This book is hilarious. It is very funny. The author knows exactly what the love of books is all about. It is filled with interesting trivia about booklovers everywhere and in all time periods. Guaranteed to make you realize how much you love books. Why, it will point your attention to certain things you do so unconsciously, which are trademarks of a true biblioholic.

If you're seriously contemplating getting rid of the furniture so you have more room for books, or if every employee of every book store in town knows you by name, dash out and get Biblioholism!

This wonderful book often had me laughing so hard that the bookshelves shook. Why anyone might consider that owning thousands of books could constitute an addiction is, of course, beyond me, but if you think you might have this dangerous bug, set aside some time to enjoy Tom Raabe's creation.

This book is not for the novice. Not only is it for book owners, but also for friends and love ones who cannot comprehend why someone would want to own hundreds, even thousands of books. This book is funny and true-to-life, and offers sage advice to book owners on how to deal with their passion. I knew my fiance and I were compatible when his booklist rivaled mine, AND did not include too many duplicates for when the time comes when we will eventually combine our collections. Wedding gifts...well...books are always nice!

This wasn't a bad book if you wanted to know about the history of sniping. The stories from real-life snipers read like a novel, and they were entertaining. However, if you want to know about the applications and tools of snipers, this book isn't worth it.

One shot one kill is a terrific book for those who enjoy reading the experiences of snipers from all parts of history.It gives amazing accounts from World War II and the Vietnam War among others.It's an especially good book because the authors have a huge base of knowledge on the subject and have an effective way of explaining the circumstances in which the snipers in this book preformed their duties.Again a terrific book that will make one appreciate the art of sniping.

The art of sniping from the American Revolution to Korea then to Vietnam. The best of the best are portrayed in this easy to read novel. For all of those who have read Marine Sniper this is a must read. Snipers from Carlos Hathcock to Jim Land tell their story in this fast paced book. It is very informative and explains each situation and the art of sniping. It gets my seal of approval, and is a must read.

Since he wrote these stories during the several years he spent in Brattleboro, VT, we of the North Country have a particular affinity for Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Books. The most familiar are the Mowgli tales, basis for the very good Disney movie. Mowgli is an Indian infant who is lost in the jungle after Shere Khan (the tiger) kills his family. Bagheera (the black panther) places him with a wolf family that has a newborn litter. Mowgli's new "parents" and Bagheera and Baloo (the brown bear) sponsor him for membership in the Wolf Pack and, much to Shere Khan's chagrin, he is admitted. Mowgli is raised according to Jungle Law, but all the while Shere Khan is plotting his revenge and ingratiating himself with the younger wolves. Eventually, he leads a rebellion against Akela, the pack's aging leader and attacks Mowgli, who beats him away with a burning firebrand. In these and the several other Mowgli stories--there are some prequels--Kipling strikes a nice balance between anthropomorphizing the animals and understanding Mowgli's natural superiority.

Also appearing in this collection is a story I've loved since I first saw the Classic Cartoon version--Rikki Tikki Tavi. It tells the story of an intrepid young mongoose and his life or death battle to protect an Indian villa from a couple of particularly unpleasant cobras. Rikki Tikki Tavi has always seemed to me to be one of the great heroes in all of literature.

These are great stories for young and old. For folks who worry about Kipling's potentially imperialist, racist or racialist overtones (see review), rest assured, these tales are free of such themes. They offer an excellent opportunity to introduce kids to the work of a true master storyteller.

GRADE: A

This was probably one of my most favorite books as a young child if not my favorite. The way Kipling shows the struggle of this young boy in the jungle is amazing. He fails to leave out any detail and throughout the whole story your totally caught up in it without one point of boredom. I recommend this to any parent looking for a good book to read to their children or to have their kids read. Kipling is a great author and after doing a report on him and reading some of his other works I recommend those as well, especially A White Man's Burden. If your looking for books by a author who mixes fiction with truth, action and adventure with tales that bring in more serious aspects Kipling is the author for you.

The story of Mowgli, a boy raised by wolves in the jungles of 19th century India, charmed me when I was young no less than it does today. Kipling wrote this to celebrate his love of India and it's wild animals as well as to show again some of his frequent themes of honor, loyalty, and perserverance. While his writing may seem 'dated' to some, to others the truths he includes rise above politics and 'current correctness'. Baloo the Bear, Shere Khan the Tiger, Bagheera the Panther, Kaa the Python were all childhood friends of mine, and reading these Jungle Book stories to your own children today will result in their exposure to such old fashioned concepts as sticking by your friends in adversity, helping your family, relying on yourself. Good lessons then, good lessons now. Mowgli learns the value of 'good manners' early on, learns that 'all play and no work' leads to unexpected troubles, learns that thoughtless actions can have devasting consequences. By showing Mowgli in an often dangerous 'all animal' world, we see reflections of modern human problems presented in a more subtle light. Kipling leads children down the jungle path into adventures beyond their day to day imagining and along the way, he weaves subtle points in and out of the stories, he shows the value of 'doing for yourself', of 'learning who to trust'. All of this in a tale of childhood adventure that's never been equaled. The book is over 100 years old now, and there are terms & concepts from the age of Empire that aren't 'correct' today. Parents can edit as needed as they read bedtime stories, but I've found that children learn early on that the world changes, and that some ideas that were popular long ago did not prove to be correct. Explaining this, too, is a part of parenting. Some of our current popular ideas may not stand the test of time, but I suspect that 100 years from now parents will still read the Jungle Book to their children. And the children will still be charmed, thrilled and instructed in valuable life-lessons.

I have over 10 years of DB2 DBA experience and see this book owned by every DBA. This is a useful book but with many shortcomings. I liked the Third Edition better and would not buy this book to move from V5 to V6. The author attempts to cram a bookshelf of DB2 manuals and IBM Red Books into one book. No wander it is incomplete and is full of errors and inaccuracies. The book grew from 1,395 pages to 1,640 pages in current edition. I expected many corrections from previous edition but many errors remain. For example Craig has no mention of UNLOAD EXTERNAL option for REORG utility neither for DB2 V5 nor V6. What about INSERT via SELECT ? REFORMAT ? Left join example, and so on. The list can go on for pages. The current fourth addition is even worst then previous. Many errors from the third edition are not corrected, DB2 V6 features are scattered thruout the book without clear distinction from earlier versions. In this edition, the author has abandoned clear identification of material by DB2 version. New DB2 V6 features are summarized in useless three page appendix at the end of the book. After discovering several errors, I found myself always double checking the book against IBM manuals. I would certainly not use this book the "Bible".

This book is targeted to experienced applications programmers and DBAs and discusses the ins and outs of the mechanics of DB2. This is not an SQL manual - but it provides some interesting perspectives and techniques for optimizing the queries. If you need to tune a DB2 application or take advantage of the new features in V5, this is the book!

Craig Mullin's FOURTH EDITION is impeccably organized and precisely written for the DB2 practitioner. The text covers DB2 for OS/390 (Version 6), including the functions and features attributed to IBM's UDB family of Relational Database Systems. Craig provides introductory treatment of the DB2 Subsystem Structures; Flows; and Interfaces; Predictive Analysis characteristics of the DB2 Optimizer; and extensive focus on DB2 EXPLAIN for maximizing application and Subsystem Performance.

The FOURTH EDITION is laden with Best Practices for the DB2 Developer; Administrator; and Technical Support communities.

The book provides a comprehensive overview of all facets of of Version 6 DB2, and as such, can direct you to the appropriate System Reference Library manual in the fewest number of hops.

If you are a DB2 / UDB practitioner, Craig's FOURTH EDITION should become your Companion Guide.

Crimson Empire had a lot of potential but Dark Horse failed to exploit it to the max. The idea of an Imperial Super-Hero that remains Imperial no matter what is very interesting, that this character was a member of the elite Imperial Guard is even more so, but beyond that, the story was hollow, the characters were not explored in depth and the art was not among the best for Star Wars Comics. Cover Art is Amazing (in this TPB you get a Cover Art Gallery for all 6 issues at the end of the book). Yes, the online issue #0 was adapted and included in this book, not at the very beginningm but a few pages into the story.

While this story was not a complete loss, both the story line and the art were unremarkable. The story was definitely not a major event in the Star Wars universe, and it will probably not be one of the talked about story lines in the years to come. Overall it is just below average for a Star Wars tale. ALTHOUGH, if you are a fan of the Crimson Guard, this book is very enjoyable, and worth the money. The reader gets to see inside their training, and learns of their fate after the Dark Empire story line. Add to that several great action sequences of the Guard, and you have a great story for any lover of the Crimson Guard. (I am a fan of the Crimson Guard, hence the 4 stars.)

I am a huge fan of Star Wars, and have read almost everything written about it, but I am still capable of being disgusted by bad stories. Although the sequel leaves something to be desired, this comic blows all the others away. It is the tale of the last of the Emperor's Royal Guards, and why they were the most feared warriors in galaxy in their day. Kir Kanos is a great anti-hero, and the other characters manage to break the cliches set by other star wars works. No idealistic rebels here! The art is great, with wonderful martial arts action (why couldn't they get this team to draw Episode I?), and the frames are put together in a way to give the work an edgy, artistic feel. Definately get it!

This book told the story of the sailor, soldier and girlfriend of the "few". It did not even mention the "beams" (the radio guidance system employed by the germans and defeated by the british and is one of the real reasons the the battle of britain was won). It failed to clearly define the british "watch" program, and scratched the surface of the RAF fighter pilots struggle. The convey and re-supply aspect and impact on the battle was grossly under discussed.

There was no real discussion of aircraft, tactics, german stratagy, or mistakes. Dunkirk was breezed through. Too much BS about some tart in London, and not enough aerial combatant's view. Overall I would not classify this book as history, rather this is a re-telling of four or five people's experience before and during the battle. The book even ends poorly, I just stops.

I wish the PBS companion aspect of the book was better advertised. I failed to note this until I had the book. As is typical of PBS, it content is emotional and human interest, not factual and ground breaking.

What is wonderful about this book is the way in which the larger part of the story is fully illustrated by the flowing anecdotes from those on the ground. A Ken Burn's style of history (be mindful if that turns you off), the book provides an interesting view of the conflict from a multitude of viewpoints: Churchill, figther pilots, plotters, soldiers and ordinary citizens all have their stories interwoven to complete a larger tapestry that shows the entire conflict.

The place where the book shines best is in dramatizing the steadily growing horror as Germany sweeps across France and traps the BEF at Dunkirk. The anecdotes make manifest in a visceral way that, as the evacuation from Dunkirk is taking place, sentiment everywhere (except perhaps within Churchill's inner circle) is that Germany is irresistable and that England will be next.

You are then able to understand why half of the Battle of Britain was won just by the simple fact of evacuating the BEF from Dunkirk because it re-instilled some confidence and fighting spirit among the British people and armed forces by the simple fact of not being a complete disaster.

After covering Dunkirk, the book makes clear how the sight of Spitfires and Hurricanes fighting over Dover, every day showing up to fight when many believed they would be swept aside quickly, grew that fighting spirit into a hardened resolve. Finally, the bombing of London added a desire for revenge into the mix (something Americans can identify with after September 11) and by the time the first raid on London ended, you understand that the Battle of Britain was already over because her people would never allow themselves to be conquered.

Having read many other accounts of the Battle of Britain I was unsure if this book would be able to offer anything new to the current literature. Well I was wrong, this story, presented by many of the participants, civilians, sailors, soldiers and airmen, was excellent. The authors let the people who experienced this terrible and also great time in their history tell the story.

The book starts in France at the commencement of the German invasion and follows a number of the characters through the fall of France, the start of the aerial fighting over England to the end of the Battle of Britain. The story is told from the English side with no accounts from any of the German participants but the title does say 'Finest Hour', which should give you an idea, what the book is about anyhow.

I found two of the stories quite sad, one involving the German bombing of a school in London that resulted in numerous civilian casualties and how the authorities solved the dilemma of identify and processing the bodies. Another story detailed the sinking of the British liner 'City of Benares' which was carrying over 90 children being sent to Canada so as to be safe from the nighttime Blitz against London.

I also found the story of the machinations between Churchill and Roosevelt over American aid to Britain during this period very interesting as was the account of the destruction of the French Fleet and their small victory later on against the British Fleet at Dakar.

Overall this is an interesting account of this pivotal period in England's history during World War Two. I am sure that many readers will find the human stories interesting and I doubt that any student of World War Two will not find something new and interesting in this account.

This book starts off promising much, delivering a story that has elements of intrigue and suspense. However the writing style (first person) and the insistence of the author to try and add twists wherever possible leaves you reading something that has worn thin by the time the twist arrives. Its almost as if you'd rather read about the secondary character Banks, rather than the main character. The two share a past, and now the same fate, both have had their daughters go missing. Its a good book, but there are better thrillers out there that can keep you page-turning. I recommend reading the other books by Craig Holden, as these are more tense.

I enjoyed Four Corners of the Night though at times I found the time sequence somewhat confusing.

The auther cleverly uses two abductions to highlight the relationships of two police detectives Bank Arbour and Mack Steiner who have been life long friends. He uses these events to provide a deeper insight into both their interpersonal relationships and themselves.

The story starts with the second abduction a teenager from below the tracks Tamara Shiply, and compares this to the disappearans ten years before of Bank Arboughs stepdaughter Jamie.

In theory this is a clever construction , to use the second event to explain the first but it is here that the the book looses its fifth star. At times I found the switching back and fourth very confusing and as one reviewer has stated leaves too many loose ends.

There are occasions where Craig Holden really impresses with his writing. His comparison of the police officer and cornered suspect to that of a priest and confessor. He also highlights the impossibility of absolute evidence in conviction.

Another strand concerns the relationship of Banks exwife Sara with both himself and Mack.This is another way of linking these two charecters.

The auther appears to have a relgeous view as other than entertainment, this is a novel of the destructiveness of overbearing love and when it crosses the threshold of possession and abuse. Without giving away the plot after this very compex narritive reaches its climax we realise that both the detectives are both tied to each other by them both having secrets.

To summarise, this is a very complex and rewarding book written by a way above writer in this gendre. The only book to compare is Mercy by David Lindsey. THis is real praise indeed.

As a new mother, I was hesitant to read a story where children vanish, presumably taken away to have terrible deeds done to them. But I have enjoyed Holden's previous books, and the comments on the book cover prodded me to read this book. I couldn't put it down, and found myself reading it in spare moments, until I finished it in a few days. The twists and turns in the plot made for a suspenseful read, and yet the novel was also lyrical and graceful. My favorite authors tend to be skilled at showing how a person's past shapes him into the person he has become, and Holden does this wonderfully. I recommend this book. and his previous two novels as well.

This book contains a transcript of the debate between William Lane Craig (conservative Christian) and John Dominic Crossan (liberal Christian) on the topic of Jesus and the resurrection. The book also includes responses to the debate from two conservative and two liberal scholars. This part of the book was the most interesting because the participants actually interacted with the arguments of Craig and Crossan.

As for the debate itself, Crossan often seemed to give the impression that he didn't really want to be there. He rarely made any attempt to refute any of Craig's arguments. Meanwhile, Craig tried to coax some fight out of Crossan by repeatedly focusing on his primary arguments for his belief in the resurrection of Jesus. Unfortunately, Crossan never steps up to the plate to even try to "win" this debate. Any debate judge would have to give this one to Craig on the sole basis of Crossan's lack of effort. Crossan could have made this much more beneficial to members of both sides of the debate if he only would have "argued" a little.

Craig and Crossan both provide opening addresses, and rebuttals before the two debaters participate in open dialog with Buckley as moderator. Craig presents four lines of evidence which provide "adequate inductive grounds for inferring Jesus' resurrection." He defends all four (Jesus' burial, empty tomb, post-mortem appearances, and the disciples' belief in Jesus' bodily resurrection) by appealing to confirmatory evidence and the acknowledgement by the consensus of critical New Testament scholarship that these are all established historical facts. As amazing as it may sound, at no point does Crossan, or any of the four respondents (Robert Miller, Craig Blomberg, Marcus Borg, & Ben Witherington) even challenge the historicity of these facts. Nor do they challenge that these facts are accepted by the consensus of scholarship, nor that they provide sufficient grounds to infer the resurrection, nor do they suggest any alternate explanations for even one of these facts. I wish that the scholars who deny the resurrection would address these problems rather than avoid them; it's difficult to get excited about a debate when one side refuses to argue.

This is the famous debate in print form between Craig and Crossan. I've already reviewed the content of the original debate on the audiotapes sold by Amazon. The 5 stars are for the interesting interaction between conservative and liberal New Testament scholars. Included in the book are responses from two noted scholars from the Jesus Seminar (Marcus Borg and Robert Miller) and two noted evangelical scholars (Ben Witherington and Craig Blomberg). At the end of the debate are final thoughts from Crossan and Craig.

Borg's section champions a form of fideism in that he sees no problem between the belief in Jesus as Christ and the possible fact of an occupied tomb the first Easter Sunday. Borg argues that one can still go on believing in Jesus because of people's post-crucifixion experiences of him. I agree with Craig here that this position is totally irrational. To believe in Christ even if his body was still in the grave is the desperation that modern liberal theology wants the man in the pew to believe in. A more intellectually honest answer would be that a person should not believe in Jesus as Christ if Jesus was still in the tomb.

Robert Miller's section is mainly an airing of his pet peeves on why apologetics does not work for non-believers. He outlines an Islamic apologetic to bring forth these points. He then points out what he takes as contradictions within the Resurrection narratives. Craig totally devastates his case though in the final section. Craig even shows that Miller made a textbook case of an informal fallacy known as hasty generalization.

Ben Witherington and Craig Blomberg add more background and scholarly expertise and corrections to Craig's argument. But Craig clearly takes these issues up in his final section.

Crossan's final section deals with some biographical issues on the debate and issues a challenge to conservative scholars like Witherington and Blomberg to list things that they find historically doubtful about the gospels. Apparently, if Witherington and Blomberg do not produce such a list then they are not being intellectually honest scholars.

Finally, Craig's section perfectly summarizes the various sections and shows that none of the scholars who oppose his position has done anything to rebut his arguments.

This is a collection of short stories. While the main characters from the movies are mentioned only briefly, if at all it is still an interesting read.

Tales of the New Republic is to my mind the very best of the "Tales" compilations. The stories in this book all fall in the "New Republic" era. The characters include a favorite from the movies (Boba Fett), many of the most fascinating characters from previous novels, (Talon Karrde, Mara Jade, Garm Bel Iblis), and some very interesting new additions.

_Tales_ will immediately interest readers familiar with Zahn's work and the X wing books; the contributions by Tim Zahn and Mike Stackpole are up to their usual standard. But the stories here are also accessible to readers new to Star Wars books, and some of the best work here is by writers new to the Star Wars universe.

I especially enjoy this short story format, which lets me read about a wide variety of characters and situations. I want more Tales!

This was truly a great collection of Star Wars short fiction. Each story is totally different, and yet forms a whole, of life in the Star Wars Galaxy.

Interlude at Darkknell: By Tim Zahn and Mike Stackpole, this one delivers. It is the big draw to the whole book, and lives up to that. We get to learn more about Hal Horn and Gen. Bel Iblis, against the background of some major galactic events. Good characters and some great tying together of loose threads. (similer to the Zahn/Stackpole in Tales from the Empire)

Jade Soliaire: Zahn really has some fun with this one, showing the infamous Mara Jade in action. While there are some tie ins with other stories in the universe (Hand of Thrawn especially), it stands alone by and large. Well written, and a fast read.

Gathering Shadows: Kathy Burdette does a great job with this one, showing the very real effects of tourture and imprisonment, with a healthy dose of doubt and disillousionment thrown in. Kind of heavey reading, but very emotional and well done.

Hutt and Seek/ Simple Tricks: Chris Cassidy and Tish Pahl, two non-fiction writer SW nuts, pull it off. These two stories feature Fenig Nabon and her partner in crime Ghitsa Dogder, as they swindel denizens of the Galaxy. These two stories are pure fun, but offer an interesting look into the galaxy. Simple tricks has some great scenes with Kyp revealing the depth of his anguish for destroying Carida. Well done ladies.

The Longest Fall/Uhl Eharl Khoehng: Patricia A Jackson is a Dark Jedi Nut. Both of these stories feature Dark Jedi she created. While I am sick of Dark Jedi popping up whenever you kick a rock these days, these are good stories. While the Longest Fall is not really my cup of tea, it is a bit obvious, Uhl Eharl Khoehng is a great story. It comes back to the Dark Jedi and family featured in her story from Tales from the Empier. The Emotion and writing is GOOD in this one.

No Disitegrations, Please:

Paul Danner scores with this story, featuring the only movie character in the ENTIRE book, Boba Fett. It follows Fett as he battles an Imperial garrison for a bounty. Nice to really see Fett in major action.

The other stories are- Conflict of Interest, a nice one about the morality of the individuals and their respective govornments, Day of the Sepulchral Night, an interesting exposition on Weequays, and The Last Hand, a really nice story about a great gambler with a big heart, who (gasp!) is not Lando. I would be remiss if I did not commend Paul Youl for his wonderful cover, one of his best. (I still prefer the Bacta War cover) This book is 5/5, even better than its companion.

When I found this book in the discount bin at Wal-Mart, I knew nothing about Cussler or his other books. I have since read all of his novels. This book is a real(istic) account of Cussler living out his Dirk Pitt fantasies of hunting for lost ships. Each ship is dramatically depicted in its final moments before its tragic demise, followed by Cussler's band of merry men trying to locate the wreck. While the searches aren't nearly as exciting as the ones in his novels, they still held my interest.

Though based on actual events, this book shouldn't be confused with a reference book, its not. The author uses his talents as a fiction writer to breathe life into the unfortunate souls on board the doomed ships. Cussler is also very opinionated and doesn't hesitate to share his slant on a subject. Anybody dumb enough to base a college paper on this book alone, probably didn't have much chance of passing anyway (earlier review).

Its a nice insight into how Cussler comes up with ideas for his Pitt stories, but don't expect beautiful marine biologists being stalked by evil billionaires here.

Back in 1997, I sent the following to Clive Cussler (to which he responded). It pretty well expresses my feelings about this marvelous book.

Having just read and enjoyed your book, The Sea Hunters, I just wanted to drop you a note. Your search and salvage exploits have been amazing!! The book presented numerous situations and scenarios that were unknown to me. Sections of your book should be used by teachers to make the study of history more interesting. Although some people may criticize your fictional accounts of the incidents presented in your book, the writing is certainly vivid and brings to life a somewhat tedious and dull subject. My only criticism of your book is that it did not include a bibliography, although you do mention a few references throughout the text. I guess I'll just have to go to my local library and start looking for appropriate books on subjects of interest.

I've read all of the Dirk Pitt® exploits, but they certainly don't compare to some of your non-fictional adventures. Dirk's are becoming a bit "over the edge." But who cares. A well-crafted story is what the reading public wants. Dirk Pitt - What a great name for an adventure hero!! James Bond sounds like a sissy name compared to the one you've created.

Before purchasing the above mentioned book I read some of the customer reviews. Most were dissapointed in that they thought this was another Dirk Pitt mystery. Some people never understood what they were reading. I am a Clive Cussler fan, and have been since day one. I have read all thirteen books at least twice, and have been facinated by his tales. My personal favorites are "Vixon-03, and Treasure." I am a writer, not an author, but a writer. I have learned the importance of cliff-hanging your readers. I seldom put a Cussler book down until I have finished it. However, getting back to "The Sea Hunters." If the reader would only look at what they are reading they will meet every standard character ever written in a Cussler/Pitt novel. They are there in real life, and the adventures of each book are present in what Cussler is accomplishing. It is evident they cannot see past the word on the page. My humble suggestion to them is to please look at the book as one of the best action novels of non-fiction Cussler has penned. If I am lucky enough to be published someday, I would like to keep the same thought taught to me by Cussler, and repeated by him in the book. "You can never do enough research." (C Cussler) Read the book and please with an open mind understand: 1 - you first do it because it's there, 2 - It always makes a good story afterward, 3 - you can never do enough research! Somday I hope these ideals will turn me from a writer into an author. Thank you for you time.