Source The Books

Charles Stanley is brilliant. I've read and heard so much from this man I can't properly review this book (borrowed last year) ... and his stuff blurs together for me. He talks about his life, tough childhood, and struggles ... he has a knack at meeting people where they are and giving spot on strength. Such a godly man he might freak you out if you are not ready for him. He was divorced. He keeps stuff real. This book helped me after I left my husband. I had little strength, fears, stress...this man helped greatly. Now I listen to him every morning without fail...and I LOVE music, but he gets me to flip over.

This book was recommended to me by an individual I trust. Alot of the book was not relevant to me and my situation, but I'm glad I read the entire book. It was a relatively easy read and quite inspirational!

This book was amazing. Charles Stanley points out who the source of our strenth is when we are in financial trouble, spiritual trouble, physical trouble, or whatever. He gives us point by point instructions on getting through the pain we are facing. When we are in a tough situation, hurting deeply or whatever, this book will teach us to rely on the power of Jesus Christ to heal our feeble and broken hearts!!! Get this book, and it will have an impact on your life today!!!!!!!!!

In tragedy we need to know what the source of our strength is.
When I lost someone I loved I needed to remember that Christ is the Source of my strength. Thank you Charles Stanley for your guidance and for sharing your knowledge of the word.
I have also found it helpful to use another Christian book to help me continue to heal. It is Write From Your Heart, A Healing Grief Journal.
The answers and the comfort are in the word and in Him.

this book was awesome. Charles Stanley is really compassionate in this book. He goes through different types of emotional pain and really delves into the Scriptures to bring healing to those who are in pain. It's so highly recommended! Get it!

I found this book to be excellent. It clearly defines areas to be researched, how to do that research, where to find the resources and how to make sure the package will meet the needs of the users. It is well written, easily understood by all levels of users and extremely, extremely helpful. If only users of open source software went through these steps, open source would be far more successful than it already is.

Bernard Golden's book offers one of the most comprehensive analytical tools for evaluating open source software projects, his Open Source Maturity Model (which is also featured on his website, www.navicasoft.com.) The book starts with a general overview of open source software, open source business models, and key legal issues, and then discusses the OSMM in depth. It also offers a very detailed and fair evaluation of a major open source project, JBoss.

Whether you are a developer creating an open source project, a user evaluating an open source project, or an investor doing due diligence, this book is a very valuable resource.

This book is perhaps the best resource I've run across on the subject of evaluating open source.

In this book, Golden explains the methodology of applying his Open Source Maturity Model (OSMM). OSMM is a framework for evaluating the maturity of an open source project and its usefulness, specific to an organizations software requirements. The book provides excellent insight into the organization and culture of open source projects and provides a wealth of recommendations for investigating and evaluation open source software.

I was really blown away by the accessibility and accuracy of Golden's writing. Having been involved in open source for about 6 years in one context or another, I found his analysis of open source software to be spot-on. If you are looking for a simple, guided, and clear methodology for evaluating the usefulness and maturity of a specific open source project, you should read this book. It's a goldmine.

Any IT Manager with their eye on the radar knows that open source software is rapidly maturing into a viable alternative to expensive commercial software packages. However, there are still some barriers to entry into the OSS world, especially for IT Managers within large, traditional, non-IT companies.

The OSMM evaluation method described in this book is a perfect fit for an IT Manager trying to find a way to justify their use of open source software inside the software stack of one of those traditional, non-IT companies.

The real-world examples provided by Bernard throughout the book are very interesting and can be used as additional "weight" to your arguments if you are trying to convince your boss that your use of OSS is no longer the pioneering adventure that it once was.

This book not only provides OSMM evaluation method, but also a well-written overview of the current status of OSS in the first three chapters.

I was not able to find blank worksheet templates on www.navicasoft.com although the book indicates that these are located somewhere on the website. I also could not find a way to upload an assessment to share with the OS community. This is a something that should be considered as it would really be a tactical advantage for IT Manager's efforts if there was a section of Navica's website dedicated to sharing OSMM assessments of the different OS packages. I can imagine that a user community would quickly spring up in response to such an portal.

Truly an excellent book!

Have you been wondering how to extend the use of open source software in your organization, but would like to know how to find the right software and do pro-quality evaluations of alternatives effectively? This excellent book by Bernard Golden will show you what's different about open source in detail, how you might make those differences work in your organization, and how to use a simple, effective model that summarizes the necessary elements to compare different apps that might fit into your environment. Using Golden's methods will educate your choices, reduce your risks, and help you to succeed with open source.

This is a "How-To" book for IT managers, but it's also very suitable for beginners. The concepts don't require technical knowledge, and the explanations are clear and concise.

Part I is an overview of everything you wanted to know about open source. It dispells myths, and helps you to understand why open source works at all. Best of all, each chapter has an executive summary, and most paragraphs have a margin note that summarizes the paragraph's concept. This really makes the book easy to read or review. You can skim down the page reading the concept notes until you come to the areas where you want more in-depth knowledge. The overview is excellent.

Part II (which also includes the great paragraph notes) introduces Golden's Open Source Maturity Model, the framework for applying what you learned, or knew, from Part I, and more that you will learn later in Part II. The model is a template that grids the elements for software assessment and weighting factors. When you do the math you get the product maturity score, maturity being how full-featured and ready for production use the product is. Of course, your weighting factors will affect the score to make it useful in light of your organization. Formally scoring a number of products will pinpoint the products you should and should not be considering. This part is pretty simple.

The devil, of course, is in the details. Golden discusses different types of organizations, how they should set up their reviews, weightings and interpret scores. Then he applies this process to a real-world example using JBOSS, a significant open source product. Each element is fully explored in its own chapter, and this is where the rubber meets the road. Golden compares how commercial products provide the elements, then he discusses how open source provides the elements, many times by using different mechanisms. He gives great guidance on how to find and use these resources when they differ from the single-point solution of commercial software. If differences between open source and commercial software implementation weren't clear to you before, they will be after these chapters, and you'll begin to know how to get the most out of them, too. Open source may not be the right answer for your environment, but now you'll know exactly why, and what has to change before it is.

This is a well-written and thorough book, good for initiates and decision makers, made easy to use by the paragraph notes. If open source is on your radar, I highly recommend it.

This is the "bible" of genealogy citation. The layout of the book makes it easy to find the source and how to cite it correctly on research.

Service in getting this book was both quick and easy. The book is great and has been very helpful in my family research.

I have only begun to use this reference tool but have been very impressed so far. I needed a guide to thorough citing of sources in my genealogical and historical research. I am an amateur and is has been many years since I learned documentation. I was thoroughly confused about how to document electronic sources.

This book gives numerous and specific examples of citations for a wide range of possible sources. Even if you don't choose to use an established style, you can easily discern what information is needed to provide for a return to the source of your information. It is very much worth the purchase price if you are desirous of effective documentation of your work.

"Evidence Explained" by Elizabeth Shown Mills is by far the most comprehensive resource I have seen for accurately and effectively citing historical sources. The book is well organized and the author provides excellent citation examples for just about every source imaginable. Whether you are a novice or experienced researcher, I would highly recommend this book.

I admit it -- when a new book is announced by Elizabeth Mills, I immediately put in an advance order, without even reading any reviews. I've heard her speak at dozens of conferences and seminars, local and national, and I've read (I think) all of her published articles. My regard for her professional expertise is such that anything she cares to say, I want to hear.

Taken by the main title alone, and by the announced length of the book, I was hoping for a grand collection of the author's thoughts on the ferreting out of sources, the evaluation of evidence gleaned from them, and the knitting of that evidence into a provable case. Sort of a distillation of her forty-plus years of accumulated wisdom in an area of family research in she is arguably the leading expert. The subtitle, though, is more accurate. Only twenty-two pages at the beginning address the subject of evidence and what to do with it.

The bulk of the volume is given over to a series of topical chapters of various types of source materials -- published books and articles, unpublished manuscripts, business and institutional records, census, church, and cemetery records, local and state records produced by courts and clerks, national governmental records, and laws and court cases. Another sizable section covers handwritten and electronic correspondence, records and other materials (often ephemeral) found on the Internet, and broadcast or televised source material. Each chapter and section is preceded by a "QuickCheck" list of concise models and examples of the citation formats under discussion. (Those for electronic sources expand on Mills's "QuickSheet: Citing Online Historical Resources," a four-page laminated ready-reference tool also published by Genealogical Publishing (revised edition, 2007). There's an immense amount of detail here, far more than in Mills's classic and now standard _Evidence!_ (1997). If you need to know how to cite the contents of the Norwegian Lutheran Church's registers, you'll find it on pages 362-65. In that regard, this volume should be considered the genealogical equivalent of the _Chicago Manual of Style,_ and as such, it's going to be the immediate standard for genealogical writing for publication. But it will probably be regarded as overkill for most hobby-level researchers. (The author would argue that every effort should be made to produce the best work possible, whether the researcher is a professional working for pay or a weekend hobbyist, . . . and I would agree. But still.) Perhaps this book would have been better conceived (and marketed) as a substantial expansion of _Evidence!_ And I'm still hoping to see that future work with Elizabeth Mills's name on it, called perhaps "Everything I Know About Genealogy."

Finally: Not to cavil, but one error on the very first page caught my eye, where the author quotes Lawrence of Arabia's warning that "All sources lie," and then refers to him (twice) as "Sir Lawrence." Actually, Col. T. E. Lawrence's given names were "Thomas Edward," and the proper style is therefore "Sir Thomas." The copyeditor really should have caught that.

This book made me sad. Because it is so well-written about subject matter that was beyond my belief, I have been shaken out of my idylls. Worse still it is so well documented that every item can easily be looked up and confirmed.

What brought me to this book was my reading in German the book by Murat Kurnaz, "Five Years of My Life: An Innocent Man in Guantanamo" in July of 2007. Not a detail of the legal matters mentioned by Margulies is in conflict with Mr. Kurnaz's first-hand account of his experiences as a prisoner. Margulies' book should be required reading for every Congressman and Senator in Washington, DC. I will not be able to rest now until justice is meted out to those who have committed such horrendous crimes against humanity.

Mr. Margulies and Mr. Kurnaz point out that "harsh interrogation" is far more than "water-boarding." Mr. Kurnaz was physically picked up and his head was placed under water while he was punched and kicked in the stomach. He was suspended from the ceiling for days, until he passed out. US physicians attended him, not to give relief from his suffering, but to keep him alive for more torture. He witnessed prisoners killed by US torture.

Margulies' book is an opportunity for education. May we all be better educated.

This book deserves a much wider audience. No matter how bad you think things are in Guantanamo, this book makes clear that the reality is ten times worse. Margulies is extremely knowledgeable about the issues, and he's a fine writer. It is hard not to feel ashamed -- and outraged -- by the injustices that are occurring under our flag. Let me add that I do not know (and have never met) the author, Joseph Margulies.

The author was the lead counsel for Rasul and other detainees in the noted Supreme Court case of 2004, Rasul v. Bush. The question in that case underlines the whole bitter debate with the Bush Administration: whether detainees at Guantanamo have the right to challenge their indefinite detention in a fair way. The other big issue in this book involves torture and how the detainees are treated.

The author notes that the United States has always been at the forefront in upholding the Geneva Conventions. Even during the Korean War when the North Koreans treated American POWs barbarically, the U.S. upheld the Conventions. Even during the unconventional Vietnam War when the Viet Cong did not wear uniforms and hid among civilians or when American fliers were tortured in North Vietnam, the U.S. honored the Conventions. According to the Red Cross everyone in enemy hands has some status, either as a POW under the Third Convention or as a civilian under the Fourth Convention. In the past the U.S. has served as a model in upholding these laws of war and had until recently established the moral high ground in the face of lawless torture around the world.

Bush keeps insisting to the American people: "We do not torture." He is not lying according to the narrow definition established in the Justice Department's legal opinion known as the "torture memo" by Yoo and Bybee, and subsequent revisions to that opinion. The author notes the veil of secrecy over the inner workings of Guantanamo, the careful screenings given to visitors, but Time Magazine obtained leaked records concerning the interrogation logs of Mohammed al-Qahtani, which reveal the kind of methods used: solitary confinement, sensory overload, induced hypothermia, sleep deprivation, various devices used to cause severe disorientation, various forms of humiliation; in other words, a systematic breakdown of the human personality, a psychological assault that can be done without laying a hand on the prisoner, intended to lower the detainee not just to the sub-human level but even to the sub-animal level (the chilling comparison by the interrogator to banana rats). The question becomes what else would be found if other interrogation logs were made available.

Secretary Rumsfeld referred to the detainees as "the worst of the worst." But are they really? Beyond the locked gate of national security, the author refers to numerous voices from the military and intelligence services who state that only a minority of the detainees have yielded intelligence of any significant value, that there have been "no big fish", that the majority were "dirt farmers from Afghanistan", or in the case of the author's clients, impressionable youth who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. The author notes that only 5% of all detainees were captured by Americans. The rest were rounded up by the Northern Alliance or by war-lords who were more interested in settling scores. The roundup was made even more of a farce by a Defense Department campaign to distribute leaflets offering a bounty for any terrorist.

In response to the Supreme Court's decision in Rasul for judicial review of Guantanamo detainees, the Administration undertook to set up CSRTs (Combatant Status Review Tribunals) in order to determine whether a detainee is an "enemy combatant". But the CSRTs have been so skewed in the interest of national security that evidence is withheld and charges are often hidden in a farcical way. The detainees are also prevented from presenting evidence or testimony unless it is "reasonably available". An example of the absurdity of this process is an exchange quoted here from the petitioner Ait Idir, a petitioner in the forthcoming Boumediene v. Bush Supreme Court case, in which the name of the accuser, an alleged al-Qaeda operative, is not named for security reasons.

The author describes the outlandish charges made against his client Mamdouh Habib from "confessions" he gave after his rendition to Egypt to be tortured. Fortunately for Habib, when they tried to render him to Egypt for a second time, the lid of secrecy was blown off by the press, and he was released without any charges and flown back to his home in Australia after three years of incarceration.

One of the few books I've read about any controversial topic that resists the temptation to start name-calling, insult-slinging and obvious political agendas.

Dr. Margulies succeeds in explaining legal arguments in a way that is engaging and not condescending. He addresses every question you could have about torture and then some. He does something many authors fail to do: he argues his point in a greater context than the argument itself. That is to say, anyone can argue torture in the context of laws or the Geneva Convetions. Dr. Margulies goes further and discusses torture in the context of security for civilians and soldiers and foriegn policy, and then also provides the background for the writing of the Geneva Conventions and why we have refrained from torture in the past.

Absolutely enlightening.

Robert McNamara noted (about WWII), "LeMay said if we lost the war that we would have all been prosecuted as war criminals. And I think he's right. He... and I'd say I... were behaving as war criminals." No question that the only thing that keeps Bush, Rumsfeldt, etc. out of jail is that fact that they are protected by our country's hard to challenge power. If we were a broken power rather than a great power, it seems certain that someone would try to lock them up.

This book confirms that many laws, national and international, regarding torture, detention, and so on have been willfully violated. It is a compelling and disturbing story. And the final chapters are still to be written.

If you like Muscle Cars or even interested in American automobiles, please buy this book. You can tell Oldham has fully lived the Muscle Car era and he tells it like it is. This book is well worth the money.

If you are wanting an encyclopedia regurgitating facts and stats, this isn't where you will find it. If however, you want an entertaining read chronicaling what it was like to experience these cars in their heyday, this book is a must have. It was hard to put down, and it was honest. Most books tell you how wonderful every car between the covers is. This book gives the good and the bad, and debunks a lot of myths (the history of these cars is usually remembered through rose colored glasses).

Being a former muscle car owner, and a current enthusiast, I appreciated the frankness of the author, and enjoyed the tales. The only downside of the book is a dearth of color photography. There are some color pics, but not many. In defense of the author, most of the pics used were probably black and white since they were of the cars during their heyday, not modern restorations.

Worth every penny. This book is a must have.

I bought this book as a gift for a friend that is really into the old muscle cars. I knew that I had made the right choice by the way his eyes popped as he started reading. Now nearly everytime I see him, he is telling me something different that he has read in this book. In the United States, we are seeing the growth of interest in these older cars. Our "baby-boomers" are at the age when we can afford to relive our youth. Automobiles were such a large part of our lives they dominated our culture. So now, we are flooded with books by writers who really should not. Muscle Car Confidential is an exception. This well written motor-memour hits our "button" like a ice-cold beer on a hot day in the driveway. We are taken back to the days when the old U.S.A. automobile was the baddest dog on the block. However this writer does not gloss over the faults he found. So that our own memories and feelings about our cars are sharpened, either by being validated or confronted. What better way to spend our few resting hours than by a combination of affermations and challenges. Bottom line, buy the book!

This is a great book, full of interesting insights and funny stories. The inside scoop about some highly overrated or uderrated muscle cars. The author tells it like it was, and some legends get knocked off their pedestals in the process. Lots of good stories told by the guy who had the job we all wanted!

Joe does a wonderful job expalining the likes and dislikes of each test car using his old notes for the original test. I particulary likes when Joe mentions why some of these rare Hemi's are so rare. No body wanted them then because they didn't run. But try to tell that to the guy that just spent over $125,000 for a clean one or over a million for some unwanted (when new)1971 Hemi Cuda convert. Oh well. The times they are a changing. A must buy book.

This book and CD are a wealth of knowledge. As a person of African descent, hearing how these persons were treated in a county supposedly for freedom and equality, not only was a horrified but very angry.
I will NEVER forgive this coutry for the ill treatment and hardship that racism and bigotry ahs and still is causing.

I am currently a high school student that read part of this for a Civil War class and let me say this is one powerful book. With people who were the slaves themselves tell you their stories, you learn alot about the antebellum period. I would recommend this book for any mature person due to the fact that some of these stories show the true horror of slavery.

This is a must have, must read, must hear book. With the sixty-nine minute recording of the actual slave interviews from the 1930s, we have the only known recording of the actual voices of actual slaves telling their story. Hearing their voices is like being tele-ported back in time. The book itself also examines those same interviews, primarily through "Weevils in the Wheat: Interviews with Virginia Ex-Slaves."

Teachers and speakers will want their students and audiences to hear these voices. They give voice to the voiceless and bring alive these heroic survivors.

Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction , Spiritual Friends, and Soul Physicians.

For several years I've been reading powerful thought-provoking slave narratives. This is probably the most moving due to accompanying tapes of slaves discussing their thoughts and conditions when they were slaves. This book and tapes should be used in every high school American and World history classes. I recommend this book to everyone above the age of twelve. If you want to begin educating your children earlier about American history, specifically slavery have them read K.J. McWilliams books; The Journal of Darien Duff, an Emancipated Slave, The Diary of a Slave Girl, Ruby Jo, and The Journal of Leroy Jones, a Fugitive Slave. They are based on slave narratives such as this one and include many interesting photos as well as additional information.

this is a Must for all to have.The Books&tapes show the RawNess and Emotions of Americas Worst NightMare that still Haunts Her.the Voices run Deep down your skin.until SLavery is Properly Discussed and Dealt with America will continue to be a Land of The Unknown.a Must Have Book.

This book is an excellent source for genealogical investigation.

My only complaint is that it arrived slightly damaged (a crushed front cover corner).

This is a very good book. It has more information on more subjects and record sources than any other book I know. It is generally very easy to understand and apply, but I found, when I used it to teach a correspondence class on American research, that it was a bit overwhelming for the beginning student. It is expensive, but its contents justify its price, and everyone who takes American genealogical research seriously should own this book.

The Source (3rd Ed.), a reference book for individuals as well as research collections, provides huge amounts of materials for amateur as well as professional genealogists. In fact, in and of itself, it gives a history of the people who were and are "America."

And, when one is not using it, The Source makes a great bookend!

I got this book from a reseller, A1, via B&Ns site, for about 35 bucks. NO 'sourcing fee'. 4 bucks shipping. There's no excuse for the price gouging from whomever is selling this via Amazon. Hope you get to see this review! I searched on google with 'The Source, szucs, third' for the edition. I love Amazon but this time they didn't get the best price.

The Source: A Guidebook Of American Genealogy (Third Edition) If you are at all seriously interested in doing genealogical or family history research, this book should be in your library - and should definitely not sit on the shelf. I've been studying, learning about and doing this kind of research for seven years and in that period have read countless books, watched lots of videos, worked through many tutorials and spent hours and hours looking for my ancestral and family connections. I have found The Source to be absolutely the best repository of information about where to find the sources, how to do the work, and - especially - how to use the Internet in this work. Chapters are written by experts in the areas covered, the material is well written and the editors have done an outstanding job of putting it all together in a way that makes sense and flows. There is so much wisdom and information here I find myself taking notes as I read. Absolutely great! A "must have" for serious genealogists - and for anyone really wanting to learn how to find the people in their families who have gone before and left a legacy that helps define who we are.

I've been told that Witherington is too challenging by some friends I've shared his work with. This book has been an exception. Witherington is, in my opinion, the finest Biblical scholar and historian we have today. His books are generally written for the aggressive, intellectual, deep diving God seeker. "What have they done with Jesus" opens the window of opportunity to be shared with a larger audience.

Witherington breaks from his socio-rhetorical commentaries and historical narrative style. He cuts back on his typically extensive academic narrative (letting the reader peruse the supporting notes and references for themselves) while boosting the granularity of his critique of modern and historical controversies. "What have they done with Jesus" condenses and reorganizes his more extensive works into a lively, entertaining perspective on hot button topics.

The book flows through the action of:
* Overlooked, and misunderstood female hero's
* Scriptural revelation versus theologically modified characters
* The mother of Jesus and matriarch of the family in scripture, society and time
* The mysterious "disciple whom Jesus loved" revealed
* The late blooming brothers of Jesus
* Paul and his real versus contemporarily imagined challenges in the Jesus movement
* What of the other disciples?
* Those strange Gnostics that have captured the media

A picture is created by this scriptural detective of a far more interesting historical Jesus movement than one might imagine. There are a number of eye openers here to be considered. Witherington masterfully engineers his arguments and leaves popular revisionists no slack.

If you are seeking to understand the Bible story with state of the art translation and understanding, Witherington is your author and this book is a great place to start. Witherington treads on `sacred cows' and `media darlings' with the nuance and fact of `what we can know' from scripture in such a way as to make you deep dive contemporary conceptions. The aggressive God seeker will not be disappointed by this book.

Witherington certainly has a fine writing style that keeps the reader engaged with precise scholarship sprinkled with learned speculation and Columbo like inquiry to discern whether the Christology of Jesus was evolved and embellished by later Christians or was from the beginning by the Inner Circle.

Witherington thus runs through this hypothesis viewing the family and close disciples of Jesus and then the apostles. He concludes from this fine, thorough search: "there is no easy evolutionary spiral from low to high Christology, from early to late Christology, from more Jewish to more Gentile Christology, or from Christology more for Jews to Christology more for Gentiles. Just as the majority of New Testament documents can be traced back to the inner circle of Jesus either directly or indirectly, so also can the high and often divine Christology found in documents for both Jewish and Gentile Christians be traced back to the inner circle of Jesus."

No lost Christianities or streams equal to the inner circle's teachings that were purposely obscured until recent scholars rediscovery and media promotion.

I do take exception with his take of linking Joanna/Junia as an apostle in sense of same usage as Paul's apostleship. Equally informed exegetes see this as not a female, and the term there is not always used as an eyewitness with that authority, but as sent one.

His other suggestion as to the author of Gospel of John being Lazarus, the Beloved Disciple, is a new one to this reviewer. It will have to stand the test of peer exegetical review before it can be accepted.

Fascinating read. Interested readers will also want to read Larry Hurtado's "Lord Jesus Christ:Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Centuries" and Richard Bauckham's "Jesus and the Eyewitnesses."

Common to the Christological revisionists are claims that there are lost or suppressed Christianities, and that there is a radical discontinuity between who Jesus really was and how he was represented by his early - and later - followers. What much of this amounts to is an attempt to rewrite history, to undermine the reliability of the New Testament, and to recreate Jesus in the image of liberal scholarship.

Thus we need once again to determine just who Jesus really was, and what in fact was his message. And the best way to do that, argues New Testament scholar Ben Witherington, it to get back to the inner circle of Jesus. Those who were closest to him or knew him best are our most reliable guides to what he believed and what the early faith was all about. This book provides a close look at this so-called inner circle. It carefully examines those from Jesus' own physical family: Mary, James and Jude; as well as Peter, the Beloved Disciple, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Paul.

Taken together, their testimonies help us understand who Jesus was, and what his core message was. A close examination of these individuals reveals that they all agree to a common understanding of the man and his mission.

Witherington argues that no wide wedge can be driven between these close associates and their take on Jesus, and that of Jesus himself. Consider James, the brother of Jesus, and the first leader of the post-Easter Jesus movement. The contents of the epistle that bears his name are remarkably similar to that of the most basic teachings of Jesus.

For example, one can find over two dozen close similarities between what is found in his epistle and what is recorded in the Sermon on the Mount. This demonstrates, in part, that James is quite familiar with the sayings of Jesus in some form. Says Witheringtom, "the letter of James is deeply indebted to the Jesus tradition".

And the oft-heard contentions that James and Paul are fundamentally at odds, or that Paul has radically reinterpreted Jesus, are far from the truth. There are admittedly differences of emphasis between Paul - the missionary to the Gentiles - and James - who ministered to Jewish believers - but their basic message is the same, centred on a high view of Christ and his saving work.

And Paul's theology flows out of the life and teaching of Jesus. He is no inventor of new theologies, but a faithful witness to the Jesus story. His message is fully in accord with the others of the Jesus circle. Any differences among them, suggests Witherington, are primarily ecclesiological in nature, not Christological.

The inner circle stands in complete continuity with Jesus and his message. And the message they spread was quite congruous. Says Witherington, "the earliest Christian leaders were remarkably similar in their beliefs about the divinity of Jesus, the way of salvation, and basic ethics".

The idea that they, or others, have somehow misrepresented Jesus or departed from his words and teachings is simply without any firm evidence, argues Witherington. Indeed, the idea that there were competing Christianities during the first century is simply incorrect. The kind of Gnostic gospels and alternative Christianities that many modern liberal theologians seek to argue for simply were not in existence during the time of the very early church, but instead begin to appear in the second to the fourth centuries.

"It is pointless to talk about `lost Christianities' if we are talking about the apostolic age," says Witherington, "because there were no forms of Christianity like later Gnosticism already extant in the first century." Indeed, "as far as we know there were no forms of earliest Christianity that did not worship Jesus as crucified and risen Lord".

The earliest leaders of the Jesus movement shared a very high Christology, and a common understanding of the basic Christian message. Indeed, all the New Testament documents "can be traced back directly or indirectly to the inner circle of Jesus," and all 27 New Testament documents present a messianic picture of Jesus.

Asks Witherington, who should we most heavily rely upon: The inner circle of Jesus or later Gnostic writings? The inner circle had "more than enough living contact with the historical Jesus to remember who Jesus was, what his teaching was like, and what claims (implicit or explicit) he made of a messianic nature".

Concludes Witherington, "There is no nonmessianic Jesus to be found at the bottom of the well of history".

It is imperative that the new Christological revisionism is challenged historically and biblically. That Witherington does here to great effect.

Though I wouldn't say this is light reading it is certainly accessible for the lay person; what a worthwhile read it is too. It is written as an uncovering of the evidence.

Ben Witherington goes back to the most reliable sources to discover the "real Jesus". Those sources are the ones written by eye witnesses and are of course the Gospels and letters of the New Testament.

The approach is to look at the those who were involved in Christ's inner circle and to piece together the evidence that is presented. I find the whole quite fascinating. The author's portraits bring the individuals to life in a new way and encourage us to read the Bible ourselves to judge what he says.

There is also useful information on the origin and contents of the Nag Hammadi documents that influenced the Da Vinci Code. The so called Gnostic gospels are put firmly into perspective as they were written hundreds of years after Jesus lifetime.

I heartily recommend this book as an encouragement for those of us who are committed to walking with Christ.

Regardless of where you stand, Ben Witherington III is considered by biblical scholars to be a heavyweight contender. The title to this book sounded interesting to me, so I decided to check it out. In this book Witherington overviews the people in Jesus' live, including the disciples, the women, and Paul. I found the overview refreshing, as most of the information is not new, but it helped remind me of keeping things in historical perspective. Witherington believes that we ought to consider the earliest documents first and foremost while taking the gnostic gospels and later additions with a grain of salt. So many scholars who we see on the Easter television shows don't have that same perspective, and so we end up getting some fascinating theories that just don't have any basis in fact. Yet how many viewers walk away from the DaVinci Code-type information and doubt the historicity of the Christian church? It has to be confusing for the typical lay audience.

I found several things most fascinating. First, I had never heard Lazarus as a possibility for the disciple whom Jesus loved. This theory hit me for a loop. I'm not sure he fully convinced me, but I'm going to have to consider it more than I did before I knew it was even a valid theory. I also had never thought much about Joanna being Junia. That was interesting to me as well. In addition, I appreciate the fact that Witherington changed his mind about phileo/agape Peter/Jesus dialogue in John 21. Sometimes we get so hung up on our beliefs that it's hard to change, so I guess it was refreshing to hear that this scholar was willing to say, "Hey, I changed my mind." May I be as open-minded.

The book is profitable and so I recommend it for those searching for the historical Jesus.

I was relieved to find out that God isn't a humorless, authoritarian parent figure keeping tabs on us. Thanks, Nanci!

Elaine Lewis

I've read just about every book there is about life after death, life before life, etc. and some of them have really touched me deeply, especially Michael Newton's "Journey of Souls" and "Destiny of Souls" and Neale Donald Walsch's "Conversations with God" series. I really thought that this subject had been so thoroughly covered that there wasn't much new that could be offered but this book, "Backwards" by Nanci Danison, somehow captures the best of all the previous books in this genre and then goes beyond that. It is a book filled with breathtaking new insights and mind-expanding revelations. This book resonated with everything inside me that I think of as "me" and then went beyond that to touch who I really am and that is a Being of Light. After finishing this book I bought the CD audio book so that I could listen to this over and over again. After reading this I have gone beyond just hoping that what other near-death experiencers have told us is true to actually believing that what Nanci saw & heard is the true reality. This book takes the FEAR out of life. For the first time, the very first time in my life, I find that I'm actually looking forward to each new day, no matter what it brings, and I'm looking at it without that FEAR that permeated my outlook before. Love is all that matters and no truer words were ever spoken. What an awesome experience this book has been.....and still is every day. Thank you for sharing it Nanci and I hope there are more books to come.

BACKWARDS is an interesting and profound book despite of being an easy reading - a well and articulate style. Congratulations Nanci L. Daninson!
It will be nice if all people will read the book and reflect about their lifes and what they do - we will leave in a better world, a kind of return to Paradise.

There is so much talk about our "End Times," these days... I was extremely interested to listen to this author's recollection of what she had "seen" would become of the coastal regions of the U.S. and the major islands of the world. Even though all of what she was "given" could not be retained once she'd returned from her NDE, it's still phenominal information. Raise your vibrations, everyone! Do more, be more, love more and wake up to our "wholeness" inside the Light. Don't be left behind!

Near death experiences - a subject of controversy. Are they merely hallucinations ones body creates for them as they are about to die? Or is there something more waiting for us on the other side? "Backwards: Returning to Our Source for Answers" is an examination of this phenomena in which it's questioned thoroughly with an educational eye, with a focus on the case of a true story of a big time lawyer being on the brink, and him having a face to face communication with the Source of all knowledge - God. "Backwards: Returning to Our Source for Answers" is deftly written and researched, and highly recommended for community library metaphysical studies shelves.

I don't know that anyone can do this type of thing better short of dedicating 5-6 pages per prospect. The profiles are concise but detailed and full of easily understood stats and reports. One of the most interesting things about this book is if you have the one from the year before, you can track how far a particular prospect has risen or fallen based on his performance over the last year.
Since I live in Hawaii, I also take this book to the Hawaii Winter League Games to I can get an idea of who I am watching (makes the whole experience 75 times more enjoyable). I feel it also helps with my fantasy baseball team, though if you took a look at my rankings, you wouldn't even notice it. But I was on to Hunter Pence before everyone else because of this book.
Mets in 2007!

The most in-depth Minor League baseball publication out there. A must have for people trying to build Fantasy Baseball dynasties.

This book brings a ton of excellent information to the reader about the minor league talent within each organization. With fantastic analysis of players' weaknesses and strengths, the information puts scouting quality information into the hands of the average fan.

My biggest beef is that the book seems to have been rushed through the editing process. While the information is definitely top quality, the writing that presents the information certainly is not. The grammar utilized throughout the book is spotty in numerous places and can somewhat detract from the information presented. My recommendation to Baseball America would be to obtain a higher quality editing process for the 2008 edition of this wonderful tome of information.

This is the seventh year I have bought this item from Baseball America. The quality of their evaluations is always refreshing. It was nice that I was able not pay full retail by using Amazon and plan to use it in the future.

If you like to follow minor league baseball, this book is a must. Where the players came from, & where you can expect to find them playing in '07, is only a small part of all the info on over 900 major league hopefuls. Have fun reading about & if you have the time, going to see some of them in person.