British English A to Zed takes one back in time to a romantic age where an old people's home was called an almshouse, and a car battery was called an accumulator. Alas, this book is so outdated that it is not of much practical value to the average American who is headed to England. On the plus side, it is an enjoyable book full of rich expressions and makes good reading for those not in need of a practical reference book.

It was Antony of a Poly-Thinkers board who reminded me of this book which we have had for over a decade and for anyone who loves the BBC, or PBS programs with a British flare it is a valuable asset. It is helpful when watching Monty Python, All Creatures Great and Small and programs pre 1990 to have the terms explained. The book is basically about the General differences between British and American English.

On page 5 there are examples of different words used to define in British and American English:

Blunt (of a pencil) in British English would be said dull in American English
engaged in British English would mean busy and in American English tied-up
motor car in British English would be car or automobile in American English
Petrol would be in British English what gas or gasoline would be in American English.

On page 129 Americans who are used to hearing the term faggots as a derogatory term for a homosexual will learn that in country English it means a battered old woman or a cigarette. Fanny in American English refers to someone's (usually a woman's) buttocks. In British English it is much more interesting.

There is a section on food names, botanical and zoological names and the whole Britain, Briton, British English elements as well. Cricket terms and connotative place-names and connotative names of periodicals i.e. The Daily Telegraph, Punch etc.

What is Zed? On page 406: zed, n (noun) This explains the title! (letter) Z And now I am hungry for some bangers and mash.

Not just useful but entertaining. I got this book in exasperation when I couldn't make sense of Peter O'Toole's autobiography, because of all the English slang. This dictionary saved the day.

This book was recommended to me, but I was disappointed. Although it is a good book, it wasn't great. Perhaps my level of expectation for religious books has risen. The ideas seemed to be too general, although the first part of the book was good.

If you find yourself in need of a reminder of the basics of Christianity, or needing to learn them for the first time, then read this book. It makes a really good devotional book because it's based on Psalms 120-134...

The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of five is that it tends to get a little repetitive in spots. Otherwise it's a great book.

this book was my first experience with eugene peterson and it nearly blew me out of the water. it exposes so much of the lie that is in the american church. living the christian life is not easy. i used to feel so guilty because it was for me and all around was this lie that life would be easy if you just followed jesus. and also that following jesus was about me and my life. peterson takes us out of ourselves and frees us to experience true joy in this difficult endeavor of following god.

I checked out quite a few books to help me review basic math and algebra concepts, not knowing which ones would click with me and which wouldn't. Of the six hefty workbooks I selected, this one was my favorite. It offers lots of pre-tests, exercises, and follow-up tests with explanatory answers at the back. The first test in the book tests what you already know overall before studying the information inside, and then each answer is listed in an index next to a label of what sort of problem it is, allowing the reader to pinpoint areas where help is needed. The book has some cartoon drawings which some people might find distracting but I liked the light-approach, the actual verbal descriptions are clear and not 'jokey' or distracting like some of the other books were. I found the methods and how they were presented easier to work with than the other books.

This book helped me get my "math" legs back under me. I feel that it is primarily aimed at those with a prior knowledge and only need a good refresher. It starts out with basic things such as percents and long division, and it ends up touching upon some basic algebra. If you need a good refresher, this book is great.

this was a brilliant book for 6th graders going into 7th, it reviews elementary maths, and explains the subjects you hadnt got before, or widens your knowledge on that subject. it provides examples, tests and exercises, it also has the solutions, and answers at the back, if your not quite sure how to do it.

this book is truely the easy way!

Yes, these were transcribed lectures, with a few new parenthesis added for clarification. I wish I could have been there. This book is the next best thing.

One thing I noticed, Marva must've had the longer session times, or she really talks fast! The chapter lengths bear this out. But I didn't find her transcribed sessions too wordy or too full. Both Peterson and Dawn hit all the nails I needed to have hit, and a few more.

I greatly appreciated the lower key toward church growth, with the emphasis on spiritual growth over numerical. I've been waiting a long time for a church leader to espouse the method that our first century fathers used . . . God added to the church daily those who would be saved!

In the next few days, I'll go back through the book and highlight all the good stuff, and borrow many of the quotables. I've already borrowed an idea for a teaching series - Reality vs. Truth, Truth vs. Reality.

Thank you for a great resource!

I read this book just after my ordination three years ago.

Why would someone who was just ordained be reading a book subtitled 'Rediscovering the Call'? Why would someone who hopes to make a profession out of the vocation to ordained ministry be reading, much less recommending, a book entitled 'The Unnecessary Pastor'?

Marva Dawn and Eugene Peterson have put together a book useful for experienced ministers as well as those in training, or even just thinking about ministry. Ministry consists of more than the one who stands up at the pulpit or behind the altar. This book helps shift the focus from that tradition role, fraught with danger and limitation, to explore the more counter-cultural calls that the Bible really expects of those called ministers.

'We are unnecessary to what the culture presumes is important: as paragons of goodness and niceness. Culture has a fairly high regard for pastors as custodians of moral order. We are viewed as persons who provide a background of social stability, who are useful in times of crisis and serve as symbols of meaning and purpose. But we are not necessary in any of those ways.'

Peterson recounts the tale of wanting to host a conference with the same title (The Unnecessary Pastor), but was advised against it by someone who said that no one wants to hear that her/his job is irrelevant, as the title implies. Peterson was advised to put a more positive spin on the title, but in fact left it as is, and the conference was oversubscribed.

People everywhere are looking for ways to reconnect to a more authentic way of being. Pastors and ministers are no different; in fact, they are probably even more in search of this reconnexion given the focus of their lives (or, at least, professional lives) in the first place.

Dawn speaks of the language of faith and God as similar to an unfinished Shakespeare play: how would we produce it? What resources would we draw upon? Could we ever write as well as Shakespeare? What improvisations would be needed? In much the same way, the church has been given the unfinished work of God, and we must improvise in our imperfect way to strive to give a good performance, full of meaning as true to the author as we can.

Pastors above all are called to lives that are formed and then transformed. Grace must be present in all we do, and not tailored to the demands of the world. 'It is interesting to me that religious liberals and conservatives are often unwitting allies in their attempts to translate the gospel into the world's terms. ... Churches find themselves powerless in the world and not able to invite our neighbours into the faith because we don't live in ways that give any warrant for belief.'

The call is also one of formation and transformation of community. The stronger the community, the less needed will be the pastor, in many ways. The pastor may be freed to become a true disciple, without having to cater to the whims of congregation members, or worry about the plumbing and the lighting bill. The stronger the community and the more supportive it will be, the greater the pastor will be able to respond, and in turn make the community and world more responsive.

Dawn and Peterson draw on resources from many denominations, major scholars and ancient wisdom, linking very closely the Biblical ideas of ministry to their exposition of the true necessity of today's community.

Again Peterson exemplifies the heart of the true pastor. This is my first time reading Marva Dawn. I just finished this book and found much to help me in the midst of being a small rural church pastor.

I was surprised by the review by the reader in Ohio. Although the other works by Peterson, flow better, the dialogue between Dawn and Peterson was refreshing.

Ephesians is the classic source for biblically modeled community. Timothy and Titus have been the classic resources for young pastors. The exegesis and insight from these two authors/ pastors/teachers has been highly encouraging and releasing for this new pastor who is trying to discover how to effectively lead God's people into holy living and community.

I reccomend this book as a excellent resource for pastoral theology, for young pastors, for teaching or preaching these texts and anyone seeking to get a firm grasp on the role of pastor.

I would not suggest this book as a first (or maybe even second) experience with Peterson, mostly due to the dialogue format.

Marva Dawn, at least in this book, doesn't not measure up to the mastery of Peterson. However, my interest in her work was futher sparked. I plan to buy and read a Marva Dawn book today.

The Bibliography is also full of great works for the pastor.

A useful addition to your "men's issues" bookshelf. Especially good for readers not familiar with the new movement to affirm the sacredness of masculinity. -- Craig Chalquist, M.S., creator of the Thineownself self-exploration site.

For starters, I feel a little embarrassed to be writing a review for this book because, as the author notes, people are very uneasy discussing the correlation between sexuality and spirituality. And it is that correlation upon which this book is founded. The author says that he believes that for men, "phallos" is something of an existential God-image. "Men know something they do not speak about directly," Eugene Monick writes. The author says that a man's encounter with phallos is an "encounter with the soul" because no man has to "learn" phallos; phallos presents itself to a man.

One of the most interesting things about this book is that the author distinguishes between "patriarchy" and "masculinity." In other words, a man can be very masculine and still not be a part of the patriarchy. A man can be a part of the patriarchy, but still not be very masculine. In fact, the author indicates that often one must submit one's sense of masculinity in order to be admitted into a patriarchy. The author also argues that there is a deep need within men to participate in a "fraternity" with men and to have their maleness recognized by other men, but that our society often does not take this into account. What usually results is that these needs become frustrated and manifest themselves in things like "hazing" rituals.

The author notes that it is puzzling that we live in such a male-dominated society, and yet very little work has been done to understand the archetypal basis of masculinity. The author suggests that this may be due to the assumption of male superiority; one should not question that which is deemed to be right and superior. If we question masculinity, and the ideas and concepts it's founded upon, then we may find something lacking and we may realize that perhaps, just perhaps, men are not superior to women, and we may also realize that heterosexual men are not superior to homosexual men. The author further describes the way masculinity is inherently linked to ideas of dominance, explaining why a conquered people may be viewed by the conqueror as emasculated. (A humorous part of this book is when the author sheds some light on the way patriarchal assumptions of superiority, very much founded on the importance of phallos, have made their way into popular speech: the author refers to the time his friend invited him to go have a "stiff drink." And I think it's telling that in college I learned that psychology is often considered a "soft" science.)

I was very pleased to find this book because I had found it odd for some time that there is great consciousness raising in regard to the spirituality inherent in being female, but little in the way of the spirituality of being male. On a deeper level, as a student of A COURSE IN MIRACLES, I am experiencing that the body itself it not ultimately real, but that a great deal of shame and pain can be caused by the belief that our ultimate identity is that of the body; indeed, the male body - especially its main symbol, phallos - has been much maligned over the last few decades. It is very painful to not only believe that one's ultimate reality is that of the body, but that one's body is also very shameful (which is what I was taught in the church I attended). A COURSE IN MIRACLES says that this world is a classroom in which we learn the lessons of forgiveness, and PHALLOS: SACRED IMAGE OF THE MASCULINE has helped me forgive all painful ideas I had been taught about my body.

I corresponded with the author for a time, and I found him to be very helpful in my understanding of his work. The quest to have society acknowledge the spiritual dimensions of being male will be difficult for years to come, but with PHALLOS: SACRED IMAGE OF THE MASCULINE Eugene Monick has helped lay the groundwork.

This is a great book for one's 'men's issues' or Jungian bookshelf. Of particular interest to me was the author's elucidation of the archetypal unconscious having 'phallos' qualities intrinsically. Both Freud and Jung articulated the feminine quality of the unconscious, with heroic ego differentiation representing a masculine step (initially)away from it. Yet, metaphorically, why would the unconscious be exclusively feminine? Why would the heroic ideal be exclusively masculine? As our culture's gender roles become more flexible Monick's interpretations will become increasingly useful to analysts and other therapists. This book also contains great photos of depictions of the phallos in art.

The Two Noble Kinsmen was only partially written by Shakespeare. The primary author was John Fletcher, and Shakespeare seems to have been doing a rewrite more than a collaboration. As a result, you get two different styles of narration and development in the same story. The underlying tale follows very closely on the famous Knight's Tale from Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. As a result, you get a three way perspective on Shakespeare that is not available elsewhere -- what his co-author did, what Chaucer did, and how Shakespeare handled similar problems in other plays.

Where the Knight's Tale was primarily a story about chivalry, love, and spirituality, The Two Noble Kinsmen is very much about psychology and human emotions. Like other plays that Shakespeare wrote, this one shows how conflicting emotions create problems when we cannot master ourselves. In this case, the two loving cousins, Palamon and Arcite, fall out over having been overwhelmed by love for the appearance of Emilia, Duke Theseus's sister. The play explores many ways that their fatal passion for Emilia might be quenched or diverted into more useful paths. The dilemma can only be resolved by the removal of one of them. This places Emilia in an awkward situation where she will wed one, but at the cost of the life of the other. She finds them both attractive, and is deeply uncomfortable with their mutual passion for her. In a parallel subplot, the jailer's daughter similarly falls in love with Palamon, putting her father's life and her own in jeopardy. Overcome with unrequited love, she becomes mad from realizing what she has done. Only by entering into her delusions is she able to reach out to others.

What most impressed me from reading this play is how much better Shakespeare was as a writer than either Chaucer or Fletcher. You can tell the parts that Shakespeare wrote because the language is so compact, so powerful, and so filled with relevant imagery. The tension is unremitting and makes you squirm.

By contrast, the Knight's Tale is one of the dullest stories you could possibly hope to read and admire for its virtuosity without experiencing much enjoyment. Although the same plot is developed, few emotions will be aroused in you. When Fletcher is writing in this play, the development is slow, the content lacks much emotion, and you find yourself reaching for a blue pencil to strike major sections as unnecessary.

In fact, this play would not be worth reading except for the exquisite development of the dilemmas that are created for Emilia. Her pain will be your pain, and you will want to escape from it as much as she does. In these sections, you will find some of Shakespeare's greatest writing.

I also was moved by the way several scenes explored the duality of cousinly friendship and affection occurring at the same time that lethal passions of love and jealousy are loose.

Although this play will probably not be among your 50 favorites, you will probably find that it will sharpen your appetite for and appreciation of Shakespeare's best works.

I also listened to Arkangel recording, and recommend it. The performances are fine, the voices are easy to distinguish, the music is magnificent, the singing adds to the mood nicely, and you will find your engagement in the play's action powerfully increased over reading the play.

When do you lose control over your emotions? What does it cost you? How could you regain control before harm is done?

May you find peaceful, positive solutions to all of your dilemmas!

I will be the first to admit this is not the "best" or the "greatest" play written by the bard, but it is still very worthy of his name, and incredibly beautiful! Kinsmen is a romance in the style of Shakespeare's other late plays, Pericles, Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale, and The Tempest (my favorite). In many ways it reflects his earlier works, namely A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, and The Tempest. It tells a wonderfully romantic story of two good friends who fall for the same girl (I know, sounds familiar, but trust me, it's a different take on the setup) in Athens. The poetry in it is lovely, the characters very well developed, and the plot is incredible. Many people haven't heard of this play as Shakespeare cowrote it with Fletcher, but belive me, it is still wonderful. Highly recomended.

The Arkangel Shakespeare series being issued by Penguin Audio is now halfway through the plays and the surprise is that was given preference to the remaining more familiar works. Co-authored by Shakespeare and Fletcher, this play remains an odd man out for several reasons. Based fairly closely on the "Knight's Tale" from Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales," it tells of two cousins, who just after swearing eternal friendship in one of Duke Theseus' prisons immediately fall in love with the same woman, Emilia, and become bitter rivals for her affections. One of them, Arcite, is exiled but returns in disguise; the other, Palamon, escapes with the help of the Jailer's Daughter, who goes mad for love of him; and...well, see for yourself. Of the play's 23 scenes, 7 and part of an 8th are attributed to Shakespeare, a 9th doubtfully so, and the rest to John Fletcher, who was probably handed over to Shakespeare to learn the ropes as it were. The Shakespeare parts are easy to spot: they are nearly impossible to understand without a heavily annotated copy of the text open before you! Even more so than in his late plays like "Cymberline" and "Winter's Tale," the syntax is so complex, the thoughts so condensed, that one might (and has) compared his writing with the late Beethoven String Quartets. As one of the scholars quoted in the excellent Signet Classic paperback edition of this play comments, the play is most unShakespearean in that none of the characters change over the course of the play. And I should add the subplot of the Daughter's madness is never integrated into the main plot. One scene, in fact, is devoted entirely to the description of some minor characters and might have been influenced by a similar and much longer sequence in "Seven Against Thebes." In short, do not play this for a casual listen; but be prepared to be challenged. Look especially for echoes of the earlier all-Shakespearean plays. The nuptials of Theseus and Hippolyta recall the opening scenes of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," the main plot that of "Two Gentlemen of Verona," the Daughter's madness of Ophelia, and so on. As for the actual recording, it would be difficult to better it! The voices of the two kinsmen (Johnathan Firth and Nigel Cooke) are easily distinguishable, Theseus (Geoffrey Whitehead) sounds advanced in years and noble, Emila (Helen Schlesinger) mature and alert, Hippolyta (Adjoa Andoh) vocally of African origins as perhaps befits the character, and all the rest as understandable as the text allows and "into" their roles. Thank you, Penguin, for this noble entry in a series that is getting better and better.

As far as style of thinking is concerned, Dr. Mallove is far closer to, e.g., creationists than to, e.g., Carl Sagan. He has let his intense messianic desire that cold fusion be a reality completely cloud his scientific judgement. The loony, physics-ignorant hordes of cold-fusion advocates include such worthies as a fellow in Australia who has sold kits of magnets and a ball-bearing which he has claimed will roll around a closed track forever with no visible means of propulsion. Dr. Mallove does not refute such garbage. In this reviewer's opinion he is either delusional or simply a con man on a par with Erich von Daniken or Whitley Strieber.

I thought this was a great book. If you want an intriguing book about the controversial energy source of the future you must read this book. It is an excellent read!

Mallove has produced a fine documentary of the early days of the cold fusion controversy, which has developed into an underground science. Ignorance of this discovery will be viewed with the kind of curiosity that causes us to wonder why the discovery of the 'cat's wisker' transistor in the 20's did not lead to any kind of serious research effort for several decades in a world that desperately needs clean energy.

This book is excellent- its a text that teaches endgame strategy, but its written in descriptive notation.

This book *explains* the ideas (themas) behind the positions. As many chess masters have stated - it's the study of the end-game that makes you a chess master. This is a good book to start the study. The descriptive (non-algebraic) notation in this book should not deter you - think of it as an additional mental exercise in chess thinking ;)

This is a great book...really helpful...The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that the chaper on Rook endings is occasionaly not clear enough (It is apparently targeted towards a more sophisticated reader - I am a beginner-intermediate player) This chapter could use some improvement. Still I am extremely happy with this purchase.

As an authorized biography, and one written in collaboration (before her death) with Webb's daughter, it's not surprising that this volume is both informative of the minutiae of Webb's life and is almost completely uncritical of the man, his working methods, his relationships, and his works.

More annoying is the very poor organization. Facts are presented with little relationship to each other, and very little of a negative or human nature is passed along. Chronology is more or less tossed out the window. Particular works are referred to out of order, and rarely is much detail given about the shows themselves, or Webb's creative choices. Anecdotes are chock-a-block with each other, with paragraphs inserted, apparently at random, of laundry lists of Webb's cars, or his favorite foods.

Excessive space is given to mini-biographies of some of the major players in Webb's life -- and contributors to the book. Do we really need to know the genesis of Bobby Troup's "Get Your Kicks on Route 66" in a biography of Jack Webb?

The book's notes and bibliography are extensive, and it's clear the authors had good access to any number of important people. I only wish they had done a better job of giving us a better organized work, and had taken a more analytical approach to Webb and his work, rather than a 280-page press release of his life.

In his famous role as Joe Friday on the syndicated television series Dragnet, as well as later TV classics Adam-12 and Emergency, Jack Webb has become a beloved figure to more than one generations. This authorized biography, for which author Dan Moyer spent years working with Webb's daughter Stacy to research her father's life, describes Jack Webb's life from a hard childhood to an early radio career and finally stardom. Revealing Jack Webb as an artist personality whose passion for his craft sometimes caused problems in his relationship, Just The Facts, Ma'am: The Authorized Biography Of Jack Webb shows the humanity, triumphs, and foibles behind a well-known cult figure.

As one of Jack Webb's Mark VII and "Adam-12" producers, I want to applaud the authors for writing, "Just the Facts, Ma'am. The Authorized Biography of Jack Webb." The book, among many subjects, includes interesting information about Webb's talented and beautiful first wife Julie London and her second husband, jazz great Bobby Troup. The book brought other treasured memories back to me, such as my being the best man at Webb's marriage to the beautiful Jackie Loughery, Miss USA and the leading lady in Webb's film, "The D.I." Webb's daughter Stacy greatly contributed to this book and I was pleased to assist and advise the authors in the completion of this work. Much attention is given to Jack's radio days, and his TV "Dragnet," "Adam-12," "Emergency," and many other Mark VII projects many persons know little about. The book covers all of Webb's movies, and offers personal and unknown insights about Jack Webb. Numerous photographs were generously offered by Jack's closet family members and friends. They along with the story documentation, and chronology of Webb's life enhance this much needed biography of one of Hollywood's most innovative film pioneers. I highly recommend this authorized biography, and accurate book about my friend and television legend-Jack Webb. "Just the Fact's, Ma'am" is an enjoyable and enlightening read.

This book is probably good for high school physics. I am in a physics for non-majors course in college and I found the material in the book to be not in-depth enough. To be honest I found it relatively useless to consult when I had a tough question and needed some help. There are better books out there. I just ordered 3 books that were recommended to me: "The Physics Problem Solver" by James Ogden, "How To Solve Physics Problems and Make The Grade" by Robert M. Oman and Daniel M. Oman and "3,000 Solved Problems in Physics" by Alvin Halpern.

Don't bother with this book if you feel lost in physics because it won't really help you.

I found this book to be a great review for my college physics class. Rather than a large chapter of dry reading, this book keeps everything simple, and to the point. Rather than a large discussion of Newton's Laws, they are simply listed for your reference.

The topics covered in the book are much too numerous to list out. I compared this with my physics textbook for science and engineering students. If you are having trouble understanding your textbook, use this text as a supplement. It does walk through problems and has problems you can try.

Regarding the practice problems, the answers are there, but they are right there. I would prefer to have the answers on another page, but this is still a good book.

I am currently taking the first year of the Physics Avanced Placement class at my high school and this was one of the books that we needed for the class. Our teacher said that it was very good because of the problems and he is exactly right.

There are 46 chapters in the book covering many topics, starting from a beginner's standpoint. I must admit that the explanation in the beginning of each chapter is a little dry but it is concise and to the point. The most useful part of this book or guide is the many problems it has for each chapter. After the explanation part of the chapter, the chapter then goes on to show you problems and the solutions to them. It shows you how to solve them, each step of the way. After these problems, it then gives you many, many practice problems that you can do yourself, it also gives you the answers so that you can check to see if you were right in your calculations. There are so many problems for you to do that it is great practice and after all of them, you feel as if you have truly mastered the concept because the problems build off one another, starting with the easiest then getting progressively harder at the end.

I think this is a great book and a great supplement to a Physics course. However, there is one drawback in that this is not really a textbook, it does have some explanation at the beginning of the chapter which is good but it is not like your usual textbook which has more in-depth explanation. But, if you are using this book as a supplement or in connection with another book, then this is all you have to ask for.