This was definitely a page-turner! I live in this area. So, it was interesting to imagine that this went on right here! I had never heard about it, and I have lived here for the last 25 years. Makes me want to examine all the houses and areas they went to.

The book is written with a newspaper sensationalism kind of feel, but that shouldn't bother you too much.

The authors give us a true account, set in "the good old days", showing us that murderous cults didn't start with the Manson family, and religious fanatacism isn't an import nurtured only in foreign lands. Immediate and enthralling as any real crime story currently on the shelves or TV, this page-turning ride has just the right amount of wry, observational wit to balance the horrors. I loved it.

Collaboratively researched and written by T. McCracken and Robert B. Blodgett, Holy Rollers: Murder And Madness In Oregon's Love Cult is the "truth is stranger than fiction" story of the "Holy Roller" religious cult that made brutal newspaper headlines in 1903. It all began when Salvation Army dropout Edmund Creffield arrived in Corvallis, Oregon and founded a new "church". The city fathers were less than impressed -- but not so their wives and daughters! A century later, descendants of the people involved in the macabre events of Creffield's Holy Roller Cult still refuse to discuss what happened. Holy Rollers is an incredible, painstaking reconstruction and revealing expose that create a gripping book that offers especial insight into the dark side of mass psychology, religious hysteria, and unbridled charismatic religious authority.

Julian of Norwich's Showings is yet another indispensable volume in "The Classics of Western Spirituality" series. It contains the sixteen visions given to Julian who lived alone as an Anchoress in late 14th-early 15th century England.

This volume contains both the short and long text of Julian's visions. Julian writes with a lucid depth of feeling rarely encountered in descriptions of God's love. Julian's love for Christ is clearly felt in these pages. The preface and introduction give ample justification for claiming a place of importance for Julian's writings in the pantheon of mystical and spiritual writers.

This is valuable reading for everyone who wants to know the love of God more.

Julian of Norwich is only one of the medieval mystics who attempted to record the unspeakable, that without words, the mystical experience. This book is a record of what she dictated of her experiences, her "showings" of Christ and her relationshp with Him. It gives us insight into the workings of a medieval woman's mind and soul, and into the nature of mysticism itself, something beyond what words can measure.

Unlike Aquinas and some other medievals who had one or, at most, a few mystical experiences, and unlike those who seem to have thrived on flaunting their closeness to God, such as Marjorie Kemp, Julian is a quiet soul. She herself doesn't know what to make of her experiences, doesn't feel worthy of them. Yet they are intrinsically a part of her and her religiosity.

This is a must-read for students of Western mysticism, for those who want to understand the experience of the truly religious in the Middle Ages, and those who also seek to know Christ first-hand. Not a "how to" guide -- any such would be suspect in Julian's world because she does not control her experiences -- it is more of a guide to "what happens when your soul is in this particular state". Her very inability to explain that perfectly is, I think, proof that her experience was very real.

All that's known about Julian of Norwich was that in 1373 a woman lay, at age 30, on her deathbed. The woman did not die, but instead received a series of visions of Christ's passion. These visions are what is recorded in this book in both short (written more closely after the incident) and long (written much later, after more contemplation) versions. She then became an anchoress living as a recluse in a cell attached to the churchyard of St. Julian in Norwich.

Julian's visions, even in translation, are luminous and joyful. She received the assurance that God will, in the end, make all well. The meaning of it all, as she says, is Love. This is one of the most vivid constructions of the medieval image of Christ as mother and is (justly) famous as such. The showings are moving and beautiful.

The Paulist Press/Colledge translation is almost comical in its padding. Featuring a preface, forward, and introduction, the actual short text does not begin until page 125.

This is a truly fascinating and engaging work. The meaning of indepence from Great Britain is much more profound that one would think on first thought. With this idea in mind, Morgan penetrates to the fundamental ideas and characters of each three men. For both Washington and Adams, I must say that he is right on target. His account of Jefferson is also good, although I cannot help but wonder why Morgan spends some much time and space castigating the man for what he views to be his short-comings. Regardless of the actual merit of his criticisms, he clearly strays rather far from the subject of the work. Nevertheless, the piece as a whole is gem.

Edmund Morgan is perhaps the most readable American colonial historian. Best known for his books on the Puritans and colonial slavery, Morgan here presents three lectures on what three founding fathers thought about independence. George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson are three very complicated individuals, and no short lecture is going to completely explicate their ideas. But Morgan brings his typical verve and clarity to the subject, and speaking as a AP history teacher, I found them to be well worth my time.

I first encountered Morgan's wonderful book in a college history class (thanks, Dr. Bourdon!), but this is no dry academic tome (personally, I think that there is no reason an academic book has to be dry, anyway). The book's three essays--one each on the named presidents and their points of view on the struggle that produced this nation--are both insightful and pleasurable reading. For the casual reader, there is Morgan's gift for anecdote. His description of the personality conflict between Adams and Benjamin Franklin is hilarious, as is Adams' timeless description of the tedium of legislatures (some things really do never change!). That said, there is also serious analysis of these three men, and what each contributed, thought, and said, written with a critcal but respectful tone. It's hard to say which essay is the best, but those who despise Thomas Jefferson for hypocrisy should certainly read his section, and learn about his genuine, if tempered, idealism--a trait we could use more of in the 1990's. This is an excellent choice for anyone who wants to broaden and deepen his or her knowledge of the origins of this country.

I love deceptive books.

Example: _Our Paris_, by Edmund White and Hubert Sorin, is ostensibly a series of short essays, written and illustrated in a fairly direct style, pertaining to life in the city. But in a stunning, disarming preface, White alerts us to the real subtext: his partner's slow death from AIDS. It's this subtext that transforms the book from a pleasant travelogue to a devastating account of loss.

Lurking beneath the book's shimmering surfaces, and within its numerous lacunae, is the emotional life of a couple threatened by the fast-approaching specter of death. An attentive reading of White's text and Hubert Sorin's illustrations reveals the mauvaise foi, the daily negotiations, the implicit contract of domestic denial that enables an endangered couple to keep death at bay for just a little longer.

_Our Paris_ looks slight, as if it were merely a pleasant evening's worth of travel anecdotes and gossip. But if you take yourself into this book's confidence, it will reveal unexpected secrets.

I picked up this little book for a return flight from Paris to LA. It looked like perfect plane reading -- short, gossipy, topical. And although it lived up to each of those expectations, the devastation implicit in the book (and explicit at the end) hit hard. The book is not easily forgettable -- and probably no less memorable for the passengers and crew of American Airlines flight 45 who watched me become a sniffling, tear-stained disaster.

It's very intimate, shockingly un-French. White and Sorin invite you into their lives. You feel as if you're at a dinner party listening to them recount(even bicker a little about) their recent mundane adventures. But this intimacy also means that you feel very close to the heartbreaking loss that is the real subject of the book.

It's a beautiful, touching book. The illustrations complement the text (or the text complements the illustrations) perfectly. But if you want to avoid the mess entirely, try The Flaneur.

This is a sweet collection of short pieces, quirky and personal, about a tiny Parisian neighborhood, Paris itself, the French, lots of friends, and a great dog named Fred. Most of all: about Edmund White and his lover Hubert Sorin. Economical yet enjoyably gossipy, kind-hearted, opinionated, informative. Achingly sad, though, because Hubert is dying of AIDS, and in fact does die at the book's end. Definitely worth reading -- especially for fans of Edmund White. Engagingly illustrated by Sorin, who was trained in architecture and took up drawing when he became ill.

This book cover initially thru me off but once I got into it. Had me laughing at some of the things and situations encountered in this book. I`m looking for more titles from this author. I very much enjpyed this book. It`s cheap enough to give away as a "good Christmas present".

A PLEASUSE TO READ. WRITTEN WELL WITH A UNCANNY WAY OF BRINGING IN VIEW THINGS WE KNOW BUT SEEM TO FORGET. ESPECIALLY GOOD READING FOR ANYONE BORN IN THE 40'S AND 50'S.

This is by far the funniest book I have ever read. One scene had me laughing for at least fifteen minutes. Edmund Waterbridge is the messiah.

Edmund X. DeJesus's first novel is pretty darn funny, and should keep most people guessing until it's practically over. The inner life of Mark Napoli (a physics grad studenbt with no significant other (outside of his wishful fantasies)) is really dead-on. A few of the jokes will probably go by you if you weren't a physics/math major and aren't familiar with southern New England, but not enough to really matter.
OK, so it's not Moby Dick, but then hey, what is? Recommended if you're looking for something just plain fun to read.

"The Law of Falling Bodies" is a clever, well-written detective story, although the main character isn't really a detective -- he's a graduate student in physics who finds himself caught in a web of murder. His knowledge of physics comes in handy on more than one occasion. I suspect the novel is semi-autobiographical, because the author (Edmund X. DeJesus) has a Ph.D. in physics from a university in New England, similar to the one in the story.

But don't get the idea that this book is a ponderous academic tome. The writing is breezy, amusing, and suspenseful. I read it soon after finishing a massive collection of every Sherlock Holmes story ever written, and "The Law of Falling Bodies" doesn't suffer by comparison.

I especially liked the novel's ability to evoke the life of a shabby grad student in the 1970s. In between solving a murder mystery, our reluctant hero has to worry about money, food, girls, classes, money, food, girls, and starting his VW Beetle on cold New England mornings. This creates many opportunities for humorous one-liners and he doesn't miss a beat: "..."

Maintaining plausibility is always a challenge in a detective story. "The Law of Falling Bodies" plays fair, but it's possible to nitpick. Could a person running for his life really glance at a strange object and instantly memorize a six-digit number written on it? (Well, maybe a grad student in physics could.) Wouldn't the police move quickly to protect someone who was the target of multiple attempts on his life? (Maybe not, if that person was more useful in the open.)

But those are just picky details. If you're in the mood for an intelligent, well-written page-turner with a sense of humor, I highly recommend "The Law of Falling Bodies." I'm looking forward to reading the next novel by Mr. DeJesus.

[end]

Edmund X. DeJesus is a native of Cranston, Rhode Island. He holds a B.S. in Mathematics, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Physics. He has taught at Middle Tennessee State University and Boston University, has worked as a programmer, a researcher, and an editor of BYTE magazine. He is currently a freelance writer, and The Law Of Falling Bodies is his premiere mystery.

Mark Napoli is a physics graduate student at a fictitious university somewhere in New England in the 1970's. The law of the land is that professors rule on high, with graduate students acting as their minions, whom they may or may not enlighten with enough of an education to eventually gain their Ph.D.'s. Of course the system is rife for corruption, and a particularly nasty professor, by the name of Speen (whom we can't help but think of as Professor Spleen) is found murdered, his body apparently tossed from either the roof or a window of the physics building.

Mark is instantly interviewed by the police, and uses his genius to help them solve the crime (beginning with a physics demonstration to Mark's newest crush, Lt. Rachel Trask, of why Spleen had to have been launched out a window):

"'The roof overhangs the building by seven and a half feet,' I began. 'Speen's body, the center of it, was only three and a half feet from the building. The head was even closer, but that may not matter. It is impossible for the body to have fallen inward, toward the building, from the edge of the roof. So any witness who says that's what happened is lying. Speen couldn't have been out on that roof at all.'"

DeJesus launches an intensely funny, poignant, and entertaining first mystery. Mark Napoli is one of the sweetest heroes this reviewer has come across. He is engaging in his eccentric genius, fantasy love life state, and the reader is cheering for him every step of the way. DeJesus' description of academic life with its misfit characters is accurate and hilarious. The Law Of Falling Bodies begs for a sequel from an immensely talented first-time author. This book is a great read, with lots of thrills and spills; a surprise denouement; and a bittersweet conclusion....

This book is essentially about profits, politics, and patronage in Malaysia. Indeed it is a useful detailed study on 'political economy in action' rather than the political economy of Malaysia. Those looking for a survey of previous studies on the political economy in Malaysia shall be disappointed.

Those pursuing major business (or considering pursuit of business) in Malaysia need to read this book. If you are very familiar with Malaysia politics and business, it makes a great read. Otherwise, only of interest to academics in politics, political economy, and perhaps 'Transparency International.' The only caveat is that it mainly applies to very large business efforts - while something of the entire patronage culture obviously permiates many transaction levels here, only the really big (nationally important) stuff draws the kind of attention discussed in this book.

The book basically presents a slightly pessimistic but fairly accurate view of major business efforts and their effects. The book concludes in the midst of the 1997/8 economic melt-down and subsequent political maneuverings, but stops well short of the late 1999 election.

When looking at the political economy of Malaysia many authors are quick in taking an extreme point of view. Gomez and Jomo, on the other hand, focus on the reality of the Malaysian situation. Their analysis of the functioning of Malaysia's political economy is frank and thoroughly backed up. By concentrating on the effects of Mahathir's privatisation policies on the Malaysian economy, they have pinpointed several key structural weaknesses which need to be addressed; especially in view of the pressing politial and economic issues which are currently affecting Malaysia. The book therefore, is an absolute must for people interested in Malaysia's complex economic structure.

The five yarns in this book, loosely linked, are very engaging and captivating - even seductive. But in the end I hated them. It's just that the first person character is a male who takes liberties in his relationships and then bristles at suggested whiffs of engagement of his partner or partners with other people - even if the implied infidelity is far from established. I find it very hard not to identify the character with Edmund Wilson himself, and then it's so hard to avoid a real repugnance for the man and the hypocrisy displayed by his character.

I have met this feeling before with Paul Theroux, even in his travel stories which are openly autobiographical. I'm sure I could never expose my thinking in the way Mr Theroux does. But, on the other hand there are extenuating circumstances with Mr Theroux and he does recognise the unfairness of his attitude, even regrets it. This doesn't happen with Edmund Wilson's character who seems not to think that his self-centred behaviour should be questioned - he's a man and he can do whatever he wants - not so those who associate with him. His entreaties to the women he seduces seem so [weak] to me - and yet they are successful in the novel - 'You know you're the only woman I've ever wanted to marry!'

And inexcuseable (for me anyway), towards the end of the novel there are pages and pages in French. I understand that multilingual people do sometimes switch between languages but I think this is appalling behaviour by the writer and the publisher when many, if not most, readers will not be able to read these passages. What are we expected to do - go out and hire a translator to translate the text for us?

The stories are engaging, even amusing, perhaps enlightening. But in the end I just didn't like them for the arrogance of the character, the vulnerability of the women he associates with (none of them stand up against him), and the self-indulgence of the author.

On Christmas Day 2001 I was in San Francisco when I began reading this literary collection of six interrelated novelettes. I learned of the book while reading 'THE SCARLET PROFESSOR--Arvin Newton'. I was anxious to read it because the book was banned in 1947 because of its heatedly debated subject matter of descriptive sex, adultery, venereal disease and a mixture of the upper and lower class values of the time. My dear friend, Gloria Weiner-Freiman-Cohen, would surprise me with the gift of this book. While I was pleasantly surprised the author, Edmund Wilson, has encouraged me to write in my journal again as he did nightly in his 'Wilson's Night Thoughts'--(everyone has NIGHT THOUGHTS, right?). I'm sure that is an interesting book as well. This book is written in a very 'twenties style' of literary competence that I truly love. It just sweeps me back to the beauty of words that are often not used in this manner today. I liked the following lines from the book:
-Right is right and wrong is wrong and you have to choose between them!
-...it's the dead...that give life its price, its importance. You feel them under the ground just lying there and never moving.
-Every work of art is a trick by which the artist manipulates appearances so as to put over the illusion that experience has some sort of harmony and order and to make us forget that it's impossible to pluck billard-balls out of the air. ...he had been spurred by no need to make money.
-The only things that were fresh in the streets were the headlines--new words--on the newsstands, and most of these announced dismal events.
-They didn't worry about their social position because the life that an artist leads is outside all the social positions. The artist makes his own position, which is about the nearest thing you can get to being above the classes.
-He really needs somebody to hold his hand!
-...it was all on the kindergarten level.

Edmund Wilson is one of the great literary and social critics of the 20th century. This collection, largely forgotten in his voluminous interpretive texts, is a group of 6 interrelated stories which explore aspects of contemporary society (published in 1946). Wilson's keen analytical mind, gives these tales a penetrating, still relevant, perspective. The venue is upscale Hecate County, New York (Hecate is the Queen of Witches), built of marriages of form, and a social life of formalities. Passion, here, swirls in a cauldron of manners. The matriarchal community is dominated by a self involved, status-seeking, unsatisfied type of woman. These are stories of intrigue, even bewitchment, bound by strictures of guilt or conformity. Pathos mingles with humour and observation to produce a sharp relief of the cultural terrain. His methods include both biting satire and tantalizing insights of intimacy. The elliptical conversations provide a platform for far ranging, not so subtle social criticism. The women are weavers of charms. They form only a spectral presence in some of the stories, but are always a catalyst in the vaguely destructive relationships. In the most ambitious story, Princess With the Golden Hair, oblique sensual imagery imbues an erotic undertone; sexuality itself is portrayed in morally ambiguous, layered contradictions. Wilson is examining conventions which bind people in structures sapped of meaning, while confessing subliminally the need for standards-- and for love. In this way the book reflects both the mid century suburban angst and the more persistent predicaments of the heart.

I use the book as a tool of making my reports more readable, and it has never let me down... I strongly recommend this one over any dictionary i've used so far.

A great guide to students,highly recomended.

This book was required for an introductory Latin class I took a semester ago. It proved helpful then, and is still helpful now. The ODEG is a useful tool for anyone who wishes to expand his or her knowledge of the manner in which our language functions. This book is a useful addition to a reference library, and I highly recommend it.

A big question for me when buying my first book on training for racing, was "Who provides the most reliable and important information?" I have seen Dr. Burke quoted in a variety of sources including Bicycling magazine, Velo magazine, and Chris Carmichael's web site. So I had the impression he is respected in the sport. Further, when reading his writings in other sources, he has gone into the underlying physiological processes that contribute to one's performance on a bike. As such, I decided to purchase his book based on his apparent credibility and the depth of information he provides. Strengths of his book include its excellent coverage of what goes into training for competitive cycling. From beginning "base training" to sprint training, periodization, and planning one's training for the entire year. He also speaks at length on nutrition, equipment/rider aerodynamics, body positioning on the bike, and adjunct training methods. Again, there is an emphasis on underlying physiological processes including some discussion of relevant research. I would say the book's weaknesses lie with it's failure to address racing tactics. Certainly, you learn about what is happening with the body at race pace, but this book will not tell you about positioning for a sprint or pacing one's self for a time trial.
In short, buy this book if you are serious about racing and want to enhance your knowledge of what goes into training for competition. Don't buy this book if you want to learn about tactics.

Burke, a well known name among cyclists, gives very detailed and sometimes complicated advice about how to train, how to create a training schedule for various goals, how and why to make a training diary, etc. Readers should be aware that his advice is aimed at the very serious cyclist, and his training schedules range from those for serious collegiate cyclists (~15hrs/week) to professionals (~25+ hrs/week). His advice is sound, but it may be more than most people really need. His peak mileage (feb) is 2000miles--that's 500 miles per week!

Very detailed, I found "serious cycling" easy and enjoyable to read. Ideal for the self - coached athlete, it helps personalize your cycling program depending on your present abilities. While reading you find that there is much more to training and becoming a better rider then you first thought, but it puts the "why" into training in addition to the "how" giving a better understanding and appreciation with what changes your body must undergo to be a better cyclist.

Periodization, training modes, keeping diaries and more... The nutrition section I found to be a little "old school" but, nevertheless, interesting and backed by studies. This information is aimed at the "serious cyclist" and may be too much for someone not willing to put forth the 15+ hours a week.