The Thoenes have put their incredible story-telling ability to work in a whole new way with this novel ... helping us imagine Jesus, the man, when He was on earth. Forget any dry images you've picked up from the King James Bible. This book brings Jesus to vivid, 3-D life and it is a remarkable opportunity to draw closer to the One who died for us. Please don't miss it, whether you're a Christian yet or not!

You really need to read this book to understand what tremendous writers the Thoneses are. They tell the story of Mary Magdalene, her pain and transformation, the way it might have been. It is amazing how many stories and people of the New Testament are
expertly woven into this story which keeps you facinated as you catch onto who you are actually reading about. (The names of people are slightly changed and you catch onto who it is as you go.)It is fun; and when my husband and I (we are reading this together) read about Jesus being interuppted by his mother and brothers, we were so delighted with their take on it and how graciously they portray the Lord. If you know the Bible well, you will get more out of this book.

Forget for a moment this is the fourth book in a series. Forget you've been following characters whose lives are enmeshed in the drama of mid-1948 and the struggle for Israeli independence. For 250 pages, imagine you are discovering the incredible back-story to this modern conflict in Jerusalem.

The Thoenes break new ground here, jumping back two millenia to unravel the story of Mary (Miryam) Magdalene and her connections to the life of Jesus (Yeshua). I've admired the Thoenes ability to recreate the era of the 1930's and 40's, but to see them jump to 30 A.D...Wow! The transition is seamless. I was quickly transported to the troubled times and life of young Miryam and her centurion lover. I found myself caught up in the story and surprised at the ease with which the authors slipped fiction into the historical framework. In these pages, the Thoenes do wonders, making the lives and relationships of those represented in the Gospels come alive. They breathe fresh perspective into this oft-told tale and make it wholly believable and accessible for a modern reader.

From what I understand, the next book or two in The Jerusalem Legacy will continue the biblical back-story. (This book ends at the point of Jesus meeting with the woman caught in adultery.) Although I wish the Thoenes had finished their present series and made the story of these scrolls into its own entity, I'll certainly look forward to the continuation...of both. While remaining true to the known facts and to the spirit of the Bible, the Thoenes delve into the hearts and minds of those who later became known in the Scriptures. I'll never see Mary or the centurion or Caiaphas the same. Through "The Jerusalem Scrolls" they've become living, breathing people. With style and great sensitivity, this book shows once again why the Thoenes are one of the best writing teams going.

Confessions of a Gender Defender - Dr. Ettner's first book - is an easy, quick read. It is an unstructured collection of real life stories about various transgendered clients, sometimes with Randi's thoughts added. While the unstructured nature bothered me some, the writing was good, and the "stories" were interesting. If you want to learn more about the many different expressions of transgenderism through hearing different transgendered people talk, this is a great book. If you want a book of information, read her second book, Gender Loving Care.

EXCELLENT,WELL WRITTEN BOOK,FOR THOSE WANTING TO INCREASE, NOT ONLY THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF THE GENDER DYSPHORIA ISSUE,BUT ALSO OF HUMAN COMPASSION, SUFFERINGS AND THE EVER ENDUREING HUMAN SPIRIT. "THANK YOU TO RANDI FOR THIS SORELY NEEDED PRESENTATION OF THIS ISSUE" MOLLY

This book really opened my eyes to the turmoil which my child has been going through for most of her life. It gave me an expanded view of the separation of gender and sex.

I read this book in a single reading: laughing, then crying. It has helped me to accept my childs condition, understand the social risks and rewards, what is typically the several years long process of transition and has inspired me to do all I can to support her in what will be a difficult time, physically and emotionally.

Thank you, Randi Ettner, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

This was fun to read for the most part. There really is nothing new and I do take issue with the claim that this is" the first major illustrated work" on Custer. Lawrence Frost's book, The Custe Album, holds that distinction

A large book well armed with pictures of not only Custer, his family, but also of key major military personnel, Forts, leading confederates and best of all, great Indian leaders. Besides the large presence of photographs, the book provides a nice compressed history of Custer from Birth to his postmortem. It's an accelerated read with direct references to historical events without gratuitous detail. In reference to his CW career, Donovan is a little light on Custer in the valley in 1864 as Custer has some conflicts with colleagues over such things as who earned the captured flags versus who actually took them. In addition, Custer's role at Five Forks is a bit large in contrast to the infantry's 5th Corps who crushed the isolated Confederate left. Overall, it's a pretty good overview of Custer's Civil War and pre- LBH western career. I do note that pictures sometimes fill in voids such as the destruction of Lt. Kidder's command and Custer's meeting with Satanta, which are missing from the narrative. The best part of the book deals with the LBH and the author pulls no punches in explaining what he thinks happened. His theory reflects Michno's "Lakota Noon" primarily in that he theorizes that Custer held his battalion on the east side of the river waiting for Reno and Benteen to rally to him to squeeze the Indians his battalion and theirs. But of course that does not happen and the command is destroyed. The author captures all the personal conflicts in command such as Reno's fitness and Benteen's pouting causing his leisurely stroll. The after the LBH evaluation is also quite good recognizing that several elements caused Custer's defeat, not just Custer's brashness, Reno's ineptness or Benteen's bitterness but the loss of surprise, the pressure to attack, the confidence of the Indians, their stubborn resistance capitalizing on the fractured commands and collapse and the primary fact that they didn't run like everyone perceived. Other elements include Crook's stepping out of the campaign with his 1300 men after the battle of the Rosebud the week before against smaller numbers then Custer. But also it's noted that Custer preferred the standard morning surprise attack but after discivering Indians on his back trail, he felt the need to attack immediately with reconnaissance done while on the move. Many forget that Colonel Reynolds inder Crook was nearly Court Martialed for botching the March Powder River attack. Although not mentioned directly, all commanders were under pressure to attack before the Indians dispersed. Terry's and Crook's subsequent post LBH campaigns attest to the Indian mobility challenge. The latter part of the book deals with the Custer legend based on writings, movies and historical hindsight that are based on the culture at the present, WWII era versus post Vietnam. This latter portion reminds of Hutton's great book the "Custer Reader" which is also worth a very good look since it also deals with participant' writings and fellow historians. This is a good book for those looking for a pretty good capsule on Custer that includes excellent pictures and an argument. Then they can venture into the books with greater analysis and detail and of course a greater feel for why the battle is so controversial.

The most thorough and well-researched book I've ever read on Custer. The beautiful illustrations, supporting historical documents, and Dononvan's insightful analysis evoke the myth that is our American West. Custer embodies that myth. Donovan succeeds in humanizing this compelling, tragic man while celebrating his immortality. The author does an exceptional job of establishing and explaining the legend of Custer and why his last battle seized the imagination of the American public. Securing not just a place in American history, but in our culture.

Just as Doc goes through the process of recovery from failures in the previous adventure (Twelve Mile Limit) so the author seems in the process of recovering his hero. As the novel progresses, Doc has a growing awareness of his physical limitations and the effects of depression. Gradually he works his way through these problems while solving a mystery in familiar surroundings. This novel is built around the use of a cult as a front for development in the everglades, including but not limited to casino gambling. Doc Ford gets back to his roots in the sea of grass with a childhood friend whose husband has disappeared, the offspring of Tucker Gatrell's sidekick, Joe Egret, and old pal Tomlinson, whose undergraduate musings on an acid influenced philosophy paper have been posted and become an internet phenomenon.

White too has trimmed down. He plays his strong characters and has eliminated much of the annoying "black helicopter" paranoia of his recent novels. While there is still a lot of violence, but perhaps not as abrasive as in Twelve Mile Limit. I do, however, hope that the coda of a Nicaragua trip might come to an end here. As usual White could probably cut some of the repetition, but sometimes his pictures are right on, as in his account of the disorientating effect of airboats or the case of a fine description of the buzzard trees along the old Tamiami Trail. All in all, it's a good three day read.

Trouble is afoot again for Doc Ford in this tenth adventure for the marine biologist from Dinkin's Bay on Florida's Gulf Coast. Doc's childhood pal and one-time lover Sally Carmel arrives at his stilt house with a tale of a missing husband, presumed dead after a nighttime fall off of a boat while on a fishing trip. But is he really dead, and who is the menacing guy shadowing Sally's every move? The trail leads to the husband's business partner, a crooked religious cult leader who is cooking up some devilish plans to replenish his personal coffers. Bhagwan Shiva has no intention of waiting for the afterlife to reap a heavenly reward, and if murder and mayhem-not to mention major environmental damage to the unique and fragile Everglades-is necessary, so be it. Doc is facing some personal demons of his own, as depressed and out of shape, he confronts the price he is paying for continually camouflaging his own essentially predatory nature. The Everglades, eloquently rendered by White's vivid descriptions, offer a parallel reflection of the negative consequences of trying to impose civilization upon the natural order. Through a maelstrom of impressively complex physical combat, a nighttime encounter with a deadly bull shark, death-defying air boat hijinks, earthquake tremors, high explosives and a volcano, White delivers an increasingly complex portrait of Doc Ford and his hippie pal Tomlinson. But long time fans have come to expect more than just great storytelling, and Everglades does not disappoint, as White peppers his narrative with impressively researched information about Florida's Indian history, the ecology of the Everglades, primitive human brain physiology and wrestling, among many other topics. Read this book and you will know some terrific bars and restaurants to visit on Florida's Gulf Coast; how to make a great rum drink and the special brand of Nicaraguan rum to use; which boat engine manufacturer is finding favor with fishing guides these days; the legend of the Swamp Ape; and what exactly the witch's soldiers are chanting in The Wizard of Oz. A brilliant and amazing ride right to the last page, Everglades will leave you eagerly awaiting your next encounter with Doc Ford.

For those of us lucky enough to live in the Boca Grande to Sanibel area, Randy's descriptions and characters always bring a smile or a fond memory. For those who aren't so familiar with the area, the author weaves a wonderful plot with colorful characters and his own brand of common sense philosophy that rings true with "islanders" near and far. Once you get to know Doc Ford and Tomlinson, you will want to read the other books in this unique series. True entertainment coupled with skilled prose...take it to the beach or the lake or Central Park!!!

I just completed a 20th century art course here in Southern California with this book as the chosen textbook. I would consider it at the medium to advanced level. It was much cheaper on Amazon than the college bookstore or the museum store! Like the title of this review suggests, the authors were pre-occupied with their knowlege of uncommon words in the English Language. I would never encourage the "Dumbing down of America" but the word usage in this book is to the point of distraction. The new Oxford Essential Business and Office Dictionary makes it a point in it's forward to point out that usage like this is superfluous. Er, I mean needless. The reproduction is outstanding and the physical structure is very good. I have every intention of making this book part of my permanent collection. And yes, agreeing with the other reviewers above, it is heavy. But hey, with a few extra sit-ups and one or two extra laps and you'll be just fine.
Mike

"History of Modern Art" is, in my opinion, the very best general overview of modern art (i.e., the last 125-150 years or so) published to this date.

Although it is intended to be a textbook, the format and writing make the tome sufficient as a great general reference and a very good read. The illustrations are excellent, although I wish there were more color reproductions.

Anyone who enjoys fine art should have this book in their personal library.

Since first published in 1968, this book has widely used as textbook. As a text, artwork could be explained in various ways. Gombrich¡¯s ¡®Story of Art¡¯, for example, focuses on the interaction between the visual art and its time. Since the book deals with the entire time span of Western visual art, that kind of approach would be better suited to inform readers what and how was the artwork in those times. So distant from our time is it that it¡¯s hard to understand the meaning of the work without referring historical context of the work. All the text presume its reader (or audience). And reader or audience reads the text according to the established convention of the time. The conventions to read the work were so different from ours. But when it comes to the contemporary art, things are more complicated. Robert Hughes¡¯ ¡®The Shock of the New¡¯ follows the line of the contextual explanation. Hughes paints not detailed picture of modernism but overall characterization from bird¡¯s eye view. Thus he didn¡¯t touch all the works canonized. It¡¯s more adequate to make a consistent impression of modernism. However, this book was intended to inform the reader the encyclopedic knowledge on Western visual art from the 19th century to postmodernism. Moreover, the coverage of the book is not restricted to the painting but includes sculpture, architecture, and photography. With that kind of coverage and time span dealt with, one can¡¯t benefit from time¡¯s filtering out like Gombrich¡¯s. to be a coherent text as a history, the author cannot but take the view that ¡®artwork tells itself¡¯. The accounts of this book is focused on teaching the reader how to listen to the voice of artwork. With in-depth analysis of distinguished works one by one, you could learn how to listen. But you can ask: to get such an eye, should I swim through heap of paper (yep it¡¯s bulky) and thousands of pictures? As for art, you can take pleasure with art as much as you know classics. Therefore, the encyclopedic approach of this book is reasonable. And that, it¡¯s not boring at all to follow through explaining artworks one by one. Like other arts, visual art has its convention to interpret text which varies from age to age. One should learn how to read it. This book is a good guidebook to practice and learn how to read artwork. With closing the last page, you could overview the history of visual art since the 19th century and enjoy viewing artwork. And that, you could boast your good taste to your friends ;)

This book was excellent. It was a fast read and some twists and turns thrown in there. Very interesting book and the first I have read by Cynthia Victor. I'll try some of her others now. I really enjoyed reading this book and I think you will too.

Another great book by Cynthia Victor. Once you start this book you just can't put it down. You never know from one page to the next what exactly is going to happen. I've read all her books to date and can't recommend them enough. If you haven't read her, give her a try. You'll be hooked!

From the moment I picked up "Consequences," I couldn't put it down. It was fun and sexy and engaging from the first page to the last. A must read!

This is an eclectic collection of short pieces (a little too short and non-narrative to be called short stories) on topics such as Chicken Little, the importance of dumb women in literature, Hamlet from Gertrude's perspectives, war, death, birth and more. There is no doubting, reading this, that Atwood has a feminist bent, but don't let that you scare you off - it is definitely not a ram-down-your-throat version of feminism. Rather, it is a funny, smart and insightful perspective.

I would not recommend this as an introduction to Atwood - a first time reader would probably be better suited to reading one of her novels such as The Blind Assassin or The Handmaid's Tale first. But I think that for readers that have encountered Atwood before, this collection will give you an insight into a fascinating and wryly humourous writer.

Much as I hate to give anything by Margaret Atwood fewer than 5 stars, honesty requires me to say that this collection is uneven and sometimes boring. Flashes of brilliance (_Hamlet_ from Gertrude's perpective is the best) still make it worth reading. What the heck - you'll get through it in an afternoon, and it's MUCH better than most of what's out there.

There is quite a mixture of ``genres'' and moods in the book. Some of them, I do not know how to name these writings, are pure satires and witty criticisms of the crook in every human being and in humanity in general, and others are like a breeze getting free from one's stream of consciousness. I felt this latter type really close to me and discovered why: because they are poems without the traditional poetic form. They can transmit a mood into the reader. Yes, they have no story or obvious message to the mind but rather to the whole human being; not food for the analysing mind but a kind of programs that get all your internal resources arranged into a special pattern which is more visual, that is, you rather wonder at it than think about it because you feel it moving and coming to life in you, than verbal.

this book is well-organized, and utterly without editing mistakes -- a real refreshing change compared to basically all other books on arabic that i've seen. however, it teaches you **koranic** arabic. this is NOT the same as "modern standard", and this book is not very helpful in learning any variety of arabic used today. the vocabulary, grammar and exercises all have a very strong koranic tilt, and this is not what you are looking for, you will be disappointed. also, the teaching method used is the very traditional "grammar-translation" method, which is not for everyone. however, this book makes a great reference for those who really want to learn straight classical arabic circa 600 AD, or for those who are interested in arabic from a historical-linguistic perspective.

This book is well organized and the lessons build on themselves in a logical manner. It has been a great help for me to learn the language of the Qur'an. The book even teaches you how to read unvocalized writing, which I always thought intimidating.

Don't forget to also order the key to the excercises (sold separately). My only complaint is that I wasn't aware the key to the exercises wasn't included when I bought the book.

If you are sure you want to learn Arabic and are ready to invest lots of time and effort this book is for you and I can certainly say after looking around and trying numerous books that this is probably the best availible.

Seems to concentrate heavily on the gay and lesbian aspects of SF. My wife and I found Eyewitness Travel Guides' San Francisco and Northern California to be much more useful for planning our trip there.

Two years ago, I visited SF for the first time, and I had the second edition of this book. Here we are two years later, and I recently bought the third, and most recent edition. Let me tell you: brilliant rewrite! This edition is even better written, and has better graphics and layout. The staff at Lonely Planet across the Bay in Oakland, sure do know their stuff. This book is for anyone that wants a concise, yet knowledgeable introduction to the history behind the City by the Bay, as well as good reviews on restaurants!

I've used the Lonely Planet series for travel in other parts of the world and L.P. has yet to disappoint me. Their city specific books (like this one) are small, so it's easy to carry with you and the numerous maps in the back are very useful. Each map has the locations marked for all the places noted in the book as well. Unlike other popular travel books, L.P. provides pictures of some of the more popular things to see; I find this very convenient since a picture says a thousand words. The authors of this book are also all San Fran residents and/or natives which made me feel like I was truely getting the inside scoop of where to go and what to do.

Lemmons has a unique perception on Biblical fiction, and this is his most creative writing to date. Character development is believable, and the storyline is compelling to the very end. A few creative surprises along the way complete the picture. But better yet--it leaves the reader with the feeling that this little tale may have actually happened this way! If only he had written this before the commercially-tainted "prayer" book. This little novel probably has more truth in it.

Thom Lemmons' Jabez is a fascinating and deftly written novel based on Jabez, a man of prayer whose name meant "pain" and is briefly mention in 1 Chronicles 4:9 as being "more honorable than his brothers". Dramatically narrated by Jeff David, this novel of faith and conflict, courage and hardship, is set in ancient Israel and a riveting "theater of the mind" experience. Abridged, 2 cassette, 3 hours.

This novel is outstanding! The character
development is some of the best I've
read, especially in the unusual choice of
'the god who has no name' as a
character in the book. I wasn't a fan of
Wilkinson's The Prayer of Jabez, because
of its potential for abuse (e.g. quick! let's
pray this prayer, and get rich!); Lemmons'
novel is SO MUCH BETTER than that! I
strongly recommend that any Christian,
and any searcher for truth for that matter,
read this book.