A fine volume featuring extensive articles on many religious practices, artifacts, art, beliefs, and theologians. Notable are the extended articles for major religions ranging from African religions to Taoism. The text is richly illustrated.

It makes, however, the mistake of defining religions by their official doctrine only. Though there are numerous photos of people worshipping, some of the articles take only the work of theologians seriously. Living institutions are often treated as mere relics of the past rather than as contemporary expressions of belief.

I was also disappointed by the section on Mythology, which only treats dead religions and these not very well, preferring to discuss the way Myth is studied rather than providing specific details and cross-references. Where it covers these old traditions in depth, (and only the ones which are prominent in Western intellectual thought, alas!) it fails to flesh out the tales of the gods and goddesses or to provide a handy reference to different pantheons.

It often fails on the side of "neutrality" by failing to present skeptical perspectives on religion. (There isn't even an article on Skepticism, which is, in this century, as important a movement as Iconoclasm was in the 8th and 9th centuries). Secular humanism also receives short shrift.

The owner of this volume who bears these failures in mind will nonetheless find it useful. There's a fascinating section on New Religions, an extensive bibliography, and many fine, brief articles on the many facets of religion. It is worth having this among your general reference books.

I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ANYONE INTERESTED IN RELIGION!

Articles pack this important encyclopedia which includes illustrations, maps, and color art. All religions, cultures and regions are included in a reference which will prove essential to both specialty libraries and general public library collections.

I bought this book because I'm a huge fan of Mr. Lederer's work.

Little did I know it would destroy me!

The rules are a bit unclear in parts, however. While most of the puzzles are made of rhymes and puns, not every word in the puzzle falls into these categories. Sometimes you may be searching for the rhyme of your solution for an hour, then realize no rhyme is required.

It may not be for me, as I don't spend too much time with crosswords. However, if you consider yourself rather agile with your vocabulary, or a master of puns, this book will be a true test of your skill.

Bought this for my mom, who is an avid, competitive crossworder.
She fell in love with this and had a hard time forcing herself
to put it down.

This crossword puzzle book provides a satisfying collection of crosswords by a 'word wizard' whose books on language both entertain and educate, and a puzzle constructor. Word Play Crosswords Volume 1 is recommended for advanced crossword puzzle solvers who want a greater challenge than most. Theme puzzles abound.

If you're ready for a reprieve from contemporary biographical sleaze, read this fine biography of Noah Webster, a good and moral man who held his family and country in balanced respect. You have lots to learn from this book if all you know about Webster is the dictionary. What surprised me was a life that spanned the years from colonial times to the mid-19th century. This was a man who never held high elective office but was an influential friend of those who did -- Washington, Franklin, John Adams and Madison. He spent months traveling up and down the East coast, espousing his beliefs in the ideals of Federalism. He advocated tirelessly for an American language and literature independent of the British tradition. To protect himself against piracy of his highly popular reader for schoolchildren, he campaigned successfully for copywright legislation. For this reader, whose last course in American History is a blurred memory, the "times" part of this story was as fascinating as the "life." I was reminded of the chaos of the country in the interim between the Revolution and Constitutional Convention, of Shay's Rebellion, of the acrimonious regionalism that nearly tore apart the young country, of the XYZ affair, and the threat to a fragile democracy of the War of 1812. I was made to recall the inadequacies of early American education and the perils of public health before urban sanitation systems. In this carefully-researched portrait, Unger presents Webster sympathetically as an American Renaissance man, curious and informed in fields from law to medicine to philosophy to lexicography. One of Yale University's early graduates, he spent his life educating himself. Because Webster was such an assiduous diarist and letter-writer, the book also provides a rich portrait of his family and private life -- his devotion to his wife and children, his frustration with a ne'er-do-well son, his financial concerns, and his delight in hearth and home. The culmination of the story is the dictionary, the product of a lifelong belief in the necessity of a uniform American language to unify the disparate voices of a young nation. Webster the scholar devoted years of careful research to this project, both at home and in Europe. His efforts secured his mention in history books. Harlow Unger's book fleshes out the man and his times with substance and grace.

This is an outstanding biography of a person who, because he never held high political office, is less well known than he deserves to be. In reading about Webster's life, one also learns much about the political controversies of the early United States--how many know, for example, that George Washington had bitter political enemies while President, or that the War of 1812 was so unpopular in New England that it prompted many there (including Webster) to discuss seceding from the Union? This biography deserves to be widely read.

In his preface, the author notes that Noah Webster is so famous for his dictionary that it's overshadowed his many other achievements. Too true! I was amazed to learn of Mr. Webster's achievements in politics and education reform, particularly the influential role he played in shaping the U.S. Constitution. This book is a Must Read for anyone who wants a deeper and more accurate view into early American history.

Along with the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, the electronic dictionary and thesaurus are excellent. I would have given 5 stars, but the process of highlighting a word, copying it, and then activating the M-W Link (to access the dictionary/thesaurus stored on the hard drive) is a little cumbersome, but it is still a VERY useful tool. The electronic dictionary even has some images. Another plus, it is very easy to switch back and forth from the dictionary and thesaurus.

I just had a brief comment on something many people probably don't think about when buying a dictionary.

One problem with dictionaries, especially of English, is the problem of updating it for new words. English is particularly good, or bad, about this, about coming up with neologisms, and lexicographers routinely track new words to see if they have enough legs and staying power in use to become worthy of inclusion in the dictionary.

This dictionary has the advantage of being updated every year, and new editions come out every few years or so, as opposed to the other much bigger dictionaries, although they often have supplements that you can buy.

Most of us probably don't need to be that up-to-date on new words, unless one is really hung-up on slang, but it's one of the things that makes life hard for a lexicographer of English. Also, not all the new words are slang-related--many are techologically related--and those also get added to the language and change more and more quickly these days.

I write a lot of papers, and sometimes I am not able to access Merriam-Webster's website. So, I need an accurate and up-to-date dictionary and thesaurus on my computers. You can install both the dictionary and thesaurus, and they only take up 28 MB of disk space combined. That way, you won't have to use the CD-ROM. Very nice. The dictionary itself is great as well, perfect for college students and anyone who values the English language. Also, it is cheaper than a lot of the other larger and cumbersome dictionaries out there.

This will do if you only use a thesaurus occasionally but it won't do for the rest of us. The usually superlative Merriam-Webster product line missed the beat with this one. Although Roget's is a bit more time consuming to use, it is infinitely more rewarding than this volume. I was very disappointed at the small number of synonyms found for each entry in Merriam. In Roget, you can easily find many words that differ by only the slightest and most subtle shade of meaning. In this book, if it isn't an exact match, you won't know about it. I also saw no point to including antonyms in a thesaurus. I would have preferred many more synonyms included in the space used for antonyms.

Most other dictionary-format thesauri (Roget’s II, for instance) simply won’t give you what you want on the first try. If, for instance, you want a more decorous word for “smelly” you’re brusquely told to “see MALODOROUS”. This means that most of the words you are likely to be looking up require a time-wasting two step process: first find the word you want to replace, then find the main entry for that concept. By the time you’ve finished flipping back and forth through the pages you’ve forgotten what it is your looking for.

The Webster’s version is a thousand times more convenient. If you look up a specific word you’re guaranteed to find about a dozen or so of the most common synonyms right there (funky, stinky, rank, etc.). This first entry is probably all you’ll need and it constitutes the main time-saving benefit of this edition. But there’s more. The real verbomaniacs among us get referred to the main entry of the concept. Here you’ll find the mother lode of words, often numbering into the dozens and ranging from the most commonplace to the ridiculously obscure (e.g. mephitic, olid, or stenchful). You’ll also find related terms (vile, rotten, pestilential), contrasting terms (deoderized, fresh, clean), and antonyms (fragrent, sweet) all in the same place, just as you would in Roget’s conceptually arranged International edition. Like I said, most writers are sure to find what they need on the first try.

The only other thesaurus that approaches this one is the Random House Collegiate, but I don’t think that one has definitions; this one does. I’m also pretty sure this one has more words than Random House, Roget’s 21st Century, or any other.

(I’m glad the guy below got to know thesaurus.)

If you want to take GRE GMAT or want to know thesaurus, it is.

AND It is cheaper than other books

The book goes into a lot of detail describing the format and styles of various business correspondence, but it is written in a very technical manner. Hard to use as a quick reference.

As an Executive Secretary, one of my tasks is to write documents. So I decided to buy a book that helped me to write documents in a professional and concise way. Thanks to God that one of my co-workers recommended this book to me. It is a marvelous and an essential book for all type of businesses.

This is an excellent book for every office. As an Executive I have to write a lot of important documents for my customers, and this book has helped me to obtain more knowledge and attract more customers in a professional way.

This book is an excellent review of the major doctrines of Catholicism and how they are in disagreement with the teachings of the Bible. Strong Biblical support is given for every point. It is significant that the author is a former Catholic and that he had significant Catholic training. The second half of the book gives one of the most complete & yet concise presentations of the Gospel of Jesus Christ I have read. It stands in stark contrast to the claims of Catholicism as to the way to obtain eternal salvation.

Though small in size, this book contains much information. Having been challenged by a friend, I read it at a time when I was sincerely searching for answers. I found the book to be thorough and comprehensive in its approach, though somewhat emotional in tone at times, stemming, no doubt, from the author's deep convictions. Mr. Webster raises and addresses many doctrinal differences between Catholics and Evangelicals. Several times while reading it, I found myself thinking, "I didn't know the Catholic Church still taught that...."

Mr. Webster has made a concise presentation of the topic--very worthwhile reading for all!

This small book is divided into three parts. In Part I, the author compares Roman Catholicism with the Gospel. Of particular interest is his comparison of Roman Catholic beliefs with those of the Judaizers, Paul wrote against in the book of Galatians. "It is quite clear from this that in Roman Catholicism faith in Christ alone is not sufficient for salvation. It is also necessary that one keep the Ten Commandments, be baptized, become a member of the Roman Church, and partake regularly of the sacraments. It is not Jesus alone, but Jesus plus all these other things." Page 91 - 92. He then provides a comparison chart that depicts parallels between Roman Catholicism and the Judaizers of Paul's day.

Part II is entitled The Way of Salvation. It is basic Christian doctrine. It defines the problem mankind has in being alienated from God, what Jesus Christ did for us, the necessary of repentance and faith, and the results of our salvation. It is basically the Biblical doctrines of the Christian faith in a compact form and depicts that the Roman Church has really missed the message of the Gospel. "The Lord Jesus Christ has perfectly fulfilled the demands of God's Law to which every one of us is accountable" (p. 113). "Unless a man repents towards God he cannot savingly believe in Jesus Christ" (p. 121). He explains the concepts of justification, sanctification, and glorification in terms that are very easy to understand with getting too much into the complexities of these subjects.

The finally part is Appendices. As there is always the accusation that one is inaccurate in his statements regarding the Roman Church, Webster provides quotations from official and authoritative statements on the distinctives of Roman Catholicism. There are Trent and Vatican Councils references on the Mass, on the Priesthood, on Confession and Penance, on the Eucharist, on Baptism, and on Salvation totally documented from official Roman Catholic sources.

I recommend that the reader start with Part II first before reading the rest of the book as it provides a beautiful portrayal of the basic Gospel message before getting into the actual doctrinal difference between Roman Catholicism and Biblical Christianity. This is a very excellent book for those that are new to apologetic literature.

"Philoctetes" takes place near the climax of the Trojan War. The title character has the great bow of Hercules, given by the demi-god on his pyre to Philoctetes's father. A member of the Achaean expedition that sailed to Troy, Philoctetes was making an altar on an island along the way when he was bitten by a snake. His cries of pain were so great that he was abandoned by his shipments, under the orders of Odysseus, and marooned on the deserted island of Lemnos. Alone and crippled, Philoctetes used the great bow to survive for the ten years the Achaeans have been fighting against Troy. During that time his hatred against the Achaeans in general, and Odysseus in particular, has grown.

Meanwhile, back at Troy, Odysseus and the other Achaean chieftains have learned from an oracle that Troy will fall only with the help of Philoctetes and his bow (a juicy tidbit it certainly would have been nice to have known eight or nine years earlier). Odysseus and Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, are sent to bring Philoctetes and his bow back to the war. Of course, Odysseus dare not show himself to Philoctetes and sends Neoptolemus to do the dirty work. Neoptolemus gains the confidences of the crippled man by lying about taking him home. During one of his agonizing spasms of pain, Philoctetes gives his bow to Neoptolemus. Regretting having lied to this helpless cripple, Philoctetes returns the bow and admits all, begging him to come to Troy of his own free will. Philoctetes refuses and when Odysseus shows his face and threatens to use force to achieve their goal, he finds himself facing a very angry archer.

In "Philoctetes" Sophocles clearly deals with the balance between the rights of the individual and the needs of society. But this is also a play about citizenship and the need for the idealism of youth to be give way to the responsibilities of adulthood. In fact, this lesson is learned both by Philoctetes, who is taught by the shade of Hercules who appears to resolve the tenses conclusion, and Neoptolemus, who finds his duties at odds with his idealized conception of heroism based upon his father. Although this is a lesser known myth and play, "Philoctetes" does raise some issues worth considering in the classroom by contemporary students.

"Philoctetes" is similar to other plays by Sophocles, which deal with the conflict between the individual and society, although this is a rare instance where Odysseus appears in good light in one of his plays; usually he is presented as a corrupter of innocence (remember, the Greeks considered the hero of Homer's epic poem to be more of a pirate than a true hero), but here he is but a spokesperson for the interests of the state. Final Note: We know of lost plays about "Philoctetes" written by both Aeschylus and Euripides. Certainly it would have been interesting to have these to compare and contrast with this play by Sophocles, just as we have with the "Electra" tragedies.

Good Greek tragedy. I especially find interesting the controversy behind the happy ending.

A group of plays, of which this was a member, won first prize in Athens. Philoctetes had been left marooned on an island several years earlier (because of his disease) under orders of Agamemnon and Menelaus. But, the two kings later discover that Troy cannot be conquered without Philoctetes and his bow, a bow given to him by Heracles. Odysseus and Neoptolemus (the son of the late Achilles) arrive at the island to persuade or trick Philoctetes to return with them. Neoptolemus wants to be noble in his actions; yet, his commander, Odysseus, wants to use guile. At the end, a deus-ex-machina device is used to resolve the conflict. The play has excellent characterization, a good plot, and steady movement.

If there is an interest in all manner of Winchester products, "Standard Catalog of Winchester" is an okay black and white price catalog of all sorts of items sold under the Winchester name. Even if you are not a Winchester collector, the contents are interesting to thumb through.

The firearms section is approximately 120 pages, which are virtually the same Winchester pages that appear in other Krause Publications such as "The Standard Catalog of Firearms" and "Fladerman's...", only expanded though the use of larger versions of the same pictures and illustrations. I only mention this duplication of content because, if you already have any of these other Krause publications, this book does not offer expanded or new information relating to firearms.

An excelent book for any Winchester fan! I found stuff I had no idea Winchester had manufactured. Highly Recomended.

This brand new, year 2000, 752 page softbound reference work contains everything you'll need and want to know about Winchester products. There are more than 90 very arge, sharp, full color photos and more than 2,500 great black and white photos. 2,500 major products are included and current values for more than 10,000 items. This is more than a picture-price guide. It's loaded with useful information for the Winchester enthusiast. Topics range from Winchester History, Firearms, Engraving, Cartridge Boxes, Shotshells to Reloading Tools and Supplies, Junior Rifle Corps, Pocket Knives, Fishing Equipment, Sports Items, Farm and Garden Tools, Axes, Carpentry Tools, Mechanic Tools, Kitchen and Household Appliances, Padlocks, Flashlights, and more and more. Wow !! There are even sections on Calendars, Posters, and Advertising and Trench Art. A Winchester enthusiast's dream come true. Items are easily located. I don't know what else could have been included in this book. Get it and enjoy, enjoy . . .

Webster's Spanish-English dictionary is an excellent book. Useful for Spanish class in school, or even good enought to help on a trip to Spain. The book is easy to use and makes translations quite simple. I highly recommend it.

It really is a great book it has everything you need for school, for work, even just for back ground reading. And it's in the form of a really good book!I say BUY it TODAY!

This year I've become fast friends with a woman from Venezuala. She has this book and that is how I know how great it is. Since she has only been in this country almost one year, it has been invaluable to her, and me as well.

We have used this book numerous times to translate the entire gamut of topics, words, items and meanings. And we've had a hilarious time as well. Such as when she needed to understand the difference between; 'snicker,' and 'sneaker,' 'boxes' and 'bucks,' (which she initially thought sounded the same!) Of course the killer of them all was when she ordered a 'coc,' not and not a 'Coke,' in our local Applebee's!

Now I'll be able to have my own copy for when we are on the telephone, and to help be better understand what she and her relations are talking about when they are speaking Spanish!

I truly hope that I'll continue to pick up the Spanish language as quickly as she has done, with the help of this book. Thank you, Pat