Readers Books

Very good book; however, I ordered the wrong edition so couldn't use it. This was my mistake, not the sellers.

This book was intended to accompany a course of the same title. I know more than a few people who took this course. One guy is a missionary in India; one guy went to work at the US Center for World Missions; another guy is a pastor of a church; others are full-time ministers; I don't know where some of the others are - probably the uttermost parts of the earth. So I always wanted to read the book that broadened the perspectives of so many people.

The book consists of a collection of essays written by scholars, seminary professors, ministers and missionaries. The theme of the book is to explain that the bible describes a Judeo-Christian God who, from the very beginning, had a missionary purpose - to reach the world - to reconcile the entire world to Himself.

When He contacts Abraham, His intention is to bless many nations through Abraham (and his descendents), and the rest of the Bible is the story of the process through which that original goal is accomplished. The book's conclusion is that Christians today are and should be being used by this same God to accomplish this original purpose.

Some of the essays are very technical, examining the original Hebrew texts and their meaning. Other essays offer interesting comments.

One of my original impressions could have got me convicted of white man phobia. Most of the authors (and there are some exceptions) are western white men writing about how western white men must bring their western white message to save the world. But fortunately I got over my phobia and read the actual content of the book, and evidently, so did many others.

I hear comments by Christians in Korea and India and Africa, and often I hear the same phrases used in this book. The Koreans often use the term "unreached peoples" and "people groups" which come right out of this book. This book has influenced people all over the world and has clearly defined and mapped out the objective of Christianity - the Great Commission.

Jack Eller, "Anthropologist, Author, Rationalist," seems to have forgotten some major points in his argument about this book. First, although he correctly points out that the book does an excellent job about doing what it's designed to do - that is sharing about what's going on in the Christian missional realm - he argues that Christianity ought not to be spread at all, and that the whole book is just wrong. He says that "[from] a cross-cultural and anthropological point of view ... [i]t is arrogant, ethnocentric, and culturally destructive to spread a culturally-relative and almost certainly false ideology and belief system where it is not needed or wanted." That's all well and good, but since the book isn't about SHOULD people be missionaries or not, his review is instantly irrelevant. Any review of a book that rants about what the subject matter of the book is not is really not even a true book review - Jack should realize this if he's truly a writer.

Second, being a self proclaimed Rationalist, Jack ought to realize that his own "rational" worldview is also a religion, religion defined as 'a set of beliefs.' This book is most assuredly about the Christian Missionary Experiences of many people across the globe - not an exhaustive apologetic of the Christian faith. If Jack really believes that no one ought to push their beliefs, he should have never published his review in the first place.

Third, people like Jack who tend to think of "Christianity" in terms of "people who do things that I don't like or agree with, and they're always pushing pushing pushing their beliefs on me and others" should take the time to check out some of the many positive things that Christians have done throughout the world. One example is hospitals: both in the US and abroad. Ever notice how many, if not most hospitals involve Christian denominations in the name? For example, here in New York City we have New York Presbyterian and New York Methodist Hospitals which are some of the most sophisticated hosptials in the world. Why do they have Christian denominations in the titles? Because they were founded by Christians who believed that sick people can be helped through medical means. But we never hear about this - it's always "Christians pushing their ways." This book shows how missionaries have helped many across the globe both spiritually AND physically. Jack says that people don't want or need what missionaries have, but nothing could be further from the truth. Christianity properly understood is the most love and human care centered belief system in the world, and this book highlights that well.

This is a book about the theology, history, and strategy for succcessful missions. It includes case studies and many practical advices. The authors are many and good. The book almost is a must if you are going to be a missianary or want to support missions in an effective way. I highly recommend this book.

This book opens your eyes to the theology, history and strategy of missions. It will help you to understand the Bible and your place in this world like never before. You will understand WHY Jesus is the ONLY "way, truth, and life". You will be excited to work and pray to see people brought out of bondage and suffering, and into a life that glorifies God and offers peace, hope, and healing. Be warned - the book changes lives! Even if you cannot take the Persp. course, it is worth it to read the book.

When my oldest daugher was two, we read this book at least once a night. My second daughter listened to it from age 2-3 twice a night and even brought to school (and the teacher read it 7 times in a row because of the constant 'again, agains' from the class). Now my three year old son is in love with this book. We read it at least twice a night and thanks to the constant repitition, he 'reads' it too! He loves this book so much he thanks Jesus at prayer time for 'Pizza Pat and the mice'.
We have probably over 400 kids books and I swear this is the most read!

and Pizza Pat has a lot of both. This is my daughter's favorite book (age 7, autistic). She laughs and laughs at poor Pat, who has his masterpiece pizza eaten by "mice by the dozens." I wish I had a recording of my husband reading it to her. I think he enjoys it as much as she does.

The repetitious rhyming makes the book easy to read and fun for her, which in turn aids her language development and reading skills. Plus, it's about her very favorite thing to eat. If all books were this much fun, she'd never put them down! Alas, they are not, and even a child who perseverates (some might say "obsesses") gets bored eventually. My only dissatisfaction with the book is that some of the rhymes are a bit forced. But when you're a child, those descriptions are not so strange, so it's probably the grownup in me.

If you have a little pizza-lover in your life, they will adore Pizza Pat!

Both my 4-year-old and my 2-year-old love this book. The illustrations are wonderful and really capture Pizza Pat's emotions as he builds his pizza and later loses it to some hungry, albeit naughty, little mice. The descriptions of the ingredients used to make the pizza are silly and giggle-provoking. Even if your kids don't eat pizza, they are sure to enjoy this little book over and over again. I agree with another reviewer: reading the text with an accent definitely adds to the hilarity.

The concept/rhythm of this book in indebted to the "The House That Jack Built." I don't know how many young readers will be familiar with this story before attempting to read this book. As an adult, I found the book enjoyable enough to buy it was present for one of my nephews who loves pizza, although I'm not sure he will like who really gets to eat the pizza at the end.

My 6 year old son Gib adores this book. It is beautifully illustrated, has wonderful humor, and is a challenging read. I recommend it to all pizza lovers and young readers alike!

I know I am REALLY dating myself, but this book was originally published the year I was born. I remember reading it in the school library a few times in elementary and I NEVER forgot it.
I now have 2 four year old daughters who ADORE this book! It has colorful pics in it, and it's repetitive phrases have them basically verbally reading it along with me. It is short and to the point, easy to read, and very enjoyable!

This is one of my all-time favorite books and was how I "learned" to read - really, I had all of the words memorized because it was read to me SO much. Even if you're not a Sesamee Street, you'll still love this book.

I bought this book for my grandson because my two grown kids both had loved it. The only thing I recommend (my opinion only) is to think about getting the book without the popups (The Monster at the End of this Book, is the same one). Since this is his favorite book, he always wants it with him. It took him no time for him to destroy it. I had to rely on my kids' old one with the dog-chewed corners.

I remember loving this book as a kid. We came upon it at the library and my kids haven't put it down. It really is such a fun book, especially when it's read animated.

This was one of my favorite most memorable books from when I was a little girl. Now I bought it for one of my girl friends daughter, who is 6 and she loved it also!

This is my sons absolute favorite book! There is tons of different things to do but it does get warn outd quickly if child is less then 2 and tears at it. Amazing Educational Book!

I read this book to my younger sister so many times in the past... In the world of hands-on children's books where you pull, turn, and flip the pieces, this book is a treasure. It's well put together enought to withstand years of play.

This book is about the mice in Mr. Brice's home and what they do. It teaches the kids about so many different things like counting, alphabet, measuring, colors, telling time, and so many other things. The age level would probably be around the age of eight at the most that they would learn something, any older they would probably just find the pop ups and pictures amusing. I think the book was excellent for children and I think any child who reads this will enjoy it and learn.

This is one of the cutest childrens books I have ever seen. I bought one for my daughter when she was little and now I buy them as gifts for other young children I know.

So much so, in fact, that we are now purchasing our third copy. Each of our previous copies has held up remarkably well considering how well-loved they were, but as with all books with moving pieces, eventually you need to reinvest. My son, now five, adored this. The page that introduces you to the 26 mice in Mr. Brice's house was a perennial favorite for him and taught him phonics as well as being just plain fun. Your child will get exposure to opposites, reasoning and problem solving, and to many other great skills, all while having a blast with this book. Well worth the investment, even the third time around (in fact, I'm counting on it keeping my two-year-old daughter occupied on a six-hour flight!).

My family is a singing family and this book is a fun way to read and sing the words. My girls find the book fun and enjoy hearing my try to sing the funny tunes that the procupine creates while searching for his mate. This book is a lot of fun for all of us.

This is a darling story of love and true friendship. The sing-song prose is fun to read aloud and the illustrations are wonderful.

We both loved this story. The porcupine lives in a petting zoo and is very lonely as you can imagine. He ventures out to find a wife in the zoo but only ends up making the other animals mad. He finally finds his true love. Sure to be a favorite in your house too. Recommended for ages 4-12 years.

Way cute story. Great for reading to children or to your pricky husband!

What a wonderful picture book! This book will continue to delight children and the lucky adults who get to read along. The art is wonderful too. Lucky for us there's a sequel to this book.

This is a primary book set in pre-1900s Connecticut. The lovely little story could prompt discussion about holiday traditions and life on the farm in the US. The illustrations provide an amusing and exciting crescendo. The teacher may want to use this book around Halloween as a seasonal story about scaring people, which is not a scary book at all. The book could prompt talk about what life in the US was like during earlier periods: When did this story take place? How can you tell? How was Halloween different then?

First published in 1937, Tasha Tudor's "Pumpkin Moonshine" still has a timeless innocence and appeal. It is a delightfully simple story of a little girl on a farm who picks a pumpkin and rolls it downhill to where she can make it into a jack-o-lantern (or a "moonshine," as they apparently called them in New England, way back when...) A simple story made magical with clean storytelling and wonderful art. (ReadThatAgain)

If you've never carved a "Pumpkin Moonshine" you've missed a wonderful part of Halloween. As a little girl, Tasha Tudors delightful story was a favorite of mine. My children grew up carving pumpkins, not into jack-o-lanterns, but into Pumpkin Moonshines. The "grands" now enjoy grandmothers love for the season and the wonderful "Pumpkin Moonshine" with the re-release of this beautiful little book to be loved by all.

Through the years I have purchased many Tasha Tudor books for family and friends; all have deserved a FIVE STAR rating as far as I am concerned. Her delightful illustrations have been outstanding and reflect the story content almost "word-for-word".
She is a MUST on our book shelf!

My mother read this book to me as a child. It was out of print for a while, but this new printing is excellent. The illustrations (same as orginal version) are superb and the text is quaint but clever enough to keep the attention of small kids or new readers. Highly recommended for Halloween or year round.

Paulsen types his thoughts to create a story to make the reader think about their life.Paulsen uses short and descriptive sentences to create his fantasy life over again.

Paulsen has written one of the funniest books we've ever read, about preparing for and racing in the Iditarod. Like all the best humorists, his humor comes from the heart. This book is much more serious but it still comes from the heart and succeeds for that reason.

Here he is writing about his dogs and in particular a dog named Cookie, a female who served as his lead dog in the Iditarod and also was mother to many of his other dogs. He starts with the birth of her last litter of pups and goes on from there. Some of the most striking anecdotes show just how intelligent and sensitive these animals are: one of the other dogs teaching the puppies how to get all of the meat out of the skull, and Cookie herself seemingly forcing a pack of dogs to go back and help her owner when he has to let all of them go in order to extricate himself from a predicament.

In the end, they both have to give up running, and of course humans live longer than dogs, so we know how it ends: sadly but poignantly, as the author says goodbye to someone he obviously considers a friend.

My eight year old son has a passion for the Iditarod, and is just starting to read chapter books. This book was perfect for him, and he finished it crying he was so attached to Cookie, the main dog. Paulsen writes beautifully about dogs, appealing to all ages. This is a wonderful book, beautifully illustrated, for all ages of dog lovers.

I read this to my nine year old last week. Before I knew it, my wife and twelve year old were rivited. It is beautiful and touching. Most books you put down and forget a day later. The images from this book stay with me and my family. We are going to run out and buy some more stories by this author. You do not have to love dogs or dogsledding to truly enjoy his writing. Suggestion: Read aloud by the fire.

This is a great book. It's about a man who owns a dog kennel. He loves the dogs more than life itself. But, he gets heart disese. He may have to give up the kennel. This is a drama that kept me interested. I don't usually read this type of book, so it had to be very good to interest me. I hope you like it.

A must read for all fans of the Boss, Bruce Springsteen. I especially enjoyed the interview sections. They were the highlight of this book. They offered rare insight into Springsteen's thinking. I enjoyed the review of his earlier works. It does get a bit tedious at times, but overall, it is a very good and enjoyable read. It would make a welcome addition to any Springsteen Fan's collection.

Gerard Zemek
husband of author of "My Funny Dad, Harry"

I really enjoyed the majority of the pieces in June Skinner Sawyers' Racing In The Street: The Bruce Springsteen Reader. Highlights for me include Martin Scorese's (brief) foreward (always figured he was a fan) and, of all things, the excerpts from one Kevin Major's young adult novel Dear Bruce Springsteen, in which my favorite passage in the collection occurs:

"I knew he [the young narrator's father] was into your music a lot. He never listened to it much in the house, mostly when he was driving the old van we used to have. Mostly then by himself. The four of us were in the van once and he put on Nebraska. Mom made him take it off because, she said, it sounded too depressing. He sort of grunted something about she didn't know what good music was and popped out the tape. She said if you're going to spend money we can't afford on music, then you might as well spend it on something that'll cheer you up. He ignored her."

Now tell me - is there a Bruce fan alive that can't relate to that?

Though I would have liked to have seen Tama Janowitz' "You And The Boss" and Richard Meltzer's "The Meaning of Bruce" (both collected in Clinton Heylin's Penguin Book Of Rock & Roll Writing, if you're interested) included for balance, this is a solid anthology of writings on Bruce, and recommended if you're a fan.

PS Also recommended if you're a fan of great music writing (or great writing, period): Lester Bangs' Psychotic Reactions And Carburetor Dung and Mainlines, Blood Feasts, And Bad Taste.

Racing in the Street is a great book and a must for every Springsteen fan.

Racing In The Street is not so much a great biography about Bruce.
It goes much deeper.
It is a series of very insightful articles pinpointing the appeal Bruce has for so many of his fans.

He is a mega star but it is his struggle to remain normal and humble that is at the heart of this book.

For the casual fan, If you truly want to know why his fans are so intense, this is the book to read.
For his fans that have always tried to figure out why we are so intense, this book puts all that into perspective better than any other.

Highly recommended.

This book provides wonderful, informative articles that offer various perceptions of the Boss and his 30+ year career!!! I learned so much about how other people see Bruce, and gained knowledge about his life and work, which was very enjoyable. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves the Boss and wants to gain more insight into his long and amazing career. The maps, discography, timeline, and other extras were also brilliant additions to the collection!

This book, in one form or another, has been with me since the 1950s. It has helped me through classes on literature from Junior High through Graduate School. The information gleemed from this epistle has encouraged me to read an entire book that I might have skimmed over. The accurate summation of literary movements and historical background is invaluable to any person who loves literature. This reference book is definitely not limited to students unless you consider yourself a student for life. I am such.

I have attempted to embark on a reading program of the great literature starting back with Homer.

The Oxford Classics has over 700 books and one wonders where to start. All the literature seems to be interconnected from Balzac to Grisham. As soon as one reads Chekhov, for example, one wants to read another earlier book by Gogol, etc. There are about 5000 well know novels by great writers, such as 20 books by Hemingway alone. In the past few months I bought about 60 novels, mostly paperback from Penguin and Oxford by a variety of authors from Henry James to Jane Austen. At some point, I realized that I was buying at random and I needed to buy one or more guides.

I ended up buying "Bloomsbury Good reading Guide" by Rennison et al plus the present book. The Bloomsbury Guide has some nice features and it has a one and two star system to differentiate the masters from the highly recommend and the normal run of the mill "great books," but overall it is short and misses a few authors. It has a date cut-off point around 1800 - it is more about modern novels.

The present book is 800 pages long, twice as big as "Bloomsbury" and it describes books, authors, and literary terms in alphabetical order back to Greek times - in an encyclopaedia or dictionary style. It does not rate the books or describe plot details for most books, but it does discuss the theme, impact, importance, etc along with the characters. In some cases it does give parts of the plot away. Usually it includes a short biography of the author, and most books are described with the author's biography, but not all.

It presents all the great authors and some (great) novels back to Greek mythology. It includes Shakespeare, along with a broad range of works. The book is described as a reading "companion." Some authors are covered in part of a page, while a few get three or four pages. The discussion presents a short biography of the author, list of works, context of the writing, etc. This is usually cross referenced to the author's works, but only the masterpieces of literature all listed with separate sections. For example, Hemingway's books are not discussed as individual books each with their own sections, but are discussed as a group under Hemingway, i.e.: one must go to "Hemingway" under "H." However, a few other books such as Ulysses - considered to be a masterpiece - have separate sections or descriptions. For example, Ulysses is described under "U" plus there is a separate section on Joyce, found under "J."

This is an excellent reading guide or companion. It is a bargain and full of many reading ideas and explanations, and it is a great investment.

This is a good book. I'm a teacher, and this book comes in handy all the time. It is an excellent resource for a teacher who needs to get thorough literary information FAST!! It's a lifesaver when making lesson plans or teaching lessons.

In an era of the Internet and instant global communication, I believe that the need for an accessible 'hard copy' in book form, with an extended shelf life, is greater than ever.

Books, especially this reader's companion, gives the reader opportunities to pursue the multiplicity of connections between entries - to stop, note, review, compare and question. The Reader's Companion to World Literature will fulfil an important function, not least in its use in checking detail (Authors, titles, literary movements, historical movements, technical terms and phrases) and then by the discursive nature of this book, encourage an enlarged understanding of literary concepts and new perspectives.

My criticisms are minor, in the sense that there are no entries on Maugham, Capote or Carver, for example.

That said, I do think this is an excellent companion to browse in when needed, or for a journey of discovery. It stands alone, in range and depth.

A Highly recommended purchase.

I have used this book for many years. It is an encyclopediac guide to the major works, and concepts, literary terms of world- literature. What I have usually found is that even if I had studied the subject before, reading the entry gave me new information. As a one- volume portable guide to world- literature I cannot recall encountering anything as good as this.

My daughter actually recommended this as one of her favorite books. After reading it, I can see why. It is a well-written historical fiction about WWI, primarily from a UK perspective. Through the characters, the realities and potential consequences of any war are brought to life. There are a lot of interesting sub-topics and themes, such as the social changes of the period, particularly in terms of the changing roles of women in the UK. One of the more subtle and profound themes is the role of art and literature in our lives. One of the novel's greatest strengths is the character development of Maggie. The correspondence between Maggie and Francis is particularly powerful. It is mainly through the character of Francis that the impacts of WWI, and arguably any war, are fleshed out. It is a book that can be enjoyed by teens and adult, and can provide opportunities for discussion between the two on many different topics.

Remembrance by Theresa Breslin is a fun Historical Fiction book to read that is full of excitement. The excitement that I thought was exciting was the letters that the characters get. The letters were full of love, and some shock. Like Maggie, for instance, her little brother Alex and boyfriend Francis are both at war, keeping touch with her as much as they can. So Maggie ends up getting one of those letters saying Alex died. But he really didn't. So of course they sort it all out and she is relieved that he is fine. Along with Maggie is her good friend, Charlotte. Who also has a boyfriend in the war. Maggie and Charlotte are great friends, who both work at hospitals, Military hospitals. The book takes place in 1915. I think what Theresa is trying to say to us in this book is that you shouldn't worry too much when family members leave to war, stay calm if you get a letter that doesn't sound right, and to keep in touch with your loved ones. So if you like war related stories, and letters full of excitement, you should read Remembrance.

There is a war going on and it has been going on for quit some time now. Charlotte and her family own a small little store. Charlotte has a brother, Francis, which wants to go to the war so he can help them fight. Her mother is sick, and her dad is always down in the store. Charlotte and her brother are always helping their dad down in the shop because they are always busy. Charlotte has a crush on a boy named John Malcolm. He has a sister named Maggie. She didn't like very many people. Charlotte wants to go work as a nurse in the hospital. The hospitals are going to be full of army people who were hurt in the war, which could be very sick and gruesome. Charlotte's mom is pretty sick. So she has to listen to what her mom says. Since the war is going on you can't walk alone a lot of places because something could happen to you. So every time charlotte wanted to see John, she had to have her brother take cover and not say where she was. Her mom didn't want charlotte going to be one of those nurses because she thought it would make her upset. She did it anyways. At first she didn't like it because some guy cut his own leg off and it was infected and it was all green and different colors. Everyone doubted her before that guy came in. once he came in and she stared at him for a while being grossed out, she called for the closest person and had him get her some things. Then everyone thought different of her.
When John Malcolm went off to war, he sent a longer letter to charlotte than he did his own family and Maggie was mad at charlotte for that. Charlotte only received like two or three letters from him. Maggie got the telegram that John Malcolm had died during the fighting. And charlotte knew where to meet her because she already knew. There had been people all over the block that had died. So she knew. Her brother ran off to the war
And that made her family really upset.

I am a High School English teacher in Brisbane. My father (who served at sea in WW 2) was named after his uncle, an Australian artillery officer who served in Gallipoli and in France. He was killed in action in the Somme region in 1917. I discovered this novel, "Remembrance" by Theresa Breslin after my family had visited his grave in France during 2001. Breslin's account of seeing British students (my own children were upper primary school age and truly affected), visiting a similar war cemetary struck a chord with me as many Australians and New Zealanders suffered and died in this area (along with British, French, Canadian and US troops and Germans in this region). It inspired me to use it as the focus of a unit on war, using the play, "Journey's End" by R.C. Sherriff, set in the trenches, plus WW1 war poetry by women & men, allied and German (e.g. Owen & Sassoon & Trakl). The students love the novel with its mix of both female and male perspectives on the war (and a little romance) and the social history of the period. The students have also studied the period in History, so it has proved a valuable inter-disciplinary unit. I recommend the novel whole-heartedly to anyone interested in the period including young people who wish to explore the mood and many social changes of the period in Britain. Also on the Hyperion CD label, and on Chandos are CD's either featuring composers of WW1 or music appropriate to listen to in conjunction with "Remembrance". There are few authors and novels that I have taught that have enthused both teacher and student as deeply. A must read novel !

Fabulous. Excellent. Brilliant!
Before I start, may I just make a correction to the review above- it is actually World War 1 that this book is set in, not world war 2, as you said.
The story is os easy to follow, and so tear jerking- I cried about three times throughout the book!The relationships between characters the grow, and turn into love, are so beautifully described. You can predict the plot after reading the first few chapters, but I was still gripped by the story
Theresa Breslin writes beautifully, the pictures she created in my mind were vivid, and I felt as though I was there.
A strong recomendation.