Despite its rather silly title, I've never had so much fun reading a commentary! I can't vouch for any of the other titles in this series (in fact, the others I've seen were pretty awful), but this one rises from the clichéd ashes of populist Bible books and delivers. Pinzon presents complex concepts with a witty one-two punch that makes his writing as enjoyable to read as a novel. Not only a good introduction to the Bible, but a refreshing review for those of us whose Bibles have gathered a little dust. I've been reading it to my kids on the long drive to church. Even when I think they're sleeping, they always wake up to answer the questions at the end of the chapter. (This book'll get to you, even comatose.) Lively and informative.

This book is absolutely awesome and will open your eyes to the Gospel and Book of Mark like nothing you've read. Our Bible Study group all decided to take one chapter each out of the book, review it and present a study to the group. The comments from each presenter was the same........ IT WAS WONDERFUL !

I encourage every Bible teacher, student, lay person and Pastor to read this book. It is full of insight, humor and teachings that will bless you beyond belief. You must read this book !

I went to theological seminary 25 years ago. One of the reasons I went to seminary was to learn how to use the tools for studying the Bible. I took Greek and Hebrew and read lots of books with dense type. It wasn't easy for me but I am glad I spent the three years it took to acquire the tools.

However, I recognize that most Christians, even if they were so inclinded, can afford neither the time nor the expense of Seminary. But they are interested in studying and knowing more about the Bible. This book on the Gospel of Mark will be helpful to such people. Persons who have never owned a commentary on an individual book of the Bible will find a wealth of information about the history, language and culture of the New Testament that will enable them to better understand the teachings of Jesus.

The combination of good biblical scholarship along with the helpful tools, outstanding quotes and fresh, humorous writing makes this book very readable and accessible as a Bible Study resource.

Mr. Taylor has done an excellent job in illustrating how the right approach to a problem can actually transform an obstacle to an opportunity for growth and success. Don't let the simplicity and straighforwardness of this book fool you! The concepts outlined here are vital to anyone who wants to develop and hone their skills to the next level in their business life or their personal life.

Mr. Taylor has hit the nail on the head! His book is a quick read and right to the point, which puts it miles ahead of other books in its class. Through metaphorical teaching, Scott plainly shows the recipe for success to all who will read it.

Great book!

I found this book to be well written, it is a quick read and provides inspirational and motivational insight and advice. I will be looking for more by this author.

For everyone that ever has worked on or plans to implement a compiler/interpreter. It gave me many new insights on different implementation issues. This book is written in such a pedagogical, clear and exciting way that it can be read like a novel or a thriller (pick Your choice).

I am in the process of reading this book for a review and already I am compelled (at the conclusion of chp. 7 of 13) to write a glowing review. This book truly is an achievement and it lives up to my predecessor's comments. I hasten to emphasize that this textbook combines form and content to a very high degree: it is written superbly with great clarity, the topics are organized extremely well and meaningfully, and finally it provides a comprehensive overview of all aspects of programming. In the course of my reading, I have never felt the need to skip sections; there are no sections that are abstruse or cursorily covered. All sections are integrated with the others and each section offers very useful knowledge. The author clearly displays a profound understanding of all aspects of his endeavor. I must emphasize that in the vast majority of cases with textbooks, in any academic area, the impression is that the author has intimate knowledge of 60% of the material he covers, and as for the latter 40% of the material he has at best good knowledge or passing familiarity but is able to speak on these topics because of his qualifications. The greatest merit of this book is that one can very profitably go through a self-study programme through all 13 chapters and come away much superior to one's peers in college or graduate school or industry (I qualify this statement at present: I have read only 7 chapters yet, but intend to read all 13). Finally, if you are familiar with the excellent book on Computer Architecture by Patterson and Hennesy, then I say that this book is on level par with that venerable textbook.

I have always enjoyed reading programming-language and compiler books and most of them are quite tough on a first-read.

Programming Language Pragmatics is one huge exception. None of the books I have read come close to the clarity that this book exhibits. On many occassions, the choice of words and presentation in this book has made me go 'Wow, I thought I already knew this stuff...'

Besides core topics, it has interesting discussion like concurrency, data-abstraction (object-oriented) and non-imperative programming models (functional and logic).

TOC (with my comments)

Ch. 1Introduction

Ch. 2Programming Language Syntax (theory of Regular Expression, Context-Free Grammars, Automata etc)

Ch. 3Names, Scopes, and Bindings (binding, scope rules, closures etc)

Ch. 4Semantic Analysis (attribute grammars, attribute flow, syntax tree etc)

Ch. 5Assembly-Level Computer Architecture (keeping the pipeline full, register allocation etc)

Ch. 6Control Flow

(expression evaluation, iteration, recursion, nondeterminacy etc)

Ch. 7Data Types (type checking, pointers and recursive types etc)

Ch. 8Subroutines and Control Abstraction (stack layout, calling sequences, parameter passing etc)

Ch. 9Building a Runnable Program (back-end compiler structure, intermediate forms etc)

Ch. 10Data Abstraction and Object Orientation (encapsulation, inheritance, dynamic method binding, multiple inheritance, the object model of smalltalk)

Ch. 11Nonimperative Programming Models: Functional and Logic Languages

Ch. 12Concurrency (shared memory, message passing etc)

Ch. 13Code Improvement (peephole, redundancy elimination, data flow analysis, loop improvement, instruction scheduling, register allocation etc)

App. AProgramming Languages Mentioned

App. BLanguage Design and Language Implementation

This is a very impressive book; truly one of my best investments in books so far.

This book is a delightful childrens book about a little polar bear who loves adventure. Lars spends the day fishing with his dad and then they go off to sleep. During their rest the ice cracks and father and son become separated. Lars drifts away, arrives in a new land and is suddenly met by a huge hippo...read on to find out what happens to Lars and if how he meets back up with his dad. Short and sweet, aand a nice book to intorduce children to polar bears and the north pole.

Little Polar Bear is a very cute story, of a young polar bear named Lars, who was out with his father learning how to hunt. But as the night went on he drifted off to sleep, and something unexpected happened. This thing that happened to Lars taught him about new surroundings, and taught him new things he didnt know. He met some new friends, that he will never forget.

Yes, I would recommend this book becuase of the amazing things Lars goes through with the help of some new friends. There are some parts in the story that will make you smile and laugh.

I love this book!! The illustrations are wonderful and they always captured my attention. The story is of a little polar bear, Lars who goes on an adventure away from his clean, white home in the North Pole. He makes a new friend, who helps him on his adventure.

I still love this book. I take it babysitting with me sometimes, and all the kids have liked it too.

Quite simply, I loved this book. Scott Stein has an amazing talent and I look forward to reading his next novel.

Unlike most writers, Scott Stein takes the time to develop his characters. He does not use stereotypes and other cliches. Instead Mr. Stein uses unique details and his command of the written word to bring a sense of realism to Jeremy Keller and the other characters in "Lost."

Mr Stein respects his audience. Instead of force-fed, over-the-top comedy, he use his subtle sense of humor to tell us this story. It is very easy for a young writer to fall into the trap of going overboard. Writers who do this lose their identity and become machines producing drivel for the masses. Scott Stein is truly an artist. He takes the time to create a work of art and not just a novel.

If you do not read this book, you are missing out on an experience that will not only entertain you but will teach you how a good writer writes. Mr. Stein should be proud of his art and his ability.

What struck me most about this book, beyond its deadpan and sharp wit, is that upon having finished it, I realized how much was said "between the lines", as the saying goes - brilliant omissions, implied strongly and otherwise, serve to produce some of the funniest undertones I have ever read, or, more accurately, not read. This is to say that Scott Stein, while never making it obvious, serves up a wicked economy of words which keeps this fast-paced novel twisting, turning, and intelligent. The reader's intelligence is never insulted.

At the same time, this economy of words (as well as to-the-point, unembellished narrative) makes the experience of travelling with the protagonist, Jeremy Keller, through his strange and ridiculous adventure, surprisingly deep and rewarding.

One of the other reviews here said you'll never put the book down. I have to disagree, since I did actually put it down when I finished it. However, I picked it up again later to go back and reread a few favorite parts.

Read it and be prepared to laugh out loud. Unless you don't like that kind of thing.

I have been a fan of Mr. Stein's work from his essays, humor, and commentary on his website... Although his book is advertised on the site, I was reluctant to buy it without reading any reviews beforehand. Intrigued by the advance praise it has received, I decided to buy it anyway. The book blew me away on all counts. First, this book is damned funny. I laughed out loud in many places, and drew stares from people riding on the bus with me as I went to work. His wit is sharp and truthful. Second, his prose is muscular, swift, the narrative pushing the story forward without calling attention to itself. But what blew me away the most was the story itself. Despite some hilarious scenes, there's a palpable menace lurking just below the surface in Mr Stein's tale. He manages to excavate and reveal the subterranean underpinnings of life in the late twentieth century without anger, self-righteousness, sentimentality, or cynicism. LOST provided me, a voracious reader, a splash of cold reality that sets him apart from most of the books I've read in a long time. This book is hysterical, unsettling, and, in an odd way, comforting. It will write itself into you. Buy this book. You won't regret it.

Having encountered the Nearings in Mother Earth News in the 70's I quickly became an avid admirer as well as a sincere follower of their wisdom. Thus I was overjoyed to buy Helens book because it allowed me to see a side of both Scott and Helen I never knew that well. The man whom I had admired as a wise soul but a tad put off by people, comes across as such a loving and yes "romantic" soul which made me like him even more. And Helen sharing how she was raised and the experiences she had and how she was encouraged by Scott to spread her wings and not allow him to fence her in, is a must read for any woman who questions where she belongs in the whole life circle.

We must own a good five hundred books that we love, but this book is amongst a handful that get read and re-read over and over, with something new being learned each time. I also think the book like all their books is a must read, because it reminds us how fascists this country (united states) has been and can be and the price sincere patriots often pay. As well as the value of taking the path less traveled and not relinquishing ones personal integrity or perseverance. And that in the end the good guy can win.

In today's youth-obsessed contemporary culture, it is a rare treat to be able to find a book so full of loving wisdom written by someone so involved socially, politically, and spiritually in the events of the 20th century. Therefore, I was enthralled in reading Helen Nearing's moving, absorbing and often quite disarming recollections and reflections on her life, both as an individual and as the lifetime partner of one of the most celebrated critics, iconoclasts and individualists of our time, economist, philosopher and social critic Scott Nearing.

The two lived lives singularly devoid of apologies, half-efforts, or excuses, living it largely on their own terms, based on their own labors and ingenuity. Early in the 1930s they struck out from New York City to escape the Depression and social convention by starting a revolutionary experiment in rural Vermont. In many respects the experiment succeeded, yet they were never able to transform it from a personal adventure to one more largely social and community-based in the Vermont setting. With the coming of ski resorts and encroaching exurbia in the early 1950s, the Nearings moved once again to rural Penobscot Bay in Maine to start again.

Of course, in due time they were suddenly "discovered" by the baby boomers and the counterculture in the late 1960s, and became the elder statesmen of the 'back-to-the-land' movement of the late sixties and early seventies. In all this, Scott and Helen continued in their commitment to a socially aware, civically responsible, and environmentally sustainable way of living. By the time Scott died at age 100 in the early 1980s, thousands of curious counterculture hopefuls made the pilgrimage to visit with the Nearings at their celebrated farm in rural coastal Maine.

This is a lovely, thoughtful, and wise book, full of the almost endless love and care and compassion Helen Nearing brought to all of her endeavors for her many decades of purposeful and socially responsible living. This book is no small treasure; it looms large and lovely for those who are aware of the incredible journey the Nearings made as fellow citizens, and also of the loving and special relationship these two rugged individualists shared. I have read it several times, and love having it on my bookshelf. I suspect you will too.

I discovered Helen and Scott's books in the early 1970s and they inspired and sustained me as I planned my escape from urban California. Not long before she died, Helen reviewed my book and gave it a wonderful testimonial which I will always cherish. No other two people have had a greater influence on the back-to-the-land movement. Helen and Scott were born to privilege and rejected it to live lives that showed by example their commitment to right living. They were vegetarians, they raised most of their food, and they were remarkable in their physical and intellectual capacities. Their physical bodies are dead but their spirits live on in the lives of those now living the good life because of their example. After Scott died at the age of 100 by purposefully not eating, Helen wrote this candid book that gives insight into their private lives and reveals their deep convictions.

Mike Aquilina shows how the Mass of the early Church is substantively the same as the Mass that you attended the last time you went to Church. A great feature of this book is not only the work of the Church Fathers but toward the end of the book Aquilina recreates the Sunday Mass of the early Church based on the Fathers.

By opening up the works of the early Church Fathers on the Mass, Mike Aquilina demonstrates the astounding continuity of the Mass celebrated today and the Mass of the early Christians. The extensive excerpts from the Church Fathers also show us the tenacity of the Catholic belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. By reading this book, Catholics will view their attendance at Mass in a different light as they realize how they are in direct continuity with our ancient ancestors in the faith. Non-Catholics will see how the Mass celebrated today is the direct legacy of those early Christians.

Among the most important developments for the Church in the last decade has been the rediscovery of the liturgical forms of the ancient Christianity. While much of the worship of Protestant Evangelicalism has become increasingly trite by appropriating the ethos of the popular culture, there has been a counter movement to find a more authentic worship by studying patterns of the early Church. This examination has been an enlightening experience to many thoughtful Evangelicals as they came to realize their own worship styles were of fairly recent vintage. Even more shocking, the worship of the early Church was liturgical in form, Catholic in outlook, and centered upon the Eucharist. As a result, many have either left the Evangelical movement for the historic Churches or sounded a call to return to more traditional patterns of worship within their own traditions.

The final piece of the puzzle is for those in the liturgical Churches to realize the treasures in their own midst and correct abuses that have detrimentally affected their own worship traditions. For those in the Roman Catholic Church who are unfamiliar with the history of early Christian worship, there may be no better starting point than The Mass of the Early Christians by Mike Aquilina. Written for a general audience, Aquilina manages to tie together liturgical styles from disparate sources of the early Church as they reflected on the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist. Although the book is primarily aimed at Roman Catholics, all Christians from liturgical traditions can read this book with profit and find comfort in the firm historical basis of their own worship. Those who have shunned liturgical worship might after reading this book reconsider their position and wonder what they have been missing. At no point does Aquilina force the Roman Catholic position but to his credit allows the ancient Church to speak for itself.

The first section of the book is a description of the origin and early development of the worship of the Church. Aquilina carefully examines the Jewish roots of the Mass and how the liturgy of the Church is a development of the ancient Jewish worship with the focus now placed on Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of the Old Covenant and the establishment by Jesus of a new and everlasting covenant. The exposition of the Eucharist doctrine and liturgical forms used in the early Church is among the best introductory treatments of the subject as the reader is skillfully brought into contact with the thought of the early Church. After careful consideration of the discussion, readers who have had little exposure to the historical evidence may now see the worship of the Church with new eyes.

In the second part of the book, Aquilina provides primary evidence from the patristic period to support the veracity of his earlier exposition. Of particular interest are liturgical texts used in the early Church. It might be claimed the statements of certain patristic writers are not necessarily representative of the Church as a whole, but when the same themes are echoed in distinct liturgies used in areas separated by great distances, the weakness of this argument is exposed. If one belongs does not worship as the early Church worshipped and does not pray as the early Church prayed, it is also likely they do not believe what the early Church believed.

The book concludes with a fictional reconstruction by Aquilina of what it was probably like to worship in the early Church. This approach is quite compelling as the hard historical evidence provided earlier in the book is fleshed out in this hypothetical account of a Christian family at worship.

Many Christians from traditions not sympathetic to formal liturgy are now taking the historical witness of the early Church seriously. As a basic introduction to the richness of early Christian liturgy, The Mass of the Early Christians is a fine starting point. It is an inspiring account of the patristic mass that calls to the Church, as in the liturgy itself, to "lift up your hearts."

Jocelyn, now in her 80's is moved to tell the stories that shaped her life and country, during a visit from her grand-daughter Sarlin. This is the premise to one of the most interesting storylines I have ever read. A futuristic glance back in time from someone who grew up in the early part of the new Millennium; Jocelyn goes on to tell of wars and race riots that left the face of our country devastated and destroyed for decades after.

Entwined within the major plot is the mystery of an evil presence that knows something about Jocelyn and has plans for her. There are some creative new inventions that have become a part of everyday life and going to the movies is an adventure in itself. There is a bit of everything here and it all comes together quite well at the end. The writing is fast paced and quite believable for the future. The book is based more on the people than the oddities faced in the future but the author's imaginative futuristic sprinklings are worthy of note. Kelsana 1/11/02

I came across this book by a friend. I had no idea what it was going to be about, but it looked interesting enough. I'm glad that I did read it, because it's so great. The way Kimberly Scott writes is amazing! I asked her if I could interview her on my website, Lisasbookreview.com, and it will be posted on November 13, 2000. So, if anyone wants to hear more about her, log on!

Papaya Myths is a must-read. This hard-to-put-down novel has a multi-faceted protagonist who is not what she appears to be.

Papaya Myths is a thought-provoking book which will provide book clubs with many interesting and heated discussions as the members delve into the motives and actions of the characters

Ms. Scott has extraordinary insight into the emotions of her characters and "what makes them tick" and the events of the time.

Highly recommended.

Mark Scott's knowledge regarding corporate business dealings (timely & scary!) is matched by his clever word play and life-like characters. Suspense at the end of each chapter keeps readers turning pages - despite the irritation of printing errors his editors should have caught. The story will keep you guessing "who dunit" until the very end.

Finally, a mystery writer with a background in business. What Grisham does with the world of law, Scott does with the world of economics. His writing is brilliant--clever plot, memorable characters and savory details. He's definitely got an audience for this book. I can't wait to read the next one.

A great read, full of twists. His cheeky dialogue, reminds me a bit of Nelson DeMille.

this book caters to women runners which is great. the best part of the book is some information on joining running clubs for motivation and photos of stretching exercises.

While training for my third marathon, I picked up this book to find some new training ideas. I couldn't put it down! It covers all facets of women's running - beginning to long distance, pregnancy, nutrition, balancing family and/or job with running and motivating factors. I used the charts, stretches and training ideas. I've recommended it to countless friends and often discussed ideas from the book while on long runs with training partners. Not only did I get some practical training advice, but I got a new resource for my running.

Scott's approach to running revitalized my running training. After picking up the book 9 months ago, I started running again, after having burnt out on training a couple of years ago. I continue to run and improve 9 months later, without injury or burnout. The practical advice in this book address not only the mechanics of running - but uses a global view of running affecting the body, mind and spirit. I especially like the journals and quotes from women runners who are of different ages and stages. Definitely recommend this book for women with an interest in beginning to run for the first time as well as women who have run but have stagnated in their progress.