Resources Books

When God Builds a Church: 10 Principles for Growing a Dynamic Church is Biblically solid and has the potential to revolutionize the way we do church...if we will apply them. Russell is easy and entertaining to read and will connect with anyone who is in the trenches trying to allow God to lead them in ministry and church leadership.

Our church purchased 40 copies of this book for an adult study group. We wanted to take a close look at the principles for growth as outlined by Mr. Russell and compare them to our local growth potential. We have been pleased with the discussions and results of that study. We have been encouraged by some of the things we have been doing and challanged to do better in some areas. We recommend using this book as a base to take a look at your local church and see how God might use you to reach others more effectively for His kingdom.

This book reminds us that a church can grow with out compromising spiritual values. This book is not a management book. It provides 10 principles that have worked for South East Christian Church, and can be adapted and used by any one. In fact we are encouraged not to try to use a cookie cutter approach. If I were to recommend two books for church growth, they would be The Purpose Driven Church, and When God Builds a Church.

This book, "When God Builds a Church," contains biblical principles and real-life examples for building a strong, evangelistic church. Although I am opposed to the mega-church model and much of the church growth movement for doctrinal reasons, I recommend this book because the general principles it advocates are sound and can be adapted for use in congregations anywhere, without necessarily embracing the big church idea. As a missionary in Brazil, South America I found this work to be encouraging, and hope to implement many of its ideas in a new church work here.

In this interesting and highly readable book, the author identifies and discusses "ten principles for growing a dynamic church." They are:

1. Truth: Proclaim God's Word as Truth and Apply it to People's Lives
2. Worship: Worship God Every Week in Spirit and in Truth
3. Leadership: Develop Christ-Centered Leaders Who Lead by Example
4. Excellence: Do Your Best in Every Area of Service
5. Faith: Be Willing to Step Out with a Bold Faith and Take Risks
6. Harmony: Maintain a Spirit of Harmony
7. Participation: Expect the Congregation to Participate in Every Area of Ministry
8. Fellowship: Continually Practice Agape Love for One Another
9. Stewardship: Give Generously of God's Resources as a Church and as Individuals
10. Evangelism: Commit Enthusiastically to Evangelism as Your Primary Mission

The author devotes a separate chapter to each of these principles in which he describes its scriptural basis and discusses its implementation in real life settings. This discussion includes a wealth of very practical information and advice on how to apply the principles effectively, and how to avoid or overcome stumbling blocks and problems.

Although one may disagree with the precise way in which the principles have been applied in the author's own "mega-church," the principles themselves appear fundamentally sound and can profitably be adapted in other congregational settings.

In beginning to read the orientation, it turned me off completely when it began with the fear of females. It's so overdone. But hasn't been tackled is the fear of men who have a completely different style when they meet fear, and often become aggressive because of it. Is there any more insulting rejection to a women than hearing, "there are plenty of more fish in the sea?" This proves not only the lack of integrity of the presumed lover but also the lack of mature perspective in appreciating the fact of one so committed and enamored. Just as men prefer to be the "one and only," so also women expect to be the "one and only." The fear of being alone doesn't necessarily produce the anxiety of feeling excluded if the flaws are seen in those who exhibit them, and operate more as malice than rejection. There is a huge difference. Faced with love that is generated within, and not because of trophyism and a misperception of external comfort may be frightening to men because it makes them dependent on the emotional consistency of that secure feeling, and delight in its glory. Fear of loss inevitably follows. But mature love accepts loss graciously in knowing that if love is not reciprocal within the range of adequacy deemed honorable and pure, generated from inside not outside, the result of well considered contemplation of strengths as well as weaknesses, flaws as well as perfections, the result hopefully of a really long and committed second, third or fourth look. Most of the rest is merely the passing of time for lifestyle comfort, and always subject to a tenuous existence, focusing upon quantity not quality of the relationship. It is the reason women wait, and it is the reason men refrain from being steered to other momentary pleasures. Isn't all real love like that?

I have not even read half of this book yet, and I can already say that it has helped me change my self and my life. It has such insight and wisdom in it - I can't say enough about how wonderful it is. I have been working on the issues in this book for around twenty years, and I only wish I had bought it twenty years ago. If you are dealing with any of the problems this book is about (and if you are human, you probably are to some degree), do yourself a favor and get this book!

Having first read Richo's "How to be an Adult," calling When Love Meets Fear: How to Become Defense-Less and Resource-Full his "best book" is quite a statement. The former is a wonderful and life changing tome that teaches the keys to meaningful relationships with others.

When Love Meets Fear builds on that message with a book expressly on the subject of fear. The root of anger, frustration and stonewalling in relationships, understanding and accepting our fear is our greatest journey in life.

One caution: This book takes many sittings to read properly. I was able to read only a few pages then I needed to put the book down and spend a day or two thinking about what I had just read. Almost like magic, I found myself time and again reading just the few pages I most needed to hear as I worked my way through.

This book simply explains the key to happiness. It is to let go of our fears, which is at the root of unhappiness, hate, aggression, apathy, and everything negative in the world. Once we are able to do that, we can open our hearts and embrace each other with love, respect, empathy, hope and forgiveness. It is a simple idea but something very difficult to do because our fears run very very deep within us all. Once we are able to do this to some extent, we try to help others do the same. It is simply the mission of all of our lives, whether we are aware of it or not. When you think about it, nothing else really matters as much. This is what this book tries to help us understand. It is a wonderful message! In another excellent book called "The Ever-Transcending Spirit" by Toru Sato, the author explains how this works in relation to human development and evolution. It shows us how we consciously begin living this life when we are naturally ready for it. These books are absolutely exquisite!

I cannot say enough good things about this book. I have tried a lot of self-help techniques but the ones contained in this book are unlike any I've encountered.

The biggest lesson I got out of this book is that so many of our problems nowadays occur because we had painful experiences earlier in life but instead of facing them and accepting the ramifications - we chose to lie to ourselves instead. Richo explains the most common lies: life is just, suffering is avoidable, things don't change, etc.

I understand from this book that it is much better to just experience those original painful feelings instead of spending your life overanalyzing every minute of every day trying to make the world something it is not.

Recently finished reading Joe Watson's book -- what a gem! It is smartly designed and quickly gets you on top of the diversity learning curve, whether you're looking to unlock your organization's full potential or are considering whether a prospective employer is "real." I bought a second copy and gave it to the Corporate Director of Diversity at my workplace, who in turn, is going to recommend it to our Corporate Diversity and Leadership Councils -- it's that good! Frankly, I'm surprised at the extent to which Joe Watson shares his own "trade secrets" in this book. It speaks volumes about his passion for diversity, not to mention candor.

Mr. Watson has developed a recipe for success when it comes to a hiring process that makes your company better. It should be required reading for all HR departments and senior level management. It should not be a secret that the employers who follow the process laid out in the book are performing better than their industry peers.

If you're responsible for hiring talented employees in a competitive business, Mr. Watson's book is a must read. I plan to keep it on my desk next to my HR manual and my Webster Dictionary! Thanks for shedding light on a crucial issue, Mr. Watson.

Mr. Watson has provided a smart yet practical guide for building diversity in the workplace. He has an open style and talks comfortably about race and its implications in the workplace. This step-by-step guide is applicable to large and small organizations - for- and not-for-profits. Mr. Watson will help you recognize that there is just "no excuse" for not diversifying the workplace - a viewpoint that is long overdue. Should be mandatory reading for every MBA program in the country.

America has waited too long for Without Excuses. Joe Watson is the master of "keepin' it real," and his cutting-edge strategies are welcome additions to the "corporate American mindset." As a young, minority entrepreneur, I have no doubt that if a company follows the guidelines in this book, they will see some VERY positive results. Yes, it encourages people to take a long, hard look at recruiting/hiring/retention strategies, but from my perspective it also encourages diverse job candidates to go the extra mile to try to attract the attention of companies that will value me for who I am. I am a young black female, and I don't expect people to ignore that fact. But I am also a triple-degree bearing, magna cum laude, contentious, hard-working person. I want my work to speak for itself, but I also want to be employed where I feel valued and respected for being myself. There are many diverse job-seeking candidates out there who are just like me. Without Excuses should be in the personal libraries of every person who understands good business sense.

Well please, I got just what they said. The book is well written, easy to apply-thanks.

The book, "Twelve Essential Skills for Great Preaching" is an excellent book for student ministers, lay persons and even seasoned ministers. We can all learn some valuable tips and "essential skills" on how to improve our preaching and by so doing remove boredom from our congregations and encourage and motivate all audiences in strengthening their faith in the Gospel of jesus Christ. This book will assist us to enliven our messages and communicate far better with our community of believers.

With a desire to provide a "skills development approach" for training in the art and science of preaching, Dr. Wayne McDill pens a volume that aims to "identify and strengthen the specific skills needed for more effective sermon preparation" (ix). McDill serves as professor of preaching at the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. He has over forty years of experience as a pastor, denominational leader,
and a teacher of homiletics and is the author of numerous books, including Evangelism in a Tangled World, Becoming Who You Are, Making Friends for Christ, and The Message.

McDill contends that there are twelve essential skills to help preachers provide more and better content in their sermons. While he observes that God calls and His preachers, we have the responsibility to develop these specific skills through "discipline, hard work, and a commitment to clear thinking and Bible-based sermons" (15). He notes that:

This book is designed with a self-improvement format, a do-it-yourself approach which will let you concentrate on your own skills, at your own pace, and in the areas you see need to be strengthened (7).

Summary

McDill presents the first skill for great preaching in that the preacher must "get the text in view" by way of observation (17). With this skill, he desires to "recogniz[e] and not[e] details in the wording of the text and their significance for its meaning" through the means of structural diagramming via inductive Bible study (43). The second skill is "seeing what is there [through] recognizing and noting details in the wording of the text and their significance in the meaning (42).

The next skill is in "asking the right questions ... for the best research to interpret the writer's meaning" -- also known as hermeneutics (59, 61). The challenge here lies in trying to know what someone's intentions are when they are so far removed by historical, literary, and theological distance (63-64). One these questions are answered, the preacher moves to the next step which is "naming the textual idea" (80). Here, the preacher discovers "the writer's idea in the text and designat[es] it with precise terminology" (83). Once accomplished, the next step is to touch human needs by "tracing from theological concepts in the text to corresponding needs in contemporary hearers" (102).

After this step is executed in the interpretation stages, the time comes to bridge from text to sermon (121) followed by the writing of the sermon divisions which "clearly state the teachings of the text on its subject" (139). Next is the step of planning the sermon design which determines "the arrangement of sermon materials for the most effective communication" (159) followed by the development of sermon ideas which will aid in the "understanding, acceptance, and response of the hearer" (182). The next step in this area of understanding and acceptance is in "exploring natural analogies ... for illustrating sermon ideas" for, as McDill notes, "a concept does not impact our thinking unless we can see it" (203). Along this line of thinking, the next skill deals with "drawing pictures, telling stories" in an imaginative and creative way to bring biblical and contemporary stories to life in the mind of the listener (223).

Finally, the culminates all the steps thus far into this final step which aims to "[conform] every aspect of sermon design to the aim of a faith response in the hearer" (244) for it is the "only appropriate response to God and His Word" (258).

Critical Evaluation

As stated earlier, McDill's purpose in writing this book consists of "identify[ing] and strengthen[ing] the specific skills needed for more effective sermon preparation" (ix). By focusing on the content of the sermon, he succeeds for the most part in making a user-friendly volume that deserves a place on every pastor's bookshelf.

What immediately strikes the reader's cursory glance of this work is the layout. McDill deserves praise for achieving his goal of presenting a "self-improvement format [and] a do-it-yourself approach" (7). Each chapter contains a sentence that clearly and succinctly tells the "skill [McDill hopes] to develop with this exercise" (83). Each chapter also contains easily identifiable headings and subheadings, a box or boxes containing key definitions, guidelines for each exercise, a chapter summary, study questions, and examples of how to implement each exercise. He helps the preacher in his studies who is pressed for time. McDill's layout allows the preacher a quick reference guide as needed.

Another appealing aspect of this work is its practical nature. This is not a theoretical book on homiletical philosophy but a basic `how-to' manual for preachers to work their own pace (11). He notes that "just because you think you understand something doesn't mean you can do it. Practice is the only way to master a skill, even in sermon preparation" (4). McDill takes the preacher step-by-step through each of the skills he presents. As mentioned just previously, each chapter contains a segment guiding the reader through an exercise for each skill (32, 52, 73, 90, 114, 131, 146, 171, 193, 215, 235, 257). In these segments, the author certainly practices what he preaches in that not only does he tell the reader what each skill entails, he also helps the reader apply it step-by-step from the ground up . This portion is so helpful for the young preacher finding himself overwhelmed with the thought of sermon preparation. McDill figuratively takes the young preacher by the hand and guides him carefully through each process.

A highly commended chapter ib this work is Chapter Ten, "Exploring Natural Analogies" (201). A `natural analogy' takes a "relationship, circumstance, event, or other factor" in the natural realm and parallels it with a theological concept (207). McDill notes that an "incarnational (in human form) principle must guide us today as se seek, through preaching, to be channels of God's ongoing revelation" (203-204). He rightly notes that we must "look for analogies that will help your hearer understand the idea" (211) and are grounded in our respective "arenas of life" (216). This skill is vital in connecting with our contemporary audiences and is the same style of preaching that Jesus often used with the common people with His use of parables, which took a common situation, event, or person's position and used it to instill a heavenly truth.

Two weaknesses are found in this work. The most noticeable is the title. This reviewer finds the title a bit presumptuous, as if acquiring and applying these twelve skills will automatically make one's preaching `great.' For McDill, great content equals great preaching and clearly his focus is on fleshing out the content of the Scriptures in "the skills necessary to sermon preparation" (10). The title implies this would be a more comprehensive approach to sermon preparation and delivery in the whole realm of preaching. Instead, he minimizes the effect of delivery in favor of content alone.

The delivery style is not the critical factor in what we recognize as great preaching. Great delivery without effective content is often only "sound and fury, signifying nothing." On the other hand, striking content is of real interest to the hearer, even if the delivery is weak. (10).

Yet again, the title of the book implies preaching and delivery is part of the preaching process. Plus, the Scriptural accounts of the preachers and prophets indicate that the content and the way they communicated that content was part of the message. The Apostle Paul notes that:

My speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God (1 Corinthians 2:4-5, ESV).

The point here that Paul makes is that content alone does not a message make, but it is how the message crafts the speaker's heart and thus persuades passionately through the Spirit. McDill seems to miss this point completely. A better title would be "The 12 Essential Skills for Great Sermon Preparation."

Conclusion

After reading this work in its entirety, I would highly recommend this work to someone looking for a manual on sermon preparation. Even though the title is misleading, once the preacher enters into the contents of the book and sees the helpful way McDill fleshes out these various skills, he will be thankful for having such a wonderful volume in his hands.

I would recommend using this volume as a tune-up to specific areas of your preaching preparation that need work rather than trying to work from the beginning to the end of this book, for that would take a large amount of time. Absorbing this book little-by-little, however, will certainly transform your sermon preparation and your congregation will thank you all the more for this transformation.

I must admit as a recent Bible college graduate I was intimidated by the task of expository preaching. However, as I finished each chapter I thought to myself, "I can do that." Soon I was through the entire book confident I could preach an effective expository sermon on any passage of Scripture.
McDill takes you through from text to sermon and everything in between showing exactly how to do everything. I readily admit that my preaching has changed since reading this book. It has added depth and meaning and my sermons are not just an exegetical speech but messages that connects with the hearts and spirits of the congregation.
This book is a must-read for the expository preacher!

McDill has captured the essence of expository Preaching. No other preaching method I have studied is as God honoring and powerful. It teaches you how to preach God's Word and not your own or anyone elses. At the same time it helps you to use your own life experiences to illustrate the points you pull directly out of God's Word. It takes the best of Inductive study methods and couples them with the art of expository preaching.

As a professional with over 35 years experience in the fields of corrections and substance abuse, I didn't realize how limited my knowledge of the various aspects of 12-step programs was until I read this book . I thank God for blessing me with the opportunity and the curiosity to read this book and highly recommend that it be read by anyone in the field! I feel that Ms. Anderson had three goals in mind--information, enlightenment, and resourcefulness.

I appreciate the book, 12-Step Programs: A Resource Guide for Helping Professionals. I have worked in the field of addictions for over 5 years and found that this book has a variety of self help programs that fit the needs of anyone seeking freedom from any addiction! It is a great reference guide for any professional who seeks to enhance and further their knowledge on the 12-step programs.

Ms. Anderson has done all of us a tremendous service by compiling and explaining all the existing 12-step programs. This is a guide that should be available to social service agencies, counselors, or anyone who works with people who are addicted and who needs to refer them for help and supportive recovery. And, finally, this is a work of love for Ms. Anderson, who has regained hope in her own recovery and in helping others to recover. She is an inspiration when she speaks, and she continues to inspire us with this comprehensive guide.

12-Step Programs was really helpful to me in evaluating myself as well as friends and families. I know some people that have problems that are in this book and think it would be very helpful. Some people feel embarrassed to talk with someone or have no idea how to get help for there addictions. This book changes all of that!

AS A PROFESSIONAL IN THE SOCIAL SERVICES FIELD, I FOUND THE BOOK AN INVALUABLE GUIDE FOR THE CLIENTS THAT I SERVE. THE BOOK IS ALSO A RESOURCEFUL AND INFORMATIVE TOOL WHICH WILL ENHANCE MY SKILLS. I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS BOOK FOR PEOPLE IN OUT OF THE FIELD BECAUSE IT PROVIDES A HELPING HAND FOR PEOPLE SEARCHING FOR HOPE AND UNDERSTANDING.

This book is IDEAL for anyone who is going to train or teach anything. How to cut the fluff and deliver the required facts.

I am not a professional trainer by trade. However, I was recently appointed training coordinator for my department. The Accelerated Learning Handbook has definitely helped me approach my job with a fresh perspective. The information, ideas, and techniques presented have enabled me to more effectively train those in my department as well as those in other functions. Before reading the AL Handbook, I thought all that was needed to effectively teach someone was simply to make sure all of my PowerPoint slides were logically put together. I now have a broader view of how people learn and a sold framework to use when putting together training materials on any topic. I highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to engage the audience and create meaningful, effective training presentations.

I have worked with adult learners for more than fifteen years and have always tried to incorporate whole-brained, participative learning. This book provided some excellent theoretical background as well as a lot of new instantly usable ideas. I wasn't even all the way through before I applied a couple of the techniques and got an excellent response from my client.

Finally, teachers and administrators have a useful tool to recharge their classrooms/schools. We have become so test oriented that many times we forget that the process of learning comes from the doing. The statement comes to mind that we utter with new approaches," When do I have the time to get it all in?". That is where the problem lies! We are so pressured with these new demands that we loose sight of what is important, the process. This book will give us a clearer picture of how we can recharge our teaching and can provide the key so we can use the ideas to change the way we teach or approach the students' learning who are in our care.

I was getting ready to prepare a training program for 44 persons when I read this book. Immediately! after I used the guidelines to prepare my session. Preparation was fast and easy -and fun! I really couldn't believe that it was that easy to apply and it has been one of my best sessions to date. I refer to it when I need a refresher or a new perspective. I definately reccomend this book for trainers who need to keep their material fresh and interesting (esp. in-house trainers).

Not too long ago a friend asked me, "Do you really think it is worth teaching your students all the history and philosophy stuff? Shouldn't they just learn science and math to get a job and make money?" He has a point. If we are to be strictly robotic producers and insatiable consumers in a capitalistic society, that may be true. But to be truly utilitarian about it, not to mention human, he is flatly mistaken. We are not soldier ants or drone bees. We are not defined by what we make and consume. We call the humanities "humanities" because, at their best, they help humanize us by allowing us to enter into dialogue with the past to inform us about who we are as humans. This book seeks to do the same.

One of the reasons that I like to write so many reviews on amazon is because it serves as something of a mental map of my inner life. Until the birth of my children I marked the passing of time by thinking, "Oh, yeah, that was when I was reading such and such" rather than dates. Some people remember eras by music, who they dated or what job they had. For me, it is what books I was reading. I have also often toyed with the idea of writing a book about the best and worst books that I have read as a short eulogy for each on its way out of the home, on the premise that my wife was forcing me to get rid of them to make room for our children. Maybe I still will. Anyway, the reason I write this is because I image that James Schall may be the same way. This wonderful book of his is akin to a road map of the mind through the lens of various authors that have moved him in a particularly strong direction, like strong winds in the sails of a ship on the ocean.

Believing that education is not to be left to schools, he suggests that we all need to sit down sometime with people in the past who have asked the right questions and thought through various answers, something which, if you are educated in the humanities like myself, you may have missed somehow in college! I may be wrong, but I think Samuel Clemens remarked something to the effect of "I never let school get in the way of my education." How true. College is usually a money racket that almost by its corrupt nature doesn't want you to question the fundamental premises of a society that has drifted so far away from any center that truly holds. By wrestling with the Ultimate Questions, Schall invites us into the inner journey of a lifetime, a quest to be frankly honest about what it means to exist at all.

Use the "look inside" function to get an idea of how he arranges his roadmap. A very odd book in that it is so unique. I may just use this as a textbook for my future students.

Schall is a great essayist: his goal is to lead modern men and women away from the shallowness and relatavism of the modern education system, where the prescribed mantra is "your truth is not my truth and my truth is not your truth". This book is about being a cultured human being, about being a proud inheritor of the greatest civilisation the world has known -the civilisation wrought through the power of the gospel, namely western civilisation. This book is about everything which contributes to this great culture. That being said, it lacks any serious discussion of music and arts, foundation stones of western civilisation. Leaving that aside, I highly recommend this hook; each chapter ends with some fine book recommendations, books no longer fashionable but key to understanding our culture.

James V. Schall's Another Sort of Learning is a books of essays, "contrary essays" it claims in a subtitle too long to type and too fun to read aloud, about reading, studying, teaching, longing, thinking, evil, sanity, values, lectures, devotion, prayer, sports, and a few other things. Easily, Schall could have entitled his book "On Everything" if only Hilaire Belloc had not used that one for a book of essays in 1909.

The book begins with a quotation from Mad Magazine, and ends with a reference to Aristotle. In between the end-pages you will repeatedly encounter names such as Samuel Johnson, G.K. Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc, Russell Kirk, Augustine, Plato, Machiavelli, Josef Pieper, Eric Voegelin, Thomas Aquinas, Flannery O'Connor, Stanley Jaki, John Henry Newman, Dorothy Sayers, and Maurice Baring. It is a book largely about reading and thinking.

What keeps one going back to the book, if not only to reread the essays, is to consult the book lists. Part of the beautiful subtitle states "Sundry Book Lists Nowhere Else in Captivity to Be Found". Each chapter contains at least one delightful book list; and then there is the bibliography. You will find "Eight Books on Evil and Suffering", "Five Books Addressed to the Heart of Things", "Sixteen Books on Belief and Disbelief", "Eight Collections of Essays and Letters Not To Be Missed", and so on.

It is easily read, in any chapter order, and at any speed. It is a perfect start to a journey in worthwhile books. Schall's Another Sort of Learning is "Not To Be Missed".

Are you conservative? Are you religious in the Christian Catholic way? Then this book is for you. I mean this in a wonderful way. Even if you didn't answer yes to both questions you will find this book valuable. The title says it all so no more description is necessary.

One great thing it did for me was to clarify my thinking and point me in the right direction of what I should be learning about, what is really important to spend my time learning about. Ever walk into Barnes & Nobel and feel confused and overwhelmed by this question, "Good heavens, what book and I gonna buy now because their are so darn many ones to pick from?" This book will answer that question for you.

I savored every word on every page as I read through this book. Then I went to my Amazon.com account and added virtually every bood he suggested to my 'wish list', yes all 200+ of them. Then I ranked them according to my interest and started builing myself a serious conservative, classic library in our home. It will take me years to buy all of them and even longer to read them all - but I'm detrminded!

A book that I wish was better known. Unlike the most modern books that are meant primarily as entertainment this book harkens back to the day when books were rare and cherished and thought about word for word. You could spend a long time thinking about the ideas in the book. I especially like the chapter "On the Difficulty of Believing and Not Believing" since I have so much trouble believing. Along the same vein I like that Schall isn't preaching here - his goal is not a conclusion but a process - he wants you to think. Really a nice handbook to philosophy and thinking.

Thank you for an excellent guide for online shopping! If you are looking for great Internet guides for Kids & Family, High School, and College students, please check out the You Are Here Internet series!

Online stores come and go, especially the big ones, but this book lists hundreds of terrific small online stores that carry really unique stuff. I especially liked all of the stores that sell natural cosmetics and natural fiber clothing for me and my kids. I've had this book 2 weeks and already its saved me lots of time.

I was tired of seeing the same old online stores over and over again. This book pointed me to some real winners. It's a big time saver. Very easy to find what I wanted quickly.

I learned a lot about online shopping that I never knew before. But the best thing about this book is all the online stores, listed by categories. I found some neat stores. Loved the party section.

Before picking up this excellent book, I was wary of online shopping -- and I still am, but now I'm intelligently wary. The authors do a marvelous job of helping understand what you can trust and what you can't, how online shopping works in all its various manifestations, and what strategies to use when you do shop online. The book showed me that online shopping is not (as I had thought) just for shopping addicts who need a fix 24 hours a day, but a great space for intelligent and discerning consumers. I'm still not a big spender online (or anywhere), but I've used the book to help me find some things I couldn't find anywhere else and at surprising prices. I think this book is going to go down in the so-far brief history of online commerce as a milestone achievement. It has certainly changed my views about WWW commerce and made me a better consumer. I can't say enough about this expansive, easy-to-use, fun, and informative work. I hope they plan to update this work regularly.

This book makes more sense than anything I have read in a long time, and I have read just about every low-carb book there is. It adds a new perspective
by tying everything together. The first part describes the theory and science behind all low-carb diets and does a superb job of clarifying the differences between low-carb and reduced-carb diets. There is also an excellent discussion of good carbs and the glycemic index. The "choose how you want to lose" approach with the accompanying menus is both practical and useful. Chapters on stocking the pantry and dining out are outstanding. There are also lots of recipes that are easy, really good, and do not require a lot of exotic or expensive ingredients. All in all, this is a first rate guide to lower-carb living.

This cookbook is great! There are some traditional dishes that have been revamped so they are still flavorful, but lower in fat. The recipes are very easy to make with ingredients that can be found almost anywhere. I have substituted ingredients(like another reviewer), and the results have still been incredible. I have made several recipes including the Pasta with Scallops in Creamy Tomato Sauce, The Pasta with Shrimp Florentine, and a few of the muffin recipes. Everything has turned out very well so far. I am delighted, my husband is delighted, and most likely you will be as well.

Most of my dessert recipes are Julia Child-style rich, but I recently got this book from the library to see how well I could make low-fat, whole-wheat baking work (I've been baking since I was 8 and use mostly my own recipes). Yesterday I made my usual white flour, high-fat, high-sugar banana bread for my entire office, which everyone loved. Today I made the whole wheat Brown Sugar Banana Bread from the bread section of this cookbook, without the nuts, and the ENTIRE office is raving about it! Everyone ate both kinds and declared this one just as good, if not better. I also got a number of her other cookbooks and have been VERY impressed with the recipes. Definitely a must-have for any kitchen.

I use this book in my household extensively and have since it came out. I also use this book in my private practice to teach my patients how to cook healthy. There is a section on how to buy meats, cheeses etc and why using whole grains and lean meats is a better option than processed, high fat versions. I use Sandra's recipes for patients suffering from diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease, high cholesterol and for weight loss. There are 600 recipes so it does not become boring. The best part is that once you realize just how simple healthful cooking can be, you can adapt your favorite recipes using Sandra's tips. I say, give this book to a son or daughter moving off to college, or to a newlywed couple, then get a copy for yourself. If you love pizza, lasagna, meatloaf, hamburgers and fries, stroganoff and fettucine alfredo, you need to buy this book.

I have owned this cookbook for years and, regardless of what new cookbook I buy, I always find myself coming back to these easy, healthy, and delicious recipes. The ingredients are readily available; instructions are clear and thorough. My family, even my husband, is particularly fond of the "new" versions of classic dishes (e.g. beef stroganoff, macaroni and cheese) as well as the innovative recipes. I've regularly given this book for wedding showers and house warmings. It is definitely a worthwhile purchase.

this book is good enough to get a good view of how SD is going and should go. Though much has changed since this book has been published. Globalization has taken SD in directions that were not previously predicted.

Don't miss reading this book! When I read conventional economics, I constantly find myself asking why most economists use such ridiculous assumptions. Herman Daly's book tells why, and gives a start of what to do about it. Mr. Daly's work convinced me that economics will soon be undergoing a revolution like that of physics in the time of Einstein. As a patent attorney with a biochemistry degree, I can tell you that Mr. Daly is right on the money when he discusses the importance to humanity's future of discarding GNP as an economic measure. If you didn't realize before that understanding entropy is essential to economics, Mr. Daly will tell you. There is plenty of other great stuff here, too.
I don't agree with all of Mr. Daly's points. One of his major themes is that being truly concerned about the environment and the future of humanity requires reverence for the Earth as God's creation. Since I am an atheist, and I am very concerned about the environment and the future of humanity, I find this viewpoint a little hard to swallow. Don't let that stop you from reading this great book, though.

I've read a *lot* of economics books in recent years, some good, some not. But Daly's is really in a class by itself for seeing the big picture and explaining it clearly: traditional economics is broken. Neoclassical economics today is like high energy physics: all the trusty laws that held so true in normal energy physics, or 19th and 20th century economies, mysteriously start to fail us. I love the simple, yet compelling logic of Daly's insight: take the existing neoclassical model of economics--the circular flow of income between households and firms--and then draw a box around it, to acknowledge that the world is of finite size. Once you do that, analyze however you wish...the recognition of a finite world leads inexorably to the notion of an optimum size for the national and global economy. I like how Daly uses tools from mainstream economics to make the point: we all remember from Microeconomics that every firm has an optimal size, based on the size of the overall economy. Economics has the notion of limits to growth embedded already, we just need collectively to apply that logic without flinching.

Something that impressed me was how Daly in 1997 used his intellectual model to forecast the concentration of asset ownership in the U.S., with the consequence of increasing class disparity and declining real wages for the middle class. That would have seemed like outlandish poppycock in the mid-90s, but now in 2007, lo and behold, it's coming to pass (per the CIA and the Economic Policy Institute, and BLS.gov statistics) for all the reasons Daly outlined 10 years ago. The man is onto something, and policymakers would do well to listen to him.

Even better, I think, is that reading between the lines of Daly's book there is a real and believable message of hope. The world of the future that acknowledges limits, and embraces development over growth (think "quality" not "quantity" of the economy as the goal) is a better place than the world we live in today. Instead of the world becoming a planetary Los Angeles or Hong Kong, where life is crowded, expensive, polluted and mean, what I took away from Daly's book was a clear intellectual architecture for a world that is beautiful, full of possibilities for interesting life work, and full of hope and things to look forward to. I sincerely hope that Daly's vision helps shape the world my daughter grows up in.

I can't say enough about how moved I was by this book. Having worked in a corporate setting for a number of years, I have wondered how growth can always be the goal of business and how the world can keep expanding and still accommodate everyone's needs. Herman Daly breaks down the problems with economic growth and how fraudulent it is for measuring economic health. Daly advocates sustainable development from a number of economic and social angles. His explanations become abstract at times, but he effectively challenges established economic thinking and offers alternatives.

Without recognition of physical ecological parameters, economic growth as we know it, including GNP, does not measure economic reality. The concept met with opposition from economists at the World Bank where Mr. Daly once worked (as of the mid-1990s when this book was written). The book starts with a passionate rebuttal to the World Bank and their "preanalytic vision" that the economy operates separately from the environment. In the remainder of the book his frustration is aimed more broadly at neoclassical western economists for ignoring the environment and the laws of thermodynamics. A great example is not accounting for environmental costs during the "throughput" process where products go from raw material to final waste.

I learned how important size or "scale" of macroeconomics is, but not accounted for even though it is surpassing the "carrying capacity" of our planet. Daly refutes modern developments such as an "information economy," to replace depleted resources. Also, lack of natural materials can't be substituted with efficiency: "One cannot substitute efficient cause for material cause--one cannot build the same wooden house with half the timber no matter how many saws and carpenters one tries to substitute," (p. 76).

Globalization, Daly argues, opposes the goal of sustainable development as does free trade, overpopulation, and inequality, all of which are closely analyzed. Globalization and free trade came across to me as particularly harmful because they limit a nation's ability to protect its people, culture, and environment. Daly recommends "maximum wage" to limit inequality. Justification for this concept uses biblical references in a religious-based section, which might seem inappropriate for an economics book, but I found the points made important and well presented.

His solutions for change have the goal of creating a "steady state" economy. With such an economy, humans are able to live on the earth and use amounts of the resources that can be maintained indefinitely. This difficult goal includes principles that may seem radical like population control and limiting inequality. But accounting for our environmental costs in our economy is not radical; it's common sense.

I appreciate the perspective the book takes because it proves that the loss of natural resources isn't just anti-ecological, but also anti-economical. Probably one of the most important books I've ever read.

This book is well worth reading for Daly's explanation of "ecological economics." Rather than looking at the economy as a system existing in a vacuum, where an infinite amount of exchanges are possible to create an infinite amount of economic growth--as neo-classical economists believe--Daly places the economy within the physical environment. This environment of course is a place of limits: limits on raw materials and limits on places to store pollution. Thus, Daly shows that the economy must observe limits too.

Common sense, right? Yet, our whole economy is premised on the opposite idea, that we can just keep growing forever. Think of compound interest and then move on from there and you get the idea of how pervasive growth is in our economic mindset today. Offering an alternative is what makes Daly's theory radical.

But the bonus in the book comes at the very end, where Daly offers economics (rightly understood with limits) as the intermediary between the physical world and religious belief. The latter, Daly believes, is necessary to offer humans the inspiration we need to radically change our current society and save our species. Some parts of the text are rough going, but if you're not an economist you can skim them to get to Daly's truly novel integration of heart and head.