McLuhan was not the first to open up the field of media study with the focus on the media rather than content. But he was the first to see that ALL human artifacts create their own context of effects, and McLuhan remains unsurpassed in the breadth and depth of his understanding. No field of human endeavor goes unaffected by media environments, and this generous collection is well suited to the serious inquirer, whether new to McLuhan or revisiting him with the onset of the latest manifestations of the electronic age--the web and internet

This is a great book by Paulla Marshall. It tells the story of Bianca and Piero. Bianca is a plain Jane and Piero is a handsome young Commander. It follows their married life and the difficulties they face in their path to true love. Bianca is a great heroine who has to disguise herself as a boy, by order of her husband, to survive the day to day livings in an army camp. The book is full of adventure and one of the best historical romances I've ever read.

San Francisco p.i. John Marshall Taner is back on the case and this time he takes a case that seems simple enough but propels him into a conclusion that will forever change his life.

He is hired to find a seragate mother for a couple and 2 months after he does so the young woman vanishes after the embryo had been implanted.

John quickly assumes that the woman found out the identity of the parents and for soom reason fled but the anxious couple feels she is hiding for ransom of their child.

John begins to investigate the couples family and history only to find the unexpected.

A superb ending plot twist...well maybe not as dramtatic as Greenleaf's Past Tense but this book is a winner.

Family Faults: Healing the Hurts that Threaten the Home offers practical help to all those involved with families. From Clergy who are struggling to identify the underlying issues in families to whom they offer counsel, to families who are gasping for the fresh breath of God's Spirit, to anyone who has ever laughed and cried over their family ties, Family Faults offers a gentle chisel for chipping away that crusty exterior and discovering the golden essence in ourselves and in our families.

With simplicity and vigor, Marshall likens the controversies within the family to earthshaking fractures in the earth's crust along which movements and shifts occur. Sometimes those controversies result in tremors. Other times the result is a quake. Always there is the possibility of reorienting ourselves and discovering the healing God offers through faith.

Various family faults are discussed based on family relationships illustrated in selected Christian scriptures. Through the use of humor and illustration, Marshall helps the reader discover ways one's faith can provide a buffer for family collisions and often can repair damage to the wounds incurred in family life.

Clergy will find Family Faults useful for a sermon series on family needs and issues. The illustrations will add humor and meaning to any worship tradition. The book is also useful for discussion groups organized around family issues. It is an excellent self-help resource for persons with troubling family issues and for those who are care-givers. It may even save you a few gray hairs and bald spots in childrearing.

I like the book because I find myself on almost every page. Marshall's willingness to share himself encourages the reader to reflect on their own family and offers grace and hope for more meaningful interaction within the context of family. It is one of those books which will occupy space on that special shelf to which I constantly return for nurture and healing.

This book is a terrific source for evidence based critera for every day practice

THERE ARE NO WASTED WORDS HERE, JUST AN INTRIGUING STORY THAT DOESN'T LET GO OF YOU.

This is the first book I have read about role-playing games that both suggests that role-playing games have had some kind of impact outside their own isolated world and, at the same time, cuts deeper into the historical and psychological origins of this peculiar, late-twentieth century phenomenon.

Mackay breaks his book up into four sections. The first examines the history of the role-playing game, particularly in relation to other forms of popular culture: fiction, film, comic books, and computer games. The second section looks at the rules that structure role-playing game. The third section looks at the social relations between players within the performance of the game. The fourth section explores the aesthetics of the rpg and includes a fascinating history of the emergence of fantasy as the key to commercialism that it is today from its humble roots as an object of suspicion in orthodox Christian Medieval Europe.

Mackay does not dumb-down his writing, and I'm sure other role-players, as well as others interested in the history of fantasy, will appreciate this. At times, he gets a bit carried away with his systems of organizing the game and describing it, but that is easily forgiven given the groundbreaking nature of this book. Of critical importance is his treatment of the performance of the role-playing game, and not simply as a game made up of a bunch of rulebooks and a bag of dice. The afterword by Marshall Blonsky is as astute and concise an analysis of fantasy gaming (whatever form it may take) as you'll find anywhere. My only question, why did it take so long for a book like this to hit the shelves?

This is an unusual murder mystery set, as are most of William Marshall's books, in the fictional Hong Bay section of Hong Kong in the last several decades of British rule in Hong Kong. This time, Chief Inspector Fieffer, O'Yee, Spencer,and Auden are looking for a seemingly cold-blooded killer who is murdering Hong Kong residents who apparently have no connection to each other. As in other Yellowthread Street mysteries, it is up to Fieffer and company to figure out the connection between the crimes they are investigating. In this book, the connection is filled with irony, sadness, and greed, making this book far more than just a murder mystery. Marshall deserves to be much better known, and read, in this country than he apparently is. I hope, with Amazon.com's help, that he finds additional readers.

As in all battles there are many acts that are not recorder.. but for one who fought in the three day battle of Trung Luong, It will give the reader a taste of war..If any vet of the 101st who was there reads this please contact me.

I am married to a Vietnam Veteran who fought in the three battles contained in this book. This book is one of the books that is very precious to both of us. Since my husband suffers from some memory loss, this book has helped him remember some of what he has lost. Most importantly he remembers then Capt George Shea Jr. who was his commanding officer. It was shear luck I found the book and you can bet we went out and bought all the other copies we could find. I just wish there was someway to get in touch with the others who fought these battles and were with "A"Company First of the Fifth Cavalry (A 1/5) If you are out there please contact tootdai@AOL.com