B Books

I was first tuned into Jonah Blank through the Travelers' Tales of India anthology. Reading his hilarious account of discovering that a poorly functioning Delhi airport clock was in fact manually operated, I expected more of the same in this book. While there are more of these entertaining cross-cultural discoveries throughout, this overly ambitious book addresses what you'd expect from a naïve twenty-something writer, covering the broadest of all philosophical topics- with chapter titles including "Rites," "Fate," "Caste," "War," and "Love." The scary thing is that he succeeds, displaying a remarkable ability to grasp complex issues.

This work is held together with a strong narrative thread. Beginning each chapter by retelling a passage from the Ramayana, he then applies this theme to modern Indian culture, and compares this with life in America. Despite a reflexive defensiveness of American culture and government, he portrays a deeply nuanced understanding of the complexities of Indian traditions as they clash with modernity. For example, he dispels any notion that Hindu fatalism is the same thing as passivity. Unlike Christianity, you can't just pray for salvation in Hinduism; you have to earn it and change yourself to adapt to an unchanging world. In a later chapter, he credits Hinduism's adaptability to the well-educated elite's acceptance of metaphorical (rather than literal) interpretation of the Vedas, and credits Sikhism's sustainability to its openness that the Gods of all religions are really different manifestations of the same entity.

In his chapter on love, he respects the value of an arranged marriage in offering stability in a hard peasant life, acknowledges the potential rewards of society's increasing acceptance of the risk of marriage for love, but listens to an individual who swears the happiest people he knows are the ones who arranged marriage through a matchmaker.

Traveling to India is a life-changing experience in itself. This book is one of the most articulate reflections I've seen on what that experience can be like.

This book is a riveting read.
It touches upon a myriad of social, economic, political, emotional and ultimately human themes from the Ramayan epic and juxtapositions them with the present day Indian psyche.
The substance is informative and interesting without falling into the trap of being academic or verbose.
The author's style is succinct, witty and appropriately poignant.
Being a non-resident Indian, I was pleased to read such a well written and objective analysis of such a behemoth of a country.
This is a very vast, tricky and interconnected subject matter to tackle.
Jonah Blank does it with aplomb.
I would recommend that anyone wanting to know about India read this book.

I love India and have been there many times but this book taught me a lot I don't know. The book has an original format which was risky but works. You really get both caught up in the story and then feel like you've visiting the countries he's talking about.

As travel writing, it doesn't get better than this. So refreshing to not be talked down to and he avoids the horrible snobbishness often encountered in the gendre.

I just wanted to savor each page. It's not a book you flip through. I was sorry when I finished it. I just wish I could give it six stars.

I guess this book has been out for some time, but I had not known about it until I stumbled upon it at the bookstore and I am very glad I did. The book is written in a style that is unlike other travel books I have seen or read about India in that it reflects on one of the treasured literary epics in Hindu/Indian culture and mythology--the Ramayana. Each chapter focuses on a single aspect that is explained through the characters in the Ramayana, (caste, kings, swamis, fate...etc..), and each chapter begins with a summarized "Jonah Blank" version of the epic of Rama, Sita, and Hanuman. What I have enjoyed so much about this book is that the point of view that Blank brings is that of a twentysomething who is seeing India from the eyes of a young person who at times is both humorous and skeptical, yet idealistic and hopeful. You can truly tell that Blank, although a young person at the time of the writing, truly has passion and depth of vision about the complexities of India and you yourself get caught up in the majesty and the mysticism of India through his journy and the journey of Rama and Sita.

This is a wonderful book about the travel experiences of a young Harvard scholar in South Asia and how they evoked or resonated with certain episodes of the Ramayana. In one way or another the Ramayana has had an immense influence on South Asian civilization (as well on that of S.E. Asia) so it was interesting to see how Blank brought together, and exposed as timeless, so many of the epic's themes. This is a excellent introduction to India. Highly recommended.

REVIEWED BY: Wayne Walker
Carolyn Haywood (1898-1990) was a native of Philadelphia. One of America's most popular authors of children's books, she published her first book, "B" Is for Betsy, in 1939, and wrote more than forty books altogether. Many of her own childhood experiences can be found in her novels. In this book, Betsy has turned six. It chronicles her first year in school and tells how school goes from being a large and frightening place, based on the scary tales of Old Ned, her grandfather's hired hand, from his childhood school days, to being something exciting and interesting.
This book describes what schools were like in the "olden days." For example, just before Thanksgiving, Betsy's teacher tells how the Pilgrims gave thanks to God. Betsy is not an "ipsy-pipsy perfect" little girl. She is naughty on occasion, but she suffers the consequences of her actions, is sorry, and learns to do better. I had never heard of this series. Haywood's stories about her irrepressible character Betsy, originally consisting of twelve books, have never been out of print, and now the first four Betsy books are back for a whole new generation of young readers. The other three are Back to School with Betsy, Betsy and Billy, and Betsy and the Boys.

I read this book 30 years ago when I was in elementary school. It was probably the first "chapter" book I read. The story is sweet and simple and innocent. It harkens back to a time when children played and acted as children and the family was truly a family. When the fears children had were things like first days of school and crossing the street, not terrorism and pedophiles. Children in the book were respectful and well behaved.Adults loved and cherished the children in their lives. I do not like the new covers for I feel the pictures are too modern looking. I think some children would really enjoy the old fashioned pictures and styles of when the book was truly written. They would probably get a laugh out of how things have changed.

I bought this book for my son with the anticipation of next buying the Besty and Billy book. He enjoys it and I liked it too. I'm sure it can be easily read by a beginner.

Carolyn Haywood wrote "B" is for Betsy in 1939, but this story of a young girl's first year at school is timeless.

Betsy is an only child who is not looking forward to the first grade because Old Ned, a hired hand on her grandfather's farm, has shared unpleasant memories of the school he attended in his youth. Betsy soon discovers, however, that her own experience will be quite unlike Old Ned's. Her teacher is kind and friendly, and the classroom has neither a switch nor a dunce cap. Betsy quickly befriends Ellen, a little girl in her class, and Mr. Kilpatrick, the police officer who helps the children cross a busy street on the way to school.

The children in Betsy's class build a model of a Native American village and watch tadpoles turn into frogs. The first graders assemble a Thanksgiving basket for a poor, elderly woman who makes her living by selling pretzels, and give a circus performance for the sixth graders, which is enlivened by a visit by an organ-grinder and his monkey.

Outside of the classroom, the adventures continue. Betsy saves her money to buy Ellen the perfect birthday present. She rescues a lost dog and is given a cocker spaniel puppy. When Betsy goes to her grandfather's farm for the summer, she is thrilled when Ellen joins her.

This gentle story is timeless, and only a few words betray the fact that it was written nearly seventy years ago---for example, the word "policeman" instead of "police officer" or "Indian" instead of "Native American".

The children are occasionally naughty, but their transgressions are mild and their contrition sincere. The adults do hold the children accountable for their misbehavior, but are helpful and understanding instead of harsh.

This is an excellent book for children who are ready for chapter books, but are too young or sensitive to handle books with frightening or disturbing themes.

Carolyn Haywood's books were written in the 40's and 50's, yet they are timeless in their appeal. The stories about a spunky little girl and her loving family, friends, and school life are great to read aloud and a equally good for a child starting longer chapter books. This is the first in a series of books about Betsy and her friends, so there is lots more fun to look forward to when you finish the last chapter!

Sargeant W's efforts are helpful to Sanskrit lovers/learners. Sargeant Krishna & Sage Vyasa's message is made more transparent to sanskrit learners.

This book is meant for scholars or students looking to translate Bhagavad Gita and have a reference point for those difficult verses. There is nothing more to the book than an intro., and the Gita translated word for word. Even the verses themselves cannot be found whole. That is not to say that this isn't an excellent book. I have another similar book but he has some different opinions on the names: winthrop's Gudakesha- "thick haired one" but the other guy says: Gudakesha- "conquerer of sleep" This also happens with Hrishikesha: (don't quote me on this one) "spiny haired one" and the other guy writes Hrishikesha: "conquerer of the senses" I'm leaning toward the other guy (forgive me for not having the name) because the rest of the "nicknames" refer to past achievements and such. So, if you want to learn sanskrit and you're ready for the Gita this will be excellent, or if you're memorizing verses and want to know the exact meaning behind them, this is for you.

I have read over a dozen translations of Bhagavad Gita over the past 25 years. IMHO, this is the best English translation. The "inter-liner" translation is really a neat idea and I wish someone does inter-liner translations for other ancient works such as Thiru-Kural.

The book is a translation from Sanskrit to English. Excellent if that is what you are looking. However, if you are looking for interpretation or an understanding of what it means then better buy some other book like the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is by A. C. Bhaktivedanta. Some may call it biased, but I think it is better for a new reader.

This is an excellent interlinear translation. For each word, Sargeant gives grammatical information, like gender, case and number. Then each verse has an idiomatic translation to English which is very faithful to the original. Some verses also have a commentary - very useful. There is also an introduction describing the contents of the Mahabharata, of which the Bhagavad Gita is a part. One thing missing is an index, therefore I would recommend buying also Schweig's or Easwaran's translation.

the spine on this book broke - i like to have my books stay in very good shape so this was disappointing

I was fortunate to see the two Frans' lecture in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park over a decade ago where they discussed their new book and showed slides of the bonobo apes. I found it all quite intriguing and purchased my autographed copy there.

The most fascinating part was that bonobos love sex. They have sexual encounters multiple times per day with many different partners (except mother/son) in all types of positions yet have the same amount of offspring as other apes. An amicable lot, compared to the aggressive chimpanzee, bonobos tend to have sex to rectify disputes as well as for the pure pleasure of it. The bonobos are a matriarchal group, taking their cues from the females versus typically the males. I thought it was interesting that we humans are now reevaluating whether it is indeed the aggressive, patriarchal chimpanzee that we evolved from or the sensual bonobo ape.

Frans Lanting captured a photograph of two bonobos having missionary style intercourse, she on her back with her arms over her head and with the biggest grin on her face! A gorgeous book, gorgeous animals.

This is a great book with plenty of great photographs by Frans Lanting and a good deal of basic information on these least-known ape cousins of ours from Frans de Waal. Equally genetically and evolutionally related to us as chimpanzees, they are best known for their sexual behavior and their relatively peaceful lives compared to chimpanzees but de Waal warns that the differences are a matter of degree and there is great flexibility.

The differences between the species are interesting. Though in both species the females (normally) leave at puberty and the males always remain in their birth groups, bonobo females bond more and males bond less than in chimpanzees. But the more important difference is that in bonobos the most important and strongest relationship is that between mother and son. This is all-important and at the core of bonobo society and includes serious rivalry between mothers over their sons' dominance ranks - and the fights between the mothers can be viscious.

What most people immediately think of when the bonobo is mentioned is sex, sex, and more sex. This is often misinterpreted and tends to obscure what is really going on. De Waal says their social life is better understood as being peppered by brief moments of sexual activity, the majority of which does not involve intromission nor is it carried through to sexual climax. It is largely brief and casual and used to reduce conflict. And when it comes to full mating with receptive females, this is normally limited to the top two males who occupy, with the females, the center of a travelling party and from where adolescent and lower ranking males are excluded.

De Waal discusses the possibility that the extended female receptivity of the female bonobo - receptive for nearly half of her adult life compared to 5% for the chimpanzee female - may be the bonobo strategy for avoiding male infanticide. In some species one male will remain with one or more females and protect his young from harm from others. In other species females mate with many males, including proactively soliciting males when the females are not normally receptive because they are not fertile, and this 'paternity confusion' is seen as a stategy to counter male infanticide. Infanticide has been observed in increasing numbers of species but, as yet, not in bonobos. De Waal suggests that the particular relationships of bonobos, with the reduced male aggression towards and dominance over females, may be a successful anti male-infantide strategy.

Another suggestion de Waal makes is that, as chimpanzee females have food priority when they are sporting sexual swellings, the extended sexual swellings and receptivity of bonobo females may have extended their food priority. Bonobo females almost always have food priority over males.

Another important difference between bonobo and chimpanzee is the relations between goups. Though chimpanzee females, like bonobo females, move between groups to breed (using sexual swellings as 'passports'), chimpanzee males from different groups are very aggressive and sometimes kill. Though bonobo males are antagonistic towards outsider males and display aggressively, there can be contact between the females of the two groups that meet and sexual contact between males and females of the two groups. I have read elsewhere that this contact between females, who in some cases will be known to each other as females move between groups, may have been something similar to the way our early ancestors were able to overcome full-blown aggression between groups, the females acting as links between groups that would ultimately lead to potentially positive alliances and trading links.

Whether we'll ever learn enough about these apes before they become extinct is unlikely. And that is sad. Whether we are interested in other species for comparision with our own or simply in order to understanding their particular evolutionary stories, we need to convince greater numbers of people that other species are interesting and deserve our full respect and protection. This book contributes to this for the bonobo.

Although I love learning about animals just because I love learning about animals - this book brings many important issues to the forefront - issues which directly relate to humans and human culture. For that reason, I highly recommend this book to anyone who has any curiosity about human behavior - especially as it pertains to sex. While Dr. de Waal is careful to avoid generalizations and anthropomorphisms, you will have fun drawing your own conclusions!

Most people are familiar with chimps but few have heard of the bonobo, but we resemble them behaviorally more than any of the other great apes. Also I recall reading once that we have the greatest genetic similarity to bonobos. I forget the exact figure, but humans share something like 99.5 percent of their genetic material with bonobos.

De Waal teamed up with internationally acclaimed nature photographer Hans Lanting to produce not only a very scholarly but very readable and interesting book, and a visually very striking one as well.

There are many similarities between bonobo behavior and humans, and ways in which they differ from other apes. Females have higher social standing in bonobo society compared to chimps, and high-ranking males never stay that way for long unless they have the support of at least a high-ranking female or two.

Females also cooperate more than in other apes. They have been observed working together to drive off an aggressive male, which doesn't happen in chimps. Females are also very social, and seek to establish alliances with other males. This can come in handy in various ways. For example, during the mating season, if a a male the female doesn't like wants to mate, she can effectively rebuff his attempts by getting her other male friends to come to her aid. They even resemble us in their sexual behavior, since they are the only ape observed to use the missionary position during sex, which they do about half the time.

This is just a small sample of the many interesting and thought-provoking things I picked up from reading this book. Overall, a fascinating and very visually appealing presentation on this little-known and understood relative among the great apes.

I've read this book twice, the first time in one sitting. It's a great book for taking a look at Christian doctrines without having to crack an intimidating theology textbook. I highly recommend this book for use with a small group.

It seems that "theological novels" are becoming increasingly popular. Of course English literature began with a theological novel in the form of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. In more recent years we have seen a series by Richard Belcher that has been quite popular in Reformed circles and Brian McLaren's somewhat notorious series, popular in Emerging Church circles, that began with A New Kind of Christian. A recent addition to this list is Common Grounds written by Glenn Lucke and Ben Young.

Ben Young is a Southern Baptist who is associate pastor of worship at the inconceivably huge Second Baptist Church in Houston, Texas. Glenn Lucke is a graduate of Reformed Theological Seminary and leads Docent Communications Group. Their relationship and a common concern about the lack of theological understanding in the young people they interacted with, led them to write a book presenting the basics of the faith. As they began to write the book evolved into its current narrative format.

Common Grounds is the story of three friends who are all at different places in life. Brad is a nominally Baptist investment banker; Lauren is an unbelieving former Catholic corporate attorney; Jarrod is a Charismatic graduate student in philosophy. These three friends gather each Sunday evening to talk and share their lives with each other. One day Brad meets a new friend, a semi-retired professor of theology. He invites this man to join their group and the professor begins to mentor them in the faith, presenting to them the foundations of Christian doctrine. These weekly conversations address critical doctrines such as sin, evil, revelation (both natural and special), sovereignty, and more.

This book is notable for at least two reasons. First, the doctrine presented is Scripturally-sound and consistent with Reformed theology. Second, the authors present a way of evangelizing people that is geared to a postmodern generation. They employ the twin concepts of narrative and story to present sound doctrine in a way that will appear to postmoderns more than the traditional abstract propositions one might find in a classic book like Evidence that Demands a Verdict. Today's generation is less-likely to be persuaded by a cold, rationalist presentation of the facts, and more likely to be persuaded by the presentation of a person's own testimony or story. Common Grounds will help believers understand how this can be effective.

My only concern with the book was that there was no clear presentation of the gospel. This postmodern method of evangelism can be effective, but only if it includes the gospel! My concern was alleviated, though, when Glenn Lucke sent me the following in an email. "The 3 key missing words on the last page are 'To Be Continued.' Book 2 is largely done but needs revision as MacGregor continues to teach Brad and Jarrod more deeply about the Christian faith and to explain it to skeptic Lauren." Common Grounds is only the first chapter of the story. I look forward to reading the continuation of this fascinating dialogue. I echo Al Mohler's endorsement where he writes, "If you want to reach the postmodern generation, read this book and give it to your friends."

What Mr. Lucke has done with this novel has provided threads through which I can converse with close friends regarding topics I might otherwise avoid. As a theological resource, this novel's dialogue brings religiosity to the commonplace discussion. The book also includes well-developed characters either I know or am. Please read this book and engage in these conversations.

A good friend of mine gave me this book as I was looking for a deeper understanding of my faith and what I believe in. This book was amazing in how it really got to the core of who God is and how he fits into our lives. The author chose fun, interesting, and compassionate characters to make it a book I couldn't put down.

Reading "Common Grounds" is like overhearing any conversation in your local java hut--where people reflect on life and how to live it. Ultimately the conversations turn to questions we all ask--about purpose, God, suffering. Lucke (and Young) deftly explores the issues our culture wrestles with and presents the option of faith in a winsome, non-heavyhanded manner. Look forward to more in this series.

There is only one word to describe the author and the book, simply amazing..the book was very informative and very detailed and covered many important different aspects of life. The book opens your mind and thoughts to things you wouldn't even thought of. Very impressive!

There is only one word to describe the author and the book, simply amazing..the book was very informative and very detailed and covered many important different aspects of life. The book opens your mind and thoughts to things you wouldn't even thought of. Very impressive!

This book succinctly explains how lack of emotion is affecting our world in negative and destructive ways. This book explains how compassion and cooperation gives hope for our world. One of the first steps we must take is to acknowledge that differences exist and to respect the differences even though we do not all think in the same way. We must feel comfortable with ourselves and with others even if they are different from us. This will lead to better communication which can only lead to better lives for us. Finally, we also need to realize that communication is not just between people, but also between people and the world we live in

I have recently read compassion: a new philosophy. It has opened my eyes to other religions and religious thoughts. Although not converting me to perspectivism the book was insightful. It also made me think about the cruelty to animals.

Before reading this book I thought I knew alot about everything, this book has helped me to see things from many different points of view. There is so much information in the book that I found facinating. Reading this book has changed the way I think about history and other cultures.

you have to read betrayal of a hustler before you read this so you can keep up it seems to me it should be a part three but it is fantastic i finished the two books in about four days.it was like watching a movie i couldnt put them down until i was done.

This book was good. I couldn't wait to read the second on. Lisa and Chino knew they were wrong but hey that's how the story goes.

IF YOU DON'T KNOW BETRAYAL OF A HUSTLER IS FIRST READ THEN COMES THE SEQUEL. I LIKED THE SEQUEL WAY BETTER NOT TO SAY THAT THE 1ST ONE WASN'T GOOD. IT ANSWERED THE QUESTIONS I ASKED IN MY REVIEW WITH BETRAYAL OF A HUSTLER. I SWEAR THAT LISA IS DUMB AND I CANNOT UNDERSTAND HOW SHE GETS ALL THE GOOD MEN WITH HER WAYZ. THERE IS GOING TO BE A 3RD PART TO THIS TRILOGY AND I CANNOT WAIT BECAUSE SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED IN THIS ONE WORDS CANNOT DESCRIBE. YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK IF U THOUGHT NOT TOO IT IS A MUST. GO COP THIS ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

very very good i'm a truck driver and the book was so good i was pulling over on the side of the road just to get in some reading it had me not wanting to put the book down excellent read

Chino Wells makes a grand re-entrance in A Dead Man's Vengeance to renew the love triangle that transcends into a full blown circle.

At the end of Betrayal of a Hustler, Chino is shot and left for dead. But his right hand man, Knees, wasn't haven' it, and Chino was nursed back to health and sent to recuperate in Virginia with his fam. Chino is back to reclaim his true love, Lisa, and his territory.

Since Chino's death, Lisa has tried to move on with her life with husband/doctor Chris and son Jordan. Lisa and Chris' lives are turned upside down when Chino returns and wreaks havoc on both their lives.

In the meantime, Jamaican drug lord Shark has joined forces with assassin Abu and his crew of killers. Shark and daughter Shantel have tried to get on with their lives after Shantel's mother, Shelly, was gunned down by Chino.

A Dead Man's Vengeance is a very suspenseful work of fiction that had me even more intrigued than it's predecessor. I look forward to the release of The Vendetta.

As the years have passed, more Holocaust memoirs have become available but most are "emotion recollected in tranquility." Barry Spanjaard wrote his memories immediately after the war, in 1946 while a student at VMI and that closeness to the events makes it more effective in bringing home the horror of his experiences than a tome written by a more mature survivor. He draws the Amsterdam of his childhood with such a loving hand that I can feel the crisp air as he pulls on his prized shoe skates and sense his excitement mixed with fear to watch the first of the German planes over his city. Definitely recommended for anyone with an interest in Holocaust memoirs, even more so for teens who have perhaps read the Anne Frank "Diary of a Young Girl" and want to know more.

I found this in a Used Book Store- I had not heard of it, but read it and thought it's certainly an important and incredible memoir of being in the Holocaust and everyone who is interested in this subject should read this book- I've read all books on this subject and this is one of the best- I coudn't put it down and it was expertly written. We should thankful that Mr. Spanjaard decided to write his experiences. There are two very historically important observations he adds to history- he paints a vivid picture of Westerbork- the transit camp- add his experience with that of Etty Hillesum and her letters from Westerbork, and both give a sense of what that was like, at least from two perspectives.

The 2nd is about Bergen-Belsen. Many Holocaust narratives are from Auschwitz and they are very important, but it is also important to hear about the others- and Spanjaard successfully conveyed that experience to me in his book. The horror of it is very real and he does an excellent job getting across to us what it was like. You get a sense of maturity from him that leaves no doubt that what he says is how it happened through his eyes.

I just thought it was GREAT.

I was very impressed with this book. I have been studying the holocaust for years and this is by far the best book ive read on the subject. This book gives the reader a very good idea of what it was like to be in germany at the time of the holocaust.
Unlike "The Diary of Anne Frank" this book goes into the concentraiton camps where the real horror of the holocaust took place. This is a book you just cant put down.

This book is a personal account of a teenager who was in a concentration camp during World War II. I had the privilege of hearing Barry Spanjaard speak at my high school in the late 1980's, and it made the experience of reading the book even more personal. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about the holocaust from someone with first-hand experience.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr.Spanjaard in the spring of 1983 when he began his middle school talks that introduced this incredible book to the world.I was 14 and found Barry to be the kindest most compassionate man i had ever met. He was so excited to share his very important story with all of us and yet so interested in who we were. His wife Bunny was equally sensitive and caring.I plan to have my children read this book when they reach the appropriate age and would recommend it to anyone who has a teenager that needs resources for reports on the Holocaust. And wherever Barry, as he insisted we call him,is today I send him love and appreciation for sharing his remarkable story with the world. :)

Doug Moo offers a great exegetical and expositional commentary with the PNTC series offering on James. Well worth the buy, if you don't have a solid commentary on James. Nothing too crazy, and lots of compelling argumentation for his positions.

I have five critical commentaries on James (Lenski, Bruce, Woods, Martin, and now Moo). This one will more than likely be the primary source for me when I study the book in a critical fashion. He is thorough and that is what I want. If you are a preacher looking for something quick and in summary form, a smaller work might be more useful. For me, as a preacher, if I am in the circumstance where I need something quick I am already in trouble. I like the Pillar Series. Not long ago I read of one's review that was overly critical of the work on the epistles of John - I do not subscribe to that sentiment at all. It is a good series!

If you are looking for an answer to a question raised about the meaning of the book of Phillipians, you could not find a better treatment. This is a wonderful resource and fine treatment of the text. I used it in a series of sermons, and found it very easy to acess and get the gems of the book.

`The Epistle of James' by James B. Adamson, 1976, 227 pages in the series The New International Commentary on the New Testament; `The Letter of James' by Douglas J. Moo, 2000, 271 pages, a volume in the series The Pillar New Testament Commentary; and `James' by Ralph P. Martin, 1988, 240 pages, A volume in the series Word Biblical Commentary are all `full featured' and recent commentaries on the first of the short `catholic' epistles in the New Testament.

I find it amazing how different the material is in these three volumes. After 1800 years of commentary, one would expect a fair amount of uniformity in thinking about this short letter, but there is a remarkable range of differences in emphasis among the three.

Those of you who are familiar with the world of biblical commentary will recognize that all three are part of major series of commentaries. Adamson and Moo belong to series dedicated to the New Testament, while Martin's volume is an offering of a larger series on both Old and New Testaments. And, each volume is organized in a way to match the editorial style of their series. This is most clearly seen in Martin's volume, as his work is organized in virtually the same way as the much larger work on Paul's Epistle to the Romans by the distinguished scholar, James D. G. Dunn. This is no surprise, as Martin is the New Testament editor for his series, the Word Biblical Commentary.

Ranked by scholarly detail, Martin has the most and Adamson has the least, with Moo somewhere in between; but don't take from this that Martin is heavy on the Greek and Adamson has no original Greek. All three are specifically written for the scholar and assume that the reader either knows classical Greek or is willing to slog through all the Greek words and expressions. The irony here is that while Martin is the most heavily scholarly, it may also be the most accessible to the lay or strictly pastoral user, since this series divides scholarly observations into the `Comments' on each paragraph, while more general thoughts are spelled out in straight English in the `Form/Structure/Setting' section and later in the `Explanation' section following the `Comments'. Adamson organizes all his `special' or more technical topics in `Excursus' sections following his main commentary. I found this just a tad distracting, especially when I discovered some mistakes in references to these Excursus sections in the main text.

All three authors give us their own translations of the text, and all three agree on where the difficult phrases are to be found. If I were to pick a volume purely on the basis of their translation, I would prefer Adamson, as he seems to give translations that best resolve these difficult sections. But, in all three cases, the authors agree on where the difficulties lie and, in general, the nature of the difficulties.

In the three authors' introductory chapter on the author, themes, and canonical status of the letter, all three agree on the major points. They uniformly agree, for example on the belief that the letter does, in fact, represent the thoughts or writings of James, the brother of Jesus, who was head of the Christian Jews in Jerusalem up to about 62 CE. They also agree that the final form of the letter was rewritten and polished sometime in the early 2nd century, CE. The authors are also uniform in their citing Martin Luther's misunderstanding of James; however, I would give Luther credit for seeing scriptural support of many Roman Catholic doctrines, even if any sound reading of `James' shows that this support is probably stretching James points just a little too far.

On the major themes of the letter, I generally prefer Martin's emphasis on the three topics of `Wisdom', `Perfection', and `The Piety of the Poor' to the other authors' interest in theology and the law. James is clearly spending less times on these typically Pauline topics than he is on lessons for a Christian life.

Among all the other differences, it is most remarkable to see all the differences between how the three authors structure an outline of the short letter. If you didn't know better, you may think they were talking about two different writings. This is just a symptom of the fact that `James' is much less a theological argument a la `Romans' and much more a collection of lessons on prayer, right Christian behavior, and the implications of faith. This is consistent with the fact that the letter has much in common with the Gospels, especially the Gospel of Matthew (See Martin).

One last difference I detect between the three is the fact that Martin makes more connections to modern theology of, for example Dietrich Bonhoffer, while Moo and Adamson have more citations to the great reformers, Calvin and Luther.

If I had to pick only one of these, I would go with Martin's volume in the Word Biblical Commentary series. If I were interested only in pastoral interpretation, I would go with Moo or the article `The Letter of James' by Luke Timothy Johnson in `The New Interpreter's Bible', since both refer heavily to the standard NIV and NRSV translations. If your interest is in a scholarly study of the letter, you will probably want all three.

This is Moo's second commentary on the epistle of James. He wrote his first one in 1985 as part of the Tyndale series. This commentary is the result of fifteen years of reflection on that work. The content of this commentary makes it evident that this is the mature thought of a noted scholar on the letter of James. Those fifteen years left him more convinced "that the heart of the letter is a call to wholehearted commitment to Christ" (x).
Moo provides a lengthy introduction to this epistle (46 pages worth). This introduction includes the history of James in the church, nature and genre, authorship, theology, occasion and date, and structure of James. Concerning authorship, Moo holds that James, the bother of Christ, is the author. He presents arguments against this traditional view and then answers them. The section on the theology of the book is a feature more commentaries would do well to include. He dates the writing of the letter around the middle of the 40s AD. This is important because the date of writing has great implication on the relationship of the letter to Paul's teachings. Moo does not place a ridge structure on the letter. Instead, he finds "several key motifs" which "are often mixed together with other themes in paragraphs that cannot be labeled as neatly as we might like" (45). Denying the assertion of some commentators that the letter has no unifying purpose, Moo argues that the central concern of the letter is spiritual wholeness of the readers (47).
Moo's analysis of the text is insightful. His word studies are well done. He presents a wide range of possible meanings but uses the context to determine which meaning is James's meaning. Moo also does a good job in showing James's relationship with Paul. James is not writing against Paul. James means something different by faith than does Paul. They are addressing different problems.
The format of the commentary is user friendly for the most part. One helpful aspect is that Moo's introductory notes precede the verse by verse exposition of major points and most sub-points. Moo transliterates Greek words making the commentary usable to those who do not have the advantage of knowing Greek. One slight critique concerns the chapter divisions. The chapter divisions of the commentary are based on the chapters of James. This is fine, but the table of contents is broken down by his outline. One would whish the editors would choose a method of division and stay with it. The only other criticism is that Moo's writing style can be difficult at times. These two minor criticisms in no way change the fact that this is a masterpiece. It is short at only 251 pages not counting indexes. Anyone from a layperson to a scholar will benefit from this commentary. This reviewer would recommend it without hesitation (something he does not do often).

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