For those of you who have been regular readers of my blog, the following links will have been seen already. This particular post is an attempt to bring together posts that are of the same theme. They will then be placed in my links on the left side of the blog.

I have, however, added on the end the "blurb" that can be seen on the publishers page.

http://open.salon.com/blog/jonmagee/2009/04/19/paperback_writer_beatles_story_of_the_story_writer

http://open.salon.com/blog/jonmagee/2009/04/26/paperback_writer_beatles_the_story_continues

http://open.salon.com/blog/jonmagee/2009/05/05/paperback_writer_living_in_the_past_or_learning_from_past

http://open.salon.com/blog/jonmagee/2009/05/19/paperback_writer_racespiritualitythe_words_or_living_it

http://open.salon.com/blog/jonmagee/2009/05/30/a_musical_challenge_from_the_sixties_are_you_up_to_it

From Scotland to East Anglia and internationally in Australia and America all ages are riveted by this story. The unique style of using the journey back to England as a frame to tell the deeper story is proving to be a great enticement to those of East Anglia as  their acts of kindness are revealed. Helen Eadie, Member of the Scottish Parliament, writes in the forward "Jon ... provides insight into a way of life that is beyond most of our experiences".

"From barren rocks ... to living stones" is an incident packed memoir that covers eighteen months in the teenage life of the author in the nineteen sixties. It is seen originally from a young person's perspective; and, as the writer matures and shares his experiences, in turn the reader gains from his reflections on the people and the places, beginning in Colonial era Aden, where he has lived.

The book is a meditative postscript to the twentieth century bringing some perceptive insights. The story reveals a life that swings from the sadness to the times of joy, times of humour and times of thoughtfulness, times of tragedy and times of tenderness. The story faces the dual challenges of a western youth culture in a home in the East. Like wise there is the contrast of an Islamic and Christian culture side by side.

However, deep concerns of  middle eastern terrorism of the sixties also brings a topical aspect into the  learning from the events as we begin the 21st century with strong concerns about the dangers of living with the threat of terrorism.