This is a textbook designed to introduce upper-level undergraduates to the political ideologies that are currently operating in, or have had a substantial impact on, contemporary American political debate. Van Dyke makes subtle, but highly insightful and clearly articulated, distinctions between different varieties of economic, social, religious, and traditional conservatism, and between classical liberalism and progressive liberalism. Great political thinkers as well as modern-day political celebrities are used as examples of the various ideologies, and well-chosen quotations from these figures allows the various ideologies to speak in their own voices. Van Dyke writes in a sophisticated yet highly readable style.

The book's subtitle reveals the author's position. Thirty years ago, Raymond Vernon was one of the first economists to document the increasing importance of globalization and of the multinational corporations that benefited most directly from the trend. In this, his last book before his recent death, he revisits the subject, and finds cause for growing concern about the future of the multinationals, despite the fact that they have grown tremendously in terms of size and power.

Once their expansion was viewed with suspicion and hostility by many of their new host countries, but now multinationals are actively wooed throughout most of the world for their job-creating investments in local economies. However, within their own home countries (predominantly the advanced economies of the U.S., Europe, and Japan), the multinationals are increasingly a source of political tension. There is a fundamental conflict between the desire of the state to maximize the well-being of its own people and the desire of a multinational to optimize its global system regardless of the impact that might have within any individual country, including its own home country. The combination of global competition and aging populations has increased the demand for government sponsored social support in the most advanced economies, even as the same pressures encourage multinationals to move investments and jobs out of their high-cost home countries. Although globalization is not likely to be reversed, the multinationals may increasingly find themselves used as convenient scapegoats for the problems caused by this massive restructuring of the global economy. The recent WTO riots in Seattle may only be the beginning.

This is a very pretty looking book that introduces young readers to the world of Ludwig Van Beethoven. The idea of this series is to look at the influences and historical events that shaped the lives of great composers. Roland Vernon describes how Beethoven was born into a changing world of revolutions that transformed America and France, and shows how Beethoven's music mirrored those turbulent times. But Vernon also explores how Beethoven's music reflected a deeply personal exploration of human nature and emphasizes how the composer profoundly changed every form of music in which he work. The book has sidebars devoted to Beethoven's musical contemporaries like Mozart, revolutionary thinkers like Thomas Paine, instruments like the harpsichord, and events like the fall of Napoleon. As I said above, the book is illustrated quite impressively, with historic paintings and artifacts. Vernon focuses most on the details of Beethoven's life and the history of the time, somewhat at the expense of his music, which matters here because the thesis is that Beethoven is a musical revolutionary. That is difficult to do in a book, granted, but if that is the contract with the reader then it needs to be followed up on more explicitly. Other titles in the series introduce young readers to Bach, Chopin, Gershwin, Mozart, Starvinsky, Verdi, and Vivaldi.

"Introducing Chopin" tells the story of Frederic Chopin, the outstanding pianist and brilliant composer of music for the piano who was born in 19th-century Poland. In this juvenile biography Roland Vernon not only provides biographical details but also emphasizes how Chopin's music was full of strong feeling, representative of the age of the Romantics. Within that context it seems rather ironic that he should fall victim to an incurable illness.

This series looks at the influences and historical events that shaped the lives of the great composers from Bach and Beethoven to Gershwin and Stravinsky. This means that there is an emphasis on how such composers were shaped by the times in which they lived. Vernon traces how Chopin's fame grew as he moved westward from Poland, first to Vienna, then to Paris, and finally to London. These books are illustrated in full color, making use of contemporary works of art to such an extent that often the pictures threaten to overwhelm the text. The back of the volume contains a Time Chart along with a Glossary of both musical terms and other famous musicians.

Whenever young readers pick up a biography of a famous classical musician like "Introducing Chopin," I always advise that they read the book while listening to a CD of the composer's music; there are always several "greatest hits" like efforts profiling such composers. Ideally you want such books to list particular musical pieces that you can look for when you are choosing a CD or making a point of listening to particular tracks. However, this particular volume only mentions a few specific works by Chopin, which I consider something of a shortcoming.

This book is a compilation of essays written by friends and fellow theologians of Sabastian Moore. Many of the essays are excellent summaries of the key idea's behind Moore's theological work emphasizing the psychological connection between the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ with the human thought processes that lead to self understanding and action.

According to Moore, the core of all human action stems from the desire to love and to be loved by the object of our desire. And, in its ultimate realization, that true object of our desire is God Himself. In the incarnation, passion and resurrection of Christ we are faced with the annihilation of God (who reveals the gap between our own perceived goodness and actual goodness) and the annihilation of our own transcended potential. Thus, we crucify the Christ potential within ourselves every day through lack of proper action. The result is guilt, shame, alienation, and self justification. But, instead of God bringing forth judgement and condemnation (a projection of our own vindictiveness), God brings forth an offer of forgiveness and redemption. It is in the realization of this unconditional act of acceptance that we overcome those barriers that prevent our own love from growing to fruition (as such, we rise (like Christ) to new levels of authenticity).

I highly recommend this book to those who seek a deeper understanding of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ; an understanding that goes beyond history and into the depths of human cognition.

It was Eden no more.

The island paradise of Chimera had been her father's dream come true, and now Petrina had to watch it become just another tourist trap.Worst of all, the man responsible for the change was David Palmer-the man she had secretly loved for years, the man who had married her for reasons unknown.

Then Justine Hyland made it vey clear that she and David were a twosome and suddenly Petrina knew why David had taken a bride.

The evidence was all there. Petrina was to his shield; her love was nothing for him... for he was involved with another man's wife!

I always enjoy self-help books, and this was by far the best one that I've found.

The most important thing to know before buying this book is that it is *not* a comprehensive discussion of the ballgame itself, the mechanics of play, or its role in everyday life. It is, however, a comprehensive discussion of known archaological sites as of 1991 with detailed summary data for hundreds if not thousands of sites from the mayan region to the America southwest. The book is a collection of academic papers that arose out of an archaeological conference, so you should be prepared to expect highly focussed analysis and minutely detailed information with only loose continuity between chapters.

There *are* interesting discussions of the mythic and political roles of the ballgame, as discernable from ceramic art, stone art, and the mayan written record.

The production of the book is fantastic: the reproductions are amazingly clear, the drawings are superb.

In summary, this is an excellent -- although aging -- physical survey with some cultural conclusions, but it assumes considerable advance knowledge of what the ballgame is, how it is played, and its role in ordinary life.

i first read this book around ten years ago and it completely altered my way of thinking. it gives the reader a guide to explore the many ways that your brain has of overcoming the various physical and emtoional complaints of the 21st C. the guide suggests visualisation of your physical body, and then asks you to send a team of workers to fix the fault. okay, it is meditation, but its meditation that makes you focus on the real, actual events that are happening in your body. it's easy to learn and will never be forgoten. try it and learn how to control your physical side from within. one thought is that we are told we only use x% of our available brain-power, this book will make you wonder about the remaining x%.

J. Vernon McGee wrote this book in the same no- nonsense style that is characteristic of his "thru the Bible" radio ministry. This is a great book that brings important characters of the Bible to life. No matter who you are or where you are in your Christian walk, this book will be a blessing to you.