of the voyage from her unique perspective as the Chief Mates wife,along for quite a ride.

a wealth of information on a heretofore unknown subject
An illuminating book on the motivation of an iconoclastic lifestyle in this technological age.The authors enthusiasm is projected to the reader and carries you along her serendipitous journey. ... Read more

Product Description
Nancy Allen Black's first novel reveals the kind of satiricmind that can see with the frank and innocent eyes of a child. Adulteand teenage readers alike will be entranced and appalled and delightedby the utter honesty of this small comic masterpiece. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the only ethnography of a living community of witches in the United States. Ravenwood, based near Atlanta, is one of the largest American covens and has supported and encouraged this research through to publication. Of unprecedented importance in clearing the name of witchcraft, the leader of the coven is a civil rights activist, still dedicated in her wiser years to the individual's right to freedom of religion. A must read in women's studies, shamanism, comparative religion and American studies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Recommended for professionals and clergy
As a layperson I appreciated the accessible writing style of this book.As a Pagan, I appreciated the sensitivity and respect with which the subject matter was treated.

The description of how the coven culture has evolved over time, the way adversity strengthened the founder's convictions, and the founder's description of the relationship and distinctions between Trad Wicca and eco-feminism were of particular interest to me.There is also a good description of the seminary.

I would recommend this book to any theologian, (or thealogian) minister, chaplain, interested anthropologist or sociologist, or initiated Wiccan clergy/teacher.

More than ten years have passed since this book was written.I would love to see the topic revisited.There have been some change within the Wiccan movement, in particular more Wiccans believe that their religion is a new religion informed by Western Mysticism and ancient Paganism, rather than an ancient religion passed down in secret.I also understand that there are new leaders in the Ravenwood coven.I would love to see the same authors address the way the coven has changed and stayed the same since this book was written.

A Sociological Study of Ravenwood Coven
This was a smashing book.In effect, the authors simply applied the "social scientific method", as it were, to Ravenwood Coven, the most notorious coven in Atlanta, Georgia.But at the same time, it also reads as a history of the coven, as part of their mythology.A lovely read, even if you're not a Witch yourself.

an interesting chronology of a modern witch's coven
I found Living Witchcraft a fascinating study of the human element that is represented in a modern witch group. The witches portrayed in the book are real down to earth people with real jobs, real lives, and a real religion.Kudos to Professors Scarboro, Campbell and Stave. Well done. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Engineer: The Professional Bulletin for Army Engineers, published by Thomson Gale on October 1, 2004. The length of the article is 1263 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: USACE sets the Rappahannock River free.(United States Army Corps of Engineers)
Author: Nancy Allen
Publication: Engineer: The Professional Bulletin for Army Engineers (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 2004
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 34Page: 16(2)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
Sweet talk aside, Liz learns how hard it is to grow flowers, especially when a rival wants to do in your garden.Troublesome Creek Gang book #1.Ages 5-9. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The Munched-Up Flower Garden
The Munched-Up Flower Garden is a humorous story about Liz,a little girl who grows beautiful flowers.She's hoping to win a blue ribbon for the best flower garden, but much to her dismay, another little girl, Sallie, comes by to brag about winning the blue ribbon the last four years.To make matters worse, a goat destroys Liz's garden.A twist to the ending keeping children turning the pages.This book extols the virtues of hard work in a fun-filled adventure that's sure to please.Richly-colored illustrations add to the delicious flavor of the book

Troublesome Creek indeed!
What a great book! It's a charming story, well-illustrated, and it's impossible not to fall in love with young Lizzie the aspiring gardener. Her voice is really done well. Nancy Kelly Allen is really onto something with this book. Children will love it. I'm rating it 5 stars.

Thanks for a fun read.
-Jay

An inspiring example of persistence, bravery, and spirit for all young readers
A Troublesome Creek Kids Story: The Munched-Up Flower Garden by Nancy Kelly Allen and featuring illustrations by K. Michael Crawford is the lively story of Liz Reilly and her seemingly endless attempts to build up an award winning garden for the Troublesome Creek Picnic. Carrying young readers through the tale of Lizzie and her young friends and rivals, The Munched-Up Flower Garden follows the young girl with her many efforts to maintain her garden despite relentless annoyances from goats, chickens, neighbors, and the evil Sallie Young. Original and entertaining, and available for school and community libraries in a hardcover edition (1933176-040, $16.95), The Munched-Up Flower Garden is very highly recommended as an inspiring example of persistence, bravery, and spirit for all young readers.
... Read more

Product Description
Help students develop their own special talents and interests while supporting student literacy, social development, and a lifelong interest in reading through connecting books to children's hobbies. Each of the book's 30 chapters focuses on a different hobby through an annotation of a picture book in which the targeted hobby has a key role. Jurenka further explores each hobby ranging from bird-watching to tap dancing through a starter activity, a language arts activity, a poem citation, a glossary of associated vocabulary, references to related societies and associations, and five annotations of nonfiction informational books. Not only will students enthusiastically read about their chosen hobbies, they will develop healthy lifelong passions for activities that positively affect their social and intellectual development. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Hobby activities to enhance reading and reasoning skills
In Hobbies Through Children's Books And Activities, Nancy Jurenka offers classroom instructors for grades 3 through 6 a compendium of ideas and suggestions for utilizing hobby activities to enhance reading and reasoning skills. Each of the 30 chapters comprising this "user friendly" book focuses on a different hobby ranging from bird-watching, canine care, and drawing to stamp collecting, puppeteering, and kite construction. Hobbies Through Children's Books And Activities is a strongly recommended addition to elementary school and home schooling curriculum development resources reference collections. ... Read more

Product Description
Words and images can harmonize to clarify meaning in a variety of texts. This interdisciplinary work discusses how we process and develop meaning from words and images. ... Read more