Well-written book by Johnny D. Makes for good easy reading. No chapters too long or drawn-out. Maybe Reader's Digest could use him.

I'm not altogether convinced the writer won't end up in Purgatory, but this book is an absolute hoot. Both my husband (who has had no formal Catholic indoctrination) and I (a confirmed Catholic with 11 years of parochial schooling) enjoyed it immensely. It's got some fascinating bits of trivia.

It's also (forgive me) ideal restroom reading. The little chapters and vignettes are just the right length. We keep our copy in the "smallest room" and never grow bored with it.

It's an excellent book. Everything they never told you in CCD, Sunday school, or Catholic school. Humorous, at times hysterical, and faith-shattering.

"In reviewing this new colorful pictorial biography of Pope John Paul II, I felt immensely inadequate to express myself, something which comes strangely to someone who has been in the publishing business for over 40 years. Jo Garcia-Cobb has entwined dates and facts of Pope John Paul II with sensitivity and an insight one rarely sees in recent publications. To say that this new coffee table pictorial is outstanding would be selling it short indeed. As owner of a bookstore, I can tell you that the copies have literally flown off the shelves."

My good friend and I are happy to be a part of a very special
display on Pope John Paul II. The exhibit features 25 six foot tables with over 500 pictures and over 50 books. This book just added to our collection is oustanding. A great and easy read with wonderful pictures. I have been a radio announcer for over 20 years and we always had a top 10...this book would be in our top 5. Congratulations Jo Garcia Cobb...John [ Jack ] Allaire
Holy Name Parish....my mailing address:
24 Duncan Ave. Kirkland Lake, Ont. Canada
Phone & fax..1-705-567-1100

This is probably the best of the Pope picture/biography books. I've never seen Pope John Paul II pictures as good as this. This is a must buy for all you fans of the the Holy Father. I strongly recommend it.

I read Rolling Thunder by Doug Boyd about five years ago and really enjoyed it. This book is even better because it is from Rolling Thunder's own words. I wish I could have met him, but this book is the next best thing. If you want to know what Native American life is all about from their point of view, not some shallow minded history teacher's, then read this book. Maybe you too will begin to wake up. Thank you Rolling Thunder and Carmen Sun Rising Pope.

Anyone who has met Rolling Thunder could not but hear his voice as you read this book. The content is so true to his word usage and his thoughts. Learning from this book is easy as Rolling Thunder teaches us in a way that we can understand. For those of us that have concerns about the world and what is to come, read this book as it can give you some peace of mind and also gets you thinking about what you can do. To understand this book you have to have an open mind and be willing to challenge most "normal" thinking. Rolling Thunder Speaks is a book for us all to read especially our children.

I've always tried to feed my spirit with words of wisdom such as those I found coming from Rolling Thunder. This is one of the greatest books on spirituality, and healing from a Native American perspective that you can read. If you read Doug Boyd's "Rolling Thunder", you definitely MUST read this book. Like me, you will marvel at this Cherokee medicine man's clear perspective on the world, the people, and the Great Spirit. Everything is intertwined. He speaks in a straight forward and matter-of-fact way that is at times humorous and at times intense, but always speaking to your heart and mind. He says that he likes to "shake" people to wake them up and no doubt he does so with this book. My eyes have been opened and wish to thank Rolling Thunder, Rising Sun, and others who helped to put this book together for sharing these words that speak to the spirit in all of us.

After reading this text I came to the conclusion that Song of Songs is *the* most missiological book in the Old Testament. Pope translates the text directly, free of the normal curtailing of language that occurs in English translations in order to protect pseudo-Puritan American sensibilities. As such it is a much more moving, poetic, and graphic collection of poems. "My lover thrust his "hand" through the "hole", and my inwards seethed for him." The description of part of the man is not "slabs of ivory", but "an ivory tusk". In this focus on being more true to the original text Pope reveals some key aspects of the Hebrew mindset which we could all learn from. Far from the traditional Christian perspective of these latter days of downplaying sexuality, of thinking it as somehow unclean though never saying so outright, God's desire is for us to revel in it and celebrate it. He created us as holistic beings, the only true amphibians, being both spiritual and physical, and thus capable of enjoying what he created to a much greater degree. The author of Song of Songs revealed years before contemporary psychology that sexuality is an integral part of (eros) love, not to be denied, but celebrated.

Throughout the translation one also gets the distinct impression of the empowerment of the woman. While this is certianly present in other translations, it comes through all the more clearly in Pope.

"Our sister is young/And breasts she has none./What will we do for our sister/On the day she is bespoken?/ If she be a wall,/We will build on her a silver buttress./If she be a door,/We will close her with a cedar board."

"I am a wall,/And my breasts are like towers./Thus have I become in his eyes/As one producing peace."

While the woman's brothers would seak to constrain and control her, she speaks out and states that she has the control, turning the wall metaphor on it's head. While they would belittle her physical manifestations of womanhood, she proclaims to all the world that she is all woman, and beautiful, betraying a clear confidence in herself and her body.

Repeatedly the man and woman within these poems show their care for eachother- not just for their bodies, and not just for their souls, but for the entire being, as one. In Pope one sees clearly here an image, a foretaste, of true gender reconcilation, as existed once before the fall, and was not to be fully realized until Christ came and sat down at a well in the desert. The both encourage each other to grow, and love each other fully as beautiful in entirety. Since Song of Songs is a collection of poems, it tells not a story so much of what is, but like all great poetry, of what might be. It does not seem to describe the reality of gender interaction at the time it was written, but what was yearned for, for what might be. This it does beautifully, such that one thirsts for this reality as one reads it. And I believe this is what makes it missiological- it preaches a reality that one day could be, will be, should be, though the author can have no awareness at that time of what Jesus will come to offer.

One would wish that Pope's translation was available without the commentary as well, that it would be read more often by the layman who might be stymied by the length of the work. But the commentary is indeed excellent as well. After the translation, Pope goes on to present alternative scenarios for understanding Song of Songs, and then an exhaustive and impressive line by line analysis of the entire book. His analysis adds greatly to a thorough appreciation of this inspired work.

I have been working on a research paper on the Song of Songs and feel extremely fortunate to have found Pope's reference. It is exhaustive, interesting and helpful. The most amazing section is his bibliography and list of translations of publications on the Song of Songs, dating back to ancient manuscripts. Excellent.

Pope's work is the standard by which all commentaries on the Song of Songs are judged. While the work is huge, bulky and a bit intimidating, its extensive discussion is the best reference one can find on every (and I do mean EVERY) aspect of the Song.

Pope John Paul II's THE SPLENDOR OF TRUTH is a clear and unpretentious dissertation on the nature of TRUTH as a subsistent reality upon which human freedom, and concommitant dignity, derive their subsequent claims and integrity. Axiom: Subsistent Truth is precedent to Human freedom. That is: Truth prescribes freedom; freedom does NOT define Truth...or disavow its absolute claim on finite man. In the Christian tradition TRUTH is identified with THE LOGOS. ( In Greek traditon "Logos" is the principle of intelligibility which allows reality to be analyzed and validated) In Christian traditon THE LOGOS is an actualizing principle of the Nature of God, and the sustaining principle of Reality and Truth. This belief is a metaphysical act of FAITH. Pope John Paul II asserts this axiom over against Post-Modern Relativism that posits Man's Freedom as ultimate arbiter of Truth. The latter belief is a meta-ethical assertion of Will-to- Power. Articles 84, 86, 99, 101 and 105 are key explications provided in this Encyclical that forcefully defend what has been a traditional definition and exlanation of Truth in the West for more than 2000 years as well as rebuking the radical efforts of Post-Modernists (beginning with Schopenhauer, Nietzsche and particularly Martin Heidegger)to reverse not only THE ORDER OF KNOWING (ontological epistemology or simply "science")but THE ORDER OF BEING (the etiology of right conduct, or simply ethics). THE SPLENDOR OF TRUTH is an important document in the history of ideas and philosophy. Not because it is highly original, but on the contrary, because it adresses perhaps the most crucial issue humanity must contend with. Is man humble enough to accept limits as a creature blessed with (created/given)Freedom to conform himself...as best he can...to the Image and Likeness of the Creator who made him? Or shall he launch himself into (what Heiddeger called Das Ereignis) NOTHINGNESS, attempting to devise an "Image" worthy of self-homage to aspire to and celebrate? John Paul is not "preaching to the choir" in this effort. Nor is this a catechism for convinced (or would-be)Catholics. This is a well-reasoned philosophical essay that presents arguments, counters; consequences and probable outcomes in a battle against what C. S. Lewis called THE ABOLITION OF MAN. Pope John Paul II wrote a supporting encyclical, FIDES ET RATIO...On the Relationship between Faith & Reason. This is also recommended to readers who are encouraged by THE SPLENDOR OF TRUTH. For those who are not, or for those who have been beguiled by the headiness of the apparent approach of (self-)Apotheosis, I propose to you a quip from St. Augustine, a man who certainly knew how to abuse both Truth & Freedom by "wandering in self-willed error" (The Confessions: XV): DO NOT GO LOOKING FOR A LIBERATION WHICH WILL LEAD YOU FAR FROM THE HOUSE OF YOUR LIBERATOR!" (Commentaries on the Psalms,St. Augustine AD 1397). If I said to to you, Truth is Truth when it participates in THE LOGOS which is...among other qualities...SUBSISTENT TRUTH, you might well retort: So what? Pope John Paul II's essay of expert opinion and HIGHER AUTHORITY may be worthy enough to convince you of the necessity of knowing and defending Truth if we are to remain free and human...Amen?

The combination of the 'Catechism' and The Spendor of Truth are, perhaps, the most necessary tools for any and all Catholic thinkers/scholars; as well as anyone interested in discovering the authentic teachings of the Church - minus the broad-stroked misinformation of the mass media.

Pope John Paul is a brillian writer who brings us an excellent summary of truth as it has been discerned over the last 2000 years of Christianity. This book is true to Scripture, the tradition of the early Church Fathers and Catholic Doctrine. It speaks strongly against modern tendencies to deny the concept of absolute truth found in moral relativism. This is a must reading for all who are seeking the truth revealed to us by Christianity.

John Paul's words moved me, touched me, and inspired me to live closer to Christ. A man so filled with God's spirit is impossible to ignore and John Paul clearly shows us the way to spiritual intimacy and peace. An extraordinary little book!

The book is a written record of a conversational presentation of two retreats John Paul II gave 10 years apart before he became pope. Unlike formal books, it is easy to understand and very relevant to our times and very useful. It gives a flavor of theologically where he is coming from.

This is a wonderful book. It is unclear from the title, but the content of the book came as retreats for University students in Poland given by John Paul II when he was bishop (and cardinal) in Cracow. The talks are so down to earth and personal. I love theology also, but the simple message to everyday students really touches the heart more profoundly. A particular strong point is the two short chapters given to female, then male students. The way John Paul II upholds the dignity of women is amazing. The way he tells young men from scripture that our problems are summed up as: "male arrogance, scant willingness to give, and the spirit of conquest," shows how he hits home in a concrete way. He also addresses abortion and the man's role in abortion with no compromise. The whole book is hard hitting and direct.

Alexandra Pope has an exquisite understanding of the nature of the deep feminine. "The Wild Genie" is like a road map for women's changing nature. Alexandra builds on Women's personal stories unfolding the essence of healing menstrual symptoms. Earthy, profound,supportive and practical information put " The Wild Genie" on the top of my list as a must for all women and men as a companion to understanding the female cycle and its echoes for the world.

This is an inspiration to all women, whether they suffer from menstration or not. It's an amazing feeling to know that you aren't alone in the world, with the emotional upheavel, and pain, caused by menstration. Most books I've encountered relate to the MEDICAL side of "period problems". I have now found one that recognises AND gives practical ways in which we, as normal functioning women, can experience and dare I say enjoy our specialness. After reading THE WILD GENIE, I see menstration as something to look forward to and celebrate, rather than loathe. An inspiration to women of all ages! Well done Alex... thankyou.

This is one of those rare books that if read with the right intent will gently but persuasively change your life forever. This book is based on over a decade of practical experience working with women who have experienced difficult and often extreme menstrual pain and complications (including for e.g. endometriosis). What I particularly liked about it is the way the author draws on real women's stories, based on her many year's work as a Psychotherapist, and the way she weaves these individual stories into a wider cultural experience, revealing the great hidden power and meaning of menstruation. While women who have experienced physical period pain or disruptive psychological mood swings may have tried following nutritional advice for pain alleviation this is the first book of its kind to consider a holistic body/mind/soul/spirit approach to healing. There is a personal courage and frankness in this writing and the author's own experience of severe menstrual pain and her path to healing is a powerful inspiration. It strikes me that many women - modern, feminist, self-aware women - still deny the power and meaning of their feminine cycle. This book highlights the ways that culture is literally written in the body and shows us how notions of linear time, rationality, competition v co-operation are challenged by the raw beauty and strength of the menstrual cycle. This is a wise, practical and compassionate book. I can't recommend it highly enough to all women and men who want to learn more about the nature of the feminine and the joy and strength in knowing it.

This is a wonderful book for anyone who has recently acquired or are thinking of acquiring a bearded dragon. Whatever your questions are...this book has the answers. I recommend that this be the first book you purchase.

I happened across this gem in my local pet store the other week and have really taken a shine to it. The quality of the photographs is first class and the information is presented in a really easy to follow manner (as well as being very thorough). Although there are no earth-shattering revelations to be found between the covers, I heartily recommend this book to all Bearded Dragon owners- it's a definite 'keeper'!

Bill Mears, BorderView Bearded Dragons

Being one of PJP's biggest fans I was on tenterhooks to find out how the holy father starts his day and boy oh boy I wasn't dissapointed.
This booki is jam packed with amusing anecdotes like the time the holy father met Rabbi Lionel Blue for coissants and prune juice on the Mary Magdalene verranda overlooking St Peter's Square.
The good Rabbi presented the pontiff with a glass case containing the foreskins of celebrity jews including Sammy Davis Junior and Dana International.
Oh how I laughed - Papal Bull? I thought I'd had a cow!
I found it holy enjoyable and I hope the sales are mass-ive.

I'm not Catholic but I was really looking forward to reading this book and I have only been disappointed in one area. If you like the Pope -and let's face he is a pretty popular guy- then you will like this book. Much of the wit and common sense that make John Paul II a favorite even among Protestants come through in his writings of which these readings are a sample. My only complaint is that there are 120 rather than 365 or 366. I would like to have had breakfast every day with the Pope rather than being shorted. I am sure there was sufficient material to fill a larger book. Maybe they are saving it for another repast.

This textbook is awesome for serious students who would really like to graspe latin better. It contains the answer key to all the exercises as well as tips for teachers on presenting the material. If you own the student edition, consider the teacher's guide to help you along your way!

As a Latin tutor with over three years experience with teaching this language, and several years of learning it, this text was a surprise. Not only did it offer me better ways to use the Cambridge readers with my pupils, it also provided me with new information that I found interesting for myself. This manual combines grammar with the easy learning tool of an ongoing storyline, as well as providing application skills and ideas, with some baitable history as well. It helps me not only teach my students better but keep them wanting to learn. Anyone looking forward to teaching, or even learning, this language, should most certainly have this book close at hand.