Ned Dougherty's Fast Lane to Heaven, is an incredible tale of one man's transformation after his near death experience. Similar to Betty Eadie's and Dannion Brinkley's vivid recalls of their NDEs, Dougherty is also able to recall with vivid clarity his journey and all that was shown to him.

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.

I think that other reviewers here failed to see the "big picture" on the message of the book, and only "honed" in on the predictions of the terrorist attactks of 9/11. Reading books about NDEs to only find out about "future predictions" is pretty lame, when there are incredible messages contained for us all.

This book imparts some very important and beautiful messages which are incredibly timely for what we are living though now. Thank you Ned Dougherty for sharing your wonderful and incredible experiences for us all.

"...A MAJOR TERRORIST ATTACK MAY BEFALL NEW YORK CITY OR WASHINGTON, D.C., SEVERELY IMPACTING THE WAY WE LIVE IN THE UNITED STATES". These words are part of a series of global visions given to author Ned Dougherty by an angelic "Lady of Light," in this riveting account of a core Near Death Experience (NDE). A self-proclaimed hedonist and successful nightclub owner, Dougherty suffers respiratory arrest while attempting to strangle a business associate during a heated argument. The book takes us on a remarkable journey from the velvet rope lines of his Hamptons nightclub (where he arrogantly presides over admissions) to the very gates of Heaven. We stand beside him when he reviews his earthly life, while immersed in a crystalline sphere, suspended above a celestial field. We meet the souls of the three children whom he has been too preoccupied to father. We encounter the beautiful Lady of Light who bequeathes her prophesies to him. And we stand before the very presence of God.
I know Ned Dougherty. Many years before this book was written he attended a support group with me for individuals who had NDE's or other transformative experiences. His is a tale of spiritual redemption; of one brave soul's journey from a life of empty materialism to one of joy and profound spiritual purpose. It is a portrait of a heavenly landscape so beautifully painted, it will touch the heart of the most skeptical among us. It is a book filled with hope, but also caution. Above all, it is a book which beckons us to create a future based on love.

Ned Dougherty's Fast Lane to Heaven, is an incredible tale of one man's transformation after his near death experience. Similar to Betty Eadie's and Dannion Brinkley's vivid recalls of their NDEs, Dougherty is also able to recall with vivid clarity his journey and all that was shown to him.

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 have to disagree with the other reviewers, as I think that they tended to focus only the events which were predicted for 9/11 and entirely missed the messages contained within the book.

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. A 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.

The Borrowers is a book for losers. Not the modern kind of loser, but people like me who are always losing stamps and pins and pens. The book tells the story of Arrietty Clock and her parents, tiny people who live beneath the floor of an old house and `borrow' the things they need from the humans who live in the house above. A postage stamp becomes a painting for their wall, pins become knitting needles. Even Arrietty's parents' names - Pod and Homily - are borrowed.

Life has never been easy for the borrowers, but now times are changing for the worse. The Sink family in the scullery, the Broom Cupboards, the Rain-Pipes and even Uncle Hendreary and his family have emigrated. Only the Clock family remain, living in fear of Mrs Driver, the housekeeper upstairs. When Pod comes home and says that a boy is living upstairs and that the boy has `seen' him, Pod's wife, Homily, is thrown into panic.

Arrietty, however, is intrigued. While her parents cling to the dubious safety of the life they know, Arrietty wonders about the world outside and dreams of adventure. She persuades her reluctant parents to let her accompany her father on his borrowing expeditions. On her first venture out, she meets the boy upstairs. A dangerous friendship develops. Meanwhile, Mrs Driver stalks the borrowers, full of the sort of cruelty Roald Dahl would have been proud to create. It is only with the boy's help that Arrietty and her parents narrowly escape Mrs Driver's attempts to destroy them. At the end of the book, Arrietty faces the dangerous adventure of emigration.

Like all great books for the young, The Borrowers can be read as an enthralling story of adventure, but also contains many layers of meaning. Mary Norton's creation of the tiny race of borrowers is an imaginative achievement in itself, but she does not stop there. She gives poignance to her tale by telling it through the voice of the boy's sister, now an old lady, who tells us at the start that her brother has long since grown up and died a `hero's de!ath' on the North-West frontier. The old lady seems to believe her brother's tale of the borrowers, and yet at the end of the book she provides evidence to suggest that the borrowers may have been nothing but a product of her brother's imagination. The reader is left wondering about reality and truth. On another level, in the relationship between the borrowers and the human world, parallels with the misunderstandings and confusions which occur between different cultures can be discerned. The uncertainties the borrowers face and their final exile mirror the plight of our world's increasing number of displaced people. Long after the book is finished, the characters and the questions their story raises reverberate around the mind. The Borrowers is a book which will fascinate, intrigue and entertain.

This is a great tale of a tiny family living under the floor in a house. It shows how the father goes up into the house when everyone is asleep and "borrows" things his family needs or wants. He must only borrow things that will NOT be missed. They are not to be seen by the "big" people. Some of their relatives were seen and had to move from their home to stay safe. Once seen the "big" people will bring in exterminators and try to catch the tiny people (they think they're rats). In this story, the Borrower's daughter befriends the young boy of the house. He does NOT try to harm the family. Mater of fact, he befriends them and brings them things they need. Unfortunately, the Borrower then feels useless and their house gets cramped. It's a great book for young children (and even adults to read). It's easy to get lost in the story, even when you know people like this cannot exist. I won't tell you the ending, you need to read it for yourself. I highly recommend this book.

This book is a must for all kids and pre-teens who enjoy a suspense-filled, fun-packed, fantasy. Living at the size of a toothpick isnt easy, but it sure is fun! The borrowers draw their readers into an amazing, wonderful world as they go through each of their adventures. When reading about how the tiny people "Borrow" household items and turn them into amazing things, its impossible to not be so absorbed that you almost feel 2 inches tall! Throughout the whole book, I was always awaiting the Borrowers next move, and when it ended, I wanted MORE! I recommend this book to anyone young or old who wants to read an enjoyable, wonderful story about survival in a completely different, yet the same, world. I ensure you that it is wonderful, and will be all-around loved by everyone in the family.

This is indeed a book about mankind; our eyes and mind are brought face to face with the humiliation and the joy of the book's main character, a son of a nobel Javanese who is struggling to find an identity, despite his naivete of European superiority (the story took place at the closing of the 19th century, when colonialization was in place). The word, 'modern,' was not yet in the dictionary, and Pramoedya expands to give us an unforgettable experience of seeing science unravel its power in front of mankind, for better or for worse, through the eyes of his main character. We are forced to question ourselves of our own identity, our own deeds, our own laws that govern our land, our own suffering, and our own opression on our fellow mankind. Finally, we are once again faced with the sour reality of mankind when Pramoedya twists the story toward an unexpected and sad but brave ending.

I am an Indonesian who had been educated by text books written and mandated by the Indonesian government, the new ruler on the East Indies, the land that Pramoedya's epic story took place. I am amazed, marveled, transcended by the way Pramoedya revealed to me the secret of our culture, the reasons why my ancestors submitted to colonialization for more than three centuries. Pramoedya has opened the eyes of my soul to see the things surrounding my culture and my country, its history and its effort to come to terms with colonialization more closely, more vigilantly.

Pramoedya's writing is truly unique, and his insight toward mankind, cultural differences, and whatever else that has brought us near the end of this century is completely powerful. Now, almost exactly 100 years later than when the story took place, many of the wisdom and sorrow Pramoedya writes about still hold place. Truly.

The first of the Buru Quartet books, I recommend this book to any man and woman, of any nation and culture.

The Kirkus review printed above damns Toer's novel with faint praise when it states that the book is "too obvious a polemic." Too obvious for whom? I wonder if the reviewer would take the same view of any other number of political novels which were used by their authors as a barely disguised fictional framework to attack flawed or unjust cultural values. Is The Grapes of Wrath too obvious a polemic? Of course not, and neither is This Earth of Mankind. Toer makes no effort to disguise the nature of his critique of the social and political values of colonial Indonesian society. Toer's narrative is brilliant; the characters are vivid and developed so well that we have no trouble identifying with them personally, and yet at the same time they are patently obvious symbols of the different racial and social strata in the world of which the novel is set. Toer has been accused of being overly melodramatic in this novel, and while I think that is a reasonable criticism, I have to disagree. The antagonists here are hissable characters, but Toer plays fair with them. They have a clear rationale for what they do and the justification for their actions may seem reasonable and even honorable to them even if we view it as an outrage. Toer balances this all with a tone that never comes across as angry, although given the hardships he himself has endured would make it perfectly understandable if the novel had been tinged with more brimstone. But the narrative does give one the sense of social and political displacement felt by Minke, the book's narrator, and by the family he meets in whose fate he becomes entangled. In This Earth of Mankind, Toer exposes the evils of a society based on and obsessed with castes of race and money, and in doing so has produced one of the essential political novels of the 20th Century.

On one level, the book captures a moment in history - the legacy of the Dutch colonization of Indonesia. It is also a love story, a romance ripped apart by that very moment of history. The hero, Minke, falls in love with the daughter of a Dutch settler and his Indonesian concubine. The results are ultimately tragic. But along the way, the author offers the reader a glimpse into a world peopled by unforgettable characters -- rich, complex, not at all stereotypical. Using a first-person narrative that is in turn both deeply personal and strangely detached, the author allows the reader to similarly immerse himself or herself in the story, and yet stand back and observe the unfolding of the drama as a curious bystander.. a bystander who is ultimately ensnared by the characters and their plight -- and consquently tied to the book forever. "This Earth of Mankind" reminds one of a David Lean film, such as "Lawrence of Arabia" -- at once grand and panoramic, and yet at the same time warm and intimate

As a fan of both Saunders and Smith, I felt compelled to pick this one up. The book itself is well-made -- beautifully bound with heavy, tactile paper.

I was expecting something a little more adventurous from Saunders, but still he knows how to tell a fun story in the tradition of Seuss and Dahl. Gappers from the sea are molesting the goats of Frip with their joyous shrieking, while young Capable must support both herself and her widowed father, who insists on eating white food. You get the idea.

Or maybe you don't.

The real stand out here is Smith's illustration. I'm hoping to buy or recreate a couple of these pieces and hang them on the wall.

A good book for the kids' shelf too. This one will make for about an hour of bed-time reading and picture-viewing.

This very evening I discovered the joy of reading George Saunders...
"There were approximately fifteen hundred gappers living in the sea near Frip. Each Frip family had about ten goats. Therefore, there would normally be about five hundred gappers per yard, or fifty gappers per goat."
What is a gapper?
Well, it is this baseball-like, Velcro-type crustacean with multitudinous eyes, that crawls out of the ocean at night along with (give or take) 1,499 of its buddies, all intent upon attaching themselves to local goats in a burr-like fashion. Side effects? Serious immediate goat-lassitude followed by actual withering, and depletion of milk supply!
Exactly! Of course!
It's fabulous.
Oh man... it's been a long while since I got so caught up into one of these child/adult books, the last time being Salman Rushdie's excellent "Haroun And The Sea Of Stories."
This one is every bit as good, or better. And every bit as crazy.
Let me put it this way... I stumbled across this book in the store, sat down with it... read the whole thing, laughed... laughed some more... thought of many people I want to give this book to... and ended up purchasing five copies. One will be for my own re-reading.
It is hilarious, and meaningful all at once... as the slipcover says, it's an "adult story for children, a children's story for adults."
The illustrations are superb, and the quality of the book is impeccable... a work of art.

It is a flawless imaginative work, that... while it makes you laugh at every second sentence, makes you realize that resourcefulness in the midst of undeserved adversity can really save the day! That selfishness is ugly... that neighbors ought to be... neighbors.
This little girl named Capable... she is a terrific role model for children.... and adults!
A brilliant work, and recommended without reservation. When you read this story to children the only question will be, who will love it more, you or them? Neither one loving it is simply an impossibility!

The "Very Presistent Gappers of Frip" is a wonderful fable that adults will love and that kids will enjoy as well, but on a different level. (Much as "the simpsons" has many layers.) The illustrations are also great. Lane Smith's artwork evokes the surreal quality of Saudners prose perfectly. The tale is typical of Saunders' short stories in his earlier books, although without any perversity or "unsuitable" language. The story is bizarre and endearing; the characters live in a world so different than our own, yet they seem so familiar anyway. This book is expensive considering its brevity, but is worth it just for the illustrations, let alone a funny story by George Saunders. In short: Buy it! Buy it now! Buy extra copies to give as gifts!

I bought this book for my daugther when she was in kindergarten. "Again Mommy." she demanded after I had read it to her. And so, I read it again. "Again Mommy." And so, I read it to her again. "Again Mommy." and so... I have long since lost track of how many times we read the book.

It starts with Mrs. Fibonnaci telling her class that "YOU KNOW,you can think of almost everything as a math problem." And we're off on adventure of doing just that.

The illustrations are wonderful, and match the text perfectly. The book is silly for young children and funny for older children. It is obvious and subtle at the same time. I think this is why some reviewers think that it miscategorized as being for ages 4 to 8. There is so much in the book that kids see it differently at different ages. My daugther is now in 4th grade and she still takes this book off the shelf to read... just for fun. Recently she had a math assignment to show a series of numbers. She chose a Fibonnaci series. This book stays with you.

The book ends with Mr. Newton telling his class "YOU KNOW, you can think of almost everything as a science experiment." Note to the author: I'm waiting for you to write the "Science Curse."

I'm a math major and during my classroom observations, I read this book to 4th graders and they loved it. The teacher ask me to stay and read it to the 5th and 6th graders. The book is illustrated beautifully and it really makes students and adults understand that math is a part of our every day life. I love the way the authors relate every aspect of the book to math: the price of the book is an addition problem, the price is also in available in binary, it's for ages >6 and <99!!! The fact that Mrs. Fibonacci is her teach is just too cool! I've become a math lunatic myself. Thanks to the authors for such grand creativity!

I teach math to adults, and I use this book in my classes when I discuss math anxiety. I also use it to illustrate some major math ideas, such as base numbers (important in computers and video games), the Fibonacci series (important in natural science and a good illustration of how math developed in the abstract can often later be found to have practical application), logic, and combinations. The book is chock full of math concepts, all presented in the context of everyday circumstances, which makes it a very valuable tool in making the argument to my students for their need to study math. It is also a very, very entertaining book, and all of my students can relate to the girl's frustration and anxiety. My 9 year old son reads this book at least once a week (for the last year, now!), and still laughs when he reads it. It is wonderfully illustrated and well written, a true gem. I recommend it for children and adults alike, and especially for math teachers of all ages.

First off, this review is of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle" published by Dover Children's Thrift Classics, $.... While most reviews might concentrate on the merits of the stories themselves, this review is meant to support the benefits of purchasing this particular edition over others.

That said, the first thing I would like to comment on is the price. You can't ask for more of a bargain that to pay less than a ... of America's most popular and well known Revolutionary War era stories. Great for anyone on a budget, or parents who want to expand their child's library but don't want to break the bank on something they may only read once. ....

Secondly, I would like to mention that this book contains BOTH "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" AND "Rip Van Winkle" in their respective unabridged entirety. Both are relatively short, entertaining, and easy-to-read stories that supply a great introduction to period literature, beliefs, and storytelling for children and adults alike. While these are not Washington Irving's only writings, they are perhaps the most well-known.

As a former teacher, I have the following suggestion: If you live in the New York metro area, this book would be an excellent jumping off point for a trip to Washington Irving's homestead, "Sunnyside", in Tarrytown, NY, for which you can find plenty of information online. There are several other "living history" sites in the area as well.

"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle" brings together these two classic stories by Washington Irving. The text of this Dover Children's Thrift Classic is accompanied by the whimsical illustrations of Thea Kliros. Both tales are set in the Dutch-American communities of rural New York State.

"Legend" tells the story of Ichabod Crane, a schoolteacher who lives in an area purportedly haunted by a terrifying spectre: a headless horseman. "Rip" tells the story of a farmer who has a remarkable paranormal experience while wandering in the mountains.

Each story explores the intersection of the supernatural with everyday life. The stories are full of vividly drawn characters and are rich with the local color of rural Dutch American communities. Issues such as folk beliefs, geography, history and oral tradition are well handled by Irving.

Irving's playful, earthy prose style is a delight to read. Passages such as a description of a Dutch-American feast are memorable. Funny, ironic, and poignant, these tales are true classics by one of the most enduring figures in American literature.

Will Moses' illustrated retelling of Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow rivals Arthur Rackham's near century-old version as the best edition of the book ever published. The Rackham version, with its moody, archetypal illustrations, has the slight edge, as it contains Irving's full original text in addition to Rackham's spectacular artwork.

However, Moses's simplification of the narrative is masterfully executed, and the colorful, playful, and numerous paintings which adorn the book have a warm period charm of genuine Americana. Moses portrays the Hudson River Valley as a lush expansive valley not unlike the Garden of Eden on the first day of creation. Happy farmers, their wives and children, cows, geese, ducks and pigs frolic together amid fields of wheat and corn; galleons approach dramatically from the river; and the Catskill Mountains, sun, and sky suggested an infinite panorama and endless horizon full of promise.

The story tells us that the Dutch colonists were a superstitious lot, and that the Sleepy Hollow region itself was or seemed to be under a spell of some kind. The farmers and their wives suspected witchcraft; strange music was heard in the air; visions were seen; and the inhabitants themselves lived their lives in a kind of continuous dreamy revery. These tales and superstitions give rise to the legend of the headless horseman, said to be the ghost of a Hessian soldier who lost his head to a canon ball in the war, and now nightly prowling the region in search of it. Moses' nocturnal landscapes of the swamps, hills and the Old Dutch Cemetery under a bright harvest moon are particularly effective. Significantly, these stark, haunted landscapes do not violate the spirit of the book, but enrich its sense of wonder.

Moses' Ichabod is a cheerful but somewhat hapless fellow, confident and foolish in equal parts. His Katrina is a strong but innocent blond beauty, and a friend to children. Brom Bones is an appropriately square-shouldered, square-jawed hooligan, rowdy and full of mischief, if not absolute spite.

Anyone familiar with the tale knows that it is not a horror story but a folktale, a fireside spook story, and a 'legend' as Irving, writing here as Diedrich Knickerbocker, himself called it. This edition of the book is appropriate for children but is equally suitable for adults. Highly recommended.

In his introduction, William Lane Craig explains that apologetics is the branch of Christian theology which tries to rationally justify the claims of Christian faith. Craig does this in an easy-to-grasp manner, concentrating on the philosophical issues rather than the hard evidence (for an apology with hard evidence, check out Josh McDowell's "The New Evidence").

The book is broken down into eight parts:

--How do I know Christianity is true?

--The absurdity of life without God

--The existence of God

--The problem of miracles

--The problem of historical knowledge

--The historical reliability of the New Testament (by noted scholar Craig Blomberg

--The self-understanding of Jesus

--The resurrection of Jesus

My favorite two sections were "The absurdity of life without God" and "The existence of God." In these sections Craig tackles many of the philosophical questions about God, and he does it in a simple and succinct manner. Another thing that I really liked about this book are the sections at the end of each chapter called "Practical Application." In these sections, Craig supplies ways you can use the information in the chapter to share in an evangelistic contact. Simple and specific dialogue is provided for the reader to use in spreading Christianity.

I would recommend this book to anyone that is looking to build his faith. Craig's final words, the "Ultimate Apologetic," challenge Christians to use their own life as an example of the best apology. To do this, follow the two great commandments: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." --Matthew 22:35-40 The ultimate apologetic is: your life.

Unfortunately this reviewer reveals his presuppositional bias against Christianity early on. However, that's not why I felt the need to comment. Where the review says:

"Admissions such as these, where Craig admits that REASON itself is not sufficient to establish the truth of Christian claims, shows the title of the book is a complete misnomer-- Reasonable faith does not rely on mere emotional 'wishing-to-be-true,' nor does it rely on the type of veiled threats embodied in the suggestion that you should accept God because you will be "held accountable" if you dont't. "

completely shows that the reviewer missed Dr. Craig's point in writing the book. The premis of the book is that the Christian faith is not a "blind leap of faith" but a small step of faith in the direction that the evidence all points. Christian faith is reasonable in as much as it doesn't goe against reason. However, you cannot prove Christianity 100% for that would eliminate the need for faith and "without faith it is impossible to please God". In this book Dr Craig show that the Christian faith, though still faith, is faith based on facts and not just "mere emotional 'wishing-to-be-true,'".

I read this book under the recommendation of two noted apologists. This book neither toys around with apologetics nor gives brief, watered-down arguments; rather, it gets to the meat of the subject and goes in depth. This book is well suited for college/graduate apologetics courses and for any Christian who is willing to take a serious, in-depth look at Christian apologetics. The book is academic in nature and not a typical self-help, devotional read... although while reading this book I do feel my relationship with Christ grew out of my deeper understanding of many things.

Craig explores and explains well the relationship of faith & reason, the existence of God, the absurdity of life without God, miracles, arguments concerning problems of historical knowledge, reliability & historicity of the New Testament scriptures, and the claims & resurrection of Christ. Each chapter gives views contrary to orthodox Christianity and then Craig analyzes each in turn. I especially appreciated his treatment of miracles and the problem of historicity.

At the end of each chapter is a summary and a personal application section. The personal application questions helped me to keep in mind the real reason why I was reading this book. This book could be used in a small group Bible study, but I would not recommend it to those who are not willing to put forth some effort.

The last chapter is brief, but very important. Here Craig reminds us that the best arguments in the world really come second to how we live our lives as Christians and how we interact with the people around us. This, he says, is the "ultimate apologetic."

This is a wonderfully written book.

This book is full of useful information. It not only showed me how to land my interviews with the big pharma companies, it also helped me prepare for them and told me exactly what to expect.

The book has an entire section dedicated to interview questions and answers that relate specifically to pharma sales. This was great for practice for my actual interview. It has phone interview questions and answers, common questions, pharma specific questions and situational questions and answers.

I am on to the final interview thanks to this book. I also loved the free email help line that comes with the book....a great resource.

I never thought I would have taken the approach suggested in this book to land interviews with pharmaceutical companies. It is a very effective approach that gets results. I have some great leads and have a phone interview with J and J this week as a result of reading this book.

The author also offers a free email helpline if you buy the book. I have used that and she has responded to all my questions within 24 hours. Definitely some great, creative, insight!

I was sending my resume to the pharma companies, getting no responses and feeling very miserable about my chances of landing a job in this industry....that was until I found out that I was going about it all wrong. This book is great. It showed me how to go about this hunt in a completely different and MUCH more effective direction. I followed the step by step info and made several excellent contacts and got many many leads on job openings here in my area.

I also found the resume advice very worthwhile.....alot of advice that specifically applied to getting attention in a sea of applicants.

The book also has an entire section dedicated to pharmaceutical sales specific interview questions and answers (very good answers with specific quotes on what to say), company contact lists with phone numbers, what to expect in interviews, pharmaceutical association listings, and many other resources that I have found to be very, very, helpful. What a difference a book can make! Pharma sales, here I come!

This is definitely an entertaining read, and very funny at that. The (autobiographical?) protagonist, Mario, falls in love with his "aunt" Julia (not a blood relation), the kind of relationship that is the stuff of radio soap operas - meanwhile, Mario's coworker and confidant is the enigmatic and pseudobohemian/pseudointellectual Pedro Camacho, the most popular radio scriptwriter in Peru. The rest of the novel consists of excerpts from Camacho's radio serials interwoven (chapter by chapter) with tales of Mario's scampering about with Julia.

My greatest frustration with the book is that it didn't use the full potential of the blurring of lines between "story" and "reality." Unfortunately, the interplay between "story" and "reality" was billed as the theme of the novel, whose chapters alternate between descriptions of "reality" and descriptions of Camacho's fictional world of radio serials. Camacho's various real-life prejudices - e.g., his vitriol for Argentina and his fears about middle age - do diffuse to the stories, but not in any deep or intriguing way, only for some comic interjections. Similarly, the radio serials are mentioned in conversations in the "real" portions of the novel, but not much is done with them.

I was really hoping for the book's last chapter to be a blend of the main story and the stories of Camacho's serials, but no such luck. Indeed, the final chapter, or maybe two chapters, seemed out of place, and not as clever and humorous as the rest of the novel. I was also hoping for Camacho to play more of a role in the story itself. As it stands, Mario's and Camacho's worlds don't really intersect, except for their meetings at cafes.

For a similar back-and-forth technique between "fictional" and "real," try "Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World," by Haruki Murakami. Or for a hilarious treatment of the making of radio serials, watch the (coincidentally, also Japanese) movie "Welcome Back, Mister McDonald."

In summary, this is an entertaining book, and a good story, but with wasted potential as far as higher literary aspirations; Vargas Llosa executes his clever structural idea quite sloppily.

Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter had been on my "to read" list for awhile. This entertaining and humorous book is about 18 year old Mario who lives with his grandparents in Lima, Peru. He has a large family with lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins. Mario's dream is to be a writer and he works as a news writer for a local radio station, while trying his hand at writing short stories in his spare moments. His Aunt Julia, moves to Lima from Bolivia after her divorce. She is 32 years old and not a blood relation (she is the sister of his uncle's wife). Mario and Julia start spending time together and Mario begins to fall in love with her, which is not something that the rest of their family would appreciate! At the same time, the radio station where Mario works hires a new scriptwriter from Bolivia named Pedro. Pedro writes the scripts and acts in the many radio serials that the station airs. Mario becomes friends with the odd scriptwriter.

The book is written so that alternating chapters tell the story of Mario and his friends and family and the stories in the serials. It is an interesting writing style and reminds me of a few other books that I have read including Blind Assassin by M. Atwood and If on a winter's night... by I. Calvino. I enjoyed this writing style very much and founf the book extermely enjoyable and recommend to anyone who may be looking for a different and light read.

Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter is without a doubt Mario Vargas-Llosa's most entertaining book, intelligent without being difficult and hilarious without being patronizing.

Some of the most subtle points are lost in translation -- "escribidor" in the original title, for example, has a sense of someone simply taking dictation or producing a text by rote compared to the word "scriptwriter" used in the English language version -- but that is the only significant weak point and is not enough to withhold a five-star rating for this wonderful book.

The book's account is semi-autobiographical, with two story lines alternating chapters -- a style employed in several other Vargas Llosa novels -- until they begin to link together like cogs in the gears of the narrative. But it is the way they mesh together that is part of the magic in this book. Without giving away the story line here, let it suffice to say that at certain points you'll find yourself smiling and flipping back through the pages uttering "but didn't he..." or "I thought that..."

The story itself offers a fascinating look at several aspects of life in Peru, one of the most complex and interesting countries in the world. But it does it effortlessly; using a love-torn teenage protagonist, a sexy older woman, an enraged father, an eccentric serial writer, and a compelling cast of misfit radio artists.

Though certain parts (especially the story of Julia) are well documented, the exact extent to which some of the rest of the book is based on real life is still being debated. Every once in a while in Lima, for example, an obituary will mention that its subject was one of the people the unforgettable Pedro Camacho might have been based on, and many old Peruvians have theories about the exact bar or town where certain scenes were set.

Like any writer, Vargas Llosa takes certain artistic license and some people have grumbled about inaccuracies in the text. But I shrug off those complaints: a novel is never meant to be an accurate historical document.

Nonetheless, if you are intrigued enough by the story in Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter to read more and you understand Spanish, the most important and entertaining of the complaints is by Aunt Julia (Julia Urquidi) herself, called Lo Que Varguitas No Dijo (What Little Vargas Didn't Say). She also authored a more academic version of the story in English, My Life With Mario Vargas Llosa.