I Books

Ideal for people who are obsessed with autobiographies and have already bought all the other ones available.

Granted I am a fan of the man and his music; however, I think that the book is relevant to more than to just his fans. He tells a fascinating story of the Band Aid record, "Do They Know its Christmas?". Additionally, I was touched by his humanity. He is very well aware of the fact that his day is past, but he still has something to contribute. His realizations of how in England, perhaps he's a "has been" and in America he's a never was - moved me. I had a hard time putting it down.

This is among the most entertaining autobiographies I've recently read. Midge narrates with emotion, recalling his childhood up till his recent problems and small victories. He was for a while incredibly prolific and influential in creating what became the sound and vision of the eighties. Not only did he contribute via his work as a band member of Ultravox, but also via the leading force of Visage. Although Visage never became huge, despite being popular, the influence of their electronic and androgynous sound and accompanying videos set the stage for other electronic bands. On top of this all he became, of course, something of an operating manager of Band Aid and had for a while success going solo.

By and large, Ure is humble by his achievements and acknowledges other people's part in his success and yet points out that sometimes he didn't get the respect he deserved for his work; Visage is a case in point, most people actually didn't realize that he was the driving force of the band. He has been extremely generous to his parents, who were constantly unfortunate in moving into house that burned down to the ground, only to have Jim (Midge derived from his name pronounced backwards) step in to buy another house. Midge was actually very generous to himself and basically everyone around him, so generous that he eventually became more or less bankrupt. Despite some finger pointing, he realizes that the fault lies first and foremost in his own doings.

What struck me, though, was that among so much generosity and hospitality is his treatment to his former mates in Ultravox. He spends a great deal of the text describing how difficult it was working with them, their envy of his star persona (take a look at the videos, it's Midge all over the place) and how poor their contribution was as the group developed, as in the work they had done while he was on a sabbatical with his solo project. Heck, he didn't even bother inviting them to the Band Aid bonanza, making sure he would remain in the spotlight.

Ure split up the band, saying that they could have kept on, since there was an Ultravox before him joining the band. This is simply ridiculous as recent compilations of Midge Ure and Ultravox suggest; people view the band as Midge and the other guys (something like Culture Club without Boy George). Ultravox did continue in some fashion without him but nobody, understandably, bothered. He states that he leaves messages to his former band mates and is somewhat baffled why they don't return his polite greetings, stating that he may be ready re-uniting the band. Obviously what he needs to do is pick up the phone and say: I'm Sorry.

This is a touching reading of a man of two worlds, mostly sincere and likeable. I hope he manages to keep performing and steer away from alcohol. He would also do many a favor by contacting his former band mates in the same vein as he seems to treat his family and friends, with warmth and generosity.

I'm sick and tired of all these biographies and autobiographies about the likes of Churchill, Ghandi and Benjamin Franklin who people really aren't interested in nowadays. Midge Ure on the other hand is clearly a different story. I was particularly interested to hear about how Dancing With Tears In My Eyes got to number 6 in the charts in 1985. Riveting stuff.

Not only is Midge Ure a good singer/songwriter but he also has a way with writing books. Here's hoping he considers writing more.

A great book! This is a compilation of short stories representing the author's eight-year career as a Washington DC police officer. This book provided unique insight into a career that many people would shy away from, especially in a notoriously high-crime area such as Washington, DC. The author showed that even though he faced dangerous and stressful situations on a regular basis, he maintained a level head and his hope to help the community. The stories are poignant, allowing the reader to experience a range of emotions along with the author. In a job that often carries a stereotype of big egos and power trips, it is refreshing to see a portrayal of an officer with a sensitive and vulnerable side. I highly recommend this book.

Archer gives you an inside look at what it's like to be a police officer in one of America's toughest cities. He will take you on an emotional journey that many police officer's endure throughout their careers. You will see how as a police officer you see the best and the worst sides of humanity and still try to balance your own life. Overall, this is an excellent book and if you decide to take the journey with Archer, you won't put the book down until it's finished.

Miles To Go...is a quick and enjoyable read. It certainly gives the reader an interesting insight into a police officer's day to day life, as well as a new found respect for what our law enforcement does on a daily basis. More importantly, this isn't just a day to day journal, but an honest account of why the author became a police officer and how he got through his days out on the street, whether it was doing undercover work, or trying to bust down the door of a brothel. I enjoyed the fact that the author could see the different perpetrators as people and could understand and appreciate where they came from rather than just chalking them up to another "collar." I highly recommend it!

As a cop, I know that we don't like to share our emotions. Especially about the things we see or experience on the job. These things are typically sealed in compartments and packed away, too difficult to contemplate or share. Christopher Archer lifts the thin blue line and exposes what his eyes saw, his body felt, and his heart bled with sincerity. You will frequently have to pause while reading this book to laugh, gasp for air, or swallow hard. I wish that the author had woven a common theme through this collection of stories, but perhaps I'm asking too much from someone who has exposed so much.

Christopher M. Archer has written an OUTSTANDING book. Detailing the life of a cop in The Nations Capital. The stories are real and shocking. Each chapter tells you a different story of the daily life of a cop wanting to "Protect and Serve". Once you start reading this book you won't want to put it down. The stories are all true. I know first hand, I had the pleasure of working with him during our RDU days. Great Job Chris!

This short story collection is wonderful! Twenty delightful stories featuring Miss Jane Marple solving difficult cases. Miss Marples sharp observations, her spunk, wit, and intelligence shine through in these tales, making clear why Agatha Christie has created one of the greatest female sleuths of all time. If you're a fan of Christie's or Marple's, you can't go wrong with this colleciton.

Quick response, book in good condition. there was a printing defect with the book, but it is still OK.

The words quoted above appeared in a short story by Agatha Christie called "The Four Suspects." They were not spoken by Miss Marple but by "that well-groomed man of the world, Sir Henry Clithering," retired now and residing in St Mary Mead or nearby, but "until lately Commissioner of Scotland Yard." The words were addressed to Sir Henry's new neighbour, a certain Miss Jane Marple. There is EVERY reason to assume that Miss Marple agreed.

An earlier reviewer quoted a short passage from "An Autobiography" by Christie. I shall quote a little more extensively from the same source: "Miss Marple," wrote Dame Agatha, "insinuated herself so quickly into my life that I hardly noticed her arrival. I wrote a series of six short stories for a magazine, and chose six people whom I thought might meet once a week in a small village and describe some unsolved crime. I started with Miss Jane Marple, the sort of old lady who would have been rather like some of my grandmother's Ealing cronies--old ladies whom I met in so many villages where I had gone to stay as a girl. Miss Marple was not in any way a picture of my grandmother; she was far more fussy and spinsterish than my grandmother ever was. But one thing she did have in common with her--though a cheerful person, she always expected the worst of everyone and everything, and was, with almost frightening accuracy, usually proved right...."

Later, she added, "Miss Marple was born a the age of sixty-five to seventy--which, as with Poirot, proved most unfortunate, because she was gong to have to last a long time in my life. If I had had any second sight, I would have provided myself with a precocious schoolboy as my first detective; then he would have grown old with me."

The first sextet of magazine stories were published in the late 1920s but did not achieve the dignity of book publication until 1932, two years after the publication of "Murder at the Vicarage," the first novel to feature Miss Marple.

The 1932 volume contained the first sextet of stories mentioned by Christie in her autobiography, plus a second sextet and one more story to provide a satisfactorily ominous title for the collection, "The Thirteen Problems." (In the US, the book appeared--less happily--as "The Tuesday Club Murders.") Christie wrote seven more short stories for Miss Marple. They all are included in this volume. The later stories are good enough, but Miss Marple had so grown in stature that her true milieu was the full-length mystery novel.

I suggest that special note be taken of the tenth story, "A Christmas Tragedy." This story represents a sea change in Miss Jane Marple. In all prior appearances she had been a mere device, a voice through which the author could resolve her little puzzles. With this story, the fully developed, elderly, tough as nails, knitting Nemesis of the novels emerges.

These twenty stories are competent, if not brilliant. No-one, least of all Agatha Christie, would call them literature. They are amusements, clever puzzles set to dialogue. As such, most of them are splendid. There are a couple of minor misfires, one in which the solution to a coded message is in English when by the logic of the story it should have been in German, another in which Christie chose to emulate the mechanically-oriented stories common in those days among the works of her less-talented contemporaries. A classic Christie work incorporates some deceptively simple example of what might be called mental sleight-of-hand. Stories that depend on gimmicked mechanical implements and the like seem somehow beneath Dame Agatha's dignity.

Reading these stories quickly demonstrates that Agatha Christie was born one of nature's great re-cyclers. Dame Aggie had a strong tendency to ... ahem, quote from herself when a good plot was involved. For those who would put a more positive spin on the simple facts, then it might be said that within these stories may be found seeds that later sprouted into full-length mystery classics such as "A Murder is Announced" and "Murder Under the Sun."

The collection, I was surprised to discover, was dedicated to Leonard and Katherine Woolley. Sir Leonard Woolley was a great archeologist who famously excavated the ancient city of Ur in Sumeria, a land that would one day come to be known as southern Iraq. He became a media superstar when he dug down through the artifact-laden soil of Ur to find a very thick layer almost entirely free of man-made remains, and beneath that yet another layer of artifacts. Woolley attributed the break in the artifact layers to an extensive flood--or as he suggested a bit prematurely and the newspapers shouted loudly to all the world, not a flood but The Flood. When the shouting was at its height, Christie was already a world-famous author and an enthusiastic traveler. She visited the dig at Ur and stayed on for some time to lend a hand. There she met and fell in love with archeologist Max Mallowan, whom she married in the same year that she published "Murder at the Vicarage."

Doubtless, anyone who has slogged this far is wondering why I've wandered so far off-track with all this biographical blather. The reason is simply that I am astonished to see Katherine Woolley's name in the dedication. When Christie arrived, Lady Woolley was very much in residence at her husband's archeological site. She regarded herself as Queen of all she surveyed and she went out of her way to make sure that the upstart mystery novelist knew it. Christie got on with Leonard Woolley, but she simply could not abide his wife. In one of her novels, she made a perfectly obvious caricature of Lady Woolley into the murderess. When she transformed the book into a stage play, Christie slyly converted her novel's villainess into her play's comic relief.

This collection of the twenty Marple short stories are, as I've said, not literature themselves, nor even necessarily vintage Christie. Nevertheless, they are clever, entertaining and an invaluable memento of one of the great literary characters of the Twentieth Century.

Five stars for Agatha, for Jane and for St Mary Mead.

"Miss Marple insinuated herself so quickly into my life that I hardly noticed her arrival," Agatha Christie wrote in her posthumously-published autobiography (1977) about the elderly lady who, next to Belgian super-sleuth Hercule Poirot, quickly became one of her most beloved characters. Somewhat resembling Christie's own grandmother and her friends, although "far more fussy and spinsterish" and "not in any way a picture" of the author's granny, like her, she had a certain gift for prophecy and, "though a cheerful person, she always expected the worst of everyone and everything, and was, with almost frightening accuracy, usually proved right."

Although Christie herself considered Miss Marple her favorite creation - preferred even over the prim and proper Belgian with the many "little grey cells," of whose exploits she occasionally tired and whom she brought back again and again chiefly because of her audience's undying demand - there are only twelve Miss Marple novels and twenty short stories: while no small feat in any other author's body of work, just over one tenth of the lifetime output of the writer justifiedly dubbed The Queen of Crime.

This compilation unites the twenty short stories revolving around St. Mary Mead's elderly village sleuth, beginning with the canon of originally six and, after an expansion for republication in book form, later thirteen stories which, in addition to the novel "A Murder at the Vicarage" (1930) introduced Miss Marple to the world; a series of unsolved problems told by her guests one Tuesday night, to be followed by six further problems narrated during a similar gathering at the home of village squire Colonel Bantry and his wife Dolly, about a year later. In attendance on those two nights are a number of people who make recurring appearances next to Miss Marple; first and foremost her doting nephew - thriller novelist Raymond West - and retired Scotland Yard Commissioner Sir Henry Clithering, as well as village solicitor Petherick, and of course the Bantrys (who will move center stage, much to their embarrassment, in "A Body in the Library," 1942); furthermore Raymond's new flame, artist Joyce (later reincarnated as his wife Joan), a doctor, a clergyman, and a well-known actress. Later stories also feature appearances of Miss Marple's niece Diana "Bunch" Harmon, married to the vicar of Chipping Cleghorn, a village not unlike St. Mary Mead (see "A Murder Is Announced," 1950), St. Mary Mead's Dr. Haydock, several maids called Gladys, as well as Inspectors Slack and Craddock and Colonel Melchett of Melchester C.I.D. and village Constable Palk; and of course the usual cast of other unique characters, many of whom could just as well figure in one of the elderly lady's "village parallels," those seemingly unimportant events summing up her knowledge of life, on which she unfailingly draws in unmasking even the cleverest killer. Avid Christie readers will also recognize certain other character types, plot snippets, settings and other features here and there; for Dame Agatha was known to draw repeatedly on devices she found to have worked before, and she tended to use her short stories as mini-laboratories for elements later expanded on in novels. Caveat, lector, of premature conclusions, however, for Christie was equally known to throw in a little extra twist in such cases: what is a real clue in one instance may well be a red herring in another and vice versa, and one story's innocent bystander may easily be the next story's murderer.

"The Thirteen Problems" (1932, a/k/a "The Tuesday Club Murders"):

"The Tuesday Night Club:" Sir Henry Clithering opens the evening with the case of a woman's mysterious poisoning by arsenic.

"The Idol House of Astarte:" A man inexplicably dies after a costume party's nightly excursion to a pagan temple.

"Ingots of Gold:" Raymond West tells about a treasure hunt, sunken ships and murder on the Cornish coast.

"The Bloodstained Pavement:" Joyce and the case of a drowned wife in a Cornish watering place called Rathole.

"Motive vs. Opportunity:" Mr. Petherick's tale of a will that mysteriously vanishes from its sealed envelope.

"The Thumb Mark of St. Peter:" Miss Marple's story how she quashed rumors about the sudden death of her niece Mabel's husband.

"The Blue Geranium:" Opening the second round of mysteries, Colonel Bantry's narration about a prophecy involving death and three uncharacteristically blue flowers.

"The Companion:" Two English ladies go on a holiday in Tenerife, but only one returns home alive.

"The Four Suspects:" Sir Henry Clithering's account of the murder of a retired secret agent.

"A Christmas Tragedy:" Having failed to prevent a murder, Miss Marple is all the more eager to unmask the murderer.

"The Herb of Death:" Mrs. Bantry's gifts as a storyteller, a serving of sage and foxglove, and a charming young girl's unexpected death.

"The Affair at the Bungalow:" Double-dealings, charades and mischief on stage and off, just outside of London.

"Death by Drowning:" A village girl "in trouble" finds a desperate solution - or does she?

From "The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories" (1939):

"Miss Marple Tells a Story:" Miss Marple assists Mr. Petherick in the case of a client accused of having murdered his wife.*

From "Three Blind Mice and Other Stories" (1950):

"Strange Jest:" A rich iconoclast's final joke - at the expense of his heirs?*

"Tape-Measure Murder:" Miss Marple's knowledge of village life and human nature (once more) corrects the all-too straightforward path of Inspector Slack's investigation of an elderly lady's murder.*

"The Case of the Caretaker:" Dr. Haydock's story about a rural rascal, a poor little rich girl, an old estate and its grumpy caretaker.*

"The Case of the Perfect Maid:" Domestic service and burglary in a Victorian estate-turned-apartment building.*

From "The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding" (1960):

"Greenshaw's Folly" (republished in "Double Sin," below): A reverse-locked-room mystery at an eccentrically-built country estate.

From "Double Sin and Other Stories" (1961):

"Sanctuary" (first published 1954, a/k/a "The Man on the Chancel Steps"): The last secret of a man found dying on Chipping Cleghorn's church steps.*
_______________________________

*Republished posthumously in "Miss Marple's Final Cases" (1979).

these were some good mystery stories, some of the better ones that i have read

I bought this book for my 3yr old son, he loved it & to my surprise my 8yr old daughter found it amusing too. The story is a funny take on how sometimes our children get upset with us & wish they had someone else's parents as their own, & how we as parents sometimes misunderstand what our children are really asking for. I would highly reccommend this book to other family's.

My Sister got this book from her Godmother in 1980. I have been looking for this book ever since. Now I found it. I thought it was out of print. This is such a touching story. It shows the insecurities of a mother. She thinks she isn't good enough when the child says "Mother, Mother I want another" turns out the child wants another kiss from her. So cute and touching! Can't wait til I get it in the mail!

In this book, mother mouse is getting her son off to bed and kisses him goodnight. He tells her he wants another, mother and she takes that to mean he wants another mom. What he really wants is another kiss but she scurries off to find another mother for him. Mother mouse finds a mother duck, a mother frog, a mother pig, and a mother donkey and all of them kiss little mouse but poor baby mouse doesn't want another mother! He is finally able to tell his mother that all he wants is another kiss! So she gives him two and tucks him into bed.

I loved this book and so did my 2 year old. The pictures are so detailed and darling. This is one to keep on your list of must-haves.

This was my favorite book as a child. My mom and I have been trying to find this book for nearly 10 years now. I found it! This is truely the most memorable children's book I ever had. It is the best book you can read to your child!! It is definitely up there in the ranks of Runaway Bunny and Love you Forever!!

My 2 year old loves this book. The artwork is wonderful, the animals are so beautifully drawn and dressed and the story is a delight! It's repititious, which is important for young readers and the story is so endearing. It gives you the "warm fuzzies" every time you read it.

Yes, this is a vivid account of the Jewish struggle for freedom, but it is also a beautifully written love story. I never tire of reading it, and it never fails to elicit a tear of joy, or of grief. Howard Fast at his best.

This book captures the most important part of Hanukkah, a celebration of Jewish liberty. For anyone who wants to learn more about the kinds of lives Jews lived, why liberty is such an essential aspect of Judaism, or why we must sometimes fight for the liberty and freedom we enjoy, this is the book for them. It is beautifully written and joyous to read.

I just finished this book. First and foremost I really enjoyed reading it. I decided to read it because I know so little about Jewish history; I had heard the name Judas Maccabeus but I didn't know who he was. I would like to say that it is wrong to consider this book primarily from the vantage point of describing the Jews. I kept asking myself if the story of the Maccabeans was considered such an important part of Jewish history, then why did so many Jews let themselves be led to the slaughter by Hitler? So, for me, this book was not so much about the Jews as it was about history. Also,to me, this book is fictionalized history, where the author tries to incorporate the facts as much as possible. Even the narrator in the story, Simon, says you can't take it as genuine fact. Regardless of that, Howard Fast does a magnificent job. It took a few pages to get into the flow, but once into the book, I was caught. I bought this book used for 2 bucks, but I am going to send for a better copy to keep. For me, the lesson in this book is not so much about how great these ancient Jews were, as it is about why man has to keep fighting wars. And as a corollary, why our societies demand slavery (of one form or another and don't kid yourself, it exists today, but in a different form). Of note, these ancient Jews made very limited use of slavery. One of my favorite teachers once said, "Wisdom comes when you put the book down". From reading this book, I felt I learned a great deal about war and slavery. And I had to ask myself the question, Do the Jews of today believe in the same God who is portrayed in this book about the Jews of 150 years B.C.?

I remember being really taken with this book when I read it as a kid, so I found a used copy to read to my kids. We make a big deal of Hanukkah so that Jewish kids don't feel gypped compared to everyone else, but hardly anyone really knows the story of Hanukkah in all its graphic detail. We should not shrink from telling our kids this story, and Fast's book is the only popular book I know that does it. The kids will not only have a better appreciation of the meaning of this holiday, but will also have a better appreciation of current events.

This review is dedicated to all the sons and daughters of Israel who have fell in defence of that remarkable land.
This wonderful book is essential for any Jew who wants to learn about his or her roots, any Christian who wants to learn more about the Judaic roots of his or her faith, and anyone else who wants to learn about the soul of the Jewish people.]
This is the story of the Maccabees- 5 glorious brothers who lead the rebellion by the Jewish people of Judea, against the cruel tyranny of that land's Greek and Syrian occupiers.
It is particularly relevant today, when the Jewish State is fighting for its life against cruel and ungodly forces that have decided that the Jewish people are no longer entitled to their homeland, and that Israel must disappear.
"We where slave in Egypt - and we will never forget that we where slaves in Egypt. So it must have been then, in the long ago, when our people, twelve tribes of them, sick with wandering and longing for rest, came out of the desert and saw the wooded hills and fertile valleys of Palestine'.
Once more the Jews have returned from their homeland, this time after two thousand years of persecution, and soon the lion will be awaken in the souls of the Jewish people to protect their land, from those who would kill their children and take it way, as the Maccabees did so with the Greek and Syrian invaders.
We read how a pretty eight year old girl, Deborah, the daughter of the schoolmaster Lebel is brutally murdered on the orders of the Greek warden of Judea, Apelles, and we are reminded of the slaughter of Jewish children by Arab terrorists, who much of the world, today support. It is these many incidents of cruelty and the desecration of the Jewish peoples' holy places that leads the peace loving people of Judea to become fierce warriors who's message to the world is: "We have extracted the price of freedom, which is always counted in blood, even as Moses did, and Joshua and Gideon too. From here on, we will not ask forgiveness, only for strength, for strength."

In a chillingly familiar parallel the attitude of those who support Palestinian terror,we read of the edict by the Greek King Antiochus, that to kill a Jew is no longer a crime but a virtue".

We learn how the peaceful Hebrew people, a people who ask nothing more than to determine their own future, in their own homeland, are forced to become warlike and to avenge the blood of its children: "They will pay -for every lick of flame, for every drop of blood, for every hurt."
There is always a message of hope: 'Simon a free people cannot be conquered - for us it is always the beginning, always the beginning."
It is this hope enshrined in the depiction of the beauty of the land of Israel, the only homeland of the Jewish people, and the beauty of it's children living in peace:
"Never was Israel like this before in all it's time, for the children played without fear, laughing as they ran through the grass, and splashed in streams. On the hillsides, the white lambs bleated for their mothers, and between the rocks pink and white flowers grew. Nowhere was there a break in the terraces; layer upon layer, they climbed the slopes, and the crop was a good thing to see, so rich and verdant. Who could see such things and deny that this was the land of milk and honey, blessed and thrice blessed".

This is the best collection of Foxtrot cartoons in quite a few years. I love the comic, but normally don't laugh much. This collection had me laughing out loud numerous times. BUY NOW!!!

I have been a faithful FoxTrot reader for years. Roger, Andy and their kids Peter, Paige and Jason are always good for a reality check with a large dose of laughter. I've got two girls and let me tell you, I see a lot of my kids in Paige with, I believe, even a healthy dose of Jason thrown in. And they have Peter's bottomless stomach. Of course, they're faithful FoxTrot readers too. I used to read the strip to them, explain what was going on, but now they get it just fine and we three all laugh together. Then my girls try and explain the strip to their dad, who pretends he doesn't get it.

The FoxTrot folks are a great family, one we sort of got used to checking up on every day, so we took the news that Mr. Amend was going to cease daily distribution of his wonderfully funny people and turn his strip to Sunday only, with a bit of sadness. Still, we have these terrific FoxTrot books to keep us going with our FoxTrot fix. Mr. Amend is to be commended for his great gift to our culture and his great gift to so many lives. I truly believe a laugh a day, helps keep the blues away and the FoxTrot gang are always good for a laugh. Heck there are a lot of laughs in the FoxTrot books. I know, I have them all and I am, along with my girls and my hubby dear, eagerly awaiting the next one.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention, we don't have an iguana, but my girls do have a pet gecko and, you guessed it, his name is Quincy.

I've been a Foxtrot reader for a long time and personally I think there is something suspicoulsly wrong with people who don't find Bill Amend's characters funny as all get out. If you want a good laugh, check out Bill in your local newpaper, or better yet, get one of the Foxtrot books. They are all great, really, they are.

Like many of Mr. Amend's fans I'm a bit disappointed that he's switching his strip to Sunday-only, but fortuantly I can still read him daily in the Foxtrot books. Get them one and all and you can keep right on a laughing.

This was a fun book to read with my son. He actually wanted to read.

Bill Amend does it again. This is another great collection of Foxtrot comics. It features another of Roger's attempt to create a perfect barbecue that turns into a Fourth of July fireworks and Peter and Jason wondering whether Bruce Springsteen gets his inspiration from watching Roger's attempt at barbecuing. This is another great addition to your collection.

The commentary that goes along with this Gospel is truely wonderful. A must read for any serious student.

I picked up this portion of the Navarre for a parish project and was happy with it. I needed a good transation with extensive notes for an exegetical presentation. The notes were helpful and the translation feels superior to the NAB (which isn't necessarily acclaimed as having the best translation). I don't know of a ton of Catholic Bible with extensive commentaries, thus this one certainly belongs in any Catholic's collection.

Also, as a note, I'm looking forward to picking up some of the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible works by Scott Hahn as they come out.

I am thrilled that Navarre is now publishing the New Testament in hardback. However, I wish that the editors would do with the NT what they have done with the OT in including the New Vulgate as well as the RSV and the outstanding commentary.

Nevertheless, the series is great. I required this very edition for two upper division Scripture classes I taught last spring.

Very Highly Recommended.

My seminarian and monk friends have been raving about the Navarre Bibles and this is the first one I've gotten. I've only read the Gospel of John so far but I've thoroughly enjoyed it. Don't expect great insights in each commentary. Some definitely do, but for the most part, they provoke me to meditate and reflect on my own life.

I have been using the Navarre Bible, Gospels and Acts for a bible study at church. I have found the commentary to be one of the best that I have read. It delivers extensive historical background as well as being equally strong in spiritual growth and development. This bible came highly reccommended to us by our associate pastor who has served for several years as a seminary instructor.

Started reading this on the book counter at the local B&N and couldn't put it down. Fascinating premise and wonderfully vivid excursion into turn-of-the century New York. Stylish, well-researched and entertaining.

Boorstin has a unique voice and take on the period and an interesting speculation on what I understand to be a missing period in the life of William James. This book gives a vivid and entertaining picture of life in New York a hundred years ago. Recommend.

"Newsboys'" boasts a page-turning plot as well as the wonderful ability to make you think about important life questions. I read the entire novel during one ten-hour stretch of business travel ... and it made what could have been a grueling day of planes and airports a day of pure joy. The plot kept me entertained, but the philosophical elements kept me both hooked on the book and repeatedly pondering my own life and choices. "Newsboys'" may not be in the same literary league as E.L. Doctorow's "Ragtime," but it's much better than the current crop of historical novels typified by "Carter Beats the Devil" -- a lot of research in search of a purpose. I finished the book feeling enriched, invigorated and determined to do better at all things. Any work of art that leaves you feeling like that is a great and rare gift.

The gifted philosopher and psychologist William James suffered a mental collapse at age thirty. This fact is well known by anyone familiar with James' works, but what remains unclear is what happened during his convalescence. "Twenty-one pages (as much as forty-two pages of writing)" were cut from James' diary that surely held some answers about his dark hour. Thankfully we have Jon Boorstin who writes so well from James' point of view that we need to be reminded these writings are actually not James' confessions but historical fiction. "The Newsboys' Lodging House" brilliantly extrapolates upon the missing pages to form a cohesive and believable account of what led James to become the renowned modern thinker and progenitor of Pragmatism and the Will to Believe.

The novel jumpstarts in 1908 Cambridge with a stranger imploring an attention-grabbing question, "Is you my father?" That teaser grabs the reader's unequivocal attention as James elegantly recalls how one chance encounter at McLean Asylum in 1872 with Horatio Alger, a writer of boys' stories, inspires him to leave the asylum and research "the question of evil" among the poor newsboys of New York City.

Boorstin has magically crept into James' psyche and delights us page after page despite many somber expositions that detail James' anguish over evil's place in the world. Reading in fact becomes compulsory as we eagerly await an answer to the stranger's aforementioned question. In the meantime, Boorstin expresses James' ideations in an entertaining manner and more succinctly than several philosophical tomes.

Bohdan Kot

As a lover and student of philosophy, I have a prediliction toward pragmatism. And as I have a prediliction toward pragmatism, I have a fondness for James. And as I have a fondness for James, I found this fictionalized account of a 'missing period' of James's life interesting (if not a bit strange and obviously fabricated).

In this novel, John Boorstin is envisioning James in his thirtieth year. This is when he experienced his mental breakdown leaving him an inch from suicide and in complete emotional paralysis. He had spent quite a few months, we know, in a mental institution, but here, the diary stops - the pages referring to this few-month period have been cut out of his diary, leaving the period a complete mystery.

Boorstin imagines a scenario that as far-fetched as it is (and the author acknowledges that) is interesting and at very least entertaining. James goes to New York with little money where, in fascination with Horatio Alger, volunteers to instruct children at a Lodging House for orphaned kids. It is there he meets a 9-year-old boy called Jemmie and becomes determined to save this child (who James is convinced is good at heart, but slipping into street-life) from the cold and hard world of the streets. Therein, James finds himself ensnared in quite a few 'plots' that gradually help him become his own person (as we know that when the 'missing period' was over, James was remarkably more directed and focused).

As I do not know how many people reading this will be as familiar with William James as us philosopher types, there is one part of the novel I think that may get lost on those not as familiar with James. Though one need not at all be a philosopher to like this novel, the story very much ties into the meaning of James' philosophy of pragmatism wherein 'truth' is said to be dictated sometimes by the 'facts' and sometimes by 'what we personally need to believe'. So as not to get too philosophical here, I will copy one paragraph from the novel that beautifully explains:

"Until this moment, I had thought true belief to be absolute and beyond one's control, the inevitable expression of one's fundamental knowledge of the workings of the world. Now I saw that we created our beliefs even as we cherished their eternal permanence. All of us are bound up in beliefs which express not only our deepest truths but our deepest needs."

This is very much a part of James (both as a psychologist and a philosopher, James being equally adept at both). Boorstin's goal, in this fantastic but quite engrossing tale, is in part to give us a 'real live shot' of what James' pragmatism looks like in practice through James' very own eyes. The result is a very good novel that will at once entrhall you and capture your philosophic imagination.

Dominic Carter has written a deeply moving memoir framed around the horrific physical and sexual abuse he suffered as a young child. No Momma's Boy is not for the faint of heart. Some of the descriptions of the abuse that Mr. Carter suffered at the hands of his mentally ill mother, Laverne, are almost unbearable to read.

Yet, ultimately, Dominic Carter's story is one of triumph over adversity. Laverne sexually abused Carter and tried to kill him when he was a toddler. Born with heart defects and pneumonia, Mr. Carter grew up in poverty on the mean streets of Harlem and The Bronx. Under these circumstances, it is remarkable that he survived, let alone thrived. "Prisons and mental institutions are full of people with backgrounds similar to mine," Carter opines.

In a fast-paced, conversational style, Carter takes readers through the darkest days of his inner city childhood, his escape from poverty via graduate school in upstate New York, and his meteoric rise to journalist extraordinaire at one of New York's top cable television stations.

A key factor in young Dominic's survival was the support he received from his grandmother, Anna Pearl, and his Aunt Inez. Laverne was in and out of mental institutions, and Dominic's father was absent most of the time. Anna Pearl and Inez stepped in to fill the parental void, providing love and putting steel in Dominic's spine, which served him well growing up and later in the cutthroat profession of television journalism.

Mr. Carter is brutally honest about his volcanic temper and the subsequent emotional breakdown following Laverne's death which nearly ended his career. No Momma's Boy is not only an eye-opening read, it represents a cathartic healing of Carter's pain. After a lifetime of holding back powerful negative emotions relating to childhood trauma, Mr. Carter has found the courage to admit that "talking about issues that shame you is like giving CPR to your soul."

Mr. Carter proudly displays bravado and does a lot of name-dropping. This trait is a double-edged sword. It is initially off-putting, but as Carter cogently notes, it is also a critical source of self-confidence that enabled him to overcome extraordinary adversity.

He brags, but he has a lot to brag about. Mr. Carter is a top reporter at NY1, a premier cable television station in the nation's largest media market. He has interviewed world figures such as Bill Clinton, Rudy Giuliani, and Nelson Mandela. This would be a monumental achievement for anyone; it is absolutely amazing for someone who grew up poor and abused in The Bronx.

All I can say is thank you Dominic for opening up your heart and allowing me the opportunity to read about your family secrets. From start to finish I was captivated by this story and I must say what a delightful person he is when you meet him in public. This was one gem of a read......you go New York 1 Political Commentator!

NY1's top reporter/political analyst gives a painful recollection of his childhood with a schizophrenic mother and how he was able to overcome it to become successful, careerwise and personally. I thought his writing was sincere, not showy, and gave insights into the people and institutions that influenced him in a positive way. An interesting read.

Often the family history of some one who has a mental illness is covered up. This almost happened in this mans family. His story lets us all know that to seek the truth brings healing to deep hurts. Leaving the truth covered never gets to forgiveness. As a Black family member this is particularly true. The unspoken code of Black families is to not ever uncover mental illness, just pray to deal with the issues. Additionally, most men do not speak of a difficult past, espically one in the public eye as this important well known news personality. The book was easy to read, and tells of wonderful forgiveness, and can help anyone bring their own hidden truths of abuse and mental illness into the sunshine of healing. Thank you Dominic Carter for telling your story.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has included this as one of the best books of 2007. It probably did't hurt that Dominic Carter--a colorful media celebrity--served as grand marsal for the NAMI New York City walkathon, but the book deserves the distinction in its own right.

It is an incredible book by a person who has lived an incredible life, and overcome odds that would defeat most people.

Carter is a character written in bold and an inspiration. He grew from a childhood of poverty in the Bronx to become one of New York City's best-known news anchors and political reporters, interviewing Nelson Mandela and President Clinton and sparring with former New York City mayor Rudy Guliani. (If Guliani does become president, let's hope that one of the national television networks assign Carter to the White House press room; it would be great theater to watch and a service to the nation).

Carter also lived with a secret of physical and sexual abuse as a child. After his mother died in 2001, he collected 620 pages of medical records and learned for the first time of her life-long struggle with paranoid schizophrenia. "I got hit with a double-barreled shotgun," he said in recent newspaper interviews. "As a child, I didn't know what was going on,"

His autobiography is therapeutic. "I've been running from the ghetto...I've been running from my mother, and I didn't want to run anymore."

In confronting the past, Carter comes to terms with his mother's mental illness and his own emotions. "My mother was not a demon, but she saw demons," Carter writes. "If a demon exists in this story, it is society's collective mistreatment and misunderstanding of mental illness."

"In spite of her tragic life, I celebrate my mother for this one thing," Carter concludes. "She was a survivor...I am proud of my mother for not giving up...You become a real winner in life when the winds of fate knock you down and you manage to get back up. Many people, rich or poor, cannot get back up, but my mother did."

"I am not ashamed to be called her son."

The book is self-published and candid. To his credit, Carter resisted suggestions by mainstream publishers to sensationalize his story, because the basic facts and description of his childhood are upsetting enough. It is a memoir marked by pain, but also, an enduring love. It details Carter's successful career, but the unifying theme throughout is one of family. Its candid disclosures are also an act of courage, not unlike Mike Wallace's disclosure of long history of depression, or that of actor Joe Pantaliano, whose 2003 autobiography similarly reflects his mother's mental illness.

Frankly, I'd love to see Dominic, Wallace and "Joey Pants" discuss their childhoods together sometime. They have much in common. They have much in common. They are larger than life characters, who love a good scrap and rarely censor themselves, except perhaps to usually hide the softer hearts of their nature.

Being a new mother i was exicited to read the chapter "From womb to wisdom." It is going to be a excellent guideline in my new childs dental health. Every parent should own this book for the imprtant dental needs that every shild most desperatly needs. Thanj you!

The authors provide an educational book in a fun and interesting format. To be a well-informed dental patient, everyone should read this book.

Being a new mother i was exicited to find information in the section "From Womb to Wisdom." It is going to be an excellent guide line in my new childs dental health. Every parent should own this book for the important dental needs that every child most desperatly needs. Thank you authors such needed informaiton!

I am a dentist and believe that this book has useful information for anyone interested in restoring and preserving their dental health. This book is aimed at the person who is apprehensive about going to the dentist. Based on the premise that most fear is of the unknown, Dr. Mac Lee, Joleen Jackson and Vicki Audette have written this book with the aim of demystifying dentistry.

Speaking personally, I know that sometimes I struggle to explain things that to me make perfect sense in a nontechnical, nonthreatening manner. This book does that.

It starts by discussing common reasons people are afraid to go to the dentist and tries to help get you past those fears. Whether you are afraid it'll hurt, or your embarassed for us to see your teeth, Dr. Lee gives tips on how to get past these feelings so that you can get the dental care you need.

The book goes on to describe various dental procedures, what is involved in them, and questions you should ask. I especially like the section on children's dental needs. It covers every age range and answers common questions about subjects such as baby teeth, braces, and broken teeth.

I can't tell you how strongly I feel that this is a great book for any dental consumer. I am ordering copies for several of my patients as well as copies to donate to our local library.

As a general dentist, I see many of my new patients struggling with the issues that are covered in "Nothin' Personal Doc, But I Hate Dentists!" Mac and Joleen have many combined years of experience in the dental field and they have taken this expertise and transformed it into "English" for the patient to be able to understand easily, instead of "Dental-ese" which we are often guilty of using when speaking to our patients.

This book allows patients to make informed choices and to give them an idea as to what they should ask their dentist during the visit. A well-educated, talented and confident dentist welcomes any patient questions. We know that the better informed our patients are, the better choices they can make for themselves regarding their dental health.

This book is a milestone in bridging the gap between dentists and their patients. I give it to all my new patients and encourage them to spread the word to everyone they know. Mac and Joleen have helped not only the general public, but also the dental community with the publication of their informative book. I recommend it for anyone who has a dental visit coming up, or if you are looking for a new dentist! (which, together, SHOULD make up 100% of the population)