'The Hallelujah Revolution' is a look at one of the most interesting Christian phenomena at the turn of the Millennium - the rapid growth of the Evangelical / Charismatic movement. A movement now spreading so rapidly that, according to Cotton, "far from being on the fringe, Evangelicals are currently taking over the mainstream."

Cotton spends the first half of the book looking at the characteristics and origins of this movement. He defines these new Christians as follows: Evangelicals believe that the essence of the Gospels consists in the doctrine of salvation by faith in the atoning death of Christ. They therefore deny that either good works or the sacraments have any saving efficacy, while seeing themselves as having a responsibility to bring others to Christ. The term 'Charismatic' refers to Christians who seek a post conversion experience called 'baptism in the Holy Spirit'. Such baptism may bring one or more of these gifts: - ability to speak in tongues, to perform healing through prayer, to prophesy, to discern spirits, perform exorcisms and deliverances, and, receive dreams and visions.

Cotton sees the social origins of the E/C movement as arising from the particular uncertainties of the late Twentieth Century. These enduring uncertainties and the impotence of rationalism in solving them created a Zeitgeist in which people desire simultaneously both the solid certainties of doctrine, and the fluid outpourings of charisma. The E/C movement derives its doctrinal certainty from the Bible, while its outpourings of charisma lead to social action from a sense of community responsibility. The examples given of faith in action, supplanting ineffective social welfare agencies, are of Ichthus (runs many programs, such as for teenagers on drugs), and Pecan (a successful back to work scheme). They have a touching directness and unpretentiousness about them.

The accounts of conversion experiences provide compelling reading, both for the human interest, and because of the obvious transformational effect of the conversion. The section (chapter 8) on the drug induced conversion of both 'tripping' partners shows how the change becomes real, extends through all aspects of their lives, and out into the community around them.

However in the second half of the book Cotton digs himself into a hole and he cannot get out of it. He implicitly accepts the Freudian view of religion as psychopathology. Freud claimed religion has as its source a neurotic remnant of infantile adoration of the father. The adult, unable to face the uncertainties of living, projects the infantile adoration of the father onto an imagined 'super-father' we call God, who becomes responsible for controlling all the uncertainties of life beyond our control.

From this present but unstated axiom Cotton shoulders the self-defeating task of examining the inspirational or divine from a materialist perspective. In a range of reductive chapters he tries to source the religious experience to psychological origins, or organic determinants in the brain. He cites the association of stress and uncertainty in people in the pre-conversion phase. He notes the similarities between the processes of conversion and brain washing. He peruses the 'religious' experiences of Huxley who took LSD and Mescaline, and the surgeon Wilder Penfield's work on electrical stimulation of parts of the cerebral cortex. But he leaves the important questions unasked: Does the documented association of stress and uncertainty with the pre conversion state necessarily devalue the conversion? Have LSD experiences been real enough to sustain a lifetime of LSD religion, and have they wrought transformational changes to values? If electrical stimulation of the cortex leads to an experience with religious content does this imply a non-validity of faith, and does the same apply when such stimulation leads to experiences involving hunger or sexual content?

There are interesting chapters on misdiagnoses in claimed miracle cures, on an experiment on therapeutic touch, and on Michael Persinger's laboratory induced mystical experiences. There is also a fashionably obligatory but pointless chapter on Left/Right Brain functioning.

This book is an interesting work, but ultimately limited by its reductive approach, which is insufficient to explain the teleological shift to a set of higher values. There is no doubt that transformational changes are wrought in the lives of converts, and these changes go well beyond the shedding of one ideology for commitment to another. They include better mental health and more effective lives over a range of areas, and in particular, improved social relations and greater ability to face and deal with problems. Any work attempting to fairly assess the E/C movement must address this issue. And there is also a wider theological issue that requires addressing: How can the E/C movement be so effective and lead to enduring and far reaching transformational changes in the lives of converts when at its heart there is a self contradictory paradox?

The paradox of Christian fundamentalism is that an omnipotent and omnipresent God is bound by the same space/time limitations that bind you and I. God is, in effect, trapped in His decreed limitation set by the Dispensation of Grace 2000 years ago, when at a precise point in history the Divine and Temporal intersected. The fundamentalist Christian claim is that God's grace and presence in the lives of man can only be validated by commitment to today's version of what transpired at that time, through the redeeming blood of Christ in the Atonement. But what of God? Is He bound by these rules, or can He redeem whosoever He chooses, or even send later exhalted souls to guide men?

An omnipotent and omnipresent God contradicts the fundamentalist reference back to the a priori requirement of the Atonement. Yet, despite their essentially mechanistic theology there is a transformational power at work in these Christians. How can this be? What are the implications?

As cotton says, "Clearly we are living through the fastest expansion of Christianity ever...." It is a pity his account of 'the rise of the new Christians' did not look at some of these other questions that dogged his heels at every step.

This book is a shameless effort to copy Simon Marsden's exquisite photographic essays of European castles and ruins. John Mason photographs English sites IN THE EXACT SAME WAY and with the same infra-red method as Simon Marsden. Shame, shame! Have some originality! Plus, Simon Marsden writes terrifically spooky histories and legends of each site; John Mason tries, but he's not quite as good at conjuring up the frightening atmosphere as Marsden is. Perhaps I'm predjudiced? Perhaps I'm being too hard on John Mason....In conclusion, if you like haunted English history and old, spooky castles, you'll like this book. If you like Simon Marsden, you'll recognize a copy-cat job but you'll probably be very happy with this book!

Nicolas Baudin and Matthew Flinders were commissioned by their respective governments to chart the unknown coastlines of Australia (then known as New Holland). Both did brilliantly well: Flinders making the first close circumnavigation of Terris Australis (or Australia, whose name he invented), and Baudin charting the the last unexplored slab of Western Australia, plus making numerous botanical and other scientific discoveries. Both captains, however, met with disaster: Baudin dying on his return (only to have his posthumous reputation sullied by a hostile biographer), and Flinders detained for five years by the notorious Governor Decaen, the Napoleonic commander at French Mauritius. This is the first book to chronicle their achievements along the same timeline, and naturally the narrative reaches a climax where they meet at South Australia's Encounter Bay.

'Imagining the New Britain' is a very intelligent look at the racial climate in Britain today. Yasmin Alibhai-Brown looks at the history of ethnic minorities in Britain and then goes on to highlight the many inadequacies in our society which still permits racial inequality to be a major issue and problem.

Her chapters on history, politics, the press and education are truly first-rate. But she never really gets to grips with the problems of the visual media and her chapters on feminism seem a little confused and contradictory (which, in fact, is probably a reflection of the current state of feminism).

I'd encourage everyone to give these wise and important insights a read. If everyone were to take on board the lessons that Alibhai-Brown has to teach then we really could begin to change society for the better.

First and foremost an academic publication, MAKING THE LOCAL NEWS is now something of a definitive tome for all those involved in what Franklin describes as 'the original grass roots of the press'. Franklin and co have managed the unenviable task of writing a broad spectred account of this hugh area of modern journalism while giving the reader enough depth of perspective to make the whole process worthwhile. In short, it is macrocosm in microcosm; and easily the most quotable book available on this fascinating subject.

(Note, I would have given it 3 1/2 stars if that were an option.)

When I read the Book News and Book List blurbs that claim this book includes entries for "all orchid species, grexes, and cultivars" I had to write to note that that statement is utter nonsense. (I also note that they both suspiciously use the exact same words -- a publisher's press release perhaps?)

The short answer is that if you are a beginner, don't count on this book to teach you how to grow orchids. If you are more advanced, it's useful, but don't expect it to be the end all and be all of references. Realistically though, it may well be as complete a single reference as one will find. (Although I haven't done a very close comparison with the Manual of Cultivated Orchids, I have found entries here for plants not included in the latter, although at least that one purports only to include those in cultivation.)

The manual's coverage is very extensive, and probably does contain references to "all better-known species and a number of lesser known ones as well," but given that there are on the order of 25,000 orchid species and the hybrids run into the hundreds of thousands, the quoted statement is just plain silly. From my own experience, it makes no mention of several species orchids I just bought, which were by no means recently discovered/collected in the wilds of South America and India. Although it mentions two of the best known species of Chinese cymbidium, it doesn't mention a single cultivar, of which there are at least several very long established (for decades if not centuries), well-known examples.

Finally, the cultural notes are not unhelpful, but are very oversimplified and sketchy. (One, more obvious, example is that not all Masdevallias and Cymbidiums are cool growing, and it makes no mention at all of exceptions to the so-called rule.)

This volume offers a broad re-assessment of the standard, consensual view of the postwar era in British party politics. Drawing on the work of a number of younger British historians, it challenges the orthodox view of Conservative and Labour policy making being based on similar principles, forged out of the supposed wartime consensus.

From economic policy, to grass-roots beliefs, the "Myth of Consensus" offers a challenging new view of what has often been hitherto cosidered a closed subject. It is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the realities of the relationship between party and policy-making on post-war Britain

Tony Blair commends this round-up of young talent, and Deyan Sudjic, the editor of Domus, gives a brief evaluation of their achievement. But this is basically a portfolio, giving each of 67 firms a spread on their recent work. Fireworks are few: the round-up focuses on pragmatic, down-to-earth building and conversion, driven by budget and client need, not the architects' egos. For someone like me who grew up in a stuffy, philistine England, where original thinking was always under attack, it's refreshing to see such an explosion of energy and invention.

Although I have not finished reading this book yet, I am already impressed with the amount of detail regarding the early organization and personalities of British intelligence agencies. No other work I have read (admittedly, this has been few) contains the detailed geneology of how MI5 and MI6 developed from their pre-WWI beginnings to their present day structures and missions.

Name of the Book : The New HR Author : Jonathan Smilansky In today's era of ever intensifying competition, the HR function is undergoing a lot of transformations. Almost all the companies have the improvement of HR as one of the high point on their agenda but the one common question being faced by them is -- How to do so effectively ? The book "The New HR " by Jonathan Smilansky is an attempt in this direction to guide the process of improving the effectiveness of HR function .The author has been a consultant and practitioner in the field of HR . He has superbly used his experience to write this book. It not only explains the ideas and concepts that are at the forefront of HRM in the 1990s, but also shows how they can be implemented. Using accessible case studies ,based on extensive research in number of organisations, this book is a practical guide to understanding and improving the quality and service of the company's HR department. A very lucid and systematic approach has been provided to help the HR department know their strengths and weaknesses. A wide array of research results and specific data collection tools have been provided to enable HR practitioners to collect diagnostic information about current strengths in service delivery and about priority areas for improvement. Then this diagnostic data has been used as a basis to establish a revised HR strategy. There is a lot of benchmark data also given which enables the company to compare its performance vis a vis the good HR practices. The book's approach is that it provides ready reckoner for HR to measure its effectiveness. This is a super book for the people seeking improvement in HR function but are confused as to how to go about doing the things. This book can be basically divided into two parts-one looking into the short-term aspects and other looking into the long term. The first phase basically deals with how to analyse your company's HR practices as of today. The author has adopted a very systematic approach to do so. Initially he stresses on self-assessment by the practitioners themselves and the feedback from internal customers about the range of services provided and those perceived to be essential for he future success of organisation.. This is basically to bring out the perceptual difference between the HR people and the line managers about the nature of services provided by HR. Based on this data , the priorities for improving the HR are evaluated.. Then an activity analysis has been suggested which reviews where the staff and monetary resources are being in spent in comparison to the priorities so as to evaluate if the consistency exists between the priorities and the resources allocated .Finally a method has been suggested to review the range of individual competencies of the employees so as to realise the training needs which helps them in achieving the priorities .The basic purpose of all this information is to integrate it to ensure that the resources available are geared to the range of services that are viewed as important in current scenario. In the second part the author shifts his focus from the current frame of reference to the future. He moves from short-term perspective to a long term. He discusses about the necessity of long-term strategy and the importance of aligning the HR to business. Then he moves into more detailed planning by describing the process for establishing targets for HR service delivery. Then to conclude, he focuses on the very important aspect of change management to realise the main purpose behind the book i.e. to improve the HR. The book's strength lies in its flow of contents . One follows after the other. All the concepts are very nicely integrated. The book is very easy to understand. Everything is duly explained with ready to use charts and tables. At the end of the book, there is an excellent appendix that provides all the data collection and analysis tools. This equips an individual with the basic foundation for successfully changing the HR services in one's organisation. This is a ready reckoner in the sense that any practitioner can directly use the tools given at the end so that he doesn't have to go through the initial stages of planning and questionnaire designing. On the whole ,one can say that the book is a journey worth taking for any HR practitioner as it is a very comprehensive publication dealing directly with auditing the quality of service provided by HR departments, developing benchmarks and outlining proven methods and strategies for enhancing performance