Book Description
This digital document is an article from Sensible Sound, published by Sensible Sound on December 1, 1999. The length of the article is 359 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: Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 6; In the Fen Country; On Wenlock Edge. Ian Bostridge, tenor; Bernard Haitink, London Philharmonic Orchestra. EMI CDC 7243-5-56762-2.(Review) (sound recording review)
Author: John Puccio
Publication: Sensible Sound (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 1, 1999
Publisher: Sensible Sound
Page: 88

Article Type: Sound Recording Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (17)

Blue Clay People
For a country coming from such dark, dense, violent political upheaval, and it's unique spot in the African continent as a former colony of the U.S.A, for a lack of a better way to put it, "Blue Clay People" can be sometimes surprisingly pithy.The book is an easy read and that's not what I'd expect from a novel about the plight of Liberia.It was interesting reading about the how difficult it was to get anything done over there, but it wasn't interesting reading about his love life.Is the novel about Liberia?Is it about William Powers?Is it about William Power's experience in Liberia?It is more the latter, and while I did not expect a piece of journalistic narrative, a la Aidian Hartley and Howard French, I did want more than the dramatization of a long-distance relationship that was doomed from the start.Anybody over 25 could have told him that.It was equally depressing reading about his relationship with the young Liberian Ciatta.What these asides did was make Powers seem incredibly ill-prepared for the job, as well as unconcerned.He'd have been better off joining the Peace Corps, and writing that memoir.As such, he was put in charge of millions of dollars worth of aid through the Catholic Relief Services.I just don't think he seemed qualified enough to take on that responsibility.With all that being said, it is important that books like this get published, not only to shed light on what is happening in West Africa, but to make us question the various aspects of international aid that sometimes go horribly wrong.As for his love life, hopefully that won't make much of a difference in the grand scheme of African history.

An interesting look into the complicated problems of poverty, corruption, and sustainability in the Third (and Fourth) World.
William Powers writes a compelling story of idealism and reality in the war-torn country of Liberia, where he lived for two years while working for Catholic Relief Services.

What intrigued me the most?How he avoided placing all blame in one corner, but rather shared it amongst all the participants.Relief agencies create too much dependence through simple distributions.Governments fuel violence and bathe themselves in corruption.Americans and others in First World nations demand goods at rates and levels that siphon necessary resources from countries that need them for development.The poor lie, cheat, and steal in order to keep their families fed (thus focusing on the short-term and ignoring the long-term.)All in all, a thought-provking, well written story with an important moral!

Seeking "enough" for all of us
In this powerful and compelling account, William Powers helps us all strive toward having "enough". The Liberians have too little. They lack food, water, shelter, and security. But too many westerners have too much. The excessive natural resources consumed by each westerner are obtained at immense cost to the environment and the people of third and fourth world countries. The mahogany of old growth trees clear cut from the Liberian rain forest is sold to Westerners to enrich Charles Taylor and finance war on his own people. Engagement rings made with "conflict diamonds" pay to oppress many poor Africans. But intervention is difficult as William Powers found out as he worked in Liberia to "reduce poverty and dependency while preserving the rain forest". Western ways do not solve fourth world problems; instead they usually add to the problems. Simple, elegant, sustainable solutions, integrated into each unique physical and cultural environment can make a difference. This book is a fascinating invitation to listen to nature, rather than dominate it.

Depressingly predictable, or predictably depressing, if you work in the international development field
Blue Clay People: Seasons on Africa's Fragile Edge by William Powers is one of those international environment and development books that makes you wince even if you're not surprised by what you see. Powers (who's doing some work with my wife in the Andes now, which is why I read his book) headed off to Liberia just out of his master's degree to work for Catholic Relief Services, with the grand goals of improving Liberia's health, education, and economic development prospects while stopping deforestation of the country's rainforest. Nice ideas. He arrived at what he thought was the end of a civil war. Instead, he arrived at a temporary halt in the fighting that would shortly end. In the meantime he found an expatriate NGO community living a high life of SUVs, parties with embassy staff, and jazz and beer in the capital city, while in the hinterlands, aid was wasted, corruption was rampant, and the natives were reliant on international handouts rather than developing their own infrastructure. He went in as an idealist, writing eagerly back to his fiancee in the States and espousing a sort of post-sectarian missionary zeal to help the noble Liberian people. He ends up rather soured on the whole experience, even when he does get out into the country, find more responsible economic development models (i.e. building capacity in sustainable agriculture) and finding a Liberian girlfriend when his engagement falls apart. Moral of the story: International development is a dicey business, and living in a developing country is good for introspection and personal growth, but risky for your love life.

Honest and forces you to rethink things...
This book is a must read for anyone who professes to want to effect a change in the world, specifically when it comes to helping people less fortunate than ourselves, home or abroad.

There are conflicting issues of sustainabilty versus compassion, saving economies versus environmental holocaust and culture imperialism versus saving lives that don't often get brought up. How do we deal with these seemingly impossible concessions? Read it, then make up your own mind.

Powers is also a very stirring writer of narrative, and aside from the larger issues, it's a personal journey that I found so easy to internalize and feel as if I were involved personally. ... Read more

Book Description
From William Sarabande, whose brilliant  re-creation of the prehistoric world of the First American  has thrilled readers everywhere, comes a major new  novel that awakens us to the true spirit of our  ancestors. Following their destiny into an unknown  land took more than courage--it demanded a belief  in a future they would never see, a certainty that  braving a path no human had ever taken was their  only choice. Now, in a time of mystery and magic,  when all they had protected the People from their  enemies for the eons of prehistory seemed to be  vanishing along with the animals they once hunted,  the young shaman Cha-kwena must break a terrifying  taboo, estranging him from his woman and his  tribe. Driven by a vision, he vows to follow the  forbidden trail of the mammoth to where the fate of his  kind will be known: extinction or the possibility  of a land where all their dreams may become real. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Where do I start?
Let's start with Shateh, can he make a decision? Killing babies goes with being shaman and chief, don't get me wrong, he is about the most honorable character, despite putting his sons out of the tribe for not being brave enough, at five years old! Poor Warakan is so confused, so is Cha-kwena (he never wanted to be a shaman) and his Mah-ree can she ever please anyone? I feel sympathy for Ban-ya, her whole life generally [is not good]. I don't recommend reading any of this series, starting with The Sacred Stones, because you will have to know what else happens and you will end up speed reading (or skimming,in my case) to an unfulfilling ending only to find there is another and another and another book in the series! I recommend reading Beyond the Sea of Ice through to Walkers of the Wind and STOP. Nothing gets better than Torka and Lonit.

Epic and suspenseful story!
I have feverishly read all the book in the First Americans series previous to this one. I'm about halfway through this book -- which is the third one in the second set of stories and characters -- and, so far, it's my favorite in the second set.

I had a hard time getting into the second set of stories (which starts with "The Sacred Stones") because I missed Torka, Lonit and all their people from the first set. I thought the second book in this second series ("Thunder in the Sky") was a little slow and uneventful at first, until it finally picked up about three quarter into the story.

Now, with this third book, I am finally finding myself attached to the characters. As Cha'kwena is forced to lead his people to the "Edge of the World", we travel with them through country that no other human beings has seen before. It's really quite exciting to discover the new land and the story is full of suspense as well, as you wonder what is going to happen to the mammoth totem and whether Cha'kwena will lead his people back to the land of his ancestors or not and, if so, in what circumstances.
The story also follows Shateh and his tribe, and reveals what happened to Ban-ya after she was left to die in the Valley of Death.

So if you started reading the second set of stories and find it disappointing compared to the first set, don't give up yet! It DOES get interesting and is well worth reading! ... Read more