O Books

I first became acquainted with Michael Green's marvelous book when I picked up a used paperback in a book store in Long Beach, Calif. in 1979. In the years since, I have read the book at least two dozen times -- always thinking that THIS TIME I'll be able to peruse it with a straight face, yet always, inevitably, dissolving into gales of helpless, tearful laughter before ten pages have turned. This is not only the funniest book ever written about acting, but one of the funniest books on ANY subject in the English language. Many books dicuss the "high end" of acting -- character, subtext, internal monologue, etc. But none of them offer pointers on what to do if a fellow actor muffs his lines, or if you need to get off (or on) stage and the door won't open. Green fills that void in the most diverting manner imaginable. If you've always thought the phrase "I laughed till I cried" was only a figure of speech, then this is the book for you. By the way, I have it on good (though unconfirmed) authority that Michael Green is the son of the late Hermione Gingold, the legendary British character actress

This tome is full of useful information for the coarse actor, including "How to Steal the Scene, Even though Unconscious," "How to be a mere Spear-Carrier, and still ruin a scene," "Basic Makeup Tips for the Coarse Actor," and the useful diagram on set building "The Human Cleat." Anyone who's ever been in a performance of "Arsenic and Old Lace" will appreciate this book -- as will anyone who's ever sat through the show. (Not that I'm slamming "Arsenic and Old Lace," I think it holds up remarkably well.)

Should be required reading in all theatre coarses. Oops, I mean courses...

In one memorably ruined production this was the director's obsession, so he gave the actor playing Lear tiny, birdlike movements.

Alas! The set designer strongly disagreed and burst forth with a magnificently bare stage relieved only by a giant phallic monument at the center.

His vision being that King Lear was: "A Man Lost in a Wilderness. "

They never did reach an agreement.

But, as Green points out, it really wouldn't have mattered, because if one is brilliant enough to be obsessed about Lear being 'A Man Trapped In a Tube', neither Shakespeare, the cast, nor the audience has much of a fighting chance. . .

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This book is a deliciously hilarious spoof of the British stage, with heavy emphasis on 'cultural' amateur societies. It is a satire on producing as well as acting, directing,--and the gurus who teach it.

But in a wonderful twist of irony, it is now required reading with many Theater Arts depatrments in universities around the world.

( "Do NOT go to acting school!"--- Eleonora Duse )

As well it should be. Filled with outrageously improbable anecdotes , it nevertheless hits home too well for anyone in the profession.

It is a true masterpiece of ham, which offers marvelous advice for directors on how to succeed through obscurantist doublespeak.

No director, for example, should EVER say anything that remotely sounds 'practical' such as : "Well, frankly, I have to get 'em to speak up. "

Far, far better, according to Green, is to say things that sound profound but mean nothing, such as : "I'm not interested at all whether the audience hears my actors, but---it is vital they should hear them thinking. "

Heavy . . .

( "If a director writes in his notes: 'The Oedipal complex is obvious in this scene, must discuss with the queen'; the sooner he is packed and thrown out of the theater, the better it'll be for everyone! "-- George Bernard Shaw )

Shaw has an ally in Green who, based on personal experience, is convinced that the director's primary job is to weed out the obvious psychotics in the cast during the first week of rehersals.

As to actors left on board Green believes he is far more practical than Stanislavsky, whom he does not admire on the grounds that 'these method people are so vague.' He advises actors should carry a chart (1. Speak Slower. 2. Speak Faster, etc.) for whenever the director goes off into interpretive raptures, Oedipal or not.

Simply ask him to point to which number he wants.

Ah! And who could possibly forget the classic: "How To Steal a Scene Though Unconscious" which puts anything ever written by Constantin to shame. . .

An very, very funny book, which suprisingly does contain unexpected gems of commonsense.

Five stars are not enough.

Hi all. This book is hilarious! I bought it to learn what NOT to teach my acting students, and it really helped. And it was a great read - the author is British, so there is plenty of dry wit, and the anecdotes had me in hysterics. I learned a lot, and laughed out loud every chapter. How can you miss? Sincerely, ElizaBeth

I first read this book as a teenager, while spending much of my spare time in amateur theatre, and have become Green's slave for life.

Whole segments of the book are quotable, and painfully - hilariously - familiar to anyone who has ever been involved with the stage, paid or unpaid. I remember reading excerpts to my brother over the phone, while both of us cried because we were laughing so hard ... because although these are not your own experiences, they might as well be.

Every actor - amateur or professional - will have come across a coarse actor in their lives: somebody who "knows his lines, but not the order in which they come", leaving everyone floundering; the blatant scene stealer who takes everyone's eyes away from the real action; the sets that collapse when they shouldn't, or don't collapse when they should.

I could go on. But you'd be far better served by reading the book instead, and keeping a box of tissues handy to wipe away the tears of hilarity.

Dorling Kindersley makes great looking books. This book for Disney's ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE is very nice. It covers each character and hardware used in the film and is both captivating and educational. Excellent!

I bought this book for myself, not my children. As an artist, animator, and Disney fan I wanted the book as a reference for the artwork used in the film. All I can say is I love the look of this film and I can't wait to see the movie. However, this is not an art book and in fact is not approved by Disney. It gives a little background on each of the characters, vehicles, and equipment used in the film, accompanied by gorgeous artwork from the movie itself, but is not a narrative story. Be aware, if you have not seen the film, this book gives away almost all of the plot. It also has none of the creative process behind what went into the movie. It is simply a very nice picture book and, in my opinion, worth the price.

I think this book is a must have for any Atlantis: The lost Empire fan. It thoroughly describes just about everything in the movie: from characters to places. I love it and I highly recommend it.

This book has a wide range of hidden facts about the movie It's also full with awesome pictures and fantastic guidelines for a collector to know .There's also some speciality in this book that amaze me like a complete data and knowledge of each and every single character,maps,about vehicles,history of Atlantis and much more.It's simply a must have for all the disney and atlantean fans out there.

If you have seen and enjoyed the movie, you will enjoy this guide. It actually sheds some light on the reasons why the artists featured various items and artifacts.

If they had included some of the facts in this book in the movie, it would have made it way more interesting for me. I'm almost wondering if you read the book first, you would enjoy the movie more.

In this book you can find out more about your favorite characters, explore the underwater royal chambers and secret caves, see detailed pictures of the amazing fleet of vehicles and travel to the magical world of monsters, giants, princesses and kings.

~The Rebecca Review

Twelve O'Clock High! is the story of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in England during World War II. Written by authors Beirne Lay and Sy Bartlett, both original staff officers of the 8th Air Force, this novel draws heavily from actual experiences of airmen in battle and their commanders on the ground. This is "must reading" for any serious aviation enthusiast or historian, as the book weaves a spell-binding and realistic tale of drama, action, and human suffering. A chronicle of patriotism, Twleve O'Clock High! is the novel of America's "Gettysburg in the Sky."

I have read this book two to three times a year since 1968, and just finished it again. The one copy I have had over the years has fallen apart, and the book is rubber banded together.

This title should be required reading in Jr Hi to teach children what americans have been through to become the people we are today,as will as to salute this "Greatest Generation". The characters are three dimentional, and touch you like no others will again. When I read this book, it is like sitting down and visiting with an old friend. I will never get tired of this tale. This story is one that will live forever in your heart.

Twelve O'Clock High is, of course, one of the best works of fiction about the air war in Europe ever to be published. But that is not why it's still required reading at America's service academies. The book is a fascinating study in the psychology of command and commanders. It explores the satisfaction of command - taking a dispirited air group and turning it around to become the point of the 8th Air Force's aerial spear, and changing a group of crybabies into a disciplined, proud unit. It also shows the price in human lives and mental anguish inflicted upon a commanding officer who must, time and again, order his men into battle with the certain knowledge that some of them won't be coming back. It further offers hints on how a commanding officer can deal with the stress he must needs inflict upon himself, and shows clearly the fine line a leader walks between familiarity and emotional disassociation. In some ways the book is almost a roman a clef, particularly in the characters of Savage, Bishop and McIlhenney, with the action itself a composite of various air actions, including the notorious "Black Thursday" raid of October,1943 on the Schweinfurt ball bearing works. But for all that, it's still a compelling read for all who are interested in what makes miltary leaders tick. This book cannot be recommended too highly, and it is so superior to the movie that there is no comparison. I rate it as a "must-read."

Lt.Col.Beirne Lay, Jr. USAAF flew B-17 combat missions in the European Theatre in World War II. He created the 918th Bomb Group by putting together his unit the 91st Bomb Group and the 8th Air Force. Brig. Gen. Frank Savage was based on the real Brig. Gen. Frank Armstrong. After World War II Lay and writer Sy Barlett wrote the novel and the 1949 Screen Play 12'O CLOCK HIGH. This book is excellent.

Lt.Col.Beirne Lay, Jr. USAAF flew B-17 combat missions in the European Theatre in World War II. He created the 918th Bomb Group by putting together his unit the 91st Bomb Group and the 8th Air Force. Brig. Gen. Frank Savage was based on the real Brig. Gen. Frank Armstrong. After World War II Lay and writer Sy Barlett wrote the novel and the 1949 Screen Play 12'O CLOCK HIGH. This book is excellent.

This book is indeed a "Cookbook"; nice examples on how to do lots of stuff. It is nicely categorized and the explanations/discussions are easy to follow. The authors seem to have lots of experience, and are honest enough to even explain when NOT to use bash; when for example perl would do better.

Highly recommended if you want to get stuff done using bash.

Currently this is the only book that specifically covers bash 3.2, the version that contain new and interesting features like =~ operator for "normal" regular expression matching.

The main advantage of the book that it really covers a lot of ground and provides system administrators and users with a lot of good and difficult to find tips about customizing of the environment and making yourself more productive.

Chapters 5-6 which provide good overview of new features introduced in version 3.x including "normal" regular expressions pattern matching ( operator =~) and C-style for loop. One problem with shells traditionally use two completely obsolete notations for regular expressions (basic regular expression often known as DOS-style regular expressions plus quite perverse prefix notation ). Bash 3.2 did not fixes this problem as this is a problem of Unix in general (Unix can be called an Os that uses a dozen of different definitions of regular expressions :-) that but at least added a normal regular expression notion to the list.

After chapters 5 and 6 I recommend reading chapters 9, 17 and 19 and then the rest. While chapters are of very uneven quality, usually you can find at least one useful tip in each.

The spectrum of bash related tips and useful mini-scripts is quote substantial. The authors cover classic things like customizing prompt quite well. The book is not only about bash it covers a lot of ground including use of classic Unix utilities in scripting (most notably grep, find, sort, and date) along with related topics such as use of pipes and I/O redirection.

Of course for such a complex topic there are some shortcomings. It's a pretty difficult task to write a good cookbook but authors did an excellent job and provided many very valuable tips that can help to improve both system administrators and power users productivity.

One of the problems for a cookbook is a good organization and specifically a good starting chapter and here authors failed. Some chapters are half-baked. The Chapter about version control is badly written and very superficial. The authors just mention a couple of system without any details. And in this topic the devil is in details.

Some bash features are explained superficially. For example bash has horrible implementation of pushd/popd/dirs troika and it not that easy to use them productively. One notable deficiency is that there is no way to suppress duplicates which in essence make this feature almost unusable. The authors treatment looks like a baseless advertizing of a poorly implemented feature.

But I hope that the authors will improve the book in the next edition and I am reluctant to downgrade the book based on those flaws. After all, this is a cookbook and it should be judged by the best recipes not the worst.

Linux system admin is something I do as part of my job. I've been able to acquire the basics and get the job done, but I knew that there were better ways to get the job done. Nothing like having an expert to help learn the ins and outs.

This book allowed me to take it to the next level. There are many excellent examples on how to get it done, as well as advice on things that should not be done.

There is a good mix of newbie info as well as useful tips for the seasoned veteran. There's usually more than one way to get the job done, and this book showed me some new, better ways to accomplish the task at hand.

If you're working with bash, you'll find something useful in this book.

This book covers the GNU Bourne Again Shell, which is a member of the Bourne family of shells that includes the original Bourne shell sh, the Korn shell ksh, and the Public Domain Korn Shell pdksh. This book is for anyone who uses a Unix or Linux system, as well as system administrators who may use several systems on any given day. Thus, there are solutions and useful sections for all levels of users including newcomers. This book is full of recipes for creating scripts and interacting with the shell that will allow you to greatly increase your productivity.

Chapter 1, "Beginning bash" covers what a shell is, why you should care about it, and then the basics of bash including how you get it on your system. The next five chapters are on the basics that you would need when working with any shell - standard I/O, command execution, shell variables, and shell logic and arithmetic. Next there are two chapters on "Intermediate Shell Tools". These chapters' recipes use some utilities that are not part of the shell, but which are so useful that it is hard to imagine using the shell without them, such as "sort" and "grep", for example. Chapter nine features recipes that allow you to find files by case, date, type, size, etc. Chapter 10, "Additional Features for Scripting" has much to do with code reuse, which is something you find even in scripting. Chapter 11, "Working with Dates and Times", seems like it would be very simple, but it's not. This chapter helps you get through the complexities of dealing with different formats for displaying the time and date and converting between various date formats.

Chapter 12, "End-User Tasks As Shell Scripts", shows you a few larger though not large examples of scripts. They are meant to give you useful, real world examples of actual uses of shell scripts beyond just system administration tasks. Chapter 13, "Parsing and Similar Tasks", is about tasks that will be familiar to programmers. It's not necessarily full of more advanced scripts than the other recipes in the book, but if you are not a programmer, these tasks might seem obscure or irrelevant to your use of bash. Topics covered include parsing HTML, setting up a database with MySQL, and both trimming and compressing whitespace. Chapter 14 is on dealing with the security of your shell scripts. Chapters 15 through 19 finish up the book starting with a chapter on advanced scripting that focuses on script portability. Chapter 16 is related to the previous chapter on portability and is concerned with configuring and customizing your bash environment. Chapter 17 is about miscellaneous items that didn't fit well into any other chapter. The subjects include capturing file metadata for recovery, sharing and logging sessions, and unzipping many ZIP files at once. Chapter 18 deals with shortcuts aimed at the limiting factor of many uses of bash - the typing speed of the user and shortcuts that cut down on the amount of typing necessary. The final chapter in the book, "Tips and Traps", deals with the common mistakes that bash users make.

All in all this is a very handy reference for a vast number of the tasks that you'll come across when scripting with the bash shell along with well-commented code. Highly recommended.

These O'Reilly Cookbooks should be on every sysadmin's shelf. The Bash Cookbook is no different. Incredibly useful book. I didn't read it cover to cover but have gone back to it at least 15-20 times to pull out nuggets of info. The real-world, practical examples and solutions offered in this book provide the sysadmin with a virtual swiss army knife when working with bash.

Book was so useful, I bought two extra copies and sent them to coworkers.

There is little to add to the some of the excellent reviws previously listed. The documentation and bibliography is impressive as well as the author's willingness to discuss alternate interpretations of key historical events. The book is well written; but it is the numerous and well-drawn maps that I found particularly impressive.

My hobby is wargaming; and for those that share this hobby, this book is a gem. Think of it; 35 possible scenarios complete with maps ranging from Ancient Egyptian vs Ancient Syrian to Mondern Israelis vs Arabs...and even Armageddon itself. This can be considered either a "future" or a "fantasy" battle based upon your preferences. All of these battles could be gamed upon one large map or playing area stretching from Megiddo in the West to Mts Tabor, Gilboa, and Moreh in the East,\.

I had to do a presentation on megiddo for a class. This book was the most useful and interesting one that I had at my disposal.

History is a slight of hands artist of sorts. It tends to focus ones attention on the flashy action center stage while more important events are often happening in the wings. Its spotlight brings out in high relief the massive endeavor of the pyramids, the power and grandeur of the Roman empire, the longevity of Chinese culture, or the blood rituals of the Aztecs. In doing so it tends to neglect the margins, places where cultural synthesis and mere survival of local polities brings the real issues of life during the time into sharper focus. Eric Cline is a master at redirecting ones attention to precisely these issues of history. In The Battles of Armageddon he chronicles the "life" history of a region that was for most of that history on the margins of the action in the Middle East and in the world.

The Jezreel Valley and ancient Megiddo, the Armageddon of Revelation, are brought to center stage in this well researched and thoroughly entertaining book. Here the armies of the world have fought battles deciding the course of human history, and here too it is suggested that the final battle between good and evil will be fought in the future. All tolled, some 34 major battles have been fought in this valley, often if not usually between combatants who are foreign to the area.

In documenting the drama of conflict that has played itself out on this valley floor, Professor Cline has examined a wide variety of data recording human events in the area. He discusses the records of ancient Egypt, the Biblical texts, the cuneiform documents of Anatolia, Assyria, Babylonia, and Persia, the written material of both the Moslem and the Christian participants of the Crusades, French documentation of the Napoleonic wars in the Middle East, the Allenby diaries, letters, etc. for the World War I conflict with the Ottoman Empire, and the more recent evidence for the Arab-Israeli conflicts in the area. In short, he addresses an impressive collection of data and with it constructs an absorbing "biography" of the region, and in doing so brings the history of the world itself into sharper focus.

I found Cline's willingness to entertain alternative proposals for events of the Israelite conquest of the Levant particularly impressive. He does not seem wedded to any particular theme or version of early Biblical history, a fact which gives one confidence in his critical judgment with respect to early documents, both Biblical and extra-Biblical. Where he is uncertain of the order of or veracity of events or their documentation, he is willing to say as much. There is no effort to make the evidence appear more concrete than it is. He also seems to have no preferred "side" in the Arab-Israeli conflict at least as a historian and archaeologist--whether he has one as an individual is his own business. The author also sticks to historical information and its interpretation and only introduces archaeological data where it is pertinent to the discussion. He doesn't burden the amateur enthusiast with more detail than they are willing or able to imbibe. In short he doesn't slow down the "story" of the Jezreel which makes the volume more readable.

Although I certainly found the earlier history of the Valley of interest--my degree is in ancient history--I actually found Professor Cline's treatment of the era of the Crusades more engaging because I learned more. I also enjoyed the discussion of General Allenby's possible foreknowledge of the war between Thutmose III and the Canaanites at Megiddo an excellent demonstration of good historic detective work. (It was definitely a good illustration of the value of a thorough knowledge of history.) The bibliography of The Battles of Armageddon is a veritable who's who of historical and archaeological research since the 19th century, including authors of topical works, of edited collections and encyclopedias, and of journal articles. For anyone with a specific interest this would definitely be a good starting point for the pursuit of information on tangential topics. I will probably use it to help fill in my knowledge of the Crusades. Without doubt this book would appeal to anyone with an interest in history, particularly that of the Levant or of peripheral areas in general, or in political and military history. One might even use it to teach world history, as so many of the main "players" in the events of human activity have passed through this valley and left their mark on it. Definitely a work worth reading.

Professor Eric Cline's book here is one of the best works on the bloody and conflict ridden history of the City of Megiddo and its accompanying region, the Valley of Jezreel. Cline demonstrates how easily the name Megiddo had already been corrupted into Har Megiddo(or Mount of Megiddo) by the Roman era. This explains how it was later transcribed as 'Armageddon' by John The Apostle, who wrote the Book of Revelations. Cline documents the more than 30 battles which have raged in or around the Megiddo and the Jezreel Valley and chronicles many of the most decisive wars in history that occured here such as Napoleon's defeat of the Ottoman Turks at Aboukhir(July 1799) in the vicinity of..you guessed it! Megiddo, Sheshonq I's(the Biblical Shishak) assault against, and capture of, the Ancient Israelite cities of Beth Shan, Taanach and Megiddo in 925 BC which are all located in the same general area, Pharaoh Tuthmose III's stunning victory over the Prince of Kadesh at Megiddo in 1458 BC, and how more than three thousand and three hundred years later, the First World War British General Edward Allenby proceeded to virtually copy Tuthmose III's battle plan at Megiddo, catching the Ottoman Turks completely off guard in September 1918. The happy result, for Allenby, was the complete destruction of the Turkish Army in Northern Palestine and Syria, just 2 months before the end of World War One.

Professor Cline's excellent prose helps to explain why this book won the Biblical Archaeology Society's Award for the best New Book on Archaeology in 2001. Cline's view of the main reason why John decided to locate the Final Battle between Good and Evil at Armageddon--the same site where the last 'good' king of Judah, Josiah, fell in battle against Pharaoh Necho II in 609 BC--is quite persuasive. Equally intriguing is Cline's observation that the battle at Armageddon between Good and Evil was actually the penultimate(second last) battle in this series since a thousand years after this aforementioned battle, the Forces of Good and Evil will arise once again to do battle for the last time. However, this time the location was Jerusalem itself, as John writes in Revelations.

Cline's book makes an invaluable contribution towards our understanding of the strategic location of Megiddo as the gateway into both Syria and into the heart of Israel/Palestine; hence, its troubled history. As an Aside, Cline also documents the desperate struggles between Modern day Israel and the Arab states for control of this same area during the Wars of 1948 and 1967 where a breakthrough by the latter would have spelled disaster for the Jewish state.

For anyone interested in battles, ancient and contemporary, this book is for you. Cline invites those interested in the site of Armageddon as well as military history buffs into the world and circumstances of the Jezreel Valley. Destined to be a classic on ancient battles.

I Never thought anyone else would understand what was going on inside of my head. Now that I've read The Beast Within - Living With OCD, I have not only a better understanding of my condition, but also my daughter's. Thanks for this book - so much! It has taken a great weight off my shoulders.

Why have we not seen more of this author? Why are her books not on the shelves of local bookstores? I have read all three of her books and I had to order each one (two online and the latest one from the local Borders here). I was told by each store that they do not mass-order from her publisher, but to tell you the truth, you are doing your customers a DISSERVICE by not doing this!

Once I opened up to the first page, I was hooked! It definitely helps you to understand what other people go through. Anyone who deals with these kinds of issues needs to read this book. I would reccommend it to anyone.

I bought this book because OCD runs in my family. And all I could think was, "Wow! This sounds just like us!" The author's complete honesty is refreshing. She makes a strong point of letting people know that it's okay to be different. You go, Girl! :-)

It's high time that somebody wrote a book dealing with chemical imbalances! These conditions are very real, and for those of us who live with them day-to-day, learning that we are not the only ones out there makes life a whole lot easier! Tom Cruise -- You need to read this book. Maybe it will educate you!

I'm such a huge fan of the Berenstain Bears series and with books like this one it's no surprise why.

The story finds brother bear as falling behind in school because of an illness that keeps him at home. Instead of keeping up with his assignments he stays busy playing with his toys and watching tv. So when it's time to go back to school brother is clueless about his studies and fails a quiz.

What's great about this book is that brother tries to skip school and avoid his parents but when he does come clean his parents aren't irate like he thought they would but instead they help him to catch back up. I personally thought this was a good lesson for both kids and parents because school can be hard but facing it and having understand parents can help kids excel in school instead of becoming overwhelmed by it.

good book shows important to just be honest with parents and to do make up homework and not put it off. otherwise just get into a deeper mess.

I read this particular book among others from the Berenstain series over and over again to my children when they were small. These books were beautifully illustrated and a real pleasure to look at , as well as to read.
If I remember rightly Papa Berenstain was always a bit of a schlump and it was Mama who pulled the chesnuts out of the fire usually.
But they were a loving family a caring family and that message came across in a beautiful way.

I like this book too. I read it when I was six and learning English when my parents came here from Kinshasa in the Congo. I learned that school and grades are very important in America and we should do our best to be our best. Luckily I got into a great college (Princeton) and all because this book made me work very hard. I hope to make much money one day.

I think the book of "Trouble At School," is really good. It tells kids how school should be more important then anything else in your life. I tells how important grades are to your parents and how important they should be to you. I really liked this book,and I think that little kids should read this book. I really like how Jan and Stan write there books.

This book provides an insightful analysis of the book of Job, with lots of devotional value. It's both scholarly and readable. I would recommend this book to anyone who is studying Job or who is struggling with an experience of personal suffering.

Layton Talbert's guide to Job is a must-have for anyone studying this book of the Bible. It is accessible to the layman who is serious about Bible study, and it is valuable to the seminarian as well.

Talbert's book includes strategies for reading Job and a section-by-section discussion that guides the reader through the book. Though Talbet's work isn't a full-fledged verse-by-verse commentary, it does what many commentaries fail to do: it gives the reader a view of the forest. In doing this Talbert does not slight exegetical work. All of the key exegetical and theological problems that affect our understanding of Job are dealt with in detail. The views of various commentators are evaluated with skill and good sense.

In sum, if you wish to understand Job, Talbert's work is one tool that you'll want on your desk.

Although I read my Bible from cover to cover and have done so for years, there were always certain nagging questions in the back of my mind about the book of Job. Questions like, how does this entire book fit together with all those discourses, (and with the rest of Scripture), and how could those "friends" behave like that toward him and justify their words and actions? Layton Talbert succinctly and skillfully answered those questions (and many more) in a way that made much sense to me. Using many Scripture passages that wove together the thoughts that were being conveyed, he artfully wrote a book that is extremely beneficial. This book is not only valuable to those who are hurting, but for anyone who wants to understand the Scripture better.

We have all suffered to one degree or another. We have all been wounded by people. My epiphany came when I read on page 234 that I should pray for my "friends" in an intercessory way, not in an imprecatory way. "God expects no less from us than He did from Job. Pray for those who have wronged you particularly in the context of your suffering. It is the mark of humility, maturity, and Christlikeness." (p. 234) Our ultimate example was Christ when He cried from the cross, "Father forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34) And I appreciated so much Dr. Talbert's emphasis on Christ's words and works all the way through the book.

Beyond Suffering was helpful to me to understand a little better how the Lord in His sovereignty carries out His will. I highly urge you to pick up a copy and read it slowly, carefully, and with a prayerful spirit.

Beyond Suffering is probably the most thorough and helpful exposition of the Book of Job that I have ever read. Layton Talbert does a tremendous job of explaining the scriptural text. He takes time to examine the areas of Job that are difficult to interpret, and he provides good summaries of the dialogue sections so the reader can easily follow the characters' lines of argument. His treatment of the scriptural text shows how to interpret and respond to unexplained adversity. It also shows how to help, and how not to help, someone who's suffering this kind of adversity.

The author writes his book on two levels: "a lay-friendly text for the general reader, supplemented by technical, elaborative, or corroborative endnotes for the more advanced student of the Scripture" (p. x). Anyone desiring to know what the biblical book of Job is about can derive much benefit from reading straight through the text of Talbert's book. However, the student, preacher or teacher looking for more technical help will find a treasure trove in the endnotes in the back of the book.

Dr. Talbert makes an important observation about Job's unexplained suffering. God never explained to Job why he was suffering, though we know why from reading the first two chapters of Job. The important observation is this: Job never understood the "why" of his suffering so that he might be a more powerful testimony to the genuineness of faith in God as well as a testimony to the worthiness of the God we can trust.

Dr. Talbert also makes an important application from Job's message: "To believe God with or without evidence simply because He has spoken, to submit to God with or without understanding because He is both sovereign and good, and to worship God with or without reward because He is worthy delivers to the believer a peace that surpasses understanding and baffles unbelievers, instructs angels and glorifies God" (p. 220).

I highly recommend Beyond Suffering: Discovering the Message of Job.

Talbert's thorough understanding of the book of Job from both an expositional and experiential perspective allows him to open facets of Job frequently passed over. Not only does he deal with the beginning and end, but draws insightful, practical gems from the dialogue throughout this book. After reading Talbert's work, your understanding of Job will be renovated. Talbert's book is readable for the general public, but includes a good amount of technicality in the endnotes for those of a more scholarly bent. The book would be beneficial to those desiring a better grasp of an ancient peice of inspired literature, but is a must read to those experiencing trials or helping others work through difficulties. Everyone needs to be reminded of the bottom line: God is God and His works are marvelous beyond our comprehension.

This book is essentially a "Bible for dummies" written in a way that gives the reader lessons from the Bible that one can apply to their lives, without some of the difficult language. The author translates each part of the Bible into today's terms and provides commentary on it that is both insightful and entertaining. For those that are do not read the Bible and/or are generally intimidated by it, this is the book for you. I learned from this book, as will anyone who reads it.

This book gave me so much insight on the Bible and did it in an inviting, non-apprehensive way. I never thought I would enjoy it so much. The author truly appreciates the spiritual needs of those who may not be the most knowledgeable on the topic. I highly recommend it and have given three different people my copy to borrow. It's so popular, we even bought a second one to lend out!

This is a great book. I would have given it five stars, except for two things. It only covers the Torah, not the prophets, psalms, proverbs, or the wisdom books. I wish it covered the whole Hebrew bible. And also, it sidesteps the REALLY tough questions, like why the genocides, and wasn't G-d the G-d of the poor little firstborn Egyptian kids too? Other than that, a superb book.

Rabbi Braverman writes a terrific and easy to understand description (and lessons) of the Bible. It is truely written for those, like myself, who really want to learn, but never knew where to start. I highly recomend this book.

I was not raised in a religious household -- so I was clueless and curious. This book covers only the Old Testament and is a perfectly explained and readable history of the Jews -- a Cliffs Notes of the Bible. This is a gentle tour of Biblical doctorine, and there is little mention of the "shalt nots" which often scare away potential belivers. Light, but informative and rewarding, this is an excellent book for teenagers, Jews who are not familiar with their faith, or people like me who just want to know more about the world of religion.

This book was very helpful and easy-to-read, I found it even easier to follow and read than "Windows '95 for Dummies." While the size can look intimidating (bigger than some phone books), you are soon pleased to find out that the size is such to accommodate many pictures of exactly what the screen looks like through each individual point-and-click step, making it much easier to stay on track with your applications. The detailed table of contents made it easy to jump right to the page you wished to view to take care of any specific problem or question you might be having about something. Since I had never used any version of Windows before,I found this book to be extremely helpful, and I would consider it a "must-have" for anyone making the jump to Win '95 or those who would like to have a great "how-to" book at arm's length. Very well-done

I teach Windows 95 at our college as well as consult with businesses. I recommend this book often to clients and students. It is one of the best manuals I've seen on Windows 95. It is not-threatening.

This book is clear, concise, and very easy to understand. I have several books, but have worn out the cover on this one. I have never had a problem that this book has not shown me; in diagrams; how to solve. I give it a "20". Wonderful for the novice just starting with Windows 95, or as a reference for any problems that may arise. This book resides within easy reach beside my computer. I teach computer basics to senior citizens, and ask them to purchse this book in my first class

I purchased this book to teach my Windows 95 class. I taught a class before with a different book and nobody in the class payed much attention. The first class I taught with this book everyone was excited. They looked through the book and they were ready to learn. I purchased two other books on Windows 95 and neither of them stood up to The Big Basics. I really enjoy using this book because of the Guided Tours it has. It lets everyone follow along without being lost. And when they take the book with them they will have a great study guide for home.

An excellent book for both the beginner and the experienced computer user. As a teacher using this book in the classroom, I found that the numerous illustrations combined with the clear step by step directions easily walked my students through the workings of Windows 95. I would call this book a definate must have for any computer user's library.