This book contains Carson's book on the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) from 1978 and his 1987 _When Jesus Confronts the World_ on Matthew 8-10. Both books are excellent, and it's nice to have them in one volume.

The original Sermon on the Mount book discussed some historical, critical, and theological questions within the main text, and Carson has now separated that material into appendices, making the main body of the text more like that of the second book. Both books originated out of sermons, and therefore they are quite accessible, yet the fact that they're from one of the foremost evangelical biblical scholars today ensures that they flow out of the best biblical scholarship.

This book is an excellent place to get into this section of Matthew without the full study of a commentary and all the distractions therein. It focuses on the main theological and practical points in the text, making it useful for understanding the point of the text for the Christian life, yet it does it from someone who is a published scholar on the book of Matthew, which gives it far more backing than slimmer studies tend to have.

Have found a new novel series with very likable characters! Love Judge and Judith Kingston as protaganists, and setting in 1880 in Carson City, Nevada. Lots of quiet humor, yet heart warming story line about a young man who goes wrong and tries to make it right in his dying hour. Can't wait to read next book.

Mountain men, Indians, the Rockies, and a charismatic Indian daughter of the chief kept me interested in a story that unwinds like a mountain brook. You meet all sorts of historical characters acting alive and present. There's Kit Carson, Marcus Whitman and his wife, Tom Fitzpatrick, and of course, Jim Bridger, after whom a national park is named. The ending is something for the movies.

This compilation of poems by the soon be legendary Dwight Carson is a soulful read for any American. There are wonderful references for those of us that grew up in the city.
Single Moms will appreciate Mr. Carson's reverence.
There are poems that make you laugh and let you cry.
A fun read!
Be sure to get the For My Brothers CD to create the mood for fully embracing this poetry.

1 John is not the easiest book of the Bible to understand, but Kruse is very helpful in his analysis. Originally a thematic analysis, Kruse expanded his work to be a detailed commentary with the thematic sections appearing as they arise within the text.

Kruse is succinct in style and conservative in content. I am currently using this book as I preach through 1 John, and I am finding his work invaluable. For those who have found certain passages in 1 John to be discouraging (ie Christians don't sin), Kruse shows that the author is writing during a period of time when proto-gnostic heresy was infiltrating the church - a heresy that denied Christ's humanity and sin within believers. Rather than discourage believers, 1 John (interpreted in this correct context) is a great encouragement to all who walk in the light and have fellowship with the Father.

David Jackman (Bible Speaks Today) and John Stott (Tyndale), are helpful side-commentaries - but Kruse is much more helpful.

While there have been a number of good commentaries produced on Thessalonians over the years, there have been no quite recent works of substance. Somewhat older evangelical standards include Morris (NIC, 1959), Bruce (WBC, 1982), and Wanamaker (NIGTC, 1990). Thus this new volume is a welcome, and long-overdue, addition.

It is quite new (2002) and part of the Pillar Commentary series; a series that did not originally start out as a series. The series now contains eight volumes, of which this is the most recent. New Testament scholar D.A. Carson is editor of the series, so readers can expect these volumes to be of consistently high quality. Indeed, there are no "duds" to be found in the first seven volumes.

The author, Gene Green, teaches New Testament at Wheaton College in Chicago. He has produced a very readable and reliable commentary on the two Thessalonian letters.

Green is well abreast of all the latest concerns: theological, historical and textual. Yet in keeping with the aim of the series, the volume is not overly technical. Theological disputes, textual considerations, and social/historical background discussions are all given due attention, but none in overbearing detail. This means all the volumes of this series are quite helpful to pastors and lay people, but will also well serve the academic and scholarly community.

This newest edition looks to be of equal value to previous volumes. The extensive bibliography is followed by a thorough introduction, The book is especially helpful in setting forth the letters in their historical and cultural backgrounds. And theologically disputed passages are given fair treatment, with various options presented.

And the author is not afraid to take sides on some of these contentious issues. As an example, those who see a pre-trib rapture in 1 Th 4:16-17 will not find their views confirmed here. Green argues that this passage is not "the stuff of speculative prophecy or best-sellers on the end-times". The context of this passage makes clear that Paul (whom Green takes to be the author) is seeking to comfort and give hope to believers, especially in relation to those who have already died.

Similarly, favorite texts found in 2 Thessalonians by those with sharply held eschatological viewpoints will be treated in differing ways by Green. While not all will agree with each of his interpretations, he backs them all up with thorough research and exegesis, and with even-handedness and a charitable spirit.

All in all this is one of the best works now available on the epistles from an evangelical perspective, One eagerly awaits more works by Green, and more volumes in the Pillar series.

In a world of theory-ladden writing, this book is a breath of fresh air. The authors give us practical, useful advice and helpful hints on how to manage and lead fellow staff members. There's not much out there that is this clearly written and functional.

In this well-written book, Carson identifies the primary dynamics of liminal reality, and relates these comprehensively to other fields of thought - sociology, religion, psychology. Though very conceptual and theoretical, the book also engages particular contexts in which liminal reality is particularly present, and spiritual/religious leadership is especially important.

This book surveys the field of liminality in a way others do not. A primer for newcomers to the concept of liminality and an expansion for those already acquainted. A helpful contribution to the field.

Impressively detailed account of the life of one of America's great southern writers.

In her lifetime, Carson McCullers was many things to many people, and the conflicting accounts are fascinating. She could be very charming and attentive, a soft-spoken original with deeply engaging, large eyes. But she was a difficult friend to many, becoming obsessively clingy and demanding of attention. A bitch and an angel; as unshakably sulky or as light-hearted as a child. Her hair she always carefully brushed, and yet sometimes she wore outfits so outlandish, she was mistaken for a tramp. (that's hobo, not slut). She was a sensitive and imaginative author who touched many hearts with her unsentimental writings about human longing.

Reading this book has been a strange ride. As impartial as the text is, it is next-to-impossible to avoid getting emotional as the reader, as I will explain in a moment.

The biographer has done a fantastic job of getting those who knew Carson to come forward with their various memories. It is very well-written, with family trees, thorough footnotes, many voices, interesting photos, an appendix consisting of summarized events in McCullers' life, and an excellent index. A generally well-edited and constructed biography, I find no fault with the biographer. It's the life of Carson McCullers that is so twisted and sour. That said, there are fun stories about living with Gypsy Rose Lee and of staying at Yaddo, the famous writers' retreat. But Carson's life was not easy. Tales of her drinking and near-delusional imagination, of her horrendous fights with husband Reeves McCullers, of lingering ill health, and of her leeching on friends has made reading this quite impartial book a considerably saddening adventure. Nestled in the text is the rather interesting nugget stating that, soon after McCullers hit the literary big time with her The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, she was told during a psychiatric Rorschach evaluation that if her neuroses were to be cured, she would lose her ability to write so sensitively. (!)

Increasingly, McCullers lived her life with a disturbing mix of exaggerated suffering, of need and meanness, along with what the biographer saw as an irresistible love of love itself. But this reviewer is sure that some of her friends must have felt like flies caught in a puddle of spilt honey.

It has been interesting to read about how McCullers worked, and how she drew inspiration from real life events, acquaintances and their own tales. This haunting biography could be of interest to other writers, if only as a kind of caveat. The thoroughness of Carr's work allows an observant reader to glean lessons about the power of the human spirit and the destructiveness of the attitude that insanity fuels talent.

The book is a collection of Rachel Carson's discovered writing, but it isn't a simple collection of her essays. Thanks to the excellent editor, Linda Lear, all of the 31 essays are well organized in four parts, and each one begins with an editor's preamble that explains background, Carson's motivation, and other useful information for the specific essay. With those preambles and essays, I had a feeling as if I were reading Rachel Carson's biography as well. With her unique combination, a biologist with literary talent, Rachel Carson turned her deep love for nature to the marvelous essays that would be very valuable for human being as a part of nature. The same editor, Linda Lear, wrote Carson's biography (Rachel Carson : Witness for Nature), which I read a couple of months ago and found excellent. It also became one of my highly recommending books.