Through the lives of two women, Jew and Gentile, Julie immerses the reader in God's prophetic plan for the world. As they journey together, His plan for restoration and wholeheartedness unfolds - for all of us. This is a fascinating in-depth study, brilliantly written, yet easy to understand. I recommend it highly for mature Christians, men and women alike, who are seeking a new dimension in their walk with the Father.

Drawing from imagery in the book of Ruth, Homecoming exhorts readers to recover wholeheartedness in their pursuit of God, to reconcile past disappointments with God and journey toward a brighter future. The book echoes themes taught in the popular John Eldredge series, Wild at Heart and The Journey of Desire, but with a greater emphasis upon attaining mature intimacy with God as the Bride of Christ. The book gives lots of practical advice concerning how to grow in spiritual intimacy. It is an excellent resource for individual or small group study.

The Book of Ruth is about 3 pages long in most Bibles. In Homecoming, Julie Wilson creates a study of it that is 304 pages long, and more intricate--and intriguing--than anything I've ever seen about this Old Testament Book. Anyone who has ever said, "I don't understand the Old Testament," should read this book. The author has really done her homework and offers numerous cross-references to help you see how this story foreshadows the coming of Christ and the relationship of the Church as the Bride of Christ. But rather than being a ponderous treatise, it is a lighthearted and joyous look at what a mature faith can be. An important theme throughout is "spiritual friendship" and how believers can help each other through difficult times. Homecoming really opened my eyes to the Old Testament, and my heart to the notion of a "romantic relationship" with my Savior. Read it and you'll see what I mean!

I have never read a better, and funnier book. I read it over and over again. I gave it to all of my friends and they loved it as well. It gave me hours of entertainment. The Illustrations by Adrienne Hartman were exquisite. I laughed at every single one until my eyes teared. BUY THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This book hits home and I'm only 48! Funny book and I think it would make a great gift, especially for a friend's birthday. I could find a use for a dozen copies.

I loved this book and the wonderful illustrations by Adrienne Hartman. I laughed a lot at the things Little Old Ladies do, and I'm going to buy more copies to give to my women friends who are definitely not Little Old Ladies and don't want to be. I know a lot of people who describe their vacations by what they ate though! This is a perfect hostess gift and it would also be an ideal gift for Mother's Day.

I have referred to this book since it was published in 1996 and find it to be a treasure trove of information. It is well written and covers all issues that I have ever had the need to look up. As a woman experiencing perimenopause and now menopause, it has been a real aid to me. I find the description of HRT options to be the most informative I have found. I would like to see an update to reflect revisions to medical options since 1996, but with that proviso, give it a high recommendation.

Dr. Reichamn has written a well thought out health game plan for all women over thirty. She addresses many common health challenges and presents good options and explainations. When I realized at age 36, I was going through perimenopause,it was Reichman's book that got me on track. She offered help for my pounding heart, constant hot flashes, and troubles with sleeping. It was a godsend. As the creator and host of HotFlash!, an online perimenopause support group, I recommend this book for my new memebers. It has literally helped hundreds of women. Dr. Reichamn acknowledegs the special differences each woman possess and how these differences require unique solutions. She discusses both natural and traditional means to help women through perimenopause and other health challenges. If there is only one book to buy this would be it. I have read dozens of perimenopause/menopause books, conducted extensive research on the how the body changes with perimenopause/menopause and have talked with hundreds of women about their health needs. This book has it all. It reflects my belief that all women need to be educated about ALL aspects and therapies for perimenopause. Buy one for yourself, and buy one for your best friend : ).

Please consider putting the book on audio tape so others, who have less time to read, can listen to it in the car while driving to work or on long trips. Great book and very helpful. Debbie

This is the most moving story I've read in a long long time. Other reviewers have espoused the story's merits, and I can only agree with them.

Of all the moving and haunting scenes I think the scene in London's Covent Garden where Ruth, on her way to a rehearsal of Verdi's "Don Carlos," is rivetted to the spot when she sees a bag lady wearing the coat that Daniel bought in the early 1970's and had given away when he joined the church. Ruth 'identifies' the coat by the tear in the pocket that she herself had repaired, and gives the uncomprehending lady some money. It makes Ruth's final meeting with Daniel all the more heartbreaking. Their final parting, their last, almost indifferent, goodbye. And Ruth final matures as an artist. As the conductor says to her after the first night of Don Carlos; "Something happened to you between the dress rehearsal and the opening." "Well, yes, you could say that." replies the liberated Ruth.

It was interesting reading the other reviews as I had to look up both Colin Dye and Dorothy Squires on the Internet, and the scene where Daniel inists the shopper is Dorothy Squires is very funny. I can't quite see Pastor Dye doing this these days.

I also enjoy the panorama of the book, the varied locales, and the, oh so human, situations.

A great book.

I enjoyed this tome very very much. It manages to be both funny and sad and inspiring all at the same time. I have lived on a kibbutz as a volunteer and the scenes there are very well depicted. I think the funniest moment in the book, besides the Dorothy Squires business, [which is funny, but like the reviewer below, I had never heard of her], is the section where Ruth is fired as a tour guide at Yad Vashem for humming the overture to Wagner's "Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg" under her breath whilst showing round a group of elderly Americans. [Wagner is more or less banned in Israel.]

The scenes in London I find bitter-sweet, but enjoyable. What does come across is the loneliness of artistic endeavour in the young, when they are sustained by hope alone. Hope, and each other.

Ruth's fearful reunion with Daniel after ten years is heart-rending, but it rings so true. She has lived with an idealised vision of him, sustaining her through so much, and suddenly, in just a moment, the vision is gone.

It's well worth reading, and Iverna Tompkins is a very talented writer.

What a heart warming story this is. It a success story, and we all like a success story.

The book is about a young girl, Ruth Ben-Lazar, who longs to be a performer. Against her mother's wishes she leaves Tel Aviv and makes her way to London where, after a few dancing lessons, she gets work in a club as an exotic performer. The hours are long and the work dreary, but little by little she earns the money for her singing and dancing lessons. She works hard. Ruth is sustained in her daily life by a boy at her dancing school, Daniel, [whom I've been told is based on Colin Dye], who plans to give up dancing and become a preacher once he has fulfilled his ambition of dancing a leading role with a major ballet company.

There is a lot of humour and compassion in the plight of the two youngsters making their way in London. Ruth falls in love with Daniel and hopes he is willing to give up the life in London and return to Israel with her and live and work on a kibbutz. No such luck! Daniel takes on leading roles, and moves in very grand circles and then vanishes at the end of a season. Ruth discovers he has gone to Bible College.

Ruth returns to Israel. Ten years pass. Little by little she makes a career as an opera singer. She gets an engagement to sing in London and discovers Daniel who, instead of ministering to a small flock in the outer Hebrides as he expected to, is now the leader of a charismatic church in London.

I won't spoil the delight of the rest of the book. There's one sad little scene which especially haunts me. When Ruth finally meets Daniel again he is married. Having lived with an idealised image of him in her mind for over ten years she is shocked to see what he has become. The final straw is when Daniel's wife, Mary, [clutching a grapefruit juice spiked with gin] says quietly to Ruth: " I hope you don't love him too much - he isn't worth it any longer." Ruth flees the building and gets on with her life. She never sees Daniel again.

I find the theatrical aspect of this book very well written, it's obviously been carefully researched, if not actually experienced. Likewise the religious areas. Some of the parts with the young people living in London in the early 1970s is killingly funny. The scene where Daniel accosts a middle-aged lady in Kensington High Street and insists she is Dorothy Squires and will brook no denial despite the lady's protests had me weeping with laughter. [If Daniel is really Colin Dye and he really did this it's both very funny and a little bit cruel. Dorothy Squires, a famous Welsh torch-singer who died a couple of years ago aged 83, was actor Roger Moore's first wife, some years older than him, and led a very up-and-down life. Two years after she and Moore divorced in 1968 the 55 year old singer spent $10.000 of her own money to hire the prestigious London Palladium for a comeback. Her close friends were sceptical but the theatre was sold out within 10 hours of the box office opening and she had a huge success. She was a major 'camp' [not neccessarily gay, either,] icon of post war period in the UK and was always good for copy. She had legions of fans of all ages and from all walks of life. This isn't too well explained in the book, and I had to look her up on the Internet to understand who she was.]

Another haunting scene is Ruth's explanation of the story of her biblical namesake, Ruth, and Naomi, from the book of Ruth, to a group of young children on the kibbutz.

This book is about courage, guts, gritty landscapes, beautiful blue skys, hopes, fears and acceptence. Read it.

"...nicely drawn fun, with lots of cheesecake." -- Bud Plant Comic Art

"Recommended Reading!" -- Parsec, the Canadian Science Fiction Magazine

I was amazed at the super rich colors and terrific drawings done on heavy weight supergloss paper. I hope all comics look like this in the future. A multilayered treatise reminiscent of early Stan Lee. Bottom line: my senses were titillated; yet my morals were not offended.

The Invisible Dirty Old Man was a scream. It's definitely good for a lot of laughs -- and almost as many trips to the bathroom. I'm getting in line for the movie Now!

An excellent introduction to the Septuagint, it tells you most of the things you may have wanted to know about the Septuagint, but didn't know where to ask. Discusses the differences between the Hebrew and Greek bibles. The style is very scholarly, the author is not interested in pushing one viewpoint or another, only to present all the current thinking and research in a way that the reader can make up their own mind and pursue further research if they so choose.

This book is an outstanding resource, both for beginners and seasoned amateurs. I can not comment for the professional, since this is not my profession. LXX study is very complicated, and has many interlocking issues including biblical scholarship, textual criticism, and historical analysis. Much of the material published in LXX Studies is highly specialized, and assumes a great deal of knowledge not easily accessible to the amateur or the beginner. This book is a brief survey of the many fields of research into the LXX and it also serves as an annotated bibliography. It assumes no a priori knowledge of LXX Studies, and presents the many different specialties in a broad overview. And at the end of each topic is a section "To Continue Your Study" giving an annotated bibliography on that particular specialty.

It has helped me to understand what the LXX is, how it was put together, and the relationship of the many different texts which are used to generate the critical modern editions of the LXX, such as Rahlfs "Septuaginta." It has also helped me to understand the relationship between the various specialties in LXX Studies.

The only drawback to this book is the sequence of the topics covered, since I had a hard time locating the excellent analysis of the modern critical editions. But this is a highly personal objection, and a small one at that.

The two most impressive aspects of this work are 1) its organization and 2) it assumes no prior education in Septuagint studies on the part of the reader. The authors are careful to explain for the beginner such things as linguistic concepts and text-critical methods as they relate to biblical studies as a whole, and specifically to the Septuagint. It is not even assumed, for example, that the reader is aware the Septuagint and the LXX are one and the same. Throughout the book, Jobes and Silva clearly describe the numerous difficulties involved in this field, giving several examples along the way. As the book progresses, the level of difficulty increases, and the reader is made keenly aware of the problems involved in working with the Septuagint.

The book contains an outstanding glossary of terms, a subject index, a Scripture index, an index of authors, and a chart giving the corresponding English references for Septuagint references (as they do not always harmonize). It is organized into three parts, each part successively more involved and advanced than the previous. Total contents: Introduction, 14 chapters, 4 appendices, and 3 indices.

Introduction Part 1: The History of the Septuagint--Introduces the subject, including how "Septuagint" is pronounced and its relevance to biblical studies; describes its origin, how it was edited and copied over time, and introduces the reader to modern published editions of the Septuagint; explains translation methods of the Septuagint's translators. No Greek or Hebrew is required and any Greek or Hebrew terms used are transliterated.

Part 2: The Septuagint in Biblical Studies--Covers textual criticism; linguistic issues relating to Koine Greek in the New Testament and the Septuagint; importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls; the New Testament's use and quotation of the Septuagint; and the Septuagint translators' hermeneutical methods. Unlike Part 1 of the book, the reader will benefit more from this section by having at least an elementary knowledge of Greek and Hebrew. Terms are no longer transliterated.

Part 3: The Current State of Septuagint Studies--Introduces the reader to significant scholars in the field; current lexical and grammatical work; progress and theories related to textual criticism of the Septuagint; and theological factors during the Hellenistic period which may have affected interpretation and translation.

Overall, an excellent introduction. I myself have never before been exposed to the many issues related to Septuagint studies. I was impressed with the book's organization, clarity, and comprehensiveness in introducing the beginner to the difficulties and many related fields of study which are involved in working with the Septuagint.

Jill Bossert has captured the essence of this fascinating artist from his immigrant beginnings to his lavish life style at the height of his career. It's a captivating story of a time when illustrators lived the life of celebrity equal to today's most famous movie stars. Bossert's sensitive descriptions of John La Gatta's work shows she's knowledgable about the art of illustration and that she appreciates the fact that La Gatta's work is worthy of acclaim.

This book communicates an era when illustration dictated taste and artists were as famous as rock stars. I recommend it to anyone interested in American popular culture. The reproductions are first rate, very high quality.

John La Gatta bridged the enormous gap between the disciples of the Pyle-Wyeth school and the candy box illustrators who eventually closed down a great century of American illustration. Unlike the photo-dependent noodlers who followed him, La Gatta carefully chose his models and worked directly from life, a fact clearly evident in the pieces selected for this well-crafted book. I would have liked an index and another signature or two to accomodate larger reproductions of his earlier work from the 1920s and 30s, which I feel would have more than justified a higher cover price. This book is a bargain considering the importance of John La Gatta and his place in the history of this uniquely American art form. La Gatta and his tasteful style of illustration are to art what Ellington and the American Songbook are to music.

Of the five commentaries in the JPS series on the first five books of the Bible, Milgrom's is the best.

Milgrom's commentary reveals a healthy respect for classical Jewish commentators but doesn't hesitate to address and add modern Biblical research. Milgrom excels when explaining the more obscure portions of Numbers, such as the rituals, calendars, and sacrifices. In addition to his verse by verse commentary, Milgrom adds lengthy excurses, exploring in more depth the issues raised in the commentary.

For example, his insights into the meaning of "tzitzit" - the fringes attached to four cornered garments - are outstanding. Milgrom argues that attaching the linen tzitzit with the dyed blue thread (techelet) to one's garment as required by the text, rendered the garment "shaatnez" - a forbidden combination of wool and linen. Milgrom notes that "shaatnez" is generally forbidden to be worn, but was permitted to be used in the construction of the Tabernacle and the clothing of the priests. By allowing, indeed requiring, every Israelite to attach shaatnez tzitzit to the corners of his/her garments, the Bible was drumming into the people the mandate that they be "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."

Similarly, Milgrom's treatment of the paradox of the Red Cow, whose ashes purified those rendered impure by contact with the dead but rendered impure those who handled them is a tour de force of modern Biblical scholarship.

On almost every page, you will enjoy reading insights you may never before have come across. This book is a treasure for anyone willing to spend the time it requires.

Like all the volumes in the JPS Torah commentary series, this volume is simply the best in its area. It contains the complete Hebrew text of Genesis, the JPS's new English translation, and an extensive original commentary that illuminates the text like a 1000 watt searchlight. On average, each four or five lines of text gets a full page of explanation and commentary, so every subject gets covered in detail.

Like all the JPS Torah commentators, this work use of traditional rabbinic commentaries, and the Mishna, Midrash and Talmud. But it doesn't end here: The commentary goes on to make good use of literary analysis and comparative Semitics; intertextual commentary relating each book to other biblical books, and evidence from modern archaeological, discoveries.

JPS Torah commentary is excellent. It has been an outstanding tool in my personal study of the Law. The scholarship is evident and the detailed comments provide great insight into the scriptures. Highly recommended for students of the Law.

Parents, this book is wonderful! If you have a 2 year old child that will not seem to listen and you have tried everything then you need this book. It explains why screaming, yelling and spanking do not work on some children. This book explains why your 2 year old acts like he or she does and how to deal with your 2 year old when they misbehave. I have read several books on this subject and this one I definitely like the best. It is small and easy to read. Good luck!

I recommend this book to all of my friends because it is very thorough and very short! This is especially helpful if the other parent isn't much of a reader (at least about child development) I highlight a few chapeters when I want my husband to understand more about what our daughter is going through.

I have read a lot of books on child development/parenting/etc but this short book is one of the best. Everything is there that is in the longer books (and more) but as a busy parent I actually have time to read it. Even better, I can give it to my husband to read ( a chapter or two) and he'll do it! I've also read the toilet training book by this author and it is much much better than anything else--no formulas, just good common sense.