F Books

This book is an update to what the late Dr. John Walvoord originally wrote. The timing for this book could not have been more perfect. This book is very easy to read without getting too academic. It gives a lot of information and is easy to understand even for the average reader. Buy this book!

It is a wonderful book with extensive Biblical support for the ideas presented. It helps clearify many questions that christians ask (or should ask) themselves about the end times, what the Bible teaches about it and how christians should respond to the events they witness each day on the news. Highly recommended book.

Upon reading Armageddon, Oil, and Terror, I will say that this book is an easy read. This is the first Biblical Prophecy book which I have read, and I was impressed by the simplicity of the subject matter. The only criticism I have is that the book is quite repetitive, introducing the same common theme of America's oil addiction over and over again. While this warrants frequent attention, I feel it was a little overdone. However, despite this, I would recommed this book to anyone. I have to say that I learned a lot from reading this book.

"God wants us to grow in Knowledge..." We may not be financially rich, but we are definitely blessed with knowledge... I am so grateful to God for giving me the opportunities in reading books like these. They are priceless.

This book will change anyone's lives, as it changed mine. Before, I simply thought all are just merely coincidences. Until God intervened and made me realize things... One of His ways is letting me read these kind of books. I have read a lot of books and watched a lot of documentaries but this is ONE OF THE BEST. It is simple to read and practical. It reads like the Current Headlines. This is one of the books out there that is very easy to understand. Everything is excellent in this book(15 STARS!!). I would highly recommend this book to anyone. I know God has a purpose why He let me read this book.

I already gave copies to my loved ones and I ordered more as gifts.

Pls. buy this book. Together, let's spread the good news that our salvation is indeed at hand. Doing research and spreading the good news are some of the ways to Glorify God. TIME IS RUNNING SHORT, and God wants to save many lives. It's an honor to become one of God's instrument in saving souls. I already started sharing my blessing of Knowledge. Thanks God a lot of people do listen. Indeed, God is giving all of us a lot of chances to believe in Jesus' sacrifice.

As the book clearly supports, "THE RAPTURE OF THE BELIEVERS OF JESUS CHRIST IS THE NEXT PROPHETIC EVENT, AND IT WILL HAPPEN ANYTIME SOON." Just read the headlines... Increasing Crime Rate, Drugs, Gang activities, Global Warming, Natural Disasters, Nuclear weapons , Oil blackmails, Political Conspiracies, Pornography, Terrorism, etc. All of these are predicted in the Holy Bible, which was even written thousands of years before the birth of Jesus Christ!! Logic would tell us it's not just a simple coincidence. "THE FINAL STAGE IS SET FOR THE END TIMES." It could happen anytime soon. Besides, the Holy Bible is proven to be 100% accurate throughout all time. It never missed any of the 500+ prophecies that have been fulfilled. And it has been fulfilled LITERALLY!!

History is HIS STORY. God's story. Remember, God gave us free will. He is not bound by Time; therefore, He can see the future. God is doing everything to save our souls because He loves us so much.

Ever wondered why the Holy Bible is one of the only books that has been banned for public education? Because it is the TRUTH!!

"FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE
GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, JESUS
CHRIST, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM
SHALL NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL
LIFE......." John 3:16

For those who wants to have a more solid foundation, watch this excellent documentary. Apocalypse and the End Times

An excellent book that dwells about ALMOST EVERYTHING. Mysteries of the Universe: A Revolutionary Commentary on UFOs, Aliens, Angels, Pyramids, Bible Codes, Reincarnation, the Antichrist...

Will you be alive during the time that Dr. John F. Walvoord describes as The Decline and Fall of America?

In his 1974 publication, ARMAGEDDON, OIL AND THE MIDDLE EAST, Dr. Walvoord predicted that a worldwide shortage of oil will precipitate the initial scenario leading to biblical Armageddon. In 2007, Dr. Walvoord's son, John E. Walvoord, and co-author Mark Hitchcock revised, updated, and renamed the book ARMAGEDDON, OIL AND TERROR. Although senior Dr. Walvoord died in December of 2002, the revisers used additional material "...drawn from his other works and conversations during the last two years of his life."

The new book proposes that twelve, biblically predicted, major "events" will occur in a possibly-soon-to-come sequence leading to Armageddon. Reading about Event #1, the world's desperate struggle for oil, may open your eyes to the shocking possibility that life as we know it in the United States may dramatically change to that of a third-world country. The last of these twelve events will be followed immediately by the return of Christ to the earth.

As do most conservative, evangelical Bible scholars, Dr. Walvoord bases his teaching of prophecy upon a literal (grammatical-historical) interpretation of Bible Scriptures. This view leaves room for the interpretation of some words and phrases as being symbolic or figurative, but it insists the Bible means what it says unless allegorical meanings are obviously intended. (The "Beast," for example, symbolizes the Antichrist, but "one thousand years" means one thousand years.)

This very readable book is as timely and current as your daily newspaper. Whatever your view of prophecy, read this book now! It may change your life.

Edwin Scroggins is author of Bible Prophecy in a Nutshell: A Mini-Survey of God's Great Plan of the Ages

The projects are wonderfully oversized and adventurous. I'd like to remove the word messy, because all art is a bit messy, and this one is really ADVENTUROUS more than messy. It's fantastic art fun! The kids I work with beg me for projects from this book, and are delighted when I join in the fun. Highly recommended. I believe the publisher's website has free projects from this book for your viewing as does the author's website.

This book has been out in the hands of good teachers/parents/child care folks/kids for awhile now, but I've found that it is new to many kids who are just discovering it. One little guy I worked with recently as a visiting author to his school told me: "I didn't know a tennis ball could be so interesting, did you?" He was referring to painting with tennis balls. Our group tried several approches with painty tennis balls....rolling them around in a wading pool covered with paper, tossing them at a wall of paper outdoors, holding and pressing on paper, bouncing on paper on the floor, and a few other ideas that kids thought up that are NOT in the book, but should have been. Read on: The little guy who told me tennis balls are interesting had thought up a idea where he rolled the ball deliberately through paint and then along the border of large paper. Within the border, he made dot-prints with different colors of paint. When it was dry, he outlined each dot with a black marker. The result was a huge bubbly design painting. I was impressed with his process, and the resulting painting was delightful and all his own! I love when my books give kids a boost to be their own artists and live in their own creativity. What a great day spending time with kid-artists. Someday I'll collect all their unique ideas and write a new book called "Kids Are More Artistic Than I Am!" Keep having fun with kids, from your friend, MaryAnn Please visit my website for free art ideas: www.brightring.com.

THIS BOOK IS A FOR-SURE WINNER. IT ENABLES THE KIDS TO HAVE FUN AND GET DIRTY AT THE SAME TIME. I AM NO LONGER AFRAID FOR MY CHILDREN TO GET DIRTY! IT'S CLEAN UP IS EASY TOO. IT'S AN ULTIMATE GUIDE FOR FUN.

This book is my kids' favorite! Everything is either very LARGE and exciting, or SILLY and exciting, or ADVENTUROUS and exciting, or extremely INTERESTING and exciting. Don't buy this if you want your child to sit in a corner with crayons for the rest of her/his life and never look beyond the expected. This is for the kids that will challenge their imaginations and explore art from a new view, building who they will be as adults.

I am a special education teacher and I am always looking for new ideas to enhance my sensory awareness program. This book has some awesome ideas and I can't wait to start using them this year.

There are a variety of popular books on the biology of spiders but this seems to be the only recent one in English at the professional level except for Barth's `A Spider's World' (2001),likewise dated and quite expensive. Foelix's 330 pages are packed with details on every aspect of spider life. As a former physiologist I found it fascinating, and, though it has much of interest for any intelligent person, the general reader will be less than enthralled by details of digestive, circulatory and reproductive and nervous systems.

It is well illustrated with many drawings, photos and tables.

This is an excellent translation from the 1992 German edition but 16 years have passed so the enormous recent progress in genetics and molecular biology, RFID tagging and computer analysis is missing. In contrast to what the nonspecialist might think, they are an extraordinarily diverse group in their genetics, physiology, anatomy and behavior. I expect that when the genetics have been worked out, there will be a gulf between the 40,000 or so species at least as vast as that between sharks and gorillas.

There is no reference to the `web' which you can easily remedy eg, at www.arachnology.be/Arachnology.html and its links. The very old book by the famous naturalist Fabre is still in print and is even available online at http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/youth/howandwhy/TheLifeoftheSpider

There are some more recent excellent books in foreign languages such as Vanuytven's `Spinnen' in Dutch but so far as I know, none has been translated. An Introduction to the Spiders of South East Asia(2000) is superb but out of print.

This is an excellent review of the biology of spiders. It was amazing discover that spiders can learn. I recommend this book.

It's amazing how much I know about these little creatures now that I've read this book. I never knew how clever some species of spiders are. Like how some can trick other spiders to come out of their homes and the ingenius methods they employ to catch their prey. I think it would be fun to be an arachnologist.

This book is worthy of being considered a text book for serious students of spiders but it is easily readable for the average person. It absolutely tells you everything you could want to know about the life of these creatures. Excellent diagrams of each subject matter. I recommend it highly for the detailed information you need to have. While it did have pictures of various spiders, I was disappointed it did not have pictures of specific spiders so that you might be able to identify ones you find. It is a little pricey and complex so it isn't for casual interest.

Don't be misled, this is not a field guide for identification of spiders. This is a college level biology textbook. All photographs are in black and white. I was hard pressed to even recognize a common garden spider (Argiope Aurantia) in this book, even though I have one in my front yard shrubbery that I watch every day. This book probably contains more biological information than most people fascinated by spiders want to know.

Bought this book as a gift for a 12 year old girl and she loved it! You should see the Thank You note I received!

This book is a must read story for any horse lover. I was lucky enough to meet Blackjack in person and he is a beautiful horse. Reading this book will take you on a wonderful horse adventure! Thank you Ellen Feld for writing such an amazing book.

AWSOME!! I can't wait to read the other ones!!!

Its the best horse book I have ever read. Any horse lover or owner like me will fall in love with the horses and the characters. I laughed and even came near to tears in this heart filled story. I highly recommend it.

I love Ellen Feld's Morgan Horse books. I love them because they don't ask the reader to believe that teenaged girls can solve crimes, stop the destruction of rural America, or take a half-starved rescue horse on Monday and win the KY Derby on him the following weekend. OK; I'm exaggerating. It usually takes them at least 6 months before they win the Derby.
Ms. Feld's books are realistic in their portrayal of the human and equine characters, and accurate in their descriptions of tack, veterinary care, etc.
As a once-upon-a-time horse-crazy teenager grown into a horse-crazy middle aged person, and both a bookseller and tack store owner in years past, I appreciate the fact that Ms. Feld's books aren't filled with inaccuracy and improbable fantasy. It has always seemed to me that many YA stories that are, presuppose that the readers are not very knowledgeable about horses.
Five stars and a bag of carrots to Ellen Feld's books.

The large format publication is awesome. The artwork is of excellent quality and serves as inspiration for joyful meditation sessions.

What a beautiful, sacred and incredible collection of artwork. The book is absolutely stunning!

I've owned this book for 7 years. I admit that I love the art --the mandalas are beautiful. Romio Shrestha is a good MANAGER of good artists (I've never seen him actually PAINT a mandala HIMSELF, and even he admits that the mandalas are painted by monks he has "commissioned.")

And Ian Baker's text to this book is extraordinary.

BUT -- and these are some BIG concerns:

INACCURACY: The mandalas contain numerous inaccuracies in them, and do not reflect deity or yogic practices as accurately, precisely or in as much detail as do the works of many others who actually PRACTICE the Dharma (which Romio does not) -- day in and day out -- see, for example, thangkas painted by His Holiness the Dalai Lama's personal thangka artist in Dharamsala, or even more Western-accessible Andy Weber.

AS IMPORTANTLY: I've met Romio Shrestha. He is a player, a wanna-be playboy, and a charlatan -- a cheap imitation of what non-discerning and gullible Westerners will believe a tantric master to be, or a self-appointed swamiji or yogi. When I met Romio the first time, he was at an international WOMEN's peace conference, lurking about, pretending to be a yogi or swami, chanting mantras and "casting spells" on sacred pendants -- all a pretext for the fact that he was stoned out of his gourd.

All he was doing (I saw this, first-hand) was smoking pot in a hotel room designated for the media production team -- trying to pick up women!!!

Romio tried to come on to me by chanting the Ganesha mantra while holding and offering to me a cheap fake silver Ganesh pendant. I recognized the pendant instantly as identical to the handfuls of pendants I had picked up on my many trips to India, dozens of years previously. The main problem for Romio was twofold: (1) I am intimately familiar with the Ganesh mantra -- Ganesh is one of my protector deities!; and (2) as a longtime practitioner of a Kriya Pranayam meditation practice, a longtime Tibetan Tantric practitioner (I keep my samaya), and with live-wire activated Kundalini, I am INTIMATELY familiar with energy player PRETENDERS.

As soon as I chanted the Ganesha mantra back to him, Heart wide-open, staring him directly in the eyes the whole time -- he scurried away, like a cockroach does when the light is turned on.

I bear Romio no ill will. Romio is, ultimately, pretty harmless to most people (except pretty young things, whom he will try to pick up by his pretense of being a "tantric master.") He's got trickster energy -- which can actually be quite fun, when it's recognized and acknowledged as such by the person who is the container for it (rather than some kind of "high teacher" egoic pretense). The bottom line is that he has NO genuine spiritual juice, NO genuine foundation in Tibetan tantric practices, and he is FAR from being a genuine spiritual master, of any kind.

The art he helps bring into the world is beautiful. But his schtick? Kindly stated, it's mundane at best.

Things are never as they seem . . . especially where spiritual materialism is concerned.

Thanks for listening -- to my humble opinion, of course! :)

I have a modest collection of new, good-quality Thangka ($150 to $400, up to 25"), but the quality of the Thangka displayed in this collection are beyond my price and size range. If you are considering buying a Thangka, get this book first to see how high the bar can go. No faded antiques here. For the most part the book's format is one page text, one page painting, but some intricate Thangka such as the "Wheel of Life" are broken down and explained in more detail.

The near poster sized book of mandalas is truly perfect for the subject. Traditionally done in sand to mirror the transcient nature of life and beauty, this book is wonderful to behold. One can easily frame the individual plates but it's not merely a bound poster book. The text is nicely written and informative. The mandalas are really first rate, so intricate and detailed, that they transcend even beauty. It's surprisingly heavy (nice glossy paper) for a book that is the thickness of a children's book. Best displayed open to your favorite page.

Charles Stanley is currently my favorite preacher. He teaches better about God and things about christianity more than any other preacher could. When I bought this book, I was so happy with it. I knew I was going to love it because I love all Charles' books, but this was 5 times as greater than I thought it would be! I recommend for all levels. It's great because each topic you want, you look it up and little verses about that topic will be in there. Great book for Charles lovers!

I have attended a few of Charles Stanley's program tapings in Atlanta, GA at the First Baptist Church of Atlanta. I have also enjoyed his programs on television as well as reading some of his books. If you are wanting a reading that will put things into plain english then this book is for you. Charles Stanley is an ordained Baptist Pastor yet he does not really preach to you. To me he is more of a teacher and put things into day to day english that even I can understand. He doesn't do the fire and brimstone preaching - He talks to you whether on tv or books as if he is talking in plain english just to you. He explains in details things you might not understand or just reiterates things you already know. So if you are ready to sit down and meditate on God's word then this is for you.

I only use "snack" to describe the chapters in this book because the subjects are offered in manageable amounts of nourishing, informative, fulfilling and soul satisfying nourishment. I read a subject or two each night as I lay in bed before I go to sleep. Very satisfying to my mind, body and soul!

If you have a question about anything Biblical or your personal life, this book is for you. In a concise, understandable writing, Dr. Stanley spells it out clearly. Add this book to your library.

This is a great book. This book will deepen your walk with Christ. It is easy to understand. Perfect for the new Christian or the seasond Believer. You will see Dr.Stanley walks with Christ, and his desire is for you to have a deeper walk as well!

The births of my first two children were both very painful--They were induced with Pitocin, and the epidurals didn't work properly. With my third child, I was really hoping to do things differently. I read this book, and used a program called Hypnobabies, and that third birth was a BREEZE! I got to the hospital thinking that perhaps I wasn't really in labor because I wasn't in ANY pain--and they told me that I was already 7cm!!! This book is quite old, but the basic process of having a baby really hasn't changed since the beginning. All his stories of other women who were able to have pain-free births were very encouraging to me. It gave me the confidence to believe that I might be able to do it too--And I did--even though my baby was nearly 9Lbs! I highly recommend this book, and Hypnobabies (http://www.hypnobabies.com). Good luck to all of you!

This book explains a natural approach to child bearing.

I guess I am the second generation of mothers who have read this book. A friend gave me an old copy 5 years ago before the (natural) birth of my first child, and I read it again last year after the (natural) birth of my second child. It made childbirth a wonderful experience. Now I want to buy a copy of this short paperback that should cost about $10 for my expecting sister, and it's out of print and selling for up to $200?!!?? Publishers, obvously there is a market for this book. Please reprint it!

I don't know why this gem of a book is out of print. It is simply the best book on childbirth ever written. In the 1940's Dick-Reed went out on a limb and was WAY ahead of his time on the subject of natural childbirth. He pioneered the idea that childbirth does not have to be a painful and awful experience. As a result, he was ridiculed (and worse) by his peers in the medical community.

The theme of this book is that childbirth is a natural and normal process, and can be pain-free if fear is destroyed. Fear causes the body to produce adrenaline, which causes the uterus and cervix to tighten, which causes pain. And the vicious cycle begins. Dick-Reed explains how to overcome fear to prepare you for a pain-free enjoyable birth for you and your baby.

Dick-Reed backs up his theories by studying natural childbirth in other countries, places where women are not brainwashed into thinking childbirth has to be painful. He witnessed these women squat and have babies easily without much fuss or discomfort, because they did not expect pain.

Modern methods of pain-free natural childbirth, such as hypnobirthing based on Dick-Reed's research. So why not get it straight from the horse's mouth?

What a shame this book is not available to all the young mothers-to-be. As a very young, new, about to be mother in 1955, I read this book and managed to go through my labor without any medication. I entered the hospital at 9AM, and delivered my first son six hours later. This book was absolutely the reason that I understood what was happening, and following the directions it suggested, was able to work with my body to make the experience an empowering one. Perhaps someone will be able to see that it is accessible to pregnant woman again.

This book is wonderful.
I did not know that the Germans were the first to use helicopters in combat in WW2 and not the Americans!
Now I know this as a fact!
And it is amazing that they flew public demonstrations of helicopters even before 1938, setting speed and altitude records! What amazing craft such as the Fl-185, FW-61, Fa-223, FL-265, FL-282 all flying years before Sikorsky!
And we here in America always assume when someone says "the first american to do something" it means the first person in the world to do something.


How amazing to find out that the Germans had operational combat choppers performing air-sea-rescues and submarine spotting in the Baltic before Sikorsky's craft had ever left the ground .
We in America are always so eager to claim we were the first at everything when after a little investigation it is so easy to find out that our common perceptions of History are mostly wrong.


How wonderful that this book clears up those kinds of misconceptions and sets the record straight, showing that the Burma rescue of 1944 came years after German helicopter rescues at sea. Wonderful to discover that air mobile operations and combat troop transport and transport of artillery and ammunition was carried out from huge twin rotor Focke Achgellis 223 choppers. They even airlifted whole airframes of downed fighter craft and heli airlifted a broken down Fieseler Storch observation plane back to base, something we couldn't do untill post war. They even airlifted light trucks by helicopter.
We always assume we were the first but we should know better.

But Hang on, are all these facts actually mentioned in this book at all, or am I getting confused with Steve Coates' book "Helicopter of the Third Reich"? Perhaps here again an American book about the American military is oblivious to the rest of the world and the priority of foreign achievements. If it didn't happen in America it didn't happen right? Read this book with awareness of those sorts of biases.

Although this book reflects considerable research there are glaring flaws in that research. It is confusing at times and poorly written, because it is full of typographical errors and conflicting and confusing data. I am intimately familiar with two of the stories related in this book and one of them is fairly accurate while the other one has many inaccuracies. I served two tours in SEA in Rescue helicopters and I know a thing or two about the subject matter. It could have been an excellent book if the author had hired a proof reader and considered finding more corroboration for some of the material. Otherwise, it is a great summary of the important role of helicopters in military aviation.

I've known Bob Dorr as a friend for about a decade or more. He and I both share a passion for aviation and aviation photography. Bob, however, goes beyond passion when he writes books. His unique ability is to write books that puts readers into the cockpit of helicopters or other aircraft. You feel exactly what other crews have felt while flying missions. Bob's amazing knowledge of aircraft and history and his dogged research makes for truely unique books.

I enjoy Bob's books and encourage others to try them out.

Dorr's "Chopper" belongs on the shelf of everyone interested in military aviation history and the men who were part of it. Dorr interviewed more than 75 pilots and crewmen and these individuals come to life as their remarkable stories are told in this very readable book.

"Chopper" is laid out chronologically. It starts behind enemy lines in Burma in 1944, when a young American pilot named Harman and a mechanic named Phelan flew a Sikorsky "R-4" helicopter on what was apparently the first ever U.S. military helicopter rescue. From here on out, the role played by "whirlybirds" in almost every major U.S. military operation is examined, including: air rescue missions during the Korean War, troop airlift operations in Vietnam, heliborne assaults in Afghanistan and helicopter attacks in Iraq.

I liked "Chopper" because it lets each pilot, mechanic, and crewman tell his story in his own words, and this makes for a readable, entertaining, and often exciting journey through history. All the services get their due as well---Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine helicopter pilots and aircrew are all part of Dorr's narrative.

From what I can tell, "Chopper" also is a true "first" in the history of book publishing: the first book to compile first-person accounts of helicopter pilots and crews who flew military rescue and combat missions; the first book to tell the comprehensive story of military helicopter operations from World War II to the current war on terror; and the first book to combine these personal histories with technical data on each helicopter flown or crewed.

General readers, amateur historians, and professional researches will find this book well worth the money.

I own and have read a number of books by military author and historian, Robert F. Dorr. Chopper is, by far, the best.

Starting with "eggbeaters" in Burma and continuing through the "snake" in Iraq, Dorr lets the pilots and crews tell their own stories. The stories include a father-and-son combination as well as the memories of fixed-wing aircraft pilots suddenly assigned to fly helicopters. As the pilots and crews recount their experiences, the humor of military personnel in tough situations spreads through the pages.

Dorr has amassed an amazing collection of photographs that accompany the narrative, making it easy and fascinating to follow the development of helicopters from 1945 to the present day. Chapter sidebars telling the reader who's who add to the readability.

This book is a pleasure to read. I recommend it without reservation.

A number of reviewers of this book have compared Benson's ghost stories to Montague Rhodes James - justifiably, since they were probably the two greatest Victorian authors of supernatural short stories after Sheridan LeFanu and Algernon Blackwood. But there are also differences, some subtle and some less so. For instance, James's stories, drawing heavily from his own experience, frequently have a whiff of the ecclesiastical or academic about them, while Benson's tend to center on a middle-class, often somewhat smug Englishman going about his daily routine with no greater concerns than what to have for dinner and what seaside resort to spend the summer in. James's supernatural creatures are almost always malignant and frequently solid, as in "Canon Alberic's Scrapbook" or "Mr. Poynter's Diary", while Benson's, while they can be heard, felt and occasionally smelt, tend to be more traditionally misty and sometimes more anguished than malevolent. As the useful introduction by Richard Dalby points out, the trademarks of Benson's stories (overbearing fathers, malice-filled women, men whose closest friendships seem to be with other men and for whom love of the opposite sex has disastrous consequences) tell us a great deal about him as a person, whereas about all one gets about James from his stories is that he had a great love of ancient manuscripts, was religious and was a profound scholar.

Another difference is that while James occasionally shows a bit of dry irony, Benson more clearly has a sense of humor. As other reviewers mentioned, he frequently inserts psychic interludes dealing with mediums, seances, and somewhat exasperated spirits, but he also points out that the mediums and seances depend on fraudulent tricks (especially in "Mr. Tilly's Seance," where the disembodied spirit itself gets irritated at the medium's chicanery). His attitude seems to be that mediums and spiritualists are less to blame than those who swallow their bait - if you want to believe that Aunt Martha has nothing better to do with her afterlife than answer your impertinent questions, he seems to say, don't ask me for sympathy! In stories like "Spinach," he betrays a clear affection for the likable young sibling mediums, even if they are clearly at least partly frauds. And in one of the book's most hair-raising stories, "How Fear Departed from the Long Gallery," centering on an ancient murder that will make any parent's skin crawl, he argues that the attitude of the other-worldly apparition may depend on how you approach it, not the other way around.

Having said that, the one thing James and Benson have in common that separates them from lesser hack writers is that in both cases, the persons who tell the story are likely to be pottering along in their daily lives, totally oblivious to signs of trouble, when something sudden and terrible comes out of the darkness and either almost overwhelms them and carries them off, or actually does so, never more terribly than in "The Face." For those whose acquaintance with Benson may be restricted to "Mrs. Amworth" and "The Man Who Went Too Far," both frequently reprinted in anthologies, this book will open up a whole new, and somewhat frightening, world.

Benson was a good friend of classic ghost-story writer M.R. James, and was among those present that Christmas Eve when James read aloud his first ghost stories.

Benson didn't have the genius or the highly literate background of James, but he did know how to write a good ghost tale, and he did just that. His stories, as has been mentioned elsewhere, deal largely with a man or two men going on holiday and finding horror instead. Women often get the worst of it in his stories, either being innocent victims or horrifyingly evil antagonists; it doesn't often happen that a woman in one of his stories is a regular person who helps to solve whatever mystery is entangling the characters.

One classic in the misogynist vein is "The Room in the Tower", in which a young man experiences a recurring nightmare of visiting a school friend, whose frightening mother always speaks the same words: "Jack will show you to your room; I've given you the room in the tower." Our protagonist knows that he must, at all costs, avoid that room, but he always awakes before the evil inside can overcome him.

"The Step" is one of the finest ghost stories ever written, about a heartless English businessman in Egypt who begins to hear someone following him down the street, at night... and what happens when he confronts his pursuer.

For those who, like me, love the ghost stories of the Victorian and Edwardian era, this is a must.

E.F. Benson, perhaps best known for his amusing 'Mapp & Lucia' comedy-of-manners stories also wrote a respectable body of ghost stories which are gathered together in this excellent omnibus anthology. All make for quality reading as examples of the English supernatural genre but a few stand out as darkly-luminous masterpieces, unforgettable in their haunting hold upon the reader and written with real verve. 'The Room In The Tower' is an undeniably chilling narrative of vampirism featuring a truly terrifying female revenant - the words spoken recurrently by Mrs Stone to the protaganist: "Jack will show you to your room: i have given you the room in the tower" are enough to instil a frisson of pervasive dread every time one reads this story. 'The Sanctuary' is a delectably macabre tale of damned souls and secret diabolism at an English country house complete with a hidden Satanic chapel for nocturnal celebrations of Le Messe Noir. 'The Man Who Went Too Far' unfolds by awful degrees the seductive but injudicious immersion of an artist in the deeps of nature mysticism which can only culminate in the most hideous revelation of truth and the sign of the cloven hoof - it is marvellously written, exquisite prose and descriptive passages and has a most beguiling undercurrent. 'The Cat' likewise is utterly engrossing and 'Mrs Amworth' stands as a unusual classsic of the vampire tale. But these are just a few of the delights this packed volume offers to the curious reader, there are many other marvellous tales to cause one to look over one's shoulder as the clock strikes twelve and a sighing midnight wind scrapes the twigs of an overhanging bough against the window. Quintessentially English, wrought with a delicious lightness of touch and a hint of a stylish insouciance but nevertheless conveying a genuinely disturbing charge of the uncanny these tales will be read again and again. E.F.Benson's contribution to the field of supernatural terror is of a very high standard. This anthology is well-worth obtaining.

I have been soaking up horror anthologies like a sponge for well over two years now. I would have thought I would tire of them, but I just can't get enough of the atmosphere and the gloom these types of tales relate.

My current favorite is this dense book compiling the supernatural tales of E.F. Benson. At the moment I am only about of a third of the way through. Perhaps I should wait until I finish, but judging by the variety of stories here, I feel safe to say that I highly recommend this hefty volume.

Many may find some of these tales a little dated, for science may have disspelled a few of the subjects covered. But for the most part these are timeless tales, rich in description, drenched in dark moods and never failing to surprise with the seemingly endless ways Benson appears to construct a solid ghost story cleverly and elegantly.

I'm not given to superlatives, but I find it hard to express anything to say about this book where superlatives or comarisons to the greatest writers of this genre without seeming trite. There ARE a few contemporary authors of the Victorian-Edwardian Era, which the Benson Brothers bridged, who have a story or even several better than many in this collection, but just mentioning these names says more about how great E.F Benson is- I'm talking about J.S Le Fanu, M.R James, Villiers D'Isle Adam and in the modern era, the list is even more impressive: Flannery O'Conner, Thomas Liggoti, Clive Barker, Issac Bashevis Singer and Peter Straub(who has quietly taken over the crown as America's Horror Short Story king with two masterpieces "Houses Without Doors", "Magic Terror" and several novellas masquerading as novels). I urge you to read E.F Benson's Book of Ghost Tales, then demand that some publisher do a public serviced and re-publish Benson's two nearly(?)as talented brothers R.H and A.C Benson who, from the few tales I've read in anthologies and old magazines may well be as good or,dare I say it?...even better.

Many texts are oblique and indirect, written so the author can be published. However,Mr. Gronbach's book is a fresh, well written guide to accurate market forecasting that gives the reader immediately useful ideas and methods. Application of his well presented, easily understood method enables products to be brought to the market to catch the crest of the selling wave. Product planning and distribution techniques become clear and sensible. I have not seen anything that is this useful. I recommend anyone in consumer marketing to digest this book..

This book is simply written and simply...very insightful! The basic, simple and very practical formula of supply and demand based on population growth is simply explained. This formula is very practical in almost everything and anything. What ever topic it is this common census rule should be apply with the expectation of great results.
In a nut shell....It makes Common Census!

This book hits the nail on the head. It catches you shaking your head thinking "why don't they teach this in college??" A "must read" for anyone in the business world and anyone who just wants to understand simple economics! Ken is as brilliant a writer as he is a public speaker!

This book contains a point of view that many businessmen dismiss, or don't even consider. It teaches business in a simple way and portrays it in a way that IS common sense. It has helped me to think about the big picture of business and consider why corporations fail and succeed. I would recommend this book to anyone because it is understandable and simple, yet thought provoking and complex.

Common Census is curiously simple, yet profound. If you sell anything, goods or services, this is a must read before ramping up. This study of generational populations reveals why the Ipod is a homerun, and the retirement community, as we know it, will fade away. This quick read has helped me define where the money won't be, and the best generation(s) to market to. You'll want to read it over again!
L.L.Bowden