Welcome to the web site of
Gilbert Creutzberg !
Gilberto a caballo
Gilbert horseback riding
in La Confluencia
Jarabacoa, Republica Dominicana
Ride
the Forbidden Horse
and Other Stories
Todd & Honeywell, Inc.
First edition
ISBN 0-89962-344-1
© 1984 Gilbert Creutzberg All rights reserved
CreateSpace.com
Second edition
ISBN 145058845X
ISBN13 9781450588454
© 2010 Gilbert Creutzberg All rights reserved
Four years after "Ride the Forbidden Horse"
came out, the publisher, Todd & Honeywell, went
out of business, without leaving a clue how to order copies.
Not until 25 years later, when my second book,
"The Mosaic," was published in 2009, did I notice
that both books were listed by Amazon.com.
The back cover reads:
"Ride the Forbidden Horse" is a collection of
short stories with an emphasis on stark realism. These
'tales from the streets' are concerned with sexual love,
drug addiction, crime, prostitution and mental illness.
Readers will find every human emotion expressed in
this fine collection. Each story has an unusual twist in plot...
The author has a keen eye for descriptive narrative and
makes the characters come alive out of the pages and
into the lives of the readers.
After re-reading my collection of short-stories that
had been dormant over the years, I decided to reissue it.
I had to ask myself, ?Is this book, published in 1984,
still relevant in our time?? I answered my own question
with a resounding ?Yes.? Surely, we lived then in a
world without I-pods and cellular phones, but the stories
are not outdated and human feelings and conflicts haven?t
changed. The book has not lost one iota of its relevance
to life in 2010. People are still people.
The five stories in this book have a common theme,
which is metaphorically suggested by the title,
"Ride the Forbidden Horse."
The author attempts to delve into forbidden areas of life
? the taboos, the unmentionables. These are tales of
human passion in which raw sex and drugs are frequently
interwoven in a subtle play of human relationships.
The symbolic significance of the horse as an archetype
is not limited to one meaning, as Carl Jung shows in
Symbols of Transformation.
As a prelude to the other stories, the frightening loss of
control over the forbidden horse signals the loss of impulse
control associated with drug addiction, mental illness,
violence, and death.
It is the story of Phaeton, who, disobeying the command
of his father, Helios, the Sun-god, seized the rains of the
ferocious horses that moved the sun along its route across
the heavens, but, losing control, he plunged into the ocean.
Yet, as in the myth, the cycle of life continues.
Some comments from readers
Students in several sociology classes under
my instruction have been using this book as a
supplement to their textbook.
?Ride the Forbidden Horse? provides a near
authentic look at the forbidden areas of life
in both sexual and drug relationships?..
It peeks at the world of central city combat
zones and deviant encounters. I highly endorse
this book to vitalize sociology courses taught
to college students.
Charles J. Cataldo, DSW
Assistant Professor,
1984
I applaud a book entitled "Ride the Forbidden Horse,"
by Gilbert Creutzberg.
I am a social worker, working in the field of substance
abuse and was pleasantly surprised to find a book of
short stories which accurately and realistically pictures
drug abuse and addiction and brings up important issues
regarding drug abuse, drug treatment and mental health
in addition to being literate, well written and interesting.
I recommend it highly to my colleagues in both the
substance abuse and social work fields.
Edith Springer, MSW,
St.
1984
The Mosaic
Strategic Book Publishing/AEG Publishing Group
ISBN 978-60693-736-5 SKU 1-60693-736-7
© 2009 Gilbert Creutzberg All rights reserved
( Original hard cover edition )
Second edition (soft cover) 2010 by
Strategic Book Group
ISBN: 978-1-60976-772-3
© 2010 Gilbert Creutzberg All rights reserved
Electronic edition 2012 by
Strategic Book Group
ISBN: 978-1-61897-503-4
© 2012 Gilbert Creutzberg All rights reserved
(Amazon.com, Kindle store
Barnes & Noble, Nook store
Other countries, all electronic editions)
"The Mosaic" is a book about Nazi-occupied
when the author was a teenager...
a book that tells about how Gilbert's family stood up
against the oppressor...
and how his cousin risked her life by rescuing a Jewish baby...
you'll read how the church where Gilbert's father was the pastor
was destroyed by the Nazis to make room for the "Atlantik Wall"...
and you learn about the heroic resistance by Jan Verleun,
who gave his life in the fight for freedom...
the book tells how a priceless art work, a mosaic depicting
the Last Supper, was salvaged...
you also want to know what we have learned
from those war years, and what we are prone to forget...
Some comments from readers
This extremely readable book ? named after a mosaic
in his father's church that was rescued from destruction
before the Nazis demolished the church ? tells the story
of life under the Nazi occupation and of the hardships
that followed, and raises important questions about the
nature of humanity and the meaning of evil.
The Episcopal New Yorker, Dec. 2009
There is a new book out about the Dutch Resistance
during WWII, centering on their protection of holocaust
refugees. entitled THE MOSAIC. It reads a bit like a
Steinbeck novel, with a nice fluid style. The time frame
transitions are interesting, as well as Creutzberg?s
personal accounts, which are fascinating. He basically
maps out his personal growth experiences alongside
the wars?developments.
Jim Kental
Yahoo Message Boards
This book opened my eyes! It's? a fascinating account
of this young boy living through the invasion by the
Nazis in
baybrennen2
YouTube
I loved your book. The form fits the title and life,
too, which is fragmented. Someone asked me once
to tell about my life and I said, ?Which one?? How nice
to have met someone else who has dreams of flying.
In my dreams, I am the plane/leaf/bird. What a feeling
of power! It is glorious. I felt in reading your book that
I have met a dear friend.
Lorna Ryder, 2009
Guest book www.gilbertcreutzberg.com
He didn't know it at the time, but the morning of
May 10, 1940 was a pivotal morning in the life of
Gilbert Creutzberg, who was then 11 years old.
That was the morning German troops invaded
which was a neutral nation, like
some time for young Creutzberg to grasp the
ramifications. In fact, much of the country was in
a state of disbelief. They believed that, as a neutral
country, they were safe. Hitler's Nazi army proved
otherwise.
"Though close to tears, a curious sense of
dispassionate observation crept over Gilbert.
He was aware that this was a very important
moment in history and there was no reason to cry. it was as if
things would remain somewhat unreal as long as he stayed an
observer," wrote Creutzberg in his memoir, "The Mosaic."
It wasn't until a Jewish classmate disappeared that the horror
of the situation began to sink in for young Creutzberg
Kim Harnett
Suburban Trends, Feb. 2010
Tasting Life
for What It Is
Strategic Book Publishing and Rights Co.
ISBN 978-1-62212-105-2
© 2012 Gilbert Creutzberg - All rights preserved
(Paperback edition and e-book edition)
It's a collection of short stories and a stage play.
If you liked "Ride The Forbidden Horse
and Other Stories," you'll like this book.
A number of the stories deal with alcohol and drugs.
One story deals with racial conflict.
Here and there the paranormal pops up.
This is not a book recommended for children
unless they are very precocious.
The language and subject matter are raw,
like my first book, "Ride the Forbidden Horse
and Other Stories."
Press Release:
What are we looking for in life?
This collection of fiction contains seven short stories
and a stage play. Its common thread is our need to taste life
for what it is, though that need may be markedly different
from one person to the next.
The spice of life sometimes involves the forbidden, the bizarre,
the dangerous. From our very beginnings, love and sex
have been spiced with drugs and alcohol to enhance our sensations.
We yearn for redemption, but often get trapped in a maze.
This powerful book offers a close look into the lives of people
who are tasting life for what it is.
About the author:
Gilbert Creutzberg was born in
He attended the
the
He obtained a BA in psychology from New York University, 1955 and earned
MA degrees at the
substance abuse as a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor.He is also a
Licensed Mental Health Counselor and is presently working part-time
in that capacity.
Creutzberg wrote ?Ride the Forbidden Horse,? published 1984.
?The Mosaic,? 2009, is an autobiography about his youth in
The
of his family in helping Jewish citizens. His third book,
"Tasting Life for What It Is," a collection of short stories and
a stage play, came out in 2012.
An amateur pianist and organist, a bridge Life Master, he also
likes long distance swimming, practicing daily Yoga, Kung Fu
and Transcendental Meditation.
He enjoys spending weekends with friends at his
wilderness property in the wooded
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