T Books

I just read this book and thaught it was really cool. I liked the way the two CIA agents had so many obsticals. The author gave me a signed copy which I thank him for. Operation Stagecoach Red was a really neat book mainly because when I read it I couldn't put it down. Every chapter was full of intence action and excitement. It was like you were there with courage and Thao as they went through the jungle with the small team infiltrating the North Vietnamese defenses. I think every one should have a copy of this book! for a 14 year old I thought this book rocked!

I just read the book and I think the book is great! I always loved spys and military things. I also liked the way the men had to sneek into the country and all the opsticals that got in their way. One of my favorite parts was when they got bombed by thir own country's bomber and survived with some wounds. well I don't want to give away too much but for a 14 year old this book is how should i say..... oh I know DA BOMB!!!!
P.S. J.t. Thanks for the autographed copy this is Gary's son.

Finally, a novel written by a guy who lived it. Courage(the main character) is very believable as he takes you along on his mission behind enemy lines and through enemy camps. Historically accurate, interesting, and exciting from cover to cover. If you like Clancy and Coonts, you'll love J.T. Fitzgerald!

This book is amazing! It was so easy to read and understand! There also is a glossary at the end of the book for any hard to understand terms. The author is very good at describing terms that only a certain few would understand. Operation Stagecoach Red undercovers the real truth that the liberal media had covered up about what really went on in Vietnam.

i'm not an avid reader, but when i recieved this book, i couldn't put it down. this book is very well detailed on the area in vietnam. this book was also very easy to read. i would recommend this book to everyone because it has plenty of action and was written by someone who was in vietnam and know the area and what went on there.

...and not in the sense of fantasy. This book is the real deal, a thinking person's da Vinci Code (though the analogy doesn't do "The Parchment" justice). Page turner, engrossing, intelligent, etc., all the usual shibboleths apply. This is simply a terrific piece of work.

A page turner. Following an ancient parchment as it resurfaces in the last days of a present pope, threatening to upset a papal election. The parchment is picked up during the fall of the Jewish temple (62 ce), and we follow it re-emerging through the middle ages, the crusades, and the present Israeli - Palestinean crisis. Great action sequences. Subtle papal intrigue. Romance and adventure. I couldn't put it down.

This book is a true page turner for anyone interested in historical fiction. This story is plausible and believable, and the author is very skillful in the way he skips back and forth in time to tell the tale.

It is also far more enjoyable (and believable) than the De Vinci Code, probably the best-known work to deal with similar subject matter (and in my opinion the most over-rated book in recent memory).

Unlike most other works of this kind, McLaughlin's story works without straining credulity, while still being challenging and interesting. It's simply a shame that this work has not received more exposure.

What is even more stunning is that the Parchment appears to be McLaughlin's first work of fiction (I understand that he is a legal scholar of some note and has previously published academic papers). It's been a couple of years since this book has come out, and I sincerely hope that Mr. McLaughlin is working on another historical fiction novel for us, his fans.

Excellent writing about papal transition, consipracy, political suspense and church history. From the Knights Templar to the current Mideast tensions McLaughlin ties it all together. Because of the recent papal transition, it is a must read and a great deal of fun.

I read this book in just two sittings, it took that strong a hold on me. The author's imagination went far beyond the research he must have done to ground the story historically, so that suspense and excitement prevailed on every page. And the final twist to the mystery is masterful. I would recommend The Parchment to anyone who enjoys a well-told tale that comes out of history but is solidly contemporary, uncannily right out of the news.

There are a lot of books about gifted children, but none as helpful as this one. I use this book as a reference. It can help with everything from dealing with schools to the emotional side of giftedness. The advice is practical and can be used instantly. Anyone who has just learned their child is gifted should start here. It may not be as useful to those who have already read the other literature out there.

The Mom's Choice Awards® honors excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. An esteemed panel of judges includes education, media and other experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors, scientists and others. A sampling of the panel members includes: Dr. Twila C. Liggett, Ten-time Emmy-winner, professor and founder of Reading Rainbow; Julie Aigner-Clark, Creator of Baby Einstein and The Safe Side Project; Jodee Blanco, New York Times Best-Selling Author; LeAnn Thieman, Motivational speaker and coauthor of seven Chicken Soup For The Soul books; Tara Paterson, Certified Parent Coach, and founder of The Just For Mom Foundation(tm) and the Mom's Choice Awards®. Parents and educators look for the Mom's Choice Awards® seal in selecting quality materials and products for children and families. This book has been honored by this distinguished award.

I learned about this book in Beestar online GT program. I had been very nervous before, because I did not know how to raise my gifted child. He is obviously smarter and very different from his peers. A great thing I learned from this guide is about communication - an important factor both in parenting and educating the gifted child. The author's great ideas are good not only for parents communicating with gifted kids, but also for parents communicating with the teachers. I was able to teach my son how to communicate effectively following this guide. It would not have been so successful without this book. Now my son is smarter than ever and more important to me, he is happy and confident... In short, if you have a gifted child, buy and read this book before anything else. It is truly a wonderful guide.

This book has been great at calming my fears as the parent of a gifted child. It talks about expectations for your child as well as how to handle certain challenging situations both at home and at school. Definite must have.

This is by far the most comprehensive book about gifted children that I have seen. It covers a broad range of topics, yet still manages to be quite detailed and "meaty". An entire 19 page chapter is devoted to the characteristics of gifted children. In addition to the usual checklist, the chapter also looks at Dabrowski's overexcitabilities, the gifted child's sense of humor, imagination, etc. The authors embrace an open and flexible definition of giftedness, and offer alternatives to the "one test" model of selection.

A Parent's Guide to Gifted Children is a guidebook brimming full of practical suggestions on how to raise a gifted child. If you buy just one book on gifted children, this should be it. I recommend it to both veteran "gifted parents" and those with young children who are just starting to explore the world of giftedness. Whether your child is moderately, highly, or profoundly gifted, this book will have meaningful information and helpful suggestions for you.

Chapter five deals with establishing discipline and teaching self management, while chapter eight is all about acquaintances, friends, and peers. Chapter 11, complexities of successful parenting, features a list of six responsibilities for parents:

1.accept and appreciate the child's uniqueness
2.help the child like herself and relate well to others
3.help the child develop a relationship and sense of belonging within the family
4.nurture the development of values
5.teach the child self-motivation, self-management, and self discipline
6.help the child discover his passions, and commit to letting him explore

This chapter also contains sensible advice on how to avoid parental pitfalls such as enmeshment, adultizing the gifted child, or over empowering the gifted child. Parents are encouraged to care for themselves and be sure that they are modeling healthy attitudes and behaviors.

If the inquisitive reader wants to explore further, the back of the book is filled with an impressive number of endnotes and references to published studies and other works pertaining to child development and giftedness. The authors, Webb, Gore, Amend, and DeVries, are all well respected members of the gifted education community. They have many years of combined experience as teachers, counselors, and parents of gifted children. Their collective wisdom shared here is a real treasure.

this seris was so wonderful that i wanted to name my daughter ayla, my wife and sister only saw the movie and couldnt find the connection that we all could, cant wait ,actually still waiting for the last two books to be published

I found my mother's collection of Ms. Auel's books about two years ago, and fell in love with them. I am fourteen years old now, and have read each book over and over again. Ayla is a wonderful role model for me and I look forward to her courage and strength each time I read the series. The Plains of Passage is my favorite book of all time, and I am anxiously awaiting the fifth book!!

This is a positively wonderful book. I have no problem with the sex scenes and would not classify them as pornography. She uses them in a sensitive way and I highly recommend this book for anyone!! Can't wait for the next book!!

This has to be one of the best series I have read. The thought that Jean Auel had to put into the books is just awesome. Everything happens so logically; you have no problems believing that things happen just that way. The only thing that I object to is the graphic pornography in some of the passages. I would like for my daughter to read this books, but even though she would have no problem with the wording, I refuse to let a 14-yr. old read the unnecessary sex scenes. Most of it could be reduced to a few tender scentences without losing ANY of the impact of the books.

I really enjoyed the articulation of Aylah's environment. It did make one feel that they were really there, and her mental strength to see things for what they really were. She is phenomenal! Poor Jondular, he must be anxious for this child of his to be born!! I cannot wait to see the outcome in the next book.

I dare anyone to read this book and not be changed.

No one has Hilton's power of drawing a reader into the mind and heart of an ordinary bloke. I don't know how he does it; why do I care so much about his characters? He knows how to help the reader to sincerely CARE ABOUT a character, and therefore even his fellow man.

The twist and twist of the plot and timeline can be challenging at times, but well worth the effort.

And I thought the book was absolutely great BEFORE I read the last page!

(BTW, don't confuse this great book with the mediocre chickflick movie of the same name, and I don't recommend watching the movie first, as it might spoil some of the suspense.)

I had first seen the wonderfully sentimental movie, which is one of my favorites.

The book is not so sentimental. In reading the book, I was unprepared for how well-depicted would be the pain of the protagonist's psychological plight, how thought-provoking this book would be about society, and how much an individual could realistically be shown to be at a loss - no matter his external circumstances.

This is very much about someone who senses that once his life had meaning to him, and he had happily occupied a niche in the world - and can't rediscover it. The author is so wonderful in conveying this desperation.

Mr. Hilton also wonderfully conveys the highs and lows of both the well-born establishment, and the utterly displaced, of inter-war England.

And amazingly, he brilliantly evokes the wonderfully dreamy feeling of being in love. The scenes in which Smitty finds the small town, climbs up to the small lake in the hills, what he sees when he awakens, and the following several days, must be among the most moving in fiction.

I also love how the author shows the differences in personality between the earnest, sweet, easily alarmed, humble Smitty and the somewhat cynical, immensely able, practical-joking, self-deprecating Rainier - much of the difference seems engendered by the way they're treated and their places in life.

I love how subtly the author shows Mrs. Rainier's reaction to Rainier's discoveries - it's just brilliantly done. And the book's ending could not be more satisfying.

This is a more thought-provoking book than Goodbye Mr. Chips - and as much as I enjoyed that, this is a better one. I loved this as much as Hilton's So Well Remembered - which is high praise.

This completes the trilogy of classic James Hilton novels (the other two being "Lost Horizon" and "Goodbye Mr. Chips") which were all made into movies during Hollywood's Golden Era. It is the lesser known of the three novels, although Random Harvest is his most complete work.

The story is a romance, a mystery, a critque on England's class structure, and a parable. Hilton uses the lost years of Charles Rainier as a methaphor for the lost years of the 1920/1930's when England failed to prepare for the next war. Told in flashbacks and bookended by World War I and World War II, the resolution is only revealed in its final sentence that will shock you and change everything that you have just read & thought you understood. You will go back and re-read the book as your perception of all the characters are altered by the surprise ending.

Two cautions: First, see the 1942 Ronald Coleman/ Greer Garson movie AFTER reading the book to see how the ending is handled. Second, the opening few pages are set in an England and of a time that will be unfamiliar to most Americans, but if one continues on, the reader will be deeply rewarded. The ability to be surprised is a rare gift and Hilton delivers.

Random Harvest is my all-time favorite story. It might well be called The Wonderful Story or The Beautiful Story. Who hasn't read James Hilton's Good-buy Mr. Chips or Lost Horizon? This book, in my view, is his best work. It was this work that convinced me Hilton had to be a mystic although I don't know that. I do know that on one level, the earthy one, this is the best romantic novel I've ever read. On another level, social or historical, the work is a bringer of hope- written during WWII about WWI and ending on the eve of WWII the story speaks directly to our own uncertain post 911 era. But most importantly this is a work of spiritual completion. It can be read as the story of two people, or for Jungians in particular the coniunctio (union of opposites), the reconciling of the male and female within each of us, and in another context the "Marriage Feast of the Lamb"... This is, indeed, "The Wonderful Story."

A magnificently engrossing story that takes place over several years and including many twists and turns that make it difficult to write a review that does not give away too much of the plot. It starts with a war injury that brings amnesia induced loss of identity to our main character. The life that he builds from scratch is washed away when a car accident brings back his earlier memory, while losing the memory of his most recent life and identity. The two identities are quite dissimilar making it most difficult for the love of his second life to trace him once again to where he has built an entire life upon his early roots. The clash of his two identities and what he does with the women from both his lives is the crux of the book. Both his lives are truly worthwhile and if only there were a way to combine the best of both parts - but impossible to go back . . . the eventual answer is one of the most breathtakingly satisfying conclusions of all time.

James Hilton's (Goodbye Mr. Chips, Lost Horizon) greatest novel. A romance for the ages. If still possible for you, this is one time the book should definitely be digested before the movie (also great but substantially different).

Real Men Don't Rehearse: Adventures In The Secret World Of Professional Orchestras by Justin Locke is an informed and informative look into the life and intriguing history of orchestral musicians and the inner workings of their secret society. As an interesting and original concept, Real Men Don't Rehearse is highly recommended to all students of the musical trades, as well as the non-specialist general reader.

I liked this book a great deal. It reminds me of an older book "A Little More Dolce, Gentlemen" by Harry Ellis Dickson, about his experiences with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. A similar mix of love of music, humor, and the foibles of orchestral musicians and conductors.

Well, I got "Real Men Don't Rehearse" yesterday afternoon and it was finished by bedtime. It was GREAT! I couldn't put it down as I related to so many of the experiences Justin wrote about (I'm a freelance oboist). I was in tears reading about the charter plane emergency procedures. "BUCK-LE, BUCK-LE......OOOOOOOH" HAHAHAHAHA Now, I have never had the pleasure of touring with a group (I'm in South FL and there just aren't many touring groups, if any, from this area). The closest I have come to "touring" so far is a high school band trip (MANY years ago) to D.C., and the airplane ride Justin described sounded like what the clowns in band would pull. They never grow up, do they?

Thanks for a great book. It was a nice way to unwind last night.

I loved this book! I myself am a musician and bought this for one of my musician friends for Christmas. I started flipping through the book and knew I had to get a copy for myself. Lots of fun stories that both musicians and non-musicians would enjoy. Gives you an "insider's look" at the world of professional musicians. The chapters are short enough that you can read one or two before bed. (Although I just wanted to keep reading!)

My husband and I just love this book! We laughed and laughed, since the stories were so similar to our years in a professional symphony orchestra.
Buy lots of them for your friends, even the non-musical ones, as it's a delightful read.

This is another great book from Pat McManus, he was the only reason I used to read Outdoor Life. Pat's ability to take outdoor situations and put a clever dry twist to them is the best.

Real Ponies Dont Go Oink by Patrick F. Mcmanus is about a whole bunch of outdoor humor stories. He tells about different things that happend in his life but he uses other peoples names. The humor that Patrick Mckmanus puts into the stories makes the book hilarious. Patrick Mckmanus not only showed that he could write a funny book, but it was also easy to read. His style in the book would like you're seeing it from different angles. One minuite it feels like you are in the book , the next minuite it feels like you're watching other people. Patrick Mckmanus went from funnny to hilarious. Overall, this book was the funniest book I have ever read. I highly recomend that you take the time to read this book and enjoy it. It will make you lagh untill you cry.

Real Ponies Dont Go Oink by Patrick F. Mcmanus is about a whole bunch of outdoor humor stories. He tells about different things that happend in his life but he uses other peoples names. The humor that Patrick Mckmanus puts into the stories makes the book hilarious. Patrick Mckmanus not only showed that he could write a funny book, but it was also easy to read. His style in the book would like you're seeing it from different angles. One minuite it feels like you are in the book , the next minuite it feels like you're watching other people. Patrick Mckmanus went from funnny to hilarious. Overall, this book was the funniest book I have ever read. I highly recomend that you take the time to read this book and enjoy it. It will make you lagh untill you cry.

Wow!!! This is the funniest book I have ever read. The way McManus writes is so unique, subtle humor along with out right hiariousness (if that's a word). Both men and women, country and city will enjoy this outdoor humor. I liked the fact that it was a bunch of short stories that you could read like a novel. It had the same main characters so you didn't have to always learn new people, but you could set the book down for days(if you could last that long)and not get confused. This is my first book of his and I cant wait to read more.

'Pass out laughing' funny

I have always thought that Patrick McManus is the funniest writer on the planet. I read his stories when I need to laugh or relax. Sometimes I irritate my wife by reading it in bed. I try not to laugh out loud, but I only succeed in sounding like I am trying to muffle continuous sneezes.

However, not everyone gets it. I have been shocked by watching people read McManus without so much as a smile (though most start snorting like wild pigs on acid) . My only guess is that getting McManus requires a couple things. First, it requires some understanding of his experiences. He absolutely nails all of the stupid things 'outdoorsmen (outdoors people)' do and think, but don't want anybody to know about. Second, you have to see the self-deprecating aspect of his humor. Third, you can't look for great literature in integrated books. Patrick McManus is an excellent writer, if you see these as independent stories simply collected in a volume. They are meant for adults who want to laugh at themselves. So, If you are willing to or already meet the above three criteria, you will love this book.

By the way, I am a professor of clinical psychology and (other than worrying a little about McManus) I sometimes recommend this and other McManus books. I do this with people who have racing thoughts and anxiety at bedtime, and when I believe they have the necessary experiences to find it funny. It often works quite well. I think of his stories as little pieces of happiness. (Oh, that even makes me sick to hear. Sorry)

Not the easiest book in the six Lymond Chronicles, but The Ringed Castle more than rewards the reader, and anyone who has made it this far in the series will undoubtedly persevere. These books are so awash in swashbuckling one is unaware of how much history one is learning. I can hardly wait to re-read them all to pick up some of what I've missed. Dunnett is a superb writer of entwined fiction and history.

Volume IV of the Lymond Chronicles shows a marked improvement from the somewhat draggy Pawn In Frankincense, if not quite climbing the storytelling heights of the first three episodes.

Ringed Castle spins two riveting tales, Lymond's attempted remaking of Ivan the Terrible's Russia and Philippa's rise into the upper reaches of the English Royal Court. Vivid supporting characters abound: explorer Diccon Chancellor, chess afficiando Tsar Ivan, astrologer John Dee, and Margaret Lennox, Elizabethan femme fatale. The evocation of the Kremlin is gorgeously detailed, as are Lymond & company's adventures in Russia's unforgiving winter and the heartstopping voyage back to England -- Dunnett's uncanny ability to recreate the exotic past with such force you feel yourself there is in full flower. The book's first two thirds are excellent.

But as in the previous volume, Ringed Castle starts to feel like work down the backstretch. Dunnett's authorial sleight of hand in hiding much of Lymond's viewpoint until the final pages begins to frustrate in its familiarity, this ruse particulary trying given the ongoing story regarding his mysterious parentage.

One hopes for less of this in the final volume...

Most reviews of the Lymond series focus on Francis Crawford of Lymond, the enigmatic, often-tortured central character around whom all the other characters revolve. This isn't surprising because he is the central player on the stage. But my favorite character is Philippa, not just because she is genuinely good, but because whenever she enters a scene, it simply begins to sparkle.

Dorothy Dunnett obviously feels a great love for Philpipa because she gives her the best lines and gave her a marvelous sense of humor. She is a wonderful character, both funny and wise. But her greatest attribute is her strong moral character, her desire to do the right thing. In the prior novel, her desire to save Lymond's son caused to her to risk everything--not everyone would become a member of a harem in an effort to save a life. In Ringed Castle, her desire to reconcile Lymond with his family causes her to place herself at great risk.

With regard to Ringed Castle, I didn't find it as consistently compelling as Pawn in Frankincense, but it is still a wonderful book, particularly the haunting and tragic voyage back to England and the last 100 pages at the English court.

I have a tinge of sadness in the realization that I have only one more installment to see how it all ends, to see if Philippa can ultimately tame Lymond.

Luckily, this series is so strong on many levels I can look forward to many productive and enjoyable re-readings.

This is the fifth book in a series which you will either love or hate. It is also one of those multi-book series which must if at all possible be read in the right order, which is

1) The Game of Kings
2) Queen's Play
3) The Disorderly Knights
4) Pawn in Frankincense
5) The Ringed Castle
6) Checkmate

The Ringed Castle has one of the more memorable opening lines in historical fiction: "Not to every young girl is it given to enter the harem of the Sultan of Turkey and return to her homeland a virgin."

After the shattering events of book 4, "Pawn in Frankincense", Phillipa Somerville so returns to England while Francis Crawford of Lymond goes to Russia and takes service with Ivan the Terrible.

There are two reasons why this series, and indeed the author's similar "Niccolo" series, should be read in chronological order. The first is that the plots are incredibly complicated and if you read them out of sequence you have no chance of understanding what is going on.

The second is that many of the characters meet their deaths in ways which are exceptionally unpleasant both for themselves and for the characters who survive them. If you read the books out of sequence, advance knowledge of how characters are going to die, can have a significant impact on the pleasure you would otherwise have had in reading about the earlier events of their lives when you do get around to reading the earlier books.

Like the books, the central character, Francis Crawford of Lymond, is brilliant, violent, and extremely complicated. Unlike the books he is very flawed. Lymond is a mercenary with particular interests in Scotland and France, and gets involved in nefarious deeds all over the world as 16th century Europeans knew it. Dunnett brings the splendour, cultural ferment, and violent cruelty of the Renaissance world splendidly to life.

In this book Phillipa Somerville, who was scarcely more than a girl when she first appeared in the stories, becomes a more important viewpoint character, developing as a heroine and counterweight to Franci Crawford.

If you are at all squeamish, or do not like having to make your brain work overtime to follow a book, leave this series alone. Lymond's story is neither "chewing gum for the brain" nor a comfortable read. And even if you prefer flawed heroes to knights in shining armour, Lymond may infuriate you from time to time. But if you can put up with these features, these books will richly reward the effort you make in reading them.

There is no middle ground: you will either hate the Lymond series or recognise these books as one of the greatest works of historical fiction ever written. Or very possibly both !

"Not to every young girl is it given to enter the harem of the Sultan of Turkey and return to her homeland a virgin." Now that's what I call an attention getting opening! The Ringed Castle begins book #5 in the series as Philippa returns home to England a very self assured young woman and Francis has hitched his wagon to the mysterious Guzel and heads to Russia to bring Tsar Ivan and his army out of the dark ages with the aid of Francis' highly trained mercenary corps.

As Francis treads the treacherous waters of the Russian court and political intrigues, there is a traitor amongst his troop who has been hired to kill him. At the same time, Philippa is called to court to serve as lady in waiting to Mary Tudor and the delightfully evil Countess Margaret Lennox continues her intrigues against Francis and Philippa. Eventually Francis is ordered by the Tsar to leave Russia, and after a harrowing sail through the dangerous waters of the northern seas Francis comes to London as part of Russia's trade embassy. There he is reunited with his wife, Philippa, who has stumbled across a long hidden mystery regarding Francis' paternity.

As with the first four books in the series, Francis Crawford is a fascinating hero, and is as suave, debonair, flawed and fascinating as only a 16th Century version of James Bond could be. While I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I didn't find it as fast paced as the previous four, particularly the time spent in Russia, although necessary to set up the rest of the story. What I very much enjoyed was the maturation of Philippa and she has become the perfect foil for Lymond, she matched word for word in all their verbal battles and was the highlight of the book. I am dying to read the last book in the series, Checkmate: Sixth in the Legendary Lymond Chronicles and anxiously await the answers to just who fathered Francis Crawford of Lymond. Five stars.

I have enjoyed the MacArthur commentaries I have purchased in the past. I find them accurately in touch with the Word and easy to comprehend. Purchase was good and delivery on time.

a good commentary, however I think it could easily be condensed.

As a Bible study leader, Dr. MacArthur's commentaries have been ~invaluable~ in preparing me for study. I have never failed to find the answers to deep and vexing issues within his commentaries. I frequently read from them during our study time. The commentaries are extremely thorough and comprehensive, yet very easy to read. I found I can pick it up and read it like a novel. (Yea, it's that good.)

Dr. MacArthur's exegesis skills are extraordinary. This commentary - Romans - is exceptional. Just about every other page I find myself exclaiming 'Wow, I never knew that' or 'Wow, I never thought of it that way'.

These commentaries are a wonderful value, I am looking forward to collecting and studying the entire set.

I love MacArthur's Work in general. I love this volume on Romans. As a Bible Driven teacher of God's word. I look forward to each of MacArthurs Commentaries. The reason for only 4 stars is the editing. Macarthur has a habit of going on and on and on, with side passages and lengthy quotes and chapter and chapter of additional material, that takes one from the main point. If the editors would just limit some of the additional, it would make it a much better book

John MacArthur is an evangelical Bible scholar who holds to inerrancy and infallibility, and he has spent much of the last twenty years working on a commentary of the entire New Testament. At present, he has completed and published 25 volumes comprising 21.5 of the 27 New Testament books (he's finished and recently released the first eleven chapters of the gospel of John).

Romans is my favorite New Testament book. And this commentary is excellent at taking a position of conservative evangelicalism and defending it. I do not concur with all of MacArthur's views, and one must remember that a commentary is basically one man's opinion of what the Bible says. But MacArthur gives reasons for the faith that it is in him (and we who know Jesus), and his writing is very edifying on the issue.

If you don't have any of his commentaries, this is the one with which to start. If you do and you do not have this particular one, I think you are missing a blessing. He gets right to the point without droning, yet he also addresses controversial issues.

The one problem with the book is nobody's fault: it would be nice for him to take on some of the modern interpretations in movements that have wreaked havoc; for example, the outlandish Word of Faith interpretation of Romans 4:17. Otherwise, it is a very good book.

I love the way Keith Brown captures the essence of mother-son relationships in the African American family. It portrays the values that are developed between mothers and sons to produce strong black males. Each story is an example of encouraging motivation and hope for future generations of mother-son relationships.

This wonderful collection of stories to read about the bond between mother's and son's.

This book is so moving. Within the first few pages, I was so captivated by the warm feelings that are shared. This mother to son bond is unexplainable. I immediately told my family and friends that they have to read this book if no other.

This is to the response from Gloria Alibaruho dated 25 December 1999.

I just read your review of the book, Sacred Bond: Black Men and Their Mothers. You said in your review. "All of the mothers are acquainted with life as a journey rather than a destination." I think that is a very profound statement - your focus on "journey" implies a continuous activity as opposed to "destination" which is a fixed point in time. Too often, whether we set the stage or someone else does, we focus on a fixed point in our lives, the time when the journey is completed. We forget to celebrate the activities that brought us to our goal. This celebration serves to strengthen us and provides inspiration for the next day. That is why some goals are never reached - the preparations for the journey are not made and then we loose sight of our destination. Metaphorically, it is like taking a hike in a dense forest and forgetting to bring a map or compass.

I have a notebook of quotations that give me inspiration and I have just included your quotation in the book. Thanks for your words of wisdom.

Sincerely,

Susan Lightfeather lightfeather@exotrope.net

As I read this book, I could see myself in every one of the mothers. I laughed, I cried, and I was blessed to be touched by their experiences. As a mother, it was reassuring to read that I am on the right track. Through their trials and tribulations, the bond strengthened. To the authoris: Thank you for capturing these magnificent stories. To the mothers/sons: Thank you for letting us into your life.