Hertha Binder Knihy

Valley of Tranquility is a collection of short stories that takes place in an idyllic spot located in the northern Great Plains, but most of the plots could occur almost anywhere. Tales range from the challenges presented to pioneer farmers to the trials and tribulations of modern living. Some stories are fantasy, but the bulk of them deal with hard reality. There are a couple of murder narratives, a college football game played in a driving rain that produces surprising results, a hunting trip that goes awry, a "bonus short story" featuring Anne Frank, the Jewish girl of World War II diary fame, and other exciting yarns. Described by one critic as a page-turner from beginning to end, most of the stories take twists and turns that will keep the reader guessing as to what is coming next. Regardless of the reader's taste in literature, there is something here for everyone. Listed below is the table of contents for the book: VALLEY OF TRANQUILITY Prologue Chapter One: The Lay of the Land Chapter Two: Ten Plagues of Egypt Chapter Three: Night of Irony Chapter Four: The Bicycle Chapter Five: Ol' Prof's Pipe Shoppe Chapter Six: Denizens of Ithaca Chapter Seven: The Great Pheasant Hunt Chapter Eight: The Four Gospells Chapter Nine: Sonny's Revenge Chapter Ten: Arm Eating Dragon

Just like the first volume, Come With Me, Grandma, this collection is based on Binder's local newspaper column. It wants to encourage the retirement set to stay active. If you stop, you rust. In the book's first part Binder tells about the many adventures she had with her grandson, 'Chuck,' who is becoming a teenager. With subtle humor, Binder shows that their relationship is based on laughter, kidding and mutual respect. If they can try snow boarding, ride in a hot air balloon or go fishing in the rain, so can you. You have to be crazy to keep on going.In the second part the author lets us see America through the eyes of visitors from abroad, discusses how to forestall sexual harassment, ponders a life span of 200 years and portrays people playing Frisbee at the Washington Monument as symbols of our freedom.'Long Ago,' the third part, shows the low and high points when her kids were little, and how often events with the grandson are a dj vu, a repetition from a generation ago.It's a fun book, showing that age is an adventure, and many a senior can go and do the same.