The model of why some ideas are developed into "research fronts" and others are not is interesting, but the real importance of this book is its explication of the range of theories and "theory groups" in making sense of how human groups use language. Most of the writing about linguistics and linguists for nonlinguist readers has been about Chomsky and his followers, who have no interest in how language is used by people, only its formal properties. This book covers post-World War II (North) American trends, including rejection of one British line of work (Basil Bernstein's). For wartime and prewar American language studies and for the rise of Chomsky, there is Murray's _Theory Groups_. _American Sociolinguistics_ is a revision of the second half of that book.

This is far and away the best overview of anthropological linguistics and of sociological linguistics as they have emerged in the second half of the 20th century. It focused on the relations among sociolinguists. There's also some material on psychology of language. The author's _Theory Groups in the Study of Language in North America: A Social History_ covers unanthropological (i.e., Chomskyan) linguistics and pre-WWII anthropological linguistics with the same frame of looking at networks. AS has useful tables and a great bibliography.

John Murray is one of the best writers on the West practicing today, perhaps the best. He has authored or edited more than forty books including such classics as Desert Awakenings, Cactus Country, and the highly acclaimed American Nature Writing series.

This book is a collection of fifteen essays and fifteen stories, both fiction and nonfiction, that celebrate what Murray describes as the most beautiful desert in the American Southwest, the Red Rock Desert. It is loosely located in a triangle shape anchored by the Gates of Ladore to the north, the Grand Wash Cliffs to the southwest, and the Zuni Mountains on the southeast. All things considered, a pretty good boundary description for the Colorado Plateau and the four-corners area. Indeed, the twenty-one locations of his stories and essays are in southern Utah, northern Arizona, and western Colorado.

In his incomparable style of graceful prose and lyrical musings Murray takes the reader into the world of form and color that define such diverse locations as Monument Valley, Escalante Canyon, Navajo Mountain, Grand and Coyote Gulch, Wilson Mesa, Professor Valley, the Burr Desert and a host of other locations that form this wonderland of incredible beauty and harmony and time and space. Using the desert as a metaphor the stories tell of life and death, greed, togetherness and separation, hope and despair and a myriad of other conditions that are so like the West itself. The essays describe the ever changing beauty and danger of the rivers and canyons and space, indeed all of the flora and fauna that comprise the Red Rock Desert and reveals Murray's deep affection for, and encyclopedic knowledge of, this special place. The following from the Afterword will give the reader an idea of the special talent of Murray: "I only know this. There are few things as beautiful as the shapes a desert river carves in the rock of a country, or the way a canyon rose holds it wine-colored blossom toward the sun, or the sound of the wind as you climb to the summit of a solitary peak. To have been among these places is to have known a happiness not often found elsewhere in this world."
Truly a special book about a special place.

John A. Murray's latest book, "Another Country: Encounters with the Red Rock Desert," is a tour de force. Murray has created a new genre, alternating non-fiction nature writing with gutsy, O. Henry-surprising short stories. A lesser writer might founder with this format, but Murray brings home the goods.

From a touching elegy for his mother ("Sandpainting") to hard-ball, edgy murder and action ("The World Behind the Sun"), the author writes with a deft, sure hand and leaves no false notes.

Tying the work together is the place, the sun-splashed, crimson walls of the Four Corners region, Hillerman country, Abbey country - and, now, Murray country. You can't fail to want to grab your sleeping bag, lace up your boots, and head out for a hike to the Red Rock wilderness after reading this book. And after reading the title story, a gut-wrencher with a surprise ending, you'll also remember to bring along a gallon or two of water.

This book is great stuff. Buy it.

I am 40 and suffer from ankylosing sponditis (a form of rheumatoid arthritis) and before I found Dr Murray my back pain was intolerable to the degree I seriously wondered if I would ever have a pain free life again. Dark thoughts entered my head and I grew despondent. Then I found this book in a local bookstore and said, Why not, what do I have to lose? Well pain was the biggest thing :-). I read the book and have in the past 3 months followed somewhat faithfully. It is high on vitamins/minerals and that's where the cost comes in BUT when you figure what pain killers promise and what they deliver it's worth it. I am virtually pain free 75% of the time, sure I have relapses but I have hope and I believe I will be happy and painfree again much less deformed. I love this man and I love this book; what he has done for me goes beyond words. He is answer to a prayer and I thank him for that. He covers all types of arthritis from osteo to ra to as. He has alot of practical suggestions and most importantly it works.

I have arthirtis of the spine (ankylosing sponditis) and been told by doctors that there is no cure just PT. Dr Murray gives you an explanation of what went wrong, (while my disease is genetic why doesn't everyone with the gene get it?), nutritional vitamins and finally a diet to help and somewhat reverse the tide. Has it helped? In the two weeks I bought this book it has; my pain is less, much less, and while I am not totally faithful I am beginning to become a devout convert. If you have arthrits, ulcerative colitis (ra and uc are genetically related) or uncontrolled allergies, this man knows how to handle them. I've searched everywhere and he has the answer. Get this and the Balch Natural Remedies book and mate, you'll be right :-)

Fantastic, a book that covers all.Well worth a look at if you are interested in Australian plants.

Probably the best reference book available for Australian Native Plants

Finally, a comprehensive book about Billy Murray, the most popular and recognizable singer of the acoustic recording period! The discography alone is worth the price of the book. Titles, record numbers, labels, dates of recording, and matrix mumbers are included.

The biography part is somewhat sketchy because Murray was a private person who didn't seem to want to talk about his family or recording career. He was married three times, and had no children. His siblings had no children, either, so there were really no close relatives to provide biographical information. Still, I found the book fascinating, and it is an invaluable resource for those collectors who want to catalog their recordings, and learn about the recordings that they don't have and would like to get.

There are some nice photographs included, among them one that Mr. Murray said was his favorite. Billy was well liked and friendly, and the book was a pleasure to read. I'm glad I have it!

This book represents a fine piece of research, well documented and well presented. It follows the life story of Billy Murray, the first great popular recording artist.

However the book suffers from two serious problems. First of all, it is over-footnoted. I found myself constantly turning pages and being distracted by numerous footnotes that should have been worked into the body of the text. Unfortunately, the footnotes are all endnotes, so the reader needs two fingers to mark where he is and where the footnotes are.

The other problem with the book is more serious. It should have been two books, not one. The biography section ends at page 206. The rest of the book, all 544 pages, consists of appendixes, lots of them, in every shape, form and size. Realistically, the authors need to make one book about Murray, and another one about early recorded music. I get the impression that the authors had a lot of extra information laying around, so they decided to stick it in the back.

To the Billy Murray enthusiast, or the early recorded music aficionado, the book is a must even at $75. For all you other casual readers, check it out of the library before you buy it.

I read this book during a time of great personal crisis. THe Lord used this book to show me how intimacy comes through the cross. The greater the revelation I have of the cross of Christ and the deeper I yield to the power of the blood preapres me to receive a greater impartation of the Holy Spirit. This is not a work of strong will power, but an identification with Christ in the place of the cross. Read this for strength and encouragement in the incredible grace that God releases to us on the basis of Christ's blood in the cross.

In a day when the blood of Jesus is being removed from the very translation of the Bible itself, when the mention of the blood of Jesus is considered offensive even in the churches, this book and Murray's other, "The Power of the Blood of Jesus," are God-sends for those who are willing to accept the ways of God without cringing. Though the blood of Jesus is not in any way magical, it is nonetheless crucial and foundational to receiving ANY benefit whatsoever from God. If one could list all the spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus (Eph. 1:3), and then search out the sole reason why these benefits are available to born-again Christians, and only to born-again Christians, they would find that every single one without exception is only available because of the shed blood of Christ. Murray clearly shows this truth in his books and mentions over a hundred benefits (between the 2 books) that are only available by Jesus Christ's shed blood. If you want to get back to true biblical Christianity, you must get back to the centrality of the precious blood of Jesus. Otherwise, you have no source of heavenly, spiritual, benefits from God, inlcuding salvation itself. Hebrews says, "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin." Murray shows clearly that within that statement is included ALL the resulting benefits of forgiveness, as well.

This book echos the one liner "Fighter pilots make movies, bomber pilots make history."

Seldom do the pilots who made the history have the gift of communicating it to us through art, but Pacific B-17 pilot Paul Eckley's watercolor "Mareeba Maintenance" does just that.

The book serves as a tribute to the bomber aircrews of many nations who fought in WWII. The artwork is excellent. There is not a single mediocre painting reproduced in the book. I own other aviation art books that I cannot say that about... The selections show a variety of styles from a variety of artists. Far more than a collection of "airplane portraits" these paintings showcase aviation art as serious fine art, from landscapes and seascapes to compelling character studies. Among the the treats are the otherwise unpublished works that appear in this book- such as Bill Phillips' Martin B-26 Marauder "Flak Bait".

The text is entertaining and overall, acceptable. As others have already noted, the occasional small errors tend toward the obvious. It is unfortunate that no one noticed that precisely rendered Douglas A-26 Invaders were identified as A-20 Havocs in the manuscript. This is a small disappointment, and should not discourage you from enjoying the book.

For me "Bomber Missions" is an affordable way to enjoy some of the best bomber art ever produced. Paintings demand to be hung, prints insist on being framed, but the aviation art published in books rests comfortably on the shelf, ready to be enjoyed.

Last but not least, far too little mention has been made of the fact this book serves as the companion volume to "Flying Aces" containing WWII fighter aviation art. If you liked one, chances are you'll want the other.

One word can describe this book......AMAZING!.....This book has great art work of american, british, german, and japanese bomber planes, and some fighters. Most of the illustrations were based on actual events which took place in the air, and the illustrations make those events come alive. This book was definitely worth the price, and i would recomend it to any war buff, plane buff, or artist........either way, its a great book to have.

This is a charming book that will delight children and adults alike. The detailed paragraphs of separately identified animals (both exotic and domestic) are fun to read and also informational. With so many animals covered, this book is never boring. The Book of Animals is a great book for birthdays, Christmas presents and even teacher gifts. This book is a real winner!

This is an excellent book for children, particularly those you need to read to.

It's a charming and informative book, with a requisite gentleness for children.

Our five year old granddaughter was enchanted with the book and wants to be read from it every night.

Bottled up is a moving story about a teen on the brink of disaster who has to make a choice as to which path his life is going to take. I loved the characters in the story and found them very believable. I really liked the realistic portrayals of alcholism in a family. The main character, PIP is strongly developed by the author and easy to identify with for any teen I would think. I found the story kept me interested and I read it all the way through quickly, I couldn't put it down. The ending was my favorite part because it was realistic, everything had not gotten better for the character but he had changed and had made his own choices as to how to live his life. I loved the sense of hope that left the reader with. I also loved the theme throughout this story that everyone deserves a couple of chances and that sometimes giving a kid a chance is more important than following procedures or punishing. I would recommended this book to any teenager, mature adolescent or grown up. Its a great find!

My Aunt is Jaye's friend, so I got to read the book early when I met Jaye. I couldn't put it down. It is about a boy (Pip) and how he has to get consoling or get expelled. The book was highly interesting and I recommend it to ANYONE! I can't wait to get a copy of it myself, so I can read it again!

This book is a must have for not-for-profit organizations wishing to improve their budgeting process. This book encourages a botttom up budget building process involving those people intimately familiar with each department. In easy to understand language Dropkin and LaTouche walk you through each step of the budgeting process from planning to monitoring. Helpful sample forms and practical resources are included. The Budget Building Book for Nonprofits takes the fear out of budgeting.

This book steps you through the terminology and methodology of preparing and using budgets in the special case of the Nonprofit organization. It is particularly useful for middle (program) managers - how to deal with the Board of Directors, and so on. The book could use a few more computational examples, but it has excellent worksheets and checklists to simplify the task and keep you on track. It says what it has to say very concisely, which helps you to focus on the tips and pointers. It is really like an annotated workbook, complete with a sample budget. If you have to do this stuff, this book is invaluable.