Reprint of a very popular biography of a brilliant, many-faceted yet humble man who became the much beloved St. Pius X (1903-1914). He was born in 1835 the second of 10 children in a poor peasant family. Always at the head of his class, his rise from parochial priest to head of the Universal Church is described here in a fast-paced manner which captures the heart of the man. Includes a number of stories of his more famous miracles, especially those performed while he was Pope. This delightful work, which contains 10 photos, captures the brilliant, forceful, hard-working, zealous, ardent holy man who became the first canonized Pope in 342 years, the Pope whom St. Malachy had prophetically described some 750 years before as "A Blazing Fire." Covers his fight against the improper interpretation of the separation of Church and State and his challenge to the Catholic World "to restore all things in Christ." Delightful! 125pp. PB. Imprimatur.

Once you come to start reading you can't help feeling the story unfolding is but a strict biographical chronicle of the Civilisation's key figure, good and bed as he was, but certainly as real as Michelangelo, Pope Clement V or any of the Borjia family even for the price of believing in the elves, phantoms and gigantic sprut of the secret organisation ruling the History from the darkness of hidden caves and dungeons. And that costs something, doesn't it? Add vivid language, keen and subtle humour you want to learn by heart to have something to smile at if you are upset, and you get "Popes and Phantoms", the best fantasy book I have ever read and the very right guide how to become an Admiral Solovo keeping in mind the fair ideas of Marcus Aurelius Augustine.

Inspirational. Profound. Practical. A companion.

A one page/three-minute read every day. And an opportunity to plumb the depths of what it means to be a man or a woman.

Philosophy has been called: The Queen of all Sciences. These meditations are from the mind of a brilliant philosopher. A great intellect. An extraordinary human being. A man who has used his mind to reason to Truth. A Truth reflected in his personal life. A life that has transcended and soared above personal tragedy, Naziism, Communism, and Modernism.

This book provides the reader with a few minutes each day to reflect on what is most meaningful to each of us: relationships, work, marriage, family, sex, education, success, failure, suffering, tragedy, death, life.

"Prayers and Devotions: 365 Daily Meditations" is a reflection of other writings by John Paul, such as "Fides et Ratio", which is a treatise discussing the interdependence and complementarity of Faith and Technology. "Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth---in a word, to know himself---so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves."

From "Veritatis Splendor": "The splendor of truth shines forth in all the works of the Creator and in a special way in man, created in the image and likeness of God. Truth enlightens man's intelligence and shapes his freedom, leading him to know and love the Lord. Hence the psalmist prays: 'Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord.'"

And from "Evangelium Vitae": "The Gospel of life is at the heart of Jesus' message. Lovingly received day after day by the church, it is to be preached with dauntless fidelity as 'good news' to the people of every age and culture."

"Prayers and Devotions" capsulizes much of the thought of John Paul. It is a rich treasure with each page providing jewels to be discovered, polished, and reflected upon. A book to be read, enjoyed, shared, and re-read.

This is a profoundly spiritual book that combines anecdotes about the life of Pope John XXiii with his vison for the church and his hopes for the Second Vatican Council. Written in a simple and at times poetic style the book is a real page turner and a good resource for prayer and meditation. Huebsch has caputured the essence of the Pope and the faith challenges that any reader can cull from reflecting on his life and his practice of spirituality. The book includes exercizes for perosnal prayer and meditation.

This is an outstanding, easy to read, reference guide for the beginning or experienced tax professional. One thing I particularly like about it is that it addresses compliance and procedural considerations for every main topic -- something that's hard to find in any other comprehensive volume. I highly recommend this book as a desk reference.

Recently it seems that Rick Warren's "The Purpose Driven Church" has been the number one book on church health. I don't know if this one will replace it, but it certainly should be read alongside of PDC. The two are very complementary - they deal with many of the same subjects from slightly different, though certainly not competing, angles.

There are many things I could point out about this book that are helpful but the list would get too long. There are 21 chapters and each deals with a different aspect of church leadership and life, and each is valuable. I will point out what I think three most valuable aspects of the book for me.

1 - The Prevailing Church idea - taking his cue from Peter's confession of Christ in Matthew 16 and Jesus' response that that gates of hell would not prevail against the church, Randy Pope argues that to "prevail" is at the heart of the church's identity. He says that "a prevailing church models such a dynamic spirit of worship and servanthood that she becomes a magnet for people needing help. Such a church is a place where insincere people tend to fall away and sincere people long to belong. And, most important, it is a place where nonbelievers find Christ and grow to spiritual maturity. To put it another way, it's a place where the presence of God's power is demonstrated with such force that the community in which it exists is marked with an indelible spiritula imprint." Such a sense of identity would motivate the church against any kind of maintenance, or "precautious" mindset, as Mr. Pope describes it.

2 - The importance of strategic ministry plan - I realize that some will balk at this, as if this means we are to rely on human planning at the expense of the leading of the Spirit. However, this is not what the book portrays at all. A strategic plan for ministry is one that is arrived at through searching the Scriptures, spending hours upon hours in prayer, and then seeking to be obedient to the Scriptures. In my opinion, the author does a marvelous job of dispelling the notion that planning and being led by the spirit are in conflict. And, he does a marvelous job of showing that a strategic plan is often the missing ingredient in ministry. I came away challenged about my own tendency to work very hard to derive a sense of vision and mission, without doing the nuts and bolts work of implementation.

3 - Analysis of culture - chapter 16 is devoted to a "Culturally Oriented Strategy," but throughout the book he gives some interesting tidbits of cultural observation. My favorite anecdote in this regard is the story of his attempt to disciple a man in his congregation using a strategy he had used while in college. This strategy included about 3 meetings per week and who knows how many hours. This may have worked in college but this was a man who was working 60 or more hours per week, and had to travel alot. Mr. Pope's point is that this is the kind of world we live in these days - many are like this man and we have to come up with discipleship strategies that will impact these worlds. I realize that we can all say "people shouldn't be so busy," and I can agree. But the fact is that they are and we have to take them where we find them and move them to maturity.

There is much more to say, but I will stop now. It's a great book for those in professional ministry and lay leadership.

As a recent convert from Roman Catholicism to Orthodoxy, I especially recommend this volume of essays, regarding the primacy of Peter, and, by extension, the primacy of the Pope, to any Roman Catholic interested in Orthodoxy. The essays are well researched and well balanced, and give the reader the Orthodox point of view regarding the claims of the Papacy, without resorting to polemics.

I also recommend the book "Rome, Constantinople, Moscow: Historical and Theological Studies" written by Fr. Meyendorff as well as "The Orthodox Church" by Bishop Kallistos Ware for anyone interested in the history of the Church.

I wish Dudley pope were still alive and publishing more tales of lord Ramage. I'm on book 17 of 18 and they've all been sleep-stoppers for me. These books follow the career of a bright young lieutenant as he rises in ranks of the English navy between the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. He's very hard on the french and Spanish navies. If you are French or Spanish, you might be offended. I'm not sure women will enjoy these books as much as men, since there are a few cliche seens involving the hero and beautiful women that make the novels seem somewhat chauvinistic. However, the writing is superb, the ideas are original, and the real joy is in trying to figure out how Ramage will accomplish unbelievable missions and then seeing how your ideas, never quite measure up to his performance. I can't do these books justice. Just see for yourself.

Note: this review refers to the book version.

Ramage and the Drumbeat is the second installment of the Ramage saga. In Ramage, our hero was resuscitated in the middle of a sea battle to assume command, escaped from his ship, rescued the love of his life, and performed a heroic rescue under enemy fire. Drumbeat starts more slowly, summarizing the action from Ramage and then resuming where Ramage left off. Ramage is conveniently captured by the Spanish only to be released based on phony American papers. His capture allows him to acquire the plans of the Spanish navy; plans which he must take to Sir John Jervis. Along the way he must survive a violent storm and play a pivotal role in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent.

When Ramage and the Drumbeat was first published in 1967, Dudley Pope was the legitimate heir to C.S. Forester and Ramage the legitimate heir to Hornblower. Forester had died the previous year and Kent and O'Brian had yet to publish. Clearly Pope was not resting on his laurels. Drumbeat is full of the action that filled Ramage and while not providing the tremendous detail that O'Brian would, it still reflects Pope's knowledge of sailing. It is also the reflection of a simpler time. The values are straightforward and traditional. Ramage is a hero of the old school with strong character. He might have is doubts but he has the ability to overcome them. His cause is just, the enemy deserving of defeat.

Pope has endowed Ramage with a forceful personality and Ramage's men want to follow him. It's not clear why, although Ramage is both firm and fair with the men. Pope is sending a message that people want to be led. Ramage realizes that the men in his command are like children and he has to act accordingly. Is Pope reflecting the English class system or is he merely referring to the lowest of the low who ended up being pressed for lack of any suitable alternative? Ramage, like all good commanders, does feel a great sense of responsibility for the lives of his men but carries out duties that inevitably result in some of their lives being lost. Pope endorses the paternalism of military systems and perhaps class systems.

A reviewer quoted on the cover of the edition that I read (1975) indicated that there was sex in the novel. If there was I didn't see it. There is a great deal of sexual tension between Ramage and Gianna but it is implied not overtly displayed. Pope realized at that point in his career that one didn't need to put graphic sexual content in a novel and that a good story would sell itself. Drumbeat can be read by a 12-year-old and thoroughly enjoyed or by an adult who might see additional depth. It is a shame that novels with such a broad range of appeal are no longer in vogue.

However, the story is first and foremost about action at sea. Drumbeat features one of the best storm descriptions since H.M.S. Ulysses and it wouldn't take a lot to be seasick reading it if one was so inclined. The Battle of Cape St. Vincent is described in some detail with Ramage assisting the redoubtable Nelson himself in defeating the Spanish. I did find the middle of the novel a little slow by the standard set in the first book but perhaps the gale and climactic battle exceeded the original.

After a good deal of interesting matters on shore, Ramage and his faithful crew (already rich with prize money but faultlessly loyal to their captain) race off to join Admiral Lord Nelson before Cadiz in Spain, and the great naval battle of Trafalgar in 1805. More than any other nautical novel I've read, this one makes clear just how revolutionary were Nelson's killer tactics. It is worth reading just for the views of Nelson at home and at war. The reasons why Nelson is Britain's greatest hero are made clear. The story is constructed with a long narrative line building to a thrilling climax, and a wonderfully sad ending as Ramage appears headed for another court-martial due to his valiant actions taken without orders.

Book notes: poorly proof-read for a McBooks book. The only title in the Ramage series with a genuinely old painting on the cover (but has nothing to do with the story). While it can certainly stand on its own better than most in the series because it more closely concerns real historical figures than usual, as the 16th of 18 this volume is probably not the place to start.