I had the pleasure of reading this book while on a short vacation, and read the book in TWO sittings! It was interesting to see how the heroine conquered the adversities of teenage life, and went on to find true love.

Without giving the book away, I suggest that when you read it, place yourself in the book, as many of the descriptions of places are very familiar.

I ENJOYED her book!

I decided to give this book a try a couple months after the passing of my father. His image never appeared to me in the mirror, and I had no success whatsoever for several nights. Then one night after having been unsuccessful at the mirror gazing, I had the most memorable dream of my life. I'm a little shy to admit this, but the dream was lit up by a bright shining light and telepathic communication. It was better than any sci-fi movie. To this day I keep asking mysyelf, "Was it really just a dream?" Anyway, different strokes for different folks. Judging from the reviews, this is a book you'll either love or hate. I enjoyed it very much.

Raymond Moody, one of the fathers of the modern-day metaphysical resurgence continues to share his learned insight through this book, Reunions. Life After Life, Moody's preliminary look into the afterlife was expanded in Reunions by Moody's look into the use of the Psychomantium both historically and currently.

After covering The Nature of Visions in Chapter I, Moody gives a quick and informative review of not only the Greek's use of their underground psychomantiums in Chapter II, Gazing Through History, he also delightfully touches on other gazing forefathers such as the Tungus shamans in Siberia with their copper mirrors, the Malagasy of Madagascar, the Pawnee Indians of North America, the Africans of Fez, and the Nkomis tribe of Cap Lopez to name a few.

After grounding the reader in the history of gazing, Moody shares his own experience in selecting property and adapting a gristmill in Alabama into his own therapeutic psychomantium. He relays personal experiences as well as those of his visitors/patients and left this reader with the impression that the use of a psychomantium, wisely done and well directed, could easily lead to lessening of grief and an increase of spiritual insight. Thank you, Dr. Moody.

I was surprised at the few poor reviews, and can only suggest that people who don't like this well-written, courageous and informative book are those who are consciously or unconsciously afraid of the unknown, don't trust people who aren't, or who need a narrower definition of reality to feel secure. That is fine for them, but this book deserves a more open minded look. It is an unusual topic and as such is certainly not for everyone. But Reunions is well balanced between science and the mystical, and Moody's generous and well thought out suggestions for reproducing the experiences he reports offer hope for those who are interested in what can be a healing if not mind-expanding experience. Moody goes out on a limb here and I applaud him for doing it, and doing it so well. This book should be considered a classic in its field, and one I a glad to have on my bookshelf. I have recommended it to many.

I'm surprised Ms. Moody did any research into salmon life cycle at all. I'm not usually a stickler for facts, but peppering incorrect facts into a book, and hoping they make you look like some sort of expert, is pretty [bad.]P>I especially enjoyed the part about Ms. Diamond swimming in Elliot bay in March and seeing a red salmon leap. That was pretty rich. And, the description of Coded Wire Tags, priceless.

It is hard to imagine anyone would have such a convulated view of the "stupid people" that are "destroying" the world. The writer seems to think the world revolves around reefers,... and idealists. I guess that is what our universities are teaching, and that is too bad.

It's hard to fathom why some people read books. Take the clowns who have done the last two reviews. One seems hell bent on finding every error in the book and is thrilled to come up with a couple; the other slams the whole story because he doesn't like the politics of the author. Well, I imagine some readers are harpies, looking for any mistake anywhere, any political misstep (in their eyes), just to say "gotcha" and run to Amazon to show everybody how smart *they* are. Get a life.

I read mysteries for the fun of it; and Moody has written a very fun book here. Okay, there are a couple of mistakes; okay, she's not going to make a guest appearance on the Michael Savage show any time soon; but if you like well-conceived and executed characters and wonderful settings and an edge-of-your-seat plot, this book (and series) is well worth your time.

I had a very difficult time with this book. The author needs to do more research on people and places. Someone needs to proof read for facts. Anyone who has ever been around children will be put off by this book

Yes, the wild life and rough weather of the Olympus peninsula, are described terrifically here, along with the shady manipulations of some "herbal" drug specialists. What a fwwl for the flora and fauna this author has! A nice mystery too, even if a little obvious by the author's clear sympathies. Some nice characterizations, too..But the story did drag a bit, and the soap opera was thankfully kept under wraps. All in all, a nice effort, particularly for an Easterner not familiar with this Washington State locale.

Wildcrafters marks the third appearance for Skye Kathleen Moody's Venus Diamond, Fish and Wildlife agent, who postpones her honeymoon with new husband, Richard Winters, in order to search for a kidnapped Native American baby. Venus discovers a relationship between the kidnapping and the slaughter and mutilation of the Roosevelt Elk. Moody has done her research thoroughly and has produced an exciting mystery with interesting, well-developed characters, and a careful weaving of several subplots dealing with issues between modern society and the fragile environoment. This is another excellent novel in the Venus Diamond series set in the Pacific Northwest.

This book, the sequel to "Life After Life" is somewhat smaller than the previous book, and contains some interesting observations gleaned from the anecdotal evidence of those who came near to death and survived. Moody talks of the elements of the NDE that fewer people have: seeing the realm of "bewildered spirits" (ghosts), Cities of Light, dopplegangers, and so on. He goes on to speculate of the experiences of suicides, most of whom (in Moody's study) seem to have only partial NDE's. Also discussed are various reactions to his studies, including reactions from the ministry (not all of which were favourable). He includes, interestingly, accounts of certain people who were in dangerous situations, but not actually physically harmed (may provide some indight into what precipitates the NDE). Rather than being primarily speculative in tone, he seems to be mainly creating a roster of things that his subjects have reported to him, which gives the account a feel of objectivity, but he also uses some more personal observations later on in the book. This makes a good supplement to his previous book, but is a little dull because of the way in which it is organised. Interesting, but still all evidence is anecdotal. Little attempt at verification has been exercised (this may have not been the author's intention anyway), so one is left with the idea that maybe the whole experience may be generated by the mind rather than filtered through it. not a bad effort, but could be better.

This is the final installment of Dr. Moody's trilogy on the Near-Death-Experience: (a) Life After Life (b) the Light Beyond (c) Reflections on Life After Life.

This time, Dr. Moody has found new components of the NDE: cities of light, doppelgangers, and what happens to suicides when they die. In addition, Dr. Moody presents the general reaction of the ministry to Near-Death-Experiences.

While not having the detail of the earlier books, this one nonetheless has to be read for a higher understanding of the phenomena.

I really enjoyed this book and acutally find the entire subject of NDEs quite fascinating. This book is, to me, a more "scientific" type of explanation, written by an MD, but nonetheless, quite fascinating and very interesting. Recommended reading if you are interested in finding out more about NDEs.

Again, reports of people who have had NDEs, the message is the same - kindness and love as taught by Jesus. People's lives are forever changed after having an NDE.

Moody goes into more explanations and actually posts the questioins and answers, that I, as a reader, was asking as well!

I especially liked the subject on suicide, in which Dr. Moody interviewed subjects who had attempted suicide, had a NDE and came back to "live". All said that is was wrong and they would never do it again. We are God's gift, doing His duty here on earth. Suicide opposses God. Pretty hefty message in this chapter.

Because of his research, readers and others might be looking for Dr. Moody to "prove" that there is life after death. He quite clearly explains that that is not his intent, yet offers his own views on the subject. You, the reader, can judge for yourselves and claim your own beliefs. Yet, after reading numerous books on the subject, (I am currently reading 2 more of Dr. Moody's books),it is very hard to doubt the existence. I leave you with this quote from Dr. Moody's book, "I believe it lies within the realm of possibility that, in a similiar fashion, almost everyone may eventually come to accept intellectually, even without definite proof, that there is another dimension of existence into which the soul passes at death. Remember that it is our own anxiety about whether death is final which shows through when we challenge a person who has had such an experience to "prove" that there is life after death."

First of all, don't buy the Ice Storm. By the fourth chapter, it has degenerated into excessive name dropping of TV shows and a sort of setting-as-metaphor style that Moody and his friend Jeffery Eugenides seem to like so much, none of which is successful in the least. Which is so unfortunate because the characters in this book just cry out to be made whole and experienced as real human beings, not just cardboard cutouts advertising the excesses of the 70s (which is perhaps why the movie was so successful, allowing the actors to bring the depth to the characters that the novel just can't). What Moody seems to have forgotten in his obbession with "long, torrid sentences" and "musicality" in prose is that literature is not music. It's literature. A sentence that goes on and on and on and on, never letting you come up for air is a sentence that should be edited.
As a writer, I have always thought the most important aspect of a book was whether it moved you or not, whether you felt chills reading it. But somehow literature has become about being "stylish" or "clever" or "ironic", subsituting a professor's cool wit for a writer's hard but big heart. I'd rather read Richard Russo than labor through the Ice Storm because Russo knows how to write a story. All Moody can do is create a mood and he's not even very good at that, because he thinks he's making music when its really only the sound of him feverishly typing. But Moody is a not a bad writer. Just read "The Ring Of The Brightest Angels Around Heaven". I did, and I was incredibly moved. His depiction of the varying moods experienced during sexual intercourse was powerful and groundbreaking. While so many others writers want to write pornography, Moody writes with a complexity that the act deserves. But like so many other readers (and writers for that matter) I'm beginning to be puzzled over the Rick Moody phenomeneon. Maybe Moody just doesn't have the capability to write great characters and chooses to hide this fact like so much guitar wank hides the lack of a decent melody. If so, I suggest he write poetry. But if he does, I sincerely hope he gives us readers the novel we know he's capable of

There is no other book that explains what's like growing up in the 70s better than THE ICE STORM. A very beautiful and delicate family drama. Yes, it's very cold but that's the point the author wants to emphasize. Most folks complain that the characters are not fully developed - its not a flaw at all. Its simply because the characters dont know themselves - they're confused and lost in a chilly world. Very distant also. We're not supposed to feel any warmth or comfortable.Moody wants us to feel distant with the characters - dont forget the progantist is the oldest son Paul whos totally lost and frozen. We see his family through his eyes.Reading the book is like visiting my childhood again. My parents spent too much time partying and tyring to keep up with the sexual revolution. It does have a devastating price - my father died of alcoholism last Christmas and I don't talk to my mom and sister anymore. For a very long time, my family forgot how to huddle even in the most difficult time. And th book rings very true for me and many other young folks. Moody is also a genius with words and his writing is very beautiful.

I wasn't going to add anything about this book as there are so many responses. But after reading the wide range of opinions I just had to give mine. This book is powerful and deeply disturbing. I like being disturbed sometimes if the authors heart is in the right place. Rick Moody has a soul and an empathy for the human condition that is evedent in this well written novel. I too, like so many of you, saw the film first. I loved the movie, but the book is a must for anyone interested in the story. The characters are sympathetic and brutal at the same time. The most notable being "Wendy". Cristina Ricci, my second favorite actress, did as good a job as anyone could, but the litarary Wendy has much more to her then "I'll show you mine if you show me yours". There is real suffering and pain in this character, the kind that makes the reader a richer person for having shared in it, if only vicariosly. I highly recomend this book and this film.

"Lost Johnny"

I bought this small book because I needed it for a paper on the book of Hebrews that I'm doing at Lee University, based on the Hebrews usage of apostasy. While I'm glad that I got the few quotes I need for the paper, I have to say I really did not like the book at all and was quited disappointed.

Sadly, Dale Moody mostly wrote this book because he has an axe to grind. He is constantly ranting and raving how the Baptists have got it all wrong, and they shouldn't have kicked him out of a few schools over disagreements with this passage, and yada yada yada. His thoughts seem almost randomly scattered, with no real flow to it. Had he not divided the book into chapters, you'd have never been able to realize the theme.

While I agree strongly with the authors views that Baptist have it wrong with their "once saved always saved" views (I come from a Pentecostal schooling), as this author makes it plain that it is impossible to reconcile that creed in light of the apostasy verses of Hebrews. However, I strongly disagree and cannot believe that this author slipped some other goofy doctrines into this book (it slowly creeps in and keeps reappearing), namely, that having to do with the doctrine of annihilation (that Hell is not forever and ever, but only temporary).

A poorly written book with only a few coherient thoughts scattered abroad (probably as a result of an explosion of bitterness and grief.) Hardly what you would expect from a professor of theology.

The only reason I give it at least 2 stars is because I needed a monograph on the apostasy topic in Hebrews, and this is one of the only books out there that covers it specifically. It does have some use.

Dr. Moody has been standing for what he believes for a long time. His points made on the subject of apostasy as taught in the book of Hebrews stands strong when carefully studied. He gives a good perspective on the development of the doctrine of "eternal security" through Baptist history. He refutes this doctrine and shows that Baptists historically did not accept this concept. Only a Calvinist would dare to differ. His position on the Greek is clear and strong. He is right, after all, he agrees with the book of Hebrews and not John Calvin. He teaches that the warnings in the book of Hebrews are real and to be applied to the "real" Christian. No theological twisting and turnings are done in this book.

The audiofile reviewer has got it wrong. Mary's MOTHER, Alice Lennox, was the young bride in India, not Mary.

If you grew up being read the secret garden, or read it yourself, then wondered, whatever happened to colin? mary? dickon? What became of them? One could go on and on. But after reading the sequal, I felt as if the ends had been tied. Wonderful novel.

...and I hate to say that, because I was really, REALLY looking forward to reading this book! Alternate histories fascinate me (as they do many readers) and although I'm happy to say that the author appears to have a good grasp of Custer as a personality and doesn't paint him as a heartless, Indian-hating, glory-grabbing brute (which is refreshing!), his style is extremely dry. The research is sound, but it's more like reading a history textbook than a novel. So, if you're looking for a teeth-rattling page-turner, I'm afraid this isn't it. "Marching to Valhalla" is a much better bet!

I have been reading alternative histories on and off since MacKinlay Kantor wrote "If the South Had Won the Civil War" several decades ago. The two key factors in any alternative history are (1) what happens differently to alter the flow of history and (2) what significant chances result from that alteration. Such stories are usually flawed because the first part becomes convoluted beyond belief, but that is certainly not the case with "Custer's Luck," written by Robert Skimin with researcher William E. Moody. The pivotal moment is, of course, the Battle of the Little Big Horn, and the authors have George Armstrong Custer discover the true size of the Indian camp he is about to attack. So instead of continuing with his suicidal charge he reunites his elements of the 7th Calvary with those under Reno and Benteen. With a unified command Custer is able to compel Sitting Bull to surrender by employing his standard tactic, threatening the women and children. Therefore, instead of the newspapers being full of the massacre of Custer's troops on nation's Centennial, "Long Hair" is credited with a great victory. All of this is certainly plausible.

Equally reasonable is the idea that Custer would then have been tapped to run for President in 1880. The main thrust of "Custer's Luck" is therefore going to be what happens to the destiny of America with Custer in the White House. If you have a reasonable grasp of American history--and there is no reason to be reading these types of books if you do not--then half the fun is recognizing where and when the authors are lifting ideas and events. This goes from such relatively minor things as the court-martial of a black West Point cadet to Custer insisting the U.S. cannot afford to be Isolationist, the political philosophy that was the flaw in American diplomacy throughout the 20th century. Ultimately, "Custer's Luck" wants to have the United States try to begin that century the way it ended it, as the preeminent military and political power on the planet. Consequently, Custer fast-forwards the nation in terms of developing a strong navy, building the Panama Canal, provoking a war with Spain over Cuba, and even supporting women's suffrage.

The main sub-plot of the novel focuses on Red Elk, a young Sioux Warrior who vows over the dead body of his pregnant wife that he will kill "Long Hair." Red Elk is a fictional character, originally created in Skimin's "The River and the Horsemen: A Novel of the Little Big Horn." Given that previous novel along with the fact Moody is the editor of "The Journal of the Little Bighorn Associates," it is not surprising that several of those who died with Custer--his brothers Tom and Boston, Myles Keogh, Mark Kellogg and William Cooke--are prominent throughout the novel. Even Frederick Benteen, never a Custer supporter, becomes a Congressman bent on derailing his former commander's ambitions. There are also some soap opera elements; at one point Custer even ends up in the arms of Lillie Langtry. But even before we get to Skimin's final postscript comment "Any comparison to Camelot is in the mind of the reader," it is clear that John F. Kennedy is the major model for the Custer Administration and its theme of "The New American Empire." After all, Custer puts brother Tom in a Cabinet post while his brother Boston is elected a Congressman, Libbie wants to fix up the White House and Custer has the government supporting the fine arts.

I am perfectly willing to grant that many of the things Custer does in this novel could have been done at that time. I will even agree that a national hero such as Custer would have been after winning the Battle of the Little Bighorn could be swept to the Presidency (although Custer's narrow victory in the election does not ring true to me, even if the man was a Democrat). What I find hard to believe is that a President Custer would have been so visionary. When he works out diplomatic solutions to get both Geronimo and Sitting Bull back to their reservations, it is clear that Skimin and Moody are offering us a different Custer than the egotistical daredevil of history's current judgment. Then again, this only underscores that the character is ultimately only a device that allows the authors to shape their alternative America, so there is a logic to their alterations. However, the ending of "Custer's Luck" conveniently frees Skimin from having to finish what he has started. The significant changes that should be at the heart of this alternative history are therefore secondary to the parade of historical figures Custer and his cohorts encounter in the novel. To say the least, I find this to be an unsatisfactory way of concluding this story, essentially negating much of the momentum Skimin and Moody had in creating their alternate America.

I thoroughly enjoyed this "what if" story of a successful Custer who seemed to be ahead of his time, and yet suffered from the same character defects as more recent leaders. While the details surrounding some of the lesser characters was a little tedious, it was a quick,interesting, and fun read. In the final analysis, Custer could not escape the Little Big Horn and, as with JFK, the promise of a great leader was not realized. Don't miss this book if you enjoy alternative history and Custer mythology.

In the light of Matthew 16:18-19 what are the revivalists trying to revive? Salvation takes effort Philippians 2:12, Philippians 3:12. And is accomplished within a community Matt 18:20/Galations 6:2. Salvation is communal because salvation is union with Christ Rom 6:1-5. As Christians we should have an equal commitment to our brethren as we do to Christ Matt 19:19, Mark 12:31. Unfortunatly, many believe the Bible is God-given and the Church man-made. Yet St. Paul refutes this in 1 Tim 3:14-15.

Any time spent reading about the life and work of D.L. Moody is well worth it. Moody impacted his generation for Christ the way Billy Graham has impacted ours. Details of Moody's Spirit anointed ministry are well researched and clearly presented in this excellent work by Lyle Dorsette. If you want to see what God can do through a person who is totally committed to Him, buy this book and read it carefully. Then, put it in your Church library for others to enjoy!

A a student of the scriptures, and being passionate about the Christian faith, this book will inspire you to grow in your faith. This book is about the inspiring DL Moody, and his life. You will read of his trials/tribulations, victories, and other moments of the life of this great evangelist.