I loved this book. However, I did notice that it seemed a bit light as regards the founders of the early Quaker movement. This is a very minor criticism though, and I happily award the book a 5 star rating. All in all, The Quaker Reader gives a wonderful view of Quakerism as it has developed through the centuries. I highly recommend it.

For those who (like me) are interested in the development of the early Quaker movement, I can heartily recommend Rosemary Moore's 'The Light in Their Consciences', which is an in-depth look at the early charismatic Quaker movement.

It isn't easy to find information telling you what Friends believe. Our history is traced primarily through the words of George Fox and John Woolman. Later, here in the US, there were splits dividing believers into liberal and conservative groups.

This book does a very good job of giving the reader an understanding of the Quaker faith by offering the reader essays and journal bits from William Penn (a well-known Pennsylvania Friend!) and others, both inside the faith and out.

For those interested in the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), those newly convinced, or for those who just like to read about the beginnings and progress of Quakers, The Quaker Reader is a basic for their library.

For other books about Quakers, be sure to read Robert L. Smith's A Quaker Book of Wisdom; and The Quakers by Jean Kinney Williams

This book provides a fairly thorough history of the Quaker faith and its evolution over time. While some of the essays are by external observers, the book is mostly writings by Quakers, often in the form of journal excerpts. Pithy and insightful commentary by the editor introduces each writer, the time in which they lived and the issues facing the Religious Society of Friends during that era.

I loved this book. It led me to my first Quaker meeting and a faith that is right for me. However, even if you do not find stories or concepts in this book that resonate with your own experience of God, it is worth reading. William Penn (who was a Quaker) and many others less well-known played a far more significant role in the history of the United States than their numbers would suggest.

I enjoy all of Eileen Charbonneau's work. She has a rare, fresh voice that brings untold stories to life. This book is the best yet!

Every page of this book was a delight; it was so different because it took the reader to the famine in Ireland and then back to America, where the couple, wed for convenience, now make their way to the West. The attraction between them crackles with sexual tension and when they finally do consummate their marriage-- well, I'll say no more. I do heartily recommend this wonderful book. --Eileen Hehl

I loved Eileen Charbonneau's richly developed characters and colorful history of The Randolph Legacy, her last historical novel. Rachel LeMoyne is an equally impressive story, filled with fascinating little-known facts of American history and characters we hate to let go of when we finish reading the book. Even the secondary characters are captivating. Eileen Charbonneau is a refreshing face in American historical fiction. I'm thrilled to have discovered her and I can't wait for more.

I went on a trip out West and found this book very useful. The organization of the material is outstanding, so that it's perfect for people who know a little or a lot about geology. The first section of the book covered basic introductory geology information. The book then covered the three provinces that make up Arizona. Each section covered the geology to be seen on specific highways, such as Interstate 40 as it goes from Flagstaff to Winslow in the Colorado Plateau Province. There are also geological bedrock maps included with the aforementioned highway section. Geological descriptions of the national parks in this state provided a better understanding of what the traveller is observing.

I am also the proud owner of the Roadside Geology books for Hawaii, Maine, New Mexico, and Utah. Non of these have let me down, and as my collection grows so will the number of stars for outstanding ratings. A big thanks goes out to the authors of these fabulous books! Your dedicated work is much appreciated!

I have to admit that I am not normally interested in geology. But as I've traveled around the state by car or bike the uniqueness of Arizona's geology has always fascinated me. I purchased this book on a whim and found it to be one of my favorite books. Now, whenever I'm going to be traveling in a new part of the state I read about the geology of the area that I'm traveling through. Because this is written in a "roadside" format, the book explains what you'll see as you drive (or bicycle) through the various regions in the state.

Yesterday I threw my "Roadside Geology of Arizona" away -- for the third time. Like the two copies before them, my latest had lasted about five years in my truck's door pocket, and it had gotten to the point that there was simply more duct tape holding the book together than there was paper, and at least four pages had disappeared.

That's the way it is with any book by Halka Chronic. The folks who buy them, use them -- and usually use them up. I have had three "Arizona", two each "Colorado" and "New Mexico" and am on my third "Utah" Roadside series. I would no more drive somewhere without these books than I would without five gallons of water in the Southwest desert summers.

The first chapter or two of all these books is a Geology 101 of the State -- including terms, an historical timeline, and discussion of the latest geological theories that have any bearing at all on the landforms you will see from your car or truck as you drive across the state.

Then coomes the good part -- a series of chapters with exciting names like "Route 60; Globe to Mesa". As you drive, your companion reads the book, keyed to mile-markers, freeway exit ramps, small towns, etc. Every rill, dike, escarpment -- even the various colored rocks you see as you ride through the roadcuts on the freeway -- are explained. Follow the highways in the book, and you're and expert on Arizona geology.

But it's never that simple, of course. Soon you're taking your friends and relatives from out of town through those same trips, showing them the beauties of your state that Halka Chronic helps make come alive. Out comes the book again and again, and finally it begins to fall apart from sheer, joyous use.

That's why I threw away my third "Roadside Geology of Arizona" yesterday. But don't worry, I already bought my fourth copy -- and I'm sure I'll buy my fifth in another five years or so.

Charles West scores with this first mystery novel, the tale of an "accidental" detective named Bob Fisher who inherits a collections and investigations agency in a barely-disguised Fresno, California. The Fruit Basket of the World becomes for West the Fruitcake Basket of the Universe. It's a peculiar California demimonde the author depicts, where agrarain tradition is decomposing into urbanization and corporate corruption. It's in this environment that Fisher is hired by the founders of the Eternal Truth Temple to recover the Sacred Disc-- a floppy, in this case-- which contains the tenets of their faith. But any church with high priests who call themselves Yogi Ben Barr and Baba Der Ursus is its own worst enemy. Fisher, in fact, seems born beneath whatever star determines that his karma bring him into constant conflict with phony belief systems. His dissillusioned past is blighted by his televised attempted murder of a televangelist who was scamming veterans, and his relaxed exploration of his own elastic morals drives the development of this novel. West enjoys playing with the mystery conventions, and the characters in the book seem to recognize their parts in the formula, and the chafing against type is one of the unique elements of West's voice. The writing is lean and effective, the story-telling controlled and on target. Don't walk, run to get this book. Read it. Then impress your friends with the new talent you've discovered.

This is a very entertaining and rewarding book. Charles West has a fine talent, and he has created a wonderful character in Bob Fisher, who vividly floats above the conventions of the mystery genre. Fisher is an "accidental" detective, inheritor of an investigations and collections agency, whose life is in something of recoil from his televised attempted murder of a larcenous televangelist. The name "Fisher" is resonant of both Christian and mythic symbolism, and it seems Bob's destiny to confront the phony and insincere in his own struggle for a belief system-- specifically in the book, when he is hired by Eternal Truth Temple to recover a Sacred Disc (floppy) believed to have been hijacked by a committee of disillusioned former acolytes. Bob himself is in some spiritual flounder as a result of his disillusions and disappointments, and attempts to find some comfort in the conventions of the classic crime fiction detectives. It's an overcoat which is mostly as ill-fitting as his former incarnations. The power of this book, and the development, is in the unfoldment of the main character. All takes place within that hotbed of cornpone/cult religiosity, California's Central Valley. It ain't LA, and it ain't New York. In fact, it ain't sure what it is, struggling with the transistion from agrarian fruit basket to urbanized fruitcake basket. What it is is Central California, a place West knows well, and finds a wonderfully believable setting for a delirious cult whose chief potentates are Yogi Ben Barr, and Baba Der Ursus. Charles West is a careful and controlled storyteller with a satisfying and sparse style. The pace is brisk, and West seems to be having a lot of fun with the conventions of a form he has mastered-- the mystery novel. If the characters are sometimes uncomfortable-- hilariously so-- with the familiar and subserviant roles which the genre assigns its players, West is very confident and easy with the assignment. Suspenseful and funny, poignant and cynical, The Sacred Disc is a highly successful first novel. It left me hoping I had not seen the last of Bob Fisher. Something tells me, I haven't.

Charles West is an English teacher in Fresno California and lives in the Sierra foothills. He has impeccable credentials for writing, having been a Fellow in the National Endowment for the Humanities in Shakespeare, the recipient of an award in Chicano literature from the Council for Basic Education, and a fellow at the Teaching Shakespeare Institute at Georgetown University and the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C.. The Sacred Disc is his first novel, and it earned West the Salvo Press Mystery Novel award. Bob Fisher is about to embark on his first assignment as a private investigator. He inherited the Anderson Agency, after working as head of the Collections Division. His first case appears, in the guise of Baba Der Ursus, Yogi Ben Barr, and Cooper Page, attorney-at-law. Yogi and Baba were co-founders of the Eternal Truth Temple, another cult organization situated near Yosemite National Park. Fisher's job is to find a missing computer disk that ostensibly contains the sacred text of the Eternal Truth Temple. They claim one of their committee members is probably responsible, Fisher agrees to take the case, and the search is afoot. Fisher must be a dude, because his presence around women seems to elicit similar results: "That was more than I wanted to know about the weather. It was always hot in San Joaquin during the summer. The variations didn't interest me. Nor did it interest Mrs. Baker very much, though she continued to smile, probably more as a result of the drink she was finishing than pride over her husband's meteorological expertise. It seemed her robe was either shrinking or getting shorter. A latent chauvinist impulse made me wonder if she was wearing anything under the robe." Fisher gets himself into enough mischief to satisfy the reader, while getting closer and closer to the answer to the puzzle. Fisher's sidekick, Holly Pena, is an interesting secondary character who promises to emerge in subsequent sequels. Holly runs the "office," but she also seems to come to the rescue whenever Fisher gets in over his head. All in all, The Sacred Disc is an interesting and entertaining first mystery for Charles West. The writing is crisp, characters are well thought out, and the plot line is simple and believable.

Shelly Glodowski Reviewer

The Poke'mon hot air balloon race is on. And the prize is a rare Dratini. Windy could have won- but Team Rocket took the wind out of her sails.

Can Ash and his Poke'mon help Windy blow off the competiton? Between hail storms, Beedrill swarms, Koffing's Smoke Screen, and Arbok's balloon tearing fangs, the odds are against them.

It's going to take a lot of Poke'power to win this race- but Ash won't let Team Rocket burst anyones bubble.

This book is a must for the holidays.
I rate this book 101 out of 10.
This is a book for all POKEMON fans.
It is about a ballon race and the winner of the race will win a Dratini.

In this book, Ash, Misty and Brock have another exciting adventure. They get to fly in a hot air balloon race and use their pokemon to try to win the race. As ususal, Team Rocket is up to their old tricks. The book was great from the beginning to the end. I think anyone who loves Pokemon will love this book.

This is a compact and simple introductory book about the subject.
It covers the structure, function and illnesses of the Respiratory system. It does not have nice or clear pictures like some new print books on shiny pages but information is there. Consider it as an extention of your Physiology book on the Respiratory Systems.I found the charts that shows the changes in based on changes in variables very helpfull.

This book was short and concise. Extra gibberish was omitted - the remnants were a beautiful combination of text and explanations to often confusing topics. This book is perfect for any one studying respiration. This book is intended for med school students, but it is written in such a fashion that anyone could pick it up and read it. Reviewing? Cramming? Learning? This book will solve all your problems.

This is an excellent introduction to respiratory physiology suitable for medical students.

It is concise and good for last-minute revising but written in a style that is very easy on the reader. The organisation of the chapters is perfect.

My only criticism is that the oxygen and CO2 dissociation curves are not very accurately drawn, but the book is otherwise full of useful diagrams.

Well worth adding to your collection.

"Rolling Dreams: Portraits of the Northwest's Railroad Heritage" is a laudable homage to the Pacific Northwest's rail transportation network.

D.C. Jesse Burkhardt's 78 color images (and 12 b&w ones) are sharp, varied, and celebratory.

His grand and dynamic pictures (e.g., "Sherars Crossing," where a southbound container train crosses a trestle over Oregon's Deschutes River) are nicely matched by quiet--and even somber--photos (e.g., "Forgotten Rails," where wildflowers and fog hover above the abandoned Astoria line of the Burlington Northern).

A few of Burkhart's pictures--such as the hushed Oregon snow scene of a stretch of the Southern Pacific railway--would have been far more effective had they been larger.

And a couple of photos are a shade too dark.

But Burkehardt is a talented photographer and writer, and he has produced a fine work.

Out of the several hundred railroad books I own, only a few are returned to time after time. Rolling Dreams is one.

Rolling Dreams is more poetry than documentary. Although its subject is railroads, its techniques represent photography and (in the sense of texture and composition)painting. Rolling Dreams captures the beauty and details of railroading and the Northwest rail environment.

It captures the many moods of the weather as well as the tremendous range of railroading from large and small.

If you want a "railroad book that's more than a railroad book," add Rolling Dreams to your collection...and keep it at close to your bedside table.

For some of us, trains and railroads have an uncanny and mysterious power. The author seems to understand this, and many of his photos capture the essence of this power. Worth owning.

If I had to bring just one guidebook on a visit to New Orleans this would be the one I would choose (out of the ones I have read).

The guidebook included several helpful maps and some nice historical/background detail.

It has a great section about visiting plantations along River Road to the west of the city. We rented a car and took a daytrip out along the River Road and found the info that was provided to be accurate and insightful.

The book's introduction to the Garden District, how to get there, what to see, etc. was excellent.

We followed several of the book's restaurant recommendations and were quite pleased - the book recommended both Mother's Cafe and The Acme Oyster House, both of which were gems.

The more I read this book the more I like it. There are parts of this book that stood out in my head because they practically took me back to New Orleans. I have a great deal of respect for Samantha Cook, she is a great writer!

I was very glad to see the section listing books and, in particular, movies set in or about New Orleans. Whenever I am going through New Orleans withdrawl I check this guide for movies I haven't seen.

Besides the content, which on a whole is very useful and right up there with the best guide books, I like it's small size. It is easy to carry around with you.

This little guide is chock full of expert advice that makes your stay in this fun but grimy city much more enjoyable. Information about the one reliable cab company (and there are a lot of cab companies there), the St Charles streetcar line, and the best restaurants will keep you from looking like so many other tourists that we encountered--lost and frustrated. The writing is realistic, a little opinionated, but never snotty or incorrect. For instance, it has a small commentary on crime, but doesn't dwell on it, like other guides do. The bottom line is: use this guide and your own common sense, and you'll have a great time!

Now in an updated and expanded second edition, The Rushdie Affair: The Novel, The Ayatollah, And The West by Daniel Pipes (Director of the Middle East Forum and a columnist for the "New York Post" and the "Jerusalem Post", studies the events that played out when Salman Rushdie's novel "The Satanic Verses" was denounced by Muslim clerics as blasphemous to Islam, resulting in a confrontation that led to an Iranian edict demanding the execution of the author. Scrutinizing not only modern history, but also what it shows about further relations between different nations and world views, The Rushdie Affair is a informed and informative account which is very highly recommended for anyone seeking a better understanding contemporary Islam in general, and this defining controversy in particular.

Here is one example: the title of Rushdie's book. Pipes explains that while in English "the Satanic verses" is a plain ordinary phrase that refers to an embaraasing event in Islamic history, this phrase is not used in Arabic. Most Muslims won't recognize the event by that designation; Muslims call it something quite different. But when "verses" is translated into Arabic the word used refers specifically to Quranic verses. So the title is translated roughly as "The Satanic Verses of the Quran" or "The Satanic Quran".

Don't assume from this that Pipes if profferring an apologetic. He is not; this book is critical of "fundamentalist Islam". But Pipes is careful to explain how such Muslims think and react.

Salman Rushdie is brilliant. He knows who to derive from and steal from: James Joyce being one of his main sources. Good for him. If you're going to steal, steal from the best. Joyce's footprints are all over THE SATANIC VERSES. I felt at home. And Rushdie's tough and demanding like Joyce. Even moreso because he's dealing with issues western readers are not familiar with. So you have to go slow and get internet help (plenty available). Slowly, the novel begins to take shape. It's a book of dreams and nightmares bounded by the first and last very moving chapters about Chamcha's domestic crises with his father and ensuing alienation. Chamcha's torn between cultures, a lost searching soul, an alienated man. He's also an intellectual prig who wears many protective masks to conceal his sufferings and with which he explores religious and emotional wanderings. Read the first and last chapters to make contact with the down to earth domestic issues of the novel. Very moving. In between, you have this massive and intensive and witty and funny and dark and brilliant exploration of Muslim religion as seen from a willing/unwilling, searching unbeliever's point of view. He mocks and participates all at the same time. The language is gorgeous because it moves on many levels--from slang to pop to literary to religious, back and forth--and from the point of view of two languages and cultures. At one minute it's blasphemous, at another it's holy...and it's always a rich and makes the reader smile, smile, smile at the author's brilliance and learning. It's linguistic magic. What does it all add up to? You got me. I haven't scratched the surface. It may or may not add up. Talk to me in a year.

This book is the catalogue of the recent New Orleans Vodou exhibit. I had studied comparative religions when I was in college, so the origins and practice of vodou are of natural interest to me, but I knew absolutely nothing about vodou until seeing this exhibit. Having lived in New Orleans, I had always thought that voodoo involved sticking pins into dolls to bring bad luck or disease to an enemy and other darkly occult rituals. Obviously, I didn't understand vodou at all, not even to know the correct spelling. The Hollywood film industry is responsible for a large part of our misconceptions about vodou.

I quote André Pierre, a contributor to the catalog: "The Vodou religion is before all other religions. It is more ancient than Christ. It is the first religion of the Earth. It is the creation of the World. The World is created by Vodou. The world is created by magic. The first magician is God who created people with his own hands from the dust of the Earth. People originated by magic in all countries of the world. No one lives of the flesh. Everyone lives of the spirit."

Spirits (lwa) of vodou define parts of the universal human experience. The spirits all have names and personalities, very much like Roman Catholic saints. Like Mexican altars to deceased ancestors for El Dia de los Muertos, these vodou spirits are offered their favorite things that represent these personalities. These items are placed on altars or sewn in sequins and beads on 36" x 36" flags in their honor. The spirits, like saints, are invoked to grant favors or assist in getting through a difficult time, or they are praised for their virtues and help.

My two favorite Vodou spirits are Ezili Freda and Ezili Danto. These cousins are diametrically opposed forces of femininity. Ezili Freda represents love and luxury, a city girl who has elegant fashion sense, likes sweet drinks and Virginia Slims cigarettes. She looks pretty, dressed in white lace with pink trim. Her day is Thursday. Mater Dolorosa represents Ezili Freda.

Her country cousin Ezili Danto is linked to protective motherhood. She dresses in bright red and blue calicos and drinks strong rum. Black pigs symbolize Ezili Danto and her favorite food is fried pork. She smokes unfiltered Camel cigarettes and her days are Tuesdays and Saturdays. Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Mater Salvatoris represent Ezili Danto.

This catalog allows a closer study of the brilliant sequin art associated with vodou. Spirit bottles, mirrors, jackets, vests, leggings and flags are covered with the flash of sequins that are anchored with seed beads. The symbols of the vodou spirits and their aspects are reflected by the designs made with the sequins and beads.

The Sacred Arts catalog is an obviously well researched and comprehensive look at Vodou. I highly recommend it for a broad range of people, from cultural anthropologists to decorative artists.

As the title says, if you are interested in Vodou-influenced Haitian art (in other words, most Haitian art), this is the definitive book on the subject. If you are not interested in the subject, the breathtaking illustrations are likely to make you a convert.

Consentino has compiled some excellent information to go along with the pictures, including interviews with Vodouisants and artists. He avoids the all-too-common sensationalist treatments of Haitian Vodou, and is never condescending or patronizing. He (correctly) treats Vodou like a world religion, and gives it due respect; his scholarship is impeccable both in art and comparative religion. Well worth the cost: this is a coffee table book you will cherish.

I've been obsessed with this book ever since I was introduced to it. I find it well-researched and unbiased. It provides an accurate glance into this unfairly shunned religion.