C Books

this book may or may not be true, but if it is not then it's probably based on one or more true stories. it is told from the first person, and is very exciting. it does jump around some, leaving wide gaps of time. it is the story of an SS commander as the german army surrenders, and after. it also details the mens handeling of communist terrorists, and the battles they engaged in. there is lots of action and an intersting echo of todays events. this is a book i highly recomend. particularly for VETs of the current war on terror.

I loved this book. I don't believe as a christian that this is necessarily the right approach to win a war, but it is indisputable that you can win a war using Hans Josef Wagenmuellers methods.

This is a great story for all of the reasons mentioned in the other reviews, but the writing is really second rate. The use of exclamation points is childish in many instances.

Well worth your time if you can get your hands on one.

I enjoyed The Five Fingers by Gayle Rivers more than Devil's Guard.

It is another may or may not be true war story set in Southeast Asia.

To a soldier conflict and combat are the mainstay of his vocation and profession after a certain point the victor and vanquished become little more than facts to be minded by the history keepers (usually the victors) and refered too by the participants in abbreviated rhetoric and broken dialogs. The author has done the reader a great service in the delivery of this redition of the activities and experiences of soldiers as they traverse the perilious and unforgiving realm of those involved in the arena. The fact that this material is non fiction affords the reader the added benefit of being a glimpse of history rearely exposed from a participants perspective.

This book purports to be a barely edited transcription of "18 days" of continuous tape-recorded narrative by Elford (a zoologist working somewhere in Southeast Asia) of a former Waffen-SS non-commissioned officer, encountered by the "editor" in a local bar. Unfortunately, the "Devil's Guard" is just a bad novel. There are too many historical anachronisms for this tale to even vaguely approximate a factual recounting. For example, the author refers to a French encampent at Dien Bien Phu, which places at least half of the action on or after March, 1954. As the defeat was not mentioned, it was before May, 1954 and as there was no reference to the battle, it's got to be before November, 1954. Within a page or so (in the Hailer Publishing edition, anyhow), our protagonist mentions working with a British military man who "fought in the Malayan Emergency for 3 years": the Emergency was declared in 1948 and ended in 1960. In order for there to be an encampment at Dien Bien Phu and for the British soldier to have fought for 3 years, the action had to have taken place in a very short time span in early 1954. This seems to contradict the chronology, as the narrator and his pals were former SS who left Europe in 1945 and joined the FFL around 1946. There was absolutely nothing in the story to suggest they were fighting for over 7 years at the time these references were made. Additionally, noted authorities on the French Foreign Legion, such as Bernard Fall, do not describe a unit comprised of German nationals, exclusively, much less one that was all former SS. Finally, none of the massacres nor any of the French FFL officers named appear to have existed. Aside from these major flaws, the approach to "counter-terrorism" espoused by Wagemueller, the putative principal of this yarn, was just that used to such worthless effect in the USSR. By thoroughly alienating the civilian population, the Wehrmacht was left without "native" allies and without indigenous support. A much more effective approach was outlined by David Galula in his seminal work, "Counterisurgency Warfare". If you are looking for a comic book or cartoonish tale, this might be for you. If an historical account is your object, look elsewhere.

This book is the perfect example of a good "Computer" book: It teaches what it needs to teach in a way you understand.
It covers all the important stuf like BSTRs, Smart Pointers, DCOM, TLBs, IDLs and other buzz-like acronyms.
I used it as an only reference for learning COM and I was doing complex COM projects within weeks. Andrew Troelsen is 'the man'!

Best regards,

I NEVER write reviews; however Mr. Troelsen for this effort has earned it. He has written by far one of the best written tech books on C programming I've ever read, and for COM/ATL this book makes writing interfaces for VB both understandable and accessible. Coverage and background is sufficient, and equally important for those who don't do this every day for a living, the depth in setting up projects in Visual Studio is also there so one unfamiliar with technical setup issues involved in setting up an ATL COM project are enabled to create their own. All I can say is well done, please keep up the good work, very much appreciated. Looking forward to your next releases.

Sincerely,
Dr. Mathew G. Pelletier, Research Engineer

Describe low level COM and then ATL internals and interfaces which can let reader easily understand such complex mechanism. Though the book is a little bit old, it can still be served as a good reference.

Apart from the fact that so many customers gave 5 stars to this book, there's another indicator of its value: it looks like nobody wants to resell it after they are done reading it. I, for one, intend to keep it for reference...

I've been programming in C# for a few years, and now I needed to learn COM. This book was the best tech manual I've ever read.

My recommendation is: if you need to learn COM, do not waste your money on any other book until you've read this one.

My current project at work required me to learn COM. I purchased several books to assist in the learning, and I must say that this book is absolutely indispensible, both as an instructional medium and as a reference. I highly recommend this book to anyone needing to learn about COM.

What's inside? It starts with a basic intro to COM, useful (dare I say it) for managers as well as the developer to get the big picture. Then it goes into a discussion of ATL and design patterns. This second section is incredibly important since ATL is for COM as STL is for C++. It finishes off with some of the more advanced areas of study in COM. Only a few advanced topics are not covered (custom marshalling for one), but considering it starts from an assumed ignorance of COM, it does reach a good level of detail.

Who am I? I studied computer science in University. However, I had never previously developped on Windows. I am primarily a C++ programmer, with some experience with Java. Knowledge of C++ (I would say more than just a familiarity) should be a prereq. to reading, but that's about it. It introduces most OO topics you need in the first chapters that most experienced developers can probably skip.

Lynn C. Lewis has entered new territory with Dissonance. Although it's classified as a mystery/thriller/suspense here in this contest, I would've thought otherwise if I hadn't read the synopsis and Publisher's Weekly review. Or glanced at the black and yellow box on the top left of her Amazon page!

Most genre fiction is plot driven, and what distinguishes literary fiction is that it's motivated by character(s). Ms. Lewis has accomplished both a plot- and character-driven masterpiece in only 5,000 words. As Randi Craig noted in her review, you can't help falling in love when you read that the main character, Dee Wrightsman, is "pissed off and also pissed." I know I'm not in the minority when I say that I'd take a dirty deed and a memorable one-liner from a charming character over an elaborate description of a beautiful landscape any day when choosing whether or not to continue reading a novel.

What also distinguishes literary fiction is its "Cliff's Notes" potential. Will it be a work that young and old students of literature alike can dismantle, analyze to pieces, and talk till the death in classrooms and creative writing workshops? And yet again, Ms. Lewis accomplishes this in her title alone, Dissonance, which actually refers to "cognitive dissonance." Dee Wrightsman explains it as "More the wish to believe you made the right choice, no matter what. So even if the choice you make isn't the right one, you convince yourself that it was. This generates certain effects when the next choice situation comes up. We don't tolerate dissonance well, so our choices become constricted."

Yet, Ms. Lewis keeps reminding us it's a murder mystery. Her character cleverly engages in a conversation with her colleagues about dissonance and has the gall to give them an example of a murderer planning "her" crime.

Then, when she finds Mr. Guinness's body, here is what she says:

"The back of his head was a mess of blood and brain matter. I grabbed hostess towels from the porcelain towel rack, dropped to my knees, and pressed them against the matted hair. They soaked through slowly, as if the blood had already all run out. His body did not move. Not a breath in him. I couldn't think what should come next and looked up to see Clifford Bacon, Jennings Pick, and a slew of other faculty staring in at me in horror. Bacon's eyes widened and when I turned my head I saw what I had missed at first. Sitting on the toilet tank was a small bottle of apricot brandy."

She manages to avoid overdoing the scene here, describing the back of his head as a "mess of blood and brain matter," and she cleverly ends it with a bottle of her favorite brandy sticking out like a sore thumb at the scene of the crime.

It's as if Ms. Lewis purposely created a new genre for everyone to eat up. She interweaves literary fiction and mystery/thriller elements with ease, making her readers actually care about the character, yet still being able to take them on the ride of their lives, hopefully closer to the conclusion of whodunit.

I was sorry to see this entry not among the top 100, but I am most certain it will be on many best-seller lists before you can say "I'm pissed off and also pissed." Thank you, Ms. Lewis, for having the courage to break new ground in the tough-as-nails world of writing. Success is just around the corner. My best to you.

I found this short to be compelling. The author throws us quickly into the quirky situation that has befallen our immediately likeable heroine and takes us on a fun (at least for awhile) journey. Then when she has provided much entertainment in the plight through which Dee Wrightsman leads us, she confronts us with a very dire situation - a situation that brings us to wonder about our heroine's unpredictable behavior. The first line gives us a clue to Dee's unusual mental processes. "Even for a social psychologist like me, predicting behavior is elusive.

For isn't "predicting behavior" what the "game" is all about for readers of this genre? Can anything complete the circle in Dee Wrightsman's own life and afford her some harmony?

The last part of this excerpt is set up wonderfully as we feel the tension as Dee enters the party. We wonder if we would have had the wherewithal to attend after the incidents of the previous night and how we would handle it. Also at the party-"It was Mags Grossenheimer, Sociology." Nice touch in describing how a person can be thought of by their discipline to the extent it almost becomes part of their name.

Another funny turn - the police chief who carries Jamaican Blue coffee in his work thermos.

I await the next chapter.

Dissonance promises many wonderfully witty insights into faculty life and politics in a liberal arts college (and I'm one who's been there). I don't read many mysteries but I found the blend of satire and murder mystery very compelling, reminding me of some of the classic British authors that blend social satire with their mystery plots. The character profiles leave the reader wondering and hoping for character development as the plot unfolds, and the dialogue and descriptions are very well crafted. On top of everything else this opening excerpt delivers, we get hints that we're in for some lessons in human psychology and why we tend to "wish to believe [we] made the right choice, no matter what." In short, there's something for everyone in this, and I'm sure a publisher will snap it up!

Dissonance by L.C. Lewis opens on Dee Wrightsman's worse month ever. After being denied tenure as an associate professor of Psychology at Southbury College, she lands up a couple weeks later on the lawn of committee lead, Karabelle Poker. She's drunk and spreading horse manure around.

This early portion of the excerpt does a lovely job of engaging the reader with the character. Though Dee is an intelligent and academic woman, she' prone to moody retaliation for perceived wrongdoings. Rather than paint Dee as plain old psycho, the author does a wonderful job of maintaining levity in the tone of the story as it moves forward.

Next we move on to the President's (Quincy Guinness) Summer Solstice Lawn Party (though a few lines later mentions a beautiful Vermont Spring evening). Despite Dee's hesitation to go, she lands up with a trusty bottle of peach brandy in her pocket. As Dee mingles, the reader meets other committee members and faculty with an array of colorful and fun names, though the characters aren't cartoonish.

I truly felt for Dee as she made strides to keep her chin up throughout the embarrassment of having to stick around. Then, as if things couldn't get any worse, President Guinness is found dead. A number of eyes turn to her.

This is a clever bit of foundation work for the overall mystery. Not only is the story appealing, but I actually care about the lead character. This latter element I find missing a fair bit in mystery stories. Overall, I'd love to read this book through and see how Dee's situation plays out.

"Dissonance" is a murder mystery with a sharp eye for the humor in human behavior. Dee Wrightsman is a social psychologist at Vermont's Southbury College. After being denied tenure, she got drunk and dumped manure on the lawn of the person she felt was responsible for that decision. The President's Solstice Lawn Party is an opportunity for Dee to rehabilitate her reputation -or not, so she attends, peach brandy in pocket. As she mingles, some colleagues imply a hidden motive in the tenure decision, then a murder victim is discovered, and Dee looks like a suspect.

Dee narrates her story with upbeat sarcasm toward her fellow academics. She drinks too much. She bears a grudge. She's an imperfect character with a sense of humor about her own foibles and those of the people around her. Her field of study is "dissonance", the desire people have to believe they have made the right choice, no matter what they must do to convince themselves. This might make Dee the perfect candidate to investigate a murder.

Dee's humor and directness endeared her to me. Real emotions that are implicit as much as explicit in her narration give Dee dimension beyond her quips and idiosyncrasies, as her state of mind turns from anger and annoyance to grief and fear in the course of these first pages. Skillful, polished prose moves the story along at a pleasant pace and grounds "Dissonance" firmly in the character of Dee. I expect she will have some funny things to say on the serious subject of murder -and the less serious subject of academic infighting.

I really liked this book. It has the perfect mix of romance, danger and humor. I'm looking forward to reading part II.

To say that I am impressed by this author's initial published work is understating the case quite seriously. I bought the novel when it was released, and the sequel the next month. Unlike at least one other reviewer, I did not find this first volume to read as unfinished; rather, it dovetails nicely into the second novel.

It is, however, rather important to remember that Lord of the Fading Lands and Lady of Light and Shadow are, in reality, one larger work (along with, perhaps, the third of her books?). This impresses me even more, as it is very rare indeed for a new author to even be considered, and that seems especially true when their work is (as Cheryl herself noted on her website (If I recall)) a whopping 1000-page tome!

As for what I would have wanted to know prior to purchase? That was answered by the back-copy, surprisingly. I am an avid reader, but this set surprised me. Ordering new copies of the first two books today, as the originally-purchased ones are getting more than a tad worn!

Readers looking for fantasy will probably like this. I was surprised and delighted a number of times with the author's creative ideas. One wonderful scene is listed under Caution Spoiler below. Ellie is adopted and does not know her genetic heritage. A powerful dark mage is hunting for her. The Fey King Rain learns that she is his truemate. Ellie and Rain will marry when a three week preparation period is over. By the end of the book, the dark mage is still planning to do evil with her, and Ellie is not yet married to Rain. The story is unfinished. There are many questions unanswered, and the reader must purchase the sequel. I did not read the sequel so I don't know if multiple sequels are needed or not.

I was very entertained with Den's role in the book. Den is the local bully who hurt Ellie over the years, but tries to trick her into marriage. The things he does before and after Rain arrives make excellent story-telling.

I personally do not care for straight fantasy stories, so my rating is probably lower than normal for a fantasy fan. I bought this book mistakenly thinking it was fantasy and romance. So, if one is looking for romance, do not get this book.

As far as writing goes, I had a couple of problems. The pace of the story was a little too slow for me. It took too long for events to move along. Some scenes were a little redundant, for example: the author repeating the reasons for Rain's pain and suffering over 1000 years and why he hates the mages.

This is the first time I found myself wishing the author did more telling and less showing. An example is on pages 338 to 357. Ellie and Rain attend a dinner held by the king. The author spends nearly 20 pages showing their arrival at the castle and the detailed conversations Ellie and Rain have with the other guests. A few of the guests offer potential marriage proposals for Ellie's unwed 9-year old sisters. These detailed conversations were not interesting, and they could have been shortened or summarized. After 20 pages of cocktail party small talk, the guests sit down for dinner where more interesting and critical plot events happen.

CAUTION SPOILER:
One scene which I loved and found myself chuckling over several times after reading the book is on page 129. Most of the following is a quote with only a few edits for brevity. Ellie touched Rain for the first time on the back of his hand. Rain drew in his breath at the sudden rush of feelings that sprang from the simple feel of her skin meeting his. The strength of his connection to her went so far beyond what he had felt for Sariel (his deceased wife), he could hardly fathom it. If any dared to harm her, he would shred them without mercy and dance as he drank their blood. Ellie misunderstood the fierce look on his face, because she snatched her hand back and apologized for touching him. "Nei, do not apologize." Rain could barely restrain himself from reaching for that hand and putting it back on his skin. His fingers itched to do so, and he clenched them into fists. He craved her touch, ached for it as only a Fey warrior could. But admitting to his need was the same as admitting a weakness, something a Fey rarely did willingly. "I was merely surprised. You may touch me if you like." But she didn't lay that sweet hand upon him again. He cursed his own unguarded reaction that had cost him such a small but much-desired pleasure and wondered how he might contrive to get it back. He bent his head to her, his gaze intent as he willed her to touch him again. To his disgruntlement, she did not. Rain's friend is laughing at him and sending him silent mind-to-mind communications saying "If you could see yourself, Rain. Pouting like a tzicaida whose lunch just got away. You could always just command her to put her hand back on you." Rain scowled. To issue such a command would be to admit he could not win his desire any other way. It would be the same as admitting defeat, another thing no Fey warrior would ever willingly do. Nei, he was tairen enough to be crafty, to lure his (Ellie) into giving willingly that which he desired without revealing to her how badly he desired it.

Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: two. Setting: unknown time on a planet with two moons. Copyright: 2007. Genre: fantasy.

This series is FANTASIC! I highly recommend it. Very compelling, you won't want to put it down.

Do you remember when you were a child, that you would just know when something magical and wonderful was about to happen? Perhaps it was your mother reading a story that started "Once in a land far away there lived"......., or going to the movies and hearing "Once Upon a time in a land far away"........?

All of these memories and feelings came rushing back as I started reading Lord of the Fading Lands; all of the joy, the hope, the expectation of a momentous story that would become a lasting memory, an old friend to visit, and re-visit frequently. I realized that I had found a treasure, and with my hopes high, I read straight through the night, abandoning dinner preparation, hubby left on his own, and sleep was nothing to even think about until this fabulous story was finished.

Rainer, Tairen Soul, King of the Fey, knew that his people were dying, as were the Tairen, the dragons of the Fading Mists. Daring death, Rain Tairen Soul grasps the Eye of Truth, seeking help to stop the extinction of the Tairen, and the Fey. In the midst of great pain, the Eye shows Rain a glimpse of a woman's face, then fire raining down over the world, and that he must travel to Celieria, a foreign land, to save the Fey and the Tairen.

In Celieria, a young woman, Ellysetta, promises to take her younger sisters to see the procession of the Fey as they enter the city, and to see Rainer,the first visit of the King of the Fey in over a thousand years. While traveling, nearing Celieria, Rain has a soul reach out to his, crying out in fear and pain. Rain is shocked. A woman has called to him, and it seems that she is his "True Mate". Transforming instantly into Tairen form, Rain takes to the air to protect his mate. The call is abruptly cut off, and Rain is left circling Celieria looking over the city for any contact with the soul that had called him.

Elly takes her sisters to watch the entrance of the Fey to the city, and to see the king circling over his warriors in Tairen form as he warns the people not to get to close to the marching Fey. Ellysetta's youngest sister falls, injuring herself. As Elly kisses the pain away from the injury, the circling King, in Tairen form, starts pouring fire into the sky, frightening the citizens, and causing Elly to fall, and be injured. Dropping out of the sky, landing at Elly's feet, Elly expects instant death at the hands of the Fey King. But Rainer has found his true mate; now to convince this shy, humble young woman that she is his mate, the other half of his soul, and that she will become the queen of the Fey. Needless to say, complications are inherent as Elly's family tries to deal with the life altering changes that is brought into their lives by the King of the Fey.

Rainer begins his courtship of Ellysetta, hoping to woo her affections while trying to build alliances with the Celierans. Rain knows that the evil power in the north is rising again. The Fey need the support of the Celierans to overcome this evil, as they had once, a thousand years ago, defeated the very same dark Mages of the north that are rising again to destroy the Fey, and the Celierans.

Ellysetta and Rainer's courtship, with the adventures of a thousand year old immortal wooing a young maiden, plus dealing with the dissention in the Celierian Court that is full of doubters, brings many changes to Elly and Rainer's lives. Their romance is beautiful, and poignant. The fey are heroic, and Ellysetta's growth is wonderfully detailed.

I highly recommend this novel. I am so thankful that I picked up this book on a whim. Please become a part of this adventure. There are 2 books out, with 2 more coming within the next few months. I can hardly wait!

This book has been super helpful in preparing my husband for boot camp- physically and mentally. The only problem is that we've learned that after the publishing of this book a lot changed in army boot camp. At first my husband was interested in joining the national guard, but in order to go to a boot camp like what is described in this book, he has to choose a different branch of military.

My son will go to marine boot camp in July. I read this first and it was a great help for me to understand what will happen and what he needs to do before he goes. I highly recommend this not only for our "new" military but for their parents as well.

Get this book it has a world of knowledge in it. Are you to call a DS "yes sir or Yes Maam" ? What is a DS hat called? get the book it will HELP you.

This book was packed with info that will benefit anyone interested in going into the militry. My hubby went through boot camp a few years ago and said that all of the info would have made life a little easier then...lol.

This book has helped me in so many ways. I knew nothing about the military before I left for boot camp. Now, I feel I am completely ready. The book has an easy to understand fitness routine and told me what to expect mentally from a drill sergeant, even the other recruits. This book even contains a packing list so I know exactly what to pack for boot camp.
Before I was scared to leave for basic, now I cant wait.

Books,Movies and anything that was created in the 30's seem to be deemed good.I am 70 years old and have been reading SciFi for years.I saw the movie back in the 50's and thought it was great but did not realize it was from a book.After I happend on these glowing reviews I wonderd how I let this one get by me all these years.Lucky for me I found it at the Library so I did not waste my money only my time.I opend this book with great expectation.My expectations were soon dashed after mudeling through around 50 pages of mundane dialoge.I then just started scanning pages looking for something of interest.About half way through there was a little war just before the end of the first book.I am now just starting the second half.After worlds collide.I am hopefull that this second half will have some redeaming features.The Movie I saw in the 50's was much better than this book more action,suspense and drama but when thy landed that was the end of the movie.I do not recomend this book it is not good just old.

This is one of a handful of books I've read twice. Wonderful for introducing a young person to science fiction. I've also read the sequel, which I delightfully discovered in a second-hand store. It is also quite good.

It just doesn't get better than this. I had of course heard about this book all my life but somehow never got around to reading it. The terrific Bison series has reissued it, and so I finally got my chance. There are actually two books here, the second being "After Worlds Collide." Amazing but true: they are equally wonderful, each in its own way.

The first book delivers on its promise to depict the end of the world. That's not so easy to do! Furthermore, I found the underlying science to be surprisingly plausible and even timely, given our new understanding of how asteroids and comets have shaped Earth's history and could do it again. Yes, the characters are all two-dimensional, and of course various social details are dated. But the plot is so compelling that: who cares!

Anyway, the first book leaves you hankering for more, and the second book more than satisfies that hankering. Again there is edge-of-your-seat adventure. But for me the overriding pleasurable impression is of mystery. I won't give away the details, but suffice it to say: they are an excellent surprise, and I wish this had been a trilogy! Nevertheless, the book is actually more true-to-life in that some things remain unanswered and unknown. Really, the mysterious aura of the second book provides a kind of satisfaction in its own right.

Now I've got to find other books by Wylie!

I READ ALOT AND MOST BOOKS ARE ENTERTAINING. SOME BOOKS ARE MORE. THIS BOOK FITS IN THE LATTER. IT KEPT ME UP LATE SEVERAL NIGHTS. MANY CHAPTERS END IN SUSPENSE THEREFORE KEEPING YOU READING. A FEW THINGS I DID NOT LIKE BUT THEY WERE SMALL SO I DID NOT TAKE A STAR AWAY. THE BOOKS ENDS ABRUPTLY,LEAVING YOU FEELING A LITTLE UNSATISFIED. WITH ONLY A FEW PAGES LEFT AND THINGS UNRESOLVED, I KEPT THINKING THAT THERE WAS NO WAY THAT IT COULD END PROPERLY. THE ROMANCE IS A LITTLE IRRITATING. THIS WAS A BOOK THAT KEPT ME THINKING ABOUT IT LONG AFTER FINISHING IT.

I first read this back in the early 80's and because of it, fell in love with science fiction.

The book describes the death of the Earth in horrifying detail. The Noah's Ark theme is classic, where a group of survivors board rockets (arks) in order to escape the destruction of the planet. All in all, the authors give a good story, rich with adventure, emotion and incredible new worlds.

Not perfectly explainable in terms of science, but enjoyable even today.

`An Introduction to the New Testament' by leading NT scholar and writer, Raymond E. Brown may be the best possible introduction to its subject for the lay reader and for pastoral readers. I am relatively sure the book is also used as a text in college level courses on the New Testament, if only for the wealth of bibliography on each aspect of its subject.
I give this glowing praise with some reservations, since I have been bitten before by praising a book on a subject on which I have not read many different works; however, by now I have read numerous books on both New and Old Testament subjects, on both introductory and `scholarly' levels, and this experience assures me that this is a superior book for its audience.
As you read this volume, you may be surprised to discover that the author is a Catholic, since there is not one wit of `bias' which would diminish the work for our Protestant kin. Rather, the author brings in notions from Catholic practice for which the Protestant, even the deeply scripture - imbued Lutheran tradition, has no easy concept. My favorite is the notion expressed by the Latin (of course) phrase sensus plenior, or `fuller sense' of a reading of scripture. This is totally consistent with Herr Luther's dictum that a scriptural reading has but one meaning. It just means that one wants to find the broadest sense of the text, taking all things into account.
Another of the author's positions which warm's my heart (and assures me the author is intellectually sound) is his opinion that the politically correct terms for what we all commonly call the `Old Testament' are no more accurate than this ancient term which some feel is disrespectful to our Jewish cousins. All common alternatives such as `Hebrew' scriptures are actually less accurate than the adjective which says these came before the Christian scriptures.
The greatest service I can do for you, kind reader, is to point out that the proper audience for this book may be much wider than the title may suggest. I would offer it as a NT complement to James Kugel's `How to Read the Bible', which deals only with the Old Testament (as Professor Kugel is a Hebrew scholar). It is also an excellent replacement for such heavy tomes as `The Oxford Bible Commentary', which I have never found exceptionally helpful in getting into an unfamiliar book of the Bible.
A dramatic illustration of how good this book is compared to some other works is to compare it to the recent Lutheran introduction, `Opening the Book of Faith' on four ways to read the Bible. Brown gives ten (10) different ways the Bible has been studied, and that doesn't even include the Lutheran text's `lectio divina' and `theological' readings. The former is a classic devotional reading and the latter is the approach promoted by Lutheran theologians.
If I have any reservations at all about the book for serious students, it is the fact that it was published twelve years ago, and probably written up to two years before that, which means the bibliography may already be slightly dated. However, I still found the bibliography exceptionally good, even with its limiting itself to works in English, proper for a book written for the lay reader or beginning student.
I was tickled to find, at the very end, a bit of a polemic against the works of the Jesus Seminar in an overview of works on the historical Jesus. He shares the dim opinion of this enterprise held by Catholic colleague Luke Timothy Johnson. This is the only place in the book where Brown strays one iota from an even handed approach to Biblical scholarship.
If you are first starting out in serious Bible reading, this book is a Godsend!

Raymond Brown sure knows how to write an introduction. Though I am not exactly sure how long the New Testament is, surely it is dwarfed by the 800+ pages of Brown's commentary. He does an excellent job covering the books as well as discussing various approached to studying the New Testament. I used this for background while studying Mark. Thus, this work is approporate for specific research or a general understanding of the New Testament. Though it is not quick reading, if you have your bible handy it the learning process is better. Unlike many theologians, he does a good job of sticking to mostly understandable vocabulary. I would say this could be of use for all beginning and intermediate-level bible students as well as those extremely familiar with the doctrines surrounding the New Testament. High praise for Brown in attempting such a collasal task!

This is a great book. Ray Brown is a scholar who has the ability to write so clearly that he is able to pull together years of study and scholarship and bring beginners, students and Scripture readers up to speed on the latest in Biblical understand. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more about the Bible and how to read it and understand it.

As others have stated, this if you only buy one book for a study on the nuts and bolts of the New Testament, this is it. It is extraordinary in its scope, magnificently researched, and best of all, it's written so well that it does not become tiring or try to impress you with huge complicated words or phrases. This is an outstanding volume for the common man and the advanced student as well. Thank you Raymond Brown for leaving us with this marvelous tool to understanding the times and structure of the New Testament - this book will serve as a legacy and the benchmark by which all others will be compared for ages to come.

I am a somewhat new Christian and have really felt a connection with God since becoming faithful. However, I became wary of Church dogma and completely literal, simplified views of info in the Bible. I knew it had to be deeper than that. I had a hunger to learn more about the history of the New Testament and it's books, letters, etc. to help me better understand it. This book was extremely helpful and easy to understand; but I can see how it would be good for people who already know about Biblical critisism. It has deepened my faith more reading this book which actually has a centrist point of view for the most part. Highly recommend to all. I had read Raymond E. Brown was the way to go for this information and I'd have to agree.

This was my first Hornblower book after a recommendation from a friend. Could not put this book down especially after the mutiny.
The details of life in the English navy in the 18th century and then in London are richly told with details such as the "press gang" that goes out rounding up sailors for His Majesty's ships, the slim pickings of naval officers during the dreaded peacetime, the caste system of well healed officers playing whist to keep themselves in food and housing.
I found it a fascinating book and it increased my knowledge of naval history.
A spellbinding book from a military and social perspective.

Lieutenant Hornblower occurs second in the series by internal chronology, though it was the seventh-written book. Unlike every other book in the series, this one is related from the point of view of Lieutenant William Bush. This alternate point of view allows Hornblower to be presented as a legitimately heroic figure, though it does deprive the reader of the internal thought process of the series' protagonist. The text provides solid background on Hornblower's early career as a lieutenant. Written as a novel, it paces well and has an authentic texture. Indeed, the small-scale combat action is so gripping that in many ways the book eclipses volumes in the series which deal with Hornblower's later career.

Plot Summary (with spoilers):
The novel takes place from May 1800 to March 1803 aboard a cruise of HMS Renown, a 74-gun frigate. The ship's captain, Sawyer, is dangerously paranoid and believes the lieutenants and warrant officers are plotting mutiny against him. To circumvent their putative desire, Sawyer panders to the crew, encouraging them to be lazy and insolent, and issues additional rations of grog. The situation becomes untenable as Renown reaches its cruising grounds near Haiti. Even so, nobody will take the decision action of attempting to remove Sawyer from command.

Fortunately, Sawyer falls down a hatchway and receives a serious injury. There is intrigue surrounding his fall, but no actual witnesses to the accident. Upon Sawyer's physical recovery it is evident his mind is gone--he sobs hysterically and cringes away from everyone. Buckland, the senior lieutenant, takes ostensible command. The unimaginative Buckland botches the ship's primary mission, but disaster is averted when Hornblower proposes an audacious recovery.

From that point forward, it is Hornblower who guides the ship as he influences Buckland subtly but correctly. Indeed, the theme of Hornblower leading his superior officers is a dominant thread in the narrative. The ship carries out other duties with great success until Hornblower is placed aboard a prize--whereupon Renown is almost seized by prisoners. Hornblower once again comes to the rescue and recaptures the ship. The novel ends with Hornblower losing his job because of the Peace of Amiens. He takes up lodging in a public house, makes a meager living by playing whist, develops his friendship with Bush, and meets the young Marie Mason.

Forester's key book on the times...the made-for-tv series episode parallels this book very closely. And I am very picky when it comes to sea books. Definitely at the same level as the Bolitho series!

This is the sixth Hornblower book I've read, although it's only the second in terms of the chronology of Hornblower's naval career. And I must say, it's one of the better books. CS Forester could be a compelling writer, but some of the Hornblower novels feel a little disjointed. Not this one.

Lieutenant Hornblower is written from the point of view of Lieutenant Bush, whom Hornblower meets in this book. The result is that Hornblower is a more interesting character. It also, unlike some of the other books in the series, primarily covers a single plotline dealing with Hornblower's last mission as a lieutenant, so it hangs together very well. The result is a book that I had trouble putting down until I had read the whole thing. I wholeheartedly recommend this installment of the Hornblower series.

C.S. Forester created a superb naval drama that gave me an inside look at the life of a sailor serving in the Royal Navy on the wooden war ship Renown. With Hornblower, and his companion Bush dealing with their befuddled Captain and fighting off the attacks by the Spanish this book kept me reading page after page. I believe this is one of the best books in the Hornblower series and I would encourage anyone with an eye for historical novels to check this series out.

This book is incredible! full of such great life changing things, it will change the way you think and the way you view the power of your own thoughts! very remarkable

This book is really wonderful. A definite read. The chapters are short, written in big writing and the message and positive living and her own experiences and her learning makes this an amazing book. Living for Christ and worshiopping and her own beliefs sharing them that has helped her in writing this book and sharing with others how to do and live the same ways for a peaceful and joyous life. I love it and plan on reading this book again.

I am repeatedly blown away by this book! It has been so helpful to me personally, and I share it with those I love. I would read certain sections, and literally, my jaw would drop. This book really put all the pieces together for me; it makes complete sense. I am only 21 and feel I am lucky, not only because my mother gave me this book, but also because I have truly understood it at a relatively young age. "Remembering Wholeness" is eye opening and empowering at the same time. One of my favorite chapters is the one titled, "The Universe is Abundant"...definitely one of those jaw-dropping sections!!
A MUST-READ!!! :)

This book has answered so many long held questions with perfect clarity and understanding.

I've been studing the law of attraction for over 6 years and find this book to fill in the spiritual aspects that seemed to be missing from so many other authors and teachers.

Thank you Carol for your wisdom and gifts.

The concepts of choosing to do things to each other here on earth that would cause us to have to forgive is not a concept of God "brokering" these contracts. That seems a little exaggerated. The idea behind the "little spirit" is simply this. When we choose to see our perpetrators as something other than perpetrators it becomes easier to forgive them.

We choose to do things that require forgiveness all the time, sometimes out of ignorance and regretfully on purpose, but on some level, we CHOSE to do it. Do I believe that we make contracts with each other to inflict pain and suffering before we came to earth? No, but it was a given that we would submit to evil, and do things that would require forgiveness and when we can see our offenders as perfect spirits who have been caught in evil, it is so much easier to forgive and let God handle it.

There is darkness and light in every book written by the hand of man. He who seeks for fault will find it, he who seeks for truth will find it as well. No one should claim this book to be scripture, and ANYTHING written by men is "the philosophies of men mingled with scripture" unless otherwise specified as scripture. Look at the light this book brings. I have had multiple personal experiences of transformational healing for myself my family and my clients as a Rapid Eye Technician and Life Coach. The concepts of this book can bring people to Christ. Carol has a gift in making practical sense out of vague concepts. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water, see the fruits, they are there.

If you're into the space program and what happened during this era, then I can't think of one reason why this shouldn't be in your library. It's one of my all-time favorite books.

This book was the basis for the movie Apollo 13. America had become complacent about our space shots by this time, which is something I still do not understand. But that may be because I worked so long at the Kennedy Space Center and always knew and still understand how dangerous each and every launch is. Apollo 13 was to have been the fifth mission to the moon. But two days into the trip, on April 13, 1970, the oxygen tank exploded in the command module, placing the three astronauts in grave danger. Lovell describes those terrifying days as astronauts, contractors, and Mission Controlled struggled to bring Apollo 13 safely back to earth. If you want to read what really happened by someone who was there...this is the book for you.

As someone who has been fascinated with space flight since childhood, and who well remembers the real Apollo 13 from his teenage years, I found this book a fascinating reminder of history. However, this book is about much more than the aborted flight of Apollo 13. It includes historical flashbacks that involved astronaut James Lovell. One chapter describes Lovell's teenage years as he launched homemade rockets. Another summarizes the early years of space exploration in the wake of Sputnik 1. Still another describes the selection of Lovell as an astronaut in late 1962. There is also a chapter on the Apollo 1 fire. Some of Lovell's closest friends perished in that needless tragedy. There is a fine description of the historical flight of Apollo 8, that Christmas lunar orbit in 1968. It included a reading from the Book of Genesis.

Now on to Apollo 13. In preparations for potential in-space emergencies, no one had imagined the simultaneous loss of both main oxygen tanks and all three fuel cells. This left the Odyssey itself with only a few hours of remaining oxygen, water, and electricity. Lovell and Kluge note that mission rules forbid a lunar landing if only one fuel cell becomes inoperable, even if nothing else is wrong. But the "Can the moon landing be saved?" quickly gave way to "Can the astronaut's lives be saved?"

The initial belief was that a meteoroid must have hit the ship. This later was discounted when the blown-open side of the service module became visible shortly after being jettisoned prior to re-entry. Clearly, the explosion must have originated from within the service module itself. Later investigation pointed to a confluence of factors, none decisive in and of themselves, that had combined to precipitate the near-tragedy. To begin with, the wrong-power fuses were being used within the oxygen tanks. When overloaded, they simply melted, allowing the overload of electricity to pass through. During assembly, the oxygen tank had been dropped, damaging an exit tube. During launch-pad exercises, the liquid oxygen was drained past the damaged exit tube by applying extra heat and driving the oxygen out another way. The sensor was not designed to warn of overheating above 80 F. Meanwhile, this procedure had unknowingly raised the temperatures to impossible levels, burning the insulation off much of the wire inside the oxygen tank. The first two times the stirring fan was turned on in space, there was no problem. But the third time, a spark must have flown and ignited the damaged insulation in the pure-oxygen environment, causing the explosion. The explosion itself damaged a tube connected to the second oxygen tank, thus draining it.

The book provides good detail about the dangers and challenges associated with the abort procedure itself. The decision was made not to attempt to fire the service module engine in order to reverse the flight direction in a deep-space abort, if only because the damaged service module might be unable to take the strain of the engine's thrust. The first critical burn of the lunar module's descent engine, done some six hours after the explosion and designed to change the hybrid trajectory back into a free-return trajectory, would have caused the Apollo 13 to crash into the far side of the moon if done incorrectly. Without the burn, however, Apollo 13 would be stuck in a 40,000 by 240,000 mile elliptical orbit around Earth. Thoughts were entertained about jettisoning the useless service module and using the lunar module's descent engine to accelerate the ship considerably--returning it from the vicinity of the moon to Earth in only some 36 hours. But this was not done out of fear that exposure of the command module's heat shield to the temperature extremes of space might damage it.

Everything on the ship had to be powered down--a strategy that worked, just barely. The severe cold aboard the ship, a secondary consequence of the powering down of all nonessential equipment, is described. The astronauts had a frosty breath. Some got urinary infections. They had a hard time getting comfortable enough to sleep.

The astronauts were slowly being poisoned by their own carbon dioxide. This was solved by the jury-rigging of the lithium hydroxide "scrubbers" of the command module to get them to fit into the circulation system of the lunar module. Just before re-entry, there were the challenges of successfully reviving the systems aboard the command module, and jettisoning both the service and lunar modules in a completely unconventional manner.

This well written book is a great time line of what really happened. I also enjoy the movie and this book fills in the gaps that were not covered in the movie. Also gives detailed accounts of nearly everyone involved in this mission.

Jim Lovell's dreams of landing on the moon were literally blown away in April 1970, when an oxygen tank aboard Apollo 13's service module exploded less than a day away from lunar orbit, forcing the crew to limp home under perilous circumstances. More than two decades after surviving that mission, Lovell (with his co-author Jeffrey Kluger) has written an excellent account of that ill-fated moon flight.

LOST MOON is one of the best of the Apollo books I've read, especially one concerning a single mission. This is also one of the best books about the work of mission control, who were the key figures behind the successful return of the crew. It is as complete a description of this mission as we are ever likely to see. The attention to detail is on a very high level, and the amount of transcripted dialogue is plentiful, well presented, and from a myriad of sources. There are a number of slightly testy exchanges between Lovell's crew and mission control, highlighting the tension of the situation in an honest and unapologetic manner. The examination of exactly how the accident happened, as told in the epilogue, is covered exceptionally well.

An aspect of the book that bothered me was the decision to use a third-person narrative throughout (which is defended unconvincingly in the author's notes). I had never before read any autobiographical account in which the central figure is treated in the third person. Basically, I was looking forward to reading Lovell's descriptions of events using his own voice and experience, and that didn't quite happen. To read Lovell -- one of the most engaging personalities of all the early astronauts -- diminished by such an impersonal, veiled perspective was disappointing. It adds nothing to the writing, and ultimately I felt it was a disservice to the book, though a minor one. If the authors had their doubts about mixing third-person and first-person perspectives successfully, they could have taken some cues from Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins, who wrote two books in that style and who is regarded as perhaps the best writer among the former astronauts.

Despite its compromises in narrative style, LOST MOON (or APOLLO 13, depending on the format) is an outstanding biographical account of the failed 1970 moon flight. It is potentially a five-star book if the writing had been appropriately personal when it counted the most.