Ronald Nash, professor at Reformed Theological Seminary has written a great text for the average Protestant Christian. Whether one is a liberal, conservative, or moderate, Nash's book is worth the look. Nash has always been known as a conservative, but this is not to be confused with a fundamentalist. Some of Nash's positions, are just down right balanced and Bibilcal.

Often, the devil is found in the poloarizing extremes while the truth is often scewed by other's agendas. Nash tackels the hard issues of out current Christian and sociological mess. His dealings with issues such as divorce is careful and pastoral. His discussion of "Lordship Salvation" addresses the Protestant debate in proper catagories and aviods the "name calling" that so often accompies this issue. Lastly, his chapter on the "end-times" is much needed in today's speculative end-times by the headlines, that is so prevelant in Evangelical circles.

He writes on 10 topics in all. It is easy to read, yet very interesting and somewhat refreshing with pastoral and philosophical depth.

A Great Love is an excellent short story about a woman who works very hard for the Revolution (Russian, of course) and her lover who takes her for granted. Over the course of the book she realizes this and takes action. Its a story that women of today can identify with, particularly women whose husbands view their work as having less importance (the woman's work/career/job) than the man's career/job/whatever. The age of this story in no way effects its timeliness or value.

This is an excellent, short treatment of the Peasant War, with an emphasis on Ukraine.

This book uses newly released information - it is one of the first of many books that will be written on this fascinating, important and inexplicably ignored part of history.

Approximately 7 million Ukrainians died in the 1932 famine, while millions more died in the years before. This book is one of the few in English that deals with this terrible holocaust, which has been ignored or denied by so many historians.

The author touches on the ethnic component of the war (which is very brave considering the climate of academe today), yet fails to spell things out clearly. This is extremely unfortunate, considering that ethnicity clearly coloured the events during the Peasant War and the later conflict known as World War II. If nothing else, the author should have compared the Peasant War's nature to previous conflicts before the Revolution, as many reading this book are ignorant of t! he nature of those peasant revolts.

Running the risk of repeating myself, I will once again restate the title of my review and describe "Grooves of Change" as a uniquely fine book written by a fine man and an excellent teacher. I had the pleasure of taking two courses with J. F. Brown at the American University in Bulgaria last fall, both of which were more or less based on the material covered in the book. It presents a substantial and thorough analysis of the dynamics currently in process in Eastern Europe; written in a lucid and easy to comprehend wording, this masterpiece of post-Soviet East-European studies is also the most readable work on this region that I have so far encountered.

The bulk of the book is focused on the 20th century developments in Eastern Europe after the breakup of the Habsburg and the Ottoman Empires. Carefully assessing all factors playing part in the political and socio-economic processes in the region, and following them closely but without lapsing into too much boring detail, Brown has managed to determine the exact balance between factology and analysis to make "Grooves of Change" both a pleasant and an educational reading.

An interesting concept is developed in the section of the book devoted to the relations of Eastern Europe with the Soviet Union in the aftermath of WW II. Analyzing Communist rule in the region and reflecting on the reasons for the ultimate failure of Kremlin to establish effective and lasting domestic regimes, Brown develops the concept of "cohesion and viability" as teh two Soviet objectives in the region. For him, the reason underlying the ousting of Communist governments in Eastern Europe was grounded in the failure of the Soviet leaders to find the exact balance between these two while trying to come up with a consistent East European policy.

The book also gives the readers a close look into the development of democracy in the region, discussing the obstacles and impediments hindering its progress, its interrelation with the globalizing forces on the one hand, and the omnipresent ethnic factor on the other as a major challenge to its survival. An instructive discussion of the Yugoslav wars as an indicator that something was obviously going wrong with the transition in the region adds to the value of the book. The minority issue is given due significance and a coverage that it rightfully deserves. In view of the latest bloody conflicts that have taken place subsequent to the fall of Communism, it is indeed high time that people start heeding these issues. Thus, I find it admirable that authors like J.F.Brown have devoted their professional careers to untangling these complicated matters.

To make the long story short: I personally enjoyed every page of this masterfully written peice. Read it yourself; it will in all probability profoundly impact your understanding of the regional processes and dinamics. Such an understanding will be vital for the future not only of the region per se, but also for its intercation with the rest of the world.

I have been greatly aided by this book in my understanding of the connection and "common ground" between the Eastern Orthodox and the Roman Catholics via two sainted theologians of the east and west- Gregory Palamas and Thomas Aquinas.

I could go on about the book, but the sample pages speak for themsleves. Please see some of my other reviews for books of similar interest, esp my list of ecumenical books. If you are really interested in this sort of topic, then you should really consider buying "Energies of the Spirit" by Duncan Reid. It is also very detailed and insightful (it looks at trinitarian models in east and west). Enjoy!

Enjoyed reading about Cathy's experiences in 1970s Soviet Russia, her family life, and the events leading up to her emigration.

"When I got to the end of St. Matthias Gap, I would stand for a while and watch the drug store. The large bottles of glass that contained 'sweets' medicines and pills of all sorts of toughness and strength and sweetness."

Nobody does it better than Mr. Austin 'Tom' Clarke. Nobody can
take us back into those long ago times with literature so touching, so real, so magical, so painful, so peaceful and picturesque, and yet so lovely.

For Austin 'Tom' Clarke is a man for all seasons and beneath his humour and fun-poking there is a depth and intensity that makes his story so very arresting and captivating. I must say this book stimulated my mind to such an extent that it was not always easy to put it down just for a few moments. Giving an autobiographical account of his life as a youngster, we venture with him into his life at Combermere and how the school system worked at the time. Latin was a favourite with Clarke and his friends but unfortunately not having the money for the text books the information had to be handwritten from the textbooks of one of the privileged boys. Even for Scripture lessons when one would have thought that there would have been so many Bibles in the island, some guys had to write out Acts Of the Apostles in long hand. It was during wartime and things were terrible scarce and jobs hard to come by. Most of the people in the village worked for the Whites doing domestic work or at the Marine hotel in the same capacity. So it was the norm to emulate everything English.....studying English history, society and manners. After all the country was under Colonial control and Barbadians would have it no other way. They knew no other way.

Mr. Clarke doesn't fail to humour us as he recounts his days in the St. Michael's Cathedral or throw us into a fit of nostalgia as he reminisces of the Brilliantine shining on his hair the first day at Combermere......so real you can actually feel the broiling hot sun and smell the sweet hairdressing grease running down his youthful neck.

One of the things I loved about Austin Clarke's book came towards the end. He describes in detail his many walks on sunny afternoons along Hastings main road when the sun scorched the bottom of his feet leaving tar marks on the surface. He describes how quiet the area was in those days, with hardly anyone walking the streets or any vehicular traffic. He would always walk slowly as he approached the drug store for that was one of his favourite places where he stood outside and surveyed the place, looking at the sweets on display and inhaling the various potent medicines and of course the Lysol. The ever-faithful Lysol would always be wafting in the atmosphere; then as you extended your eyes towards the back of the store, there would be the druggist in white, and the sea gleaming in the background. Clarke embraced a kind of peace in these surroundings.....a peace real tangible to my mind.

I would encourage all literature lovers to read this book and compare those old time days to the times we're living in now. The diversity in the culture and the innocence of what it was really like living under British rule.

In fact, this is a book for everyone.

Reviewed by Heather P. Marshall 11-03-03

This stunning work is the most important literary achievement of the 20th century. The book is an incredibly poignant documentary of human cruelty. The book is brilliantly and capitivatingly narrated. But these are not the book's greatest gifts. The book reveals uncontrovertably the true nature of communism, its utter dependence on repression of freedom, and the inevitable measures and consequences of that repression. This book should be required reading in all high schools. Our young people would then appreciate why the Cold War was fought and why our victory was a stunning triumph for humanity.

Gurdjieff has been much slandered by people who claimed he somehow abetted Mansfield's death by tuberculosis or didn't help her sufficiently. In those days there was no cure for TB and she was already dying. He made her last days meaningful. The book will give some insight into his teaching and her interest in it. She had no complaints--was in fact grateful. She died as comfortably as she wouldhave anywhere. The book is out of print but can be found used.

Nemere's book tells you the true about the Soviet Union's rocket research, and the Soviet space program.