O Books

Carl Helvie's Healthy Holistic Aging offers a thoughtful and insightful guide for any of us who want to be healthy throughout our lifetimes and to prolong the time of our lives that is disease free.

His book provides an approach that is very holistic and that embraces our physical, mental and spiritual aspects as well as our interactions with each other and our environment. The reader is offered many ways to evaluate her/his health in each of these areas as well as a number of checklists and questionnaires that help the reader make self assessments and find practical solutions to health-related issues. Many examples of positive physical, mental and spiritual health behaviors are presented.

The book is soundly based on scientific research, but includes an overarching wisdom drawn from Helvie's considerable experience as a nurse, nursing educator and public health practitioner. I particularly enjoyed the chapters on positive mental and spiritual health behaviors and the many passages relating to health and relationships and also to health and our environment. I liked Helvie's stress on the importance of intervention and advocacy in matters of the environment and health.

I think this is a good book to use to make a solid self-assessment as to one's health from a holitstic perspective, with lots of good information and ideas for contending with health concerns in contemporary society. I recommend it to [...] buyers.

Carl Helvie's book, Healthy Holistic Aging, strikes a chord with many of his wise and economical suggestions for living to a drug-free old age. His list of herbs and their uses was especialy helpful. The book is written using his own experiences with the western medical regime (he has earned a doctorate in Public Health Nursing) versus his healing with alternative, gentler methods during his bout with lung cancer. His book also addresses the importance of healthy relationships to prolonging life--a topic that isn't readily addressed in other discussions of old age. Each topic is discussed candidly and clearly, from protecting one's environment to becoming a legislative activist; from surrounding oneself with beauty to eating and exercising wisely and well. Many studies are cited if the reader would like to explore furthur. I highly recommend this book as a general reference as well as for casual reading.

It is clear from the start that Dr. Helvie's intention is for each individual's total health - body, mind and spirit. He takes you step by step, (sometimes baby steps which are greatly appreciated), through the process of awareness, to understanding, and then offers directions to the path of healing. It is evident that the author believes in and practices what he preaches. The book is written to appeal to a wide audience and in easy to understand terms. I also suggest opening the book to a random page and read the pearls of wisdom offered. Do this often and the words will encourage you and support you on your road to Healthy Holistic Aging.

This blueprint advances the field of aging and efforts to improve the population's health and quality of life through direct education and information to the population as a whole. Dr. Helvie highlights the role of the community in assisting the individual and population to successfully attain optimum in health, environment and aging. This population - based approach goes further in its dissemination, beyond the confines of the book to include an interactive component that welcomes the reader to add information and update current research and information. In so doing, the author has engaged the populace in not only one's individual health and well being but that of the entire population. There are no boundaries using this dissemination and interaction approach.

What is exemplary about Healthy Holistic Aging is that the book not only provides an easy to follow blueprint for health and holistic aging, but the author is an exceptional role model for his program. Can you live a healthy and independent life to the age of 100? Can you enjoy positive relationships? Can you maintain a healthy environment? Carl Helvie says you can and at age 74, he's a perfect example of the right things to do. He has no chronic illnesses and is among the 11% of the age 65-and-overs who take no prescribed medications. As a professor emeritus and a doctor of public health, he knows whereof he speaks and cites overwhelming scientific evidence that good diet, exercise, adequate sleep, prayer, meditation, positive relationship with others and a clean and safe environment can ensure successful aging.

I just hope all of us will listen.

Carolyn Chambers Clark, RN, EdD
Author, Living Well with Anxiety

As a student/teacher of A Course in Miracles, dedicated to understand what I AM, Who my Brother Is...recognizing we are the Same, and not different...and how to look upon the world, and loose it from all I thought it was, I found NTI, Holy Spirit's Interpretation a profound Truth for anyone who is willing to receive its Light and Understanding.

Perfect for anyone, on any path, any religion, as it speaks of our Universal Self, Our Oneness, as God Created US, not as we believe.

Anyone who is a reader of the New Testament will appreciate this non-duality perception of the many books of NT. Anyone who is involved in any non-duality path..A Course in Miracles or any of the many Universal Curriculums all leading to the same place of "Know Thyself" will truly appreciate how NTI reinforces and resonates with where you are now, and deepens our appreciation of how Perfect it ALL IS!

David Fishman,
ACIM Gather and OneMind Foundation
Author of "Into Oneness, Thoughts and Prayers on the Way"

This book reminds me of Roshomon. I feel the description on the back cover that it is an "interpretation" of the NT, misses the point. This is a retelling from the HS, as the truly objective witness, and thus at times it sounds like an interpretation, but at other times it is equally a correction of very skewed ego-based viewpoints.
It is a gem, no doubt, and it will last.

If you had the ability to look at my bookshelves now, you would see that I'm nothing short of an empassioned self-help junkie and bibliophile. From this point of view, you may know, that there are some books that are nice to read and some that are merely entertaining or attractive. However, there are also those few books that rarely come along in your life which truly leave you breathless. These books touch your life so deeply that you cannot even imagine being without them. NTI is one of those books. The Holy Spirit's Interpretation of the New Testament perfectly reflects another one of my favorite books, A Course In Miracles, and neither do I feel that my life would be same without it.

Since receiving this book, I've been carrying it around with me at work and showing it to the people who I feel prompted to share it with (which sometimes is just about everyone). Also, I've been using it as a daily guide, similiar to how I often use the Course. At times, I'll just open up to any place within it, asking Holy Spirit for just the right place, and read... the answers I receive are always perfect for what I need to hear in that very moment.

Truly, I cannot speak more highly about this book. When you purchase it, and you should, do not just read it to be another part of your metaphysical, self-help or inspirational collection. Let this book be a part of your life! Let your life come to new heights through it. I can promise you that if you practice its wisdom, genuine peace and transformation will occur. Each moment I read NTI, I feel more inspired and more in love with Holy Spirit. WOW~ Simply Being: One Year with Spirit

I have read LOTS of spiritual books and teachings. This book is my favorite along with A Course in Miracles. Both give step by step instructions to waking up to who You really are and finding peace and joy. I find NTI to be very gentle in its approach. The voice that speaks throughout this book is gentle, reassuring and speaks with crystal clear clarity. There is a nugget of inspiration in every sentence. The gentle voice throughout this book leads you to come to Know yourSelf as you Truly are.
It says in the title that it is a book of understanding and acceptance. I definitely have a new understandng of Who I Am and what my purpose is. I also have come to a greater level of acceptance of myself, others and all that I see. Thats quite an accomplishemnt!!!

Reading this book has changed me. Practicing the guidance presented in this book has the power to change your life completely. I have found a new level of peace and joy, truly. This is a book that wont go back on the book shelf.
You will want to keep it near you for inspiration and guidance. I am very grateful I found this awesome book!! It is a Real gift!

This is an excellent book that is required reading for a Naturopathic Medicine course that would lead to the N.D. designation, Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine.

This easy to read book has got an amazing amount of very practical information. It's written in such a manner that you can easily find an ailment with it's corresponding therapeutic program (specific foods, supplements, herbs etc.) Dr. Airola also gives in my opinion the best lacto-vegetarian diet around. I've never been ill and feel great every single day since implementing this diet and his other health-boosting recommendations in my life. Bluntly said, this book covers everything you need to know to get healthy or get healing - the natural way.

I found many answers to what occurred in my body from this wonderful, simple yet direct book. I love the juice and soup recommendations and the formula for facial skin care. Everything I have tried from the book worked, so it's a keeper that I highly recommend to other people!

This book has the ring of truth to it, unlike many books on nutrition I've read. Dr. Airola lists most common diseases (and even includes a chapter on smoking), and gives step-by-step instructions on how to deal with those maladies, including dietary suggestions, herbal and other supplemental recommendations, as well as other techniques such as juice fasting. (I have followed Dr. Airola's protocol for fasting several times and have found it a cleansing and healing experience.) Several appendices are very helpful, including dissertations on how to fast properly and what constitutes a healthy diet. The writing style is engaging, even entertaining. I consider this book an essential part of the home library. It is a shame it doesn't have a wider readership in the United States.

In a time when one mostly sees the popular books written by armchair herbalists and sycophantic ND's, I found seeing Dr. Airola's book still in print a distinct pleasure. Dr. Airola not only writes and presents the material well, but he also transmits a charm and a positiveness that is healing in and of its own self. Dr. Airola practiced what he preached--what is in his books are the results of his clinical experience. No Bravo Sierra here.

I'll offer my testimomial here. What is in his book worked for me and worked in three weeks. The M.D.'s failed after three years. The experience moved me enough to study natural medicine in depth to the practitioner level. Dr. Airola's book were the first textbooks. Despite being layman's books, they are chocked full of knowledge.

Should you use this book, be prepared to juice. You need to either grow your own herbs or find good sources since the capsuled stuff in healthfood stores is garbage.

In this book, you will see a diet that is the progenitor of the some of the more recent popular diets, except that Airola's worked and has stood the test of time. The treatments for specific disease are complete, comprehensible, and usually on one or two pages.

One of the beauties of this book is that one who knows nothing of natural healing can take this book and get started right away to heal themselves, gain a strong backbone into natural healing, and turn their live's around.

To the negative, there is no information given on how to make herbal preparations. There is more to herbalism than eating a weed and Dr. Airola just gave the principle herbs for a specific treatment. In most cases, that would fine, however I suggest a good herbal or a practicing herbalist who makes their own brews to help in the preparation.

This book is an excellent first book for the prospective student of natural medicine (or biological medicine as Dr. Airola called it). It would be my first choice if one asked me for a guide to curing themselves, and it should be found to be an indespensible addition to one's library. It is the only book I loan to people and I have been through 3 copies as it gets worn out and stained over time.

Kristine O'Connell George's poetry is beautiful as these poems lead her observations of a mother hummingbird making a nest, laying her eggs, then the eggs hatching and the young moving out. The illustrations are lovely realistic sketches that capture each stage of the hummingbirds' development. This makes a nice Mother's Day gift. I also bought a copy for a special aunt who loves nature.

If you or I were to find a tiny hummingbird nest in our backyard, we would handle such a discovery in any variety of ways. Some people would probably set up a camera and create a 24-hr live feed to their website. Others would ignore the nest or, worse still, actively remove it due to some odd hummingbird-based-delusion that the creatures were pests. When author Kristine O'Connell George found her nest, she came up with a particularly original way of marking the event. She kept a steady journal and, when all was said and done, she turned that journal into poetry. And she turned that poetry into a book. And that book was illustrated by the all-too-accomplished Barry Moser. And as a result, children's librarians everywhere have the honor of carrying "Hummingbird Nest" on their shelves, ready to be taken out by any inquisitive child with a yen for tiny birdies. Neither you nor I might go this route, but then neither you nor I would have such a fine title to our name. Such is life.

There are 26 poems in this book, all told. At the beginning a single small bird launches itself at a family eating on their patio. It appears that the creature has claimed this area as its own and immediately sets about building a nest in a potted tree. After a short amount of time two eggs appear in the nest. The family carefully checks up on them when the mama bird is away. The chicks hatch and are fed by their mother. Then they grow over the course of 18-26 days. At the end of that time, one of the babies flies away without the family ever saying goodbye. The second bird has some false starts before it finally figures out how to fly, and (after a snack from mama) fly it does. From that time on, hummingbirds sip nectar from the family's feeder and the author says to herself in the Author's Note, "Were any of the fledglings that turned up at our feeder later that spring our hummingbirds? I like to think they were".

The book has the feel of realism to it, helped along by Moser's accurate artistic renderings. The poetry, for its part, is a kind of friendly free verse. All scientifically accurate. All tiny odes to greater hummingbird-dom. I was particularly fond of a poem entitled, "Spiders, Beware!" that cautions all arachnids that the hummingbirds are around and ready to steal their webbing. These poems are rather innocent and don't go in for witty metaphors or particularly original imagery. They're just gentle little pieces that contain words like, "this rainy evening / your quiet wings / smoothly pressed / as you patiently sit / gentle captain / of your cobweb ship". There's even a small hummingbird-ish haiku at the end (though for a superior hum-haiku, check out the one in Jack Prelutsky's, "If Not For the Cat"). At the end of the book is the Author's Note that tells the true story, some quick facts about hummingbirds, and a very nice bibliography of hummingbird resources for old and young readers.

It's really Barry Moser's art that lifts this little book from obscurity, though. If you haven't perused Moser's stunning, "In the Beginning" (with words by Virginia Hamilton) then I'm afraid you've a large gap in the creation-myth department of your brain. Moser's watercolors here are wonderful. In the picture where the hummingbird dive-bombs the family, we see an older woman dropping her breakfast spoon, a coffee cup already turned on its side, and a hand covering her face in what is unmistakably the beginning of a laugh. Moser's dog is mournful and his cat full of the languid grace of the species. There are changes in perspective, in distance, and in view. In this way, Moser creates what otherwise could have been a deathly dull series of illustrations.

Come to think of it, this whole enterprise could easily (in the hands of the less adept) have ended up as some kind of boring practice in nature poetry. Instead it captures a fascinating subject, those winged little paradoxes of the avian world, and displays for us all the wonder that she, the author, experienced once. There won't be a child in the world who doesn't yearn for a hummingbird nest of their own after paging through this light little book. Seriously consider pairing it with the equally lovely and aforementioned, "If Not For the Cat", for a detailed examination of the natural world through verse. A small but strong work.

As a reading specialist I regularly review new children's books. As soon as I saw this one, I thought of my mom. She's a sharp-minded 87-year-old who loves poetry, art and hummingbirds. She gives the artistry, both words and watercolors, of this book an easy five stars.

This book is a tender treasure of hummingbird experiences through the wide-open eyes of a family entranced and the pen of a noted writer clearly in love with her subject.

Written as delightful poems, the story contains many teachable moments following "Anna" through the birth process, portraying the teetering and testing of the young ones' wings, proceeding on to the inevitable empty nest. It was hard to hold back tears as the wonder-filled story touches on the universal, relating to many cycles in our own lives.

The delicate watercolor drawings are beautiful in their own right, yet support and enhance the story in seemingly perfect harmony.

I heartily recommend this book to hummingbird lovers and children of all ages, who, caught up in the flow of the story, will absorb many hummingbird facts before they even know it.

Beth Kingsley Hawkins
Co-Editor, The Hummingbird Connection
www.hummingbird.org

One warm, February morning a tiny hummingbird began building a nest in a ficus tree on the patio of George's home in Claremont , California . For the next two months George kept a "hummingbird journal" of the daily happenings. "I still marvel," she writes, "over the surprising range of emotions one small bird and her family evoked: awe, worry about possible dangers, and laughter when the baby birds teetered on the edge of the nest for their daily flight practice."

George has expertly taken those emotions and woven them into this delightful collection of poems. In "Visitor" we are introduced to the small mother. She is nothing more than a "spark, a glint, / a glimpse of pixie tidbit." In the next poem, however, we see her bravado and determination in action. She becomes a "feathered missile streaking by," ordering the humans off her patio, out of her territory.

Soon two eggs are visible in the "cobweb ship" of a nest. Once hatched, the nestlings, "raisin black / an wrinkled," settle in. In "Flight Practice," George does a superb job at allowing the reader to visualize the drama taking place: "Four curled up feet grip / the top of the nest. / Two tiny motors / rev up for the wing test."

Moser is in top form here. His realistic, incredibly detailed watercolor paintings are small jewels in themselves.

The poems and illustrations combine wonderfully to allow readers the opportunity to vicariously witness nature up-close.

Highly Recommended.

Reviewed by the Education Oasis Staff

... then buy, borrow or steal a copy! Never before have I read such a good exploration of Irish exile. Stranded in a dismal flat in England, the protagonist remembers his happy childhood in Ireland, the rough living and working conditions in England, and his only love. The language is quite simple and often Hiberno Irish, but deeply imaginative and so lyrical, that the line between prose and poetry gets blurred. The beautiful black/white pictures added to this book, and the author's ability to portray Irish music help to give an insight into Irish culture. Sometimes it's like watching a documentary, and suddenly you can't help but feeling you're listening to a song; a song of heartache and terrible longing. Despite far from being soppy the book is very moving in the end; you actually hope for a happy ending. But that wouldn't be Irish.

Tim O'Grady creates exquisitely wrought, archetypal prose that could even overpower Pyke's perfect documentary photos. (Without offense to Walker Evans, now I'm wishing Pyke had been around to collaborate with James Agee).

Amazingly, requires very little interest in Ireland or the Irish - O'Grady is from Chicago anyway and this book is more about experiences of all mankind. His crystalline narrative is hardly bound by ethnicity.

Extraordinary and inspiring new use of the verb, can. If you read poetry, you couldn't regret buying this experimental novel.

This book is beautiful and tragic and joyful and moving, all at the same time and independently over the course of the story. Through the poetic language of the text and the poetic imagery of the photos, the drama of every day life in Ireland is brought across as quietly epic, if such a thing can be.

... then buy, borrow or steal a copy! Never before have I read such a good exploration of Irish exile. Stranded in a dismal flat in England, the protagonist remembers his happy childhood in Ireland, the rough living and working conditions in England, and his only love. The language is quite simple and often Hiberno Irish, but deeply imaginative and so lyrical, that the line between prose and poetry gets blurred. The beautiful black/white pictures added to this book, and the author's ability to portray Irish music help to give an insight into Irish culture. Sometimes it's like watching a documentary, and suddenly you can't help but feeling you're listening to a song; a song of heartache and terrible longing. Despite far from being soppy the book is very moving in the end; you actually hope for a happy ending. But that wouldn't be Irish.

I am very familiar with the works of old time Irish writers including the works of James Joyce who wrote about Ireland in exile. I still don't know much about modern Irish novelists until I had the opportunity of meeting and listening to parts of Timothy O'Grady's novel at Perth Writer's Festival early this year. Immediately afterwards I bought a copy and later talked to Timothy briefly about writers in exile and their struggle with dislocation. This story is not only about dislocation and exile. This is the story of a man coming of age and following a journey during which he struggles to make sense of his life, dislocation, loss of love and loneliness.

This lyrically crafted novel is a great collaboration between O'Grady and photographer Steve Pyke. They collectively create a visual journey of a musical Irishman, his journey from one location to another, looking for work and the love of his life. O'Grady's begins his novel with a description of the protagonist's life back at home as a child:

"This room is dark, as dark as it ever gets - the hour before dawn in winter. I have sounds and pictures but they flit and crash before I can get them..."

For me, it is a metaphor of not been able to recreate the places and the people he left behind as a result of his journey.

O'Grady ends his novel with a similar narrative:

"In the room now a breeze comes in through the window and on it there is the smell of spring. Downstairs the girl turns on her radio... There is a time after long work when you can look for strength and there is nothing there....

In the morning light I let go."

In between, we learn about his journey, his recollection of Irish landscapes, the places left behind, the music he played and his love. But this is not just a mere description of a nostalgic mental journey of an Irishman in exile. This can happen anywhere, anytime, and to anyone.

Reading this novel is like watching a visually crafted documentary embedded with voice and music that we can see and hear.

I'm glad that I met O'Grady and read his novel as my introduction to modern Irish novelists. But this novel had another positive effect on me. When I met O'Grady I was writing a novel about my own dislocation. This novel inspired me to look at my private journey again and again, and continue my writing in exile!

I recommend this book to anyone interested in the beauty and tragic of moving from one place to another.

One side-effect of the common lectionary used by Catholics, Episcopaleans, Lutheran, and various mainstream Protestant churches is the development of some excellent lectionary based resources. (A lectionary contains the Biblical readings for a given Sunday).

This series of three volumes for the three year lectionary cycle (each year concentrates on a synoptic Gospel - Matthew, Mark or Luke) contains music, poetry, art, etc. that in some way reflect on the Scripture for a given Sunday. The volumes are carefully multicultural.

An example: for the first Sunday in Advent, there are poems by Philipp Nicolai with Carl P. Daw Jr, and Alberto Taule; a photo of a cross of the community by the artisans of La Palma, El Salvador; a responsory reading by Miriam Therese Winter; and a painting by Glen Strock.

Each Sunday is equally diverse. You should always be able to find something that meets your needs and/or challenges you to reconsider your needs. Highly recommended.

One side-effect of the common lectionary used by Catholics, Episcopaleans, Lutheran, and various mainstream Protestant churches is the development of some excellent lectionary based resources. (A lectionary contains the Biblical readings for a given Sunday).

This series of three volumes for the three year lectionary cycle (each year concentrates on a synoptic Gospel - Matthew, Mark or Luke) contains music, poetry, art, etc. that in some way reflect on the Scripture for a given Sunday. The volumes are carefully multicultural.

An example: for the first Sunday in Advent, there are photos by Paul Chesley, David Austen and Dennis Oda;excerpts from Robert A. Raines and Jospeh Wood Krutch; poetry by Dom Helder Camara and Thomas John Carlisle; and a detail from art by Naul Ojeda.

Each Sunday is equally diverse. You should always be able to find something that meets your needs and/or challenges you to reconsider your needs. Highly recommended.

Gorgeous book of art tied to the Christian lectionary. Poetry, paintings, photographs, sculpture, scripture quotes. A real treat!

This is a thick soft cover art book that accompanies Biblical passages with art objects - paintings, sculptures from all cultures, Italian Renaissance to Modern Chinese water-colour that attempts to IMAGE the WORD - the gospel, and puts the love of Jesus in Christianity into a non-preachy, very emotionally and aesthetically moving document that appeals to the modern, intellectual, sophisticated, sensitive, cultured but atheist reader. It makes the Bible come alive in a fantasy of visual ecstasy. A marvellous gift for those who are hurting from a lack of understanding God's love. A spiritually soothing gift in a coffee-table book format.

One side-effect of the common lectionary used by Catholics, Episcopaleans, Lutheran, and various mainstream Protestant churches is the development of some excellent lectionary based resources. (A lectionary contains the Biblical readings for a given Sunday).

This series of three volumes for the three year lectionary cycle (each year concentrates on a synoptic Gospel - Matthew, Mark or Luke) contains music, poetry, art, etc. that in some way reflect on the Scripture for a given Sunday. The volumes are carefully multicultural.

An example: for the first Sunday in Advent, there are poems by Czeslaw Milosz, Sandra Cisneros and Janet Morley; a photo of a festive cross by Claudio Jimenez; quotations from Lamar Williamson Jr. and the Gelasian Sacramentary; a song by Arthur G. Clyde (contemporary); paintings by Rodolfo Abularach and Salvador Dali.

Each Sunday is equally diverse. You should always be able to find something that meets your needs and/or challenges you to reconsider your needs. Highly recommended.

This book offers an impressive amount of info in just 2 pages per syndrome/disease. Love it for boards & reading up on topics you'll find on the office, however it lacks some acute issues you may find in the hospital. For instance, Electrolyte imbalances...a book like Inpatient Pediatrics sheds a great deal of light on that subject, but the book itself is physically larger.

This book has the essentials of over 220 topics in Peds - in a single page it gives you etiology, epidemiology, differential, signs and symptoms, treatment, and prognosis. What more can you ask for? Excellent as a quick reference and for studying.

This is a fantastic reference for residents and medical students. I especially found it useful in preparing for attending rounds, but it's also great for exam review. I'm very happy with this purchase.

I bought this book after my third year clerkship. I do wish I had it during the clerkship. Still, it has been great for Step 2 studying. I look things up very quickly and get a full picture of diseases I have a question about. The format is excellent.

As a practicing pediatrician, I use this book to review a few items that I have long since forgotten. I also recommend it to the medical students and pediatric residents that rotate through my office. I love the fact that the material is written in an easy to understand format. It virtually jumps off the page at you. I also think its organization into to etiology, epidemiology, differential diagnosis etc. makes it idea for the medical student. Its format reflects how you will be "pimped" on rounds and the key stats and concepts that you will see on the USMLE. A great read!!!

Dr. David O. Beale, author of In Pursuit of Purity: American Fundamentalism Since 1850, is the pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Franklin, Virginia and a professor of church history at Bob Jones University. Beale is a Fundamental Baptist Pastor and professor, but he writes as a historian committed to preserving the record of the fundamentalist fight against the infiltration of liberalism in American Christianity in both the Nineteenth and Twentieth Century through articles and books like In Pursuit of Purity. Beale begins by defining Fundamentalism and then progressively works through periods of time in a logical and well-defined manner with short well-documented chapters focused on specific issues and denominations. Beale's work provides any evangelical Christian with a single volume resource to gain a clear appreciation of why Baptists, Presbyterians, Congregationalist and other Bible believing Christians united to fight those who sought to undermine and ultimately destroy a believer's confidence in the Word of God and the person and work of the Son of God.
After defining a Christian Fundamentalist as "one who desires to reach out in love and compassion to people, believes and defends the whole Bible as the absolute inerrant, and authoritative Word of God, and stands committed to the doctrine and practice of holiness," (3) Beale gets to work by establishing that fundamentalism is not some new phenomena in Chapter one but merely an extension and continuation of a long line of dissenting groups who have always stood strong for Orthodox Christianity. Beale assumes that his reader has very limited understanding of what fundamentalists were fighting for; therefore, he systematically explains the issues and communicates well-documented facts in short, easy-to-read chapters. Beale's organization makes his work valuable as both a single read for clarity and a lifelong reference work for further information on specific topics like "The Fall of Princeton Theological Seminary." (165) Beale's opening sentence in chapter thirty-one provides a good flavor of his writing style and focus; he writes, "There have been several notable Fundamentalists who sounded a clarion warning of Methodism's drift into modernism." (309) Then Beale goes on to provide names, incidents, points of reference, articles and such all relating to fundamental Methodists and their either individual or collective impact.
At times, Beale writes with "rose colored glasses" as he opens his final chapter with "Fundamentalism has shown a desire to reach out in love and compassion to people." (353) This is exceptionally difficult to completely substantiate. In fact, Beale seems to contradict himself as he presents men like J. Frank Norris as those who tremendously impacted fundamentalism in a positive manner. Although it was true that Norris impacted fundamentalism, he does not have a reputation of reaching out to people in love or compassion. Beale makes specific reference to Norris as the "Texas Tornado," a Baptist that would use his pulpit to attack people and at one point shot a person in what was later determined to be "justifiable homicide" as self-defense. (235)
The greatest strength of Beale's work is the manner in which it is trans-denominational. Beale's Baptist association does not affect his ability to present an inclusive work showing that it was not just one particular denomination that was concerned about the fundamentals of the faith. Beale's reader will gain a much greater understanding of the complexity and depth of the fundamental movement. He or she will learn of Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists and other denominations that were active in fighting against the negative effects of liberalism. Some chapters are exclusively dedicated to particular denominations while other chapters show how denominations came together in associations like the World's Christian Fundamentals Association. (97)
Perhaps one weakness of Pursuit of Purity is Beale's failure to help the reader understand the relationship between Evangelical and Fundamental churches and seminaries. Beale would have done well to address the differences and similarities between Evangelicals and Fundamentalists. He briefly mentions churches that include "evangelical" in their name but does not devote any time in educating his reader in what makes a person or a church evangelical or fundamental. Maybe the lines are not clear enough in Beale's mind to identify a distinction, but he does not communicate that either. Evangelical churches are too large of a constituency in the body of Christ to ignore in a work whose readership is theologically conservative but not fundamentalist.
Pursuit of Purity needs to be mandatory reading for pastors, teachers, trustees, directors and any lay person involved in the leadership of an evangelical or fundamental Christian institution like a church, college or seminary. The manner in which Beale shows his reader the importance of five key fundamentals of the faith in a non-theological work is exceptionally compelling. Anyone who questions the importance of "earnestly contending for the faith once delivered" will be encouraged by the historical examples Beale provides in a well-written, easy-to-read record of over one hundred years of American Christian Fundamentalism.

Pastor Sean Harris

This is a narrative history of fundamentalism focusing on its internal development as a self-conscious interdenominational movement in American Christianity. Based upon research in an impressive variety of sources and written in a clear, straightforward style, it provides a valuable perspective on the history of fundamentalism by an insider, a faculty member of an institution that considers itself a citadel of true fundamentalism. Professor Beale leaves little doubt about those groups that he believes belong among the fundamentalist faithful and those whose compromises have placed them beyond the pale.
Divided into thirty-seven chapters, the work traces the history of fundamentalism from the Prayer Meeting Revivals (1857-1859) and the "great revival" in Ireland (1859-1861) through the Bible and prophetic conferences of the late nineteenth century and the struggles during the first three decades of the twentieth century to the contemporary scene in which those who consider themselves the legitimate and obedient contenders of the fundamentalist faith are arrayed against an infinite variety of enemies, ranging from religious liberals and tolerant conservatives to the "new evangelicals" and "neofundamentalists." In a vein similar to works by George Marsden and other recent students of fundamentalism, this one interprets the phenomenon as primarily urban and Northern in origin with significant roles assigned to eminently respectable theologians of the Presbyterian and Baptist persuasion. Professor Beale emphasizes the complexity and diversity of fundamentalism and attempts to correct the stereotypical view of it as a compassionless, anti-intellectual, religiously contentious movement mean of spirit and pharisaical of character.
The two basic themes of this book revolve around the interdenominational character of fundamentalism and its emphasis on "the doctrine and practice of holiness," a term that the author defines as meaning separation-separation from the world, false religion, and every practice of disobedience to the scriptures. Fundamentalists, Professor Beale argues, have always accepted the Bible unequivocally as the divinely and verbally inspired, inerrant Word of God. While their methods of pursuing holiness have changed from time to time, their theology has not.
From its origins in 1857 to about 1930, fundamentalists functioned as non-conformists bent upon ridding mainline churches of liberals and modernists, labels used interchangeably. Failing in that effort, they embraced separatism beginning in the 1930s and withdrew from denominations controlled by liberals and other "apostates." Then, confronted by the emergence of the "new evangelicals" in the 1950s, who strove for respectability and even opened dialogues with liberals, fundamentalists began practicing their holiness in another way. They withdrew from churches and institutions that had become dominated by "disobedient evangelicals" (9).
According to Professor Beale, the "Christian school movement" was one of the most significant developments in the recent history of fundamentalism. In the vanguard of such institutions were Bob Jones Academy and the Stony Brook School, both established in the 1920s, which served as models for similar institutions that proliferated rapidly after 1950. Individuals such as Bob Jones, a host of graduates of his university, Ian Paisley and a few others, rather than Jerry Falwell and those classified as "neo-fundamentalists," continue to hold aloft the authentic flag of fundamentalism. They constitute a relatively small band who adhere to the dictum that "the only true fundamentalist is a fighting fundamentalist" (357).
Presbyterians figure significantly in this volume. Seven chapters are devoted exclusively to "Presbyterian Fundamentalism to 1930," followed by extensive coverage of Westminster Seminary, Carl McIntire and the Bible Presbyterian controversies and Paisley's Free Presbyterian Church. Regardless of whether one agrees or disagrees with the basic interpretations of fundamentalism put forward by Professor Beale, no one is likely to dismiss his book as insignificant.
By Willard B. Gatewood Jr. (University of Arkansas, Fayetteville), in "American Presbyterians: Journal of Presbyterian History." Volume 67, Number 3.
For a companion volume, with a number of sources on the Fundamentalist-Modernist controveries discussed by Professor Beale, one might also consult Willard B. Gatewood Jr., ed. "Controversy in the Twenties: Fundamentalism, Modernism, and Evolution." Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 1969.

This is a sorely needed and admirable work on a frequently misunderstood and misrepresented movement. It is engagingly written and informative. This thorough work of history deserves a place in any well rounded library and should be sought out by anyone interested in the history of American Christianity.

This book explains for those of us not raised in the fundamentalist tradition that the tradition is really the pursuit for purity--purity in scriptures and purity in holiness. When those of us raised outside of the fundamentalist tradition learn what this pursuit for purity is all about--we join in this pursuit for all things pure.

This easy to read history of American Fundamentalism chronicles the sad, but true, story of how the "leaven" of liberalism destroyed all of the mainline churches in America. The book is really a collection of many short essays tied together to paint a grotesque picture of how Satan has driven those who claim to serve Jesus Christ to deny such fundamental doctrines as the diety of The Messiah, the inerrency and inspiration of Scripture, the Virgin Birth, etc. Finally, this book is a warning to all true believers, in America and in the World, to purge the leaven of sin and false teachers out of their local churches! In order for those who love the Lord Jesus Christ to faithfully serve Him, we must take the warnings contained in this wonderful book and apply it directly to ourselves in this evil age. A must read!

Nobody explains mathematical ideas for the layman as does Lillian R. Lieber. And the fanciful illustrations that always accompany her work, done by Hugh Gray Lieber, are amusing and informative.

Infinity: Beyond the Beyond the Beyond presents an account of how mathematics has learned to deal with the infinite, through the work of Georg Cantor. Controversial in its day, Cantor's set theory and transfinite arithmetic are now part of the foundations of modern mathematics. Perhaps the most startling idea to be had from this book is that infinite sets are not all of the same size.

I have before me a copy of the 1953 original, as well as the 2007 abridgement. Aside from the fact that the older book is a hardcover, the abridgement is the better book. The editor, Barry Mazur, a mathematician at Harvard, has removed the dated, nonmathematical introductory material and the chapters on calculus. This book is now a superb layman's guide to the mathematics of transfinities.

If you would like more biography and less mathematics, you might try The Mystery of the Aleph: Mathematics, the Kabbalah, and the Search for Infinity, by Amir D. Aczel.

Note: In 1900, David Hilbert put forth a list of the 23 most important unsolved problems in mathematics. At the head of the list was Cantor's continuum hypothesis. The problem was still open when the Liebers wrote their book. In 1963, a mathematician named Paul Cohen proved that the continuum hypothesis is actually independent of the generally accepted axioms of set theory, and earned the Fields medal for it.

Beware! This is not Lillian Lieber's original work. It has been abridged. Approximately one third of the original text and presumably the drawings have disappeared. In the forward, Barry Mazur, states plainly that he zapped Lillian's preface, chapter 1, one half of chapter 17, and all of chapters 18 through to 24. Gone is Lillian's introduction to SAM, Lillian's spirit creature of Science, Art, and Mathematics. Why did Mazur do this? He thought the Liebers digressed too much. He wanted them to stay on track with the main subject, transfinite mathematics. He thought that some of their worldly concerns speak less to a modern audience than they did to their readers in 1953. However we have to take Dr. Mazur's word for it, as the sections are deleted and you can no longer judge for yourself. Despite my misgivings I give a 5 star rating as what is left is still beautiful. However you may wish to try the used book market to get the original version.

This is a great book. I first found it in my high school library. For the uninitiated, who would have thought there were different levels of infinity? This book explains infinity in a readable and entertaining way. It is too bad this book is out of print as I suspect it would still be in high demand. It would make a great title for a book club. Somebody needs to republish it!

As an Army brat, I found this book in the school library on the Naval base in Tianan, Tiawan in 1958.

As a 10th grader with a fondness for math, it was great. I think I'd seen a little bit about transfinite numbers in George Gamow's "1 2 3 Infinity", but this was an amazing tour of transfinite numbers, written so it could be understood by T C Mits. I learned a lot from it -- a real mind stretcher. I later recognized other books by the same author by the illustrations -- If you know her other books, nothing more need be said.

I've not seen the book in over 40 years, but decided I needed to find a copy -- it's one of the favorite books I read before college. I was looking at my copy of "The Education of T.C.Mits" and decided to see what I could find.

Lillian Lieber and her husband Hugh created some of the most wonderful books in the fields of mathematics, logic, and relativity. Although some of my fondest childhood memories are the hours I spent trying to fully grasp the meaning in her books, I find these same books to be no less enjoyable today as an adult. I cannot recommend her books highly enough.

I bought this book for using the Coelli's software of DEA. This text is useful for expanding the area of this type of study. We can get a manual of his program from the book's site, though. We are able to understand more easily how to put together many data.

I am very happy to receive my order even before the expected date. it was in good order.

This book covers three major approaches to productivity measurement, namely: Index Numbers, Data Envelopment Analysis and Stochastic Frontiers. Examples and applications are provided using software available from the authors' website for free. No doubt it's the best starting point for those who want to learn about the subject.

Im using this book for a class on the same topic as the name of the book. My prof is someone who is an expert on the topic and he knows the author well. In fact he's writing his own book. I find the topics advanced, maybe for senior level econ-math majors and more for graduate study. Reader must have a decent background in economics and mathematics to grasp concepts as the into, which was supposed to be a crash course in microecon would not be helpful to someone with no prior training.

A complete and an excellent book that provides the gist to efficiency and productivity analysis, and surely an important and particularly a very useful resource to those involve in study/research of the field.