There are three non-religious books I read and re-read constantly. "In the Shadow of a Rainbow" is one of them. Man and wolf become alive before our eyes, with unexpected depth and dimension, as does the land of BC itself - and my life has become the richer.

I despair of ever seeing this story done properly on film, but there is one person who could do it justice - Hayao Miyazaki, master storyteller from Japan, known the US for "Totoro," "Kiki's Delivery Service," and "Princess Mononoke." (He could also do a worthy animated "Diary of Anne Frank." With the eye and heart of a spiritual magician, and artist's touch to match, I wait for him to bring Nahani alive on the screen. In the meantime, I'll just have to keep reading the book itself...

What a lovely book. Leslie has captured the remarkable story of a young Indian man, who is befriended by a wolf, in living color. Greg (the Indian) and Nahani (the white wolf) meet when Nahani brings her pack into the area where Greg is prospecting for gold . Thanks to Greg's willingness to watch and learn from the wolves, along with his inherent respect for their boundaries and ways of doing things, the leader of the pack (Nahani)gradually comes to trust him. Eventually she sits by his fire, allows him to scratch her back, and pull ticks from her skin. This mutually satisfying relationship ends when the first snows of winter arrive and Greg must return to town.

Back in civilization, Greg discovers that Nahani has earned a reputation as a killer. There is a large reward being offered to anyone who can kill her and bring in the skin. Greg is naturally upset by this, and tries to convince people that the wolf is not a threat. He is opposed by a trapper named Dan who does all he can to stop Greg from helping the wolf. Concerned for Nahani's safety, Greg embarks on a 3-year quest to locate the wolf and save her if he can.

The story of how Greg manages to locate and track Nahani through one of the remotest and most inaccessible regions of the country is as inspiring as it is fascinating. Better still is the story of what happens when Greg eventually locates the wolves.

This story, which ends on a very positive note, is said to be true. It was told to the author (Robert Franklin Leslie) by Greg himself. Aside from the few places where human motivations and emotions are attributed to the wolf, the story rings true. It is a real treat for anyone who believes in the interconnectedness of all living things.

I have read many books, both fictional and non-fictional, about wolves. This book was truly one of the best. It was refreshing to read a story about a wolf where it did not end up dead by the end of the story yet, the story is realistic. If you love wolves, you will be amazed at the friendship that is possible between a human and a pack of wolves. I will re-read this one!

When traslating Patristic Greek, I always consult this dictionary first and nearly always find what I need there. The Complete Handbook of Greek Verbs is also indispensable. For words not found in the Intermediate Lexicon, I consult two larger ones, the "Great Scott" for obscure vocabulary, especially verbs with prefixes, and the Lampe Lexicon for theological and ecclesiastical terms. I am currently engaged in a big project, checking and editing two volumes of translations for the Society of Biblical Literature. I have worn out my copy of the Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon and plan to order another one.

This is the best of the three Liddell & Scott dictionaries for legibility. My copies of the full and abridged editions actually have pieces of print missing!

Some kind of Liddell-Scott Lexicon simply mandatory for any student of Greek. This middle edition is the most commonly used because the exhaustive edition is too large to carry. If you can still find the "little Liddell", though, I suggest you get that, as well. Even this edition is a little bulky to carry around. This lexicon tends to focus on the attic form of Greek mostly, but also indicates Koine, Ionic and Homeric usage. It even tells you how individual sources (such as Xenophon, Herodotus, Plato, etc) use certain words. This is indepsensible, since different authors use the same words to mean different things quite often. I cannot tell you how many times (when I was translating the Cyropaidea for a class) I looked up a word, only to find that Xenophon employed a special meaning to it. It was a lifesaver. Other lexicons/dictionaries would not have been sufficient.

I'm the Director of HR for a large national employer. This book was originally given to me by a local union. I enjoyed it so much I purchased several copies for our management team. It explains union rights in a simple, easy-to-understand manner. Though I didn't always agree with the use of tactics explained in the book, it certainly is helpful to understand the possibilities that may be employed by the union. I recommend it for anyone interested in labor relations, even those who are on the management side of the table.

when to argue, what to say, what laws to use and how to use them!
this book will make you into a super steward!!! The management
will not try any of their shinanigans after you use this book!!
One steward of understanding can cause a hundred management of
strength to tremble!!!! This book will give you that understanding!!!

remember SOLIDARITY FOREVER!!!!!!!

this is a must read book for all union members our boss really hates this book , he can no longer back us into a corner, he does the backing know

After reading several reviews on this famous book and much wait when I finally got this book, truly I was a little bit disappointed during reading. I had in my mind something superior than Hemingway and Capstick's works. Before this I read his later book 'Use Enough Gun' which I think is better than this one. However, when I finished, it was added in my list of to-be-re-read books. These are the books which leave an impression on you, which take you in the atmosphere of theirs and you remember the good taste of the book as of very fine things in the life.

Now I would say that Hemingway is a kind of more powerful and more hunter on this safari stuff, in the "Green Hills of Africa". His white hunter Philip Percival is not as much narrated as Herry Selby of Ruark's. Interstingly Selby is one of the pupil of Percival as Ruark is inspired by Hemingway.

I think that the Ruark has the edge of being more comic and funny. His humouress narration of his own acts and that of his companions are different then many hero-type hunters-authors, who always succeed in every crisis. His desire to shoot a Greater Kudu trophy and story of fair chase and the end of chase....is a classic picture of true hunting attitude. He was not a rifle shooter before this safari as opposed to Hemingway who was a serious hunter. One of the finest parts in this book is the episode of sand grouse shooting and Ruark's pride on his expertise in bird shooting over his white hunter Selby, who used to surprise Ruark in rifle shooting.

Collectively a very fine book on the African safari hunting in the golden era of long safaris.

Robert Ruark's chronicle of his African safari in the 1950s. This is good reading for both outdoor buffs and readers of a more literary type. Ruark avoids the pitfall of turning his book into an extended article for "Field and Stream." Aside from the details of the big-game hunt, he sprinkles his narrative with recollections of his WWII combat experience, musings on the literary world of New York, books, movies about Africa, and life in America. The focal point of the book is the daily experience of fighting the African environment in the pursuit of the elusive prey. The descriptions of the wildlife are thrilling as the hunting party tracks across the primeval plains. Ruark gives full attention to the discomforts of safari life and the doubtful sanity of those who submit themselves to this type of "recreation." The killing is graphically described and not for the squeamish. Animal rights activists should steer clear of this book.

Ruark has great fun describing himself as an Ernest Hemingway "wannabe." Comparisons to Hemingway's "Green Hills of Africa" are inevitable. Ruark is more self-deprecating than Ernest Hemingway, and can see the outrageous humor of it all. The white hunter guide, Harry Selby, falls short of the Allan Quartermain ideal. Selby is afraid of snakes and scorpions, and manages to get the safari lost at least once. Just as Hemingway, Ruark takes his wife, Jenny, along on safari. She handles the discomforts very well, and doesn't wimp out.

This book won't be studied a 100 years from now in American Lit. classes, but it's diverting reading. It recalls the macho standards of a different era. Ruark's reputation has faded since his heyday in the '50s and early '60s. For those who remember, this book is an interesting footnote to his literary career. ;-)

I had heard alot about this book for years and finally got around to reading it. If you enjoy high quality adventure and hunting writing, it truly does not come better than this.
Ruark takes the reader along on his (and his wife's) first African safari and makes us feel the sights, sounds, smells, adventure, boredoom, fatigue, terror etc. that he experiences as if we were there. His writing is at times witty and always interesting. A fascinating portrait of an era long gone. A great read.

Another coffee table paperweight? Not by a long shot! I am planning a trip to Iceland and have been reading fairly intensively in the subject. When I began reading this book, I did not expect to learn much. What a pleasant surprise! I spent a whole Sunday poring through it and was surprised at how excellent the text is -- and how well Jon Kracauer's superb photographs supplements it.

David Roberts digs deep into the sagas, quoting from such relatively abstruse sources as GIMLI'S SAGA, GRETTIR'S SAGA, and BARD'S SAGA. The helpful bibliography lists a number of works I never knew existed, including a book by Sir Richard Francis Burton, the African explorer, about a summer he spent in Iceland as well as a number of rare travel books written by Europeans going back as far as the 18th century. One thing unique about this book is that Roberts and Kracauer visit many out-of-the-way places mentioned in the sagas, such as the almost inaccessible Isle of Drangey, where Grettir the Strong met his death.

If you hope to visit Iceland, get this book first. It will give you not only an excellent background in the sagas but an awe for this isolated land that is so close and yet so far.

I ordered this book before coming to Iceland-- When I received the book I first was amazed by the Photography, it was outstanding. I couldn't wait until I was in Iceland so that I visit some of the places I saw in the book. (It looks even better in person-- no trick photography here) I also read about the sagas-- Sagas in Iceland are a very big part of the culture--No ifs ands or buts. They love telling stories about the sagas and thanks to this book I have been able to carry on some interesting conversations with the local Icelandic folks. Most sagas are rich with excitment. If you are looking for a book with great photos mixed with Icelandic culture-- Here's your book!

Truly a beautiful book! I would have expected to pay quite a bit more for the heavy paper and breathtaking pictures.

I found it to be an excellent introduction to Iceland. The first 40% of the book is devoted to a general introduction to the land, early history, and flora and fauna. After that, the authors intertwine travelogue and stories from the Icelandic sagas to give a picture of early Iceland, and how the history, geography and people have all combined to produce today's Iceland.

About half text, half stunning pictures, this book is a must-have!

Any book that Bob Bly is associated with is bound to be good--no, great! And this one is no exception.

The author explores this new, exciting medium we call email and uncovers its powerful potential for direct response selling. It leads you through the basic techniques of marketing through email. What works and what doesn't. Most importantly, it steers you clear of potential pitfalls inherent in this new medium--like how to avoid spamming, etc..

A great book on email marketing that is thorough, timely, and bound to become a classic in its field.

These authors know their stuff. They've been very instrumental in helping Ancestry.com grow to over 320,000 paid subscribers over the past 18 months. Email Marketing is now one of our largest sources of subscriptions. I recommend this book for both beginner and expert alike.

***** FIVE STARS***** Excellent..... If you are an executive looking for information on how email marketing will impact your business, you'll want to read this book.

If you want to know how the pros are using email marketing buy this book.

It details the differences between opt in permission based lists, and SPAM, and how to avoid the pitfalls that can literally kill your business. It comes complete with information on where you can find the best email lists and email marketing services in the business.

It identifies the different types of copy, formatting, text Vs HTML, rich media, etc, and provides insight into which may be best for your business. I've been asking everyone about timing of our messages. No one was able to give me a clear answer that made any sense. This book gave me great insight into the time and day that is best for me to do my email transmissions... and the auothor's information produced immediate positive results for us.

Aside from the practical knowledge, I also liked this book because the author's share the latest thinking about where this medium is going, and what steps to take today to make sure that your business reaps the rewards of the future.

This book is not just for dot comers. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone involved in the sales and marketing of their company's products and services.

This book is now the definitive resource on email marketing.

Mainly a telephone directory of over 2500 organizations (with brief descriptions) in USA. Non-USA buyers, like me, should have known this before buying.

The Investigator's Little Black Book 2 is an awesome collection of important contacts and resources for the real investigator. I'm sure this book to a lot of valuable time to create and I'm amazed that Robert Scott was willing to reveal these sources while he is still alive . . .This is the type of information you could only hope to inherit from someone, not simply buy it.

Law firms, collection agencies, process servers, investigators, no one should be without it.

I have never seen befor a book with more information packed into such a small package. NO Private Investigator's office should be without one! I know this... I'm a PI.

I read a lot but had never heard of Willo Davis Roberts. So when i saw one of her books in the libraey i decided to check it out. I loved it! I couldn't put it down. i thought that the ending was great!You've always heard that the butler did it, this time it was the chaufer!

The Kidnappers
By Willo Davis Roberts
Sep.20, 20002

I read the greatest book this summer! The Kidnappers by Willo Davis Roberts takes place in the modern day about a boy who is kidnapped. A bully from school that always beats on people is standing outside the school waiting for his chauffeur and he is kidnapped. Nobody believed the only kid that saw the kidnapping because he was always making up stories. All of his family thought that he was making up another story but he told them to call Willie's parents. When they called Willie's parents their secretary said that they were busy and that was strange because they were never busy. Joey thought they had gone to dinner or someplace else.
My favorite character in the book is the bully Willie. The reason I like him is because he is the main victim and everything is happening to him and he is the one that has to go through the pain and the suffering. Another reason I like him is because he sounds like he is really nice on the inside and doesn't really want to bully other people. The main reason I like him is because he is one of the main characters in the book and I like the main characters. Ii don't like that he bully's other people because I don't like when I get bullied, so I know that all of the kids are probably afraid of him.
In conclusion, I liked the book because I like mystery books. The kind of reader that would like this book is someone that enjoys reading mystery books that you have to think about and try to solve on your own. Also, the kind of person that would like this book is a person that doesn't like to put a book down when they pick it up. I would like to recommend this book to anyone that is willing to read it because it is a really good book and anyone would like this book even if they didn't like to read mystery books. This book is sort of challenging to read, because if you don't pay good enough attention, then you will get lost and you won't know or understand what you are reading. This book is important to me because it shows that if you do bad things then you will have to pay the price. This book is also important to me because it shows me that if your always lying or making things up then when something really does happen, nobody will believe you. This is the greatest book that I read this summer and I hope that you will read it too.

I stummbled over this book at school when i had to do a report on any book at school.and the title the kidnappers just sounded amusing and i could never get my eyes off of it!im sure to get an A on my report!

This book is an excellent installment to what is a true masterpiece of a series - though slightly predictable at times the odd unexpected twist keeps the reader on their toes! It is one of the best books I have ever read. I cried, laughed, rejoiced. I felt scared, mad, happy. Its like you are really there and the book is very realistic and well written!

Adventure...Excitement...Fun...Surprises. If you like any or all of these things then you should read this book. I think it is the best of the whole entir series. Robert Stanek is very talented. You'll wonder what is happening to poor Vilmos. How Adrina will survived the the plots of enemies. You'll come to love Myrial for her bravey and friendship. I reccomend this book because if you don't read it you'll be missing a lot.

After reading many fantasy books I stumbled upon Robert Stanek and this series. He manages to create a world with such vivid detail that makes the stories believeble, this is what raises him above such writers as Feist, Eddings and Brooks and puts on par with Tolkien. It must be every writers dream to write a book of this level. The wizards, warriors and monsters are thrown together in an almost perfect manner with a reliance on the mind of the person to match the character. This is a series of book that you just simply cannot miss out on...

Published in 1892, La Debacle (sometimes translated as The Downfall), is the penultimate novel in Zola's great twenty-novel Rougon-Macquart cycle. As each volume is independent, there is no particular merit in reading them in order. Together, they present a comprehensive vista of nineteenth-century France in very much the same way that Sinclair Lewis was to portray American society, a generation later.

If you are new to Zola, I recommend you start with Germinal, the most accessible book in the series and widely acknowledged to be Zola's greatest work. The Debacle ranks as one of the great war stories of all time. Set in the Franco-Prussian War and its aftermath, the days of the Paris Commune, it is also that rarest of things, a successful political novel. (For the record, I nominate Under Fire by Henri Barbusse as the greatest war story I have read).

In this book, Zola demonstrates his characteristic understanding of human nature. In particular, he gives a compelling depiction of the profound closeness that can develop between comrades-in-arms on active service.

Although it is marred by Zola's tendency to repeat himself - in all his books, he tends to light on a word or phrase which he flogs to death through the course of the story - and some episodes are slow-paced, it is nonetheless a fine piece of writing. Full of humane wisdom and keen insight, it is a moving and memorable masterpiece.

Written in 1891, Émile Zola's classic The Debacle, provides a ground level interpretation of what it is like see one's homeland suffer military defeat, foreign occupation and internal revolution. The Debacle covers the disastrous Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 from the French viewpoint. Indeed, Zola's novel is strikingly divergent from most late-19th Century European views of warfare, which saw conflict through the prism of personal glory and national aggrandizement. This is an exceedingly grim novel, without the slightest glimmer of hope for any of the characters. Zola depicts war in all its brutal fury, including battle, arson, murder, looting, children abandoned, treachery, and starvation. Indeed, the four horsemen of the apocalypse always seem close at hand in The Debacle, and usually preceded by large doses of despair and anguish.

The Debacle consists of three sections: "the trap," which covers the frontier battles between 6-30 August 1879; "the disaster," which covers the Battle of Sedan on 1-2 September 1870; and "the aftermath," which covers the period September 1870 - May 1871. Only inadequate maps and a tendency to overuse British colloquial expressions mar the Penguin edition of Zola's classic.

The main military characters in the novel are part of a company in the 106th Infantry Regiment/2nd Division/7th Corps in Alsace. Jean represents "the reasonable, solid, peasant part" of France, while Maurice represents "the silly, crazy part which had been spoilt by the Empire, unhinged by dreams and debauches." Most of the enlisted troops are presented as mercurial - brave, hard working and stoic one moment, or lazy, undisciplined and complaining the next. Certainly Zola sees the poor discipline of French troops, who discard weapons and equipment on marches, as evidence that the French Army had declined in quality from the legendary Grande Armée. The reputation of the French army of 1870 was based on a legend that it could no longer live up to, and this army marched to Sedan, "like a herd of cattle lashed by the whip of fate."

French officers, particularly at the company level were actually quite good, most of whom had risen through the ranks. Zola depicts Lieutenant Rochas, a stalwart veteran of 27 years, as typical of "the legendary French trooper going through the world between his girl on one side and a bottle of good wine on the other, conquering the world singing ribald choruses." French officers are depicted as ignorant but brave, fed on the legends of Napoleonic military invincibility. As the Battle of Sedan enters its final moments, Rochas stands, "flabbergasted and wild-eyed, having understood nothing so far about the campaign, he felt himself being enveloped and carried away by some superior force he could not resist anymore, even though he went on with his obstinate cry - Courage lads, victory is just around the corner." Even Captain Beaudoin, a bit of a fop, is able to display stoic bravery as his leg is amputated. Colonel de Vineuil, the regimental commander, is brave and imperturbable but little else. Higher level commanders are portrayed as more interested in their own comfort and careers than the welfare of the troops or the nation.

There is certainly no glory in Zola's depiction of war. The battle for Bazeilles is particularly grim, and Zola has a knack for phrases like, "destruction was now completing its work, and nothing was left but a charnel house of scattered limbs and smoking ruins." It was also unusual for a 19th Century war novel to depict what happened to casualties and Major Bouroche's aid station in Sedan is painted in the starkest, bloodstained terms. Most conventional histories of the war shift to the Siege of Paris after the surrender at Sedan, failing to note what happened to the 80,000 French prisoners of war. Zola gives the reader a vivid depiction of the suffering of these troops who were crammed into a small, disease-infested area, with no food for over a week.

Zola sees the debacle as a crime - "the murder of a nation." - with Emperor Napoleon III merely awaiting fate. Who was responsible for the crime? Through the civilian Delaherche, the capitalist, Zola points to opposition politicians in the legislature for failing to provide enough funds for military preparedness. At the grunt level, the troops blame their division and corps commanders - "the whole absence of any plan or energetic leadership were precipitating the disaster." Zola also points to the collapse of the French logistic system early in the war, which left troops unfed and short of ammunition, as attributable to shoddy staff work and a spastic command and control system. After the first defeats on the frontier, pessimism rapidly replaces blind optimism in the French ranks and a sense of the inevitability of defeat develops. Maurice concludes that, "we were bound to be beaten on account of causes the inevitable results of which were plain for all to see, the collision of unintelligent bravery with superior numbers and cool method."

Are there lessons for modern readers in Zola's 112-year old novel? Certainly an obvious point that Zola hammers home through his characters is that national security should be based on realistic assessments of one's own strengths and weaknesses, and not based merely on past reputations. While the French military was given the physical tools for modern war - the chassepot rifle and the mitrailleuse - the upper leadership did not possess the intellectual or emotional stamina for modern warfare. Zola also makes points about the nuts and bolts of foreign military occupation and military government that are just as relevant today in Baghdad as they were in Sedan. Finally, while Zola waffles on whether or not war is a "necessary evil," he certainly makes the point that given its inherently high cost in human suffering that it should only be embarked upon for reasons of national survival, and not merely to satisfy the whims of an opportunistic politician.

War has served as the back drop of many literary masterpieces: The Illiad, War and Peace, The Red Badge of Courage, All Quiet on the Western Front, Catch-22. Zola's "La Debacle," set during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, is every bit as good as these classics. Yet, somehow, this piece seems to have been dropped from the list of war novel classics.

Zola spent 20 years researching the conflict in great detail and his novel is as faithful to historical fact as any ever written. Few military defeats have been as sudden, unanticipated, complete and humiliating as the French collapse in 1870. Zola captures the demoralizing effect that the vertiginous orders and counter-orders had on the French troops in the early phases of the war. A complete lack of planning and mobilization plans, along with inefficient communications and intelligence services, led to scattered units marching aimlessly in search of the enemy without food or shelter and without any general plan of operations. The French were truly defeated before ever making contact with the Prussians. La Debacle is as a good an illustration of the "fog of war" as any I've read.