A very solid book on all aspects of the short game by one of the top rated PGA instructors. Includes practice routines and drills, equipment needed, course management, grip, distance control, shots for every situation(rough, sand, backspin, chipping, and even a little on putting and much more), as well as a list of golf schools if you REALLY need help. Even lists who and what to watch for when watching golf on TV. I love "Idiot's" books for reference, this one included, for their great indexing and detailed contents pages that let you go directly to a section without reading the whole book if you are looking for an instant solution to one particular problem. I would also recommend Dave Pelz's great book.

I am a new pillow sewer and this was a great book that was easy to learn from. I just loved it.

Creationism on Trial is but one of the many books by the highly acclaimed and superarticulate theologian Langdon Gilkey. In this book, Gilkey recounts his participation in the Arkansas "balanced treatment" case. The first part of the book reads almost like a novel as Gilkey playfully and skillfully tells his story of how the ACLU contacted him, and how he eventually came to be one of the major witnesses for the plaintiff in the 1982 McLean vs. The Arkansas Board of Education trial that struck down the 1981 action of the Arkansas legislature, Act 590. Act 590 required science educators to teach biological and physical origins from two different perspectives: From a purely scientific point of view and from a recent creationist point of view. Gilkey states that upon reading the act, he was immediately sure that this act required the teaching of religion in the science classroom, and he then spent his time preparing to articulate why this was the case. The next portions of the book recount his deposition, testimony and cross-examination during the trial, and impressions of the other witnesses for the plaintiff.

The portions of the book that cover Gilkey's deposition and testimony tend to read like a textbook on philosophical theology. Gilkey almost certainly relied on the court transcripts and one must salute his desire for accuracy. Abbreviation and summaries of some of this admittedly complex material would have made the book more readable, as would have interludes that revealed what was rolling around in his highly productive mind.

Of particular interest were Gilkey's impressions of the other witnesses in the Little Rock trial. His description of Michael Ruse and Francisco Ayala were particularly entertaining and lively. However, a major disappointment of this portion was that Gilkey did not see the creationist witnesses and compare them to the witnesses for the ACLU. Gilkey states that he did not stay for their testimony and therefore he was not able to comment on them, which is certainly fair and just. However, his perspective and comparison of the two groups of witnesses would have been worth their weight in gold.

Gilkey's description of the Little Rock trial also provides an interesting perspective relative to the other participants. For example, Michael Ruse's description of the trial in "But Is It Science?" provides a stark contrast to Gilkey's account, since Ruse sees himself as having narrowly escaped defeat during his testimony, while Gilkey sees Ruse as almost playing with the defense attorneys. Another interesting contrast can be found between Gilkey's work and the account in "The Creator in the Courtroom," written by Gilkey's counterpart, Norman Geisler. Geisler was the religion expert retained by the defense, who argued that Act 590 did not establish religion in the science classroom, but was somewhat embarrassed on the stand by his answer to questions about the nature and existence of UFOs. Geisler views Act 590 as being flawed legislation, but not fatally so. Geisler also saw genuine problems in the plaintiff's case, but he certainly did not convince judge Overton, whom Geisler argues, and not without some cause, was biased for the plaintiff. Nevertheless, amongst these other accounts Gilkey's description of the trial stands as one of the most elegantly written and beautifully crafted books on the McLean trial.

Having said all this and in light of the fact that I genuinely enjoyed the book I must offer one concern. Gilkey is a theologian in the liberal tradition and he tends to present a "two-house" view of the relationship between the sciences and religion. Religion, according to Gilkey, attempts of address ultimate questions, whereas science is interested in proximate origins. Therefore, these two fields of study occupy different domains of human inquiry and thought that should not impose on each other. While this view has much to commend it, and while Gilkey's explanation of it was nothing short of both perspicuous and cogent, I find this view a bit unsatisfactory. If, as a Christian, Gilkey believes that God made Himself known to people in a variety of ways, then this means that God has affected the physical world. If Jesus really turned water into wine, we should be able to verify that the liquid in the jugs is really wine and not just water. If God really became man, then we should be able to scientifically verify that the person lame from birth can now walk without help, or the person who could not see from birth can now see. The two-domain view really fails here, since it does not recognize that Christians believe that God has and in many ways continues to affect the physical world. Therefore, while science and religion do live in different houses, they do tend to visit each other from time to time, and they might even make statements about each other that can be challenged on the other's turf.

Despite this reservation, Gilkey remains a brilliant scholar who has written a wonderful and highly readable book.

Cloud has taken us on his journey to sea from the historic port of New Bedford, Mass. Setting out to "Go a Whalin" Cloud seems to not have fully appreciated what he was in for and did not take the advice of an old salt on shore who had warned him off. Sailing for the oil was the boom of his day, and the years it took to return were well rewarded if the ship did well. Each day cloud takes us about the ship to feel the day's events as he personally lived them, the chase, the pull, the hook, the cutting, the boiling, the oil always the oil. Cloud is very eloquent in his description of the crew and is always one for a humourous tone if it need be. A longing for home and the comforts of family are the true story here and the diary is always the best to read the real story behind the words. A perfect book for a rainy stormy night under the covers!!!

This book is a great start for someone researching environmental toxins from a psychological perspective. It points you to the key academic journals and the subject headings provide you with keywords to search PsychLit or PsychInfo. A great reference material for someone studying psychology, sociology, or the environment.

This is a very good book. I think that everyone can learn something from Sam's book.

Wonderfully witty and delightfully illustrated, Sue Bue brings us 101 ways to keep our friendships with our girlfriends rich and supportive. If you have a group of truly special friends, share this book with them -- you'll all laugh and enrich the tradition of friendship.

First the good. "Life in Typography" is a beautifully illustrated paperback containing gorgeous, intriguing scans of pages and illustrations from the work of typographer/illustrator Jan Tschichold. Fortunately, a number of reprints in the book are reprinted actual size, to give the viewer a distinctly real vantage point into what the originals actually looked like. So unless you've got the cash to buy out-of-print books, this is by far the most sane route. And it's not too expensive either.

But the only problem I had with the book is that I wanted to learn more about the artist himself. Tschichold's bold, at times abbrasive tone comes out in his pen sketched notes on a number of reprints and in-house drafts, leading the reader to believe he was probably one obnoxious, colorful, temperamental character. Instead, "A Life in Typography" sheds little light on the 'life' of Tschichold, and focuses instead on images with little explanation.

Were there no interviews with Tschichold that could have been reprinted? A larger window into his persona would have really helped understand his persistance and drive for typographic perfection.

But of everything reprinted in the book, quite possibly the most stirring, worthy part is a four page reprint of "Composition Rules" written by Tschichold and distributed to employees of the Penguin Book company. It's forceful, blunt, and essential reading for anyone involved in typesetting. He explains in detail how to treat capitals, italics, paragraph indents and punctuation marks. His thoughts and opinions about typography leap off the page.

So if you need a quick reference of his work, or are someone who just discovered the name Tschichold, this is a must have for your design library.

I purchased this for several reasons, but mostly because I love Scripture. Having read most of the Bible at least once, and other parts numerous times, I figured that this would help me keep refreshed, as I listen to it during my frequent 2 and a half hour road trips in my car. Well delivered Scripture can be a better companion than even good music at times...

Max McLean has a wonderful delivery, and the subtle, simple music in the background adds just the right amount of color. I especially liked his telling of the 4 Gospels. It sounded real, fresh, but never over-dramatized.

As a Catholic, I do have two objections. One cannot however be considered an objection, as I bought this knowing that it was a Protestant translation, and therefore is missing the Deuterocanonicals. Alas, I won't have the pleasure of hearing Max recite those; I'll simply have to read the text to keep refreshed :)

Third - and this is actually a criticism, is the translation used. While the choice of the NIV was logical for the producers, as its a popular and easily-readable translation, I do take issue with the way some things are inconsistently translated. I was actually not aware of a few finer points of translation until I heard this, my previous Scripture studies having used other translations (NAB, KJV, RSV, Jerusalem Bible).

While I feel that the NIV is an accurate translation overall, and don't want to accuse the translators of intentional doctoring without a compelling case, there are two words that seem to have been inconsistently translated in order to de-Catholicize the Bible on the two foundational points of Catholic/Protestant contention. The two words are paradosis and ergon, which mean, respectively, tradition and works.

In every single case where faith is stressed when discussing justification, the NIV translates the word ergon as "works." When works are being elevated, the NIV translates the same word - ergon - as "deeds" or "actions" (though we should have expected the Greek word poieo if it were correctly translated this way). See James 2:24.

Regarding paradosis, the word is correctly translated as "traditions" when traditions of men are condemned, but mistranslated as "teachings" (which is actually didaktikos in Greek) when the adherance to Tradition is commanded (see 2 Thessalonians 2:15, 2 Thessalonians 3:6, and 1 Corinthians 11:2). However, to be fair, I did notice that in the printed edition of the NIV, the correct translation of paradosis is given in the footnotes here.

Every translation suffers at least some from the inherent bias of the translators, but these instances seem too uncoincidental to be innocent. The entire Catholic/Protestant seperation rests on the issues discussed in these verses; why the need to doctor the text if the issues are as "perspicuous" as they're proposed to be by some? In any case, I see no reason to throw the baby out over 4 verses of bathwater :)

I do VERY highly recommend this set, as it truly does bring Scripture alive and makes it very accessible to anyone. Its not hard to find time to listen to CDs, so no more excuses for not reading the Bible!