This book is a collection of stories about mostly straight people who had friends or relatives come out. One thing that happens to straight friends and relatives at someone's coming-out is that the gay person is out and the family or friends go into the closet. This book explores how family and friends deal with gayness and how they come out of their closets, too. There is a briefest of brief introductions that summarizes the stories to follow, and there is a fairly extensive resource guide in the back full of addresses and organizations of every kind for information, support, and advice. If you are a straight friend or family member of a gay person, this is a great resource--although I think you might also profit from books such as:

Coming Out of Shame--written for gay and lesbian people but for a straight reader an important and valuable insight into gay and lesbian people's feelings and emotional difficulties coming out

Stranger at the Gate--if you have conflicted religious views, this autobiography is invaluable

In the end, however, this is a great first step to coming to understand and support the gay or lesbian person in your life. Congratulations for considering buying this book!

Tad Brooks and Sherry Jones hiked the portion of the Continental Divide Trail from Waterton Lake to the southern boundary of Yellowstone in 1989. As the official CDT route is still under construction (or is as yet poorly maintained) in places, this book is now a bit dated; however it is still a useful adjunct to planning anything from a day hike to a through trek.

The authors have painstakingly set down detailed trail-finding information and mileage data. The book would have benefited from better editing in the elevation profiles--several of the figures are wrong, although use of a topo map should make these obvious. This book has been my introduction to the Montana CDT, and I'm still using it extensively for my own hikes.

An extremely thorough listing of lakes and streams in Western Montana. A must-have if you are adventurous and tired of visiting the same lakes everyone else visits. This book gives you the location of the body of water by township/section numbers, directions for how to reach the trail or get closest to the lake, and what you'll find to catch once you get there. If you want to find the lakes which no other book mentions, some of which aren't even on the maps, this is your passport to many weekends of fine hiking and fishing. My dad had a 1970-something version of the same book which we used to explore the Jewel Basin. I just got this updated release this summer, and my kids and I love to find a lake in the book, locate its position on a map, and then go find it. Brings out the explorer in everyone. From my experiences, I've found the directional information to be very accurate, fishing information is good, but changes with each Montana winter. Enjoy the hunt!

I have used the companion volume on a hike along the Colorado stage of the Divide trail. The format of that guide was excellent and the route description, although brief was accurate and most useful. My main criticism's of the Colorado volume are reserved for the Maps, reproduced from USFS sheets and inadequate in topographical detail, and the weight that for a trail Guide was rather heavy(too many nice photos, interesting but not essential bakground information, and heavy weight glossy paper).

The New Mexico volume is in an identical format and so it remains on the heavy side. I will have to pare it down into individual segments and post them ahead to post offices along the trail to be collected. However the maps are a great improvement as they are reproductions of Topo Sheets with all the necessary detail of topography and land forms to engender confidence in route finding when bushwacking. As with Colorado, waymarks are included that use latitude and longitude so entered on a GPS set it can be used to keep you on Trail. All the necessary information for re-supply and access to and from the Trail is included although I will have to test its accuracy when I am on Trail this spring. There is some complexity in the route choices along Stages 19 and 20 North of Pie Town that make for difficulty in following the sequence of pages but I guess that this will resolve itself when on trail. There is an inconsistency in continuity between the Guides as the New Mexico volume is written assuming a Hike proceeding Northward while the subsequent Colorado volume assumes a Southward going trek. Incidently the Wyoming guide reverts to a Northward progress again. I expect this guide to be an essential purchase for any thru hiker for it establishes a definitive route for the CDT through the state. I will comment again on opinion of the book when I get back from the Hike when I have had real use of it.

An excellent read for anyone who considers themselves a member of the American left. The author offers important considerations for all activists who think they are doing the right thing. Croteau carefully describes how far the middle class left and the working class have drifted from each other. The conclusions he draws are well thought out and, at times, surprising. The research methods that he uses are interesting and thought provoking. Croteau does nothing to conceal his biases; it was nice to read a book by someone so up front about his goals.

Be aware - this is only the student handbook. The exercises can be used on their own but you aren't getting the full curriculum without the teacher's handbook.

A good story about prison life. And about a serious problem in America. Prison overcrowding. It also shows how races can work together in a hard situation. These characters are as real and tangible as the people next door. Worth a read.

It is rare to find superb writing and a gripping plot in the same novel. However, both are present in this gem of a story. My advice before picking up this novel is to go to a secluded spot and don't plan on leaving until you finish because you won't want to put this book down. One gets the feeling that Sommers is a master in the making and we are privledged to be able to watch him develop. But back to the topic at hand. This book has it all, good, evil, morality, meaning, philosophy, crime, punishment, sex, and a very attractive cover. If you like reading -- better yet, if you CAN read -- you should read this book.

People wonder why I choose most of my reading from independent publishers. The reason is simple. Every once in a while there is a treasure buried in the rubble. Adam Sommers' first novel is not just a treasure but a tour de force. Someone at a major publishing company that rejected this book kicks themselves every morning, and well they should. This is a riveting story that you will want to read over and over. Buy this for someone you know and you'll have a friend for life. Bravo!!!

A stiff, slow-to-develop installment in an otherwise exciting OP-CENTER series by Tom Clancy, et. al. In the new-world order, the bad buys are no longer the Soviets or rogue nations, instead they are our own government officials.

Op-Center Director Paul Hood gets to the bottom of terrorist activities in the Caspian sea, only to learn that it is somehow connected to the President’s deteriorating mental state. In a suspenseful ending, Hood solves the riddle with help from a Russian spy and the First Lady.

This installment seems mechanical and cookie-cutter with humorless characters. First-time OP-CENTER readers might want to try an earlier novel, while purists will want to stay with the story line and character developments.

I've read reviews of a number of other reviewers, who commented Divide and Conquer was not as good as the previous Op-Center novels. I don't agree with them. I actually think Divide and Conquer is the best of the series. By plotting a chain of events, which unfold in a very short manner of time, the team behind Divide and Conquer (including Tom Clancy, Steve Pieczenik and Jeff Rovin) creates a very tense-full situation. I think the average reader of Divide and Conquer will have a lot of fun reading this book.

What also struck me as remarkable, was the fact that for the first time in a very long series of Op Center novels, the United States of America seemed vulnerable. Usually the Clancy novels don't mention the weaknesses of this Worldpower. But by creating an "internal" conspiracy - a conspiracy by Americans - against the President of the USA, and by revealing the American "Achilles' tendons" to the public, the team of Op Center writers really surprised me. I'd surely recommend this book to Clancy fans and also to others, since you will spend a great time reading it (regarding the great plotting and excitement that rushes through this novel, that won't be a very long time). The fact that Clancy has finally revealed America's weaknesses, makes this novel even more inspiring!

I have been really disappointed in the Op-Center series since the first book. They have just seemed to have mediocre story lines, and not much character development at all. Also, the never-ending quotes by "famous people" just gets to be tiresome. However, this book's storyline was intriguing, and the Paul Hood character seemed to begin to feel like a real person again. One who the reader could actually enjoy talking to. I am glad for the fact that Rodgers was not such a main character in this book. Rodgers seems like too much of a protaginist to me. Also, he seems to quote more from books, essays, and speeches than the other characters. So, if you like Paul Hood, but could do without Rodgers, this is a good book for you!

The title of this book suggests that it is a careful analysis of the different doctrines dividing the various branches of Christianity. In fact, much of the book is a ham-handed critique of Catholic beliefs. The author is, to judge from this book, rather unqualified for this task. Nearly every time he presents the Catholic position, he either presents a caricature or an untruth. Whether this is out of malice, sloppiness, or ignorance I don't know. Anyone looking to understand the distinctions between different strands of Christianity would do much better to look elsewhere.

If you're looking for something from a Catholic perspective, I'd recommend Peter Kreeft. For a general, classic perspective on Christian faith in general, read "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis.

...don't place it under the disguise of objectivity! The book misleads the reader into thinking that he/she will get a fair overview of various doctrines that are causing schism (strangely enough he doesn't address Sola Scriptura, quite possibly the #1 cause of schism, but I digress). Instead you'll get the Reformed Baptist position, some mud slinging and guilt-by-association for the other position, then a hasty rebuttal the opposing position (this was especially the case on the section on baptism, which didn't even review one of the key texts for baptismal regeneration: Acts 22:16).

If you're just getting into theology and agree with the Reformed Baptist perspective of scripture, than you might find this book very interesting and helpful (Lutzer has some cogent arguments in the Christological chapters). But please, don't let the caricatures that he sets up as Catholic theology color your view of Catholics, there are much better defenses of our view points than Lutzer will let on.

The is one of the finest books I've read for it's scope and size in it's particular genre. I found the book incredibly fascinating in it's thorough coverage of important historical issues regarding church doctrine and theology. Erwin Lutzer is a great communicator who is able to make the history of church doctrine interesting and accessible. I find his style to be light and thought provoking, not heavy and dull. I am reading the book for a third time. What else can I say? Lutzer seems to lean towards a Calvinistic view of scripture concerning Predestination and Free Will, which I believe is largely biblical. Erwin is a clear headed, very bright minded communicator of biblical truth; in my opinion. You will not want to miss this read! I could not recommend a finer book, by a finer author.

If you're looking for stuff about bigfoot(s),look elsewhere. (Sanderson's and Green's books are the best.) This book is about a trek in bigfoot country, something I've always wanted to do. When I finally do it, I hope I have better luck than Pyle had. This book is OK if you're looking for a story about an uneventful walk in the woods.

This is the travel log of Pyle's attempt to cross the Dark Divide in South Western Oregon. Forming the framework of the journey is a search for Bigfoot--not just the beast (although that's there too), but what the idea of Bigfoot means to our humanity, culture and to our place in the universe. He also investigates the people who believe (including everyone from quacks to scientists) and those that do not. The strengths of the book shine when Pyle is exploring ideas. He has some important things to say about the importance of wilderness, and the necessity of wild unknown things lurking in our subconscious. I also liked the balanced treatment he gave the question of Bigfoot's existence. You are never sure if he is a believer or sceptic, but he leaves you with the sense that perhaps the question is more important than the answer. The book is not without faults, the biggest was his nature writing, which sometimes seem to plod along with unnecessary detail. Too often it contained decorative descriptions that reminded me of exercises from a creative writing class. This made reading the book an uneven experience, with some parts of the book so good that I could not put it down, and with other sections I could not wait to put behind me. It was especially annoying when he produced long lists of plants and animals that for me, not being from that area of the country, meant nothing. Overall, however, the book is well worth the read. It left me thinking deeply and seemed to put the question of Bigfoot's existence on a more philosophical plane. I would especially recommend the book to people interested in wilderness, to those exploring why we believe the things we do, or those wanting a balanced and informed examination of the question of Bigfoot's existence.

In this book you will take a trip through some of America's last unexplored wilderness. The Author takes you on his travels hiking thru the forested wilderness in Washington State in an honest attempt to seek out the animal Bigfoot. Along the way the Author stops to interview the big names in bigfoot research (thereby adding his own to this group). The text is a "good read" and the suspense is present as the Author narrates his own encounter with Sasquatch. That's towards the end of the book, but the entire journey is worth the read. The only bigfoot book that tops this in scientific inquiry is "Big-Footprints" by Grover Krantz. Nice work Pyle!