A great way to familiarize yourself with the Dead Sea Scrolls. I like the layout of the text, examining the scrolls cave by cave. Many beautiful color photos, almost a coffee-table book, but more than just a photo album. For those hesitating to purchase this book because of Davies' involvement, I would suggest that his minimalist views on the historicity of the Bible are not a factor in this book. My only complaint - more than once, documents/scrolls were mentioned in passing as if the reader should already know about them, then, a few pages/chapters later, the document was explained in detail. Coupled with "Understanding the Dead Sea Scrolls", the reader would have a good introduction to the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Where does one start the study of the Dead Sea Scrolls? One would do well to start with copies of the texts. The biblical texts may be found in _The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible_ translated by Martin Abegg et al. The non-biblical texts which includes the sectarian texts, may be found in _The Dead Sea Scrolls_ translated by Michael Wise et al. (Incidentally there are no unpublished texts of any significance. These two volumes cover the field.)

Then one needs a book which explains where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found such as Jodi Magness' _The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scolls_. But as the starting point one needs _The Complete World of the Dead Sea Scrolls_.

Philip Davies, George Brooke, and Phillip Callaway have written a "complete" introduction to the Dead Sea Scrolls. The first section of the book discusses the discovery of the scrolls, their editing, and their publication. The second section discusses the history of the time of the scrolls, including the sects of that time.

Perhaps the third section should have been divided into two. The third section begins with chapters on how to make a scroll, script styles, Carbon-14 dating of the scrolls, and how to reconstruct a scroll from fragments. (If one has never read of the techniques for scroll reconstruction, this chapter is a must.)

Next comes the bulk of the book. The most significant scrolls from each cave are discussed. Cave 1 had a number of the sectarian scrolls. Cave 4 had the largest number of scrolls. The scrolls from Caves 5 to 10 receive only two pages of attention despite the sensationalism surrounding the Greek scrolls found in Cave 7 (and see also page 190).

The fourth section of the book discusses the settlement of Qumran. (One should be sure to refer to Magness' _Archaeology_.) The fifth section discusses the meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls. I will leave these for the consideration of the reader.

Included in _Complete World_ are a list of the contents of Discoveries in the Judean Desert, a chart of paleographic Hebrew, a list of the scrolls by cave, etc. _Complete World_ is a feast of reading with the scrumptious photographs of a coffee table book. This book deserves more than a five star rating.

The three authors on the latest book about the Dead Sea Scrolls are among the top in the field of archaeology. Together, they present careful evidence into the history and meaning of the manuscripts found in the Dead Sea. The book is easy to follow, starting with the finding of the scrolls, then moving into a historical backdrop of the world as it was in ancient times for the authors of the texts. An added advantage in this book is it lays out exactly where each scroll was found, the condition the text was in, and the background for the scroll being reviewed. A small section was devoted to the Copper Scroll, one of the biggest mysteries in all the scrolls found to date. This is an easy read with a comprehensive account of one of the most important archaeological finds in the past century

The recipes are tasty, but a word of warning - many of them are seasoned with "hot" spices, which I had to omit in order to make it palatable for our young children. This book doesn't have any color pictures, which was disappointing. It is also limited in the "types" of beans that it uses - mostly common beans (cannelinni, navy, black, pintos, black-eye-peas, etc.) - not too many exotic-type beans. I love collecting unusual beans, and had hoped to find recipes to use them in, but didn't. These are good recipes for "common" beans, but if you are looking for recipes for the more "exotic" types, this book is limited. I was disappointed with the small size of the book - I thought the price was too high for a small paperback with no color pictures. The recipes have a lot of ethnic variety (Mexican, Morroccan, Indian, Asian, American, etc.) - I wasn't disappointed with the flavors - just expected more for the price. For flavor of recipes, I give it 5 stars. For price, no pictures, and lacking in "exotic bean" recipes, I give it 3 stars.

This is my favorite cookbook, even though I also own Mollie Katzen's excellent Moosewood and EBF cookbooks. I'm a vegetarian, so I do lament that only 41 of Dojny's 75 recipes are vegetarian. But every recipe I've used is a gem. Its advantages over Moosewood include: 1) Katzen is woefully short on bean recipes. As a vegetarian, I can eat far more nutritiously and cheaply with beans at the center of my diet. 2) Dojny's recipe's are reliably tasty. Katzen does have some mediocre ones. 3) Mmm, mmm, I can't believe how good it all tastes!

This may seem like an unlikely book to get excited about, but this is my very favorite cookbook (and I own a lot as my Amazon account can confirm). In the winter, I make soups and stews. I got this book for Christmas and I have made almost every recipe. The book includes outstanding versions of the classics (New England Baked Beans) and international dishes that I made as experiments and are now favorites (Indian Spice Rice with Peas). There is also a time consuming, but user friendly Cassoulet, which I have made twice for parties, but I've never had any left over.

Since the title is "World War One British Poets," I thought that the collection would be from poets who served in the military. Not only do the editors give you that, but they include male poets which did not serve (Kipling, Hardy, etc), but also two female poets (Alice Meynall whose son-in-law served and died, and May Wedderburn Cannan who served with the Red Cross in France). This provides a bit more background to the time period.

These poems aren't all about the horrors of war (like Owen's "Dulce et Decorum Est"), but are also about the honor and pride felt by the British soldier (Brooke's "The Soldier"). Granted, some of these poems were not meant to be recruiting devices.

Although there are some great poems in this book, the biggest plus is the price. For less than two dollars (US), you are getting a fairly good cross-section of British poets writing in WW1.

The two cultural features from the First World War that have survived the test of time are its popular music and its poetry. While the music is generally remembered as peppy and cheerful, much of the poetry serves as a dark and grim counterpart. As it is, some of the greatest 20th Century poets derived their inspiration from those tragic years.

This book is an excellent and inexpensive sampler of World War One-era poetry. Most of the major battlefield writers are represented, including Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen, Robert Graves, Isaac Rosenberg, and John MacCrae. Other important writers who were inspired by the war are also included, such as Rudyard Kipling and Thomas Hardy. Two women, Alice Meynell and May Cannan are also represented. The editor included a balanced number of patriotic works and anti-war poems.

Each writer has a mini-biography, followed by a sampling of his or her works. The quantity varies from a single poem, up to 11 works. The selections are representative of the authors, and many of the best-known titles are here, including Dulce et Decorum Est and In Flanders Fields.

This primer is hardly comprehensive nor is there much critical analysis of the poems or poets. But it is not meant to be. This book combines a well-rounded selection of poetry with an extremely low price to make it an attractive introduction to World War One-era poetry. This is not the best anthology out there, but it is a perfect introduction for those who are curious about First World War poems and don't want to pay a hefty price.

I am not a poetry reader. Perhaps due to a lasting revulsion of forced readings in various literature classes during my tenure in public school, poetry used to be a real turn off. Until I picked up this slim book of poems of British World War I poets, that is. After a few pages of some of the excellent poetry in this book, the pulse quickened, the lights came on, and poetry suddenly seemed useful.

World War I (1914-1918) is pretty much a forgotten war today. Occasionally, you'll see a documentary containing grainy footage of men in strange helmets climbing out of trenches, usually moving at a freakishly quick pace due to the inadequacy of the early film process. WWI is further overshadowed by the mega-death body count of WWII. But WWI had its own unique horrors as the nations involved resorted to poison gas, mechanized warfare, and attrition strategies to kill off some 15 million people. The new methods of mechanized warfare failed to stifle the human element of war, and this is where these poems come into play. Some of the soldiers involved in the conflict were poets and writers, and they used these talents to document the battlefield horrors for the folks back home.

There are male and female writers here, and those who were there and those who stayed home. Those who served in the war do the best jobs with their poetry. Even May Wedderburn Cannan, a woman who served as a nurse at Rouen, writes better poetry about the war than such distinguished literary figures Rudyard Kipling and Thomas Hardy (both of whom write from the safety of the home fires).

Keeping in line with the subject matter, most of the poems are grim and violent. Many of the poems focus on the incongruity of nature and violent acts of war. In one stanza, birds are chirping, the sun is shining, men are singing, and all seems right with the world. The next stanza is filled with sudden mutilations, violent death, and the shriek and scream of shells and bullets. Some of the poems deal with the anguish of watching someone die or killing another human being, as Wilfred Owen writes in "The Target" about a possible meeting in the afterlife with an enemy he's killed:

"Well, if they get me, first I'll find
That boy, and tell him all my mind,
And see who felt the bullet worst,
And ask his pardon, if I durst."

A few of the poets speak in favor of the war, seeing it as a call to glory or a defense against barbarism (see Rupert Brooks, John McCrae, and Rudyard Kipling). Others rail against the rulers and the senseless attrition warfare (Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen, and Isaac Rosenberg best represent this viewpoint).

Regardless of ideological viewpoint or writing style, all of the poems have a beauty that comes from dealing with horrors beyond the comprehension of the individual. The overwhelming power of the poems should make the hardiest soul's eyes mist over with tears of frustration, agony, and profound sadness.

This book is wonderful for quick reference. Beautiful pictures help guide plant selection. The "plant finder's guide" is useful because it uses symbols to define the care needed for each plant. This guide is categorized by the physical characteristics of the plants (ie, trailing plants, climbing plants, etc.). What is lacking is a more comprehensive selection of plants, especially the more unusual ones.

Whether you want to learn a little about hydroculture or terrariums to just your everyday houseplant or hanging basket, it's a very good overlook at different types and styles of indoor gardening.This is a great book that not only provides information on growing plants and caring for them, but also gives tips on where and how to place them in various environments. Also, there are interesting craft ideas thrown in for those who want to get creative with their plants and flowers.

This is an excellent choice for someone who wants to learn about plants. It includes a good number of plants and their care and also has excellent information about forcing bulbs, propogating by air layering, etc. The directions for the care of specific plants are easy to understand--no mention is made of the number candlelight whatevers you need to grow them. Overall I think this is an excellent book for anyone interested in indoor gardening. The pictures are nice too.

This book contains a lot of useful and interesting information on asthma. The vast majority of it is well-written and easy-to-understand. Readers who are not scientifically-inclined should skip over the section on the anatomy and physiology of the human immune response. Anyone with a good foundation of and interest in biology and the health sciences could follow it, but it is probably too technical for the average lay reader.

My main complaint about the book is the complete lack of footnotes and bibliography. This makes it difficult to impossible to substantiate some of the data or refer to his sources for further reading.

My second complaint is the author's habit of trying to weave his own theories on economics/politics/sociology into his presentation on the incidence of asthma, medical priorities, access to health care and other social services, etc. Based on his personal philosophy, he makes many assertions about cause and effect without any statistics to back him up. I would have enjoyed it more if Mr. Brookes had stuck to the facts about asthma and spared the reader his political ideology and theories on the topic.

Still, I enjoyed the book and would read other titles by this author.

This book is a skillfully woven tapestry of personal journey and medical fact. Tim Brookes tells his story of coping with his asthma in an easy-to-read narrative style. The frustrations of dealing with the health care industry, employers, and friends are voiced, as well as the realities of life-style limitations imposed by the disease. Perhaps the best part of all is the accurate medical info that dispels myths and clears up some confusion about treatment plans. If you are an asthmatic, are married to one

CTSTSOG is another insightful offering by Tal and several contributing authors. Truly, Jesus is the target of conspirators. Both New Age and Apostate Christianity are now merrily winding their way down the broad path together. Tal and the others contributing to this book do however leave a gaping hole in not informing the reader of possibly the single most important factor in this conspiracy.The missing star in my review represents the omission of the evidence concerning the corrupt bible versions that have been trying to silence Jesus since the ink started drying on the autographs.However I think this book to be an excellent primer for Gail Riplingers "New Age Bible Versions.She more than fills in the gaping holes and supplies the missing fifth star.

This book is a MUST HAVE for the library of the Christian who does a lot of evangelism and also for the library of the prayer warrior. The movements that are now present in society, New Age and others, are shown how they are not only against what the Holy Scriptures say, but they are also shown on how they are dangerous to us, as Christians and as a society. I recommend this book highly.

I'm using Critical Thinking for a introductory course in logic. The authors' use of language is precise and easy to read. However, I do have one complaint. Virtually all of the political examples in this book point out the logical fallicies in figures that are either Republican or Conservative. I would have liked the book more if the authors had exposed the fallicies on both sides of the political arena.

A very good "textbook" on critical thinking, written with humor. It covers the main aspects of every-day logic, teaching us to think for ourselves and to avoid being manipulated by politicians, religious proselytes and/or the media (people who want our ballot, our money, our "head"). I recommend it to everyone concerned with free thinking. I use it even in my lectures on Chemistry, occasionally. I only regret that the support material (The Logical Accessory and the Instructor's Manual), as usually, is not available for the common reader: could be the availability of these teaching and learning aids the only difference between lecturers and students?

I found the exercises helpful to get me seeing and drawing
again after a very long layoff.

I am always leary of drawing instruction books for elementary age children, because many of them are too 'project' oriented and don't focus on concepts and skills related to drawing. This book is different. The author really understands the artistic process in general, and the drawing process in specific. She also clearly understands the developmental stages children go through. She encourages drawing from life, and covers the basic drawing elements and skills in many easily taught lessons that can be adapted to any teacher's circumstances. I use several basic references already, notably Rottger/Klante's "Creative Drawing" and Thiel's "Freehand Drawing". This author's work dovetails nicely with those books, while still giving new ideas on how to teach drawing to children. Students like and are successful at the projects I have taught from her book. A must buy for elementary and middle school/junior high art teachers.

When reading a text, how much does what the author intended count for, if anything? Is there any way to tell what a text "really" means, or can it be read however you like for whatever purpose you like? Simple as they seem, these are the fundamental questions this book is concerned with, and it is Eco's task to explain why he thinks there should be limits to interpretation - against the prevailing opinions of many modern critics and thinkers.

The book is laid out in eight sections. The first is the Introduction, which is substantial. If you're in the habit of skipping the introduction I would advise against it here, unless you consider yourself thoroughly familiar with the subject - it's helpful.

The next three sections consist of a series of lectures Eco gave on this subject, where he establishes his main points. It's quite accessible to the layman, and in the few places where the terms get a bit obscure you can usually figure out what he's talking about from the context. He uses several historical examples which keep things interesting, and his arguments are interesting whether you find them convincing or not.

Essays by Rorty, Culler and Brooke-Rose in response to these lectures make up the next part. Rorty, a self-described "pragmatist", makes the argument that we shouldn't concern ourselves with what makes a "valid" interpretation, and instead just use texts as they come before us for whatever purpose suits us best. Culler, coming from the side of the deconstructionists, argues that what Eco calls "overinterpretation" has a value of its own and reacts strongly to the implication that there should be any limits whatsoever imposed upon the critic. Brooke-Rose's piece on "palimpsest history" is not uninteresting but somewhat tangential, and you really have to stretch things to relate it to the argument going on between Eco, Rorty and Culler.

The wrap-up section is a response from Eco, mostly addressing Rorty's points though dealing somewhat with Culler's objections. There is no clear "winner", and you may not be swayed to Eco's point of view if you found one of the others more compelling, but there is ample food for thought.

I don't have much background in literary theory, but I still found Eco's writing very accessible and very enjoyable. I think the topic would interest anyone that has ever tried to appreciate literature: up to what point can we take events in a book/play/poem to be significant to the idea the writer is trying to get across?

This book constructs its arguments from the ground up, although at times the approach to interpretation taken by Eco is radically different from how one would be accustumed to reading a book.

I believe that eventually one gets used to the different approaches suggested -- or better, exemplified -- by Eco, and the initial difficulties in understanding his point of view are overcome to open a great new horizon of ideas and literary enjoyment.

I feel that this is a really good book to get you started on studying the life of Pocahontas. This book is very short and is not very detailed. However it does give a brief history of Pocahontas' life. I enjoyed this book and I think it would be a good start if you are wanting to learn more about Pocahontas.

Pocahontas

By Kathleen Thompson And Deborah L Chabrain

I like this book because you have to find out something in the story and the illustrator draws great pictures. Pocahontas became famous and the English called her Lady Rebecca Rolfe.