In Lily Dale; New York; the dead don't die.Instead; spirits flit among the elms and stroll along the streets; sometimes dressed in garb more common 120 years ago; when Lily Dale was founded and suffragette Susan B. Anthony was a frequent guest.According to Spiritualists who have ruled this Victorian hamlet for five generations; the dead don't go away and they stay anything but quiet. Every summer twenty thousand guests come to consult the town's mediums; who can hang out a shingle only after passing a test that confirms their connection to the spirit world.On the hot June day when reporter Christine Wicker comes to the world's oldest and largest Spiritualist community; she is determined to understand the secret forces -- human or otherwise -- that keep Lily Dale alive. She follows three visitors: a newly bereaved widow; a mother whose son killed himself; and a beautiful; happily married wife whose first visit to Lily Dale brings an ominous warning.Are the mediums cold-hearted charlatans; as Sinclair Lewis wrote of them? Or are they conduits for a hidden world that longs to bring peace and healing to the living; as psychologist William James and muckraker Upton Sinclair once hoped to prove?Investigating a movement that attracted millions of Americans in the 1800s and now barely survives; Wicker moves beyond the mediums' front parlors and into the lives that tourists never see. She follows the mediums to a place where what we know and how we know it is the greatest mystery of all.
#176 in Books Scholastic Press 1998-09 1999-09-08Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 7.75 x .75 x 5.25l; .46 #File Name: 059035342X309 pagesGreat product!
Review
1610 of 1641 people found the following review helpful. Unbelievable quality for the price!By Corey A. CollinsSPECIAL NOTE: For U.S. customers purchasing the illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone; you will notice the text has NOT been converted to the "Americanized" version of the original U.S. releases (with the exception of changing all "Philosopher's Stone" mentions to "Sorcerer's Stone"). So far; I have noticed the following: (EU/US) dialling / dialing; Shan't! / Won't!; sherbet lemon / lemon drop; motorbike / motorcycle; and dustbin / trashcan. For many purists of the series who never liked the idea of modifying the original text for an American audience; this is a good thing. Good or bad is naturally for each reader to decide--just know; if you plan to read the books while listening to Jim Dale's audiobooks; you'll notice a few superficial differences.The quality of this new illustrated edition is phenomenal. I've been excited about the release of this book since it was announced; but I never expected the book as a whole to be so well crafted.A couple of things to note:1. Underneath the book jacket; the novel is bound in a sturdy red hardback with gold lettering on the spine.2. The paper is thick with an eggshell glossy finish.3. All chapter intros are illustrated.4. Some images take up full pages or multiple pages. Most illustrations share the page with text.5. Every inch of the book is illustrated or decorated in some fashion. There are NO white pages in the book. Even the pages without large illustrations have the paper printed and marked with ink blots or paper "stains".I would highly recommend this for anyone looking to read the series (again; or for the first time); especially if you plan to read this with someone younger. If this book is a demonstration of what is to come with the illustrated editions for the rest of the series; we're all in for six more impeccable treats.274 of 283 people found the following review helpful. An absolute must-have for the Harry Potter fan!By Corey A. CollinsIMPORTANT: For U.S. customers purchasing the illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets; you will notice the text has NOT been converted to the "Americanized" version of the original U.S. releases. This difference isn't as prominent or noticeable as it was with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone; but still something to keep in mind. Also; to answer a question that has come up quite a bit; this is the FULL BOOK and not an abridged or shortened version.The overall quality is fantastic. The colors are vibrant and the images are; in my opinion; even better than those in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: The Illustrated Edition (Harry Potter; Book 1).The best features:1. Underneath the book jacket; the novel is bound in a sturdy orange hardback with green lettering on the spine.2. The paper is thick with an eggshell glossy finish.3. All chapter intros are illustrated.4. Some images take up full pages or multiple pages. Most illustrations share the page with text.5. Every inch of the book is illustrated or decorated in some fashion. There are NO white pages in the book. Even the pages without large illustrations have the paper printed and marked with ink blots or paper "stains". In Chamber of Secrets (compared to Sorcerer's Stone); some pages even have beautiful patterns over the entire page. One page has a spider-web pattern and is right next to a picture of Aragog. Quite brilliant overall.I would highly recommend this for anyone looking to read the series (again; or for the first time); especially if you plan to read this with someone younger. Based on the fact that the illustrations for this book were even better than in the first book; I'm now looking forward to the rest of the series even more. Prisoner of Azkaban is next and I'm heartbroken it'll be so long before I get to have it in my collection.437 of 464 people found the following review helpful. Beautiful Book but mine's already falling apart ;-(By Lucy CatThe book itself and illustrations are absolutely; incredibly extraordinary. In that way; this is 100% a 10-STAR book and is absolutely to die for for Harry Potter fans. I was ravenous to get my hands on my copy as soon as it was delivered this morning; but was quickly disappointed.First; 's packaging was utterly and despicably inadequate. (See Photo) My book was shipped in a box; with *no packing material* of any kind. At first glance; it seemed OK. But when I took a close look at my dust jacket; I was extremely upset to find that the gold foil lettering for "Harry Potter" had been rubbed away and destroyed completely in some places leaving ugly; black matte in its place-- pock marking the otherwise handsome gold lettering. Also; the matte-finish of the dust jacket had been rubbed so badly due to the bad packaging that it left scars and shiny markings where the matte finish was worn off. For an obvious gift/collectors item; this is absolutely unacceptable. I called and they didn't seem to "get" what my fuss was all about and just offered to ship a replacement which; undoubtedly; will be shipped in exactly the same way.Second; after I got over my initial outrage over the shipping/packaging. I sat down to enjoy the actual book itself; which as I said is absolutely extraordinary! I was extremely cautious handling the book and binding; being unsure how tolerant the binding is of weight. I carefully opened both the right and left sides of the binding and supported the weight of the opened cover using a small pillow. By the time I reached the back 3/4th of the book (on Professor McGonagall's full page illustration) the binding separated from the spine the very first time I turned the page. In other words; the binding fell apart during my very first pass through the book. (See Photo). Another thing that really drove me crazy was the way that the stitched in book mark was carelessly folded into the book. It left dents all over my pages (See Photo); which of course had to be on a full page illustration of Hagrid!Needless to say I'm in awe how Bloomsbury has managed to put together such an incredible project; with JK Rowling's remarkable literature and Jim Kay's otherworldly illustrations-- and allowed it to be put together in a low quality binding! I noticed that all of the previous Harry Potter books were printed and bound in USA (some in Mexico) but this book was printed and bound in China. I would like to hope that they would quality check a thing like this; but perhaps not. Either way; I am extremely disappointed in the quality/binding of my book. I would be interested to know if others are seeing the same thing. And please; ; pack these books in bubble wrap and packing material! Not all alone in a box...Update (October 9th): I have finally received my new book and it was in much; much better condition. The cover and spine were tight; intact and falling apart from the binding like my original copy. Addtl photos to follow...
