Western Books

The book starts out with a nice section on Mr. Collier's great grandfather Joseph then moves on into a little section on Colorado history (I assume all of the old photos were done by Joseph Collier). That's interesting stuff, and it's followed by the bulk of the book which seems to be several sections covering, for the most part, several Colorado mining towns. For each town you get some history and at least one then (1870's-1880's)and one now (1990's-2000 or so) photo, each of these is captioned. The pictures are pretty clear and usually very well positioned matched (Grant Collier makes note of one where he couldn't get the right spot)which can be hard to do.
About the only complaint I can come up with is that I'd like to have had more town and scenic photos to look at, this is a nice book.

This is a great mix of old photos, new photos, and history. It makes a great companion piece to the more popular "Colorado 1870 - 2000" and in some ways it is superior to that book. For one thing, "Colorado Yesterday and Today" costs half as much as the Jackson/Fielder book. Also, Collier takes the time to talk about each and every place that is featured in his collection of photographs, something which is sorely missing in the other book.

Collier's re-shoots are right on the money, and when they are not, he tells us (access issues pop up from time to time). The connection to his great-great-grandfather is touching. Most importantly, this is a book that you can read and enjoy. It is not a ponderous 'picture book' that won't fit in your bookcase.

Although most people who live in Colorado have a vague idea of how much the state has changed in the past century, to see it shown so starkly in beautiful photographs like this is fascinating. Grant Collier has created an amazing testimonial to the march of history and the turbulent growth of the Centennial State. Collier's love of his subject is obvious on every page and the reader can't help but be drawn into a story, not only of Colorado, but of Collier's search to understand his stoic great-grandfather, the famous pioneer photographer Joseph Collier. Buy it!

Grant Collier's 'Colorado, Yesterday and Today' is an exceptional work in an exceptional period of time. Not often have I seen such dedication to detail. This dedication is evident in Grant Collier's testamonial to his great grand-father Joseph. What a piece of work this book is! Not only are the photographs accurately re-taken, but Grant also provides short details that accompany each section. I find this attention to detail quite refeshing. Not like other related books on the market. I am recommending this book to all of my friends. I do not wish to bore you any further with my writing. Just buy Grant Collier's book(s) and let him show you what he is capable of.

This is an outstanding book for those of us who are fascinated with what time can do to buildings or even whole towns. I have already read this fascinating book 3 times and each time I find something interesting that I missed the first time. Buy this book,you won't be sorry.

After LIVING ON THE RAGGED EDGE, COMBAT fAITH had also been a very influential book in my life in my personal pentecost in 1986. The government had been trying to brainwash me into becoming a homosexual so that I would fit in better with the people in Chemistry. But I would not give in because of the Holy Spirit and faith in God.
Hal had discussed how tha faith of POW's had enabled them to withstand brainwashing by their captors. Except that this is America we're talking about and not North Korea!
Hal also witnessed about how God had striken dead a college professor who had tried to block him from speaking on his campus. I had looked back at my life and I also could see that God has dispatched several of my enemies to the grave-including some big name politicains or their relatives. I began looking in the Bible and could see a precidence for this in Scripture. God is no respector of persons, the Bible says.
Also the thing about Moses having lived in obscurity as a shepherd for 40 years after having killed an Egyptian government official and having fled Egypt as being a time of testing and character formation, also impressed me. Somwhow, I don't believe that God is through with my life. Maybe I will live to fight better another day?!

As always this book is an excellent Christian book. It tells it like it is directly from the Bible.I can't get enough of Hal's books.

In Combat Faith, clearly the author's finest effort of his prolific career, Hal Lindsey has produced the ultimate work that clearly illuminates the historical and spiritual connections between the Old and the New Testaments. Those of the Jewish faith should read it not only as an aid to help them understand their own faith better, but also with the purpose of gaining greater understanding regarding the question of why Christians place such a high value on the Old Testament. And believers in the New Testament will find themselves challenged and refreshingly inspired to renew their commitment to their faith and journey with God, which is no small feat in our day and age. Yet Hal Lindsey has done all of this here with explosive agility and humility. No amount of hyperbole is needed to convey the value of this book-a mere sampling of the various chapters will transport the reader on a journey that takes him from the arid desert of Sinai where a group of 3 million wanderers struggle to believe in a God who has proven His love for them significantly to a man who's death on a cross 2,000 years ago solidifed, once and for all time, that the same God is just as concerned and committed to all of His creation. Combat Faith offers more than merely an elucidation of the oft-pondered and plundered subject of faith; it is virtually a how-to manual that shows, through example after enlightening example, the specific steps that should be taken in order to have the most profound and fulfilling experience with the Creator of the Universe. It's an adventure that will stay with you forever.

"The issue of faith pervades every aspect of our relationship with God and our service for Him," writes Hal Lindsey. Faith is given to us to be used and this book helps you to use it effectively. Consider Lindsey's comments on Hebrews 11:11 "By faith Abraham, even though he was past age--and Sarah herself was barren--was enabled to become a father because he considered Him faithful who had made the promise." Lindsey notes, "The more we learn about God, the more we become certain of the things for which we hope." He says our confidence in God grows as we know Him better. He goes on to add that learning about God is a result of spending time with Him.

His discussion on the faith and works issue is helpful. Along similar lines he talks about resting from works and not being subject to the law.

On the Providence of God: "God never allows anything to happen in a beliver's life by accident." While on that subject he mentions that God's power is released when we realize we are helpless on our own to bring about God's will. As most experienced Christians realize, "Sometimes God's leading for our life doesn't make sense at all from the human viewpoint." As one reads the Bible, one sees this has historically been the case, but God's ways are higher than our ways and he knows what is best.

This book promotes God dependency, not man self-sufficency. It achieves the goal of the author, i.e., it teaches you how to use the gift of faith God has given you.

This book in the stylings of Lindsay has to be his best. It teaches apart from anything else what is needed by us, and what is wanted by our God. Total faith and dependency on him. Lean on him, despite of what we see. God said" he would not leave nor forsake us." he did not say everything would always be pleasant. take hold of this faith, find the biggest Goliath in your life. And slay it by the confession of your faith, and the power of our Almighty father.

i just wanted a light reading on love and this light read covers many major points of love that i never considered and gave me many "hah hah" moments.

Armstrong brilliantly brings key texts in philosophy and theology (especially Augustine), novels, and paintings to bear on the topic of love. It is an intelligent but also accessible collection of brief meditations on what it means to seek and receive love. Armstrong's emphasis on the role of virtue (broadly defined in a classical rather than Puritanical sense) is especially useful.

I was given this by a flatmate for Christmas a couple of years ago after she was given a copy and adored it.

I love this book, it's a reality check on all the overblown, hyped up expectations we have about love and romance these days but manages to show that the real thing (facing each other over the breakfast table for the next 50 years) has a grace and beauty all its own.

Clearly whoever I lent it to loves it as well, I haven't seen it in AGES!!

i know people arent suppose to judge books by its cover - i picked this up because i was attracted to 'jean - auguste-dominique ingres' work - (cover) ... i wasnt a an avid reader then...but this book- i got more than i expected from its cover. The essays included within each chapters were well satisfying to read word form word...Armstrong includes renown characters like Socrates, Eros, ...from other literatures like - wuthering heights...i got my money's worth with this book! i loved reading it...

'..... there seems to be a rarer - but still real - possibility of love growing over time and becoming stronger and deeper.' Anyone who can write this has an extraordinary view of love - challenging the common view that it must fade and be replaced by a comfort of familiarity. Armstrong links this growing love to music (which makes so much sense to me) and katabasis (a new word for me - but a feeling I know so well) giving me such strong encouragement in my feeling that real love can never die - one I find so much opposition to in the community around me.

I picked up John Armstrong's book because I have been doing some work with Dr Francis Macnab, whose book 'Hungry for Love' had been an awful confrontation. At every step of the way it seemed I was in opposition to Dr Macnab although I actually like the man. Was it his ideas that confronted me, or was it something about my view of love? (I now believe Dr Macnab's audience - perhaps subconsciously defined by Dr Macnab himself - is all those people for whom 'love' has failed. I am simply not one of them.)

There is so much insight in this slender book of John Armstrong that I recommend all should read it - those in love, those hoping to be in love, those recovering from disappointment and those who seem to have lost love. I learned much about myself by reading this book, and that is useful. But most of all I keep coming back to the radiant message '..... there seems to be a rarer - but still real - possibility of love growing over time and becoming stronger and deeper.' If only we could all achieve it!

other recommendations:
Francis Macnab - Hungry for Love
Ivan Turgenev - Spring Torrents (quoted by Armstrong)
Ernest Hemingway - Spring Torrents (a rather different novel)
Anna Kavan - Let Me Alone
Anna Kavan - A Scarcity of Love
Alma Schindler (Mahler) - Diaries

This is one of my favorites of the entire S&A series. It is one of the most sailing intensive books providing great details about sailing through tidal river regions. The Norfolk Broads region described is sort of a sailing paradise. Like all of these books, the adventure is very lightweight, and only really suitable for a child with some degree of patience. Part of the appeal is how realistic the books are. I think children enjoy reading stories in which child characters are doing so many fun things on their own with very minimal adult intervention. In my experience these books appeal most to children in the 9-11 age bracket. The book's theme of nature preservation and activism is one that also is fairly relevant even today.

If you have read any of the Swallows and Amazons books and liked them you will love this one too. In my opinion they are all good, but this is definitely one of his best!

This is the fifth of Arthur Ransome's "Swallows and Amazons" tales, although, in fact, it features not a single member of either the Swallows or the Amazons. Nor, indeed, is it set anywhere near the English Lake District. Instead, it describes the Norfolk Broads boating adventures of the two D's (first introduced to the reader in the previous book, "Winter Holiday").

The tale is set in the children's Easter holidays, just a few months after the events of the preceding book. In it, Dick and Dorothea are anxious to learn the rudiments of sailing so that they can take a more active part in the fun when they next meet up with the Swallows and Amazons. Dick is also keen to do some bird watching. It is almost inevitable, therefore, that soon after arriving in Norfolk, they find therefore themselves tangled in up in (and helping out with) the troubles of the Coot Club - a group of local (boat-mad) children dedicated to the protection of the Broads' unique bird population.

Ransome loved the Norfolk Broads with a passion that possibly even exceeded his love of the Lake District. In this book, he paints a portrait of Norfolk, its waterways and the people who live on or by them, making plain his love for this unique environment and its way of life. The story centres on his concerns over their continuing destruction through ever-increasing tourism (and the increasingly thoughtless actions of its visitors), a major problem even 65 years ago. (It is far worse now, of course!) Unlike his Lake District stories, this one uses the real names of the places that feature in it and revels in describing them. Indeed, the book reads almost like a guidebook at times, although you barely notice this, for it is never anything less that engaging in its content. As always, Ransome combines both narrative and instructive content with consummate ease, tempered here with an excitement to the events that unfold. He weaves a tale that is as enthralling and captivating as ever, that will appeal to lovers of good tales whatever their age. The author's own pen-and-ink drawings are as charming as ever, too.

This is one of the few Swallows and Amazons books that can be read earlier in the sequence than it appears (if you really must) without major detriment to either itself or the earlier stories (except, perhaps "Winter Holiday"). You do need to have read it before most of the ones that follow it, however, as the events described here feature heavily in later ones.

After being introduced in the last book, WINTER HOLIDAY, the D's (aka Dick and Dorothea Callum), have their own adventure.

It's the Easter holiday following their winter adventure, and they're going to the Norfolk Broads to stay with a friend of their mother, Mrs. Barrable, to stay on a boat. The D's are eager to learn some sailing but are desolated to find out that they can't. But soon they're involved with the Coot Club: leader Tom Dudgeon, twins Port and Starboard, and the Death-and-Glories, a trio of youngsters who play at piracy. The Coot Club watches over the waterbirds nesting in the Broads, and after a boatload of crass tourists anchors near an important nest and refuses to move, Tom sets them adrift and ends up being hunted. The D's and Mrs. Barrable come to the rescue, hiding him on their boat and using him to teach sailing.

Ransome's fondness for the Norfolk Broads shines through. I didn't get into it as much as some of the other books, mainly because I miss the Swallows and Amazons as well as the lake setting. But this book is interesting for some of the more serious themes that creep in. This is the first S&A book that takes a strong environmental theme, and it's great to see that in something from the 30s. It also explores the theme of sometimes you have to take a stand for what you believe in, even if it gets you in trouble. We also see the tension between residents of the broads and noisy vacationers who don't respect them or the rules of the area. There are also elegiac glimmers of the passage of time, of how the Broads aren't quite what they used to be, although that might not necessarily be bad. It's also fun to see Mrs. Barrable referred to as "The Admiral" by the crew.

It's a fun book, and easy for me to visualize after visiting places like Chincoteague and the eastern shore of Maryland. It's nice spending time with the D's and seeing some of the new characters, who will make a return appearance later in the series. Next book: PIGEON POST, in which the D's reunite with the S&As and return to the lake.

In this book Ransome focuses on the two most recently introduced members of his juvenile cast, Dick and Dorothea Callum, who are sent to spend part of their Easter holidays with Mrs. Barrable, their mother's old schoolmistress, along the rivers of the Norfolk wetlands. Eager to learn to sail so they can take part in the adventures planned for the lake next summer, their spirits plummet when they learn that Mrs. Barrable "can't sail her boat by herself" and plans to use it only as a houseboat. Unexpected salvation occurs in the form of Tom Dudgeon, son of a local doctor, who finds himself a fugitive after setting a motor-cruiser adrift to protect a coot's nest being observed by himself and his five friends (Port and Starboard, the twin girls who live near the Dudgeons, and the Death and Glories, Joe, Pete, and Bill). Seeking shelter from the outraged motorboaters aboard Mrs. Barrable's rented craft, he meets the trio and finds instant common ground, and quickly agrees to serve as Captain and teach the Callums "the ropes." Though there's less imaginative play in this book than in the rest of the series, it still features Ransome's splendid insight into juvenile minds and character, plus loving description of the countryside and a strong consciousness of the environment that must have been unusual in the 1930's. Though this volume will never be my favorite of the series--somehow things are never so lively without Captain Nancy Blackett on board!--it succeeds on its own terms and will be a pleasant change of pace for families reading aloud in sequence.

Dan Burnett has penned some of the funniest stories I've ever read. Don't start this book if you don't have time to read the whole thing, because you won't want to put it down.

Mr. Burnett reminisces about his rodeo days--footloose and fancy free. A teensy bit intoxicated on occasion. And that's just what this book is: intoxicating. I bought copies for my brother, my sister, my kids, my friends--and they all loved this book.

Don't miss out on some of the best Americana of the 20th Century!

I am glad it was a book. I would have missed too much while in a state of uncontrollable laughter, if it had been a movie. At that time, I could not wait to order, A Cowboy Never Lies 2. Truly one of the best books I have read in a long time. I enjoyed it so much, I also ordered it in cassette, so my father could listen to it.

Yeah, I wuz alive 'n sorta moved around the fringes of Dan's circle, even entered a coupla events justa see if I wuz as tough as I thought I wuz. We-e-elll, I wuzn't, but his crowd wuz. Man! Until I saw em do it, I didn't think there wuz such a thing as a cowboy what could eat rawhide fer breakfus', drink a quart a beer fer lunch 'n eat ten pounds a rodeo dirt fer a full course dinner, then be ready ta dance 'n drink 'til sunrise, includin a lil scuffle outside tha dance hall! Now the story-telling enhancements to the truth are like salt, pepper and tobasco on yer favorite food and Dan has definitely perfected the flavoring without distorting the truths...much, anyway. If ya don't wanta laugh while reading this, I can only wish ya luck. Consider it a challenge, cuz it shore will be. --- Mike Danford

I can only shake my head in admiration of Mr. Burnett's adventures. It must have been fun to get up every morning just to see what was going to happen that day!

I read "The Hat" on the train and noticed people in my immediate area were looking around to find a) the person that was laughing so hard and b) decide if they should be concerned about some looney popping a gasket on the train.

Definately a book worth reading.

I read about Mr. Burnetts escapades in "A Cowboy Never Lies" laughing all the way through, put it aside for about 2 months then read it again so as to make sure I caught all of his zany escapades. My 14 year old son kept asking what book I was laughing about. [Usually he doesn't give a hoot about what I'm reading] I told him he could read my book when I was done with it. Later that evening I couldn't find my book so I headed to my sons bedroom to ask him if he had seen it; but only had to get to his door and hear his howl of laughter to know I wouldn't get my book back 'til he was done with it. I fooled him tho....I went out and got "A Cowboy Never Lies II". He knows I have it, and is bugging me to finish it so he can get started reveling in Dans' sidesplitting fun.

This book is beautifully written, full of vivid imagery of the stark and wild beauty of the northwest, and equally full of one woman's spirit and love for her family. It is a book I will turn to again and again.

This story was expecially fun for me to read because this woman lived in a time and near a place of my own grandmother. She took hold of her life after the death of her husband and shared wonderful adventures with her children each summer in the waters and byways of the Canadian BC inland waterways. She did this in an era where her family said she should sell everything and "move home where it was safer" A real joy to read. Carol Hage Wall, Oak Harbor, WashingtonThe Curve of Time: The Classic Memoir of a Woman and Her Children Who Explored the Coastal Waters of the Pacific Northwest (Adventura Books)

I got out all the maps of the Inland Passage along the British Columbia coast to follow each adventure this articulate widow with five imaginative and curious children and one dog discovered. Her tales of their explorations in a small boat and descriptions of wonderful scenery climaxes in the longest selection near the end of the book: "A Whale...Named Henry [18 pages], the just pleads to be translated into a Newberry Award children's book!

A amazing woman. As good as any cruising book written. And a shame that this woman wrote only one book. A very good picture of cruising, the Pacific NorthWest and, a simpler time.

This book was highly recommended to me by a friend who has cruised the Inside Passage and explored the islets of British Columbia and Alaska for the past 15 years. Many beautiful places are vividly described by Ms.'Capi' Blanchet. The lasting impression is the feeling of having spent time as a companion to the author and her children as they experience the adventure of travel and exploration as they cruise far from home in their small boat, in the 1930's. I enjoyed meeting unique people like 'Mike' - the knowledgeable recluse who expresses much of what must be the authors own philosopy of life. Altogether this little book is a bit of history, a bit of philosophy, and a bit of adventure. I didn't want it to end.

My wife's dear, saintly Mother Gladys Wolf, first inscribed her signature in our well-worn hard-back copy, barely held together from early 1950's. Everyday sometimes, I look into this older copy because both daughters also have copies from 20+ printings!

Ruth Graham has introduced the later editions for new printings!

If we could find devotional books with writings by Jeanne Guyon, St Augustine, Charles Wesley & George MacDonald & Anna Laetitia Waring, Hannah Whitehall Smith, Longfellow, Whittier and unknown writers for today's readers, we may have more deeply commited christians who find daily strength! From one who is an indebted admirer of this collection by Mary Tileston! Retired Chaplain, Fred W Hood, "Barbara377" (Fayetteville GA United States)

Thank you for the fast shipping of The Daily Strength books,they will make great gifts- Thanks, Robert

This is a book that has come in and out of my life over and over again because of its ability to quiet my anxious mind and strengthen my weak faith. It is a selection of thoughts from 17th and 18th century spiritual writers from the pietist and quietist traditions. One would never know that, however, since each page still burns with relevancy for any troubled soul. Devotionals come and go but this one has stood the test of time. For 8$, this cannot be beat. You may wonder how you ever got along without it!

Early AAs used several different "devotionals" for their morning meditations. Generally, the materials followed the same path as this fine devotional. That is, they cited a Bible verse, then come commentary, and often a prayer and other verses for study. Those who want to get the same results from "meditation" on the Bible that early AAs received would do well to obtain and use a copy of this book. It was studied and circulated by Dr. Bob among AAs and their families. It was in common usage along with The Upper Room, My Utmost for His Highest, Victorious Living, and The Runner's Bible. A well-stocked 12 Step meditation library should include Daily Strength and the others. It will enrich familiarity with the Bible and enhance the day ahead. I discuss all these in my title Dr. Bob and His Library (www.dickb.com/drbob.shtml).

The difference between this book and the devotionals written today is like the difference between a prime rib steak and a bologny sandwhich. A lousy analogy, but point made. "Daily Strength for Daily Needs" is full of reflections that must be read over and over in order to fully grasp the sentiment. Part of this is due to the excellent writing and terminology used from years ago, however it is not a difficult or frustrating book to read. There is a rich and reflective depth brought forth in a verse,a piece of poetry and then a reflection by a Christian from the 16th century to 18th century.This is the main devotional I have used for about 8 years now and it is full of underlined thoughts that have been compelling.Each year when I cycle back through it, I am always challenged afresh.I hope mine will last for 40 more years--it is rich beyond comparison.

I can't believe there are so many of you out there that have the same memories as my wife and I have for this wonderful book. We to read it to our daughter over and over again but somehow misplaced or lost our copy. We were able to find on on Ebay a few years back and presented it to our daughter on her graduation from college. Needless to say she was quite surprised and overjoyed to recieve it. She had been asking for it for years.

I, too, am in search of this book - my sisters and I loved it and I would love to get copies for my own daughter and each of my sisters, for their children.

Where else can we make this request, so that it is properly channeled?

I read this book over and over to my children now 32 and 30 and would like to have several copies for my grandchildren. This is a wonderful, happy book and the children love it. Please bring this book back in to print. I would be in line to buy several copies.

I cannot believe they have taken this book out of print I use to read it to my brother and I still have it memorized he is now 31 and I wanted to get it for his daughter who is 2. I read his book to my children ages 19 and 15 this was the best childrens book and it should be put back into print for all of the little ones growing up now.

I read this book to my oldest daughter, now age 29, over and over and over until I had it memorized (and still have the first part memorized). She now has a daughter, age 9 months, and I wanted to get this book for her. I can't believe it is out of print. Bring it back, please!!

My husband works in a gold mine in Nevada. He, as his father before him, has worked in mines for many many years. I enjoy buying him mining related books which he collects. This book, Deep Enough: A Working Stiff in the Western Mine Camps by Frank A. Crampton , I have not read yet, but my husband says it is a , "really good book". When my hubby say's THAT then it IS a really good book! I'm glad I bought it and I'm looking forward to reading it myself soon.

A great way to learn about life in the American wild west arid zone in the early 1900's. The author describes his life experiences with a rich cast of rugged characters who are hard to find these days. If you have either visited or lived in a mining town or been to the Australian outback opal diggings, you'll have extra appreciation for the entertaining detail and perspectives on what really is important in life. One of the better books I have read in a while!

An excellent book about life in the western mining camps
in the early 1900s. Born to privilege and wealth in New York
and with a good education, Crampton ran away from home, riding
the blinds to the western US. He worked as an ordinary stiff
in the toughest conditions, but unlike most of his fellow
miners, his education also let him work as an assayer and
surveyor, and later as a mining engineer. So he became
thoroughly knowledgable about all the aspects--from prospecting
in Death Valley to being chief engineer at large mines. About
the only side of mining that he didn't experience was a Wall
Street mineowner. His education also gave him fine writing
skills--this is definitely not an "as told to..." book ghost-
written by someone else.

You'll encounter a plethora of wonderful characters, and a
wealth of old photographs. There are stories about gold,
silver, uranium--all the kinds of elements you can hard-rock
mine for. Crampton was trapped for 10 days when a shaft
collapsed. He shows what can happen when you use a metal
spoon (rather than wood) to tamp down a shot hole. He was
nearby Ludlow and barely missed being part of the massacre,
but had friends killed. Deep Enough is not a social "cri de
coeur" as are "The Banditti of the Plains" about the Johnson
County War in Wyoming or Sinclair's "The Jungle". It's very
honest and heartfelt, and completely up close. Crampton
enjoyed the life, the camps, the people, and the work, and
it shows. If you want an honest view about what mining was
like, this it it.

I live in Arizona and picked this book up in a map store. Once I started reading I couldn't stop. The style of Frank Crampton's writing is so descriptive that you feel you are listening to him tell the stories of his life as a hard rock miner in Arizona. This is not a documentary, but accounts told by the one that lived them. One chapter is so graphically described that I could feel the pain of the miners. This chapter is followed by the funniest of any I have read. I have used this book as a guide book of the mines and ghost towns of this area and have found many of them. I've given this book as a gift to many people and highly recommend it for anyone interested in the old west and mining.

Frank Crampton didn't have to become a tramp miner, he chose too. Born well conneced, he gave it all up to discover what it is like to become a working stiff in the western mines. His discriptive writings of the every day workings under ground are so real one can smell the powder after a blast. His experience while being traped under ground in the Bingham Canyon Mine, and being cold boiled,made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. The loyalty of his fellow miners to rescue his crew,espically his two old friends who traveled hundreds of miles to help get Frank out can only be understood by a miner of that era. Frank Crampton's drive for self improvement is in it's self a blueprint for any young person to succeed the hard knocks of life. The Frank Crampton's built this country, what a wonderful gift he left us.

I bought this book for a class, and although we were only required to read sections of the book I ended up reading the entire thing, including the extra two essays (Immortality of the Soul & Suicide). The entire thing was extremely well-written and thought-provoking, even to a novice philosopher such as myself.

This isn't a book you can fly through. Hume requires the reader to slow down and really think about what is being said. The main section of the book (Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion) involves four characters, three discussing theories, and one student (technically the narrator) listening and occasionally commenting. By using this dialogue technique, Hume is able to present several sides of each argument in a unique way, and not simply expound his own theories. The method is most effective.

I won't go into depth of what this book discusses, the theory of design, arguments about God's nature and being, the argument from the existence of evil, and whether a posteriori or a priori arguments are best suited for proving God's existence. Overall this book is interesting and exciting, even for a 200 year old publication. Even if you're interested in modern philosophy, this book still offers some interesting theories. And obviously if you're interested in philosophy at all, it's a good book to check out for some history on the subject.

The introduction offers a good deal of information about the essays included in the book as well as Hume himself.

While being a theist I do not accept Hume's conclusions, he is no doubt the finest philosophical skeptic in the West since the time of Sextus Empiricus.

Hume, the philosopher who woke Kant from his 'dogmatic slumbers', takes a very empirical approach to reality and philosophy. In Hume's mind, the pretensions of the human mind to certain truth and knowledge do not accord with the way things are. Many things are believed on insufficient evidence or sloppy thinking or for reasons of emotional need rather than on evidence and reason. The task he set himself was in many ways like that of Descartes, except unlike Descartes Hume did not believe that either the methods of science or God (Hume was an atheist) could give us grounds for certain knowledge.

The dialogues on Natural Religion are one of his supreme masterpieces. Published after his death, this dialogue features a conversation between two philosophers about the nature and existence of God and the proofs for his existence. One philosopher is a skeptic, Philo, and the other is a theist, Carneades. Demea the Deist provides a third interlocutor in the dialogue. Carneades states several popular arguments for God's existence in Hume's time, including the teleological argument, moral argument, and argument from design. Philo responds to this arguments, mostly using the argument from evil as well as appeals to the rule of regular law in nature, to refute ideas about miracles, providence, and evidential design from a supreme 'architect.' Hume states the counter-arguments in extremely powerful terms, essentially completely demolishing the position of Carnedes and concluding that at best, only a very weak inference can be made for God's existence from the structure of the world.

Hume's arguments have been recently re-stated by several atheist philosophers, including J.L. Mackie and Daniel Dennett. For Mackie, Hume was right in arguing theism is philosophical nonsense, and for Dennett, God is a redundant hypothesis when the order and beauty of the universe is readily and clearly explained by science, and at best a kind of Spinoza-style pantheism is where the sacred can enter into the cosmos. While I disagree, the adoption of Hume's arguments by many leading philosophers shows both the power, beauty and logical coherence of Hume's position, which should be read carefully by any philosopher who wants to offer a rational proof that God exists.

For me it is not the order but the beauty of the universe which suggests God exists, but perhaps for others this beauty is marred too much by suffering and evil to come to such a conclusion, and Hume would surely agree.

David Hume, a philosopher of the period often classified as British Empiricism, is the intellectual associate of philosophers John Locke and George Berkeley. Born in Edinburgh in 1711, he attended the University of Edinburgh but did not graduate. He went to France during his 20s, and spent time there working on what would become his most famous work, 'An Enquiry into Human Understanding', first published under the title 'Treatise of Human Nature'. However, Hume was a prolific writer, and dealt with many areas of philosophy, including politics and ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics. He wrote in the area of history as well, and had a politic career as British ambassador to France and a post as a minister in the government for a few years. His final work, 'Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion', was published posthumously in 1779, although work had begun on it as early as the 1750s.

Hume was very concerned about rationality. Hume was never publicly and explicitly an atheist, but his rational mind, concerned about sensory and intelligible evidence, led him to question and doubt most major systems of religion, including the more general philosophical sense of religion and proofs of the existence of God. The primary arguments in his 'Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion' deal with the Argument from Design, and the Cosmological Argument. There is an assumed distinction here between natural religion and revealed religion, an especially important distinction in the Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment philosophical structure.


- Natural Religion and Revealed Religion -

Natural religion is the idea that we come to know and understand God (and, consequently, what God wants or expects of us, if anything) simply from nature and our sensory perceptions, as well as our interpretations (emotion and rational) of this kind of understanding. From very early in his writing career, Hume attacked the idea of natural religion and most of its conclusions, drawing a sharp line between what we can actually know and what ends up being fanciful extrapolations based on other-than-rational ideas and evidence. Revealed religion is primary what most religions base themselves upon - the burning bush to Moses, the resurrection and post-resurrection appearances to the Apostles, the Buddha's enlightenment under the tree - these are examples of revelation. While Hume does take on the idea of revealed religion in his other works, this particular text does not concern itself with that topic, and stays in the domain of addressing natural religion.


- The Argument from Design -

Arguments from Design have always had a strong appeal to believers within religious frameworks; they have often been used as tools of evangelism, as attempts to show that beyond the revealed doctrines, the very nature of things points to a creator. In very short order, the Argument from Design in Hume's newly-industrial time might have read like this:

- Machines are designed by beings with intelligence.
- The world and the universe it is in resembles a machine.
- Therefore, the world must have been created by means of intelligent design.

This is an argument by analogy, and is convincing to some, but often more convincing to those already inclined to believe in the existence of God.


- The Cosmological Argument -

The Cosmological Argument is at once both more subtle and more simple. The most simple way of stating it would be that God is the 'first cause' of everything. If everything has to have a cause (even the whole universe), then that first cause must be God. In the twentieth century era of thinking of a universe that began with a Big Bang, it seemed to some that the Cosmological Argument was confirmed.

Hume would have been familiar with Leibniz's more subtle form of the Cosmological Argument, which argues for a world of infinite contingent causes. However, there has to be something outside of this system of infinite causes that produced the series - thus, even in a universe with no set beginning or ending, there would still need to be an overarching cause.


- Hume's Arguments -

Hume argues on many levels. His first criticism of the Argument from Design is that this analogy (as are most arguments from analogy) is faulty and not exact; we have no idea if the universe is like a machine. Even if it was, machines are often designed and built by several designers - why argue for one God rather than several? How do we know that matter and the universe don't have their own, internal self-organising principles?

With regard to the Cosmological Argument, the argument is a little more strained. Hume argues that, in any series of causality, once one knows about each cause, it makes no sense to inquire beyond the sequence of causes to some other effect. This is a very Empirical argument, to be sure, and while perhaps not entirely satisfying, it still has merit in philosophy to this day.


- Hume's Structure -

This is a dialogue, set up in the classical way of people talking with each other about the subjects. Hume draws primarily from Cicero, whose work 'On the Nature of the Gods' uses characters of the same names. However, whereas Cicero was concerned about the nature of the Gods (their attributes, powers, etc.) and not their existence, it is the very existence of God that occupies Hume's thoughts.

Hume, despite many years of work on this text, probably never quite thought it was finished. He left the work to Adam Smith (the noted economist, and friend of Hume in Edinburgh), who also thought the arguments against the existence of God were too strong, and likely too damaging to Hume's overall reputation. The tug-of-war over the publication makes for interesting reading in and of itself.

These are important arguments, worthy of discussion and dialogue in philosophy classes, theology classes, and among others who ponder the existence of God.

This nearly pamphlet sized book is pretty dense with things to ponder. Hume speaks mostly about how a deity would function as the head of the world. The reviewer is not intent on being cute here. Hume addresses many notions about "God" through a series of dialogues amongst three intellectuals. They are intent on convincing each other of their individual views. Essentially those three have to come to terms with the anthropomorphism associated with the God of Christian belief system. It really is more complicated than that but this is a short review.

In addition to the Dialogues are a short essays on the Immortality of the Soul and the rationality of Suicide. Finally there is a discussion of Miracles. The latter three are well placed with the Dialogues as they address the philosophy of religion in much the same manner but come from Hume rather than the fictional characters of the Dialogue.

This book as short as it is, requires a considerable amount of time to consume. Not only are the concepts that Hume presents detailed and valuable, but the language is particularly arcane and often requires re-reading in order to understand where Hume is going.

The two excellent reviews of this book , one by Kurt Messick and the other by CT Dreyer outline the background to, and the principal content of the work. Hume takes apart the argument from Design as proof of God's Existence, raising objections to the analogy between Machine- design and world- design. I do not believe however that Hume in the work really considers two other major arguments for belief in God. One argument might be called the existensial - personal decision argument , in which the individual out of his own need and will decides for belief in God. This decision can be a rational calculation as Pascal suggests that we should make in order to give our own immortality a chance, or it can be a profound deeply moving conviction something that grows out of our own deepest being and need. Another path to belief in God is through the kinds of mystical experience that thousands of human beings from all cultures have had. William James collects some of these testimonies in 'The Variety of Religious Experience'. Another path is through the path of accepting the Tradition given us by our ancestors.
Now it might be said that these alternative paths to belief in God do not deal with the kind of ' proofs ' Hume is talking about. Hume is really talking about the ' rational way' to God through mind and reason. But I believe that every reader should have these other ways to God in mind , if only not to be devastingly shattered by Hume 's demolition job of the Design Argument.
It is well to remember that there are other ways to God aside from the ones spoken of and questioned here.
I write this as a believer in God who also believes that a very great share of Mankind needs God, needs the belief in God to make their own lives ultimately meaningful. And this when I would also keep in mind the following idea. If the Proof of God were certain and absolute , then there would be no test/ trial / challenge for humanity in its belief in God.
And here I add the idea central in the Jewish tradition, and probably important in others, that God wants our decision for God, our free choice of God, and not a slavish obedience even to an airtight logical principle.