Sometimes, when reading a book, I skip the footnotes in order to save time. I wouldn't dare do that with this book! The footnotes are the best part because they show HOW the verses are understood by those with opposing beliefs. They show why, for example, you can have two or more different theological views each supported by the SAME bible verses! Very interesting reading. This book is a great quick reference and is also good for devotional reading. I assign this book when I teach new members classes in my church! This is a book that should never go out of print!

This is an excellent book to help you understand the basic theological differences between major doctrinal interpretations. Instead of giving you "unbiased" commentary on each verse which is almost always, by definition, slanted toward one side or another, the author simply gathers together the main texts each side uses to prove their position. This not only helps you decide for yourself if you agree with any of them or not, but it also trains you to recognize a good or bad argument when you hear one.

Since the different views must rely only upon the scriptures to support them in this book, you begin to see which arguments are the strongest biblically and which ones seem to be stretching the truth. All of the comparative doctrinal texts are placed in close proximity for easy comparison. You will learn a lot of theology (hopefully not just your own) by simply reading this book.

To all who have wished for and searched for a good book on how to play black gospel. This is it!! This book is better than good. It is excellent. The author clearly knows his subject well and is able to present it clearly. Few people today are able to teach black gospel. The book is practical and detailed. Many different aspects of black gospel are illustrated and are demonstrated on the accompanying tape. As far as I am concerned this material is classic. In view of the quality of the information as well as the fact that this imformation is normally so difficult to obtain I feel blessed to have bought this book. I intend to keep it always! The author has none an outstanding job and has provided many gospel musicians and aspiring gospel muscians with much needed assistance.

A long overdue book that delves down into the the theory behind playing black gospel. Its is well written, and substantive. Robert L. Jefferson has elevated the instruction of gospel to a totally new level. - - With players of the authentic music willing or able to teach being so rare, it is a true treat to study with an individual who is so clearly able to articulate it. After a brief history of the music, Mr. Jefferson tackles a wide array of topics from basic chord theory and gospel cadence, to everything from passing chords, secondary dominants, contemporary, licks and fills, soul gospel and more. Examples are enlightening and abundant in this 106 page book. - - Though reading of musical notation is required, Jefferson's ability to explain the theory behind the music is priceless... the book is hands on and functional. Purchasing this book will definitely take you to a whole new level regardless of where you are now ! When it comes to music instruction books, this book ranks TOP on my list.

Jefferson and the Ordeal of Liberty written by Dumas Malone is the third installment of six in the life and times of Thomas Jefferson and according to the author the most arduous to write. The time frame of this segment starts where the second volume left off and continues to the election of Thomas Jefferson to his first term as President of the United States, (1792 - 1801).

This volume is divided into four seperate sections of Jefferson's life in this series of years, but Jefferson as Secretary of State, has frustrations in Philadelphia and as we see most of them are Hamilton in origin. Begining the first segment we see Jefferson completing his secretaryship of state, the second deals with his early retirement to Monticello, third section deals with the growth of political parties and Jefferson's reluctance to be the head of the opposition to the Federalists, and the fourth segment deals with the basic individual freedoms of the people being seriously imperiled.

Even though the author stated than this was a difficult time to write about Thomas Jefferson, it is apparent, through the tone of this book that great care was given to portray Jefferson as he was in life... we even get to glimpse at a dark side of Jefferson as the heated frustration with Hamilton begins its culmination, as Jefferson relies on James Madison to do the "dirty work."

This is a fascinating and contriversial time in Jefferson's life and the author tells the story well.

This volume continues to explore Jefferson's tenure as Secretary of State and his battles with Hamilton. What's interesting is the effect Hamilton's assaults had on Jefferson's reputation: by imbuing him with every quality from limitless guile to "great passion," Hamilton makes Jefferson into a colossus in the public eye. Jefferson was more passive than Hamilton thought. One interesting thing about this book is that you get glimpses of Jefferson's dark side. In one letter to Madison, Jefferson asks Madison to "cut [Hamilton] to pieces in the face of the public." Ouch.

Also, the story of Citizen Genet is pretty funny. Genet thought he could somehow go above the head of the Washington administration and appeal directly to the American people. Genet is quickly recalled by France.

Poet, essayist, and Southern Agrarian, Allen Tate brings (brought) to his life of Jefferson Davis not only a tremendous narrative talent, but also a deep understanding of, and sympathy for, the Southern culture that produced Jefferson Davis. But unlike other Southern writers who made Davis a larger-than-life hero of the Lost Cause, Tate pulls no punches in his assessment of the President's weaknesses as well as his strengths, and how they may have crippled the Confederacy from the very beginning.

Tate considers Davis a man of high ideals and great personal honor. At the same time, though, he had a "peculiarly inflexible mind" ("he had not learned anything since about 1843") (p. 197) and a "feeble grasp of human nature" (p. 255). He treated his office as a sort of super-minister of defense, and was never "the leader of the Southern people as a whole" (p. 180). The South could have won the war if she had had the right kind of political leader, Tate argues. But Davis, whose rise to leadership was generally unearned (p. 79), wasn't it.

Beyond Davis the man, Tate also has a deep grasp of the Southern culture and the larger historical and cultural issues that were clashing in the War Between the States. In keeping with his Southern Agrarianism, Tate paints the South as the last outpost of European culture in the Americas, standing against -- and ultimately overwhelmed by -- the surging might of restless, expansionist, wealth-seeking "Americanism," embodied in the Yankee Northeast. Tate's grasp of Southern regionalism lets him place an emphasis on the tensions between Upper and Lower South that, for me, shone a light on the instability of the Confederate government that I haven't seen as emphasized elsewhere.

Tate's perspective and narrative form may not be in keeping with more modern styles of biography. But this book is nevertheless an excellent and insightful read, and I recommend it to any student of the men caught up in, as well as the issues behind, America's bloodiest conflict.

This book is no act of idolatry, despite the author's reputation as a Southern conservative and Agrarian. Tate believes Davis was a great man, but he points out his flaws as well, his diffidence in acting sooner that might have won the South the War, his pride, his sometime aloofness, his tendency to remain loyal to generals (Braxton Bragg foremost among them) whose incompetence was all too apparent to others, and his refusal to appoint the right men for the right job.

This is an absorbing read that puts one in mind of Shelby Foote's celebrated War trilogy, although Tate's was written first. It has the same novelistic quality and drive and the same quickly drawn but utterly convincing characterizations. The book alternates between presentations of certain monumental battles and portraits of life on the "homefront." The latter is actually more fascinating than the former. We learn in vivid detail of the strength and loyalty and perseverance of the Southern people.

Allen Jayne's "Jefferson's Declaration of Independence" is a fantastic book. Jayne explores the Scottish Enlightenment and the religious liberalism of Lord Bolingbroke, a hero of Jefferson. Also Jayne shows how Jefferson's own religious liberalism influenced his philosophy behind the Declaration when he referred to "Nature's God". This was not Jehovah, but the God of Reason, and the Universe. Jayne shows the influence of the "moral sense" Scottish philosophy on Jefferson as he formulated a coherent philosophy of freedom, and religious liberty. It is also shown how Jefferson believed that religious tyranny to be the worst of all tyrannies since it crushed the freedom of thought. Jefferson, a tireless opponent of mental slavery, used the theological influences of Lord Bolingbroke to inaugurate the new nation. A great study.

For generations, historians have examined the Declaration of Independence looking for the source of Jefferson's ideas. Many have looked to John Locke and his Second Treatise on Government as the main source. While acknowledging Locke as an important source for Jefferson, Jayne also suggests that there were other sources for Jefferson's thought. In researching for this book, Jayne examined Jefferson's Commonplace Books, where he recorded selections from various authors. He compared these selections to the ideas in the Declaration and found ways that different authors influenced Jefferson's thoughts as they appeared in the Declaration of Independence.

I had no idea that so many statements and promises made by Bill Clinton could be disputed. The book was easy to read and understand. This is one book that I want both my liberal and conservative friends to read.

After reading virtually every book written on Bill Clinton in the last 4-5 years I finally found one that presents factual evidence of all his wrong doing. The author uses Clinton's own words in quotes then shows later where he contradicts himself. History of impeachment was great too.

I found this book in a used book store and the cover caught my attention. I purchased the book and put it back to read at a later date. I recently took a trip and thought that it would be a good time to start the book...I could not put it down once I started. It was if history had come to life. The author shows great knowledge of this time period and the way of life. This book should be made into a movie...I cant wait.

In the style of Dr. Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia, and Gone With the Wind, it is destined to become a heralded classic. It is a historical fiction novel set in the middle 19th century in Mexico and Texas.

The story centers around two brothers separated in early childhood, each thinking the other is surely dead.

The youngest brother Aaron is adopted by renegade warriors in Mexico, and later annointed their leader through an ancient mystical tradition. James, the tough and vengeful brother grows to be a Texas lawman who has vowed to find the killers of his family and bring them to his own personal definition of justice.

Years pass and eventually the brothers meet again not knowing who the other really is.

The book will teach you to see beyond appearances and advises that prejudice, in any form, is destructive.

After all, are we who we see in the mirror, or are we the culmination of our life experiences and actions?

I highly recommend this book and would love to see it made into a movie.

Rex Harrison

This is THE L&C cookbook. Took a course on L&C where at end of term, we had to do a project. One group cooked various foods using this book. HUGE hit with class. Granted some recipes are from Jeffersonian VA to make a book (hey he sponsored it as well as being in the right era) but all are authentic and ones tested so far were quite tasty.

I also am a big Lewis and Clark buff; in addition, an avid cook, with my own cookbook. This book finally came out several months after it was supposed to, but it was worth the wait!

Most cookbooks, even the ones that sound like they should have exotic recipes, have the same old stuff, based on boring ingredients that produce ho-hum meals. Not this book! The author clearly knows about good food, and the recipes are a breath of fresh air. They're not terribly hard to make, either.

Visiting my folks over Christmas, the whole family decided to have a Lewis+Clark dinner, just for fun. Everyone helped, and we had: Parsnip Fritters, Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage, Shrimp Bisque, and since we couldn't decide between the Rack of Venison with Rosemary-Dijon Crust and Roast Duck with Blackberry Sauce, we had both of them! For dessert, it was Mocha Creme Pie. All were outstanding.

This book is a class act; I just wish there were a hardcover version.