The second use was in a graduate class (Texas Woman's University) called Teaching Family Sciences. While this text is not a graduate-level textbook, I considered it an essential reading for our course because I fully expect the book to be a top choice for undergraduate courses in FLE for years to come. In other words, it is a good book for graduate students (future instructors) to be exposed to.

In case anyone is not familiar with Powell and Cassidy, they are well regarded in the circle of professionals and educators in the family field. Powell has just concluded service in a national role with the National Council on Family Relations. Cassidy is also associated with NCFR: she directs the certification program (national) of Certified Family Life Educators.

I recommend this book for use with undergraduate _and_ graduate students.

Mary Bold, Ph.D., CFLE

Amanda Granger pleads with her spouse Jason to listen to her as she tries to explain that she is pregnant. Jason shrugs her condition off by saying pregnancy is not on their current agenda and begins to drive to a business meeting in another city. While driving in his fancy Corvette, Jason angers another driver, Sonny Houston, who beats him up in a nearby rest stop, sending him to a hospital. While still recuperating in the hospital, Jason soon learns that his mistress Blair Lawton is pregnant too.

Meanwhile, Amanda does not like the way Jason has recently behaved even before the accident. She hires Willy Hanson, who loves being a private investigator, even if most of his work involves matrimonial cheating. She wants him to catch her spouse (what else would she hire a Willy for) cheating. This seems to be an easy case to accomplish since Jason does have a mistress. However, Willy's simple case becomes complicated when Sonny cannot release his road rage, planning to make Jason his personal tackling dummy.

FAST LANE, the sixth Hanson mysteries, is a 90 MPH plot that stars a likable lead protagonist (and his equally enjoyable partner). The story line moves at the pace of a SST. Though most of the cast offers no redeeming values, leaving little reader empathy for any of them, Hanson remains a character of note whom readers will still adore. Not quite at the level of some of his previous novels, Ralph Arnote still writes an original, non-stop thriller.

Harriet Klausner

Dougherty was living the hedonistic, fast lane of life, with homes in both The Hamptons, and West Palm Beach, driving expensive cars, having many expensive toys, and operating two thriving nightclubs. Alcohol was his admitted drug of choice, and cocaine use was intermittently part of his lifestyle, as were meaningless relationships with meaningless beautiful women.

After suffering an apparent heart attack, Dougherty realized that he was no longer "in his body", and was met by a former friend who "died" in Vietnam. Dougherty recalls in stunning detail his life review, future life events, future world events, including the 9-11 attacks on New York and Washington, his meetings with The Lady of The Light, God, and other spiritual beings. Because Dougherty's life's mission is not yet completed on earth, he is told he must go back.

Needless to say, Dougherty's life is forever transformed after his heavenly encounters, and amazingly, the doctors could not find anything physically wrong with him - all of his medical tests were normal. Yet Dougherty knew that he had died, but all of the doctors could not find anything indicating a heart attack.

As foretold to Dougherty, he indeed turned his life around, and is no longer living a hedonistic, fast lifestyle, but a more spiritual, contemplative one, which includes hospice volunteering, as well as forming his Angels of Mercy organization which provides miracles to those in need. He is still visited by The Lady of The Light and his devotion and faith in God has deepened greatly.

I found this book truly amazing, and I have read all the NDE books that I can, and this account is one of the best. His honesty and admittances of his former lifestyle helped to portray him as he truly was/is. He was not portrayed as someone without any flaws, or perfect. I am sure that all readers can relate to his imperfections in one way or another. The reader can only "try" to relate to his struggles and difficulties in "trying" to live an earthly existence, after seeing and experiencing all that he had with his celestial encounters. Synchronistic encounters reaffirmed to Dougherty that all that happened did indeed happen. Events shown to him that would occur in his life happened not according to Dougherty's "trying" to make them happen, but instead they happened according to God's plan.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in NDEs. There is a most startling message in the book from Archangel Michael that was given to Dougherty, that is worth reading several times over. Indeed, a wake-up message for us all.

This book is just another confirmation to us all that there is nothing to fear in dying, that we all are constantly guided and loved, and that we only have to ask for help from above. There is so much more to life than "toys" or material possessions and Dougherty proves that point very well.

This book's message is incredibly timely for what we are living though now and thank you Ned Dougherty for sharing your wonderful incredible experiences for us all.

Cardinal Ratzinger returns us to something that is very basic where the Mass is concerned. It is first and foremost a sacrifice which expresses a reality with which Catholics are required to come to grips for as the Cardinal, himself says, "Its price was the death of Christ himself."

If there is confusion in the Eucharistic Liturgy today, and I believe that the now "famous poll" bears this out, then this little tome is the perfect antidote to begin to set things aright. The author combines theological expertise and a profound depth of spirituality before which one can only stand in awe.

This should be madatory reading for every liturgist and musician in the Church today.