H Books

These stories set in Mr. Parkhill's classroom at the American Night Preparatory School for Adults ("English -- Americanization -- Civics -- Preparation for Naturalization") are wonderfully humorous and warm. They reflect a generous humanity and a keen ear for language in author Leo Rosten (1908-1997), who first wrote the stories for The New Yorker using the pen name Leonard Q. Ross.

When Rosten wrote the stories in the 1930s, the debate that had roiled American society over the high levels of immigration at the beginning of the century had ended with passage of the restrictive Johnson-Reed Immigration Act of 1924. Readers of The New Yorker could well remember the rancor and the stereotyping of the debate.

Rosten countered the prejudice against immigrants by portraying Mr. Parkhill's students, drawn from several national and ethnic groups, as earnest learners eager to know about and join American society by first learning the English language.

When people from different cultures meet, there are bound to be some collisions. A dark side take on those meetings is the ethnic joke. The bright side is this book, finding humor in the encounters that all can smile at.

I read The Education of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N as a teenager in the early 1960s. Though I do not recall negative attitudes about immigration in my family, school, or suburban New Jersey neighborhood in that decade, the book surely shaped my attitudes and feelings about immigrants and immigration in a positive way. Hyman Kaplan taught me immigrants make America a better and richer society.

Each time I look through the book now, I worry whether Rosten crossed any of our modern "PC" redlines that would cause it to be crossed off reading lists. The book's humor ("comic dialect" is the scholar's term) depends on the rendering of accents, not much used at present. I found one use of the N-word (misspelled, in accent, not in anger) by a student character. On the whole, however, the book stands up well.

I give copies of this book to friends who are ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers. Leo Rosten's own nights as an ESL teacher, while he was working on his Ph.D., gave him the inspiration for the stories.

The shape of our nation's immigration policy is certainly a licit issue for debate and disagreement. Current immigration has some different countours than in the 1930s. Some voices, however, get carried away and tip over into negative stereotyping. They should take a break, have a cup of coffee, read this book, and meet Mr. Kaplan.

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Having just begun teaching English As A Second Language to a group of Asian adults, a relative thought I might enjoy "The Education of Hyman Kaplan". The novel takes place entirely at the American Night Preparatory School for Adults. There under the tutelage of Mr. Parkhill, Hyman Kaplan, Miss Mitnick, Miss Caravello, Mrs. Moskowitz and an assortment of Jewish and Italian immigrants struggle with the complexities of the English language, anxious to master the language and learn about the history and culture of their newly adopted home. The irrepressible Mr. Kaplan takes center stage in the classroom with his singular logic in using the English language. Abraham Lincoln becomes Abram Lincohen, King George III of England is an autocrap, and Valley Forge becomes Velly Fudges. Kaplan conjugates the tense to die as "die, dead, funeral", and when talking of the contents of a newpaper he can't understand why he must say "it said", instead of "he said", since the paper is decidedly of the masculine gender. It's the Harold Tribune after all. This is a hilarious yet touching book. We are never laughing at Hyman Kaplan's linguistic foibles but with him, as we appreciate the struggles of all immigrants, those seventy years ago, or those today to come to terms with becoming Americans and learning the language that binds us together.

Think you can read an uproariously funny book without laughing out loud? Think again. Adventures of an English-as-a-second-language class for new immigrants in 1950's America.

As a new ESL teacher, my husband thought I'd enjoy this book. H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N* is an irrepressible immigrant to the US, struggling to master English, but that doesn't stop him from communicating at every opportunity. Waves of malapropisms spoken with a thick Eastern European accent don't get in the way of his enthusiasm. Set in the 30's, this is a world where teachers and students are Mr., Mrs. and Miss, immigrants worked in garment factories, and all still believe in the American Dream. Even Mr. Parkhill, the god-like teacher, can't help but be infected by Mr. Kaplan's unique interpretations of the great works of English literature--the Shakespeare story was a classic. Definitely dated, certainly politically incorrect, these stories hail from a simpler, but maybe tougher time--Leo Rosten originally wrote under the name Leonard Ross. A lovely little collection of stories!

This book, along with its sequel, "The Return of H*y*m*a*n K*a*p*l*a*n," (and don't be fooled, those stars are important) is a beautiful work and one that I'm surprised hasn't been rediscovered by critics and readers alike. Originally published as a series of stories in a magazine, these stories were finally collected into book form and later combined with its sequel in a grand form called O, K*a*p*l*a*n, My K*a*p*l*a*n (which is now out-of-print, but worth reading if you find it in a library or rare book store, since it was edited and improved by the author, with new characters and stories).

The stories all revolve around a group of immigrant adults attending the American Night Preparatory School for Adults in New York City in the 1930s. Under the tutelage of the fastidious, but patient and kind, Mr. Parkhill, the book chronicles their challenges in learning the English language. This is in and of itself a masterpiece: Leo Rosten (who had to publish the stories under a pseudonym since he wrote them while living off a fellowship and did not want to let his professors know that he was working on totally unrelated research) has found humor in GRAMMAR!! He not only shows how difficult English is to master, but how irrational and arbitrary the grammatical rules are that we all, as students, desperately try to commit to memory. Moreover, he writes with an expert ear, hearing the subtle differences in the accents and common foibles of English speakers from various language backgrounds. The fact that these passages are life-out-loud funny (and not at all in the sense of laughing at any character's mistakes but at the English language itself for torturing non-native speakers so) is astounding enough.

But this is the story, however, of a true comic hero - Hyman Kaplan. Leo Rosten has created a character as complex and poignant as Shakespeare's Falstaff, or John Kennedy Toole's Ignatius J. Reilly. Hyman Kaplan is a force of nature, yet distinctly human -- irrascible, dogmatic, determined and yet sensitive, noble and joyous. He is a man who refuses to kow-tow to the rules and guidelines of the English language and who truly relishes the joys of wrestling with learning. Since his exuberance leads him into constant conflict with his fellow students, his character is one of the greatest literary devices ever devised by an author. The stars emblazoned in red, green and blue crayon that are part of his signature, only serve as the ultimate monogram, defining this character as one worthy of the ages.

While this book is about efforts by foreigners to assimilate as Americans, it also highlights the glories of America's immigrant, melting-pot past -- a heritage and tradition that is sadly rapidly being forgotten and lost in this modern globalized world. Moreover, with the advent of the politically correct era of hypersensitivity, it is likely that this book will never experience a renaissance of popular support that it richly deserves. This is a true treasure -- I discovered it as a teenager and have often enjoyed returning many times to visit with these charming, inspiring characters. I cannot recommend it enough!

This review mostly concerns the Enquiry. The Letter is primarily a defense of Hume's earlier Treatise of Human Nature, while his Abstract is an anonymous review of the Treatise. It strikes me as very funny, though not surprising, that Hume would review his own work. Funny because any author would give his right arm to get at least one favorable review when all the other critics are completely missing its point. Unsurprising because Hume was probably one of the only people alive at that time who could truly grasp all the facets of his radical philosophical claims.

The Enquiry was written after the Treatise. Hume, though he claimed the opposite, seems never to have really recovered from the blow he took from seeing his Treatise "fall dead born from the press." As a result, his Enquiry is far more cautious in the steps it takes. (For those of you who have read both, yes, I swear, Hume IS more cautious. Compare the claims.) A more robust philosophical stance is taken in his Treatise, while a more focused stance is taken in his Enquiry.

The Enquiry is mainly a work of epistemology and as such, scrutinizes our methods of acquiring knowledge. Making perhaps the most radical (and poignant) claim in all of modern philosophy, it posits, and supports, that there is NO causation, only conjunction. That, for example, when we see a glass drop and break, we cannot say we know gravity caused this (in the way we know two plus two equals four). All we see is constant conjunction. The connection is lacking, i.e., it is not inconceivable that the glass wouldn't bounce, turn to ash, or dissolve into sand (the way it is inconceivable that two plus two equals five). This, in effect, nullifies all the so called "laws" of nature that are formed by science. (Note that this does not state that there are no laws of nature, just that we really can never make the claim that we ever really know there are laws of nature.)

This could be thought of as the philosophical shot heard round the world. Agree or disagree, Hume must be answered. Hume has historically been charged with creating an intellectual and philosophical cul-de-sac with his skepticism. To paraphrase Bertrand Russell, Hume makes a claim which none can refute, but at the same time one which none can accept. In effect, Hume's philosophy seems to bind the human mind, stopping its journey of discovery and ultimately accomplishing what his predecessor, John Locke, set out to do, i.e., map the extent of human knowledge.

However, where one may see Hume's philosophy as shackles and fetters in the search for truth, one could also equally see his philosophy as liberation. Implicit in his philosophy is the idea that ANYTHING is possible. There are no shackles, no fetters, no limits; only those that we create for ourselves. Our limits are self-imposed, constructs of our observance (and inference) of connection. In this way Hume appears in the same light as the Eastern masters seeing that reality is not what we have (through experiential knowledge) believed it to be. It is something much more wondrous. In Zen, our causal thinking is the only barrier between the person and enlightenment. Hume could be seen as implying that when the idea of causality is removed, with only conjunction remaining in its place, the state of true knowledge and wisdom (true zen) is achieved.

This, of course, is only idle speculation. But it is stated so as to demonstrate the richness and immense possibility Hume's philosophy possesses when seen in the correct light. Instead of saying, "Nothing is certain," after reading Hume, one can say, with equal validity, "Anything is possible." The first statement approaches philosophy with despair. The second approaches it with a sense of childlike wonder and hope at the immense possibilities of reality. It approaches life as a beginning, not an ending. It approaches life as the philosopher approaches it.

If one accepts the methodology of Descartes in applying scepticism to reason and the senses, in effect denying the existence of all things but a "thinking thing," two entailments are logically consequent: Either Berkeley's idealism or Hume's scepticism. I don't accept Descartes' starting point, so I find the entailments confused and incoherent. But if one does accept Descartes' starting point, then the two extremes must be heeded. If for no other reason than observing the absurdity of either man's conclusions, it is valuable to read both entailments. But in their confused process, both men bring certain salient features to light.

Hume accepts Descartes starting point, making it his own. But to Descartes method, he adds Pyrrhonist scepticism: That all reason leads to infinite regress, and that all sensations (or impressions) can not be trusted.

Hume begins with the conclusion that all sense perception is either an impression or idea. Even memory and imagination, two other faculties of the mind, are conflated into these two species of perceptions, as impressions. Their difference is one of degree (vivacity), not of kind. Hence, Hume is the author of what is known as the "Copy Principle." Instead of unmediated, direct perception through the ordinary senses, all perception is mediated by the imagination into impressions and ideas. From this follows certain resemblances, contiguity, and causal associations between impressions or ideas, and from this association we develop a sense of self. But even the notion of causality here is one of implied inference, not of actual inductive reason. Hume denies there is any real causality that can be known, although we operate "as if" we infer cause from effect. Even probability is reduced to a mere association of ideas and/or impressions; because neither reason (which always leads to infinite regress) or senses (which can always be deceived) can actually be true. The Enquiry also treats of miracles and the testimony of others derisively; but don't we rely on the testimony of others who claim the earth is round rather than flat, just as we rely on others who testify to miracles in a byegone era? After all, few of us have direct experience with a spherical earth (Popper makes this observation).

Hume's method incorporates five kinds of scepticism: (i) methodological, (ii) conceptual, (ii) nomological, (iv) explanatory, and (v) reductive empiricism. His commitment to scepticism is not without some capitulation. While he denies absolute causality and inductive inference and probability in an actual senses, he relies on them for practical purposes. One can't remain a pyrrhonist for long; some elements of reason and some degree of confidence in impressions is necessary for ordinary life. But if one starts with Descartes' starting point, extreme scepticism is a necessary entailment. Which, after seeing Hume deny so much intuition, is it really worth starting with Descartes' scepticism? Answering that question is what makes Hume interesting.

David Hume was perhaps the leading light in the Empiricist movement in philosophy. Empiricism is seen in distinction from Rationalism, in that it doubts the viability of universal principles (rational or otherwise), and uses sense data as the basis of all knowledge - experience is the source of knowledge. Hume was a skeptic as well as empiricist, and had radical (for the time) atheist ideas that often got in the way of his professional advancement, but given his reliance on experience (and the kinds of experiences he had), his problem with much that was considered conventional was understandable.

Hume's major work, 'A Treatise of Human Nature', was not well received intially - according to Hume, 'it fell dead-born from the press'. Hume reworked the first part of this work in a more popular way for this text, which has become a standard, and perhaps the best introduction to Empiricism.

In a nutshell, the idea of empiricism is that experience teaches, and rules and understanding are derived from this. However, for Hume this wasn't sufficient. Just because billiard balls when striking always behave in a certain manner, or just because the sun always rose in the morning, there was no direct causal connection that could be automatically affirmed - we assume a necessary connection, but how can this be proved?

Hume's ideas impact not only metaphysics, but also epistemology and psychology. Hume develops empiricism to a point that empiricism is practically unsupportable (and it is in this regard that Kant sees this text as a very important piece, and works toward his synthesis of Empiricism and Rationalism). For Hume, empirical thought requires skepticism, but leaves it unresolved as far as what one then needs to accept with regard to reason and understanding. According to scholar Eric Steinberg, 'A view that pervades nearly all of Hume's philosophical writings is that both ancient and modern philosophers have been guilty of optimistic and exaggerated claims for the power of human reason.'

Some have seen Hume as presenting a fundamental mistrust of daily belief while recognising that we cannot escape from some sort of framework; others have seen Hume as working toward a more naturalist paradigm of human understanding. In fact, Hume is open to a number of different interpretations, and these different interpretations have been taken up by subsequent philosophers to develop areas of synthetic philosophical ideas, as well as further developments more directly out of Empiricism (such as Phenomenology).

This is in fact a rather short book, a mere 100 pages or so in many editions. As a primer for understanding Hume, the British Empiricists (who include Hobbes, Locke, and Berkeley), as well as the major philosphical concerns of the eighteenth century, this is a great text with which to start.

Hume, I and many others think, was the greatest philosopher to have written in English, and this is the book to pick up if you want to introduce yourself to Saint David's distinctive brand of classical empiricism. This is a must-read for anyone with even a passing interest in philosophy, and it's hard for me to see how anyone interested in the history of modern thought can avoid reading this book or the corresponding sections of Hume's Treatise.

As is well-known, the Enquiry concerning Human Understanding was intended as an encapsulation and popularization of the views Hume defended in Book I of his magnum opus, A Treatise of Human Nature. Hume assumed that book's commercial failure could be accounted for by its length, difficulty, and lack of accessibility, and so, being a man who desired literary fame, he hoped to acquire commercial success by presenting the same ideas in a more appealing and accessible manner. Unfortunately, it seems Hume misunderstood what the literati of his day were looking for in a philosophical treatise. For the Enquiry, like the Treatise before it, didn't bring him the fame he sought. Still, Hume did understand what goes into writing excellent philosophical prose, and consequently this book is a much easier read than Book I of the Treatise. Indeed, this book constitutes an excellent introduction to Hume's thought, and, except for maybe Berkeley's Three Dialogues, I can't think of another primary source that would serve as a better introduction to classical British empiricism.

Now, let's get to the ideas here. Hume, like the other classical empiricists, was primarily concerned with the psychological question of the origin of our concepts. About the answer to this question, the empiricists were all agreed--our concepts are furnished by experience, which includes both sensory experience and introspection (i.e., the experience of our own mental states). And the empiricists also agreed about the way we can justify our beliefs. Some beliefs are true (or false) in virtue of the ideas they contained, and we can know their truth (or falsity) simply by thinking about them; other beliefs are true (or false) in virtue of how the external world is, and we can know their truth (or falsity) only by drawing on our experiences of the world. According to Hume, all substantial conclusions about the world fall into this second category. That is, the truth (or falsity) of all substantial claims about the existence and nature of things in the external world can be discovered only by checking those claims against the evidence of our senses.

The traditional way of placing Hume within the story of empiricism goes something like this. Hume takes up the empiricism of Locke and Berkeley and pushes it to its logical conclusion. Whereas Locke and Berkeley hadn't been wholly consistent empiricists, Hume, the true believer, demonstrates that classical empiricism leads to a pretty thoroughgoing skepticism. Since he's wholly convinced of the truth of his empiricist premises, Hume is willing to accept the skepticism that goes along with them. However, those who aren't convinced of that his empiricism is obviously correct think that Hume has actually demonstrated the implausibility of his empiricism. If this is where empiricism leads, they think, then it's clear that we need to reject empiricism. Indeed, some, like Thomas Reid, view Hume's arguments as constituting a reductio ad absurdum of his sort of empiricism. On this interpretation, Hume's philosophy essentially presents a dilemma for all future thinkers: abandon empiricism, or accept empiricism along with Humean skepticism.

But a different view of Hume, one of Hume as proposing a wholly naturalistic account of the human mind, has recently emerged as a competitor to the general conception of Hume's place within philosophy sketched in the previous paragraph. This interpretation downplays Hume's skepticism and emphasizes his professed intentions to provide a positive account of the operation of the human mind that appealed to nothing beyond the evidence of our senses. According to proponents of this interpretation, Hume is most interested in a description of the operation of the human mind. He's describing what human nature allows us to know and what it doesn't allow us to know. Furthermore, he argues that our nature is such that, where it fails to provide us with the resources to acquire the knowledge we might want, it provides us with a natural habit of forming the right conclusions anyway. Even though our nature limits our knowledge of the world, it ensures that we possess the habits of mind needed to make our way in the world. Hume dubs all these habits of mind "custom."

If this view is correct, then Hume has abjured many of the normative aims of traditional epistemological inquiry. He isn't attempting to show how we can answer a skeptic or why we have good reason to believe what we think we know. Instead, he wants us to stand back from our everyday beliefs and think about the natural processes that result in them. How, exactly, do our minds operate? How do we come to think what we do about the world? Hume thinks that this sort of inquiry will lead us see that, at some point, the explanation of why we think what we think reaches certain brute facts about the operation of the human mind. When we reach these points, there is nothing more to be said. We simply can't help thinking in these ways, and we lack the resources to demonstrate that these ways of thinking constitute an accurate way to represent the operation of the external world. And, Hume claims, it turns out that many of the fundamental elements of our conception of the world--the belief that things stand in causal relations to one another, the belief that we can know that there is a world outside our minds, the belief the future will resemble the past--end up not being open to ratification by experience. With respect to beliefs of these sorts, we ultimately have to appeal to custom in order to explain their existence and popularity. Hume, then, can be seen as demolishing the pretensions of reason in order to make room for a wholly naturalistic account of human thinking.

First I would like to commend the excellent review of this book by CT Dreyer in which he correctly shows how Hume extended the empiricism of Locke and Berkeley to the point where skepticism seemed our only honest way of thinking about our knowledge of the world. Hume's questioning of induction, of how we can be sure tomorrow will be like today , his questioning of how we can trust our senses to know the outside world, his questioning of how we can hold our world logically together when analysis reveals that there is no necessary connection between ' cause' and 'effect' in everyday life action means he wakened not only Kant from his dogmatic slumber but Philosophy itself from the sense that it will provide absolute understanding.
Hume is a very clear writer. I remember reading the famous billiard ball account of causality in which our common sense view of ' before' and ' after' is questioned and taken apart. I believe Hume says after this account, something to the effect and ' still when we leave the room we leave by the door and not by the window'. A friend of mine in this class when the class ended opened the window ( on the ground floor ) and went out that way.
This is difficult and great philosophy. I do not pretend to understand it or its implications fully. A test of the mind and a necessary read for anyone who would know Western Philosophy.

Rooted in both vigor and simplicity, this chemistry text will amaze you. Pauling is very mindful of how the student ought to recieve information and in that he carefully picks the order of topics. Too often people disreguard the importance of the presentation of information. It's a shame because they are being willfully ignorant to techniques that catalyze and promote learning. Our brains are more responsive to associative learning because biologically that's what goes on in neural circuitry. Anyways, it's best I don't spur off into a tangent. Buy this book. It taught me chemistry.

Nothing to say about this well known book as a hi level introduction to general chemistry.
What it's amazing is to buy such new book at such price !

This book will never look old. It’s still much more clear than many (college) chemistry books. In my opinion this volume should be suggested as a reference for a general chemistry college course.

This is by far the best introductory book I have seen so far. It is very concise and thorough. There are no flashy pictures or cool sidenotes with the practical applications of the concepts. But the basic concepts are very well explained with lots of helpful diagrams. Also, the price of the book is very good. Hooray for Dover Publications for publishing this masterpiece as such reasonable price!

This is an interesting, if somewhat dated and eccentric textbook by the man who was probably the leading chemist of the twentieth century. It is full of interesting insight, and written with real flair, so much unlike the typical textbook today produced by the textbook publishing machines.

Let me give a couple of examples, good and bad, of what makes this book interesting, but also exasperating.

The book is the only freshman chemistry text I know of that has a derivation of the Boltzmann distribution P ~ e^(-E/kT), a very basic relation in the kinetic theory of gases and in fact in all of statistical physics. The derivation is simpler than most, which makes it a real jewel especially at this level, where most people would think it doesn't belong.

On the other hand, the section on chemical bonding, which is actually where Pauling made his reputation, is very eccentric, like the author, so much so that it makes the book unsuitable as the sole text for a course. It is all based on sp3 hybrid orbitals. As far as I can tell, sp2 and sp hybrids are never mentioned. With the sp3 story, Pauling is able to account surprisingly well for some systematics of bond lengths. Whether this is fortuitous or not, I don't know, but it is interesting. On the other hand, without sp2 and sp hybrids, he is completely unable to give the standard, very simple, beautiful account of bond angles. A student learning introductory chemistry from this text who then went into organic chemistry would soon be at a disadvantage without knowing the theory of hybrid orbitals that everyone else would get from any of the standard contemporary texts.

My recommendation: use this text as a very insightful, quirky supplement. The price is certainly right.

The text that comes closest, in my opinion, in seriousness, if not eccentricity, is the contemporary text by Oxtoby and coauthors. It is too highbrow though for most college introductory chemistry courses.

I read "I Dared to Call Him Father" first in 1980, and was thrilled at the recounting of Madame Sheikh's unique encounter with God. Then in 1981 I had the great honor of escorting her to a speaking engagement in Virginia. Enroute she reached for my hand. Her hand was like a warm cloud. "You are troubled about the whereabouts of your son." I was stunned. I had not mentioned a word about him. Our son had been killed in an accident a year earlier and had been in a teenage rebellious stage so we weren't sure about his relationship with the Lord. "You need not worry. Jesus has asked me to tell you that your son is with Him." I wept for joy. She is for real!

I sat down I read 75% of the book without putting it down. Excellent bio, well written, there is a lot to learn about walking and developing your relationship with God. The way she shares her struggles, doubts and growing dependence on God is wonderful. I only wish I could learn more about her life after the epilouge.

Bilquis Sheikh describes her journey, beginning with her initial interest in spirituality. She tells of her search for the truth, studying her Koran and the Bible she had requested, and struggling to know which book was God's. She humbled herself to visit a missionary to ask questions. She knew how to pray; prayer had been a ritual performed five times a day. However, she was startled by the new thought of praying to God as a father. In which of the two holy books was God a father? She decided to accept the Bible. She studied it, and began to spend time with the missionaries. She listened to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and became convicted about so many things: baptism, her temper, her responses to other people. Christ gave her the strength to defy her family when they insisted she have nothing to do with Christians, as well as the courage to live calmly when her life was threatened. It was such a hard decision, even after she knew in her heart that she believed, and had become a Christian. Her family was close, and she enjoyed so many tender relationships cut off by her choice to follow Jesus. Her family, who had shared such love with her, even tried to kill her for rejecting Islam.

In this book, she chronicles this process. It is precious to see the Lord at work in hard places, like South Asia. We see that He is not limited, only we are. She also gives us insights into her own culture, and values of family and community which are remote from the individualism of the West. It is enlightening to glimpse into a Muslim family, and how she continued to live among her relatives after her conversion. Most of all, it is encouraging to read of another sister's journey to live before God in communion with Him as He has called us all to do. It brings reflection on our own lives, and the depth and closeness of our own relationship with our heavenly Father.

Written in an easy manner, this book can be read in an afternoon. Bilquis was open and honest about matters of the heart, and I did not find her to by dry at all. Who should read it? Those interested in this kind of conversion and culture, those wanting to know how God can be a Father, and Christians who want to understand this sister and those like her, and Christians who want to deepen their own relationship with our heavenly Father.

As a self-professed non-reader, I stayed up to 3AM just so I could finish the book! How amazing God is! It is a story of a woman - a Muslim by birth, with connection to high ranking Afghanistan officials and of upper class family connections - who one day came upon Jesus Christ in a dream which began her lifelong journey to seek the true God. Bilquis Sheikh risked everything - even her life and her love for her grandson Mahmud - to follow Christ. What was so hard to put down were the words that intricately described her emotional connection to God - something which practing Muslim must deny - and to have a personal relationship with Him. Her knowledge of the Quran and the Bible gave her an immeasurable platform which God used her even in the midst of death threats and personal sanctification. To be set apart for Christ was what she desired! I read the updated version of this book which gave some historical context to her life after she came to United States and the tragic murder of her beloved grandson Mahmud, who was defending a person from an "honor killing" (a practice where Muslims kill a family member because they became 'traitors' to the Islamic faith). The book is truly God-inspired, words in which gave me an encouraging view of my faith in Christ and how NOTHING is for my own and glory but that ALL THINGS ARE FOR CHRIST'S GLORY. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me..." Philippians 4:13

It never ceases to amaze me how awesome God is and how mysteriously He works in the lives of people throughout the world. A woman like Bilquis Sheikh coming to Christ shows His absolute power in working in the lives of those who genuinely seek Him. I was given this book by a lady who was born a Muslim and lives in a Muslim land. It highly impacted her life for the good. Also, having known a number of Muslims who have converted to Christianity, I have seen the sad reality of how a Muslim family can totally reject and mistreat one of their own who converts. For a Muslim to follow Christ, much sacrifice takes place. The account of Bilquis Sheikh proves that this sacrifice is worth making. As you read this account of what happened in the life of one lady who "dared to call God Father," you will be swept up in the excitement and emotions of God's wonderful work. It is a book that Muslims and Christians alike should read and enjoy.

This book is perfect for our seven-year-old daughter. I highly recommend it as a resource for any family. It is detailed, but not too graphic. Entertaining, but straight-forward.

I have lent it to many coworkers and friends!

with detail. But it has fascinated my kids from 5-9, yes I've bought the older books as well - the oldest one I think is still a bit much for my 9yo, but she likes the middle one . . . but they all enjoy this one - it seems to hit just the right notes for interesting information without too much yuck factor for them - and the cute illustrations confirm their ideas that some of this is just a little bit weird when you hear it!!

My not-quite-four (but very verbal) daughter got this book for Christmas, and it immediately became one of her favorites. I am pregnant again now, so she is very interested in all the discussion of pregnancy and birth, and it opened up discussions about what her birth was like and what it will be like when I have this baby. The first few times we read it she just listened wide-eyed and didn't talk much, but now we chat while we read it, and she will periodically come up to me and inform me that the food I am eating will go to the baby through the umbilical cord. I recommend this one highly for any preschooler who is curious and likes to understand how things work.

I got this book for my two boys, ages 10 and 5. They were so interested in it. My 10 year old's best friend was there the night when I started reading it to my 5 year old. At first they were giggling at some at the pictures. But pretty soon I had all three of them on the couch with me just soaking up information. They even asked some questions, and said they learned some things they didn't realize. It's very simple, and to the point, without going into great detail. The pictures are cartoons, but very realistic. It's a great book to start out with, because it doesn't get bogged down with details that are too complicated for children this age. I plan on getting the next two books for my older son.

While I recommend this book for pre-puberty kids with their parents guidance, I do not think it is appropriate for 4 years olds as the book portrays. I read it and then reviewed it with my 7 year old daughter because she had been asking alot of questions as I am pregnant with our third child. She still said "yuk" or giggled at some of the drawings, which is fine. But there is no way I would read it to my 4 year old son at this time.

All Christians will benefit from the message that Dr. Peterson so clearly and compellingly presents. The Way begins earlier than I thought, is narrower than I thought, is more clearly marked than I thought, and is certainly more full of life and adventure than I thought.
I'm pushing this book. It is very, very good.

I am not going to go into what this book is about because others have done it very well. I have to tell you, this book is so incredibly delightful to me that I have read it like I have never read another book. I will read a paragraph and be so moved by it, that I will read that paragraph over and over and sometimes it has taken me days to get past that one paragraph. I have done this with several pages as well. The book just comes off so honest to me. This book is just so practical and honest, I don't really know how else to describe it. I highly recommend it.

This is a wonderful book, flowing from one of the greatest Christian writers of our time. I clung to every word.

Once again, Peterson delivers an insightful book. Eugene Peterson is one of the best contemporary Christian writers and his work provides timely and powerful theology that drives for application in the life of the individual Christian.

It is my opinion that everyone should read anything by Eugene Peterson and I would rank much of his work to be just as high on the reading list as C.S. Lewis's work.

This is an excellent read and incredibly valuable for those who are concerned about improving the way they live their life out daily for Christ, or want to know what that looks like.

Eugene H. Peterson, The Jesus Way: A Conversation on the Ways that Jesus Is the Way (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007).

There are two kinds of spiritual writers: mechanics and artists.

Mechanics focus on how spirituality works, on tightening the nuts and bolts of prayer, meditation, fasting, and the like. By showing us how these means of grace work, they help us draw closer to God and godliness. Richard J. Foster is a mechanic of the spiritual life. His Celebration of Discipline is a masterful user manual of spiritual practices.

Artists, by contrast, show us what spirituality looks like. They don't write user manuals; they paint portraits. Not landscapes, mind you - portraits. For spiritual artists, spirituality is personal, biographical, narrative. They show God in human form, and godliness in human form - warts and all. Eugene H. Peterson is a spiritual artist, and The Jesus Way is an exhibit of masterfully drawn portraits.

It is also a frustrating book for our mechanically inclined, North American souls. Unlike The Celebration of Discipline, The Jesus Way includes no three- or four-step guidelines for prayer and fasting. If you're looking for that kind of guidance, don't bother reading this book. It will not give you The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Christians or The Secret of Becoming Like Jesus. It is not about How to Win Souls and Disciple People. It is, instead, "a conversation on the spirituality of the ways we go about following Jesus." It is a gallery of portraits in which the artist's perspective paints his subject in a new light.

The portraits in Peterson's gallery are biblical and historical figures: Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, Isaiah, Herod the Great, the Pharisees, Caiaphas, the Essenes, Josephus, the Zealots. And, the centerpiece of the exhibit, Jesus. But Peterson's perspective on these subjects, his unique angle of vision, forces us to see through them the various ways in which North American Christians should but do not follow the God-Man who is the Way (John 14:6).

Indeed, what Peterson's portraits show is that North American Christians have adapted a variety of spiritual ways and means that have nothing to do with Jesus, indeed, that contradict and subvert the way of Jesus. We are a consumer-oriented, mass produced culture; and our spiritual ways reflect our cultural predilections. We are felt-need driven, without considering that a consumer's felt needs might be artificially manipulated or authentically mistaken. We are mass produced, without considering that Jesus' ministry is concrete, not abstract; personal, not impersonal; individual, not cookie cutter.

Peterson's portraits of Jesus' Old Testament predecessors show a spirituality that revolves around "faith and word, imperfection and marginality, the holy and the beautiful." His portraits of Jesus' New Testament contemporaries are diptychs, Herod and the Pharisees, Caiaphas and the Essenes, Josephus and the Zealots. Or rather, perhaps we should say that they are contradictory diptychs: Herod versus the Pharisees, and so on. Jesus aligns with neither side of the diptych; rather, his way subverts both. He neither builds a kingdom of political power (Herod) or legal precision (Pharisees). He neither uses institutional religion for selfish ends (Caiaphas) nor rejects it entirely (Essenes). He neither lacks principle (Josephus) nor embraces principled violence (Zealots). His way is different.

It is irreducibly personal. God is a Trinity of Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in eternal, indivisible union. Their way with one another is personal. And consequently, their way with us is personal as well. God relates to us a Person to persons. His way is personal. His way is Jesus.

Contemporary North American spirituality, by contrast, is impersonal. It focuses on abstract, mass produced principles that do not know what to make of humanity's warts and all condition. They don't know what to make of King David, for example, whose imperfections Scripture draws in such meticulous details (violence, adultery, murder, polygamy). Call this the Way of Imperfection. David's seven penitential psalms (Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143) contain no three-step program for personal holiness. They simple call upon God for forgiveness. "In dealing with God we don't do it on our own," Peterson writes; "we deal with God as he deals with sin."

The Way of Jesus, you see, is the personal way of dealing with God, of relating to him not as consumers seeking personal benefit but as servants seeking divine direction. The consumer mentality warps North American spirituality; if we are to follow the Jesus Way, we must submit to a necessary "purification of means." If the end of spirituality is personal - communion with the Triune God - then the means to that end must be personal as well. Peterson's portraits show us what that personal way looks like.

I mentioned that The Jesus Way is a frustrating book. I should say that it is a frustrating book for me personally. I have a mechanical soul. I favor the user manual approach to spirituality. And anyone who has read anything by Richard J. Foster knows how spiritually fruitful that form of writing can be. The mechanics of the spiritual life are as necessary as the artists, but in a different way and for a different reason. The mechanics think for us. The artists force us to think for ourselves. The mechanics show us how to do things differently. The artists show us how to see things differently.

At any number of points in The Jesus Way, I disagreed with something Peterson wrote. Is Christian spirituality always a spirituality of people on the margins, as the chapter on Elijah suggests? Peterson seems to agree with historical criticism's reconstructions of the multiple authorship of the Pentateuch and Isaiah. Is he right? Perfectionism is without a doubt a spiritually deforming doctrine, but does David's example mean that no spiritual and moral progress is possible?

The Jesus Way raised many questions in my mind for which it did not provide definitive answers. But the questions forced me to look differently at my own ways, to look at my life and spirituality, and the spirituality of my church. That is what spiritual artists are supposed to do, to help us see differently. And Eugene H. Peterson is nothing if not a master artist.

Basically it is a mix between the original 2 scripts for the movie, making it pretty much twice as awesome!

Those random small things that left you hanging in the movie such as where does the Left Knocker lead?

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Ah, another George Lucas movie. Well now its a awesome book. I personally love it as much as Star Wars. Its a strange tale, of a strange girl, who gets trapped in a strange land....wow, does that sound familiar. This is my favourite book! I love it more than Interveiw with the Vampire! and thats alot of love!

If you liked the movie, then you'll love this book. I bought a mint condition copy for about seventy dollars last year, and I couldn't be happier with it.

Like the movie, the book tells of a young girl draw into a fantasy world by her own overactive imagination in order to save her little brother, who has been stolen by the goblin king, who says he is only seeking favor in her eyes, and seems to have fallen in love with her.

The book follows the storyline of the movie exactly, but offers more insight into the characters thoughts and actions. I can remember in particular that the ballroom scene was quite staggeringly more descriptive. A wonderful book, worth the price; espescially if you can find one in good condition.

this book is worth every penny... its a story about a day dreaming girl who wishes her little brother to a land of goblins castles and of course the labyrinth. if you dont want to spent 50 dollars on this book you CAN GET IT FOR FREE.. just google it and youll find the transcript of the book that you can print out and read.. its not like having the book... but its way cheaper..

gosh, i was six when i first saw the movie! now that i'm eighteen makes no difference how i love this enchanting story.

smith brings the story up to another level, as he dwelves deeper into sarah's feelings... and also jareth's. the chemistry between the two is undeniable. i would like to think that in another situation both of them would be together, albeit the fact that she's mortal and he a goblin prince.

smith's writing is of course, very detailed and deep, and he tries to explain all the different meanings and reads between the lines of the movie. he has us vying for the king, and rooting for the good guys, too. he makes us want jareth to have a happy ending, and perhaps one with sarah. he makes us want to see the movie.

well, maybe the movie IS old, and the special effects kind of horrid by today's standards, but truth be, enchantments are timeless.

I ran into this book when one of my kids was in the hospital. I looked for something with short stories that I could read to him that night. As I read through the book I found it to be a very well thought out book. Each story had a scripture lesson and some questions to ask and a prayer to go along with it. I wrote down the company's name and wrote asking about price & availability. They sent me the book. I read it to my kids nightly until their teens and frequently found them reading it on their own. Long after the book had been put away I mentioned it once and my kids told how the book has a positive impact on their lives, how the stories helped them overcome temptation and to have faith in God. I still buy the book from time to time, not for my kids but for friends with kids. It makes an awesome gift, buy one for your church nursery too!

These short anecdotes are perfect. They are short enough to keep a child's attention and direct enough to help them understand the point. This series of books is extremely helpful in raising children in a Christian home, with respect, values and honor. They will be able to keep these books and read them to their children.

Raised my daughter on this book, am now reading it to my grandchildren. A wonderful publication.

I love this devotional book, especially for smaller children in the early elementary years like my own. I grew up with this book myself, and it taught me many great life lessons from the Bible, which I carry with me to this day. I'm so glad I can pass this legacy on to my own four children!!! It starts out with a Bible verse, then a practical story, questions about the story, and a prayer at the end. If you have older children, they can look up additional Bible verses. This has been great for my 7 year old, who just started looking up verses in his new Bible. It's a special family time that we cherish and look forward to each and every day. I really recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a nice family devotional.

My family and I have read through "Little Visits with God" numerous times. It is great. There are shrot stories and questions with Bible verses to follow.

It sparks tremendous conversation and little kids especially like being involved in answering the questions. My four daughters all were aided in their reading development by reading the sections in "Little Visits with God."

Highly recommended.

Would you go hiking without a map? Would you work on your car without a manual? Then why would you even think about going to the Middle East without this book? Poole once again sets the standard in the industry for explaining the tactics, history, and mindset of the Islamic Extremist. From military commander to field grunt to civilian contractor, if you're headed to a desert combat zone do yourself a favor and BUY this book! I also suggest you read this book with a highlighter in hand...but you may just end up highlighting everything. This book undoubtedly has saved lives and will save more in the future!

The book gives a good acccount of the various Islamic militant factions and their interactions. The opinions seemed a bit "armchair general" and opinionated at times, but they made several good points. I'd recommend the book although it had the following drawbacks for me:
-The insertion of outside material to back up the author's words made for a sometimes disjointed read
-The sprinkling of "God (Christian) & country", stereotyping, etc. seemed unnecessary
-20% of the material was a repetition/reiteration of a particular point (not sure if this was to beef up the number of pages or to compensate for a shakey arguement)

This book was kindly donated to my unit by the publishers when I was a Company Commander before I deployed. Everyone over here should read it. Regardless of how much money our government spends on high-tech equipment and contracts, until we gain a better understanding of our opponents sociological and theological motivations we will continue to waste a lot of our military resources. LTC Poole's emphasis on taking a humanistic approach and integrating our forces with the locals is sound, provided that the local forces are properly vetted and aren't infiltrated by insurgents.

Once again H. John Poole has pulled aside the Middle East veil of mystery to show us how the Muslim militants go about their business. Known as the "War on Terror" aka "4th Generation warfare", radical Muslim militants have worked out the ways to challenge the West collectively, on - and off the battlefield. Thus far, their efforts have cost the U.S.of A., not only lives, but billions of dollars, sowing anxiety and terror. How have they accomplished this with slender resources? Against the most technologically advanced armed forces in the world? Poole tells us how.
The book is divided into three parts:
The initial part updates the reader on the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan to the summer of 2005. How the Muslim militants have survived and continue to succeed against coalition armed forces without tactical victory, hi-tech resources or heavy arms; all the while they suffer heavy casualties and continue to burn through the resources - and resolve of the West - are addressed.
The next part examines, through the lense of ancient oriental texts on the principles of warfare, the stratagems employed by the militants. These are the most illuminating chapters: now the daily events in Iraq and Afghanistan make sense if one understands the militants' operational philosophy. Poole's explanations of tactical actions clarifies how these militants are playing "the Game" against coalition forces. What makes no sense militarily in Western understanding of warfare are perfectly acceptable to furthering these militants' ends.
The final section's chapters provide approaches to dealing with "4th Generation Warfare" situations, which Western military forces are more and more wont to encounter. Many of Poole's recommendations reflect the U.S. Marines' experience with the Combined Action Program (CAP)used in Vietnam during the 1960s. Essentially, special Marine units operated with Vietnamese local forces at the village level to root out and undermine the Viet Cong insurgency. He contrasts this approach to the reliance on hi-tech and heavy fire power, the preferred operational mode of U.S. forces. Further, Poole (pp 278-294) describes the changes in tactical philosophy that must come about if U.S. ground forces are to prevail against their current enemy. This, to my mind, is the best part of the book.
Poole's views on training and tactics in the last chapter, come closer to dealing with military cultural reform than in his previous wotks. While he addresses these subjects in other books, these last pages in MILITANT TRICKS come the furthest to combining these previous discussions into a coherent whole which reflects the grunt's eye-level ground view.
Hopefully, the powers-that-be are reading his works - effecting the necessary changes.

This is the best book I have read so far on where and who the real enemy is and who is behind and against the U.S. supporting democracy and the liberation of the people of Iraq.
Breaks down in detail who is Sunni and who is Shiite.
How they work and how they are fighting U.S. Forces together.
How the real enemy is Iran with many proxies to gain control of Iraq.
How the U.S. must change to deal with fighting in Irregular Warfare now and for decades to come.
How the enemy is capitalizing on U.S. democratically controlled Congress to gain victory.

Heading over to OIF II in a few months, active duty CDR O5 who will be working in support of the bravest of the brave (EOD Forces defeating IED's). This book was instrumental in developing a understanding of what is really going on.

I would recommend this book for all Officers and enlisted personnel heading to fight this fight from E1 up.

CDR Bill Noel (Navy EOD Officer)

There are already many lengthy reviews, so I'll keep this one short. The most valuable concept in this book is the idea that negotiation is not a zero-sum game; you can create value if you keep your mind open. Must read: analysis about JFK's handling of the Cuban crisis. One could only wish current heads of states read that chapter.

This is a great book, and very helpful if you are interested in the art of Negotiation. This is a book to read, put down, digest, apply and then pick back up for more learning. I've enjoyed all that this book has to offer. I would recommend this to all management and business leaders.

Having read many negotiation books, this one does an excellent job of discussing the more important yet often missed aspects of negotiation. Like most modern work on negotiation, this one goes beyond the "door to door/used car" tactics of deception and intimidation and recognizes that the best outcome of a negotiation is the next deal. A recommended read for business executives.

I always thought of myself as a pretty good negotiator, but after reading this book, I realized I was leaving a lot on the table. This is one of those books you should absolutely have on your shelf. The advice spans decades, centuries, and beyond and will be good at any point in your life. I have already put the authors' advice into practice in my business AND personal life with positive results.

The only negative thing is your spouse may get annoyed with you as you walk around the house asking "what's the ZOPA?" ;)

This strong book on negotiation offers a lot that is new and valuable. Authors Deepak Malhotra and Max Bazerman are realistic. They know how often people run on automatic pilot when negotiating, how they can miss opportunities due to bias and narrow vision, and how many common beliefs about negotiation are wrong. They provide tools and strategies that let readers address these failings. They illustrate their insights and advice with many real world examples, large and small. Many of their suggestions are not easy to follow. It takes humility and rigorous honesty to admit your biases, and lots of effort to correct them. But if you're willing to do that kind of work this book will fundamentally improve how well you negotiate. getAbstract recommends it to anyone who is serious about negotiation.