A reader curious about Paul would be unlikely to find a better guide to the places and cultural forces that formed his life. The book begins with descriptions of man, ship, and ports, an almost journalistic reporting of the transport of a man to Rome for trial -- "a man of consequence", treated with deference by his guards, middle-aged, educated,"a Levantine -- possibly a Jew." The author then describes, quoting occasionally from ancient historians, the city of his birth, Tarsus, typical familial life of one of his community (Pharisees), his probable education in Jerusalem, and extensive detail on the political and decadent social millieu of this Roman era. The author peppers the story of Paul with facts of the lives and foibles of other influential personalities of the period, including the Caesars and the scholars who tutored them. Gives one a very real sense of the small world of the new Christian sect, within the small world of Judea and Jewish culture, overwhelmed by the forces of the Roman Empire at the height of it's power and corruption. After the initial flashback the author hypothesyzes Paul's travels and missionary/revolutionary work with a continuation of detail, rich with knowledge of the places and cultures visited.

Caroline Gordon's first novel, Penhally, was published in 1931. It is a plantation novel where the setting, the mansion named Penhally, is as much a protagonist as the main characters. Nick Llewlynn, as the eldest son, as inherited the plantation, house, slaves and tobacco fields. The novel is broken into three parts: Part I's setting is during the pre-Civil War era, but revolves around the disagreement Nick and his half-brother, Ralph. The second part deals with Nick and Ralph's nephew, John, as the main protagonist and centers around John's escapades during the War and the problems/suffering the South endured during Recontruction. The third part is more current and deals with John's grandsons, Chance and Nick. Nick, as the oldest son, as inherited the estate, but it's Chance that loves the land. Problems erupt when Nick wants to sell the ancestoral home. The novel is sometimes difficult to comprehend because Ms.Gordon doesn't always define the relationship of the characters. The only other problem is with the dialect in the beinning.

Quarterdeck and Bridge takes the reader through a number of excellent essays that follow the navy from Valcour Island to the Mekong Delta. Though not designed to fully explain the history, Bradford selects essays that deal with specific tactical issues that directly relate to the larger scheme of naval development. One of the most interesting essays involved "War Plan Orange," the plan on how to deal with Japanese aggression. The author asserted that the Navy's planners left the Phillippines to be conquered by the Japanese forces. Overall it is an excellent book, and essential to anyone interested in the study of American seapower.

For those interested in Samuel Taylor Coleridge and his family, this book gives a glimpse into the life of his daughter, Sara Coleridge. It is also a view of life in England in the 19th century and the role of woman in those times. Sara was instumental in preserving her father's work along with her husband, Henry Nelson Coleridge.

From its birth in the first Crusade, through the possession of the isle of Rhodes to its lost of the island against the forces of Suleiman the Magnificent, to making a home on Malta; the great siege of Malta by Suleiman again, Mr Bradford is able to make well researched material interesting. After Malta, the Knights were on top, how they dropped to the bottom as they lost Malta to Napoleon, were they are now in the world as a humanitarian organization.
If you have any interest in this subject, this is a good book. It could have used a few more maps (I read the 1973 hard back version), and three times it seemed the author was taking sides with the Knights on some minor old debate. His book "The Great Siege; Malta 1565" is an excellent book.

If you enjoyed Ernle Bradford's classic, "Great Siege: Malta 1565", I recommend "The Shield and the Sword" (1974) as a supplement. A complete history of the Knights of St. John from the order's founding in Jerusalem to the present, Mr. Bradford's book is impeccably well-written and researched in five languages. And like "Great Siege", it is grippingly told. Not stopping at the siege of Malta, Bradford briefly relates how, in the 17th and 18th centuries, the Order evolved into an honorary society for Catholic nobility. Finally, we learn how the Knights -- who still exist and are based on Malta -- became a respected humanitarian organization. More in touch with its original purpose as a hospitaller order, the Knights of St. John now fights indomitably for peace around the globe and even includes women.

I have two quarrels with the book, though. First of all, I would have enjoyed reading more about the daily life of the Knights. As it is, Bradford focuses overwhelmingly on military history. Of more significance, though, Bradford gets too close to his subject...This is a one-sided view...Otherwise, a good read. 4 stars.

I think is a good book, it has real orientation since the autor take their own experience.

An easily read summary of the author's experience in Vietnam. (I found it of interest as a veteran of the 25th Div. at the same time-several friends who arrived in country with me were assigned to the Wolfhounds). Mr. Bradford shows us the Vietnam War from the perspective of a young Civic Action Officer trained to "win the hearts and minds" of the civilian population. Through narratives of his own experience and those of others the reader is presented a view of the futility and mismanagement of that war while also describing the lives and experiences of the individual combat soldier and the Wolfhounds. Sometimes the dialoque was difficult to follow; ie., it wasn't always clear when the author was speaking in the first person and when another individual was speaking. However, once the reader picked up on the author's writing style the narrative made for fast reading. In the book's last section "What was it all about" the author brings the lessons of the Vietnam War clearly into perspective. I heartily agree with his statement that we should "not... confuse America with the politicians elected to administer America..." I would recommend this book to my children who have asked, "what was the Vietnam war like?"

I'm sorry, but I really wonder what the motivating factors were when the "Independent Publisher" wrote the above review. I hear "bias" of some sort (of several sorts, actually) throughout.

Let's get to the meat of the matter...

This is a very (emphasis on that word) thorough book. True, it could perhaps give the reader the mistaken impression that he or she is supposed to be able to read it and be an instant therapist. But I don't get the impression that that was the intent behind the book. No, what it does is describe an eclectic approach to "energetic healing", that goes way beyond most approaches to energy work...

It describes an integrated approach to looking at "Why" and "How" a person's discomforts originated and progressed. Furthermore, it describes a model that works on every available level to unravel those causes.

The authors have obviously studied many areas and combined them into a resulting approach that leaves no stone unturned in the process of helping the client. Drawing upon other approaches, including NLP, past life therapy, entity releasement and others, the results can indeed produce immediate and permanent results.

Although I haven't met either of the authors, I have seen a similar approach at work first- hand, and found it to be very effective. Does it work in one session every time? Nothing does. Does it succeed every time with every client? No, and neither does any approach that I have seen.

But what this model does do is give the therapist an extensive toolbox to work from, which is much more than using one tool for all applications, and does, much more often than not, produce remarkable results.

I recommend this one heartily.

A fascinating look at a member of the celebrated Sitwell family. I enjoyed learning more about this writer, poet and adventurer and about his friendships with T.S. Eliot, William Walton, Diaghliev, Harold Acton and Evelyn Waugh, etc. Extremely well written, lively account of the Sitwell family and of a literary circle in the 1920's. The photo sections were also fascinating, showing "Sachie" as a schoolboy, with his family and with Cecil Beaton,among others. Recommended book!