Starr's mini-classic details the seminal world of Archaic Greece in a way that makes clear the sources of the latter Greek Miracle-the Clsassical period. He points to the suddenness of the early takeoff in the age of Hesiod and after, the almost mysterious coming together of the Greek foundations. In a few generations the complete phenomenon came into being.

Wilhelm Reich was many things in his lifetime- a student of Freud, a political activist, a research scientist, and an inventor. His work was decades ahead of its time and is finally being rediscovered and reevaluated by the public. If, like me, you are interested in Reich and his work, you might want to check out a novel called We All Fall Down, by Brian Caldwell. it draws heavily on Reich's theories, particularly Listen Little Man and The Mass Psychology Of Facism. It's a great introduction to Reich's work and the entire novel draws heavily on his theory. It's very interesting watching an author explore his theories in a fictional setting. Well worth reading.

This work is a testiment to Chester Himes' brilliant insight and characterstic of the schitzophrenic relationship most extremely talented black artists have had with America. Much praised for his urban crime series, his more politically charged work was often ignored. This book and the truths it reveals about America's ability and inclination to create entire groups of people with nothing to lose speaks volumes about today's society as it did when written by the author. Many who read this will be afraid, as well they should. You will be entertained none-the-less, and hopefully inspired to think. The ending leaves something to be desired, I suspect that is because Mr. Himes was not alive to complete it himself.

I'll have to confess a bias: I'm one of the author's sons. And the material is so close to me that its power is overwhelming, especially since the book came out only months before Dad died. Nonetheless, anyone I know who's read it feels the pull too. And the inimitable dry humor for which the author was reknowned permeates every chapter... the Editor at Stackpole Books wrote to tell me it had mesmerized everyone from the president to the receptionist.

At first glance this might seem to be wholly concerned with trees and plants, intimating that one needs to be a horticulturist to appreciate it. Dead wrong! While there are numerous chapters about plant and animal life, these are not the dry, technical stuff one might suppose...they're infused with an attention to their connects to non-horticultural things, like literature, history, culture and everyday living. There are people too, some of whom might have stepped out of a Dickens novel.

It's about the lessons and beauty of rural life -by an Atlantan suburbanite who knew nothing about it when he arrived. You might well consider this a 20th Century WALDEN (which it did not deliberately set out to be), except that this is more immediate and entertaining. Certainly much funnier (echoes of MR BLANDINGS BUILDS HIS DREAM HOUSE) and poignant, especially the final three chapters, where this whole idyllic landscape into which we've been immersed, confronts the gathering storm on the horizon.

In the contemporary religious situation, it is no longer possible for Christianity to regard itself in the insular manner which has characterized so much of its historical relationships with other traditions. Rather, with the technology's breakdown of cultural and geographical boundaries, Christians cannot consider themselves exclusively within their own community, but must also position themselves responsibly with respect to the world's other major religious traditions and adopt a philosophical stance toward these other faiths. These stances have taken three principal forms: exclusivism, inclusivism, and pluralism. Exclusivism and pluralism are problematic for a Christian approach to the contemporary situation because they do not address the fact that all of the major faith traditions make faith claims and have notions of eschatological fulfillment which, in the grounds of public verifiability and coherence in discourse, are equally valid. Thus, to publicly adopt a philosophical stance which privileges the faith claims of Christianity over those of other religions is ot raise internal, confessional faith convictions ot the level of absolute public truth. Gillis argues convincingly in his book that with pluralism, the paradigm that is most sensitive to the fact of diverse religious claims worldwide, the truth claims of any one faith are relativized in the light of the parity between the faiths' competing claims. The conflict in terms of matters of religion, Gillis argues, is that there are no grounds upon which one can philosophically base religious claims in an absolute manner. Absolute claims that use philosophical language, such as "it is the case that...," appeal to an objective ontological truth which simply cannot be verified in matters of religious faith. In issues of God or whatever name one gives to the Absolute, such objective claims simply cannot coherently be made and supported publicly in inter-faith discourse.

Exclusivism, as Gillis defines it, arrogantly elevates Christianity's claims avove those of other faiths and denies salvation to anyone who does not share these claims. It implies an objective quality to its claims by maintaining that Christianity is the only path to salvation. Inclusivism attempts to pull other faiths in under the "umbrella" of Christian salvation. It asserts that other faiths lead one to salvation in Christ by virtue of the fact that through these traditions, one implicitly seeks to affirm Christian grace and Christian salvation through Jesus Christ. Thus, inclusivism also does not allow for other salvations as the other traditions might choose to define them, but rather re-defines their salvation on their Christian terms. Gillis' book is outstanding in that in it, he considers these issues of inter-faith relations in a global community with a sensitivity not found in the exclusivist and inclusivist positions. Rather, he opts for pluralism, through which he states that in the contemporary, globally-interrelated state of religious affairs, it is no longer logical for any one faith to maintain that it can make claims upon absolute ultimate reality. Gillis' more circumspect position allows the various world faiths to exist on an equal ground, without the triumphalism which can at times infect religions' perspectives on other faiths. Pluralism affirms the equality of the major faith traditions' truth claims, and the equal possibility each holds for its particular vision of salvation or liberation. Pluralism, as Gillis defines and discusses it, remains the most tenable perspective from which to regard the relationship of "salvific parity" between faiths, as with the expansion of our knowledge of the diverse and complex religious universe, one no longer needs to believe that Christ is exclusively the sole way to any form of salvation or liberation.

A study of how modern prisons developed due to such problems as disease and nutrition. Medical opinions were important in guiding prison officials. A new look at an old problem.

I remember my father telling me how he kept "colored" workers out of the factory in Cleveland where he worked: He gave them a very low workbench so that they would have to bend down to operate the machinery and so suffer excruciating back pain until they quit.

Now turn that around and BE that worker. Feel the mounting frustration, the fear and loathing. Not once, not a dozen times, not seven times seventy times. But every waking moment of every day.

What Chester Himes does in this first volume of his autobiography is to make you, the reader, feel that frustration. You can see how it worked its way into Chester Himes's work, his relationships, even between the pores of his skin. It explodes into self-destructiveness when he is arrested and convicted for armed robbery, serving a seven and a half year sentence in the Ohio Penitentiary. When he could take it no more, he escapes to Europe. He spends time in France, England, and Spain and finds some few places where he could be a man without arousing strong antipathy.

The early scenes in the United States have a frenetic quality about them, as Himes is always on the move. "And although I did not it at that time, I was never to stop moving, always one jump ahead of disaster, always a hair's breadth away from destitution; until I can truthfully say there has been nothing in my life but change." (p. 293)

The second half of the book deals with his relationship with a white women named Alva whom he had met on the boat ride over to Europe. From Paris, they move to Arcachon, and then to London -- where the prejudice is so thick you could cut it with a knife -- and from thence to Mallorca and finally back again to Arcachon and Paris. All this takes place before the success of his Harlem detective novels with Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson.

"The American black is a new race of man ...," he writes on p. 285. "And for those hackneyed, diehard, outdated, slaverytime racists to keep thinking of him as a primitive is an insult to the intelligence. In fact, intelligence isn't required to know the black is a new man -- complex, intriguing, and not particularly likeable. I find it very difficult to like American blacks myself...."

There is something rough-hewn and brutally honest about Himes that I've always liked. I could not stop thinking, however, that it was he who ran into my father in Cleveland and got the low workbench.

.S. intervention in the Dominican Republic, with an overview of the history of the DR before this and up to recent times.

The author portrays a very fascinating brief experiment in American government support of politicians in the Third World who were mild social democrats. The Dominican exile Juan Bosch and his social democratic party the PRD received a great deal of CIA support from 1959-62. The U.S. had decided to withdraw its support from the barbarian dictator Rafael Trujillo who had been in power since 1930, having risen to the leadership of the Dominian army during the very brutal U.S. occupation of the Dominican Republic of 1916-24. They could not gain any sort of support whatever in the hemisphere against Castro if they continued to support Trujillo.

The U.S. tried its best without disrupting the power of the military or the landed oligarchy to get rid of Trujilloism in the DR, particulary after Trujillo was finally assasinated at the end of May 1961. Bosch assumed power in February 1963 and spent most of his time trying not to upset the military. It was no use. Bosch granted considerable freedom for unions to organize. Thus, for instance the U.S. owned La Romana sugar referinery, the largest in the DR, was forced to to grant a 30 percent increase in wages. He also made lofty plans to redistribute to the poor the vast estates held formerly by Trujillo and his associates but only redistributed them to about 600 families. He made the mistake of telling the U.S. ambassador John B. Martin that he planned to place limits on land ownership and redistribute land held over the limit to the poor and also place a twenty percent tax on the large landholders. Martin denounced this plan and Bosch withdrew it but it was one more sign to U.S. policy makers that Bosch was very unreliable. The Dominican military finally overthrew him in late September 1963, just eight months into his term. This coup had tacit U.S. support.

The new military junta proceeded to set loose death squads on the opposition and the U.S. was quite fine with this. Now we come to April 1965 and the main focus of this book. Late in that month military officers calling themselves the constitutionalists launced a rebellion with the stated aim of restoring Bosch to power. The U.S. then invaded a few days later for the purpose of preventing this rebellion which was just about to succeed in taking over the country. Chester goes over laboriously U.S. actions over the next few months. The first stated reason for the intervention was to protect U.S. and other foreign nationals caught up in the fighting. Thomas notes that the U.S. had already been conducting an airlift of foreigners out of the country without an invasion and that this process could have handled the 2000 or so who remained to be evacuated. There is no evidence that these people were actually under any danger. After this excuse lost whatever power it had, there was the old communist card. LBJ believed at first that the rebellion was a plot cordinated by the Soviet Union but then he came to realize along with his more liberal cabinet members that it was a true homegrown revolution. The pro-Soviet and Maoist parties were miniscule particpants in the rebellion. The de facto leader of the rebellion Francisco Caamano was an officer who had supported Bosch's overthrow but had been disgusted by the corruption of the military junta which replaced it. His father had been a general who had led Trujillo's massacre of twenty thousand Hatian migrant workers in 1937. U.S. leaders tried desperately to find evidence of his connection to communisism.

The U.S. tried other excuses like that their intervention was "peacekeeping" to prevent a huge bloodbath. LBJ cynically cited the 1500 deaths in the slums of Santo Domingo as a rationale for intervening. Chester notes that indeed 1500 people were killed but by the U.S. backed Dominican military whose planes were supplied with fuel by the U.S. and who were being violently urged on by U.S. military commanders.

The U.S. used this occasion to set up a cordon, an "international security zone" that effectively divided the rebels of Northern Santo Domingo from those in the inner city. They provoked several battles with the rebels and allowed passage of the Junta's troops and supplies through its cordon all the while proclaiming that they were neutral between the two sides.

Well, the U.S. managed after several tries managed to set up a provisional government largely excluding any sort of liberals or leftists. The U.S. had continually been sending negotiators to Bosch in his Puerto Rican exile to relentlessly badger him into agreeing to U.S. demands. The U.S. was deeply disturbed that Bosch and his PRD would only agree to monitor communists and other forces that the U.S. defined as part of the "radical left" and only arrest them if they actually broke the law.

An election was held in June 1966 between Joaquin Balaguer, a former of Trujillo, and Bosch. Bosch supporters were subjected to massive terror in the countryside away scrutiny in the year before the election. The number of voters had shown an implausible thirty percent increase since the 1962 election. Balaguer insisted that the rules be changed so that women over twenty five did not have to show any identification while voting, ensuring that, older women, his base of support could could vote many times. And there was ballot stuffing on a grand scale.

The activities of Norman Thomas and Sacha Vollman as portrayed in this book are certainly interesting.

The author writes that inn the first decade or so of Balaguer's rule, the DR became an "economic miracle" as unions were crushed, dissidents killed by the thousands and multinational corporations flocked to the slave labor in the special "enterprise zones". U.S. military and economic aid dramatically increased. Ten percent of the population would leave the country between 1966 and 1990 too seek a better life..

Restoring the Foundations is becoming an increasingly popular choice for prayer counseling training. This is a well written and well organized 400p book.

Biblical scriptures are used to back up every single point that the authors make. This is not just somebody with an opinion that can't be backed up with scripture, this is opinions formed from scripture. Many insightful things are pointed out in detail. This book does what other "counseling" books don't, it provides tips for ministering as well as a clear presentation of issues.

The main areas of the book are sins of the fathers and resulting curses, soul/spirit hurts, demonic oppression and ungodly beliefs. These topics are well covered and well researched with biblical scriptures.

Have you ever wondered why you suffer the same misfortunes as your parents and past generations? Wonder why you can't break free of the seemingly endless heaviness? Wonder if demons can affect your life as a Christian, or non-Christian? Do you wonder if you have any unbiblical beliefs in your heart about God, despite knowing better in your mind? These questions are answered in this book, as well as many others just like them. Other topics including hearing God's voice, the importance of forgiveness, letting go of shame, strongholds, spiritual warfare and the power and significance of the cross of Jesus Christ. There are also sample RTF ministry forms that can help you go through some of your own issues or help others through theirs.

Many people may not see the need for biblical counseling or "inner healing". I think that all Christians can highly benefit from this book if they read it with an open mind. If your mind is already made up and you're totally unwilling to alter a belief, then leave books like this alone because it will do you absolutely so good. The bible doesn't lie and all the opinions of the authors are backed up extensively with scriptures.

This book presents an insightful and valuable presentation on the principles and liturgical practice of the sacraments of the Catholic Church and how they are perceived by the Second Vatican Council. After three introductory chapters that deal with a reflection on the quality of liturgical worship during the years after the Council, Smolarsky states that sacraments need to be experienced as practices that establish relationships between and among God and human beings. The author discusses each of the seven sacraments, giving a brief historical development and then an explanation of the present rites and their effectiveness. In an insighful final chapter, there is a presentation of actual practices that prevent the full power of the rites. This is a very concise and effective resource for clergy and laity involved in liturgy. The fact that is both well written and brief makes Smolarski's book a first hand source for weekly liturgical planning.